#anyway i was talking to a couple of kids and realised neither had even HEARD of this series

[carriagelamp]

Had the sort of month where I could feel my books crying out for me while I was at work. They wanted to draw me home into their loving embrace…

My main take away from this month is that if you're going to be anything, by god be sincere

Bury Your Gays // Straight

My hold on Chuck Tingle’s latest horror novel came in just in time for spoopy season, which felt very appropriate, so I read both it and Straight, his horror novella that I hadn’t known about until I was looking up the release day for Bury Your Gays.

Both were quite enjoyable reads, and struck similar chords. He does a really good job of taking a potentially campy concept that’s been done before, and giving a very unique spin — not just in the inclusion of queer themes which can often come across as surface level and token if poorly done, but from the societal commentary that’s woven through both works. The queerness isn't window-dressing, but inherent to the story, horror, and criticism that’s present in both. Another thing they both have in common is that they are also, fundamentally, about hope and community and overcoming horror, which feels very relevant to the topic matter.

Straight is the shorter of the two, and on the surface is a zombie story. Due to vague cosmic horror, a strange thrall comes over straight people once a year that causes them to become rabidly violent towards all queer people. Two years out from the first instance, this story looks at how a group of queer friends deal with the trauma, how society has responded to it (and the fact that this came out 2021 feels very obvious as it looks at a fictional global pandemic), and how the friends themselves brace themselves for this years event. Isolating themselves out in the desert, they batten down and hope to wait for it to pass by relaxing and playing board games… obviously this doesn’t happen as intended.

Bury Your Gays was very different again, and between the two feels like the more ambitious in terms of imagination and story telling. The main character of this story is a partially closeted screenwriter for a major film studio who has had some success, both cult- and critical-success. However he starts to realise that there may be something sinister pulling the strings when he comes face to face with a fan dressed up as one of the horror monsters he had created for the screen. It must be a fan, right?

Both of these are excellent stories, and I appreciate how they shamelessly demand the reader suspend disbelief. They don’t bother over-explaining things, and allow horror to be unapologetically horror, slightly fantastical and campy and definitely scary. I have to admit, neither quite lives up to Camp Damascus, but I enjoyed both quite a bit nonetheless.

Defekt

The sequel (technically midquel?) to Finna, though it honestly stands alone fairly well. Finna, which involved hopping wormholes through fictional Ikeas, was alright, but I definitely think if you want something like that you’d be better for reading Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix. Defekt, on the other hand, I thought was an excellent novella and I’m glad I decided to give it a try! If you’re on the fence about this series, I’d skip right over Finna and just go straight to Defekt.

This novel is about Derek, who is LitenVärld’s most loyal employee. Everything about his life is centred around his work… even after his shifts he goes no farther than the storage crate in the LitenVärld parking lot where he lives. In this way, and many others though, he starts to notice that there are some… inconsistencies between how he views the world and how his coworkers view the world. He has never quite connected to them before, but do they have entirely different manuals? And why is his superior getting so angry about him taking a sick day when his colleagues seem to see no problem with it? Things come a head though when he’s scheduled for a special sort of inventory shift and he finds himself face to face with not just one but a whole team of people who seem to be his direct clones…

Doctor Who: The Day She Saved The Doctor

Like many Doctor Who novels this one is… fine. If you’re in the mood for more Doctor Who and want something easy it’s pleasant, but nothing world rocking. It’s composed of four short stories that bill themselves as feminist tales that focus on Sarah Jane, Rose, Clara, and Bill and how they “save” the Doctor. Honestly my main complaint is that they don’t actually do a great job sticking to this theme. The stories range from rather hamfisted to completely insincere — none of them have a truly impressive “save” but part of that might just be that they’re such short stories that they really have no space to come up with a complex rescue mission. None of them were actually bad, but also none of them stuck with me enough to describe them now…

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

I was disappointed by this one. I feel like I’ve seen rave reviews for this novel, and it’s been on my reading list for ages, but now that I’ve finally sat down to read it I found it… profoundly underwhelming. It seems to be going for a sort of “cozy academia” vibe and I’m sure that works for some people but mostly I just found it… very boring. Maybe I was hoping for something more like a grown up Spiderwick. Emily Wilde was an okay character, but without much depth, and the male character they introduced was uninteresting to me. I ended up giving up on it part way through when I finally gave up on the plot picking up in any significant way. If it does get better, it wasn’t worth the slog to get there imho sorry to all the people out there that love it.

Hakumei & Mikochi v1

I honestly just adore stories about Very Tiny People in a Very Big World. This completely scratched this itch I have for Borrower-esque stories! It’s an episodic manga about the lives of Hakumei and Mikochi, who live together in a tree house, and little events in their life such as shopping in town, camping, and befriending a necromancer! Normal day to day things! I wouldn’t mind reading a second, it was very chill and charming.

Jaws

I honestly don’t know what I expected here. I had never seen Jaws before, but me and my friends have spent so much time swimming this summer to keep cool that we decided it was the time to finally watch it. I see why the movie is such a classic, it was an excellent film! Very well made thriller! And a great end-to-the-summer movie. Then I made the mistake of deciding to read the original novel. I got about eight pages in before they said faggot for the first time. At that point I decided maybe I should read a review or two. Honestly I might have pushed past the homophobia if the novel itself sounded good, but apparently the types of horror used in the novel vs the film are very different. The novel has none of the subtly that the movie uses and is primarily sexual and gross-out horror that was fairly typical of the 70s pulp horror scene. So. I did not continue reading Jaws. I feel like I need a nega-pride flag for this one.

Poison For Breakfast

Really neat novella by Lemony Snicket, and honestly I have a hard time classifying this one. It’s technically fiction, but in a lot of ways feels like it’s not, it’s autobiographical about someone who doesn’t actually exist. It starts with the author receiving a note telling him that he ate poison for breakfast. More than anything, it’s an entire book of philosophy told through the lens and language of Lemony Snicket. If you have any fond memories of The Series of Unfortunate Events then honestly you should read this. Even if you don’t, it’s worth reading. The language is so evocative and it genuinely made me stop and think and squirm with a general discomfort that good philosophising around life and death can bring about. 

Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window

I stumbled across Poison for Breakfast specifically because I decided to reread the Series of Unfortunate Events. I’ve been fairly anxious lately (more than usual, which is saying something when it’s me) and I needed something that would hold my interest but otherwise be an easy audiobook to listen to at night or during my morning commute. Since I’ve never actually read the whole series as a kid (they weren’t all out yet when I started and I never got around to finishing it) I decided now was the time. I’m especially excited to read it as an adult because I’m picking up a lot of nuance I simply didn’t notice as a kid, especially related to the Snicket / Beatrice subplot. Lemony Snicket really does now how to write a compelling mystery.

If you’ve never read The Series of Unfortuante Events, it’s got to be one of the best youth novel series out there (I say, unbiased). The narration is unlike anything else I’ve read in any genre, as is the strange world that the story is set in. The series starts with the three Baudelaire children learning that their parents died in a horrible fire that consumed their home, and that they will have to go stay with a distant relative who they have mysteriously never heard of before: Count Olaf. It quickly becomes apparently that the cruel Count Olaf is only after the Baudelaire fortune that Violet will eventually inherent, and though they expose him by the end of the first book it’s only the beginning of the tragic events that will dog at their heels from here on out…

The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window are the ones in the series I’ve reread the most, and were very comforting to return to! (also I feel compelled to mention that Tim Curry does the audiobook for The Reptile Room and he uses his fucking Nigel Thornberry voice for Uncle Monty and you haven't lived until you've heard Nigel Thornberry get horrifically murdered in a completely unrelated novel... wild experience.)

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

Easily the best book I read this month. This book was originally meant to be a series of interviews between Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea about her time as a Shakespearean actor. The interviews took place over four years and were meant for archival purposes before O’Hea realised how much these might be enjoyed by a wider audience — and boy was he correct about that.

The interviews are profoundly insightful about the various roles Dench played, her opinions on the characters and plays themselves very compelling, while also being interspersed with wit, banter, and reflections on everything from her fellow actors, to costuming choices, to green room antics. Dench has a remarkable memory and it means the interviews are able to go into great detail about the specific productions of each play that Dench participated in. I listened to the audiobook and if you have even a passing interest in Shakespeare I really can’t recommend it enough.

The Scum Villain Self-Saving System v2

 I continue down the SVSSS rabbit hole and honestly I have to applaud this series for proving to be more than mindless fluff, which is kind what I had been expecting of it (sorry, I was very biassed against this series). Don’t get me wrong, it is a genuinely hilarious series and an absolute parody of the genre, but it’s more than that which I think is important. Despite being a parody, it’s very sincere in its characters and relationships and story; while the main character may bitch and moan about certain “story tropes” and the “shitty author” who wrote the webnovel he’s found himself in, he’s as much swept up in this world as anyone else is, and the story forces you to acknowledge even the tropier aspects and look at how they would fit into a world where such things dictated every day life.

In this volume Luo Binghe (the “protagonist” who is supposedly destined to kill Shen Qingqiu) returns from his “presumed death” in the Abyss, much earlier than in the original story. Shen Qingqiu is frantic when he finds out, desperate to ensure his back up plan is in place and that he might yet avoid the inevitable death his character is meant to suffer at Luo Binghe’s hands. Of course, nothing is that easy, and Shen Qingqiu has irrevocably changed the plot (and possibly the entire genre) of this story, though he himself may not realise it yet…

Yuri Is My Job v1

So, my earlier comment about sincerity? How both SVSSS and Chuck Tingle’s stories intentionally use a lot of specific tropes and parody their genres? Despite this, both examples clearly love the genres they’re lampshading and ultimately commit to the story they’re telling. They never break away from the story to wink at the audience and say “see how dumb this is?” (cough Marvel) — they are completely embroiled in the worlds they create, they are entirely sincere in the story they’re telling.

And then you have this. Yuri Is My Job is a yuri manga about a protagonist who hides her true self behind a cutesy, beauteous mask. She’s determined to be the prettiest, sweetest, most desirable person in any room — she always wants to be the first pick! And things continue well for her, until she finds herself getting roped in to covering a shift at an usual themed café: one that’s based around a fictional private academy where the “students” work at the cafe and play out little dramas for the customers.

This could have been fun, especially as the protagonists realises that everyone is wearing a mask, and how their performed personalities can differ wildly from their true personalities, but there’s just no sincerity here. It makes me think of Ouran High School Host Club but without any love behind it. OHSHC can get away with a lot, and I’ll suspend a lot of disbelief while reading it, because it’s having so much fun with what it does. This manga seems to suck away any joy by constantly poking fun at its own premise.

So I dunno… YMMV, maybe this is something someone else would enjoy a lot, but it honestly just kind of annoyed me, especially when I sat down to figure out what exactly I didn’t like about it.

If you’re going to be anything, be sincere at the very least. Show me that you love what you’re about.

[pyro-les]

It's a blessing and it's a curse part 3

Regina George x Reader

After dropping Gretchen and Karen off in town Regina goes to drive along the route Y/N walks home. They had already arranged for Y/N to quickly hop into her car discretely when she goes past, whe even took her mum's car so it wouldn't be easily recognised as hers if anyone saw.

Finally spotting Y/N's figure Regina slowly pulls up alongside her so she can quickly jump in the car before continuing to drive. "Hey baby." Regina says sweetly as Y/N gets in.

"Hi." Her girlfriend says, smiling softly. "How's your afternoon been?" She asks.

Regina sighs saying "Awful, I missed you." Y/N giggles saying that it had only been 3 hours since she last saw her. "Don't laugh, do you have any clue how hard it is putting up with stupid boys like Aaron all day when all I want to do is spend time with you?" Regina pouts.

"Well we've got all of tonight and tommorow morning, we can just order take out, watch a movie and cuddle." Y/N replies

Pulling into Y/N's driveway the couple head into the house holding hands with Regina leading the way, eager to finally have some proper alone time with her girlfriend. What they don't realise however, is that Damian had just got to the door of Cady's house only a few doors up and had seen a flash of blonde hair entering Y/N's house seemingly dragging her in behind them.

"That was weird." Damian says as he enters Cadys house to see her and Janis already sitting on the sofa happily chatting away.

"What was?" Cady asks.

"I just saw some blonde girl drag Y/N into a house down the road." Damian says kind of confused. "I didn't think she really hung out with anyone other than the drama kids at school, and well none of them have hair like that. Or are even that tall to be fair."

"That's weird. I mean I don't really see her around them in school much, let alone out of school. " Janis says equally as confused.

Cady, realising the girl Damian had seen must have been Regina tries to stop the conversation. "It's probably just someone from out of school, or a relative or something. I mean it doesn't really affect us. Can we just watch a film now?"

"That's a good point it could be a relative!" Janis exclaims. "Wait that's quite sad, if she doesn't have any friends. Maybe we should invite her over here." Janis proposes which Damian immediately agrees to.

"Um I'm not really sure if my mum would like that." Cady says earning looks of confusion from Damian and Janis. "I just mean that she only agreed to you two coming over. I guess I could ask when she gets home though." She adds on.

Back at Y/N's house Regina holds Y/N from behind, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist as she puzzles her head into her neck. "What are you doing baby?" Y/N asks as she tries to make some tea however that is proving a bit difficult with Regina stopping her from being able to move around the Kitchen.

"I'm hugging you duh." Regina says confused why Y/N is asking about something so obvious. "Am I not allowed to love you?" She adds on with a pout.

"Of course you can, but you're making this kind of difficult. I can't get to the fridge." Y/N replies.

"Hmmm fine." Regina says moving to get the milk from the fridge for her girlfriend.

"Thank you" Y/N says with a smile as she takes it from Regina who gives her a light kiss on her cheek.

After they finished making their tea the couple headed to Y/N'S room to watch a movie. They had already been home over an hour watching a random show Regina chose although neither of them really paid much attention, opting to talk to each other instead. Just as they started to head up the stairs they heard a knock on the door.

Turning to Y/N quizzically Regina asks "who is that? Is it your mum?"

Y/N shakes her head "no, she's working a night shift today. And she has a key anyway, she wouldn't need to knock." She pauses for a moment wondering who it could be before adding on "it might be one of the neighbours, I think we got a parcel for one of them."

Taking Y/N'S mug from her Regina says "OK, I'll take these upstairs while you answer it then."

Heading back towards the door Y/N hears a few muffled voices from outside now even more confused on who it could be, who would need multiple people to pick up a parcel? "Hey, I've got your-" Y/N says as she opens the door before noticing who's there. "Oh, hi? What are you doing here?" She asks incredibly confused.

Janis smiles and says "we're watching a movie at Cady's house, do you want to join?"

Hesitating for a moment Y/N says "I'm really sorry I can't I've got, um, homework to do. Yeah homework, I really want to finish it before my mum gets home."

Damian and Janis glance at each other seeming to know something, but what? Y/N wonders if they realised she's bluffing. "Oh, OK well we just thought we would ask because you seem pretty cool and we don't really talk as much as we should." Damian says with a smile.

"Thanks! I really appreciate it, I'm just really busy tonight but I'd be down to hang out another day?" Y/N offers, genuinely happy they want to be her friends.

The pair nod and smile before Janis says "that's alright, see you at school next week?"

"Yeah, definitely. See you!" Y/N says with a smile as Janis and Damian turn to leave.

After Y/N closes the door, Damian asks, "Did she have a lipstick print on her cheek?"

"I think so"

Back inside her house Y/N hears Regina ask who was at the door as she heads up stairs she shouts "it was Janis and Damian." Reaching her bedroom door she sees her girlfriends confused face and adds on "they wanted me to go to Cady's house to watch a movie with them."

"That's weird. What did you say?" Regina asks as Y/N sits next to her on her bed.

"I told them I had alot of homework to do. They were fine with it but it's just really weird, I mean they're nice but we barely talk to each other and now they're suddenly inviting me to hang out with them." Y/N responds.

Regina just hums in agreement grabbing her cup of tea before saying "Anyway, what are we watching today?"

"I was thinking we could continue our Ghibli marathon?" Y/N says as she grabs the TV remote.

Leaning into her girlfriends side Regina responds "Yeah that sounds good."

"Good" Y/N says with a smile, "I still can't believe you hadn't watched any studio ghibli films before, not even Totoro."

"I only really watched whatever was considered cool, no one ever recommended it to me before you and everyone else I know thinks anime is really lame." Regina says a bit sadly.

"Honey, you shouldn't let other people's judgements effect what you like, if you're interested in something then watch it."

Regina nods before saying "I know but it's hard, I'm getting better at doing my own thing though. And I do really like the films now, I'm glad you recommended them to me."

Smiling Y/N says "and I'm very proud of you for that."

Finally finding what she was looking for Y/N smiles pressing play on the film and says to Regina "okay so now that we've gone through some of the most famous ones you can finally watch my favourite, When Marnie was there."

Even though she doesn't know what the film is Regina finds so much joy in seeing Y/N this excites about it and happily agrees to watch it saying that she's sure of her girlfriend like it this much then she will too.

And she was right, the two happily watched the film together as they lay in bed holding each other close occasionally talking about the plot with Y/N trying really hard not to ruin the ending and she just about managed to not spoil it. Instead she got to see Regina's reaction to who Marnie really was exclaiming that she thought they had a bit of a thing going on and it wouldn't work now causing Y/N to giggle before telling her her own original thoughts when she watched the film.

She also got an earfull when Regina started crying in parts of it exclaiming that she didn't tell her it was a sad film to which Y/N responded "Hey atleast it's not grave of the fireflies!" Leaving Regina confused and now scared for when they'll watch it.

After the movie the pair ordered pizza and watched a movie of Regina's choice however they spent alot less time watching the film and alot more time either talking or making out, neither of them half as interested as they had been in the previous film. Everything had been normal, the most weird thing being some strage noises ourside when they had been making out, otherthan that it was what the couple would call the perfect night at home. There was nothing more they could ask for than relaxing, watching movies, having good food and being together. Everything was perfect, as far as they knew.

Taglist:

@l1lass

@riveristrying13

@moonpheus

A/N:

Thanks again for reading I hope you enjoyed this (I think) slightly longer chapter, as always let me know what you think and if you would like to be tagged on the next part. Also let me know if you have any ideas on what the strange noise outside was, I'd love to see if anyone got it right.

Also, please note this is not proofread so I apologise for any typos or grammatical errors, that being said if anyone wants to beta read to both help me and essentially get early reading access that would be greatly appreciated! :)

Thanks for reading!

[animeomegas]

24 HOURS - CHAPTER 2

[Alpha!Reader X Omega!Kiba]

Summary: Having finished your 24 hour cycle with Neji, you were feeling optimistic about this whole drug induced hallucination/trip to the future. Although if yesterday felt a bit like a rollercoaster, today felt like free falling from a plane. GN!Alpha!Reader x Multi

Warnings: Talks of murder, some nudity. Nothing worse than the show, I think. 

(Chapter 2 is finally out!! Woohoo!! Enjoy~ @omeganronpa​)

Word count: 6.4k

Prologue - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Epilogue

Unfortunately, the peaceful wake up from yesterday (did it even count as yesterday if it was an alternate timeline?) with the slow opening of eyes and returning to consciousness in a bed with the softest bedsheets you could imagine, didn’t want to make another appearance.

No, with this 24-hour cycle, the tone was set immediately when some kind of gremlin child jumped on you, crushing all the air out of your chest and abruptly rocketing you into consciousness.

You let out a little oof sound as you sat up, bedding falling around you. Automatically, you reached under your pillow for a kunai, but you were glad to find yourself empty handed when the face of a small child swam into clear view.

It took a few moments to realise what was happening, brief memories of cuddling with Neji lingering. The phrase you’d heard too many times decided to ring around your head again.

“You will have 24 hours with the seven people you could love the most and who could love you in return. Learn so that you may choose wisely.”

‘Yes, thank you, I’ve got it,’ you snapped inside your head, mentally waving the message away.

“Appa! It’s time to wake up!” the little boy on your lap demanded, little arms crossed seriously.

Belatedly, you realised there was a second child, who immediately started bouncing on your legs, clearly unimpressed by your dazed look. They looked about the same age, five or six years old, probably twins.

Your twins, you realised with a terrifying stomach lurch. Wasn’t that a weird thought?

“Oma told us to come get you,” the little girl said proudly, clearly happy with the responsibility or perhaps she just found glee in assaulting people awake. By the massive grin on her face, you had a sneaking suspicion that it was the second one. You also had a sneaking suspicion that the two familiar red markings on each of the twins’ cheeks gave away which one of your omega friends you were going to be spending the next 24-hour cycle with.

“Alright,” you said, trying to gain your bearings. “Go back to oma, I’ll be through in a moment.”

The twins bounced on you a few more times before running out of the room, shouting something to their not-so-mysterious oma and thankfully leaving you alone to gather your thoughts.

Right. You were in the second 24-hour cycle and along with a partner, you appeared to also have twin pups. That put extra pressure on you not to fuck this up.

Putting the pups to the side for a moment for your own sanity, you focused on the issue at hand: had you really hooked up with Kiba? He wouldn’t have been one of the people you expected to show up in this weird hallucination/trip to the future. Then again, neither had Neji.

Although now you were thinking about it, you could see it. He’d definitely been a feral child, but he’d really mellowed out over the past couple of years, from what you’d been able to see anyway. He’d bulked out, chilled out and he had a cute dog. Maybe himbos with dogs were your type and you just didn’t know it yet.

Theorising over your own romantic type completed, you got up before a second wake up call was sent and donned the dressing gown that was draped over the edge of your side of the bed.

The room itself had an incredibly different vibe to the room you’d fallen asleep in. If Neji preferred traditional minimalism and organisation, Kiba clearly preferred chaos. It was absolutely filled with things, kids’ toys, stacks of boxes, an overflowing wash bin and a large crib in the corner of the room.

Your heart jumped as you realised what you were looking at. Was there a baby?! Would you be expected to tend to the baby and take it through with you? Would forgetting the baby be an immediate red flag that you weren’t who you said you were?

No, stop, deep breaths. You didn’t even know if there was a baby in the crib yet because of the blanket covering the side you could see.

Slowly, you approached the crib, fingers crossed that it was empty. Five-year-old twins you could deal with, but an infant would quickly expose your lack of knowledge over parenting. You peeked over the top and were incredibly relieved to see that the crib was both empty and lacking a base, so presumably not currently in use. Thank kami for that.

Bullet dodged, you went to the door, stopping only for a moment to take a look at yourself in the mirror. You looked about the same age as yesterday’s version of you, but where you and Neji appeared interested in pups but waiting for the right moment, you and Kiba clearly didn’t agree with such methods.

“Appa!” a voice shouted from the other room.

Right, you had to go.

You followed the sound of voices and sizzling pans downstairs, but with each step, dread began to grow in your stomach. The number of voices you were hearing sounded like Kiba plus three others. Did you really have three pups? Already?

No, you figured out as you rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs. You didn’t have three pups, you had four pups.

The room you had walked into was open plan, with the kitchen, dining table and living room all being visible from where you stood at the bottom of the stairs. The ‘décor’ from the bedroom had been carried through to the rest of the house. There were dog toys and children’s toys mingled into a combined pile from which you couldn’t differentiate which was which, piles of books, even a box of what looked like miscellaneous weapons that appeared to have been placed at the very specific height of ‘the twins can’t reach’.

The boy in the kitchen, perhaps about nine or so, was stirring something on the counter, standing on a little stool so that he could reach. The man beside him was definitely, 100% Kiba, who was tending to a frying pan on the hob.

There was also a girl sitting in the living room, who looked just a tad younger than the boy, head buried in a thick book that she was halfway through. She had a larger than you remembered Akamaru cuddled up on her lap.

And of course, the twins you had met earlier were performing some kind of horrendous duet under the dining room table, a bottle of shampoo and a hairbrush acting as stand in microphones. Despite yours and Kiba’s obvious disregard for contraception, you were at least glad for the foresight not to provide them with real microphones.

You had four pups. Four.

Actually, scratch that, because as Kiba turned towards you, the wolfish grin he was known for on his face, he revealed his massive tummy.

Four and another one on the way… Hence the empty crib, you mind helpfully supplied.

Is this the version of your life where you go crazy from the loneliness and make it your sole goal in life to never be alone ever again?

“Babe,” Kiba grinned at you. He was wearing pyjamas too, like all the kids. At least you fit in. “I didn’t realise you were so wiped out from your mission, you’re normally up way before now!”

Before you could process that and think of a generic reply, Kiba walked towards you in big strides and grabbed your face, slamming his lips against your eagerly.

It was nothing like the comparatively innocent kiss you’d shared with Neji last night, no, this was passionate and fiery, the kind of kiss where no one’s tongue remained where it was supposed to.

The kiss stole all the oxygen from your lungs and all the thoughts from your brain. Kiba was incredibly warm under your touch. In fact, everything was warm. The vibes of the whole house were warm. You decided then and there, with Kiba’s tongue down your throat, that you’d rather had a warm but messy home over your boring, standard issue shinobi flat any day.

When he pulled away, you were left stunned, the only working brain cell you had left was desperately trying to keep you from actively drooling.

“Oma,” the oldest boy interrupted, knocking you back to reality. You looked over and the boy had moved his little stool and was now tending the pan that Kiba had a minute ago. “Breakfast is burning.”

…

You had somehow survived long enough to sit down and eat, even though it had been awkward attempting to find the cutlery draw and challenging to remove the twins (Your twins! How bizarre!) from under the table.

Other than that, though, you had to admire how smoothly Kiba pulled it off. You couldn’t imagine serving four pups breakfast every day was easy, but the twins were happily gobbling up their cereal, the older girl had sandwiches with the crusts cut off and the older boy had the same cooked breakfast that you and Kiba had. (Akamaru had a mix of dog and human food in his bowl which sat at the side of the table, of course.)

It hit you suddenly, amongst the chatter, that you were at a family breakfast. How long had it been since you had one of those?

It hadn’t occurred to you that this 24-hour hallucination/trip to the future could include pups, but in hindsight you should have probably considered it. It wasn’t bad, it was just… more pressure not to screw it up.

Like, you should presumably parent them, but you didn’t really know how. You watched as the twin girl obviously geared up to flick a piece of cereal at her older brother, unsure how to stop it.

“Akemi, eat your cereal, don’t throw it on Minoru,” Kiba said absently, throwing a piece of meat from his plate to Akamaru. Right, the girl twin was called Akemi and the eldest was Minoru. You definitely needed to remember that.

“I wasn’t doing anything!” the girl denied, pointing it at her twin. “It was Kaito! You’re getting us confused.”

“It was not me!” Kaito squawked indignantly. Okay, the male twin was Kaito. You just needed the elder daughter’s name, the one with the book, but she’d brought said book to the table and didn’t seem much interested in joining the conversation. Ah, scratch that, her bookmark had her name on it: Ichika.

So, it was Minoru, Ichika, Akemi and Kaito. Got it.

“I literally watched you, Akemi.”

“Did you though?” she grinned a grin very similar to her oma’s. “Can you prove it?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you little monster,” he ruffled her hair as she giggled. “Eat your cereal before I donate it to Akamaru.”

You also took Kiba’s advice and turned to your own food. It was different than Neji’s cooking, but definitely not bad. It felt hearty, like the kind of food you’d eat on return from a mission. Neji’s food was traditional and much lighter.

As far as which was better, free food was free food. If someone had lovingly cooked you breakfast, you weren’t going to start ranking it against other breakfasts. That would be rude.

It was only after you’d almost cleared your plate that you noticed that Kiba had barely touched his food and seemed to be playing with it more than anything, cutting it up and pushing it around to create the allusion that he was eating.

Kiba ‘I once challenged Naruto to a ramen eating contest, ate twelve bowls and then threw up in a hedge’ Inuzuka wasn’t eating his breakfast. How strange.

Kiba looked up at that moment and noticed you looking at him. He playfully kicked your foot under the table, clearly well practiced in its exact location, and mouthed ‘morning sickness’ at you. You winced in sympathy, figuring that morning sickness this late in the pregnancy was super unfortunate. He did look a little queasy now that you focused on him and his muscular arms, no that wasn’t helpful brain, stop it, but the second Minoru looked up at him, his grin was back in place as though nothing had ever been wrong.

He was hiding that he was feeling unwell from the pups for some reason. Automatically, you thought that he should get scented by his alpha, something which reduces morning sickness for pregnant omegas, only to belatedly realise that you were his alpha and you would have to be the one to scent him. You blushed red and tried to hide your face by taking a long drink from your glass. Yes, technically you had Kiba’s tongue in your mouth not long ago but scenting just felt a lot more… intimate. You started to imagine it for a moment but quickly had to stop lest an awkward problem arise, and you taint the memory of this delightful family breakfast.

“Appa, how did the baby get in oma’s tummy? Did he eat it?” Kaito suddenly asked, looking up at you with wide, innocent eyes.

Just as you were starting to relax.

“Ah, well, you see,” you started, looking to Kiba for help. Like the arsehole he was, he simply snorted and said nothing. You had no idea what you’d told the pups already. They were only five, so they didn’t need details, but did you lie to pups this age about sex? “There’s a special thing that adult couple can do if they love each other very much, and sometimes that ends up in a baby growing.”

Kaito squinted his eyes at you for a moment.

“Adult things? Like alcohol and kissing?”

“Yes!” you agreed immediately, happy to put this behind you as fast as possible. “Exactly like alcohol and kissing, it’s super gross.”

Kiba lost it, cackling at full volume and setting off everyone at the table, even though most of them didn’t get the joke.

“Super gross,” Kiba agreed. “But only if you do it right.”

“Kiba!”

The rest of breakfast thankfully passed quickly and painlessly. You spent most of your time observing Kiba as that was what you were technically here for after all. He was a very attentive oma, you had to admit. He wiped faces, cracked jokes, cut up food and cleaned up spills, all while heavily pregnant and feeling sick. He had matured a lot from the young man you knew, but his personality was still there, shining brightly underneath the responsible actions. Sometimes it burnt brighter than others, like when he got into a rock, paper, scissors fight with Minoru over the last slice of toast and defeat him with tickles instead of rock, paper, scissors, only to give the last piece to Minoru anyway.

It was so nice to have breakfast with a group of people for once, especially people that loved you.

…

After breakfast, everyone had dressed and the pups had taken off to play outside and make the most of the summer weather, although Minoru had needed a little convincing to leave Kiba to do the chores while pregnant, only leaving when you had double pinkie promised to do most of it.

(“It’s summer!” Kiba had said. “We can handle the cleaning, go have some fun!”)

When the backdoor swung shut behind the last pup, Kiba let out a sigh of relief, immediately leaning against the kitchen counter and bringing a hand to rub his face. His whole demeanour changed completely in an instant.

“Are you alright?” you asked, moving over to him. “Still feeling sick?”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I can’t wait for this morning sickness thing to fuck off, I can’t believe I’ve had it for like eight months.”

He sent a weak grin that was interrupted by a wince. It hurt to see your friend/mate in pain, so you opened your arms, offering him a hug in the hopes it’d make him feel better. He accepted enthusiastically, and although his bump made things a little difficult, he plastered himself to you as best as he could, nosing at the scent gland on your neck in a way that felt unfamiliar and ticklish, but not unpleasant.

As the nosing got more and more aggressive, you belatedly realised that he needed your scent to calm his nausea and you were just standing there doing nothing. Panicking at the thought of him thinking you were withholding help on purpose, you immediately unleashed a little bit too much of your scent.

Thankfully, Kiba didn’t seem to mind being metaphorically smacked in the face with a wall of your scent. He relaxed against you, still so warm, ridiculously warm in fact. Were all Inuzuka this warm or just Kiba?

“Thanks,” Kiba muttered against you, a powerful purr emitting from his chest as presumably his nausea subsided. “The last three pregnancies were nowhere this bad, but I guess one out of four isn’t bad odds.”

You laughed a little.

“I know some parents who would kill for odds like that, although I don’t know many that make it all the way to four.”

You felt his grin against your neck seconds before his teeth followed. You jumped a little at the affectionate bite.

“It’s annoying trying to hide it too,” Kiba continued after he’d removed his teeth from your flesh. “But Minoru has been so freaked out since he had that sex ed class at school. He’s convinced I’m gonna just drop dead the moment I go into labour, and I don’t want to stress him out more by making him think I’m sick.”

Ah, that was why he’d been hiding it.

“I thought he’d calm down once I explained that Inuzuka are built differently, that we’re safe when we give birth, but he’s still on edge and I think that’s what’s causing his nightmares, too. I just don’t want him to feel responsible for me or worried that my pregnancy is a ticking time bomb that ends in my death, y’know?”

