#i’ll be there again tomorrow i just won’t be in costume

[chronalshifts]

went to mcm comicon birmingham today and got actual physical art of my arcane blorbos yayyyyyy

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

Transcript:

Hello? Hello hello?

Uh, I wanted to record a message for you, to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you, I’m finishing up my last week now as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I’m here to tell you there’s nothing to worry about, Uh, you’ll do fine. So, let’s just focus on getting you through your first week, okay?

Uh, let’s see, first there’s an introductory greeting from the company, that I’m supposed to read. Uh, it’s kind of a legal thing, you know.

Um, “Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced.” Blah blah blah.

Now that might sound bad, I know. But, there’s really nothing to worry about.

Uh, the animatronic characters here, do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No. If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I’d probably be irritable at night too. So, remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay.

So, just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they’re left in some kind of free roaming mode at night. Something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long? Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too, but then there was The Bite of ’87. Yeah. I-It’s amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?

Uh, now concerning your safety. The only real risk to you as a night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, if they happen to see you after hours probably won’t recognize you as a person. They’ll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now, since that’s against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, they’ll probably try to…forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit. Um, now, that wouldn’t be so bad, if the suits themselves weren’t filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices. Especially around the facial area. So you could imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort, and death. Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask. Heh. Yeah, they don’t tell you these things when you sign up.

But hey, first day should be a breeze. I’ll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright, good night.

Audio source

Transcript:

Ah, sorry. I was just tongue deep in a robot.

Anyway, as I was saying *ahem*

WAS THAT THE BITE OF '87?

Audio source

[artssslut2]

Pinky Promise

Art x Lily x Reader

Summary: It’s Lily’s birthday and Art wants to give his little girl the best day ever.

It was the night before Lily’s birthday and you and Art were staying up extra late to get ready. Tashi had started coaching three new players since Art retired. She had been gone a lot for work after they got divorced, Lily missed her a lot but would call her everyday. Lily loved you though, she always did. Art waited a while before letting her meet you he wanted to make sure you were the one first. Once you met Lily and he saw how the two do you got along he put a ring on your finger almost immediately. Lily was the flower girl at your wedding and was beyond happy about getting you as a bonus mom. You were younger than Art, he knew that you wanted more kids, he didn’t mind that idea he actually loved it. Lily also loved it, she had been begging for a sibling since the day you got married. And now here you were eight months pregnant with another little girl. This was your first time around but Arts second, he was more relaxed since he had been down this road before, it was calming for you. Art loved that he was around for everything that was something he couldn’t do with Lily.

Lily was Turing eight and Art was of course going all out for his little girl. Art missed Lilys third birthday because of a match and he has never been able to forgive himself, he knew she wouldn’t remember but it still made him sad. So now he always made the day special.

Lily was a dancer, she had played tennis for a little bit but she didn’t really like it, tashi was mortified but art was relieved. He didn’t want her to be put under all that pressure. After quitting tennis Lily started taking ballet classes and she loved them, she was an amazing dancer easily the best in her class. Art never wanted to put pressure on her, he wanted her to be a normal kid but dance became the thing she loved the most, she wanted to dance all the time. So Art had been working non stop on her own dance room in the basement. He put in dance flooring, mirrors and a ballet bar, he lined the walls with all her trophy’s and medals and old costumes. Seeing Art be such an amazing dad made you love him even more, you couldn’t wait to see him become a dad again.

“Do you think she’ll like it?” Your husband asked hanging some streamers by the door, you looked at him and smiled

“Of course she will. She’s gonna love it.” You wrapped your arms around his torso he leaned against you a little. You noticed Art seemed off “you okay baby?” You asked softly. He took a deep breath

“Mhm. I just don’t want her to feel left out… when she was a baby I wasn’t there as much as I wanted to be. Now with this baby I will be here, all the time. I’ll never miss a birthday or anything, what if she thinks it’s because I don’t love her as much as her sister?” Art asked looking at the floor putting his hands in his pockets. You waited a minute, you knew he struggled with self doubt about fatherhood and it broke your heart because he was the greatest dad.

“She won’t Art I promise. We won’t let that happen. Look at all you are doing for her… everyday you are showing her how much you love her. She’s smart and she knows the baby might take up more of your time but she knows you don’t love her any less. Neither will I, I love her more than anything Art just like she’s my own, okay?” You told him grabbing his hands, Art looked at you with glassy eyes and gave you a little smile. Art loved you so much. He never thought he would meet someone after Tashi but somehow he lucked out and met the love of his life. He knew you would be a great mom to your own children, but Lily was also your baby.

“I love you.” He said kissing your head and pulling you in. You smiles against his chest. “alright let’s go to bed we have a big day tomorrow.” He took your hand to lead you out of the room.

The next morning you both woke up early so you could be awake before Lily. Art had the whole day planned out for her. You both waited downstairs for her to wake up. Finally you hear little feet running down the stairs, Art walked to them

“Do I hear my Eight year old?” Lily giggles jumping into her father’s arms and giving him a big hug, “oh my gosh you look a year older do you feel a year older?” He asked holding her up and dramatically examining her,

“No!” She laughed trying to catch her breath, seeing their interaction made you laugh

“Happy birthday Lily Pad.” You told her joining them in the living room with a gift bag,

“Thanks, what’s that?” She asked staring at the pink bag pointing at it

“We wanted to give you one of your gifts now so that you can use it today.” You smiled handing her the gift bag and kissing her head

“Can I open it now!?” She asked very loudly bouncing up and down, you and Art laughed and nodded. She ripped the tissue paper away and dug into the bag. You had gotten her a new outfit, Lily loved fashion and dressing up. It’s how you first bonded, you work in fashion it’s actually how you met Art.

“Oh my gosh! It’s so cute!” She shrieked holding the light pink romper up, there was also a matching bow and shoes in the bag.

“You wanna go put it on?” You laughed moving her bed head from her face,

“Yes! Thank you y/n!” She said jumping into your arms squeezing you so tight then running up to her bedroom to change. You looked at art and he had the biggest smile on his face, a smile he only got when he watched his two favorite people.

“Your the best” he said coming over and kissing you,

“It’s easy when she’s the best.” You smiled

“Y/n! Can you come do my hair!?” Lily shouted from upstairs, you both laughed and you headed up to help her.

Once Lily was dressed and had her hair done she was asking about breakfast. You told her that she should ask her dad so you went to your bedroom to find him. He came out of the bedroom and showed off his shirt to his girls,

“What do you think, how do I look Lily Pad?” He asked doing a spin. He was wearing a shirt that said “girl dad” on it, you and Lily got it for him when you found at you were having a girl.

“It’s perfect!’ She giggled, she loved getting her dad clothes you both would often go shop for him together.

“Lily we have two more things for you before breakfast, the first isss…” he dramatically held out his words to build suspense

“Daddy! What is it daddy!” She asked bursting with excitement Art pointed at you so you could finish his sentence.

