#cookie run au prompts

[formerlycookierunauprompts]

how about just-

giant flustered jester

idk i think that'd be cute have a good day/night whoever decides to write this vague prompt -Anon #368

You don't realize what power you have given me anon #368.

Request Prompt #14 - 💓♪

The beast stood tall, looming over you and the rest of your friends. The seal White Lily Cookie had laced upon the great tree had broken, allowing the beasts to escape... Or well, at least one of them for now. Either way White Lily Cookie was down for the count(almost immediately flicked into a tree by a shadow hand), and Pure Vanilla was tending to her leaving you as the only adult between Shadow Milk Cookie and GingerBrave and friends. There was almost literally no way this could get worse. However, you are very reckless and stupid. " Hey!" You called out to the beast, what you're about to do is rather nerve racking, but since when have you cared about your nerves? Never, that's when. This could get you crumbled, but that's a risk you are willing to take. You almost shudder as you feel the plethora of eyes from the shadows and Shadow Milk Cookie's own two eyes stare at you, brimming with curiosity. " Oh? Does another audience member want to try their hand at beating me?" He chuckled, his grin wide and manic as he gestured to the other fallen cookies around them. " I wouldn't advise that unless you want your dough to crack." " No, I've just got a question." You begin, you can see his brow raise with curiosity. " ... Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see." Silence. " Oh my god we're going to die." You can hear Wizard Cookie mumble under his breath, with GingerBrave responding with a " No no, let them cook.-" It, it actually looks like you threw him off his rhythm. It looks like he's questioning what the fuck a Tennessee is, good, you don't know either. Shadow Milk Cookie is just staring at you, almost dumbfoundedly with a light blue fluster on his cheeks. It takes him a moment before he realizes just what you're doing. He crouches onto the floor, picking you up with a confused, and maybe a bit flustered, grin. " Are you flirting with me right now?" He asks, barely concealing a chuckle under his breath. You lean forwards in his grasp, resting your chin on your hand and fluttering whatever cookie eyelashes you have at him. " Maybe I am." You begin, " Is it working?" " ... Maybe." He mumbled out, looking off to the side.

[revisitingfandoms]

Idea Prompt #14- When a god (demon) calls forth a demon (god)

Cripsy arms attempt to pull away- to let himself free from the bindings and the pair of guards holding him still in place. Yellow eyes for a moment cash against red eyes burning with fire. The red haired cookie struggles harder as their attention is caught with the sound of the main door opening.

The tiger cookie pulls the wagon baring the cage atop of it down the hall. The sheer fabric of yellows and white that covers the cage makes smoked cheese heart drop in a mix of pain, panic and horror.

The beast- the monster who stuck him upon this position, who caged his queen who-

The cobra cookie dips the fabric away to reveal golden cheese cookie. Her once glorious golden wings trimmed to point she may not fly for months, her once everyday vistage was covered and cloaked with white and yellow into a dress that curled around her.

But the thing that struck Smoked cheese- that made him pause and want to cry out so badly as the despondent look in her eyes as she rose from her position in the cage and step forward to the door of it.

Golden cheese, in all her defeat whispers, “my kingdom, my people, they will be spare from your subjects and your own brutality?”

The beast laughs as he takes in her appearance. “So long as you belong me to me, my golden bride.”

Smoke cheese cookie can only bow his head as the cage opens, as the laugh of spicelings around them echo, as a singular tear falls down his queens face as burning spice embraces her.

As Destuction cages Abundance

I am not immune to BurningCheese propaganda. Nor am I immune to forced arranged marriage.

(I am especially not immune to angst)

[sammywolfgirl]

Drawtober day 17 - fog

If you can see the glow of a dark pearl, then it’s already too late

[loginwalltoldmetomakeacc]

drew some licocule prompts!!! enjoy

parfait: wait can u guys slow down i can’t keep up

licorice: skill issue

@i-dont-know124

ok so i actually thought that since clover can actually knit believe it or not i think both lico and clover would do pretty swell with that actually while the other 2 are struggling lol

by gingerbrave_dev

licorice: aw come on, guys! those are just cheap tricks! vampire: whuh..?? yea…

@arealfuntime

btw i ended up doing some requests offsite too since there weren’t enough here lol

^ tbh i saw those 2 requests as simultaneous to me lol

idk i guess in the future if they didn’t go on a typical dinner date i think they’d go to the arcade or something

now introducing Ginger’s Brave Party™️

@forrestkiddo

SO ROMANTIC 😻

@5ome-7ype-0f-5hapeshifter

I love the beach. /ref

@itsthequeercryptid

here’s the original licocule requests/prompts page (i might do more who knows)

bonus video since you’ve made it this far!!!

