#before he's turned back into an adult by eric the red | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

elianamarie-blog · 1 year ago

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The Things You Give Pt. 32

WhOoO wEeE! It's be a long time. Sorry it took so long! I've had a wild summer, yall. I moved and been pretty darn tired! I've also been stuck in a writing rut, so please forgive me. But I think I got it! I hope you like this chapter! It took a bit to write and I hope I do it justice. Thank you, loves! For everything. By the way, it's finally spooky season! Yay!

“What are you doing here?” Y/n asked incuriously.

“I’m here to pick up some stuff,” he responded and leaned against the doorframe, staring her up and down. “Whoa, who did this to you?”

“Who the hell are you?” Hyde asked, coming up behind Y/n.

“Connor,” he replied coyly and flicked his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes. “Who are you?”

“I’m her husband,” he said defensively.

“Oh, yeah I heard about you,” Connor said, wagging a finger at him. “You’re the one that got busted for carrying. Like, two years ago, right?”

“Yeah, now answer my question.”

Connor smirked and eyed Y/n up and down. “I was her camp counselor a couple years back.”

Hyde looked to his wife whose eyes never left Connor’s. “Is he the one you…?”

“Yep,” Y/n responded shortly.

“And it looks like I dodged a bullet,” Connor snickered.

Y/n sharply inhaled, a throbbing headache already coming on. “What do you want, Connor?”

“I’m here for my dad,” he responded. “Wanted me to pick up something from Red.”

“What? What could he have that you need to pick up?”

“Hey, Connor!” Red greeted as he came from the den. “Glad you’re here! Wanna follow me into the garage?”

“How do you know each other?” Y/n asked.

“I ran into his dad while at the hardware store the other day,” Red replied. “He told me that he was in need of a chainsaw and I told him ‘No need, you can borrow mine.’”

The couple raised their eyebrows at him.

“You’re willingly letting someone borrow one of your tools?” Y/n asked incredulously. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with my dad?”

Red chuckled. “I know his dad. We’ve known each other for years. We served together in Korea.”

“Oh…” she trailed off, her stomach dropping. “Of course, he did.”

“How bout that?” Hyde chuckled, jealousy starting to boil in his veins.

“How do you two know each other?” Red asked, turning the question back on them.

“I was her camp counselor,” Connor repeated. “We had a good time and got to know each other pretty well.” He drawled on those last two words, not breaking eye contact with her.

Y/n glared at him, her fingers starting to itch from wanting to wrap them around his throat.

Red furrowed his brows at him. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing,” Y/n answered through clenched teeth. “We got to know each other just like everyone else.”

Red couldn’t help but squint his eyes at the three young adults: Y/n standing rigid, clenching her jaw while Steven stood stiff as well with his fists balled up, knuckles white. Then there was Connor whose smirk never left his face, eyes scanning his daughter like a piece of meat. Any likeness he had towards the kid was quickly going down the drain.

“Alright, Connor, follow me to the garage,” Red said, less enthusiastic as before.

“Yes, Mr. Forman,” Connor said dutifully and brushed past Y/n without breaking eye contact—or his smirk.

Once those two disappeared behind the kitchen, Y/n spun to Hyde whose eyes were locked on the kitchen door. If she didn’t know any better, he would be able to burn holes into it.

“That son of a bitch,” she spit.

“I hate him,” he said shortly.

“Yeah, me too,” she sighed and got back to helping everyone clean. “Just don’t pay any mind to him. It’s what he wants.”

“Why did he bring up your guys’ past like that?” Eric asked.

Y/n froze as she was picking up the plates. “Uh...I don't know. Reasons?"

“What reasons?” Donna pressed, grinning wickedly.

Y/n whipped her head towards her, baring her teeth. “Shut. Up,” she mouthed.

“Nothing, guys,” Y/n said without making eye contact. “Just drop it, okay?”

“Y/n…what aren’t you telling us?” Kitty asked nervously.

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied, getting visibly nervous. “Let’s just clean up because I’m getting tired and want to go to bed.”

“Y/n, it’s six o’ clock,” Donna pointed out.

“Yeah, well, you try carrying twins!” she snapped.

Donna laughed as she carried the rest of the plates in the kitchen.

“Y/n…please tell me you didn’t do anything with that boy,” Kitty almost begged, nervous.

“Uhm…” she stumbled, her brain short-circuiting.

“You know what, I don’t want to know,” Kitty said, almost disgusted. “All my children are sex maniacs.” She rushed out the living into the kitchen.

“Okay, but seriously, what the hell?” Y/n hissed once Kitty was out of earshot. “Out of all people, he had to be the one to show up at my front door!”

“What’s the big deal?” Eric asked. “It’s not like he’s going to stir up anything. He’s just here to pick something for his dad.”

“No, absolutely not,” she responded. “Knowing Connor, he’s going to pull something Zack would do.”

“You know, I’m getting real tired of all these surprise visitors,” Hyde grumbled and picked up some plates off the coffee table. “It’s starting to dwindle my will to live.”

“You don’t think he’s going to tell Dad about you two, do you?” Eric asked nervously.

“If he’s asking for an ass whooping, then sure,” his twin chuckled. “I��m not worried about Dad’s reaction, I want to know his true intention.”

“Yeah, it can’t get worse than finding out about you and Hyde,” Donna chuckled.

“Yeah,” Y/n trailed off, remembering the murder that almost took place. She shook her head, bringing herself back in the moment. “Anyway.”

“He can’t do any worse than what Zack did,” Donna said.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Y/n grumbled. “I’m really not in the mood to kick his ass, too.”

“Hey, I’m your husband. That’s my job,” Hyde piped up and smiled at her, making his way into the kitchen.

“And you’ll look sexy while doing it,” she responded and followed him into the kitchen.

Eric and Donna trailed behind them as well, carrying the rest of the garbage and dishes.

Kitty sat at the table with a glass of bourbon, reading a Cosmo magazine.

“Uh, oh. Someone pulled out the bourbon,” Y/n sang-song. “What’s got you upset?”

“Oh, nothing,” Kitty said hoarsely as she flipped through her magazine. “It’s nice knowing all my children are sinners.”

“Ugh, Mom,” Eric and Y/n groaned in unison.

“And the fact that you two partied and drank in high school,” Hyde tsked, watching as the twins turned to him with wide eyes and murderous looks.

“You what?!” Kitty screeched.

“Nothing!” Y/n seethed. “Hyde is just a little loopy from his head injury.”

“What? I don’t have a—”

He didn’t finish as he was wacked hard upside the head.

“Ow, Y/n!” Hyde grumbled, rubbing his head, but his smirk didn’t falter nor go unnoticed.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Y/n said and finished throwing away the trash. “I want to know why, out of all the guys in Point Place, why did he have to come knocking at my front door?”

“Come on, Y/n, whatever happened between you two was a while ago,” Donna said, carefully picking her words. “I don’t think he’s here to start anything.”

“I don’t know,” she responded. Her mind was reeling of the possibilities. “If Zack was a problem before, I can’t imagine what Connor is going to be.”

“Oh, Y/n, you’re being a little dramatic,” Kitty said and stood from the table with her bourbon in hand. “Connor isn’t going to do anything. You’re married now with twins on the way. I don’t think he’s going to try anything.”

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t ease my nerves,” she responded and grabbed a snack from the fridge.

“Don’t let one person ruin your day,” Kitty said exasperated. “You had a great day! You had a beautiful baby shower—thanks to me—and you got amazing gifts—also thanks to me—and now you have everything you need for these babies! Why would you want to let an ex ruin that?”

“I guess,” Y/n sighed, rubbing her eyes. “I just don’t have the time or energy to deal with another ex-problem. I want to focus on the babies and figuring out what I’m doing to do with my life.”

“You still haven’t figured it out?” Kitty asked, shocked.

“Well…no,” she admitted sheepishly. “I don’t know what I’m interested in.”

“Join the club,” Eric said.

“Well, figure it out, you two, because you won’t be living here for the rest of your lives.” She didn’t give them a chance to respond as she marched out the kitchen.

“Ugh,” Y/n grunted as plopped down at the table. “I’m exhausted.” A beat passed. “Steven, I’m hungry.”

He sighed and looked at her adoringly. “What do you want?”

She perked up. “A big fat cheeseburger with extra pickles and large fries. Oh, and a chocolate milkshake!”

“You got it,” he said and kissed her before grabbing his keys.

“Can you get me something?” Eric asked.

“No,” Hyde called over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

Eric turned back to his sister who was grinning. “Nice husband you got there.”

“I know,” she responded dreamily.

Suddenly, the door slid open revealing Connor and Red with Connor holding a chainsaw.

“Thanks, Mr. Forman. I know my mom is going to be really happy once my dad cuts off those noisy tree branches. She’ll finally be able to sleep at night now that the branches won’t be hitting her window.”

“You’re welcome. Just remember to bring it back,” Red said, smiling. “Tell Chuck I said hi and to give me a call. Maybe he’d like to grab a few beers and catch up.”

“I’ll let him know,” Connor chuckled innocently before he caught sight of Y/n. His eyes suddenly turned vulture like as if he was waiting for his prey to die. “I’ll see you later,” he purred.

A shiver ran down her spine, and not in a good way. “Ew.”

“Come on, sugar, don’t be like that.”

“Wow, okay, we have a lot to unpack here,” she stated and stood to her feet. “One: Don’t call me that. It’s gross, you’re gross. And second of all: I don’t know why you out of all people have to be here, but stay away from me, stay away from my friends, and stay away from my family. Specifically, my husband.”

“Trust me, sweets, I wasn’t planning on being anywhere near you.”

She squinted at him. “Good. I already had to deal with Zack, don’t make me deal with you, too.”

“Oh, yeah, I heard about that,” he snickered. “You made him run away with his tail tucked between his legs. Real badass what you did there.”

“Don’t patronize me,” she spit. “I don’t need you bringing your crap into my life. There’s a reason why we didn’t move forward with our relationship.”

“You call what we had—or did—a relationship?” he sneered. Her eyes widened as he smirked at her. “Darling, I only hooked up with you because I needed a release.”

“You did WHAT?!” Red barked, making Y/n jump.

“This is it; this is how I die,” she whispered to Donna who was sitting behind her.

“You hooked up with your camp counselor?!” Red continued to shriek and turned to Connor. “You’re like two years older than her!”

“Hey, man, she wanted it just as much. She was hot on me like a moth to a flame.”

Y/n thought she was going to vomit right then and there.

“Connor, man, do you think this is smart to do with my dad and a chainsaw in the same room?” Eric muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

“I’m going to kill you with my bare hands!” Red roared.

"Wow, okay, go straight to it," Eric murmured and got behind Y/n.

“And then I’m going to detach every single one of your limbs for fish bait and if that is able to bring me any use, then that is the most useful you’ve ever been in your entire life!” Red continued.

Connor chuckled as if he just didn’t receive a threat from Red who was very capable of following through. “Yeah, okay. Thanks for the chainsaw, man.”

“I don’t think so,” Red countered and ripped the chainsaw out of his hands. “You can get the hell out of my house.”

The smile on Connor’s face faded. “Fine.”

“Oh, and tell Chuck that he’s a son of a bitch and I never liked him.”

Connor didn’t respond, but turn on his heel and walk out. Once they heard the front door slam close, Red whipped to his daughter who was cowering away from him.

“What the hell was that about?” he demanded. “All that crap he was saying—he better be lying because I’m tired of hearing things about you that a father should never hear about his daughter.”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Y/n responded cooly, even though her heart was about to beat out of her chest.

“Okay, then tell me how it is, then,” Red challenged as he put the chainsaw down to cross his arms. “Tell me how it’s ‘not as bad as it sounds.’”

“We went out a couple times and kissed once,” she lied—sort of. “Nothing beyond that. He was just being a prick. And he told me he was the same age as me, so I didn’t think anything of it.”

Red stared at her for a moment, deciphering whether she was telling the truth or not. She held her breath while under his scrutinized glare.

Another beat passed. “Fine.”

Her gaze snapped to his. “Fine?”

“Fine,” he repeated. “At this point I don’t care if you’re lying to me. I’m just tired of your ex-boyfriends.”

“Believe me, so am I,” she grumbled and watched as Red walked out the kitchen. “I’m still not convinced that he’s gone for good.”

“He’s gone for now,” Donna said, attempting to soothe her best friend. “Try to relax.”

“Keyword is ‘try’,” she grumbled and allowed Donna to lead her back to the table. Putting her hands on Y/n’s shoulders, she guided her down into the chair.

“Look, you’re three months away from popping and any stress isn’t good for the babies. You need to find a way to destress. Decompress tonight and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Okay?” Eric said, trying to comfort his sister.

Y/n’s face scrunched up in realization. “Isn’t that from my book?”

“Hey, I get bored. And I’m reader, I can’t help it.”

Y/n chuckled as Donna handed her a juice. “Thanks.”

“Okay, let’s forget about Connor,” Donna continued and sat next to her best friend. “What do you want to do?”

“Well…I could go for a movie,” she perked up.

Donna nodded. “Okay, sure. What movie do you wanna see?”

“I heard the new Rocky movie was good.”

“Nah, nah, nah, you wanna see Mad Max,” Eric intercepted. “Now that movie was badass!”

“Or,” Y/n continued, ignoring Eric. “I could go upstairs, get into my comfiest pjs and put on a movie and wait for Steven to bring me my food so I can go to bed early.”

“You’ve been sleeping a lot more lately,” Eric said, concerned.

“I’m busy incubating right now. Let me know how well it goes for you when you get pregnant.”

“Ha, ha, very funny,” he deadpanned.

“No, but I am tired and I just want to snuggle up with my husband.” She checked her watch. “Where is Steven with the food?”

“It’s only been a few minutes,” Eric said, cutting himself a slice a cake Kitty had made earlier in the day.

“This town ain’t that big,” Y/n countered. “I swear, if he’s not here in five minutes, I’m going to start eating you.”

Eric’s eyes widened.

“Hey, Doll,” Steven said, sliding the door open. “Sorry, it took so long. The line was—”

“Oh, thank God,” Eric cried out and grabbed Hyde’s shoulders and spun his body around so that Eric was using him as a human shield. “Y/n was about to start honing in to eat me.”

“What?” Hyde responded, barley stumbling back. “No, she wasn’t and—get off me, Forman!” He shrugged Eric off his shoulders.

“Is that mine?” Y/n asked, pointing to the white, greasy bag in her husband’s hand.

“Who else’s would it be?” he asked, teasing. “Here you go. And here’s that milkshake.”

“Thank you, baby,” she cooed and kissed him.

“Of course.” He looked around the kitchen, noticing Connor’s absence. “Where’s wannabe frat boy?”

“He left. He told my dad that we were a thing.”

“What?!”

“Yeah…”

“And the place is still standing?” he quipped.

“It wasn’t about to be,” Y/n chuckled and sat down to dig in.