“We are giving you a yes day. Whatever you want to do we have to say yes too.” You smiled presenting the offer to the little girl. Her eyes lit up and she looked so happy. You could see wheels turning in her brain thinking of what she wanted to ask first

“Can we get Starbucks for breakfast?!” She asked enthusiastically, of course that was her first request. Art looked at you like he was thinking of what to say

“Hmmmm…” he said dramatically like he might say no “of course we can baby.” Lily laughed “but before we go we have one more thing.” He said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small wrapped box.

“What is it daddy?” She asked scrunching her eyebrows just like her dad does

“Open it” he handed it to her and she tipped it open, she gasped. It was a necklace from Tiffany’s that had her birthstone on it, it was way too expensive for an eight year old but art didn’t care.

“It’s so pretty daddy! Thank you so much I love it!” She said wrapped herself around him. She looked at the box again

“But wait. There’s earrings too I don’t have mine pierced.” She said confused

“Well we thought since your eight now…” you told her you didn’t need to finish she knew

“No way are you serious?!” She looked back and fourth between you and art and you both nodded. She squealed and jumped up and down then kept into Arts arms and held onto him as tightly as a little girl could, he laughed enjoying this moment.

The day went on perfectly, you loved watching Art be a father, you loved that you could share the joy and be lilys bonus mom. When Lily got her ears pierced Art was more nervous than she was. Lily was trying to be brave and had a very focused look on her face while she sat in the chair alone.

“Are you nervous?” He asked his daughter

“No… but can you hold my hand daddy?” She asked timidly, Art chuckled

“I’ll do you one better.” He told her lifting her up and placing her on his lap. You filmed as she got her ears pierced she didn’t even flinch. You showed Lily a picture so she could see and she loved them

“I look beautiful!” She gasped

“Yes you do baby.” You smiled

Lily picked her favorite place to eat dinner of course.

“Can you guys say yes to one more thing?” Lily asked while eating her Mac and cheese “can I pick the babies name?” She smiled giving her best puppy dog eyes, you and Art looked at each other knowing you would have to say no but wanted to humor her

“Hmm… well what are you thinking Lily pad?” You and Art had had a list of names but hadn’t been able to decide, you wanted to go with an L name to match Lily.

“Luna.” She said confidently “Then we can call her Lou Lou.” She pled her case

“Was that your favorite name on the list?” You asked her, she nodded. You looked at Art

“We will think about it I promise.” Art smiled holding out his pinky, she smiled back giving him a pinky promise. You did really like the name, it would be special if Lily chose it.

Once you all got home you gave Lily what seemed like a thousand presents, pink and purple wrapping paper covered your living room floor. Lily was a very grateful little girl she didn’t act spoiled in the least, even if she was a little spoiled by her father. After she opened her last gift and blew out her birthday candles Art stood up,

“Lily we have one more gift for you.” You saw lilys eyes open wide

��Another one?” She asked surprised,

“Your daddy worked veryyyy hard on it” you added

“Follow us okay Lily pad”

You led the little girl to the basement, the last few months you told her she wasn’t allowed down there because they were doing renovations, she quickly saw that there was nothing new and looked confused then you covered her eyes

“Since you have been working so hard in dance class we wanted to surprise you with a… “ Art opened the door slightly to what used to be one of the guest bed rooms “dance room!” He threw the door opened and you uncovered lilys eyes

“WHAT?!” She yelled running in the little girl was speechless she looked like she could cry, she was quiet then hugged you both

“This is the best gift in the whole entire world.” She said squeezing tightly, Art kissed your cheek while in the group hug,

“Well why don’t you teach me some moves?” Art laughed, Lily ran to the middle with her dad. For the next hour Lily taught, well tried to teach her dad her new ballet routine. It was adorable. She wanted you to learn it too but Art told her when your center of gravity was back to normal she can but not right now.

Art was a great tennis player but he was definitely not a ballerina like his daughter. You laughed so hard at the pair watching the routine you almost peed your pants. It was such a perfect day with your little family.

Now Art was putting Lily to bed. It was past her bedtime but since it was her birthday it was fine. Lily called Tashi on Arts phone like she did every night then Art read her a story, Art kisses her head and was about to leave when she asked

“Today was the best day. But daddy my wish didn’t come true.” She said frowning a little. Art furrowed his brows and knelt back down

“How come Lily pad? What was your wish?”

“I wished that the baby would be born today.” She sighed, Art smiled a little. He was slightly relieved that she didn’t say it was something he could’ve done.

“That would have been pretty cool baby. But the baby needs to grow a little bit more before she can come out remember?” He asked softly stroking her hair. She nodded

“Yeah… I just really want to meet her it’s taking sooo long.” She told her dad and he smiled, he thought about how long nine months would seem to an eight year old

“I know Lily pad I wanna meet her oo. But she will be here so soon, before you know it… I promise.” He told her holding his pinky out again

“Daddy do you think I’ll be a good big sister?” She asked looking at him with her big eyes, his heart melted

“I think you might just be the best big sister in the entire world.” He smiled kissing her head, and He believed that completely.

Art got ready for bed then joined you under the covers pulling you close, you had been thinking about what Lily said earlier

“You know Luna is pretty cute.” You whispered Turing over to look at Art

“Yeah?” He asked sitting up on his forearm

“Yeah.” You nodded

“Then Luna it is.” He grinned ear to ear putting a hand on your stomach then leaning down to kiss it. What a great day.

[glittercake]

For Samtember Day 3: 'Costume' @samsseptember

“How long’s this going to take? Let me speak to Ayo.”

On his end of the line, Sam snorts, then does a quick scan of the workshop to see which Wakandan saw him smiling at his boyfriend this time. Okoye had already drawn an incredibly immature picture of Sam and Bucky and pinned it to the notice board in the palace foyer.

“Ayo doesn’t want to speak to you,” Sam says. He rotates his arm along with the hologram. It beeps a few times and records his biceps measurement, then moves to his chest. “Besides, it’s nice here. I ain’t in a rush.”

Bucky groans. Sam laughs again. “Yeah, you’re not. I’m dying over here.”

“Because you gotta work with Torres? Grow up, Buck.”

“He’s alright. No, I’m—”

“Before you say that, remember you’re calling on Wakandan tech, and if Aneka calls me Captain Lovey Pants one more time, I’m breaking up with you.”

This time, instead of complaining, Bucky cackles. It goes on for a few seconds. And yeah, Sam’s smiling again, all to himself.

“Stop,” he says fondly, listens to Bucky laughing on the other end. So maybe he lied. Maybe he could rush a little to get home. Maybe he misses this idiot just a little. Maybe he wouldn’t mind if they tossed this new suit through a speed cycle and threw him on a jet back home tonight.

“If you laugh, Captain, your chest expands and corrupts the reading,” Lerato tells him when she restarts the measurement. Again.

