#i cannot wait for whenever mike can return

[etoilesenjoyer]

I can't wait for everyone to be reunited again

[imkylotrash]

I Can’t Fall In Love Without You

Pairing: Trevor Matthews x reader

Request: Trevor and the reader are already in a relationship, and the reader gets jealous when Trevor and Tessa meet. Anonymous

A/N I know the part about Tessa doesn’t last that long but I hope you like it anyway. 

“I’ll be home around 7 tonight.” You quickly put on earrings and the slightest bit of lip stick. He comes up from behind and sneaks his arms around you. Almost instantly you relax into his embrace letting your head rest on his shoulder. 

“That’s awfully late,” he comments placing a soft kiss on your neck. 

“It’s almost New Years and we need to get the annual report ready. Mike completely screwed up August and now we have to redo every month after August.” There’s been chaos at the office for the last two weeks due to the annual report meaning sleeping at the office rather than going home at 4 in the morning. 7pm was not late for you compared to lately but you still wished you could be home earlier. Today’s the 4 year anniversary for you and Trevor and you know he had some things planned but it’ll have to wait for January. Thankfully, he’s been more than understanding and it helps keep you sane. 

“I know, I know. I just wish you’d be home. But I’ll have some dinner ready.” 

“Thank you.” He spins you around and smiles. 

“You look so good I’m reconsidering letting you out of the house.” You chuckle as he places soft kisses on your neck and just below your ear. 

“Then I guess I have to stay,” you whisper grabbing his face to kiss him properly. After so long together you’re still not tired of how his lips feel against yours. But reality hits sooner rather than later and you hurry out the door to face the mess at work. At exactly 7 you park your car in the parking lot outside of your building. 10 long hours in the office and countless arguments later you’re finally free to enjoy the rest of your evening. 

“I’m home,” you call out confused as to why there are no light on at all. The apartment is completely quiet and as you move towards the kitchen turning on light as you go, it quickly becomes clear to you that no one is home. It’s so unlike Trevor to stay out at night but what worries you is that you have no idea where he is. Did something happen? You dial his number praying that he’s alright. 

“Hi, I’m on my way home now. I’m so sorry,” he says sounding rushed. Your heartbeat slowly returns to normal when you hear his voice. 

“It’s fine. You just had me worried. I thought something happened to you.” 

“No, I got caught up at work with the new intern. She didn’t know anybody and I felt bad for her.” You try not to give into the little green monster eating away at your stomach. Trevor has always been too kind for his own good, you know this. It’s part of the reason why you fell in love with him in the first place but why would he spend your anniversary with another girl?

“It’s fine. Should I get started on dinner then?” you ask trying to keep your voice from shaking. You tell yourself you’re overreacting and that this is just a response created by the stress from work. But you just can’t shake the feeling over the next couple of weeks. You swore never to be the type of girl to dictate who your boyfriend can and cannot see but you’ve hardly seen him because he spends all of his time with Tessa. The last straw is him going to an office party without you. Granted he asked you to come but you wanted a quiet night and said he should go himself. Of course, you didn’t actually mean it but Trevor is nothing if not honest so he’d only assume you’d say something if you had a problem. And you should’ve just said something instead of pretending to be fine but it’s difficult when you’re feeling insecure. So the next day as you’re sitting across from him at the table you speak up. 

“Why are you spending so much time with Tessa?” He chokes on his cereal. 

“What?” He puts his glasses on - a habit he has whenever he needs to pay attention. 

“You heard me.” You feel vulnerable and it pains you. The ability to open up is one you’ve never truly mastered and Trevor knows this so he also knows how difficult it is for you to ask him this yet he stays quiet.

“Are you having an affair?” 

“No!” 

“Then what?” you say raising your voice. What is the matter with you? You had a plan to ask him calmly and already you’re yelling at him. 

“She’s just a friend.” His eyes screams for you to drop this but you’ve heard that sentence too many times before and you know what it means. 

“That’s all you have to say? She’s a good friend? You’ve known her for, what, four months?” Everything about him is screaming guilty but you can’t believe that Trevor would ever do something like that to you. 

“What do you want me to say?” He’s cautious and with good reason.

“I want you to tell me that there’s nothing going on between the two of you. I want you to tell me that I’m the only one you love. I want you to fight for me to believe you!” Tears keep on coming even though you’re trying your hardest not to cry. “What I don’t want is you getting defensive about your relationship to some intern at the office.” 

“If I’m being defensive, maybe it’s because you’re accusing me of having an affair. I can’t believe you think I’d do that to you.” He’s hurt and you’re the cause making you feel even worse. How did breakfast turn into this? You take a deep breath to calm yourself down before this gets any worse. 

“Look, maybe I should go stay with my mom for a while? Just to take some time to think things through.” 

“I don’t need to think things through. You want to know what I’ve been doing with Tessa? We’ve been planning my proposal to you. She helped pick out a ring, coordinate with the restaurant. She helped me come up with ideas and talked me out of my stupid ideas. That’s what we’ve been doing.” Words fail you as his sink in. He was going to propose. And now you’ve royally screwed that up. Your silence is interpreted completely wrong and it breaks your heart. 

“I’m sorry the idea of my proposing made you feel so sick. I thought we were on the same page.” He grabs his coat and is out the door before you can say another word. You have to fix this but you have no idea how. Of course you would’ve said yes. How could he ever even doubt that? You grab your own coat and hurry out the door. You can fix this.

An hour later you’re back at the apartment but Trevor isn’t so you hurry getting ready. So many candles to lit and so little time. You change into that red dress that you know he loves hoping that this will be enough. Enough to convince him that of course you’d have said yes if he asked you. Two hours later he finally returns drenched from the rain. 

“What’s all this?” he asks stopping dead in his tracks. 

“Trevor Matthews, you’ve been my source of light for the past four years and I’d very much like for you to be my light for many more years. Imagening my life without you seems impossible and I’m so sorry I ever doubted you. I want you now and forever.” You’re trying to speak clearly but your entire body is shaking. 

“Y/N-”

“Please let me finish before I start sobbing. It’s going to be ugly.” He laughs but stays quiet. 

“I want to wake up next to you and go to sleep with you. I want pancake Sundays and movie dates on Friday. I want the sleepless nights and the mornings in bed. I want all of it and I want it for the rest of my life.” You inhale trying to control the tears that refuse to let up. 

“I don’t have a ring,” you say realising that you’re missing the most vital thing of a proposal. 

“I can do that part,” Trevor says grabbing a small velvet box from his coat. He gets down on one knee and somehow this moment is so imperfectly perfect that you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“Would you marry me and make me the happiest man? Be mine.” 

“Of course I would.” He slips the ring onto your finger and it’s the most beautiful ring you’ve ever seen.

“Oh, it’s perfect,” you whisper not even knowing how much it would mean to you to have the perfect ring. He stands up and immediately kisses you. 

“I hope you know I’m never letting you go,” Trevor says between kisses. 

“Good.”

[agayobsessedwithmurder]

Small town boy

runaway!mike au

inspired by @lilithisamess

The wheelers household, 1987

"Mom! it's Wills birthday! i have to go, dustin and lucas are busy this weekend and he can't be alone!" Mike yelled, standing up from his kitchen table.

"maybe you should have thought about that before joining that demonic cult." Ted argued.

Cult? are you serious dad?

"Mike, I know your bestfriend's and girlfriend's moving away really upset you but you can't keep acting out and expecting no punishment in return. Nancy's boyfriend moved away but shes still attending college, and not failing every class and skipping school." Karen scolded him.

Of course, bring up how nancy is better than me in every fucking way.

"You cannot talk about no punishment in return mom! i know what you did, or more like who you were doing!" Mike yelled catching everyone by surprise, but Ted was oblivious so just took a bite of the rotisserie chicken.

"Michael Wheeler! go to your room. NOW!" Karen screamed and made him flinch a little.

He started walking towards his room but hesitated to hear what they had to say.

"You should just tell him he shouldn't be seeing that boy, i never thought we would get rid of him. I tell ya he was changing mike, making him go through that phase." Ted said, not knowing mike was in hearing distance.

Thunder struck the outside of the house, just as Mike ran up his stairs. Once he got into his room he slammed the door shut and sat on his new queen sized bed in replace of his bunk bed he had whenever will would stay over.

Mike grabbed the binder of Wills drawings and opened up to a random one. He started flipping through the pages, tears falling down from his pale skin onto the artwork.

Shouldn't i be missing El alot more than Will? Shouldn't I still be mad at him for calling El st- no. i can't be mad at him. He's too precious, plus he was being ignored and it was the heat of the momment so i guess he had a reason to lash out.

I can't believe i can't see him on his birthday. hes going to be fifteen! Nancy can see Jonathan whenever she wants, it's not fair.

wait? Nancy seeing jonathan isn't like me seeing will right? because they are dating, me and will are just friends. yeah, friends. i need to stop overthinking my own thoughts.

I need to see him, but mom won't change her mind. Nancy wont drive me there.

wait. that bus stop! it goes to California!

Mike smiled, not bothering to wipe the tears that were stained on his cheeks and ran to his dresser. Mike grabbed a sweater that was always Wills favorite and grabbed some socks and converse shoes.

He put the socks and shoes on and grabbed his bookbag and put the binder in there, and a walkie talkie, and a red and orange colored wrapped present along with a picture on his nightstand.

a picture in two pieces held together by a piece of see through tape. a picture of the party on the Halloween mike told will they would go crazy together.

without really thinking he put the backpack on and opened up his window and felt the rain and cold air hit his face.

He held on tight to his window sill and moved his legs to the point were hes dangling from his window.

Mike jumped down onto the smaller roof and closed his window from there. Then he sat down, ignoring the rain pouring onto his body, and then jumped down onto the sidewalk.

He kind of was surprised it was that easy. He then walked to the garage and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. "Shit." He cursed but decided he didn't need his bike, he could walk.

He started running down the street until he got to a certain distance. He pulled out the walkie talkie and set it to a certain channel.

"Lucas, dustin? do you copy?"

static.

"Lucas and Dustin do you fucking copy?" Mike screamed as he kept walking.

"Oh my god what is it! im hanging out with max." Lucas said through the walkie talkie.

"Okay, I'm going to be gone for a little bit, tell dustin, and max i guess that im safe. make sure my parents know too, but do NOT tell the cops I'm calling you. I just need to see someone, but i promise im safe so don't let my family freak out too much, or atleast nancy. Okay thank you, bye!" Mike carefully explained and turned off the walkie talkie and put it back in his backpack.

And with that, mike started walking.

Mike finally reached the bus stop just as the bus was getting there.

literal, great timing.

The bus' doors opened and he walked in, the rain dripping onto the bus steps. He said nothing but continue walking and sat down in a seat across from this old, sweet looking woman.

Mike looked down at the bookbag he took off and put in his lap.

I wonder how Will is going to react when im there. Do you think he's going to hate me? who am i even talking to? oh god i hope he doesn't think im fucking crazy. i just, i haven't missed one of his birthdays yet. im not going to let that happen, ever. I know friends grow apart but, but Wills diffrent. Me and him, we are different. On August 27th we will have been friends for ten years. I can't, i can't lose him. I wonder if he was kidding when he said he would run away with me to California, or a warm state. We did promise to do that, anyway. But we promised alot of things. Like that we would never have girlfriends. But I can't talk, i do have a girlfriend. speaking of el, I haven't heard from her in weeks. I should probably talk to her.

His thoughts got cut off by that sweet old woman. She was wearing a green cardigan with mushrooms on the bottom and a long brown skirt and a heart necklace with a rose on it. She had white long hair captured in a low bun and a leather bag that was open that showed a knitted blanket and a book. The bag had a few buttons on it and a knitted heart on it. She had wrinkly skin with light freckles on her face, she wasn't the societys definition of beautiful but she definitely was beautiful to mike.

"Hello pumpkin, may i sit down?" She asked. Of course, he said yes and she took a seat next to him. "So where are you heading?" She asked him.

Mike recalled almost all of the memories he had with Will.

"Home." He smiled. He noticed that was extremely weird without context. "Oh uh, I'm going to see a friend." Mike said. "It's his birthday, or it's going to be in a day anyways." Mike smiled.

"Oh hunny, that's adorable. Tell me about him, and how you got all the way here." She asked, obviously worried about this cold, distressed, underage, alone boy.

Shouldn't I not be speaking to strangers?

"I-im sorry i don't even know you." He said in the nicest way possible so he wouldn't get killed.

"Oh, no. I'm not trying to attack you, or anything darling. I'm just worried, you seem young and there's bad people out there. I don't want you getting hurt." She said, and anyone listening would have known she was sincere.

"oh. well his name is Will, we have been best friends since kindergarten, and I was a total jerk to him this past summer. and I need to make it up to him, I care about him so so much and I can't have him being alone on his birthday. he deserves better than that. I got into a fight with my parents and they talked bad about him and wouldn't let me see him on his birthday, so I walked about one and a half miles to here, just so I can get on this bus. I can't leave him, he's my cleric, after all." Mike spilled out his heart.

"wow, you seem to really miss him." She chuckled. Mike takes some seconds to answer, but then does. "Yeah, i really do."

"just from what I know, be honest with him. you really care about this boy, and I know you said you were a jerk but, just talk to him. I'm sure he cares about you too. and your girlfriend will understand, she cares about you, and your happiness but you can't keep lying about and to her. You know she hates that, and Will, will love his present." She smiled.

"I will, thank you...and how do you know all this, you're really good at advice." He asked.

She laughed and pulled up her sleeve to see her arm that had a tattoo on it. '003'

"holy crap." Mike whispered.

"or because I'm going to visit my wife for fifty years." She chuckled.

Mike was stunned, shocked at the fact people could be married for fifty years.

I think i understand how they could have been together for fifty years, if you truly love someone, you wouldn't hate being in their presence. maybe that's why.... maybe that's why my parents aren't that close anymore. or why it's so awkward when I call El.

And if mike wasn't too busy thinking, he would notice the sign they just passed, he was leaving hawkins.

[haunthouse]

23 (“I immediately regret this decision.”) with a dealer's choice of au jaylen

ft pacific rim au !! this one ended up long, so it’s also on ao3.

Jaylen knows, the moment one of the drift techs suggest offhand that she try drifting with Allie, that it’s a bad idea.

She knows this somewhere distant in her mind, omnipresent background radiation — the same way that, when kaiju begin spilling from the breach again, she’ll be able to predict with a hundred-percent accuracy when it’ll happen long before the nerds down in k-science figure it out. Her instinct is to say no. She almost says no — almost says fuck no, absolutely not, we aren’t dragging him into this, almost storms out of the room and slams the door on her way out.

But she has to be a good little pilot to prove Mike was right to drag her out of the breach. At the very least, she has to avoid getting into fights. She’s made sure half the jaeger program will never get in a cockpit again just by drifting with them, something inside her mind breaking something in theirs, and she’s made the other half terrified of her; they scatter when she walks through the halls, as if her death is contagious. 

They would not have let Mike rescue her if they’d known it would cause this much trouble. That’s another thing she knows; she’s still deciding how she feels about it. Parker would’ve sent every jaeger the program had left to follow Mike into the ocean, drag him kicking back to shore.

The least she can do, in their eyes, is find a copilot who can drift with her without collapsing with blood leaking from their goddamn eyes. Current record’s forty-four seconds of drifting with Jaylen; in the droves of pilots they’ve sent since Henderson’s failure, no one else has gotten close, and clearly they’re fucking desperate if they’re asking for Allie, who has never wanted to be a pilot, never trained to be one. Allie teaches music. Allie hangs around the mechbay because that’s where Jaylen is, most days, and he is the only one who treats Jaylen the same as he did before she was declared missing in action and presumed dead, the only one who hasn’t made a huge fucking deal out of her being dragged out of the breach with her eyes the color of kaiju blood, like something just as toxic was waiting inside her.

A part of Jaylen worries that drifting with Allie will change that. Jaylen is not a person prone to being honest, but she only lies to Allie in ways he’ll be able to detect; he rarely calls her bluff, but she knows he knows whenever she’s told him something untrue, and she knows he knows she has reasons for it. In this way, she’s more honest with him than she’s ever been with anyone else.

Drifting is a whole other level. She has walls built up she has no idea how to collapse; she isn’t even sure she’s the one who built them. Jaylen hasn’t exactly been gentle with the other pilots they send to drift with her, but she doesn’t know how much of what happens to them is in her control.

She worries, but distantly. It’s far enough back in her mind that, when the drift tech who’s name she’s already forgotten says “Jaylen? I suggested we bring — what’s his name, Abbott? To try drifting with you.” she nods, sharply, and turns on her heel to leave the room.

***

Three days later, Jaylen and Allie walk into the drift-sim chamber side by side.

It’s strange — she’s never actually come in at the same time as her prospective copilot before, never watched them strap into the helmet and connect the electric wires to their temple and pull the restraints over their arms and legs, just in case Jaylen sends them spasming to the hard metal floor. She’s never given a shit about who they are. The first few drifts, part of her was still too far gone to care what she was doing; the dozen or so following that, she’d learned to sink her expectations as low as they could possibly go. She’s learned to fight back the animal instinct to grin as blood-dripping drift partners are carried away on stretchers.

“You sure about this?” Allie says, turning his head to look at Jaylen. It’s clear in the way he moves that he isn’t trained for this; he doesn’t know what to do with the bulk of the suit, he shifts awkwardly to avoid running into the wires connecting him to the interface in front of them. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Jaylen wants to laugh. Of course she has to. She bites back the sound, smiles at him in a way she hopes is comforting. Everything about her has been too sharp since she returned, but if anyone could see past that, it’s Allie. That’s half the problem — it feels, sometimes, like he’s already inside her brain, and she cannot imagine something more intimate than taking that to its more literal conclusion.

(Drifting with Mike had never been so terrifying. They were best friends before they were copilots; she’d dragged him into the jaeger program alongside her; he’d been by her side for all her worst moments already, and her his, so nothing they saw in the drift could surprise either of them.

Drifting with Allie should be easy, for the same reasons. But Allie was not there for Jaylen’s worst moment. Mike was, and now Mike is gone. Allie grieved somewhere on land, untouched by the category-three that had dragged Jaylen screaming into the Pacific Ocean.)

Jaylen talks less now; when she opens her mouth she feels like she should still be screaming to be heard over the wind and rain and ocean and roaring kaiju, even safe on solid ground as she is now. She forces her voice to be low and steady as she replies: “C’mon, Allie, don’t fuckin’ chicken out on me now.”

She knows that he knows that it’s more for herself than for him. If Allie wanted to stop, she wouldn’t blame him.

“I wouldn’t,” Allie says, genuine as ever.

“I’m not scared,” Jaylen says, feeling laid bare already as she pulls the helmet over her face, double-checks by rote that all the wires are in the correct places.

“I know.”

The voice of one of the techs crackles through the speakers in their helmets. Jaylen knows they’re standing on the other side of the two-way mirror outside the simulation chamber, watching to see if Allie will be the person who cracks down Jaylen’s defenses at long last, or if their last-ditch effort will be a total fucking disaster. “You guys ready?”

Jaylen nods. “Yes,” Allie says, like he’s sure of it.

“Initiating neural handshake in five, four, three, two —”

***

Jaylen has not successfully drifted with anyone since Mike.

It was almost a joke, with Mike — they would bitch at each other about whatever they’d caught floating off the other’s mind, act like they were psychic when really it was just ghost drift, fully scientific. Jaylen’d play her bass and Mike would pick up his guitar and they would be in perfect sync, even writing songs off the cuff; by the time she died, it felt like they were always drifting on some level, always a little bit in each other’s heads. That was fine with Jaylen. She’d trusted Mike with every stupid fucking thought she had, and he’d trusted her the same.

Part of Mike died with Jaylen. When she was thrown into the sea from a height that must have killed her on impact, she was still so intertwined with him that she couldn’t tell where she started and he ended; she couldn’t tell if she was screaming or if he was, or both. Mike would have far too much time to ponder the same question, and would die without an answer.

Part of Jaylen must have died with Mike, too. He’d brought her back, but not all of her, because he’d sacrificed himself in the process and even hardly-lucid as she was when her lifeboat sprung to the surface she’d felt him fall and fall until she could no longer feel anything, just a gaping emptiness.

Now, when she tries to drift, something breaks in her and the shattering echoes across the drift. Maybe Mike feels it, too, wherever he is, now.

***

“Neural handshake calibrating.”

Flashes of memory from Allie. Hanukkah with his dads growing up. The first time he wrote a song. Watching Trespasser land on TV, San Francisco, 2013; watching his dads discuss if they should flee Seattle, move inland, as far away from the Pacific as they could get. Meeting Jaylen. Mourning Jaylen.

It’s the furthest into a drift Jaylen has gotten since her return. It’s the most she’s let in from anyone else’s mind.

Jaylen’s funeral. Allie’s hands piling pebbles on Jaylen’s empty grave. Jaylen in the cockpit beside Mike. She can’t remember her jaeger’s name now, and isn’t that funny, the thing that killed her and the thing that brought her back and she can’t remember.

She can remember what it felt like to be inside it. The power. The ability to fight whatever storm came at them. Mike’s mind in her own. Her mind in Mike’s.

“Out of alignment. You’re both out of alignment.”

Jaylen ripped out of the jaeger by something unfathomably large. Never seen a kaiju from outside the jaeger before, not up close. Not a living one.

Jaylen thrown into the water, still conscious. Somehow. Jaylen underwater. Jaylen drowning for what felt like the entire six years she was gone.

“Jay?” Allie’s voice, distant. Right beside her. Unbelievably far away. Not there at all.

Jaylen dying. Jaylen gasping for breath —

“Shut it down,” she gasps. “I’m tapping out — stop the fucking drift, stop it.”

The connection between them severs, though the ghost of it remains; Allie’s concern, Allie’s fear, and worst of all, Allie’s love for her all sliding into her mind like a knife through the gaps in a ribcage. The hum of machines powering down around them overpowers the clattering of Jaylen’s helmet as she throws it off her head and onto the ground, the shattering of the glass in it; they’ll be angry with her for that, but she can’t bring herself to fucking care, not right now, not after dying again. Maybe not literally, but — does the distinction really fucking matter? Death twice feels the same as death once.

Allie is gentler with the equipment, coaxing the helmet off his head with one hand and reaching out to Jaylen with the other. She flinches away from the touch.

“We shouldn’t have done this,” she says. Her voice shakes and she hates it for doing so. She wants to scream; she wants to tear the shatterdome apart with her bare hands. She wants to be something huge and monstrous and capable of vast destruction, not a woman trapped in a body too small to hold everything swirling within her.

Maybe the rest of the pilots are right to fear her. Maybe death and undeath have changed her in some irrevocable way.

Right now, she doesn’t care.

“Jay?” Allie doesn’t reach out again, but she can feel how hard he’s clenching his fists to keep them by his side. He’s straining against the urge to take her into his arms and make promises he can’t keep, that everything will be fine, that nothing he saw changes how he feels, that they can try again if she wants.

Allie is physically fine. He lasted at least four times as long as the next-highest attempt, and his eyes are clear, and no blood drips from his nose. Jaylen did not hurt him, and some distant part of her is grateful for that, but it’s overpowered by the death lingering over her head, the way it felt to experience it again. The way it feels to know Allie was there with her.

