#also it turns out that eddie has the kindest face ever

[lennadanvers]

Hiii, what about Eddie dressing up as a jock for Halloween? Covering up all his tattoos, finding a short brown wig, wearing jeans without any rips and a varsity jacket?

And when people ask about it, he just tells them "monsters are everyday people" or some shit like that.

[schrijverr]

I Didn’t Mean to Say I Do, but I Do. I Do. 16

Chapter 16 out of 50

Secret marriage of convenience buddie slow burn AU, where Buck and Eddie have been married for years so Buck could adopt Chris and no one at the 118 knows.

In this chapter, Maddie gets convinced to stay by Buck. The two of them reconcile and share pieces of themselves the other has missed out on. Though they still keep things to themselves too.

On AO3.

Ships: Buddie (slow burn)

Warnings: referenced domestic violence, emotionally abusive parents mention, misogyny mention, homophobia mention

~~~

Chapter 16: Abuela’s Roommate

When Buck comes home after speaking to Maddie at Abuela’s house, he feels emotionally drained and exhausted. He missed Chris’s bed time and he mourns that fact now, though he’s also glad he just gets to drop on the couch next to Eddie with a groan.

Eddie frowns in concern. He knows Buck is happy to have Maddie back again, could see it waft off him the whole shift. Had Chris slipping up really put such a dent in his mood? Was he embarrassed about admitting everything to his sister? Did she say something about it to Buck that she didn’t to him? What happened?

He quickly stuffs all those feelings down, poking Buck in the side as he gruffly asks: “What’s up with you?”

“I think Maddie is homophobic about our non-gay gay marriage,” Buck says, voice muffled by the pillow.

“What?”

Buck un-buries his face slightly and repeats: “I think Maddie is homophobic about our non-gay gay marriage.”

“Are you sure? She seemed pretty okay with it when I spoke to her. She was nice,” Eddie frowns.

“She didn’t talk about any of it. She didn’t even mention Chris. Like at all! It’s as if she was not saying anything on purpose,” Buck says. “And of course she’s nice. Your family is hosting her.”

Eddie’s frown deepens. “She really didn’t mention Chris? That’s weird. She told me we have an adorable son and that he loves his two dads. When I told her no one knew, she seemed understanding and nice.”

“Wait,” Buck comes out of his hiding place on the couch. “What did you say. Like exactly? Word for word?”

“Uh, she thanked me, then said that Abuela was nice and that we have an adorable son, though I suppose the you can be just me. That he loves his two dads,” Eddie repeats. “I panicked a bit, so she said my name and then I told her she can’t tell anyone to which she said that she wouldn’t.”

“Okay, but my name was never mentioned? And you didn’t say what she can’t tell anyone?” he asks for clarification, a small hope bubbling up in his chest. He always wants to believe the best of people, especially Maddie.

“You think she didn’t realize the other dad is you?” Eddie says, picking up what he’s putting down.

“Maybe,” Buck shrugs.

“That’s good then, right? You didn’t want to tell her yet anyway.”

“Yeah, but what if I’m wrong?”

“Do you think you’re wrong?”

“I mean, no, but I don’t know,” Buck sighs, rubbing his face. “I haven’t seen her in years, Eddie. I love her, but I don’t know her anymore. And she doesn’t know me…”

They’re quiet for a moment and Eddie has a thoughtful expression on his face. Buck gives him time to think it all over. In the end, Eddie just asks: “So what do you want to do?”

“Huh?”

“She’s your sister. What do you want to do?”

Now it’s Buck turn to think about it. When it came down to Helena and Ramon, he always let Eddie make the final call. Same when they moved here and it came to Abuela and tía Pepa, he’d been prepared to never be introduced to them should Eddie want. With Maddie it’s his family and his call. That still feels weird. Having family here.

But it’s a good weird, the kind of weird he wants to get used to until it’s normal. Maddie says she’s just passing through, but Buck wants her to stay. He’d do anything to get her to stay.

And despite saying he doesn’t know her, he does. He knows she is one of the kindest people he has ever known, that she has always been in his corner, even when it would have been better for her not to be. She’s as protective as they come. If she thought he was married, she’d corner him and question him until she was satisfied.

It’s most likely scenario. The reality he wants to believe in. However, he selfishly also doesn’t want to risk finding out he’s wrong. Not yet.

“I say we let it be,” he finally decides. The coward’s way out. “If she doesn’t know already, she’ll find out eventually and if she already knows, she knows not to talk now. Let’s not confirm or deny until we know what she’s going to do.”

He holds his breath waiting what Eddie thinks of his decision. If he’ll judge Buck for not wanting to make sure, for giving her space, even if he might be wrong. But Eddie just says: “Okay,” easily. “Are we going to tell Chris not to talk?”

“Nah, he already has and I don’t want to teach him to be ashamed of us. Even if we aren’t actually gay, we’re still two men raising him,” Buck says.

“Agreed,” Eddie nods.

Then Buck realizes something and he says: “If it is the misunderstanding we think it is, you realize that Maddie thinks that you’re gay, right?”

“It’s not the first time someone’s assumed that,” Eddie replies, rolling his eyes. It’s something he’s gotten used to. The army knowing he is married to a man hardened him a little to the assumptions and after the so manieth comment, he stopped bothering to correct people. They’ll think what they want, Eddie knows better. He’s not gay, so it’s not true what they think anyway.

Buck studies him for a moment, just to be sure. He himself is actually gay – well, bi – but Eddie isn’t and he’s from a macho culture. Ramon at least seems to think even being non-gayly married to a man is affront to not only Eddie’s, but Ramon’s masculinity as well.

However, Eddie truly doesn’t seem to care. It makes Buck feel a little warm and fuzzy inside, knowing that Eddie will have his back.

With that confirmed and cleared up, he goes back to the logistics. When Eddie took the job at the 118 neither of them could have predicted the kind of web they would be caught up in, but it’s a little too late to back out now.

Out loud Buck muses: “It might be easier if I don’t drive Chris to and from Abuela while Maddie is staying there.” It’ll put that chore on Eddie, so he checks: “Is that okay?”

“Course,” Eddie smiles.

Buck doesn’t know what he did to deserve Eddie. Eddie, who trusts him with his son, who lets him fit into his life however he can at the time. Eddie, who doesn’t care if Buck is being weird about telling his sister about their not-gay gay marriage. Who wants Chris to not be homophobic, even if he really has no stakes in it. Who doesn’t care if people assume things about him even if it would be easier for him if they didn’t.

He’d say he could kiss Eddie, but that’s not an uncommon feeling. However, it’s more on the foreground than it usually is, watching Eddie comfortably sprawled over on the couch, talking with him about raising Chris and the shape of their family.

God, some days Buck wants this to be permanent, wants to be real so bad. He knows he’s greedy, but he can’t help but want more. Want to be able to lean in and kiss Eddie. It doesn’t even have to be a full blown make out session that can lead to more, he wants the domesticity of a simple kiss as thanks just as badly. Sometimes more badly, even. He wants to share his life with Eddie in every way, wants to wear a ring on his finger and have it mean something other than convenience. Wants it to mean being wanted, never being left.

But dwelling on those things is never good. The more he lets himself dwell, the deeper he’ll fall and the harder it’ll be to ignore. He needs to prevent falling in too deep, so he can keep holding on.

“Wanna watch the next episode of that telenovella we started?” he asks to deflect.

Which might not be the smartest move, since Eddie loves them and Buck only gets invested, because Eddie is and now Eddie is sending him a beaming grin, before excitedly grabbing the remote. It’s adorable as fuck and Buck wants to scream into a pillow.

Fortunately, Buck is well versed in acting normal around Eddie when he secretly wants to squish his cheeks, maybe gnaw on his arm a little to get it all out. So, Eddie doesn’t notice.

Once the TV is on, the excitement of today catches up with Buck and he watches the show through half lidded eyes. Mostly following due to Eddie’s reactions and rants. It’s nice. Soothing. He falls asleep right there without his permission.

Some undesignated time later, Eddie is waking him up. Softly shaking his arm as he whispers: “Buck. Buck, you gotta wake up. If you sleep here, you’ll have a crick in the neck.”

“Hngn, couch is comfy,” he murmurs, burrowing his head into the back of the couch again to hide away from the shaking.

Eddie lets out an amused huff, before shaking him again: “Come on, you ass. Don’t make me drag you to the bathroom and force a toothbrush in your mouth.”

“But if I brush my teeth, I’ll have to be awake again,” Buck protests with a pout.

“And if you don’t brush your teeth, you’ll get cavities and I will take the money to fix that out of your little treat budget,” Eddie threatens, using the knowledge Buck shared against him.

“Ugh, you’re so mean,” Buck complains as he drags himself off the couch, glaring at a smug looking Eddie as he follows him to the bathroom so they can brush their teeth side by side.

In the end, he’s a little glad to have been woken up for this. Somehow brushing his teeth next to Eddie is one of his favorite things. It’s silly, he knows, but there is something so intimate and domestic about it and it sends a pleasant flutter through his stomach every time.

With their teeth brushed, they bid each other goodnight, before parting ways to climb into their respective beds. As predicted, Buck is awake again now and he spends the whole night tossing and turning, reconsidering his choice, then arguing himself into it again.

So he’s a little groggy when a small weight launches itself onto the bed, despite usually being a morning person. He groans: “Morning, Chris.”

“Good morning, papi,” Chris grins way too brightly for the early hour. Ugh, childhood chipperness, if he is anything like Eddie, he’ll grow out of it come teenagehood. But for now, Chris is here, pulling at his arm, while Buck tries to burrow deeper into his pillow. “Can you make pancakes?”

“Go ask daddy, he’s on breakfast duty,” Buck tells him, already sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, knowing what will come next.

“But daddy can’t make pancakes,” Chris whines as expected.

“And it’s a school day. You know we said no pancakes on school days,” Buck reminds him.

“It’s a stupid rule and you break it all the time,” Chris protests. And he’s right too. Buck is a weak man and he knows he works on weekends from time to time, so he makes them on school days too, because then he has time. So, it is technically a rule, but not an enforced one.

“Alright, alright, I’ll make pancakes,” he caves, because of course he does. “Go wake daddy.” Even if Eddie is gonna go back to sleep after breakfast, he’d want to kiss Chris good day.

“Okay,” Chris says brightly, before climbing out of Buck’s bed to go barge into Eddie’s room.

Buck watches him go with a smile, before getting out of bed and pulling on the clothes he finds first on the chair of limbo. Since he is in uniform for work often, he doesn’t wear his clothes long enough for them to get laundry dirty, so they live on the chair until he has a day off again. He always gets clothes that go with all his other clothes, so he can just pull on whatever.

When he’s dressed, he goes to the kitchen. Chris is already there, he had heard banging on Eddie’s door, but it seems Chris didn’t go in, too excited about pancakes to properly wake Eddie when he can go in the kitchen to talk Buck into making chocolate chip pancakes.

He is about to pour the first of the batter in the pan when Eddie comes stumbling in, still in his pajamas and his hair a mess. Chris gives him a big smile as he informs him: “Papi’s making pancakes.”

“Yes,” Eddie cheers, lighting up and waking up more at the news. The love for pancakes is something the two Diaz’s share and it’s adorable.

Still, Buck sends him a deadpan look, making Eddie rub the back of head sheepishly. Then Buck grins and shakes his head fondly. “Good morning. There’s coffee in the pot.”

“You’re the best,” Eddie tells him, pouring the coffee and gratefully cradling the warm mug. Noting that Buck is dressed, he asks: “You driving Chris to school?”

“Yeah, gonna swing by Abuela after, see how Maddie is,” Buck answers.

Eddie gives him an understanding nod, but they don’t continue on about the topic, instead turning to Chris and asking what is he going to do at school today.

Breakfast is a pleasant affair and after Eddie gives Chris a kiss on the head, wishing him a good day, before returning to bed, like Buck had predicted. Buck himself does as he said, driving Chris to school, before going to Abuela’s house.

Abuela opens with a smile and hugs him. After they’ve said their hellos, she tells him he has a lovely sister, which is both nice to hear because he wants Maddie to be liked and Abuela probably wouldn’t like her if she’d said anything homophobic.

He doesn’t know that both have been avoiding the husband topic out of politeness. Abuela still isn’t sure if she can say and Maddie thinks that while Abuela knows, her generation means that she prefers not to mention it. So they exist in a limbo outside of it, having bonded over different topics instead.

Maddie is out in the back garden and Abuela gives the two some privacy to catch up. So, he joins her with some tea, handing a cup to her too as he says: “Looks like you two are getting along. She might just adopt you and not let you leave.”

“I’m probably not going to stick around long enough for that to happen,” Maddie replies, smiling to look disarming, as if she is joking, but there is a tightness to that smile and a tension to her posture that sets Buck’s teeth on edge.

She is trying to hide, trying to run. Before Buck let her and he regrets it so much. He can’t let her do it again. He won’t. So he says: “Why not? Maddie, what really happened with Doug? Why are you running away from him?”

“No,” she’s shaking her head, almost moving as if to leave. “I’m not gonna bring my little brother into this.”

And he already kind of knew, but this only confirms it. It also only solidifies his resolve to keep her close. “Standing in between you and anyone who thinks they can hurt you is exactly where I want to be standing. Maddie,” his voice turns from fierce to almost pleading, “are you in some kind of danger?”

Apparently almost a decade of no face to face contact has not hardened her to his pleading eyes, because she sags back in her chair and sighs: “The stuff that mom and dad hated about him, that you picked up on even as a teenager, it all got worse. Much worse over the last year or so.”

She swallows thickly, tears gathering in her eyes. Buck wants to comfort her, but doesn’t dare breathe or move for fear that she’ll stop finally telling him what’s been happening.

“When I threatened to leave, he threatened to kill me.” Her voice breaks properly now, the mask of strength chipped away to nothing. “And he meant it.”

Fucking hell.

Buck wants to get on the first plane to Pennsylvania and give Doug a piece of mind. Preferably with his fists. But Buck knows he’s not a fighter and that will end badly, not to mention that it’s not what Maddie needs right now. And what Maddie needs is far more important than anything Buck wants to do to Doug. So, he just holds out his hand, waiting for her to grab it, before he squeezes softly in support.

The gesture earns him a watery smile, before Maddie continues: “You know, when women in abusive relationships used to come into the hospital, I got to be honest, I would pass judgment. Like, why don’t you just leave him? Now I get it. It’s like you can’t even believe it’s happening.”

“But you broke free,” he reminds her, finally speaking. “And I’m proud of you.” Because he is and she needs to know that, but she also needs to know that she doesn’t have to be alone, so he tells her that too.

Looking at her face, she isn’t entirely convinced. She looks as if she wants to believe him, but can’t imagine that such a thing is true.

It breaks Buck’s heart and he is quick to suggest. “You should stay. Here. With Abuela and me and the 118, alright? Abuela loves you and otherwise I have room, I promise you can always ask. You’ll get my room, I’ll take the couch. All the privacy you want. And if Doug comes looking, then- then I know a lot of cops.”

At that Maddie gives him a small smile, eyes hopeful, and that is all Buck can ask for, especially when those eyes turn determined. “He won’t,” she says. “He doesn’t know you live here. He doesn’t know what you do. It’s a real benefit to being married to someone who doesn’t ask any questions.”

It’s a weak attempt at lightheartedness, but Buck doesn’t challenge it, instead matching her smile. He has permission to cling to her now. “Okay, that’s perfect. You can start over. I can help you. I can help get you a great nursing job at one of the hospitals.”

“No.” The answer surprises him and he’s sure his whole body pauses. Maddie explains: “I really miss helping people, but I can’t do that job every day, looking over my shoulder, wondering who’s walking through the front door.”

“Okay,” Buck nods thoughtfully, mind whirring. “So you want to help people, but not deal with them face to face.” He is neck deep in the helping people business – in all facets of that job – so he should come up with something. It hits him. “Yeah,” he grins. “I think I might have an idea.”

Maddie gives him a skeptical look, much like when she still lived at home and Buck had another idea for an afternoon activity that ‘will totally be so fun. Maddie, please, come on.’

“9-1-1 dispatcher,” Buck reveals proudly, a little smug when Maddie skepticism gets replaced by surprised delight.

“9-1-1 dispatcher,” she repeats, sounding it out and testing it on her tongue. “That sounds… interesting.”

“It is, they’re integral to the entire first responder system,” Buck says excitedly. “I interact with them every day. They make sure everything keeps running and keep people calm until we get there, they help them through the emergency before we can reach them. You’d be great at it.”

He is so excited about the idea and Maddie’s heart melts a little. She has missed Evan. Missed her little brother.

All these years she missed him, worried about him, clung to every card she got, hoping they’d never stop, because they were the only thing holding her together. Actually seeing them is the equivalent to the temporary studs being replaced by structural repairs.

She has always been his protector, but he’s always been her comforter. When she was fighting with her parents, he’d cuddle up with her, and when she was angry with Doug as a teen, he was there to try and cheer her up.

Evan has always been a helper. He’d stand next to her in the kitchen, watching her make a sandwich with big eyes and handing her the peanut butter jar. He’d tell their parents Maddie stayed with him after a nightmare, when she’d snuck out with friends. He’d given her an offer to get out, before it got worse than it ended up being and kept reaching out, even when she didn’t come with him.

And here he is, years later, still reaching out, still covering for her to her parents, still handing her what she needs. She loves him for it. She loves him so much.

The love she feels for him bubbles up in her and she pulls him into a big hug as she fiercely whispers: “Thank you so much. Thank you, Evan.”

“Of course,” he whispers back, holding her back equally tightly and equally fierce. And for as long as she needs him to.

When she lets go, she clears her throat. Even after everything she just told him, she wants to be strong and not cry on him. So, she says: “So. Uhm, what’s the Buck all about?”

“Oh, well,” Evan blushes, “it’s a nickname. There were a lot of Evan’s in my class at the fire academy. It kinda stuck,” he explains, then softly he adds: “I like it.”

It’s quiet and vulnerable, despite being so simple. She remembers Evan being yelled in the house, loaded with the heavy disappoint of not being someone else. How he has always shrank away from it, unless it was her saying it. Being Buck instead of Evan looks good on him, she wishes she could have been there to see him grow into himself, but she guesses she just has to learn to live with the ache of finding out about all the things she missed out on when she let him walk away.

Her smile is probably a little watery, but her voice is strong as she says: “I like it too. Buck.” And the blinding grin she gets in reply is worth everything she missed out on, because he is here now in front of her. Happy. Happy looks so good on him too. It hurts that it’s an unfamiliar expression on his familiar face.

They continue to catch up in Abuela’s back garden. She learns a lot about the people she met yesterday, surprised when Buck mentions Eddie started recently, with how easily he offered his grandmother’s house, she assumed he must have known them all for a while already now.

It’s also clear to her that her little brother is a little enamored with the man. He hasn’t mentioned anything about his sexuality to her. Another thing she missed out on.

She is already planning for the inevitable heartbreak when Eddie feels comfortable enough sharing that he has a husband. A husband who isn’t Buck. She hopes chocolate ice cream is still his favorite, that that hasn’t changed in all these years. That she still knows pieces of him.

Besides that, she gets some extra information on Chimney, the cute firefighter from the station she saw briefly. It’s not that she is going to do anything, she isn’t even sure she’s going to see more of Buck’s coworkers (other than Eddie, of course), but she wants to know anyway. So she has a better picture to fantasize.

Maddie has gotten really good at fantasizing to cope and Chimney is definitely someone she wants to fantasize about. He sounds like a good guy. She can use a good guy.

By the time Buck leaves, he feels less like a stranger she used to know and more like her baby brother. Plus, she has a job and a ride for her first day. Maddie has stopped having hope or being optimistic years ago, but something about Buck makes her want to try again. The smile doesn’t leave her face the whole day.

~~

A/N:

If I think about the Buckley siblings for too long, I go insane, istg.

Also their little lie getting out of control is so iconic to me, I love writing stories where one small thing gets out of hand and them not just ripping the band aid with Maddie now, is the beginning of the end xp

[imagines-about-celebs]

Hiya!

Please can I request a Joseph Quinn x reader fic where they fall in love on the set of stranger things

Love on Set [Joe Quinn x Reader]

A/N: So happy I got this. It was actually so fun to write, and I hope you like it. Joe seems like such a sweetheart and also quite goofy.

You remember the day you had received the call about joining Stranger Things 4. It was definitely one of your favourite shows and it was such an honour to be casted in the latest season. You were set to play the love interest to a character named Eddie Munson, misunderstood “freak” of Hawkins. You knew you would have so much fun and couldn’t wait to meet everyone on your first day.

It has roughly been a few weeks since filming had started, and you had already become such good friends with almost everyone. You had grown close to one particular person, Joseph Quinn. You and joe had practically become tied at the hip. Maybe it was the scenes you had to film together or maybe the fact that your characters fall in love, you weren’t really sure how your friendship with him became so close, not that you were complaining. He was one the nicest, kindest souls you had ever met, and you both always had a good laugh together.

