#and she’s giving you the “’you really wanted to come to work with me today?’ look because this shit is so so boring

[corroded-hellfire]

More Munson Than Expected - Eddie Munson x Reader

An As You Wish story

Written with my beloved @munson-blurbs 💜

Summary: The ultrasound for your second pregnancy brings a new wave of excitement to the Munson household.

Note: The excitement I have to let this secret out of the bag after cooking it up for over a year is real. I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: pregnant!reader

Words: 4.1k

[As You Wish masterlist]

“Eddie, you didn’t have to come with me,” you remind him again as he pulls up a chair next to the examination table he just helped you get situated on.

Your husband gives you a disapproving look as he makes himself comfortable in the seat. He shakes his head as he reaches out and takes one of your hands in his.

“Did you really think I was going to miss this?” he asks. “No way. I was there for Eliza’s first ultrasound, I’m going to be there for this one’s too.”

“What about the boys?”

Eddie sighs. “I was there for Ryan’s. But I wasn’t aware of when Luke’s was, so I missed it. Don’t tell him.”

“I won’t,” you say, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “He would know it wasn’t your fault, though.”

“You keep your mouth shut too, hmm?” Eddie leans over and presses a kiss to your emerging bump. 

“I don’t know if he or she developed a mouth yet,” you say, the sanitary paper crinkling beneath you as you try to get comfortable. 

“Not gonna find out if you’re a he or she,” Eddie continues talking to his developing child. He reaches out and rubs a hand over your stomach. “Wanna see you, though. And make sure you’re healthy.”

The door to the examination room swings open, bringing with it the distinct smell of antiseptic. The ultrasound technician walks in and closes the door behind her.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Munson,” she greets with a smile. “My name is Tara and I’ll be doing your ultrasound today. The doctor tells me that you don’t want to know the sex. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” you respond with a nod. “We want this one to be a surprise.”

“That is no problem. Let me just set up here and we’ll get started.”

While she gets to work, Eddie helps you as you attempt to tug your shirt up enough to avoid the cold and sticky goo that will inevitably be squirted on your stomach for the ultrasound. You’re able to tuck it into the underwire of your bra just to be sure that it won’t slide back down and get all messy. 

One of the sleeves of Eddie’s jumpsuit falls down and he shoves it back up past his elbow. You take in the navy material, your eye tracing over his name sewn on in red thread over his heart. 

“What time are they expecting you back at work?” you ask him.

He shrugs. “They know where I’m at. They know it might be a little while.” 

“Alright, are we ready?” Tara asks.

“Yep.” You offer your hand to Eddie again and he laces his ringed fingers with yours. 

Tara picks up the bottle of the dreaded goo and squirts a healthy amount on your abdomen. The chill against your skin sends a shiver throughout your body. At least the wand should warm it up as the tech spreads the substance around to get the best view of the baby. 

To you and your husband it feels like you’re just looking at a black screen with wavy white lines on it. Somehow, everything seems to make sense to Tara as she positions the wand on different parts of your stomach. 

“Oh,” she says at one point, stilling the instrument against your skin. “Here we go.”

A soft but steady thump thump thump fills the air of examination room 5. Tears immediately well up in your eyes. You look at Eddie to see him grinning from ear to ear. 

With the slightest movement of the wand sliding against the goo, you hear thump thump thump thump thump thump.

“Oh wow,” you say through a sniffle. “You can hear it even better now.”

“Sounds strong,” Eddie adds. 

“Actually…” Tara trails off.

“What?” Eddie asks. You feel his hand tighten in your grip. “It’s…not strong?”

“Oh, no, no, it’s very strong. It sounds perfect to me. But I want you to listen.” There are a few moments of silence as the three of you listen to the heartbeat. 

“It sounds fast,” you say.

“It does,” Tara agrees. “But if you listen, you can hear some of the beats overlapping one another.”

She leans in towards the screen and moves the wand again, just slightly. A smile grows on her face as she spots something in the mess of gray shapes on the machine. “Hear it?” she asks.

“Yeah, kind of,” Eddie says. “What does that mean?”

“Well, if you look here,” she replies, pointing towards what looks like a small blob, “that’s your baby.”

Pure glee radiates throughout your entire being. It’s your first glimpse at your and Eddie’s new baby. Another life that the two of you created together. You share a quick loving look with your husband before you both become engrossed in the image on the screen again.

“And here…” Tara says, sliding her finger slightly to the right, “is your other baby.”

The room goes silent save for the sound of the heartbeat. Or rather, heartbeats. Though your ears heard the words, your brain is still processing what they mean. It’s clearly the same with Eddie, as he stares at Tara just like you are.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie finally says. He chuckles and licks over his lips. “Did you say, ‘other baby’?”

“I did, indeed.” Tara taps a few keys on the machine, and it looks like it takes a screenshot. “There are two babies here. Two distinct heartbeats and two little nuggets showing off to the camera.”

“Twins.” The word comes out of you as a whispered breath. “We’re having twins.”

“Not just Baby Munson #4,” Eddie adds in a voice as awed as yours. “Baby Munson #5, too.”

“And they both appear to be developing well,” Tara says. 

Eddie laughs. “No. No, we, uh, we’re not having twins.” He looks down at you, then back at Tara. “We decided we’re just having one more. I’m already forty-one, so just the one newborn is already pushing it.”

Tara grins, clearly used to this kind of reaction. “Well, you’d better rest up. Because you’ll be a father to two new little ones in a few months.”

Eddie grabs your hand, still stunned by the news. You can’t say you’re faring much better, although it does explain why this pregnancy has been so much more intense than when you were expecting Eliza. Part of you feels relieved that it wasn’t all in your head. But another part…

“Twins.” The word leaves your lips in an exhale. “We’re…babe, we’re gonna have five kids. We’re gonna be a family of seven.”

A clammy hand squeezes yours, and you glance up to see Eddie visibly trembling. “How am I gonna raise five kids?” He murmurs. “That’s one more than Harrington, and that dude was pretty much born to be a dad.”

Tara’s brows furrow as she cleans off your belly. “I’ll, um, leave you two to discuss.” She starts for the door, then turns around. “Take all the time you need.”

As soon as the door clicks shut, Eddie starts pacing around the tiny exam room. “Okay, okay. We’re having two babies. At the same time.”

“Yes, that’s generally what happens with twins.”

He rolls his eyes in annoyance. “I could do without your sarcasm right now, Sweetheart. I just found out that I’m about to out-kid Steve Harrington.”

“Out-kid?” You tuck your lips into your mouth to stifle a laugh. 

Eddie doesn’t pick up on your joking tone. “Yes! He has four, and I’ll have five. Five!” He rakes a hand through his hair. “I was barely keeping two alive before you came along, and now I’m gonna be responsible for five?!”

“First of all,” you say, pushing yourself up, “you were an amazing dad before we got together. Even before I started watching the boys, when you were basically doing it on your own. Give yourself some credit. Second, Ryan will be going to college soon enough, so we’ll only have four kids in the house.”

Your attempt at consoling your husband falls flat. “Oh my god, I’m gonna have infants while my oldest is gonna be in college! I’m supposed to be slowing down, not re-babyproofing the house!” He buries his head in his hands. “What were we thinking? And why do you always have to look so hot? I wouldn’t be tempted to jump your bones all the time if you weren’t so goddamn sexy.”

You sigh. “I mean, you’re the one who’s always telling me you want to ‘pump me full of your babies.’ Guess now you really did it.”

“Holy shit.” Eddie runs his hands down his face and takes a deep breath. He stands in the same spot, staring at you for a few silent moments before a smile begins to crack through his fog. “Holy shit.”

“Calming down now?” you ask, raising an eyebrow. “Or realizing I’m the one who has to push two of them out of my body?”

