#i work too much and eddie is too free and we would have miscommunications and i'd frustrate him and his uncle

[ghosttownwherenoonegoes]

saw a gif of eddie. smiled. but then realised i was smiling & that's put a lump in my throat. i miss hiiiiiiiiiiiim😭

[thruheavenandhighwater]

Pairing: Eddie Munson/ Female OC

Requested By: NA (inspired by this note by @eddieandbird)

Word Count: 4,264

Summary: It's been a few months since the prom. Faith and Eddie are still in the honeymoon early days of their relationship when the first speedbump pops up. Assumptions and almost miscommunications lead to anxiety and an important conversation.

Stranger Things Masterlist Eddie Munson Masterlist

Part Three of Leap of Faith Series Masterlist

~~~~~

It had been decided on Sunday night. When 7 o'clock rolled around and Faith began to gather her things. Eddie was on the edge of his bed, watching as she packed her things into her bag.

"I wish you could just stay forever," he whined as he fell back on the bed. 

"We both have to work tomorrow," she answered. 

"Okay, yeah, but work sucks. We could just stay in bed all day instead." 

"And where would that get us?" She asked with a laugh. "We gotta work and save up so we can get out on our own. Wayne is sick of me showing up every other day while he's trying to sleep." 

Eddie groaned loudly and crossed his arms over his eyes. "Is it really too much to ask that I get to be happy?" He asked out loud. "I just want to spend the rest of my life in bed with my super hot, super awesome girlfriend." 

She set her bag next to the bedroom door and walked back to the bed. She laid beside him, one arm stretching across his stomach. He moved his arms from his face, a wide smile growing as he wrapped her up in his arms. He pulled her tightly to his chest, as if her being across the small room for more than a second had been torture. 

"Well, your super awesome girlfriend needs to go home," she whispered into his shoulder. "She's tired and doesn't want to fall asleep at work tomorrow." 

"Just spend the night," he answered casually, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

She went rigid beneath his arm. If Eddie noticed, he didn't say as much. They'd been dating for a few months, becoming official the day after prom when Eddie called to tell her that he'd had a great time. Afternoon naps on the lumpy couch were nothing new, but they'd never spent the night together. The only times they were ever in his bedroom together were times that Wayne was home. But Wayne worked nights at the plant and was already gone for the evening. 

"I have to get up early," was the excuse she eventually landed on. "I don't wanna wake you up while I'm getting ready or something. Plus, I don't have any work clothes with me for tomorrow." 

He pulled her somehow closer to himself with a small, satisfied groan. "What about Friday?" He asked. 

"What about Friday?" 

"Well, neither of us work on Saturday, right? You could stay over on Friday and not have to worry about getting up early." 

She was quiet. Trying to filter through her thoughts to find a good reason to say no. It's not that she didn't want to stay with him. She did. Kind of. She liked these moments with him. She liked being close to him, feeling him all around her. She liked smelling his cologne on her shirt after they'd spent a few hours cuddled up together. But she knew what spending the night with a boyfriend meant. She'd heard all of her friends talk about it for the past few years. Girls were expected to do a little more than kiss if they spent the night. And that, she knew, she wasn't ready for. 

Eddie noticed her silence and interrupted her thoughts gently. "If you're worried about Wayne being home or whatever, he's technically supposed to have Fridays off but he usually picks up a shift since he gets paid double for working overtime." 

"I'm not worried about Wayne," she smiled into his chest. "Worried about you." 

"Me?" He asked, feigning offense. 

"Yes, you," she answered. "Who knows what you're gonna do once you've got me all alone in your bed all night." 

He giggled, a high pitched and sweet sound. He rolled onto his side to face her, his free hand landing on her hip. "Oh," he smiled. "Well, I'm obviously planning to ravage you for hours, of course." He smiled as he leaned towards her, still smiling as his lips met hers. She moved her hand from his stomach to his cheek, her fingers landing softly on his stubbled skin. 

"I gotta go," she whispered as she pulled away from the kiss just slightly. Eddie jutted out his bottom lip, a pitiful whimper sounding from his throat as he dark eyes pouted. 

She stood from the bed, his hand catching hers and holding it weakly. She smiled down to him as she freed the appendage. His pout fell in favor of a smile as he sat up straight. He reached forward, the space between his hands silently begging to be filled. She stepped towards him, his arms wrapping around her waist as hers circled his shoulders. 

"Walk me out?" 

"Always," he smiled. 

He stood from the bed and took her hand in his. As they passed through his bedroom door he bent slightly to retrieve her bag from the floor. He slung in over his shoulder and followed her through the door and down the narrow hallway. Once they were at her car, he allowed her to pull her hand from his to unlock the door, quickly opening the back door and dropping her backpack to the seat. 

“Call me when you get home?” He asked, his arms finding her waist once again. 

“I will,” she answered, placing her hands on his biceps.

He ducked just enough to catch her lips in another soft kiss before she took a step back. She sat down behind the wheel of her car, putting the key into the ignition and bringing the engine to life. Eddie leaned into her open window, crossing his forearms as his head breached the window. “Drive safe,” he instructed. She nodded and smiled as he leaned into the window further, one more kiss for the road before retreating and stepping away from the car. He raised one hand in a silent wave as she backed away from the house and started to make her way home. 

She’d called him as soon as she was home and finalized their plans for the following weekend. When she couldn’t come up with a good reason to say no, she thought that maybe there wasn't a good reason. Maybe she just had to say yes, spend the night, and deal with whatever that meant when the time came. But as the days wore on and their sleepover loomed closer and closer, she began to let herself worry. 