While sitting in hair and makeup, you started to talk with Amy the hair stylist about which scenes you were filming today. She began to tease you a bit, “excited to be kissing Joe today” she made a kissy face towards you. you giggled “Come on now, it’s just work.” Amy shook her head, “you know, I definitely think he might have a thing for you”. It was your turn to shake your head. There was no way he could be crushing on you. You sit there, lost in thought about whether that could be true or not. Amy snaps her fingers to grab your attention. “Hey, you good?” you look at her with doe eyes. She smiles wide “you like him, don’t you?”  you got out of the chair to stretch your legs, an excuse to try to hide the blush forming on your face. “NO... I was just trying to remember if I read all my lies.” You knew she wouldn’t accept the lie. Then you hear a knock at the door. “Come in” Amy yells. In walks Joe and you suddenly started to feel butterflies in your stomach. He smiles at Amy and then at you, letting his eyes linger; fully taking in your appearance. You started to feel a little shy in his gaze. “Morning how are we?” he asks the both of you. “Morning, we’re good, aren’t we Y/N?” she elbows you softly, breaking your train of thought. “Uhm yeah, we’re good?” You’re not sure why you all of sudden feel nervous around him. You notice Joe laugh softly at your response. He sits down in the chair ready to be done.

“So how was your night?” you ask Joe, trying to seem normal. “Great, felt good to be able to finally get some good sleep.” He gives you a smile, you didn’t realise until now your feelings for him were this strong. Amy could see the tension between the two of you starting to bubble in the trailer, so she decided to excuse herself. “I just have to run to the makeup trailer really quick.” She leaves quickly, shooting you a look to say that you should definitely make a move. As she slams the door, you turn back to Joe who was watching you in the mirror. “So…” you both said at the same time. “Oh sorry, you go” you say to him, hoping he actually had something to say to cover the fact that you had no idea what to say. “Oh, I was just going to say, that you look beautiful today.” He complemented you. He would complement you almost everyday on set but this time it just felt different, like maybe there was some truth to Amy’s words. You give him a shy smile. You sit in the chair next to him. You decide to be a little playful with him, to see if you could crack him a bit about his feelings. “So, I heard a rumour that you have a crush on someone on set.” He shoots you a look, but you can’t really tell what it means. Is he nervous? “Well, did whoever tell you this rumour who it was?” you shake your head, maybe Amy was right. “So, it’s true? You gotta tell me who it is.” You try to act like your normal self, pushing any nervousness aside. “Well, she’s beautiful, kind and really smart. I always have a good time on set with her. She’s one of the funniest people I know and hopefully she’ll say yes to maybe being my girlfriend. I feel like we’ve had quite a few dates already without really realising it.” He gives you another nervous look. You look into his beautiful brown eyes, hoping he’ll reveal that it’s you he’s talking about. “I think she would be honoured to be your girlfriend if you asked her. I’m sure she would know how lucky she is.” He gets up and grabs you by the hand, pulling you to stand in front of him. You start to feel nervous yourself, he really was talking about you, and you definitely would be lying if you said you didn’t have feelings for him too. “So, would that be a yes then?” he gives you a hopeful look. Instead of answering, you decide to answer by leaning in. He notices your action and closes the gap between the two of you. You had kissed Joe many times while filming but this kiss just felt different, it felt like the cliché fireworks and sparks you hear people talk about. After a few seconds, you both pull apart. “Definitely a yes.” You finally put into words, seeing him start to smile wide. He gives you another kiss. You could tell he felt better finally telling you, as did you. You felt like a weight had been lifted and you no longer had to hide your true feelings. You got to finally call this gorgeous man yours.

[newtonsheffield]

Edwina!!! what a dream of a sister, what a dream of an update - thank you so much for all the work you put into this universe, it brings so much joy into my life, which - with this whole pandemic thing - is not that joyful right now. thank you thank you thank you!! also: Matthew and Edwina have never been of much interest to me until that update today but now I am curious - any headcanons about the two of them that you would like to share?

Ahhhh Edwina!  Edwina and Kate’s relationship is very near and dear to my heart. My sister and I grew up very separate from our large extended family because we grew up in Australia and the rest of our family is still in the UK and as a result we’re very close. Edwina reminds me of my sister very much and she is genuinely my favourite person in this world (Natalie Portman excluded because I believe her to be an ethereal being more so than a human) so I genuinely loved writing this week’s update and I hope I did Edwina justice!

Edit because I very rudely forgot to respond to part of your message! I’m so glad this scrappy little series is helping you through this difficult time. I cannot tell you how touched I am to hear that this series has an impact on anyone’s life even in the smallest way!

Okay! Sweet Matthew Bagwell who just genuinely fell in love with Edwina, and then had to deal with her Brother in law who seemed to take his very presence as an affront as he glowered at him reading a story to Edwina’s tiny Nephew, even as Kate said Never mind Anthony, he thinks he’s very scary. And Matthew privately thought that Anthony thought right. 

Matthew Bagwell had been having a very very bad day. His dig proposal was shot down nearly immediately. Someone on a school trip had gotten far too close to an exhibit which had set off all sorts of alarms. And the archaeology class he was teaching for the University of London had had one very bored attendee who kept humming the theme song to Indiana Jones. He’d been texting his brother to bail on their movie plans later, rounded the corner and banged right into someone. He’d looked down to apologise and found himself looking down at the most startlingly beautiful woman he’d ever seen and his breath was stolen from his body. Her eyes seemed to be burning into his, her dark hair falling around her face in soft waves, and then he realised he’d actually bumped into two someone’s because the tiny baby wearing a triceratops onesie complete with a hood strapped to her front started crying. I’m so sorry! Now I’ve made your son cry Matthew stuttered out stooping to look at the very adorable baby pulling a little face as the baby started giggling happily. We ran into you This woman’s musical voice drifted down to him and his heart just about stopped beating as her face broke into a beautiful smile and she said He’s my nephew, just by the way. And suddenly, though he’d never been the most confident person... ever something about this woman made him want to try summoning all his courage to say I’m Matthew!  a jolt went straight through him when she took his hand and said lightly Edwina that breathtaking smile still on her face when she said And this is Edmund, we’re learning about the Dinosaurs today and Matthew took a deep breath clenching his fist as he said Umm it’s not my specialty but maybe I could help? And when he smiled at her as he turned to go hours later, having spent the most enjoyable day he’d possibly ever had at work with a woman who was smart and funny and clearly loved her nephew, he was very surprised when her voice called out Were you not even going to ask for my phone number?! And he’d practically fallen over himself to get back to her, his phone outstretched and something familiar had twigged in the back of his brain when he’d seen her name Edwina Sheffield and when he got back home and his eyes landed on the magazine his mother had left there his brain stalling as he recognised the woman on the cover. He could only let out a very startled Fuck 

Edwina’s heart had practically beat out of her chest when she’d left Matthew at the museum, a smile stuck on her face the whole way back to Kate’s. Even when Kate had teased her Edwina Sheffield you sly dog, are you using my baby to pick up men? Oh my god! Anthony! My sister is using our child to hunt down men ready for marriage! And Anthony had appeared already scowling clearly ready to shoo a man from his living room Edwina had very half heartedly rolled her eyes and said Shut up Kate!  and biting her lip she said it was just kind of nice to meet someone who didn’t... know who I was. And Kate had stopped laughing immediately, Well he’d be stupid not to call you Eddie. And yet a week later he hadn’t. And Edwina was feeling more than a little disheartened even as she took Edmund back to the museum the next week as was her routine almost dreading running into the man who’d had the kindest smile she’d ever seen and actually seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say, not just what she looked like. And Jesus christ there he was, right by the coffee cart in the entrance hall his eyes darting around the foyer and her heart sank when she saw the magazine he was carrying, her face right there on the cover. And god help her she turned and walked right out of the foyer as their eyes met, tears pricking the whole way. Edwina wait!  Matthew’s frantic voice called after her, his footsteps pounding on the pavement outside, his long strides catching her embarrassingly quickly his hand tentatively touching her shoulder as she spun towards him desperately wanting to be angry but just feeling desperately stupid Matthew can we please not do this? I know, it’s a very good story to take to your friends that you shagged Edwina Sheffield, and I’ll admit you put in much more effort than most to pretend you didn’t know but it usually doesn’t end up being very fun for me and really I’m just- And his eyes looked so terrified for a second so wide that she stopped short, I really didn’t know! Last week I mean and god, then I went home and my mum had left this there and I felt so so stupid and I wanted to call you but God you’re so smart and funny and then you’re this as well and I thought you maybe did it as kind of a laugh like teasing a poor nerdy guy and I just panicked He was rambling so earnestly and God he just seemed so sweet, in the sweater that was obviously homemade, his glasses slipping down his nose that she couldn’t help herself from standing on her toes and pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. When she pulled back he looked positively stunned, his cheeks flushing red, as he touched his cheek in disbelief where her lips had been seconds before. And her heart swelled with affection when She said Just to be clear, Matthew. I think you’re very smart and funny, and yes, very cute, and I’d very much like to go out with you. 

And when he got down on one knee right there in the spot they’d first met, even though it had only been seven months she knew exactly what she was going to say before he’d even managed to stutter out the question.        

[chicgeekgirl89]

The Runaway

Fandom: 911

Characters: Eddie Diaz, Christopher Diaz, Evan Buckley

Summary: Eddie picks Christopher up from Buck’s after the events of 4.08 “Breaking Point.”

                                      XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Eddie knew fear. He’d survived shootouts, bombings, five alarm fires, near drowning, and the death of his wife. He knew fear. But all of that paled in comparison to how he’d felt when he’d seen Christopher’s empty bed.

It was God or karma or sheer luck that he didn’t get pulled over on the way to Buck’s because he made the twenty minute trip in less than ten, ignoring several stop signs on quieter streets and speeding through questionably yellow lights. He needed to be with his kid now. 

The elevator ride up to Buck’s floor almost killed him. He stood right next to the door, one hand braced on the paneling, the other punching the button repeatedly as if that would make the machinery move faster. 

Buck was waiting for him in the hallway, his face serious. “Eddie, wait a second,” he said, holding out a placating hand.

“Buck, let me in,” Eddie said through gritted teeth.

“Just listen,” Buck said. “If you go in there yelling it’s not going to fix anything. He’s upset—“

“I know he’s upset!” Eddie snapped. “I’m upset too! How do you think I felt, opening his door and finding him gone? Knowing that it’s my fault? That he’d rather come talk to you than me?”

Buck stayed calm despite the jabs. “He’s just a kid Eddie. He’s confused.”

Eddie shook his head. “Buck I swear to god if you start trying to lecture me on raising my kid right now—”

“I’m not, I promise I’m not,” Buck said. “I just…I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t have anyone to talk to. And I don’t want you to make a mistake you can’t come back from.”

“Buck.” Eddie blew out a breath, his already thin patience having reached the breaking point. “Just let me in.”

Buck eyed him for a half second longer, then stepped back. Eddie pushed past him, striding quickly into the apartment. Words like ‘grounded’ and ‘no TV’ were at the forefront of his mind, but they died on his tongue the second he saw Christopher sitting on the couch. He was here. He was safe. He wasn’t kidnapped or lying on the side of the road or wandering the streets by himself, all scenarios that had run through Eddie’s mind in the last half hour. 

“Christopher.” He breathed out his son’s name and dropped to his knees, pulling him into a fierce hug. “Oh my god Christopher. You scared me.” 

“I’m sorry Dad,” Christopher said, his voice muffled against Eddie’s shirt. 

Eddie’s tears were closer to the surface than he’d realized, pricking at his eyes and making his throat grow tight. “I’m sorry too.”

Christopher pulled back and looked up at him, worry pinching his face.“Are you mad at me?”

Eddie sucked in a deep breath, struggling to find the right words. There were clearly some things they needed to talk about. As much as he hated to admit it, Christopher wasn’t a baby anymore. 

“I’m upset,” he finally said. “I’m glad you felt like you could come talk to Buck; that you chose a safe place to go. But it really scared me to find you gone like that.”

“I was just really mad at you,” Christopher said, shifting back and forth restlessly. “You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend.”

“I know,” Eddie said, guilt chewing at his gut. “But relationships are a complicated thing. And I didn’t want to talk to you until I was…more sure about everything.”

“You lied to me.” Christopher said it accusingly.

“I did,” Eddie admitted. “And that was the wrong choice. I’m sorry. I will try to be more honest with you from now on. But I also need you to understand that sometimes I need time to figure things out before I talk to you.”

“Because you’re a grown up?”

“Yes. Because I’m a grown up. And grown up stuff is complicated sometimes.”

Christopher mulled this over for a moment and sighed. “That’s what Buck said too.”

“Yeah?” Eddie glanced toward the doorway but Buck had disappeared, apparently giving them some privacy, although with the loft’s open floor plan he had no doubt that his friend could hear every word. “What else did he say?”

“That it was okay for you to have a girlfriend and it was okay for me to be upset about it. And that it doesn’t mean you love Mom any less.”

Eddie’s heart squeezed. “Christopher, is that what you think? That if I see someone new I don’t love your mom anymore?”

“I don’t know,” Christopher said with a sniff.

Eddie could tell he was close to tears and he squeezed his son’s knee comfortingly. “I will always love your mom. Just like I will always love you. But I have room in my heart for somebody new. And I think if you try, you just might too.”

Christopher was quiet for a moment. “I think I could do that.”

Eddie felt a wave of relief crash over him. “I know you could. You are one of the kindest, most loving kids in the whole world.”

Christopher looked up at him from under his glasses. “Does that mean I’m not in trouble?”

“Oh no, you’re definitely in trouble,” Eddie said, amusement trickling through him in spite of the situation. “Grounded. For a week. No phone. No TV. No video games.”

“But Dad!”

“Uh uh, don’t even try,” Eddie said. “Choices have consequences kiddo.” He softened his voice. “Chris, the next time you get mad I want you to come and talk to me. But if you ever feel like there’s something we can’t talk about, you can tell me that you want to come to Buck’s and I’ll bring you. Please don’t ever run away like that again.”

“I won’t,” Christopher said. “I promise.”

“Good. Come on,” Eddie said. “It’s a school night. Let’s get home.”

“Can we say goodbye to Buck?”

“Of course.”

Buck reappeared at the sound of his name. “Hey time to go already?” he asked.

“Dad says we have to,” Christopher said. He walked forward and wrapped his arms around Buck’s waist. “Thanks Buck.”

“Anytime buddy,” Buck said fondly, ruffling his hair. 

“Hey Christopher, can you go wait in the hall for just a second?” Eddie asked. “I’ll be right out.”

Christopher eyed them both. “More grown up stuff?”

“Yes,” Eddie said pointedly. “Go please.”

“Fine.” Christopher turned with a sigh of long suffering and headed out the door.

Eddie stuck his hands in his back pockets and shifted his weight uncomfortably. “Hey, look, I’m sorry I came in here like that. That stuff I said…I know you were just trying to help.”

“It’s okay,” Buck said. “I get it. He scared the shit out of you. Heck he scared the shit out of me just showing up on my doorstep.”

Eddie shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m doing here Buck. He’s growing up. He’s almost a teenager. Sometimes it’s like I don’t even know him anymore.”

“Hey, you’re a good dad,” Buck said. “He knows that. He just…needed a minute.”

“Well thank you for being here. For both of us,” Eddie said. “I really—it means a lot to me that he feels like he has someone he can talk to.”

Buck put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Always.”

Christopher fell asleep on the drive home, which Eddie took at a significantly slower pace than his frantic journey to Buck’s. When they arrived Eddie gathered him up in his arms and carried him inside, heart squeezing painfully in his chest. How much longer until he couldn’t do this anymore? Until Christopher grew too tall or too embarrassed to let him help this way? He wasn’t ready to let childhood go. But the last two years had changed them both, and it was time Eddie stopped pretending Christopher was going to be a kid forever and started preparing to help him grow up. 

He laid Christopher on his bed and slipped off his shoes before pulling up a blanket and tucking it around him. He pressed a kiss to his son’s hair and then gently removed his glasses, placing them on the nightstand. He turned off the light intending to slip from the room and fall into his own bed. 

“Daddy?”

Eddie turned back to find Christopher’s eyes open, peeking up at him from under the blanket. “Yeah buddy?”

“What if your new girlfriend goes away too? Like Mom did?”

God, was his kid trying to kill him? Eddie was not prepared for this tonight. “I don’t think that will happen. But if it does, then we’ll be sad. And we’ll try to remember the good times we had together. Just like we do with your mom.”

“What if you break up?”

“That’s a possibility. You know sometimes things just don’t work out. That’s what dating is for. To see if you want to be with somebody forever.”

“If you break up, what if she doesn’t want to see me anymore?”

Eddie sat down on the bed. This was the crux of why he’d avoided this issue; he didn’t want to cause Christopher anymore heartbreak. “I don’t think there’s a single person in this world who would ever want to stop seeing you,” he said. “And I would never ask you to stop being friends with someone just because it didn’t work out between me and her.”

Christopher was quiet for a moment. “Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said. “Yeah buddy, of course.”

He nestled into the bed and Christopher snuggled close into his side. “I love you,” Eddie said. 

“Love you too,” Christopher mumbled.

Within minutes his breathing evened out and Eddie knew he’d fallen asleep. But Eddie didn’t move. Not yet. He wanted to hold onto childhood for just a little bit longer.

[marvelslut16]

Can’t live without you

Pairing: Stanley Uris x reader (adults)

Synopsis: (Y/N) finds out that her best friend didn’t arrive back in Derry with the rest of the losers club, and finds out that he tried to kill himself. Glimpses of her past with Stan are seen as she visits him in the hospital. Will the best friends that have been pining over each other since they were kids finally get their happy ending, or will Patricia and the very different lives the lead get in the way?

Word count: 5,314 this is a lot more than I originally planned, guess I got carried away.

Warnings: Attempted suicide. Talk of self harm. Blood/gore/violence, typical for the IT fandom. Brief implication of domestic violence from a father and a wife. A little angsty at times, but fluffy. Swearing. Tooth rotting fluff near the end.

A/N: Stan may be OOC, but I tried my hardest for my first IT story. Stan the man Uris is fantastic and deserved so much better. AU where the characters I love don’t die. The reader in this story isn’t Jewish, if you are Jewish, I apologize. There is a cute little story-line that relies heavily on the reader not having the same faith as him.

It had been just over twenty years since you were last in your home town of Derry Maine, and you hadn’t thought if it once. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to remember, you just couldn't. There were days when the name Stan would randomly pop in your head, and from a place buried very deep in the back of your brain, you were sure he was an important person in your adolescent life. 

When Mike Hanlon called to tell you that Pennywise was back, your heart started pounding so hard you were convinced it would leap from its place inside your chest. You didn’t exactly remember Pennywise, but you remembered the fear. You also remembered a mop of curly light brown hair that you immediately associated with Stan. 

Upon arriving at the Chinese restaurant in Derry flashes of your childhood came back, they were so unfamiliar it was like watching somebody else's life. Stan was the center of almost all of them, your old best friend and boy you had been in love with since you were six. It was great catching up with your old friends, but it didn’t feel right without Stan. 

The other six members of the losers club opened their fortune cookies, spelling out; ‘I,’ ‘cut,’  ‘not,’ ‘it,’ ‘guess,’ and ‘could.’ Your heart falls into the pit of your stomach as you open your own and see the thick black letters spelling out Stanley. 

“No,” you gasp out a plea to no one in particular. You lean forward and numbly move the papers around to say, ‘I guess Stanley could not cut it.’ The rest of the losers club had remembered enough over dinner to remember just how much Stan meant to you, causing them to stare at you as you try to blink back tears. 

The group running from creatures breaking out of fortune cookies happens in a blur, your head isn’t clear until the cool night air hits it. Mike gives you Stan’s number as soon as he comes to his senses. You walk away from the group, wanting privacy for whatever you get on the other end of the call. 

“Who is this?” a female voice answers the phone. Your furrow your eyebrows in fear and glance over at Mike who is watching you closely. 

“Uh, (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” you state nervously, picking at your already chipped nail polish. “I’m sorry, I thought this was Stan Uris’s number.”

“It is,” the voice says slowly. “How do you know him?”

“We grew up together, we were best friends,” you smile as you remember gripping onto his hand as the wind whipped around you two the first time you jumped into the quarry. “Our friend group was having a mini reunion back home, and we got worried that he didn’t show up.”

“He’s in the hospital,” she says with no real emotion in her voice. 

“What?” you ask in disbelief. Not your Stan. 

“He’s in the hospital,” she snaps. “Do I need to say it slower for you? He slit his wrists and lost a lot of blood.”

“Oh my God,” you murmur, knees going weak at the thought. “Which hospital? I’d like to visit him before I go back home.”

She tells you the name of the hospital and hangs up before you can say anything else. Your knees buckle as soon as the line clicks dead, causing you to fall and scrape up your knees on the dirty pavement. Tears stream down your face and silent sobs shake your body. Ben and Bev immediately rush to your side, Bev kneeling beside you as she rubs soothing circles into your back. 

“(Y/N)?” she asks nervously. 

“He’s in the hospital,” you sob out weakly. “He tried to kill himself.” Bev helps you stand and sets you in Richie’s car so you can head to the hotel.