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry ma’am.” Sam holds still, bites back a laugh. “You’re getting me in trouble, man. I gotta go.”

“Yeah, alright. Gotta get started on my dinner for one, anyway.”

“You’ll be fine, baby. I’ll send an update later.”

“Later, sweetheart.”

“Cheers, Buck.”

“Finally. My ears can not stand another second of that.” Ayo has come to check on the suit’s progress and gives Sam a sideways look.

Sam sighs. “Of course you heard.”

“It’s custom here to give the new leaders as much grief as possible��this is looking good. Any requests? James sent a list, but it went missing. Strange, hm?” A smirk plays around her mouth.

Sam smiles. Bucky is still very much banned from Wakanda despite his letter of apology. “Yeah, if it’s anything like his shopping lists, that’s a good thing. Uh. Just one request, really.”

Ayo fiddles with the inputs and projections and slides a few specs around. “I can not turn Redwing into an actual bird, Samuel. We talked about this.”

“That’s what you claim, yeah, and I’m gonna keep asking, but no, not that.”

She gives him a suspicious look. Probably because whatever is upgradable on this suit has been upgraded, it even has an unimaginable amount of secret pockets and he won’t admit it out loud but he’s using those for lube and condoms and gum and there is nothing the Kingdom of Wakanda can do about it.

“Alright, the suit’s a little loose in the back. That’s all.”

“In the back? Samuweli, uthetha ngantoni?”

“You know. Part of this gig is the image. I gotta look good.” He motions vaguely to his ass. “This just needs to be a little… tighter.”

Ayo stares at him, then blinks. “That old man has got you good, doesn’t he?”

“Hey, I see how you look at Aneka. Yesterday she mentioned peaches and what did you do last night—” Ayo groans, rolls her eyes. “—no, tell me what you did last night!”

Her mouth twitches, but she schools her expression, points at him. “Wena. You are on thin ice.”

“You baked her a whole peach pie, that’s what. You feel me?”

“She likes pie,” Ayo says with a soft little sparkle behind her eyes, regarding Sam for a moment before returning to the monitors. “Fine. Tighter in the back.” She fiddles with two of the measurements on the suit hologram, then presses Enter.

Sam gives her his best grin when the machine circles down to his hips. “Thanks. I owe you.”

Ayo gathers her spear and clipboard. “We are hosting a few Ghanaian warriors tomorrow night. They would love to meet you. Wear the new suit.”

“I’ll be there.”

“I guess ‘Captain Lovey Pants’ has a whole new meaning now, eh?” Sam groans, and Ayo throws her head back and laughs and then some on her way out of the workshop.

The scanner zips into motion, and within seconds, the material tightens around his glutes, squeezing.

“Uh, Lerato! Ayo? Not this tight!”

“Hm,” Lerato says, titling her head and peeking around at Sam’s behind, smiles then shrugs. “I don’t see the problem, Captain. Didn’t you say it’s all about the image?”

“Ugh, I did.” Sam regrets everything. These folks are relentless.

“Well,” Lerato says, a sneaky, mischievous look in her eyes. “This is quite the image.”

[lulublack90]

Prompt 28 - Cowboy

@wolfstarmicrofic June 28, word count 847

Previous part First part

Sirius sidled up to James once he and Remus got back to the cabin. Remus ducked into the bathroom and Sirius narrowed his eyes at James.

“What happened to, ‘Don’t worry, Sirius, I swear I won’t interrupt you and Remus again when you’re having some alone time,’?” 

“Sirius, I swear it wasn’t intentional. There were bees!” James tried to explain to him. 

“You had the entire forest and yet somehow you ended up in the same pool as Remus and, just when we were about to…” He stopped talking, his face becoming hot as he blushed. What had they been about to do? Sirius didn’t even know. He’d let his fingers trace the edge of Remus’s waistband and Remus had leant back. Granted him permission. He didn’t even have time to think before James had disturbed them. Maybe it was for the best. He ground his teeth. Why was he so nervous? The few girls he’d been with had been so easy. Why did doing anything with Remus make his heart stutter and his brain overthink? Sirius was not one for overthinking. He ran in head first and dealt with the consequences later. Remus came out of the bathroom and he dropped it while they went for dinner. 

Sirius skipped ahead of their group to Wanda, who was serving pudding tonight.

“Wanda, might I say you look a vision tonight?” He turned his best smile on her. She brandished her spatula at him.

“Oh, stop you.” She chuckled at him. “I know why you’ve turned your charm on.” She leant in conspiratorially. “It’s Remus’s favourite tonight, isn’t it? And you want to sweet talk me into giving him an extra slice.” He tilted his head down and looked up at her through his long eyelashes. 

“Maybe,” Wanda plonked a piece of cake on his plate. 

“Of with you, you cheeky sod.” She winked at him before he moved on, “I’ll see what I can do,” Sirius beamed at her. 

He watched from their table as Remus nearly flung himself at Wanda when she’d put an extra piece of cake on his plate. Sirius mouthed a thank you to her. Remus was so happy with his extra pudding that he wolfed down his dinner. He probably didn't even taste it and started on his chocolate cake. The greedy git even finished off Sirius’s. He’d pretended to be full revelling in the joy on Remus’s face when he took a bite of the bonus cake. 

“So the dance is tomorrow,” James said once they were all done. “What’s everyone going as?”

“Going as?” Remus questioned. 

“It’s fancy dress, sweetheart,” Sirius told him, taking his hand as they left the main hall. 

“Oh,” Remus’s face fell. “I didn’t know. I don’t have anything with me.” Sirius’s heart broke from the sadness in his voice. He squeezed his hand reassuringly. 

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I always bring spares. You can wear one of mine.” He offered as they walked into the cabin. 

“Thank you,” Remus looked relieved. “What are you going as?” He asked him quietly.

“I’m the pirate king, Remus, I’m going as a pirate.” 

“I’m going as a lion!” Peter grinned and pulled out a furry lion’s mane wig from his drawers along with a lion onesie. 

“I’m going as Severus,” James said proudly, taking out a set of clothes that looked exactly the same as the ones Snape had on along with a short straight-haired wig. “I got this before we liked you,” He apologised to Snape when he glowered at him. 

“I’m going as the sheriff of Nottingham. Lily thought it would be funny as she wanted to go as Robin Hood and have Pandora as maid Marian,” He scowled at them, daring them to laugh. 

“I bet you’d look amazing as him. Do you have a fancy tunic?” Sirius asked. Snape shook his head no.

“It’s a cheap one from a costume shop,” He explained. Sirius dove under his bed and dragged out a huge bag that was full to bursting. He unzipped it and began pulling its contents out.  It took him a few minutes to get everything laid out on his bed, but soon he had three complete costumes. One perfect replica of the Captain Jack Sparrow outfit for him, one fancy outfit for Snape that would work for the sheriff, and one for Remus. 

