#and obviously ed sees him blushing and raises his brow and stands up from the couch

[patheticwhimsy]

now i’m imagining stede twirling around in the cursed suit some more after doing his punch and his eye catching on the box. he opens it thinking it’ll be jewelry but sees it’s lube and is like you know what, i think i’ll need this anyway with how hot i look in this fit and steals it

[ncssian]

A Favor: Bonus Scene Two (Gwynriel)

Masterlist

a/n: this picks up right after nesta leaves gwyn’s apartment in Part 24. warning for discussions of sex, obviously.

***

As soon as the apartment door shuts after Nesta, Gwyn releases a breath and turns to Azriel with a wide gaze. “Do I really have to teach you guitar?” she says.

“Of course not.” He rolls his eyes. It was a throwaway line meant to get Nesta off his back, and even she didn’t entirely believe it. He moves toward the kitchen to get a glass of water, still shaken from Nesta storming into Gwyn’s bedroom like that. Not that she interrupted much. Gwyn still has a long way to go before she can handle anyone touching her between her legs, Azriel thinks.

He never asked Gwyn what a twenty-seven year old woman was so afraid of sex for when she first suggested her proposal to him. She looked so scared that he would question her that he couldn’t bring himself to poke even a little bit. Not that he needs to poke. He’s not a fucking idiot, and Gwyn’s thighs had been trembling in involuntary fear under his hands earlier. She’s been hurt.

For her sake, he pretends to remain ignorant and incurious, but right now his grip on the glass in his hand is so tight it might shatter. His face remains cool as he pours himself water.

“Why didn’t you tell her the truth?” Gwyn hops up onto the kitchen counter and swings her freakishly long legs. “About what you get out of our deal?”

“I don’t expect you to teach me sex for free, obviously,” Gwyn blabbered the day after they got back from the ski lodge. “You can ask for something from me, too. Even money, if that’s your thing.”

Prostitution was not Azriel’s thing, though he wouldn’t knock it. The truth was that his brain had started turning as soon as Gwyn told him about her idea, and now it couldn’t stop. Oddly enough, this opportunity was perfect.

“Tell Nesta that I’m using you as a rebound?” Azriel nearly snorts on his water. “Did you miss the part where she almost cut my dick off and choked me with it?”

Gwyn hums noncommittally. “Being a distraction from your ex is better for me than it is for you. It’s insurance that you won’t get any funny ideas.” She narrows her teal eyes at him. “If you find yourself moving on from Nesta’s hot sister, you better tell me right away. I’ll end this whole thing quickly and cleanly.”

“Why?” He thought moving on from Elain was the goal, one he was unlikely to achieve.

“You know.” She crosses her arms in an X over her chest like she’s warding him off. “You might catch—feelings for me.”

This time Azriel really does snort on his water, hard. His laughter turns into coughing when it slips down the wrong pipe, and liquid dribbles onto his shirt. Gwyn just sits there and stares at him in vague disgust.

When he’s done choking, he wipes his mouth with the hem of his tee and gasps, “Even without Elain, you wouldn’t need to worry about that. Trust me.”

Gwyn wrinkles her freckled nose in distaste. “I would be offended if I wasn’t so relieved.”

He’s still chuckling when Gwyn says cautiously, “By the way…” She chews on the inside of her cheek. “Did you really ghost Elain?”

Azriel is no longer amused.

“When you said you broke up with her, I thought you actually broke up with her,” Gwyn continues. “I didn’t know you were one of those guys.”

Shame tinged with embarrassment floods Azriel, and he doesn’t have the slightest idea why. Why does it matter what Gwyn of all people thinks of him, especially when she doesn’t have all the details?

He thought he was making things easier for Elain by leaving without a word. He thought she would let him slip out of her mind after a couple of weeks just like he slipped out of her life, and that it would be better than having to hear him dump his insecurities on her.

He knows now that he was only making things easier for himself. Knows that if he had stayed and talked things out with Elain, she would have convinced him to stay. If he had called her at all in the past two months, he would have gone running back to Velaris like a sailor answering a siren’s song.

She’s always been a siren—which is why he can’t regret doing what would have happened eventually anyway. Even without that Vanserra bastard or some other man, Elain could never have been a permanent fixture in Azriel’s life. Little details sprinkled throughout their time together confirm that for him now.

That doesn’t mean Elain deserved it, or deserves it now. Azriel knows that.

But all he can think of to say to Gwyn is, “Yeah, maybe I am one of those guys.” He puts his glass in the sink. “You still want me as your teacher?”

Gwyn shrugs, looking away. “It’s not like I’ve got any other choice.”

Azriel would disagree. He says what he’s been thinking since they got back from Cassian’s birthday trip. “Wouldn’t you rather do this with someone you love and trust?”

“God no,” Gwyn snorts, providing no further explanation.

Azriel can understand being hesitant to admit sexual inexperience to a crush, but it doesn’t stop him from judging Gwyn’s new man. If this coworker of hers is so great, wouldn’t she be able to trust him unabashedly with her insecurities? Wouldn’t he readily accept her for all that she is?

Ugh, he’s been dipping into Nesta’s reading collection too much lately. “Alright, then.” He leans against the counter opposite Gwyn. “Let’s talk about learning. You clammed up in bed back there after ignoring my suggestions and shoving my head between your legs.”

“I clammed up because of my best friend barging into my room and catching us together,” Gwyn defends.

“Your pussy was dry as bread before that,” he retorts. Ooh, now he wants toast.

Gwyn turns a furious shade of red while Azriel starts looking around for bread. He finds it sitting by the toaster. “Can you not say that?” she hisses at him.

“What?” He looks up from dropping bread into the toaster.

“You know…” She glances around cautiously as if someone might overhear. “Pussy.”

“Pussy,” he says again, just to be annoying. Gwyn’s shoulders turn inward in embarrassment, and he has to hold back a grin. Yeah, she’s definitely not ready for oral.

He finds a butter knife and some peanut butter. “I told you to start easy and you ignored me. You tried jumping into the deep end without learning how to tread water.”

Gwyn scoffs. “And what does ‘treading water’ entail again?”

Azriel shrugs, plucking up his finished toast. “Making out, heavy petting, freshman-year-of-high-school kind of stuff.”

“I’ve done that before,” she mutters indignantly. “Maybe not in my freshman year, but I’ve done it.”

He wonders how long ago that was, or if it was before she was—hurt.

“Besides,” Gwyn goes on before he can push the matter further, “I’m not budging on kissing. I want to save that for the man I actually like.”

“You don’t like me?” Azriel raises a brow, slathering peanut butter over his toast. “You definitely don’t act the same with me as you do with other men.” Or at least that’s what he assumes. Up until a short while ago, he never would’ve been able to imagine timid Gwyn having the guts to ask anyone for sex ed. That’s got to make him special, right?

But then Gwyn waves him off and says, “That’s ‘cause you’re not a real man. I knew you before puberty.”

Azriel nearly drops his toast. “Wow, the nerve of this woman,” he mutters with wide eyes. If she keeps this up, he’s going to start regretting ever going to the same school as her. “That’s not what you said when you were going on about how attracted you are to me.”

“I said you were attractive, not that I was attracted.” Gwyn’s blush is more from irritation than shyness now. “You do the job, but you’re no Max.” She giggles at saying his name. Actually giggles. “I’ll only kiss Max.”

“What kind of stupid ass name is Max?” Azriel grumbles through a mouthful of peanut butter.

“It’s short for Maximillian.”

He chokes. “Jesus, that’s even worse.” He’s doing all this work for some guy named Maximillian. Maybe he should just go home and let Nesta give him the beating he deserves.

Except thinking about Nesta only reminds Azriel of what a coward he is, because he fears facing her again almost as much as he fears facing Elain. “By the way, could I…” he starts hesitantly.

Gwyn gives him a judgmental sneer. “You don’t want to go back to the cabin, do you?”

He shakes his head.

“You can’t stay here,” she responds, crushing his hopes. “I have plans tonight, but even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t let you be such a wimp.” She hops off the counter and comes over to him, surprising him by grabbing both of his shoulders. “Azriel,” she says somberly.

He swallows his toast roughly.

“You have to grow some balls,” she continues. “Not just for your sake, but for the sake of every poor woman in your life. Also, all this drama is personally a turn-off for me, which is detrimental to my sex education.” She wrinkles her nose. “Do better and all that, you know?”

Damn, okay.

Instead of standing there like an idiot, Azriel manages to say, “Fine, I’ll go.” He shoves the rest of his toast into his mouth and dusts off his hands, heading for the living room.

“Wait, you don’t have to leave right now—” Gwyn follows after him. Azriel is already on the couch, pulling a stray notepad and pen on the coffee table closer to himself.

He clicks the pen. “When’s that library guy planning to take you out?” he asks, starting to write.

Gwyn hovers near him, watching the notepad over his shoulder in confusion. “Um, this Saturday. Just a casual coffee shop thing.”

“Then I’ll see you on Friday.” He scribbles down some bullet points and labels the page LESSON PLAN. “Until then, think about a way to enjoy foreplay without kissing. Here are some suggestions so you can practice.” He tears the lined paper out of the notepad and hands it to Gwyn.

Her eyes skim over the page, brows rising with each point she reads. “Is all this really necessary?”

Azriel remembers how he barely brushed his lips against Gwyn’s core before having to pull away and kiss her quivering thigh instead. He can’t have sex with an unaroused woman, and he definitely can’t do it with a terrified woman. “Foreplay is absolutely necessary,” he says, getting up from the couch and stretching to his full height. Where Elain used to only reach his chest, Gwyn’s head almost reaches his nose. It amuses him for some reason.

“Do you like movies?” he adds. “I’ll take you to the movies on Friday.” Preferably something boring and played out, so the theater will be empty and she won’t be paying attention.

Gwyn’s eyes widen. “Is going on dates also part of foreplay?”

“It can be,” Azriel shrugs. It will be when he does it. He drops a hand onto Gwyn’s head and ruffles her hair. “I’d love to stay and help you study, but I have to go and grow some balls.” He mock-frowns at her as he heads for his shoes and keys. “See you later, Gwyneth.”

***

a/n: wait why do i wanna write the movie theater scene now… pls help me im just trying to finish this damn fic im getting too old for this

tagging: @hellasblessed @sjm-things @thewayshedreamed @drielecarla @valkyriewarriors @superspiritfestival @aliveahaahahafuck @cupcakey00 @sayosdreams @rainbowcheetah512 @claralady @thebluemartini @nessiantho @missing-merlin @duskandstarlight @lucy617 @sleeping-and-books @everything-that-i-love @cassianscool @swankii-art-teacher @wannawriteyouabook a favor: @awesomelena555 @julemmaes @wickedqueenoffantasy @poisonous-bloom @observationanxioustheorist @gisellefigue08 @courtofjurdan @theoverlyenthusiasticwriter @wolfiixxx @cass-nes @seashade @royaltykxx @illyrianundercover @queenestarcheron @monstrousloves-explodinggalaxies @humanexile @that-golden-lyre @agentsofsheilds @mercy-is-alive @cassiansbigwingspan @laylaameer01 @verypaleninja @maastrash @bow-dawn @perseusannabeth @dead-on-the-inside666 @jlinez @hungryreadingaddict @anidealiveson @planet-faerie @shallowhighwaters @ghostlyrose2 @chosenfamily-valkyriequeens @rarephloxes @readiajin @nessiantrashh @live-the-fangirl-life @ifinallygavein @xoblivisci @sjmships @jungtaekwoonie-is-life @lysandra-tiara @lanyjoy-13 @post-it-notes33 @loosingdreams @fromthelibraryofemilyj @18moneytoad @dontgetsalmonella @champanheandluxxury @togreblog @arinbelle @ladygabrielli1997 @meridainthedisneyland @moodymelanist @pixieelea @teagoddess99

[interstellarflare]

He’s So Jealous || Chicago Fire/MED/PD Preferences

Author’s Note: All gifs belong to their original creators: @owenelliot @thompsonconnors @lonewolfmeri @lorybest​ @chicagofireadventures​ @alberto-rosende​ @justmefawning​

Connor Rhodes

A new Doctor had recently transferred to the MED, and Sharon had asked you to show him around. Dr. Ian Blake was smart, kind, and an overall nice person. He listened to everything you said, memorised where all of the different departments and wards were, and was very obviously doing this just to gain your attention, and to blatantly flirt with you in front of your colleagues. Connor was furious. Yes, the two of you had only been in this relationship for a short while, but seeing someone else flirt with you caused a wave of unbelievable anger to surge into his chest. Throughout the entire day, Connor kept telling himself that it meant nothing, that you weren’t interested in this new guy. But when he overheard Dr. Ian ask you out for coffee, he couldn’t take it anymore. He stormed into the break room, not saying a word as he angrily took your hand in his own and dragged you away to a vacant storage room, where he then kissed you passionately. Connor wasn’t one to complain, but when you pulled away from him and lightly pushed him away, he couldn’t help but pout. “What are you doing?” You questioned, raising an eyebrow in wait for his response. Connor shrugged “I’m trying out something new-” “Oh my god, you’re jealous of Dr. Ian!” You exclaimed, laughing to yourself quietly as Connor folded his arms over his chest. “I heard him ask you out for coffee, and I just...I don’t know, it was stupid”. You smiled at his childish pout, before reaching up to cup his face in your hands “Connor, you know I was going to say no before you pulled me away right?” You told him, standing up on your tip-toes and placing a kiss to his brow “Now come on, I’ll make it up to you after work. Tonight, at Molly’s?”. Connor nodded, smiling to himself as you disappeared from the storage room. 

Will Halstead

Will wasn’t usually the type of person to get jealous. But when he did, he became distant, mumbling short responses to long statements or questions. You had been visiting the ED a lot lately, whether it was to meet Maggie, April or Natalie for lunch, or it was to see him and drop off something you had baked early in the morning. But a few times now, every time you had walked into the ED, Connor had been there to meet you. At first you thought it was strange, but then you thought nothing of it as Connor always directed you to wherever Will was, stopping to have a conversation with you on the way. Will began to notice your interactions with Connor, and for some reason, he began to doubt himself. One particular morning, you entered the ED with a bright smile on your face, the smile widening when you spotted Will talking to April. April waved you over, whilst Will suddenly became very engrossed in his work. You couldn’t help but feel hurt by his actions, but brushed it off as you approached, “Hey...” You greeted happily “are we still on for dinner tonight?”. When Will didn’t respond immediately, you knew something was wrong. “Uh yeah, sure...excuse me” he mumbled, stepping around you and disappearing into Trauma 3. You stood bewildered, trying to ignore the painful tugging in your chest. “What the hell was that?” You asked April, who merely shrugged her shoulders “I don’t know, but I did hear him say something to Natalie this morning about you. I didn’t hear what it was but you could try asking her”. So you did, and you couldn’t help but feel guilty. Will was jealous of your friendship with Connor. He thought that maybe he wasn’t good enough for you, and you felt horrible. You wanted to talk to him, and try to make him understand that he was enough, that you cared about him. But every time you tried to approach him, he disappeared into a restricted section, or he went to tend to a patient. So, you thought that maybe you could get through to him some other way, and a brilliant idea formed. When Will finished his shift, he walked into the break room to retrieve some paperwork he had left there earlier when he spotted something familiar. It was a beautiful vanilla cake with buttercream icing. Specifically, your vanilla cake with buttercream icing. His favourite. Beside the cake was a letter, written in your delicate handwriting explaining everything. You apologised, telling him that you didn’t mean to make him jealous, and that if he still wanted to come over for dinner, he was welcome to. He headed to your apartment as soon as he left the MED.

Ethan Choi

It was just a regular coffee date. You and Ethan had decided to meet up at the same cafe where he ran into you that day after Ethan finished an overnight shift. Even though he was tired, there was no force on earth that could stop him from seeing you. After ordering your regular and making your way to a window-side booth, it was then that you noticed black marker scribbled on the side of your cup. Curiously, you turned the cup to examine it closer, and blushed nervously as you immediately turned it away from you. “What is it?” Ethan asked, tilting his head to the side in wait for your response. You shook you head, releasing a small huff “It’s nothing, they just got my order wrong that’s all”. Not at all liking your answer, Ethan examined the styrofoam cup himself and couldn’t help the jealousy building in his chest. The barista behind the counter had written his name and number on your cup, with a small winky face drawn at the side. When Ethan huffed angrily, you winced. “It’s okay...” You tried to reason “he’s looks like he’s in his twenties. And besides, I’m sitting with you and not him”. His jaw clenched, his eyes not leaving your coffee cup. “Is he looking this way?” he asked, causing your eyebrows to furrow “Yes, why?”. In one swift movement, Ethan moved into the seat beside you, placing a long and lingering kiss to your cheek before wrapping his arm around your shoulder. Pulling you into his side, it was then that Ethan’s eyes met the barista’s, who’s brown hues widened in shock, realisation and fear. When the poor boy disappeared, scurrying into the back of the cafe, you rolled your eyes and leaned your head against Ethan’s shoulder. “You can be a real arse, you know that right?”. Ethan hummed, kissing the top of your head “Tell me something I don’t know, but no one messes with you”.

Kelly Severide

Just as your relationship with Kelly was starting to get back on its feet, the world had decided to throw you a curveball. You had been tending to a patient who had come in last week, who fell from a great height and managed to break two vertebrae in his lower back. Every chance he got, he flirted with you non-stop, to the point where it was getting on your nerves. His pick-up lines were crude, they weren’t romantic at all, and you wanted nothing more than for him to get better as soon as possible. One such shift, Kelly entered the ED and ran into Maggie, explaining that he was here to take you out to lunch. “Before you do that, you might wanna rescue your girl first...” she teased, handing a clipboard off to Ethan who walked past “her patient’s been hitting on her every single visit, and I have a bad feeling that she’s going to snap any second now”. Without wasting a second, Maggie pointed him in the direction of Trauma 3, where Kelly spotted you talking to your patient with your arms folded over your chest. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in going out with you” Kelly heard you say, to which your patient rolled his eyes. Now Kelly wasn’t usually the jealous type, he was more protective. He was the type that wanted everybody else to know that you were his girlfriend. Before your patient could make another snide comment, Kelly decided that enough was enough. He knocked on the glass pane of the door, smiling brightly as you turned to face him. Your shoulders sagged with relief, a long sigh escaping you. “Kelly, thank god...” you spoke loudly, watching as he entered the ward with his hands tucked innocently into the pockets of his jeans. “I just came off a call, and I thought to myself, why not take the woman I love out to a beautiful lunch...” he began, now wrapping his arm protectively around your waist and pulling you into his side. You knew what he was doing, and you couldn’t help but smirk out of knowing and embarrassment. “I’m sorry, who are you?” Your patient interrupted obnoxiously, his glare zeroing in on Kelly. But before you could respond, Kelly’s arm around your waist tightened “I’m Kelly, and she’s taken”. An embarrassed blush formed on your patient’s cheeks, as his gaze suddenly found every inch of the trauma room very intriguing. You laughed, looking up at the man beside you with a smile “Come on, I have about five more minutes and then I’ll meet you out front, okay?”. Kelly nodded, placing a kiss to your temple in good measure and disappeared from the ED, waving to Maggie triumphantly as he passed.

Matthew Casey

If Matt was jealous, he did a good job at hiding it. But sometimes, he would slip up, meaning that his jealousy was out in the open for you to see. He tried not to be irked by the guy in the corner booth, who was practically eyeing you up and down. But he just couldn’t, and you could tell that Matt was struggling. You knew that the guy had been staring at you since you walked in. To be honest, it kind of creeped you out, but you found it adorable that Matt was trying so hard not to do anything he would likely regret later. In the two months the two two of you had been dating, you knew Matt wasn’t one to openly display his jealousy. Placing your hand on top of his from across the table, you met Matt’s gaze with a warm smile “Did you want to go somewhere else? I really don’t mind if we do”. Matt shook his head “No, no it’s okay, I’ll just keep pretending that it doesn’t bother me, and we’ll have a good day”. You laughed, rolling your eyes as you stood up from your seat, swinging your bag over your shoulder before urging Matt to stand. He did so with a a confused expression, smiling faintly as you stood in your tip-toes to reach him. But his smile grew as you placed your lips against his in a soft and slow kiss. The cafe was fairly busy, so no one was really taking notice of this affectionate display. All except the guy at the corner booth, who’s gaze now focused on the constantly moving world outside. When you pulled away, you smiled brightly “Come on, we’ll have coffee at my place”. Matt chuckled, nodding his head in agreement “I’d like that very much”.

Blake Gallo

A patient you had saved from an overturned car had been coming to see you every single day for the past two weeks. For the first couple of days, you thought it was really sweet. But when he constantly tried to ask you out, that was when you began to grow annoyed. One particular day, you had been working on Truck 81. Herrmann had broken something before blaming it on Cruz, and no one really wanted to fix it. So here you were. And at the same time every single day, your former patient arrived. But while you were oblivious to his arrival, a certain young firefighter was. Blake couldn’t stand the guy, and boy did everyone know it except you. As you lay beneath Truck 81, Blake made his move as the guy approached, under pressure now as Matt, Kelly, Herrmann and Mouch watched on with interest. “Hey, you here to see Y/n again?” He asked casually, to which the guy nodded “Yeah, is she around today?”. Blake shook his head, “Listen uh, I’m just telling you now because Y/n’s too nice to tell you this herself, but she kinda has a boyfriend”. He hated how amazing he felt when the guys face fell slightly, but he was completely oblivious to the fact that you were leaning against the 81 out of sight, arms folded over your chest in amusement as Blake said goodbye to your pursuer. When Blake turned to make his way back inside, he froze. There you were, a smug smirk on your face as you tilted your head to the side. “So, who’s this mysterious boyfriend of mine you mentioned, hm?” you asked, biting your lip in wait for his answer. Laughing awkwardly, Blake was lost for words. He looked anywhere but at you, before walking away and disappearing into the firehouse with his head down. You rolled your eyes and shook your head as Cruz appeared by your side. “You know that mysterious boyfriend is him, right?”. Your cheeks flushed a deep red, before you returned to the much needed maintenance on Truck 81.