On wednesday Eddie called after work. He called most days, just to tell her about his day. About work and to playfully judge the music choices of the customers that came into the record store where he worked. But he was extra giddy when she answered today. 

“So, Wayne definitely picked up Friday,” he announced. His smile was evident as he spoke. “So we’re safe for the night. Don’t gotta worry about the old man ruining all the fun.”

Her palm began to sweat against the clear plastic of her bedside phone. She swallowed around nothing and tried to put on a fake smile, hoping that in his excitement he wouldn’t be able to hear her nerves through the phone. 

“That’s great,” she answered. “Guess there’s nothing to worry about, then?”

“Nope, we’re home free, babe.”

The rest of the phone call went as they usually did. Eddie talked about work and his coworkers, who he still wasn’t entirely sure liked him even after working with them all summer. She allowed herself to relax into her sheets as she told him about her own day at work. Waitressing was easy enough most days, but some days were hard. Some days brought in grumpy patrons who would use her as a verbal punching bag to relieve whatever stress they had going on. 

“Sounds like an asshole,” Eddie commented as she finished telling him about one guy in particular who must have been having an extra shitty day. “Sometimes I wish we lived together. You could come home to me and tell me all about those shitty people and I could make it all better.”

“And how would you make it all better?”

“Bubble baths and massages, obviously.”

She giggled, rolling over on top of her sheets as she got comfortable. “Massages, huh?”

“Full body, if the lady likes.”

“Okay, calm down over there, Munson,” she chastised. 

“Hey, don’t be mad at me when I can’t keep my hands off ya,” he giggled. “Not my fault you agreed to go out with me for some fuckin’ reason.”

And then, much too quickly, it was Friday. Today was the day. As she was finishing up her shift at work, she found herself almost wanting her last table to stay. She offered them desert and coffee, putting on her best customer service smile in hopes that it would be enough to convince them. But they refused. They all smiled and thanked her as she set their check on the table and walked away. Once they were gone and she was cleaning up the table, she noticed they’d left a really good tip. More than what she was used to or had expected. She pocketed her money, adding it to the wad of mostly singles in the pocket of her jeans and clocked out. 

Normally, if she had plans to go to Eddie’s after work, she could leave the diner and go straight there. She’d show up smelling like onion rings with the intention of showering once she was home. But tonight, she wasn’t going home. Tonight she was staying. Tonight she was nervous. 

She went home and headed straight for the shower. She spent probably way too long beneath the stream of hot water. She felt her nerves growing in her stomach as she rinsed shampoo from her hair. They grew tenfold as she dragged the pink disposable razor up her legs. 

She grabbed her backpack from its hook on the back of her bedroom door and threw it haphazardly on the bed. She worked quickly, taking deep breaths as she dried her body and dressed for the evening. Well, the first part of the evening. Her fingers fidgeted and flexed against her palms as she began to pack for the second part of the evening.

What was she supposed to wear to bed? Normally, in her own bed, it was simple. An old t shirt and whatever pants were most comfortable. If it was cold, thick cotton pajamas. If it was warmer, shorts or just panties. But tonight was different. She felt a strange sense of urgency as she rifled through her drawer of pajamas. Should she go for cute over comfort? The only things in the drawer that could be considered cute was a matching set her mother had given her for her last birthday. They looked nice on her, but they were stiff and kind of itchy. She eventually decided against cute. She was already feeling slightly uneasy about staying the night with Eddie, there was no reason to make herself even more uncomfortable by forcing herself into the itchy pajamas. An old shirt from her family vacation to Tennessee the year before and a pair of cotton shorts would have to do. 

She packed a change of clothes for the morning and her pajamas into her backpack. She looked down at the clothes and felt her nerves flare up again. She closed her eyes and took two deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. It was fine. She would be fine. She liked Eddie, loved him even though neither of them had said it yet. She liked being with him. One more deep breath, in through her nose and out through her mouth, and she felt a little better. She left the backpack open on her bed and made her way to the bathroom down the hall. She grabbed her hairbrush, her toothbrush, and a few other essentials. 

Once her bag was packed she said goodbye to her parents, reminding them that she wouldn’t be home tonight. Her mother wore a look of concern but said her own goodbye anyway, reminding her to be safe. She nodded, closing the door behind her. 

She gripped her steering wheel tightly when she parked behind Eddie’s van. Her gaze was fixed on his crooked license plate as she tried to talk herself out of leaving. A part of her wanted to pull away and go back home. She could call Eddie and tell him that she’d suddenly fallen ill and had to stay home. But she couldn’t do that, not really. They’d probably heard her pull in, her tires disrupting the gravel of the driveway and announcing her arrival. She took a deep breath and grabbed her bag from the passenger seat. She gave herself a quick pep talk as she swung her door open. Just go inside, Faith. Quit being a baby. 

Eddie answered the door with a bright smile. His long hair was pulled back into a low, loose ponytail. He stepped away from the door, his arm raised as she walked past him into the living room. Wayne was standing at the stove in the small kitchen, stirring something in a pot that smelled great. 

“You, my dear, have excellent timing,” Eddie smiled as he took her bag from her. “We’re just finishing up dinner.”

He kissed her temple quickly before disappearing with her bag down the hallway. She greeted Wayne with a smile, standing somewhat awkwardly in the living room.

"Hope you're hungry, kiddo," Wayne smiled before turning his attention back to the stove. 

Eddie came back to the kitchen, pulling on an oven mitt and shooing Wayne away from the stove. He opened the oven door and the scent of garlic filled the small space. 

