#everybody loves keith

[heynhay]

i love everybody because i love you

[autisticlancemcclain]

Keith thinks he might actually sink into his bed, that’s how goddamn tired he is.

It’s just been — such a long day. Painfully long. Keith thought dragging his brother out of Black’s astral plane would make things less stressful, but nooooo. Of course not. That would be too easy. Of course Shiro decides he doesn’t want the Black Paladin title back, and that, actually, he’d like to retire. Of course Keith can in no way find it within himself to force his brother, who only ever wanted to explore, back into the crushing expectations of the leader of the universe’s strongest weapon.

So. It’s just — a lot.

There weren’t even any missions today. Honestly, Keith prefers mission days — they’re a one-and-done kind of deal. You fly into battle, you think you’re gonna die, you panic about your friends dying, usually no one dies, you either complete the mission or you don’t, you go home. Of course there’s the soul crushing terror and overuse of energy that comes at the price of actual genuine years off his life, but that’s so clearly a Future Keith problem. Once Keith parks Black into the hangar he can Stop Thinking About it, except of course for the horrifying and endless nightmares.

But all this planning shit is horrendous.

First of all, Keith is an action guy. An investigation guy too, sometimes, if there is conspiracy involved (and/or some fuckass has challenged him in any way no matter how minuscule), but what he is not is a tactician guy. A planning guy. That kind of shit is for people who have crippling anxiety and are plagued with constant thoughts about how everything can and will go wrong. That’s why it’s a job for Lance. And Allura. And Hunk. And Shiro.

But not Keith. Keith prefers to walk blindly into dangerous situations and deal with whatever is thrown at him after. Black Paladin Keith, however, motherfucker that he is, has to sit down in meetings for a thousand hours and listen to people argue and try not to wish death and curses upon a myriad of irritating Coalition leaders and allies.

Keith needs a goddamn nap.

Not even bothering to take off his boots, and ignoring the Lance-shaped voice in his head squawking about how disgusting that is, Keith stuffs his face into his pillow, reaching blindly for a blanket and yanking it up to his ears. He is going to Sleep, goddamnit. He is going to keep his comm where it is, stuffed under his mattress, and pass the hell out, to be woken only by some terrible and glorious act of God herself. The universe and all its associates can take an hour to kindly piss the hell off and leave Keith alone.

A knock sounds on his door.

Keith screams. Loudly.

“Keith?” calls a voice, muffled through the doorway, and of course it is the one person in the entire world who Keith has never and will never be able to say no to.

“Hnnnnnngh,” Keith responds. He actually tears up, a little.

The door slides open. Hunk pokes his head in, smile sweet and guilty and hopeful.

“I’m going to swallow engine oil,” Keith anguishes.

“Maybe don’t,” Hunk suggests lightly.

Keith groans again, shoving his head back into the pillow. Hunk patiently waits for Keith to get his shit together enough to lift his head again. Probably because he knows he’s more effective if he can manipulate Keith via facial expressions. Ugh. Keith should ask if he can return his friends. Get store credit, maybe. It’s not worth it.

Hunk smiles sunnily when Keith manages to pull away from his pillow, proving his point. Keith scowls extra hard at him.

“I am busy, Hunk.”

“I need parts,” he pleads, hands pressed together and under his chin. “Pretty pretty please.”

“You have a lion that you can pilot yourself!”

“I need the parts for the lion. Duh.”

Keith groans again. He should say no. He probably can say no. If it was urgent, Coran would be flying the castle for the parts. Hunk is coming to Keith because he knows damn well that Keith is a sucker with a saviour complex. Keith is not going to give in this time.

…Except he is so. Because he is a sucker with a fucking saviour complex.

Fuck.

“You’re bumped down to third favourite,” Keith grouches, rolling off the bed and allowing himself three seconds to sprawl on the floor.

“Yeah, right,” Hunk snorts.

Keith growls. Hunk, wisely, chooses against anymore teasing or commentary, deciding instead to quickly back away and head back down to his workshop.

“Okay thanks Keith bye! Love you bunches!”

Keith rolls his eyes, fighting off the smile that traitorously wants to fight it’s way across his lips, and reaches for his comm to get the details of Hunk’s errand.

“I am going to fucking bite him,” he says, carefully controlled, as he reads the message.

MISSION SHOULD YOU ACCEPT: get parts for hunk because you love him so

OBJECTIVE: obtain 174g of Noxalian black ore (pure as possible)

PEOPLE NECESSARY: two so you should take lance probably ;)

LOCATION: Noxalia-1242

DANGER LEVEL: like -2 but you’re so whipped for lance that it probably brings it up to like a 12 lol. loser

He’s red in the ears and it’s goddamn annoying, is what it is, because these are official mission documents, Hunk, which means they are technically public Coalition information once the mission has been completed. Public.

Hunk is the worst out of all of them for that. He actually had the highest record of diplomatic incidents caused, because he is actually physically incapable of keeping his comments to himself and this can, as one might anticipate, offend a large number of people.

But since he is a good fucking friend (the best, maybe) especially because his friends are class four menaces who do not deserve it in the slightest, Keith drags himself away from his bedroom and towards the materials room, where he knows Lance is.

He makes his frustration known.

Despite the fact that he was stomping like a petulant child and Lance has ears akin to the sonar receptors of a Navy submarine, Lance doesn’t react when he comes into the room, hunched as he is over a project of his.

Keith stops short. He grins wickedly, mood suddenly shifted.

Oh ho.

Oh ho ho.

Quieter, now, although he knows it doesn’t matter, Keith creeps towards the Red Paladin. He makes sure his footfalls are soundless and soft, just like he was taught by the Blades, and his body is directly behind Lance, in the blind spot of his peripheral vision. He focuses on the chair Lance is sitting on rather than his actual person so as to not envoy the feeling of being stared at. And quietly, quietly, he sneaks up behind him.

“RAH!” he shouts, seizing Lance’s shoulders and shaking them. Lance shrieks at the top of his lungs, jumping twelve cubic meters into the air, flailing wildly and sending his sketchbook flying at Keith’s face. Lance’s aim, as it always is, rings true, and the spine of the heavy book nails Keith directly on the bridge of his nose.

“Ow!” Keith yells, pain made worse by the heaving gasps of his laughter.

“¡Chingada madre de cráneo grueso!” Lance screams, hand pressed to his chest, and then, for Keith’s benefit, continues: “You mother fucker! You backwards, tumbleweed-guzzling, sand-eating, cow-fucking son of a minotaur! I’ll fucking get you! I’ll fucking — crush you to death! Come closer, Kogane, I swear to God I’ll wreck your shit —”

Breathless, weak, and wheezing, there’s nothing Keith can do to avoid Lance’s menacing advancing. He can’t even summon the strength to lift his arms to defend himself from Lance’s smacking. He just sits there, taking it, laughing harder every time he remembers just how fucking high Lance had jumped.

“You fucking — stop fucking laughing! Asshole!”

Lance’s expression is only growing more murderous. His mouth is pulled back in a snarl and he sure are shit isn’t pulling his punches. The only thing assuring Keith that he’s not genuinely about to die, curled on the floor, completely devoid of dignity, is the ever-present warmth in Lance’s brown eyes, even as they’re narrowed in fury.

“I — I’m sorry,” Keith wheezes, loosely wrapping his hands around Lance’s ankle as he kicks him. “Please. Oh my God. Stop. I cant breathe.”

“I hope you suffocate!” Lance shrieks.

“Lance, please,” Keith begs. With more strength than he knew he had, Keith heaves a giant, calming breath, shoving the image of Lance’s face as he’d practically flipped off the chair far into the recesses of his mind. Fuck. “I’m sorry. You were so focused. I couldn’t resist.”

Lance huffs. He kicks Keith one last time for prosperity before plopping on the floor next to him, scowl still affixed to his face, but lips twitching with a clear attempt to keep it there.

“I’m allowing your amusement because I laughed today when Senator Grmsx called you a toad. But watch your back.”

“Noted,” Keith says with amusement. He sighs, breath shuddering with the last of his laughter, and stretches out, sliding his feet under Lance’s thighs and resting the back of his skull on the floor. He stares at the ceiling until his vision gets unfocused and blurry, making the glowing blue streaks warp and swirl. He smiles slightly when he feels Lance’s arm hook around his bent knees.

“I got conned,” he laments, flipping his arms behind his head.

Lance hums. “Hunk?”

“Yep.”

“Capitalised on your intense need to do things for your friends to send you on errands?”

“Mhm.”

“Sucks to suck.”

Keith tucks his folded hands under his head and looks up at Lance, smiling in a mirror to Hunk, earlier, sweet and guilty and hopeful. “Well…”

Lance pulls away, waving his hands. “Nuh-uh. No way. You’re not dragging me into your shit, Superman. You want to help everyone around you like the tryhard golden retriever you are, that’s a you problem. I’m a bitch on purpose so I can be errand-free.”

“Please?” Keith tries, batting his eyelashes. The thirteen year old version of himself in his head is dying of embarrassment. (Good. He can suffer for a bit. He used to insist on sleeping on the floor because sleeping on a bed was ‘too mainstream’.)

Lance glares at him. Keith can actually physically see his resolve breaking. He’s very smug about it.

“Ugh,” Lance says.

“Thank you,” Keith says, smirking.

“Ugh,” Lance says again, much more pointed. “Where are we even going?”

Keith climbs to his feet, offering a hand to pull Lance up, too. He stretches and shifts his shoulders, leading them both out of the material room and down to the hangars.

“Noxalia-1242. Hunk needs some kind of ore.”

Lance gasps, dropping Keith’s hand. It is then that Keith realises that they were holding hands, and chokes on his own spit.

“Noxalia-1242? You sure?”

“Yes,” Keith rasps, still dying. Lance doesn’t notice, beaming so wide his eyes are nearly forced shut. He lets out this shout of excitement and wiggles, a little, like he can’t contain himself, and it’s so fucking cute that Keith somehow chokes again, which he didn’t think was possible. There’s a genuine concern that he may pass away.

“You should’ve led with that! Let’s go let’s go let’s go!”

He sprints the rest of the way to Black’s hangar, dragging Keith along. Keith tries desperately to get ahold of himself. It works about 27%, which is way more than he was expecting.

Lance is practically bouncing in glee the entire trip, scrambling out of his seatbelt and twirling around the cabin the second they breach the castle’s orbit. He’s actually humming to himself. Keith’s grinning so wide it hurts, and he doesn’t even know why they’re excited. Lance is just — infectious, as he always is; bright and all-encompassing and sparkling.

It’s a struggle and a half to land, and not just because Lance is being distracting. (Or, well, that Keith is distracted by him. It’s not really Lance’s fault. Keith was once distracted by Lance yawning, for reasons he’s too embarrassed to admit even to himself.) The surface of the planet is slate grey and thick with swirling, furious clouds, and it’s a testament to Black’s power that they manage to stay mostly steady, because Keith is a good pilot but he well and truly can’t see shit. The landing is rough.

“C’mon, c’mon!” Lance urges, out of his seatbelt faster than Keith can blink and rushing him to get out of his. “Let’s go!”

“I’m coming, Jesus,” Keith mumbles, finally releasing that damn buckle. He has to sprint to keep up with Lance, following him to the slowly opening hatch.

When they get to the open door, Keith is assaulted with a gust of frigid air and a spray of water. He curses, ducking to the side, hiking his collar over his head so he doesn’t get too soaked. He wishes he’d known to bring his armour.

“Fuck, it’s — pouring!”

Lance laughs, delighted, and before Keith can even think to stop him he sprints down the ramp, into the rain, soaked to the bone immediately.

“Lance! Lance — come back here! What are you doing?!”

But Lance only laughs again, and Keith can’t hear it because of a roar of thunder but he can see it in the giant grin on Lance’s face, open-mouthed, and the way he squeezes his eyes shut and tips his head back and opens his arms to the skies like he’s worried the rain isn’t soaking enough of him.

“You’re going to get pneumonia, you anaemic dumbass!” Keith shouts.