“You really care about them a lot,” you said before your filter could stop you.

Kiba pulled out of your embrace and gave you a weird look. You flushed as you realised what you’d said and rushed to explain yourself. Kiba cut you off with a barking laugh, sounding a little like Akamaru.

“You mean my pups?” he asked playfully. “My pack? I care about them more than anything in this entire world and I’ll kill anyone who ever touches any of you, that’s a promise.”

Maybe you shouldn’t have found his promise of violence so hot, but you definitely did. If he said these sorts of things often, you could understand why you had so many pups now. And you’d spent all evening yesterday cuddling with Neji, so you didn’t even have the ‘lonely’ excuse to justify getting all hot and bothered.

“Ugh,” Kiba groaned, looking around the room and killing the mood immediately. “I know we promised that we’d clean yesterday, but do we have to?”

You snorted despite yourself, something which Kiba too offense to if the growl and the punch on the arm you received was anything to go by.

“Take a look around and you tell me,” you teased him, gesturing to a pile of dog treats that looked like they’d been co opted to play Jenga with.  

“Fine,” he huffed. “But I have to keep stocking the birthing nest, so you can handle in here. Bye!”

“Wha-“

He was already gone before you could protest, his laughter echoing down as he darted up the stairs, too nimbly for someone that pregnant.

You shook your head, amused. Oh well, it would probably be good to have some alone time to clean and sort out your thoughts. A lot had happened over the last two hours after all.

…

About an hour and a half of cleaning later, four pairs of human feet and four dog feet came running back into the house, tracking mud over the thankfully not yet cleaned floor.

“Don’t run in the house,” you half-heartedly chastised, figuring that sounded like something a responsible parent would say.

“My idea is better!” Akemi said, ignoring you completely. “Yours is annoying!”

“No! Pillow fights are way better than lame movies! We watch movies all the time!” Kaito argued back.

They both turned to you simultaneously, fisting onto the bottom of your shirt, one standing on each side.

“Appa!” they both demanded. “Tell her/him my idea is better!”

You blinked at both of them, brain stalling, but you were distracted as you caught Ichika wincing at the shouting and covering her ears with her hands. You frowned in concern. You had noticed that she was a quieter pup that preferred books to people; she was probably at the end of her ‘chaos tether’ after an hour in the garden with the screeching twins.

“Alright,” you said, holding up a hand to stop the twins from making their respective cases for the afternoon entertainment. “Let’s keep the noise down a little, okay?”

Kaito opened his mouth to argue, but Kiba, who had just come to the bottom of the stairs interrupted him.

“There will be no pillow fights or movies right now, because you’re all covered in mud, so it’s bath time.”

“Oma!” they whined, letting go of your shirt and running to him instead. “There’s not that much mud! You’re unfair!”

Kiba only laughed at them.

“Right! You two first then, just for that, go upstairs.”

Minoru rolled his eyes at their actions and went into the kitchen and started cutting up some fruit as a snack before his bath. Ichika was sitting on the armchair now, but she still had her hands over her ears and her eyes shut. You could only imagine the noise that would come from bathing the twins, and you weren’t sure she’d appreciate it, even if the noise was muted and coming from upstairs.

“Babe,” the pet name slipped out without your permission but you pointedly ignored your blush and carried on. “Are you okay to handle bathing the twins alone? I think I need to take Ichika out for some quiet time.”

You watched as Kiba’s eyes dart over to her and his face softened.

“Of course, I can handle the twins,” he agreed. “They’ve got nothing on the kind of terror I was at bath time when I was their age, I’ve got this. Come on you two! March! Bathroom!”

“Can Akamaru come?” Kaito asked.

“No, he won’t fit in with both of you little gremlins, unless you’d rather get hosed down in the garden with Akamaru instead? We can do that.”

You quietly approached Ichika as the protests and arguments over having Akamaru join the twins in the bath continued behind you.

“Let’s go outside for a minute, sweetie,” you whispered, offering a hand that she quickly took.

“What if Akamaru just sat on the toilet, then can he come for bath time?”

You led her out the back door, the debate inside fading away as the door shut behind you. The garden was exactly as you’d expected it to be, a big open grass space for the human and canine pups to run around in, a little paddling pool in the corner, dog and children’s play balls littered around, a hose that was definitely part of the reason for the mud, a climbing frame and a casual seating and BBQ area at the very back. As you took in a deep breath of the Konoha summer air, you imagined the days you must spend out here, cooking food, laughing, maybe Kiba or your team and any of their pups would be there too, splashing around in the paddling pool or playing football.

You imagined all the details. The outfits, the food, the jokes, the little table at the back of the seating area that was definitely for alcohol. It was weirdly emotional to imagine being a part of that. Shino and Hinata would definitely come, as would Naruto, Sai and Sakura, you’d have to drag Sasuke of course, but that would be part of the fun. How many pups would you have between you all? If you and Kiba had five, there would probably be at least 8-10 pups in attendance.

It would be fun. But now, that seating area was going to be used for a different purpose. You led Ichika to one of the sofas and sat her down, sitting down next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. You imagined that she was probably somewhere between lonely from the lack of attention today and also overstimulated, so you decided against speaking and instead just held her to your side. It felt strangely natural considering she was basically a stranger to you, but you had instincts on your side. Regardless of your rational mind, your base line instincts knew she was yours and that you had to protect her and make sure she was okay. You were her appa for the next few hours and it was your job to make the hurt all better.

‘Was she even a real child though?’ you thought suddenly. She felt real under your arm, she breathed, she snuggled into you like a real child, she lowered her hands from her ears as she relaxed, just like a real child. But you hadn’t technically made the decisions that would make her yet and maybe you never would.

You pushed those thoughts down with a shake of your head. It didn’t matter because she was real now, the way she fisted her hand in your shirt  was real and how she purred as you scratched the back of her neck was real. Even if she ceased to exist tomorrow, her pain and comfort mattered because she mattered, existentialism would help no one.

At that moment, she climbed properly onto your lap and buried her little head into your chest, the tiny pup purrs automatically forcing purrs from you in response. This was your pup, your instincts screamed, comfort her, love her.

You still didn’t speak, wanting to wait for her to do so first, but with this new angle, you could stroke her hair. The weight and warmth of her in your lap soothed your frayed instincts, but it wasn’t enough to calm your negative thoughts.

If you didn’t go for this life, you would never see Ichika again, or Minoru or Kaito or Akemi. They would simply cease to exist at some point tonight. Kiba would be there, and maybe he’d find someone else to give him these pups, but it wouldn’t be the same.

Ha, this 24-hour thing was more emotionally draining than you thought it’d be. It was physically draining too, being a parent of four and a partner to someone heavily pregnant. There would be many occasions, if you chose this life, where one child needed special attention at the expense of spending time with the others, just like now. It would be a massive responsibility having this many pups. Could you handle it? If you chose this life, could you be good enough for these pups, because they deserved nothing but the best parent.

Was the ‘full house’ style family even something you wanted? You thought for a minute, and while the version of you a couple of days ago would have probably shied away from such a thing, you could see it now, after living it for a bit. The laughter and the cuddles were constant and there wasn’t a second where your home wasn’t filled with love.

Ichika pulled away from your chest for a moment and looked up at you.

“Appy?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you read me a story tonight please?” she asked, shyly looking down. “Just me?”

You basically melted at her cuteness.

“Of course,” you agreed, despite knowing nothing about evening plans or bedtime routines. “What sort of story?”

“I like the one with the baker and the ninja solving mysteries together, it’s the yellow book on the tall shelf in my room.”

“Okay,” you agreed easily. You didn’t have to worry about choosing your future just yet, you still had more days to live. That was a problem for future you, present you needed to find that yellow book and also make sure Kiba had survived bath time with the terrible twins.

Unfortunately, you never did get to read her that story.

When the baths were done, watching a movie won the most votes for the late afternoon entertainment, so you had settled down as the time ticked on and the sky grew darker and soon it was almost time for bed.

Everyone was packing up the blankets and snack debris from the film when Kaito asked for a glass of water.

“Sure thing,” Kiba said, bopping him on the nose. “Wait here, I’ll get it.”

The room was quiet for a little while until you heard the faint sound of water droplets hitting the floor.

“Babe, can you make a clone to go and fetch my mum?”

“What?” you asked, baffled. He wanted you to get Tsume? You turned around to see Kiba standing in the Kitchen with suspiciously damp pyjama shorts and a puddle on the ground between his legs.

Your mind stalled as you realised what this meant.

���Seems like the baby finally wants to say hello.”

…

You tried desperately to keep a lid on your panic, but it was quickly boiling over despite your best efforts. Kiba was leading you towards a door in your bedroom that you’d previously assumed to be an ensuite, but it was clearly a nesting room.

His mother had just left with all your pups, overnight bags in hand, to look after them while Kiba gave birth. Poor Minoru had had a fit, demanding to stay with Kiba and crying his little heart out. In the end, Tsume had to carry him out of the door as he screamed for you and his oma. You could tell that it had put Kiba on edge, his instincts sending him mixed signals about what he should be focusing on.

So, you were trying not to upset him more by panicking. But, as he opened the door to the nesting room, you realised that you were absolutely panicking.

The nest was nice, very comfortable looking and stocked with all the supplies that you’d need, but it being nice didn’t stop you feeling like an imposter. Kiba was going to be incredibly vulnerable here and he deserved a real mate, not an imposter.

You tried to calm yourself down by remembering that this technically wasn’t real, and if it ever became real, you would be his real mate with actual helpful knowledge and experience. It didn’t help much because it certainly felt real enough to panic about, no matter what your rational mind decided.

Were you going to have to help him literally deliver the pup, you thought suddenly, heart racing.  Kiba had said that Inuzuka pregnancies were different, easier, but how different? How much easier?

You stumbled into the nest after Kiba, just about managing to close the door behind you despite the mess you mind was in.

“Minoru will be fine,” Kiba said suddenly, probably misreading the cause of your panic. “He’s done this twice before and we both know I’ll be okay, and he’s got grandma there with him too.”

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince you.

“You’re right,” you said, taking a deep breath and sitting beside him. Kiba needed your support here. It wasn’t about you right now.

“Then let’s get started. I want to meet the little monster that’s been beating me up from the inside for almost a year.”

You snorted, panic abating for a second as the stressful atmosphere broke. Kiba was good at that; he could change the atmosphere of a place with only a sentence.

And then Kiba started stripping, pulling off his top and throwing it off into the corner of the nest before starting on the bottoms. Oh, you should have predicted that he’d want to be naked in his birthing nest.

Strangely tough, comparative to how flustered you’d felt when Neji had pulled his shirt off in front of you, even though you only saw his back, it didn’t feel strange. I mean, you had seen Kiba almost naked a few times already, he had almost no shame after all, but the panic and the fact that this nudity was linked to childbirth killed all sexual attraction. He wasn’t there for sex; he was there to give birth and it was only natural that he be naked while he did it.

When he was completely naked, Kiba curled up on his side, breathing deeply. He needed his mate, and for the moment, that was you.

…

“You’re alright, deep breaths,” you cooed at Kiba, spooning him from behind as he winced in pain. His contractions were getting more intense now. The first few hours had mainly been spent feeding him snacks and playing board games, but things were speeding up now. “You’re doing so well, I’m so proud of you.”

“I’m doing this for us, for our family,” Kiba panted, squeezing your hand. “I would do anything for our pack, for you, anything.”

One thing you’d learnt this evening was that Kiba was surprisingly romantic, in his own feral kind of way. You’d also learnt that childbirth was terrifying, but you’d been trying to ignore that fact because it wasn’t helping you focus.

“Anyone who tries to hurt us will be dead,” Kiba promised, a concerning glint in his eyes. “I’ll rip their throat out with my teeth, because I chose you, because my pups are parts of me, no one will hurt them. I won’t allow it!”

You growled appreciatively at his words; they were pulling on all of your possessive instincts.

“You wouldn’t have to, because I’d kill them first.”

“Psh, as if,” Kiba disagreed, flashing his teeth at you. “Me and Akamaru would get there first obvoiusly.”

You decided to let the omega in labour win the debate for the time being. You looked at the clock and saw that it was about 01:30 in the morning. You had no idea when you’d be switching to the next 24-hour cycle because it had happened in your sleep last time. As much as you had enjoyed your day with Kiba, and your various pups, you hoped that you switched soon, before the baby decided it was time to say hello.

You sent a quick mental plea to the mysterious fortune teller, asking that the next partner be a little more chill; you were going to need a serious break after this cycle.

Kiba tugged on your hand, pulling himself and you up into a sitting position.

“You need to give me more attention, I can’t settle,” he said bluntly, staring at you. “You’re being too stiff and don’t think I didn’t notice you still wearing your clothes. Is something wrong?”

Your heart jumped. Of course, you weren’t doing as good a job as his real mate must have done, even though you were technically the same person.

“Sorry, I-“ you struggled to think of an excuse. You picked the first thing you could think of. “I’m just worried about Minoru. I feel like I need to stay clothed so I can run to him at the drop of a hat if I need to.”

Kiba’s eyebrows furrowed in concern and he nodded, he seemed to understand thankfully.

“I get that,” he said, voice surprisingly quiet. “I hated to hear him cry like that and honestly, I was close to letting him stay, but he’s with family, he’s safe and I need to feel you properly. It feels wrong.”

“I’m sorry,” you apologised sincerely. “I didn’t realise.”

“You can apologise by taking off shirt at least.”

You chuckled but agreed to take off your shirt. At this point, you were happy to do anything that could make him feel better, to make up for being a cheap knock off of the person he deserved. It didn’t feel awkward and uncomfortable, not with Kiba.

When your top half was bare, you drew him into an embrace. His skin was even warmer than earlier, and softer than you realised now that he was pressed against you properly. Kiba went limp in your arms, nosing at your scent glands and running his hands all over your back. You shivered as his fingers ran over a particularly sensitive bit. The way he traced your body was intimate and you tried to return the favour.

“That’s better,” Kiba sighed, sounding much more relaxed now. He didn’t say anything else for a while, content to nibble and lick at your neck while you held each other. Every now and then he would pull back and steal a kiss from your lips as well.

You traced little patterns and phrases over his skin, and although Kiba made no move to say the phrases out loud, you knew he was focused on them, because he would bite if you said something nice and bite harder if you said something funny or off topic, like he was playfully chastising you for teasing him.

Kiba was fun, you realised suddenly. He was fun. You had laughed all day, in fact, your cheeks hurt from smiling, wasn’t that weird.

Eventually, the patterns and phrases died down as you got lost in your own thoughts and it was over an hour later that Kiba broke the silence.

“They’re getting super close now, the contractions. Maybe two or so minutes apart. We’re nearly there.”

You were going to have to accept the fact that you may very well have to deliver this baby somehow. Maybe you should ask Kiba to run through exactly what you should do, just in case.

“Kiba, I-“ your words cut off as a blinding pain in your head stole your ability to speak.

You pulled away from Kiba as the pain spread, burning behind your eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Kiba asked. His voice sounded close, but you couldn’t see him. Water, you needed water.

You crawled in the direction of the stash of water bottles, but you didn’t quite make it, collapsing as your arms gave out supporting your weight.

“Alpha?! Alpha?! What’s wrong?! What’s going on?!” Kiba’s voice was warbled and distorted to your ears, but he sounded distressed. You wanted to reassure him, but your tongue wouldn’t cooperate.

You forced your eyes open and were met with Kiba’s worried face hovering over you and a view of the clock. As the clock ticked to 03:00, everything went black.

Next chapter

[scribblemetae]

Trials and tribulations of an unconventional relationship | dilf!Namjoon

Summary: Short drabbles based on dilf!Namjoon and your unconventional and morally wrong relationship with him. Aka, Namjoon falls for his mistress and try's to adjust to life after his wife.

Genre - dilf!Namjoon, drabble series

Warnings: This one is the super heavy one. Angst, cheating, Namjoons a dad and he's cheating on his wife with the babysitter. Oral, Namjoon is pretty degrading but he’s truly in love with the reader. I promise Namjoon is soft in this series he's just so guilt ridden. This is just a short introduction to the couple and the true beginning of there real relationship. (This is the only drabble that he will still be with his wife in, it states he leaves her after this one) Meantions of his wife during oral, dirty talk, needy reader, begging, 

Word count: 2k

A/N: My banner was made by the most beautiful @lonelyhobi​ (See guys were still friends) and its also 100% dedicated to her. 

This is me welcoming you to this couple, starting with the HEAVY angst.

As you put the kids to sleep you make sure to tuck them in nice and tight, reading the both of them a bedtime story. They aren’t really old enough to understand what you’re saying but you do it anyways, loving the barley there sentences they babble as they listen to your voice. Jiah was especially giggly tonight while Dae was asleep before you’d even tucked him in but just as you finished the book Jiah was following in her brothers footsteps nodding off to sleep. You walked towards the door pulling it close saying goodnight as you hear her voice from the corner of the room “Ite ite” Honestly she made your heart melt.

You sit down on the couch watching TV and listening out to the baby monitor that was placed on the table, both Namjoon and his wife worked way into the night so you knew neither of them would be home any time soon, that was until you heard the door slam. You jumped as you looked up towards it seeing Namjoon walk into the Livingroom where you were sitting. You look over towards the baby monitor for a second making sure there was no noise coming from it after the door was slammed, when you realised the case was clear you smirked walking towards Namjoon. 

You slowly try and wrap your arm around his neck only for it to be rejected quickly by him.  "I had a meeting cancelled on me, you can go now ____". You couldn’t help but feel confused, this wasn’t how this usually went.

“ Joonie, your wife's not gonna be home for a while" You say it almost as a reminder just in case he’d forgotten her schedule. He seemed stressed so you laced your voice with your sweetest tone and batted your eyelashes at him to try and soften him a little, but even if he was looking in your direction you weren’t sure he would notice. All you heard was a scoff from his direction followed by a mumbled “What's your point”

You hate seeing him like this, all you wanna do its hold him and make all his stress go away. You’re not sure what caused it but you knew if he’d just let you, you could take it all away from him, just like you always did. You walk up behind him and trying to rub his shoulders but before you even get close to him hes pulling away from you, turning to look at you shaking his head.  "What are you not getting here ___ I said leave"  

You can’t help but pout slightly, when he was mad like this it really made you feel small, it reminded you of exactly what this relationship was. You didn’t know where this was coming from at all so you try again at calming him down.  "Joonie, if you had a bad day I can help, like I always do" You cranked up the sweetness 100% hoping that it would make him budge, it always made him so sweet on you. 

"Would you stop being such a slut ____, I'm fucking married all you ever do is try to fuck me"  Now you were pissed, Namjoon was dominant, always in charge of what happened when you slept with him but he was never derogatory towards you, he was always so kind and sweet, caring for you like nobody else. This was a new look on him that you weren’t enjoying.  "If I recall Namjoon, you're the one that tried fucking me first" You stand and stare at him, trying your hardest not to pout and cry, trying to intimidate the older man. You’d never admit it, you and Namjoon were never an item, only something that happened one time that got out of hand, but you had feelings for him and you both knew it "and I let you, I let you fuck me all night, every time your wife is away I let you use my body"

You could see him getting more angry and honestly you were glad, glad your words had an effect on him the way his did to you. Namjoon was always hesitant about what you were doing, feeling bad about cheating on his wife, but you always thought when the time came he would break it off much softer. You always thought he would tell you with care and decency, not with anger and malice.

He slowly pushed you against the wall, making sure not to make much noise since he knew his kids were asleep upstairs. There was something much more intimidating about a man who was calm when he was angry rather than loud and shouting. He hand your hands pinned to the side of your body as his forehead pressed against your own  "I've never once used you" his jaw was clenching and yours was shut, you wouldn't be able to say anything if you tried "You cum every single fucking time, more than once most times, you don't remember? Cumming all over a married man? cumming all over my cock that belongs to another woman?"

You shake your head at his words choosing to drown out his last couple of sentences pretending the other woman doesn exsist "Belongs to me Joonie, you told me it belongs to me" He pulls himself away from you and walks towards the door pointing you in its direction "___, this needs to stop"

You keep yourself pressed against the wall shaking your head "You don't just get to decided that now Joonie, you started this, you made me want you so fucking bad and now your throwing me away, no you don't get to do that not like this.... I wont let you" 

Namjoon has his eyes closed desperately trying to spare himself the sad look on your face, he craves you more than anybody else but he can't keep doing this to his wife, his kids. You were so young and he was taking advantage of that. As he opened his eyes he couldn't help the long groan leaving the back of his throat, there you were on your knees, palms placed against the wall, dressed hiked up resting above your ass, exposing yourself to him.

after hearing his groan you beg inside your head that this will work, you refuse to lose him "You love my ass don't you Joonie?, don't make me leave now please, wanna play with you" You knew exactly what gets him going, knew exactly how to wind him up and tease him. You knew you should probably just leave, he was trying to do the right thing but it was to late for the right thing now, he’d made his mistakes with you so he might as well go all the way with it and apparently that was his thinking too

He walks up to you slowly falling to his knees behind you, pulling you head against his shoulder so you were looking up to him. One his hands on you waist and the other slowly palming your exposed ass "Your such a fucking temptation to me you know that princess, so fucking bad begging for all the time, I'm a married man and you don't give a fuck" you feel a sting on your ass as he spanks you hard, you shake your head answering his question "Does it turn you on, knowing I get harder for you than I do her? your a fucking homewrecker and you don't give a fuck do you?" you feel another spank and you know you have him, you're back in bliss at the feeling of his hands on you again

"Just want you to own me Joonie, wanna belong to you, only ever wanna get fucked by your cock" You know dirty talk drives him insane, hearing this coming from your mouth was making him so much harder and you could feel it against your ass and you weren't going to stop now. "Lick me Joonie, fuck me, please make me yours please" You nudge him backwards slightly bending over a little more, snaking your hands behind yourself pulling your underwear to the side so he could see how wet you were for him, you other hand pulling slightly on your ass check so he got the best view of your slit possible.

"Please Joonie, my pussy belongs to you, please let me stay" You couldn't feel him against you anymore but you knew he was there, the grunts of his voice and the sound of his body moving around made you very away of everything he was doing. He was suddenly lying underneath you, head between your legs, hands gripping onto your ass cheeks as you fall forward back onto the wall in front of you.

"I licked her pussy last night you know baby" It hurt to hear, you knew he had a wife, knew exactly what you'd gotten into but you hated hearing it come out of her mouth "She's so fucking boring though, never lets me eat her the way you do. You taste so much fucking better" he takes a long lick from your whole to your clit and sucks on it harshly making you squeal out "Never makes the same fucking cute little noises you do when I tease your clit" - "Joonie, please stop talking about her, think of me please" 

He chuckles at your words, for somebody who knows he has a wife you get so jealous and he finds it so fucking hot when you do "Oh baby, you don't like it when I remind you about her, don't like that I'm married to another woman, you didn't mind me being married when I fucked you in my wedding suit, she had no fucking idea I was making you go dumb on my cock while she celebrated with everybody else, she had no idea I was celebrating inside your little cunt"

"Joonie please stop" He growled at your words, his cock so hard inside his slacks that he moved one hand from your ass to palm himself to ease the feeling

 "Fucking make me" You sat down on his face stopping him talking, all you wanted to do was be pleasured by him finally, his breath had been teasing your pussy this whole time as he spoke to you but now it was his tongue, now he had no choice but to pleasure you as you went feral on his face. "This is the only pussy you want, right?" You were fucking his face so quickly you were surprised by yourself, your hands digging into his short hair and your head fell backwards, moans leaving your lips, you tried to stay silent but you couldn’t help but let some of them slip. His tongue that was licking so harshly inside your slit "Fuck, you please, you only want me right? ugh" You started shaking above him as you chased your high "I'm yours, fuck please oh my god"

"Mine, Mine, Mine" were Joonies muffled moans into your clit, he couldn't move away for a second with you bucking your hips into him but he wouldn't change a thing, he was in bliss as you rode his face into completion. God, he loved you. Loved you so much that he needed to be with you forever. He rests his head on the floor and lets you do whatever he wants, he wants to make you happy, make you feel better than anybody ever could. When cum on his lips he feels like he could cum in his pants, you soft cries being the sweetest thing hes ever heard. When your juices drip down his chin and he tastes your cum on his tongue he knows what he has to do.

___________________

“I’m going to leave her” Your head whips up towards him as you both lay on the floor together, you arousal still on his mouth and your dress barely pulled down. “I wanna be with you and we need to talk about this properly, their is so much to discuss I know”

You hearts beating fast in your chest, this is all you’ve ever wanted from him and yet now he's saying it your terrified of the idea. Excited but scared.

He can see your worry but he knows what he has to do “We don’t have to be anything, or do anything you don’t want to do, but I do know I have to leave her”

Its almost as if he's using you to give himself a pep-talk and your fine with that. From that night on things changed, he kept to his word and he spoke to his wife the next day about getting a divorce

You had no idea where this was going to take you but you knew you had to start by giving him some space and letting him sort his life out before even thinking about what this could mean for the both of you.

[blu-joons]

When Their Family Loves You ~ Seventeen Reaction

S.Coups:

His smile grew as he walked through the front door and saw your eyes turn back to greet him, noticing his awkwardness. “You’re going to hate me,” he frowned, “but my parents have invited us round for dinner tonight.”

As your eyebrows knitted together, his heart sunk. “I thought we were going to go to that new restaurant in the city?”

“I know,” he whispered, “but they were so desperate to see you again, I just couldn’t say no to them. They really like having you around Y/N, as often as they possibly can.”

“It’s alright, I understand,” you assured him.

He reached across to take a hold of your hand, “I promise that we can go to the restaurant tomorrow, I really appreciate you making the effort for them.”

“If your parents like me, I have to make sure I keep it that way,” you smirked, “dinner can wait for another night, but your family definitely can’t.”

“You’re the best,” he smiled, “thank you for being so understanding for me.”

“It’s fine, I love time with your parents too.”

Jeonghan:

As his grandmother walked through the house ready to greet the two of you, Jeonghan opened up his arms ready to greet her, only for her to walk straight through to you. “Is your grandson invisible?” He questioned her.

She glanced back at him as she pulled away from you, “it’s just been a while since I had the chance o see Y/N, that’s all.”

“I’m your grandson,” he reminded her, throwing his arms around her fragile frame, “I better not be second best to Y/N otherwise I might have to break up with her.”

“Don’t you even think about it,” she scolded.

Your smile grew at how quick she was to leap to your defence, “are you really going to throw a tantrum about the fact that your grandmother hugged me first?”

“I’m always the one that she hugs first,” he tried to protest, although the two of you barely paid attention to what he said. “Would you prefer me to?”

“Don’t be silly,” she laughed, “you should be pleased that I adore Y/N so much.”

“Not when she becomes your favourite I shouldn’t.”

Joshua:

You knew from the second you met Joshua’s grandfather especially that he was going to keep a close eye on you and take you under his wing. “Does Joshua take good care of you; I hope that I raised him right?” He asked you.

Your head nodded instantly, smiling across at him, “you raised him perfectly, he takes very good care of me, I promise.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” his father grandfather cheered, glancing between the two of you, “but you know if he ever steps out of line, you come straight to me and I’ll sort him out.”

“I don’t think I need to worry about that,” you laughed.

His eyebrows raised quizzically back across at you, “I know what this kid can be like, he’ll act all innocent, but I watched him grow up don’t forget.”

“Don’t make me sound bad,” Joshua whined, pleading across to his grandfather, “the last thing I need is for you to scare her off.”

“Am I scaring you off?” He asked you, “please do say if I am.”

“Not at all, it’s nice to know I can turn to you.”

Jun:

The time of the week when Junhui called his family was always the most important to him, hanging onto their every word. “I don’t suppose Y/N is there, is she?” His mother suddenly asked midway through their conversation.

Junhui stared back at her on the screen in disbelief, “you’re supposed to be talking to me right now, Y/N’s in the other room.”

“Please,” she cooed, “I just want to see how she’s getting on. I’m still talking to you, it would just be nice to check in with Y/N as well, see how you’re doing as a couple.”

“You’re just digging a bigger hole,” Junhui called out.

As he walked into your office, you were surprised to see him stood in the doorway, telling you what was going on. “Are you sure she wants to see me?”

“She’s practically begging me to come and get you,” he huffed, “either she really hates talking to me, or she loves talking to you.”

“I hope it’s the first,” you teased, “I guess I’ve got five minutes to spare.”

“You’re a lifesaver, thank you for doing this.”

Hoshi:

When the mention of a family photo came, you quickly stood to one side, offering to take the camera and the photo of Soonyoung and his family. “No way,” a voice called out from the back, “Y/N, you are part of our family too.”

Your head shook as Soonyoung stared across at you, “I’m alright just taking the photo, I’m not really family just yet.”

“Yes, you are,” his uncle called out, stepping out from the family, “now, come on, we can’t take a photo without the whole family. Stand by Soonyoung and he’ll show you the way.”

“As long as you’re sure,” you timidly responded to him.

Soonyoung held his hand out to pull you into his side, “now do you believe me when I tell you that my family see you as one of our own?”

“I do,” you shyly laughed, “I never imagined that they’d be so quick to jump in and make me feel so welcome in your family though.”

“They adore you,” Soonyoung smiled, “which makes me adore you so much more too.”

“I’m just relieved they all like me too.”

Wonwoo:

As soon as he walked through the front door of his parent’s home alone, he could feel the stares of several members of his family darting across to him. “Is Y/N not coming?” His aunt called out in disappointment.

Wonwoo looked across the room at her, “she had something come up, so she wasn’t able to make dinner this time around.”

“The poor thing,” his other aunt added, sharing her sympathies. “I was really looking forward to catching up with her again tonight, you’ve found yourself someone great in Y/N too.”

“You can still catch up with me,” he tried to remind them.

Both of them nodded at his suggestion, “and we will catch up with you, don’t worry, but it would be nice to see the two of you, not just one of you.”

“Sometimes I really do feel as if I’m second best to Y/N,” he laughed as he walked further into the room, “do all of you wish that Y/N was here?”

“It would’ve been nice,” his mum smiled, “but we’re grateful to see you at least.”

“Grateful? I guess that does the job.”

Woozi:

Your attention was caught as soon as you walked through the front door by a delicious smell that came from the kitchen. “Hi,” Jihoon smiled as he spotted you walking through to see what was going on in the kitchen.

You peered past his shoulder to see what he was doing, “something must be seriously wrong for you to be baking here.”

“Blame my parents,” he smirked, “you shouldn’t have enjoyed my mother’s dessert so much because she’s sent me the recipe so that I can make it myself, just for you.”

“Well, that was really kind of her,” you noted.

Jihoon’s head shook in rejection to your comment, “she knows that I can’t bake, there’s no way that I can make it as well as she did for you.”

“Can I help you then?” You asked, reaching past him to place one of the aprons around your neck, “together we can replicate it, can’t we?”

“I’m supposed to do this by myself,” he sighed, “she’ll just tell me that I failed.”

“She doesn’t have to know we made it together, does she?”

DK:

You could tell that something was wrong as Seokmin pulled you to one side at the family dinner, letting go of a heavy sigh. “What’s going on?” You quizzed as soon as the two of you had found some space with no one else around.

He frowned across at you, rolling his eyes at himself. “I just feel like everyone is ignoring me and talking to you a lot.”

“That’s not true,” you assured him, “they’re just making the effort to get to know me, I’m sure that they’re not intentionally ignoring you, they’re your family Seokmin.”

“Which is why they should be talking to me,” he grumbled.

You reached forwards and took a hold of his hand, “you’re overthinking all of this, they’re doing nothing wrong, and neither are you, it’s all fine.”

“I know I probably sound stupid,” he admitted in a quiet tone, “I guess I just didn’t think they’d get on with you as well as they do.”

“Is it a good thing?” You asked, “that they get on with me so well.”

“Of course, it makes me very happy to see.”

Mingyu:

He’d heard murmurs of your name around the table for most of the night as he attended his usual family dinner. “Where is she?” His mother asked once he eventually asked why you were such a hot topic for the evening.

He frowned back across at her, “she wasn’t able to make it, I didn’t realise it would be such a big deal for you all.”

“We like her,” his mother defended, trying to keep Mingyu calm, “we like seeing the two of you together, it’s been a while if I’m honest since I last saw you alone.”

“I know that you’re all big fans of her,” he frowned.

Several heads around the table nodded, “you’ve done well for yourself Mingyu, you should be pleased that we’ve all taken such a liking to Y/N.”

“I am glad you all like her, but you all seem more disappointed that she’s not here than excited that I am her,” he informed them all.

