#holds her dearly in my hands. everyone look at her she’s Here

[hana-bobo-finch]

GOURDIEEEEEEEE MY BELOVED OOOOOO yeah that’s right it’s Gourdie time. Pretty surprised it took this long for it to be her turn to get a Long Winding Ramble, but she has won the most recent poll (I was very convinced she’d win the before the one she just won but I guess not) so, HERE IT IS (I’ll try to avoid retreading things I’ve already said but it Will happen, it is inevitable)

Uurughhhghi love her…..…ironic, considering the character from the source material she was bastardized into is. heh. let’s just say my least favorite character and I would gladly throw her in a dumpster. But yeah thankfully I don’t hate Gourdie so uhhhh anyhoo, luckily for you (or unluckily depending on how you see it) she has more lore than some of the previous fellas I’ve discussed so this one will be a bit longer than average. But that also means I might forget some stuff and some aspects of her are still kinda messy, whoops!!! But yes Gourdie….love her,..,my favorite stubborn little hopeless romantic….

SAY IT WITH ME FOLKS not much is known about her earlier years!! Unsurprisingly!! She was born in Dagestan (some real life locations do exist but they lack any real life historical details, they merely share the same general geographical climate and certain cultural aspects. Does that kind of not make sense because certain countries’ culture can be heavily influenced by historical events? Absolutely. Do I care? Sort of but it’s not relevant enough for me to worry about it too much). Her original name was Ite, usually nicknamed Knight, though I’ll just keep calling her Gourdie for clarity. She was raised by a single father, Lukeres Wisp (name not final, I came up with it on the spot cough cough moving on), who was very dear to her. Where her mom is, who knows? She never really questioned it. She has a suspicion she’s adopted, which is probably true, but she never got any concrete answer and it doesn’t really matter to her anyway, she sees her father as her dad whether he’s her biological father or not. Lukeres was heavily into mythology and history and such, especially that of royal history and the myth of the fabled “brush your teeth fairy” (gee I hope that thing doesn’t actually exist!) and most of these interests heavily influenced Gourdie. He held off on ever telling Gourdie about TBYTF, though.

Gourdie was a STRAIGHT A STUDENT and EXCELLENT AT EVERYTHING and I’m LYING she was a total mess at everything. Her competitiveness and cockiness definitely did not match her actual abilities. Barely got through school, though was still somewhat popular. She excelled more in physical activities and was a semi-decent songwriter. She wasn’t the greatest at playing instruments, but would often sing over her father playing. Her father’s…interesting taste in music certainly shaped her own musical tastes later in life, that being messier melodies and instruments that seemingly clash in tones (what do you MEAN a didgeridoo and an electric guitar won’t go well together :( )

She has mild achromatopsia (vision condition where you can only see colors very dimly if not in complete greyscale), something that became known surprisingly late in her childhood. Somehow nobody noticed that she couldn’t see any color, and she didn’t notice cause hey, that’s just how the world looks like right? She has some vision issues because of it—she needs dark tinted glasses for her light sensitivity and is very farsighted and thusly bumps into stuff a lot, but rarely wears them because ewww, I don’t need those (YES YOU DO). She’s too stubborn to accept the fact that she needs…anything, really. But she eventually caved in and got contact lenses (FINALLY) (THANK YOU GOURDIE)

She would spend a lot of time by a small creek with a whole buncha fish!! She loved her fish!! Technically they weren’t HERS, but she saw them as her friends. Whether the fish shared the sentiment is unclear. But she loved her fishy friends!! Although she sometimes had trouble discerning the differences between kinds of fish because of her colorblindness. She’d bring some fish to her room in a tank and admire them as they swum around. She just overall loved the FISHY AESTHETIC!!! She made herself FISH SHOULDER-PADS whatever those would look like. Point is, she likes fish!!

As she grew older, she developed an interest in boxing, and was adamant she’d create a career out of it. Her father was a bit more skeptical, gently advising her against it (or at least Gourdie would insist it went like that, he more so outright told her not to but she views him in rose tinted glasses and cannot accept that he was a human being with flaws) but she was, as is expected of her from her stubborn nature, adamant she’d become a boxer.

Then her father fucking CROAKED!!! And not in a frog way! whoops! Yeah so he died when Gourdie was around 17, I’ve been referring to him in the past tense for a reason. It was quite a sudden death, no signs of it coming whatsoever. He had decided to tell her about TBYTF, one of his main areas of research, but he hardly got a word out before he suddenly keeled over dead for seemingly no reason. I mean, you can probably guess that TBYTF had something to do with it. Which would be a correct assumption to make. But Gourdie didn’t know that. The interesting thing with him is that TBYTF scarcely ever kills anyone directly—perhaps he was already ill in some way and what would’ve been non lethal to anyone else was lethal to him. Maybe he knew something nobody else did and a simple illusion wouldn’t be able to shut him up. Maybe a mix of both. Either way, my man was DEAD. Gourdie was, as one would be, quite distressed! She was essentially just told “hey I gotta tell you something really important—“ and then BAM death! She dealt with this quite maturely and I’M LYING AGAIN she did not deal with it well at all. She booked it. Didn’t notify the authorities or anything, just up and left, leaving her old life completely behind to start anew, vowing to make it her life goal to figure out what the hell TBYTF was.

And so, she fled to some weird-ass island owned by some total nobody named Toprumo. She got into boxing, a sport quite popular on the island, despite her father’s wishes for her not to. She was decent, not becoming particularly famous but scraping up enough money to carve out a life for herself. But above all else, she spent her time trying in vain to find any sort of information on TBYTF. None of her efforts were bearing fruit and she was….going a little bit mad from sleep deprivation and stress! It got to the point she was banned from most establishments because she would pester every person there on if they knew anything. Her career was already falling off from her constant exhaustion and she was known more so as “that one girl who gets the police called on her for harassing minimum wage employees about some weird mythical fairy”. But eventually, luck was on her side for once. She went to a drink joint, and in her sleep deprived haze she accidentally answered “the brush your teeth fairy” when asked what she wanted. She expected to get kicked out as by then her reputation preceded her, but she was instead handed a slip of paper with coordinates in it. How bizarre!!!! How mysterious!!!!! She didn’t know what the fuck was going on but decided to roll with it because she had no other leads.

She trudged her way to the coordinates, a secluded building in a mountainous area in the northwest. She was pretty sure she was about to get murdered or something but again, eh, may as well see what happens. She was met by a. very strange trio of people. A pair who she vaguely recognized as the sole descendants of a disgraced royalty (Mole and Bingo), and also just some dumbass who was around her age. The dumbass, who was apparently the leader, explained this was a small operation dedicated to studying TBYTF. She had heard the dumbass be introduced as “pumpkin daddy” so she was like “oh shit we doin funny names huh?” and panicked and introduced herself as Captain Hoop before backtracking and saying her name was Ite. The nickname somewhat stuck though despite her hatred of it. Not a good first impression though! Gourdie was not as impressed with the whole gourd head thing as pumpkin daddy hoped she would be. She just found it disturbing. What do you MEAN a pumpkin infection isn’t awesome :( Gourdie also made a joke about King Arthur and the knights of the round table which she did Not realize was apparently to pumpkin daddy the single scariest thing in the world and he started crying and she just sat there like “can we start researching now or something”

ANYHOO despite her reservations, she agreed to join the group as she really had no other choice. She got all the information they had on TBYTF, which honestly wasn’t much other than that it was believed to be in the north of the island. She shared the information she knew which, again, really wasn’t much. Just that Something happened and then her dad died. Although their initial meeting was…less than stellar, they ended up being the closest of the group as they both kinda agreed, “yeah these other guys are nuts” (as if they themselves aren’t!!!). Which I mean, they were right, mole and bingo were kind of nuts, but point is she and pumpkin daddy were pretty much doing all the work. Turns out they were both pretty kindred spirits, they had a shared crippling fear of the passage of time and in general shared a lotta interests. ALAS! Gourdie is a complete hopeless romantic sappy mess, and she fell for the gourd man (COME ON GIRL WHY HIM!!!). The feeling was mutual and they started dating. Disgusting, they were! A truly overly affectionate couple. Like guys please calm down!! But it gave Gourdie a fresh start in life so good for her I guess.

Getting a cut of the funds of the group, she decided to go to college in between her TBYTF research. She attempted to become a psychologist, as her father wanted. She didn’t see any issues with it, I mean, helping people is good right? She wanted to help people. buuuut as per usual for her in any academic setting she completely flunked everything and had no idea what she was doing. She usually delegated a lot of the work to others to figure out for her, and the work she did do she just blindly guessed. What actually got her through college, though, was review fraud. A crime that she invented. You could just call it bribery, but she did it so often that a new crime was invented just for her. Instead of doing any actual work, she’d just leave gushing, downright propagandistic reviews for all of her professors, and they would pass her. Like this went on for a ridiculous amount of time, she had a real knack for it. She never got in any severe trouble for it, and ended up becoming a therapist! For a very short amount of time! Despite her good intentions she was NOT the therapist type and would usually end up going on her own tangents or trying to “compete” with her patients to see who had the most trauma. She was genuinely trying to help and that makes it even worse, somehow. She didn’t even notice at first when she got her license taken away. She was pissed, but accepted it, and her career as a psychologist came to a quick and probably-for-the-best end.

Thankfully that wasn’t really her main area of interest, anyway. She wanted more so to continue with her boxing career, which she was able to continue with thanks to her reinvigorated spirit. She climbed the ranks pretty quickly, and her competitive nature was FINALLY put to an actual competition and not a therapy session. She never reached the number one spot, but was quite popular in the boxing world, especially due to an injury she sustained in the ring where her hoop earring was violently ripped out, permanently damaging her earlobe. Everyone found it badass so she just rolled with it and it got her a lot of admirers. It didn’t pay the bills though, so she took on a dead end job writing reviews for random products. Not a good career for someone with a track record like her, but it was something.

Around this time she also FOUND A ROACH!!! yeah that’s right there was a minor roach infestation of the group’s headquarters and she found a roach who was semi-evolved. The roach had little red boots and a disco ball in its pocket and would play music and dance. Gourdie LOVED that little gal. Unfortunately, roaches don’t live long, and her precious roach friend died. But she was never forgotten, and influenced and inspired Gourdie for the rest of her life.

And then woah! Marriage! Yeah she didn’t feel like waiting to get married. Waiting is for losers! So she proposed fairly early into the relationship, about a year or so in. The proposal went pretty terribly (apparently it’s not “romantic” to jump off a cliff with a parachute that says ‘MARRY ME’ on it, because it “just looked like you were jumping off a cliff for no reason” and “I seriously thought you were about to die please don’t do that ever again” or whatever. God forbid women have hobbies) BUT despite the messy proposal, pumpkin daddy accepted and they got married. Yippee. She was ecstatic, but alas as we all know this marriage will not last, so enjoy it while it lasts. She changed her name from Ite to Gourdie at this time, as marriage is a common time to choose your new name. You’re already changing the last, may as well change the first too. So yeah she was no longer Ite, she was now Gourdie. Which, if it isn’t obvious enough already, is a terrible name!! Seriously it is just gourd and ie slapped together. I mean, the canon explanation for the name makes sense, yknow she’s married to a guy nicknamed pumpkin daddy so may as well keep up the trend of gourdish names. But the actual reason behind the name is as simple as “I did not want to call her by her actual name and I thought “uhhhh I’m calling this pumpkin daddy’s book club may as well give her a gourd name. I dunno. Gourdie. I’ll change it once I think of something better””. I did not ever think of anything better. More accurately I grew attached to the shitty name and now even if I thought of something absolutely genius, I still wouldn’t change it.

For a while, everything was peachy keen. She got a wedding gift from a friend, that gift being a little puppy. She adored this mutt, naming her Putters and loving her dearly. Putters was an interesting case—on one hand she seemed entirely clueless of the world around her and had no qualms with purposefully disobeying orders and destroying countless pairs of shoes, but oh the other she was a total expert in areas dogs should not be able to be experts in. Putters also burrowed in the floorboards. But Gourdie loved Putters nonetheless. Pumpkin daddy, on the other hand….not so much. He was terrified of Putters, so Gourdie attempted to keep Putters as far away from him as possible. Putters was an incredible golfer, and Gourdie attracted minor fame from taking Putters to tournaments. Tragically, Putters was hit by a car and died. Although, she didn’t, that was a trick and Putters faked her own death, but Gourdie didn’t know that.

Aside from that, though, everything was going rather well for her. Pumpkin daddy had a tragic accident, sure, but he was fiiiiine. She was concerned, yeah, but that turned out relatively fine. Buuuut that “accident” led to a lotta new research being done on TBYTF. Yeah so this was the major point of contention. Shortly after his marriage, pumpkin gave the ownership to his tbytf-research group to Mole and he and Gourdie did more independent research. This research led to some not so great discoveries, eeeyikes!! The prevailing opinion up until then was that TBYTF was a kind being, one not to be feared, one that wants the best for everyone. Spoiler alert this was wrong!! Pumpkin daddy was the one to discover it. It was a slow discovery, it wasn’t a sudden “oh this thing is evil”, it was more so a culmination of suspicions. He tried to tell Gourdie, but by that point she was an avid follower of TBYTF, and was enamored by its powers and its overall existence. Despite having no real evidence to prove her point, she was adamant in her position and refused to hear anything otherwise. This caused a lot of tension in the relationship as one could imagine, but yknow blah blah blah true love prevails and stuff.

But she was growing SKEPTICAL!!! yeah what the hell is up with pumpkin daddy!!! She thought she had a pretty good grasp on that freak, she even wrote a very unprofessional psychological analysis on him (which she would later destroy) but he was acting bizarre. Quite bizarre. He would disappear for long periods of time and would return smelling like crabs. what the hell was he doing!!! he refused to give any explanation which just fueled Gourdie’s already inherent skepticism of everything. Let’s play a fun game, what would you do in this situation? Would you A) attempt to have an actual discussion B) not worry about it because everyone needs time to themselves or C) immediately assume that you are being cheated on with what, a crab person or something? and instead of processing that suspicion properly you immediately jump to write an angsty song about it. If you chose option C, congratulations, you are on the same wavelength as Gourdie because that is exactly what she did! And instead of taking the hint from Gourdie’s song that “HEY SHE IS GROWING SUSPICIOUS OF YOU”, pumpkin daddy completely missed any meaning of the song and was just like “oh that’s a nice song haha you should help me write some music sometime”. But this issue would soon be resolved. Gourdie’s childhood pet fish had died, and yet she insisted on taking it with her everywhere. It got to the point she’d hallucinate little fish on her shoulders like an angel and a devil in cartoons. What does this have to do with anything? Well, she was growing desperate. This fish was essentially all she had from her past after abandoning it all so suddenly. She needed this fish to come back. She had the “genius” idea to take it up to TBYTF and offer it up, seeing if TBYTF could grant it eternal life. And so, one night she climbed to the highest peak, one of the many areas TBYTF resided in, offered it up to TBYTF, the fish was granted new life andOH OK GOURDIE IMMEDIATELY GETS TACKLED

yeah so. turns out that’s where pumpkin daddy was all that time. hangin out in the crab restaurant up in the mountains. And turns out he just so happened to see Gourdie doing her whole fishy ritual, but he was just a bit too late to stop her. Seeing the crab restaurant, Gourdie immediately put the pieces together and was like “OH YOU WERE JUST HANGING OUT AND EATING CRABS. THATS WHAT YOUVE BEEN DOING. THAT MAKES SENSE” and was quite happy. Pumpkin daddy was not! He was incredibly pissed that she was, you know, making a demonically possessed fish! The argument got pretty heated (meanwhile there was the very first fish person—surprisingly not sushi, she comes later—coming to life in the background, about to be the most annoying character who thankfully does, by all means, nothing whatsoever), this being the first real time they got into an actual argument over the ethics of TBYTF. The fight was pretty quickly broken up by Bellona who really just wanted to eat her crab in peace. So that was an awkward first introduction. yeah sup it’s me your husband’s archenemy. can you please shut the fuck up so I can have a peaceful meal (not to mention that both she and pumpkin daddy had been actively fighting moments prior so she looked like she just got hit by a truck)

But uh. All that ended well I guess, pumpkin daddy apologized for not telling her about the crab stuff (honestly a fair thing to do, even being in the same proximity as crabs can be punishable by death so it’s best to keep that private) and Gourdie and Bellona struck up a friendship. Like an actual friendship, not the whole “I seriously am this close to killing you at any given moment I detest the ground you walk upon” kinda thing she and pumpkin daddy had goin on. After that, Gourdie would occasionally go to the crab restaurant with them. What happened to the fish? Uhhh well that first fish—she doesn’t really have an actual name—went a bit rogue. Did Gourdie regret anything, no. Did she wish things had gone differently, definitely. That fish lady, as she’s simply called, is rather annoying and does nothing but scream “bah humbug” every day except for, ironically, Christmas, in which she momentarily becomes a better, loving person. But then she reverts back to normal. Point being, original fish lady is bad news, she’s really annoying! But thankfully she didn’t bother Gourdie much, so Gourdie was able to continue her life as normal.

And Gourdie became the LEDI CHAMPION!!! what is ledi, you may ask? Yeah I’m not gonna beat around the bush, it is very literally just a Wii, and the name is just an abbreviation and/or portmanteau of Legally Distinct. Ledi is very literally just a legally distinct Wii. So. For all intents and purposes it is a Wii. She became the champion of Wii sports. Truly an…impressive accomplishment. Yeah so Gourdie has a huge interest in Wii games like Wii sports or Wii sports resort. She takes them way too seriously. But that passion ended up with her being the champion, whatever that entails, so…good for her? It’s not really relevant to the story or anything but it is an aspect of her worth mentioning. She hasn’t lost a single game. She once almost lost against pumpkin daddy, but luckily for her, he got appendicitis at the last second and couldn’t finish the game! What a relief! Her winning streak didn’t end! Also worth mentioning she tried to do an at home surgery using a knife taped to a Wii remote 🥰🥰 what a loving wife 🥰🥰🥰 (TAKE HIM TO A HOSPITAL) (PLEASE GOURDIE JUST TAKE HIM TO A HOSPITAL PUT DOWN THE WII REMOTE).

Moving on! Bam! Child! Yyyup my boy Extra came into existence when Gourdie was around 25ish? “That’s pretty young to become a mom” EXCELLENT OBSERVATION this girl has ZERO patience and was speed running life along with pumpkin daddy. They are a match made in HELL they have NO concept of waiting. But anyway. I’ve rambled a lot about Extra before so I won’t get into him too much here, but point is, Gourdie was a pretty good mom. She faced much less of the brunt of Extra’s bitterness, and shockingly was much more nurturing and motherly than one would expect. I mean, she failed miserably at being a therapist, the idea of her being kind to children seems a bit far fetched but nah she was a good parent. Everyone was happy, everything was going well. She ended up stopping her boxing career due to the physical toll motherhood took on her, but she didn’t mind it too much.

Then pumpkin daddy had to go be an idiot and buy the island. Yeah. There was already a ton of boiling tension between them, but that decision was enough to push it all over the edge. Why it ticked Gourdie off so much, who knows? Probably just that it’s a prime example of his impulsiveness. Whatever the reason, they split. Which wasn’t a decision Gourdie made with any enthusiasm, mind you, she was completely heart broken that things weren’t working out. Absolutely soul crushingly heart broken. And so what do you do when you’re heartbroken? You make another fish person!! And out of spite, you create an entire clan based around fish people!

Yup Gourdie then founded the fish clan out of pure spite. She didn’t go to TBYTF directly to make fish people, no—she wouldnt admit to it, but she had a feeling she shouldn’t go back to TBYTF for her fish business after what happened last time—so she instead went to JS. JS is just some guy who happened to become a literal god. Her going to JS was…an incredibly bad decision for a variety of reasons, but he accepted her request and gave human life to all the fish in a small area of the surrounding oceans, and to Gourdie’s current pet archerfish named Sushi (which, unlike before, this one was still alive at the time). And so, Sushi was given human life, and Gourdie was ecstatic, and OH SHIT HOW DO YOU TAKE CARE OF A FISH PERSON. Gourdie panicked, realizing that oh, wait, sushi can’t breathe properly, what the hell do I do. In her panic, she brought sushi to tbytf where she once again bumped into pumpkin daddy who was hangin out up there as he so often did. Gee, I wonder where I’ve heard all this before. This time however pumpkin daddy didn’t start screaming at her (though he was certainly pissed) and instead helped her out by keeping sushi alive long enough for Gourdie to think of something to do. Which, she actually did, developing a sort of water pump to keep sushi breathing (kinda like the opposite of an oxygen tank) so good job Gourdie I guess!!

She actually loved sushi quite a bit, even if she kinda almost left her for dead in her panic at first. Her precious archerfish child. Sushi was a bit of a handful sometimes, especially while simultaneously dealing with extra being angsty and wanting to move out, but Gourdie and sushi were generally rather similar in demeanor, making it easy for them to get along. Gourdie made one big mistake though while raising sushi—she instilled a deep sense of patriotism for the fish clan. Constant reminders that the fish clan would reign supreme, it would have eternal glory, etc etc, and sushi would someday be the leader of it. In all honesty sushi probably took her words a bit too deeply to heart, Gourdie could be a bit hyperbolic, but sushi didn’t realize this and took it all at face value: her entire purpose was the fish clan, without the fish clan she was nothing. So uh. Good job there Gourdie, I’m sure this won’t bite you in the ass later on!

Fortunately for Gourdie, but unfortunately for sushi, the time they spent apart left Gourdie and pumpkin daddy yearning for each other. True love or some shit like that. Point is that pumpkin daddy attempted to win back Gourdie with the COOLEST the HOTTEST the GREATEST thing to ever exist:

A GIANT, DRIVEABLE VERSION OF A HESS FIRETRUCK TOY FROM THE YEAR 2000 BABYYYYYY 🦅🦅🦅💥💥💥💥 this for whatever reason won over Gourdie and all marital issues went out the window because THAT TRUCK IS SO COOL!!! Cmon you wouldn’t be able to resist either. just look at it.

But uh. Yeah. They reconnected after spending a few years apart, and nearly instantly clicked again. Gourdie was introduced to all the nonsense pumpkin daddy had been doing, like the hybrids, the alcoves, and she found it all incredible. Pumpkin daddy was a bit less enthusiastic about the fish people stuff, but he didn’t complain. They still would go off an on in their relationship, but for the most part they were on decent terms. He and Gourdie would spend a lot of time in the alcoves. She eventually abandoned the fish clan entirely, switching to the co-leader of the pumpkin clan, which left Sushi beyond pissed, because she was still in the mindset that the fish clan was the only thing that mattered in life. So sushi developed some resentment towards Gourdie, whoops!!

As I said in some previous rambles, not a whole lot happened around this time in terms of plot. There were a lotta random events, sure, but nothing extremely important to the plot itself. A brief respite from everything. But that would not last because NOOOOO POLITICAL TENSION!!! People wanted pumpkin daddy dead. And Gourdie was very against this. She infiltrated a group known as the “mischief flock”, a group that while wasn’t directly planning his demise, it was certainly likely they’d be involved if it did happen. Calling the mischief flock an actual group makes it sound like it had some sort of structure. It did not. At all. But some of the people involved had stake in the political tension, so it was important to keep an eye on them while pumpkin daddy tried in vain to patch everything up and keep the system running. Wheezer was the only pumpkin clan enthusiast of the group, so she tended to gravitate towards him. Though she…may have deafened him by screaming at him with a megaphone but that’s neither here nor there. The biggest threat was MB. remember her? no? Yeah she’s not really that relevant. Kurt’s mom. She was out for BLOOD. So gourdie did what any loving wife would do and killed her wait what

Gourdie accidentally killed MB while trying to prevent her from causing any problems. It was an honest mistake, they were in a secluded part of the forest and gourdie simply threw a rock at her in defense, but her aim was a bit too good and she got a perfect shot right at MB’s skull. Gourdie was HORRIFIED, as killing is one of the few things that are completely unacceptable. In a panic she hid the corpse and continued on in the mischief flock like nothing happened. “What happened to MB” “oh I dunno lol she was here a second ago”. The body was eventually recovered and the blame was pinned on an apparent bear attack, which led to a nationwide fear of bears. If bears can conk you in the head with rocks, who knows what else they’re capable of? Gourdie took this secret to the grave, she didn’t tell anyone about what actually happened. But it continued to weigh on her conscience.

Speaking of death, then Kurt died! And wouldn’t you know it, it was sushi who did it! Yikes! Sushi also attempted to kill Gourdie, but gourdie managed to get the hell outta there along with pumpkin daddy. But that incident absolutely destroyed their marriage!! Again!! Despite their relationship being the best it had been in years, the war’s beginning shook them both up so much they blamed each other and went back to hating each other. whoops!!! Skipping ahead a bit just because I don’t want to have to go every little detail and also it’s getting late and I REALLY don’t want to stay up all night writing this uh. ANYWAY the negotiations were set to happen, which Gourdie was to attend, being the co-leader of the pumpkin clan.

But as you all know, the negotiations went horribly. She didn’t realize Extra would be there and brought her pet dogs, leading to him having an allergic reaction, leading to Gourdie and pumpkin daddy having yet another argument. She attempted to give him a gift to smooth things over but uh. Wheezer ended up creating an eldritch horror with it but that’s a story for another day. But pumpkin daddy did accept her apology, and agreed arguing over what sushi did was pointless. But the day is not saved because where the hell did pumpkin daddy go. While pumpkin daddy was missing, Gourdie busied herself by…getting into a ton of fights. Especially with wheezer. Like full on brawls. Extra was much more concerned with pumpkin daddy’s disappearance, but gourdie was awfully chill about it, kinda just shrugging it off cause eh he just be like that sometimes (HE IS ACTIVELY DYING). The Ramsay clan was, as usual, trying to screw things up, but when Gourdie attempted to prevent them from causing any problems, she ran into a whole bunch of squirrels. I’ve talked about this in the Fina ramble already but uh yup. HERE COME THE SQUIRRELS!!! Gourdie (who was already somewhat skeptical of Fina, but had her suspicions confirmed by Extra, making her a prime target) was carried off by Fina’s squirrel army, and was brutally attacked by them. She survived due to medical care being immediately available (“why was there medical care on site” BECAUSE THERE WAS A FIGHT CLUB BEING CREATED) but ended up losing both arms. she was provided prosthetics shortly after, but she found them incredibly hard to adjust to.

She was just….overall Very confused the entire time, as was everyone. Nobody really knew what the hell was going on at any point during the negotiations. Pumpkin daddy was eventually tracked down and uh. She kinda ended up ruining his life!! His life was in shambles anyway, but she prevented extra from telling him about the whole “hey Fina is trying to kill you” thing because awww that would hurt his feelings!! Obviously that backfired instantly when Fina did, in fact, try to kill him. Fina didn’t succeed, of course, but uhhhhh well ermmm yknow everything kinda gets wacky and everything explodes and shit and uhhhh quick look it’s a Hess fire truck toy from the year 2000!!!

that oughta satiate you while I try to figure out what the hell happened at this point in the story because it gets so confusing and everyone in the story is confused and I’m confused and you’re probably confused and uh. Well, pumpkin daddy disappeared off the face of the earth with only a cryptic email in his wake, so she was put in charge of the pumpkin clan. She ended up voting to dissolve the clans entirely, bringing an end to the war. To add insult to injury, his (alleged) death happened on December 25, which is her birthday. happy birthday Gourdie you get depression!!

AIGHT. Luckily for you guys, Gourdie actually has a somewhat coherent ending. Yup. That last section was confusing nonsense, but thankfully things get a bit more sensible in the ending. The ending is pretty much Gourdie’s time to shine. Uh. Sort of. She’s certainly the main part of the ending but my girl is NOT shining.

She was not doing well!!! Not at all. Since pumpkin daddy had completely disappeared and was presumed dead, everything was changing and Gourdie did NOT approve. Everyone was moving on WAY too fast for her to handle. The culture was shifting away from the preexisting traditions, everything just felt wrong. On a more positive note, she reconnected with Sushi and removed the fishiness from her as a way to help sushi start a new life, but Gourdie herself? SUFFERING!!! Her life was in shambles, she lost a ton of people close to her, and everyone she did have left were growing tired of her constant downcast attitude. Everyone was practically begging her to just READ THE EMAIL. Gourdie refused to read a single word of the cryptic email left by pumpkin daddy, because if she did, she would have nothing more of him left. So may as well prolong reading the email so he can never die, right?? (THATS NOT HOW IT WORKS GOURDIE!!!) it was becoming increasingly obvious that while everyone else was slowly moving on, she wasn’t. At all. To the point she couldn’t even stand Sushi’s wedding and stormed out halfway through.

The final straw was when she had to host the harvest festival, which had been going on for years under the strict supervision of pumpkin daddy. Having to host it like nothing had happened completely broke her and she ended up screaming at a bear on a unicycle (the bear deserved it btw). She was finally pressured into just READING THE STUPID EMAIL ALREADY to get SOME sort of closure. Nobody had been able to figure out what the email actually meant, so really the chances of Gourdie getting any sort of closure from it were slim.

But not zero!!! After sleepless nights of trying to figure out what it meant, she eventually realized it was in an extremely annoying code of his, that, when translated, was the same coordinates she had initially received while trying to study TBYTF. The original meeting place had been long destroyed by then, considering that it had blossomed into the Ramsay clan headquarters which had been bombed, but nevertheless she followed the coordinates back there and wait what the FUCK is he doing there

yeah so. he was alive, as prophesied by the stupid unicycle bear she had screamed at. At least, it appeared he was alive. Alas, it is not so cut and dry as that, as it’s just as likely that what was actually “him” was just an illusion. This was, after all, near where TBYTF roamed. Whatever the case, Gourdie too disappeared. So she either had a happy ending where she reunited with pumpkin daddy and is doing who knows what now whatever they are, or she got caught in an illusion and is now fucking Dead.

See, the funny thing is I don’t have to decide which is the truth! I can just take the cheap way out and say it’s up for interpretation, which makes it sound like it was a smart and thought out ending, which it was not. So it’s up to you to decide, she either is alive wherever she is, or she’s another name on the long list of fatalities! Yippee!

And on a completely different note, tis random trivia time…..

• She wears boots. A lot. Huge fan of platform heels. No particular reason why, she just likes them. They also add a few inches to her height which really isn’t necessary considering she’s already over 6 feet but. Eh. Go off queen

• Her online name strikes fear into the hearts of many. It is IteKnight. Beware of any users named IteKnight because she WILL leave a false review

• she is SO incredibly sweet, ik she seems a lil…interesting, but I swear on my life she is wonderful

• She’s a huge fan of sevvra the gecko psychologist!!! He’s her favorite character. Unfortunately he was ruined for her, as she went to the hybrid of him for therapy and he, instead of telling her how to deal with grief, diagnosed her with schizophrenia and then cancer of all things (as if he has any right to diagnose cancer??) thankfully she saw right through his charades and left.

