#he's Definitely not happy with everything that's happened and i suspect he's also (like me) Not Pleased with bibi

[shalom-iamcominghome]

One of the guys I've gotten close to has offered to write a character profile if the class needs one because - and I quote - "you haven't committed any October 7ths" so... I have that going for me, I think.......

[colourstreakgryffin]

Thank you for taking my request earlier <3

I again have a request if you don't mind ^^

Tsugikuni brothers (yes, I simp for them-) hcs (separately) with the s/o who is awkward with people at first but after getting comfy likes to talk alot and is an absolute chatterbox that barely shuts up? Like the reader also likes to make the people close to them laugh by purposely saying stupid things? But their friends sometimes exclude them or don't pay attention to them when they are trying to say smth?

TvT I mean that's literally who I am and that what's happens to me mostly so yea-

Let me know if you are not comfy with writing it or so ^^

Oooh! No, don’t worry. This very cute! I definitely will do this one too, and hey, I’m like this in real life tbh!

Michikatsu Tsugikuni and Yoriichi Tsugikuni

Yoriichi is a awkward and antisocial man himself so he isn’t that bothered nor pushy over your own shyness as he understands it fully. To him, you seem very nice and he won’t force you to talk to him, take your time

Michikatsu, on the other hand, is as quiet and antisocial as Yoriichi, but he is able to hold conversation so you’re own social issues is a bit annoying, not enough to make him despise you tho, just enough to make him scowl

Yoriichi and Michikatsu are equally quiet so when you start to open up more and begin to be much more talkative and shape into the chatterbox you are under that cute exterior. Both brothers are considerate and will never be rude towards you but act different

Yoriichi loves listening to you ramble on and on as long as you want, and he will always be your listener. He also really adores that you feel comfortable with him enough to talk your heart out

Michikatsu needs silence however but he just doesn’t have the gut to even ask you to tone it down. It’s half a annoyance and half a joy, he does likes hearing how excited you are and how you rely on him

The Tsugikuni Brothers are just raised polite and considerate so no matter what, you want to talk to them? They’ll let you talk and rant and even dump, the closer you are to them, makes them even more willingly to hear you out. It’s how they are by nature

Yoriichi is so flattered and flustered when you say stupid things and try your best to make him laugh. He may force out a laugh at times but that’s because he just adores you and your happiness is his to his core. Most of the time, your attempts make him genuinely laugh

Michikatsu is not much of a jokester, he is very serious but with the way you always say such stupid things and suspect him to laugh with waiting eyes, he always laughs. No matter what, to him, you’re adorable and he wants to make you happy

Both Tsugikuni Brothers are extremely protective over you and your health, so when you tell them about your friends excluding you, out of the blue, from conversations or ignoring you, they are equally outraged

Yoriichi calmly and politely discusses a plan with you, to talk to your so-called friends about their treatment over you since he just can’t stand you being upset or hurt. They don’t realise what they do to you so he must make them realise himself

Michikatsu won’t let that shit slide, god no, he is immediately going to your so-called friends and talking them down for mistreating you. You’re a pure being and he will protect your purity forever. He doesn’t tell you about what he does but it’s all for you

“Dokusha… are you okay? You look a bit upset? Would you like to sit down and have lunch with me, so you can also tell me about everything of today. I’d love to hear it and I’ll try cheer you up”

“Dokusha. I can sense you’re uneven and irritated over something? Aren’t I always the one you tell your issues to? Spill to me about every detail right now, don’t hesitate”

[del-thetiredwriter]

Mafia au/Good luck while running away from mafia part 0.5

intro , part 1, part 2 , part 3 , part 4 , part 5

Notes: Sorry for keeping you waiting. writing it was harder than I thought but I hope you like it.it’s something like before everything started, When they realized you left the mafia.

Warnings: not really mentioned yandere stuff, gn reader

Tags: @hrhqueenfox , @anonymous3spider6lily9 , @hasty-desert , @jokesterreality , @ayachansan , @mouchie , @oceanside-pixie , @paintbrushofanimeuniverse , @lianreine

Door opened. A masked figure entered.

“Oh~ sorry I'm late. I was immersed in conversations with former executives.”

He apologized , however this apology was not enough to calm the five angry men who had been waiting for him for about half an hour, the person who was attending the meeting via a tablet, and the person sitting anxiously.

He quickly took his seat at the head of the long table.

“My dear executives wanted to meet of their own accord, and it has been a week since the monthly meeting. I'm really curious about why we're meeting”

“Tch, stop acting like you don't know. You know the reason very well.” Leona said, clenching his fist nervously.

“Leona-san, please control yourself.” Riddle said.

"The reason we're meeting tonight is 'Y/n'."

A tense atmosphere filled the room at the mention of your name.

“After the monthly meeting, I didn't get a chance to call them because of my schedule, but according to the news I got from you and my subordinates, no one could reach them.” Riddle continued.

“I cleared my schedule to spend this week privately with Y/n. However, when I called them,I could not reach . When I got their home, everything was in its place. Their car was also in front of the house.” Said Vil.

"They hasn't been to the Monstro lounge since the day they came to report the monthly meeting." said Azul, adjusting his glasses.

“Nothing happened to Y/n, right? This has never happened before.” Said Kalim worriedly.

“Idia? Do you have any information?" ' Azul asked.

“Y/n-shii normally visits me every day but they never showed up this week. Like you, I searched for them, but I could not reach . The phone line was turned off a week ago. The cameras I placed in their house suddenly broke down at the meeting night . Not only that, I can't access the footage of all the cameras around the house from the last week, they're all missing." Idia replied.

“Is there anything else? There must be something.” said Riddle.

“There is nothing at the moment. The bank account was likewise closed. Give me some time, I'll definitely find them ." Idia said.

Leona began glancing at Malleus.

“What is it, Kingscholar, is there something on my face?” said Malleus, sipping his tea.

"Nothing . It's just that Y/n last spoke to you before they disappeared. I thought of that.”

"Oh,so you suspect me"

Leona squinted his eyes suspiciously.

"I don't know what happened to dear Y/n or where are they right now either." said Malleus with a grin.

“But eventually I will find them. Besides, if you're going to be suspicious, you should suspect the head of the table first, right boss?"

All eyes were on the masked man sitting at the head of the press.

“Draconia-san is right. Y/n was your assistant and also your so-called right-hand man, so if anything happened to them , you would be the first to know.” said Azul.

“Where is Y/n, Boss?”

The room resounded with a burst of laughter.

“As expected of my executives,although it took a long time for you to arrange this meeting… anyway then I say it, I don’t know where Y/n is, but I do know what happened to them. My beloved bird Y/n left the mafia.”

Silence filled the room at Crowley's words. The silence was broken by Leona's fist hitting the table.

“What nonsense are you saying! Why would Y/n leave the mafia? There was no reason for that.” Leona said.

“R-right why would Y/n leave ? Y/n was very happy here with us.” Said Kalim while trying to not believe.

“Oh you are right. Y/n was happy here, or so we thought. I don't know why my beloved bird wanted to leave either, but who knows, maybe they felt like in danger or just wanted a new ,smoother, quieter life. I dont know ." ' said Crowley, taking a sip of his tea.

Riddle grit his teeth. He had to control himself. He stood up and began to speak.

“Still, although you are the boss, you cannot make such a decision without consulting us. I, Riddle Rosehearts demanding that Y/n L/n be brought back to the organization . My justification is that a former high-ranking person like them poses a great danger to all the secrets of the organization . Please vote on my request right now, boss. While all the executives are present."

“Well then, let's vote as you say. Those who accepts the request to bring the Y/n L/n’s back to the mafia?"

Everyone raised their hands. Crowley grinned.

“Okay, then the decision has been made. I leave the rest to you managers. Please don't go too hard when you bring back my little bird. You know, I love them as much as you do."

[fivelila]

Why do I think Diego and Lila's relationship was toxic?

No, this isn't going to be a post where I want to bring up the rightness of Lila and Five's relationship and throw dirt on Diego. Not in the least. I want to discuss the real events of the story. Here we go.

Season 2

2x01

Diego has been in a psychiatric asylum for 75 days; it is not clear from the plot how long Lila has been there with him. A fateful meeting and escape together? Not exactly, since Lila is being set up by the Handler. Besides, Diego doesn't want her to have anything to do with his plan. But Lila has no respect for his wishes and joins him for the sake of her mission. Yes, she helped him during his escape, but their entire situation was built on a lie.

2x02

Diego wants to split up after the escape, but Lila doesn't want to. Later, he wants her to leave again when Lila is rude to him. But she stays. Then Five shows up and Diego agrees to leave with him and that Lila will go with them - which doesn't really make sense, he's wanted to get rid of her several times up to this point and now he's had the perfect opportunity to do so.

It's kind of weird how quickly Lila gets involved in their stuff. She's a stranger to Five, but he might think Diego knows her well and trusts her (since he wanted her to go with them). But Diego changes his attitude towards her unnaturally quickly. And I'm not really sure why. Was it just because he was attracted to her? Seems like a weak reason to me.

Their first sweet scene? If Lila wasn't pretending to be someone else. I mean, she went on to play "Lila from the asylum who doesn't understand what's going on" but it wasn't really her. We know Lila was highly intelligent and when she looked scared and confused about things that were going on, it wasn't real. In fact, in the context of things, I don't know exactly what to make of that moment. But it seems like it was a play on his emotions.

2x03

Yes, well, Lila helped Diego in this scene. But I found her medical methods a little questionable, ngl.

And their first time? Well, honestly, the most honest part for me is when Lila confides in him about her family. That was real and I think she took advantage of finally being able to talk to someone about it. But the subsequent kiss and the rest. I already wrote this in another post, but Lila definitely seemed very taken aback after the kiss, that he took advantage of her weak moment and their bonding felt like part of a plan to be able to stay on with Diego, but not for his sake, but for her mission.

I don't want to say she didn't mean to do it, yet her expressions don't look happy. And then there's the question of whether it's because of what happened before or what happened after (meeting Handler) because Lila seemed cool there.

2x04

Yes, the dance scene and the sparks fly. But also, when Lila wants to lead Diego in the dance, it makes Diego a little out of tune. A small demonstration that her open-mindedness and reversal of established roles is not something he likes. It's just that at the same time, Diego is charmed by her, and perhaps so he doesn't even notice her minor manipulations. It seems to me that Lila is testing how much Diego will be inclined to do things her way.

The rest of the episode is more Fivelila, but the moment Lila chooses to save Five and not him, it's clear she's hit him with it and doesn't understand why she did it and turned her back on him. Handler's instructions to her were still above everything else.

2x05

Diego is hurt that Lila didn't help him. And he begins to suspect that Lila is lying to him, but only after Five starts talking about it when Lila becomes suspicious (proof that Diego was kind of blind to her and needed to open his eyes). Later in the episode Five finds out the truth about her.

--

To be continued next time if you are interested...

[seventeenlovesthree]

@digimonadventureweek Day 6, March 6th - Favourite episode: #31 - "Raremon! Surprise Attack on Tokyo Bay"

I have once made a list of my "Top 16 favourite Digimon Adventure episodes" and no matter what I do, I always come back to this one. Not only is this one of the episodes my dad had recorded for me when I was a kid because I couldn't watch it when it first aired on TV, but it also basically contains everything that I love about Digimon Adventure as a whole. It also justifies a lot of my biases and headcanons in the process, but that's just a side note.

This is the closest we've ever gotten to a "slice of life" anime that includes the original cast, as it contains several of its typical elements while focusing on and mirroring primarily Taichi's and Koushirou's experiences on their first evening back home in the real world. I could have taken approximately 100 screenshots of it, because the storytelling and pacing are just so marvelous to me:

Even though it definitely IS a slice-of-life-ish episode, it doesn't lose the main plot at all, but intertwines it perfectly into the story: The kids are looking for the eighth child and Taichi, rightfully, suspects Hikari, since she had been with him during the Hikarigaoka incident. Thus he and Koromon ask her if she owns a Digivice already, which she denies. The viewer can tell that she does own one, it was just stolen and played with by their housecat Meeko/Miko - and she is the reason we're gonna get an action-packed chase scene later down the line of the episode...

Then there's the secondary plot - I refuse to call it B plot, because it is so in the forefront of everything that happens. As mentioned, it's all about Taichi and Koushirou reuniting with their families and trying their best to hide their Digimon from them. They're both having rather warm, heartfelt and happy moments that feel light-hearted (and even a bit comedic) on surface level. The difference here is that Koushirou's personal backstory is also given more space to bloom; while both Taichi's mother, Yuuko, and Koushirou's mother, Kae, sense that something about their sons is off, the latter seems to be ridden by melancholy and guilt about it. Koushirou has been acting nothing but polite and grateful towards her, but she feels like this is not how he should be like, that he is hiding something - which, as her husband, Masami, puts it, "is nothing we can blame him for, since we're hiding something from him as well".

