#genuinely did not think we we’re gonna get buck coming out to eddie this soon | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

pastelavender88 · 3 years ago

Text

Right Person At Maybe The Wrong Time- Chapter 12

Summary: The events of 5x6.

Series Masterlist

Alex, Buck, and I were having a little movie night since Evan was off of work. Alex had just gone to her room when I decided to approach Buck with a matter. "Hey, Buck. Before you go, can I ask you something?" "Yeah, sure, go ahead." "Well, Alex's 10th birthday is next month, and I wanted to have a birthday party for her." "Oh, that's great. What kind of party are we thinking of?" Buck asked. "Well, I wanted to invite everyone, Bobby, Athena, May, Harry, Hen, Eddie, and more. Also, since it's her double digits party, I was thinking we go all out. Like this:

”

I showed him pictures of a party theme I got off of Pinterest. "That's a good theme. I can't wait!" Buck seemed genuinely happy to help me plan the party. "Me either. The only thing is I want this to be a surprise. Alex always says I never do anything fun for her birthday. So when she asks, we just tell her we're having a nice family dinner." "Alright, I can do that. When exactly is Alex's birthday again?" "November 16. Also, I have the guest list pretty much done, but I was wondering are your parents coming?" Buck looked shaken by this. "Umm... no. Well, not no. It's just that I haven't exactly said anything about Alex yet." What the hell does he mean he hasn't told them yet?

"You haven't told them yet!" I started to raise my voice when Buck pointed in the direction of Alex's room. "I mean, why haven't you told them yet? I know your parents weren't the best, but I want her to at least meet them. My dad is flying from Pennsylvania." "It's a lot more to it than that. I don't want them being passive-aggressive towards you and Alex. I don't want her to go through that. Plus, our parents never liked each other." He was right about that last part. "Buckley. Listen to me. Our parents can't get in the way of us raising our daughter. Do you think my dad was thrilled when I told him you were back in my life? Of course not! He literally hated you, but it was what was best for Alex." "Your dad hates me?" He seemed surprised by this fact. "You broke our window, nearly burnt down our house, you were reckless, and you got me pregnant. Let's just say he isn't your biggest fan." He just nodded at this.

"Okay, that's fair. Alright, I'll talk to my parents about it soon." He started to head towards the door. "I'm gonna run. Taylor is waiting for me at home." "Oh, at home, you say? Sounds like things are getting pretty serious." "Whatever. Maybe if you get some, you wouldn't be so noisy." He said teasingly. "You're right. You think Eddie is still up?" To which I stuck out my tongue after saying.

"Later, loser." He said as he walked out the door.

Eddie's POV

It's been a few days since the park but only a few hours since I saw Y/N. Things between us have gotten better, and we've become closer. True to my word, I put the picture of the four of us on my lock screen. Y/N and I look so in love in the picture, and the kids are both beaming. Honestly, since Buck brought up me having feelings for Y/N, that's all I could think about. I never felt this way about Ana, and I don't even think Shannon and I were this close. Except, I was confused. What if I did give us a try, and it didn't work out? What if she didn't feel the same? It could ruin everything between us. So, for now, we just continue to be friends.

The 118 was called to help put out fires at an active riot. While we were there, we saw two prisoners that needed medical attention. While on the way to the hospital, suddenly, Buck turned off the light and sirens. When I noticed something was off, I looked over to the "guard" and noticed he had a gun drawn. We're in for it now. When we pulled over, they emptied our pockets. Buck and I tried to create a plan of attack when one of the prisoners started talking.

"Cute family, you got here," He showed me the picture on the lock screen. "That wife of yours is a cutie, but I think she might have slept with your buddy over there cause there is so way this kid isn't his." He was obviously talking about Alex. "They live with you at 4995 South Bedford Street, right?" Buck went over to say something when the other guy attacked him. "Now we're going to do things my way, so no one gets hurt, alright." We both nodded. 10 minutes into the ride, the blond started speaking to me. "Hey, pretty boy. You got a text from someone named Y/N. It says, "Christopher's staying at mine tonight. Carla isn't feeling too well." I'm guessing she isn't your wife then, huh?" I continued to work on the patient. He turned to Buck. "So she's your baby mama and his girlfriend. Wow, you firefighters are weird. If she was mine there is no way she could get away with that."

“You watch your mouth!” Buck quickly barked back.

“Easy there tiger! We wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt. I obviously struck a nerve. So what’s she like in the sack because by the look in her eyes in this picture, she looks ready to pounce on you.” Evan was bothered by his words and was giving me a sideways glance but he tried to keep it to himself. “Looks like someone is getting jealous over there. I’m sure there’s enough of her to go around.” We both continued to ignore him. My mind was on Christopher, Alex, and Y/N. I needed to make it out of this.

After the aftermath, I rushed over to Y/N's house. I texted Y/n to let her know I was outside so I wouldn't have to ring the doorbell and wake the kids. She opened the door, and she was wearing a sexy pajama set.

"Eddie, why are you so late? What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a hostage situation." She looked at me like I was speaking a different language.

"Nothing I can’t handle. How was he?"

"He was great. Worried, but he eventually went to sleep." She moved closer to me. "Are you sure your okay?"

"Yeah," and for the first time, I'm the one who initiated the hug. "Just glad to see your face again."

Y/N's POV

I looked up at Eddie, and I noticed he had that same look in his eyes he had when we first kissed. The next thing I knew, our lips were connected. He wrapped his hand around my back, and my hand found his hair. This kiss started to deepen when...

"Mom, can you come here. I had a nightmare." Eddie and I are choosing to ignore her until, "MOM!" "I'm coming, sweetheart." What a cockblocker!

"Umm... it's really early, and I guess late. You should just spend the night,” Eddie seemed amused by what i was saying. That’s when i realized how it sounded. “In the guest room with Christopher, of course! After you get some sleep, I need to talk to you." "Yeah... alright. Night, or morning I guess." He headed towards the guest room. It should be my room he's walking to.

Eddie's POV Walking to the guest room, I realized I got to stop thinking with my head and start thinking with my heart, and maybe, something else.

Halloween episode is next can’t wait. The poll decided what Eddie and the gang would wear for Halloween. I know it’s a little late but I had to finish the other chapters before this one.

Taglist: @capswife @navs-bhat @champagnesugamama

#Right Person Wrong Time #Eddie Diaz #eddie diaz x reader #eddie and christopher #evan buckley x reader #evan buck buckely #black reader #new author #911 fic #911 fox

59 notes · View notes

wanderingwomanwondering · 3 years ago

Text

Thoughts on The Buddie Talk from 502

Other folks have looked at this conversation, but I wanted to get on my bullshit about it too. LOL.

So imho this whole conversation is about love and heart, specifically Eddie’s but with Buck’s heart added in. Line by line analysis and commentary. Let the BS begin. Here we go…

Buck: Hey are you sleeping, or just pretending?

Day and night/light and dark are strong themes throughout the episode. @benka79 did a meta on this theme. I think that by extension, awake vs asleep is meaningful in this scene. In matters of the heart, Eddie is trying to sleep or turn a blind eye, doing what he thinks is best for Chris rather than himself. This is exactly what Carla warned him against. But he knows. He knows that Carla is right but he’s ignoring her and trying to ignore Buck. He’s only pretending to be in the dark about his heart and his desires, at least to a degree.

Eddie: I was actually trying to until you interrupted.

Enter Buck, shaking shit up. Interrupting Eddie’s well-intentioned lie. Eddie knows there’s more than meets the eye and Buck is forcing him to open his eyes, wake up and see what’s really going on and reckon with himself and his true desires.

Buck: I’m exhausted. Uh, how are you feeling?

This line has been rattling around in my brain for what feels like a thousand years. Buck is NOT asleep, he’s not able to turn a blind eye. And being the only one willing to look directly at matters of the heart is wearing him out. Dude’s exhausted! He SEES that something is up with Eddie’s heart and he wants Eddie to tell him all about it.

Eddie: Hot. I’m sweating out of places I didn’t know I could.

During the blackout, AC isn’t working so everyone is sweating. Buck even has a thin layer of sweat in the scene. Sweating from the heat is normal and completely reasonable, but is that what’s being invoked here? We know that sweating is also a symptom of health issues (panic and heart problems not the least among them, and definitely symbolically relevant here). Eddie looks like he’s sweating for normal reasons but in the next line Buck questions that.

Buck: No uh like a cold sweat though, right? Uh, any chest pains?

Again, Buck is wide awake. He KNOWS something is wrong with Eddie’s heart/feelings and that Eddie is hiding it from him. He jumps to cold sweats, the kind that are most connected to health problems and are not about the actual temperature in the room. Then follows up with asking about chest pains. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Buck is paralleled with the cardiologist. She’s about Eddie’s literal heart but Eddie’s figurative heart is in Buck’s hands and Buck’s hands only. And my dude is assertively assessing the situation.

Eddie: You don’t give up, do you? I’m fine, Buck.

Good ol’ Eddie, perfecting his avoidance and denial game. But he knows Buck. He does NOT ever give up and he especially doesn’t give up on the people he loves. Eddie recognized this and thanked Buck for it in 303. Buck didn’t give up on Christopher during the tsunami, or on Eddie in Eddie Begins or in Survivors. But that was about Chris and Eddie’s life. This scene in 502 is new in a way. Buck is refusing to give up on Eddie’s heart, his feelings. Now Buck is fighting for Eddie’s quality of life, for his happiness.

Buck: People who are fine don’t go and see cardiologists. You need to tell me if something is wrong.

Buck was so worried about Eddie in 501. Of course Eddie denied that anything was wrong but Buck isn’t stupid. In 501 he asked about the situation clearly and openly because he cares about Eddie and wants to help in any way he can, and Eddie pushed him away. So here in 502 he implicitly invokes the Will. He’s like fine if you won’t tell me as your friend who gives a shit about you, then tell me for Chris’s sake because thanks to the will, I actually fucking need to know if you’re going to drop dead.

Eddie: Alright, it was a panic attack, not a heart attack. A panic attack.

Eddie’s frustrated confession was solid gold. It laid my edges and raised my credit score. He knows that Buck’s persistence is harmless and comes from a genuine place of respect and care. Still, that doesn’t make it any less annoying for a man who’s trying to sleep, pretending his own heart isn’t breaking under the weight of his sense of duty to his son.

Buck: Since when do you panic?

My God, he knows him so well.

Eddie: That’s what I said. I don’t panic. Except I did.

Eddie accepting that this was absolutely a panic attack was huge. Before he had been pushing against the reality of it, but here in Buck’s loving care he could be honest with himself and with Buck that it was indeed panic.

Buck: Ok, well, what triggered it? I mean you did just get shot and almost killed by a sniper. I guess that could be considered an anxiety inducing-

Buck’s in full “cardiologist” mode. He’s paying forward all those years of therapy! What he’s doing here isn’t a replacement for my dude getting some real therapy but here’s Buck with his clipboard efficiently helping Eddie figure his emotional shit out. It’s perfection. It’s also good that he acknowledged the shooting. I think it’s super important that when Buck mentions it, he looks down and away from Eddie.

Buck, my dude, you are not over being covered in the blood of the love of your life. You can still feel his weight in your hands, muscle memory from lifting him above the spray of gasoline and bullets. Eddie may still be asleep on that front but, Buck, you are wide awake and exhausted by the heavy love you’re carrying.

Eddie: That wasn’t it. Ok, if I’m being honest with myself, I think it was Ana.

Oh this is fun. So you are capable of being real, you just choose not to be. Good to know.

Buck: Uh, I thought things were great with her.

Stop. Lying. You saw Eddie get squirrely when talking about the Christening. You saw Eddie get awkward af when A*a and Christopher came to the firehouse. You’ve seen these issues with your own eyeballs. Great? Really? Yeah, this just makes me think muh boy is oblivious and/or he really was expecting Eddie to come clean about issues related to the shooting, not his love life. This reiterates my point that Buck himself is not nearly done with processing the shooting.

Eddie: She’s been a godsend through all this - staying with Christopher - but I think that’s what’s causing the panic. Somehow it become a ready-made family and I don’t know if I’m ready for that.

This portion of the conversation has been analyzed to bits by many brilliant others. I don’t have anything to add. I’m like, look dude, you already have a family with Buck and Christopher. A*a’s effin’ up your happy healthy family flow. It’s ok, just turn her loose.

Buck: So what are you gonna do?

Buck’s wisdom grows every frickin’ day. He knows this isn’t sustainable for Eddie. He knows that the heart matters. He knows that feelings are real and help us navigate toward a happy life. Action is needed and he’s nudging Eddie in that direction.

Eddie: I think I’m just gonna stick it out. Ana’s been the first woman I’ve wanted to spend this much time with since Shannon.

Oh dear, Eddie’s overblown sense of duty to everyone but himself strikes again. He can…tolerate… A*a. How romantic!

Buck: Stick it out? That’s not the way you talk about someone you’re in love with.

Um, no. Buck calls shenanigans. He’s not A*a’s bestie but he doesn’t feel any desire whatsoever to have her condemned to a loveless relationship.

Eddie: My kid loves her!

Always putting Christopher first but not realizing that if he isn’t truly happy, Christopher will know because he’s perceptive af. Plus the two haven’t discussed A*a on screen so I’m not convinced Chris loves her as much as Eddie wants to believe.

Buck: Is that enough? Eddie I have been Ana. I know what it’s like to be in love with someone who is not all the way in. Deep down you know it and it hurts. It hurts worse than the truth, so if you don’t want to hurt Ana, you owe it to her to be honest.

Buck is doing A LOT of work here to help Eddie see that his plan of inaction is not good. He centers Eddie asking him if staying for Chris is enough. When that doesn’t work, he realizes that Eddie doesn’t care about his own heart enough to leave so he changes strategies and puts himself in A*a’s place to invoke some empathy for A*a from Eddie. It’s super…interesting that Eddie doesn’t care enough for A*a to come to this conclusion on his own!!

Eddie: You know it just feels like a lot man.

Why, my dude?? Explain. Could it be that A*a is serving a purpose beyond Chris? Could it be that staying with her helps you avoid, allows you to pretend and be oblivious to deeper truths within your battered but still beating heart? Does she obscure the Buck shaped hole in your ticker?