• Even though pumpkin daddy is scared of King Arthur she still has an interest in such things, she even has a sword she likes to play around with but she keeps it deep in the closet so it doesn’t scare him

• Her design was all over the place for a while. She started off as a purposefully sloppy doodle while I was doing schoolwork, which I then polished up, but I then recycled most of the design for a different character, but then I changed my mind and gave the design back to Gourdie and just. yeah up until recently no two drawings of her looked the same

that is all oooughhh this was a long one I can’t believe I got this done in one night

[amirasainz]

Omg my queen. Can please write reader comforting Lando after today's race. I saw the story of the F1 Insta page where he was followed and he looked so annoyed.

Of course I can ♥️

Enjoy reading and send some requests

-xoxo, Babygirl 💋

In my arms

The sun was beginning to set over the Circuit of the Americas, casting a golden hue over the paddock. The buzz from the Austin Grand Prix was still in the air, but for Lando, it felt more like a suffocating cloud than a thrilling atmosphere. His 5-second penalty had cost him dearly, dropping him from a potential podium finish to a disappointing 4th place result. The frustration and disappointment twisted in his gut as he trudged back toward the McLaren hospitality area.

He’d barely made it a few steps when the media swarmed him like a pack of wolves. Reporters thrust microphones in his face, clamoring for his thoughts on the race, while fans crowded around, eager for a selfie or autograph. Lando tried to muster polite responses, but his voice was strained, his body language tense. The weight of the cameras and voices bearing down on him felt overwhelming.

“Lando! Do you think the penalty was fair?”

“How does this result impact your momentum for the next race?”

“Lando, over here! Can we get a quick interview?”

He could feel himself growing more tense by the second. The crowd pressed closer, and all he wanted was to escape. He kept walking, his pace quickening, but the reporters and fans followed him, their persistent demands ringing in his ears.

He spotted a small gap in the crowd and darted through, catching a glimpse of his girlfriend, Y/N, standing a little distance away, her back turned as she spoke with one of the McLaren staff. Relief washed over him like a wave. She was the one person who could calm the storm brewing inside of him. He broke away from the mob, pushing his way through with a few hurried apologies, and headed straight for her.

The McLaren team members had noticed his approach and stepped in to keep the crowd back, forming a barrier between him and the throng of people still trying to get his attention. As he got closer, Y/N still hadn’t noticed him, her focus on the conversation she was having.

Without saying a word, he reached out and grabbed her hand, spinning her around to face him. Before she could even react, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, pulling her into a firm embrace. He buried his face in the curve of her neck, his breathing ragged and uneven as he inhaled the soothing scent of her shampoo, the familiar lavender fragrance beginning to calm his frayed nerves.

“Lando?” Y/N’s voice was soft, surprise clear in her tone as her arms instinctively came up to wrap around his back. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t answer right away. His grip tightened around her, one hand moving up to cradle the back of her head, fingers tangled gently in her hair. He just needed to hold her, to feel the grounding comfort of her touch. The world around them seemed to fade; the voices of the crowd dulled, and all he could focus on was the warmth of her body against his.

She wasn’t used to him being so openly affectionate in public. Normally, Lando preferred to keep their relationship low-key, sharing a quick kiss on the cheek or holding hands when they were out in the paddock. This display, however, was something else entirely, and it startled not just Y/N but everyone around them.

But she could feel his desperation, the weight of his need for her comfort, and she instinctively responded by rubbing his back in soothing circles. “It’s okay, Lando,” she whispered, her voice barely audible to anyone but him. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”

He finally pulled back just enough to look at her, his eyes meeting hers, a mix of frustration and vulnerability in his gaze. “I just—” His voice cracked slightly, and he swallowed hard, trying to compose himself. “That race was… I just couldn’t get it right. The penalty… everything.”

Y/N’s heart broke a little at the sight of him like this. She gently cupped his face, her thumbs brushing over his cheeks. “You did the best you could, okay? That penalty wasn’t fair, but that doesn’t take away from how hard you fought out there. You’re still my superstar.” She gave him a small, encouraging smile, her voice steady and full of conviction. “You’ll come back stronger next time.”

He leaned into her touch, his eyes closing as he took another deep breath. Her words wrapped around him like a protective shield, easing the sting of his disappointment. The frustration that had built up in his chest started to loosen, replaced by a sense of calm he only ever found with her.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he murmured, opening his eyes to meet her gaze again. His hand slid from her waist to cradle the side of her face as he leaned in, pressing a deep, desperate kiss to her lips. It wasn’t just a peck, but a kiss filled with everything he hadn’t been able to express—his frustration, his need for her, his gratitude.

Y/N returned the kiss, her hand curling around his neck as she tried to pour all her reassurance into the moment. She could feel the eyes of the people around them, but she didn’t care. Lando needed her, and she was there for him, regardless of who was watching.

When they finally broke apart, she pressed her forehead against his, her fingers gently raking through the hair at the nape of his neck. “Let’s get you inside,” she said softly. “You need some time to just breathe.”

He nodded, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah… I think that’s a good idea.”

She took his hand in hers and began to gently guide him towards the McLaren hospitality, away from the lingering stares and the buzzing energy of the paddock. A couple of McLaren staff members stayed close, making sure the path was clear for them, while Y/N kept Lando’s hand securely in hers.

As they walked, she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “You know, I’m still so proud of you,” she said, glancing up at him with a warm smile. “It’s easy to celebrate the good days, but it’s how you handle the tough ones that really shows your strength. And I think you handled today with more grace than you realize.”

Lando let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, a genuine smile finally breaking through. “You always know what to say, don’t you?”

She shrugged playfully. “That’s my job, isn’t it? Being the smart, supportive girlfriend.”

He chuckled softly, the sound lighter than it had been all day. “I’d say you’re overqualified.”

As they reached the entrance to the hospitality, Y/N turned to face him again, her hand resting against his chest. “Why don’t you go relax for a bit? I’ll bring you something to drink. Maybe even sneak you some snacks.”

“I think I’d like that,” he said, his voice tender. He leaned down and gave her one more kiss, softer this time, filled with quiet gratitude.

Y/N watched as he finally disappeared inside, her heart swelling with love for the man she’d just helped pick up off the ground. He was strong, yes, but even the strongest needed someone to lean on, and she was determined to be that someone for him, always.

As she walked back in, she could still hear the faint buzz of the media outside, but for the moment, everything was quiet. And for Lando, in the solace of the McLaren hospitality, it was enough.

[stevie-petey]

episode three: the monster and the superhero

“Breaking and entering into the school to retrieve confidential and extremely personal files.” You wince. It’s as bad as it sounds. Tapping Dustin’s shoulder, you break him away from the walkie. “Wait, we won’t need my files, right?” Steve eyes you up and down, shrugging indifferently. “Well–” Hitting his chest, he sputters at you. “Why do you keep doing that?” “You’re not reading my files, Harrington.”

Summary: you and steve can never have a normal conversation, dustin threatens nasa, eddie sadly eats his cereal because youre mean to him, youre once again nancys biggest fan, dustin and steve have an awkward heart to heart, and you and max become felons together and trauma bond (again) !

Rating: general, some swearing

Warnings: swearing, fem!reader, use of y/n, mentions of blood, trauma lol

Words: 13.5k

Before you swing in: hi hi hi !! so so so sorry for the wait. this chapter was a pain to write and i was so busy with school and work :( promise updates will become more regular soon. i was just simply in the trenches for a hot few weeks. things in the story are heatin up, so get ready gamers. anyways, enjoy !!

–

It’s quiet in Steve’s car. 

Streetlights glow faintly, lighting the way home. The windows are down; the thick late spring air fills the car with the bittersweet scent of honeysuckles in bloom. In the dim of the car lies Steve’s faint outline as he drives. His hands rest against the steering wheel, his chest rises slowly as he inhales all the fear that settles inside the car. 

No one speaks. The tension is suffocating you. 

In the backseat resides Robin with Dustin and Max. The oldest sits in the middle, her fingers drum nervously against the head of your seat. Dustin stares out the window, he hasn’t looked at you ever since promising Eddie you’d be back for him tomorrow. He hadn’t wanted to leave him, he begged you to let him stay in the boathouse, but you wouldn’t let him. 

Max stares out the other window. Her eyes are closed, she’s pretending to be asleep. You’ve come to learn what she looks like when she pretends. Her nose pinches slightly, her eyes can never stay still enough to convince you she’s asleep. It’s what she does whenever she doesn’t want to face your questions, your concerns and your fears. 

Tension builds in the back of your skull, a dull throb rings within your ears. Exhaustion washes over you, fear pierces her nails into your skin. You can’t get Eddie’s terrified eyes out of your head. The way his voice trembled, the sticky blood on his fingernails from the skin he picked at. 

If they’re back again, we need to know.

Vecna’s curse.

The static Eddie felt, Chrissy’s trance-like state. Her bones, the morbid angles they snapped. Barbara Holland, daughter and best friend. Bob Newby, superhero. Billy Hargrove, dearly missed son. Jim Hopper, renown chief and beloved father. 

You’re the best of them, kid.

If the gate really has opened once again… Thick molasses grief coats your tongue and fills your mouth with remorse. There has been so much loss, so many funerals you’ve had to attend. Too many bodies buried without answers, without closure. 

Over and over again. 

“We’re here, Robin.” The gravel of Steve’s voice cuts through the endless dread. He parks the car in front of her driveway, the lights are off inside and you know that Robin is afraid of the dark.

“Need me to walk you in?” You ask her, quiet, but unyielding with all the love you have for her. 

She shakes her head. “No, it’s okay. I’m brave, aren't I always brave?”

“The bravest,” Steve smiles at her, soft and unbroken. “Get some sleep, yeah?”

“I’ll… I’ll try.” Her facade slips, the fear that grips everyone tightens its hold. How could anyone sleep at a time like this? She shakes her head again, her smile returns, albeit forced, tired. Then she messily crawls over Dustin to exit the car, ignoring his cries of annoyance and pain when her elbow catches his ribs. “Sorry, little Henderson!”

“I don’t even let Steve call me that–”

“Too late, I’ve already decided to call you little Henderson,” Robin climbs out the car, lands with a soft thud on the pavement. She shuts the door with a glint in her eyes before poking her head through your passenger window. “Hey, uh. Y/N?” Her voice drops low, her eyes skirt to Steve, whose cool gaze meets her weary one. Robin clears her throat, you nod your head at her with slight concern. You know that she knows about your argument with Steve. He adores her, what he doesn’t confide in you, he confides in her. Knowing that Robin means well, you soften your voice. “Yeah?”

Robin hesitates, caught between her two favorite people in the entire world. Steve sees her hesitancy and sighs, turning away to provide some semblance of privacy. Relieved, Robin ducks her head down and whispers into your ear, “Talk to him.”

She’s gone before you can exhale. 

Steve starts the car again after Robin has safely made it inside her home. Max and Dustin are quiet in the backseat. As Steve drives, his fingers absentmindedly play with the frayed edges of his leather bracelet. It had been a gift from you, the word constants etched into the material. 

Constants. You were Steve’s constant, he was yours. Through everything you’ve been through together, all the heartbreak suffered in order to fall into one another, he’s the constant within your life. 

Now you’re afraid that you’re losing him. 

There’s still so much Steve doesn’t know. There are stories about your father that you still need to tell him about. Words Jonathan told you last night, the dangerous what if he brought into your life. You’re terrified of how Steve will react, he’s always been so trusting of you and Jonathan even after knowing the history you share. 

And yet Steve also doesn’t know that the future you see involves him, that he’s in it with as much certainty as the sky is blue; you just don’t know how to tell him this, how to articulate the abandonment that sits heavy within your chest that prohibits you from getting what you want in the end.

You have to talk to him. Steve deserves to know everything, all he’s ever asked of you is to be honest with him. 

The broken lamppost in front of Max’s trailer greets you. Steve slows the car, puts it into park. His eyes find hers in the rearview mirror. “This is you, Mayfield.”

“Thanks,” Max responds quietly. She goes to open the car door, but you turn in your seat and stop her. 

“Hey, look at me.” Your tone leaves no room for arguments. She listens, her blue eyes meeting your gaze. For a moment you see Billy’s eyes reflecting within hers. It’s only for a brief second, it ends before you can even realize what’s happened. Startled, you momentarily choke on your words. “I–”

Max raises an eyebrow at you. You’ve been acting strange all night, she doesn’t understand why. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Her words couldn’t be more ironic, more painful to hear. “I-I’m sorry.” Billy is dead, he’s gone. You shake your head, try to get his eyes out of your head. “Just… promise me you’ll call if anything happens, please?”

You know that Max isn’t in any danger, she’s safe at home with her mother, but across the street resides yellow caution tape and boarded up windows. Eddie’s trailer is across from Max’s, the proximity makes you uncomfortable. It’s an eerie feeling, Chrissy died here last night. 

Max seems to understand your concern, and she allows herself to nod. She doesn’t want to fight you, not tonight. “I will, promise.”

Squeezing her hand, you leave Max with a soft reminder to get some sleep. She smiles, a hidden joke between the two of you. Both of you know that there will be no sleeping tonight. 

Once she’s gone, it’s just you, Steve, and Dustin remaining in the car. Tension creeps slowly upon the three of you. Dustin’s never ending annoyance towards you clashes with all the unspoken words left floating between you and Steve. 

Dustin coughs awkwardly. Steve’s fingers tap anxiously on the steering wheel. You keep your head down, your fingers pick at the skin between your nails. The ten minute drive from Max’s house to yours is unbearably long. Stuck at one of Hawkins’ only stop lights, Dustin can’t take the silence any longer.

“Well, this is awkward.” He says to no one in particular. “Lots of tension tonight, huh?”

Neither you nor Steve laugh, and Dustin rests his head against the seat in defeat. He understands why you and him aren’t talking, he’s still angry with you for holding a knife to Eddie’s neck. What he doesn’t understand, however, is why there seems to be so much distance between you and Steve tonight.

Normally you’d be all over one another by now. The two of you can never keep your hands off of each other. As much as Dustin hates it, he’s grown used to the way your hands are always intertwined with Steve’s. Whenever he’s in the car with you guys, your hand always rests against Steve’s arm as he drives. At red lights Steve will always turn to you, pulled in by your smile. 

Except tonight Dustin doesn’t think he’s seen Steve look at you once during the drive home. Your hand rests softly at your side, balled into a small fist. There’s a coldness between the two of you, one Dustin is ashamed to admit that he hadn’t noticed before. 

Then he remembers last night. He’d been too lost in his anger towards you to recognize the tears in your voice. He hadn’t even stopped to consider that you wanted a code blue for any other reason besides lecturing him. His stomach twists with guilt at his own selfish actions. 

Something happened between you and Steve, and you had needed your brother last night. But he had abandoned you, denied the code blue you’d needed so desperately. 

When Steve’s car pulls into your driveway, Dustin runs out as soon as the vehicle stops. He’s frantic to escape his guilt, to escape the chasm that surrounds you and Steve. Slamming the door, he shouts, “Talk to each other!” Then, as an afterthought, he adds, “Good luck, Steve!”

The slam of the door echoes into the night. 

It’s just you and Steve, now. 

The air stills between you, reminiscent of the night you drove him home from the Halloween party. A year has passed since then, it’s been so long since Steve’s presence made you feel anything other than peace. The strings that have always followed you constrict against your throat. 

“We need to talk,” Steve says, but at the same time you say, “We need to talk about Jonathan.”

The words come tumbling out of your mouth, slipping through the grooves of your teeth before you can stop them. They’d been building within you all day, fizzling to the surface. And now they spill out into the silence of Steve’s car. 

His head turns to you, the street lights illuminate the shock and confusion on his handsome face. It pinches with bewilderment, he doesn’t understand. He had been ready to apologize to you, despite still not being able to comprehend how you don’t see a future with him. Steve doesn’t want to fight with you anymore, he was ready to just forgive and forget and hold your hand without the weight of guilt behind it.

Steve had been ready to salvage your relationship, and now you want to talk about Jonathan?

“Jonathan?” Shamefully, his voice cracks. He feels like a helpless little kid again, his stomach twists with the foreboding nausea that something bad is about to happen. “Why… why do you want to talk about him?”

The raw frailty on Steve’s face almost kills you. He’s drawing into himself again, preparing for the final blow that will decimate him and everything he knows.

You take a deep breath. This won’t be easy, nothing you’ve ever had to do has been easy. But Steve deserves to know. To hide something from him feels foreign, to lie to him feels like a betrayal. 

“Jonathan, he–” Your voice shakes almost as violently as your hands do. Steve is looking at you but you can’t bear to face him just yet. “He called me last night, after our… after our fight.”

“What did he say, Y/N?” Steve knows, even before you tell him, where this is going. The light in your eyes whenever you talk about Jonathan is gone. His name doesn’t grace your face with a smile. Instead, the grimace of guilt replaces it. Steve’s stomach twists into tighter knots. It’s happening again.

Inhaling, you close your eyes and try to commit to memory the before. How Steve looked at you with such adoration before tonight. How his soft hands, laced with trust, felt against your skin before tonight. His open gaze, one filled with vulnerability, stared into you before tonight. 

Opening your eyes, you exhale. Nothing will ever be the same again. “Jonathan asked me if I ever wondered if… if we made a mistake. Him and I.”

“A mistake?” Steve’s jaw tightens. 

“I think-I think he was asking me if I ever… thought about what could’ve happened between us. If somehow,” you swallow, the words cement in your mouth. “If-if somehow we made a mistake, choosing you and Nancy.”

Steve is quiet. The muscles in his body pull tightly together. He fills with venom, anger and jealousy and hurt; so much hurt. “And you think he’s right.”

It isn’t phrased as a question. 

Immediately your body turns to his. “No! God, no,” your hands search for any expanse of his skin you can find. Steve doesn’t lean into you, he doesn’t react to your touch. Panic overwhelms you, suddenly all you can do is talk and plead and beg. “Steve, I don’t think Jonathan even knew what he was saying, okay? H-he was high, and he’s been so lonely and-and he kept saying things were easy between me and him but-but that’s not how love is supposed to work and I know he’s just scared. He’s scared and he’s never been so alone before and I think-he’s just lost, okay? He’s lost and–” 

“Why are you telling me this, Y/N?” The hardness in Steve’s voice cuts into you, stings your skin. He isn’t screaming, not like he did last night, but you almost wish he were. The way his voice is leveled, cold and hard, scares you even more. 

“Would you rather I didn’t?” You’re helpless against his anger, you know he has every right to be, but you don’t know how to fix this.

Steve laughs bitterly. “I’d rather you not make shitty excuses for the asshole.”

“I’m not making excuses for him, I just wanted you to understand–”

“You are!” His voice raises slightly, almost imperceptibly so, but you hear it anyways. Steve’s chest rises and falls quickly. His hands fly wildly everywhere, he doesn’t know what to do, either. Then, almost as quickly as the anger surfaced, insecurity replaces it. “Is… Jonathan why you don’t see a future with me?”

Your fingers tighten around his wrist, almost as if you’re afraid he’ll slip between your fingers any second now. “I do see a future with you–”

“Pretty fucking hard to believe when you’re wearing the goddamn necklace he got you.” The words drip with acid. They’re hissed out with a jaw clenched so tightly you’re afraid he’ll somehow hurt himself.

The words startle you, catch you off guard. Your hand slips from Steve’s wrist. He’s never once insinuated any jealousy regarding you and Jonathan. He’s always been so trusting of you two together, he’s always been kind towards him. He always knew that he could never touch what you guys have, and yet his gaze now flickers cruelly to the bee pendant that rests against your neck. 

What Steve has said hurts you, deeper than he ever intended to. He knows how you love, how deeply you care for others. It’s who you are. Regardless of the hurt he may be feeling right now, it doesn’t give him the right to throw this crucial part of you back in your face. 

“I’m made of pieces of everyone I’ve ever loved, Steve. You know this.” The bee pendant rests against your skin as heavily as the charm bracelet does. 

And Steve does know that you’re made of pieces of everyone in your life. It’s what he loves the most about you. His eyes follow where your fingers reside, skimming the silver chain that encases your wrist. He hadn’t meant to say what he did, the words had slipped out before he could stop them. 

“Y/N…” Your name is spoken as an apology, it’s all Steve can manage in his shame. 

But the moment is ruined, you’re exhausted and all you want to do is go home. 

You shake your head at Steve, try to hide the tears in your eyes. He sees them anyways. “Can I leave, please?”

The way you ask so delicately to escape breaks Steve. Something in his chest shatters, his mouth fills with the taste of a broken promise. You don’t need his permission, he hates that you feel that you do. 

“Yeah,” his voice is softer than it’s been all night, but it’s too late. He knows this. Swallowing, all Steve can do is be gentle with you. “Yeah, of course you can leave, angel.”

Angel.

You nod at him; if you try to speak you’re afraid you’ll break before him. 

No other words are spoken between you. Steve watches as you leave. 

– 

The next morning you sit hunched over a mug of coffee, more exhausted than ever before. You haven’t slept properly in days now. Dustin finds you with dark circles under your eyes and a pathetic bowl of cereal before you. From the dazed look in your eyes, he knows you haven’t noticed his arrival, and he awkwardly clears his throat to get your attention.

“So, uh.” He scratches the back of his neck, your eyes are slow to look up at him. Pointing to your coffee, Dustin raises his eyebrows. “Rough night, I take it?”

You nod, too tired to say anything else. The cereal goes uneaten. Dustin doesn’t think your coffee is even warm anymore, he hadn’t heard you wake up this morning. He’s worried that you never even went to bed last night. You’re pale, sickly so, and Dustin hates that he hadn’t noticed the signs sooner. 

“Hey,” he pulls a chair beside you, sits down with a playful shove to your shoulder. He’s your brother, it’s his job to take care of you just as much as it’s yours to take care of him. It’s how the two of you have always been. 

For Dustin’s entire life you’ve looked after him, kissing his scraped knees and warding off monsters hidden underneath his bed. When your father left, the depression your mother fell into afterwards left Dustin clinging onto you. You were all he had left. 

Dustin leans against you, he used to do this when he was a little kid and could still fit between your arms. Resting his head against yours, shoulders pressed together, the angle is awkward and uncomfortable, but it’s safe. “Is it too late to have that code blue?”

It’s a peace offering, an extension of an apology, and you can’t help but smile at your brother. Hand finding his mess of curls, you ruffle his hair and laugh softly. “Yeah, guess we can have a code blue now.”

“Good, you know I always love to shit talk Steve.” Dustin says with humor. You both know he admires the boy.

“Language,” you remind him as you always do. Dustin knocks his head against yours in response and the two of you break into laughter; laughing with your brother again feels good.

In between sips of cold coffee and bites of soggy cereal, you tell Dustin about Steve. You explain the original argument a few nights ago, how he didn’t understand why you wouldn’t want him to follow you to New York. 

“It’s what mom did with dad,” Dustin says, looking down at the table. 

You nod at him, you knew he’d understand better than anyone. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Does he know what happened with dad?”

“No, and I know I should explain what he did, but there’s–” You cut yourself off. Dustin would kill Jonathan with his bare hands if he found out about the phone call. Even though it technically goes against the rules of a code blue, you can’t tell Dustin about Jonathan. Not yet, at least. Clearing your throat, you continue. “There’s… other things that have prevented me from explaining dad to Steve.”

Dustin narrows his eyes. “Other things?”

“Other things,” you look pointedly at him, standing your ground about not elaborating. He denied your original code blue. You’re allowed to lie this one time. “And now Steve thinks that I don’t see a future with him.”

“Well then he’s an idiot.” Your brother scoffs. Anyone with eyes can see how much you fawn over Steve. Dustin has watched you fall for him for years now. “You’re practically ready to marry the guy.”

Taking a bite of cereal, you grimace slightly. “Okay, marriage is a little much–”

“Tell that to mom, she’s already started planning the wedding.” 

Of course she has. She wouldn’t be Claudia Henderson if she wasn’t already planning the names of her grandchildren from Steve. 

The bite of cereal turns into cement, your heartbeat pounds against your throat. With everything going on with Steve, the hurt the two of you have brought down upon the other, you’re not even sure there will be a wedding at the rate things are going. 

As the days go on, you can feel Steve slipping away from you more and more.

Dustin must sense that the subject is hurting you, so he stands from his seat and claps his hands together. “Alright, I feel like we’ve covered our bases for a code blue. Checked all the boxes, felt the feelings needed to be felt.”

“I don’t like the feelings being felt,” you mumble, shoving your bowl away. You’re still drawn into yourself, pale and frail and unlike the lively girl your brother has come to miss. He knows things have been difficult between the two of you, a strain that can’t quite be loosened. 

Dustin falters, his bravado fades. He sighs again and his hand settles against your shoulder. He looks at you with sincerity, his expression softens. “Look, you and Steve will figure things out. You guys always do.”

And he truly believes this. Steve loves you with such a ferocity that rivals your love for him. Dustin can’t imagine a world in which you’re no longer with Steve, where he’s let go of you and allowed you to walk away. 

Except Dustin doesn’t know how to express this to you, but you can understand him anyways. Placing your hand over his, you squeeze it. “Thanks, Dustin.”

He smiles back at you and the code blue is over. The moment lingers for only a second longer before he frowns and sits back down next to you. “Do you think Eddie will be okay?”

And there it is. Eddie fucking Munson again. 

Shoving down your annoyance, you force yourself to focus on the situation from last night. As hurt as you are that Dustin wants to talk about Eddie right now, you can understand why he would. Chrissy died in front of him, he’s being accused of murder. 

You’re just being childish, easily irritated from lack of sleep and the stress of it all. 

“I don’t know, I mean…the cops will be looking for him.” With ease you fall back into strategizing, putting the situation above your own thoughts and feelings. Your mind spins with everything you need to do, trying to come up with whatever you can do to help. “If we have any shot of protecting him, we need to figure out what they know.”

Dustin nods, following along. “Cerebro can tap into the Hawkins PD system, we can easily get intel from there.”

“It terrifies me that Cerebro can hack into our town’s police system.”

“Be grateful I stopped there, Suzie wouldn’t let me use it to tap into NASA.”

You learn two things after using Cerebro to gather information. 

One, the radio is far too powerful to reside in your fourteen year old brother’s hands. He’s able to access the PD system with incredible ease, almost as if he’s done so before. It’d be impressive if you didn’t know the horrors that went on inside the kid’s head.

Two, Eddie is well and truly fucked. 

He’s the main suspect. They think he’s killed Chrissy and have every man in the force scouring Hawkins to find him. Her death was gruesome, you understand the manhunt that unfolds. Dustin, however, nearly loses his mind when he hears chief Powell instructing his men to search Eddie’s neighborhood for the teen. 

“We have to go warn him,” Dustin scrambles to his feet, the chair almost toppling over in his haste. “We need to leave, now.”

There isn’t time to argue, Dustin is already ringing Steve’s number. Either he’s already forgotten about your argument with the teen, or maybe he just doesn’t care. Regardless, the thought of seeing Steve again so soon after last night makes your stomach churn. You want to stop Dustin, make up some excuse to him about why you can’t help Eddie, but you know it wouldn’t matter. Your brother would only beg you to come, your worry for him would force you to listen. 

All you can do is drop your head into your hands and sigh.

– 

It was your idea to stop and get Eddie food. 

Steve had arrived at your house within minutes. Dustin immediately went for the passenger seat, which was more than okay with you, and Steve had mumbled a soft “hello” to the two of you. His greeting went ignored by you, still trying to find your breath around him, and Dustin, who promptly demanded that Steve pick up Robin and Max before returning to the boathouse. 

Halfway to Max’s, the silence in the car was thickening rapidly, so you offhandedly suggested stopping at the local grocery store to get Eddie some food and water. You figured he would appreciate the small act of kindness, especially considering the grime news you’d be delivering to him soon. That, and it’d give you an excuse to leave Steve’s car for a few moments and steady your breathing. 

The boathouse isn’t nearly as creepy in the daylight, but still you make sure your knives are in your pocket before approaching it. Robin walks beside you, helping you and Dustin carry the groceries, while Max and Steve walk silently behind. 

“Think we got him enough?” Robin asks, holding up one of the grocery bags. “I mean, don’t stoners eat a lot? Munchies or whatever?”

Rolling your eyes, you undo one of the buttons on your sweater, allowing the crisp spring air to soak your body. The sun is too warm to be worrying about whatever stoners eat. “If he complains, then he can starve.” 

“Cat’s got claws today,” Robin nudges you with her arm. Turning to make sure Steve is far enough away so he doesn’t overhear, she lowers her voice. “Guessing the talk didn’t go well last night?”

“Oh, it was just peachy,” you grit out through a forced smile. “But we have to focus on harboring a murder suspect right now.” Because nothing in your life can ever be simple. If you aren’t hunting monsters, you’re protecting the town. If you aren’t protecting the town, you’re fighting alternate dimensions.

Robin opens her mouth to say something, but Dustin shoulders past her and bursts through the boathouse doors, ending your conversation. “Delivery service!” 

Eddie nearly has a heart attack at the abrupt entrance. He jumps out of his skin and clutches at his chest after letting out a very unmanly yelp. The reaction is almost enough to brighten your foul mood, momentarily forgetting that Steve stands behind you. 

“Someone’s jumpy,” you sidestep your brother and walk over towards the table. Setting the groceries down, you begin to unload them. “We got you some food, but please don’t eat it all at once. I really don’t want to spend any more money on you.”

“Thanks…?” Eddie slowly approaches you, both relieved for the food and offended you seem so begrudged to have gotten it for him in the first place. From his few interactions with you since last night, he’s coming to learn that you’re far from the girl who showed him such selfless kindness all those years ago.

Eddie doesn’t think you even remember what you did for him. He had been at such a low point in his life, one failed exam away from dropping out of high school and disappointing his uncle, until you appeared. It’d been your sophomore year, Eddie’s failed one, and you had given him your pencil.

The action had been small, meniscal, yet it saved Eddie’s life. He hadn’t brought his own pencil for some stupid English exam. He’d been too nervous for it that he had forgotten his, and Mrs. Greer, the teacher who couldn’t have cared less whether or not Eddie died, threatened to fail him. 

The threat sank deep into his bones, freezing his intestines with dread. Eddie had promised his uncle he’d try harder in school, that he’d graduate, and yet he couldn't do something as simple as bringing a pencil to an exam. Close to tears, embarrassed and overwhelmed, Eddie almost hadn’t registered your softly whispered voice.

“Here,” you tapped his shoulder. Eddie remembers turning around, surprised you were even talking to him, and he remembers the immediate relief that sagged his bones when he saw the pencil extended in offering. He had nodded curtly at you before frantically rushing to begin the exam. He’d already wasted five minutes, he couldn’t afford any more. 

It would only be later that Eddie learned you willingly failed the exam because you’d given him your only pencil, just so he wouldn’t fail. In the end, he passed. It was the first exam Eddie had passed in a long, long time; his uncle had been so proud of him that he bought him his electric guitar.

Eddie never thanked you for that. 

And now you stand in front of him, once again extending your arm out to him with yet another offering, but your eyes are cold. Your body is tense around Eddie’s, he doesn’t miss the wide berth you seem to always give him. 