It's the first time the viewer actually hears that Koushirou was adopted - we have seen him having flashbacks and getting somewhat distraught and sad about something, but we didn't know what it was. One can tell that he means it when he tells his mother that he's grateful - we see it when he keeps smiling happily to Tentomon about everything -, but there is that barrier. He IS hiding something from them - and we know it's not just Tentomon, even if that is perfectly mirrored with Taichi hiding Koromon as well -, but she cannot grasp what it is. And he is burdening himself with it, everything: Caring for and hiding his partner, sneaking out of his room to deal with a rampaging Digimon in the middle of the night while (potentially) chasing the eighth child around town - on his own, because the others are already fast asleep -, having a one-on-one fight with an evil Digimon and almost gets impaled, while also trying to reassure his parents that everything is alright. A lot to bear for a 10-year-old, huh...

And why was he prompted to act in the first place? Not only because he was notified of Raremon being a threat, but also because the Yagami cat went on a stroll with the eighth child's Digivice and lost it several times over.

This episode simply has it all: It has a sense of happiness and peacefulness, it has comedic elements, it has a suspenseful fight and chase scene; the main plot and character development are perfectly intertwined and even though there is so much going on, it doesn't feel rushed, bloated or like anything shouldn't be there. The characters are pretty unreliable narrators while the viewer can see everything that happens - nothing gets resolved in this episode, it consists of a repeated "Almost!", but that is fine, because it contextualizes everything that will happen from now on.

It also tells us so much about the Yagami and Izumi family dynamics, including the fact that the mothers are very familiar with the fact that their sons are close friends who call each other at very odd times...

The adoption topic is rather heavy, not downplayed and presented in a light that makes you hope that all of this will eventually resolve.

It's just very dear to my heart and I would absolutely love a whole anime that deals with all of the kids and their backstories similarly, giving them all temporary main-character status.

[statistically-spencer]

Fortunate Dream PT. 2

Summary: Your dream of joining the BAU was becoming more and more real. How will you handle sharing a private jet with your favorite characters?

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader (eventual), BAU members x reader(platonic)

A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this one! I finished Calculus 1 in 4-weeks while also being in a musical so I ran out of time there for a bit. Enjoy!

w/c; 783

Part 1 here

As confused as you were, you were having a great time experiencing the relationship that dream-you had with the members of the BAU. Everyone seemed to like you just fine.

On the jet, you found a place to sit in the window seat on the opposite side of the isle, where Derek sat, leaving an empty seat next to yourself. Derek gave you an assuring smile. You wondered how many traits that you, and this version of you had that overlapped. Did the team know about your fear of flying? Did they know about your raging crush on Dr. Spencer Reid? Did they know that you had absolutely no idea what you were doing and that you totally should not be there right now?? 

Glancing up, you made eye contact with Spencer, who seemed to be walking suspiciously close to your row.

Oh.

You tried to act natural as he took a seat next to you. 

You didn’t have to act natural for long, though, because in an instant the jet began to roll forward, faster and faster.

You swallowed deeply.

“Are you okay, Y/n? I know you never like flying but you seem like something is really off.”

“No, I’m okay.” You lied, “I’m just... I just didn’t sleep much last night and I’m really tired.”

“Oh, well you know, there’s no need to worry about turbulence. If anything, we should really be concerned about-”

“Spencer, no offense, but if you’re about to tell me about how what we should really be concerned about is the onset of a thunderstorm, contributing to the possibility of microbursts, I’d rather not hear it.”

You heard a chuckle and looked up to see Derek standing next to you. 

“Oooh, she’s got you figured out, Reid. Better be careful.”

You blushed. You were only remembering something Spencer had said in an episode of Criminal Minds. Had that episode happened yet in this timeline? 

“Oh no... I was just... I just don’t need to be any more freaked out than I already am right now.” You cleared your throat. 

Spencer smiled at you, “We’ll be fine.”

You were trying to think of something to say to the man. Anything. This was your chance to talk to the love of your life and you were drawing a blank. You couldn’t think of one clever thing to say to him. You just kept looking up at him, and whenever you looked, it seemed like he was looking, too. Which was probably a good sign, right? Instead, it was mostly silent. With you making the occasional attempt to look fine whenever there was turbulence. 

In the midst of everything, you forgot that you were, for the time being at least, a real FBI agent. And, you were in fact, actually dealing with criminals. However, those facts became extremely apparent when Garcia phoned in with details about the case. 

It was hard to focus when Spencer was sitting next to you the entire time. Being so real. So cute. So... Good smelling somehow. 

“-Well, we know hardly anything about the suspect.”

If you had been in a laughing mood after hearing all of the gruesome details of the case, you would’ve laughed at Emily’s statement.

“Male. Thirty-five-”

You froze, realizing that you and Spencer were saying the same thing.

“...Keeps within his inner circle.” You finished, looking Reid up and down slowly.

A quick glance around the jet told you that this was not an uncommon event. In fact, the knowing looks that were being shared by the rest of the team said quite the opposite.

Spencer blinked, trying to come up with more information.

“Also he definitely has children.”

“Obviously.” You blinked, looking around.

“I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

Luckily, the look on Spencer’s face wasn’t disgust like you expected. He looked... Proud? Happy?

Wait a minute. You were so caught up in information about the case that you didn’t stop to wonder how you came to that conclusion. Was that normal for you? Were you also a super genius? Perhaps. It was highly plausible, now that you were thinking about it. You were obviously young like Spencer was. Why else would you be on the team at that age? Huh. You liked being smart. It was cool.

“We’ll need to split up upon arrival-” Hotch interrupted your thoughts, “Prentiss you’ll be with Morgan, you’ll share a room at the hotel as well. And Y/L/N, you and Reid will be staying in the other room.”

Oh.

You stole a quick glance at Spencer. The over-confidence you had both been showing had disappeared in an instant.

“You got it, boss.” You tightened your lips.

Why would you say that?

[rogerswifesblog]

1 - The Devil I Desire

Series Masterlist

My Masterlist

A/N: Hi! This is my first Stucky Series and I hope you’ll like it. Tbh Steve is a dick in this one (at least in the beginning) and it won’t be Peggy friendly either. Also, READ TGE WARNINGS, it’s important since it’ll later on contain still like age gap, cheating and other rather controversial stuff.

Here’s the first chapter! Have fun reading!

And a big thank you to @jamneuromain who helped me with the idea and especially some things later on in the story…(especially some extra drama👀)

Likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated ❤️

Pairing: silver fox Steve Rogers x college student Bucky Barnes

Chapter summary: first meeting after a disaster….just leading into another one.

Warnings: age gap, alcohol consumption, past trauma

Bucky wanted to get wasted. Like, really get wasted. His tinder date was once again a total disaster and right now he just wanted to spend a fun evening with his best friend (preferably by getting wasted).

> waitin at the bar < Bucky texted Wanda, while sipping at his second tequila sunrise, scrolling through Instagram. All those happy couples annoyed him, posting all those cute pictures together. Why couldn’t he have this? Why couldn’t he be in such a cute relationship too?

He wasn’t even picky. He just wanted someone who didn’t hate cats or wasn’t a serial killer. (Tho he’d probably be able to look past the second part. As long as nobody hated his dear Alpine everything should be fine.)

Bucky definitely didn’t want anyone like today's date. He hadn’t felt this bad in a long time, really. First he had already suspected the other guy to be very egotistical and vain. Turned out to be the truth.

But after Bucky pulled up his sleeves from it being too hot in the restaurant? God, that’s where it all started to go downhill.

From the first moment where his scars were on display Bucky could feel his gaze on them, interested in a way, but mostly disgusted.

Just…

He couldn’t describe the vibe the other guy was giving him.

It made Bucky feel like…like an animal at the zoo, in a way. Everyone was looking at him. Judging for something he couldn’t change.

So after faking a family emergency he left his date and decided to text his group chat about wanting to go clubbing tonight. And getting drunk.

Very, very drunk.

Unless he’d find a hot guy to spend the night with. Then he’d rather remember it.

“Bucky!”, Wandas voice sounded close to him, even with the loud music killing every sound existing. Sometimes he was surprised how loud Wanda could be if she wanted to. Especially since she was always rather quiet. “Are you okay?”, her arms wrapped around his waist, hugging him from behind. “Hi, Wanda”, Bucky smiled tiredly, leaning a bit into the hug, sighing,

He explained to Wanda what had happened and why he was in such a bad mood. She was understanding, especially since she knew how much it took Bucky to carry himself with the confidence he did now.

Wanda hugged once again after Bucky finished the story, finishing the tequila sunrise.

After a while also Clint and Pietro came to the bar, both of them immediately ordering shots.

“So, tell us what happened and how drunk we wanna be tonight?”, joked Pietro, the accent strong on his tongue, especially now after already having drank some beers with Clint before they came to the club too.

Bucky chuckled at that, only giving Pietro one exhausted smile before explaining the whole story once again to both him and Clint. Just like Wanda they understood how Bucky felt.

While complaining to his friends he hadn’t even noticed the lingering gaze of a middle aged man, watching Bucky as he sipped from his tequila.

Steve sat with Sam in the corner of the club, having a whisky on ice in his hands and only partly listening to whatever Sam was trying to tell him. It was hard for him to hear what he said and he also couldn’t really concentrate on him when his eyes were glued to the younger man’s lips wrapped around a straw.

Then he looked back at Sam, noticing he had stopped talking. “Can you repeat anything of what I’ve said?”, Sam raised his eyebrows, laughing when Steve lowered his head, clearing his throat. “I’m listening…?” “Sorry, I was in thought-“ “yeah, yeah, watching someone out of your age range. At least if I’m correct about you looking at the guy with the manbun at the bar. I’m jot even sure if he’s out of high scho-“ “of course he is. He’s in a club. Drinking alcohol. He’s at least 21”, argued Steve, already slightly Offended.

He may like younger partners than himself, but he’d never be interested in someone who’d be below 21. If he had to be honest with himself he’d rather meet with people closer to thirty than twenty, but this young man definitely didn’t seem like mid twenties.

It broke his heart to imagine he couldn’t spend the night with him, but he was definitely too young…on the other hand, it’d be just for one night.

But he also couldn’t be too sure if Mr Man-bun would even want him. Who knew if he’d be into older men? Even though Steve kept himself fit and took care of his appearance, he couldn’t hide the graying hair in his beard, the gray strands in his hair and the few wrinkles that were already covering his forehead the more he furrowed his eyebrows. Or the little crow‘s feet from all the laughs in his life.

Sighing he looked into his Glas, noticing how some of the ice had already melted, making the alcohol watery and less enjoyable….which was a good reason to go to the bar and- “don’t think about it-“ “already did it”, Steve answered, standing up and walking over to the table, purposefully stopping next to his object of desires. Who was alone. His friends were on the dance floor while he was drinking something light blue again.

“Isn’t that a bit too much for one evening?”, Steve chuckled to the young man, after ordering himself a whisky. The young man quickly finished his drink, sipping from his straw. His lips wrapped around it so nicely, as he sucked the liquid…god, Steve, keep it in your pants.

“You get me another one and I’ll stop after that”, he said flirty, winking at Steve.

So Steve was game. A smirk crept onto his lips as he called out to the bartender to get the young man the same drink as before. This time a double.

“I’m Bucky”, the young man introduced himself, holding out his hand for Steve to shake, which he did. “Steve Rogers. Nice to meet you.”

Hm, the name Rogers sounded familiar to Bucky's ears, but he ignored it.

Instead he was already looking forward to meeting this attractive man, “so…what are your plans for tonight? What are you gonna do?”

Hoped You. Was Steve's First thought but he kept his mouth shut. “I’m not sure yet…I think I’ll finish this drink and go home”, he shrugged, not being able to keep the smirk hidden.

Bucky felt like he should immediately tell this gorgeous man he would leave this place alone but…he was never one for one night stands. He actually never had one, hell, he never had sex with someone, he only had his cock sucked a couple of times or did it himself. The closest thing he had to a one night stand was when he rubbed off a guy in the toilets of a bar on a first date. Afterwards the guy never talked to him again.

He decided to be honest.

“I’d be lying if I’d say you wouldn’t be going home alone even though I’d love to say it but…I’m not that kind of guy. I mean-I really want to know what you’re hiding beneath those clothes because your shoulders seem wider than the doors but…-“ “hey, hey, don’t worry, we can just get to know each other, talk a bit…we can go back to mine and just leave it at a conversation”, Steve smiled even though he had definitely intended the night to be different.

But he was good with his words. And he knew it’d work out to his favor.

It wouldn’t be the first time anyway.

So he wasn’t surprised to see Bucky texting his friends he wouldn’t be home for the night as they were leaving the building together.