Jay Halstead

A new med student had been enrolled at the MED, and it was your responsibility to show him around the hospital. He was to be present when you took care of a patient, so he could learn from you and get a grasp on what life was like at the hospital. The only downside was that every time Will left the room after making sure the two of you were capable of performing a task on your own, he would flirt with you. Relentlessly. Your shift was almost finished for the day, and you were looking forward to the moment when Jay walked through the ED doors, where he would then sweep you off your feet and into a romantic evening of chilling at your apartment with pizza and wine. But until then, you were stuck with Clay. He followed you around like a lost puppy, even when he had nothing else to do. “Come on Y/n, just one date...” he spoke cooly, stepping in front of you and almost making you run into his chest “I promise I’ll make it worth your while”. Trying not to visibly cringe, you stepped around him and continued on “I’m sorry, but I’ve told you before I have a boyfriend, so please can you stop asking” you pleaded, walking past Maggie’s station and placing a clipboard before her. Before Clay could respond, the doors to the ED opened to reveal the younger Halstead. When his eyes met yours, he smiled, and you raced over before wrapping your arms around him. “Wow, hey. Not even a ‘hello’?” he asked jokingly, laughing as you pulled away from him with an awkward smile. When his gaze moved behind you to Maggie, who was in turn pointing to the med student at her desk, Jay put two and two together. So this was the guy you had mentioned. You had told him about Clay about a week ago, but at that point his advancements towards you had been harmless flirtations. But now, his plans had obviously changed. “Come on, let’s just go-” “Hang on...” Jay whispered, his eyes meeting yours with a smirk “do you want him to leave you alone?” he asked with a slight wink. Your eyes widened “Whatever you have planned Halstead, you better not-” Jay suddenly stepped forward, looping his arm around your waist and pulling you against him as he kissed you deeply. You smiled against his lips, pulling away with a light laugh. Jay grinned “Now we can go” he mused happily, waving goodbye to Maggie as you both left the MED with now sign of Clay anywhere. 

[deviltrs]

Hear me out: Reddie on a “date” to a fair (it’s a date in eddies mind but richie is clueless) [i will die on the Richie being clueless on occasion hill if I have to ]

i see you AND i hear you, anon. 100%

tbh i HC richie is pretty oblivious when it comes to dating, dates and eddie’s blatantly obvious feelings for him LMAOO 

so i kinda set it in HS?? and its like 1992-1993, so they’re about 16-17. 

i hope you enjoy anon! i’m sorry if it sucks a little bit (or a lot)

i haven't written anything publicly for a HOT minute and definitely need to brush up a little bit on my writing skills

and i’m also sorry if they’re really OOC, i’m still learning and trying my best.

NONE OF THIS WAS PROOFREAD SORRY LMAO

---

Eddie invites him to the towns annual fall festival. Just the two of us, he’d said on the phone yesterday.

Richie could never deny Eddie much of anything, so he immediately agreed. The idea of the two of them hanging out alone, oddly enough, makes him feel like there are butterflies in his stomach. He shrugs it off, as he’s done for the past three or four years, and he goes through the rest of his day, anxiously awaiting the next. 

And that’s where he is now. With Eddie, at the festival. 

Everything’s fine, so he doesn’t know why he’s freaking out so bad. Honestly, everything’s more than fine. Richie buys him an ice cream, and for once, Eddie doesn’t go on a full-blown rant about Richie spending his money on him when he’s perfectly capable of paying for himself. 

Eddie doesn’t shrug his arm off when Richie throws it around his shoulders while they’re walking towards the games, either. He leans in a little closer, actually, which feels like it sends a jolt of lightning straight through every fiber of Richie’s being. 

He’s just... all smiles, no rants, no freak-outs. A few insults or two, though, because that’s just how Eddie is, and Richie wouldn’t have it any other way. But... it’s weird not to see him reaching for his fake inhaler to ease his nerves, or thoroughly sanitizing his hands after he touches everything. He’s been like that all day, too. Didn’t even complain about the god awful mess in Richie’s car when he got in.

Now, as it begins to get darker outside, he’s sitting down right across from him at a picnic table, sharing a funnel cake. Their hands have brushed once or twice, and Eddie’s even wiped some powdered sugar off of the side of Richie’s mouth, and he isn’t even going to think about how red his face fucking got when that happened.

“Earth to Richie!” he hears Eddie yell.

He blinks once, twice, three times, trying to rid his mind of the thoughts that kept him so in his head, and turns and flashes a big smile in Eddie’s direction.

“What ‘s it, Spaghetti?” Richie replies, reaching for several pieces of the funnel cake and plopping all of them in his mouth at once. “‘S there anything you wanna do?” he asks in-between chewing, and Eddie visibly grimaces.

“Say it, don’t fucking spray it, dickwad. You shouldn’t talk with your mouth full.” Eddie complains, and Richie would’ve laughed if he wasn’t chewing his food. “And chew with your mouth closed! Jesus Christ, who taught you your table manners?”

After Richie swallows his food, he takes a large gulp from his Coca Cola and shrugs. “I was raised by apes, they taught me everything I know about manners, Eds.” he teases.

He gets a small laugh out of Eddie at that one, along with an eye-roll. “Very funny. And don’t call me that, Richie!” Eddie replies, reaching across the table to give Richie’s shoulder a small shove. Richie laughs, now that his mouth isn’t full, and shakes his head.

“Don’t lie, you like when I call you Eds.”

Eddie blushes? Richie thinks he is, anyways. But why the hell would Eddie be blushing?

Eddie’s voice snaps him out of it before he can dwell too much into it. “Whatever you say.” he grumbles, reaching and grabbing the last piece of their shared funnel cake. He grabs a napkin and wipes his mouth when he’s done, and he doesn’t even give Richie time to speak before he’s talking again.

“Do you want to get on the ferris wheel? It’s getting darker, so we can see all the lights better.” he speaks hurriedly, pointing over towards where the ferris wheel sits, spinning as they sit a little ways away from it. The lights are coming on, now, on all the attractions. Shades of pink and purple, red and blue, green and yellow. They’re bright, but they light up Eddie’s face in just the right way to make Richie think god, he’s beautiful.

“Sure, let’s get to it, Eduardo!” Richie replies, loudly, standing on his feet. He grabs their trash and throws it away in the nearest trashcan, and walks back over towards Eddie, who grabs his fucking hand and starts walking towards the ferris wheel.

He starts to wonder if this is even Eddie, because it dawns on him that Eddie doesn’t even like festival rides. They’re covered in bacteria and germs, dumbass, he’d usually say. But that isn’t the case this evening, apparently, because Eddie is smiling as they approach it, grabbing his tickets from his back pocket and handing two to Richie. 

“You know I have my own, right?” Richie asks, but Eddie just shakes his head. 

“You used at least ten tickets on that darts game until you won me that stuffed Kirby. Shut up and let me be nice to you.” Eddie retorts, and Richie does as he’s asked. He mimics zipping up his mouth, locking it and throwing the key away, which gets a small chuckle out of Eddie. He counts that as a win, so long as he sees Eddie laughing, at least. 

Spoiler alert: he doesn’t shut up. He doesn’t know how.

Eventually, after bickering back in forth in line about everything they could think of, they’re finally getting on the ferris wheel, being seated and secured in before they take off and are stopped again.

Eddie turns to Richie, his hands on the handlebar, looking as content as ever. “Thank you for saying yes when I asked you out on this date. I know it was kinda stupid to ask you over the phone, but-- whatever. Thank you, asshole. I’m having a great time.”

Richie feels like his jaw has dropped. 

Asked him out on what?

“You-- me-- date? What? Since when?” Richie stammers, and Eddie’s brows furrow. His face becomes redder than the top of the haunted house’s tent.

“You didn’t know this was a date?” Eddie asks, and Richie shakes his head repeatedly.

“No! You didn’t say anything about a date!”

“I literally fucking said it was!”

“No, you said ‘Hey, do you want to go out with me to the festival tomorrow, just the two of us’ and that is not asking me out on a date!”

“I said ‘Do you want to go out with me to the festival tomorrow, just the two of us,’ emphasis on go out with me, and that was literally me asking you on a date, dumbass!”

Richie processes. 

And processes.

And processes some more.

“Holy fucking shit, I’m on a date with you.” Richie says, blank faced. On the inside he’s screaming with absolute joy.

“Yeah, you are, dumbass. You-- forget I said anything--”

Richie interrupts him, quickly, “No, no! I’m not like-- freaked out about it or anything. I’m happy to go on a date with a cutie like you, Eds!” he says, leaning towards Eddie and pinching his cheek affectionately.

Eddie swats his hand away, blushing and grumbling, but he’s smiling nonetheless. “Do you-- fuck, do you like me, Rich? I mean, I-- I’m obviously into you.”

Richie nods, very enthusiastically, and smiles wider than he ever has when one of Eddie’s hands come off of the handlebar to grab one of his. “Absolutely, Eds, I mean-- how could I not? You’re my best friend. And, also, you’re so easy to piss off and rile up. It’s fuckin’ cute!” he says, smile never falling from his face. 

“I am not easy to rile up, you dick.” Eddie argues, but his tone holds no distaste or actual anger within it.

So Richie, being Richie, shakes the passenger car they’re in as soon as the wheel takes motion again to prove a point, and Eddie screeches. “You fucking dick! Why the hell would you do that? Do you know how many deaths have happened because of people rocking these fucking things?” he yells, and Richie lets out a full belly laugh.

“Oh, it’s so fucking funny, isn’t it? Do you want to die on a ferris wheel in this shit town? Do you--”

Richie finally makes a move, and decides to shut Eddie up with a kiss. 

It works.

[emerald-amidst-gold]

For the OTP ask: 8, 9, 16, 53, and 91 (for this one, it could just be a song you have for them, too) :D

*rubs palms together and giggles* Oooo, I'm loving these questions! I get to show how much of a nerd am I for these two nerds! >:3

8. Who tends to worry the most?

I was going to answer this with 'both equally', but the more I think, the more I realize that Solas is the one who worries the most. XD

I mean, come on. We all know Solas is a natural worry wart. It's in the man's blood, and Fane has a tendency to make his dear wolf's blood pressure rise to fatal heights with the shit he does. PFFT!

Fane is a literal battering ram when it comes to battles (this is based on how I've specced him in-game), and he just charges in without caring if he'll get sliced, diced, or scorched. Fane's illness with magic makes it incredibly difficult for Solas to erect barriers on him, so he has to devise other ways to keep Fane in one piece (nitpicking about his armor, constantly asking, 'Are you certain you are ready?', and begging, 'Please control yourself this time, ma'isenatha.') All of that worry comes from the fact that Solas has seen Fane die, has had to guide him to it, even. Fane doesn't mean to brush off that concern and worry, but when he's embroiled in battle he...loses his senses a bit. Dragons aren't meant to fight, and fighting is what Fane does best in his new life, so he has a hard time balancing bloodlust with merciful restraint.

If Fane gets injured (which he does, but only grazes and the occasional gash), Solas won't let anyone else attend to him, fear gripping his mind, memories of blood soaked crystal and decaying scales cracking his mask and rendering him tortured. When Fane sees that, instead of just seeing the nagging, he'll go docile, go remorseful and will say, 'I'm sorry, my sky. I never meant to-- I only--hn.' Once they talk and wind down though, things get right back on track, but Solas is constantly worrying over his dragon--constantly.

Solas worries about everything with Fane--his scars, his nightmares, his battle with his identity--but battle is where he's the least reserved in it. He doesn't want Fane to have to fight, but he knows they both don't have a choice in the matter.

9. Who is more inclined to be jealous or possessive?

Dragons--naturally possessive, i.e. hoards.

Wolves--naturally protective of those within their pack, i.e. touch member of pack, you get snapped at or even bitten.

Fane and Solas are both highly protective of one another. They just go about it in different ways. Fane's more likely to snap and glower at an infringing form, making it known where they can take their 'affections'. Solas is more reserved, but most can attest that his gaze leaves them shivering and near stone with how cold it is if Fane is randomly touched by an unwanted suitor or harassed by a fawning noble. Obviously, Fane and Solas try to keep the respective beasts at bay, worried the other will think less of them for such childish behavior, but sometimes--sometimes--it's extremely hard to keep a polite mask in place due to memories of harshness and filth.

For example!

---

"You're...jealous?", Fane asked, blinking and attempting to piece together what he was feeling now. And he couldn’t. “Of who?”

Solas' eyes fell shut with a rueful chuckle. "Most here. Is that hard to believe? It is petty, I know, but eyes have been upon you since your entrance; each pair a set of daggers. You carried yourself with confidence, with pride, and every single noble within the ballroom responded to your very presence. They whispered, they sought, they undressed." The final word a mixture between a hiss and a growl that was accompanied by a small sneer of disdain before it all relaxed. "My heart knows where your own lies, my dragon, but my mind, too, is being a thorn in my side."

Fane stared down at Solas, shocked and...mesmerized. His sky had been jealous of the looks of fops and prisses? Those who had no chance of ever reaching through to his heart? To his emotions? Those who played with lives as a puppeteer did with strings?

This was...oddly amusing, but only because they were both fools.

Here they were, in the lion’s den, hunting an assassin that threatened to topple an empire, seeking answers to questions they didn’t even know yet, playing a game of macabre chess and deciding who would rise and who would fall, and they were both jealous from nattering nobles who killed for sport or an inconsequential servant girl that would be forgotten in the morn. The ridiculousness nearly made Fane cackle. Was this what court intrigue encompassed? He didn’t see the appeal.

Fane huffed out amusedly. "I love you.", he said, point blank with no room to be denied. “Ar lath ma, ma tarasyl.”, he repeated in Elvhen, lifting a hand to rub at his face and shook his head in disbelief at himself.

Solas’ eyes snapped open at his declaration, a blush stretching across his face and was apparent even in the shadows that embraced them. That swath of delicate pink nearly had Fane cracking, breathing out a steadying sigh through his nose instead. Damn anything that was holy, if poison didn’t kill him, this endearing, foolish elf would. How could he be so blind when responses like that reaffirmed where his sky’s heart lay?

“Sorry, it’s just..”, Fane started before letting out a tiny laugh, massaging his cheekbones in slow circles. “You looked so ashamed by how you felt, even though I just said I felt the same way. If anything, I should feel ashamed because I’m jealous of someone far more innocent than these Orlesian pricks.”

Solas tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. “May I know who you were jealous of?”, he inquired.

Fane let out an airy laugh, kneading his brow with two fingers. “The servant girl that just left not even five minutes ago.”, he admitted, face growing hot with shame and embarrassment. He was such a fool. A pathetic, blind fool.

“The servant--?”, Solas began before letting out a quiet, breathless laugh of his own. “Ma’isenatha, you are aware that we are at court, at the heart of Orlais, yes? Appearing gentile and cordial is but a step in a very specific dance. My reactions to her were equal parts genuine and fluid, and I felt nothing beyond that.”

Fane huffed, letting his hand fall to his side. “I know, but it’s like you said, just the sight of another making reaches for someone you fought for, someone you adore and respect is infuriating. I just got you back and to have it taken away again is--”, he tried to explain, lifting his hand back up to rub at his face again. “Fenhedis lasa. A fucking smile sent my mind spiraling. Ridiculous..”

---

Halamshiral was fun! :D

16. Do they enjoy dancing?

Fane is the guy who stands in a dark corner at parties, and glares at everyone who tries to get too close, soooo...no. PFFFT!

However, if it were just he and Solas in their quarters, a light of levity possessing them, then he might be willing to let the other teach him steps that weren't able to be done by massive claws. The Winter Palace is the one time Fane takes the initiative and actively offers Solas his hand for a dance--all grace and poise unlike that of a dragon.

...The finery didn't fall fast enough that night for Solas. *is SLAPPED*

And I like to think Solas secretly yearns for such simple pleasures as a waltz or ginger circle, swaying to the music, time seeming endless once more. He misses what was before, and maybe just a tiny step can make him feel a little less lost. :3

53. Who is the better dancer?

Solas. 100%.

Fane is graceful in battle, able to shift his weight and glide with the flow of blood and chaos. But the more delicate arts--that of dancing? Yeah, no. My boy's prone to step on someone's toes and curse for them because 'A dragon? Dancing at court? Void take me..' Vivienne and Josephine had to let Solas teach Fane how to dance because he was so against the idea that he would lock himself in their quarters and refuse to entertain the two women. Solas has a hard time, but with Leliana's help, they manage to get Fane to see he does have a certain knack for the finer things. *winks*

Honestly, Solas is shocked at the Winter Palace when he sees Fane dancing with the Duchess because...he moved as if from memory, and not the one's of stumbling, cursing, and heavy sighing as legs tripped up and toes were stomped on.

Fane moved like an Evanuris--those attuned to the ancient courts with a charming smile in place to match. *sips my tea* Exquisite~

91. What is their song?

So, if I do like the implications that 'Once We Were' gives, and Solas and Fane like more gentle songs like that.

But me, personally? I adore 'Red Like Roses' from RWBY for these two. It just hits a lot of key points for me about them, but I seriously have to get a playlist together since so many songs make me thing of these two. 'Bad Habits' by Ed Sheeran is one that makes me think of them, too. Mainly Fane, but some parts fit for them together. *urge to compose a playlist intensifies*

Thank you so much for the ask, my friend! These were a lot of fun ones! But then again, all of them are! X3

[innaminitus]

The eye in the shadows

Pairing: Nicholas Scratch x Reader

Warning: language, witchcraft, smut

Word count: 2041

Request:  can I request a nicholas scratch smut with prompts 17,28,32,37,4? you obviously cannot include them all, possibly fluff with some angst? from anon and like 15 other requests saying just “write nick scratch smut!!!1111!!!” 

Prompt:  4. ‘You put the light in my life’

A/N: I didn’t use them all because they like didn’t go well together, but I’m not deleting this ask and will write more to these prompts in the future. 

EXTRA WARNING: The summoning they’re using is REAL. It’s a game called “The eye in the shadows” and it’s EXTREMELY dangerous, even more than any other ghost games. PLEASE DON’T PLAY IT, DON’T DO IT AT HOME, EXPECIALY IF YOU WANT TO TO IT IN SUCH DISRESPECTFUL WAY THE CHARACTERS DID.    

“Nick, do you seriously think that summoning an all-knowing entity is a good plan to find out the answers to the exam?” You asked, furrowing at the book your boyfriend was holding.

“That’s the best plan I can think of. Do you have anything else in mind?” He raised a brow at you and closed the book. You sighed and shook your head. He was right and you hated it. You had more than a month to prepare to your exams, and yet all you did was party every day and have an orgy once.

“Alright, so what do we need to summon it?”

He turned a page and tapped his finger on a supply list.

“A mirror, it says here it has to stand on its own. A pin, a piece of paper, something to write, matches and a black candle. Each participant should have their own set. We have to begin after nightfall.”

You nodded slowly.

“Are there any warnings?”

“Of course there are, quite plenty.” He turned a few pages to find the right part. “We can’t ask our correspondent about themselves, close our eyes for more than forty four seconds, go outside or stop playing in any other way before completing the farewell.”

“Why? What would happen?”

“They will hunt us.”

A shiver crawled up your spine. Was getting answers worth it?

*

You met Nick in a room without the windows, hidden somewhere in the basements of the Academy. You brought pencils, paper and pins, your boyfriend took care of the rest. He closed the door when you walked in, cutting the only light source you’ve had. In complete darkness you felt his lips on yours, leaving a sweet kiss before your eyes adjusted to the dark.

“Are you ready?” He asked, looking you in the eye, even though you could barely see each other.

“No.”

He laughed sweetly and kissed your cheek. You didn’t find it funny. You were frightened to death.

“Let’s begin.”

You handed him one set of paper, pencil and pin and you both sat on the floor, facing the same direction. You drew an eye on your piece of paper, as simple as possible and then pricked your finger with the pin. For a second you looked at the blob of blood forming on your finger, but eventually held your breath and placed a few drops of it on the drawing.

Nick handed you a mirror and placed his own in front of himself. You mimicked his moves and did the same, so you were able to see your own reflection. Scared, widened eyes stared at you from the mirror. You turned your gaze away and placed the drawing of the eye between yourself and it.

You looked at Nick, and when he nodded you both used your matches to light the candles.

You took a deep breath.

“Ethri, Ethri,” you started chanting simultaneously “scientia est scientia, intellectum ed intelligendum. Every light cast a shadow, yet without light shadow cannot be. Dispel the darkness of ignorance, bring the light of truth from the shadows.”

After you’ve repeated it four times, you blew the candles and immediately relighted them.

For a few seconds all you’ve heard was breathing and your heart pumping blood, that noise echoed in your ears. Nick’s fingers gently touched yours, he was just going to say that the ritual has failed, but then you heard, no, you felt something. A presence, sensation of being watched.

Dear Satan.

Nick squeezed your hand and let go. You turned around.

A voice which you more felt than heard echoed somewhere deep inside of you, making you instantly cold.

Tell me… your deepest… darkest… secret…

Shivers were traveling through your body, unsettling sensation made you almost cry. You didn’t want to play this game, but stopping now was far more dangerous than continuing.

You had to be as honest and thorough as possible, otherwise the entity would get mad.

“I…” You swallowed hard, tears cumulated in your eyes. “I tried to choke my baby brother in his sleep when he was just a new born.”

You could feel Nick stiffing next to you, but a feeling of cold, iron satisfaction flew through your body. Your answer was correct. You could now make your own question.

You nodded slowly, letting Nick know he could ask.

“What are the answers to our next exam?” He asked confidently, as if he was not afraid at all.

A second passed and just when you thought that the entity was going to answer, you felt as if your guts were being held by a fist, your brain being stung by wasps and our hands tingled, as if they were numb.

They didn’t like your question.

Dear Satan, they didn’t like it.

You heard Nick chanting a farewell, but you couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, the foreign sensation made you sleepy. You just had to close your eyes for a few seconds, then you could said the farewell as well…

Close them for just a few seconds…

For just forty five seconds…

Your eyelids were so heavy, they clung to each other.

Nick was shouting something, tugging your arm, but all you could do was blissfully close your eyes.

For one second.

For three seconds.

For ten…

For thirty…

Forty five…

A slap on your face woke you up from the numbness. You took a deep breath and remembered what happened.

You were being hunted now.

The candles extinguished themselves. You and Nick went at them and relighted them as quickly as you could. The boy got up and tugged your arm, making you get up as well.

“Come, quickly,” he gasped, looking around. “We need to run.”

On shaky legs you walked to the door, taking the candle and matches with you. You had to make sure the candle does not go out. If it did and you failed relighting it within these damned forty four seconds you… all there was left was hoping for the best.

“We need to go as far away from that room as possible,” Nick said, dragging you up the stairs.

