#also. yeah sorry there’s something off about stannis’s head. sorry.

[sare11aa11eras]

Stannis & Shireen ❤️🦌🔥

[crow-in-a-teapot]

tower of nero spoilers

i have just finished the tower of nero. and before i go searching for other people’s thoughts and art and more of the characters i love so much, i want to write down some of my own thoughts because i know as soon as i delve into that ‘ton spoilers’ hashtag there are going to be complaints and criticisms and so much that i don’t want to hear, or essays that’ll make me upset, or things that’ll change my perception on the book (because on this website people really love to hate the trials of apollo).

i want to start with: i loved it. it didn’t feel earth-shattering or huge and momentous like some of my favourite riordanverse books (house of hades, the blood of olympus, the last olympian and maybe some of the magnus chase books take those pedestals for me) but it was satisfying. and i think it was satisfying because it in no way felt like an ending. whether because eventually rick will write that will-and-nico-go-through-tartarus-and-save-bob novella, or because we (or at least i) will continue writing and imagining and creating for this world i don’t know. he didn’t wrap up the story in a perfect little bow like ‘nineteen years later’, he simply put it on pause. gave us a glimpse of where every character was at at the end.

the only thing that makes me so angry and upset is that i did manage to get some spoilers for moments that i know would have been so good to experience for the first time if i hadn’t been spoiled for them. the moment where rachel mentions penguins in a mansion near her house, nico getting mental health advice from mr d, the fact that will and nico were going to be in the book for so much of the story, but the big thing was literally spoiled for me two days ago, it was the reason i sat down to read it as fast as possible because i was terrified of getting more spoiled and not being able to experience the moments for myself, was that piper had a girlfriend. i know that reading that for the first time would have been so cool and surprising, and the fact that when it came up for a moment in the last couple pages all i felt was disappointment because it was spoiled for me and because it was now tinged with whatever that person was saying about her having a girlfriend.

but i still had some warm fuzzy moments, the two parts where apollo thinks he’s going to die but nico comes up behind him - so good. impeccable. 

Leader Guy spat. ‘Now, I kill you.’

He raised his sword... and froze. His face turned pale. His skin began to shrivel. His beard fell out whisker by whisker like dead pine needles. Finally, his skin crumbled away, along with his clothes and flesh, until Leader Guy was nothing but a bleached-white skeleton, holding a sword in his bony hands. 

Standing behind him, his hand on the skeleton’s shoulder, was Nico di Angelo.

and

Nero raised his hand, ready to give the kill command, when behind me a mighty BOOM! shook the chamber. Half our enemies were thrown off their feet. Cracks sprouted in the windowsand the marble columns. Ceiling tiles broke, raining dust like split bags of flour. 

I turned to see the impenetrable blast doors lying twisted and broken, a strangely emaciated red bull standing in the breach. Behind it stood Nico di Angelo.

gods. poetic brilliance. i can’t believe i’m still a nico di angelo stannie in the year 2021. in five years i have not changed (ever since the tv show announcement last summer i have managed to morph into myself from 2017)

from here i’m not sure where to go next i kind of want to go through everything, except it’ll be more difficult than my tyrant’s tomb reaction because i wasn’t reading on a kindle and thus can’t just do funny little reactions to screenshots of quotes, so i’ll just skim through the book page by page and see what i can comment on (i’m not planning on doing analysis today, no thank you, just enjoying the end of my childhood and trying to squeeze as much out of it as possible)

i have an emotional attachment to mr. snake from the very first chapter, and am very upset that he’ll never get off on his baltimore stop and get to see his wife, lu had no reason to shoot and kill him like that.

that brings me to lu, i liked her, it was interesting to see how rick kind of brought in not only the overarching theme of abuse, but also people who let the abuse happen, i have more i could say on this i’m too lazy to right now, and i promised no analysis - or the fact that Lu had conspired to make the show non-lethal to spare Meg’s feelings rather than - oh, I don’t know - refusing to do Nero’s dirty work in the first place and getting Meg out of that house of horrors. 

And are you any better? taunted a small voice in my brain. How many times have you stood up to Zeus?

Okay, small voice. Fair point. Tyrants are not easy to opppose or walk away from, especially when you depend on them for everything.

the parallels to meg and lester heading to percy’s apartment, and then to camp half blood to the hidden oracle was so cool to read, every callback to the hidden oracle just there to remind us readers exactly how far apollo has come and how he’s changed; the entire chapter with sally, paul and estelle just felt sickly sweet, it just didn’t seem real how wholesome and good that family is, like i get why apollo broke down and just sobbed in that shower.

also rick really saying acab again in toa, i thought he was done after that elf cop chapter in magnus chase (the magnus chase series is a masterpiece) but apparently not, with A ‘good cop’ is still a cop... still a part of the mind game.

the grey sisters, i forgot about them completely but this threw me back into was it the sea of monsters when annabeth summoned them? i’m not sure, it could have been the lightning thief either, they really remind me of the disney hercules movie. the whole ganymede paragraph was gold, i love gods being canonically confirmed lgbt in the riordanverse. i also love the whole eye-tossing part - 

‘He will crush our eye,’ Anger cried, ‘if we don’t recite our verses!’

‘I will not!’

‘We will all die!’ Wasp said. ‘He is crazy!’

‘I AM NOT!’

‘Fine, you win!’ Tempest howled.

also, the explanation for why dionysus chooses to look the way he does was perfect, because it was something i often wondered about and wasn’t expecting to get an explanation for, and i imagine the whole mythological dionysus to look like.. well like a more feminine apollo i guess, beautiful in a gender non-comforming way.

Other Olympians could never comprehend why Dionysus chose this form when he could look like anything he wanted. In ancient times, he’d been famous for his youthful beauty that defied gender.

... 

In retaliation, Dionysus had decided to look and act as ungodly as possible. He was like a child refusing to tuck in his shirt, comb his hair or brush his teeth, just to show his parents how little he cared.

every scene with nico at camp just BREAKS ME, i would throw in screenshots of every damn quote but unfortunately, as said above, cannot and would rather not type every one; we’ll start with, obviously apollo confirming to him that jason is dead. 

He didn’t look angry exactly. He looked as if he’d been hit in the gut not just once but so many times over the course of so many years that he was beginning to lose perspective on what it meant to be in pain. He swayed on his feet. He blinked. Then he flinched, jerking his hands away from Meg’s as if he’d just remembered his own touch was poison.

ugh then will talking about how nico’s doing, confirming that he’s suffering with ptsd, mr d giving him advice, helping him sort though what voices in his head are real and which ones aren’t, then the paragraph that just recounts every horrific thing poor nico has been through, how will has to reassure him that he’s okay and ‘with friends’ when he wakes up after shadow travel

will’s kindness to apollo, buying him clothes, and apollo finding seymour the leopard’s head in his bed, put there by mr d aaaa AAAA A A A A A THE ORDINARY, EVERYDAY CAMP HALF BLOOD THINGS..

i could go on for years and years about how much i appreciate rachel having a big role in this book, and the visit to her apartment, everything, her art, the fact that she got what she wanted, she’s going to PARIS to study ART, she isn’t forced to be someone she’s not by her dad, and gets to be a big part of a demigod mission and not stand on the sidelines for once.

i love that her landscapes are still visions, that she still paints the quests demigods go on - the burning maze, jason’s funeral pyre, caligula’s ships; and how nico ~appreciates art~

‘And, hey, di Angelo -’ she pushed him playfully away from the canvas he’d been ogling - ‘don’t brush against the art! I don’t care about the paintings, but if you get any colour on you, you’ll ruin that whole black-and-white aesthetic you’ve got going.’

i. love. rachel.

WILL GLOWS!! THE HEADCANONS FROM LIKE FIVE YEARS AGO THAT YOU’D SEE FLOATING AROUND ABOUT HIM MANIPULATING LIGHT!! CONFIRMED!! CANON!! AMAZING

I AM  OBSESSED WITH THE TROGS, I LOVE THEM, THEY ARE GREAT, not gonna lie, i was expecting something more dramatic and spooky with how worried will was and how dionysus was going.. visiting the cavern-runners isn’t ♫ good for your mental health  ♫ but the little hat frog gremlins were a good addition. i like them very much and their funky little soup shenanigans. quoting the ghost king himself: trogs good. nice hats. (IM SORRY I KEEP MENTIONING HIM BUT I JUST) also how apollo starts wishing for breadsticks a s ajoke and theY STRAIGHT UP HAVE BREADSTICKS? HUH? WHERE DID THEY GET THE BREADSTICKS FROM??

yeah, i’m also still very much upset by every mention of jason grace, it’s funny how ever since his death in the burning maze i have grown to love him more and more and that’s not fun for me, for that boy to become one of my main comfort character’s and have his death and sacrifice and nobility mentioned every few chapters. i’m pretty sure i cried when he appeared to talk in apollo’s dreams, and this time the tears weren’t from the effort of keeping my eyes open and working for hours straight reading this book (i remember staying up until 2am to finish the sequel to beautiful, broken things, it was very much worth it)

‘All right, Jason. We miss you, though.’

ALSO. THE FACT THAT THIS KID. THIS CHILD. HAD TO THINK ‘BUT IF A HERO ISN’T READY TO LOSE EVERYTHING FOR A GREATER CAUSE, IS THAT PERSON REALLY A HERO?’ A KID ISN’T SUPPOSED TO THINK ABOUT THAT AND BE READY TO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES FOR THE GREATER GOOD,, i,, ugh,, he’s supposed to be finishing school and designing temples not being the perfect hero and soldier,, spain without the s,,

as @couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name said: ‘thinking about how ghost! Jason didn’t seem to understand why Apollo was so upset about his death because he’s been raised to believe a hero’s sacrifice is noble and his life doesn’t matter in the grand scheme and also if he doesn’t understand why the person who watched him get horrifically killed is so torn up over his death he probably doesn’t even realize his other friends are grieving him..’

IM SO UPSET THE ARROW OF DODONA IS DEAD D: IT WAS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS ALL THE FUNNIEST MOMENTS WERE BECAUSE OF THAT ARROW AND IT'S DEATH WAS SO SAD WTH LIKE WE FIND OUT HOW USELESS THE ARROW FELT AND HOW THE GROVE OF DODONA ALL THOUGHT IT WOULD BE CRAP AND WOULD FAIL APOLLO AND THEN ONCE WE FEEL BAD FOR IT, IT DIES??

the entire python battle was pretty grim, there is a part of me that's like because this is the last book series i would have loved say the magnus chase and kane chronicles gang in a giant battle with everyone like the battle of manhattan but even more dramatic, but even so, i did appreciate that python battle and the whole almost-falling-into-the-depths-of-tartarus thing.

him talking to artemis was cool, but JESUS: 'I turned and strode out of my room, trying to recall how the god Apollo walked.' like that HURTS. it was such a huge culture shock for apollo to go throught this huge character arc and be so human and understand the pain of others, to be around gods again who are so.. apathetic. also, zeus. 'Interesting how he put that: I had done him proud. I had been useful in making him look good. My heart did not melt. I did not feel that this was a warm-and-fuzzy reconciliation with my father. Let's be honest: some fathers don't deserve that. Some aren't capable of it.'

OKAY OKAY SO THE END?? CHIRON TALKING TO A CAT (BAST) AND A SEVERED HEAD (MIMIR) ABOUT SHARED PROBLEMS WITHIN THE PANTHEONS!! WILL AND NICO RECEIVING A PROPHECY FROM RACHEL TO GO TO TARTARUS AND SAVE BOB!! THE HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS, INCLUDING THALIA AND REYNA BEING BEST FRIENDS (qpr.. qpr..) HUNTING THE TEUMESSIAN FOX!! PERCY, ANNABETH AND GROVER, THE ORIGINAL TRIO, GOING ON A CHAOTIC ROAD TRIP TOGETHER!! - SO MANY STAND-ALONE SET -UPS PFSJSJSJ

okay quick word on the reunions at the end: funny little elephant visitation program with livia and hannibal. love that for them. calypso and leo's relationship seems rocky and complicated, but that's to be expected, i think even if they do get properly back together again it might not last long, because it does pretty much feel like a teenage relationship where the two aren't very compatible, but we'll see. hazel and frank are so funny with their gold plated necklaces. lavinia - tap-dance icon. almost cried at the mention of jason's temple-extension plan again. percy not being sure about what he wants to do in college is accurate and i like that that's left to be up-for-interpretation (rick does THE MOST for the fanfic writers pfsjsj). i am OBSESSED with aeithales, like i hate deserts so the burning maze setting is not my favourite but GOD that HOUSE, the vibes are off-the-charts. i'd love a house made of living trees that's also a greenhouse filled with dryads. meg gets a unicorn. that is so great.

i kind of wish the book hadn't ended with 'Call on me. I will be there for you.' because every time I imagine the friends theme song and i don't think that's the vibe he was going for, BUT i do love him talking to meg, that was genuinely emotional - 'You'll come back?' she asked. 'Always,' I promised. 'The sun always comes back.' ; i really wish it had ended with that, but i guess apollo does tend to break fourth walls and talk to the readers, like a lot of the protagonists of riordanverse books.

[mk-tozier]

BRAT| RICHIE TOZIER X READER

@softbumble asked: I was wanting a smut with Richie x quiet reader where the reader is acting like a brat and Richie decides to teach them some manners.

17-18 years old or whatever age you want idc lmao

I’m sorry if this is bad or not what you wanted, I’m also gonna be kinda slow on requests, I’m trying the best as i can. Also sorry if its short or kinda rushed I’ve been kinda busy!

It’s kinda bad and very repetitive. Thats on me tho cuz its rushed. Again sorry if this is not what you had in mind. I was also writing this with the IQ of 2 because my brain was not working after taking a 1 hour and a half science test and then a math test right after so please excuse the absolute chaos this writing is.

warnings: smut, language, slight choking, degrading, teasing, fingering, overstimulation, idk man’, unedited as hell

I sat in Bill’s living room, next to Richie, sitting on the couch. An hour before me and Richie were at home, fingers tangled in each others hair, He trailed kisses down my neck, leaving hickeys and love bites on my neck as he played with the waistband of my underwear, teasing me and rubbing my clit through it. Then we got a call from Bill asking to hangout and Richie being Richie said we’ll go and left me unsatisfied. So now i was stuck on the couch, bored and horny. “why do you look so upset y/n, did something happen?” Ben asks. “No I’m just tired, thats all.” i said sweetly, but shooting Richie a glare. He smirked, before looking back at the tv which was playing some movie that i had no interest in. Bill and Stan were setting things up, getting snacks from the kitchen, board games from the closet, getting things together. I wasn’t exactly sure what we were doing but we were waiting for them to finish up.

Stan came into the living room, placing a bowl of chips onto the table. “Heyy stanny boyyyyyyyyyyy” I giggled, i have no idea why but i made myself laugh. “hey Y/n” He smiled. “you’re my twin” i say. “how so?” he asks, seeming genuinely interested in what i had to say. “We’re both quiet, sassy, funny” i stop to send Stan a wink at the word ‘funny’ “and cool people” I smile brightly. “i agree” he shakes his head, smiling. I look over to see a annoyed Richie. Hes very easy to make jealous, thats whats fun about him. Stan walked out of the room to continue helping Bill. “flirting with another guy” Richie muttered to himself, in a growl. I put my hand on Richies thigh. He looked over at me. “what’re you doing?” he growls again. “nothing” i shrug. I lay my head on his shoulder.

time skip

i layed with Richie comfortablely, My hand still on his thigh. The boys finished setting everything up, putting on ‘The Goonies’. I moved my hand higher up Richies thigh, closer to his manhood. I looked up at him, Richies jaw clenched. “Richieeee” i whined into his ear. “what?” he replies. “i need youuuu.” i whine again, kissing his neck. “wait until we get home” he mutters. “but i need you now” i brush my hand against his clothed dick, feeling it harden a bit. “baby pleaseee” “I said wait until we get home” Richie growls into my ear. I huff but listen to him, keeping my hand on his thigh. He moves my hand off his thigh and onto the couch. I huff again, annoyed, hes being no fun. I wait a few minutes before putting my hand back on his thigh. “princess, stop it” he whispers into my ear. I ignore him, moving my hand closer to his manhood. “if you dont stop I’ll have to punish you” he growls. I stop moving my hand, leaving it directly on his hard-on. Richie keeps his eyes on the tv, jaw clenched and anger in his eyes. Just what i wanted. I began to palm Richie through his joggers, causing his breath to hitch. He grabbed my wrist, moving it away from my pants. “I just remembered i told my parents that I’d have Y/n over for dinner, they love her so they insist in inviting her to dinners. they’ll kill me if I’m late so we gotta go” Richie says to the losers, they nod understanding. He pulls me through the living room and out the door, shutting it behind him. “what the fuck was that?!?” Richie growls. He gets on his bike, i get on the back, wrapping my arms around him. “answer me” “its your fault, you said we could go to Bill’s, maybe if you werent such a tease then i wouldnt of done what i did” I snap back. “Acting like a brat now, are we?” he says, pedalling faster

When we arrived to the house Richie threw his bike to the ground on his front lawn, he dragged me inside, the door unlocked. Richie pushed me against the wall, attacking my neck. “Made me lie to the losers because you were so needy” He mumbled against my neck. “Needy slut can’t even wait until we get home” Richie says before beginning to suck and lick at my soft spot. I moan from the unexpected contact. “you like that? hmm?”  i nod my head. Richie trails down my neck, kissing my cleavage, his hands roam under my shirt. “Rich, not here” i gasp. “Its my house, we can fuck wheverever the hell i want” He grumbled. Richie picks me up, walking up the stairs, continuing to attack my neck with hickies. He pushes open his bedroom door, kicking it closed when we enter the room, throwing me on the bed. Richie quickly takes off his shirt, throwing it somewhere, revealing his pale skin and skinny frame. He walks over to the bed, getting on top of me, arms on both sides of my body. Richie takes off my shirt, throwing it behind him. He kisses around my bra and down my stomach, kissing the skin right before my shorts/skirt, leaving hickies along the way, getting closer to where i needed him the most. “Rich, please” I whine. “please what? Use your words” “i need you, please” i whine again. “bad girls dont get what they want, beg for it.” He growls into my ear, the raspiness of his voice and the lust in his eyes made me want him more, a wetness pooling in my underwear. Richie unclasped my bra, attacking my breasts, licking and sucking at one nipple as he fondled with the other breast. “please Richie, i need you inside me so bad, your fingers, your tongue, anything, i just need you. so, so, so bad Rich” I beg. “such a needy slut, you’ll use anything to get off, won’t you? so desperate for my cock, huh” Richie kisses down my stomach, removing my shorts/skirt. “you’re so wet for me. you’re my little whore, just begging for my cock.I barely touched you and you’re all riled up?”  Richie smirks.  

He puts his thumb on my clit, rubbing me through my underwear, i moan, satisfaction running through me. Richie rubbed my clit slowly, applying pressure. “please Rich, please i need you inside of me.” I whine. “Such a impatient needy slut, can’t wait to feel my fingers inside of you, falling apart just from a little touch” He pulls down my underwear slightly, blowing air onto my clit. “such a little whore, all soaked” Richie pushes one finger into me, thrusting slowly, i moan loudly, before biting my lip. “faster Rich please” i let out quickly. He speeds up his pace, lifting himself to my lips. Richie connects his lips with mine, kissing me softly, sometimes he can’t help himself and he’ll kiss me softly or passionately, he’ll never admit it but he has a soft spot. Richie curls his finger, hitting a different angle, causing me to moan into the kiss. “you like that? hmm?“ I nod my head moaning, my hips buck, the familiar pit in my stomach growing, i clenched around his finger. Richie enters another finger, thrusting quickly. My hips buck again, i moan loudly, letting my hands go to his hair, tugging. “fuck, rich im gonna cum” i whine, clenching around his fingers. I feel my release pulsing through me. Richie pulls his fingers out, i whine, annoyed. “riiich” “Bad girls dont get to cum” He says before licking his fingers. “you always taste so good princess” Richie connects my lips with his once again, shoving his tongue in my mouth, sucking on my bottom lip. He pulls away, lowering himself. Richie licks a stripe up my pussy unexpectedly. “Rich!” i squeal. He swirls his tongue around my clit and down to my slit. Richie licks my clit slowly, holding my thighs. I bite my lip, holding back the sounds. He begins speeding up the pace, drawing little circles on my thighs with his fingers.

Richie starts licking slower before sucking on my clit, i cover my mouth, whining. Richie sits up, grabbing my hand. “let me hear you, dont cover your mouth. i want everyone to hear what a slut you are, let them know that you’re mine” He says before lowering himself, beginning to suck on my clit again. “Rich! Fuck!” i gasp, causing him to suck on my clit faster, i could feel the pit in my stomach growing already. My hips bucked into his mouth, i tugged on his hair. “Richieee baby im close” i groaned. He sucked faster, licking at my clit, swirling and moving his tongue. My hips bucked again as i let out an aspirated moan. “I’m gonna cum, fuck” i moaned, Richie pulled away quickly. “Riiiich.” I whine. “I told you, bad girls dont get to cum” he leans over me, arms on both sides of me again. “Maybe next time you’ll learn your lesson, flirting with Stan and acting like a brat? You had it coming” Richie whispers into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “Needy slut” He mumbles. He connects our lips once again, my hands travel to his hair, playing with it. Richie grinds against my heat, groaning into the kiss,his hard on rubbing me through his joggers. “Rich i need you, please. I know I’m a bad girl, please i learned my lesson, I’ll behave i promise”

“Yeah? You want this cock? Huh?” “Yes. Please richie.” “Good girl, begging for me so well. You’re gonna behave?” “Yes i will.  i promise rich. I’ll be patient and i wont flirt with anyone, I’m yours and only yours” Richie groans. He gets off the bed, taking offf his joggers, his dick clearly showing through his boxers, is it up, helping him remove them. “Eager brat” Richie chuckles, he crawls onto the bed, pushing me onto my back. He looks up at me, his tip nearing my entrance. I nod, letting him know to go ahead. Richie slowly enters me, groaning, his precum leaking into my entrance. “So wet and warm for me” he groans. “Rich” i plead. Richie starts to thrust into me slowly, i moan, finally getting the pleasure i wanted. “Can Stanley fuck you this good? Huh?” Richie picks up the pace. I shake my head, whining. “Does his dick fill you up like this?” “N-no only you do.” I gasp. “Who’s are you?” He thrusts faster, groaning. “I’m yours Rich, only yours.” Richie groans again, he leans over, sucking on my neck, leaving dark purple bruises. My back arches and i moan loudly. He hovers over me again. “You’re mine” his words made the pit in my stomach grow, Richie puts his hand around my neck, making me moan. “You like that? You like when i choke you like the little toy you are.” He growls. I whimper, nodding my head. “You like using my hand as a necklace, hm? You like when i use you as my little sex toy?” Richie groans, i moan, his words sending me over the edge, my hips start bucking as i clench around him. “Are you gonna cum, princess?” I nod my head “yes richie. I’m gonna cum, please let me cum” I whimper again. “Go ahead doll, cum for me, cum all over my cock. I wanna see you” He whispers into my ear, completely sending me over the edge, making me cum harshly, my vision blurred from all the pleasure hitting me. “AH! RICH!” Richie chuckles,  kissing my cheek. His fast pace continues, the grip on my neck loosening a bit. “Rich.” I whimper. “You wanted my dick, you’re getting it. You’re gonna take it until i cum, is that alright?” I nod, moaning from overstimulation. “You like that baby? You like how I’m using you as my little cocksleeve?” He groans into my ear. I nod, whining. Richies thrusts start to falter, getting sloppier. I can feel my high coming back, the pit in my stomach starting again. My hips buck again, clenching around Rich. He groans, making me clench around his dick more. “B-Baby you close again?” He says, shutting his eyes. “Mhm” “cum again for me. I’m here, its okay.” He thrusts rougher into me, his head falling back in pleasure. I whine, his pleasure sending me over the edge, cumming. Richie groans, his dick twitching inside of me. “I’m close. Shit. You fuck so good princess, taking my dick so well.” “You’re so good rich, filling my up with your big dick.” I whine, he groans, cumming in me, stopping his thrusts.

Richie pants, i run my fingers through his hair. “You did so well doll” He flashes me his signature goofy grin. Richie looked down. “That was hot.” He chuckles, i smile admiring his features. “I love you Rich.” I whisper, barely audible. Richies head snaps up, his cheeks red. “Y-you what? Did i hear that r-right. Y-you love me?” His face softens, he smiles slightly. “I love you too Doll.” Richie plants a small sweet kiss on my lips, he pulls out. “You need a bath princess?” He asks. “That’d be nice.” I say softly. “C’mon I’ll go set up the bath”

[stenbrozier]

Mixed Emotions (Teen!Bill Denbrough x Reader + Teen!Richie Tozier x Reader)

“Henlo! I couldn't find your masterlist ): so I don't know if you already did something like this, but could I request a hc where Reader is split between Bill and Richie, totally lost and confused because feels like they love both? If you're okay with it of course” - @beauregard-s

Plot: You’ve known Bill and Richie since you were kids, running around in their backyards and playing with water guns. As you grow older, you grow closer to them and involuntarily start to notice how absolutely lovely they both are. You don’t wanna destroy any friendships, but you also don’t wanna suppress your feelings any longer.

Warnings: Slightly NSFW (making out, groping), implied smut, mentions of smoking weed + drinking, a n g s t + swearing

A/N: I ended up making this a fic cause I had trouble with the headcanons, but I hope you still like it ❤️ Aged up to 17!!

——————————————————————————

Bill laughed loudly as Richie squirted you in the face with a water gun, causing you to drop yours and bring your hands immediately up to your face. You rubbed the water off of your face, trying to rub the sting out of your eye as well but not realizing you were making it worse until it hurt so bad you started to cry. Richie dropped his gun first, coming over to help you get whatever it was out of your eye.

“(Y/N/N), I’m sorry,” he said, his high pitched voice ringing in your ears as you tried to thrash and pull yourself away from him. “Bill, go get Mommy.” Bill ran through the backyard, banging on the glass sliding door before Mrs. Tozier appeared at it and wiping her hands on her apron. She opened the door, and Bill grabbed her hand, pulling her to where you were.

“Mommy,” Richie yelled loudly as he pointed at you, still crying and wiping your eyes. Mrs. Tozier ran right to your side, gently prying your hands away from your eyes as she saw the redness that took over your eye.

“Okay, Honey, can you blink?” she asked as you nodded, still blubbering as she softly blew into your eye. After a few minutes, you were able to blink without it stinging and your sniffling had stopped.

“Richie, you’re mean,” you mumbled as you pulled away from Mrs. Tozier going to sit next to Bill on the little porch swing they had. Mrs. Tozier has offered you and Bill to come over for a play date, and you guys usually loved being with one another and nothing and ever happened; however, Richie was being a bit of a “meanie”, as you would call it, and had shot you with a devilish grin on his face. His mom had him in time out, sitting on the stool at the corner of the porch while you cuddled up to Bill on the swing. You guys swung a bit, trying to sneak a conversation with Richie while his mom counted down the minutes of his punishment while she made you guys dinner.

Mrs. Tozier poked her head out of the glass door and curled her finger in a “come here” motion. She whispered something in his ear, patting his shoulder as she slipped back inside. Richie sprinted over the swing, hopping on it and causing it to rock back into the house, a smile dancing on his lips. He threw his arms around you as the swing swung back and forth, mumbling “I’m sorry” over and over again into your neck until you accepted his apology. You stayed snuggled up to Bill, and Richie wrapped himself around you. Bill’s stomach rumbled, and you giggled at the weird, moaning sound it emitted.