“Yeah, sounds about right,” Hyde said and swiped one of her fries.

She smacked his hand away. “Hey! Get your own.”

--Time Skip—

“Hey, Honey, do you have the new The Knack album?” Y/n asked while browsed through the records at Groove’s.

“Yeah.” Hyde rounded the checkout counter and joined her at the crates of records. He flicked through a few before he pulled out and handed it to her. “One The Knack record for my pretty lady.”

“Forever the gentlemen,” she flirted and took it from his grip. She flipped it over to see the price. “Oh, Mr. Hyde I don’t have any money to pay for this.” She twirled a piece of hair around her finger. “Will you take any other form of payment?”

Steven looked at her with hooded eyes, smirking, and took a step closer to her, a hand resting on her hip. “I can think of one.”

She hummed. “Where can I give your payment?”

“The office is empty,” he purred and started kissing her jaw.

“Does it lock?” she breathed.

“I installed one for a reason.”

Y/n felt a moan creeping up in the back of her throat as she felt his lips brush against her sweet spot on her neck. “Are you busy?”

“I can take my break.”

“Really, you two? At work?” an annoyed voice piped up from behind them.

They spun around to see Angie standing there, holding a clipboard and a file.

“In the middle of the store, no less,” she continued. “Very professional, Steven.”

“You’re right,” Hyde said and grabbed Y/n’s hand. “We still have the office.”

He started to tug her towards the office when Angie stopped them.

“No! Don’t defile our office like that!” Angie argued. “I do our paperwork and eat my lunch in there!”

“Oh…you might want to find another place to eat now,” Y/n said sheepishly.

Angie’s eyes widened. “EW! What is wrong with you two?!”

Steven shrugged and wrapped an arm around Y/n's shoulders. “What can I say? We’re hot for each other.”

Angie scoffed. “Well, you can’t leave the floor anyway. You need to do inventory, remember?”

Hyde sighed in annoyance. “C’mon, man, we have until Friday to finish it.”

“Yeah, and it’s Tuesday and I’ve already done half of the work,” she argued. “I think having your wife here is distracting you.”

“Hey, ‘his wife’ has a name and you know that!” Y/n piped up.

“Honey, I’ve got this,” Steven said defensively. “My wife has a name, and you know that!”

“She just said that,” Angie said.

“I know,” he replied and shuffled his feet, straightening his back. “It sounds better coming from me.”

Y/n’s eyes rolled but couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face.

“Besides, she has every right to be here just as much as everyone else,” Hyde continued. “If you don’t want her here, then I’m not going to be here. You know what? That sounds like a good idea. C’mon, Y/n, let’s go—”

As he turned to walk out, Angie stopped them again. “You can’t go anywhere. You said you were going to lock up the store tonight.”

Steven stopped dead in his tracks and turned back around. “When did I say that?”

“Yesterday, when I asked you if you could lock up tonight because I have a date.”

Hyde thought back to the day before, trying to remember when he agreed to do it. It suddenly hit him when he had strolled in after “lunch” and was barley listening to her as he watched the patterns on the wall dance.

“In my opinion, I didn’t know what I was agreeing to,” he argued, and Angie rolled her eyes. “Besides, who do you have a date with?”

“No one in particular,” she said, the file suddenly becoming interesting.

“Angie…” he warned. “Are you going out with Kelso?”

“No,” she said, a little too loudly.

“Angie, you can’t go out with Kelso, man! Kelsos have a bad rep. Even the sign entering Point Place says that.”

“Yeah, he’s right,” Y/n said. “It literally says, ‘Don’t date Kelso.’”

Angie shook her head, rolling her eyes. “You guys have nothing to worry about. It’s just dinner.”

“Yeah, and you’re going to be dessert,” Y/n quipped, earning a dirty glare from her husband. “Look, if you don’t want to end up pregnant like the last chick, don’t—and I cannot stress this enough—date Kelso.”

“Well, then I can just join your club then,” Angie said snidely.

Y/n squinted at her sister-in-law, feeling insulted. “You know what? Let her get knocked up, I don’t care,” she said and walked away to sit down at the counter.

“C’mon, can you close up tonight?” Angie said. “Do you want me to beg?”

“Actually, yeah, I do.” Steven changed his stance, legs spread apart with his arms crossed. “Go ahead.”

She groaned. “Fine. Please?”

He scrunched his face. “No. You’re not going out with Kelso. I forbid it.”

He walked past her to join Y/n at the register.

“Forbid it?” Angie asked. “You can’t forbid me to do anything!”

“I don’t care, man. Kelso is bad news, and I won’t let him hurt you because that’s what he’ll do.”

“Awe, that’s so sweet that you’re looking out for me,” she cooed.

He leaned against the counter on his hands. “No, it’s not that. I don’t want to have Kelso officially related to me. I already can’t stand him as my friend.”

“Okay fine. I won’t go out with him,” Angie said, pouting. “But you’re still going to lock up for me tonight.”

“Fine.”

“But that’s not the reason why I came out here.” She handed him the folder in her hand. “I hired a new girl and she’s on her way right now to fill out the paperwork.”

“We were hiring?” he asked, flipping through the file. “What’s she like?”

“Well, her name is Mandy, she’s twenty and still in college. Very sweet, very smart, and very cute.”

“Oh, good to know. Didn’t even know we were hiring.”

“It’s only part time, but she’ll be a good addition to the store.”

“Uh, quick question,” Y/n piped up, holding up her hand. “Why didn’t you think to ask me? I’m not only here every other day, I know my way around the store.”

“Because when you go into labor, we’d have to find a temporary replacement and I don’t want to go through that trouble. It’s better to just have someone already lined up,” Angie responded. “Besides, having a pregnant lady here might turn off some customers.”

“Oh, well, thanks for your consideration,” Y/n muttered bitterly.

“She starts Monday. Make sure she fills out all the forms and has her driver’s license and social security card,” Angie directed.

“Do we really need all that stuff?” Hyde asked and tossed the folder on the counter beside him. “It’s just you and me, man. We don’t need a third person here.”

“Extra help won’t hurt,” she said. “Besides, she’ll really help out when you go on paternity leave.”

“Paternity leave? I’m only going to be gone a few days, maybe a week.”

“A week?!” Y/n interrupted. “I’m going to push two full grown babies out of a hole the size of a pea and you’re only going to be home for a week?!”

“Well, Y/n, I still have to bring home a paycheck,” he replied, turning to his wife. “You can’t buy diapers without me bringing home the dough.”

“Oh, come on, you know how Dad is,” Angie said. “We both know he’s going to pay you a little extra. You are making him a grandfather anyway.”

“I’m not going to assume that he’s going to pay me, Angie,” he said, opening the cash drawer to count it.

“Yeah, because he’s my hardworking man,” Y/n gushed and wrapped her arms around his middle, kissing his shoulder.

“Ugh, get a room,” Angie said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, we tried but you clam-jammed me,” Hyde said and snickered after Angie wrinkled her nose at him.

“Just…be nice to the girl when she comes in, will you?” Angie asked desperately and looked at Y/n. “And keep your hands to yourselves.”

“Oh, you mean like this?” Y/n grabbed her husband and smashed her mouth to his, roaming her hands all over his back, shoulders, and butt.

Steven went along and gripped her hips, returning the kiss.

“Uh…is there where I’m supposed to fill out paperwork?” a small voice piped up.

The couple pulled apart instantly. In front of the counter stood a petite girl with dark flowing hair and dazzling green eyes. She was skinny but had a natural big bust which was really pointed out by her sling bag strap resting between her breasts. Her face was round and innocent with a natural pink tint to it. Overall, she was absolutely gorgeous.

Y/n couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

Angie could feel her face heating up and blocked her of the PDA. “You must be Mandy,” she chuckled nervously.

“Is this how your employees interact with each other?” she asked with a hint of a smile.

“No!” Angie quickly defended. “They’re…they’re—uh—”

“Married,” Hyde finished for her. “And she’s not an employee. This is my wife, Y/n.”

“Hi, I’m Mandy,” she said, waving.

“I’m Steven Hyde, I’m the manager,” he said and shook her hand. “But you can call me Hyde.”

“So, you’ll be my boss?” she asked.

“Yes, and her too,” he pointed to Angie. “You’ll probably be dealing with her more than me, though.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding her head. “Sounds easy enough.”

“Trust me, man, it is,” he said, walking around the counter and hopped onto it, his legs dangling. “Just keep the store running and don’t let anyone steal anything and you’ll be golden.”

“Well, there’s more to that,” Angie corrected, giving Steven a look. “But that’s the gist of it.”

“Okay, sounds good,” she beamed. “Where should I sign the papers?”

“Here, I’ll take you into the office,” Hyde said and grabbed the folder then lead her into the office. He turned briefly to shoot Angie and Y/n a smirk before entering the room.

Once they disappeared, Y/n turned to Angie. “What the hell? You couldn’t hire someone else?”

She couldn’t even be bothered to look up from her clip board. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you couldn’t have hired someone old and ugly?!”

Angie finally looked up with a glint in her eye. “Do you have a problem with Mandy?”

“Do I have a problem?” Y/n repeated. “You purposely hired her to piss me off, didn’t you?”

Angie sighed, now annoyed. “What’re you talking about? I put a help wanted ad in the paper a few days ago and she answered it. I didn’t do anything on purpose.” She looked at Y/n who was busy glaring at the office door that was now closed.

“Why is that door closed?” she asked, pointing to it.

“For confidentially reasons,” Angie responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You know that office has other uses besides what you guys do. Anyways, what has gotten into y—?” A smirk then danced across her lips realizing what it was. “Are you jealous of Mandy?”

“What?” Y/n cried out. “Of course not!”

“Really? Because I think I’m starting to see some green poke through.”

“Angie, I’m not jealous of Mandy, okay?” Y/n said, a little weakly. “It’s just…I don’t like the way she looked at him.”

“She didn’t look at him in anyway—” Angie started, but then realized that it was a moot point. “Y/n…if you’re worried about if he’s going to try anything with her, he’s not.”

Y/n moved her attention to Angie who, for the first time, was talking to her like a normal human being and not just some annoyance. “I know, but…she’s his exact type from before.”

Angie popped out her hip and rested her fist on it. “How do you know she’s Steven’s type?”

“Well,” she stuttered and looked down at her hands that were resting on the counter. “She’s pretty and…and tall—”

“She’s not that tall.”

“Okay, but she also has a rack on her!”

Angie snickered and flicked her eyes down to Y/n’s swollen chest before looking back up. “Yeah, because hers are the problem.”

“And she’s older!”

“So?”

“She’s wiser! She’s in college!”

Angie hummed, thoroughly amused at this point. “Anything else?”

“She’s—”

“Skinny?” Angie interjected.

Y/n snapped her attention to her sister-in-law. “Are you enjoying this?!”

“Maybe a little bit,” she admitted and set the clipboard down. “Look, I don’t think you have anything to worry about with Steven. Steven is a lot of things, but a cheater ain’t one of them.”

“Yeah, I’ve said that before,” Y/n mumbled.

“With the way Steven looks at you, you’ll be fine,” Angie continued and started flicking through the vinyl’s and checking them off her check list.

“Yeah,” Y/n sighed. “It’s not him I’m worried about, though.”

--Time Skip—

“So, you think the new girl is going to go after Hyde?” Donna asked later that night as they hung out in her bedroom. An empty pizza box sat at their side along with two coke bottles and juice boxes as Donna painted Y/n’s toes a baby pink.

“I don’t know, I mean, she didn’t interested, but I don’t know what happened after they went into the office,” Elena sighed.

“C’mon, you don’t think Hyde would actually cheat, do you?”

Y/n shrugged. “No, but I can’t trust a girl won’t throw herself at him.”

Donna screwed the cover back on the nail polish and used a magazine to fan the polish dry. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, I mean you remember what happened last time.”

“Exactly! I remember what happened last time and I don’t want a repeat of it! Remember Amber?”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen again,” Donna reassured.

“It was only six months ago, Donna!”

“Y/n, listen. Hyde has a lot to worry about then some girl coming onto him, alright?”

“You didn’t see her, Donna,” Y/n whined and got up carefully as to not ruin her nail polish. “She was really cute and not pregnant and older! She’s in college!”

“What?! No way!” Donna exaggerated, feigning shock.

“Yeah! She can easily have—you’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry,” she laughed. “But you’re being a little ridiculous.”

“Am not!” Donna gave her a look and Y/n’s shoulders slumped. “Okay, maybe a little. I just don’t seem big chested college bimbo all over my husband.” Donna gave her another look. “What?! I’m pregnant and hormonal; don’t contradict me.”

--Time Skip—

“Hey, Y/n,” Steven said the next morning as he entered their bedroom. She sat on their bed against the headboard as she read her baby book. “We need to think about setting up the twins’ nursery. You got any ideas?”

“Mhm, not really,” she murmured.

He stood at the edge of the bed, staring at his wife. “Well, shouldn’t we go over it?”

She hummed and flipped the page. “Sure, if you want.”

Steven placed a hand on his hip and looked down at her frustrated. “Can you stop reading and look at me?”

A sigh escaped her as she looked up from her book, annoyed. “There, happy?”

“What’s gotten into you?”

She shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Bull,” he spit.

“I’m serious! I’m just reading.”

“You’re not usually annoyed when reading. Seriously, what’s wrong with you?”

“Steven, I told you, it’s nothing.”

“And like I said, it’s bull.”

She stumbled her way off the bed and rubbed her forehead. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Must be pregnancy hormones. What do you have in mind?”

He scrunched his brows at her, but relaxed his features immediately as he decided to let it go. “Yep, well, that’s why I came to you.”

“You’ve always been better at this kind of thing than I am.”

“We can do Winnie the Pooh?”

“What—are our children wusses? No thanks.”

“Okay, what about green? Or blue?”

“What if they’re both girls?”

“Okay, then yellow?”

“Then we’re back to Winnie the Pooh!”

“Okay, then you pick!” she said, frustrated.

“I don’t know, doll,” he said and sat on the bed. “We just need to pick something out so that we can be ready.”

“I can pick up some magazines,” she sighed and sat next to him. “I’ll go today.”

“Well, we can start by rearranging the room,” he suggested, his tone lighter than before. “We do have a lot of crap in there.”

She smiled and rubbed her round belly. “Yeah, we can do that.”

“Good.” He turned to look at her and kissed her forehead.

“I’m sorry for being grumpy.”

“Yeah, well…you were.”

She laughed and threw a pillow at his face. Chuckling, he blocked it and leaned in, kissing her.

--Time Skip—

At lunch that day, the Formans and Hydes sat around the table, enjoying grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Y/n was on her third bowl as she wolfed down her sandwiches.

“Hey, Y/n, mind saving some for the rest of us?” Eric asked.

“Shut up,” she snapped with a mouthful of food. “These aren’t big enough.”

“You really are pregnant, are you?” he asked.

Y/n looked at him with a deadpanned expression. “What gave it away, genius?”