You were still weirdly sleepy, but fear and adrenaline kept you awake. You couldn’t fall asleep, you couldn’t fall asleep!

You’ve climbed to the top of the Academy, leaving the sensation of death and displease somewhere around the first floor, when you used secret passage behind one of the statues.

Your legs were sore from running seven floors up and you wished you could just go to bed and forget it all. You sat at the cushions on the attic and begun to massage hurting muscles.

“That’s all your fault!” You spat at Nick, furrowing your brows.

“My fault?” He hissed and sat next to you. “I wasn’t the one who closed eyes!”

You were struggling for breath, but was fine enough to kick him. He caught your leg in the air and pulled you closer.

“I only closed them because this… thing made me do it,” you gasped, struggling in his grasp.

He didn’t let you go, instead he grabbed your other leg and placed them both at his knees. His soft fingers begun to massage your sore calves.

“I know, baby, I’m sorry.” He gave you a sad smile. “Now we have to wait till 4:44 am… That gives us three hours.”

You frowned when he pinched you.

“What’s with the fours?”

He shrugged.

“Four appears in many religions. Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism. We have four seasons, four elements.” He turned to face you and smirked. “And my girlfriend has four spots that make her soft.”

You blushed lightly.

“We’re facing a terrible danger and you’re flirting with me?”

“There’s always a good time to flirt.”

He leaned over and kissed you sweetly, making your stomach jump. His hand travelled from your calf to your thigh, soft fingers stroked your skin, causing goosebumps. A tip of his tongue licked your bottom lip before slipping into your mouth, delicately touching yours. He was taking his time, even though you were supposed to run or at least keep moving around the Academy.

You deepened the kiss, your tongue started dancing with his and you lazily pulled him closer. He wrapped his arms around you, held you tight when placing you on the cushions. A hard bulge in his jeans rubbed against your thigh and you gasped in his open mouth, causing him to smile. He pressed himself onto you even harder, every inch of your bodies was connected, you could feel his heat and his heartbeat, synching with yours.

Suddenly you pushed him away slightly and turned to the candles. Thankfully they were lit and small flames were not even dancing in the draught.

“What’s wrong?” Nick asked, following your sight and looking in the same direction.

“I just had to make sure the light didn’t go out.”

He grabbed your chin and turned your face to him.

“You know what, Y/N?” He whispered. “I think… You put the light in my life.”

A wide smile crawled on your face when you pulled him to kiss you, this time more passionate than previously. His hands travelled up your legs, rolling up your dress until your thighs and belly were naked to Nick’s sight.

You felt tingling in your toes, but it was not from arousal, it was the numbing sensation you felt before.

“Nick…” You whispered when he lowered himself to kiss you below your belly button. “Nick, it’s close.”

“Are you coming already?” He looked at you, surprised, but you shook your head.

“The entity.”

He smirked.

“We have to be fast, then.”

“What?! No-“ You tried to object, but your underwear was already on the ground and his jeans were unbuttoned and hanging around his ankles.

You wanted to say something more, but the sight of his dripping, pink member made you close your mouth and spread your legs. He grabbed your waist and pulled you closer, the tip of his shaft touched your wet folds and even the numbing feeling wasn’t enough to keep you from wrapping your legs around Nick and pushing him harshly into you.

You squirmed at the feeling, but he didn’t give you any time to adjust; he was also feeling the unsettling presence being closer and closer, so he pumped fast and hard, making you moan louder than you probably should. With each thrust he rubbed on your clit, your walls clenched around him and you received a groan which you swallowed with a kiss. You were gasping mouth to mouth, trying to remember not to close your eyes for too long, trying to come as fast as possible.

His hand slipped under your dress and found its way to your breast, he pinched your nipple hard and begun to roll it in between his fingers. He knew well it made you crazy, that was one of the four places he mentioned earlier.

You moaned in his mouth and dug your fingers in his sides, causing a hiss and even rougher pumps.

You felt that annoying presence being very close now, but you couldn’t stop, you had to move with Nick, you had to feel his cock stretch you just a little bit longer until…

You dug your fingernails so hard in his skin you felt blood, he groaned at the feeling and slapped your ass hard, but you didn’t care, you didn’t care, all you could think of now was the pleasure spilling in your body, you lost control over your whole self, he pushed his tongue into your mouth just like he pushed his shaft in your pussy. You were shaking uncontrollably, but begun to calm down. At least until Nick moaned and bit our neck, moved even faster and spilled himself inside of you, that warmth and sensation made you come yet again, he moved a few more times and when pulling out caressed your clit with his tip, making your orgasm almost unbearable.

You were breathing heavily when he pulled you up and fixed your dress, his semen was flowing from you along your legs and dripping on the wooden floor. Nick grabbed both candles and before heading to the door he kissed you on your sweaty cheek.

“Let’s run, baby.”

[znaeb]

Return To Me // Z.K. (Part 2)

Over the next few weeks Zion spent a lot of his time at the diner. Claiming that being out of the house was doing him good and helping him deal with his recent breakup, the boys were obviously suspicious, this was not normal.

Nearly every day when Zion stopped into the little restaurant, y/n was working. He ended up driving her home regularly and they became fast friends. Their talks on the drive to her apartment got a little deeper every time.

Eventually he started taking the long way when he drove her home. She noticed, but didn’t comment on it, appreciating the small bit of extra time she got to spend with him.

He walked her inside every time also, acting as her protector while passing by the group that hung around on her steps. Physically, he only got as far as the elevator, but their relationship grew much farther than he was expecting in such a short amount of time.

Eventually they formed a habit of stopping by the corner store on their way, picking up either a snack or a drink, depending on what they were craving. He learned that her favorite Snapple was strawberry-kiwi.

A few months in she asked him if he was busy and if he wanted to come upstairs. He was surprised, but delighted. Loving the idea of spending more time with her.

The short elevator ride was quiet, both glancing at each other awkwardly and smiling when caught by the other.

Her apartment was small, but cozy. To the left there was a small couch with lots of pillows and an old recliner, separated from the tv by a small wooden coffee table. To the right there was a little breakfast table next to a half wall that separated the kitchen from the main room, a few unlit candles sitting across the top of it and a cute plant in the middle. It smelled like her.

He decided that he loved her apartment.

She walked into the kitchen, setting her keys on a small table near the door on the way, and opened the fridge, “Do you want a beer or something?” She asked tentatively, not quite knowing how to navigate this new step in their friendship yet.

“Sure.” He nodded and walked into the kitchen with her, leaning against the counter and waiting as she grabbed two beers and used a bottle opener that hung from a little chain and magnet stuck to the side of the fridge.

They stood in the kitchen and talked for a while before gradually deciding to go sit on the couch. They turned on the TV, but ultimately it was just used as background noise as they both got more comfortable and the conversation flowed more naturally.

At 2am he was still there.

He sat leaning back against the armrest of the couch facing her, legs straight forward. She sat facing him, criss cross applesauce between his legs with her knees resting on each of his.

“Oh my god I can’t believe you did that!” She covered her mouth as she laughed at the story he was telling.

“Well Nick dared me so I had to!” He chuckled at her surprise. He looked at her while she laughed and was utterly mesmerized, he swore she got prettier every time he blinked.

After a minute of silence he spoke again, “I should probably head home or the guys will think I died and start dividing up my stuff.” He rolled his eyes at the boys and shook his head, making her giggle.

“Alright...” she nodded, when he was fully standing up she held out her hands for him to pull her to her feet. She hesitated momentarily before speaking again, “this was really fun, thanks for coming over.”

“Thanks for inviting me over...” He smiled down at her, they were standing incredibly close now. She nervously played with the zipper at the bottom of her sweatshirt as they held eye contact, he’d noticed that habit early on in their friendship and it made him smile a tiny bit every time, “See you later then?” He spoke a little quieter than before.

“I’ll see you later.” She nodded, making him smile ear to ear.

She walked him over to the door to say goodbye. He opened it but stopped in the doorway and turned back around quickly. Surprise took over her when he leaned in and planted a kiss on her cheek. It happened so fast that she couldn’t do anything except look at the floor when a deep blush crept onto her cheekbones, a smile now permanently plastered on her face.

“Goodnight, y/n.” He said softly and then made his way down the hallway to the elevator.

When Zion walked into his house a little before 3am it was dark and quiet. He made his way to his bedroom and flopped onto his bed even though he wasn’t tired at all. He was too giddy to be tired.

——

“Edwin I’m not rebounding.” Zion laughed at the very idea that y/n was a rebound, watching Edwin pour himself a bowl of cereal and sit across the breakfast table.

“I’m just sayin’ man, it’s only been a couple of months since you broke up with ‘she who shall not be named’, and generally the next relationship is a rebound in some capacity...” Edwin, the aspiring psychologist, analyzed Zion’s love life.

“Cassidy...” Zion sighed emphatically and took another bite of cereal, “and I broke up because neither of us even liked each other— obviously, in her case. This isn’t a rebound, I’m feelin’ things I’ve never felt before, not to be a cliche, but this is definitely different....”

Ed looked at him like he had grown a second head, then slowly raised his hand and placed his palm on Zion’s brow.

“Do you feel okay?” He furrowed his eyebrows, “you are not acting like you feel okay. You are not acting normal— you’re not talking normal!”

“Edwin... you’re right. I’m not acting normal because y’know what? I don’t feel normal! I’m so happy, man! I’m so optimistic! She’s wonderful!” he leaned his chin on his hands.

“Who are you?!” Edwin waved his hands around.

“Trust me.” Zion said sincerely, clasping his fingers together and tilting his head to the side.

“I trust you... I’m just skeptical of this new female who is trying to steal my best friend, that’s all.” He humphed and picked up His cereal bowl before leaving the kitchen.

Zion’s mind was made up. He was going to ask her out.

****

Currently working on part 3 :)

[valiantthewriter]

All Things For You

The following program contains: Financial Dom Peter, Sugar Daddy stuff, Daddy kink, D/s dynamics. Part 1 of my fic on AO3. Viewer discretion is advised.

They met in a museum in a nanotechnology exhibit where Tony was speaking on upcoming developments with nanotech to a group of college freshman. That's when he saw him, all puppy eyes and the sweetest grin that made his nose wrinkle. The boy was clad in a baggy Columbia sweater and a pair of sinfully tiny denim short, his hand raised high in the air.

“Yes, Mister…?” Tony began, desperate to know this lovely creature's name. He couldn't help the way his eyes raked over the boy’s lithe form, from his slender shoulders to his creamy thighs to his knobbly ankle bones. He wanted nothing more that to kiss those little bones, to worship the ground this boy walked on.

“Peter Parker, Mr. Stark. I have a question about what you think the ultimate goal nanotech should be used for? What are the top three ways you would want to see it used?” the sweet boy, no, Peter asked.

Yeah, Tony was smitten.

-

Tony might have done some digging of the illegal kind to find out as much as he could about Peter Parker. He learned that Peter was a freshman at Columbia. He learned Peter was eighteen and impressively clever if his grades said anything about it. Tony wanted nothing more than to learn more about Peter, to get to know him on every level.

-

He got his wish, even if he manipulated the situation. Tony arranged a lecture to be held specifically for freshman at Columbia. The goal of this lecture was to get the students interacting and speaking about their favorite STEM topics. Ah, the joys of being a genius with the funds to build another lab.

Tony held his breath as he watched dozens of students flood into the lecture hall, finally breathing once more when he spotted that adorable head of curls walk through the door. Today's attire was just as sweet as the museum. Peter wore a pair of tight, black shorts and and a light purple sweater that kept falling off his shoulder. His cheeks were dusted with some type of powder that shined gold in the lecture hall lights.

“Hello freshman of Columbia!” Tony spoke into the mic with a clap of his hands. He grinned at the room but his eyes were trained on Peter's face. “Rumor has it that you are the brightest students here, a select group of students chosen for this lecture. That has to feel pretty good.”

The room cheered. Tony grinned, staring at Peter. Peter looked away with a blush.

“You all know who I am and I'm here to get to know all 30 of you today. Let's get to know each other some? Let's start with Mr. Parker, the bright young man I met in the museum,” Tony said, walking the stage and turning on his wireless mic, “Go ahead and stand up, Mr. Parker. Tell us a little about you and any ongoing projects you have going on,” the older man continued, gesturing with his hands for Peter to stand.

A small frown, barely lasting a moment, crossed Peter's face before he stood. Without a hint of shyness he began to introduce himself.

“I'm Peter. I like biochemistry and bioengineering. I'm currently working on a project to make a tensile rope made out of materials similar to spider silk,” the young man said, biting his lip at the end, looking at Tony for approval.

Lord, smite him now or let the boy be his. There was no sign of lightning nor fire and brimstone. Tony took that as a sign from the universe to proceed.

“Fascinating, Mr. Parker. Perhaps you can speak with me more about that later,” Tony suggested, shooting his shot. Why was he worried? He was who he was.

Peter merely smirked. Tony felt like he was stripped bare, like Peter was seeing right through him.

-

“Tell me, Mr. Stark, what am I getting out of this arrangement?” Peter asked, taking a sip of his champagne.

They were alone in a private dining room in a restaurant he thought would impress the boy. Instead, Peter took in the sights with indifference and ordered the most expensive bottle of champagne on the menu. Tony couldn't find it in himself to be anything but in awe of the beautiful boy in front of him. Peter was swirling the bubbly liquid in his glass, looking at Tony through his lashes. He was mesmerized.

“What was that, sweetheart?” the older man asked, rubbing his eyes to make them focus again. Peter simply grinned.

“I really hate repeating myself, Mr Stark,” Peter admonished, his grin becoming devilish, “but you're a very handsome man so I'll make an exception. I asked what I'm getting out of this arrangement.” Peter took another sip of champagne. Tony watched the way his throat moved, imagining so many things.

“I don't understand,” he responded, and truly, he didn't. Peter was too distracting with his collar bones accented by his off the shoulder blouse and his lips and-

“My allowance, what you expect of me, getting me a credit card. You know how this works, right? I'm too pretty to not get anything out of this,” Peter said in an exasperated tone, leaning back in his seat. Under the table his dainty foot rubbed Tony's calf.

Fuck. This shouldn't be so hot. He didn't let people do this to him or talk to him like this. Peter just made it so fucking hot.

“How much do you want?” Tony asked, truly at a loss. Peter was obviously priceless, so how could he have a say in that.

“I'm so glad you said that, Daddy. What a good answer,” Peter cooed in an approving tone. It made Tony glow, like he was doing something right and good. “My bills are more important than yours. My wants are more important than yours. So, if you want this, if you want me, then you better get me a nice present.”

Fuck, why was that hot? Tony almost groaned being called ‘Daddy’. It had a nice ring to it. This was clearly a challenge that Tony felt he could beat. After all, he was made of money.

“Sure thing, sweetheart. I already have an idea on what to get you,” Tony said, glowing from Peter's praise.

Peter scoffed, downing the rest of his champagne. “I'm not your sweetheart yet. You want a starstruck co-ed? Go get one. You want me? Earn it.”

-

Tony's stomach was full of butterflies and his nerves turned the wings of those butterflies into razors, cutting up his insides. He was meeting Peter tonight for dinner at the finest sushi restaurant in New York, at Peter's request. Well, Tony felt like it was more of a demand and that sent a shiver down his spine.

The beautiful, young boy asked for a gift and Tony felt like he really delivered on this. He spent all week fretting over what to get, finally stumbling across something in Tiffany's. He purchased an intricate Tiffany key made of white gold and covered in diamonds that hung on a white gold chain. If Peter wasn't pleased with that he had a backup gift of a diamond and sapphire cuff bracelet that looked like vines that would wrap around the boy's wrist.

Tony was waiting in the lobby for Peter to arrive. He had sent a limo to Peter's apartment. Tony was wearing one of his Armani suits with a red tie that he kept adjusting due to his anxiety.

Peter stepped into the restaurant clad in black skinny pants that looked painted on and a sheer white top with a red crop top underneath. He looked like sin.

“Hi, Tony. I'm starving, let's eat. I hope you got another private room,” Peter said, walking up to Tony and kissing his cheek before looping their arms together. He was clearly waiting for Tony to escort him.

The hostess, clad in a beautiful blue kimono, looked them up and down before grinning. She clearly knew what was up. “Right this way, gentlemen. We have the finest room ready for you, Mr. Stark,” she said in a professional tone, leading the way to the room and sliding open the wooden door.

The room was beautiful, small, and intimate. The lighting was a light gold that made Peter's skin glow. The room itself was decorated in a traditional Japanese teahouse, full of fine vases and paintings that looked priceless. There was already a bottle of the most expensive sake in the restaurant.

“Your server will be Mike and he will take excellent care of you tonight. I’ll bring him over immediately to bring you an appetizer tray on the house,” the hostess said, giving a small bow before exiting the room and shutting the door.

Peter looked from the table to Tony expectantly, clearing his throat and raising a brow, a look that clearly said ‘Well?’

Tony rushed to pull out a chair for Peter, his breath taken away as the younger man smiled at him, all perfect teeth and bright eyes. “Thank you, Tony. Let's enjoy our meal and then we can talk business. Sound good?” Peter asked, his tone sounding more like an order than a question.

“Yes...um...that sounds great, Peter. So...how is school?” Tony stammered, feeling even more nervous now that he was sitting across from this beautiful creature. He felt out of sorts, never having this problem before. Tony was a confident man, a powerful man, and yet he felt weak in the presence of a college freshman.

Peter looked down at his nails, examining the french manicure he had. “It's going well. I'm passing all my classes and my web project is perfect, as expected. I'm working on an engineering project with my friend  Ned on a way to utilize the web substance. We are thinking wrist braces would be efficient and rather cool,” Peter said, loosening up some as he spoke about his project, an innocence coming through before he put his indifferent mask back on. It made Tony's heart still in his chest.

Tony was about to reply when their server walked in the door carrying a tray full of dumplings, rangoons, pickled vegetables, and shrimp tempura. It all smelled and looked amazing. The server set down each dish on the table.

“Good evening, gentlemen. My name is Mike and I shall be taking care of you this evening. Would you gentlemen like for me to pour you some sake?” Mike asked, reaching for the bottle. Tony looked to Peter and Peter nodded to the server.

“This sake is of the highest quality and is imported directly from Japan. It is best served warm as we have it set up here. Please enjoy. I'll bring the sushi selection shortly,” Mike said, pouring the sake and water from the pitcher on the table for Tony and Peter. He left with a small bow.

Peter lifted the sake cup to his lips, taking a sip and smiling. “I don't normally like sake, but this is great. Excellent choice,” Peter complimented, rewarding Tony with a smile and a brush of his foot against Tony's leg beneath the table.

“Only the best,” Tony said, sitting up straight and preening from Peter's approval, “The projects you're working on sound fascinating. If you want, you can always bring your brace design to my lab. I can look it over for you.” After all, he was a genius.

“Perhaps. You have to earn my company though, remember?” the younger man teased, pulling his foot away and picking up a piece of shrimp tempura with his chopsticks, biting into it with a moan. The sound went straight to Tony's cock.

Tony watched Peter as he ate, mesmerized by everything the boy did, from chewing to how his hands moved so gracefully with the chopsticks. Peter noticed the attention and offered Tony a small smile and a dumpling.

“You need to eat, Mr. Stark. Have a bite,” Peter said, letting out a noise of approval as Tony took the offered dumpling, “Is it good? It looks good,” Peter continued, offering a shrimp tempura to Tony.

Being fed was a wonderful feeling. He felt a little embarrassed, but also nurtured and cared for. It was an odd combination that he ruminated on as he chewed.

Suddenly, his forehead was poked with a pair of chopsticks and he was brought back to reality. “Bad Daddy, no overthinking. Eat your dumplings,” Peter ordered, happily going back to eating and chattering away about some chemical engineering project team he was hoping to get on.

The boy was smart, so incredibly smart. He was funny and bratty and beautiful. Peter deserved to be spoiled and cared for, deserved whatever he wanted.

His thoughts were interrupted once more by the server rolling in a cart full of sushi. There was a wide variety for them to choose from and Tony deferred to Peter's preferences. The bill was adding up and Tony couldn't be happier. Why was that?

“This all looks so good. Let's eat so we can get to the good part,” Peter said, gracefully picking up a piece of salmon sashimi and popping it in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully and gave another approving moan. “Tell me about your work week.”

And Tony did. He discussed his troubles with the Research & Development department and their poor designs for the latest Stark Tablet. He complained about how the customer service stats dropped a little and people were taking to Twitter. He spoke of the energy efficiency project he was working on personally and this lasted over the course of the meal.

“It sounds like you have your hands full,” the younger man commented, leaning back in his seat, curls falling over his honey brown eyes. He looked delectable.

“At times, yes,” Tony responded, feeling his palms get sweaty. It seemed like now was the moment of truth, the moment deciding whether or not he got to keep Peter and his attention. Tony pressed the service button on bottom of the table and Mike returned with a Tiffany blue gift bag containing Peter's present. There was a second gift bag kept behind Mike's back. “I hope you like it.”

Peter took the bag with a grin, that grin getting wider as he saw the necklace sized Tiffany box. “You have good taste so far. Let's see what you got,” Peter said, slowly opening the box. Tony took in Peter's reaction, watching the thoughtful expression on his face. “It's lovely. Thank you, Tony. What is it that he has behind his back?” the younger man asked, holding his hand out.

Tony rubbed the back of his neck, stomach flipping. “It’s...um...a second gift. Open it?” God, when did he become such a nervous wreck? He never stuttered and was never at a loss for words, his mouth getting him into trouble more often than not. But right now, he wanted to be sweet. He wanted to be good.

Peter took the gift out of the shiny gold bag and opened the box. He gasped, and gave a genuine smile to Tony. “This is gorgeous! You did such a good job!” Peter praised, putting the cuff of with a sigh, “Mike, dear, could we have some time alone?” At Peter's request, the server left.

“Did I do well, Peter?” Tony asked, licking his dry lips and seeking approval. He hoped he did well - no, he needed to do well. He needed to impress Peter though he didn't quite understand why.

“You did so well, Daddy. I'm so proud,” Peter cooed, reaching across the table for Tony's hand, clasping the older man's with both of his hands. They looked so small…

“Thank you. I'm so glad you're happy,” Tony said, voice raspy with nerves and desire. Peter gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Good. Let's get down to business and discuss terms. I request an allowance of $5000 a month for me to play with. You will pay my rent for my apartment in Manhattan, it's $1500 a month, along with my cell phone and utilities. You can see me two times a week and more if I want to see you. Sound good so far?” Peter stated, looking at Tony with a serious expression. It was so cute and caused Peter to have such a sweet little frown.