The rest of your time in Derry is a blur, it’s over so quick, but feels painfully slow. You instantly knew that your token was the menorah necklace that you’ve worn everyday since you had gotten it in sixth grade. Stan had bought it for you for Christmas as a joke, his father had made a not-so-pleasant comment about you not being Jewish the week prior. You knew you loved him the moment you tore the ribbon off of the box; he knew you better than anyone else, he let his guard down when he was with you, and he was the kindest, sweetest boy you had ever met especially when he stood up to his father about your religion.

Before you know it you’re assaulted by the smell of bleach and shiny white floors as you walk into the hospital Stan is in. After finding out the room number from the receptionist you slowly head to his room, wondering if you should really be there. 

Through the small window of Stan’s hospital room you see a blonde woman sitting on a couch on the far side of the room, typing away on her laptop. When you enter the room she slams her laptop shut and walks over to you, making sure to stand between you and Stan’s bed. 

“I’m Patricia Uris,” she makes no move to stick her hand out for you to shake, but makes the diamond on her left hand noticeable. 

“I’m (Y/N),” you give her a small smile that drops as you look behind her, seeing Stan’s body lay there unmoving. “We briefly spoke on the phone the other night.”

“Right,” her eyes squint as she looks you up and down. “What happened to your face?” She’s referring to the healing cut that reaches from your hairline diagonally to your eyebrow, you should really look into getting side bangs or something. Pennywise was always great at mentally and physically scarring everyone. 

“I was taking a shortcut through the forest in Derry when I slipped and cut it on a sharp piece of bark,” you lie effortlessly. She rolls her eyes but seems to believe your terrible excuse. “Is Stan getting any better?”

“The doctors say he should wake up any day now,” she doesn’t sound as excited about that as a wife should. “They say he should be awake, he just doesn’t want to. It’s all psychological apparently. It’s just like Stan to not want to do anything, always wanting to bird watch instead of going shopping with me.”

“Stan always loved to bird watch,” you smile at Patricia, pushing away the anger you feel at her ignorance and disdain she seems to hold for her husband. “He used to always drag me to the park in Derry to show me the different types, I was the only one in the group to enjoy it with him.”

“Yeah, well, it gets old fast,” she rolls her eyes, turning around to pack her laptop in her bag and grab her purse. “I’m gonna go home and shower, sit with him as long as you want to.”

Her heels click loudly on the linoleum flooring as she walks past you without a second glance towards Stan. You frown at her back as she walks down the hall to the elevator. You pull up a chair next to Stan’s bed and lightly grab his limp hand, running your thumb over the back of his hand.”

“You can’t leave me alone in this shit world, not after I finally remember,” tears spill down your cheeks. “I need you Stan the man. I’ll even go bird watching with you. Richie said, and I quote, so you can’t get mad at me for saying this when you wake up and remember me saying this, that you need to wake your ass up Urine, there are still a shit ton of birds to go look at. It’s all over Stan, we killed IT. And we all made it out, so you definitely need to wake back up. I’ve lived twenty years without you Stanley, I can’t go twenty more without you. I can’t even go one more without you.

Richie and Eddie finally got together, it was really cute. Eddie thought he was dying, he got stabbed by IT, so he confessed his love to Richie. But Richie was determined to get him out of there alive, and he did. So now they’re finally together, even though he married a woman that’s essentially his mother. Ben and Bev finally got together, we used to always say that they were made for each other. Ben is super fit now, but he’s still the biggest sweetheart I have ever met. And Bev is still so strong willed and fierce. 

Bill is a horror writer now, which to me is pretty ironic. They’re making his stories into movies, where they always change the ending because they want something happy. He married some actress, who he’s divorcing as we speak. She isn’t great, insulting his work and not really caring that she’s hurting his feelings. Mike has been living in Derry this entire time, he took over his family's business. He was waiting these past twenty-seven years for IT to come back. Trying his hardest to protect the next generation from the horror that we faced. 

I guess that just leaves me, I moved to Colorado, far far away from Derry. I worked my ass off to become a lawyer, the dream you always pushed me to go after. Even when I couldn’t remember you, your encouragement was in the back of my head, keeping me going when it got difficult. There were days that I would get foggy images of us getting ice cream, or splashing each other in the quarry, all of those times when you would let your guard down and have fun with me. Even after the losers club drifted apart as we went into high school, you stayed at my side. You defended me to your father when he hated that we were so close, even though I wasn’t Jewish. We were always there to pick each other up when Bowers or Greta and their friends would tease or beat us up. Stanley Uris, please wake up. I need you, we all miss you, and I definitely miss you the most.”

--

After spending hours with him, you head to the nearest hotel for the night. The next morning you stop by the hospital with the intent to say goodbye to Stan before heading home. When you walk up to the room Patricia and the doctor are talking. 

“There was more brain activity yesterday,” the doctor’s voice drifts out through the open door and into the hall where you’re standing. “Whatever you did, do it again, because it was the first time we saw evidence that he could wake up.”

“Great,” she has a fake grin on her face, and she’s using a fake tone. Why doesn’t she want Stan, the most amazing man you have ever met and her husband, to wake up? “What are you doing here again?” she snaps as she notices you in the doorway. 

“I have to head back home, so I wanted to say goodbye to him,” you nervously fiddle with the hem of your sweater. 

“Didn’t you have enough time with him yesterday?” she glares at you. Why is she so defensive about you seeing Stan again?

“You were here yesterday?” the doctor's eyes widen as he looks at you for the first time. 

“Yeah,” you answer shyly, flattening the side bangs you cut last night. Making sure they cover your stitched up forehead. His eyes light up in excitement and goes to talk to you once more, Patricia cuts him off. 

“Well, as Stanley’s wife, I’m not sure I feel comfortable having you spend more time with him,” as she goes to continue with a string of complaints, a hushed and broken sound comes from the hospital bed. 

“Oh my God,” you whisper, your hand covering your mouth. Your knees go weak, almost collapsing with relief as Stan repeats the sounds he had just made. 

“I’m right here Stan,” Patricia forces her excitement once more, limply grabbing his hand. 

“(Y/N),” his voice is clear this time, and your heart flutters as your old best friend says your name again. You rush over to his other side, gently grabbing his hand since that's where his IV is.

“Stan?” your voice breaks as you try to keep a relieved sob from escaping. Stan slowly and carefully flips his hand over, threading his fingers with yours. “It’s over. IT is gone, we got rid of IT this time.” His eyes open at your words, head turning to look you in the eyes. Tears finally escape the moment you can finally look into his deep brown eyes again. 

“Did you call me urine?” his voice is rough and scratchy from not being able to use it for a week. More tears spill down your face as you laugh, because that was the first question he decides to ask you. 

“I said I was quoting Richie,” your whole body shakes as you laugh, far too relieved to care if Patricia thinks you’re being over the top. 

“I can remember,” his voice is softer, just like his eyes. “I remember everything. What ever happened to your necklace?” his other hand reaches across his body, but stops and hovers a few inches away from where the necklace once hung. You instinctively reach up to touch your chest where the pendent once fell. 

“We needed tokens of our past, the most important thing from our childhood, that was mine,” he grips your hand tighter, the other one falling to his lap and away from Patricia. “I wore it everyday these past twenty seven years.”

“What necklace?” Patricia’s strained voice brings you back to Earth. You carefully let go of Stan’s hand and pull it back to your side. You had forgotten about Patricia, forgot that you aren’t allowed to love him anymore. 

“I got her a menorah necklace,” Stan laughs at the memory, not noticing that you got awkward and pulled away. “She’s not Jewish, and my dad always hated that we were so close and she wasn’t. I used to joke that I would convert her one day, so I thought it would be funny to get her it for Christmas.” The doctor grins at you and Stan with a knowing look before backing out of the room quietly. 

“Cute,” Patricia rolls her eyes and glares at you. You frown in response, wondering what on Earth you ever did to her. Ignoring Patricia, you hand Stan the unopened water bottle from your bag, sure that he’d need some water. He smiles gratefully at you before taking a large sip.

“What are you even doing here?” his stern gaze landing on Patricia. You furrow your brows, the Stan you knew would never treat his wife this way. 

“I’m your wife!” her voice is shrill, hurting your ears and making you cringe. Stan on the other hand doesn’t seem amused with the outburst. 

“We aren’t married anymore Patricia,” Stan’s voice is harder than you have ever heard before. “I divorced you three years ago, the only reason you're here is because I haven’t changed my emergency contact.” 

You run your hands through your hair as you process the new information, Stan was available. You could love him without being guilty. You could finally tell him that you love him, that you always have. 

“Well have fun with your deformed klutz over there,” she gestures towards you with a mocking grin. You had pushed your bangs back a moment prior without realizing it, Stan’s gaze on you quickly goes from confused to anger as he pieces together what happened to you. 

“Leave Patricia,” the anger in his voice is kinda hot. “I never want to see you again.”

“Don’t come crawling back to me when you get bored with her,” and with that she leaves, slamming the door loudly behind her. 

“What happened?” Stan brings his hand up and gently glides his fingers over the stitches Eddie put in. 

“You aren’t married?” your heart is beating so fast you swear it would break out of your chest and fly away. 

 “No, I divorced her a while ago, I realized she was treating me terribly,” you start crying at his words. “Why are you crying?”

“I thought you were dead, and then I thought you were married and slowly dying,” you sob. “But now you’re suddenly single and very much alive. It’s a lot to process. 

He lifts his hand back up to your face, wiping away your tears even if they’re being replaced as soon as he moves his thumb away from your skin. His hands are a little rough, but soft enough to know that he works behind a desk. His hand starts to caress your cheek, you have to fight the heat from rising to your cheeks and push away the excitement you feel from the tender touch. You’re just an old friend he hasn’t seen in twenty years, nothing more. 

“What happened to your forehead?” his voice is soft again, and his fingers brush along the angry red cut once more.  

“I was facing my fear,” images of a young Stan abandoning you in order to save himself, saying that you mean nothing to him, after you had fallen and your abusive father was closing in on you, race through your mind. “And Pennywise, as my father, cornered me after a young you pushed me down and ran away. As my father was hovering over me with a knife, he morphed into IT and he used his long sharp nail to cut my face, and try to gouge my eye out. I got lucky because there happened to be a large rock next to me, which I hit IT with so I could run away.”

“I would never leave you,” Stan says sadly, a hurt look in his eyes as he stares at you but can’t look into your eyes. “I’m sorry you had to see him again, even if he was just IT’s illusion.”

“It’s fine,” you reach up to play with your necklace, forgetting it’s not there anymore. Playing with the necklace had become a coping mechanism for your anxiety. The nervous tick had developed almost immediately after you received the present. “Really, everything is in the past now. I’m fine.”

Stan gives you a disbelieving look, you look around the room to avoid his gaze. Your eyes lock onto the clock, causing them to widen as you take in the time. How had that much time passed already? It felt like you had entered the room five minutes ago, it certainly didn’t feel like two hours had come and gone. 

“What is it?” Stan grabs your hand, keeping you from standing from the uncomfortable hospital chair. 

“I have a plane to catch, in an hour,” you pull your hand from his grasp, standing and backing away from the bed as well. “I need to go now if I have any chance of making it through TSA and to my plane in time.”

“Don’t go,” his voice is soft, broken even. “I lost you once, I can’t lose you again.”

“You’ll be fine Stan,” you flash him a watery smile. “You have healing to do, and then you can go bird watch all you want. We’ll remember each other this time, we can keep in touch.” You walk over to the side of his bed, pushing the curls off his forehead so you can give him a soft kiss. A tear slips down your cheek and lands on his curls as the fall back into place. “Goodbye Stan.”

--

It had been weeks since you had left Atlanta, and you’ve thought of Stan every hour of every day since. It’s like your mind is punishing you with thoughts of him since you had forgotten him for so long. You and Stan texted a couple times, you still had his number from when Mike gave it to you. And just like Mike gave you Stan’s number, he gave Stan your address. Because two and a half weeks after you arrived home, a small package from Stan arrived in the mail. 

You stare at the package in shock for a few minutes, before finally opening it. You gasp as you see a menorah necklace inside, almost identical to the one you had gotten so many years ago. Your heart thumps against your rib cage at the thoughtful, heartfelt gesture. 

You immediately send Stan a text, thanking him for the necklace, while lightly chastising him for spending money on you, and asking him to give you a call as soon as he could. It has been almost twenty four hours since your text, and you've gotten no reply. You start to fear the worst, that this could have been his last act before trying, and succeeding, to kill himself. As you contemplate finding a way to get a wellness check on him, there's a knock on your apartment door. Probably just the guy from down the hall that doesn’t understand that rejection isn’t playing hard to get. 

When you open the door Stan is standing in front of you; his dark brown curls are styled instead of the chaotic mess they were at the hospital, his face clean shaven, his striped button up and pressed khakis are reminiscent of the outfits he would wear as a child. This is how you always imagined Stanley Uris would look like as an adult, well without the small almost unnoticeable scars on the side of his head. 

“Come in,” you finally snap out of your trance and step to the side, leaving more than enough room for him to walk into your modest two bedroom apartment. He takes in the living room and kitchen, but his eyes light up when they land at the necklace hanging delicately from your throat. “Wh-what are you doing here?” you glance down at the small carry on he’s holding.

“I thought I should tell you why I did it,” his voice is strained. “And I didn’t want to do it over the phone, since I know you were getting ready to make some smart ass remark about telephones.” Stan really was your best friend, because he’s spot on with his prediction about what you were just about to say. “I don’t know if it’s because I saw the deadlights for so long or something, but as we kept getting closer to twenty seven years I started to remember. It started with you and the rest of the losers a few years ago, but as soon as Mike told me IT was back I remembered all the pain we went through. I knew that we all needed to go back to Derry, but I knew I couldn’t do it. I knew that if I went my fear would be putting you in danger. I thought suicide would be the only way to keep you safe and where I didn’t have to face IT again.”

“Bev saw visions of everyone's death, how we would all die if we ignored IT. She saw you in your bathtub, and ironically she saw me bashing my own head in with a law textbook,” you laugh awkwardly, changing the subject from his reasoning and proof that he isn’t alone in this. “IT found a way to get to us, no matter how strong we are or how far away from Derry we were. Do I think you and Bev had it worse because you two saw the deadlights? Yeah, I do. I’m sure you got memories back as IT was waking up, you saw the deadlights the longest. You never should have made it out of those sewers alive that summer, but I’m glad you did. That probably made you more susceptible to that rush of fear you got again. And I just want you to know that you aren’t alone Stan.”

“I’ve missed you,” his voice frail as he pulls nervously at the bottom of his button up. 

“It’s been two weeks Stan,” you try to ignore the warm fuzzy feeling growing in your stomach. “You couldn’t have missed me that much. Plus, you could have called to talk.” Stan takes a deep shaky breath, and you frown in concern at his actions.  

“I’ve loved you my entire life (Y/N), it’s been two and a half weeks and I can’t stand to be away from you,” Stan says earnestly, his words warm your broken soul. “Not for two weeks and three days, I don’t think I can even go a day without you near. I love you (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

“I love you too, Stanley Uris,” a grin spreads across your face, the joy mirrored in your eyes. “I knew I loved you the moment I got my first menorah necklace from you. It showed me just how special I was to you, you stood up to your father for me and you got me something that would forever remind the two of us of that moment.” 

Stan doesn’t say anything, he just leans forward and captures your lips with his. The kiss is electric, you swear there are fireworks, just like those cheesy movies. With your left hand you caress the scars on his head from all those years ago, and your right tangles into his styled curls. Stan’s hands grip your hips tightly, like he’s afraid you’ll float away if he lets go. When you pull apart your lips are tingling, both you and Stan panting heavily. 

“Can I stay here tonight?” Stan breaks the mood smiling shyly, causing you to laugh. “I kinda just threw stuff in a bag and got on the first flight out of Georgia, didn’t really plan ahead.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with my Stanley?” you laugh lightly, his ears turning red at your teasing. “He would never leave the house without having a well thought out plan first.”

“What can I say?” his smile grows, and so does yours as you watch the dimple on his right cheek deepen. “Your spontaneity and want for adventure always rubbed off on me.”

“You can stay for as long as you want,” you lean in, gripping his shirt and pulling him into you. This kiss isn’t soft this time, it’s rough and needy. Twenty seven plus years of wanting this and it’s finally yours. The kiss is all teeth and tongue, you sure as hell weren’t going to complain about the amount of passion in it. The kiss was finally a way in which the two of you could express every deep and long buried feeling. 

--

It was four months to the day since Stan showed up at your doorstep, and the two of you had only been apart for a week the entire time. You couldn’t get away from work again so soon and Stan had to go back to Georgia to pack up his belongings. The apartment that you had resided in soon turned into a home, all thanks to Stan. You two invited the rest of the losers over to visit, figuring that you had settled into your new relationship so easily you didn’t want to hide it from your friends. This time there would be no IT, no life threatening tasks to complete, and it’s the first time in twenty seven years that you would all be together. What you don’t know is that Stan is planning a big surprise, with the help of the most important people in your lives. 

You run out to grab salsa from the store you swear you picked some in preparation for today earlier in the week, but Stan said there was none in the fridge. You drive as fast as you can, the losers club should be over within an hour, and you didn’t want them to beat you home. 

The apartment is strangely quiet as you swing the door open; Stan isn’t muttering to himself as he goes over a client’s finances, and he isn’t sitting at the table working on a puzzle. Where is your Stanley?

Before you can get too worried, your brain immediately racing to the possibility that he is in your bathtub, that seeing everyone after all this time was too much for him, Eddie appears from the kitchen. You go to guilty greet him, feeling bad for being a bad hostess and not being there when he and Richie arrived, bet the hypochondriac cuts you off. 

“Your smile that can light up a room,” he grins cheekily at you, like he knows something you don’t. 

“Your smokin’ bod,” Richie joins the two of you, his laugh ending when Eddie smacks his gut. “Fine, fine, your eyes that sparkle when you’re truly happy.”

“How incredibly smart you are, especially when you find holes in the other lawyers arguments,” Bev winks at you, you look around desperately for Stan. Where is he? And what's going on?

“Your perseverance, you always make the hard days look easy,” Ben walks out and wraps his arm around Bev’s shoulders.

“How caring and understanding you are,” Bill stands beside Richie, the grocery bag with the salsa in it, on the floor and long forgotten.

“And that your voice can calm me with just one word,” you furrow your brows at Mike. 

“Those are all things I love about you,” Stan’s gentle voice comes from behind you. You whip around to see his grinning face, no trace of fear or sadness from his past anywhere to be seen, only excitement for the promising future. “I could write a whole book of things that I love about you, but that still wouldn’t cover it all.”

“Stan?” your heart leaps at the glint in his eyes and the softness of his voice, things you want to experience for the rest of your life. 

“I love you (Y/N) (Y/L/N), with my entire being. I always have. When we were kids I knew I would marry you one day, I knew, even then, that there was no way I could live without you. So (Y/N)-” Stan pulls out a little black box from his pocket as he gets on one knee. 

“Yes!” you exclaim a little too loudly as soon as he flips the lid open. The diamond is sparkling up at you, your eyes fill with tears. 

“I didn’t even get to finish,” Stan pouts, humor and happiness twinkling in his eyes.

“I don’t care,” he laughs, sliding the one carat ring on your finger. It’s a perfect fit, meaning good luck through some old superstition. “Just kiss me.”

Stan shoots up from the ground, grabbing your cheek in one hand and caressing it softly, the other slipping into your hair. You pull greedily at the front of his freshly ironed button up as he deepens the kiss. A moan escapes one of you, and from the sounds of how deep it is, you’re sure it was Stan.  

“Get a room,” Richie wolf whistles, you and Stan pull away embarrassed. 

“I can't wait until I can finally call you Mrs. Uris,” he breathes, ignoring Richie, as he rests his forehead on yours. 

“Neither can I,” you close the distance and kiss him again, not caring about the audience, or the quiet sound of disgust from Eddie. Just because he makes out with Richie often, it doesn’t stop the thought of thousands of germs being passed back and forth when he sees someone else kiss.  

You finally get your happy ending with Stan, after all of those shitty years without him, you two will never be apart again. And there is no better way to start the rest of forever together than with the help of the losers, your chosen family.

Permanent tags: @crimson-knuckled-queen​ @rexorangecouny​

[spockina]

Kiss Your Best Friend

100% came to after i watched a bunch of ‘kiss your best friend’ tik tok challenges. no i’m not great with titles

the biggest thank you ever to @hearteyesforbuck​ for being the kindest, nicest person, welcoming me into this community, and reading this and giving me valuable feedback. thank you. <3 

4.1k words / fluff

this is my first 9-1-1 fic. pls be kind to me

ps.: this was also posted on ao3!

~

Buck will be the first one to tell you that he isn’t the greatest person with pop culture – and that extends to technology. He’s not even embarrassed about it; it just never piqued his interest, and that’s about it for explanations. So, no, he doesn’t know that the Jonas Brothers are back together – in fact, he only has a vague recollection of who they are –, and the only reason he keeps getting new iPhones is because they keep calling him to offer a trade (and everyone knows shiny new things are always fun, okay?).

Chimney, on the other hand, is a pop culture pro. 