Neither man would accept her offers to help set up for family dinner. She sat in a chair that Eddie had pulled up the table specifically for her and watched as they worked. Eddie grabbed glasses from a cabinet while Wayne scooped healthy portions of spaghetti onto three plates. While Eddie was filling the glasses with soda from the fridge, Wayne was adding steaming garlic bread to each of the plates on the counter. 

“This smells so good,” she commented when Wayne sat her plate in front of her. 

“Old family recipe,” he answered with a small smile. 

It tasted as wonderful as it smelled. Even better, maybe. She always loved family dinners with Eddie and Wayne. No matter what was on the menu or how little time they actually had to eat before Wayne had to hurry off to work. These dinners with them were always special to her. And she knew they were special to Eddie, too. 

Before she knew it, they were cleaning up. Wayne packed up some of the leftovers into a plastic bowl, putting them into his old lunchbox to take to work. He pulled on his work boots and grabbed the lunchbox from the counter. 

“Have a good night,” she called softly over her shoulder from where she stood at the counter. 

“Goodnight, Faith. You kids behave,” Wayne smiled as he stepped through the door. He always said the same thing before leaving for the night. Usually, she’d giggle and not really think about it. But tonight her giggle was forced and she felt herself begin to get nervous again as she washed her plate and handed it over to Eddie to be dried. She hoped he wasn’t picking up on her uncertainty. 

When all the dishes were finished and put away, the two got comfortable beneath a blanket on the couch. Eddie put on a movie and while it played she was able to forget that this wasn’t just any other night with her boyfriend. 

She felt herself begin to doze off against his shoulder as the movie crested its climax. The characters on screen had eluded certain death, or so it seemed. Eddie noticed her eyelids growing heavy as she struggled to keep them open. 

"Wanna go to bed?" He asked quietly, running a gentle hand up her arm. She nodded sleepily and pulled herself away from him, stretching her arms over her head. 

As they entered Eddie's bedroom she was suddenly wide awake. He grabbed a pair of plaid pajamas from a drawer of his dresser and announced that he was gonna shower. "Get comfy, babe," he whispered, kissing her cheek before leaving. 

When she heard the bathroom door click shut she relaxed, her shoulders falling from where they had been tensed nearly up to her ears. She listened for the sound of the shower. Once the knobs squeaked on and the water began to run she started to dress for bed. She sat her backpack on the unmade bed in front of her and pulled her pajamas from the open bag. 

There was a moment, just a brief second, that she second guessed her choice in outfit for the evening. Maybe she should have chosen the cute, itchy pajamas instead. But she shut that down quickly. Eddie liked her. He wouldn't care that her pajamas didn't match. 

Eddie was true to his word that his shower would be a quick one. She was getting comfortable beneath his comforter when he stepped into the room. He was rubbing at his wet hair with a towel, a smile on his face. 

"Now, there's a sight I could definitely get used to," he told her, dropping the damp towel to the floor. 

"And what sight is that?" She asked with a smile. "Me looking like a bum in my pajamas?" 

"My favorite girl all comfy in my bed," he answered. His gaze fell to the floor in front of him, the softest pink blush crawling over his cheeks. "I like that you're not in a rush to get home. We got all night together." 

"Yup," she agreed, forcing a smile. "All night." 

He crawled into bed beside her, settling beneath the comforter. "Why ya all the way over there?" He asked, eying her as she sat at the far edge of the bed. "C'mere. I need to be cuddled or I'll die." 

"I don't think you'll die." 

"Are you really willing to risk it?" 

"I guess not," she answered, trying to hide her smile as she shuffled closer to him. 

"She guesses not," he scoffed, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and holding her tight to his chest. "She guesses she'll save my life. Thanks, babe. It's nice to know you care so much." 

"If I kiss you, will you stop being dramatic?" 

"Only one way to find out," he shrugged. 

Kissing him did stop the dramatics. Turns out it was hard for even Eddie Munson to be obnoxious while his lips were otherwise occupied. And man, was he a good kisser. She liked that about him. He was always the perfect mix of gentle and firm. He didn't slobber all over her like previous guys had. And he made these soft, sweet little noises in his throat when he got excited. Kissing him was fun.  

As their kisses began to deepen and the atmosphere became intense, she noticed him shifting. Before she knew it, he was more or less on top of her. His bare chest pressed to her, one of knees between her thighs as he held himself up with one hand planted into her pillow beside her head. 

His free hand roamed down her side, settling on her hip. She felt his calloused fingertips dip beneath the hem of her shirt. His hands were warm against her skin but she felt goosebumps sprout across her body. His lips traveled across her cheek and down her neck. She tangled her hands into his hair, earning a low groan from him when she tugged at his hair. That low groan served to suddenly bring her back down to earth. She suddenly realized as if for the first time that he was on her. 

She removed her hand from his hair and placed it on his shoulder. "Baby," she whined as his tongue slipped through his lips, leaving a wet strip on her neck. "Baby, slow down." 

"I'm puttin' in some of my best work here, babe," he giggled. When he looked up to her, he saw the worried look on her face. The way her brows furrowed. The unsure look in her eyes. He moved his hand from her hip, placing it softly against her cheek. "Hey, I'm just messin' with ya. We can stop."

"I'm sorry," she sighed, looking away from him. 

"For what?" 

She sighed again, still looking at the Anthrax poster on the wall over his shoulder. She felt tears pricking painfully behind her eyes. Shame started to fill her chest heavily. Eddie moved, laying beside her and pulling his hands away from her. 

"Talk to me?" He asked quietly. 