“Sounds good so far. What else do you want?” He would give this boy so, so much, even more than what he was asking for.

“We can have sex because I think you are attractive. I like to bottom but I am still the little prince in charge. We can discuss sexual limits at another time once you've earned it,” Peter continued, reaching across the table with his free hand to brush through Tony's perfectly styled hair, messing it up. “Have you ever done this before?”

“No.” Was that okay?

“I like newbies. Don't worry, I'm a fair prince and I'll take care of you if you take care of me. I know what men like you want.”

“And what's that?”

“For a pretty thing like me to put you in your place.”

Part 2

[gaasaku-fanfests]

Misfits (part 1 &2)

Title: Misfits Author: clem-chan Rating: T Word Count: 27 388 Summary: Marrying a CEO in the midst of a romantic scandal to pay for med school is not the happy ending Sakura imagined for herself. The arrangement that started as constant bickering soon becomes so much more... If only her husband was hers to fall in love with. GaaSaku. Modern!AU Warnings: There is a light make-out session hence the T rating. There's also mention of child abuse and childhood trauma. Minor ships: light KankuKiba, very light ShikaTema, mention of NejiTen.

Author's Note(s): Two little things to mention: First, I wanted to keep this accessible to all, so I have cut out more raunchy scenes which will be posted in the AO3 version of this fic soon. Second, I have this headcannon where Gaara and Sakura are just two misfits. :P So, that's what this story is about: two misfits forced together. XD Hope you enjoy it! ^_^

Trope: Arranged Marriage 

. [warnings are for overall fanfic, not individual parts.]

PART 1

Gaara Sabaku focused on the clock over her grandmother's office.

It throbbed. Time passed. He ignored everything else.  

In his peripheral vision, his grandmother's mouth was blurry, her lipstick stretched, a floating cloud of red, as she shouted at him. His hand closed around his wrist watch, and he narrowed his eyes at the little hand moving slowly on the wall.

In 15 minutes, he would excuse himself to his meeting with new investors.

In one hour, it would be time to prepare for his interview: make-up, change of clothes, a microphone clipped to his tie.

In one hour twenty minutes, he would be on air answering questions about his recent acquisition of a dying familial company. What were his plans to revive it? He had prepared a stiff answer outlining five main business strategies.

"Are you listening, Gaara?" Chiyo Sabaku snapped and slapped the newspaper on the table in front of him.

Slowly, Gaara turned his head toward her, his pale eyes reluctantly glancing away from the clock. His grandmother's cheeks were rosy, her neat beige suit uneven across her shoulders from her gesturing. His brother, Kankuro, cleared his throat and nudged his thigh, widening his eyes at him. Gaara blinked back at him, until Kankuro mouthed: "answer her."

"Yes," Gaara replied, and Kankuro nudged him again. "Yes, I'm listening, obaasan."

Chiyo glared at him, breathing sharply from her nose. She pulled at her suit jacket sharply rearranging it over her small frame. Stiffly, she walked back to her desk and sat down, surveying her two grandsons with a twisted mouth. The title of director of the hospital gleamed in front of her as she laced her fingers together.

"Well, let's discuss how we will fix this."

"It's not that bad, obaasan, I mean..." Kankuro drawled out and he reached over the table to spin the newspaper toward him. "We can only see his hand on her back, and... Well, good for you little bro. That's clearly some tongue action."

Gaara grunted.

"Shut up, Kankuro," Temari said icily.

She hadn't moved the window since Gaara and Kankuro had arrived. She stood still, her arms crossed over her chest, her back rigid, her face only a shadowy profile.

"Well, obviously, you're all blaming me," Kankuro said dryly, "but I didn't know he would lose his tongue and hands along the way when I asked him to pick me up."

Temari turned toward them, her eyes narrowed at Gaara.

"You should have called me," she snapped.

"You were with that lazy bum of yours," Gaara shrugged, and he glanced back at the clock.  

"Why you little..."

Temari walked promptly toward her brothers and grabbed the newspaper. She hit her brothers' heads with it rolled tightly. Gaara and Kankuro grimaced, trying to cover their heads.

"OI! CALM DOWN!"

"Temari..."

"Enough!" Chiyo shouted with her palms raised.

She sighed and massaged her temples.

Temari hissed insults at her brothers before taking her place by the window. Her body stiffened in an angry cold posture. Her golden skin shimmered in the high sun, her teal eyes piercing through them.

Kankuro tsk-ed his fingers combing through his hair.

"If this is how you react whenever we mention that-" he started sardonically.

"I said enough!" Chiyo repeated with a tired voice.

Her chair spun toward her degrees and prizes hung across her wall. She had built the hospital from the ground, just as Gaara had built his company from the gaping hole of his father's dishonour. She sighed.

"Gaara, bring out your girlfriend into the spotlight and we say it was her."

Gaara shifted in his seat.

"She broke it off with me," he said dully, his eyes following the new turn of the little hand on his grandmother's clock.

Soon. Soon.

Kankuro swore under his breath and he glanced curiously at his little brother.

His face was expressionless, but his jaw was clenched. Like when he was lying. Kankuro closed his eyes, grimacing, praying Temari wouldn't notice.

Chiyo clicked her tongue, her brows furrowed.

"You should have told us. There's this scandal, and the chairman's elections are two months away... oh, dear me. Why did you buy off this little useless company, huh? Do you think you can afford to make mistakes right now?" her voice boomed, and Gaara shifted again in his seat. "The board of directors are already angry with you, and now this!" Chiyo slapped the picture with a disdainful hand heavy with jewelry. "I think it's time we consider arrangements," she concluded bluntly.  

Kankuro picked at the leather of the armrest, glancing sideways at Gaara. His little brother didn't react, his eyes drawn again and again to the clock.

In eight minutes, he would excuse himself to his meeting with his investors...

"You're not arranging his life, obaasan," Temari said breathlessly, and Kankuro looked over his shoulder at her.

She was biting her lip, her face pale, her dark lipstick slightly smudged. They were the elders, but somehow Gaara had carried the family crest alone ever since he was a child.

"He doesn't have a choice!" Chiyo shook her finger at them. "Caught kissing, like a teenager. Tsk, you don't think investors will turn away from him now? Unmarried, and unable to provide a clean image of a serious reliable man… This family is nobility." her voice was shrill, and the siblings all bowed their heads, flinching. At their father's funeral, the few who did show up said: 'This family was nobility. What a shame. Poor children, they'll grow with nothing but disgrace.'

"We can't afford the scandal. We bury it with a real marriage announcement and call this his wife."

"Obaasan, please! He's still young!" Temari protested, but Gaara stood up buttoning back his suit jacket.

"I'm not a child anymore, Tem," he said and smoothed the wrinkles, readjusted his tie. "I appreciate the concern, but she's right. Arrange it, obaasan, pick someone who needs my protection, fame and money."

"But..." Chiyo faltered, now standing up too. "We should consider the noble families..."

"No," Gaara said coldly, the corner of his mouth twitching. "This is how I want it. Now, if you would excuse me, I have a meeting with my investors."

-X-

Sakura Haruno waited, tensed muscles that snapped and spasmed. Her bun was too tight at the base of her nape. Her clothes felt like irritating wool against her skin, rubbing her raw. And always the thinning grating voice: 'you don't belong here.'

The waiting in front of the director's office was empty, pale grey armchairs were spread across the room, small tables by their right side. It was airy and elegant, and Sakura wished she had removed the hot pink nail polish half-chewed away. Or chosen a softer colour that could blend with the room. A neutral colour. An expensive manicure she couldn't afford.

Sakura winced and reached for the glass of water the secretary had placed to her right.

She had buried the letter of summon in her purse, but the words still spun in her head, the numbers wailing, harassing her above all. Her mind was loud, divided, despite the calm and serenity of the waiting room.

She had arrived 30 minutes early for her appointment with the director of the hospital, and she wished time would stop, so she could finally have enough time to breathe. Come up with the money. Pay off her crushing debts.

Biting her below lip, Sakura rubbed her hands on her thighs smoothing again her dark skirt. Her nails dug into her thigh when her leg started shaking. She tried to straighten her back, her fingers jerking to quell the urge to nibble on her thumb. Her back still in a rigid position, Sakura craned her beck to look at the secretary half-hidden behind the tall reception desk.

The door of the director's office opened briskly.  

Sakura sprung to her feet, clutching her purse, her eyes widened in surprise.

A young man in a suit emerged, his eyes on his wrist watch. His red hair was unruly, but the rest of his appearance was calculated, from the colour of his tie to the one of his pocket square in his breast pocket. A woman and a man hurried after him.

"You can't possibly agree to this," the woman shouted, and her heels clicked rapidly, loud.

Her blond sandy spilled across her neck, slipping out of hair ties as she shook her head. She put her hand on the man's arm as if to stop him or comfort him, but he didn't seem to notice. The other man trailed behind his hands deep in his pocket, his steps reluctant, his dark eyes drifting across the familiar touch, as if he were a stranger.

Sakura felt herself blush at the loudness of the woman's voice, her partner's indifference and the other man's uncomfortable silence.

"Hn, this is final," Sakura heard the red-haired man replied in a dull voice, as they brushed by her.

Sakura bowed quickly.

The secretary stepped close to her, her hands delicately joined in front of her in a gesture of respect.

"Director Sabaku will see you now, Haruno-san."

Sakura startled, tearing her glance away from the trio waiting sullenly by the elevators. She cleared her throat readjusting her purse strapped over her shoulder.

"Thank you," Sakura smiled and bowed her head.

Sakura's fists shook as she followed the secretary. She squared her shoulders. She straightened her back, smoothing distractedly her skirt one last time. She had dressed up in her best clothes. There ought to be a way out.

You don't belong here.

If your tuition is not paid in its fullest by next Friday...

The director's face was drawn, carved by wrinkles that jerked. Her usual warm brown eyes bored through her. Sakura bowed stiffly, her hands growing cold.

"Sakura, sit."

Sakura sat down slowly in the closest armchair, smoothing her skirt under her. She cleared her throat when the silence between them stretched, and all she could hear was the ticking of the clock above the director's office.

"How are you, Chiyo-sama?"

"Enough with the niceties and the small talk," Chiyo snapped and stood up abruptly. "I want you to tell me what happened."

She paced, her mouth quivering with mumbling to herself.

"The school-"

"The school didn't send me anything other than this ridiculous letter stating you're to be kicked out of the faculty, and your student visa cancelled."

"I didn't get a scholarship for next year," Sakura said quietly with a forced smile. She squared her shoulders. Again. Rigid back. She was uncomfortable. Maybe she was even delusional about becoming a doctor in a strange land.

She had lived one day at a time, counting and recounting coin. There was nothing left to count now.

"I'll find the money another way. It's just the delay..."

"You have a student visa, Sakura," Chiyo interrupted her frowning at the letter in front of her. "At the end of this semester if you're not enrolled at the university, you have to go back home. There's nothing I can do."

"I'll find the money, Chiyo-sama," Sakura injected more firmness, more confidence in her voice. "If you could just plead with the board of directors..."

Chiyo threw her reading glasses on the desk and leaned back in her chair. Sakura snapped her mouth shut. She had never noticed how small and frail the director looked, half swallowed by an armchair and her title. Her head bobbed back against the headrest of her armchair, and she moaned.

Chiyo bent over swiftly, her arms back on her desk, her fingers laced together.

She filled the room once more.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I'm being harsh with you because of my grandson," she clicked her tongue and shook her head. "He caused me quite the headache this morning."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Chiyo-sama."

The director cocked her head to the side, her glance piercing. Sakura blushed under her scrutiny, her hands curling swiftly to hide her hot pink nails.

"Sakura… Are you in a relationship with anyone?"

Sakura blinked, surprised by the gentle tone.

"No," she laughed nervously, glancing away as her face burnt. "I only have time for my hospital shifts and studying."

"Any family back in Konoha?"

She shook her head.

Director Chiyo leaned back on her arm, knocking her knuckles on her desk. She still watched her intently. Sakura shifted in her seat, involuntary, limbs folding back uncomfortably on themselves. She was small, a small girl in a big room. In a big world.

"I'll make sure you have all the money you could ever dream on. You can finish your studies, be the doctor we both know you can be."

"Chiyo-sama!" Sakura gasped.

Chiyo held up a finger.

"If you marry my grandson."

"What?" Sakura stammered, colours draining from her face.

"He's a CEO who has made one too many mistakes lately. He needs someone like you to appear next to him and improve his image. You make sure he looks like a good reliable man, and I make sure you finish your studies."

"Chiyo-sama… I…"

"I'm not going to lie," she interrupted and her chair rolled toward the wall behind her where her whole life was displayed. "He was caught on camera kissing a lady. I'll spin this around for the family honour; this was you and, he's married to you."

"I can't get married," Sakura said dully in her native language.

Chiyo turned her chair back toward her, her brows furrowed.

"Now, you listen to me: don't throw your future away. You have nothing." she waved her hand in front of her and Sakura blanched, wondering if she would ever look like she belonged. "You're smart, but you have no family crest, no money, no family. You could have everything, if you say yes. How do you think I got to sit on this chair, huh? You think, I said no to using a man's title or influence? If a woman isn't ruthless about what she wants, she never reaches her full potential." Her featured softened. "Just meet him, first, and then decide."

"I'm running out of time… If by next Friday..." Sakura muttered, frozen into place.

"Well," Chiyo said with plucked lips. "I suggest you meet him and decide quickly."

-X-

Gaara Sabaku, his name infiltrated her thoughts as Sakura lay in the darkness.

Director Sabaku had written his name neatly above his phone number on a piece of paper with the hospital's header.

"Think about it," the director had repeated when she had walked her out of her office. "Think about it." Her glance had cut through her.

As always, Sakura's mind was divided, two clear pieces that fought ruthlessly against one another: she couldn't do this. She would do this. There was the meek girl, terrified, crushed by loneliness, that trailed after the woman she had become. Squared shoulders, no glance back to the past, she reminded herself sternly.

Sakura rubbed her temples.

She had received a second eviction notice. It was now Tuesday and the passing time was now rushed, leaving her chasing behind a dream breathless. She needed money.

She needed to belong here. As a doctor. As anything else than the meek girl with the big forehead and giant dreams who was bullied.

Sakura rolled and tossed in her bed, her sheets tangled around her, then kicked off her bed, pooling on the floor. She groaned and rubbed at her face, sitting up. She moved her hands away from her face and glanced at her ring finger. Her hands trembled.

She couldn't do this.

She would do this.

As a doctor, Sakura couldn't afford trembling hands.

Sakura bent over her bed on all fours to pick up the bed sheets from the floor. She wrapped them around her, lying back on the bed. She unlocked her phone, biting her lip as she typed his name in a search engine. She scrolled down her heart throbbing, her breath caught painfully in her throat. The majority of headlines showed him in a blurry photo half-turned away from the camera. His head was bent over a petite woman, his eyes closed. From the woman, she could only see a shadowy figure wrapped in a long coat, a delicate hand cupping his cheek.

Could this be me? Sakura wondered involuntarily.

She didn't sleep.

She stared at the ceiling.

She stared at her ringless hand.

She stared at her medical textbooks, the eviction notice placed on top of it, the letter from the university about her tuition folded next to the pile.

Could she be that ruthless about her future?

Yes.

***

PART 2

For their meeting, Sakura had chosen a busy coffee shop near the hospital.

Her leg bounced and she bit at her thumb.

Sabaku Gaara walked it at 10 o'clock sharp, and Sakura instantly recognized him as the young man who had dashed out of Chiyo-sama's office before her appointment. His deep red hair was as unruly, locks falling across his forehead, and over his pale eyes.

She stood up on shaky legs. Square your shoulders. Straighten your back. Chin up, she urged herself, but his appearance had knocked the wind out of her, leaving her unstable. It was the intensity of his sunken stare, the fatigue etched in his features, the way he wore a designer's suit, and people stared at him. Some recognized him, and a hushing uncomfortable silence fell over the coffee shop.

"Are you Sakura?" His voice was low, deep. Bored.

"Yes, nice to meet you, Gaara-sama," she bowed, and he merely sat down, unbuttoning his suit jacket with a precise flick of his wrist.

He looked at his watch.

'Rude,' she thought, annoyed. He hadn't even used a suffix for her name.

Sakura sat back down slowly, her lips pinched. She reached for her cup before remembering it was empty. He watched her with unsettling eyes. She pretended to drink, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Her eyes darted to the pieces of red ink on his forehead, half-hidden by his hair. 'Oh dear god, is this really a CEO?'

"This is unbelievably awkward," Sakura said nervously to fill the lapsing silence, "and not just because you go around kissing mysterious women."

"Dancer," Gaara said, and betrayed nothing. "She was a dancer, and I was quite drunk."

"You mean a stripper?" Sakura blushed.

Gaara raised an eyebrow at her.

Sakura gulped, her hand playing again with the empty cup. He followed her gestures with indifference, immobile, immutable. He was a man in a shield.

"Do you want some coffee, Gaara-sama?"

"I don't have much time," he replied stiffly, and he closed his mouth abruptly. "I apologize. My brother told me not to say that."

Sakura cleared her throat. 'What a weirdo...' she thought.

"Alright, I'll go straight to the point: If we do this, we need a contract," Sakura said thickly.

"A contract?" His head tilted slightly. "Other than a notarized marriage contract?"

"Yes, I marry you under some conditions."

Gaara nodded sharply, and gestured for her to go on before glancing at his watch.

"Have you drafted this contract?"

Sakura reached for her purse and rummaged inside. She heard him shift in his seat, and she wondered if he only moved, only betrayed things when no one was looking. She finally pulled out a crumbled piece of paper. She smoothed it over, her tongue poking out between her lips.

Gaara shifted in his seat again, his lips pinched, his brow twitching.

"Isn't this a medical assessment form?" he pointed at the header. "Does my grandmother know this is how you use the hospital's supplies?"

Sakura cleared her throat, her face flushed, and began to read: "Number one, I won't do the pageant wife thing. I work at the hospital. I'll show up next to you when I can, not when you need me to. If I'm working, I'm working."

Sakura paused looking up at him. He still stared at the piece of paper, his lips thin and his jaw set.

"Do you have any questions or…"

"I'm waiting for you to finish," he replied coldly, and he tapped on his wristwatch with one index while his stare remained on her.

Sakura tensed, uncomfortably jerking back in her seat. Squared shoulders. Straight back. Chin up.

"Number two, you touch me without consent, I saw your head off."

"I don't think you can include threats in a legally binding contract. Try to reformulate the sentence accordingly."

He was unshakable.

He was the voice in her head telling her she didn't belong.

"Number three," she pushed on, and her words rubbed her raw. "I won't be your housekeeper or your cook."

His lips curled back in disgust, he designated her contract vaguely.

"I'm certain housekeeping is not a possibility for you."

"Number four," Sakura snapped raising her voice above his. Her heart pounded. She would be heard. And she would not bow if he weren't going to bow back to her. Squared shoulders, straight back, chin up. "You pay for my tuition in full, and you give me the same amount as my scholarship per year until I'm done with school. Then, I become a doctor and I pay you back."

"Hn." Gaara neatly pushed his suit jacket aside and took out a business card from his inner pocket. "Here."

Sakura blinked at the card and took it with both hands. Inwardly, she kicked herself. There she was again being formal to a rude man without manners.

"What's that?"

"The email of my executive assistant," Gaara said and stood up, his eyes on his watch. "I'm not signing anything that isn't typed out on an acceptable piece of paper, and reviewed by my legal team."

Gaara buttoned back his jacket suit and readjusted his cuffs with precise movements. His movements ticked like a clock, a unhurried precise rhythm.

"You're leaving?" Sakura stammered and in spite of herself, she stood up too, the card shaking, wrinkling in her grasp.

"Yes, we're done, aren't we?" Gaara looked at her sharply.

"What about you?" Sakura frowned. "Don't you want anything? You're just..." she flinched under his cold stare. "You're just alright with marrying me?"

"I need this marriage. You also need it. What more is there to discuss?" Gaara said with disinterest and glanced once more at his watch. "My assistant will send you the non-disclosure agreement."

"Hey!" she called after him, half-sitting back on her chair.

Gaara turned back toward her.  

"What is it?" he asked calmly, but his mouth twisted with impatience.

She licked her lip, her fists tightening by her sides. Squared shoulders, straight back, chin up.

"I think I'll add a STD test as Number five."

-X-

The camera wobbled, then settled showing Tenten sitting in her kitchen. She propped a piece of cookie in her mouth, her eyes narrowed at the screen. She munched slowly, brushing off crumbs from her lips with long fingers in the same absent-minded manner.

"He's hot," Tenten said simply, scrolling down the official pictures of Gaara. "Not hotter than Neji, but still hot."

In her own corner of the screen, Ino snorted, and pushed her thick hair back in a gesture that was so familiar, Sakura's heart lurched.

She missed home.

She missed her friends.

Sakura smiled wider, her face, her heart aching, as she nodded and nodded. And smiled and smiled. He wasn't her happy ending, but being a doctor was.  

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Ino asked again, her blue eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What do we know about this guy? Maybe he's a serial killer."

The webcam gave her usual intimidating glance a grainy quality. If she were here, she would know immediately know how Sakura was feeling. She would toss her hair and talk and talk until Sakura cracked. Until she followed what she said as she always did. Tenten would hum to herself and pile up ice cream on the table, carelessly handing them spoons, to shut up Ino, and to comfort Sakura.

"Hmmm... Sakura can take him, right, Pinkie?" Tenten asked.

Sakura nodded again, and she moved her computer, so her face would blur momentarily.

"But, there's still an issue," Tenten added her mouth full. She licked the chocolate off her fingers. "You don't even know if he's a real ginger."

Ino wrinkled her nose, and Sakura laughed, a fake nervous laugh that was high-pitched, deformed by the microphone of her laptop.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ino asked.

"Okay, I'll be crass: you haven't seen his dick, and whether it's acceptable."

"Tenten," a muffled voice said sharply with a hint of amusement.

"Jesus, Ten," Ino giggled.

"Oh god," Sakura gaped.

Shakily, she passed a hand over her forehead.