Regret swirls deep in Jaylen’s stomach. She feels sick. “Don’t,” she says, even though he isn’t doing anything. “We’re not doing this again.”

She runs from the room as quickly as her trembling legs will carry her. Bares her teeth at the crowd of onlookers swarmed outside the door, waiting to see if Allie will be another to the line of copilots broken by Jaylen Hotdogfingers. As loudly as she can, she projects her thoughts to Allie through the ghost of their drift, already fading fast: Don’t follow me. Please.

Jaylen needs to be alone.

[cosmiclatte28]

Secret Love Song (ten x you)

here we go!

ps. Ten is a WayV and SuperM idol here, while Yuta, Jaehyun, and Johnny are not idols! Thanks

Song : Secret Love Song from little mix and Jason Durelo lol Derulo xD

warning : tiny bit of insecurities, lots of fluff, happy end.

CHITTAPON IS JUST SO SWEET!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You make your way slowly back to your small studio apartment. You rush from the nearest bus stop, walk through the cold winter night, reach the front door and then take the lift to your room. Today has been tiring, your neck and lower back are aching from sitting on stools for hours and reaching your clients body as you inject safe permanent inks into their skin. Yes, you are a tattoo artist, working in a superior tattoo parlor, where hygiene levels are guaranteed safe and the drawings are not regrettable. Well, your clients paid a hundreds of dollars to have a 4 inch tattoo! You have to admit, being a tattoo artist in a high-class studio gave a fair amount to pay your rents, eat decent foods, and spend some money for your happiness. You sigh when you remember that the flat fee for this month has been raised, and you know you will need to either find a new living space or work extra hours to pay for the extra cost.

You stretch your neck for a while as your fingers type in a six digit combination to open the door to your heaven: the bed. Once you close the door behind you, you take off your coat, carelessly toss your bag to the sofa, and free yourself from your boots. You make a quick attempt to untangle your scarf and dive belly first to your soft mattress. A sigh of great relieve escapes your mouth and you find your eyelids super heavy. You would totally fall  asleep within five seconds if your bizarre phone did not disturb you.

Your hand blindly searches for the rectangular noisy object and when you find it, the ring has ended. You groan in frustration, but your fatigue drowns you back to slumber. This time there was a short beep five times in a row, and you know that is your boyfriend messaging you. Your mind fights over waking up to call him back, or just drive your tired eyes to sleep and deal with him later when you're fresh. You decided to do the latter, but today must not be your day. Your phone rings again and your finger slides to pick up his call.

"What?!" You snapped.

"Woah, easy... Did I call the wrong number?" the man on the other hand takes his phone away from his ear to check the caller ID. He shakes his head when he ensures this is the right number.

"Sorry... I-"you yawn and he stays silence until you continue, "I just got home, and your calls postpone my -so needed- sleep..."

He smiles to himself when he heard your yawns and slurs.

"Okay, I'll just tell you I'm busy for the next three days. I'll call you back, I need to do my make up now. Bye!"

You did not reply him, your brain didn't actually understand anything he said, you've lost yourself into the dreamland after finishing your sentence. You sleep through your dinner time, only to snore deeper as the night darkens.

__

One man sits stiffly on his chair in the powder room. He is waiting for his stylist to come and do his make up before he steps into the stage filled with a crowd dedicating their life, money, and time to support him and his group. He shakes his shoulder a bit to throw the pressure away, why did he feel like he committed a great sin for calling his girl just to disturb  her from sleeping.

"Who is that Ten hyung?" Yang-yang who happens to catch a few of Ten's surprised action earlier asked.

Ten turns his head to face the youngest boy, he's about to open his mouth before the tallest and loudest man cuts his answer "It's (y/n) of course," Lucas offers his big smile while slapping Ten's shoulder.

"Stop it Lucas, I might poke his eye because of your sudden slap when I am drawing this eyeliner." The stylist who has been working hard to polish this pretty eyes of Ten, scowls at Lucas.

"Sorry, but it's true right?? It's (Y/n)???" Lucas takes a seat on one of the free chairs in the powder room. He's ready to go on stage already.

Ten shakes his head in disbelief and nods, "Yes it's her. Happy?"

Yang-yang smiles and drags his chair closer, "So... what happened? Spill the tea!"

Lucas also has his eyes bigger twice as much in size and his back is straightened, he is ready for the gossip!

Ten smacks his lips when the last stroke of light lipstick was applied; he checks himself on the mirror and nods an approval for the stylist to go. "Thank you!"

Now when nobody else is in the room, Ten finally opens his mouth.

"I called her at the wrong time I think... She snapped at me because she said I disturb her sleep?"

The two younger men pretend to understand though really they don't have a single idea why Ten must look this nervous just because his girlfriend snapped. Hey, every person has a bad day right?

Ten stares into the two soul across him and he face palms himself mentally when he realize there was no way Lucas nor Yang-yang understands his worry.

"Forget it, both of you are not helping." Ten pushes himself from the chair to put on his golden jacket.

"We're putting on mikes and in 7 minutes, you're going Live." The stage director opens the door right in time and a swarm of crew help the members put on their mikes.

Ten glances at his phone for the last time, there his smile rises when one notification pops from none other than you.

From: mon petit cœur

"Burn the stage,love! Bad Alive deserves the spotlight. <3"

Ten knows he doesn't have to reply that message, but the heavy weight in his heart is gone as he takes a deep breath and joins his other brothers to the side of the stage. They chant their group cheers and soon take over the stage.

--

You're awakened by your alarm clock around seven at night. Your head feels dizzy and you know that's probably because you skipped dinner. You force yourself to open your eyes. Your fingers expertly open the messenger application and through your squinting eyes, you type a short message to your boyfriend. Well, you promised him you won't miss their first stage of Bad Alive, and so here you are! seated on your worn-off sofa, an apple on one hand and the small TV provides you music and pictures. You focus yourself on the screen when you can see your boy and his team already shown for the interview at the screen. You fix your position, increase the volume, and you're totally awake when the stage shows your favorite group of all time.

The three minutes performance was over. You get up from your position, walk to throw the apple core away, and you grab your phone back.

To : Ten

"Amazing job you did there, my body's burning,

Guess I can save money from not using any more heaters.

Going home? <3"

You want to meet Ten so bad, it's already one month since you two didn't see each other. He has intensive practices for the comeback. Not that you're not understanding or selfish; You just wish he can make some time to come tonight, because you need someone to listen to you.

Your phone bleeped after an hour. Ten must've finished all of his works and probably already seated in the van, ready to leave the venue.

From: Ten

"Glad the song kept you warm. Sadly I've told you earlier in the call I cannot make it home these three days. Next week I also have another stage performance. I'll let you know when we can meet. How's today?"

Your shoulder slumped, you ghost you finger over the call button. You want to call him right now, but dating an idol is not that simple. If some manager or stylist caught you in the act, they might tell this to the director board and you know how this will end. Yes forced break up!

You left him on read. You glance at the clock on the dining room. It's already nine, you have some place to go. You dress yourself in a warm jacket and you leave the empty room. You hail a cab and direct an address. Your phone vibrated and you picked up a call.

"Hey! Where are you now?" Ten asks

"I'm going out for a while, why?"

"Oh, where are you headed to?"

"Ummm Johnny's, I forgot he invited me over for wine and cheese. Wanna join?"

"Is this Saturday Night already?"

You chuckled, "Yes Mr. busy, this is a Saturday Night."

"I'll see how the meeting with SuperM goes, til then have fun and be safe, Love you!"

"He's a nice brother, don't worry I'll be okay. Wait I have to get off the bus."

Ten waited for you on the other side of the line. He likes to make sure you're okay on the road. He busies himself with a strand of loose thread on his jacket and holds the phone close to his ear. His smile returns when your breathy voice greets him back.

"Woah, sorry there were several people going down too.

I'm only 3 minutes away! Are you in the office yet?"

"I'm entering the lobby, need to rush to the lift and see if everyone's there already."

"Okay, guess I'll end the call here. I can see his house already."

"No, I'll wait until you are in his house. Besides my notification just notifies me Taemin hyung is late."

"Well, I'm here already. Johnny's by my side."

"Alright, trust you. Tell him I miss him! Okay then, enjoy your night.

Call me whenever you need my help. Love you!"

You smile at his small attention, "Thanks Ten, Love you too! Good luck with the meeting."

The phone call ended

You enter the kitchen of the small house your brother and his fiancée bought. Johnny is five years older than you, and that's why he has been able to take care of you ever since the two of you were young. Johnny's wife happened to be staying in her mother's house because she had to look after her younger cousins. Johnny cannot join her because he needs to supervise his office. So here you are, the two of you meet one another for a siblings quality time.

"Tonight's special is Cabernet Franc," Johnny said after examining the bottle and taking the cork off.

I push him my empty glass and he fills in both glasses with the red liquid.

"Cheers," You both chime and clank the glass.

Moving on to sit on the comfortable L-sofa, you make yourself comfortable before finally starting to chat and talk about life. A soft music was played on the background, some classics because both of you felt like it.

"So, how is your day?" asked Johnny.

You gulp down the rest of the wine and roll your eyes, "Bad. Worst!"

Johnny straightens his back, "Ten? Or Work?"

You run your eyes right and left, taking a moment to think which one of them is bothering your mind. You smile when you know the answer, "Both!"

Johnny only raises his brow and you know the queue to spill everything out. Your mind went back to earlier this morning, where you woke up late and missed the bus to your office. You had to take the cab, since Ten was busy with his performance schedule today. You had to spend a good $20 to make it on time. You did arrive on schedule; the shop was opening as per usual. You greeted your co-workers, Yuta and Jaehyun.

The three of you have been working together since this parlor opened, there were no other worker here because we don't need that much! The people who step through the door were usually a regular or have made an appointment. However, today was totally irregular!

You remember the horror of Jaehyun's face when he entered the employee room with terror. Yuta was working on a customer's drawing and you were washing and cleaning the pen.

"We sorta have a problem here, there were three girls wanting to get a tattoo done without any appointments."

Yuta raised his brow, there must be something next that will surprise them both.

"They're minors. I've told them to come back when they're older, but they insisted."

"Let me talk," You place your pen down on a table and take the queue to talk to the girls. Well, Jaehyun is a softie, he cannot be strict especially to high-school girls.

You caught the three girls giggling over a picture on their phone, and you quickly snatched it away from her hand. They gasped and protested on your action, but you were taller than them.

"Sorry, but it was not appropriate for you to secretly take pictures of another person. This, I'm sure you took them secretly earlier. You're violating someone's privacy." You said as you deleted the pictures of a candid Jaehyun.

"If you're here only to take inappropriate pictures of my co-worker, leave immediately and don't ever come back. And you're clearly not 18 yet, the law stated you must be 18 to have a tattoo. Til then, let's wait patiently. Come back only when you are 18 and permitted to have ink on your body. Good bye." You returned the phone and shrugged your shoulder to the exit door.

The three girls have fires in their eyes and they were clearly killing you in their heads, but you're not afraid of babies like them.

"You're mean! Just wait for our revenge!" One of the girl stomped her feet in anger and ordered the other two to follow her and they left the parlor.

You let go a breath you held back earlier, then you decided to take the welcome desk for a while.

Just when you thought nothing else will go wrong, that's where you were fucked. Across you stood your nightmare. The enormous man across you smiled secretly when he found you greeting him.

"Well, welcome back Sir Dimitry, I believe you're here for a touch up?" You ran your eyes through today's schedule. Sadly his name was not there, but he was a regular and he's the Russian gang leader here, who roamed around Incheon at night. You knew better not to mess up with him, but that was not what bothers you.

He Is big and scary, the first time you saw him was when Yuta has to do a big dragon on his well built arm. That day you were occupied with another client, but although you were focused on doing your work, you can't help but feel his gaze on your body. Yuta and Jaehyun were aware of this, and since then they always try their best to take his project and they always lied you're busy or occupied. You're thankful for them. The two men were not so pleased to work on his skin too, for his drawings were always big, disturbing, and scary. However, he was the most generous tipper, and that made them close their mouth and ears (because he used to answer calls and believe me your ears won't stay cold listening to his choices of bad words).

"I haven't made an appointment yet, and I came here for a new drawing. I've had one in my mind and I believe you can finish tracing it in a couple of minute." The big guy leaned forward on the table.

There were two other people coming in and Yuta happened to pass by. You threw him a "help" sign and Yuta bit his lips, "My client is here already... I'm sorry, try Jaehyun."

Yuta took his customer to the studio and Jaehyun appeared beside you.

Jaehyun glanced at the clock, then looked into the Russian man's blue eyes "I'm sorry sir, but today we're a bit tight. You can come back here tomorrow say around one? I'll take your order, do you want a new drawing or retouch?"

The man hit the table, "I believe this lady over here is free right now, I don't see any client waiting for her. That guy is clearly your job Jae, I saw his tattoos those were definitely yours."He smiled winningly.

You cursed in your heart, well today you happened to have no appointments, you're only making templates. You closed your eyes, inhaled, and looked at Jaehyun. You nodded your head to tell him you'll be okay and you'll take him. Jae could lost his eyes from the shock when you sighed and told the big man, "Alright, I am free for two hours. Before that let me remind you I cannot do strong and big inks."

The Russian man smirked like a cat who won a fish, you took him to the processing room and he explained you what he want. You went to your professional mode and focused clearly on making his dream comes true. You were bargaining with him to make the designs smaller and less bold, he finally gave in. You worked your drawing quickly and after he agreed, you prepared your tools.

To make it short, it was the longest two hours in your life. He was clearly stealing views of you concentrating, and he was throwing so many offensive and disturbing flirts. You almost lost your cool when he joked about how hot you would look like on bed. You promised you held yourself from not forcing the word "bastard" to his neck and you clearly knew Yuta and Jaehyun were both busy keeping eyes on you. You're focused on making a word out of Russian alphabet you didn't know.

"I am attached, so please stop. You're going over the line already." You exhaled when he tried to touch your lap. You quickly pushed his hand away and you rushed your work.

"I said stop! You're harassing me!" You tossed the pen to your metal tray, and you pushed your chair back. He was not totally harassing you physically, but he was mentally fucking you. You saw his tent and you decided you'll stop your work. Well you finished it right on time though.

"I can file a report and you can be trialed." You stood up from your stool, but he held you back faster.

"Let go off her," Yuta threw him a deadly gaze and swatted the man's hand.

"You won't, they wouldn't care. Look this tattoo's amazing. I'm leaving you 500! Take the change." He forced the bills in my hand and made his way out.

You stood there surprised and petrified. You're ashamed of yourself, but what would your boss say if he found out a client was not satisfied because the girl artist did not want to work on his body. You'll lose your favorite job, and no you don't want that to happen yet.

Yuta and Jaehyun comforted you and ensured that you were not assaulted physically or even harmed. You shook your head and a tear fell on your cheeks. "I am embarrassed of myself, I feel bad for Ten... and Fuck I blew up my relationship."

Yuta ensured nobody will know, or you hope so. The day continued and after some more picky madams with boring gossips, you went home with....well an extra $300. You actually hated the money, but 300 is a big number, you can either put it on donation or pay your rent. You decided to put it in the cashier box though, let your boss decide. Usually a 100 bucks is already a big tip, this is triple! But thinking back of his actions, you hate everything.

"You sure you're okay?" Johnny reaches for your hand and takes a good look on your body.

You giggle, "It's fine, he almost reached for my lap but I was faster! But his mind, I can't control that..."

Johnny nods, "Just avoid him okay, or tell your boss you cannot take him. Moving on, tell me about Ten!"

"About Ten, I just hope dating an idol can be more public." You swirl your wine that had been refilled.

Your mind one again brought you into a daze, you remembered two years ago when Ten knew you from his tattoo appointment. You were responsible for his temporary tattoo for a comeback. He knew you from Taeyong, fellow SuperM member who made the 'UNDER STAND' tattoo with your help. Ten likes the result and he asked Taeyong where he got it done.

To make it short, you frequently see one another from discussion, drawing, and planning. Ten and you learned about one another quickly while he was on his ink bed, and you're focused on drawing his perfect sketch on his arm. The meeting became frequent after three months where he needed another tattoo for a comeback.

After returning about ten times to have a retouch or a new design, Ten finally earned your number. From there, everything was so fast and you're suddenly on your third year of dating an international famous idol! You thought you were ready for everything, not going public, staying home most of the time for dates, wearing masks and keep being undercover, even having sleepless nights while waiting for his message when he's away on a world tour. You can go on with the list, but you decided to focus on the good things more.

You were okay with Ten being away from his phone most of the time. He always did his best to send you an update about him, be it one emoji, a selfie, or a whole long ass paragraph of how his day went. He couldn't call you that much because someone might eavesdrop.

So far, no one thought Ten is having a secret love relationship. There were small fights, but both of you can talk it out together with cool heads and bonded stronger after the fight. Ten could see you and him being a family in the future, he even boldly told you his parents can't wait to meet you.

You were okay with all of the relationship, you were okay with his fans, you supported him on concerts and voting, you basically love him too with all your heart. Only one thing actually made you sad.

"What is that one thing? Not posting it in social media?" your brother teases you.

You lean on the soft cushions; your finger carelessly fiddles with the tassels hanging around the blanket Johnny had wrapped around you. You toss your look to his curious face.

"I want to walk under the cold winter air beneath the romantic lights, hand in hand, warmth shared from I don't know his heat pack in his pocket maybe... Then imagine the Christmas Carols are softly whispering in the night, mistletoe is everywhere. It doesn't have to wait until Christmas... I just want it whenever we can." You plop a cheese into your mouth. Your eyes were glassy when they look into Johnny's

Johnny pulls you closer and you instinctively lean in and let him caresses your back.

"You're tipsy, can you still walk?"

You shot your eyes open, the hell did your brother just kicked you out? Hey it's night already! Shouldn't he let you sleep in??

"I am not going home! It's dangerous! What kind of brother are you? Telling your little sister to go home at this time." You hit him repeatedly.

Johnny rolls his eyes, you clearly had too much!

"WALK TO THE BED SIS, WALK TO MY ROOM AND SLEEP PROPERLY." Johnny stresses each of the word in case my ears did not caught them.

You look at him blankly and Johnny knew you're gone already. He swiftly picks you up and carries you to the bed. Nicely he tucks you in and he cleans up the mess in the living room.

He notices his phone vibrating; noticing it was Ten, he picks up the call.

"She's sleeping in tonight, you're on the dorm right?" Johnny asks.

Ten answers him his schedule for the week and how he's not going home. He also told Johnny what happened earlier this afternoon. Johnny smirks as he whispers a code to Ten.

__

Two weeks passed by, you already forgot your grudges to Ten. You try to be considerate to his hectic schedules. One cold afternoon, just after you finished working on your last client for today, you take your time cleaning the tools and sterilizing them. While humming to Love Talk, your favorite song, Jaehyun peeks from the curtain door.

"(Y/n), someone's looking for you." Jaehyun drags the curtain open. You pause your activity, for a moment; your eye brows quirked. You focus your mind to see if you missed an appointment, but no you're positive no one called you for a session this afternoon.

"Hmm, we still have time before closing time, so okay I'll take it."

You leave the room to see your client and you're surprised to see your boyfriend sitting on the waiting room.

"Ten!" You squeal out of surprise and joy. You run to hug him, well it has been three weeks since you last saw him in tangible state. Three weeks of video-calls and texts were quite satisfying, nevertheless.

Your boyfriend hugs you back and engulfs your smaller figure. He inhales the sweet scent of your shampoo he missed and how he wished the time can stop here right now.

"You're here for a new tat?" You ask after breaking the hug.

Ten shakes his head, "No, I got dismissed earlier and I want to pick you up!"

You blushed, hey that's so sweet of him. Unlike other boyfriends, having Ten walking in the sidewalk without his manager and body guards is a rare occurrence. Ten was always in the van or swarmed by fans! This afternoon however, here he is standing with a long winter coat, face hidden under a cap and a mask. He did not wear anything eye catching to avoid the media and saesangs. He did it! He made it here in your office without any missing piece or a trending twitter hashtag!

"Well we have another 20 minutes before my shift ends; do you need any help for a tattoo?" You smile at him. Hey planning a tattoo with Ten is always wonderful.

"You know we can always draw them together at home." He smirks and brushes my hair away from my face.

"Okay then, wait for a moment as we're tidying up." A big smile erupts from your lips and your heart is full of flowers!

--

"Good bye Jae, Yuta!" You wave your hand as the two men let you leave first while they close the doors.

Ten is already waiting for you on the front porch with his hidden face. You place your mask over your face too. You stick yourself next to Ten to hug his arm, his heart softens at the sight, how a soft girl like you can work as a tattoo artist with Yuta and Jaehyun (who both have enormous prints on their bodies).

Without any warning, Ten takes one of your hand into his, he holds yours tightly and slips them to his jacket pocket."It's a bit cold right? Now where should we go?"

Your eyes widen, usually he always brings you home directly since he cannot be in public for too long.

"Shall we just go home? I can cook dinner." You sound confused by his offer tonight.

Ten shakes his head, and drags you without any clue where are we headed.

You are so stunned when you find yourself finishing a nice dinner course at a new restaurant. Luckily it was not crowded yet and no one seems to notice Ten, but dinner was not the end of the surprise.

You stand frozen under the dazzling disco ball, beneath your feet are colorful light up tiles, surrounding you are the moving body of half-conscious people, and your ears are slowly aching from the loud music.

"Ten, can we go somewhere quiet, I can't talk." You lean in closer to scream into his ear and your boyfriend pulls you out of the crowded space.He brings you to the bar and helps you sit on one of the stool.

"One bourbon for me, and a vodka for this pretty lady." Ten smiles to the bartender.

After he takes his sit next to you, you raise your brow. He knows that code and he quickly reaches for your hands.

"You don't like dancing in the club? It's a Sunday Night, I thought some drinks won't hurt right?" Ten knows you're not new to these kinds of places.

You let out a free laugh, "I do love dancing in the club, I'm just surprised why you're suddenly doing this. Plus if you told me, I could have prepared for better attire!" You hit him playfully.

Ten takes your hand into his, "Well, you look great already, plus we must not catch attention right." He leans in closer to you.

Your eyes slowly move down over his nose and finally on his lips. Maybe it was the way they glistened under the dim light, or the tenderness you miss, or just simply his lip bites he always did when he's nervous! You feel gravity pulling you closer just to taste a tiny bit of it, but Ten moves back quickly when the bartender returns with two glasses of our drinks.

"Thank you!" Ten hands over the cash and offers you your glass. You found yourself stupid for almost kissing him in public. Rule number one of dating an idol is to never kiss on public.

"Sorry," You look everywhere but his eyes and gulp down your shot.

Ten just nods beside you and there was a bit of a tension between you and him. Maybe you're still embarrassed of your action, but Ten is actually enjoying your braver side.

"Let's hit the floor. I really miss dancing together." Ten easily picks you out of your stool and lands you gently on the floor. One shot of vodka won't make you drunk yet, but you spent your youth dancing on the dance floor, so this is nothing for you.