“Come join me!” Lance shouts back.

The worst part is that Keith doesn’t even think.

He stumbles down the ramp without even a second of hesitation, before he’d even realized he’d moved, cursing the whole time, shocked with the sudden onslaught of cold and windy and wet. There’s something about the way Lance said it, not come out here not it’s just rain, dorkus not come get wet!, but come join me. Like it’s not about the rain but about the rain with Lance.

The very iron in Keith’s blood is pulled to him like the world’s strongest magnet.

“If I wanted to get soaked for no reason I’d jump in the pool fully clothed,” Keith grumbles, but there’s a breathless quality to his voice that cannot he muffled.

For the first time since he sprinted out of Black like a madman, Lance tears his face away from the heavens, looking at Keith with eyes that seem impossibly dark with from the reflection of the clouds, almost black as the storm.

“You hate the rain?”

“Yes!” Keith says emphatically, but he hears his own voice like a distant echo, far away. Lance’s laughter is bright and feels louder than the thunder, like clinking gold bangles. Keith’s heart drops to his stomach and his eyes go wider than planets.

Lance turns, slowly, hands still spread wide, face easy and open and peaceful in a way Keith has never seen on him, turned back up the the pelting rain, every droplet doing something to him that makes him glow.

“How could anyone hate the rain?”

Suddenly, wholly, breathlessly, Keith doesn’t. His collar slides from his slackened fingers and flops back over his neck, soaked through. His hair plasters to his forehead and it’s wet and cold and water drips directly into his eyes but suddenly he is warmed from the very centre of himself, ricocheting outwards.

“It’s breathtaking,” Keith finally admits, and he is, this son of the skies, this boy of the rain. He is the most breathtaking thing Keith has ever seen in his life.

He swallows, tilts his head up to the sky, and smiles.

———

based on this post

[raddestrose]

I’m back yall, lets close out season six

AHHHHHH

spirit world stuff

I knew something was off but i didn’t think THAT

so bros bees gone THE ENTIRE SHOW

like FOUR OR FIVE SEASONS DAFUQ

HES BEEN DEAD THE ENIRE SHOW

I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THAT

well, hell you got all those doubles you may as well just re-download him onto one of themm 

Things aren’t even looking good at the castle

So uh the real Shiro is like suuuuuper dead

OH LETS GO THEYVE GOT A PLAN

i’m actually going to beat the ever loving Christ out of Lotor 

I don’t know what Voltron character I am like, but I truly hope that one say I can be like Coran

a true icon

NAHHHHH

You guys are no longer on the same side

you guys are most definitely enemies now

Lotor, dude kissing at her feet is NOT going to make her take you back

She will not go back to you bro and you are NOT taking this breakup well

Also, totally unrelated

WHAT THE HECK IS ROMELLE’S HAIRSTYLE??

I got a good look at it and it’s like a braid crown that turns into two pigtails?

so Lotor to you don’t seem that peaceful and you just said you were gonna wipe out your entire race along with the three girls who’ve been there for you like every moment

😦 I had to cut out an entire part because I accidentally did talk to text and it was just a string of different obscenities 

WHAT THEN HECK HE MADE AN EVIL VOLTRON

So Lotor’s eyes are looking a little crazy, has he seen a doctor cause he really needs to see a doctor maybe like a mental health professional

Poor Keith, ah poor Keith you got this man you got this I believe in you man you can do this 

I think what he needs is like a good hug and maybe a beach day episode but he definitely needs a hug

YOU GOT THIS MAN YOU GOT THIS

HE GOT THE WINGS YOU GUYS

is this how parents feel when you’re proud because if it is then this is really sad for me because all I’m doing is watching a TV show but it’s one good TV show. Oh hell yeah Keith you got this. 

AH YEAH YOU GUYS FORM VOLTRON YEAHHHHH

Defender of All Universes

yeah you guys are

oh my God this fight is so hype

Oh, let’s go

Their fights are always good with this one is legit awesome

And like seeing how well they work together now compared to how they did in the earlier seasons,

it’s amazing to see how far the characters have come as a team

It’s good that we can see how they’ve developed with their characters relationships along with how they fight

OK THAT IS SO NOT FAIR

That’s like totally cheating

Ok, he’s got to rake a dang chill pill or something like take a deep breath I’m so for real

how is this toad still alive? He should be dead 100 times over

OH LETS GOOOO

We got Voltron on steroids

OH you tell him guys you tell him

Oh shoot Lotor is gonna lose it for real now

It’s not that she fears using it, she just knows when it stop something you should probably learn.

OH MY GOSH, is she going to kung fu panda three him?

It’s ok Allura bad people can teach you how to do good things and it doesn’t make those things you learned bad it just means that you’ve learned something

oh my gosh he messed up universe like real bad

A supermassive black hole you say?

I apologize

oh dang, they gotta destroy the castle ship

Oh, this is so sad I never realized how beautiful the castle looked. 

KALTANECKER

Don’t make me get all upset over a castle ship

because I will

Oh and what a stunning exit it has

It turned the entire castle into a singular diamond?

that’s crazy actually

Oh shoot, is she gonna like transfer his soul or something that’s crazy work

Is that way Shiro’s hair turns fully white? I honestly didn’t remember anything past like the first few episodes of this season.

WELL SHIRO’S BACK EVERYBODY LETS GOOOOO

oh shoot, are they going back to earth oh, let’s go!!!!!

[espritwrish]

Lance keeling down to propose very romantically probably in public:

Keith falling over seemingly all on his own:

Lance:

Lance: you good, babe?

Keith, pulling them both up to their feet: yeah, why?

Lance: ????because you face planted into the ground??

Keith: I thought you fell over. I didn't want you to be embarrassed.

Lance:

Lance: I love you so much pls have my kids

[shares-a-vest]

@steddielovemonth Day 13: Love is... Showing up when someone doesn’t ask (Prompt by @steddieas-shegoes)

wc: 559 | Rated: T | cw: Food Mention

Tags: Valentine's Day, Date, Steve Harrington Angst (happy ending)

By the time Steve closes up Family Video on Valentine’s Day night, he is feeling pretty sorry for himself.

He thinks 1987 might be the first year since he’d hit adolescence that he is alone. In years past he’d at least had a date to give flowers to, even if it didn’t go much further than that. And, as he twists the lock in just the right way so it will actually lock, he begins to regret his whole holding-out-hope-for-true-love thing.

Because everybody has a date this Valentine’s Day.

Robin is at the drive-in with Vickie. Dustin is on some nerdy radio date with Suzie. His parents are at Enzo’s. Hell, even Keith skipped out on his shift early to go pick up Cindy from the laundromat.

He rattles the door, just to make sure it’s locked when he hears a rustling sound behind him.

Sighing, he turns around and readies himself to tell whoever is showing up late with a return to piss off…

Only it’s Eddie, holding up a brow paper bag with the Benny’s Diner logo emblazoned on the front.

“Brought you dinner,” he smiles all tight lipped and dimpled.

“Thought you were going somewhere with Jeff?” Steve grumbles despite snatching up the bag and catching a delectable whiff of melted cheese.

Eddie shrugs, “Dude bailed on me, man.”

He fiddles with his rings and looks at his shoes for a moment before jumping back to attention with a click of his fingers. Steve narrows his eyes, suspicious as Eddie begins digging in his jeans pocket and produces a handful of change.

“And that’s for a Coke,” he says, offering up the coins.

“Why?” Steve blurts out and his rudeness makes Eddie clam right back up.

He twirls a lock of dark hair around his ring-adorned finger and pulls it across his face.

“Just thought you’d want something to eat...” he explains, his voice quiet and bashful as rocks on his heels, “Valentine’s Day sucks.”

He passes it off with another shrug and looks out at the empty street, his dark eyes illuminated by the nearby street light, the shine of his chains and jewellery shimmering too.

Steve sucks in a breath.

The thing is, Eddie always does this. Shows up.

To make Steve laugh during a dead shift. To bring him coffee in the morning when it’s way too early. To bring him a whole goddamn meal.

He doesn’t have to do any of this for Steve. Not really.

Steve tightens his grip on the paper bag and steps forward, as close as is more typical of Eddie’s usual lack of personal space. He can smell his cologne – it’s strong like he had recently freshened up, perhaps just for Steve...

“Hey Eddie?” he asks softly.

“Yep?” Eddie answers, popping the ‘p’ as he continues to avoid his gaze rather conspicuously.

“Do you want to go on a date with me?”

Eddie looks up, startled.

“Now?” he gapes, wide-eyed.

“Yeah,” Steve smiles, more assured than he felt in months.

“Where?” Eddie frowns.

“I don’t know,” he laughs, “Anywhere you want. Benny’s. Sitting in my car and sharing this burger. Fuck, we can go back to my house and eat cereal for all I care. As long as I’m with you.”

Eddie grins and gestures to the Beemer in a half bow, “Lead the way, sweetheart.”

[humanmorph]

this scene makes me feel like i hit my head really hard

transcript by Iris (sacredwhim)

Jack: I did think that another major problem that we don’t need to get into unless we are compelled to is that Gucci Garantine has some news for Brnine, I think.

Austin: Oh, that’s true.

Ali: [chuckling] Oh, sure.

Austin: Yeah! I mean, does that news—

Janine: [singsong] She’s engaged!

[Austin laughs] [Jack chuckles]

Sylvi: Oh my god.

Austin: She’s engaged with another mission, yeah, uh-huh. She has another engagement to deal with, yeah.

[Janine laughs] [Ali giggles]

Austin: Yeah, I think that that maybe comes in the middle of this—

Jack: In the middle of movie night?

Austin: [cross] In the middle of movie night. Gucci doesn’t know it’s movie night.

Jack: No.

Austin: Wait, did you invite Gucci to movie night?

Ali: I tend to, but.

Sylvi: Oh my god.

Austin: You tend to?

Ali: [laughs] Yeah. I have in the future. Check the transcripts.

Jack: This is a question about Gucci Garantine now. Which is, would Gucci—

Janine: Has she ever once shown up?

Jack: Oh, yeah.

Austin: That’s a great question. We’ve seen—Gucci showed up when Brnine had come back from the combustor, right?

Jack: Oh, there was that lovely scene, yeah.

Keith: Was that movie night?

Austin: Well, the—

Ali: Well, that was a hospital bed movie night. That was Thisbe gave me a laptop that I was watching movies on.

Austin: That—right. That’s exactly right. Yes, exactly.

Jack: Would Gucci deliver this news in person?

Austin: Or in emojis? I think in person.

Jack: [laughs] Witch in Glass, devil face, thumbs up, exclamation point.

Austin: [laughs] Oh… Oh, it’s chaos to have her here. Which might be right. Halfway through the first movie, you know? She lands in some sort of hover flier.

Jack: It’s like, red.

Austin: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool red hover bike.

Ali: [snickers] I just had this whole scene of everybody hanging out, and in the middle of it you’re gonna be like, yeah, every character is gonna fight with each other now.

[Jack laughs]

Ali: [laughing] Do we have to?

Austin: Well, maybe it’s the end of the second—well, I get a scene.

Ali: Sure. [laughs]

Austin: [chuckles] Maybe it’s the end of the second movie where she shows up late. She shows up late. She’s at the very end, she didn’t—she came anyway.

Keith: Flashback to her saying “I’ll be there on time.”

Austin: Exactly that.

Keith: “I guarantee it.”

Austin: “I guarantee it. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Ali: Well…

Keith: “I Gucci guarantee it.”

Janine: And also, it’s Brnine’s birthday.

[Ali laughs]

Keith: And also Brnine’s got a little card that they’re looking at that says “I never will hire Clem.” [laughs]

Austin: [laughing] That’s right. Oh… Gucci shows up with popcorn-flavored wine.

Keith: And wine-flavored popcorn.

Austin: [laughing] And wine-flavored popcorn.

Jack: This is from the Mirage, right?

Sylvi: She’s that Patti Harrison character from I Think You Should Leave. “I can’t watch movies without popcorn!”