"It's just," she started, bringing a hand to her forehead. "I know what's supposed to happen tonight. What you're probably expecting, but I just don't know if I'm ready." 

"And what is it that you think I'm expecting." 

She looked almost sad when she finally looked over at him. She took a moment to collect herself before she finally spoke again. 

"I know that spending the night means I'm supposed to put out. But that's a big deal for me, okay? I've never done that before and I just don't-" 

He cut her off when he recognized the beginnings of a ramble. "Hey, woah woah woah. Faith, baby, calm down," he told her softly. "I don't expect that just because you're staying over. I'm not some bad dude like everyone says I am." 

Her heart plummeted to her knees. She knew how people in town talked about Eddie. How they all saw him. She also knew that they were all full of shit. None of the people that liked to talk about Eddie really even knew him. She never wanted to make him feel like that. 

"No, baby, I know you're not." 

"Then why are you acting like I'm-" he stopped himself. His eyes fell closed. "Okay, wait, is all this because I told you I was gonna ravage you last weekend?"

She couldn't answer, not trusting her voice in the moment. When she didn't speak he opened his eyes to find her barely nodding her head. He placed his hand on her cheek once again. Her eyes closed as she reached up to wrap her own fingers around the back of his hand, pressing his palm into her cheek. 

"Listen, I definitely do want to do that with you. But like, someday. Not right now. Okay?" 

She opened her eyes again and saw the soft, sweet smile she'd fallen in love with. The one that she was pretty sure nobody but her ever got to see. The one that reminded her of prom night when he'd shown up in his old van to pick her up. The night his hands shook as they slow danced together in the banquet room of a hotel. 

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. 

"I'm okay."

"You sure? 'Cause if you're not, you can go home and I'll call you and tell you about my day just like normal. Promise I won't be mad." 

"I don't want to go home," she whispered as she moved closer to him. "I want to stay and I want to wake up next to you. And I want to go get pancakes in the morning." 

"Yeah?" He asked with a smile. 

"Yeah," she nodded, resting her head against his chest.

"I think we can do that." He whispered, his lips in her hair as he thanked the universe for Faith before planting a soft kiss to the top of her head.

~~~~~

When Wayne got home the next morning he was surprised to see Faith's car parked behind Eddie's van. He checked the clock on the dash. Barely 5 in the morning. He never knew his Eddie to be awake before 10 for any reason other than work, and he obviously wasn't at work.

He was even more confused when he opened the front door to find an empty living room. He toed off his work boots next to her sneakers by the front door and walked down the narrow hallway to the back. He cracked open Eddie's bedroom door just enough to peek his head in. 

The first thing he saw was Faith. She was sleeping soundly, her mouth open just slightly against the pillow as she faced him. Behind her, he saw Eddie. Or rather, Eddie's hair. A mess of dark brown curls behind her head. He noticed Eddie's forearm and hand sticking out from beneath her pillow, the other wrapped around her waist over the blanket. 

He couldn't help but smile to himself as he tried to close the door as quietly as he could. He walked into the living room and began to make up his own bed. He shook his head, a smile still on his face as he laid out the blanket and stole a throw pillow from the couch. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of them being together all night unsupervised. But he did like Faith. He liked that Eddie had finally found a nice girl. Someone to make him happy. As he made himself as comfortable as possible on his fold out bed, he couldn't help but to wonder if anyone had actually given Eddie the talk. He sighed to himself, hoping that it would be less awkward than he thought it would be. 

~~~~~

Feedback is always appreciated! Requests are open! Have a great weekend! 🥰

If you'd like to be tagged in my Stranger Things fics, please let me know. I also have individual tag lists for Steve, Eddie, Robin, Nancy, and Steddie. Requests are open for Eddie and Faith!

Tag List: @redwineanddnicotine @renaissan-vvitch

Eddie Tag List: @littlemiss-yeehaw @protecteddiemunson4vr @tayhar811

[danwhobrowses]

General Discussion: All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Part 2

This is a part 2 of a recent dump of stuff I’m talking about in regards to AEW, if you want to see my critiques and comments in hindsight about AEW Check it out on part 1 -> Here Part 2 is gonna revolve around the future, immediate and long-term, starting with the upcoming All Out PPV

All Out 2020

Criticisms about the Buy In aside, All Out still looks like a heavily stacked card, which is always a positive. I do worry a little that the Tooth and Nail match’s addition will cut into others’ time so hopefully everyone gets a good amount, but if people criticise some matches for being too short remember that fan demand insisted that the same Swole/Baker match be on the paid card rather than having a lot of time to show it for free. And as much as people criticise AEW’s women, the women’s matches are among the top 5 most anticipated matches on the card, probably only behind the tag title and world title match, isn’t that a great thing? Not to mention that the women’s title match encourages AEW/NWA relations, which really would make wrestling better if wrestlers could be more fluid in their appearances. But anyway, All Out is something I look forward to, so let’s break down some predictions? (if you’re wondering why I’m not just doing this on a podcast or something, my voice is not the dulcet flowing river of articulation my writing would imply to be, I like having time and proofing my words, plus if I talk to much my tongue swells and I stutter, stammer and suck at eye contact) So my thoughts for the full card

Predictions

The Buy In

Casino Battle Royale - Eddie Kingston. While I’d be down for Fénix, Pentagon, Archer or even a new or returning face like PAC to win, I think Kingston is the safe bet. The man talks like liquid and his match with Cody brought a lot of eyes to the product. This will continue and start new hostilities, but don’t expect anyone who has faced Moxley before to win, AEW don’t do title rematches so much.