(kinda loud)

[sweetkiller690]

Affocara week! Day 7! Swapped Roles!!

[stargazeraldroth]

I know I'm not the best when it comes to getting canon characterization right, but when I deviate from canon, I (usually) have a justified reason for doing so. Whether that be projection or differences for AU purposes, it's usually understandable.

And then there's the pain that comes from blatant mischaracterization that has nothing to do with an AU, and it's either because the person genuinely sees the character that way or does it for weird shipping purposes. Like, really weird shipping purposes. I'm talking "Character A is such a frail bottom UwU" and "Character B is such a strong top, protecting their precious partner". THAT kind of weird change for shipping. Especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ couples.

[rosejigglypuff76]

Cookietober 2023 🍪 Day 5 - Cookies Celebrating Spooky Month (Halloween) 💀🎃 Cookies - Custard Cookie III & Pancake Cookie 👑🥞

Two close friends with the bond as strong as brothers are celebrating Spooky Month together 💀🎃

Custard Fujisaki III & Pancake Ikue are ready to have some fun in their big halloween basket for a candy-filled ride, all while trying to find confirmation of rumors that are indeed true 🍬

Note: In my Kimura AU, Custard III and Pancake are close but only see themselves with a strong brotherly bond. It's like how I depict Skid & Pump (from Spooky Month), with them being close like siblings. 🎀

[somegirlontheinternet135]

~ART CHALLENGE/WRITING PROMPT~

I've developed the habit of taking two hyper-fixations and fusing them together to create the ultimate thing to drool over. One of those creation being a CRK + Welcome Home, where instead of having cookie-versions of puppets, you got puppet-versions of cookies (you get what I'm saying?)

Turning our favorite balls of baked dough into felt and stitching~

AND NOW ITS EVERYONE'S PROBLEM!!!

Grab your sewing kits and open Pinterest kids, cause making your favorite CRK characters as Puppets☆

How it'll work it simply, you take a character CRK, and, assuming you have some of the game, take piece of their design, personality, and background, to incorporate into to final design. Secondly add what kind of puppet they are (hand-rode puppets, marionettes, etc.) Feel free to extra details/features into their material. And for heck of it, throw in some character interactions/relationships in there, have fun with it!

*Again, I am not forcing this on anyone, this is just fun/ an idea for anyone with art/writers block*

[fluffshi-wxffle]

Now this fits with the ongoing concept of Shadow Milk possessing Pure Vanilla

Y’all remember that one Undertale AU that Flowey possessed Sans?

Okay imagine that but with Pure Vanilla’s sunflower staff since it is clearly alive to some degree.

One day some vines slowly start to grow from the flower but it’s not noticeable. More days go by and the vines keep growing (but they are wrapped around the staff part so it looks natural and not suspicious). But on a certain night as Pure Vanilla slept, those vines will untangle and the staff would be in his hands. He will notice he cannot let the staff go and the vines grow more and increase in numbers, starting to wrap around all over him.

He’s not in control anymore.

[au-roulette]

AU Roulette Challenge 2024

What is AU Roulette? A casual fic-writing challenge encouraging authors to play around with different types of alternate universe stories, which will be randomly assigned to each participant regardless of the fandom they sign up with. The goal of the challenge is to encourage creativity and get authors to write fics with premises they might not otherwise have considered, with varying difficulty levels of participation for writers of all experience levels.

How does it work? Writers will be able to sign up from now through June with a fandom of their choice. At the start of July, each participant will be assigned three AUs from a masterlist using a random number generator. Each author will then have the choice of completing the challenge one, two, or all three of the AUs. Any fic exceeding a 500-word minimum will be considered a completion, so long as it employs the AU premise. The fic-writing period of the challenge will run for a month. Fics can be posted at any point during this time, and authors will have the option of having them added to an Ao3 collection for the challenge if they desire. They can also be posted to tumblr using the tag #AU Roulette 2024

What kind of AUs will be included in the challenge? The AU Roulette challenge will focus largely on popular, staple AU types with broad applicability to any fandom or relationship type. For example, a possible result might be something like a Time Travel AU (encompassing all the possible subsets, such as fix-it time travel, time loops, or other tropes under the same umbrella), but more restrictive AU types like a Soulmate AU that make assumptions about the author’s interpretation of character relationships in canon have been intentionally kept off the AU masterlist. The official list of AUs will be kept under wraps until assignments are given, but will have over 30 different prompts to ensure authors receive a good variety of options, and if you have suggestions or concerns about what AUs are being included, feel free to reach out.