“Saddle up cowboy,” He let one side of his mouth pull up in a crooked smile at Remus, “You’re going to the ball.” Remus reached forward and let his fingers trail across the costume he’d laid out. Sirius picked up the cowboy hat and placed it over Remus’s sandy curls. “Damn, I don’t know how I’m gonna fight off all the girls and boys that are going to throw themselves at you at the dance but, sweetheart, you look hot as hell,” Remus blushed and Sirius couldn’t help it. He wrapped his arms around his waist and drew him in for a passionate kiss, ignoring the wolf whistles coming from the other three. Remus was stunning and he was his. 

Next part

[abilouwrites]

THE BEFORE, AND THE AFTER

3

series Masterlist

(Og draft got deleted I’m sorry pookies)

It takes Bakugo three months before he winds up in my ER once again. This time less injured, with a large gash on his abdomen. I’ve just worked a twelve hour shift and am dying to get home. But alas I get called in to the trauma room where he’s just sitting, “called for you” He smiles weakly but lifts his shirt to show a semi-deep cut just at his ribcage, “hoped you weren’t off”

I groan a little as I slip my sterile gown and gloves on, grabbing a suture kit and bringing it near where I’m sitting, “uh-huh, can I take a listen to your lungs?” I ask taking my stethoscope from my pockets.

“Yeah. Can I get more of the pain killers?” He asks, crimson eyes flick over my figure and how I’m hunched listening to his lungs. Which sound fine.

“No, I’m just gonna numb you a little bit and then stitch you up” I clarify, gentling numbing the area and slowly pulling the sutures tight.

I hear him wince and inhale sharply, “you do not have gentle hands”

“Uh huh” I nod, “I just wanna get home. I’ve promised my roommate that I’d be there for dinner. And I’ve broken my promises more than enough” I murmur; dumping my gloves and gown into the trash.

“You have a roommate?” He asks; sitting up and pulling his mask off- allowing stray blonde hair to fall into his eyes. Which he quickly brushes out of his face.

“Yeah.. not all of us make almost two mil every year. But shes great I love her” I murmur, “uh yeah you’re good”

“Why don’t I take you out to dinner” he asks and now I know the morphine is talking.

“Ha-ha” I joke a dry laugh, “I’ll see you around. Just take it easy for a while”

I’m tired and burnt out when I slink through the door, listening to some jazz pop as I unlock the door. I’m not surprised to see Suki asleep on the couch. Stove off and food in the oven. I don’t bother waking her. She has a job interview with this tech company in the morning.

I open my door, clothes on the ground. A messy room, with makeup on my desk and medical books holding up the uneven legs. The little trinkets on my windowsill.

I’ve been working the past 48 hours, non stop— doctors are working less hours, which means the nurses have to step up. I’m working harder than I ever have. For the same pay.

I have the feeble energy to put the remaining clean laundry I have away before I stuff my laundry basket full of dirty clothes.

I flop into bed and am grateful I won’t have to work until tomorrow night.

Halfway through my shift I go for coffee. Mostly because this is my favorite coffee spot but also because hospital coffee sucks. There’s a shorter line than usual, people know this place but not very well. The nurses know it best, but I’m still a little astonished to see him there. Hair a little damp and eyes red with irritation. In the bareness of his hero costume, no gauntlets. Still those dumb boots.

I pick up my iced coffee, relishing in that first sip. The sip doesn’t cure my exhaustion; or the fact I’m walking a little under a mile back to the hospital.

But Bakugo never misses, eyes keen he spots me. Murmuring my name against the crowd, sliding next to me as I walk out. Light green scrubs and black clogs. The ugliest shoes but also the comfiest, “dynamight I haven’t seen you in a while” I tease gently as he smiles. Not even bothering to get his coffee.

“I’m almost due for my next visit then? Aren’t I?” He asks. A faint smile of that softened jaw-line. He’s not much taller than I am, 6’2 to my 5’7.

“God no, we’re so understaffed.. I’m working 80 hours a week and I’m still struggling on grocery and car and just everything.” I murmur a little, looking over at him.

“I’ve heard about the strikes, everyone says hero’s are the foundation of society but it’s carried by medicine” he speaks, a soft voice against the few cars that pass the streets.

“I know.. I’m just exhausted.. y’know?” I’m still quiet, “how has the stitches been healing?”

“All healed. Just a little sore.”

“And the wrist?”

“Because we’re out of your work place.. what’s it gonna take for me to take you out to dinner?”

I shrug back a laugh, but smile at him, “a lot more than that”

[kitthepurplepotato]

MWRMI PART 8

Week 4 Part 2 - The Hero Con! 👾

Summary: Y/N goes to the Hero con with her favorite hero by her side. Jirou wants to have “THE talk.” Midoriya can’t hide his feelings anymore and almost makes a “mistake.” Kacchan is done with Deku’s shenanigans.

Warnings: Swear words, a little bit of jealousy, disgusting amount of fluff!

First Part Master List

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

“It’s finished!” You jump up excitedly after sitting in one place for several hours so you can finish your last commission right before midnight; now that your weekly work is done you’ll be able to enjoy the convention and spend your hard earned money on Deku merch.

Also, pro hero Deku will have a signing booth, you can’t wait to meet him in person and tell him how much you love him!

Actually, scratch that, you’ll grow some balls and ask him for a picture together. Yeah.

But wait…

You live with pro hero Deku.

He’s literally sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching an old All Might movie, waiting for you to cuddle up next to him as you always do.

Maybe you should just stay home. The tickets were extremely expensive this year and you literally know everyone you want to meet in person by now. The tickets are also refundable so it won’t be a problem to get your money back.

“What made you frown like that, sweet pea?” Midoriya places a hand on your shoulders, making you jump; when did he come over?! He was watching a movie just a second ago!

“I just realized how much money I spent on the tickets when I can see you guys any time for free. Sometimes, I forget I live with pro hero Deku.” You sigh, looking up at your favorite hero. He’s wearing an old All Might shirt and he looks absolute adorable as always. His hair is really messy, he probably forgot to comb it again. You really like this side of him, the one who doesn’t care about appearances, you really have no idea why you payed so much money to see him in a hero costume when you prefer him this way anyway.

The hero smiles at you, making your insides turn upside down at how fond and loving his smile is.

“Well, there will be an exclusive interview with me and Dynamight. Then there’ll be a lot of cool booths with fan-made comics…”

“Doujinshi.”

“That, yeah.” He nods. “Then… well… I’ll be there looking cute and sexy.”

“You are always cute and sexy.” You mumble with a pout, not convinced. Midoriya blushes and looks away while biting his lips… oh damn, this should be illegal. You’ll never be able to forget this face. You really need to take a cold shower. Like, now.

“Also, I would like you to be there… with me.” He murmurs, touching your hands for a second before pulling away. “I actually wanted to ask you if you would like to come to work with me? Be my helper for the day? You can get a refund on your tickets but come anyway. We both win.”