The DJ was wonderful tonight; his choices of songs are perfect and as the two of you are getting more and more heated up under the throbbing lights. The dance floor was crowded and there was not much space left. You share his body heat, you can feel his breath tickles your neck, and you can once again see his plump cherries. You drive your mind elsewhere, and move your body to the rhythm. You smile at him and he smiles back at you, with one deep glance the two of you inches closer and closer.

Your eyes grew heavy, vision dark, you let your other senses work, and you feel that warm plump lips touching yours. You caught your breath and after some time, he pulls back. The loud sound blasting through the speaker slowly disturbs your hearing again. You open your eyes slowly and stare into his deep eyes. He places his hands over your waist, pulls you into his arms, and the two of you sway to the loud slow music the DJ offers.

You're no longer thinking straight. You bury your face into his chest, you trust yourself into his lead and a single tear fell down.

When you hold me in the street

And you kiss me on the dance floor

I wish that we could be like that

Why can't we be like that, Cause I'm yours.

You know this is everything you need to face when dating an idol, and you cannot hate him for this. It was your decision to say yes to him. Your head spins, your ears deafened, your vision darkens, and you no longer feel your feet.

You lost your conscious; all of a sudden you're already lying down on your bed. Turning your head to the side, you see Ten sleeping by your side hugging you loosely while taking in calm and relaxed breath. You grit your teeth as you try your best to softly turn your body to face him.

In his warm embrace you snake your hand to ghost over his godly face to brush away the golden locks away from his eyes. You stare at his innocent face, you're overwhelmed. It's been a while since the last time you has Ten by your side when you sleep. He was always busy and thousands of miles away from you in a different time zone. You touch his cheeks and wipe a tear running down from your eye.

We keep behind closed doors

Every time I see you, I die a little more

Stolen moments that we steal as the curtain falls

It'll never be enough

Just the sound of his relaxed breathing and the slight touch of his arms over your waist, you finally found the missing warmth and peace you've always craved for bedtime. Having Ten lying next to you tonight sparked a small fire in your chest. You feel safe and you're so emotional. You snuggle closer to him, Ten stirs in his sleep but did not wake up, instead he naturally finds your body and fixes his posture to a comfortable position. You face his chest, right where you can see the tattoo you nicely did on his left chest (where he worked so hard to get his mom's permission) you smile when you remember how happy he was when he sneaked out to meet you to deliver the happy news.

Your heart flutters, he did not need to wake up to fit you into his embrace. Your relationship fits like a puzzle where each pieces were so different that you won't make mistakes. You want to believe that Ten is the one destined for you and so are you to him!

It's obvious you're meant for me

Every piece of you just fits so perfectly on me

Your mind plays thousands of silly scenarios. Most of them were happy, but you cannot lie that the darkest corner in your brain still repeatedly tricks you with nightmares. It was not the first time you have dreams about his fans finding out your relationship, you cannot imagine their faces and you cannot imagine living with the constant fear that one of those fans might kill you out of obsession!

Your insecurities also snatch your confidence away whenever you see Ten standing on a stage with another "oh so perfect" girl idols or models or hell actresses! Not to mention the flirty look those back up dancers always toss to your man. Well, they might be throwing flirts on him because they did not know Ten is attached already; however, even when they know 90% will fight harder and the rest 10% will let go. You're living in fear, in terror that one day when you wake up Ten can no longer be beside you.

You break your own promise about always telling one another your fears and struggles. You hide them behind your cheerful smile, you blame yourself for over thinking, and you make sure Ten will never know that. You are learning every day to put the negative thoughts away and focus on the good ones. Ten needs your support, Ten loves you, and you believe that. You can sleep a bit after convincing your heart that the man hugging you here is an angel made for you!

Every second, every thought, I'm in so deep

But I'll never show it on my face

Your eyes flung open when you feel the sudden drop of temperature. Your hand reaches to your side in panic and you peek to see that it's no longer occupied. You stretch yourself to wake up, Ten might be away already for his schedule. You take your phone to see any message he probably left, but there were none. You glance to the door, it was closed. There are no traces of Ten, not his shirt, not even his phone.

Once the room door was opened, your nose is filled with a fresh smell of bacon and eggs. Your smile returns when you see Ten only in his boxer and apron. You can hear your washing machine working and when you look at the door, you smile when you see a pile of your laundry and his outfits are there.

"Morning princess, I'm sorry I have to run the laundry for my clothes...since someone happened to spill a drink over me yesterday and I'm not going back to the dorm with a smelly outfit." Ten explains while flipping an egg over. He sets the fire to a lower heat and turns his body to see you.

You can only smile like a dumb love-struck girl (which is not wrong). You make your way to jump and hug him. Ten automatically receives you in his arms and you dip your head down to greet your lover with a sweet morning kiss. In between the sweet kiss, you can see Ten smiling like he enjoys these kinds of cheesy morning things.

"You better stop kissing me," Ten speaks up on our short breaks, he kisses you one more time, "Or I will burn the eggs."

You laugh and toss your head back, you take your queue to jump off him and Ten quickly saves his egg from burning. "Just right in time," He smirks when he plates the last egg on the dish.

"Please take your seat miss, breakfast by your hottest man is ready." He sits down across you with one plate of the same menu. From your request, Ten did not take off his apron. No you do not need a distraction this early!

Your mind records every single moment Ten giggles and laughs, his wake up state is already so lovely and you cannot imagine how perfect your mornings will be if the two of you finally tie the knot and live together. You can only keep that in your small heart, a really simple dream you wish you can achieve. Living with Ten for the rest of your life, why? Because you know he is the man made for you. But are you the woman made for him?

You finish your breakfast and as the washing machine finished its job in drying the clothes too, you hear his phone rings. Ten glances at the buzzing noise. You toss him a small smile before leaning in to kiss him and walking away to take the laundries. You pick up his shirt, Ten does his duty to wash the dishes and pan he used.

"Let me iron this quickly," You disappear to at least send him off to work in a nice attire.

Ten places the last dish on the drying rack and he starts to pack all of his stuffs, he brushes his hair and teeth, puts his cap back on and his eyes soften when he sees you coming back with a neat shirt.

He finally takes off his apron and with your help, put on his tidy sweet smelled shirt. Secretly Ten loves your laundry soap and that's one reason why he used your washing machine. He wants to smell like you!

"So, when can I see you again?" You ask as you fix his collar. You're facing him and only inches away from his nose.

Ten smiles and puts his hands over your waist, he leans in to stare deeper into your eyes, "Whenever you want miss! I'm only one call away," he winks.

Both of your face are slowly erasing the gap between you two and just as you close your eyes his phone abruptly kills the mood. You pull your face back and you can see Ten cussing at the caller.

"Damn Lucas! Such a mood breaker! I told him I am coming in 10 minutes," Ten presses the red button and pockets his phone. You burst out laughing, of course it must be Lucas!

"Well, guess you will want to go before Kun calls you! Thanks for yesterday and today and everything!" You hug him and bury your face on his chest. "I wish you can come often and do my dishes!" You taunt your tongue.

Ten ruffles your hair and kisses your forehead for the last time, "Okay, I need to go now. You also need to prepare yourself for work."

You nod and note the time, it's an hour to the store opening hours, you need to get ready.

"Bye love, take care! I love you." Ten walks to the exit after putting on his coat and shoes.

"Love you more!" You stand by his side facing by the exit door.

"Love you most," he winks and finally pulls his cap to cover his face and puts his mask on. He finally turns around and walks to the lift.

You return to your room, taking a bath and getting ready for another long week. You believe if you can get through this, your dream of living with Ten will be clearer and brighter.

Your day goes on and you cannot lie whenever you see him on social media, a website, a magazine, or a music show, even from the talks from your customers, you cannot throw the disturbing insecurities away from your mind.

Is our love hopeless?

Will the world accepts me as his significant other?

Will his family love me?

Will he even stay by my side, or will he found someone new who is better than me?

Those are the things you cannot spill to him that haunt you every time he is away.

You play with the promise ring Ten gave you on your two years anniversary. The dark minds foreshadowing your mind suddenly disappear just as you remember the same words Ten always recites, "You're the puzzle that fits into me, why would I let you go? Trust me and wait for me, I love you more than anything!"

With that, your smile erupts back into your face and the rainbow in your heart plus mind is back. You know you just have to trust Ten the same way he trusts you! Life will bring you two together if it is meant to be, and fate will also play a part.

Because Trust is everything you need for an everlasting love story right?

[strangertheory]

What about my son, Mike?

Mike Wheeler

(Nothing I say can truly summarize all my thoughts about Mike Wheeler. He's one of my favorite characters in the story! I have so much to say about Mike. But... here we go!)

Favorite thing about them:

Mike Wheeler is so open-hearted and passionately determined to do what is Right. Injustice and unfairness absolutely infuriates him. He is intensely loyal and protective of his friends. He is very much a Paladin in not only his D&D campaigns but also his own real life.

I love how Stranger Things makes it clear that you don't need to be macho or physically strong (or well coordinated, or fast on your feet) to be heroic. Mike is a true hero. He is a source of comfort and strength. He is humble and kind. He clearly sees the beauty in all his friends, but not always in himself. I don't think he realizes how important he is to the people in his life.

Mike Wheeler is a truly wonderful person. I wish more people in the world were like Mike.

Least favorite thing about them:

That's hard. If I had to identify a trait that Mike struggles with... hmm. Well: I find it kind of endearing, but I might argue that Mike can be a bit naive and unaware of certain things sometimes. For example: while Mike has a passionate, fire-spitting anger towards unfairness, he seems repeatedly shocked by certain kinds of injustice and that's part of why his first reaction is anger before he turns towards seeking a solution. He passionately believes in what is Right, and he cannot fathom that the unfairness isn't clear to those perpetrating it, whether that's his parents, Hopper, or someone more threatening. ("No I don't! No I don't understand!")

Favorite line:

"Well, if we're both going crazy, we'll go crazy together."

brOTP:

Mike and Lucas! They are clearly super close. I really enjoy their heated debates, and relate to their conversations a lot: like comparing Classic Coke and New Coke to The Thing and the remake. 😂 I debate things like that with friends all the time because even though it seems like an argument, it's kind-of just a mutual expression of shared interests that you enjoy discussing in-depth even if you don't agree. (Friendly disagreement and debate about shared interests can be a lot of fun! Yay, nerds!) I appreciate how Lucas often tries to help Mike with his problems whenever Mike is being totally oblivious. ("I just wish you'd consulted me! Cause the way you handled this: you're in deep shit!")

OTP:

Once upon a time a young boy went missing in Hawkins, and his close friend Mike Wheeler was determined to do everything he could to find him. Once he returned, Mike stayed by his side at the hospital, reminded him of the first time they met, and told him that he believes that "all this is happening for a reason" and that they would "go crazy together." Even if Will doesn't know about it yet, I truly believe that Mike is determined to keep that promise and that Mike is ultimately devoted to being by Will's side through everything. Now I'm just waiting for Will to realize that Mike is as devoted to him as he is devoted to Mike, and for Mike and Will to work through their fears together. I look forward to them finally being honest about their feelings with each other in future seasons. Mike Wheeler has no idea what to do with his feelings right now and he is also fully aware that his feelings are considered taboo in his community. Mike just wants to fit in and be accepted. He is trying so hard to grow up and be an adult now that he is going into high school. He thinks being an adult means abandoning things you love and conforming to societal expectations just like his mom and dad. "Just a little uncertainty can bring you down. And nobody wants to know you now! And nobody wants to show you how. So if you're lost and on your own... you can never surrender!" I believe that Mike is learning to accept and recognize his feelings for Will. Unfortunately, I do not think this will be an easy journey for either of them, but I am hopeful that they will each resolve their respective challenges and ultimately be happy together at the conclusion of the story.

nOTP:

As things currently stand for El's circumstances and life-experiences and maturity: I do not ship El and Mike. I care about El very much, and I am not very comfortable with her dating someone given that all of her memories of her life until a year ago involved being abused and completely isolated from normal society. She has no prior experience forming a healthy and safe attachment to another person. I don't feel comfortable with a 14 year old girl, that has not lived in society at all until very recently, and who has been horribly mistreated by those she had been taught to trust and obey, becoming romantically involved with the very first person that showed her any kindness in the outside world. She is a fast learner, but her naivité regarding the nuances of relationships is repeatedly and clearly demonstrated in the story ("What is friend?" "Would you be like my brother?" "Good screams?" "Bad screams?") Up until now: she literally lived her entire life being forced to do what Papa wanted. 👀 Even when she meets Benny, he manipulates her into telling him her name by withholding her food. Yes, he was a good guy. But I want El to know she doesn't have to give anyone ANYTHING in order to be fed. To deserve respect. To deserve safety and love. El might still be passively seeking to please others that are kind to her because it is how she has learned to survive. I hope she continues to learn that she doesn't have to do that. I'm glad that Max has encouraged El to be her own person, to demand Mike's honesty, to "try things on until [El] finds something that feels like [her]," to learn what she actually likes and to have her own opinions and desires that are not tied to the expectations and desires of others, and to "make her own rules." Whatever happens in El's storyline and in her relationships in the future: I hope she continues to embrace who she is and learns to love herself, while also learning more about this big world that is now at her feet for the first time in her entire life.

random headcanon:

Joyce is a little envious of Mike's collection of Will's drawings, but she doesn't say anything because she's glad they are so close. (My mom immediately wants to keep anything I make! When I give art to my sweetheart she still gets a bit jealous and wants it for herself.)

unpopular opinion:

My nOTP is probably (?) my most unpopular opinion about Mike. (And by extension, my OTP.) I am aware that not everyone interprets the story and the characters in the same way that I do. These are simply my interpretations of the subtext of Mike's relationships in Stranger Things, and we might have to agree to disagree.

song I associate with them:

Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat, which is on his official Spotify playlist.

favorite picture of them:

[stellar-alley]

Spider Spaghetti

•Chapter 3•

<<Previous Chapter 

(Summary: The day of the Homecoming dance has finally arrived.)

Shout out to my Beta, go find her on Tumblr @scoobydoo-ghoulschool and on ao3 @ theblacklagoon  

Also, don’t forget to check out my Instagram Stellar.Cosplays if you want to see more of me and what goes on in my life!

~

Richie Tozier was normal. That’s it. Literally. No Tricks or plot twists. Richard Went Tozier was as normal as they came. Well aside from his Trashmouth.

So after everything that happened the night before with Spiderman, he realized that he was in over his head. He had no clue what to do about this, or if he could even help.

The wind blew through his dark curls from his spot on the roof of his apartment building. This was the place he went whenever he needed to clear his mind or catch his breath. Sure he loved his room and his parents, they’re great, but everyone needs time for themselves. And that’s exactly what he was getting, up until he heard the soft thump of something behind him.

“Spiderman” Richie said without removing his eyes from the cityview before him.

He could hear the hero stuttering behind him in confusion. “How did you-” Richie turned around to see Spiderman with his head tilted like a lost puppy.

“Who else would just drop out of the sky?” The corner of Richie ‘s lip curved up.

“Uh I don’t know, Superman?” Spiderman shrugged almost sarcastically. Then the hero shook his head, trying to get back on track with what he was saying. “You can’t go to homecoming” He announced.

The mood immediately changed, from a kinda fun banter to serious and confused.

“W-What?” Richie tensed up, confused about what he was being told to do.

“Ri-” Eddie stopped mid-word, to stop himself from saying Richie’s name again. “Dude some serious shit is going to go happen at the dance. So. You. Cannot. Go” Eddie pronounced each word carefully. “You’ll be in immediate danger” Spiderman said, determined.

Richie arched a brow, “what kind of immediate danger?” he questioned.

Spiderman let out an annoyed sigh, “The kind that would end up with you dead!” He exclaimed as he chopped the air with his hand.

“Ahh” He nodded his head as if he suddenly understood what Eddie was talking about, “That kind of immediate danger”. He took a minute, contemplated the idea before he shrugged and said “Nope, no can do Spidey. I’ve got myself a hot date and I literally cannot miss this, unless I wanna get my head chopped off”.

Eddie rolled his eyes from beneath his mask yet he could still feel his cheeks burning. I so would not cut his head off, Eddie wanted to mumble but didn’t.

“Please uh- what's your name?” Eddie tried to play dumb as if he hadn't already called him by his real name twice now.

“Richie” He smirked, almost as if he knew that spiderman already knew that.

“Okay, Richie. Please, do not go to the homecoming dance” Spiderman begged.

Maybe it was the fact that spiderman used his real name, but Richie complied, “Fine” he sighed as he held his hands up in defeat, “I won't go to the dance”.

“Promise?” Spiderman asked.

“Promise” Richie nodded in agreement.

~

“Lying sack of shit” Eddie grumbled as he watched Richie step out of Maggie Tozier’s blue jeep. His suit was black and sharp, Eddie wanted nothing more than to slow dance with him under the light of the disco ball, but he was still pissed he showed up after promising Spiderman to stay home.

Bill shot him a glance, obviously confused by the comment. Eddie quickly pulled his phone out and waved it, “Sorry, texting someone” he lied. Bill nodded, but if he didn't believe Eddie then he didn't mention it.

The day had finally arrived, the one everyone was waiting for, Homecoming.

Everyone looked good, all the Losers threw on their best attire and had congregated at the front door before they went in together. Eddie thought he had convinced Richie not to come, but he was wrong. Sure he would’ve preferred if it was just him without the other Losers to ensure their safety but he knew that out of all of them, Richie would be the most prone to follow him if/when he left to go kick Carter’s ass. Looks like I’m gonna have to use fucking ninja stealth, whatever, let’s just have fun for now. We are just kids after all.

Instead of questioning why Richie had come, he simply walked up to him with the rest of the Losers.

“Ms Marsh is that a Beverly exclusive that you’re wearing?” Richie asked as if it was a big scandalous act. To the Losers it was a big deal, Beverly had started designing clothes about 2 years ago and only Ben has been given the slightest glance at what she’s been creating. So seeing her now, displaying an entire dress, was a pretty big fucking deal.

The dress was beautiful, it was long and flowy, the fabric was a light pink with puffy sleeves and a V neck line that perfectly displayed her breasts without showing too much cleavage. But that wasn't even the best part, the dress was decorated with little red strawberries. Which Ben had actually matched perfectly to his pink, strawberry type, which Beverly also made.

She stepped back, away from the group and gave them a twirl, displaying her dress in all of its strawberry glory.

“It’s amazing” Ben said in aw.

“Your best one yet!” Richie hollered and whooped as she returned to them.

“You haven’t even seen my other pieces dumbass” She looked away as if it would hide her rosy cheeks. Before any of the other Losers could praise her anymore she wrapped her arms around the boys, 3 on each side, “My boys… Let’s go party like it’s 1999” She smirked as the boys cheered with excitement.

Eddie surveyed the gym where the dance was being held. He scoped out the big room for all the exits and anything that could be a threat, also ya know, the drug lord Mr Carter, who was suspiciously nowhere to be seen. But as he did so he noticed how fancy the gym looked. Streamers hung from the ceiling, making a cool kinda wall that surrounded the dance floor. Of course there was a big disco ball that hung above the dance floor and lights of all colours. The DJ was up on the stage with her obviously big headphones, bopping her head to the song as she spun a record.

“Nice, right?” Richie broke Eddie out from his thoughts.

The hero looked up to his date, “Yeah, they really went all out” he nodded.

“So th-this is where all of the ye-yearbook’s money guh-goes to” Bill rolled his eyes as he fixed the cuff on his suit’s arm. Once his arm was down by his side again, Mike swapped in and linked his arm with Bill’s.

He smiled his iconic Mike Hanlon smile and asked, “Would you like to accompany me on the dance floor?”.

Bill’s ears turned red, his eyes drifted up to meet Mike’s which only made his face hotter, “I-I’d love to” and with that, Mike swept him off to dance.

“Do I have to be that formal or can we just-“ Richie pointed towards the dance floor.

Eddie shook his head with a smile, “Come on trashmouth” He intertwined their fingers and then they were off.

“Well looks like I’m going to go find Patty” Stan nodded then proceeded to go find his girlfriend.

Ben was immediately nervous. Shit now I have to ask Beverly Marsh, to dance with me. But before he could worry any more, his date stepped in front of him, her dress flowing beautifully behind her as she turned and bowed slightly with her arm out.

“May I have this dance, New Kid?” The old nickname brought a smile to both of their faces.

Ben was so busy mentally fangirling about how in love he was with her that he almost forgot to answer. “I’ll always want to dance with you, Beverly” he said, reaching his hand out to meet hers.

The first song was more upbeat, the Losers stayed with their respective partners as they danced together, moving to the beat. The next song though, was more of a party song, more specifically LMFAO’S Party Rock Anthem.

Eddie watched with delight as Richie’s face lit up like a christmas tree. “I LOVE THIS SONG!” He exclaimed. Even though LMFAO hadn't put out a song in over 5 years, the ones they did release were timeless bops.

Fate worked in weird ways, like how the song came on just as all the Losers had subconsciously drifted towards each other on the dance floor. None of them questioned it though, they simply smiled even brighter in the company of their real family. Together they belted out the lyrics, jumped to the beat and danced like no one was watching.

After that song they were all pretty parched, “Wanna get something to drink?” Mike offered, they all agreed and walked over to the table that had snacks and a bowl that was usually filled with punch.

Bev caught the attention of the teacher running the table and asked “No punch this time? thought that was kinda like a staple”.

“Oh yes deery it is. Mr Carter said he would take care of it, you know the science teachers and how good they are at getting the ratios correct when mixing drinks” She explained. Instead the Losers grabbed the water bottles that lined the table and drank from those.

Once all of the Losers were sipping their drinks and chatting, Eddie stepped up towards the table once again, “Sorry but do you know where I could find Mr Carter? I said I would help him with the punch” Eddie lied.

“Oh, sure, he’s just in his classroom, do you need the number?” She inquired.

Eddie politely declined then thanked her before rejoining the Losers. “Guys I’m gonna go use the washroom” he announced, they all gave some sort of simple reply before he slipped out from the noisy gym and into the hallway where the loud music was muffled and he had more space to walk.

Of course he would be the one in charge of the fucking punch- Bev literally said it best, it’s a staple for these kinds of things and everyone has it, even if it tasts like shit. When teens are thirsty they’ll drink literally anything (Literally anything). The punch is a perfect way for him to drug all these students and turn him into whatever super powered army he was trying so hard to create.

Eddie stopped by his locker, got his backpack then stopped in the washroom across from Carter’s room where he slid out of his suit. He carefully folded it and placed it in his bag, hoping he would still use it after he caught this guy. He had worn his Spiderman outfit under his suit which saved him time, all he had to do was put his mask on. Before he left he tossed his bag up, shot off a web and stuck it to the ceiling in hopes of no one finding it.

He was ready and standing in front of Carter's door, he let his spider senses kick in and tried to detect anythin- rapidly Eddie leaped up, off the floor and stuck to the ceiling, just in time to miss the door blowing off of its hinges. He stayed quiet as a being stepped out of the classroom, they looked down the hallway. That’s when Spiderman relaxed his body and fell down onto the figure. He wrapped his legs around their neck in hopes of knocking them out but this guy was quick, and strong.