“Okay, no snapping at the table,” Kitty interrupted. “Y/n, Steven tells me you’re going to start decorating the nursery. That sounds like fun.”

“Yeah, we’re going to pick out color samples today,” she responded.

“Oh,” Kitty said, intrigued. “What colors were you thinking? You know, when I had you and Eric, I painted your room gender neutral colors. It was green and orange.”

“Yeah, it was horrendous,” Red commented off-handedly.

“Excuse me?!” Kitty asked. “You didn’t even help me! I was far along as Y/n is and you refused to help me!”

“I did not!” he argued. “Every time I would come in to help, you turned me away!”

“I did not!”

“You said I was messing it up and I couldn’t do it right!”

“Well, you weren’t!”

“And now you’re blaming me!”

“Okay—you know what?” Kitty said and scooted out of her chair and stormed out.

“We were just having a complete normal conversation and she still gets mad at me,” Red said exasperated.

--Time Skip—

Later that day, the gang, minus Donna, found themselves in the basement, hanging out.

“You did what to her?!” Y/n shouted at her brother.

“I swear it was an accident!” he shouted back.

“How do you accidentally almost break someone’s neck?” Hyde questioned.

“I didn’t almost break her neck!” Eric defended.

“She can barley move her neck, Forman,” Hyde said.

“Seriously, what in God’s name where you thinking?” Y/n demanded.

“I was already on page twelve!” he defended. “At that point I was a natural.”

“Oh, do you guys hear that?” Hyde mocked. “He read a book for ten minutes and is already a professional!”

“You know what? I already feel bad enough as it is,” Eric said, pouting. “You guys aren’t helping.”

“Well, we’re not here to pat your back,” Jackie piped up.

“Eric, I know I haven’t been here long enough, and please don’t take offense when I say this, but how is Donna still with you?” Markus asked.

“Funny you say that, I was just going to ask the same about Jackie,” Eric quipped.

Markus pursed his lips and nodded. “At least I didn’t almost break her neck.”

“Can’t say the same for her back though,” Kelso smirked.

Everyone stared at him in disgust.

“What?! We can joke about Hyde and Y/n’s sex life, but not Jackie and Markus’s!?” he defended.

“No, you see, we make fun of our sex life,” Hyde said, pointing to him and Y/n. “We mainly do it to freak out Forman. But you bringing up someone else’s is just plain creepy, man.”

“So, Fez, Kelso, have you guys found an apartment yet?” Y/n asked, clearing her throat in discomfort.

“Yeah, Red convinced Fenton to give us the apartment,” Kelso said, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

“Yeah, and Red seemed so happy, he was laughing the whole ride home,” Fez said with a smile.

Kelso laughed dumbly. “Yeah, I'm pretty sure that Red told Fenton that we knew a lot of chicks. 'Cause Fenton kept checking me out, like he could tell that I knew a lot of chicks.”

At that moment, the basement door swung open, revealing Bob and Donna, whose head was still stuck to the side.

“Eric, I can’t believe you crippled my angel! My pride and joy!” Bob cried out. “It’s killing me to see her like this.”

Eric’s eyebrows furrowed. “Well, then why are you bringing her here then?”

“Oh, I have a date,” Bob said, any sign of distraught gone. “Met a lady at the open house. She's got crow's feet, but she works in a sandwich shop, so I bent the rules. See you, Kitten.” He walked out the basement leaving Donna to her boyfriend and friends.

“Look, Donna, I just want to apologize again,” Eric said, eyes following her as she moved to sit down next to him. “You know, I've been thinking about it, and I don't think I ever really wanted to be a chiropractor. I was just, you know, grasping at straws.”

Donna turned her body to look at him. “You know I’d nod in agreement, but I’m paralyzed.”

“Eric, you know what I’m realizing about you? You’re not good at anything,” Kelso said, smiling at his friend’s misfortune.

“That’s not true,” Fez spoke up. “Don’t forget butt wiping.”

“What?” Y/n asked, confused.

“Don’t ask, it was a circle thing,” Hyde whispered to her.

Eric clicked his tongue in offense. “Oh, you know what? You guys suck. Whenever you're in trouble, I don't burn you. I mean, usually 'cause it's hard for me to think of things right on the spot, but also 'cause, you know, I try to help.”

“That's actually true. I mean, Fez, remember when you wanted to learn how to kiss, and Eric taught you by sticking m&m's to the mirror?” Donna said.

Everyone turned to Fez with amused grins and raised eyebrows.

“What?” Fez asked, sweat beads forming on his brow. “That never happened. I know how to kiss. Oh, shut it, Donna.”

“Yeah, and, Kelso, how about that time I stayed up with you all night to study for that math final. I mean, sure, nothing stuck, but, you know, I blame nature for that,” Eric continued.

“You know Forman, if you can teach Fez how to kiss and Kelso how to do math, you can probably teach anybody anything. Why don't you just become a teacher?” Hyde suggested.

“Hey, Eric, that’s a great idea!” Y/n said, excitedly. “Remember when you taught me to drive? You were so patient and didn’t give up even when I kept hitting the curbs.”

“You still do,” Hyde mumbled.

“What?” Y/n snapped.

“What?” Hyde repeated.

“I’m not a driver!” she defended.

“No offense, Y/n, but I’m afraid for you children when they’re in the car with you,” Kelso said. Y/n grabbed the nearest object by her, which was a tennis ball, and threw it at him. “OW! I said no offense!”

“Shut up, Kelso!” Y/n yelled.

“You know, that makes a lot of sense,” Donna said. “I mean, you have all this knowledge about stuff you have no ability to do.”

Eric thought about it for a minute before his face brightened. “A teacher? Well, I do like helping people. I mean, I'd love to help kids. Yeah. Like, ‘Mr. Forman.’ That just feels really great. Yeah, a teacher. That just feels so... right.”

“That’s it. Forman’s going to be a teacher!” Hyde announced. “This calls for a toast!”

They all grabbed a beer except for Y/n, who sat there pouting.

“Sorry, Y/n,” Hyde shrugged. “To Forman!”

“To Forman!” Everyone cheered.

--Time Skip-- “You sure you want these colors?” Hyde asked Y/n as they stood at the painting store. “Because you know once we paint the walls, we’re not changing it.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” she chirped. “It’s going to be so pretty.”

“Cool. It’s going to be cool,” he corrected. “But, okay.”

Y/n beamed as they bought two cans of paint.

The Next Day…

The doorbell to the Forman house rang in the late morning. Red got up from the den from shining his shoes. When he opened the door, Connor and his father stood there.

Red squared his shoulders and straightened his back. “Connor, Chuck.”

“Hey, Red,” Chuck said, frowning. “I heard you threatened my boy yesterday.”

“Yeah, I did," Red answered honestly. “What about it?”

“I don’t appreciate the way you talked to him.”

“Well, that’s a damn shame,” Red responded dryly. “Is that all?”

“No!” Chuck yelled, causing Red to raise his eyebrows at him. “You apologize to him right now!”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, Red.”

“Okay, you want me to apologize? Fine. I’m sorry that your son is a piece of no-good, smug piece of crap who takes advantage of young girls!” he roared. “And I am so sorry that I wasted my time being nice to either of you!”

“Now, you listen here, Forman—” Chuck started, but was cut off.

“I don’t know where you got this entitlement, Chuck, but you certainly didn’t get this from serving with me during Korea. And for you to come here, to my house, demanding that I apologize to you and your kid for the way he treated me daughter than you are out of mind because I ain’t do nothing for you or human garbage of a son. He’s lucky I don’t press charges against him!”

“This isn’t about your loose daughter, Red,” Chuck said. “This is about how you spoke to my boy.”

Red’s face distorted into a look that Chuck hadn’t seen the war. “What the hell did you just say about my daughter?!”

“Oh, come on, don’t be dumb,” Chuck continued. “I know you, Red, and you are so far from it. She probably had it coming. I mean, you probably heard all the stories about her. And giving her current situation, I can’t believe you’d be this blind.”

Connor stood there at the door with a smug look knowing they were getting under Red’s skin.

“Get the hell off my property before I do to you what I did to the Koreans!” Red threatened, his body shaking from anger.

“No, not until we get our apology!” Chuck demanded.

“I’ll tell you what. You get to walk out of here alive, how bout that?”

Chuck straightened his body, matching Red’s energy. “You don’t want to mess with me, Forman. You remember me during the war.”

“Yeah?” Red challenged. “Why don’t you remind me?”

Meanwhile…

Up in the nursery, Kitty, Y/n, and Steven were painting the walls, revealing it to be a beautiful light green. “You kids picked a lovely color,” Kitty complimented. “It doesn’t matter if you have boys or girls, it’s going to match either way.”

“Thank you, Mom,” Y/n responded as she rolled paint onto the wall. “And thank you for letting us paint the room. It means a lot.”

“Of course, dear. I’m just so excited to meet my grandbabies!”

Hyde got down from the latter with his white shirt covered in paint and wiped some sweat off his brow. “You know, Y/n, I don’t know if I feel comfortable with you being this close and huffing in these chemicals.”

“I’m fine, Steven.”

“I don’t know. I think maybe you should let me do the painting and then you can help with everything else once I’m done.”

“Steven, I can help!”

“Okay, well, while you two decide on that, I’m going to go get some lemonade,” Kitty announced and made her way to the door, opening it. “Does that sound—”

A yelp and the sound of something heavy thumping to the floor cut Kitty off mid sentence. “What was that?”

She didn’t wait for an answer as she and the Hydes rushed to the top of the stairs before seeing Red standing at the door, screaming.

“You want to be next?!” Silence. “Then get the hell out of here! And I better never see you two sorry asses ever again! Do I make myself clear?!”

The three stumbled their way halfway down the stairs to see what was going on. Connor was staring down at his unconscious dad with a wild and angry look in his eyes. Before he let him answer, Red slammed the front door and examined his knuckles that were bleeding. As he made his way back to the kitchen, he finally looked up to his family who was staring back at him in shock.

“Oh, hey. You—uh—may want to call an ambulance,” was all he said as he walked into the kitchen to tend to his hand.

“Red, honey?” Kitty called after him. “Red, what happened?”

“Nothing,” he responded as he made his through the kitchen and over to the sink.

The three of them followed him and saw him running cold water on his hand.

“Well, that doesn’t look like nothing!” Kitty shrieked and scrambled to get the first aid kit.

“I learned today that Chuck is just as big of a prick as his son,” Red grumbled, not daring to meet everyone’s eyes.

“Daddy…did you punch Connor’s dad?” Y/n asked.

“I did what I had to do, sweetheart,” he responded and looked at his daughter with soft eyes and smiled. “All I gotta say is, I don’t think you have to worry about that boy anymore.”

Y/n swore she could cry right there, but instead walked over and wrapped her arms around his middle. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“Of course, pumpkin.” He turned the water off and grabbed the towel that was laying on the counter beside him. “Just do me a favor and don’t let any other ex-boyfriends come back to the house, yeah?”

Y/n chuckled. “I’ll try my damn hardest.”

Hyde looked over to Kitty who didn’t look happy or impressed at all. “Come on, Doll, let’s leave your parents alone and go upstairs,” he said quietly and guided his wife through the kitchen.

A beat of silence passed before Kitty spoke up. “What on earth were you thinking?” Kitty started. “Do you have any idea what could’ve happened?”

“I’m sorry, Kitty. He started saying some horrible things about Y/n and I lost it,” he explained. “I’ll tell you what, though, he’s going to need a good dentist. There’s no way he’s going to be able to put his teeth back to normal.”

“Well, in that case,” said and pointed to the table. “Sit. I need to make sure you don’t get an infection.”

It was quiet between them as she started tending to his knuckles. “Gosh, you haven’t done this since we started dating and Frankie Wallace was making passes at me during the military ball.”

“Well, what can I say? I gotta protect what’s mine.”

Her eyes glanced up to meet her husband’s before going back down to his hand. “That’s very sweet, but I think what you did was stupid.”

“What’s stupid was challenging me in my own house about my daughter. It’s not like I didn’t warn him beforehand.”

“We already don’t have a lot of friends, now we’re really not going to,” she scolded. “Red, we’ve become that house!”

“Good! Maybe those dumbasses will finally get the message! I don’t like it when my family gets threatened!”

Kitty finished up wrapped his knuckles and started putting things away. “Well, I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, honey, I promise.”

Kitty’s demeanor changed as she scooted closer to him. “Well, I got to make sure that my big, strong, hunk of a protector is okay. Wouldn’t want him getting hurt or anything.”

Red’s looked down at Kitty, eyes hooded. “That’s my job.”

“So, Handsome, what’re you doing later?”

Red chuckled and leaned over, kissing his wife. “That.”

They looked at each other for moment before they scurried off upstairs.

A Few Minutes Later…

“Steven, honey, I’m fine!” Y/n argued. “I don’t want you to worry about me! I’m fine!”

“I’m not worried about you,” he said back. “I’m worried about the babies.”

“Quit treating me like I’m fragile!”

“You kind of are! Until my kids come out of you, it’s my job to make sure you or the babies don’t get hurt!”

“And that’s really sweet, but—” she was cut off by the sound of springs squeaking. “What is that?”

Hyde furrowed his brows in concentration as he listened. “Well, I did see your parents run into their room not long ago.” The realization finally hit them both. “Ugh, not again!”

Y/n turned to her parents door. “Oh, come on! Other people live here!”

Taglist: @not-shy-nanya @taysirene @maddieschampagneproblems @mdittyz123 @undead-sierra @random-thoughts-004 @lieswithoutfairytales @chloem4a1 @srhxpc @zhonglibxitch @leothesquishy

#that 70s show fanfic #that 70s show #steven hyde #steven hyde x reader #eric forman #donna pinciotti #that 70's show fanfic #jackie burkhart #that '70s show #michael kelso x reader #i just love when fez sings this because it's so cute haha #fez x kelso #fez x jackie #fez that 70s show #fez #red forman #kitty forman #red and kitty forman #fanfic

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thatseventiesbitch · 3 months ago

Text

Fictober 16 - "No I'm not okay"

"Okay, Mom, have a seat." Eric guided Kitty to the kitchen table, where she took a seat next to Red and Bob. The nerves were evident in his voice. All three adults looked up at Eric and Donna expectantly, unsure why they'd been gathered.

"What's going on?" Red demanded.

"Yeah," Bob chimed in. "I'm here on a commercial break from Love Boat, so I don't have much time."

As if they'd rehearsed this, Eric stepped forward with an ice cold beer, which he cracked and then handed to Red. Donna supplied Kitty with a wine glass, and then filled it nearly to the brim with red wine.

"And for you, Bob - "

Eric went to the fridge and retrieved an item in a small, pink cake box. He deposited it on the table in front of Bob with a flourish, opening the box to reveal a large, fresh peanut cake. Bob clapped his hands together gleefully, and picked up one end of the cake like he was ready to dig in.