Buck: Well, go to sleep. You don’t need to decide right now. It’s not like we’re going home anytime soon.

Buck is disappointed, exhausted, and frustrated and it has my dude slinging shade like morning hash. He’s like fine turn a blind eye, ignore your heart it’s cool *all the sarcasm* Then we get the reference to home and the fact that the two of them are far from it at this point and we all know how important home is as a Buddie theme. I wrote a little about it here.

Bonus: Eddie closed his eyes after Buck walked away, the he OPENED them again. He fully saw what Buck was saying. He can’t avoid the truth of his heart for much longer.

Y’all this has GOT to be the season that one or both of these idiots realize their feelings. Excuse me while I end.

#911 fox #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buddie #christopher diaz #ana flores #GO HOME ALREADY #episode 502 #911 meta

43 notes · View notes

tripleaxeldiaz · 4 years ago

Text

maybe one day i’ll fly next to you

chapter 6/8

read on ao3

start from the beginning

Eddie gets cleared with two weeks to spare, and they celebrate by making out on Buck’s couch for so long it actually starts to hurt.

Buck can admit that as excited as he was to give this thing of theirs a go (“You can call me your boyfriend, Buck, it’s not a bad word”), there was still a part of him that was nervous. Nervous about how it would affect him, would affect both of them, especially now, when they’re physically and emotionally exhausted as they hurtle closer and closer to Beijing. For the first week, Buck kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Eddie to realize this was a mistake and break it off cleanly, before they got in too deep. He knows what a monster he can be when he’s strung out on stress, and only Maddie has ever been able to see past the short words and shorter temper and get him to breathe again.

But one day, after an awful practice that brought the monster out in full force, Eddie found him hiding out in the locker room, fuming by himself and at himself. He didn’t chastise him like he could have (like he should have), didn’t tell him he was overreacting or that he was too much. Instead, he did what had become such a pillar in their friendship: he sat next to Buck and waited. And when all the anger and frustration finally seeped out of him, Eddie was there with a warm, solid, grounding hand to pull him back to his feet and away from the edge he was mentally leaning over. No judgement or invalidation, just genuine empathy.

And that’s all it took for it to slot into place for Buck. That no matter what, they’re friends — best friends — first, and their very unique life paths means they understand each other on a level that no one else can. Being boyfriends just means they get to do more fun things together now, like making out on couches like the real teenagers they never got to be.

The weeks after Eddie’s clean bill of health fly by, and they’re heading to Lake Placid before he knows it. Buck’s excited — he’s always excited for Nats — but he also feels a looming sense of foreboding, like any minute, something is going to go terribly, terribly wrong. The last time he competed here was four seasons ago, when he won his last Nats gold, two weeks before shattering his leg and Olympic dreams in one fell swoop. Who’s to say it won’t happen again? Maybe the universe has decided that the Olympics are not for him, and this weekend will result in a last place finish or another injury or something else that takes everything away from him again.

He feels a warm palm against his and a squeeze, looks up to see Eddie watching him, framed by the snowy mountains whizzing by the bus window. His brow is creased in worry, like he can see the storm starting to swirl in Buck’s head. That worry, the way Eddie knows him, is strangely grounding, pulling him out of his dark cloud enough to actually enjoy the view of upstate New York they have as they make their way to their hotel.

The pre-competition routine is easy, familiar, and Buck lets himself get lost in it, block out any and all doubts that keep trying to sink their claws into him as the weekend gets closer and closer. Eddie’s there every step of the way too, not at all the distraction Buck had been worried about for way too long, but a welcome calm in the clusterfuck of his emotions, something for him to hold onto and gravitate back towards when it all starts to be too much. He can’t believe he survived this season — or any other season — without this to balance him out, but he knows for a fact that he’s never letting it go.

It’s the morning before shorts, and Buck is woken up by obnoxious pounding on their hotel room door. He feels a groan rumble through Eddie’s chest where it’s pressed against his back, smirks as he feels his arms wrap tighter around his waist.

“If we’re quiet enough, maybe they’ll go away,” Eddie whispers.

“Get up losers, we know you can hear us,” Chim yells through the door. Buck throws back the covers, chilly morning air making him even more irritated, and yanks the door open, coming face to face with Chim and May.

“Oh thank god, he’s wearing pants,” May sighs in relief.

Buck squints an eye at her. “It’s 8:00am, what could you possibly want from us this early?”

“It’s team bonding day,” Chim says with a grin. “We’re going to Mirror Lake. Grab Eddie and your skates and meet us at the bus in 15.”

“What if we had our own plans?” Buck asks, crossing his arms. “How do you know we weren’t gonna spend all day in bed having—” A hand clamps over his mouth from behind him before he can finish.

“We’ll see you guys down there,” Eddie says. He shuts the door on them and pinches Buck’s side, turning toward his suitcase to find clothes.

“What?” Buck asks, laughing. “I was gonna say having a movie marathon, you didn’t let me finish.”

That earns him a sweatshirt thrown at his head, but Eddie’s looking at him all fond and soft when he throws it, so Buck’s not complaining.

Mirror Lake is the very definition of “winter wonderland” — the ice seems like it’s never ending, so clean and smooth you almost feel bad skating over it. Mountains and forests surround it on all sides to hide it away from the rest of the world, and Christmas lights are still strung up in the trees and around houses. It’s fairly empty this early, just a small group of kids playing a pickup game of hockey near one of the inns. A dusting of snow covers and muffles everything, bringing a sense of stillness and calm that’s unmatched anywhere else.

Buck takes a deep breath and revels at the bite he feels in his lungs. All the thoughts and voices filling his head finally quiet down, and he can just be here, enjoy this time with his friends without worrying about what’s going to happen tomorrow or next month. He knows it won’t last long, will all come flooding back as soon as they leave the lake, but he’s going to soak it all in while he can.

He’s fallen behind the group a bit as they spread out, taking in the sight of everyone — Maddie and Chim holding hands and matching strokes like always, Hen and May making up some kind of obstacle course, Bobby and Athena lost in deep conversation as they glide. He keeps looking until he spots Eddie, a little ways from the group, moving and spinning to the music only he can hear in his head. He’s as graceful as ever, confident in every movement, but there’s peace in him too — he’s at ease, free from the pressure of competition and perfection that Buck knows rests so heavily on his shoulders. The early morning sun bathes him in golden light, but it’s nothing compared to the smile sent his direction when he catches Buck watching.

He’s so beautiful it actually takes Buck’s breath away.

Eddie makes his way back to him, the light following in his wake. His smile is even brighter up close, but Buck only gets to enjoy it for a moment before he’s being pulled into a kiss so sweet and slow and perfect it makes him dizzy. Eddie pulls away just as quickly as he came in, the smile replaced with a smirk, and Buck barely registers the words “Race ya!” before Eddie’s speeding off to the other side of the lake. He’s stunned for a minute before he pushes off too, catching up with Eddie and doing his best to cut him off the rest of the way. Their laughter echoes off the mountains, surrounding them in their own joy, and Buck for the life of him can’t remember the last time he was this happy.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie’s in first and Buck’s closing out the group, because apparently the universe gets a kick out of watching him suffer.

They’ve been in this same situation so many times before, and he used to be able to turn his irritation at another flawless skate from Eddie into determination, propelling his own skating to be as close to perfect as possible. Now, though, he feels...proud. And happy for Eddie, because despite the weeks out and any lingering pain, he was flawless again — everything perfectly landed and rotated, a commanding presence on the ice. It’s a weird feeling, but it’s also nice, especially when Eddie winks at him and mouths good luck as he makes his way to the kiss and cry, and Buck’s whole body fills up with giddy butterflies.

Turns out butterflies work better than anything else for him — he’s 10 points in first place after shorts, and he feels so electric, so on top of the world he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

Until he sees Eddie again on their way to the presser, costume still sticking to him with sweat in all the right places, hair mussed and cheeks rosy.

Then there’s only one thing he wants to do, and he can’t believe he has to be polite to reporters before he can do it.

He manages to be nice and not stare at Eddie the whole time, but he snaps as soon as they get back to their hotel room, pushing Eddie up against the door as it closes and kissing him fast and dirty.

“Is this your way of distracting me so you win tomorrow?” Eddie asks, breathless from the kiss, fingers threading through Buck’s hair as Buck trails kisses down his jaw and neck, pausing only to shove Eddie’s jacket and shirt off so he can get to more skin. He stops again just as he gets to Eddie’s chest, his breath ghosting over a nipple and leaving goosebumps in its wake. Eddie’s pupils are blown wide when he meets his eyes, and the blush on his cheeks and crawling down his chest is so pretty Buck could write sonnets about it.

He smirks, the novelty of the effect he has on Eddie far from wearing off. “Do you want me to stop?”

Eddie shakes his head, cupping Buck’s jaw to pull him back up. “Fuck no, don’t even think about it,” he says before kissing him hard again, tongue licking into his mouth immediately, and Buck can practically taste the quiet, subconscious sounds Eddie makes as his fingers run down his chest and stomach. He quickly thanks whoever made track pants a part of the Team USA uniform before shoving Eddie’s down his thighs and finally getting a hand on his cock, already hard and leaking. Eddie whines as Buck breaks their kiss, but it settles into a sigh as he resumes his trail down his body. Normally he’d spend a lot longer working his mouth over as much of Eddie’s skin as he can reach, relish in the salty sweet taste of it and hit all the places that make Eddie’s hips buck forward without his permission, but he’s only got one goal in mind at the moment. He’ll make it up to Eddie later.

He finally swallows Eddie down, hears a “fuck” and a thump above him as Eddie’s head hits back against the door. He knows exactly what Eddie likes — the first week of their relationship was pretty much dedicated to figuring out all the best ways to make each other fall apart. Eddie gets a hand in his hair again as he hollows out his cheeks and hums, vibrations sending another wave of shivers over Eddie, making his hips rock even more. Buck looks up, and Eddie looks wrecked, his bottom lip trapped between his teeth, head thrown back and neck bared. It’s a miracle, really, that Buck doesn’t come right then and there.

“Christ, Buck, I’m—” Eddie tugs on Buck’s hair in warning, but it just makes Buck go faster, coaxing and coaxing until Eddie’s spilling into his mouth. Buck just barely has time to finish swallowing before he’s being yanked back to his feet and into a searing kiss, Eddie wasting no time in tasting himself on Buck’s tongue. He barely registers where Eddie’s hands are until he feels one wrap around his cock, steady and determined. He’s so keyed up now that it doesn’t take much — a few twists of Eddie’s wrist and a bruise sucked onto the underside of his jaw has him spilling over Eddie’s hand before he knows it.

He presses kisses to every part of Eddie’s face he can reach as he comes down, soaking in the warmth radiating from him, only stopping when Eddie not so discreetly tries to wipe his hand on Buck’s pants.

“Hey!” he cries, laughing at the look on Eddie’s face. “Go wash your hands like a normal person and come meet me in bed.”

“Room service?”