Thank you for reading! I’d appreciate some feedback ❤️

What do you think why Bucky knows Steve’s surname?👀it’ll be important later on….👀

Taglist: @ozeriterchick @guiltypleasureisfun @ayronren (I’ve decided to tag some people that had reblog the series summary and might be interested! )

All posts taglist: @rogersbarber

[hemlockalope]

ok ok im curious. sunday wanderer comparison?? that sounds cool. free pass to talk abt it if you want :O

Hi hi yes!! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about them!! Also spoilers for 2.2 Penacony quest and Genshin's Wanderer quest

Also under cut because it ended up a little long-

To start i want to say that while im comparing them their stories definitely aren’t one to one, i just love thinking about Wanderer’s story in every occasion since i’ve obsessed over him for too long(and sunday is quickly joining him in my obsessions) But basically the main thing is how they both tried sacrificing themselves to godhood for completely different reasons and both failed, falling (Sunday was caught, Scaramouche was not)

Yes, both were sacrifices Sundays is a obvious one as Robin was supposed to be the sacrifice but Sunday did it instead of her, not letting his sister get hurt on beliefs she doesn’t even believe in(The Dreammaster always knew he would be the one to be sacrificed anyways) His sacrifice was selfless, he would go through eternal loneliness if it means everybody else could be happy

Meanwhile Scaramouche was sacrificing himself for selfish reasons He wants to achieve godhood because he isn’t human, and while it isn’t explicitly said(i think?) i very much believe he was trying to one up Raiden Ei in becoming a god(If you play as Ei and die in his boss fight he mocks her) But it’s still a sacrifice of his body, as they explained in the quest that if the sages completed their quest in getting the wisdom capsules into Scaramouche’s god form he would no longer be able to move for himself, he would fully become a puppet god for the grand sage

I just couldn’t stop thinking about how both of them tried ascending to godhood for completely different reasons yet both failed and yknow, both almost did it if it wasn’t for a factor they didn’t account for (Nahida’s Samsara abilities and Acheron and Black Swan waking trailblazer up plus Robin waking herself up)

Also!!! comparing Gopher Wood to Dottore Dottore obvs was not a father to Scara AT ALL but he was indeed extremely manipulative (Before Sumeru came out i questioned if Scaramouche ever saw Dottore as a father figure or not, and with Wanderer we know now that he hates him and even when he was Scaramouche he never liked him but working with him was a necessity) But also did Sunday even ever see Gopher Wood as a father figure? we know he took Sunday and Robin in, but the two never calls Gopher “father” or anything from what i remember Also the fact Sunday’s second suspect for Robin’s murderer to be Gopher Wood??? how fucked up is that???

The main thing i think a lot about is the selfish vs selfless sacrificed they did, also the fact that people think Sunday will get a redesign before he releases and he's gonna be released a lot later then when he first showed up plus going from a villain to companion is all things Wanderer went through After realizing all that I jokingly thought why not just let him change his name too, and while it started as a crack theory i kinda just kept thinking about it I saw someone say that Sunday isn't his actual name? I haven't seen any in game evidence though, but maybe Sunday is the name he chose for the family, or maybe he didn't even choose it maybe Gopher Wood did, and after everything that happened in the final he doesn't want to continue going by that name, nor does he want to go back to his old name, so he chooses to use a new one and I can't stop thinking of how Robin probably doesn't like the name Sunday, the family being the one giving it to him, so instead she just called him brother because she knows he doesn't go by his old name anymore either and after Sunday's fall, she talks to him about it. Asking if he's still okay with the name, and when he doesn't respond she hugs him and reassures him he'll always be her brother no matter what

The last bit just ended up me talking about a crack theory/ headcanon lol sorry this just ended up me rambling! Hopefully i covered everythign i wanted? I've been thinking about this for the past few days without writing anything down and I also have awful memory, and with that I'm sorry if I forgot something or remembered a scene wrong!!

[niallerspayno]

We'll Be Alright - Chapter Six

Masterlist

Your POV

I’ve just flopped onto the bed after arriving back from the stadium when I hear a knock at my door. I groan but get up to answer it. I find Louis, Zayn and Harry all standing there.

“Uh, hi boys. Everything okay?” I question.

“Can we have a quick chat?” Louis asks.

I nod and let them in, the three of them sit side by side on my bed. Leaving me standing in front feeling like a contestant standing in front of a panel of judges.

“So, before we start, we want to preface by saying we think you’re absolutely lovely.” Harry begins, “You’re very talented and we’re honoured to have you on our tour.”

Zayn continues, “We’ve just noticed a few things, and we wanted to address them.”

I nod, Louis sighs, “We believe that Liam and Niall both have feelings for you. And we’re worried about it ruining not only our friendship, but the band as well.”

“Oh.” Is all I can respond.

“We wanted to see where your heads at?” Harry asks.

I’m ready to slam my head into a wall at this point, “I- I don’t know.” I admit.

“Liam?” Zayn asks.

“Yes.”

“Niall?” Harry asks.

“Also yes.” I bury my head in my hands, embarrassed.

“You like both of them?” Louis clarifies.

I look back at him and nod sadly, “It’s still new, I just wanted to see where things would go. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” The boys seem lost in thought, so I take the chance to ask them a question, “Do either of them know about eachother’s feelings? Or do they know that you know how they feel?”

“Liam had a talk with me about it last night.” Zayn admits, “I don’t think he realises the extent of Niall’s feelings though.”

“Niall and I spoke today.” Louis adds, “He’s definitely smitten and doesn’t suspect a thing about Liam. We just need to work out how to best handle this so it doesn’t end badly.”

Louis has always been seen as the rebellious one, the cheeky one that makes jokes and plays pranks while Liam plays Daddy Direction. But seeing this other side of Louis and the love he has for his friends is endearing.

“I could just end it now… rip the bandaid off. It’ll hurt all three of us, but prevents prolonging it.” I sigh.

Harry shakes his head, “Let’s make that our last resort. As I said earlier, we like you. And if there’s a possibility that you could make one of the boys happy, I think it’s a chance worth taking.”

Louis nods, “Their happiness is our priority. I think we need clear communication and ground rules.”

“Ground rules?” I ask.

“Yeah. No sneaking around, be honest with each other… and you have to make it a fair fight, if you go on a date with Liam for example, then you’d need to go on a date with Niall.”

“I guess… so, um, how are we doing this? Big group meeting? Or should I speak to them one on one?” I ask.

“They’ll take it best from you.” Zayn says.

“We have a day break between this show and the next. Tell them then.” Louis advises.

I nod, “Sounds like a plan.”

Louis gets up and the other two follow, “We’ll let you relax before the show. If you need anything you know where to find us.” He smiles.

Harry gives my shoulder a squeeze and Zayn smiles sadly as they leave. I flop back onto the bed and close my eyes. My mind racing with what to do, and if I’m doing the right thing. I feel myself beginning to doze off when there’s another knock.

I grumble as I get up and swing open the door. My whinging stops when I see Liam standing there with his hands full. He has a bouquet of flowers tucked under his arm, a tray with two coffees in one hand and an array of brown paper bags in the other.

“Can I come in?”

“Of course!” I usher him inside.

He places the coffees and pastries on the bedside table and hands me the small bouquet, “These are for you.” He smiles shyly.

I take in the sweet aroma from them, “Aw, thank you Liam! What’s all this for?” I question, gesturing to all the goodies.

“Two reasons. Congratulations on, well, everything that’s happened in the past few days. And I’m sorry for freaking out on you earlier.”

I place the flowers on the desk in the corner and wrap him in a hug, “You don’t have to apologise, and I’m the one that should be thanking you! You’re the reason I have this opportunity.” I lean back to smile at him.

I feel like he wants to say more but stops himself, “Shall we? I didn’t know if you eaten much today so I got a few things.”

We make ourselves cozy on the bed, I turn the TV on to Friends so we have something to watch while we enjoy our snacks. He’s gotten an assortment of savoury and sweet South American pastries they we indulge in.

A content feeling floods through me, full of pastries and comforted by Liam’s presence beside me. I feel myself begin to nod off again, exhausted from lack of sleep and the business of the last two days.

I feel Liam moving to go beside me, “I’ll let you get some sleep.”

I reach out for him, “Stay. Please.”

He nods, relaxing back onto the bed. I move closer so my head is on his chest and his arm instinctively wraps around me. He begins slowly stroking my back and humming softly. With his free hand he intertwines our fingers.

“Goodnight, love.” He whispers as I drift to sleep.

Next chapter

…

Author’s note: It’s been one month without our beautiful Liam, I miss him everyday❤️ Thank you for all the support so far, if you have any comments or feedback you’re welcome to add them☺️

[ausssbutlershortstories]

Ok please bear with as this is gonna be a long one 🤣

Firstly there’s no way Austin did not know he was being photographed in that club plus he didn’t try to hide his face with his hat. He was happy to be seen so I think an am pap walk was agreed and he could spend the rest of the day with his friends as he stated in an interview.

Ok that blind item was very clever and manipulative but not for the reasons you think - hear me out

Austin was seen talking on his own (or so it looks) with a blonde girl that were probably taken with a long zoom lens with how grainy they are but we never see her face.

1. DM says he was seen with a blonde girl however her dob was 2004 - this makes him out to be a predator but coincidentally the same age as Kaia was when they were 1st seen together. However real Austin fans know he would never let a girl buy her own drink and he sure as hell wouldn’t let her embarrass herself by not having ID when he knows the age limit. He would’ve have gone and ordered for her either way let’s be honest - in UK age limit is 18 so fair enough she might not have known but he definitely does. Good spot but this didn’t work as it didn’t get much attention as we all know it’s BS cause even the shippers don’t believe it 🤣

2. Then boom - blind item about them being in an ‘open relationship’ (I agree Camilla was a bit far fetched etc) but this was full damage control as Nepo controls the narrative yet again - why would she be bothered if he was seen with another girl if they’re in a OR. If he’s seen with another girl in future same again it’s an OR. We all know Austin isn’t like that and we don’t believe it but her PR team is on duty 24/7 don’t forget.

Notice how other ppl (non fans) commented on some media articles about how he was holding her hand like a friend/child on his bday - next pap walk their fingers are interlinked again. It’s the same narrative every time with them - pap walk, timeline or ‘still going strong article’ etc etc etc same old shit but a different day.

But Austin played her at her own game - why doesnt she do her usual suspected and planned pap walk this time.?? Well after the backlash she got from being seen laughing and joking in rain after LMP died does she risk it with Presley going to rehab and talking very openly and honestly on his IG acc. Does she quietly play the supporting loving sister role with her family or does she play the desperate (jealous) gf act with a pap walk - she has to control the narrative somehow.

If they are on the rocks like we all suspect then running to Austin is gonna have major repercussions with her family. let’s be honest Presley has made his feelings very clear with unfollowing him the day before his bday. Her family haven’t been seen with Austin for months so they’re making their feelings pretty clear. Choosing him over her brother was never gonna happen - I’m not calling her out if she is with her family by the way as family should always come 1st imo.

The end is close but whether Austin plays the ‘supportive boyfriend’ role or decides now is the time to make a break remains to be seen but this is not a loving relationship or even a great friendship imo. If the L&S article is correct then ‘Austin knows he’s gonna have to be seen as the bad guy’ and maybe he’s thinking now’s the time to be that guy 🤷‍♀️ 🤞

This is very interesting!

To me Austin has nothing to lose being the “bad guy”. No matter what the Gerbers do, his reputation good and everyone loves Austin. Everyone also knows how calculated the Gerbers are too smh.

Also with the hand thing from the bday pap walk, I didn’t know people called them out. They really do be reading everything we say about that weird ass relationship lol

[brains5ana]

zombie blog turn around!!

this is my personal blog about my anorex14 and depression this is both my safe space where i can cope with my life right now and my way of documenting this disorder in case i dont survive it so that my loved ones or anyone who wants them might get some answers.

₊˚⊹ 𐂯please dont interact if you are not already disordered or are in recovery. block dont report this is really all i have .₊˚⊹ 𐂯

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦

me ୧ ‧₊˚ 🥩🦴 ⋅

17 they/them bi and taken veryyy happily dni creeps

life rn - mom died in august now im taking care of my 15 yo autistic sibling and household because my dad is abusive and doesnt really parent. my grandparents help take care of them sometimes but they dont live with us and are televangelists who try to convert us(my sibling is pagan). my sibling is awesome but its a lot to take care of them while grieving so much and i worry about them a ton.

bg - grew up in poverty w pretty bad parents (i love my mom a lot but she was young and fucked me up a little bit as a young kid mostly she was good but our relationship was kind of complicated for while). got bullied really bad from elementary school till quarantine when i was in middle school. my dads a redneck and my mom was a hippie now my dads like a frat bro?? and hes insane.

alternative (riot grrl goth punk etc) i like music(esp live punk shows), painting, writing, horror movies, ZOMBIES

political activist mostly w the environment but also general big leftist

white, able bodied (maybe) hindu vaishnavite

im very mentally ill and have had suicidal thoughts and depression my whole life. diagnosed cptsd, ptsd, chronic depression, generalized anxiety disorder, ana suspected adhd

my ed - got bullied for my weight and started trying to lose weight in 5th grade. i went to a nutritionist in 6th grade who told me to count calories so i did and then i went lower and lower and lower seeing how little i could consume in a day(i also started having an exercise addiction then). in 7th grade i started doing intermittent fasting and restricting below what you need to live in retrospect. then quarantine happened and i started looking at ana tips. id sleep all day until 4 pm to avoid food and workout at night. i got to my lw and was plateauing and worrying about dying so i told my very shitty therapist at the time who told me i wasnt low enough to have an ed but still told my mom who got me an appointment w an ed doctor. and there started my forced recovery bc the ed doctor told me i definitely did have ana and wouldnt have survived another month or two. after resisting for a long time and trying to secretly relapse i gave in. and it worked, i fully recovered. i didnt get thoughts i was happy and didnt have to lose weight anymore. and then people started treating me badly and a girl who was in my friend group started making fun of me for being fat and i realized i cant deal with that and everything else. so im 40 lbs down and trying to loose more.

