#actually I think only plague Steve did this

[bullbobb]

I love how anticlimactic some scenes in TSS can be. Like you’ll have some random powerful villain and the heroes cowering in fear, then there’s a 10 second awkward pause as the villain writes on signs to get the point across

And then the sign will be something stupid like “I HATE YOU”

[southerngothicchic]

18+

Steve's always had a bit of an ego, especially during sex. He wants to hear just how good he's making his girl feel. He's used to being with vocal partners, so when you and him had sex, for the first time, he was taken aback by how quiet you were. He was so used to girls moaning in his ear, their nails clawing his back, only to have you barely making a sound.

He didn't want to say anything, at first, because he wanted you to feel comfortable with him. After the next few times, though, he couldn't help himself. Old insecurities plagued him, making him think you weren't that into him. That thought crushed him, as you were the first girl in forever that he's actually felt something for.

"How's it feel, angel?" He breathily asks, as he slowly fucks you.

You didn't respond, at first, biting your lip at his question.

"C'mon honey, I need to know if you're ok," he adds, gazing down at you.

"I am," you finally reply.

"I can stop if you want..."

"No, please don't," you plead. "I'm sorry, I'm just not-"

"Hey," he softly interrupts, his hand cradling your face. "You don't need to apologize for anything. I just wanna hear those pretty sounds you make just for me."

You smile up at him, before he leans in to kiss you.

"Will you let me hear you, angel?" He asks, against your lips.

You nod, still timid, unsure if you'll be able to do what he wants.

He presses his lips to yours once more and kisses you slowly. You feel yourself melting into him, or rather him melting into you.

He starts moving his hips again, but doesn't break the kiss. You whimper into it as his thrusts are faster now.

"That's it honey," he praises, pulling away so he can hear you.

"S-Steve..." you gasp, your hands moving from his hair, to his shoulders.

"Feeling good?"

You nod, then force yourself to say, "Yes..."

"Yeah? What if I fuck you nice and hard?" He breathlessly asks, his hair flopping onto his sweaty forehead.

You moan in response, making him smirk.

"Still good, honey?"

"Yes, God..." you breathe, closing your eyes and throwing your head back against the pillow.

"You feel so fuckin good, so wet...always so wet for me," he pants, while you bite your lip.

The sounds of his grunts and moans fill the room as he chases his release. Little whimpers escape your lips, but you're not being as loud as he wants.

"If I don't hear you honey, I'm gonna pull out..." he breathily threatens. "Is that what you want?"

"No, no, Steve, please..." you beg, your hands gripping his biceps.

"Then I wanna hear you scream for me," he breathes, before kissing you roughly.

You moan into it, your nails digging into his skin, as he fucks you. He pulls away, his focus turning to your neck. You cry his name when he sinks his teeth into your shoulder.

"That's better," he praises, against your damp skin.

With the way his hips are snapping against yours and how deep he was with every harsh thrust, you finally gave him what he craved.

His name pours from your lips, throat almost sore from how you scream for him.

"Oh, honey...fuck," he rasps, burying his face in your neck.

You repeatedly sigh his name, making him growl in approval.

He then moans your name into your skin as he's finally sent over the edge. His climax leads to yours, as you're crying for him, all over again.

Once you each regain yourselves, he presses kisses all over your face, praising you for being his pretty, perfect girl.

"You did so good for me, angel," he smiles, his nose brushing yours.

You also smile, your cheeks turning a deeper shade of crimson from his praise.

"You always wanna be my good, little angel, don't you?"

"I do," you eagerly answer, gazing into his eyes.

"That's my girl," he grins, before kissing you deeply.

[m3talmunson]

Any reasonable person would think, with the sheer length of Eddie's hair, that he would have the slightest idea of how to care for it.

If you thought that, you'd be wrong. He was flying by the seat of his pants, with a bonus of simple luck. It was astonishing that his hair didn't get matted throughout day to day life, let alone the end of the world.

Yes, Eddie obviously went to a hospital after it all. Nobody could have survived that level substantial of injuries without it. But no matter the NDA's, or the "freedom from prosecution," as Dr. Owens puts it, it didn't come with a clean-wiped slate in the public eye.

So Eddie chose to lay low. He got the treatments that were deemed necessary by the doctors, and then he got the hell out of there.

At least, from all of this, Eddie learned only to run when he needed to.

Part of him was scared he and Wayne wouldn't be able to swing the bill. That part of him was satiated when Owens's team swung the bill and replaced the... mangled Munson trailer. These government reparations didn't anywhere near touch the damage that was done, but Wayne and Eddie would take what they could get. Like they always had. Of course, the universe saw fit that Eddie take a little more.

Eddie was told -putting it politely- to stay the fuck out of that trailer park. Just because his name was cleared legally doesn't mean he should be anywhere he would normally go about his business. Not for the next couple weeks, at least.

And Steve Harrington, ever so giving, offered up his home as sanctuary.

And of course, Eddie was immediately trying to find a way out of it. When that didn't work, he started asking how soon he needed to leave. He didn't want to feel like a burden, especially not to Steve.

"Stay as long as you need, Eds. Forever, for a little while, on and off, literally anything as long as I don't have to carry you out of hell again. That's the one condition."

Sure, living with Steve had it's perks. He had some semblance of privacy, walls with ANY soundproofing, and company. What more could a boy ask for, you would think.

Not living down the hall from his crush while looking like a walking nightmare, Eddie thought, was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask for. He did not get that.

Despite living in the same house as him, he avoided Steve like the plague. Steve had made it clear his 'what's mine is yours' attitude was open to Eddie, but Eddie preferred his room. His boxes from the old trailer were there, his guitar, his sanity (or what remains). The moment he limped his way out of that door, he was in the realm of Steve. And he did not feel up to the task of being presentable in front of his literal crush.

Still, Steve came into his room every so often. Eddie went to the hospital, but he wasn't magically better. Steve changed his bandages, helped him when he needed it, brought him homemade soup? Because, somehow, Eddie is in an alternate dimension where Steve Harrington is making him his grandma's chicken noodle soup recipe for him. And it is PHENOMENAL.

Eddie could have never expected any of the past month's events. He was still grappling with the fact that life would just... return to normal somehow after the end of the world.

He had enough on his plate. However, the universe thought fit to throw some more on.

During one of his Steve-check-ups™, Steve just absentmindedly mentioned something Eddie was dreading.

"How have you been dealing with all that hair? I mean it's been in a new bun every day this week but you can barely lift your arms?"

"Well, actually Steve," Eddie started, "I haven't. This is the same bun you put in on Wednesday." He tilted his head down, he didn't really want to look Steve in the eye when he said that.

"Well shit Eddie, what can I do to help?"

And wasn't it oh so nice when Steve looked up at him with those big eyes, knocking on the door of his soul. How could Eddie turn his gaze from that?

"What can be done? I can't wash it until these fuckers-" He pointed at the sides of his abdomen, to the bandages that Steve had just finished replacing, "have healed enough for me to lift my arms, which should be almost any time now. Then, we can take these bandages off, I can get out of your hair, and I can clean my own."

It was pretty obvious that neither of the men liked that agreement, but Eddie saw it as the only option. Wait a week, lift his arms, get the hell out of dodge. Easy enough.

"I could wash your hair. You know I know how to." Steve replied, a genuine offer, not a throwaway or handout that was just a kind gesture.

"No, Stevie, you don't need to worry about m-"

"Checkmate, I already do. You lock yourself in here except for food, I don't even feel like you're enjoying yourself! What's the point in breaking out of hell, fighting tooth and nail, just to sit in your room? C'mon Eddie, let me do one thing to make your life easier." Steve was interrogating him, but for his own good? And only two weeks ago he thought Steve was just some highschool douche that he just had a little crush on once upon a long time ago. Here he is, caring for him like they've known eachother for years.

"You do enough for me." Eddie hid the blush building on his face by looking to the ground across from Steve. Steve just moved his head there.

"I want to do more. I'm offering to do more."

"You're not going to let me say no, are you?"

"It's your hair, your body! But no, not really."

"Let's go," Eddie said, swinging his legs carefully over the edge of his bed.

And that's how Eddie ended up in a T-shirt and boxers, head laying back in the kitchen sink. He hadn't really gotten to the standing-for-long-periods-of-time point of recovery, so Steve pulled up a stool and a towel for Eddie's shoulders, and got ready to work above his head.

"I'll tell you when to put your head back, don't want to freeze you with the water."

Steve turned the faucet to the hottest setting, then throttled back a little. He carefully took Eddie's hair out and brushed through the ends. It had been in a bun for ages, so at least it didn't get knotted.

"I don't really know much about how curly hair works, but-"

"Oh me either," Eddie interrupted. "Barely even knew I had it. Don't worry about me big boy, no special treatment needed."

"Oh you're getting special treatment, whether you like it or not," Steve said. "Tilt your head back."

And so Eddie did. And he would be flat out lying if he said that he didn't love how gentle Steve's hands felt running across his scalp. He would be lying if he said he didn't like being pampered, just a little. He would be a liar if he told you that this wasn't somehow sensual, or that he wished it had more meaning.

Something about the way Steve was massaging his scalp made him think there could be.

"I'm gonna block your forehead from the water, just warning you." Steve used a cup to get the water to the base of Eddie's scalp, he was thorough with the details and everything.

It made Eddie feel loved. That's new.

Eddie nearly blacked out until it was done. He just soaked it all in, feeling cared for. He had felt cared for before, but never loved, not by someone who wasn't obligated to.

"Why do you do all of this for me?" Eddie truly wanted to know.

"Why shouldn't I?" He replied, as if it was nothing.

"Nobody does." Eddie wanted to say more, but now wasn't the time to throw a pity party and cry in front of Steve Harrington.

"All the more reason to."

"Harrington," Eddie tried to sit up as he talked, "you don't-"

Steve pushed him back down by the chest, conditioner and water soaking into his shirt.

"Don't strain yourself, seriously. Let me rinse this out, then you're free to go back to whatever you were doing." He left one hand on Eddie's chest, not keeping him down, but just resting there. Like he forgot about it, but it felt intentional.

Eddie dragged his hand up to Steve's on his chest.

"Thank you. Really," was all he could muster up without those tears rushing back.

"Of course, Eddie. Wouldn't rather be anywhere else." He continued to work around the ends of Eddie's hair, slowly turning the water off and doing some final slow scrunching motions with the towel not around Eddie's shoulders. "You're all done. Let me help you up."

Taking Eddie's hand in one of his and lifting from Eddie's back, he got Eddie sitting up right. The hand on his back let go, but not the hand in Eddie's.

"Well? Anything you usually do that I can help with?" Steve asked.

"You've done enough," Steve got ready to cut him off, but Eddie beat him to the punch, "I can't do any more without bending over, which is off the table. Seriously, Stevie, you've done more than enough. You've been insane amounts giving and patient with me. You've given me enough."

"I wish I could give more."

"I know."

"I could give more." Steve offered, ready to give all he had in the world.

"Steve," Eddie said, some type of begging look in his eyes, "I don't want to read too much into this but you've offered me more than I could reasonably take. You've given me sanctuary, food, care, what more is there?"

"Love."

Steve laid it all out on the table. All he had left to give was hope that Eddie would take it.

"Can I kiss you?" Eddie asked.

"Please."

And when Eddie took it, it was magical. Just for a moment, all the pain, and bad memories, and nightmares, they just stopped. Suddenly, for a second of time, their was no ring of pain around Steve's neck, no searing, or scorching, or stabbing in Eddie's sides.