“Duh.” He kisses Eddie’s nose before flopping onto the bed and flipping through movie rentals. The rest of their evening is quiet, full of bad movies and french fries and conversations about everything and nothing, and Buck feels an ease that he never feels the night before free skates. Tomorrow may be make or break for him, for both of them, but in this little cocoon of theirs, his face tucked into Eddie’s neck and Eddie’s arms around him as they drift off to sleep, the worry and nerves and anxiety feel too far away to touch him.

~~~~~~~~~~

The worst part is that he knows it’s a dream.

He knows if he jumps in real life, he’ll always come back down. Maybe not gently and maybe not on his feet, but after half a second of air time, he will touch the ground again.

But now he’s taken off and he just keeps going — it’s completely impossible, but he’s still scared. Scared of the unknown that he’s propelling towards, scared that he can’t control his body or where it’s going, scared that it’s all going to end and there’s nothing he can do about it.

Fear turns to pure terror as his weight shifts of its own accord and starts sending him back to the rink he’s made up in his head. He thinks (hopes) he’ll wake up before he makes impact, but the panic is still clawing at him, sinking into his bones and running all the worst case scenarios though his head. He crashes through the ice but it doesn’t stop — flashes of disappointed faces, snippets of voices tinged with pity for him and the fact that he failed once again. It’s cacophonous and overwhelming, but he catches specific voices — Maddie, Bobby, Eddie — that try to push through, try to pull him out, but it’s not enough. He’s falling into the nothingness of his own failure and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it.

He finally wakes up, his skin feels like it’s buzzing, alive with lingering panic. He’s got an arm around Eddie’s waist and his face pressed into the back of his neck, and he takes a minute to breathe him in and get his heart to slow back down. It’s early, barely light out, but Buck slips out of bed, grabs the comforter from the other one, and quietly slides open the balcony door. The snow is just starting to glow from the first rays of sunlight, and everything is quiet, still, a direct contrast with the thoughts and feelings still swirling in Buck. He sits on the little bench facing the surrounding forest, does his best to focus on the chill in the air and the quiet nature sounds around him, tries to shut out everything else and be right where he is.

It takes a while, but it helps.

The sun is fully up by the time he goes back in, and Eddie’s just finishing packing up his skating bag. Buck’s bag, actually. Eddie’s is already set by the door. He feels on the verge of tears again, but not in a bad way.

Eddie turns to him as he slides the door shut. His eyes track everywhere, like he’s cataloging Buck, taking stock before making a move. Buck’s stupidly grateful for it — he feels like one wrong move could send him cracking all over again, and it wouldn’t be Eddie’s fault, but he’d get the brunt of it. But Eddie knows him better than almost anyone, so whatever move he makes will be a good one.

He watches Eddie move slowly toward him and reach for his hand, giving Buck every opportunity to back up and say no. That’s not at all what he wants, so he meets Eddie halfway and laces their fingers together.

“Do you need another minute?” Eddie asks quietly.

Buck shakes his head. “I’m okay. We have to leave soon anyway.”

“Will you believe me if I tell you that everything’s gonna be fine?”

“Probably not.”

Eddie nods. “Okay.” He tugs Buck toward him, gently kisses his forehead, cheek, and lips. “We need to be downstairs in 30 minutes.”

Buck squeezes his hand and heads towards the bathroom. He steps into the shower and tries to convince himself that Eddie’s right.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Channel your nerves, Buck. Everyone here is rooting for you. Show ‘em what you got.”

Buck nods at Bobby before pushing off the boards. He hears On the ice, representing the 118 Skating Club of Los Angeles, Evan Buckley and the applause that follows, but it sounds tinny and far away. He’s trying to channel everything — his nerves, doubts, fear of failure, whatever — and make it work for him, but it’s not as easy today. He feels heavy, like his body isn’t quite in line with his mind and what he needs to be doing, and he knows he’s going to be fighting himself for every element for the next four and a half minutes.

The music starts and he tries to float with it, use it to push through the extra gravity he feels and lift himself up more. He lands his first jump — his triple axel, usually one of his strongest — but feels himself wobble, knows his GOE will be low. He misses the second jump on his first combo and has to mentally comb through his program to figure out where he can tack it onto to make up points. On and on it goes — he doesn’t fall, there’s no monumental breakdown, but he’s subpar, doesn’t meet his own expectations and probably doesn’t meet those of the USFSA. He finishes with the fakest smile he’s ever slapped on his face and all but sprints to the kiss and cry.

Nats scores are always inflated, so he doesn’t do bad, but he’s certainly done better. There are three skaters left, including Eddie, and a terrible part of him hopes that the other two eat ice so he can still finish on the podium and salvage his spot in Beijing.

They don’t. Naturally. He sits in the green room as they each have the best skate of their season and leap frog over his score. Eddie’s last to go and he lays it all out there, like he’s already at the Olympics, but Buck’s hardly mad about that. He’s a force, attacking every jump but still keeping a softness in his movements to match Jeff Buckley’s voice. Buck’s got chills up and down his back during his last step sequence and into his final pose, and he knows it’s a gold medal by a mile. And he’s happy for Eddie, ecstatic even, but he also feels his heart break a little bit, because Eddie winning puts him in fourth.

The pewter medal. A stupid consolation prize that only the USFSA gives out. He’s technically still on the podium, but it somehow feels worse than if he’d finish last.

“You had a great Grand Prix this year, that counts for a lot more than Nats,” Eddie says on the ride to the airport the next day. It’s the first time Buck’s let him talk about it without changing the subject or kissing him or literally walking into another room. He’s run out of energy to avoid it anymore.

“They’ll want someone consistent, and that’s clearly not me.”

“You have the second highest overall score in the country this season, fifth in the world. They can’t ignore that.”

Buck shrugs, picks at an errant string on his hoodie to avoid looking Eddie in the eye. He feels lips press to his temple and unconsciously melts, head moving down to rest on Eddie’s shoulder.

“It’ll all work out. We’ll be in Beijing together, I know it.”

Eddie’s always so confident, so sure in his convictions and unwavering in his beliefs. Buck loves him for it but it’s also unnerving, because he wants to believe as hard as Eddie does, but he knows how this goes. He works and works and pushes and pushes but in the end, it’s not far enough. All his hard work, his literal blood sweat and tears, can’t get him that extra inch closer to where he wants to be.

It happened four years ago, and he can feel it happening again. And this time, he won’t be able to blame a broken leg for his failures.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Buck, stop shaking your leg, you’re gonna trigger an earthquake.”

Buck scowls at Chim but stops. It’s been three days since Nats, three days of waiting, knowing that at any minute, the USFSA is going to post their final Olympic team. He’s been on edge for 72 hours because they won’t have an idea it’s happening until it happens, and he thinks he might be starting to go insane.

“It’ll be soon,” Maddie says from where she’s leaning on the boards. They’re all supposed to be warming up, a long day of practice ahead, but they’re congregated around the benches instead, anxiety crackling between all of them like lightning.

He doesn’t even notice his leg starts shaking again until Eddie places a hand on it to stop him.

“Opening ceremonies are in three weeks,” May says as she stretches on the floor. “They’re cutting it awfully close if they don’t announce, like, today.”

Chim groans as he stands up from the bench to join Maddie. “Why is it even taking so long? They’ve seen how the season’s gone so far, there can’t be that much left to deliberate.”

“Do you think they’re actually still deciding, or just waiting because it’s dramatic?” Buck asks.

Eddie snorts. “Probably the latter.”

“Guys!”

They all turn towards the doorway to the locker room, and Buck feels his blood run cold. Hen is there, looking calm as ever on the outside, but he meets her eye, and he knows.

“They just posted the list. Bobby has it up on his computer.”

Chim grabs Maddie’s hand and sprints, and May is hot on their heels. Eddie gets 10 feet in front of him before he realizes Buck hasn’t followed. He’s frozen in place, hands numb, heart beating so hard he’s worried about his ribs. Right now, on the bench, he can convince himself he’s living in a world where his dreams haven’t been crushed, where he still has a chance. Once he takes a step, that all ends.

Eddie comes back for him, grabs both of his hands and waits until Buck meets his eye. When he does, he gives him that small, soft smile Buck knows is just for him, and it feels like he’s saying I believe in you. It’s enough to get him moving.

They catch up with the others just as they get to Bobby’s office, and they jostle and crowd around the desktop, trying to get a clear view. Buck’s thankful for his height and looks over everyone, the world quickly narrowing to just him and the computer screen.

From the top, the list goes men, ladies, pairs, dance, so he starts from the bottom to delay any disappointment.

He feels the tears prick when he sees Chim and Maddie listed, his smile nearly splits his face at May’s name. Eddie was inevitable, but his heart still soars when he sees it written out.

And then.

His name. His name, just above Eddie’s.

Evan Buckley. Right there, clear as day, in Times New Roman font.

He’s glad Chim and May are already crushing him in a hug, because he’s pretty sure his knees have given out.

This is real. This is happening. Eddie is squeezing his hand and Maddie is crying and it’s happening.

They are officially, officially, going to the Olympics.

#buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #911 fox #buddie fic #911 fic #LET'S GOOOOO reading this chapter over again made me so excited for y'all to read the last two chapters #also WORLDS IS HAPPENING NEXT WEEK and it DIDN'T GET CANCELLED i'm pumped #fs au #ficcery

45 notes · View notes

fluffy-lee-boa · 4 years ago

Text

Arkham’s Sweetheart and the Grumpy Riddle Bug

a batman rogue ticklefic uwu

A/N: hey everyone!!! this took me a bit, but it kinda got away from me and turned into a little story of its own haha. i wrote this with the animated universe in mind, but honestly i think it’ll work with a few.

anyways, this was a request! lee!edward getting ganged up on by ler!harley and ler!pamela. hope you like it!!!

It was rare that anyone in Arkham would be such a ray of sunshine, being the drab and dank place that it is, but Harley Quinn was definitely the exception. Despite her treatment at the hands of guards, her clown of an ex, and the bat alike, she was always surprisingly upbeat as she passed through the halls of the facility, hands cuffed behind her back.

Her cheery attitude didn’t exactly mesh with her fellow rogues, though none of them were immune to her disarming charms. This meant that the room full of murderers and scoundrels all took pause when she entered, giving her soft smiles or begrudging greetings as she went ahead to settle into the rec room.

Well, all but one person.

Edward Nashton, or Nygma, as he had legally changed it to, was not exactly chipper on this stormy day- not that he was ever “chipper.” It’s just that today he seemed more put off than usual, based on the way he was stewing in the corner. There was an abandoned chessboard on the table beside him, likely from Jervis or Jonathan having grown frustrated with his attitude mid-game. It wasn’t uncommon, though it did present a challenge to the doctor as she assessed the situation.

Edward was one of her closest friends. It would be a crime not to help him out! He obviously needed someone there to cheer him up, for whatever reason, and who better than the sweetheart of Arkham herself?

(No, not Ivy. She was currently busy by the window, gardening. Though Harley was sure she could get her to help out if necessary.)

“Hey Eddie~!” She cooed as she skipped over and took the seat across from him, giving that same magical smile.

Edward gave her a half-hearted, “Quinn.” not even looking up from the floor.

Hmph. This was worse than she thought!

“What’s got ya so wound up today, hon?” she asked, a bit of her professionalism seeping through from her days as a staff member in this same institution.

He raised an eyebrow at her, before staring back at the ground with a rather childish, “You just wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.” she deadpanned, leading to her fellow inmate to purse his lips.

Edward knew that Harley was not somebody to underestimate. While Joker had tossed her aside and treated her like a jockey, he could tell she was much more intelligent than she let on. She was also stubborn- Which meant there wasn’t much of a chance of him getting out of this without telling her the truth.

He sighed, finally looking directly at her as he laid his chin in his hands, “It’s Batman. I’m sure you’re aware I was only just sent back here yesterday... I have reason to believe he’s found someone else to antagonize. Why won’t he realize that I’m the only one in this city who’s worthy of being his equal...?”

Harley blinked, a part of her tempted to admit that pretty much everyone but him knew he was a second tier villain at best. Though she knew how fragile the other’s ego was, and what he really needed right now was moral support. Like a break up! He’d been there for her when she went through her messy separation, albeit with his usual awkward stoniness, so it was only right that she return the favor.

“Aw, come on Ed. He’s not worth your time.” she waved her hand dismissively, “If anything, he should be locked up in here with us! He’s no better than... Jonathan! Just using fear to escape a lonely life and exert some sort of sick power over others.”

From the couch across the room, Crane looked up from his book, unimpressed. Clearly, he wanted no part of this.

Harley gave an awkward laugh and wave to her old professor, before turning back to Edward, “-Either way, I think you could do better.”

Edward raised an eyebrow, “...Really?”

She nodded, swinging her legs excitedly, “Yeah! Once we bust outta here, we should get you on some dating apps. Maybe go to a few Comic Cons. There’s gotta be someone out there who’s just as nerdy as you-!” she giggled as she poked him in the shoulder teasingly, watching the other puff up defensively.

“I don’t need a partner! I need a rival to sharpen my wits. I just- I want him to see that we’re the same. Is that too much to ask?” Edward snapped, pouting once more.

Harley’s smile faded for a moment, and she seemed to think for a moment, “....Get up.”

“What?” Edward seemed baffled at the sudden order, especially coming from her.

“Stand up! I wanna try somethin’!” She beamed, motioning for the other to get out of his chair. At this point, most of the other inmates were busy in their own little worlds, though a few took notice when Nygma stood. Especially since Harley looked so unnervingly excited.

Quinn walked over with a rather threatening look in her eye, hidden by her giddy smile, “Ok, now put your hands up.”

He hesitated, leading to a gentle, “Come on~! I’m not gonna hurt ya!”

Edward nervously raised his arms above his head, his baggy uniform falling over his slender form due to weeks of avoiding meals. He’d probably been up for days, based on his demeanor. He really put his whole heart and soul into this rivalry, Harley thought.

These small details of the other’s appearance only spurred on the psychiatrist as she stalked around him like a predator, deciding she knew exactly what she had to do. Then, when she was sure he wouldn’t expect it, Harley clamped down under his arms, wiggling her fingers against his skin through the loose fabric. In her opinion, laughter was the best medicine, and if Eddie was going to hold back like that, she certainly wasn’t.

If no one had been paying attention to them before, Edward sharp yelp would have tipped everybody off. He immediately brought his arms back down with a strangled giggle, doing his best to shoot Harley a look as she continued with her hands wedged under his arms.