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦

this blog ୧ ‧₊˚ 🥩🦴 ⋅

BYF - this is an ed bl0g w triggering content do whats best for you i cant facilitate everyones recovery but it is possible and waiting for everyone

DNI - 14 y/o and younger, those interested in recovery (you can so do it i believe in you), creeps, p3d0s, p0rn accounts, fatphobes (fuck off and die), terfs, transphobes, etc

this is a number free blog for the most part and if not ill tag #tw ed numbers or #tw ana numbers

on here ill post wieiads, b0dy checks, collages, diet plans for myself, themed moodboards, a lot of zombie content.

i use the tag #brains4ana or #brains4ana4vent for vent posts (if im coherent enough to care)

other ongoing tws - meat, cannibalism(all the zombie stuff) alcohol addiction, nicotine addiction, mentions of sh, ed (duh)

[livinglouderx3]

SNS Month day 6 - There was only one bed

"What do you mean there are no other rooms available?", even though the question was adressed towards the inn owner, his eyes were glued to Naruto,noticing the slight flinch of the blonde in front of him.

"Unfortunately we are fully booked. As the reservation had been made for a team only four rooms have been booked-"

Kakashi only let out a laugh behind him. Sasuke wanted nothing more but to punch him. His old teacher had surely known or at least suspected something like this yet he had choosen not to share this small but completely relevant information with Sasuke. Sasuke should have known better though. He shouldn't have agreed to this, to join this "team 7 trip for old time's sake" Naruto had pestered him about for the last month. Of course the idiot had forgotten to take into account that their team was no longer just a 4 man squad. Or technically it was. Sasuke wasn't sure anymore. He tried to ignore Sai's unsettling smile, no matter how much time passed he couldn't quite figure out what his deal was.

"We apologize for any inconvenience. We can only offer to upgrade one room to a double bed-"

"Now that seems like a plan.", Kakashi quipped, unable to hide his obvious amusement. Yes, he had definitely known.

Smiling under that stupid mask of his, he clapped Sasuke on the shoulder. "It's fine right Sasuke? You will just share a room with Naruto." He even had the audacity to wink. Sasuke's sharingan flared up, his patience threatening to crack.

"I don't-"

Almost immediately the blonde turned around, a glint of hope written all over his face at the possibility of Sasuke still staying, making him stop midsentence. He remembered Naruto's expression from two days ago when Sasuke had told him that he would join this trip. He had been smiling that huge warm smile, melting Sasuke's heart, making him all fuzzy. It had been the first time since Sasuke had returned to Konoha that he had agreed meeting up with his old team. Naruto had been more than happy, he had been burning with excitement.

Of course at that time, Sasuke hadn't taken into account that Sai would be there too. He hadn't expected to see him as a part of Team 7. He couldn't explain it, yet it didn't sit right with him.

Anyway, Naruto had been happy. He is happy now, hoping that Sasuke would accept. He could do it. It wasn't that big of a deal. They would share a room and then-

"Sasuke could also share with me."

Sasuke cringed internally at Sakura's sudden proposal. He would absolutely not do that. Under no circumstances. What was she even thinking proposing something like this all of a sudden?

"Or ...Naruto could share with me, then Sasuke could have his own room. Problem solved.", Sai smiled and without even meaning to Sasuke shot him the iciest glance. That was even worse than him having to share with Sakura, which already said enough. There was no way he would let that happen.

The next words were no more than a reflex, like a wolf protecting his territory (which technically didn't belong to him), Sasuke spit, "No need. Naruto and I will share."

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Sakura visibly deflate as always. A small part of him felt bad for her.

Though he really couldn't get it why she just wouldn't give up instead of chasing such an hopeless crush.

Or well, maybe, when his eyes met Naruto's - the lopsided grin he was giving him-, maybe Sasuke could relate to her situation only a tiny bit.

Calling it a double bed had been too overdone. Even though they were back to back, due to the tiny bed there was barely any space between them and Sasuke could feel it - how the matress shifted each time Naruto moved, each time he breathed - just everything. He could feel Naruto's warmth, the delight truly radiating from him just because Sasuke -his friend- was back, going on this stupid trip with him. Sasuke let out a small sigh. He really should have more empathy with Sakura, he was just as hopeless as her.

"...Sasuke. Are you asleep?"

Naruto's small voice pulled him out of his thoughts. For a moment he contemplated keeping his eyes closed, keeping quiet. He could barely deal with the situation at hand, yet his curiousity got the better of him in the end.

"What is it, usuratonkachi?"

Naruto let out a small laugh. He remained quiet though, for a while, making Sasuke impatient. Why did he even ask if he would chicken out in the end. He kicked him under their shared blanket,earning a yelp.

"Ouch-" Naruto shrieked, feigning pain, "is that how you treat your bedmate Sasuke?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. There was a slight blush at Naruto' choice of words, so now he was happy that only his back was facing Naruto, "What did you want?"

Now there was silence again. Sasuke thought about kicking Naruto again, he was obviously overthinking something and Sasuke didn't want him to fry his brain over it, so he would just insist once more. "Nar-"

"I'm happy."

Sasuke suddenly let out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding. There it was again, this fuzzy feeling.

Me too. I'm happy too. He wanted to tell him, but his mouth wasn't cooperating. Damn it.

"Usuratonkachi.", he whispered instead.

He could feel Naruto smile.

[otakusheep15]

Obey Me Flufftober Day 21

Prompt: Proposal

Pairing: Beelzebub x reader (gender neutral

Word count: 508

A/n: Y'all, Beel is so everything to me. I'm obsessed with this man. This one might be just a bit more self indulgent than my other days because I think about this scenario a lot.

Both of you knew this would happen eventually. It was just a matter of time. You and Beel were both very romantic people, so this seemed like the next logical step for your relationship.

Beel had decided to propose. It was something he discussed in great detail with you first, as he would hate to throw you off guard. You had happily agreed, but told him that you still wanted him to surprise you with his exact timing.

So when Beel had asked you out on a little picnic date today, you suspected what he was up to. You said nothing of course, as you'd hate to ruin his plans.

The set-up was adorable. Beel had found a nice clearing in the woods and he had set up a picnic spread on a checkered blanket. It was a classic scene from a romance story, and you were excited to live it out yourself.

There was more food than one would usually expect on a picnic, but since this was also for Beel, you didn't question it. The food was delicious, and you made a mental note in your head to ask him who made it. Not now though, as you know what's about to happen. Beel was never the best at surprises, so it was pretty obvious what he wanted to do. That was fine with you, however, as you just thought it was another one of his cute quirks.

As you'd predicted, he was about to propose. You were excited, as you'd been waiting for this moment for a long time. This relationship with Beel is something you cherish greatly, and taking this next step really made you happy.

Beel doesn't get down on one knee. Instead, he stands at his full height and offers you his hand. You take it and he pulls you up. Then, he takes out a box from his pocket and holds it up to you. He lets you open the box, and inside is the most gorgeous ring you've ever seen. It must have cost a fortune, but you didn't linger much on that part.

The ring didn't hold a traditional diamond. Instead, the gem inside was red spinel. This gem symbolizes passion, devotion, and longevity, and the color was Beel's favorite. It was absolutely perfect.

You take the ring out of the box and slip it onto your finger. Then, after carefully setting the box down, you pull Beel in for a tight embrace, savoring the warmth of his body. He relaxes into you, clearly feeling less nervous about your reaction. You didn't know why he was so nervous when you had already agreed prior, but you guess you could understand. This was a big deal to both of you, and he wanted it to be perfect.

Well, he definitely succeeded. You thought this was a wonderful proposal, and you wouldn't have had it any other way. You wanted to spend the rest of your life with Beel, and with this big step, you knew that dream would come true.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

“t, they just leeched onto the same host to resuscitate their dying careers.” Sometimes I wonder what a sober, emotionally healthy Harry would look like now? Pre-Meghan, he seemed reasonably happy. He may still have had his issues with resentment, not enjoying all aspects of royal work, but when he went to engagements he did seem to enjoy it. He also had his friends. Maybe he’s a better actor than his wife? Outwardly, he just didn’t seem so self-obsessed and angry before 2016. Meghan and Omid are what they are, leeches or suckerfish. They always need a host to survive off of. I just don’t know if Harry has realized he’s the host. I’m not a Harry defender by any means. He was warned repeatedly about her by almost everyone in his life but he ignored it. However, he is the one in that relationship to have given up/lost everything he’s known in his life.

Harry was never much better an actor than Meghan. It was always clear what he was thinking/feeling on his face, even in his "healthy" days. The only differences were a) he had a longer fuse than Meghan ever did and b) he was the most popular person, or the second-most popular, in the BRF so he rode an enormous wave of popularity and goodwill. He was consistently in the 60s and 70s percentile in the YouGov rankings (mostly in the 60s, but every once in awhile it peaked up into the 70s).

I suspect is that Meghan thought Harry's popularity would rub off on her - possibly the way she thought William's popularity helped boost Kate's number. It worked for a little bit but then Meghan's own actions cancelled out whatever "help" her polling got from Harry so she got angry that he wasn't helping, causing him to get angry that his family wasn't helping. It snowballed from there.

An equally-important question to ask is with everyone around Harry and all the protections he had, how could Meghan have sunk her claws into Harry so deeply, so quickly. That answer reveals Harry may not have been as mentally or emotionally healthy as we think: he heard the ticking of his biological clock. All of his friends and family settling down with their own families at home, so there was no one left to hang out with him. (William used to get flack for preferring to stay in with Kate and the kids, which probably meant Harry was behind those attacks.) And on top of losing his friends, Harry was also losing his favor with the media, as more and more the press focused on George and Charlotte instead. The daughters and granddaughters of the aristocracy weren't dating him, suggesting something was definitely off, or not there. He was desperate to get married because everyone else around him was.

(To that I totally understand. I'm mid-thirties myself, everyone else in my family is settled down, and it does suck to go to family events without a partner and to celebrate milestones for friends that aren't happening for you. There's a singles tax everywhere, and I can't imagine it's any easier for someone like Harry, whose family is in a line of work that requires marriage and children for prosperity. So I can see the desperation of 'when will it happen for me' causing enormous pressure that he was unprepared to handle.)

And we know he heard the clock of time ticking loudly because he asked every girl he dated to marry him, and they all turned him down. So as much as we think Meghan rushed Harry down the aisle, Harry was also rushing her down the aisle too. So he wasn't in the best of places mentally or emotionally in 2016 and it just deteriorated from there.

A truly sober, truly emotionally healthy Harry probably would've put the brakes on how quickly Meghan moved the relationship, and there's a very real chance Meghan would have left if he did slow down the relationship (she threatened him throughout the whole relationship that she was prepared to walk out any second) so we wouldn't even be here today. If she didn't leave when he slowed the relationship down, I think the what-if is we still wouldn't be here today because there probably wouldn't have been a Megxit since the alternate timeline would push everything back - meaning they'd be stuck in the UK during lockdowns with a lockdown baby, which changes everything.

So for a truly sober, truly emotionally healthy Harry to have seen the likes of Meghan and Scobie coming from miles away - as the rest of the BRF seems to have done - the clock would probably have to turn back much, much further than 2016. I think we're looking at 2010/2011 kind of time - Harry needed to start therapy much sooner, the palace shouldn't have created the William-Kate-Harry monster, and Harry needed either to stay in the military longer (or have a civilian job like William) or be given more royal duties/work to the scale of the Kents and Gloucesters because it's apparent that the 'not working' lifestyle is what sent Harry into the tailspin leading to Meghan/today.

[ironstrange1991]

Strange Love (Part 5)

Pairing: Doctor!Strange x Fem!Reader

Synopsis: When planning a new mission, Y/n ends up getting into a confrontation with one of the Avengers. Meanwhile, Stephen tries to convince her that she needs to learn more about her powers before using them in battle.