He raised his arms, reached back, grabbed a fistfull of Spiderman’s hero suit and not only pulled spiderman off of his back but he flung him into the classroom. Eddie groaned when he landed on his back in the science classroom. He looked up to the ceiling he was used to seeing when he was daydreaming in class, but now the usual ceiling tiles were interrupted by someone looking down on the hero.

“See, Spiderman, all this time I had been trying to give my subject new abilities” Carter smirked, towering over the hero. “But turns out I should’ve been enhancing the abilities we already have. That's why your friend Bryce here might be a little bit stronger than you remember” He said with a wink before Eddie’s head snapped up just in time to see Bryce, who was significantly more muscly, grab his ankles and yank him towards him.

“You won’t win” Eddie groaned, looking back at Carter who watched as Bryce’s hands grabbed onto Eddie’s hips and hoisted him into the air.

Spiderman kicked and punched but Bryce was not flinching. He shot off a couple webs but they seemed to simply slip off of his skin.

“Oh I don’t know about that Spiderman” Carter hummed.

Eddie barely had any time to register what was going on as Bryce began to move forward and before he knew it, the hero was being thrown forward, towards the window. The glass broke on impact and spiderman went plummeting towards the cement below.

Just before he hit the ground, he shot off a web, it connected with one of the fire escapes above. He stopped just a foot before he hit the ground. Eddie let out a shaky sigh of relief. His feet dangled back, finding their place on the ground and steadying himself as he stood up. Immediately he scoped out the alley he was in, recognising it as one of the passages behind the school that was almost always empty.

It looked like any other alleyway, dark red bricks, garbage cans, with fire escapes lining the walls.

Spiderman felt the ground shake as something landed behind him. He spun around to see Bryce’s hulking figure as Carterr stepped out from behind him.

Eddie shot another web up onto one of the fire escapes and jumped up into the air. He was halfway up to the fire escape when he felt a hand grab his ankle and yank him back down. His web snapped as he landed flat on his back, again. Bryce stepped over him, one foot on either side of his body.

This is gonna hurt in the morning, Eddie thought as the pain of the impact ripped through his body.

“W-Why are you doing this?” Eddie stuttered, he tried to keep the pain out of his voice but that was hard to do since everything ached.

Mr Carter began to speak as Bryce raised two meaty fists into the air, preparing to smash the spider beneath him.

“Well I always found it unfair that some people got powers, like you. And others didn’t, like me and my parents”.

Just as the fists were about to make contact, the hero shot a web in the space between Bryce’s legs. His 2 fingers pressed into his palm and shot off a web which pulled him out from under Bryce and flung him into the air. He went flying. He was rapidly approaching the fire escape and prepared for landing. Thankfully for his sticky feet, he was able to land safely, giving him a moment to catch his breath.

“So of course I grew up in a household where we praised heroes” Carter continued, unphased by the fight going on before him.

Bryce leaped into the air, determined to catch Spiderman but the spider hopped from the fire escape to the one beside it.

“But what happened when an armed robber broke into our house? Did the heroes we praise come to rescue us? Oh no, no…” his voice drifted off, but he didn’t sound sad. “They let my parents die. Now heroes think they’re these big deals. But what would happen if everyone got powers?”.

Eddie shot a web off towards Carter in hopes of pinning him down. But just as he was about to shoot, the floor fell from beneath him. His hand jerked and the web shot off, hitting some window with a *splat*.

Bryce had gotten onto the fire escape beneath Spiderman and ripped the floor from beneath Eddie’s feet. Eddie shot off a web and hopped he would be able to swing away but Bryce, once again, jumped and grabbed his fucking foot. But this time when he landed, the weight of two supers was too heavy for the poor fire escape. The floor gave out from beneath them and they both went tumbling down to the ground, right in front of Mr Carter.

But Carter barely blinked as the two came tumbling down at his feet. Instead he leaned down, reached out and grabbed a fistfull of Eddie’s super suit and pulled him closer. “If everyone was super, then no one will be ' He whispered to the hero's face. His eyes were filled with ambition and his voice was tainted with determination. Just as quickly as he grabbed the hero, he dropped him. Eddie’s head bounced on the concerte as Carter stood up, dusted off his pants, and began walking away. He had taken a couple steps away when he stopped, turned his head just enough to glance back at Bryce, “Kill him or else I’ll take it all back” He demanded before he continued towards the school. “I have a gym full of students to drug”.

A loud ZAP sound echoed through the alleyway and Carter’s body dropped like a sack of potatoes. Eddie didn’t know what he expected to see in front of Carter, but what he certainly didn’t expect to see was Richie Tozier in his formal suit, with an outstretched hand, holding a tazer.

“Holly shit” the human teen sounded shocked as he let the taser fall from his grasp. It clanked against the ground and sent another little jolt into Mr Carter who hemorrhaged a little.

Spiderman didn’t even have time to celebrate because he was distracted by the heavy breaths of the villain behind him. Bryce now towered over Eddie, his face beaten and his eyes were furious. He looked like a lion about to charge its prey. Eddie was prepared to leap out of the way, to protect Richie, to do anything. But instead his attention was drawn to the woosh sound of a gun firing. Once again the villain fell lifeless at Spiderman’s feet.

This time instead of Richie standing behind the villain, it was a female. She wore a long black trench coat and held out some sort of gun which she quickly slid into the hosliter on her thigh. She had brown hair that fell to her shoulders in bouncy curls.

“Spiderman, happy to finally meet you” She said, her tone wasn’t serious but nor was it as happy as she claimed to be, it was neutral. Eddie could tell she meant business. Before he could respond she stepped over Bryce and towards Richie, “Rich, thanks for calling me” She nodded at him.

“No problem…” Richie said, still semi dazed. He finally started taking careful steps towards the mysterious women. “Anytime auntie” he shook his head, eyes finally focusing again.

“wait- Auntie?” Eddie asaked, confusion laced his voice.

“Yeah kid, I’m Maggie’s sister. Richie’s aunt, I am also the head and leader of a little organization, The Threat Assessment, Reconnaissance and Operations Taskforce, Tarot for short. And I am Alley Red” Her poker face shifted into a small yet proud smile.

“Wait- holy shit you’re the leader of T.A.R.O.T?” Eddie’s eyes go wide beneath his mask as he marvels at the aunt and nephew.

“Yes yes now keep your voice down before you attack unnecessary attention” She waves her hand at Eddie as she surveys the alleyway for spying eyes.

“Yeah shut is Spaghetti” Richie cackled.

Eddie was taken aback by the familiar nickname, “W-What?” he stuttered.

Now it was Richie’s turn to look stunned, “Oh yeah” his shock turned smug, “I know it’s you in there Eds”.

Eddi- Spiderman froze, his entire body went stiff as he stared at the smirking teen.

“Sorry you’ve got the wrong guy-” Eddie began to lie but Richie shook his head.

“The bridge? Spider man mysteriously knowing my name at Liberty? Then him asking me to not go instead of trying to convince the school to cancel the dance? Eddie you, are a terrible liar” Richie smiled proudly at his detective work.

“How’d you know about this?” Spiderman asked, disregarding the fact that his secret identity had just been revealed. Instead he focused on how Richie knew he’d be out here with Carter.

“Well see this was the one thing I didn’t know about. But after you left, I was taking a leak in the upstairs bathroom and somebody’s spidey webs shot the window, so I looked out and saw you getting your ass handed to you and called my favourite aunt-”

“I was not getting my ass handed to me” Eddie crossed his arms and pouted.

Before Eddie could get anything else in, Richie’s aunt spoke up. “Well boys I better be on my way. Can’t just leave a drug lord out here on the street. Eddie, we’ll be in contact alright? T. A. R. O. T. Could use someone like you” She gave Spiderman a nod. With the click of her bracelet a team of people in equally dark trench coats emerged from the dark corners of the alleyway and took the two villains away.

Then the two teens were left alone together.

“So can I see the babe under the mask?” Richie asked curiously.

Eddie hesitated, no one knew about his secret identity. But it was Richie… My best friend and biggest crush. Before the hero could overthink the situation too much he moved his hand up and slid his mask off.

Richie watched as the famous Spider Man took his mask off, revealing Eddie Kaspbrak. Richie’s heart fluttered at the other’s face, his big doe eyes staring back at him through his lashes. “Hey Eds” The taller boy’s voice was warm and his face went soft.

Eddie’s face heated up a little, realizing how close they were. He tried to hold back his smile but failed, “Hey Rich”.

Richie raised his hands up to sit on Eddie’s hips. The hero’s skin tingled at the touch.

Eddie didn’t know what to say, he had just taken down a villain and his identity had been revealed. He felt very exposed, especially under the touch of his best friend and crush. “We should probably go back to the dance before they begin to worry” Eddie decided to break the moment before he could mess anything up.

Richie looked visibly taken aback at the mention of leaving. He was so in the moment that when Eddie stepped away from him, his face was left with a small, disappointed frown. “Oh- yeah, okay” He tried to sound supportive. Dropping his hands from Eddie’s waist, now he felt as if he was trespassing for some reason.

“Well I should uh- go” Eddie took a step back and raised his hand that held his mask.

“Yeah of course” Richie nodded.

Without another word, Eddie slid his mask back on. He turned around and with his hand extended out towards one of the fire escapes above him he shot off a web. He leaped up and landed safely on the metal of the escape.

Richie was still in awe to see Eddie put the mask on, as if that made everything real. Eddie is Spiderman, he thought as he watched Eddie leap up and away. But before he could shoot off another web Riche stepped forward and shouted, “Eddie! Wait!”.

Spiderman stopped where he stood on the railing of the fire escape and looked down at the curly haired teen that was waving up at him. With his sticky feet he simply walked down the railing and stood upside down on the underside of the fire escape. He shot off a web, connecting it to the floor he was hanging on. From there his knees bent and his hands held the web. He hung upside down as he slowly made his way to meet Richie. When he stopped they were perfectly face to face, even if Eddie was hanging upside down.

“Everything alright citizen?” Eddie put on his ‘responsible superhero’ voice, which got a chuckle from Richie.

Richie shrugged, slowly he stepped towards the hero, “Nah, all is good. Just forgot to do something” he said as he carefully placed his hands on either side of Eddie’s face. From there he delicately slid Spiderman’s mask down, exposing only the hero’s lips.

Too late to back out now, Richie thought as he angled his head and leaned in to kiss the superhero. Eddie’s lips were soft and he could feel the breath hitch in his mouth as Eddie waited a moment before he kissed back.

Eddie thought that his powers made him feel something, but the way he was feeling right here, right now, kissing Richie? That made him feel like he could do anything. Sparks and fireworks exploded within both of their chests alongside their racing hearts.

Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways. For example, right at that moment, two things began. First it started lightly drizzling over New york, even when the weatherman said it was supposed to be a clear and mild night. And second of all, just after it started raining, the dance’s DJ randomly started playing Africa By Toto at that very moment.

Richie and Eddie had not stopped kissing, not after they separated to breath, not when it started raining either. But when they heard the muffled (but still audible) tune of Africa’s iconic intro started echoing through the dark alleyway, Eddie could physically feel Richie gasp against his lips. It sent a shiver down Eddie’s spine. He felt Richie’s lips heat up as he blushed against Eddie. Then, only then, did the two break away, the night air filled their lungs and cooled their skin.

“Wanna slow dance with me?” Richie asked, his voice filled with optimism and excitement.

“To Africa by Toto?” Eddie asked, realizing he was still hanging upside down outside of his school’s homecoming dance.

“Why of course! What song would be better for our first slow dance?” Richie arched his eyebrows in a charming manner.

“Oh trashmouth” Eddie sighs happily, he quickly let go of the web he’d been holding onto and flipped backwards, landing on his feet, facing Richie. “You have such a way with words” The hero ripped his mask off, tossed it to the side and smashed his lips up against the other’s.

After a moment their lips separated, instead the two opted to lean their foreheads against each other. Richie’s hands found Eddie’s hips again (something Eddie was liking more every time it happened), holding him close as they slowly swayed back and forth. Eddie's hands drifted up to Richie’s upper half, one hand dangled comfortably off of Richie’s shoulder while the other slid into his forest of dark curls. Even with his suit covering his fingers, he was still able to feel every inch of Richie with his Spidey Senses.

So that’s how it ended, with Richie slow dancing with Spiderman, Eddie, in the alleyway behind his school on the night of the Homecoming dance, in the rain, to Africa by Toto.

The End

Word Count: 4522

Final Word Count: 18598

Bing, Bang, Done! Three chapters, kinda short but I didn’t plan for this fic to be too big, I also know there’s some other Spider Eddie fics out there so I wanted to keep it short and sweet, which I think I achieved. 

Overall I’m pretty happy with how this turned out! I’ve always had trouble explaining fighting scenes and such, so this was good practice. I also just adored watching as Richie and Eddie’s relationship evolved and aw, it was so sweet!

As this is the final chapter I’ve gotta remind you guys to go check out my other social medias, Instagram (Stellar.Cosplays), Tumblr, (stellar-cosplays), even my youtube (Alley’s World). Also don’t forget to check out my other fan fictions! Here’s my master list, or go check out my account and you’ll find them all there.

Thank you all for the support this fic has received! I really enjoyed writing this piece and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. 

Well looks like the time has come, that’s all from me guys, catch you on the flip side. 

So Long and Goodnight

~

[Taglist]

@richietoaster @s-onora @that-weird-girl-blog @beproudtozier @ghostnebula @gen-s-stuff @bellarosewrites @s-s-georgie @lermanslogan @iamcupcakefrosting @madidraw @gazebobullshit @thoughtfullyyoungduck @aangzukos @ambitiousskychild @reddieonwheels @breadheadscorpius

Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list!

[bowieandqueen11]

Upside Down / Mike Wheeler Angst

Request: One with Mike Wheeler and the reader has no idea about all the stuff to do with like Hawkins Lab and the upside down and stuff and the reader tries to find out about what happens but Mike gets sick of it so he tells them to leave him alone and the reader takes it the wrong way and just angst really. I need an imagine to match how I’m feeling atm T-T. If not it’s all g :) 

Thank you my love @disneyfan567 I’m sorry if this is terrible because you deserve the best XD <3

Hawkins was just that sort of town. The sort of place where nobody really pays any heed, but there’s a certain darkness that lurks behind every arcade and every shopping mall. A kind of chill that makes the adults pull down the rims of their hats and hurry on by, shooing their children off to amuse themselves in fear of being caught. The town had been built on a grid, and no expense was spared. The roads were perfect grit spitting rivers of tarmac that traffic lights blinked along to allow the schoolchildren to pass safely. The air was muggy and foggy and yet seemed crisp to those who drank it in. On occasion a deer would gallop through the streets or a bird fall on the tall black lampposts, but the canyon made sure that nothing but cold air tugged on the hearts of the residents living there.

You weren’t stupid, that’s for sure. You had known as soon as Will ‘Zombie Boy’ Byers had returned home, that all your friends had begun acting suspiciously. You barely see him anymore, his mum dragging him home whenever you greet him entering the school doors, or her telling you he’s still so very ill, okay sweetheart, when you go knocking on their door with all the physics homework he had missed that day. Dustin and Lucas weren’t much better. You had tried to drag their secrets out of them, managing even to rustle Steve into the mix in the arcade. Thumping your hand down on the dusty Dragon’s Lair machine, knocking Dustin’s hand off the control stick, as red as a cherry, he shouts a loud ‘hey, y/n, jesus, what the actual f-’

‘Dustin!’, Steve coughs from behind him, two hands placed sternly against the light blue cotton covering his hips, slouching down onto his left foot. His eyes are wide and disapproving as he looks down at him. ‘Y/n here has left me sixteen messages, ten of which were missed calls because apparently neither of you two, idiots, would answer her. I had to driver her all the way here, and let me tell you, her mother was not happy with me.’

‘What is it, y/n, we’re busy’, Lucas sighs, twisting around again to place another quarter into the game.

‘I know something fishy is going on with you guys, and it’s not fair for you to keep me out of it. I have as much a right to know as any of you guys!’

The three boys throw each other concerned glances, Steve making as if to move forward, his pointer finger out, mouth slightly agape, but the words only stick in his throat as he blinks, curls falling over his forehead.

‘It’s..it’s not safe, y/n,’ Dustin finally says, much to your dismay. Groaning lightly, you turn on your heel and run out the door, tears welling up in your eyes.

And then there was Mike, your best friend, who hadn’t spoken to you in nearly a week. Anytime you saw him, his eyes were blotchy and red as if he’d spent all night lying on his bed crying, his eyes cast down onto the ground without meeting anyone’s gaze, his backpack nearly falling off his slumped shoulders, not even noticing the little Star Wars keychain you had bought him for his birthday digging into his skin. Anytime you went near him, he had brushed you off, throwing your hand off his shoulder, not answering your walkie talkie during the night, pretending he was over at Mike’s when you had clearly seen him cycle into the woods whilst waiting for him behind the bushes on his front lawn. It was as if he had become a ghost.

That’s why you found yourself outside Hawkin’s Highschool late that night, determined to find out what in these haunted woods had everyone so frightened.The sky is a rolling blanket of cloud the colour of wet ash, and the ground its dank reflection, each trembling step a prayer for some kind of answer, some kind of key to unlock this secret the whole town seemed to be conspiring to keep from you. The lights flickered as you stepped past the last few overhead lampposts like flickering daydreams, dying underneath the blanket of night. The chill wind tugged at your clothing and whipped loose hair about your face, bringing with it the first of the rain that had been promised since supper. The newly wet skin offered body heat to the frigid air, only to find its appetite was insatiable. 

The hills that lie friendly in the day - like the pillows of the land - are darkly ominous by night. The paths that were illuminated just hours before become lost in a blackness that even moonlight cannot help. The trees that are magnificent in sunshine tower over you as you step across the borderline between the seen and unseen. Steeling yourself to keep moving past the growls that seem to encircle you, your hair stands on end as if the forest was on the enemy’s side. 

Yelping lightly, you tumble to the ground, your flashlight rolling out of your hand and tumbling across the dirt, spinning lightly as it illuminates in pale flashes of light the nearly translucent face of Mike Wheeler as he turns around in confusion, wondering what had managed to trip over the tire of his bike that lay abandoned in a nearby ditch.

‘M-mike’, you manage to mutter out, your teeth clenched as a ripple of pain ruffles through you. Looking down, you can’t see, but can feel the stickiness between your fingertips as you move it away from the tear in your jeans. Standing awkwardly in front of you, Mike manages only to drop his box of Eggos, the rain pouring silently down his face like tears as he pouts a little, his raven hair slick against his head as it pelts down upon his unprotected skin. His striped shirt is nearly see through in the cold, and you can’t help but wondering what the hell is wrong with him, standing in the middle of the rain, shivering lightly, at nearly ten past midnight.

‘Y/n, what-what are you doing here?’

‘I could ask you the same thing, Mike.’ Glancing around him to the wooden box his foot kicks against backing away slightly, you ask ‘why is your favourite hoodie on the ground?’

‘I dropped it y/n, jesus, it’s none of your business anyway.’

‘Mike...’, you manage to stumble to your feet, approaching him slowly so as not to scare him off, him staring at you like a deer caught in the headlights, his arms flush by his side and unmoving, ‘Mike, what’s going on, please just tell me.’

Placing one hand on his shoulder, your thumb moving uncomfortably against the damp material, he bows his head a little, a deep breath rumbling through his chest. There’s a tense silence for a moment,as the two of you just stand there in the downpour, unsure of what to do or say. What you don’t expect, however, is for Mike to grab your hand, throwing it down onto your stomach with a dull thud.

‘You wouldn’t understand!’, he begins to shout, his hands coming up to fist into his air, ‘there’s a reason we haven’t told you, y/n! It’s because we don’t care about you! You have no idea what it’s like! No idea what it’s like to lose everything! Jesus, just leave me alone!’

As he stomps past you, his sneakers nearly slipping on the damp pine cones that crunch under his feet, little wood chippings sticking to his slipping socks, he thumps against your shoulder without a care, his eyes downcast and a pained expression flashing through his face. As you just stand there, confused and lost, the only thing you could think, no matter how ridiculous, was that you weren’t sure if the streaks running down his flushed cheeks were little dew droplets of rain, or burning, throbbing tears.

[stone-man-warrior]

January 2, 2020: 6:28 pm:

For what it’s worth, I am optimistic that there are some people in USA that are still able to enjoy having a Happy New Year, and the beginning of a new decade. Unfortunately, the “Terrible Two’s” seems to be at hand for the next ten years.

I cannot say that a happy new year is in the future anywhere in Oregon for anyone who is American, or is not a Christian member of the Crusades of Death. The Christian Crusade terror soldiers continue to have a fantastic time raping, pillaging, murdering Americans and non-Christians by the thousands daily, and they are enjoying free housing, and new vehicles supplied by the terror leadership.

I just returned from another Socio-Terrific shopping experience in Dystopia, Grants Pass Oregon, where all of the citizens that once lived here, were all brutally murdered and replaced with impostor citizens from Canada, who assumed the identification of the many hundreds of thousands, and in fact many millions of citizens that were so brutally slaughtered.

The killing continues unchecked.

I noticed some different things about the terror conditions while out shopping today.

I visited 6th Street Market.

Fred Meyer Gas Station.

Walmart.

In general, the entire shopping experience included very little outwardly offensive conditions. Many of the usual offensive Nitrous Oxide/Versed airborne gas “Foggers” were either not present, or were not following me around so offensively as they usually do.

As I left my home, a there was a notable reduction of offensive terror scouts whp are usually in great number along Three Pines Road. I saw a small group of them standing in the yard at the residence of “Mike’s Plumbing” at the corner of Three Pines and Russell, and only three Scout cars were on Three Pines, as opposed to the usual ten to fifteen scouts along the short length of Three Pines Road that I take to get to the Freeway.

I did not encounter anyone on “MyStreet” or Russell Road, and the “Bad Guy Automotive” terror cell that is a Google sponsored terror cell was void of visible terror scouts, all of which is very unusual to see as I leave my home no matter what time of day I go somewhere.

I overheard that there were “Elv’s” in town today, with names like Flurry NoggenBeard, Thumbs Tinkerschidt, and Fruitacake SprinklePants. At Walmart, there were actually fake customers pointing at people in the store, and making bets as to which of the other shoppers in the store were “Elv’s”, and they were betting what the names of the Elv’s were, I heard “Crafty UnderBench”, “Polly IceSyckle”, and “Philly McToyStore” were among the most popular wagers for those who were pointed out by the Walmart terror soldiers, as they hunted for outsiders to mark for the kill. “Red Elf Lob’s” were among the subject matter I overheard as popular at the Walmart and the 6th Street Market. I assume that is a term used to describe tossing the outsiders into the giant blender they use at the Walmart, and elsewhere, to grind the victims into “V-8″ liquefied human beings that are used as “Erosion Abatement” on the roadsides by the terror army subcontractors who do contract work for US Department of Transportation, and are paid by the Federal Government to dispose of the citizen victims that way.