Eddie ambles over to you on the examining table and rests his forehead against yours. His shoulders have gone down to their usual height again, no longer bunched up around his ears with tension. 

“Okay, I had my mini freak out,” he says softly, reaching up to tug the hem of your shirt down back over your bump. “You may have yours.”

With a low chuckle, you reach up and cup your husband’s face in your hands. 

“I still don’t think it’s hit me yet,” you admit. “Or maybe trying to logic-out your fear helped me with my own, too. I mean, you said something about being too old to re-babyproof the house? Sweetheart, we would have had to do that with one baby anyway.”

“Common sense left me there for a little bit, I’ll admit.”

“And I’ve got one more bone to pick with you,” you say, leaving one hand on his face and using the other to poke him in the chest. 

“What’s that?”

“You said Steve was pretty much born to be a dad. Eddie, out of all the people I’ve ever met in my life, you are definitely the one who was always meant to be a dad.” You lower your hand to your bump. “Because it doesn’t matter if there were one, two, three, or even eight babies in here. You’d still love them all unconditionally and try your hardest to give the world to them.”

“I love our babies,” Eddie replies softly. His hand moves to rest on top of yours on your bump. “I love our twins.”

“Hey, we’ve got some extra resources this time around, too,” you point out. “Ryan drives now. We can recruit him for diaper or formula runs. And he can take Luke and Eliza places if we’re not able to. Luke is old enough now not to be intimidated by being around newborns. He’ll definitely be more hands-on than he was with Eliza. And speaking of the little firecracker…we already know she’s going to be like a mother hen to them. See? Recruiting the kids to help with the kids. And that doesn’t even mention Wayne and all of our friends. At least ninety percent of them owe us from watching their kids at one point or another.” 

“My wife is so smart,” Eddie praises with a small smile. 

“She is,” you reply coyly. “Do you think you could help me off this table, though? Makes sense why it’s been harder for me to get up from things lately—two against one here.”

Eddie gently takes your arms and leads you to a comfortable seated position before helping you hop down from the high table. 

The two of you walk hand-in-hand out of the doctor’s office and across the parking lot to your car. The sun seems warmer and brighter than when you went in. There’s not a cloud in the sky—were there any before? Birds call to one another from the trees that encircle the medical plaza, and their tune brings a smile to your face. Everything seems so light and airy around you that it almost makes you feel like you’re dissociating. But there’s Eddie’s hand in yours. The sneakers you wear knock against the concrete with every step, reverberating the vibration up your legs. You’re very much here in this moment. The magic in the air comes from knowing the amount of love you carried for the bundle of joy in your belly has just doubled. The thought of kissing two little button noses goodnight every day instead of one has you giddy. 

“Baby,” you say as Eddie opens the passenger car door for you. “We’re gonna have double the cuddles.”

“Double the drooly kisses.” The smile on your husband’s face tells you that he’s excited about the prospect. “Double new baby smell.”

You secure your seatbelt and rest both of your hands on your belly as Eddie walks around the car and slides into the driver’s seat. 

“Double the love we give and receive,” you muse softly, looking down at your protruding bump. “I wonder if I’ll get double the pain meds when I’m in labor.”

Eddie laughs as he pulls the car out of the parking space. 

“Time will tell,” he says. “Are you hungry, princess?”

“Yeah. I mean, makes sense, since I’m eating for three,” you reply. “But don’t you have to get back to work?”

“There is no way I’ll be able to focus on anything,” Eddie says with a breathy chuckle as he shakes his head. “I’m taking the rest of the day.”

“Okay. Do you want to get lunch at—oh boy.”

Eddie’s eyes glance over at you before looking back on the road.

“What?” he asks. “What’s wrong?” 

“No, not wrong,” you say. “Just…I-I don’t know how we’ll keep this from the kids. We didn’t think we’d have anything to report to them other than the baby being healthy since we’re not finding out the sex. But there’s absolutely no way I won’t slip up and say ‘babies’ or ‘them’ or something that will give it away. I’d rather they hear the news from us directly than catching us in a slip.”

Eddie nods in agreement. “How do you think we should tell them?”

“Umm…” You purse your lips as you start to ponder different scenarios. Both you and Eddie think in silence for a few minutes before he speaks.

“Oh, I’ve got an idea…”

Eliza is thrilled to have both of her parents picking her up from school. The way she goes on and on about an arts and crafts project they did in class today reminds you of when you were just the babysitter and picked Ryan and Luke up from school. Luke always had something interesting to babble on about—much to your amusement. 

Your second oldest is already at home when you walk in the front door holding Eliza’s hand and Eddie trails in behind with a few bags from the store. Usually, Ryan drives both himself and Luke home from school every day, but now Ryan takes SAT Prep classes once a week after school, forcing Luke to take the bus home. Which you’d think was one of the trials of Hercules with how often Luke shares his disdain for the form of transportation. 

“Whatcha got, Pops?” Luke asks from the couch. His hand is buried in a bag of white cheddar popcorn and an episode of Supernatural is on the television. 

“You’ll see,” Eddie tells him, taking the bags straight to your room. Best to keep them out of the way of the two nosiest Munson children. Although, you wonder to yourself if that will change with the new additions. 

Eliza spies the snack her brother has and quickly sheds her Little Mermaid backpack and pink Mary Jane shoes to climb up on the couch next to him. She sticks an arm in the popcorn bag and brings out as big a handful as her little fist would allow her. 

“There’s food in the bags,” Eliza says to Luke through the kernels stuffing her cheeks.

“Huh?” Luke clearly doesn’t speak four-year-old-with-a-full-mouth.

“The bags Daddy has,” Eliza says once she’s swallowed. She wipes her white cheddar covered fingertips on her white tights. “There’s food in them. I smelled it in the car.” 

“Good job, Watson,” he tells her.

“Uh, who?” Eliza gives her older brother a look that clearly relays she thinks he’s crazy. It doesn’t stop her from taking another handful of popcorn, though. 

“Watson. Sherlock Holmes’ assistant. They’re detectives, Lize.”

“Oh,” is all she says before shoving more popcorn into her mouth. 

You putter around, cleaning up the kitchen and tidying the living room to keep yourself from spilling the beans too early. It’s important to wait until Ryan gets home later. You just know time is going to crawl by at a snail’s pace for the next hour and a half.

When your oldest son finally arrives home, you usher everyone around the kitchen table for a family meeting. 

“Am I in trouble?” Luke huffs. “Because if I am, I’d like to plead not guilty.”

Eddie raises his brows. “Not sure why you’d be in trouble, but I’m sure we’ll find out.” He clears his throat, placing a loving hand on your bump. “No, this family meeting is to tell you guys some exciting news we got at the ultrasound today.”

He reaches over and plucks a grease-soaked Burger King bag from the counter. “Ry, you get the first clue.”

Ryan practically tears open the bag, the hungry teenager ready to devour the Double Whopper without even unwrapping it. 

“Is the baby a hamburger?” Ryan asks mid-bite. He pulls out the fries you got along with it. “Or is it small? Is the clue ‘small fry?’”

You shake your head. “Nope. Nice try, though.” 

Luke’s clue is next, though he’s too busy trying to get his brother to share his food to really pay attention. When Ryan finally relents and tosses a fry his way, Luke looks down at the Gameboy game box in front of him. 

“A Looney Tunes double pack?” He wrinkles his nose. “Are you naming the baby Tweety Bird?”

Eliza sticks out her little tongue in disgust. “That’s a horrible name for a baby!”

“Maybe it looks like Elmer Fudd, like Eliza did when she was born,” Ryan chimes in, licking ketchup off of his thumb. 

“Who?” Your daughter glances between the boys, unaware of the joke being made at her expense.