Austin: “I didn’t know if I should bring a red or a white, so I brought both.”

Janine: I would try the wine-flavored popcorn. I would not try the popcorn-flavored wine.

Jack: I’d try both.

Ali: Oh, opposite. Opposite.

Keith: I feel like shitty chardonnay is already popcorn-flavored wine.

Austin: Mhm.

Austin (as Gucci): Oh, I’m sorry, did I—have I missed it?

Ali (as Brnine): No, no, come in. You kind of missed it.

Austin (as Gucci): Hey, hi everybody. Hello.

Jack (as Movie Night Attendant): Hi.

Austin (as Gucci): I haven’t met some of you, I’m Gucci. I’m the commanding officer.

Dre (as Levi): Oh, hey, yeah, we talked on the phone.

Austin (as Gucci): Right, yes, you did show up with all of the food and supplies. Thank you. Levitation, right?

Dre (as Levi): Yep.

Austin (as Gucci): Sorry, should we hit pause on the movie or should I just talk over it?

Keith (as Eclectic): Pause.

Austin (as Gucci): I appreciate it.

Ali (as Brnine): Yeah, uh-huh.

Austin: Didn’t give a thumbs up. She wouldn’t give a thumbs up, but she nods. She says,

Austin (as Gucci): I appreciate it. Can I talk to you for a second, Brnine? I brought popcorn-flavored wine and wine-flavored popcorn for everyone.

Ali (as Brnine): Um…

Austin (as Gucci): For movie night.

Ali (as Brnine): Right. If this is a work thing, can we finish the movie?

Austin (as Gucci): No, it’s not a work thing. It’s just—

Jack: I have never heard a bigger lie.

[Ali laughs]

Dre: We’ve had some doozies on this show.

Austin: Yeah. Don’t forget that this is a relationship built on lies.

[Ali laughs]

Janine: It’s a personal thing that just happens to be in the context of work.

Austin: That’s exactly right.

Dre: Mhm.

Ali (as Brnine): Um, sure, yeah. You guys can put the movie back on.

Austin (as Gucci): I’ll be right back.

Sylvi: I am not watching the movie. I am watching those two.

Austin (as Gucci): We’re just gonna step out into the…

Austin: Where is the movie night? ’Cause didn’t it used to be in Phrygian?

Ali: No, no.

Austin: Oh, it was not in Phrygian.

Sylvi: It was always a rec room.

Austin: It was just the regular room.

Ali: My funny—my quarters that I was able to add to the ship is the media center.

Sylvi: My funny quarters.

Austin: Sorry, are we gonna call it “my funny room”? My funny quarters?

[Keith and Ali laugh]

Keith: My funny little room.

Ali: It’s what I get for not having magic. I get to add a room to the—

Sylvi: Yeah. A sound system.

Jack: My Funny Valentine except it’s My Funny Room.

Austin (as Gucci): Can we just talk in…

Ali (as Brnine): Yeah, yeah. You’re here to watch the movie though, right?

Austin (as Gucci): Yeah, absolutely. Which one is it?

Ali (as Brnine): ’Cause it’s a movie night.

Austin (as Gucci): Yeah, well, I’ve seen a lot of movies, so.

Ali (as Brnine): Right. Well, they’re movies.

Austin (as Gucci): Yeah.

Keith: You can keep watching them. [laughs]

[Ali laughs]

Dre: There’s always new ones.

Austin (as Gucci): The, um… The council has need of me.

Ali (as Brnine): [cross] This is a work thing.

Austin (as Gucci): It’s not. This part isn’t. I’m gonna be busy, so I wanted you to know that I would—it would be hard to get in touch with me, probably, for a little bit. Which is not just a work thing.

Ali (as Brnine): Right. Well, yeah. Well, um, sure. I mean, I’ll talk to you, then. When I can talk to you, I mean.

Austin (as Gucci): They—from here, after movie night, I have to go to the Crown of Glass.

Ali (as Brnine): Why?

Austin (as Gucci): This Crown of Glass, not the Crown of Glass that’s—not the planet. ’Cause there’s that now.

Ali (as Brnine): What planet?

Austin (as Gucci): There’s—the Twilight Mirage—did you not get a chance to look at the files on it?

Ali (as Brnine): No, I’ve been kind of busy.

Austin (as Gucci): You don’t have to get snippy with me. We sent over a folder with information. It should have been in with the food, which we also sent you, [quietly] which I wasn’t supposed to do.

Ali (as Brnine): Mhm. No, I was gonna look at it tomorrow.

Austin (as Gucci): Do you know about Lucia? We captured Lucia. Whitestar. Lander One?

Ali (as Brnine): Oh.

Austin (as Gucci): The second in line to the throne of the Principality.

Ali (as Brnine): When did that happen? I thought we weren’t doing any engagements because of the whole frizz.

Austin (as Gucci): Well, there were assets on the move already…

Ali (as Brnine): What assets?

Austin (as Gucci): Allied assets, as it turns out. Clementine’s assets.

Ali (as Brnine): [sighs]

Austin (as Gucci): And so, in order to—you have to understand. They’re sending me because they don’t trust her, but they trust me, and I trust you, and so I know I can trust you to run the Blue Channel with me gone, and I need you to trust me to run Clementine.

Ali (as Brnine): Why are you doing that?

Austin (as Gucci): That’s a great question. It’s, um…

Ali (as Brnine): No, but you’re gonna get hurt, or like—like, she’s a bad person.

Austin (as Gucci): Clementine is a—you’re telling me that Clementine Kesh is a bad person.

Ali (as Brnine): Yes. No, like—but she is, but like—like, you know that.

Austin (as Gucci): Of course I know it. Of course I know it.

Ali (as Brnine): Then why are—what are—

Austin (as Gucci): Sometimes you have to—[frustrated stammering] sometimes—

Ali (as Brnine): Sometimes you have to work with bad people.

Austin (as Gucci): Well, sometimes you have to work with dangerous people. You—hm. I helped defend your crew when you put a Branched on it.

Ali: [laughs incredulously]

Jack: [laughing] Ooh!

Sylvi: [softly] Yo…

Jack: Woah, Gucci big swing.

Sylvi: Pass me the wine-flavored popcorn.

Janine: Not the play… [groans]

[Art laughs]

Jack: Holy shit.

Austin (as Gucci): Didn’t I? And that turned out great.

Ali (as Brnine): I’m… I’m sorry, did you, like, know that Figure died?

Austin (as Gucci): Figure died?

Ali (as Brnine): [scoffing] Oh my god. Oh my god…

Austin (as Gucci): But Figure wasn’t—Figure wasn’t Branched.

[Jack chuckles]

Ali (as Brnine): [muffled] Oh my god.

Austin (as Gucci): Is everything—are you okay?

[Ali laughs]

Austin (as Gucci): Is—are you okay? Maybe me leaving isn’t—maybe you need me here.

Ali (as Brnine): No.

Sylvi: Oh my god.

Austin (as Gucci): I’m, um… I’m sorry. I know Figure was an important part of the crew. I know Figure was loyal. There had been some doubts, but I always knew Figure was—Figure seemed loyal.

Ali (as Brnine): [seething] Yeah, Figure seemed loyal. I really think that the thing people liked the most about Figure was that they were loyal.

Austin (as Gucci): I know you’re mad, but I feel like it’s misplaced. This wasn’t my idea.

Ali: [chuckles] That’s a crazy lie. [laughs]

Art: You’re so far into this relationship to learn that Gucci sucks.

[Ali laughs]

Art: Sorry, realize?

Keith: And I think it’s Ali who…

Austin: I mean, again, the basis of their entire relationship was that back on Partizan, Brnine used to lie to Gucci to take money from her.

Ali: Uh-huh.

Austin: It’s a sandcastle all — it’s a castle built on sand.

Ali: But, you know…

Sylvi: They’re so bad for each other.

Austin: It’s a sandcastle.

Ali: I mean, Gucci got those working equipment situation. [laughs]

Austin: Uh-huh. Mhm.

Ali: Her robots were fixed.

Austin: They were.

Ali (as Brnine): I’m—I’m—I’m mad at Clem, and I’m mad at you, and I’m mad that Figure’s dead, and I’m mad that Phrygian’s dead, and I’m mad that you would, like, use that as a bargaining chip when Phrygian was, like, our best crew member. Like, we wouldn’t have even—going to the combustor was Phrygian’s idea.

Austin (as Gucci): [stammers] And it was—and it worked. It worked.

Ali (as Brnine): Oh my god, what are you doing? I—it’s movie night!

[Sylvi laughs]

Austin (as Gucci): And I have to leave after movie night. I wouldn’t have a chance to come talk to you. I have to go to the Crown of Glass and keep a leash on her. Don’t you see how hard that’s going to be? I hate her! And she was useful, and she gave us the one thing she could give us to make us even open the door, and she’s gonna hold it over me, forever. [softly] Just like she held everything over me for years, and now we have to open the door for her again.

Because we have to, because she… Do you know what sort of bargaining chip we have now if we ever leave here? We have Cynosure’s daughter. And he’s… [scoffs] He’s as sentimental as they come. He wasn’t even supposed to be Princept.

Ali (as Brnine): Why do you think we’re leaving here? Why do you care about Clem or any of that?

Austin (as Gucci): Why do I think we’re leaving here? I’m not staying in the Twilight Mirage. The whole point of this was that we shouldn’t be here. You’re staying here?

Sylvi: Oh my god!

Austin (as Gucci): With who?

[Ali laughs]

Ali (as Brnine): Do you know a way out? Because I don’t know a way out. I don’t think anybody else knows a way out. I think that we’re here now. I think that we’re in the situations that we’re in, and—

Austin (as Gucci): You’re abandoning Millennium Break.

Ali (as Brnine): What?

Austin (as Gucci): They’re out there! They’re not in here! The fight is out there. And you’re gonna stay in here for movie night?

Ali (as Brnine): I didn’t say that. I said we’re stuck.

Austin (as Gucci): You didn’t say we were “stuck” when there was the stellar combustor. You said, “I’m turning off the stellar combustor.”

Ali (as Brnine): Well, I don’t have Phrygian here anymore. And I don’t have Figure anymore—

Austin (as Gucci): [cross] Phrygian didn’t tell me that. You told me that.

Ali (as Brnine): [cross] —and now you’re gonna go to Clem.

Austin (as Gucci): I’m not “going to Clem”. I’m going to the Crown of Glass and putting a leash on Clem. I’m keeping Clem from hurting you and everyone else.

Ali (as Brnine): Great.

Austin (as Gucci): Which, yes, I can do. And no, it won’t be dangerous for me.

Ali (as Brnine): Cool.

Austin (as Gucci): I know how to deal with her.

Ali (as Brnine): I’m glad. Are you talking me into this, or are you talking you into this?

[Sylvi groans]

Ali (as Brnine): Because it feels like if we have an hour to hang out, we could sit in that room and watch a fucking movie. And not be thinking about this.

Austin (as Gucci): [cross] You’re right, you’re right. I don’t have an hour to hang out.

[Sylvi gasps]

Austin (as Gucci): And I shouldn’t be spending the time I have talking to you. Good luck, Captain. The Blue Channel’s yours.

Ali (as Brnine): Come on. Come on.

Sylvi: This is such good shit!

[Ali laughs]

Ali (as Brnine): I didn’t mean it like—

Keith: She’s busy only ever taking credit for things we do.

Austin: Uh-huh.

[Sylvi exclaims]

Austin: And she is leaving.

[Ali laughs]

Dre: Good.

[Ali groans]

[munsonsreputation]

everything in between

steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: [6.2K]

warnings: warnings: no use of y/n, established relationship, difficulties dealing with drunk-ness (steve), brief talk about anxiety, all around fluff

summary: you and steve are both new to this relationship thing, unsure if this will finally be the one — but it's already clear to everybody else that you two are perfect for each other and everything in between. based off "in between" by gracie abrams.

It’s everything new and fresh, yet frightening between you and Steve.