"Hold it - " Red's voice, loud and gruff, filled the kitchen. "Bob, wait."

"Oh, I'm not someone who's patient around cake, Red." Bob chuckled, and took a gigantic bite. Bits of frosting and peanuts scattered on the table in front of him. "You know that." He spoke around the mound of food in his mouth, sending crumbs splaying messily.

"They want something, Bob," Red explained. He hadn't touched his beer, bubbling tantalizingly in front of him. "It's a bribe."

"Or they did something," Kitty agreed. She swirled the wine in her glass, watching them suspiciously, but she didn't take a sip. "And they're here to beg for forgiveness."

"Let's have it, then." Bob still seemed unfazed as he took his second large bite of the cake.

"Not asking for anything," Eric promised, kneading his hands together anxiously. "Except maybe mercy." He winced. "I'd really like to keep my ass where it is." He gestured to his parents' still-full beverage glasses. "You sure you don't want to have some of that first?"

"Get to the point," Red used a gravely, warning tone and Eric visibly gulped.

"We just - we need to tell you something," Donna stepped forward. "And it would be really, really cool if you didn't yell. Or freak out. Or - or kill Eric." Her nervous expression matched Eric's.

Red gave a twisted smile. "No promises."

Eric gulped again. "Okay, Donna, tell them!" He nudged her forward, and then braced himself behind her.

Donna swatted at him, annoyed. "Oh, I get to be the human shield?"

"You heard him!" Eric hissed. "Besides, they're not gonna hurt you. You're - " but he cut himself off hastily.

"Pregnant," Donna finished for him, softly. "I-I'm pregnant." They both glanced between their parents, anxious for their reactions.

There were a few awful beats of silence. Then -

"Oh my god!"

Kitty leapt from her chair and embraced Donna, bouncing her from side to side excitedly. Then she opened one arm to include Eric in the hug.

"A grand baby!” Kitty shrieked.

Bob seemed to be in shock. His mouth had fallen open and a chunk of cake fell, disgustingly, to the table.

“I’m gonna be a paw-paw? I-I can’t believe it. My baby’s havin’ a baby!” He stood up and joined the hug.

Only Red didn’t react.

Eric watched him nervously, finally breaking free from his mother’s well-intentioned but choking grasp.

"Let's see, are you gonna tell me how irresponsible this was?" Eric guessed. He was watching Red carefully, like he was a bull that could charge at any moment. "Say we're ruining our lives? Or - I know. 'I'm such a disappointment,'" Eric recited it sarcastically and like he had it committed to memory, but his shoulders slumped.

Red finally seemed to shake his surprise loose, and he abruptly stood up, causing Eric to take a fumbling step backwards.

But Red didn't say any of those things. Instead he stuck his arm out for a handshake. "Congratulations, Dad," he said sincerely. His eyes were smiling in a way Eric had rarely seen before as they clasped hands.

"Oh, Red." Kitty clasped her hands together and blinked back sentimental tears. Eric's expression had turned from shocked to touched.

"Gee," Bob clasped one arm around Donna's shoulders and one arm around Red's. "I guess this means we're gonna be in-laws." He chuckled. "I call hosting Christmas this year! Woo hoo." He pumped his fist. "I'm makin' margaritas!"

Red's expression soured rapidly. Kitty frowned, watching his face grow pale just like it had before he'd had his heart attack.

"Red, honey. Honey, are you okay?" She quickly guided him back to one of the kitchen chairs.

"No, I'm not okay!" He glared at Bob, and then turned his anger towards Eric. "Damn it, Eric. My foot is about to lay eggs in your ass!"

Eric clicked his tongue. "See, this is the reaction I was expecting."

#fictober #fictober24 #that 70s show #that '70s show #that 90s show #that '90s show #eric forman #donna pinciotti #kitty forman #red forman #bob pinciotti #eric and donna #eric x donna #otp: mom and dad #red and kitty #red x kitty #fanfic #writing

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einsteinsugly · 9 months ago

Text

Friday, July 4, 1986. A Way Better Fourth of July.

*****

4:30 pm

Hot dogs, cheeseburgers, macaroni salad. American flags, Bruce Springsteen...

Hyde inevitably lowers his voice, to a jaded whisper. "The song doesn't mean what you think it means."

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary

Out by the gas fires of the refinery

I'm ten years old, burning down the road

Nowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to go

Kitty, as sharp as a knife, anxiously nudges him. And Jackie swiftly follows suit, as they both hush the seeds of a quiet rebellion. "Shh."

Ignorance is bliss, as Red serves the main course. And Eric serves the macaroni salad.

"I made this, with my very own hands."

Kitty lovingly chuckles. "You used my recipe."

"Well..." Eric nervously laughs. "You got me there, Mom."

The two youngest, away from the gingham-clad picnic table, are happily gurgling in a large playpen. A quiet, raven-haired girl with big blue eyes, and a tiny, curious redhead. The eldest couple's grandbabies, by adoption and by blood.

The older two grandbabies, an olive-skinned boy and a sweet, adorable brunette with blue ribbons in her hair, are munching on small pieces of hot dog and are poking at macaroni salad with plastic forks.

The oldest grandbaby, a seven year old, is reluctantly in the midst of the adults. She feels like she's standing alone, though. The rest of the kids are literal babies, and she's just sort of...there.

But Betsy Kelso takes her duty as watcher very seriously. She even crafted a makeshift badge out of duct tape, just like her dad's.

Like her father, she is prone to hyperbole. "Kate's trying to eat a dandelion."

Eric and Donna nervously glance a few feet over, but are immediately relieved. Instead, Kate has simply picked a dandelion, and is turning it round, and round, and round...

Becca, a few months older and wiser, looks at her like she has two heads. "Gah."

"Aren't they adorable?" Kitty proudly gushes, hand firmly on her heart. "My grandbabies."

Red gruffly groans, but his old heart quietly melts. "You've said that a million times."

"It doesn't make it any less true, Red." Becca is now anxiously crawling around, leaving Kate at a wobbly standstill. "Look, she's exploring."

"She's the one that you need to watch," Red cautions, turning to Jackie and Hyde, "She'll eat the damn...darn dandelions."

Betsy, the fervent watcher, proudly sounds the alarm. "Pop said a bad word!"

Kelso chuckles, as the word "dumbass" is at the tip of Red's tongue. "Get used to it, Bets."

*****

5:00 pm

Dinner is officially over, but the American flags are still fluttering in the breeze. And Bruce Springsteen is still blasting.

Glory days

Well, they'll pass you by, glory days

In the wink of a young girl's eye, glory days

Glory days

Meanwhile, Red and Kitty are proudly perched in lawn chairs, happily clinking their glasses together.

The aging blonde smiles. "You know, I bought that Lee Greenwood cassette."

"God Bless the USA" is a bit corny, even for a proud veteran like him. "I can write a better song than that."

"I'd like to see you try," Kitty lovingly challenges, "I think it's profound. 'And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.'"

"I'd list all the wars." Far from a creative soul, Red concocts a simple list. "Revolutionary, 1812, Mexican-American, Civil..."

She shakes her head. "That doesn't sound like a good song."

"Lee Greenwood isn't even a damn veteran," He gruffly declares, "He's like Eric."

Kitty spies, with her little eye, an adorable little diversion. Hyde and Eric are lying in the playpen, with Hyde propelling a happily squealing Becca in the air, and with Kate lying on Eric's chest.

Then, in a split second, she's back to ground zero. The uncomfortable trenches. "There haven't been any wars for him to fight."

"You know he wouldn't join."

"Well, he'd join the most important ones," Kitty amply defends, before reluctantly acquiscing, "You know he's lippy about 'Nam."

"Don't remind me." He briefly diverts, as Eric compares Becca to the Millennium Falcon. Then, he shakes his head in disdain. "He thinks the Star Wars program is a disgrace to Star Wars."

Kitty sighs, but while happily kicking the can down the road. A tiny pebble, beneath her shoe. "He still hasn't gotten over that Luke and Leia thing."

Red's foot anxiously taps to the rhythm. "Don't remind me."

*****

5:30 pm

He doesn't know why the hell he put in that damn Lee Greenwood cassette.

If tomorrow all the things were gone

I worked for all my life

And I had to start again

With just my children and my wife

Hyde is muttering something rebellious. Eric is nervously shaking his foot to the rhythm. Laurie is...who the hell knows where.

But at least his two sons are there. He doesn't agree with a lot of their politics, or like a lot of their music, but they're good men.

They surmounted the odds. Hyde isn't dead, roaming in a motorcycle gang, or in prison. Eric is still lippy, and still loves Star Wars, but he doesn't let it define his life. He tries to be the hero of the South Side of Chicago, in his own, weird way.

And because of them, their granddaughters are proudly perched on their laps. He has Becca, and Kitty has Kate. Kitty Jr, of course.

All the while, Becca is sleeping in his arms, as the former basement dwellers lovingly coo.

And predictably, so is Kitty. "You think you're Oscar the grouch, but you're not."

He can't help but smile. "I guess my life isn't garbage, huh?"

In turn, she lovingly kisses him on the cheek. "I'd say it's pretty damn good."

*****

If you want to join the random date generator game, click here!

#that 70s show #that 90s show #red and kitty #red forman #kitty forman #eric forman #steven hyde #betsy kelso #jackie and hyde #eric and donna #my fics #game time #my ficlets #kelso and brooke

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forabeatofadrum · 1 year ago

Text

A Sandy Situation

Summary: Jack falls asleep on a beach. He's woken up by someone yelling and Jack realises that some children have buried him in the sand. Luckily, that person offers to dig him out.

Notes: The creators of @madisonandmore have been revealed, so I can finally post my story here as well.

I saw this prompt and I loved it. I set this fic in Italy because I can. Thank you @coffeegleek for the amazing title and I hope y'all enjoy.

AO3

Jack's tired. He's been tired for a while, which is why this vacation is needed. He's on the beach. He's lying in the water, but at the shallow part, enjoying the sun. He’s applied enough sunscreen and he’s wearing his trusty Falconers cap.

Damn, he needed this.

The Falconers didn’t win the cup this season, but it was still a busy season. The moment it was over, he packed his stuff and booked a flight to Italy. He declined an offer to go to Bonaire with some of his teammates. He loves those guys, but he needed some alone time.

The Italian sun is shining brightly and the warm temperature is soothing, in a way. Jack normally has to get used to heat. He is Canadian, after all! But now it only helps him relax.

He can feel himself doze off.

Jack is slowly being woken up, but not in a calm way.

No, he’s being woken up by Italian yelling.

“Ma cosa avete in testa? Dove sono i vostri genitori? Queste cose sono pericolose!”

Jack tries to open his eyes. He’s still waking up, but after hearing that loud voice, he’s more awake than before. He tries to lift his arm to rub his eyes, but then he realises he can’t. Something is pressing his arm down.

In fact, something is pressing Jack’s entire body down.

He blinks a couple of times and his eyes hurt because of the sudden influx of light. Once he’s gotten used to it, he takes in the view.

Jack is still lying on the beach. The tide has changed so he is no longer in the water, but instead of seeing his body, he sees sand. There is sand everywhere. A group of young kids are standing next to him, with their backs turned to him. They don’t pay him any attention. Instead, they’re being scolded by someone in angry Italian.

The kids are holding buckets and plastic shovels and Jack realises what is going on. These kids buried him in sand in his sleep.

“Uh… ciao?” Jack says and the kids all tense up. One of them even drops their tools in shock.

Some look over their shoulders and they seem alarmed.

An adult moves the kids to the side. Jack can only see an silhouette because of the sun.

“Tutto bene? Cristo, mi dispiace. Questi bambini pensano di essere divertenti, ma non preoccuparti, ti tirerò fuori di lì-”

This person crouches down and Jack finally can see who woke him.

The guy looks worried as he keeps talking in rapid Italian, but Jack doesn’t hear it. He’s too shocked by the sight of this guy. He’s blond and he has gorgeous brown eyes. He’s wearing red swim trunks and his chest… Jack’s derived mind wants to reach out and touch it, which isn’t a good idea because it would be inappropriate and impossible because of the huge chunk of sand.

Jack realises that the guy’s stopped talking and that he is waiting for Jack to say something back.

“Oh. Uh. Non, uh, non parle- I mean, parlo italiano,” he stammers out.

“Ah.”

“Tourist,” Jack says and he wants to point towards himself to drive his point home, but again, there is a lot of sand.

Jack’s an athelete. He’s incredibly strong, but the even distribution of the sand over his entire body makes it impossible to break out of it. He can feel his arms against his body and the pressure keeps it all down. The fact that the sand is damp makes it even harder.

“Do you speak English?” the guy asks, in English, with an American southern twang in his voice.

“Yes!”

The guy lets out a relieved sigh.

“My daddy is Italian, but I grew up in America. I’m Eric, but everyone calls me Bitty, and I am going to get you out of here,” he says.

“My name is Jack,” Jack says and damnit, he wants to extend his hand. Jack doesn’t realise how used he is to moving freely until it he is unable to do so. “What happened?”

“These pieces of work thought it would be funny to bury you in the sand,” Bitty shoots the kids a nasty look.

“How did this happen?” Jack asks.

“From what I’ve gotten, you lying on the wet sand allowed a small hole for your body to form. The kids saw that and thought it’d be funny to pile a lot of wet sand onto you. They tried to make the hole bigger by digging out sand around you and then they used it to bury you,” Bitty explains and then he turns to the kids again, “Even though they should know that it is incredibly dangerous to bury someone in a hole in the ground! It is safer to put a little amount of dry sand on someone on the surface!”

The kids looks ashamed. One tries to say something, but Bitty’s ice cold stare cuts them off.

“Stava dormendo, for fuck’s sake!” Bitty bites out.

The word dormendo sounds like the French word dormir, which means sleep. Bitty’s right, though. Jack was fast asleep and he didn’t notice a thing. It’s a good thing Bitty was yelling so loudly.

“Uh, hello?” Jack calls out, “Can we go back to this whole sand situation? I kind of want to get out of here.”

Jack doesn’t know if these young Italian kids can speak English, or if they just understand what Jack said because of the context, because the moment Jack finishes that sentence, the kids turn on their heels and bolt.

“Siete degli stronzetti del cazzo!” Bitty yells. He gets up to chase after them but then he realises that it would mean leaving Jack buried in the sand and he stops himself.

“It’s... fine.”

“It’s not,” Bitty sounds frustrated. He’s right, but Jack’s just too used to saying that things are fine when things are clearly not fine.

And he is not fine now. It’s a good thing that the tide is low as well. Really, what the hell were those kids thinking?

“Really sorry about this,” Bitty says and to Jack’s surprise, Bitty starts digging with his bare hands.

“Not your fault.”

“I know, kinda. Still. It feels like at least someone should apologise to you for this shit,” Bitty says and Jack is amazed when Bitty grabs a chunk of sand and tosses it into the sea.

“Thanks. And, uh, it’s fine if you need to get a shovel or something. I will survive.”