Maybe Eddie won't live in Steve's house forever, but he might live in this moment forever.

~~~~~

Thank you to @warlordess for giving the prompt in the comments of my last post! SO sorry it took so unbelievably long, but my show finally closed! Everyone, feel free to leave any prompts in my asks from now on! All of my previous posts as well as this one will be on AO3 soon, then I'm going to make a pinned post with my account! Thank you all so much for the patience you graced me with, hopefully it won't happen again!

[muldermuse]

this is kind of a ramble so bear with me:

thinking about sending two sinners!gator into an absolute tailspin when he shows up to your house to see everything in boxes and your clothes packed up in a few suitcases by the door

he’s like ????? WHAT IS GOING ON WHERE ARE YOU GOING???? and just casually saying “skipping town” and going to kiss him and he’s like ??????

i can only imagine the catharsis of telling him that “there’s nothing in fargo for me, most of the town hates me and the ones who don’t just wanna fuck me, you’re probably gonna marry glenda which will only make everyone hate me even more if they find out i’m the other woman. So I want to live somewhere else. I’m not happy here.” and he obv freaks out

and maybe you’re just going to stay at a friends house while your place gets painted, but maybe leaving was on your mind (it’s easier to sell a house with fresh paint👀), and maybe you wanted to see how serious he was about coming with you…but none of that is any of his business…

i’m usually not an angst girlie but i’m on my period and it’s probably a safer bet to be melodramatic and pick a fight with a fictional man than one i actually know 😭😭

ok this ask made me feral, i felt so ANGSTY writing it

thank u so much for sending it through angel <3

18+ only!! Angst below the cut!! Gator is mean and reader is maybe meaner. They're both terrible people. He calls her a whore, she calls him a lot of mean names. Mentions of smut but no actual smut.

Maybe, this is super far in the future for the two sinners fic or maybe it is not canon. who knows!!! not me!!!

You’re not sure how he found out. You’ve quietly handed your notice in at work and said goodbye to the few in this shitty town you care about. Jenson, Jax and Steve have been ghosted (but you know that they’d all come back with a simple ‘you up?’ text). You weren’t going to tell Gator you were leaving- he didn’t deserve a goodbye. You’d planned to go for 3 months as your place was going to get renovated in that time (you’d been saving up for years to make it more of a home). So, you thought that the months away would be an opportunity to become a new person. A better person. Someone who didn’t fuck pathetic Sheriffs. If anyone looked in; they’d think you were going forever. You’d decided that as soon as you left, you’d block Gator and when (or if) you returned, you’d avoid him like the plague.

The U-HAUL parked in your drive probably gave it away. Or when Glenda saw you filling up your truck and made a snide comment about what you were doing. Or maybe it was when you fucked him 2 days ago he made a passing comment about how empty your home looked. Since then, the entire hall area is covered in boxes filled with your possessions. You try not to let it depress you that your whole life has been packed up in a matter of days. You need a fresh start, you’re moving in with a friend a few towns over and you can be whoever you want to be for a few months. No one there has to know that you’ve been fucking a loser in a relationship for the best part of 2 years. You know it’s him as soon as he knocks on the door, no one knocks as loud as him and other people wait to be invited in. Gator lets himself in as you’re checking your backpack one final time.

“The fuck is all this shit?” He kicks a box that’s in his way and you’re thankful you don’t hear a shatter. “Saw the U-Haul and uh- Glenda saw you fillin’ up. Plannin’ a trip or somethin’?”. He tries to sound unbothered but you know him better than that.

You don’t look at him when you tell him, “Yeah, I’m leaving”. You tell yourself that it’s because you’re checking your backpack but really it’s because you can feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins and you’re trying to compose yourself before you lose your shit.

“The fuck did you jus’ fuckin’ say?”

“Sorry, I’ll say it slower because you’re a fuckin’ idiot. I am leaving”. You draw out the last three words and stare at him. You can hear your heart thumping in your ears as you try to read the expression on his face. It’s a mix of anger, confusion, and sadness. A soft kiss his pressed to his cheek as you walk into the dining room to check your toiletries box. That’s the only pleasantry you’ll exchange with him today- or maybe ever again.

His boots stomp behind you as he follows you in. “Well, where are you goin’?”

“I’ll tell you when I’m there, Gator. Now you can fuck off back to Glenda and play fuckin’ happy families for the rest of your life”.

“Well- why are you leavin’? You’ve never mentioned this before”. His voice breaks as he speaks, either a sign he’s getting choked up or he’s getting really angry.

You can feel the anger rattling in your chest and the sound of your heartbeat in your ears becomes overwhelming. “Why am I going? Gator, everyone in this town fuckin’ hates me or thinks that I’m a total whore because of your fuckin’ bitch of a girlfriend. Who- by the way, you’re goin’ to marry because you’re too fuckin’ chickenshit to upset your crazy daddy…” You slam your hands on the table and take a quick breath, “Gator- I fuckin’ hate it here, I’m miserable and I can’t do it any longer- it’s killin’ me”.

He’s stood opposite you and fuck, does he look mad. He doesn’t move for a minute but then shoves your boxes off the table and kicks them when they hit the floor. After a few seconds, he kicks them again with more force and slams his hands on the table.

“Yeah, real fuckin’ mature Gator, breaking my shit beca-“

“What about this? What about us?” His voice is more muted than you’ve ever heard it. His breath is shuddering gasps. You’re unsure why it enrages you.

You laugh cruelly, “What us? What the fuck are you talking about? Gator, you have a fuckin’ girlfriend who you’re going to marry.”

“Yeah but when has that stopped you- huh? You can’t put this all on me. You’re jus’ as bad as me.”

He moves to stand in front of you. The energy in the room is charged, usually, when it feels like this between the pair of you, it would end in some angry sex where you’re both trying to dominate the other person but you both know that isn’t going to happen today. 

“You’re movin’ away to be a fuckin’ whore somewhere else... or because you’re jealous of Glenda. She gets all of me and you jus’ get the fuckin’ scraps”. His smile is wicked and his eyes look darker than you’ve ever seen them.

You take a step closer to him, “I couldn’t think of anything fucking worse than havin’ all of you. You’re a pathetic fuckin’ daddy’s boy who’s never won anythin’ in his life”. You get close enough to whisper in his ear, “you’re a fuckin’ loser, Gator.”

You hate how much you want to fuck him in this moment and by the red bloom that’s creeping up his neck; you know he feels the same.

He leaves your home silently. He kicks another box on his way out and you finally hear a shatter. His tyres spin as his car races off your front lawn. 

You should block his number and know that that is the end of this awful affair. 

But you both know that it isn’t.

[enam3l]

the godparents (rockstar eddie x reader)

a follow up to baby fever!

4.4k words / PG friendly / fluff / angst /

CW: pregnancy/fertility and it's downsides, if pregnancy is a sensitive topic for you, i'd skip this one!

you can see all rockstar eddie x reader stories and lore at #enam3ls rockstar eddie or the masterlist! and check out my new series love, lola

Eddie doesn't have a clue what you're saying. Your mouth is moving but all he hears is blood rushing past his ear canal. That's basically the only thing he's been able to hear for the past two months. Only vaguely observing his surroundings as he stays stuck in his own head, raging with thoughts and questions. Stuck this way ever since his best friend, Steve Harrington and his partner Marissa had their firstborn. The moment he held Rob Harrington, he was screwed. As Steve had put it 'Eddie Munson has baby fever.' 

Actually, Eddie had caught the fever the moment he first saw you interact with a child. A desire to have children awoken but only with you. He'd managed to sit on this secret for a few years now but ever since the gang's latest addition, the fever has raged. Ultimately, he knows now he has to confess to you about what plagues him. Really, Eddie knows he should've mentioned it somewhere between realising he wanted kids and asking you to marry him. But, in his defence, you've never mentioned them and it wasn't worth the risk of losing you. 

Each day the secret burns harsher. Now, Eddie sits, on the edge of the bed in his Hawkin's home with a gormless look on his face as he watches you. You're flittering around the bedroom in a pretty, expensive dress, worrying about today. Today was Rob Harrington's Christening. Today Eddie became a godfather and you became a godmother. Subtract one word and his dreams would be coming true. 

It's a tug round his neck that brings him back down to earth. You're stood between his legs, tying his tie carefully. Only you know how to do it right, nice and loose, stopping him from feeling like he's choking or looking like a real adult. You tuck the curtain of hair he's trying to hide under, behind his ears. 

'You okay, baby? You've been real quiet,' you hum with concern. 

He blinks, totally dazed by you. The way your pretty face looks at him all wide eyed and full of love. Oh god, he hopes your kids look like you. He wants to be endlessly tormented by an army of your mini clones. 

'Yeah, yeah, sweet, I'm good, I'm...' good lord, Munson, think of an excuse, 'just nervous about today.' 

You sit on his lap and kiss the round tip of his nose. He could stay sat like this, being loved on by you forever. 

'Oh god, did you have the dream where the priest dropped Rob in the water again because I promise that won't hap-' 

Eddie cuts you off with a shake of his curls, although, that dream had been bothering him. 

'S'just a big day, isn't it,' he shrugs. 

You nod in agreement, thumbs soothing over his freckled cheeks. 

'Mhmm, we're gonna be godparents. That's like being appointed to be an aunt and uncle by God... or something?'

Eddie chuckles and softly kisses your lips. Neither of you were exactly religious. Honestly, neither were Steve and Marissa but it just felt like one of those things you're supposed to do. After everything the boys had seen and been through, putting a good word in with the Big Man (or whatever exists) felt like a good precaution. 

After speckling his face in a few more gentle kisses, you hopped off Eddie's back and returned to fretting. The Christening present, you had now wrapped and unwrapped several times, was back in your hands. 

'Do you think it's okay? I mean will he like it? I know he's too young for it at the moment but when he is old enough?'

You'd chosen the present. With some plotting, Eddie had managed to swipe the signet ring Steve always wore with his initials inscribed. Then, you had it replicated with Rob's initials instead.  

'Yes! Sweetheart, it's perfect. More than perfect. It'll make Harrington cry like a baby!' 

The thought made you giggle. Steve had been a hormonal wreck ever since Marissa had gotten pregnant. It reached the point where his mood swings outdid the ones of his actually pregnant partner. Eddie knew his reassuring had worked once he saw your body relax. Now, you returned to ensuring not a hair was out of place. Your hair was pulled away from your perfect face that looked fresh with effortless make up. The straps of your dress tied in bows over your shoulders, revealing the expanse of the delicate skin that covered your collar bones. The only downside had been the ban imposed against Eddie marking you up. But, now he saw you stood there before him, it was clear his sacrifice was worth it. The structured silk bodice fitting you perfectly then flowing down just near your knees. It wasn't often he saw you in things so glamorous but soft; it made his heart fizz thinking this was almost a taste of how you'd look on the wedding day that was just a month away. 

The church was crammed with Steve and Marissa's loved ones who'd travelled from all over the country to celebrate baby Robert. Attending events like these made Eddie nervous ever since he was outcast kid however now he sticks out more so. He saw the way attendees eyes gazed at the boy of the hour, cradled in his parents arms. Then their eyes would flicker to Eddie - who stood beside them at the altar - and do that classic squint. The do-I-know-him-from-somewhere-oh-wait-is-that-the-one-from-that-noisy-band squint. It was something he never found flattering, always embarrassing. It was one of the first things he'd thought about when Steve had asked him to be godfather; the gawping and whispers taking away from the special day. But Steve and Marissa would have no such thing, aside from Robin and Marissa's oldest brother, there was no one more perfect for godparents. 

So Eddie stood at the altar as that became official. Forever grateful you were by his side and understanding his nerves without ever mentioning it. Soft hand gripping his, thumb rubbing calming circles onto his skin. The whole process of baptism was still a little baffling for him. For one, he was unsure why Rob had been forced into what looked like the wedding dress of a small Victorian ghost. Also, he'd kind of lost track of what was going on once he stepped inside the church - just thankful he hadn't gone up in flames. But luckily, he had you. Now, Eddie felt a small tug on his hand as you guided him to where the priest, Rob, Steve, Marissa, her brother and Robin all stood around a little bath of water. 

'Are they going to do the spell now?' Eddie whispered in your ear as the priest set up. 

His question had clearly been overheard by Robin who stifled a snort whilst you batted him for misbehaving. 

'It's not a spell, I explained this to you! You're such a heathen, Munson,' you mouthed back. Quite enough to not disturb the ceremony before you but loud enough that Eddie could hear the tone in your voice that said you better behave, Mister. 

Yet, despite his original confusion and gentle mockery, Eddie found himself getting transfixed by the ritual. The soothing recital of prayers by the priest as he dipped a thumb into some ointment and proceeded to mark a cross on Rob's head. Eddie smiled to himself watching as Rob looked around, wide amber eyes just like his dad's, a little confused but pleased to be surrounded by his favourite people.

Then, at the big moment when Rob's waft of hair was wetted, Eddie felt himself quietly gasp in awe with the rest of the room. Knowing the small action symbolised something big. When a small sob began to croak from Rob over the water, Eddie felt himself jerk forward - a built in reaction to protect his godson. Clearly, you felt his movements too as you tugged him back. Soothing Eddie with soft strokes to his arms, mirroring Marissa's to her own son. He felt himself calm as he watched you mouth along to the prayer. A smile on your face and a twinkle in your eye watching your now official godson be swaddled by his parents. Eddie followed your gaze, longingly wishing the pair of you were in Steve and Marissa's position with your own baby. He should've known today would've been more of a struggle than he previously thought. 

Finally, the priest announced Robert Harrington as an official mini member of the Church, protected by you and Eddie. The crowd clapping and sniffling at the momentous event. Quickly, the pair of you were shuffled closer with Rob, Steve, Marissa and your fellow godparents, for an array of photographs whilst in the church. A sense of pride filled Eddie as he looked at the beaming grin of his best friend, knowing he'd been part of this moment. 

As Rob's gummy little smile was directed at Eddie, he couldn't deny that he was proud of himself as well. Proud that despite everything, his own shambolic upbringing and opportunities to go off the rails, he had ended up being someone people would trust to care for their child. And Eddie couldn't deny that he was good at it and actually wanted to do it. Looking after Rob, hell, even the kids when they were still his little sheepies, gave him a sense of accomplishment unmatched by even being on stage. He couldn't hide it anymore, Eddie Munson knew he would be an amazing Dad and the secret could no longer be contained. 

'Let's get one of him with his favourite aunt and uncle!' Steve had cheered, earning an outraged cry from Robin.

A little wriggly Rob Harrington was placed in your arms as the photographer positioned you both. Your fiancé stood behind you, head resting against yours as little fat grabby hands reached up to the pair of you. 

'It's a big day for you, mister, huh? Are you excited to get spoilt rotten?' You cooed, slipping a finger into Rob's grasp. 

The other fist remained unsatisfied, still reaching out, desperate to grab a ringlet of Eddie's hair. A fascination he'd had since birth. 

'You wanna play with your uncle's hair again? We've got to take our pictures first, cutie. I know, I know, I love playing with his hair too,' you giggled.  

You looked back, searching for a response from Eddie. Expecting him to be pulling a ridiculous face at his godson but you were met by a blank, dazed look. Inside, Eddie was screaming. Watching you baby Rob so effortlessly. That sweet little voice that was reserved only for him. The way Rob looked so lovingly from you to him, to you again. Eddie wanted, no needed, his own little baby to gaze at you two like that. It had to happen, it was too perfect. Fate was tempting him, giving him a taster of what he could have. Torturing him by having you stood there before him, looking so heavenly in that damn dress, loving that little boy so much. A picture perfect new family but it wasn't Eddie's own... not yet. 

'Eds, baby, is everything alr-' 

The words fall out as fast as his heart beats. He can't stop himself. 

'I want us to have a baby!' Eddie blurts out. Your face drops but not a second passes before the photographer calls out

'Aaaand cheese!' 

The bright flash stuns you both but it doesn't erase the way your face dropped. It definitely dropped. It's etch-a-sketched into Eddie's brain for all eternity now. He's not only just ruined a perfectly nice photograph, he's probably just ruined his relationship with his soulmate. 

'So cute guys!' Marissa squeals as she approaches. Carefully lifting Rob out of your frozen arms. 

'So we're gonna start heading over to the house now to have the part-' Marissa's instructions are interrupted by you. 

'Uh, I've got to go. I'll be right back.' Suddenly you've reanimated and are fleeing down the aisles, dodging beloved great aunts and cousins and flying out the Church's exit. Eddie's heart sinks to the pits of his stomach. 

'Ok...' Marissa stares wide eyed, 'so I have never seen her move that fast before...' 

Now Steve appears beside a baffled Marissa and forlorn Eddie. 

'What the hell was that about? Did someone tell her about the weird shrimp thing that Marissa's mom made us put in the buffet?' He scoffs. Marissa shins him. 

'Don't say hell! You've just baptised your son! We're in a church, Steven!' 

As he rubs at his now aching shin, Steve sees a lost look on his best friend's face he's rarely seen since '86. 

'Eddie, man... what's going on?'

The frozen look on Eddie's face suddenly cracks and he crumbles before the couple. 

'I think I fucked up real bad,' he sobs. 

Marissa finds you back at the Harrington household, curled up in her en-suite. When you fled the church, you took Eddie's car and made your way to the house where the after party would be. You'd hoped maybe you could compose yourself by the time everyone had arrived - you were wrong. Sobs had racked through you non stop for the last half hour. The look you had worked so hard on this morning, now totally disheveled. The fabric of your dress littered with tear drops, stray hairs floating from burying your face in a towel. 

'Babe, it's Marissa,' she announces softly with a knock, 'can I come in?'

She takes the croak that comes out of you as a yes. 

Instantly, she's on her knees and wrapping her arms around you. Hands gently stroking your hair as you sniff against her shoulder. 

'What happened, Y/N? Are you okay?'

You cough, trying to clear your throat. 

'D-did he not tell you?' 

You felt awful leaving Eddie there, clueless. Sweet face dropped with eyes all wide and wet. But you couldn't process his words then and there, he'd blindsided you. 

Marissa sighs, 'yeah, he did but I wanna know how you're doing. What's going on in that head of yours?' 

Haphazardly, you shuffle away from Marissa's shoulder so the pair of you sit facing each other cross legged. Holding hands on the cool bathroom floor like you were back at a college house party. But you're not drunken college girls anymore, your friend is a mom and you're engaged. 

'We were just taking the picture and he said - he just said, out of no where, he wants one... wants a baby,' you gasp on another sob trying to erupt. 

Marissa nods waiting for you to continue. 

'I didn't expect it. He's never - we've never...' 

She squeezes your hand to stop you from falling into a fit of tears again. 

'Would it be so bad... having a baby? You're soulmates, you're getting married next month. You'd be great parents.'

Although she means well, Marissa's words make you break again because she's right - Eddie would be an amazing parent. Any kid would be lucky to have him as a dad and he deserves to have everything he wants. 

'No, no, it's just... god, I'm sorry, Marissa. I should speak to Eds first, god. Is he okay?' Your heart aches thinking of causing him distress, you know he'll be sick with worry. 

'He's just...' Marissa sighs, 'he just wants to make sure you're okay. What do you wanna do, girl?' 

You press your palms to your eyes. Inhale, exhale, repeat. Desperately trying to calm yourself. 

'I'm ruining your guys day. It's a happy day. I'm making it sad... I'm failing godmother duties already,' you chuckle mournfully, 'let's go and have a good time for Rob. Mine and Eddie's drama can wait.'

Marissa takes your face in her hands, swiping at your tear stains. 

'Are you sure, Y/N? We'd understand if you just want to go home?' 

'I'm sure.' 

The two of you pinky promise on the bathroom floor, maybe you were still slightly those college girls at heart. Marissa pulls you up onto your feet. 

'Okay, trouble,' she smiles, 'but before anything, let's fix your make up. Steve's aunt is such a nosy cow, if she sees those tear stains, she'll be prying all night.' 

When you come out of hiding and enter the bustling party, your eyes immediately scan for those big brown eyes. You find them gazing lovingly at baby Rob who Eddie is holding hostage outside on the decking. He looks so perfect like this, a baby in his arms. It's not making things easy for you. 

'Hi, Eds,' you announce yourself softly. 

He startles, eyes wide and cheeks flustered. 

'S-sweetheart, you're back? Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have -' 

You wave your hands in protest, trying to stop him before he gets lost rambling. 

'I'm fine, I'm fine. I just...' sighing, you take a seat next to him, nerves stopping you from just falling into his arms like you want to. 'Let's just have a nice time for Steve and Marissa and little Rob here... we'll talk about it later, yeah?' 

Eddie licks his lip nervously, a hesitant hand attempting to reach out to squeeze your knee. You take his hand in yours, his natural warmth taking over you. Really, you just want to curl up into him already. 

'Urm, yeah. Alright sweetheart, whatever you want...' 

Eddie's heart sinks throughout the day as he watches you put on a brave face. He knows when you're keeping your feelings locked up. It's impossible for him to ignore that not once does your smile reach your eyes. It eats him up inside that he's the reason you've shut down in a way he's never seen you do before. Repeatedly you find an excuse to slide your hand out of his, making up a reason to busy yourself. When the dance floor is filled, Eddie can't find you anywhere, not even for your favourite song. Even when it comes to the extravagant white frosted cake Marissa's mom made, it doesn't taste as sweet without you kissing off the frosting Eddie manages to smear over himself.

A part of him really thought his worst fears were just that life long self doubt toying with him. He didn't wholly believe the question of children would have you react like this. He's truly terrified he's done something he cannot take back. 

Eddie picks at the leather of the steering wheel throughout the silent car ride. From his peripheral vision, he sees how your gaze never leaves the window. By the time he pulls into the driveway of your home, the silence is gnawing away at him. The worst case scenarios crippling him. 

'Do you still want to marry me?' Eddie croaks. 

The question cracks all your resolve and the waterworks start again. 

'Eddie...' you gasp, 'of course! Nothing could stop me wanting you. I just don't know if I-' 

No longer can he hold it all in, Eddie just needs you to know what he was thinking. Needs you to know it's you before anything. 

'Sweetheart, I'm so sorry I just dropped it on you like that. I didn't mean to, it's just... I've been holding onto it for so long. Over the last two years, I never thought it but I want to be a dad but only with you! And we'd never discussed it so I never said anything. Then they had Rob and just seeing you with him. I'm sorry, baby, I'm sorry it was just too much. But it's only with you. Only if you want it too. I don't need to be a dad...'

Hearing Eddie scramble over his words always tells you when he's distressed. You'd been clueless this whole time that he felt this way and you feel awful for never noticing.

'I don't think I can, Eddie,' you all but whisper.  

His face doesn't disguise how his heart clearly drops. She doesn't want kids. The clear disappointment on his face stings so much, you force yourself to look straight ahead through the window-screen. Straight at the home you have together, a home that would sound alive with the footsteps of little Munsons.

'I understand, I guess I should've asked sooner...' Eddie's sounds deflated. The enthusiasm that usually runs through his words, now completely drained away. 

'No, you don't understand,' you blurt, 'I don't think I can have kids.'

If it wasn't for the blood rushing past his ears, Eddie would've thought your words just stopped time. Words fail him and he's barely able to muster a croak. 

'Did you never notice how we've been together for five years and we've never even had a scare? Baby, we're not exactly safe... but you'd never mentioned kids so I just. I just pushed it away...' you mumble the last sentence, 'I told myself if you didn't want kids then there was no point stressing myself thinking about it.' 

You look at the man you love and you feel sick. Heartbreak evident in his tear filled eyes and fallen face. Heartbreak that's your fault. 

'Eddie, I'm so sorry. I should've said something. It's my -' 

Eddie stops you before you take the blame. Shaking his head profusely before jumping out the parked car and running round to your side. He opens your door, frees you from the seat and wraps you in his arms. The pair of you sniffling into each other's warmth. 

'Don't you dare apologise, sweetheart. Come on, please, let's go inside.'

 You find yourselves stripped out of the day's formal clothes, seeking comfort in well worn items. Curled up, facing each other on the bed. 

Eddie is the first to disturb the quiet. 

'So, you had thought about having kids?'

You nod softly. 

'Eddie Munson, I'd be stupid not to want to have your babies,' a sad laugh leaving you, 'I've seen how you are with people younger than you. Heard how you looked after Dustin and the gang. Seen how you are with little fans. Then when Rob came along... Eddie, how could I not? You'd be the most amazing dad. But you never mentioned it and with your own family... I just assumed it was an unspoken deal.' 

Regardless of the sad circumstances, Eddie can't help but smile. 

'You really wanted kids with me this whole time?' 

You nod, taking his hand and pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. 

'And you wanted kids with me?' You return the question. 

Eddie mimics your actions on your knuckles this time. 

'Only with you,' he confesses, 'you're the only person in the world I could comprehend having a family with.' 

The two of you smile weakly at each other. The beauty of your confessions so overshadowed by the sadness. 

'I'd understand...' you begin, heart twinging at what you're about to say, 'if not being able to have kids was a deal breaker. You deserve to have everything you want, Eds.' 

Immediately his brow furrows as if you were speaking gibberish. 

'No!' He practically spits the words out, 'no, no, no! Never. No.'

Eddie pulls you into his arms, clutching your head into the crook of his neck. 

'There is no future without you, sweetheart, you understand? I thought I just had the music and that was a sweet deal until you. Then I found myself for the first time picturing a real future for myself. A future kids like me never thought we got. It's always you before anything, do you understand?'