Word Count: 6,9k

Warnings: Y/n hates a certain Avenger and has a rather peculiar view of things. This can be uncomfortable for some people who don't agree with her point of view. Other than that, we have sexual content, basically oral sex and penetration with no protection.

A/N: I'm going to endorse all of Y/n's words on the matter at hand because (obviously) that's also my point of view on the matter.

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

Chapter 5: Stand My Ground

Back in your apartment, you concentrated very hard not to think about Loki, but deep down you were feeling bad even though you knew you hadn't done anything wrong. You weren't cheating on Loki, you had been pretty honest about your feelings. You didn't feel the same way about him, something had changed and even if you hadn't said it word by word, he knew that Stephen Strange was responsible for this change. He just didn't know that the Stephen Strange of your universe was involved. You were happy. After so much suffering, you were feeling happy and you couldn't let guilt spoil that.

Tony and Pepper returned to the tower three days later on a busy Thursday. Natasha and Clint were there too, plus Banner and Rogers and Rhodes of course. You liked the feeling of having the Tower crowded with people you liked and cared about. Of course, if you could exclude Rogers from the equation you'd be happier, but that wasn't an option.

However, with Tony's return, you became aware of murmurs and conversations and soon you realized that something was going on, something they needed to sort out and that Tony wasn't telling you. You had no idea what it was and was too distracted to catch anything.

Your mind was lost on Stephen, always on him all day. It was your first thought when you woke up and the last when you went to sleep. You couldn’t deny you were in love with him. Those were definitely symptoms of passion.

Or love. Stephen’s voice sounded in your head and you were shocked.

I'm not the one doing this, sweetheart, you're actually distracting me from what I'm doing.

You smiled to yourself in total surprise.  “Sorry, I don't know how I'm doing this.”

“What are you doing?”  Tony asked coming in and approaching with both hands in his pocket.

Oops, dad caught us. Stephen’s voice teased you.

You concentrated on trying to end that mental link with him and were surprised when you could physically feel it slipping away. As if an uncomfortable pressure on the side of your head disappeared.

“You said you didn't know how you were doing it.”

You decided to stay close to the truth.

“This thing in my head, it's getting out of hand.”

He looked at you worriedly.

“Is everything okay, Tony?”

He smiled trying to hide his concern. “Well, I'm glad you mentioned that thing on your head... I need your help.”

You nodded. “Of course, whatever you need.”

He sat in the sofa next to you. There's a guy, we suspect he has weapons made with technology from Strucker's lab.

“What kind of weapons?” You asked already feeling anxious.

"The dangerous kind. Strucker was working with Loki's scepter.”

“The mind stone.”

Tony agreed.

“Does this guy have a name?”

Tony ran a hand over his face. “I don't know, Rogers knows him. I think he's called Crossbones." He shrugged “You know, nowadays any idiot gives himself a cool name...”

“What…?”

Tony looked at you surprised “Do you know him?”

You nodded. “Worked for Hydra. I know him, but Rogers knows him a lot better.”

Tony shooked his head. “Yeah, It looks like Rogers thought he was dead, but that's not what happened. He came to me asking for help to put an end to the guy.”

Your blood boiled in your veins and you got up. Why did everything that went wrong always have to be related to Steve Rogers?

“Lagos.”

“What’s that?” Tony seemed confused by your sudden irritation.

“Rogers lost him in Lagos. That's when it all happened. The Civil War.”

Tony didn't seem to keep up. “What civil war?”

You sighed in a rare moment of impatience with Tony. “People name big things that happens with the Avengers, Tony. I thought you knew that.” You sighed trying to stay calm. “That's not the point. The Civil War was when the Sokovia accords came out. The fight at Leipzig Airport, all that, that's what they call it.”

Tony nodded getting slightly more serious. Memories of the event flooded back to his mind, apparently.

“Rogers... everything that happened was his fault. What came later with the accords was a consequence of his actions and everything he did…”

Tony ran a hand over his face and seeing him shaken like that just by the memory of that event infuriated you even more, bringing out a protective instinct towards him that you didn't even know existed. Usually you were his protégé, but sometimes Tony needed someone to care for him. Though he liked the name, he was far from being iron made.

“What they did to you, the way they acted... and now he says he didn't solve the case?”

“Listen...” He ran his hand over his face. “I'm not going to defend the guy, he screwed up, but we need to solve this.”

“How can you take this so calmly? Tony, I cried all night when I saw what he did to you.”

Tony took your hand in his. “It doesn’t matter anymore. It's not about him, it's about the people who might get hurt if this lunatic decides to use these weapons. He asked me for help, I'll take over the case, but I need your help.”

He grabbed your shoulder. “Will you help me?”

You sighed. “Of course. I'll do anything for you, Tony.”

He smiled “And I for you.”

You tried to put your thoughts in order. “I'll try to locate him. Is that what you need?”

“Yes. Thank you, darling.”

…

It wasn't long before you managed to see Crossbones. The use of your mental abilities was starting to freak you out. You had no doubt that you had exceptional powers and abilities, but you had no control over them and wondered how far you could go without the help of someone who could teach you how to deal with them.

Crossbones had a secret laboratory in a disused power plant in Ukraine. When you told him what you discovered, Tony called a meeting to decide all the details of the plan for the attack and asked you to pass the information to the other Avengers.

“The plant has been deactivated for more than 40 years.” Natasha informed after researching the name and location that you gave her.

You nodded. “Only Strucker's men roam the place” You explained. “Anyone who stands in our way is an enemy.”

“They don't even imagine we're going, so it will be easier than we thought.” Rhodes stated. “I still think we should put the army in front of this.”

“If we use the army the government will know about the mission and it's not what we want”  Rogers said with his calm voice that always got to irritate you.

“We have the element of surprise, but it won't be easy” Tony explained. “Y/n took a look at the weapons they created.”

“The weapons are dangerous” You  said. “They have weapons with firepower equivalent to half the bomb used on Hiroshima. The others are even more disturbing.”

“What kind of weapons are we talking about?” Rogers asked.

“The dangerous kind” You replied dryly without looking at him. “They are weapons with cognitive-psychic powers.”

Natasha seemed scared and you knew the mind control thing was something that could mess with her because of her forced process to become a Black Widow.

“If they use it, they can turn us against each other” Banner said, understanding.

"It wouldn't be the first time something involving Crossbones has put one Avenger against another," You replied.

“So, what's the plan?” Nat asked.

“I came up...” Rogers started, but you stared at him and he stopped.

“I believe that the weapons reach the mind through a peculiar sound it makes, something imperceptible to our ears, but which has a cognitive behavioral effect.”

“In other words” Tony said smiling at you like a proud father. “Ear plugs developed with nanotechnology.”

Tony showed the devices you created together.

“What if it doesn't work?” Rogers asked. “Or if something goes wrong? We need a plan in case this goes wrong.”

“Like it happened in Lagos?” You asked and he didn't answer. Everyone was silent. “Explain to me, Captain, this is your mess, isn't it? Or does no one else remember what happened in Lagos?” You asked the others sitting now in dead silence. “All those people died because of you. “

“I made a mistake” He said staring his own hands.

“You made many mistakes and I'm sorry if I can't do like everyone else and pretend that nothing happened. Pretending that you and Wanda Maximoff weren't responsible for hundreds of deaths in Nigeria and swallowing your arrogant face wanting to give orders and make plans.”

Everyone was stunned, but you couldn't stop talking, the words just kept coming out of your mouth.

“The great Captain America. The first Avenger.” You looked at him spitting the words like they were poison in your mouth. “You're not living in a bubble anymore, Captain. The world just got bigger. There are bigger fishes now and if we take away the serum and your arrogance, what's left?”

Tony glanced at you understanding exactly where you got those words from.

Rogers remained silent. Fists clenched.

“I'll say... mistakes. It's what's left. Many mistakes. You can play nice all you want, but when things got really tough you weren't there to help. And I'm not talking about guns dealers.”

“Y/n…” Tony’s voice was shaky. “Let it go.”

But you just couldn't let go. Not when you'd seen in Tony's eyes how much it still hurt.

“The missile in NY? Tony. Sokovia in the air? Thor and Tony.”

You took a step towards him. “A spaceship has invaded Manhattan. Where were you?”

He looked at you, clearly shaken by your words.

“You were never there. You're good at making promises, but not very good at keeping them, are you? Unless of course we're talking about your dear friend Bucky. For him all promises are kept. All the... secrets.”

Tony ran a hand over his face.

“So when I say we have a plan, you accept the plan because this is your fault and we are cleaning up the shit you did. Don't question it because you have no right to question. You shouldn't even be here, but I'm not the one who decides, am I? I'm just suggesting that next time, unless you got your hand in that gauntlet and destroyed Thanos and his entire army with a snap of your fingers... shut the fuck up.”

Tony looked at you, clearly upset about the situation, but something in his eyes showed he was glad those words were spoken.

You sighed. “But I'm going to leave now, and you can put together a plan in case I'm wrong and the Captain is right. After all, he likes to be right, even when he rarely is.”

Rogers stared at you mutely as you left the room leaving them in complete silence.

…

You  went up to your apartment and made yourself some tea to try to calm your nerves. You knew perfectly well that you shouldn't have lost control, but you had it all stuck in your throat for years.

You drank tea slowly and distracted yourself finishing some French exercises that were already late and then your phone rang, it was Stephen.

“What you were doing unintentionally” He said. “I think I know a way to help you learn to control.”

 “ How?” You asked confused.

“Well... it involves other issues that I would like to talk about. Can we have dinner tonight?”

You thought for a second. “Of course. Yes, please, I would love to get away from this environment today.”

“What happened?” He asked confused.

“It’s nothing. Well, I'll tell you at dinner.”

“I'll pick you up at 8 pm. What do you think?”

“Great. Will you drive us there or just open a portal?” You asked teasing him.

“Unfortunately I don't think opening a portal it’s a very discreet way to enter a restaurant” He said laughing that deep and dazzling laugh. “At 8pm, then.”

“Can’t wait.”

You hung up the phone and Natasha was behind you.

“I'm sorry, the door was open.”

“No, it wasn’t.” You replied dryly already a bit defensive.

She nodded. “It wasn’t locked.”

“If you came here to scold me, it's a waste of time. Nobody in the world is going to convince me that Steve Rogers didn't deserve to hear that.”

Natasha nodded. “I didn't come to scold you. Rogers can be...difficult to deal with. You don't like him. You don’t need to.”

“Good, I'm relieved to know.”

“Actually I came to ask how you are” She said sitting in the armchair next to you. “After everything that happened... I didn't have the opportunity to say how sorry I am.”

You took a deep breath “Thank you, Nat. I'm fine, I'm feeling better.”

She nodded and then looked at the cell phone in your hand. “And does this improvement have anything to do with this date you are going to?”

You didn't answer right away which she took as a yes.

“Tony said you broke up with Loki”

“I  wasn't talking to Loki.”

She glanced at you with those watchful eyes and then she smiled. “I knew you guys had a thing.”

“We don’t.”

“Yes, you have.” Natasha smiled, seeing you fall into her usual trick. She seemed happy for some reason. “He's a nice guy.  Doctor, sorcerer...”

“Master of the mystic arts” You corrected her and she smiled, seeing you unintentionally confirm it.

“A little bit old and very old-fashioned with that goatee, but if that's what you're into...”

“Are you talking about me?” Tony asked and then apologized. “The door was open.”

“It wasn’t” You and Nat answered in unison.

Tony looked at you with his hands in his pockets. “Rogers left. I think you hurt him.”

You rolled your eyes.

“I came here to thank you. Really. But I don't think it's worth, Y/n... I've already tortured myself too much for everything that happened, I don't want you to suffer for me.”

You shook your head. “I'm sorry, Tony, I just... lost my temper.”

He agreed “That happens. He needed to hear... like twelve percent of everything you said.”

"The rest was a bit mean" Natasha said.

You smiled mischievously and he sat down next to you.

“We’ll keep the plan, then?” You asked.

Natasha nodded. “Apparently yes. It’s a good plan.”

“So, what were you talking about?” Tony asked and you gave Nat a serious look, pleading with your eyes for her not to say anything. She gave you a mischievous smile, but remained silent.

“Remember what I said about doing things I can't control?” You asked once again sticking to the truth.

He nodded.

“Stephen promised to help me. He said there might be a way to control it.

“That's great” He said seeming a bit confused “I didn't know you were talking after... everything that happened.”

You smiled “Stephen is a nice guy.”

“And he is a wizard” Natasha completed.

“Sorcerer” Tony corrected her.

“Is there a difference?”

“I think he prefers the term master of the mystic arts, but sorcerer works too.” You said.

Natasha stared at you with a smile “His goatee is old-fashioned”

“Come on, we're facial hair bros” Tony said indignantly.

“I think this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard” Natasha said getting up. “Anyway, say hi for me when you see him” She said winking and leaving.