Bitty tuts.

“Nonsense, honey. I will not leave you unattended, which makes me wonder where the hell the lifeguard is.”

Jack hadn’t even thought of that.

“Well, start with the upper body then. If you free my arms, I can dig out my legs.”

“Oh, good looking and smart!” Bitty says with a wink, but then he continues as if nothing’s happened and Jack blinks a couple of times. Bitty did just call him good looking, right?

“I have a master’s degree in history, yeah,” Jack blurts out and unfortunately, Bitty’s still digging out his arms, so he cannot slap his hand against his forehead. Why does he have to bring up his degree? Is he trying to impress him? Why would Bitty care about his master’s degree in history anyway?

But Bitty does sound interested.

“Oh yeah? What do you do now, then? Are you one of those fancy historians?”

Jack barks out a laugh. It’s far from it.

“No. I play hockey.”

“Really?” Bitty’s smile widens, “So do I.”

“Professionally?”

Bitty laughs. It sounds like music to Jack’s ears.

“Oh, I wish. No, just for fun. Ice hockey, right?”

“Yes! You play?”

“I started out as a figure skater and switched to ice hockey,” Bitty explains.

“That’s really cool,” Jack says honestly. The two sports are very different, so it must’ve been an impressive switch.

The two of them talk about hockey and Jack learns that even though Bitty likes playing, he doesn’t really pay attention to the professional hockey world, which relieves Jack. They’re so invested in their conversation, since Jack is always 110% when it comes to hockey and Bitty loves to talk, that they don’t realise Bitty’s dug out most of Jack’s upper body until Bitty accidentally scratches Jack’s chest.

Bitty pulls back his hand in shock and he stares at Jack with wide eyes.

“I… Sorry.”

“No worries,” Jack says.

Now that the upper part of his body has been freed, he’s able to sit up and shake off some extra sand. He rolls his shoulders and stretches his arms. Oh, freedom!

He also runs his hand through his hair to get rid of the sand there, but it’s no use. The moment Jack’s fully free, he’s going for a swim and then he’s going to take a shower.

He wants to thank Bitty for helping him. He wants to tell Bitty that he can take it from here.

But when he turns to Bitty, Bitty’s in awe. His eyes are still wide and he is definitely checking Jack out now.

Jack doesn’t mind at all. He knows he looks good. He’s comfortable in his skin and the appreciation is a nice bonus. He usually doesn’t try to care that much about what others think of him, but with Bitty, Jack likes to be seen.

When Bitty realises that Jack’s noticed, he starts to sputter out some words, but Jack just laughs.

“You’re not so bad yourself, you know?” he says, hoping that it comes off as flirty. Jack isn’t always the best with words, but he’s had to endure enough of Ransom and Holster’s PowerPoint Presentations on flirting to at least pick up some things.

Bitty turns as red as his swimming trunks, but he doesn’t comment on it. Instead he moves to dig out Jack’s legs and all plans of telling Bitty to leave fly out of the window. Jack does help him and after a short amount of time, Jack can move his legs too.

Bitty burst into laughter when he sees Jack’s yellow water shoes, though.

“They’re practical!” Jack says.

“They sure are a choice, dear.”

Bitty gets up and holds out a hand. Jack doesn’t necessarily need to be helped up, but he cannot deny Bitty.

“Freedom!” Jack yells out, which makes some people stop and stare. Bitty laughs again and Jack realises that he likes to make Bitty laugh. He wants to make him laugh some more.

“Well mister…”

“Zimmermann,” Jack supplies.

“Zimmerman. Mister Zimmermann, what will you do with this newfound freedom?”

Jack turns his head towards the sea. The water is gorgeous and inviting. He already knew what he wants.

“Join me for a swim?” he asks and he holds out his hand. Bitty takes it.

Half an hour later, and after a short shower at the beach showers, Jack and Bitty walk towards the accompanying beach club and Jack realises he doesn’t want this to end. He wants Bitty to stay, but before he can ask, Bitty beats him to it.

“I don’t want this to end. Do you?” he asks.

“I don’t want that either,” Jack admits.

Bitty turns red again, but a huge smile also breaks out on his face.

“Great. So, then, can I buy you a drink?”

“Yes!”

Bitty orders since Jack’s Italian is kind of horrendous.

“Oh honey, I have so much to teach you,” Bitty says as they sit down with their drinks.

“Yeah?” Jack asks. He likes the sound of that. He likes the idea of seeing Bitty again.

“How have you been surviving in this country?” Bitty jokes.

“Barely,” Jack deadpans and Bitty snorts, “Note to self, don’t fall asleep on the beach.”

“To be fair, I don’t think a lot of tourist websites include that tip,” Bitty says with a smile, “Although, may I say that a part of me is glad that those shitheads buried you in sand?”

“Yes,” Jack says, “You may. I am glad too.”

It was still a shitty thing to do, but it brought him and Bitty together.

And Jack moves his hand closer to Bitty’s, hoping that it isn’t too forward. It’s just the touch of the fingertips, and he’s certain he’s read the situation correctly, but you can never be too cautious. Luckily, Bitty has an enamoured look on his face and he puts his hand over Jack’s.

All things come to an end, and Bitty has to go. His family is throwing a BBQ and Bitty promised he’d be home early so that he could help out. They finish their drinks, and then walk hand-in-hand to the exit, but Bitty stops them there.

“Can I get your number?” he asks.

Jack agrees that that’s a great idea. They quickly exchange numbers and promise to call each other.

“Well then, bye,” Bitty says and he does an awkward wave.

“See you later,” Jack says and winks.

Bitty once again turns red, but then he turns around and slowly walks away. Jack watches him go with a fond look on his face. Jack is very happy about how this day ended. He didn’t come to Italy to find a date, but he’s not complaining at all.

He does realise there’s a way to make this day even better.

“Wait!” Jack yells and runs after him.

Bitty turns around and he raises an eyebrow. Jack stops right in front of him.

“Did I forget anything?” Bitty tilts his head in confusion.

“Yeah,” Jack says nervously, but then he thinks, fuck it.

He cups Bitty’s face. Bitty’s dark eyes widen when he realises what Jack is planning. He tilts his head in anticipation and he puts his hands on Jack’s arms. Jack leans in to kiss him.

It’s a small and soft kiss, but it’s perfect.

Jack kisses him again, and again.

Eventually, Bitty’s phone starts buzzing and they reluctantly stop.

“That’s… that’s probably my mama,” Bitty sounds flustered, “I should get going.”

“Yeah,” is all that Jack says.

“But I’ll see you. Tomorrow, preferably. I know a great trattoria for lunch.”

“Yeah,” Jack says again, “Text me the address. I’ll be there.”

“Can’t wait,” Bitty says and they kiss one last time before Bitty’s phone plays its ringtone. His mother must be really impatient.

They say their goodbyes and Jack watches Bitty turn a corner and he’s gone.

For now.

Jack lets out a happy sigh and he walks back to the beach so that he can pack up his stuff. His phone buzzes. It’s Bitty, who sent the address.

> See you tomorrow! A domani!

Jack can’t wait.

End notes: Thank you @martsonmars for providing me with the Italian translations. Here's the original English:

- “What were you guys thinking? Where are your parents? This is incredibly dangerous!” - “Are you alright? Oh my God, I am so sorry. These kids think they’re funny, but no worries, I am going to get you out of there-” - “He was asleep, - “Fucking assholes!” - See you tomorrow!

It was very nice to have 6 different versions of "Fucking assholes!" to choose from. Anyway, thank you for reading!

#ficlet #holy fuck I wrote #zimbits #omgcp #2023

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a-vamp-and-a-half · 2 years ago

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A zip, a smash of a potion bottle marked failed #23796 at his feet-

And Bing is bouncing and floating away in a giant bubblegum bubble, his voice muffled within

“I SAID SHUT UP” Evan yells high pitched and red faced, slamming the window shut too before quickly turning back to face Neora

Who seemed to have gotten the picture and memo by this point, yet despite the light blush painting her own cheeks, her brow was raised, and her smile looked bemused

“You know this isn’t the first time we fell asleep together, looking after this fuzzy baby” she says, currently hugging an ecstatically happy Taren, simply happy to be with them both

“That was different, purely cautionary and medical-“

“And after the forest-“

“Emotional, totally not on purpose I swear, I swear I didn’t mean to, and I didn’t mean to now either, I’ll get Host and-“

“-not strangle him over a sleepover” she finishes, laughing as Evan snorts “Evs, we’re kids, we can have sleepovers. And we’re adults, we can do what we want” she says, smile once more bemused as Evan laughs himself, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck

“It’s never been just one bed”

“Pfft never? I’d argue us falling asleep on the floor in a pile of pillows and papers was one bed”

“The floor? Then the whole world is one bed!”

“Then we’ve had many sleepovers”

Evan laughs as the words come out of Neora, her own smile wide and soft as Evan fully calms down, letting out a slow breath

“I’m still sorry about this”

“You don’t have anything to apologise for, and I don’t mean the magic Host did? Evan, you did nothing” she says soft, smile lopsided “I trust you”

His own smile turns soft, his cheeks mere pink, blinking as Neora adds on “And dad would have laughed if he saw us, if that’s any consolation”

He laughs, a genuine burst of laughter, giggling and sighing as he nods “Yeah, yeah, it is. Thanks Neo”

She simply nods, still hugging and petting Taren before patting his butt, making him pant happily in both their directions “I think he needs a run, and he’s yours in the morning” she teases as Evan snorts

“Yeah yeah, and I should, probably get euh, Bing outta that, bel” he gestures, hand reaching for the doorknob behind him, lingering in the space as she smiles

“And I’ll talk to Host” she says with a fond nod, lingering in the space with him

“Ok” it’s there at the tip of his tongue, there in the soft gaze towards her, but he simply smiles and turns the knob of his door, ushering Taren out and clicking the door quietly shut behind him

Their sounds of chasing Bing ring muffled outside the treehut walls, and Neora sighs, falling backwards onto the hammock with her legs dangling over the edge

“Host, that was rude”

Somewhere in the city in a little bookshop, bright and early alongside Eric, Host laughs a little to himself.

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littlesistersti · 2 months ago

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1/2 } Self-insert OCs / personas tend to date the author’s anime crush …

and yet that only happened once for Stine Køhler.

Let’s start from the beginning. [word count 746]

I don’t know how obvious it is to the mass internet fandom consumer when it comes to self-insert OCs and personas but the pattern persists enough to be obvious. Whoever your anime crush is, your self-insert will end up dating them, as wish-fulfilment, or in some melodramatic mutual pining a la mode romance soap.

For a long time, I saw loads of people flaming on self-inserts and oc x canon, especially if it’s an obvious self-insert x canon, and called them mary sue. So I was afraid to be one of them and denied myself on, well, everything. Denied having a self-insert OC, instead I called her “my muse” or “my persona.” Denied even giving her a romantic partner to really be safe. I even denied having an anime crush worth giving to her. I did have anime crushes, but I also was in heavy denial of that. “I don’t have a crush,” I tell myself when I click on another reader-insert fanfic, “it’s just me appreciating one of my favorite characters.” Yeah, favorite character.

>> My favorite character in Hetalia is Denmark. I do not have a crush on him. That is the truth. I loved the idea of being family with him so I made Stine his younger sister (or adopted daughter, but that’s a separate lore post). She is a member of the Nordic family. Sweden and Finland are her uncles and Sealand is her cousin. What about Norway and Iceland? Well…

Back in 6th grade, someone asked me if I had a crush on anybody. I thought about it and said no. They said, “you hesitated.” If I was smarter then, I would’ve said “yeah because I thought about it and nothing came up,” but instead I convinced myself I had to have an anime crush then and there. I told them, “Iceland.” Somehow, I convinced a small number of people (who knew of Hetalia) and myself that I had a thing for Iceland. Even read all the Iceland x reader.

In retrospect, I don’t think I did have anything on him … or maybe I misunderstood what I was feeling back then. (If I turn out to be misunderstanding all of my feelings from then until 2050…) I did have some feelings about HongIce, especially those Teenage Dream AMVs, but that should be a separate post.

>> For Stine Køhler, she doesn’t have anything on Iceland. He’s technically her cousin or uncle anyways. She thinks he’s so emo, stop hiding it, you’re so obvious, everybody can tell. (He’s not “hiding” or “doing it on purpose.”) He thinks she’s too much of a copy of both Denmark and Norway, it’s weird like you’re their love child ew gross, pick your own personality. (She’s also not “doing it on purpose,” if anything, she also compares easily with Sealand but Iceland conveniently never witnesses them together.) Sooner or later, the adults will realize these 2 teens are alike enough, it would be so funny if we send them to Camp Half-Blood together.

For the longest time, I had a strong attraction for Norway but never told anyone. I denied to myself too. It felt forbidden? There isn’t much of a story to this, sorry. I did read loads and loads of Norway x reader. RIP that one quotev book about them being soulmates with a tome that magically writes everything they ever said aloud. I lost the tab before I could finish it and I can’t find it again because the title was Norwegian for sweetheart or something cheesy like that.

>> yeah, Norway is Stine’s neighbor and uncle figure. Plus he teaches her magic so shipping them would be a teacher x student situation that I’m not unraveling. He secretly cares for her but hides it with his harshness, like how Red Forman treats Eric. She thinks he should punching Denmark.

Call me overrated but first time watching Hetalia, England was my favorite. My friend who introduced me to Hetalia teased me and claimed he must be my crush by that logic.

>> it’s quite unlikely Stine meets England. They could only cross paths at W Academy and maybe at world meetings if Denmark brought her along. They’ve seen each other in the wild plenty and could get away with “yeah that’s a classmate” but at the end of the day, they’re strangers.

Post is already long so I’ll make a separate one for the characters outside of Hetalia. Those are AUs anyways.

#Lillesøster Sti #meet my muse #sti speaks #hetalia #hws denmark #hws norway #hws iceland #hws england #self insert #oc x canon #do I have to tag that when it’s sibling and/or platonic shipping #Pairing #not shipping

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breserker · 5 months ago

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ao3 down and struggling to get back up? no problem!

this isn't the entirety of chapter 5 of Blink, Snow, Corduroy, but i'll post what i wrote before having to settle in for beddy-bye regardless. the end of this is where i initially toyed with ending chapter 4, anyway. so.

----

Fuck. She was knitting herself into the salty soaked fabric of his shirt. Fuck. Eileen struggled to pull away, lightheaded and fighting the sudden collapse of comfort from his embrace. Henry held her lightly enough that when she tried wrenching away his arms fell to her elbows, then slid off her skin completely as she backed up into the wall of the front hallway and jammed her hands into her eyes.

Fuck, stop crying. Use your words. Speak! Eileen bit her lip and swallowed, her voice going down her throat with it. Henry had seen her cry before, surely remembered how blotchy and red her skin got to the point where her freckles disappeared into the color completely. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was she wanted to have a real, adult, calm conversation with him. Sit down, talk about life, catch up, affirm for herself that it wasn’t just her going insane when suddenly her puzzle piece didn’t fit into the family picture. But here she was, overwhelmed and immature and sobbing like a scared woman again.