“Thanks,” he says to you again, clearing his throat uncomfortably. He accepts the box of cereal you offer him and he wills himself to smile. “I, uh. Appreciate it. I’d offer to pay you back, but…”

“You’re wanted for murder.” You finish for Eddie. 

He drops his head. “Yeah, it kinda ruins a person’s life, ya know?”

“I don’t, actually. Never been accused of killing someone.”

Eddie blinks at you. He doesn’t know what to do with the disdain you display towards him. ��Right.” He looks at Dustin for help, silently begging the kid to step in before you gut him with your knives.

“Okay, why don’t you crack open that box of honey combs while we all gather around for a fun story time!” Dustin sets down the remaining groceries and ushers everyone to spread around the boathouse. 

“‘Storytime’?” Eddie asks him, looking around in confusion. 

“Y/N and Dustin did some detective work,” Robin offers him, trying to make her voice sound as cheery as possible. “They-uh. Well they found-I mean,” she doesn’t know how to break the news to Eddie, she feels awful for the guy. Deflating, she mumbles, “They’re definitely good detectives.”

Eddie only looks more confused by this, and Dustin sits down awkwardly on a stool next to you. “So, we got, uh. Some good news and some bad news.”

You snort at your brother. Steve stands next to you, his body angled away from you so that your skin doesn’t touch. The distance is small enough to go unnoticed by anyone, yet it’s a chasm that your stomach drops into. “That’s really how you’re gonna break it to him?” 

“What are you guys breaking to me?” Eddie asks, eyes wide.

Dustin hits your leg and gets the teen’s attention. “Ignore her, look at me, alright? Now, how do you prefer it? Good or bad first?”

“Bad news first, always.” Eddie doesn’t even think about his answer, he responds immediately while shoving cereal into his mouth. 

“The bad news is that you’re pretty fucked.” You inform him, arms crossed over your chest. There’s no easy way to lessen the blow of what you overhead from Hawkins PD. The news is bad, it’s all bad. 

Dustin snaps his head towards you, “Y/N!”

“I’m not going to lie to the guy or sugarcoat things!” 

“Would you just let me handle it–”

“Dustin,” Eddie hasn’t moved from his seat. His hand remains in the cereal box, his voice jagged and defeated. He’s tired. He just wants to go home. “Just say it.”

Your brother’s shoulders drop, the anger in his eyes extinguished. “We… We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they’re definitely looking for you.”

“Chief Powell thinks you killed Chrissy.” Unable to look at Eddie, your eyes trace the ground. As much as you hate him, you can’t help but feel awful for the hand he’s been dealt. No one will possibly believe he’s innocent. “He ordered all his men to track you down before word gets out that you’re the prime suspect.”

“Which leads us to the good news: your name hasn’t gone public yet.” Robin continues for you, her own expression pitying. “But if Y/N and Dustin could find out about you during breakfast, then it’s a matter of time before others do, too.”

“And once that gets out,” you shake your head, you know how cruel a small town like Hawkins can be. “There’s going to be a lot of angry people who know your name.”

Eddie clenches his jaw. You can see tears forming in his eyes; you’re not sure if they’re from frustration or fear. He inhales sharply, licks his lips in disdain. “Hunt the freak, right?”

It’s the way he says it, with so much despair and venom in his voice. The look of resignation on Eddie’s face breaks your heart. He knows his odds, he’s been tormented and abused his entire life by the people in Hawkins. You’ve heard all the stories. The exile he faced because of how he looked, who he would hang out with, the music he listened to and the drugs he smoked. 

Eddie Munson, the freak. The moment the town finds out he’s wanted for murder, you’re afraid he’ll never come out of it alive. 

The ice-hot contempt you feel for him begins to melt. He’s only a year or two older than you, still just a scared kid with no place to call home anymore. Despite the protests of your body, you step towards Eddie and place a hand on his shoulder. Your hand is tense, your fingers scratch on the rough material of his denim jacket, but he seems to calm at the touch. 

“Hey, we’ll protect the freak, alright?” You mean what you tell him, your hand warms his skin. Whatever history you have with Eddie, good or bad, it doesn’t matter right now. He needs you, he’s lost and alone. 

Eddie looks up at you, your kindness startles him slightly, but he doesn’t move away. Instead, his eyes find yours. They’re brown, almost doe-eyed, with a vulnerability within them so intense that it leaves a lump in your throat. 

“We won’t let anything happen to you, Eddie.” Dustin’s voice cuts through, reminding you of where you are. Stumbling slightly, you remove your hand and walk back over to Steve, who gives you an odd, confused look. You ignore him. “We have to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence.” 

“That’s all, Dustin?” Eddie mocks, he doesn’t stand a chance and he knows it.

Dustin draws into himself, uncertain, before letting out a feeble response. You allow yourself to smile, enjoying his wallowing. You understand where Eddie is coming from. “It is a lot that we have to do in order to clear his name.”

“Okay, I know that everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we’ve actually been through this before.” Robin tries to reassure him. She’s leaning against a doorframe, she’s trying her best not to let her own uncertainty show. 

“We’ve been here before,” you say with slight bitterness. “You’d be surprised how many times we’ve almost died.”

Robin laughs nervously. “Well, mine was more human-flesh-based, theirs was more smoke-related. I didn’t necessarily almost die, but Y/N has some pretty sick scars on her body and Steve has been concussed more times than he’s had girlfriends–”

“Get to the point, Robin.” Steve finally speaks up, no hint of amusement in his voice. His hand rests besides yours, his fingers ache to curl against your skin. You’re wearing a soft blue sweater, tucked into your skirt, and your eyes shine against the spring cold. He doesn’t want to be here right now.

“Right. The bottom line is, collectively, I really feel we got this.”

Unable to bear the itch in his skin to touch you, Steve brings his hand to his face and rubs at his jaw to distract himself. “Except we usually rely on this girl who has superpowers, but-uh. Those went bye-bye, so–”

“And she’s in California, hundreds of miles from here.” You add on, picking at your nails. The topic makes you uncomfortable. With California comes the reminder of Jonathan.

Robin points at you and Steve. “Both good points, so I guess you could say we’re more in the-in the…?”

“Brainstorming phase.” Max supplies, which Steve snaps his fingers in agreement and Dustin hums thoughtfully. 

“There’s-uh. There’s nothing to worry about!” Your brother says unconvincingly, voice high pitched and full of lies. 

Eddie stares at everyone around him, studying the collective mess that he somehow must place all his trust in. None of you can give him a straight answer about what will happen next, and as you listen to Steve and Dustin try again to make sense of what’s going on, you recognize how hopeless it all sounds. 

“We may not sound like much,” you interrupt the boys, trying again to ease the hopelessness Eddie must be feeling. “But we’re kind of your only option right now–”

The distant wailing of sirens drown out your words, loud and piercing. The sound sets everyone into a panic. Robin instructs Dustin to cover Eddie with a tarp while you, Max, and Steve run towards the window. Squished together, you watch as multiple cop cars fly down the street with an ambulance following them; your breath catches. 

The last time you saw this many cop cars speeding through Hawkins, they had been a dead body in the quarry. It had been Will’s body, lifeless and pale. You had watched as his body was pulled from the water, you held Lucas and Dustin as they cried.

Only this time Will is in California, far away from danger. The onslaught of cars can only mean one thing. 

“I think…” Your mouth fills with syrupy dread, coating your tongue with grief. Breathing becomes difficult. You hope, more than anything, that you’re wrong. “I think someone else died.”

The moment the words leave your lips, Steve grabs his keys and instructs everyone to get into his car. He doesn't ask any questions, he doesn’t question how you know. Dustin quickly tells Eddie to stay in the boathouse while you leave. 

Your eyes squeeze shut as Steve drives, your hand clutches the seat in terror. Every second that passes, your body becomes heavier and heavier from dread. Steve’s knuckles are white against the steering wheel. Robin can’t look at you, Max and Dustin don’t say a word.

The white blanket draped over a body is what you see first. A horde of police surround it, there are lights flashing everywhere. People crowd behind a barricade, necks straining to get a look at the body on the ground. 

Then you see who the cops are talking to, and your heart drops. 

“Nancy,” you breathe out, already opening Steve’s door before he can even park the car. Something terrible has happened. Nancy stands in front of the officers, her arms crossed against her chest as if to calm herself down. She’s never looked so weak, she needs you.

Standing outside the car, the others join you. Steve has parked as close as he can to the crime scene, no one moves. Nancy releases a shaky breath when her eyes find yours. Raising her hand, she waves at you, unsure, and you wave back. She smiles, timid but genuine, and a pit forms in your stomach.

You haven’t told Nancy about Jonathan. 

Steve looks away from her, gaze turning towards you, and he’s thinking the same thing. 

– 

Nancy guides everyone to a park bench at the trailer park. She doesn’t say anything as you all walk, her eyes are exhausted. The police hadn’t wanted her to leave just yet, they had more questions for her, but you’d quickly spoke with the men to let her go. 

Sitting around the table, a bitter cold creeps into the air. The sun is out yet winter still lingers. Nancy sits across from you with Robin and Max next to her. You’re with the boys, Steve pushes his weight against you while Dustin sits stiffly beside you. 

Seeing Nancy’s sunken cheeks and glass eyes, you reach across the table and grab her hand. “What happened, Nance?”

Tears well in her eyes and for once she doesn’t wipe them away. Nancy’s hand twitches in yours, she doesn’t hold onto you like you do her. She’s grieving, you’ve come to learn all the signs of someone who has lost a friend. “It-it’s Fred.”

She explains what they’d been doing, investigating Chrissy’s death at the trailer park. Guilt laces her words, she didn’t think anything would happen to Fred. He’s always been sweet to her, his crush obvious to you but unknown to her. A shiver runs through you; Fred was smart, he was nice to you whenever you spent your days in the yearbook room. 

He didn’t deserve to die. Neither did Chrissy. 

“That makes two deaths in two days,” you say out loud, voicing what everyone else is thinking. Death is common in Hawkins, an inevitability of what lies underneath it, but there’s never been such gruesome deaths so close together. “It’s happening again.”

“What’s happening again?” Nancy shakes her head. “I-I don’t understand, you guys already know what’s causing all of this?”

“We have a working theory, but it’s… not great.” Dustin slouches down, he isn’t sure how much he can explain to the girl with all that he still doesn’t know. “We think it’s connected to Chrissy’s death, something killed her in Eddie’s trailer. He told us she had gone into some sort of trance before her bones snapped and her eyes exploded..”

Nancy grimaces at the gory imagery and you squeeze her hand again. “I’m sorry about Fred.”

She gives you a tight smile before turning to your brother. “A trance? Like El? You aren’t… do you really think this has something to do with–”

“The Upside Down.” You and Max say at the same time.

“‘It’s happening again’,” Nancy echoes your words from moments ago. She understands, now. “So this-this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy is from the Upside Down?”

Steve nods at her and Dustin sighs heavily. “We think he attacks with a spell, or maybe even a curse.”

“But we don’t know if he’s under the Mind Flayer’s control,” you point out. “For all we know, he could just be someone with El’s powers. We know the lab tested on other kids, right?”

Max looks up at you and her face twists with apprehension. “I don’t know, something feels different about this, it’s almost like it’s something new. I don’t think it’s anyone like El.”

“It doesn’t make sense.” Nancy mumbles.

“No, I think Max is right. Something feels off about all of this.” Your arms draw together, it’s impossibly cold for late March. The chill has set into your bones. 

Nancy nods at you, but there’s something else on her mind. “But Fred and Chrissy also don’t make sense. I mean, why them?”

“Maybe they were just in the wrong place? They were both at the game.” Dustin offers, and you shiver again.

Billy had been in the wrong place, too. It’s how the Mind Flayer got him. He’d just been unlucky and alone.

“And the trailer park,” Max adds.

Steve’s eyes widen slightly, he shifts against you and unconsciously moves you closer to him. “We’re at the trailer park, should we… maybe not be here?”

The wind picks up and a crow cries overhead. The barren grass rustles as shadows fall against it. Your spine prickles with nerves. Steve is right to be worried. There’s something eerie about the trailer park, the caution tape that guards Eddie’s door is still too fresh. 

You wrap your sweater tighter to your body, cold with unease. Nancy’s eyes flicker around the park as the wind rustles the leaves. “Fred started acting weird the second we got here.”

Robin asks what she means, and when Nancy begins to explain how scared and on edge Fred had been, a dull throb slowly creeps up the base of your neck. The sensation builds until it’s a roar of nerve endings exploding against your temple, and you wince in pain.

Steve’s fingers skim the crest of your wrist. “Hey,” he’s lowered his voice so the others can’t hear, he knows you never like to worry others. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” the concern in Steve’s eyes burns you. He hasn’t spoken to you all day, but still his skin warms yours and he wants to make sure you’re safe. Comfortable. Okay. Even with the anger between you and all the unspoken half-truths, he still cares about you. 

You want to tell him that you haven’t slept in days, that the nightmares are back and that they’re worse than ever before. You want to rest your head against his chest and listen to his heartbeat. It’s the only way you’ve been able to keep the migraines at bay. 

But you don’t tell Steve any of this. Instead, you lie through your teeth. “I’m fine,” you reassure him again. There isn’t time for you not to be okay. Two people have died already, your migraines can wait. 

Steve doesn’t look convinced. He knows you, he knows how you are and how much you push down for the sake of others, but before he can press you further, Robin interrupts. “Hey, lovebirds, we’re trying to solve a murder case here.”

“I’m listening,” you roll your eyes at her, skin flushing a bit with embarrassment. “Anyways, what if Fred and Chrissy saw something that made them go catatonic? I think we should be focusing on the trace-like state more, it’s a trauma response.”

“What, so they’re insane asylum patients?” Dustin asks with slight displeasure. “I mean, I guess that makes sense. But Vecna can cast spells, at least in DnD. I don’t think they just ‘saw’ something.” 

Steve scratches his nose. “If I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone.”

“Would you, though?” You don’t mean for the question to come off as condescending, and you quickly try to alleviate the offended look on the teen’s face. “What I mean is, who would you go to about something like that?”

“I… I think I know who they’d go to.” Max stares down at the table, her eyebrows furrowed together. She’s deep in thought, remembering something. “I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelly’s office. If you saw a monster, you wouldn’t go to the police.”

“They’d never believe you,” you bear your weight against the table. Nostalgia wraps around you at the memory of how scared you’d been to tell Hopper about El, the years it took for you to trust him. “That’s why I never went to Hopper when I first found El.”

Max nods, she’s relieved you get where she’s going with this. “Exactly, but you might go to your–”

“Shrink.” Robin finishes, sending you an apologetic smile for the offensive language against the profession you hope to one day go into. “No offense, Y/N.”

You roll your eyes, feeling defensive. “Again with calling Ms. Kelly a shrink. She’s not a shrink, she’s actually really nice.”

“You sound like you know her personally.” Dustin narrows his eyes at you. Nothing goes unnoticed by him. 

All eyes turn to you, and you sink down in embarrassment. “I’ve… had a few meetings with her.”

Simultaneously both Steve and Dustin widen their eyes. They hadn’t known you were seeing Ms. Kelly. Nancy looks at you curiously, Robin bites her lip, and Max nods solemnly. It’s a large range of reactions, one that makes you anxious to deal with. “Can everyone stop staring at me, please?”

Steve lets out a quick breath and runs a hand through his hair. “You didn’t tell me you were seeing the school’s guidance counselor, Y/N.”

“She didn’t tell me, either.” Dustin mumbles bitterly. You’ve never hidden anything from him before. He wonders, distantly, when you started to.

“I didn’t want to worry you guys, it really isn’t a big deal.” When both boys bristle at this, you hold your hand up to silence them. “No, I don’t want to hear it. It’s not like I was seeing Ms. Kelly for anything serious, okay? She’s the guidance counselor, so I just. You know. Needed some guidance.”

It’s a horrible lie, you know that no one believes you, but they take pity on you and move on. Originally you really were seeing Ms. Kelly for college admissions help, but after a few sessions you slowly started opening up to her about the sleepless nights. The image of Billy’s lifeless body. Max’s screams. 

Nancy clears her throat and changes the topic. She comes up with what to do next, creating a plan to ask Ms. Kelly what she knows, and you sit silently. You’re relieved the attention is finally off of you. Within minutes a plan is formed: you and Max will talk to Ms. Kelly to try and get more information.

Steve agrees to drive to the house. As you’re walking to his passenger side door, he notices that Nancy isn’t following. Instead, she’s going to her own car. “Hey, Nance. Where’re you going?”

Nancy turns around, a guilty but determined look on her face. Her eyes land on you, knowing you’ll be the hardest to convince of her plan. “There’s just-there’s something I want to check on first.”

Predictably, your shoulders tense and your eyes ignite with worry. “Please don’t make me remind you that there are people dying right now. You can’t seriously think it’s safe to be on your own.”

“I can protect myself, Y/N.” Nancy reminds you gently, understanding your concern but knowing it isn’t needed.

“You care to share with the rest of us?” Dustin calls over to the two of you.

“I don’t want to waste your time,” Nancy shoves her hands into her jean jacket. “It’s… a real shot in the dark.”

You frown at this. “If it’s something you think is worth looking into, then it isn’t a shot in the dark. You’ve always been right.”

Nancy blushes at your words, but Steve silently fumes beside you. He can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Are you guys out of your mind? No way is Nancy flying solo with Vecna on the loose.”

“I never said that she should fly solo,” you say slowly, not at all liking how he’s twisting your words. You had been complimenting Nancy’s intelligence, restoring her faith back into her work. You don’t understand where this protectiveness from Steve is coming from. “I know it’s too dangerous, that’s why I was going to suggest–”

“You’re right. It’s too dangerous. Bottom line. She needs someone to-Christ.” Steve isn’t listening. He’s too caught up in his head as tosses his keys to Robin, who only barely manages to catch them. “Here, Y/N and I will stick with Nance.”

You cross your arms and glare at him. “I’m sorry?”

Steve doesn’t look at you, he’s too busy staring at Nancy, and for a brief second you truly believe that there’s something soft in his gaze when he looks at her. They’re friends, you know this. There’s a history between them that rivals your history with Jonathan. Nancy was Steve’s first love, and now he loves you, and you try desperately to shake the insecurity that you feel. 

If you’re being completely honest, you’re not even sure why you’re suddenly thinking all of this. You’ve never been insecure, at least not in your relationship with Steve. During the almost year you’ve been with him, there’ve been times girls have flirted with him or old flings that have tried to vie for his attention. But through it all your trust in him never wavered, you knew that at the end of the day it was your bed he was crawling into. 

And yet there’s a voice in the back of your head telling you that the way Steve is looking at Nancy right now is different; it’s how he looks at you. The voice is darker, more cruel. It’s one you don’t recognize, and yet you do. 

Steve seems to come back to himself and turns to you. “Robin can go with the kids to the shrink. Max can talk to her alone, it’s no big deal.”

Robin holds the keys away from her as if they’re poisoned. “I don’t think you want me driving your car.”

“Why?”

“I don’t have a license.”

Steve shakes his head with impatience. “Why don’t you have a license?”

“I’m poor,” Robin shrugs, and you laugh slightly. 

Max raises her hand. “I can drive.”

“No!” You and Steve exclaim at the same time, both of you getting war flashbacks to when Max had driven you after Billy had knocked you guys unconscious. It’d been a rough night and waking up to a thirteen year old driving a sports car definitely hadn't helped. 

“Please,” you look at Max with genuine longing. “Never, ever drive me ever again.”

“Literally anyone but you–” Steve sees Dustin make a face, offering himself to drive, and the older teen snaps his fingers at him in annoyance. “No chance.”

You shake your head as well. No way in hell are you allowing the kid to drive either. “Absolutely not, Dustin. You couldn’t even drive a golf cart properly.”

“I did a decent job!”

“I still think you’re the one who gave Steve his third concussion with your horrible braking.”

“We were being chased by evil Russians!” 

Robin steps between you and your brother, holding her hands up. “Alright, this is stupid.” She grabs Dustin’s walkie from his backpack and marches to Nancy while handing Steve his keys. “Us ladies, sans Y/N, will stick together. Unless Steve thinks we need him to protect us?”

She raises her eyebrows, challenging the teen, and you watch him. He shuffles nervously, ducks his head down. Steve is guilty and ashamed and embarrassed. Your stomach clenches. 

“He knows better than to doubt you guys,” you step in for him, saving him. “Right, Steve?”

Nancy laughs at the look of fear on his face and Robin smirks. Satisfied, they turn around and start to head towards Nancy’s car. You wish them luck as they leave, tell them to be safe. They wave back at you, and although you wish you could join them, you know that Max will want you by her side while she talks to Ms. Kelly. 

Once the girls are gone, you hit Steve’s chest. “Nice one, buddy.”

He lets out a pained huff, but he doesn’t say anything. He knows he had it coming. With a sigh he follows you back to his car and gets into the driver’s seat. Dustin stares at him through the rearview mirror with a shit eating grin on his face. Tired, Steve glares at him. “Not a word.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Dustin defends himself.

“No, but you were going to, and-hey,” Steve turns in his seat and glares even more at your brother. “Did you make sure to wipe your feet?”

“Yes,” Dustin says at the same time as you and Max say, “No.”

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose and starts the car angrily. His movements are jerky and uncontrolled. “Always the goddamn babysitter!” He exclaims, resentment marring his face.

You jump slightly at his raised voice. He hates being sidelined, you know this. Similar to you, all Steve ever wants to do is help. He does whatever he can, he tries harder than anyone. It’s what you first fell for, back when Steve originally crashed into your life. 

It’s because of his kindness and devotion to others that you reach for Steve’s hand. His skin is cold, goosebumps raise at your touch, but you interlock your fingers through his and slowly, piece by piece, Steve relaxes. 

He’s missed your touch. You’ve missed his, too.

– 

Ms. Kelly, to her credit, tries to mask her surprise when she sees you and Max standing at her door. “Oh, hello, girls.”

“Hi,” you smile kindly at the woman. “We really hate to bother you over spring break, but do you possibly have a minute to talk?”

“With the two of you?” Ms. Kelly knew that you and Max were both grieving Billy, but she hadn’t known that you knew each other. “Y/N, I’m sure you’re aware that this is highly unusual to request.”

You wince. “Yeah, I’m definitely aware that this is a pretty strange thing to ask. It’s just that I was the one who convinced Max to start seeing you in the first place, and now that I’m also seeing you, we figured we could… talk to you together?”

It’s a horrible excuse. The lie is vague and too transparent to believe. Neither you or Max had a lot of time to come up with a convincing cover story during the drive here. 

“I don’t know,” Ms. Kelly’s face strains with contemplation. 

Max softens her eyes and does her best to look small, pleading. “Please?”

You try to appear troubled as well, though it isn’t hard. Your headache hasn’t left. The pounding in your head has only intensified since leaving the trailer park. Ms. Kelly’s gaze flits between you and Max, reading for any signs of lying or ill-will, before her resolve crumbles.

“Oh, alright.” She opens her door wider, ushers the two of you inside. “Come in.”

Steve and Dustin watch as you disappear inside the house. They’ve parked across the street, opting to be the lookout in case anything happens. You spare one last glance over your shoulder, eyes meeting Steve’s, before Ms. Kelly closes the door. 

“Okay, they’re in.” Steve states the obvious, slightly unsettled to be stuck in the car while you’re inside.

“I’m missing collarbones, not eyes.” Dustin snorts. He expects Steve to say something snarky in response, but then he notices that the teen is still staring longly out the window, tracing Ms. Kelly’s door. He looks pathetic, waiting for you, and Dustin sighs. “So… we gonna talk about it?”

Steve’s eyes linger on the doorway, a far off look on his face. When he realizes that Dustin has spoken, he turns to him slowly. “Huh? Sorry, talk about what?”

“Your temporary insanity earlier today when you basically threw yourself at Nance? In front of my sister?” 

“Okay, first of all, that’s not what happened.”

Dustin glares at Steve, defensive over you. “Oh, really? I’m pretty sure it did, there were a lot of witnesses. Y/N included.”

“What are you implying, little Henderson?” Steve rubs his face, too tired for the kid’s mind games. He knows he was being weird earlier with Nancy, but he would never do that to you. Ever. He had simply been overwhelmed and confused and feeling a multitude of things that he still isn’t ready to face.

“I’m not implying anything,” Dustin puts his hands up. “All I’m saying is that I know you and Y/N have been fighting lately and that for some stupid reason, you’re doubting your relationship.”

Steve throws his head back against the seat. Of course you told Dustin about last night. “Look, I’m not-I’m not doubting our relationship, alright? I mean, I love her, man. So, so much. We just… things have been hard, lately. Really fucking hard.”

He isn’t sure how much you’ve told your brother. He doesn’t think you’d tell him about Jonathan, at least not until you know yourself whatever the hell he’d been trying to tell you the other night. 

Dustin doesn’t say anything for a few moments. He stares past Steve, his eyes almost seem to glaze over. “It’s because she’s leaving, isn’t it?”

All the air in Steve’s lungs gets knocked out of him. “Yes,” he breathes out. His mouth is dry. He swallows, his tongue feels too thick for his mouth. “Sometimes it feels like she’s, I don’t know, like she’s outgrown me? I-I know it’s stupid, but she’s going so far for college and I’m stuck in Hawkins like some fucking moron and she-she didn’t want me going with her.” 

“Did you know that I cried when she got into NYU?” Dustin asks him, a hurt smile on his face. When Steve shakes his head, the boy inhales deeply. “Yeah, cried like a baby the whole night. I mean, I knew she applied, I knew she’d get in, but… you’re right. She is going pretty far. I’ve never,” he wipes at his eyes quickly, embarrassed that he’s crying. “I’ve never had to spend a single day without my sister.”

Steve stares at your brother, finally beginning to understand the distance between the two of you. For weeks now it’s all you’ve complained about to Steve. How much you resented Eddie for being Dustin’s new favorite person, how much you miss singing with him in the kitchen while you baked. But now here Dustin is, teary eyed, explaining to Steve just how scared he is to be without his sister. “It feels like she’s leaving you, too.”

“Yeah,” Dustin wipes his eyes again, nodding. “Yeah, sometimes it feels like she can’t wait to get out of this town.”

“Even though we’ll still be here,” Steve says solemnly. 

It’s quiet again. A few birds sing in the tree above them. You and Max haven’t returned, yet. After a while, Dustin turns to Steve. “She doesn’t mean it, you know.”

“Who?”

“Y/N,” the boy clarifies, and Steve’s heart skips a beat. “She doesn’t mean it when she says she doesn’t want you going with her to New York. She’s just… she’s scared, and she knows that it isn’t what you really want. Nothing gets past her, it’s really annoying.”

Steve scoffs a bit, fondness running through him. Dustin’s right. Nothing ever gets past you, you notice and see everything. But then he thinks about what your brother has said, the fear he hadn’t known about. “Why would she be scared?” 

Dustin stiffens in his seat, his gaze once again blurs. He twists his hands anxiously, fixes his hat. The atmosphere shifts, Steve can see that he’s uncomfortable now. He’s about to tell Dustin that he doesn’t have to answer, but the kid does anyways. “Our parents, they-um. Met in college.”

Steve sits up as well. You and Dustin never talk about your parents, at least not about your father. Steve can’t remember the last time you’ve even mentioned him. He thinks maybe the man had called you once, during Christmas. 

“They got married right before graduation. Our mom had been pregnant with Y/N, they got hitched and in their marital bliss, our dad somehow convinced our mom to leave Indiana. She grew up here, but our dad was from Virginia and he insisted that she move there.”

Bitter. Dustin is bitter.

“Everything was fine, I guess. I liked Virginia. Y/N did, too. But our mom was lonely, anyone could see that. We lived in a pretty small town, our dad was basically a goddamn Kennedy there. Everyone adored him, but our mom… things were different for her. She was always in his shadow, but Y/N and I were too young to notice for a long time.”

Steve swallows. “And then… the divorce?” 

“The stupid fucking divorce.” Dustin spits out. “It wasn’t a surprise, but somehow we still felt blindsided. One day our dad was charming, cracking jokes with everyone and playing the guitar with us, then the next he just-he snapped. Became bitter, mean. Y/N idolized him, but when our parents started fighting every night and our mom cried over some woman named Carry… I lost my sister, for a while.”

“She told me,” Steve whispers, remembering the rawness in your voice the night you confessed to him that you were once cruel. “I had to remind her that she came back, in the end.”

The corners of Dustin’s mouth turn upwards slightly. “Yeah, she came back.” But then his expression darkens, his mood sours. “Our mother almost didn’t, though. After having to move back to Hawkins with barely any money to support us, it basically destroyed her. She had lost all her friends by that point, her own parents died while we lived in Virginia.” 

“I’m sorry,” Steve’s throat constricts. He hadn’t known any of this. He feels like such an asshole now for assuming the worst in you. For allowing his own insecurities to blind him. “I-I didn’t know about any of that.” 

“Yeah, well.” Dustin shrugs. “Now you do. And you need to know that Y/N is being her usual selfless self because of our mom and what happened to her. She doesn't want that happening to you, dipshit.”

Steve exhales through his nose, his head is swimming with so many more questions, so many apologies he wishes he could say. Instead, he stares out the window, waiting for you to return. 

–

“So, what would you girls like to discuss with me?” The clock on Ms. Kelly’s walk ticks ominously behind her. She’s seated you and Max in her basement den. You can tell by the stack of books and messy desk that she uses the area as her makeshift office. 

Max slouches against her seat. “Oh, it’s nothing too serious, we were just–”

“I’m worried about Max.” You interrupt the girl, not daring to look at her.

Ms. Kelly raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“I think with all the murders happening, it might be affecting her.” It isn’t necessarily a lie. You have been worried about Max and her behavior. Especially these last few weeks. “It might be resurfacing some… memories.”

Max tries to argue, but Ms. Kelly holds her hand up. “You’ve both experienced trauma, Y/N. She lost her brother while you held his dying body.”

A lump forms in your throat, your lungs feel cold. 

The woman turns to Max, now. “And when you keep your feelings in, your pain, bottled up the way you do, it doesn’t take much to trigger them again. I can see why Y/N may be worried.”

Max doesn’t meet Ms. Kelly’s eyes. She swallows heavily and looks down at her hands. “Yeah, I know.”

“You know you can always talk to me, Max.” You say softly, wanting desperately to reach out to her. But you’re afraid it’ll only drive her further away.

She frowns at you. “Like how you talk to Dustin, or even to Steve?”

Her accusation cuts deeply. You hadn’t known that she was paying attention to you. That your disguised “I’m fine’s” weren’t convincing her. Max must know this, because she lowers her eyes again and mumbles a quiet apology. 

Ms. Kelly notices the tension and leans between the two of you. “Do you think you’re ready to talk more about that night?”

Max’s eyes gloss over briefly, her face distorts with discomfort. An onslaught of memories overtakes her, just as they overtake you. The echoes of her screams for her brother replay in your mind over and over again. The squelch of Billy’s blood trickles down your spine. You were right next to her when it happened. The blood still stains your clothes from that night at Starcourt. 

“I live next door to where it happened.” Max changes the subject, her voice returning. When Ms. Kelly asks for more clarification, she continues. “Next to where Chrissy was murdered. The cops asked me a bunch of questions. Did they talk to you?”