Tony looked at you noticing you were staring at him. “What is it?”

You smiled. “I love you” You said hugging him tight. “You are the most important person for me in this world.”

He wrapped you in his arms a bit surprised with the declaration of love. “Then promise me you will never leave.”

You sighed heavily “I promise.”

You laid there cuddled with him and for a second Stephen crossed your mind and you wondered if your relationship with him, not that it was exactly a relationship, perhaps not yet, but your clearly wanted it to be. Anyway, you wondered if Tony would approve. His approval was very important to you because, as you said to him, he was the only one that mattered to you.

…

You were distracted with your chores when the doorbell rang. You answered and Pepper stood at the doorway smiling shyly.

“Hey, are you busy? I can come back later.”

“No. Come in.” You said. She looked apprehensive. “Is everything okay, Pepper?”

She smiled looking around your apartment. “Ah it's so beautiful here now that you put all your stuff. I helped Tony decorate.”

You closed the door “A feminine touch is always nice”

“Yeah, I contained a bit of Tony's extravagances too.”

You gestured towards the sofa. “Thank you for that. Well, sit, please.”

She sat down shyly and you waited for her to say why she was there.

She sighed “Thank you for saying those things earlier today.”

You were surprised.

“I wish I had the courage to say it myself many times, but I'm relieved someone did.” She looked away. “I sleep with Tony every night and I saw what that whole situation did to him. What fighting Thanos, using that gauntlet did to him.”

You nodded “Someone needed to put Rogers in his place.”

She agreed. “Tony suffered a lot from everything that happened, it was very difficult.”

“I know, I... I saw everything Pepper, I suffered from afar for everything that happened and I really wanted to be on his side, I really wanted to be able to say that he was right.”

Your eyes filled with tears that you wiped away.

“You said the other day that coming here was a mistake, but I don't agree. You were the best thing that ever happened to Tony. He needed a friend. He has Rhodes, but it’s not the same.”

You smirked. “Second best thing that happened to him, then. You are everything to him Pepper. You, Rhodes and Happy were the ones who kept him in line, you're the people who never turned their backs on him.”

She nodded. “He loves you very much” She said also getting emotional. “He cares about you, I care about you. You are very important to us. You are part of our family now.”

You shook your head “I know.”

“Tony doesn't think he needs it, but he needs us to take care of him. We are all he has and he is all we have”

…

It was 8 pm and you were ready to leave but you stopped thinking about what you would say to Tony. When he was home, he knew about everything, Friday kept him informed of who was coming and going and that made you rethink the idea of ​​going out by conventional means, but it was too late and you could see Stephen's car parked in front of the tower.

You took a deep breath and went down hoping not to bump at anyone on the way, but as you approached the exit, you saw Tony parking and getting out of the car with Pepper at his side. You watched as Stephen got out of the car and greeted him. 

“I'm sorry to inform you, but I’m not working today. Schedule an appointment with Ms. Potts.” Tony said and then looked at Stephen from head to toe. “It's even weirder to see you dressed like a normal guy, I thought you only wore your monk clothes” Tony said and as you approached  he noted you.

You were wearing a reasonably simple black dress, totally normal, but you still feared what he might think.

“I invited Y/n to dinner. I hope you don't mind” Stephen said ignoring Tony's provocations completely. “Hi, Pepper.”

"Hi Stephen" She replied, smiling.

Tony greeted you with a kiss on your cheek and then turned to look at Stephen. “I'm glad you mentioned it, because I...”

“He doesn't mind at all.” Pepper said answering for him. “Have a great dinner.”

Tony gave up on his argument and the two left, entering the Tower.

Stephen and You looked at each other laughing softly. “Are you sure this is the guy you love?”  He asked teasing you while opening the car door.

"Yes, I do" You said, smiling as you walked in. He turned around, started the engine and drove fast through town.

You had dinner at a beautiful Italian restaurant. Stephen looked even more handsome than the last time you saw him. You loved seeing him in a suit.

"Tony will ask questions" You said, sighing.

“Like everything else, Stark seems to think that you are also his property” Stephen replied looking at the drinks catalogue. You thought you felt a bit of jealousy in his voice, but you also could have imagined it.

“He feels responsible for me and I like having him around taking care of me. I've never had anyone to do that.”

He nodded with a smirk then called the waiter and ordered a shot of whiskey.

“What are you going to tell him if he asks about us.”

You thought for a moment. “I don't know what to say, but it won't take Tony long to figure it out by himself.”

He smirked. “The truth is always a good idea.”

The waiter brought his drink and a bottle of water for you. “Are you ready to order, sir.”

“No, not at the moment.” Stephan replied and the waiter nodded leaving you alone.

“Would it be so absurd to tell the truth?”  He asked and only then you realized how much he wanted that. He wanted Tony to know about it.

“No”

He smiled. “Tell him what you think is best, he will believe anything you say.”

You nodded and he took a sip of his drink and stared at you with those blue eyes seeming to pondering his next words. “Potts seems to handle the situation so naturally.”

“What situation?”

“That romance between you and Tony.”

You smiled. “She came to my apartment today to thank me for defending Tony. She said he needs people to take care of him. I think that proves that she's really okay with our relationship.”

Stephen seemed incredulous “And what did you have to defend him from?”

You sighed. “Not what. Whom. Steve Rogers.”

“Oh, are they fighting again?”

You shrugged. “There is a mission to solve. A madman with psychosomatic weapons made from the Mind Stone. It turns out that this guy is only alive because Rogers faltered and everything that came after, the Sokovia accords, was a consequence of that mistake.”

Stephen shook his head. “I remember all the news at the time, I was still working at the hospital in Manhattan.”

“Please don't tell me you sided with Rogers.”

He denied it. “Both sides seemed wrong at the time.”

You strongly disagreed, but didn't say so.

“Tony asked me to help him find these guy. I found them in Ukraine. We will attack the location and take the weapons. Tony and I put together the plan with the information I got, but Rogers didn't seem to trust my abilities and I ended up losing my temper and saying some things he needed to hear for many years.”

Stephen frowned. “You said we”

“What? Did you hear what I said?”

He nodded “You put Rogers in his place” He said impatiently. “Is it serious that Stark is going to put you in the field on a mission with psychosomatic weapons?”

You blinked surprised with his annoyance. And the way he put it made you falter. “I... haven't asked him yet, but…”

He sighed in relief. “I'll speak to him personally so he won't let you go.”

“Stephen!”

“Listen, I know you feel you can do this and that's what you want, but it's too dangerous and you need training. We barely know how to deal with these skills, imagine in a battle!”

Part of you was ecstatic that he had referred to the situation using "we", indicating that he felt responsible for you, but you strongly disagreed. “I need to help Tony”

“If you want to help him the best way to do it is in the safety of the Tower and not in the field where he will be worried about you and may make mistakes for not being focused on the mission.”

When he put it like that it seemed too obvious. You went silent.

He extended his hand across the table and you took it. “At some point you will become an important part of the Avengers. Your skills can be of extreme help to them, but right now you need to focus on learning to control them.”

I nodded “You're right, I'm being naive.”

He denied “No, you are thinking of defending him as you did when he argued with Rogers, but Stark knows how to take care of himself, I saw him fighting, he is very good.”

You nodded and then he smiled trying to change the subject.

“What happened earlier today, you were having difficulty concentrating, left your mind open and vulnerable for a long time.”

You blushed –“I'm sorry, I don't know how I did that.”

He smiles “You don't have to apologize. I'm glad it happened to me.”

You smiled at him a little sheepishly.

“But it could be very dangerous if in my place it was someone who wanted to harm you, so I suggest we work on that.”

“I don't know how to control it. I didn't do these things before.”

He looked interested “Tell me how this all started.” You thought for a moment trying to remember “They were thoughts. I dreamed sometimes, I could hear things that happened, but they were just suggestions, but it was enough for me to know it was real because I could feel it.” You shook your head “I don’t know how to explain”

"Is that how you made the decision to come here to find Stark?"

You nodded.

“And when did it start to change? To evolve.”

“When I got to NY, I...”

He waited watching you with those suggestive eyes.

“I didn't get the reception I thought I would. Everyone was worried when I arrived, some of them wanted me to come home. Only Tony, Pepper and Natasha stayed by my side, but I still felt like a fish out of water. I felt alone and Thor was all over the place with all that agonizing sadness.” You sighed.

"Keep going" he said.

“His sadness implied an absence...”

Stephen seemed uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

“I started thinking too much about Loki. If all this was real, these people, I wanted him to be there, for him to be real for me. But he was dead. Killed by Thanos or so we thought.”

Stephen understood “It was your first mind connection. With Loki.”

“I didn't realize what I was doing. It wasn’t intentional.”

Stephen's discomfort implied a jealousy that was strange and new to you. He barely mentioned Loki's name  “And so he answered. How?”

“ You felt your face blush “He came to me first in my dreams and one night he was in my room. It was the first time I saw him.”

Stephen sighed looking around, called the waiter and turned back to you. “Ready to order?”

You agreed and you ordered your food. You weren't really hungry.

“It's possible that your abilities were suppressed by the environment you lived in. Your parents house was hostile, I imagine, once you decided to leave it all behind and just ran away.”

You nodded, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation but knowing that at some point it would have to come out.

Stephen soon realized that you didn't want to talk about it and moved on “But once you moved away from the environment that oppressed you your abilities began to expand immeasurably because there was no longer a barrier blocking it’s development, on the contrary, you said that Thor it made you think of Loki, so he was a trigger.”

“But then it kept increasing” You said still confused and trying to understand everything he was explaining to you. “With Loki's presence the visions began and now this...”

Stephen sighed. “Well, the stimulation with Loki around have also increased” He said against his will “The presence of Loki, your sudden relationship with him... I believe that what we are seeing is only a fraction of your capabilities and that they will increase a lot more.”

“My sudden relationship with Loki.” You repeated slight offended.

He grimaced. "It wasn’t exactly a healthy thing."

“Why not?” You asked still not understanding.

“Oh sorry, I thought it was implied in my face of disgust the whole time…”

“It's as natural as any other relationship...”

“With Loki? The god of mischief? Literally  the father of lies…”

You could barely answer and he realized he had overreacted so he just stopped talking.

“It wasn't sudden. I've always been drawn to Loki.”

He agreed sighing “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken like that.”

You agreed and went back to the subject that really mattered. “I'm afraid of these skills, Stephen.”

“You need to learn to have control over them” He said understanding that you were upset “With the right direction there is nothing to fear.”

“Will you teach me?”

He smiled proudly. The idea seemed to amuse him, but he denied it. “Wong would be a better teacher, he has experience and discipline.”

You hesitated a bit “I don't know if it's a good idea, Wong is... too serious.”

Stephen let out a small laugh. “Maybe this is what you need. You need to take this issue more seriously.”

You nodded “I don't understand why I have this... thing. No one in my family does these things. They are normal people. Boring people.”

“Magic, contrary to all the bullshit we see in pop culture, is not hereditary, it is an individual condition that develops in evolved minds.”

“I don't do magic, Stephen.”

“You’re sure?”

You rolled your eyes. “Oh sure, I'll become the next Sorcerer Supreme.”

He smiled  “The Ancient One would have liked you. And she would be the best mentor you could ever dream of having. She taught me everything I know.”

You sighed knowing that it hurt him to think about his mentor. “I'm sorry you lost her. I’m sorry it was too soon.”

He nodded “She told me that she saw all the possibilities of my future. I wonder if she foresaw the things I did and everything that happened after.”

You held his hand “You and Tony saved the world. You are a hero, Doctor Strange.”

He smiled but seemed to disagree “Many people fought that day to save the world.”

“But it was you and Tony who made everything work.”

He agreed in disagree apparently.

You had dinner and got back in the car, Stephen pulled you in for a kiss before starting the engine and driving back to the Tower.

He stopped in front of the entrance and you stared at him confused.

“Won't you come in?”

He denied “I'd rather not risk bumping on Stark again.”

You pulled him to your lips, thrusting your tongue into his mouth in an extremely sexual kiss that demonstrated how much you wanted him.

He smiled cocky. “Wait for me upstairs.”

You smiled in agreement. You went up in the elevator, went straight to your apartment and found Tony waiting for you on the sofa.

He smiled. “I was worried, I needed to see you before bed.”

You closed the door and went to him sitting next to him “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine. I just... with everything that happened I think I am traumatized. Knowing you're not in the tower made me anxious, that's all.”

“I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me all the time, Tony. I don’t want to be a burden.”

He scowled "You only have me to worry about you, I need to make this right. And don’t ever say that again. You are not a burden"

You smiled reassuringly. “Pepper was here this afternoon. She came to thank me for what I said to Rogers.”

He looked surprised. “Really?”

“She cares about you, I care about you and you care about me. I guess that means it's normal to worry about the people we love. We are family, Tony.”

He agreed. “Yeah, you’re right, but let's face it you scared me a few times, like the last few weeks.