She merely laughed along in response, cooing, “Awh Eddie, you’re so cute when you’re laughing like this. Kitchy koo~!”

“Harleen!” he hissed through gritted teeth, his cheeks already a bright red color as he tried to squirm free of her grasp.

After a moment he managed to pull away and get those blasted fingers out from his hollows- only for his arm to once again by suspended above him by some unidentifiable force. He looked up in horrified confusion, only to find thick vines wrapped around each wrist, holding him up like he was the catch of the day at Gotham Harbor..

“ISLEY!”

The purring voice of the botanist did nothing to soothe his flustered anger as she appeared beside her current partner in crime, “Yes, Edward...?”

Eddie bit down on his cheek to keep himself from bursting into laughter from the light yet overwhelming sensations, leading to his fiery responses being entirely silenced. Harley had barely even let up while the fiendish red-head had done her work, her fingers now trailing up his biceps and back down just to make him jump.

“Look Eddie, we just wanna help ya! Now, be a good little gigglebug and laugh.” Harley gave her victim an evil smirk, before moving down to dig into his prominent ribs.

Edward immediately acted like all the air had been sucked from his lungs, before he finally fell into real, authentic laughter. It was honestly a marvel that no guard had come to check on the group yet, considering how noisy they’d become both from Edward’s current predicament, and the snickers of onlookers.

His laugh was more sweet and melodic than most people would think, and it was almost bouncy as he squirmed around. It sounded much more innocent than the man who was behind it.

“C’mon Eddie, that’s it,” Pamela hummed as she stepped around him, obviously enjoying watching the other get so flustered. His cheeks heated up as she fluttered her leaves and flower petals across his neck from the greenery continuing to hold him up, affectively turning his mind to mush.

“Youhou’re both dEAHAHAEEEE-!” Edward’s final attempt at a threat fell off into a squeal when Harley suddenly moved down to his hip bones with her own sporadic movements, making him buck as he tried to pull his arms free.

“Jackpot!” Harley sang, focusing all her attention on the dips and protruding bone. She was pure evil alright.

Edward’s squealing soon tapered off into begging and hiccuping giggles as he slowly lost his energy, all of which were practically indecipherable anyways, “Harleen! Pleaseheheheease-! Noho-!”

Harley hesitated, making an over-exaggerated face as if contemplating something grand, “Mmm... I don’t think you’re all cheered up yet...”

“I aham Ihihihiamm-!!!” He wheezed, his laughter starting anew as Quinn moved up a little to trace at his sides.

Harley and Ivy shared a look, and Harley eventually shrugged, slowing her movements to a stop. He’d had enough for the day.

Edward immediately sunk to the floor as Ivy’s vines guided him in a manner that would keep him from injuring himself, and soon the green weeds bloomed flowers to serve as a sort of mattress for the man to rest on. He continued giggling airily from the leftover ghost tickles and slight movements of the flora, the two watching. him curiously. Eventually he looked up at the both of them with a more genuine, honestly pretty cheesy smile.

There’s the Edward they knew and loved!

Harley was the first to react, per usual. She squealed excitedly and went to tackle him in a hug, which he begrudgingly returned as Ivy sat down cross legged beside them on their living carpet. The rest of the rogues had gone back to their own business, leaving the three to their own devices now that Edward had been so fiercely pulled out of his funk.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Edward spoke up with a surpassingly shy, “Er... thank you. Both. I needed that. Even if it was insufferable, it was... nice.”

Harley simply hummed happily and hugged him tighter, while Ivy was left to wave him off. He made Harley happy, so he was clearly worth their time.

Harley remained cuddled up between the two indefinitely after it was all said and done, rambling on about nothing in particular and helping get Ed’s mind off of the Bat for once in his life. And after recreational hours were done? She would get Edward to a meal and help him get back to his feet before their next breakout and/or parole hearing. And even if she acted aloof, Ivy would be with them every step of the way.

#lee!riddler #ler!harley #ler!ivy #batman tickles #tickle fic #dc tickles

26 notes · View notes

captainbfresh · 4 years ago

Note

are you really convinced that they're gonna give us canon buddie? cause, you know, i obviously hope so, but while there have been hints here and there throughout the past seasons, I kinda think that, if they wanted to imply that something was going to happen at some point, they would've make at least a little more obvious? idk if that makes sense, but. as much as I wish they make it canon, I am worried about it. I don't want to set my expectations too high and be disappointed in the end :(

I totally get not wanting to get your hopes up just to be disappointed in the end. There have been loads of shows that have built up two characters relationships and dropped hints only to never actually follow through so being skeptical makes a lot of sense.

Before this season I was fairly sure it was leading towards Buddie but I did doubt whether or not I was just wearing rose-tinted goggles But the first 4 episodes of this season have crushed any doubts because I genuinely can’t see how this could be leading to anything other than canon buddie.

We’re seeing more and more how intertwined their lives have become. Even if you just look at the last episode there was a boatload of Buddie there.

You have them ‘solving’ the crime together. You’ve got Eddie knowing about Buck’s emergency therapy session AND what it's about - and I don’t just mean a rough what it's about I mean Buck actually told him exactly what he was trying to get out of his emergency therapy session.

The script could have just as easily had eddie saying “Emergency therapy. I think he’s nervous about his parents coming.” and the fire fam have there “You really think it’s going to be that bad?” that leads into awkward runaway Chimney rather than giving us a frankly kinda weird amount of information for Buck to give his friend before an emergency therapy session.

Yes, that scene is also to show us just how nervous Buck is to see his parents, but again, the same effect could have been had with less of an explanation and I’m still like ?? why did they put that in when we don’t even like, need it. We don’t see Buck use any ‘de-escalation techniques’ with his parents, it’s not used again at any point.

What I’m babbling on about is that the show wants us to know just how much Buck trusts Eddie and how close and comfortable with one another they are. From silly pranks with Eddie’s son to crime-solving to talking openly about therapy and feelings about the trash Buck calls parents.

Each season they have amped up that relationship and their closeness. If you compare Chimney and Hen’s relationship, Or Hen and Athena’s relationship and the feel of those scenes compared to the feel of our ‘buddie’ scenes.

We might still have a long way to go until we get them together but we’re not so much getting hints of Buddie as getting slapped in the face by them. I do think that some big things are coming soon tho. Them both thinking about getting back on the dating scene so close to each other isn’t a coincidence, Buck having a therapist and sorting through his feelings and finding out about his past and ‘I have a serious boyfriend’ are not a coincidence.

Eddie being the one that we have Buck talking to after the meal with his parents rather than Hen or Bobby, who are historically way better at dealing with members of the 118 experiencing turmoil is no coincidence.

basically, It’s coming and also I am clearly far too tired because I have absolutely no idea what i said in this message at allllllll.

But Buddie 2k21

#buddie #answering anything #honestly anon i get it's hard to hope but I really do believe we're getting buddie #and i never believe we're actually getting ships #I am historically a 'never gonna happen' kinda person #because I have no faith in writers to actually use the chemistry they've got in front of them #but the 911 writers ARE using the Buck and Eddie chemistry #and building it up #and i am LIVING for it

54 notes · View notes

woodchoc-magnum · 4 years ago

Text

911 4x07 “There Goes the Neighbourhood” Reaction

Under the cut!

A solid, enjoyable episode - I laughed multiple times during this.

A sad lack of Eddie Diaz but that’s okay, he had a big episode last week.

Thoughts:

The rocker moms at the start had me lolling

Look, was it sexual harrassment? Sure. But that lady saw that Diaz ass and realised she had a golden opportunity for some slappin’

Veronica certainly was interesting. I’d love to know how the date started? Like... did she just dislike him instantly or did he say something to piss her off... she was openly hostile right from the get go.

Kinda weird that the last episode ended with Eddie on a date and this one started with Buck on a date, you know, the man who hasn’t dated in anyone in a season and a half now 👀

I don’t pretend to know what the writers are doing but what are they fucking doing seriously

Why did Buck decide to jump into the dating pool again now? Is this just a straight-up reaction to Eddie dating? WILL WE FIND OUT NEXT WEEK? Fuck I hope so

I want a REALISATION, PLEASE

Moving on - I would’ve kicked Albert out the moment he stole that cheesecake

There are some things that are sacred. Women come and go but CHEESECAKE IS FOREVER.

Am I... anti-Albert? After that? Yes.

Also like I know Buck is a social person but I am a person who cannot survive without my own space so for him to have had literally no space for himself for the last six(?) months like... I wouldn’t be coping at all.

Good god NIA IS SO FUCKING CUTE - they have 10/10 nailed the casting there holy SHIT

Okay so Michael’s wall of windows is great but HE LIVES ACROSS FROM THE HOTEL CECIL

I AM LITERALLY WATCHING A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THAT SPOOKY ASS HOTEL

I could not BELIEVE IT

Also when Bobby gets involved was just 10/10 so. fucking. funny. And the Austin Powers music? I was DYING. HILARIOUS.

Like all the men on this show are just as bad as each other and the women just put up with it

The entire turkey scene was 10/10 as well - Buck and Eddie finally managing to catch it? So good. And they weren’t wearing masks! Honestly I hate that the masks cover their faces, I know they’re necessary but I can’t wait until the day when they don’t have to wear them anymore.

Buck telling Eddie he needs a “safe space” - DUDE. If they’re not foreshadowing Buck moving into Eddie’s house - does that mean he kicks Albert out? Maybe? He could kick him out; it’s Buck’s fucking apartment.

I mean I realise it is wishful thinking for Buck to move in with Eddie - I am 90% sure Eddie doesn’t have a spare room, and if he does, they’ve never shown it - but GOD I WANT IT. Buck’s not a guest in Eddie’s house!

I love the Hen & Athena friendship - and Hen and Karen are SO GOOD TOGETHER, honestly I was so happy to see Karen. And not all the parents on this show are super terrible - there’s hope for Hen’s mom yet.

No mention of Ana 👀

And then the big reveal at the end that Albert is dating Veronica... look, I was anti-Albert after the cheesecake stealing incident (NEVER FORGET) but... he could’ve told Buck? It’s not like Buck was pining after this girl. Why didn’t he just tell him? So fucking weird.

Let’s wildly speculate (and I’m always wrong!):

So we know that Buck and Albert are on the rocks as roommates (cheesecake thievery). We know that Taylor Kelly comes back in the next episode (I one hundred percent think she’s married). We know that Buck is looking for a safe space. We know that Buck has a one-on-one scene with Christopher and there was also a BTS video of Oliver in the same outfit as he wears in the scene with Christopher at the hospital. There are also those set photos from the airplane emergency where it kinda looks like Buck and Eddie are fighting (though I remain unconvinced about that). We know that Ana is in the next episode. The next episode is called Breaking Point.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

I have no idea.

Genuinely have no fucking clue.

My gut tells me that... Buck and Eddie probably aren’t fighting, especially not about anything jealousy-related because Buck doesn’t seem to be that jealous of Ana? Unless things dramatically change in the next episode.

The hospital thing, I don’t know.

Why do Buck and Christopher have a one-on-one? My original wild theory was that Eddie was sick but I don’t think that’s going to happen either (he looks fine in the set photos).

Can I wildly speculate for one second (this will not happen) that Eddie gets food poisoning on a date with Ana?! Because... I’d enjoy that. Not Eddie’s suffering, of course, but like... Buck to the rescue, kind of thing.

It’s not going to happen; moving on.

The theory about Buck moving in... I mean, I want it. @from-nova made a brilliant post about that and I so hope she’s right.

If Eddie does have a secret hidden spare bedroom, it could happen? But he’s only got a small couch, so where the fuck would Buck sleep? “Oh hey Ana, so Buck’s moving in with me and I don’t have a spare room so we’re just gonna share a bed also he’s been co-parenting my son with me for the last three years, so did you want to order now?”

I don’t know.

I just feel like next week’s episode is going to have something big Buddie-related? I have a FEELING.

Does Eddie get jealous about Taylor? We all remember the Season 2 murder strut.

It seems too soon for Eddie to tell Christopher about Ana?

I don’t know. I’m anxious. This has been rambling.

My fear is that they will end the next episode with Buck and Eddie fighting and I really don’t want that, so I’m manifesting for that not to happen.

This whole season has been about Buck and finding his family and finding his place... the recurring theme of the invisible string, them constantly showing Eddie supporting Buck; constantly drumming in that Buck and Eddie talk to each other about everything... Buck is searching for a safe place, where is safer than Eddie’s house?

What if he moves in and it just... clicks? Like... everything falls into place for him. This is where I’m meant to be.

God, I hope. I REALLY REALLY HOPE. 🙏

Also fingers crossed for Eddie dumping Ana next week PRAYER CIRCLE

She says one fucking thing about Buck and/or Christopher and he’s like “we’re done.”

I want it.

#911 season 4 #911 episode reaction #wild speculation #mostly incoherent #i had a good time though

20 notes · View notes

wrestlingisfake · 4 years ago

Text

Full Gear preview

Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston - Moxley is defending the AEW men’s world championship. (He’s also the IWGP United States champion, but that title is not at stake.) This is an “I quit” match, so the only rule in effect is that the match cannot end until one participant verbally concedes the match; the other participant thereby wins and will be the champion.

Kingston is an unlikely headliner for such a stacked show. Despite a long and storied career, he’s mainly known for his work on the indies, and his reputation among wrestlers who hold his work in high regard. It took him until 2020 to get to this level (when he was on the verge of retiring), and even now that he’s in the majors he’s not a top contender. Lance Archer “eliminated” him to win a September 5 battle royale for a title shot, but the elimination was a blown call. Kingston bellyached about the finish until he was granted a title match of his own, which Moxley won by ref stoppage. Kingston continued to make excuses, and had his “family” beat down Moxley. At this point, Mox is so pissed at his former friend that he’d probably demand this second title match even if Kingston hadn’t issued the challenge.

A big part of this match is that wrestling fandom has woken up about how great Eddie always was, and there’s a lot of excitement about him possibly disrupting the AEW topcard to score a rich reward for 18 years of hard work. But to me the real selling point here is that it’s an “I quit” match where I genuinely believe both guys would rather die than say the words. When WWE does these matches, they usually have a heel give in to cowardice, or a babyface surrender to save a friend in distress, or some screwjob with a tape recorder. I don’t think any of that stuff is going to happen here. These guys are going to endure some sick shit just for the sake of pride.

I think Moxley has to win and retain the championship, which means he has to make Kingston verbally quit. I don’t know what the fuck Mox can do to achieve that condition, but it should be fun/gross finding out.

Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page - This is the final match in an eight-man elimination tournament to determine the next challenger for the AEW men’s world title. Page defeated Colt Cabana and Wardlow to get here, while Omega defeated Sonny Kiss and Penta El 0M.

I was gonna run down the whole Hangman Page saga, from the day he lost to Chris Jericho to the day Omega walked out on him. But then AEW did that “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” video, so now any summary I can provide seems superfluous. The point here is that Page fell into depression and let his friends down, so Omega broke up their tag team to return to singles competition, and now they’ve managed to cross paths once again. Is Omega slowly turning heel? Will he complete that apparent heel turn by mercilessly destroying Page? Or can they work out their problems in the ring and shake hands when it’s over? We’ll soon find out.

The smart money is on tonight’s show setting up Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega. However, I don’t think AEW needs to get to that destination right away, so we could potentially see a Page win here to keep the story going. Expectations are high for this match being very, very good. Will the story be enough to put it over the top? I’ve got a good feeling that it will, and that the icing on the cake will be an upset by Page.

Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson - Wheeler and Cash are FTR, the AEW tag team champions. Matt and Nick are the Young Bucks, and they earned this title shot by winning a four-way match on October 21. Matt Jackson has vowed that if the Bucks cannot win this match, they will never again challenge for this championship.

This match has been in the making for years, going back to when Wheeler and Harwood (as Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson, the Revival) emerged as rivals for the Bucks’ status as the top tag team in pro wrestling. “Fuck The Revival” became a running joke on the Bucks’ Youtube show, right up until Wheeler and Harwood got their releases from WWE in order to come here. FTR stands for the kind of old-school wrestling that the Bucks thumb their noses at, and FTR’s gimmick is that they bitch just like the kind of old-school wrestling fans who thumb their noses at the Bucks.

The Bucks have been trying to win the tag title since it was first introduced, but they’ve always managed to come up short. After FTR manipulated Hangman Page into screwing them out of a potential title shot (clearing the way for FTR to win the gold), the Bucks snapped and started trying to regain their edge. This hasn’t really made a lot of sense, though, because instead of getting more ruthless and intense against their opponents in the ring, they’ve just been behaving like dicks to non-wrestlers backstage. If their bad attitude had directly led to them getting this match, I think the story might have landed better; as it is, they were selected literally at random to enter the 10/21 four-way, so it didn’t really make any difference.

The stipulation has people buzzing because a) Cody Rhodes had a similar stip a year ago, so we know it’s not a joke, and b) Matt Jackson is working through a knee injury, so it may not make sense for him to win a championship right this minute. I suppose it’s possible that Matt knows his in-ring days are numbered and this stip is the beginning of the end of his career. But I think it’s more likely that they just want to set up a scenario where we know the Bucks are behind the 8-ball, to build to more drama when they finally win the belts. The knock against a Bucks title win is that it’s too soon for FTR to drop the title, but then again I think it would work for the two teams to trade the championship back and forth for a few months. I’m going with new champs here.

Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose - Shida is defending the AEW women’s world championship, after somebody finally remembered Rose exists. I’m fine with some major title matches in AEW being thrown together without an epic drama behind them. But in this case it’s just annoying because everything in the women’s division feels thrown together without much consideration. I’m guessing Shida retains to keep everything on the same treadmill it’s been on.

Chris Jericho vs. MJF - This is a rare heel vs. heel battle. If MJF wins, he will be permitted to join Jericho’s stable, the Inner Circle. I was curious what MJF’s next move would be after losing to Jon Moxley on September 5, and this is it. He’s been angling to get into the group through a series of goofy skits, and he’s assured Jericho that he will do anything to win this match.

The main intrigue here is that the Inner Circle seems divided on whether they even want MJF to join. Sammy Guevara and Ortiz are so down on MJF that they tried to take him out so he couldn’t get to this match. Jake Hager and Santana are apparently cool with him, or at least uncommitted. Jericho acts like he sees MJF as a kindred spirit, but he’s too wily to trust the guy, so his real intentions here are unclear.

The easy way to book this is for MJF to do “anything” by way of convincing some (or all) of Jericho’s lackeys to help him win the match and kick Jericho out of the group. I think the only fans who aren’t expecting that are the ones who think it’s too obvious. Of course, any such breakup doesn’t have to be on this show, so everything could be civil here and then the big angle happens in six weeks, or six months. One way or another, though, we’re going to see how far MJF is willing to go to win, and we’ll be starting the next chapter of the story. And I really think that chapter has to begin with an MJF victory.

Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin - Cody is defending the AEW TNT championship. This will be their fourth match; Cody currently leads the series 2-0-1. It feels like they’ve been building up to Darby getting a big win over Cody, and I don’t see the point of going back to this match now unless that win’s finally going to happen. If Cody retains I think it’ll leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouth, regardless of whether it sets up a Darby win down the road. So I sure hope Allin wins, because I can’t imagine what else will work in this context.

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara - This is being billed as “The Elite Deletion,” and I’ve heard it was pre-taped, so I’m guessing it will be a mini-movie kind of match like Undertaker vs. AJ Styles. Matt Hardy fans will of course recall that he was doing that kind of nonsense before it was cool, going all the way back to 2016′s Final Deletion in TNA and 2018′s Ultimate Deletion in WWE. (How many deletions can one guy have?)

Everybody knows Hardy and Guevara have had a string of bad luck in their feud, with blowoff matches getting cut short or botched spots leaving Matt injured. They were supposed to settle things once and for all on September 5, but that turned into a trainwreck so I guess they decided to call a mulligan on that. The best thing you can say about this match is that, because it’s pre-taped, you can be assured that if anyone got severely hurt it would already be in the news, which makes it easier to watch.

I can’t remember Matt ever losing a mini-movie match, and I don’t think he’ll lose this one either. Even if I’m not sure how one wins an elite deletion.

Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver - After going 2-1 with Chris Jericho, Cassidy made three unsuccessful attempts to win the TNT title, so he really needs to regain some momentum with a win. Silver is a prelim guy, so he should be perfect to put Orange over...except there’s a lot of buzz around Silver lately, which is probably what got him booked for this show. I don’t think Silver can win here, but watch for them to do some stuff to let him look good on his way to doing the job.

Serena Deeb vs. Allysin Kay - This has been announced for the pre-show. Deeb is defending the NWA women’s world title, as part of an ongoing collaboration between the NWA and AEW. What makes this unusual is that Deeb recently signed with AEW, and Kay recently announced her NWA contract has expired, so no matter who wins the belt will be in the hands of an outsider. I expect this is something of an AEW tryout match for Kay, and if so I doubt she would win here, but I’m rooting for her to do well because the women’s division can use all the help it can get. I think Deeb retains, although I have no idea what that means for the future of the NWA women’s division.

#aew #full gear #jon moxley #eddie kingston #kenny omega #hangman page #ftr #the young bucks

4 notes · View notes

pigstepmp3-moved · 6 years ago

Note

Sooooo consider: college AU. Eddie locked himself in a study room in the library because he has a huge final the next day and he swears to god he’s gonna fail. Buck comes by and brings him food and coffee and forced him to take a break for 30 minutes because “Eddie you’re clearly not thinking clearly if you just said you’re an idiot. I’m the idiot in this relationship” and then quizzing him over stuff and kissing Eddie when he gets the answers right ahajsjskskskd

listen. i know u didnt ask for a ficlet, but this Inspired me, so i had to run with the idea ok

After not hearing from Eddie at all in the last two days, Buck knows there’s only one possible place he could be: the library. He knows Eddie has some big final coming up for one of his fancy schmancy psychology classes, and he also knows that Eddie takes his education very, very seriously. Way too seriously, if you ask Buck, but nobody ever does.

Anyways. Buck’s sure that Eddie’s holed up in one of those study rooms in the library on campus that he’s always raving about, and his phone has to be dead because every call Buck sends his way goes to voicemail immediately. He’s also sure that Eddie probably hasn’t slept or eaten since the last time Buck saw him because he’s bound to be so focused on studying, which will not do at all. Thankfully, he knows that they allow food and closed drinks in the library, so with a sandwich and cold water bottle for both of them in his backpack, Buck makes the trip out to the library.

When Buck makes it to the library, he’s not surprised to see Eddie through the window on the door of one of the study rooms looking like he’s about to conk out. Buck can see the dark circles under his eyes from here, and Eddie looks like he’s about to cry because he’s so stressed. He doesn’t like that at all. He frowns concernedly, quietly opening the door and shutting it behind him. He makes his way over to Eddie’s side, gently places his hand on his shoulder, and he’s about to say something before Eddie interrupts with a gasp as he leaps out of his chair in surprise.

“Oh my God, you scared me!” Eddie exclaims once he manages to catch his breath, holding a hand to his chest as he sits back down in his chair. “What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you, papi. Haven’t heard from you in a couple days,” Buck says, shrugging off his bag and setting it on the table before pulling a chair over to Eddie’s side, plopping down in it.

“Sorry,” Eddie replies guiltily, ducking his head a little. “I just have a final tomorrow, and...” he mumbles something that’s a little too quiet for Buck to fully make out.

“What was that? Speak up, babe.”

“I’ just think that I’m gonna fail,” Eddie says after a moment, slowly looking back up at Buck. It breaks Buck’s heart when he sees that Eddie’s eyes are wet with unshed tears.

“Now, why would you think that?” Buck asks quietly, gently cupping Eddie’s cheek, carefully thumbing just below his eye.

“‘Cause I’m an idiot who doesn’t know anything about anything,” Eddie replies, hands fidgeting anxiously in his lap as he rapidly blinks back tears. The blinking proves useless, though, because before either of them know it, tears are pouring down his face. “I mean, how could I possibly think that I could actually get a freaking psychology degree? I don’t know any of this shit, and I’m gonna fail so bad that I’m never gonna get my bachelor’s, and if I can’t get that, then I can’t get my master’s, and if I can’t get that, I’m not gonna get a PhD, and—!”

“Hey, hey, none of that,” Buck interrupts Eddie before he can get too worked up, gently wiping away all of the tears that are streaming down his face. “You need to take a break, babe.”

“No, I can’t take a break, I don’t know any of this, and my test is tomorrow, and I’m gonna fail—”

“Well, you’re obviously not thinking clearly if you seriously think that you’re the idiot here. Please. Have you even met me?” Buck tries to chuckle a little, but it comes out a little forced. He’s so worried about the kind of state of mind Eddie’s in right now that it’s hard to stay positive, but he has to for no other reason than to show Eddie that everything’s okay. He twists his body to reach his bag, keeping his hand on Eddie’s face, rummaging around for one of the sandwiches he brought. He smiles in triumph when he finds one, trying to rescue it from the plastic it’s currently wrapped in as quickly as he can, but it’s a little tough to do so when he’s one-handed. As soon as it’s free, he sets it in Eddie’s lap. “Here. Eat this. We’re gonna take a little break so you can breathe for a moment. You’re gonna eat...” he pauses to dig a bottle out of his bag, shoving it towards Eddie, “you’re gonna drink some water, and you’re just gonna relax for a minute. And when you’re all done, I’m gonna help you study, okay? I’ll quiz you. Show you that you do know this stuff, you’re just overwhelming yourself right now.” Eddie frowns as he stares down at the sandwich. Buck sets the bottle down on the table next to them and picks the sandwich up, grins as he wiggles it under Eddie’s nose. “Come on. I know you want it.” Eddie laughs at that, and Buck can’t help but feel a little triumphant.

“Yeah, okay,” Eddie says, sniffling as he takes the sandwich from his lap, taking a tentative bite out of it. “‘S good. Thank you.”

“Anything for you, boo,” Buck says, grinning at the breathless chuckle it pulls out of Eddie. He watches Eddie eat for a moment before pulling out his own sandwich and tearing at the plastic containing it.

They eat in silence for a while, knees pleasantly bumping against each other, and soon enough, they’ve both finished their sandwiches. Buck’s honestly a little surprised Eddie managed to finished—he figured Eddie would be so eager to get back into studying that he’d hardly be able to eat. Buck quietly catches him up on what he’s been missing during his two-day-long study session.

As much as Buck wants to drag Eddie back to his dorm and force him to lay down and get some sleep with him, he knows Eddie will refuse with some excuse about how he doesn’t want to sleep through his final. So, with a slightly worried look on his face, he says, “You got any flashcards?”

“Um, yeah,” Eddie replies, reaching for all the index cards that are spread haphazardly across the table. He puts them all into a neat little pile before handing them off to Buck. “You were serious about quizzing me?”

“‘Course.” Buck gawks a little at the neat handwriting on the cards. Much nicer looking than the flashcards he’s tried to make for himself. “Damn, these are sexy. I should get you to make my flashcards for me.”

“Yeah, you gonna pay me?”

“I’ll pay you in blowjobs,” Buck says with a shrug.

Eddie rolls his eyes. “Come on, quiz me already.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got you.”

Buck goes through each of Eddie’s cards, grimacing a little and saying “not quite” when Eddie gets the questions wrong and leaning forward to press a happy little kiss to his lips when he gets the questions right. They go through the cards together a few times, and when they manage to get through without a single wrong answer, Buck notices that Eddie’s starting to droop in his seat a little. About halfway through their next run through, Eddie interrupts Buck in the middle of asking a question with a snore. Buck looks up, pleasantly surprised to see that Eddie’s conked out with his head leaned back on the chair. With a grin, Buck stands and starts tidying up all their things, doing it as quietly as possible to let Eddie get some rest. He shoves the rumpled plastic wrap bits and half drunken water bottles into his own bag. He finds a rubber band discarded on the table, grabbing it and tying it around the cards, carefully shuts all the textbooks strewn across the table, carefully puts all the items into the bag left by Eddie’s feet. Once everything’s cleaned and packed away, he gently nudges Eddie awake. “Hey, baby, c’mon, wake up.”

Eddie slowly blinks his eyes open and yawns adorably. “Hm? Wha’s going on?”