If this is how Midoriya’s face looks like when he’s asking someone to help him you don’t want to know how he would look like when asking a girl on a date. His face is about to explode, bless his little cute ass. Now it makes sense why the hero is still single.

“Will I get a backstage pass and everything?” You perk up, your eyes shining with excitement. “Can I get a staff discount on your merch?!”

“You can have all my merch for free anyway. Just tell me what you want and you’ll have it.” He smiles, patting your head fondly. You probably look like an absolute fangirl right now, but to be fair, that’s literally what you are and Midoriya knows that.

“OH MY GOD I’M SO EXCITED I’M GOING TO CRY MIDORIYA, THANK YOU!” You yell into the poor guys face who only laughs at your late night shenanigans. “Oh my god, I won’t be able to sleep tonight. Ahh, we should head to bed. We need to wake up early. Ahh, can it be tomorrow already?”

Y/N.exe has stopped working.

“You literally just said you won’t be able to sleep, are you okay?” Midoriya giggles.

“Do I look okay to you?! I’m having a crisis!”

“You are so bloody adorable.” Midoriya rolls his eyes but pushes you towards the bathroom. “Go and brush your teeth then go to bed. Come and see me before getting ready so I can tell you the plan. We need to get out of the house by 8.”

“Roger that, boss!” You run into the bathroom and close the door just to scream into a towel, like a real, mature adult.

You can’t wait for tomorrow. This will be the best day of your life.

~•🥦•~

Needless to say, you didn’t sleep too much but not even the lack of sleep can ruin your excitement; you are going to a convention… with the main star of the convention.

Like, what the fuck is your life, honestly.

Midoriya is already up, making his favorite fancy coffee in an oversized shirt and underwear. You try your best not to look… well, that’s a lie, you do look. His shirt is hiding almost everything anyway. Damn, those tights could kill a person.

“I hope this is not the outfit for the convention, have some decency.”

Midoriya jumps at your voice; he was clearly in his own little head, trusting the safety of his own house enough to not be aware of his surroundings. He looks over at your clothing; your pro hero Deku pajama shorts with a random, old t-shirt; nothing special, really; and grins widely.

“Well I hope this isn’t your convention attire either, I kinda want to be in peace, not chasing random horny dudes away from you every five minutes.” Midoriya fucking winks and you freeze; your heart will definitely explode if he keeps this up. You’ll never be able to come out of your room in these pajamas, ever again.

“Well, maybe I want to be praised by random dudes?” You snap back jokingly but the greenette’s eyes visibly darken by your words; his mouth twitches once then twice before his expression evens out to a normal one.

“I would prefer you not to flirt on the job.” He smiles, like he didn’t just try to kill you with his eyes just a second ago. What the heck was that about? “Oh, talking about our attire, I have something for you!” The green haired hero perks up and runs into his room to give you a neatly folded clothing item in a greenish color. When you open it up, you almost burst out crying. It’s Deku’s famous first hero costume; It has more patches than original fabric, it’s well-loved and definitely well-used, a lot smaller than the hero in front of you.

“But isn’t this supposed to be in the hero museum?” You ask, a little bit confused.

“The one in the museum is the first official one made by UA. This was my first ever hero uniform, my mom got it made for me when I got in. She tried her best to patch it up every single day but after a while I had to get a more durable one. It’s not suitable for fighting villains but it’s still wearable.” Midoriya smiles and you can’t even hide the happy tears trailing down your cheeks. “I want you to wear it today, Y/N.”

That’s it. This is how you die. You are incapable of saying anything so you just jump into the hero’s arms, hoping your feelings will come through the embrace without the need for words. Midoriya’s arms snake around your waist, pulling your body close, squeezing relentlessly; there is a hint of possessiveness in his movements but you definitely don’t mind; the feeling of being needed runs through your veins as you squeeze back with the same fervor, unsaid words swirling around you like tiny butterflies on a warm spring day.

“We should probably get ready.” Midoriya murmurs into your ears, his voice traveling through your body, leaving goosebumps in their wake; he says that but he pulls you closer, not letting you go yet. After a few seconds his hold loosens and you slowly get out of his embrace; you already miss the warmth around your waist but you know this isn’t the last time you get a hug from him so you skip to your room to change into the most valuable piece of clothing you’ve ever had your hands on.

For your surprise, it fits perfectly.

~•🥦•~

“Do I look cool enough, Number One?” You come out of your room in Deku’s costume; one half of the mask piece was missing; or to be exact, it was blown away, probably; so you had to play around to make it stay on your head, but you made it work; you did a dark, greenish make up to make the whole look pop and if that’s not enough, you topped the whole make up look with some fake freckles. You had some extensions in pine green color sitting in your drawer, so you popped those in and curled them together with your real hair, ending up looking like a female version of Deku. The suit is a tiny bit tight in the chest area as it wasn’t made to be worn by girls, but it’s really not that bad all together.

Your words are met with absolute silence, the only sound in the room is the sound of Midoriya swallowing hard. He looks a bit constipated but you decide not to make a joke out of it as he looks like he’s about to pass out.

“Wow. I really didn’t think it will look this good on you. You look stunning, Y/N.” Midoriya swallows hard again and runs back into his room. “Wait for me by the door, I’m just gonna grab my bag.” He wheezes, out of breath. You are a bit concerned for the well-being of your roomie right now but it’s probably just the stress, so you decide to wait patiently by the door for him. Your phone vibrates in your pocket so you quickly take a look.

— Deku’s daycare! —

Pikachu: Y/N’s wearing Deku’s old costume to the convention today, apparently she looks really fucking hot.

Pikachu: Oh fuck, wrong chat.

*Kacchan sugoi blocked Pikachu.*

Glasses 👓 : Ignore him Y/N, Zuku would never say such a lewd thing. He probably just said you look really lovely. I can’t wait to meet you today.

Kirishima: To be fair, he genuinely said “lovely” in our group chat with Katsuki!

Piggy 🐷: He probably messaged him by accident, everyone knows not to trust Denki with secrets.

Freeloader: I will make sure to remember that, Mina! I can’t wait to meet you, Iida-kun!

“Ahh, sorry, I was just messaging Kacchan.” Deku scratches the back of his head shyly. “Let’s go, Y/N.”

~•🥦•~

“I can’t believe I’m backstage!” You mumble as you take in the sight in front of you: staff members running around with random boxes full of merch while there’s a sound check happening on the main stage. You look out to the main area to see hundreds of vendors putting out their arts and comics, hanging up banners and talkers to promote their work. The backstage area is full of heroes, flexing in their fancy hero costumes, getting ready for their interviews and signing sessions. Jirou locks her eyes with you and comes over; Deku leaves your side after leaving a kiss on the top of your head, making you a flushed mess with his affectionate deeds.

