#does jim get way too into it or do they just take the whole door off it’s hinges using a pocket knife as a screw driver?

[givekennyabreak]

Irreplaceable. (Kenny Liu x gn!reader)

Summary: A cop arrived along with Tabitha, and she thinks she owns the place; you think it's time to teach her how to be humble.

Rating: T

Warnings: whole lotta cursing, canon-compliant violence, spoilers for S3E8 of From, survivor's guilt, mourning, Acosta slander, reader is jealous but for a good reason, mentions of blood, mentions of gun. Acosta is her own warning.

Word count: 2.15k

Tabitha was back.

She went through the tree, got into a lighthouse, went outside and wound up back in town. She was hurt - scared, you could see the way she looked around with wide eyes at every waking moment.

You talked to her once; it didn't go far, though, as Jim arrived a couple minutes after you finally got the poor woman alone, telling you whatever went on in their life wasn't any of your business.

You flipped him off.

"If you ever need to talk," you told Tabitha, eyes as gentle as possible. "I'm at the station."

Not only did Tabitha come back, she brought in Victor's father with her (by accident, she said. Of course.). Henry, he said his name was, was a gentle man through and through. You could see how much he cared about Victor - the way he tried his best to be patient and reconnect with his son.

He never berated the man, listened to whatever he said with the utmost patience and always tried to remain calm, although you're all only human - he panics a few times, too.

He went to the goddamn caves with Victor.

If that isn’t love, you don’t know what is.

Victor, your first friend in this hellspace; one of the four people you trusted with your life - the other three, obviously, were Boyd, Donna, and Kenny.

The man was a gentle, misunderstood soul. If anyone asked you who was the person who wanted to leave this place the most, out of everyone, Victor would be your answer. He was used to it, yes - but he didn't like the place.

He was tired.

You were tired.

That's why you tried to help him as much as possible.

(Victor told you how he tried to remember what happened with Christopher and the townspeople at the beginning, but it didn't work - he was going to see Sara.

"Does it have to be her? Do we have to do this?"

"Yes."

"Dude, c’mon. She-"

"I know. But it’s gonna get scary, and she’s the scariest person in town."

You blinked up at him. He blinked back.

You sighed.

"Fine. But I'm taking a knife with me.")

Yet, there was a third party who got in town with the two good parts; and, as all is never well in this place, the woman was an absolute menace.

Acosta was her name - surname? Who knows -, a policewoman who refused to change out of her uniform, going around asking people invasive shit and managing to piss you off more times than you can count by berating Boyd, of all people.

Her last stunt was to come up to the station as you were talking to the sheriff about the kinds of food you managed to find with the last group of people who went foraging, demanding him to give her gun back.

She did so without even acknowledging your presence, trading insults back and forth while you watched the scene, flabbergasted; Boyd, tired of her shit, actually gave it back to her without the ammunition (this is why you trusted him so much), and she walked out of the station, without as much as a glance towards you.

"Am I invisible?"

Boyd sighed. "To her? Most people are."

And then - there went your last straw.

Just as you arrived at the diner, ready to give your boyfriend a tight, much needed hug, you caught sight of a blonde ponytail and blue uniform.

"Oh, hell no."

You swung open the inner door, and walked up to the stools just as Kenny poured hot water into a mug.

"Yeah, they… they do that sometimes." He said, as the jukebox played by itself (again.).

Acosta looked at him - really looked at him. “Is that something else you get comfortable with?” A pause. “Look, thanks for the tea.”

He looked down at the mug. “Uh, you didn't even...”

She stood up, body almost colliding with yours. “Excuse me.”

And then, Kenny looked up, eyes locking with yours. He brightened up immediately - his smile widened, and he put the pot back in its place, just to beckon you over with his free hands.

"Good morning, my love." You said, ducking under the opening to the back of the counter. When you straightened up, your boyfriend was already by your side, arms wrapped around your shoulders, drinking in your presence.

The blonde turned around, now staring at you, with furrowed brows and a scowl on her face.

“Mornin’.” He swooped down, lips connecting with yours in a chaste kiss. A sigh left your body, arms encasing around his shoulders, and you heard a scoff sound from behind, followed by the door opening and closing.

You stayed there for a couple of minutes, in each other’s arms, just enjoying the peace and quiet – the rarest thing to happen when in town. You nosed at Kenny’s throat and he inhaled deeply, red creeping up the side of his neck.

“I missed you.” You whispered. He stayed silent for a few seconds, squeezing you tighter.

“You saw me last night.”

You could hear the smile in his voice; this is it, you thought. This is a good change.

Kenny was hurting.

Kenny was mourning.

But the town – the people, didn’t give him the time he needed to go through this, so the best thing you could do to not see him fade away was stay by his side and not let him wither.

(You missed Tian-Chen, too.

She treated you like her own. She loved you, and you loved her.

She told you to stay with Jade and Victor that night.

You shouldn’t have.)

“It’s a few hours too much, still.” You replied, grinning.

Kenny let go of the embrace first, in favor of throwing away the – now – cold tea. "You're veeeery cheesy."

"This is how you love me, anyways."

"Yeah." He sighed, leaning back onto the counter, arms open again. He didn't need to ask - you gladly embraced him, arms around his waist this time, as he leaned down and hid his face near your collarbone.

"I do."

You stayed there for God knows how long, fingers carding through Kenny's soft, thick hair; humming a song you knew he loved, whispering about how your mornings went, and the dreams you had.

You both had given up on the house after Tian-Chen passed away, and Jim permeated the place with his presence (although you knew he meant no harm, the place was suffocating). Kenny moved into colony house, while you stayed at the station with Boyd. Victor would have no qualms about you moving there with him, seeing as he had the safest room in that place, but Henry was there with him, and you didn't mean to intrude.

The both of you left the diner together, hand-in-hand, ready to face the day ahead.

Shortly after, Boyd assigned you with the task of helping him around - there were more people now, and he could use some help figuring shit out. Ellis was panicking - something happened with Fatima -, and the man wanted to help his kid, so you left to do some of his own chores.

Night came.

You slept in the "archive room", a little nook used to store boxes in the station; Boyd had helped you get a bed in there, and that was good enough. There was one little window on the upper side of the room, and, even though you kept it tightly shut (you nailed it, as a precaution), the whispers and giggles still seeped into the space and made it harder for you to sleep.

The sun rose with a golden hue. The orange glow shone through the clear glass, straight onto your face; with a groan, you rose up from the mattress, stretching as your body slowly woke up.

Another day where you got up, did your shit and hoped for the best - except this time, there wasn't even any hope to begin with.

"Tillie's dead." Boyd told you as you got to colony house, a few minutes after him. "We don't know who did it, but it wasn't a creature."

Ellis fidgeted beside his dad; it looked like he wanted to say something, but held himself back.

"You okay, Ellis?" You asked, with furrowed brows. "Is Fatima okay?"

Ellis inhaled sharply. Boyd glanced at him, and back at you.

"She's fine." The young man replied, nodding his head. "Aside from the nausea, and the, uh. The other stuff."

The ultrasound issue.

"Oh. Make sure she's safe, okay?" You said, nodding at the sheriff. "'m going in."

Boyd shook his head no.

"Wait here, please. Kenny and Acosta are inside, questioning the folks."

A burning feeling made its way up the back of your neck, up to your cheeks and forehead - although it was commonly associated with red, you knew what this was: green.

Jealousy.

Now, you wouldn't consider yourself a jealous person in any way, no; but the lingering glances, the manner in which she scoffed with no shame at your affection, how she thought she was the crispiest fucking fry of the batch?

Oh, fuck no.

Boyd and Ellis rushed away while you steeped in your own anger. Not long after, you heard two sets of footsteps walk out of the house, and there they actually were - your boyfriend, and the blue-uniform menace.

Kenny had a troubled look on his face while Acosta - what the fuck was her name, again? - yapped away with no regard to his feelings; obviously, no one would walk on eggshells here when it came to other people's feelings, but this was too much.

"Was what that guy said about Sara and your dad true?"

Enough is enough.

"It's not that simple."

You trailed off behind the duo, your own brows furrowed and fists tightly closed as you breathed in and out slowly.

Do not fight her. Do not throw fists. Do not. Refrain.

"Okay, you didn't think it was worth mentioning the girl that already murdered two people?"

"Look, it's just, uh, she's different now, and Boyd trusts her."

"Who gives a shit what Boyd thinks, okay?"

"Hey!"

They stopped at your shout, turning around. Turns out you were closer than it seemed; four steps were all it took for you to walk up to her stupid face and swing a fist straight to her jaw.

Kenny yelped, rushing to your side as Acosta doubled over, hand cradling her face; wild, blue eyes stared into your own as she straightened up, raising her own fists. Your boyfriend tried to step in, but you walked around, pushing him behind your own body.

"Come on, hit me." You said, ready for a blow. She hesitated, and then - you spoke up. "You're walking around like you own this place. As if you're mightier than anyone who has been stuck here."

Kenny moved, but you lifted up your hand, placing it on his chest. "Hun, please. Sit this one out."

Acosta scoffed. You faced her, seeing the way she looked between you and Kenny.

"Yeah, we met here. Yes, we fell in love here, we got together here. Yes, this has become our routine. Do you think we wanted to be here? You think we chose to stay?" Her eyes softened. "No, we don't. But we're trying our fucking best to stay alive and sane, because that way, we can think and figure out how to escape."

Your fists shook, angry tears threatening to fall.

"You have no idea what it feels like to witness the people we love wither away and get lured in by those fucks by night. So, at least, try to be a little more considerate of these people's feelings, won't you?"

Kenny took one of your closed fists in his own hand, slowly opening it and lacing your fingers together.

"That way, you might be able to actually help someone." You finished, staring at her bruising jaw. "Sorry I punched you."

Acosta swallowed deeply, glancing between yourself and Kenny.

"I never thought about that." She said, eyes finally settling on your own. "I understand. Apology accepted."

Kenny squeezed your hand, leaning down to whisper in your ear.

"Well, that's better than nothing."

You held in a snort, bumping your shoulders together.

"Are you going to come with us?" She asked, tilting her head towards the forest.

You nodded your head. "Yeah. What did you guys find out?"

Just as she opened her mouth to answer, a shrill yell echoed through the place.

"Help!"

Ethan.

Everyone looked towards the boy, as Kenny rushed to ask him what happened.

Acosta looked at you, and nodded; the both of you ran, and you sure fucking hoped this was the beginning of a good teamwork.

[nyxisadyke]

i’m watching game changer escape the green room and imagining the revenge crew in an escape room

[one-black-coffeee]

a list of Good Omens season 2 things from episodes 1-3 that i haven’t seen mentioned in other posts

how much Aziraphale loves music. the way he sighs when his record is interrupted, how he mopes to the front of the shop because he just wanted to listen to the beautiful human creation

the smile Aziraphale has on his face as Jim/Gabriel says “when you don’t know anything at all, and yet you’re totally certain that everything would be better if you were just near one particular person” because yes! he does know! and Aziraphale is so happy to have that knowledge even if he does almost immediately try to hide it

Aziraphale immediately looking to his left when Crowley walks past him in the coffee shop. Crowley is generally to Aziraphale’s left so, naturally, that’s where he looks as soon as he knows Crowley is approaching. but he’s wrong, isn’t he? Crowley walks to the right.

“Give Me Coffee…” material, human pleasure “Or Give Me Death” immortal, heavenly eternity

“no, I would love you to help me. I am asking you to help me take care of him.” Aziraphale isn’t trying to push Crowley away. not with Jim/Gabriel, not with Heaven. he always wants Crowley with him, helping him. and he tells isn’t pretending otherwise anymore

a fly crawling along the bentley’s windshield even before Crowley gets in the car

the deal Beezlebub gives Crowley is the same as the one the Metatron gives Aziraphale, isn’t it? it’s a choice to go back to Hell/Heaven. the difference is in the way Crowley and Aziraphale think. Crowley sees Beezlebub’s olive branch as a trap, a forfeiture of the contented life he has on earth. the system is too broken to be fixed from a position of power. Aziraphale, though, does see it as an opportunity to fix what’s broken

right after Crowley destroys Job’s goats, cores fly away behind him

Aziraphale loves the romantic aspects of love but doesn’t know how to handle the difficult aspects. Maggie says she’s in love with Nina and Aziraphale smiles. Maggie says Nina has a partner, tells him that the situation is complicated, and he sobers, disappointed

the fact that the walls of Job’s home are the same color as the walls in Aziraphale’s bookshop (aka the color of Crowley’s eyes.) the whole of the Job minisope is to tempt Aziraphale. he tries human food for the first time, he works with Crowley for the first time, he lies to Heaven for the first time! everywhere, Aziraphale is met with temptation

Crowley cares for the innocent and the vulnerable. he humors Jemimah and makes her a blue salamander, he refuses to diminish the importance of the goats. when Aziraphale is worried about being a fallen angel, Crowley’s patient

every time Crowley performs a miracle, he draws his hand from the bottom (Hell) up. Aziraphale, however, draws his hand from top (Heaven) down

Michael, Uriel, and Saraqael (and Gabriel when he’s still the Supreme Archangel) wear a cold white. Muriel and Aziraphale wear a warmer, creamier white. except in the Job minisode. then, all the angels wear the warmer white— before Heaven turns cold and institutionalized. even the lighting of Heaven itself changes

Aziraphale invited Michael, Uriel, and Saraqael into the bookshop. they easily could have walked into the shop before Aziraphale got there, but they didn’t. because Aziraphale really does consider the bookshop partially Crowley’s! for the same reason Shax has to trick Aziraphale to get into the bentley, the angels have to wait for Aziraphale to enter the bookshop

Aziraphale popping up from behind the bentley as Crowley approaches and Crowley immediately offering him a “lift somewhere”

in the opening scene of episode three, the reflection just under Jim/Gabriel is “Give Me Coffee…” Gabriel and Beezlebub do get to choose “coffee.” they get to have their joy together

before Muriel interrupts their conversation, the dialogue between Crowley and Aziraphale in the back of the bookshop is shot from behind and over their shoulders. when Muriel opens the door, the angle shifts to face each of them

Aziraphale is not a good city driver.

the look Crowley gives Aziraphale after he turns Elspeth’s stolen body into bones. Aziraphale is so proud of himself, he even tells Crowley “I did a good things!” but Crowley knows better and he’s waiting for Aziraphale to realize the reality. and then the way Aziraphale hugs the jar with the dead boy’s tumor. he cares so much, he wants so desperately to be good and for the world to be good too

Aziraphale is as proud of his “newspaperman” disguise as Muriel is of their “inspector” disguise. how fond Aziraphale is of Muriel because they remind him of himself. a sweet, kind angel who just wants to do the good thing. an angel who is enamored with the human world. even as he and Muriel have tea together, he look at them so kindly. he knows their hesitancy to try human products but he also knows how thoroughly they would love that cup of tea if they’d just taste it

“it’s a bit different when it’s someone you know, isn’t it?” it’s a bit different when it’s not just some demon, when it’s a demon you know is, deep down and just below the surface, good.

that Aziraphale learns just as much from Crowley as Crowley learns from Aziraphale. episode three is Aziraphale beginning to learn the inequality between the wealthy and the poor. episode three is also Crowley learning balance between “the virtues of poverty” and just setting people up for a good life

Crowley, drunk on laudanum, looking for Aziraphale and not finding him because Aziraphale isn’t to his right like he should be. Aziraphale knows to look for Crowley on his left and Crowley knows to look for Aziraphale on his right

[brbsoulnomming]

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 22

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | AO3

-----

Hopper arrives the next morning with all the grace of a bull in a china shop, bustling his way inside and taking the coffee that Steve offers him with a grunt of thanks.

"You sure you don't want to press charges against that asshole?" Hopper asks.

Guess he saw Steve's car, then. The party'd helped clean up the paint on the driveway, but the tailight's still busted.

"Not yet. Might change my mind, depending on how today goes," Steve says.

It's surreal, watching Chief Hopper - former Chief Hopper - sitting in Steve Harrington's living room, drinking coffee. Eddie hasn't seen him since the pictures that circulated after Starcourt, and the guy looks… well. Hopper'd always been rough around the edges, but now he looks like he's just barely coming out of being in pretty rough shape.

He catches Eddie looking, and his eyes narrow for a moment before his gaze softens.

"I'm sorry you got caught up in all this, kid," Hopper says gruffly.

Eddie gives a little shrug. "I'm not."

Steve's head whips around to stare at him, holding his breath like he's waiting for something, and - oh.

"Not a lie, Stevie," he says, offering him a little smile.

"Yeah, I can see that," Steve grumbles. "Just wondering if you're the one who's had a few too many blows to the head now."