“I’m takin’ you back to your dorm so you can get some sleep,” Buck says, holding a hand out to pull Eddie up. Eddie gives him a skeptical look. “Come on. You did great today. Kicked those flashcards’ ass. And you’re gonna kick that test’s ass, too. You’ve more than earned some sleep in a proper bed. And I’ll spend the night and everything so you don’t have to worry about sleeping too late. I’ll wake you up if you don’t get up on your own to get ready.” Eddie frowns at him for another moment before taking his hand and letting Buck pull him up.

“Promise you’ll wake me up?”

“Promise. I’ll set, like, a thousand alarms so I don’t forget,” Buck replies as he lets go of Eddie’s hand, grinning in delight with the chuckle it pulls out of Eddie. He lifts both of their bags, throwing one around of his shoulders and the other around the other. “You ready to head home?”

“Mm. Home. Sounds nice,” Eddie says, reaching for Buck’s hand again and interlocking their fingers.

“Yeah?” Buck asks as he starts leading Eddie out of the library.

“Yeah. We should move in together.”

Buck blushes a little as he thinks about that idea. Getting to wake up next to that gorgeous face every morning sounds pretty swell, and he finds himself really loving the idea of them finding a little apartment off campus together. “That sounds nice. But we can talk about more when you’ve gotten some sleep and are less stressed out, ‘kay?”

“Mm, ‘kay,” Eddie says, leaning into Buck’s side as they meander down the sidewalk toward his dorm in the slowly darkening evening. Buck knows it’s a serious conversation for some other time, but he already knows the answer he’ll give Eddie if he asks again—yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Well, maybe a little less enthusiastic than that so he doesn’t completely embarrass himself, but he really does genuinely love the idea. For now, though, all that matters is getting Eddie home and in bed to get some much needed rest.

#evan buckley #eddie diaz #buddie #911 fox #911 on fox #otp: you could have my back any day #college au #kendall writes #marauder-girl #ALMOST 2K WORDS. LOOK AT ME GO

35 notes · View notes

hysterialevi · 6 years ago

Text

When the Devil Cries pt. 6

Author’s note: The gang’s first robbery! Enjoy :)

From Eddie’s POV

SAINT DENIS, RYAN RESIDENCE

THAT NIGHT

“Don’t think too much about it,” Arthur’s gentle voice replayed in my mind. “Just aim, breathe in, and...”

A smile crept onto my face at the sweet memory whilst I sat at the piano, examining the gun he bought for me earlier.

Arthur was kind enough to gift me a beautiful Schofield revolver that had been decorated with a sleek rosewood varnish, brass frame, and blue-steel barrel. I also decided to purchase a carving of a buck on the grip, just to give it a personal touch, and hadn’t been able to stop staring at it since.

It truly was a gorgeous weapon, and it would always bring me pleasant thoughts of the day I got it...but even then, I hoped I’d never have to use it. Things were crazy enough for me in Saint Denis, what with all the chaos in my life. The last thing I wanted was to be forced to shoot someone.

But I supposed Arthur was right in the end: it never hurt to be armed.

“Oh God, Eddie...” I muttered to myself in embarrassment, thinking back to when Arthur taught me how to shoot a gun. “...You absolute moron.”

The man actually had to hold my arms in place because I was just that clueless.

He was so kind during the process, and showed no signs of impatience, but I didn’t even want to think about how much of an idiot Arthur must’ve thought I was.

I mean, it didn’t take much to see that he was insanely experienced with firearms. He handled guns better than an author handled a pen...and to see someone like me attempt to shoot one -- Arthur probably wanted to use me as the target.

Well, no. He probably didn’t.

Arthur was genuinely kind, unlike most of the other people I’d met. I could see it in his eyes, even though he spoke so lowly of himself.

He claimed he was a bad man, and yet he offered me help every time we ran into each other. I’d never seen him commit an immoral act, and he seemed to actually care about people, despite how much they might’ve annoyed him sometimes.

Deep down, he had a heart of gold. And I didn’t know what Arthur’s idea of “bad” was, but it certainly didn’t match mine.

Putting the revolver away, I returned to the piano and flipped through my notes, hoping to get in some last-minute practice. It wasn’t my first time performing in front of a large crowd, and I had been through this before, but I still found myself rather nervous about the show to come. After all, the entirety of the audience’s focus would be on me, and I just prayed I wouldn’t screw it up under the stress. I couldn’t afford to.

Relaxing my hands, I began to play the same melody I performed for Arthur the other day as my fingers danced across the keys, causing me to think back to the portrait the man had made of me.

Even though I had my suspicions Arthur was somewhat of an artist, I didn’t expect him to be that skilled. The portrait had a surprising amount of detail in it along with a rough but beautiful technique of shading, and it almost felt like I was staring at a mirror.

He even scribbled down a few words underneath the drawing with a type of handwriting I never thought I’d see from a man of his background, and wrote out the words I said to him when he came to my house.

Arthur truly was a marvel. The kind of man that only appeared once in a lifetime.

I just never thought it’d be during mine.

“...Ah, there you are.”

Jumping at the sudden voice, I instantly retreated my hands from the piano as if I were touching a hot stove, whipping around to see who had paid me a visit at this late hour.

A sense of anxiety began to inflate inside me upon seeing my guest’s face as I slowly dragged down the piano’s lid, clearing my throat in an awkward manner before greeting them.

“...Thatcher,” I said, averting my gaze from the man. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Evidently not,” Middleton replied, prowling into the room. “I wanted to discuss the matter we were talking about earlier, when your...friend interrupted us.”

I glanced out the window, peering into the night’s blackness.

“...Now? Isn’t it a bit late?”

Thatcher helped himself to a glass of wine before having a seat in the same chair Arthur used, his lifeless, smoke-colored eyes never leaving me.

“Well, I would’ve come earlier, but seeing as how you were out gallivanting all day, I didn’t exactly have the chance. Did you have fun with Mister Morgan? He certainly seems like...quite the riveting character.”

I hesitated to answer.

“...What do you want, Thatcher?”

Middleton took a sip, studying me for a moment with an astute glare before responding.

“...I want my money, Edward. The money that you said you’d repay ages ago. The money that I can easily get from Rose if you aren’t around anymore. Only...he won’t give it to me if he finds out you’re still alive.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “For someone who claims to be his own man, you certainly are loyal to that rat.”

I rested my elbows on my knees. “Look, I’m trying my best here, Thatcher. I said I’d pay you back and I will. But you keep asking for money when I have none to give. I just need some time. And patience. Fortunately for the both of us, the profit from tomorrow’s show should pay off the debt. And then our business will finally be concluded.”

Middleton lightly drummed his fingers against his wine glass, emitting a series of soft but sharp clinks.

“Good,” he said, his calm yet guttural voice rumbling in his throat. “Because I’m done waiting, Mister Ryan. If I don’t get my money soon, I might just have to finish the job, and bring Atticus Rose the blood he paid for.”

“I understand,” I reiterated. “Just...please. Give me some more time. I don’t have the money yet, but I will soon. All I need is a while longer. I beg you.”

I actually felt ashamed saying those words, and frowned upon myself for behaving in such a manner.

Good god, I hated begging like this. It made me feel so weak. So helpless. It was humiliating. And all for what? The empty promise of survival? For all I knew, Middleton could’ve been planning to kill me after collecting my debt anyways. He’d never have to tell anyone about our little deal, and he’d get double the reward from Atticus just for bringing my head.

I had lured myself into a trap like the fool I was, and as far as I could tell, there was no way out of it.

What the hell was I supposed to do next?

Considering my offer, Thatcher furrowed his brows in thought as he downed the rest of his wine, afterwards setting the glass down and silently heading for the door.

The man didn’t say anything, and the only thing that could be heard at the moment was the soft thud of his shoes hitting the floor, but I could still tell there were about a thousand different thoughts tangling inside his head.

I didn’t know why Thatcher was bothering to show me any mercy. He could’ve just put a bullet in my head here and now, and put an end to this...game. But for whatever reason, the assassin had decided to spare me in exchange for money, and pretend like I never even existed so long as he got the reward he was promised. It made me wonder if there were any ulterior motives behind his actions, and frankly, I was terrified to find out.

Middleton took one last look at me before showing himself out, pointing up a single finger.

“...One day,” he settled. “That’s it. One more day to live, or to pay. The outcome depends on you entirely, Eddie.”

I reluctantly agreed with the extension, silently cursing Thatcher for his endless cruelty. I wanted more than nothing to break out of the leash he had around my neck, but I knew I was powerless to do so. After all, I was no match for a man such as Middleton.

He had killed dozens of people in the past, and if I even attempted to fight back, I knew damn well that Thatcher would easily send me to an early grave.

Good lord...part of me kind of wished I had allowed Middleton to kill me back in England.

A defeated breath escaped me. “...Very well,” I replied. “One more day.”

Thatcher seemed pleased.

For now.

“Good. Otherwise, you know what happens. Until then, farewell, Mister Ryan. I’m glad we could come to an understanding. I just hope you can come through with it. ...For your sake.”

From Arthur’s POV

THE NEXT EVENING

SHADY BELLE

“Well, well, well!” Dutch exclaimed in an impressed tone, eyeing me up and down as he waved a cigar around. “Look at you, big man! You know, you don’t look half bad when you’re not covered in blood. Half of you is all I can see most of the time. Hah!”

I adjusted the ascot tie clinging around my neck, attempting to give myself some room to breathe as I squirmed in my suit.

A noose would’ve honestly been preferable at this point.

“Is this really necessary, Dutch?” I questioned, feeling like a pompous idiot.

“We want to grab as little attention as possible on this heist,” he reminded. “That means we have to fit in. Especially you and Mary-Beth. So yes, it is necessary.”

I shrugged. “...Fine. So, is the plan still the same?”

Dutch nodded. “Most of it, yes. The only thing I’ve decided to change is your role in this. Instead of pretending to be a couple out to see a show, you and Mary-Beth are gonna wear some masks that Charles and I snatched. The same masks that the actors will be wearing.”

I felt my heart stop. “The actors? Oh lord, Dutch. Please don’t tell me...”

He let out a guffaw. “Have no fear, son. You won’t be going on stage. I just need you and Mary-Beth to pretend like you’re a pair of actors who were...late to the show or something. Just keep the clerk distracted. Meanwhile, Bill will sneak into the ticket office from behind and...‘convince’ them to hand over every single dollar sittin’ in that register. When that’s done, the three of you will meet Charles outside. He’ll have a stagecoach ready to go once you’ve got the money, and then all of you will get the hell outta there.”

“And if somethin’ goes wrong?” I asked.

“Then we do whatever we must to escape. But the ideal outcome here is: no one dies, and we’re out of the theater before anyone even figures out what happened. If the law does somehow get alerted though, do not head straight back to camp, and split up. Understand?”

“Got it.”

Dutch patted me on the shoulder. “Then I wish you good luck. Oh, and put this on.”

Handing over one of the most flamboyant accessories I’ve ever seen, Dutch presented a porcelain mask decorated with bold jewels, paint, and feathers...as if to rub salt into my wounds.

I took the hideous thing into my hands, observing it with a face of fear as it stared back at me.

“If I had any good luck I wouldn’t be wearin’ this as a robbery mask.”

“Oh, just wait ‘till you see what Mary-Beth has to wear. You’ll be forgiving me later.”

I slipped the mask inside my overcoat. “The money will be forgiveness enough.”

He chuckled. “That it will. Well, be careful today, Arthur. And keep your wits about you. This job should be easy enough to pull off, but you know what they say. Expect the unexpected.”

I waved goodbye to Dutch, heading out to find Mary-Beth.

“That’s all I expect.”

ONE HOUR LATER

Squeezing myself into the stagecoach while Charles climbed up top, I found myself sharing a bit too much room with Bill as the both of us were forced to practically touch knees, barely able to fit in this box with wheels.

“And people say I'm grumpy.” I remarked, noticing the less than happy expression on Bill’s face.

“Shut up, Morgan.” He snapped back.

“Hey,” I replied with a chuckle, “at least you got the honors of wavin’ a gun around. Dutch wants me to keep mine holstered. All I get to do is stand there...and let the clerk gawk at me.”

Williamson rested a hand on his knee. “I’m surprised Dutch even let me take the money on this one. Usually, he always puts you in charge of emptying the register. Or the vault. Or pockets. Or whatever it is we’re stealin’ from.”

I leaned back in my seat, doing my best to get comfortable for the ride ahead.

“Well, Dutch did say the best way to pull off this mission is to fit in. And no offense, Bill, but...you kinda scare the shit outta people.”

Bill scoffed. “And you don’t?”

I let out a sigh. “Oh, I will once I put this mask on. Looks like someone skinned the devil.”

Williamson crossed his arms and stared out the tiny window. “At least you’ll have no issues fittin’ in, then.”

“Heh. That I won’t.”

Opening the stagecoach’s door, Mary-Beth joined the conversation as she plopped herself next to me, showing the most amount of excitement out of all of us. There was a certain spark in her eyes that made it look like she hadn’t stepped outside for ages, and she certainly seemed much more relaxed. Well, at least one of us was happy.

“Hello, fellas.” She greeted, tidying her gown.

“Hey there, Mary-Beth,” I responded. “You seem eager to get to work.”

“Oh, I am. This is the first big heist I’ve done in months. I’m just so glad Dutch chose me to come along with you boys. If I had stayed in camp for another minute, I might’ve lost my mind.”

Bill adjusted his suit. “You’ll lose it much faster out there.”

I smiled at Mary-Beth. “Well, I look forward to hearin’ your retelling of this one at the campfire.”

The young woman smirked. “It was just the three of us, sneakin’ our way under the moonlight’s dreamy gaze as we prepared to rob the grandest theater in all o’ Saint Denis...”

Bill grumbled. “...and we looked like fuckin’ idiots.”

We all chortled at that as the stagecoach began to move, prompting us to put our gear on.

“Alright,” I said with a soft laugh. “Enough of that. Get your masks on, people. The theater ain’t far from here.”

Mary-Beth followed my instructions and slipped hers on, causing my eyes to widen out of surprise.

“Jesus -- Dutch weren’t kiddin’ about your mask.”

She sighed dramatically. “I know, I know. First heist I get to go on in forever...and this is what I have to wear.”

I pulled my mask out of my coat, strapping the thing around my head.

“Perhaps I’ll forgive Dutch, after all. Anyway, good luck to both of you. Stay calm, and stay alert. No one has to die...and ideally, no one has to figure out what we’re doin’ before we’re gone. ‘Cause otherwise, I don’t feel like puttin’ on a second show for these folks.”

Mary-Beth gave me a firm nod. “We’re ready, Arthur.”

“...Then let’s do this.”

SAINT DENIS, THE RÂLEUR

Walking up to the theater once all the guests had already purchased their tickets, Mary-Beth and I approached the front doors together just as the show was starting to begin, giving us the perfect opportunity to slither in.

There were plenty of empty stagecoaches and horses waiting outside, and the closer we got, the more we could hear the muffled cheers of the audience enjoying the performance. Judging by the volume, there was going to be a hell lot of money just waitin’ for us to snatch. I only hoped that everything went according to plan.