What if I get an AU type that doesn’t work for the canon I chose? Limited re-rolls will be allowed on a case-by-case basis. You are also encouraged to be as creative as you want with your interpretation of your assigned AUs, which may help with making them fit. The goal of this challenge is to encourage weird, creative fanfic, not to have every author who rolls the same result write cookie-cutter versions of the same types of stories. If you were to get a Coffee Shop AU, for example, there is no requirement that the coffee shop in question be a real-world 21st-century Earth Starbucks. In fact, deviating from the mold is highly encouraged. So long as you can make a case that you filled the loose premise of your AU type, you will get credit for having completed it.

Can I participate if I am not a writer? AU Roulette is a fanfic writing challenge, so official sign-ups are for those interested in writing (regardless of skill level or experience writing AUs). However, if you are interested in the challenge but not in writing fic for it, consider having a look at the #AU Roulette 2024 tag or the official AU Roulette 2024 collection on Ao3 once authors have begun posting their stories. If one of them really speaks to you, it might be a nice gesture to draw a piece of art, make a playlist, or create some other fanwork inspired by the fic and share it – in which case you would also be more than welcome to use the official tag!

(Authors are of course also welcome to do this for their or other participants’ stories, too.)

How do I sign up? Fill out this form with your email and fandom of choice.

Looking forward to seeing the AUs everyone creates this year!

[ew-selfish-art]

My brain is unwilling to let go of Twin AU prompts. Sorry for the long post lmao.

Jazz and Jason are getting pretty serious in their relationship, and honestly, they’ve both been hesitant to introduce their family members to one another despite constantly talking about them. They’ve been dating since she started her doctoral studies at Gotham U and she’s about to defend her dissertation, so it really is about time. He saved her in her first week as the Red Hood and he immediately felt at home with her (something, something liminal), she runs into him the next day at a coffee shop and thanks him for taking the time to help her. 

Identities are obviously blown. Jason knows that her brother works in ‘politics’ and her younger sister is a travel blogger, and that the three of them don’t talk to her mad scientist parents anymore. Jazz knows that he came back from the dead, his adoptive family had a slew of issues in addition to their hero-complexes and that he would be prepared to kill for any one of his siblings. Their communication skills are top notch. 

But then came the issue of actually meeting the family. Like Jazz knows all of the drama between the siblings but could not pick them out of a line up, or more importantly, know who to talk to if an emergency situation came up. Jason agrees, that yeah, it would probably be for the best if he could at least identify her little brother and sister if they had to like, meet at hospital or something. 

So that was the plan. Invite just siblings over to their shared apartment, no parents and no fuss. (She even called Danny ahead of time to tell him not to portal straight into the apartment, he needed to walk in the door like a normal person. They could share Ghost King secrets later.) 

Tim arrives first, he’d been working a case nearby and Jazz & Jason live pretty close to a nice coffeeshop, so he stopped along the way. He’d done some creeping to figure out that she drinks Chai so he brought one for her. Creepy and yet, endearing. 

Ellie comes in second from the window, launching into a story about how annoying it was to find the place with all the gloom, didn’t this city have any respect for the dead? Tim doesn’t get it but Jason is laughing along so Tim files it away for later. 

Dick comes in with a shit ton of Pizza he panic ordered, a fruit bouquet and two bottles of wine from Bruce’s cellar. Duke came along with him, a large tupperware of Alfred’s cookies. 

Then Steph, Babs and Cass show up, immediately treating Jazz like family while also being hella suspicious about the whole thing. She notices them looking at her hands and Jazz explains that no, they weren’t doing this because Jason proposed. Steph and Cass are annoyed at Jason but tell Jazz she could do better if she wanted. Babs is happy they aren’t rushing into anything (she’s the only one besides Tim that knows how long they’ve been dating- this is just to throw out a red herring for the others)

Everyone is getting along and having a great time, Ellie being a natural entertainer along side Dick, everyone trying to tell embarrassing stories about Jason. Loud noises are coming from the hallway when they realize that neither Damian nor Danny had arrived. 