“You g-guys are my b-best friends,” Bill confessed after the fit of giggles that you set off. You smiled up at him, hugging him closer as you felt Richie reach his arms around to hug you both.

———————

You and Richie sat on that same porch swing, now 17, getting ready to live your last summer together before college. You had slept over the night before to avoid the inevitable chores your parents would’ve given to keep you away from the Losers, the friend group that had been growing ever since you were five. They didn’t like the most recent additions, addition being Bev and recent being about four years ago, and they only really liked the four original boys that you’d met through the playground and school. Bill, Richie, and you had known each other since diapers because of your moms meeting at the park while you were all playing. Stan and Eddie were the two you had acquired in kindergarten, noticing their reluctance to reach out. You decided to reach out to them, Bill and Richie tagging along and getting closer to them than you were.

However, making new friends had never separated the original trio. You and Richie were inseparable still, his outgoing personality a perfect match for yours. He had grown up a lot over the years, towering over you, and everyone, at 6’3 with skinny arms and legs. His face had thinned out and his chiseled cheek bones made every girl fawn over him, though none of them cared to admit it. None of them but you, that is.

You had developed a crush on him over the years. Truly, you think it’s more of you just finding him super hot and wanting to make out with him once or twice, but you still thought that there was some sort of attraction there. You knew that you wanted something with him, but you didn’t know what. You were pulled out of your thoughts with Bill sitting on your opposite side of the swing, throwing an arm around you and kissing the crown of your head. You looked up at him, his soft green eyes meeting yours.

Now, Bill was the one you knew you had a crush on. He had been your rock for so many years, had given you so much hope and love that you didn’t know what to do with it. When you were younger, you had always kinda liked Bill: the 5’7 boy with pretty green eyes and wispy brown hair that held you while you cried and let you stay over his house for weeks at a time. Everything with Bill was always so domestic feeling, while everything with Richie was fast paced and “live fast, die hard.”

You sat in between them both, shutting your eyes and leaning your head back as you basked in the soft breeze and low humidity. Suddenly, you heard the crash of the Tozier’s metal gate hitting the fence right next to and it jolted you out of your comfort. Bev and Eddie walked in first, Eddie mumbling to himself about the heat as he slathered on what looked, and smelt, like sunscreen.

“What the fuck,” Richie said loudly as he gestured towards the fence where Mike and Ben were walking in from. Ben closed the gate softly and you furrowed your eyebrows.

“Where’s Stanny?” you asked, looking around confused as Eddie shrugged his shoulders. From beside you, Bill began to speak.

“S-stan said he’d be a b-b-bit late. H-his dad nee-needed him to r-run some err-errands.” Everyone nodded, taking their seats on the wooden porch as you scooted closer to Bill so Eddie could squeeze in next to Richie. Richie looked over at Eddie with a look of adoration, and you stifled a laugh. Of course Richie loved Eddie and not you. It might’ve made your heart sink a little in your chest, but it was easier for you to now decide who to go after.

Or so you thought.

That night, after drinking and getting high in Richie’s backyard while his parents were away, you couldn’t stop thinking about his dark, curly hair or Bill’s nonstop attention on you. You had slept over Richie’s again, not wanting your parents to see you so inebriated. Richie was still wearing off the effects of his high, cuddling up to your side as a movie played on the VCR that his parents had in the living room. He was rambling on about how pretty everyone had looked today.

“Did you see Eds’ hair?” he asked incredulously. “It was so blonde today. Maybe it was the sun, but...” He snuggled closer to you, his head finding it’s way into the crook of your neck. Your heart raced at how close he was. Yeah, you guys had cuddled before, but this just felt different. You were about to reach out and grab his hand, but then soft snoring filled your ears.

“Fuck,” you mumbled, feeling his hands move to splay over your hip and pull you closer. You were in deep, for the both of them.

——————

The loud party music from inside the house made you whine as you cuddled into Richie’s side, one of his arms around you and the other around Eddie. Richie looked down to you at the small noise, rubbing your shoulder and covering your other ear as he realized you were sensitive to the sound.

“Richieee,” you whined loudly as you clawed at his chest. “Take me home.” You gave him puppy dog eyes as he shook his head, making you pout in despair.

“I can’t just take you home,” he said softly into your ear, leaving a kiss on your temple before continuing to talk. “Eds and Bill need a ride home, too, and only Mike and I have cars.”

You looked over to where your tipsy mind last remembered seeing Mike, and he was still over there, watching over the very drunk Stan and Bev, both of which who were screaming along to the music. Bill was with them before noticing you looking in that direction, and he staggered over to you. He sat down next to you, pulling you from Richie’s grasp and holding you in his lap. Your arms went around his waist, and you stuck your head into his neck.

“Y-you tired, (Y-Y-Y/N)?” he asked softly, seeming almost sober. He hadn’t had anything to drink that night, but he did have a joint or two and his eyes were a pinkish color. “We sh-should get R-Rich to take us ho-ho-home.”

“I already tried,” you said with a bite in your voice, sighing as you snuggled into him. “He’s just being an asshole.”

“L-let’s walk h-home,” he said softly, standing up before leaning down, motioning toward his back. You shook your head ‘no’, Bill’s face falling slightly at your rejection. “O-okay, then. Y-you just g-gonna wait for R-Richie?”

“Yeah, I was gonna sleep over again,” you mumbled softly, sighing when you looked into his sad green eyes. “My parents can’t see me like this.”

“Y-yeah, I-I guess th-they c-c-can’t,” Bill answered, giving you a tiny wave before going around to the Losers and saying his goodbyes. Your eyes met his again as he walked out the side gate of the yard, slamming it behind him as his shoulders slumped. Richie tapped your shoulder, opening his arm and letting you snuggle into his side. Eddie has run off to dance with Bev and Stan, and you snickered at him tripping over his own feet.

“Why’d Bill leave?” Richie asked you, looking down at you before running his hand over the top of your head and kissing your forehead gently.

“He said that he wanted to leave,” you said back, leaning up into the kiss, the slight upward movement with you head cause your brain to feel like it sloshed around in your skull. You groaned, cuddling into Richie again as he sighed.

“I’ll go get Eddie.” He squeezed your waist before standing up and walking over to a stumbling Eddie. Stan and Bev came running up to him with Eddie, Stan fussing with the collar of Richie’s shirt. A few minutes later, Eddie was trailing behind Richie with a pout on his face and a hand on Richie’s shoulder, steadying himself. Richie picked you up by the waist, holding his arm there until he could get you to the car. You weren’t completely drunk anymore, the three or four beers had started to wear off, but you were still a little high from the joint or two that Bill had smoked near you and blew into your face.

“Rich?” you mumbled as he got into the car, checking the backseat to make sure Eddie was okay while you sat next to him in the passenger’s seat. He hummed, looking back at you with a tiny smile on his face. “Can I sleep with you in your bed tonight instead of on the couch? So we can cuddle?” He chuckled lightly, nodding his head and placing a hand on your thigh to gently squeeze it.

“Of course, doll,” he answered back softly, pulling away and starting the car. He drive to Eddie’s first. His mom was away for the week so that meant he could let loose a little and not worry about consequences.

“Bye Eds,” you said with a soft smile, Richie helping him inside. You could see Eddie’s bedroom light turn on, and you knew that Richie was helping him get ready for bed in a calm manner. You knew Richie wouldn’t have left him there by himself because of how caring and loving he was towards his friends, but Eddie didn’t like sleeping at other people’s houses besides Bill’s. You sat and watched the lights in the house turn on and off as Richie went into a left other rooms, probably getting Eddie water and Aspirin for the morning. A few moments later, all the lights shut off, and the front door opened, Richie’s lanky body walking out of it with a bit of a tired limp. He came into the car, sighing and sitting down in the driver’s seat.

“He’s tiring when he’s drunk,” Richie said with an exaggerated sigh, looking over at you with a smile on his face. You smiled back, noticing the glimmer in his eye when you did. He traced his eyes over your body quickly, not caring that you knew he was doing it. He sighed heavily, turning around in his seat and starting the car back up, putting his hand on your thigh and squeezing. You cleared your throat, looking down at his hand.

“R-Richie-“ He cut you off with a chuckle.

“I see the way you look at me,” he said softly, turning the corner onto his street. “The cuddling, the eyes. It might not mean more than just you think I’m attractive, which is fine, but-“

“Richie, I have a crush on Bill,” you blurted out, watching the way his face went from confident to skeptical as he pulled up the front of his house.

“Well you’re staying the night,” he started, taking his hand from your thigh as you both got out. He came around to your side of the car, caging you in against it as you looked at him with wide eyes. Richie’s face was inches from yours, and he raised his eyebrows. “Can...can I-“

You didn’t give him the chance to finish before you leaned up and planted your lips onto his hungrily, the only illumination being the streetlight across the street that was flickering on and off incessantly.

“Inside?” you mumbled against his lips. He nodded, lifting you up so you could wrap your legs around his waist. One of his hands was kneading your ass, the other fishing for his house key since his parents were away visit Went’s parents for the weekend. He unlocked the door with you still in his arms, slamming it shut and running up the stairs before you even realized you were inside. Richie threw you on his bed, slipping off your shoes aggressively as he pushed his off.

“Mm, you’re so pretty like this,” Richie mumbled as he climbed on top of you, kissing your neck gently as he messed with the bit of your bra strap that was peeking out of your shirt. He hungrily kisses your lips as he reached under your shirt to undo your bra, earning a moan from you. He decided to pull off your shirt first, smiling at you as you sat up and raised your arms above your head. He admired for you for what felt like hours, eyes tracing down your body as he smiled gently.

“You gonna get me naked and fuck me, Tozier?” you teased, brining one of your hands up to softly run against his chest.

“You...you have a crush on Bill, though. I should...I should-“

“Don’t stop,” you begged loudly, tightening your legs around his hips. “I want you right now. Please?” Your puppy dog eyes had Richie melting immediately. He growled, ripping off his shirt before working on getting you naked, the whole time trailing kisses down your body, worshipping you.

“Are you sure?” he asked one last time, looking deep into your eyes as he massaged his hand over your side.

“Yes, Rich,” you begged, writhing underneath him. “Please.” He dove into your lips, kissing them and nipping at them, his hands roaming as you arched into his touch.

——————

You woke up to a soft creaking, and you felt arms tighten around you right after it. You looked up to see the underside of Richie’s face, his jaw clenching at the same sound that had awoken her.

“Rich, are you-“ Bev’s voice rang through the room and stopped abruptly, noticing you in bed with him. You jolted upright, wrapping the comforter further around you as Richie groaned at your sudden movement and Bev’s voice.

“I’m up, I’m up,” he said groggily, his arm still around your waist as he sat up with you. “Get out so we can get dressed.”

“W-we?” Bill asked as he barged into the room. His face dropped into a scowl when he saw you there, and he mumbled something to himself before walking out of the room. His pounding footsteps could be heard going down the staircase and out the front door.

“Can...can you guys wait for us outside?” you meekly asked, rubbing your hands over your face as you heard the retreating footsteps. “Richie, I fucking told you we shouldn’t have done this.”

“Babe, you weren’t complaining,” he says with a cocky tone. “Besides, it’s not like you’re dating Bill.”

You leaped out of his bed at that, grabbing your jeans and underwear off the floor and sliding them on. You searched for you shirt angrily, not being able to find it, so you went into his drawers and pulled out one. You threw it on, tying it up in the back since it was a little long. He came up behind you, softly placing his hand on your shoulder before you jerked away.

“I have a crush on Bill,” you said with a bit of bite in your voice. “Not you, Richie. Bill. And I can’t believe I slept with you!”

“(Y/N), you wanted-“ Richie’s voice was calm and collected, the complete opposite of your abrasive and loud voice.

“I fucking know I wanted it, asshole,” you screamed. “But I want Bill. I want everything with Bill. I’m sorry if you have feelings for me, but they’re not reciprocated.”

You grabbed your shoes from for the floor, slipping them on before you marched out of Richie’s house angrily, passing all of the Losers. Bill sat on the curb outside the house, and he gave you a sad look as you passed him.

“Wh-where are you g-going?” he asked confused, gesturing towards the others.

“Home,” you yelled back. “I’ll see you guys later.” You felt Bill’s eyes on the back of your neck as you walked away. The sound of Richie’s front door slamming made you look back again. You saw him run his hand through his hair as he searched for you, but by the time he had looked over to where you were walking, you had turned onto the next block.

[kafka-ish]

coward | s.u.

y/n, bold and beautiful, is now second guessing herself when she finds herself skinny dipping with stan uris 

word count: 2.5k

warnings/included: fluff, steamy-ish, exhibitionism, fem!reader

request: (from anon) “could i have a request where the reader is v v v flirty with stan and one day he says something really dirty even richie's shocked. it’s fine if not.” 

a/n: i accidentally changed it bc i misread ur request im so so sorry !!! also if u noticed i haven’t written in awhile it’s bc my classes started up again so fics may take more time to write/post -- hope u understand <3

-

What came out of y/n’s mouth next truly shocked Stanley.

“Wanna go skinny dipping?” It wasn’t far off from whatever usually spewed from her mouth that she and the rest of the Losers had a hard time controlling.

His mind flashed to all the times y/n’s hand grazed his: the light touches, the silent stares, the whispers that tickled his ears and kissed his brain.

“Next year for Halloween, you should be Stan without a shirt.”  

The hearts she drew on his notebook when he wasn’t looking, the hand she held in hers, the what-are-we’s before giggling in his wonderstruck face that she was joking; it was all a sign of want that he’d been too dense to see before.

“You’re great, you know. Great at being an asshole.”

Sweet, mischievous y/n; always blunt, always careless of what others thought of her. It never occurred to Stan of what she thought of him.

Richie was the first to speak up, Stan still having to catch his breath from the promiscuous words that left her mouth seconds ago. “Sure, toots, I’d love to see what’s under that suit of yours. God, you don’t know how much I hate that thing.” He laughed and Stan wanted to beat the shit-eating grin off his shit-eating friend. His jaw, pronounced and square, tightened and Richie saw. “On second thought, I think someone else would enjoy the view way more.”

Another laugh came from the group, but it wasn’t from Richie. It was y/n’s. The soft giggle leaving her luscious lips did nothing to calm Stan.

“Are you jealous, Stanley?” She asked. A smirk sat on her lips. She only called him by his full name when she teased him.

He definitely felt like he was being thrown a bone only to find out the pitcher never threw one right now.

“Of course not.” Stan gave her the side-eye, readjusting his position from the rock he sat on while doing so. “I can’t think of any situation where I’d be jealous of Richie.”

“Oh yeah?” Richie challenged and Stan squinted at him.

“Yeah.”

“I can think of one—multiple, actually.” Richie wore the same smirk as y/n—only his was less digestible. Maybe it was because y/n was less insufferable to be around, or because she didn’t take a crack at his religion every chance she had, or because her hair was soft and shiny on her head and something Stan wished he could run his hands through. Maybe it was because y/n was a girl, or because she was pretty and the way she batted her eyelashes made him see stars even in the sunlight.

“When?”

Richie leaned in and whispered something that was totally vulgar and jarring to Stan’s ears.

Stan flinched—unsurprised that his friend was ballsy enough to say such a thing, but because what if he had actually thought about doing such a thing?

“Gross, Ruh-Ruh-Richie!” Bill yelled from across the quarry, already knowing what his friend would say.

“Yeah. You’re disgusting,” Eddie said from next to him while he looked up at Bill.

“Ruh-lax. It’s not like it’s something I’m gonna do.” Richie opened a new can of Keystone Light next to his already half-drunken one. “I got freedom of thoughts though, right?” He winked and Ben rolled his eyes.

“If you already have a drink open you should finish it,” Stan instructed, ignoring the subject at hand.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist.” y/n sounded closer than she was before. Her arm brushed up against his and he thought she was about to hold his hand until her fingers grazed just past his to grab his can of beer. She took a sip. “Besides, it all ends up somewhere.”

She could be so careless with her actions. But this was the same girl who made sure paper and plastic went to recycling, the total opposite of Stan, a total enigma.

“I just think, if you want another one, you should finish the one you already have.” Stan explained himself clearly and concisely. It was something y/n always admired. She never got tired of hearing him talk—she could listen to him talk for hours on end.

“Whatever.” Her eyes rolled so far he’d thought they’d get stuck. “I’m going home. “Later, Losers.”

“Wuh-what about the sk-skinny dipping?” Bill asked and Ben elbowed him. He wasn’t yet comfortable in his body, though he had been on Derry High’s track team for a year and a half and lost a fair amount of weight (twenty-two pounds), he still wasn’t comfortable in his own skin (he didn’t think he’d ever be)—even around his best friends—friends he considered family.

“We can do it tomorrow.” y/n shrugged. “Sound good to you, Stanley?” Her eyes were only focused on him and Stan knew that. They glowered under the sun’s harsh rays and fixated on his figure.

“I don’t know.” Stan tried to sound as monotone as possible. “Maybe you should be asking Richie instead.”

At that, y/n smiled, leaving the rest of the group confused as she walked away.

“Duh-dude!” What wuh-was that?” Bill wondered aloud, astounded how y/n had him wrapped around her finger—or maybe it was the other way around.

“If I knew, I would tell you,” Stan said, holding the same shock in his voice.

“Are you and y/n like—”

“No!” The sharpness of Stan’s tongue cut Ben off quickly with a harsh glare he’d later apologize for. But it would be a lie to say that he didn’t want something with y/n. Another lie, that Stan would keep to himself, would be that he didn’t anticipate the events that were to come for tomorrow…

“Hey, stranger!” It was y/n from down below. She was already wading in the water—waiting for him, presumably.

“Hey, y/n/n.” He started for the long way down, not caring to cannon-ball ten feet down from the cliff of the quarry today. “Where’s Bill and Bev and Mike and Ben and—”

“—and Richie?” A beam shot across y/n’s face as soon as Stan met her eye line.

“And Richie,” Stan mumbled. That was the only thing he’d been worried about. Although he knew there was nothing about his trashmouth friend to worry about. But it was always best to stay skeptical.

“I told them not to come.” y/n said this with such nonchalance—such grace as she tilted her head into the water and drifted back, letting the water carry her away as if she were weightless.

“Why,” Stan asked, though it came out as more of a demand.

“Because.” y/n shrugged, but you couldn’t really shrug while you were trying to stay afloat. He noticed that her eyes were closed, and her bathing suit was still on. Maybe she was lying about skinny dipping and he had worked himself up last night over nothing. y/n was like that—making promises she never intended to fulfill. If it weren’t for y/n being, well, y/n, Stan might’ve been annoyed at her antics. But he wasn’t—far from it, even. He was infatuated with her being—clothed or not, enraptured with how sunshine she could be one hour and rain she could be the next.

Math and English were an easy feat—but trying to understand y/n was like trying to learn Mandarin blind and deaf.

Her curves spilled from the bikini bottoms that hugged her butt and the matching top she wore hugged her bust exceptionally. The bikini’s scandalous red color harmonized with y/n’s skin tone well and Stan couldn’t imagine her in anything else at the moment. He didn’t want to imagine her in anything else.

“Are you gonna get in?” Her presence startled him as she was quick to swim up to the rocks. “Or are you scared?” A sly smile splayed across her pink lips and Stan mirrored her.

“I’m scared?” He scoffed. “You were the one who said we were going skinny dipping.” He stripped himself of his shirt, revealing his pale, yet toned, chest. “Guess who’s not undressed.”

“You?” y/n guessed; the innocent tone surprising on her tongue. She had inadvertently licked her lips at the answer and Stan couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her mouth due to the action.

“No. You.”

“My bad.” A giggle escaped her bitten lips and y/n began to unclip the back of her bikini. “Is that better now?” The straps fell loose against her arms, but the top stayed covering her breasts.

Stan didn’t say anything.

“What if I…” y/n didn’t finish her sentence. Silently, she fully removed the straps from her arms and the contraption left her bodice.

“Christ,” Stan seethed out, but he wasn’t gentlemen enough to look away from the sight on display before him: y/n treading the shallow water that was crystal clear thanks to Mr. Sun that shone down on this part of town, giving Stan an eyeful.

“Don’t say his name in vain.” She had now slipped the bottoms off and Stan didn’t know what to do with himself. Get undressed, I guess.

His pants were the next to go as Stanley undid his brown leather belt that held his too-big khaki shorts together. His waistline had shrunk due to baseball season’s quick start. And although it was only early March, the heat had picked up fast in this small town they called home and Stan could feel himself already itching to feel the water on his sweat-stricken skin.

“What are you waiting for?” y/n called from below. She was growing impatient, but who could blame her?

Stan stood above her in only his underwear. If the rest of the student body was here, he would’ve been living out his nightmare—stripped to the bone with an audience to gawk at him. But only y/n was here to witness the grey Calvin Kleins that hugged his thighs and rather than a nightmare, this felt more like a daydream.

“Are you shy?” She teased. “C’mon, Stanny, there’s no need to be—”

“Shy my ass,” Stan interjected as he relieved himself of the last piece of clothing and jumped into the water all in a quick movement.

“Glad you could finally make it, slowpoke.” y/n splashed his face, disregarding his lack of clothes—both of their lack of clothes—but Stan couldn’t help but admire y/n’s skin that the water had already kissed and glowed under the flash of the sun.

He’d never seen her in such a state before. In fact, he’d never intended to. But this was worth it—even if it were the only time, he knew he’d have this memory burned into his skull forever the same way the sun would burn his skin the next day because he forgot to apply sunscreen. Since when does Stanley Uris forget to apply sunscreen?

“It’s rude to stare,” y/n deadpanned, but Stan couldn’t help it. How could he not take his eyes off her tan lines from up close and the divot of her collarbone? The way her hair slicked back from the water and the pout of her lips was all too tempting to not want to consume. Stan Uris would be an idiot to not stare. A polite idiot.

“You make it hard.”

y/n felt her cheeks heat up and she knew she wasn’t sporting a sunburn. y/n never burned. “Oh. Well, in that case, stare as much as you want.”

“Gladly.”

y/n was quiet now—a rare event, but it gave Stan an opportunity he’d never thought he’d get or go for.

He swam closer, the stroke of his arms creating rifts in the water and y/n shivered at the feeling of the coldness that hit her chest each time he got closer.

It was strange seeing him up close—in such an intimate setting. As big of a crush y/n harbored on the boy, it’s not like she did anything about it. A few remarks there, a few remarks there. This was the furthest they’ve ever gotten. Maybe a little too far now that she was considering it more closely. Since when did first base turn into skinny dipping in the quarry?

Before her thoughts could leave her second-guessing anymore, y/n felt her lips on someone else’s. They were pressed together firmly and tightly. She held her breath as if she were underwater, but her heart prevailed, only picking up at a speed she’d only feel when she caught him looking at her or when he laughed at her jokes.

The kiss was powerful and all she needed. If this were the last time they’d ever see each other again, she wouldn’t care, because she’d have that kiss to cherish. Maybe she’d long for one in the future. Just one more. But this kiss left her knowing that this skinny-dipping idea wasn’t so bad after all.

His lips were soft and tickled as he pulled apart to catch a breath. y/n’s eyes opened to find Stan’s pupils were wide and lustblown. She stood still in the water, amazed that anyone could feel that way about her.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, Stan—”

“What?” Stan asked, eager and anxious for the words meant for him.

“This is embarrassing but.. I like you.” The words were bold and packed with courage—not far from the regular way y/n spoke, but this was different. It had a certain bite to it that Stan couldn’t quite taste.

“Are you embarrassed because you like me or are you embarrassed because you’re confessing to me without any clothes on?” Before Stan’s eyes could rake down to y/n’s body once more, a splash of water hit his face—cold and abrupt. His eyelids slammed at the impact and he flinched.

“You’re such a perv.” y/n scoffed as if she had forgotten her deepest secret had just spilled from her lips in front of the boy the secret was about. Secret. Don’t act like it wasn’t as obvious as a fat kid scarfing down their third brownie in the first place—

“You know if it’s any more embarrassing… I like you, too,” Stan said. He felt winded after saying it. His chest felt heavy and his toes dug into the sand in order to keep him from falling headfirst into the water. It was so easy for y/n. Brave, crass y/n who swore like a sailor yet had the face of a doll.

Stan’s train of thought was lost at the feeling of y/n’s body pressed against his. He’d forgotten they were both bare-assed and exposed for all of Derry to see because the warmth of y/n was all too much. His heart jumped out of his chest sixty miles a minute and the muscles under his arms were now stones. Stan didn’t recognize that her lips were on his until her tongue swiped his bottom one for access in which he granted.

Teeth clashed and tongues danced. It was a hot minute until y/n pulled away with a cheeky smile and lingering fingers on his collarbone that made Stan hold his breath.

“That was hot,” he heaved, finally cutting the silence between them. Of course, the birds still chirped and the water around them never stopped flowing. But the world just seemed to stop whenever Stan stepped foot into y/n’s intoxicating proximity.

“Hell yeah, it was.” One arm was still strewn around his neck while her free hand traced code on his shoulder.

Nothing else was said. Nothing had to be said. But Stan was sure of one thing; that y/n was no coward.

[a-libra-writes]

who do you think would prefer an s/o who’s charming, more of a people person, using their words to get what they want vs an s/o who’s more quiet, strategic, and plans and schemes to get what they want? is it a case of opposites attract, or would they want someone to compliment them? 👀

.......so i ended up having a lot of thoughts about this LOL 

okay so i think this depends on the s/o’s morals! like you can be scheming to help others instead of hurting them. so let’s go with that bc i dont wanna brainstorm a low ethics/morality s/o (this makes me think of 7KPP, a fantastic visual novel that’s the only decent Court Drama Simulator vn i’ve come across). Also there’s a loooot of characters so imma just list the ones I have Strong Thoughts on and sort them by region oh lord what have you done my dork is showing

Northbois

So while I feel like Robb and Ned would prefer a more outgoing and charming sort of person ... I really can’t help but ship them with someone whose more cunning and can actually play the game of thrones. Like lord someone help these Starks because their intrigue score is 0 and they need someone protecting them from Tywin, Roose and Walder LOL. I can really see both father and son thinking their s/o is this sweet thing and not having a clue of how much scheming they’re actually doing to protect Winterfell... Ned would probs catch on after a while but Robb would just be blinded by love and devotion haha. 

Sansa would probs want the first ideally, but as she gets older she’d greatly appreciate someone who has that sort of cunning and uses it for good purposes. Also she’d like a calm and steady personality to rely on.

Jory is a straight up honest guy to a fault, kinda like Ned, so he’d also prefer the first type of person and appreciate them more.

OKAY SO you’d think Roose would go for the second type but HEAR ME OUT. I think he’d go for both equally, or a mix of the two. Listen. I have a strong HC that he would be very attracted to someone who is his opposite in many ways - outgoing, charming, sweet and kind. If that person also happens to be cunning as hell and willing to manipulate anyone - even him - to protect what’s their’s, oof. He’s gone. I think he’d really get off on the idea of having an s/o who everyone is shocked he’s involved with bc “omg they’re sooo nice” and only he really knows their “other side”, so to speak. Realtalk I don’t think he’d go for someone just as morally awful as him bc he’d see them more as a threat than a potential partner.