“Okay,” I whispered. “Looks clear. Bill, find a way into the ticket booth. Quietly. Mary-Beth and I will distract the clerk in the meantime. Once you’re inside, we’ll grab the money from the register and meet Charles back here afterwards. Then, we get the hell outta this city before anyone even knows what happened. Got it?”

Bill pulled up his bandana. “Got it.”

I turned to Mary-Beth. “And you?”

She grinned. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Good. Then let’s get to work.”

Breaking off from the group, Bill went on his own path while Mary-Beth and I hurriedly strolled towards the front doors, both our hearts pumping rapidly in our chests despite our calm exteriors.

It had been a long while since anything went right for the gang, and if I was being perfectly honest, I weren’t too confident about the this robbery either.

There were next to no cops around, even less witnesses...and the amount of money being promised to us almost sounded too good to be true. Part of me wanted to believe this was just a good score and that we were lucky enough to seize it, but my better judgement knew this wasn’t going to come without consequences.

Well, whatever storm was headin’ our way, I had faith that Dutch and the gang would be prepared for it. We survived Blackwater, we survived the mountains, and we sure as hell weren’t dying now. We had gone too far to go back.

Pushing the glass doors open, Mary-Beth and I casually sauntered in as the ticket clerk’s head perked upwards, greeting us with curious eyes.

“Ah, are you more of Abbington’s actors?” He asked, recognizing the masks. “Well, the show’s already started, but you should have enough time to slip in before anyone notices. Don’t wanna be late to a performance this big. Especially not with how many people are in the audience. Y’all have really planned something special tonight, haven’t you?”

I spotted Bill sneaking in from a side door as he stuck close to the walls, gradually inching his way to the booth.

I approached the clerk, keeping his attention away from everything but me.

“You have no idea,” I replied. “But actually, we’re lookin’ for a friend of ours. He’s another actor. Mighta seen him stumblin’ around here? He’s about this tall, always has a sour look on his face. A clumsy feller, but he knows what he’s doing. Just has a...a habit of being late, sometimes.”

The clerk shook his head. “I’m afraid I haven’t seen anyone like that, friend. Have you checked with Abbington? Or perhaps Miss Marjorie?”

I decided to drop the subject. “Nah, we already asked them, but no harm done. We’ll keep looking for him. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere--” I paused in the middle of my words and pointed in the distance, letting out a chuckle. “Ah, never mind...there he is.”

Following my gaze, the clerk froze when he suddenly heard the sound of a gun being cocked behind him, not daring to move a single muscle as Bill nearly nailed the barrel into his head.

“Don’t scream,” I immediately warned, keeping my voice low. “Don’t cry. Don’t even breathe. Just give us the money in that there register. Otherwise, Benjamin Lazarus ain’t gonna be the only one catchin’ a bullet tonight.”

Bill applied more pressure with his rifle. “Do what he says.” He demanded.

The clerk held up his hands in surrender, whimpering out of fear.

“O-Okay, okay! I’ll give you the money. J-Just, please...don’t hurt anyone.”

“Oh believe me,” I threatened as the man desperately opened the register, “we don’t wanna hurt nobody. But we sure as shit will. If you give us enough of a reason to.”

Fumbling through the register with trembling hands, the clerk hastily gathered all the money clips and handed them to Bill while the show carried on inside, entrancing the crowd as they clapped and cheered, completely oblivious to the fact that their money was being taken away.

“That’s it...” Bill urged him. “Keep the cash coming.”

Mary-Beth whistled out of amazement, staring at all the green now sitting in Williamson’s bag.

“Whoo, would you look at all that money? I guess you boys was right about this job.”

“Just don’t let your guard down,” I reminded. “We ain’t outta here yet.”

Tossing every coin he could find into Williamson’s bag, the clerk threw his hands up in the air once again when he was finished and stared at us with a horrified, bewildered expression.

“Is that all the money?” I questioned.

“...Y-Yes!” He answered. I didn’t believe him.

I decided to bluff. “Alright, well if that’s the case...I guess we’ll just finish you off and search the rest of the place ourselves.”

“What?!” The clerk yelped.

“It’s nothin’ personal...” I reassured. “Just don’t wanna leave behind any loose ends. I’m sure you understand.”

“W-Wait!” He exclaimed. “There’s no more money, but there are some very valuable props backstage. Made out of gold and silver, they are. Jewels, too. You could sell them for a fine price, I imagine.”

“That so?” I asked. “I’ll go check. See if he’s tellin’ the truth. Mister W, you stay and make sure our friend here behaves. Miss G, why don’t you go on and bring the money to where it belongs? I’ll meet up with you two later.”

“Sounds good.” Mary-Beth agreed as I began making my way backstage.

“Be careful back there,” Bill warned. “Never know what you could run into with these freaks.”

I chuckled mischievously, throwing a glance back at him.

“Which freaks we talkin’ about here?”

BACKSTAGE

Roaming quietly through the clutters of props, mannequins, and furniture stored in the back of the theater, I cautiously searched for the valuables the clerk spoke of as I did my best to avoid any of the staff who could’ve been wandering around.

Right now, it seemed like most of the people involved in the show were on the other side of the curtain, and so far, I hadn’t seen any other actors backstage. Still though, I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I could sneak around well enough, but I didn’t want to push our luck more than we already had.

Sifting through the multiple boxes and crates scattered around, I picked up a few things here and there that I thought we could sell to a fence, constantly checking behind me to ensure no one crept up while I wasn’t looking.

Even if I didn’t manage to take everything though, we had stolen more than enough money for one night. I knew Dutch said there’d be loads of cash for us to lift at the theater, but I had no idea just how many people were actually gonna be pourin’ through the doors today.

We must’ve collected a few hundred dollars. At least. And that was without all the stuff I found back here.

Maybe Dutch wasn’t quite as lost as I expected. Maybe the old man had been right all along, and I was the one changing. Not him.

I just wanted what was best for the gang. Sure, there was a lot of rotten people within our big, dysfunctional family...but we also had good people. Those who deserved a better life. A life that we were capable of giving to them. All we needed to make that happen...was one last score. And then, we were free.

“Don’t...move.”

Halting in my tracks, I came to a stop when I heard the unmistakable sound of someone pulling down the hammer of a gun, and a series of gentle, yet unwavering footsteps coming from behind me.

Shit.

“Throw your weapon away.” They ordered.

Careful not to provoke them, I steadily turned around to face the confronter as I left the props on the floor and complied, never taking my eyes off them.

“Listen, boy...” I said, slowly rotating my body. “I didn’t come here to shoot no one, but that don’t mean--”

Cutting off mid-sentence, I felt my skin turn to stone when I finally laid eyes upon the stranger’s face, suddenly regretting ever coming here in the first place.

Pointing a Schofield revolver directly at my head, Eddie stared me down with a frightened but unbreakable strength in his forest-colored eyes as he tried to calm his own breath, clearly terrified by the whole situation even if he didn’t show it.

Well...if there was a god above, he certainly had a unique sense of humor. I couldn’t believe it.

I was being held at gunpoint.

By my own student.

In a theater that I was trying to rob.

“Look,” Eddie said, his tone shaking slightly, “I don’t know who you are, but just...go. Leave everything you took behind, and don’t come back. Please. No one needs to get hurt.”

I took a few, subtle steps forward, trying to remain calm.

“Easy there, partner...” I murmured.

Eddie gulped out of anxiety and mindlessly clenched his jaw, unable to move due to the terror holding him down.

“I-I mean it,” he reiterated. “Leave.”

I continued to approach him despite his commands, whispering softly in an attempt to ease the boy’s nerves.

“...Now, I ain’t gonna hurt you...” I reassured. “I just came here for money. Not blood.”

The pianist fell silent at that, his arms quivering as he kept the gun aimed at me. I could tell he was scared, but not scared enough to pull the trigger. Eddie didn’t strike me as the type to shoot someone out of panic, and I certainly prayed that I was right.

“...That’s it...” I encouraged. “Nice and easy...”

Eddie stayed in place, his breath still somewhat quick, but not quite as fear-driven as before. It was working.

My lord, I could only imagine what I was doing to this poor kid. He weren’t gonna be able to sleep for the rest of the week, and I’d probably be in every single one of his nightmares from here on out.

Though, I couldn’t deny that Eddie certainly had a pair of stones on him. He had a bravery I’d not seen in very many other people, and I didn’t even want to think about how much hell he’d raise if he had the same gunslinging skills as Dutch.

Just as I was about to defuse the tension however, Bill himself suddenly snuck up behind Eddie and bashed him in the back of the head with his rifle, knocking the boy out cold before he even hit the floor.

I glared at the attacker, instantly rushing over to Eddie’s unconscious body as Bill grabbed the props.

“The hell, Williamson?!” I practically growled through gritted teeth.

“What?” He exclaimed, hauling the sack over his shoulder. “Dutch said no killing. He never mentioned anything about hittin’ people!”

I sighed in irritation. “That’s not the point-- oh for Christ’s sake, forget it. Let’s just get outta here. C’mon, Charles and Mary-Beth will be waitin’ outside.”

“Who’s ridin’ shotgun?” Bill asked, following me to the front of the theater.

“I will,” I answered. “You just worry about keeping that money safe. We got a lot sittin’ in those bags, and we ain’t losing ‘em now!”

Escaping with Williamson, the two of us ran like hell as I unholstered my own guns and kept an eye out for any lawmen that could’ve been lurking about, still feeling incredibly guilty over what happened with Eddie.

The boy was only trying to protect the money that he earned, and not only did I sweep it out from right under him, I also put him through what would probably be one of the most terrifying moments of his life.

Unlike everyone else I knew, Eddie had never killed a man before or lived the life of an outlaw. He had grown comfortable with the safety of a city’s walls, and to end up being stuck between two robbers like he did tonight...I was gonna have to make this up to him somehow.

But I’d worry about that later. Right now, my only concern was getting out of Saint Denis as fast as humanly possible. For the first time in a while, things actually went mostly according to plan, and we just stole a more-than-decent chunk of cash. Dutch was going to be pleased.

“There’s Charles,” I announced as we came through the entrance. “Quick! Get in, and let’s go!”

Climbing onto the stagecoach, Bill took the sacks of money and stuffed himself inside with Mary-Beth, the four of us taking off as soon as the door was closed.

Even though there were no lawmen chasing us at the moment, neither Charles nor I wanted to take any chances and urged the horses to gallop faster as we bolted through the city’s streets, almost floating above the cobblestone with our speed.

I had to admit: despite the encounter with Eddie, I was feelin’ good for once. It was about time a robbery went right...but I still couldn’t help wondering how this was going to affect the pianist’s life.

I mean, now that I thought about it, every time I talked with the man, he was always mentioning how much he needed more money. He mentioned it at the saloon. He mentioned it after we ran into Miss Powell...

I didn’t know if he was in some sort of trouble, or what was going on in his life, but...Eddie did sound a bit desperate.

Jesus, what had I gotten myself into? Even when something finally worked out for the gang, I still had my doubts about our victory.

Sure, we were a huge step closer to buying our freedom, but at what cost? The freedom of another?

To be honest...I didn’t know if it was worth it.

I mentally slapped myself across the face, snapping back to reality.

No, I couldn’t afford to think like that. Empathy got you killed out in these lands, and compassion betrayed you. My place was at Dutch and Hosea’s side, and that was where it’d always be. No matter what. And I’d just have to accept that.

I liked Eddie. I really did. Hell, maybe I even had the potential to love him...but not in this life. I had already pursued love enough times to know how it ended, and I couldn’t bear to put the boy through the same fate.

He was a kind soul, built to lift those around him.

As for me -- I was nothing but a ghost walkin’ among men.

And regardless of what I felt for Eddie...

...None of it was gonna change a damn thing.

#red dead redemption #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #arthur morgan #eddie ryan #oc #fanfic #story

10 notes · View notes

just-jordie-things · 7 years ago

Text

Gangster’s Paradise - Richie Tozier [chapter two]

word count: 3688 warnings: swearing, smoking, marijuana, drug dealing, angst

“I knew he’d be late!” Eddie groaned as he sat in the grass. Bill huffed in an annoyed agreement, looking around their spot at the Barrens, hoping Richie would show up out of nowhere.

“I-I told h-him f-four” Bill stated. “I t-told him t-twice the p-plan”

“Good thing it wasn’t some important meeting” Stan grumbled.

“Well- well what if it was?” Eddie asked exasperatedly. “What if- what if you died? And we needed to tell Richie but his lazy ass couldn’t bother to get here in time?”

“I’m not dead Eddie” Stanley deadpanned.

“You know what I mean. Something awful. What if It came back? Huh?”

“D-don’t say that” Bill snapped slightly, and Eddie apologized almost instantly. Ashamed that he’d gotten so ahead of himself.

It had been years since that demon had been mentioned aloud.

“Sorry Bill”

Silence fell between the three as they kept to their own thoughts for a while, thinking about that summer years ago. It wasn’t often that they were reminded of it, and if any of them were being honest, it hit them hard.

“W-we saw y/n/n t-today” The old nickname for y/n rolled off Bill’s tongue with ease but as soon as he said it he corrected himself in a flushed manner. “y/n… w-we saw y/n” He restated.

“Yeah… she’s in my third period Econ” Eddie said quietly, recalling awkward moments where their eyes had met and looked away just as quickly.

“N-no, we s-saw her a-and Patrick Ho-Hocks-st-st-tetter” Bill clarified. It sounded weird… like it had only been a dream that morning. A hallucination. His eyes playing tricks on him

Both Eddie and Stan’s jaws dropped open.

“Really?”

“No fucking way”

“Y-yeah. A-all pressed ag-gainst the l-lockers” Bill replied. Recalling just how real it had been

“Oh shit” Stand muttered. “I can’t believe it… they can’t be… they aren’t…?”

“T-together? I d-don’t know sh-she was smiling an aw-awful l-lot” Eddie sighed.

“What’d Richie do? He didn’t swing at him did he?” Eddie could picture it now, Richie prying Hockstetter away, landing a few punches before getting knocked to his ass.

“N-no he j-just m-muttered” Bill replied, remembering the way Richie stiffened as he walked away from the scene.

“Surprised he didn’t beat his ass. I mean, even though it’s Patrick…” “What about Patrick?” Eddie jumped out of shock, halting his sentence and turning to see Richie walking up to them. A cigarette dangling between his fingers.

“Really Richie!? You bailed on us to smoke?” Eddie groaned as he glared down the cancer stick his friend was holding.

“Fuck off” Tozier responded, walking over to his friends and sitting with his back to a tree trunk. “What’re you talking about?”

“Noth-” Stan started, but didn’t get to finish.

“y/n and Patrick all squashed up against each other and making out” Eddie sneered, pissed off that he was smoking while knowing the consequences.

“Eddie!” Bill scolded, but Richie didn’t say anything, just glared at the hypochondriac.

“Yeah, you know he still loves her” Stan rolled his eyes.

“Fuck off Stan I’ll shove you right off that fucking cliff, and I hope you die an awful death” Richie snapped defensively, but Stan just rolled his eyes. Richie’s violent tendencies only really appeared when y/n was a part of the discussion.

“He’s just jealous of Patrick-”