“I’m—,” she gulped down too much air, “I’m sorry,”

“It’s okay…,” Henry said, soft, like she remembered his voice being. Also stiff, unsure, a little off in that it wouldn’t have given her any comfort if she didn’t know him. But she heard it, the twinge of pain in his voice from where he placed himself in her shoes—struggling to speak but unable to, and whatever speech did come out was distorted and awkward. There were times where it sounded like he either struggled with a stutter or had in the past; something that had stolen away his confidence to speak before it had even developed. She shook her head, not to reject his consolation but to damn herself for needing it in the first place.

“I just—,” she tried, then failed to regain her voice. Henry watched her for a moment more, sobbing quietly into the sleeve pulled up her wrist.

“A-Are you. Uh. How’s, um. How’d you…What are you doing here?” he tried and failed on several questions, many of them sounding like he was going to ask are you okay when clearly, certainly, she was not. Eileen let out a gasping sob at his completed question and found enough voice to speak.

“I’ve just. Been on the road for over a month. I think I’m tired.”

Henry gently bent to catch her eye, and she peeked over her hands to see that that did not answer the real concern behind his failed questions.

“Uh,” she bought for time by reaching into her bag and pulling out the magazines rolled open to the pages of his photography. Henry’s eyes widened, especially when she pointed to the floral one, “I really, really need to talk to you.”

Henry reached out and carefully took the magazine from her hand, his eyes lingering on the flowers before going back to her, “Did...something happen?”

That broke through her sobbing with a red hot frustration and she threw her hands down with a violent scoff. What hasn’t been happening? Things hadn’t stopped happening! “I don’t know, where do I even start? I can’t—I can’t get my life together long enough for anything to feel normal again. And I know—I know it can’t be, but, fuck, can’t I just pretend?” She thought of all her failed relationships, especially of Shane and his turnabout betrayal. She thought of Ethan’s meddling, Eric’s far-too-adventurous spirit, her father’s jokes and stinging wisdom, her mother’s untenable sadness when she looked at her. Eileen’s scoff turned into a scowl that weakened and faded back into a morose pout, still trying to keep tears inside.

“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, in that I feel like...Like it’s all fucking pointless, anyway.”

Though Henry had been listening, his eyes had drifted back to the flower photograph in his hand. When she said pointless, however, he sharply returned to her face, the concern unwavering as he studied her. She met his gaze, fierce while maintaining a pained vulnerability.

“I don’t want to do anything stupid. But I couldn’t be in my house anymore. I couldn’t be around my family anymore. And that feels like...like…,”

Like she was betraying them as much as Shane betrayed her. Giving up. Leaving them behind. They weren’t good enough, and Eileen was telling them as much. But they weren’t working for her either, even if they did so for her sake.

Eileen sighed, her shoulders dropping as she rubbed her sore temples, “Maybe I should...start from the beginning, huh?” Or the end, rather.

Henry blinked, “Are you tired? Did you just...drive here?”

“I stopped at a motel first,” Eileen said, “I’m…,”

She looked up at him, this time to really take in how the years had settled on his face. His age hid well, or maybe she had just been used to seeing him with heavy bags under his eyes from the insomnia. His stubble laid thicker on his jaw, to the point where she could get away calling it a proper beard just from how thick it looked despite the shortness of it. Beneath the left corner of his lip there was a little patch of white hair, and if she squinted she could see the occasional gray strand swept up in the hair on his head. His eyes were the same, though. Hazel. Gentle, because they were quite bad at hiding what he was feeling to counterbalance that he was otherwise too good at hiding himself. Yet even that had been initially hard to understand back in the day, because like then his eyes still hid beneath dark brows and bangs that fell into his face. All things considered, he looked good. No worse for wear, even if the bags under his eyes seemed deeper—permanent, now.

Eileen opened her mouth to tell him as much when the center of his sharp straight nose flickered. Her eyes widened in recognition and panic as another shape flickered out of time with the first one. Slowly as she stared yet another shape connected to the first two started to flicker. Soon her vision would become a kaleidoscope of shapes tessellated into a spiral, all flickering out of time with one another.

“Shit,” she hissed in panic, “Shit, I have to go,”

Startled, Henry reached out and grasped her arm, “Go? What—what happened?”

She raised her arm, ready to fling him off if need be, but the clip in his voice was concern born from fear rather than anger and Eileen twisted her expression, “I-I have to, go, a, a migraine,”

“Migraine,” Henry said both as a question and with a solemn understanding. The grip on her arm became firm and soon she was guided into the living room as more and more flickering shapes took up the expanse of her vision, “Please, lay down.”

“I’m—,” she wanted to say she was fine, that she’d take care of it, to apologize, the million anxieties were spiking again and twisting that she had not only sobbed instead of greeted him but the adult conversation she wanted to have was interrupted with such stupid timing. As Henry gently pushed her onto the couch though she succumbed to the reality of the situation and frantically gripped him to spit out, “Meds, glove compartment, in my car. Silver sedan, out front. Keys in bag.”

“Got it.” Henry graciously gave her, pulling the throw blanket off the back of the couch to lay on half her body before the shape of him disappeared from her flickering vision. Eileen covered her face with her hands, groaned, and quietly wept as she pulled the blanket over her head. As the flickering reached the edges of her vision the pain erupted and she buried as far into the dark as she could make it.

#silent hill 4 #20x21 #eileen galvin #henry townshend #i've had the kind of aural migraine she has Once in my life #i think maybe i expedited it here? but also from what i remember it happened QUICK

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casspurrjoybell-18 · 9 months ago

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Worthless - Chapter 24 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Asher

"The fuck is this, Murphy?" Eric's voice was level but his expression could kill.

We all knew exactly what that man meant. I stood there, a horrid feeling seizing my chest as I looked at the phone.

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean," Murphy laughed as he handed the phone off.

For a moment, only the soft breathing of someone came through. And then they spoke, my blood going cold.

"Hey, whore. I know you can hear me. I can't wait to see you again," he chuckled darkly.

"We're going to have so much fun when you return and you know you will or else it'll be worse if I have to drag you back myself. Daddy misses you," he sang before bursting out in laughter.

It felt like I was being suffocated. I just stared at the phone. Kade embraced me but I didn't look away. I couldn't. That man, all I could hear was his voice. All I could think about was his painful touch. I believed him when he said he'd see me again. I learned over the years that when he made a threat he always went through with it. Kade tried to turn me away from the phone, his grip firm but gentle, as the man continued. I didn't, I couldn't.

I wanted to so badly but I just continued to gaze at the phone, the dread and sorrow I locked away seeping into me. His voice continued to come, a wickedly delighted tone coating his words. I didn't hear it, couldn't process it. Memories long blocked surfaced, my mind growing tired. The sudden smashing of the phone against the wall made me jump, my eyes moving to the pieces on the floor. They stayed there even as Kade walked over, a satisfied gleam in his eye.

I was so tired of this. All my life this man has been the boogie man. He said he would drag me back. I believed him. Kade wrapped his arms around me, giving me a slight squeeze. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that the words slipped out...

'Maybe I should do as he says and go.'

I felt him tense, his grip tightening. Everyone else did as well, their shock faces turning towards me. I didn't feel anything as they looked at me. I didn't feel ashamed or embarrassed. I was numb.

"Why? Why would you say that, Asher?"

My eyes slowly met Kade's, his anger clashing with my blank expression. I just shrugged in response causing him to shake me slightly.

"Tell me. Tell me you wouldn't actually want to go back there?"

'Of course not.'

He was taken aback by the sudden venom in my voice as were the others. I'd never risen it in anger. The anger faded from his eyes as his arms dropped to his side. He looked at me with a mixture of sorrow and fear, a slight quiver in his voice as he spoke...

"Then why? I thought we were going to finally be a family. Why would you leave me?"

I realized then how scared Kade was. I felt his emotions sweep over me. I felt his need to keep me safe, his anger at that man. He was terrified of losing me, that was the biggest thing. I knew he cared for me but the extent of it brought tears to my eyes. His eyes softened and I realized the tears had spilled over. I reached a hand up to wipe them away, my cheeks going red, but he stopped me. The distance closed between us as he gently ran his thumb under my eyes. He just continued to stare down at me.

"Don't let him get to you. I'll protect you."

He squeezed me to him, my small frame being engulfed by his and added a moment later.

"We'll all protect you."

I couldn't help the sniffle that came forth.

'I don't want to leave you. I want to stay with my family.'

"And you will."

I turned to look at Alpha Eric, shocked at how convinced he sounded. He gave me a smile.

"We won't let them do as they please."

"We're the Blackwood Pack," Rory declared, earning snickers from Riley and Fallon.

They laughed but there was a seriousness to the way he said it. It ignited a fire in them, I could see it. I put a hand to my chest, surprised to find the same happening to me. Adrenaline rushed through my veins. I knew what Alpha Eric's next words would be, holding my breath in anticipation.

"We go to war."

Howling sounded, many wolves joining the call, as Eric sent the message to the whole pack. I reached for Kade's hand and he smiled and squeezed my hand, reassuring me.

"Come," Eric said, walking past us and out the door.

"The pack will be here shortly."

He was right, in a matter of minutes, the whole pack was outside the house. Alpha Eric, ever the confident leader he was, strode across the deck and stepping on top a large fire pit. Instantly, he had their attention, only an occasional glance spared our way.

"Alpha Murphy has just signed off for the Rickerson Pack's destruction."

Howls filled the air. Alpha Eric waited until they died down and gestured for Kade and me to come forward.

'Do you mind if we tell them what happened to you? If you're uncomfortable then we won't,' Eric asked through the link, waiting for my answer before continuing.

'They should know.'

He nodded before turning back to the pack.

"As you know, we have been looking for a human but you do not know everything. This human was the man who abused Asher for years, who murdered his mother and through that, his biological father, Kaleb."

Roars of outrage sounded as Eric sent them images, though they were less graphic. My grandparents were the loudest, they're snarls filled with hatred and bloodlust as tears flowed down their cheeks. I felt horrible that they had to feel such pain.

"When will we go to war Alpha?" someone called from the back.

"We will start planning now."

Howls of agreement sounded and they did start. Alpha Eric and the rest of the warriors created a circle, one of them fetching a map from the Alpha's office. Everyone else busied themselves as well. People ran about stocking up on supplies while the children were led through drills. I learned that there was a giant safe room below the pack-house for emergencies that could hold all the pack and then some. It was where all the supplies were going to.

Small patrols were sent out, keeping constant watch of the border. Kade kept me by his side, listening intently as Eric and the others planned. I could feel it flowing off of everyone, the anticipation but also the fear. I felt it as well. These people I'd grown to cherish were so strong. They were looking straight ahead even though any one of them could lose their lives in this battle that was to come.

Panic seized me as I realized that this was true for Kade as well. I could very well lose him. It was almost crippling. A warm hand brushed against my lower back. I looked up to see Kade wearing a reassuring smile.

'Don't worry, Asher. This pack is strong, every single member is, so even if I find myself in a pickle, they'll be there to watch my back.'

I nodded but I was still nervous.

'I hadn't feared for my own life in a long time but when it came to those I cared about, I was weak.'

"You're not weak. If anything, you're one of the strongest people I know."

I looked into his eyes, loving how they warmed the longer he looked at me. Love flowed between us, molding us as one. I knew without a doubt that he would do any and all in order to come back to me, in order to give his family a future. I loved how, just by knowing that, I began to relax. He would come back. We would defeat Murphy's pack and my past will finally stay there. I leaned up to kiss him softly.

'Thank you but I am only strong because I finally have people I love and wish to protect.'

He smiled, kissing me back before turning his attention back to the matter at hand. We didn't need words now.

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etherealhued · 1 year ago

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is that eric dane? of course not, that’s WYATT ANDERSON, a forty three year old SINGLE DAD who works at ANDERSON & CO as a lawyer. his friends say he’s STUBBORN, but also describe him as CARING.

life before castleport/or in castleport since childhood

wyatt was born and raised in new york city. his parents were both white collar employees spending most of their days at work and leaving wyatt to be raised by his nanny. once he turned 18, wyatt joined the navy to get away from his parents and never looked back. only speaking to his nanny, who had raised him from the age of 5 to 17, who he always considered his mother. while wyatt was working for the navy, he decided to take some classes and that’s when he realized he was interested in becoming a lawyer. always dealing with the hot debates that came up on the ship. once he was done, he decided not to re-enlist after 8 years and went to law school. (he completed his undergrad while in the navy) it was in navy, that he met his wife emily. right from the start they had an adventurous relationship and went through many hardships, but they were able to work through it and got married after wyatt graduated from law school and passed the bar exam. wyatt knew he loved emily from the minute he saw her. normally, he was quite the ladies man and didn’t care to have a family - but emily changed that for him. when they learned they were expecting, wyatt knew he was going to be the best father that he could, considering he didn’t have one growing up. then his daughter iris was born and they couldn’t have been happier with their new bundle of joy. that was until one night wyatt and emily got into a fight over the fact emily wanted to re-enlist in the navy and wyatt was heavily against it, since he was worried about what could happen and they had a daughter now. emily ended up taking a drive, wyatt worried about her when she didn’t come home - until police showed up at his door telling him their had been an accident. emily was involved in a car crash, when someone had ran a red light. she was currently at the hospital - but when wyatt got there it was too late. the doctors told him she didn’t have any brain activity and she was gone. wyatt decided to take her off life support after saying their goodbyes and bringing their daughter to see her one last time.

life in castleport as an adult

wyatt reluctantly moved to castleport, to be closer to his wife’s family after she passed away. his daughter still being a newborn, he needed all the help he could get even though moving near his emily ( his wife’s) family was the last place he wanted to be. they blamed him for her death, the reason being they had gotten in a fight before she left the house that night and she was hit by a drunk driver who ran a red light. wyatt already blames himself enough for this and didn’t need anybody else throwing the blame at him. wyatt convinced his best friend to also move to castleport and they opened their law firm after they both got settled in castleport. wyatt loves his daughter more than anything and would do anything to protect her. making sure he’s home by dinner every night and reading her bedtime stories until she falls asleep. iris is his whole world and nobody else matters to him, which is why he hasn’t been in a serious relationship since his wife died. sure, he’s had hookups but they’ve all been meaningless except for the sex.

connections & wanted connections:

emily anderson - wife (deceased for five years, bridget regan fc)

iris anderson - daughter (five years old)

chloe - co-worker/flirtatious relationship (@littlexunsteady)

best friend - moved to castleport four years ago, lives two houses down from wyatt and they’ve know each other since law school. moved to castleport, after wyatt persuaded him to and they opened a law firm together. (fc utp)

unnamed sister in-law - only person in emily’s family who doesn’t blame wyatt for her sister’s death. they are pretty close, since she helps wyatt raise iris when he’s at work. plus, she’s the only family he has now besides iris, he considers her a sister. (fc utp)

#castleportintrosss #wyattintro #tw: car accident #tw: drunk driving

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casspurrjoybell-24 · 1 year ago

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Sugar Punch - Chapter 3

*Warning Adult Content*

Theodore Banks

Come Monday, I had managed to avoid the football team and the football captain, Eric, until the last bell rung out and I bumped into him in the hallway.