Hopper grimaces.

"I'm not saying I'm happy about being a suspected serial killer or nearly dying in the Upside Down, but look, this was going on under my nose this whole time. I'd rather be in the know than oblivious."

"Is it too much to ask for just one of you kids to not be eager to throw yourselves into this?" Hopper asks, but it's clearly the kind of question that doesn't need an answer.

Naturally, Eddie gives him one anyway.

"That's what happens when you give a party like us a real campaign to be a part of," he says, all wide grins and easy bravado and complete disregard for his own nightmares or exactly how many times he was convinced he was going to die.

Hopper looks at him like he's speaking French, then looks back at Steve.

"Yeah," Steve says. "He plays the same game the kids do. He runs their little club now."

"Great," Hopper groans, and Robin gives a little giggle snort.

There's a knock on the door, and even though they're expecting his uncle, Eddie has to fight the urge to duck down and hide.

He wonders when that's going to go away, if it ever will.

But sure enough, Steve comes back with Uncle Wayne in tow, who does a double take at seeing Hopper.

"Jesus Christ, Jim," his uncle says.

"Never thought you'd see my ugly mug again, huh?" Hopper asks with a little grin.

"It has been a lot quieter around with your occasional midnight calls," Uncle Wayne returns, taking it in stride.

Hopper snorts. "Bringing this one back to get him out of trouble's a far cry from what we've got now."

They turn to look at Eddie, and he flushes.

"Yeah, thank you, we're all aware I'm in a lot deeper than some illicit substance charges," he mutters. "Can we talk about what we're going to do to get me out of it?"

Hopper drains the rest of his coffee. "You and I are walking into the station together."

"Wait," Steve says, followed immediately by Robin asking, "What?"

"Are you guys ready for that?" Eddie adds.

Hopper snorts. "Ready to what, come back from the dead? Is anyone ready for that? Look, Murray says his contacts are as ready now as they're going to be in a few weeks, and I'm not waiting longer than that."

Eddie can hear the disdain dripping off the word contacts, and it makes him wonder once again who exactly this Murray guy is.

"If you walk in there, they're going to care a whole lot more about that than about Eddie," Steve says.

Hopper lifts his empty cup at him in a parody of a cheers. "That's the idea. They want a story, we give them a story."

"So, uh. What is our story, exactly?" Robin asks.

"I got injured really badly in the fire at Starcourt, and it wasn't until the government agents were doing clean up that I got found. I've been in a coma since then. I come back into town, and who do I find but Eddie Munson hiding out in my old cabin in the woods. I get him to tell me what happened, and convince him to turn himself in," Hopper says.

"And what am I supposed to say happened?" Eddie asks.

"Joyce says the truth, as much as possible. Henry Creel attacked you and Chrissy, and you barely made it out. You were hiding from both Creel and Jason Carver's little mob while Creel kept killing. You stumbled on this crew investigating, Creel attacked, and you and Steve fought him off right before the earthquake hit. That's what you told them at the hospital, isn't it?"

"Something like that, yeah," Steve says. "I don't think I said who it was, but I can't really remember. I wasn't exactly in top shape."

"Then Powell knows that much already. Callahan can hardly find the nose on his face, but Powell's probably been putting together some of the pieces. Eddie ran from the hospital when he got worried that Carver would find him there, and he's been hiding ever since," Hopper finishes.

"That… that could work, yeah," Eddie admits.

"And as long as you're vague, none of it will show up as a lie, Eds," Steve agrees.

Hopper fixes him with a sour look. "You are going in there to file a report about the damage to your property, and that's only because I know you won't stay home. You don't have to press charges, but you're putting that report on the record, and then you're sitting your ass down in that waiting room. Don't even think about coming back with me and Munson unless I call you, understand?"

Steve's expression has steadily been growing pissier, and now he just glares at Hopper. "Really, you're trying to make me stay on the bench now?"

"Someone has to, apparently!" Hopper retorts.

"If you think I'm not going to be right there with my soulmate-" Steve starts.

"If you think I'm letting you-" Hopper says over him.

"You can't treat me like I'm a kid!" Steve insists.

"I can if you're acting like one!" Hopper shouts.

"Jim!" Uncle Wayne cuts in sharply.

Hopper turns his glare onto him, but Uncle Wayne just stares right back at him, unimpressed. There's a stand off for a moment - Eddie looks between Steve and Robin, to find Steve deflating a little and Robin's expression etched in confusion.

After a moment, Hopper cuts his eyes away, back towards Steve. "Come with me for a minute," he says gruffly, stomping over to the other side of the room.

Steve tosses a conflicted look at Robin and Eddie, but goes with him, looking confused.

Uncle Wayne watches them for a moment, then, seemingly satisfied, ruffles Eddie's hair and says, "Coffee in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, uh, mugs in the cabinet above the sink," Eddie says, a little thrown.

Robin drops down onto the couch, and Eddie plops next to her, both of them just watching the quiet, terse conversation Steve and Hopper are having.

"I didn't know Steve and Hopper were that close," Eddie mutters.

Or, well - he knows what he assumed when he heard Steve talking about Hopper's adopted daughter, that it was his parents who were cozy with the chief of police, but clearly he was wrong.

Robin leans over, elbows propped up on her knees. "Steve said Hopper used to come by and check on him sometimes, in between things, but I'm not sure they were really, like, close?"

Eddie's brow furrows. "Then what's with the…" He gestures at Hopper awkwardly clapping Steve on the shoulder.

Robin grimaces a little. "Steve kind of made Joyce Byers cry when they got back."

"What? How?" And why the hell would that endear Steve to Hopper?

"He tried to apologize for not having a handle on things here." Robin rests her chin in her hand. "Said he knew they were counting on him, and he was sorry he let them down."

Of course he did. Eddie closes his eyes. "Jesus Christ, Steve."

Robin makes a little disgruntled sound that he's going to assume is agreement.

"We all made it out, though," Eddie says. "How is this time worse than the others?"

There's a thoughtful hum. "The gates have always been closed, before. I mean, kind of seems like they always keep coming back anyway, but at least before it felt like maybe this time it could really be it, it could be the end. We don't have that, now."

Now they know Vecna is still out there, biding his time. It's hard to imagine anything else, for Eddie, but if the others had actually thought it was over, had a bit of a reprieve - yeah, he can see how this would hit harder.

"And Steve is used to being the one who gets hit the hardest," Eddie says slowly.

But not this time. This time, he and Max got hurt, too.

"Mrs. Byers told Steve and Nancy that she knew she was leaving the kids in good hands when she left," Robin says. "So I think it made her realize how much pressure she put on them, and now her and Hopper feel guilty about it. Plus Hopper found out about the whole Steve being tortured last year thing."

Eddie manages not to wince, but only because it's Robin saying it. He bites his lip, weighing how much he wants Robin's opinion on this against talking about Steve's nightmares behind his back, but - it's Robin.

"I don't want him to have to be questioned with me," he says, all in a rush. "He says it'd be fine, but I'm worried it'll be too much like - that."

Robin's knee starts jiggling, and he leans against it to steady her.

"If their plan works, he won't have to," she says.

"But what if it doesn't? Do you really think he's just going to be fine?"

For a moment, he's not sure she's going to answer, but then she whispers, "No."

Shit, he knew it.

"Can't we do something?" he asks, a little desperate. "It's not worth it, Robin."

He pretends he doesn't know that sentence would be just as true if he'd said I instead of it.

He pretends even harder that she can't hear it anyway.

Robin watches him, something wary and considering in her eyes. She isn't distant, but she's just a touch more closed off than he's gotten used to.

It throws him for a moment before he realizes that Steve must have told her about how their conversation went last night. About how he broke her soulmate's heart, and here he is now acting like he has any right to try to protect it, like she and him are still a team when it comes to keeping Steve safe.

He almost pulls back, has a stammered withdrawal on the tip of his tongue, when her shoulder presses against his.

"Steve thinks it is," she says simply, like that's enough.

"Robin," he starts, but he doesn't know what else to say to that.

She's shaking her head like she's cutting him off anyway, though, so maybe it doesn't matter.

"I don't understand it," she says bluntly. "You want him, and he wants you, and frankly I think you need to get over Steve having two soulmates. But Steve says I'm being unreasonable, and I recognize that he may have a point given our current circumstances."

Eddie's temper flares. "That's easy for you to say," he snaps, only barely remembering to keep his voice down. "You have another soulmate out there, too. You don't know-"

He cuts off, and her eyes flash.

"What, Eddie? What don't I know?" she hisses.

"How it feels to know someone is the only one for you, but you're not the only one for them!" he hisses back. "Platonic, romantic, he's the only soulmate I've got, and I'm not-"

He cuts off again. It's never been a lie when he thought to himself that he loves the part of Steve that is Robin, or that he loves Robin, or that he wants both of them in his life, or even that he likes that Steve has another soulmate and that it's Robin.

But when he tries to tell himself he doesn't care that Steve has two soulmates and he has one, or that it doesn't affect him at all -

That part is a lie.

Their circumstances, as Robin put it, have meant that he's gotten in deep with them very quickly, that it's forced him to rapidly be okay with a scenario he never imagined, but it also means he hasn't had any time to really come to terms with it.

"I'm trying, okay?" he says. "I only have so much brain space, and it's been a little occupied with not dying and dodging murder charges."

She still looks a little puffed up at him, and for a moment he has the absurd thought of the two of them like a pair of cats, hissing and spitting at each other, and that - he shrinks in on himself, just a little, and she deflates.

"Don't do that," she grumbles. "Make yourself all small and sad. I'm not Steve, you can't sway me with that."

It kind of seems like he can, but he takes the tentative peace instead of teasing her about it.

"Thank you," he says instead.

Robin narrows her eyes at him. "For what?"

His brain shorts out for a moment.

"Uh," he says intelligently. "Fighting nice with me?"

She doesn't soften, exactly, but she does look a little sad.

"I don't - know how to do this," he admits. "I've never - okay, I've never a lot of things, but this." He gestures at him and Steve, and then him and her, and then him and her and Steve. "It means a lot that it's not screaming matches or burning bridges."

She blows out a huff of air. "Fine. You've got a reprieve, Munson, figure your shit out or I'm coming back for you. Now shut up, and let's keep you out of jail and Steve from getting handcuffs slapped on him."

–

Hopper drives him to the police station in silence.

Well, mostly silence. There's terrible music playing over the radio, and Hopper had initiated some stilted conversation going over their plan again, but after that?

Zilch.

Fortunately, it isn't a terribly long drive.

When they get there, though, Hopper shuts off the engine but doesn't get out yet.

Eddie manages to resist the urge to sit on his hands to keep himself from fidgeting.

"You didn't come all this way just to actually arrest me, right?" he jokes.

Or he tries to joke, but he's pretty sure it comes out a little nervous.

"What? No, come on," Hopper grumbles. "Look, I just want to make sure you know that you're walking out of there, all right? We go in together, we're leaving together."

"Why?" Eddie blurts out.

Hopper looks incredulously at him.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Eddie clarifies. "You guys used to bust me all the time, and I know you went lenient on me, but-"

"Munson," Hopper cuts off with a growl. "I'm not doing this for you. We're doing this because you didn't kill anyone, and you're stuck in this now. So you should shut up and accept it."

Eddie considers if it's worth pushing his luck.

Hopper apparently correctly interprets the look on his face, because rolls his eyes and shoves the door open, storming out and leaving Eddie scrambling to undo his seatbelt and follow him.

His uncle's truck is already there, and so is Steve's BMW, smashed tail light and all.

He lingers at the door, just briefly, trying to talk himself up - but then Hopper grabs the back of his shirt collar and yanks him inside.

Eddie's heart is pounding, and he automatically scans the room - sees his uncle talking to Flo, sees Steve leaning back in a chair with a folder in front of him, feels it calm his nerves just a little.

"Heard you lot were looking for the Munson kid," Hopper announces.

The station goes silent.

Eddie raises his hands up. "Well, officers, looks like you finally caught this outlaw."

Somewhat predictably, chaos erupts.

Callahan is struggling to bolt up and pull his gun at the same time, shouting, "On the ground, now!"

Flo is yelling, "His hands are up you idiot, don't you dare draw that weapon in here!"

Steve is scrambling to his feet, looking like he's going to bodily shove himself between Callahan and Eddie.

Hopper gets there first, though, stepping half in front of Eddie with a sigh.

"Powell?" he calls.

"Yeah, Chief?" Powell responds instinctively.

Hopper bares his teeth in something that might be a grin, nodding at him. "Not anymore. How about we talk in your office?"

"Seems best to me," Chief Powell agrees, then shouts, "Hey hey! All of you get back to work, I'm handling this."

Powell leads them back into the office, shutting the door behind them. Eddie glances back before he does, and can see absolutely no one getting back to work.

Eddie drops into one of the chairs, ready for more dramatics, but Powell isn't even looking at him.

Rude. How is he supposed to cover his nerves now?

"We thought you were dead, Jim," Powell says quietly.

"So did I, for a while," Hopper replies.

"What happened?" Powell asks.

Hopper raises an eyebrow at him. "You want the whole truth?"

Which is not at all what they agreed on, and Eddie sits up in alarm, but Hopper waves a hand at him.

"This have anything to do with Hawkins Lab again?" Powell asks tiredly.

Hopper looks at him pointedly.

Powell grimaces, sitting in the chair behind the desk. "Bare minimum, Hopper, I'm talking as few details as possible."

"You know Kline was into some shady shit. Turns out it was foreign shady shit. The Russians got real pissed off when they found out I was a part of blowing up their little copycat Hawkins Lab under the mall. I've been their guest up until a few weeks ago."

"Shit." Powell scrubs a hand over his face, looking at Hopper with obvious concern. "Jim-"

"It's done." Hopper pulls an envelope out of the inside of his jacket and tosses it on the desk. "What's important now is these murders."

"Let me guess." Powell says, nudging the envelope towards himself like it might blow up. "More Hawkins lab?"

"One of its former employees," Hopper says. "Henry Creel."

Powell looks up. "As in the Creel murders? The kid whose father killed their whole family?"

"Whole family but him," Hopper says. "He ended up working in the lab, until it shut down. Twisted little shit like that, no where to get out his sick little urges?"

"We got ourselves a serial killer," Powell says.

Hopper taps the envelope. "Employee record's all in there."

Powell rubs at his jaw, then finally looks at Eddie. "How'd you get involved?"

Eddie slouches down. "He wanted Chrissy. I didn't - I couldn't-"

"Wrong place, wrong time," Hopper cuts in. "Munson barely got out of there alive. He's been hiding this whole time."

"I knew what it looked like, okay?" Eddie snaps. "Carver and his crew were gunning after me. I tried to talk to him, to tell him I didn't do it, but he wouldn't stop. Said he was going to make sure I got what I deserved. It's why I left the hospital."

Powell leans forward a little. "How did you end up in the hospital?"

Eddie swallows. "Some of my friends were out in the woods where I was hiding, they found me. But Creel found us, too. He went after Max. Harrington and I tried to stop him, but-"

He shrugs, and lifts up his shirt to flash his bandages and healing injuries, then drops it down.

"Found him hiding out in my cabin when I got back," Hopper says dryly. "Munson's soulmate is ready to prove he's telling the truth, Powell. You really want to put two kids through that?"

Eddie jerks up, glaring at Hopper in betrayal - he thought they were both pretty on the same page about not involving Steve in this - but Powell just grimaces.

"Do I want to tell Lillian Harrington that her son waived his soulmate rights and we questioned him without a lawyer? Hell no."

Eddie gapes at him.

Powell fixes him with a look. "Steve Harrington carried you into that hospital, despite his injuries being so bad he collapsed right after. He was adamant about not pressing charges against Jason Carver, and now he's out there dithering about filing a report while you're telling me there's a soulmate waiting in the wings to swoop in? I wasn't born yesterday."

Eddie puffs himself up a little, ready to insist that Steve had nothing to do with this - as soon as he can figure out how to say it without lying - but Powell just waves a hand at him, almost exactly the same way Hopper'd done just a few minutes ago.

"I told Steve, you're not our top suspect anymore. We just wanted to ask you some questions."

Eddie shifts his weight. "And here I was getting used to being Hawkins Most Wanted."

Hopper groans. "Cut that shit out, kid."

Eddie looks back and forth between them. "So that - that's it? I can go?"

"I would suggest you don't leave town, but yes, you're not under arrest," Powell says, finally opening the envelope and looking through it. "Not a bad idea if you both make a statement I can give to the press, though."

Hopper hums. "How soon can they release it?"

Powell snorts. "Story like this? We're looking at six o'clock news tonight, front page tomorrow morning."