The way that you both had found yourselves here without knowing if what was happening was right for either of you. If the decision to finally act upon feelings was going to be the end of broken hearts and tearful nights and replace them with mended tapestries and starry eyes.

For the both of you, it seems scary, giving love another chance after the horrible paths that you two had previously been on, but it seems like everyone else already knows that you’re both walking hand in hand on Lover’s Lane.

Something hopeful connecting you two together and bringing you both where you needed to be — becoming everything in between.

Robin likes to tease Steve in the beginning stages of your relationship. Poking fun at him for the way he has always been irrevocably whipped and enamored by you even before he had finally asked you out.

He tries to play it cool like his persona, but deep down she knows it’s all just an act and he puts up so that it doesn’t seem like he’s moving too fast.

Her feet rest comfortably in his lap as they pass around the popcorn bowl, enjoying the new tape they had smuggled from Family Video. Not that they cared, since Keith never noticed. The couch seems a lot bigger without the rest of their friends there to hog it, but Steve still doesn’t mind the less than pedicured toes in his lap because it’s his best friend.

There’s a ring that comes from the house phone which is mounted to the wall on the other side of the room catching her attention quicker than the feeling of her legs getting pushed off his thighs as he rushes to answer it.

“Hey!”

It’s sick, honestly down right repulsive by the way he never lets the phone ring for more than a second or two when he knows it you on the other line. And she knows, he knows that it’s you calling because he just feels it in his bones — even when it could be one of the kids prank calling at this late hour; he knows that it’s you.

“Hi Stevie!”

She can practically hear you bubbling on the other side of the receiver and she swears Steve smiles a little harder just at the sound of your voice.

She doesn’t hear you ask how movie night is going, too busy with stuffing her mouth with popcorn entertained with the way Steve is leaning against the wall and acting like a total school girl over the fact that you called.

He only makes eye contact with her for a split second before he’s wiping the smile off his face to the best of his ability seeing the way his best friend is smirking like an idiot over the way he’s acting.

“Y-yeah, it’s great! Just some boring movie about spaceships and aliens — Oh, yeah, Robin’s just eating all the popcorn right now. She doesn’t mind.”

Steve shakes his head, not wanting to hang up the phone so soon. If he could, he’d talk to you for the whole night and he’s pretty sure Robin wouldn’t mind at all because it’d be way more entertaining than the forgotten movie on the tv.

“Tell her I said hi and I can’t wait to see her tomorrow!” You say enthusiastically and Steve does everything but groan, knowing that this will probably lead to some sort of teasing that from Robin’s end.

He pulled the phone away from his ear, holding it out in the air towards Robin as he speaks, “She says hi and she can’t wait til tomorrow.”

She chews, a smile still splaying on her face as she swallows and licks the crumbs off her lips before shouting out loud enough for you to hear.

“Hiya sunshine! Miss you bunches, but not more than your lover boooyyy!” She singsongs with a cackle erupting as soon as Steve snatches the phone back to his ear.

Your own laughter overlaps Robin’s, and it silences the embarrassment that Steve’s feeling because the last thing he wants is for you to think that he’s moving too fast. But for you, he’s moving at the right speed, the speed that has you throwing your hands in the air with butterflies filling your stomach in all the right ways.

“Ignore her. She’s trying to be funny.” Steve tries to quip, yet you’re still giggling, and it’s the kind that makes his cheeks heat up because he knows you’re blushing and smiling like a maniac.

He wishes he were there to see it for himself, the way you’d try to hide your face behind your hands because of how hard you were smiling and how he’d have to plead for you to put them down just so he could catch a glimpse and save that mental picture in his head forever.

Your voice is laced with sweetness as your giggles die down and only a second or two of silence comes before you speak.

“Don’t leave Robs hanging and go watch your movie…I’ll call in the morning, lover boy.”

He sure as hell doesn’t let the first ring even finish before he picks up the next morning and Robin is quite pleased because it doesn’t wake her up.

Steve’s house always seems to be the gathering place for get together’s, mostly because his parents are always gone and partly because the amount of room there is to roam around. And while there isn’t always alcohol at the functions because of the presence of the sneaky kids, when there is Nancy can always smell the anxiety in the air.

For her she knows that a piece of Steve is still mortified from the Halloween party a few years back which ended with spiked punch spilt all over her, a dramatic drunken argument, and the end of her and Steve.

She lives with that regret wishing she had been sober so she could’ve at least let him down easy and even after she had apologized she still knows that it haunts him, especially because she can see his face fall when she brings him a very intoxicated you.

“Woah, woah, hey,”

She guides you into his arms, watching the way he’s already grabbing at your shoulders and lifting your chin up with his thumb and forefinger. She sticks around, not knowing if she’ll need to help if you fall backwards in his living room. You definitely seem and look wasted, droopy eyes staring into Steve’s as you try your best to stand up straight.

“She might have had too many drinks.” Nance winces, looking back at the kitchen where empty solo cups are scattered over the kitchen table.

Steve breathes in, nodding his head and working your arm over his shoulders to keep you upright, “thanks, I’m gonna bring her to the bathroom to clean up.”

She nods, nibbling back a comment about how he shouldn’t bring you to the same upstairs bathroom that he had brought her in. It would be too much for him to handle this kind of situation again in the same place where she had broken his heart, but she knows you aren’t going to do that to him.

He proceeds, doing most of the holding up and walking, guiding you slowly up the stairs and down the hall to his bathroom where all your stuff is stored in your very a drawer he had cleared out just for you.

“Let’s sit, yeah?” Steve mutters quietly, closing the toilet lid and sitting you down on it.

He’s unsure of what to do, seeing as though you haven’t even spoken a word since Nancy brought you to him. Yet he knows you can hear him. The way your sluggish eyes stay on his let him know that you’re still aware that he’s here with you, he just doesn’t know what you’re thinking.

What is about to come out of your mouth when you finally begin speaking?

If it’ll be something that’s going to tear his heart apart and begin to make his eyes prickle. If he’ll have to beg you to not walk out because you’re not thinking straight. If this was all his love was ever going to amount to and end like this.

“S-staring,” You hiccup, your shoulders jerking

He furrows his brows, kneeling on the floor and squeezing your knee lovingly.

“Huh? What was that?”

You swallow back another hiccup, rubbing your fingers over your eyes, smudging your mascara, unknowingly.

“I said y-you’re staring.”

Steve watches when you pull your hands away, black pigment covering your finger tips though you don’t seem to notice or feel the slight sting of the product getting in your eyes.

Despite it all, a smile tugs up at the corner of your lips as you reach forward and wrap your arms around Steve’s neck, wanting to be close to his touch. You’re slouching into him, resting your forehead against his as he does his best to not laugh at the mess around your eyes.

“I was staring because you look like you had a lot to drink,” he says, smoothing your stay hairs behind your ear and cupping your cheek.

You close your eyes blissfully, taking him with you as you lean back slightly and reel in the feeling of his gentle touch.

“I think I had three…no four! cups of gin and tonic.” You mention, not bothering to open your eyes to catch his bemused look.

“Hmm, I believe it, sweetheart. Why don’t we take off your makeup then get you some water and a snack downstairs before bed?” He proposed met with your eyes opening and your head nodding.

He guides you towards the sink as you do your best to keep yourself upright against the counter as he swipes the damp makeup wipe over your face paying extra attention to the delicate skin around your eyes as he tries to get most of the mascara smudge off.

He knows which bottle is your face wash because he’s watched you do it a million times over at your place and he picked up a bottle to stay at his for when you spent the night. It’s like muscle memory for him even if this is the first time he’s doing it for you and he hopes it isn’t the last because it’s calming him down in a weird way.

What he had thought was going to be an explosive fight in his bathroom all over again was just you smiling and humming as his fingers glided over your face, happy that it was him taking care of you. Apparently you seem to enjoy it just as much, giggling as he smears the moisturizer over your face and rubbing it into your skin.

The task alone seems to wake you up enough that you’re beaming and talking a lot more than before.

“My face feels so soft!” You grin, tapping your palms on either side of your cheeks while Steve guides you back down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

Chuckling, Steve hoists you up on the countertops as he rummages through the dishes, finding a clean glass and filling it up with some ice and water.

“Really? You think I did a good job?” He urges as he carefully places the cusp between your lips and tilts it enough for you to sip slowly.

When you push your head forward, he knows you had enough, drawing it away and setting it on the counter. Both of his palms rest on either side, caging you in as your gaze is fixated on his face.

“The best job, ever…kisses?” You ask, playfully puckering your lips towards him.

He knows you mean, “can I kiss you for doing a good job” but he still gets it, flashing you a tender smile.

“Yeah, sure, why not,” He snickers, leaning closer as you hold his face in your hands and smile, “kisses, baby.”

A giddy smile plays on your lips as his lips touch yours. For you it feels just as special as the other’s kisses you two share even if your brain is half buzzing from the alcohol. But for Steve, it’s a wave of relief, one that washes away the cold and empty feeling from the past. All he wants to do is savor the sweetness of your lips and hands, keeping him grounded here with you.

“You’re gonna get me drunk.” Steve jokes against your lips and you giggle, pressing your lips harder against his to shut him up for a moment.

“Is that even possible?” You ask finally pulling away and running your thumbs over his cheekbones.

He shrugs, leaning into your touch, “Maybe, but I don’t mind.”

You grin, pressing one last kiss to his lips before pointing to the bag of Lay’s that sits unopen.

“Can I have some chips?” you request

“Sure, you can have the whole bag if you want,” He replies, reaching for it and tearing it open.

Steve’s more than happy to oblige, feeding you and offering you occasional sips of water while you both stay in the kitchen totally forgetting about the party around you.

It’s an endearing sight that Nancy can’t help but smile at from her place on the couch. She’s fulfilled with her own love that she shares with Jonathan, the boy who’s resting his head on her shoulder, tracing shapes on the scar in the palm of her hand.

But she’s especially fulfilled with the fact that she and Steve are on better terms now, one where they can be happy for each other now that they’ve found their person. She watches the way both of your faces light up with laugher and smiles even if you’re still a little tipsy. Steve doesn’t look at unease at all. If anything, he’s at peace knowing it’s you and this time, it’s different.

His home has seen plenty of ups and downs, tears and heartbreak, but love had found its way back in and new memories were replacing bad ones. It had been a long time coming and enough waiting around.

She knows you two found each other — the ones who will always care about each other and will always be there for one another.

Steve isn’t sure if you are just trying to be nice or if you genuinely don’t mind that the kids tag along to the places you two go. He knows it’s the latter, but still likes to question it.

The movie at the park seemed like a great idea, at first. It was something different rather than just going to the theaters or watching it on his couch, and to top it all off it was a showing of your favorite movie, “Can’t Buy Me Love.”

But it was a great idea before the kids begged to tag along, promising that they wouldn’t talk during the movie and would even bring their own blankets and money for snacks. Steve tried to oppose the idea, giving the reasoning that it was a date which meant two people: him and you.

But you had shaken him off, telling them that you wouldn’t mind if they wanted to come along and if anything the more the merrier.

And who was Steve to argue?

For once, the kids were really on their best behavior, paying attention to the movie and passing their snacks and drinks around while they watched, but that was before their sugar rush caused them to crash, bringing fatigue to their eyes.

“Poor things,” you pout at the sight of the children sprawled out a few feet in front of you and Steve.

He snorts, seeing their jumbled limbs stretching over each other. You both tried to convince them to space out across the grassy area, but they insisted on being squished together like sardines in order to get to the snacks easily.

“S’okay, they probably needed the nap.”

He rubs your arm, keeping you warm against the chilly night breeze as you settle the back of your head against his shoulder, wrapping your arms across yourself.

“They’re gonna miss the best part.” You say wistfully, slumping into him.

“Honey, you practically spoiled it on the car ride here. I don’t think they’ll miss much.” He badgers as you turned your face into his chest and stifle your giggle there.