"Hey shrimp, where do you think you're going?" Eric smirked at me, sending cold chills down my body as he grabbed hold of me and pushed me roughly into the lockers.

I had put so much effort into avoiding him and his group of friends and all for what?

At this rate I was going to be late for the gym and I knew from Maddox saying so, he didn't like people to show up late.

"C-Come on Eric..." I tried to reason with him but he was getting into my face.

Suddenly he spat on my face and then let go of me and started laughing with all the other guys that were with him, then he shot me one last look, his eyes filled with hate before I felt his fist connect with my jaw.

Eric had punched me in a spot I was used to but it didn't mean it didn't hurt any less than the other times, it felt like he broke my jaw as I cradled my face in my hands, sinking down the lockers as I look up to him, my hands shaking.

"Fucking creep, stay the fuck out of my way next time, fag," he spat before he walked off with his friends.

I ignored the looks of other students as I shakenly rose to my feet, wanting to just go home and cry like I usually did and try and forget how much I hated my life but I promised myself I wouldn't do that anymore.

A big part of me didn't want to let Maddox down either, not when he was willing to help me.

Grabbing my back-pack from the floor, I started walking to where my bike was and then ride home, my jaw aching as where Eric hit me had made my ear start to ring as I got halfway towards my house.

Once I made it home, I knew I wouldn't see my parents until late tonight as they always worked late, even on weekends, so I quickly ran up the stairs and grabbed the gym bag Maddox had given me.

I was excited he gave me stuff, I wouldn't know what to get if I went shopping by myself, luckily, he gave me free clothes and a brand-new gym bag, which looked expensive, so I'll try to cherish it and only use it for the gym.

Not bothering to leave a note, I lock the front door and go to the bus stop, it was only a twenty-minute trip into town and a five-minute walk from the bus to the gym, so I knew I wasn't going to be late.

I had saw my reflection in the window once I sat down and winced once I saw just how obvious it was that someone hit me, as a bruise was forming around the red mark Eric's fist caused on my jaw.

Eric wasn't always like that, when we were twelve, we were friends, we used to hang out all the time and play games but now that he's popular and captain of the football team, his attitude got worse, to the point where he started bullying me with his new football friends.

He turned into a dick-head, plain and simple, for what reason I don't care, there was no way I would consider being friends with him, not when he's made my life a living hell, making it impossible to relax and make friends in school.

Once I get off the bus, it takes no time to reach the gym and once inside I notice that there are more people than last time working out and every single machine and all I could think of was how serious these people are, for it to be completely full like this.

I notice Rick up ahead and smile politely once he sees me, making him grin before his eyes go to my jaw, then his face dropped and his eyes grew hard as he waved me over to him.

I knew he had saw my jaw, his eyes made it obvious so I wanted to avoid whatever was coming as much as possible, I didn't want anyone to know what was going on at school, it would only make me feel even more pathetic than I already felt.

"H-Hey Rick," I said, coming up to the front desk, gripping my bag tightly in my hands as his eyes focus more harder on my jaw.

"Kid," he grunted out, looking at me like he wants to say something about my face.

"Mads just finished, you can head on down."

I swallow hard and nod my head, avoiding his eyes as I kept my head down and made my way towards the bottom stairs, leading to the basement, where I know Maddox will be.

Did it really look that bad?

Eric did hit me hard but usually it only took a few hours before a bruise started to show.

I guess today isn't my day... I should've just stayed home and waited for the bruise to go away before I came back here.

I didn't want anyone seeing me like this and feel sorry for me, especially not someone I admired and wanted to be more like.

Opening the doors to the basement gym, I instantly saw Maddox shirtless and hitting a punching bag with his hands wrapped in white tape, with earphones over his ears and in his own world.

All I could think of when I looked at him was how amazing he looked, it was like nothing I had ever seen before, just from looking at him you would know he did this for a living, everything looked beautiful in the way he moved.

I had never thought a man was beautiful before until now, I wasn't sure how to think about it other than accept that some people are just that and that it wasn't that weird for a guy to call another guy beautiful.

Coming further into the room, Maddox had noticed me and stopped hitting the punching bag, I smiled at him and he nodded to me as he wiped his forehead coaxed in sweat before taking the earbuds from his ears.

"H-Hi," I said shyly, trying not to stare at his naked chest too long.

"Hey, you're early," he said, coming up to me, his eyes on mine before they shift to my jaw.

I swallowed hard and froze once he reached out and grabbed my jaw, making me wince as the pain was still very real, like Eric had just hit me all over again.

"How'd this happen?" he asked, a frown on his face as he looked it over.

"It looks fresh."

"Just a s-simple misunderstanding," I laughed nervously, feeling the back of my neck grow warm at how close he was.

I knew from the look on his face that he didn't believe me, and I knew my excuse was so pathetic that nobody would believe me, not if they saw my nose wrapped up and bruises over my arms and legs.

"Come on, you need it ice it, it looks painful," he said, as I followed behind him with my head down as he walked to his office.

I sat down on a free chair and watched him go into a mini fridge and take out an ice pack, he then grabbed a cloth and wrapped it around the ice pack and then came over to me and then gently pressed it against my jaw.

Maddox sighs out as he kept his hand over the icepack on my jaw, looking at me as I avoided his intense gaze.

"So, what kind of misunderstanding gets you a fist to the jaw?"

I shifted in my seat as I shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it, especially not to Maddox, who I really didn't want to feel pathetic around, not when he was teaching me how to fight.

"It was my fault," I said, biting the inside of my cheek.

"Really, it doesn't hurt." I add, taking over for him by holding the icepack to my jaw.

Maddox didn't ask anything else as he sighed out and left his office, I watched him walk down to the lockers and grab a black t-shirt from inside and then put it over his head, then he walked back to me, his eyes on mine before I looked away and stared at my feet nervously.

Why... do I get the feeling he wants to not train me now?

I'm too much trouble, nobody wants to have this kind of baggage in their life, which I would understand if he told me he didn't want to train me anymore, this wasn't exactly how I thought my day would go, so I wouldn't be surprised if he told me to leave.

"Hold out your hand," Maddox said, making me jump slightly and so as he said.

He drops two pills in my hand and then hands me a bottle of water.

"Pain relief, take those before we start," he said, before heading back into the gym room, leaving me sat on the chair in his office in confusion.

He... wasn't kicking me out?

I stare at the pills in my hand before I put them in my mouth and swallowed them, taking a sip of the water he gave me, then I get up and go where Maddox was standing, near two mats laid out on the floor next to the large ring in the middle of the room.

"Let's start with some burpees, then we'll do some squats," he says, standing on the mat as I nodded my head and mirrored him, putting the icepack down on the bench next to the mats.

"Follow me the best you can, ask me any questions you have or else I'll go over it after our first set," he says, looking me in the eye as I nodded my head, starting to get nervous as I have never done this before.

"Let's start with stretches."

I copied Maddox the best I could, I knew the moment we finished doing squats with sidekicks that I was severely out of shape, so much that I was struggling to catch my breath just from kicking my leg in the air.

How did he do this every easy was so crazy to me, I could only do six at a time before I needed a drink of water just to stop myself from passing out.

Maddox slowed down and helped me with my form with each workout he taught me, eventually I got better at it despite my whole body aching from my body not being used to moving in such strange directions and ways.

"You did well," Maddox says as I sunk to the map, breathing heavily.

"I-I can't even move," I wince out, making Maddox grin and hand me a bottle of water, which I took greedily, then sat up and devoured the cool liquid.

My time was almost up, and I knew after today it was going to be hard to walk just from how much my legs felt like jelly but as I looked over at Maddox, I saw that he looked the same as usual and was unaffected by our workout.

It was impressive to see him not even break a sweat, while I was sweating through my eyeballs.

It made me want to push myself harder.

"You'll get used to it, we just need to work on your stamina," he says, sitting down on the bench near my mat as he looked at me.

"Ugh," is all I could say before I drank the rest of my water, not wanting to think about anything else right now, not when everything hurt.

"We've all been there, trust me when I say it does get better," he says as I smile sheepishly at him and nod my head.

"W-Well I should probably go.," I said, trying to get up, wincing as my feet hurt.

"Let me help you," Maddox laughs out as I felt his strong hand wrap around mine and pull me up, without so much as a blink I was on my feet, feeling dizzy as I looked at him standing in front of me, looking at me in the eyes.

"Sit down before you go, I'll get you another drink," he says as he helps me to the bench and he went off to grab me another bottle of water from the water box near the ring.

Despite looking pathetic and feeling like I had just been crushed by a bus, I was proud of myself for not giving up.

Maddox was patient with me and didn't push me beyond my limits, which I was so happy for because I was sure I'd want to give up if he made me do things, I wasn't ready for.

"Here," he says, handing me another bottle and sat next to me on the bench.

I was starting to get used to being around Maddox, where at first, I felt nervous being around someone so famous but the more I trained with him, the more I saw how easy he was to talk to and be around, unlike how some people describe famous athletes.

"Did you drive here?" he suddenly asks me, making look at him.

"I took the bus."

Maddox went into his short pockets and grabbed his smartphone out and looked at the time, I saw that our hour was up and I should probably go catch my bus before I missed it.

"Um, speaking of I should hurry before I miss my bus," I say, standing up.

Maddox didn't say anything and watched me from the bench, until I bended down and grabbed my gym bag, I heard him stand up and close the locker behind him.

"Give me a minute and I'll drop you off," he says, as I stopped and turned around to look at him, confused and not sure I heard him.

He wanted to drive me... home?

I watched as he went down to his office and then grabbed his own gym bag and then put on a black hoodie, I recognised from a match he wore on TV before a fight.

"Alright let's go, my car's out back so we'll take the back way," he says, as I followed behind him, as he left no room for argument.

I followed behind him quietly through another exit I hadn't recognised before, it led straight to the underground car park, under where the gym was, as Maddox led the way, I looked around nervously and wondered if this was a good idea.

I knew he wouldn't hurt me or attack me but because of Eric I had hated going to places like this, I always avoided them, especially places I know he likes to jump me at.

Maddox stopped at a red convertible I recognised as I looked at the front of the car, seeing it as an Audi Spyder, a car that was probably worth thousands of dollars, did he even trust someone he didn't know inside a car like this?

Getting inside, Maddox starts the car and sends me a look once he looks over at me just standing there.

"Do I need to show you how to open a door, Theo?" he jokes as I felt my neck grow hot.

I fumble with his door handle and get inside, feeling weird I'm sitting in an expensive car with the famous kickboxer Maddox Zane right now and this isn't a dream.

"Seatbelt," he says, as I closed the door and backed out of the parking spot.

I looked over to Maddox as I clicked the seatbelt around me and wondered why he was being so nice to me, I knew it might have something to do with the bruise on my jaw and my busted nose but that couldn't be all, right?

He didn't know me, he didn't have to give a damn about me but I think he did... or maybe he's just being nice.

I decided to just think he's being nice, not looking too much into it as I sit back and try and relax, as my heart beats fast in my chest, nervous just by sitting next to him again.

He's just being nice... that's all this is, nothing more.

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dream-a-little-bigger-x · 4 years ago

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You’re The Reason | Eric Matthews

Add yourself to my taglist! | Here’s my masterlist!

Requested: Yes/No

A/N: My first Boy Meets World fic! Gah! I hope you like this! Couldn’t stay away from the JATP boys though, so it’s kinda like a JATP x BMW crossover... Lemme know what you think!

Pairing: Eric x Fem!Reader

Song(s) used: none

Warnings: mentions of alcohol, party

Words: 4,028

Eric Matthews. The goofy, charming oldest boy of Alan and Amy. My best friend since forever. Our parents always told us the story about how we met in the sandbox in Kindergarten. I was building sandcastles when Jason, Eric’s first best friend, came to ruin them. Eric, being the charmer he always had been, told Jason off and pushed him out of the sandbox before helping me rebuild my sand castle. Ever since that day, the two of us had been the best of friends.

We did everything together. Everything from play dates to eating ice cream to going to middle school and eventually high school. Though we never graduated together as my parents had to move when I was 16. We moved to Los Angeles and never returned to Philadelphia. Eric and I were so torn. We had promised we would keep in contact and the first few months were hard, but we eventually found a rhythm in our long-distance friendship.

Every evening, we would call each other except for the weekends as those were date-weekends where both of us went out on dates. But come Sunday evening, we’d both be on the phone, telling the other what had happened during said dates.

During summer vacation, Eric would come to L.A. to visit me or I’d go back to Philly, just so we could hang out together for a few days. Those had always been my favorite days. We’d reconnect and find that spark again we always used to have, which, in its turn, brought us closer and made the next few months a little less hard when all we could hear was each other’s voice.

Last summer, however, I realized that I’d rather kiss those beautiful pink lips than stare at them as he talked about yet another girl he took out over the weekend and made out with. It stung, to say the least, but I couldn’t tell him how I felt. We were miles apart from one another, it would just hurt more.

Though what hurt even worse was when Eric called me one time in the middle of the night, crying. Confused and worried, I listened to him as he let everything he was feeling out of his system.

“Mister Feeny is retiring, Cory’s going to college and eloped with Topanga tonight and I just– everything’s changing and I don’t know what to do about it. I wanna stop time and just go back to the way things were. All of us in high school, Cory and Topanga fighting over God-knows-what or Shawn and Cory getting into even more trouble. And you… Not miles away from me…”

I choked back tears as I listened to him. He sounded so broken, so lost. I wished I could just hold him and let him cry as he spoke about how he felt. I wished I was in Philadelphia instead of Los Feliz, a place I didn’t quite belong.

“I’m sorry, Eric, I wish I could make things better for you…” I said, my voice just above a whisper, afraid I would cry if I spoke any louder.

Eric sighed on the other side of the line. “Why don’t you just– come home? Study at Pennbrook with me?” I stuttered and stumbled over my words, unsure what to say to him.

It wasn’t like I thought about it. I’m an adult, I could change my whole life around and move back to Philadelphia. Back to Eric. But while that sounded all beautiful and wonderful and like a dream come true, I couldn’t just drop everything here. I had my new friends, a college degree I needed to finish.

“Come on, babe. You know you want to…” Eric pleaded, knowing all-too-well what was going on in my mind right now even though he couldn’t see me. “I know I want you to.”