“There’s no such thing as too old for apps, Buck,” he says, waving his phone around as if to prove a point, “because if I still have a phone in my hands, then I can still enjoy the damn apps that go in them, right?”

Buck nods, unsure of what else to say. He hates feeling unsure, more so if the subject is as dumb as popular-things-he-doesn’t-know-and-or-care-about.

“What I’m tryna show you,” Chim continues, as if Buck isn’t about two seconds from tuning out of this conversation entirely, “is a funny series of videos on Tik Tok. I promise you’re gonna laugh at ‘em.”

“What’s… Tik-Tok…?” Buck asks instead.

Chim sighs, but then laughs a little. “Ok, Buck, it doesn’t matter, come watch the videos!”

It starts with a soft, mellow song, and on screen he can see some pictures, all accompanied with text explaining them, that'sthats my best friend, we been best friends for 3 years now, he doesn'tdoesnt know i like him, and then it cuts to a cute moment of a blonde teen leaning in and placing a tentative kiss on said best friend’s lips. They laugh and then hug, and then the video ends. After that one come a few more in succession; some go horribly wrong, and some are funny. Most of them work out as planned, though.

Then Bobby calls Chimney from downstairs, and Chim pockets his phone to leave.

“That’s the ‘kiss your best friend challenge’, Buckaroo.” He says with a grin, all teeth. “Thought you’d enjoy it.” He winks at Buck, and then goes, yelling coming! and leaving behind a very confused and only somewhat amused Buck.

That’s how it starts.

-

So, no, Buck doesn’t really know the first thing about apps in general, what’s trending and what’s not, but he does know how to work the App Store. Knows how to find apps. Knows how to download Tik Tok.

It’s innocent enough at first. The videos are funny, for the most part, and it’s a mindless distraction, even if only slightly better than the games he’s used to, and only better because of the amount of variety he gets.

He can’t help but come back to the stupid videos (and why even call them challenges anyway? What’s challenging about them?) about kissing your best friend.

They’re mostly adorable, but some are heartbreaking. He’s soft, okay? No shame in his game. He’s a soft guy, who’s (mostly) in touch with his feelings. Some of the rejection ones are upsetting; God knows Buck has faced a couple of rejections in his prime, and they hurt.

He keeps watching them anyway.

-

This week has been a rough one. Eddie picked up an extra shift, which made Buck decide to pick one up, too, because why the hell not? Christopher wasn’t even going to need anything Buck could help with, as he already had plans with Abuela. That extra shift, it turned out, was a horrible mistake.

(Not really. Buck really, really does love his job. Loves doing what he does, loves knowing he’s helping people. Sometimes it gets exhausting, though. Sometimes he’s made to face  what losing his friends, his family, Eddie would feel like, and those hurt days like a motherfucker.)

A huge house fire reached the two neighboring houses. They needed backup, the whole thing was insane. Half of the roof collapsed not even two inches from where Eddie was standing, twin girls in his arms, Buck watching from the ladder where he was ready to take the girls. It doesn’t matter how many times they go near death; every single time it happens in slow-motion. Everyone came out alive, but the bitter taste followed Buck’s mouth into the truck, where he places a hand on Eddie’s shoulder, and leaves it there until they reach the station.

“Plans for the evening?” He asks softly. They feel extra raw tonight.

“Not really.” Eddie replies, and the silence stretches. Buck thinks that’s all Eddie’s saying, until he clears his throat, continues. “Christopher’s staying with Abuela, and then Carla’s picking him up and taking him to school in the morning.” Another pause. “I’m just tired, Buck. I need to crash.”

Buck nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I know. I just. I won’t be able to,” he says, complete honesty without even thinking, and that’s probably his favorite thing about his friendship with Eddie. No filter, just truth. Mostly.

Eddie nods, but it’s more of a jerky motion. Buck doesn’t inquire further.

“You wanna grab a couple pizzas and some beer? We can pretend to watch a movie until we collapse.”

The suggestion sounds heavenly. Buck grins, nods, already picking up his phone.

“Domino’s fine? The usual?”

Eddie nods. “Your place or mine?”

-

In the end they only get the pizzas because Buck has more than enough beers for the two of them at his place. 

They have three mostly empty pizza boxes on the coffee table, beer in hand, a half a dozen other bottles around the boxes, a movie they’re pretending to watch – but even as it plays on screen, Buck can’t pretend to know what’s going on. He’s sitting on the far end of the couch, with Eddie right beside him, head on his shoulder.

Buck’s a naturally tactile person. Craves physical touches, and the warmth of another person’s skin. Eddie wasn’t always like that; it took him some time to open up, and Buck doesn’t know if this is for him only, or if he’s as open with any of his other friends, but that doesn’t matter to Buck.

Buck moves his arm behind Eddie, so that they can both be more comfortable, and Eddie looks up a little startled, soft around the edges and glassy-eyed, which means he was probably on his way to falling asleep when Buck moved. He smiles at Buck, a small smile that’s open and honest and free. And Buck… Wow. Buck realizes, then and there, that he wants to kiss Eddie. 

It’s only a second, and then Eddie’s looking back at the screen, burrowing just the tiniest bit more into the space Buck has made for him, taking a sip of his beer, sighing very softly.

And, oh. Oh. Buck understands now. Buck knows, deeply and suddenly, why they’re called challenges, and what the challenging part is about the whole kiss your best friend thing.

It’s a bet he’s not sure if he’s willing to take.

-

Buck can’t stop thinking about it.

He doesn’t remember when he knew he was in love with Abby. That’s always where their relationship was going to go, there wasn’t another option. They weren’t ever in it for anything other than being together. Sure, Buck tried, for the first time, to be a better man, and that was what moved them along, but Buck always knew how they were supposed to end up. Together. Which is why he doesn’t know when he realized he was in love with Abby. If the goal was to get the girl, then being in love with her was an integral part of the plan. He just doesn’t fucking know, which is making everything worse.

Because he’s pretty sure he’s in love with Eddie.

Because he didn’t know, and then he did.

Because it was easy to figure out.

Eddie looked at him, open and carefree, even if for just a minute, and Buck thought yes. And that was it. Buck thought yes, Buck thought he would do anything to just keep Eddie looking like that, soft, and safe, and tranquil. In his arms. Buck thought all those things in a millisecond, and he knew what they meant. He knows what they mean, because he hasn’t stopped thinking about them ever since they materialized in his mind.

I’m in love with Eddie.

Buck wanted to be a better man for Abby, and he was, but Eddie makes him a better man.

He hates knowing this. He doesn’t know what to do with it, because, while he would never do anything to jeopardize what he has with Eddie (this friendship, this trust, this love – that is above the romance part of things, and involves everything else – namely, Christopher, and the feeling of belonging he gets when he’s with them), he also knows himself. He knows this isn’t going to last very long before he bursts and makes a mess of things. He needs to think, but he has, has been doing nothing but think about this.

He needs to do something.

He just hasn’t figured out what just yet.

-

The idea comes, funnily enough, when they’re at a call.

The universe sure loves a good dose of irony.

Some (dumb) teenager stuck in the air vent, was what the 9-1-1 operator said. There’s a really big, sour looking man yelling at a teenage girl – who’s yelling right back at him – outside when they get there, a lady watching them, clear from her face that she’s both the girl’s mom and the man’s wife and that she’s given up on whatever’s going on. He half hears as Bobby tries to placate things enough to understand what’s going. The girl outside starts sobbing, but now he’s concentrating on the girl inside, upstairs in a bedroom, stuck in the air vent.

“Hey, can you hear me?” He says loudly, and gets some noise back that he’ll take as an answer. She’s already all the way in the vent, save for one foot hanging out from where she got stuck trying to move, a knee up and one leg straight. Stupid, stupid idea. “What’s your name?” He asks, and then they start to work.

“Sage,” she answers, loud. He’s not sure if she’s yelling or if the sound’s carrying, but he keeps being loud just to be sure.

“Ok, Sage, we’re gonna get you out, don’t worry! Wanna tell me whatcha doing in there?”

“Looking for a rat,” she replies, and Eddie huffs a laugh beside him, shakes his head. “Sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, I just panicked!”

“Hey, don’t worry about my feelings, Sage, we’re fine. You wanna tell me what happened for you to hop up there?”

“What’s your name?” She says, and that takes him by surprise. His eyebrows go up, and he looks at everyone around before answering.

“Uh, it’s Buck. My name’s Buck.”

“Look, Buck,” she starts, and she sounds so, so angry, but also so very sad, “Baileya’s dad hates me, ok? I haven’t seen her in a month! She’s my best friend!”

“Ok, Sage, I’m gonna need you to take a few calming breaths before we continue, ok? Do you want me to breathe with you?”

“No, no, it’s okay,” she says, and then she’s quiet, and they can all hear her breathing deeply. “Okay, sorry. Look. Baileya’s dad he, uh, he thinks I’m a bad influence. He was supposed to be somewhere, fuck if I know, but he was only supposed to come back tomorrow. I haven’t seen B in a month –” that last part sounds so sad it breaks Buck’s heart a bit, “– and I just. I missed her.” She’s silent for a little bit, and no one presses for more, but then she speaks up again. “We saw his car outta the window and I just panicked. This air vent hasn’t had a pane for the longest time and I’m a fucking gymnast, so I thought I could just jump up here and hang out for a minute. I know it was stupid, but he would kick me out if he found me, and I mean that very literally.”

Buck looks at his team. They all know what this means.

Finally, Bobby says, “Well, Sage, you’re gonna be out of there in a minute, and you’re gonna get to see your best friend, and no one’s touching you under the protection of the LAFD, okay? Don’t worry.”

She sounds shaky when she says thank you.

When they get her out, she asks them to stay at the door so she can get all her things in her backpack, and Buck notices her phone was propped up against some books in a table in front of the bed. Everyone trails out and he lingers behind to protect her, but also to say, in an almost-whisper:

“Hey, Sage, why was your phone propped up like that?”

She turns tomato red in a second, flat-out. “I was, uh. I was. Um. Filming a thing.”

And of course Buck knows. He knows that angle. “A challenge?”

She looks surprised. “Yeah. For, um, for Tik-Tok.”

“Did you get to do it?”

“Yeah, Buck,” she says, and he wouldn’t ask, normally, but her voice says it all.

“Did Baileya like it?”

She smiles at him, almost as if she can’t keep it in. “Yes.”

He decides then and there that he’s not going to look them up, but he can’t stop thinking about the smile on Sage’s face when she said yes.

The whole way back to the station he keeps watching Chimney, who has noticed, but hasn’t asked what he’s looking at him for. He wonders if he was always obvious to everyone else, and only oblivious to himself. He wonders whether he’s obvious to Eddie or if Eddie is oblivious to him.

More than anything, though, he’s pretty sure he found a way to do something. He feels silly. It was staring at him this whole time. Or, well, he was staring at it, really, for quite some time, in fact.

-

It’s another Saturday, and he’s been psyching himself up for a week. 

Sure, he’s figured out what to do, and he doesn’t wanna risk anything. That doesn’t mean he’s not jittery about it. So much, in fact, that Eddie notices as soon as he walks through the door.

Christopher jumps up as soon as he sees him, saying a long and excited Buck! and all but flinging himself at Buck, who has just enough time to drop the bags he has on the floor carefully and pick up Christopher in the same motion.

“How’s my Superman doing?”

“Good, Bucky. How are you?”

“Ready for a fun day with my favorite boys,” he replies, easy as anything.

He drops Christopher, and Eddie gives him a quick hug before picking up the bags he brought.

“What are these?”

“Well, it’s a nice day, thought we could, you know, make a day of it? You said you didn’t have plans and I have everything for a nice picnic.” He shrugs.

“I don’t see a basket,” Eddie teases.

“It’s in the car, you jerk.”

Eddie laughs. “Hey, Christopher, what do we think about a picnic?”

“Picnic!” is all the reply he gets from a very excited Christopher. “I’m going to change,” he says, already shuffling to his bedroom, and Eddie shakes his head.

“I also got us some beer, but that’s more for later in the evening. Thought we could order a pizza after Chris goes to bed, maybe?”

Eddie looks fake-shocked. “You want a whole entire day of eating not really health stuff? Who are you and what did you do to my Buck?”

And Buck knows, okay? Buck knows he’s just joking, but it still tugs at his heart, makes him feel like those butterflies people talk about are real: his head feels light, there’s a tingling on the tips of his fingers. Instead of any of the stupid things he wants to do, he just shakes his head, smiles.

“Nah, man, just wanted a nice day with the two of you, that’s all.”

Eddie’s smile is blinding. “Sounds good to me.”

-

“I’ll tuck him in and you order the pizza?”

“Yup.”

“‘K. Chris, go say good night to Buck.”

Christopher moves slowly. They’ve had a fun, long day.

“Good night, Bucky. I love you.”

“Good night, Chris. I love you, too.”

Buck listens to the sounds of the two of them as he orders the pizza. He thinks about how familiar it is, how at home he feels.

How he is, maybe, about to mess the whole thing up.

He sure has his excuses in place in case things don’t go the way he wants them to – “it’s just a joke, look, I can show you the other videos. It’s a challenge for Tik Tok. I just wanted to be down with the kids, Eddie! I thought you’d be game! It’s just for show!” – but it’s not going to stop things from being awkward for a little bit until they get back to normal. 

When Eddie comes back, the pizza is there already, and Buck is nursing a beer that’s already halfway down, but has one out for Eddie, cold and fresh. Eddie collapses on the couch with a grunt.

“That boy’s getting big, por Díos, where did the time go,” he says, sitting up nicely, taking a swig of his beer.

They’re having a good time. But they’re never not having a good time. This is it, Buck realizes. He can’t imagine ever again feeling so at home in the presence of someone else. He can’t imagine loving a child so deeply; can’t imagine loving a man more for the way he loves his own son. This is it.

Eddie goes to the bathroom, and it’s Buck’s chance.

He puts the phone up against a vase Eddie has on the coffee table; knows Eddie enough to know he won’t notice, especially after two beers.

“Alright, what did I miss,” Eddie says as he walks in the living room, more conversationally than interested, and Buck knows it’s now or never.

“Hey, Eddie,” he says, slowly, which makes Eddie look at him immediately, confusion and worry written in the lines around his eyes.

“You ok, Buck?” He asks, placing his beer bottle on the coffee table in front of them, worry making him move more into Buck’s personal space.

Ok, Buck. Now or never. Do it.

“Yeah, yeah, I just. I. Look, Eddie, I just need to –” Buck cuts himself off in favor of moving entirely into Eddie’s personal space, meeting him in the middle where Eddie already was. The air between them mingles, Buck can feel the warmth they’re creating back on his lips.

“What are you doing?” Eddie whispers, sharp, and for a second Buck feels as if he has lost; this exact moment is suspended in infinity for Buck to commit it to memory, to remember his loss, forevermore. But then. Then, Eddie looks down at Buck’s lips, and licks his own. Buck needs nothing else. He goes in.

Eddie is very still when their lips touch, but Buck can absolutely not help but notice how soft they are. Eddie is all hard angles and big muscles, but his lips are so soft, how’s that even possible? And then Buck notices he isn’t moving. He isn’t even breathing, actually, holding himself taut. Buck’s thankful for his foresight of not touching Eddie anywhere besides the lips.

Buck backs away slowly, hoping that Eddie won’t look at him too close, hoping Eddie will take pity and just let him run away for the night. But Eddie is watching him intently, looking into the blue eyes that already feel wet, so obviously they look wet. But hey! Buck tried, didn’t he? 

All the apologies and speech he had ready die in his throat. He’s not going to lie to Eddie; he doesn’t want to lie to Eddie. He should know. He should know that Buck is in love with him, heart-achingly so. He needs to know. So Buck doesn’t say anything. He looks around; for a second he had forgotten the phone was even there. He starts to get up, his mind a mess. 

Eddie holds his wrist. Buck looks at where they’re touching as if it’s burning. Eddie tugs, hard, making him sit down. 

“Did you mean that?" He asks, voice only above a whisper, but still crystal clear.

“What?” Buck says, confused. 

“Buck. Did you mean to do that?” He asks again, eyes on Buck’s. 

“Yeah,” he breathes out. “Yeah, Eddie. I’ve been meaning to. For a while now.” 

Buck closes his eyes, then. Eddie's eyes are too bright, too beautiful for Buck to keep looking at. And then, Eddie’s hand is up against his neck, his jaw, against his cheek, resting there, thumb awfully close to the corner of Buck’s mouth. And then, Buck’s being kissed. For real. 

Eddie kisses exactly like he does all other things: quietly, not showing off, but assured of himself and of what he’s doing; he’s a pro and he knows it. 

Buck is about to shift into ‘two can play at this game mode’ when he remembers the phone recording. 

He pulls away slowly, softly, regrettably, but covers Eddie’s hand on his cheek with one of his hands, moves it to his mouth to kiss Eddie’s palm. Free. Able and allowed to do this. 

They smile at each other. Buck could stare at Eddie’s smile forever. 

He reaches for his phone on the coffee table and says a fuck so heartfelt Eddie moves away from him on the couch. 

“Buck?”

“It. Wasn’t. Recording.”

“What?”

Buck is, admittedly, a little late on the uptake of how bad that sounded. It takes him a while to explain the whole thing to Eddie, which of course includes showing him a few challenge videos. 

"So you had a speech ready in case I flipped out on you,” Eddie concludes. 

“Yup, correct." 

A beat, and then: "You didn’t say anything, though." 

Buck looks up at him, confused. "What do you mean?" 

"You pulled back, and you didn’t say anything. You were just going to leave." 

And, wow. Buck forgets, sometimes, just how perceptive Eddie is. He looks away for a second, but decides Eddie deserves honesty, even if it’s at the cost of baring his soul. He already did a lot of that tonight, might as well keep going. 

"I realized I wanted you to know. Our friendship is the most important thing I have, and so I knew that, whatever happened here, you needed to know that I’m in love with you. I was sure we could get over it and back into our friendship eventually, but I just needed you to know." 

Eddie nods, understanding, taking one of Buck’s large hands between both of his. 

"Thank you, Buck. Not just for your honesty, but also for taking a chance on us." 

They kiss. 

A lot. 

-

Eddie, bless him, not only is a good sport and has fun with the whole thing, but also helps Buck find pictures of the two of them.

- 

"Hey, Chim! Come up here!” Buck yells as soon as he sees Chimney coming in through the station gates. 

He’s happy. He feels like he might burst with happiness. 

The past week has been everything he dreamed of, and more. Christopher was so happy he cried, which made Buck cry, which made Eddie sniff, which the two other boys in the room knew meant Eddie was trying not to cry. Buck was finally happy. 

Sure it had only been a week, but he was ready to share that with the world. And he was going to start with Chimney. 

“What’s up, Buckaroo? You look awfully chirpy for this early in the morning.” He then noticed: “Oh, hey Eddie. You’re up early." 

"Someone had to contain Mr. Buckley over here. He’s excited." 

”…Okay. Buck? Anytime now.“ 

"I just gotta show you this video on Tik Tok." 

"Wait, what? You got Tik Tok? Look at you, Buck!" 

Buck can’t help the blush. "Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He places his phone in Chimney’s hands. “Watch." 

Chim presses play, and his mouth does some weird things, but he looks positively pleased. 

"I knew it!” He yells when he’s done, excitement he can’t contain. 

They hug, and Chim promises not to tell anyone until they do, offering them well wishes and relationship help, which they both wrinkle their noses at, but say thank you all the same. 

Eddie moves into the kitchen, and Chimney takes the opportunity to say, so that only Buck can hear: “I knew you’d enjoy the challenge, Buck." 

Buck knows he’s a sap, but he can’t help the smile. "Yeah, Chim. I’ll owe you one forever." 

Chimney shakes his head at him, his smile so fond even Buck can see. 

"Nah, Buckaroo. Just be happy. That’s all I want." 

[toziers]

78 👀

every little thing she does is magic / every thing she does just turns me on / even though my life before was tragic / now, I know my love for her goes on - #78: every little thing she does - sleeping at last

bill denbrough is a moron. like, he’s not stupid stupid — well, he is, he’s a little stupid — but god, is he an idiot. bill’s the kind of guy to hear the waiter say careful, it’s hot, and take a big, scalding bite anyway; the kind of guy who searches his entire house from top to bottom looking for a pair of jorts only to find he’s been wearing them the whole time (and, obviously, the kind of guy to own jorts in the first place). bill’s the kind of guy who throws his entire body weight into pushing on a pull door, bounces off with a confused “oh!”, and then pushes it again, like it might work the second time.

(it’s okay, he always gets it by the third.)

bill’s also the kind of guy who, when he was a kid, set out little bowls of milk in the garden to help the snails grow big and strong; the kind of guy who bought nice china to put the cat food on so that dr. peanut butter could feel fancy during his meals — the kind of guy who named their cat dr. peanut butter.

bill denbrough was an idiot, but he was a kind, good-intentioned, sweet as hell kind of idiot.

and fuck, if mike wasn’t head over heels for him because of it.