You nodded “ I'm sorry.”

“That's okay. Let’s try to put a stone on it.”

You smiled and he hesitated looking curious “But then... going out to dinner with Doctor Strange... I have to admit that it surprised me.”

You smiled trying to sound as casual as possible “He wanted to talk about my skills. He wants Wong to help me to learn more about them. That’s all.”

Tony agreed “That's good. It’s a really good idea.  Will you?”

“I need too.” You agreed trying not to show how nervous you were. There would be no way to explain if Stephen opened a portal and entered there and considering that the Sanctum was not that far away and Stephen drove very fast, this could happen at any moment.

Tony sighed “I like to see you living in this apartment, doing your thing, having friends. I want you to feel well here, it's your home.”

“I know. I will never be able to thank you enough for everything you did for me.”

He got up. “ Just promise me you’ll stay around. You won’t leave. That’s all that matters.”

You smiled “I won’t go anywhere, I promise.”

He smiled then got up “I'll let you rest, now. Goodnight, darling.”

You hugged him tight, stronger than the casual moment asked and he noticed and squeezed you in his arms too. “I Love you, Tony. Good night.”

You  stood there as he left and closed the door. You loved him so much that your chest hurt, You had never loved anyone the way you loved Tony.

You turned Your attention back to the moment and went to your room. You went to the closet and took off your clothes, leaving only your lingerie and you smiled when you heard the soft squeak of the portal opening in the bedroom. You went to him and leaned against the wall, he came to you, both hands on your face and he kissed you deeply and you hold him by the nape of his neck and he pulled you to his lap, your legs wrapped around his hips and he put you on your sideboard leaning against the wall

"I thought you weren't coming" You said into his lips.

He kissed you smiling on your lips “How could I not to come after that kiss?”

You tugged on his suit to get rid of it and he unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. You caressed his bare chest, your lips moved down to his neck and shoulder and you bit down gently there.

He unfastened your bra and took it off and cupped your breast in his hand squeezing gently as his lips trailed down your neck.

"Tony was here a minute before you arrived." Your legs tightened around him, yearning for his touch.

He gently lowered your panties.

“I don't want to talk about Tony Stark right now” He said taking your panties off and then he kissed you again tasting your lips slowly.

“Do you think he would mind if he knew about us?” You asked on his lips.

He brought his hand to the middle of your legs and stroked there gently and then he thrust a finger inside you slowly moving it back and forth.

“ Right now, I really don't care” He said lowly forcing his finger and then put another one penetrating slowly.

You moaned squirming in his hand as he watched you melt away in pleasure. He smiled and kissed you and then picked you up and put you on the bed and spread your legs further with his hands. His lips trailed down your stomach to the inside of your thigh and dipped between your legs where he licked and sucked masterfully, his beard brushing your skin there and the feeling was so good,  you could barely contain yourself.

You moaned loudly holding his hair and he continued and your legs shook with the uncontrollable pleasure he gave you. You pulled Stephen back to your lips and he kissed you smiling while turning his fingers inside you to touch exactly the perfect spot he knew your loved.

“Stephen...”

He penetrated two fingers while stroking your clit with circular gestures of his thumb and you squirmed in his hand and he smiled smugly, completed satisfied of seeing you melting beneath him.

He got up taking off his pants and underwear and came back between your legs making way with his waist. His cock already totally hard, he caressed it for a second and your eyes didn't leave him. He put his fingers on you again feeling all your wetness and then put only the tip on your entrance, hesitating, analyzing, provocating you.

“Stephen…”

He forced himself to enter you with a single thrust and you moaned loudly squirming under him feeling all his huge cock inside you. He leaned back on the mattress and fucked you hard and fast understanding that was the way you liked it.

...

You woke up in the middle of the night and Stephen was sleeping beside you on your bed. You stood there watching him sleep. There was no reason to deny it, You were completely in love with him. He was perfect in everything. The man was a god of sex. He had made your cum three time only in that night.

You got up and dressed your hobby and left the room. You were heading towards the kitchen when you noticed something in the living room and screamed scared.

“It's okay, it's me.” He said leaving the meditation position in which he was. Floating.

“What the hell are you doing?” You asked staring at his scary astral form. He looked like a ghost.

“Meditating... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.”

You stared at him in disbelief. “You're sleeping... how do you do that?”

He smiled. “My body needs to sleep, my mind on the other hand needs to stay active, I like to enjoy the night.”

"That's weird" You said.

“I shouldn't do that here, you're right…”

“It's okay” You smiled looking at him.

“Give me a second, I'll be right back” He said disappearing and you went to the kitchen to drink water. You heard the door opening and he appeared with a sleepy face smiling “That's better.”

He walked over and kissed you softly on the lips.

As you had completely lost sleep you decided to put the kettle on to boil and make some tea.

"Your mind also needs to rest" You said, scolding him.

He agreed “I don't do this every night, well most nights.”

You sighed understanding that there was no point in arguing “You almost scared me to death.”

He sighed leaning in the counter and then changed the subject “You asked me before if Tony would mind if he knew we were together…” He sat on the counter watching you prepare the tea. “Would you like him to know?”

“I'm tired of secrets, Stephen” You said “I’m tired of doing things in secret thinking about what they would say if they knew, but as much as I don't want to care about what everyone has to say...

“You care for what Tony has to say.”

You nodded “He's not just anyone.”

Stephen thanked you when you handed him the cup of tea.

“I don't know what we're doing Stephen, I don't know where you want to go with this, but... you know I'm in love with you and I don't want to have to keep hiding.”

“There is no need to hide it” He looked at you seriously “When you left the Sanctum that day, Wong asked me if I was sure about what I was doing … about you”

“And what did you say”

He cupped your face and pulled you closer to him “That I'm in love with you, that all the things that happened brought us together and that I feel like you're the only person who understands what I'm going through since...”

“I know.”

He smiled “I understand that you have doubts about us, but I don't. Let them know.”

You smiled sipping your tea.

“Do you think Stark would mind?” He seemed concerned about your answer. He was beginning to understand that Tony had a huge influence on you.

“I think Tony wants to see me happy. He's already worried about me too much.

Stephen nodded and then chuckled “Romanoff hinted a while back that we'd have something, Stark wasn't too happy about the idea.”

“When did she say that?”

“When we were trying to rescue you from him.”

You nodded “It's impossible to fool Natasha, she realizes things even before we do. She knows I was going to have dinner with you yesterday.”

He agreed.

You put your empty cup in the counter “I need you to tell me what to do, I... I don't know how to handle any of this alone.”

He hugged you resting his head on your chest and you stroked his hair. You  held his head and kissed him sweetly on the lips. He smiled at you “You'll be fine and you don't have to do anything alone, never again.”

Reblog please! Leave a comment if you liked it. Interact! I will love to read all of your comments and opinions. It inspires me to keep writing!

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[penny00dreadful]

Return of The King - Part 4

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 AO3

Eddie closed the back door quietly behind him and sat down in one of the lawn chairs, tipping his head up and staring at the scattered passing clouds as he smoked.

He could hear muffled conversation and an awful lot of tears from the house behind him and it nearly made him want to cry himself. There was so much relief filling him up both from Steve being back and finally getting to do what he’d been planning to do to him since he first got to know him but also that the healing within the Fellowship could begin. He just hoped it didn’t damage anyone further.

He had no idea how he was going to do it. How the both of them were going to do it. How on earth were they going to tell all these extremely broken people that the reason they were broken wasn't a reason anymore. That he was back? And how were they going to explain that he was back different but not bad? 

It could go so very wrong.

But maybe it would be enough comfort to them to know that Robin was talking again. Hell, not even just that she was talking again but that she was even… conscious again. That she was existing in the world again rather than around it.

He must have been ruminating in his own head for at least a half an hour vacillating in between smoking and worrying about the fallout of all this and watching the clouds and feeling that giggly excitement that comes with a new relationship and all the things they had left to do to each other and experience together when the door creaked open behind him and a pair of thin arms wound their way around his shoulders.

“You’ve been hoarding him.” Robin’s voice came soft and thick from the floods of tears she’d no doubt shared with Steve inside.

“Hoarding, Buckley?” He reached up to grasp her wrist. His heart was soaring. It was so good to hear her voice again. “I wouldn’t call it that. Though I suspect my Stevie exclusivity is coming to an end now that he has you back in his life.”

She hummed into his hair and tightened her arms around him, gently rocking the two of them back and forth as much as she could without toppling them over. “If I was gonna share him with anyone, I’m happy for it to be you.”

Eddie smiled to himself and tipped his head back onto her shoulder. “Awh, you’re gonna make me all misty eyed.”

“Join the club,” she let out a wet laugh, rubbing her eyes against his shirt, “it’s what the rest of us are doing.”

“Where is the man of the hour anyway?”

“He’s giving us space to say my ‘thank yous’ for taking care of me and everyone else for the last month or whatever.” 

“Ah.”

“So like, thanks or whatever.” She whispered, her levity coming through clearly despite her humour.

“Not a problem, Buckaroo.”

She gave him one last squeeze and placed a kiss against the side of his head before disappearing back inside.

Eddie followed not long after, desperate for a shower and to finally get back into his own jeans. The pair he was wearing last night hadn’t been his favourite but they were a worthy sacrifice especially considering just how they were destroyed. How Steve's supernaturally strong hands had effortlessly gripped onto the tough denim and ripped them clean in two right below him, all the little noises he'd managed to work out of him with his tongue and his hips as he'd slowly, torturously slowly, sunk in-

He turned the shower water icy cold, he needed to keep his head clear for the next few hours ahead and he definitely wouldn’t be able to do that if the only think that was knocking around his brain was the continued idea of fucking around with Steve.

When he came back downstairs, he and Robin sat Steve down and tried to summarise everything that had happened in the last month. The complete and utter fuckery that the California crew went through, Joyce and Murray’s little vacation to the Soviet Union where, oh yeah, Hopper was alive but imprisoned, the cracks in the earth that had split the second Steve died, inadvertently saving Max from mutilation, the wide open gates that creatures would crawl through every so often, the fact that Hawkins was half abandoned, his parents…

It was a lot to take in and Steve took it all surprisingly well, almost like he’d been waiting for some catastrophic events to hit Hawkins for a few years now.

The next challenge that was presented to him was just how they were going to tell everyone. If they just sprung Steve on them out of nowhere it would be disastrous. They could all collapse into grief, they could run scared, they could attack him, believing him to be some fucked up trick of Vecna’s, there was so many things that could go wrong.

At the very least Wayne was going to be out of the house for the rest of the day so he couldn’t accidentally get caught in the crossfire.

Eddie sat at his kitchen table bouncing his leg so quickly his whole body was jiggling. Robin and Steve had helped him write out what to tell the others over the walkie to get them to arrive.

It wasn’t easy.

He needed them to know that it wasn’t a world ending Code Red but at the same time wasn’t it? Steve was back and that was a huge thing on its own but definitely didn’t warrant sending them all into a blind panic and putting them on edge, especially when the thing that was waiting for them was enough to implode everyone in the worst ways possible if handled incorrectly.

So he had to tell them it was urgent without skyrocketing everyone’s collective stress levels.

“Eds, it’ll be fine.” Steve tried to soothe him as the three of them sat waiting. He had a gentle grip on the back of Eddie’s neck, rubbing his thumb in small circles. It wasn’t working. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Eddie and Robin shared a look for a long moment while Steve glanced between them.

“Okay, I don’t love this,” he said, pointing to each of them in turn, “whatever this is.”

“D’you think you’d be able to dodge a bullet if it came down to that, Stevie?” Eddie asked from behind his hair with his head hung low.

“Nance wouldn’t shoot me.”

“Yes she would.” They answered at the same time.

“She’s gonna think you’re some Vecna trick like I did.”

Robin nodded, agreeing. “Yeah, and you can’t fuck the doubt out of her like you did with Eddie.”

Eddie lifted his head just a fraction to glare at her but she didn’t back down, just raised her eyebrow.

“That’s not what happened.”

“No?”

“No, I wouldn’t have let him fuck me if I still thought he was the spawn of Satan.”

Robin scoffed with a cheeky smirk on her face. “That’s a lie. But maybe it’ll be Hopper who’ll try to shoot you, Steve.” She blinked innocently over to him. “You could try to fuck some sense into him?”

“Robin.” Steve hissed, his whole face turning red.

“You had a thing for Hopper?” Eddie couldn’t help the shit eating grin that started to pull at his mouth, quickly joined by Robin as Steve tried to glare at the two of them with as much venom as possible.

“You never heard those words come out of my mouth.”

“No, but Robbie insinuated which is as good as a confession.”

“I hate the both of you.”

Eddie and Robin shot to their feet, cooing and crowding around Steve, squeezing him tight in between the two of them with a downight dramatic level of sarcastic comfort and affection. Steve just scowled harder but wormed his arms around the two of them squeezing back, unable to hide the upward curl at the corner of his mouth.