Hopper looks at him. "Kid."

Eddie fidgets with his wrist brace. He wants to ask if his uncle can come back - he wants to ask if Steve can come in, too, but he feels even more guilty about that, and he doesn't want to risk it even if Powell did say they wouldn't be questioning him.

So he sits up a little straighter and nods. "Yeah. I can do that."

–

When they're done, Hopper escorts him out of the station with one hand on his back, Uncle Wayne and Steve flanking him.

He can't help the choked laugh that bubbles up - he feels like a rockstar, getting ushered away from paparazzi by his security team.

"You should get out of here and lay low," Hopper says outside the station. "Press should be here soon. I'll stay, answer a few questions."

He heads back into the station, leaving Eddie outside with Uncle Wayne and Steve.

There's no one else out there, but the skin on the back of his neck prickles.

It's the longest he's stood outside in the middle of town in weeks.

Steve scrubs a hand over his jaw. "I'm gonna stay with Hopper," he says.

I don't think he should have to do it alone, Eddie hears, and he can't help but give a little snort at his soulmate's soft heart.

Like Eddie himself isn't just as bad.

"Here," Steve says, holding something out.

Eddie automatically reaches out to take it, and a key is pressed into his hand.

"Everyone's probably going to want to come over," he says. "You guys can let yourselves back in. Eds, I think there's lasagna in the freezer if you want to heat it up?"

"Yeah, it was there when I got the bacon out this morning," Eddie agrees, purposefully not looking at Uncle Wayne.

He doesn't want to see what his uncle's face is doing about him and Steve discussing what's in their freezer.

Steve's freezer, shit.

"You don't have to give me your key, man, Robin or someone'll let us in," Eddie says.

Steve's expression falls, just a little, but then his chin tilts back up. "No," he says softly. "That's yours. You can - I want you to stay. You don't have to, since you're not a fugitive, but I want you to."

Eddie's face heats up so fast he feels almost dizzy.

It feels stupid, knowing Steve, but somehow he hadn't planned on Steve wanting him to stay, too.

He risks sneaking a look at his uncle, who's looking back at him with his eyebrows raised and a little smirk.

"Course I'll stay," Eddie manages to get out. "At least until you get tired of me."

Steve brightens, then rolls his eyes. "Not going to happen," he replies, then seems to remember that Uncle Wayne is standing right there, because he turns to him. "You'd be welcome to stay, of course. I mean, Dustin kind of takes over one of the guest rooms whenever he can, but we have a second one."

A second one that no one's using, because Eddie's been sleeping with Steve, and now he's pretty sure his face couldn't get any redder.

He hopes that his uncle doesn't pick up the implications that Steve clearly isn't aware he's laying down, but unfortunately, Eddie can see Uncle Wayne's little smirk grow.

Still, he doesn't say anything about it.

"Thank you," his uncle says gruffly. "But I'm good at the hotel."

Steve heads back inside after Hopper, and Eddie follows his uncle to his truck.

"Not a word, old man," Eddie grumbles.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Uncle Wayne replies.

That doesn't stop him from laughing at him on the drive back, though.

Sure enough, Robin and Dustin are already there, and it's not long before everyone else shows up.

Including Joyce Byers, who hugs him long and tight and makes him have to excuse himself to go get the lasagna out of the freezer so he doesn't burst into tears.

Hopper and Steve both end up live on the six o'clock news. Chief Powell leads the press conference, and Hopper begrudgingly answers a handful of questions. He gives the coma story, talks about working with a private investigator friend to find out what happened during the time he was missing, reports that he has no current plans to retake the mantle of Chief of Police.

Hawkins has a fine one in Chief Powell, apparently, and Hopper wants to be with his family for now.

Chief Powell gives a brief update on the murder case, reporting that Eddie is no longer considered a suspect, and they have new evidence that points to Henry Creel, including several witnesses to the attacks.

Steve steps in only briefly to identify himself as one of them, stating that he was attacked by Henry Creel as well and can positively identify him. When asked how he survived, he shrugs and says he helped his friends fight him off, that it wasn't the first time they've all been in a dangerous situation.

The story ends with a picture of Eddie himself, the reporter stating again that no charges have been filed against him, and that -

That's it.

Eddie almost doesn't know what to do with himself.

The next few days are weird.

He still stays inside, most of the time, but he does go out a couple of times. With his uncle to get dinner, with Steve to the auto store to get a new tail light, with Hopper to sign a couple of more things at the station. Just enough to ease back into it, to remind the town that fuck you, he's still here.

Andy Johnson and Eric Carson stop by and apologize.

To Steve, which makes him all pissy, but Eddie thinks is frankly hilarious.

They promise they left right after they finished talking to Steve and Robin that night, and they had no idea that Jason was going to come back and mess with his car. They're not going to have anything to do with him until he gets his head back on straight.

Privately, he's not convinced Jason ever had his head on straight, but he doesn't do more than waggle his eyebrows significantly at Steve from where Andy and Eric can't see him.

Besides that, things are quiet.

Even though Eddie was kind of expecting something - there's no sign of Jason.

Up next: Eddie gets more orders to sort his shit out, so okay fine he guesses he has to

-----

Part 23

Tag list (always happy to add more!): @vampireinthesun @koibug @estrellami-1 @mentalcyborg @allbimyself26 @questionablequeeries @the-s-is-silent @whimsicalwitchm @a-gae-af-racoon @tinyplanet95 @n0-1-important @velocitytimes2 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @newtstabber @jcmadgirl @roblingoblin285 @lexyvey @paperbackribs @goodolefashionedloverboi @evix-syne666 @raisedbylibrarians @stxrcrossed186 @nightmareglitter @greekgeek24 @starman-jpg @crazyhatlady86 @imfinereallyy @manda-panda-monium @deleataecount @prideandsensibility @chaoticvictorianspirit @maydillydally @disrespectedgoatman @scarlet-malfoy @i-less-than-three-you @hbyrde36 @hallucinatedjosten @dragonsandgayships @arepaconchocolate @g4ys0n @novelnovella @bisexualdisastersworld @ghostofyourvampiregf @scarletyeager @pettrichore @nerd-and-nervous @hiimlevi @queenie-ofthe-void @cinnamon-mushroomabomination

[harrywavycurly]

Can we get a glimpse of how TND Eddie asked Reader to marry him? I miss them

Hiii lovey!! Awe I miss them too, so in my mind Eddie has this whole thing planned out but this is how I feel like it really went😂 so hope you enjoy this conversation!!💖

Tag List: @sinczir @rach5ive @bruher @kellyxo1 @tiannamortis @forrestfantasy94 @angelina16torres-blog @tlclick73 @gretavankleep37 @melaninjhs @amira0303 @robyn-118 @jaydaaasworld @squidscottjeans @rockstarmunsons @alanamarie @dandelionnfluff @aol1997-blog @eddiesguitarskills @vampdaisysworld @br66klynbaby @raven-rust @daisyridleyyyy @i-love-ptv @josephquinnsfreckles @mrsjellymunson @hideoutside @eddiemunson-fanfic @paprikaquinn @burns-in-the-sun @cherrycolas-things @exploding-bonbon @krazyk99 @idkbbyx3 @amberpanda99 @munsonmecrazy

-find all things Trouble Next Door here✨

“Hey Jim thanks for coming over.” “It seemed kinda urgent on the phone…she didn’t get arrested or anything did she?” “What? No no…she’s fine she’s upstairs reading or something.” “Okay then…what’s up? What do you need?” “Uhm I just wanted to see if you’d be okay…uh with me…uhm maybe…asking-” “let me stop you right there kiddo…you don’t need my permission to ask her anything okay? You make her happy and that makes me happy.” “I mean you’re like a father to her so figured I’d just ask.” “Well I mean I appreciate it and if it makes you feel better you uh…have my permission…so what’s the ring look like?” “Oh uh here….what do you think? Think she’ll like it?” “Think who will like what?” “Oh shit shit…shit.” “Heyyy sweetheart sorry to uh just drop by like this uhm…I was going to see if you two wanted to go to dinner?” “What’s going on? Why does Eddie look like he’s about to faint?” “He’s fine…right Eddie? You’re…fine?” “What’s that?” “What’s what baby?” “That thing you just put in your pocket Eddie don’t act like I’m an idiot.” “Oh it’s just a receipt….from the store.” “Did…did you just lie to me?” “On that note…nice seeing you two I’ll uhm just go bother Wayne…have a good night.” “Oh like hell you are…no one is leaving this living room until someone tells me what’s going on.” “Nothing is going on baby…come on let’s go make dinner.” “Edward James Munson I have known you almost my whole life so I know when you’re lying so please…stop the bullshit and tell me what’s going on.” “You don’t want him to do that kiddo…trust me.” “What does that even mean?” “Baby please just…let me make you some dinner and then we can watch a movie.” “Oh god she’s about to start crying Eddie…just do it.” “What? I’m not doing it now this isn’t how it’s supposed to happen.” “Nothing that has to do with the two of you happens the way it’s supposed to do just do it…before she really starts crying.” “Fine…but I just want you to know sweetheart this…this isn’t how I imagined doing this…” “holy shit you’re…that’s one knee…you’re on one knee…oh my god is that….is that a ring? Are you-” “if you’d give me a minute sweetheart I’ll tell you exactly what I’m doing.” “Right yeah yeah…sorry…uhm…continue.” “Baby…I have loved you since we were teenagers and I promise I’ll love you for the rest of my life and…fuck I had this whole speech written down and it’s just…it’s all gone to shit but…I just…want to be your husband if you’d do me the honor of being my wife? Maybe? If you’re interested?” “You’re so romantic… yes I’ll marry you Eddie…I love you.” “Oh thank fuck…I love you too…do you like it?” “It’s beautiful…did Wayne help you pick it out?” “No…I did all by myself.” “You did good.” “Congratulations…uh am I free to go now?” “Oh my god I’m sorry Jim…yes you can leave now…or you can take us out to celebrate?” “Always trying to get free food from me…but fine let’s go before I change my mind but you know if we don’t call Wayne he’s gonna be pissed.” “Calling him now…let’s roll Munson gang!” “Engaged for two minutes and she’s already calling herself a Munson…”

[rosemaidenvixen]

Between Daylight and Darkness

Chapter 8

<Previous Next>

Ao3

“So yeah that’s basically everything, you have any questions?”

Barbara sat in the driver’s seat, fingers locked around the steering wheel even though the keys were in her pocket. Staring out the windshield into the dark parking lot. Wondering exactly what choices she’d made in her life that had brought her here.

When she finally got back in contact with the kids after over an hour of radio silence they’d promised her a full explanation. Wanting both to hear that and reassure herself of their safety, Barbara had all but raced to the canal to pick them up. When she’d gotten there they requested that she stop at a parking lot so they could explain things in detail before she dropped them off at their homes.

She’d now been sitting in the back of the Walmart parking lot for well over an hour. Long enough for Mr. Scott to send a text querying when his daughter would be home.

She really shouldn’t leave him on Read for so long but honestly Barbara was still trying to put her brain back together.

“So…” she sucked in a deep breath and drummed her fingers on the wheel “You’re a troll…”

A single blue eye peered out of the trunk, peeking at her past the partially folded seat “Yep, that’s what I am alright,”

Barbara looked at him in the rearview mirror with her mouth pressed into a thin line. She still wasn’t thrilled about Jim riding in the car that way, but the fact remained that with all six of them there just weren’t enough seat belts to go around. And if they were in an accident Jim was the least likely to get hurt and the most likely to inadvertently hurt someone else. That and watching him tear his way out of the locked trunk of a junker last summer killed all her protests.

That was what her brain choosing to focus on instead of the many many very shocking things they’d all just told her. 

“So let me get this straight. Jim is a…troll. Another troll tried to…attack you…”

Another thing Barbara couldn’t let herself think about for too long without getting heart palpitations.

“Because that amulet you have belongs to the Troll…hunter, and you were saved by two other trolls that took you into an underground city full of trolls,”

“Yeah that’s what happened alright,” Mary mumbled.

Barbara didn’t say anything else, just kept straight ahead at the parking lot, brightly lit with streetlights, empty save for her car, two trucks, and a smart car. All of these ordinary things somehow existing in the same world as trolls and magic and underground cities and– oh what the hell, maybe unicorns to!?

She tightened her grip on the wheel and pulled in a deep breath through her nose, if she didn’t focus on her deep breathing she was going to scream.

God she wanted to call Rose right now.

Instead of voicing any of that she cleared her throat and only spoke when she was sure her voice would be even “So what exactly is this Troll-hunter, because if Jim and the…others are trolls does that mean Jim is supposed to…hunt them?”

“We’re not sure,” Claire spoke up from the back seat “When we showed them that Jim was human Blinky and the spiky troll started freaking out. So the old troll kinda chased us out the door. But he made us promise to come back tonight,”

“Ok,” Barbara let out a heavy breath, pinching the bridge of her nose to try and dispel the oncoming tension headache “Ok…”

“Mom?” Jim poked his head a little further out of the trunk “You ok?”

I’m the parent, you're the children, children who were nearly hunted down by an angry troll– Trolls, which are real apparently, I should be asking you that

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she turned back to face her passengers again “How are you all doing?”

Darci twidled her thumbs “Ok…ish,”

“Yeah okish pretty much sums it up,” Toby shifted in the passenger’s seat to face her “Really glad tall dark and spooky didn’t get us, but still kinda freaking out a bit inside. The whole learning about the secret society living right under our feet thing takes a bit to sink in,”

“We should get more answers tomorrow night,” Claire added.

Barbara pressed her lips together but said nothing. She didn’t like how the kids just assumed she’d let them all go back to the mysterious underground troll city.

Especially since right now she couldn’t come up with any good arguments to stop them.

“We can make plans for tomorrow night after we’ve all got some sleep,” Barbara pulled the keys out of her pocket and started the engine “Right now we need to get you kids home,”

They all either nodded or made sounds of assent at that.

“Remember guys,” Mary said loudly “Our cover story is we were hanging out at Jim’s place and lost track of time playing Go Go Sushi,”

“Got it,”

“Affirmative,”

“Understood,”

“Crystal clear,”

Barbara bit back a heavy groan as she pulled the car out of the parking lot and onto the street.

Trolls.

Secret Cities.

Cover stories.

Just what had her life become?

Focusing on turns and street signs was easier to think about. Darci’s house was closest and was the first one they stopped at. Less than ten seconds after Barbara’s car pulled to a stop at the curb the door swung open and Louis came striding out. 

Darci hopped out of the car and bounded up to him “Hi dad!”

“Hey there pumpkin,” he flashed her a wide smile “How was your evening?”

“Good, we really got sucked into Go Go Sushi,”

“Alright,” Louis turned his gaze towards Barbara, warmth sliding away into cool amiability “I take it you also lost track of time?”

Her throat tightened “Yes, sorry about that, I was busy and didn’t notice how long the kids were playing their videogames,”

Louis nodded “No worries, it happens,”

Barbara didn’t let out the breath she was holding until Louis and Darci were inside their house and she was already driving away. Dropping off Claire and Mary went similarly, with their parents mercifully skipping the third degree–

No, that wasn’t fair. It had been first or second degree at the worst. And it wasn't as though he wasn’t completely justified with his suspicions. If it had been her and Jim in that position Barbara knew she would have been even more skeptical and less polite.

Pulling into the end of their cul de sac, Toby hopped out and ran up to his house. Barbara watched and made sure he made it inside before pulling into their garage.

Barbara killed the engine the second they were inside, slumpling back in her seat and shutting her eyes, a shuttering sound in her ears as the garage door shuffled closed behind her.

“Mom?”

From the backseat she heard the soft slide of Jim folding down the seat, shuffling sounds as he crawled out of the trunk “Are you ok?”

The knee jerk response–

I’m fine hon

Rose up in the back of her throat, but Barbara bit it back before it could escape.

She shouldn’t unload all her stress and worries onto her teenage son, but she shouldn’t pretend everything was fine and dandy when they both knew it wasn’t either.

“I…I’m worried, this is all a lot to take in,”

“Oh yeah,” Jim let out a chuckle and a gusty exhale “I’m right there with you on that one,” 

Despite the situation Barbara felt a tiny smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. Finding it in her to push away from the seat and turn to face him.

“I don’t like the idea of you kids being in danger, or going back to a secret troll city by yourselves,”

She had to fight back an inappropriate laugh at the half stunned half affronted look on Jim’s face, could already hear the protest he was forming, and cut him off before it could leave his mouth. 

“Which is why I’ll be coming with you,”

Jim’s went blank, eyes going wide and mouth gaping op “Oh…I mean…are you sure you’re up for it?”