actually, mike was pretty sure bill was head over heels right back. there are moments (moments that stacked up into hours, probably days) when mike’s so positive that bill feels the same way he does that it hurts a little to think about for too long. they’ll be sitting in the field by the hanlon farm talking — well. bill will be talking, and mike will be listening, his smile growing a little bit bigger each time bill calls the barn the “sheep house”. regardless, they’ll be talking, and eventually bill will trail off, and mike will look over to find bill staring, big blue eyes soft and unwavering. when bill realizes he’s been caught, he’ll give this quiet, nervous laugh, and flush as red as the sheep house behind him.

mike never says anything, though. it’s not that he’s scared — at least, he doesn’t think he’s scared. actually, falling in love with bill had happened so gently, so easily, that there was never time to feel anything but safe. bill, with his kind eyes and tender hands, makes mike feel the bravest he’s ever felt. it’s also not that mike doesn’t want to say anything either; mike just doesn’t say anything because it never feels like quite the right time.

there’s a lot of almosts, though. bill pours his entire glass of water on the floor one day after eddie asks him what time it is; it’s not his fault, you know, the watch was just on the wrist of the same hand he’d happened to be holding the glass of water in. mike almost says something then.

once, mike had to watch bill try and make hot chocolate: bill filled up a mug with milk and tried to put it in the microwave, but found the mug was too tall. so he’d dumped out some milk, and tried to put it in again. mike almost says something after that, too.

last week, bill had called mike in a rush of stuttered words and frantic breaths.

“m-my car has been stolen!” he’d said once mike had calmed him down. “i g-got off the bus after w-work and it was just gone!”

“bill,” mike asked, that same little smile on his face. “how’d you get to work this morning?”

“i d-drove, but—“ the man’s voice trailed off as the dots connected.

mike had been so close to saying i’m in love with you bill denbrough he had to literally bite his tongue.

somehow, he’d managed. he’d driven bill to work and followed him back, and then he’d stayed for supper, and when bill finished an incredibly intelligent rant about the importance of the oxford comma by showing mike a minion meme on his phone, mike managed to keep his silence once more.

it’s like everyone in the world has their own little superpower: their own, daily magic. maybe bev’s was always being able to pull off an outfit — even one that shouldn’t have worked on anybody. maybe richie’s was always being able to make someone laugh — even if it took a few tries to get there. maybe bill’s was being the smartest, kindest idiot in all of maine; maybe mike’s was falling in love with him, and being able to keep his mouth shut about it.

“i juh-just think that it could use some s-sprucing up is all,” bill says one day, talking.

“mmm,” mike hums, listening.

“a fresh c-coat of paint, you know?”

“we painted it last fall,” mike points out, because bill had been there to help — his first fall out of college as a bonafide adult with his own apartment and everything, and he’d still chosen to spend most of his free time painting the barn and house so that the hanlons didn’t have to hire anyone.

“i m-meant the inside.” bill sits up in the grass, excitement creeping into his voice as he makes plans. “i think it’d b-be nice if we painted mur— mura— landscapes inside f-for them. so even when they’re s-sleeping, they can s-still be outside.” the man’s on a roll now, practically vibrating with how passionate he is about the whole thing. “i c-can sketch out some ideas later and s-send you pictures. maybe i’ll pull out my wuh-wuh-watercolors tonight, juh-just for fun. it might help them feel less lonely.” bill’s eyebrows furrow: a snag in his thought process. “i don’t know if sheep feel luh-lonely, but, you know. if they do, a home m-makeover might help.”

mike closes his eyes; he can’t take it. it’s so goddamn adorable, honest-to-god fucking precious, that he feels pinned to the ground where he lays. bill wants to paint murals of fields and flowers for his sheep. so they feel less lonely. bill wants to hand paint the sheep house as a favor to the sheep that live there.

if little magic was supposed to work every time, maybe mike’s little magic was only the loving bill part; maybe the keeping his mouth shut was just a herculean restraint he could no longer control.

“bill, you have gotta’ stop saying things like that.” mike’s voice is low and relaxed, and the tornado of butterflies that usually spin around his stomach after bill does something particularly endearing is, for once, absent.

it feels, for the first time, like the right time.

bill pauses in his mental planning, confusion seeping into his face. “things like wuh-what?”

mike opens his eyes, squinting against the rays of the sun before tilting his head to look at bill through the tall blades of grass. “things that make me wanna’ kiss you.”

for a second, bill’s face pulls down further with confusion, before his eyebrows rocket into his red-brown hairline and his cheeks go pink. then, he looks nervous. “wh-why would you—“

bill’s not a total moron. he’s not; he can write a paper so beautifully eloquent it will make you think you’re reading poetry, not just an essay for a history class he only took for elective credits. sometimes there’s just not enough power in bill’s body to power both his brain and his giant heart, and usually his heart won out.

and because bill’s not a total moron, he can’t say he totally didn’t see this coming; he can’t pretend he doesn’t know what this means, and he can’t pretend he doesn’t want it just as badly.

bill tries — not very hard, but he tries — to hold back the smile that threatens. “what will you d-do if i don’t stop?”

like honey, mike’s grin appears: slow and sweet. “i guess i’ll just have to kiss ya.”

“alright.” bill looks over his shoulder at the barn behind him, and when he turns back to the man on the ground he’s got this coy little sparkle in his eye. “sh-sheep house,” he says, and then:

“o-oh. guess you have to k-kiss me now.”

so mike sits up, and he does just that— because bill’s little magic always, always worked.

[janeyseymour]

Escape- pt 22

pt 1. pt 2. pt 3. pt 4. pt 5. pt 6. pt 7. pt 8. pt 9. pt 10. pt 11. pt 12. pt 13. pt 14. pt 15. pt 16. pt 17. pt 18. pt 19. pt 20. pt 21. 

Jane Seymour has stayed with Henry long enough. Cue Catherine of Aragon and the rest of the girls to save her (Aramour)

Jane and Lina get married.

“Jane?”

“Lina!” the blonde snapped. “Stop trying to look at me. It’s bad luck!”

“Oh please. I can’t believe you believe in that stuff.”

“Close your eyes, and then I can give you Eddie.”

“You’re-”

“Close them, or I’ll just have Kat bring Eddie to you. And then, I’ll get the moms!”

“They’re closed! They’re closed!” The last thing Catherine needed was for both their mothers on top of Katherine berating her on their wedding day. She walked in and felt the room around her.

“I’m right here,” Jane laughed. Her eyes were closed too, but she could just picture her future wife blindly feeling around the room. “Here, I’m holding Eddie out. When you feel him, take him from my arms.”

“You’re a real pain in the ass. You know that?”

“I know, and yet you still love me enough to marry me today.”

“You’re lucky.”

“I know! Now get out!”

“I love you,” Catherine tried to get a sneak peek at her beautiful bride, but Kat was having none of it.

“Cath! Keep your damn eyes closed! Jesus.” She smacked a hand to her forehead. “You try to follow one tradition,” she muttered.

“I love you too Lina.” A devious smile spread onto Jane’s face. “But get the fuck out!”

“So,” Fred drew out. “Are you ready for this Catalina?”

“Dad, you know how long I’ve been in love with her,” Catherine replied as she walked back into the room with Eddie.

“I know. I’m ready for her to become an Aragon.”

“So am I.”

“I’m not quite ready for her to not be a Seymour anymore, but having her be an Aragon sure as hell beats her being a Tudor.”

“You can say that again,” Both Catherine and her father snorted.

“Having her be an Aragon sure as hell beats her being a Tudor.” John shook his head with laughter before going surprisingly serious. “Do I need to give you the talk?”

“I’m pretty sure I got the talk when I was like ten, so I’ll pass,” Catherine replied dryly.

“No. The ‘You hurt her, I kill you more than I’m going to kill Rob when they find that sick son of a bitch’ talk.”

“Give it to her!” Fred threw in.

“Dad!”

“No. You need to hear it. Go on John.”

“Look, my daughter is so in love with you. She has been ever since high school, whether she wanted to admit it or not. She never, ever looked at Henry the way she looks at you. Now, you’re also a mother to her child. If you are ever, and I do mean ever, anything like my father was to me, God help me, I will do things to you, and you will wish you were never born.”

“Do you really think I would ever hurt Janey or Eddie?”

“No, but I thought the same thing about Henry at first too. I knew he wasn’t good enough for my sweet girl, but he didn’t seem like he would harm her.”

“Here’s the difference though: Rob only loved her. I love her, obviously. But, I also really like her. And that is so, so important. I hope Eddie finds it too. The best thing you can do is find love in a friend.”

“Are you getting cold feet?” Margaret laughed.

“No, I am so ready to marry my best friend and show my son a great love and friendship.”

“You’re lucky honey.”

“I know.”

“Good. Don’t ever take that for granted. When Dad and I had our troubles, we knew that we always loved and liked each other. Always love Cath and appreciate her.”

“I will. Come on. I need to get married to her- my best friend.”

“Kat? Shouldn’t you be helping Janey get ready?”

“She’s pretty much ready. I just came to talk to you.”

“Oh. What’s up honey?”

“Can I hold Eddie?” Catherine handed the small boy over. “Are you ready to be married to her?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Don’t fuck this up.”

“I-”

“I’m serious. My mom,” Katherine paused and smiled the softest and most genuine smile Catherine had ever seen the girl show. “My mom,” she continued. “ has been through so much shit, and she still has come out of it with all the love and kindness in her heart. Don’t break that in her.”

“I’m not going to Katherine. If you remember, I’m the one who brought her to you.”

“I do.” Katherine nodded her head. “Thank you for that by the way. Now, are you ready to be like my step-mom?”

“I’m more than alright with that. Any child of Jane’s is a child of mine.”

“Good. Let’s get you married to my mama.”

“Jane, oh god. I wrote all of this stuff down, but it just doesn’t seem like enough. So, I’m just going to see whatever falls out of my mouth. You, you make me feel, it’s indescribable really. It’s the little things that make me fall in love with you more and more everyday. It’s when you get nervous and bite your lip and twiddle your thumbs in a way that you think is dorky. It’s your bedhead. It’s the way your eyes sparkle when you talk about something you love- specifically Eddie and Kat. Your dorky dance moves. It’s the way you crinkle your nose. The way you are with Kat and Eddie, and the way you love me. I thought I knew what love was when I was younger. My parents were hopelessly in love. They still are.” The hispanic pointed over at her parents and nodded. The small group gathered awed. “And uh, I met you. I watched you with someone else. And there were people who told me I was an absolute idiot to stay faithful to a girl who wasn’t even mine, not that you’re mine now. You’re your own person, and I respect that- but I hope you know what I mean. I was okay with it though because even then, I was pretty sure I knew that I was just waiting here for you.” She wiped at a few tears that had fallen. “And now, if you’ll have me, I will spend the rest of my days loving you, and I will let you love me.”

“Jane?” The minister smiled.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to top that,” Jane giggled. “So, I’m going to keep it simple. Here we go: I love you, and I like you. I’m going to show you, Katherine, and Eddie our endless love. I will love you, and I will let you love me.” Catherine never thought so few words could be so perfect.

The two were finally wed, finally where they were meant to be, sealing off their marriage with a kiss.

“Fuck yeah!” Anne shouted before realizing what she exclaimed. “I mean,” she quickly tried to play it off.

“No. It’s a fuck yeah,” Kat’s tone was light. “They just got married! Fuck yeah!” She screamed the last sentence, getting a few strange looks from the brides’ families. Jane and Catherine could only shake their heads, somewhat embarrassed but also not caring too much. They did just get married after all.

“When I first met Cath and Jane, well, we all know the situation Jane is in. Cathy told us all to be nice to the two. When I found out everything about Jane’s circumstance, I really thought she was going to turn out to be a bitch. I was wrong. Wow! The one and only time the Anne Boleyn will admit she’s wrong, I know.” This caused the small group to chuckle, and to milk it more, Anne proceeded to bow. “But, I will happily admit time and time again that I was wrong about our dear and sweet Jane. She is the kindest, most caring person you will ever meet. So, to Catherine: don’t fuck this up. You’ve got the real deal. Don’t hurt her.” Anne eyed the hispanic suspiciously. “I’ve got my eye on you.”

“I know I’ve got the real deal Anne.” Catherine rolled her eyes playfully.

“To Jane and Cath! Can I get a massive hell yeah?” The woman with space buns (yes, even at a wedding, Boleyn had her signature space buns in) laughed as she raised her glass. She was met with possibly the loudest “hell yeah” she ever thought she would get, Officer Beale even joining in with a smile on his face..

“Alright listen up,” Anna started. “I’m normally not one to make any toasts or anything, but these two are pretty rad, so here we go. Cath and Jane were made for each other, and I will take no criticism.”

“No criticism needed. You’re right!” John laughed.

“So, to Jane and Cath!” The tall woman raised her glass and chugged what was left of her drink.

“And, as an additional wedding present,” the woman in red said mischievously. “I give you this.” She hugged the two brides.

“Anna hugged me!” Jane yelled. “Yes!”

“When you were in the hospital, I promised you I would give you a hug if you woke up. See this as me following through on my promise,” Anna whispered. Jane only hugged her tighter.

“Oh, and Cath?” the older bride glanced at her. “Don’t you dare hurt her.”

“I’m not going to!”

“Just making sure you know that I could have your ass kicked if you do.”

“No need for threats,” Jane muttered as she pushed her friend into her seat.

“So, for Jane’s side of the family, I’m Cathy, and I’m Catherine’s cousin. Cath called me one morning begging me to let her bring Jane to my house. Now, I had heard of Jane time and time again because poor Cath had been over here pining for Jane since they were sixteen. So, of course, because I’m a wonderful cousin, I said yes. I didn’t expect to get a best friend and sister out of that though. So, to Cath and Jane! And Cath? Don’t you dare hurt her.”

“What the hell Cathy?” Aragon laughed nervously. “You’re my cousin!”

“And Jane is much too pure for this world. Don’t hurt her.”

“So, I guess I should make a speech too?” Kat muttered as she stood and clinked on her glass. “I’m Kat, and I just wanted to say a few things. To the two brides: I hope this marriage brings you a long and happy life. You two deserve it more than anyone I know. I also want to say that even though I’ve only known both of you for a short amount of time, you two are family and always will be family. So, thank you mom and Cath.”

“Mom?” Margaret spoke up confused.

“Yes mom. She might only be a few years younger than me, but that doesn’t stop me from mothering her,” Jane explained.

“Any family of Jane’s is a family of ours. Welcome home sweetpea.” Margaret stood and hugged the pink haired girl.

“I can’t wait to see where this road takes you two, but I’m glad to be even just a small part of it. Here’s to you, and Eddie, and our entire crazy and dysfunctional family. But Cath?”

“Let me guess,” Catherine put a finger to her chin. “Don’t you dare hurt her?”

“Don’t you dare hurt her.” Kat’s smile disappeared, and a serious face appeared quickly before returning to a smile. “I love you two endlessly.”

“And we love you, my sweet girl.” Jane wiped a tear from her eye as she hugged her surrogate daughter.

“So Mrs. Aragon,” Catherine whispered.

“Yes dear wife of mine?”

“Nothing. I just love hearing you respond to Mrs. Aragon.”

“I love it too. I love you.” Cries rang through the house. “And, there’s our lovely baby.” Jane began to hoist herself up from the bed.

“Honey, stay here. Katherine told us she would tend to Eddie all night.” The older woman pulled her wife back down onto the bed.

“But,” the blonde began to argue.

“Listen, if he doesn’t stop crying, I’ll go. And then maybe...?”

“You’re ridiculous,” Jane tried to say sternly, but the smile on her face gave her away. “Yes, we’ll have sex.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter Mrs. Aragon!”

“Am I wrong?”

“Let’s just say, you have your wedding traditions, and I have mine.” The hispanic lightly smacked the blonde’s ass.

“Pervert.” Another cry from Eddie echoed through the house. “Go get your son. If he doesn’t calm down, just bring him to me.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Hello?”

“Cath? It’s Beale.”

“Hey. Did you-”

“There’s a lead,” the officer rushed out. “Someone saw someone who resembled him a few towns over from you.”

“Are you telling me we have to move again?”

“No. I couldn’t do that to you guys. Congratulations by the way. I would’ve come and said hello at the reception, but you two seemed so busy between your friends, parents, and that beautiful baby boy of yours.”

“Thank you,” Catherine said gratefully. “I would’ve come over, but I had my hands a bit full with Eddie.”

“That’s quite alright. Your wife-”

“My wife!” Catherine practically squealed into the phone before composing herself. “Sorry. I just really love that I can say ‘my wife’ and it’s Jane.”

“That’s quite alright. I used to feel the same way about my wife before she passed.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s quite alright. Jane came over and spoke with me briefly. She was so excited that day, and it was so good to see you two happy. Anyway,” Officer Beale stumbled over his words a bit. “I’m still in the area because of the sighting. I imagine he’s going to check out the big cities first, so I’ll be around there. However, if I’m wrong, I suggest that if you and Jane don’t already have one, buy a gun and learn how to use it. I honestly can’t believe I’ve not told you this already.”

“We’ll do that right away. If we take lessons though, we-”

“If one of your friends can't, I would be more than happy to watch Eddie. He’d be safest with me. Just let me know, and I can always come down.” The officer secretly hoped he would get to watch the young boy.

“I appreciate that sir. Once all of this is done, we’ll have to invite you over for dinner as a thank you. Jane’s a great cook.”

“When all of this is sorted out, that would be nice. I’ll keep that in mind.”

[fingerguneds]

hi! could I ask for some stozier fluff, like, stan and richie go grocery shopping ( not established relationship but they both like each other a whole lot ) 💞 thanks!

heyy

thank you very much for your ask, i fucking loved working on this, hope you don’t mind my loose interpretation of your prompt..

_

Stanley doesn’t like grocery shopping. He hates it, actually: it’s stressful, it’s always about letting people bother you somehow, and it’s totally not worth it when there’s food delivery.

But newsflash sweetie, it’s New Year’s Eve and all the closest shops are bombarded with orders. He can’t even imagine a worse case of spending the last few hours of 2019th, maybe with an exception of having to be with his parents, but whatever. It’s still bad.

So there he is, with bananas, blueberries and two bottles of white dessert wine in his cart he’s sure gonna suck in all alone in his sitting room later this evening, deciding on whether he needs another head of brie cheese, when he notices a familiar mop of black curly hair by the cereal stand.

There’s no way he wouldn’t recognize Richard Tozier from the communication and design department. He’s one of the loudest, brightest and most charmingly gorgeous people in their company, and if Stan ever tells you he hasn’t been having a huge, fat crush on him for the last few months, he’d be the ugliest, most pathetic liar.

He’s a good liar, though. He’s excellent at ignoring his fluttering heart every time Richie walks in their department to share a word with Eddie Kaspbrak, the most pleasant coworker of Stan’s in his personal opinion, or casting his best cold-eye when at parties they accidentally end up sharing a table and the guy, because he’s actually nice to everyone, tries to start an odd conversation about broken vending machines on the first floor or the fucking weather.

Why? Because Stan’s a pussy. He’s already really, really attracted to this black-haired mess of a person, with his ridiculously dark eyes with stupidly long lashes on a damn weird face one wouldn’t call pretty, because of that big nose, covered in bright specks of freckles that burn on cool paleness of his skin, or large, red and plump-lipped mouth; but would totally still define as beautiful, because those eyes are not just dark — they’re the colour of reddish pine bark after it’s been raining for hours; because that skin is not just pale — it’s like absolutely white marble with rare blue veins in all the rightest places of the man’s slender body; because his features, although weird and uncommon, somehow create a loud and charismatic pattern that attracts an eye, that makes you want to look, to inspect, to...admire.

And that’s what Stan’s been doing. Admiring from afar, because he’s a coward, too sensitive to let someone this loveable, loud and easy-going in. He’s too protective over his heart, he doesn’t take risks, he’s too fragile for his own good, and one more thing — even though Stanley secretly thinks he’s better than everyone, there is no way someone like Richie would want to do anything with him. He’s the most adorable with everyone, that’s in his nature, and thank god Stan smart enough to know that and to be aware that he’s not special — that Richie flirts with anyone, holds the door for every goddamn person in the office, checks up on every other stranger in an elevator, and although this still makes Stan’s dick ridiculously hard, he also almost dies on the spot when Richie turns his head a little bit and after a moment of surprise breaks into a grin. Stan, like a good goddamn liar he is, shoots him a quick nod of recognition, throws the bloody cheese into his cart with a bored expression and decides to get the fuck out of this place before his heart decides to break his ribcage into pieces. As calm and collected Stanley Uris is on the outside, he’s just as chaotic and messy on the inside.

He walks towards the end of an aisle as casual but fast as possible, as if his feet are on fire but he’s used to it (which is true, metaphorically speaking), and just when he’s ready to hide from Richie behind another row, something much, much more terrible than bumping into your big fat crush slash occasional wet dream happens to him.

“Stan!”