Your laugh is infectious, like music to his ears that he’d much rather listen to compared to the static-y audio that plays over the low quality speakers. There’s a kiss he lays on the crown of your head as you turn your sights back to the sleeping teens, hoping they’re not too uncomfortable with the lack of pillows and a comfy mattress on their backs.

“Remember how you said I have a soft spot for these twerps?” You mention serenely.

He hums, resting his chin on the top of your head, “yeah, what about it?”

“You’re right, but I just can’t help it. They’re adorable and I’d let them crash all our dates if you’d let me.”

Steve jokingly scorns, swinging his head against your, “Oh, don’t start, they’d never leave us alone.”

You roll your eyes half heartedly, turning your attention back to the movie. Meanwhile, Steve’s focus is still all on you, wrapping his arms over the front of your body and nuzzling his face between your shoulder blade to give the space beneath your ear a kiss.

“I’m so lucky to have you…even those little shit heads are lucky to have you.” Steve admits out of nowhere.

He can’t resist telling you how much he appreciates you even with a cheesy movie and his annoying children a few feet away. To him, you’re his world no matter what’s in front of him. You maneuver your head enough to look up at him as you swat his chest playfully, trying to brush off his compliment that has you blushing.

“No I mean it,” he insists, leaving another sweet kiss on your skin before cradling your face in his warm hands.

“You’re so beautiful and kind. You don’t ever get annoyed at the kids for crashing our dates. You don’t get annoyed at me for getting annoyed at them.”

You hide your cheek in your shoulder, wrapping your fingers over his wrists where he still holds you.

“Yeah, well, you’re not too bad yourself.” You nudge him with your elbow.

“Yeah?” He smirks with a curious glint in his words as you nod, “care to share?”

“Believe it or not, you’re so patient. I’ve never seen a guy handle teenage kids as effortlessly as you do. You’re so hardworking and even when you’re tired you give me all your time in the world. You’re generous and—”

He can’t resist interrupting mostly because if you keep talking he’s sure he’s going to permanently etch the world’s biggest smile on his face forever.

“Alright, alright, I get it, babe. I’m like the whole package and the best boyfriend ever.” He gloats jokingly, pulling your face closer to his in order to connect to your lips.

“Yeah you dork, you really are.” You hum, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him deeper into you.

The movie is now long forgotten by you and Steve, too infatuated and caught up in each other to care about the corny love story that plays. You know that yours is better than any movie out there even your favorite one — you and Steve top them all.

Unbeknownst to the both of you, the kids hear every single word you and Steve had uttered to each other thinking that they were asleep. For them, they know every word is true, the two of you always bragging about how special the other half is when they aren’t around — the fact that you two say it without reservation when you think no ones around to hear makes it clearer that you two are meant to be.

By the time the movie is over, you’re softly shaking the kids awake and Steve’s folding up the blankets.

“It’s already over?” Lucas yawns stretching his arms up dramatically.

“We missed it?” El says disappointedly going the extra mile by rubbing the ‘sleep’ out of her eyes.

You hum sympathetically, nodding your head, “You guys dozed off, but you didn’t miss much. Ronald and Cindy live happily ever after in the end.”

“Just like every other cheese rom-com.” Dustin sighs standing up and brushing the grass off his clothing.

Max rolls her eyes, lending out a hand toward El and helping her up, “that’s the whole point of rom-coms, idiot. They’re supposed to be cheesy and have some stereotypical trope. It’s more entertaining than realistic.”

You smirk, picking out a shard of grass from her red hair, “You’re right, because real romance is totally different. More special, you know.”

The kids don’t miss the way you look back at Steve and hold your hand out for him to take as you all begin walking towards the parking lot ready to load into Steve’s car and commence a night full of drop offs.

“Oh trust us, we know.” Will hailed out with a knowing smile.

They watch as Steve presses a kiss to your cheek, opening the passenger door and letting you in before everyone else.

“Ugh, they make me so sick,” muttered Mike with feigned annoyance, secretly happy that he got to sit in the trunk far away from you and Steve’s sappiness.

As far as everyone else was concerned, the movie in the park was a hit. It was totally worth it seeing the best love story play out — they just didn’t know they were the exclusive viewers.

Joyce and Hopper finally tied the knot in a very small and intimate ceremony in their backyard. Steve had brought you around for the first time, though Hop and Joyce were pretty much familiar with you already, hearing so many good things from Steve.

He appreciated how they instantly welcomed you in, hugging you and thanking you for the small gift you had brought along to celebrate their special day. The two of you sat on the picnic benches, hands held underneath the table as you watched the pair share their first dance as husband and wife.

Half-way through, you had leaned into him, resting your cheek on his shoulder, and he promptly leaned into you, cushioning you snugly as you watched with adoring eyes.

“They look so in love.” You spoke faintly, looking up at him through your lashes with a grin on your face.

He glances down at you, pecking at your lips and nodding, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hop dance.”

You pursed your lips, shaking your head as you held back your laughter, “I guess love really does its thing.”

“It does.” He smiles, kissing your temple as the music dies down to something more upbeat and alive.

“C’mon, people, get up here and dance!” Joyce whistles, gesturing everyone over though everybody seems to hesitate for a moment.

But not Steve.

“Wanna dance?” He smirks, squeezing your hand as you lift your head.

You nod, looking up at him while he stands holding his hand out for you, which you gladly take without a second thought.

“I should warn you, your toes might get stepped on. I’m not the greatest at dancing.” He confesses kissing your head as you giggle and shake your head.

“I won’t mind, long as you’re the one carrying me off the dance floor by the end of it.” You say giving his hand a squeeze.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” He promises.

The two of you seamlessly sway back and forth, your arms draped over his neck and his wrapped tightly around your waist. You guys don’t seem to notice or care that you’re the only other couple on the dance floor — too much in your own world.

There are whispers and smiles that you and Steve share as you both loosen up to the music. His hand guiding you into a spin that makes you giggle and fall back into his chest, looking up at him dizzily.

While the dance floor isn’t anything special, just freshly trimmed grass underneath your foot, it feels like holy ground. A scared, special, one of the kind place that the both of you feel so safe in that it doesn’t matter if everyone else is watching.

“How long until you think they’ll get married?” Hop asks his wife, leading her to the picnic tables to catch a quick break.

She snickers, pinching his arm fondly, “Won’t be surprised if they ask the officiant to stay a little longer.”

They’ve got a front row view to a sight that reminds them of their own love. The younger versions of themselves that wished they had gotten together soon, but they’re more than happy for the both of you, clapping and cheering as Steve dips you low and presses a kiss to your lips.

You two can feel the fireworks, their plans to extinguish never dare to exist. It’s just you and Steve, the holy ground beneath you, and the sparks flying.

Hangouts don’t feel the same when you’re not there, for Steve especially it feels like a missing piece that he’s thinking and worrying about even if you’re just working a night shift. He knows he’ll get to see you bright and early the next morning — will probably even call out of work just so he can be your human pillow while you caught up on sleep.

He tries not to think so hard about it, focusing on Eddie’s high score that he’s trying to beat on the Nintendo while Dustin breathes down his neck and the others watch the television screen.

“Mom! Phoneeeeeee!” Mike yells as the landline begins to ring.

It nearly throws Steve off and by this point he feels like he should just give up because he doesn’t stand a chance beating Eddie’s score. Yet he still tries to focus, thumbs nudging the joysticks and tugging his bottom lip between his teeth, almost drawing blood by how hard he’s trying.

The basement door swing open, Mrs. Wheeler covering the receiver with her palm as she speaks loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Steve, it’s your girlfriend.”

Only then does the controller drop from his hands like it doesn’t matter. His legs spring up, quickly looking up the stairs to give Karen a smile before she nods and closes the door.

“Dude, you almost had it!”

Dustin groans tugging at his curly roots, realizing he now owed Mike and Lucas $20 for the stupid bet. Eddie slaps the top of his head gingerly, urging them to be quiet as they all zero in on Steve picking up the phone.

“Baby?” He says hurriedly with a confused glint to his voice.

He can hear your sniffles and a small cough leaving your mouth on the other end. Worry and anxiety fill his veins on instance. Something is telling him that there’s something wrong, and he’s proven right when you finally reply weakly.

“H-hey, how’s game night?” You try your best to keep it together, to not let him know you’re holding back tears.

His foot comes tapping on the ground and his body begins to shake not knowing what’s going on.

“Y-you’re crying? What’s the matter, sweetheart? Did something happen? Where are you?”

Steve’s spitting out questions faster than you can answer and the others who are listening can only grow more concerned knowing that the Steve their seeing on the phone isn’t his sappy lovey self.

You swallow, sniffling again, “I’m okay, babe. I—I just needed to hear your voice.”

His heart aches hearing the obvious sadness in your voice that you’re trying to mask, but all it does is cause more worry. You’ve cried to Steve a hand full of times and each time it still breaks his heart, but it hurts even more that you’re far away and he’s not able to see you face to face.

“You’re scaring me. I’m gonna come there and get you.” He offers immediately, patting his pockets checking if he has his car keys which he doesn’t have.

“No, no, it’s fine, I called because I quit…I quit my job.” You explain with a heavy sigh.

There’s silence for only a quick moment, a breath of relief coming from Steve knowing that you aren’t in danger, but he’s prompt to offer to come and get you again.

“Oh…baby, I-I’m sorry. Did you want me to come there and pick you up? Eddie could drive your car back home and we’ll take my car together?”

He’s speaking gently, peering over his shoulder at Eddie who is already nodding and standing up ready to go wherever you are, knowing that Steve needs to know you’re safe.

You take a shaky breath, collecting yourself before speaking, “You don’t have to do that. I’m fine to drive…it’s just that I needed to hear your voice before I got into the car. Just a long night, I’m sorry for worrying yo—”

Steve shakes his head, waving his hand over towards Eddie, telling him that it’s okay and he can sit back down before mouthing a “thank you” before turning back to the call.

“Hey, no stop, don’t apologize. I’m right here okay? Not gonna hang up until you’re ready. I’ll be waiting for you as soon as you’re ready to hang up okay?”

You don’t try to hide it anymore, letting your sniffles and sobs loose. Every second that passes by is tugging on his heart strings wanting to do nothing more than to rush wherever you are, but he knows you’re going to be fine, you just need some more time with him.

“O—okay, just had a really long night. I was trying to just get through my shift but, I…I just couldn’t do it.”

You sound pissed off at yourself, irritated that you couldn’t make it through the night shift. But he knew it was for good reason if it made you up and quit — he didn’t blame you and he was far from mad.

“And that’s perfectly fine, sweetheart. Whatever it is, we’re gonna figure it out alright? We can look through the newspaper for job offerings and I can take you to drop off resumes. It’s all gonna be okay, ok?”

“Okay,” you whisper faintly, swiping away at your tears and nose.

He knows it’s important that you calm down before you get behind the wheel. If you don’t, he’ll drive down there himself, not wanting to risk you driving when you’re feeling like this.

“I’m right here with you, baby. Deep breath, in and out. That’s good, babe.” He guides you through it, hearing your shaky breaths slowly easing.

Steve doesn’t have to turn his head to know the worry etched on his friends’ faces is apparent. They’re anxiously waiting, wondering what’s going on, only being able to hear parts of it through Steve’s tender words that he offers you.

They know they all have a habit of teasing him and poking fun at the way he’s whipped over you, but this is a different side of him that they rarely get to witness. The vulnerable side that only comes out when he’s with you even with the distance that’s keeping you both apart.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon, alright, baby? Drive safely.” He speaks, nodding his head to himself before he places the receiver back on the stand and turns to face his friends.

“Is she okay?” Eddie asks worriedly as Steve nods and brushes a hand through his hair.

“She had a tough night and quit. She’s heading her now.” Steve reveals and everyone nods before Robin stands up and pats him on the back.

“C’mon, let’s go wait for her upstairs.”

The gang had migrated from the basement to the living room, awaiting your arrival. They had tried to do everything to reassure Steve, to get him to sit down and wait patiently, but they weren’t surprised that he didn’t budge and instead kept his place by the window, watching the driveway.