Luke doesn’t hesitate to fill her in. “The weird guy who hunts Bugs Bunny. The one who always goes, ‘ooh, I hate that wabbit!’”

Eliza shoots him a glare that’s equal parts adorable and terrifying. Luckily, she’s easily distracted by her clue. 

“For Eliza,” you say as you tug the crinkling Target bag off of the biggest hint of all. Eddie already made sure to open the box and cut any wires attached so your daughter can get right at the twin Baby Alive dolls. 

The four-year-old gasps. “Babies!” She holds her arms out as you deliver the box to her.

Little fingers grab onto the first doll, and she gently places it on the table in front to her before removing the second doll. The rest of the family watches in amusement as Eliza covers the baby on the table with a blanket, and cradles the other one in her arms, holding its bottle to its mouth. 

“So,” Eddie asks, rubbing his hands together, “what do these gifts have in common?”

The three of them begin to think. At least, you’re pretty sure Eliza is thinking about it. She’s gazing down at the doll in her arms with the most heartwarming compassion. 

“There’s two burger patties, two games, two dolls…” Luke muses.

“Wait,” Ryan says, his head perking up as an idea occurs to him. “Is it a girl? Like, two X chromosomes?”

Your husband simply stares at your oldest son for a moment before responding.

“In what world would I be smart enough to come up with that?” he asks. 

Luke nods his head in your direction. “Ma is, though. But I think it’s a boy because there’s two of us boys already.”

“Then the hint would have to do with three, genius,” Ryan scoffs. 

The younger brother contorts his face and mocks his brother’s words in a high-pitched voice.

“Maybe Mama has two babies in her belly.” Your daughter’s words are spoken with the most casual tone, the majority of her attention on the plastic doll she’s gently rocking to sleep in her arms. 

The boys both laugh, Ryan rolling his eyes at what he considers a silly idea from a little girl. The Munson brothers turn to you and Eddie, expecting you to be joining in on the laughter, but all they find are your excited and hopeful faces. The chuckles trail off as the boys pause and consider what those faces mean. 

“Wait, you don’t mean…” Ryan starts.

“Oh my GOD!” Luke shouts, banging his hands down on the table in front of him. It rattles the doll Eliza isn’t holding, and she gives her big brother a glare over the disturbance. 

“No way!” Ryan stands up, excitement nearly paralyzing him. He doesn’t know what to do except smile as he holds his arms out in front of him awkwardly. “It’s really…twins?!”

“It’s twins!” you confirm. You make an attempt to stand as well, but the two babies inside of you are keeping your center of gravity low enough to make you give up. 

“Two babies!” Luke hoots. “This is insane!”

Eddie chuckles, his heart at once light as air and completely full at seeing the excitement of his boys. 

“Do you have a picture?” Luke asks.

“The sonogram,” Ryan adds.

“Yeah! Can we see it? Let us see the picture!”

“Do you even know what you’ll be looking at?” Ryan asks as he sits back down next to his brother.

Luke shrugs. “They’ll show us.”

“Okay, okay, here it is,” you say, handing over the image that’s been sitting in your back pocket. “That little spot right there is one baby, and that one right there is the other baby.”

Their stunned faces make you giggle softly as you lean back. 

“Oh my God,” Ryan says. “I can’t believe it’s twins.”

“Holy sh—crap, we’re going to have two new siblings.”

“We’re going to need a bigger house,” Ryan says, looking around the room everyone is seated in.

“Wow, there’s going to be a lot of people living here,” Luke says. “Dad, were you going for twins?”

“That’s not how it works, doofus,” Ryan says as Eddie shakes his head in amusement. 

Luke scoffs. “Explain it to me then, Mr. SAT.”

Eliza heaves a deep sigh for someone with such a tiny body and small lungs. She sets the baby doll in her arms down on the table next to its sleeping sibling. 

“You’re so loud!” she complains. 

“Lize, it’s twin babies!” Luke tells her, gently shaking her frame back and forth. 

“I know, I know, you keep saying it over and over!”

“Aren’t you excited?” Ryan asks her. 

Your daughter shrugs her shoulders once before picking her doll back up and cradling it in the crook of her arm.

“Sure.” 

Both boys look to you and Eddie at her lackluster reaction. You give a gentle shake of your head.

“Don’t worry,” you tell them. “It’ll click at some point.” 

“Oh, what a day,” you sigh as you slip under the blankets to lay down next to your husband. Eddie lifts his arm, and you immediately cuddle up to his side, resting your head on his shoulder. Your bump nudges his side, and you rub one hand over the soft material of your worn t-shirt. “Makes sense why my bump is more pronounced earlier than it was with Eliza.”

Eddie wraps one arm around your shoulders and brings the other one down to place his hand on top of your own. 

“Can't believe there are four of us in this bed,” he says with a light chuckle.

“Daddyyyyy! Mamaaaaaa!”

A four-year-old with wild curls runs into your room and leaps onto the bed, landing at your and Eddie’s feet.

“Make that five of us,” Eddie says. 

“You’re supposed to be asleep, Little Miss,” you tell Eliza.

She pushes herself onto her hands and knees in her purple piggy pajamas and quickly crawls up the infinitesimal space between you and her father. 

“Careful, careful,” Eddie cautions the closer she gets to your belly.

Eliza halts her ascent and leans back on her heels. Her chocolate brown eyes are as wild as her bedhead is.

“I’m gonna be a big sister to two babies?!” 

Across the hall, a chuckle reverberates in Ryan’s chest as he turns to lay on his side in bed.

“There it is.”

[dokries]

hot chocolate

pairing: boo seungkwan x gender neutral reader

genre: fluff, cafe au (with a lil university au), (barista!seungkwan x customer!reader basically), strangers to ?

word count: 1.7k

warnings: mentions of food and drink, seungkwan is kinda flirty and not slick at all, cameos of seokmin (and jeonghan/joshua in passing), seungkwan and reader know each other from previous encounters at the cafe!

author note: this feels like it should be part of a longer fic but i’m not too sure if i actually want to write one…so i’ll post this on its own instead! for context: reader’s usual is lemonade :) and yes i know that this fic is meant to be in the evening and the pics i used are from midday but shh he’s pretty just look at him </3 (i hope you enjoy!)

masterlist

“do you want hot chocolate today? your jacket is way too thin for this weather,” he says, adjusting his glasses to look at you better behind the counter, his name tag flashing as the warm lighting of the cafe caresses it. 

seungkwan.

finally, a name to the face that’s been greeting you joyfully, even at the end of his shift on mondays, like today.

“no, no. i’m alright,” you clear your throat, knowing that your roommate, soojin, saved the jacket around your shoulders for when the leaves had only just started to fall. it was meant to be kept away before she grabbed it by accident and froze in the cooler air of early winter….exactly what was happening to you outside until you entered the (slightly) warmer cafe.

“…if you say so.” his lips turn down into a mix between a pout and a frown as he hums. “one lemonade then,” is what he says before walking towards the mugs kept in the back, and with a faint smile, he pulls out the fruit one he always uses for you—a tangerine, made specially to look just like a real one except bigger, with a green handle on the side decorated with leaf veins.

you rest your arms on the warm counter, the bright green of your roommate’s jacket now faded with use. a quick scan around the small cafe reminds you that it’s fifteen minutes before closing, exactly when seungkwan—his name still feels unfamiliar in your mind, and you turn the letters over as if they’d provide you more clues about your lemon angel—switches the sign at the front to closed.

there’s silence as seungkwan works on your order, his hands hidden away from you in the mess of machines and cups around him. you feel as if you should help somehow. “do you want me to flip the sign for you?” 

seungkwan looks up from his handiwork—which you still can’t see enough of for your liking—in surprise before a soft smile takes over his rosy cheeks. “oh! sure, that would be…really nice of you, actually.”

you return his smile with one of your own, moving towards the front door of the quaint building to turn the sign over so the falling for u was only open for the two of you inside.

there’s some rustling as seungkwan places your mug on the counter before disappearing to refill something (or at least, you assume that’s what he’s doing). you pull out the chair you were sitting on previously before staring quizzically at the steaming drink in front of you. “i didn’t order this.”