Private Party vs Dark Order (Silver and Reynolds) - this quickly put-together match is going to Private Party, because Silver and Reynolds are enhancement tag teams still, they can win but they won’t win often. Plus the more Silver loses the more bits he’ll have with Brodie on BTE and those are gold.

Main Card

Tooth and Nail - Britt Baker, I expect the cinematic match to have shenanigans but also protect Baker in the midst of her injury recovery. While Swole has been doing the physical lifting of the feud I think having Britt lose on her return could be the wrong choice in the long run.

Dark Order vs The Nightmare Family - Dark Order, Brodie has elevated the tag team to the point where they are a big faction, and they need the big win for this. Cardona, Sky and the Natural Nightmares can take this loss too, but I’d expect QT or Dustin to take the fall for this. Bonus prediction that Tay Conti will indeed join the Dark Order with Anna Jay, leading to them beating down Brandi and Allie at ringside (setting up a women’s tag feud that’d explain why they were kept on other sides of the Deadly Draw bracket)

The Young Bucks vs Jurassic Express - This one I have Jurassic Express, it may be an upset because the Bucks are still reeling from Hangman’s betrayal, this can also lead to the Bucks being more heelish to accompany a Cleaner Kenny Omega. Keep your eye on Jungle Boy, AEW are still hot on him for good reason, this’ll be a huge scalping for Jurassic Express if they pull it off.

Broken Rules - A tough one, but I’m gonna stick with the Multifarious Matt Hardy. I don’t think he wants to end his career just yet and AEW would be foolish to let him go. Plus technically Sami is 2-0 in this feud, so it won’t hurt Sami too much to win in Hardy’s wheelhouse.

Mimosa Mayhem - Another tough one to put down the middle, I am gonna go with Orange Cassidy though. I think Jericho wants to amend the sloppy finish Cassidy’s win had and this’ll make for good comedy to see Jericho (and maybe Hager) flailing around in Mimosa

Women’s Title - I will be happy with either winning, but my heart says Shida. Mainly because I think Britt is the one who should take it from her, their last match was a banger after all. Rosa won’t look weak though, they may even have Shida challenge for the NWA women’s title down the line.

Tag Titles - FTR. That’s it, that’s all you need to know. Hangman’s head is out of the game and Kenny is becoming the Cleaner, it’s time for this schism to start properly, they’ve held it for about a year as well, it’s time.

World Title (Moxley cannot use Paradigm Shift) - It’s easy to say MJF, he is the home breed future and Moxley has had a long run defeating tougher opponents, but I am thinking that Moxley will retain. This is mainly because the odds are so stacked against him, he’ll eke out a win despite MJF’s trickery. The challenger will look fantastic to prove that he will be champion some day, but not today. Instead I think MJF will be thwarted by miscommunication, and as he hinted at during his tag match with Jurassic Express, will split from Wardlow for his ‘fatal error’. Then we’ll get Moxley vs Kingston which can be just as fantastic.

Looking to the Future So ‘looking to the future’ is not gonna all be direct consequences of All Out, some of it is just stuff I’d like to see happen, not all of it has to and my enjoyment isn’t killed from it, but certain things would make AEW better in my opinion. Business Relations So of course it’d be great to have more working relationships with other brands, AEW is already close to OWE and AAA, getting NWA on board would be a good step to establishing good relationships with ROH as well, maybe even NJPW. On the women’s side it’d be nice if they made more solid ties with Cyberfight - which has DDT Pro, TJPW and NOAH, maybe even Stardom, Sendai Girls, EVE and Ice Ribbon. More relationships would offer wrestlers not working Dynamite or Dark to perhaps represent elsewhere. In this representing it’d be great to see more outside titles being shown, it’s free advertising really. Thunder Rosa will for sure be carrying her NWA Women’s title but wouldn’t it be cool if other brand titles could be carried; Kenny carrying his AAA title with the tag titles, Cardona his Internet title, Lucha Bros their HOG and AAA Tag titles, Big Swole her Phoenix of Rise title, Moxley his NJPW US title (though I expect him to lose to KENTA soon), Rosa’s TJPW International Princess title as well and Yuka Sakazaki’s TJPW Princess of Princess Title. It may be me but seeing these titles does add an air of legitimacy to the competitors, showing how successful they are overseas while promoting other promotions. I’d also like to pitch a ‘Locked Down’ mini show or segment where AEW could show what their international talent is doing, Emi Sakura’s ChocoPro could be a light hearted segment, PAC could do some solid promos and like showing the titles, it’d expose the roster as talented. New Signings Someone just has to do good to have people ask for AEW to sign them, but in some cases it would be cool to sign them up. Of the frequent flyers right now AEW would be mad not to sign Ivelisse and Diamante, and I’ve already expressed my hopes that they sign Will Hobbs, Serpentico, Shawn Dean, Brian Pillman Jr, Kilynn King, Tay Conti, Veda Scott, Nicole Savoy/Lil’ Swole and Pineapple Pete, but it’d also be good business to at least call up Renee Paquette/Good/Young and Mauro Ranallo, even if it is for some guest appearances. Signing the likes of Danhausen, Warhorse, ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey, Millie McKenzie, Laura Di Matteo, Lana Austin, Jamie Hayter, Chris Brookes, Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, Mirio (if he wants to come back into wrestling) and AR Fox. This being said, this should only ease into the Second Show, where we can expose more of the current roster as well. Speaking of Which. (A Few) New Accolades With a bigger division will require more competition. Not all of them need to be titles but something to be fought for. MJF’s Diamond Ring and Cage’s FTW title can help in that matter, but I think a Trios Accolade would be next in line for AEW. This would open the door for more teams to compete; The Elite, Jurassic Express, Best