You nod into his neck. Inhaling the smell of home, something you'd never known until you met Eddie. He presses a firm kiss to the side of your head. 

'We're gonna spend the rest of our lives together, regardless. Promise?'

'Promise,' you whisper into his skin, punctuating it with a kiss. 

For a while you just hold each other, clinging to your whole world. Then, Eddie clears his throat. 

'Do you know, like officially? Has a doctor said something or... are you sure you can't have kids? I mean, it could be me.'

You retract from your hiding place, to shuffle back and look at him. A hopeful glimmer sparkles deep in those brown eyes. 

'Well, no...' you confess, 'I was always too scared and because we never spoke about it, I decided ignorance was bliss.' 

Eddie hums in thought, nervously toying with the frayed hem of the t-shirt (of his) that you're wearing. 

'We can check, y'know... if you wanted to? If you really wanna do this.'  

His shyness makes you want to weep. Now it's clear as day how much he's been wanting this the entire time but never wanted to upset you. 

'Okay,' you murmur, 'we can check. I want to, I want us to have a family, Eds.' 

Finally, he looks up at you and a smile breaks across his face. 

'Really?' He marvels. 

'Really.' 

With your hand you signal just how much you mean it - cross my heart and hope to die. Eddie crushes a deep kiss to your lips, one that relaxes every muscle in your body. It's the first kiss since this morning. Never have you gone so long without kissing each other whilst being in each others company. It hurt to deprive yourself of it. Once you pull apart, you brave the question you dreaded. 

'What if the tests or whatever say we can't have kids?'

Eddie shrugs like it's the most casual thing in the world before brushing a strand of hair out of your face. 

'I think whatever happens, you're so caring, so full of love... I think we'll find a way to create our own family regardless.'

His words make you sniffle tears for the umpteenth time today. 

'The Munsons. Our own little family of misfits?' You smile. 

The Munsons. Those words alone leaving your lips instantly heal Eddie's heart in all the ways he's felt it shattered today. 

'God,' he groans, 'I can't wait for you to be a Munson, honey.'

His over dramatics make you giggle, your first real laugh all day. 

'Just one month left and it's official. Mrs Munson,' you kiss the tip of his nose. 

Your sweet affections are overshadowed by Eddie practically howling like a wolf. 

'Mrs Munson, Mrs Munson, Mrs Munson. You're killing me here, sweetheart!'

The following giggles are quickly swallowed up by your husband-to-be as he pulls you into a desperate, wet kiss. Your limbs tangle as you lose yourselves in it. Gasping for breath in between repeating Mrs Munson. Mr Munson. Over and over until you pull apart to catch yourselves. 

Looking at the man you love, all smitten and loved on, you agree with his earlier thought. 

'You're right though, Eddie. We'll do it, no matter how. We'll make the family neither of us ever got to have.' 

Just over a year later, you're both proven correct when a little stick shows a pink plus. One Sloane Munson was on her way. 

So guys... I guess a wedding is on the horizon?

taglist babies: @whoahoney @lukewearingbeanies @esme-viridian @elysian-chaos @munsonology @mseddiemunson @kreepja @midnightsgetawaycar @littlepotatobeansworld @josephquinncore @oscarisaacwhore @therosietoesy @luvrsbian

[witchofthesouls]

Hello, I don't usually ask questions on social networks, but I wanted to know what you think of a story where our human friend suffers an accident aboard the lost light in the Brainstrom laboratory and now the bots are able to see his thoughts. Bonus points if it's weird stuff (most of our minds are very weird), (sorry if something is poorly translated, I'm writing this with the translator) ^^)

One, I absolutely adore this concept.

Two, did you know there are people that think in pictures rather than use an internal voice?

And to top it off, people go around referencing pop culture, iconic scenes, memes, and their favorite media as well as the weird, intrusive thoughts and extreme, nonsensical daydreams...

I like to think there would be a media war between the Cybertronians that never went to Earth and only know beloved cartoons and shows and memes from the weird reenactment from the resident human's mind but with the Lost Light crew getting morphed into it versus the Cybertronians that actually had direct experience and personally downloaded those shows and movies.

As the "I Ship It" song goes, canon ground versus crack ship space.

Does anyone else remember those Naruto animation videos where the Akatsuki are drawn drunk or doing hilarious dances? The human looked up the Decepticon Justice Division, cross referenced on what they do, and immediately thought of a full sequence of the D.J.D. doing the Gang Torture Dance from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

The human thinks of sequences, including but not limited to:

Ultra Magnus as Steve Harvey from Family Feud with Rodimus with the "Nekkid Grandma!" bit

Rodimus doing "Goofy Goober Rock" because Roddy would love to be suspended in the air and dressed in wizard swag with a killer rip on a peanut-themed guitar. Drift has the legs to fulfill Patrick's fishnet-and-heels dance.

Megatron and Ratchet in The Office because he would stare deep into the camera at whatever new trouble has plagued the ship

Getaway and Rodimus doing the "Tony and Ezekiel" bit

So many fire-related memes: Elmo and the "This is fine." Dog.

The overlap of Rodimus in Gurren Lagen and Bang Brave Bang Bravern

The continuously weirder and weirder thoughts on how Cybertronian strip club would look like based on Futurama, Cyberpunk, and Night runner's Magnum Bullets. "Snu-snu" bit included. It's both highly ridiculous, strangely erotic, and absolutely terrifying at the same time to the Lost Light crew.

Whenever a mech does something stupid, the human immediately reimagines the mech in Wheel of Fortune fails, or a shoving potatoes in the exhaust

Nightbeat in a noir setting or as Sherlock Holmes

Rung is "Mister Cellophane" from Chicago

Assigned character theme songs

The last bullet causes so much drama because mechs want to have really cool or badass themes, but no! The human assigns them sex or porn songs like "Life is a Highway" and "Shut Up and Drive" and "Two Trucks," or something silly like "Barbie Girl" or the opening theme to Mega XLR or the sad song on the world's smallest violin to the poor bastard that gets stuck with the engex bill at the end of the night.

[eviesaurusrex]

“15. finding excuses to be alone with each other” With Bucky Barnes 🥰

I always do this too but then I get really nervous when it actually happens 😂

I never did that, but it sounds so bloody sweet. I hope you like with what I came up!

Bucky Barnes x (implied) Stark!Reader (sorry)

warnings: fluff, maybe some anxiety and intrusive thoughts by our baby boy, short mention of mind-reading abilities

word count: 1.5k

***

The team—consisting of Steve, Sam, Natasha, Clint, and Bucky—had just returned from their mission in the snowy depths of Poland, still partially in their tactical gear, heavy duffle bags thrown over their shoulders or tiredly carried in their hands. Bucky felt as if he could sleep for hours if he hit the bed any time soon, and even thought the nightmares wouldn’t plague him as much as they usually used to, but he couldn’t fool himself that much. Instead, he dreaded the return to the empty bedroom he called his ever since joining his best friend and being out of rehab. He would much more prefer it if he could grab one of the books neatly stacked on the bookshelf—the only furniture, other than his closet, really in constant use—and make himself comfortable in the lounge or in the labs with…—

As the thought struck him, not really out of the blue because he was constantly thinking about her, Bucky stopped in his tracks and made Sam almost run into him on his way to his own room on their shared floor. “What the…? Could you please not randomly stop in front of my face?!” The brooding soldier didn’t even spare a glance at the complaining man in his back, who got on his nerves on a daily basis and let the duffle bag fall from his left shoulder as if suddenly pummeled by almost excruciating pain.

Steve had turned at the commotion in his back, eyes swiftly moving over the two men he considered his closest friends, before taking Bucky in, who now had even grabbed the base of his freshly crafted metal arm and let his shoulder slowly but steadily rotate. “You alright, Buck?” The brunet felt awful for worrying Steve in such a matter, knowing how the blond tended to be the mother hen of the entire group, always looking out for each and everyone, but he couldn’t help himself. So, he shrugged with the unharmed shoulder, fingers still closed around the metal covered by the rigid fabric of his combat jacket. “Not sure. Felt it earlier too. Probably should get that checked out,” Bucky muttered and attempted to gather the bag from the floor, but Steve was fast to stop him. “I got this, pal. Go and let someone take a look at it, but I need their approval to let you back in the field.”

With that, the blond soldier grabbed his bag and continued his way while Sam threw him a suspicious look as he walked past him, following the whispering and gossiping rest. He didn’t bother to listen in on them and instead turned back to where he came from and entered the labs next to the landing pad with the best view over the lake after a swipe of his keycard. The music, which had played until the glass door opened in front of him, stopped as soon as he stepped into the spacious room, equipped with the best of the best—at least, he assumed it because he didn’t know a single thing by name or function in his line of sight.

Tranquility found its way into his constantly working and often haunted mind, letting the tension in his shoulders disappear like snow at the sight of spring’s first sunshine, and he finally was able to take a deep breath, even before his eyes found a messy mop of hair peeking between screens and equipment.

“If you think you need to drag me out for another unnecessary father-daughter lunch date, you can immediately turn on the spot and move your ass out of here agai—…”

Her sentence ended as she looked up and saw him standing in the middle of her sacred space instead of her father. Bucky could see how her eyes widened a fraction, only a second, before a radiant smile crept onto her already pretty face. “James,” YN greeted him with the same tone she always used when talking to him—always so incredibly soft as if he was something precious she needed to protect. He didn’t think he was or that he even deserved an ounce of her kindness and gentleness, but he couldn’t keep his distance either.

“Hey, doll.” The nickname had started to slip naturally some time ago, but gladly, YN never seemed to hold any objections against it. Quite the opposite because he could always hear her heartbeat increasing while her cheeks blushed adorably. He could witness it just now, and that made him smile the first genuine smile since going on that mission. “What can I do for you? Is everything alright?” He remembered again with what excuse he had found his way into her presence and nodded, shame practically swirling in his body. “Uhm… I think something isn’t right with-with the arm,” Bucky managed to get out and felt even more ashamed at the sight of worry creeping up into her mesmerizing eyes, which had captured him since she first had laid them on him. “Oh, fuck. Okay, okay. We’ll get this fixed, yeah? I’m so sorry if it hurts or if the mission was at risk or if it troubled you or—…”

YN only stopped her rambling apology the moment she had reached him, and Bucky had gotten a soft hold of her hand. “It’s alright, doll. Really. Everyone came back without a scratch.” Except for your mind, the voice inside his head tauntingly whispered, but her touch was fast to silence it again. “Well, okay. Still, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you wear it without running some last tests after the transport from Wakanda.” The soldier followed her lead and tenderly squeezed her fingers, still entangled with his, as he sat on the chair she pulled out for him. “Actually, it’s nothing major. Probably have to still get used to it.”

It was a masterpiece she had crafted for him with the assistance of Shuri and the Wakandan materials, reminding him once more why he didn’t deserve this woman.

Her soft hands helped him out of his combat gear, leaving him with a bare chest in her labs, making him almost regret it. Bucky never liked it when she saw the many ugly scars and the deformed tissue that once was his left shoulder. But the moment her gentle fingers started to trace along the edge of his new arm where it was connected to the new prosthetic head, those thoughts almost entirely vanished, and his mind was only able to capture every angle and every expression of her face as she started to do her work.

“It looks good, great even. Almost… perfect.” Her whispering voice sounded as if YN was in a trance as her eyes wandered over every inch of his shoulder and the arm now resting in her hands, making him feel every single touch. “How’s the haptic feedback? Can you still feel…this?” He tried to look, but with a laugh, YN stopped him from moving his head by cupping his chin with her fingers. “No, don’t look. That’s not how those questions work. Your brain would tell you you feel something even if it’s not the case,” she grinned while Bucky thought his heart would explode every second at the even closer proximity of their faces.

At least he knew he wasn’t the only one realizing it, and a grin started to tuck at his lips. “Again. Do you feel this?” YN started to trace indecipherable patterns on his arm’s black and gold-infused vibranium, letting shiver after shiver run down his spine. “I never was good at guessing letters written on me,” the soldier mumbled, eyes almost entirely closed, imagining the sight of her fingertips tracing his arm wrapped around her middle in the morning light. “That’s okay.” Her words were just as quiet as his, and the sudden feel of her soft, warm lips pressing a gentle kiss to his temple made him gasp for air like some kind of unkissed boy whose crush took the first step in their own hands. His eyes shot open, and Bucky was faced with YN’s face and a tender smile playing around her lips. “You could’ve told me that nothing really was amiss, you know? I’m the last person who’d judge. I thought we already went past that.”

Swallowing, Bucky shrugged his shoulders and took the black shirt out of her hands after YN had handed it to him. “Steve said he would need your approval so I thought… No, wait. I didn’t really think. I’m… Shit, I’m sorry, doll.” Now he felt even worse than upon entering her safe space and bothering her with his nonsense, but as both her hands cupped his neck, he couldn’t hold back and wrapped his hands around her tiny-seeming wrists. “You never need to apolgize for coming here, James. I love your company. You’d never be a bother or a hassle or a nuisance, so stop thinking that.”

His eyes widened at that last comment, and YN shrugged, an embarrassed expression settling on her face. “It’s harder for me to shut your or anyone’s thoughts out when they trip into that direction. Sorry for prying and invading, and—…”

He shut her up by taking a leap of faith and kissed her.

***

Send me prompts!

[supernovafics]

𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 5.3k words

summary: in which during the summer of ‘84 steve visits family in chicago and meets you at a record store. the two of you immediately have a sort of pull towards one another and decide to start something that’s only meant to be a summer fling. as the end of summer nears, you realize that you may be in way too deep, and you take a step back from it all. however, maybe things can actually work out in the end for you two? or maybe not

warnings: explicit language, implied smut, some fluff, a lot of angst

author’s note: very much inspired by the song “end of beginning” by djo (the entire decide album fully makes me wanna sell my soul lmao) this started out as such a small idea and then somehow expanded to being over 5k words…. hope you enjoy! lol ((already working on a part two so don’t hate me for how this ends :0))

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

It was pretty obvious that you were avoiding Steve like the plague. Phone calls to your home were left unanswered, messages from him that were relayed to you by your parents were left unresponded to, and when he showed up at your house looking for you, you told your parents to tell him that you weren’t home. 

However, if anyone were to call you out on your current behavior, you would deny it. 

Because technically, everything was completely fine between you and Steve.

There was no defining moment that made you start avoiding him. In fact, the day before you stopped talking to him, the two of you had spent the night watching a movie at the tiny old theater in the next town over. Well, actually, “watching” was an overstatement because you two mainly did other things that did not involve really paying attention to the two-hour movie. 

And although that entire night had been good, great even, you still spent the next three days avoiding Steve. It was an impulsive decision, but it was also one that you knew, or at least felt like, was the right one.  

You were starting to like him too much, and that concerned you because he was leaving Chicago in less than a week to go back to Indiana, which meant that what you and he had going on was going to be over. 

It was a fact that both of you were well aware of and had agreed upon at the start of the summer. 

However, as it got closer to that date, the thought of actually having to let him go and end things felt painful. Therefore, you decided that the “going cold turkey” idea was the best way to protect yourself. And although a part of you missed Steve, you forced yourself not to think about him. 

However, it turned out that not thinking about someone was much easier to do when they weren’t standing right in front of you, which Steve currently was. 

Now that you truly thought about it, you could see that it was only a matter of time before he showed up at your job. The record store was where you met him in the first place, and he practically knew your schedule as if it were his own since he had picked you up at the end of almost all of your shifts for the past month and a half. 

Your mind and heart felt conflicting things at this specific moment. As much as your heart wanted to see him, your mind knew that he was only making things harder. A tearful, heartbreaking goodbye was what you truly wanted to avoid. 

It was then that you wished that the store was much more crowded than it actually was because since there was barely anyone browsing around, it made it easy for Steve to walk up to the front counter, which you stood behind.

“Can we talk?” He asked, and instead of meeting his gaze, you busied yourself with grabbing the Hall and Oates vinyl that someone was going to buy, but ultimately decided not to, and moving to place it back on its rightful shelf. 

“There’s nothing to talk about,” You ultimately told him, still evading his eyes and beginning to pick through the shelf even though there wasn’t anything to organize or fix on it. 

“I think there’s a lot to talk about, actually.”

You finally looked at him, and when you saw the look on his face that was a mix of confusion and sadness, for a moment, you finally felt bad for not talking to him and giving him no explanation as to why. 

“I have to do some stocking in the back,” You told Steve, knowing that he would be able to easily read between the lines of what you said. 

He knew exactly what that “code” meant, but with what had happened the last few days he wasn’t sure if he should follow you to the back room. The last time the two of you had been there was a week ago, and in Steve’s mind, things were much clearer then, than what they were like now. 

You placed a bell and sign on the counter that said, “Ring if you need help,” and then began heading to the back. When Steve didn’t start following you, you looked at him. “You coming?”

He gave you a small nod and finally moved, following you the few feet to the room that said Employees Only. He softly shut the door behind you both, and you flicked on the light switch that turned on the one light bulb hanging in the middle of the room that did almost nothing to provide the space with any light. 

Maybe coming back here wasn’t the best idea because being in the place that surprisingly held pretty fond memories of you and Steve made it feel way too easy to fall back into the dynamic you’d become so used to with him. It almost felt like second nature to slot your lips against his in the barely lit room, and you really wished you could allow yourself to do it. 

“Where have you been these past couple of days?” Steve asked, pulling you out of your conflicting thoughts.

A silence lingered for a brief moment as you thought of what to say in response to that. Ultimately, you settled with, “I’ve been… busy.”

“I leave in four days,” He said, reminding you of a fact you truly wanted to forget about. His face softened, and you had to pull your eyes away from his. “Is there any way you can be not busy?”

“The fact that you’re leaving in four days is exactly why I’ve been making myself busy,” You muttered, but Steve heard you clearly. 

A confused look crossed his face.“What do you mean?”

A small sigh fell from your lips, and it was funny because, at that moment, you wanted to tell him nothing but also everything circling your mind. “I– I know what we agreed on at the beginning of the summer, but it’s just… I don’t know. It just feels so hard now? In the beginning, it was so easy, and I honestly liked that we had an “expiration date” set for this, but it all just feels so different now. Because I can feel myself liking you way too much, and I simultaneously love and hate that because you’re the first person I’ve ever truly liked. But you’re leaving, so obviously, I can’t allow myself to like you too much because I would be an idiot if I did, and I would just end up hurting more than I already do right now. And the thought of having to say goodbye to you makes me actually wanna throw up.” 

You knew that you were rambling at that point and that you should stop because what you were saying probably wasn’t making a lot of sense. But Steve had always been insanely easy to talk to, so it was pretty understandable why you were word-vomiting all over him. “So yeah, that’s why I’ve been avoiding you like the plague for the past few days, and I would’ve continued if you hadn't shown up here.”

During the entirety of your ramble, your eyes were looking everywhere except for Steve, and when you finally let your gaze land on him, you noticed a certain look on his face. “Why the hell are you smiling right now?”

Your incredulous tone only somehow made Steve smile wider. “Because for the past three days, I thought you hated me for some reason. But now I know it’s the exact opposite.”

“Honestly, I wish I hated you,” You told him. The statement was mostly a lie. “It would make things so much easier for me.”

“Well, I’m really glad you don’t,” He said softly and moved a bit closer to you, placing his hands on either side of your waist. 

You almost leaned into his touch, as you’d done what felt like a million times before, but you refrained from doing so and instead backed up a bit. “Steve…”

You could feel yourself slowly falling back down that hole of wanting him, and although it was a path that could only lead to heartbreak, your motivation to push him away and never talk to him again was declining. 

Still, you managed to find your voice at that moment. “You should go.”

Steve disregarded your words because he could hear how much you didn’t mean them and instead asked a question of his own. “Am I really the first person you ever really liked?”

You could feel your heart hammering in your chest, and you suddenly felt annoyed by all of your previous honesty. But you also wanted to roll your eyes at the question because Steve knew the answer; he knew pretty much everything about you. “You know how I was before we started this.”

For most of your life, you had always been completely content with being alone romantically and having only a handful of friends you loved and would die for. There was never anyone that made you want to step out of the bubble you created for yourself. Somehow Steve was the exception. 

However, the immediate pull you felt toward him wasn’t enough to change you. Instead, it was your best friend Vanessa, who also worked at the record store, that noticed how you were around Steve and gave you the much-needed nudge to actually attempt to pursue something with him. Because just the idea of you having feelings for him had felt utterly foreign to you. 

“You randomly came into the picture and changed everything for me. And I think I’ll probably always be grateful for that,” You said after a brief stretch of silence. “But, I can’t allow myself to see you again after we leave this room. It’s too fucking hard for me.”

In the beginning, you convinced yourself that a situation like this couldn’t lead to heartbreak because of the fact that the ending was set. However, now you thought that maybe that made things worse because everything you felt for Steve was still right there, and it also wasn’t gonna go away any time soon. 

“I don’t wanna end things.” 

“Me neither, but you leave in four—”

“I don’t want this to be over,” He interrupted you. “I want to make it work with us when I go back.” 

You were rendered speechless for a brief moment at his words. Too many things started running through your mind, and although your immediate thought was to let yourself smile at his statement, there was a question that you knew you needed to ask. “What about Nancy?” 

Her name felt foreign on your lips because, for the entire summer, you kept her pushed to the back of your mind. 

Steve told you about her, and the fact that they were on a break for the summer, once you and he grew closer, which was something that happened insanely fast. And that was where the arrangement between you two started. 

Nancy was a big reason why you now saw the “summer fling” you agreed on with Steve as doomed from the start. 

The life Steve was living with you while he was in Chicago for the summer wasn’t his real life. He was always, always going to go back to Indiana and pick things up right where he and his girlfriend had left them off.

That is what you kept telling yourself, and that upsetting thought only aided in your need to avoid him for his last week in Chicago. Maybe that assumption was wrong, though. 

“I’ve barely thought about her the entire summer,” Steve said, and you could hear the honesty dripping from his words. “And when I have, it’s only been about how to end things for good with her because I only want to be with you.” 

His words contradicted everything you convinced yourself of, and you didn’t know how to respond to that. Your mind was running in a million different directions, allowing no coherent sentences to form. The only thing you could say at that moment was, “Oh?”

“Yes, and I know that we’ll be able to make this work,” Steve began explaining, and you forced your mind to shut off for a moment and solely listen to him. “We’ll both be seniors, so our schedules with school won’t be too bad, and we probably won’t have a shit ton of classes. Also, the drive is only three hours, which will be like five for you to do since you’re a bad driver, but that’s still not too crazy. I’ll happily drive up here most weekends. And then there are the holidays too.”

For the first time since the conversation with Steve started, you smiled. Not at the bad driving comment; in fact, you gave him a light shove for saying that. But, it was endearing hearing how certain he was of the fact that the two of you could actually make things work, even though you’d be in two different states.

“You’ve been thinking about this a lot, huh?” You asked, a smile still planted on your face as you shifted closer to him and let your arms circle loosely around his neck. 

His hands found their rightful place on your waist and squeezed lightly. “Yes, and I wanted to say it that night at the movies, but you just wanted to make out with me the entire time, so it was hard to get a serious word out.” 

You could hear the jokiness in his tone, but you still rolled your eyes. “Oh, shut up. You were the one that initiated it right when the lights went low, and the previews started.”

“And then you just couldn’t get enough of me, baby,” He said before fully closing the space between you two and slotting his lips against yours. 

You had wanted to laugh at his previous words or give your own sarcastic comment back, but you let all of that melt away, and instead, you simply kissed him back; something that had been done many times in that back room. 

One of Steve’s hands was cupping your cheek while the other slipped under the t-shirt you were wearing, and feeling his cool hand against your warm skin sent a slight shiver down your spine. Your hands found a home in his hair, and you loved hearing the low groan erupt from his throat when you gave it a light tug. 

The two of you were so lost in the kiss and making up for the time lost since you hadn’t seen each other in days, that neither of you heard the door open or saw Vanessa open it.  