The woman sits up, apprehensive. She hadn’t been expecting to talk about this. You sit there quietly, head still pounding from earlier as Max takes over. She interrogates Ms. Kelly, who does her best to dodge every question, and suddenly the warmth in the room becomes unbearable. 

“Excuse me,” you stand up, hand clutching your stomach. Nausea swirls within you. You feel faint, the pounding has increased and sweat trickles down your neck. Both Max and Ms. Kelly look at you in concern, but you ignore them.

Blindly you stumble towards the kitchen you remember seeing when you arrived. Too nauseous and overwhelmed to care about niceties, you dig through Ms. Kelly’s cupboards until you find a cup. After filling it with water, the icey coolness of the liquid settles uneasily in your stomach. You lean over the sink, hands clutching the edge. Everything in your body feels unsteady.

Max comes up the stairs and finds you breathing heavily. “You’re not going to hurl, are you?”

“Trying really hard not to right now,” you breathe through your nose, out through your mouth. “Thanks for the concern.”

No response comes. Instead, footsteps walk up behind you. You hear metal clanking against glass, and when you turn around, you find Max holding up a pair of keys. She smirks, flashing you the white keyring attached to them labeled, “office”.

Your eyes bulge out of your head. “No, we are not stealing–” 

Except Max grabs your arm and practically flings you out the front door. She shoves you, urging you to start running towards Steve’s car, and all you can do is stumble over your feet and follow after her. When you make it back to the car, panting from the exertion and thrill, Steve and Dustin turn to you with wide eyes. 

“What’d she say?” Your brother asks, noting your frazzled appearance. 

“Nothing, just drive.” Max dismisses. 

“I just became a felon.”

The girl rolls her eyes at you. “Personal property theft isn’t a felony.”

“Jesus,” Steve does a double take, baffled by this entire conversation. “What the hell did you guys do in there?”

“Steve, drive!” Max shouts at him. 

The tires of the car squeal against the pavement as Steve steps on the gas. He steadies the car, a wild look in his eyes. “Where are we even going?”

“The school,” Max holds up the keys she stole.

Dustin looks at her incredulously. “Are those–”

“The keys to Ms. Kelly’s office? Yeah.” You nod grimly. “I told you, I’m now a felon.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic–”

A voice comes through Cerebro, cutting Max off. “Dustin? It’s Lucas. Do you copy?”

Relief washes over you hearing Lucas’ voice. Between tracking down Eddie and dealing with interrogating school guidance counselors, you’d also been slowly worrying yourself to death over the boy. It’s unusual for him to be quiet for so long, and with all the murders now occurring… You’d been terrified. 

“Lucas? Where the hell have you been?” Demands Dustin.

“Just listen, are you guys looking for Eddie?”

You and Steve share an uncertain look. Why would Lucas be radioing about him? How much does he know?

Your brother tells Lucas that you’ve found Eddie and tells him where he is, that he’s safe. Immediately, the boy responds, “You guys know he killed Chrissy, right?”

Predictably, Dustin doesn’t take this very well. “That’s bullshit, Eddie tried to save Chrissy.”

Lucas presses further, not believing what he’s hearing. Max snatches the radio from Dustin, tired of all the vague responses. “Lucas, you’re so behind it’s ridiculous, okay?”

“Technically we still haven’t elaborated on the whole Eddie thing,” you point out, which she glares at you for. 

“Y/N?” Lucas asks, surprised to hear you’re with them.

You grab the walkie. “Hey, how’s your day been?”

“Awful,” he responds bluntly while Steve snorts at your question. “Why are you guys so sure Eddie didn’t–”

“Just meet us at school. We’ll explain later.” Max instructs, leaning over the car’s console. 

“I can’t,” fear leaks through Lucas’ voice. You sit up now, looking at Steve again. He hears it, too. “I think some real bad shit’s about to go down.”

You feel your heartbeat pick up. “Lucas, what does that mean? Are you okay, where are you?”

“Sinclair!” A voice shouts, before the radio cuts into static. 

“Lucas? Lucas!” Max shouts into the walkie, but he doesn’t respond. She sounds scared, it’s the most emotion you’ve heard in her voice in months.

You’re no better. You sit in the passenger seat, numb. The voice, you recognized it. You’d know Jason Carver’s voice anywhere. Everything clicks; you remember how Lucas was supposed to go to the party after the basketball game. Chrissy had been Jason’s girlfriend before she was brutally killed. The cops would’ve questioned him, they would’ve told him how her body had been found in Eddie’s trailer. 

Eddie Munson, the town freak everyone hates. 

“What shit could Lucas get into?” Dustin questions, annoyance twinged with worry for his friend. 

You try to steady your breathing, nausea returning. You almost don’t recognize the sound of your own voice. “It’s Jason. He’s-he’s angry.”

The words settle in the car, linger in the air, before they crash heavily upon the four of you. The realization dawns on everyone, the inevitability of what will happen next is an unbearable weight.

Steve steps even harder on the gas. He knows the basketball team, how cruel teen boys can be. 

– 

Every time you’ve snuck into one of Hawkins’ schools, it’s never led to anything good. The first two times had been in the middle school for Will. Neither time involved very pleasant memories. This year you’re sneaking into the high school in order to violate your classmates’ privacy and read their deepest, darkest secrets.

“This feels wrong,” you huff under your breath, barely keeping up with Steve and the others as they run through the hallway. “I’d hate it if anyone read my file.”

“Would you rather risk anyone else dying?” Max responds, giving you a pointed look.

You frown but don’t say anything, figuring she’s right. As much as you hate to do this, it’s objectively the lesser of two evils. You’ll apologize to the students after this is done. If they question why you’ve baked them brownies, you’ll simply lie and say you had extra laying around. 

“Dustin, do you copy?” Robin’s voice carries over the radio. Your heart skips a beat hearing her, you’ve missed her today. After your brother responds, she starts to explain what she and Nancy found. “So, Nancy’s a genius.”

“What else is new?” You say, and Robin laughs.

“My thoughts exactly, pretty girl.” She clears her throat. “Anyways, Vecna’s first victims date back all the way to 1959. Her shot in the dark was a bull’s-eye.”

The new information startles you. Vecna first started killing in 1959? Why didn’t you hear anything about it until now, and why didn’t El sense him before?

Dustin looks equally unsettled by the news. “Okay, that’s totally bonkers, but we can’t really talk right now.”

“What are you doing?”

“Breaking and entering into the school to retrieve confidential and extremely personal files.”

You wince. It’s as bad as it sounds. Tapping Dustin’s shoulder, you break him away from the walkie. “Wait, we won’t need my files, right?”

Steve eyes you up and down, shrugging indifferently. “Well–” Hitting his chest, he sputters at you. “Why do you keep doing that?”

“You’re not reading my files, Harrington.”

Meanwhile, Dustin urges Robin and Nancy to meet you guys at the school. By the time their conversation wraps up, Max has unlocked the office door. She heads straight towards the drawers, long familiar with the layout; you follow after her.

Steve and Dustin look around while you and Max dig through the files. They mumble something about Watergate, but you can barely hear them over the rush of blood in your eardrums. Max’s fingers rest on a specific file. The name printed on it makes you feel sick.

Fred Benson.

“Holy shit,” she exhales, grabbing it.

“Found it?” Dustin stands next to you now, neck peering down. 

You struggle to breathe. “We didn’t just find Chrissy’s file.”

Dustin tilts his head, he doesn’t understand, and Max holds the file up. “Fred was seeing Ms. Kelly too.”

Steve and Dustin freeze. You can practically see their heartbeats still. The air in the room goes stale. Their eyes linger on you, they wish they couldn’t piece it together. Chrissy and Fred were seeing Ms. Kelly up until their deaths. You and Max have been seeing her, too. It’s one hell of a coincidence. 

But that’s all this is. A horrible, awful coincidence. 

“Y/N…” Steve breathes out, but you shake your head at him.

“Please,” your lip trembles. Not here, not now. He can’t look away from you, but you can’t bear to look at him. Instead, you grab the remaining files and hand them to Max. “We need to go through them. All of them.”

Dustin sits at the desk, Steve’s hand rests on the small of your back as you lean over Max to read the files. He shines a flashlight for the two of you, Chrissy’s file is the first one you read. The image of her once vibrant and alive smile stares back at you. There’s a column of writing to the left of her photo, the handwriting is neat, orderly, and it catches your attention.

“Are those…?”

“Symptoms.” Max softly answers, eyes skimming down the list.

Past trauma.

Terrible migraines.

Difficulty sleeping.

Headaches.

Max’s entire body tenses, her muscles pull taut against you. Your own body shakes, the tremors misalign your bones. Slowly, she looks up at you. Her eyes silently beg you to tell her that you’ve gotten it all wrong. Max’s blue eyes plead with you to tell her that none of this is real.

“Steve,” your voice catches, unable to inhale. “Can we see Fred’s file?”

He softly agrees, handing you the file immediately. You take it from him. The paper trembles in your unsteady grasp. Laying them down, you open the file and Fred’s photo burns you. Next to it is a list of symptoms.

They’re the same as Chrissy’s. 

They’re the same as yours. 

The headaches. Sleepless nights. The trauma you’ve been through, the nightmares that will never truly go away. Everything you’ve experienced within the last week. 

Nosebleeds is starred, and for a moment your heartbeat settles. You haven’t had a nosebleed since you were five. It isn’t one of your symptoms; it can all still be a coincidence.

“This-this can’t be right.” You don’t know if you say this to reassure Max or yourself, but when you look down at her, you know. She has a far off look in her eyes. She doesn’t react to what you’ve just said. 

It’s only then that you remember her nosebleed from earlier this week; it hadn’t been a coincidence. 

“Max?” You shake her shoulders, tears already in your eyes. You know better than to be so naive, so blindly ignorant. You should’ve known better. You should’ve known that something was wrong.

Dustin and Steve try to wake Max, but she’s already left her body. She’s unresponsive, lost in whatever trance she’s in. 

“Y/N, what’s happening?” Steve demands, fear in his own voice.

You’re hysterical, screaming and sobbing for Max to wake up. Her body is so small against yours, she’s frail and weak and her skin has never looked so translucent. Over and over you shake her, your palms rest against her cheeks and you cry.

You’ve come to know what fear is. How it can blind a person, leave them stricken with such raw anguish. Fear takes whatever air is left inside you and it poisons it with sulfur and leaves you choking. 

The day Will went missing, the only air left in your body had been blood. 

When inside the tunnels defending your little brother from monsters, the air in your body had been carbon. 

Starcourt mall and the fireworks that exploded over Billy’s dangling and bloodied body left only just enough air in your lungs to scream.

But this fear, seeing Max unresponsive to your pleas, this fear doesn’t spare you any air. 

Gasping and choking, you’re a wreck. “Max!”

Faintly you can feel Steve’s hands on you, or maybe they’re Dustin’s. Someone grabs you, pulls you away, but all you can do is scream.

It all makes sense now, Nancy’s question from earlier rings in your ears. You know why Chrissy and Fred were targeted. Why Ms. Kelly was somehow the center of it all.

The symptoms they experienced prior, the same ones that plague you and Max. You know what it is.

Venca’s curse.

-

⌑ series masterlist

⌑ i am no longer doing a taglist, my apologies ! however, please feel free to like, reblog, and comment instead :)

[freeabortionslol]

Welcome Home (jack hughes x gf!reader)

summary: fluff! you've been studying abroad in France for the past three months, and your boyfriend jack plans a surprise welcome home party. he's deemed this night as the perfect time to tell you he loves you (feat. quinn hughes, luke hughes, nico hischier, jesper bratt, nicole laud, trevor zegras)

warnings!! cursing, glass breaking idk, trevor and nico being idiots

a/n just a short lil blurb bc I wanted to write for jack. had to give luke a bit of the spotlight bc I just love him sm

wc: 1.5k

“No no no! It’s not straight enough!” Jack yelled to his brother Quinn who was standing on a barstool placing a banner on the wall. “Move it up. No, not to the side! Move it up! Keep it straight!”

“Jack, it’s really difficult to do this while you’re screaming in my face!” Quinn yelled back, causing Jack to take a step away. “Let me remind you that you practically begged me to do this!”

“I did not beg you!”

“Yes you did! You said ‘Quinn we have to hang this banner up, but you’re so much better at doing it than I am’ when we all know that you’re just scared to stand on the stool!”

“I’m not scared!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay Hotshot, you get up here and do it then!” Jack kept his spot standing safely on the ground, keeping his stare on Quinn. “That's what I thought. Go run along.” Quinn shooed Jack away with his hand and continued trying to center the banner. Jack made his way through your apartment which was now crowded with your closest friends. You had been studying abroad in France for the past three months, and you were finally coming home to New York. Your boyfriend, Jack, thought it would be perfect to bring everyone you missed so much, right to your door. It was a surprise welcoming party of course, knowing Jack Hughes he had to add some flare. He hoped that when you caught sight of his grand gesture, you’d reward him with kisses and all the love your heart could hold. The two of you had been dating for five months now, and have yet to say “I love you” to each other. You both felt it and knew it, but you both had fear of rejection which stopped you. Jack had decided when he began planning this, that he would tell you right then and there. Everyone could tell how anxious he was trying to make everything perfect just for you. He paced around the living room, occasionally flipping his hat from backwards to forwards every couple seconds. He made his way to the kitchen and began straightening the bowls of snacks, making sure they were perfectly lined up with each other.

“She’s gonna love it, Jack. There’s no reason to stress.” He looked over his shoulder to see Jesper’s wife, Nicole, wearing a half-smile as she tried to comfort his nerves. Jack returned the smile, and relaxed his shoulders.

“Not his fault that he’s pussy whipped, babe. Even if he hasn’t had the pussy in three months. Jesper said with a hit to Jack’s back. His words earned a slap to the shoulder from his wife.

“He’s not whipped!” Her tone grew angry. “He’s in love.” Jack’s face tinted red as Jesper began to laugh at the sight of his teammate so flustered. He’d never heard it out loud from someone else, and he worried that Nicole somehow saw through him.

It was now ten minutes until you arrived. You were so sick of the airport and you never wanted to step foot into one again. The cab ride back to your apartment was your favorite part of the day. You got to sight see all of the familiar buildings you had missed so dearly. Sure, you loved living in France, but France didn’t have Jack Hughes. You thought you’d be going home to a quiet apartment where you’d read for a bit on the couch, and probably invite Jack over afterwards. Clueless and tired, you had no idea of the chaos that was currently unfolding in your one bedroom apartment in the city.

Everything was going perfectly according to Jack's plan, until Nico and Trevor started visually teaching a group of your girl friends one of Luke’s famous plays. The two of them stood near the kitchen island as they explained, trying to impress the women.

“So, I'm skating right here.” Trevor starts. “I got the puck with me, and then all of a sudden Luke comes swooshing in outta nowhere!” Nico tries to carry out Luke’s play, stepping in front of Trevor which results in him accidentally pushing Trevor into one of the snack bowls that rested on the counter. The glass bowl shattered on the ground in front of them, causing Jack's head to pop up from the living room. He frantically ran over to the kitchen after grabbing the broom for the closet. Nico and Trevor immediately began picking up the big chunks of broken glass while Jack brought over the broom. As he was just about to start sweeping the shards of glass and chips on the floor, he felt his phone buzz from his pocket.

You: hey lil jizzy finally made it to my apartment :)) come over whenever you want i’ll be here

“Shit! Y/n’s here!” Jack yelled out to everyone in the apartment. People began running into your bedroom, as Jack, Nico, Trevor, Jasper, Nicole, Quinn, and Luke frantically tried to clean up the place. Quinn looked up from the mess to see the banner he’d just hung starting to fall off the wall.

“Jack! The banner!” He shouted, causing Jack to whip his head at the wall.

“Fuck the banner! It’s go time!” Jack finished sweeping the broken pieces of glass into the dustpan, throwing it into the trash, and bolting towards your room. Nico and Trevor followed behind him. Quinn ran to where the banner was, but without a stool he wasn’t able to bring it down.

“I’ll get it! Just go!” Luke frantically yelled at him, watching as he turned out the lights of the apartment and raced to your room shutting the door behind him. Luke reached up to grab the banner, tugging it down, but one of the sides was snagged on something hanging on your wall. He anxiously tried pulling it down as he heard your keys jingle from the other side of the door. Luckily, he finally was able to snag it down, crumpling it up and throwing it on the ground. In this moment, Luke realized he had nowhere to run to, and he stayed frozen in your kitchen, unable to move. You walked in the door, earbuds in your ears with your eyes glued to your phone. You let out a sigh of relief as you dropped your luggage and turned on the lights to your apartment. You slowly put your earbuds into your pocket, feeling the refreshing air of your own home. You looked up from your phone to see Luke standing in your kitchen, jumping at the sight of him. You tilted your head slightly as you traveled closer to him, standing near your bedroom door while he was behind the island.

“Hey, Luke Hughes.” you said with a slight smile on your face. Luke sent you an awkward smile and a small wave. “What are you doing in my apartment?” Luke only rubbed the back of his neck, stepping on the crushed up banner below him hoping the people in your bedroom would save him. At his expense, they did not. Jack’s plan was to wait for you to open your bedroom door and then everyone would surprise you.

“I uhh..” Luke searched his mind for an excuse “I had to take a leak. Yeah. I had to piss a-and your place was the closest to me.” Your face grew confused as Luke was breaking down on the inside.

“You don’t have a key to my apartment.” You let out a confused laugh.

“I don’t?”

“No. You don’t.” You shook your head pursing your lips. “So unless this place was unlocked for three months-”

“SURPRISE!” Jack yelled and whipped open the door behind you, which caused a small scream to escape your lips. You looked into your bedroom to see all of your closest friends jumping up and down and laughing. Your smile grew wider in shock as Jack pulled you into a tight hug, everyone else scurrying out of the room. 

“I missed you so much. You have no idea.” He kissed the top of your head and rocked you back and forth. Feeling his arms around you for the first time in three months was indescribable. Being on the phone with him every night was nothing compared to being engulfed in the scent of his cologne. You felt tears bubbled up in your eyes as you were just so grateful that Jack was there with you.

“You did all of this for me?” You said pulling away from the hug, placing a hand on his cheek.

“Yeah, of course.” Jack grinned wide. “Cause, I love you.” Your eyes went wide as you tilted your head to the side.

“You WHAT?”

“I love you!” He shouted in your face, giggling through his words. You quickly pulled him in to place a soft kiss on his lips.

“I love you too, Jacky.” You giggled, your lips ghosting his as he pulled you back in.

The party carried on swiftly, unlike before. Jack teased Luke about his stupid excuse for why he was in your kitchen. You and Jack were sitting on the couch together. He was leaned against the arm while you laid against him, letting your hand fall to his. The two of you stole kisses from each other throughout the night, knowing you were just two people who loved each other reunited for, hopefully, the last time.

[erenjaegerwifee]

Summers In Pandora 🌸 Day 3 - Angry/Hate Sex

Paring: Lo’ak x Fem!Omatikaya!Reader

Summary: Lo’ak doesn’t like it when you spend time with his brother so he shows you he’s the best you’ll ever have.

Warnings: MDNI 18+, established relationship, mentions of alcohol and drinking, smut, hate fucking, angry sex, rough sex, spitting, explicit language, choking, marking, overstimulation, begging, gagging, orals (m receiving),

Word Count: 3.6K

Index: kelku - house,

Disclaimer:  All my characters are aged-up! If this makes you uncomfortable feel free to scroll and don’t interact with my posts.

Main M.list | Event M.list

You struggle to tie your new top around your neck, it was beautifully made using red and yellow beads by your boyfriend. He was always so generous when it came to you, and that wasn’t just with gift giving. Getting into a relationship with Lo’ak was one of the best decisions you ever made, you were so excited when he asked to court you. You love him dearly but of course it’s Lo’ak, he tends to have a knack to piss you off.  

It’s not really his fault though, you try so hard to show him you’ll be a good wife to him when you both officially mate. And you know he is aware you’ll treat him with love and respect when it happens, what sets you off is the way every woman in this clan wants to climb on his cock. 

In the past few months you’ve grown quite close with Lo’ak’s family, hanging out and having dinner with them daily. They have grown to become like your family. Tonight, there will be another clan celebration, as much as you love your clan wholeheartedly, you hate seeing girls trip over their feet to be close to your man knowing that he was courting you. You are so tired of them getting in your way constantly, you can’t even kiss him without getting side eyed by the next bitch.  

You decided to get ready with Kiri at her family kelku and leave from there, but when you arrived everyone was at the house but Lo’ak was nowhere to be seen. You didn’t think too much off it as everyone was finishing up either attire for the party. Everyone looked ethereal as they should as the leading family, sometimes you wonder how you got so lucky to join it.   

Kiri stepped out to help her mother with some last-minute health paste which left you with everyone else in the kelku. Neytiri had asked you so kindly to get Tuk ready while she was gone so she wouldn’t be rushing and you couldn’t say no. You styled her hair pretty and helped her knot her clothes properly and she ran out of the room excitedly to show her big brother and father who were seated in the common area.  

When you turned around and she disappeared you go back to struggling with your top and not getting anywhere. You keep ducking your head out to curtain to see if either Kiri, Neytiri or Lo’ak comes in but instead Jake and Tuk leave. So now you stand helplessly in the house with Neteyam.  

He has always been a sweet big brother to you, always defending you and protecting you when he sees necessary. The only reason he hesitates to ask him for help is because Lo’ak hates it when you have to ask or depend on Neteyam for anything instead of him. But at this moment you don’t have a choice. You loosely tie your loincloth on your hips not finished with your body jewelry and stuck your head out the room. Neteyam sits with a tablet in his hands scrolling through something you can’t make out from here, you glance around to see if there was anyone else before you call out to him, “Hey, nete” Neteyam’s head snaps to your voice and chuckles at your floating head, “Yea?” it made you smile how quickly he was ready to drop what he was doing, “I need help, come here” you duck your head back into the room and make sure to hold the top covering your body properly before he walked in.  

When he entered, he stood at the doorway looking at you in the mirror reflection, “Hm?”

“I need help to tie my top, my fingers are slipping I don’t know why today of all days I can’t tie a knot” you giggle. Neteyam laughs at you and walks up behind you pushing your hair over your shoulder, you watch his hands disappear behind your back grazing your skin to tie the knot. It feels a little more intimate than usual but you chalk it up to Lo’ak’s opinion of you asking Neteyam for help.  

“How long have you been struggling in here you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to finish?” he laughs as he focuses on securing your top. “What do you mean?” you ask him watching his eyes dart to make eyes contact with you through the mirror. “Dad went with Tuk to meet mom and Kiri, Lo’ak is Eywa knows where so he said wait for you until you’re done so we can go to the party.” his explanation makes sense he has always been that kind of gentleman.  

“I don’t know where Lo’ak is either and I’m not done I still have a couple things to do so it looks like you’re still waiting” you laugh and he joins in with you giggling about stupid stuff. All of a sudden Lo’ak yanks the curtain open and barges inside catching you and Neteyam in front of the mirror, “Hey baby Kiri said you were- what's going on here?” 

You can hear it in his voice, he feels sour Neteyam is in here with you, they always had a good relationship but Lo’ak has a serious sharing problem, he just couldn’t get it past his head that Neteyam respects your relationship, he doesn’t want you, and you don’t want him.  

“Nothing baby bro, I’m helping your girlfriend tie her top.” Lo’ak notes the loosely tied loincloth around your hips, you could see the gears turning in his head, he must think something happened between you while he wasn’t here, speaking off, where was he? 

“No one else was here and I wanted to finish getting ready” you voice spoke up, “And where were you? I thought you’d be here when I got here” you look at him in the mirror as Neteyam finished securing your top and stepped away from you looking at Lo’ak. 

Neteyam is also well aware Lo’ak doesn’t like it when he is around you, it honestly amused him how much you apologize to him about Lo’ak’s behavior in those matters. “I was busy, and I think she’s good now bro don’t need to wait anymore I’ll Walk her to the party.” Lo’ak said to Neteyam. 

Neteyam left the room after sending you a quick goodbye and you turn to Lo’ak, “you don’t have to act like that I just asked for his help, and who were you with?” you ask him as you start fixing your clothes better. “Oh, so you care so much about how I treat him why don’t you let him help you take your clothes off now he can see how sorry you are” he rolls his eyes. 

“Lo’ak don’t be like that you know that nothing happened and if you were here, I wouldn’t have had to ask him in the first place” you know the argument is brewing, he’s gonna say something he doesn’t mean much like he just did and you’re both gonna be at that party glaring at each other instead of dancing on him, “And where were you, Lo? What were you so busy with?” you turn to face him now one hand on your hip as you wait for him to respond. 

“I was helping out a friend, I just ran a little late.” 

“Who?” 

He sighed he knew you were gonna take this in the wrong way but he was honest anyways, “Cilia, she asked me to restring her bow a couple days ago, today was the only day I had some time” your brow furrowed at his response, “Cilia? That girl you flashed you at the river a week ago? The one who is constantly trying to bend over your lap? You went into her kelku willingly?” your voice raised with every question.  

“Why are you always on my case about this sluttly girls? It's not my fault they want me-”  

“No Lo’ak but it is your fault when you entertain them, how many times must I explain this to you?” 

“I don’t know what more you want from me. Ever since we’ve been together, I never crawled into bed with any of them. You on the other hand always wait for me to turn my back so you have a reason to run to my fucking brother” 

“I’m sorry, hold up. Don’t let me misunderstand, are you telling me I’m in some kind of secret relationship with your brother?” 

“Well, are you? I mean come on your basically asking for it tying your loincloth like that while he was in here? It just sat on your hips waiting for a light breeze to blow it off”  

“Oh, fuck you Lo’ak, how can you even accuse me of something like this, you're such a dick” you storm out of the room walking to the celebration by yourself. You know he is right behind you; you can hear him walking behind you but you make no effort to slow your pace or even turn to talk to him.  

When you made it to the party your branched off going in different directions, you walking over to the drinks table and he went somewhere else. Kiri came up to you while you were pouring yourself a drink and asked why you were looking so pissed. You explained what Lo’ak did and how you two argued and no surprise she understands your issue with it. It seems only Lo’ak has his head up his ass. 

You start to feel the music a bit and sway your hips from side to side, Lo’ak was nowhere in sight even though you were fully ready to forgive him and dance like you originally planned. But it seems that asshole has other plans, you walk through the crowd politely greeting people who tried talking to you until you spotted Lo’ak across the clearing. He sits next to Cilia a little to closely laughing at some stupid joke she just said.  

Why is he doing this to you? Why is he torturing you like this? He knows you don’t like her; he is well aware you would throw her ass off a cliff if you could and right now you feel like you might. Your eyes dart to everyone else sitting around them. Spider making small talk with a na’vi girl. Tuk runs circles around the fire with her friends and Neteyam has a girl pressed up against a nearby tree looking like he’s ready to eat her. 

You felt bad for what you were about to do, you know it will only add fuel to the fire but Lo’ak fucking deserves it right now, he has done nothing but be mean to you and ignore your wishes you’ve had enough. You prance your way over to Neteyam tapping on his shoulder to get his attention away from the girl. 

He doesn’t seem too happy about being interrupted but his face softens when he sees yours, and not only that but your glassy eyes make him concerned, you look like a sad baby kitten. He never liked when you cried, no matter who’s fault it was. “Hey, hey what happened?”  

You pout your lip out like you were about to sob and glanced at Lo’ak giving him the hint, “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to interrupt I just don’t know who else to- to-” you sniffle clearly holding in your cries “It’s okay, don’t cry, let’s get you something to eat” he walks you over to the food table that was a couple feet away from Lo’ak, his arm was rested around your shoulder as you dried your tears laughing at his bad jokes in attempt to cheer you up. 

He stood with you while you ate, even cleaning the side of your mouth when you got a little messy. On the other hand, Lo’ak was pissed, he could kill a palulukan. Why on this planet is his girl eating off a leaf Neteyam is holding? Why is his girl so close to him, he knows Neteyam can smell her, why is she so close they are smelling each other.  

Lo’ak gets up and storms over but to his surprise Neteyam don’t budge this time, “bro back up let me talk to my girl” 

“Your girl? Has talking to that girl make you lose braincells? You know y/n doesn’t like her; anyone can tell you that. Why are you over there grinning your teeth at her?” 

“Not that it’s any of your fucking business but Jackson asked me to put in a good word”  

Neteyam’s angry turning into confusion, “Avatar Jackson? He’s into that bimbo?” 

“I know right, her conversations are fucking mind numbing” Lo’ak matched his tone easily, it was not Neteyam he was mad at, it was you, for being dumb. “Now can I talk to my damn girl?” he said in a less angry tone and Neteyam raised his hands in surrender and went back to his girl. 

Truthfully you felt kind of bad, you had no idea he was helping out a friend, but it’s too late for you to not be mad because you are sure he is. He doesn’t say a word only pulls you in the direction of his family kelku, he knows no one is home so he can have privacy.  

When you entered his private room, you turn to face him watching him close the curtain shut, “Do you just leave home every day thinking about how to piss me off? Seriously, you fucking know I hate it when you do shit like that. And fake cry? What are you a child? Did I take away your fucking lollipop?” 

“Well by that logic Cilia is trying to take away my lollipop” you cross your arms over your chest. Lo’ak ran his hands over his face trying to gather up the patience to deal with you, problem is he ran out of it when he caught you getting dresses with another man’s help. He knows he could have ended this whole thing earlier if he told you he was just being a wingman but he was too caught up in the shit you were doing, he didn’t think that far. 

“Are you crazy? No one is tryna take anything away from you baby. I’m right here missing a perfectly good party to put your ass back into place”  

“Excuse me? Put my ass back into place? She was practically grinding on your lap; you should know by now I don’t fucking like her and I have good fucking reasons to.”

Fair enough you do but still it’s the principle, you tried to one up him with his own brother, what were you planning to do if he didn’t interrupt you? “Do you hear yourself when you talk? Honestly, I don’t see how you could have blown this more out of proportion, I am your man, I’m happy to provide for you for the rest of my life but Eywa knows you have to pat down his fucking attitude.” 

“Make me” you voice was stern you aren’t giving up, yet those words make Lo’ak growl. 

Lo’ak didn’t say anything more only walking you to you and grabbing you by the throat, he pushed you back until your back hit the wall behind you and you were up on your tippy toes. “You need to fix that fucking mouth.” he growled out. 

Lo’ak was towering you even on your toes and pulling your body forward by your neck to meet his lips. His kiss was rough but his lips were soft, he took your bottom lip between his teeth pulling on it before he lets go and comes back in for your lips. 

His heated kiss make you blush, you felt the heat run down your neck and you whimper. Your hands move from your side to hold around his neck but with his free hand he grabs them both pinning them on over your head, “Nah no touching” he said meanly. 

“Lo’ak I-” he shushed you with a kiss and sucked down the skin of your neck. Lo’ak felt marks on your collarbone and neck admiring the way your skin bruised so easy. He let go of your body completely pushing you down by your shoulders roughly. Your knees hit the floor hard but you didn’t think about the pain to focused on you boyfriend untying his loincloth watching his cock spring out. 