Friends, SCU, Dark Order, Nightmare Family, Death Triangle etc. would still keep it competitive and open the door for more stories of faction warfare. Since this is only my thoughts I would love to see the tag division be intergender too but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that. If we do move to this though PLEASE use whoever designed the world and tag belt, not the TNT belt. Faction Bolstering AEW are looking at the NJPW formula or big factions going into war or tensions with one another, which is good since it does make for lines to be written in the sand. But I think the factions can just be a little bit bigger in some places, and some are easy to add in already. Conti joins Dark Order for 2 women there, have Ivelisse and Diamante join the Inner Circle so we have full LAX (plus Ivelisse tagged with Sammy in LU), Statlander can pair with Best Friends and renew BTE’s skits of her and Orange Cassidy’s palpable sexual tension, I would also enjoy the thought of TH2 joining with Kip and Penelope just to be a faction of talented arseholes. May be the crass side of me, but I also seem to want Brian Pillman Jr to join the Gunn Club simply so we can have an entrance theme that starts ‘Someone call 911, Pillman’s got a Gunn’, Vickie Guerrero could grow her managing of Nyla to an all women ‘Las Guerreras’ faction maybe with Kilynn King, Shaul Guerrero, Abadon or someone else would be a decent move in my books but an exciting faction I can see clearly is a Moxley faction with Darby Allin and Lance Archer. Imagine having Jake the Snake taking care of all that, oh yes is that the good stuff. Future Feuds We’ll end with talking about some feuds I hope to see down the line too, even if they’re not set up already. I’ve already expressed my want for Kingston vs Moxley but another Kingston feud I see in the making is against PAC, Kingston is the man with the plan but PAC will want his Death Triangle buddies back. Speaking of, Moxley could use some bangers with Fenix and Pentagon, both are megastars. While the tag division is looking like it’ll lead to FTR vs Bucks, I think the bigger money is FTR vs Bucks vs Hangman and Kenny first, with Kenny having the Elite ties and Hangman with the FTR ties the storytelling would be ridiculously immense. This thought almost made me pick Hangman and Kenny to win at All Out...almost. I would expect a lot of title defenses from Mr. Brodie Lee, particularly from Cardona but I’d love it if Jungle Boy was the one to win it from him, and for JB to face Sammy Guevara, of the 4 Young Prospects of AEW I don’t think Sammy and JB have gone 1-on-1, could be wrong but Sammy usually went for Darby and JB to MJF, Fénix vs JB would be excellent also. Luchasaurus is also due his hoss match with the Butcher, as well as further conflict with Cage and Archer Also I’d like Shida vs Conti, both are very martial arts-like in their wrestling especially the latter so it would be a good physical match. But yeah, that’s out of my system for now, we’ve talked some good, some bad and some middle, don’t think it matters to anyone but I’ve said my piece Bring on All Out!

[secretblog1212]

Love is a Train Wreck, and That’s okay.

 To @onceyoukaspbrakyouneverkaspback   I hope you enjoy it! Don’t worry, it has a happy ending!

A story of hopeless idiots falling in love through many trial and errors. Many many errors. and miscommunications.

Prompt used: a soulmate au with reddie (eddie/richie)

Warnings for: not descriptive but some nsfw, angsty upset boys, them not understanding feelings, internalized homophobia, homophobia, repressed feelings and of course the big gays.

   Richie chuckled thinking about how he and Eddie finally realized they were meant to be. It truly was a story from some romance book Beverly would read. But the six desperate teens sitting in front of the Losers, looking up to their Uncle Richie with big, hopeful eyes that meant he couldn't refuse.

    “Well, my dear children, the story of how me and Your Uncle Ed's got together is a bit of a wild story, so buckle in. We didn’t figure it out as quickly as your parents all did. This one is gonna be a bumpy ride.”

    Richie sent a loving glance to his husband. His beautiful, amazing, handsome husband then took a deep breathe and began to tell a love story of the ages.

    Richard Tozier was fifteen when he figured out who he would love for the rest of his life. He had spent an entire half of the year waiting for some magical sign, or some movie scene where the light shines on some girls hair and time seems to slow down. Maybe she would walk past him and drop some books, and he would smile and help her pick them up then ask for her number and they would start dating.

    That’s how it goes in the movies, right? But this isn’t a movie, and there is no way Richie's life could give him an easy win.

    Richie found out one day when he was looking at the most beautiful, dedicated person he knew. They were in the middle of an argument with Bev over “Who the best superhero is?”.

    Bev was immediately down for IronMan, an egotistical man changed due to trauma brought on by his own fame turned vigilante then officially turned superhero. Classic character turn around, and Tony Stark had the sass and sarcasm to spice up any movie or comic he was in.

    She gave a strong argument. Tony was one of Richie's personal favorites so it was hard not to side with her straight out of the gate. But when he saw Eddie, red in the face, fully dedicated and willing to defend SpiderMan till his dying breath, Richie felt a swarm of butterflies escape into his entire chest. Since when was Eddie so pretty?

    Maybe he always was, Richie decided, but he was too much of a dumbass to realize. It took a full five minutes for Stan to point out his staring problem, which, valid. Ben even went on to joke that he better be careful not to let any flies in.

    Richie laughed it off like a joke, because maybe his mind was just playing a joke on him. Yeah he knew he played for both teams but he couldn’t ever date another boy. His parents would kill him! So no, no thank you body. He would have to find someone else, a nice, pretty girl to be soulmates with before the year was over or else he might have some trouble in the future.