“it’s on the house,” seungkwan’s voice rings out through the cafe as he pops his head through the door leading to the back (there’s a sticky note on it you never noticed before: jeonghan stop trying to prank me. i’m going to resign as the co-owner >:( - joshua which intrigues you, but you don’t ask about it).

“i’m not drinking this,” you state instead, shaking your head defiantly as he comes closer, leaning his elbows on the counter behind your drink with a sneaky smile on his face like he’s oh so clever by giving you exactly what you craved on this winter evening (but you would never let him know that).

seungkwan pouts, leaning in as he pushes the mug closer before it ends up in your open hands. “please?”

for an new employee, he seems really keen on annoying his customers.

“no way.” you shake your head. even though this barista’s way too nice (and dramatic) for his own good, you aren’t about to let him win. 

seungkwan huffs, crossing his arms with a head shake of his own. “fine. then you’re no longer my favourite customer! i renounce your title!”

you pause, peering up at him curiously. “i’m your favourite customer, huh?”

he freezes. wait, he wasn’t supposed to say that—his bosses, jeonghan and joshua, had looked at him weirdly when he had mentioned that a few days earlier, with jeonghan warning him to never mention it to anyone else, let alone you, unless he wanted to come off as a creep.

“um, well, i don’t mean it in like a weird way.” seungkwan fixes his glasses, paying closer attention to his hand rather than dwelling on your teasing look—you didn’t seem to think he was being creepy…or maybe he was just being hopeful.

you laugh, staring down at the mug in your hand that reminds you of the man in front of you, now that you think about it. “if it helps…you’re my favourite barista, so i think we’re even.”

he hums, his lips quirking before he clears his throat. “well, if that’s true, you should drink the hot chocolate i made with so much effort just for you.” 

“fine, fine. don’t get too excited,” you say, rolling your eyes with a smile and taking a sip begrudgingly as he lifts up a fist in triumph, disregarding your words entirely as you let out a gentle laugh.

the hot chocolate is sweet as it goes down your throat, and settles warmly in your stomach. seungkwan watches as you relax, his hands moving to grab the mug from you when you’re finished, going to the back to place into the sink, leaving it for joshua when he opens up the next day as a surprise.

you thank him and take a peek outside at the now dark sky with a sigh. maybe it would be a good idea to call up your roommate to walk home together—but you know she’s probably out with other friends though, so you push that thought aside.

seungkwan taps his fingers on the counter to draw your attention to him with a sheepish smile. “sorry, i need to clean up…”

you blink before getting up immediately, gathering all your stuff with a nervous laugh. “oh, right! thanks for the hot chocolate, seungkwan.” 

his eyes widen before he looks down at his name tag. “o-oh right, i finally found this. yeah, i’m seungkwan.” he says, smiling brightly. that makes a lot more sense, you think. you’ve seen all the other workers at the falling for u cafe with name tags, even the owners, so it would have been weird to see a barista without a name tag if you hadn’t been paying more attention to his kindness instead of his apron.

you smile back and his eyes soften before he purses his lips. “wait just a few minutes, okay?”

your eyebrows furrow but you nod, and seungkwan walks quickly to grab his stuff from the back. your eyes linger outside as he walks back out, a blue puffer jacket now on his shoulders, along with a small bag.

he pauses to turn off the small lamps scattered around the cafe, and you go to help with the last few closest to you, earning you another surprised smile.

once he turns the big light in the centre of the cafe off, he glances around the space that usually seems threatening, like the shadows of every coffee he’s managed to spill (a lot) are coming back to taint the floors after he’s worked so hard to mop his mistakes up, no matter how childish it seems.

now, with you staring at him curiously once more, he thinks it’s okay, and the dim light from the windows is the only thing that’s distracting him—it’s way too dark to be out alone.

seungkwan opens the door, and you go outside before he does. he locks up the cafe in record time before turning to you with a signature pout. “do you want me to walk you to the bus stop, or home? you live on campus, right?”

you purse your lips carefully, wondering how much information you should give out. “yeah, i do…but i’m going to be taking the bus. you?”

seungkwan nods, putting his hands in his pockets. “i’ll walk you to the bus stop. seokmin said he’d pick me up anyway, so i don’t think he’ll mind.”

you tilt your head. “are you sure it’s not going to be inconvenient for your friend? i really can go by myself, it’s okay.” you huff out a dry laugh. “it’s not like i’ve been by myself in worse situations.”

you glance up to see seungkwan’s face twisted in horror before he clears his throat and crosses his arms. “no. i’m dropping you off at the bus stop, and that is final.”

you raise an eyebrow. “and who are you to demand things?” seungkwan opens his mouth to rebut your words but he really can’t—you’re basically strangers, even if he feels weirdly familiar at times. “exactly.”

he huffs, taking off his scarf to wrap it around your neck tightly, and you blink at him in shock once he ties a knot to make sure it’ll stay on. “at least take this. you can give it back to me the next time i’m working.”

you give him a look before crossing your arms. “and how am i supposed to know your schedule?” 

seungkwan grins, pulling on one end of the scarf with a wink. “you just have to keep wearing it then, don’t you?”

you open your mouth to protest but a car blinds you with its headlights, and seungkwan grins. “that’s my ride! i’ll see you around, favourite customer.”

you scoff but wave back at him once he gets into the car, a man with a surprised look directed towards you in the driver’s seat until seungkwan gives him an explanation—it must be the seokmin your favourite barista was talking about. 

they both smile at you as seokmin drives off, and you nuzzle into the red scarf that’s already warm from seungkwan’s body heat before putting your hands in your pockets and walking towards the bus stop with a sigh.

you’ll just have to keep going back to the cafe to give it back, you decide, and you can’t deny the grin that appears on your face at the thought of seeing seungkwan’s surprised face again.

[glisten-inthedark]

Sorry if its too much to ask but im a mileven turning into a byler and i honestly doubt it happening, can you convince me or at least explain so i can understand

Hello, how are you doing?

Ok, so first things first. I won't try and convince you of anything because I genuinely do feel that shipping should be organic, but I'll provide textual evidence and comparisons you can use to guide you.

This got extremely long lmao.

Will Byers was always meant to be canonically homosexual

I think the most important point to start with is this. Will was always meant to be gay, and his queercoding was present from the start. His own father used the f- slur to talk about him, his bullies always attacked his sexuality and even Hopper assumed he was the victim of a hate crime.

So we know that from the very beginning, they wanted him to be gay but his sexuality was never treated as a joke. I think is important to note the difference between internal dialogue and external dialogue when it comes to writing or presenting an idea.

Mike and Will's relationship has been treated differently from the start

Let's assume they were always meant to be viewed as closer friends. This could possibly work if weren't for Dustin and Mike's conversation during season 1 where Mike explicitly tells him that he and Lucas are his best friends. So theoretically, there should be no difference in how their relationships are shown within canon.

It'd be one thing for the three boys to address that Mike and Will are different, is another thing for the story to show and tell us that.

And you might be asking yourself, how do they do that?

Firstly, they do it by singling Mike out. When Will's "body" was found, we see all of their reactions right? But the only person that snaps to someone he was being kind to up until that point is Mike.

Just him.

Lucas says: "It's really him" and Dustin appears to want to cry, but Mike is the one who snaps at El, who tells her she told him Will was alive, and then he asks "What is wrong with you?"

He's the only person we follow home, he's the only one we see breaking down in his mother's arms. He's the only person they really focus on, and this is where I need you to ask yourself why.