Ramsay is a little shit that would also be attracted to the first kind of person but honestly needs the second type to keep his ass in line. That’s the sort of person who would figure him out and manipulate him accordingly so he isn’t skinning the goddamn neighbors. Also he wouldn’t give a damn about their morals so go off i guess just dont start any revolts in the north

VERY Northbois

Jon really doesn’t care for schemes, even if he acknowledges they’re useful, and he’d be attracted to someone who knows just what to say and is charismatic bc lord knows he’s struggled w that for a bit.  Benjen really loves outgoing, charming and talkative peeps esp when they wiggle their way out of stuff or convince the upper command of the Watch to consider a different plan. He’ll be soooo attracted to that. Edd is kinda meh on both I’d feel? Like he’d prefer a quieter person but not a scheming sort, that’s too troublesome to deal with. I think he could come around to the first one eventually.

Mance super respects the second type, he finds it very attractive actually, especially when they start manipulating him into something and he catches them. Tormund is a dork and prefers outgoing people, totally doesn’t notice when he’s being taken in lol. He rlly hates the second sort of person, sees them as snakes.

Southbois

Edmure would absolutely be drawn to a gregarious and outgoing person! And if they can talk their way into or out of things thank god bc fishboy has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. I really don’t think it’d work out with a schemer person bc of that Tully honor, and unlike Ned or Robb, Edmure would start to catch on (I don’t buy into the show characterization of Edmure like frack that he’s not an idiot). Brynden has a lot of experience and has seen a lot of BS, so he’d understand the risks and sacrifices his s/o would be making when they’re playing the game, and he’d really wish they wouldn’t!! Like yeah it’s to protect their family and friends but he wishes they didn’t have to do that. He wants to protect them on his own.

Brienne REALLY prefers someone whose honest and can talk their way in and out of things!! Like the Starks she’s very honorable and has no patience for lies and manipulating even if it’s for something good. It’d take a lot for her to trust and be attracted to that kind of person, they’d have to like... be very honest with her about what their plans are and why they’re doing them. 

Kingslanding bois

oh lord Stannis okay so INITIALLY he’d be put off by both personalities for diff reasons - outgoing because socializing and diplomacy is something he just sucks at and the second one because holy hell he hates dishonesty and scheming. Now, he can admire a strategic and collected mind, but as soon as dishonorable plots roll in he starts side-eyeing. I think it would take some time for that latter personality to gain his trust, and if this is like... his wife we’re talking about, she’d probs have to scheme behind his back, even if it’s for his own sake. For an outgoing person, he could eventually befriend or fall for them once some common ground is found. He wouldn’t be able to admit how much he admires their people skills haha.

Davos understands that sometimes manipulating and scheming is needed and can be used for good, but personally he prefers a more diplomatic, out in the open approach. So the first type is def his kinda person. He could still befriend the second type as long as they’re not assholes, though.

Tywin would honestly work with both sides of the spectrum and in between, but ultimately, you’d have to understand who you’re dealing with. There’s no honor or high ground being involved with Tywin Lannister, and the s/o should expect to get dragged into his schemes, esp when he trusts them ... and that’s no easy feat. Ultimately it’s less of how you get what you want and more of ... what are you willing to do to get it. Pesky morals and all that.

Tyrion has had enough of his dad’s bullshit that he’d only be romantically involved with the first type, someone who uses sass and flattery like he does. He can still respect and befriend a more cunning person, though. Jaime also prefers the first type, he thinks it’s just because “oh I like outgoing and forward people” and not...”i’ve spent years dealing with lies and schemes from father and cersei”, yanno that old chestnut. Bronn definitely prefers gregarious and cheeky peeps, schemes go over his head and bore him.

Sandor dislikes both sorts of personalities for different reasons ... He’s offput by someone who would be very talkative and outgoing with him (like why are they talking to him wtf), and he also hates scheming and lying and all that, he’s seen too much of it. The first type has a better chance of befriending and getting close to him, the second not so much. 

Petyr very much respects and admires both but like ... you know he’d prefer someone that he thinks he can outwit and manipulate, so probably more of the first type of personality because they seem less cunning and more of “just” a people person. Given his obsessive/yandere tendencies he probably wouldn’t notice he was being taken in by someone friendly and kind. 

like okay weird thing to think about but just consider this... I really wonder what it’d be like if Robert had an s/o like the first one you mentioned. Not Cersei, certainly not his beloved Lyanna - a third party, a gracious and likeable queen that kinda makes up for his faults and she’s TRYING hard as hell. like idk if they’d ever fall in love but like idk i feel like his depression would be slightly lessened to have a partner that’s very beloved and tries to help him and put him in a good light in his subject’s minds. Am I making sense? She’s not perfect but she wants what’s best for the realm and if she’s gotta do it herself she will. IDK sorry this is a tangent, i think about major change AUs and their political consequences a lot

Heckin south n east bois

Margaery is a Big Gay and you can’t fight me on this, you will lose. She’s super attracted to the first kind of gal bc that’s def how she is herself! So she’d love to play those little word games with them. The second personality type she’d just write off as “eh quiet person” but once she got closer and began to realize their cunning and wittiness she’d def take an interest, esp if she found out about some good things they did. Then it’d be a classic “outgoing babe dating more reserved babe” and yall both would be VERY well-known in court. absolute power couple

Oberyn likes both equally! Especially if your motives are to help others and/or save your friends and family. He loves that kinda loyalty and he really admires someone who has a way with words and schemes in equal measure. Hell he does both himself. He might lean more toward an outgoing person just because that’s how he is too.

idk where to put Beric but he rlly likes the first kind of people!! He’d probs ask you to get supplies or money on the Brotherhood’s behalf, and he actually kinda likes it when he finds himself doing something you wanted cause you asked so nicely or talked him into it ..... Thoros calls him a simp and it’s true ok don’t bully he can’t help it

& lastly Essosssss

So, I think Daenerys would be a lot more drawn to the second kinda person. First of all: Very mysterious, ooh. Secondly, she’d appreciate a cool head that will tell her the truth and is willing to do more unsavory things bc they believe in her so much. Obvs she would need someone with unquestionable loyalty, and once she tests and is reassured of that loyalty, then she could start some kinda romance. She’s def attracted to someone who can get shit done that way.

Jorah is a big opposite in that he’s kinda had to do that unsavory stuff himself and is still ashamed by it, and generally doesn’t trust people like Littlefinger and Varys and Illyrio, etc so he’d prefer someone who is just genuine and talks their way out of things. Also yall know him he can’t resist once he starts liking someone like cmon

Grey Worm is absolutely in the first camp too but for diff reasons! Scheming and all that shit just makes him nervous and he distrusts it, even if it’s for Daenerys’ sake. He just wouldn’t associate with the person ... Someone more outgoing would definitely fluster him more but at least he could feel like he could trust them. Missandei can go either way - she knows the power in both diplomacy and manipulation, and would likely admire and be pulled to someone who uses both to help people. 

sorry i got so wordy and a bit repetitive lol both are like, my fav kinda character archtypes, esp for court settings.

[darling-i-read-it]

Post Work Work

Sonny Carisi  x reader

Word Count: 900

Warnings: talks about rape cases

Author’s Note: I did Barba you know I wasn’t about to leave out my mans Sonny

Summary: based in season 21 with ada carisi 

Genre: fluff

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director 

(not my gif)

Sonny sat across the table from you. He had his feet up on your lap, flipping through the papers on the table. He put down his fork to really look into one of the papers. You watched him look at it, slowly taking out the take out chinese you had gotten the two of you for dinner that night.

“You see something you like?” you asked him, pointing your fork at the papers. He let out a sigh and shook his head.

“The opposite actually.” He moved the papers over so that you could look at them. They were sprawled across the table. “Liv said that we were able to apprehend this guy but when we look at that, I’m not quite sure.” You swallowed the bite of food and leaned over.

“Invalid search warrant? Liv would never.” He shook his head.

“This was taken over by the new detective, uh Kat?” 

“Ah yeah. Hoops.”

“You can’t just call her hoops because of her earrings-”

“I like her Sonny. You really think she got some off judge to sign it just so you could have some evidence to try?” He shrugged.

“Maybe.” 

You leaned back against the chair behind you.

“Are you going to hand this over?”

Sonny was still trying to get his grip on his new job. You and him had been dating for a few years now, since you met when he joined your job as a detective. You were work partners that quickly became life partners.

When he got the new job as the ADA everything changed a little bit. You had different work hours and you were doing different things. But it wasn’t all bad. Now you were able to really dig into his job as a lawyer which meant you knew exactly what was needed to make his job easier on him. And he was also able to ask you for things he wouldn’t ask of from anyone else. 

“I gotta right?” 

You nodded.

“Sorry. Detective brain versus ADA brain.” He laughed a little bit.

“Guess I really have to remember we’re in different offices now,” he said. You nodded. He took his feet off of your lap and leaned back, taking a deep breath.

“Deal with it tomorrow. We should just relax tonight,” you told him. He nodded. He seemed all too happy to have an excuse to just forget about his job. You both tried your best to seperate your lives from your job but it was kind of hard when you worked together. 

You really enjoyed being together and there was no way you would change it but it was  a lot sometimes. Coming home to work on occasions when one of you was on a busy case.

“I agree. Thanks for dinner,” he muttered. You nodded, standing up and starting to clear the table so that you could head to bed or watch a movie or something. Sonny stood up, walking over to the couch and sitting down. You had both changed into comfier clothing and purposely left your phones at the dinner table. 

You sat beside him and turned on the TV. Some TV show was on that you barely recognized but neither of you changed it. You were cuddled into his side and his arm was over your shoulder, pulling you closer as though you could get any closer.

“Sonny?” you mumbled into his shirt. 

“Hmm?” 

“Do you ever think about how we spend most of our days together and never fight?”

“We fought like last week about the Stannis case.” 

“That is beside my point,” you said, laughing. 

“I think that you’re the best thing that could have happened to me,” he said sweetly. You smiled into his side. 

“Don’t flatter me Carisi.”

“Hey, us Italians are very loyal.” You shook your head.

“Yeah well I’m just as loyal. You’re pretty great too. The only reason I would date someone from the office.” He squeezed you. 

“We’re from different offices now,” he muttered. You shook your head.

“We have the same paper work!” 

“Doesn’t matter, I don’t see you everyday so it is a different office.”

“You do see me everyday. We live together.”

“Shh.” 

He smiled, kissing your forehead and leaning back again, rubbing your arm. 

You both continued to watch the show and laughed when there was a laugh track and talked a little bit about something that didn’t matter for the rest of that night until you had to get up the next morning and do your jobs, just a few offices away from each other.

[emo-space-tea]

Jealousy

NOT MY GIF

Chapter 3

~3rd Person POV~

The five losers got to the sewer and dropped their bikes. Well, except Stan, he put his on its kickstand.

"That's poison ivy, and that's poison ivy, and that's poison ivy." Stan said while pointing at three similar looking plants.

"Where? W..Where's the poison ivy?" Eddie asked, seeming slightly panicked.

"Nowhere! Not every fucking plant is poison ivy Stanley!" Richie exclaimed.

Bill, Richie and Ashton walked into the sewer while Eddie and Stan stayed just outside of it.

"Okay, well, I'm starting to get itchy...now, and I'm pretty sure this is not-" Eddie started until Richie cut him off.

"Do you use the same bathroom as your mother?" Richie asked.

"Sometimes, Yeah." Eddie responded honestly.

"Then you probably have crabs!" Richie said.

"That's so not funny." Eddie responded again.

Ashton and Bill had their flashlights and were searching the sewer for......well, anything really.

Richie turned around and looked at Eddie and Stan.

"Aren't you guys coming in?" Richie asked the two.

"Nu uh. It's grey water." Eddie stated while pointing at the dark water.

"What's Grey water?" Ashton asked, jumping in the conversation.

"It's basically.....piss and shit, that's all I'm telling you! You three are splashing around in....millions of gallons of 'Derry Pee'!" Eddie said, obviously worried about his health.

Richie dipped a stick he found in the water, and sniffed it.

"Jesus Rich!" Ashton exclaimed, grossed out.

"Are you serious, what are you-" Eddie was cut off again.

"Doesn't smell like caca to me senor~" Richie said in a horrible Spanish accent.

After that Eddie started ranting about infections, then Richie threw something. Ashton was paying closer attention to the real reason they were there. Then Ashton saw something in the water.

"Billy! Look." Ashton mumbled to Bill.

He picked up what she  was pointing at. It was a shoe. 

Bill turned around and shouted "Guys!". The rest of the losers quickly shut up, and stared at him. Then they noticed the shoe in his hand.

"Shit.....Don't tell me that's...." Stan said in a nervous voice.

"No." Ashton responded.

"G-G-Georgie wore galoshes." Bill continued as Richie walked up next to them.

"Who's sneaker is it?" Eddie asked quickly.

Ashton pointed the flashlight inside the shoe and Richie looked inside.

"It's Betty Ripsom's" Richie answered.

"...Shit...Oh..God..Oh Fuck!" Eddie exclaimed. "I don't like this." Eddie said.

"How do you think Betty feels....running around in these tunnels with only one freaking shoe!" Richie jokes while hopping on one foot.

"Not Now Rich." Ashton snapped, seriously.

"What if she's still here?" Stan asked, and Bill, Richie and Ashton all turned around to continue looking in the sewer.

"Eddie, come on!" Richie called out as we walked further.

"My mom will have an aneurysm, okay, if she finds out we're playing down here, I'm serious." Eddie said quickly, obviously panicking.

Bill was still looking in the sewer.

"Bill?" Eddie called out.

"If....If I was Betty Ripsom, I would want us to find her, G-G-Georgie too." Bill responded.

"What if I don't wanna find her." Eddie said. We all stared at him. "I mean, no offense Bill, but I don't wanna end up like Geo-" Eddie cut himself off to spare Bill's emotions.

 "I don't wanna go missing either" Eddie finished.

"He has a point." Stan spoke up. 

"You too, Stanny?" Ashton asked.

"It's summer, we're supposed to be having fun! This isn't fun, this is scary and disgusting." Stan said, looking down.

Suddenly, there was a splash from behind Eddie and Stan. They all went to see what it was, it was the new kid, all banged up and bleeding.

"Holy Shit, What happened to you?" Richie asked, leaving the sewer.

The new kid looked over at them, out of breath. Stan and Eddie rushed over to help him, shortly after so did Ashton.

They picked up the new kid and put him on Silver, Bill's bike, and got on their own bikes. They rushed to the Drugstore. While they were riding, Eddie kept ranting about "An AIDS epidemic" currently happening, but none of them really listened though.

They finally got there and dropped their bikes in the alleyway. Bill set the new kid down on a crate and told Richie to wait with him while they got the supplies.

The four losers rushed into the drug store. Eddie quickly grabbed what he needed, while the other 3 looked in their pockets for any money they had. The sum was $6.23.

"Can we afford all that?" Bill asked Eddie.

"That's all we got." Stan said with only a bit of cash and change in his hands.

"Are you kidding me?" Eddie asked with all the medical supplies in his small arms. He started biting with lip thinking.

"Wait, You have an account here, don't you?" Ashton asked.

"If my mom finds out I bought all this stuff for myself, I'm spending the whole rest of the weekend in the emergency room getting X-rayed." Eddie said, while shaking his head no.

A couple aisles over Beverly Marsh, the school's 'Slut', was looking at the Tampax, confused. She made up her mind and went to pay when she saw Greta Kenne walking down the aisle. She quickly went to the next one which wasn't any better.

Luckily, Ashton saw the box and quickly gestured for Beverly to hide it behind her back, and she did. The other three boys looked over and saw Beverly.

"Are you okay?" Bill asked her.

"I'm fine, what's wrong with you?" Beverly asked, seeing all the medical supplies in Eddie's arms.

"None of your business." Stan replied.

"There's a kid outside, looked like someone killed him." Eddie also responded. Ashton quickly slapped Eddie's arm, giving him a 'Really?!' look.

"We need some supplies but we don't have enough money." Ashton told Beverly.

Beverly thought for a second, before coming up with a plan and saying "I think I know what to do, but I'll need Ashton's help."

The two girls walked up the check out.

"We like your glasses, Mr. Kenne." Beverly started.

"You look just like Clark Kent." Ashton continued.

"Oh, well, I don't know about that." Mr. Kenne said while adjusting his glasses.

"Can we try them?" Beverly asked abruptly.

"Well, Sure." Mr. Kenne answered while taking off his glasses and handing them to Beverly.

Beverly put them on and looked at the pervert through her eyelashes.

"What do you think?" The redhead asked.

"Well, How bout that. You look just like Louis Lane." Mr. Kenne said while leaning in.

"Definitely." Ashton said while looking at Beverly.

Beverly then took off the glasses and handed them to Ashton. The petite girl put them on and looked at Beverly and Mr. Kenne.

"How do I look?" Ashton asked.

Little did she know that the boy with a stutter and his curly haired friend were staring at her. A light red blush grazing their cheeks.

"Perfect." Mr. Kenne said.

The small girl then took off the glasses and when handing them back to Mr. Kenne,  'accidentally' knocked over the small shelf of cigarettes behind the counter.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Ashton apologized in a sincere voice.

"It's okay. " Mr. Kenne said while putting on his glasses and bending down to clean up the fallen shelf.

While the pervert was cleaning, Ashton and Beverly looked back to see the 3 losers rushing to leave the store with their supplies. Bill accidentally shoved Eddie causing him to trip and knock over a few items before actually leaving.

Beverly saw a pack of cigarettes on the counter and quickly grabbed them and shoved them in her pocket.

Out in the alleyway the Losers were trying to help the new kid. 

"Can you go get me something?" Eddie asked, while trying to get the wound to stop bleeding.

"Jesus, what do you need?" Richie asked.

"Go get my bifocals. I hid them in my second fanny pack." Eddie said.

"Why do you have two fanny packs?" Stan asked.

Bill walked out of the alleyway to see Beverly walking towards him, wind blowing in her hair. Bill then pulled out a dollar from his pocket and showed it to Beverly.

"T-T-Thanks." Bill said.

"Even Steven." Beverly said while pulling out her new pack of cigarettes.

The two then heard Stan freaking out and looked to see what was going on. 

"Ben from Soc?" Beverly asked herself before going in the alley way.

Eddie and Richie were arguing and Ashton was sitting on a crate. 

"Are you okay? That looks like it hurts." Beverly said while walking up to the group.

"Oh, No, I'm good. I just fell." Ben said, smiling at the redhead.

"Yeah, right into Henry Bowers!" Richie exclaimed. 

"S-S-S-Shut up R-R-Richie." Bill said.

"Why? It's the truth." Richie said back.

"You sure they got the right stuff, to fix you up?" Beverly asked while Bill stared at her.

Ashton noticed this and started feeling a pain in her chest. Ashton then got up and shoved Richie out of the way and walked to her bike.

"Where the hell are you going?" Richie asked, seeing the small girl get her bike.

"Home." Ashton answered quickly.

"But-" Stan was cut off by Ashton.

"You guys know how Alex gets!" Ashton exclaimed while glaring at the group.

She then got on her bike and started riding out of the alleyway. 

"But It's not past-!" Stan yelled, but Ashton was already gone. "Your curfew yet."

 "Is she okay?" Beverly asked.

"Y-Y-Yeah, I'm sure." Bill lied.

"Okay, well maybe I'll see you around." Beverly said.

"We were thinking about going to the Q-Q-Quarry tomorrow, if you wanna come." Bill told Beverly.

"Good to know, Thanks. Oh and, Who's Alex?" Beverly asked.

"H-H-He's Ashton's Ste-" Bill was cut off by Eddie.

"None of your business." Eddie answered.

"E-E-Eddie." Bill said sternly.

"No, he's right. It took Ash four years to tell us. Why should she know?" Stan defended.

Bill tried to think of a reason, but nothing came out. There was silence for a couple of minutes.

"If you wanna know, go and ask her. She lives on 29 oaks street." Richie said.

"Okay then, Thanks anyways." Beverly said before walking out to the alleyway.

"Nice going bringing up Bowers in front of her." Stan said to Richie.

"Yeah you heard what she did." Eddie said, agreeing.

"What'd she do?" Ben asked.

"More like who'd she do! From what I hear the list is longer than my wang." Richie answered, grabbing his crotch. 

"That's not saying much." Stan said.

"There j-j-j-j-just rumors." Bill said defending the redhead

"Anyway, Bill had her back in the third grade. They kissed in the school play. Reviews said you can't fake that sort of passion." Richie told Ben.

"Now!" Richie clapped his hands. "Pip Pip and tally ho my good fellows! I do believe this chap required our utmost attention, get in there Doctor K, come on, fix him up." Richie said in a horrible British accent.

"Why don't you shut to fuck up Einstein, because I know what I'm doing and I don't want you doing the British guy with me right now." Eddie responded.

"Suck the wound. Get in there." Richie Exclaimed.

Even though Ashton didn't say it, Richie and Eddie knew she was filled with Jealousy.

*•~Emo-Gay-Tea~•*

< Previous Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter >

[florenceandthemachine]

ALSO, i’m still in my feelings about how much i miss danny mahealani 2020 so tell me your thoughts about the three of them together 🥰

DANNY MAHEALANI 2020. 

Danny, sweetie, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry that an ugly ass bitch like Teen Wolf only gave you character development when it was convenient for all the stupid straight white boys.

Usually I have issues with thee part relationships in fanfic because you see so often “this person is the GLUE that keeps us together!!” and like... no? Like any healthy two person relationship, you should not be completely dépendant on your partner, and it always bothers me to see that play through in a throuple. 

I think ultimately, it would start with Stiles and Danny. Jackson wouldn’t be able to start out with them, I think, because he would need time to realize that Stiles wasn’t completely incompetent, or that Danny was more than just his friend. Danny would snark about Stiles’ virginity, Stiles would take him up on his offer to cuddle, and boom. 

Stiles and Danny (...Stanny?) would be the ultimate cute power couple, though, and it would take Jackson less time than anyone would have thought to go from smacking Stiles in the back of the head in the hall to threatening to beat someone down for smacking Stiles in the back of the head in the hall. 

After all, Danny and Jackson had a friendship that could give Scott and Stiles a run for their money, and Jackson wasn’t about to let anyone hurt Stiles if it made Danny sad.

That would be how he came to terms with Stiles so quickly, I think—the logic of “well, Danny likes you, and Danny has never been wrong about anything ever, so you must be good and worth protecting” is nearly infallible in Jackson’s mind. He wouldn’t apologize for any of his past transgressions, of course, but once in a while he would give Stiles this little nod in the hall and Stiles would beam back at him while squeezing Danny’s hand and Jackson would know he was forgiven anyway.

That would be another thing he would adjust to really quickly, too—Stiles and Danny turning into StilesAndDanny. Weirdly enough, he wouldn’t have a problem with that either. When he invited Danny out to eat, it was instinctive for him to book a table for three, because of course Stiles was coming. And when Danny invited him over for pizza and video games, Jackson knew Stiles would be there too—usually tending to his island on the Switch while Jackson and Danny went head to head in some sports game—and oddly enough it didn’t bother him.

(Shortly after they had gotten together, Stiles offered to make himself scarce during one of Danny and Jackson’s night long, caffeine fueled, video game marathons. Before Danny could even insist he stay, Jackson had rolled his eyes and chucked a pillow at his head. “Don’t be an idiot, idiot. Grab some pizza and sit your ass down.” Stiles had rolled his eyes, but there was no denying the pleased [and possibly relieved?] smile on his face, and Danny was fucking beaming.)

Senior year would happen... differently. With Danny in the know from the get go, they would have better odds, better chances, better skills thanks to the literal army of geniuses that the pack seemed to hang out with. They were getting steps ahead, they were building their own bestiary, they were actually on top of their things for once.

And then Donovan wound up with a pole through his chest. 

Danny and Jackson would probably be at Jackson’s house, college essays and applications spread out ove rather dining room table, and Danny would only look up when Jackson went on high alert—about half a second before Stiles came through the door, and suddenly Stiles would be between them, completely distraught, sobbing about murder and Scott and mouths (which, what?). 

They would spend probably a half hour calming Stiles down, at which point they moved to the couch, and if the situation wasn’t so dire Jackson would have been confused sa to why he was still there, frankly. This seemed like a moment that should have been between Stiles and Danny—but no sooner had the thought crossed his mind to leave them alone did Danny’s hand snap out and grab his wrist, anchoring him to the moment.

They would put on a movie or something for background noise and Stiles would probably fall asleep before too long, emotionally wrecked, head in Jackson’s lap and legs over Danny’s, and it would take one look at the expression on Jackson’s face—a unique blend of murderous and sympathetic—for things to click into place in Danny’s head. 

Danny would have had every intention, of course, to keep these things to himself for the time being. But after about half an hour, Stiles would have woken up, apologized profusely to the both of them for interrupting their studies, and insisted on going home and going to bed. And then he would kiss Danny goodnight, a quick peck on the lips as he made his way to the front door.

And then he would kiss Jackson goodnight, a quick peck on the lips as he made his way to the front door.

And then he and Jackson would just stare at one another, slack jawed, while Danny almost chokes on his tongue trying not to laugh. He would immediately surge forward to kiss Stiles too, knowing that he was on the verge of flipping out, and then he would take Jackson’s hand in his own and kiss Jackson’s knuckles, and just murmur “it’s okay.” and suddenly any panic bubbling up would have disappeared.

They would have wound up in Jackson’s bed that night, only because it was the closest, and to be frank Stiles barely had the energy to pull his shoes off before collapsing. Jackson would hardly sleep, honestly—Stiles would be sandwiched between he and Danny, and they’d both be sound asleep, but Jackson would be reeling, both savoring the warmth in his arms and... fearing it, a little bit.

Stiles would wake first (is it “waking first” if Jackson didn’t sleep at all?) the next morning, and he’d make that tired kind of chirping noise a cat usually makes as he opens his eyes, blinking wearily until he made eye contact with Jackson. They would just kind of stare at one another, until Stiles moved, wiggling a little closer, and closer, until their lips were an inch away from one another—and naturally, Stiles would still make the first move.

Their first kiss—their first proper kiss—would be slow, and soft, and Stiles would sigh into it as Jackson deepened it, just a little. They’d break apart and Stiles would blush bright red, letting out a low groan and burying his head in Jackson’s shoulder, and poor Jackson would be lost for a moment.

“It’s cute, right? He reacted the same way after our first kiss.” 

And then Jackson would be straining his neck to look up at Danny, who was beaming, and wow, did he really never notice how cute Danny’s dimples were? Or what a nice smile he had? Or how adorable his bedhead was? Or—

His brain would probably have gone on forever, but then Danny was leaning up and kissing him too. The difference was remarkable, though—Danny wasted no time in tasting Jackson’s lips, and then his mouth, easily asserting the same casual dominance he had clearly done with Stiles, sighing happily as his tongue slipped back between his own lips. 

When the kiss broke, he would let his body mold back into place along Stiles’ spine, grinning as Jackson did the same, their hands meeting at Stiles hip. Stiles was the first to talk, his face still red, eyes still closed tight, but even if his heartbeat wasn’t beating like a traitor in his chest, his voice would have betrayed his hope when he spoke.

“This is going to be something amazing, isn’t it?”

Jackson found himself smiling, a rarity in and of itself. Danny just quirked a brow at him. 

“Yeah, it is.”

(Spoiler alert—it really was.)