    Things only got worse the farther into the year they got. Richie was asked at least once a week if he had “Found the one” and he couldn’t very well say “Well yeah, but I can’t date Eddie ‘cause that might make everything weird.”.

    So he just laughed it off, said some joke about how maybe it was that smoking waitress or Claire Welsman from history. Soon enough everyone stopped asking.

    Things got easier to hide the longer this went on. He wouldn’t let himself stare when they stripped in the locker room or at the Quarry. He still forced himself to make jokes and kiss Eddie's cheek just to see him go pink in the face. He still cuddled up with everyone during movie nights and threw popcorn at Eddie and Bev till all the pieces were either thrown in their mouths or on the floor.

    He just had to keep reminding himself that the lovey dovey feeling in his chest when Eddie laughed at his jokes wasn’t real. That Eddie wasn’t adorable, and neither was the dimple in his left cheek or the way he would curl into Richie's side and fall asleep, which really really wasn’t adorable. Eddie definitely was not cute when he would get so wrapped up in homework or studying that his tongue would poke out the side of his mouth. No most definitely not.

    And his perfect world lasted for years. Richie was able to convince the others that there must of been a fluke because he had no idea who his heart belonged to. Until college at least. Well, he did manage to last most of it anyway.

    Eddie's number just so happened to be twenty three, eight years later than Richie. By that point Richie had had many girlfriends and hookups at parties. If he was going to keep denying that he was in love he would at least play it well.

    And when Eddie began to question the gut twisting feeling he had when saw Richie with girl after girl he thought nothing major of it. He just didn’t like to see his friend going with people who were just after a quick fuck.

    But he could no longer deny it when he walked in on Richie and some slutty cop at a Halloween party and ran to Bill crying. The realization had just hit him in the face like a tsunami wave and he wasn’t sure how to interpret it.

    Bill let him spend the night and they went out to the gas station to get a few tubs of their favorite ice creams (Bill’s favorite is Neapolitan while Eddie is much more of a Rocky Road type of guy). He didn’t ask any questions either. The next morning, both of the now adults (scary) woke up with brain freeze headaches and had to get ready for classes.

    Eddie could pretend that this never happened. He didn’t feel sad when replayed Richie without a shirt, hovering over a girl who had no clothes on at all. His gut didn’t drop to the floor and his heart didn’t shatter when he replayed the sounds that came out of said girls mouth. He didn’t know her name. Did Richie even know her name before they had gone upstairs? He definitely didn’t feel betrayed when he saw Richie walking around with hickies over his neck weeks later and was making jokes about it to Stan.

    No, Eddie didn’t want to know and he had to focus on the new diagram his Professor had pulled up with the different muscles on the human leg. He didn't have time to be having any romantic realizations or think about if Richie even liked him the same way. There wasn’t any time for his gay panic.

    So with a lot of self control he pushed his thoughts to back of his brain and focused on learning about how legs worked.

    Eddie's next birthday came and passed and no one mentioned how he hadn’t given a name to his mystery person like Mike had last year. Or how Ben and Bev had when they were both nineteen. Even Richie didn’t make a joke about it, maybe because he was the only other one who hadn’t spilled the beans.

    But college was crazy and they all were stressed for exams so no one had enough time to try to weasel it out of the smaller man. Once the summer started though, that was free game.

    Bill was the first to ask, they had been friends the longest and was just curious to know what would of kept his normally self assured friend quiet. And after a few hours of rambling and more than one drink Eddie told.

    Bill swore to keep his secret until Eddie was comfortable, but at the next Losers movie night he couldn’t hold back the sly smile he shot Eddie's way when he cuddled up with the lankier man.

    Life kept moving, and parties came and went. So did Richie's one night stands and short flings with various girls.

    Eddie was stressing out. Maybe he really wasn’t Richie's soulmate. Maybe he was destined to love someone who would never love him back. Eddie wasn’t even sure if Richie liked guys that way, Eddie had come out years ago in high school but so far as Eddie knew Richie was as straight as a ruler.

    Eddie got good at pretending. Pretending that he didn’t love how warm Richie was when he laid next to him during movies. Or think that his many, many freckles weren’t the cutest thing in the world. And his curly hair definitely did not make him attractive in anyway shape or form thank you very much.

    It was only on their last few weeks of college that anything new developed in the relationship, or rather the lack thereof, of Eddie and Richie.

    Richie was still fully convinced that there had to of been a mistake, Eddie would of said something otherwise right? So he allowed himself to find some random girl and take her upstairs. Being sad wasn’t fun but neither was having a broken heart. At  least sex gave him an escape for a few hours so he could pretend to be normal for just a little bit.

    Of course Eddie had to go looking for him half way through the deed. Richie didn’t have any clothes on and neither did his counterpart, he thought her name might of been Sarah but he wasn’t sure.

    Richie didn’t know how long Eddie had been standing there but he definitely heard the door thud against the wall and saw Eddie Kaspbrak staring at him from the doorway. And yeah, maybe his heart broke a little on the inside when he looked through smudged glasses at his best friends face, but his heart shattered when he saw the man he loved one of his closest friends turn away from him and practically run down stairs.

    Richie removed himself from his compromising position with Sadie and found his pants as fast as he could, grabbing his shirt to put on on the way to wherever Eddie was headed.

    It didn’t take long to find him surprisingly. Richie had been prepared to search all night, but he was only maybe ten feet outside the frat house, staring into the darkness of the woods.

    Richard Tozier walked up to his friend, he didn’t know what to say. What even could he say? I’m sorry? That wasn’t good enough.You shouldn’t of had to see that? No. Not good enough for Eddie. His Eddie who he ignored for over eight years now.