"What? Act all puritan if you want, y'all, but I've never seen any of you buy clothes without trying them out first. That includes you, Neji," Tenten yelled, her eyes shifting beyond the camera. "So, you should... you know, try him out first."

"I can't believe you're already married, you clown," Ino huffed, speaking at Tenten. "She can't just ask him to audition for her husband's position!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not surprised you aren't married. Neji's friends I have introduced to you were boring." Tenten turned her head away from the camera. "Love, do you have any non-boring friends for Ino?"

"I'm not getting involved in this," a man's voice answered. "Tell Sakura congratulations on her engagement."

"Neji said you should definitely find out if he's real a ginger," Tenten turned back toward the camera and winked, despite her husband protesting in the background.

"Oi, Sakura, does Gaara have a brother?" Ino asked and fluttered her eyelashes at her.

"I'm hanging up!" Sakura shouted as it was their ritual.

"Also, what are you going to do with your hair and that forehead for your wedding?"

"Shut up, Pig!"

"Bye, you guys!" Tenten said serenely.

Sakura logged off and ran a tired hand in her hair.

In two days, she would be married.

In two days, her debts would be paid off.

She reached across her laptop for her phone. She massaged the back of her neck, leaning back on her chair.

"It'll be alright. I'll become a doctor," she said to herself, with the same firmness Director Sabaku had employed with her.

-X-

There was no ceremony, no aisle or flowers.

Her wedding was cold, surgical, the atmosphere oppressive, the notary's office crammed with paperwork.

Gaara and Sakura sat in front of notary Shikamaru Nara as he drawled out the marriage contract, stopping occasionally to yawn. Behind their chairs, Gaara's siblings stood guard with his grandmother and a man who had introduced himself as Kiba Inuzuka.

They towered over her, reducing her to a spectacle.

"Do you, Sakura Haruno, accept to take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?" Shikamaru asked and his eyes gleamed, sharp, contrasting with his slow lingering movements as he pushed the contract in front of her. He held up a pen for her.

She couldn't do this.

Sakura glanced back at Chiyo-sama, and the old woman nodded stiffly at her. Sakura hadn't noticed the white flower pinned to her old-fashioned suit before.

She would do this.

"Yes," she said and her voice crumbled, stumbled over the word.

She took the pen and scribbled her signature at the bottom of the page. She held the pen to Gaara and took it from her with touching her.

"And do you, Gaara Sabaku, accept to take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife?"

Before he had finished his question, he signed, the movements of his wrist stiff and quick.

"Yes, are we done here?"

"Gaara!" Kankuro hissed, and he swatted the back of his head. "I did not bring champagne for nothing."

"Yes, you did," Gaara replied, unfazed, and he stood up, glancing at his watch. "I have a fundraiser that starts soon."

Nimbly, Gaara buttoned back his jacket, ignoring his family.

"For crying out loud!" Kankuro swore, and turned toward his sister. "Tem... Stop ogling your boyfriend, and stop him."

"The fundraiser is important for his image right now," Temari narrowed her eyes at Kankuro before reaching over the desk to readjust Shikamaru's tie.

"Tema..." Shikamaru smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Could you just be careful about your tie?" She whispered at him, with softening features.

"Holy fuck, isn't this just great?" Kankuro rolled his eyes, and Kiba touched his shoulder, grimacing. "My sister is being groped, and my brother is being a dick."

"Watch your tongue, you punk!" Temari hissed.

"How about he watches his hands?" Kankuro shot back, glowering at Shikamaru.

Sakura flinched, her eyes wildly drifting across the building tension in the room; Kankuro and Temari's faces flushed angrily, Kiba and Shikamaru wincing, shifting from one foot to the other, seemingly used to their arguments.

Gaara surveyed his siblings, his face expressionless.

"I'm leaving now," he announced coldly.  

"You're not leaving before the rings, Gaara!" Chiyo-sama snapped and the siblings flinched at her thundering voice, reacting as one.

They widened their eyes, and Kankuro stepped in front of his boyfriend, throwing out his arm in front of him in reflex, Temari digging her nails in Shikamaru's hand. Something dark shifted Gaara's features, his eyes ferociously gleaming.

Sakura flinched away from them.

Then, the tension was gone, they moved again, apart, bickering in whispers, as if they had never been frightened.

Gaara approached her again and handed her a diamond ring, his face emotionless. It was an elaborate ring made of twisted bands grouped as one and incrusted with diamonds.

Sakura reached for the ring, smiling thinly, and her heart throbbed painfully.

She put on her own ring.

"Let my assistant know if it doesn't fit."

Gaara walked away without another word, his head bent over his watch.

Sakura held back her tears, already exhausted. She gripped her purse, her arms crossed over herself. She held on herself, full of emotions boiling, swirling, wanting to break free. The back of her throat hurt, her mouth quivered.

She would not cry in front of them.  

"Where are you going?"

Temari stepped in front of her, blocking the passage to the door. Sakura recoiled at her boisterous nature.

"I have a shift at the hospital," she replied thinly.

"I'll drive you."

"It's not necessary-" she protested weakly, fumbling for an excuse, anything, that would allow her to break free from her.

"Maybe Kiba and I should do that? We're just much better company," Kankuro interjected, and again Sakura felt she wasn't really there, a part of this moment. She was the pawn between a tugging war led by Gaara's family. Uneasily, Sakura looked past them, but Gaara was already gone.

"No, it should be me," Temari said icily and she brushed by Kankuro, gripping Sakura's wrist. "Come on."

He gave her a small smile, shaking the bottle of champagne.

"Welcome to the family, little sis," he said, and his face grew cold, in an instant.

Kankuro dropped the bottle on Shikamaru's desk, startling him. He snarled at him.

"Enjoy, lazy bum."

Temari walked with big strides, Sakura, shocked, staring at the diamonds gleaming on her finger. Her insides were knotted together. She passed a moist hand on her forehead. Did she truly say 'yes' to a stranger?

"Get in," Temari ordered, and she snapped her fingers at her driver.

The driver ran around the car once Temari had disappeared inside the car, and opened the door for Sakura.

Silently, he closed the door after her.

Sakura's hands involuntarily caressed the leather of the limousine's interior, her eyes widened.

The engine purred gently, and they moved.

Temari's fingers tapped on the armrest, her teal eyes narrowed at her, her face pale, stony.

"I wanted to have a little chat with you since you are now family," Sakura's small smile faltered as Temari's face quivered in repressed disdain. "Image is everything for this family. Get a haircut, better clothes, make-up you can't buy at the pharmacy."

"You disapprove of me," Sakura breathed out, and her nails sank into her arms.

Her body shook. She wanted to lie down and poured out her pain, her anger, her fear. She felt weak, at the hands of these strangers.

"Your image is unflattering to us, and frankly, I don't care about you," Temari answered brutally. "Gaara insisted on choosing someone who was beneath him, that's his choice, but good taste... It can't be acquired. Fifteen years from now you'll still be the girl from the gutter."

Sakura didn't reply, her mind bleeding, severed pieces afloat. One part of her wanted to scream and bash Temari's head in, the other part, wanted to cowered. She wanted to scream herself raw. She wanted to disappear. She knew she was nothing. She wasn't nothing. There was no harmony in her mind, only her mantra. Squared shoulders, straight back, chin up. She was fatally wounded, but she was a doctor.

So, she said nothing. Holding in her pain the same way she would have pressed against an open wound: until everything was numb.

The car slowed in front of the hospital.

Sakura grabbed the door handle.

"Don't," Temari snapped imperiously. "The driver opens the door."

Without hesitation, Sakura hurled the door open, and she heard Temari cursed under her breath.

She turned her head toward her, her eyes flashing with anger.

"I don't know whether you're really full of hate or if you truly love Gaara-sama that much to be talking to me like that..."

"I don't care what you think," Temari replied coldly.

Sakura slammed the door shut, and brushed by the stunned driver. He bowed his head stiffly.

During her shift, Sakura reimagined each aspect of her wedding until her lies were convincing and she could call her friends without her voice breaking.

There were flowers.

Chiyo-sama walked her down the aisle.

Gaara squeezed her hand when he put on her ring.

And her new family was lovely.

They were everything she could have ever hoped for.

[wristic]

First for Everything

Pairing: Edward Nygma x Reader Word Count: 2500 Warnings: There’s no better way to end a date than with murder!

Anonymous Requested:  Could I get a oneshot of jealous and possessive Edward Nygma where a dude at her work keeps pushing reader to go out with him but she doesn't want to cause problems and is timid so she isn't always clear about her not liking the guy and when Ed comes to the rescue she's blushing and treats him like a hero making him blush as well and feel proud

You took a long slow breath, counting down the seconds before you went insane. Hell, you should go a little crazy. It would help get Detective ‘doesn’t take rejection well’ Leroy off you.

He had you backed into his desk, arms out that would take a push to get him to move. Something the other female employees didn’t recommend. “So seven sounds good sweetheart?”

Relaxing your jaw, you forced a smile, wishing dearly you had a knife instead of a smile, “I’m afraid I have a lot of work to do-”

“Lot of work?!” He scoffed, bringing in the collection of Jim, Harvey and Ed looking over a case at their own desk beside his. “You guys hearing this? The secretary's got lots of work to do!”

There was a pause as they looked you over in confusion. You shifted and hid your face, feeling your skin burn with embarrassment and desperation to run away. Other people didn’t need to see your weak display at handling the situation.

In a tone that could be mistaken for agitation, Ed corrected. “She’s the Criminal Analyst.”

Leroy looked about like he was waiting for a punchline. Harvey rolled his eyes and mocked, “You’d know that if you actually spent any time here.” You assumed Leroy didn’t hear him mutter “Idiot.” under his breath as him and Jim looked back at the desk.

Brushing off the awkward interaction, Leroy leaned back to you, making you cringe away. “So this weekend isn’t so good. You can give me your number-”

“I don’t have a working phone right now.” You lied, inching your way to the cracked opening of his dominating presence.

He caught the small plan and took a step closer to you, making you even more nervous feeling his breath down your face. “Come on now, I’ve seen you using a phone this morning-”

“It-it wasn’t my phone. I’m borrowing a phone until I get a new one!” You chuckled. He chuckled. Both laughs died and the air got uncomfortable and tense as his pale blue eyes bore into yours, not a hint of joy for the excuse.

“Well give me that number.”

Ed hadn’t stopped watching the scene, stiff and completely deaf to the chatter between Jim and Harvey. They hadn’t noticed until they asked him a question and Ed responded with a guttural, “That imbecile really thinks that tactic works?”

Both detectives looked up to him with brows raised high. Glancing back at the scene, Jim could see a little clearer than the other two you were starting to get scared, clinging to your clipboard for dear life. He took a step to intervene before getting a better idea. Elbowing Nygma he muttered, “Why don’t you go save the day over there?”

Ed snapped out of the jealous tunnel to suddenly be on a spot light. Looking to Leroy, in all honesty Leroy reminded him a lot of school bullies he had. Fit, handsome, but an idiot who used fear when charm didn’t get him what he wanted. He couldn’t stand Leroy talking to you, but he couldn’t imagine standing up to Leroy without some sort of weapon either. “I-I don’t know-”

“Don’t worry,” Jim clicked his tongue with a wink, “We got your back.”

Something about Jim made him easy to have faith in. After a few apprehensive moments, running ideas on what to say and do in his head, Ed straightened his coat and fixed his glasses. Confident he had three against one. He didn’t hear Harvey chiding Jim how Nygma was 'going to be snapped like a twig'.

Tapping Leroy on the shoulder, that first moment was the hardest. The man who could run marathons and not break a sweat turned and stuck out his jaw in a challenge. But it was the patient look on your face, the wide expectancy instead of foreboding pity that tugged a different string in him. Coming face to face with Leroy again, a smirk slipped on him. “Not having any trouble are you?”

Leroy sized Ed up before breaking in a pompous grin, “None at all. Now if you’ll excuse me-”

“My apologies, I’m just worried a dimwit like you might have forgotten certain harassment code violations.”

It was bad enough Ed interrupted, but to add insult in the same sentence. Needless to say the surrounding area tipped an ear to the scene. Jim himself was inching closer with a tight lip while Harvey relaxed onto the desk with a snicker. Leroy snapped his jacket, turning and facing Ed fully. “Alright Egghead. What’s your problem? This your girl or something?”

“No.” Ed shrugged. “But I do believe this isn’t the first time she’s found reasons to refuse you multiple times. So either you’re pathetic, desperate, or an idiot. Or all three in my opinion!”

That caught the rest of the precincts eyes. Yet Ed didn’t falter under the impressed stares, he was invigorated by them. Leroy’s bristle did nothing to intimidate like it would have. “Oh-hoo-hoo, you’re looking to get your ass beat aren’t you-”

Edward threw his hands up in mock submission. “Look, look… I’d give some big analysis about all your psychological faults brought on by classic trauma’s and even more classic societal commentaries, but something tells me that would be too many words. So instead I’ll say this,” Ed pulled in next to Leroy’s ear, the detective looking disgusted by the proximity until Ed started to whisper. The room was quiet and they listened closely to no avail, not even you. Ed offered a wink to your curious stare before he finished and pulled back. He couldn’t see but you still twisted bashfully.

Leroy was in horror, eyes wide and jaw slack. Jim had finally made Ed’s deeply confused back up when Leroy whispered, “How do you know about that?”

“Not important.”  

Leroy took a deep shaky breath, looking about the room and swaying in his spot, trying to find a way to save himself. The scene made Ed smile more, his hands itching and his blood surging watching Leroy crack and turn into a frantic animal under the pressure. As Leroy’s eyes started to turn glossy and red, he stepped back and motioned you were free.

Dumbfounded by the development, you took the small hop to stand by Nygma and look up at him. Leroy scurried off fast, head bowed and breathing heavy, but gone all the same. With awe in your voice you asked like you were standing next to a valiant hero, “How did you do that?”

He went to reply, but whatever had taken over him crumbled under your bright gaze and Jim giving him a little too hard victory shoulder-punch to congratulate him. Ed chuckled helplessly, fixing his hair and twisting about with stumbling words. “It’s all about knowing the right information I guess.”

“It was amazing!” You gapped, making him all the more bashful. Biting your lip you began reasoning away. He was reserved like you, staying out of conflicts. But Edward came to your rescue in a way no one ever had before. That meant he liked you, right? “Uh… so… obviously my phone is mine and I do have a working number… maybe… you want mine?”

Ed glanced back aghast to Jim and Harvey who both mouthed YES, faces agitated with his pause. Coming back he answered, “Yes!? Of course!”

The date was so much more than you expected. It wasn’t expensive and fancy but he took to eat at a small dinner that deserved to be known by the world, took you to a place no one knew about to see above the city. Now he was walking you home, both of you a touch tipsy from the wine, giggly and swaying into one another to keep warm.

“Okay, okay, ‘The Maker doesn’t buy me, the Buyer doesn’t use me, and the User doesn’t know me. What am I?”

Although, he had been asking you riddles all night. At first you were brushing them off as little jokes but now you were trying, and failing miserably. Tipping your head onto him you giggled to the sky and thought. “Aaaah… a pill?”

“What?! No! How did you get a pill?!”

“A pill maker doesn’t take the pills! He sells them! And most people don’t know what goes into the drugs they’re taking!”

“He might take it! And the buyer buys pills because they need pills!”

“Not if they're the guy who’s buying and selling the bonds of the company who makes the pills!”

Ed was on the verge of wheezing in his laughter. “A coffin! It was a coffin!”

“Ooh! Yeah I can see that!” You two stumbled a bit, laughing down the empty street. The light of the streetlamp hit a certain car just right, catching your eye and making your laughter fade. It wasn’t a usual on your street, but it was a usual at the precinct. Your heart gave a stutter as you sobered up in fear. “Isn’t that Leroy's car?”

Ed looked over as well and as the door to it opened, Leroy slipped out. Whose hand disappeared behind his back before pulling out his gun. You clutched onto Ed as he confirmed, stiff as a board. “Yep, that would be Leroy.”

You tugged on Ed to run with you, but he held still. There was nothing in his expression that said he wasn’t as frightened as you, yet he wouldn’t run. Ed teetered back with his hands up as Leroy aimed the gun at his chest.

The detective was a mess. Hard liquor wafting off him, tears streaming down his red face, he couldn’t even see straight to aim the gun properly.

“You bastard!" he spewed to Ed. "I did what I had to! It’s survival out here! Not something a geek like you would understand!” He rubbed away his face with his sleeve, sniffling before finding you two again. “They own us, they own us all! He should have understood that!”

Peeking out from behind Ed and clinging onto him for dear life, you whispered, “Ed, what is he talking about?”

Giving a hiss, he whispered back down to you, “That he killed his partner for trying to defy the mob?”

You gasped both at the reveal and that Ed even knew. “Is that what you threatened him with earlier!?”

“I had to think of something to throw him off!” He defended.

“Shut up! Both of you! You don’t get it! You wouldn’t get it!” Leroy stumbled into you both trying to press forward. The gun tapped on Eds chest and he grabbed it, ripping it out of Leroy’s hand with ease. All three of you looked at the weapon in shock, baffled how it could have switched hands like you all didn’t witness it.

Ed and you jumped back out of reach and he aimed the gun. “Leroy, it’s time for you to go home now. Preferably by walking.”

Leroy scoffed in disgust. “You’re not going to shoot me! I’ve killed more people than you’ve had dates!”

The gun dipped in Ed insulted posture, the timidness dwindling fast. “That’s wasn’t very nice.” he snapped.

Ed turned to you thinking he might distract his anger and calm you down. While you were staring at him with wide-eyed anticipation, it wasn’t in fear. Your eyes dodged to the gun and to him, biting your lip at the weapon now resting much more confident in his grip. Ed smiled down at you, feeling the same thrilled rush in you that he had when pointing the gun.

“This is ridiculous, give me my gun back you losers.” He took one step forward and the gun went off, the sound cracking off the walls and through the streets. Leroy looked at his stomach, blood seeping and dripping fast into his white shirt. Instead of going down, he enraged, baring his teeth and ready to charge Ed who was as stunned as you were. Leroy moved only slightly and Ed fired again, losing count as he emptied the barrel into Leroy until he was on the ground and still.

You both stared at his body, jaws wide and the air misting your heavy breathing. “It-it was self defense!” You claimed.

“Self defense! Right!” Ed frantically agreed.

“That’s right it was self defense!”

“Self defense!”

You both looked back at the body, the smiles fading. “Except you shot him quite a few times… it usually doesn’t hold up in court if you keep attacking after they go down.”

“What!? Why doesn’t that hold up in court!?”

“Cause if they can’t fight they’re not a danger to you anymore, meaning no longer self-defense.”

“He-he’s a big guy though…” Ed tried to reason, gesturing with the gun like it was a simple extension of his hand. However you’d been in enough court cases to explain evidence to know. You shrugged and he sighed.

A car driving fast enough to push the engine startled you both despite it being in the distance. “We should move him.” You patted Ed’s chest. “Someone will call the police soon if they haven’t already.”

Ed looked at the gun in his hand, using his coat to wipe it down before shoving it in his pocket. “We’ll take him to his car. Leave behind as little evidence as possible.”

“Right.” You nodded, flipping Leroy over with a grunt. “Man, he’s as heavy as he looks.” Sifting through his pockets you took his keys, wallet, and phone. Getting between his legs you hiked them under your arms while Ed wrestled with carrying his top half.

Scuffling to the car, you unceremoniously dropped a leg and struggled to open the trunk. Forgetting what he was holding, Ed dropped Leroy to reach out and help you. You both gasped and felt a little bad about the loud thunk Leroy’s head gave, stepping back like he would wake up and yell at you both. But Leroy was dead as dead, and Ed jiggled the lock until the trunk popped open.

Stuffing him in there and slamming the lid shut, you both rushed into the seats up front, ignoring the clutter of garbage and stench of stale beer.

In a huff, you two turned and stared into one another. Ed was unsure what to say or do that might comfort you. But comfort was far from what you wanted from him. 

In a leap you wrapped your arms around his neck and crashed your lips to his. A muffled hum of confusion escaped him before realizing what you were doing. Ed thought he was the only one not as scared or horrified as he should be. In fact, killing someone that felt like an old bully, getting the girl, he felt like a damn hero. Relaxing, he wrapping his arms around you in the first kiss after a first date.

[willgayers]

reddie at a fuckinn,,, office christmas party and eddie is like 'oh finally my chance to talk to the cute guy (richie) that works in HR' but then richie walks in and he's wearing the UGLIEST fucking christmas sweater ever and eddie loses his shit ((idk this just came to mind do what u want with it)) ((((this is kinghanscom ily)))

@kinghanscom MY ACTUAL GOD ,,, I WORSHIP ,, LOVE, AND ADORE YOU

theyre like ,, 25-26 here

office christmas parties… oh god

first of all they’ve been seeing each other in work the whole year, never really talked 

they were in the break room at the same time a couple of times but they never really got far with talking

as richie was always busy being the jester of the break room 

but one time he winked at eddie before he turned his gaze away to talk to somebody else again 

and eddie rushed away with a blush

and his donut

well yeah,,, back to the christmas party:

“hey greta” eddie smiles at the old info counter lady as he walks in 

“hello eddie,,, here take this”

she gives him the “hi my name is” sticker

eddie writes “Eddie” on it and sticks it to his baby blue button-up 

he grabs a glass of the “champagne” on the tray but its probably some cheap apple cider just put in a fancy glass

eddie sips it and cringes

yep he was right

soon he turns his gaze to the left side of the hall, where laughter is coming from

who else but richie tozier is in there,,, entertaining as usual

eddie bites on his lip because tonight would be a great opportunity to finally talk to the cute scrawny guy 

like eddie had no idea if he was gay or anything (at least not according to the awful shoes he wore) but he HAD winked at eddie so??? 

suddenly everyone starts to disappear from around richie,,, to get more drinks or smoke cigars or something

richie gets left alone,, and eddie notices how he pulls his smartphone out from his pocket and starts to scroll on it

now is your chance kaspbrak

eddie gulps the cheap apple cider down in one take and leaves the now empty glass on the table before making his way to richie 

he inhales and exhales once more,,, before he steps forwards

“hey” eddie says

richie turns around, not expecting to see who he did but now a huge smirk takes over his face

“hey!!! its you”

eddie’s gaze slides down to the shirt richie is wearing

its,,, a ,,fucking shirt,,, with a dabbing santa claus riding a grumpy cat reindeer 

“what the FUCK is that” eddie asks, nodding towards his shirt, his gaze still stuck on it 

richie glances down at his shirt again

“its a shirt with a dabbing santa claus riding a grumpy cat reindeer” he says

“oh my fucking god” eddie facepalms

“what???” richie asks “you dont think its cool???”