[mitchmarnier]

I want these words to make things right (but it's the wrongs that make the words come to life)

pairing: eddie kaspbrak/richie tozier [reddie] rating: teen & up word count: 10,531 summary: Richie Tozier runs an anonymous tip for superheroes in the town of New York City. Sounds like a great idea, until you throw in the ex boyfriend superhero he's still in love with, and the weird blue eyed man who somehow figured out the man behind the blog ⤹ a NOT birthday fic for the lovely leigh (@s-s-georgie) 

perma taglist: @jwilliambyers, @stebbins, @isaacslaheys, @s-s-georgie, @transrich@eddiefuckinkaspbrak, @edstozler, @emgays, @anellope, @thorn-harvester-ven, @wheezyeds, @vipertooth, @tozierking, @billdenbrough, @starrystoziers, @trashmouthtozierr, @willelbyers​ @itfandomprompts, @loserslibrary (let me know if you want added!)

read on ao3

Spotted!: The one and only FlyBoy, rescuing not one, not two, but six students of New York University from a late night fire in the little coffee shop down on Old Broadway. Damages to the building were extensive- and it’s going to be closed for a very long, unknown future- but nobody was harmed thanks to our very own eye in the sky. FlyBoy, we salute you and I think we can speak for everybody when we say that we sleep better knowing you’re out there. 

Richie sent out the blast, still smiling at his phone. He’d barely even opened his eyes when he’d rolled over to grab his phone, which wasn’t anything abnormal. Richie ran one of the most popular blogs in New York City, completely anonymously. It had started out as his own interests, keeping taps on all the iconic heroes of their great and crime ridden city. It had quickly grown in regular viewers and subscribers, everybody realizing how coinvient it was to one location with all the information. More reliable information than the actual news, if Richie did say so himself.

“Really? FlyBoy again?” Richie’s roommate, Beverly Marsh, barged into Richie’s bedroom without knocking. “Don’t you think you’re getting a little too hung up on this guy? You’re running an update blog, not a FlyBoy fanblog.”

“FlyBoy is the guy to watch for.” Richie shrugged as he rolled out his bed, reaching out blindly for his glasses that he’d left on his bedside table. Beverly was standing at the edge of his bed with her hands on his hips. “Why are you looking at me like that, Mom?”

Beverly grabbed an NYU crewneck off the floor and threw it over his head. “FlyBoy isn’t the only superhero in the city, Richie! You’re falling off your brand and you’re going to lose your following. And in case you hadn’t noticed, your following pays most of our bills.” 

Richie rolled his eyes. He grabbed his lucky jeans off the floor and slipped into them without changing his boxers, getting a little too much enjoyment out of Beverly’s cringe. “Would you chill out? I’m still just reporting the news, Bev. It’s not like anything else happened last night.”

“Dr Incredible stopped a bank robbing,” Beverly pointed out without even needing to look at her phone. “You didn’t say anything about that. Not to mention- Captain Fast literally saved an entire family from plunging off a bridge in their car last night. You know, Eddie Kaspbrak? Your best friend? The love of your life? I think maybe that would be a little newsworthy, don’t you?”

Richie scraped his black curls into a bun at the top of his head and started throwing textbooks into his backpack. “Beverly, I have had my eyes open for all of ten minutes, and seven of them have been you lecturing me on how to run a blog. I will post the rest of the events from last night and anything that happened this morning on the way to class that I need to go to. Because I have a life, so unless you wanna take over all the blog responsibilities… get off my dick.” 

Beverly scoffed as Richie pushed past her out the door to his room, shouting at him that there was brewed coffee on the counter even as they both knew that Richie was going to be stopping at Starbucks for something that was more sugar and syrup than actual caffeine. 

Richie went to the same Starbucks every morning before class, and every evening after classes let out. Stanley from his Psychology 101 worked there, and he never failed to give Richie shit about his nasty habits. He was a scrawny man, with tight curls. He was always well dressed under his work apron, light coloured button ups and pressed jeans. He always looked so put together and proper that Richie wanted to frazzle him and mess him up completely.

Stan’s customer service happy expression dropped into a look of disdain. “You’re back. Again.”

“Everyday, Stanny, you know me.” Richie leaned against the counter and winked at the unimpressed barista. Stan turned away from him, putting Richie’s regular order into the register. “Gotta get that caffeine fix.”

“I’d hardly call this caffeine by any means.” Stan let out a scoff as he finished ringing up the order. Richie handed Stanley the cash, and tried to chase the barista down the line in the process of making Richie’s entirely familiar order.

“You can’t lean over the counter like that.” Stan said in a low, bored tone. “You know, you’re lucky it's in my job description to be nice to you.” 

Richie chuckled, watching as Stan applied a double spray of whipped cream that Richie certainly hadn’t paid for. “If this is you being nice to me, I would hate to see you mean.”

“Yes, you would.” Stan placed Richie’s pale drink down onto the counter and slid a straw over to Richie without Richie needing to ask. Richie grinned, and took a long, overly dramatic sip before turning away. He nursed the drink throughout his short walk to his campus building, and tossed it- half finished- into the garbage before ducking into his lecture hall. He slid into his regular seat in the far left side of the hall, then frowned as somebody sat down on the other side of him. 

It was a cute enough guy, with soft brown hair that flopped into his face. His eyes were an icy blue and there was a scar running through one eyebrow. Richie felt goosebumps jump up on his forearms as the boy stared at him.

“You’re R-R-Richie T-Tozier, right?” Bill said, voice pleasant even in the low tone. It soothed Richie in an odd way, and he felt himself lowering his guard even as he wondered why he was doing it. 

“Yeah…” Richie said slowly, lifting his pen towards his mouth and biting down on the bottom end. “And you are?”

“My name is B-B-ill.” He said, before glancing over his shoulder. He bit down on his bottom lip and leaned in closer to Richie’s space. “You’re the runner of Spotted!, right? The superhero tracker blog?”

Richie blinked at him. His teeth threatened to break through the plastic of his pen. He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked forward at the professor, droning on about something Richie couldn’t care less about, especially with how his heart was pounding in his chest. “Sorry, man. I think you’ve got the wrong guy.” 

Even as Richie refused to let his gaze waver from the front of the room, he could feel how Bill’s eyes continued to burn into the side of his head. “Well.” Bill said, voice somehow seeming much closer to Richie’s ears than he felt it should be. “If you a-ar-are the m-man behind the sc-screen, I th-thought you sh-should know that Pr-Professor Fly will make an app-appearance tonight.”

Richie jerked his head to look at Bill, but the other guy was already standing and making his way through the lecture hall. He didn’t even turn around as Richie unabashedly stared at him. Professor Fly had once been the biggest, most known superhero on the NYC scene. Along with the flight powers that his name implied, he’d also been strong and fast. He’d had a plethora of powers, so many it was beyond abnormal. Nearly three years ago, Professor Fly had stepped onto the scene with a mentee- none other than FlyBoy- and only six months after that he’d completely dropped off the face of the Earth. FlyBoy continued to work in the city, and make a bigger and bigger name for himself, but Professor Fly had not been seen in over two full years. 

It was juicy information, no doubt. The kind that made Richie’s stomach tense up and his palms sweat. If Professor Fly was coming out of retirement, that could only mean somehow seriously Bad was on the scene. But Richie didn’t run a gossip blog, and he would never post something he didn’t have any proof on. Not even something as huge as a potential Professor Fly comeback.

Spotted! Just a little  recap of last night’s busy activities in the city that never sleeps: Dr Incredible bringing a bank robbery to a skidding halt, making sure all our favourite rich bitches and Wall Street moneybags have their millions safe for another day! Thanks, dude! And OF COURSE, the adorable and flawless Captain Fast saving an entire family from certain doom, and looking absolutely mouth watering in that spandex as always while doing it. Keep it up, babe. The public loves you :*

“RICHIE!”

Richie hardly reacted as the apartment door busted open and Eddie Kaspbrak stormed into the living room. His hair was damp, flattened to his forehead from the rain outside. The same rain that had left stains all over his grey NYU shirt and blue jeans. His fists were tightened at his sides, and he looked absolutely adorable.

“How can I be of service, dear Edward?” Richie asked, punching at the buttons of his xBox controller. Eddie stomped forward and grabbed it from his hands, tossing it across the room. “Hey! What the fuck?”

“You can’t fucking flirt with me on your stupid blog!” Eddie cried, running his hands through his hair. “Okay? People are gonna… they could figure out who you are if you keep doing that!”

Richie sat up straight on the couch. “Okay, do you know how little sense that makes, right? I make flirtatious comments about every hero I post about. Except Dr Incredible, I think guys a fucking sham.” Eddie rolled his eyes as Richie carried on over him. “And even if I did flirt with you more than the other heroes, they’d still need to know who you are to connect the dots to me. So take a breath. If you don’t want people commenting on your spandex, don’t wear it.”

“This isn’t about spandex.” Eddie said, though Richie could see that the anger he’d been wrapped up in when he’d come into the apartment was quickly seeping out of him. “This is about you. I don’t want you in danger, Richie.”

“You’ve made that beyond clear, Eds.” Richie stood and stretched his hands above his head. “It’s pretty much all I’ve heard from you.”

“Rich…” Eddie said sadly, but if there had been anything further to that sentence it evaporated right from Eddie’s mouth. 

Eddie and Richie were diaper buddies, a real sandbox love. Richie couldn’t remember a point in his life without Eddie in it. They’d grown up inseparable, and Richie still remembered vividly when they’re relationship had begun to grow into something more. Junior year of high school, when Richie finally, finally found the nerve to ask Eddie out on an official date. And the next couple weeks after that were bliss in a way that Richie had never known. Until suddenly, Eddie had started blowing him off. Cancelling dates, and dodging Richie’s calls. When Richie had moved to confront Eddie about his behaviour, to beg him to at least end it and not keep him hanging on, Richie had learned the truth of Eddie’s powers. Apparently, it ran in his family and his mother had tried her hardest to keep it from Eddie, in desperate hopes that Eddie would be different but the powers can come nonetheless. Some smaller ones- a heightened sense of touch, and an acute sense of knowledge of a person or object by touch which Richie lovingly called his Vibe Checks- and of course, his speed. Eddie had always been a fast runner, ever since they were kids, and he had been shaping up to be a big track star before the Powers had appeared to him. Afterwards, however, Eddie could run the length of the entirety of the country in mere seconds. 

They’d stayed up together that whole night, talking and crying and kissing, and they’d felt so good about everything. Richie thought having a superhero boyfriend was maybe the coolest thing that could ever happen to anybody, even if he wasn’t allowed to tell another living being. While still living in Derry, things hadn’t been so different with Eddie having powers. Things really changed when they moved out to New York City. Richie had always known Eddie was a good person, the best person, but he’d never accounted for how Eddie’s powers would come into play when they were suddenly in a city with other Supers and a sky high crime rate. 

They’d tried to make it work, Richie beyond supportive in Eddie’s crime fighting causes. (Hello, superhero boyfriend? Still the coolest shit ever!) but one misstep, one single incident where Richie’s safety had been put on the line, and Eddie had stopped them in their tracks. It hadn’t even been because of Eddie’s identity, Richie had been in a strictly wrong place wrong time sort of situation but Eddie had lost it. Claimed that their relationship was a liability for Eddie, that Richie was Eddie’s biggest weakness and that Eddie couldn’t risk Richie’s safety like that. Richie had argued tooth and nail, claiming that breaking up didn’t mean that they weren’t in love and that Eddie shouldn’t be giving up his personal life for these powers but it had fallen on deaf ears. Eddie had packed up his belongings and left their shared apartment. They’d tried to stay friends, but the love between them kept things strained. 

Richie padded into the kitchen and grabbed a can of pop from the fridge. He offered one up to Eddie, who shook his head as Richie knew that he would. He hopped up onto one of the seats on the counter and stared Eddie down. Eddie leaned forward on his elbows. 

“We can’t keep having this same argument, Richie.” Eddie said in his prim and rehearsed voice. “It’s not because I don’t love you-”

Richie squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head quickly. “God, you just said we can’t keep this argument. I don’t need to hear this fucking speech again. You gave it to me when we broke up, you gave it to me six months ago on my birthday after we got drunk and-” Richie broke off and exhaled hard. “I’m sorry I talked about your spandex on my blog, I’ll try to tone down the flirting when I talk about you.”

“No.” Eddie sighed, resting his chin in his hands. “I overreacted. You didn’t say anything you wouldn’t have said about anybody else on there. And you’re right, people would need to know who I am to connect you to me. And nobody knows who either of us are.”

Richie blew out a long breath, flicking his thumb against the tab of his pop can. “Actually, Eds… somebody might know who I am. So, yeah, I should be more careful when talking about you on there. You’re the one who was right as usual.”

Eddie’s mouth dropped open and he pushed away from the table to round on Richie. He grabbed him by his shoulders and forced Richie to meet his gaze. “Richie. What are you talking about.”

“I’m not really sure, honestly, it was weird.” Richie ducked out of Eddie’s touch, frowning as the memory of his class that morning washed back over him. “It was some.. Guy in my theory of screenwriting lecture? He just sat down beside me and he addressed me by name and then asked if I was the one who wrote Spotted!. I told him I wasn’t, because you and Bev are both always on my ass about keeping it a secret, and then he told me…”

Richie stopped and looked up at Eddie. Eddie stared back at him, holding Richie’s eye line longer than he had in the two years since they’d called an end to their romantic relationship. “What, Rich? What did he say?”

“He said that Professor Fly would be making an appearance tonight.”

Eddie’s expression remained blank for several moments before the usual chaotic energy took him back over. “Why would he say that? How does he know that? How does he know you? There’s no way that’s true, nobody has heard anything from Professor Fly for almost three years. Not even FlyBoy knows where he is, he’s retired. There’s nothing he’d come back for, not unless it was the end of the world big. Is this the end of the world big? Richie?”

“I don’t know, Eds. He didn’t give me an itinerary for the night's events.” Richie said. “I think he just wanted me to post it on my blog like I’m some sort of gossip column. It’s not a big deal.” But Eddie didn’t look convinced and Richie could practically hear the little hamster wheel in his head running. “Unless you know something that’s going to happen tonight?”

“No.” Eddie said immediately, shaking his head. “I haven’t heard anything besides minor crimes and car accidents the last couple weeks. It’s been… almost too calm. I don’t like the sound of this guy, Richie, and I definitely don’t like what he’s suggesting. I’m gonna- I’m gonna talk to some people. Don’t leave this apartment and don’t post on Spotted! until I get back.” 

“You’re not my boss!” Richie cried as Eddie tore out of his apartment like a tornado. 

Eddie returned quickly, as Eddie was prone to do. He stumbled into the apartment as dusk began to settle outside, a tray of coffees in his hands. “Okay, we only have a few hours to figure this out.” 

Beverly had been just getting into the apartment when Eddie had come in and nearly crushed her behind the door. She frowned as Eddie handed her one of the steaming paper cups and somebody came into the apartment behind him.

“Stan from Starbucks?” Richie asked with a frown, watching as Stan and another tall, black man he didn’t recognize came into his apartment. “Eds, I get you wanted coffee or whatever but you don’t need to bring the store back with you.”

Stan placed the only non-hot beverage down onto the counter. “I’m going to tell you something, and you need to promise not to be weird about it.” Richie stared at Stan with his drink raised half way up to his lips, and Stan let out a low sigh. “I’m FlyBoy.”

Richie whipped around to glare at Eddie, pointing an accusing finger at his chest. “FlyBoy has been Stan from Starbucks this entire fucking time, and you didn’t think to tell me that?”

“It isn’t exactly my secret to tell anybody.” Eddie said with a chill to his voice. “And honestly, even if I could have told you, I wouldn’t have. You have a weird crush on him and the last thing we need is you running off and getting some high stress relationship with a superhero.”

A superhero who isn’t me. Eddie maybe didn’t say it, maybe wasn’t even aware that he’d implied the words at all, but Richie heard them perfectly clear. Richie scoffed, dropping his drink onto the counter and stepping away from the group just slightly. “You don’t really get any say in who I do or don’t like, Eddie. It’s actually none of your business at all.”

“It is if it’s something that’s going to put you in danger, Richie!” Eddie snapped back, hand cutting through the air. A manic gesture of Eddie’s that Richie usually found cute, but could only manage to find irritating in this moment. “You put yourself in harms way enough with this stupid blog and just even knowing me, I would never let you-”

“Let me? Let me?” Richie chuckled humorlessly. “You are not the boss of me, Eddie. You’re not my parents, you’re my boyfriend. So, thank you very much for all the over the top concern about whether or not I’m getting myself into trouble but I’m going to have to politely tell you to mind your fucking business for once in your life.”

Eddie gaped at him, almost forming words before losing them again. The black man who had come into the apartment with Eddie and Stan cleared his throat. “I’m sorry but this seems like a pretty serious personal issue, and we have something important we need to handle, so...”

“Yes.” Eddie said, voice cracking. Richie glanced at him and tried not to let the hint of tears that were pooling in Eddie’s eyes. “Richie, this is Mike Hanlon. You probably know him as-”

“Freezie.” Mike held his hand out and Richie only hesitated for a moment before Mike laughed. “Don’t worry, man. I have to actually want to turn you into ice for it to happen. Though I do have some horror stories when I first started developing my powers, I’m not gonna lie.” 

“Mr Medusa.” Richie said with a grin, gripping Mike’s hand firmly and giving a body moving shake.  Mike gave a laugh while both Stan and Eddie rolled his eyes at his antics. 

“You know how misleading that nickname is, right?” Stan asked dryly. “Mike turns people to ice with his hands, Medusa turned people to stone by looking at them and her head full of snakes. It’s really not even that close of a comparison, it just implies you don’t know anything about Greeky mythology.”

“Excuse me, I’m a gay Gen Z. Of course I fucking know Greek mythology. I read Percy Jackson.” Richie said with a wave of his hand. Stan gaped at him for a moment before Eddie blew the wrapper from Richie’s straw at Richie’s head. 

“He’s also a fucking Ancient Civilization minor.” Eddie said in a mixture of fondness and irritation. “Don’t let him fool you with his stupidity, he’s actually incredibly smart.” 

“Okay, yeah, this is great.” Beverly spoke up suddenly, dropping her shopping bags onto the kitchen counter. “But do you guys wanna tell me what the hell is going on exactly?”

“Yes, I’d like to know, too.” Stan said, taking a seat at the small, banged up wooden table. “Eddie didn’t exactly give much details as he was superhero sprinting around the Starbucks and making like $30 worth of product he didn't pay for.” 

Eddie waved Stan off. “We might be in for a long night.” He said, dropping into the seat beside Stan. Mike and Beverly both moved to take the last two seats around the table and Richie jumped up to sit on top of the table between Eddie and Stan. He maybe positioned himself a little bit closer to Stan, just to watch Eddie’s jaw clench.

“Richie, why don’t you tell everybody what you told me earlier.” Eddie said in his very best teacher voice. 

Richie sighed. “I still think you’re making too big a deal out of this, Eds, really. But basically some guy came up to me in class today, and accused me of running the Spotted! Blog and then told me that  Professor Fly is going to come back tonight.” 

Stan’s head jerked to look at Richie, eyes wide. “That’s impossible. Who told you this?”

Richie shrugged. “I don’t man, some weirdo. Think he said his name was Bill?”

Beverly startled at her seat, knocking one of the coffees to the ground. Everybody turned to look at her and her face had lost nearly all colour. “Uh… did he have a scar running through his eyebrow?” 

“Yeah… how do you know that?” 

Beverly scratched at the side of her neck. “I went on a few dates with him last semester, he's a weird dude. I wouldn’t read too much into this, I’m sure he’s just trying to stir up drama. His brother died when he was young, and he never really got over it.”

A shoulder crossed over Stan’s face and he sighed sadly. “Georgie Denbrough. That was…. A tragedy.” 

Mike and Eddie made matching sympathetic sounds and Richie pulse jumped. “Okay, you all clearly know what the fuck is going on, from your super secret like Justice League meetings or something, but anybody want to catch me up? Who is Georgie Denbrough and what happened to him?”

“Georgie Denbrough was Professor Fly’s biggest shame. His failure as a hero.” Stan said, voice almost completely monotone. “It was just before he started training me to take over for him, I’ve always suspected it was the reason why he was choosing to retire. The Professor was trying to save a group of children from a predator and somehow the battle got really intense. The predator had powers that The Professor hadn’t anticipated, and The Professor’s powers back fired when he tried to catch the man. It caused the building to explode. Most of the children were okay, scrapes and bruises, maybe a broken bone or so, but Georgie Denbrough… He lost an arm in the explosion and he bled out before help could arrive. The boy died and the villain got away. He never really recovered from it.”

“Neither did Bill Denbrough,” Beverly jumped in. “When we were going out, it was pretty much all he talked about. How Professor Fly killed his little brother and ruined Bill’s life. He hates superheroes because of it. He probably doesn't know shit, but at least suspects that Richie knows some heroes and will tell them what he said. It’s a set up.”

Stan nodded. “There’s no way The Professor is going to be out tonight. Nothing would pull him out of retirement, trust me.”

Eddie rubbed his hands together. “Maybe.” He said shortly. “But we don’t know that it’s a trap for us. It’s possible this Bill guy has something planned tonight to try and bring Professor Fly out. We can’t risk people getting hurt because we don’t know what this guy's plan is. I think we should have all hands on deck tonight if we can.”

“Eddie’s right.” Mike said. “Even if it is a trap for us, we agreed to this sort of risk when we started acting as heroes. We knew what we were getting into, we can’t just sit around and do nothing when lives are at risk. Best case scenario, this Bill guy is full of shit and just running his mouth and nothing happens but we need to prepare for the worst.”

“I can’t imagine him going so far out of his way to figure out who’s running that blog just for it to be nothing.” Stan said quietly. 

“Maybe that’s part of the plan,” Richie jumped in. “He wanted me to post about Professor Fly’s return, probably to lure out people and heroes to whatever it was he was going to do. Maybe if I don’t post it then he’ll just drop the whole thing because he’s not getting the audience that he wants.”

“You should post it.” Beverly said suddenly, using some of the shitty dollar store dish cloths to wipe up the spilled coffee all over the floor. A large round of disagreement spread out amongst the heroes until Bev held her hand up for quiet. “I might not know much about this whole superhero world, or whatever, but how are you supposed to catch this guy if he doesn’t go through with his plan? You can’t exactly go after somebody for figuring out that Richie is caught up with superheroes.”

Eddie muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like “I can fucking try” but none of the heroes had any sort of argument against Beverly’s claims. 

“Spotted! Isn't a gossip column!” Richie cried, tossing his hands in the air, nearly taking Stan’s eye out. “I’m not posting some unfounded bullshit about Professor Fly and killing my brand for this Bill dude’s fucking vandetta.”

“Your blog’s brand is more important to you than saving lives?” Mike asked, giving Richie big, sad puppy eyes.

“We don’t know it’ll save lives!” Richie argued. “For all we know, sending out a blast could be what gets people killed. If you think we should all go out and keep on eye on stuff, then fine but-”

“Whoa, whoa!” Eddie cut him off quickly. “What do you mean we? You’re not coming with us if we go out there, Richie. You and Bev aren’t leaving this apartment tonight, you could be a target!”

“YOU’RE NOT MY BOSS!” Richie leapt off the table and stalked away from Eddie, hands trembling at his sides. “I’m so sick of you telling me what I can and can’t do! You can’t control me, Eddie.”

Eddie’s head jerked back as though it had been slapped, and a wounded look crossed his face that Richie wouldn’t let himself feel bad about. “I’m not trying to control you, Richard. I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“Oh, really?” Richie laughed. “So, you making a point not to tell me you knew who FlyBoy was when you were under the impression I might have a crush on him wasn’t you keeping me safe, and not at all you not wanting me to date somebody that isn’t you.”

Eddie stood up and walked around to where Richie was standing angrily behind the counter. He didn’t touch him but his hands hovered just above Richie’s arms. “I didn’t tell you who FlyBoy was because it's a secret identity for a reason. It’s not like it was really my place to SAY anything to you about it, alright? You can date whoever the fuck you want, obviously, because I didn’t stop you from going on those dates with Connor Whathisfuck last year and I hated that guy so much it actually burned my soul. I want you to be happy, okay? I’d never stop you from dating somebody. Stan is right there if you wanna go ask him out right now, you pleeb.” 

Richie glanced over Eddie’s shoulders at where the people around the table were all staring at them. Stan wrinkled up his nose. “Please don’t.”

Richie rolled his eyes and snorted. “Don’t worry, Stan my Man. If I’d known FlyBoy was somebody as boring as you, I wouldn’t have dedicated so much time to him in the first place.” 

Richie tried to ignore Eddie’s relieved sigh in his ear. 

Eddie didn’t budge on his statement that Richie and Beverly would be staying behind at their apartment, as Richie didn’t budge his refusal to post false information on this blog. “If you want me to make some sort of announcement, it has to be something true. That’s just how it is.”

“You could post about seeing the three of us teaming up.” Mike suggested as Richie was really just focusing on not looking at his bare chest as he changed into his suit. “That will be enough to get the public's attention and let this Bill Denbrough know we’re taking him seriously without having to leak false information about Professor Fly.”

Richie nodded in agreement as Eddie padded over him to his little tight red spandex supersuit. Richie’s breath caught as it always did when he saw Eddie as Captain Fast. “Don’t say anything until you’re sure we’re a decent way away from the apartment. Just because somebody figured out that you run the blog doesn’t mean that we should be leading towards the place you live. Play it safe, Rich.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Richie waved it off, but they both knew at the end of the day even as much as Richie fought it, he was going to follow Eddie’s advice. As the group moved towards the front door, Eddie suddenly spun around and grabbed hold of Richie’s waist. He tugged him into a tight hug, pressing his face against Richie’s shoulder.

“Please, please, be careful, Rich.” Eddie whispered into Richie’s body. “I have a really bad feeling.”

“Yeah, Eds. I’ll be careful.” Richie squeezed Eddie tightly until the other man pulled back. There was a split second where Richie was certain that Eddie was about to lean in for a kiss. The moment broke as Eddie’s cheeks turned pink and he looked away. He pulled the matching red mask over his eyes and followed the rest of Mike and Stan from the apartment. 

Richie wallowed in his poor, confused little gay heart for roughly ten minutes before he took out his phone and sent out the blast. 

Spotted! What must be the coolest new trio in NYC: FlyBoy, Captain Fast and Freezie heading out on the town. Is this just a  (super)mans night out- or is something much more sinister in the works for not so little city? I think we can all only wait and see. This blogger advises his readers to stay home tonight, and keep an eye on the news and little old me for your updates.

Richie didn’t even have a chance to put his phone back into his pocket before Beverly was stomping into the room and tossing a black hoodie over his head. He pulled it away and caught sight of Beverly with her red hair tied up in a long red, curly ponytail. She wore black jeans and black tank top that showed off a black triangle tattoo on her left arm. She raised her brow and nodded at him. “Hurry up, get into something dark and let’s go.”

“I didn’t know you had a tattoo.” Richie said slowly. 

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.” Beverly said. “Now hurry up and let's go. We have stuff we have to do.”

“I told Eddie I was gonna stay in the apartment.” Richie said, fidgeting with the fabric of the hoodie in his hands. “I think we-”

“I thought Eddie wasn’t the boss of you.” Beverly said, cocking her brow. Richie’s face burned as he tugged the plain back sweater over his head and put his feet back into messy converse sneakers. Beverly was already halfway down the hallway before Richie was even out of the apartment’s door. When they exited the stairway into the lobby, there was a man waiting there in matching all black outfit with the same triangle tattoo on his left arm. He had thick muscled arms, but chubby cheeks and wide eyes that seemed to still hold onto some sort of childhood innocence. 

Beverly pressed a quick kiss to his lips and Richie blinked. I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. The words died on Richie’s tongue as a weird feeling overcame him in that moment. “Richie, this is Ben. Ben, Richie.”