“Don’t be silly,” his mum laughed, “we’re all thrilled to see you.”

“It’s about time you told your faces that.”

The8:

Minghao was unable to hide his smile as he passed you the card that had come through the front door a few moments prior. “What is it?” You questioned, unfolding the card to see that it was a wedding invitation.

He sat down beside you, “my cousin has invited us both to her wedding and written your name in massive letters too.”

“She must really want me to come,” you joked, “I have to admit your cousin was one of my favourites when I met them all. It means a lot that my name is even on the invite.”

“My family adore you; they want you to go,” he hummed.

You closed the invite back up, turning to face him with a smile. “Well, I can’t be letting them down, if you want me to go with you that is.”

“Absolutely, my family would kill me if I showed up to the wedding without you anyway,” he laughed, “I should probably send the RSVP.”

“I’m meeting her tomorrow,” you replied, “I’ll give it to her then.”

“I swear you see my family more than me sometimes.”

Seungkwan:

As you unwrapped the present that his parents had bought you for your birthday, you couldn’t help but stare down at it speechless. “It’s better than what I’ve got,” Seungkwan sighed as you lifted the jewellery from the box.

Your head shook. “That’s not true, I love what you bought me,” you quickly tried to assure him, “both presents are great.”

“They’ve never even spent that much on me for my birthday before,” he sighed, “my parents really must like you to spoil you as much as they have done.”

“Am I sensing a bit of jealousy in you?” You asked him.

His head shook, trying to keep himself together, “I just feel like my parents have even outdone me, I’m your boyfriend, I should buy you the best presents.”

“None of the presents matter to me,” you promised to him, “what matters to me is that I get to spend my birthday with you, and not the things you’ve bought.”

“You don’t have to make me feel any better,” he smiled, “I understand.”

“I’m being honest, I promise you, don’t stress.”

Vernon:

As you walked into his parent’s house, you were surprised when you saw a huge photo of you and Vernon up on the wall. “It’s big,” you whispered, taken aback by the large canvas you had no idea to expect.

“You’re not wrong,” Vernon whispered, equally confused as you were by the large print that was hung for all to see.

“You’ve seen it then,” his mother smiled, wondering where the two of you had gotten to, “what do you think? I just had to get the photo framed, it’s such a lovely one.”

“I’m sure all the visitors will definitely see it,” Vernon frowned.

His mother’s smile continued to grow beside the two of you, “I just wanted everyone to see how in love our son is and how great Y/N is too.”

“No one is able to miss when they walk into the house,” Vernon sighed, struggling to take it all in, “it really sends out a clear message.”

“That’s what I wanted,” she cheered, “people can see how happy the two of you are.”

“They’ll definitely be able to see that by the size of it.”

Dino:

When his father pulled him to one side, Chan knew he was in trouble, but he never quite imagined the trouble that it would be. “Your mother is gutted that Y/N couldn’t make it tonight,” he sternly told his son.

Chan could only shrug back at him, “I’m not really sure what you want me to do about that, Y/N’s just been busy.”

“She thinks you’ve fallen out,” his dad sighed, “maybe just go back in there and give her a bit of reassurance that things between you and Y/N are alright.”

“But they are, she doesn’t need assuring,” Chan groaned.

His father sighed, tapping his hand against Chan’s shoulder. “You know what she can be like sometimes, just humour me and calm her nerves.”

“Even if anything had happened between Y/N and I, it would be none of her business,” Chan fumed, turning back to walk into the living room.

“She loves her,” his father whispered, “it would break her heart if you separated.”

“It’s a good job that we’re not separating then.”

---

Masterlist

[infitsovermisfits]

What's Shakin' Baby? (2) - Eddie Munson x GN! Reader

AN: i wanted to finish this before my birthday (4 days ago now) and instead i broke my glasses ;-; happy birthday to me ig. ANYWAYS it's finished now- it took me so long and i really apologise for that ;-; I'm a perfectionist and it takes me a while to write these... I mean, look at the size. It's also difficult for me to work when I'm burnt out and tired all the time, and considering i stayed up till 7am to write this (dw I'm sleeping as soon as i post this) then yeah. That starts to take its toll eventually. I'll say that I had a lot of fun writing this- i understand not everyone likes fluff but to those i say ok? go read something else there's a multitude of fics I'm sure you'll find what u like :) PERSONALLY i liked Dustin and Eddie's friendship in s4 and it's clear Gaten and Joe have great chemistry... But hear me out: Eddie and Max. Do u really think Eddie saw Max moping around, all sad around the trailer park and just didn't do anything about it? Nah. Sarcastic little sister and Goofy older Brother? Ya. We were truly robbed of Max finding someone like Eddie to confide him and realise could be a good sibling to her that doesn't yell at her and make her afraid.  (arcade idea stolen (with permission) from @intergalacticaquarium if you, like me, think Eddie and Max should have had a friend/siblings dynamic in s4, I encourage u to read their fics about them. They are v wholesome.)

WARNINGS: gender neutral reader, reader is 20, L O N G and slow burn forgive me i got v carried away, reader smokes, fluff, tooth-rotting fluff at the end, i promice, mentions of billy being a bad older brother to Max, Max opening up a bit about Billy trauma, Eddie being an amazing older brother to Max (along w yn ofc), eating food, negative self-talk, slight angst at the end, brain empty, no more thoughts, lmk if i missed something 

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | MASTERLIST

15,915 words (holy shit i know)

The following day, you found you were driving back home from your trip into town with Eddie, blasting one of his mixtapes and singing along happily. As suspected, there wasn't anything interesting in the various stores and boutiques that had opened up since Starcourt shut down, but you still had a delightful day. You almost forgot how fun Eddie was to just... Be around. Even if he hated following you through the stores, his comments on the people in the store or the mannequins or the stupid slogans on the shirts made it difficult to not burst out laughing in the middle of the otherwise silent store. You did eventually have to drag him out so you wouldn't get kicked out when you flicked your gaze over and he was shifting the mannequin's hand around to be a middle finger. He finally pulled you into a Goodwill- the best decision you had made that day because apparently, you hit a jackpot- someone retired a bunch of Metal merchandise and it's probably the most quiet Eddie has been while sober and conscious in years. You both meticulously searched through the numerous Metal band t-shirts (some of which neither you, or Eddie had heard of, surprisingly), unsown patches he could add to his battle vest and various band pins. Eddie kept mumbling to himself about 'how lucky he got' as well as 'how someone could ever give this up'?

Collectively, you spent almost two hours sifting through all the clothes there and eventually buying close to ten things each. You stopped by a McDonald's to eat something, sitting in his car and talking about some bizarre thing that had crossed Eddie's mind at that moment, and as you drove home, you excitedly pointed at the Palace Arcade,

"Holy shit! That place is still open!?" You grinned eagerly, trying to turn your head to look over your shoulder at the passing building,

"Uhuh. If you came here a couple of weeks earlier, I would have taken you," he said playfully,

"What? Why not now?" You frowned, looking back at him,

"Cause school's out for summer. It's gonna be crowded as fuck with stupid kids stealing all the good prizes," He pouted, and you lit up at his comment,

"Aww," You grinned, "I'm sure we can just find your disappearing ink somewhere else out of town-"

"No, no, no," He grinned, "Buying something is not the same as winning it in an arcade after busting your ass on Tetris for an hour," You laughed softly at his comment,

"You played Tetris for an hour and all you could get was disappearing ink?" You grinned. At first you thought it was a joke- you remembered Eddie's whole phase with with the ink, realising he could draw whatever he wanted, wherever and no one would see it. He grafitied a lot of rooms in Hawkins with stupid messages and crude drawings, not to mention his room was full of glowing drawings under the black light he brought... You quickly realised he wasn't joking about spending an hour on one game and your eyes widened, "No-"

"Babe-" He said quickly,

"Eddie-" You said in a warning tone,

"Babe-" He repeated, his eyes widening and a grin spreading across his lips,

"Are you telling me you played Tetris for an hour... And all you could afford was disappearing ink?" You asked, mouth opening in shock,

"I'm not answering that," He huffed, "I don't like your tone,"

"How bad are you at Tetris?" You laughed, "It's a simple game, how-" 

"Okay, well," He smiled, "Now you're just being mean-" He commented on your laughter,

"Eddie-" You managed breathlessly,

"It's a hard game!" He protested,

"This is like the rubik's cube all over again," You teased once you calmed down a little,

"It is not! Do not disrespect the cube like that"" He whined,

"The cube!!" You said amused, laughing,

"Can you stop making fun of me, babe?" He cast you a glance with a bright grin on his face,

"I'm not making fun of you; you're just funny, Eds," You grinned, shaking your head, "I'm simply reminiscing on that week that you locked yourself away in your room, almost losing your mind over that thing," You said,

"Yeah. And then a possum tried to kill me and cursed it," He said playfully,

The possum incident occurred in early autumn a few years ago. Before he disappeared for the week, Eddie picked up a new strain of weed from Rick. He talked your ear off about how it was real, authentic shit, grown in pristine conditions, and supposed to be better than anything he had ever sold or tried before. He'd been so excited to 'test' the product that he left his bedroom window open while he was greened out and a possum snuck in during the night. He didn't realise at first, but when he discovered it... It was safe to say that nothing could beat that phone call- hearing Eddie screaming about the 'demonic' marsupial hiding away in his closet and crudely describing it as a 'screaming rat that wants to eat him' was confusing at first. When you pulled the receiver from your ear, you almost collapsed laughing as you could hear him yelling from his trailer. It took you a while to collect yourself before you arrived in his home- Wayne was already there, attempting to usher the terrified creature into an empty laundry basket with a broom, while Eddie stood on his bed and rambled about 'demons' and 'cursed cubes'. Seeing you made him yell at you for laughing at the scene, and once you calmed, you moved your focus to help Wayne. You felt bad for the older man, considering he usually slept during the day for his shifts at the Plant, and who reprimanded Eddie about closing his windows at night so creatures don't find their way inside,

"It didn't try to kill you, Eddie," You told him as he parked his van outside his trailer, "It was more scared of you than you were of it," You pat his shoulder as you unbuckled the seatbelt and got out, heading for the back of the van to collect your bags,

"Why'd it have its mouth open then?" He grinned, opening the back for you,

"Because that's what they do," You reminded him, "They don't have thumbs, or spikes or knives, so they open their mouthes to be all scary," You explained, smiling as he rolled his eyes. You cast a glance at the bags, "Damn... We gotta wash all of these," You mumbled as you grabbed yours, which had been set on the right,

"Possums are terrifying," He muttered under his breath as he walked back to his trailer,

"Yeah, yeah," You rolled your eyes, "Hey, meet me at mine in like, ten minutes," You said, "I got watermelon in my fridge," You smiled,

"Yeah, I know. I was there when you bought it," He said with a grin, "Save me a beer," He said, before disappearing into his trailer.

A while later, you'd set the clothes you bought in the washer, opened the beer for him and got busy cutting up the watermelon. Eddie quickly entered announcing himself with a cheerful 'Hey baby!'  the thick smell of cigarettes fluttering through the air behind him. Glancing up to give him a small smile, you noted he was shirtless, yet still wearing the same pair of dark jeans he had on before. He hated shorts, so he opted to find the jeans with the largest rips and holes in them instead. It surprised you when he walked up behind you, wrapping an arm around your waist and pressing a kiss to the back of your head. As you tried to feed him a chunk of the fruit, he playfully moved out of the way, grabbing the beer and mentioning that he was smoking, so he couldn't eat. You rolled your eyes, before telling him you should go sit outside, considering your AC was busted and it was cooler there than inside. There was a thin layer of sweat on your forehead, and you didn't want to stay inside longer than you had to. You eyed the spider etched into his right shoulder- how dare he not mention he got a new tattoo?

"You're staring," He said in a sing-songy tone, distracted by fishing out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pockets, causing you to blush and glance away from him,

"Shut up, Eds," You said with a small smile, following him outside and sitting in one of the seats you had on the porch, before grabbing a watermelon slice to eat. You gladly accepted the cigarette he offered, leaning over so he could light it for you and inhaling deeply,

"You dig the new ink?" He asked playfully, sliding a notebook you hadn't noticed he brought along off the table into his lap and flicking through the pages. You eyed him; the cigarette tucked between his teeth and plump lips, his brows drawn together slightly as he focused on the contents of the pages; big brown eyes darting over the words scribbled inside, "Drew it myself," He said, lifting the book up to show you the spider,

"Holy shit, Eds, it looks so cool!" You grinned, taking a bite of the melon,

"Thanks!" He said proudly, picking up the pencil that had fallen from between the pages and flicking to a half-empty page, "Took me forever deciding where I wanted it," He mumbled,

"It looks good where it is, babe," You told him, giving him a small smile and eating some more of your watermelon slice, "Oh- Hey Max!" You called, seeing her approach from the entrance to the trailer park on her skateboard. Considering she didn't look up at your loud yell, you guessed she must have her headphones on, "You think she's still super into Kate Bush?" You glanced over at Eddie,

"Probably," He murmured, the word muffled by the cigarette between his lips. His gaze flicked up to you, then Max in the distance, and then settled back to the notebook he was busy scribbling away in,

"Mh," You hummed. You took another drag before straightening and raising a free hand to wave at her as she approached. Seeing you, she effortlessly stepped off the board, walking a few steps and picking it up, before pulling the headphones off of her head and letting them sit around her neck. She came to a stop before the steps up to your trailer, glancing between you and Eddie,

"What?" She asked sharply,

"You having a good day, Red?" You heard Eddie ask,

"It... Was fine," She said, a little confused by his question,

"Anything fun happen?" You asked, leaning your elbows on your knees and letting your head rest in your hands, smiling at her, "Oh- you want some watermelon? I just cut it up- it's from the fridge so it's nice and cold," You offered, glancing behind you and picking the bowl up from the table, extending it out to her

"No," She shuffled in place a little,

"Damn... That's a shame," You said, setting the bowl back in its place, "Well, if you want any, you know who to ask," You told her, "Are you more into smoothies, by any chance?" You asked, "I have a blender and crazy experience making thick juice," You offered, smiling at the sight of the corners of her lips involuntarily lifting. She turned on her heel to walk to her neighbouring trailer,

"C'mon, Red," Eddie chimed in, "Their smoothies are a work of art- and that's coming from me," He called after her,

"Whatever," You heard her mutter before she quickly climbed the steps and entered the trailer,

"Damn," You sighed, leaning back in your chair and finishing the cigarette, stumping it out in the recently emptied ashtray,

"I could hear it from here," You heard Eddie chuckle to himself. You turned your body to look at him, leaning an arm on the table,

"Kate Bush?" You asked,

"Good, old Katie," He grinned. You gave him a playful glare,

"If you dare disrespect her, Eddie, I swear-"

"Wh- Disrespect?" He set the pencil between the pages of his book and closed it, setting it on the table, "When did I ever say anything disrespectful about Kate Bush, babe?" He said defensively, though there was an amused look on his face,

"You didn't, but I know how riled up you can get," You grinned, finishing your clice and setting the rind back into the bowl, "About what constitutes as 'real' music," You mimed air quotes before grabbing another slice,

"I would never say a bad thing about Kate Bush though, babe," He said, "Promice. Hand on heart; cross it and everything," He said, drawing a finger in two lines over the ink on his chest,

"Good," You raised your brows, "Cause she's like... Crazy amazing,"

"I know," He grinned, "I was the one who introduced you to her," He smiled, 

"Cause the song came on the radio," You teased, 

"In my car," He said with a smirk, 

"Whatever," You rolled your eyes, sitting back in your chair and biting into the watermelon, quickly licking the juice that spilled onto your fingers. It was delightfully cold, thanks to you putting it in the fridge as soon as you got home from the grocery store earlier today. You only wished you could buy some stronger alcohol, or make a cocktail...

"Hey... Come here," Eddie mumbled, catching your attention. Once your eyes were on him, he removed the cigarette from of his mouth and tapped his leg with his free hand, shifting his legs so they were spread slightly wider apart,

"Why?" You asked, though you set your slice into the bowl and stood up without much hesitation. His smile simply widened as you approached him, carefully sitting in his lap and wrapping your arms around his neck. He hummed pleasantly, wrapping an arm around your middle to pull you closer,

"Missed you," He said simply, before tucking the cigarette back between his lips to take a drag,

"We spent the entire day together, babe," You reminded him, pulling the cigarette out of his lips and placing it between your own as he tilted his head back to exhale the smoke up into the air,

"Mhhm, and you dragged me around all these stupid stores and didn't let me have fun," He grinned, leaning forward to press a kiss to your cheek and taking his cigarette back,

"You almost got us kicked out, again," You grinned,

"I was just helping the mannequins express their feelings," He said with a nonchalant shrug. Your eyes flicked down to his neck, smiling and allowing your hand to gently caress the soft skin, "They've probably been stuck there for years in those awful shirts. I could sense a lot of anger coming from those plastic things," He said,

"You're a true hero, Eds," You smiled, "For mannequins all across America," You grinned,

"I work one store at a time," He said with a small smile. You laughed as he took another drag, "Can't believe we scored gold in that Goodwill," He said proudly,

"I know, right?" You grinned, "I finally got my own Pantera shirt," You said excitedly,

"I wonder who gave all of those shirts away," He muttered curiously,

"Someone cool?" You said, shifting a hand to play with strands of his hair, running your fingers through,

"Or someone lame," He suggested, glancing at the movements of your hands as your fingers began to carefully braid his hair, "In any case, we lucked out. You're like a good luck charm," He said with a proud smile,

"Me?" You asked amused, grinning as he moved his hand to touch yours, pulling your fingers away from his hair and pressing a kiss to the back of them,

"You," He murmured, brown, doe eyes meeting yours. He set the cigarette in the ashtray, letting both his hands wrap around you,

"Bet if you went to the store earlier without me you would have found those shirts anyways," You mumbled, rolling your eyes,

"Nah," He said, "But they'll make good replacements for all the shirts you stole from me," He said playfully, causing you to laugh,

"Maybe this is my way of giving them back to you," You joked,

"That's a really stupid way of giving me back my stuff, babe," He said, "Making me pay for my own stuff?"

"Eddie I'm j-"

"I know," He laughed, "I just like to tease you," He smirked, leaning back in his chair with a small sigh, "So! We have the rest of this wonderful day together. What do you suggest we do?" He asked, watching you expectantly. It was only the beginning of summer- the days would grow longer and hotter, and you'd be forced to get the AC fixed so you could seek comfort in the coolness of your home. That meant you couldn't really hang out in there. Eddie's trailer was always an option but it felt a little strange just inviting yourself there- besides, Wayne worked nights at the Plant, which meant he had to sleep all day. You couldn't play the TV too loud or yell or listen to loud music... You let your mind run as you leaned over Eddie, pulling the fruit bowl closer so you could munch on a slice as you thought. You'd already been and raided the nearby stores, and Hawkins was a shithole with nothing interesting ever happening here. The only thing left was...

"What about the arcade?" You said, raising your brows, "You can win me a teddy bear," You smiled,

"How romantic," He grinned, "But be warned, it will take me like... Six hours on Tetris to get enough tickets to afford one of those," He said, causing you to laugh,

"Damn- does the arcade even let people stay that late? Especially if they're awful at the game they're playing," You teased,

"Fine- you're not getting anything from me," He huffed playfully,

"Eddie- no!! Play anything but Tetris," You plead, grinning,

"Fine, fine. I'm pretty good at Pinball," He said, arms leaving you momentarily so he could stretch them above his head,

"You can't win tickets with Pinball. Also- pinball is the lamest game you can play at an arcade," You said, holding the slice out for him to take a bite of,

"Hold on-" He said surprised, gently moving your hand out of the way, "What did you just say?"

"Pinball is the lamest?" He opened his mouth in shock, and you smirked, moving the slice against his lips so he was forced to take a bite of the pink fruit, "What are you? An old man?" You grinned, 

"Old men aren't the only ones who play pinball, babe!" He protested, yelping softly as some of the juice spilt out of his lips and down his chin. You laughed as he reached a hand to wipe his face and smirked, swallowing the food in his mouth and grabbing the slice from your hands,

"Yes, they are!" You laughed, shaking your head and getting off of his lap, "Oh my God- Eddie," You managed between laughter, having to lean your hand on the side of your trailer, "I have never met anyone who goes to an arcade thinking 'I'm going to play pinball', what the fuck?" You laughed,

"Listen- okay, okay. Since you think this is so fuckin' funny-" He said standing and following you as you stumbled inside your open front door, hardly breathing through your laughter, "-You haven't been here in a year, and, like, a bunch of the good machines broke down," He rambled,

"So it's the machine's fault you're horrible at the games," You grinned as you stepped into the warmer home, "Not your horrible game skills?" It was only a few degrees difference, though the change felt astronomical,

"Yeah- it is," He said, groaning as he followed you, feeling the warmth against his skin, "Shit- what's up with your AC?" He asked, watching as you removed the mass of black from the washer,

"Broken," You huffed, grabbing the basket and heading back outside,

"Why didn't you ask Wayne to fix it for you?" He frowned, walking to the broken machine and tapping it,

"He's asleep, right?" You said, glancing over at him, "I don't wanna wake him and waste his time," You sighed,

"Babe, your house is unliveable. I'll get him to fix it for you-"

"Don't we have plans to go to the arcade?" You asked, trying to quickly change the topic as you moved outside to the now empty line you shared with Max, beginning to hang up the wet shirts,

"Yeah, but-" He tried, following you quickly,

"Do you think Max'll wanna come with us?" You asked, glancing from her trailer, then back over your shoulder to see him standing on your porch and watching you. With a dejected sigh, he moved to sit down, his legs hanging over the edge of the porch, "Do kids nowadays even play arcade games anymore?" You asked more yourself as you got back to your task, running a hand over the wet, upside down 'Pantera' print,

"Of course they like arcade games," he said with a huff, "Everyone likes arcade games,"

"Good," You smiled, "I have faith in the new generation once again. And maybe she plays games that aren't Pinball or Tetris," You teased, "Maybe she's actually good," You added, "Maybe-"

"I swear to God if you make fun of me again..." You heard him say in a mock threatening tone,

"You'll what?" You grinned, setting the empty basket down and looking at him. A large grin spread over his face and he quickly hopped off the porch, "Oh no- Eddie, no-" You yelped as he suddenly grabbed you, picking you up and spinning you around and cackling, "Put me down!" You laughed loudly,

"You take everything you said back or I throw you in the dirt!" He said playfully,

"How about I don't!" You grinned, grabbing at his hands. He laughed again, setting you down but still holding on to you tightly. He opened his mouth again to say something, although- 

"Gross," You heard from nearby, causing your head to look in the direction of the voice,

"Oh, hey Max!" You grinned at the red-headed girl now standing nearby in the shade between the two mobile homes. Eddie loosened his hold on you, letting you brush off your clothes and gather yourself, "We were just looking for you-"

"Why?" She asked,

"Well, uh... Eddie and I are planning on going to the arcade later and we wanted to know if you wanted to join us," You offered with a pleasant smile. She watched you with a frown, glancing between your faces, before narrowing her eyes,

"What's in it for you, huh?" She asked sceptically,

"Nothing...? We're just going to have fun and play games. Maybe get some milkshakes later or something?" You offered, glancing over at Eddie,

"C'mon, Red," Eddie piped up, moving to stand next to you, "It'll be fun; we used to go to the Palace all the time-" He gestured between you,

"Didn't we call it 'Our Palace' at some point?" You grinned, glancing back at him,

"Hell yeah," He grinned, "God, I used to kill on those pinball machines," He gave you a look, while you laughed at his statement, "Christ," He mumbled, rolling his eyes at your reaction, though smiled fondly at your laughter,

"Don't mind him- we played games other than Pinball," You assured her, "Have you ever been there, Max?" You asked the girl, and watched her cast her gaze downwards momentarily,

"Yeah... I used to go a lot, actually. It was the first place I'd go to when I first came here from California," She said, "I stopped going a few years ago... Cause of school? Haven't really been there since," She admitted,

"All the more reason for you to come with us!" You said eagerly, "Please? We promise we'll never bother you again," You plead, putting your hands together to emphasise your point. She glanced back at you and sighed,

"Fine," You both grinned happily, "I'll have to ask my mom,"

"That's fine- you be ready by 6," You told her eagerly, before grabbing Eddie's hand and dragging him back to your trailer,

"See you later, Red!" He called after her, laughing slightly as you dragged him inside your trailer.

It took a while for you to get ready. You had brought in the rest of your watermelon inside so the flies and wasps wouldn't gather around the fruit, eating the slices and trying to get Eddie to eat them with you, before cleaning your hands and changing into your outfit for the evening. Eddie left at your request to get ready himself, allowing you to freshen up and get ready in peace. Once you were finished, you walked out to meet up with Eddie and Max. Coincidentally, you walked out of your trailer at the same time as her, giving her a small nod and mentioning that Eddie was going to be your ride to the arcade. Once you locked your trailer, you joined her in the short walk over to his, lighting up a cigarette on your way there. Max had also changed and was holding a blue zip-up jacket for later in the evening, when the temperature would inevitably drop. Her hair, which had previously been braided, was out in loose waves and framing her pale face. She glanced at Eddie's trailer as you stopped, leaning against his van. You could faintly hear Black Sabbath playing from his open bedroom window,

"He's late," Max pointed out,

"He is... As usual," You let her know, "But he's our ride, so we gotta wait," You said with a sigh, "He's probably fixing up his hair- it usually takes a while, he's got a lot of it," You joked, smiling softly as she let out a quiet, breathy laugh,

"Yeah. Right," She nodded, eyeing the cigarette in your hand,

"Speaking of hair," You gestured to her, "Where's your Anne of Green Gable's schtick?" You asked,

"Didn't seem fitting for an arcade," She mumbled,

"Course," You smiled, "You excited to try any of the games there?" You asked, 

"Excited?" She smiled slightly, "Do I look like a kid to you?" 

"Well, you seemed eager to go," You shrugged, "I'm excited. I'm sure Eddie is too- oh! And if you're any good, you could teach him how to play Tetris!" You grinned, 

"He doesn't know how to play Tetris?" She asked, blinking her wide eyes in surprise, "But it's so easy...!" She said, and you laughed softly, nodding, 

"I know, right?" You smiled, glancing over her "He excels at DnD though... That might be the only game he's good at. As annoying it is watching him play the games and loose them, it's pretty funny," You grinned, 

"Sure," She smiled slightly, glancing around in silence, 

"I think your hair's cool, Max," You told her, "Pretty colour and all that," You said with a nod,

"What about my hair?" Eddie asked, walking out of the trailer and meeting you at the foot of the stairs,

"Not yours," You said, rolling your eyes, "Max's," You gestured to the girl. Eddie glanced over at her and nodded his head in a silent hello, before plucking the cigarette from your lips and taking a drag as he twirled his car keys in his hand. He was wearing a Metalica shirt under his leather jacket,

"Nice hair, Red," He complimented, "Now are you two ready for the greatest night of your lives?" He asked, glancing between you with a grin,

"In Hawkins?" You smirked, grabbing your cigarette back from his hands, "Never," You winked. Your grin widened at the way he looked at you after your wink,

"Right- not grand enough for you, Your Majesty?" He waved his hand in a mock bow, grabbing the door handle to the passenger side and pulling it open for you. With a grin, you stood a little taller,

"No. It never is," You said in a fancy tone, "Now take me to my Palace, your highness," You said playfully,

"Jesus fucking Christ you are both awful," Max muttered, shaking her head,

"You wanna be called your highness too, Red?" Eddie asked with a smirk,

"I was promised a ride to the arcade," She said, "My mom gave me a 9 pm curfew, so..."

"Right- and we're losing daylight," Eddie clicked his fingers in understanding. He walked over to the back door, opening it and gesturing for her, "M'lady, your chariot awaits," He said dramatically, smiling at her. With another eye roll and a 'whatever' muttered under her breath, Max climbed into the back. You shut the door after her and climbed into the passenger seat, while Eddie moved around to the drivers side, and you drove off into town,

"Did you eat dinner yet, Red?" You asked, busy shuffling through the tapes you found in the car,

"Huh?" She asked, "Oh uh... Yeah," She said quietly,

"Is that a lie?" Eddie asked, glancing in the rearview mirror to see her face. You did the same, watching her blink, before quickly glancing out of the window,

"...No," She said in an unconvincingly way,

"Well I haven't," You chimed in, "But I'm not hungry right now," You said quickly, seeing Max glare at you through the mirror, "We should go buy pizza after we finish up at the arcade," You glanced over at Eddie,

"Hell yeah, we can stop by a Pizza hut and get those breadsticks you like," He grinned, giving you a knowing look,

"Nice- sound good to you Max?" You turned your head to look over your shoulder at her. A small, involuntary smile spread on her thin lips, though she quickly turned her head to try to hide it from you,

"Sure... Sounds good," She confirmed, glancing down at her feet and shuffling them slightly. With a satisfied smile, you looked back to the tapes you had left discarded in your lap, continuing to flip through and listening to the gentle clatter of plastic against plastic,

"Here," Eddie mumbled beside you, reaching over and opening the glove compartment. Thankfully, you were at a red stop light. Curiously, you watched his hand as he shuffled through the stuff thrown there carelessly. Your eyes focused on his rings, faintly glittering in the light from outside. You always had a fondness for them, loving the way they looked against his rough hands, and how cold they felt compared to the warmth of his skin. He finally pulled a tape out, and you glanced over the cover, "Put this one in," He said softly,

"'Kill 'Em All'," You read, sliding the tape out of the cover and  looking it over, "Is this new?"

"Nope. I just lost it," He said, smiling once you set the tape in and placed the others back, "And then found it again when I was cleaning my van a few days ago. Hey, Max, you good with loud music?" He asked as 'Hit The Lights' started blaring loudly from the speakers,

"Yeah," She said softly. You expected another annoyed 'whatever' but the girl just kept silent, looking out of the window,

"Good- loud is good," Eddie smirked, giving you a glance and winking back teasingly,

"Hah- yeah," You grinned as the heavy guitar riffs came in and you turned the music back up. The ride into town wasn't too long, though by the time you arrived at the arcade, your hair was all messed up, considering you had rolled the windows down and spent the majority of the ride nodding your head to the music and laughing along with Eddie. Max was silent the whole time, only staring out of the window at the houses zooming past the van. Her hair covered her face so you couldn't see her expression, though it didn't appear she minded the loud music, or the way the car shook at your limited dancing, or your screaming along to the lyrics. You hopped out of the parked vehicle, glancing at the spinning 'Palace Arcade' sign, then flicking your gaze to the building. The lights were already lit, though the sun's light drowned them out so you couldn't appreciate the bright colours they'd usually cast across the parking lot. Outwardly, it was still the same as you remembered when you were there last year, and since you drove by it earlier today,

"Ready?" Eddie asked, coming to stand beside you, hands tucked into the pockets of his leather jacket and a small smile set on his lips as he watched you, "Also, is this our..." he trailed off, shuffling his boots against the gravel bellow, "Uh... How do..."

"Our...?" You looked at him expectantly. He opened his mouth, but the words fell short and he found himself unable to look at you. You narrowed your eyes, before realising, "Like our first date?" You asked, "As a couple?" He smiled at your words,

"Uh... Yeah," He nodded, "My first date with you," He said fondly, "I should have taken a camera," He huffed,

"We can always take a picture after," You nodded to the building, before walking forward so you could stand in front of him, "I'm looking forward to this date with you, Munson," You said, watching the grin forming on his face,

"I'll make it worth your while, babe," He said, walking forward to press a kiss to your forehead. You hummed pleasantly, before glancing back to his van,

"I love going out on dates and babysitting," You said playfully, "Speaking of-" You knocked on the back window, causing Max to jump, startled. She hadn't moved since you parked, appearing distracted. She gave you a confused look, before you pointed to the arcade behind you, "We're here!" You said, opening the door for her. She slid over, considering she was on the other side, and hopped out, looking at the building before her, "Hey, are you okay-"

"I'm fine," She said quickly, giving you a stern look. You held your hands up in surrender,

"Just making sure. We can always uh... Do something else," You offered,

"No, I just..." She sighed, glancing in the car as Eddie locked it, "I left my jacket in there," She told him,

"Oh, that's fine. It's warm now anyways and we'll come back," He gave her a reassuring smile, "You'll get your precious jacket back soon. Now come on! Let's play games," He said excitedly, eagerly walking over to you and grabbing your hand, pulling you towards the arcade.