“NO i dont think its cool i think its a fucking disaster”

“excuse me i paid good money for this” richie jokes

“wasted money i say” eddie says, and now regrets drinking his apple cider down in one go 

he notices an abandoned glass on the table next to him tho so he leans to grab it 

“whats your name, flower of positivity?” richie asks

eddie looks at him for a moment, wondering whether this was a bad freaking idea 

but then he remembers he’s literally been swooning over this guy throughout the whole year

“eddie” he says “says so in here too”

he points at his chest

“ah! right” richie says

eddie turns his gaze to richie’s sticker

which says

“hi, my name is…

CHICKA CHICKA SLIM SHADY”

eddie raises his brows

“are you kidding me”

richie smirks

“pretty genius huh”

“no. thats awful. and used”

“you’re very negative aren’t you” richie smirks, tilting his head and sipping his drink 

eddie had no idea why he was like this tbh

somehow this guy annoyed him to the maximum?!??!!? BUT WHY?!?!?! 

just a few minutes ago he was standing in the elevator his tummy turning around at the thought of running into richie tonight

“you’re really weird” eddie just says

richie laughs

“is that all?”

eddie looks at him quietly

“sit down,,, eddie”

richie pats the empty seat next to him on the awful leather couch

eddie hesitates for a moment but then sits down

“so,,, eddie…..” richie starts “im richie”

eddie fake gasps

“so youre not slim shady???” he asks dryly

richie smirks so wide because ?!?!?!??! !

EDDIE KASPBRAK IS FINALLY TALKING TO HIM 

(he actually knew his name was eddie already)

(because richie’s got the BIGGEST crush)

(it all started when he saw eddie in the break room the first day and noticed eddie picking out a donut for five minutes and then glancing around to see no one was witnessing,,, he grabbed two)

(and didnt realize richie was outside behind the counter)

(so he asked his name from greta)

(and she told him)

(and the whole year richie wanted to talk to him but thought eddie wouldnt like him so he made sure everyone ELSE liked him first and that eddie would notice richie was actually very likable :(((( ) 

(ANYWAY BACK TO THE PRESENT MOMENT)

“i knew you were funny” richie says

“i am kinda funny” eddie shrugs

“thats unfair. usually you can only pick one”

eddie frowns 

“huh??”

“i mean,, you’re already cute as heck. and you’re also funny?? thats not fair. pick one”

eddie blushes vigorously as his jaw drops a little because holy fuck that was smooth

and richie smiles wide 

“youre-”

then all the people march back in from out of nowhere

“HEY RICHIE YOU WANNA COME TAKE SOME SHOTS? JAKE JUST GOT THE VODKA BOTTLE!”

they both stare at the workers,,, and then glance at each other

eddie’s kinda disappointed because he only ever hangs out with three people and richie’s the more famous one 

so obviously he’s gonna go with these people

why would he stay with eddie

“no thanks guys im gonna stay here with eds”

“with who????” eddie raises his brows in a excuse-me-what’d-ya-call-me way 

“you sure???” the guy who suggested shots asked, a little confused

“yeah” richie nodded “am perfectly comfortable here”

eddie blushes again but this time there’s a small smile to it as he looks at richie

richie winks at him

“okay. fine” the guy says

“BOOOOORING” one of them says from behind him and off they go 

“you didnt have to do that” eddie says

“but i wanted to” richie shrugs “why would i care about some vodka shots when i have something much more interesting going on here,,,”

“okay romeo enough with the flirting” eddie chuckles

“why though?” richie tilts his head “i find you extremely flirty-worthy”

“you dont even know me” eddie smiles amusedly 

“i know you stole two donuts on our first day” richie says and sips his drink as eddie gasps and his jaw drops

“I THOUGHT NOBODY SAW ME”

“well you thought wrong sweet tooth” richie smirks

“its just,,, who the hell can decide between a raspberry sprinkle and a salted caramel?!?!?!?”

“i totally get you” richie nods understandingly “i feel the same about a chocolate and a crunchy crunchy one”

“YEAH” eddie says “like honestly i think everyone should be allowed to take two donuts. one donut… what the fuck is this, the biggest loser????”

richie laughs

“yeah i know right”

“yeah” eddie says, sipping his cider again

and richie smiles

because wow they havent talked for even thirty minutes but he’s like so fucking whipped already????

“i didn’t tell anyone though” richie says

eddie looks at him for a moment,, his heart swelling up a little 

but he doesnt show it outside

“good. because i would have fucking wrecked you”

“oh i dont doubt that for a second” richie says

and he means it 

eddie looks at him for a moment ,,, starting to smile but then he laughs

like really laughs

and richie is heart eyes 

“whats your opinion on cinnamon sugar though?” richie asks

“its okay” eddie says “kind of boring,, but its okay”

“agreed” richie nods

they look at each other for a moment before eddie speaks

“i gotta confess”

“i am not the father”

eddie laughs again

richie’s proud w himself and smiles 

“no,, im serious. i uh,…. i knew your name was richie”

richie raises his brows lightly

“,,,reeeeaaallly????” he asks, starting to smirk 

of course eddie did

one of his work buddies,,, tacy caught him staring at richie one day 

…. 

“what are we looking at”

eddie gasped and turned around, seeing tacy wiggle her brows at eddie  with a cup of coffee in her hand

“jesus,, how long have you been standing there”

“long enough to notice you’re totally daydreaming about the new guy”

“I AM NOT DAYDREAMING ABOUT THE NEW GUY HOW DARE YOU!” eddie gasped

tacy raised her brows 

okay fine

tacy was right

eddie just glanced behind him again,,, looking at the curly haired guy unpacking his box

“you know him???” eddie asked and turned back around

“yeah” tacy shrugged “his name’s richie”

“richie??” eddie asked 

“richie tozier” tacy said, turning her gaze to the guy “and i would climb that up like a tree”

“hey! i saw him first” eddie half-joked, frowning and tacy burst out laughing

“calm down, kaspbrak, i’ve got a boyfriend” tacy said. “but if i didn’t, though…. mmmm-mmm-mm-”

eddie playfully smacked her arm, making tacy laugh again

“come on, we got work to do” tacy said

“but-”

“you can talk to him on lunch break”

—-

(he never did)

“yeah” eddie says “my uh… my friend tacy told me”

“tacy?? tacy’s your friend??” richie asks

eddie gets a little bothered

“…yeah why?”

like has tacy done something with richie???

“she’s been flirting with me this whole year” richie shrugs as he gulps on his drink and slouches deeper to the couch and eddie’s jaw drops

THAT BITCH

ok eddie knew she flirted with everyone

bUT STILL

“dont worry. i was actually focused on someone else” richie says,, and turns his gaze back to eddie 

whose tummy flips again

“…..reeaaaaallly” he imitates richie from earlier and richie of course notices this,,, starting to smirk

“yeah. reaaaaally” he says

eddie smirks wide back at him, before he notices his glass is empty

“well, richie, my glass is empty.”

“oh my god no,,, we have to change that”

“i know” eddie fake gasps 

“that can not happen” richie says and gets up, holding his hand out for eddie who grabs it and richie pulls him up

“at a office christmas party? no way you’re gonna be sober”

eddie chuckles

its music to richie’s ears

they walk to the drink table and get more drinks

approximately a hour and a half later they’re making out hot and heavily inside a broom closet

gotta love office christmas parties

@superbyersbros@xbell22@donthateonk8@stenbroughbros@reddiebrekmyheart@itsgreywaterrichie@donvex@blueeyespurpleskies@ageorgymi@oh-youre-the-worst @eddiekaaspbraak@whipashwhipash@rissyq@richietoaster@edskasqbrak@urtury@bukiminajimu@kcutieeesblog@stansmansuris@adorefack@reddieaddict@icyeyes102@denbroughbill@graveyardshipper@taletellingsir@anxiety-freak-yuuri@rheddie@queertrashmouth@richiefreakingtozier@castletozier@tohzier@80soleff@lonewolfhard@low-key-dying@sad-synth @richietoaster@badboyharrington@beepbeep-losers @temptedtozier @kaspbraccs @kylieee827-blog@sad-synth @low-key-dying @officiallyreddie @reddietofall@stanleyboii@eternitynurarms@remushlupin@turtleneckrichie @rosegoldrichie@80srichie@asteroidbill@lonewolfhard@trashmouthgazebos@littlepointman@finnhardwolf@allison0609@fabulousprinceali @tatiscribbles @s-s-georgie @coralinejones @richiestoziiers@tatiscribbles @bellsd129

[reddie-to-go]

Can you write abt Eddie being possessive with Richie?

Eddie hardly ever got jealous. In fact, he barely even noticed when people flirted with Richie. He had sort of gotten used to it back when they had been best friends. Back in tenth grade when Richie had a major growth spurt and girls and occasionally guys started paying more attention to him.

Eddie hadn’t really paid attention to is back and that didn’t really change when they had started dating their first year of university. People would still flirt, but now Richie brushed them off or ignored them.

Which was the complete opposite of how Richie was. If anyone even looked at Eddie the wrong way he would pull Eddie closer and glare daggers at them. It probably didn’t help that Eddie was terrible at telling when someone were flirting. It had taken him two years to realized that Richie was flirting with him. how was he supposed to tell that the girl that was talking to him was “obviously into you” as Richie had put it?

There were three times Eddie had been the one to get possessive.

The first had been in class, and he hadn’t been the one to point it out

~~~

Eddie, Richie, Bev, and Stan had psychology together in their second year of university. The class was pretty standard, mostly just lectures. But on Friday they had group discussions where they would break off into groups of 10 and talk about the topic of the day.

Richie, being Richie, always had something to say and would usually be the one leading the discussions. It was about the fifth week of classes. Stan, Bev, and Eddie had gotten to class before Richie and were talking about the previous weekend. Bev stopped talking when a guy walked by there table and sat a few seats behind them.“That’s the guy that’s always flirting with Richie.” She whispered to Eddie once he had taken his seat. Eddie’s brows furrowed as he looked around the room confused.

“What are you talking about, what guy?” Eddie asked, turning in his chair to look behind him.

“Way to be conspicuous Eddie.” Stan rolled his eyes and look at him shaking his head.

“There no way you don’t notice the way he always tries to be in a group with us.” Bev pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Or how he always Stares at Richie,” Stan added on. He nodded his head towards the guy they were talking about.

“I thought that was just a coincident. And he stares at Richie because Richie is always talking.” Eddie defended, finally seeing who they were talking about.

He was in his early twenty’s and they were right, he was always sitting somewhere close to where they were.

“Oh come on Eddie. He asked him if he wanted to be partners on the group presentations,” Stan shook his head again. “How are you so oblivious to this.”

“When did that happen!” Eddie asked loudly. He definitely would have remembered that. Bev laughed as Stan shushed him.

“Last week when you were talking to the prof. don’t worry, Richie said no” Bev explained quietly.

Eddie turned his head to look back, not being as obvious this time. the guy was staring at the door. Eddie watched him sit up taller in his chair and look towards the door with a small smile. Eddie turned and saw Richie walking towards their table. He looked back and watched the guy’s eyes follow Richie as he approached.

“Traffic was a bitch today.” Richie exclaimed as he flopped into his seat beside Eddie. Eddie was still looking behind him at the guy, who was still staring at Richie. His eyes shifted and then the two of them were looking at each other. Eddie gave him a dirty look and turned to look at the front of the room.

Bev was laughing from her spot beside Richie and Stan shook his head, an action he did a lot around the two of them. Richie looked at the three of them confused.

Class started with Richie still confused as to what was going on. The teacher wrote the topic for the discussion on the board and instructed them to get into groups. After some moving around from everyone in the room, groups were made, and to Eddie’s frustration, the guy was in there’s.

Their group of 10 sat around a table, Eddie sitting closer to Richie then strictly necessary. The guy sat across from them. Eddie hated that Stan and Bev had pointed out this guy because now that was all Eddie could think about. For the first half of the class, he didn’t look anywhere but at Richie.

Eddie glared at him and reached under the table to take Richie’s hand in his. Richie looked over at him confused and then smiled and leaned over to him.

“What’s up Eds.” He whispered, squeezing Eddie’s hand. Eddie just kept scowling across the table. Eddie pulled their joined hand out from under the table and placed them on the table in front of them.

The guy’s eye’s dropped down from Richie’s face to their interlocked hands and then raised up to lock eye’s with Eddie. Eddie’s head turned to the side slightly as he gave the guy a challenging look. He quickly looked away embarrassed, turning to face the wall.  

“Um, Eddie,” Richie said from beside him. Eddie looked over at Richie and saw that he was almost laughing. Over Richie’s shoulder, he saw that Bev was laughing. Eddie looked around their group and noticed that everyone was staring at them. Eddie blushed and dropped his hand to his lap.

Stan cleared his throat and started talking, bringing everyone’s attention to him. Eddie stared down at the table until he felt Richie take his hand from his lap and hold it in his.

That was the last time they had that guy in their group for class discussion.

~~~

The second time was when the two of them were on a date.

Richie had whisked Eddie away to a fancy night of a movie and dinner at Olive Garden. The two were having a great night, the movie they had seen was great and Eddie was excited to get to dinner, he loved Olive Garden.

They had just been seated when it started.

Their waitress was a blonde girl about their age. She brought them to their table, touching Richie’s arm as she lead them.

Eddie noticed but decided not to say anything. Beside this probably wouldn’t even be their waitress.

She was.

Eddie rolled his eye’s as she took their order and laughed exaggeratedly loud at the stupid jokes Richie made. Of course, Eddie thought Richie was funny, but most normal people didn’t and especially not as funny as this girl was making him seem.

Whenever she would bring them refill or check up on them, which was way too often, she would touch Richie’s shoulder and make flirty faced down at him. Eddie was seriously annoyed.

The last straw was when their bill came and Eddie noticed a small number written at the bottom of it and a heart at the end. Eddie grabbed the bill and tore off the bottom of it. he stood and took Richie’s hand, pulling him towards the front.

When they got to the hostess stand Eddie put some bills down in front of the waiter that was there. Richie talked with the waiter, something about university, as he rang them up and grabbed change.

Their waitress from before came up behind the hostess stand and inserted herself into the conversation, saying something about a campus party coming up that Saturday.

Eddie had had enough. He grabbed the front of Richie’s shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. Richie was taken aback and by the sounds of surprise coming from beside them so was the waitress.

Eddie smiled when he felt Richie kiss him back. he pulled away and took the money from the waiters waiting hand.