Ben held his hand out and Ben’s shake was warm and firm. Somehow Richie felt like his skin was crawling as Beverly pressed her hands between Richie’s shoulder blades and began to push him out towards the front of the building. 

“I uh” Richie cleared his throat, heart hammering in his chest. “Where are we going? Eddie’s probably right that we should stay inside, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Don’t be such a chicken shit.” Beverly grinned at him, and Richie shivered as a chill rushed through his spine. “Aren’t you at all curious about what might be going on? Come on, it’ll be fine. It’s not like we’re actually a target for anything. Denbrough was probably just trying to use you for your site.”

Immediately, Richie had been curious- almost morbidly so. Until this very moment when all he wanted to do was run back to his apartment and spend the rest of the night hiding under his blankets. But Richie Tozier had never been very good at trusting himself or any of his instincts, and he allowed Beverly and Ben to guide him into the black car parked out front. 

Then didn’t drive far, and pulled up to some sort of abandoned warehouse. Every couple of seconds there was a flash of light from inside the cracked and shattered glass windows. Richie’s breath started catching in his throat with every attempt to breathe. “What- where are we?”

Beverly turned to where Richie was trying to fade into the back seat of the car, and looked almost sad. “I’m sorry, Rich. It wasn’t supposed to go this way.” 

xxx

Eddie actually hated wearing spandex, but it was an incredibly durable fabric. With the amount of moving he did, it was the most logical choice in costume. But Eddie was never truly comfortable when in costume.

“If I ask you something, could you answer without getting bitchy?” Stan suddenly whispered in his ear. He, Mike and Eddie had only reached the main core of the Lower West Side. Eddie turned to him and narrowed his eyes as best as he could home to do with a mask covering half his face. “Do you ever think of giving it up? Hanging up your suit and just being a normal person. Letting yourself really love Richie?” 

Eddie’s face burned nearly the colour of the suit. He spent the better part of the last two years trying not to think about how he was in love with Richie Tozier and in the last three years, it was the only thing at the front of his mind. “I try not to think about it, honestly, because it’s not an option. I didn’t choose to have these powers, or this life. But as long as I have them, I have to do the right thing. I don’t have a choice.”

“I don’t know.” Stan said slowly. “I think you should be able to do what’s best for you. You deserve to be happy.”

“I’m happy enough.” Eddie lied. “Do you think we should split up and cover more ground?”

“Yeah.” Mike jumped in as the conversation changed back into the professional task at hand. “Especially since we don’t really know what the situation is, so keep your ear pieces in and buzz into the others if you come across anything.” 

“Alright,” Stan agreed, though he shot Eddie a this isn’t over look from the corner of his eye. “Eddie and I have a much easier way to travel, so Mike you can stay in this area.” Stan and Eddie agreed on their own sections of the general NYU area- the area that had always been protected by Professor Fly in the height of his career- and Eddie took off running. Eddie had always loved running, and it was the only part of being a hero that he still enjoyed. Sometimes, on nights when Eddie just couldn’t be bothered to care, he’d just run for miles. Just see how far he could go. He’d reached the Canadian border once before he decided it was a waste of his gift. 

Eddie slowed down into a simple walk once he reached his section of town, when somebody reached out and grabbed hold of Eddie’s arm. Eddie gasped at the feeling of utter desperation that sort through him belonging to the person who touched him. A pair of icy blue eyes under a scarred eyebrow met Eddie’s and Eddie’s heart leapt right into his mouth.

“What are you doing here?” Bill Denbrough demanded. “You’re not supposed to be here! Didn’t Richie tell you about my warning?”

“Your- your warning?” Eddie squawked. “So, you tracking him down and telling him some bogus tip about Professor Fly was supposed to be a warning? A warning of what- that you’re insane?” 

Denbrough shook his head, brown hair falling into his head. “No. No.” He said desperately, nails digging into Eddie’s skin. “Professor Fly would never return, FlyBoy would know that. Didn’t you tell FlyBoy? It’s a trap, you were all supposed to stay home! You’re all in danger!” 

Eddie tried to pull his arm free but Denbrough’s grip was too tight. “You’re hurting me!” Eddie cried, chest starting to feel the too familiar pressure of an asthma attack- though he hadn’t one a single one since his powers had come in. 

“I k-k-know you have more powers than just sp-speed.” Denbrough said, stepping even further into Eddie’s space and grabbing hold of his other arm. “You can s-s-sense me, r-right? You’ll no-no-know if I’m d-dan-dangerous!” 

Eddie felt a lot of things about Bill Denbrough. Guilt, fear, desperation. There was something bleak and sad under the surface but there was no hint of a threat to him. “What do you want?” Eddie asked in a shaking voice.

Bill Denbrough’s eyes darted around Eddie. “Where’s R-R-Richie? Is he w-w-ith you? Where is h-he?”

“He’s safe.” Eddie promised even as his own heart stuttered and panicked. “He’s back at his apartment with his roommate, they’re both-”

Bill’s eyes widened in horror. “NO! No, you can’t t-t-t-t-fuck- trust Beverly! She’s n-n-not who you think she is!” 

Eddie started shaking his head. “No offence, but I’ve known Beverly for a year and I’ve only known you five minutes and you seem pretty unhinged. Why should I believe you when you say I can’t trust her, if I have no reason to trust you?”

“Have you ever tou-tou-touched her?” Bill demanded. “In the yuh-year you’ve known her, ha-have your body ev-ever even graze-grazed hers?” Eddie opened his mouth but froze. “No. It ha-hasn’t. I know it ha-hasn’t, be-because she knows if you ha-had ever tou-touched her, you’d kn-know the truth about her. And everything would have been ru-ruined.”

Eddie shook his head. “What’s she going to do to him?”

Bill frowned. “This wuh-wuh-wasn’t the plu-plan. I don’t- there’s only one place s-sh-she’d take him. But you have to tr-tr-trust me.”

It wasn’t in Eddie’s nature to be particularly trusting, and Bill wasn’t exactly somebody who was inspiring much benefit of the doubt. But his hands were still digging into Eddie’s arms and the only thing Eddie could sense was fear and deeper down- guilt that Eddie suspected he felt at all times. “Okay.” Eddie said, and as Bill let go of him, Eddie flicked on this ear piece’s speaker. 

Bill didn’t lead Eddie too far away, the pair of them travelling in silence and Eddie secretly wishing that Bill would simply tell him where the location was so Eddie could run there. If something happened to Richie while Eddie was wasting his time walking, he’d never forgive himself. Eventually, Bill led him over to the warehouse with lights that flashed through broken windows. He could make out figures walking around inside as he and Bill attempted to sneak into the warehouse without being noticed. 

There was a large glass sphere in the middle of the room, surrounded by what looked like burn white lightning that occasionally sparked brighter and caused the room to brighten as though large fluorescent lights flicked on overhead. Richie was seated a few feet away on the floor, bound against a large cement pillar that connected all the way up to the ceiling. He appeared unharmed, if not mildly annoyed. Eddie’s heart raced all the same Beverly and a man Eddie didn’t recognize both paced around the same space.

“Billy…” Beverly came to a full stand still. Bill froze at Eddie’s side. “There’s no need to sneak around. Come out, we have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”

Bill pressed a single finger against his lips, before turning and stepping out of the shadows. “You’re m-may-making a big m-m-mistake, Beverly. He’s n-n-n-not who he says he is.”

“I think you’re the one who’s not who he says he is.” Beverly said, turning around and facing Bill with her arms crossed. “Going behind our backs and telling Richie some crap about Professor Fly? Bringing your existence to his attention? You forced our hand, Billy. Mr Scratch isn’t going to be pleased.”

“He-He’s not guh-good, Bev!” Bill cried, hands clutched at his side. “What do you th-th-think he’s going to do with it wuh-wuh-when he gets it? He-He’s puh-playing you both!”

“He is not!” Beverly cried. “He’s going to do exactly what told us! Why did you have to go and fuck up the plan?”

“Excuse me!” Richie cried, voice dripping with sarcasm. “But if I’m going to be killed, can you guys at least do me the decency of letting me know what you’re talking about in my final moments.”

“You’re not going to die.” Beverly’s male friend said softly. “Nobody is going to get hurt.”

“You’re a fuh-fool if you buh-believe that, Ben!” Bill said, taking steps closer into the room. “Richie, this mach-machine has the ab-ability tr-train a super-superhero of their p-p-powers. Mr Scr-scratch hates heroes and he-”

“Like you’re any better!” Beverly shouted over Bill’s explanation. “You’ve been with him longer than either of us! Heroes killed your brother, you hate them just as much as the rest of us. Maybe ever more! They ruined all our lives!” Beverly turned towards Richie and took a few steps towards him. “I lost my parents when I was little. My father was an awful man, he chased my mother away when I was only six. He died when I was 11, and my aunt took me in. For two years, I experienced happiness for the first time. I loved my aunt and she loved me, took care of me for the first time since I could remember anything. She was a good person, and superheroes came and ripped my only true family apart. My aunt took into selling drugs after she adopted me, just to get ends to meet. She wasn’t proud of it, but she did what she had to do for me. She was smart, she never would have been caught if the superheroes minded their own business and let police handle things. A bunch of hyped up vigilanties took my aunt away from me, and I went into foster care. I was only 13. When I was 17, Mr Scratch found me. Told me there were others like me, who wanted to even the playing field.”

“By killing all the superheroes?” Richie asked, voice breaking. “Beverly, you have to admit that sounds fucking insane!” 

“It isn’t going to kill them.” Ben added. “The Deadlight doesn’t kill them, it only drains them of their supernatural abilities. Makes them human, normal. Just like everybody else.” 

Richie scoffed, in higher octaves than regular voices. “And then what happens to their powers? They just what? Evaporate?” 

“They’ll be trapped in the Deadlight.” Ben answered. “Forever. No more superheroes.”

“You’re an i-idiot.” Bill said coldly. “Sc-Scratch is obviously going to tuh-take the powers! Guh-get rid of the sue-supers and make himself invisible. Undefeatable.”

“You’re full of shit.” Beverly snapped. “He wouldn’t do that! We’re not evil, or some fucking supervillain cult! All we want in equality! We’d never use any of these powers against anybody!”

 “You two wouldn’t.” Bill said darkly. “I’ve wuh-wuh-wondered if he was really who he suh-said he was for- a luh-long time. But I suh-saw plans in his uh-office. About how to ruh-ruh-reverse the Deadlights. He’s guh-gonna take the puh-powers for him-himself.” 

“You’re a fucking liar!” Beverly screamed. “He wouldn’t do that! He-” 

A suddenly crashing brought Beverly’s screams to a halt. The doors busted open and Stan dropped in, with Mike leaping off his back. Beverly took a step backwards, eyes open wide and Ben moved over to stand almost directly in front of Richie. 

“Where’s Eddie?” Mike demanded, glancing around the room. Eddie cringed and slapped a hand over his forehead, as Beverly and Ben exchanged a shocked expression. Richie looked around wildly, with huge, terrified eyes.

Beverly crossed her arms and looked back to the same shadows that Bill had appeared from. “Okay, Eds. You can come out.”

“Don’t call me that.” Eddie said sharply as he stepped out as well.

“Eddie…” Richie said a quiet, almost broken voice. Eddie tried to give him a reassuring look, but he knew that Richie would be able to see his own fear underneath the attempt. 

Beverly sighed and rolled her eyes. “Alright, this isn’t exactly how I planned on tonight going, though I have to say I did expect to see you all here after I took Richie.”

“Let him go.” Eddie said furiously. “He doesn’t have powers, he isn’t part of this. Let him go.”

Beverly smiled sadly. “No can do, sorry. Richie is actually a key factor to this whole mission. Why do you think I’ve been so encouraging of his little blog? He’s a natural talent, and he’s been so helpful in our acquiring the true identities of these so-called heroes.”

Eddie glanced at Richie, who looked like he might be physically ill. All Eddie wanted to do was rush over and wrap Richie in his arms and keep him safe, but he couldn’t show that weakness in this moment.

“We found Richie through you, though, Eddie.” Beverly said, looking almost… amused. “We didn’t know who you were, but Richie was at most of your scenes and we figured that he knew you. It was Big Bill’s idea that one of befriend him, and figure out what he knows. Does it sting a little, knowing you gave your future with Richie to protect him but you lead us to him anyway?” 

It more than stung, it burned. Eddie’s entire body felt like it was vibrating as he stood there, staring down at women he’d thought of as a friend for more than a year. A woman who’d been living under the same roof as Richie, but wanting only to use him and potentially cause him harm. 

“Oh, Eddie, don’t look like that.” Beverly said, sounding almost genuinely upset. “I already said we aren't gonna hurt him. Nobody is going to get hurt, Bill is just- I don’t even know what he’s trying to do.”

“I’m trying to wa-warn you!” Bill cried. “You’re buh-bluh-blinded stupid but your own luh-loyalty that you cant’ see the uh-aub-obvious truth in fr-fruh-front of you!!”

“This was your cause!” Ben came quickly to Beverly’s defence. “You hate superheroes maybe more than anybody! How can you say this wasn’t what you wanted?”

Bill’s jaw clenched and his bottom lip trembled. “I… I wanted the h-her-heroes gone. But I duh-didn’t want anybody to guh-get their powers and uh-use them for them-themselves.”

“You’re the only person who's acting like that’s going to happen.” Ben snapped. Eddie thought this was his moment, the first time he’d been able to see a true path of entrance. Everybody’s eyes were torn between Bill and Ben, this could be Eddie’s chance to get over to Richie and free him. Eddie, maybe for the first time in his life, misjudged his position. 

Beverly’s hands collided hard with Eddie’s chest, the strength of her anger and resentment hitting him hard and shocking him to his core. He understood now more than ever why Beverly hadn’t made the mistake of touching Eddie in the year they’ve known one another. He may not have felt any true evil inside her, like he had felt in many a foe before, and there was still a lingering of a sad, scared little girl at her core but none of the vibes she was giving to him at this moment was reassuring. He would have kept her far away from Richie, he would have figured out enough about her, and this plan would never have worked.

Beverly taking Eddie by utter surprise had given her even more of an advantage. He knocked Eddie backwards and he stumbled backwards, crashing directly into the Deadlight. An electric charge drove through every nerve in his body and he was thrown across the empty warehouse by a bolt of white lightning. He heard Richie scream his name, but it was like a buzzing deep in the back of his mind. 

The harsh impact to the hard ground jarred Eddie back into himself, though a small bit dazed. He’d landed not far from where Richie was tied up. He shuffled backwards, groaning as the oddest sensation of discomfort shot through his body, but he didn’t stop until he could rest his head against Richie’s knee. 

“Holy shit, Eds!” Richie gasped, fighting against his bindings even as it shook Eddie’s resting head. “How the fuck are you alive right now? You just got yeeted across the room by lightning!” 

Eddie grumbled as he reached blindly behind their bodies to untie Richie’s bondings. It must have been a testament to how shocking the last few moments had been as nobody attempted to stop them. Richie winced and rubbed at his hands for a moment before reaching out and cupping Eddie’s face. Eddie smiled as his eyes flushed shut and he leaned into the touch. 

“Are you okay?” Richie said in a low voice. It wasn’t quite a whisper, Richie never actually whispered, but it was soft and worried and so full of love that Eddie felt he might cry. 

“Yeah.” Eddie said back. “I’m okay. Promise promise.” 

Richie’s face broke into a relieved grin and pressed a hard kiss to Eddie’s voice. Maybe it had been the actual bolt of lightning that had just gone through Eddie’s body, but it felt so charged that Eddie even let out a small gasp. Then it all hit him and his eyes blew open wide. “Richie, I can’t feel you.”

“What? You can’t feel anything?” Richie asked in a panic. 

“No!” Eddie cried, shifting to sit up properly and grabbing Richie’s hands to tangle them together. “I can’t feel your spirit, your mood. It’s like… before.”

Richie and Eddie turned in unison to look at the Deadlight. The others all turned to follow their lead. It seemed to be glowing brighter, the lightning revolving around it faster. Eddie’s powers now fueling it. 

“Holy shit.” Mike said at the same time Beverly gasped. “It works.”

“Of course it works,” a deep voice came as a man in a long black cloak appeared out of nowhere. “You doubted me, Beverly? Thank you, you’ve all played your roles perfectly.” Bill startled as the man- Mr Scratch- turned to him and grinned. “Oh yes, even you Dear Bill. I always knew that your moral compass would bring you to betray me. I accounted for the variable since the beginning of our time together.”

As Mr Scratch moved around the circle, Beverly stepped out of his way as though she didn’t even notice she was doing it. She collided with Bill’s torso, and the man reached out to grab at her hand. She didn’t pull away from the touch, pale and shaking as she watched Mr Scratch rounded on the group.

“Stanley.” Mr Scratch said in a slow voice, grin spreading across his face. Stan was standing still as a statue, fists tightened even as tears filled his eyes. “You know who I am already, I can see it all over your face. Well, I never doubted your intelligence. Go ahead and tell them, there’s no need to keep it a secret amongst old friends.”

“Robert Gray.” Stan said through a clenched jaw. A single tear slipped from his ear and trailed down his cheek. “Professor Fly.”

Richie gasped and squeezed Eddie’s hand tightener. Ben stumbled away and crashed into the cement pillar that Richie had just been tied up against. Mike looked at Stan in shock as Beverly slapped a hand over her mouth. Bill pushed past her, rage evident as his face. “YOU MOTHERFUCKER-”

Gray  barely even flicked his wrist and Bill soared off his feet and slammed up against a pillar, easily twenty feet off the ground. “Stupid boy.” Gray said fondly. “You will never be a match for me, and you’ll never outsmart me. I have been planning this moment for nearly a decade. Your brother’s death started a fire that will destroy the entire world of supers as we know it.” 

Bill struggled against the invisible hold Gray had against him, Richie turning his head away from the scene and pressing his face against Eddie’s neck. Eddie could feel how Richie’s hands were shaking where they were connected.

“None of you are giving me enough credit.” Gray said in a bored tone. “Do you have any idea how much work I had to put into this entire thing? I didn’t just have to create the Deadlights, I had to hand pick every single person who would help me. Bill was a no brainer, even as I knew I could never trust him fully. Beverly and Ben had to be vulnerable enough that they would never question me, and that Bill would never feel confident in telling them what he’d figured out.”

“You left the pl-pl-pla-”

“Yes.” Gray interrupted. “I left the plans out on purpose. Haven’t you figured that I don’t leave anything to chance, William? I accounted for every possible outcome. I had to choose Stan very carefully, choose an heir that would follow my orders but never question me when I told him I could not be contacted after I retire. That I would simply never return.” 

Stan turned away bitterly, trying to wipe at the tears on his as inconspicuously as he possibly could. 

“Even after that, I had to pull so many strings. Made sure that Richie and Stan would cross paths, had to let Beverly believe that Richie’s silly little blog was her idea to let them both feel important.” He shot Eddie a slimey grin. “Had to make sure that Richie got caught in that hostage situation just after they moved to NYC so Eddie wouldn’t consider their relationship worth Richie’s life and end things, so there would be space for Beverly to make her move on Richie. I will admit I was hoping that Richie would fall in love with her, but I underestimated his love for Eddie. A small loss, but nothing damaging to the overall scheme.”

Eddie’s body thrummed with rage. Richie had nightmares for a year after that fucking bank heist, and this man had done that to them on purprose for the simply purpose of breaking them up? Richie still had panic attacks and made Eddie or Bev go with him if he needed to do any sort of banking he couldn’t do online. 

“You said nobody was going to be hurt.” Beverly said, tears streaming down her face. “You said- you said you wanted to even the playing field! You’re a monster!”

“Nobody will be hurt.” Gray said. “You will all be free to go, once all the supers have touched the Deadlight and given up their powers. You’ll all be able to go on with your lives, and I will be able to go on with mine. Once your powers are gone, you’ll have no reason to oppose me and I will have no reason to bother you again.”

Beverly and Ben stood directly in front of the Deadlight, the pain on their faces from the flashing bursts of lightning behind them. Stan was staring directly at Gray, face a mask of rage even as tears fell from his eyes. Richie hadn’t moved from where he’d hidden himself against Eddie.

“You killed my brother on purpose.” Bill said from above them. He was still fighting against Gray’s grip. 

For the first time, Gray’s composure slipped. “No.” He said shortly. “That was a tragic accident. That moment changed me forever. It was when I realized that all of those with powers, even myself, were capable of death and destruction. That we were all inherently evil. The day, I knew that I could not allow another person to hold such powers over another being again. You know, Billy- your brother is the reason for all of this. He gave his life for the new world order-”

Bill let out an intelligible scream but Gray could so much as speak, Mike Hanlon had launched himself from the crowd and latched himself onto Gray’s back. Eddie watched with mouth gape as Gray struggled against the hold before clear blue ice began to spread across his body in a matter of seconds. As the ice completely covered Gray, Bill began to free fall. Stan didn’t waste a single moment before launching up into the sky and catching Bill mid-fall and lowering them both to the ground. He let go of Bill as they touched down and rushed over to Eddie and Richie, one hand finding its way into Richie’s hair and the other falling on top of their joined hands.

“That’s the trick to villains.” Mike said, not even sounding out of breath. “You gotta get ‘em while they’re monologuing.” 

Beverly, face hard, stepped forward and kicked at Gray’s frozen chest. He tittered and fell backwards, shattering into pieces as he hit the ground. “I think it’s safe to say he didn’t account for those variables.” 

They were quiet for a long moment, Stan helping Richie and Eddie to their feet and holding onto them as they all moved towards the shattered ice pieces in the middle of the room. Even in the chilly night, they could see the beginning signs of melting.

“We nn-n-need to d-d-estory this fucking thing.” Bill said suddenly, all of them turning towards the Deadlight. Hums of agreement moved through the room. 

“Wait.” Richie said, tightening his hold on Eddie’s waist. “You said that the powers could be taken out right? We need to get Eddie’s powers back!”

“Oh, yeah!” Bill said quickly. “I- I’ll s-s-see if I can find the instructions ag-again.”

Do you ever think of giving it up? Hanging up your suit and just being a normal person. Letting yourself really love Richie?

“Wait.” Eddie said, throwing out a hand. “Don’t. I don’t want them back.”

Every eye in the room turned to him, Stan smiling even as tears still hung in his eyes. “I never wanted them,” Eddie carried on. “I didn’t want to be some hero, saving people. I wanted to run track and fix cars and be with my love of my life.”

Richie turned slowly, eyes wide and painfully hopeful. “Eddie, don’t do this for shit for me. Please, okay, I-”

“I’m not doing it for you.” Eddie turned and slid his arms around Richie’s shoulders. “I’m doing it for me. I don’t need these bullshit powers. I can run perfectly fine with my own two normal feet, and I would love to be able to touch a person without knowing their moral count or pick up something in somebodys house without knowing if its fucking haunted or not.”

Richie chuckled wetly.

“And I love you so much.” Eddie continued. “And all I want is to be with you, it’s all I’ve ever wanted since the fucking sixth grade. I’m tired of loving each other and being forced apart and just hurting each other over and over. Especially over these stupid powers I was cursed with. I don’t want them back. I wanna be with you and I wanna be happy.”

Richie ducked down and pressed his lips against Eddie’s. This time Eddie knew the sparks that seemed to shoot through him was no lightning shot- just love. 

Spotted! FlyBoy, Captain Fly and Freezie teaming up with three civilians and your truly to foil a truly evil plan, saving not just our city but possibly our entire world. (Eyewitnesses may claim that Freezie did all the work, but that remains to be proven.) And in case you missed it, there was an epic conclusion to an equally epic love story. You know what they say, all’s well that ends great… or however the saying goes!

[eddieeatsass]

The Truth Is That I Think I've Had Enough

Summary: For the first time since Stan developed feelings for his best friend, Richie was finally single on Valentine’s Day, and Stan was fully planning on taking advantage of it. He invited Richie on a camping trip, just wanting one night where he could pretend, but Richie had different plans. Pairing: Stozier Rating: E Warnings: Eventual smut, explicit language

Read on AO3

When it came to the list of things Richie wanted to be doing on Valentine’s Day, Stan knew camping was not high up on the register. Richie was a city boy through and through, but he was also a loyal friend, so when Stan suggested they go camping for the weekend, Richie had gone along with it.

They were both single, after all, and it’s not like they didn’t hang out every other day of the year… so why should Valentine’s Day be any different?

Well, as far as Richie was concerned, it wasn’t. But Stan may have been indulging in his yearning just a little bit. For the first time since Stan developed feelings for his best friend, Richie was finally single on Valentine’s Day, and Stan was going to take advantage of it. So sue him if he wanted to pretend for one night that things were different.

But the truth still stood that Richie knew nothing of Stan’s pining, and nothing about camping, which made the trip a little tricky. They’d gone camping a few times when they’d been kids, tagging along with Stan’s parents who had done most of the handy work. All Richie and Stan had worried about was how toasted to make their marshmallows in pursuit of the perfect smore.

But now Richie was standing before him, gazing between the crumpled tent on the ground, and Stan’s awaiting expression, clear confusion boggling his mind.

“You gonna help or am I doing this all on my own?” Stan asked with light laughter.

“Uhhhhhhhhhh…” Richie drawled, unsure of how to proceed. “I mean yeah, of course, I just don’t quite... know... how.”

Richie picked up one of the objects sitting atop the tarp-like material. He jumped back when what started as a small bundle of sticks suddenly snapped out into a series of rods.

“Careful Rich! I didn’t plan on losing an eye today. We don’t have the medical equipment for that.” Stan warned, making sure to keep an ease to his tone so Richie knew he was teasing.

Richie nodded earnestly, taking more precaution as he began to snap the sticks into one long rod.

Stan knew what he was doing well enough to not need instructions, but Richie’s every move was a gamble between helping, or causing the whole tent to deflate. Stan finally took pity on him and assigned Richie the easy task of getting their blow up mattress out of the car, figuring it would be easier to finish the tent without Richie’s helping hands.

Their tent was generously sized, large enough for a twin person air mattress, and then a little extra room for their cooler and bags. Stan assured Richie that there were no bears in the area, so it was safe to sleep with their food alongside them, but Richie was still hesitant. He soothed himself by insisting that Stan sleep on the side closest to the cooler. If a bear attacked, it would be Stanley’s job to keep Richie safe. Stan’s heart fluttered a bit at the trust Richie instilled in him, no matter how hypothetical, or how unlikely he’d be to actually win a fight against a bear. Stan chose to keep both of those hypotheticals to himself and let Richie think him brave.

When Richie trekked back from the car, heavy box in one hand and air pump in the other, Stan was all done setting up the tent.

“God, why is this so heavy!?” Richie complained, plunking the box with the air mattress at their feet.

“It’s the price we pay for comfort.” Stan said, amused.

“At least we don’t have to blow this thing up with our mouths.” Richie conceded, giving the box a swift kick in retaliation for making his arms hurt.

“Psh, you don’t have enough air in your lungs.” Stan teased, taking the pump from Richie’s outstretched hand.

“But I have the blowjob lips to make up for it. One wrap of these puppies around that nozzle and it would blow itself up.” Richie made obnoxious kissing noises, too distracted by his obscenity to notice the way Stan’s cheeks heated up. His pulse pounded in his ears as thoughts of Richie’s lips wrapped around something else crept into his mind.

“Richie, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but blowjobs don’t involve any actual blowing.”

“And how would you know that, Stanley?”

“I’m a virgin, not an idiot.” Stan deadpanned.