Rushing out the door, the boys are alternating putting each other into choke holds and arguing about not being clones. Danny keeps phasing out of Damian’s grip and Damian keeps pulling out more knives. The hallway looks like it had been blown up and the two are continuing to yell at one another about going to a family dinner. Jason and Jazz just stare at them from the doorway, and wouldn’t you know it, they look like fucking twins. 

Jazz grabs Danny, Jason grabs Damian, and everyone is fucking confused. Both sides of the family can confirm growing up with the twins, that neither are a clone. Ellie helpfully supplies that she’s the clone and that opens a whole other bag of chaos. 

Eventually they get everyone to sit down for dinner and the night gets weirder from there. 

[formerlycookierunauprompts]

AU Prompt #4 💓

It had been oh so long since you last saw your love, how long had it been now? You lost track, but it certainly must be a high number. It's a miracle that you haven't crumbled yet, but it doesn't look like you've aged at all this you were 'freed' from his tower. You had originally been placed there for safe-keeping, after all with a cookie that made himself a new enemy every day ever since his corruption who knows who would go after you to get back at him. You knew him from before that too, and yet you still stayed because you loved him. Even now, you still love him. So maybe that's why you begged Gingerbrave and Co to take you with them to Beast Yeast, you'd heard that that's where he and the other Beasts were being held... At least, you think so. So when you saw him again, those gigantic blue eyes locking onto you like a kid seeing that their favorite candy bar was back in stock at the candy store. You couldn't help but feel like your little cookie heart wasn't going to be ready just yet even after all these years. " Oh my little Star~!" He'd excitedly squealed as he scooped you up into his ever-so big hands, much to the horror of your friends. " It's been ever so long since I last saw you~!"

....

Or, an AU where you(or an oc if you want) were Shadow Milk Cookie's lover before he got sealed.

[revisitingfandoms]

Idea 14- Bride of shadow Milk

“I bet no one would ever love a monster such as him.”

“I bet he wouldn’t even treat his partner well.”

He would feel his annoyance and distaste and perhaps even anger grow at those comments before it came to him with a wild grin, “A bride”

Elder Faerie’s face went ghastly as a number of others in the area paled, White Lily only half aware replied, “A bride?” 

Shadow Milk grinned, almost looming, “A bride, they neither have to be a woman or just anyone of the female spectrum, I say Bride because it is the best word to describe what I want, and that is a willing bride to marry me.” The escaping giggles only dimming the atmosphere more, “And note I say willing, not interfering with the choice of who makes the decision. Oh, and I won’t take any of that sacrificing bullshit.” He lets out a little whistle, “Toodle~!”

Before disappearing. 

In the remaining chaos with numbers of fairies willing to volunteer to act as a sacrifice for the greater good- all against what the beast had spoken, one blonde contemplates and makes a silent decision. 

He doesn’t speak to any of the others of his decision, he knows what they speak, they would seek to dissuade him in his choice- but..

(He was the former holder of truth and its greatest liar, and he is oh-so familiar with the light of truth- with shadow milk.)

(Whether or not the beast remembers or recalls or buries in the back of his mind- Pure Vanilla knows things- secrets that the beast had whispered in moments of silence and solitude.)

(This is not an act of sacrifice- not an act of giving up everything to be a protector as everyone else would have called it- nor was it an act of redemption as some would have you believe.)

(No this was act of truth- of pure vanilla instead of burying himself with hurt and pain and deceiving others, he sought his other half to speak in whispers of truth.)

(He sought for the truth of actions- to find out what they were to each other- if they are enemies, replacement and replaced, hero and villain, Jester and king, healer and destroyer.)

(He wishes to seek if he can break these roles.)

Of all things, shadow milk had considered, for some reason he’d never thought- never consider Pure vanilla would be before him in his newly reclaimed territory. 

He’d specifically put a barrier around the area- trapping those damned faeries who thought they would be a sacrificial bride- yet of all people, its the one who he damn well knows would give his life in the first choice. 

Oh pure vanilla, just how much more interesting you have become.

He grins as slanters down from his throne to the waiting blonde.

(He didn’t come dressed in that king attire of his- no pointed cone crown-hat, no long white robes or waffle shoulder bearings, Pure vanilla doesn’t even bring that staff of his- No the flower is curled around the man's wrist as he walks in.)