His heart drops down to his feet, when he recognizes the voice. He keeps walking forward, hoping for an earthquake, a sudden alien invasion, The Judgment Day — anything to save him from this most unwanted encounter, but of course nothing happens. A big tenacious hand still grabs his forearm, making him stop and turn, and this face Stan’s been successfully avoiding for the past couple years still appears in front of him, unchanged and familiar as ever.

Patrick.

See, he maybe wouldn’t be afraid of talking to Richie and making friends with him and maybe even going for more, if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s been in a relationship with one extremely toxic and emotionally abusive man, and although Stan knows all these things, he knows he only terrorized him because he’s an awful person, not Stan, he still—can’t not be affected.

Who in the hell’s gonna love a needy Jewish nerd with a fucked-up brain and a shit ton of insecurities, earned throughout his not-so-bright pathetic faggot life?

Only Patrick, with his huge, kind heart and a perverted kink for losers, lucky for Stan: shaming people for what they are first, than pressing further, and finishing up with messing them up completely.

“Oh, hi, Patrick” Stan says casually, shoulders relaxed, body weight kept on one leg, yet one hand clinging the cart’s holder so tight his fingers turn purple, the other one in a fist, nails professionally breaking the delicate skin of Stan’s palm. “Long time no see.”

Leaving your ass all those years ago is still one of my biggest accomplishments, asshole.

Patrick’s eyes sparkle wickedly and his lips break into a wolfish smirk. Stanley finally notices he’s not alone: to the right there stands a blond man, not tall, seemingly muscular, small blue piggish eyes squinting at him with an alarming amount of hatred. Just what the fuck.

“How rude of me, this is Dean, by the way,” he says, showing up their intertwined fingers. Stan doesn’t feel jealous or envious, to his own pleasure, but he does feel this wholesome wave of bitterness. Assholes shouldn’t get away with all the nasty things they do and then proceed to live their nasty lives like nothing happened, while people they leave crippled and broken still suffer with their demons.

Stan won’t give him the satisfaction. He breaths in and smiles politely.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” he says, totally aware that although he’s the lonely one here, he’s still prettier and, dare he say, smarter than that Dean guy. His mug...his mug is for sure a God’s creation, but boy, did he decide to go off with this one? Yes. And absolutely nothing says mind in those little dirty-blue pools of anger he has for eyes. He looks like someone who would tattoo their first lover’s name on their bicep. And make tik-toks in their truck.

“Nice set,” Patrick, the fucker, senses Stanley’s dominating vibe and makes another elegant attempt to ruin everything he’s been building up. “Here alone?”

Okay, alright, it’s gonna be tough at the beginning, but at least he’s not holding some Dean’s sweaty stupid hand—

“Love, I only found buckwheat pasta, it all must be taken already,” and now it’s time for the third thing to make Stanley discover a lot of new white hairs tomorrow in front of the mirror. Thank God he’s not dark-haired.

Like Richie fucking Tozier, who appears literally out of nowhere, with a pack of fucking buckwheat pasta in his hand, the kindest, warmest look in his eyes behind huge coke-bottle glasses he (of course) rocks the shit out, and a smile Stan’s sure gonna jerk off to for days.

“We could drive to Tesco if you wanna—“ he starts in another attempt to silently offer Stanley a helping hand, but cuts himself off. “Oh, I’m sorry, do I know you?” he turns to face Patrick and Dean with a ridiculous replica of Stanley’s own polite smile, and if Stan wouldn’t be this honest-to-god shocked, he’d definitely laugh at the sight of it.

Patrick looks...scandalized in the most precious way.

“It’s Patrick,” Stan says, thankfully without a tremble in his voice. “We used to date a long time ago. And this is...um, Dean, right?”

“Yeah,” Patrick nods, seemingly taken aback. “My current boyfriend.”

“Oh, my pleasure!” Richie exclaims, grinning widely. “Honoured to meet my man’s old friends,” Stan almost chokes at this, but suddenly there’s someone’s strong hand sliding on his waist, and a solid body, pressing against his side. “I’m Richie by the way, Stanley’s current boyfriend.”

An uncomfortable silence hangs then between the four of them, until Patrick licks his lips in a predatory way, and nods again.

“Alright, we better keep going. It was nice to see you, Stan, have fun,” he almost spits out the last words, and him and Dean quickly leave, just like a mirage Stanley would rather forget forever.

But not the hand, still holding him tight.

“You okay?” Richie murmurs then quietly into Stan’s ear, sending warm shivers down his body. Stan hopes his coat is thick enough for Richie to not hear how embarrassingly rapid his heartbeat currently is.

“Yeah,” he answers, nodding. As much as he hates to do this, he takes a step back, which allows him to look at Richie closely for the first time in his life.

And God he’s handsome.

“I’m—“ Stanley asks, but Richie cuts him off.

“I’m sorry,” he says, and although his eyes are still pleasantly concerned, his lips curve into a small guilty smile. “I didn’t want to spy on you, I just overheard that asshole—shit, sorry, I didn’t mean—“

“No, he is an asshole,” Stanley shrugs, still lying to Richie and himself. Lying that his body’s not still on fire, his brains are not melting into disgustingly sweet puddles of adoration, his palms are not sweaty and his throat is not drier than Sahara. “And thank you for...helping me out, I guess? You really didn’t have to do that.”

Richie looks at him with something Stanley can’t really understand in his eyes, and his smile widens, revealing two big front teeth one would call funny, but Stan honest to god finds them adorable. Like the rest of Richie, really. There’s no point in denying this, he’s gone.

“I know,” he says, and his voice is low, with a slight edge. “I just, I thought there’s no better time than the present, you know, and instead of making another New Year resolution I’m going to ignore, I could give myself a chance right here and right now,” the apples of his cheeks turn an impossibly lovely shade of pink, and Stanley wants to slap himself for being such a slut for this man. He collects himself without a flinch and finally pays attention to Richie’s words and frowns.

“I beg your pardon?”

Richie keeps blushing deeper and deeper in shade.

“Well, you see, there’s that adorable Hebrew in my friend Eddie’s department that I’ve been trying to court for months, but he’s either too dense to notice it, or it’s me who’s dense and is just too preoccupied to take “no” as an answer, you know? So I’ve decided to go off in 2020 and...basically crack my ass to make that boy be more clear, yeah? Because I’m crushing like crazy stupid, you have no idea,” by the end of his ramble, his face is fully red, and fortunately for him, he’s not the only one looking like a basic white tourist after seven hours under Egyptian sun without a hat.

“Did you,” Stan mewls, voice finally breaking like a bitch, but nevertheless, his chin is up and he’s professionally acting like he doesn’t look as pathetic as Richie. “Did you just call me dense while hitting on me?”

“Yeah,” Richie breathes out, and his smile is so sunny, and warm, and relieved that Stan can’t help but smile back, rolling his eyes nevertheless, because he’s what? Still a good liar. “Did it work?”

***

It definitely did, Stanley thinks two hours later, sitting in Richie’s barstool with a glass of wine in one hand, watching the other man cook that bloody buckwheat pasta and listening to his absolutely endearing unstoppable ramble about his secret passion for cooking and not-so-secret passion for Stanley. He really, really doesn’t give a shit about embarrassing himself, Stan realizes somewhere after the words “I got shitfaced and ugly-cried for hours at that party when you left the table exactly thirty seconds after I tried to initiate a conversation with you.”

It definitely did, Richie thinks in the next morning, waking up with Stanley’s curls in his mouth, his back pressed against Richie’s chest and their bodies wrapped around each other under lazy January sun.

_

i have to say i’m not a huge fan of fake/pretend relationship trope but this specific um turn of events when character a is in an embarrassingly lonely situation against their ex and character b abruptly decides to save the day and then they end up together for real...is the shit

[erikahenningsen]

My 15 favorite theater experiences of 2019

In no particular order:

1. Choir Boy (Samuel Friedman Theatre, New York, NY): I say in no particular order, but if you know anything about me, you know that Choir Boy is my number-one show of the year. I saw it four times on Broadway and twice in Boston. Tarell Alvin McCraney’s writing is so beautiful, human, and fearless. He puts works of art on stages, television, and film that nobody else does. Jeremy Pope’s performance as Pharus is easily in the top three greatest performances I’ve seen on a Broadway stage. If your local regional theater is doing this show, I cannot encourage you enough to go and see it.

2. What the Constitution Means to Me (Helen Hayes Theater, New York, NY): This show was unlike any other play I’ve seen before. Heidi Schreck, who wrote and starred in WTCMTM, wrote a deeply human, poignant, and timely play about a document written by a bunch of rich, white men a few centuries ago and made it gripping, engaging, and relevant. It’s a show I believe every American should see. As an added bonus, Heidi is genuinely one of the kindest people I’ve met.

3. The Wrong Man (MCC Theater, New York, NY): I saw The Wrong Man for the first time three weeks before it closed, and I immediately fell in love with it and went back several more times in those three weeks. The Wrong Man is only ninety minutes long and has only three main characters, but it presents an engaging story about forgiveness, mercy, justice, guilt, and innocence. Ross Golan, the composer/lyricist, began performing The Wrong Man as a concept album thirteen years ago and turned it into a full musical. The score is beautiful and has some really great bops, and the choreography is probably the best I’ve ever seen.

4. Waitress with Sara Bareilles and Gavin Creel (Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York, NY): I’m personally not the biggest fan of Waitress, but this was one of the most fun nights I had in a theater this year. Sara and Gavin had amazing chemistry, and I have never laughed so much at Waitress before. 

5. A Strange Loop (Playwrights Horizons, New York, NY): A Strange Loop is unlike any show I’ve ever seen before. It’s unlike anything anyone has seen before. How many shows center around a fat, black, queer character? I can’t think of any. Michael R. Jackson, the book writer/composer/lyricist, has an incredible ability to write satire that has you laughing at the same time you’re being punched in the face emotionally. A Strange Loop grapples with the intersections of racism, homophobia, and fatphobia. It’s meta at the same time it’s grounded, and gets more and more intense as the show progresses. I walked out of the theater in a daze after I saw it. My fingers are crossed it comes to Broadway.

5. Mean Girls, Taylor Louderman’s last show (August Wilson Theatre, New York, NY): Going to Mean Girls is a routine thing for me, and I’ve seen the show dozens of times, but every once in awhile something special happens that reignites my love for this show. Taylor’s last show was obviously incredibly sad for me, the cast, and everyone who loves this show, but I also laughed more and harder on this evening than I have in a very long time at Mean Girls. Everyone, especially Taylor, was giving this performance their all, and I’ll never forget it.

6. The Secret Life of Bees (Atlantic Theater Company, New York, NY): I had suspicions I was really going to love this show before I saw it, but I absolutely fell in love with it. The music is gorgeous (thank you, Duncan Sheik), the performances are stellar, and the story, though set decades ago, is as timely and relevant as ever. I do cry at shows pretty often, but rarely do I tear up because of how overwhelmingly beautiful a show is—but I did that at Secret Life of Bees. I’m still impatiently waiting on that Broadway transfer announcement.

7. Beetlejuice (Winter Garden Theatre, New York, NY): Despite all its flaws, I love this crazy, loud, obnoxious, wild show so much. I had seen it in DC and counted down the days until first preview on Broadway. I rushed first preview and ended up with front-row tickets, and I had one of the most fun nights in a theater I’ve ever had. The performances really make the show, and I’ve been very vocal about how I strongly believe Leslie Kritzer was snubbed by the Tonys. Beetlejuice also has my favorite scenic design for any show. I also have a uniquely personal connection to this showL Beetlejuice used to have a joke in the show I felt was offensive, so I reached out to Eddie Perfect and Alex Timbers and explained to them why I was hurt by it, and they actually listened to my feedback and removed the joke. I’m hoping Beetlejuice can find another home after June, because I’m not ready to say goodbye yet.

8. Next to Normal (Ground Floor Theatre/Deaf Austin Theatre, Austin, TX): For years I had been wanting an ASL production of Next to Normal with Sandra Mae Frank as Natalie, so when it actually happened I knew I had to fly to Texas to see it. I don’t think I’ve ever cried more at a show. Sandy made me look at Natalie in a whole new way, and the ASL interpretations of the lyrics added so many new layers to the show. Megg Rose, the Deaf actor who played Diana, gave one of the best performances I’ve seen, and I want her to be on Broadway immediately. This production really was a dream come true for me. 

9. Six (Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago, IL): We drove to Chicago from NYC to see Six, and it was definitely worth it. I was in the front row for the first time I saw it, which was a terrifying but incredibly fun experience. This cast is so incredibly talented, and the show is so much fun, and being there with almost all of my closest friends was such a memorable experience. I’m so excited to see it again when it comes to Broadway.

10. Little Shop of Horrors (Westside Theatre, New York, NY): This was my first experience seeing LSOH, and I had an absolute blast. The performances were incredible, with Christian Borle being just off-the-wall crazy. I haven’t laughed that much at a show in awhile. The Audrey II puppets are fantastic, and what they’ve done with the scenic design in such a small space is amazing. I’m excited to see it again with Gideon Glick.

11. Indecent (Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, MA): Indecent is and always will be my favorite play, and I’m so incredibly grateful I got to see it again in Boston. Huntington recreated the Broadway production with many of the original cast members, and it was such a special show. I never thought I’d see that production again live, and Huntington gave me such an incredible gift with this play. 

12. Freestyle Love Supreme (Booth Theatre, New York, NY): FLS is just fun from start to finish. It’s completely improvised with special unannounced guests every night, so it’s different every time you see it. I loved seeing how they made the show more inclusive between Off-Broadway and Broadway (by asking people their pronouns, for example), and I have a blast every time. 

13. Ain’t Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations (Imperial Theatre, New York, NY): I saw Ain’t Too Proud mostly for Jeremy Pope, and I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I genuinely loved the show. Derrick Baskin is one of the most hardworking performers on Broadway—he literally does not leave the stage. The choreography is so much fun, and each person in the cast is so incredibly talented. It’s also one of the most pleasant stage doors I’ve ever experienced; everyone at the stage door just really genuinely wants to congratulate and thank the performers, and the actors are so kind. 

14. Teeth (National Alliance for Musical Theatre Festival, New York, NY): It’s wild even to me that I’m putting a staged partial reading on this list, but that’s how good Teeth was. I spent the entire time laughing, and the songs are constantly stuck in my head. Everyone at the festival was talking about how much they loved the show, so I’m hopeful there will be a full production of it sometime soon.

15. Slave Play (John Golden Theatre, New York, NY): It’s hard to talk about Slave Play because it transcends descriptors like “good” or “bad.” Slave Play is important. It’s complex. It’s necessarily provocative. And it’s shaken up Broadway like no show has in recent memory. It’s a show I think every American adult should see. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I saw it. It only runs for a couple more weeks, and if you haven’t seen it, you need to. 

[stateofloveandnegan]

Sweet - Stone Gossard

Can you write a Stone Gossard one shot? Something really fluffy about how you met and he had a crush on you for a while before asking you out or something but he is super sweet and says the kindest words? I don't know something cute and sweet!! Thanks! 😁

It’s finally up! I totally forgot about this one so I’m sorry about that. Also, I couldn’t really come up with a good end for the story so I hope this is good enough..

Requested by: anon

“Stone, mate, you’re staring again.” Mike mumbles in his ear as his eyes are on me, unbeknownst to me. Stone quickly blinks and moves his gaze away from me. “When are you gonna tell her?”

Stone laughs and shakes his head, “Yeah, that’s never gonna happen, Mike. Forget it.” Mike rolls his eyes and sighs, “Whatever, Stone. Just know that you’re gonna regret it if you don’t act upon your feelings sometime soon.”

I laugh as Eddie tickles my sides, before wrapping his arms around me, “Ed! Ugh, let me go, you stinker!” I giggle and Eddie shakes his head, “Never gonna let you go, little one.”

Eddie and I have been very close, ever since the first day of him being in the band he’s been like a brother to me, nothing else. People always talked about us and how we’d be a cute couple, but for Ed and I it’s just weird to think about it like that. We have talked about it, if we should try dating, but after one date we were both very sure that it was just awkward. And besides that, I’ve had my eyes on someone else for as long as I can remember…

“Go to your man, lovebird.” Eddie mumbles in my ear and I blush, pushing him away from me and mouthing ‘fuck you’ at him, to which he smirks and points at Stone, mouthing ‘fuck him’ back to me.

I roll my eyes, but walk over to Stone and Mike anyway, letting Eddie get back to what he was taking about with Cameron and Jeff. “Hey, Steno,” I smile at him, biting my lip. He turns around and smiles at me, “Hey, beautiful.”

Stone always says the sweetest things to me, probably another reason why I’ve fallen so deeply in love with him. “Always the smooth-talker, hmm?” I smile a little teasingly to hide my blush, and the fact that his words absolutely make my heart skip a beat.

“It just goes naturally when I’m with you.” He winks before walking off to the other guys. I sigh softly, “Why doesn’t he actually like me?”

Mike chuckles and shakes his head, “You have no idea about what’s going on I that head of his, (Y/N), but I can tell you, he’s as stubborn as a donkey.” And Mike walks off as well.

That’s how it always goes… Stone and I flirting here and there, but it never turns into something serious, every time I want to make a comment about it, Stone’s already off to somewhere else and it’s driving me wild.

So, one night, while we’re all in the bar and Stone and I have been flirting for longer than usual, something inside me snaps when he walks off again, this time to greet some sort of girl who gets way too touchy with him. I grab my bag and run off outside, tears already streaming down my face.

The guys call after me and in the corner of my eye, I notice Stone turning into my direction, but I don’t budge and keep walking, trying to hide my face as much as possible. I go to the spot I always go to when I want to be alone, when I want to cry about stuff, the roof of my apartment building.

I sit on the roof, in the corner, where I built a little place for myself, crying and hugging a blanket around myself as I try to come up with excuses as to why I left and trying to think of how I’m ever going to live with the fact that I’ll never get to be with Stone like I’ve always dreamt of being.

After a little while, I’ve calmed down, occasionally letting out soft sniffles, but most of the crying has died down. With a can of coke in my hand, a blanket wrapped around me, I sit on the edge of the building, my legs dangling down. The view before me always seems to calm me down, that’s why I always go here when I’m feeling sad or stressed.

“(Y/N)?” a very soft, familiar voice speaks up. I immediately tense up, biting my lip as I keep gazing at the view. “Stone…”

I can hear him sigh as he walks up to me, sitting down on the edge beside me and I can feel his eyes on me, but I don’t spare him a look.

It takes him a while before he speaks up. “I’m an idiot, (Y/N). I’m an idiot for never realising that your flirting with me was because you had genuine feelings for me.” He speaks in a guilty voice.

I bite my lip even harder to keep the tears at bay, not wanting to cry anymore. “I always cut you off, because I thought it was just joking around. I cut it off, because I wasn’t able to continue, thinking it wasn’t serious.”

My brows furrow in confusion at his words, and for the first time, I turn my head to look at him, unshed tears in my eyes. Stone meets my eyes and I can see the guilt on his face for making me cry. “W-What do you mean?” I speak in a quiet, hoarse voice.

“I’m madly in love with you, (Y/N). And I have been for so long… Mike always told me to make a move, but I was so scared. And I know you and Ed are like family, but I couldn’t help myself that, when every time I saw you two so close, I thought there was more that you guys weren’t telling us.”

I look at him in disbelief, not believing his words, and open my mouth multiple times, but nothing comes out. Stone looks away, sighing and mumbling, “I shouldn’t have believed Mike when he said you felt the same.” He moves to get up and speaks louder, “Forget I said anything.” and starts walking away.

For a second, I’m frozen on the spot, not knowing what to do or what to say, but soon enough I regain sense and jump up, accidentally pushing the can of coke off the edge, down the building. I hurriedly walk after Stone, catching his wrist in my hand and pulling him to me before planting my lips onto his when our faces are close enough.

I can feel Stone freezing under the sudden feeling of my lips on his, but very soon he gathers himself and kisses me back, his hands coming to rest on my hips as our lips move in sync. Everything around us seems to fade and nothing else matters in this moment, just Stone and I, holding each other, kissing each other.

After what feels like hours, but seconds at the same time, I pull back, needing air to breathe. Stone and I stand there, foreheads resting against each other’s as we catch our breath. My eyes are still closed, but after a minute I finally dare to open them and I’m immediately met with Stone’s.

As soon as I notice Stone opening his mouth to say something, I speak up and beat him to it. “I do love you, Stone. So fucking much, it killed me to see you so close to that girl earlier.”

“She means nothing to me… I met her once and I just wanted distraction from you, because until then, I thought you could never be into me, let alone love me…” He admits with a sheepish smile on his face.

I smile at him and bring my hand up to his face, my thumb brushing over his cheek. “Well, you were wrong, Steno… I do love you, very much so.”

Stone chuckles and leans in for another kiss, this one much softer, but still just as meaningful. When we break apart, Stone takes my hand in his and walks me back to the edge of the roof, sitting down with me and grabbing the blanket before draping it over both our shoulders.