They only broke away from their mocking ‘you love us’ ‘you looooove uuusss’ when they both felt Steve tense under their arms.

“They’re here.”

Eddie shot to his feet, his adrenaline and anxiety coursing through his whole body. He needed to move, he needed to get it all out somehow. Fuck this was it. Everything was about to change. Again.

God, it could all go so wrong.

But it could be so good too.

It could fix everything.

“Are you hidden?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. Only you and Robin can see me.”

“Okay good, you know them, they'll just burst in-”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the front door was thrown open and a gaggle of teenagers spilled into his hallway. Eddie felt a short kiss be pressed to the back of his head, just a silent reminder I’m here before he took a deep breath in and tried to steady himself as best he could.

There wasn’t the usual noise and chaos that used to be so normal with the kids, there were no childish arguments or rapid fire discussions. They filed into his house quietly and without bluster, each finding a spot to sit around the dining table or lean against a kitchen cabinet looking at him expectantly, barely sending a glance in Robin’s direction who had marginally retreated back into herself. Whether it was the pressure of the situation or so many people around he didn’t know. He couldn’t really blame her or the group for their reactions.

Steve was staring around at all of them with wide eyes, like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. But instead of any kind of delight or smugness or smart remark about finally getting them to quieten down, he looked heartbroken. Like he hadn’t realised just how changed everyone was.

“Well?” Nancy snapped. Short and eager to get to the point as she always was these days and Eddie could never hold it against her.

He realised he’d been watching Steve’s reaction too closely. It probably looked like he was staring off into space while they all filled in around him. 

So he took a deep breath in and began.

“Okay, uh,” he started to thread his fingers through his hair, picking out individual curls and twisting them, anything to keep his hands occupied, “it’s not bad news. It’s actually good news, or it might not be good news depending on how you view it and how we had to get here, but it’s news! I’m gonna be honest, I’m having a bit of trouble trying to figure out how to tell you all because it’s gonna be really hard to swallow at first-“

“Eddie.” Dustin interrupted, his voice lacking its youthful energy and his face as grim as it had been for the last month. “Does Robin really need to be here for this?”

Robin startled at the mention of her name and seemed confused for a second. Eddie supposed it was a fair question, Robin hadn’t exactly been present in the last month and the rest had mostly gotten used to talking like she wasn’t in the room. Most of the time she wasn’t, really.

Eddie looked over at her along with Dustin who’s eyes widened at the sight of any emotion on her face apart from blank despair.

She looked up to meet Eddie’s eyes and gave a small nod. The whole room seemed to have caught the tiny movement, automatically straightening up and becoming much more engaged. Because if it was something that had the power to pull Robin out of the pit of her mind, it must be something extreme.

“Get on with it.”

“I’m trying, Nance, but this is actually very nerve wracking-”

Nancy glared at him, hard and cold. None of the warmth he’d seen in her before was present now and it hadn’t been for a while. She crossed her arms before speaking in a very stern tone of voice.

“Eddie, I don’t have time to waste with this bull-” she stopped herself short, swallowing harshly before continuing, “with this nonsense. So just-”

“It’s Steve.” He blurted out before he could stop himself, sudden and loud and impossibly catastrophic.

Silence crashed in around all of them in the wake of his statement, filled with so much tension he could feel it tingling against his skin. They were all staring at him, some with anger, some with devastation and some with just blank expressions that hurt more than anything.

The sound of a chair scraping against his tiled floor screeched loudly through the kitchen, almost too loud to bear. Dustin stood and without a backwards glance, began to walk away.

Eddie opened his mouth to call after him, his heart breaking in two but before he could say anything a voice made itself known from behind him.

“Dustin!” Steve called out to him, cracking through the air in the kitchen like a hammer against stone. 

The air was sucked out of the room like they’d all entered a vacuum chamber. Dustin stopped dead and the silence that permeated around all of them felt both fragile and immovable at the same time. 

The delicate click of a gun being cocked echoed around them and there was a heartbeat where nothing happened before the room erupted into chaos.

Eddie whipped around but it wasn’t Nancy that had drawn her weapon, it was Hopper. He couldn't even make the appropriate salacious jokes at Steve's expense about that because such a panic had gripped him at the room's collective response, he found himself frozen solid. 

This wasn't going well.

Shit.

Shit!

Robin threw herself in between Steve and Hopper with her hands out, screaming at him to wait! 

Everyone else looked a mix in between terrified and shocked. Like Vecna himself had just manifested in front of them, Max and Lucas were shouting, their heads ping ponging between Steve and Hopper, Mike and Will were shouting questions at Eddie. Joyce had pulled Will back, trying to push him behind her, Jonathan and Argyle were trying to stand defensively in front of Joyce but Jonathan also had a hand fisted in the back of Nancy’s shirt, who was pulling a pistol out of her bag, El was staring up at Steve, silent and considering, Erica oh god Erica was crying, she was just a child, Hopper was barking at the kids and Robin to stand down and Dustin…

Dustin hadn’t moved. He still had his back turned to everyone, both fists clenched so tight the colour had left his knuckles. 

“Shut up!” He screamed, high pitched and cracking, somehow making himself heard over the cacophony of noise that swiftly came to a halt at the sound of his voice.

Steve had an arm around Robin’s waist, having pulled her out of the line of fire while she scrambled against his immeasurable strength to try and get back in front of the barrel of the gun but he too froze at the sound.

Dustin took a deep breath in. “Eddie. What makes you so sure?”

Eddie looked in between Steve and Dustin. What could he say? He couldn’t exactly tell everyone what had transpired in the last twelve hours, he definitely wasn’t going to mention the sex. What had originally convinced him? Would it be enough?

“He…” Eddie swallowed. Somehow he’d never felt more vulnerable than right now, every single eye in the room was on him and he had the power to make or break everything. “He laughed at me? I insulted Vecna to his face and he… he thought it was funny.”

It sounded stupid, it sounded so stupid when he said it out loud. He couldn’t even bear to look up at them all to see how that explanation landed.

After a few seconds of heavy silence, El spoke up.

“What was your insult?”

Eddie glanced at her, she had her head tilted slightly to the side and her face was calm but curious. “I, uh, I called him a lump of unseasoned bolognese.”

“A dickless lump.” Steve interjected, a small smile on his face despite the tension in the room. Like a spell had been cast through the group at the sight of that smile, the strain on them seemed to lessen. Steve probably didn’t even realise he was doing it, there was just something about him now, something about his smile brought calm to them all. Maybe he’d always been that way. Eddie couldn’t really be sure.

Dustin whirled around and stomped his way over to Steve, the rest of the group parting like the Red Sea for him.

He stared up at Steve, an angry tilt to his brow and his jaw set, like he was ready to punch him in the face if he moved wrong.

“How many puffs?”

Eddie supposed the question must have been some kind of test, he certainly didn’t know the answer to whatever the fuck had just been asked, and no one else around him seemed to know either. No one else except for Steve.

“Four.”

Dustin’s lip quivered for just a second before he gathered himself, slamming his eyes shut again and turned his face away.

“El.” He called over his shoulder.

“Dust-” Steve started, reaching out, but was cut off.

“No!” Dustin yanked his shoulder away, his voice sharp and cutting. “I can’t- St-” swallowing harshly he continued a little quieter. “I need to be sure before I can- I need to be sure.”

Steve retracted his hand slowly, letting it fall to his side where it was quickly snatched up by Robin.

“Okay.”

El took a step forward but was halted by Hopper’s hand on her shoulder.

“We don’t know if this is safe.”

“I’ve been inside Vecna’s head.” El took her fathers hand and gently lifted it away. “If Steve is an agent of Vecna he will not be as strong. This is not the most dangerous thing I have ever done.”

“And that makes this okay, does it?”

“What else would you rather do?”

Hopper scowled at her, the downward tilt of his mouth making it clear he didn’t have an answer.

“I still don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it.”

El stepped out of Hopper’s space and towards Steve, holding her hands out and waiting.

Steve nodded down at her before leaning forwards, effectively slotting his head carefully in between her hands and they both closed their eyes.

For two and half long, long minutes the room collectively held its breath, waiting in anticipation for her to draw down her verdict.

Eddie was sure as shit that he hadn’t had sex with Vecna in Steve’s body but god damn if the thought still didn’t make his skin crawl.

El’s brow furrowed and her grip tightened around Steve’s head as though she was trying to burrow her fingers into his skull. Steve grimaced as she dug in hard but held himself steady, his hand still clutched in Robin’s.

Dustin had moved to stand beside Eddie, staring wide eyed at the scene before him. Eddie had never seen him look so young, so small, so lost. He slung an arm around his shoulder and pulled him back towards his chest, holding him firm, trying to impart comfort in any way he could. Dustin sagged into him, barely holding on by a thread.

A small hand slipped into his. Erica refused to look at him but the shake of her hand and her silent tongue told him all he needed to know. For all her bravado and all her snark she was still the baby of the group and by a long shot too. While she protected herself and made herself seen with her attitude, it often made them forget that she was barely out of elementary school.

In some ways she was the biggest victim of all of this, no one else had been thrust into this apocalypse as young as Erica Sinclair.

And based on the little he had heard about how she had gotten introduced to all this, Steve was there. Steve, Robin and Dustin were the ones around trying to keep her safe against some kind of underground Russian spy operation or something. No wonder she was affected by all this.

Eddie pulled her back towards him too, his other arm around her shoulders, all three of them huddled in close together, watching and waiting.

“There’s something else there.” El muttered as her fingers relaxed, gently combing through the parts of Steve’s hair she’d messed up. “This is Steve. You are Steve. You are here. But there is something else here too.”

Steve’s face paled just a fraction. “Vecna’s not in my head.”

“No, it’s not Vecna, it’s something else. A cloud.”

“A good cloud?”

“No.”

The tension in the room ramped straight back up.

“A b- a bad cloud then?”

“No. It’s just a cloud, but pushed and tugged. Made into long legs-”

“The Mind Flayer?!” Will shrieked out in a burst of panic.

“El, is he Flayed?” Joyce asked, somehow calm but straight to the point.

“No. No it’s not like-” not like Billy. “The Flayed were Vecna. Vecna puppeteering The Mind Flayer. This little bit in his head… it’s free.”

“So he’s…” Dustin huffed, his voice cracking again. “El, please, in plain English? Is he safe? Is he Steve? Is he- is he back?”

El nodded. “He is safe, he is Steve, he is back.”

She barely had the words out of her mouth before Dustin had ripped himself away from Eddie to throw himself at Steve. Steve unwound himself from around Robin quicker than should have been possible to be able to catch Dustin in time but catch him he did.

“You- you died. You died! You told me you loved me then you just went and died on me like an asshole. How could you- please, please don’t ever do that again. Swear to me, I can’t… I can’t-” Dustin was screaming, wailing into Steve’s neck, the sound echoing loudly around the room while everyone simultaneously tried not to intrude on their moment while not being able to bear the thought of leaving Steve.

“I know, I’m so sorry, Dusty. I’m so sorry. Never again, I swear on your mother.” Steve tried for humour but even he couldn’t push past all the emotion in his voice. “Never again.” He had his own face buried into Dustin’s hair, his arms wound tight around him, unable to keep his voice from wobbling.

Once Dustin had stopped screaming and cursing and was able to take a few deep breaths, he loosened his arms slightly, allowing Steve to glance up towards the other kids. 

It was all the invitation Max needed. 

She threw herself against Steve and Dustin, clutching on to them for dear life. She had barely made contact before the rest of the kids were rushing forward, grabbing onto any piece of Steve or each other they could reach.

Dustin unwound an arm from around Steve’s neck, opening his body up, looking back towards Eddie and Erica.

She shot forward, being pulled right into the centre of the group hug, right up against Dustin, Steve and Robin.

Robin still had herself pressed in close, her arms around Erica and Dustin while the kids all muttered and cried and punched and breathed. They told Steve they couldn’t lose him again, they practically fell all over themselves to tell him how much they appreciated him, how important he was, the guilt at thinking him dead and having never told him how much he meant had been eating away at all of them for a solid month. They even turned to Robin and told her how happy it made them to have her back too. They’d missed their Aunt Buckley. 

That started a fresh round of tears from everyone.

Movement to his side caught Eddie’s eye. Nancy was standing a little bit away, pale faced and swallowing repeatedly, trying to keep her emotions in check. She looked like she was desperate to throw herself into the fray but didn’t know if she’d be welcome, didn’t know if she was allowed. 

Her eyes were shining and her mouth was tight as Eddie approached her. He took her hand in his and pulled her forward. She turned her wide gaze on him as he led her closer, scared and apprehensive but Steve raised his head and held his own hand out to her. Will and Mike almost immediately shifted to the side, pulling her into the group with them.

Steve sent a short thankful glance Eddie’s way before turning his watery attention back to that wild eclectic group of people that loved him so incredibly.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 AO3

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