Lo’ak brough a hand up to stroke it over your face, you looked so cute crossing your eyes to watch his length before you. “Open” he demanded and when you obeyed, he spit on your tongue, “Don’t swallow, stick your tongue out. You're gonna learn what this fucking mouth is good for”  

He stuck his cock down your throat without warning, making you gag on it. He threw his head back as he thrusted back and forth into your tight mouth not giving you a chance to breath. Lo’ak moaned when your throat tightens around him, your mouth felt so good on him. “Gonna let anyone else fuck your mouth like this?”  he pulled his cock out for you to answer and he rubs the tip from your lips to your cheeks and back while you answer a strained ‘no’ shaking your head. 

Lo’ak rams his cock back into your mouth making your breathing uneven while you gag on him. When he pulls out of your mouth, he pulled you up by your hair and grabbed your bicep pushing you towards his bed. Lo’ak ripped the sting holding your top on behind your neck and snatched your loincloth off. You gasped at his actions but it really wasn’t out of the ordinary for Lo’ak to rip up your clothes. You'd say you quite liked it when he fucked you this rough because he doesn't always do it. Whether it is because he is angry at you or in his rut, Lo’ak still knows how you like it.  

He pushing your body up on the bed and got on his knees spreading your legs. He didn’t say much as he tapped his cock on your clit making you jump. Lo’ak didn’t want to say right now but you looked so pretty, tear stains down your cheeks and puffy lips, he did a number on you, and you’re just getting started. 

He pushing in harshly not giving you a chance before he’s fucking into you. No matter how much times you take him, you never really get used to the feeling of his stretching you out like that but it always feels heavenly. Lo’ak thrusted into you with a brutal pace, rocking your entire body as he did, “no smart comments now? You all out baby?” you couldn't even answer him you could only moan and whimper under him. 

Lo’ak pulled out and flipped you over on all fours, “You wanted to be a little slut huh, prance around my brother knowing I fucking hate it, tell me who do you belong to?” he thrust back into you gathering up your hair into a makeshift ponytail and pulling your head up to stare at the ceiling. He fucked into your cunt using your hair to pull you back into his thrust you mewl feeling his gritty cock stretch you out.  

“Y- you Lo, I belong to you-” your cut yourself off with a moan, as he pounds into you. Lo’ak knew you were close, he knew you wanted to release, but did you deserve that? “Wanna cum baby?” he bent over your body to talk to you, “Yes, Yea wanna cum on your cock” your words are jumbled but he understands anyways.  

“You sure it’s my cock you wanna cum on? You sure it’s not my brother’s?” you barely process his question before you answer, “No yours- yours" you shout. “I don’t know baby I'm gonna need a little convincing” he said cockily. 

“Please Lo- wanna cum so bad please?” he doesn’t respond to your pleads as you muster up the breath to do it again. “Love your cock yawne, not his pleasee” Lo’ak again said nothing to your words, he loved here them but he didn’t want you to know how that just yet. “Lo’ak I’m gonna cum gonna cum!” you were reaching the end of your resolve. You can’t hold this much longer you’re about to burst.  

“Lo’ak, Lo’ak, Lo’ak-” your chant his name as if it would change his mind, “Can’t believe you purposefully used him to get me jealous, you get off on watching me get man at Neteyam?” his mistake for saying Neteyam’s name, your cunt gush on his cock unintentionally just as Lo’ak utter his brother’s name and he felt it. 

“Oh, I see, you want him so fucking much you’re cuming at the sound of his name now?! Such a fucking slut.” Lo’ak doesn’t let up, he pounds in your cunt making you scream in overstimulation, you beg and beg him to give you a break but he never lets up. You cum three more times in his cock due to it, “yea take it, fucking take my cock, he’ll never be able to fuck you the way I do and you’ll fucking remember that”  

Lo’ak bent his head down to your neck and bit you, making you scream out and leaving a nasty purple bruise on your skin, he loves hearing how he makes you scream, gives him a nice since of pride knowing his girl gets off on his cock so well. “Gonna cum in this tight cunt, make you mine for real now, let’s see you flirt with other men.”  

Lo’ak jackhammered into your cunt letting his cum shoot deep inside you. You left his cock twitch before you drop down onto his bed sideways with him spooning you form behind. Lo’ak made no move to get up or pull out he simply rubbed along your skin gently as you fell into sleep for the night.  

🌸 I hope you all enjoyed reading this one! Ik it learned more towards angry sex than hate sex but I do still like it! Please don’t repost my work on any other app or website!

🌸 Reblogs, comments and likes are always appreciated

Taglist:

@rivatar @strongheartneteyam @xylianasblog @delusionalwh6re @nilahsstuff @neteyamsoare @inlovewithpandora @m1tsu-ki @teymars @kylimarz

[girliism]

70s cult leader art who picked up your friend from the grocery store on day and you haven’t seen her since.

“hello” you hear a voice you haven’t heard in months.

“oh my god? are you ok no ones seen you for months. i thought you died.”

“died?” she laughs through the phone. “i haven’t died in fact i feel more alive than ever.”

“well, where the hell have been?”

“that’s what i called you for, i want you to come visit me. it’s been so long and i missed you dearly. he even said you could spend the weekend.” he?

you don’t question it to much telling her you’ll be there. she gives you the address and says to come on friday.

you leave early in that morning, the california sun beating down on you through the window as you approach a huge house. you eagerly park your car getting out to see your friend.

“i’m so glad you came.” she pulls you in for a tight hug. “god, i missed you so much.” you hold her just a little bit longer before pulling notice something on her upper arm. “what’s this?” you stroke the mark on her arm. “looks like a tattoo but worse.” she pulls away from you. “it’s nothing. come on i’ll show you around. and don’t worry about your bags someone will grab them.”

the house was beautiful. a giant staircase and a crystal chandelier hangs in the foyer. “holy shit.” you stare in awe. your friend laughs at your reaction. “i know right wait til you see the rest of the house.”

“and this is where you’ll be sleeping here with me.” it was a huge room, lots of windows and six beds lined up next to each other. “you can have the bed on the end-” “girls.” you turn around to a man with blonde curly hair dressed in a long silk rob and tiny underwear. “art!” your friend goes up to place a kiss on his lips. oh? “art, this is my friend the one i was telling you about.” you hold you hand out for him to shake but his immediately pulls you in for a hug. “it’s so great to finally meet you. i hope you have a fun time here.” he pulls away with a big smile on his face before leaving. “isn’t he just so great.” your friend stared at the now empty door way. “anyways you should probably change out of those jeans before i show you outside. it gets terribly hot.”

dressed in a loose white dress you and your friend walk through the garden. “this is our garden all of our produce is grown here by our garden members.” they were all naked sporting the same mark on their arm as your friend. she showed you the rest of the huge property and soon it was time for dinner.

the dining room was full of talking and laughing. three long tables placed next to each other. you sat in the middle one. the room got quite when art walked in. “family, today we are joined by a new friend. i hope you all made her feel welcome.” yes is echoed throughout the room. “join hands and thank the divine for blessing us with such a beautiful harvest and such a beautiful guest.” they all joined hands thanking the divine before passing food around starting up conversations again.

art watched you the whole night. they way your lips wrapped around the fork how easy you got a long with every one. maybe you were what was missing from the house.

“you got so lucky tonight. you got to sit at his table right next to him.” you friend said to you from her bed. it was night and you and your friend were talking about the day you had. “what’s so great about this art guy.” you say. everyone here seems so obsessed with him. “he’s amazing. when he found me i was so sad and hiding it from you, but he saw that and he helped me.” you hummed. “well i’m glad you’re happier now.”

you get awoken in the middle of the night by howling and the urge to pee.

the old house creeks below you feet as you walk back from the bathroom when you hear it. moans. they were coming from a room and the door wasn’t all the way closed, so against your better judgment you looked through the crack. you saw bodies fucking in a perfect circle with art in the middle, two people going down on him. what the fuck? you accidentally push the door causing it to creek. art snaps his eye to yours making quick contact with you. you gasp moving back immediately making your way back to the room. you replay the scene in your head pushing a pillow in between your legs grinding against it softly.

the kitchen is busy that morning, people moving in and out of it. your friend spots you coming up to hug you. “good morning. how was your sleep?” “it was fine. um what’s going on here.” you pick up and apple from the fruit bowl but it’s ripped out your hand. “no eating that those are for tonight.” you ask what tonight was. “the first full moon of the summer. we’re gonna be camping outside, oh i do hope you stay for it.” “oh uh i wouldn’t want to intrude.” you say shaking your head. your friend smile drops “that’s ok. it’s been so much fun either way i do hope you come back and visit.” she shrugs going back to preparing for tonight.

you were packing your bag up getting ready to leave when someone comes in tell you art what’s to see you in his office. you make your way to his office knocking on his door. you hear a soft come in and you walk in taking a seat in front of him. “i hear you’re not gonna stay for the full moon camp out.” art says leaning back in his chair blue eyes locking with yours. you draw a breath looking away. “i just as an outsider wouldn’t want to crash you know.” art laughs getting up to take a seat on the desk in front of you holding your hands in his lap. “please, we would love to have you join us.” his thumbs stroke the back of your hands.

so you find your in another white flowy dress walking bare foot up a hill arm hooked with your friends. “i’m so happy you decided to stay you’re gonna have so much fun.” you friend smiles.

“drink this and find a spot.” you drink the mysterious drink the guy at the top of the hill. you start to fill whatever it is you drank, your muscles feel loose and the flames in front of you look as if they are waving. you see your friend encourage you to get up and dance with her so you do. jumping and twisting dancing around the fire getting lost in the night. art watches from his spot before getting up to dance too, grabbing your hand pulling you off to a more secluded area.

art pushes you to lay on the grass hovering over you pulling the strap of your dress down. you moan at how his touch shockes you. whatever you drank has you overly sensitive and needy. “i saw you watching us last night in the shadows.” your bare tits get exposed to the cold night air nipples harden. “you wanted to join just us or did you want me all to yourself.” art pulls your head that was rolling to the side smacking your cheek to get your eyes to open. “yes, i wanted you i even went back in my bed and touched myself.” you whine at the filling of art’s fingers teasing your cunt.

you were so high. your eyes glossed over and drool spilling out of your mouth that art licks ups slipping his tongue in your mouth. “want you to fuck me with your cock.” the small sober part of you was confused on why you were acting like this, but the major part of your mind felt fuzzy, and art hands holding your thighs open made you want to cum on the spot just from his touch.

art chuckled at your directness. “i can do that.” art pulls is cock out of his pants pushing it into your wet heat. “fuck.” he grunts bottoming out. the second he enters you, you feel reborn like his cock was what was missing from your life. “oh my god.” your eyes roll back. art shakes his head. “no, not god. the divine.” he smiles at you bringing one of your legs up over his shoulder and starts fucking into you.

“i thank the divine for bringing you here for bringing me such a welcoming pussy to lay my sperm.” art kisses all over your face gripping your breast hard, panting like a dog in your ear.

“art art art - oh fuck - fuck me harder.” you whine. the twigs on the ground scrap your back, and art is punching the sweet spot inside you with his dick.

art starts licking and sucking on your breast, leaving faint bite marks there. “the best fucking pussy. need you to stay with me, rule with me in my divine kingdom.” everything art’s saying and how his thumbs moves fast on your clit has you blanking. absolutely nothing is being thought. the only thing echoing up there is arts pleads of staying with him.

“i think i’m gonna come.” you dig your nail into his arm as your cum gushes down his cock. you don’t know when art cums in you but he does. the only thing you do know is how you feeling like your floating. everything around you seems so bright and vibrant. is this the divine?

you come back to reality when art kisses your lips asking if your were ok. “i’m more than ok, i’m perfect.” you breathe out. art smiles down at you. “so you’ll stay with me?” art ask taking advantage of the state you were in.

“yes, i’ll do whatever for you.” you and art lay there under the full moon.

(poor girl was tripping off shrooms thinking she’s having a religious experience 🙂‍↔️)

[leaawrites]

Valentine's day kisses

Percy Jackson x Daughter of Apollo reader

Warnings: fluff, kisses, valentine's day mentioned,

Summary: Percy brings flowers in hope of getting a Valentine

For everyone who needs a bit of love today! I love and appreciate you all so dearly <3

Masterlist

The first thing she woke up to was a fresh Bouquet of flowers beside her bed. Y/n looked around the room, trying to figure out who the mysterious sender was. No one looked at her in a way that told her they were it, they all only looked at her in expectation. None of her brother’s or sisters knew who had smuggled the flowers in here. Or more importantly, who was crazy enough to sneak into the Apollo cabin before dawn to surprise someone.

Apollo kids were always the first to wake, but not today. Today it was someone who wasn’t too afraid of potentially getting caught, but too bashful to admit that they were it.

“Looks like you’ve got a Valentine,” Laura chirped in from across the other side of the cabin, making the others laugh.

Y/n looked down, flowers in her hand, cheeks growing red. Whoever it was, she wanted to know who they were.

“Are you going to find out who it was?” It felt like Laura could read her mind. That wasn’t the first time it happened. She already did it when Y/n stared into the distance at one of their traditional campfires.

“He’s cute, I know. But stop thinking about him,” she told her back then.

“Who are you talking about?” Y/n asked since she wasn’t looking at anyone in particular.

“The new kid. Peter?” Laura guessed his name wrong.

“Percy,” Y/n corrected her.

She guessed wrong on purpose.

Y/n looked at her best friend, she knew her all too well.

“Of course, I will,” she answered confidently. Even though she had no idea where to start. “But where?”

“What is with outside the cabin?” Another camper said as he walked through the door.

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows at 1. How he knew about what they were talking about and 2. What he meant by it. The girl pushed her blanket away from her body, freeing her legs from the heat. The cold morning air hit her bare skin the moment she stepped outside the cabin. Everyone was watching her as she walked outside. She had no idea who or what would be outside, until she saw Percy Jackson leaning against the wall of Cabin 7.

“Percy Jackson,” she mused. “What brought you out here this early?”

“So, you like them?” He asked, partly answering her question, when only vague.

“You slipped the flowers beside my bed?” Y/n asked holding his gaze. She was always someone who would look the person she was talking to in the eyes out of respect.

“Happy Valentine’s day.” He smiled at her like a innocent boy.

Y/n laughed at him and his unusual shyness. He acted all relaxed when he was still leaning against the wall, but now that he’s face to face with the girl he secretly admired, the words left his mouth. There was no other sound coming from his vocal chords but a small laugh when he heard hers.

“Thank you,” she said, kissing his cheek in gratefulness. “What about, I get dressed and then we could go down to the lake or so?” She asked, trying to stop the tension between them.

“Yes,” he answered, smiling at her still. “Or you could teach me how to use bow and arrow?”

“I’m not sure if that will end well,” she said, amused at the memory of his first try with the gear.

“I mean, I’m a fast learner,” he shrugged, playing the embarrassing off with a cool facade.

“Sure you are,” Y/n said, before disappearing again into her cabin to get dressed for the day ahead.

[lopsushi]

Return Back

Part 2 for Part 1.

Princess Iron Fan was pacing around in her office room, biting her nails, and looking at her clock. It has been one day and hours since her son went missing. Her beloved husband went out searching with the clone bots including those mortals. She pulled her hair back and glanced at the window praying to Buddha that her child comes back home safely, or her husband finds him. That is till the door to her office slammed open making her frown and turn to the person who dared to disturb her pacing.

“Princess Iron Fan!” Tang said with a concerned face showing. “Come quick!”

She paled and quickly followed Tang, where they ran to the hall room where her husband, and that Noodle boy’s family were at. They were staring at a dark purple portal appearing in the middle of the room. She went to her beloved side with her eyes widened and tearing up.

“Brother…” She whispers out walking towards the portal till her husband grabs her shoulder.

She looked back confused but frown when she saw how serious her beloved was, making her turn back to the portal and everyone breath hitch because they knew that boot was so familiar. It belongs to none other than the Monkey King. Wukong stepped out looking at everyone with a dark expression, his red eyes glowing with his yellow pupil. She snarled angrily, her hand about to summon her weapon but gasp when she saw Wukong sticking a handout to see another hand that she knew by heart. Macaque grabs onto his King’s hand and steps out from the portal, but she notices how her beloved brother was glancing back at time with a worried expression. That’s when both her and her husband both felt fear and dread when they saw Wukong’s tail pulling out from the portal, Red Son.

“Son!!” Demon Bull King said his eyes widening in concern seeing his unconscious son. “What have you done to him, Simian!”

Wukong glanced at his brother and sighed with disdain in his voice. “Look, I just taught my nephew a lesson. He came to my kingdom uninvited.” He said moving his tail towards him. “He tried to kidnap my family. I thought you taught him better Princess Iron Fan.”

Wukong glanced at her, making her frown more but glanced at her beloved child seeing Wukong’s hand on his cheek. Pigsy was growling angrily at this watching this scene unfold including the others. Macaque snarled softly at Wukong with a stare that made the King blush softly and lean close to his mate.

“I’m sorry my precious Moonlight. I’m not hurting your nephew, promise.” He said gently nuzzling his cheek against Macaque. “Anyways! I just came here to return your child brother!”

Wukong smiled, throwing the teen to the ground in front of them. Demon Bull King, Princess Iron Fan and Macaque gasp seeing Red Son groan in pain and lay there. Macaque sadly looks at them, not wanting to cause any more problems for his beloved sister. Wukong watched them and put his arms behind his back, his expression becoming serious again.

“I’m only going to say this once so listen.” He said glaring at everyone. “Don’t try to do anything stupid again. Leave MY FAMILY alone. I’m being nice since my Moonlight and Mk both hold you all dearly, which I hate but can’t change.” He snarled but sighed.

“Either way, don’t try again or I won’t be nice again. Okay byeee.”

Wukong calmly placed his hand on Macaque’s back, guiding him back to the open portal till he stopped when he heard a foot stomp.

“You damn ape!” Princess Iron Fan said standing up tall. “I will save my brother and that child.” She hisses looking at Wukong, whose eyes were glowing angrily. “Gongzhu.” Macaque said in a worried/warning tone holding onto Wukong’s arm.

“And we aren’t going to stop either!” Mei glared at the King as well, holding her sword. “We’re going to save Mk too!”

Wukong looked at them with a faceless expression blinking at the people/demons that dare to go against his words. Macaque stared at him worriedly and jumped when he started laughing softly. The others frowning while he continues to laugh and sighed heavily to glance up at them with a dark expression.

“Then I wish you all luck because you’ll need it.” Wukong said darkly, guiding Macaque inside the portal and leaving Thunderclap Mountain.

[yandere-daydreams]

Title: Unrequited.

Pairings: Arlecchino x Reader x Furina (Genshin).

Word Count: 1.1k.

TW: Reader Doesn't Have A Gender But Everyone Here Is A Melodramatic Lesbian. Live Dove: Tender and Sweet.

[Part Two]

Arlecchino has never struggled to find her way to you.

She would have, if she needed to. That was something she prided herself on: her perseverance when it came to all things, her determination when it came to her pursuits – romantic or otherwise. When she was in Snezhnaya, she dreamed each night of crossing oceans and climbing mountains and tearing apart the Tsaritsa and all of her many soldiers with her own monstrous hands if only to win the chance of finding her way back to your side, and when she was in Fontaine, there was nothing – not her duties as a Harbinger, not the fate of her nation, and only very rarely her beloved children – that could keep her away from you. Fortunately (more so for the rest of Teyvat than for her), she never had to go through so much effort.

No matter how distant she might’ve been, you were always exactly where she'd left you: at the right hand of Lady Furina, Protector and God of Fontaine, or as Arlecchino had come to think of her, the only person you would ever cross oceans to be with.

Also, coincidentally, the only person thick-skulled enough not to pay you a second glance.

She found you watching your dearly beloved from your usually crow’s nest; a balcony that overlooked the rest of the venue, your eyes cast downward towards the ballroom and a sickeningly tender smile painted across your lips. As Arlecchino neared you, she could see what you were so transfixed by and weather the wave of nausea that accompanied the sight of Lady Furina holding court with a handful of Fontaine’s elite, her hands moving excitedly as she recited some practiced monologue Arlecchino could only be thankful she was too far to hear. An exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she came to stand beside you, extending a flute of champagne which you gladly accepted. She had invited you back to her manor when she first discovered your fondness for such fine things, practically begged you to sample the finest wines and bourbons in her vast collection, but you only shook your had and told her that Furina would need your held reviewing case files for her next trial, grinning like an idiot all the while. If she hadn’t been so endeared by your smile, she might’ve hated you for how thoughtlessly you dismissed her.

“The orchestra is half-way decent, tonight.” She rested a hand on the crook of your arm, let her head lilt to the side. “Care to join me for a dance?”

Your love-struck smile widened. “No, thank you. I’m saving my first for her.” A quick nod towards Furina, one of her boots now propped on a chair provided by one of her audience members. “She’s been working on her waltz, lately – she only stepped on my feet twice while we were practicing this afternoon.”

You said it as if Furina had plucked the moon from the sky and gifted it to you on a silver chain. Arlecchino couldn’t help but scoff. “I have no idea what you see in her. She would starve to death if you weren’t there to remind her to eat.” You sighed wistfully and she took a generous sip from her own drink before going on. “She’s a poor excuse for an entertainer, let alone an archon. If it wasn’t for that judge of hers, she’d have a revolution on her hands in a matter of hours.”  

“You’re only saying that because you don’t know her. She might not have Monsieur Neuvillette’s resolution, but she’s not trying to be Monsieur Neuvillette.” For the first time since the start of your conversation, you looked towards Arlecchino and she could’ve sworn the rest of the ballroom ceased to exist. If she’d been a weaker woman, she would’ve fallen to one knee and presented the ring she kept in her breast pocket when she knew she would see you, would’ve drawn her sword and pleaded with you to drive it through her heart, but your attention turned back to your archon and the temptation faded back into more of a wishful fancy than a possible reality. “She’s wonderful, and brilliant, and she makes me laugh. Whenever I picture myself happy, I picture myself with her. I love her.” She’d heard you say it a thousand times before, and yet, her heart seemed to break in an entirely new way every time those words – coated in such a saccharine affection – trickled off of your tongue. She was glad she was not a weaker woman, upon further thought; if she was, you would’ve done her in months ago. “She’s everything to me.”

She couldn’t help herself. As delicate as she tried to be with you, there would always be a part of her that couldn’t help but twist the knife. “Doesn’t it hurt?” And then, when you hummed for clarification, “Loving someone so incapable of loving you back?”

You let out a breath of a laugh, the noise like windchimes and wedding bells. “I don’t know, Lord Arlecchino.” You glanced over your shoulder. “Does it?”

Ah, there it was.

Despite everything, she’d fallen for a sadist after all.

She let the corner of her mouth curl upward. “More than I could ever say.”

This time, your laugh was more throaty, more full-hearted. “What a sorry sight we must make, too pining romantics mourning lost love at a party.” Your tone dipped into something more genuine, albeit still playful. “My first dance is taken, but would it be too much of an insult to offer you my second?”

She moved to speak, to tell you that you could dig your heel into her foot and spit in her face and she would still be able to thank you sincerely for sparing her so much of your attention, but a melodical voice called your name and instantly, you were stolen away by a head of white hair and two mismatched eyes emerging at the top of the nearest staircase, still glowing with the zeal of a performer post-applause. Furina latched onto you with all she was worth; arms wrapping around your own as she pressed herself into your side. “Evidently, you have forgotten your duties to your goddess,” Furina started properly, her little speech already rehearsed to perfection. “Must I remind you that I am always to be the center of your attention?”

“Never, my lady.” And, in an instant, Arlecchino was gone to you, nothing more than a momentary distraction you would not be returning to for as long as Furina held you in her spotlight. “In fact, I believe you still owe me a dance.”

The reminder was unnecessary. Furina was already pulling you back down to the ballroom floor, already spouting off something about how cruel it would be of her to deny such an earnest request from her most faithful servant, about how foolish you are for believing her memory would be so fallible as to forget even the most trivial of promises. With a ragged breath, Arlecchino took up your post, watching dutifully as you were pulled into (what could be called by the most generous of onlookers) a terribly mangled waltz. It was proof of Furina’s fortune that she’d found the only person in Teyvat with the fortitude and patience to be so hopelessly in love with her.

It was proof to your fortune that, even when faced with the wrath of gods, Arlecchino was not one to give up so easily.

[alotofpockets]

Down the aisle | Leslie Shay x Firefighter!Reader

Where you and Shay go from girlfriend's to wives

Chicago Fire masterlist | Words: 1.6k

-----

“Kelly Severide, stop laughing at me.” Shay said in frustration. “Why? It’s funny that you have something bad to say about every beautiful ring you see.” Her best friend had been with her in the jewellery store for the past hour, not to mention that it was the fourth jewellery store they had visited in the past week. 

“The ring has to be perfect, Kelly.” He shook his head, “I know, but at this pace there aren’t going to be any rings left in the world. That girl is head over heels for you, and will say yes no matter what ring you pick. “Still I want it to be perfect.” 

They kept looking around at the ring collection this store had until Shay’s eyes fell on the one. “Oh my god, that’s it. That is the ring!” Kelly celebrated quietly behind Shay’s back. He loved his best friend dearly, but was also glad that he would finally be spending his days off somewhere other than in a jewellery store.

For Shay it had been easy to keep her thoughts of wanting to ask for your hand in marriage, but now that she had something physical to do it with, she was anxious you would find out. She had given Kelly the ring for safekeeping, but still she knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep the plan a secret for much longer. So, she changed her original plan a little bit, and decided she was going to ask you on your next date night.

Since you both worked 24 hour shifts at the firehouse, you made sure that you made time for each other on your hours off. One of the things you did to reassure you would have some time set aside was a set date night. It really didn’t matter what you did, the only thing that mattered is that you did it together. 

Today’s date night, you went to the Field Museum of Natural History. They had a dinosaur section, which is exactly why Shay wanted to bring you here. You loved dinosaurs and learning more about them. You thought the museum was amazing, and were running around showing her things like an excited little kid.

When you got back home, you were still talking about the dinosaurs. So much so that you didn’t realise the set up of your living room. Shay looked around, very happy with how her idea had played out. She had asked Kelly and Dawson to set up the “Will you marry me?” sign surrounded by a rose petal heart. It looked absolutely perfect, now you just had to look around. 

The moment that you did, time stood still. You looked at the setup in front of you with your jaw dropped, and eyes widened in surprise. When you turn to look at your girlfriend, she is down on one knee and holds out an open ring box towards you. “Yes, yes, yes!” You say with tears in your eyes. 

“You're not even going to let me ask the question?” She giggles with tears in her own eyes from your excitement. “Oops?” You laugh back. “Please ask me, darling.” 

With a big smile on her face, Shay holds your hand. “You are my best friend, and I want to spend the rest of my life by your side. Y/n Y/l/n, will you marry me?” 

You're now both full on crying, but in the best way. “Yes, I will definitely marry you!” You fall into her arms and sob happy tears into each other's shoulders. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the comfort of your home and each other's arms. It wasn't until the next day that you told people about your engagement. Shay sent Severide a picture with the text “She said yes!” He congratulated the both of you and invited you for a drink at Molly's.

Of course, you should have expected the whole team to be waiting for you inside of Molly’s as you arrived. All of them yelling out “Surprise!” When you walked through the door. It was nice celebrating this step in your relationship with the people closest to you, the people that had become your family over the years.

The next day where the team was back at work, the room buzzed with energy. Everyone was excited about the engagement, and was asking all kinds of questions about your plans for the wedding. Above all else, they were thrilled that the couple they had seen grow over the years, was taking the next step together.

Your day started off calm, but as soon as that first bell rang, you knew it wouldn’t be stopping any time soon. As you expected, the calls began to pile up, and the intensity grew. A handful of car accidents, a heart attack victim, and a kitchen fire kept you busy in just the morning.

There was just enough time to have some lunch, before the bells rang again. All units were called to respond to the scene, so you knew this was going to be a serious one. 

A multi-story building had caught fire, and people were still trapped inside. You rushed into truck 81 and your team raced to the scene. When you got there you realised just how far gone the building was. Flames were shooting out the windows, and thick dark clouds of smoke hung around the tall frame of the building. 

Without hesitation, you all sprang into action. “Y/l/n, you’re going up with me. The rest help Squad.” You put on your mask and ran inside, following close behind Casey. When you got up to the fire floor, there was no time for second-guessing, you had to go before the building would collapse. 

The heat and the thick smoke combined, made it hard to see anything at all. Yet you kept yelling out, until finally you heard voices respond. A family of four was hiding in the bathroom, as most of the room was engulfed in flames. 

You and Casey worked together to get the trapped family into the hall. You stood in the middle of the room, helping them over the flames, while Casey got them into the hallway. The moment that the family was out in the hallway, the ceiling about you gave way. 

One of the beams came crashing down, and pinned you to the floor. “Go, get downstairs!” Casey shouted to the family. The safest for them was to head down and meet another firefighter there, he didn’t want more of the ceiling to collapse while the family was still there.

“Mayday mayday, firefighter down on the sixth floor.” He radio’s in while he makes his way to you. Seconds after Shay’s voice is heard over the radio. “Casey, is y/n okay?” He doesn’t answer, as he doesn’t know the answer himself yet. 

“Casey, come in.” Boden requested as the line was still quiet from your end. “Getting to her now. The ceiling collapsed and she’s trapped under a beam. She’s conscious, but I need help getting it off of her.”

You were conscious and talking to Casey while he was trying to pull the beam off himself, without any luck. Luckily more people arrived to aid him, very quickly. With many hands, cribbing, and the right tools, they were able to get you out from underneath the weight of the beam quickly. 

When you got outside, one arm over Casey’s shoulders and the other over Severides, you finally felt like you could breathe again. Shay ran into your arms. “Are you okay? Let me check you out, please, I need to make sure that you’re okay.” You lift your arms from the boys and hold onto your fianceé. “I’m okay, just going to be really sore tomorrow.”

“I thought I lost you.” You shake your head. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” You joke, but you were well aware of how the situation could have ended. “Life is too short. I don’t want to waste any time.” Shay was quick to chime in, “You don’t have to convince me, let’s get married as fast as we can.”

After a long and exhausting shift, the team got together for a small firehouse wedding. It was just quickly thrown together, but you had all you needed. Your bride and your family surrounding you. 

Severide walked Shay down the makeshift aisle, while you were standing in the doors of the apparatus floor with Casey by your side. He was like a brother to you, so there was not even a question on your mind when Shay asked you who you would want to walk you down the aisle. “Are you ready?” He says as he watches your eyes meet Shay’s. “I’ve never been more ready for something in my life.”

You met Shay between Truck 81 and Ambulance 61, a small touch to give even more meaning to this day. Boden stood between you, who better to officiate your wedding than the man that had been like a father figure to the both of you.

The ceremony, while simple, was perfect. It was a day neither one of you would ever forget. After you had said your I do’s and sealed your marriage with a kiss, you carried Shay inside bridal style. 