One notable thing on the Freeway happened at the on-ramp at “Exit 61″ on I-5, when a Impostor Sheriff, in a real Sheriff SUV, entered the Freeway directly in front of me. At the time I noticed the Sheriff vehicle as it was on the on-ramp, my car began to run erratically and lost power as the Sheriff car was still on the on-ramp. This happens whenever I encounter a Sheriff car in traffic or parked on the roadside, and also when I encounter a State Police vehicle. My car begins to lose power, and feels as if it is about to stall. That same thing happens at the intersection of Beacon Street, and Grants Pass Parkway between the “Sleep Train” mattress shop, and the place that used to be the Blockbuster Video Rental and the old US Cellular Phone store. Another place that the car loses power is on 6th Street, as I pass the place that once was the Josephine County Department of Health Services and Josephine County Department of Human Services, which have been undergoing a remodel, reconstruction at the building on 6th Street for more than two years, and is not complete yet.

So, the thing I think is happening with the loss of power of my car at only specific areas and in proximity to Sheriff and State Police vehicles, is, that they seem to have a transmitter that is able to interfere with electronic ignition systems of at least some vehicles, mine being among those.

Victims may pull over to the side of the road at those areas, where terror soldiers are ready to attack when the hood is opened up, and the victims are concerned about their cars, and want to see what is going on with the loss of power.

I did not see anyone die today while shopping in Dystopia Grants Pass! That is also unusual.

At 6th Street Market, I noticed a familiar group of terror Scouts who work together, a woman with very short dark hair in a white late model crew cab pick-up truck parked in front of 6th Street Market holds a large wrist watch in her hand up high so that others can see it. She does that while looking intently at a smart phone, and checking to see if people such as myself, who park at the store there, have the correct Blu-Tooth settings in their phone. I don’t have a smart phone, nor do I know what settings are ones that will pass the Blu-Tooth terror Scouts. When that woman with the watch is there, and I come in to the parking lot without Blu-Tooth indicating that I am a terror soldier, then, she summons another woman, who has a teenage boy with her. The teenahe boy has a sword, and they go into the store before I do. I have to avoid the boy with the sword while making my purchase selections at 6th Street Market. There is also another man associated with that group who pretends to be separate from the boy and the woman. He goes into the store, and flirts with the clerk, while the marked customer is there, waiting to pay for the purchase selections. I may have been shot at while that was happening, by the woman with the young boy who had the sword, I heard a “SnaP! sound while at the counter, but did not feel anything hit me. Those .25 caliber guns don’t penetrate my leather coat.

At Fred Meyer Gas Station, I observed the same cars that are always there. The cars at Fred Meyer Gas Station work in groups, and in shifts. I saw the the group that works the Mid Afternoon. The fake customers and the terror gas station attendants work as a team to take victims. Today, the gas station attendant that served my car, was in communication with others, and he was telling someone else that my car is a Chevrolet, then he corrected himself by saying my car was a GMC. My car is neither a Chevrolet or GMC. So, he was working with the fake police, who are leading the federal agents astray.

I think I encountered at least three federal agents today while out shopping. If so, and there are more in town, they are in great danger, and could have possibly been killed and replaced with look-a-likes by now, who will take an attack team aremed with Nitrous gas back to the HQ of the federal agents, and kill the entire investigative group. When that happens, the leadership in Washington DC will cover it, and it will be as if no agents were killed.

And that about concludes the explanation of a very non offensive shopping experience compared to what has become routine, which is that I almost always see one or more terror soldiers and/or American victims killed during such a shopping trip for food and gasoline in Grants Pass Oregon.

End writing session: 7:46 pm.

[nomoretears-707]

Eruri Week 2019 // Day 5.

On AO3: (x) —

//Rumors//

—

Levi sighs watching new recruits training vertical maneuvering among the trees that surround the headquarters. Today, the sun of spring is stronger than it should. Or is it his imagination?

Or maybe the heat comes from the thought that hasn't left him alone since last night, when in Erwin's room finally happened what they both had been anticipating for so long, that mute but intense desire that, until then, had only been fully expressed through looks.

He crosses his arms with his eyes closed: it was amazing, he has to admit it. They had already kissed countless times in the last two months, but they hadn't had sex yet. He knows it's wrong, that they shouldn't have allowed themselves that night alone being the Commander and the Captain, but the desire is strong, yes, stronger than both as the feeling they share, in which they reflect the other with astounding accuracy.

Unintended: He has fallen in love with Erwin Smith. How pathetic, but how inevitable.

How wonderful after all the mess.

He frowns keeping his eyes closed under the sun, losing himself in that darkness tinted in orange that he sees; he has to stop the images that come to him, that beauty of Erwin getting out of control over him, breathing hard, with his wet and reddened mouth kissing him, touching him…

The noise of a curious nose brings him back to reality: in front of him, Mike smiles as he does whenever he finishes smelling someone.

"Don't you dare," Levi blurts out.

Mike ignores him.

"See you later, Captain," he whispers as he leaves, but not before smelling him for the last time.

"Shit!" Levi mutters to himself when he sees how Mike runs to Hanji, Nanaba and Moblit, whom are protecting themselves from the sun under a tree that is about ten meters from his position.

Mike reaches them, says something, and Hanji starts shouting "yes!" while Moblit struggles to calm them down. Nanaba, blushing, covers her mouth with her hands. Mike doesn't stop smiling and pointing at his nose as that tool that has confirmed what they had been rumbling for a long time behind them, that the tension between Erwin and him wasn't hate, but quite the opposite.

Yes, the smell has confirmed it.

"Disgusting…"

"Something happened?" Erwin asks behind him.

Levi tenses even more: it's the first time they see each other since he left Erwin's room in the middle of the night. Annoyed, he looks at Mike and the others.

"That bastard smelled me; they know what happened."

"Oh, yes: he smelled me too when we met in the hallway this morning."

Avoiding looking at Erwin, who is standing next to him, Levi looks at the leaves of the trees, swaying delicately by the wind.

"Aren't you worried? They know!" Levi asks.

"Well, it seems we are quite noticeable despite our efforts: there are other members of the Survey Corps that rumble that something happens between us, or at least that's what I heard."

"And are you so calm?!"

"No rumor becomes a truth alone: we cannot control what people say, but we can try not to confirm it."

"But I'm telling you that Mike came with his fucking nose and smelled me!"

"We talk about Mike, Nanaba and Hanji: it doesn't worry me they know; I trust them."

"And Moblit? He always runs after shitty-eyes, I've never talked to him."

"He's a good boy, Hanji trusts him: I know he won't say anything."

"And what if someone else…?"

A hand rests on his shoulder. Levi turns barely, and when he looks up, he finds Erwin's eyes, bluer thanks to the sunlight.

Thanks to Levi himself, actually.

"Easy, Levi: I'll take care of this. I'll never allow our relationship to harm our mission."

Levi shakes his shoulder. Erwin understands the message, or that tells him when he releases him. They look straight ahead once more, to the leaves that sway by the wind. They cannot control how the shadows of that tree look like, right? The wind controls those shadows by moving the leaves.

They cannot stop the…

Petra Ral, a recruit who has just joined the Survey Corps, stares at them with red cheeks as she adjusts her vertical maneuvering equipment next to a tree. Noticing that Levi looks at her, she panics and walks away. She seems to smile as she approaches other recruits. Something in her childish gesture reminds him of Isabel for a significant moment.

"Shit," Levi whispers.

How would Isabel have reacted to Levi sleeping with the man who had sworn so much he was going to kill? And Farlan? He would have mocked softly and then left him alone, maybe, but Isabel wouldn't have shut up. She would be screaming with Hanji! Yes, he can imagine that scene without struggle.

"It's about not allowing us to get caught in a delicate situation," Erwin says at his side.

Levi looks back at the trees.

"Roger, Erwin: to avoid to be caught up while we fuck."

"Levi…" Erwin sighs, laughing softly.

"It's basically what you said, idiot."

"I know, but you're so explicit in saying so…" A pause, and Erwin clears his throat before continuing; in the background, they still listen how Hanji shouts, and Mike laughs, and Moblit asks them to calm down. Just because of that, Levi already likes him. "I'm very happy, Levi…"

"Oh no: don't come to me with that kind of shit."

"Was that a 'me too'?"

"Fuck you."

Erwin laughs again, as soft as the wind, just before stepping forward.

"I'll go watch the new recruits. I’ll waiting for you tonight."

Erwin leaves with his forehead held high, with his Commander’s attitude intact: Levi sees him get lost among the trees, with the sun all over him.

How beautiful he is.

Erwin could be cheesy, affectionate, sweet, all those things that Levi has never looked for, but, despite that, he’s right and he knows it.

Levi is very happy, too.

"I'll trust your judgment, old man," Levi whispers as he turns to the opposite side to return to the barracks.

As long as they don’t confirm any rumor and no other Mike with olfactory powers appears, the rumors will not become a truth that the world will never deserve to know.

That truth that only belongs to them.

Their happiness.

[gray-anxiety]

No Sympathy → Levi Ackerman Chapter 9 →  Fight Pools

Read the rest of the chapters here!

Ironically I found inspiration for how the fight pools looked by an underground dog-fighting ring of all things. Also, to make up for shitty updates and for this story being so damn boring, have an almost 4,000-word chapter which includes shitty fighting scenes. Funny enough, this is the longest thing I have ever written and it is total shit :)

   Levi mentally groaned at letting Hanji of all people order fast food — she looked like a fucking high and drunk person and an insane psychopath had a child and abandoned it out of fear of the monstrosity they made. Levi was known as a regular at the fast food drive in, mainly because he never brought a car with him through the drive-in; because of that, whenever anyone said Levi was with them they immediately got a discount of something — he was just that damn attractive apparently. Aella laughed at how crazy Hanji looked carrying the bagged food back to the small parking space the five of them resided at — and Levi did have to admit, she looked even crazier than before. The dumbass behind the cause of Aella’s laughter waddled like a duck with two bags of food in both of her hands — Hanji’s mouth somehow carrying the cupholder with five drinks sloshing around; how the cup holder didn’t snap in half was beyond Levi by now, but as long as it worked it didn’t matter to him.

   “Imfh comfh brimngf giffs!” Hanji screeched, though everything she had said was completely muffled by the cupholder still hanging from her teeth.

   “The hell did you say, Hanji?” Erwin smiled, earning glares from everyone knowing how Hanji will more than likely drop the cupholder without hesitation when asked to clarify before realizing her mistake. Just like that, Hanji opened her mouth, letting go of the cupholder containing all the to-go cups full of precious carbonated sodas and water.

   “I said I come bringing gifts!- oh shit!” Hanji stopped mid-sentence realizing what she had stupidly done and froze — watching the drinks fall to their doom. Well, until Mike and Levi caught all of them before making a mess. Levi checked the lids of all the drinks and sighed — they were all intact, no thanks to Hanji.

   “You jackass, those drinks alone cost me $10!” Levi snapped while standing in front of Hanji with three drinks in hand. Levi rolled his eyes and begun to hand out each drink to their designated owner — Mike doing the same.

   “I swear to all hell, do not drop the food either. Just give me the damn bags before you do anything more stupid.” Levi snatched the bags away and checked every single one of them before sitting back down by Aella to eat his sandwich.

   “So, I’m going to ask the question everyone is thinking right now — just what in the hell are the fight pools?” Levi asked before biting into his sandwich. Hanji’s face flushed red and her mouth quirked up in an insane grin — even mischievous chuckles came out.

   “The fight pools are the center of attention here, dear Levi! Simply put, whoever enters the ring cannot, under any circumstance, bring weapons or anything that could harm a human being unless it is your body. If you win a round you join a new rank, successfully raising your earnings higher if you choose to keep fighting. If you make it to the elite of the elite, your winnings rank into the thousands maybe even hundred-thousands depending on the bets. Though fight pools have long since been illegal, no one could give a shit — even police fight in them every so often. Currently, the fight pools we’re going to has two undefeated champions that fight side by side; their names being Eren and Mikasa. You might know them from school! It’s mainly Mikasa doing all of the fighting, but Eren is so persistent that even when he’s knocked down he somehow gets back up — they never lose because of how well they work together. I don’t recommend taking them on ever.” Levi knew about fight pools — even he entered some as a way to earn a quick buck when he felt bored but never has he heard of two champions.

   “How long have they been undefeated?”

   “About three or so years I believe.” Now that was something that caught Levi’s attention. No one was strong enough to defeat two bratty children? Unbelievable. Levi managed to finish his sandwich during Hanji’s endless information essay about fight pools while Hanji hadn’t even started on hers yet — leaving her to be the only one not close to being finished eating. Levi stood up and walked in the direction of the fight pools, shoving his hands in his pockets. Erwin was already standing by the lamp post overhead, so he followed Levi along with Mike and Aella — leaving Hanji in the dust.

   “Hefgh! Wmhpf fomph mehf!” Levi looked back towards Hanji and raised his brow.

   “No, we’re not waiting for you. Hurry the hell up or get lost.” Hanji quickly scarfed down her sandwich and bolted to be with the other four — discarding her trash in a nearby trash bin. Hanji sped ahead of the rest of her friends and pointed towards the well-known slums of the city.

   “The building acts as a bar, but it has an entire fake wall blocking out the fighting area in case the interior police come by to check for anything. Every high schooler known in Maria has at least been here once or twice for a good time or to let off some steam. Hell, this place is actually where most fights happen to prevent any damages in Karanese. I heard tonight is especially going to be busy thanks to Eren and Mikasa announcing their fight at school last week — they make a shit ton of money thanks to any passerby who has no clue about those two. Interesting tactic, really. I wonder just how much they make in a week when they give it their all...” Mike stared back towards Hanji:

   “They made well over $500,000 in total when they fought for one week straight. They most likely have millions stacked up waiting to be used after high school.” Aella’s jaw dropped.

   “They didn’t start fighting until right after freshman year! How in the hell are they already making that type of money? Why haven’t they moved to Rose or Sina?” Erwin put his hand on Aella’s shoulder.

   “Eren didn’t want to leave Armin alone — you know those three have been inseparable since they were only children.  I talked to Eren the other day — they are moving out of Maria after graduation, but to where is unknown.” Levi remained silent the entire time — fighters, excellent money managers, and secretive? Talk about a mafia boss’s wet dream; though all of the talk seemed too good to be true.

   “We’re here — welcome to Lago district.” Levi looked up and saw endless decaying buildings almost out of zombie apocalypse movies; the entire district from the eye could see was almost completely in disarray and abandoned, except for one tiny homey bar as lively as could be. Shouts and screams could be heard even from the outside along with endless smashing of glass bottles and excited cheers and whoops — it was as chaotic as could be. Hanji opened the door and one by one, each person stepped into the mess of the bar. The air was full of booze, sex, and vomit; never mind the endless smell of blood and sweat pouring out of every vent possible. Smoke filled the bar from head to toe, creating a fog-like atmosphere in the pitch black room only illuminated by the technicolor of the TVs and neon signs placed around the room. Hanji and Mike stepped towards the bartender and nodded, sitting down to order two ‘sex on the rocks’ extra bloody — the code word to enter the fighting portion of the bar. Though it wasn’t necessary for the bar to be as secretive as it was, precautions were taken in case any government official decided to suddenly give a damn about Maria. Levi felt like he was going to gag from the endless amount of smoke in the room alone nevertheless the scenery — never in his life had he seen an environment as dirty as this one. Wooden tables and chairs were strewn around the room — some chairs even on the floors covered in vomit from poor sick bastards that had drunk too much; the thin black carpet was sticky and wet — producing the smell of mildew and even mold. Levi wanted to leave and take at least five showers alone just from standing — not even being seated in the sticky seats that clung to all types of fabric from the sugar residue left over from spilled boozed never cleaned up. Aella grabbed Levi’s hand and lead him through the mess to get to the wall across from them — Levi practically was a cat trying to stay out of water. Weaving and bobbing through the mess, Levi’s face still remained as stone cold as ever, but on the inside, he was practically yelling from disgust. Levi bent his back backward at the same time some dumbass drunk waved his half-full mug of beer towards another man across from him, evidently right in Levi’s path. Aella just kept squeezing Levi’s hand until they finally had made it to the other side of the wall, leading towards the long-awaited fight pools; Hanji was practically vibrating off of the ground from excitement when the bartender slid open part of the wall.

   “The main fight starts in 5 minutes, you can place your bets over there.” The bartender pointed towards one of the several bars strategically placed by the entrance before returning to his place at the bar. Hanji bolted in followed by Erwin and Mike — Levi was still semi-traumatized from seeing such a mess. Aella dragged Levi into the fight pools and looked around. Unlike the bar section, the fight pools had elevated ceilings and were fairly well lit — the stone floors were spotless and acted as a ramp leading the viewers to the fighting ring in the center. Aella stepped closer to see a sandy fighting ring dug deep into the ground semi elevated and had boxing ropes around the ring. The viewing area was above the fighting ring by several centimeters, though the drop into the fighting ring surprisingly didn’t hinder anyone from being able to see as it was all formatted like a giant basketball court — including the seats itself, which were only benches. The entire set up must’ve been mostly underground as windows were only placed near where the entrance was, nevertheless the aforementioned (and terribly described) ramp set up the floors had. Aella saw Hanji seated at the area closest to the ring and sighed — if the mess didn’t kill Levi, Hanji most definitely would. Levi regained his composure fairly quickly and lead Aella through the crowd towards Hanji — he must’ve spotted her as well. Aella and Levi quickly took a seat and looked at the raised ring in the middle; off to the side stood a ravenette girl beside a brunette teen with his hair pulled up in a bun — those two must’ve been the undefeated champions based off of how the crowd behind them were going wild before anyone else. Every light not focused on the ring was shut off; blinding spotlights turned on and the crowd collectively went absolutely mental — it was time for the fight.

   “Ladies, gentlemen, and nonbinary pals alike, are you ready to rumble?” Aella presumed that the man standing in the center of the ring was the owner and organizer of the fight pools as he was dressed to the nines in expensive as hell clothing. The ground shook with stomps accompanied by cheers — the fight pools were definitely the place to be right now.

   “On the right, we have the tag team duo consisting of Annie and Reiner!”  Two blonds stepped in the ring — the female most likely a foot shorter than the male. The male stood at a staggering height with muscles that bulged like no other — his hair was cut short and had wrapped his hands and feet in fighting tape beforehand. Needless to say, he was a beast. In contrast, the female was slim but well built; her hair was pulled back into a bun with only her bangs hanging out on either side of her face; her hands and legs were also wrapped. Instead of wearing a bra with her short running shorts, the female had bound her breasts with tape, though every female experienced with tape already knew that the removal will hurt like hell later on.

   “Jesus, check out the guy. He’s a fucking monster.” Levi commented, never once taking his eyes off of Reiner; Levi was intrigued about Reiner’s fighting style — he had to have been aware of how much of an easy target he was with that type of body build.

   “The girl doesn’t look any less dangerous either; check out her face — she’s fucking bored already. I’m surprised she can put up with the serious B.O. that guy probably has — especially since he’s already shirtless.” Aella observed, looking at the stances both teammates were in. They most certainly weren’t relaxed, but they also weren’t in fighting position either.

   “On the left, we have the undefeated, unstoppable, invincible, Eren and Mikasa!” Aella thought her ears were going to burst from how loud the crowd got as soon as their names were mentioned — chants quickly started left and right, though most were of ‘Eren’ or ‘Mikasa’. Aella looked over with a confused look towards Hanji and tapped her shoulder.

   “I don’t get it, why haven’t they started fighting?” Hanji looked over and shook her head.

   “They want to give the crowd something to cheer for to stretch out the fight so they buy food and drinks — pretty basic business plan.” Aella nodded her head and turned back to face the ring — unlike Reiner, Eren and Mikasa just stood there and ignored the crowd; they really must’ve only been there to earn money.

   “Let’s get ready to rumble!” Aella bit her lip — who was going to win? They seemed evenly matched.

   “Begin!” The four just stood there in their readying stance, ignoring the sign to begin completely; they were going to begin on their own terms without anyone else encouraging them otherwise. Reiner nodded his head towards Annie and broke into a sprint, angling his body to punch Eren square in the face. Reiner’s body angled to the left as his right hand flew almost dead on, for sure to make its mark until Eren caught his hand with his own, moving his head out of the way mere milliseconds before. Eren stood clamping onto Reiner’s good hand when Mikasa suddenly broke into a sprint — tripping Reiner and making a beeline towards Annie. Annie only had two seconds until Mikasa was in her face to prepare herself with her signature stance; Mikasa let out a yell and faked a punch towards Annie before slipping underneath to trip Annie with her foot. Hooking her leg around the back of Annie’s knee, Mikasa quickly took care of Annie to deal her onto the floor, but Annie had planned otherwise; waiting until the last second to hit the ground, Annie landed strategically in the best position to roll away to pick herself back up once more to head towards Reiner. Every time Reiner was close to landing a blow on Eren, Eren simply dodged before landing a few blows to well-known soft spots along Reiner’s neck until Annie immediately bolted to Reiner and faked a punch towards Eren to only have Mikasa tackle her to the ground with a yell for Eren to look out. Eren nodded and kicked Reiner back towards Mikasa where she quickly pinned him down to the ground on top of Annie, holding them until the ‘referee’ checked to see if one of them were passed out. Eren and Mikasa had won with little to no effort and still held the title of undefeated champions. Levi was in shock at the quick victory; only mafia members were able to make such precise attacks without speaking — were they cheating? Erwin leaned over to whisper in Levi’s ear:

   “They say Mikasa is a part of the well-known Ackerman clan — making her one of the only known people to instantly know what to do without thinking at this high level of fighting. Some say it’s the knowledge of her ancestors helping her, others say she uses steroids. Who knows?” The Ackerman clan, huh? Levi only had heard of the legendary tales of some of the clan members but never had he thought he’d ever bear witness to one of them in a damned fight. Levi stood up, leaving a confused Aella looking at his retreating form as he walked straight up to the ring leader:

   “I do hope you accept challenges after a well-performed match.” The ring leader turned around and raised a brow.

   “Oh? You couldn’t possibly beat Eren and Mikasa alone.” Levi clicked his tongue and grabbed the man’s shirt while lifting him up in the air.

   “Are you certain about that…Sir?” The man gulped and quickly agreed to let Levi have a go by himself. Levi was intrigued like none other by the two teens — Mikasa especially. What was it like to take on an Ackerman not even at peak strength?

   “We have a new competitor entering the ring! Everyone give it up for Levi!” Aella’s head snapped towards the ring to see Levi taking off his shirt before entering the ring.

   “Oh my god, Hanji, are you seeing this right now or am I just high on something?” Hanji followed Aella’s gaze towards Levi and blinked.

   “Holy shit, Shorty has really gone off the deep end this time… Erwin, you didn’t by chance have anything to do with this?” Hanji raised a brow at the unsuspecting blond sitting behind them. Erwin slid his eyes towards Hanji and smiled.

   “This sure is going to be a challenge for them, no? I wonder just how evenly matched, are they? Who knows.” Mike snorted and glared at Erwin.

   “And you’re not giving us a straight answer, huh? What are you hiding, Erwin?” Erwin set his eyes back onto Levi and crossed his arms.