“Sorry, we’re busy.” He turned to the girl and said, shoving the change into his pocket, taking Richie’s hand and pulling him out the front door.  

~~~

The last time had been at a party.

Eddie stood outside, sipping from a plastic cup. He had one arm wrapped around himself trying to keep warm. Bev stood beside him, occasionally blowing smoke into the air. Bev had dragged him out stating that she couldn’t find any of the others to go with her and she really needed a smoke.

Eddie, not wanting her to go alone, agreed to go. It wasn’t like he had any real excuse for not going. He hadn’t seen Bill, Stan or Mike in a while and Richie had gone to go get a drink about fifteen minutes ago. Eddie figured Richie had run into someone he knew or maybe found someone offering a joint.

Bev through the end of her cigarette on the ground in front of Eddie, dug it into the ground with her foot and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the front door.

“Thanks for coming, Eddie.”  She half yelled over her shoulder at him, the music making it hard for Eddie to hear her. He nodded at her and let himself be pulled through the house back to the living room where Bev had found him.

The two scanned the room for anyone they knew and spotted Stan sitting on a couch alone, nursing a drink. They pushed their way past people towards him. Bev dropped down to sit beside him and Eddie leaned against the arm of the couch.

The three of them talked for a bit about nothing in particular. Eddie had found out that Mike and Bill had known some guys that were here from a class they all had together, and they were in the backyard participating in a beer pong tournament. 

Eddie left to go get a drink and when he came back into the living room he noticed Bev and Stan whispering about something and glancing across the room.

Eddie approached them with a confused look. He turned over to where they were looking and saw Richie leaning back against the wall on the far side of the living room. A girl was standing with him. leaning her head on his shoulder and looking up at him. Richie had his head back, looking up at the ceiling and laughing. Eddie could tell he was right about Richie founding someone with weed, he looked completely stoned.

The girl did as well as her head lulled to rest in the crook of Richie’s neck.

Eddie stomped over to them, grabbed Richie’s arm and pulled him. the girls head rocked forward as she lost her support.

“EDDIE.” Richie yelled as he threw his arm around Eddie’s shoulder. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” He whispered into his ear.

“Excuse me, we were talking.” The girl said grabbing onto Richie’s other arm.

“I’m sorry, but me and MY BOYFRIEND are leaving.” he pulled Richie away from the girl and towards the front door.

Richie leaned hard on Eddie’s as they exited the house. Eddie walked them over to a tree in the front yard and sat down, leaning against it. Eddie wrapped his arm around Richie’s waist and pulled him closer. Richie nuzzled his hand face into Eddie’s neck.

“Why don’t you ever stop them?” Eddie asked quietly. Watching as people stumbled around the yard.

“stop who?” Richie mumbled into his neck.

Eddie paused for a second. Maybe he was being dumb. He was probably overreacting. At this point, though he couldn’t just not say anything and Richie most likely wouldn’t remember it tomorrow anyway.

“People that flirt with you.” Eddie finally said. Eddie felt Richie’s head move as he looked up at him. Richie stared at Eddie for what felt like forever.

“I don’t care what other people do Eds,” Richie finally said, reaching his hand up to cup Eddie’s chin and turn his head to face him. 

“I only care about you.” He finished, leaning his head in to press a kiss on Eddie’s lips.

Eddie smiled and kissed him back, wrapping his arms around Richie’s neck.

They sat wrapped together outside for the rest of the night. Richie would glare at anyone who approached them, saying that no one was going to come between them anymore. Eddie rolled his eyes and smiled, resting his head on Richie’s shoulder.

Eventfully Mike found them, saying that Ben had shown up to drive everyone home.

Eddie only got jealous over Richie three times. After that, he didn’t feel that he had to.

So I know it's not my usually smutty stuff but I still kinda liked how this turned out, hope you did too!

Perma Tags.

@smol-and-annoying @donvex @reddieornotasshole @richietoaster @williumbyers @eds-trashmouth

[georgies-boat]

Secrets {Part 1} // Eddie Kaspbrak

Word Count- 1698

Summary- You’re Stan Uris’ twin sister, and you two are as close as can be. That is, until you start dating one of his best friends behind his back, and go against his number one rule; no dating his friends.

Warnings; N/A

A/n; This was getting hella long and I still have a lot planned for this so I’m making it into two parts, will try to get part 2 out ASAP!

Requested; Yes! 

req; can you please do an eddie imagine? maybe one where the reader is one of the losers' sisters so they date in secret but they all accidentally find out?

PART 2

-

“Why can’t I go?” You asked, incredulously. It was a typical sunny day in Derry; blue sky, scorching heat. It was the perfect day  to go for a swim. Your brother had asked for the two of you to go out with your friends to the Quarry, and without a second thought, your father had agreed for Stan to go, but not yourself. “This isn’t up for discussion, young lady.” Your father said, sternly. “But- This is so unfair!” You argued, your face visibly showing your anger. “I said this isn’t up for discussion! Just go to your room, Y/N!” Your father snapped, and with a huff, you did so, slamming the door behind you.

“For fucks sake.” You whispered, throwing yourself onto the bed. You grumbled to yourself, rolling over. “Why can Stanley go, but not me?” Normally, it wouldn’t matter that much, as your father knew the boys well and didn’t think they were bad, but when it came to swimming at the Quarry with a bunch of teenage boys in your undergarments, he had his limits. Even if Beverly would be there, she didn’t have the best of reputations among the town, either. You understood he was trying to protect you, but it didn’t mean you were happy about it.

The sound of something hitting against your window made you turn in surprise. Walking up to it, you jumped when the same sound echoed through your quiet room. You saw it clearly now; it was a rock, but who’d been throwing them? Furrowing your brows in confusion, you slid open your window and peeked out, scanning the yard until your eyes fell upon a certain short brunette.

“Eddie?” You asked, peeling your window open ever so gently. The boy had a huge smile on his face, and motioned for you to climb down. You looked at your door with a hesitant glance, and smiled sadly at the boy. “Can’t. Dad won’t let me out with you guys today.” Eddie frowned, but you were quick to finish. “It’s alright, though! You guys go ahead and have fun. I have a lot of homework to catch up on anyways- we can’t all be as smart as my brother.” You attempted, and failed, to convince him. He shook his head, rolling his eyes.

“Y/N, you and I both know you want to come, so get your ass down here or I’ll haul mine up.” You blinked, a bit shocked, before biting your lip. “What about my dad?” You asked, unsure. “Stan’s distracting him, obviously. Hurry up, dammit!” Most people never would have really taken Eddie for such an impatient, demanding person, but you knew Eddie. You wouldn’t have thought it of him either, but you’d known him for as long as you could remember.

Sighing in defeat, you ever-so-careful climbed out of your window, jumping and landing on your feet with ease. It wasn’t as if you hadn’t done it before, you’d done it hundreds of times, but the last time you’d got caught, well, let’s leave it at the fact you were certainly not willing to go through it again. Still, you trusted Eddie, and besides, Stan wouldn’t let anything too bad happen to you, nor would the other losers. They were your family, and they had your back.

You walked over to Eddie, and the two of you glanced around, guaranteeing the coast was clear. Eddie quickly pressed his lips to yours, pulling away almost immediately. He pulled you into a hug, whispering into your ear. “I miss you. We never get any alone time, anymore.” Frowning, you pulled away. “I’m so sorry, Eds. I know this sucks, but we gotta go. Stan’s terrible at distractions.” Eddie sighed, but followed you anyway. You could tell he was hurt, but Stan couldn’t find out about the two of you.

It went against every rule in the book, yet it was such a common, stereotypical romance; the girl fell in love with her brother’s best friend, and the two date in secret without the brother knowing, with fear he’ll disapprove and risk losing their relationships with him.

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to tell Stan. Damn, you wanted to so bad. You two told each other everything, and you were as close as could be. He wouldn’t admit it, but you knew Eddie was dying to tell Stan and Richie as well; they were his best friends, after all. You knew how Stan was, though. Overprotective of you. He’d always been like this, even when you two were young. You remembered it like it was yesterday.

“Y/N, you can’t date any of my friends.” He’d told you, out of the blue. The two of you were on the swings in your backyard, rocking back and forth gently. Of course, you were both only 8 years old at the time, and it meant absolutely nothing to you. “Boys are gross, Stan! They have cooties!” You’d replied, sticking your tongue out at him. He sighed, and looked at you, seriously. “I’m serious, Y/N/N. I don’t wanna see you hurt. It would be even worse from my friends.” “I’m serious, Y/N/N!” you mocked, giggling. Stan sighed, the serious look unmoving from his face. “Fine, mr Grumpy! I won’t date your friends!” “Promise?” “Yes, Stan. I promise not to ever, EVER date any of your friends!”

If only you’d realized then how hard it would’ve been, maybe you wouldn’t have made the promise to your brother. Maybe you would’ve been smarter, had you only been a bit older, wiser. “I can’t make promises I can’t keep, Stanley.” If only you’d said something along the lines of that, you wouldn’t be flooded with the guilt you felt to this day. You didn’t want to have to break your promise to Stan. You tried so, so hard to push away your feelings, until finally, you couldn’t anymore. You knew if Stan found out, it would break him. The thought of breaking him, broke you.

As the two of you passed the window, you ducked while Eddie signalled Stan, to which he nodded, bidding your father goodbye and meeting you two outside. “Let’s get going then, we’ll be late.” Stan said, as the three of you walked down the driveway. “Dad’s gonna notice if my bike is missing, Stan.” You frowned, you knew Stan hated when you rode on the back of his bike. Stan pondered this, knowing you were right. “You can ride with me.” You both snapped your heads to Eddie, who was blushing bright red. You almost thought he would expose your entire relationship.

Stan looked unsure, before Eddie clarified. “I mean, I know you hate riding with another person, and I don’t mind.” Stan looked to you, and you nodded, indicating you were okay with it. “Alright, but don’t try anything with my sister, Kaspbrak.” He teased, but there was a serious tone to it that scared the both of you, just a little. Gulping nervously, you waited for Eddie to climb onto his bike before following suit, loosely wrapping your arms around his torso as he took a deep breath, following Stan as the three of you made your way to the Quarry.

Upon arrival, you were greeted with the Losers Club and the guilt of being with Eddie, though still present, was watered down and pushed away. Beverly, who was the only one who knew about your relationship, had raised eyebrows when you’d pulled up, arms wrapped around Eddie. She ever-so-subtly looked from Eddie to Stan, indicating her question evidently. You shook your head no, and mouthed “I’ll explain later”, to which she nodded.

The two of you stripped down to your undergarments, and without another word, both jumped off the ledge. “Holy fuck, how do they always do it without giving a shit?” Richie asked, dumbfounded. Even after all these times, he and the others still found it amazing that you and Beverly both jumped without hesitation. He and the others had their eyes trailed on the water, where you and Beverly had surfaced and were splashing each other, smiles bright on your faces. All except one; Stanley. He was too busy death glaring at Eddie. He saw the way Eddie’s eyes were trained on you from the moment you began to strip. None of the others seemed to notice Stan’s glare, however, and one by one, they all jumped, leaving Stanley standing alone. He shook his head at himself; neither you or Eddie would do something like that. He must’ve just looked at a bad time. “C’MON, STANLEY!” You called, and Stan sighed, before running and jumping off the cliff.

The rest of the day flew by, chicken fights occurred while you and Eddie supervised, lots of splashing, Richie making a comment or two about you and Beverly, and now you were laying beside Beverly, suntanning quietly. The boys were all staring at the two of you, both girls knew. Their gazes flicked between your two bodies, except Eddie’s, which stayed on your beautiful body. You and Eddie had been careful all day, up until this point, or so you’d thought. It just so happened that Stan had kept an eye on the two of you after his speculations that morning, and he had been right. You two were obviously much closer than the others; Stanley already knew this, because you and Eddie had always been quite close, but it was different. He saw the way Eddie looked at you, and it made his blood boil. The worst part of it all? You looked at Eddie the same way.

“THAT’S IT!” Stanley screamed, making the entire group jump, staring at him in shock. You and Beverly shot up, eyes blown wide. “What the fuck, Stan?” Beverly asked, taking off her sunglasses and squinting at your brother. “Why don’t we ask Eddie and Y/N, Hmm?!” You glanced at Eddie, then back at Stan. “What are you talking about, Stan?” You asked, a fake-confused tone hiding your nerves. “What am I talking about? Oh, I don’t know! Maybe about how you and Eddie are dating in secret, behind our backs?”

[smg4andbeetlejuicefanatic]

IT Fanfiction : Papawise

@ask-the-giant-clown i feel so evil right now

@ask-pennyboi >:))))))))

@levanaart imma tag u 2. i feel like you would like this a lot. bUT YOU MUST READ THE FIRST 3 CHAPTERS THo

Chapter 4 : It Just Gets Worse Abby woke up in the morning with a cranky attitude. She didn't get much sleep. Everything that happened the previous day was stuck in her head and it wouldn't leave. She wanted more than anything to stay home and sleep, but she didn't have much of a choice; so when she finally was able to drag herself out of bed, she went downstairs to make her breakfast; being greeted by her father as soon as he saw her. "Morning, precious!" he said bubbily. Abby barely noticed from how tired she was. "Huh? Oh, morning, dad." she said, yawning. Penny obviously knew his daughter was not awake enough for school, but he also knew there was no way he'd get her to stay home. Abby tried to cook her breakfast but ended up burning it. First attempt: failed. She tried again, and did the same thing. Second attempt: failed. Not bothering to try again, she decided to grab a yogurt cup from the rusty fridge. After eating and nearly falling asleep again, she got dressed, brush her hair, and grabbed her bag, which her dad handed to her. As she was walking away to go catch the bus, her dad stopped her. "Wait a minute, Abby." he said. When she turned around, he was walking towards her. Penny wrapped her in a hug he knew she needed. "You know you can talk to me if anything is bothering you, right?" he asked. "I want you to be happy, Abby." he added. Abby hugged him back. "I know, dad. I know." she said in return. "But..." She ended the hug by very lightly pushing him away. "I'm fine. I promise." she continued, smiling lightly. Penny sighed. He didn't really know what to think. Of course he believed her, but from what happened yesterday, he was unsure. He finally decided to just go with it and see what happens. "Alright." he said. "Have a good day at school today, ok?" he continued, smiling hopefully at her. Abby's smile grew a bit bigger. "Ok, I'll try." she said. "No, you will." Penny said right after, making his daughter laugh. "Whatever you say, dad. I love you!" Abby hugged her father; he kissed her forehead before she ran off to catch the bus to school. "Bye! I love you too!" Penny shouted to her as she disappeared into the distance. Abby met Eddie in first period and they talked a little bit before class was officially started. Today was the day every student presented their partner to the class. Abby thought all of the presentations were great; she thought this project was so much fun. After class, Eddie walked up to Abby and tapped her on the shoulder, startling her a little bit. "Oh, sorry if I startled you. I just wanted to tell you that I thought you're presentation was really good." he said. Abby blushed upon hearing the compliment. "Thank you." she said quietly. "Hey, would you like me to give you a ride home on my bike? I would like to know where you live so we can hang out sometime over the weekend." Eddie asked her, a hopeful smile on his face. Abby had no idea what to think. Sure, she'd love to be able to hang out with him other than school, but what would he think when he saw where she lived? What would he think when he met her dad? "I..." Abby stuttered before finally answering. "Yes." "Great. Meet me in the parking lot after school." Eddie said before walking off. Abby was in serious trouble. She had meant to say no, but it came out as yes. She really wanted to find him and tell him what she meant to say, but she was afraid she might hurt his feelings. The school day finally ended, and Abby was standing in the parking lot, waiting. Most of the kids had left already. Abby was one of the few left. She looked around for Eddie but couldn't find him. She was starting to worry. He suddenly pulled up on a motorcycle out of nowhere. "C'mon, Abby!" he shouted over the engine. Abby put on the second helmet, sat down on the seat behind him, and held onto him as he took off. At first, she was scared. The engine was really loud and Eddie was going a little fast for her liking. After a while though, she began to enjoy it. She liked the way her hair flew behind her in the wind. She liked the wind on her face. This was something she'd never experienced before. And she loved it. She had to give Eddie directions. Their destination was a little far from the school; only because the two places were on the opposite sides of Derry. When they finally got there, Eddie was confused. "You live here?" he asked, staring up at the old rickety house before them both."....Yes." Abby replied. "My dad and I don't have very much money. I'm the only one that can work, and I don't get paid as much as we would like." she continued. "So you live in the old Neibolt house then?" Eddie asked. Abby paused. "Actually....I live below the house." she said, a hint of guilt in her tone. Eddie caught this hint. "That's ok." he said. "It isn't your fault your dad can't work. And whether or not you live under this old place, I still like you." he continued, looking down at her with a smile. Abby looked up at him, surprised. She was blushing intensely. Did he just say he likes me? Abby smiled back. "Thanks. I...like you too." she said. hugging him. Her heart nearly beat out of her chest when she felt him wrap his arms around her. "Are you freaking kidding me?!" A familiar female voice suddenly startled them. They looked over to see Brittney and another girl. Abby recognized her to be the girl that accompanied Brittney to lunch yesterday when the 'stain incident' happened. Her name was Elizabeth O'Donnell. She was the same height as Brittney, she was a little chubby, and she had glasses similar to Mary's. She had blonde hair like Abby, but it was messier and curlier. And she seemed to be hiding something behind her back. "Brittney? Elizabeth?" Eddie asked, shocked and confused. "You followed me home?!" Abby yelled more shocked than Eddie. "Yes, we did. And we can't BELIEVE you live in the SEWERS!!" Brittney and Elizabeth started laughing like they were watching clowns slip on ice at a circus in the middle of winter. "Now we have PROOF that you're a monster!" Elizabeth pointed at Abby. "Get away from her, Eddie! She'll eat you!" Brittney shrieked, somewhat sarcastic. Eddie's brows furrowed. "Abby is NOT a monster! She and her dad don't have much money because he can't work, and she doesn't get paid nearly enough." he defended Abby. Abby smiled a bit. Brittney gasped. "Oh no! She's hypnotized him!" she shouted. Eddie sighed. "In a way..." He held Abby's hand in his. "Yes, she has." he smiled. Abby smiled back, blushing more. Eddie, looking down at her, blushed a little bit himself. Brittney could not stand the sight of Eddie and Abby staring into each other's eyes. She growled under her breath before saying her friend's name. "Liz!" Elizabeth nodded to Brittney before suddenly pulling a baseball bat from behind her back. She ran up to Abby, swung it...... .......and hit her in the back of her head with all of her strength. Abby fell to the ground, shaking. Her head felt like it was going to explode from the pain. Her vision was blurry and she felt extremely dizzy. She couldn't move at all. "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?!" Eddie yelled, overcome with anger. "I need to get rid of her so I can have you. No one can have you but ME!" Brittney yelled back. "I was never interested in you, Brittney! I never was, and after this, I certainly never will be." Eddie admitted. This only made Brittney more angry. So angry, that she literally stormed over to Elizabeth, snatched the bat from her, and prepared to beat Abby with it. As she raised the bat, she shouted a single phrase to her victim, attempting to call her a very bad name. "YOU STUPID LITTLE PIECE OF-" Luckily, she was cut off at just the right moment when a big brown dog jumped in snatched the bat from her. "What the-?!" she shouted. Everyone looked over at the dog, who still had the bat in it's mouth; growling loudly and angrily at Brittney. Brittney, determined to punish the innocent blonde girl on the ground, started to walk over to it, holding out her arm, and shouting at it. "Give me that, you dumb dog!" she shouted. But before she could get to it, it's jaws suddenly grew huge; bigger than it's body; and it's teeth grew as sharp as the sharpest razors; sharp enough to chomp the metal bat in half. Brittney backed up and everyone, except for Abby, stared in shock, surprise, and fear as the brown dog suddenly began to shape-shift. It first stood on it's hind legs, then it's front paws turned into hands and his back paws to big feet. It's fur turned gray and it's face turned white and red, and redish-orange hair grew on the top of it's head. When it finished shifting, what once was a dog was now a tall, razor-toothed clown with soul-piercing yellow eyes. Brittney said something a little louder than a murmur. "What the f-" Pennywise once again cut her off with a roar that would scare Freddy Kreuger. Brittney and Elizabeth screamed at the top of their lungs while Eddie just stood and stared. The two girls started to run, but Penny was able to catch up with them. He grabbed Elizabeth with his tongue, and Brittney with his right arm. Abby grabbed Eddie's ankle. "...Ed....up" was all she could say. "Y-You want up? Are you sure?" he asked. Abby squeezed his ankle harder, telling him she was sure. "Ok, ok." he said, helping her up and leaning her against his shoulder. However, Abby did not want to do that. She pushed away from him and walked a few steps forward, barely able to stay balanced. Once she was able to stay standing in one spot, she looked up at Penny and what he was doing. She saw how scared Brittney and Elizabeth looked. Sure they tried to beat her up with a metal baseball but in front of the boy of her dreams, but she still needed to save them. So she took her deepest breath, readied her voice, and shouted as loud as she could manage. "DAD STOP!!!" Penny turned around with wide eyes when he heard his daughter's voice. The others were shocked and confused. "THIS THING IS YOUR DAD?!" Brittney and Elizabeth screamed. "THAT'S YOUR DAD?!" Eddie screamed. Abby didn't respond to any of them. She just stared back at her father with eyes that said to him "Don't hurt them. Just let them go." Penny turned back to the girls and said in a menacing tone "NEVER SHOW YOUR FACES HERE AGAIN!" Once he put them down, they ran off so fast they disappeared in just a few seconds. Penny then turned back to normal and turned to go to Abby. Abby tried to walk to him as well. "....da-" Abby was about to speak, but tripped and finally fell unconscious when she hit the ground. "Abby!!" Eddie ran over to her, knelt beside her, and put her head on his knee. Penny jumped to them from where he was; it was only a little under 9 feet. When he got over there, he looked at Eddie with a protective stare. "Who are you?" the clown asked. "Eddie. Eddie Denbrough. I-I'm a friend of Abby's." Eddie replied. Penny backed down, knowing he wasn't going to hurt his precious. But that name... ...He'd heard that name before... ... But where...? Suddenly, thunder rang out as the clouds got darker. Penny knew it was going to start raining. I mean, it was kinda obvious. There were and are times where it would thunder but not rain, but he knew it was rain this time. He quickly and gently picked up Abby before turning to Eddie. "Follow me." he said. Eddie did as he was told. He went with Penny into the house and down into the well. When they got to where Abby and Penny lived, Penny took Abby into her room and laid her in her bed. A little bit later, Eddie was sitting beside Abby's bed and Penny was pacing in circles. Eddie started to watch him for a bit. "How were you able to turn into a dog?" he asked the clown, remembering how he was able to bite the metal baseball bat in half. Penny growled, telling Eddie that he was not up for chatting. Eddie, however, didn't realize that. "Are you like, an alien or something?" he asked. Penny stopped pacing and snarled at him. He really wanted Eddie to shut up. And, Eddie, finally realizing it, did. Then, out of nowhere, Abby groaned. "Nngh...dad..?" she said quietly. Penny stopped pacing and quickly rushed over, holding her hand. "Yes, Abby? I'm right here." he said in attempt to calm her. Abby turned to look at him and smiled. "That was dog trick was clever." she said. Penny smiled back. "Of course! I needed to protect you somehow!" he said in return. Abby laughed a bit before looking over to Eddie. "You're still here?" she asked. "Yeah. I wasn't planning on leaving until I knew you were ok." he replied. Abby blushed and smiled at him, and he smiled and blushed right back. RING RING! Eddie quickly pulled out his phone. "It's my dad. I need to take this." he said, answering after. "Hey dad......I'm at a friend's house.....yes.....I know........I know, I'm sorry.......I promise I'll call you next time..........ok.........ok.....bye." He hung up, then turned to Abby. "I gotta go. Will you be ok, Abby?" he asked. "Yes, I'm fine." she replied. "Ok. It was nice to meet you, Mr....." Eddie waited for Penny to say his name. "Penny." the clown smiled. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Penny." Eddie shook Penny's hand. "Bye Abby!" Eddie waved to Abby before running out of the room. He'd wanted to do something else, but he feared Penny wouldn't like it too much. "Bye." Abby spoke softy as she weakily waved in return. "Are you sure you're alright, Abby?" Penny asked, worry in his tone. "Besides the bad headache, I'm just fine, dad." she said, still smiling. Penny breathed a small sigh of relief. "Alright. You're staying home from school tomorrow, you hear me?" he told her. Abby nodded and closed her eyes, falling fast asleep. Penny was going to leave the room and let her sleep, but figured he'd stay, mostly just to keep an eye on her. It was also because he wanted to keep her company. So he curled up next to her on the bed, wrapped his arms around her, and purred. Meanwhile, Bill Denbrough stood outside on his front porch, waiting for his son to come home. When he finally pulled up on his motorcycle, Bill was relieved. "Edward Denbrough, you've got lots of explaining to do." he said as he and his son went inside the house. Eddie set his backpack down and changed into some dry clothes before sitting on the couch with his father. "So where did you go and why were you gone so long?" Bill asked, arms crossed and a serious expression on his face. Eddie hesitated, but still answered. "I offered to give a friend of mine a ride home from school today, since she has to walk nearly a mile from the bus stop to get to her house. And I was gone so long because these two girls came out of nowhere and hit her with a metal bat. Her dad saved her, of course; scared the girls off and we took Abby inside." he explained. "I see." Bill said. "That's nice of you to do that for a girl, but next time, tell me when you're giving her a ride, ok?" he continued. "And...what do you mean by her dad 'scared' the girls off?" he asked. "He....had a clown costume." Eddie answered nervously. "Really? What did it look like?" Bill asked, wanting to know more." "Well, his outfit was gray, his hair was redish-orange, and his face was white with red lines going down from his eyes to the corners of his mouth." Eddie said. Bill turned away, his expression going from normal to worry. He seemed to be lost in thought. Eddie became a little frightened when he saw his dad's eyes widen, and he became more frightened when he started to shake. Bill suddenly stood up, and his expression went from worry to anger as he turned to his son and pointed to a staircase. "Go to your room." he said. Eddie tried to say something but was cut off. "But dad-" "I SAID GO TO YOUR ROOM!!" Bill shouted, watching his only son flee up the stairs. Bill didn't know what to think right now. He never thought he'd ever have anything to do with that thing ever again. Could it really have survived what happened all those years ago? he thought. No, it couldn't have... ...could it...?....