I won't give you an answer because I really want you to think about it, but if all these boys are best friends, if all of them collectively care about Will like we know they do, why was Mike singled out for his reaction?

Mike is also the only person, besides Will's own mother, who believes wholeheartedly he is alive. When questioned by Lucas about it, he claims he doesn't have an explanation for the body, but he just "knows" is not him.

Considering that not even Jonathan believed Will was alive - and we all know he loves his brother more than anything - I also ask you to ask yourself why that is.

Why did Mike seemingly "just know" Will was alive when the only person who had that same gut feeling was Will's mother, the person who gave birth to him? No one else did. Not Lucas, not Dustin, not Jonathan.

Just Mike and Joyce.

Again, if these boys have been friends for years at this point, why is Mike's belief system the one that diverges from the others? Why didn't he also keep assuming Will was dead until he heard his voice?

And if all of their friendships were meant to be seen as equal, why did the reveal of the walkie-talkie happen with just Mike there? I mean, all of them cared about Will, so why not have all of them there? Why not show them collectively reacting to it?

During season 2, we again see Mike being singled out when it comes to Will.

Again, Mike himself told Dustin they were all his best friends. That's what was said to us, so is not really about friendship, but rather about the intricacies of caring and of love.

In season 2, Mike says: "He's quiet today" and Lucas says: "He's always quiet" and Mike says something along the lines of "This feels different or this is different". Again, they are showing us that Mike appears to be more in tune with Will.

This proves to be the point whenever Will is having one of his visions and Mike is the one who pulls him out of them. When Will calls Mike during Halloween, Mike mysteriously shows up there almost as if he heard him call.

They also drew a very explicit parallel between Will and Mike and Nancy and Jonathan. When Nancy got through the mini portal, she started calling out to him and he pulled her back. When Will was in that vision state, he called Mike and Mike pulled him out of it.

And just a forewarning, I will make comparisons to Mike and El's relationship but I mean no disrespect to you or your ship. Is just how I perceive things but that doesn't mean you are less valid for seeing things differently and I'll try not to get into deep about how I feel about their relationship.

When El called Mike, he never heard her. He never felt her.

He thought he saw Eleven, but didn't go after her nor did he actively try and find her even when he kept trying to reach her in his walkie-talkie. He never dragged himself to the middle of the woods to find her, he never went against explicit orders from a police officer to go after her.

And then we have a scene that tells us exactly how Mike and Will met.

We face the same conundrum when Mike blows daggers at Dustin for trying to help Will and tells Will "he'd take him home" only to take him to his own house.

When Will explains to him what is happening, he tells him not to tell the others because they wouldn't understand and then he says he feels like he's going crazy and well Mike says they'll go crazy together. And the thing is, the writers could have easily thrown in something innocuous like: "No you're not going crazy", or "This feeling will pass" or not have Will say anything about going crazy at all. The scene would come off as way less romantic and it would still have worked.

And again, we know all of them care about each other, that they'd do anything for each other. But, Mike is the only one of them who is there.

He is standing there, watching his friend be in pain, and he tells him that asking him to be his friend was the best thing he ever done.

So I ask you again, why was Mike singled out. Why was he the only one there from the party?

And let's compare the content of what is said, shall we?

Joyce informs Will of his birthday, and how he gave someone a toy because the person was sad.

Jonathan tells Will about the day their father left and they built Castle Byers together.

All of those moments start to sound really small compared to this monumental thing Mike shares because the thing is. Will is aware that his birthday is March 22 (and so are the writers but I digress), and he knows that he and Jonathan built the castle when Lonnie left.

And he also knows when he and Mike met. What he didn't know, up until that point, is that it meant that much to Mike. Was that, canonically, Mike viewed it as the best choice he ever made.

During season 3, both Lucas and Mike were the source of Will's anger, and yet Mike is the only one who follows Mike out of the basement and he immediately backtracks and tells Will it was a cool campaign.

Now, did at any point Will tell Mike he didn't like girls? Did he, at any point, make passing remarks about not feeling attraction towards them?

Was there any realistic reason for Mike to say the words: "Is not my fault you don't like girls" instead of saying: "Is not my fault you can't get a girlfriend?" or "Is it too bad that I want to spend some time with my girlfriend?" All of these are far more acceptable responses to Will's argument than what he said and yet he went straight for the jugular with no reason whatsoever.

In canon there was no reason for him to assume Will didn't like girls - especially considering he urged Will to dance with a girl a few months prior -. So how the hell did he go from Will should dance with a girl (which implies he didn't assume anything other than Will being straight) to: "Is not my fault you don't like girls?

And we can see he immediately feels sorry, and when Will bikes away he goes out after him without hesitation in the pouring rain to apologize.

Now, another parallel to Mike and El. When they break up everything around them is colorful and bright, Mike doesn't look upset, or heartbroken, he just looks pissed and Max straight up tells El he'll come crawling back and asking for forgiveness in no time.

Does he do it?

No.

But who does he go after immediately after fighting? I don't have to tell you.

Mike had been dating El for a while up to that point, you'd think he'd be upset that she broke up with him, instead, he looked at him like "What the fuck" and kept complaining about it. He looked more guilty about what he said to Will than about the fact he was lying to El.

And by the end of the season, we can see he looks terrified the moment El kisses him and tells him he loves her. He doesn't close his eyes, and he doesn't kiss her back, he just stands there looking utterly lost and confused.

And then they did something that is particularly gut-punching.

They used Heroes by Peter Gabriel again - the same song was used when Will's body was found.

Not only the music was the same, but we saw Mike staring at Will's house with this somber expression and biking away. As he gets home, he holds his mother and if you're thinking that this sounds familiar is because it is. We saw it before: The same exact thing happened when Will's body was found.

Now we have to remember that Mike was losing both El and Will. That both of them are leaving, and yet every single visual and musical cue tells us who Mike is subconsciously thinking about.

They could have chosen any other song, they didn't need to make it look like Mike was about to have a panic attack when El kissed him (and make it look like he was terrified) and they sure as hell didn't have to use the same song they used when Will's body was found and for Mike to hug his mother the same way he did that fateful night.

And I saw someone argue that he looks like that because he realized he loved. If that was the case, why didn't he just say it then? She heard him say it before, and she tells him she loves him too, so not only does that let him know she feels the same, but it should also help with his insecurity about not being sure he feels like that in season 4. And also, she signed all her letters as "Love, El", and he didn't pick up on it? Unlikely.

Not only do we have Finn's acting to rely on, but we also have the script that explicitly states that as El kisses him, Mike feels confused and asks "What is wrong with me?"

And oh my am I rambling, I am so sorry lmao but I still have thoughts™ so I hope you don't mind lmao.

In season 4, we see that Mike has no issue hugging Dustin and that he has no issue maintaining his friendships with his other friends or with talking to El but wouldn't you know it? He hasn't been talking to Will for months.

Then there's the infamous airport awkward af half hug, and Mike casting furtive glances toward Will the entire time (you can rewatch the scene and see it for yourself).

Another important thing to note is that there was no single moment between Mike and El where they were alone if we don't count their argument about him not telling her he loves her.

Every other single moment of the season they share has Will standing there. They force us to feel sorry for him, they force us to confront the fact that Mike and El being together is breaking his heart, and they make us feel even sorrier for a boy who's already been through too much.

They even tell us a few facts while they are it:

Will loves Mike. Mike doesn't make him like a mistake at all, he makes him feel better for being himself. Will pictures himself with Mike by his side forever, and he doesn't think he'll be ever able to move on from him and from how he feels.

He literally Cyrano de Bergerac's the shit out of the situation because he couldn't stand the thought of Mike thinking about himself in that way. He loves Mike so much that he gives up something sacred to him just so that Mike gets to be happy. He rips off the band-aid because he lost all hope, and he has come to accept that he won't get his happy ending.