Truth be told, Stan wasn’t as much of a virgin as his friends thought he was. He hadn’t done much, but because of his religion and strict parents, they’d all assumed Stanley hadn’t even kissed anyone yet. Low and behold it was at Jewish summer camp that he had experienced his first kiss, and his second, and so on. He’d even gotten to second base on the very last day of camp with good ol’ Patricia Blum.

But Stanley was a private man, and as respect for Patty, he hadn’t gone around spreading word of their affairs, even though he was secretly dying to tell Richie and see how far his jaw dropped when he found out Stan had gotten more action than he had. Trashmouth never shut up about sex, but they all knew he’d never had any. Stan wondered if Richie would ask Stan for tips, or ask him to demonstrate how he’d groped Patty down by the lake that day. He could show Richie a thing or two, teach him how to be soft and gentle with his fingers.

“Looks like the sun is already starting to go down.” Richie noted, peering off towards the cliff that overlooked the valley. They’d gotten prime real estate thanks to Stan’s knowledge of the woods. He knew exactly where to go where they wouldn’t be disturbed by other campers.

“We should start a fire.” Stan decided. He’d had enough training in the boy scouts to know it was always better to start your fire before the sun went down. It saved you a lot of annoyance, frozen fingertips, and a much harder time finding resources by flashlight.

“Rich, can you gather some twigs for me? About this big,” Stan picked one up that was by his foot. “and make sure they’re dry.” He handed the stick to Richie, who immediately brought it to his forehead in a fake salute.

“Aye aye captain!” Richie stiffened his limbs, swiveling around and doing his best army march impression as he wandered off in search of sticks.

While Richie was away, Stan got to work on setting up a makeshift pit for the fire to be contained in. He gathered as many rocks as he could find nearby and set them up in a neat little circle. Once Stan was satisfied with his work, he moved on to blowing up the air mattress inside their tent.

As he connected the pump to the mattress and began the repetitive motion that would surely leave his arms aching, he let his mind wander.

In hindsight, there was probably a much subtler way Stan could have found to spend Valentine’s Day with Richie. He’s sure if he’d offered up their usual Chinese food and ‘The Princess Bride’ (Richie’s all time favorite movie no matter what he says to the contrary), Richie would have pounced on the idea. So why had Stan felt the need to make it into a whole thing?

Well, he knew why, but he didn’t want to admit it. The knowledge was coated in shame and guilt, but it was still buzzing in the back of his head like a bug he couldn’t squish. Stan wanted this to be a date. Maybe he even liked pretending it was. He knew that wasn’t fair, but he didn’t have much control over it. If they’d done the same thing they always did, it wouldn’t have felt special.

Once the air mattress was completely inflated, and the pump tucked back into its box, Stan let himself fall forward on to the air filled PVC with an auditory oof.

Face down in the uncomfortable fabric, Stan felt like it was where he deserved to be. Lovesick, lying, dirty little-

“Yo, Stanny, I got your sticks!”

Stan steeled himself, tucking away his intrusive thoughts in favor of less intimate ones.

When Stan exited the tent, he wasn’t expecting to come face to face with a mountain of sticks. Standing before him, Richie was covered in dirt, twigs sticking out from his bush of hair, and arms full of branches towering high enough to shield half his face.

“Get in a fight with a tree?” Stan teased, hurrying forward so he could take half the stack from Richie’s shaking arms.

“Yeah, the tree won.” Richie answered with a matching tone, causing Stan’s heart to flutter traitorously.

“We didn’t need this many, you know.”

“I know, but I figured better safe than sorry, right? What if we suddenly need to build two fires? Or three? Or maybe even a fourth? What if we get stuck out here forever and need to provide heat to the village we create to survive. Our children deserve fires too, don’t they Stan? Don’t they?”

“We’re having children?” Stan questioned, beginning to place the sticks in the small fire pit he’d made.

“Yes.” Richie answered definitively as he plopped down beside Stan.

“I’m not sure that’s anatomically possible, but sure, I’ll play along.” Stan delighted.

“Okay, so we’re gonna have two kids. Twins.”

“Of course.” Stan nodded seriously, entertaining Richie’s wild imagination.

“One girl and one boy, or, you know, whatever gender they wanna be. We ain’t gonna be those kind of parents.”

That roused a laugh from Stan, knowing too well how strongly Richie’s opinions on parenting styles were. Richie had thought long and hard on what kind of parent he wanted to be in the future. You wouldn’t think Richie Tozier was a sap when it came to children, but tiny tots had him wrapped around their fingers. Richie had been dreaming about starting a family since they were kids, and Stan was no stranger to being ‘the wife’ in the equation. Richie had organized many imaginary weddings for them when they were young. They’d been married seven times in total, and had played house more times than Stan could count. It was almost enough to fuel Stan’s late night thoughts that Richie might actually reciprocate his feelings.

“We’ll name them Pizza and Macaroni.” Richie declared.

“Why in hell’s name would we do that?” Stan scoffed, grabbing the box of matches from his pocket. He ignited one and flicked it into the center of the pit.

“We’re creating a new society, Stan. There are no rules, no norms. Pizza and Macaroni could be the new standard for names. Imagine.”

“I don’t want to.”

Richie wrapped an arm around Stan’s shoulder and pulled him in close, leaving little room between their faces for Stan to breathe.

“Imagine.” Richie repeated with extra vigor.

“Fine.” Stan closed his eyes and paused for a moment. “I’m imagining it.”

“And? It’s beautiful, right?” Richie asked excitedly.

“Oh, oh god, Macaroni just stabbed Pizza with a fork. He’s bleeding everywhere! There’s no paramedics around, the town consists of just us and we never got any medical training. I’m holding our son, Richie. I’m holding him in my arms, oh god, his blood tastes like tomato sauce Richie-”

“Shut the fuck up!” Richie laughed, wrestling Stan to the ground and pinning him in place. “Take it back! Do not eat our son, Staniel!”

“But he tastes so good.” Stan giggled, his eyes still squeezed shut.

“Spit him out! Spit him out or we’re getting a divorce!”

Stan finally peeked one eye open, seeing Richie’s bright smile hovering over him and dark curls falling into his eyes.

“You’ll have to divorce me seven times then.” Stan challenged with a quirk to his eyebrow.

“Huh?” Richie’s face contorted as he tried to pinpoint Stan’s line of thought.

A piece of Stan’s heart detached from itself and fell into the pit of his stomach. Of course he didn’t remember, why would he?

“Nothing, never mind.” Stan laughed shallowly, shrugging Richie off and rolling back on to his feet. He stopped to check that the fire was successfully catching and was moderately pleased with the small flames he saw licking at the sticks. It should continue to grow if they left it.

“Are you hungry?” Stan asked over his shoulder, using it as an excuse to detach himself from what had just happened.

“Uh, yeah, I could go for some food.” Richie answered, mild confusion still evident in his voice.

“Cool, I brought hot dogs and beans-”

“I think I want smores.” Richie’s voice suddenly rang from beside Stan, causing him to jolt. Richie just laughed at the reaction, cutting in front of Stan and jogging towards their tent.

“You can’t have smores for dinner, Richie.” Stan chastised.

“You’re not my mom!”

Stan once again found himself fighting back a smile as Richie’s figure disappeared into the tent.

An hour later Stan found himself sitting on a log they’d rolled over from a nearby fallen tree. He was holding a stick over the fire, a marshmallow precariously hanging from the end of it. The sky had darkened to a navy blue, pin pricked with stars and constellations they had yet to discover.

Stan moved the marshmallow a little farther above the flames, keeping it from getting charred like Richie’s own marshmallow, which was engulfed in flames.

“I can hear you judging me.” Richie quipped, keeping his eyes on his marshmallow as he brought the flaming gelatin towards himself and began erratically blowing it out.

Stan kept his laughter locked behind his lips.

“It’s just… so unnecessary.” Stan responded.

“It’s not unnecessary! It’s fully necessary! This is the only way to get the perfect marshmallow!” Richie defended.

Stan looked over at the gooey black orb Richie was shoving between two graham crackers. He made a fake gagging noise while sticking out his tongue, finally letting his laughter free when Richie punched him playfully in the arm.

“The perfect marshmallow will never include scorch marks.”

“Boo, you’re no fun.” Richie took a stubborn bite of his smore, reaching out with his free hand and tapping Stan’s stick.

Stan watched in horror as his flawlessly roasted marshmallow disappeared into the flames of the fire, immediately disintegrating into nothing but sticky residue.

“Saboteur!” Stan yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Richie’s chocolate covered face.

“Moi!?” Richie gasped, throwing a hand to his chest dramatically. “I would never! But, I am not a heartless man. Please, as condolences for your loss, will you accept the other half of my smore, monsieur?”

Stan wanted to cringe at the terrible french accent Richie adorned, but his cuteness won over and Stan was just left smiling.

“I suppose I’ll eat your ash-cookie.”

“I’d rather you eat my ass, cookie.” Richie shot back without pause, winking slyly as he scooted closer to Stan on the log.

The air around Stan began thickening, heating him up from the inside out and causing his brain to melt just slightly. He watched in slow motion as Richie’s fingers brought the half eaten smore up to Stan’s lips. It should have been gross; Richie’s face and fingers had remnants of chocolate on them, the smore was falling apart and showcasing the awfully burnt marshmallow, and Stan had a strict ‘no-sharing-food’ policy because he didn’t like sharing germs. But regardless of all of those reasons to pull away, Stan found himself leaning in closer.

As soon as Richie’s fingers brushed Stan’s lips it was like something inside him took over. Stan raised his hands to hold Richie’s wrist, and then cocking his head so he had a better angle, he raked his tongue over Richie’s fingers as he gathered all the chocolate he could. It was a lewd gesture, one Stan would never imagine doing any other time, but something about the flickering campfire and the stillness of the wind made him feel like he wasn’t in this world anymore. He was in a world where he could make Richie want him.

“Uhm…” Richie’s shaky breath brought Stan hurtling back to reality fast enough to leave him dizzy.

Stan quickly let go of Richie’s arm, pulling away both physically and emotionally as he chewed his smore with vigor.

“You’re right.” Stan said through a mouthful of goo. “It’s not as bad as I thought it’d be.”

Richie just stared in awe as Stan tried to swallow past the sticky chocolate and marshmallow that stuck to his teeth in defiance.

Once the residue of his humiliation was all swallowed down, Stan stood abruptly, stretching his arms high above his head and producing a fake yawn.

“Jeez, I’m tired already.” Stan lied, hoping Richie would go along with it.

“Makes sense, we did have a long day of travelling.” Richie answered towards Stan’s turned back.

Stan let out a sigh of relief he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding. As he let his arms drop, so did his shoulders, and some of his tension along with it.

“I’m gonna go change into my pajamas.” Stan stated, leaving hurriedly before Richie could respond.

Once in the tent, and hidden behind its nylon walls, Stan was finally able to process what he’d just done. As he slowly changed into his pajamas he went over the course of events in his head, wincing as he recalled the way he’d indulged so passionately in such a platonic touch. It had felt so good in the moment, convincing himself he saw lust in Richie’s eyes, but the remorse he felt now settled over him like a blanket. He didn’t want to ruin his friendship with Richie, he couldn’t, he had to keep himself together.

Stan was startled out of his stupor as the zipper of the tent began to open. Stan quickly pulled his sleep shirt the rest of the way down, hiding away his body and his thoughts alike.

“You decent?” Richie asked teasingly before opening the zipper any wider.

“Yeah.” Stan responded, warmth already licking back up his chest.

Richie opened the tent the rest of the way and as he climbed in Stan could see that he’d put out the fire. He felt a weird swell of pride that Richie had remembered at least some of the camping basics Stan had taught him.

He’d averted his eyes as Richie changed, had curled in on himself as Richie leaned over him to reach their stuff, but now he was laying next to Richie’s warm body with no way to escape. Their proximity seared into him like a burn that he was far too aware of.

“You know, this was way more fun than my usual Valentine’s Day.” Richie offered into the silence, gazing up through the skylight that allowed them to see the stars.

Stan’s heart threatened to break out of his chest.

“The past few years I’ve usually spent it with some equally lonely one-night-stand. The sex was never good enough to make the next day worth it.” Richie admitted.

“Why not?” Stan piped in.

Richie thought for a moment, allowing the silence to lull them a little bit deeper into the comfort of night.

“I’d wake up feeling disappointed because the person next to me was never who I wanted it to be.”

Stan’s ears perked up. He angled his body towards Richie, cushioning his head in the crook of his bent elbow as he contemplated his friend’s profile. This was the first time Richie had ever alluded to having a crush.

“Who did you want it to be?” Stan asked shakily.

Richie turned his head towards Stan, locking eyes with him and seeming to search for something.

“What about you?” Richie asked, flipping the question around without answering it.

“What do you mean?”

“Who would you choose to wake up to every day?”

The question leered above their heads, threatening to fall and crush the thin veil of tension that had formed between them.

Stan gulped audibly, wanting nothing more than to shy away from Richie’s gaze, but he held strong.

“It doesn’t matter, they don’t want the same thing I do.”

“How can you be sure?” Richie murmured challengingly.

Stan’s mouth gaped open and closed like a fish out of water as he tried to wade through the chaos in his head.

“All I know is I’m glad I’m waking up next to you tomorrow.” Richie said, turning his head back to the sky.

Blood pounded in Stan’s ears as he tried to decode Richie’s words. Was he saying what he thought he was saying? Or was Stan just reading into things, spurred on by his unrequited feelings and juvenile hope?

“I’m glad too.” Stan breathed out.

Richie didn’t miss a beat before answering.

“Glad enough to kiss me?”

Stan’s entire body froze, something inside him shattering as the butterflies finally escaped his stomach, filling up their tent until Stan couldn’t see anything but Richie.

Slowly, as if scared one wrong move would make Richie run, Stan propped himself up on his elbow, peering down at Richie’s expectant face. He kept his pace steady as he slowly dipped down and braved a single kiss.

It wasn’t much of anything, just a chaste peck, a quick dip into the pool to test the water. But that one kiss was enough to erase all of Stan’s trepidation, leaving him as bare and open and vulnerable as Richie was. And it felt liberating.

The next few minutes passed by in a flurry. Richie surged up to reclaim Stan’s lips, no longer just a peck but now a full-blown kiss that left Stan’s legs shaking. Richie flipped them over so he was hovering above Stan, using his leverage to kiss up Stan’s neck, the line of his jaw, and back to his lips. It was quick to turn feral, their teeth clanking against each other as desperation took over. Stan had never felt so terrified and turned on at the same time, his hand trembling as it fisted into Richie’s lush curls and pulled him closer.

Stan’s breathing was labored, his swallows dry as he tried to steady his quickening pulse. Richie was everywhere, blanketing all of Stan’s senses. The smell of Richie’s laundry detergent swirled around them, melding with the lingerings of their campfire. His tongue tasted sweet like the chocolate they’d eaten, and the sound of Stan’s own meek noises were swallowed up by Richie’s own deep growls. If all that wasn’t already over-stimulation enough, Richie’s was consistently rutting himself against Stan, causing his arousal to become less and less subtle with every passing moment.

Stan broke away with a heaving breath, peering up at Richie through hooded eyes.

“I’m a virgin.” Stan blurted.

Richie stared deeply into Stan’s eyes, churning his gut with intensity until what felt like several minutes had passed. When Richie finally spoke again, the sound nearly startled Stan.

“Me too.”

Stan smiled, thankful that Richie felt safe enough to be honest with him. He reached a hand up and gently cupped Richie’s cheek, who immediately leaned into the touch.

“We don’t have to, uh, do anything.” Richie stuttered out, his eyes gently closing as he relaxed into Stan’s hold.

“I know. But if you wanted to…” Stan trailed off, leaving the offer open-ended.

Richie’s eyes popped back open, searching Stan’s face for further explanation.

“I brought stuff… uh… just in case. I guess I was kinda hopeful about tonight.” Stan admitted, averting eye contact. “Can I make a confession?” Richie whispered, his voice going a bit rough at the end. “I was kind of hopeful myself…”

“What do you mean, exactly?” Stan asked.

“I sort of fantasized about the way tonight might play out. I’ve had some… personal experience with receiving, so I made sure to clean myself in case my wildest dreams suddenly came to fruition. But I can also top! Uhm, if that’s your preference.” Richie rushed in addition.

“Personal experience? I thought you were a virgin?” Stan’s tone held a lick of jealousy, which he tried to cover up by clearing his throat.

In response Richie held up his hand and wiggled his fingers, hoping that Stan got the message.

“Fuck that’s so hot.” Stan groaned, letting his head fall back against his pillow. He felt open mouth kisses being peppered down the column of his neck and keened embarrassingly loud.

“I’ll be honest, the thought of splitting you open on my cock does sound appealing.” Stan murmured.

Richie’s head shot up, his eyes wide like a deer in headlights. Stan thought he’d said something wrong until Richie was suddenly shucking his clothes as quickly as possible, dizzying Stan with his pace.

“Slow down! Rich- Richie- there’s not that much room in the tent!” Stan laughed, trying (and failing) to get Richie to sit still. When he finally stopped moving, Richie was stripped down to his underwear.

It’s not like Stan and Richie had never seen each other in their underwear before, but apparently context did a lot, and in this context Stan’s whole body was thrumming at the sight.

“Fuck, we’re really doing this, huh?” Stan whispered, trailing his gaze down Richie’s lean torso.

“Only if you want to.” Richie assured.

Stan wanted to. He wanted it more than anything. But words were failing him as he took in this brand new Richie, bathed in moonlight from the tent’s open skylight, eyes wide and vulnerable with lust.

So instead of talking, Stan took action. He locked eyes with Richie as he began stripping off his own clothes, doing so much slower than Richie had. It was purposeful, a confirmation that he was all in. Their gaze didn’t break until Stan was bared to the same degree as Richie, his navy blue boxer briefs a stark contrast to Richie’s hot pink flamingo print.

Stan was the one to surge forward when their tension peaked, knocking Richie on to his back and giving himself room to straddle him. Richie’s hands were slow burning coils against Stan’s skin, lighting him up everywhere they touched. Stan rolled his hips down experimentally, feeling Richie’s responding twitch between the thin fabric that separated them.

“Off.” Stan demanded, pawing at the waist of Richie’s offending boxers.

Richie complied, but did one better. In the same fail swoop, Richie hooked his thumbs under both of their waistbands and pulled them down in conjunction.

The action resulted in a collective moan as their oversensitive cocks finally broke free and rubbed against each other.

It didn’t take long for Richie's hands to slither back up their thighs and in between them, grabbing them both in one hand. Stan hissed at the contact, clenching his teeth in an attempt to hold back the wave that already threatened to crash over.

“Fuck, Stanny. Who knew you were packing?”

The comment was so un-sexy it made Stan puddle into laughter, his head falling to Richie’s shoulder as the chest underneath him rumbled in tandem.

“Sorry, I don’t think I’m very good at this whole dirty talk thing.” Richie admitted between giggles.

“I don’t want dirty talk.” Stan murmured, placing a gentle kiss on Richie's temple. “I just want you.”

Richie nodded, evidently calmed by the notion that he didn’t have to perform, he just needed to be.

Richie experimented with another flick of his wrist, causing Stan to jerk away instinctively.

“Rich- if you keep doing that I’m not gonna last.” Stan admitted.

“Damn, I’m that good?”

“Shut up and teach me how to finger you.” Stan smirked as he wiped the smile right off Richie’s face.

“It might be better if I just… show you.” Richie shifted out from under Stan and got to his knees.

“You said you have lube…?” “Oh!” Stan exclaimed, bouncing up and reaching for his backpack. He immediately procured the lube and condoms he’d brought.

“Thanks babe.” Richie said casually, missing the way Stan spluttered at the pet name.

Richie reached for the lube as Stan tried to recover, but he didn’t have much time to do so as he watched Richie squeeze a little bit of lube on to his fingers and immediately reached behind himself.

Stan’s heart went mad, bouncing against its confines like it was a prison. He couldn’t help but stare at the way Richie’s face contorted into an all new type of expression, one Stan had never seen on anyone’s face before.

His eyes trailed down Richie’s torso, stopping to admire the way his thin body strained around muscle, how his pale chest flushed pink with arousal, and the delicious way his cock stood to attention just begging for praise. But it was the space between Richie’s spread thighs that mesmerized him, where he could see his hand moving behind him.

Without thought, Stan’s hand drifted to his own cock, acting on instinct as his mind went hazy. He held it gently, not stroking it so much as just giving it the pressure it craved. He watched as Richie’s index finger disappeared inside himself, making Richie moan lewdly.

Richie didn’t take long to get all three fingers inside himself, getting more and more into it as the minutes ticked on. Richie now had his eyes shut and his head thrown back as he fucked himself down on his digits. Stan almost didn’t want to stop him, wanted to see how long Richie could ride himself until he made himself cum, but even more than that, he wanted to feel Richie’s tight heat constricting around his shaft. “So are you gonna let me fuck you or what?” Stan’s voice seemed to jostle Richie out of whatever place his mind had gone to, causing him to look around the tent for the culprit of his ceased pleasure.

“Stanny, fuck, please-” Richie’s voice was completely hoarse as he crawled towards Stan eagerly. “Come here, let me take care of you.” Stan ushered Richie forward, pulling him flush against his chest and kissing him as passionately as possible.

“I want you to ride me.” Stan whispered against Richie’s lips.

“Yes, please.”

Stan laid back down, pulling Richie on top of him for the second time that night.

They kissed for a while longer, grinding into each other as Stan’s cock teased at Richie’s entrance. Keeping their lips locked, Stan reached for his condom, tearing it open expertly and bringing the latex down between their bodies.

Richie sat up on his knees, giving Stan room to roll the condom down over his dick, but as soon as it was situated snug against Stan’s pelvis, Richie wasted no time coating it in lube. He threw the bottle behind him, moving impatiently as he fumbled to line Stan’s cock up with his hole.

“Rich...” Stan reached for Richie’s free hand and entwined their fingers. The gesture gave Richie pause and he finally let out a sigh.

“Sorry, I’m just… I’ve wanted this for a long time.” Richie said quietly.

Stan’s heart swelled. He squeezed Richie’s hand in reassurance.

“Me too, but that doesn’t mean we have to rush. I’m not going to suddenly change my mind, we can take our time with this.”

Richie bowed his head, a shy smile flashing pearly teeth. Stan took the opportunity to slink his own hand around his cock, joining Richie’s. Together, they held it still as Richie slowly sank down until the head popped past his rim.

They both gasped as the new sensation washed over them.

Richie started cursing under his breath, sinking down a little bit lower every few seconds until he was fully seated in Stan’s lap.

Stan held an iron grip on Richie’s hips as he tried to ground himself, the feeling of Richie clenching around him almost too much to bare.

“Why haven’t we been doing this all these years.” Richie whined, pulling himself up until the head of Stan’s cock threatened to slip out, before pushing back down at a satisfyingly slow pace.

“Because we’re idiots.” Stan answered, raising his hips to meet Richie as he came down.

“H-huge idiots.” Richie agreed, nodding along with his thrusts.

“We have a lot of - hnnnng fuck - a lot of time to make up for.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Rich, I would literally stay in this moment for a lifetime if I could- ahhhh.”

“Your dick might shrivel up.” Richie noted, speeding up his rhythm upon hearing Stan’s moans.

“Worth it.” Stan swallowed thickly, getting lost in the sight of Richie’s cock bouncing against his stomach.

“I wanna suck you off.” Stan blurted, no longer able to filter his thoughts through the haze in his brain.

“Fuck, Stanny- you’re so perfect- nnnnggggg ohmygod-” Richie’s entire body tensed up as he reached his peak. Stan watched as his cock twitched, releasing strings of cum that shot impressively far. The feeling of Richie clenching around him paired with the sight of him completely unraveling tipped Stan over the edge along with him.

His orgasm felt like it lasted a lifetime, draining every ounce of energy out of him and leaving Stan completely boneless by the end. He vaguely processed Richie slipping off him, heard the sound of the tent unzip, and then felt the warmth of Richie’s body saddling back up beside him.

“You okay there?” Richie’s voice drifted through the tent, but it still felt light years away. Stan nodded meekly, his bearings just starting to come back.

Stan peered down at his spent cock, giving it a small nod in appreciation for its performance.

“Where’s the condom?” Stan asked drearily.

“I put it outside the tent.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Would you rather we sleep with it next to us?” Richie asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Mmmmm- shut up and spoon me.” Stan grumbled, turning to his side and pulling Richie’s arm over him.

“As you wish.” Richie whispered.

[nblesbianbenhanscom]

I Saw a Dream that Never Died

it/skeleton twins au crossover 

***

this fic was inspired by this post by lock and this post.

i have no regrets.

summary: Two years post Derry, two years post that awful bath, Stan, his boyfriend, and their friends go on a vaction.

cw: past suicide attempt, trauma anniversary

read it on ao3

***

Sometimes Stan gets lost inside himself. He doesn’t mean to, has no control over it. One minute he’s there, the next he’s not.

When he and his boyfriend, Milo, check into their room at the hotel in Florida, Stan is excited for the chance to relax. He’s not prepared for the complimentary give basket of goodies to have a bath bomb in it. Maybe he should have expected it considering the size of the tub, but he’s not.

When he jumps as Milo comes up to see what he’s looking at, Milo looks at him, really looks at him.

“Hey, you ok?” Milo asks.

Stan opens his mouth to respond, but nothing comes out.

Looking at the basket, Milo sees and understands.

Neither of them have taken a bath in years.

“Let me-” Milo takes the bath bomb out of the basket and puts it in the closet.

Even though it is late, there is a soft knock on the door connecting the suites. Before Milo opens it, Stan knows it’s Bev. She smiles when she sees Stan.

“I know it’s late, but it’s our first night here, and the rest of us are going to watch a movie. Do you want to join us?”

Milo opens his mouth to respond, but Stan interrupts him.

“Yeah, ok. Let me just change and we’ll be over.”

Milo turns to look at Stan. Bev’s eyes linger on Stan. She knows something is up, but she isn't sure what. She always seems to know when he needs her the most.

“We’ll be right over,” Stan says again. Bev nods and Milo closes the door softly.

“You’re not too tired?” Milo asks.

Licking his lips, Stan shakes his head, no. He doesn’t know how to explain the things he’s seen and felt, what they’d all seen and felt as kids and just a few years before when the others went back to Derry. Stan had not gone with them, but when he woke up in the hospital, they were all there, and they never left each other alone again.

When Eddie and Bill left their wives, the others had gone to help them pack. When they found out about Tom, the guys had offered to go and get her stuff, but she told them she already had everything she needed with them.

They all moved to Nyack in the spring. Milo and his sister, Maggie, had stumbled into their lives a few months later and never wandered out. Maggie, Ben, and Bev started dating pretty quickly, but things with Milo and Stan moved a little slower.

Stan smiles as he thinks about their first kiss. They’d been friends for several months, and they were sitting in Milo’s room on his fold out couch, just hanging out. Milo had been ranting about something, and looked so fucking cute that Stan just had to kiss him, so he did.

Milo had blinked at him. “What was that for?”

“Because I like you.”

Smiling, Milo shifted closer. “I like you, too, Stanny.” He leaned over and kissed Stan back.

That had been just over a year ago, and Stan still can’t believe how lucky he is to have found Milo.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Milo asks again, bringing Stan back to the present.

Stan looks down at the suitcase he’s just opened. Nodding, Stan swallows. “Yeah, I’m just feeling a little off, but I’ll be ok.”

“If you want to leave early, just let me know.”

Stan doesn’t know how to explain that being with the Losers would ground him in ways that Milo couldn’t without hurting his feelings, so he just presses a soft kiss into Milo’s temple.