I heaved in a deep breath. “I can’t, Eric… I gotta finish my degree here. I gotta–” Just as I wanted to continue summing up reasons as to why I wouldn’t be able to go back to him, four guys I knew like the back of my hand entered my dorm and jumped onto my bed. I didn’t even need to see who it was to know who it was. “Guys– I’m on the phone here,” I scolded them as the floppy-haired guy gave me his best smoulder. “Lukas, no.”

“It’s alright, y/n,” I heard Eric say, though I could tell it wasn’t actually okay. “You go back to your friends. You stay put. Okay? Whatever makes you happiest.”

“But you make me h–” Before I could even finish my sentence, Eric had hung up the phone. “Happiest…” I mumbled before placing the horn back on the receiver.

“You okay?” the blonde guy I knew best as Alex Mercer asked me solemnly.

I pressed my lips together. “No– not really…”

Luke wrapped his arms around my waist and snuggled into my neck while Reggie sat on the end of my bed with his legs crossed. “I think you ought to go visit him,” he said.

“What?”

“No, seriously. You miss him, he misses you and you clearly need each other right now. Go back to Philly, y/n. Even if it’s just for the weekend.” For once, Reggie actually spoke some sense.

“Yeah, I mean, you clearly miss each other and you need each other right now. And maybe, whilst you’re there, you can figure out whether you’d wanna move back to Philly or come back to us,” Alex added.

I had met Luke, Reggie, Alex and Bobby during orientation day, along with Rose, my roommate. There hadn’t been a day where we didn’t spend time together. All six of us were sewn to the hip. Wherever one went, the others went too. A lot of people called Rose and I their groupies as the four of them had started a band way back in high school. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say those four were actually married to one another.

But to be fair, Alex and Reggie were speaking some truth now. I did miss Eric. I missed him tremendously. And maybe, once there, I could see that Los Angeles was truly where I belonged or if I should stay in Philadelphia with Eric… It was the ultimate life test.

I heaved in a deep breath before lifting my hand to ring the doorbell at apartment 3E. Nerves bunched in the pit of my stomach and my hands were getting clammy. I wasn’t even sure if Eric was home. I wasn’t even sure if coming over was such a splendid idea. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

Even less so when a tall fiery red-haired girl opened up the door. My throat dried up for a second. Did I get the wrong apartment? Eric hadn’t told me about a girl roommate or anything. All I knew was that he lived with Jack and Shawn. Though I figured since Shawn had gotten into Pennbrook too, he might’ve moved into a dorm with Cory.

“Hi, can I–” the girl stopped in her tracks as she let her eyes glide over me. “You’re y/n, aren’t you?” Her lips curled up into a smile. “Eric has told me so much about you!”

The nerves in my stomach made room for fluttery butterflies. Eric talked about me. Even to girls as pretty as this one. Knowing Eric the way I do, I didn’t think he ever would. ‘Girl repellant’ he’d call it.

“Uhm… Yeah… I wanted to surprise him… Is he here?”

The girl chuckled. “Believe it or not, but he’s actually in class right now.”

“Eric? In class?”

She nodded her head, her lips curling up into a smirk. “I’m heading to campus now, you wanna come? His class is almost over.”

It definitely beat sitting here, waiting for him.

“Sure,” I replied and the girl quickly went to grab her stuff before walking out and guiding me towards the elevator again.

“I’m Rachel, by the way. I just moved in a couple days ago,” she said while pushing the button to call the elevator.

Rachel. Roommate Rachel. She was definitely Eric’s type… A girl.

“Eric hasn’t told me about you yet. For a second, I thought I was at the wrong apartment,” I said, chuckling a little.

Rachel and I got into the elevator and she told me about how she wound up living with Jack and Eric. I had to admit to myself that I was only slightly jealous of the moves the two boys had made on her. Not that I cared about Jack hitting on Rachel, but I did care about Eric doing it.

The red-haired fury led me towards campus and we talked all the way there. Mostly about Eric. She asked me questions about our childhood and I told her every single story about him. It wasn’t hard talking about Eric. Everything we went through together flowed out of me like a waterfall. A waterfall of Eric-filled stories.

“Oh, look. He’s at the Student Union, as predicted,” Rachel said, pointing towards where Eric, Jack, Shawn and Cory were seated on the sofas, sipping coffee.

A smile involuntarily crept its way up to my face. Eric Matthews. Seeing him now made my heart beat faster and my stomach fill up with all sorts of butterflies. My LA boys were right. I did miss him tremendously.

“Come on, let’s go say hi!” Rachel urged, pulling me along by my wrist.

“Don’t you have a class to go to?”

She shook her red mane. “I’d rather see this beautiful reunion,” she said.

Cory was the first one who met my eyes. His laughter made room for confusion to then turn into delight. “Y/N?” he exclaimed, causing everyone’s head to turn my way before he got up to embrace me. Jack and Shawn hugged me next and when I turned to Eric, he was still seated on the couch with his cup of coffee halfway to his lips.

“What are you doing here?” he finally asked.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear nervously. “What? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

His wide eyes turned back to normal and as he put his cup on the coffee table in front of him, he blabbed while getting up to hug me. “Wha– of course I’m happy to see you, y/n. I just didn’t expect you to come? Don’t you have classes and stuff?”

I inhaled the familiar scent of Eric Matthews. As my senses filled up with him, my nerves finally calmed down. I was home.

“I wanted to surprise you…”

His hands cupped my face as he regarded me. He inspected every inch of my face as if to see if I was complete and really there. “And surprised I am,” he whispered.

Shawn handed me a cup of coffee as we all settled back onto the couch. They asked me questions about LA and about college in LA, and I answered each and every one of them. It felt good being with this gang again. It was like coming back home.

Eric took me everywhere that weekend. Friday night, we went to Chubbie’s. On Saturday, he took me back home where I reacquainted with Alan and Amy, and we spent some time with Morgan.

Now it was Saturday night and we were all at the club for a good party. I was three drinks in and chatting with Rachel at the bar. I had grown close to her over the two days I had been here. Just like Rose, she always knew exactly what to say. And she listened. She listened to all my sorrows and worries. She really listened.

“I think you’re in love with Eric,” she stated before taking a swig of her beer.

“What? No! I–” She raised an eyebrow at me. “I am in love with Eric…”

She let out a cackle. “Ha! I knew it!”

“I can’t act up on my feelings though, Rachel. We live miles apart. Being friends is already hard enough, I don’t even wanna know what being a couple would do to us. If Eric would reciprocate my feelings, that is.”

“Would you believe me if I told you Eric is in love with you too?”

“No.”

“Well, he is! The way his eyes light up when he talks about you… It’s pure love. Sure, he can be a bit daft and he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but when he talks about you, he almost becomes poetic.”

“You’re ridiculous,” I said and sipped from my beer again.

Rachel shook her head at me. “See for yourself.” She pointed somewhere behind me and the second I turned around, Eric was in front of me with those big, sparkly eyes of his and that goofy smile I’d come to love.

“Dance with me, baby!” he shouted and pulled me along to the dance floor. As I looked back at Rachel, she gave me a knowing look. She wasn’t right. She couldn’t be.

“I need you to stay,” he slurred, clearly having drank one too many beers. “Please, can’t you stay?”

“Eric,” I sighed, “You know I can’t. I’ve got –”

“A degree to finish and friends to go back to, I know, I know…”

I pressed my lips together in a thin line as I watched him. He was still moving, swaying from side to side to the music, but there was a lot less enthusiasm behind than before we started talking.

“Hey,” I started and placed my hands on his shoulders. “You know I would stay if I could, right? I just – I can’t, Eric.”

“Yes, you can, y/n. You can stay here, transfer to Pennbrook, live with me and Jack and Rachel. Be here. With me.”

His offer sounded alluring. A little too alluring. The alcohol coursing in my veins almost made me say ‘yes’, but the sober part of me knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. “I need a better reason than that, Eric.”

“I’ve got more reasons for you to stay.”

“Gimme one.”

Before I could properly process what was happening, Eric grabbed my face and pressed his lips to mine in a deep kiss. As we pulled apart for a moment, I had to take a breather and process what had just happened.

“That’s a good reason,” I whispered before kissing him again.

I didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the fact that we’d actually wanted to do that for a long time, but the rest of the night we spent together, making out in a corner of the club until Rachel and Jack pulled us apart and brought us back to the apartment. Eric and I fell asleep together on the couch, cuddled up. The place where I’d wanted to fall asleep for months now. The place where I belonged.

It felt weird waking up in his arms. Not that we hadn’t done that before, but the events that preceded it were new. I hadn’t ever been kissed the way Eric had kissed me last night. It was with so much passion and love that filled up all my senses, that sobered me up almost straight away.

Though, when he woke, it was like nothing happened.

He didn’t speak about it, and changed the subject whenever I tried to. I didn’t know what had gone wrong. It was probably a mistake on his part. He probably didn’t want to kiss me. It was probably the alcohol speaking and not his heart. He didn’t love me the same way I loved him.

It was all a mistake.

“How was your night?” Alan asked playfully when we entered the Matthews’ kitchen for lunch on Sunday.

“Good! We had fun,” I replied and glanced over at Eric. He had jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he moved over towards the fridge.

“It was okay,” he spoke and shoved a knife right through my chest.

I had no clue what I had done wrong or what had gone wrong. All I knew was that Eric was giving me the cold shoulder. The kiss must’ve been a mistake. It must’ve been something he didn’t even want to do and it was just the alcohol taking over. And now it had ruined our entire friendship.

“When’s your flight back home?” Amy queried.

I placed my knife and fork down as I had just finished the delicious lunch Amy had made all of us. “Tonight at eight,” I responded with a nervous smile. My stomach churned when I felt Eric tense up next to me.

“Back to Northridge then, huh? Must be a big change going from cold Philadelphia back to warm and sunny LA,” Alan said with a smile and I nodded my head.

“It’s gonna be quite the di–” before I could finish my sentence, Eric had shoved his chair back and without uttering a word, he stormed out of the kitchen. I could feel my heart break in my chest. He seemed angry. Frustrated. All of the things I didn’t want him to be before I went back to LA.

“I’ll go check on him,” I said and carefully slid my chair back before following Eric outside.

He sat on the cushioned bench where we have had many a talk before as the sun set and the stars appeared into the sky. Though right now, it seemed awfully dark and gloomy. Nothing like what it used to feel like.

“Eric, are you okay?” I plopped down next to him, placing my hand on his shoulder.

He scoffed. “No, I’m not okay. You know, I didn’t ask you to come here. I didn’t ask you to visit me. I didn’t ask and so I couldn’t prepare for you to leave… Again.”

“Eric, I’m sorry. I thought it would be nice to surprise you. I–” I stopped talking as soon as he shot up from the bench and took a few steps away from me. He looked angry and sad at the same time and it broke my heart even further.

“Don’t you know how much it kills me to see you go every time? But at least in the summer, I can prep myself for the goodbye that’s about to follow. I can prep myself for the heartache and now that I didn’t see it coming, I’m not ready for you to go.”

I opened my mouth to say something else, but before I could, he gave me another glare and then stormed off to God-knows-where. I couldn’t move. I was frozen to the bench. My best friend just yelled at me and ran off. I didn’t even say goodbye to him.

“Miss y/l/n, what a surprise,” a familiar voice sounded, causing me to snap my head towards the older man that stood in the next-door garden on the other side of the white fence.

I smiled at him, but I knew it wasn’t genuine and I knew he knew it wasn’t. “Hey Mister Feeny.”

“Are you okay?” he asked and opened the small gate. He made a beeline towards me and sat down on the bench next to me.

I heaved in a deep breath, breathing in the familiarity of my old teacher. “No, I –” I mulled over my words. “I missed Eric, so I came to surprise him but I think it might’ve not been such a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“‘Cause now he’s mad at me because he couldn’t prepare himself for me leaving…” I mumbled, focusing on the rings on my fingers as I twisted them around and around. “I don’t know what to do, Mister Feeny. I wanna stay with Eric, but I’ve got a life in LA. I’ve got friends and I’ve got Northridge and my family still lives there too…”

I looked up to see my favorite teacher regard me with such a tender and familiar look. He felt sorry for me and I also knew there was a pep-talk coming in a few seconds. Though at that moment, I wasn’t sure if I was in the mood for that pep-talk.

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Miss Lawrence when she came to me with her dilemma,” he started wistfully, the only way Mister Feeny ever spoke. “You stay at Northridge unless you have a good reason not to.”

My mind immediately went to last night’s events when Eric kissed me after he told me he had reasons for me to stay. If I had a reason, it would be Eric. Eric would be the one and only reason for me to move back to Philadelphia and I couldn’t lie when I said Eric weighs out every other reason I had for going back to LA.

“I think you know what to do, Miss y/l/n,” he said before placing a comforting hand on my shoulder and getting up again.

“Hey, Mister Feeny,” he stopped halfway to his house. “You’re a good teacher, you know that?” The genuine and heartwarming smile that curled Feeny’s lips upwards made me feel nostalgic. I had missed that man.

“Thank you, Miss y/l/n. And you’re a good student.”

As Mister Feeny returned to his home, I couldn’t help but think everything over. Every thought, every moment of the past weekend seeped back into my mind. There was only one way to stop my thoughts and I knew exactly what it was.

“Y/N?” His voice caused me to snap out of my thoughts. There he was. Finally. “What are you still doing here?” he asked, visibly getting nervous. “I thought you’d gone home?”

I patted the spot next to me on the cushioned bench. Eric hesitantly took the spot, but I could tell he was tense and didn’t quite know what to do. He didn’t look at me and his hands fiddled around in his lap.

“I am home.”

Now he looked up at me. Confusion was written all over his face, a look I had seen on him before. The reminder of everything I ever told him that confused him made me giggle a little.

“What do you mean? Don’t you have to get back to LA? Back home?” He turned his face back to the sky. It was starting to get dark out and the stars above us were starting to make an appearance, along with the bright moon.

“I talked to Feeny and he told me that I should go back to Northridge…” I watched Eric’s jaw clench. “Unless I had a good reason not to.”

He turned his head to face me again. “Is there a good reason?”

I sighed. “I thought about it. I’ve got reasons to go back. Like my degree and my friends out there, my family…” Eric slowly nodded his head and I knew his mind was already preparing him for me to say I was going to go back. “But there’s one reason that makes me wanna stay here. One reason that outweighs all the other reasons.”

“And what’s that?”

A soft smile befell my lips as I leaned in and cautiously pressed my lips to his. Last night’s memories seeped back into my mind.

“You’re the reason, Eric Matthews.”

He smiled as his eyes darted from mine to my lips and back before he fully kissed me on the lips. I couldn’t help but giggle before melting completely into the kiss, into him. After years of being best friends and months of pining for him, I was finally kissing my best friend. I had finally given into my feelings.

And I was making the right decision. I knew that now. I knew that moving back to Philadelphia would be the right choice. I would be moving back home. Back with Eric. Close to Cory and Shawn and Jack and Topanga. All of my friends from when we were younger. Home.

The only thing left to do now was break the news to my friends in LA…

But that was a problem for later.

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