And there's something even more inherently tragic in what Will does - from an anthropological standpoint that is, because he's not giving Mike just a painting, but a sacred part of himself, of what makes him "him"". He wraps it up with lies, closes it with a beautiful bow, and signs El's name on it. He says what he feels and assigns those feelings to El, but what Mike truly has will always be a part of Will, not a part of El.

We don't even know if and where Mike keeps El's letters, and yet, every single one of Will's drawings was kept safely by Mike.

And finally, we have the final shot of the season.

At first, we see El Mike and Will standing together in the middle. Then we have Jancy and Jopper at their side.

Then El steps away and goes to the front, while Mike and Will stay behind, right in the middle, with the other couples of the show. I have a really hard time believing that was coincidental.

They could have ended the season a million different ways and yet, they didn't.

So again, ask yourself why that is.

There's a lot more I could say, but I feel like I already scared you enough as it is lmao.

I know I'm not giving you all of the answers, but I genuinely believe that the best you can do is analyze the show in its entirety. Is for you to approach with questions instead of preconceived answers. Ask yourself: If they could go this way, why did they go that way?

I hope this helped you in some way, and I also wanted you to remember this is a process. The show was meant to be redigested and reassessed, it was meant to be watched over and over again.

If you pay attention, if you look closely, you'll see small moments of Will and Mike's relationship since season 1. If you pay more attention, they'll become more noticeable as you go.

But if you take a step back, if you start to wonder why Will has to fall in love, if you question why his love had to be implied as unrequited; why at the same time Mike and El never really talk after his supposed love speech, why is this happening at all, that should also tell you a feel things.

I don't know if this helps at all, but I hope it does, somehow.

[lkfarrout]

Fifty (family fic)

No ships, just Stan being a father figure

Summary: Wendy finds herself in a tough situation and has to ask Stan for money

Warnings: light angst, mature themes (16+)

"Come in!"

With a shaky hand, Wendy slowly opened the door to Stan's office. Her boss was sat at his desk, fez off, a pen and calculator in hand. His frustration at the figures in front of him permeated the room.

"Wendy?" He barely glanced up at her before returning to his work, "Its your day off, kid. What do ya need?"

"Umm..." Wendy considered saying 'nevermind' and just walking out. But she didn't really have a choice. "...fifty dollars."

Stan started to laugh until he looked up and saw the tears welling in Wendy's eyes.

He rose to his feet and she continued, talking very quickly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Pines. You can take it out of my next paycheck, but I need it today. I didn't know who else to ask."

He came around and leaned on the edge of his desk, arms crossed. "What's it for?"

She just looked at the floor and rang her hat in her hands.

He moved closer and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, "Look, kid. Whatever you did, I'm sure I did worse at your age. D'ya owe someone money?" She shook her head.

"Then what's it for?"

"You can't tell my dad."

"Okay, I won't."

Wendy continued to avoid his gaze.

"What's it for, kid?"

Wendy sighed, "...plan B."

Stan took a step back and rubbed the back of his neck. "I see."

An awkward silence filled the room.

Stan continued with a light chuckle, "It's fifty bucks these days? Sweet moses, I'm gettin' old."

Wendy didn't laugh.

"Look, it'll be alright. Head out to the car, I'll give the twins an excuse and meet you out there, okay?"

Wendy muttered a thank you and quickly left the room.

---

A rock song played inaudibly on the radio and Wendy stared out the passenger window at the trees going by.

Stan gripped the wheel, trying to think of anything to say.

He stuttered as he began, "Kid, I-- look, I aint gonna pry you for details. But if I need to go knock some sense into some knucklehead kid, I will."

"It's fine."

"It was some knucklehead kid, right? Not, y'know... an adult?" Stan cringed at his own question, but damnit, if he was gonna let some creep take advantage of a young girl like Wendy.

Wendy nodded, "Yeah, just Robbie."

"So why the hell isn't he paying for this?" He'd meant it as a joke, but quickly realized how mean it sounded.

"Look, I aint mad about paying for it, I just. He needs to learn some responsibility."

"We were responsible. It just, broke. And neither of us had the money. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I'm... glad you told me."

Stan pulled the car into a parking spot.

"Stay here."

"It's okay, I can get it."

Stan insisted, "No, someone will recognize ya. I don't want you in any trouble."

He cracked the windows and shut the door with a click. Several minutes later, he returned and handed her a bag. "Hope that's the right stuff."

Wendy dug through it, surprised to find a bottle of water, a comic book, and a bar of chocolate in addition to the small cardboard box she expected.

She looked at Stan, who shrugged. "Figured you might need a little pick-me-up."

"Thanks, Mr. Pines. I'll work an extra day, or--"

He cut her off and waved his hand in the air, "Ah forget that, consider it free. It was... less expensive than I thought anyway." He looked away suspiciously before glancing back at her.

She punched him lightly in the arm, "You stole it?"

"No!" Stan protested, "I paid..."

She raised her eyebrows at him and he finished, "...for the water."

Stan laughed and Wendy smiled for the first time that morning. But her smile quickly dissipated with his next question.

"So, should I take you home?"

The look on her face was the only answer he needed. "Alright, you can hang at the shack today. But you'll have to put on a happy face for Dip and Mabel."

Wendy sighed, relieved, "Yeah, I will."

"I told the kids I was picking up lunch. How's pizza sound?"

---

They entered through the giftshop. Stan held the door open for Wendy with one hand, a pizza box in the other.

"Hey, uh, make sure you read that box real close and if you start to feel sick at all, let me know, okay?"

"I will, thanks." Wendy stayed behind like they'd discussed, and he continued toward the main part of the house before pausing.

"Oh, and use the phone in here to call Robbie. He should know that you got things worked out."

Wendy nodded and gave him a small smile.

"Guess who got pizza!"

The twins exclaimed happily and started to dig in.

Through a mouthful, Stan casually spoke. "Oh hey, save some for Wendy, I saw her walkin' over just a minute ago."

[teddypines]

Drop off's and pick up's

---------------------------------------------------

Summary: A week of drop off's and pick up's for the younger's Wayne. Y/N is around 5-6 years old.

Note: This wrote itself when i was supposed to work on a different story. Small disclaimer, i have no idea how the American school system works or the one in the DC comic's, so it's all based on the school system i know. And yes i did use a picture of a 1967 Chevy Impala, because there were no fun ones of the batmobile.

-------------------------------------------------

Drop off and pick up were never the same in the Wayne household. Sometimes Bruce would do it, other times Alfred did it, or Dick and Jason picked the others up. Even Cas or Barbara did it every once in a while. They tried putting routine into it to help Y/N, but that didn’t really work with all the mixed scedules and unexpected events. The older ones made sure they got to school by themselves, but Y/N was still a bit too young for that. So the Drop off and pick up struggle continued,

Monday

Y/N waited by the door with her bag, Alfred packed her lunch and a snack, and Fleepy. Her brothers, besides Damian, had already left for school but she was still waiting on Bruce. “Daddy!! Hurry!!” She yelled as Bruce stumbled through the hallway. “Yes, I'm coming, pumpkin, just give daddy a minute.” Bruce answered as he struggled to put on his shoes. He looked at the waiting Y/N and Damian, sighing he quickly takes out the car keys from his pocket. “Here, go and wait in the car, I won't be long.” He instructed them. 

Y/N listened and grabbed her jacket before going to the car outside. She unlocked the car and quickly got in. Damian following closely behind her. Putting their seatbelts on when Bruce got there. “Let’s get you two to school.” Bruce smiled at Y/N.