I look at him with love in my eyes and he returns the look easily, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me a little closer into his side, pressing a soft kiss to my temple. “I’m never gonna back down with the flirting now, do know that…”

[twilightprince101]

Singanronpa: What is True Friendship? (Curtain Call)

[Previous] [Next]

Finally able to get this out there, coming to the second most important thing about Danganronpa; the investigations! Lemme just say that I’m really excited for how this turned out, and although it was a long time coming (exams and family stuff happened, my bad), we can finally get back on this train! However let me just say that, while in traditional Danganronpa games, you were able to see what was concrete evidence via truth bullets, I think I might be best to take a more Phoenix Wright route and leave everything up to interpretation. However if you manage to correctly guess what exactly happens before it is revealed, then kudos to you! (if you’d like I could even do a shout out once the full chapter is over) The main thing I’ll retain from the original game is the point and click style format; you’ll know it when you see it. But enough talk, let’s get to it!

ATTENTION!!! Danganronpa is home to lots of graphic content, particularly violence, death and graphic depictions of that death. If you are sensitive to any of these things and several other mature themes, DANGANRONPA IS NOT FOR YOU!!! You have been warned.

For what seems like an eternity, time stands still as all of the animals stare at the scene in front of them. Nobody knows how to react while looking down at the motionless bodies of Johnny and Stephanie. Meena is pressed up against the far wall, eyes staring at nothing while her breathing is as fast as a speeding train’s beat. Buster even refuses to believe it at first. But then-

Mike: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!?!

Chaos unfolds and everyone freaks out.

Gunter, Nancy, David and Rosita scream in terror.

Ember, Jude, Matt, Ash and Mike all begin cursing up a storm and try to wake themselves up from the nightmare they’re in.

Buster and Julee try to hold back their dinner. Julee fails and sprints for the trash can.

Eddie and Riley go still from shock and are still frozen in place

Meena is now curling up and pressing her ears against her face.

While everyone is still freaking out, Monokuma appears, satisfied with the despair everyone is feeling. Although everyone keeps panicking and doesn’t acknowledge his presence, so the bear pulls out an air horn and honks it to catch everyone’s attention.

After tossing the horn, the bear comments on how the scene before them is a sight to behold at how the first murder happened so quick, yet so sloppily. However, he admits that he’s seen worse, and simply laughs, prompting a yell of denial from Mike.

Mike: IS THIS SOME SORT OF SICK GAME TO YOU?! TWO PEOPLE ARE DEAD!!!

Monokuma: Well, I literally called this the “Killing Game,” so…

The bear then prompts everyone that any questions about the oncoming investigation will refer to the black section of the pamphlets they were all given earlier. He also gives them a red folder with a black number 1 circled in white with the outline of the bear’s head, explaining that it is the Monokuma File, and “Gives all the juicy details on any murder that takes place here!”

Monokuma: We used to have a really cool digital version instead of paper but… well some budget cuts happened and now we’re here.

After wishing everyone (including the culprit) good luck, the bear vanishes once more, leaving everyone slack-jawed from their presented task. Riley is the first to speak up after the bear leaves, asking “Why… why did Johnny have to… how did this happen?”

Julee speaks up as well, stating that she had a slight feeling from the start that the quietest one would be the first to act. “It is the most common in these scenarios after all,” she says. “if there’s one thing I know, it’s that everyone has a dark side.”

But Buster immediately tries to counter this, saying that he’s researched everyone’s history, and Meena was one of the kindest people he scouted out, even going as far to list different charitable things she’s done like work at a soup kitchen. However, Ash and Gunter dismiss this statement as creepy, not taking it seriously. Rosita does jumps in, saying that she knows how certain people behave since she’s been around her kids for so long.

Rosita: I can say for a fact that Meena could not have done this on purpose. I’ve been around a lot of children throughout my life and I can always tell what exactly they’re like after being around them. My motherly intuition is never wrong!

This sparks a bit of debate between Rosita, Mike, Julee and Nancy while everyone else is still freaking out. Buster tries to think of any possible explanation for this situation, still denying in his mind that any of this was happening.

But once Meena begins to mutter “I didn’t mean to” over and over again, everyone stops and rushes to her side, asking her what exactly happened. The elephant is pulling her ears as close together as possible while streaks of tears wash away a bit of the blood splattered on her cheeks. Through a shaky breath, Meena begins to explain the events that had transpired in the room.

“Johnny and I… we were together in here, talking about the notes. Th-there was a knock at the door and, and Johnny opened it and-and she rushed in with one of Ash’s quills. She was trying to kill me I-I had to-... Johnny tried to protect me, but h-he was getting hurt and-and I tried to help but I hit him and then, Steph ran at m-me and… And I…..” She suddenly burst out sobbing again.

The room is silent once again. Everyone present is agape at the Soprano’s confession and doesn’t know exactly how to process what was just said. Even though it seemed like the most logical answer to some, they still couldn’t believe it.

Rosita and David try to comfort Meena, trying to calm her down while Matt sits down and chuckles in shock, trying to find some sort of humor in the situation.

Matt: The first murder of the killing game and it’s an accident. Haha… this isn’t even funny.

Mike then speaks up, saying that while it is shocking, he was silently expecting it due to Meena’s timid nature. “She was meek and quiet, it’s only natural for this to happen. It’s as they say though, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Buster, however, still states that something feels off about the situation, and all of the attention is turned towards him. Mostly everyone-save for Nancy, Eddie, Gunter and Ember-say that Meena had already confessed to the crime and question his morals.

David: Can’t you see she’s grieving right now man?

Ash: Figures, the morals align with the creeper’s actions.

Jude: What would even be the point of her lying right now if it would get us killed?!

After taking a moment of consideration from hearing Jude’s words, Nancy asks for what would happen if there was an accomplice involved and reaches for her pamphlet, reading the desired segment aloud. “In the case of the blackened gaining an accomplice to their crimes, only the killer, the one that has done the deed, will be permitted to graduate and escape to the outside world.”

While the other Ultimates become more sure than ever that Meena was telling the truth, Buster admits that he is still uncertain and asks Meena if she was certain that her entire confession was true. Perhaps she was mistaken at some point.

After jumping slightly, she stutters out a yes and states that she was absolutely sure. While this does cause more angered glances in Buster’s direction, the showman states that something else still could’ve happened. Gunter begins to catch on and states that, perhaps, Meena didn’t kill Stephanie and that she only THINKS she did so.

At this point, there are three groups;

Meena killed: Rosita, Meena, David, Riley, Ash, Jude, Julee

Something else happened: Nancy

Uncertain: Gunter, Mike, Ember, Matt, Buster, Eddie

After sides are taken, Buster requests that he takes a look around, since he assumes that these games typically include the investigations as well. Nancy confirms this, and also tells everyone siding with Meena that if they are way too hasty, then they’ll end up like Killing Game #14. Everyone in the room is sent a jolt of fear, and then after considering for a bit, Rosita reluctantly allows them their investigation.

Eddie, currently waiting in the hall due to concerns of being attacked, pipes up and says that he wants to help as well. Many are suspicious of him and are hesitant to this idea though.

Mike: Um, yeah, who ask you exactly?

Rosita: I mean… you don’t have to if you don’t want to, you could just leave it to us.

Ember: Yeah, I’m pretty sure we can handle it by ourselves.

Buster waves everyone down and asks that they listen to what he has to say. After giving a confirming nod to Eddie-who is visibly sweating from stress-the servant begins to explain himself.

Eddie: When Monokuma introduced me, he said I- he said I was supposed to obey him, but that I could be a p-player as well. A-and he also likes it when class trials are ex-exciti-cool, right? So maybe if I could-I mean, play too then, it would… be…. Alright?

The entire time he is saying this, he is staring at his collar, as if he’s preparing himself for the alarm to sound and to apologize. Everyone else feels his hesitation as well when they catch on to his worries. But then, the light on the collar turns green and emits a sound similar a the seat belt sign on an airplane, and the sheep gives a sigh of relief, followed by everyone else.

Those insisting that Meena is the killer grumble and go back to what they’re doing. Buster applauds Eddie for his bravery who, in response, blushes slightly and admits that he was scared to death the entire time he was saying that. But after a small talk, the two agree to investigate together, since both of them are the ones attracting the most suspicious glances.

Right before they begin, Buster remembers Crawley’s letter and tries to draw even the slightest bit of courage from it. He recalls Crawley telling him to not be afraid so he can end the killing games and lead everyone to freedom. So with a desire to prove himself to the Ultimates, the duo’s resolve strengthens.

-----INVESTIGATION START----

Monokuma File #1

To begin, Buster and Eddie read the Monokuma file aloud so everyone else can hear them. It contains a single laminated paper with a picture of Stephanie’s corpse, a grayscale photo of Stephanie with bits of pink highlights on her fur, and a list of notes. The following is a summarized version of the file:

“The victim is Stephanie Hornbaker, the Ultimate Makeup Artist. The victim's body was discovered in Meena Jones, the Ultimate Soprano’s room. The established time of death is [REDACTED]. The victim was subject to blunt force trauma to the back of the skull, resulting in cranial fractures and immediate death. Several miscellaneous injuries accompany the body as well, including significant lacerations along the torso and irritation on the upper arms.”

The two immediately take notice of how the time of death has been blacked out, despite all of the other details being so specific. To erase confusion, Ember states that different details in murders tend to be cut out in killing games, as they would be defining evidence to the Blackened. “It makes sense,” says Eddie, “since he also wants to make these games interesting for the animals watching.”

Mike is disgusted at how the bear treats the murder as some sick show and not-so-silently curses at the bear.

Matt then asks for what Johnny’s file says and the koala takes out the paper to look for the next but, to his surprise, he finds no such paper. The duo look around to see if the paper dropped anywhere, but once again find nothing. A bit of confusion is passed around to the animals, but then Riley gasps, realizing something that they don’t.

Riley: W-wait… does that mean…?!

A low groan of pain is emitted and everyone stops dead in their tracks. They look between each other for a moment, then once another groan is let loose, everyone looks to the floor to find Johnny struggling to get up. Johnny was alive!

Everyone scrambles around Johnny, Meena and Riley especially. He is still bleeding heavily and the metallic drops of red soak his fur. Rosita looks around the room and yells for “any medical supplies at all” so she can help him. Buster says that there’s some in his room and Eddie runs to go get it while the koala yells to him the details of its location.

The greaser flops to his back and everyone gets in his face, barraging him with a mini-gun's worth of questions.

Ember: What happened?! Did Meena really kill Stephanie?!

Riley: Please, please please, don’t go! You’re not gonna die too, right?!

David: Johnny, what happened here?! Are you alright?!

Amidst all of the animals clamoring to get an answer out of the gorilla, Johnny was only able to look at the soprano, who is currently leaking tears and gripping his paw while apologizing profusely. When he began to open his mouth, everyone went quiet once again. Right before he closed his eyes once again, Johnny spoke to Meena “It’s… n-not your… fault…..”

As the room goes silent once again, Eddie returns with the entire first aid kit. Rosita immediately gets to work, with nearly everyone working along with her. Meena, with a blank look in her eyes, goes back to where she was and begins to sob once more.

Once Johnny is patched up, the mother explains that Johnny will survive. He lost a lot of blood though, so it’s likely that he won’t wake up for a good while. But on the topic of the greaser, the participants talk about Johnny’s last words. Riley says that, along with Meena’s confession, it’s clear now what exactly happened.

This, however, sparks a bit of a debate between the Ultimates, with some saying that it didn’t clear up any suspicion while others say it’s the final nail in the coffin for the soprano. Riley, in an offended tone, accuses those not on Meena’s side for trying to drag out the elephant’s suffering, and tells the Ultimate that he’ll help her out. Meena says nothing in response to this, she simply looks at the stage actor, then looks back down to the floor.

Before the debate gets out of hand, Nancy and Ember calm everyone down and convinces everyone to get back to the actual investigation. Riley goes to Meena’s side to try and talk to her and see what he can do to prove her guilt while the rest of the Ultimates go back to what they were originally doing.

Stephanie’s body

Knowing that they should get it out of the way, the koala approaches the victim’s corpse, suppressing the urge to vomit. Buster looks at the Monokuma file once again and lists the different places that Stephanie was injured so he can inspect them, dreading the thought of even getting close to the body.

However as he’s about to put the file away, he spots Eddie approaching the body to inspect it without a smidgen of hesitation. The showman is astonished by this skill, but before he can say anything about it, Eddie explains the different details of Stephanie’s wounds.

Eddie: Everything in the Monokuma file does match. Bludgeoning to the head, lacerations across the body, significant rashes on the arms. But the one thing I don’t get is why the fur is wet-

Buster waves him to stop before he can continue, asking how he could have been able to just walk up to a corpse like that like it was nothing. A few of the Ultimates are also looking at the servant with a mix of shock and disgust. Eddie doesn’t understand why they’re shocked, but still apologizes.

Deciding it would be best to ask about it later, the showman asks about what he was going to say. Eddie then states that Stephanie’s entire body is damp, like a thoroughly ringed out towel. After trying to think of possible reasons for her fur to be damp, they consider asking Meena about it to clear the suspicion. But since Riley is still interrogating her, they save it for the trial.

Johnny Serafinowicz and Rosita Brown

The duo approaches Rosita, who is still trying to make sure that Johnny is safe and healing. The showman thanks her for her medical skills, saying that if she hadn’t been there, then Johnny most likely would have also went down with Stephanie. Rosita thanks them, but doesn’t think much of her skills, saying that it was just another thing that she needed to know to help her several children.

Rosita: Then again, I suppose that night school for my medical degree wasn’t all for nothing, so that’s nice.

When Eddie asks how long Johnny will be out for, Rosita admits that she isn’t exactly sure. The worst case scenario is that he’d be unconscious for the entire class trial, leaving the group without a key witness. However she still states with certainty that Meena’s actions were simply an accident, saying that the soprano would never do something so selfish willingly.

Rosita: I know for certain; my motherly intuition is never wrong!

The mother allows the two to check Johnny’s body, as long as they’re careful. After the two do a quick inspection, they find that many of the gorilla’s injuries are similar to those listed in Stephanie’s Monokuma file: cuts and bruises along the body and a blow to the head-the only thing missing is the rashes on the arms.

However in place of the irritation, Buster notices something about Johnny’s hands while the sheep and mother are talking about the injuries. He flips over the currently palm-down arm, much to Rosita’s disapproval, to find that the paw is completely clean. He flips over the other one as well, getting similar results. But due to Rosita heavily insisting him to leave Johnny alone to recover, the koala steps away and is unable to fully process what this could mean. He then leaves with Eddie to look for something else.

Ash Spinosa and Julee Hartford

Since he saw Ash right before he ran to his office, Buster tries to talk to the rocker and figure out what she might have seen or heard. The rocker is currently standing guard on the wall with Julee, making sure that nobody tampers with the crime scene in any way, while also talking about possible clues that could be useful during the trial.

When the duo approaches, the two are visibly disgusted by their presence and openly state this as well.

Ash: Ah look, the stalker and the creeper working together in arms. I honestly don’t know why I expected less.

Julee: Heh, to be honest I think they’re practically made for each other considering their hobbies.

The two pretend not to hear those comments and request that they ask the two some questions. Both of them clench their teeth in response to this, but since both of them know the gravity of their current situation, they allow the two to do their thing.

However when Buster explains what exactly he saw and asks the rocker about it, Ash has no idea what she’s talking about and thinks that the koala is spouting nonsense. When going deeper into detail about what he saw and what happened, Ash assumes that he’s crazy, as their rooms aren’t even remotely close to each other like he described.

Julee offers up the idea of Buster trying to pin the blame on her and Ash states that she wouldn’t put it past him. When Eddie tries to defend him by saying that it would only get him killed, the two say that they don’t really know what’s going on in the koala’s head so he can’t exactly say that. Deciding it would be useless to press any further, the koala leaves the two alone and investigates elsewhere.

Severed bed leg and Ember Gibson

In between Stephanie’s body and Meena, the giant bed leg laid on the ground just outside of the small pools of blood. Ember is currently inspecting the weapon herself as well, making sure not to touch it. The bed leg is half bloody and half clean and, due to Meena’s giant height, the bed leg was about as tall as the servant himself. Buster tries to lighten the mood by saying that it only helps with the investigation since he could crawl inside of it for clues.

Ember: You sound a little too enthusiastic to do that.

Buster: ...I like cramped spaces…

The rapper comments that she has finished her own inspection of the bed leg itself and shares her findings with the duo:

“The bed leg itself is the most likely candidate for the murder weapon according to Meena’s confession, the amount of blood covering the surface, and the indents aligning with the two head injuries. The indents themselves are strange though, as they’re both on opposite ends of the pole, even the clean part. It might be due to how tight Meena gripping the pole though; she’s naturally strong after all. However the most confusing thing is the heat of the pole. You would expect the clean part to at least be lukewarm, since Meena was gripping it while attacking. But it’s actually ice cold, like if it was left out during a snowstorm. *sigh* If I had some fingerprint powder this investigation would be done so much faster.”

Buster thanks Ember for the quick briefing and Eddie comments on Ember’s desire for fingerprint powder, saying that she sounds like a detective from an old school movie. The badger puts on a lax, smug expression, saying that before he came to the theater she was actually a pretty famous detective. But when Buster calls her out, saying that she didn’t work for the police, she begins to stumble over her words.

Ember: W-well, I, uh… I mean I still freakgigbph… why don’t you go investigate somewhere th-not here?

Jude Therna, Meena Jones, Jackson Riley, and David Flowerson

The showman and servant approach Jude and David, who are together comforting Meena while Riley asks her questions. When they spot the duo, they whisper something to the racoon and elephant, then get up to step in between the four.

David says that it would be best to leave the soprano alone for the time being, since she’s already on the verge of a breakdown because of Riley questioning her. He isn’t exactly being aggressive, but everything is a sensitive subject to her for obvious reasons.

Respecting their wishes, Buster decides to ask a few questions to the two, starting with who found the crime scene first. Jude freely states that they did, leaving the duo in slight shock. But before they can continue, the jaguar stops any suspicion towards them before it starts, saying that they have an alibi.

The entire night since 10:00 PM, they did a night watch to make sure that nobody tried anything. Although they do openly state their sorrow for not being able to prevent the crime in the end, David tries to comfort the street performer by saying there was nothing they could have done. Jude just shakes their head as if to shake away their doubts, then tells the three about the details of the night watch:

10:00 PM: Nightwatch begins. Buster is spotted running to his office, leaving his door open behind him. They checked his room for anything suspicious, but found nothing.

Buster looks away red cheeked at how obvious he must have seemed while he was “sneaking away.”

10:13 PM: Meena leaves her room while holding a letter in her hands, looking around as if she was trying to sneak somewhere. As she crossed the hall Jude intercepted her and began to ask where exactly she was going, startling her in the process. She then slips their note underneath Stephanie’s door and runs back to her room. Jude tries to knock on the door to see what the note had on it, but there was no answer.

10:59 PM: Jude does not go into too much detail about what happens, simply stating that they had stomach troubles and went to the downstairs men’s bathroom.

Jude: I swear we need more healthy things to eat in this stupid place.

Around 11:06 PM: David joins the jaguar in their bathroom suffering session.

11:13 PM: As the jaguar left the bathroom, a scream rang out, most likely Meena’s. They ran back up to her room, with David close behind, and then saw the crime already committed. Once the two had seen the scene, the Body Discovery Announcement played.

When asked by Eddie why the two went to the downstairs bathroom instead of their own, Jude states that their room was at the other end of the hall and they took watch by the stairs, as it was a better hiding spot. As for David, he simply states that his bad luck struck once again and leaves it at that. Buster guiltily admits that he hasn’t really been paying attention to the room layout.

When Jude complains about the lack of actual meals in the theater, saying that they could really go for a peanut butter-banana sandwich, Buster shamefully admits that he is used to eating the way he does.

Mike Maximus, Matt Pine and Gunter Schwartz

Over to the side, the Crooner, Drummer and Dancer are all talking together about something. From a distance, Buster can hear them saying something about Stephanie and the dorms, but once they spot the two listening in, they back off and don’t resume talking until the two leave.

Inside the bathroom

Deciding that there is nothing else in the main room to investigate, the two look inside of the bathroom for any more clues. Nancy is already in there by herself, climbing up one of the ginormous hand towels that’s the size of a refrigerator for her. When the duo comment on why exactly she was in there alone, she tells them that since everyone else is focused on the crime scene itself, nobody is looking for clues in other possible locations. She also states that her efforts weren’t fruitless, as she has already found something.

Nancy Addams

When the two join Nancy to try and figure out what she found, she climbs to the top of the rack holding the hand towel and shoves it off to the floor, sprawling it out for them all to see. It drops to the floor with an audible SCHLOP, getting a few drops of water on the two larger animals.

When the towel itself is laid flat, the trio finds that not only is the towel wet, it has a few faint red and brown spots sprawled across it. When trying to guess what exactly the spots could be and what the towel is used for, none of them can get a general conscientious. However Nancy does state that all of the spots were on the inside of the towel while it was on the rack. And because of how damp it is, the negotiator states that the towel was used recently, and it was also deliberately hidden from sight.

Eddie thanks Nancy for finding the towel, guessing that it is a very important clue. Nancy accepts the praise, saying that she had a sneaking suspicion that something else was happening. When asked by the koala HOW she knew, she looks away and rubs her shoulder, saying that she’s “had experience with liars before.” However she isn’t willing to go into more detail beyond this.