    “I- I am so sorry Eddie. You deserve so much better than me.”

    Eddie did not turn around when he cleared his throat and responded. His voice was strong, and he was sure of himself.

    “Who said I wanted you in the first place.”

    Richie’s heart must not of broken before hand. What he felt was only a fraction of the crippling pain that throbbed in his chest at those words. But he deserved it. He fully deserved it.

    There was not a single thing he could say as he watched his Eddie walk away.

    And when Bill found him sitting on the curb a hour later he walked him to his apartment and told him to get some sleep, that he would call Bev and Stan and have them come over but Richie asked for Bill to go check on Eddie.

    Bill hurried on his way over to his best friend. He had kept his secret all year, he was the only one who knew what was going on between them and he knew how much this must hurt both of them.

    When he found Eddie he was sobbing on his porch floor, his hands were shaking too much and his vision too blurry to get the door unlocked and open. Bill let Eddie cry on his shoulder for days until he ran out of tears to cry. Then he just felt hollow and sore on the inside which might of been worse.

    Eddie and Richie did not talk for two weeks. It was tense and awkward but Eddie decided he had enough crying and that he and Richie needed to have a talk so things could go back to normal again. Eddie hated unexpected change.

    Eddie knocked on Richie’s apartment door, waiting patiently for his life long friend to answer. He was not expecting red rimmed eyes or tear stained cheeks to answer the door. That wasn’t his Richie, his Richie was the one who smiled and goofed off. His Richie didn’t cry.

    “I think we need to talk Rich.”

    Richie just opened the door further and Eddie walked in. They sat on Richie's hideous,  lumpy couch in silence, both gathering  their thoughts.

    “I shouldn’t have-”

    “It isn’t my place to-”

    Their eyes met for a second and Richie chuckled for the first time in two weeks. “You first Eds.”

    Eddie cleared his throat and looked down at his hands. They were sweaty and gross, no matter how many times he wiped them on his pants the clamminess wouldn’t go away.

    “It isn’t my place to tell you who you can and cannot have… have sex with. And it wasn’t fair of me to be angry at you when I never said anything before and I really shouldn’t be jealous or angry because we aren’t dating but I- I think I love you Richie.”

    Richie was at a loss for words. How could he tell this amazing person that he had every right to be angry. Richie knew he was in love with him since they were fifteen and he had practically been cheating on him this whole time! And wait- what did Eddie say. He must of heard him wrong.

    “No! It’s my fault Eds. I. Ever since we were fifteen. I knew but I didn’t tell you. You have every right to be angry with me, be furious. I know I’m a trash human being and I’ve basically been cheating on you this whole time because I knew and-”

    “Woah woah, you haven’t been cheating on me at all Richie. We weren’t even dating which is why me being upset is ridiculous and I wanted to apolog-”

    “But it isn't. I knew I was in love with you when we were still kids and I thought maybe If I pretended not to be that you would get someone who deserves you. You should get someone so much better than me Eddie.”

    Richie felt his throat closing back up, and his voice was croaky again. He didn’t want to cry right now. God why was he so bad at this. Eddie deserves so much better than some crybaby cheating bastard like him.

    “Richie, I don’t want anyone else. I have no right to be upset with you and I did the same thing by pretending that I didn’t… feel anything towards you. You’re one of the best people I know and one of my best friends. It just hurts. Seeing someone else with something that you wanted so badly.”

    “God Eddie.” Richie could feel tears threatening to start running down his cheeks but his face already felt sticky and gross and he didn't’ want to cry anymore. “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to tell you that for years.”

    They didn’t say I love you after that. Eddie held Richards hand while he cried and wiped away his tears. They turned on a movie but didn’t cuddle up this time, just watched it in silence, holding hands, before both of them passed out.

    Things didn’t go back to normal immediately either. They were still stiff and figuring things out but they went back to being friendly to each other and after a few months explain to the very confused losers that Richie was Bi and had kind of been in love with Eddie since they were fifteen.

    They laughed about it a few years later. Richie and Eddie were going strong for three years when they were able to laugh about how stupid they were as kids. Both were so much happier, and so what if Richie never told his parents or when Eddie told his mom and she cried and screamed about how he was sick and she would help him “Baby just please come home. Come home to mommy and let me fix you up.”.

    They could live independent of Derry. They had for years now.

    A couple more years passed and Babies started rolling around. None of them theirs yet. Adoption was an idea but that was for much later down the road. The Losers were all so excited. Of course those kids would be born with their own numbers that would tell them when they would find the love of their life. And like all curious kids they would ask questions to their Mom, Dad, Aunts and Uncles.

    Another couple of years and Eddie would come home to Richie looking at babies with a wanting glint in his eyes. Sure Stan and Bill had kids with their wives and Bev was trying but Richie had always wanted a child to love and call his own. Papers were made and the two began the long process of finding a child who fit them perfectly. She was four and they both loved her with their entire hearts.

  It took some getting used to but their lovely daughter loved her dads, and her dads loved her. They loved each other more than they ever could of imagined. They were scared. Scared of repeating their parents mistakes. It wasn’t fair, life hadn’t treated them kindly, they had to work for everything they got and they held it to their chest like every second meant to world to them, because it did. They had to fight before they could be happy, and they never wanted to need to fight for that right again.

    “So yeah, we had a bit of a rough start but when it’s someone you love it all works out. So don’t stress about who it is or having the perfect romance together. Sometimes having a train wreck is what brings you together.”