While the day may be over, your shift was not. But for now the team would rest, and hope to be recharged enough when the next bell rang. For you the day was perfect, just because you had Shay by your side for the rest of your life.

-----

💗 If you enjoyed this fic, please consider liking, commenting, and reblogging! 💗

[jo-harrington]

Longevity (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Longevity (noun) - continuance; durability; permanence

Previous Part: Standard Operating Procedures 1.06

Warnings/Themes: AU where the Upside Down doesn't terrorize Hawkins. Reader works at the Claire's at StarCourt. Eddie works at TapeWorld. (For now.) Fluff, a little angst, discussions of the future, vignettes/time jumps, smut, HEA.

Note: Alright here it is, and it is a HONKING CHAPTER. But how could I break it up into pieces when it's The End? I'm tucking my little babies into the dollhouse and closing it up so they can live on the rest of their lives. To Eddie and Store Manager, I love you both dearly and you were the thing that brought me back to writing and into a wonderful community of writers and readers. To everyone reading, thank you so much for your endless support. You will never know how much it's appreciated.

You can find my masterlist here for more featuring our resident Store Manager and all of my other writing. Seriously, go read it.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

---

April 1986

"Ope, if it isn't the man of the hour, Mr. Edward G. Robinson himself. We were just talking about you."

That was the greeting that found Eddie as he walked into Claire's after school on a lovely Thursday afternoon, ready to share some good news before his closing shift.

Great news, actually, if he was being honest. Life-changing news that he was sure would earn him a ton of kisses that he'd been craving after a long week of assignments and standardized tests.

Imagine his surprise then, that instead of finding you and Mindy behind the counter, chatting after a supposed "big visit" you'd told him that you had today, you still had company.

He skidded to a halt at the sight. Your guest smiled up at him with her hands on her hips.

Short in stature, blonde hair in pristine victory rolls, bold makeup that consisted of layers of glittery eyeshadow, and wrists adorned with stacks of multicolored scrunchies.

"It's nice to see you again Jen," he greeted your old Store Manager.

He'd only met her in person once, but had heard countless fond and semi-unbelievable stories about her from you--and apparently she'd heard the same about him, having greeted him with a bone-crushing hug the first time they met—so there was a familiarity and fondness there that they both indulged.

"What are you doing here?" he asked casually and crossed the distance to throw an arm over your shoulder and press a kiss to your temple. "I thought you said that you wouldn't be caught dead in Indiana."

You, Mindy, and Jen all broke out in a fit of giggles and Eddie felt a sudden sense of instinctual dread.

"Well then get ready to start planning my funeral kid," Jen announced. "Because you're about to start seeing a lot more of me."

"Jen just got promoted," you interjected finally.

"Oh yeah?"

"To District Manager. So she's gonna be my boss. Again."

"Oh, shi--shoot," Eddie felt like he'd been doused with cold water at the revelation. He peeled his arm from around your shoulder and took a wide step to put distance between the two of you. "That's...wow. Congratulations."

He'd been through a handful of DM visits at TapeWorld, never on his own, always under Kyle's cool guidance; however, he'd come to realize that the stiff authority figure of his District Manager Jeff was something to be feared.

So even though he was excited for Jen--your friend--on her promotion, the sudden realization that Jen--your boss--was standing here watching him make an idiot out of himself and possibly put your job at risk...

"Oh my god," Jen broke down in a fit of laughter. "Look at him, he's about to shit himself. Take a chill pill Ed, Jesus. I’m not gonna be a hardass until next week. If that.”

Once everyone had their fill of laughter, and Jen promised that she wasn't going to hold your relationship over your head--

"So long as you're not in here interfering with the business or making out on the sales floor or something."

--Eddie pulled you to the side and finally revealed his big news.

"So," he began excitedly. "It, uh, looks like I'm on the road to graduation. Like really graduating. Not just 'if I don't fuck it up in the home stretch' this time. I'm actually gonna graduate."

"Oh my god," you grabbed him by his jacket and shook him as joy bubbled in his chest from your reaction. "Eddie that's amazing!"

You asked him a few questions and your eyes sparkled proudly as he recounted his talk with his guidance counselor, and he couldn't help the smile that stayed on his face the entire time. Especially when you let out a shriek of joy and jumped around.

"We need to go and celebrate!" you insisted.

"I mean," he suddenly got bashful. "I haven't graduated yet."

"Still, it's big. You worked so hard." You looked back over at Jen and Mindy who were talking at the cash wrap. "I know you're closing tonight but I'm taking Jen out for drinks a little later. When you get out of work, meet us at the Hideaway. I'll get you the Wayne and a beer. And then afterwards, uh...if you wanna come back to my place? Like...actually celebrate?”

He grinned and nodded eagerly; you'd taken the words right out of his mouth.

---

His shift had gone by quickly and he’d joined you and Jen at the Hideaway with Kyle in tow. Kyle who was not only proud of Eddie and wanted to treat him to a beer for his efforts, but also intrigued at the possibility of schmoozing a pretty new face in town.

“Sometimes,” he announced with a flourish when he returned to StarCourt right before store close, dressed in the nicest clothes Eddie had ever seen him wear. “You need to take a chance. How many times did I tell you that kid? You miss all the chances you don’t take. That’s why it took you so long to get a girlfriend.”

Jen, unfortunately, laughed right in Kyle’s face when he kissed her hand upon introduction.

“I’m engaged, Romeo,” she informed him. “Sorry.”

“I don’t see a ring. You can let me down Jenny. Tell me the truth, I won’t be hurt.”

“You’re sweet. But it’s the truth. I just don’t wear the ring to work.”

“Alright, alright,” He sighed, then got a sly look. “Any chance you have a sister? Or a brother? I’m an equal opportunity man looking for true love.”

The night was filled with hearty food, rounds of beer, fantastical stories of retail hell and 4th Quarters past, and accomplishments on everyone’s part.

Kyle bragged about a new car he had just put a down payment on.

Your store had hit some Diamond Earring milestone that only you and Jen seemed to understand but the excitement was contagious.

Eddie got a round of applause from the table when you urged him to announce his big news to everyone.

Honestly he couldn’t care about Kyle or Jen’s reaction, it was seeing you look at him with all the pride and affection in the world that he basked in. He couldn’t wait for the actual graduation ceremony, for you to be front and center with Wayne and Rick and all of his friends. There to witness his hard work come to fruition…and for him to flip Principal Higgins off.

And then Jen stood up and announced her own accomplishment right before last call.

“So,” she cleared her throat and held up her glass and pulled something out of her coat. “I know I already celebrated back home and I don’t really know either of you, Kyle and Ed, but I know my little protégée here would be happy for me.

”Alongside my wonderful and well-earned promotion to DM, I also received my Longevity pin.”

She opened a little velvet jewelry box and showed off a tiny glittering purple pin with a tiny little diamond chip in place of the dot of the “I” in Claire’s.

“Ten long years,” Jen announced after a swig of her beer, “with the Purple Glitter Factory. And all I have to show for it is a pin, a little more money, and a lot more responsibility. God. Growing up sucks. But I’m very proud. And you’re next kid.”

She laid a hand on your head and you waved her off with visible embarrassment then disappeared to go and close out your tabs.

Later that night as you and Eddie settled into bed to sleep after some celebratory activities, Eddie laid awake and stared at the ceiling. Thinking.

“What are your plans for the future?” He asked after a beat.

“Uh,” you shifted your head on his shoulder so you could look at him. “Is this because of all of Jen’s talk of careers and stuff?”

“Yeah. And graduation. And all of that stuff. So? What do you wanna do…where do you wanna be…when you’re older?”

“God, I dunno. I got my associates in business because I was hoping it would help me get my own store. And I did. It also was so boring, I don’t want to go back to school. I guess the next thing is…actually take a vacation day now that I’m earning them. What about you?”

“Music legend,” he answered immediately.

“Uh huh.”

“Guess that’s gonna take some work though, huh?”

“No shit.” You rolled your eyes and then sighed as you settled against him once again. “There’s a reason you asked, Ed. What’s going on in that big head of yours?”

He ran his tongue along the seam of his lips repeatedly as he considered…everything that was laid out in front of him.

Corroded Coffin.

Tape World.

What about Hellfire? Damn, he knew Dustin and Will were the future of the club but…a few years down the line. What about next year? He was gonna have to pass the torch to Gare or Dave after he left. They weren’t ready yet.

And what was he gonna do after school was over? Could he see himself taking a class at TCCC? Maybe. Jeff had been showing him the Catalog at lunch the other day. There was a Creative Writing course that looked cool.

10 years.

That was half his life away. Impossible to imagine. Would there be flying cars by then? Space travel? He could enlist in Starfleet, meet Captain Kirk. Ok maybe that last one was stupid.

"10 years,” Eddie whispered into the top of your head as he rid himself of the fantastical thoughts. “That’s an awful long time.”

“Well it’s a good thing we have all that time to figure it out.”

We…

“Yeah. Yeah we do.”

He could only hope you’d still be there with him. One way or another.

---

July 1987

The spot lights were blinding and the air thick with humidity; his throat was dry and his fingers ached from how hard he was on the fretboard.

But the crowd was cheering and that’s all that mattered right?

No, what really mattered was the music.

And the band.

That's why he was up here with his friends, demolishing the bridge of The Sentinel, laughing and jumping and barely giving a shit when he missed a note or Jeff’s fingers fumbled or Gareth lost the beat for a second. He didn't even mind that the County Clerk had them censor out the "cuss words" of the songs they'd chosen.

It was exhilarating just to be able to play on an actual stage.

It had taken 2 years but they were finally playing at the Roane County 4th of July Festival. An actual gig. And not the first one they'd played, but certainly the biggest so far. Big enough and successful enough that Eddie expected it to be a standing gig for the foreseeable future.

The Polka Band from Kenosha hadn't gotten nearly half as many people and they were, by far, the most successful act of the night before Corroded Coffin.

There was a sea of friends, neighbors, families, and out-of-towners just below the stage, snacks and drinks in-hand, as they danced and jumped and headbanged to song after song. Rick and Wayne were out at Benny's getting all set up for the next stop on Corroded Coffin's "Independence Day Tour" but you were out there in the crowd with Mindy and her family, singing along and cheering louder than everyone whenever a song ended.

Which was why Eddie didn't hesitate to dedicate the final song of the set to you.

"This next one isn't our usual sound," he spoke into the microphone, words a little muffled as his lips brushed against it. "It's a little slow. Something you can dance to, so gentlemen please grab your ladies, tell them how much you love them. But before we begin...did you all know...it's almost Back to School time."

There was a series of boo's from the crowd.

"Now now, maybe yet not for you all, but definitely for a special someone out there," he shushed them and traded Sweetheart for his mom's old acoustic guitar. He plucked a few notes and then continued. "A special someone...who leaves me all alone every once in a while. Late nights. Lonely nights while I wait by the phone, as she and her team make magic happen and she forgets all about me. See I'm saying all of this because she's about to leave me high and dry this coming Sunday night, so I have to guilt her a little otherwise she won't let me surprise her with hash browns and coffee when she gets out of work.

"Queen of Glitter Kingdom," Eddie squinted and looked around the crowd until he found you standing there holding your hand over Mindy's mouth as she looked like she was about to cry. He pointed right at you. "My life, my world, my cheeseburger. This one's for you."

He and Jeff then began to harmonize their guitars for the opening of Beth.

---

"You're a shithead, you know that."

"Mmm...but I'm your shithead, sweetheart."

It was late. Wayne, Rick, and the guys had all left. You and Eddie were sitting across from each other in a booth at Benny's, as the last few fair-goers trickled in for a late night snack. Your own dinner sat half-eaten on the table between you--patty melts and an apple pie shake to share--as you talked and laughed and played footsie.

He and the boys needed to rush across town after their set was over so they made it in time for Ben's advertised happy hour, so he hadn't gotten the chance to get an earful or a kiss from you after his little spectacle.

Fortunately, you were giving him hell for it now, and although he was wiped, he gladly accepted your teasing wrath.

"Is Wayne still around?" You turned in your seat and looked at the sparse group of customers. "I'd like to make a return."

"Mmm...well I moved out in January so I think it's after the 90-day return policy," he said matter-of-factly.

"God damn it," you laughed and snapped your fingers. "And I think I lost the receipt too."

"Stuck with me forever," he teased in a sing-song. There was a beat and he straightened up in his seat and drummed a rhythm on the table with his knuckles. "So...I think it went well."

"I think so too," you agreed brightly.

"You know, Jeff found some...Septemberfest thing out in Jasper..."

Your eyes sparkled at Eddie's words, and he felt the flutter of butterflies deep inside of him that always kicked up when you gave him your excitement and encouragement.

“It’s not a competition or anything but there’s a prize for most popular act of the weekend. Audience ballot and everything. I think it would be cool.”

"That's great!" you grinned. "You should go for it."

"But it's Labor Day weekend."

"So?"

"Paulie's going for a promotion," he shrugged. "Kyle's gonna want us all there in case Jeff comes for a visit."

"And? I didn't know Paulie was planning on opening for Corroded Coffin. What's he playing? The kazoo?" you joked.

"Well no," Eddie shook his head. "But if he leaves...I mean, I'm the best bet for FTASM. I don't want to lose out on that for the future. That'd be...the money would be nice. Can do some repairs on the van. Maybe I'd get my own store someday too."

Your face crumpled--brows furrowed and lips pursed--and you didn't hesitate to shuffle out from your side of the booth and kneel beside him on his. You placed a hand on his forehead for a moment and then tilted his head back and forth.

"Uh, sweetheart," he placed a hand on your waist to steady you as you shuffled closer to pull the back the neck of his t-shirt to look for something. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to see if my Rockstar Eddie Munson action figure is broken," you explained.

"Uhhh."

"Or at least if I accidentally left him at the fair and picked up a Corporate Shill Eddie action figure instead?"

"What?" he laughed.

"How about Suburban Dad Eddie?" you asked. You straightened your posture, pulled on non-existent suspenders, and lowered your voice comedically. "Gotta prepare for tax season. Cut the grass. Do some repairs on the van."

"Stop," he pulled you down to sit beside him in the booth. "I just...don't wanna take the chance on that when I know the full time position is a sure thing."

"Ed," you shook your head at him. "I know you like Tape World but...promotions always come around, music is your dream."

"I know."

"Why did you tell me about this Septemberfest thing if you were not gonna go through with it anyway?"

"I dunno," he turned away from you and went to grab the shake. "I guess I just wanted to pick the thing...that you'd be most proud of."

"Listen here mister," you grabbed him by the chin and made him look at you, Apple Pie Shake be damned. "I'm always gonna be proud of you and support you in whatever path you want."

He nodded for a second and then stole a kiss from you with a soft "I know, thank you." You let yourself get lost in the feeling for a second, but Eddie knew that you weren't gonna let him distract you from the discussion at hand.

You put a hand on his chest and pushed him away, then stared him directly in the eye.

"So?" you asked. "What kind of future do you want?"

His eyes darted between yours--your gaze hard and challenging but nonetheless filled with hope and affection--and he had his answer.

---

May 1989

You could feel Eddie fidget in the seat beside you.

"Calm down," you muttered to him.

"Can't help it," he whispered back; you could tell he straightened out his posture, but his knee still bounced. "Too excited."

A name was called over the loudspeaker, then another, then another.

"Eddie seriously," Gareth was the one to give it a shot this time, leaning across you to put a hand on Eddie's knee and get him to stop fidgeting. "You're gonna shit yourself if you don't stop."

"Shit, sorry, this is only like..." he shook his head. "The most important thing I've ever done in my life."

You, Gareth, Jeff, and Dave all shot him skeptical and unamused looks.

"I don't have time to argue right now," he scoffed at the rest of you. "Shut up, here it comes."

"Peter Halliwell...Dustin Henderson..."

All five of you jumped to your feet and cheered and clapped, along with another group a few rows up that consisted of Dustin's mom, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, and their respective partners.

It was a repeat occurrence several times over that afternoon, as you witnessed the Hawkins High Class of '89 cross the stage and receive their diplomas.

"That's my kid," Eddie wiped a fake tear as each of his former Freshman Sheepies were called on stage, but he was especially emotional with Dustin. And when the newest DM of Hellfire flipped Higgins off before running off stage? Eddie stood on his chair and whooped and whistled. “That’s my boy!”

“Sit down Munson,” Higgins spoke into the microphone, over an audience that had become uproarious with laughter.

“It’s tradition now, Higgy,” Eddie shouted, words amplified by the hands he’d cupped around his mouth; still, he jumped down and took his seat so the rest of the ceremony could continue.

“You’re unbelievable,” you giggled at his antics. “You do know that right?”

“I’m unbelievably loveable,” he replied, quickly accompanied by the scoffs and mocking fart noises of his friends. He leaned closer and whispered in your ear. “Unbelievably in love with you.”

“Uh huh.” His tongue snaked out and he licked into your ear obnoxiously. “Fuck off!” You pushed him away from you with a shrieking laugh.

It wasn’t long before that the real reason you were in attendance at the graduation walked across the stage. Because yes, the kids were your friends but you wouldn’t miss this for the world.

“Jane Hopper,” came the announcement and you, once again, got to your feet with a cheer, along with her family and friends in the next aisle of seats. Chief Hopper had his camcorder out and his shoulders visibly shook as he sobbed for his daughter, and you couldn’t help but feel your heartstrings pull.

If Dustin and the boys were Eddie’s little sheepies, you supposed Janey was one of yours. From a shy girl whose ears you’d pierced for the first time in your early days at StarCourt, to one of your die hard regulars who looked up to you over the years trying to emulate your style, to one of your associates when she came in for her first summer job at 16; you’d watched Jane grow and gain confidence and really come into her own.

That was the high point of your career as a Store Manager, and something you happily shared with Eddie: seeing the kids you took under your wing flourish.

“All the birds have flown the coop Mom,” Eddie teased as you sat down and actually wiped a tear from your cheek.

“I think you guys can cut the Mom and Dad bit now,” Jeff said matter-of-factly. “Until you guys have your own kids someday.”

That was something you and Eddie happily shared too.

The two of you looked at each other for a moment…before making the most exaggerated vomiting and gagging noises, unfortunately getting looks from the people around you.

“Pass,” you and Eddie announced in tandem.

---

After the ceremony was over, Chief Hopper invited everyone to the shared Hopper-Byers abode for a barbecue. And by everyone, it seemed like he literally invited the entire town to the lakeside cabin the family called home.

All of the kids and their friends and families, Benny was somehow there—had he closed the diner for the day? Good, he deserved a day off—a handful of Hop’s coworkers and friends, including Wayne and Rick.

There were hamburgers and beers, conversation and music overlapping one another.

Eddie was in his element though, and it warmed your heart to see him talk and spiel and be accepted by such a big group when, not so long ago, it seemed like he’d been shunned by them. Even now, you could see some hesitation as he stiffly talked with douchebag Callahan and Mike’s asshole dad, but he wasn’t sweating bullets or falling back on the pricklier parts of his personality. He even cracked a smile once or twice.

What would his life had been like if he’d had this all along?

It was silly to think about after you’d been dating for years but…would he have asked you out sooner? Would you even still be together now? You thought about the ways that the kids had grown into their own…but it wasn’t hard to also appreciate how much the two of you had grown side by side as well.

Especially when you considered the next step you were about to embark on together...

“You’re thinking too loud,” Eddie startled you as he snuck up behind you and dangled a fresh beer in your face. You shot him a scathing look but he easily recovered, back into your good graces, as he swooped an arm around your shoulder and pecked a kiss to your temple. “What’s got you all sour?”

“Not sour,” you shrugged and picked at the label on the beer bottle. “Just…I don’t know. Thinking."

"Always a bad idea."

"Reflecting.”

“Well you look like you’re about to tell someone to get fucked so…”

"Maybe I am," you grinned at him cheekily.

"As long as it isn't me." He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "But you know it gets me going either way."

You slapped the back of your hand against his chest just as a gaggle of voices called your names.

Jane was the first one to run your way from across the yard, with Dustin and Lucas hot on her heels. They were all talking over one another, and Jane especially looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Eddie was the one to try to make sense of them, and he yelled a bellowing "shut up" that got them to stop their barrage.

"You're leaving?" Jane asked, looking directly at you. "Leaving Hawkins?"

"Uh," you paused and looked at Eddie, who held his hands up innocently.

"Gareth's got a big mouth," he reasoned.

"Of course he does," you rolled your eyes and then turned back to the kids. "Uh...yeah we are. At the end of the summer. I’m opening a new store. Again."

"What about you?" Dustin demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Eddie.

"Where my lady goes, I must follow," he stood tall and held a hand over his heart for a second, chivalrous as ever, before he took a sip of his beer and slumped back into his usual posture. "Besides, Corroded Coffin has a better chance in a bigger city. We're big fish in a small tank in Hawkins. Gonna pack up the van; give Chicago a chance to chew us up and spit us out."

Eddie and the boys bickered back and forth--gathering a small crowd of onlookers the longer it went--about the trip and the plans about where you'd all live and work while you stood there with Jane.

"How could you just leave?" she asked.

"Oh, honey, that's just...how it is," you reassured her. "I get a new assignment, Mindy takes over. And I'll be back to visit. Maybe you and Max will take a drive up for a weekend in the city."

"That'd be fun."

"It isn't goodbye."

"I know," she nodded somberly.

"Besides, you're going off to school in the fall," you reminded her. "You weren't meant to stay at StarCourt Mall forever, and I wouldn't want you too. You have a bright future ahead of you. I know it's scary, but it's all gonna work out. One way or another."

They were the same words that Jen had said to you before you embarked on your big adventure to Hawkins, and you were happy to pass the sentiment along to Jane.

"What about you?" she asked after a minute. "Your future? Are you afraid?"

That was the question, wasn't it? A new adventure, maybe in a more familiar setting but...a new challenge nonetheless. But you looked over at Eddie, who had both Dustin and Gareth in headlocks; his head was thrown back in obnoxious laughter and he gave you a shrug that said "how could I help myself" when he noticed you looking at him.

He was an idiot. But he was your idiot. And he'd be by your side for this next adventure, just like he promised he would be.

"No," you told her honestly. "I'm not afraid at all."

---

September 1990

"Alright, here's a question?"

"Shoot."

"When…is our anniversary?"

"Uhh...Ed..." You let the question hang awkwardly in the air, unasked, but Eddie could read your mind.

The two of you were symbiotic at this point; still, he was happy that you had no idea what he had in mind for the day.

"No hear me out," he took a few steps ahead and turned to walk backwards so he could look at you. "Because I really put some thought into it. If we're going by first dates, it's in January—”

“Like it has been for the past 4 years.”

“—but, if we're going by first kiss..."

"If we're going by first kiss, that was last week," you laughed and rolled your eyes. "So you’re late."

“Yeah,” he agreed wickedly wistfully. “I guess I am.”

Of course you remembered.

The two of you were walking. Exploring, actually, around the cemetery where your Papa enjoyed his eternal rest.

5 years and it was a lot easier now.

You still cried sometimes but the initial guilt was gone and you found enjoyment in spending the day traversing about the sprawling cemetery grounds, visiting this great uncle and that distant cousin, just like you did with Papa when he was still alive.

“Did he make sure he bought flowers for everyone he ever met?” Eddie had asked as you piled bunches and bunches of flowers into his arms at the florist that first visit after Papa passed, when you told Eddie of the tradition. “Aren’t they just gonna die?”

“This is why I don’t like flowers,” you explained. “They die. At least when they die here, the dead can still enjoy them.”

“Well shit, that’s a pretty metal thought baby,” he cooed softly and shuffled the bunches to hold them with some more care. “Can I put that in a song? I’ll dedicate it to you.”

He had and you’d cried when he first sang you the haunting ballad in the privacy of your living room.

Today, though…well you’d already made the rounds today. Only one stop left; the most important stop. Eddie had suggested taking the long way through the mausoleum—down hallways lined with plush red carpet and dated sofas and marble walls filled with the dead—partially for his own curiosity, and partially so he could build up the courage.

You were doing quite a good job distracting him from his nerves as you conversed easily—whatever thoughts popped up in either of your heads—and explained the differences between this Saint and that one as you passed their statues and depictions in stained glass. They all looked at him with serene eyes and he thought that meant this journey would be a successful one.

There would be no crying, if he could help it.

Maybe tears of joy? He could settle for that.

“So what has you thinking of anniversaries?” you finally asked as you sat on the tufted velvet ottoman in front of your grandparents' epitaph.

Eddie shrugged and looked around, absorbing the names and dates inscribed on the marble walls that surrounded him.

“Been a lot of milestones lately. It’s been a couple years since graduation, 5 years since your grandpa passed…” He trailed off for a moment. “Been a year since we moved…since we’ve both been at new stores.”

You gasped and he felt his heart stop in his chest.

“Is…are you thinking of quitting?” You asked with big eyes.

“What?”

“That new Hot Topical store they’re opening? Or whatever it's called? I saw you chatting with that District Manager in the food court the other day. Are you leaving TapeWorld? Eddie, that’s so exciting. You should…”

“No I’m not quitting,” he announced with finality, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“…nevermind then. Then what’s going on? You thinking of breaking up with me or something?”

“No.”

“Well I know you’re not proposing; you literally just wrote a song called Marriage is a Death Sentence.”

Your laughter echoed through the mausoleum but you stopped abruptly when Eddie didn’t join you.

He watched your expression change as you processed the thought. And when you looked back at him again he smiled nervously.

“Eddie…” you said hoarsely and then cleared your throat. “Eddie, you just wrote a song called Marriage is a Death Sentence.”

“About my parents,” he explained. “And how they did everything wrong.”

“Yeah,” you nodded frantically. “A lot of people get it wrong. Marriage is a Death Sentence. Those are literally the lyrics. You’ve been singing it when you wash the dishes.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s catchy.”

“It is, isn’t it? But...while I was working on it...it got me thinking that…I mean…just because they got it wrong, and a lot of other people do, doesn’t mean we will.”

You said his name almost desperately now.

"A-and," he continued. "W-we don't have to get married but...I don't know. Spending the rest of my life with you sounds pretty great."

He pulled one hand out of his pocket casually and with it came a small ring box. He shook it a few times and held it out to you.

There were a bevy of emotions cycling your face, all of them undecipherable, until you settled on shock.

Good shock...hopefully.

“You’re supposed to get down on one knee I think,” you whispered again.

Yeah...good shock.

He let out a sigh of relief.

“Yeah but what if it isn’t a ring? What if this is all just a red herring? What if I had to get one of my teeth pulled and it's in here?”

You let out a shocked laugh and your brows hitched together in question.

"Did you put a tooth in there?"

"I don't know...seems as likely as any other potential surprise."

“Is it another cootie catcher?” you guessed.

“Only one way to find out.”

He shook the box again.

You slowly took it from him, fingers deliberately brushing against his which caused his heart to race.

He felt lightheaded when you opened the lid.

You smiled so brightly, he swore you rivaled the sun.

“Oh…Eddie…”

---

December 1992

"So what'd you do?"

"What makes you think I did something?"

"I love you son," Wayne sighed and leant against the counter. "But you always do something."

It was Christmas. The worst time of year for both you and Eddie. Long shifts, angry customers, restless coworkers...but a standing promise to make it back to Hawkins for the holiday had been the light at the end of the tunnel. Especially since Wayne and Rick had come out to see you for the past few years.

It was tough but you and Eddie made it work; hit the road right after your Christmas Eve shifts had ended, fallen into bed as soon as you'd arrived at Rick's close to midnight.

And you didn't need to be back to work until the 27th.

It was a perfect little getaway.

Except it hadn't been perfect.

Because you hadn't been talking to each other past the standard "good mornings" and "see you tonights" all week. The drive had been made in silence. And you chose to sit as far as you could from him during Christmas dinner, opting to sit beside Wayne and chat all night, instead of right next to him like you always did.

And unfortunately, yeah...it'd been Eddie's fault.

Eddie knew that, and usually he could admit it easily. Fights between the two of you were few and far between, and you had a good track record for recovering from them. For some reason though, this time was different, and it was hard for him to admit how badly he'd fucked up.

Wayne could see right through the two of you, though. Especially through his nephew. No matter how good you thought you were at hiding it.

"There was this...big opportunity we could have had," Eddie began his explanation calmly. "But it wasn't a sure thing."

"Oh yeah?" Wayne hummed. "How big?"

"Big. Like...a once-in-a-lifetime thing. An underground show a buddy of mine heard about it through the grapevine. Said they were looking for an opening act. Wanted to throw me a bone." He hit the counter with his fist gently. "But...he got his wires crossed. Told me it was tonight. So it meant we'd need to miss Christmas. But it's really next week."

"Hmmm..." Wayne nodded sagely and kept listening.

Eddie suddenly felt uncomfortable at the tone though, and became desperate for his uncle to understand.

Understand that he hadn't meant to hurt you.

"Work's been hard this season Wayne," Eddie continued with an edge to his voice. "Made me realize that I don't wanna do this forever. I wanna make music. You know that. It's been my dream forever."

"I know it has."

"Me and the guys. Our dream."

"What'd you say to her?" Wayne asked suddenly, as he lifted the mug of eggnog to his lips.

His knowing gaze made Eddie fidget and harsh words echo through his memory.

"Why can't you understand? This is huge for us. How can we say no?"

"I didn't say you had to pass it up, I just said it was a shame that we'll miss Christmas."

"You don't have to miss Christmas, you can just go to your aunt's if you don't want to go to the show."

"You know what I mean. You know Wayne and Rick look forward to seeing--"

"Wayne and Rick would understand how big this is. Why can't you? Why the fuck do you care anyways? It's not like they're your family!"

Wayne swallowed a mouthful of eggnog and then his lips pressed together tightly with a long exhale. Eddie turned to watch you and Rick chatter while you organized the gifts into neat little piles; even though you were avoiding each other, seeing your smile made him feel a lot better than his uncle's intense stare.

"I fucked up," he croaked. "I know."

"How're you gonna fix it?" Wayne asked.

"That I don't know."

Wayne sighed and clapped a hand on Eddie's shoulder.

"I would suggest," he leant in close and his voice rumbled, the same way it always did when Eddie would get in trouble growing up. The few times Wayne needed to intervene at all. "I would suggest you start with I'm sorry."

---

Eddie stared up at the glow in the dark stars that were stuck to the ceiling of the old guest bedroom that used to be his designated room at Rick's once upon a time.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

He couldn't sleep.

He might have spent most of his life in Hawkins but a few years in and around Chicago and he'd gotten used to the sounds of traffic and trains and people walking around late at night.

And it might've been easier if you were closer to him than you were, if the sounds of your sleep-deepened breathing and the soft snores you always denied were in his ear. Instead you were lying on your side at the edge of the full bed, as far from him as you could get, equally as awake as he was if your near-silent breaths were any indicator.

He turned his head and watched you for a moment before he took a breath of courage.

"Sweetheart," he whispered. When there was no response, he said your name, a little louder this time. "You awake?"

There was silence...heavy silence...and then you responded.

"Mmmhmm." You shifted to look halfway over your shoulder at him. "It's too quiet."

"I was just thinking that."

"Hmmm."

"I've got...a lot on my mind too."