“Y/N, what do–” The rest of her question stopped short when she saw the two of you. She had known that you had been avoiding Steve for the past few days but refrained from calling you out. However, at that moment, she gave you a look that said, “You better explain everything when we’re alone,” and you gave her a small nod before shutting your eyes in embarrassment. Surprisingly, in the many times you’d brought Steve back there, something like this had never happened before. “Oh, um, sorry to interrupt… this. As you were.”

The door softly clicked shut, and when Steve leaned in to kiss you again, you immediately pulled back, detaching yourself from him and letting your hands fall limp at your sides. Your body was on fire at that moment, but you refrained from doing anything about it.

“Nope. No more of this right now,” You told him. The embarrassment from the situation had yet to wear off and allow you to continue kissing him, even though you had been thoroughly enjoying it. “I’ll see you tonight, though?”

“You’re not gonna start avoiding me again?” Steve asked, and you knew he was mostly kidding, but you could also hear a tad bit of seriousness behind his words, which made sense to you. However, things were completely different now. You actually surprisingly felt hopeful about what was to come instead of dreading the next four days before he left. 

You looked up at him and leaned in to press a quick kiss to his lips. “Never.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

It wasn’t surprising that you were the first one to wake up. For some reason, your body would never allow you to sleep too far past nine o’clock, no matter what you’d done the night before. 

You carefully detangled yourself from Steve’s warm body, not wanting him to wake up just yet, and headed to your bathroom. Once you finished brushing your teeth and showering, you slipped the grey t-shirt that Steve had shown up in last night back on your body because you loved how it looked and felt on you. 

When you walked back into your room, you mentally saved the image of Steve in your bed. It wasn’t the first time you’d snuck him into your room, but it would be the last for a while. And you were glad that your parents were gone for the weekend at some business conference so that you didn’t even have to sneak him in this last time. 

Steve looked peaceful, and you didn’t want to have to wake him, but it was his last day in Chicago, and you wanted to make every hour count before he left that night. 

You slipped back into the bed and faced him on his side. You ran a hand through his hair and pressed soft kisses on both of his cheeks, his nose, and then his forehead before finally landing on his lips. 

He was surprisingly quick to kiss you back, and you smiled, which allowed Steve to deepen the kiss further before he abruptly pulled back. “Mm, minty.”

“I wish I could say the same for you,” You joked, and he immediately poked your side, which made you laugh. You leaned in to kiss him again to show him that you really didn’t care about his morning breath.

Steve’s hand trailed under your, his, t-shirt and began rubbing your bare side in small circles. You sighed contently into the kiss at the feeling of his warm touch, and you wanted to move even closer to him, but you had to force yourself to pull away before things moved further, as they had last night.

You pushed some of his hair away from his eyes, and then your hand lingered on his cheek. “You leave tonight.”

He gave you a small nod. “Yeah.”

“So, we need to get up now,” You told him. “I have a lot of things I wanna do with you today.”

Steve let out a soft groan before turning his head a bit so that he could kiss the inside of your palm. “Why can’t we just do more of this?”

“Because I want to be disgustingly cheesy and sentimental with you today and just drive around and go to a bunch of the places we’d always go to this summer.”

He smiled at your words. “You’re never cheesy and sentimental.”

“You bring out this cute side of me, Harrington,” You told him and pressed a quick kiss to his nose. “Also, I’m gonna force you to finally try deep dish from my favorite place.” 

“You’re evil,” He said before finally sitting up in the bed. His gaze suddenly shifted away from you and instead focused downward as he ran a nervous hand through his hair. “But, um, last night… Last night was good, right?”

You couldn’t help but smile at his sudden shyness. “Yes, very good.”

During that summer, you’d done everything else with him, so last night was kind of the final piece of the puzzle. It was honestly a bit surprising that it'd taken this long. And although you never necessarily cared too much about your virginity and losing it, you were glad that your first time had at least been with someone that you truly cared a lot about, and you knew he felt the same way toward you. 

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure,” Steve said with a nod as he continued to expertly avoid eye contact with you. “Because I know we’ve done a lot of stuff, but I just wanted to make sure that last night was good and everything, y’know? And that it was great for you and how you wanted it to be for your first time and–”

You stopped his rambling by pressing your lips against his. “I know. Everything was great, don’t stress. And I’d happily do it again with you right now if you weren’t leaving tonight and there wasn’t a bunch of other stuff I wanted to do with you today.”

He smiled at that and muttered out a soft “Okay,” before giving you a kiss on the cheek and getting out of bed to head to your bathroom. 

You slipped on a pair of dark denim jeans and your old pair of black Converses. When Steve exited the bathroom, you silently admired him and the fact that he was only currently in his boxers, and you resisted the urge to go up and wrap your arms around him and kiss him for what felt like the thousandth time that morning. 

“As great as you look in my t-shirt, I need it back,” He told you as he pulled on his jeans. 

You were quick to shake your head. “Nope, it’s mine now. But…” You walked over to your dresser and started rummaging through the second drawer until you found the band tee you were looking for. The shirt was pretty oversized on you, so you knew that it would more than likely fit Steve just fine. “You can borrow this.”

Steve slipped the shirt over his head. “This is also mine now. Although I do feel like a fraud since I’ve never listened to the band before.”

“If anyone asks your favorite song from them, just say, ‘Anything from their first album. I can’t decide which one,’” You said as you moved toward him, now allowing yourself to wrap your arms around his neck. 

“Got it,” He nodded and smiled as his arms circled around your waist. 

You pressed your lips against his, giving him a quick peck, before finally forcing the two of you to leave your house. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

Although it was one of those days that you knew you’d remember forever, it saddened you how quickly it all flew by. 

From going back to the park where you and Steve played basketball during one of your first few hangouts with each other (and you surprisingly beat him, but you knew that he let you win) to laughing at how much he hated the deep dish pizza you finally convinced him to try. And then next thing you both knew, it was night, and you were sitting in the driveway of the house he and his family had been staying at for the summer. 

A comfortable silence that felt sad, at least on your end, lingered in the car as music softly played, and Steve held your hand in his lap and traced mindless circles on your palm. 

When he looked over at you, he intertwined your hand with his and pulled it up to his lips to kiss it. “Don’t have that look. Remember, this is only the end of the beginning. I know I’m leaving now, but we’ll have so much more time together. Once I’m back in Indiana, we’ll figure out the best time for us to see each other again, okay? You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

You smiled and laughed at his last statement before leaning over the center console and pressing your lips against his. The position was entirely uncomfortable, but at that moment, you didn’t care.

“I have something for you,” You told him when you pulled away and then reached into the backseat and grabbed the brown paper bag that you had been looking for, which was folded at the top to hide the contents inside. It was upsettingly the only thing in your house that could double as a last minute gift bag. 

Steve eyed the paper bag for a moment before his eyes lifted to yours. “You packed me lunch?”

“Shut up, no,” You said with a small laugh. “Just open it.” 

He unfolded the top of the bag and looked inside. His gaze met yours again for a brief moment before he pulled out the five cassette tapes that were inside the bag. “No, these are all your favorites.”

You could only smile at him. “Yes, I know and I’m not giving them to you, just letting you borrow them for the time being until I see you again. Mainly because you told me you never listened to these albums before, and I have a feeling you’ll like most of them. And when you do listen to them, you’ll think about me, which is a small plus.”

He placed the tapes back in the bag and then leaned in to kiss your cheek. “I’ll always be thinking about you. Also, I now feel like an idiot because I didn’t get you anything.”

“I don’t care. This was a last minute thing I thought of anyway,” You said with a small shrug. “But, I’m now expecting a really big gift when you come back.” You kissed his lips. “And I’m only slightly kidding.”

He laughed, and you smiled, wishing that you had a camera to take a picture of him and the two of you at that moment. It was that right time when the sun was starting to set and made everything look just perfect. You desperately wanted to have so many more perfect moments like that one with Steve, and the only thing that could curb your sadness at that moment was remembering the fact that, eventually, you would. 

You glanced at the time it said on the dashboard. “You should go before I get sad again, and I want this goodbye to end as happily as it can.”

Steve nodded and then leaned in to slot his lips against yours one more time. “See you soon.”

“See you soon,” You nodded back and watched as he opened the car door, grabbed the paper bag, and stepped out. “Wait.” 

You quickly got out on your side and rushed over to where he was now standing by the shut passenger side door, staring at you curiously. You wrapped your arms around him almost immediately, and Steve didn’t hesitate to hug you back and hold you tight against him. 

No words were said, mainly because no words needed to be said as you simply held each other and let the tender action speak for itself. Your eyes screwed shut, and you forced yourself not to cry because even though it felt like it, you knew that it wasn’t goodbye forever. 

You pushed up on your toes and kissed him for what you knew would be the final time for a while. It was a slow kiss that was long and drawn out, and you would’ve kept it going forever if it wasn’t for you needing to catch your breath after about a minute. 

“Okay, I just needed to do that real quick,” You told him, still pretty breathless.

“I’m really glad you did,” Steve said softly before pressing a kiss to your forehead. 

You returned to your car and watched as he gave you a wave and smile and then walked inside the house. You sat idly for a moment, simply looking at the red door he just stepped into and closed behind him, before forcing yourself to drive away. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

Hours later, you were sat on the couch in your living room, mindlessly scrolling through television channels, unable to settle on anything, when you heard the phone ring. You almost didn’t answer because you weren’t necessarily in the mood to, but you decided against it when you realized it was probably your parents.  

“Hello?”

“Hi,” Steve said, and you could hear the smile in his tone. “We’re stopped at a gas station right now, and I just wanted to hear your voice real quick.”

“That’s very disgustingly cheesy and sentimental of you,” You told him, letting a smile take over your features. 

“You bring out this cute side of me, Y/L/N,” He said, and you laughed a bit. “Okay, I gotta go, my mom’s giving me a look. I’ll call you when I’m home.”

And when the phone rang a few hours later, around two in the morning, you were smiling as you answered it on only the second ring. You talked for over an hour about nothing but also everything, and the only thing that made either of you want to hang up was the fact that you both were insanely tired and could barely keep your eyes open. 

You both said your goodbyes, which lingered longer than expected because neither of you truly wanted to hang up. And finally, things ended with Steve saying, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

That “tomorrow” call never came, and you let a week pass before you allowed yourself to get worried and nervous. It didn’t take long for you to want to start overthinking things, but you tried your hardest to refrain from doing so. However, you failed miserably. 

You called his house on the ninth day, and when the call connected, you immediately breathed out a sigh of relief. However, when a male voice that wasn’t Steve’s, and instead it was his dad’s, said, “Hello?” your immediate relief was wiped away. 

“Hi, is Steve home?” You asked. You were sat cross-legged on your bed and nervously playing with the phone cord. After a week of radio silence, you were essentially questioning everything that you had just felt so certain and sure of. Even though, when it came to Steve, you had almost never been nervous, right then, you truly couldn’t help it. 

“No, he’s out right now,” His dad answered, and you were about to simply say “Thanks” and then hang up, but you could hear the phone being pulled away a bit as if he was talking to someone else but still wanting to keep you on the line. “He’s out with Nancy, right? Was it this? Their third date this week?”

You assumed he was talking to his wife, Steve’s mom, and you couldn’t hear her response to his questions, but you knew it didn’t matter; you had heard everything you needed to, which was actually more than enough. You hung up without saying anything else, mainly because words couldn’t form in your throat right then. 

Although you’d never gotten in a fight with anyone, what you were feeling in that moment felt equivalent to a punch in the gut. You truly wanted to pretend that none of this was happening while simultaneously screaming and crying.

However, you didn’t do any of that because the only thing circling your mind right then was one of Steve’s final words to you. “Remember, this is only the end of the beginning.”

Turned out he was wrong and a liar; more so the second one. It wasn’t the end of the beginning for the two of you. Apparently, it was only just the end. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

let me know ur thoughts<333

(((part two here!)))

[voiceoffenrisulfr]

Slam

Following an injury in the field, Bucky goes to check on Steve in the infirmary and confesses his feelings and his fears.

CW: Minor injury, smut, first time. Don’t forget to use lube, folks – unless you’re a super soldier.

Prompts used;

‘Bad Coping Mechanisms’, ‘Mutual Pining’ and ‘Wall Sex’ – Build-a-Bucky Bingo (@buckybarnesevents);

“You Look So Pretty Like This.” and ‘Muscles�� – @stuckybingo;

“I’m Right Where I Belong.” and “You Getting Flustered is One of the Cutest Things I’ve Seen.” – @sebastianstanbingo.

Check it out on AO3 here, or below! Boards at the bottom. Banner by @sarahowritesostucky

Bucky raced through the corridors, the serum’s power flowing through him as his feet pounded the linoleum, heart hammering in his chest.

As soon as the news of Steve’s injury had reached him, he’d been up and running, with fear he hadn’t felt in decades pulsing in his veins. Ever since Steve had been bulked up in the war, Bucky had been able to slowly let go of the terror for Steve’s longevity that had plagued him since he’d met the kid at six years old, scrawny but surprisingly bold – and prone to getting his ass kicked. But the serum Steve had received had made the once-tiny man a hulking mass of muscle and sinew, invulnerable to most things thrown at him, and Bucky had finally been able to relax a little – though he still worried about his childhood friend more than any other member of the team.

Bucky blamed it on their longstanding connection and the camaraderie born from being the only two super soldiers, both displaced from their own time by time in ice (and servitude, in Bucky’s case). It was a miracle they were both here, together, a hundred years in the future and experiencing things they never even dreamt of.

That was it, Bucky argued, when he lay awake at night thinking of the skinny kid from Brooklyn, the strong man he’d grown into. He argued it was appreciation of the smooth curves of muscle that had him fantasising about the water flowing over his back when he’d glimpsed him in the shower after a training session. It was simply concern that had him inspecting his Captain’s bare chest when his suit had been ripped in battle, checking thoroughly for cuts and scrapes.

He'd argued, but it was as he was skidding to a halt and slamming through the infirmary doors that it finally hit him that his argument was a lie.

The sight of Steve lay on the thin medical paper, his back to the doors as Bruce finished stitching a deep wound above his hipbone, had Bucky pausing and panting for breath. It’d been a long time since he’d managed to move so quickly that he was forced to breathe harder, but his strides had barely touched the floor as he’d flown towards his teammate.

“Hey, Buck.”

The Winter Soldier cocked his head sharply, smiling just a little to himself as he saw Steve’s muscles relax minutely. “How did you know it was me?”

“Heard you running. Anyone else would be far more breathless – and definitely couldn’t move so fast.” The grin in Steve’s voice was audible, and Bucky chuckled, moving closer slowly.

“Yeah, well. Nat messaged, and she wasn’t liberal with the details. All I knew was that you’d been hurt.”

“Worried, were you?” Steve’s shoulders trembled as he laughed silently, making Bucky snort as he rounded the table, casting an assessing eye over the shallow lacerations marring the Captain’s bare chest as he took a seat.

“Actually, I was hoping to get here in time to pull the plug,” Bucky quipped, grinning, and Steve rolled his eyes affectionately.

“Your life wouldn’t be worth living without me in it, and you know it,” Steve teased back, lips quirked in a fond smile before he grimaced as the doctor tied off his thread. Buck reached out automatically, squeezing Steve’s hand reassuringly, heat tingling up his palm at the contact. He’d done this dozens of times as a youth, Steve’s fingers clinging desperately to his as the larger boy had carefully cleaned yet another split lip or scraped palm, but it felt different now, with Steve’s palm comparable to his and Bucky’s metal fingers cool against his skin – and Steve’s pulse beginning to pound at the contact.

“I’m all done here,” Bruce murmured, gently pressing an adhesive bandage to the suture line. “Keep it covered and dry for a few days, and the stitches should dissolve in a week or so. You’ll be good as new by then.” The doctor grinned, shaking his head fondly. “If only all of my patients recovered so quickly!”

Steve chuckled obligingly, pulling the edge of his suit a little higher to obscure both bandage and sharp curve of bone. “You’d be out of a job, Dr. Banner. Thanks again,” he added as Bruce rose, receiving a polite inclination of the head for his gratitude.

The boys were left alone, fingers still entwined together, Steve fiddling with the ragged edges of his clothing idly. “I’m gonna have to get a new suit… This one got pretty shredded.”

Bucky laughed, running a palm over the lacerated star hanging over the edge of the table. “What the hell happened to you?”

“I got thrown. Road rash sucks,” the Captain replied with a shrug, and groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position. “But you heard Bruce – I’ll be good as new in a few days.”

James nodded, eventually releasing his friend’s hand with a discreet twitch of his jaw. “Yeah. You were always the strong one.” Steve snorted and raised an eyebrow, considering his fellow soldier pointedly, but Bucky only laughed and shook his head. “Maybe, when we were younger, I could pick up something heavier than you. But you were always so… Tough. You weren’t scared of anything.” He smiled softly, head tilted minutely. “Actually, no. You were scared, but you always stood up for yourself anyway. You never let anyone keep you down or underestimate you. That’s real strength.”

Steve chuckled, his cheeks pinkening minutely as he looked away. “Not always,” he muttered, hands knotting uncertainly in his lap. “There were some things I just… I didn’t fight when the insults and assumptions started flying.”

“The assumptions?” Bucky repeated softly, head cocked. When Steve only shrugged, Bucky leaned forward conspiratorially. “You getting flustered is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.”

Steve blinked in surprise, his back straightening nervously. “I-I… What?”

Bucky smiled softly, leaning a little closer. “Those assumptions… Do you mean the ones about your sexuality?”

Steve hesitated for a moment, eyeing his friend nervously. “… You heard about that?”

The sergeant arched an eyebrow, head inclined. “Of course, Stevie. You’re my best friend. Besides… We spent a whole lot of time together. It wasn’t just you that they made those assumptions about.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve replied quickly, looking away as guilt creased his features, but Bucky simply chuckled.

“Don’t be. They were right.”

The words sat in the still air for a moment before they collided visibly with the Captain, sending him jerking backwards in shock.

“They- You- … What?” Steve stammered, his eyes widening in shock.

“I’m gay,” Bucky replied easily, shrugging. “Well, no – I’m bisexual. But we both know it’s not the women you were asking about.” Steve’s mouth worked wordlessly, and Bucky smirked. “So? What about you? Were they right about you, too?”

Steve glanced around uncertainly, examining the empty space as if checking for someone hiding in the shadows. “… Why did you come so quickly, Buck?”

“I asked you first.”

“I’m trying to answer. Humour me. Why did you come so quickly?” he repeated, looking down to where his fingers were knotted in his lap.

“Because… Because I care about you?” Bucky offered uncertainly, and Steve nodded, eyes diverted.

“As a friend?” he prompted quietly. Bucky hesitated for a moment, watching as his Captain struggled silently to find the words he was looking for. “… I’m not gay, Buck.” The sergeant blushed minutely, opening his mouth to respond, but Steve held up a hand to stop him. “But I’m not straight, either. I… I’ve only ever wanted to be with – been in love with – one person. After all these years… It’s still only ever been one person.”

Bucky sat silently for a moment, and when he spoke, his voice was soft, apprehensive. “Who?”

“Don’t make me say it,” Steve replied, a wry grin quirking at his lips.

Bucky reached out, fingers finding his best friend’s once more, swallowing nervously. “Tell me, Stevie. Please.”

Steve glanced up at last, the brush draining from his cheeks with the sincerity of the moment, ice meeting cerulean in an all-encompassing gaze. “You, Bucky. It’s always been you.”

The words released a feral urgency in his fellow soldier, moving forward to kiss him in a clash of lips and tongues, a low whine escaping the brunette as he tangled his metal fingers in the other’s hair.

“I’ve wanted you for so long,” Bucky muttered, shifting to trail kisses over the broader man’s jaw, his free hand finding Steve’s hip to pull him closer. “I can’t believe I wasted so much time trying to bury my feelings in drinking and whoring…”

Steve nodded weakly, head instinctively tipping back under his sergeant’s rapturous ministrations. “I-I… I never knew you… I never expected…” He swallowed audibly, hips twitching as his arousal became ever more evident under the skin-tight material of his uniform. Bucky let out a quiet groan of desire, fingers trailing over Steve’s hipbone slowly – but the blond grasped his wrist as his fingertips brushed against his increasingly stiffening length. “Wait.”

Bucky winced, drawing back with a quick, apologetic shake of his head. “I-I’m sorry. We don’t have to, of course, I-”

Steve kissed his lover softly to interrupt him, shaking his head with a smile. “I want to,” he breathed, his fingers finding the back of Bucky’s neck to press their foreheads together. “I’ve just- I… I’ve never…”

Bucky’s face went blank as comprehension dawned, lips parting minutely. “You… Oh.” A smile flickered across his features, and he cupped Steve’s jaw gently. “That’s fine, sweet boy. We go as slow as you like, and do as much or as little as you want. It’s all up to you.”

Steve nodded slowly, then more firmly, and pulled Bucky back to him by the neck of his t-shirt, crushing his lips desperately against the taller man’s.

Buck’s hands were gentle as they explored the Captain’s bare chest, tracing the dips and curves of bone and muscle reverently, mapping each detail and committing every modicum of minutiae to memory – just in case. Steve shivered under his touch, the hand on the back of the sergeant’s neck drawing him closer as he lay back, gasping at the thigh that pressed lightly against his throbbing length.

“Buck, please,” he whispered, tugging gently at the other man’s shirt, purring with delight when the material was shed and dropped to the floor. His hands fumbled with the taller man’s belt, hesitating only minutely before pressing a palm to Bucky’s boxer-clad member and blushing shyly at the relieved groan the motion elicited.

Buck’s lips trailed slowly along jaw and throat, over Steve’s collarbone, proceeding patiently over chest and stomach. Bucky’s knees met the floor as his fingers curled in the waistband of the other man’s underwear. He glanced up to receive clarification, and when he was offered a nod, nervous but sure, he slowly slid Steve’s boxers down, trailing gentle kisses in their wake. When he looked up again to take in his Captain in all his glory, his mouth ran dry, tongue darting out to wet his lips in anticipation. He rocked on his heels for a moment, enjoying the sight for a little longer before falling forward, growling hungrily. His mouth encompassed Steve’s length quickly, eliciting a gasp and a whimper from the soldier pinned to the table, his hands tangling frantically in Bucky’s wild hair.

“I- Oh, Buck, th-that’s so…” Steve trailed off into a desperate moan, his back arching instinctively to press himself deeper. Bucky, in his experience, simply swallowed around his amateur partner’s erratic thrusts to take him into his throat, hands finding his hips to help smoothen his pace, earning a quiet, stammering exclamation for his efforts. The feeling of Bucky’s tongue massaging the underside of his cock as it passed between expert, kiss-flushed lips had him quivering and mewling uselessly until the sergeant pulled back, oceanic eyes dancing with joy. “Good?”

Steve all but sobbed in his pleasure, raising his head to nod weakly. “A-Amazing. Please, honey, Buck… I want… I need…”

“Anything you want, baby boy,” Bucky purred, wrapping a loose, coaxing hand around Steve’s length while he spoke – but unable to keep from leaning in intermittently to pass tongue or lips over the leaking tip, delighting in the gasps and jerks the simple gesture invoked. “You just say the word, and I-”

“I want to make love to you,” Steve interrupted softly, pink tinging his cheeks as he spoke, his twitching cock betraying his enthusiasm. Bucky blinked in surprise before smiling tenderly with an amused shake of his head.

“And here I’d had you pinned as a bottom… What a pleasant surprise,” Bucky breathed, powerless to stop one of his hands from grinding against the straining in his sweatpants desperately, eyes blown wide with lust. “I’ve thought about you fucking me so many times…” He winced minutely, expecting a reprimand from his straight-laced captain for his language, but the blond simply smiled.

“I may be inexperienced, Buck, but I’ve overheard enough sleeping in the room next to Tony’s to expect a little cussing in these situations.”

Bucky simply nodded, standing to pull his shirt over his head, and Steve gulped. He’d seen the brunette in varying degrees of undress on countless occasions, but always he had kept his eyes diverted and downcast, never looking up for fear he would give himself away. But now he could let his gaze roam freely, taking in the curve of the sinew and muscle, of strong arms and well-defined pecs, his expression softening minutely as he took in the puckered ridge of scar where flesh met metal. Bucky shifted self-consciously, raising a hand to rub uncertainly at the marred skin, and Steve pushed himself quickly to his feet, catching the other man’s fingers. “Hey… You’re beautiful, he whispered, dropping his head to pepper kisses along the seam reverently.

Bucky stiffened infinitesimally, relaxation gradually easing the tension in his muscles, a soft sigh escaping parted lips as his eyes closed. “I want you, Steve,” he breathed, fingertips trailing through the short hair adoringly.

Steve could only nod in response, hands fumbling with Bucky’s belt as he dropped to his knees, one flushed, pink lip pulled between his teeth. His breath ghosted over the bulge in the sergeant’s boxers, making the taller man shiver with delight. With a slow, nervous exhale, he wrapped his fingers in Bucky’s waistband, eyes widening minutely as the soldier’s cock was freed at last. Bucky smirked, hand resting gently on Steve’s head, letting out a quiet groan as the barest flick of a tongue passed over his tip. “Please, baby boy, I need you to-”