Inside, it still looked the same, aside from a few new machines you were excited to try. You glanced over your shoulder to make sure Max was still following along, motioning for her to join you at an ATM to exchange the ten dollars you had brought along for quarters, one by one. Once you all had your money, you followed Eddie as he made a beeline to a machine,

"Pong?" Max asked as he slipped the change into the machine,

"Yeah! We used to play this all the time," Eddie said, glancing over at you with a wide grin, "You ever play?" He asked Max,

"Have I ever played Pong?" She asked with a slight smile, moving to stand next to him, "I heard you can't even play Tetris," You laughed as Eddie cast you a glare,

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm not losing to a child," He said, determination clear in his tone,

Eddie did, in fact, lose to Max. Badly. And when he started getting low on quarters and playfully frustrated, he insisted you tag in. She was good- really good. Normally, losing a few rounds would hurt your ego, but considering how much she was smiling and laughing now was worth the shame of losing to a freshman. She eventually pulled you away, bored of her near-constant victories to play air hockey,

"I'm with Max!" You said quickly, moving to stand next to her,

"Two against one? That's not fair!" Eddie whined,

"Fine- you play against her and I'll be the ref," You said, searching through your pockets for a dollar,

"And let her beat me again?" Eddie protested, "Hell no," 

"What is it, Munson? Are you afraid to lose to a child again?" You teased, leaning your hands on the side of the table,

"Yeah, Munson," You heard Max say besides you, handing you a dollar that you could put into the machine, "Looser buys us all candy?" She offered. He smirked, moving his hand out for her to shake,

"You're dead, Red," He grinned playfully, taking his spot at the end of the table and watching the rather intense game.

Eddie graciously bought you all a bunch of Nerds, Pop Rocks, Pixie Stix and Fun Dip. Max mentioned something about wanting to play Dig Dug and disappeared off down the aisles to find it, sneakily stealing the full bag of candy with her while Eddie distracted you with his annoyed mumblings of losing two games to a freshman,

"Aw man, my candy necklaces," You pouted when you noticed she was gone,

"C'mon- I wanna show you something," Eddie grinned, grabbing your hand and pulling you to another game,

"But what if she eats all of our candy?" You asked with a soft smile, 

"First of all, I don't think it's humanly possible to eat that much candy at once without your teeth falling out," He said, casting you a glance, 

"This is coming from the same Eddie Munson who won't eat his fruits and veggies?" You teased, 

"Shut up," He rolled his eyes with a smirk, "Anyways," He glanced up at the name of one of the machines, before gesturing to it,

"Centipede?" You read the writing at the top, "This one's new, right?" You asked, not recognising it. Eddie nodded,

"Go ahead," He motioned for the machine,

"I don't know how to play it, Eds," You said, "Don't wanna waste my precious quarters on a game I'm not gonna be good at," 

"Then let me show you," He prompted, 

"You and your history of being awful at games?" You asked playfully, digging through your pockets for some change, 

"Babe," He whined, "Come on, please?" He smiled. With a sigh, you moved forward, placing your quarter in and straightening up. It surprised you a little as he moved up behind you, putting his hands over yours and resting his chin on your shoulder, "Here, like this," He said softly, considering he was so close to your ear,

"Okay," You started the game, eyes darting over the screen as he started it, "Woah- why does it split up like that? What?" You laughed softly as you shot at the bug. Eddie moved his hands over yours so his fingers pressed against yours on the buttons. You'd played games together multiple times- Eddie behind you with a gentle hold on to your hands, occasionally fighting for control over the buttons and laughing as you playfully yelled at him to get off because you were going to get a 'Game Over' and waste your money. All in good spirits of course. You revelled in the closeness of him in this sort-of hug. Now you were finally together as a couple, it felt different. The gentle kisses he'd press to your cheek and neck, or simply blowing cold air onto your skin, grinning as it caused you to shiver, were incredibly distracting, but you couldn't deny that it felt nice, and beautifully intimate,

"Damn, you've been making fun of how bad I am at Tetris when you can't even play Centipede," He smirked, pressing another kiss to your cheek before letting go of you, standing to the side, grinning proudly, 

"If you weren't distracting me, Eddie, I might have won," You huffed, "Or at least get a high score," You huffed, glancing at the flashing 'Game Over' screen. You glanced down at the names next to the high scores, noticing 'Mad Max' filling some of the bottom slots- could that potentially be your red-headed companion, blissfully distracted by you and Eddie and eagerly tapping away at the buttons on Dig Dug? Glancing up higher, through the less familiar names, your eyes widened at the top two, "No-"

"Yes," Eddie grinned beside you, 

"No," You repeated, jaw-dropping at the two names at the top, "You beat Henderson at this!?" Your eyes widened, glancing over at him smiling proudly, 

"Kid's got a vendetta against me because I kicked his ass on here," He said, "I wanted to see how you would do," He said, 

"You just distracted me the whole time, Eds! I had no chance!"

"Uh- I helped?" He said, "And now you can't make fun of me for being bad at games," He grinned, "Here, watch me, it's honestly really simple," He playfully pushed your arm so you'd step out the way, 

"And here I thought your gaming talents ended at DnD," You teased, folding your arms and watching him straighten up, hair bouncing once he placed his own quarter into the machine, 

"I'll let this one slide, but if you offend me one more time," He held up his finger in mock warning,

"You'll what?" You challenged, grinning, "Huh? Huh? What're you gonna do Munson?" You grinned, moving to stand very close to him. He only smiled down at you, soft eyes flicking over your face, and making you momentarily forget your playful conflict. He quickly broke the eye contact, glancing at the screen, then looking at you with a slight glare,

"I'll make you walk all the way home," He settled, smirking proudly and starting the game, quickly tapping the buttons,

"Oh, yeah?" You asked, looking over his shoulder at the screen. He clearly knew what he was doing, fully focused on the screen. Leaning closer to his ear, your grinned, "Make me," You hissed, quickly moving away and smirking at the way his eyes widened and he looked at you quickly. You were already walking away towards Max, though you glanced back and blew a playful kiss at him, "You better win that game now, babe!" You called back to him, watching him shake his head and grin, glancing back at the screen, "How's it going Max?" You asked, looking over her at the screen, "Holy shit- you're on round six!?" You said proudly, 

"Yeah," She murmured, concentrating hard,

"How are you so good at Dig Dug?" You marvelled, staring at the screen and then glancing down at Max's hands as she expertly played the level,

"Got a lot of practice back in California," She mumbled, blue eyes darting around the screen in full concentration, "They have the same machine up there. And I spent a lot of time here when I first came to Hawkins," She said, a small smile appearing on her lips as the screen flashed brightly, indicating she passed the level,

"Nice, Max!" You grinned, lifting a hand up for her to high-five, "Max... MADMAX? You've had the top high scores on this game for years now," You smiled as her hand slapped against your own, "That's real talent kid," You complimented,

"It's a simple game," She shrugged, though the smile didn't leave her lips. She ended up scoring sixty-eight thousand points and you grinned, feeling like a kid at the sight of all the tickets pouring out of the machine, "Damn," she hissed, standing back as the screen displayed 'Game Over',

"What?" You asked with a small smile,

"I got third place," She said with a small frown, "I used to be way better," She glanced at the high scores that both displayed MADMAX,

"Are you hearing yourself?" Eddie spoke up, grinning. He had quietly joined you a few moments ago, holding a bunch of tickets he won at Centipede, "You got third place-" He leaned over to tap the screen, "-And first, and second. You're the entire podium!"

"Still. I should have done better," She said, glancing around at the other machines, 

"Meh- I say you did great," Eddie grinned, reaching over and ruffling her hair, "C'mon!" He eagerly scooped up her tickets, swiftly moving to another machine, "Let me show you how it's done!" He said, stopping at the Pacman machine and shoving the tickets into your arms,

"Eddie's awful at Pacman," You whispered to Max, earning a small laugh from her that caused you both to lighten up as he started playing, "He always loses, but he likes the noises,"

"Babe, stop throwing me under the bus like this- Max, I'm great-" The telltale sound of Pacman dying came from the machine, "The fuck!?" He exclaimed, causing you to laugh as he smacked at the console,

"Eddie, don't break it!" You quickly grabbed at his arm, smirking, "My turn," You pushed him away with the tickets and focused on the game as the next round started, "See, what you're doing wrong is you're going after the power-ups first; you only go after 'em if the ghosts are chasing you," You muttered, "Max, get over here to watch the pro," You grinned, standing aside so she could watch you,

"Pro?" Eddie asked amused, "You got on the leaderboard once, babe. Humble yourself," You gasped at that,

"Excuse me, how many times have you been on the leaderboard, Munson?" You challenged,

"Well, on Centipede and Dragon's Lair-"

"I don't give a shit about those- I'm talking about Pacman," You smirked, "How many times have you beaten the first level of Pacman, Munson? Huh?" You teased, managing to kill one of the ghosts with the immunity buff,

"Damn- you can't even get over the first Pacman level, Eddie?" You heard Max ask from beside you,

"The game's hard!" He protested, though you could hear the smile in his voice. He stood behind you, an arm snaking around your waist and his head resting on your shoulder as he watched your movements,

"Get the cherries!!" Max chimed in, from the side. She sounded so happy- and when you completed the level, your small audience erupted into eager cheers, Eddie gripping your shoulders and shaking them slightly,

"Max- you do this level now. We'll take turns!" You said eagerly, ushering her to take your place and grinning as she started playing, "Eds, you can watch," You teased, turning to see him looking mock offended,

"Wh- Why!?" He whined,

"Uh- you cost us one of your lives," Max chimed in, "You're not touching this game again," She said playfully, 

"Hear that Munson?" You smirked, glancing back at the screen to watch Max play,

"Well, I'm the one holding all of your tickets," He said, indicating to the large mass of tickets he held, "I can easily go cash these in for a bunch of sticky hands and worms on strings," He teased, 

"You wouldn't have those if it wasn't for our skills!" Max grinned, 

"She has a point, Eds," You grinned, "That'd be stealing," You said, to which he huffed and rolled his eyes, 

"So no disappearing ink?" He pouted at you, 

"Why are you so hung up on the disappearing ink?" You asked with a wide smile, 

"Because it's cool!" He grinned, "And you can only see it with a black light!" He grinned. You made a face, sticking your tongue out, 

"Yuk- I don't want to go near you with a black light-" You muttered,

"Shit!!" Max cursed as Pacman's death sound effect played from the machine. She hit it with her hand, wincing at the impact. With a small frown, you walked over to her as 'Game Over' flashed across the screen,

"Hey," You said, "It's fine! I'm kinda tired from all these games. Why don't we cash in our tickets and go... Eat pizza?" You suggested, glancing from Eddie to Max, 

"Sure," She sighed, and you gently touched her shoulder walking to the prize counter and looking over all the things on display. From puzzles to gimmicky items stacking the shelves behind a clerk, and plushies hanging from the ceiling on strings, you let out a small sigh, eyes settling on a lava lamp momentarily, before rolling your eyes at the 'grand prize- 10,000 tickets!' scrawled underneath it,

"You ever get one of those?" You asked Max, pointing to the assortment of large teddy bears, dragons and various other stuffed toys, 

"No... I doubt we'll be able to afford any of them," She shrugged, "Usually I could only afford the candy," She sighed, 

"Me too. I did get a mug one time though. With Kermit the Frog on it," You smiled, "Spent a lot of time on solo pong though... Not too much fun playing it by yourself," You said, "I still have it. I drink hot cocoa out of it every winter," You smiled softly, 

"You?" Max asked amused, "You like the muppets?" She smiled softly, 

"What can I say? I have a soft spot for that funky little green guy," You grinned, clicking your fingers, "Too bad we can't afford any of the cool toys," You huffed, 

"Whoever told you that?" Eddie grinned, appearing out of nowhere, "Let's get these counted," He gestured to the large ball of tickets. It seemed to have doubled in the few moments he was away from you, and when he placed them on the counter for the employee to count, you noticed two sticks of unopened tickets in his back pockets. How he managed to get those was a mystery to you. Catching you staring, he gave you a wink, "I'm gonna head to the bathroom. You guys pick out a good prize," He said playfully, walking behind the machines, away from the employee's view and pulling the two wads of tickets out, unfurling them to try make it look like they came from the machines,

"Where the hell did he get those?" Max hissed to you, eyes widened mouth agape as she looked from him to you, 

"Eddie... Has his ways..." Was all you could say, stumped as to where he even found them, "I sort of figured it's best not to question things like this by now," You told her, glancing at the tickets. He promptly returned with another ball of unfurled tickets and a proud smirk on his face as the employee sent him a glare, considering they had to count more tickets. You heard him briefly mention he forgot them and attempted to distract the employee in hopes that'd get you more tickets. You moved to the side with Max, glancing at the prizes that were worth thousands, "Got your eye on anything, Red?" You asked, leaning your elbows on the glass counter, "Perhaps a Carebear?" You suggested,

"What about that?" She pointed, 

"You're talking about the Popples?" You smiled, "I always loved those- my family could never afford them but I always thought they were so cute," You said,

"What even are they?" She smiled, 

"Don't know, and I don't think I care. They just look cute for kids," You shrugged, "Which one d'you want?"

"What?" She asked, her smile faltering, 

"What?" You mimicked, moving one of your arms so it was leaning on the counter, "I asked you to pick one," You nodded to the toys, 

"Are... You sure?" She frowned, "They're your tickets..." She said, brows knitting together, 

"You won more games than me," You winked, "C'mon Red, just-"

"But what about you?" She asked quickly, 

"What about me?" You smiled, "C'mon, Red. This is for you- you deserve a reward for wrecking a super Senior and a college student at arcade games," You rolled your eyes. She was still looking at you with a confused look. You glanced back at the plushies, "Fine. Get a Care Bear instead," You prompted, 

"But do you-"

"C'mon Red!" You groaned, "Look how sad Funshine Bear looks!" You pointed to the smiling yellow bear, "It's begging for you to take them home!" You grinned. She looked at you with wide eyes, still searching your face, as if she was looking for any hint of a lie, or... Some other emotions. She quickly looked back at the high-end prizes, 

"We've got a good nine 'k' built up; that means thousand," Eddie grinned at you,

"Proud of you for learning that one, babe," You smirked, patting his chest gently, "You can get so much disappearing ink with that," You teased, 

"Well now I'm not gonna get any," He pouted playfully, 

"So what are you getting?" The tired employee said, glancing between the three of you. You looked at Max expectantly,

"Care bear; care bear," You quietly chanted at her confused face. She smiled slightly, rolling her eyes and looking back at the prizes, 

"Can I get the... One of the Popples?" She asked softly, moving to place her hands on the counter, pointing out the one she wanted to the employee, 

"You still have three thousand left," They said, placing the toy in front of Max and removing the price tag. It took you a while to choose through the various smaller prizes, trying to spend all your tickets so you had zero left. Your purchases included: three sticky hands for each of you; a few string worms for Eddie; matching space-themed keyrings for Eddie and you; disappearing ink; a bunch of temporary tattoos; and finally, more candy. You soon left, climbing into the van and speeding away. You grinned, throwing Pez pellets from a shitty dispenser at Eddie as he attempted to catch them in his mouth while he drove you to Pizza Hut. 

Eddie brought up that you should probably share the pizza and then asked about the toppings you would both like. Max was mostly quiet, and you were fine with most things... That was until he jokingly brought up getting pineapple or banana. Even Max joined your fierce protests against them. You ended up getting half just cheese and half with toppings you mutually agreed on with Max, considering how iffy Eddie could be with certain ingredients, 

"This'd be so good if it was Hawaiian," Eddie smirked at you over a mouthful of pizza, 

"Eddie, you're very close to losing your speaking privileges," You grinned as he threw his head back and laughed, "Why are you so insistent on getting pineapple and banana on our pizza? You want to watch the world burn that bad?" You asked,

"You are correct, my dear," He smirked, 

"That poor worker at the arcade wasn't enough for you?" You smiled at him, 

"They counted wrong. And if they didn't want me to find their extra tickets, they should have hidden them better," He shrugged, "Besides, you know I'm only kidding about the fruits, right?"

"I knew you were joking," you gave him a sceptical look, before glancing over at Max, "He hates fruits," you let her know, 

"Really?" You nodded with a small hum, 

"Yeah, he does," You smiled, "I work at Sam's Smoothie Shack and I basically have to force him to drink the smoothies I make," You said, before glancing over at him, "Speaking of you hating fruits," You glared at him, "If we did get pineapple or banana, you wouldn't even eat it," 

"Nope," He smirked, 

"So why would..." You trailed off, confused,

"Just to piss you off," He grinned,

"Eddie that'd be such a waste," You huffed, rolling your eyes as he laughed again, 

"But it would be funny!" He said,

"Whatever," You smiled, looking over at Max, "Hey why aren't you eating?" You asked, 

"Oh, I... I can have more?" She asked uncertainly. You looked at her, incredulously, 

"Of course you can!" You smiled, "You think we can eat this whole thing just by ourselves?" You said, gesturing to the partially eaten pizza,

"Well..." Eddie said, before wincing your name as you kicked him under the table, 

"Max, eat as much pizza as you want. We can even ask for a to-go box if you wanna take this home and reheat it later," You smiled at her, "It's no good cold, so get to eating," You reassured her, before your attention quickly snapped to Eddie, "You too- I don't want to hear any more about your weird pizza combos," You said, tapping Eddie's hand as he reached for another slice, 

"Speaking of-" He smirked, "What if we put the pizza in a blender?" He smirked as you groaned his name in protest, "What? You expect me to drink mushy, blendy raspberries but not blended pizza?" He grinned, starting up yet another playful, bickering session between the three of you. At least Max was having a good time.

When you left, the sun had almost set, only a sliver of orange left, sitting far on the horizon The sky was primarily filled with a wonderful dark blue and speckled with bright stars. You remembered learning that most of them were likely suns at the centre of other galaxies, likely filled with their own solar systems, full of their own people or aliens... But most of them were likely dead, the visuals of them exploding into novas or supernovas taking light years to reach the earth and your gaze. But who cared if they were all dead? As long as you could see them, they were real, right?

You hummed along to the quiet music, the same Metallica tape playing quietly now as you stared out at the darkened houses and streets of Hawkins. The city was so much more peaceful at night, when the inhabitants were sleeping and the streets were relatively empty, safe for the occasional fox or cat that darted across the street. When you were younger, you thought the darkness was scary; some unseen monster hiding away in the shadows. Now, it just felt serene and calm- a small, anxious, part of you maybe still believed there were monsters lurking away somewhere, but with Eddie at your side... Actually, he probably wouldn't do a lot to scare them away. He'd likely run away. But he'd run away with you so... Technically, you were in safe hands?

"What's on your mind?" He asked softly, his hand coming to rest on your leg, gently moving over your knee. You sighed, shifting to lean back in your seat and stretching your arms above your head, 

"Hawkins... How quiet it is," You said softly, glancing over at him to see him smile, "You,"

"Me?" He asked surprised

"You," You grinned softly at the feigned disbelief on his face, "I had fun on our first official date, Eds,"

"I'm glad," He smiled, gently squeezing your leg, patting it, then putting his hand back on the gear shift, "Mine or yours?" He asked, 

"Mine- I gotta collect my laundry before someone steals my Pantera shirt," You sighed, 

"Already so attached?" He asked, smiling softly as he put his leg back on your knee. You placed your hand over his, skimming your fingers over his rings, 

"Mhm," You smiled,

"Aw," He cooed, smiling softly, "By the way, I asked Wayne if he could fix up your AC," He said, 

"Wh- Eddie," You said with a small frown, "You... Didn't need to," You said, 

"Mmmh, I kinda did," He said, giving you a look. As you looked away, getting ready to protest again, he said your name to try and get your attention back on him, "I've known you the better part of my life, and I know that you're just gonna leave it broken and complain about it never being fixed," He said softly, "I wanted to do something nice for you," He glanced over at you. You couldn't stop the small smile that found its way onto your lips, 

"Remind me to pay Wayne back for his kindness," You sighed, leaning back in your seat, 

"I won't," He said with a small smile, "Besides, if you want me hanging around you all summer, you better have that thing fixed because earlier today?" He huffed, "I thought I was gonna die!" He said dramatically, 

"Uhuh. Yeah," You smiled at him. With a sigh, you cast a glance in the rearview mirror, catching sight of Max in the reflection, "You good, Red?" You asked softly, turning your head to look at the girl in the back. She was staring out of the window blankly, eyes shutting slowly with the gentle lulling of the van. You smiled to yourself, "Max," You prompted, making her sit up and look at you,

"Yeah?" She hummed tiredly,

"Are you alright?" You asked again,

"Uhuh... Yeah," She nodded, fiddling with a hairband around her wrist. Her jacket was draped over her legs, as if it was a blanket,

"Beating us at arcade games tired you out this much, huh?" She smiled at your words,

"Maybe," She mumbled, leaning her head back against the seat and turning her head back to the window. You shifted back so you were sitting straight in your seat with a small smile, glancing at Eddie. He was already looking at you with an affectionate smile, but averted his gaze back to the road when you caught him staring.

The rest of the drive was quiet; the usual loud music turned down so you could only faintly hear it. It was peaceful: you humming along to the melodies; Eddie's fingers tapping along to the beat; the road stretching out into the darkness before you. All too quickly, he was pulling up in front of the Munson trailer at Forest Hills, and the sound of the three doors opening echoed into the quiet,

"You good going home by yourself, Max?" Eddie asked, walking around to stand next to you,

"Yeah- make sure you don't forget your jacket or your prize," You smiled, leaning your back against the van and glancing at Max as she walked in front of you,

"Right," She looked over them, before looking up at you, "Can you hold this? I want to put my jacket on," Eddie quickly moved forward, taking the plush from her as she thanked him. He looked over the Popple's face, handing it back to her,

"Cute," He commented, setting his hands in his jean pockets,

"Are you sure you don't want it?" She asked, holding the creature in her hands and looking it over with a small frown, "I mean, isn't this like a couple thing to do? Win prizes at arcades for each other?" She glanced between you,

"Mmh- but you can also get them for friends," Eddie said. You felt him tapping your shoulder, and when you looked at him, he was holding a lit cigarette out for you to take, "It's yours to keep, kid," He smiled in reassurance,

"Oh!" She looked over the stuffed animal again, blinking and with a look of bewilderment on her face, "Uhm... Thanks, Eddie," She nodded her head to him, then thanked you quietly, "Tonight was... Was good," She said,

"No problem- I'm glad you had a good evening," You said, taking hold of Eddie's hand once he locked the van, "Ready to go home now?" You asked, nodding towards the two trailers,

"Sure," She said quietly, still staring at the toy, transfixed. She followed after you silently. The night was pleasant, a soft breeze blowing through your hair and sending a chill across your skin. At your shivering, Eddie took the cigarette from your lips and held out his jacket,

"You'll be cold," You said with a frown,

"You'll be warm," He said with a smile, causing you to roll your eyes and take the jacket from him. It was warm from his body heat, and the smell of cheap cologne and weed filled your senses- the comforting smells of home, "See? You look better in my clothes anyway," He said, moving an arm around your shoulders with a smile,

"How cute, Eds," You said, taking the cigarette back from him and placing it between your lips to take a drag. You finally made it to your trailer, picking up the laundry basket you had left behind and quickly taking down the shirts, folding them as you stacked them in the basket. Glancing over you saw Eddie sitting on the top step of your trailers porch, quietly talking with Max as he smoked your cigarette,

"You got a name for the little guy?" He asked, nodding to the plushie in her hands, 

"A name?" She asked quietly, 

"You never named your stuffed animals as a kid?" He asked, raising his brows,  

"No..." She said, 

"Well, I think he deserves a name," He pointed to it, "How about... Frederik... Frederik the First," He smiled, "He strikes me as a... Thing with an 'F' name," He said, 

"Why the first?" She asked, 

"First one to get a name from you. And it rhymes," He explained, 

"It's alliteration..." She said quietly, 

"That's the one with the letters being the same?" He asked, taking a drag as she nodded, "'F' and 'F'. Huh... Well, if you don't like Frederik the First, give him a different one... Or her!" He smiled, moving his arms out. She regarded the toy for a moment, thinking,

"Francis the... Fast," She said, glancing up at him for approval, 

"Cause he's fast?" He smiled, 

"Well yeah... She kinda looks like a rabbit I had back home in California," She said, moving a hand to touch the soft fur on the Popple's face, "She wasn't called Francis, she was called Hoppy,"

"That's cute," Eddie said, nodding, "Predictable for a rabbit but what can you say?" He shrugged, "Did she like hopping?"

"Mhm," She hummed softly, smiling at the fond memory, "Yeah she... She was great... And then she ran away," She frowned softly, "My stepbrother... He forgot to close her cage... I cried for weeks hoping she would come back," She said with a small frown, "But she never did..."

"Well," He sighed, "Things like that happen," Eddie nodded, "I had a puppy that ran away," He sighed sadly,

"Really?"  She asked,

"Mhm. My dad got super drunk and left the door open. I was, like, eight?" He put a hand on his chest, "My first heartbreak," He said dramatically, leaning backwards on his arm, "Sometimes I still think I can hear Lucky barking for me to let him back in," He sniffled as you approached, setting the basket by your front door with a small laugh, 

"Eddie, you better not let anything that's whining under your window inside," You smiled, taking a seat next to him. Eddie moved an arm around your waist, drawing you closer to him, "Last time you freaked out over a possum," You reminded him, 

"I'm smart- I won't let a possum back inside, babe," He shifted his head to kiss your cheek reassuringly before his gaze travelled back to Max. She had gone quiet, still staring at the toy in her hands, "Are you sure you're okay, Max?" Eddie asked, the worry clear in his tone as he watched the girl standing before you. She glanced up, and from the faint light, you could see faint tear tracks were staining her face. She quickly whipped it dry, a look of anger crossing her face, before it quickly faded. She opted to look away from you both instead. You let the tense silence hang in the air, glancing at Eddie and meeting his concerned gaze as you both figure out what was best to say to her. Slowly, she moved to sit down on the bottom step,

"Metalica... The Four Horsemen... Billy liked those songs," She mumbled, more to herself. She drew the toy close to her chest, hugging it,

"Billy "The Asshole" Hargreeves listened to Metalica?" Eddie muttered in disbelief; you shoved his shoulder slightly at the comment, "What!? Is it so hard to believe that waste of space gave them the time of day?" Eddie said with a frown,

"Eds, he was her brother," You hissed, glancing at Max, "Sorry h-"

"No, it's fine. Billy was... An asshole," She sighed, rubbing her clothed arms with a small frown, "The music just reminded me of him... And the way that things used to be when he was still around," She said softly. You remained silent, letting her talk. Somewhere deep down, you felt she needed this- to talk to someone, "They weren't great... I mean, he drove me to the arcade, but he never went inside like you did. Sometimes he got out of the car to talk to a girl. He never went inside to play games with me..." You heard a small sniffle, "He never won me prizes, or let me keep them... We were never close, but I still cared for him... And maybe that was my fault,"

"Your fault?" Eddie asked softly. She shook her head,

"That... We weren't close," She sighed. Did she want to say something else? "He was my step brother. He barely tolerated me in California. He hated that we were related. I thought if we moved to Hawkins things would be okay... But then they weren't," You frowned softly, brows drawing together, confused,

"H-" Eddie started, but you quickly tapped his chest with your free hand, drawing his attention,

"Shh," You hissed quietly. In the dim, moonlight, you might have seen the twinkle of fresh tears rolling down her cheeks, had she not moved her head to look downwards and pick at the fraying material of her shorts,

"Today was one of the best days I've had in a while," She admitted, and though you couldn't see her face, you could tell she had a slight smile on her lips from how her tone shifted, "And all you guys did was play games and ate food with me," She said quietly,

"Well, sometimes that's all you need," Eddie smiled, leaning forward to ruffle her hair, "Eat food and play games with your friends. You let us know anytime when you want to go back down there and kick ass at Dig Dug again. Or Pacman," He glanced over at you,

"Mhm," You confirmed, "We're always here for you, Max," You said, reaching a hand over to place it on her shoulder, "Us... 'Trailer Trash' gotta stick together, right?" You gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back with a small nod, whipping her face again,

"Sure..." She stood slowly, looking at the plush in her hands, shaking slightly,

"You have a goodnight," Eddie wished,

"You guys too," She said, waving a hand. You watched as she walked the short distance to her own trailer, waving once again as she noticed you watching her, before unlocking the door and disappearing inside,

"I hope she's doing okay," You mumbled softly, letting out a sigh and rubbing a hand over your face, 

"She's okay for now," Eddie murmured beside you. You felt a gentle kiss being pressed to the side of your head, "We did what we could... Come on- it's getting cold, even for me now," He said, moving his hand to rub your arm. With a grimace, you stood and grabbed the laundry basket, while he stubbed his cigarette out,

"I just wish we could do more for her... Do you think it's too much if I bring over lunch tomorrow? Or breakfast?" You frowned, glancing over as he stood up, throwing the butt of his stubbed cigarette into the darkness,

"How about you just invite her if you run into her?" He suggested. Glancing up at him, you saw him offering a hand out for you to take, "We let her know today she has us if she needs us. And she has her mom to take care of her," Gently sliding your soft hand into his rougher one, you let him pull you towards your front door got your keys out,

"Yeah, but if she's anything like mine was..." You trailed off with a long sigh, "But you're right. At least we made sure today was a good day for her," You smiled softly to yourself as you entered your home. A soft sigh left your lips at the coolness inside- you'd have to bake Wayne cookies or something as a thank you present, "We can go to the arcade some other time again," You said, "Since she said she liked it,"

"We'll go whenever you want, babe," he said from behind you, entering after you and locking the door behind him, "Where's that camera of yours?" He asked, walking around,

"It's up on that shelf-" You pointed it out for him, "I brought it all the way back down to Hawkins with me. It should still have some film. You want a beer?" You asked as you headed for the kitchen, sliding the jacket off of your shoulders and setting it on the back of one of the dining chairs,

"Nah- not really," He said, approaching you with the camera and turning on the kitchen light,

"Oh?" You murmured surprised, turning and leaning your arms back against the kitchen counter, watching him curiously,

"Not thirsty," He said with a wink. There it was again. You grinned, moving so you were standing next to him, illuminated by the overhead kitchen light. He held the camera up, snapping a picture of the two of you together, smiling into the lens. As it instantly printed, he grabbed it, shaking it and setting it off to the side to develop "Kiss me on the cheek?"

"Why?" You asked with a smile

"For the picture," He smiled holding the camera up again as you placed a hand on his shoulder to get closer,

"Is one for me and one for you?" You asked in an amused tone, standing on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek,

"Mhm," He hummed, snapping another picture and shaking that one out too, "We'll have these ready by tomorrow," He said, setting the camera down next to them and looking at you,

"That's good. I'll look at them before work," You smiled,

"Work," He sighed, moving closer to you and setting a hand behind you on the counter to prop himself up as he leaned down to kiss your cheek, "Do you have to go?" He asked with a small pout,

"Unfortunately," You smiled at him, "You can always come and visit me though- you're my most valued customer, Eds. Even though you never buy anything," You said playfully, setting a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezing it,

"Right," He said with a frown, hanging his head so his hair bounced. You reached a hand up to gently play with the ends of his loose curls, "God... I..." He groaned softly, moving and beginning to pace slowly across your kitchen,

"What's up, Eds?" You asked, folding your arms and shifting to lean back against the counter, watching him,

"I don't know," He said, his hands moving to rub over his face and eyes, "I guess just... I've been thinking about... Things a lot," He said with a frown, "Mostly you being so far away from me in Franklin... I mean... We're the same age and I'm still in... Fucking high school..." He muttered to himself angrily,

"Hey, Eddie," You said softly, gently putting a hand on his wrist, "You know that's not-"

"But that's the thing- it is my fault," He said quickly, exasperated, "I mean, I'd love to graduate and leave with you, but I just fucking can't get through this year," He huffed, "The first time I failed it... I never cared about... Education or whatever and then... It was all so serious in Senior year... With graduation and with college," He sighed,

"Yeah, that... Was stressful," You frowned softly, remembering back to two years ago. How stressed you had been the whole time about passing all your classes, actually getting into Franklin college, and applying for financial aid. Since he failed, you graciously delayed your plans of leaving for a year- not fully ready to accept being so far from Eddie for such a long time, and not trusting yourself to survive that long without him... But when he flunked the next year too, you knew you couldn't wait for him any longer... You had to live your life and... Do something. And although your separation was heartbreaking, you vowed to come back the following summer. And here you were, and here he was in your kitchen... "But we got through it right, Munson?" You tried assuring him, "Here, come on, it's been a long day we can talk about this tomorrow," You said softly, moving through the kitchen to walk to your bedroom,

"I didn't want to graduate that first year," He suddenly admitted. You froze, glancing at him,

"What?" You asked in surprise,

"The first time. I guess I failed on purpose- missed O'Donnell's final because I knew there was no way in hell I'd pass it so I just... Didn't show up," He sighed, shoulders sagging. He crossed your room, sitting heavily in your desk chair, "I never told you because of how embarrassing it was, and you were already mad at me-"

"No, I was never mad-"

"You were pissed off, babe," He said quickly, pointing at you, "I could see it... Sence it... You fucking... You could have left me that first year- You should have-"

"Wait, Eddie, hold on, cause yesterday you were pissed that I left without you," You frowned,

"Yeah, and at myself that I didn't just go with you," He sighed, "All because I was afraid about moving on with my life... Seeing Wayne so disappointed I failed wasn't the same as seeing you," He frowned, sitting heavily in your desk chair, "You were walking around so sad everywhere... Because of me," He said, 

"No, Eds, it wasn't because of you," You said quickly,

"Don't bullshit me," He said in a sharper tone than intended, wincing himself, "Shit, sorry," He muttered. With a frown, you walked over to him, kneeling on the ground before him and reaching out a hand to place on top of his,

"Eddie," you said softly, "I know how hard school is for you. Even now. But I never looked down on you for failing. I never felt angry staying here. Annoyed maybe, but never angry at you," You said softly, squeezing his fingers and feeling the cool metal of his rings pressing against your skin, "I just... Wish you could leave with me already," You sighed, "See how much better the world is outside of Hawkins..."