This time she did laugh, twisting back to playfully punch Jim in the shoulder “Kiddo there’s not a single thing you or any other troll in this city can do to stop me from looking after my son. And if that means going to an underground city, well hand me my pickaxe and headlamp,”

Jim huffed a laugh again “Ok but…it’s…it’s kind of a lot down there, so if you want to sit it out…”

“Not a chance, we’re in this together, and any troll that wants a piece of you is going to get a taste of my krav maga first,”

Jim chuckled at that, and Barbara smiled back.

[fanartlover1234]

SPACER APOCALYPSE

Y/n a ruthless thief, raised by Silvers pirate crew.

Jim an Intersollar academy graduate and spacer.

Childhood friends split in enemies.

3 years old:

Sarah placed her hands at her hips when she heard the voices in Jims room, how the younh boy laughed and the girl giggled.

"James Hawkins" Sarah said as she opened the door looking at the two kids, both putting on their best puppy dog eyes.

Jim laughed bit when his mother lifted him in her arma before the woman turned to Y/n.

The little girls young doe eyes looked at her, her greyish eyes being amazed when the book of pirate storys opened once again.

The kids played before Sarah led the young her back to her room and tucking her in.

"Do you think pirates are real?" She asked while the woman turned her night light on.

"I think, everything is possible if you believe it strong enough" Sarah said before closing the door.

22 years later:

And boy did the girl believe, as one of the most feared pirates in galaxy, her crew quite large but she only trusted few people and her black ship with the old sails drew attention and fear in any dock.

When Jims father left, he draged her with and soon she was on her own untill Jhon Silver found her and raised her.

She had seen Jim at the search for treasure planet but refused to get on the ship.

Of course she felt bad for never returning or even writing a letter to note she was okey but she had a life, a reputation.

So when the pirate meet was now right behind the overwhelming doors of the Inn she so dreadfuly wished she would have played sick and not come.

The black dress reached above her ankles flattering her greyish blue skin tone and tje blacl boots made of same lether as her belt and pirate hat that sat on her grey hair.

She entered after few bug breaths making her way straight upstairs to the bathroom only to pass her old bedroom on the way.

She moved to the door, a small crack left open the same way it was when she was draged away by the man she barely ever spoke with.

She opened the door steping inside, it was exactly the same as it was when ahe left.

The pink walls and white forniture with all her stuffed animals and as she picked up her pink teddy bear with an eyepatch and a pirate hat that Sarah had made for her she was reminded of the days she tried to be a good pirate the type thay stole for the poor and suported everyone and her gaze fell to the mirror and she closed her eyes shut.

"Hello?" Sarahs voice ringed in her ears as she slowly turned to the woman, the teddy bear in hand "oh Y/n"

The woman didnt waste a second to take the girl in a warm embrace, though in her own eyes Y/n has changed much, her skin covered in scars one marking her collor bone and another her lip but in Sarahs eyes she was still the little girl with doe eyes thay dreamed of pirates and adventures.

"Just wait untill Jim, knows you are-"

"Im not. Im not back its just for tonight" Y/n said looking down before placing the bear back and leaving to her ship.

"Captain, look what we found snooping around the deck" one of the men said beforr steping away to make a clear view for their boss.

"Leave" she ordered the men and all scattered away to the party, she was not sure if it was fear or exitment for party that made them move so quickly but her mind didnt dwell on it too much when she looked at the man tied to her main mast.

He was clearly taller and the usual pony tain was now oddly suiting him as he stared right at her, his blue eyes surely burning holes in her tinted skin.

"What are you doing here" she asked as she untied him.

"Is that anyway to say hi to an old friend" Jim asked as he watched the girl lean on the railing of her boat taking her hat off.

"A friend? You have been making my life a shit hole for past few years with your whole intersollar acadamy graduate bullshit" she sais harsly crossing her arms as he leaned on the main mast his usual smirk still there.

She could have bet he had the same one while he was watching her strugle to start the ship after he messed with wires on it a few months back.

But boy did that smirk had an effect on her.

"Yes cause a friend would have at least sent a note to let people know they are fine"

"Well i thought you guys thought that i- oh whatever just leave" she said trowing her arms up before leaving for her bedroom in captains room earning a chuckle from the man as he followed her stoping her at the steps traping her between his hands.

"No no no, i deserve an apology, i was very worried" he said leaning in but she sliped away fastly before she mumbled something among the lines of an apology her voice nervouse as she tried closing her doors but he went in anyways now backing her slowly up "and another one, cause i was so hurt when i saw you were okey but no note" he pouted his hand flying to his heart in a mocking way before he caught the girls waist when she triped over her own feet.

His forhead touched hers while his free hand was on her neck as he tried to find her eyes.

"Im sorry" she mumbled

"Its okey, i forgive you" he said before kissing the cornor of her mouth and moving to centre but she pulled back.

"This is-"

"Wrong? Yeah i know, it like spacer apocalypse but since when do we care" he said before smashing his lips on her.

His lips.

Her lips.

Apocalypse.

[not-a-space-alien]

K&J x MMSS 4: Valen & Jim Part 6B

Part 6 of the "B side" universe for AU4. You can check chapter 4B for clarification on what this means if you're lost.

K&J masterlist

MMSS masterlist

K&J x MMSS crossover masterlist

To be added to the taglist, contact @whumpsday

Warnings: Transphobia, unsupportive family relations

***

The hug lasts for an absurdly long time, but they do have to pull away eventually.  Liz gives Valen a soft clap on the back. "Whenever you wanna go home, I'll take you over to the border, just like you brought Jim to me. You just focus on resting up and healing, okay?"

Valen curls up in on himself, looking dejected. Go home?  He can't just go home.  Can he?  He is still reeling from this whole experience--and it honestly feels like he'll never be safe again by himself.  What does he even have to go back to?  He didn't have much before he'd gotten taken, but now, five years later?  He isn't even sure what home he'd have to go back to.  He would have nothing. 

But they had to feed him with their own blood.  Of course they'd want him out of their hair as soon as possible.  This was probably their polite way of saying they wanted him to leave, right?  But they'd just been hugging him, had that just been polite, too?

Trying not to look too pathetic and sad, he picks up the notepad and writes Does it have to be today?

"Okay, first thing, it's not gonna be today no matter what, 'cause you're not healthy enough to get back on your own yet." Jim says. "Second, you don't have to do anything. We just kinda assumed you'd wanna go home. You can stay here with me for as long as you want. I'm happy to have you." He smiles.

Valen almost can't believe what he's hearing.  For once he wants to stay, and that's allowed. He writes:  Even though you have to feed me?  Oh, maybe it'd been presumptuous to assume they'd keep feeding him, since 'feeding' isn't necessarily included in 'letting you stay here.'  Too late, though, he'd already showed it to them.

"Of course. Whatever you need, Valen." Jim gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Or maybe you could visit out there to get blood packs. We got options."

"I'm gonna go finish working on the door." Liz gives Valen a little wave before going back to the basement entrance.

"I probably can't make it out here every day, but you can put me on the menu sometimes for sure." Laken says with a wink before going to join Liz.

Valen politely clasps his hands together in front of him and gives a little bow.  That's something a person does, right?  Instead of just cowering on the floor.

Jim interprets that as a thank you. "You're welcome. I take it you don't really have anyone waiting up at home then, but if you wanna make a phone call, I can like, read out stuff you write down to make it work if you wanna. You know you're not a prisoner here, right?" He thought that should be obvious, considering the door was open all night and Valen could have left at any time, but maybe it needs to be said. "You're- well, I'd like to think we're friends by this point."

Valen's lip wobbles.  How had he so quickly gone from leech, parasite, lower than dirt to friend?  He wants to hug Jim again, but Jim doesn't want hugs right now, so instead, he folds his legs under him and bows even lower than he had the first time.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

"You're all good, buddy. None of this would be possible if you hadn't saved me in the first place. We'd both still be stuck in hell." Jim points out. He reaches a hand out to help Valen up and takes him back over to the couch to rest.

Honestly, the prospect of Valen staying excites Jim. He'd be a lot less paranoid about Kane coming back for him with Valen here, plus he gets lonely. And the thought of Valen going through the pain of recovery alone hurts his heart.

Valen sits on the couch and wraps himself up in the blanket there, watching Liz finish her work on the door curiously, but not bravely enough to go check it out.

Liz and Laken eventually finish, coming back out carrying a lot of silver. "Well, guess we'll be seeing you around then, Valen!" Liz calls happily.

Valen waves with both his hands.  His face hurts if he tries to smile, but he hopes he's waving enthusiastically enough to get the point across.

They leave, and Jim puts the TV on to just hang out for a little. After about an hour, he asks, "Are you gonna... be okay? If I head into the kitchen for a bit to make food, you'll still, um, be okay when I get back?" You're not gonna off yourself, right?

It's been a while since Valen has felt this okay.  He's fed, and people care about him, and no one is hurting him. Jim was right, everything did feel a lot better after he'd eaten. It no longer feels so insurmountably scary. He nods, and gives a thumbs-up, but then when Jim actually gets up to make lunch, he gets up and follows Jim into the kitchen.

Jim smiles when he notices Valen following him. He decides to make beans and rice, the meal he ate in Valen's house, for old times' sake. Except this time, it's actually good, because he has a stove this time. "Remember when you offered me a bunsen burner to cook with?" he asks with a laugh.

Valen had been excitedly rocking from foot to foot, but he stops when Jim says this. Jim thinks it's funny. That it's ridiculous. He vaguely remembers it. He'd remembered it better before he'd been tortured, because that had made everything before feel so distant, and blurred together. Is it bad that Valen did that? Jim doesn't seem angry, but he is laughing, like it'd been stupid. The hunters laughed at him for a lot of things. Being too weak, being helpless, being stupid, making mistakes.  Jim wouldn't punish him for what he's talking about, would he? Jim's not going to punish him. He'd said that. It's just hard to feel that, instead of the constant, pounding anxiety that at any second the pain is going to start again.

He thinks Jim is probably just bringing up a funny memory, but the urge to always interpret things in the worst way possible is too strong. Jim can't possibly just be joking around with his friend, Valen doesn't have friends, only tormenters.

No, that's not right, Jim had said he was a friend.

It's too much, it's too much to decide. He quickly scribbles I'm sorry I won't do it again I'll be good and shows it to Jim, eyes firmly on the floor

Jim's smile turns sad as he reads the note. "Nah, I'm glad you did. It was considerate. It's a good memory."

He remembers when he first got back. He was so jumpy. He used to say stuff like that all the time, after years of Kane hitting him at best and beating him at worst for any show of defiance. "It'll get better. The I-gotta-be-good stuff. It's real bad at first 'cause it's all you've known for years. But you start to get used to being a person again, and it lessens. Never goes all the way away, but it gets good enough. Least in my experience."

Valen wants to make eye contact so, so badly. He hasn't looked Jim, his savior, in the face yet, not even once. But he has to be good. But Jim was just saying about that...

He writes May I look you in the eye?

"Yeah, of course. Look away." Jim had thought Valen was avoiding eye contact due to nerves, he didn't even consider that he might think he's not allowed.

Look away. Oh no, conflicting directions. He averts his eyes, looking away from Jim, whimpering, confused.

Jim is confused for a moment, then realizes his phrasing was bad. "Oh, uh, something-away means to do something. Like, you can look. Sorry, my bad."

Oh, right. Yes, yes of course. It seems so unfair that the humans can just speak willy nilly without even thinking about how they phrase things, when Valen has to parse each syllable for signs of danger.

No, he doesn't have to do that, that's the point.

Valen slowly works his eyes up Jim's body, stopping at his shoulders, hovering there. He forces them to go higher, just briefly flicking them up to Jim's eyes, then immediately letting them fall again. Okay, that's good, that's progress, he looked into Jim's eyes and nothing bad happened, he didn't get accused of trying to use persuasion, he didn't get thrown in the sun.

"There you go. Making progress." Jim spoons his lunch into a bowl. "You've got nice eyes. You don't need to look at the floor all the time." The bright red of Valen's eyes doesn't scare him like the eyes in his nightmares. There's no malicious intent in them.

Nice eyes, he has nice eyes, nice eyes?!  He goes beet red, now avoiding eye contact out of sheer embarrassment and being overwhelmed, unable to figure out how to handle the compliment.

You've got nice eyes would have been a prelude to a hunter gouging them out in his old life, but that's far too brutal for Valen to even worry about Jim doing in his imagination.

He makes a choked sound and brings his hands to his face, hiding his reddened cheeks.

Jim tries not to laugh again, worried it might be taken the wrong way. "Sorry, didn't mean to fluster you or anything." He leans against the counter and starts eating.

Valen watches Jim eat with fascination, wondering why he isn't sitting at the table.

Valen thinks about what Jim had said earlier, about making a phone call. He doesn't want to call Priscus, but maybe talking to his parents would be nice. They're probably worried about him.

Valen waits patiently until Jim is finished eating, then holds his hand up to his head to pantomime a phone call.

"Yeah, I can help you make a phone call. Who am I calling and what do you wanna say?" Jim asks, leading Valen over to the phone.

Valen sits down primly next to the phone and writes out his parent's phone number and some instructions.

This is my parents' house.

My mother will probably answer.

Please tell her what happened and where I am. In very general terms. And that I'm alive and safe now.

"Gotcha. Um, I just wanna prepare you, if you've been missing for years and you can't talk to her, she might not believe me. You can always call her back after you can talk again." Jim tells him.

He picks up the phone and dials the number. "Hello? Is this Mrs., uh, Valen's mom?"

"Hm?" says a woman's voice. "Hello? You knew my daughter?"

"Yeah. Um, about that, I know this is gonna sound really hard to believe, but Valen's alive and here with me. Sh-she's recovering from a mouth injury and can't talk right now. Got captured by hunters and hurt a lot, but she's out and safe now. We're in human territory. Valen should be well enough to talk in a couple days, I bet." Jim takes the notepad and writes Not out to mom? while he talks.

Valen rolls his eyes in an exasperated way and writes I came out to her, she's just in denial.

"What?" Valen's mother says. "Oh my god, that sounds just like something she would do. Walk right on into human territory with her arms open to try and give the first human she sees a big old hug. She probably tried to talk nicely to the vampire hunters, I bet." Her voice is dripping with disdain. "She's such a bright girl, but her head is full of such.... unrealistic ideas. Wait...who are you, why are you in human territory? Are you a human hunter, do you work for the blood farms? You should know that she's married, understand?"

Valen groans and lets his head slump.

Jim is speechless for a few moments. "Is that seriously your reaction to learning your kid, who you thought was dead, is alive and finally safe after being locked up for years?" he asks, incredulous.

"Well," she says, suddenly sounding defensive, "she barely ever calls us, I was half convinced nobody could find her because she just finally ran off or something. I don't hear from her for years at a time anyway. Of course I was worried for her, but I've always advised against this reckless behavior precisely because of this. Tell her she's welcome to come home, of course, although she really should simply go back to her husband."

Valen looks so, so tired, resting his head on his hand. He's wondering why he thought this was a good idea

"I don't need to tell him because he can hear you. He's been listening this whole time. And you know what, you're a shitty mom. He deserves better. Valen, you got anything else you wanna say to her?" Jim asks, heated.

Valen shakes his head sadly.

"Who do you think you are?" she says. "I've never been anything but supportive!"

Valen mimes hanging up the phone.

Jim hangs the phone up without another word to her.

"I'm so fucking sorry, Valen. That's... wow." He shakes his head. "With family like that, who needs enemies, y'know?" Jim's eyes shine with tears. He's really upset about Valen being treated this way.

Valen gives a noncommittal shrug.  In his mother's mind, not disowning him and not forbidding him to go to college like he wanted to is enough to classify herself as supportive.  He taps the pencil, sighs heavily, and writes I'm not sure what I really expected.

"You said you might wanna stay? You've got a new family now, if you want." Jim wants to hug him, but he can't seem to make himself do it. He reaches a hand out and squeezes Valen's upper arm gently instead.For some reason, the phone call and getting put down by his mother has been very grounding.  It's reminding him of who he was before.  He's a person, who has a mother he can have a bad relationship with.  He moves his hand on top of Jim's, squeezing it back, nodding.  He's certainly not going back to his husband.  The thought of being this vulnerable and scared around Priscus makes him shiver with dread.  He would fall prey to Priscus's manipulation every time, he knows he would.  And going back to his parents' wouldn't be much better.  No, this feels like the safest place, against all odds.

***

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[gabessquishytum]

🍃 anon your mind!!

Hob finds himself in The Dreaming. He’s been there before maybe a handful of times now, a privilege he doesn’t realize he has as one of the few who know Dream for what He Is, but this is the first time Hob passes the gates.