"Yeah?" you turned fully now, lying on your back just like him; your shoulders touched but you refused to look at him. "What about?"

"I was thinking..."

What was he thinking? A lot of things. How to start an apology, how to fix this. How to make tomorrow better so your Christmas wasn't ruined.

"...that at least when we fight fight, we still talk to each other afterwards."

You scoffed and he closed his eyes, cursing himself and his big mouth.

"That...wasn't the right thing to say."

"No it wasn't," you sassed him immediately.

"It wasn't what I wanted to say either," he quickly added. "I wanted to say...that I'm sorry."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Aside from the fact that I know you too well," you began. "Rick was trying to get me to forgive you all night."

"Why did he think I did something?" Eddie asked incredulously.

"Because you always do something."

"God damn it, did Rick say that? Wayne said the same thing."

The two of you laughed together for the first time in days, and as you settled down, Eddie reached over and took your hand in his. He threaded your fingers together and rubbed his thumb back and forth to soothe you.

"I'm sorry that I...that I was a thick-headed, stubborn, big-mouthed idiot who hurt your feelings," he apologized. "I know that we've both been under pressure but there's no excuse. I could've been more level-headed, but I wasn't and I hurt you."

"Yeah well," you squeezed his hand tightly as you responded, "I guess I'm not innocent here either. I could have...been more excited for you, supportive. Instead of trying to make it about Christmas. I was thinking about how desperate I was to get away from work, excited to be back here. And it's no excuse. I'm sorry too."

"Yeah but I told you Wayne and Rick weren't your family."

"Well I told you--"

"Are we gonna fight again?" Eddie stopped you before you could get ahead of yourself. You huffed a soft "no" and melted into the bed, all tension in your body gone. "Did you like your Christmas gift?"

"Jesus." He could hear you rolling your eyes.

"Well did you?"

"Duh," you deadpanned. "Did you like yours?"

"Uh, duh," he parroted, a little more exaggeratedly. "You didn't give me a kiss though."

"Well you didn't give me a kiss either," you retorted, but you were already rolling over so you could close the distance and seal your lips against his.

The two of you showered one another with more whispered apologies and words of devotion before you got ahead of yourselves.

Clothes were shed, soft caresses shared, and lips lavished over the most sensitive parts of you.

You still liked it when you dragged your teeth along the shaft of his cock a little and got him to beg, and then Eddie returned the favor when he sucked a bruising hickey to your nipple that made you squeal and call him a god.

The two of you had lived on your own for so long that it was good fun trying to keep your voices down, or make sure the bed didn't slide across the hardwood floors with your passionate fucking.

And all slights were soothed when you reached the height of pleasure together, and whispered sweet words of affection and forgiveness as you descended back to earth.

Come morning, Wayne obnoxiously asked when the two of you were planning to hit the road back to Chicago.

"It's been a good while since I lost sleep thanks to your spirited activities," he noted, embarrassing the two of you in front of Rick. "No more fighting when you come back to visit in the future alright? I miss you dearly, but I can't say I miss that at all.”

---

April 1993

"It took you guys long enough," Dustin announced as he threw open the door.

“You know what, you try sitting in a rusty old shitbox with a bunch of musicians that still act like they're teenagers for 10 hours," you deadpanned and then pushed past the guys as they protested to pull Dustin into a hug. "Happy housewarming, congratulations."

It was Spring Break.

Well for the kids it was--although, they weren't really kids anymore were they--but for you and the guys, it was more like a long weekend. You'd scheduled yourself off for a few days, Eddie'd requested the whole week off, Jeff and Dave had traded shifts with coworkers, and Gareth simply quit his job.

"I'll find a new one," he reassured everyone, including his girlfriend, on St. Patrick's Day when he announced his departure before he and the guys had gotten on stage to play for a crowded pub in the suburbs.

It had been a headache and a half to get everything in order and everyone in the right place at the right time, but you were all here for one thing and one thing only.

Dustin's first apartment.

A Hellfire Club Reunion.

And a special one-shot that Dustin and Eddie had spent hours on the phone planning for the past few months.

Months.

You didn't think you'd been invited at first, but when Dustin told Eddie the full guest list, Eddie volunteered your attendance immediately.

Your forays into Dungeons and Dragons were few and far between; never a big campaign, only the one-shots that Eddie had put together here and there for the guys or a few coworkers who were interested. And this would be the first time that you played with such a big group. Or such an experienced group.

You were nervous.

"You'll do great," Eddie reassured you as he plucked snack cakes and sodas off the gas station shelves for snacks on the road. "I know the roleplaying is not your strongest suit, but it's just Henderson and the gang."

Now you were here and your nerves melted as you slipped further into mother hen mode the longer you looked around at what was obviously the apartment of college students. It was a familiar sight; you, Eddie, and the guys had all crammed into a duplex when you'd moved to Chicago and you'd had your fair share of pizza boxes stacked in the corners before garbage day and underwear of questionable origin and cleanliness tucked into the cracks of the sofa.

But that was a time long since passed and seeing it now made your fingers itch.

And your ears ring.

"...be here soon and I figured that you'd be here first to help me set u--Mom you ok?" Dustin stopped his chattering when he noticed you were frozen in the door of the living room. He glanced around the space that would soon host all of his friends. "Oh...yeah I should probably clean up a little more. To be fair, most of this isn't my mess."

You felt your eye twitch at his dismissive laugh.

"Jesus Henderson, didn't you just move in January?" Jeff asked when he saw the sorry state.

The boys all started giving Dustin shit, and Eddie had the foresight to put a hand on your shoulder and steer you back towards the door.

"We're gonna go take a quick smoke break; why don't you four nerds try to get this place looking a little more Hellfire appropriate in the mean time, m'kay?" he ordered them with faux sincerity. "We brought those props you asked for Dustin."

You heard the faint, sorry Mom, come from the boys as Eddie got you outside.

---

Eddie was extremely attentive and was quick to take charge of the ragtag group, running back and forth between the little stoop where you'd essentially set up camp right outside of the building, and back up to Dustin's apartment to make sure the cleaning and setup were underway.

"Hey listen, you boss enough people around at work," he reassured you when you insisted that you'd be alright to go back in. "You don't need to do it on your day off too."

You proved to be useful enough as the other started to arrive, little by little.

Max and Lucas had flown in from California and arrived via cab.

"It kind of sucks when the place you live is the place everyone else goes on vacation," Lucas laughed good-naturedly.

His younger sister Erica, who you remember from her days of buying scrunchies and glitter makeup, was now grown up and toted an entire kit filled with binders and notebooks and dice.

"It's my first ever Spring Break," she sniffed. "I could have been in Miami with my friends. But...I wouldn't miss this for the world, so it better be worth it."

Mike and Will drove up in the Wheeler's old station wagon, their siblings in tow in the backseat; Nancy and Jonathan had apparently been broken up for some time now.

It apparently had been an awkward drive for all of them.

Jane unexpectedly arrived with a new love interest friend and was beyond ecstatic to see you, barely letting you get a question in as she told you about everything she'd been up to.

Robin was unfortunately absent, but sent her regards along with the last person to arrive. Someone who you honestly didn't expect to see at all, but who had pulled up in a shiny new car, sporting a wedding band and a mustache: Steve Harrington.

"Look what the cat dragged in," you greeted with a smile. You pointed at the wedding band. "Seems like you don't need my relationship advice anymore."

"Same relationship," he chuckled and shrugged, suddenly bashful.

"No shit," you laughed. "Congratulations."

"Congrats to you too," he pointed to the ring on your own finger but you waved him off dismissively.

"Marriage is a Death Sentence. This is just...symbolic more than anything. We both know we're not going anywhere."

"Get more of a deduction on your tax return if you guys do tie the knot."

"Alright Ned Flanders," you rolled your eyes. "Taxes are a death sentence too. I'll ask Ed to write that song and dedicate it to you."

"By all means, I'm actually an accountant now. Maybe it'll get me some more clients."

You cackled.

You and Steve made some casual chit chat as you walked up to join the others now that everyone had arrived.

The apartment looked worlds different, especially with the abundance of candles that surrounded the table you all crowded around.

Dustin was taking the lead with this one, his DM screens in ominous abundance as he sat at the head of the table and filed through stacks of papers.

You looked around at all of your friends...really all of Eddie's friends who had become your friends, your family. It was nice to see them all in one place again.

Then you looked at Eddie himself, who looked right at home surrounded by them all. Laughing and spieling and picking on them with bright, glowing fondness that radiated off of him. You didn't think you could feel any more love for him, but suddenly in that moment, your cup overflowed.

He deserved this; deserved all of this...all of the love you all had to give and share with him because he loved you all so hard in return.

You took your seat beside him and grinned and patted your knee encouragingly.

"Perfect timing, sweetheart," he announced. "Hope you're ready to get absolutely obliterated."

Dustin hit a button on the stereo he'd set up beside him and everyone started to cheer as music and sounds created the ambiance of the adventure you were about to embark on.

"Welcome friends as we revisit a grand adventure of old tonight," Dustin began. "As we venture deep into Greyhawk and come face to face a great evil once defeated. Timelines have shifted, and what you might remember from the past is no longer what it seems; it will take great courage and strength to overcome challenges that you'd previously faced with ease. Are you up for the challenge?"

Everyone cheered again."

"Good," he said with a guttural groan, eyes rolling back in his head dramatically. "Then let us begin on our quest to face...The Cult of Vecna."

---

May 1995

It was like deja vu.

Maybe because he'd done this a thousand times, just not recently. It'd been years since he'd worked at the Mall, after all, and the muscle memory might have been a little out of practice, but it was still there.

He ran up the stalled escalator, long legs skipping every other step, until he reached the top, out of breath.

"Fuck," he bent over with his hands on his knees, panting. "Fuck. This is why I gotta quit smoking."

He'd taken the day off to surprise you; he and the guys were supposed to be recording today--their first album; it'd taken long enough--but this was bigger and he wanted to be there for you.

Needed to be there.

It wasn't every day that his best friend and beloved--the love of his life--his dear Store Manager...wasn't going to be a Store Manager anymore.

You'd both broken the news to each other on the same day. For weeks you'd only mentioned small developments in passing, never letting your hopes get too high just in case of a let down.

"We're getting signed," he announced as you'd collided into one another outside of your apartment building. "It's happening we're getting signed and we're gonna make a whole fucking album sweetheart!"

"Oh my god!" you shrieked. "Holy shit Ed!"

"No more weird touring schedules for fests, no more begging to get a song on the radio during the 3am broadcast, it's happening!" He cupped your cheeks and peppered kisses around your face.

"It's happening for me too," you laughed and tried to shake him away. "I got the job."

"What?!" he squished your cheeks harder until you jabbed him lightly in the stomach to get him to let you go.

"I got the job," you laughed, head tilted back as you announced it to the world. "Eddie, baby...you're looking at the new associate manager of Visual Development."

You'd spent the night indulging on a deep dish pizza, fucking making love, and talking about the future.

Maybe you could buy a house...maybe you could get a puppy...take an actual vacation someplace and not just a weekend trip to the Dells or wherever Corroded could find a gig...the possibilities were endless...

But from that moment on, it was a whirlwind.

The band had gotten started right away, signing contracts and working with the small label that had seen their potential and believed in them.

And now, a few weeks later, it was here. Your big day. Your last day as a Store Manager at Claire's, before you went off to their home offices to tell people what color scrunchie was gonna be big for the season.

There were a bunch of purple and pink balloons tied to the sandwich board outside of your store, and as Eddie got closer, he could hear snippets of conversation as your associates asked you about your new position.

"Have you seen your office yet?"

"Yeah, I have," you laughed.

"Is the desk pink?"

"No but the walls are."

"Do you get your own cell phone?"

"Probably not. I'm not the CEO guys. I'm just a manager."

"Are you gonna have to wear business suits?"

"No," Eddie answered for you as he quickly snuck up behind you. You jumped as his arms wrapped around your waist, but you quickly melted into the embrace. "But she's not gonna have to wear clothes from Seventeen Magazine anymore either."

"Yeah," you sighed. "It really sucks to wear clothes from the juniors department once you're past 30. They're just not made the same way."

"Gotta take your word for it sweetheart, I'm not 30 for another few months," he blew a raspberry against the side of your neck and squeezed you tightly in his embrace.

Your associates all sighed dreamily at the sight of the two of you canoodling—power couple who?—and Eddie was thankful for this once-in-a-lifetime chance that you wouldn't just swat him away for PDA while you were on the salesfloor.

"I'm sorry this is coming from the man who still dresses the same as he did when he was 17," you laughed and reached back to pluck at his battle vest that had only accumulated more pins and patches over the years.

"I'm very sorry that I'm not trendy, sweetheart." He kissed your cheek. "But I'm what you would call timeless."

"I'd like a divorce." You pulled his left hand away from your torso so you could attempt to pull the band off his ring finger. "Effective immediately."

"We're not married," he murmured teasingly in your ear. "Or did you forget?"

"You finally gonna seal the deal Munson?" you whispered back. "It's only been 10 years."

"Just so you can file for divorce? I don't think so."

"What if I trade you my longevity pin? I think it would look nice on your vest."

"How about...I take you to lunch first?" he asked, voice back to its normal volume. "And we negotiate the terms and conditions? She's got her big corporate lady pants on, trying to get me to sign a contract."

"I guess I could pencil you in," you feigned annoyance and then looked to your assistant manager. "Let me ask my secretary."

Both you and Eddie stared at them expectantly.

"Get out of here," they laughed at your antics. "Before I kick you out; so sweet, you guys make me gag sometimes."

---

The rest of your final shift was eventful, and Eddie sat in the chair of the Ear Piercing station while you chatted with your regular customers and received one visitor after another.

Old employees and coworkers, your mom who made you take a picture with the whole team, and then a very cheesy one with Eddie who dipped you for a kiss at the very last second.

Jen had come around close to 5 to bring even more balloons and a cake, and had made jokes that she was gonna have to haunt the corporate offices even more now.

"So we can talk shit, obviously," she joked.

Eddie had called Kyle up, who was now managing a store in Milwaukee, to tell him both bits of good news and Kyle had made the drive down to bring a sentimental gift to both of you on your last day.

A picture frame with a collage of polaroids from your years at StarCourt. There was a filmstrip from one of the photo-booths that depicted a younger you and Eddie, making funny faces and staring longingly at one another.

"You left this in the stock room once upon a time," he told Eddie as he pointed it out specifically. "That was before you were dating too. I squirreled it away and forgot about it but was gonna keep it in case you never got the courage to ask her out. And look at the two of you now."

"Yeah, Eddie watched you as you caressed the glass. "Look at us now."

"I still think I should have won the bet," Kyle sniffed bitterly.

You had scheduled yourself to close, and you were expertly restocking the scrunchie wall as the last few customers shopped.

Eddie kept snaking his arms around you and switching this scrunchie here for that one there, and you'd whine and complain about him messing up the color flow. Still, you never made any effort to stop him, and each time you stomped your foot petulantly, he would drop a smooch right on your cheek to "earn" your forgiveness.

"You know, this is what I was doing when we first met," you recalled after a few kisses. "Officially met."

"What?" Eddie asked.

"Restocking scrunchies."

"You sure?" he frowned and tried to think back. He vaguely recalled...bracelets of some sort...or had he just been looking at the jewelry. He'd been so nervous to ask you out back then...it was all a blur.

And he hadn't really even asked you out at that time either. Jesus Christ, what a loser he'd been.

Where would the two of you be now if only he hadn't fumbled on that first not-date? Right where you were now? Maybe broken up? A lot of the growing the two of you had done had been done with the soft buffer of friendship first...it almost caused his heart to ache to think that they might have caused an end to a relationship if things had been different.

Because now he couldn't imagine what his life would be like without you.

"You still haven't let me pierce your ears," you leaned in close to him, nose brushing against his, and teased him.

Eddie froze and then backed away.

"Well," he licked over his bottom lip pensively. "It is your last day...the last hour of your shift too...I think I could be persuaded."

You squealed and ran to get the forms ready. You didn't even let him fill them out, you just pushed him back into the seat he'd been occupying all day as you got it all ready.

"No more being afraid of needles babe," you cackled, the kind of cackle he'd only ever heard when you were being especially devious or evil.

"I have tattoos," he argued, trying to stand from the chair in protest, but you pressed your hand to his chest to get him to sit back down. "I have a ton of tattoos; if I was afraid of needles I wouldn't. Your logic is flawed."

"Yeah ok Spock," you dismissed his reasoning. "This one takes a chunk out of you though, so it's different."

"What argument are you trying to win here baby? Are you trying to get me to get my ears pierced or are you trying to get me to admit I'm afraid."

"Dealers Choice."

"You're lucky I love you," he grumbled.

You were silent for a while as you marked his ears, as you snapped on your gloves, and readied the piercing gun.

Was he afraid? No. He trusted you. But damn if the anticipation wasn't making him sweat a little.

Eddie closed his eyes as he prepared himself for the next step, but you paused and made one quick run across the store before returning.

"Alright I have one last important question to ask you," you began, and he peeped an eye open to see you standing there with your hands behind your back. "It's the age old question and I don't think we ever got a solid answer."

You revealed your plunder and then stared at him expectantly.

"Take your pick: broken hearts or gummy bears."

Eddie went soft as he stared at the two sets of studs backed by purple carding: little black broken hearts and the neon green gummy bears.

It was the age old question wasn't it? The first question he asked you before he even asked you out.

"See, if it was still 1985," he tilted his head back and forth, "I think this would be a hard one to figure out."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. But uh," he reached out and pointed to his choice. "Now it's a no brainer."

"Seriously?" you laughed.

"Seriously."

"And why are you, Eddie Munson, lead singer of Corroded Coffin, the most metal band on Earth, picking the Gummy Bears?"

"Sweetheart," he singsonged, pausing for dramatic effect. "I think you know."

"I don't think I do," you parroted.

"Ugh," he scoffed and turned his head. "I guess I am the more romantic of the two of us."

"Answer the question, Cassanova."

"Sweetheart," he turned back to you, hand over his heart. "It has to be the gummy bears."

"Has to be?"

"Must be."

"Because..."

"Because I can confidently say that my heart is never gonna be broken if I have you around."

Your challenging gaze softened and Eddie swore that he saw tears at the corners of your eyes. For a moment he didn't know if you were gonna kiss him or start crying.

"Shut the fuck up," your associate shouted from across the store, ruining the sweet moment. "That was so adorable. Oh my god."

"Language Chels!" you scolded her good-naturedly.

And then, in those last few minutes of your career as a store manager, you kissed Eddie softly on his forehead...on his lips...and then punched holes right through both of his earlobes in rapid succession.

"Fuck!" He screamed. "Fuck!"

"I love you," you chuckled at him.

"Yeah. Love you too..." he grimaced. "Fuck! I love you."

---

Thank you for reading The Store Manager Verse.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

This thoughts still cooking, so it might not make sense, but I think Thomas (Tomas?) Astruc is a very good case study on how being too attached to your own ideas can hinder your story telling.

I don't mean this in a "Thomas's original idea for the series was bad", but rather that he seems so attached to this concept that he can't stand other people having a differing view from him.

Chloe's the titular example here. Some people thought she deserved a redemption arc, and instead of just saying "nah, I don't think so" and continuing to write her the same way he had been, he had to prove them wrong, prove that his idea was the only correct one, and so turned her into the spawn of Satan and let her rule over Paris for some reason.

Instead of making Marinette less stalker-y, he wrote an entire episode poorly justifying it. And, imao, somewhat diminishing what PTSD actually is and does to people.

I'm not saying he has to make any change (though I think making Marinette less stalker-y would be a good change), but instead of 1.) sticking to his resolve or 2.) taking the criticism, he clung dearly onto this perception of his characters and his writing suffered because of how much he had to twist things to "prove" that his original assertions were right. And also that everyone who disagreed with him was wrong and didn't understand

idk if that makes sense, but the concepts been lingering in my head recently

It makes perfect sense! I've had similar thoughts. It's hard to say for sure, but Miraculous may be a case study in "kill your darlings". I'm not deep into the behind-the-scenes lore and I was not here in the early fandom, but I do know that, at some point, a much darker version of the show was pitched. That's why these exist (image source):

[Image description: two sketches styled like comic book covers. Both have the title "The Mini Menace Ladybug". The left cover shows Marinette's silhouette in a doorway. The door's glass and the glass of a nearby window are broken. In the foreground lies a hand holding a ladybug charm. The hand is limp and surrounded by blood, implying that someone is injured or dead. The right cover is Ladybug doing a spinning kick while looking angry.]

We also have this evidence of the darker original concept:

Jeremy Zag then proposed another project... which he was unable to sell to broadcasters... the project was called "Ladybug". No one was interested, as the project was aimed more at an adult audience... Sébastien had to make sure that the project could be broadcast on Disney and TF1.... Thomas wanted to make a series for adults, but at the time, it was very complicated to make a cartoon for adults. What's more, they didn't have enough money to take on such a project. Sébastien finally agreed, but there were some changes to be made, which Thomas accepted... In the end, Thomas Astruc's entire project was discarded, leaving only the love story between the two heroes and the city of Paris, where the story was to take place.

I've been aware of this darker origin story for a while due to Tumblr and, because of this knowledge, I have often had the thought, "are the writers trying to sneak elements from this darker version into canon?" Because that's the most likely explanation for what's going on here.

If I'm right, then I think that was a terrible move on their parts. They needed to let go of the story that they couldn't sell and embrace the story that they're being allowed to tell. It's why "kill you darlings" is such good advice. Many good stories have been ruined by writers clinging to an idea that ultimately doesn't work for some reason.

It's why the sitcom How I Met Your Mother has such a universally hated ending. The show was originally supposed to go for two seasons and so they wrote an ending that would fit the second season. The show ended up running for nine seasons and, by then, the ending didn't fit, but the writers kept it and left everyone with a bad taste in their mouths, which is not what any writer wants. That's why you have to do what's best for the story even if it means abandoning something that you really love.

This early version of canon may also be why the writers are so obsessed with Marinette. My understanding is that this concept had her mainly acting as a solo hero and, oh look! What is one of canon's biggest problems? Marinette being treated like a solo hero even though she has a partner and, later on, a team!

Not saying that this theory has to be true, just saying that it would explain some things. And if they're poisoning canon by trying to include elements from their darker original? Then it makes sense to assume that they're also doing it for smaller stuff. Like I'm pretty sure I've read that the head writer wanted Chat Blanc to be a lot darker originally, but no one would green light it, so we got an incredibly lackluster episode that spat in the face of the genres Miraculous' is trying to be part of while also falling to have the sort of impact we'd expect from an episode like that. It's a good example of a darling that really should have been killed. It just doesn't fit.

(Totally unrelated sidenote, but is your blog name from Tangled? Because that's what I immediately thought of and it made me smile!)

[livesworthlivingau]

Behind the Vale Chapter 30

ISAT/Two Hats spoilers below! CW: Mental Spirals, Shouting/Screaming, Resentment, Mentions of Abuse.

"... What is it, Stardust?"

"... Bonnie heard us earlier... they told everyone. I tried my best to calm everyone down, they just want to talk but..." [You freeze in place, you feel a pit in your stomach as your smile fades fully. Nille's hand carefully reaches forward, taking yours in it before she speaks.]

"It's time Vay... You gotta tell them the truth, I don't think there's any other way out of this." [You pull your hand back from theirs, taking a step back as you hold both your hands to your chest... No words escape your throat in this moment. You simply look between the two of them, looking like a cornered animal begging for a way out.]

"Vay, it's alright. We'll be there for you, but they're not gonna drop this without an explanation."

"O-Of course not~! Wh-What reasonable person would accept me stabbing their beloved family member~?" [You let out through a shakey voice. You try your best to smile again until the tears begin to flow, betraying your expression.]

"I won't let them turn you away, Vale! You deserve a place here with us!" [You can't help but let out a sharp laugh at that.]

"Is that what I deserve, Stardust? Because I'm pretty sure you already took that place from me~!" [SHUT UP! STOP TALKING YOU IMBECILE! YOU'RE ONLY GOING TO MAKE THIS WORSE!!]

"Loo-"

"NO! Do NOT call me that!!! You've taken everything else from me, the one blinding thing I have left in this forsaken world is my name!"

"... I'm sorry, Vale..." [He recoils from you, ducking into his cloak and stepping back. Nille steps closer in his place.]

"Vay, please, take a breath. We're trying to make the best of a bad situation. I know you're just lashing out cause you're upset."

"STOP ACTING LIKE YOU KNOW ME! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW ME?! I DON'T EVEN BLINDING KNOW ME!!! This personality I've been parading around as my own?! I made it up! For HIM! I gave up my life, my world, my family!! All so he could have it instead!!"

[You watch as he takes another step back, tears welling up in his eyes. He goes to speak but nothing comes out, just closing his mouth again.]

"Vale! Knock it off! What happened wasn't their fault!"

"STOP ACTING LIKE YOU UNDERSTAND! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH!!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE REPLACED!" [Nille's form tenses, her fists clenching as that comment seemed to affect her deeply.]

"... I wouldn't say that exactly." [She takes a deep breath, trying to keep herself from snapping.]

"You-!... You what?... What could you possibly understand about that?" [Your anger subsides partially for confusion.]

"Well, it's not like I was in a time loop or made a wish or anything... but when Bonnie first came around, it might as well have been like I didn't exist anymore..." [You roll your eyes at this, your trauma being compared to a simple sibling rivalry.]

"You don't know how this feels..."

"Maybe not exactly... but I know how it feels to be loved until you're not their 'perfect little girl' anymore... to be resented for being myself, for someone else to come along and receive all that love you so dearly missed..." [Nille crossed her arms, holding them and trying to keep from crying. Stardust is watching her with a shocked glance, it seems he hasn't heard this before either...]

"That... That's not the same..." [Your anger has subsided, but you still tried to keep yourself closed off.]

"Not quite... but I looked at Bonnie like that at first, the way you were just looking at Frin."

"... Then how did you get past that?... How can you look at them and see anything but that?..."

"The most important thing to remember is that they never asked to replace you... It's no fair to blame them when they were forced into that situation just as much as you were." [She steps closer again, carefully cupping your face in her hands and wiping your tears away.]

"Frin and I just want you to be happy, and by change, we're not gonna let anything get in the way of that, not even yourself you moron." [She teases as you can't help but chuckle softly. You bring a hand up to place on hers, yet you still can't stand to look her in the eye yet.]

"You can do this, Vay. You've been through so crabbing much. All you gotta do now is talk, that can't be that hard, right?" [You let out another laugh, this one a little more manic.]

"If it were, I'd never have been stuck in that time loop in the first place~." [Stardust chuckles a little at that too.]

"Gotta agree there, took a lotta years to be able to talk as openly as I can now."

"Thank Change I don't have to deal with both of you being like this now, not sure my hammer could deal with two thick skulls like yours." [You both laugh again before you take a few moments to try and compose yourself.]

"... Okay... Okay, you're right. It's time... I have to do this."

"We'll be there for you the whole time, Vay." [Stardust nods with a confident smile.]

"It'll be fine, I'm sure of it." [That makes one of us...]

---------------------------------------------------

[The three of you make the short yet agonizing walk back to the house they were all staying at. The Fighter was out front, waiting. His arms crossed and an upset look on his face, yet reserved as usual. Despite this, he regards you with a polite nod.]

"Vale... We've agreed to hear you out, and be civil. Though I'm sure you can understand how we all feel about this at the moment." [Stardust steps in front of you, almost defensively, while Nille remains beside you, hand on your back.]

"I appreciate the opportunity..." [Though that convenient path into the woods in our peripheral vision looks much more tempting...]

"Use it wisely." [He advises, it almost feels genuine even. You nod to him before he opens the door, letting you all back inside. The Researcher and Housemaiden were still there, comforting The Ki-... Little Flare. They take one look at you through teary eyes before jumping up onto their feet.]

"NO! GO AWAY! LEAVE STUPIDFRIN ALONE!!! YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!!!" [The pit in your stomach starts to feel more like a black hole.]

"Bonnie! Everyone agreed to hear them out, now please just-"

"NO NO NO! I DIDN'T! I DON'T WANT THEM HERE!!!" [They scream in defiance. As Nille tries to reach for them they dart for the stairs.]

"I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY'RE GONNA SAY!!! GET RID OF THEM!!!" [They shout more, stomping up the stairs to their room and slamming the door behind them. Nille gives a heavy sigh and rubs at her temple. You stand there, trying to make yourself look small, though your flashy outfit certainly doesn't help. The Researcher then speaks up.]

"That's probably for the best. It may be difficult to speak as openly with a child present." [She states, giving you an inquisitive once over, as if trying to size you up in this moment. Her stare feels like daggers stabbing into wherever she looks... The Housemaiden agrees.]

"Y-Yes, considering what sparked all of this, they probably should take some time to decompress."

"Right... Thank you all for giving me a chance... I apologize for being dishonest."

"You weren't the only one to lie to them..." [Stardust attempts to defend you again, of course by throwing himself to the fire as well... Nille guides you along onto the couch, both her and Stardust flanking you. You take a deep breath, looking at the other 3 before you. Their stares feel like they pierce your very soul. You avoid eye contact to make this easier. You feel Nille grip your hand in a comforting squeeze.]

"Whenever you're ready, Vale." [She gently encourages you.]

"... I'm going to tell you a story... About a traveler in a darkless cloak and hat... who joined a group of heroes on their way to save Vaugarde."

[cinnamokittykat]

Roomates! Soap x Ghost x Konig 🤭🤭???

Oh boy

Like, all of them as roommates for each other? Or with the reader? I'll try and write both but just a disclaimer, I'm not great at MLM content for various reasons lol, if that's what you were looking for :/ So, disclaimer, I'm not poly either so please forgive my mistakes here.

Room mates w/o reader:

- The first thing that comes to mind for me is that the grocery bill would be insane. 3 big, buff men living in an apartment, or more likely a house together.

- Also in my experience guys don't tend to shop very well for themselves so the fridge would be a bachelor situation.

- I do think that Soap would be the one to keep the food situation in check the most? He would at least try to make the groceries balanced

- If this isn't gay polyamory, then I feel like König would get yelled at once or twice for walking around naked

- IF IT IS GAY POLYAMORY‼️‼️‼️ then they most definitely like to walk around shirtless.

- Ghost and Soap cuddle each other on the regular :3

-They all cuddle, they had to get custom big furniture to fit them all together comfortably.

-Soap cooks for his boyfriends the most. Ghost burns things every time somehow.

-They have a tiny little black cat who loves all of them dearly. Koenig sat on a black shirt once, but everyone else thought it was her and he almost got kicked out of the giant bed that night.

-Thankfully she walked in the room right after. She was profusely cuddled. She is also just generally a very spoiled cat since no one really wants children.

Room mates x Fem! Reader

- The boys all had different reactions to you moving in. Soap was excited, he was all for having a new friend, and a cute girl like you around the house

- Ghost, on the other hand, wasn't that for it. A strange girl moving in with 3 strange men? Is she insane?

- König was in the middle. As nice as having a female roommate sounded, he also felt as if it was a less then smart decision on your part.