(The outfit he bares- the tattered brown robes tided with rope, blonde hair halfway messy, stumbling and tripping and-)

(Something shifts instead him as the realization comes over him- no lies, no hidden agendas.)

(Pure vanilla came for the truth- no shields, no barriers and no differences.)

He less vicious as he comes down the stairs, “I see now, I’ll admit, I was caught off guard when you of all people arrived here first.” He touches pure vanilla check as the other tenses at the sudden touch. 

He leans over and whispers into others ear, “Now then, my dear, my bride, my pure vanilla.” He interlocks a hand forcefully with the other, “May we bound to the flames of the oven. I do my dear.”

The bell rings its toll, whether it be in celebration to union or the mourning of the actions taken this night is unknown.

But the whisper of Pure Vanilla is all the more damning.

“I do.” 

Is the whisper. And the beast grin only widens.

(Sorry for the late post! I've had exams, being sick and a bunch of other bullshit to deal with :p)

(But anyways- your bride of shadow milk.)

[sammywolfgirl]

Drawtober day 12 - Frills

TimeWrender is frilly enough I swear

[stolenviolet]

Where is this Baby Death AU I'm hearing so much about? I'm dumb and don't know how to do things on the internet, help! XD

Nah, you're a smart cookie! This website is just tough to navigate sometimes.

All you need to do is go to my blog.

From there hit that cool little magnifying glass button.

Then search 'Baby Death AU'

That should pull up everything I've posted for it! (not a whole lot, I'll admit)

But if you don't feel like rummaging through those posts, I'll give you a quick summary:

When Voldemort hits Harry with the killing cure in the forest, the spell backfires (again). Only this time, it creates a life instead of taking one. This leaves the once prophesied enemies with a baby that holds quite a resemblance to the two of them. Confused and curious as to how this accrued, Harry and Voldemort agree to a truce and are now stuck Co-Parenting their 'happy little accident'.

However, what they don't realize is that this sweet buddle of joy is actually Death!

You see, Death wasn't very happy with Voldemort running around making horcruxes, so he seizes the opportunity to take mortal form in hopes of foiling any future plans the 'Dark Lord' may have for immortality.

What follows is a bunch of goofy hijinks as Death, Harry and Voldemort navigate their new life as a ...somewhat functional family.

--

Other things to note in this AU(so far):

-Harry is the 'Master of Death' in this AU (though he doesn't know this and still doesn't). Death even tried to call him 'Master', at first, but as a baby, the word proved to be too difficult to get out. This resulted in Harry being referred to as 'Ma' or 'Ma-Ma' (much to everyone's confusion, but hey! it stuck *shrugs*)

-Baby Death was given the name Thomas Sirius Potter. (this was the result of a twitter poll I took to help me pick out a name. personally i find it hilarious and very on brand for how harry would name his kid.)

-Thomas is a Hufflepuff! (also the result of a twitter pole.)

-Nagini is the only one who knows Thomas is Death.

-Voldemort and Bella used to be an item, but he broke it off after Thomas was...'born?'. Now she's constantly scheming up ways to win him back. Sadly for her, they never work.

-Harry and Voldemort do eventually end up 'together' but not until Thomas leaves for his first year at Hogwarts.

--

I think that should about cover it...OH! Hold on!

Here are some awesome fics that were written base on the original prompt 'When Voldemort hits Harry with the killing cure in the forest, it creates a life instead of taking one':

The Heir de la Mort by @rowena-rain

Bloody Gorgeous by @laserswordtraining

(be sure to mind the tags!)

--

Okay, now I'm done rambling. Thanks for the ask, and I hope you enjoy this silly little AU!

[steddieas-shegoes]

fairy porn crisis

for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt 'bookstore au' wc: 964 rated m cw: dirty talk, implied sexual content tags: bookshop owner eddie, steve is having a sexuality crisis but subtly, flirting, getting together, modern au

📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖

"Thanks for covering for me, Wayne," Eddie said as he set his bag down behind the front desk, slightly out of breath from running from the bus. "Won't happen again."

"'S alright, son. Everything go okay with the counselor?" Wayne sipped from his mug, probably his fourth or fifth cup of coffee since he opened the shop that morning.

"Yep. Still on track to graduate in May."