Author’s Note: Sorry this took so long to write. There was school and then my cousin’s baby shower was yesterday so, yeah. I promise I’ll try to write more, I know you guys like this a lot. I ended up having to change the name of this chapter because what I had originally named it didn’t fit anymore. I hope y’all liked it!!~

Previous > http://silenced-papyrus.tumblr.com/post/167998260955/it-fanfiction-papawise

Next > Coming Soon!!

[ymnfilter]

Every Time I Close My Eyes (I See Bling) [Klaine AU]

On ao3

Pt. 1 of Expensive Klaine

Summary:

Glee Alternate Universe in which Elizabeth and Burt separated instead of Kurt's mother dying. Elizabeth's side of the family is crazy rich and she got Kurt's custody so he's also been raised in Luxury. Kurt is enrolled at Dalton when he reaches high school, where he meets and falls in love with Blaine Anderson whose family is equally rich and influential. This is going to be an entire series of Klaine just being expensive, but for now:

Finn finds out his mother is dating Burt Hummel, decides to spy on Burt Hummel, gets invited to dinner at Burt Hummel's and therfore ends up meeting his son, Kurt. Only, unlike his father who lives in a modest 2 bedroom house and drinks cheap beer, Kurt drives a shit expensive Lexus convertible, wears versace to family dinners and goes to Private School.

Finn walked into the choir room, still slightly reeling from the conversation he had had with this mom just this morning. She had told him at breakfast that she had started dating, and while that in of itself wasn’t really anything new, he had been surprised when she had wanted him to meet the guy,

“How long have you two been seeing each other?” He had asked her, because it usually took her months to introduce him to her special-friends. Carole had hesitated, then blushed,

“Only a couple of weeks actually, I met him when the van broke down. Thankfully, Burt was passing through and fixed the car for me.” When her son didn’t look very convinced, Carole sighed, “You’ll like him, Finn, I’m sure. Just meet him for dinner one night, okay?”

Finn nodded, then hesitated before asking, “Does he- did his wife also pass away?”

Carole frowned, “No, they’re divorced, though. She lives in Westerville with her son, and he runs his own garage here in Lima.”

“Oh.” Finn said, and then continued eating his froot loops not knowing what to say to that. Finn’s mother had never been so obviously with another man before, Finn would have to be extra careful trying to figure out if this ‘Burt’ person was any good for her mom.

In glee, Finn tells Puck all about this new guy his mom’s seeing. Puck is his best friend. And even after the whole situation with Quinn and the baby, Finn is still sure that there is nobody else in the school who would listen to and understand him as well as Puck does. Especially when it comes to the matter of single mothers dating. Puck has had his own share of his mother’s asshole boyfriends to deal with after all.

“She said ‘Burt’? Told you he owns a garage.”

“Yeah. Why? You know him?” Puck nods,

“Yeah, one of my bros works for him part time. You know Hummel Tire and Lube right? It’s just outside the city.”

Finn’s brow furrow, he tries to remember the vague sign in his head, “Do you know anything else about him?”

Puck shrugs, “Not really, but we can go and check his place out after school if you want to. Get my baby a check up while we’re at it.”

Finn looks at Puck, feeling touched and warm in his chest, opens his mouth to say ‘thank you’ maybe, but then figures that’s too gay, so he shuts up and just nods, ‘Sure.”

After glee, they get in Puck’s rust red pick up truck and drive out to the garage. There are a few people milling about, but Finn can’t see anyone around his mother’s age from outside. He gives Puck a look and they both get out slowly, trying not to garner too much attention as they head inside the office. The office too is empty of any middle aged men, instead, a lanky guy in a pair of dirty overalls stands behind the counter, chewing gum and reading the newspaper. He looks up when the door closes shut behind them, and smiles at Puck,

“Hey, man. What are you doing here? The piece of crap giving you trouble?”

“Shut up, Brody. My car’s a beauty.” Puck snarks back, then turns to Finn, “Anyways Finn, this is the guy I was telling you about. Brody, this is Finn. A friend of mine from school.”

The two strangers exchange identical head nods, before Brody looks back at Puck expectantly,

“We’re not here for car troubles. We want to check out your boss. Apparently, this Burt guy’s been hooking up with Finn’s momma and things are getting serious.”

Brody gives Finn an amused glance while the other boy desperately tries to fight off a blush, “Okay… Well, for what it’s worth, Burt’s a good guy. Gave me a job even after he found out about my stint at Juvie. He’s in the back, I think. Working on his son’s car.”

Puck nods, and then confidently walks through the door at the back, trying to keep as quiet as possible. They don’t want to actually have a conversation with Burt, that would be nothing if not awkward, but Finn would at least like to see what he’s all about. Finn looks anxiously around them, the office is still empty except from them and Brody, and then follows Puck on his tip toes.

Mellencamp is playing from the radio across from them, but the sound is low enough that if they strain their ears they can hear the conversation going on on the other side of the garage. There, working on what looks like an extremely expensive car to even Finn’s limited exposure, is the man Finn’s been looking for,

“Wanna tell me how you got your car key-ed again? I thought you said you weren’t getting picked on at your new school.”

Finn looks over at the man speaking, Burt looks like any trucker you would see in a diner here in the midwest. Plaid shirt, beer belly, and a baseball cap. He’s what Finn had always imagined his dad to look like if he hadn’t passed away so young. He’s talking to a boy who’s cleaning the scratch on the car, his arms folded across his chest and a frown on his face as the boy meticulously works to fill in the scratch,

“It wasn’t at school, dad.” The boy sighs out, annoyed, and Finn notices what he’s wearing is way too formal for sitting on the floor of a garage. His maroon slacks are dusty, and though his ironed shirt is impeccably white, he’s also folded the sleeves to his elbows as he works, “I went out with Blaine and his parents this Friday. We stopped for gas and some snacks on the way back to school and I guess some kids thought it was fun to ruin my baby’s paint job.”

Burt sighed, annoyed but unable to find a reason to continue the conversation. He picked up on the next thing that irritated him, “You still going out with that… that Blaine kid?”

The kid raised an eyebrow, folded his arms in an identical stance to his father’s and said with a haughty tone, “Well, I don’t see a reason to break up with him, do you?”

Burt rolled his eyes, “Don’t give me that tone, Kurt. You know I don’t have anything against Blaine-”

Kurt cut him off with a scoff, “Could’ve fooled me.”

“I don’t, Kurt. Blaine is a perfectly nice guy. What I do have a problem with is that you’re seventeen and you’ve been going out with the same guy for 3 years now.”

“So, your problem with my love life is that I don’t sleep around?” Kurt gives him an incredulous look, Burt huffs,

“That’s not what I meant and you know it, Kurt. I just want you to have some dating experience under your belt. Do you know how unusual it is for a couple of seventeen year olds to be in a long term committed relationship?”

“Well, me and Blaine are hardly regular seventeen year olds.” Kurt mutters, goes back to the paint job. Burt throws his hands in frustration,

“This is exactly what I am talking about! You’re seventeen Kurt! You don’t have to settle for the first guy your grandmother approves of-”

“Settle-” Kurt screeches, takes a deep breath to calm down when he sees his father’s eyes widen, “I’m not settling for anyone, Dad. I love Blaine. We haven’t talked about our future beyond college and our family business. I don’t know what will happen a couple of years down the line. All I know is, right now, I love Blaine so much I want to spend the rest of my life with him. That’s all it is.”

Burt sighed, “Son, you’re still so young-” he started to say, but Kurt shook his head, closing the cap on the paint pen and looking over the car door to check if he missed a spot,

“Look dad, I know that you and mom were high school sweethearts, and I know that you were each other’s firsts. But, Blaine and I are not you and mom. Our interests, lifestyles, future plans, they are all very complimentary, if not very similar, and I know if anything in his life were to change, I’ll be the first person he talks to. And the same goes for me.” Kurt looked at his father whose eyes filled with pain at the mention of his ex-wife, “Just because it didn’t work out for you and mom doesn’t mean it won’t work out for me and Blaine.” He told his father softly.

Burt said nothing, just looked at Kurt for a minute, then sighed, turning around,

“You done with the car, kid?” He asked, a gruffness in his voice that wasn’t present before.

“Yes.”

“Then go home.” Kurt stood up, dusting off his pants and picking up his tie and blazer from the chair a few feet away. Just when he was about to turn around and see the two boys eavesdropping on their conversation, Puck pulled Finn back till they stumbled out of the room and back into the office,

“Woah-” Finn exhaled, he had only wanted to take a look at the man who had so thoroughly taken space in his mother’s heart, he had not expected to witness something so heavy.

“Tell me about it.” Puck grumbled from beside him, then smacked him on the shoulder, “Come on, dude. We need to go back.”

They’re quiet in Puck’s car as they drive back to Finn’s house, both of them digesting the conversation they heard back at the garage,

“Dude! You’re going to be rich!” Puck suddenly exclaimed. Finn looked at him weirdly for a moment,

“What?”

“Oh come on, Finn! Tell me saw the car you big doofus, that was a Lexus RX convertible! And that was Burt’s son’s. Also, the little dude was definitely wearing a private school boy uniform. I don’t know how much a garage owner makes, Finnocence, but you better hope your mom digs her claws deep enough on this one.”

“Okay, first of all, my mom doesn’t have claws. She’s not a gold digger.” Finn scowled, “Second, I don’t know if you were listening to them, but Burt’s son is also incredibly gay.”

Puck shrugged, “So what? Doesn’t make them any less loaded.”

“Are you kidding? Could you imagine what would happen if our parents got married? I would have to live in the same house as him.”

Puck laughs, “More like you’ll have to live in the same mansion as him.” When Finn gives him an unimpressed look, Puck shakes his head, “Look Finn, the guy clearly also has a boyfriend his head over butt for. Someone who's probably also some rich prep school kid. If your parents do end up getting married, the worst that could happen is you get a rich new dad, rich new brother and a rich new brother-in-law out of the deal.”

Finn didn’t reply for a minute thinking, then shook his head, “I don’t know, man. I don’t like it. If people in school found out that I have a gay prep school brother, my reputation will tank. Even more than it already has with glee.”

Puck wisely didn’t say anything about that, because it was very true, “So, what are you going to do about it?” he finally asked,

“I don’t know. I’ll have to break them up, I guess.”

So that was what Finn had planned to do. It isn’t the nicest thing, of course. But, his mom has only really known Burt for a couple of weeks, like she said, so it’s not like it would hurt that much. But, when Finn comes home from football practice the next day, trying to come up with a plan to make his mom mad at Burt, he comes to her cooking a storm in the kitchen and humming.

Humming.

Finn doesn’t know that last time he heard his mom hum. He didn’t even know it was a thing she did. But, sure enough, when she turns around to greet him, she has the widest grin on her face, her apron stained with tomato sauce, some of it even splattered on the sleeve of her denim jacket,

“Hey mom, what’s cooking?” Finn asks, but even to him, his tone is hesitant and cautious. Not that Carole notices. No, she just giggles.

“Oh Finn, It’s good that you’re here. It’s Sunday, and Burt’s asked us to dinner. He wants to meet you.”

“Wait- he’s coming here?” Finn asks, shocked, this thing between them is going a lot faster that his mom’s other relationships, 

“Oh no, We’re going over to his place. But, you know how men are!” She giggles as if she’s said something incredibly funny, Finn doesn’t find anything about this amusing, “Burt’s a bachelor living all alone. I doubt he knows how to cook. So, I’m making some beef lasagna and we’re going over to his place for dinner.”

Before he can protest, his mom walks closer, pulling at his slightly sweaty football jersey with her nose scrunched, “You should take a shower and get changed, Finn. We leave in half an hour.”

Finn opens his mouth to protest, closes it when he sees the sparkle of happiness dancing in his mother’s eyes. He clears his throat, “Okay.”

His mom giggles again, turning around to get back to the sauce, and while Finn thinks this whole thing is a terrible idea, he can’t help but smile at his mother’s enthusiasm.

Finn didn’t know what he expected when they drove over to Burt’s house, maybe like Puck suggested, it would be a mansion, or at least one of those really pretty bunglows like the one Rachel’s parents own on the richer side of the town. But, Burt doesn’t really live all that far away from where Finn and his mom live in the middle class neighbourhood. The house is also pretty normal, even if the lawn is a little overgrown. Even without realising, Finn relaxes a little.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Finn asks even as he follows his mother climbing up the porch steps, she gives him a quizzical smile as she rings the doorbell,

“Of course, it is dear.” Just then, the door opens, revealing a grinning Burt Hummel on the other side. He gives his mother a kiss on the cheek as he invites them in, making his mom giggle like crazy even as she hands over the lasagne. Finn maneuvers himself awkwardly, taking in the place. The inside too, isn’t all that different from Finn’s home, even as it lacks the floral wallpaper and flower vases. He knows what his mom would say, that the place lacks a woman’s touch, but Finn likes it better this way.

His mom though, is frowning as little as she looks around before she asks Burt, “When you asked for a family dinner I assumed I would be meeting your son too, you know?”

Burt laughs awkwardly, scratches the back of his neck, “He called to say he would be a little late. Kid got his car scratched Friday, so he had to come to the garage right after school before I closed. which meant after school rehearsals got delayed. He’s on his way, though.” Burt hesitated, before giving Finn a significant look, “If you don’t mind, we could watch the game till he gets here. Buckeyes are playing tonight.”

Finn perks up at the mention of football, and Carole gives a fond eye-roll to both the men in her life,

“Of course. Let me just put the food in the oven so it doesn’t get cold, okay?”

They settle in to watch the game, Burt with a bottle of beer and Finn with a can of soda, his mother joining them a few minutes later and getting cozy with Burt sitting on the love seat. Finn looks around, his lips tugging into a smile when he realizes it’s really not that bad of a visual. From outside, he’s sure they look a bit like family, albeit a new one. But, Finn is sure he can get used to this. Too soon though, there is sound of a car parking into the driveway, and Carole perks up, turning off the TV and getting up from where she was cuddling next to Burt even as they protest,

“Oh please, I want to make a good impression on your son. And sitting here and watching TV with you isn’t going to do it.” Burt sighes but stands up, giving Carole’s arm a reassuring squeeze, “Kurt’s going to love you, Carole. Because I love you.”

Carole blushes, rolls her eyes, but she says it back. Then takes a deep breath just as she hears the doorbell ring. Finn finds it weird that Kurt doesn’t have a key to his own home, but neither Burt or Carole look very surprised. 

“I’ll go get that.” Burt says while Carole walks over to the kitchen to bring out the food and set the table. Finn follows her silently, setting the table as she tells him to, trying not to eavesdrop at the conversation and failing,

“Hey, how was the ride over?” Burt asks, sounding a little anxious. Kurt gives him a tired smile, “Good. I am a bit tired though. And starving.”

“That’s good. Carole made lasagna. You’re going to love it.” Burt answers as their voices grow closer. Kurt hesitates, then says,

“I have a competition this Wednesday-”

“I know. I got you that salad you like from Olive Garden. But, eat a bit of lasagna anyway. It’s rude otherwise.” Kurt gives his father a grateful smile as they walk into the kitchen. Carole straightens up, and turns around with a smile, it falters slightly though, when she takes in the boy in front of her,

Oh wow, he is handsome. She thinks, but then corrects herself, not handsome exactly, but he is beautiful.

And Kurt really is. He’s wearing a pair of fitted slacks with a striped black and white silk shirt tucked impeccably. Carole has never seen a boy his age dress this well unless forced to by their mothers. Wonders if Kurt’s mother and Burt’s ex wife is trying to send a message dressing up her son as if he’s going on a runaway. It’s not just the clothes though. Kurt himself is just very… pretty. His features are delicate, high nose, soft dark mouth, pretty blue eyes and silky pale skin. He looks more like a painting than a boy. His chestnut hair is done mostly up, but a few pieces fall artfully over his forehead. He looks nothing like how she imagined Burt’s son would look like, and so she knows he’s one hundred percent the copy of his mother.

Suddenly, in her denim mom jeans and matching jacket, a jacket that has splatters of tomato sauce, oh my god- Carole feels sufficiently intimidated.

“Hello.” The boy in front of her says and lord, even his voice is soft and elegant and just pretty what the hell? “You must be Carole and Finn. I’m Kurt. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Kurt.” Carole replies, plasters back her smile in full blast even though her fingers twine themselves in her orange t-shirt in her nervousness. Finn nods his greeting, legs splayed wide and arms crossed where he’s sitting at the dining table. Carole sort of wants to smack him when Kurt gives him a confused smile at his behavior. The silence is bordering on awkward while they wait for Finn’s greeting that never comes, and Carole is just about ready to pray for the ground to swallow her whole when Burt claps his hands, loudly, and says in a cheery voice, “Well, should we get started? Kurt did mention being starved.”

Kurt gives them both a sheepish smile as they finally take their places on the table. Burt walks over to the fridge, pulling out a couple of bottles of beer, a can of soda for Finn and Kurt’s garden salad. Carole tries not to show her offence when she sees it placed in front of Kurt, but he must be able to tell what she’s thinking anyway because he gives her an apologetic smile,

“I’m sorry. I swear I’m usually not this picky about food. But, I have a gymnastics competition coming up in a couple of days, and coach will kill me if I gain weight right now.”

Carole blinks in surprise, “That’s alright. I didn’t know you did gymnastics. Your dad mentioned you being in your school’s glee club, however.”

Kurt looked at his dad, who was busy eating his lasagna before looking back at Carole, “I used to be in glee club, back in freshman year. But, I realised that I don’t really mesh all the well with their style. So, instead, I started a musical theater club. I do that alongside gymnastics. It took a while to kick off, but by the second semester of my sophomore year, we finally had enough people so that we could put up a show.”

Burt frowned, “You never told me you were in a musical. I would’ve come to watch.”

Kurt hesitated, “Everything was still very shaky last year. We only played for the public twice, and for both the nights, I could only get 2 tickets. I… I was going to ask you but Nanna-”

Burt scoffed, “Of course-”

“Dad, please. Nanna really wanted to come, and I knew you would get angry like this if I told you-”

“I’m not angry, Kurt.”

“I’m not a kid anymore, dad. I know you and Nanna don’t really mesh well.”

“That’s a nice way to put it. Mesh well.” Burt muttered, stabbed the mozzarella covered pasta in annoyance. The silence that followed was heavy, but neither Finn nor Carole had any idea how to break it. After a couple of minutes, Kurt straightened and cleared his throat, giving his father an uneasy smile,

“Anyway, this year our club is much more professional, and I’ve got 7 tickets just for family and friends. I was hoping you would come-”

“You sure your Nanna wouldn’t mind?” Burt retorted childishly; he couldn’t help himself,

“Dad, please. You could bring Carole and Finn too, if they want to come.” Kurt said, and gave Carole a pleading look. Carole, finding an opportunity to lighten the situation, gave Kurt a bright smile,

“Of course, we would love to come, honey. Right, Burt?”

“Sure.” 

Carole didn’t let the silence build after that, instead focusing her conversation on Kurt, seeing as neither Finn or Burt were in a talkative mood. God, sometimes, she really hated men.

“So Kurt, you said your school’s glee club really wasn’t your style? What do you mean if you don’t mind my asking.” She really hoped that this wasn’t another sore subject, and was relieved when the boy gave her a wide smile,

“Oh don’t get me wrong, the warblers, that’s our glee club, the warblers are amazing! They’re talented and popular and their team work is flawless. Blaine and some of my closest friends are Warblers. It’s just… They can be a little too uniform for me?” Kurt laughed lightly, “I like to stand out, and the Warblers prefer to blend in. Not to mention, they prefer pop and top 40 kind of music, which again, there’s nothing wrong with it, but I myself am more of a broadway and show tunes kind of a person, you know? Warblers are great. But, doing musical theater means I not only get to stand out, but I also get to create costumes and help with stage design and lighting and a bunch of other stuff.”

“Oh, that sounds wonderful!”

Kurt nodded, “It really is. Last year, we did Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare's play. We did multiple nights for our school, our sister school, for our parents. This year, I’m hoping we can get an even bigger audience. We’re still not sure, but we’re thinking of doing Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf.”

Carole had heard of the name of the play somewhere, she supposed, but she knew nothing further about it, so she just nodded. Finn however, decided to really speak then for the first time,

“So like, is everyone in your school like, gay?”

Kurt blinked, Burt looked at him incredulously, Carole’s urge to smack her son upside the head increased tenfold,

“No.” Kurt replied slowly, wondering if the question had been a legitimate one,

“So like, when you do plays, how do you decide who's gonna be a girl? I don’t know any straight guys who would willingly wear a dress.”

“I don’t know any gay guys who would want to wear a dress either.” Kurt retorted hotly, but then calmed himself at the startled look on Finn’s face, “I’m sorry. We revise our plays and make them gender neutral when we need to. If the romance is too important for the play, we just switch the girl character and make her a guy. You’d be surprised how less people care about getting a girl’s part when they don’t have to wear a dress and the show is completely PG.”

Finn still sort of looked like he had a hard time digesting the concept but Kurt had no idea how much more he could explain it. Thankfully, Burt came to the rescue, once again, changing the subject,

“So Finn, Carole told me you’re in your school’s glee club too. How’s that going?”

Finn nodded, “Cool. We won our sectionals a month ago. We’re going to regionals now.”

“Oh? Do you know who you’ll be competing against?” Kurt asked, knowing that the chance of their glee club competing against the Warblers was quite high.

“No idea.” Finn shrugged, “But the sectionals were a breeze for us, so I’m not really worried.” Kurt raised an eyebrow at that attitude, but didn’t say a word, just nodding instead. The rest of the dinner went by fairly uneventfully, and Burt had just brought out the apple pie ice cream as the plates cleared when Kurt glanced at the clock,

“Dad, I need to go now. Curfew is in a couple of hours.”

Burt frowned, “I don’t like you driving this late. Why don’t you just stay the night? I’ll write you a note in the morning.”

Kurt smiled at him apologetically, “I can’t. I promised to meet Blaine for coffee-”

Burt tensed at the name, cutting Kurt off and saying, “You spend too much time with that boy already. Can’t give your old man one night?”

Kurt huffed, “Even if I hadn’t made plans with him already, I still have to help David with AP French before his pop quiz tomorrow.” Kurt said and got up, giving both Carole and Finn a smile and a promise to see later. Burt crossed his arms in annoyance,

“That school is going to run you ragged, son.”

Kurt shrugged, “It’s fun. I like the challenge. Anyway, I have to go now. I won’t be able to make it next Sunday though-”

“Kurt-” His father started to protest,

“I’m not staying at Dalton, dad. I’m going home. It’s Nanna’s birthday.”

Burt rolled his eyes, “Fine.” He gruffed out. Kurt hesitated at the kitchen door, waiting for him to say something else. When he didn’t budge, Kurt sighed, but left, the front door closing shut with a soft click.

“So,” Finn started, looking around the silent table where his mom and Burt sat, his eyes landing on the rapidly melting tub of ice cream in the middle, “That was awkward.”

Carole didn’t hold back this time, and smack Finn upside his head with a huff.

Kurt’s Oufit during Family Dinner

[xennariel]

Idk if you write for it but maybe if you do and are still doing this, some Papa!RoyEd in #40 for the micro-prompts?

This is the first time I’ve ever written for Roy and Ed without Riza or Al as buffers between them, so I hope this wasn’t too weird or OOC. Thanks for the request!

Hospitable

It was only an hour before Edward and Winry’s wedding and Roy found himself sitting alone in the Rockbell’s living room wearing a three piece suit and waiting for Riza to finish getting ready. He fidgeted, unbottoning his suit coat in an effort to be more comfortable while he waited.

Roy thought back to when he and Riza arrived the previous day. It was almost odd how Edward had been so hospitable toward Roy and Riza, but Roy guessed Winry had something to do with that. She probably threatened Ed with a wrench to the face if he was rude to their guests.

He snickered at that thought and that was when he noticed Edward, clad in his tuxedo, standing awkwardly near the stairs, pacing and looking as if he was waging a war within himself about something. Roy raised a brow and stared at the former alchemist and just before he called out to him, Edward straightened up and stomped into the living room, plopping down on a chair across from Roy. Edward glared at Mustang and Mustang stared back, brow still raised, curious about what Ed was thinking.

“I uh…” Ed cut himself off, suddenly nervous about confessing his insecurities with his former superior officer. “Can I talk to you about something?”

That was definitely strange. What would the boy possibly want to talk to Roy about? Now Mustang was even more curious. Maybe Ed’s hospitality wasn’t entirely because of Winry’s threats.

“Sure, what is it?”

“I… Don’t laugh at me all right, I’m trying to be serious here, but, I’m… kind of scared about this whole thing. Am I worth marrying? Does she know I lo…lov…” Ed stumbled over the word, a healthy blush coloring his cheeks and heating his ears. “That I care about her? What if she realizes she deserves so much better?”

Ah, so that was it. Wedding jitters. Roy almost laughed at the boy, but he refrained. Edward was obviously annoyed about having to talk to him about this, the least he could do was be civil and try to console him. The sad thing was, Roy was probably one of the closest things to an older brother or father figure that Ed had.

Roy sighed and leaned closer to Ed, eyes veering off toward the staircase as he spoke.

“She knows you love her. The way you look at her is enough. The way you talk to her is enough. You just being beside her is enough… Try to remember that it is enough. Don’t be nervous. She can see how you feel from the way you treat her. The way you act around her. Have a little more confidence in yourself.”

Mustang could feel himself getting emotional and he stopped, wondering which of them he was actually trying to convince.

“Yeah,” Ed replied, nodding and straightening his suit coat. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m… I’m just an idiot and I’m so nervous that I’m not good enough for her, but you’re right, she knows. She totally knows.” Ed nodded at Roy again, confidence building back up within him. “Thanks. I hate to say it, but I guess I owe you one for this.”

Roy looked back at Ed and smirked.

“I’ll hold you to that,” he said, noticing Riza descending the stairs out of the corner of his eye. She looked radiant and Roy suddenly wanted a few minutes alone with her, so he made a shooing motion at Ed. “Now get out there before you’re late to your own wedding.”