“I love you so much,” Stan says.

“I love you, too.”

They change into pajamas and go to Bev’s suite. The others are there already, pillows and blankets strewn all around. Taking Milo’s hand, Stan sits next to Bev, and rests his head on her shoulder.

Bev covers his wrist with the palm of her hand in silent acknowledgement. Tomorrow would be two years to the day that Stan had taken his last bath. He wishes he could explain to Milo what had happened, but the Losers had promised they wouldn’t, and Stan isn’t about to break another promise to them.

When the movie starts, Stan curls around Milo and closes his eyes.

When he opens them again, Milo is whispering his name, trying to wake him up without disturbing the others who are all asleep. The TV is off and the room is dark.

“What’s up, Milo?”

“I wanna go to bed.”

“Mmm.” Yawning, Stan starts to move and realizes Bev is spooning him. “Can’t. Bev’s sleeping on me. It’s against the law to disturb her.”

Taking a deep breath, Milo strokes Stan’s hair. Stan falls back to sleep a few minutes later.

When he wakes up again, Richie is patting his ass like it’s a set of drums.

“Staniel, my love, wakey, wakey,” Richie sing-songs.

Taking a deep breath, Stan squeezes Milo a little and rolls onto his side.

“What do you want, Richie?”

“For you to wake up so we can go get breakfast and go to the park!” Richie says.

Rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands, Stan sits up and looks around trying to remember where they are. They are in Florida on a group vacation. Over the past several months, Richie had talked non-stop about Disney World.

“What time even is it?”

“Just after seven,” Milo says. He sits up and kisses Stan’s cheek. “I’m gonna go take a shower. Want to join me?”

“You know I would, but I’m pretty sure Eddie would get mad,” Richie says and winks at Stan.

“Stop hitting on my boyfriend,” Stan says and pushes Richie’s face away. “We’ll be back in a bit.”

Stan and Milo get up. They go back to their room and hop in the shower. Stan loves taking showers with Milo even when they don’t do anything but wash themselves and share soft kisses which is what this shower is. When they get out, they get dressed and go back to Bev’s suit where the others are waiting.

After breakfast, they spend the day running around Disney World and Stan doesn’t have much time to think. The others hover around him, at least two of them always within his sight.

If it weren’t for the bath bomb, Stan knows he would have probably been annoyed, but as it stands, just seeing them helps. And Milo stays within arms reach, and that also helps.

It is a good day.

When they get back to the hotel, Stan is too tired to do anything but fall into bed after tugging on some pajamas.

He wakes up in the middle of the night, sobbing. Milo is awake instantly. He turns on the light and looks at Stan who is laying there, desperately trying to catch his breath.

“Stan-” Milo starts but stops when Stan sits up and shoves himself into Milo’s arms. He can’t stop shaking even as Milo holds him close and rubs his back. “Hey, hey. You’re ok. Breathe. You’re ok.”

Stan just clings to him. All he can hear is Pennywise’s laughter. All he can see is that horrific woman’s face.

“It was a dream. You’re safe. You’re ok.”

Stan wants to tell him it’s more than a dream, but he just shoves his face into Milo’s neck and keeps crying. Milo just rubs his back, holding him close.

“You’re ok, you’re ok, you’re safe,” Milo whispers into his hair.

When Stan finally stops crying, he stays in Milo’s lap and clings tightly to him. He is embarrassed and exhausted. Milo takes a deep breath and kisses Stan’s forehead.

“I’m sorry,” Stan manages eventually.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Milo says. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Sighing, Stan licks his lips. “I- I can’t.” Eventually Stan pulls away. “I have to use the restroom.” Milo lets him up and Stan goes to the bathroom. He leaves the door open a crack as he pees. After washing his hands, Stan goes out and finds Milo leaning back on the headboard, eating some chocolate and watching something stupid on TV.

Stan crawls back in bed and lays on top of Milo, stretching out between his legs, and using his stomach as a pillow. Milo rubs his back and Stan tries to focus on this and not the terrifying woman that tried to eat his face in the sewer all those years ago.

Eventually he falls back asleep. When he wakes up again, the room is bright. Milo is still holding him and Stan wonders if he’d gone back to sleep.

“Hey, you awake?” Milo asks.

“Mmm…” Stan replies. “What time is it?”

“After ten.”

“How-” Stan clears his throat. “How did you get the others-”

“Bev texted me asking how we slept. When I told her, she said I should let you sleep and we could meet up with them later.”

Rubbing his face, Stan sits up. “You eat yet?”

Shaking his head, Milo says, “I thought it was against the law to get up when someone is sleeping on you.”

Smiling, Stan leans over and kisses him. “I love you so much.”

Milo cups his cheek, and rests his forehead against Stan’s. “I love you, too, baby.”

Taking a deep breath, Stan gets up. “We should order room service and go find the others.”

“Sounds good.”

They order coffee, pancakes, eggs, and fruit. They eat it on the small balcony, and have an easy morning. Once they are done, Stan calls Bev, and they pick a place to meet up. The day is so busy Stan almost forgets about his woes, but every once in a while, he catches one of his friends looking at him or Eddie weirdly.

It is weird to think about what almost happened, what the group could have lost.

Before he can get lost in thought, someone grabs his hand and they are off again.

When they get back to the hotel, they order pizza, and watch TV for a while in Bev’s suite. Stan can feel himself growing quiet again when Milo drags him back to their room.

“What can I do?” Milo asks once they are alone.

Stan shrugs. “Let's take a shower.”

They strip and go to the bathroom together. Milo turns on the water and when it’s warm enough, they get in. Stan lets Milo wash his hair, something Stan loves but doesn’t do often because his soft curls couldn’t handle getting washed too often. When they get out, Milo towels them both off, but they don’t bother with clothes, just fall into bed, naked.

They share slow, soft kisses, that turn into Stan grinding gently into Milo. They are both panting softly when Stan pulls away.

“Be right back.” He kisses Milo’s hair and gets up. He grabs the lube from his back and crawls back to Milo. “Is this ok?”

Milo nods and kisses him.

Stan takes his time working Milo open. They usually go faster, rougher, but Milo doesn’t complain. He just keens and pants softly. When Stan does finally sink in, Milo just sighs. Stan rocks slowly, and Milo whimpers.

Stan finds a good rhythm, his face shoved into Milo’s neck as the other man just clings to him, taking whatever Stan will give him.

“‘M close, Stan,” Milo huffs. “I need-” Stan cuts him off with another kiss. Without stopping, Stan begins stroking Milo and Milo’s head rolls back. “Yeah. Yeah…” He cums a few minutes later with a sharp cry, and Stan follows quickly. He doesn’t pull out right away, just lays there breathing in the sweet scent of Milo’s sweat.

They get up eventually, jump back in the shower to rinse off, and go back to bed. They curl up tightly together.

Stan wakes up early the next morning and sits on the balcony, watching the birds. He’s not surprised when Eddie and Richie come out and sit with him. Eddie wants to be near Stan today, and Richie’s not about to let Eddie out of his sight. Stan’s not sure where Milo is, but he knows he’s not far.

All of them end up eating room service in Stan and Milo’s room before they get going for the day.

The next few days go by, and Stan forgets all about the bath bomb until he’s pulling some blankets down from the closet. It lands with a soft thud on the carpet. Stan looks down at it as Bev comes over to help him.

“Hey, you ok?” She asks when she sees his face.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Stan gently kicks the bath bomb back into the closet and goes to his friends.

That night, after they've gone back to their rooms, Stan goes to the closet and picks up the bath bomb. When Milo sees him, he pales.

“Shit! Shit! Stan! I am so sorry!” He goes over to Stan, reaches for the ball, but Stan pulls away.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of any more,” Stan tells him. Milo lets out a soft breath. “Let’s go use this.”

Taking a deep breath, Milo lets it out quickly. Stan knows what he’s asking, can sense Milo’s feelings. He hadn’t had a bath either for several years for the same reason.

“Ok,” Milo says. “But you have to wash my hair and be the big spoon.”

“Fair enough,” Stan says. They leave the TV on and go into the bathroom. Stan sets the bath bomb down and turns on the water while Milo gets undressed. Once they are both naked, they climb in together. The tub is huge and they can comfortably sit shoulder to shoulder, but Stan pulls Milo close after dropping the bomb in.

They watch it bubble and fizz, and Stan lets his mind wander a bit. It has been such a good week, he doesn’t want it to end. He smiles and kisses Milo’s hair when he realizes it won’t.

Bev will always be there to check on him, Richie to annoy him, the others to include him, to give him space, and Milo to love him.

When the tub is full, Stan leans forward and turns off the water. Milo settles against his chest and listens to him breathe.

There are words Stan wants to say, but they get stuck in his throat when Milo picks up his hand and kisses his wrist.

“I’m glad we’re still here,” Milo says softly, his mouth still up against Stan’s wrist.

“I’m glad we’re still here, too,” Stan whispers back. He wraps his fingers around Milo’s wrist and rubs his thumb gently across it.

A bit later they get out and take a quick shower where Stan does wash Milo’s hair. Stan knows baths will always be hard for them, but it’s kind of nice to know it isn’t something that he has to be afraid of.

When they get out, they pull on some pajamas and go to the bed. Stan is almost asleep when Milo clears his throat.

“Hey, Stan? Are you still awake?”

“Barely. You ok?”

“Yeah,” Milo whispers. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Milo.”

They fall silent.

“Is that all?”

“I don’t know how to say what I want to say.”

“Just say it, we can muddle through it.”

Smiling, Milo kisses his chest.

“I know there are things you keep from me. Something happened to you and your friends when you were kids, something bad, and that’s why you have such vivid and horrific nightmares.” Stan clutches at him tightly, and Milo squeezes his hand. “It’s ok. I’m not asking you to tell me. You don’t have to tell me.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Stan tries.

“Really, it’s ok. Some things are too big to explain,” Milo says softly. Stan looks down at Milo in the dark and wonders if there are things Milo hasn’t told him. “I just want you to know, I’ll always be here. I don’t have to understand what broke you to help pick up the pieces.”

Letting out a weird noise, Stan pulls Milo up and kisses him. The relief that floods through Stan is almost frightening. He didn’t even know how much not being able to tell Milo about Derry had been weighing on him until Milo told him it would be ok if it never happened.

“I love you so much,” Stan whispers as he barely breaks the kiss.

“I love you, too.” Milo kisses him again.

They kiss for a long time and when they eventually break apart, Stan curls up behind Milo and they watch cartoons until they fall asleep.

For once, Stan gets decent sleep.

The rest of the trip goes by smoothly. Everyone has a good time and they have an uneventful trip home.

When Stan and Milo get back to their place, Milo immediately goes to the fish tank and begins talking to their fish even as Stan begins unpacking.

Once he is content the fish are fine, Milo puts on some music. He and Stan dance around as they unpack, kissing and touching when they want as much as they want. After they finish, they order some food and curl up on the couch content to be together in the moment.

[the-sarcastic-trashmouth]

The silence of Nothing

Summary: “Stanley, you have some visitors.” His mother’s soothing voice called out into the dark bedroom. “It’s all your friends.” She explains, opening the door wider to allow light into the room. “Go ahead in… he’s a little… under the weather.” She explains as the losers look into the room before freezing.

Stan was a very precise person when it came to things… so seeing his room in such chaos was… concerning, to say the least.  He liked order and that’s what made him the logical mind of their rag-tag bunch of misfits. 

“Stan?” Bev was the first one to speak. “What’s going on?” She asked, wanting to run her fingers through his greasy curls, but decided against it. 

Stan was staring at the wall in front of him with a blank expression. He wanted to cry… He felt like he should, but there was nothing. No tears or sobbing breathes of sorrow… just a giant hole in his chest that was growing bigger. His throat tightened, making it hard to breathe as his lungs expanded to the max before shakily falling back down.

 “St-St-Stan?” Bill asked.

Stan flinched at the feeling of the bed dipping towards the bottom. He knew that it was Bill but his brain was acting like a terrified animal… All he wanted to do was crawl under the bed so they couldn’t see him anymore.

Pairing: Richie Tozier x Stanley Uris

Warning: Contains Depressive Episodes which may be triggering to some readers. 

Stan felt numb to everything around him.

From a very young age, Stanley Uris was a boy who never spoke often and didn’t interact much with anyone. It concerned his parents because they were scared something may have been wrong with him. It made school hard for both his parents and Stanley because Stan refused to make friends or try and hide so they couldn’t take him to school.

That all changed in second grade. A young black-haired boy with bandages everywhere stumbled up to Stan and asked if he wanted to play. At first, Stan didn’t want anything to do with the boy, however, he was very persistent and soon followed Stan everywhere. It was rather odd for Stan because he went from hating the young boy named Richie… to missing him greatly when Richie had to miss school.

Stan found himself attached to Richie despite always getting annoyed by Richie’s dumb shenanigans. Richie wasn’t just Stan’s first friend… he was the only person that could get an emotion out of Stan. The young blonde-curly-haired boy craved the feelings that Richie had given him when the other would do literally anything.  

Soon the dynamic duo because a trio when William Denbrough weaseled his way into the boys’ space… Not that Stanley really minded, but there was a part of Stan that didn’t like Bill at first. He was scared that Bill was going to take Richie away, but still, Richie was always by Stan’s side. Bill would sit on Stan’s left while Richie was on his right whenever the trio was doing anything from doing school work to outside at recess.

Then came Edward Kaspbrak at the beginning of third grade. The tiny boy was nervous about everything and hated being touched by anyone. However, when he met Bill, Richie, and Stan… his attitude changed slightly. It’s not like he wasn’t still afraid of everything… it’s just… he liked having friends with the other boys.

Stan began to distance himself from the Losers club about three years after the Pennywise incident. Not only was he abandoned by his friends, but he almost was lunch for that dumb flute playing--Off-topic. So… yeah, Stan couldn’t bring himself to be around his friends right now because everyone was dealing with nightmares… He just didn’t want to talk about his.

Stan got into depressive episodes where he wouldn’t move for any reason. His mother merely contacted the school so she could get his homework and wait out the storm. Stanley wouldn’t speak to them anymore and after the entire shit-show of his Bar Mitzvah, his dad wasn’t too keen on speaking to his son either.

“Stanley, you have some visitors.” His mother’s soothing voice called out into the dark bedroom. “It’s all your friends.” She explains, opening the door wider to allow light into the room. “Go ahead in… he’s a little… under the weather.” She explains as the losers look into the room before freezing.

Stan was a very precise person when it came to things… so seeing his room in such chaos was… concerning, to say the least.  He liked order and that’s what made him the logical mind of their rag-tag bunch of misfits.

“Stan?” Bev was the first one to speak. “What’s going on?” She asked, wanting to run her fingers through his greasy curls, but decided against it.

Stan was staring at the wall in front of him with a blank expression. He wanted to cry… He felt like he should, but there was nothing. No tears or sobbing breathes of sorrow… just a giant hole in his chest that was growing bigger. His throat tightened, making it hard to breathe as his lungs expanded to the max before shakily falling back down.

“St-St-Stan?” Bill asked.

Stan flinched at the feeling of the bed dipping towards the bottom. He knew that it was Bill but his brain was acting like a terrified animal… All he wanted to do was crawl under the bed so they couldn’t see him anymore.

“I’m here!” Richie’s loud voice boomed. “Sorry, arguing with parents.” He panted before looking to the bed as he froze. “Shit… Stan?” He rushed up as Bill moved back.

“His mom said he’s been like this for almost a week,” Mike comments softly.

“What’s going on with him? Is he sick?” Eddie asked worriedly, glancing from Bev to Bill.

“Why didn’t you talk to me, Stanny? We promised each other to always talk when we got like this.” Richie whispered as Stan’s eyes fluttered before the dull eyes slowly flickered to Richie.

Stan’s mouth opened, but nothing came from his lips.

“Wait, you know what’s wrong with him?” Ben asked before everyone looked at Richie.

“I don’t… I never fully understood what was going on with Stan. But… But we both get these episodes.” Richie explains softly before crawling onto the bed as Stan watched him. “Alright Stan the man, I’m here now. Sorry, it took me so long to realize what was happening. I knew you were fucking distancing yourself on purpose.” He huffs softly, but there were tears in his eyes.

“How do we help him?” Bev asked softly when Stan moved sluggishly before wrapping his arms around Richie and burying his face into Richie’s stomach to take in the scent of… Richie.

What the other Losers don’t know is… Stan and Richie have been dating since they were fifteen so of course, Richie’s scent would be the thing to calm him down.

“Just being here will help. We can’t physically do anything for him. So just… be here. Your presences let him know that we’re here for him.” Richie smiles softly down at Stan who hasn’t moved.

“Yuh-Yuh-You.. Have you fuh-fuh-faced this before with him?” Bill asked quietly.

“Yeah, but he’s taken care of me too. It’s just how we work. Stan calls me a pompous ass every so often and I annoy him with all my amazing jokes! But we both would drop anything when either one gets like this.” He explains. “Also this is the only time Stan likes physical contact from me so.” He shrugs with a gentle grin.

“Rich.” Stan’s voice was hoarse considering it’s been days since he spoke. He winced at the sharp stabbing pain as he looked up to the other boy.

“You need something? Water? Something to eat?” Richie immediately went into the mode he always did whenever Stan got like this.

Stan shook his head before slumping in relief at the feeling of hot, salted tears trickling down his flushed cheeks. Suddenly a sob tears from his throat as the other losers share heartbroken looks before turning back to see Stan bury his face deeper into Richie’s stomach.

“Ssh, it’s okay. You’re so fucking good, Stan. This world is a better place since you came into it… I’m a better person since you came into my life.” He explains while combing his hands through Stan’s hair. “And when you are feeling better we’re gonna go to the Quarry and I’ll let you push me in.” He grins, making the others snort gently.

Stan’s body was shaking violently as heartbreaking sobs escaped his cracked lips. He just wanted to be with Richie right now because this is the safest he’s felt in days and he didn’t want that feeling to go away.

“Can someone get me a wet washcloth?” Richie asked softly, glancing up from Stan as Bev nods before taking Ben with her. “Is there anything I can do?” Eddie asked quietly to Richie.

“Maybe ask for a glass of water?” Richie offers as Bill and Mike immediately offered to go get it. “Come here, Eds.” He motioned him over when Eddie shifted nervously.

“Would--Is he gonna be okay with that?” Eddie frowns softly.

“When he’s like this… Stan likes to feel safe. So this is how I make him feel safe. Maybe talk to him? You don’t have to touch him… But just be here.” Richie comments as Eddie finally sits on the edge of the bed.

“Hey Stan, I hope you feel better soon. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry you feel this way. I hope you know that all of us are here for you.” Eddie assured, feeling his own tears form. “I know you don’t like talking about it… and I just… I wish you would. I’m so scared for you and it scares me when you stop coming around. We love you so much, Stan… Please remember that.” He begged when Stan turned to face Eddie with a broken expression.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” He croaked out when Eddie shook his head.

“No, no… Don’t be sorry. Don’t ever be sorry for feeling this way. Please… All I ask is that you talk to us. All of us. You’re our best friend, Stan. We aren’t the Losers club without you.” Eddie whispered as Richie grins gently.

“He’s right you know,” Richie whispered before Stan glanced back to him.

Bev and the others soon returned with the requested items as Richie stood up off the bed, causing Eddie to move so the raven-haired boy could get Stan up. Stan was slowly as he sat up, wincing at the sharp pains in his muscles before Richie helped remove his shirt.

“Let’s get you into some new clothes, huh? You think you can wash yourself up?” Richie asked, but the clouded look in Stan’s eyes told him no. “Okay, that’s okay. Here.” He thanked Bev for the small bucket and cloth before he started to scrub gently at Stan’s face.

“Is there anything we can help with?” Bev asked, leaning against the wall at the foot of Stan’s bed.

“Some new clothes, please?” Richie smiled gently when Stan’s eyes fluttered at the feeling of the cloth running down his face. “How are you feeling?” He asked quietly. He knew that these episodes always made Stan sensitive to loud noises.

“Tired.” Stan supplies as Richie nods.

“That’s okay. We can get you to sleep. First, can you drink something for me?” He took the glass from Mike before offering it out to Stan who slowly took sips from the water. “That’s it. Great, thank you.” He smiles before placing a kiss on Stan’s forehead.

“Here.” Ben offered out some new clothing as Richie glanced at the others.

“Might wanna go wait outside. He needs to completely strip down.” He explains when they all nod before going out of the room.

Eddie lingered for a moment longer, squeezing Stan’s hand before he too joined the others outside the room. It was hard to see Stan this way, but honestly, Richie knew exactly what he was doing… It was strange to see Richie so gentle and quiet in these few moments.

“There you go. All done.” Richie smiles at the sight of a redressed Stan before he threw the dirty clothing into a hamper.

“Richie… Thank you. I’m sorry you--” He was cut off by Richie’s hand on his mouth.

“None of that bullshit, Stan the man. We just had a little bump in the road. Nothing that a little tender love can’t fix.” He flashed a grin before he started to clean up the rest of Stan’s room.

“One of the… One of the scars busted open the other day. And there was so… so much blood.” Stan whispered when Richie looked up to him in shock.

“Jesus, Stan… I’m… I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you come to me?” Richie asked before Stan covered his face.

“You had finally told us that your parents were neglecting you… I… I didn’t want to burden you.” He whispered.

“Dude shut the fuck up! Oh… I’ve never been on the other side of that. Anyway--” He cuts himself off, waving his hands frantically. “You would never burden me, Stan. Never, do you hear me? I don’t give a fuck if I’m on my death bed and you just wanna tell me you stubbed your toe. Fucking tell me! Okay, I’m… I’m your best friend. Lean on me.” He bent down so he could look up at Stan.

“Okay, I… Thank you.” He whispered before glancing down at his hands. He began to pinch at the skin between his thumb and index finger. “I had a panic attack… And… And it was awful. I couldn’t function. I fell into a hole that I couldn’t get out of. It was the worst. I wanted to scream but it was like someone had my throat.” He explains before glancing up to Richie who was watching him.

“Well, looks like they don’t have a hold of your voice anymore.” He whispered before placing his hands on top of Stan’s. “You are a tough fucking cookie. Do you hear me, Staniel? The fucking toughest.” He grins warmly.

“Stay with me.” Stan tugs at him.

“You want me to let the others in first?” He asked before getting cut off by Stan’s lips against his own as he froze. “Uh… That’s a no.” He whispered before kissing him again as Stan chuckled gently.

“Yeah, you probably should. They’re worried about me.” Stan comments quietly.

“They’re worried because they care.” Richie resorts before getting up and opening the door. “Alright losers, get in here and get ready for a nap!” He glances back at Stan who rolled his eyes before laying down again.

The others trailed their way in as Richie flopped down onto Stan’s bed with Stan immediately curled up against him. Bev quirks an eyebrow before noticing that look that the two shared as she grins. Soon all the losers grabbed blankets and pillows from the closet while Richie, Stan, and Eddie shared his bed.

It was a tight squeeze with Stan smooshed in the middle… but he kind of enjoyed that.

Stan’s eyes slowly fluttered open before he noticed Richie already asleep with Stan’s head on his chest. He could feel Eddie behind him with their backs together and for the first time in a long time… he felt at peace with himself… He felt… something.

[thestarsaroundyourscars]

78! 78! 78! For the fluff prompts part two?? I think you could make a reddie (or stoizer?!? your pick) fic outta that and it would be WONDERFUL

Hi! I already wrote a reddie prompt for this one, which you can read here, so I went with stozier this time! I hope you enjoy. 

78. I need you. Please stay

Read on AO3

Richie took one last drag of his cigarette before he was dragging Bev back to the party. They were walking up the front steps when the door to the house swung open and Stan stepped out. 

Richie's face immediately lit up. "Stanny! I was just coming to find you, did you miss me too much?" 

The moment the words left his mouth, Richie noticed something was wrong. Stan had taken off his Michael Myers mask, his last minute costume for the Halloween party they were in and now, Richie could see he was upset⎯ his face was pinched, his jaw clenched and his lips were pressed into a tight line. 

Before Richie could ask what was wrong, Stan was walking past him and Bev without even glancing at them.

Richie watched him walk away, feeling confused⎯ until Bev hit him in the back of his head and told him to, "Go after him, you idiot!"

Richie did, catching up with Stan just as he stepped on the sidewalk. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm going home, Richie." Stan said, his voice clipped. 

Yeah, definitely upset. 

"Stan the man, too cool for high school parties?" Richie joked, trying to lighten the mood but Stan only glared at him. His tone switched to concerned, "Hey, are you okay?"

Stan sighed, shoulders slumping. "Just go back to the party, Richie. I know you want to."

Richie shook his head. "Nope, you're wrong. Fuck that party, I'd rather walk my boyfriend home." He said, watching Stan's mouth twitch into the tiniest smile, like it did whenever Richie referred to him as his boyfriend. 

"You don't have to that." 

"Are you kidding?" Richie said, reaching tentatively for Stan's hand. He relaxed when, instead of shoving him away, Stan let him lace their fingers together. "It's Halloween, I can't leave you out here alone with all the crazy psychos!"

Stan snorted, hitting Richie on the chest with his plastic mask. "You're the only psycho out here."

"Excuse me, but out of the two of us, who is dressed as an actual psycho?" Richie quirked an eyebrow, flashing Stan a teasing smile. 

"Fine, but if we're being honest, Beetlejuice is a little bit of a psycho himself." 

Richie let out a laugh.

Unlike Stan, he did plan his costume ahead. It was Bev's idea⎯ she knew how much Richie loved the movie, the costume wasn't that complicated and hey, you already have that big forehead, she told him with a wink. She’d helped Richie find the clothes and helped with his hair, painting it green and styling it so it stood in all different directions and applied baby powder to his face to make it look paler than usual. It would probably be a bitch to wash off, but he liked how it turned out. 

"A bio-exorcist, babe. Have some respect." He winked and Stan rolled his eyes fondly.

They walked hand in hand, taking advantage of the nearly empty street and the darkness around them. Stan seemed more relaxed, but there was still a slight crease between his eyebrows. Richie wanted to know the reason behind that frown. Stan had been fine when he and Bev left the house for their smoke break. Sure, he was slightly annoyed that he was being forced to hang at that stupid party but the seven of them were actually having a good time together⎯ Stan hadn't even complained when Richie planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek before going outside. 

Now Richie was afraid to ask what happened. He knew if he said the wrong thing, his boyfriend would probably shut him out and that was the last thing he wanted, so he bit down on his tongue to keep himself from blurting out the question. 

"You're too quiet." Stan said after they had been walking for a while. 

"Yeah well, I just thought you’d appreciate some silence." 

Stan let out a snort. "I know you're just trying not to ask me what happened."

Richie scrunched up his face, Stan knew him too well. "I was trying not to be pushy." He said. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me."

"It's not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s just stupid." Stan started, staring straight ahead, face pulled into a frown. "When you left, a few girls dragged me and Bill to the basement to play some stupid game. When we made it down there, some asshole wearing a⎯ a clown mask jumped at us." Stan’s entire body was tense, fingers twitching in Richie’s grip. He ran his thumb over his knuckles, soothingly. "It wasn't even⎯ it didn't even look like, you know, like that but I just panicked. I felt like I was back in the sewers, alone and I⎯" His voice cracked. "I just needed to get out."

"Shit, Stan I'm sorry." Richie said softly when he finished. 

"Don't be ridiculous. It's not your fault, Richie."

He shrugged. "Maybe if I hadn't left, no one would have dragged you to the basement."