“You'll pick me up too?” Y/N asked, wanting to make sure who to expect at pick up. “Yes, I'll pick you up today.” Bruce answered with a nod. “Yeeey!! Daddy pick up!” Damian just rolled his eyes, but understood Y/N liked to know things before hand, he liked it too.

Tuesday

“It was the heat of the moment. Telling me what my heart meant! The heat of the moment showed in your eyes!” Both Y/N and Jason sang. Jason picked her up from school today, which meant bonding time after. Since Y/N was still a bit too young for Jason’s bike he ‘borrowed’ one of Dick’s cars. Damian went home with a friend from school, so Alfred would pick him up later.

The two of them were just singing as Jason drove them to the best burger place in Gotham. “And now you find yourself in '83. The disco hot spots hold no charm for me. You can concern yourself with bigger things. You catch a pearl and ride the dragon's wings.” Jason sang, looking at Y/N as they stopped in front of a traffic light. “ 'Cause it's the heat of the moment. The heat of the moment. The heat of the moment showed in your eyes!” Y/N sang back with a big smile on her face. The two of them having so much fun that even Cas and Steph would be jealous of the fun they had.

After burgers the two of them went to the record store and Y/N got to pick out a cd for her collection. She chose ABBA, a bit to Jason’s dislike. He didn't get her love for the Swedish band, wanting her to try and listen to one of his personal favorites, but okay. When they left the record store on their way to the bookstore for some comic's,- Bruce called and ruined their fun a bit, wanting Y/N home in the next 30 minutes. So Jason had no choice and had to take Y/N home, but she didn’t mind, she had fun with her brother and that’s what mattered more to her.

Wednesday

Pick up was a big mess on wednesday. Drop went okay, Bruce brought her and Damian to school with the promise that he would pick her up too, or Dick would be there instead. Damian had to stay longer because he was a grade or two higher then her and he would go home with Tim.

But now here Y/N sat, next to her teacher, at 4 p.m. Her teacher tried to reach someone, but no one answered. Tim and Damian had suddenly disappeared from class too, so that was suspisious. This of course made Y/N upset but it wasn’t like this didn’t happen before. She opened her backpack and pulled out the emergency number and handed it to her teacher. “My uncle Clark, for emergencier.” She explained and went silent again. 

Clark was there in no time, but normal human time as to not be suspicious. The teacher didn't need to be more worried then she already was. Clark was a bit worried about Y/N too, so instead of taking her back to Wayne manor he just said ‘Fuck it, sleep over in Kansas.’ And with that Y/N spent the night in Kansas with the Kent’s.

Thursday

Since Y/N spent the night in Kansas with the Kent's, Clark dropped her off at school, making sure to be at the school on time and to not be noticed while flying back and forth. Lois made Y/N lunch for the day, not wanting her to be depended on the teachers or the crappy school lunches. Giving both Y/N and Jon something extra in their lunches to make the little emergency feel more like a special short sleep over. At pickup Alfred showed up, when Y/N asked what happened he didn’t have a clear answer. Trying to talk around the questions Y/N had and doing his best to distract her for the time being. Just saying everything will be explained at home. Nothing was explained when they got home.

Friday

Shit hit the fan Thursday afternoon so instead of going to school Y/N spent the day in the hospital. Sitting by Bruce’s side as Dick and Alfred tried to take care of everything else. Turned out that Bruce, as Batman, got into a bigger mess than he could handle alone, even with the help of his Robin's. He has two broken ribs, a concussion and a broken arm. All some villain of the week’s fault, they were stronger then expected so everything went tits up. Of course they told the doctors that Bruce had a work related accident. Something about falling down the stairs, because the elevator not working at Wayne Enterprise.

Going home that night was hard since both Damian, Y/N and Tim , not wanting to leave Bruce’s side. Jason and Dick finally got the three home once they fell asleep on Bruce’s hospital bed. It was a tight fit on that hospital bed, bur Bruce would be in discomfort if it ment for his kids to be comfortable and safe. Bruce gave his eldest boy’s a tired smile as they went home, making them promise to at least get Y/N to school on time next week with him not being able to drive. He didn’t want to deal with the angry teachers if Y/N didn’t go again because of him. 

<----------------------------------------------------->

That weekend the whole family made sure to go to Bruce and visit him a lot. Sometimes not even leaving or only leaving when one of the nurses told them it was really time to leave their father alone to sleep. They made sure the press didn't know a lot about the accident and that Dick knew what to do for Wayne Enterprise until Bruce got better. The older siblings had a lot on their shoulders, but with the help of Alfred and the Kent family everything went as good as it could get.

Y/N made a promise on sunday to be on her best behavior the next few weeks for drop off and pick up. As long as it was Alfred or Barbara who picked her up at the right time and the right place. So there wouldn’t be any confusion, emergencies or waiting. Making sure to at least visit Bruce 3 times a week in the hospital until he got better.

[fanfictiongirlie]

Twilight: Some Soulmate - Chapter Twelve

Click here for masterlist

Parings: Paul Lahote x Reader

Description: Y/N a member of the Cullen family is imprinted on by one of the wolves, she is shocked, he is shocked. She is struggling with drinking animal blood over human, and he is disgusted by a vampire for a soulmate… But maybe it could work..?

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: None

Words: 1,463

"Alice, you can't see my future anymore can you?" I asked Alice, the rest of the family were on Bella patrol, Jacob, Seth and Leah were here too, which made it more painful, I missed Paul. 

"No, not since you've been with Paul" She smiled weakly to me, none of us had fed, and Bella was due to give birth soon. 

I smiled sneakily to myself, but tried to hide my thoughts, honestly being in this family was difficult at times. Luckily, Edward was mostly tuned into Bella's thoughts, and the child since he could hear it. 

I escaped my family, all too exhausted to watch where I was going and I sped to town, near the forest roughly where the cross over from the wolf territory was. He was there waiting for me, a sad smile on his lips. We didn't dare cross the line, we were metres apart, I could feel his pain, he wanted to be close to me, have his body pressed against mine. 

"I miss you too" I smile sad, I reached out my hand and he took it in his, holding me and caressing my knuckles with his thumb. We don't speak, eventually we sit on the ground, his hand still holding mine, and we chat about anything other than what's happening right now. We both tried not to think about it, the wolves wanted us dead, and wouldn't let us leave to feed. Either way it didn't look sunny for us. 

"You look hungry love" He mumbles, I nod and try to look like I have energy. 

"I'm ok Paulie" I smile weakly.

"When was the last time you fed?" He asks, taking my hand to his lips. 

"When I went to the beach with you I think" I say, had it really been that long? I had gone longer, but this time I wasn't sure when my next meal would be. 

"We can't keep sneaking around" I whisper, it hurt to say it aloud, but I wasn't wrong. His phone beeps, and he lets go of my hand, which caused my usual coldness to flow back through me. 

"Times up love" He frowns at me, I nod and we both jump up. 

"Bella's going to give birth soon, I think maybe we can break the treaty line for a kiss" I say sadly, I think we both knew this might be our goodbye. I wasn't sure if my family were going to live past this, and if we did we could never come back. And I couldn't ask Paul to leave his family for me. 

He steps forward and pulls me into his arms, holding me tight, he lowers his face until his warm lips press against mine. I feel safe when he kisses me, like maybe everything would be ok. I felt his love and pain flowing through me. 

We kissed for what felt like, not long enough, he stepped back placed his hand on the side of my face, and turned around to leave. Sadly I stepped back and walked home, I didn't feel like speeding off. Not today. 

I got home close to nightfall, Seth ran up to me excited, but stopped before he hugged me. He knew I had seen Paul, he could probably smell him, he stepped back looking sad. I walked into the house, and slumped myself down next to Jasper, he could probably feel how horrid I felt. I could feel him trying to make me feel calm, happier maybe, but it didn't work, I could see the confused look on his face.. 