“Hey bestie… can we talk?” Jirou smiles but by the look in her eyes, it’s something serious. You nod silently as she leads you to an empty room on the side of the massive backstage area; it’s filled with cleaning products and other necessities nicely lined up on the massive shelves. “You know I don’t beat around the bush so… what’s up with you two?” Jirou asks, her voice full of worry. “Whatever it is, I won’t be mad I’m just surprised you didn’t tell me anything.”

“Because there’s nothing to tell.” You sigh. “We are really close. I like him. A lot. I don’t think that surprises you.” You giggle with a sad look on your face; Jirou knows how much of a fanatic you are, there is no reason to hide it.

“No, it does.” Jirou speaks up. “Because we are talking about Zuku, not pro hero Deku here. I see how you look at him, Y/N. That’s not fanatism and you know that.” She reprimands while you try your best to hide behind the shelving system. “But that’s not what bothers me. Not at all. What bothers me is that Zuku gave you his most treasured hero costume to wear on a fucking convention. He likes you enough to do that.”

You really don’t understand what’s going on.

“I don’t see how is that a problem. We like each other. He’s a touchy-feely person who loves to make people smile. That’s all.”

Jirou rolls her eyes aggressively at your words.

“Yes, he likes to hug people but he doesn’t kiss them, especially not in front of the whole staff. But that’s not my problem. My problem is that I’m terrified you are going to get hurt. Seeing your loved ones after a fight is…”

“He came home drenched in his own blood enough times already, Kyou. I know what I’m getting into. Also, he doesn’t think about me that way so don’t worry.” You answer with your voice strained due to the stress. You really don’t understand this conversation.

“Y/N, you are so fucking oblivious I swear to god!“ Jirou yells. “Nevermind, just talk to me. Please. I want you to know I’m here for you if you ever need to talk about this. That’s all I wanted to say. This needs to be extremely overwhelming for you.”

“Thank you, I’ll message you more often. But if you’ll continue treating me like a fragile little quirkless girl…” your voice gets louder as the sentence goes but someone stops you in the middle of the sentence.

“Hey, hey, don’t fight.” Red Riot steps between you two like you can actually cause harm to the hero in front of you. “Y/N, I know this must be a lot for you but this is how we are. We are nosy and way too protective. We also talked to Deku about this the other day. We just want to make sure you two are okay. Not everyone is as good with this whole thing as you are, Y/N.” Kirishima looks at you with a sad smile, clearly knowing what he’s talking about. For your surprise, Jirou giggles.

“We weren’t fighting honey, we just both got a bit too protective.” She smiles and Kirishima nods, leaving without another word. That was weird.

“So what’s his baggage?” You giggle at your friend, the heated argument long forgotten.

“Girl, he lives with Katsuki. That’s enough of a baggage as it is.” She says with a fond smile on her face.

“Sorry for being so sensitive about this. You are right, it’s a lot. And it’s really hard not to love him more than I probably should. And to be honest… I do… love him… more. Duh.” You laugh self-deprecatingly, almost whispering while tears pool in your eyes. Jirou snakes her arms around you and whispers back.

“I would like to be concerned, but the way he looks at you right now, hiding being the door all concerned, I don’t think there will be a problem.”

“Oh my god, do you think he heard what I just said?!” You freak out, not even realizing the meaning of her last words.

“No, he didn’t, don’t freak out.” She laughs out loudly. “Come in, you nosy fuck, it’s not manly to eavesdrop!” Jirou mixes Katsuki’s and Eijirou’s style of talking perfectly which makes you laugh.

“Eijirou said there is an argument and I…” Midoriya stutters as he comes closer, ashamed of himself.

“Yeah, you are concerned, we get it.” Jirou rolls her eyes, looking at you two with a knowing face.

“Actually, I wanted to thank you… for introducing us. I’ll make sure she never gets hurt because of my job and…”

“… and I’m invited to your wedding.” Jirou finishes his sentence with a straight face.

“Yeah, of course you are!” Midoriya jumps in, then pales completely. “Wait, what?!”

“Nice one, Headphones!” Katsuki comes through the door, giving your friend a high five.

“I can’t believe I’m friends with you assholes!” Midoriya whines with a bright red blush on his face.

“You love us.” Jirou taps Deku’s shoulders to soothe the overwhelmed hero.

“I really do.”

Well, you’ve definitely have learnt one thing today; privacy is not a thing in this friend group.

~•🥦•~

While the heroes get ready for their panels you look around at the convention for a bit; you already bought a handmade Deku plushie, a few limited edition hero figurines only available at this convention and you also managed to get your hands on the next volume of the My Hero Academia manga; it started as a fan project but ended up to be a big hit, supported by the whole hero scene; it’s a manga about the history of the current top heroes, it shows their past UA life and also gives the reader a glint into the biggest war of the past decade. After the first volume, Horikoshi-sensei managed to get noticed by all the heroes who were more than happy to give him all the information he needed to keep the story as realistic as possible. The newest volume is officially coming out in a few weeks time but it’s available for purchase on this convention way before its official release. You can’t wait to sit down and read it.

After a bag full of random shit you definitely don’t need you make your way back to your flatmate, who’s just about to start his signing session in one of the booths. You barely make it inside before people start asking for pictures; apparently Midoriya isn’t the only one who thinks your cosplay is amazing.

“Oh my god, you are so cute, what the heck!” A younger guy, around 18, comes over to you with a massive smile on his face. “Can I have a photo?” He asks shyly and you oblige; but for some reason, the poor fella freezes in one place as he stares towards the stage. “Actually, it’s fine, I just wanted to tell you how much I like your style.” He continues staring, so you look the same direction; Midoriya stares at the two of you, black whip dancing around him aggressively as he stops signing a fan’s poster midway. “Is there a reason why is my favorite hero trying to assassinate me with his eyes?” The boy wonders, clearly shaking.

“He’s probably looking at something else. Let’s take that picture, okay?” You smile at the boy who takes a selfie happily and moves into the queue to get his own signature. You make your way over to the glaring greenette with a scolding look.

“Midoriya….” You stop by his side, giving him a sharpie as he managed to break the one in his hand, god knows how. “What was that about?”

Midoriya looks up at you with his signature puppy eyes between signing two posters, topped up with a little smile.

“You told me it’s okay to want things. I wanted you to stop talking to that guy and give me a new sharpie.” He says like it’s the most normal thing in the world to kill a person with his eyes.

You sigh, letting the hero off the hook for the sake of the signing and you are just about to move away when he grabs your hand under the table. He doesn’t say a word nor looks at you, he just keeps holding your hand while he signs with the other. He eventually lets you go when some people ask for pictures and you use the freedom to hide behind the backstage door where you are still visible for Midoriya but hidden from everyone else. He looks at you with a sad smile and turns back to the fans with a long sigh.

“Is he being weird again?” You jump from the sudden voice behind you; it’s Kaminari.

“Really weird.” You murmur, leaving the backstage to help at the merch booth as the poor guys are clearly swarmed up there. Quite a lot of people end up asking for a picture with you after their purchase went through at the tills and you also get a bunch of compliments for your amazing cosplay; you feel content and happy, even though you can feel Midoriya’s eyes on you the whole time.