Bucky’s words were interrupted by his own sharp yelp as Steve clumsily but enthusiastically took him, his inexperience making him gag at the depth, but he recovered to bob his head just as eagerly. The taller man groaned, hand knotting in pale strands, head falling back as he attempted to guide his needy lover into smoother motions, but Steve grasped desperately at his hips, still frantically attempting to take Bucky’s length deeper. “Easy, Stevie,” he breathed, shifting one hand to cup the other man’s jaw tenderly, smiling at the soft whine around his cock. “You really want it deeper, hm?” Steve blinked balefully up at him, tongue still eagerly caressing every inch available, and the sergeant chuckled quietly, gently raising Steve’s chin slightly. “Swallow,” he murmured, pushing forward slowly, using the rhythmic motion of his lover’s obedience to sheath himself fully in Steve’s throat with a shudder. “Fuck, baby boy- so goddamn hot… You look so pretty like this…” His eyes found the other man’s, the pale blue shining with joy, lips parted wide around his cock, and Bucky could have come undone simply at the sight. Steve could only mewl with satisfaction, lashes flickering in pleasure as Bucky rocked his hips, driving his length into his Captain’s throat before drawing back just far enough to let him snatch a breath.

It didn’t take long for the brunette’s muscles to begin to tremble and clench, incensed by the sight of his lover stretched and kneeling before him. The fingers in his hair tensed, and Steve’s eyebrow twitched questioningly. “I-I can’t- I’ll- I can’t hold out,” Bucky stuttered, the rock of his hips become spasmodic – but Steve simply dug his fingers into the other man’s flesh, groaning encouragingly. Bucky hissed with the realisation, free hand joining the first, holding Steve’s head still as his thrusts became more forceful. The feeling of soft whimpers vibrating around his length spurred him on, and he stammered out a quick warning before burying himself deeply, fingernails catching  against scalp as he pinned his submissive Captain against him. “Fuck, Steve- Stevie!”

Steve’s eyes closed in pleasure as his sergeant emptied with a guttural groan, swallowing eagerly, licking his lips as his trembling partner drew back at last. “Thank you,” Bucky breathed, unclenching his hand to smooth the messy blond strands tenderly. Steve opened his eyes to meet his gaze, hesitating only briefly before scrambling to his feet to pin the brunette to the wall, earning a grunt of surprise and a dry gulp.

“I’m going to fuck you,” Cap growled, one hand wrapping lightly around his sergeant’s throat, smiling when a quiet whimper and desperate nod came in response. Bucky groaned as he was turned quickly, hands flat to the wall and ass offered willingly, the Captain’s cock pressing against him teasingly. Steve spat in his palm and slicked his length quickly, one hand steadying himself with his lover’s hip as he lined himself up.

“Please- Please, Stevie, I need you, I want you- please, just-” Bucky moaned needily as Steve pressed inside him roughly, his forehead finding the other man’s metal shoulder as he groaned.

“Bucky- Buck, honey, you feel so good…” he grunted, dragging out slowly before slamming home once more. Slowly at first, the movements of his cock inside the taller man felt incredible, the spark of discomfort from the lack of preparation or real lubricant fading quickly until Bucky was rutting back desperately, trying in vain to increase the pace. “Sweet boy, you’re so eager!”

“Yes- God, yes Sir, please, Stevie- Cap, I need you to fuck me, baby boy,” Bucky panted, fingers curling against the plaster. Steve’s fingers found his, pinning his metal hand to the wall either side of his head, while the other wrapped around his already-stiffening cock, stroking him in time as he thrusted harder. Bucky yelped in surprise, back arching. He’d been fucked many times in his life – but never by someone whose strength parallelled his own, his very bones creaking under the strain as Steve pounded against him with bruising ferocity.

Steve was lost in the heat fizzing through his veins; there was nothing but this, the feeling of Bucky wrapped around him, tight and hot, the air full of the scent of sex and the lewd sounds falling from their lips. This was everything he’d ever wanted, and he found his body reacting automatically, knowing just what to do as he drove himself deeper, their hands on the wall creating cracks in the plaster under the power.

“So beautiful – so good, James – I love you,” Steve groaned, fisting his sergeant’s cock faster as he felt his climax approaching, too far gone and too eager to slow down, to take his time in this. Bucky simply whimpered in response, his forehead pressed to the plaster, soft sobs of overwhelming pleasure falling from his lips between pleas and gratitude, rutting  back against each perfect thrust. “Please- Stevie, fuck, just like that- I-I’m going- I-” His spine arched as he came without warning, painting both his lover’s hand and the wall before him, muscles clenching around Steve’s length.

Steve wrapped an arm around his partner’s waist, dragging him against his chest as he fucked him harder still, groaning out a plea for mercy into Bucky’s throat as he finally, blissfully, emptied himself inside his sergeant.

Bucky lay panting with his head on Steven’s chest, sweat-damp and exhausted, his backside bruised, entirely blissful.

“D’you want to get up?” Steve murmured, tracing his fingers gently down his lover’s spine, earning a lazy shake of the head.

“I’m right where he belong,” Bucky whispered in response, pressing a tender kiss to the bare skin under his cheek.

[aemiron-main]

The Two Heads of HNL: Richard and Martin As The Demogorgon

So, I think that Brenner is the Demogorgon. Specifically, I think that both Richard and Martin are each meant to represent one of the two heads of the Demogorgon in DND. Hell, Richard Brenner is even literally described as the head of the Narcotics Enforcement Division at HNL.

Keep in mind, the Demogorgon in ST is EXTREMELY different from the Demogorgon in DND. Like. Fundamentally different in almost every way.

Let’s go through some key DND Demogorgon lore that you need to know for this post, and I’ll explain why I think Richard and Martin are meant to represent the Demogorgon.

So, when we look at the Demogorgon from DND, there’s some key things to note:

There’s only one of them. The Demogorgon in DND is not a race of creatures, but instead, is A Guy. A demon, to be specific. And he’s not called “The Demogorgon” so much as he’s just called Demogorgon. Demogorgon is more of a name/title. It’d be like saying “The Steve”.

Demogorgon was the Prince of Demons and has a ton of other titles too, including the Deep Father (staring at Brenner being called “Papa” and literally being deep in the sense of working in the depths of HNL/the lower areas of HNL that we see during NINA), the King of the Deviants (staring at Brenner being a creep/a sexual “deviant”), Tanar’ri Prince and Lord of All that Swims in Darkness (staring at Brenner telling El about her getting lose in the darkness when she goes into the water in the NINA tank and El literally swimming in darkness)

Demogorgon is actually two guys- in one body. The Demogorgon has two heads, each with a distinct personality.

Demogorgon’s two heads are named Aeumal, and Hethradiah. Aeumal, the left head, is the more charismatic and calculating while Hethradiah, the right head, is more impulsive and feral. Each head views the other head as inferior and each believes the other incapable of outsmarting it.

Aameul, the more charismatic and calculating head/ personality, loved deception and wanted to break free from the other head. The more impulsive and feral head/personality, Hethradiah, loved destruction and did not want to be separated.

Demogorgon was a scientist who ran experiments with questionable ethics. The Demogorgon/grey skinned creature in ST gets more compared to a bloodthirsty violent alien creature, whereas Demogorgon in DND is an EXTREMELY intelligent scientist and spellcaster known for his experiments. This is JUST like Brenner- intelligent, cruel scientist who runs experiments with questionable ethics??? That’s Brenner.

Demogorgon conducted multiple experiments. He invented retrievers, ettins, khaastas, and he created the first ever Death Knight. He also invented a plague known as scalepox cloud, a series of clouds of disease mist.

And regarding the fact that the DND Demogorgon created the first ever Death Knight, I talked here about how Kas is namedropped in ST4, and El’s bloody has during NINA vs Kas The Bloody Handed and how Kas The Bloody Handed (the Kas who serves Vecna) was actually a false Kas- specifically, Kas the Bloody Handed was a Death Knight who believed himself to be the real Kas but was not.

And Demogorgon was responsible for the creation of Death Knights, and therefore responsible for the creation of Kas the Bloody Handed/the False Kas, which would track with a.) Brenner having “created” El/being responsible for her existence, and b.) possibly with Brenner having created Edward/being responsible for Edward’s existence, as both El and Henward seem to have Kas references surrounding them.

And regarding the DND Demogorgon inventing a mist/cloud plague, I’m staring DIRECTLY at the lab and the shadow particles and how cloudlike the particles are AND how frequently they’re compared to a virus/disease. Especially considering the parallels between the Russian prison and HNL, and the shadow particles trapped in the Russian prison that get released, I won’t be surprised if HNL/Brenner have released shadow particles before/are responsible for their creation, just like how Demogorgon created created the scalepox cloud.

Now that the DND Demogorgon lore and some of its connections to Richard and Martin is established, let’s dig further into the DND Demogorgon versus the ST Demogorgon.

So, if this grey creature-

-is SO different from the DND Demogorgon in almost every single way, then why does it get called a Demogorgon?

Well, the only reason why the kids call the grey-skinned creature a “Demogorgon” is because El uses the Demogorgon DND piece to represent whatever took Will and then the party sees the grey-skinned creature in the school in the S1 final ep, and assumes that it’s what took Will, and start calling it The Demogorgon as a result.

And Will confirms that the “Demogorgon” got him, but he doesn’t confirm that the grey-skinned creature is what he’s referring to/calling a Demogorgon. And it doesn’t make any sense for Will to call that creature a Demogorgon because he a.) wasn’t there when El used a Demogorgon figurine to represent whatever took Will and b.) the ST Demogorgon looks NOTHING like a DND Demogorgon.

Now, like I’ve talked about in another old post somewhere, Vecna does, physically, resemble the DND Demogorgon, with his tentacles vs Demogorgon’s tentacles, although Vecna is still lacking the two heads.

But if Vecna is what Will saw/what would make him think of a Demogorgon, then how can Richard and Martin each be a head of the Demogorgon?

Well, as James @henrysglock and Stav @heroesbyler and I have talked about, there’s evidence to indicate that one of the Brenners may have attempted to merge himself (much like the scientist in The Fly, which is on the S4 board multiple times), with one of the Henwards in one of the timelines (in pursuit of immortality via Henward’s regenerative healing), resulting in Vecna, and explaining all of the weird and constant Brenner-Vecna parallells, and explaining how both Vecna and the Brenners can represent the Demogorgon.

And also, even setting all of that aside, we need to keep in mind that Will himself seems to be referring to the party’s DND game, not to his vanishing, as the Demogorgon “got him”/killed his DND character due to his low roll.

Now, that is NOT me saying that this line doesn’t refer to Will’s vanishing at all- it totally does, the subtext is absolutely there. But what I AM saying is that Will likely isn’t actually saying that “the Demogorgon is what physically picked me up and took me,” and instead is referring to his character in DND.

So, if Will is just referring to his DND character and being taken by the Demogorgon in-game, then that still tracks completely with Will having been taken just by Richard and Martin without any Vecna involvement (with Richard and Martin being the Demogorgon), as Will isn’t actually directly telling us/the party anything about who actually kidnapped him, and instead, is talking about his DND game, and the subtext is there for the audience regarding Will’s actual kidnapping.

And, it’s not that the Duffers don’t understand DND lore- it’s that this is intentional.

The Demogorgon in ST looks nothing like a DND Demogorgon- it doesn’t even have two heads. It also doesn’t act like the DND Demogorgon- it’s not a spellcasting demon scientist with two separate heads and personalities. It’s not even close.

In fact, The ST Demogorgon is actually way way WAY more similar to a Doppelganger from DND, both in terms of appearance and behaviour.

Here’s a comparison of the ST Demogorgon vs the DND Doppelganger in terms of appearance:

And here’s some information about DND Doppelgangers and how they connect to the ST Demogorgon:

DND Doppelgangers are part of classic DND just like DND Demogorgon- so, while I do actually still think that analyzing more recent additions to DND is 100% valid, Doppelgangers in DND were around during the time period of ST/quite awhile before 1983.

Doppelgangers are shapeshifters, able to shapeshift into whoever they can see at the moment. Which, the ST Demogorgon being more closely inspired by a DND Doppelganger makes sense considering how similar the ST Demogorgon is to “The Thing”/the parallels the ST Demogorgon has to The Thing, and the parallels between “It” and the St Demogorgon/how frequently the ST Demogorgon is referred to as “It,” and also how much general shapeshifter imagery is associated with the ST Demogorgon.

Plus, there’s also the whole Vecnagorgon thing and the fact that we see two different Demogorgons in ST- one of them is a CGI Demogorgon that jumps around rapidly and is thinner, the other is a Demogorgon/the Vecnagorgon who is a.) played by a guy in a costume/suit b.) walks upright slowly on both legs c.) seems to regenerate its foot after getting its foot cut off in the trap at the Byers house and d.) grows strange, brief tumors when shot at the Byers house, something that the other Demogorgon does not do. So, this would all tie into some sort of weird shapeshifter stuff being afoot.

Doppelgangers are quick, vicious and violent, and corner their prey and then use brute force to throw them around- the exact same thing that the ST Demogorgon does.

Doppelgangers can replicate somebody’s clothes and personal items/gear too, which has some VERY interesting implications regarding Will standing in front of the “The Thing” poster in Mike’s basement constantly on the night he vanishes, and what I’ve talked about with two different Wills (Warm Will vs Cool Will) and also with the lab somehow replicating Will’s clothes for his dead body- if they had an exact Doppelganger-esque shapeshifted replica of Will who duplicated his clothes, though, and then they put those clothes onto the fake body… and if that Doppelganger-esuqe shapeshifted replica of Will was either Warm Will or Cool Will…. And if this same Doppelganger creature that replicated Will was was also the Vecnagorgon and was actually just something else replicating the appearance of a ST Demogorgon/the CGI Demogorgon/was replicating the one that isn’t the Vecnagorgon….. and if like I talked about here, the Brenner that we saw in S1 was very, VERY likely Richard Brenner, which leaves Martin Brenner free, and if Martin had some sort of shapeshifting abilities somehow… I’m not sure how it all fits togethers, but there’s SOMETHING HERE!!!

And so, while the ST Demogorgon is not similar to a DND Demogorgon, Richard and Martin are EXTREMELY similar to the DND Demogorgon. Sure, they’re both humans and not a twoheaded monkey demonbeast, but they’re both scientists constantly doing experiments with questionable ethics, just like Demogorgon, and Brenner seems to have this Jekyll and Hyde attitude, where he goes back and forth being openly cruel and uncaring versus being more charming- exactly like the two heads of Demogorgon in DND.

Which, Brenner being the Demogorgon/representing the Demogorgon would point to Richard and Martin being the ones who took Will, at least in one timeline, which tracks with the newspaper about Will’s vanishing from the end of S1 which states that Joyce claimed that Will was a subject at Hawkins Lab:

The former missing child Will Byers has been found after a week of searching. He is presently in stable condition in Hawkins General Hospital. Byers’ mother, Joyce Byers Alleges that Will was the subject of a secret government program run by the Hawkins National Laboratory. The allegation comes amidst a massive investigation into the hidden organization and its elaborate experimentation in perusal of mind control.

The abuse detailed in the first report includes prolonged psychological duress and psychological interrogation. This government sanctioned torture has sparked outrage amongst the American (NOT VISIBLE). In a statement issues yesterday, Ives mentioned her “disgust” (NOT VISIBLE) the organization, saying “our own American people are being treated like the (NOT VISIBLE) we should be directing our attention to the real targets, the Soviets, not our own daughters and sons.” Under legal advice, Brenner has issued no comment on- CUTS OFF

And this would all also align with what I talked about in this post forever ago, with how the hazmat suit figure (likely Brenner) is paralleled to the Demogorgon.

And again, Richard Brenner is described as literally being the head of the Narcotics Enforcement Division at HNL. This wording is not accidental, especially with the context of all of the similarities between Demogorgon and the Brenners- this wording is a reference to the heads of the Demogorgon, and Richard is literally one of the heads of HNL.

“The lab and its involved in government lead drug experimentation was first brought to the attention of the Post after documents naming Dr Richard Brenner, head of the Narcotic Enforcement Division from 1954-1971 came to light. These documents, although thoroughly coded, point to a secret organization involved in-“

It’s even worded to specifically put him as the head of the Narcotics Enforcement Division- meaning he’s not just put as the sole head of HNL as he’s just head of one specific division. Which is relevant because it leaves room for a second head, aka Martin. Martin and Richard are the two heads of HNL- and the two heads of the Demogorgon.

Which, this also puts them as the demon, considering that Demogorgon was a demon/the prince of demons.

Which, when we look at Victor and the Creel murders and the talk of a demon lurking in his home, it fits eerily well if we were to think of Brenner as the demon.

Take a look at this line, for example:

Who do we know that canonically takes children? BRENNER!!! And he’s specifically the guy who took Victor’s child/took Henry!!!! And he probably “took” Alice in the sense of being responsible for her death, especially since we never actually see Alice die, and people just assume that Henward killed her!

And this line:

Who do we know that takes pleasure in tormenting people and children?

Oh right, BRENNER!!! Brenner, the guy staring down with gross pleasure as he tortures a child:

And look at Henward during that SAME SCENE- he’s clearly disturbed and upset by 002’s torment:

Brenner, the guy smirking as he tortures Terry and shocks her:

Even Ray looks more upset/remorseful/as if he's questioning what he's doing, but Brenner just stands there smirking:

Brenner, the guy who watched without remorse as El cried about Brenner forcing her to kill a cat:

Brenner, the guy staring with a smile on his face while El stares back terrified:

Brenner, the guy standing here just WATCHING Henward get tortured, he doesn’t even have to be there, he’s not even there because he has to do the shocking because the other orderlies are doing it, he’s literally just there to watch and take pleasure in it:

Brenner canonically takes pleasure in tormenting people.

I’m working on some other big posts about this (and mentioned it in this post about the chessboard imagery in the Creel house, and in this post about Victor’s arrest) but I definitely think that HNL and Martin/Richard were surveying the Creels prior to the murders and messing with them and pushing them around like pieces on a chessboard.

This is also supported by the movie Cabin In The Woods, which is on the S4 board, and the cabin in question has DIRECT parallels to the Creel house, but is secretly being controlled and run by a government lab for the purpose of manipulating the people inside of it and making them act out/act violently/act out of character (like they were literally drugging them through the vents).

Long story short, to sum it all up, I think that:

1.) Richard and Martin are meant to represent the two heads of the DND Demogorgon.

2.) The Brenners, in one timeline at the very LEAST, were responsible for Will’s vanishing.

3.) The Brenners are the ones being paralleled to the demon in ST/that the demon imagery ties most closely to them and they were very, very likely messing with and surveying the Creel family prior to the murders.

4.) The ST “Demogorgon” is far more similar to a DND Doppelganger than it is to a DND Demogorgon.

5.) I'm not saying that Brenner is the grey-skinned monster creature. I'm saying that Richard and Martin Brenner, thematically and lore-wise, are FAR FAR FAR more similar to the DND Demogorgon than the ST Demogorgon/grey creature is, and that the creature in question is only called a Demogorgon in the show because El used the Demogorgon DND piece to represent whoever/whatever took Will- and then the boys see the grey creature and assume that it's what took Will.

[artiststarme]

Heartbreak in the Sea

Well, here is a merman Eddie/human Steve AU. I’ve never actually read any mermay prompts but I plan on getting a mermaid/siren tattoo soon so I guess this was meant to be! Thank you to @mentallyundone for sending me the prompt. I hope this meets your expectations! 

~*~*~*~

The only thing Steve had to look forward to was seeing the beautiful merman on the beach. He didn’t care about his ship work anymore, his friends back on the mainland, or even the treasure his crew hoped to find. All he could focus on was the next time he could talk to Eddie, the most beautiful man in the sea. 

He’d met him by accident when his crew had become stranded on an island vacated by men long ago. Ever since that fateful day, the merman had been on his mind nearly every second of every day. Steve could picture his ink black hair glistening with sea water under the light of the moon. He could imagine his spiked black and silver tail resting on the rocks as he spoke to Steve about the happenings of other ships and the kingdoms underwater. Most of all, Steve could imagine his smile and the playful glint in his eye as he sang his siren tune. 

Over time, his memory faded away. Steve forgot his favorite song and the names of his friends back home. He forgot the best courses to sail and even the name of his ship. He just couldn’t seem to grasp any information that wasn't related to merfolk on that isolated beach. The only thing on his mind was Eddie. 

Steve thought the merman would be happy to hear how often he plagued his mind but instead, Eddie looked distressed. His smile dimmed to a broken frown and his eyes filled with salty tears.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Everything’s okay, I love thinking about you.” Steve told him softly.

But Eddie just shook his head, “Stevie, you don’t love thinking about me, it’s a curse. I talked to you too much, I exposed you to my world. Don’t you get it, I’ve sentenced you to death, my love.”

The words threatened to break Steve’s bliss but they just couldn’t make it through the hazy cloud of ‘Eddie, Eddie, Eddie’. “That’s okay, as long as I get to spend time with you, I will be pleased.”

Eddie looked distraught the rest of his visit and even afterwards, he watched Steve board his ship in worry. He knew the stories of what happened to humans after spending too much time with the merfolk and yet he still dragged Steve into it. 

Steve, the beautiful Steve Harrington, his Stevie that could do no wrong. He was going to die because Eddie had been selfish. He just couldn’t leave the pirate alone, too drawn in by his human charms. And now he was going to lose him. 

On a random night, the thoughts of Eddie grew too strong for Steve to withstand. His memory was gone and his common sense was shattered. He had to get to Eddie, he had to find him. So, he pulled on his coat and walked out of his quarters on the ship he no longer recognized. He stood at the railing for a moment and looked at the tempestuous sea. The moon illuminated the harsh waves as if as a beacon, beckoning Steve closer on his quest to find his merman. He had but a single whisper in response. 

“I’m coming, Eddie.”

He leapt from the ship and hit the freezing water. His body froze as the ice gripped his lungs. Steve knew deep down that he’d made a mistake. The curse cleared at once but he couldn’t swim against the paralyzing cold. Eventually, he breathed in the freezing water and drowned to a painful death. In his mind, he could still see Eddie. He imagined what they could have been in his last moments had he been born to the sea or if Eddie had been born on the land. But alas, it just wasn’t meant to be. Not in this world but maybe in the next. 

Eddie never again saw his pirate love. He would search along the ship routes and even ventured close to the lands that Steve mentioned frequenting but he could never find him. He spent the rest of his life searching the seas for Steve, hoping against all hope that he would find the man he loved. He never did though and he died just a few years later of a broken heart. Thus, the story ended in tragedy for yet another pair of star-crossed lovers whose love was doomed from the start.

My Permanent Tag List: @doubleb11 @nburkhardt @zerokrox-blog @newtstabber @i-less-than-three-you @straight4joekeery @carlyv @pyrohonk @ksherlock15 @conversesweetheart @estrellami-1 @suddenlyinlove @yikes-a-bee @swimmingbirdrunningrock @perseus-notjackson @anaibis @merricatty @maya-custodios-dionach @grtwdsmwhr @manda-panda-monium @lumoschildextra @goodolefashionedloverboi @mentallyundone @awkwardgravity1 @anzelsilver @jestyzesty @gregre369 @mysticcrownshipper @disasterlia @lillys-weird-world @messrs-weasley @gay-stranger-things @pnk-lemonades @coolestjoy30 @awkotaco24

@strangerthingfanfic @dangdirtydemons @bookworm0690 @hannahhook7744 @dreamlandforever @marsbars97 @precursorandthedragon @romanticdestruction @5ammi90 @death-thee-nervousqueer @panicatthediaz @justforthedead89 @futuristicnachostranger

[indouloureux]

eddie getting jealous to see u gush over celebrities like river phoenix and clint eastwood because he assumes you like pretty boys unlike him. he doesn’t think he’s pretty or perfect enough for u, let alone anyone. and it breaks your heart to hear how insecure he gets so you’re just like ‘nooo baby nooo, you’re pretty too!! more even’ i need him to know he’s loved from head to toe :(((💞

no bc

let's say eddie has never been in a relationship. you're his first and he's yours. he's never been cherished the way you cherish him; never been cared, never been appreciated until he met you. but that's not the point.

eddie doesn't think he's handsome enough. being called "a freak" takes its toll sometimes. he knows it's because of his beliefs— he's not the only metalhead in hawkins, after all, or the entire world. but when you go twenty years watching people squirm away from him, avoid him like the plague, he starts to think it's because of his looks.

wayne reassures him that he's handsome, but eddie thinks he says it because he has to. he's his uncle, after all. so when you guys got together, yearning covets him and suddenly he wants to hear you tell him that he's pretty.

that he's handsome. that you love his nose and you love his wide eyes and you love his lips and the way they move mesmerizingly when he talks or DMs. eddie wants to hear the complements he's hungry for them.

whenever you gush over certain celebrities, he gets jealous (although, he won't ever admit that he didn't deny). because, well, he doesn't exactly know if you talk about him like that when you're with your friends. he worries maybe you'd tell them how you hate how he looks — that you hate his hair, you hate how he dresses and you hate his tattoos.

god forbid, if you did, he would be devastated. he'd change for you, he really will, but he'd resent you for it.

so one time, when he'd been at your place and he's been staring at that poster of ralph macchio beside your wardrobe, he can't help but blurt out: "do you think i'm ugly?"

you stop what you're doing, placing the magazine down on the bed and you look at him in shock. "what?"

"like," he looks down on his fingers, clad of the heavy silver rings that even makes him wonder if you hated them against your fingers whenever he held your hand. "like, do you think i'm not as handsome as this dude," he gestures at macchio. "or that you hate my hair or my style or... my face, or something."