"You're not my babysitter, you're allowed to leave my side." 

"I was the one who dragged you to that party in the first place." Richie said, close to pouting.

"Yeah and I was having fun, with you and the losers. Shit just happens, I guess. Stupid shit."

Richie squeezed his hand. "It's not stupid. It’s the trauma, babe."

Stan huffed, shaking his head. "It's been five years."

"So?"

"So it shouldn't affect me like that anymore. And why is it just me? Bill was also in that basement and he didn't need to run out of there!" Stan said, voice rising in anger. They had stopped walking, Stan had let go of Richie's hand and now he was picking at the faint scars on his face, probably not even realizing he was doing it. "I just feel so stupid, Richie! That I'm not over it and all of you are."

Richie stared at him, bewildered. "You think I'm over it?" He asked in disbelief, Stan gave a noncommittal shrug. "Stan, dude, babe. I'm not fucking over it. I still have fucking nightmares about that summer. I still can't look at the Paul Bunyan statue without wanting to throw up. The other day, I saw a balloon and I thought I was going to cry." He shook his head, reaching for Stan's hand and forcing him to meet his eyes. "None of us are over it. We fought a fucking demon clown!" 

He was probably talking louder than he should considering they were in the middle of the street, but he hoped that if someone heard them they would write it off as Halloween nonsense. 

"I don't think we'll ever be completely over it,” Richie continued. “And that's fine. I think, I don't know. But you're not stupid Stan, just like I'm not stupid." He paused, considering it. "For that reason, at least."

Stan stared at him, Richie could tell the anger was slowly ebbing away, his expression softening. "I don't know Richie, crying over a balloon? That's a little stupid." He teased, lips twitching into a half smile.

Richie scoffed, glaring at him with no real heat, especially when Stan leaned in, closing the distance between them to give Richie a short kiss. “Thank you, Rich." 

He used his thumb to clean a bit of white powder that was left on Stan’s mouth after he pulled away. “All in a day’s work, Stan my man, all in a day’s work." Richie said with a wink, grabbing his hand again. "Come on, let's get you home."

When they arrived at the Uris residence all the lights were off, Stan's parents already asleep. 

Richie walked him to the door, giving his boyfriend a kiss goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Actually,” Stan started, grabbing his wrist. “I thought you could stay. Those nightmares you mentioned, I have them too, but never when you sleep here.”

“Aww Stan, are you saying that you need me to sleep well?” Richie flashed him a lopsided smile that quickly shifted into a slight pout when Stan pinched his arm and he feigned actual pain. 

“It’s not that I need you Richard,” Stan rolled his eyes, a slight blush on his cheeks. “I just want you to stay, so please stay.” 

Richie’s grin softened. “Yeah, of course babe.” 

Stan smiled, reaching up to brush back some of Richie’s hair. He scrunched up his face when he couldn't weave his fingers through it due to all the gel and paint that Bev used. “I don’t like your hair when it’s like this.”

"You know, we could take a shower before bed," Richie said, wiggling his eyebrows. "You can wash all this junk from my hair.” 

Stan sighed, shaking his head but when he grabbed Richie’s hand to drag him inside, he could see a playful smile on his boyfriend’s face.

Tag list: @daddyphantomtbh @yes-dillman-yes @richietoaster @beepbeeprichiellc @its-stranger-than-you-think @lemonaayyee @losers-gotta-stick-together @tinyarmedtrex @richiefuckfacetozier @sam-i-am2468 @richardtoz @s-s-georgie @reddie-for-anything @eddiefuckinkaspbrak @constantreaderfool @stanleuyris @jesuschristsupruvestar @mirandonsky @reddie4diaster @alargedepresso @purplepoisonedgem @pan-ini @reddie-to-cry @reddieforlove @trashmouthnick @multi-fandom-wby @wheezyeds @nancynwheeler @reddieslashgeneralhorror @madi-personal @reddie-tozibrak @lover-mouth @atownofeggs @that-weird-girls-blog @appojoos @castielwinovak @a-gay-treee @twoidiotsinl0ve @fcngirltrxsh @spirited-marvel (if you want to be added, let me know!)

[yeniayofnymeria]

A Song of Ice and Fire "Champions" (Theory)

Hello everone, i want to share my own theory about long night and it's champions. It’s about Arya and Dany.

First, I'm sorry for my poor English, i helped from google translate, hope you can understand what i mean.

Introduction

The legend of the Long Night and AA has been discussed many times, but I want to approach it from a different topic. As you know, there are two fundamental forces in the universe of asoiaf, and we are reading the war of these two forces; ice and fire.

Power representing the ice side; It's called the Great Other. He is the god of death, of terror, of night. The Spirit of Ice.

Power representing the fire side; It's called R'hllor. He is the god of light, of life, of fire.

"...The war has been waged since time began, and before it is done, all men must choose where they will stand. On one side is R'hllor, the Lord of Light, the Heart of Fire, the God of Flame and Shadow. Against him stands the Great Other whose name may not be spoken, the Lord of Darkness, the Soul of Ice, the God of Night and Terror. Ours is not a choice between Baratheon and Lannister, between Greyjoy and Stark. It is death we choose, or life. Darkness, or light." Melisandre

And this...

"The way the world is made. The truth is all around you, plain to behold. The night is dark and full of terrors, the day bright and beautiful and full of hope. One is black, the other white. There is ice and there is fire. Hate and love. Bitter and sweet. Male and female. Pain and pleasure. Winter and summer. Evil and good." She took a step toward him. "Death and life. Everywhere, opposites. Everywhere, the war." Melisandre 

Of cource from Melisandre's perspective "Great Other... dead... is pure evil" But if we could ask it to ice side, they will said same thing for fire side, yeah? So do not mind the words of good and evil. Just focus the sides... I always say "the war between ice and fire" is like same as Stark and Lannister war. We saw both sides did bad things(Arya POVs), and both sides had good reason for battle. Who can say Starks are pure good but Lannisters are pure evil? I'm a Stark fan and i cannot say this.

So let's return our battle. Ice side wants eternal winter and fire side wants eternal summer. Well, i can say both of this are not good something, this is not a balance. Imagine living in the heat of desert or cold waether of north pole. Just one season, nothing more. Wildings live in north and they doesn't want to live there because life is so hard in there.

Prophecies

And I know, AA sound like a hero but who knows this? Really, we should trust the prophecises? I do not think so.

GRRM: " Prophecies are, you know, a double edge sword. You have to handle them very carefully; I mean, they can add depth and interest to a book, but you don’t want to be too literal or too easy... "

and Marwyn

"Born amidst salt and smoke, beneath a bleeding star. I know the prophecy." Marwyn turned his head and spat a gob of red phlegm onto the floor. "Not that I would trust it. Gorghan of Old Ghis once wrote that a prophecy is like a treacherous woman. She takes your member in her mouth, and you moan with the pleasure of it and think, how sweet, how fine, how good this is . . . and then her teeth snap shut and your moans turn to screams. That is the nature of prophecy, said Gorghan. Prophecy will bite your prick off every time." He chewed a bit. "Still . . ."

and Tyrion

"Prophecy is like a half-trained mule," he complained to Jorah Mormont. "It looks as though it might be useful, but the moment you trust in it, it kicks you in the head."

So guys, do not trust prophecy so much. :)

It doesn't mean AA is evil, forget evil word or good, ok? Both sides want to win this war this why they need a campion, and this champions are hero for their sides, that's all. Yeah but not for everyone, special not for common folk. You know, always common folk gets hurt in somebody's war.

Also AA prophecy comes from Asshai, a hero, a savior... That place so close to Yi Ti, Dawn Empire. Who caused the Long Night? Blood Stone Emperor. The Long Night was a punishmed for them(Dawn people and their emperor)which it was sent by Night's Lion. Some kind of revenge(ice is revenge). Who was Night's Lion? God of Night, God of Dead! So this why AA is against to ice, Great Other(Night's Lion).

But at Westeros, there is no AA or savior, a hero against Great Other... Yeah, there is a Last Hero, true but his story and mission are little different from aa's story.

According to Asshai, AA finished the Long Night but according to North, Last Hero found Childiren of Forest and get put together them and Night's Watch and First Men and fought against Others and won somehow.

The Champions

Actually, I want to focus on this word. R’hllor's warrior is also known as the “champion"

In the ASOIAF universe, in battles, sometimes there are champions both sides. They fight each other for win, In this way, sometimes armies do not have to fight... You need a champion if you want a trial by combat at Westeros. Of course, the other side has a champion too. Of your champion wins, you survive.

In summary, if there is a champion, it has to be valid for both sides.

Champions of Ice and Fire

Is there champion of ice? Well at least, we know Melisandre think so.

But beyond the Wall, the enemy grows stronger, and should he win the dawn will never come again. She wondered if it had been his face that she had seen, staring out at her from the flames. No. Surely not. His visage would be more frightening than that, cold and black and too terrible for any man to gaze upon and live. The wooden man she had glimpsed, though, and the boy with the wolf's face … they were his servants, surely … his champions, as Stannis was hers.

We might think that the ice side will have a champion. Like fire side.

Well we assume fire side's champion is Dany. Yeah, some people thinks Jon is AA but AA must be full fire but he is ice and fire by his parents. Dany suits more than him and looks she fulfilled the prophecy.

Also i belive Jon is a balance; he is ice and fire; dark and light; dead and life. First Dawn Emperor was son of Maiden of Light(fire) and Night's Lion(ice) and in his reign there was wealth and peace. Why? Because he was half ice, half fire; half light, half night; half dead, hald life... He was balance. If you realize Jon also dead now and when he comes back he will literally be dead and life, a ghost, neither literally dead nor alive, but both. There is a darkness inside him (especially after resurrection) and also there is light. I belive you got it. :)

So ok, Jon is balance... Dany is AA... then who is Ice's champion?

R'hllor's champion was full fire. Great Other's champion must be full ice? A Stark. A First Men, Daughter of North. Someone who smells death. Someone serving the god of death. Arya Stark.

She says the names of the people she wants to die in her prayer. Death accepts it. Why is that? Because she is messenger of dead, champion of Great Other.

Women are in a strong position in this book. Usually we are used to seeing men in the foreground in everything. That's why we're waiting for the hero or anything like that to turn out to be men. But not in this book. 5000 years ago, The Others's leader(or something like that) was a women; Night's Queen. We do not know what was it but she had a plan and used for this a NW member, Lord Commander, probably a Stark. Night's King.

If AA ise Dany, then it makes sense that Great Other's champion is a woman. It would be fun to watch two women's war. Dragon Queen and Wolf Queen, ice and fire. Also Arya's skills for what? Just for kill her list? No! He is one of the big five of GRRM. Like the other four, she should have a big impact on this war.

“If a twelve-year old has to conquer the world, then so be it.”

I believe FM is connected Great Other. God of Dead is Great Other. And Arya with them. Jaqen was around Arya and lead her to FM. Why? Too young to be FM. The Kind Man said her training would take years. But she's only been there for a few months, but she took a face. They taught her. They know exactly what she wants, but they keep her with them. They're giving her an accelerated course.

Ghost of High Heart saw what was inside her and her future

The dwarf woman studied her with dim red eyes. "I see you," she whispered. "I see you, wolf child. Blood child. I thought it was the lord who smelled of death . . ." She began to sob, her little body shaking. "You are cruel to come to my hill, cruel. I gorged on grief at Summerhall, I need none of yours. Begone from here, dark heart. Begone!"

Arya hears some whisper. Sounds like someone's talking to him.

Calm as still water, a small voice whispered in her ear. Arya was so startled she almost dropped her bundle. She looked around wildly, but there was no one in the stable but her, and the horses, and the dead men. Quiet as a shadow, she heard. Was it her own voice, or Syrio's? She could not tell, yet somehow it calmed her fears.

And this.

"But there is no pack," she whispered to the weirwood. Bran and Rickon were dead, the Lannisters had Sansa, Jon had gone to the Wall. "I'm not even me now, I'm Nan." "You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you." “Wolf blood,” Arya now remembered.

So what do you think?

[tomsgreg]

Worst-Case Scenarios

Hey! Here’s my fic for this year’s @stoziersecretsanta!

Giftee: @rhonas-indomitable

Title: Worst-Case Scenarios

Summary:  Stan and Richie have both had things for each other for years, but when Stan confesses his feelings Richie freaks out and it leads the both of them to think the worst of their situations.

Includes: high school au, mutual pining.

Ao3 link: Worst-Case Scenarios

Stan was with Beverly in his bedroom, she was sitting on his bed while he was reorganizing his bookshelves, stacking and restacking everything until it was just right, it was a nervous habit, it calmed him down. When everything else was in order, he felt as though he himself were also in order. 

“You know Stan, I could help if you need it.” 

Stan shook his head, “No. You won’t do it right. I have to do it.” 

Beverly nodded her head, understanding Stan had his own ways of dealing with stress, even if she didn’t quite understand how they helped, “So what’s wrong, Stanny? Why are you so stressed out?” 

“Stressed?” Stan asked, turning to face Beverley instead of his shelf. “I’m not stressed at all, what makes you think I’m stressed?” 

Bev shrugged, “I know you, Stan. I know when something’s off with you. So tell me, what’s wrong?”

Stan sighed, walking to his bed before sitting next to Bev, “It’s about Richie.”

“What did he do?” She asked.

“Nothing. He didn’t do anything. He just exists and I hate him for it!” Stan began pulling at his hair, and Bev took his hands reassuringly.

“Well, you can’t exactly stop him from existing, but that’s irrelevant. Isn’t he your best friend?”

“Yes, but he’s not just my best friend. I like him, a lot”

Bev gasped, trying to seem shocked, “No way! This is new information!”

Stan rolled his eyes, “Shut up. It’s not funny.”

Bev looked down, “Right. Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood.”

Stan sighed, “I know, and I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Well, there is an obvious solution. Ask him out.” 

Stan laughed incredulously, and Bev’s jaw dropped, “What’s so funny about that?”

“I can’t just ask him out, Bev. Too much can go wrong.”

“Like what?” She asked.

“Well let me paint you a picture of my worst-case scenario” He replied. 

---

Stan took a deep breath before walking out of his final class and heading to his own locker next to Richie’s. He quickly exchanged any books he would and would not need and he waited for Richie to come from his own class. Stan was shaky, but he was determined to do this. He had to. It was the only way Richie would know how he felt, and after all, Richie deserved to know.

“Hey Stanley the Manley, what’s up?” Richie asked, opening up his locker and putting his books away before taking out the books he would need for the night’s homework.

“Oh not much, can we just talk for a second? It’s kind of important.” Stan said, his heart beating a mile a minute.

“Sure, what is it?” Richie asked, closing his locker and facing his friend. 

“I don’t know how to say this, so I just will. I like you. A lot. And I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but I thought you should know.” 

Richie stared at his friend for a minute before pointing at him and laughing. Within seconds, the whole hallway was laughing, and in minutes, the school. The noise was so loud Stan felt as if the world would explode, and then it did. 

----

“So let me get this straight.” Beverley said, “The worst-case scenario is that everyone laughs so loudly the world explodes?”

“Yes,” Stan said, nodding his head.

“Stan, not only is that ridiculous, but I’m pretty sure it’s straight out of Phineas and Ferb. And even Phineas and Ferb made it a ridiculous worst-case scenario.”  

“Well, Bev, it’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s still a really big fear. I don’t want him to laugh at me. He’s my best friend and I don’t want to make things all fucked up between us.” 

Beverly took her hand from Stan’s and pat his shoulder, “Stan, you won’t fuck things up, and if he makes you feel like that, let me know and I’ll smack some sense into him. You can do this.”

Stan nodded his head and smiled, “Yeah Bev. I got this. Thank you.”

Beverley smiled back, “Anytime Stanny”. 

----

Well, today was the day. Stan was going to swallow his pride and tell Richie how he feels about him. He could do this, he would do this. Stan went through his day, less focused than usual. He hated that he’s been getting like this over a stupid boy, but Richie was his stupid boy, and he couldn’t help letting later in the day occupy his thoughts. He went through his day as normally as he could anyway, pushing through what felt like the longest six hours of his life to see Richie and tell him what he wanted to say for years. When 8th period finally let out he got to his locker as quickly as possible and took care of his books before patiently waiting for Richie to arrive. 

“Guess who, Stanny?” said Richie, covering his shorter friend’s eyes with his hands.

“Is it the cold clammy hands of death?” Stan asked sarcastically.

“My hands are not clammy,” Richie said, feigning offense and taking his hands off Stan before attending to his own locker. 

“Uh, Rich?”

“What is it?”

“Can I tell you something?” Stan said, his face red, looking down to avoid looking at Richie.

“Anything, but you have to look at me. It’s hard to hear when your words are directed to the floor, ya know?” Richie said, smiling playfully at his friend.

Stan sighed and looked up at Richie, “I like you. Like, not as a friend, and I hope things don’t become awkward, but I needed to get it off my chest.”  

Richie’s face was bright red and he was frozen still, Stan looked at him, confused, “Rich? You okay?” 

Richie shook his head, “Yeah. I, I just- I uh...gotta go!” Richie said before running down the hallway and out of the building before he even remembered to close his locker. 

Bev came up to Stan, who was still staring at the door, “How’d it go Stan?”

“He ran off.”

“He what?”

“He. Ran. Off. Thanks for the advice, Bev. Worked out well.” 

“Hey hey, I’m sorry. Let’s run to the diner by my place. We can talk about it there.” 

Stan sighed and nodded, silently following Beverley out of the building. 

----

Out of breath, Richie rang Bill’s doorbell hoping that Bill could drive faster than Richie could run. 

“Fuck, my car!” Richie screamed out to no one in particular. He got so freaked out that he forgot a car. “How is that even possible?” He asked himself.

“How is what possible?” Bill asked. 

Thank god Bill had gotten home, “Stan said he liked me and I got so freaked out that I ran off and forgot I had a whole ass car to use to get here.” 

Bill sighed, “So what? You want me to drive you back to school to get your-wait what?”

“Stan said he liked me and I got scared and ran!” 

“Fucking hell Rich, why would you do that?”

“I don’t know Bill! I got scared!”

Bill shook his head before stepping aside to let his taller friend in the house before leading him up the stairs to his room where Bill sat and Richie began pacing. 

“So what exactly happened?” Bill asked.

“Okay so I went to my locker right, and Stan was there so I was all like, 'Guess who?’ and he was like ‘The cold clammy hands of death?’ So I was like-” 

“Rich, please” Bill interjected, “Skip to the important part”

“Right.” Richie said, taking a breath, “Basically he told me he liked me and I didn’t know what to do! So I panicked and ran, and now I’m here!” 

“You didn’t know what to do?” Bill asked, “You tell him you feel the same way you absolute nimrod!” Bill says, in that voice that he wants to yell, but knows he shouldn’t because it’ll just upset Richie more. 

“I can’t do that! In fact, I can’t even hang out with him anymore!”

“And why not?”

“Well, you see…”

----

Stan and Richie sat together in the bed of Richie’s pickup truck. The pair had been there the whole night just holding onto the other wrapped up in blankets. They had brought a few beers, finished long ago when they had first arrived, but the smell on their breath still lingered. Not that Richie has been being a total creep the whole night. He definitely would never intentionally sniff his best friend’s breath, but Stan was so close. His shoulder touching Richie’s chest, looking up at him. Whenever he spoke the scent wafted up. Richie was intoxicated by the idea of gently grabbing his friend’s face and just gently kissing him. He couldn’t though. If he was going to kiss his friend he was going to do it sober. He had to, it wouldn’t be fair to Stan, or frankly, himself if their first kiss was some mistake they both made when they were tipsy off of a 6 pack of cheap beer. 

“Richie.” Stan said, lightly hitting his friend’s chest, “Rich, you okay?”

“Hm?” he questioned, coming back to reality, “Yeah I’m okay. Just got lost in thought.” 

“Whatcha thinkin' about?” 

“Just how beautiful everything is out here. It’s quiet, the stars are bright. I could live here.” Richie’s softly smiled.

“I don’t think you could live anywhere this quiet, trash mouth.” Stan chuckled playfully. He was definitely drunker than Richie was. He was smaller and didn’t drink nearly as often. Textbook lightweight, but Richie didn’t mind. Richie thought it was cute, the same way he thought everything Stan did was cute. If you asked Richie, the sun shines out of Stan. 

Richie stared at his best friend, and he took a deep breath before replying, “Maybe I could if I had you with me.” 

Stan stared back, looking at Richie quizzically, “What do you mean?” 

“I just mean I really like you, and I think even I could live out here in nature, with nothing else to entertain me, if I had you.” 

Stan kept staring, his gaze softer now, Richie’s heartbeat so fast he could hear his pulse in his ears, then Stan chuckled, “Kiss me” 

“Huh? Stan, I don’t know if we should. I mean, there’s a lot that can go wrong. What if you wake up tomorrow and you’re like ‘ew why did I do that?’ and then you start avoiding me? I don’t think I want to risk losing you.”

“Well, worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“Who gives a shit about tomorrow? We can worry when it comes.”

“Stan, since when are you willing to dive into anything without thinking?”

“Since I’ve wanted to kiss you since freshman year. So kiss me before I change my mind.” 

Richie was still staring, hesitant to move. What if this was one of Stan’s weird jokes? That he didn’t really like Richie and when Richie moved and Stan started laughing? Richie was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Stan move so that he was sitting upright facing him. 

“So? Are you gonna kiss me?” Stan asked.

Richie was still hesitant, but moved closer and gently cupped Stan’s face. He moved his face closer to the other boy’s and stopped just before their lips touched, taking a moment let himself believe this was really happening, “You know, I’ve never kissed anyone before” he said, once again pulling away. 

“Neither have I” Stan admitted before pulling Richie in and crashing their lips together. It was awkward and clumsy, but perfect. It was perfect because it was them and it was everything they wanted for years. Maybe Richie wasn’t the best kisser, but he hoped he had a lot of time to practice. 

Just as he was the one to initiate the kiss, Stan was the first to pull away, smiling “You know Rich? That was…” he paused, and Richie smiled hopefully, “horrible.” 

Richie frowned, “Horrible?”

“Yeah. Horrible. Please never speak to me again. Bye.” Stan said, getting out of the bed of the truck and heading home.

----

“And THAT, Bill, is why I can’t hang out with Stan anymore,” he said, pacing the floor just as he had been for the last 10 minutes.

“And why is that?” Bill asked, sitting on his bed.

“Because, we’ll be hanging out on a date, and everything will be normal, and it’ll be nice it’ll be just like it always is. BUT THEN! I’ll slip up, and I’ll say something stupid. And I’ll be such a bad kisser that he’ll hate me and never wanna hang out with me again!” 

“Richie, you hang out with Stan all the time. This has never been an issue before. Why is it a problem now?” 

“Because I didn’t like him before!” 

Bill scoffed, “Richie stop with the bullshit. We both know you’ve had a thing for Stan since 8th grade.” 

Richie rolled his eyes, “Fine, but now I know he likes me, and I’ll fuck it up if I keep hanging out with him! Do you see the problem now?”

“Richie if you haven’t fucked it up yet you never will. UNLESS you let him think you’re uninterested. He won’t wait forever.” 

“So why doesn’t he tell me he likes me?”

“Richie. He did. You freaked out and ran away. Now we’re here. None of which will make you seem even remotely interested in him.”

“But I am!”

“Then tell him that!”

“I can’t!” Richie said, practically yelling. 

Bill rolled his eyes, letting out a long sigh before falling back onto his bed.

“Bill?”

Bill sat back up, “Richie, everyone knows you like him. Just go for it. Clearly he likes you too, but I’ll be honest you really fucked up. Before it gets any worse, I’d go now.” 

Richie nodded, with a new determination he hadn’t had before, “You’re right Bill. Now if you excuse me, I have to go win my boyfriend back.” he said, running down Bill’s stairs and out the door

“He’s not your boyfriend!” Bill yelled from the top of the stairs.

“Not YET he’s not!’ Richie replied, once again running, but this time to Stan. 

----

“Bev, this is EXACTLY why I didn’t want to tell Richie I liked him. This is even worse than what I thought would happen.” Stan said, sitting across from Beverely in the greasy diner. 

“You think this is worse than your worst-case scenario of ‘he laughs so hard the entire earth blows up’?” 

“That was an exaggeration of my fears and you know it.” He said, twiddling his thumbs, trying to avoid biting his fingernails from nervousness. 

“Okay fine. So you think Richie turning bright red, and running away, clearly freaked out, is worse than him laughing at you?” She asked before taking a sip of her coke. 

“It is, because if he laughed at least I’d know it was ridiculous right? I’d know I had no shot. Now I have no idea. Did he run away because he didn’t want to hurt my feelings? Did he run away because he just didn’t know how to deal with his feelings?”

“Ding ding ding! It’s the second one.”

“How do you know?”

“Without throwing Richie under the bus, I know for a fact he likes you. You don’t listen to the boy talk about you for two minutes without figuring it out.” 

Stan turned his head, like a curious puppy at a new noise, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he once compared your eyes to, and I quote, “the prettiest rocks I’ve ever seen”

Stan chuckled, “He doesn’t have much of a way with words, does he?”

“No. Which is why he ran away from you.” 

Stanley nodded, “So what do I do? Let him come to me? Go after him? I feel like I should give him space, right?” he looked at Bev, practically begging for an answer.

She shrugged in response, “How am I supposed to know, Uris? He’s your boyfriend.”

“Not my boyfriend” Stan corrected.

“Not yet,” replied Bev, smiling at her friend who finally seemed to have calmed down. 

---- 

When Richie arrived at Stan’s house he wasn’t there, and Richie isn’t sure if he was grateful for this or not. On one hand, he has time to catch his breath and find the perfect way to tell his best friend how he feels. On the other hand, he has time to think about all the ways he can and probably will fuck this up for himself. He was trying his best to stay positive, but it was proving difficult. Especially when Beverley drops Stanley off in front of his house and suddenly Richie’s hour of practicing what he was going to say felt like a minute if that. 

“Richie, what are you doing here?” Stan asked, trying to remain calm in case Bev was wrong about Richie’s feelings.

“I came to apologize about before.” He replied, sheepishly scratching at the back of his head.

“Rich, there’s no need to apologize. If you don’t feel the same way then I’m okay with that I just-”

“But that’s the thing Staniel! I do feel the same way! I’ve liked you for years, I just never thought you liked me!” 

“So when you got confirmation that I did in fact, like you, you ran away?”

Richie sighed, “Yeah. It wasn’t my proudest moment. The thing is though, I’m scared too. You’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember. God forbid something happens and I lose you? I don’t know what I’d do without my best friend. I love you Stanny, you’re important to me. Not even just romantically.” 

Stan sighed and smiled, “I was worried about that too, but if it helps,” he said, stepping closer and grabbing Richie’s hand, “I feel a lot better knowing that if something happens, neither of us are willing to throw away our friendship.” 

Richie smiled softly, “Right. You’re right. So, does this mean we’re dating?”

“Does it?”

“Not yet,” Richie said, his soft smile becoming flirtatious. 

Stan’s face mirrored Richie’s own, “And why is that?” he asked.

“I still haven’t kissed you,” he said, pulling Stan close to him and gently pressing his lips to his friend’s. It was soft and tender and definitely not how Stan would’ve pictured kissing Richie for the first time, but it was everything Richie had imagined and more. 

Richie pulled away first, still holding onto Stan, “How was that for my first try?”

“You could use more practice, but don’t worry. So can I.” Stan replied, his smile stretching ear to ear, his eyes crinkled in the corners before pulling Richie in for another kiss.