“Are you Deku’s girlfriend?” A younger girl asks and you can’t help but blush at the question.

“Oh, no, not at all, I’m just helping! He’s… a great friend of mine.” You try to smile, but everyone can see how uncomfortable you are. The other staff members giggle at the awkwardness and ask the young girl to move away and let other people buy their stuff too. You let out a long breath and keep smiling at the customers, getting more and more tired as the time goes by; you get stuck at the tills until the end of the day, only being able to leave when the convention finally shuts it’s doors.

Midoriya comes over to you as you put the few leftover merch into a box to be taken back to the DC.

“Tired?” He smiles, while helping you pack. The rest of the staff members freeze from the sight of the pro hero but continue to do their assigned jobs.

“Definitely. I’m so ready to fall asleep on the sofa while stuffing my face with the fancy mochi I just bought.” You sigh, finishing up. “By the way, don’t do that.” You say quickly, trying to avoid eye contact.

“What?” Midoriya looks at you with questioning eyes.

“That. Staring holes into my skull. You don’t need to do that, I can take care of myself. I’m quirkless, not an idiot.” You sigh, a tiny bit offended.

“You misunderstand. It’s not because of that. I…” Midoriya stutters, making the other staff members stop working completely to be able to listen in. “Let’s talk about this at home, okay?” He says, pointing at the staff members with his eyes.

“I’m so sorry!” You mumble, but he just puts his hands on your shoulders and pulls you close.

“Can I have her back now? You guys can finish this, right?” You can’t see Midoriya’s smile but you can feel it in the way he talks. The staff members murmur a quiet “yes” as he takes your hand and starts pulling you towards the backstage. “Thank you guys for today, take whatever you want from the leftover box!” Midoriya says while taking 2 oversized shirts out of the box. “Matching PJs?” He winks at you, leaving the whole team dumbfounded by his words. You don’t have time to answer as the hero pulls you into the backstage area to take his backpack and say goodbye to everyone then moves towards the exit as quick as he can. “I’m so ready to sit on the sofa for the rest of the day, I swear this is more tiring than fighting villains.”

You don’t say anything back just giggle to yourself at Midoriya’s grumpy mood; it’s a new side of him, one even more adorable than all the others; he grumbles in a really cute way, his eyes squished together like a child throwing a tantrum. You squeeze his hand reassuringly as he pulls you towards the nearest taxi, hiding his face in the crook of your neck as soon as you both sit down.

~•🥦•~

“Can I have some?” Midoriya looks at you while you two snuggle on the sofa. You are watching a Crimson Riot movie in your new, matching pjs. The hero decided to wear it with nothing with boxers but thankfully, you are both under a massive blanket so you can’t see it. You can feel it though, which is probably worse and definitely way past the friendzone, but to be honest you don’t really feel like moving away.

“You want me to share my limited edition Deku mochi with you?” You look at him incredulously, keeping the box out of his reach.

“I am literally the reason this mochi exist, sweet pea!” The hero tries to reach again, ending up in your lap, taking the box from you as you freeze from the sudden closeness.

“You don’t get any until you say sorry for this afternoon.” You mumble with a flushed face, looking everywhere but at the hero in front of you. Midoriya decides this is a good enough sitting place and places his butt down right next to you without moving his legs; one of them stays sprawled out on your lap, skin touching skin.

Why can’t he sit like a normal person. Why.

“You are mad. Like, mad mad.” He mopes, looking like a 5 year old who didn’t get a present from Santa this year.

“I am! You scared that poor boy! He was literally shaking when he got to you! Your naked, absolutely gorgeous tights are also on my lap and I can’t focus on the scolding, so can you move them, please?!” You almost screech by the end of your sentence, hiding your rapidly darkening face with your arms.

“Oh, they are heavy, ain’t they.” He mumbles while he nods and moves back to his side properly.

That’s really not the problem you sexy idiot - you want to say, but you keep your thoughts to yourself.

“I’m sorry… I just…” he starts to ramble again, but this time, he doesn’t stop. “I saw him touching you and looking at you with those heart eyes and … I have no idea why is this happening to me Y/N, but every time I think about someone doing stuff like that with you, it makes me so furious I want to demolish them. I am really not an aggressive person but for some weird reason, I can’t control my anger when it comes to these situations. I’ll get better. You are your own person, you have all the rights to flirt, to fall in love and…” Midoriya’s full face is scrunched into a frown by the end of his monologue.

“You are right, I am my own person and I have all the rights to flirt and fall in love.” You repeat, making him bite his lower lip aggressively to ground himself. “But I won’t. I can’t. I don’t want to. Right now.” This time, you are the one who hides her face in his neck to calm down. As always, he smells amazing.

I can’t give my heart to someone but because you’ve already taken it - you want to say. But you don’t.

Midoriya presses a kiss on the top of your head while his hands get lost in your hair again; he massages your scalp soothingly while he says his next words.

“Just give me some time and I’ll be able to let you go.”

The sentence sounds familiar but you have no idea why; you are quite sure you’ve never heard him say anything like this before. Your heart squeezes at the words, leaving you an absolute mess as you mumble into his neck.

“I hope you need a lot of fucking time cuz I ain’t wanna go anywhere.” You mumble into his curls. “I want to stay here forever.”

Jesus, what are you even talking about?! This is pro hero Deku goddamnit!! You are nothing but a really lucky fangirl, nothing more, nothing less. You have no right to…

“Deal. Let’s stay like this. Forever. I don’t need anyone else either.” He smiles with tears in his eyes. “I never thought I’ll ever have this, whatever this is, and I don’t need anything else. Not now, not later.” Midoriya moves you up by your chin and rests his forehead against yours. By the way your heart is beating, you are probably about to die. “Y/N, will you be my roommate forever?” Midoriya whispers but you can’t make a proper answer so you decide to nod instead. The hero smiles and leaves a kiss right next your lips; your breath hitches for a second before he moves back to his starting position, like nothing had happened in the first place.

“You okay? You look really pale. Do you want to go to sleep, sweet pea?” He asks but you keep staring into space with no thoughts swirling in your dead brain…………….

“Yeah, I’m sleepy. Really sleepy.” You stand up and move towards your room without brushing your teeth. Disgusting, but if you need to stay in the same room with this idiot for another second you might combust.

“I’ll go too. It’s not fun without you.” He smiles.

You close the door behind you, then you belly flap on the bed to scream into your pillow.

Needless to say, you won’t sleep a wink tonight, nor the night after. You’ll never sleep again.

~•🥦•~

— Deku’s mental health support group. —

Lovesick Idiot (Zuku): I almost kissed her on the lips.

Ei: Accidentally?

Lovesick Idiot (Zuku): Yes. No. I don’t know??!

Kacchan: Just fuck already.

Lovesick Idiot (Zuku): You are not helping, Kacchan!