“I said fuck off!” Richie yelled now, dropping his cigarette and stumping it out with his boot. “Jesus fucks, I come here to hang out with my actual fucking friends and you just end up shitting on me”

“R-Richie he didn’t m-mean it” Bil said, shooting a look between Stan and Eddie.

“It’s not my fault” Stan said. “He’s just not going to admit he’s not over it because-”

“Yeah I fucking get it, I’m in love with her and I’m not changing anytime soon. Thanks Stan, really fucking thanks” The trashmouth barked before he could stop himself.

“What? Why are you so pissy about this?” Stan asked, standing up as Richie began wandering back from wherever he came.

“I’m going back home, fuck you” He called, still walking.

“Oh yeah, just go avoid it like you do everything!” Stan hollered, but sat back down with Eddie and Bill to calm himself. Richie just raised his middle finger, still walking away.

Fuck them, he didn’t have to deal with this. He already had to go through it once.

y/n was sat front seat of Belch’s car, her feet up on the dash as she lit her cigarette.

“You’re really gonna fucking smoke in my car?” Belch groaned. She just cocked an eyebrow towards him as she capped the lighter, blowing a puff of smoke towards him.

Smoking was never something she’d intended on doing, it just kind of happened, and she grew fond of it.

“Where are we drivin’ to anyway?” Victor asked from the back, sitting between Patrick and Henry.

“We’re going to meet up with Jason” y/n responded dryly. “Because someone fucked up-”

“Will you fucking let it go already? I get it! I fucked up! It fucking happens princess!”

“Stop the car” The girl uttered, and Belch slammed on the brakes upon the command.

The space was dead silent, until she whirled around, a shimmering glint of her switch knife pointed towards Hockstetter.

“Listen you fucking pyromaniac” She said angrily. “You have done nothing but test me today and I swear to fucking God I will cut off that fucking mane of yours strand by strand and make you eat it so you better shut that fucking motormouth of yours before you fuck up something worse than this job” Patrick swallowed thickly, and the other boys were deliberately looking away from her.

y/n cleared her throat calmly, closing up her knife and sliding it into her pocket again. “Jason’s just up the road” She told Belch with a sweet smile.

It scared him because it was genuine.

They drove a little further, Henry and Victor conversing in the back about something y/n didn’t really care to listen to. Patrick flicking his lighter open and closed repeatedly, and Belch not daring to look over at y/n next to him. She looked down at her feet, where a ziploc bag sat full of the contraband she was selling.

Drug dealing was never her intention either, but when she had joined up with the Bowers gang and proved herself to be in charge, she found it to be a quick and easy buck.

“Well would ya look at that?” Henry’s sickening voice rang from the back, and he nodded out the window towards the Kissing Bridge. “Haven’t seen Buck Beaver in a while, Belch pull over”

y/n perked up at the nickname, feeling both the urge to duck beneath the window and look out it at the same time. Sure enough, Richie Tozier was wandering down the path, right along the bridge.

“Not surprised frog face is at the bridge all alone” Criss snickered.

“Come on, Belch pull the fuck over-”

“We have a job to do” y/n spoke assertively. “Jason is just up the street and if you want our fifty bucks then we keep on moving”

She spoke with power but sunk low in her seat as they passed the bridge, out of sight if Richie were to look through the window.

Bowers rolled down the window, leaning out of it and spitting towards the trashmouth.

“Cocksucker!” Henry called, and Richie whipped around as the car kept driving, flipping off the older boy.

“Fuck yourself you mullet wearing asshole!” He hollered back, not even caring if Henry were to leap out of the car and chase him down.

Puberty had treated Richie pretty fairly, giving him a good 6 feet of height. And while he may be lanky, he’d learned how to pack a punch, and had the detention streak to prove it too.

But surprisingly, Bowers just got back in the car and it kept on moving. Richie scoffed, staying by the bridge for a smoke.

y/n sat back up in her seat, looking into the rearview mirror to see the boy sitting on the rail of the bridge, lighting a cigarette at his lips. She looked to the cig in her fingers, and let out a small sigh. Inaudible to the others in the car.

Jason, looking the part of a stoner kid, was leaning up against a tree not too much further away from the Kissing Bridge. In fact, if y/n turned and squinted, she could still see Richie sitting there. A blur of a dark green hoodie and jeans.

She handed him his bag, and just as quickly snatched the dollar bills from his hands, counting them up while the others did god knows what back at the car. When she counted all fifty, she smiled and tucked the cash into her pocket, right with her knife.

“Alright Jason” She spoke sweetly as he breathed in the toxic scent of his weed. “If you ever fucking come to the school’s campus demanding your share again-”

“You’ll what sweetheart, tell my mother?”

y/n chuckled, a sound that was near close to a giggle. A quiet “oh fuck” came from behind her, and she turned to see Vic and Henry running back towards the bridge. Maybe out of fear, maybe because they knew Richie was still down there smoking his cigarette. She winked towards Patrick who’d stayed behind, and who was already uneasy from earlier, then turned back towards Jason.

In seconds the girl shoved her hands against the stoner’s chest and pushed him into the tree behind him. He was so off guard, his plastic bag fell from his hands and he gasped, not knowing how to react. Hell, this was a girl, what could he do?

“Don’t ever fucking test me like that, I’ve already got these shitheads to deal with” She said in a mutter. “And don’t think I’d cut you off, customer or not, I’ve got rules, and you broke one today”

“Y-yes y/n” He stammered, nodding his head rapidly.

“If I get caught running around with these fucking criminals, I’m dead. It’s suspicious, you know what I mean?” She asked like they were having a casual conversation. Like her hand wasn’t dangerously close to wrapping around his throat.

“Mh-mhm” Jason nodded his head shakily again, and for a moment as he’d stammered she was reminded of a boy she used to look up to like a leader. But it was a very brief moment.

“So you won’t fuck this up again, yes?” She checked, and again, he nodded.

“EAT SHIT BOWERS!”

y/n whirled around, seeing far off towards the Kissing Bridge that Henry had decided to pick a fight with Richie.

“Fuck” The girl muttered, almost slapping herself in the forehead. She looked back at Jason with a glare. “Get the fuck out of my sight!” She hollered, annoyed that he was still standing there frozen in fear. He was lucky that Henry’s idiocy pulled y/n’s priorities elsewhere.

But Jason’s feet moved awkwardly and quickly as he picked up his dropped bag of MaryJane and scampered off to God knows where.

y/n turned back towards the fighting, luckily too far out of sight for Richie to see her, but not so luckily being able to see Henry swing for his stomach, landing a harsh blow. y/n hissed in a wince, hearing Richie’s pained oof, and wishing she was able to go break it up.

But that would mean a confrontation she wasn’t ready for.

y/n you have to go, it’s Richie, you’d be a bigger bitch for letting this happen, she thought. But on the other hand… y/n, you motherfucker, don’t you dare move, you’ve gotten this far without having to owe anyone any explanations. Bowers didn’t know you knew Richie, Richie didn’t know you knew Bowers.

“Suck a dick frogface. Suck that little asmatics di-”

“Bowers!” y/n screamed his name with evident anger, and her feet was carrying her over towards them in a sprint that shocked her. That this is what she decided to do.

Richie, who had been trying to land a blow to Henry’s face (preferably the nose or eye or lip) stuttered in his movements, and ended up getting socked across the jaw by Henry.

“Hey!” y/n yelled again, reaching Henry and shoving him back away from Richie, making sure not to look at the curly haired boy. “The fuck you think you’re doing?”

“Fuck off y/n you got to do what you wanted, now I get to do what I wanted” Henry moved to shove her aside, and Richie almost made the move to jump in front of her, like he was going to protect her, but she was faster than him. Grabbing Henry by the wrist and shoving him hard back against the car. “Come on boss, it’s just Bucky Beaver” Henry winced, but y/n just scoffed at his begging.

“You’ve mistaken me for someone who’s given a shit. You and the pyro both want a beating today?” Her eyes momentarily flicked towards Patrick, who promptly got into the car without a word.

Richie, still standing behind her, was panting. Slightly out of pain and trying to regain his breath, but mostly because of the shock he was reeling in. y/n was… she was with the Bowers Gang? That just made no sense to him.

“Get in the fucking car” She muttered let go of Henry, who instantly moved towards Richie again, but she pushed both of her hands against his chest, nearly toppling over on his ass. “I said get in the fucking car!” She yelled now, and Henry scrambled to get in.

He had a thing about getting yelled at assertively, forced upon him by his father’s abuse. y/n gave Belch a look, silently telling him to start it up. He did instantly. Vic had rushed to get in the vehicle when y/n had first run over to them, not wanting to be added to her list of beatings for the day.

“You comin’ boss?” Belch asked with a slight quiver to his voice. y/n was only called boss when she was pissed, and they were trying not to piss her off any further.

“Get the fuck back to town I’ll get myself home” She ordered.

“You don’t need a ride boss-?”

“Didn’t I just say to go fucking home?” She snapped. Richie jumped slightly behind her, out of shock. This side of y/n was something completely foreign to him. “Get outta here, I don’t want anyone fucking seeing me with you”

Dust and dirt flew in the air as Belch shoved down on the gas and sped back towards town. y/n groaned out of annoyance, watching them drive off before turning to Richie. In all the craziness she hadn’t noticed that his glasses had been knocked down to the ground. The girl frowned, bending over to pick them up, wiping the muck off the lenses with her shirt before placing them back on his face. Richie stood there with his lips parted, his eyebrows knit together ot of confusion and… anger?

Yeah, that was anger. y/n was always good at reading his emotions, though he hid them best he could.

“I have to get to town” She said promptly, and turned to follow the direction Belch’s car had taken off. But before she could take more than two steps her wrist was seized. And if she hadn’t known it was Richie, he’d be dead.

“That’s it!?” He yelled, out of anger, desperation, everything he’d wallowed in for the past… four years? “You show up, out of fucking nowhere, all ‘in’ with Bowers and you’re just going to fucking leave!?”

y/n blinked, her eyes round and unsure of what to do. She pulled her wrist out of Richie’s hand and stepped slightly back from him.

“It’s best if I just go Rich, you don’t want to talk to me” Richie squinted at her, astounded by her choice of words.

“You drop yourself out of my life like it’s nothing for years and now you’re some drug dealing, kid torturing-“

“Stop it Richie!” She snapped. “It’s not like that!”

“Yeah? Seems exactly fucking like that” He replied and she felt hot tears prick her eyes. She couldn’t recall the last time she cried.

“Fuck, Richie” The girl fumbled and pulled a pack of smokes from her pocket, the one opposite of her cash and knife. It was quiet between them, this new territory they’d created. She lit the cig with her lighter and sniffed to stop from possibly crying as she smoked. “I had it all under control and then you waltz in out of nowhere and mess shit up”

“I messed shit up? You mean realizing you’re fucking-” Richie stepped forward and lowered his voice drastically. “You’re fucking dealing y/n, you do know that’s a felony right?”

“Like you give a shit-”

“I think it’s pretty fucking clear I give a shit” Richie said in a mutter so low it sent shivers down her spine.

“Well don’t then. I don’t” She replied with a bite in her words. There was rage in his eyes, but beneath that she could see the hopelessness.

“y/n… what the fuck happened to you?” He sighed, losing all the angry quality in his voice. y/n stared down at the ground, unable to look at him and tell him the truth.

“Nothing happened to me I just moved on with life”

“Yeah, right on with Patrick Hockstetter” Richie retorted, his arm waving wildly towards the town. She glared up at him at the connotation his words held. Richie had no right to be angry about who she spent her time with, much less be jealous of it.

“I’m going home” She muttered, and was stalking off down the road before he could protest or grab her again.

“What the fuck! You’re just going to run away from it?” He hollered, making her turn around to flip him off before she kept on walking.

Richie froze for a moment, remembering the way he’d left his friends at The Barrens, just like her. The boy sighed, and jogged after her.

“Go away Richie”

“I just so happen to live in Derry so I’ll be walking this way” He said smugly, but she ignored him. “Besides, you owe me like… a million fucking answers y/n/n”

Her head snapped up towards him upon hearing her old nickname. “I don’t owe you shit” She growled out the same way she held her power over the Bowers Gang.

“Yes honey, you owe me all the fucking shit” Richie snapped back. y/n was momentarily at a loss. Every time she’d ever snapped that way, the one’s she was usually threatening winced, or stepped away. Richie, on the other hand, didn’t seem to give a shit what she said. “You stepped in back there for a reason”

“Fuck off Richie” She muttered, already beginning to pull out another cigarette.

“You smoke now too?” Richie asked out of pure shock, but she continued to ignore him as she lit it and placed it between her fingers. His mind flashed back to a time when she’d leave him every time he’d pull out a cigarette. “Who the hell are you-”

“Well what the fuck did you expect!?” She screamed, whipping around to stand in front of him. “It’s been four years Rich! I’m not going to just be the same girl! Why can’t you just leave it alone?”

“Damn it y/n because I fucking care about you and you’re just trying to get yourself killed!” She was silent for a moment, puffing on her smoke and continuing to walk.

“I wouldn’t mind dying anyways” She grumbled, and Richie rolled his eyes, but something tugged on his heart strings. That familiar pain he’d dealt with before when he’d watch you struggle with something.

“Well you picked the right crowd to get you there quicker” He muttered bitterly. But she laughed.

“Yeah no kidding” She replied. Richie let out a long breath through his nose, not knowing what to tell her. What to say to her to make her drop them and come back to him. “Look I’m not gonna lie to you Rich… I didn’t want Henry beating the shit out of you. But seriously you can’t… you just have to go home and not-”

“Not talk to you again?” He finished, and she looked at him apologetically.

“Look it’s just easier that way it has to stay that way. The others… the boys they don’t know that I was ever with you guys. And they can’t, not if I want to stay in the position I’m in”

“As what, their ringleader?”

“Pretty much yeah” She said with a slight amount of attitude and anger in her voice. Though the idea of cutting him off so soon hurt. It was quiet for a bit, y/n smoking her cigarette and Richie not having anything left to say to her. He was at a loss, what else could he do if he wanted to?

“Well have a nice life y/n” He told her. “Enjoy your pot dealing and being in charge of some fucking psychopaths. Try not to miss your real friends too much, but you seem to be doing just fucking fine on your own” He snarled his words, and she physically winced as he went storming off ahead of her, no longer wanting to even bother. He was done wasting his time on y/n y/l/n. The last four years was him trying to get over his own feelings, but now he was sure they’d vanished completely, along with y/n’s true self.

She’d stopped in the road, watching him leave with half a cigarette between her fingers. Tears welled in her eyes and threatened to fall, though somehow she’d forced them not to. Hell, she missed that boy like crazy.

welp there it is! don’t worry, it’s not gonna be sad angst forever. . . taglist: @timsflannels @depressed-trashcann @beepbeeprichtozier

xoxo ~ jordie

#It (2017)#it (2017) imagine #richie tozier #richie tozier x reader #richie tozier imagine #richie tozier scenario #richie tozier fanfiction #finn wolfhard #finn wolfhard x reader #finn wolfhard scenario #finn wolfhard imagine #finn wofhard fanfiction

212 notes · View notes