   “The facts will be revealed shortly. Just watch the fight.” Aella felt like she couldn’t breathe; yes, she knew Levi damn well could hold his own against numerous men at once, but Levi against Mikasa? Those two were practically evenly matched based off of fighting style alone, how in the world would Levi be able to take on her along with Eren? Levi stared at the two fighters with a bored expression dawned on his face. Mikasa nodded her head towards Eren and the two broke into a sprint at the same time headed for Levi — Levi simply waited in his same position for the attack; he was testing them, and they knew it. Mikasa went straight towards Levi with a fake to the right followed by a punch to the face while Eren went straight towards the face, but Levi pulled off his own counterattack that left the two reeling. Levi had managed to punch both fighters with so much force it sent them down to the ground with little to no effort on his behalf. The once loud cheering crowd went silent in shock — no one had ever had both Mikasa and Eren on the ground at the same time within the first fifteen seconds. Levi clicked his tongue while walking over to the two now sitting on the floor:

   “Don’t bother getting up; you’re planning on staying down until the last second, followed by an attack to the back of the knee and ribcage to land the final blow with a headshot. It won’t work. Normally, the two of you have time to observe your opponent, but with me, you only had to rely on what Armin told you about me, no?” Eren glared at Levi:

   “Damn right.” Levi scoffed.

   “You know where I am during school — come find me. Otherwise, my work here is done unless you want me to break every bone in your body bit by bit?” The silence was all that Levi needed to interpret as a solid ‘no’. Levi walked off the ring and put on his shirt.

   “This fight is over — go home, dumbasses,” Levi spoke to the crowd until his steely hues met Aella’s shocked ones and shook his head. Erwin knew Levi’s goal all along, didn’t he?

   “Well done, Levi. You managed to catch their attention.” Armin. Levi turned around and stared at the blond punk in front of him.

   “You told them I only wanted to talk, didn’t you Arlert?” Armin nodded and smiled.

   “Yes, that’s correct. I told them not to risk dying just to try and win against you; I knew you’d be here today and would’ve wanted to test those two out for whatever reason you have. I simply wanted to keep my friends alive.”

   “I see.” Levi showed no guilt, but he sure as hell felt it; he didn’t need to induce more violence than necessary, but he did.  The fight resulted in a tie by Levi’s demand and the five snuck out amidst the chaos of the next fight in the other ring being so bloody and violent. As soon as the two got home, Aella hugged Levi and rested her head on his shoulder while Levi was tensed up beyond belief.

   “Don’t do that again, Levi. Consider yourself immensely lucky to be receiving this hug right now because I never ever give them out — you worried me that much. Think about if the people after you hear that you fought in the fight pools tonight! You’d have your cover completely compromised.” Levi already knew what Aella said was true — he risked his anonymity for people he didn’t even know would agree to become recruits. Levi relaxed into Aella’s hug and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

   “I know, but I wouldn’t have done it had I not thought it’d be worth it.” All that he had to do was wait and see what Mikasa and Eren would do tomorrow. Would they meet up with Levi or would they ignore him? The next morning rolled around quickly — Levi finding himself at his normal location atop of Karanese High’s roof overlooking the entire district.

   “You got our attention, Levi. What do you want?” A voice called out behind him. Levi turned around, flicking his cigarette to god knows where, to meet Eren’s turquoise green eyes. Levi crossed his arms and raised his brow.

   “Simple. Join my ‘gang’. You already know Erwin, Hanji, and Mike. Your fighting styles aren’t too bad and if you train with me, you two might not be completely useless.” Mikasa glared at Levi until Eren sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

   “Alright, we’ll join you.”

[imightbeapotatobutihavestandards]

He’s Hurting Me Pt 13

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10 | part 11 | part 12 | part 13 | part 14 |

Summary: Roman and Virgil come round to comfort Patton. After some Steven Universe, Patton falls asleep, leaving prinxiety to watch the sunset together and Logan left to pine over how cute Patton is.

Warnings: Panic attacks... I think that’s it. Oh and swearing (thanks Virgil)

Part 13

Roman and Virgil locked eyes for a moment, sharing a look of pure worry and concern. They stood in front of Patton’s pale blue door, waiting for it to open. Roman could hear his blood rushing through his body, the thuds of his pounding heart echoing against his ears. Logan’s text buzzed across his brain; Come to Patton’s. Please hurry, it’s an emergency.

The door opened; it didn’t creep open, slowly, nor did it swing open dramatically. It just opened. It wasn’t what either of them were expecting. Logan appeared behind it, his usual stonily impassive expression had softened slightly, he looked solemn, and almost sad. With the door open, the couple could see past Logan and into the room beyond, a figure sat crumpled over on the brown leather couch. The figure- Patton- had his face in his hands, glasses pushed up into his hair. Virgil, without really realising it, walked hesitantly into the house, eyes perceptively trained on Patton, his mind racing. Patton perked up at Virgil’s soft footsteps, he turned towards the movement, pulling his glasses down and offered a small, half-hearted smile. Virgil’s heart shattered; Patton’s face was blotchy, his eyes bloodshot, his eyelashes wet and clumped together.

“Patton.” Virgil gasped, feeling tears prick the back of his eyes too, he ran and launched himself at his friend, engulfing him in a hug. Patton giggled but the sound was empty, he returned Virgil’s embrace, wrapping his arms around him tightly, pulling him closer and burying his face in a hoody-clad shoulder.

Roman remained lingering in the doorway,  shutting the door behind him but without taking his eyes off Patton. He watched his boyfriend and his best friend hug, while his insides felt like they were tearing themselves apart. He turned and shared a concerned glance with Logan.

“I’m afraid it’s worse than we thought. I know we expected Mike to be emotionally manipulative… I don’t think we quite appreciated the scale the abuse.” Logan spoke softly, sadly, almost guiltily. Roman’s eyes shot back to Patton, still hugging Virgil, he noticed the slight shaking, the bandages on his wrists, he felt guilt well up in the pit of his stomach. Why had they not noticed it sooner? Why had they done nothing? Why had they allowed Patton to get hurt?

Logan placed a reassuring hand on Roman’s shoulder, seeming to hear his swarming thoughts, or perhaps he was just far too familiar with them. The two wandered forward, Logan settling down next to Patton, Roman sitting cross-legged in front of him. Virgil removed himself from Patton, sitting on the arm of the sofa and grabbing his hand, Logan held the other, he was surrounded by support. He felt safe. He felt loved.

“What’s up, padre?” Roman asked lovingly, his voice kind and smooth.

Patton sighed, looking between his friends, eyes lingering on Logan silently asking for help.

“It’s okay Patton.” Logan squeezed his hand. “You don’t have to go into any detail, I can take over whenever you need.”

“Okay.” Patton breathed again. Why was his heart beating so fast? He’d done this before. It may have ended with a panic attack but he’d done it. Surely it’s easier the second time around. He was breathing too quick, he knew that. The words were going to get caught in his throat again, he knew that. His tongue ensnared and words held captive. He tried his best to force everything out. Breathe. Talk. Breathe. Talk.

“Mike… he can get aggressive, especially when drunk…”

***

Roman and Virgil stood in the kitchen, completely silent, the only noise in the room coming from the roaring steam of a kettle. Virgil, somewhat cautiously, turned to glance through the doorway at the couch, where Patton was currently sat curled into Logan’s side. He was still shivering slightly, it had been hard for him to talk about everything he’d been through, it had been hard to hear it. Guilt. Anger. Fear. Worry. Sadness. All of it set in deeply, making Virgil feel so much heavier. He couldn’t tell what emotion he was feeling, they just flowed into each other, making an awful mess. That’s what he felt. Awful.

“Fuck.” Virgil suddenly said, turning back and pushing himself up onto the counter. “Fuck Ro. Fuck.” He repeated, burying his face in his hands. “How did we not do anything?” He exclaimed, something so raw in his voice, something angry, and anxious, and guilty and frightened all at once.  He desperately looked up at Roman, who could only offer him a remorseful expression.

“I don’t know, Virge.” Roman replied, his voice far too soft, his normal bravado had disappeared entirely.

“How could we let this happen? We knew something was wrong. Fuck.” Virgil looked away, at the ceiling or a cabinet, something above him so he could hide the tears. He prayed Roman hadn’t noticed the slight waver in his voice.

“It’s terrible, what Patton’s gone through. But we can’t blame ourselves.” You should really practice what you preach, Roman thought, but after all the dismay the day had brought, he just focused on reassuring his boyfriend. “Besides, my love. We cannot erase the past.” He stood directly in front of Virgil, between his legs, gently holding onto his chin and pressing their foreheads together. “No matter how much we want to. What’s done is done. The best we can do is try our best to help Patton. Okay?”

Virgil breathed out a heavy sigh, desperately trying to listen to Roman’s words. He was right, all that mattered now was Patton, yet despite this, he couldn’t help the lingering feeling in his gut. Still, he’d try and ignore it, for Patton. “Okay.” He agreed, finally bridging the gap between them and kissing Roman gently. He felt the knot in his stomach  loosen a tiny bit.

Eventually the pair returned the lounge, each holding two mugs. Roman held two hot cocoas, one for him, one for Patton, complete with whipped cream and marshmallows. Virgil carried a tea for Logan and coffee for himself, medium strength and one sugar in each. The two took the mugs gratefully, Patton’s face brightening a tiny bit. He sipped it happily, savouring the sugary taste on his tongue, getting whipped cream on his nose. He giggled, wiping it off with one finger, the others thought the sound was heavenly, angelic, even.

They drank in silence for a moment before Patton coughed lightly. “Um, not that I don’t appreciate you kiddos being round, but you might have to, maybe, leave?” Patton managed to get out after stumbling over his words.

“Wait what?” Virgil sat up, clearly confused. “After all this you’re just gonna send us away and continue with him like everything’s fine?”

“Virgi-“

“No. He hurt you, Patton. You, you don’t deserve that. You can’t seriously be telling me you’re okay with staying with this guy, I thought this was you getting help?” Virgil continued, his voice a fusion of anger, disbelief and concern.

“It-it is. It’s just… telling you guys is a big thing, y’know. I-I don’t know if I could deal with anything else today.” Patton admitted, looking down. “I don’t want another fight. Not tonight.”

Silence. Virgil sighed deeply. “But, what if he, he does something again?” Virgil asked, his voice now softer, sadder, lost.

“I don’t think he will, not if he doesn’t have a reason to get mad, he tends to be more tired on Thursdays. Just goes to sleep. I think I’ll be okay.” Patton smiled gently, trying to ease his friend, but the concern never left his eyes, so he added; “If anything happens, anything I’m uncomfortable with, I promise I’ll leave. I won’t let him do anything, I’ll just leave. Now you guys know, I guess it’s actual an option just to appear on your doorstep like a lost puppy.” He laughed, no one else did.

“Of course, our doors will always be open to you. Whenever you need us.” Roman smiled kindly. “I understand that you’d rather remain for now, and as much as we are unhappy with this choice, we must respect it. I know it is difficult to get out a toxic situation, I know it may not seem worth the effort, but I promise you it is. So you must promise me, us, that you’ll let us help you, that you won’t be with him for much longer.”

Patton audibly swallowed. He appreciated the time, and his friend’s trying to help, but he still wasn’t sure if he could leave Mike. Admitting he needed help was easier as a concept than actually seeing it through. But, maybe this had to happen? Resigned, he nodded. He’d promised now.

“So…” Virgil begun, “Are we like, going? Or can we watch some Steven Universe before we go?” He allowed a smile to brighten his face, sliding off the arm of the couch and into the space next to Patton.

“Well… I guess one wouldn’t hurt” Patton conceded, desperate for some sort of normality. One episode was fine. Mike’s not even left work yet. It’s fine.

Roman went about setting up the TV, before settling back down on the floor. He sat in front of Virgil, who, almost begrudgingly, moved his legs so they were either side of his boyfriend and he could shuffle closer. Luckily, Roman was tall enough that he could see over the small, glass coffee table in front of him.

“You know, you can fit up here.” Virgil pointed out, threading his hands in Roman’s hair instinctively.

Roman smirked, tilting his head up into Virgil’s hand. “Ahh yes, but then you wouldn’t be able to play with my hair.”

Virgil grumbled some sort of insult under his breath, while Patton giggled and Logan rolled his eyes. The four watched the show in peace, except, Logan noticed something wasn’t quite right. Patton’s posture was still straight, closed off, in fact, his eyes weren’t even focused on the TV. Logan felt worry gnaw at his insides, his head suddenly emptying and leaving him completely helpless. What does he do? How does he help? Patton was clearly anxious, he was closing off, he was withdrawing. Logan wasn’t sure how best to approach the situation, but he knew Patton needed to relax, to rest. Before he could do anything, a sharp ringing made all of them flinch, Patton practically jumped out of his seat. The sharp ringing sounded again, in a rhythmic fashion. A phone. But, it wasn’t Patton’s ringtone, or any of theirs. Instantly on edge, they all look around for the source of the sound, except Patton.

“It’s just the landline, guys.” Patton notified the group, standing and walking past the couch to a table, on it was the ringing white phone.

“A landline? Who uses landline anymore?” Roman questioned.

“Patton, evidently.” Logan responded, pausing the TV. Patton shot a look at them all over his shoulder, voicelessly asking for them to be quiet.

“Bu-“ Roman tried to talk, but Virgil clapped his hand over his mouth and nodded to his friend, letting him pick up the phone.

“Hello? Oh hey baby… Oh okay, no that’s fine don’t worry. What time will you be back?... Okay, cool, will you want dinner?... Alright… okay, love you too, bye.” Patton put the phone down and turned, only to be met with three very curious faces.

“Was that Mike?” Virgil asked, hand still clasped over Roman’s mouth.

Patton nodded. “They’re making him work late tonight, he won’t be in for a while.”

“Sooo… more Steven Universe with us?” Virgil asked, smiling.

Patton felt the rotting of guilt inside him as he nodded his head, he was going behind Mike’s back with letting them stay, but he wanted them here more than anything. His emotions were at war with each other once again, it was inescapable, he always ended up with a torrent of conflicting feelings fighting each other. How did he get out of this?

After a small fight with his other half, Roman managed to peel the hand away from his face, meaning he was free to speak. “The real question here is, since when do you use a landline? Why can’t he just text you?” Roman asked, still baffled by the old technology.

Patton shrugged, returning to his seat. “My phone’s getting repaired. It’s…” Patton paused, debating on telling them what happened to his phone. They didn’t really need to know… but they’d probably figure it out anyone, and he’d promised to be honest with them. “…Mike smashed it. It doesn’t work anymore.”

There was a beat of silence. No one was entirely sure what to say. Patton felt the silence begin to press against him, it became heavy, he needed an escape. He reached over Logan and grabbed the remote, unpausing the TV and settling back down, pretending to be entirely focused on the show.

It didn’t take long for the others to drag their attention back to the flashing collection of pixels, but Logan still noticed how uncomfortable Patton was. His mind was clearly far from the bright and colourful world of Steven Universe, but he had no idea how to help, clearly Patton didn’t want to talk about it. Logan sighed, deciding on one thing that he knew reassured Patton.

Logan wrapped one arm around Patton’s shoulders and pulled him close, the smaller man instinctively froze, his overactive mind trying to work out what was happening, if it was wrong. After a long time of deciding and battling between different principles, Patton finally gave in to the comfort he’d been craving. He leaned his head on Logan’s shoulder and sighed deeply, Logan’s arm moved from Patton’s shoulder to his waist. Patton thought for a moment, then carefully took off his glasses, Logan took them from him and placed them on the arm of the couch.

Patton tried to stay awake, he really did. But he was so exhausted, and drained, and his eyelids were so heavy. His emotions had softened, he could still feel them, but he could also feel them fade, and suddenly the whole world was just Logan’s hand on his waist, and his body against his back, the soft breathing, the occasional comment from Roman or Virgil, and the murmur of Steven Universe in the background. In that moment; that was Patton’s world.

***  

It was quite a few episodes in when all three realised Patton had fallen asleep. Roman had been the last to notice, he got quite drawn in when it came to cartoons, and couldn’t help his attention being entirely captivated by the show. However, he did also want to be a good guest, so he set about collecting in everyone’s mugs and going to wash them, that’s when he turned and saw Patton’s sleeping form, cuddled against Logan’s side.

Roman smiled at the sight, before grabbing the cups and taking them out. As he left, Virgil shuffled slightly closer to Logan, a soft smile plastered across his face as he looked at Patton. Suddenly his smile fell, his eyes became more solemn. “He’s gonna be okay, right?” Virgil asked in a small voice, he kept his eyes low, not daring to look at Logan.

Logan frowned, looking down at the man pressed against him, sleeping soundly. He smiled as Patton shifted slightly in his sleep, nuzzling closer. “Of course, Virgil.” Logan smiled reassuringly, and Virgil couldn’t help but lift his head and meet his friend’s eyes. “Patton’s strong. He can certainly be silly and…eccentric at times, but you know him as well as I do; he’s unbelievably strong. He’ll get through this.” And Logan genuinely believed that. Virgil smiled, it was still a sad smile, but it was also hopeful. Virgil believed it too.  

Roman wandered back in, taking in the sight before him; the three people he cared about most were curled close together, smiling softly, on the worn brown couch. Sunlight danced through the large glass door to their left, coating them in a gold wash, the brilliant haze moving swiftly from one face to another, seemingly entwined with the curtains. He frowned. Sunset. They’d need to leave soon. After everything it felt wrong to leave Patton. So wrong. But forcing him couldn’t be right either. Roman knew how difficult it was to talk about these things, how hard it was to escape them. He sighed heavily, eyes flicking back to the sunset, when a ghost of smile appeared.

“Hey Virge, wanna watch the sunset?” Roman asked, leaning on the doorframe. He knew how much Virgil loved sunsets, and thought he could do with relaxing a bit.

Virgil smiled, pushing himself to his feet, but before he headed to the door, he turned a spared one last glance down at Patton. The sight of the young man curled up tranquilly, blissfully unaware of the reality he was trapped in, warmed his heart, made his smile that little bit brighter, that little more genuine. He leaned down, swiftly placing a light kiss on Patton’s hair. He looked up smiling, to see Logan sharing his smile, sharing the warmth behind his eyes.

“Love you too, dork.” Virgil whispered, kissing the top of Logan’s head, then wandering out. Roman pushed himself off the doorway, smiling brightly at Virgil’s adorable shows of affection, following his boyfriend out.

***

Virgil sat on the wooden decking, legs crossed underneath him, looking up at the sky. The colours were bleeding into each other; beautiful faded pinks melting into those dazzling orange hues and warm, faded yellows. The warm colours spread across the sky, stretching over the, now pale, blue, draining it of its life until it would eventual become a dark mass. The colours were almost like parasites; corrupting the sky, painting the tips of clouds, covering everything, until they too would fade, and leave nothing but darkness. Beautiful parasites.

Virgil turned to Roman, who was sat beside him, legs hanging over the edge of the porch, eyes gazing upwards, wrapped in the glistening glow of the sun. Virgil looked at him, really looked at him, his bright green eyes that were perpetually hopeful, his swept back hazel that could never be messed up, his lazy, careless smile that Virgil adored. He had committed them to memory a thousand times before, and here he was still mesmerised by the man beside him.

Virgil pressed his hands to his face, shutting his eyes and breathing in heavily. Every time he’d try to forget, his mind went back to Patton. Patton who had protected him ever since they were kids, Patton who’d comfort him and help him and give him advise. Patton who he’d let down. He’d failed him. He let him get hurt. Virgil wasn’t sure he could forgive himself for that.

“Hey,” Roman began, turning to look at Virgil, who reluctantly pulled his face from his hands. “Do you remember our first date?” Roman asked.

Virgil laughed slightly, looking back up at the sunset, he know Roman was trying to stop his mind from racing, so he went along with it. “Yeah, I dragged you to mine and we watched Moulin Rouge together, for the first time. T-“

“-And many more viewings would follow.” Roman announced, smiling brightly at Virgil, who couldn’t help smiling too.

“Yeah they would. Then, we went to the park by my house and… watched the sunset.” Virgil attempted a chuckle. “A lot more of that followed too.”

“We evidently just like tradition.” Roman said, slinging an arm around Virgil, who happily curled into his side again.

“That was so long ago… Hey, remember that time you nearly got expelled for “improving” those homophobic books in the library?” Virgil chuckled.

“And any book that was written by an ignorant, intolerable person!” Roman corrected. “And yes, ah how my parents loved me then.”

“Uhm,” Virgil hummed in response. “They also loved you when they came downstairs one morning to find a random racoon child in their fridge, because someone hadn’t mentioned I was sleeping over.”

“Pfft. That wasn’t as bad as the time they walked in on-“

“Nonononono.” Virgil pushed himself away from Roman, waving his hands dramatically to get him to stop. “Don’t even bring that up, I haven’t even been able to look your mom in the eyes since that.”

“What do you mean? I saw you guys talking up a storm last Christmas.” Roman laughed.

“Yeah, and I looked anywhere but her eyes.”

“Could you feel the sins crawling up your back?” Virgil slapped his shoulder for that joke. “But hey, at least you don’t even have the opportunity to look my dad in the eye after that.”

Virgil sighed deeply, leaning back on his boyfriend again. “Yeah well, I’m glad.” Virgil murmured.

“Me too.” Roman sighed, running a hand through Virgil’s hair, turning his eyes back to the sunset. He’d talked to Virgil a lot about his father, maybe too much. A lot had happened with him, but that was a story for another time, he thought. Now, at least, he was in a good place, he was okay with everything, more than okay, his only worry was Patton. “Me too…”

“You good, Ro?”

“Yeah, I’m good Storm Cloud.”

***

Logan breathed in deeply, putting a leash on his emotions. He could feel the torrent raging within him again, yet somehow, looking at Patton’s sleeping form seemed to ease him entirely. Patton looked, well, like an angel. His hair was ruffled lightly, his hands balled in Logan’s shirt, his eyes lightly shut. He looked relaxed, tranquil. After everything he’d gone through, Logan thought he deserved this, this moment, at the very least.

Unfortunately, the moment didn’t last as long as Logan would have liked, and soon Patton was murmuring and sitting up. His movements were slow and lazy, in a way, he rubbed his eyes with his knuckles and reached in a random direction for his glasses. Logan smiled, placing the glasses in his outstretched hand.

Suddenly, as Patton’s vision became crystal clear, darkness surrounded his thought. He sat bolt upright, memories flooding back to him, dread crashing over him, a sickness rotting his stomach. He wanted to vomit. He could feel it. He was going to throw up. Guilt swallowed him again, he remembered; he’d told them. He’d told them everything. Everything was different now. He’d messed everything up. He’d made everything change. His breathing came in quick gulps.

I’m going to be sick. I’m going to be sick.

Disgust crawled through his veins. Hatred seeped into his brain, his heart, hatred for himself. He’d betrayed Mike. He couldn’t think. His mind was blurred.

I want to die.

He couldn’t stop it. The thought flashed before his mind, and suddenly he couldn’t escape from it. No. No he didn’t mean that. But, he didn’t want this. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted the feelings to stop.

His thoughts could only process one word, everything was said in those two words, and they seared into his brain.

I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.

I can’t what? Leave? Think? Breathe? Live?

No. No. NO.

The word morphed; Patton saw the shape melt, saw it merge and reform.

Please. Please. Please.

Please make it stop. Please just stop.

Patton felt the sharp prick of tears against the back of his eyes. It stung and he hated it. His heart hurt and he hated it. His head was heavy and he hated it. His thoughts swarmed and he hated it. He cried and he hated it.