Everyone has their eyes on the clock, watching the minutes pass by and glancing every so often when headlights pass the street, thinking that it’s you.

The worried expression doesn’t leave his face until he finally sees two headlights turn into the driveway.

“She’s here,” Steve says under his breath, not wasting a moment to dash out the front door, slamming it behind him.

He’s at the driver’s side before you can even put the car into park. His fingers wrap around the door, pulling it open as you don’t hesitate to get out and wrap your arms around him, hiding your teary face in his neck as you melt into his embrace.

“Shhh, I’ve got you,” He says quietly, keeping one of his hands on the back of your head while the other rubs comforting circles on your back.

He presses a kiss to the top of your head and he can feel the tears springing from your eyes, trailing across his skin. The feeling burns him in every kind of way that tears his heart apart slowly. How he wishes he can take the weight of what you’re feeling off your shoulders and instead he can carry it for you. But all he can do right now is hold you, brush his hard over your head and pull you as close as he can get you, and whisper words of comfort, hoping it will take the pain away.

“I—I really needed you. I just kept thinking of how badly I wanted to run into your arms when I walked out of there. They made me feel so stupid and useless and I—”

He shushes you smoothly, shaking his head and tearing you away from his neck so you can see him.

“Screw them, baby. We can write a complaint or something because you don’t deserve to get treated like that, alright?” His voice is firm full of determination not showing you how angry he is at your boss or co-workers for letting this escalate.

Your palms come up to your eyes, rubbing them as your voice breaks. “I know, but I just feel so d-dumb—”

He shakes his head, tugging gently at your wrists to stop you from hiding, “Hey stop, don’t say that. You don’t know how much you mean to me and how much I hate when I hear you say those things about yourself.”

You sniffle, smiling at him apologetically, “Sorry, I know…I—I’m just happy to be here with you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m glad you called and I’m happier to know you’re okay. I was scared shitless.” He grimaces, grazing his sights over every inch of your tear-stained cheeks and puffy eyes.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” you say softly, “I was just planning on showing up here, but I guess everything was just building and building and when I finally quit and walked out of there I felt like I was going to collapse and I just needed you.”

His heart swells with love and admiration, for a minute it replaces the worry and anguish. It’s stupid because he shouldn’t be smiling as wide as he is right now with tears prickling his eyes in the best way possible.

You’ve never held back on telling him how much you cared and appreciated him for being the best boyfriend in the world…but to be needed is a whole different level that he’s new to. One that mends his heart of all the traumas and has him holding your face in his hands while he blinks the tears down his cheeks as you watch.

You’re confused, brows pinching together as you swipe your thumbs across his cheeks and wonder what he’s thinking and smiling about. It’s only when he speaks that you understand what’s happening.

“I love you, you know that?” His voice quivers, teeters on the edge of fear and letting go.

Your jaw trembles, new tears falling down your cheeks, this time in a happy way that has you forgetting about the horrible shift you had just endured.

None of that matters when you’re standing in the arms of the man who’s telling you that he loves you.

You’re laughing through the tears, feelings the comfort and safety in his embrace, “Y-yeah?” you ask stupidly, as if he could ever change his mind.

He nods, laughing weakly,“Yeah…like a lot. I love you so much and I’m always gonna be here…not gonna go anywhere. Right here whenever you need me.”

“I love you too, Stevie.” You cooed, standing up on your tiptoes and kissing him with every ounce of your being.

Your lips move in synchronicity, the familiarity of each other never building contempt, instead making you both stronger. It’s a feeling that will never get old and that neither of you would get tired of experiencing. Even at your worse, you know it’ll always be okay as long as you have him to keep you tethered.

Time freezes for everyone, not just you and Steve — your friends watching in the window and smiling at the scene before them.

They’ve always known that you and him were in love since the moment you two said hello. It’s just that now, it feels a lot nicer being able to witness the moment you two finally realize it. The love you share and everything in between.

💌 reblogs, tags, comments, + likes are greatly appreciated! leave a comment and let me know if want to be added to my taglist!! 💌

a/n: i hope you guys like this little something something i wrote based off "in between" by gracie abrams. i absolutely love this song and it's so underrated (ITS UNREALEASED KINDA LOL). anyways, let me know what you think!

taglist: @translatemunson @kennedy-brooke @manda-panda-monium @tvserie-s-world @givemeth @steveharringtonswife @astolenkiss @loving-and-dreaming @awkotaco24 @engenelxver @elfiaaaa @pbs-theundeadmaggot @johnricharddeacy @gaysludge @scoopshxrrington @micheledawn1975 @ihatepeanutss @bakugouswh0r3

[legallybrunettedotcom]

Heyy may I ask which documentaries on various club scenes you've been watching? Really interested in the topic :)

Hey, for sure! I'll link them all. Some of these are about clubbing, and some are more about electronic music, but understanding electronic music is essential for understanding clubbing. So I'm like really obsessed with the Hacienda, which was this big Manchester nightclub in the 80s during the Madchester era, acid house boom. You got this BBC documentary (The Hacienda - The Club that Shook Britain) and also a 1990 doc on Madchester that's a nice little introduction. One of my favourite youtube channels is Trash Theory, they did a great video on Madchester and also New Order's Blue Monday, which is relevant bc New Order basically financed the club so maybe that'll interest you as well. There's also Peter Hook's book about it that I actually still haven't read but it's next up on my to read list. I would also recommend the movie 24 Hour Party People from 2002 that I really love. I'm linking everything I've seen, some acid house, raving, disco, house, techno etc. docs, video essays, other videos and so on. I think a good start, and then from here you'll find more stuff :)

Everybody In The Place: An Incomplete History Of Britain 1984-1992 by Jeremy Deller

The Chemical Generation

Acid House 1988

The Summer Of Rave 1989

Trailblazers: Acid House

Dance Britannia - Acid House

BBC Everyman - E is for Ecstasy - Rave Documentary 1992

The Rave Years - With Keith Flint & Richard Russell

I Was There When House Took Over the World

How House Music Was Born

Pump up the volume: A history of House music

Maestro Documentary - The History of the Paradise Garage

What is House? An Insider's Look at Dance Music - 1991

The Story of When House Music Went Global

When Disco Ruled the World BBC

When Disco Ruled the World VH1

Modulations - Cinema for the Ear

Better Days: The Story of UK Rave

Synth Britannia

We call it techno! A documentary about Germany’s early Techno scene and culture

Sound of Berlin Documentary

Sub Berlin - The Story of Tresor

And then there's also a bunch of real footage you can find on youtube by just typing 80s clubbing or sth like that and it's just so fun.

[crepesuzette2023]

In honor of @ilovedig's Birthday: some Beatles fanfics with rare (read: beyond 'straight' mclennon) pairings and unusual POV's!

McHarrison

The @beatleskinkmeme Summer of Love Fanworks Collection has some great new McHarrison fics.

Grateful for Him (@johangeorghohman). Five times George regrets John is in Paul's life, and one time he's grateful. An absolute heartbreaker of a story—so beautiful.

Invisible String (@scurator). Paul and George meet again at the Venus and Mars release party. They moved on; they will always belong together.

Knocking at Your Door (@eveepe). Paul and George kissing through the years, from childhood to Anthology. Special appearance by Paul's eager little prick (and you know I'm sold).

-----

Polycule Beatles

The same collection also has fantastic stories about the Beatles as a four-sided love story:

Deeper than oceans you run (@wonderwall1968). The four of them are reeling in the aftershock of a health scare. A dark, dream-like, intense story. John POV.

Everybody Loves Somebody (@bewareofdarkness). Soulmark AU: The four Beatles are meant to be together. But it doesn't happen without a hitch.

-----

Paul McCartney/Mal Evans

You Won't See Me (@swinginglondon42). Mal is in love with Paul, and can't see he moved on.

-----

John Lennon/Keith Richards

Emotional Rescue (@ohjohnnysblog). Near wordless comfort in the aftermath of a party—and Brian's death.

-----

George Harrison/ Yoko Ono

Miss Oh No (@aquarianshift). Yoko and her obsession with "real men" meets George and his resentment of the band he's nevertheless willing to protect from her. Brief, tense and hot encounter.

-----

John/Paul/George

I'd Love to Turn You On (sleeprettydarling). George knows Paul and John are lovers. He's curious. They show him.

-----

Brian Epstein/ Alistair Taylor

Another Kind of Love (Naraht). Lovely story about deep friendship and loyalty.

-----

George Harrison/ Bob Dylan

On the Avenue (@aquarianshift). Two weird men desire each other. George's soul splits from the Beatles. Dream-like and strange, but absolutely grounded in sensuality.

-----

George Harrison/John Lennon & George Harrison/Paul McCartney

Sour Milk Sea (You & You & Me) (cloudy_blue). John and Paul and George through the years. Relationship study.

-----

George Harrison/John Lennon

At Mercy (@eveepe). George and John are girls and in the same band. John was never more John than in this story. "How was I?"

-----

Paul McCartney/ Peter Asher

still mates (@pauls1967moustache). Perennial favorite, because it makes so much sense for Paul and Peter to have a misguided one-night-stand while Lennon/McCartney are falling into Mount Doom. If you didn't think you could fall in love with Peter Asher, think again. He's brave and wonderful in this story.

-----

Paul McCartney/ Donovan

Bound to be the very next phase (downtothelastdrop). Paul satisfies his curiosity in Rishikesh.

-----

Paul McCartney/ George Martin

Fixing A Hole (@m1ssunderstanding). Very much a George vs. Jim story.

-----

Linda McCartney/Paul McCartney/Denny Laine

Red Light, Green Light, Strawberry Wine (@savageandwise). Another all time favorite. Linda POV. A hot and angry threesome while Paul is waiting for John to call him back again.

-----

Unusual POV's

The Macs (@revollver). 1969 'we eloped to Scotland' John and Paul through the eyes of Mike McCartney.

Playing the Mind Guerilla (Anonymous). John and Paul through the eyes of George, Stu, and (wait for it) Nigel Walley.

I've Seen You, Beauty (bakerstreetafternoon). Paris '61 John and Paul through the eyes of Jürgen Vollmer.

Another Girl (@boshemians). AHDN Beatles through the eyes of Astrid Kirchherr.

Why Buy the Cow (RedheadAmongWolves). Early Days John and Paul through the eyes of the milkman.

I only have eyes for you (ififellinlovewithyou). John's collage and body horror.

Butts and Beatles: What the Ciggie Carton Saw (@waveofahand). The Beatles through the eyes of their cigarettes.

-----

Paul McCartney/Yoko Ono; Paul McCartney & Yoko Ono

Raglan Road (@savageandwise): Paul and Yoko make love after John's death. "He was their shared language. He was their lexicon. Their language was John."

White Swan, Black Swan (@savageandwise). Companion piece to the above. Yoko writes a poem to Paul. Incredible. This is the stuff I live for.

mesmerized by mythology (peculiar_mademoiselle). Paul and Yoko through the years.

Opposites (Selena). 1975. A visit from Paul and Linda to the Dakota. From Yoko's point of view.

Regeneration (@scurator). Yoko and Paul as widows. Paul is flirting. Yoko is not disinclined.

a great threat (@pauls1967moustache). Paul and Yoko are both women, and artists, and John's partners, and it makes everything so much worse.

modern love (caesdoublesteps). To break the angsty mood: Paul and Yoko meet to discuss her handing over the movie Self Portrait. Yoko POV; very amusing!

-----

Paul McCartney/Stuart Sutcliffe; Paul McCartney & Stuart Sutcliffe

The Bass Lesson (@aquarianshift). I sill stop reccing this hot, awkward, throbbing-with-resentment Paul/Stu sex when I'm dead.

Baselines (cloudy_blue). Stu hands over his bass guitar to Paul.

-----

And finally: Some @ilovedig Originals!

I Lost My Little Boy (Paul/Ian James, Paul/John). The Woolton Fete, but it starts as a date for Paul and Ian James.