Hob flows through the library as if he’s on a conveyor belt, shelves and titles passing by just slowly enough to read but too quick to pick up. Hob reaches one in particular ‘His Name: Jim’, but is whisked all the way to set of doors similar to the gate but so much more… delicate, responsive? Hob means to push through but the doors open with barely a touch.

The throne room - it is clearly the throne room. It’s the centerpiece of the entire chamber - is grand, no doubt: the ceiling is nearly too high to see, the stained glass windows loop and swirl settling and reforming, and the stairs… at once a serene bend and then impossibly, dauntingly long, leading to a single seat.

Striking, Hob thinks. Artistic. Impressive.

Lonely.

And there. On that grand, imposing, unapproachable pedestal, there was his Dream. Somehow as frigid as a statue yet pouring over the arms, liquid and resting his hand upon his

Belly?

Hob blinked twice. There was no doubt, Hob had lived several centuries, seen his mother heavy with two of his sisters, and he’d had a wife and a child (…’children’ he corrected. Always corrected.)

Point being, he knew what pregnancy looked like.

So here was his Stranger, eyes closed, rubbing slow circles over his stomach, seemingly lost to the world. If you could call this a ‘world’? And here was Hob watching, with not a clue what to do or how he was here or

Why he wasn’t the one holding Dream instead of that fucking chair.

Hob takes the first steps in a while since that strange conveyor through the castle, deliberately setting his foot on the stairway. He begins to ascend

‘Hob Gadling?’

He can’t see Dream from his current place on the stairs, but he would recognize that voice anywhere even if he and Dream *weren’t* the only beings in this vast hall (Hob isn’t positive on this, but he and Dream were the only beings Hob gave a damn about at the moment even if not).

His eyes snap up and he takes the stairs two at a time, breath somehow remaining steady despite the exertion, and just as he rounds this turn to catch a glimpse of Dream again, this time leaning forward on one slim arm the other cradling his rounded belly, Hob says

He blinks awake, legs twisted so thoroughly into his blankets he would have tripped if he’d tried to get up.

‘Running…’ Hob breathes out. He unwraps the sheet and blankets around him, sighs and lies back on his pillow. He’s not sure what his subconscious is pulling on him, but he knows it’s trouble. Dream is barely his friend now - after centuries! - Hob can’t afford to get distracted.

He absolutely can’t afford to be horny about the whole thing.

But his brain can’t stop rewinding to that first impression: Dream, serene, rubbing soothing circles over his full belly. So prominent on his boney frame.

Hob closes his eyes and wills himself to sleep.

What he actually does is spend an hour Not Thinking about Dream and eventually having a cold shower just in time to leave for his first class.

This is nothing.

It’s fine.

- 🎱 anon

(I have …more help)

Omg yes!! Here's the link to 🍃's original ask for those who missed it. I'm definitely excited to talk more about this!! If you have more my dear anon, I'm always delighted to hear it!

I always love the idea of Hob accidentally dreaming himself into Dream’s personal space, either because he's just thinking about him so much or because the dreaming subconsciously recognises him as an Important Person and lets him get through the usual walls that sheild Dream from normal people. I particularly love this idea of Hob seeing Dream in this truly intimate moment... the two of them staring at each other, both lost for words.

And then Hob wakes up.

And it's not that Dream is embarrassed. He's more than a god, such things are nothing to him. But. He values his relationship with Hob Gadling, their fragile and still fresh friendship is special to him. He wouldn't want it to be spoiled. But there's nothing he can do - the dream within him is close to being born and he can't go into the waking world in this state. He'll simply have to hope that Hob forgets his dream or passes it off as nonsense.

Little does he know that Hob is spending his day desperately trying to catch a nap, even a snatch of sleep, so he can get back to the dreaming. He's concerned for his friend but there's something more than that. He can't let go of the image of Dream holding his gravid belly with tender hands. He feels this tugging sensation around his heart; a desperate and primal need. He needs to take Dream in his arms and hold him. It feels cosmically important.

The moment he drops into a brief sleep, his subconscious lands him right there in the throne room, just in time to find Dream crouching over, holding onto his throne with an iron grip. Dream’s face is twisted up, not in pain... but in pleasure.

And Hob realises that he's arrived just in time to see Dream give birth. Whoops!

[metalmonki]

The Dating Odyssey: Eddie

Eddie Munson/Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Jim Hopper/Jonathan Byers x fem!reader

3.5k word count

fluff, idiot reader, reader who can't say no, choose your own adventure-ish

Part 1 / Steve's Ending / Jim's Ending / Billy's Ending / Jonathan's Ending

That night you had a fitful sleep. You couldn’t stop thinking about who you would choose and how you were supposed to let the other guys know you weren’t interested. You gave up trying to get any decent sort of sleep at 4am. You instead choose to hop up and get ready for work. You showered, dressed, had breakfast and your morning coffee and waited for the time to roll around for you to go to work. When they time finally rolled around you collected all the essays Carol left you to mark and packed them into your bag. A smile playing on your face. You couldn't wait to see her reaction when all her students got A's it was also a great distraction to the current situation. You grinned as you made the quick walk from your apartment to your car. The whole drive to Hawkins High you kept glancing over your bag. If Eddies plan worked and this landed Carol in hot water you would have to find a way to thank him. When you reached the school you quickly grabbed your bag and hurried through the doors. You had not taken 5 steps inside when you were stopped by a voice behind you.

“Ah Miss y/l/n just who I wanted to see”

“Of Principle Higgins sir how can I help you?” You turned around facing him

“I need you to cover Miss Perkins English classes today she has come down sick and can't make it”

“Oh I would be delighted to sir” You smiled a little too excited

“Okay well her classes rotate with yours so you should be fine let me know if you need any help” Principle Higgins walked off towards his office

Taking Carols classes meant you weren't going to be leaving early today like a normal Monday but at least you could pull off Eddies plan without Carol knowing until it was way, way too late to change anything. You were so going to have to track him down after school let out to tell him though, he was going to freak out. You headed off to your classroom to begin setting up for the day. You knew you were going to need to use your time this morning as well as recces and some of lunch to make sure all the classes went smoothly. The bell rang at 8:30 and most of the students filled into your room. Actually it was almost all of the students except of course the usual suspects Lucas, Dustin, Mike, Will and Max. About 5 minutes into your lesson the classroom door slammed open and all 5 of them came crashing into the class tripping over each other, yelling and screaming.

“Oh hay y/n, uh sorry we're late we all kinda slept in” Dustin spoke up

“You all slept in? I find that hard to believe” You crossed your arms trying to be serious but at the same time wanted to laugh at them

“Yeah, we were playing DnD at Eddies trailer like all day yesterday and it got super late so Eddie let us stay because his a really nice guy like that and anyway as I said he let us stay overnight and we all really slept in and it's like extremely difficult to wake Eddie up cause he sleeps almost completely naked and none of us really wanted to go wake him so we had to flip a coin and Mike lost but he was way to much of a wuss to go into Eddies room so...”

“Dustin, Dustin, ssh just take a seat and see me after class, way to much information dude geez” it took all your strength not to laugh and the image of an almost naked Eddie wasn't helping either.

The party apologised and took their seats while you resumed the lesson. Today's lesson was a practical lesson. After you re-explained the instruction everyone broke off into their lab groups to do the experiment. Many of the other students where whispering amongst each other about Dustin using your first name and the casualness between the group and you. The obvious concern was if their all friends with the teacher does that mean the teacher will give them an easy pass. But just because they were your students and you guessed your friends doesn't mean they were going to get an easy pass. Senior science passed quickly but before you could move on to Eddies plan you needed to speak with Dustin and the others. The group remained seated and waited for all the other students to file out of the classroom before saying anything.

“Hay we're really sorry for being late to class it wont' happen again” Mike spoke up when the last student left the class

“I don't care about that” You said “Just try not to make me almost burst out laughing in front of my class again”

“We can do that” Lucas smiled

“Great whose class do you have next?”

“Carols english class” Dustin rolled his eyes

“Oh sweet so I'm teaching her class today so I won't have to write you guys a note, I just have one quick guestion”

“Sweet best teacher her” Max cheered

“Whats your question?” Mike asked

“Where does Eddie live?”

“He has the trailer across from Max out at the trailer park” Will spoke up

“We're headed out to Max's after school if you want us to show you?” Dustin offered

“Yeah sure I'll drive yous but uh someone may need to sit on the floor or the back seat will be very crowded”

“Oh Eddies going to pick us up so we can split between the cars” Dustin said

“I am so going with y/n I am not getting in the back of Eddies van again” Max said

The kids slung their bags over there shoulders and you all began walking in one large group to the next class room. Once they were seated you retrieved the large pile of essays from your bag. As you called the roll you had them come up and collect their essays. Whispers broke out all over the classroom as students started to realise they all got As. You had a small giggle at their excitement before calming them down and explain the class for the day. It was simple read the next few chapters in the book they had been reading and answer a simple question for homework or they could do it during class if they had time. When the recces bell range you were super excited about the rest of the day and how the rest of the students would react to their As. Recces was spent preparing for your next science lesson and picking chapters and questions for the next 2 English classes. The science lesson went by in a blur due to your excitement to get to the next English lesson. You may have been more excited and moved faster then your students when the bell rang to signal the end of class. Normally this is the point of the day where you would be headed to the staff room to finalize your paperwork for the day so you could leave at lunch time. But instead you had 3 more English classes all of which you decided to keep simple. Read the chapters answer the question. Most of Carols students wouldn't be taking home homework tonight if they worked fast enough. You took a seat at the teachers desk called for silence and began calling names and handing out essays. Just like before the As were met with excited whispers. Rinse and repeat until the last bell of the day sounded. A smirk broke out on your face as you raced to pack your bag and get out of there for the day. When you entered the hallway you were met with a commotion.

“Excuse me! Coming through! Move people move!” Dustin's voice rang out down the hall

Soon the group of misfit teens stood before you Dustin in the lead.

“You lot ready to go” You laughed

“Been ready to leave since I walked in this morning” Dustin threw him arms around in over exaggerated movements

“Great I just need to drop some stuff in the office and we'll be good to go if someone wants to go let Eddie know the plans” You looked between the kids

“I'll go” Dustin said running off

You shook your head at the boy and started towards the office with the others trailing behind you. They all apparently wanted to go in your car because they didn't trust Eddies driving, not to mention his van didn't have any seats in the back. You made your way quickly to the office, dropped all your paperwork on your desk and left before anyone could pull you up. You quickly made your way to the school parking lot the group still chatting away behind you. They always seemed to have something to chat about. You'd even noticed them passing letters in class but you never pulled them up on it because the always done there work and it didn't really seem like much of a distraction. You opened the doors to the parking lot to find Eddie conveniently parked next to your car. Dustin had already climbed into Eddies van and was impatiently yelling at you all out the window. You and the kids basically jogged over to your car. You opened up the car from them before quickly turning to Eddie who was standing patiently beside his van.

“Hay Munson” You smiled

“Hay y/l/n did the plan work?” Eddie had an evil smirk

“Thats for me to know and you to find out, now get in that death trap and lead the way” You laughed climbing into your car.

Eddie quickled climbed into his van and roared the engine to life. He speed out of the parking lot, leaving you to curse and try to speed to keep up with him. The last thing you needed was a speeding ticket or worse to be pulled over by the sheriff. But you made it to the trailer park without incident. Eddie brought his van to a stop outside what you guessed to be his trailer. You pulled up alongside the van. The teens immediately started falling over each other to get out of the car. Once out they ran screaming at each other to a trailer almost directly across from the one you were park outside of.

“I'm guessing that's Max's place?” You said to Eddie

“It sure is, and this is my castle” Eddie stretched his arms out while looking at his trailer “So sweetheart is there a reason you wanted to know where I lived?” Eddie smirked at you

“Oh well I wanted to come tell you how your plan worked out”

Eddie motioned to the front door of the trailer. He went first holding open the front door like a gentleman. Someone had really raised this man right. You stepped into Eddie trailer and couldn't help but look around. You found yourself stood in Eddies open lounge and kitchen area. The walls where decorated with mugs and caps. His uncle Wayne's he told you when he noticed you look. He guided you down the hallway that stood just off the kitchen. The hallway was small and had only two other doors in it. One lead to a tiny bathroom and the other was Eddie's room. And it was exactly what you thought Eddies room would look like. The guitar he played the other night hung on the wall next to a mirror that was almost covered in everything heavy metal. He had heavy metal band posters on the walls and a recorder player with a large pile of records and cassettes next to it. The room was a messy, the bed unmade. It truly matched the man that lived in it.

“I thought you said your Uncle lived here too?” You said

“Oh he sleeps on the couch, his never really home anyway his always working” Eddie shrugged “Now how did our plan go?”

You gave Eddie a big grin before jumping at him. Eddie despite being taken by surprise was able to react fast enough to catch you wrapped his arms under you butt to hold you up. You wrapped your arms around his neck and your legs around his waist.

“It worked perfectly Eds!” You giggled “And guess what Carol wasn't even there today so she had no idea what's just happened”

“Yeah Henderson wouldn't shut up about his A” Eddie chuckled

You stopped giggling and moved back from Eddie. He placed you gently on the floor but kept you in his arms. One of his hands came up to move a stray hair away from your face. Before you could react his lips where on yours. The kiss was full of love and passion. You found your hands moving back around Eddies neck and coming to a rest in his wild curly hair. His arms where wrapped around you waist holding you firmly against him. You never wanted that kiss to end. There was something in that kiss, something that seemed to make your decision for you. Your heart wanted Eddie but your brain was screaming at you that you couldn't go into a relationship with Eddie built on lies. You needed to tell him about the other dates. Steve was right they all deserved to know. You broke the kiss. You pulled back and looked up at Eddie.

“I'm sorry I couldn't help myself” Eddie blushed

“No Eddie I'm sorry” You sighed looking down to the carpet not wanting to face the man in front of you. The man whose heart you were probably about to shatter.

“You've done nothing wrong” Eddie placed a finger under your chin forcing you to look up at him.

“I lied to you Eddie” Your eyes started to fill with tears.

“Lied? About what?” Eddie tried to chuckle

“I did go on a date with Jonathan” You said “And with Steve”

“Shit, shit, shit” Eddie put his hands on his head and turned away from you

“I'm sorry Eds, I also went on a date with Billy and Hop over the weekend too” Might as well give him the whole picture you thought

“4 other dates, Jesus Christ!” Eddie was trying to keep his voice down but he was now pacing his room “I...I need time to think”

Eddie took off out of his trailer leaving you alone. You heard his van roar to life. The sound tear your heart to shreds. You fought back the tears that were about to fall and left Eddies trailer. You walked across the road to Max's trailer. You could see the teens peeking out a window clearly interested in what was happening between you and Eddie. But when they seen him speed off and you come walking out on your own they quickly ducked away from the window clearly not wanting to get caught. You knocked on the door of Max's trailer and she was super quick to answer.

“Oh y/n your still here” Max tried to act like she hadn't just seen you walk across the road from Eddies

“Yeah, uh, I'm actually about to head off and just wanted to see if anyone here needed a lift home” You said trying to sound happy

“No we're good here, Steve and Nancy where going to give us all lifts home” Dustin called out

“No problems, see you at school tomorrow” You called back

You waved to Max and made your way back to your car. You made the drive back to your apartment slow. So slow in fact that you got pulled over by none other then the sheriff himself. You cursed silently to yourself and wiped at the tears that had stained your face. You pulled the car over safety, Hop pulling in close behind you. Hopped climbed out of his car and walked towards your face head down not paying attention writing something in a note book. He only looked up when he got to your car.

“You do realise you were driving way below the speed limit right?” He said looking up “y/n what are you doing all the way out here?”

“Breaking hearts apparently” You sniffled

“Oh hay honey what's the matter?” Hop opened your car door and kneeled down beside you

“I just told Eddie Munson that I went on dates with not only him but you and 3 other guys this weekend” You spilled out before you could stop your self.

“Oh well that's impressive” Hop chuckled

“Your not mad”

“Oh I'm fricken' furious” Hop stood up “But ain't much I can do about it, just try to go the speed limit” Hop slammed your door a little too hard before walking back to his patrol car.