Wayne's stipulation when he "sold" the bookshop to Eddie was that he still get his degree as backup. "Bookselling is a dangerous game and I won't have ya strugglin' if somethin' fails."

"Thatta boy," Wayne clapped him on the shoulder. "Been a slow morning. But your favorite customer is in the back."

Eddie felt his face heat up.

"He's not my favorite."

"Sure he isn't." Wayne rolled his eyes. "I'm off to get a beer with Dave. Call if you need me."

Eddie gave him a thumbs up as he checked over his emails, the one thing Wayne was terrible about doing when he was covering the store. There weren't many, never really were on Tuesdays.

He waited for Wayne to leave, the door chiming with his exit.

He jumped up and made his way around the counter, walking towards the back room hastily.

He found Steve sitting on the beanbag placed in the corner, book in his lap, face bright red.

Eddie squinted until he could see what book he was reading and nearly passed out.

His Ring was the first book in a series focused entirely on a group of queer mythical creatures. It was the only book of the series Eddie had read, and he'd only admit it under risk of death.

It wasn't that it wasn't good. It's just that it was basically porn.

And this one in particular focused on two male fairies, one who was gay and one who spent the entire first half of the book having a bisexuality crisis.

Steve was reading it with the prettiest blush on his face.

Steve, who up until this moment, passed as the straightest human being Eddie had ever met.

"Have you gotten to the part where Ereldi has to sit on Brelend's lap for an entire dinner?" Eddie asked.

Steve jumped and slammed the book closed, pushing it under his legs as if Eddie hadn't already called him out. "What are you talking about?"

"Stevie, I'm the last person to judge your reading habits. But I do have to ask why the sudden interest in queer fairy porn? You're usually reading sports memoirs and doing word searches."

In other words, 'are you interested in testing out your sexuality with me? I can pretend to be a mythical being if needed.'

"Just needed a change of scenery?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

Steve's blush deepened, and fuck, Eddie was about to be so unprofessional. Hopefully he wouldn't lose a customer over it, but it was a risk he had to take.

It's just that sometimes Eddie could swear Steve was watching him while he shelved books or swept the front room floors. And sometimes he caught him staring at him during his weekly storytime for kids where he gave out free books and cookies.

And Eddie always wanted to have Steve in his lap.

So.

"I." Steve refused to make eye contact, a sure sign that something was going on. "I just got curious. Heard someone talking about it and wanted to see if they were telling the truth."

"And were they?"

Steve didn't answer, so Eddie decided it was now or never.

"You know," he took a few steps closer to Steve. "I'm not usually one for those books. But there's something about the way they paint a very clear picture of how Ereldi rides Brelend in the forest that just draws me in." Another few steps. "Actually, Ereldi reminds me a bit of you."

Steve visibly gulped.

"But you wouldn't be interested in riding someone would you, Stevie? Prefer women to hop onto your lap and go for a ride?" Eddie's heart was racing.

And then it stopped completely when Steve gave the most unexpected answer he could have possibly given.

"I'd be interested in riding you."

Steve's wide eyes stared back at Eddie, daring him to make a joke, daring him to laugh.

Eddie wouldn't joke or laugh about this. He wasn't wasting this chance.

"Is the forest a requirement or could I go lock the front door and take you upstairs?"

Okay, so he couldn't not make a little joke.

"Forest sounds messy. Upstairs."

"Oh, I plan to make a mess of you regardless of location, sweetheart," Eddie leaned over Steve, foreheads touching, smirk growing as Steve's eyes closed. "Won't even have to get you hard, huh? The book did all the work for me."

Steve tilted his head back, lips puckering, searching for contact from Eddie's.

Eddie pulled away. "I close up in ten. You know the way upstairs?"

Steve's eyes blinked open as he nodded.

God, he was gonna be fun.

"You wanna be a good boy and wait for me up there?" Steve nodded and stood from the chair, wobbling slightly as he tried to gain his balance. "I want you naked in bed when I get up there, got it?"

"Um, I've never-" Steve started.

"Oh, sweetheart. I know. It's written all over you. I'm gonna take real good care of you, though. Better than anything you would read in that book."

"Eddie?"

"Yeah, sugar?"

"I really like you."

Eddie heard what he wasn't saying, knew without a doubt that he had to do this right or risk scaring him away from more than just the store.

"I really like you, too, Stevie." Eddie kissed his cheek. "You're in good hands."

"I know."