No. I’ve cried enough.

Patton reused. He refused to cry, or to give in, he just wanted the feelings gone. He felt an arm on his shoulder, a hand on the side of his face, wiping his tears: Logan. Logan could always help. Logan always made him feel better. He leant into the touch, desperate for that support and comfort he’d felt before. Seeking that alien security Logan provided.

Nothing.

He felt nothing but guilt and regret and frustration and-

Please. Please. Please. Please.

The words screamed at him, his head was a mess. He couldn’t think, he wasn’t thinking, he just wanted to be okay, just for a moment, and nothing was working.

He wasn’t thinking when he cupped Logan’s hand against his cheek, or when he grabbed the other’s collar pulling him close. He wasn’t thinking when he connected their lips. But he was feeling. And it felt amazing. It felt like a release, or like he was dreaming. God only knows how long he’d wanted to do that, how long he’d supressed that and hidden it, it was like he was finally getting what he wanted. But it also felt awful. He was so disgusted; at himself, his actions, and that it felt so good. That he couldn’t pull away.

Patton couldn’t explain what made him do it, he just, couldn’t, anymore. He was so tired of feeling empty.

Logan, to put it mildly, was a mess. He was so shocked, and so confused, he had no idea what to do. His made was short circuiting because; holy shit, Patton was kissing him, but also; oh shit, Patton was kissing him. Beautiful, kind loving Patton. Patton who he’s loved for years. Patton, who had a boyfriend. Patton who was hurting so much that he was drowning. Patton who is lost and confused and yeah this needs to stop.

“Patton.” Logan spoke, pulling away and resting their foreheads together. Patton squeezed his eyes shut tighter, Logan could feel him shaking, feel the hot tears rolling down his cheeks.

“I…” Patton began, jerking away, looking at the taller with wide, watery eyes. “I’m so sorry, Lo. I’m so sorry. Oh God, I just, I want to be alright.” Patton choked out, looking down, ashamed.

“I know, but this won’t help you. You’ll just feel worse.” Logan spoke softly, kindly, lowering his head to Patton’s eyes and cupping his face again, forcing their eyes to meet.

Patton looked at Logan for a moment before squeezing his eyes shut again, feeling warm tears crash against his soft skin. Logan reassuring brushed his thumb against Patton’s freckled cheek, wiping away the tears.

“I know.” Patton tried to whisper, but all that came out was a light gasp. He breathed in heavily, leaning his forehead against Logan’s again. Words caught on his tongue, words he needed to say, words that were so important that they drowned out the sound of the door opening.

“I love you, Lo.”

Footsteps. Not that either of them noticed.

“I love you too.”

*** 

Long but important AN: So, we’re drawing near to the end, only three chapters left. But, that is not the end, I still have a lot planned for these bois, I was thinking of doing “lost chapters” just to fill in some gaps about Lo and Ro, maybe some for Virgil, and expand on the Logicality, but now I’m considering some mini sequels, so we’ll see!

Another important note, I was incredibly unsure of the kiss in this chapter and if I should put it in, but I’m glad I did, and that’s all thanks to @blueeyedscorpion who helped me and let me yeet ideas at her. She will also (even if she doesn’t know it yet) have to deal with a lot more of that in the future so,,, thank you love!

Annnd to bring it full circle, as there is an end in sight and it might take a lil bit of time before anything new is put out, you should check my friend out. She has an absolutely amazing story called The Lighthouse which is so beautifully written and I love it aND TRUST ME, READ IT!

Thanks for reading this very long note :)

Taglist:

@bunny222 @smedenn @beautifully-terribly @hellomusicalnerdhere @its-jambi-baby @rainbow-sides @awkwardangie410 @bluebloodstains @sopi-montezzz @am-i-heaven-or-am-i-hell @toomuchandnotenough @angered-turtle @roman-is-a-dramatic-prince @madly-handsome @candiukas @hanramz-the-fander @beach-fan @average-everyday-sane-pyscho @inan-sanders @oh-star-how-the-mighty-fall @choppedexpertbonkfire @pattonistooprecious @purpleshipper @the-life-ofa-troubled-ace @smileydog101 @daughterofsomnus @a-time-traveling-whovian @galaxygals @thatrandomautist @gay-glitter-bomb @amazable01 @blueeyedscorpion @anxious-huffle-puff @luarpice @biacetrash @astral-eclipse @fandoms-winkitywonk @her-royal-crayness @thefallendog @lionlickers05 @cochroachkappa-blog @ohwaitimtrash

[inhumansforever]

Ms. Marvel #31 Review

spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers

It the fiftieth issue of Ms. Marvel (50th when you combine the two series together) and what better way to celebrate such an achievement than to have a good old fashioned slumber party!  If only the various duties and demands of being a superhero could allow for a such a thing.  A bunch of impromptu adventures and ordeals notwithstanding, Kamala and her buddies end up having a pretty great night.  All from the creative team of… deep breath… G. Willow Wilson, Nico Leon, Ian Herring, Saladin Ahmed,  Gustavo Durate, Rainbow Rowell, Bob Quinn, Hasan Minhaj, Elmo Bondoc, Valero Schiti, Rachelle Rosenberg and Stephanie Hans.  Recap and review following the jump.

Kamala has been campaigning her mother for weeks to allow her to have her friends over for a slumber party.  The whole idea of a sleep-over is rather perplexing to Mrs. Khan, but she has finally agreed and Kamal could not be more excited.  Everything is ready.  There’s popcorn, chips, chi, the idea game system is ready to go and pizza is on the way… Kamala has even set her room up with strings of Christmas tree lights to set the perfect mood.  

Her friends, Nakia, Mike and Zoe arrive and they jump right into the gossip and giggling.  Along with having fun, Kamala is also hoping her pals can help her work her confused and anxious feelings over having kissed Kareem and her possibly still having feelings for Bruno.  

Mike is surprisingly chill with the fact that Kamala may have a crush on her former boyfriend, Bruno.  Nakia is concerned that Kamala has done something so brash as to kiss a boy.  Oh yeah, and Zoe recently went out on a date (most likely with Alana, Neftali’s sister introduced int he previous issue).  Yet before they can get into any of this important stuff the conversation is interrupted by a strange barking from outside.  

Well, Kamala knows exactly what sort of creature makes that distinctive bark and she furtively sneaks into her Ms. Marvel guise to see what sort of mischief Lockjaw has gotten himself into.  

Here Willow and Leon hand the story-telling duties over to Ahmed and Durate for a fun jaunt in which Ms, M and Lockjaw try to rescue a kitten who has teleporting powers of his own.  Chasing this cat takes the trio all over the galaxy, even to an alien planet... yet it isn’t long before Ms. Marvel realizes that Lockjaw and the kitten are just having fun chasing each other.  She has no time for such games, she has a slumber party to get back to.  

Ms. Marvel leaves Lockjaw and teleporting kitty to their fun and returns home to find her mom making samosas for her guests.  Mmmm samosa.  Yet before Kamala can join in the doorbell rings, the pizzas have arrived.   Here the story is taken over by Rowell and Quinn.  The young woman delivering the pizzas is a rather irascible sort who becomes aggressively resentful when she finds that she is delivering pies to a slumber party.  Oh, and she smells terrible… like supernaturally bad.  

Once again donning her Ms. Marvel duds, Kamala chases down the pizza delivery girl to investigate.  It turns out that her name is Samantha.  Like Ms. Marvel, she is an Inhuman who was transformed by way of exposure to the Terrigen Cloud.  Rather than receiving neat super abilities, however, Samantha was bestowed with ‘skunk-like’ powers.  Her hair took on a distinctive white streak and she can emit a terrible, noxious odor whenever she feels anxious, threatened or even irritated.  

It’s all just about ruined poor Samantha’s life.  No one wants to hang out with someone so stinky.  She’s a young adult, still learning how to handle her feelings and mood and hence barely able to control these smelly powers.  And finding that she was delivering pizzas to a slumber party just filled her with jealous rage.   

Rather than fighting, the two talk it out.  Terrigenesis is a lot like adolescence… it is sort of like a lottery and is by no means fair.  Some are endowed with cool, useful transformations, other are saddled with unfortunate, almost debilitating transformations.   

It’s not all that different the kind of changes that adolescents have to contend with as they go through maturation.  And it is also rather random and never fair.  Some become tall, slender or have flawless skin, whilst others have to deal with acne, super awkward growth spurts, or just smell terrible.  

Neither Kamala nor Samantha the Skunk Girl can go back to the lives they had prior to Terrigenesis, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t carve out new lives, make their own paths.  Samantha has no interest in being a super hero or anything like that, but that doesn’t mean that she cannot get help from people such as the Avengers or Inhumans of New Attilan.  With time and training she can learn to control her odor-based powers, keep them suppressed and even use them to her advantage if the need were to ever arise.   Having solved that problem, Kamala returns to her party.  Yet it is not long before yet another crisis arrives.  She receives an emergency text from her Champion team-mate, Spider-Man/Miles Morales.  Well, it turns out that the villainous Arnim Zola has plans to poison the water supply of Manhattan and Miles needs Kamala’s shrinking abilities to help him break into the city’s central pumping station and reroute the poison.  

This tale is told by the team of Minhaj and Bondoc.  There are some hiccups, but Miles and Kamala are ultimately able to foil Zola’s diabolic plans.  And yet there’s something sort of off about Miles.  He reveals that he may have come into possession of an Infinity Stone, the mood stone to be precise.   wait, the mood stone???  

Pretty certain this isn’t an Infinity Stone Miles has gotten ahold of… maybe it’s the mood-affecting ring The Mandarin used to wield.  Whatever the case, it seems to have an effect on Miles, causing him to be more forward and open with his thoughts and feelings.  It leads him to blurting out the fact that he thinks Ms. Marvel is terrific, and pretty, and, well it’s all quite embarrassing for him.  Although, Miles does admit that being so frank and open does feel rather liberating.  And this helps Kamala realize that maybe it’s time for her to lighten her load as well.  

Kamala finally makes it home where Nakia, Zoe and Mike have been patiently waiting for her.  Kamala decided to come clean nd rather than concocting some lie to explain where she has been she tells them that she is Ms. Marvel.  

And they’re all like, ‘yeah, no duh.’  

They all knew, have known for quite a while.  Kamala hasn’t exactly been proficient in hiding her secret identity and it was pretty easy for her close friends to put two and two together.  Heck, even Gabe, Kamala’s step-brother, has figured the matter out.    None of them have said anything about in that they figured it was her business and she’d tell them when she was ready.   It’s a nice, cathartic relief for Kamala to share this secret and she is wonderfully surprised to find her friends so supportive of it all.  They all hug and it’s really quite a sweet moment.  And it is here that this fun, goofy romp of an issue comes to an end.  

What a blast.  The whole issue acts as sort of a patchwork anthology.  And each side-story works as a sort of encapsulation of the distinct qualities that makes Ms. Marvel such a wonderful comic...

The Lockjaw story by Ahmed and Durate highlights to wacky silliness that so often finds its way into the tales, the moments of screwball levity that balances out the heavier, more poignant themes.  

The Skunk Girl encounter by Rowell and Quinn addresses the comic’s powerful knack to create moving parallels to real life matters, especially in terms of the trials and tribulations of growing up.  

Minhaj and Bondoc’s Spider-Man team-up adventure showcases the comic’s ability for good old fashioned comic book action and intrigue, where the adventures are always peppered by a progressive development and cultivation of both the main and supporting characters.

And the over arching frame of the slumber party, by Wilson and Leon, shows off the heart of the series: Kamala herself: a dynamic, fully fleshed out and multifaceted character who is just absolutely lovable, relatable and endlessly fun to read about.  

It’s a pretty neat idea that the issue kind of dissects the individual components that makes Ms. Marvel such a great book and offer up each component in vignette spot-light form.  It makes for a very fun read as well as a good book for those out there looking bettie understand the craft of good storytelling.  It’s all kind of like a baking recipe done up in a comic book formate.  

Before wrapping, up I feel a special shout out is deserving to Ian Herring, who provides the coloring for the entire issues.  The various illustrators depicting the different side stories all have rather distinctive styles… yet Herring is able to color them all with a unifying pallet that provides a terrific sense of continuity wherein the shifts are not jarring in the least.  This is something Herring has excelled at throughout all fifty issues of Ms. Marvel.  Whether the issues have been illustrated by Adrian Alphona, Takeshi Miyazawa, Mirka Andolfo, Jacob Wyatt, Nico Leon or anyone else, Herring has been able to utilize his coloring to maintain a sense of constancy… a visual flavor that is distinctive and unique to Ms. Marvel.  It’s really quite impressive.  

Highest possible recommendation.  Five out of five Lockjaws!

[sophie-summer]

ES LETTER: MC TO LI

I was tagged by @princesstopgun and @mechaspirit. Thanks so much girls, I needed to do this.

Okay people, this won’t be flowers and rainbows, I suggest you to stay away of this if you’re not a brokenhearted masochist. Also, I wrote this while listening When the night is over by Lord Huron and Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran, just in case you need some background music.

Imagine that you choose the third option, sacrificing yourself to save the world. Write a heartfelt letter to the LI of your choosing.

Tag at least 3 people.

Leave no stone unturned. Pour out everything you have into the letter.

Jake looked carefully at the place where he was. He didn’t know how, but somehow he had ended up in the cowboy themed bar. Just a few seconds ago he was standing on the roof of the hotel listening to something he was not prepared for, though to say the truth, that wasn’t something he could never be ready, and next, the disaster of the shattered bar was the only thing in his field of vision.

There was nothing between those two points, there were no passing corridors moving quickly before his eyes that suggest he had set in motion or the sound of his own footsteps echoing in his ears as he walked away. Nothing, there was nothing at all to indicate he had left the place he had been just a minute ago, it was as if he had only materialized there.

Probably his feet had moved automatically when his brain was still trying to assimilate what he had just heard, taking him to the easiest escape route against the pain. Anyways, he didn’t care how he had ended up there, but rather, he didn’t care about anything at all/anymore.

Only a couple of hours ago, Jake saw how Mike sacrificed himself for saving them all, when he had just recovered him a few days ago. He lost him a second time, and all he could do was wait until the smoke dissipated painfully slow to see there wasn’t a trace left of Mike.

In that moment, a sharp pain pierced his chest and he thought nothing worse could happen to him, but he was so wrong. Then she was gone too.

His life felt empty and meaningless without them. They had given him all the security and affection that had made him recover his course. For the first time in three years he had ceased to be the lone wolf that kept people away.

She, who with just a smile made his world less gray and gave meaning to be alive, had taken it upon herself to knock down the defenses he had put between the world and him, and he had gladly allowed it.

His best friend.

The woman he loved.

Both gone.

And he was left alone again.

Anger gradually seeped into Jake. He needed to hit, break and graze until the pain in his hands and legs numbed the one that was much deeper. He wanted to scream until there were no more tears to be shed and no sound could come out of his throat. Each inspiration felt as if his chest was about to burst, but in spite of that he did not get enough air.

But faster than it had arrived, anger left him, leaving in its place a deep sadness that seemed to have no end. Feeling useless and defeated, he walked to the bar dragging his feet, hoping to find an intact bottle between the chaos and the destruction that predominated in the bar.

There, at the counter, rested a single bottle as if it had been waiting for him all night. Through his eyes clouded by tears, he could see that thing was one of those drinks a normal person could only taste once in his life, and that was if he was lucky, although at that point, it could have been poison and he would have taken it gladly.

Jake dropped heavily into a chair in front of it and took it. As he did so, a piece of paper slid into his lap, he was about to make a ball with it and throw it along with the other garbage that was accumulating on the floor when he saw it.

It was his name written with her handwritting. He have kept his gaze fixed in it, not knowing what to do and then slowly Jake unfolded it almost afraid, as if any sudden movement could make the paper integrate into his hands.

Dear Jake,

If you found this letter, it means I wasn’t wrong and right now, you’re at the bar looking for a way to relief the pain. I looked for the bottle of whiskey that looked more expensive because I know you’re probably needing it, I hope you like it. But for the record, this doesn’t mean you’re allowed to drown yourself in alcohol until you lose consciousness.

I cannot promise you reading this letter will be pleasant, on the contrary, reading it will be as painful as it was for me to write it, but this is the only thing I can do now, leave my feelings in words since I can’t express them in any other way.

I know right now you must be very upset with me, for the decision I made, for the way I left… and you know what? I don’t blame you, I’m a bit annoyed with myself too. I’m not as strong as you think Jake, at least not for this kind of thing, I’m a weak human being, if I can still call myself that, and if I had returned to say goodbye to you and the others, I would never have left. In the end, I would have ended up taking the wrong direction and many lives would have been lost when the only price to pay was mine. I am the one who does not belong to this world. Making others pay for me wouldn’t have been fair.

I couldn’t have looked you in the face knowing it was me who destroyed the hopes, for which we fought so hard, to return home and to deny you the opportunity to see your family again, to have a life outside this island. And to make a whole island full of people disappear wouldn’t have been less selfish either.

Any of those options would have affected someone else, but not this one. This only affects me. If I’m only the price it’s needed for all of you to live I know this is the right thing to do and I can’t say I regret it. But to be honest, I would have preferred a thousand times not to have to leave.

My time with you, which now it seems extremely short, was the best way I could have spent it. I am glad to know my existence fulfilled its purpose, to guide you all, especially you Jake, returned to the happiness and change that your lives needed.

Of course I would have loved to stay by your side, and live a looong and happy life full of you, full of your love, your sarcasm, those smiles that take my breath away and that feeling only you are able to make me feel. With you, I had the privilege of knowing love, and I hope after this, you don’t deny yourself to enjoy that privilege for the rest of your life.

I can’t promise it’ll be easy, but if there is anything I can do, it’s to promise you that you won’t be alone, you will always have friends who will support you in the most difficult moments, that’s my last gift for you.

Guilt has been with you for a time too long. I don’t want you to blame yourself for this. Be happy my love, be happy for you and me. Because as long as you are, from the place where I’ll be, wherever that is, I will be too.

Jake, you made my life meaningful, thanks for that. And whenever you look at the night sky, or when you see a star shine brightly in the sky know that that’s me saying how much I love you.

With all my love,

Your Princess.

Jake took a deep breath as tears ran like a river for his cheeks to compose himself, then another, and another. But it was useless, any amount of air would help him then. His hands were shaking and the bottle was left alone in the counter. Staring at that letter was the only thing he did for a long time.

After so much later, a hand squeezed Jake’s shoulder before sitting next to him. He didn’t raised his head.

“So Grandpa, are we gonna drink this thing or what?”

Aaand that’s all, thanks to all of you who read until this point.

Tagging: @itsagoodluckkiss @scgdoeswhat @deztinywarriors @lahuertasprincess @mrsjakemckenzie17 and all the ansgty lovers!!!  Let’s cry together.

[michael-hearteyes-wheeler]

Growing Strange

[1]

Chapter 2: The Beginning Of The End

(AO3)  (FF.net)

High School.

A virtual battlefield of gossip, and social tyranny. More peers, bigger classrooms, sadistic teachers, nastier bullies, stricter hierarchy, and somehow even worse school lunches.

The party readied themselves with their best weapons at the forefront: El and Max. El could kick anyone's ass, she proved that well enough, and Max could talk her way out of any situation.

They were as excited as they were fearful. Being another year older meant more freedom. They were closer to driving, to getting jobs, to becoming adults and achieving their goals. More rigorous classes meant that studying might actually be a challenge, one they were eager to take on. More elective options meant Will could take ceramics and drawing, and that Dustin could finally be the light tech for theater. Mike was pleased to learn the AV club needed a new president, and Lucas was considering trying out for baseball. Max was just stoked that the schools quad had great curbs and hills for skating on, and El was glad she shared almost all of her classes with her friends.

Puberty hit the group like a brick wall, especially the boys. Dustin's chubby cheeks were replaced with slightly more angular ones, and all of his teeth had come in beautiful and straight. Will was more or less still pretty shrimpy, but his deep and wide set eyes, and finally outgrowing his bowl cut made him strikingly handsome.

Probably the most noticeable differences had been in Lucas and Mike. Lucas was no longer gangly and baby faced. He had become muscular over the long summer months of lawn mowing and hedge trimming. It earned him a lot of attention from other girls at school, but Max could scare them away with a well placed scowl. Max herself had developed a beautiful rosy tan, and her hair was brighter than ever. They were a gorgeous couple, unafraid to stand up for each other, and not even slightly concerned about hiding their public displays of affection.

As for Mike, he had spouted like a weed. By the time Winter of 85' rolled around he was pushing 6' and still growing. It got the point where El had to stand on her tiptoes to kiss him (not that she cared). His rounded face had become chiseled, and his fluffy hair had become erratically curly. The only thing that never really changed where the sprinkling of freckles on his cheeks that El would trace whenever they held each other.

El herself was earning more attention from others in school. El was beautiful, painfully so. She always had been, but now that she was older, and her baby-face had faded, it was ridiculous. El never really seemed to care or even notice, but Mike sure as hell did. He would see the way boys gawked at her, and wrap his arm a little tighter around her waist in the halls. Or whenever someone would be leering over her at her locker, he would run up from behind and surprise her with a kiss.

He got picked on. People would ask him how he ever got someone like El, and in truth, he didn't even know. She was just so perfect. So funny, and nice. So thoughtful and insightful. So compassionate, and intelligent. It made his head spin to think that he was the one that got to hold her hand, and walk her home, and love her.

But whenever he would start to doubt himself, she was always there. To reassure him, and let him know exactly how she felt. To her it just made sense. Mike, The Party, all of them. They were the perfect friends, and it was painful to even to imagine something splitting them apart.

It just seemed to unfathomable.

One huge upside to being in highschool, is the freedom that comes with being old enough to get a real job, and drive a real car.

Lucas and Max both monopolized the lawn mowing industry. All of the old and lazy people in Hawkins had sharp, grassy yards, and meticulously groomed gardens thanks to them. When Max turned fifteen she got a handed down car from her step dad that meant way more adventures. The little orange hatchback broke down a lot, and most of her money went right back into it. But man, did she look cool driving up to school with El by her side.

Will took a part time job working with his mom at Melvald's. He enjoyed greeting customers and was one of the friendliest cashiers the store had ever had. Plus his mother was over the moon that they got to carpool and she could see him more. He spent most of his money on sketchbooks and the hottest new thing in the music technology: CD's.

El and Dustin worked part time at the library. Which mostly consisted of them hiding in less frequented sections to read returned books rather than actually putting the books away. It also meant Dustin could finally buy the big 1970's VW van he had wanted since he was little. It made for a lot of great camping trips and long drives to the city.

Mike worked at the local movie theater some days, and at the Radio Shack other days. He famously spread himself too thin, but he couldn't pass up the perks of getting free movie tickets and access to the latest technological advancements. When he turned fifteen his parents got him a sensible car that made for a lot of date nights and long talks with El out on romantic scenic overlooks.

Jobs aren't always fun, but when the benefit is making out in you new car after being able to pay for a real dinner, it's hard to complain.

As they got older, and time wore on, that obliviousness to pain faded. It seemed like one by one, they all had their demons to face.

Like when Max's step brother got kicked out during her sophomore year.