You sat in silence for a few minutes gathering your thoughts before starting on your way back home. Just as you pulled into your parking spot out the front of your building it started to pour down. Just what you needed you thought. The weather was just as miserable as you. You sat in your car and watched the rain run down the windscreen. You left your umbrella inside and you really didn't feel like getting wet. The plan was to wait for a break in the rain then make a run for it. You sat in your car for almost an hour with no signs of the rain stopping. It was then that you spotted a familiar mop of curly hair. Except the usually wild bouncy curl's where now soaked and flat clinging to the face of their owner. Eddie Munson was running through the rain and right to your door. He didn't see you sitting in the car. Instead he ran straight past and under the small amount of cover the front awning of your building provided. He rang the buzzer for your apartment and waited. You sat in shock, your brain racing to process what your eyes were seeing. Eddie pressed your buzzer a few more times but when there came no answer he dropped his shoulders and walked back out into the rain. You couldn't let him leave, you needed to apologise for everything, you needed to try to make things right. In one swift movement you were out of the car and standing on the side walk. Eddie had his back to you, walking slowly away.

“Eddie!” You shouted

Eddie spun on his heels. He jogged back over to you while you stood frozen in the rain. It was like a scene from a sappy romantic movie.

“You didn't answer the door” Eddie said coming to a stop in front of you

“I was sitting in my car” You said pointing to your car

“Look y/n I'm so sorry for everything” Eddie grabbed your hands “I love you, you drive me crazy in all the best ways, I want to be with you, I want to be yours and only yours forever, I spoke to Steve, Jonathan and Billy, I told them what you did and I told them I wouldn't force you to pick and they shouldn't either. It should be up to you. I don't know why you choose to go on so many dates, I don't know if you even liked any of us to begin with, I don't know if you love me as much as I love you, or if you want to be with me or if you've chosen someone else. All I do know is I couldn't let you go without tell you exactly how I feel”

You didn't know how to responded to Eddies speech. You didn't think there was any words good enough to say to something like that, so you did the one thing you knew would get across what you were feeling. You wrapped your arms around Eddie neck and pulled him into a kiss. Something Eddie accepted without delay. He wrapped his arms around your waist pulling you flush against him. Your lips moved perfectly together like two pieces of a puzzle. You were both completely soaked by this point but neither of your cared. Anyone walking past would think you were trying to completely every romantic cliché ever invented. You eventually pulled apart trying to fill your lungs with much needed air. Eddie smiled down at you still holding you in his arms. This all felt so right. You knew you found the one for you.

“Do you want to come inside and have a hot shower?” You asked

“That would be wonderful it's freezing out here” Eddie laughed as you ran to the front door of youe apartment.

[heart-of-the-morningstar]

I HAVE RETURNED FROM THE FNAF MOVIE AND I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS

✨ Non-spoiler section ✨

I had such a fun time with this movie! There were a ton of Easter eggs I caught and I’m sure there’s a few that I missed! My best advice for anyone wanting to see this movie is don’t take it super seriously, you’ll enjoy it more! The makers of this film weren’t lying when they said that they made this movie for the fans, I do feel like fans will enjoy this movie way more than a general audience and that’s perfectly fine! It’s campy at some parts and funnier than I thought it would be, but that’s what made it so fun! Now for the nitty-gritty…

❌ SPOILERS BELOW ❌

What I liked…

• First off, Matthew Patrick is a fucking LIAR! He does have a cameo in the movie, he says his iconic “That’s just a theory�� line which was great! He’s a waiter at a diner, which leads me to my next point

• The diner was named “Sparky’s”, which I feel like only OG fans will get the reference. But for those of you who don’t know, back when FNAF 1 came out, there was a rumor of a secret/rare animatronic in the game called Sparky the Dog. There was a fake image floating around showing him standing in the door to parts and service. This was later confirmed to be fake. BUT! In the movie they also have a dog-looking animatronic in the parts and service room which absolutely took me out lol

• Acting was great! Everyone was fun to watch, Josh Hutcherson was a great lead as Mike and Piper Rubio was so sweet as Abby but I gotta give my props to Matthew Lillard towards the end of the movie, he looked like he was having so much fun being this unhinged monster! Speaking of…

• There is a spring lock scene!! It is real!! And God was it cathartic to watch! Obviously being PG-13, they couldn’t do blood and guts galore, but I think they managed to pull it off pretty well! Afton’s scene was definitely my favorite in the film hands down! And yes, he gets his “I always come back” line which put 5 years back on my life if I’m being honest lmao

• There is blood in this movie! Not a gratuitous amount, but it was enough for what they were going for I think! The kills of the people breaking to Freddy’s were more entertaining to watch than I thought! Especially Freddy’s kill…that caught me completely off guard lmao

• There aren’t too many jumpscares but that was fine with me! They do this repeat jumpscare with a little figurine of Balloon Boy like 3 times and I thought it was funny every time! They do a really good job with tension in this movie!

• The animatronics!!!! LOVED THEM!!!! They were so detailed and well designed, they were so fun to watch!! The Jim Henson company did an absolutely stellar job with the designs, I want to hug them 🥺

• So the story…I thought it was fine! They do stray from canon by making Vanessa Afton’s daughter in the movie instead of Mike being his son. They do confirm Afton was the one who kidnapped and killed Mike’s brother Garrett. The story is kind of left open ended as if they could continue the story (which I hope they do), but I think it leaves a more or less satisfying ending!

• There’s a minor mid-credit scene with Cory Kenshin and a secret message at the very end of the credits. I couldn’t hear it well but it’s spelled-out letters exactly like the ones from the death minigames in FNAF 2

• Yes, The Living Tombstone’s FNAF song is in the end credits, I felt my soul leave my body 😭

Minor Negatives…

• The story is slow at the beginning, it takes a little bit for anything super interesting to take place

• There are some plot points that don’t get explained or resolved (which is par for the course for FNAF) but that leads me to believe that they want to make sequels which I am all here for

• The Aunt Jane character wasn’t super important, she was fine, but she was there just to serve as an antagonist to Mike for a whole 5 minutes of the movie, if that

• I wanted so much more Afton/Spring Bonnie time, it was too short for me but I am happy with what I got. Also, he didn’t wear any purple in the movie which I think is a crime 😂

• Kind of wish there was an R rated version of this movie even though FNAF isn’t known for being bloody and gory, but some parts felt a little tame

• Also please correct me if I’m wrong but, they didn’t use the Toreador March music at all?? If I missed it, please tell me but I was waiting to hear it and it never came from what I remember

Speculation…

• So the biggest plot issue for me was that they never explained Afton’s intentions for killing. I think fans of the games know why he’s killing, but the general audience won’t. I’m sure it has something to do with the saw blade machine that tries to stuff your head into Freddy’s head. But it wasn’t clear. Vanessa never gave us a straight answer either even though she was in on it from the beginning.

• Towards the beginning of the movie, Abby is shown to be talking to her “invisible friend”, this is before Mike is hired as Freddy’s security guard. Turns out that friend is the ghost kid who possess Golden Freddy/Fredbear (again, isn’t clear lol). I wanna know why that kid showed up before Mike and Abby even went to the location??

• I may be reading too much into this, but when Mike goes in to get a new job after being fired from his mall security guard job, he’s talking to “Steve” and Steve does something interesting. He’s berating him for his inability to hold down a job, the he looks at his name on the file and just goes “…Mike S…” and just, doesn’t finish saying his name. He looks at Mike really weird like he’s trying to find something, and then just completely changes the subject. IDK, I’ll probably have to watch it again, and I think it would be a stretch to go the “Mike Afton” route especially since they established Vanessa was his kid. But ya never know with FNAF 😂

• Also the secret message that was spelled out at the end of the credits. If any of y’all know what they spelled, please tell me because I could not figure it out! I would love to know what it said!

Conclusion…

I just had a blast with this movie! I wasn’t sure what to expect with this movie but I think Blumhouse and everyone who worked on this movie did an amazing job, you can tell they put so much heart and soul into this! I will patiently be awaiting the announcement of the next movie until then!

Rating - 8.5/10

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 41 – FRIENDSHIP

RHODEY & TONY

Emergency Contact by whumphoarder

Pairing: Rhodey & Tony Rating: G Words: 4,042 Tags: MIT Era, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Tony

Summary: It’s not that James disliked his roommate, it’s just that they didn’t exactly get off on the right foot. Or, in which fifteen-year-old college freshman Tony Stark needs a ride to the ER and James Rhodes is too responsible for his own good.

Reasons why I love it: This fic feels incredibly real to me – like, if Tony and Rhodey were real people, this is how their friendship would've started. I love that we get to see the beginnings of Rhodey's affection for Tony and that they have this sort of brotherly dynamic between them. It's amazing, and I hope you go and read it for yourself!

Deposit Security by Reioka

Pairing: Rhodey & Tony Rating: G Words: 3,366 Tags: Mentions of Abuse, MIT Era, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Tony's always been a little weirdo. Jim likes him anyway.

Reasons why I love it: Rhodey is so patient and kind with Tony, is really great to see. And I loved that glimpse into Rhodey's family life and how Rhodey's mom practically adopts Tony on the spot. It's super sweet, even though Tony's struggle breaks my heart. This fic is amazing, and you should definitely read it!

fly so free (smile down on all you see) by orphan_account

Pairing: Rhodey & Tony, Tony & Peter Rating: G Words: 2,041 Tags: Domestic Fluff, Italian Tony, Tony Acting as Peter's Parental Figure

Summary: Rhodes finds a file in FRIDAY’s databases titled “Tony, Face It: He’s Got You Wrapped Around His Little Finger”, created by someone called May Parker. Of course, he investigates.

Reasons why I love it: The last line of this fic always makes me grin like an idiot. I really love the way FRIDAY teases Rhodey here, their dialogue is super fun. And of course, I'm always a sucker for Irondad, so Tony and Peter being adorable together makes me beyond happy. You should give this one a read, it's wonderful!

Don't Overthink It by Potrix

Pairing: Rhodey & Tony, Bucky/Tony Rating: T Words: 1,883 Tags: Protective Rhodey, Misunderstandings, First Kiss

Summary: Now, Jim is about as straight as a person can be—tested a couple of times by drunkenly making out with his best friend, which Tony loves to bring up whenever it’s really inappropriate to do so—but he has no problem admitting that, objectively speaking, Barnes is an attractive guy. He’s got that whole gruff, frowny, bad boy thing a lot of people are into going on, but whenever he actually does smile, it’s devastating. One time, Jim had seen a girl on the street do a double-take and nearly walk into a magazine stand after Barnes had smiled at one of Tony’s dumb jokes. Or, alternatively; Rhodey means well, meddles, and actually sort-of-kind-of ends up helping in the end.

Reasons why I love it: Aaah, meddling Rhodey, my beloved! His concern for Tony's well-being is so sweet, and I love how he has Tony's back without ever intending to mention it to him. Also, the background Winteriron romance is adorable, they're such dorks in love. Please go and check this one out if you haven't, it's amazing!

Interlude by icarus_chained

Pairing: Rhodey & Tony, Natasha & Tony Rating: G Words: 1,830 Tags: Fluff, Team Dynamics, Rest

Summary: After 48 hours of drawn out global action on behalf of the Avengers and SHIELD, Tony and Rhodey come aboard the Helicarrier for debrief and downtime. People are tired and frazzled, and slighly more unguarded than usual.

Reasons why I love it: This is such a sweet look at the team behind closed doors. I especially loved the banter between Rhodey, Tony and Fury, and how this truly feels like a deleted post-battle scene. Plus, that little sincere Rhodey-Tony moment at the end there made me super happy. I love this one, and I bet you will too!

[seasidesandstarscapes]

Lazy Sunday

Summary: Don and Bobby are expecting a quiet morning but the crew has other ideas

Rating: G

Tags: Established Relationship, Slice of Life, Fluff, Humor, Embarrassment, Being Walked In On

Words: 853

A/N: can't get privacy anywhere on campus smh

-

AO3

or

Don wakes to a warm weight pinning him down.

It takes him a moment to remember where he is, what happened the night before and as he does, a small smile grows on his face.

Bobby is draped across him, head on his chest and arm at his waist. The only decency they have is the blanket covering them, but Don isn’t concerned about that. He runs his hands through Bobby’s hair, waits as Bobby slowly wakes. He makes a disgruntled noise, buries his face into Don’s shoulder before lifting his head at last.

“Damn sun,” Bobby scowls at the window and Don smiles at this. “At least it’s Sunday.”

Bobby kisses Don’s temple before snuggling back down, his mouth already running a mile a minute. “What do you want to do today? I was thinking about going to that diner by campus. Or we could go to the park. There’s the river too.”

In all honesty, Don doesn’t care as long as it’s with Bobby and goes to say as much. But before he can, the door to the room flies open.

“I’m sorry,” Shorty apologizes, eyes squeezed shut as he stumbles in. “I know I said you could have the room to yourselves but I forgot something.”

Don is frozen and Bobby doesn’t fair much better as they stare at Shorty fumbling his way to his desk.

“I’ll be out in just a second.”

“It’s fine,” Bobby starts when the door opens again.

“There you are, Shorty,” Chuck huffs. “Where the hell have you been?” Without even asking, Chuck enters the room and marches over to Shorty, still airing out his grievances.

Don all but whimpers and pulls a pillow over his head while Bobby tugs the blanket up to their chests. He and Bobby aren’t trying to hide their relationship but this isn’t how they wanted Chuck to find out.

“God damn it, really?” Chuck sighs and Don peeks his head out to see Chuck staring at him and Bobby with his hands on his hips.

“Got a problem?” Bobby bites as he sits up in the small bed.

“Yeah. Cause now I owe Joe a quarter!”

Bobby glances back at Don, confusion painted over both their faces. They had been careful, subtle, but now Don isn’t so sure.

“Chuck, what’s taking so long?”

Don dares to look and the remaining members of their team shove into the room, making a compact space even more claustrophobic. Trying to ignore the fact that he and Bobby are naked under the blanket, Don goes back to the sanctuary of the pillow suffocating him. Maybe this is all just a bad dream.

“Did you have to bring the whole goddamn welcoming committee with you?!” Bobby exclaims, but no one besides Don seems to hear him.

“Oh, hi, Bobby. Hi, Don,” Roger waves before turning back to the multiple arguments at hand.

Bobby curses to himself and Don can’t help the small laugh that leaves him. Of course this is the monkey wrench that life would throw at them. At least there is a hope of a silver lining and Don starts to relax.

“Uh, fellas,” Joe’s voice rises over the din, “maybe we should take this elsewhere.”

Don lifts the pillow just enough to see Joe give him and Bobby a polite smile and Don simply nods in return. It takes a few more attempts but at last, Joe manages to herd the team out of the room.

“Yeah, but what if it’s just one night?” Chuck is still arguing to save his money, but Don catches the exchange of quarters and how Joe seems to collect most of it.

“Have you seen the looks on their faces?” Jim retorts. “Love hath never been truer.”

With a final shove, Joe is the last one to leave the room and he turns back to Bobby and Don.

“Just don’t break each other’s hearts,” he winks.

Before Bobby or Don can say anything, Joe closes the door, scattered voices muffled in the hallway while the room itself is now too quiet. Don finally removes the pillow from his head to gaze at the ceiling and then at Bobby, trailing his fingers down Bobby’s spine.

“What the hell just happened?” Bobby stares at the closed door, eyebrows so tightly knit together Don thinks he’ll rip his face in half.

Don can only shrug, still in disbelief, still wondering if he’s just imagining all of this.

“Well, I guess that’s one worry off our list.” Bobby smiles down at Don before bringing him in for a soft kiss. “Now that we’re alone, we can take it nice and slow.”

Don’s stomach flips at this and he sighs as Bobby kisses along his jawline, climbs on top of him to bring them closer. Wrapping his arms around Bobby, Don melts into every touch, every breath that Bobby gives him. He’s floating away to a place where only Bobby can take him and a flame sparks to life inside his heart.

That is, until Shorty bursts into the room once again.

“I didn’t even grab what I came for!”

[eisforeidolon]

So on the subject of John supposedly being an alcoholic [X], let's talk about what evidence there actually is in the canon that references his drinking.

In the pilot, Sam makes two quick references to John drinking - "he's probably working overtime on a Miller shift" and he's hunting deer at a cabin with "Jim [Beam], Jack [Daniels], and Jose [Cuervo]". Except taking that as evidentiary is ignoring the very obvious and important context that he says those things in front of and directly to Jessica, respectively. It's a very neatly normal explanation to give her for why Dean might not want to talk in front of her (about embarrassing family problems) and why Sam would be worried enough to take off in the middle of the night. John's not a monster hunter, he's an alcoholic on a bender with guns! When Jessica isn't in the room, the conversation becomes all about hunting, with no mention of alcohol - even when Sam is bringing up John's previous disappearances and questionable parenting choices? It's no longer part of the conversation.