Messy sink

Spotting some puddles over by the sink, Buster walks over to investigate. There are several wet spots scattered about, with a few drops leaking from the sink itself. But because of the height, it takes the efforts of both Buster and Eddie to see what’s up top.

After being lifted up by the servant, Buster finds that the sink itself is empty, but very wet and slick. Upon closer inspection, the koala spots a tiny bit of fur near the drain and turns on the faucet to investigate, letting the clear water flow. Then, coming flowing out via murky brown water, several strands of small, brown fur come into view.

After being let back down, Buster (regretfully) takes a handful of the fur and tries to take a closer look. Due to the color of the water it appeared brown, but after being dried off by the bottom of Buster’s shirt, the three are able to spot a slight orange tint. However, none of the animals can think of who it belongs to or how it got there.

Exiting the bathroom

Finding everything they could in the bathroom, the three prepare to exit, but are interrupted by Eddie suddenly doubling over and clutching his stomach. Nancy and Buster can audibly hear his stomach gurgling as he winces from the pain.

Asking as nicely but desperately as possible, Eddie requests that the two leave him alone in the bathroom, deciding not to state the obvious. Nancy asks if the servant is okay, but Buster just decides to lead her out of the room for his friend’s sake, making sure to close the door behind them.

Spotting Mike, Gunter and Matt from earlier huddling around each other, the two decide to investigate and figure out what they’re up to. Once again they aren’t willing to talk to Buster, but with Nancy present, Mike suddenly grows a heart. The duo look at each other with the look.

Deciding it would be no use to argue, Gunter presents a small key chain that only contains a silver key and a plastic tag with a cosmetics kit logo on both sides. The dancer explains that, after inspecting Stephanie’s body, they found the key in one of her pockets. Matt also comments that they figured out that it was Stephanie’s room key, and were going to go to investigate.

The crooner then invites the negotiator to go with them and she says yes, but also offers that Buster goes with them. The three show hesitation at this offer and say that it might be best if not much of a big group goes at once, but then Nancy tells them about Buster finding the fur in the sink, stating that Buster is pretty skilled at finding small details.

Reluctantly, they agree. As they leave for the door, Buster feels like he should wait for Eddie to finish so he could come along as well. However considering the fact that they were already annoyed with him coming along and how long it took Jude and David to finish their “sessions,” he decided that it was for the best to just leave.

As the group heads for the door, with Buster being at the tail’s end, the showman suddenly stops and looks back to the door itself. It had a blood splatter along the bottom, most likely due to Stephanie slashing at the gorilla’s leg. 

Going along with a hunch, the koala backtracks and closes the door slightly to peek at the other side. Then, not being sure if he should feel accomplished or anxious, Buster spots a bloodstain around the top of the door with a strange shape. It does not seem like it got there naturally from the fight from earlier.

As much as Buster wants to bring it up, something in his gut tells the koala he should leave it be until the Class Trial, and he runs to catch up with the others.

Inside Stephanie’s room

After unlocking the door and opening up the makeup artist’s room, the five enter to find a cluttered mess. Clothes are scattered around everywhere with no sense of order, a vanity nearby is covered with makeup supplies for different features, varying from fur to nails, and any previous ideas of a clean, orderly room were thrown out of the window.

Mike comments on how unexpected it was for somebody with an Ultimate talent designed to make things look pretty would have a bedroom belonging to a slob. However Matt states that it might be like this so Stephanie could hide something. Right before Mike can scoff at the idea for sounding childish, Gunter says that it might be a good idea to search through the stuff to find any clues.

The group then splits up for the time being, with each animal looking in different places for clues.

Stephanie’s Bed

After cleaning out a bunch of junk from on top of the bed and making sure that everything was tidy, the showman was not able to find any clues. However after looking under the bed, he finds a crumpled up piece of paper that he can’t reach. The two mice, however, help roll it out for them to inspect.

After flattening it out on the mattress, the group reads the hastily written note aloud.

“I can’t sleep at all, I can’t stop thinking about my family. I’m scared that someone might kill me. So far in this theater, you’ve been the only friend I’ve had and the only one I can trust. Please come to my room, I need somebody to talk to. I’m not sure how much longer I can stand being alone.”

The note itself had no signature saying who it was from, nor a name stating who it was addressed to. The group discusses to figure out where it came from, but only Buster manages to figure out that it came from Meena, as Jude stated earlier that she slipped the note underneath the makeup artist’s door. However due to underlying suspicion, he cannot bring himself to tell the others and saves that fact for the class trial.

Gunter Schwartz

After some more searching, the dancer calls everyone over to the vanity to show his findings: a large, thoroughly used set of makeup tools and cosmetics. The brushes had been frayed and worn down, and nearly all of the cosmetics were used to the last pinch of powder.

Mike thinks of this as strange, as he has never exactly seen her with any sort of makeup. However Buster suggests that the fox might have always had makeup on, and they didn’t even know it.

To prove the point, Nancy asks Mike if she’s wearing any makeup, expecting it to be a tough question. But then the crooner tries to pull a fast one and says that, either way, she’s still the most beautiful woman he’s seen. Everyone is taken aback by the suddenness of the comment; Matt whistles and says “smooth.” Nancy goes back to investigating her side of the room while power walking.

Matt Pine

After LOTS of cleaning later, Matt finds a bunch of garbage that he tries to shoot into the wastebasket like a basketball. He’s almost dunked everything, but as he gets to a crumbled up envelope, he stops to take a look inside. After he does so, he calls everyone over so they can all look at the evidence.

The envelope was the one Stephanie had gotten for her respective motive letter. The contents within were similar as well: a news article showing that Stephanie’s loved ones had been kidnapped and a letter from Stephanie’s mother herself. The contents of the letter goes as follows:

“Stephanie,      Please, you need to help me. I’ve been kidnapped and I don’t know where I am or what’s going on. I’m scared and I want to go home, to see you again. I know that this may seem undignified for your mother to say, but I’m terrified. I’m not even sure if you’re safe, these men told us to write notes to you. Please be safe dear, oh god please be safe.      My little munchkin, I love you. I love you so, so, so, so much. So please, you need to get me out of here. I’m not sure what these animals want; if it’s money, get the savings for my student loans from the safe, you already know where it is. Don’t even bother with the code, break it open and give them the money. I want to hold you in my arms again sweetie; I want to feel your warmth again and play bad board games like we used to. I’m sorry for always putting so much pressure on you, just please, help your mother and get me out of here.      I love you my little munchkin. Always and forever. Your loving mother.

After a moment of silence, the five about the letter itself, with Nancy commenting on how sad it was. Matt says that he knows it’s supposed to be a motive letter, but that just seemed outright depressing.

Buster decides to explain to the others why it was written this way. The mother and daughter were always very close, as the father was emotionally distant while she grew up. She was supposed to inherit the family beauty parlor and walked in her mother’s footsteps, although it always caused her a great deal of anxiety to do so. In the end, though, it helped in a way, as that was her driving force to become an Ultimate.

Once again the Ultimates around him comment on how it was creepy he knew these things, but he shushes them and continues anyway.

Right as Buster is about to go into detail at how it caused Stephanie stress and what habits came because of it, a noise comes from the monitor up on the wall, showing Monokuma sipping martini from a fancy glass, despite him being a robot.

He tells everyone that he’s grown bored while the investigation has dragged on, so he’s gonna start the class trial right away, so all of the participants should meet at the front entrance of the theater.

Monokuma: I hope this turns out to be another thrilling, bone chilling, despair filling class trial for the ages! Puhuhuhuhu!

Despite having a lingering feeling of dread and a hint of there being something they didn’t get to in Stephanie’s room, the five head towards the front entrance after gathering all of the evidence that they found. Mike is relieved, as he was getting very tired with trying to clean garbage that was more than twice his size.

Moon Theater Lobby

When the group joins up with everyone else, they find the Ultimates loudly arguing amongst each other with no real side to the matter. Julee, David and Riley, however, are all talking to Ash, with all of them seeming downright furious.

Ash: So what are you saying I did?! Killed Stephanie, took a bath in Meena’s sink, dried off then walked back to my room naked?

Julee: I’m not saying it’s impossible!

Ash: AND I AM SAYING YOU’RE INSANE!!!

Stepping in to stop the fighting, the group asks what is happening to cause all of the commotion. Jude steps forward and points at the rocker, shouting that the porcupine had killed Stephanie. Ash yells back that they’re insane but Buster stops the fighting once again, asking Jude for proof.

The jaguar says fine in an aggravated tone, calling over Eddie, who is off to the side and holding something in his arms, looking deep in thought. The showman asks the servant what exactly is going on, to which the sheep steps forward and reveals what he was holding:

A wet set of Ash’s clothes and a bundle of porcupine quills.

Eddie explains that, right before he went to the bathroom, he flushed the toilet to make sure that it wasn’t clogged. “Just my luck it was…” but to his surprise, after he unclogged it, he found Ash’s clothes stuck in the toilet. It was clear that they were meant to be flushed away and hidden from view.

Ash butts in and tries to give her side of the story, which is simply “I don’t know how those got there, that sheep is trying to frame me!” which, sadly, isn’t much of a good argument in the killing games. As the group begins to argue once more, it becomes clear who is siding with who.

Meena Killed: Rosita, Meena, Riley, David

Ash Killed: Julee, Jude, Ember, Eddie

Something else happened: Buster, Mike, Nancy, Gunter, Matt, Ash

Eddie apologizes to Buster, saying that he can’t side with him this time. With the fur and clothes being in the bathroom and the hand towel being Ash’s height, he believes that the current evidence is leaning towards Ash being the killer. Buster does feel slightly hurt, but knows that he doesn’t mean it personally and focuses on finding the truth.

Johnny, meanwhile, is lying face up on a stretcher colored black, white and red. Rosita explains that, since it would be difficult carrying Johnny to the Class Trial, the MonoCult provided them with a stretcher. Unfortunately, Johnny has shown no signs of recovery, so it’s likely that they’ll have to do the class trial without him.

As the sides continue to argue, the iron plates on the front door begin to hiss and slowly open up, letting out a bit of steam for theatrical effect in the process. Once the steam clears, the hopes of the doors leading to their freedom is dashed, as on the other side is a rustic group elevator.

Feeling the tension lingering in the air, the participants are hesitant to step inside, as the bear obviously wants them to. However with the fact in mind that they are all at Monokuma and the MonoCult’s mercy, they all walk in, with Gunter and Meena holding the different sides of Johnny’s stretcher.

As the iron gate closes in front of them, the elevator begins to ascend higher and higher, making a few of the animals need to pop their ears due to the sudden change in pressure. Everyone is silent; the only noise is the clanking of the elevator as it rises higher and higher.

Ash, trying to not attract any attention to herself, nudges Buster and whispers to him if he believes that she killed Meena as well. Her wide eyes and shaky voice suggests that she is truly terrified, which is shocking considering how she tried to keep a calm demeanor the entire time she was in the theater.

Buster says that, even after looking over all of the evidence, he can not be certain as to what exactly happened. All he can truly say is that, no matter what happened and who is the killer, he’s going to try to find the truth. Ash does not know how to respond to this and steps away, going quiet once again.

Once the elevator screeches to a halt, the iron gate in front of them opens up wide to reveal the class trial room. Black and white checkered tiles on the floor accompany a red circle of carpet, lying underneath sixteen podiums similar to a witness stand in court. One of the podiums has a black and white portrait of the victim of the case, Stephanie, crossed off in red eyeliner and brushes painted over. David openly hopes that the red isn’t blood, but the bear simply chuckles in response.

Set aside from them all is a sort of throne designed for a small animal, and of course, Monokuma is sitting in it, drinking his martini.

Along the walls, blue wallpaper stood alongside golden pillars that reached to the high up ceiling, which stretched until one had to lie on their back to see the top. Along with the wallpaper, crimson curtains stood tall, hiding whatever could be underneath with an element of mystique.

Each of the podiums in the center were the same height, but a few had steps or ladders that allowed smaller animals to look over the stands. Along with being the same height, each stand had a brass symbol bearing logos that were similar to the ones on their key tags. The logos themselves were colored black, red and white. Buster begins to catch up on the theme of everything.

Buster: Two top hats and a cane Eddie: The iron collar he was forced to wear Meena: A treble clef Johnny: Their gang’s getaway truck Ash: Sheet music Gunter: Tap dance shoes Rosita: Plates and a soapy sponge Mike: A bass clef Nancy: A speech bubble Ember: Papers covered with lyrics and a magnifying glass Matt: Drums Riley: Comedy and Tragedy stage play masks Jude: A watch being held in a paw David: A stage light Julee: A microphone used for recording Stephanie: A cosmetics kit

Along the top walls are stadium-like seats, each filled with a different camera used for filming TV shows. When Riley asks what the purpose of them all is, Monokuma states that they’re used for broadcasting the killing game to their respective channels across the world. He wants to get the excitement at all angles, so he can get that sweet despair in HD.

Johnny, after being brought over to his stand, sat down by Meena in a folding chair. His body slides downwards awkwardly, and after a few attempts to sit him upright, she gives up. As the stretcher is set down and Gunter walks to his stand, Meena turns back to Johnny, gives him a hug, then walks over to her stand without saying a word.

With the tension lingering in the air, everyone can feel the stakes of the trail at hand; Buster especially. He thinks about how Stephanie’s death could have been avoided, and what he could have done to prevent it. But after grieving for a moment, he shakes it away, and focuses on the present.

“Somebody in this room killed Stephanie. Whoever had done it… I will find them. I’ll lead everyone to victory, and help everyone live on another day without fear. I’ll face this class trial head on, I won’t back down. This lingering dread, this despair… IT ALL ENDS TONIGHT!!!”

Ch. 1: What is True Friendship (Curtain Call) END

OC Credits

Ember Gibson and Matt Pine belong to @elceetheporcupine Stephanie Hornbaker belongs to @mediasploshion Jude Therna belongs to @twilightprince101 (hey that’s me!) Jackson Riley belongs to ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated) David Flowerson and Julee Hartford belong to @superlevelup-reviews

Writing and editing

@twilightprince101 and ISmellOfStardustAndErasers (deactivated)

[richiefuckfacetozier]

Happy Holidays

Pairing: Stanley Uris and Mike Hanlon

Summary: Mike spends Hanukkah with Stanley and Stanley spends Christmas with Mike to come out to their families. 

Rated: They makeout

Notes: Happy Holidays my friends! Wrote this real quick because I was feeling some Mike and Stan. 

Also on Archive of our own

Stanley prides himself on staying calm and collected most of the time. He hated losing control or being overly emotional because he felt the world would judge him for it. The only person he ever truly opened up too was Mike. Stanley had no idea when it started but over the years he found himself confessing his deepest ambitions and his darkest secrets to his friend. He never felt self-conscious about anything he said to Mike because they had this connection that was magnetic.

Then one day, he did start feeling self-conscious around Mike. His palms would get sweaty, his throat would dry up, and he would answer in a snappier tone. Mike, being the extremely nice friend he was, would ask if everything was alright at home or if Stanley needed to talk.

Stanley would say, “No, no, I’m fine. Stop worrying about me.”

To which Mike would respond, “Stanley...I always worry about you. You are so important to me.”

This, of course, left Stanley tongue-tied and more confused than ever. When he eventually figured out that he was in love with one of his best friends, he went and told Mike immediately. In his mind, either Mike felt the same or he did not, and if Stanley did not find out how Mike felt in return he would probably explode.

The conversation went something like this:

“Mike, I like you.”

“I like you too Stanley. You know you’re my favorite but don’t tell Ben he will cry.”

“No, Mike. I LIKE you.”

“Yes, Stanley I LIKE you too.”

“Oh my god, Mike will you just…”

Stanley did not bother to finish his sentence, instead, he grabbed Mike’s face and kissed him. The kiss was electrifying as if the first light bulb was being turned on. When he pulled away embarrassed, Mike yanked him back to kiss more. They ended the kiss looking at each other, faces flushed, lips bruised, and hair messy.

That was a couple months ago, now they were dating and trying to find the right time to tell their family. Mike had already dropped serious hints to his grandfather, who seemed perfectly content with whoever Mike wanted in his life. Stanley, however, was still pretending he would marry whatever nice Jewish girl his parents wanted him too. He knew it bothered Mike, but he was too nice to say anything about it.

So for Hanukkah, Stanley invited Mike over every single night. His parents were confused but welcoming to any friend interested in their faith. Little did they know that Mike was a bit more than interested in their son than their faith. This ended up being a great idea because instantly they adored Mike and he became their favorite.  He was the politest and kindest friend of Stanley’s they had ever met. Richie usually talked during every prayer, Eddie had panic attacks about saying something offensive, Bill’s stutter made them uncomfortable (which in turn enraged Stanley), Ben once knocked over Elijah’s plate at Seder, and Beverly made Stanley laugh so hard he choked on challah. When Stanley finally told them Mike and he were dating, his mother asked when she could start planning the wedding. His father immediately wanted to convert Mike.

“I could convert, that’s not a big deal to me.” Mike joked good-naturedly.

“Mike, do not encourage them.” Stanley groaned.

For Christmas, Mike asked Stanley to spend it with his family. Stanley was nervous because he had never celebrated Christmas with any of his friends. If they ever invited him, he would turn them down to spend it eating Chinese or going to the movies with his parents. He did not want to impose on people by being the only non-Christian there. However, when you date someone, you must make a couple sacrifices to your comfort levels.

So Stanley spent Christmas Day with Mike and it was extremely fun but bizarre. He vaguely knew about Christian traditions for the holiday but did not realize every house did something different. Mike’s family would wake up Christmas Day and open presents from their stockings above the fireplace. Mike had made one for Stanley and put a ton of candy and card games inside. He was mortified because he had only gotten one gift for Mike and one for his grandfather. Mike just laughed and hugged him saying it was totally fine, he did not need to spoil him in any way.

Then they helped cook for when Mike’s uncles, aunts, and cousins came for a big Christmas dinner. Stanley was a poor chef, so he cleaned and set the table perfectly. Mike’s grandpa said it was the best set table he had ever seen. When Mike’s family all arrived, they were the loudest most rambunctious people Stanley had ever met.

“Richie should be here, he would be so much better at this. Mike, I am awkward as fuck.” Stanley heard his voice crack as he whispered this in his ear. Mike sneakily took his hand and entwined their fingers.

“But I don’t want him here, I want you. I love you, Stanley.” Mike said in his calm but firm voice.

Stanley smiled then it registered that Mike had just said THE WORDS. “I love you too.” Stanley whispered out quickly and kissed Mike on the cheek.

Two of the cousins saw and screamed, “MIKE HAS A BOYFRIEND” for a solid 10 minutes before one of the aunts stopped laughing long enough to tell them to stop.

After that, Stanley felt himself loosen up and enjoyed a conversation with Mike��s grandfather about being an airforce pilot. Stanley always wanted to learn to fly and he spent the whole dinner conversation talking about what it takes to learn.

After everyone had gone to sleep, Stanley and Mike sat on the ground by the fireplace talking softly to each other about how well this holiday season had gone.

“There’s one more tradition you should probably learn.” Mike looked at Stanley, his eyes dancing with mirth.

Stanley gave him a suspicious glance, “Oh yeah? What’s that.”

“Mistletoe,” Mike pulled it out of nowhere and held it above their heads.

“What are you? A magician now?” Stanley chuckled raising an eyebrow.

“My colleagues call me Mistletoe Mike the Magician.” Mike said leaning in.

His lips pressed lightly against Stanley’s and they sighed into the kiss. He nudged Stanley, his tongue darted out to slowly run along his bottom lip. Stanley felt heat pool in his lower belly at his gentle caress and could not help his lips opening just a fraction. Usually, they were careful about kissing when they could get caught but Stanley felt he did not care in that moment. He loved Mike and Mike loved him. That was all that mattered. Something ignited in Mike also, who opened his mouth and tentatively touched his tongue to Stanley’s.

His kiss stayed soft and gentle, except the heat intensified for Stanley. He placed his hands on Mike’s shoulders and lightly pushed him onto his back. He boldly straddled Mike’s waist and Mike’s hands shot to his hip bones for balance, Mistletoe mysteriously gone. They did not break the kiss as Stanley opened his mouth further, pushing his tongue along Mike’s and moved his hands to rest behind Mike’s neck.

Mike moaned and Stanley made the kisses more fierce and demanding. He pushed into him, claiming his mouth. Mike’s hands were untucking Stanley’s shirt so they could rise underneath to touch his feverish skin. Stanley smiled into their kiss and he withdrew his tongue from Mike’s mouth, nibbling lightly on his lower lip. Then his lips trailed from his mouth down to his neck and Mike threw his head back when Stanley sucked on his collarbone.

“Mike,” Stanley mumbled into his skin.

Mike hummed lightly to show he was mostly listening.

“We should go to your room.”

“Yep, we definitely should.” Mike got up grabbing Stanley’s hand and leading them to his bedroom. “By the way, Happy Holidays, Stanley.”

“Happy Holidays, Mike.”

Tag list: @sammy8675309 @ohheydatsme