She had gone home with Lucas one afternoon in late fall. Hand in hand, and laughing with each other without a care in the world, they walked in on utter chaos that left the red-head reeling for months afterwards.

Billy and Neil, practically tearing the house apart in the fight to end all fights. Plates smashed, the TV broken. Her mother crying in the bathroom. They had turned to leave, when Billy turned on her. Or rather, on Lucas. He pinned him against the wall and screamed that Lucas was the one tearing their family apart, and that he was getting Max into trouble. It was baseless, of course, but in Billy's mind, Lucas was who he needed to take his anger out on.

Max watched from the sidelines and screamed and slapped at Billy's arms and shoulder, begging him to let Lucas go. He did, but not until Lucas had a black eye and a busted lip.

Billy got kicked out, and Neil forbid Max from seeing Lucas anymore, as if that would solve whatever demented issues he had. With Billy gone, Neil's aggression shifted towards Max's mother, and even worse, sometimes to Max herself.

She never let her families backwards view of her relationship affect the way she left about Lucas. Hiding their love from her parents just made everything more exciting. It meant sneaking out, it meant Lucas hiding in her closet or under her bed when her mother checked on her while he was at her house late at night. It meant long car rides out of town and into the hills where no one could see or cared that they loved each other.

Will's demons came for him too. All his life he had this secret burning inside of him. A secret he could only tell El, and eventually Max because he knew they wouldn't care. It ate him up inside. Feeling like there was something wrong with him, or that the people he loved wouldnt understand, or would leave him once they found out. He became distant, detached, vacant, and haunted. Filling more and more sketchbooks with eery looking images of his own internal struggle.

His mother tried to get it out of him, tried to let him know that she would love him no matter what secret he might be hiding, but Will was too scared. He would sit in silence in class and look out the window, and try to push his feelings aside. The feelings of warmth and infatuation with the boy who sat in front of him in History. The one with the silky brown hair and the charming smile. The one who laughed whenever Will would make a joke under his breath that he thought no one could hear. The one who was dating a pretty girl, the way Will thought he was supposed to.

El and Max pleaded with him, begged him to open up. That his friends would understand, that nothing could change. All he could do was promise he would think about, and wait for the right moment.

That moment never came. Not until it had festered inside of him and grown until it was bigger than he was, and he was bursting at the seems.

They were all sitting in Mike's basement. Mike and El on the couch, sharing a blanket and bowl of popcorn, Lucas, Max and Dustin lounging on the floor in a heated debate about Multi-universe theory, and Will, sitting alone at the table trying to draw and feeling like he was falling into a hole.

"I have something to tell you!" He blurted, face red and voice trembling.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks, and turned to face their anxious friend. Max and El shared a knowing glance and smiled at him reassuringly.

"You have to promise that you won't hate me after I tell you. You have to swear." Will's voice was intent.

"Of course we promise, Will, we could never hate you." Mike gave him the same assured smile that El had.

"Okay..." Will took a deep shaky breath and closed his eyes. "I... I like boys... The way i'm supposed to like girls... Im gay. And I want to be able to share this part of myself with all of you because I don't think I can keep fighting it anymore."

No one said anything. Will kept his gaze at the ground, terrified to make eye contact. Terrified to see whatever expressions of disgust splayed across the faces of his best friends. A beat passed, and Will felt like he was going to burst in tears when Dustin of all people finally piped up.

"I'm proud of you Will." His voice was soft, not a common occurrence for him, and his eyes were kind. Will looked up to meet his gaze with a look of surprise.

"You... you're proud of me?"

"I know that cannot be an easy thing to open up about, but i'm happy you finally did." Dustin smiled back at him.

"Wait... finally?"

"We have... Kind of all known for awhile." Lucas added with a small voice.

"You did!?" Will shot El and Max accusing glances but they shrugged.

"We always figured I guess, but we wanted to let you come to us with it whenever you were ready." Mike beamed at his smaller friend.

"So you don't hate me?" Will's voice was thick with tears.

"We could never hate you, Will." Mike leaned forward to place an reassuring hand on Will's knee.

That night marked one of the biggest admissions in The Parties history. Another notch in the belt (so to speak) tying them together, binding them with faith and trust and unwavering love for each other. Will never worried about hiding things from his friends. None of them worried about hiding things, actually. Not anymore.

As the years progressed, and sophomore year turned into Junior, and another blissful summer turned into fall, that love never failed to grow. Sometimes strange, and sometimes crooked, but they grew.

Mike and El often seemed like the culmination of that devotion. A pair of best friends who read each other with mere wordless glances. Blissfully supportive and loving of each other no matter what circumstances they found themselves in.

Childlike admission of liking, and blushing at hands and gentle kisses turned into deep fiery love. Promises to stay together forever, whispered in the dark at night, in the passenger seats of cars, in each others rooms when they should be home sleeping. Innocent daydreams about being friends for the rest of their lives become a daunting and even frightening realization. Playing games and messing around became study, and planning a future as it sprawled out before them.

Kissing became routine. Loving each other became a given. Being in love became... difficult to understand.

That was when the final blow struck. The one that cut deep into their hearts. The one that seemed like they could never fix it, not even as a group, not even as lovers, because it was bigger than they were, and it meant more than they knew how to cope with.

It was the Summer of 88'. The summer before senior year. The last summer they would ever have that didn't have strings attached.

It was the summer of 88', when the fires started.

It had been small at first. Just a brush fire that got a little carried away when a farmer further up the river was burning what was left from his crops the months before. Just a standard burning, the kind he had done a thousand time before. The kind that every farmer does every season when it's time to clear out the fields before winter. It would have been fine. It should have been fine, but it wasn't.

It was an exceptionally dry summer, and one of the warmest on record. Couple that, with just the right wind speed, blowing in just the right direction, and within hours the entire forest surrounding the eastern side of his property was engulfed in hot orange flames.

You could smell the smoke for miles. El woke up out of her midday nap, curled up in Mike's arms on the couch in his basement to the smell. Together they ran through the house, checking every inch to make sure it wasn't them that was burning. When El finally looked outside, she saw the flickering of ash falling just out the window. Like snow. Like the most ominous, and heart-wrenchingly terrifying snow on a hot summer's day.

Mike flipped on the kitchen radio and listened in on the reports, that the fire was spreading fast, that firefighters were already on sight, that it was moving too quickly. El called Lucas, who had Max and Dustin at his house. Dustin called Will, and the Party convened at Mike's house less than 15 minutes later. It was like some strange unspoken plan passed between their eyes as they watched the ash fall, and Dustin choked on the smoke, and it burned Max's eyes.

They all wordlessly hopped in Mikes car, and drove west, towards the woods. The streets were mostly empty, save for the handful of other people standing on their lawns, shielding their eyes from the sun and staring into the sky. Mike stopped the car at the end of a long forgotten logging road deep in the wood, about 2 miles from where the fire was currently ravaging.

They got out of the car, all still in the suspended silence, and crossed through the woods the way they had a million times before. Following the same deer trails, stepping over the same mossy logs, and around the same boulders. The smoke was worse in the woods, and it was hard to imagine that every piece of ground they touched might soon succumb to the same fate as the woods further east.

They reached the same small bend in the river, where it was shallow and narrow, where they used the same log to cross that they had since they were children. The moss was word down slick from years and years of use by The Party, and other teens in the area. It had once been a place where El and Max would sit and swing their legs, while their boyfriends splashed around bellow. It had once been a place where Will laughed so hard that he fell from atop it, and sprained his wrist. It had once been a place where it felt like nothing could ever go wrong.

Once on the other side, it was a 10 minute walk to the top of a cliff that overlooked the entire town. Trudging silently, moving quickly, just short of running to the perch. El was the first to reach the peak. Just as suddenly as she stepped out of the tree line, the entire valley came into view, as well as the river that tore through it. Her voice caught in her throat when she saw the flames burning on the other side.

Lucas climbed into a tree with his binoculars. Max and Dustin sat on a tall boulder, watching the fire helicopters dropping water and extinguisher across the landscape. Will, Mike and El stood on the edge of the hills slope, looking down at the chaos bellow. Even miles away you could feel the heat. You could smell the smoke. You could choke on it.

There were tears in their eyes as they watched the fire burn away the memories they had made in those woods. The one they had all played in growing up. The one that sheltered them on rainy hikes. The one that served at a meeting point for sneak outs. The one that held them when they camped. The one El and Mike shared their first kiss in.

It was hard to tell through the smoke, but El made out the clearing that the tree was in. Their tree. The one with the initials and the physical representation of their bond. She could see the fire dance dangerously close to those trees. They sat in silence, waiting and watching, holding each other and pacing. It felt like the end of the world. It felt like the apocalypse. As they saw birds fleeing, and small groups of deer bounding into the water.

Eventually, the clearing, and their tree, were consumed.

Once the fire reached the river, it was easier to keep in from spreading. The wind shifted in their favor, pushing the flames into the water. Helicopters continued their downpour, sirens could still be heard in the distance. It seemed small, once it was all almost said and done with, and the sun began to set off to their right, and the smoke had cleared enough that you could actually take in the sight of the damage.

Everything was blackened, the air felt hot, but it was mostly over. So why did it feel so painful? It was just a tree, and they would love each other without it, so why did it scare each of them so badly? Why did it feel like the beginning of some ending? Like their story was coming to a close?

Because symbols are powerful things. And you put a lot of faith in them even when you don't mean too. Because losing the forest they had grown up in, felt like losing a friend.

There was a somber energy that blanketed the town after the fire. Two volunteers were in the hospital, and a firefighter from the next town over died when he walked to far into the woods. The landscape for miles were blackened on the outskirts of town. 1280 acres of farmland and forest demolished. Four barns and a historic farmhouse gone.

Nothing in the party changed directly. They still saw each other everyday, and hung out every weekend, but it was becoming clear that their childhood was over.

There was a day, right before school started, that that fact became all too clear for El.

Sitting in Mike's basement, reading lazily as she lounged on the floor, her head resting in his lap as he studied. She moved her book to look at him and smiled. He often bit his lips when he focused. She saw the crease in his forehead as he hastily erased another equation he couldn't quite figure out. He had taken summer courses, something Max referred to as 'Top tier nerd behavior', but El was proud of him. Mike has determined to always push himself, to always learn and grow.

He groaned and erased something, and flipped back through his textbook.

"Hey, why don't you take a break. We can go get ice cream or something and you can clear your head." She reached up and twisted her finger around one of his messy curls.

He smiled back at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I can't El, I have to finish this right now or it will be late."

"It's not due until tomorrow at like... noon. You can take a little break." She poked her favorite freckle on his cheek but he was already looking back at his paper, only grumbling in reply. "Come ooon, Mike, summer is almost over, you have worked so hard, lets go goof off for a little bit."

He was ignoring her at this point, but she wasn't going to give up. She rolled off of him and sat up, wrapping her arms and legs around him from behind like a koala (as he so often called it). She rested her chin on his shoulder and looked over his messy notes. It made her head spin just from looking at it. She was always more of a literature buff, and his crazy mathematical physics always blew her mind.

"Miikkee" She drug his name out. "Michael." She hugged him harder and poked his sides. "Mike Wheeler if you don't stop looking at that paper I will tickle torture you until you pee your pants like that one time."

Finally he dropped his pen and pinched the bridge of his nose. "First of all, we were ten. Second of all, I really need to study and you are being super distracting and its making me mad."

"You usually like it when I distract you." El teased, thinking fondly on all the times she had saved a stressed out Mike from his own frustration.

"Okay well now isn't one of those times. Can you please get off of me?" His voice was uncharacteristically cold.

El scooted away from him and shifted to sit across from him on the floor. "Why are you being so rude? It's literally just homework. For a class you didn't even have to take."

"Because I want to get into a good college and extra classes like this look good on college applications." Mike had fully shoved his papers away from his lap and was looking at her with the exasperation usually only reserved for Lucas and Dustin.

"Mike, you are the smartest person I know. You don't need to stress yourself out so badly over one stupid class. You will get into a great school with or without going and taking a break with me. Besides, that's an entire year away." El felt her own temper start to come out. She wasn't exactly the post patient person in the world, and Mike was almost worse than she was.

"El, we can't all live at our parents house forever."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, that im stressing about this because I want to get out of here as fast as I can. I just want to be able to go to a school that I love, and leave this shit town behind. I'm sorry you can't understand that."

Her jaw dropped. Sure things in Hawkins weren't the best. And sure his parents made him feel suffocated and isolated all at the same time, but it wasn't that bad was it? Not enough for him to be blowing up and fuming over this.

"Whatever Mike. i'm going home. Get the stick out of your ass and call me when you realize you are being ridiculous." And with that El grabbed her bag and walked out of the basement door.

She waited at the edge of his yard for a few minutes, despite the heat and humidity. Usually whenever they got into arguments like this, Mike just needed a second to realize he was being hurtful and would come apologize. But he never came out. She stared down the hill at the closed basement door and felt her blood boil until she turned on her heels and stomped home.

It was just a little argument. Maybe they had both said some things that were uncalled for. El tried to rationalize it until she was blue in the face. But he never called, and she went to bed feeling like something had broken.

She realized they were not kids anymore. That maybe Mike was right, and she really just didn't understand. It felt like something was changing. Like the beginning of the end.

Tagging: @el-themage @mileventwentyfourseven @claudia-henderson

[artizapander]

Cheerleader.

Pairing: Stan x Reader x Bill.

Warning: swearing

A/N: I'm not even a writing page/blog, but like no one wrote this, I decided to do it by myself. Also, my grammar is bad, since English is not my mother language, also I had to delete some paragraphs because tumblr is a shit and I exceeded the 100 paragraph limit.

Words: 2257

Summary: reader is a popular cheerleader, who is loved by everyone, but her eyes are into two boys of the loser's club.

Another game is coming up, and you and your crew were practicing the choreography for the cheerleaders. You were the leader of them, so you have to mostly do everything, although your friends help you too, it is somewhat embarrassing.

You were in the gymnasium, practing the routine with your other friends, jumping and dancing to the music. Beverly was watching you from the bank, with a smile on her face, she always stayed a little while after school so she could watch you dance. Sometimes when the training is too tough/harsh, you organize to go to the quarry together. Only the two of you. Not even both your friends knew about that. Other times you would go with the whole loser's club, and this is one of those times.

You grab your bike, saying your goodbyes to the other girls, riding off to the quarry along with Bev. It was a quiet silence, until she talked, "Good."

"What?" You looked at her for a moment before turning your gaze back to the road. She giggled. "What you did there, the training. It was so good, you were good. I know of two certain boys that would've like that too." She imitated your action, and let out a laugh when you blushed.

"Stop saying that. I don't know why they like me though, I'm not that good." You smiled slightly, not really looking at her. She smiled back, "Well, you're beautiful and had a great personality, so I don't see why not." Before you had time to reply back, you already got there. She was fast to leave the bike there and take off her dress.

"I'll go." She said, and already ran forwards, passing through the boys and jump off the cliff. And then a loud splash into the water. They look at you, like waiting for something, you realized quickly and stripped off your clothes painfully slow.

"You're too slow! I'll go." Richie said, preparing himself to jump, but you stopped him by yelling at him, before pushing him back and jumping off the cliff, "Too late!" You ended with a loud splash too, landing near Bev, and the boys didn't last long to come either. She winked at you, and nodded towards Bill and Stan, you blushed but thank god you were in the water, so it can not be noticed. You swear, whenever you could get an alone time with her, you'll talk about this.

Sure, you loved Bevy so much, but sometimes she just pressed things that should not be, and this was a good example. She knows how frustrated it makes you talk about them, and loves it.

You were talking to Richie, more like him flirting with you, like if you were some new hot girl into their group. Truth is that you were one of the first loser, but still he keep doing that always. He could be in love with you, but he didn't seem to specialist you, or at least not like Bill and Stan does. Besides, Richie is known to flirt with any girl he finds hot himself.

Stan knew that he liked you, when he was birdwatching and nobody wanted to accompany him, but you were the only one who stayed with him all afternoon. And so that tradition was maintained: after going to the quarry, you two stayed a little longer, mostly to accompany him, since you didn't have as much appreciation for birds like him. Since that day, Stan couldn't help but feel weird every time he was around you. Although he hated it when you hugged him or had some affection that he goes instantly red. Stan was scared that someone could find out his crush on you, but poor boy. Everyone already knew that, including you. Though he didn't know of Bill's crush.

But Bill did. Bill was jealous of his best friend. He was scared that you would choose Stan instead of him. He hated it too, when you would go and kiss Stan in the cheek, he couldn't help either, but feel anger, and jealousy, but he was very good at hiding his emotions, that's why he was never got caught.

Bill actually tried to forget you by being with Beverly, but she didn't seem to show interest on him, she was secretly in love with Ben. Plus, even if she didn't like Ben, she wouldn't be with Bill either, cause she knows that you like them, only that don't want to accept it. And Bev would never do that to a friend.

"You're hot as fuck, (Y/N), why do you even hang out with us? You should be in a popular group." Richie said, dragging the attention to the two of you. You grimaced and shrugged, thinking for a few seconds.

"I don't know. When I first get here I was alone, but Eddie managed to add me to their group. I guess I gained popularity when I entered the whole cheerleader thing." You said softly, not minding much importance into that. Richie frowned. "Yeah I don't understand why did you went into that. All you do there is open your legs and be preppy." He responded. You know that he has zero intentions to offend you, but it did, like any girl.

"Excuse me?" You started, which got the attention of all again. "Do you think that what we do is easy? You should try one training and see how it goes." You didn't want to sound rude, but he had it coming. Beverly nodded. "I even get tired and I'm only watching." You nodded back. Richie stood there for a moment, before nodding too. "Alright." He took it as a challenge, seeing your intimidating look. He swim near Stan and Mike, as you went to talk with Eddie and Ben.

Stan didn't take his eyes out off you in any moment, and Richie noticed, and a certain stuttering boy did either. "Wow, shit. The girl does have character." Mike said. "No wonder why do you like her." Stan glared at Richie. Mike was looking intensely.

A few minutes passed away and Richie suggested (more like shouted) a chicken fight. Bill got Richie on his shoulder. "Come on Stan, you should get (Y/N) in your team." Beverly said, pushing you forward to him. You shrugged and nodded. Stan hesitated a few seconds before giving up. You went behind him and supported your hands on his shoulders. "Do not make me fall, okay?" You said giggling, blushing a little, before hoping onto him. Stan started to walk towards the other team, and he couldn't help but blush too, before he realized that he was actually having you, (Y/N) (Y/L) in underwear, in his shoulders. Just the thought of how beautiful you should be looking in that position make him go tense and blush even more if possible.

The fight started, and you were surprisingly good at it, almost making Richie fall, but he returned and pushed back.

Bill didn't mean to, but he actually glared at Stan instinctively seeing you in his shoulders. He was feeling bad for being jealous of his best friend. He knows that he shouldn't, but his heart tell otherwise. Stan didn't saw him, or simply ignored it, or tried to. He was more concentrated on the fact that you were almost nude and on his shoulders, trying his best for you not to fall, gripping your thighs tightly.

Then, Stan turned his eyes forward to be met with a pair of green ones, he shocked in that position, analyzing what his friend was trying to tell him. Why was Bill glaring at him? Was for something he said? Was to deconcentrate him?

If it was because that, he did it. Stan lose balance and his hands on (Y/N)'s grip softened. Richie pushed and eventually kicked her out of place, making her fall to the water behind her. Stan turned around and looked at her brushing her hair back.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" He was red, and displeased with himself with the fact that he actually dropped you. You started laughing and hugged him, which made him tense, feeling your wet skin.

"It's okay Stan, I'm fine. It was fun, actually." You said, separating from him, and started to swim until you got out of the quarry. Beverly following behind.

Stan turned around, meeting with Richie's eyes. He was having a shit eating grin on his face, nodding towards you, who already was out of the water, standing in the land/dirt, brushing your (H/C) hair back, the sun rays making it even brighter.

Stan blushed, and so did Bill.

(...)

Beverly was laying on the ground, with a towel, face up to the sky, with sunglasses on, while you were upside down. The boys were already used to the two of you doing that, since it wasn't the first time you go to the quarry, but damn. They -even Beverly- cannot stop admiring your body, not in a sexual manner, (or maybe Richie does but who knows what happens in that boy's head), but with compliments, like "you have a beautiful body; I wish I had your body" Being a cheerleader does have their pros.

"Hey." Beverly said, making you look up from your position. "Why don't you talk to them, and tell them what you're feeling?" You frowned. She, waiting for that reaction, giggled. "Don't look at me like that, you know exactly what I mean." You sighed. She smiled and sat down, taking off her glasses. You smiled back, and imitated her action awkwardly.

"I'll wait until everyone go. Still I don't think they'll agree... But wait- what should I say?" You said, very nervous, playing with the strap of your bra. She let out a breath laughter, and lean towards you, to start whispering things so the others wouldn't hear.

Almost an hour passed that everyone started to go, one by one, but luckily found the moment to tell Bill to stay a few minutes more. Beverly was the first to go, and she winked at you, mouthing a "good luck".

Now it was only the three of you. You knew that they were very good friends. And it scared you the most to ruin their friendship. You both stood there, awkwardly. You sighed and stood up, facing them.

"I know we are supposed to be birdwatching, Stan. But there's something I want to tell you both. It's really important for me." They nodded, Bill probably knowing what's coming. "Well, uh... I-um, all the time I've been here, as a friend and part of the group, I've noticed all the affect I've been having, being a cheerleader. And I know that there's many other boys that would die to be with me. But I sincerely couldn't care less." They looked up at you, then at each other then back at you. You were so nervous you can barely breath, your hands shaking, grabbing a lock of your hair, curling it around your finger.

Bill sighed, finding an interest in his black shoes. Stan seemed to barely understood, but he was very aware about it. You looked down, before taking a calming breath, ready to let it out.

"I like you both. And I know that you two like me back, since a not-very-long time ago. I didn't want to say anything, because, I wasn't sure about it, and I didn't want to ruin your friendship. You two are best friends, and I'm scared. I- I don't.... I don't want you guys separate because of a girl, you know?" You said, feeling like you had a hole in your chest.

They weren't answering. Just looking at you. Though you knew they needed time to think and analyze what you've just said. It was getting you really nervous, and if it wasn't cause of your nerves, you could have felt the awkwardly tension between all of you.

Before they had time to respond, you said, "I don't know if you'd like this idea, but... I was actually thinking on being together, all of us."

"I-I do n-n-not have any proble-ems with sh-sharing." You froze. You were okay with this, as long as it didn't affect their friendship, but damn. You'll look like such a slut.

Stan nodded after thinking about it twice. He looked at you the same way, before saying, "While the others do not find out, there's no problem."

"W-Well, I'll let you-u be with her right n-now. I-It's your time of having her." Bill said, talking about the birdwatching tradition, standing up to grab his bike, since he was already in most of his clothes. Stan nodded, but you stood there, eyes widened.

"Wait, what?" They turned the attention to you. "I'm sorry but I'm not some kind of object you're referring to." You said offended.

"(Y/N)" Bill laughed, and hopped onto his bike, riding off the quarry, before saying, "You're m-more th-than that. Stan c-can tell too."