The next obvious reference is Nightmare, where the quote is, "We're lucky we had Dad. [...] Well, it coulda gone a whole other way after Mom. I little more tequila and a little less demon hunting and we woulda had Max's childhood. All things considered, we turned out ok. Thanks to him." I think we can take this one at face value since there's no outside audience, but what does it really say? Definitively that John was less of an abusive drunk than Max's father, though that doesn't say hardly anything at all considering what it would take to be worse. Presumably that Sam & Dean were aware of John drinking at least sometimes to some extent, though "a little more/a little less" is pretty euphemistic in this context. Anything beyond that is putting a lot of mileage onto a pretty vague statement.

Another comment that isn't for an outside audience you could take to be about drinking is in Dark Side of the Moon, where Sam is talking about his "first real Thanksgiving" and when Dean says they had Thanksgiving every year, Sam dismissively says "We had a bucket of extra-crispy and Dad passed out on the couch." Sam is pointedly making a comparison between a big family togetherness meal at a table and the Winchesters getting a takeout bucket of chicken in whatever dodgy motel room with no especial fanfare. While I think it's not an unreasonable assumption to make that John was passed out after drinking, it is an assumption - alcohol isn't mentioned. Sam could be referring to him taking a nap on his day off from hunting rather than bothering to do anything special - Sam would clearly be disappointed in the lack of Normal Family Traditions either way (if he was yearning enough to enjoy someone else's big family Thanksgiving as a particularly happy memory). Even if John was drunk, we're talking about behavior on a holiday specifically about family togetherness in a broken family. Bad judgement? Yes. Alcoholic? Trickier question.

The last one I can think of/track down is in The Girl Next Door. It does explicitly talk about John drinking. When flashback!Amy is concerned about her mom's possible reaction to a minor spill, "Yeah, well, she has a temper. Sometimes. It's... no big deal." Flashback!Sam replies with, "My dad does, too. You don't want to see him when he's drinking." While I think Sam is clearly smitten with her and wants to relate to her? He doesn't have the same kind of need to lie and prevaricate in this situation as he did with Jessica. So I think we can safely say Sam has seen John drinking and that he sometimes has a temper when he does. How often that happens, though, and how much drinking is involved? Well, again, those are not details we can get from the text without adding a fair bit of interpretation in one direction or the other.

Are there any big obvious ones I'm missing? Or even smaller ones? It's been a while since my last rewatch and I just don't know the final few seasons very well.

Look, I'm not nominating John Winchester for Father of The Year. He's a complex and conflicted character with some clear faults who makes mistakes (just like his sons). It's one thing to recognize that - or to just dislike him! It's another thing to treat headcanons based on a few vague implications as canonical fact.

[jule1122]

Malex Fic - Love will get you there

Made with a day to spare!  This is my March fic for @alexguerinappreciation.  I choose the spotlight of Alex’s canon relationships.  I consider this a Malex fic because that is where we end up, but this is both pre canon and post canon so I write about Alex’s family, his relationship with Maria and Forrest on the way to Malex’s happy ending. 

It’s a 5 +1  about 5 times Alex wanted to change his name before the one time he finally does it.  Warnings for canon child abuse.

If you hate Maria or Forrest, please don’t read this.  Also if you really like Jim Valenti, you may not like how I wrote him.

Love will get you there on AO3

Summary: Alex was never much of a Manes man or 5 times Alex thought about changing his name and 1 time he did 

Title is from an Inhaler song.

I am going to put the whole fic behind the cut because it opens with Jesse being abusive.  Nothing graphic but I wanted to give an extra warning.

1.

“What did I tell you?”  Jesse leans in close to Alex’s face.  He doesn’t yell, he doesn’t need to.

“Don’t leave toys on the floor,” Alex sniffs.  His dad tightens his hold on Alex’s shirt.  “Sir,” Alex adds quickly before his dad can hit him again.

“I won’t warn you again, Alex.  Next time there will be real consequences.”

Alex tries to wiggle out of Jesse’s hold.  His back is sore from where his father used his belt.  Just thinking what will happen if he forgets to clean up again makes him start crying again.  He tries to hold back his tears, hoping his father won’t notice and ends up hiccuping.

“Manes men don’t cry,”  Jesse shakes Alex roughly before pushing him away.  “You're confined to your room for the rest of the evening.  Maybe some time alone will help you remember how to behave.”

Alex runs to his room, he wants to slam the door but he knows if he does his father will follow him and punish him again.  Instead, he hides between his bed and the wall and cries silently.  Once he calms down, he takes his camping bag from his closet and begins filling it with clothes.

“What are you doing, dork,” Clay asks from the doorway.

Alex startles and wipes his eyes before turning to face his brother.  Clay is almost as mean as his father, and he’s afraid to let him see him cry.  “I’m leaving.  I’m going to live with Mom.”

“Mom doesn’t want you, dummy.  She doesn’t want any of us.”

“That’s not true,” Alex insists.  He doesn’t yell even though he wants to because he doesn’t want his dad to hear him.  “If I tell her Dad hurt me, she’ll come get me.”

“No, she won’t,” Clay tells him.  “She’s been gone almost a year, and she hasn’t called once.  She’s not going to help you.  Even if she wanted to, Dad would find you and bring you back.  Manes men stick together, remember.”

“I don’t want to be a Manes man,” Alex says miserably.  He hates being a Manes, he hates all the rules.  Manes men don’t cry or laugh too loud or sing.  Manes men don’t waste their time watching cartoons or playing with girls.  He hates all of it.

“Grandpa will hide me.  I’ll change my name so people will know I belong with Grandpa, and  Dad won’t find me because I won’t be a Manes,”  Alex nods, confident he’s solved the problem.  

“You’re so stupid.  You’ll embarrass Grandpa just like you embarrass Dad.  He’d bring you back himself just to get rid of you.” Clay shakes his head.  “You’re a Manes, Alex, whether you like it or not.   You need to start acting like one before you bring all of us down.”

Alex turns away from Clay and ignores him until he leaves.  He takes everything out of his bag and puts it back, not bothering to wipe the tears from his face since there was no one to see him.  Clay’s right.  No one wants him so he’s stuck being a Manes.

2.

Alex kicks his feet against the edge of the exam room table until his father glares at him, and he goes back to sitting perfectly still.  He can hear the doctor explaining his restrictions and medication dosages to Jesse as the nurse adjusts his sling.  Alex lets the words wash over him, his dad will probably make him take the sling off as soon as they get in the car, and he won’t be giving Alex any pain meds.

It wasn’t like this was the first time Jesse had separated Alex’s shoulder so he’s used to the pain.  In the past, they’d always put it back in at home, but this time Jesse couldn’t get it to pop back into place.  He kept trying until Alex was throwing up from the pain, and then he finally drove Alex to the emergency room.

“Now Mr. Manes, I need you to step out of the room for a few minutes.”

“Sergeant Manes,” Jesse corrects the doctor.  “And if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to take my son home now.  He’s fine, there’s no reason to keep fussing.”

“Sergeant Manes,” the doctor begins again.  Alex almost smiles because he could hear the eye roll in the doctor’s voice.  “It’s procedure, which I’m sure you understand.  If you’ll just follow me, I can get you started on the discharge paperwork, and you’ll be on your way shortly.”  

Jesse stops in front of Alex on his way out.  “I’ll be right outside, Alex.”

Alex knows he’s pretending to be concerned, making sure the doctor thinks he cares.  He tightens his hand on Alex’s good shoulder enough to hurt.  It’s a warning to remind Alex that Jesse expects Alex to behave as if he’s in the room. Alex nods to let him know he understands.

“Alex,” the nurse directs his attention back to her once Jesse is gone.  “There is someone we’d like you to talk to.  Remember this is a safe space.  It’s ok to tell the truth.”

Sheriff Valenti comes in through a door opposite of where Jesse had left.  He follows the nurse into the corner, away from Alex, but the room is small, and Alex can still hear everything they say.

“He came in with a separated shoulder,”  the nurse begins.

“Alex is from an active family. Four boys, lots of roughhousing,” Jim interrupts.

“His x-ray showed scar tissue in the joint.  This isn’t the first time this has happened, and we also saw evidence of older untreated injuries.  I’m sure you understand why we’re concerned, Sheriff.” 

“I’ll talk to him.  Alone please.”

“Of course,” the nurse replies before leaving.

Jim walks to the foot of Alex’s bed.  “How are you feeling?

“Fine, sir.”  Alex isn’t lying.  They gave him a shot before they reset his shoulder, and he feels good.  Tired but not in pain.

“You want to tell me what happened, son?”

Alex used to pretend Jim Valenti was his father.  When Jesse really started hurting him, he imagined the Sheriff rescuing him and taking Alex home and promising Alex that he wouldn’t let Jesse hurt him anymore.  Then he’d admit that he was Alex’s real father, that he’d kept it a secret, but he would tell the truth to protect Alex.  He would let Alex live at his house, and Alex and Kyle would be brothers for real.

He would close his eyes and imagine Jesse showing up to take him back, and Jim stopping him.  He would stand in the doorway with his hand on Alex’s shoulder and tell Jesse, “Alex is a Valenti now.  You can’t hurt him anymore.  Don’t ever come back here again or I’ll have to arrest you.”

It’s a stupid dream, Alex knows that, but maybe it’s because Jim called him son that he decides to tell the truth.  “It was my dad,” he says.  “He was mad at me and this was my punishment.”

The Sheriff looks sad for a minute, and Alex thinks this is it - Jim will take him home, and he’ll finally be safe.  Maybe his dad will even go to jail, and he’ll be too afraid to even talk to Alex again.

Then he takes a step back and when he looks at Alex, he’s serious - not like Kyle’s dad, but like when Alex has seen him working.

“Alex, are you sure that’s what happened?  That is a serious accusation, and if you tell me that is what happened, I’ll have to let your father know what you said,” he says it kindly, but Alex knows it’s as much of a threat as Jesse’s shoulder squeeze had been.   “It’s easy to get confused when you are in pain,” the Sheriff continues.   “Maybe you are mixing up the pain you felt when your dad tried to help you with when you were injured.”

“You’re right,” Alex says flatly, the last of his dreams of rescue vanishing.  “I was fooling around with my brothers on the training course, and that’s how I hurt my shoulder.  My dad tried to fix it, and that hurt too.  I must have been confused.”

“That’s what I thought,” Jim sounds proud, and it makes Alex want to cry.  “Thanks for clearing that up.  You’ll be able to go home soon.”

Jim starts to leave, but he turns back to hug Alex carefully.  “You’re strong, Alex,” he whispers. “And nothing lasts forever.  Remember that.”

He does leave then, and Alex gets up to follow him, to ask him why he acts like he cares, but won’t help him, but he hears his father’s voice outside the door.

“What are you doing here, Jim?” Jesse asks.

“The hospital called in a suspicious injury.  You’re lucky I got the call and not one of my deputies.”

“How I discipline my son is no one’s business.  I don’t care what some bleeding heart doctor thinks.”

“I know that, Jesse,” Jim tries to calm him.  “But I can’t always be around to cover for you.”

“I’m not going to coddle him like you do your son.  Alex is a Manes.  He needs to toughen up.  Until he figures that out, he can take whatever punishment he deserves.”

“Just keep him out of the hospital and there won’t be a problem.”

Alex hears Jim walk away, and he’s back on the table, expression blank by the time his father opens the door.

3.

Alex doesn’t see Maria the day after Haley Moore’s party.  His penalty for taking part in Battle of the Bands is a day at his father’s mercy.  Alex cleans out the garage and runs through his father’s training course three times just to prove music doesn’t make him weak.  By the time the sun sets he is sore and exhausted and wants to die, but he’s been uncharacteristically cooperative all day so Jesse doesn’t object when Alex says he wants to shower and go to bed.

Back in his room, he picks up his phone and wonders if he should call Maria.  He knows what happens during ‘seven minutes in heaven’ doesn’t count once you leave the closet, and Maria hadn’t acted any different the rest of the night, but Alex can’t help but think about it.

It felt nice - kissing Maria, letting his hand brush across her chest.  He thinks he could do it again, and Alex never really imagined kissing a girl before.  Maybe if he could kiss Maria, be her boyfriend, his dad would back off.  Jesse doesn’t really like Maria, says she’s from bad stock - a father no one remembers and a mother who acts stranger every year.  But she’s a girl, and if Alex could love her, he wouldn’t be gay, wouldn’t be a sissy disgrace like Jesse says he is.

Alex thinks about it the rest of the night.  He tries to imagine his future with Maria. Maybe they would stay in Roswell together, and they’d still have their band and they could play at the Wild Pony once they were old enough.  Alex never thought much about having a family, but he thinks Maria would be a good mother - the kind who smiled and laughed and made kids feel loved.  He loves Maria, Alex knows that, so if he could learn to be in love with her, he could be happy, and it would be safe.

He’s still thinking about when he meets Maria at the Crashdown the next night to work on a science project.  Maria smiles at him like she always does, but she doesn’t try to hold his hand or anything.  They get their actual work done quickly, but Alex told his dad they had a lot to do so they have plenty of time to just hang out.

“Kate Long stopped by before you got here,” Maria tells him.

“I’m sorry,” Alex wrinkles his nose.  Kate is a bitch and she always gives Maria a hard time.

“Me too.  But she dropped her notebook, and I could see where she was writing ‘Kate Bernhardt’ over and over again.”

“Gross,” Alex and Maria both pretend to gag.

“No offense, Alex, but if we get married, I am not changing my name to Manes,” Maria says casually, almost like a joke.

Alex wrinkles his nose, “I’d rather be a DeLuca.”

“Alex Deluca,” Maria hums around the name as if considering it. “Mom would like that.”

“Yeah?”  Mimi is the closest person to a mother Alex has had in years.  He likes the idea of being her family officially.  “I’ll help you, you know, take care of her.”  Alex doesn’t mean only in this fantasy world where they get married, and he can tell by the way Maria’s expression softens that she understands.

“I know you will.”  She reaches across the table and squeezes his hand.  It’s not romantic but it still feels good.

Flint’s waiting for him when he gets home.  “Didn’t know girls were allowed in your kind of  closet, Alex.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  He tries to shoulder past Flint, but Flint boxes him into the corner of the room.

“Heard you spent seven minutes of heaven with Maria DeLuca.  Didn’t know you had it in you.  She put out?” Flint asks with a leer.

Alex pushes him, hard.  “Don’t talk about Maria like that.”

“Chill out,” Flint rolls his eyes and follows Alex into the bedroom.  “I just never thought I’d get to talk about girls with my sissy little brother.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Alex glares at Flint.

“Then you can shut up and listen and maybe you’ll get it right next time.”  Flint lays back in the bed, crossing his arms under his head.  “First time I did seven minutes in heaven it was with Missy Osborne.  Everyone knows she’s easy so I figured I hit the jackpot.  She let me touch her boobs, under her bra.  And God, I almost shot my load right there.  Walked around hard the rest of the night.”

Flint keeps talking but Alex tunes him out.  It hadn’t felt like that with Maria.  Kissing her felt good and safe, he would do it again, but it wasn’t like that.  Alex wonders if maybe there is something wrong with him after all.

(He feels like that with Michael.  Just brushing their hands together makes Alex’s skin tingle where they touched..  When Michael kisses him for the first time, Alex feels like his whole body is on fire.  That feeling never goes away.)

4.

Alex is walking to the store after his shift at the museum when he sees Maria scrubbing graffiti from the brick outside the Crashdown.

“Need some help?” he asks, taking a sponge from the bucket. 

“Thanks,” Maria looks up and gives him a watery smile.  “Mr. Ortecho says to leave it.  There’ll  just be more tomorrow.  But I can’t.  It’s only been a few weeks, and they just won’t stop.”

Alex nods.  He’s barely seen Maria, seen anyone since the funeral.  But he’s heard about the harassment Mr. Ortecho has been dealing with and it makes him sick.  “Sorry I haven’t been around to help.  My dad’s been on me extra hard.”

“I think all our parents are,” Maria says sadly.  “Mom only lets me come here for a few hours and wants me at home the rest of the time.”

It’s not the same at all with Jesse, but Alex just nods.

“I can’t believe I forgot,” Maria suddenly exclaims.  “I never asked you about museum guy.”

“Museum guy?”

“You sent me this text, ‘On my break I had the best kiss of my life’ and then nothing.  Come on Alex, you can’t leave me hanging.”

If it weren’t for her bloodshot eyes, she’d look like the Maria he’d always known.  He wonders if Maia’s been happy about anything since Rosa died, and he can’t bring himself to tell her that moment led to a different tragedy.  So he tries to remember how he felt when he sent that text, how he felt before his father destroyed it all.

Alex closes his eyes and it is easier than he expected to remember everything about that moment in the museum.  How he’d been afraid Michael was there to tell him off or beat him up, but then Michael kissed him and everything changed.  He knew, finally, who he was, knew there was someone who wanted him as he was.  It was the best moment of his life.