"baby," you crawl closer to him, eyebrows connected in concern and worry. "what's going on, hm?"

"i mean, aren't you embarrassed? that, i don't even have shit up here," he bumps his fist on his temple. "i don't even have shit here to make up for my... unintelligence,"

he thinks your expression had ranged between worry and anger. worry he'd understand, but anger? eddie's face falls, his throat constricting when he feels your hands lace with his, burying them together into a tight fist before you bring them up to your lips.

"where's that confident eddie i love so much, huh? who are you? and what did you do to my boyfriend?" he can't help but blush, sees the way your lips twitch into a triumphant grin. "you, eddie munson, are the prettiest boy i have ever met. the cutest, and the hottest, out here in hawkins. do you know any guy who's cute and hot at the same time?"

he almost says steve harrington.

but he shakes his head.

"i'm sorry if i ever made you feel this way, but i swear to you, eddie, i think about you and your pretty fucking face everyday. god, if you would hear the way i gush about you whenever i'm with my friends. you might actually be repulsed!"

eddie laughs heartily, taking your joint hands close to his chest, right on top of his heart, before he leans down to kiss the top of your knuckles. "heh. thanks, babe."

you lean close, brushing the tip of your nose against his, and he lets his eyes flutter shut at the sacrilegious feeling of your doting presence looming over his body. "i will tell you how fucking beautiful you are, eddie. with every breath that i take and exhale, i'll tell you; that, and how much i love you."

fuck, eddie realizes he's so in love with you when you said that. it's also the same day he was certain of your words; he knows you mean it, he sensed it.

[spideyanakin]

10 Things I Hate about you - Chapter 4

Eddie Munson x Harrington!reader

synopsis - A new rule strikes the Harrington household: if Steve wishes to date ever again, his sister needs to find a boyfriend first. As Steve becomes desperate and thinks of everything in his power to set her up, only one guy comes to mind that will take up a challenge such as that: Eddie Munson.

warnings - reader flashing a classroom, Steve being annoying, fluff <3. Lotr refs and a really big Hobbit ref (sry if you haven't read or seen it)

word count - 11k

proof read by the amazing @inknopewetrust

series masterlist 🌻

"Y/n/n, babe, what do we owe you for the table dance?" Tommy's loud welcome broke your train of thought. Your eyes darted up from the white floor tiles to his stupid, ugly face. Tommy Hagan grinned ear to ear as he moved his hands from side to side as if he was dancing–mimicking a caricature of your movements as if it were a joke.

"You want my fist in your mouth, Hagan?" Your grip on your backpack straps only got stronger as you glared daggers at him.

"Feisty," he laughed to himself and you rushed into the classroom, bumping his shoulder as you passed; fully ignoring his gaze that was burning holes in the back of your head by the doorway until his attention was stolen away by Steve arriving.

You could barely make out the words they swapped. Some dumb stuff about the party or whatever Tommy had done over the weekend. You knew Tommy was finally done with his stories and had left when Steve sat beside you with a big sigh and the class’s starting bell echoed throughout the school. 

You had been so busy fidgeting with your pencil case that you hadn't noticed Eddie actually showed up.

Steve had never seen you get your book out with such an aggressive force before. He swore your copy of Romeo and Juliet bounced back when you slammed it on the table, and that you were about to break your pencil from the number of knocks between the wood and the desktop.

Mr. Arnold greeted the class as he did every Monday morning. It was only when your gaze shot up to look at him that you noticed the familiar head of brown curls with his face stuffed into his book. Your knuckles went white by how tight the grip on your pencil became––Eddie had enraged you.

It did not help that you were also mad at Steve. 

Surrounded by a plague of anger and frustrated feelings, it had become all about the men in your life rather than you. You, here as the center of attention but still pushed to the back, felt like a pariah being served on a silver platter for a feast; a bad feast, terrible, where everyone turned their knives toward the good rather than the evil. 

Eddie appeared to be in his own little world. His hair was tied up in a ponytail as he carefully scanned the text in front of him. It was a look. A good look that he never took up often but when he did, it caught eyes that weren’t looking before. 

You felt stuck in the middle of the two people you wanted to avoid. Steve sat to the left of you while Eddie sat a few desks up to the right. You frowned. 

Eddie never came to advanced English. The few times he had were because of you or because he wanted to play a sadistic version of Go Fish with Mr. Arnold and the other teachers. 

Was this just a cruel way to mock you after the stunt he pulled?

This wasn't fair on you. You had never been a Juliet. Never been the shy girl that would do anything for love and let Romeo steal her heart at the speed of sound. You had always compared yourself to Viola. A strong-willed young woman who did everything in her power to survive. 

But you cursed every word written in that damn book when the feelings Juliet was poetically screeching became too close to ones held in your own heart.  

Was this the cruel turn of the situation? 

Had Eddie doomed you to become Juliet? 

Why had Eddie pestered you to take you on dates just to leave you hanging? Was this just a cruel joke? Or did he wait until you finally caved in just to realize this wasn't what he wanted?

You felt misled. Misled into finally letting Eddie tear your walls down brick by brick until there was nothing left standing. But instead of using that free space, taking a step into your previously protected world, he rebuilt the walls for himself and used the ruins of yours to fortify a new wall unwilling to be torn down.

That wasn't fair. This wasn’t fair. 

But nothing felt fair.

"So!" Mr. Arnold clapped his hands together. "How did you all find Act 1?" 

"Hey! Y/n-" Steve poked your shoulder as you were looking towards the board. "Psstt," he poked again, frowning when you didn't answer. "Yyyy/nnn," he dragged your name in a whisper, "what happened in Act 1?"

"Leave me alone!" You swatted his hand away and straightened your back, shooting him a burning glare before bringing your eyes back to Mr. Arnold.

"That's not nice! You've been ignoring me since Friday!" He whined, still in a whisper. 

You dodged his attempts at getting you to talk, focusing on Lisa who was giving her thoughts about the play. Going on and on about how she thought the romance went too fast but with the way it was written, it wasn't overwhelming to the reader. 

Steve frowned and gave up. Strange of him. Steve Harrington wasn’t a quitter.

"Very good," Mr. Arnold fixed his round glasses before clearing his throat, something he did every time he wanted to change the subject. "I'm going to give you a new assignment, in addition to reading until scene five for next Monday-" Some people whined, Steve joining that chorus. Some stayed quiet, you included. "It's a very exciting project!" He raised his eyebrows, a big smile over his lips. He seemed so happy with his idea, eyes sparkling as he thought of it.

"You'll have to write your own Shakespearian sonnet!" His excitement hung in the air. A mix of dislike, surprise, and excitement could be read on the faces of his students. Connor had his jaw dropped to the floor - he hated writing and the idea of having to write his own sonnet made him shiver. Lisa seemed happy with it, a short smile could be read on her features as she immediately wrote down the assignment in her planner.

Eddie was surprised, but he didn't think too much of it. He liked writing, and if he was going to show up in Advanced English he might as well do the given assignment.

Steve looked like his world was about to collapse. Like he would have rather been in a zombie apocalypse. Somewhere fighting the undead than writing something for school, let alone something with the word Shakespearian in the title. It wasn’t his style. It wasn’t the way he rolled. 

"If I pay you ten bucks will you do it for me?" He turned to you the second the plague of potential left him.  

"No." Your word was sharp and strict, wrapped in a chill that nearly scared him.

He backed away with wide eyes, shrugging his shoulders and slightly lifting his hands in innocence. "Don't need to be rude," he whispered, mainly to himself before getting his agenda out and writing down the assignment. 

As you were focusing on doing that yourself, head bowed to your table as you scribbled the assignment in blue ink - a small ball of paper went flying to your desk, rolling onto your pages. 

Your glare shot up to the direction it had come from - eyes directly meeting with the brown ones you wished to forget. He had an expectant look, eyebrows raised as if to tell you 'read it, please.' You looked at it, contemplating your next move before grabbing it in between your fingers. 

You unfolded the note, locking eyes with Eddie as you did. You didn't read it, but kept eye contact with him, slowly nudging the note towards him as if to tell him 'look what I'm about to do'. Eddie’s hope faded as he watched the scene unravel in front of him. Both your hands wrapped on either side of the paper, a serious look on your face, and the slight sound of the paper ripping filled the quiet room as the rest of the students filled out their planners or wrote the assignment on a Post-It. 

His heart sank as the paper remained unread. He could hear the way his heart beat loudly in his ears - all the blood rushing to his face in a thinly laced idealization of shame and hurt washed over him. 

You crumpled up the pieces of paper before pocketing them. 

"What was that about?" Steve murmured.

"Nothing." 

And for a brief moment, you thought it was through. Everything was done and the rest of the period could go on without a hitch; you’d listen to Mr. Arnold drone on about the intentionality of Shakespeare’s language or work silently on the analysis of movement throughout the Act, but nothing was easy as it was not fair. 

Another ball of paper skyrocketed like a flaming ball of fire headed toward the Roman Army that was your desk. It landed smack in the middle of your desk between the pencil you nearly cracked and the notebook that had carved doodles on its cover. 

He didn’t take the hint. 

Eddie thought you might finally open it, read it, and maybe take the time to write back, but that never had been Eddie’s luck. You only repeated your movements.

"What did you do?" Gareth who had been staring at the whole situation had a large frown on his face. He was clicking his pen as he stared at Eddie, almost absorbing his anxiety–maybe he was a bit too invested in his friend’s life.

"Nothing." 

"Then why is she looking at you with crazy mad eyes?" 

"Because I didn’t do anything!" Eddie harshly whispered. He rested his chin on his hand, sighing.

Gareth frowned, silently asking for more information.

"I should have kissed her..."

"Ah."

"I didn't want to! Well- I sort of did but- agh!”  Eddie lifted his head and dropped his hand back on the table with a thud that thankfully didn’t get the teacher’s attention. "Anyways, now she's mad at me."

"Can't help you on that one, man." Gareth sighed for himself before bringing his eyes back to his notebook.

"I know..."

~

The second the bell rang to symbolize the end of class, you cleaned your books and pencils at lighting speed–you didn't need Eddie or Steve to try and get you to talk. You'd heard enough from them already.

You locked eyes with Eddie as you passed by the front of the classroom, unpacking the pieces of paper from your pocket before dumping them all in the trash. Eddie's face was blank, undecipherable, as he sat next to Gareth. Watching as you turned your head forward, took out your Walkman, and walked straight out the door. 

Steve looked between the door and Eddie with a frown. Last time he checked, Eddie's plan was working but now you were giving him the cold shoulder.

Steve narrowed his eyes as he watched the long-haired outcast pack his bag. The bell had signaled a free period for the both of them. It meant that Eddie would probably be on the throne in the drama room, writing and planning whatever he thought was next for his party.

Your bag hung low on your shoulder as you darted across the hall. Your Walkman was tight in your hand with no reason as to why the headphones were not secured over your head with music playing.

But your mind was swarming with too many thoughts that you had not even bothered with them. 

You fumbled with the lock a bit harsher than intended; books flying out as the rough movements had caused a rumble inside your locker. You dropped your walkman on the floor of it, zipping up your bag, and fishing around for what you needed. 

"So, did he call?" Barb's voice fluttered to your ears, making your head shoot up like a cat.

"Keep your voice down!" You couldn't see the look on Nancy's face but from her tone, you could tell she was giving her a stern look.

"Did he?" Barb said, her voice now a tone lower.

"I told you, it's not like that," Nancy said and you rolled your eyes. "Okay, I mean, yes, he likes me, but not like that. We just... made out a couple times." Nancy arrived at her locker and you pretended to be busy, shuffling with your books. 

'Not like that'. 

The words echoed in your mind and you wanted to laugh to yourself. If Nancy heard the way Steve would talk about her and bugged you to find a guy - she wouldn't say the same thing.

Or if she also knew all the struggle Steve had gone through to get you a boyfriend.

"We just... made out a couple times'” Barb mimicked her. "Nance seriously!" She argued, the rest of her sentence fading as you closed your locker and placed your headphones on. Led Zeppelin now blasting through your ears, drowning out the swarming thoughts that previously overwhelmed you.

Love. A putrid thing. Nancy’s lovestruck gaze, Steve’s childish giddiness… you didn’t need it. Or, at least you thought you didn’t.

~

"What in the world is going on, Munson?" Steve flung the door of the drama room open, making big movements with his hands as he walked the few steps towards Eddie. 

Eddie's eyes lifted from the figurine he was holding. "What?" 

In his chair as Steve predicted, the guy was casual and cool. Not a worry on his shoulder through the eyes of Steve and by the look of it, Eddie played the “I don’t know what you’re talking about” role quite well. 

But all Steve had to do was say your name and the façade dropped. 

"What's going on with my sister!?" Eddie's face fell. "I thought you were on good terms!?" 

"I'm sorry!” Eddie tossed the figurine across the table. “I know! I messed up!"

"The plan was working!" Steve lamented in distress. 

"I know it was." That was the whole reason why Eddie had chickened out and hadn't actually kissed you. "Maybe I can fix this." He thought through, his eyes landing on the lonely D20 in the middle of the table. 

"You have to fix this!" Steve pointed a finger at Eddie. "I've got a date planned!"

"Right," Eddie blinked, remembering this whole situation ran around Steve.

It wasn’t about Eddie’s feelings or the fact that this entire mess was wrong in the first place. It had been about this ‘Golden Boy’ the entire time. It always had been and would always be. Whatever Steve the King wanted, he would get at the detriment of others because he was lucky. He was lucky to get the girl with a little more than a smile and a smirk, he was lucky to fall in love and not feel like an animal in a zoo being watched by everyone because society had deemed it unnatural. 

But Eddie was trapped now. He was stuck. 

 "I'll think of something."

"Well,” Steve scoffed, “good luck because she said she hated you with the fire of a thousand suns. "

"Thank you… that's very comforting."

"Maybe she could just need a day to cool off?" 

"You tell me. That's your sister."

"Just- figure something out ok?" Steve removed another fifty from his back pocket and handed it to Eddie. Words couldn't come out of Eddie's mouth. He didn't want this money.

He really, really didn't want this money.

But before he could even react, Steve had turned around on his heels and the door of the drama room closed behind him with a loud thud, the sides of posters that missed tape flying as it did. 

Eddie blankly stared at the door. He knew he had hurt you. It was so far from his intention but it was all he could do to save himself. All he could do to give him the time to process his feelings and attempt to cope with the way everything pulled at his heartstrings.

He took the money, smoothing the bill out with his thumb. Ulysses S. Grant's face almost mocked him. Even if the lines didn't make a move - they stayed still and would forever be - but his eyes still seemed to be peering into Eddie's soul.

Eddie leaned back on his throne, a sigh coming deep from the bottom of his throat as his back hit the comfortable material. He looked up to the ceiling that was painted black and littered with spitballs still glued in various corners. 

He had to think about something.

Eddie wanted an excuse to spend more time with you even if his mind was screaming at him that this was wrong. You shouldn't be treated this way and if he really loved you like he thought he did, he should just let you go. Because he couldn't deal with the consequences of you figuring out this was all just a deal with Steve.

You had already gone through too much. Already gone through so much hate and pain caused by Steve and his friends. You deserve a break, you deserved better than this. 

Yet Eddie felt selfish at the same time. Because as his eyes stayed closed and he breathed out through his nose, he couldn't stop imagining your smile. The way your eyes shone when he cracked a joke, or the way you became flustered when your hands brushed up against each other. He couldn’t ignore that his heart was screaming at him to be with you. 

In the few moments spent together, he saw the way you opened up to him, the way your shell melted to reveal the person of Eddie's dreams. He wanted to keep being with you. He wanted to hold your hand and be able to call you his. He wanted to kiss you like you were the only two people in this entire world. 

Maybe he could forget that this was fake. 

He could play pretend and let his heart cave into its wants.

After all, he was paid to make you like him again. 

Paid to repair the cracks he created.

~

"I need your help," Eddie dropped his tray onto his spot, making Oliver and Gareth lift their heads up from their meals. They watched as their friend heavily sat on the plastic chair and placed his hands on each side of his tray.

"What's up?" Oliver ripped open his milk carton and brought it to his lips. 

"I messed up with Y/n. I want to sing her a song so she'll forgive me." Oliver choked on his milk at Eddie's words. 

"And why do you need our help?" Gareth frowned side-eying Oliver who was coughing his lungs out. Some people looked, giving a sneer and not caring if Oliver would choke and die from a school milk carton. 

"Because I need my band!"

"Wait,” Oliver swallowed his coughs, “How do you want to sing her a song?" 

"Tomorrow on the bleachers, right as she finishes soccer."

"Sorry, what?" Oliver blinked. "Are you mad?"

"Maybe," Eddie shrugged, looking down at his meal with a smile. This seemed like the perfect idea. It was bold and very metal. Everything Eddie stood for in life and if it could help you forgive him, then he would gladly take this opportunity and make a scene in front of the whole school.

Across the lunchroom, Nancy and Barb began to eat lunch with an empty spot at their table. 

"Where's Y/n?" Nancy wondered as she lifted her head up to scan the room. You were nowhere to be found. It wasn't unusual but it didn't happen as often lately.

"I'm not sure," Barb shrugged before poking at her dish. "She seemed mad about something." If Barb recalled correctly, she sensed your state when she saw you that morning was tense and distracted. You hadn’t made any effort to listen into Nancy’s gossip or support the growing relationship between Steve and herself. 

"I hope she's alright," Nancy frowned, jabbing at her food before a thought came to her mind. "Oh! I saw her at the party on Friday! I was so surprised!"

"What?" Barb's eyes went wide. The fork dropped into her lunch box in the process. 

"Yeah!" Nancy nodded. "I was surprised too. She got really drunk and made a whole scene."

Barb flattened at Nancy’s recollection. This wasn't like you. First of all, stepping one foot at that party wasn't something that had ever been in your plans let alone getting drunk and doing something crazy.  

She thought back to everything that had happened within these past two weeks. Steve had been victim of a no dating rule, and apparently, a fresh new 'no going out rule'. Was this all related? The thought nudged her mind as she blankly stared at her water bottle. 

Steve seemed to be bugging you more than usual. You were complaining about him even more too. Maybe he had gotten to you? Had you caved in and went to the party to appease him or were they missing something?

~

"How's my favorite troublemaker?" Your hand slithered into Dustin's curls as he approached your car later that afternoon. He had a solemn look on his face–like an animal had died in front of him. 

"Could be better..." you watched as his eyes went down to his shoes and the crease between his eyebrows became prominent.

"What happened?"

There was little that could prepare you for the words that came tumbling from his lips. He failed a test, he isn’t allowed to ride his bike anymore, he lost a campaign… something menial or harmless for a boy his age. His shoulders barred a heavier weight. The world was collapsing on him in a different way than it was you. 

When he looked at you, there was an immense worry etched onto his face. 

It was chilling. It wasn’t something you had ever sensed before. 

"Will's missing."

"What?" Your hand paused on the door handle to your car. 

"Yeah,” Dustin gripped the string on his backpack. “Will wasn't home this morning, didn't show up to school, and during lunch we were brought to the police station and they just brought us back like nothing was wrong."

"Well, do you know where he could be?" You frowned, finally making a move to open the door.

"No," Dustin furrowed his brows as he made his way around the hood and slipped into the passenger seat. "But I think he will be alright, I mean it's Will. He has to be ok."

"Yeah, I'm sure he’s fine" you spoke but your words were unsure, a scowl of your own forming deeper as you turned on the car and exited the lot.

Kids didn’t go missing in Hawkins. Everyone knew everyone and there were good relationships between the police and the people. A part of you thought that if the police, likely Chief Hopper, said that there was nothing to worry about, maybe you should believe it. 

But that look on Dustin’s face… it stuck. It stuck because no one disappeared in the night and were never seen again. It just didn’t happen. 

"Yeah..." He looked out the window and sighed, shaking the thought away as the houses and trees invaded his view.

"How was AV club? Or was it canceled?" You changed the subject trying to get the worry out of Dustin's face.

"It was insane!" His eyes sparkled for a brief second. For a moment he was a kid again and he was safe. "You'll never guess how far his new radio can communicate too!"

"New York?"

"Further."

"England?"

"Think bigger."

"Australia? There's no way it can reach that far. That’s way too far."

"IT CAN!"

"No way!” You laughed to amuse him. “That's crazy."

And you drove him home and pretended everything was ok for a minute. Will wasn’t missing, Steve and Tommy weren’t assholes, and Eddie Munson wasn’t the one breaking your heart. 

~

"This is a bad idea," Oliver secured his guitar, eyeing the speakers on each side of the court. Gareth, who had set up his drum set hidden behind the bleachers, gulped at the thought of playing in front of the entire team and the other scattered students that filled the spaces beyond the field.

"No, it's not!" Eddie flashed them a smile. Jeff wasn't looking sure of himself either and nervously eyed all the students that were peacefully settled on the bleachers. They were either working or chatting–far from expecting what was about to happen. Eddie narrowed his eyes as he spotted you in the crowd of players as your team was ending the game. 

Eddie eyed his band mates. Is this really the same band who want to become rockstars and whose dream is to sell out the Garden?  Eddie thought to himself before looking back down.

You clapped dirt off of your hands and fixed your shirt as you eyed your teammates, pondering at your next move, a move that you had never gotten the chance to do because the teacher blew his whistle.

This marked their cue. 

Eddie looked at Jeff and one glance was all it took for him to start on the bass. 

The notes filled the air around the field and like a wave, students lifted their heads. Some dropped pencils, some clamped their books closed in fright, and the young ninth grader holding all the soccer balls dropped the bag and let them scatter.

Music wasn’t something they heard on the fields of Hawkins High School late in the afternoon. 

Oliver joined on the guitar, Gareth on the drums. Their instruments mixed together to create the perfect harmony that had been written and played a thousand times before.

You knew this. 

You knew this song by heart even.

Your eyes lifted up the bleachers. First landing on Oliver who was head down on his guitar, doing the famous notes with ease and nerves circulating around him. Jeff was standing not far behind, handling his bass with perfection. Your eyes traveled to their left, to be met with Eddie's mischievous gaze already set on you. 

Oh my god.

What was happening registered.

He was apologizing… In the most Eddie way possible. 

You had to bite back a smile as he brought the mic to his lips, and started humming the familiar tune.If you weren't sure what this song was before, now you surely did. 

"Tonight," his voice echoed in the field, all eyes becoming fixed on him.

"What the fuck?" Carol's eyes went wide from her spot at the bottom of the bleachers. Steve had his jaw already dropped to the floor.

"Is this his way of apologizing?" Tommy laughed in disbelief. He wished he had a camcorder. He would record this and send it across the country so people could laugh in disbelief of what happens in small-town Hawkins, Indiana. 

"I want to give it all to you," his hand pointed right towards you and you didn't know if you wanted to smile or disappear into the grass. "In the darkness, there's so much I want to do-"

Your heart pounded too loudly in your chest. Heat threatening to climb up to your face as the lyrics registered. It was just the song. You had to remind yourself that as you bit the inside of your cheek. 

"And tonight, I want to lay it at your feet," Eddie moved down a few steps, walking further towards the center. 

"Cause girl I was made for you, and girl you were made for me-" Eddie screamed into the mic, shaking his hair before the beat dropped. This time, you couldn't help the smile creep up to your lips. You even had to place a hand on top of your mouth to prevent yourself from smiling too much at the absurdity of the scene.

"I was made for lovin' you baby! You were meant for lovin' me!" If the situation had been different you would have danced and sang your heart out to this song. 

But it wasn't. No amount of music could make you forget that you were standing on the field with Eddie singing I Was Made for Lovin' You on full blast with half of the school watching. 

Eddie's gaze had to snap away from yours when the gym teacher started to climb up the rough wooden steps of the bleachers with a determined face. Eddie tried not to laugh and keep his calm as he continued beautifully singing the words. 

You giggled when you watched the poor teacher chase him around. Eddie jumped from step to step in an attempt to ditch him. He made big movements, trying to dance as well and still looking at you with those damn Romeo eyes.

"Oh my god," You muttered under your breath when Eddie dodged the teacher and gave his butt a slap. The teacher’s eyes widened before he turned around and continued the wild goose chase.

Most of the students who wouldn't believe what they were witnessing were laughing and giggling at the scene while Steve and Carol still had their jaws dropped to the floor. Tommy continued to laugh, crunching into himself as his stomach began to hurt in amusement. 

You winced when the teacher’s hand finally wrapped around Eddie's shoulder and he was dragged out of the bleachers. Oliver and Jeff stopped playing and tried to melt into the scenery in order to not get caught too which had appeared to work. 

It wasn't news that Eddie had a target on his back when it came to receiving detention. He'd always been target number one and most of the time, he would be the only one to be blamed for crazy stunts like these.

Which meant that by the end of the day, you knew exactly where to find him. 

All anger dissipated from your system as your only thoughts were to get to him, all potential focus that you could have had in class disappearing with it. You wanted to see the smug look on his face when you confronted him about it and maybe even ask him what the hell was wrong with him. 