"Yeah, and I'm trying," He said in an exasperated way, "You have to believe me I'm-"

"Good," You said quickly, cutting off anything else he might have wanted to say, "Because I miss you a lot," You moved his hand and pressed a kiss to the backs of his fingers gently, as he had done to your before, "And I can't wait to have you annoy me every day of my life again," You smiled softly, standing and moving to your nightstand so you could set your alarm clock to four am.

Eddie went quiet at your statement, seemingly moved by your tender gesture. He was leaned back in your swivelling chair, moving side to side slightly with his hands clasped together and a faraway look in his eyes. He was playing with his rings, having slid the metal pig's head a little further up his skin so it was loose, twisting it around his digit. His legs were spread apart widely; he had removed his shoes at your front door. There was a deep frown set on his face, corners of his plump lips downturned, and his brown eyes missing their usual Munson spark,

"Okay..." You sighed, sitting on your bed far enough so you could lean your head back against the wall and letting the heavy silence surround you momentarily. You glanced over at him, thinking for a moment, before smiling to yourself, "You... Remember when we were younger? And we'd make all these plans about our futures?"

"Yeah, but we... We were kids, man," He frowned, running a hand over his face, "Kids don't think about money and bills and... College and graduation," He rambled,

"Plans are plans, Eddie," You said softly, giving him a small smile, "Besides... It was always our future. Never my future, or your future. Ours. We always wanted to be together, no matter what came our way," You reminded him,

"And you still want that...?" He asked, the uncertainty clear in his voice. It always broke you how hard Eddie was on himself, how disbelieving he was that you wanted him to stick around. If only he knew just how much he meant to you,

"Are you kidding me?" You smiled at him, "Of course I do... Come here," You said, even moving a hand to pat your leg, the same as he had done to you earlier today. That made him smile, along with your reassurance. With a sigh, he stood up and walked over to you,

"You mean it?" He asked sheepishly, placing a knee on your bed before sitting down, half on, half off,

"Yes, Eddie," You said, reaching a hand out and grasping his tightly, "God, what I would give to just... Leave with you right now. Get you out of Hawkins for good," You smiled at him warmly, "Drive out somewhere, find a cute little place-"

"Why don't we?" He asked hopefully, "Like- like right now?" He offered, his smile returning to his lips as he looked at you eagerly. Truthfully, there was nothing you wanted to do more right now... Though realistically, it was near impossible,

"Well, I can't exactly have long-term guests staying in my dorm room..." You sighed,

"But you came back here to make money for next year, right?" He asked; you nodded your head, "So you can move out?" You nodded again,

"But the thing is with my rent here, I'll have t-"

"Move in here with me," He blurted out, and your hand relaxed in his, eyes blinking in disbelief,

"What...?" You whispered. It felt like every emotion flooded your brain and your veins at once, circling through your body and making your heart race and your stomach drop,

"Just- Wayne'll understand, he loves you!" He said excitedly, grabbing both of your hands in his, and shifting closer to you on the bed, "That way you won't be paying rent here; you'll be keeping all your money, staying with me, which is a great bonus, personally speaking," He rambled with a bright smile, making you let out a small, surprised laugh, "And you just gotta focus on work-"

"Eddie, you realise I would never-" He frowned at your words, "-stay free of charge right?" You finished quickly, his expression relaxing, "If your uncle even let me stay, I'd at least help him out with the rent and paying for utilities- I could also get a second job and-"

"But you're not... Saying no?" He asked, "If I talked to my uncle and he said yes, you'd move in with us?" He asked hopefully, eyes full of longing and hope. You smiled softly. His eagerness had caused him to shift closer so he was mere inches from your face,

"I'm not saying anything until you talk to your uncle about this," You said, a smile spreading across your lips, "I know how impulsive you can be, Eds. I don't want to finalise anything just yet," You stated, "But... I'm not going to decline or pass up on an offer like that," You barely even finished your sentence and he was already grinning wide and wrapping his arms around your middle. He laughed in delight, leaning on you so you were forced to lay back on your bed with him on top of you, nuzzling his face into your neck eagerly,

"You mean I'll get to wake up to you every morning for the rest of my life?" The proposition didn't sound too bad. You couldn't deny that the times Eddie had stayed overnight at your trailer had always left you feeling happier and significantly more well-rested. Though you were not a morning person, waking up to the sight of him in your kitchen, humming along to himself between drags of a cigarette in just his checkered pyjama pants while he made coffee was an image you had burned into your mind, and made you want to leave the warmth of your bed. The memories of waking up in the middle of the night, tangled in one another arms on the couch with the TV static glittering against your face, forcing you to press your face further into his neck and feeling his lips ghost over your forehead were your personal favourites. Going to sleepovers and leaving wearing his clothes because you purposefully forgot to bring something to sleep in, and were too drunk or stoned to walk across the park to your home, eventually forming a collection of black band shirts that you'd find yourself wearing when your heart ached for him in the middle of the night, crying against the cotton that so faintly clung to his smell... You wouldn't need them anymore... You'd wake up to him every day...

"Only if-" You started, though quickly stopped due to his groan of disagreement,

"Indulge me, babe," He muttered into your neck, lips ghosting over your skin causing you to shudder, sighing as his warm breath fanned against your flesh. Lifting a hand up to stroke through his hair, you smiled softly, shutting your eyes and letting your mind run, "What would our lives look like if we lived together?" He asked you,

"We'd wake up like this," You started, feeling his lips moving into a grin at your words, "You'd wake up first. You always do, Eds..." Your brow furrowed and you opened your eyes, "Wait... Does that mean every time I'd fall asleep on you-"

"I never wanted to wake you up," He mumbled. His voice was delightfully low next to your ear, "You always hated getting woken up by anyone... It's a good thing you're so cute. I'd be pissed off if anyone else used me as a personal pillow," You laughed softly at that,

"I... Wow..." You hummed. You couldn't even count the number of times you had unintentionally fallen asleep on him- on his couch, in the movie theatre, in the forest when you got too drunk or high... And he always...

"Mhm- it's wild how long it took you to realise I was in love with you," He sighed again, "Continue, please. I was enjoying myself," He said, "We wake up..." He started for you again,

"You worm your way out of my arms eventually," You smile softly, "You go to the kitchen to make us coffee. It takes me a while to realise you're not there... I get up-"

"Oh, be realistic, sweetheart," He chastises, causing you to laugh,

"I thought it was our fantasy?" You smiled,

"Yeah, but come on," He laughed, "Don't be unrealistic," He said playfully,

"Fine. I lay in bed until you bring me coffee... We get to drink it together... I'm probably wearing one of your shirts- the AC/DC one's my favourite-"

"Oh yeah, do you have it by the way?" He asked, "I've been looking for it everywhere,"

"Uh... Yeah," You admitted, embarrassed, "I took it with me... To remember you by," He smiled again, and he pressed another kiss to your skin,

"Damn, babe, am I really that forgettable?" He says playfully,

"Of course you're not, Eddie!" You say quickly, "I just... It gets lonely out there without you, you know?" You said with a small sigh,

"You can keep it," He grinned, "The shirt. It looks better on you anyway. Keep going," He murmured again,

"Right... So... We drink our coffee in bed... I'll probably tell you about some wild dream I had- or you will. And we'll laugh about that," You smiled, letting your eyes open slightly to watch your fingers as they gently separated the strands of messy curls, "And then... We'll smoke something?"

"It's your day off work?" He hums,

"Mhm. No work that day," You smile, "Maybe it's a weekend? We'll either go outside and enjoy how cold it still is, or just open the window and lay back in bed," You mutter as you watch your hands delicately working through his hair, avoiding pulling on the knots, "Maybe you have your guitar and you're playing something for me?" You smile, "I'm laying in bed... Or on your lap,"

"What song?" He whispers,

"I don't know," You match his quiet tone,

"Oh c'mon, babe," He says normally, kissing your neck again, "What song do you want me to play?"

"I can pick any song?" You smile,

"Anything in the entire world," He murmurs, "For you, I'd learn any song,"

"Romantic," You mumbled, humming, "Could you play me 'Rip Her to Shreds'?" You grinned,

"Blondie? Really?" He asked amused as he sat up to look at you, placing his chin on your chest,

"Hey! You said any song," You smirked, moving your hand to play with the hair framing his face, "Maybe you could throw in 'A Shark in Jets clothing'?" You asked,

"What is it with you and Debbie Harry?" He grinned,

"Have you seen- Have you heard Debbie Harry? She's amazing!" You grinned,

"Mhm," He hummed half-heartedly, before moving his head to the side so he could lay on your chest, "I'll play you the Shark one- I always liked that one better,"

"You listened to Blondie for me?" You smiled affectionately,

"You left the tape at mine," He said, "Though I can't say I'm tempted to steal your Debbie poster," He grinned, sitting up and looking across your room at it,

"I used to lay awake at night and just stare at her," You sighed playfully, eyes scanning over it, "She's just so beautiful," You breathed,

"I'm getting jealous over here, baby," He said playfully, causing you to laugh "Why didn't you take her to Franklin with you?" He asked curiously,

"I guess I just forgot..." You sighed, "And she looks better up here," You smiled to yourself, 

"Or... You secretly came back for her, and not me," He said playfully, 

"Bingo, Munson," You said playfully. You let your eyes fall shut tiredly as he moved off of you, laying next to you. His arms remained wrapped around you, but he pulled your body closer to his chest, "Today was a good day," You murmured, 

"It was?" He asked, 

"Mhm," You hummed, opening an eye to look at him, "Because of you," You gently touched the tip of your finger to his nose, grinning as he wrinkled his nose, 

"Cause of me?" He asked softly, 

"Mhm," He smiled at that, "You always make my days better, Eds..." You said softly, setting a hand on your cheek and leaning forward to gently kiss him, "I love that we can kiss now," You grinned, quickly kissing him again, 

"Mhm," He hummed against your lips, "You have no clue how long I've wanted to do that," He sighed, leaning his head back on your pillows and shutting his eyes, 

"How long, Eds?" You smiled, 

"Mmmh," He hummed, opening his eyes and looking up, thinking, "So... You remember in junior year-"

"Here we go," You rolled your eyes, 

"Let me speak, babe," He smiled, 

"Oh, sorry, do go on," You smiled, reaching out and beginning to play with his hair again, 

"Mh... In junior year, we skipped Phys Ed together to smoke behind the gym. It was your first time, and you started coughing like crazy," He smiled, 

"Ugh- I still remember how bad it burned my throat," You commented, 

"Uhuh- and look how far you've come," He grinned, "Anyways- we both went back inside to change. You got dressed first, as usual. Some Seniors had apparently seen me stealing their cigarettes and decided to beat the shit out of me for it," You winced softly at the memory. It was outside- he was already changed into his Hellfire shirt and ripped black jeans, but by the time you got there, the white fabric was speckled with his blood,

"Shit, I remember," You frowned, the images of him being punched, then thrown to the ground, body curled and arms raised to try and protect his face as he got kicked flashing through your head, 

"Yeah..." He muttered, absentmindedly reaching a hand up to touch a small, faint white scar stretching from the bottom of his lip down to his chin, left as a reminder of the incident, "Thought they'd kill me until you came and saved me," He glanced over at you. He poked at your downturned lips with his finger gently, but you quickly grabbed his hand, interlocking your fingers,

"I don't like that memory," You frowned at him. His face bloomed into a soft smile, and he moved your hand to press a delicate kiss to your fingers, 

"Well I do," He said softly, "Because when they saw you, they ran. And then... God, they probably kicked me in the head too hard because I thought you were my guardian angel," He closed his eyes, setting your joint hands on his chest, "You were so worried for me," He smiled, teasingly, 

"Because I thought they were going to kill you," You said sternly, watching him unamused. He kissed your hand again, just to watch your expression soften slightly at the gesture, 

"You picked me up off the floor and skipped sixth period just to take care of me," He said softly, glancing up again in remembrance, "You had this look on your face... Your eyes were shining so much, I thought you were going to cry for me. You babied me a lot- you said I could have a concussion and I should go to the nurse," He smiled, 

"That's not a happy memory, Eddie," You said softly, moving your face closer to him, 

"No... It's not," He agreed softly, "But do you know why I realised I was in love with you then?" He asked softly, 

"...No," You admitted softly, 

"Would you like to?" He asked with a smile, the curve of his lips widening as you nodded, "I realised that someone, someone in all of Hawkins, cared about me," He said with a gentle sigh, 

"You have Wayne-" You tried to say quickly,

"I know," He said quickly, "But family caring about you is different to friends- or lovers," He spoke softly. He let go of your hand, and moved it to slide against your cheek, "See, you could have left me there. Pretended you never saw, pretended to be confused or worried about my black eye and split lip next period... But you went out of your way to make sure I was okay- I think I remember you mumbling something about covering my hospital bill if I actually had a concussion," He smirked as you looked away with a blush, 

"Of course, I care about you, Eddie," You said softly, frowning, 

"Yeah... I know now... And I realised then that you really did that day," He said softly, "And I also realised," He said softly, sliding his hand down to your chin and tilting your head with his fingers so your eyes locked, "That I was in love with you," He murmured before his lips touched yours, sealing his words.

The kiss was slow, and gentle, years of yearning and affection pouring into one another. It was beautiful, not sad or interrupted like the first one you shared yesterday, and you could feel warmth flowing from your chest across your whole body. It really felt like you would be floating away, if he wasn't holding you down, pressing you closer against him, one hand running up and down your arm whilst his other kept a gentle hold on your face. Your own hands roamed from his neck down to his chest, feeling his heart beating against your gentle fingertips. You smirked against his lips as you traced a heart with your fingers, sighing as you felt him pressing his tongue against your lips in a silent ask for permission. 

Though you didn't go further tonight, you went to sleep knowing you were with someone you loved and trusted completely, and that he'd still be there by the time you regained consciousness made you feel safe, above all else. And knowing he wanted some sort of future where you were there for him, and he'd be there for you made you feel elated. You knew it was rare to find someone you could happily call your 'soulmate' in this world- but Eddie was your person. Your soulmate. Yours...

[keijislove]

Hi babe! I was wondering if I could request a Tony Stark x daughter reader? With lots of angst and her being locked in her room because she’s being bullied for her darker skin

(I understand if you’re not comfortable with this)

Safe Place: Tony Stark X Daughter!Reader

I think this turned out a bit longer than I expected.

Sorry :(

I hope you like this, I don’t really have a lot of experience with this matter, so I hope I captured the emotions right!

I AM APOLOGISING IN ADVANCE, THE HURTFUL COMMENTS MENTIONED HERE ARE NOT ONES I WOULD EVER USE IN MY LIFETIME.

GIRL, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY YOU ARE – YOU DON’T NEED DIMWITS LIKE RACISTS TO DEFINE BEAUTY. YOU WANT THE DEFINITION OF BEAUTY, GO LOOK IN THE MIRROR.

PUT A STOP TO RACISM.

WARNINGS: Slight EXTREMELY racial comments, mentions of death, toxic relationship, angst, Tony being a little... well, Tony.

Being Tony Stark’s daughter was nearly everyone’s dream. Well, everyone you’d come across at school, anyway. It seemed rational from their point of view – big house, big bedroom, expensive branded clothing, basically an overall exquisite lifestyle coupled with fame of being his daughter which was sure to earn popularity points anywhere and everywhere. A man rolling in that amount of money would make a great dad... right?

You thought differently. Which was one of the main reasons you did not tell anyone who your father really was and your teachers understood your predicament and played along to your story of being an ordinary girl with no scope for coolness whatsoever.

Your mother had met your father a long, long time ago – when Tony was still in university. Of course, he’d left her before he even knew she was pregnant, and they never saw each other again. You didn’t exactly love your life as his daughter. In fact, from what your mother had told you, he was (in your vision) a complete monster whom your mother had the sad misfortune to meet.

It was her untimely death that had forced you to go live with the man who was the reason you were born and the man who ruthlessly left your mother to fend for herself and a baby. You had tried for foster care, but the agents told you that your father was still alive and more than capable of taking care of you – being the famous Tony Stark and all.

So it would suffice to say that Tony was lowkey shocked when you turned up at his doorstep one day with a grudging expression and declarations of being his daughter. He actually didn’t believe you at first and asked you to piss off which confirmed your earlier assumptions about his character – asshole. After you’d snapped at him and showed him all the legal documentations stating that you two were blood-related as father-daughter after all, Tony was even more shocked than earlier.

Though he would rather die than admit it, he felt sad after seeing your fourteen-year-old self standing at his doorstep. He’d missed your birth, your first steps, your first words, he even missed helping you with homework in preschool – basically all precious moments you enjoy with a child. But you made it pretty clear that you didn’t want to be here – something that made Tony’s already overlarge pride swell like a bullfrog and stopped him from ever getting close to you. While you were busy thinking he didn’t want you, you overlooked a small detail – he took you in.

If anyone had the power to bribe an adoption agency to get rid of their kid, it was Anthony Stark, yet he never gave you away. The simple explanation (that he would never, in a million years, admit it to you) was that he didn’t want to lose you – around the only blood-related family he had left.

And so began your life as Y/N Stark. It functioned surprisingly well for your expectations. Pepper was really nice to you and those few occasions when the Avengers came over, you were able to talk to Natasha about ‘girl things’, her presence reminding you of the mother you had lost only too young. You sometimes even asked Bruce for help with homework, too proud yourself to go to Tony. Overall, you stayed out of his way while he stayed out of yours – an arrangement you were both satisfied with.

The worst part was that you never talked. Ever. You would wake up and walk to school, refusing Jarvis’ continued protests of letting you use the self-driving car, came home the same way where you did your homework and grabbed a snack before you ‘father’ came back upstairs from his little man cave in the basement and a small ‘good-evening’ passed between you two as you went your separate ways. This cycle repeated itself every day. Recently, your life at school hadn’t been going great.

You’d known that your skin tone was a notch darker than the others at your school – something you had gotten from your mother – and this was not something you really cared about. That’s when they started coming – the comments. What were originally small, snide retorts of ‘wash your face, ew!’ (A/N: I AM SO SORRY) had now escalated to them calling you obscene names you’d never heard before and asking you to leave ‘their’ school

Which was why, instead of being at school today, you were locked in your bedroom, sobbing into your pillow.

It had started out as a very unusual morning. After getting comments hurled at you left right and centre the previous day, you’d had enough. You’d woken up and declared to Jarvis that you were skipping school and he was to, under no circumstances, notify your father about this. After that you tried to eat some cereal, but the bubbling dread in your stomach made it taste like dry carpet, so you gave up and stomped into your room, locking the door before flinging yourself onto the bed and crying your heart out.

It was in times like these that you felt the need for something – a gaping hole in your chest. It seemed foolish to even admit it to yourself, but you really wanted someone like a parent. Someone who listened to your problems and comforted you accordingly, someone who actually cared about you. And since Tony Stark filled neither of these requirements, you gave up the foolish dream and sunk, once again, into your self-fashioned depths of misery.

-------

Tony casually sipped on his wine, putting one last screw into place to make the latest piece he was testing out. As he powered the device on, it vibrated for a moment before the words ‘model failed’ appeared on the screen Tony was examining.

He swore loudly and shoved it ungracefully aside before running his hands through his hair. There had been many an occasion where Tony seriously considered going to your room to just say something to you that wasn’t a monotonous ‘good evening’ or ‘the milk’s finished’ or something else like that. He wanted to talk to you. To you.

He wanted to get to know the real Y/N – what you were like when you weren’t too busy being bold and refusing to appear vulnerable. As if reading his thoughts, Jarvis’ voice filled the room suddenly.

“Sir, I do believe that Ms Stark is currently locked inside her bedroom. She refused to go to school just this morning.”

“What?” Tony exclaimed, “Why, did she tell you anything else?”

“Just this, Sir, along with a few obscene warnings of not informing you about this occurrence. If I recall correctly, Ms Stark told me she would rip out my sockets with her bare hands had I come to you.”

Ignoring the small smirk that was growing on his lips at the thought of you behaving exactly as he would, Tony wiped his tired hands on a nearby cloth before sprinting out the door and up the stairs to your bedroom.

He knocked on the door.

“Go away Pepper, not in the mood,” came your muffled voice. It was weak and raw – evidently, you had been crying.

Ignoring the poking feeling of dread bubbling in his stomach, Tony knocked again.

“Open up, kid, it’s me,” he shouted.

“Definitely not in the mood, thanks.”

Tony sighed. This was exactly what he had tried so hard to avoid –turning out like his own father. Not knowing how to deal with a daughter properly, he just let you go about your business as you wanted, hoping that it would yield better results than what his childhood had been like. Now, looking back at how much he’d neglected you, he suddenly realised that he had done the exact thing he was afraid of – hurt you.

“Y/N Y/M/N Stark, open the door. Please.”

Perhaps it was the please at the end or the way he acknowledged you as his living, breathing daughter for the first time that made you stagger limply over to the door and push it open.

Your eyes were puffy, red and swollen from bawling nonstop and your brows were knitted into a disapproving frown. It broke Tony’s heart to see you like this.

“Listening,” you sniffed, crossing your arms.

“Okay, why don’t you sit down,” Tony frowned slightly.

You gave another hearty sniff and led him to your bed where you flopped down and watched as he took a seat beside you.

You both sat in a very painful, deafening silence for the next few minutes.

“You didn’t go to school today,” Tony casually remarked as you played with your pillow, refusing to meet his eyes.

“I did,” you said simply.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Tony offered.

“I really don’t,” you admitted as he burst out laughing and you gave a grudging giggle despite yourself.

“Seriously, kid,” Tony said in an undertone, “You’ve gotta open up a bit more. I mean, it’s been like what, two years since you moved here and you never bother telling me what’s going on. And look where that got you – come on, tell me what’s going on. Is it school?”

“Partially,” you quietly said to which he cocked an eyebrow.

“Completely,” you amended, sighing, “Kids, you know, they’re just being – well, mean.”

“Okay,” Tony nodded slightly, “You want to talk about it?”

“They... they make fun of me,” you admitted, “About – about my skin colour and stuff. And I know I’m being stupid, getting upset over this –”

“It’s not stupid,” Tony broke in, “It’s not stupid at all. Nothing gives anyone a right to talk to you that way.”

“Try telling that to them!” you burst out, final letting go of the pent-up emotions you’d been holding for days, “What did I ever do to them – it’s not my fault I look like this, maybe if I could choose what to look like, I’d choose something they want! Just about everyone seems to have a problem – what the hell do they expect me to do? It’s unjust, unfair, unsettling and unkind, but of course they don’t care, do they?!”

Tony didn’t even flinch throughout your entire outburst until you broke down and tears began rapidly pouring out of your eyes once more.

“Hey, hey, stop, listen to me,” Tony sternly said, seizing your shoulders and turning you to face him.

“You’re a Stark,” he said, gazing you dead in the eyes, “You are beautiful, you’re smart and you’re kind. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

This was too much for you to handle and you started sobbing again – sobs of partial happiness and partial guilt that didn’t look like they would stop anytime soon.

“Come here, kid,” was all Tony could say as he pulled you into a hug, allowing you to sob into his shirt while he stroked your hair, trying to calm you down.

“I’m sorry if I’ve ever been mean to you,” you whispered finally.

“It’s okay, kid,” Tony murmured, pressing a kiss to your forehead, “I’m sorry I haven’t been a great father all this time.”

You two sat in a now comfortable silence, occasionally clearing your throats or sniffling a bit before Tony finally spoke.

“If anyone says that to you again, I will have them cut up and fed to the fish in my house in Malibu.”

“Thanks, dad.”

[anabsolutetrainwreck]

tongue-tied like we’ve never known || h. styles

warnings: dad!harry, swearing, not really proofread

word count: 2.3k

summary: two single parents try to start their lives again...

Mornings were always the worst for you. Trying to pry Tommy out of bed, and even yourself for that matter, was always an incredibly stressful task. But you’d learned to live with it and quickly come to accept it. After all, he was only young now. He’d be old soon enough and you knew you’d miss these youthful years. 

You stood by the school gates, waiting for little Tommy to come bounding out of school to tell you all about his latest adventure. You always looked forward to hearing how his day went. As small children scrambled out of the doors after their teachers and straight into the arms of their parents, your eyes fell onto Tommy. He was with a boy you didn’t recognise. “Look, look! Meet my new friend,” Tommy grinned as he stood before you excitedly. “This is my mum.”

“Hello,” the little boy, dark-haired with perhaps the most striking green eyes, smiled. “I’m Oscar.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Oscar,” you smiled. “Are you new?”

The boy nodded, his cheeks flushed slightly. You couldn’t help but smile at the fact that Tommy had made a new friend. He’d been kind to the new kid and offered him a form of friendship. 

You were tugged away from your thoughts as you heard a voice behind you. You quickly turned to see a man, a little taller than yourself. You figured this was Oscar’s father from the dark hair to the green eyes. “There you are,” he smiled warmly and it seemed to make your heart flutter, as if he was smiling at you.

“Daddy, this is my new friend, Tommy,” Oscar grinned excitedly. 

For the first time, the man shifted his gaze from the two young boys to you. Your stomach lurched as you made eye contact with him. “You must be Tommy’s mum,” he said, extending his hand for you to shake. “I’m Harry.”

“Y/N,” you smiled, shaking it gently. You hadn’t felt like this since you first met Tommy’s dad. It was all of eight years ago now on a night out with your university friends, most of whom you didn’t even speak to nowadays. He had been kind then and polite and the sort of man you’d always envisioned yourself marrying. So, you ended up getting together and everything seemed great for the first year and a half. But then things began to decline and you both seemed to lose trust in one another and you felt as if you were putting all of your energy into this relationship. It was killing you. But then you fell pregnant with his baby and he broke up with you anyway. You went back home to live with your own parents for a while before you eventually found a proper job and moved into your own house. 

Anyway, you found yourself walking down the street, Tommy and Oscar running ahead slightly, with Harry. You had Tommy’s light bag clasped between your hands, listening to Harry tell you about Oscar. “And yeah,” he concluded, “we moved down here a couple of weeks ago, just the two of us.”

“What about Oscar’s mother?” you couldn’t help but find yourself prying. 

Harry seemed to tense slightly, before shrugging, “She was never really around much. Her parents thought she should have gotten an abortion but she didn’t want one and had the baby anyway. So, they kicked her out and she left Oscar with me and moved to Dublin with her friends.”

“That’s shitty,” you sighed. “At least you have Oscar, though, right?”

He nodded, smiling, “Exactly. What about Tommy’s dad then?”

“He was a dick. He broke up with me a couple of months after I told him I was pregnant,” you replied. 

“Yeah,” Harry chuckled, “sounds like a dick. Does he see Tommy then?”

You shook your head, your eyes caught between Harry’s and your son's lively figure running up and down the path ahead of you with Oscar. “No. He’s tried to reach out a couple of times but I haven’t let him see him. I just feel like introducing him to his dad six years later could just, you know, fuck it up. Besides, if he didn’t want to be with me through all the shitty, difficult stuff, then I don’t think he’s allowed to enjoy all the joys of being a parent.”

“Well,” he smiled, “good on you.”

And that was how you met Harry Styles. Over the weeks that followed, you would walk Oscar and Tommy to and from school with him. Tommy would spend time round at Harry’s and Oscar would spend time round at yours. And it felt like every time you saw Harry, you felt simultaneously more comfortable around him but more and more nervous. 

But you hadn’t dated anybody since Tommy was born. Having a young child seemed to be a deterrent for a lot of people. Or maybe had more to do with the fact that you didn’t have time for a relationship between work and raising Tommy. Sure, you’d been on plenty of dates and it wasn’t as if you weren’t ready to get back into the world of dating and relationships. If not for yourself, for Tommy. You wanted him to have some kind of parental figure that wasn’t you. 

You found it difficult to focus on the book you were reading when all you could hear was the two boys laughing loudly upstairs. Oscar was round for dinner and Harry was due to pick him up any minute. And as a knock at the front door finally snapped you into a new state of consciousness, you got up to answer it. Harry stood happily on the other side, his eyes lighting up at the sight of you. “Evening, Y/N,” he smiled. 

“Evening, Harry,” you mocked. “Do come in.”

You opened the door wider, allowing the man to step into your home. You called down Oscar and Tommy, only to be met with groans. They appeared at the top of the stairs, their faces twisted into bitter scowls. “Why?” Tommy sighed. “Can he stay for a bit longer?”

You exchanged a glance with Harry, who shrugged. “Fifteen minutes,” you sighed. Really, all you wanted was to go to bed. They grinned and dashed back into Tommy’s small bedroom. You guided Harry into the kitchen, letting him sit himself down at the table. “Do you want a drink?” you asked.

“I’m okay, thanks,” he smiled.

You grinned, pouring yourself a glass of orange juice, “Suit yourself. So, how was your day?”

“Stressful,” he sighed. “Thanks for looking after Oscar.”

“Anytime,” you shrugged. “He’s delightful. Besides, you’ve looked after Tommy so many times, I kind of owed you.”

“Nonsense,” he laughed. “We’re not exchanging favours. We’re just… helping out a friend.”

You couldn’t help but let yourself deflate at ‘friend’. You had known all along that you were just two, young single parents that only knew each other through their six-year-old sons. But a tiny fragment of you hoped what was happening meant something more to Harry, like it did to you. There were instances of harmless flirting and subtle glances. “Right,” you nodded, forcing a soft smile. “Well, thanks for helping out a friend.”

His fingers drummed mindlessly on the table and your eyes wandered from their tips to the tattoos that peeked out of the cuff of his jacket. “Got any plans for tomorrow?” Harry asked and you almost cringed at the small talk. 

But alas, you shrugged, “Not really. I have some work to catch up on, so an action packed day for me tomorrow. What about you?”

He shook his head, “I wish I had plans. Could go out for drinks or something, but I can’t because I have a needy six-year-old.”

“Treasure it while it’s still here,” you said. 

“Believe me,” he grinned, “I am. God, I’m so scared for the day he just… stops needing me. You know, the day he just sort of realises that he no longer needs me to wash his clothes or walk him into town or buy him things. And it took me ages to get used to putting somebody before myself, I don’t think I could imagine living without him now. Like, one day he’ll go off to uni and get a job and only come home every other birthday or Christmas.”

You smiled gently. You were sure he’d never been so vulnerable with you before. “It’s weird to think that’s what we’re doing with our parents now. We fear the day our kids stop needing us, but our parents are living that day.”

He hummed in thought for a moment, “I should probably go see my mum soon. I haven’t seen her in months. And my sister.”

“You have a sister?”

He nodded, “Yeah. Gemma is her name. She’d love you.”

“I’m sure I’d love her if she’s anything like you,” you said. 

You took a final gulp of your orange juice, your eyes beginning to feel heavy. You looked at the clock on the wall, noticing twenty minutes had passed since Harry arrived. “Right,” you smiled. “I’ll go get Oscar.”

And as you walked towards the kitchen door, Harry quickly said, “Wait!”