My heart was breaking, I don't think you can fix that with mood control. 

Edward and Rosalie were comforting Bella, watching her every move. The rest of my family looked weak, paler than usual. 

"We need to feed Carlisle" I muttered. 

"We have a plan" Esme smiled, her hand landing on mine, it was nice, but all I wanted to feel was the warmth from Paul's hands. 

"You, Emmett, Esme and myself will go hunting tonight, it will be dangerous but Jacob is going to help us" Carlisle explained, I nodded and smiled weakly.. 

"How?" I ask.. 

"Jacob has called Embry, Quil, Jared and Paul to meet him to speak" Esme smiled sadly at me.. I was involved in tricking Paul. Brilliant. I couldn't stay though, I needed to feed, I was weaker than the others, I couldn't risk turning frenzy and killing someone again. 

I looked other at Bella, poor weak Bella, she must of been in so much pain.. I felt sorry for her, but I somewhat understood, I'd do anything to be able to have a baby. I also thought she was being dumb, she was so young. If only she hadn't met Edward, she could of lived a normal life.. Edward heard that one, but he didn't look annoyed at me, he gave me a look which felt like he agreed. 

We waited until nightfall, and the run began, I stayed close to Emmett, fear flowed through me, I was scared for my family. I didn't want the wolves to attack, I was scared Paul would attack. I don't think he would attack me, maybe my family, I was conflicted. 

There were wolves chasing us, none I recognised, maybe one. But we kept running, until we were finally out of the town, as soon as we were safe I let my nose take over, we found a group of bears, and took them down easily and had our meal.. It felt like a banquet, I kept thinking about what I would eat if I were human though.. Paul could take me on proper dates.. I needed to clear my head.

Emmett and I started to wrestle our food and joke about cheerfully when Carlisle sped to us. 

"Bella has gone into labour we need to hurry!" He yells. Panic runs through me, Edward couldn't deliver a baby! 

We started to run home, but it took us hours to get where we were.. The closer we got to home, the more anxious I was. Would Bella die? I don't think I wanted Bella to die, as annoying as she could be I had started to see her as one of us, part of the family. 

We were started to get close to home, we were running through the woods but there weren't any wolves coming after us, the closer we got home, I could hear why, it sounded like a fight.. I ran faster, I could feel Paul the closer I got. Fearing the worst. 

I ran through the woods out into the open in front of our house, and I was right, the wolves were fighting, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and a blood covered Edward. I looked frantically for Paul, I couldn't spot him, I didn't know his wolf form well. The wolves had noticed me, and started fighting the rest of my family, leaving me alone.. I couldn't be touched. 

This made me feel worse.. 

I didn't know what to do, I panicked and froze, I couldn't help my family without hurting Paul and I couldn't fight the wolves because Paul.. I was in deep with him. 

"Paul" I whimpered as I fell to the ground, this must be what a human panic attack feels like, my chest felt weird, tight. I pulled my knees up to my chest feeling useless and pathetic. A wolf walked to me, and licked my hand. 

"Paulie, make it stop please" I pleaded to him. He wined, he couldn't stop it.. He laid his big wolf body next to mine, so I could lean against him, as we watched our families hurt one another. I held onto Paul and closed my eyes, I was helpless. 

"Stop!" Jacob suddenly yelled jumping from the balcony into his wolf form. 

"Jacob imprinted!" Edward growled. On who?

The fighting stopped, the baby? Jacob must of imprinted on Bella's baby, the wolves couldn't hurt the imprints.. I hugged Paul and jumped up, rushing to my family. 

"Is Bella?" I asked, fearing the worst. 

"I'm not sure, Carlisle will need to come look" Edward mumbled, soon my vampire family left to go inside, and the wolves left, all but two.. 

They phased behind a tree, thankfully. 

"Y/N, love tonight come to Emily's" Paul yelled from behind a tree. I nodded and gleefully jumped up and down. I ran into the house, everyone was gathered around Bella's mutilated body.. There was so much blood, I sniffed it, and felt myself go wild inside. 

"Emmett" I squeaked, he noticed and dragged me away. 

"Go to Paul now, you can't be here with this blood" He said to me, I nodded and gave him a quick hug.

And I left to see my wolf. 

Previous Part - Next Part

[poptartmochi]

very lalalala day... I must savor it before I go to the trenches tomorrow

[tardis--dreams]

Alright maybe my coworkers don't Actually hate me after all~

[vampyroteuthid]

i have minor ass surgery this afternoon unfortunately (cyst) and i made the mistake of watching youtube videos of the procedure. fear

[hzrnvm]

emotional. happy, pissed off, all that.

[dreaminterlude]

it actually makes me so angry that people are not there for you the way you need them but in a way that wants to make them feel good

[hiddensarang]

Nate: Let’s close the door on this and move on. Forget this thing between us ever happened.  Victoria: Do you really think that’s possible? I think what’s happening between us is happening for a reason. It’s not just out of the blue. Even if you’re not ready to admit it, you know it’s true. Those feelings, you know, they’re not-- they’re not just going to go away if we ignore them, right? Nate: I disagree. It ends here. It has to. 

[boomerang109]

one thing that sucks about theatre is that it literally is built around people coming to see it so no matter how good a production is, if there wasn’t good advertisement beforehand, it isn’t nearly as satisfying

[autumnrory]

it’s so funny how much kids seem to like me when i struggle so much understanding the words they’re saying if they’re really little and i’m BETTER at interacting with them than i used to be after all these years with my nephew and nieces but still like. kinda awkward

i like them too, to be clear, kids are the fucking BEST even if i don’t want them for myself. but i’m always just kind of stunned when kids attach themselves to me seemingly so easily

[ambrosiagourmet]

I've seen pieces from this extra comic before, but never read the full thing until today. And holy shit does it hammer home just how much the story is about class.

Multiple times, when food comes up in this comic, it’s also in context of money:

I've seen this last panel on the right brought up before in context of like, dungeon meshi's relationship with fat and eating, but in the full context of the comic it really hits how much adventuring directly consumes bodies for money.

As much as this has been part of the story the whole time, showcased as early chapters 19 and 20...

It never fully hit me before how often adventuring comes down to having no other way to make money but to throw yourself into death repeatedly. To be used, whether it’s by individual selfish people (like the resurrection group that is happy to try and get Kabru's group to kill each other to get extra gold from them in chapter 32), or by the greater cog of the Dungeon Economy in general.

Which, to be clear, is all too often how things work in the real world, too. So many jobs burn through the health and lives of workers. Dungeon Meshi just makes it literal in a new way: by making the healing and resurrection, a core part to the adventuring loop, directly use fat, muscle, and energy from the body being healed.

Imagine Amazon, but if you got injured at work, they could literally burn up some of your body to get you back to working sooner. And that was seen as an advantage of the job.

And then you have Laios, thinking about eating monsters:

Not just because he likes monsters a lot. But because it would help. He says something similar in the actual manga too, during the chapter discussing his dream with the Winged Lion

Laios wants to be able to make a home for Falin. He wants to give her a place where she never has to eat alone. And when he gets a party, he wants to give them a way to eat well. And when he runs a country, well…

He wants to ensure that everyone has enough to eat.

Food is political. Food ties into class, and money. What is deemed "proper" to eat, what is a luxury, what is crass… so much of it comes down to money.

Being judged for eating what's available, when what is “proper” isn't affordable, is already a thing that happens. People forced into work that consumes their energy is already a thing that happens.

Dungeon Meshi has a lot of fantastical elements, but boy is its examination of food and class very real.

[maximoffmorale]

god i want brunette ponytail lizzie more than i’ve ever wanted anything ever in my life, my need literally transcends time and space relativity and im punching the air and gnawing at the edges of my enclosure