Jane Did an Interview (Paul/everyone). Open-ended series with self-contained chapters. Old Paul and a possible life partner respond to Jane Asher's ominous refusal to mention Paul in an interview. Mini relationship portraits, from John to Klaus Voormann.

Happy Birthday! I hope the universe will send that epic and romantic Paul McCartney/Werner 'Icke' Braun-fic your way...sooner rather than later!

[shatterinseconds]

“So you’re bisexual.”

Lance rolls his eyes at Keith’s statement, saying in pure exasperation, “Yes. Obviously.” 

Somehow Keith, out of everybody Lance has ever known, including his family back on Earth and his new family here on the castle-ship, is the last to know. Lance doesn’t quite get it since he has flirted with alien species of all different genders since they got trapped in space. But then again, this is Keith and he still has a mullet, as if Earth is stuck in the late twentieth century, so he clearly catches onto things at a snail’s pace.

“And you’ve had a crush on me this entire time?” This time Keith phrases it as a question, a slight heistance to his voice that Lance isn’t sure what to make of it. Whether it’s annoyance or hopefulness. There are only two things it could be. His arms are crossed, hands tightly clutching his biceps—it’s not that inspiring but Lance soldiers on. No getting out of it now; not after…  

“I don’t kiss people for the fun of it—I mean I do, but with meaning. Not on impulse.” Lance waves his hand as he struggles to explain. “You get it.”

“I really don’t.” But Keith says it with a smile this time, trying to contain a laugh and that makes Lance start to grin, a weight on his heart easing. “It was still pretty impulsive.”

“Sue me. You were the one who asked me to dance,” Lance bites back. His skin heats though the redness is thankfully concealed by his brown skin. 

It was a typical gala event, hosted by the alien species they had saved that day. Nothing special. Nothing unordinary besides Keith standing next to him, extending a hand in a silent question. When they had entered the dance floor, almost as if on queue, the crystal lighting shifted to a soft lavender, dosing both of them in a glow of starlight.

Keith’s touch had been so gentle, so warm. Lance didn’t even mind that they lost the rhythm to the dance too many times to count, Keith wholly uncoordinated.  

“You always complain about never having a partner,” Keith argues in response. His pale skin starts to color red, first his cheeks then his ears. Lance loves it.

“You hate dancing though.”

“I do,” Keith admits, only to surprise Lance by adding, “But you make it fun.”

Lance sucks in a sharp breath. He leans against the corridor wall, taking a moment to close his eyes and concentrate on the coolness of the metal. “Did you want me to kiss you?” he finds himself asking, a bit hesitant, as he opens his eyes again. 

Keith had cupped his face right as the music started to change into a different melody. His fingers twisted into the hair at the nape of Lance’s neck, thumb brushing his cheekbone. They had stared at each other as if in a trance, fully stopped on the dance floor while everyone else twirled around them unknowing.

Keith licks his lips, nodding to Lance’s question as he ducks his head. “Yeah, yeah I did,” he answers quietly. Then his dark violet eyes flick up to Lance’s face. “Just didn’t think you’d feel the same.”

Part of Lance can’t believe this is happening—that Keith would ever be interested in him. But here they are. He chuckles a little, unable to contain the spark of giddiness catching at his heart. “I’ll be more obvious with my flirting next time,” Lance says. He takes a step forward, making sure Keith’s attention remains set on him, and gently rests his hands on Keith’s hips, fingers catching onto his belt loops. “For instance: Keith Kogane, you are the most captivating person I have ever met. I’d love to take you on a date sometime.”

Keith leans in, grabbing onto Lance’s shirt to pull him closer, and kisses him square on the mouth. Their lips part and Lance follows Keith’s lead, caught in the push and pull and Keith’s quiet laugh reverberating against his open mouth. Keith breaks the kiss no more than a few seconds later, but a pleased smile sits on his face. “Alright, loverboy. Pick me up at seven. Don’t be late.”

[autisticlancemcclain]

part one

part two

———

“Ugh,” Keith says.

“Ugh,” Lance agrees.

Keith looks up slowly from where he was glowering at his plate of appetizers, staring at Lance for several minutes with eyes squinted in suspicion.

“What the fresh fuck are you talking about.”

Lance wrinkles his nose at him. “What?”

“You love these things,” Keith says, like the Blue Paladin is a particularly slow toddler. “You’re usually – prancing around, making a fool of yourself in front of pretty people. Every time one of these dumbass celebration missions ends you complain. The fuck you mean, ‘ugh’?”

“I mean ugh,” Lance repeats, emphasizing the word. “Sometimes I simply do not feel the party vibe, Keith. You ever think about that? No. Because you never think about anything. Because the only thing in your skull is a hamster wheel covered in cobwebs. So there.”

Keith lets that hang between them for a moment.

“You’re just mad you got called ugly earlier, huh.”

“It was so rude!” Lance explodes, obviously waiting for Keith to bring it up. “Like, who says that? What kind of trained diplomat refers to a random stranger as ‘the homely one’? Why the fuck would you say that? And it’s not even true! I’m a legit snack! I have been propositioned, you know! More than once! It’s actually quite frequent!” He throws his hand up, noise of frustration coming from deep in his throat. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, but no actual sentences come out, just different variations of ‘ugh!’ and ‘how dare!’ and ‘the nerve!’.

Because he is a stellar person, Keith does not laugh, instead biting his tongue as hard as he physically can without biting it clean off. Everytime Lance’s sputtering dies off only to kick back up when he thinks of his transgression again it gets harder.

Contrary to what everyone seems to think, Keith likes Lance. They’re friends. They hang out, they talk shit about other people, they do friend things. That’s why they’re both sitting here, at the edge of some grandiose ballroom on a planet whose name Keith has forgotten because they’ve only been here one day, leaning against each other and picking food off the same plate. (Well, Keith’s plate. He’s being gracious and letting Lance have some because Lance has taken enough massive Ls today, and Hunk is busy, so if Lance gets hangry Keith can’t just pass him off on somebody, so. Better to keep him fed, or whatever.)

“We should go – do something,” Lance mutters, picking apart what appears to be a cookie. Maybe. Alien shit is weird. “Make faces behind Shiro’s back. Convince Coran to get wine drunk.”

“We did that already,” Keith dismisses. “Last time, remember? We can’t do it too many times or we’re gonna have to be supervised again. We just managed to convince Shiro to ease up on the trackers.”

Lance sinks further into his chair. “Ugh,” he says again, with true feeling.

Keith begins to feel bad. Lance doesn’t look genuinely upset, he doesn’t think – he knows what a genuinely upset Lance looks like and it’s fucking heartbreaking; it’s the kind of shit that could stop wars – but Keith is a little bit worried that he is bothered, in some way. It can’t feel good to get called ugly in front of everybody. It was funny. And Keith laughed a little. But, still.

Keith nudges their shoulders together. “You wanna go dance?”

Lance freezes. He turns his head slowly to face Keith, like if he moves too fast Keith is going to change his mind. His brown doe eyes are wide and hopeful and over the top, honestly. God. No one asked for that.

“Really?”

“No. I’m taking back my offer. You’re being weird about it.”

“Nope! Nuh-uh! No takebacksies! We’re dancing!” Lance whoops, shoving back his chair and scrambling to his feet. He wraps his fingers tightly around Keith’s wrist, grinning so wide his face is about to split.

“You are holding me hostage,” Keith complains, smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He gets up at Lance’s urging, popping the last of the weirdo alien cookie in his mouth and wiping his hand on his suit pants. “Let’s go, Homely One.”

If looks could kill, Keith’s intestines would be painting the floor. The look Lance gives him is lethal. It’s made worse when Keith laughs, because that was funny as hell and he refuses to pretend otherwise. He pulls Lance away, though, before he can reach for the butterknife that’s closeby and stab Keith in the eye, clasping their hands together and weaving them through the crowd of dancers and partygoers. Pretty soon the excitement catches up to Lance, because after a minute he’s the one dragging them around, having apparently picked a perfect spot on the ornate marble dancefloor for them to situate themselves. It is, of course, right smack in the middle, surrounded by people on all sides, right under the massive and delicate crystal chandelier that Keith and Hunk spent forty minutes mocking when they first got here.

“You’re extra as all fuck,” Keith informs him, dutifully putting his hand on Lance’s waist as instructed.

“I will have my Sam Montgomery moment or so help me God,” Lance responds. Keith notices he’s closer than he needs to be and immediately orders himself to un-notice that. He can see flecks of amber in Lance’s dark eyes. It’s so actually horrible. He focuses on Lance’s nose, instead, hoping for reprieve, but of course there is where all his freckles are. An attempt to focus on Lance’s mouth is a disaster waiting to happen, so he looks deliberately at Lance’s bigass forehead to distract himself. It kind of works.

The forehead that he is so intensely focused on wrinkles, and Keith says, “What,” and Lance says, “Aw, Keith, gross,” and then before Keith can stop anything Lance is untangling their hands, licking his thumb, and wiping something at the corner of his mouth.

Keith freezes.

He processes.

He gags.

All in that order.

“Lance!” he cries, swiping his own hands at his mouth. “Gross!”

“What’s gross is you walking around with crusty icing on the corner of your mouth, heathen,” Lance says, eyebrow arched and chin tilted defiantly.

Keith makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat. His face matches his armour. He prays that the universe crack open the ground to swallow him whole. He can’t – gah. No one has done that to him since Shiro’s mother would come to visit and take them to get ice cream. When he was eleven.

“Are you a ninety year old grandmother,” he hisses, swiping the corner of his mouth one last time. He thinks his face may actually be glowing.

“Are you a two year old who can’t keep his food in his mouth?” Lance counters. He looks entirely unbothered and Keith wants to strangle him. Who does that. Who, honestly.

“That is not how I wanted your spit near my mouth,” Keith mutters, and immediately wants to open his bayard between his eyes.

Lance stops. A twirling trio of people bumps into him. He does not move. Slowly, his face begins to burn, starting from the sharp jut of his cheekbones and quickly spreading everywhere else. He opens his mouth, then closes it, then narrows his eyes in determination and opens it again.

“Nope,” Keith says before he can say anything. There is no recovery from this. There is only tactical retreat. “I have to – I left my excuse on the castle. I’m gonna go grab it.”

As quickly as he can manage he lets go of Lance’s hand and his waist, gracefully ducking around a dancing couple and high-tailing the hell out of the room. He averts his eyes when he walks by Shiro, praying he doesn’t get stopped, and walks straight out the door. Lance’s calls of his name quickly become faint as he sprints down the hallway.

He can’t believe — God, he said that. Out loud. To Lance’s face. After Lance fucking — licked his thumb and wiped Keith’s face. Like the fussy mother he is.

And Keith is still attracted to him.

He stops in the middle of the hallway, head cradled in his hands, skin hot to the touch.

Fuck, he has a complex.

[ohjohnnysblog]

Why yes, yes I am in the middle of writing fic in which Charlie, Keith, and Shirley are together. Which started life as A Beatles fic. That seems.... entirely reasonable to me.

The Stones + Weird AO3 Tags

[ambrozjas]

hi! ur blog is so adorable. i was wondering if it wouldnt be any trouble to request any and all of ur romantic two-bit headcanons xD

two-bit romantic hc’s ꨄ︎

✧˖*°࿐ notes 🧸ᰔᩚ

two-bit is literally so underrated??? like where are all the edits and fics of him, huh???

✧˖*°࿐ warnings ᰔᩚ

mentions of alcohol and hangovers, a few curse words

. ˚◞♡ ⃗ *ೃ༄ . ˚◞♡ ⃗ *ೃ༄ . ˚◞♡ ⃗ *ೃ༄ . ˚◞♡ ⃗ *ೃ༄

❥ soooo let’s get started !!

❥ starting off, i feel like TWO-BIT would be a very fun lover, the type of fun where he’ll pull you out of bed at night and go drunkenly roaming around the streets of tulsa with you (being careful not get in the crossfire of any socs)

❥ would honestly fall in love with your laugh and i am very adamant about this

❥ would steal stuff for you, in the book it says how he’s known for stealing but i feel like everybody breezes past that??