You turned back to look at him, your heart pounding heavily. All kinds of questions and hypotheticals raced through your mind as he paused for a moment. “Do you think you’ll ever meet somebody else, Y/N?” he asked. 

“Meet somebody else?” you repeated, though you were sure you knew exactly what he meant. 

“Yeah, you know… like somebody to replace Tommy’s dad. Somebody for you to settle down with and raise Tommy together. Do you think you’ll ever meet them?” he asked. 

You were utterly confused as to what had prompted him to ask such a question. But you’d be lying if you said you couldn’t hear your heart in your temples or taste your blood in your mouth. “Maybe,” you shrugged. “Do you?”

“I hope so,” he said. “I’d like Oscar to have a mum.”

“Yeah,” you nodded, “I think that would be great for him. I’ll go get him.”

That night as you lay alone in your bed, you couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to share your bed with Harry. To feel his body beside yours on cold nights. To be woken up by his lips peppering your face in light kisses in the morning. To discuss all the trivial things when neither of you can sleep at night. Maybe he was trying to tell you something that evening…

Oscar had become ill over that following weekend. Nothing too serious, but something that warranted a day or two off school. So, after you picked Tommy up from school, you drove to Harry’s to check if they were both okay. Tommy sat at the end of Oscar’s bed, recounting everything the young boy had missed at school, while you busied yourself in Harry’s kitchen. You were heating up some of the soup you had made for the poor boy. “You’re really too kind. You didn’t have to do this,” Harry told you as he made you a cup of coffee. 

You shrugged, “Well, Oscar’s like my second son at this point.”

He smiled, albeit his cheeks a little red, “I’m glad you think that. I’m pretty sure he thinks of you as a mum at this point too.”

Now it was your turn to turn red. Your face heated up at Harry’s passing comment. Did he really think of you as a mum? “That’s sweet,” you said. “About what you said the other night… about meeting somebody, my friend says she knows a guy she thinks I’d get along with. So, I think I’m really going to try dating.”

He stiffened slightly, “Oh yeah? That’s great, Y/N.”

He hugged you and you couldn’t help but feel so safe in his arms. The hug was perhaps a second or three too long, but neither of you pulled away. And, as your bodies were pressed together, it was almost as if you shared a brief but looming epiphany together. “But,” you began again, “why try dating a stranger when I already know somebody?”

“That’s a good point,” he whispered softly, finally pulling away to make eye contact. He explored your face and you felt his warm breath on your cheeks. 

“I mean, this guy that I know, he’s sweet. Really sweet. He’s super funny and caring and so, so generous. And he has a kid himself, so he won’t be put off by the single parent thing.”

He understood what you were trying to tell him, “Sounds like an angel. Who is this fine man of whom you speak?”

You grinned, “I don’t know if I should say. He has tattoos and green eyes.”

“So he’s incredibly handsome as well as being an angel?”

“I suppose you could say that,” you chuckled. And, as if the sky were falling down, Harry wasted no time in pressing his lips to your own. He kissed you and you kissed him back. All of your prior dating worries just seemed to slip away as you buried your fingers in Harry’s soft hair. It was only when you heard a quiet ‘mum?’ from the doorway did you jolt apart. Tommy stood in the threshold of the kitchen and suddenly the microwave went off, notifying you that Oscar’s soup was ready. You and Harry turned back to each other, finally registering Tommy’s presence, “Shit.”

[peralta-guaranteed]

Jake and Amy single parents AU.

Pretty please! :))

oh! Oh, I strangely love this one!

- Amy is a police-widow with little Mac (no, Teddy was not the father, it was a non-canon detective), while Jake is at the better end of a really messy divorce from Sofia, who very quickly handed over all alimony of Maya to him to focus on her career.

-Amy tries her best to juggle the newly single parent life with her full-time position running a bookshop, while Jake is not too happy about having to bring Maya in to the precinct all the time, but it can’t be helped (and Scully makes a surprisingly good babysitter). The squad’s had his back through the entire break-up, and they all love his little girl to bits, so at least she won’t be missing the family aspect in her life - and will always have an amazing female role model in her Auntie Rosa, who’s already planning to teach her Spanish just so she can trashtalk her dad with her without Jake knowing

- Mac + Maya meet at daycare and absolutely hit it off, despite the age difference of two years. Mac has apparently seen another curly headed toddler and immediately decided to brother the sh*t out of her. He takes her along to all his games and helps her pick colours for her pictures and shares his apple slices with her in exchange for a bit of sandwich (which is much nicer anyway).

- the daycare workers absolutely adore the little duo, and can’t help remarking how much they look like siblings anyway. So of course Jake has to meet the mom of the adorable little boy who always bring his daughter over to him for pickup by holding her hand.

- he’s a bit afraid of having to deal with the usual “Aw they’re little boyfriend and girlfriend” comments he’s expecting, but obviously Amy is having none of that. Instead, she tells him how glad she is that Mac has found a little friend to protect. “He’s always trying to protect everyone so much, ever since his dad... well...”

- (Jake knew, distantly, that she was the widow of one of his colleagues from another precinct, but apart from the usual condolences they’d all sent it had never really registered in his mind that there was a wife and a child left behind.)

- “Oh well Maya is so happy too. She’s a bit shy and scared at the moment, so having a big friend help her get out of her shell is great. Your little boy is a sweetheart, too.”

- Amy smiles at him, and he’s pretty sure his heart should not be doing what it’s doing, so he beats it down and tries his best to ignore it. Which is hard, because she smiles at him a lot in the coming months when they meet up for playdates, Mac over excited to show Maya all his favourite spots at the park or the coolest fish at the aquarium.

- Jake moans during one of their meet-ups about a case that has been dragging on forever and is going to need an allnighter to finally be solved, and his partner Boyle is really trying his best alone, but he’s the primary on it and- it feels great to talk about it with someone who understands, outside of his squad, even if Amy sometimes nods with the saddest look on her face when he mentions parts of his job. But she offers him last minute babysitting if he ever needs it, considering her job finishes promptly at 5pm each day, and he can’t help but take her offer when another case hits that needs him on a stake out at 10pm.

- so Maya gets a lovely sleepover with Mac, and Amy gets the biggest box of her favourite pralines as a thank you, because Jake has never, not once, given Maya to a babysitter to go to his job without feeling remorse and guilt, not even his own mom, but he had to deal with none of that when Maya gladly ran up the stairs to Amy’s place where Mac was already shouting her name.

- needless to say that Amy and Jake become the great friends they always are over time. He brings coffee and muffins to their park playdates, and she brings over frozen meals from Mac’s abuela for kid movie marathons at Jake’s place. They know each other’s schedules to help out with the kids, Jake has convinced everyone in his friend group and workplace to only buy books at her store from now on, and Amy is already planning the christmas gift she needs to pack for Maya and her daddy.

- it would be a nice, supportive friendship of equals, and a good help in their single parent life, if it wasn’t for the fact that Jake realised about three playdates in that he was falling for Amy faster than a shooting star. It took her a little longer, but realisation hit when she was packing Mac’s lunchbox, her own lunchbox, and Maya’s lunchbox too after a sleepover, and subconsciously already wanted to bag up a fourth set of sandwiches with some gummy bears and a soda thrown in for good measure.

- Rosa tells him to ‘grow a pair and ask her out, she sounds perfect for both you and Maya’ when Jake confides in her. And that is rare praise coming from Diaz, because no one is good enough for Maya in her eyes, sometimes not even Jake himself. But he can’t take advantage of Amy’s friendship like that, not when it risks losing both her and Mac for Maya... and there is always the underlying fear that Maya will bond with a new woman in her life and be left behind yet again if they don’t work out, just like with her mom, whose biggest contribution to her life since the divorce has been the alimony payments each month.

- Kylie, meanwhile, warns Amy not to risk too much when she confides in her. She sadly remembers the many days she had to spend at her friend-coworker’s side after the funeral, cleaning out half of a closet and half of a shared home, basically. She’d been hoping that Amy would find love again, maybe in a few years time, but when she heard the news about her ‘great new friend’ being a detective himself, her heart dropped because she knew what that might be heading towards, and Amy very much shares her fears. She’d vowed to an absolute ‘no cops’ rule for her planned restart of dating in two years, perfectly scheduled with Mac’s start of school.

- as it is, both of them dance around their emotions in a perfectly synchronised waltz while still getting closer and closer as friends and parents, to the point that the daycare workers don’t even bat an eye anymore when Amy brings both Mac and Maya in, or when Jake picks both of them up into his arms with an excited ‘ready for ice cream and games?!’ before they meet up with Amy for a Coney Island afternoon.

- until one day, when the daycare offers a ‘star gazing sleep over’ event after the story of the stars and night sky was the theme of the week, and it falls right on the day Amy and Jake were planning to take the kids to a movie. “We could still go.” Jake mumbles while Maya runs into the daycare center, not shy at all anymore, and Mac follows her. “You want to go see Paddington’s Big Adventure... without the kids?” Amy jokes, but he looks so serious. “No, of course not, but I mean - we - uh - we both got the evening off now, don’t we? I told my captain I won’t be in no matter what. Seems like a waste of time just going home. We could see that period drama you talked about, that will definitely get an Oscar?”

- Amy hesitates only for a second, but they do go. They watch the drama that Jake has to admit is pretty damn good for a movie where nothing explodes or is set on fire, and that praise does not only come from the fact that Amy grabbed his hand with a gasp during a particularly emotional scene, and then kind of forgot to let go afterwards.

- but then the movie ends and Jake still doesn’t want to go home. Neither does Amy, apparently, because she offers up an ‘amazing 24h diner’ around the corner for some late night snacks, during which they laugh and flick chocolate chips at each other and end up blushing like mad when the waitress comments on what a ‘cute couple’ they are.

- he walks her to her front door, and they both kinda don’t know what to do as they say goodbye, because this kind of date night should usually end on a kiss, but it wasn’t really a date, was it, they would’ve taken the kids along if it hadn’t been for the day care event, and-

- “Ames, I’m - this is terrifying, but I think I’ll hate myself even more for not ever saying anything - and, and, I kind of, maybe, I think you might also-” She takes his hand again, a lot softer than she did in the cinema. “I think this is the kind of talk that needs a coffee and a good couch.”

- That’s how they end up at her place that Jake already knows so well from bringing Maya over, from the perfectly styled bookcases down to the absolute mess of a playroom that is Mac’s kingdom. They both grip their coffee cups tightly as they talk it all out, about what they’re afraid of, what they would risk if they gave ‘them’ a try.

- “I wouldn’t ever want to put Mac through losing another cop-dad even if it wasn’t from work, and I won’t let Maya lose another mom.” “Me neither. And I promised Mac I’d never forget his papa, but... I can clearly see him love his new daddy, too. He already looks up to you so much. He wants a flannel shirt for christmas.” “Maya introduced you as Mama Amy to one of my aunties. Which was quite a thing to explain.” Amy laughs, and then smiles at him, and his heart does that thing again, like it has been doing for months now, but this time he doesn’t beat it down. This time he lets it lead him to lean in for the most careful kiss, a kiss that Amy gladly returns, just as carefully.

- they agree to take things slow, be mindful, not drop it on the kids immediately or rush into things from the pressure of friends or family.

- and then three months later Amy finds the perfect apartment for the four of them, and Jake aks Gina and Rosa for ring preferences and proposal tips, and ‘slow and mindful’ has flown out the window the second Maya brought home a picture she did with Mac at daycare showing their little ‘family’ before Amy or Jake had even talked to them about their possible dating.

- Maya grows up with her Mama teaching her Spanish along with Auntie Rosa, and an abuela and abuelo who love to spoil her with Cuban sweets just as much as her big brother. Mac gets to ride along in his Daddy’s police car sometimes, and hears stories about his brave Papa from his colleagues. His auntie Gina is so proud of him for taking care of his little sister the way she took care of her little brother too. And Jake gets to see Amy smile all the time now, and knows it’s him and their kids that is making her smile so much.

[heroes-of-olympus-next-gen]

You all over me

Just some mother-daughter time between Annabeth and Zoe.

“I think it’s time for us to break up.”

Those words haunted Zoe. For 3 months she had the best girlfriend in the world. Until she decided to break up with her. Her explanation? Their relationship was just a teen romance, that went over after a couple of months. Zoe decided not to disagree or shout at her. There was no point. They had something nice, and it ended. It happens even to the best.

It was a quiet Friday afternoon. Percy and Annabeth were still at work, Charlie had football practice, and she wasn’t sure where Lana and Theo were. She was sitting on her bed, watching Netflix from her laptop. The bedroom door opened. Annabeth stepped inside with a pint of ice cream in hand. “I am sorry that you broke up. I thought ice cream could help.”

Zoe closed her laptop. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work right now?”

“I thought that it would be a nice idea to take the afternoon off.” Annabeth handed her the ice cream.

“I hope you didn’t do it for me.”

“No, of course not.” She definitely took the afternoon off for her daughter. But Zoe was like her, she would never ask for help. Especially over something romantic.

Zoe stared at her. “Thanks for the ice cream.”

“Anything you want.” Zoe smiled softly at her. Annabeth wasn’t sure if she wanted her to stay or go; she decided to leave her alone for a while and then come back and check on her.

She was about to step outside her daughter’s room when Zoe called her. “Is there any chance that you can stay here with me for a while?”

“Of course.” Annabeth sat next to her on the bed.

“I know it was just a stupid relationship, but I feel so bad.” She started crying. “I really liked Arizona.”

Annabeth kissed her on the temple. “You’re going to feel better soon. I know how it feels.”

Zoe wiped her tears. “How do you know?” She sniffled. “You and dad have been dating each other since you were 16. I wish I had a relationship like yours.” She rested her head on her mum’s shoulder.

“Do you want me to tell you a story?”

“Sure, why not.” Zoe laughed between her sobs. Apparently, her family had a story for every situation.

“It’s more like a family secret rather than a story, actually. That’s why I want this to stay between the two of us.”

“Girl talk. I get it. What happens in this room, stays in this room.” Zoe exclaimed thinking how much stuff her walls had heard over the years.

“Your dad and I have been together since we were 16. But when we were in college we decided, to get the whole college experience to break up.” Zoe stared confused at her. “We were still kind of together, but not dating.”

“And then you tell me that you aren’t a unique couple.” She confessed.

“Anyway, in that time we decided to experiment a bit with other people.” Annabeth didn’t know if it was a good parental move to have a conversation like this with her daughter. “I was going out with a girl.”

“So dad has bi wife energy?” Zoe asked a bit confused that her mother had never told her that she was bisexual.

“More like bi husband energy.”

“Dad is bisexual too? And you didn’t even tell me, your fellow bisexual daughter?”

“We thought that it was quite obvious.” She confessed. “Where was I?”

“You were going out with a girl. Who was it?”

“That’s something I am not going to tell you.” She was trying to be a cool mum but telling her daughter that she was in a loving relationship with her godmother aka Dr Piper McLean-Grace, wasn’t one of the things she was going to do in her lifetime. Percy was having the best time of his life when Zoe brought Arizona home for the first time. ‘I guess yours and Zoe’s type isn’t that different’. “Anyway, we were dating for a couple of months, but we both knew that it meant nothing to us. It meant almost nothing. Well, compared to our relationship with your dad it was nothing, but it still hurt a bit when we broke up.”

“But you had dad. I don’t have someone else. All my relationships end this way. You saw what happened last time.” She sighed.

Annabeth put her daughter’s hair away from her face. “Last time, it was just wrong people at the wrong time. Neither of you were to blame. You tried something and it didn’t work out. And you and Arizona. You are 16. Now it’s the time to have this kind of relationship.”

“She said that we can still be friends if I want,” Zoe confessed.

“See. You will heal, you will feel better, and find someone who makes you happy or maybe even happier.” Annabeth comforted her.

“Probably. Or I’ll buy a couple dogs and become the wine aunt to Charlie’s and Bianca’s kids.” Zoe laughed. She soon realised that it could come out the wrong way. “I mean separately Charlie’s kids and Bianca’s kids.”

“Either way, I just want you to be happy with yourself. You’re the best daughter I could have asked, and you deserve the world.”

“Thanks, mum.” Zoe hugged her.

“Do you want to watch a comedy? Or do you want to be on your own?”

“I could watch ‘The Grown Ups’ for the millionth time.”

Mother and daughter went downstairs and put the movie on Netflix. They were eating ice cream straight out of the massive pint Annabeth had brought home. “There are my girls,” Percy said as he walked inside and saw his wife and daughter sitting together on the couch. He kissed both of them on the cheek. “What is the occasion?”

“Nothing. Just some girl time.” Zoe smiled at her mum.

[amythedvdhoarder]

Three

Pairing: Stucky x Reader

Word count: 4.3K

Warnings: Swearing, little bit of drinking, quite angsty and fluffy

A/N: (gif not mine) So this is my incredibly late entry to celebrate  @finleyjayne reaching 100 followers. Congrats hun you deserve it. So I picked the prompt ‘Feeling blue’ with Stucky. This is not beta read so I apologise now for any mistakes. 

xxx

Bucky let out a heavy sigh as he rolled over to face Steve in bed. Another night filled with restless sleep, the extra body in the bed missing making it impossible to sleep easily.

“What’s up? Steve grumbled still half asleep.

“You know what,” Bucky replied wistfully.

Steve stretches out lazily before turning to face Bucky and smiling sadly. “We had to let her go, give her a chance at a normal life. She couldn’t have that with is Buck.”

“Why can’t she have a normal life with us Steve? Everyone accepts us? We could have settled down, got married, had a few kids. No one would have questioned it.” Bucky knew the tiredness was stopping him from keeping a lid on his emotions.

“You know that’s not true,” Steve reached for Bucky’s hand and pulled it to his lips briefly, “nobody outside of the team knew about the three of us. It wasn’t fair on her, you agreed at the time too. We let her go before it got too far and we couldn’t. We had 6 happy months together, let’s just remember that.” Steve tugged on Bucky’s arm, encouraging him to come closer. Bucky shuffled over and rested his head against Steve’s chest.

“I know, I just miss her. I love her so fucking much it hurts.” Steve closed his eyes as he felt that familiar stab of pain that Bucky was talking about. Bucky was everything to Steve, they had been through so much together. But you. You were like the missing piece of their jigsaw puzzle they hadn’t even realised was incomplete. You fitted them perfectly, after everything they had been through they were happier than they had ever been but they noticed you becoming more distant, spending nights back at your own place, then suddenly it was all over.

xxx

You missed Steve and Bucky like hell. They had woven their way into your life and now that they weren’t in it, you felt lost. The first time you met them they had come into the coffee shop you were working in. Bucky’s fingers had grazed over yours as you handed him his takeout cup and Steve’s eyes met yours making your breath catch. You witnessed the pair of them having a quiet conversation and them both sitting down at a table despite ordering coffee to go. They spent the rest of the afternoon at the coffee shop, chatting away, their eyes searching you out and finding you already smiling at them warmly. When you were finally closing up they asked you to join them for a few minutes.

They explained to you that they were a couple but were interested in spending time with you. Surprisingly you weren’t put off by the idea but in fact excited, so you accepted their dinner invitation. Two weeks later you found yourself in their bed and after that a permanent feature in their lives. You spent most nights with them at the tower. On your days off you would explore New York together, looking like a couple and their friend just having a day out. Not that it bothered you. You understood why Steve was never affectionate with you outside of the tower, he kept his distance. He had only just started to feel comfortable being out with Bucky in public. Bucky was different though, he had spent too much of his life not being himself to hide any longer. He would tease you with small lingering touches, not so innocent looks whilst nobody was watching and whispering naughty thoughts in your ears as you peered into shop windows.

Everything had been going smoothly until Steve had gone on a mission that lasted longer than expected. Before that point you hadn’t slept with either of them without the other being there or joining in. But during this week Bucky felt himself getting more and more stressed and in need of release so he called Steve and asked if it would be ok for you and him to sleep together. Steve agreed at the time but when he got back from his mission to find you and Bucky curled up with each other on the sofa his face told a different story. Of course, you instantly panicked believing you were driving a wedge between them which was the last thing you wanted to do. After you voiced you concerns to Bucky he told you that you were being daft but Steve’s demeanour changed around you.

From that point you began to distance yourself from the both, you made excuses to avoid spending time with even though it made you miserable. In that short 6 months you had fallen insurmountably in love with them but realised it had to end. Bucky and Steve were meant for each other, you cared about them too much to come between them. And after one short, teary discussion between the three of you it was over. You made your excuses about needing the chance to have a normal life where you could be open about your relationships, have some proper stability. It was all lies of course, something to avoid having to tell them the truth and potentially cause them more pain. Neither of them fought or argued with you, they looked a little ashamed but ultimately let you go.

Truth be told you missed all of the people from the avenger’s tower; Sam and Nat had become good friends of yours. They had tried to contact you after you left but you ghosted them, unable to have any sort of connection to anyone linked to Bucky and Steve. Your life seemed quieter, mundane and as you cleaned the coffee machine up for closing time you didn’t even notice when a new customer came in.

“Y/N?” the soft voice snapped you out of your thoughts.

“Sam? What are you doing here?” you said moving towards the counter. “You want anything making?”

“Only if you’ll join me,” he smiled.

“I can’t. I need to close up and clean.” You could tell by the way his eyebrows raised that he wasn’t going to fall for your attempt to get rid of him.

“How about this. You lock up and I’ll help you tidy up. It’ll give us a chance to talk, I miss talking to someone who isn’t over 100 or a trained assassin.” Sam knew he had won when you burst out laughing.

“Fine, but only because I don’t want to clean up this place on my own,” you stuck your tongue out at him as you walked over to the door, clicked the lock shut and turned over the sign indicating you were now closed.  

You and Sam chatted away for the next 30 minutes talking about this and that, both delaying the inevitable topic of the two super soldiers. You handed Sam his payment of a cappuccino and you sat down in an armchair opposite him, nursing your cup of tea.

“So, you gonna ask me how they are?” Sam asks an amused tone to his voice.

“Sam, I-“ he shakes his head at you.

“I’m gonna tell you anyway. Y/N they’re not good, they really miss you even if they won’t admit it to us. Bucky is miserable, he barely laughs, makes a joke. Hell, he has even stopped teasing me. For some reason he only wears this one red t-shirt all the time, he is refusing to wash it. Like it actually smells now. And Steve. Steve is worst. His mood swings would put an adolescent teenager to shame. One minute he is snapping at everyone, breaking open punch bags and the next he weirdly calm and this look of despair just washes over him.” Sam’s eyes fixed on your face.

His words had clearly had an impact, making him feel instantly guilty. Your bottom lip wobbling, eyes full of tears threatening to spill over. He jumped up out of his seat and wrapped a comforting arm around you. At this the damn broke and you descended into sobs.

“Shit, I’m sorry Y/N,” Sam crooned softly, taking the hot tea out of your hand and placing it on the table. “Take a couple of deep breaths for me,” he instructed. Once you had finally had your breathing back under control and wiped away your tears, he finally released you and sat back down opposite you.

“I’m sorry Sam,” your voice croaky and raw from the crying. “I just miss them, I don’t feel like myself anymore. It’s like I’m hollow, does that sound crazy?”

“No, it doesn’t Y/N, I felt the same way when Riley died. The difference is they didn’t die, you could have them back in your life if that’s what you want?” he said solemnly.

“I would go back to them in a heartbeat Sam, but I just don’t think that’s what they both want,” you twisted the ring around your index finger.

“Did you not hear what I told you earlier? They’re lost without you,” Sam was thoroughly confused. His plan had been to try and talk you around to help you realise what a big mistake the three of you had made.  Nat was having a similar conversation with Steve and Bucky right now, informing them what she had found out by following you around for the last week or so since you’d left. But now Sam had a feeling that there was a bigger issue at hand.

“I heard you but they’ll learn to live without me. They love each other completely, I don’t think there is room for me in all of that.” It was the first time you had admitted the truth aloud, it stung but it felt good to have finally got the big weight off your shoulders.

“That’s the biggest pile of bullshit I have ever heard,” Sam scoffed. Your head shot up immediately, your mouth open in shock. “You can’t seriously believe that?”

You were quiet for a minute, not sure how to respond. “You don’t know them like I do,” you replied quietly.

“You’re right, in some ways I know them better. I knew them before you, they were happy but it was nowhere near what they were like when you were with them,” he folded his arms content that he had won.

“See that’s where your wrong Sam. You remember that mission that Steve went on, every little thing that could go wrong did. Well when he got home something was different, he was more guarded around me. I think it was because me and Bucky got closer whilst he was away, he didn’t want me anymore. I was getting in the way,” you reasoned.

“Y/N, I was on that mission with him. We went through absolute hell and back. I was distant from everyone for a while. Did you know he nearly died?” he looked at the way your eyes widened to find the answer to that question. “So, no then. Well he did and do you know what he said to me?” You shook your head. “I’m quoting here. ‘Tell them both I love them. Tell Bucky to look after our girl’. If you were really getting in the way, why would he say that?”

You sighed. “I don’t know. But he didn’t stop me from leaving.”

“Did you tell them the real reason why you were leaving?” Sam asked already knowing the answer.

You shook your head.

“And people call me an idiot?” he scoffed.  “Of course they let you go if that’s what they thought you wanted. You need to talk to them or at least see them and find out the truth.”

You picked up your tea and took a long gulp to avoid responding to Sam’s suggestion.

“Well whatever you decide you’re going to have to see them this weekend anyway?” he said smugly making you choke and cough as the now lukewarm liquid went down the wrong way.

“Sam what the fuck?” you managed to get out in between spluttering coughs.

“It’s my birthday party on Saturday, you promised you’d come ages ago.” He folded his arms at grinned.

“That was before,’ you stammered. “Besides, I’ve already said I’ll work another shift.”

“Liar,” he said getting to his feet. “Nat will come to yours and pick you up around 7. Think about what I’ve said Y/N. They really do miss you.”

You stood up followed him as he walked to the door. “Ok I’ll think about it. Don’t think I have much choice about Saturday, do I?”

Sam wrapped you up in a bear hug. “Nope, absolutely none.”

After you had locked up after Sam you sat back down and tried to process everything. Sam’s words played over in your head. There was no doubt that Bucky was missing you; he was wearing the shirt of his that you had slept in the last night you spent with them. It was Steve you were more sceptical about. If what Sam had really said was true then maybe Steve did care for you more than he let on. Perhaps some part of him doubted your affection and loyalty to them. There was no way to be sure except to see them. You just didn’t know if you were ready for that.

xxx

Nat showed up a whole two hours early with an array of outfits for you to pick from. She wouldn’t let you get something old and familiar out of your closet, she was determined to get you dressed up and into the party spirit. She only succeeded at one of those and by the time you both pulled up to the tower you were a complete bag of nerves.

“Will you quit fidgeting, you’re making me nervous,” Nat scolded you.

“Sorry,” you mumbled before pulling up the front of your dress. “Why a sleeveless dress Nat? They are so impractical.”

“Well -” she paused to twist the thin satin material at your hip, repositioning the perilously high thigh split, “- that may be true but I can guarantee one thing, those boys will certainly realise what they have been missing.”

You frowned at her and gave one final look over your appearance in the elevator mirror before the door pinged open into the loud and bustling party. She took your hand and led you to the bar where you were greeted by Sam who promptly handed you a drink. You knocked back the amber liquid quickly in an attempt to sooth your nerves, before anxiously scanning around the room for any sign of the two men you both longed and dreaded to see.

“Relax Y/N, they’re not here yet,” Sam leaned over and whispered in your ear. He gave you a small reassuring smile which mixed with warmth the alcohol was providing finally made you relax a little. Nat and Sam caught you up on everything that happened and the latest avenger’s gossip.

“Hey kid, we missed you. How’ve you been?” Tony walked up to you, his purple tinted glasses nearly falling of his nose as he threw his arms out to embrace you.

“Ok thanks,” you said quickly. “Great party as always Tones.”

“Well we have Mrs Stark to thank for that.” He turned to face Sam. “They’re gonna short-circuit when they find out she’s here,” Tony uttered, half amused before walking over to greet some other guests.

You rounded on Sam. “You didn’t tell them,” your voice low as you tried to control your emotions.

“Not exactly,” he shrugged. “Well guess we’re going to find out any second now,” he smirked at the entrance over your shoulder.

xxx

Bucky looked around the room, wishing at that moment that he could be anywhere else. He was walking towards the bar when he realised Steve was no longer walking next to him.

“Stevie?” he turned around searching for Steve and spotted him stood stock still, his eyes fixed on something across the room. Bucky walked back towards him and put his hand on his shoulder.

“Steve?” he said starting to get a little worried, he looked like he had seen a ghost. Bucky followed his line of sight and his eyes met yours across the crowded room. His breath caught in his throat and he could feel his heart pounding against his rib cage. He had thought of this moment every day since you had left and now that it was here he couldn’t quite believe it.

“Is she really here Buck,” Steve’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Bucky blinked and turned to Steve. “I think so. Steve, we have to …”

“I know” Steve said as he took Bucky’s hand and squeezed it.

When the men turned back around you had disappeared from sight. You saw them frantically searching for you but you had managed to tuck yourself behind a group of shield agents. At the sight of them part of you wanted to run to them and throw your arms around them and never let them go but there was still doubts niggling away in your mind. One thing was for certain, Sam was right. Bucky did look sad and Steve. Well Steve was the one you hadn’t ever been able to get a read on before and still couldn’t now.  

“Y/N seriously, hiding from them?” Nat shook her head at you.

“Well you found me so I’m clearly not hiding am I,” you sassed.

“You certainly won’t be in a minute” she smiled deviously before standing on her tip toes and waving at the two super soldiers.

“I fucking hate you Nat,” you hissed.

“No you don’t. If you’re still planning on hiding I would move now, they’re on their way.” You stuck your middle finger up at her and then scarpered. Sure, you were going to have to face them at some point tonight but you planned on having at least another couple of drinks before that.

Mid-way through your first vodka and coke a tall red-headed man approached you and Bruce as you were chatting at the bar.

“Hi, I was wondering if you wanted a dance. Seems a shame to be hiding that dress over here at the bar,” Bruce bit back a laugh as did you at the corny line but none the less you agreed.

You let the man who introduced himself as Tom, take your hand and lead you to the dancefloor. Thankfully the song was slow so you didn’t have to worry about your dress slipping down. Tom placed his hands lightly on your waist as you held onto his shoulders, gently swaying to the music.

Midway through the song he leaned over and whispered quietly in your ear. “Do you have any idea why the winter soldier looks like he wants to kill me?”

Your grip on his shoulders tightened. “Bucky,” you corrected. “No, I have no idea,” the tone of your voice sharp. As you spun around your eyes landed on Bucky who was gripping onto the glass tumbler in his hand so tightly you were surprised it hadn’t smashed. It was often that you saw this side of him but it sent a shiver down your spine. Your eyes sought out Steve who you assumed would be with Bucky but you couldn’t find him.

“Mind if I cut in?” a familiar voice spoke softly whilst still managing to carry an air of absolute authority.  

Tom stood still and turned to look up at the blonde man. “Sure thing Sir,” he stuttered, “thanks Y/N,” and with that Tom backed away and nearly ran from the dancefloor.

“That was mean,” your hands fell to your hips as you scowled at Steve. “Plus, do I not get a say in this?” His blue eyes flashed with panic briefly but then that classic Steve Rogers look of determination reappeared.

“So, what do you want Y/N?” you could sense the double meaning behind his question. “Because I know what I want Y/N,” he continued, his blue eyes boring into yours taking a step closer.

“Steve I…” you closed your eyes and bit down on your bottom lip trying to find the words you wanted to say. A calloused hand cupped your jaw and you opened your eyes as Steve traced the tender flesh of your lower lip. The sound of the party disappeared and all that remained in that moment was you and Steve. Instinctively you pressed your hand on top of Steve’s and inched yourself closer to him.

“I wish this were simpler Steve but it’s not,” you hadn’t even realised you were crying until Steve removed his hand and quickly wiped away the tears rolling down your cheeks.

“This was never going to be simple Y/N. But all I know is that I love you. These last few weeks have bit a shit show. I didn’t say it enough before but if you’ll have me then I will spend every day showing you exactly how much.”

“What about Bucky?” you asked quietly.

“What about me doll?” Bucky had walked up to the pair of you, a lop-sided grin on his face.

“You two are meant to be together. I don’t want to get in the way of that,” you looked from Bucky’s face to Steve’s.  

“You can’t seriously think that Y/N,” Steve said moving forward to try and get closer but you took a step back.

“I know that when you came back from that mission everything felt different,” your voice cracked as you tried to make Steve understand.