You didn't even bother knocking when you opened the classroom door.

The detention room was small. Located on the ground floor where it previously held Mrs.Click's history class, but sadly no timelines or bright maps were on the walls. It was a gloomy classroom and would have almost looked like Gollum's cave if not for the large glass door behind the teacher's desk. You took note that it was opened and letting in the warming spring breeze. 

Eddie and the other few students snapped their heads towards you as the door creaked open. You were surprised to see Connor and his fluffy red hair who was leaning over his desk, half asleep and doodling random things on his notebook. 

Mr. Callum was running detention that afternoon. 

"Mr. Callum?" Your soft voice made Eddie's heart leap in his chest. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"What can I do for you, Harrington?" Mr. Callum looked up from the papers on his desk. He was wearing a white shirt and formal pants, which seemed far off from his element. 

In truth, you had never seen him teach anything else than volleyball or swimming, and it was weird seeing him dressed any other way than with sports clothes and without his usual green whistle around his neck. 

"I have some ideas on how we can improve the girl's volleyball team!"

"Great! Let's talk about it later." He nodded, a tight smile on his lips before he turned back to his desk. When he wasn't looking, you locked eyes with Eddie. He had a dumb smile on his lips as he watched you, and your frantic movements snapped him back to reality.

You were waving your hand towards the glass door, and mouthing the word 'door' as best you could. Eddie frowned when he didn't understand, and it wasn't until the movements you were making caught the teacher's attention which made him snap his head towards you again that he understood what you meant. 

You came here to get him out of detention - brilliant.

You gave your best smile towards Mr. Callum. "As you know, we have a really big game coming up!" Your voice wavered as he was about to turn his head back around, you grabbed his arm and squealed "Oh my god! Your bicep is huge!" Mr. Callum barely saw the wrongness in your words and nodded along. You winced when his reaction was nothing but agreement. 

"You don't take steroids do you, because I've heard steroids can severely disintegrate your-" you didn't want to say it, you didn't even know why you were rambling but this seemed to be the only way you could keep him from turning back around and busting Eddie. "Package!" you squeaked and every single student present started chuckling. "Not that I'm thinking about your package, that's not the point-" 

"Let's hope not," Mr. Callum crossed his arms.

Eddie's eyes went wide and he had to put his hand over his mouth to stop his laughter from becoming audible--his muffled noises still caused Mr. Callum to want to turn back around.

"The point is, they kick our butts every year. And I was thinking, I devised a plan that will enable us to finally defeat them."

"Which is?" Mr. Callum raised an eyebrow, his attention back to you.

"That thing that you taught us!" He looked expectant to know the rest. "Misdirection!"

"I taught you that?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," your voice wavered again, just like it always did when you lie. 

The floorboards under Eddie's feet groaned as he almost reached the door, Mr. Callum made a move to turn his head around but you grabbed his shoulders.

"Think about it!" Your eyes were wide as your brain worked a hundred miles per hour. "They're looking left, and we're throwing right! Bang they drop the ball, we win!"

"Okay, but how do we get them to look left?" You eyed from behind Mr. Callum's shoulder as Eddie slightly pushed the door more open so he could get through, the door making a tiny squeak.

You panicked. This was going to be it, and both you and Eddie were going to get a hundred hours of detention.

"Like this!" You grabbed the hem of your shirt with both your hands and lifted it up just over your chest, you didn't know why you hadn't decided on wearing a bra today but this has turned out to be very helpful. There was a pause that felt like minutes before the whole class cheered and clapped, Mr. Callum blankly staring from your chest to your eyes. 

Behind him, Eddie's jaw dropped at the sight and gulped. He was frozen between the door and outside, unable to speak or move. Your gaze flickered towards him and you had to give him your best glare so he could snap out of it and realize this was his cue to run away. 

He reluctantly moved his gaze away, shaking the shock out before running off towards the familiar clearing in the woods.

"Okay, well." You cleared your throat and fixed your shirt. "Now that you've seen 'The plan', I'm going to go and show 'the plan' to someone else!" You turned around on your heels to be met with a whole class of grinning students, they clapped as you walked down an aisle before disappearing behind the door again.

~

"Are you mad?" Eddie chuckled in disbelief as you walked into the clearing. He was sitting at the mossy picnic table, still chuckling to himself, disbelief present in the air.

"What?" You lifted your eyebrows with a matching smile dancing on your lips.

"You flashed the teacher?" Eddie expressed. His eyebrows raised as he stared at you. He was still shell-shocked by 1. seeing your chest bare and 2. the fact that you did that just to get him out of detention.

"He's leaving at the end of the year anyways!" 

"Still!" He stood up. "You don't do that just to help someone get out of detention!"

"You know a thank you would suffice," you looked at him, using the same line he had used on you. 

He smiled, solemnly nodding, "thank you."

"You're welcome," you proudly lifted your chin up.

"What can I do to return the favor?"

"I don't know..." You bit the inside of your cheek, lifting your eyes to the sky as if you were thinking. "Maybe... finally take me on that date?" You lifted an eyebrow and as if it was even possible, Eddie's smile became wider.

"It's a deal." He offered his hand. "Shall we?" 

You were glad the Hawkins High parking was on the other side of the building from the detention room. Sneaking out the school grounds became easier than planned and before you knew it you were wrapping your knuckles around the white handle of Eddie's van.

The dragon's head moved up and down as you threw your backpack on the floor and closed the van's door behind you. Eddie was still smiling to himself when he turned the van on, his hair going wild and his shirt definitely needed to be fixed, but he looked high on excitement, eyes sparkling as he started driving out of the hell that was this place.

"Where are you taking me?" 

The second he was out of the High School grounds, the sunlight peered into the car, his eyes almost turning gold when it did. He blinked from it and it made you reach over, putting your other hand on his knee for support as you pulled down the sun visor for him. You didn't want to--his eyes looked so beautiful in this light, but you knew he was struggling to keep his eyes open. You pulled your own down and he couldn't help but smile at you before answering.

"It's a surprise," his tone was playful and it made you all the more curious.

"Surprise?" 

"You'll see."

When the familiar buildings and houses of Hawkins became nothing but forest, you really wondered where he was taking you. There seemed to be nothing but lush and wild different shades of green for miles away.

Twenty minutes later, the familiar welcoming sign of another city came into view. You knew this place. You had been there to go apple picking when you were a child and your parents had brought you there for their famous corn maze on Halloween two years ago.

Steve had made a tantrum over the fact that he was there and not at Tommy's Halloween bash. He even got your hair stuck in a candy apple and you had to get a haircut because the red sugar wouldn't come off. 

The town came into view. Low gray buildings, a mall with a big parking lot, a garage that looked bigger and fancier than the one Eddie worked at. You even drove past a flea market with kids running around. You spotted a teen about your age trying out a bike that an old woman was selling. 

You knew this town was slightly bigger than Hawkins and held more activities for the younger community. It wasn't a town you were used to going to, but you could clearly remember each visit like yesterday. 

Eddie drove right to the edge of it, and towards the familiar farm. A big apple-picking sign stood at the entrance, and right on top of it was the huge CORN MAZE sign you remembered. With the same drawing of a big corn with eyes and legs with a speech bubble that said 'Welcome'. The only difference is that this time the corn was decorated with creepy drawings and spiders to make it Halloween-themed. 

Eddie drove right through an arch with Jerry's Farm written in big red letters on top. 

"You're taking me to Jerry's farm?" 

"What? You don't like it?" He side-eyed you, smiling but deep inside still hoping this was a good idea.

"I do," you nodded and took a look around as he parked. A new activity had been added that you hadn't seen before–Paintball. 

You eyed the sign right in front of it; splashes of colors with yellow writing. The Paintball area wasn't too big nor too small. Blocks of hay had been reorganized to create hiding places, and wooden installations with ladders were placed to act as obstacles or lookout spots.

People were already playing, throwing paint-filled balloons at each other and giggling as the paint splashed all over their coats and even covered the lab glasses the farm had provided before the game. Some even had paint on their hair, but they all looked so happy it warmed your heart.

"You want to go paintballing?" Eddie broke the silence as he watched you stare at the poster.

"I've never done it before," you turned your stare to him. The want to try it evident across your face.

"Then we have to!"

"Alright!" you beamed back, a smile so bright your cheeks were hurting. 

Eddie turned off the van and pocketed the key. You followed him out and passed right under a new arch that separated the parking from the farm itself. 

Immediately, the air was filled with the smell of hay and apple cider. Children were running across the earth paths and freshly cut grass, their parents following close behind with a cup of apple cider and a basket full of apples. A group of teenagers were giggling as they walked back to the parking lot, their hair full of paint as they made their way back. You didn't recognize any of them from Hawkins High and you were kind of happy about it. 

For the first time in a long time, you felt like you could be somewhere and not feel dirty glances every now and there. You didn't know if that was Eddie's intention but this place felt like an escape from Hawkins even though it was right there. A bit like The Hideout. So close, yet feeling so far.

"What are you thinking about?" Eddie smiled as you made your way towards the Paintball counter.

"Hawkins," you blinked your thoughts away to look at him. 

"Ah.”

"This feels like it's 100 miles away when it doesn’t take even 30 minutes to get here.” 

"Yeah… I get that."

"You come here often?"

"My uncle used to take me every Halloween until I got older," Eddie smiled, his shoulder grazing yours as you walked. "And we usually come here to get our Christmas tree because Wayne knows the guy so he gives us one for free," he chuckled as he said that, looking down at his shoes as if it were something to be embarrassed about. "Then I also came with the band last October. Gareth got lost in the maze and Oliver got a date with one of the zombies."

"What?" You laughed.

"Oliver met her after the maze and then they just got along, I guess? He must have really liked her personality because she was aging really badly.” 

Eddie nudged his elbow at you with a smile on his face. He got a kick out of his own jokes. 

"Well maybe that’s just it then," you chuckled at the idea, “personalities mean a lot more than looks.” 

“I’m sure that’s part of it,” he agreed. 

“How did you know this was here?” 

"I saw their advertisement in the newspaper yesterday. Saw they opened some new stuff and that's why I thought of here."

"You read the newspaper, Munson?" You raised a teasing eyebrow.

"No,” he shook his head in a lie. “I do not, but Wayne does." He picked it up… sometimes. 

You took your eyes off of Eddie when the counter came into view. An elderly man was standing behind it and behind him were wooden shelves with a collection of already paint-stained shirts and lab glasses. To his left was a younger girl, about fifteen who was most likely his granddaughter. She was sitting on a wooden stool, with a pack of empty balloons on her lap. Her auburn hair was tied into braids and she blew away the few strands that were tickling her forehead when her gloved hands reached for a tube of paint. You couldn't help but watch as she skillfully filled up a balloon and tied it up before gently placing it in a yellow bucket. 

At her feet were a dozen of different-colored buckets--all filled with multicolored balloons. There were so many buckets that they fully filled the space between her and her grandfather.

"How can I help you kids?"

Eddie eyed the chalkboard on the counter, scanning through the words before looking back at him. 

"We'd like two buckets, please."

"Perfect," the man nodded with a smile. First, turning around to hand both of your shirts and glasses. He placed them on the counter and you grabbed yours with a smile in return. The shirt was already filled with spots of paint--thankfully dried up. You slipped both your arms through the sleeves before gently putting each white button into their designated holes to close it up.

You were about to reach for your wallet in the back pocket of your jeans to pay for your bucket and maybe even Eddie's but when you lifted your gaze from the plastic white buttons Eddie had already slipped the six dollars to the man.

"You need to stop doing that," you said as you grabbed your glasses.

"Doing what?" Eddie turned his head to you, grinning when he was met with your new look. Big lab glasses and a shirt that more resembled a coat that was already ruined by paint and weirdly suited you. Your hair tied back as much as possible and Eddie couldn't help but love the sight.

"Paying for me."

"Oh,” he shrugged, “it's no biggie."

"No biggie? Eds–"

"–Y/n, it's only six dollars, it's fine." He really tried to pretend like you hadn't just called him Eds for the first time. Only his close friends called him by this nickname, and the fact that you were also catching onto it made his heart jump in his chest.

"No, it's not fine," you glared at him while he placed his own vest and tied his hair back in a ponytail. You watched him the same way he had watched you seconds prior, he looked really handsome like this, and a bit funny once the big lab glasses that were dotted with green and blue paint were secured around his head.

"Have fun!" The elderly man dropped two buckets on the wood of the counter, a blue and a green one filled with balloons of all colors. You grabbed the green one and Eddie the blue before he followed you into the mess of paint and hay.

You hit first. Grabbing a pink balloon that cracked open with a splash of blue on Eddie's lab coat. The paint smeared right up to his face and almost landed in his mouth. His cheeks now held freckles of blue and his eyes wide and mouth open in shock as he lifted a finger to wipe the paint from his cheek. You giggled like a kid in front of a cartoon show as you admired his reaction.

But you didn't have much time to because he was already hitting back. Sending a neon yellow balloon that turned out to have the exact same color inside. It hit you right in the stomach, its color reaching up to your chin. 

Eddie had to resist the urge to take just one step closer and reach out to wipe the paint from your face. 

But this wasn't a romantic moment. It was a fierce battle that you declared when you sent the pink plastic bomb his way. 

He saw something shift in your eyes, a competitive glare Eddie had never seen on you before and before he could even comprehend what he was doing, Eddie was running behind a haystack in a poor attempt to dodge one of your attacks. 

Eddie threw blindly, still hidden in fear that he would get hit in the face again. He waited for the right moment; right when he knew you wouldn't expect him, he jumped out from behind his hiding place. You half giggled, half screamed, the balloon in your hand throwing itself onto him with so much force he winced a bit but the second the throw registered he sent the balloon still in his grip right to you. 

The roles changed and now it was Eddie chasing you around the different obstacles. You were both giggling like idiots and only knew Eddie had succeeded at his throw when you felt a balloon hit you in the middle of your back, the green paint going up to your hair. 

You hid behind a big wooden pillar. Your back resting against it as you waited for Eddie to hit again, you heard the paint hit the wood and Eddie approaching it right after. You abruptly turned around when he was close enough, dropping the balloon right on his head. His whole face lit up with surprise but then his eyes became full of playful revenge, making you dart off again.

You blindly shot one from behind and it missed, hitting the ground beside his feet and landing in a puddle of mud. You were just about to sprint off again when Eddie called out to you, making a time-out sign with his hand and dropping his bucket on the floor. Of course, you believed him, foolishly falling for his doe eyes and stopping in your tracks. He made a movement to reach for you, his arm wrapping around your shoulders when you were close enough. 

You let yourself melt into his touch, unknowing that Eddie held a small green balloon in his other hand. He smiled, letting you enjoy the embrace before planting the balloon on the crown of your head the way you had done minutes prior.

You gasped, reaching for a balloon of your own before throwing it into his chest. You pushed him away and made your run. Eddie laughed as he attempted to follow you. 

There was a carefree nature about everything. No one knew who you were. No one cared what your status was or who you were when you woke up that morning. You felt free, as did Eddie, when all that filled your ears was the sound of laughter and joy and your hearts were healing all the same. 

The wild chase went on. Balloons were thrown everywhere and you both became multicolored messes until only 2 balloons were left in your bucket and one lonely one at the bottom of Eddie's. 

You were hiding behind a weird wooden sculpture. He could clearly see the toe of your shoes poking out on the ground next to the pillar. Eddie carefully walked towards it, as softly as he could not to raise suspicion that he had found you.

"Boo!" This time you were expecting it–not like the time he had scared you back at the music store.

You threw your last balloon at him, but when the plastic cracked as it hit his chest, Eddie had already reached for you and wrapped his arm around your torso, making the pink paint smear all over the both of you. With you in his arms, he let himself fall into the big haystack.

The hit of the fall nonexistent as the hay cushioned any fear of hurt.

You both giggled like idiots as Eddie threw his glasses away and removed yours too, throwing them in the same direction as he had thrown his. 

He was leaning over you, his big beautiful eyes piercing at your soul. Loose strands of his hair were coming to tickle your face but you didn't care. From so close, you could see the small freckles that had appeared from being exposed to sunlight mixed in with green and pink paint. 

"Do you have a map?" You whispered and Eddie raised an eyebrow. "I'm getting lost in your eyes."

"Stop!" He giggled. "You just ruined the moment!" 

"I'm sorry!" You chuckled with him. "I just thought this was a good one."

"Well, it was." His voice lowered as he spoke, chills running down your spine. 

You didn't know if it was the smell of hay mixed with paint or the way he was looking at you, but you found it hard to catch your breath.

Your hand reached up to his cheek. Your thumb wiped away a stain of yellow and as you did, Eddie moved his thumb across your lips, wiping away a stain of blue that had made its mark during the battle.

His eyes were darting between attempting to keep eye contact and starting at your lips. Your heart beat faster the closer he got. His breath fanned over you as he leaned down. He was so close that even over the paint and hay, you could smell him. Every piece of him had intoxicated you to the point where you lost your train of thought. 

It was only Eddie. Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. 

He paused the moment your noses touched. A fragment of air between you, Eddie’s heart stopped as the world paused around you both. Two people, an unsuspected Romeo and an unwilling-to-be Juliet without an inkling of space between them. Only a heart with reaching strings threatening to combine lingered in the air. 

In that pause, Eddie questioned silently the thought he had circled around the last time he should have kissed you. 

Did you want this?

And yes, you did. 

Eddie didn’t have to answer the question himself. Your hand gilded against his cheek and brought his lips to yours. 

And like a fire racing through a waiting town, it erupted your body in flames. 

Vanished were the problems of the world as Eddie held you tightly, cupping your face as your hands wrapped around his neck to bring him closer. You felt his body, on fire like your own, cooling the worries that had captivated hours of life. It washed and cleared the path of ruin to one of salvation in hope. The hay a protector against his palms as Eddie shifted, the needles of Steve’s money piercing but never penetrating. 

The bargain and the green monsters of the chances he had wasted a small fragment of his mind in the moment. The problems were fleeting; sailing away on a ship as the heart found a home in you.  

You didn't know how long you laid like this, making out in the middle of a paintball field in Jerry's Farm and it wasn't that you weren't enjoying this, the moment couldn't be more perfect, but the idea latched on your mind and you couldn't pass up that opportunity. 

One of your hands moved away from Eddie's neck and fished for the last balloon that had fallen in the hay beside you. You pulled away and Eddie looked at you with the most adorable smile you had ever seen.

You were almost feeling guilty for what you were about to do.

Almost.

You lifted your hand up and smashed the green balloon right on his forehead, the blue insides of it smeared all over his hair and almost in his eyes. His mouth went wide in shock but then he had to smile when your beautiful laughter invaded his ears.

"You sneaky little-" before he could finish his sentence you pulled him down back to you, locking your lips with his once again. The kiss was messier and broken as he couldn't keep the grin away from his lips. Before you knew it he pulled away and rubbed his forehead on your cheek and neck as a way to get back to you, the paint rubbing off and painting your entire side blue.

"Eddie! Stop!" You giggled as his hair started tickling you, peppering kisses on the side of your neck in the process.

He lifted himself up, his arms straight on each side of you and his body casting a perfect shadow. 

You looked at him, no, admired him in all his glory. He looked so beautiful like this. His entire face lit up in happiness. His hair was messy; full of paint and you wondered how he was going to get that out which made your thoughts spiral to your own hair that was probably now also covered in hay in addition to the multicolored paint.

"We could be Star Wars characters," you giggled, thinking back to the colored aliens that appeared in the film. The ones that were all blue with the long head tails.

"Yeah, we could," he chuckled at the reference before pecking your lips again. "I think we should go," he whispered.

"Before they kick us out for making out or something."

"Yeah…” You smiled at him. “Definitely"

~

The van's dark seats are a mess by the end of the ride. Blue, green, yellow, and pink paint ended up getting smeared all over the headrests and on the wheel when Eddie accidentally scratched his hair and placed his hand back on the wheel. 

The shoulders of Eddie's white shirt had been repainted when his hair tie snapped, his curls going wild and letting paint loose all over the sides. On the passenger side, you had tried to be as careful as you could. Thanking the lab coat for making your clothes stay clean and you also thanked the grass where you had rubbed the paint out of your shoes back at Jerry's farm--but it was really hard not to get the paint from your hair to smear all over the top of your seat.

Eddie didn't know what to do when he got to the door of the trailer as his hand was stained in pink paint. He didn't mind getting paint on his keys but he winced when his fingers wrapped around the door handle, leaving a pink trail behind him. 

It was like painting a crime scene with his fingerprints. If anything ever went wrong, the police would surely catch him pink-handed. 

The second he stepped in, he removed his shoes by fear of them still sheltering paint, and you followed his actions. You both scurried off to the kitchen sink, only taking Eddie's trailer in when you dried off your hands with a red grid-patterned towel. 

The collections of various teacups made you smile. The whole inside was cluttered and felt homey–you could tell he and his uncle had lived here for years and it somehow warmed your heart. It felt messy but in the best way possible. 

Only when Eddie saw you look around did he realize the mess and tried his best to clean the wrappers off the table in a haste as if you hadn't already noticed them.

"Sorry for the mess," he winced as he opened the trash can and dumped empty wrappers and some soda cans.

"Don't worry about it," you shook your head and if the locks of your hair weren't stuck to your cheekbones because of the paint, they would have moved with you. "The whole place looks really nice," you smiled to yourself. "It's very you." 

"Thanks? " He tilted his head as he took the words in. You said it in such a way that it sounded like a compliment and even if Eddie was still unsure, it made heat creep up his cheeks. 

It was him. This whole place was his heart and soul bleeding from the worn linoleum and mugs on the wall. 

You chuckled at his blushing. The way he looked away as he tried to remember what he wanted to say next made your heart flutter in your chest. The nerves of romance, you supposed. 

"Um,” Eddie cleared his throat. “You can take a shower if you want. I don't think I have very good shampoo but I'm sure it's better than anything if you don’t want to have to cut your hair–" he scratched the back of his neck as he tried to not make his offer sound weird.

"I'd like that, thank you," you cut him off before he could continue rambling. "But only if I get to wear one of your shirts after because my shoulders are definitely as stained as yours."

He gave a small smile at your offer. "Of course you can."

You picked Eddie's favorite Metallica shirt. You didn't know it was his favorite and he would never tell you because the sparks in your eyes when you spotted it was enough for him to agree that he never needed to see it ever again. It was a large dark gray shirt, with a white logo that was a little washed out from the number of times Eddie had worn it but you seemed to love it nonetheless. 

And when you walked out of his bathroom, hair wrapped around the light blue towel he had given you and wearing that damn Metallica shirt that he now swore it looked a hundred times better on you and he knew he was a goner. 

The little smile you gave him when you sat beside him on the couch almost sent him to heaven. He was so in love with you for the short time you had actually given him a chance that he wasn’t sure he’d ever recover. 

This was the end game. You were his perfect person. 

"Stop staring at me like that,” you scoffed a laugh, biting on your lip at the look he was giving you, practically melting beside him.

"Sorry," he looked away and raised his hands in innocence. "You just look very pretty, that's all." Eddie looked down at his hands and picked at his nails so he would focus on something else than you.

"You should go take a shower before the paint fully dries," you noticed.

"Right," Eddie shook his head as remembered that his hair still looked like a parrot had shit the rainbow of his feathers on him. "I'll be right back."

By the time he was back, you were sitting down by the kitchen counter, a cup of warm tea in between your hands and a second one right by it. Eddie smiled at the sight and your look became a bit embarrassed when you felt his stare wouldn't leave you.

"I- I hope it's ok, I made myself some tea, and um... a cup for you too."

"That's more than ok, thank you, sweetheart," he smiled, making his way towards you and sitting on the stool beside you, kissing your cheek before grabbing the warm cup for himself. 

You looked at him as he brought the cup to his lips. His eyes looked at a random spot by the kitchen, while his ringed hands were securely wrapped around the cup. A dot of pink was still lodged in the creases of one of his skull rings, and you almost smiled at the absurdity. Smiled at the look of a ring that was supposed to be scary being now decorated in pink. When you went back up to his face, you noticed the faded smear of blue was faintly present in between his temple and his ear.