- It doesn't take long for them to all come around to your presence.

- As the weeks go on, they catch themselves sneaking glimpses at you while in the house

- Sometimes when the stars align them and it's just you and one of them home alone, you often find yourself cuddled up to Ghost or König on the couch more often then not. Soap has already been openly flirting with you at this point, so he does more overt things like taking you out or making food for you.

- As time passes by, you find yourself being taken out to more fancy places, you start receiving nice gifts, all thanks to their lavish mercenary salaries. Eventually, it all comes to a head and you come home one day to them sitting in the living room together.

- "We need to talk." says Ghost. You sit down nervously in an armchair. Johnny clears his throat. "It seems like I'm not the only one who's been treating you, lass." König stares silently with his arms crossed.

- "I wasn't aware it was anything serious..." you stutter out. "Oh, it doesn't have to be, we'll help you move out and everyone can forget each other." Koenig replies. "Wouldn't want to make you choose, you can't date all of us."

-Your heart ached upon hearing that statement. You came to love all 3 of them over the course of living there, but he was right. "Well hold on there, who says she can't?" said Johnny. "You haven't even asked her yet!"

-The men turn to look at you again. "Well, lass?"

-"I... I suppose we could give it a try. If you all are good with it."

[izvmimi]

cw: pseudocest. implied one-sided love triangle. reader is technically a silva. yandere undertones.

As in every royal family, secrets abound, some out in the open whether by force or by inevitably, like the fact that you may or may not be your father’s child, and that as a result you may not be a true royal, nor a true Silva, and others more well-kept, somehow even more scandalous.

Like the fact that your purported first cousin by murky blood is in love with you.

“Noelle will wonder where I am, Nozel,” you murmur. It’s late evening in Spring, and you’ve come back to the estate on his request for a ‘family meeting.’ By now, the four main Silva children have grown up, Nozel the oldest and head of the family, now in his early 30s and yet to marry, and as such the differences that marked growing up have now resolved. You’ve been raised in and out of their home due to your father’s inability to parent without the help of a madam, and his unwillingness to marry someone that wasn’t your mother, so naturally, you found your way back here with Noelle. Emotional support never hurts, and you love your cousin dearly. 

However, this part of any interaction with this - your - family is hardest to navigate - the fact that Nozel has wanted you for many years, and now has become bold enough to pressure you to marry him.

“But you agree that it looks bad that I’ve remained single all this time,” Nozel states. You look up at him, holding in your desire to roll your eyes before letting out a sigh. The two of you are caught up in a hallway, far from the main wing where dinner had been served, far from prying eyes. You often end up like this these days, him far too deep into your space, his face leaned into yours, that stupid front facing braid close enough that it practically grazes your nose.

“Not as bad as marrying your first cousin,” you remind him.

He rolls his eyes.

“Everyone knows that that cannot possibly be true.” He steps back, and crosses his arm. “Whatever Uncle insisted on is quite silly, I don’t understand why he was so desperate to refuse to admit that you are but his stepdaughter. We would not have treated you any differently-” he starts, but you scoff, covering your mouth with your handkerchief.

“You failed to treat your actual sister well and you dare project the illusion of fairness?”

Nozel’s pale violet eyes narrow, and you look away. You don’t know if you’ll ever stand up to him - it’s been possibly 15 years since the first time you were brought into the Silva family, holding your father’s hand at the doorstep. Nozel had looked at you with so much contempt, that your 8 year old self wondered if you were dirty or particularly hideous, while Noelle had immediately taken your hand, grin wide before she was practically dragged away by her siblings. What irony is it today that even if he’s spared you today, you can still remember him forcing your chin steady and kissing you just weeks ago, confirming your long-held suspicions that he was really crazy enough to do it. 

To try to own you completely. 

“Do you have better options, ___?” he asks. 

You’re not too old to find a suitor, even if the search has not started for you, but you know that’s not what he means. You would be hard pressed to find a man of similar rank, intelligence, beauty or magic ability, and the two of you are well aware of this fact. Even if someone were to object to your union on the basis of close parentage, your father cannot stop him from beyond the grave, and the kingdom may speak, but ultimately no one could truly prevent your union.

Except you, technically, but at times, you wonder if you even really have a choice.

“I don’t, but I would like to continue to have some time to follow my dreams.”

Nozel offers you a small smile, his hand finding its way onto your right cheek and caressing it. “I’m quite delighted you have your own dreams.” 

You don’t like the way he says that, and as his hand falls gently from your cheek to his side, you understand that the implication is that of a father entertained by his child’s dream of becoming a dolphin. Ridiculous. 

“If you are concerned about Noelle’s whereabouts, I’ll leave you to go find her,” he says, now letting his hands rest behind him, and changing the subject. Where he’s touched you is still asymmetrically warm, as though you can feel all 5 fingers, as though he’s marked you as his. You remember braiding Noelle’s hair in between your legs at age 14, and her 11, and him appearing to watch the two of you for far too long. You’d thought the psychological protective barrier you had around “talentless” Noelle is what repelled Solid and Nebra whenever you came around and fascinated Nozel, but there was something else entirely. 

As Nozel leaves you to ponder this not-quite marriage proposal, you shudder. You take a few steps down the hallway to find the banquet room, then slowly find yourself sinking to the ground.

Your legs are shaking, not from fear per se, not from desire either (although logically it’s not unfathomable that you could ever grow to like or even love him) but out of a sheer understanding that your life could so easily begin and end with him in just a few short years. 

Your time with the Black Bulls may have spoiled you these last several years, offering you freedom you’ve never had with the Silva family. It’s helped both you and Noelle grow, and while Noelle is no longer under the thumb of her siblings due to her immense power and indomitable spirit, you are simply not as strong as her, nor do you have the advantage of legitimate birth into royalty no matter how much your father tried to give it to you out of respect and adoration of your mother. 

You are far more at Nozel’s mercy than you would like to be. To think all these years you spent protecting that little girl, only to find out that she was far more safe than you’d ever be.

Do you have better options?

On paper, no, not a chance in hell. In your heart, possibly. 

Before that smile can come to mind, you shake it out of your head and scramble to your feet, Noelle rushing down to find you. 

“Gosh, where the hell have you been? We need to leave this place, I don’t even know why I bothered coming,” she starts. It was a show of kindness, but she’s naturally lost interest. Her purple eyes scan to you a little too long, and you force a smile to dispel your unrest. She cannot see it. You’ve hidden the way he looks at you for this many years, no need to reveal everything now. 

You don’t want to spend any time explaining your predicament, not to her, not to the Black Bulls. 

Not to…

“Asta was hoping we’d meet up with him and Luck and Magna in an hour. What do you think?” she asks. Then quickly, her face turns red and she rephrases herself, as she’s done for years. “Not that it matters that much, you know. I don’t care what he thinks at all! I’m actually considering not going.”

You smile. 

“Let’s go.”

You take her hand, and you are young kids again, and like a child, dirty laundry ceases to be your responsibility.

For now.

[dreamywriter143]

My Dearly Detested

Status: Part Three (7 part Mini-Series, 3/7)

Genre: Enemies to Lover troupe, Angst, Rude Neteyam, Comforting Lo’ak, some fluff, Romance, violence.

Warnings: Depictions of blood, Battles and cursing. Rude Neteyam😭. Reader is older then Neteyam by 1year.

Parings: Neteyam X Y/n (Reader)

Summary: Neteyam hates Y/n. He never liked how she always bested him in everything and never once sought the praises he was accustomed to. She had no one, yet she had everyone in the palm of her hand. He despised her, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. The but happens when the RDA threat comes and Jake tasks her with watching his sons? Neteyam can’t help but grow a newfound hatred.

Word count: 4.5k

A/N: Sorry it took so long! I hope ya'll enjoy!

_________________________________________

Y/n’s Ikran lands beside Lo’ak’s Ikran with a screech of alarm, occasionally glancing back at her rider out of concern.

The entire ride back to the base she was able to feel her rider's pain through Tsaheylu. She was able to feel her suffering and the numbness that spread throughout her. Y/n bites her lips harshly to hold back a whimper, her hand shakily reaching out to rub her Ikran in reassurance as she quickly disconnects her kuru.

She hops down from her Ikran, who nudges her head against her shaking body to help her stand. “Thank you” Y/n whispers, clenching her hands into fists to ignore the pain.

She rounds her companion stopping in her tracks as her legs wobble beneath her. Her eyes trace over to where Jake stood in front of his sons and mate, Tuk hugging her mother tightly as Kiri worriedly assessed the damage on her brother.

Y/n quietly trudges towards the group, her ears pinned against her head realizing the lecture she would be in for. She had disobeyed orders just like his sons, she was on the same boat as them.

Y/n catches how Neteyam shifted uncomfortably, and how he blinked rapidly as if to keep himself from crying.

“You're supposed to be spotters, you spot boogies and call ‘em in-from a distance! Does any of this sound familiar-get here!” Jake roars with anger, gesturing for Lo’ak to step closer. His eyes stop momentarily on Y/n, his nostrils flaring in anger. Turning back to his sons he shakes his head in disappointment.

“Jesus I let you two geniuses fly a mission and you disobey direct orders!”

Y/n looks over at Kiri who examines her brother in worry. The stinging feeling of fear settling deep within her stomach. She felt her heart sink as she noticed the traces of blood over his chest, her fault for not taking care of him. For not protecting the sons of her leader.

“Kiri, can you help your grandmother with the wounded? Please?”

Kiri reluctantly turns her attention to her father, “My brother is wounded”

Seeing Jake grow more impatient, Neteyam raises his hand in a stopping motion, his eyes still trained on the ground below him. “It's fine” Neteyam whispers, stepping away from his sister who sighs in reluctance.

“Babygirl please. Tuk go with her, go”

Kiri huffs, pulling away from her brother to head for her grandmother's tent.

Neteyam lifts his head to face his father, noting movement from his peripheral he takes note of how Y/n had joined them. Her stance wobbled as she stood near Lo’ak. He bites down the hiss that threatened to break through knowing she was getting an up close and personal view of him getting chewed up by his father. How humiliating.

“Dad-sir, I take full responsibility” Neteyam turns his attention back to his father, ignoring her gaze that he felt hot against his skin. Lo’ak who was beside Y/n turns to face her, his face contorting to look of concern seeing her face look pale as she limped to stand by his side.

“Yea you do, that's right. ‘Cause you're the older brother you gotta act like it.” Jake growls, his mate stepping forward to intervene. Neytiri stares deep into her mate, her eyes holding great disappointment, she opens her mouth to speak only to be caught off by another.

Feeling a bit of courage Y/n speaks up, her voice small compared to her leader's booming tone.

“S-sir your son is bleeding” She says softly, her concern for the male outweighing her own pain at the moment. As much as Neteyam irked her, she couldn't help but worry.

At the sound of her voice the family turns to face her, Jake glaring into her tiny figure as Neytiri and Lo’ak both scrunched their eyes in concern. She didn't look well, she could barely stand properly, and Neteyam had also taken notice. His tail flicked behind him in alert, his heart dropping when he caught how her breaths came out ragged

“And you? I gave you a task, an important mission to fight alongside Neytiri and you blew it! You disobeyed my orders and left her alone-”

“Ma’Jake” Neytiri interjects her tone dangerously low. She felt worry pang through her as she gazed at the girl in front of her.

“-What if she had gotten hurt? Huh? The point of you being there was to assist her! if you stayed at your post you could have spotted the enemy ships…. I had higher expectations for you Y/n. You've disappointed me today”

“I’m-m s-sorry sir…”

Y/n looks down, blinking rapidly to suppress her tears as well as clear eyes of the black splotches that invaded her vision. Neytiri hisses at Jake, her tail swishing behind her stiffly.

Neteyam took a tiny step forward, his heart hammering against his chest. He thought watching his father belittle Y/n would bring a sense of happiness or accomplishment through him but it did the opposite.

He felt the need to shield her from his father's eyes as she looked down at the ground, her head hung low. His eyes trail down her form, eyes blowing wide when he catches the sight of crimson that nearly stops his heart.

“Ma’Jake, what she-”

“Y/n?” Lo’ak calls in alarm, stepping closer to the wobbly girl in concern . At his tone Jake's eyes soften looking over at Y/n. He feels color drain from his face as he notices the metal piece lodged into her thigh.

A gasp escapes Neytiri as she stares at her in horror, and the pool of blood that surrounds her.

It's as if Neteyam lost control over his body for a moment when he had registered where the blood was coming from, his legs carrying him towards her with no regard to his own injuries.

“M’sorry” Y/n mumbles, her body losing all strength as her vision blacks out. She goes limp falling towards the floor. The only thing she remembered before she was sucked into the abyss was a warm pair of strong arms catching her just in time, and a sound of someone calling for her with urgency.

“Y/n!!!”

~~~~~~~~

Y/n groans, her eyes fluttering as she tries to adjust to the dimly candlelit room. She frantically looks around as the previous day's events flash across her mind.

“Y/n” Tarsem’s soft voice calls, causing her eyes to snap to him. Y/n first notices that she is in the comfort of the Tsahik’s medical tent, surrounded with helpful gear and tools Mo’at would use for healing.

“T-Tarsem?” Y/n croaks, the pain from her leg stinging like crazy. She glanced down to her bandaged up thigh, the pain had subsided greatly but she was still able to feel it. Especially the numbness around the thigh rendering her immobile.

Tarsem rushes to her side, kneeling beside her with his eyes creased in concern. Y/n tries to sit up to which he gently pushes her back into the comfort of the cot she laid upon.

“W-what happ-”

A violent fit of coughs racked her body, her throat feeling dry as she tried to speak. Tarsem pulls her up half way, bringing a cup of water to her lips which she greedily gulps down. Her breath heaving as she tried to compose herself,

“What happened?” Y/n asks as she was able to settle down, with his aid she was able to sit up, her hand reaching down to gingerly trace over the heavily bandaged wound. Her eyes dance over to the bowls that were set up beside her, rags filled with blood placed in the bowls of water, staining the blue water crimson.

“You fainted due to blood loss. The injury-the wound was terribly deep. You’ve bleed so much you…you could have died!” Tarsem winces through clenched teeth, his hands forming fists by his side. Now that Y/n was sitting up right and up to his level she was able to see the tears stain along his cheeks.

“H-how long was I out for?” Y/n whispers, noting how it was only Tarsem by her side. She cursed herself for feeling a bit saddened that Neteyam wasn't present, but who was she kidding? She knew he hated her, but why did her heart want him there?

“Two days. Mo’at wasn’t sure if you’d wake. Your wound kept bleeding and she had to change your dressings many time” he informs, making Y/n wince at the news.

“That must have been awful, I’m ashamed to have put that much burden on her” Y/n mumbles to herself. Tarsem’s eyes snap to her face, his soft eyes squinting in anger.

“Are you kidding? You are worried about Mo’at taking care of you and not over that fact you almost died Y/n? What the hell were you thinking coming onto the battlefield like that?” Tarsem growls, his brotherly instincts taking flight as he keeps glancing at the bandaged wound.

“I had to! Lo’ak and N-Neteyam were there. You know it’s our duty to-“

“No! It’s my duty! I should have done something about it. I shouldn’t have given Lo’ak that gun in the heat of the raid. If I had been more alert you wouldn’t…you wouldn’t have..” Tarsem chokes on his words.

He felt responsible for Y/n, always has. The moment she started living with his family, he knew she would become the sister he never had. When she wanted to become a warrior like him he had mixed feelings, a part of him was ecstatic to have such a devoted student. The other half was afraid of having his baby sister out there in danger.

He knew the consequences of making her a warrior, but when Y/n stressed how she wanted to respect her departed parents by becoming a strong warrior, he knew he had no room to argue.

“Tarsem, it’s not your fault” Y/n says sternly, her voice trembling under the weight of her current state. Tarsem shakes his head. It was his fault, he felt it. This wasn't becoming of him as a future powerful warrior to serve the Olo’eyktan. Mistakes were made he would make sure it would never happen again. He would protect what was important to him.

Some rustling outside the tent caused the two to turn towards the entrance. Lo’ak’s head pops into the tent, his eyes widened with happiness seeing Y/n awake and alert. He quickly rushes in followed by Kiri who is carrying a basket filled with herbs.

“Y/n, you're awake!!” Lo’ak exclaimed, he crouches down to her level, his hand reaching out to carefully stoke her cheeks. He desperately wanted to pull her in for a hug, but the guilt in his heart prevented him from doing so.

“I’m fine! I’m not that fragile, guys” Y/n teases, Kiri takes a seat on the other side to inspect her wound. She smiles to herself noticing how the blood didn’t seep through the new bandage. Proving her prayers had been answered.

“Y/n” Lo’ak calls softly, retracting his hand a to sit cross legged on the cool floor. His ears folded against his head, his tail twitching nervously knowing Tarsem was watching him like a hawk.

“I’m sorry for…everything. Neteyam wouldn’t have come after me if I didn’t disobey orders and you wouldn't have gotten involved. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt saving Neteyam,”

Y/n flushes dark purple at his words.

“H-how” Y/n stammers, her bashful eyes landing on each Na’vi who nods.

“Yes, mom saw you from the air. She saw how you put yourself in harm's way as the bomb went off. You saved Neteyam.” Kiri informs, grinding some of the herbs she had bought with her, Y/n nods, forcing a smile. She couldn’t help but wonder if Neteyam knew.

“Neteyam knows” Tarsem says quietly, making the blush on Y/n face worsen and the knot in her stomach grow. Not only did the Na’vi who hated her guts, got lectured by his father but he also knew Y/n saved him. How mortifying. Y/n sighs knowing that this would only strength his hatred towards her,

“Don’t worry about it Lo’ak. What matters is that we’re all fine and that you learned from your actions . Best not repeat them, yea?” Y/n says softly, making Lo’ak smile in appreciation.

“I won’t!”

“Good, now can you please get out, you skxawng! I need to asses her!” Kiri butts in with an unimpressed roll of her eyes. Lo’ak chuckles before placing his hand over Y/n’s resting hand over her lap, giving it a light squeeze he quickly walks out to let Kiri do what she came here to do.

“I’m glad you ok” Kiri whispers, adding the herb paste into some water, Y/n slightly cringed at the bitter smell that engulfs her senses as she passes over the cup which she reluctantly accepts.

“Thank you and Mo’at for helping me. It was stupid of me for being so careless” Y/n chuckles, her eyes landing on Tarsem who still paced around in the tent. She looks back at Kiri who acknowledges how odd Tarsem had been acting.

“Let him be, he has been worried sick over you the past few days” Kiri whispers, noting how Y/n slightly furrowed her eyebrows as she recalled the words Tarsem had sent her way before the Sully siblings arrived.

‘He was worried, he even blamed himself’

“Y/n” Tarsem calls, coming to a halt.

“Yes?”

“For the next few weeks you’ll be land bound no more flying until you’re fully healed-“

“Bu-“

“No buts! It’s Tsahik’s orders. Right Kiri?” Tarsem glances over at Kiri who agrees enthusiastically at his words. Y/n groans in annoyance, taking a sip of the bitter liquid Kiri had supplied to her, a disgusted shiver going down her spine.

“I’ll let mother and father know that your awake. In the meantime rest, I’m being serious. If I see you out of this tent, there'll be consequences ” Tarsem hisses the last part, his tail thumping behind him to convey how serious he words were.

“Yes, I understand” Y/n murmurs, her ears folding in defeat. Seeming happy with the response Tarsem nods to Kiri before quickly exiting the tent.

“Don’t worry, he is just acting like that out of love” Kiri whispers, seeing the firsturated look on Y/n.

“I know….I just feel useless not being able to do anything”

“We’ll, get used to it. Mo’at knows how stubborn you are, she’s going to have someone in this tent over the course of the night to watch over you. Make sure you don’t…escape”

Y/n hums, glaring at the remaining medicine in her cup. Letting out one sigh of defeat she drowns the entire drink in one go, gagging as the thick liquid travels down her throat.

“H-how’s Neteyam?” Y/n asks after a while. Sticking out her tongue in disgust at the taste of the medicine.

Kiri frowns at her words. Cleaning up her equipment she brought with her. “He’s ok, Mo’at was able to treat him right away after he was able to catch you-“

Y/n flushes in embarasembt at her words.

“But other than that, he hasn't come by once to check if you’re ok.”

‘Well….that’s not a surprise’

~~~~~~~~~

Over the past couple of days Y/n’s days mull together as her boredom reaches a new high.

With a constant eye on her she was unable to escape the tent under any circumstances, much to her dismay.

During the day Mo’at would be in the tent tending to warriors while watching over her, and overnight Y/n would be under the watchful eye of either Kiri, Lo’ak or Tarsem’s parents. They would always alternate but not once didn’t Neteyam step into the tent.

A couple of hours after she woke up, Jake and Neytiri rushed into the tent. Jake expressed how furious he was over Y/n when she disobeyed orders but he stressed how he was glad that she was safe. Neytiri didn’t let go of Y/n’s hand the entire time she was by her side. Thanking her for protecting her son.

Kiri and Tuk were the best company Y/n had, they always kept her busy with engaging conversations not related to her injury so she didn’t have time to sulk over it.

Lo’ak was also great company but his constant stories of what he was able to do in his free time now that he was grounded from flying, only made the older female Na’vi feel envious each time.

And despite loving Tarsem, Y/n disliked when he was in charge of her the most. He seemed to worry over her more then his parents. Always blaming himself despite what Y/n assured of him. The man tortured himself with his regrets. Never seeming to want to live it down.

“Drink this, and don’t think of getting Lo’ak to throw it out for you. I’ll figure it out and I’ll double your dosage for next time” Mo’at threatened, placing the cup by her bed. Y/n forces a smile, her stomach dropping at the threat that held malice.

After the current day Mo’at was getting ready to leave for the comfort of her own tent.

“Don’t worry, I’ll finish it. I want to be able to leave as soon as possible” Y/n says softly, glaring at the green liquid that seemed to taste worse day by day.

“Good” Mo’at grumbles before heading out and leaving her alone.

The tent falls silent with the occasional sound of the wind hitting the chimes placed above the entrance, Y/n shuffles herself around for a comfortable position, not bothering to look up when the entrance ruffles, indicating that someone must have come inside.

“Hi Lo’ak, I’m sorry for-“

Y/n freezes once her eyes land on yellow orbs that stare into her own. She felt tiny under the gaze, the Na’vi’s posture stiff as he closed the entrance behind him. Y/n gulps in slight fear, looking down to her clasped hand that began to sweat.

“Y/n” Neteyam calls sternly, stepping closer to her.

Y/n chooses not to look up, waiting for him to speak again. After recalling that Neteyam knew about her going out of her own way to protect him Y/n was glad he didn’t make the effort to visit her. And now that she was alone with him she felt her stomach churn.

“Why….why did you save me?” Neteyam asks gruffly, causing the smaller girl to flinch.

After moistening her lips she peers up slightly. Her lips part as she tried to find her voice, clearing her throat in the process.

“I don’t know what you mean. The explosion was so severe that we ran into one another” Y/n didn’t know why she thought of lying, maybe it was the embarrassment she felt or the way Neteyam clenched his jaw in anger.

“Y/n I’m not stupid. I was there, I felt you go out of your way to cover me. I don’t need anyone to tell me when I was aware the whole time”

“It was in the heat of the moment”

“You always do this!”

Y/n furrows her eyes at his raised voice, his veins on his neck protruding out due to his anger. Y/n found it harder to respond to him as she watched him sigh out, bringing his fingers up to pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

“You always go out of your way for others putting yourself in danger. Does it please you to feel superior? Do you like feeling like a hero?”

Y/n flares her nostrils at his words, her eyes twitching in anger.

“What the hell Neteyam?! I do what I must for my clan. For my people…for my leader. I don’t do it for glory or fame. Like you” Y/n seethes, her fangs poking against her mouth. Neteyam’s eyes glow in anger in the dimly lit room. His own fangs breaking through with a hiss in response.

“Hah, well, it doesn’t seem like it when you are always praised for your actions.” Neteyam laughs dryly.

Y/n’s ears fold against her head, cursing at herself for even worrying for a boy like him who couldn’t get his head out of his ass due to his ego.

“I’m done with this conversation. I’m sorry I saved you, I’ll make sure no one acknowledges what I’ve done-“

“That’s besides the point!!”

Neteyam paces around the tent, his steps carrying him closer and closer towards the entrance.

“You….you”

Neteyam’s back faces her when he comes to a halt, heaved gasps of anger escaping through him as he recalls something of the past.

~Flashback~

“Wow you’re so cool Y/n!”

Y/n smirks triumphantly as her finger working over the arrow head she was busy carving at the moment. Neteyam sat in front of her, his eyes drinking in the way her finger worked tirelessly against the sharp edge, sharpening it with precision. Great precision for a 10 year old.

“Really? Thanks! Tarsem taught me, you'll learn soon enough and I’m sure you will be better than me!” Y/n encourages which only widens Neteyam’s smile. His eyes shine with admiration as he glances between the girl and the arrow.

For as long as he could remember Y/n was always a part of their clan, always wandering around and trying to learn something new everyday. He couldn't help but feel drawn to her carefree yet strong spirit. He wanted to be like her, as a 9 year old, Y/n looked like a perfect idol for him. Other than his father and Tarsem who had been the hot topic amongst the clan for a while now.

“You think? You’ll help me, right?” Neteyam asks, his eyes gleaming with hope. Y/n chuckles, turning up to meet his eyes. He felt his heart rate quicken, he felt his stomach erupt with a fluttery feeling as they looked into each other's eyes. She was the prettiest female Na’vi he had ever seen, and seeing her in such a light only made him feel this weird feeling more and more as days progressed.

“Of course! But I don't know everything. You’ll have to ask Tarsem.” Yn says making Neteyam frown.

“No! I only want to be taught by-”

“OW!”

Neteyam flinches at the sound of Y/n yelping in pain, his eyes widened, his breath hitched in fear at the sight of crimson dripping onto the forest floor. Y/n clutches her finger, shakily clutching the wound tightly. It wasn't a large cut, but it was deep enough for blood to come pouring out, scaring the poor boy.

“Y/n!!”

Neteyam reaches out to clutch her hand, fear and worry blinding him. Just as his fingers brush against her she quickly pulls away, evading him while smiling nervously.

“I'm fine! It's fine! I'll just go the Mo’at to get patched up!” She says reassuringly, making Neteyam frown at her words.

“Let me see it, how bad is it? Neteyam asks, his voice shaky, he reaches out again only for Y/n to stand up, him following her mom even in confusion.

“Neteyam it's fine, really. You of all people should not worry over a minor cut! It nothing”

“What do you mean? Why can’t I worry over you?”

Y/n rolls her eyes playfully, taking a step away from Neteyam who watches her with furrowed eyes.

“Because you are like my baby brother. How would I feel if I let my baby brother worry about me?!”

Neteyam’s ears flatten against her head. He didn't know why but the term ‘Baby brother’ sent a sickening feeling through his gut. He didn't like it, not one bit.

“Baby brother? You see me as a baby brother? What's that supposed to mean?”

“C’mon Neteyam, you're younger than me. And I should be looking after you! Not the other way around dummy!” Neteyam’s head dropped at her words.

The first feeling Neteyam felt surge through him was anger, the feeling of being incompetent sitting deep with his tiny form.

Was this her way of saying he wasn't worthy of her? That he wasn’t good enough for her? That she didn’t believe he could protect her?

“Is…that all I’ll ever be to you? A ‘Baby Brother’ who has to be protected by…you??”

“Is that wrong?”

~Flashback end~

“You've always been like this” Neteyam whispers , his back still facing Y/n as she fiddles around with the cloth draped over her legs to prove warmth. Feeling confusion ring inside her as she clears her throat.

“What?”

“You've always been like this. You always acted like it was you against the world, you never wanted anyone's help or anyone to care for you. You made me feel….you made others feel useless…”

“Neteyam. I don't know what you mean?”

Neteyam laughs dryly, still refusing to turn around and face her. The way he clenched his hands into fists, his veins protruding along his arms in anger didn't go unnoticed by Y/n who gulped nervously.

“Nothing, forget it. It doesn’t matter to you how anyone feels as long as you are covered. And that…makes you the most selfish person in the room”

~~~~~~~~~

Y/n couldn’t seem to get the argument she had with Neteyam over her head for the next couple of days. After that day he never came around again and Y/n tried not to focus on that. She didn’t know why he became so cryptic near the end but the fear from his words stung deep making her question herself.

“So that’s why I be late, is that ok?” Lo’ak says, tilting his head as he waited for Y/n’s response.

“Sorry, what?”

“I said Spider and I have an adventure planned in the afternoon tomorrow. I might be late coming in tomorrow,”

Today Y/n had finally gotten some good news regarding her injury. It has healed splendidly, but Mo’at still wanted her in bed rest for the next few days for observation.

“Just you and Spider? Where will you be going?”

“I don’t know, we’re going to do some tracking” Lo’ak says nonchalantly. Y/n frowns, something in her stomach didn’t sit right at his plan.

“Lo’ak, I’m dying of boredom just by sitting here all day. Can I come with?”

Lo’ak smirks, his eyes lighting up at her rebellious words.

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Netayams scowl didn’t leave his lips as he rode beside his parents. Though he got all the duties Y/n had prior to her injury that left her bed bound, none of it made him any happier.

He didn’t get anything out of accomplishment , only due to the fact she wasn't here to do them herself. And she was in her current state due to him, it sent a bitter taste along his tongue the more he thought of it.

The com around his neck buzzes to life as Lo’ak whispers on the other side. Neteyam internally frowns as he listens into what Lo’ak informs, his father answering back gruffly. He knew that Lo’ak would disobey rules and venture out to the old shack. So typical of him to get bored just to do the very thing they were warned about.

“Who’s we?”

Neteyam listens carefully, his eyes scrunching with worry for his family.

“Me, Spider, Kiri, Tuk…and Y/n”

Neteyam felt his heart drop, his mind drawing blanks. There were avatar soldiers near them and Lo’ak had their baby sister tag along with them. That alone got his blood to run cold, what caused his heart to beat painfully was the thought that Y/n, who was still very much injured, was also with them.

The girl Neteyam hated seeing hurt.

__________________________________________

A/N: I’m so sorry for the delay! I hope you guys enjoy and Breathing Pt3 will be out soon!

Taglist:

@afro-hispwriter @bigbootahjudy @sasuvke @a-blog-name-2003 @arminsgfloll @notmonroe @mahalkomarvel @jackiehollanderr @briacreations96 @naynay2808 @universal-s1ut @lili-of-the-dream @cumikering @baebinana @empiricsad @aspen-sprout @jjkclub @thehoneymushroomhealer @cherrymoon4 @zoetrope1997 @hannabanana-09 @annyis @yhern05 @hanatsuki-hime @b-tchymoon @jackiehollanderr @verveta345 @hana-yuri @slythermania @mrslandryy @kimberlyshailany-blog @perfectlypinkcat @qtkat @inolaphoenix @camilo-uwu @aphroditeisamilf @bakugouswaif @camilo-uwu @aphroditeisamilf @napalm-springs @moldavitefully @elizarikaallen @verveta345 @mikeyswifie