❥ calls you the goofiest shit ever. like, at first before he’s gotten to know you, he’ll holler at you calling you “pretty thing”. but when you guys are actually together, he be calling you babycakes n shit 😭

❥ super annoying about saying ily. if you even MUTTER it, and he hears, he’ll be teasing you all day long trying to get you to say it again

❥ the type of guy who’ll dance out of nowhere with you. no music, no rhythm, no beat. just two people in love

❥ diner dates????? SHARING A MILKSHAKE?? DOES ANYBODY UNDERSTAND MY VISION HERE??

❥ when he takes you to meet his sister, if you love n care for her enough too?? god, he will hear wedding bells.

❥ most of the time acts like a baby when a really bad hangover hits. usually ends up with him curled over the toilet and you rubbing his back.

❥ not afraid to hit a bitch if they talk wrong bout you, he will not tolerate this “babycakes” slander

❥ cracks jokes and immediately looks to you to spot you laughing, and oh god that laugh is just like music to him

❥ does the thing where he gives you super wet kisses on your face and gets butthurt if you wipe them off

❥ pda’s an eh. he won’t full on make out with you but maybe an arm slung over your shoulder and a kiss

❥ and.. the pickup lines.. are horrible..

“you an orphanage? ‘cause i wanna give you some kids.”

“what th’fuck, keith.”

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ but seriously, two-bit is like way too underrated. i barely see anything for him 💔

kiss kiss ˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍒 ꒱

[fandomination666-blog]

As someone who lives in Texas (unfortunately) I find it SO FUNNY when people make keith overwhelmingly southern. Like, cmon yall. Texas history 101, the cowboy era ended a long ass time ago, most of us DONT wear cowboy hats anymore. Why the fuck would keith ride a horse???? Nobody does that unless they own horses??? And horses are incredibly expensive???

Like, I understand cowboy aus, and historical aus, but if Texas, in 2024, isn't like that (the stereotypes are so wild) then why would it be like that in approx 2314?

Very few wear cowboy hats or boots. Very few have horses, and NOBODY rides them to school, ffs. Keith is not a farmhand.

Some texas stereotypes that are true, however...

-yeah we say yall nonstop

-ain't, wouldja, couldn't've, etc.

-confederate flag is less common here, normally you see the "come and take it" or the "don't tread on me"

-if keith ever went to public school, 1/3 of his classmates or more are Latino

-most Texans know moderate amounts of Spanish

-we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and most ppl think it's Mexican independence day (it's not)

-barbecue.

-chili WITHOUT BEANS YOU HEATHEN

-will fight over food, family, or football

-either you support the Dallas Cowboys or the Houston Texans. Any other team is sacrilege. Once you make this choice, it WILL have effects on your social life.

-football is basically king here lol, none of the other stuff in school gets nearly the funding

-people living in rural areas (like Keith's dad) often own guns, and not pistols either-- rifles and shotguns, usually

-NOBODY SAYS YEEHAW. at least not unironically

-Texans will ironically say yeehaw, rootin-tootin, etc bc we are aware of our history and think it's wack

-were not all racist, but everyone knows at least one person who is (usually an older family member)

-mind your gotdamn manners at the table. Get those elbows away from your food

-sir and ma'am for strangers

-open doors for old people. You don't have to be a man to do this.

-please and thank you is SO important, people will assume things about you otherwise

-if you don't have a church, you miss out on a lot of community (coming from a non-religious person)

-most people here are Baptist, on that note (Hispanic people contribute to the Catholic population, but still, Baptist is #1)

-internet service is awful unless you're in a city

-we WILL close all schools for 2 inches of snow/ice

-we laugh at hurricanes, and then do our best to help our Houston neighbors

-but everybody hates Houston and Dallas, unless you live there

-most people are okay with Austin, San Antonio, etc

-EL PASO IS TINY, AND HALF OF IT IS IN MEXICO (and is called Ciudad Juárez there)

-beer is god. And God has no problem with drinking. (According to beliefs here)

-gambling is illegal here, but we love it, so states like Oklahoma have built casinos RIGHT ON THE STATE BORDER so that we can drive a bit and gamble as we please

-everybody's dad drives a truck. Otherwise people assume he's got a small pp

[shares-a-vest]

Everybody knows Eddie has a way with nicknames. Everyone gets a pet name from Eddie to the point he basically never says anyone's real name.

And Steve gets an array of them. More than anyone else. Sweetheart. Sugarplum. Stevie. Multiple pet names all strung together in quick succession. Very rarely he's Harrington. That one is typically reserved for when Eddie is being a total bitch and they are fighting. King Steve, of course. He still doesn't love it, but at least now it is said with affection instead of sarcasm and contempt.

Meanwhile, Steve's over here simply calling his boyfriend Eds. Okay, maybe he said 'babe' one time in the presence of Lucas, Mike and Dustin and he's never heard the end of it.

It's kinda lame and he rather die than explain it to anyone (or have anyone else hear it), but Steve sees Eddie as his Prince. It's a pet name Eddie hasn't used, which is surprising considering there is a side DND character who is a Prince that bares embarrassingly detailed physical similarities to Steve.

Eddie is the Prince who came and swept him off his feet when he was at his loneliest.

Again, kinda lame. And pathetic.

Unfortunately, Steve blurts out said name in the least romantic setting possible: the back storeroom of Family Video.

They're in the back looking for the copy of Top Gun Steve had stashed away for them to take home. The waitlist was a month long and Keith enforced a strict 'no employees on the waitlist' policy, even though he definitely took a copy for himself.

"Holy shit," Eddie says, staring at the VHS cover of Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis.

Steve hands it over. "I reserved it under the fake account Rob and I have."

It was basically his only option considering Keith's flimsy rule and Eddie being banned from the store a few years back. Thank God they didn't have security cameras or else Steve would have been fired a hundred times over by now.

"Whoa," Eddie says with the wide-eyed wonder of a kid, holding the VHS in his hands like it is the most precious and delicate thing in the world.

"Anything for my Prince," Steve coos, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

He pulls back, staring. Oh god. He really just said that out loud.

Eddie blinks, clearly taking a moment to compute (or willing to tear his eyes away from ogling the back cover image of Val Kilmer). He quirks a brow, turning to look at Steve, a sly smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and accentuated by the scar that runs along the left side of his jaw.

"So that makes you the damsel in distress?" he says more than asks, glee in his eyes.

Shit, Steve really hadn't thought of it that way. Trust him to come up with a pet name that immediately made him vulnerable to teasing.

Before he can think of what to say, Eddie is scooping him up bridal-style. He promptly loops his arms around Eddie's neck when he feels his legs teetering on the spot at the cramped and awkward angle, wedged between Keith's desk and a shelving unit.

"Don't worry, Princess!" Eddie declares in dramatic fashion. "The Prince is here to save you from your dungeon and that wretched oaf."

He laughs hysterically as he sways Steve about.

"Stop!" Steve laughs, kicking and sending a stack of VHSs toppling to the ground.

"I shan't!" Eddie yells, his voice echoing through the small space. "Not until I have you in the safety of my bed chambers!"

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" Steve giggles as Eddie swings him around, sending more tapes flying.

[humanmorph]

Transcript:

SYLVIA: [...] I just like, have this idea of a conversation like happening between- happening among the crew of like, the original Rapid Evening, like A.O. and Leap and Millie about like, “hey, it’s way harder for them to keep us under control here.”

AUSTIN: (crosstalk) Do this scene.  This should be a scene.

SYLVIA: Yeah?

AUSTIN: Yeah.

SYLVIA: All right.

AUSTIN: Where is it?  What’s going on?

SYLVIA: I wanna say it’s like, cafeteria area, I guess?

AUSTIN: Yeah.  That works.

SYLVIA: Wherever they’re eating.  Um-

KEITH: This is everyone but Clem.

SYLVIA: Pretty much, yeah.  I mean, SI not there either.

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: (crosstalk) Okay, so, so-

SYLVIA: None of the cops in the Rapid Evening are invited.

AUSTIN: Okay.  So A.O., Leap, Millie.  Figure A?

SYLVIA: Figure A can be there if you want.

AUSTIN: (laughing) Yeah, Figure A is there.  Great.

KEITH: Playing three songs at once on a little speaker.

AUSTIN: (crosstalk) Yeah.

SYLVIA: Well, what I- I like them just like- they’re having lunch and like, sorting through shit that Leap got at the raid.

AUSTIN: Oh, that’s really good, I like that, yeah.

SYLVIA: And that’s something that Figure A’s just doing a lot of.

KEITH: Like categorizing things maybe?

SYLVIA: Yeah, but like, they’re sort of like- The rest of them are like, fucking around with it too.  And I think at one point Millie’s just like,

SYLVIA (as Millie): Hey, why do we still listen to Clem?

KEITH (as Leap): We don’t.  I don’t.

SYLVIA (as Millie): Yeah, but like- Okay, you don’t.  Why- Why have we- Okay, better question.  Why does Clem still think she’s in charge?

KEITH (as Leap): Because-

SYLVIA (as Millie): (crosstalk) You know what I mean?

KEITH (as Leap): Pretending to be in charge is the only way to seem like you’re still in charge.

SYLVIA (as Millie): But like, Leap, people are listening to her!

KEITH (as Leap): I know, it’s a tragedy.

SYLVIA (as Millie): So- Okay, let me just like, sort of bridge this gap here that we’re having between our two thoughts.

KEITH (as Leap): Yeah.

SYLVIA (as Millie): What if we put her into prison?  And we were the ones-

KEITH (as Leap): Are you kidding me?  Are you kidding me right now?

SYLVIA (as Millie): No, I’m not kidding you right now.

KEITH (as Leap): Do you- I- ah- Sounds a little familiar!  I think someone maybe had this idea!

SYLVIA (as Millie): (shouting) What! Hey! Okay! Hold on!  Hold on!  Hold on!  Hold on!

AUSTIN: Figure A says,

AUSTIN (as Figure A): I recall seventeen instances where Exeter Leap-

SYLVIA (as Millie): (crosstalk) (shouting) WAY worse timing!

AUSTIN (as Figure A): -suggested that we place Clementine Kesh into a prison or something adjacent to a prison, categorically.

SYLVIA (as Millie): (crosstalk) Okay! Fine!

KEITH (as Leap): Can you play those back?

SYLVIA (as Millie): (crosstalk) Okay, Leap’s always right, everybody loves Leap, I get it.

KEITH (as Leap): We gotta put Clem in jail.

SYLVIA (as Millie): We gotta put Clem in jail!  Also, okay, fucking-

AUSTIN: How’s A.O.?  Is A.O. just watching all this, what’s-

ART (as A.O. Rooke): What’s- What, I thought we were gonna listen to some recordings.

(AUSTIN and SYLVIA laugh)

KEITH (as Leap): Yeah, run through ‘em!

AUSTIN (as Figure A): (as Leap) “Hey, why don’t we just put Clem in jail and take over?  We have all the power here!”

SYLVIA (as Millie): Ehhh.

ART (as A.O. Rooke): Hmm, I don’t think I was there for that one.

AUSTIN (as Figure A): (as Leap) “Small idea, what if we just put Clementine in jail and we took over the palace and had our whole entire situation reversed.  Wouldn’t that be better?”

ART (as A.O. Rooke): Mmm.

KEITH (as Figure A): (as Leap) “I’m over the Clem thing, no offense Clem.  Shouldn’t she be the one in jail?”

(AUSTIN laughs)

SYLVIA: God.

ART (as A.O. Rooke) Yeah, I remember- That one, that was the most recent one.  Why aren’t these in order?

SYLVIA: (crosstalk) At the end of every clip, there’s just Millie going “Ehhhhhh.”

KEITH: (crosstalk) They’re alphabetical.

AUSTIN: (crosstalk) (laughing) They’re in alphabetical order, yeah.

KEITH: Yeah.

ART: Alphabetical by location.

AUSTIN: (laughing) Yes.