Steve’s face fell at your words. “I was scared Y/N. I realised on that mission how important you were. How much we needed you. When I saw you when I got back with Buck, I realised that you deserved so much more than someone who might not come home one day. You’re worth more than that. I was scared you were going to figure it out and leave. So, when you started pulling away I let you because I thought that was what you wanted, what would make you happy. Even if it meant we weren’t,” Steve rubbed the back of his neck.

“And you,” you rounded on Bucky, “did you think the same thing?”

“Y/N you didn’t seem happy and I thought we were to blame; doesn’t that sound familiar?” he was right of course. “All I know is it sounds as if you have been as miserable as we have. Doll, we’re not us without you. We’re a team. You, me and Stevie. We’re all yours if you’ll have us?” he shrugged.

“Maybe you need us to convince you?” Steve closed the distance between you and pressed his lips to yours with a softness you hadn’t expected. You felt yourself melt against him as his hands found the nape of your neck and held you to him, your lips moving against his as you became reacquainted.

When he finally managed to tear himself away from the sweet taste of your lips, his cheeks were flushed and his ragged breath matched your own.

“My turn,” Bucky stepped over, his hand moving to the back of your head as he crashed his lips to yours. The intensity of the kiss had both of you moaning against each other’s mouths. You wrapped your arms around him, not wanting to let go but you had to eventually.

You stood breathless looking between the two super soldiers who owned your heart, your mind made up.

“Yes,” you smiled.

Bucky was grinning like a kid of Christmas morning but Steve didn’t allow himself to celebrate to soon. “You sure about this Y/N because we won’t ever let you go again,” he said.

“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life,” and you meant it. You couldn’t imagine a version of your life without Bucky and Steve in it. “Now get over here,” you giggled at the look of pure joy on Steve’s face.

Steve was on you in a second, picking you up off your feet and pressing kisses all over your face. Bucky came up to the pair of you and took you out of Steve’s arms to repeat the whole process all over again before leaning over to give Steve a quick kiss.

Bucky finally slid you down his body back onto the floor and Steve cupped your cheek and was about to lean down to kiss you again until Sam interrupted.

“Um guys, as much as I am enjoying the reunion maybe you wanna, you know, take this somewhere a little less...” Sam waved his arm around at the crowd of people around you.

You hid yourself in embarrassment behind Bucky’s shoulder. “Sorry” your voice muffled by Bucky’s suit jacket, but you knew it was loud enough for them to both hear it.

Steve laced his fingers with yours and pulled you to face him. “What are you sorry for doll,” he stroked the side of your cheek with the back of his finger.

“I know you didn’t want people to know about us,” you looked down at the floor.

“I got nothing to hide doll. I love both of you and that’s all that matters,” he squeezed your hand and turned to Bucky. “Let’s get outta here.”

“Been waiting all night for you to say that Punk,” Bucky grinned.

He took your other hand and lead you and Steve out of the party. None of you caring what people may have been saying about the three of you, only caring about the fact that you were all together again, just how it was meant to be.

Taglist is open. Let me know if you want in or out 😊 (it is quite possible I missed someone 😬 just dm me)

@stargazingfangirl18 ,  @silentcoyotesong, @queenofstarliqht, @buckys-henley, @lonelyheartsm @alexa-lightwood-blog, @angrythingstarlight, @drabblewithfrannybarnes, @rogueheretic555 @rebekahdawkins @chrissquares @pumpkin-and-pine, @hereforbuckyandsteve, @drakelover78, @baddie-barnes   @its-izzys @thehumanistsdiary​

[gumnut-logic]

What do you think the greatest brotrayal of all time would be?

What?

Somewhat of a challenge, not sure I pulled it off, but I hope you enjoy it anyway :D

Thanks to @janetm74 @scribbles97 @vegetacide and @tsarinatorment for various read throughs and cheerleading :D

Sorry, Scott :D

-o-o-o-

Scott glared at his brothers.

Virgil, John and Gordon stood in a line on the comms room hardwood floor all looking straight ahead as if they were in a military inspection. Which was particularly odd since only one of them had ever been in said military.

Hell, even his grandmother was ramrod straight beside them.

Scott was absolutely beside himself. Still dressed in his uniform, complete with its coating of mud, he had no doubt that his appearance was anything but reassuring to the brothers standing in front of him.

Not that he cared. This was beyond it all.

This was so ludicrous that it was hard to even suspect Gordon as the culprit.

Though he was still the most likely despite his arm being in a sling.

Scott eyed his fish brother. He had a scratch above one eyebrow that hadn’t been there when Scott left this morning.

But then a lot was different on Tracy Island since he left this morning.

The most obvious difference was the Thunderbird stuck at an angle where the pool was supposed to be.

His ‘bird was shining in the late afternoon light, her silver hull gleaming as she sat at a sixty-degree angle just beyond the balcony, her wings gouged into the concrete of the patio.

Virgil shifted where he stood on his crutches and Scott felt the briefest flash of guilt at making him stand there. His engineer brother had been grounded for the last week with a broken ankle, along with Gordon and his broken arm. Which is why Scott had been in Two today with the currently guilt free Alan.

His youngest brother stood off to one side, apparently caught between shock and relief that he wasn’t to blame.

“I’m waiting for an explanation.” For several things.

The room still reeked of burnt furnishings. Whatever had happened in the kitchen had left it black and under a haze of smoke that had infiltrated the villa.

As if to comment, John sneezed suddenly. His space brother sniffed and screwed up his face before he realised Scott was eyeing him. He, too, was standing on crutches, something he wasn’t doing this morning.

And still no-one said anything.

Not even Grandma, and honestly that was a kicker.

“Gordon-“

“What are you looking at me for?”

Scott shot him a flat stare. “History.”

“Hey, the last time I borrowed One, I brought her back in one piece.”

“Complete with Eau de Polecat!”

“That does not automatically put me at fault. Besides this was an emergency.”

Scott blinked. A little progress. “And?”

But Gordon clammed up and went back to staring at the portraits on the far side of the room, every bit the WASP Lieutenant Tracy he actually was.

Scott turned to John, his ever-faithful source of relevant information.

“J-“

“I’m sitting down.” John turned and crutched his way past Scott and into the sunken lounge without another word.

Scott stared after him.

“Honey, are you feeling okay?” His grandmother followed his space brother and began fussing over him and his leg, both completely ignoring Scott.

What the-? “How. Did. This. Happen?!” Okay, so he might be yelling just a little, but the cause was sufficient. He turned to his trusted first. His best friend. His brother. His Virgil.

Said brother was looking rather pale. “Virgil?”

Sad, dark eyes looked up at him. “I wanted to make you popcorn.”

-o-o-o-

Virgil was frustrated. Virgil was always frustrated when he was grounded and today sported no reason to change that attitude.

Worse, he had had to watch Scott take his ‘bird out to a mudslide. His big brother was not a fan of flying Two, but since Virgil had a busted ankle and Gordon an equally busted arm, that was the deal today.

To top it all off, mudslides sucked big time and Scott and Alan would likely come home exhausted, especially since two of their brothers were currently unavailable to assist.

So, to help just that little bit he had spent the last couple of hours hobbling around the kitchen slapping together something that could be considered a relaxing meal for that evening, vetoing any chance of Grandma getting into the kitchen and destroying stomach linings.

It helped that Grandma was in Wellington with Kayo.

To top it off, Virgil had put together an apple pie, Scott’s favourite. He had also made sure there was a bucket of triple chocolate ice cream in the freezer for Alan – one that he had stashed away for emergencies just like this.

The last thing on his list was to make some candy popcorn for the squirt and put some kernels aside ready for popping later so they would be nice and warm for the movie.

He was in the process of heating the oil when Gordon burst into the room as if out of nowhere.

Virgil to dropped a spoon.

Damn sandshoes were silent.

“Hubert’s dying!”

“What?” His back creaked as he picked up the piece of cutlery.

“Hubert, the albatross that collided with the window and broke his wing.”

“What albatross?” The oil began to smoke a little so he turned the heat off. His Gordon radar was at full alert – this would likely take a while.

“Yesterday? Upstairs? How did you not hear that?” A blink. “Okay, it was five am. You don’t exist before ten, I’m sorry.” The sarcasm was dripping and a little caustic. “Regardless, Hubert has gone limp and I think he’s dying, Virg. Help me please.” The accompanying clasped hands reminiscent of either prayers or vigorous begging, complete with a sling that wasn’t doing what it was supposed to, were a little over the top.

“Okay. Fine. Show me the patient.” He reached over and nudged the broken arm back into its sling while Gordon glared him.

“Hurry up.”

Virgil grabbed his crutches and followed Gordon to the stairs before darting sideways and thumbing the elevator doors open.

“Okay, fine, hop-a-long.” Gordon jumped down the last few steps and hurried into the elevator with Virgil.

He bounced on his heels the entire way to the infirmary level.

Virgil watched his agitation and realised that whatever was wrong with this bird, Gordon had invested himself in it, much like every other injured animal he had dragged home since he had learnt to walk.

Gordon ushered Virgil into the infirmary and to his horror,  he found the limp sea bird strapped secure in one of the beds. “Gordon, have you heard of hygiene?”

“It’s fine. The sheets are clean. He’s safe.”

Virgil rolled his eyes.

But Gordon’s whine drew him into examining the bird, which, considering it was avian, did not comply with the human knowledge Virgil possessed.

“I don’t really know, Gords.” Virgil stabbed at the infirmary’s computer interface, interrogating the net for baseline vitals for an albatross. Hell, he didn’t even know which species.

“It’s a Gibson’s Albatross.” Gordon was stroking the unconscious bird gently with his fingers.

This was not the first time, nor was it likely to be the last time Virgil found himself in this situation, though the species did vary. As always, his answer was. “I’m sorry, Gordon. You need a qualified vet.”

“But I set his wing. He should be getting better.” Gordon’s age regressed around animals and tended to break Virgil’s heart in the process.

“I’m sorry, Gordon.”

“For goodness sake, we’re International Rescue!” The plea in his brother’s eyes stabbed right where it hurt.

But then those eyes widened and a light bulb went off above Gordon’s head.

Or it could have been a pre-emptive precursor for the migraine Virgil suddenly knew he was going to end up with.

“No, Gordon.”

“But he’s dying!” Gordon grabbed Virgil by the arm. “It’s our job to save lives.”

“How exactly are we going to get him to the mainland? Neither of us can fly.” Virgil wasn’t going to admit it, but the bird didn’t look like it was going to last long enough for another family member to make it home. “I’m sorry, Gordon.” He was already calculating how to cheer up his little brother.

“No!”

He sighed. It wasn’t as if he wanted the bird to die. Hell, if he was hail and healthy, he would have already put it on Tracy Two and be halfway to Auckland by now. But there was no way he was risking himself or his brother in a plane with a broken limb. Maybe Kayo might get back in time?

But then the inevitable happened. He should have seen it coming.

“We can take Thunderbird One!”

Virgil blinked. “What? No!” God, no, Scott would kill him.

“This is a life, Virgil! What makes a bird’s any less important than a human’s? It’s his life, our house has endangered it, and now we aren’t doing anything to help save it? How is that fair?” Gordon’s fists were now clenched at his sides, the sling yet again ignored. Fiery carnelian glared at Virgil. “I can’t do it with my arm, but Thunderbird One doesn’t require feet to operate.” A flicker of his eyelids. “This is on you.”

Virgil stared at his little brother.

A glance at the limp bird on the bed.

Back to Gordon, ever so fiery and passionate.

Virgil reached down, unfolded Gordon’s fist and pulled the sling back into place.

Ten minutes later he found himself doing what he did every time this kind of situation happened.

Thunderbird One launched with Virgil at the helm and Gordon clutching a desperately ill albatross in the back seat.

-o-o-o-

Scott stared at his second eldest brother, the man with whom he trusted so much. Virgil had literally held Scott’s life in his hands on several occasions.

“You borrowed One to take an injured bird to the vet.”

Virgil shifted where he stood. “It was to save a life.”

Scott turned to the lounge and glared at John. “And you let him fly with a broken ankle?”

John returned the glare with equal strength. “Are you kidding me? This is Virgil we’re talking about. I thought One was safer in his hands than yours.”

“What?!”

“It’s not like he’s going to do anything stupid with your ‘bird, is he?”

There were no words, so Scott just gestured in the direction of the pool.

With both hands.

“Yeah, well, probabilities can’t predict everything.”

The flippant, non-answer went straight to Scott’s head and rattled around in there for a moment or two before he chose to file it for later or risk implosion. John was rubbing at his foot and Scott latched onto it to save his sanity. “How did you hurt yourself?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, the kitchen caught fire. Kayo had already been called out again and I was worried about Grandma.”

“And?”

“I tripped.”

“Over what?”

“My own feet! It’s not every day you see Thunderbird One get stuck in the pool!” John glared at Scott. “Cahelium on concrete is very loud.”

Scott stared at him, not willing to face the image those words inflicted on him.

“Why was the kitchen on fire?”

But then something Virgil had said popped into his mind. He couldn’t help it, he rubbed his face with his hand. “Grandma, why didn’t you wait for Virgil to get home?”

“He left the popcorn on the counter, dear, I was trying to help.” Grandma wasn’t looking at him. John’s leg appeared to need a good rub right at this very moment.

John was wincing.

But with that explained, Scott had no choice but to turn back to Virgil, who was still standing clinging to his crutches.

Why hadn’t he sat down? He was ever so very sorry looking and Scott’s heart melted at the edges.

“Virgil, what happened?”

Brown eyes slowly peered up at him.

God, did he really have to deploy that little brother expression. Thunderbird One was down for the count, stuck in the damned pool and the brother responsible wasn’t even letting him stay angry. Goddamnit! How does a thirty-year-old man regress to six-year-old like that? Those eyes were the same eyes Virgil deployed that time he crashed Scott’s bicycle.

As if in answer, something whacked Scott’s thigh.

Ow! “What the hell?”

Looking down he found an extremely large seagull with a bandaged wing glaring up at him. Their eyes met and it squawked.

Very loudly.

“Hubert! What are you doing down here?” And suddenly, there was a race on around the comms room, Gordon chasing the waddling bird as it methodically thumped everyone with its wings, took out a pot plant and to Scott’s horror, one of Dad’s souvenirs. Both toppled with a crash as Gordon continued to chase Hubert around the room.

Alan joined him a moment later.

Part of Scott wanted to yell the building down, but most of him just wanted to know how the hell his ‘bird had ended up stuck halfway into her launch bay.

So, he turned back to Virgil and asked again, perhaps a little louder over the ruckus as the stupid bird scrambled over John in its eagerness to torture everyone.

He approached his brother carefully and placed a hand on each arm. “Virg, What happened?”

“It was an accident. I’m sorry, Scott.”

“That much is obvious. What malfunctioned?”

Brown eyes were suddenly not looking at him.

“Virgil?”

His brother straightened a little. “You have too many damned levers.”

“What?”

He seemed to be saying that a lot today.

“I pushed the wrong lever, okay? It’s on the left on Two and One has it on the right and I yanked on it to slow and the wings deployed. Wrong lever, sorry, okay?”

Scott stared at Virgil, his jaw slowly dropping as his hands lost their grip on his brother and just hovered mid-air beside him. “You used the wrong lever?”

“Yeah, sorry, my bad.” Virgil was looking at his feet. “Can I sit down now?”

Scott’s mouth was still open and he had to force himself to close it. “Sure.” So his voice was a little bit higher than normal…

Virgil didn’t hesitate, clutching his crutches and hurriedly tapping his way over to the lounge.

Behind Scott there was a sudden crash and the sound of breaking glass as both Alan and a bird squawked at the same time.

Scott didn’t turn to look. He just stood staring at his ‘bird, still gleaming in the late afternoon sun, still sticking out of the pool.

His jaw may have dropped just a little again.

But nothing more was said.

-o-o-o-

FIN.

[imkylotrash]

Peculiar World

Pairing: Saul Silva x reader

Request: Can you do a Saul x wife reader who has magic. She was raised by Damon and was maybe a teen in season 1 of TVD so she was involved with all the crazy. She's also bffs with Klaus and Hopes godmother. She's is a teacher at alfea and the SBS. She is also a mentor to Riven like Saul/Sky.I kinda want to see Saul reaction to all of this as he knows about TVD but never met them. Anonymous

A/N I'm a little limited in my knowledge of Legacies so I've had to leave a little of the request out but I hope you like it anyway! 💛

Tagging: @grey-girl @intoanothermind @anreeixcobra @kingunder221b @lflores2008 @alexiapayne12 @quuenofblacks @quarterback-5 @estelmei @bitchwhytho @music-of-melody @artsyle​ @baueoud @glowingatdawn @shadowhuntyi

"This is going to be an amazing place, you know." You're standing in the doorway of the newly funded Salvatore Boarding Scool remembering all the memories it holds. Alaric turns around with a smile crossing the room to hug you tightly.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't become a stranger when you moved." You can't help but chuckle. It's not exactly like you just moved a state over.

"I moved to another realm, Ric. It's a little harder than an hour's drive." A couple of students hurry outside laughing. It takes you back to your own high school days though you didn't have a place where you could practise magic openly and safely. You'd lost count of the number of times you'd had to use your magic to save everyone alongside Bonnie, how many times you'd grieved the loss of a loved one and the joy you felt when they made their way back to life.

"I thought I heard my favourite witch." Damon comes walking down the stairs and you must admit that humanity looks good on him. The biggest surprise is Elena not being next to him. When you left, they were quite literally joined by the hip.

"Don't let Bonnie catch you saying that," you chuckle but you're really just happy to see him. He took you in when your parents died and since then the Salvatore mansion had been your home. Back then you'd been his only redemption before he actually started being a good person. Elena had brought it out in him but you like to think you were the beginning of the development. He'd saved your life more than once.

"Don't worry. I tell her the same thing when you're not here." He ruffles up your hair making you feel like a little kid all over again. But this time you're a married adult with your own life and Damon knows that too.

"You look good," he says pulling you in for a hug.

"You too. Apparently, married life suits us both." You know Damon has been torn between wanting to hate Saul for stealing you away and appreciating the fact that he makes you very happy.

"Who would've thought?"

You return to the present realising that you've been standing under the running water long enough for it to turn cold. You use a little magic to quickly dry off your hair so you can be on time for class. You still have no idea how Saul managed to get you a job at Alfea when you're not even a fairy but it makes your marriage a lot easier. Neither of you likes being away from each other but working at Alfea has kept you from your family a lot. You love Saul but you miss Mystic Falls. It clouds your thoughts all through class and by the time you've finished, you're calling Damon to hear how everything is going.

"Hey," you say trying to keep your voice neutral.

"Hi stranger," he replies but you can tell he's busy judging by the sound of chatter in the background. That's when you remember it's family dinner night.

"I completely forgot. We'll talk later." You hang up before he has any time to respond. Your eyes sting but you refuse to cry. It's just tough being away from them all the time. You have more than enough here with Saul and Riven but you miss home.

"I know I'm not a mind fairy but the look on your face says more than enough. What's wrong?" Saul asks. He's just entered your shared bedroom and he looks ready to collapse after a long day.

"It's nothing. I just miss home." You wonder how big the twins have gotten by now and how Hope is doing. You hate to admit that as her godmother you haven't done a pretty good job at being there for her. You text constantly but it's not the same as seeing her. You had promised Klaus to take care of her before he sacrificed himself and then you moved to another realm.

"We could always go visit?" You lock eyes with him never having been more in love with him than right now. Saul has never visited Mystic Falls. Frankly, you'd been terrified to merge those two worlds but now you felt like you had to. You wanted him to know the people who had helped save you and been there as you grew into your own person.

"I'd love that."

==

"This looks pretty impressive." Saul is standing next to you by the gates of the Salvatore Boarding School looking in awe at the place. You know Alfea is a gorgeous place but it has nothing on the Salvatore mansion.

"Walk me through it again. Vampires, werewolves and witches all in one place?"

"Also, hybrids and tribrids which still doesn't really make sense to me but essentially that's the big three, yeah." You laugh a little as you watch the confusion cloud his face. You grew up here and you still struggled to understand all the stuff that happened.

"We're not staying here for long. Damon invited us over for dinner but I just wanted to stop by here." You keep a lookout for any familiar faces and much to your surprise you spot Hope locking lips with some curly-haired boy.

"Hope?" you exclaim. She is definitely not old enough to be dating and the sight makes you temporarily forget about Saul who's currently fighting the urge to draw out the dagger he always hides in his boot. The soldier in him is terrified of vampires and werewolves thinking of the horror stories he always heard as a child despite your reassurances that they were people the same as the fairies.

"Y/N?" Hope runs right into your arms not believing her own eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asks excitedly. Seeing her makes you realise just how much you've missed this place. You introduce her to Saul who's trying to take everything in and relax a little. You don't blame him. Hearing about vampires and werewolves is very different from actually being around them. Some vampires still give you the creeps even now.

"Thank you for coming," you whisper as Hope leads the way to Alaric's office. She's talking so much she doesn't even notice you saying anything. It's nice seeing her so happy and confident in herself compared to seeing her back in New Orleans. This school had really helped her.

"Here we are," she says stopping in front of a set of doors with Ric's name on it.

"We're staying for a few days. How about you ditch school tomorrow and tell me all about that lover boy I caught you with outside." Hope is quick to agree before heading back outside. It's nice seeing her happy. You know Klaus would've enjoyed it too.

"You ready?" He nods his head and you open the door to see Ric and the twins. It's a happy reunion adding to the feeling of missing out on everything.

"If you miss it so much, I've got a job opening? You could come to teach every other week to make your schedule work." Could it work? Could you have the best of both worlds? You look over at Saul who looks just as surprised as you. It would take some work and planning but you needed this.

"Do you think we could make it work?" you ask Saul hoping he'll say yes. Hoping he'll support you.

"I think you gave up a lot for me by moving to Alfea so it would only be fair that we made this work. Of course, we can make it work." He's still freaked out by the number of supernatural people running around here but he has to admit that it's pretty impressive they all manage to co-exist. He's eager to learn more about them and the history behind their existence. It's also a huge plus that he gets to see you happy.

"I guess my answer is yes then."

[cowboy-eddie]

Tumblr Exclusive: Dodged A Bullet

(No, not that one. We’re not talking about that one)

(That’s kinda ironic though and COMPLETELY unintentional and now I can’t change the title lmao)

Since I would rather laugh than cry, here’s a stupid little fic about one time when Chris picked up on a saying going around the firehouse and the person he got it from? You won’t expect it.

“Oh, for the love of-“

“He’s definitely got a tiny dick.”

Eddie gaped, looking at Christopher through the rear view mirror. Stuck in LA traffic, already ten minutes late to work, and some idiot had just cut Eddie’s truck off on a particularly dangerous highway. Eddie slammed on the breaks, honking his horn before turning to look at Christopher in the backseat.

“Did you want to repeat what you just said, buddy?”

“That guy who cut you off, dad. He has a tiny dick.”

It was really hard for Eddie not to laugh. Sighing, he reached into the backseat.

“Switch please. You know better than to say rude words like that.”

Christopher handed over the device and Eddie tossed it on to the passenger seat, tucked under his duffel bag. It wasn’t until he’d managed to drop Chris off at school and get to work that Eddie remembered what Christopher had said in the traffic, and he immediately went looking for the one person Christopher would copy without hesitation.

-~-

“Buck!”

“Ah shit. I know that face.”

Buck put his phone in his back pocket, grimacing at Eddie.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why did my ten year old just say the person who cut me off in traffic has a tiny dick?”

Buck’s eyebrows shot up and Eddie could see the corner of his lips twitching.

“Man, you know you have to watch what you say near him, he’s at the age-“

“-Eddie, I swear, that wasn’t me. I have never sworn in front of Christopher.”

“Last week you literally said, and I quote, ‘son of a bitch Eddie, can you NOT stick your fucking cold feet on my legs?’”

“That doesn’t count, I didn’t know he was there! He’s sneaky when he’s not using his crutches.”

Buck raised his hands in surrender.

“It wasn’t me who taught Chris to say that. I swear.”

Eddie sighed, mainly in defeat because he knew Buck was telling him the truth. Turning on Hen and Chim, he put his hands on his hips and did his best dad-frown, which just made Chim laugh.

“I know you’re trying to dad-glare us, but it just looks like you’re really constipated.”

Hen snorted, shoving her elbow into his side.

“It wasn’t us, Eddie. Neither of us have driven Christopher anywhere recently.”

“Well it was one of you!”

“It wasn’t one of us, Eddie. Chill out, kids do this stuff all the time.”

Chim waved Eddie off, but Eddie had a comeback of his own.

“When Jee starts swearing, I’ll remember that.”

“Oh my god, Jee is gonna swear. My little girl is gonna let filthy words rip when she’s pissed off. I have to call Maddie.”

Chim looked disturbed for a second and Eddie rolled his eyes.

“If it wasn’t one of you, I’m gonna have to question people I’d really rather not.”

“Like who, your grandma?” Chim asked, apparently having recovered from his temporary crisis. The second he realised what he’d said Hen smacked a hand over his mouth, laughing at her idiot for a best friend.

“Well yeah, Chim, like my grandmother. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her even utter a cuss word.”

“I don’t think your grandma knows what swearing is, Eds.”

“Oh, she does, but she’s always the one to tell us off. One time my dad said crap and she chased him for ten minutes with a wooden spoon.”

Eddie winced absentmindedly, seemingly remembering something.

“You can imagine her reaction when 15 year old me said Fuck.”

Buck grinned, getting up to press a hand to Eddie’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, Chris was gonna pick up on it at some point. It’s not like you don’t swear.”

“That’s different. He said someone had a tiny dick, Buck.”

That did it. Hen, Chim and Buck snickered together and Eddie couldn’t even pretend to be pissed as he started laughing with them.

“I’m gonna have my hands full when he’s a teenager right?”

“Yes,” Hen and Buck said simultaneously.

-~-

“Abuela, Pepa, can I ask you a question?”

“We’ve already had the talk, Eddie,” Pepa said seriously as she took a seat at the dining talk and Eddie flushed red, groaning as he remembered his parents refusing to give him the talk so Pepa had done it. Being the only boy of his family and receiving the talk from his aunt was definitely something Eddie would rather forget.

“Thank you, Pepa, I’ll never let that go. No, uh, it’s about Christopher.”

“Oh, Edmundo, he said something interesting yesterday. I can’t remember what it was...”

Abuela furrowed her brows for a moment, trying to recall what her great-grandson had said and Eddie’s eyebrows shot up.

“Were you in the car by any chance?”

“No, we were in the grocery store. Someone was being rude in the queue, a man wasn’t wearing his mask...”

“Oh my- Abuela, I-“

Eddie’s Abuela’s lips quirked up, and she laughed.

“Oh, yes, young Christopher has a brilliant imagination.”

“I’m so sorry Abuela, I had no idea he’d picked up the saying. I’ve had a talk with him-“

“-what saying? He simply told the man if he didn’t want to wear his mask then he wouldn’t get any presents for Christmas.”

Eddie promptly shut his mouth. Pepa looked to him and squeezed his arm.

“What did you want to ask us?”

“Has anyone been talking about genitals in front of my ten year old?”

“Edmundo!” Pepa and Abuela both exclaimed, surprised and Eddie raised his hands in surrender as he slowly backed off his chair.

“I’m gonna see myself out. Night Abuela, Tia Pepa-“

“-Eddie! Back here now!” Pepa yelled after him but he was out the door faster than she could yell his middle name.

-~-

The next morning, Christopher was having breakfast when he looked up at Eddie.

“Dad?” He began and Eddie hummed, not really paying attention.

“When can I have my switch back? I promised Denny that we would play Minecraft together tonight.”

Eddie sighed and reached into his work bag, producing the device.

“After school and only after your homework is done. I’ll tell Carla.”

“I don’t understand why you took it in the first place,” Christopher said and Eddie was glad he’d raised his son to be honest with him.

“Chris, you know what you said in the truck yesterday, when we got cut off in traffic?”

Christopher beamed, giggling and Eddie really wanted to laugh it off too but he had to play bad cop for a moment.

“Okay, well if I hear you say it again, there’ll be no switch for a week. It’s not- you’re ten, Christopher- I don’t know if I’m comfortable with you saying stuff like that.”

“Okay dad,” Christopher frowned, and Eddie squeezed his arm.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know, but let’s not say it again until you’re at least forty. Clear? Who even taught you that anyway?”

Christopher was smiling again, clapping his hands and he didn’t hesitate to blab to his father.

-~-

Eddie walked into work that afternoon with a new sense of purpose. Walking straight past Buck, not even stopping to tell Chim his shirt was buttoned wrong, barely acknowledging Hen, Eddie tossed his duffel on the couch and knocked on Bobby’s office door.

-~-

“Hey Bobby, got a second?”

“Did you teach my son to say someone’s got a tiny- well-“

“What are you-“

Eddie crossed his arms, raised his eyebrow ever so slightly and Bobby raised his hands in surrender.

“In my defence, Athena said it not me.”

“Mmhmm.”

Eddie didn’t look particularly convinced but he didn’t look particularly convinced either.

“Apparently it’s something Michael says when he’s annoyed, it makes him feel better. Male or female, young adult or elderly, he just lets rip.”

Eddie’s lips twitched, and Bobby grinned at him.

“You can’t laugh about it in front of Chris, but it’s funny right?”

“Not when it’s coming out of my child’s mouth! But- yes, okay, it’s a little funny.”

And finally, Eddie started laughing.

Bobby knew he’d dodged a bullet there. He’d have to inform Athena later to give Eddie a wide berth for a couple days.

[atinysunbaby]

Meant to be | Choi San 🖤

Warnings : Cursing, violence, mention of rape.

Words count : 2.2 k

Previous 《 Prologue

Masterlist

Chapter 1

Present

My cheeks are burning from the salty tears escaping my eyes. A tightening feeling in my chest growing by the minute. The sobs keep escaping me, making my body move uncontrollably. Chocking from the sharp inhales and shaking from the cold temperature. This moment, forever will be imprinted in my mind. Those images I wish I could forget, unfortunately will hunt me till my last breath.

I suppose it's what most people feel too when they lose their parents. I wanted to deny it, but I saw their bodies. They were cold, bruised, bloody and no longer held any signs of life.

The last time a saw them, I didn't bother much to say goodbye to them. Only telling them to enjoy their little vacation in the woods. I was more exited about being alone then making them know how much I loved them. Now it's too late, I'll never be able to see their faces again, hear their voices, feel their arms around me when I need them the most.

I woke up to my cellphone ringing this morning, answering grumpily, thinking it was my mom who disturbed me from my sleep. It was actually the cops telling me to come to the hospital, but I wish it would've been her instead. I wish she could annoy me every morning now, but it's over. She isn't here anymore and neither is my dad.

I'm in my room, at this moment, crying my heart out. I ran out of the hospital immediately after seeing their corpses. They wanted me to identifie them, but I left with people screaming for me to comeback. I guess they probably know from my reaction, that it was indeed my mom and dad.

People keep calling me on my phone, but I don't answer. I'm laying on the floor, looking at the ceiling, waiting for my sadness to subside. I know that won't happen anytime soon, but it's the only way for me to calm down. Being surrounded by people telling me how sorry they are for my loss. A bunch of fake assholes making me feel even worse about the situation definitely won't make anything better.

Slowly my eyes get heavy, I try to fight the exhaustion but fail miserably. I fall asleep on the cold floor of my room, my window open and the sound of rain filling my ears. All of this crying definitely used up a lot of my energy.

The car crash, I wasn't there and I have no idea of what happened. But I see it, something is in the middle of the road and dad just told mom a joke. They're laughing.. until they hit that thing, an animal maybe. It goes right through the window and kill my dad instantly, but as for my mom. The car rolls off the road and fall down a small cliff. Mom's still alive, she's in pain, blood everywhere, she's crying for her husband to open his eyes and answer her. She keeps screaming that she can't feel him anymore? His presence? Her breathing is getting worse the more she panics. Suddenly the door on her side opens and something stabs her in the chest, putting a end to her desperate cries. Blood is streaming down her chin, her eyes looking directly through mine while she takes her last breath.

I open my eyes to see nothing but darkness. I frantically search for a sign of light, I reach around with my hands. My eyes are open wide and my breath shaky, until my fingers brush against an object. I stop every movement, slowly gripping it and letting a breath of relieve when I realise it's my phone.