When Alex opens his eyes, Maria gasps as the smile on his face. “It was the most amazing kiss,” he begins.

“How amazing?”  Maria teases.

“So amazing I would stay in Roswell forever if he would just keep kissing me.”

Maria laughs, and it’s a happy sound even if they both know he’s lying.  Alex can’t stay in Roswell - the town will kill him if his father doesn’t do it first.  But it’s nice to imagine a world where Michael is enough to change all that.

“Who is it?” Maria asks.

“I can’t,” Alex’s smile dims.  He already failed Michael by not keeping him a secret, he won’t do it again.  “He’s not out.  I can’t tell you.”

Maria nods.  “But he’s good to you, right?”

“He’s perfect,” and Alex means it.  When it’s just him and Michael, he’s happier than he ever imagined he could be.  He already feels Michael slipping away when they’re apart, and he can’t blame him.  Michael was hurt because of him, because Alex wasn’t careful, because he couldn’t protect him.  

But Alex is clinging to the future he wants for them despite his father’s threats and pressure to enlist.  Michael has a scholarship.  If he gets out of Roswell, Alex can follow him.  He’s been doing research for years, he knows how to hide.  They can change their names so his father can’t find them.  Not the same name, not now, but someday Alex thinks, when he knows they are safe, they can share a name, share a life for real.  One his father can’t take away.

Alex doesn’t tell Maria all that.  Right now they both need to pretend everything is like it was a few weeks ago.  Alex is falling in love, and Rosa’s alive and nothing hurts.

Alex thinks about kissing Michael in the bed of his truck, the sun on their face, Michael’s hair soft in his hands.  He thinks about how carefully Michael always presses his lips against Alex’s until Alex opens his mouth and then it’s like Michael can’t get enough.  He thinks about how Michael’s skin feels under his hands, how he loves to feel the beat of Michael’s heart in his chest.  He thinks about how tightly Michael holds him in sleep like he’s trying to hold Alex in place.  And he thinks about how desperately he wants to stay in Michael’s arms forever.

“He’s perfect,” Alex tells Maria again.  “He makes me happy.”

“He’d better or he’ll have to answer to me,” Maria makes a fist, and they both laugh.  “I’m so happy for you.  You deserve this.”

Alex nods and turns back to the graffiti before Maria can see the way his smile falters.

5.

Alex leans back against the headboard and watches as Forrest starts to get dressed.  He’s enjoying the way Forrest’s briefs stretch across his ass as he stands up to look for his shirt when Forrest sits back on the bed, phone in hand.

“I envy you, getting out of Roswell for a while,” he tells Alex as he reads his message.

Alex is leaving the next morning to track down the remains of Project Shepherd, but told Forrest he was on a long term recruiting assignment.  Forrest had come over with take out and a strip of condoms to ‘see Alex off.’

“Maybe if I’m in one place long enough, you can come visit,” Alex offers.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Forrest turns to Alex with a smile before going back to typing furiously on his phone.  “I am definitely ready for a change of scenery.”  Forrest tosses the phone on the bed before pulling on his pants.

“Everything ok?” Alex asks, surprised by the bitterness lacing Forrest’s voice.  He’s never really seen him irritated before.

“Sorry, it’s just my uncle scolding me for offending one of his cronies.  He likes to remind me that everything I do reflects on the Long name,” Forrest rolls his eyes.

“What happened?”

“Some guy came up to me at the diner and wanted to know why I hadn’t been at the last few meetings of the Roswell Regiment.  He told me my family had a long standing tradition of standing between Roswell and undesirable elements, and it was time for my generation to step up.”

“Ouch,” Alex commiserated. He knew more than most about the weight of unwanted family legacies.

“I told him I was too busy sucking cock to play cowboys and Indians with the people on the wrong side of history.

Alex laughs because he can hear Forrest saying that.  “Well if they had a meeting in the last hour,” Alex pretends to look at a watch he’s not wearing, “I can vouch for your story.”

“I’m sure he’d appreciate the first hand account.”  Forrest sighs and runs his hand through his hair.  “You’d think between my hair and the general aurora of gay, they would understand that white supremacy and racism aren’t really my thing.  But they think all Longs are the same.”

“Being a Long sounds as bad as being a Manes,” Alex tells him.

“Does that mean you won’t take my name when we get married?”  Forrest asks, all smiles again.

“Absolutely not,” Alex says without even needing to think about it.

Forrest clutches his hands over his heart and gasps dramatically, pretending to be hurt.

It’s cute; Forrest is cute so Alex leans forward and kisses him.  He ignores the twist of wrongness in his stomach at the thought of marrying someone other than Michael.  He knows he and Michael are over for good, but he isn’t ready to start thinking about anyone else with the same seriousness.  

When Forrest kisses him back, Alex moves so he is straddling Forrest’s lap.  “Besides,” he whispers against his lips, “I’m not the marrying type.”

“Oh?” Forrest asks, sliding his hands under Alex’s ass and pulling him closer.  “What type are you?”

Alex bites back his instinctive response of ‘not the type who gets a happy ending.’  Things with Forrest are fun and easy, and Alex wants to keep them that way.  He pushes Forrest onto his back  and tells him, “I guess you’ll just have to find out,” before kissing him again and making sure talking is the last thing on either of their minds.

+1

Michael isn’t the first person he tells or even the second.  Alex doesn’t think anything of it because to him it’s obvious, and it never occurs to him that Michael just won’t know.

He tells Greg when Greg calls to confirm he can’t make the wedding.

“I’m so sorry, Alex.  I have an oral exam and an observation that can’t be rescheduled,” Greg says with obvious regret.

“It’s ok,” Alex reassures him.  He’d love to have Greg there - he’s the only real family Alex has.  But they didn’t really give him any notice.  “If we were planning ahead we would pick a date that works for everyone, but.” Alex trails off, not sure how to articulate the urgency he and Michael feel. Why waiting just isn’t an option.

“I get it, Alex, I really do.  After everything you and Michael have been through, you want to grab your happiness as soon as you can.  I am just so happy for you, for both of you.  And I’ll be back in a few months so you can show me all the pictures, videos, everything.”

“I think Isobel has an Oscar worthy production planned,” Alex laughs.

“I can’t wait,” Greg replies warmly.

“There’s one more thing,” Alex begins hesitantly.  “I’m taking Michael’s name.”

Greg doesn’t respond and the silence stretches out.  Alex hopes Greg doesn’t object.  It won’t change anything, Alex has made his decision.  But he’d like to have Greg’s support.

“Greg?” Alex prompts.

“Alex,” Greg says, voice thick before he clears his throat.  “I’m so proud of you.  I know how hard it’s been for you to let go of all the bullshit Dad shoved down your throat, to forget about the Manes legacy.  I’ve been afraid for a long time that you would never be able to put it behind you.  And now you're marrying the love of your life and starting a whole new life.  I don’t even know what to say.”

“You’re not upset?”  Alex can’t stop himself from asking.

“You’re my brother, Alex. I love you, and I want you to be happy.  That’s it.”

“Thanks,” Alex says, his own throat tight.  He wants to tell Greg he loves him too, but those aren’t words that were ever said in his house.  It’s been hard enough learning to say them to Michael, to stop feeling like it was safer to hold them inside.  But there’s something else he can say that Greg will understand.  “I want that for you too - happiness.  I’m free now, Greg, and I want you to be too.”

Alex stops by Eduardo’s office the next day.  

“What are you doing here,” Eduardo asks when he spots Alex in the doorway.  “Don’t you have a wedding in less than twenty four hours?”

“Kyle wanted a final checkup,” Alex shrugs.

“And?” Eduardo asks, eyes narrowing in concern.

“Clean bill of health,” Alex reassures him.  “And speaking of the wedding, I was hoping I could ask you for a favor.”

“Of course.”

“You know Michael and I have a honeymoon planned,” he begins.

“Yes, a month, I believe,” Eduardo fills in.  “That can be extended if you want more time.”

“I’m learning I’ll always want more time with Michael,” Alex laughs.  “But I think a month away is a good start.  Once we’re married, I want to change my name to Guerin.  I know the process can take time, and I don’t want to wait until we get back from our honeymoon to get started.  I was wondering if there is anything Deep Sky can do to speed things up?”

Eduardo leans back in his chair and smiles.  “Just leave everything to me.”

Alex feels Michael stumble just a bit when he tells him he’ll be signing his checks ‘Alex Guerin” from now on.  He accepts Alex’s explanation without any further questions, and then there’s so much going on - well wishes and goodbyes, Max leaving, finally putting Roswell behind them even if it’s only for a month - that they don’t talk about it again.

Three days into their honeymoon, when they return to their hotel after dinner, the concierge hands them an envelope he says was delivered for them earlier.

The outside just has their room number, no indication of who it’s from.  It’s the right size for weight for pictures.  Alex turns it over in his hands before holding it out to Michael.

“Maybe Isobel dropped off wedding pictures,” Michael speculates, coming to the same conclusion, when holding it up to the light doesn’t yield anymore information.

“I doubt Isobel drove six hours to drop off wedding pictures.”

“Only one way to find out,” Michael shrugs and hands the envelope back to Alex.

Alex sits at the small table in what passes for a dining area in their suite and waits for Michael to join him before he opens it.  He pulls out the contents and lets out a small gasp.  Alex holds his driver’s license, now labeled ‘Alex Guerin” in his hands, lets his updated passport and credit cards fall to the table.

Michael leans closer to see what he’s holding.  “That was fast,” he comments, picking up and skimming the note Eduardo left. He congratulates them again and lets Alex know the rest of his updated documents - employee ID, bank accounts, social security card - are locked in the safe in his office.

Alex’s hands shake as he stares at the ID.  He doesn’t realize he’s crying until Michael wipes a tear from his cheek.

“Hey, we can change it back,” he tells Alex, looking at him with concern.  “It’s ok if you changed your mind.”  Michael leaves his chair and turns Alex away from the table so he can crouch in front of him.

“No,” Alex pulls Michael up and kisses him.  “No,” he repeats,finally dropping the license so he can cradle Michael’s face in his hands and kiss him again. He hopes Michael can feel his happiness, his joy because he finds himself fumbling for words to explain what it means to see his name in writing.

“I want to rent a car,” he says when Michael pulls back and goes back to his own chair, holding Alex’s hands in his.

“What?” Michael asks, concern returning to his face.  “I know the truck’s old, but she’ll get us where we need to go.”

“No, I mean,” Alex shakes his head, frustrated with himself for communicating so poorly.  “Sorry, it was just the first thing I thought of that would require an ID.  I want to show off my new name.”

“Proud of it, huh?” Michael laughs, but Alex can hear the underlying hesitation.

“Michael, you have no idea.  I want to tell everyone.  I wish I was young enough to get carded.”

“I’m glad,” Michael says quietly, squeezing Alex’s hands.  “I’m glad it feels good to let that part of your past go.”

“It is, but it’s not just about the past.  When I saw this - saw ‘Alex Guerin’ in writing - I realized it’s less about letting something go than it is about moving forward.  Being a Manes meant something, and no matter how hard I tried, I could never escape it completely,” Alex takes a breath, relieved to feel that burden gone.  “But I’m not Alex Manes anymore.  I’m Alex Guerin, and I get to decide what that means.  That’s what I care about, who I am now, learning how to be your husband, building our life together.”  He pulled Michael’s left hand to his mouth and kissed his wedding ring.

Michael picks up Alex’s discarded license and studies.  He strokes his thumb over the picture before setting it down.  “I never cared about my name.  It wasn’t mine, it was just something they gave me because they had to.  I can’t tell you what it means or if there are Guerin family traditions, and even if there are, it wouldn’t matter because they aren’t mine.  Funny isn’t it, your name came with the worst family baggage imaginable and mine came with nothing, and we both suffered for it.”

“Michael,” Alex says helplessly, seeing the tears in Michael’s eyes. He reaches for him - to offer comfort, to fix what can’t be fixed - he doesn’t know.  “Your name means something, it had a history that you gave it - omelet breakfasts and secret lairs and music and undying devotion.”

“I’m not upset, Alex,” Michael leans back and tangles their feet together.  “I’m just so,” his eyes drift back to the table, covered in documents bearing the name ‘Alex Guerin.’  He turns back to Alex, and while the tears are still there, his smile outshines them.  “Thank you for wanting to share my name, for making it ours, for wanting to start traditions with me that we can share with our family one day - however that looks.”

Alex shakes his head, too overwhelmed to speak.

“And I promise we can rent cars and join every gym and grocery store and casino membership plan we can find just so we can show off our name.  But first I want to take my husband to bed and make love to him.”

Michael stands up and holds out his hand to Alex.  He lets Michael pull him up, then walks toward the bed unbuttoning his shirt as he goes.  “I love you, Michael Guerin,” he says as Michael pushes him onto bed and begins to undo his pants.

Michael’s answering smile is both wicked and sweet.  “I love you, too, Alex Guerin.”

[nicksdrpepper]

Christmas kiss ~ Matt sturniolo

Matts POV

11:00 pm

Christmas Eve

I'm surprising my girlfriend for the holidays with me, Justin, nick, Chris, Trevor, Mary Lou and Jim, she loves my whole family so much, her mom dad and brother helped me with this, her mom has been telling me she's had really bad anxiety and she misses us,

I'm 20 minutes away from her and I get a face time call, I answer "hi matt!" she says propping her phone up "hi Melanie! what are you doing?" I say nervous because we are getting close "just waiting for the oven to pre heat" she says smiling

15 minutes later

"Ok y/n bye!" I say and I kiss the Camra and she does the same and ends the call, we pull up at her house and text her mom that we are here.

I see the garage open we all get out and say are hellos to her family, the smell of baking fills my nose, "hey Linda are you baking" Chris asks eager to eat the cookies that he smells "no Melanie is, and Shes making extra because of the holidays!" Linda says with excitement

"Ok you guys stay here, I'm going to see my girlfriend then you can see her" I say wanting to see my girl, I haven't seen her in 3 months "okay sweety you do that" Mary Lou laughs and I walk in the house and slowly walk into the kitchen

she's walking around the kitchen making oatmeal raisin cookies, her dads favorite, I lean on the wall with my arms crossed admiring the way she walks with ease around the kitchen how she is barley tall enough to get the stuff she needs

"Jentzen I'm not letting you have some early, okay go back to your room I'm not done" she says her eyes never leaving the mixer in front of her I slowly walk behind her "how about an exception for me?" I ask putting my arms around her waist and my head in the crook of her neck kissing her cheek

"MATT! what are you doing here!" she exclaims turning around hugging me tight "why do you think, I came for you" I say she pulls away and kisses me "oh my god I love you" she says kissing me all over

"Well, I have another Suprise for you" I say turning the mixer of for her, putting my hands over her eyes and guiding her to the garage, I pull my hands of her eyes "Suprise!" everyone yells she stands in disbelief

tears start to roll down her face and she sits on the ground, and I follow "hey what's wrong why are you crying" I ask her worried "I'm not crying because I'm sad these are happy relief tears" she smiles, and nick and Chris come over and hug her

"We missed your Melanie" Mary Lou says engulfing her in a hug "yeah we missed you" Jim and Justin say doing the same "I have one more Suprise" I say, and she sighs "no matt I don't need anything else" she looks at me "well it's too late" I laugh and put my hands on her eyes

I pull open the minivan door "keep your eyes closed" I say taking my hands off her eyes "put your hands out, its heavy but the way" she puts her hands out and I set Trevor in her arms "open" she opens her eyes, and they go from Trevor to me like 50 times

"TREVOR!"She says squeezing him tight I laugh and smile I love her so much and nothing can change that, the way her hair frames her face, how she giggles at anything I say, how she loves my family, just every this about her is perfect

"Thank you, matt, I really needed this" she says putting her free hand on my shoulder for support and goes up on her tippy toes and kisses my cheek "your welcome baby" I say, and her cheeks burn bright red "three years and I still make you blush" I laugh

she pulls the hair from behind her ear to in front of her face which is something she did when she was embarrassed or nervous, I grab Trevor and set him in the car and check the time it's almost twelve and turn to see Melanie kicking her feet not knowing what to do with herself

I grab her chin with my thumb and index finger, and I push her hair behind her ear its dark, but I can still see her face is red, it starts to snow, and I see her face light up my phone vibrates with a reminder that I set for this exact moment which means its Christmas

I plant a small passionate kiss on her lips "merry charismas babe" I say pulling her into and hug "merry Christmas baby I love you" she mumbles into my hoodie "love you more" I smile

this was the perfect way to start Christmas