You reached for it with your hand, delicately wiping the blue out with your thumb for good. The color disappeared easily with the water still dripping from his hair. Eddie's gaze fell back to you as he watched your movements with intent. Your fingers climb up to tangle with the top of his hair, gently tugging down to untangle his damp locks.

"You've got a hairbrush?" He nodded, not saying a word before climbing out of his seat and leaving for his room. 

He went through a few of his things before he finally found it. A big black hairbrush which he had just cleaned out this morning.

He came back into the living space and he saw that you had removed the towel from your head and your hair fell loose again. Clean and fresh in his space.

"Here," he handed it to you, still watching, thinking you would use it on yourself.

"Turn around."

"Huh?" 

"Turn around!" You made a circle with the brush and Eddie felt all words die in the back of his throat as he obeyed.

He stayed baffled as he felt the hairbrush cling to the ends of his hair and slowly moved down. Your hand came next, preparing the brush's journey before it came to grasp at his hair a second time.

"Tell me if I accidentally hurt you"

You could never, he thought to himself, but nodded instead. And just by the simple start of your movements, he could tell it was true.

All the tension Eddie might have held in his shoulders disappeared with your gentle movements. His eyes closed by themselves as you started to bring the brush higher on his scalp, your fingers always coming up first to trace the road of the brush and almost making him hum with content but never in the world would he let that slip past his lips that early in the relationship.

Even if he felt the world he knew was drastically different now, he’d never voice them in such a way. He didn’t want to scare you away. He didn’t want to give you cause to run and hide because he couldn’t reel himself in. 

"All done," he didn't know how long it had been–maybe hours, minutes or seconds, but he felt like he had just been sent to space and back. He felt sleepy, dazed and more relaxed than he had ever felt in years.

And it might have definitely shown on his features because of the short laugh you let out when he turned back around to face you.

"By your lack of words and the look on your face, I think I've been gentle enough with your hair," 

"Um- yeah," he cleared his throat in a poor attempt to come back to reality, to make his feet touch the ground again. 

You smiled as you looked at it, raising your hand towards him to thread through his bangs in an attempt to correctly place them, a happy look on your lips. "All nice now!"

Eddie watched as you hooked your fingers in the brush and balled up all the hair that had accumulated in its bristles before making your way around the counter and dumping it in the trash. When it was all clean you started with your own hair.

"Give me that!" He reached for you with his hand, "my turn"

"Alright," you smiled and sat back on your previous spot, handing the back brush to Eddie before turning around.

Eddie started with the ends, just like you had done for him. Your eyes closed as he brushed through the knots and reached your scalp. You let yourself become content. It felt so nice and comforting.

“Did you hear about that kid going missing?” You opened your eyes again as the words left your lips. The idea of Will being missing is still nudging at your mind on repeat.

“The Byers kid?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, I think everyone has heard of it by now,” Eddie sighs a bit as he says it, his focus still set on your hair.

“They’re doing a search party for him tonight…” You looked down at your hands, noticing some paint still lodged in your fingernail. “Are you going?”

“I can’t unfortunately… Wayne needs me. You?”

“I am. I have too. It’s Dustin’s best friend… I have to show my support.” Eddie nodded in understanding.

“Well, be careful,” Eddie gave you a small smile that you couldn’t see as he dropped the hair brush on the counter. “Where are they going to start the search?”

“Around Mirkwood. That’s where he disappeared…”

"Mirkwood? Like in the Hobbit?"

"Oh, sorry, yeah, um Dustin calls it that. I sort of caught on."

"I love that."

"He calls the school Mordor."

"He does?" He raised his eyebrows with a big smile.

"Yeah," you nodded. "I do too now. No one understands when I say it"

"I do now."

"Good. Then I'll start saying it around you,” you nodded proudly. "The misty mountains are the hills after Mirkwood. Dustin lives around there. And the shire is the area with all the white picket fence houses, one of his friends lives there that's why he's named it that. They have the whole of Middle Earth mapped out in Hawkins."

"What's the mainstreet with all the shops called?"

"You're going to laugh."

"Say it."

"Rivendell."

"Rivendell?" He made a face. "Why would they call that Rivendell?"

"Because it's their favorite location in all the books. So they say that going to the main street is like going to Rivendell. You've got the arcade up the road and shops where you can get toys and comics," he looked at you weirdly. "Their words not mine," you raised your hands in innocence.

"What's your favorite place in Middle Earth?"

"Lothlorien"

"Oh,” Eddie nodded his head, “that's such a good one."

"I know right!? I was obsessed with Galadriel as a child.” You exclaimed and the joy that emitted from you was contagious. “And the way it's described, it's so beautiful. That’s why Dustin named where I live that and plus he says he makes sense because it’s in the forest,” you smiled as you remembered all the times Dustin called your place Lothlorien.

 “What’s your favorite place?"

"Mine is so boring," he sighed in defeat.

"I'm sure it's not!"

"The Shire."

"It's not boring!"

"It is! But I love it just because it is. My life has been such a chaotic mess, I would always imagine what it would be like to just be a hobbit in the Shire. Not have a care in the world and just cultivate your potatoes. Lives of hobbits are just so... quiet."

"You're forgetting noisy neighbors and family members."

"I think I could deal with that."

“Really?” You scrunched up your nose. “Have Steve as your brother and you would think twice. He would have sold my house and my stuff earlier than it took Bilbo’s family too. If I were Bilbo, I would have come back to the Shire to find my house already sold, with all my stuff gone!”

“I could totally see him doing that,” Eddie chuckled with you.

“Definitely,” your eyes lifted up to the clock behind him, Eddie noticed the look in your eyes as you read the time and held out his hand.

"Shall I take you back to Lothlorien, My Lady?" Your eyes lit up as your gaze shifted from the clock to Eddie.

“Gladly.”

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

okok so i was listening to remains of the day and i could not stop thinking of corpsegroom!eddie and victor!steve from @undreaming-fanfiction's Corpse Groom AU

Aneta, ilysm!! i hope you don't mind me adding onto your au!!! 🫶

---------------

Steve awoke slowly, blinking up at three (surprisingly) familiar faces. 

His kids.

Okay, not actually his kids, but the ones he took care of not that long ago. They had the same sort of blue tinge to their skin as Eddie did, but it was still them.

Wait...Eddie!

Steve sat up, way too fast, causing his head to spin.

“Whoa, slow down Steve.”

“Dustin? Dustin, what’s happening? You died! Years ago!” Steve frantically looks over the round faced boy, looking for any indication that this really wasn’t Dustin, but nope. He still looks exactly the same from the top of his curly-haired head right down to his feet.

“Yeah, I did. It’s not that big of a deal.” Dustin waves his hand nonchalantly and sits back on his heels from where he’d been kneeling over Steve.

“Not that–Dusty, buddy, I was crushed when you died. When all three of you did.” Steve looks at the other two, a red-headed young girl named Max, and the tall, lanky, and kind, Will. “I couldn’t believe you were all gone..”

“Well, it’s not like we meant to.” Max gripes at him, sitting cross-legged on the stone floor of…wherever this is.

She’s right, of course, the sickness that had shot through the kids of their small town had taken many under its cloak, but luckily only scurried away to the afterlife with a handful. Steve had found out half of his beloved group of kids (friends?) he’d watch over passed when he and his parents returned from holiday. Having skipped over the short-lived plague by happenstance.

He would’ve taken any of their places in a heartbeat.

“O-of course,” Steve stutters out, “I didn’t..”

“It’s okay Steve, we know you didn’t mean anything by it.” Will pats his leg and stands up, offers Steve a hand. “But the real question is, why did Eddie drag you down here.”

Steve lets Will pull him up, and he’s surprisingly strong, maybe it’s a symptom of being dead. Undead? Do you get stronger when you un-die?

“Eddie…Eddie! Where’s Eddie?” Steve looks around for the boy–nope, not really ‘boy’ any longer. The corpse that clawed itself out from under that tree definitely looked older than when Steve first knew him all those years ago.

Looking around the place, he meets the curious eyes and empty eye sockets of the other souls of this world. All those whose skin hadn’t quite gone had the same blue tinge as Eddie and the kids, and some still bore the marks of the events that’d taken them here. To this pub.

Is the afterlife only a run-down looking pub?

Dustin interrupts his scanning of the bar’s patrons. “We really need to play catch-up here, how do you know Eddie?”

“We–I–how do you know Eddie?” Steve retorts.

Max rolls her eyes. “Met him down here, of course.”

“He took us under his wing, helped us adjust…kept us out of too much trouble.” Will smiles.

“So, back to the original question, how do you know him? Dustin asks again. 

Steve lets out a long breath. “I knew him when I was young. Younger than you lot. He taught me to play piano.” Steve smiles at the memories of Eddie humming and singing along to whatever tune Steve’d make up. “He was a very good friend to me, until I just…stopped seeing him around. Whatever happened to him?”

Dustin winces minutely. “It’s kind of a long story..”

“And what a story it is!” A booming voice calls out from behind them.

Steve whips around, finally laying eyes on Eddie again. His arms are held wide as he’d come through the doorway to the bar, but the dirty, rumpled suit he wore and his full head of curls, now filled with debris, did nothing to staunch the glow coming off him. 

He’s so beautiful… and apparently just as much of a showman he’d been when Steve had known him, a fact that made him smile.

“It's a tragic tale of romance, passion, and a murder most foul.” Eddie continues, his low story-teller’s voice cutting through the background noise of the bar as he stalks toward them.

Max elbows Steve in the ribs and says, “This is gonna be good.” at the same time Steve catches Dustin grumbling, “..please don’t.”

Steve gulps. “Did he say ‘murder’?”

Max nods enthusiastically, obviously having heard this story before, while Dustin and Will grimace and nod unenthusiastically, also obviously having heard this story before.

“You all know how this begins, with little ol’ Eddie being cordoned off to his own side of town after getting caught befriending a Harrington.” Eddie begins his tale, speaking to and winding through the tables of patrons. “Can’t have us low-lifes on the ritzy side of Hawkins now, can we?”

Ouch. That stung a little.

“Life moved on, Eddie grew into a dashing young man,” Eddie stands straight and flashes a charming smile over the bar, one hand comes up to his chest and the other flings half of his dark mane over his shoulder. “Dashing enough to even make a deal with a more well-off family perhaps?

“A deal was bartered with the Cunninghams, to wed their only daughter to the once-distinguished Munson family.”

Steve knew of the Cunninghams, their only daughter was shipped off years ago to be wedded to the Carver’s first-born son in the next town over. He’d never heard that she’d once been thought of for marriage to Eddie, though he had been forbidden from knowing anything of the long-haired boy he’d met after his father had found out.

“But alas, the lone Munson heir was not one to choose the company of ladies, as lovely as Christine was and likely still is. She was his best friend, and he would not put her through a loveless marriage. Especially not when he had a love of his own.

“SO!” Eddie jumps up onto a rickety-looking chair with the exclamation, “He did what he thought best and he planned to run away.” he steps up further, onto the small wooden table, much to the apparent excitement of the skeleton seated there. “He took what remained of his family’s money, leftover dowry from his mother’s marriage to his father, and fled.

“That was the plan,” Eddie continues, plodding across the closely placed tables as he went. “Take the money and run, elope with his beloved; they’d already picked a meeting place, so he asked Chrissy to send word to his lover to meet that night, in the graveyard by the old oak tree.”

Oh no. That’s where he first found Eddie.

The crowd reacted together in a combined wail of “Don’t go!” as if rehearsed, all of them hanging on his word.

“I must!” Eddie replied, as if this was a play and not the tale of his own murder. “My darling dear will wait for me and we will flee to my only remaining family!”

“No!” the patrons yell again.

“Yes! We will go to Uncle Wayne, we’ll elope, start anew…we’ll get to be together.” Steve’s chest starts to constrict hearing the story-telling tone leaving Eddie’s voice. This was real. This is what he’d actually thought back then, back when he was alive, still full of hope.

“Oh no..” comes Will’s whispered voice beside Steve.

There’s a single beat of silence where Eddie seems to collect himself at the same time the crowd waits on baited breath (at least they would be if they had any) for him to continue, knowing what happens next.

Eddie jumps from the table he’d been atop to the nearby stage, spins around, and starts again, voice fully back in story-mode, and many-times-repeated words spill from his mouth.

“So there I was, next to the graveyard by the old oak tree, on a dark foggy night at a quarter to three. Ready to go! But where was he?”

Another round of call-and-answer picked up across the dingy bar, the entire place calling out, “And then?”

“I waited…”

“And then?”

“There!” Eddie points off to the side of the stage, “In the shadows, was it him?!”

“And then?”

“My poor little heart beat sooo loud….” Eddie clasped both hands over his un-beating heart.

“And then?!”

Eddie’s chest was heaving.

Steve took a step forward on instinct, not knowing if the panic on Eddie’s face was just for show.

“And then…everything went black.” The crowd gasps at once, all still seeming to be horrified by the turn of events no matter how many times Eddie may’ve told this tale.

Eddie starts speaking again, gaze far away, back in time. “When I opened my eyes, I was dead as dust. The meager amount I had on me, gone, along with the sound of my heartbeat.”

He starts back across the tables toward their little group, voice gaining confidence again as he recites his story. “So I made a vow, lying under that tree, that I’d wait for my true love to come set me free. So long I’ve been waiting for someone to ask for my hand,” He quick-steps down to the floor from a chair so generously pulled out for him by a kind looking woman more skin-and-bone than flesh.

“Then out of the blue comes this beautiful young man,” Eddie’s directly in front of Steve now, and reaches for his hands. Steve lets him take them, takes in the man in front of him, every last detail he can.

He’s just as beautiful as Steve remembers, even through the lens of crushing on someone much older than you; his hair was just as wild, his eyes as fiery, his hands much colder than the ones that used to guide his fingers along piano keys, but just as soft, just as sure.

What had not been there before was the dark purple, crumpled looking gash on his forehead, just under his hairline. The sight of which had pure rage boiling in Steve’s gut at whoever decided it was his place to take such a soul from the world.

“He who vowed forever, to stay by my side.” Eddie all but whispers.

Steve looks down at their hands and his heart squeezes in his chest at the sight of his ring on Eddie’s finger. He looks up with a smile, squeezing Eddie’s fingers in his and suddenly, the panic is back on Eddie’s face. For a fraction of a second, then replaced by one fully-cocksure. 

Steve’s hands are suddenly empty, Eddie spinning around to the crowd, “That’s my story. The story of your resident corpse groom!”

Eddie flings his arms wide, like he had when he first returned to the bar, and gives the raucous crowd a low bow. 

The muted claps of the corpses’ skin on skin, and the rattling ones of the skeletons around him are drowned out as Steve steps forward to place a hand on Eddie’s shoulder.

“Eddie, I–”

“No worries Stevie, I’ll get you back up to the surface again, no sweat.” Eddie takes a step backward, then another, his face under the grin falling sharply, “I gotta go find Elder Gutknecht, he’ll know how to get you back, no ties still tethered here.” then he turns and all but runs from the room.

———————-

ahhh!!! i couldnt get the idea of eddie, the story-teller he is, being the one telling his own story in remains of the day 🥺

[marvel-ous-m]

44. “I don’t know why I’m crying.” :D -@a-little-unsteddie 🌼

@a-little-unsteddie many apologies for this taking so long!! Writers block and family emergencies have been plaguing me for a while. I hope you enjoy!! I got a bit of inspiration from a post that said something like “there’s nothing more romantic than someone wiping blood off of their partners face after battle, especially if it isn’t their blood”. And this just kinda… came from that.

————————————————————————

The final battle begins a little over three months after the end of Spring Break.

It almost makes sense, that everything end mid-summer. Just a year after the mind-flayer, a year after Billy and Russians and Starcourt. Still, three months gave them time. Gave Eddie time to heal, gave Max time to wake up and tap into her mental connection to Vecna with the aid of El.

It gave them time to prepare. Gave them time to clear out all of Hawkins, call in reinforcements, and finish this- once and for all. The nature of their plan of attack finds Eddie, Joyce, and most of the kids right side up at Hopper’s cabin while El, Will, and the rest of the teens and adults fight Vecna hands-on in the Upsidedown. And it works.

Everything starts to wither away when Vecna takes his last breath. El has to exert herself to hold the portals open, using up all her residual energy, but everyone makes it out.

There’s a tearful reunion on the other side. A fair amount of patching up wounds, too. Joyce leads that effort with a level of skill and precision that no one else could come close to.

The commotion of the reunion leaves Eddie to wander around the crowd. He watches on, not needed (thankfully) for administering medical attention, but still struggling to find his place in this group that had faced these horrors time and time again.

He spots Steve pretty quickly once he actually starts looking for him.

Steve, who is standing away from the crowd, loosely holding his bat in his hand, with a sort of vacant look in his eye. There’s dark blood splattered across his face, and if Eddie didn’t know any better, he’d think Steve was under Vecna’s curse.

But Vecna was dead and gone, so the best explanation that Eddie could manifest was that Steve was just… shocked.

Which, yeah, he had a fucking right to be. But… maybe he could do with sitting down?

Eddie crossed the crowd, stopping in front of the battle-worn boy with a gentle smile. “Hey, Stevie. Wanna come inside? We can get you a little cleaned up?”

Steve blinked once, then nodded at Eddie’s words- silent recognition the only thing he could muster at the moment.

Eddie nodded back and carefully wrapped his arm around Steve’s shoulders, guiding him towards the cabin. Miraculously, none of the (admittedly nosey) kids intervened.

He led Steve towards the bathroom in Hoppers cabin, guiding him to sit on top of the toilet lid. The bathroom had been prepped beforehand with clean towels and gauze in case the worst happened (Eddie sent a silent thanks that those preparations remained unused), which made it easy for Eddie to grab a clean towel, wet it, then kneel in front of Steve and begin to gently dab away some of the blood covering his face.

He talked while he did it. Eddie knew Steve appreciated his rambles, as shown by Steve actually listening and asking questions whenever Eddie went off on a tangent.

It almost felt like everything was normal, would have felt that way, if it weren’t for the red-ish black-ish goo that Eddie was wiping away from Steve’s face.

After a few minutes of Eddie’s gentle attention, Steve came back to himself.

From one moment to the next, Eddie went from wiping away blood to also wiping away tears.

“S-sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying. We won.” Steve mumbles under his breath. He tries to reach a shaking hand up to wipe away his cheeks, but Eddie takes his hand instead, bringing it back down to rest in Steve’s lap.

Eddie continued to clean Steve’s face with one hand, the thumb on his other hand rubbing small circles in Steve’s palm. “We did win. And it’s over. But… you look like you just crawled out of hell. Fuck, Stevie, you basically did. You faced the very real monster that plagues our nightmares and you lived to tell the tale. I think you’ve earned the right to cry, Steve.”

Steve’s breath hitches, and his hand tightens around Eddie’s. “But- I should be happy.”

“Emotions are complicated.” Eddie set the towel down, finally satisfied with the level of grime he cleaned off Steve’s face. The boy could definitely do with a shower, but Eddie knew he’d probably be falling asleep long before then.

Eddie stood then, wincing at the pull of tight skin against his still-healing wounds. He still held Steve’s hand, but Eddie now looked down at him. He gave Steve’s hand an encouraging squeeze. “As far as I’m concerned, you can feel whatever damn emotions you want. I’m just thankful you came back to us.”

That you came back to me was left unsaid.

In one fluid motion, Steve tugged on Eddie’s hand, forcing Eddie to lean forward. From his seated position, Steve then grabbed onto the fabric of Eddie’s T-shirt and pulled him forward, their lips crashing together in a searing kiss.

Some things don’t need to be spoken.

They separated for breath soon after. Eddie sucked in air, bit his lip, then let out a breathy, high-pitched giggle. That was entirely unexpected but very, very welcomed. He searched Steve’s face, relieved to see Steve grinning back at him. But still… crying.

Eddie reached his hands up, and with his thumbs, he carefully brushed the area under Steve’s eyes, wiping his boy’s tears away.

When Eddie had finished drying Steve’s cheeks, Steve took Eddie’s wrist and guided Eddie’s hand towards his mouth. He pressed a feather-light kiss to the pad of Eddie’s thumb, then smiled against Eddie’s fingers.

Eddie felt twin droplets of water roll against his hand. One from Steve, and one, much to his surprise, from himself.

“I’m always going to come back to you, Eds.”

I love you.

Some things didn’t need to be said, and some tears didn’t need an explanation.

[woahrarepairsagemare]

headcanons which are very badly written due to me not having watched all of steve saga

The Exorcism- at one point rainbow had been possessed by ghost ( ghosts can do that ) and was acting overly aggressive towards plague but very little to his actual friends , at one point it got so bad they had to restrain him and knock him out . They were trying to exorcise ghost out of him right ? so plague took the chance to attempt a murder , aka killing off rainbow . He faked how nothing else can be done and rainbow just had to go , before he could even bring down his infected sword on rainbow he collapsed going into a vision where there was sage ( first green steve rainbow met ) slowly caressing rainbow's (sso) head , exactly in the place where he had been restrained . In this vision plague was no longer plague , but his past effigy . A purple steve named wisteria , sage said a lot of stuff which ill list later but soon a crowd was heard behind wisteria , they were literally killing him off as sage smiled before saying ' you truly were a disease ' and glitching between ghost and sage before the vision ended .

plague failed in killing off rainbow but managed to exorcise ghost out of him , once again helping him instead of harming him .

Past effigy- In the last hc i did mention that sage was glitching between himself and ghost right ? This is because sage was what ghost used to be . After the whole kidnapping thing , both sanguine ( first red rainbow met ) and sage parted ways with rainbow and both of them landed in land of the lost steves . There they remained peaceful until sage started seeing faceless in different places , giving him paranoia . Sanguine didnt believe him at first , but soon did . Wisteria ( plague ) agreed to help find faceless , but instead he ended up helping faceless . Sage did a lot of research and soon found out how to stop faceless , which was by killing himself and becoming a spirit trapped on earth . He ended up scaring off plague and possessed faceless , trapping both of themselves in teh catacombs and creating an unwanted bond .

eternal smile- Yeah .. rainbow is not a steve . He and faceless are both shapeshifters , thought he didnt reveal this at all ( cause it aint canon in steve lmao ) , many things happen to shapeshifters eventually causing them to go senile , and doing stuff . It caused rainbow to never stop smiling and it at one point made faceless .. ( not saying this part cause its SH )

Pull me apart- The exorcism made rainbow so paranoid he would often shapeshift into other steves and stalk his friends and plague without them noticing , or thinking he was some random steve .\

Even though I loved you- Nightmare was originally a yellow steve called gold and he had a red steve called vermillion for his friend , who'd manipulate him . This caused gold to do a lot of stuff that displeased the elders and eventually they decided to either kill him or send him into exile . Vermillion tried to manipulate him but gold finally snapped and killed vermillion , absorbing his crystal and becoming who he is .

Cursed- Rainbow was killed by void while he saved sabre right ? well he was so enraged and saddened by his death that he stopped smiling , he first apologized to sabre for ruining what was left of their friendship , before cursing void to a painful death lmao

Eye have you- dark found out about hypno helping rainbow so he got mad and ripped out one of his eyes

Fake it all- Rainbow acts all silly and goofy in fear of sabre leaving him if he saw what he truly was

Taste of Beauty- Dark is a ruthless cannibal and eats people even if theyre only half dead , hes torn light apart several times ( lights been resurrected and what not but that aint canon ) . This a curse where hes never satisfied and always hungry , and it originated from killing something so pure .

Look of longing- There are very little red steves left due to the massacre caused by the blue kingdom . An elder blue ( periwinkle ) killed off most of the red kingdom due to his hatred for them , and also because he wanted power ( he becomes evil elder blue later ) sanguine had witnessed this along with prof. crimson , and they were both traumatized , this caused sanguine to start speaking in broken english and made prof. crimson isolate himself from paranoia . Sanguine and storm blue ( rainbow's friend blue ) once made a pilgrimage to a steve temple and as they were looking at statues , sanguine saw storm looking longingly at one of the elder blue statues This caused him to immediately hate storm because of how similar he looked to that elder blue . He immediately ran out of that temple .

You did this to me- Elder blue ( periwinkle ) would often give storm blue training , this was to become like him . This training was actually abuse in disguise to weaken storm because he was afraid that storm would dethrone him . He trained ( forced ) storm to drink poison sometimes , which would help hiim adapt tp it incase someone poisoned him , this caused him lots of pain but didnt kill him and hence periwinkle used this as punishment . He also used religion and fear of going to hrell to manipulate storm , giving him religious trauma .

Father please- the trauma of genocide got so bad that professor crimson no longer could recognize his own son sanguine , and that made sanguine bitter from resentment

It means nothing to you , but a lot to me- Sage would often breakdown during the time he had been in captivity of nightmare because of how afraid he was , he didnt know if nightmare would decide that he was useless and kill him off . Eventually he went very quiet near the end of his captivity .

Death cant separate me from you- Ghost found out that rainbow was in the rainbow town and would haunt him , this was only done so that no one hurt his emotional son .

Dont call me useless- People over look the fact that it was sage who saved rainbow .

In the sewing machine ive lost myself- green steves would often sew clothes near the end of their days which they would wear in the afterlife , which is what sage did before he killed himself

ill think of more headcanons