I turn it on to see a ton of messages and missed calls. One standing out, my aunts name, my mom's sister. I never talked to her, but mom insisted on giving me her number. I look around my room and stand up to look outside the window, only to notice that it's night time. The reason of the darkness and freezing temperature. I close it and turn the lights on in my room. Then I sit on the corner of my bed and hesitate a few minutes while looking at the screen in front of me. My fingers finaly press on call. A few rings later, Aunt Kath's voice is heard. "Y/N! Y/N is it you?"

"Yes it's me.. why did you cal-" I'm cut off by a loud sob. My eyes widen in confusion, but I soon remember that my mom, her sister is no longer a part of this world. I sigh and wait for her to stop crying on the other side of the line. "S-sweetie- where are you? Are you safe? You're not alone ar-"

"Kath, my parents just died. I'm obviously not partying right now, but I'm okay.. I guess.." She stays silent for the next few seconds, my blunt answer probably wasn't expected, but it's understandable. "Sweetheart-I uhh.. you have no one to stay with right? So.. your mom made me your godmother, i-in case anything happened to her.. will you come live w-with me, here in Korea?"

It takes some time to process what just came out of her mouth, my eyebrows are furrowed. Many feelings are fighting to take control of my body, but the one that wins is frustration. "W-what?.."

"She told me to take care of you if she wasn't there anymore... It was just a precaution, but I guess it really happened." She says with a small voice, trying not to upset me further. Judging from my lack of response, she can tell I'm not that excited about this new information. "I asked you, but it ins't really a choice that you have. It's an obligation, you can't stay alone out ther-"

I hang up, not wanting to listen even for one more second. I need some time to think about it. She's right, I don't have much of a choice. I turned seventeen not too long ago and I don't have any family member here. At least none that I know of. I sigh defeated, once again pressing on my godmother's contact.

She picks up not even a second later, as if she knew I was gonna call her back. She doesn't say a word, waiting for me to start talking. I clear my throat after freeing my lower lip from my teeth. "How will I get there? How about my clothes and everything else in the house? My parents' funera-"

"I'll take care of everything you don't have to worry, just bring the necessary and I'll transfer some money on your account so you can pay for your plane ticket. As for the ride to my house, my boyfriend will pick you up" She spend a whole hour explaining to me how everything will go and I agree after hesitating for a while. If my mom gave Kath the role of godmother, she must trust her. So I will trust her too, anyways I don't really have a reason not to. She's been nice till now and she'll even welcome me in her house, she's taking me in. "Thank you Kath, I really appreciate it. I don't know what I would've done if I was all alone."

Days later

I prepared all my stuff, ready to fly to Korea. It took me a while to accept, but eventually I warmed up to it. It's an opportunity for me, to start over. A new life full of adventure, new environment and culture. I want to explore the world so why not start there.

Unfortunately though, I had to say goodbye to all my friends. We cried and spend the last few days together. We promised to text each other everyday and not to forget about one another. Sad thing is, my friends aren't the only ones I need to leave behind. It's hard to leave the place I grew up in, my house, my neighbourhood, my city, everything.

In a few hours, everything I ever knew will all be in the past. Only the memories will stay, the rest, all gone. So the day my parents died, I didn't only lose them, but my life too. The life they gave me. Now, I have to make a new one, by myself.

Landing in Korea

The flight was boring and quite annoying, I didn't know what to do. A baby cried for what felt like years and a couple had an argument at some point. Then the person next to me started to snore so loudly I thought the plane was crashing. I'm glad to finaly be on the ground, the loud voices of people speaking indistinctly seeming to sooth me from what I went through previously.

I sit on one of the chairs in the airport waiting for James, my godmother's boyfriend. He'll drive me to their house, apparently Kath arranged a room for me already. She doesn't have any kid, so she's looking forward to having me over.

"Y/N!!" I jump from the chair almost falling on my ass. I luckily manage to stay on my two feet and not make a fool of myself. Upon hearing a chuckle, I turn around and see an old looking dude smirking at me, maybe in his late forties. "Umm.. Hi can I help you?"

"James, I came to pick you up remember?" He asks while pointing at himself. I'm still unsure, he's looking at me weirdly. I can feel an odd vibe from him. It makes me feel uncomfortable, but I push it aside and nod before following him.

We enter his rusty jeep, the doors creaking when moving. Despite the outside looking a bit ugly, the inside is clean. The only negative point would be the smell, cigarette and..alcohol? Paying a bit more attention to the smell though, it doesn't only come from the jeep. The man next to me is even worst, it seems that he might shower rarely. Subtly, I bring my sweater paws to my nose, looking outside to distract myself.

"So, Y/N! How you holding up?" His loud and deep raspy voice makes me jump for the second time. I turn a bit a towards him not to be impolite and think before answering him. "I guess it's a bit easier then I expected. I didn't think that I'd feel any better, but after a few days it prove me wrong. But I feel bad, to already move on.."

He hums next to me, nodding his head lazily. I wait for him to add something, but the car is filled with silence. I'm relieved he doesn't speak further, not really being in the mood to have a whole conversation, especially with someone I don't know. So, slowly I turn back around towards the window. My mind drifting to the events that happened in just a few weeks, everything is so fucked up. Fortunately, Kath and James decided to help me.

About an hour past since we came out of the airport. We just entered a forrest, James informed me that it'll take a while still. He insisted that I should go to sleep and when I'll wake up, we'll be home. I ponder for some time, but eventually agree. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep due to not being able to get much sleep in the plane.

I wake up when the car come to an halt, a man's voice coming from next to me. Curses escaping his mouth, confused I open my eyes. The events from the previous hours coming back to me, tears threatening to escape my eyes. My body shaking slightly from fear, uncontrollably.

The ride was a lot longer then what James had told me it would be and I slept, only to be woken up by a hand covering my mouth. Horrible things happened in that car and it wasn't a nightmare, no mather how much I wish it was one. He said he would tell Kath it took us some time because of the traffic and the airport. Then he threatened to kill me if I open my mouth.

I can't let him see me crying, I don't want him to have another reason to hurt me. Despite being terrified and completely drained from energy, I swallow the bill in my throat and wipe the tears from my eyes. While I'm breaking down, next to me James is whistling and turning the car off. Announcing with a loud scream to Kath that we arrived.

"Omg! Y/N! Sweetie you really are here." Kath comes out of the house shouting happily, her arms open, waiting for me to give her a hug. I rush to open the door, but a hand grabs my arm. His nails dig in my skin and I whimper, both from fear and pain. "Remember. You talk, you die."

He puts my bag in my hand, pretending to be helping me. Finally I escape the horrible vehicle and run into my godmother's arms with a heavy heart. The second she engulfs me in her warmth, sobs spill from deep within me. She cries with me but not for the same reason. She cries because she lost her sister and now I'm here. I, cry because I've lost my parents, I lost my house, my friends. Because I've been raped less then an hour ago. Because I feel completely broken and hopeless. The new life I wanted for myself, only starts with even more problems then I had before.

Next 》 Chapter 2

[atmostories]

Johnny Lawrence x Reader

Matter - Chapter Five Tags: Angst, Gender-Neutral, Alcohol/Drug Abuse, Depression You couldn't go, not yet. The kids had to see that everything was normal. And frankly you couldn't leave them alone with Johnny. It wasn't like he was going to hurt them, but in his state he might say or do something that he's going to regret. Why had he reacted like that? Was something else going on with him? You didn't know, it wasn't something that you would know because you weren't part of his life anymore. 

Johnny came back about ten minutes later and pointedly didn't look anywhere near the office as he began the class. Though the kids weren't relaxed at first, it didn't take long for them to concentrate and get into the movements. The rest of the class went on without incident, and Johnny appeared only slightly more agitated than normal.

Something must have happened to him, it was the only feasible explanation. Why else would he grab you like that? Was there even a point trying to ask him what was going on? It had taken him long enough to open up when you were together. If you attempted it now he'd probably dismiss you with contempt.

The kids left notably quicker than they usually did, they didn't hang around for long. You couldn't blame them. Johnny was out in the back somewhere. When Miguel started to grab his bag, that was when you got concerned, he always stayed late. Was Johnny blowing off his training?

Before you could go up to Miguel to see what was going on, he came into the office looking more troubled than you'd ever seen him.

“Are you leaving already?” You asked.

“Sensei can't train me today. He's uh. . .”

“He's what?”

“Not in a good way?” Miguel responded, unsure of exactly how to put it.

“I'll go talk to him, I'll see if he can stay and teach you.”

“It's fine, a bunch of us are going to go hang out anyways.”

“Alright, well have fun.”

Both of you left the office and as you were about to go towards the storage room, Miguel stopped you.

“Sensei's uh. . .really not in a good way.” You nodded slowly in understanding. The door to the room was shut, so you knocked first and called out Johnny's name before going in. Most of the room was filled with shelves of old boxes that must have belonged to whoever owned the building. The remaining space housed all of Johnny's equipment. He was sitting on top of a punching bag faced away from you.

“Johnny?” You stepped closer to him, trying your best to hold the nerves at bay. His head turned in your direction, but he didn't quite look at you.

“Miguel's worried about you. I'm pretty sure all of the kids are.” You wanted to say that you were too but the last time you'd told him that, he had said you didn't need to do that anymore. Crouching down in front of him, you still couldn't make out the expression on his face. His elbows were braced on his thighs, his hands were playing with the black headband that he always wore when he was teaching.  

You wanted to reach out and hold him, wrap your arms around his body and comfort him in every way possible. He liked it when you ran your fingers through his hair, he'd hum in approval, bury his face into your skin and clutch onto you even tighter. It felt wrong not to embrace him. Physicality was what Johnny understood best.

“I'm here if you want to-”

“When did it happen?” He cut you off, he gazed at your mouth before meeting your eyes.

“A few days ago.”

“Where?”

“I told you it was an accident.”

“And I'm asking where it happened.” The rage bled into his expression, it was no longer unreadable like before. His fingers were clenched around the headband, he was pulling it taut. “Was it near here? By your apartment? Or at work?”

You didn't answer for a moment as you let out a sigh. Why wasn't he letting this go?

“It doesn't matter.”

“It matters to me.”

“Why?”

“Because you're hurt.”

“I don't understand. It's just a split lip, Johnny. You've given me much worse than this.”

“That was. . .it was never like that.”

“I know. It was an accident, like this was,” you replied, gesturing to your lip. You hoped that he could truly put this into perspective. It probably didn't matter how much sense you made, all that mattered to him was that someone needed to be taken down. He didn't say anything in response. Taking to your feet, you stepped back and inhaled deeply.

He got off the punching bag and stood in front you, immediately closing the space that you had created.

“Why did you lie to me?” He asked, the anger in his tone was now mixed with hurt. “You didn't get hurt from biting your lip, so why did you say you did?”

“I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry.” From the way he was looking at you he must not have been expecting you to own up to the lie and apologise. It was like he had lost some of the wind in his sails. “I just. . .you looked so angry I. . .”

“What? Did you actually think I was going to hurt you?”

“No, not intentionally.”

“Just unintentionally?”

“I mean you grabbed me right in front of those kids, Johnny. Do you think they knew you didn't really mean it?”

“Why can't you just tell me what happened to you?”

“Why were you so angry?” For a long moment, neither of you said anything, neither of you moved. You were at an impasse. He wasn't going to answer your question and you weren't going to answer his. Telling him about Hawk was pointless. Even if Johnny didn't mean to, he might treat Hawk differently to the other students. Johnny wasn't the kind of person to forgive easily.

He held your gaze for a while longer before he turned away. After tucking the headband into his pocket, he lifted up the punching bag that was on the floor and leant it up against the wall.

“You should leave,” he muttered with his back still turned. The distance between you was agonising. You felt an overwhelming sense of grief, realising with unquestionable certainty that you could never recover what you once had with him. He didn't trust you, maybe he never did.

“Okay.”

- - -

You hadn't heard from him for nearly two weeks.

It disappointed you more than you thought it would. He was completely justified, you'd blatantly lied to him, admitting it afterwards didn't make a difference. Not telling him about Hawk was the right thing to do. Why was it always coming down to this? You tried to do the right thing and everything always turned to shit. It never mattered how hard you tried. The fact that you could count the number of lies you'd ever told Johnny on one hand was inconsequential. He never believed you when it mattered, not when you told him it was an accident, not when you promised him that you would always care about him.

When you first got together with him, he had a tendency to rebuff the romantic gestures you'd make and disregard them as friendly jokes. Regardless of the fact that he had always made his feelings known, he couldn't accept yours at face value, not at first. As time went on and as things got more serious, you'd thought he had come to believe you. Perhaps he was just better at hiding it.

One morning you were running late for work after oversleeping. To make things worse, you had a throbbing headache that didn't take kindly to you rushing about. As you walked out to your car, you remembered that there was half a joint in the glove compartment. Maybe that would be enough to-

“Shouldn't you be at work already?” You looked up in surprise and saw Johnny standing by your car, the Firebird was parked right next to it.

“What are you doing here?” You wondered out loud as you approached him, noting that the collar of his jacket wasn't popped. There wasn't any paint peeling off his car, had he got it resprayed?

“Thought I could give you a ride,” he replied, taking his hands out of his pockets and standing up a little straighter. “I did try and call a few times earlier, wasn't sure which apartment you're in.” He'd called you? You hadn't noticed, you'd been too busy trying to get ready. You might have been tired but you noticed how he casually avoided answering your question.

“I'm late for work so uh. . .” you trailed off, unsure whether he came here to talk or something.

“I'll take you. You know I drive faster than you, so come on.” While he walked to the Firebird, you quickly glanced over at your car, knowing that you'd have to leave the joint where it was. Johnny was already turning on the ignition when you got into the passenger side. You winced when the speakers came on, the loud music made your temple twinge. He immediately turned it down as if sensing your discomfort.

After he pulled out onto the street, for a brief moment you were curious why you hadn't bothered to challenge him at all. The headache must have been the main reason why, you couldn't bring yourself to. There was also the fact that he'd driven all the way here.

“You look like shit,” he commented.

“Thanks.”

“Your lip's healed though.”

“Yeah,” you murmured awkwardly, unsure of what else to say. Was he going to bring up what happened? A mile or so later you scrounged up the courage to speak again.

“So you thought you'd give me a ride?” You queried as he stopped at the lights.

“I wanted to apologise about what happened,” he replied, turning to face you. “I shouldn't have grabbed you like that.” His jaw was tight, his lips were pressed together, the guilt was evident on his expression. You nodded in reply, rather surprised that he had apologised to you. He was still looking at you when the lights turned green so you gestured towards them to remind him before people started honking.

The Firebird accelerated forwards. You couldn't think of what to say, your mind was fuzzy even though the headache had eased a little. Johnny didn't say anything else either and focused on his driving. Every couple of minutes, you'd subtly rub your temple and will yourself to string some words together. You only spoke again when he pulled up outside your workplace.

“Thanks for the ride,” you told him, ready to get out of the Firebird. You'd have to tell your boss that you'd had car trouble that morning, at least with your car not being there it added some legitimacy to the story.

“Hold on a sec.” You leaned back slightly when both of his hands reached out to your face.

“Uhh. . .?”

“Just come here.” Sitting back to how you were, he pressed his fingers into both of your temples and began rubbing slow circles into your skin. The pressure of it immediately made you feel better and you had to fight not to close your eyes.

“I should go,” you muttered, realising that this was intimate and you were enjoying this far too much.

“A minute's not going to make a difference,” he skilfully dismissed your weak protest and continued his ministration. You couldn't stop staring at him. You were grateful that he wasn't looking at you directly but concentrating on what he was doing. Johnny had always been good with his hands. If you ever had an ache, he used to take his time massaging you until it was gone. When he finally finished, he lingered for a moment before shifting back into his seat.

“I'll pick you up when you finish,” he promised. You thanked him again and got out of the car feeling much better than you had earlier.

Throughout your shift, you kept fixating on how he had apologised to you, how he must have noticed you rubbing your temple and tried to make you feel better. There was something about being taken care of by Johnny that gave you an innate sense of calm. You kept trying to chase that feeling, repeating the memory over and over, imagining that he did even more, fantasising that he was going to hold you in his arms and take you home.

When you finished work, he was waiting for you outside in the newly-painted Firebird like this was his every day routine. You were anxious getting in the car, wanting things to go well like they had in the morning. He engaged you in conversation, wanting to know whether you felt better, asking how your day was and what you'd been up to at work. It wasn't particularly eventful but he showed continued interest and seemed to want to catch up with how things were going.

“The paint job looks good by the way,” you commented after you'd updated Johnny on everything work related. “I forgot to mention it earlier.”

“Been needed for a while, huh?” You had been saving for months to get the Firebird resprayed for his birthday. All that money was gone now, spent on the deposit for your apartment. It made you feel dejected that you'd never been able to do that for him. “Can you come to the dojo tomorrow? The kids miss you.”

“I'm around. How are they doing?”

“They were upset with me after what happened. Guess they don't like their Sensei being an asshole.”

“I guess not. It shows you've taught them well though, right?”

“Pretty sure that wasn't my influence.”

“If you didn't teach them well, you wouldn't even know they were upset. They would have hidden it from you, especially after what they saw. But they still felt comfortable enough to express themselves and that's no small thing.”

“Yeah. . .maybe.”

“Maybe?” You shot back with a sharp tone.

“Alright, yeah,” he admitted, you felt a little triumphant that he had accepted what you'd told him. You were also glad of the fact that his students weren't scared of him. He'd always been better than his own Sensei. Johnny was good at heart, he just needed to open his eyes and see it for himself.

Somehow he was already pulling up outside your apartment block, the drive back had gone by too quickly. If you asked him to come up, would that be too forward? Too personal? He turned off the ignition and looked at you with a serious expression on his face.

“I saw Robby last week.”

“You did?”

“Yeah.”

“Is he doing okay?”

“He's doing alright, aside from the fact his mom decided to go to Mexico with her new boyfriend.”

“He's by himself?” Johnny nodded dejectedly.

“I asked if he wanted to stay round mine but he'd rather stay put.” He couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice though he tried hard to mask it.

“It's better that he has the option.”

“I guess. I'm convinced that she didn't leave him anything for the rent so I left him some money. I might talk to her landlord, make sure next month's covered too.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” He pressed his lips and nodded again. Whenever it came to Robby, he was always a mess of perpetual doubt and debilitating fear. He was scared that anything he might do would hurt Robby in some way. You hoped that what you'd said to him was going to be enough encouragement.

“He asked about you too,” Johnny mentioned. “He wanted to know whether you were still keeping me in line.” You let out a soft laugh but then the smile faded from your face. Had Johnny told him that you weren't together anymore? He must have noticed your unease because he said that he was going to go and make sure everything was sorted for Robby.

“I'll see you tomorrow then, Johnny.”

“Make sure you get some sleep.”

- - -

You were rather taken back by the warm welcome you received from the kids when you turned up at the dojo the next day. They waved and said their hellos, they seemed to be genuinely pleased to see you. Miguel and Aisha followed you into the office, making sure you were caught up on everything that had happened in your absence. Bert had apparently scored a couple points against Miguel during a practice fight last week and there was a new student who had moved to Reseda a couple weeks ago.

It wasn't long before the kids had to leave to start their stretches. Johnny came in for a quick hello, informing you that he'd spoken to the landlord of Robby's apartment and he made sure that the rent was paid for the next two months.

After he went off to begin the class, you were filled with a sense of calm. Things were comfortable between you and Johnny again, and to hear him really trying to get things right with Robby made you feel proud. You supposed it wasn't right having these kinds of feelings for someone you weren't with anymore. But this was Johnny. . .you wouldn't ever stop having feeling things for him.

The time away from the dojo meant you had a lot to catch up on. It wasn't as bad as you'd initially thought it would be, so you were glad of the progress that was made by the end of class. Aisha came into the office with Miguel trailing behind, who was rather poorly trying to conceal something behind his back. Hawk was standing by the door with his arms crossed.

Aisha explained that a bunch of them had ordered Cobra Kai shirts online. They'd been wearing them at school and they kept getting asked where the cool shirts were from and what the logo meant. Miguel then revealed what he'd been hiding, a black Cobra Kai shirt.

“We figured you should have one too,” Aisha told you with a grin. The sweet gesture took you by surprise, you didn't know what to say. You hesitantly took the shirt from Miguel and held it up to check it out. It looked great, the Cobra Kai logo really popped against the black.

“You're Cobra Kai too after all,” Miguel said. The smile on your face must have reached your eyes, you were moved by his words.

“Sensei told us this was your size but if it doesn't fit, we've got a few spares.” Aisha pointed out. They'd spoken to Johnny about this?  

“Thanks, to all of you,” you replied, looking at Aisha and Miguel before glancing over at Hawk. It wasn't clear what he felt about all this, he wasn't giving anything away. “This is uh. . .pretty cool, huh?”

“I think Sensei called them badass.” Miguel corrected you.

“Yeah he would.”

“Hawk!” Johnny called out from the dojo, as if he had sensed you talking about him. “Diaz! Miss Robinson!” The other two followed Hawk in quick succession.

While the rest of the kids left, the three of them stayed to do some additional training. With so much work still to do, you stayed put as well. By the time your concentration started to leg, Johnny had finished the extra session. Hawk was the first to leave with Aisha soon after. You heard her mention that her friend was waiting outside. It seemed like a good time to call it a day.

As you were about to stand up from the chair, Johnny came into the office eyeing the shirt that was on the desk.

“Does it fit?”

“I haven't tried it on yet.”

“Well come on,” he urged, grabbing the shirt and throwing it into your lap. You wheeled the chair back slightly before taking off your own top and putting on the Cobra Kai shirt. The material was soft and comfortable, it wasn't that thin, scratchy stuff that always seemed to itch. You raised your eyebrows at Johnny, waiting for his verdict.

“Nice.”

“Not badass?”

“That too.” He looked over the desk which you'd cleared of paperwork. “You leaving?”

“Yeah, I got a lot done today.”

“I don't know what I'd do without your help.” The smirk wasn't on his face anymore, his lips parted open slightly. There was a severity to his expression which made you still. But the tension faded when he took a step back and went to the door. “I'll call you.”

You followed Johnny out of the office a few moments later and walked past the mats, saying bye to him and Miguel. You were glad that Johnny wasn't skipping the kid's training. When you went through the lot, you almost paused mid-step as you saw Hawk standing by your car. You hadn't taken off the Cobra Kai shirt, Miguel had said you were one of them, that was more than enough ammunition.

Making yourself appear relaxed, you approached Hawk as casually as possible, not wanting to seem confrontational. This time his arms weren't crossed, if anything he looked a little sheepish.

“You here to talk?” You asked, keeping a sizeable distance from him.

“Why did you do it?”

“I'm not sure what you-”

“Why did you lie to Sensei?”

“About what?”

“You told him it was an accident when it wasn't.”

“Wasn't it?”

“I meant to punch you,” he retorted in a defensive tone.

“It looked like you regretted it afterwards.” Hawk opened his mouth about to answer back but you cut him off. “And even if you didn't, you're still a kid. You deserve the benefit of the doubt.” The fight seemed to sink out of his shoulders, his jaw was no longer tight, he wasn't glaring at you anymore.

“Just because you have that shirt doesn't make you Cobra Kai. You have to earn it.”

“Well maybe if I ever do, you can let me know.” He pressed his lips together, notably unhappy about your compromising reply.

“Whatever,” he muttered under his breath before walking off. Getting into your car, you were quite bewildered by how well that seemed to have gone.

- - -

It felt good getting back into the routine of going to the dojo twice a week. Things had settled out between you and Johnny, though they weren't quite what they had been. Before what happened with Hawk, there was a budding and growing friendliness between you. That was gone now. He didn't joke like he did before, he didn't tease you or wink at you as he left the office. It was going to take him time to be comfortable with you again. He held onto his anger like nothing else in this world. You didn't know how long it was going to take him.  

When he called you one evening, asking whether he could give you a ride to work the next day, you hoped that this might be the start. You told him what apartment you were in, figuring that it was long overdue that he knew exactly where you lived.

The next morning he knocked on your door after you'd buzzed him up. He was earlier than you'd been expecting so you hadn't quite managed to settle down your nerves. You sucked in a breath before opening up the door for him. Johnny looked good. He was wearing jeans, a long-sleeved black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a grey vest underneath.

“Hey,” he said before you let him inside.

“I won't be long,” you replied as you went to grab your phone and put on your shoes. As you were getting ready, you noticed how he was looking over the apartment. It wasn't exactly a place to be proud of, rather the opposite in fact. He was trying to hide how his expression soured, it probably reminded him of his mother. He used to live around here when he was kid. When you were ready, you headed out and he followed you down the stairwell.

“Someone took a piss down there so watch out for the puddle,” Johnny warned as you neared the last flight of stairs. That must have been one of the neighbours again. Since you'd been living here, you'd been lucky enough to avoid stepping in anything. You were beginning to feel the onset of shame so it was a relief to get in the Firebird and leave the apartment far behind.

“I was thinking about running a practice tournament for the kids,” he mentioned, turning his head in your direction briefly.

“You think they're ready?”

“They need some more time, but I think they're almost there,” Johnny replied. “Would you wanna help officiate?”

“Like score points and stuff?”

“Yeah. I mean I can teach you all the rules and then you can help me organise the tournament. I want it to be as close to the real thing as possible.”

“Are you gonna get me the little flags too?” He laughed softly, the sound of it making your chest warm.

“Don't worry, I'll make sure you have the little flags. Is that a yes then?”

“I guess it is, yeah.”

Johnny gave you an overview of the rules and it wasn't long before he pulled up outside work. You hung around for a few more minutes, not wanting to leave, but eventually he told you to get going so you wouldn't be late again.

Work was tedious and you were itching to get back into the Firebird with him all day long. You kept thinking about how much the dojo had shifted his focus into a better place. There was such a marked difference in Johnny and in the progress that he had made. You could see it in the way he held himself, how much healthier he looked, the care he put into his appearance. You could tell just by looking at his eyes. They were so much brighter now.

Those last few months you were together, it was like he wasting away right in front of you. He was drowning in his pain and the booze and the grief and there was nothing you could do but watch. It terrified you. And the worst part of it was that he didn't even acknowledge what was happening. It was like you'd made up the whole thing just to spite him. You'd never felt so alone in your entire life, regardless of the fact that you slept in the same bed as him and lived in his apartment.

Johnny was waiting outside when you finished work. The unreserved smile that was on his face as you approached the Firebird made your heart ache. It hadn't even been half a day and you had missed him. Getting in the passenger seat, you put the feeling down to all the reminiscing you'd been doing. It was always particularly unpleasant to think about how bad Johnny had gotten.

Rather than turning up the music, he spoke more about his plans for the tournament. Though he had a decent idea about which students would fight each other, he wanted to mix things up and have the kids fight against people they weren't totally familiar with.

When he parked outside your apartment block, you were about to invite him up but he mentioned he had training with Miguel. He asked whether you'd be able to make it to the dojo tomorrow. Without hesitation you agreed, glad that you were seeing him sooner rather than later.

- - -

Over the next couple weeks, Johnny began to focus the classes on the fights which combined all of the various moves they'd been learning. Hawk didn't scowl or eye you with distaste anymore. You could have sworn blind that at some point he actually gave you a slight nod in greeting.

Johnny asked you to meet him at the dojo late one evening, long after class and Miguel's training session. It was just the two of you. He went over the rules for point scoring and agreed to your suggestion of going through some videos on your phone so he could explain it with visuals. Somehow he ended up placing the fold out chair right next to you, his shoulder leaning against yours as he constantly pointed at the screen and explained what the referees were looking for.

At first it had been difficult to concentrate with the sensation of how warm he felt and how his voice lulled you into a state of calmness. He tested you on a few videos, telling you to score the match up yourself. After more than a couple mistakes, you were beginning to think this wasn't such a good idea, but Johnny was patient with you, he took you through it again, showing you where to keep your focus. He seemed happy with your progress and promised to go over it until you were confident.

Later that week you were back in the office filling out some insurance forms. The medkit was standing by in front of you as the kids were doing some sparring to finish up the class. When you heard Johnny call Miguel and Aisha to fight, you turned your attention to the mats. They were Johnny's best students along side Hawk. They bowed to their Sensei before bowing to each other.

“Fight!” Johnny called out. Miguel was the first to move and Aisha immediately blocked each of his oncoming kicks. He shifted out of the way when she tried to knock him off balance. They pulled apart, and circled each other for a few moments before Aisha advanced forward.

Over the next minute it was a flurry of each of them attacking and blocking until Miguel managed to kick her in the jaw. Aisha stumbled backwards, holding her hands to her face. Johnny immediately called it and hurried to check on her. The concern was clear on Miguel's face as he began to apologise.

“Alright class, you did well today. Diaz, stretch them out.”

“Yes, Sensei.” As Johnny guided Aisha to the office by her elbow, the rest of the kids lined up on the mats so Miguel to take them through some stretches and cool down from the workout. After Aisha took a seat, Johnny knelt down in front of her, coaxing her to move her hands away.

“Could you get some ice?” Johnny asked, his eyes flicking over to you. While you got off the chair, Johnny was finally able to take a look at Aisha's jaw. You hoped it wasn't too bad.

When you opened up the refrigerator, your body stilled, blood rushed to your ears. You stared mindlessly at the pack of Coors beer sitting on the shelf. It was Johnny's beer. He had it right here in the dojo. They weren't hidden away, they were right out in the open. This was routine for him. He was drinking in front of the kids.

You could barely process the thought, a wave of dread made your hand brace against the refrigerator. Johnny was still drinking? For some reason you hadn't. . .you hadn't thought about it. Why hadn't you? When was the last time you'd ever thought about him drinking? You suddenly realised that you hadn't since you'd broken up with him. It was like your mind had just. . .blanked it all out.

The sound of Aisha grumbling in pain made you grab the ice bag from the freezer compartment. You slammed the refrigerator door shut and placed the bag in Johnny's waiting hand.

All this time you'd thought he'd been getting better, but he'd been drinking all along, right in front of these kids. You couldn't. . .you couldn't. . .

“I'm pretty sure it's not dislocated,” Johnny told Aisha as he held the ice bag by her chin. “Can you slowly open your jaw for me? Let me know if anything feels weird.”

“It just hurts,” she replied after doing what he said.

“Okay, that's a good sign.”

“I'm so stupid, I should have seen it coming,” she mumbled angrily under her breath.

“It was a good fight.”

“Not good enough,” she shot back.

“Look I know you're angry, but trust me, you have to let it go. Making mistakes is how you become a better fighter. You're still learning, don't forget that.” Aisha remained quiet and it didn't look as if she believed Johnny.

“Diaz has been training longer than you have and you held your own. You did good work today.” She still seemed disappointed, but Johnny was able to get a muted smile out of her when he gently punched her shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Come on, Miss Robinson, just because you're a girl doesn't mean I'm going to sugarcoat anything for you.”

“Thanks, Sensei.”

“Now I'm going to make sure that Diaz doesn't bend any of my students out of shape, alright?” Aisha's smile widened at that. You avoided Johnny's gaze as he left the office. She looked up at you curiously while you stood in front of her without saying a word.

“Do you uh. . .can I. . .do anything?” You forced yourself to ask.

“I'm okay. The ice is helping.”

“Good, that's. . .” Trailing off, you wandered back to the chair, hands gripping onto some paper. Your eyes couldn't focus on the words.

You couldn't. . .fuck, you could barely hold yourself together. You wanted to leave the dojo, you wanted to run as fast as you could, you wanted to get away from here. Memories of Johnny's unconscious body sprawled out on the floor kept filling your mind like an endless torment. The smell of the vomit and the beer, the sound of him choking, the way his body convulsed. Johnny come on wake up, can you hear me, talk to me, please talk to me, come on Johnny just wake up, please Johnny say something, say anything, please I'm begging you, please wake up, Johnny, please, please wake up!

You looked over the office and noticed that Aisha wasn't there. Class was over, quite a few of the kids had already gone. She was chatting to Hawk and was still holding the ice bag on her jaw. Johnny was talking to Miguel as they headed towards the storage room.

The moment he was out of sight, you rushed to your feet and left the dojo, uncertain if you'd ever come back. - - - Hope you enjoyed this installment! Thanks for all your comments, they’ve been so encouraging and I love hearing that you’re enjoying this angsty fuckfest with me x Taglist: @whyhaveyouwritten-mehere @lacontroller1991 @stressedstark @wndrcarol @carissakingofthecastle92 @witchcraftandwit @magicwithaknife@80strashbag @jem-my-greatest-sin @masonsbitch @wholesomehen @chlqefrazer @actuallydrew @jem-my-greatest-sin @masonsbitch  @wholesomehen  @deadpoolgirl23   @sorryyoureoutofmyleague​  @princealfie​  @jackbarakms​