Kacchan: You can’t be helped. Now let us sleep.

Ei: Ignore him. So was it an accident?

Lovesick Idiot (Zuku): No.

Ei: Did she move away?

Lovesick Idiot (Zuku): No.

Ei: Why didn’t you kiss her then?!

Lovesick idiot (Zuku): She doesn’t see me that way.

Ei: …

Ei: Katsuki was right. Let us sleep. Good night.

*Kacchan changed Midoriya’s name to “Helpless, oblivious fuck”.

~•🥦•~

Y/N: Is it platonic when your roommate gets all protective over you and asks you to to be his roomie forever then he kisses you right next to your lips?

Jirou: Are you fucking kidding me, Y/N?!

Y/N: I know, I’m stupid, but a girl can dream…

Jirou: You two will be the death of me I swear to god. I think you just gave me a brain aneurysm.

Y/N: …

~•🥦•~

Izu-Izu: Y\N, are you sleeping?

Y/N: Yes.

Izu-Izu: Yeah, me too…

…Next part!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Potato ramble:

- How to ask someone to be your girlfriend without saying “be my girlfriend”, am I right? How long will you two dance around each other? Honestly, I hope it’s long as I really don’t want to finish this series 😂😂😂😂

- Btw, I’m writing week 6 right now and you are not ready for that shit. The amount of stuff Midoriya gets away with even thought you two are not in a relationship is a little bit concerning at this point. 😂

- Weekly shopping obsessed potato ramble: so this week… I bought a Todoroki figurine and 2 funkos. Send help. It’s a funny story though! So I was on my last 15 min break at work, which is a street away from my fav geek store. They posted about the new My Hero Funkos and I literally sprinted down in my work uniform and headset to get a Todoroki and a Shinsou. I arrived all sweaty and panting and they all laughed at me, then my boss also laughed when I came back with a bag full of funkos. 😂

- I’m really broke now. Hopefully, there won’t be a shopaholic potato section next week. XD

- I also need to get a new shelf as I’m out of space. I need help.

Taglist: @porusuniverse @stickygumchewer @sixxze @mily-moo @momothemasocist @aymasakusa

[poraphia]

heyheyhey

could I request wilbur x actor reader who has to travel alot for work and mainly acts in horror movies and that's like kinda what their known for?

thank you!!

"The Biggest Smile For My Biggest Fan"

wilbur x actress!reader 1741 words • 8.14.23 containing ~ mainly general neutral, minor use of "actress", vividly scawy lookin sfx makeup, long distance :o More wilbur content hereee :)

"He said 'I love you,' even if I'm in scary makeup. Even if I'm countries away from his embrace. He said 'I love you.'"

♡♡♡

“Did you remember to set your alarms back on? Since I won’t be able to wake you up in the morning for studio.”

Wilbur nodded. His face was still buried in my neck as my arms wrapped around him.

“Okay, I also premade some meals in the fridge for you to warm up so you don’t have to spend too much money on takeout.”

“Mhmm.” He hummed, nose buried into the scent of my collar.

“Oh, and don’t stay up past 2 AM—”

Wilbur’s soft chuckle vibrated against my skin before he pulled away, both hands on my shoulders. “It’s okay, (y/n).” He smiled. “I’m going to be okay.”

It was typical for Wilbur and I not to see each other often in person. There were times when I would have to travel abroad for filming and acting. Then there was Will, who would be on the other side of the country performing big gigs for thousands of people live. Ever since we moved in together though, things felt a bit more domesticated. For the rare times we were able to be in the same house together, we would never leave each other's schedule. Whether it would be me being Wilbur’s alarm clock, or Wilbur being my walking grocery shopping list. The moment we gave each other the house keys it was a sacred promise that we would be there for each other no matter what.

“I just— want to make sure, my love.” I mumbled. A soft smile pulled on his lips before he leaned down to give me a passionate kiss. I held onto his jacket collar tightly, using my tippy toes to reach the tall bastard. Strands of his hair tickled my face, but it was an itch I would miss for weeks. We finally pulled away, staring into each other’s eyes.

“Text me when you land, okay?” He requested softly. His eyes gleamed with the blaring airport ceiling lights. I reached up again to kiss every square inch of his face. His hands wrapped around my wrists as I held the sides of his head. Giggles erupted from him. Even with a peck to the nose, dimples, and the small freckle near his eye, I had to force myself to be satisfied so I wouldn’t miss my flight. Once I pulled away, I caressed my thumb against his cheek. His eyes still focused on me.

“I’ll text you, I promise.”

And with that, we waved each other goodbye before enduring the long process of getting my bags checked to a couple of hours’ flight on the plane to Columbia, where our movie was going to be filmed. I didn’t know much about the movie other than I’ll be starring as a character with a mask stalking the main group of protagonists. Either way, I was excited to be a part of a big film in production yet again, and even more excited to see what ideas and talent will be brought to the table.

Once I landed I took a taxi to the hotel I was stationed to be at, and tomorrow will start the production of costume fitting and script reviewing. Wilbur knew most of the script by heart by this point. Some days when he would be at home most of the time, he could hear me practicing the same lines over and over again, to the point that sometimes he would burst into the room, completing the scene.

I would be standing in the living room with my script on my phone. “You’re not supposed to be here!” I rehearsed. I had to make sure the tone of my voice sounded like I wanted to be in authority like I was feared, but with a hint of worriment, as if I was, in reality, terrified of the situation. “With broken masks and guts used to hang our people, you monsters—”

“You monsters have done nothing but tournament us and pushed us back!” Wilbur cried, bursting through the front door. In a burst of shock, I yelped, tripping over a pillow and falling onto the couch. “ Now weep on your fucking knees, because you don’t know what’s next!” Wilbur would place his guitar and bags down before jumping over the couch, pouncing on top of me.

“Ow—! Wilbur—! Stop!” I screamed between giggles. His hands would be all over my body, tickling my sides.

I smiled fondly at the memories but felt that aching in my chest because I missed him so much already. It was the next day now, and I was headed to the location where most of our production planning would be. It was a big warehouse somewhat to the outskirts of the city. I was greeted by the director, who was a big jolly man with thick black glasses and a fuzzy beard framing his face.

“Hello, hello!” He greeted, eagerly shaking my hand. Confused yet amused, I gladly shook his hand back. “You must be, (y/n) right?” He asked.

I chuckled a little. “Uh, yup. That’s me!” I smiled proudly. He clasped his hands together and grinned.

“I’ve been thinking about your audition since it happened, (y/n)! We’re super glad to have you as part of our team.” He beamed. “Now come, come! We’ll be getting measurements and showing you some prototypes of what your costume may look like. By the end of the day, we should have everything ready for you.” The director turned around, walking toward a small room as I trailed behind. Looking around, I saw the set assembled with blocks while there were drawing boards of what the set should look like after editing it all together.

We walked into the dressing room and the director introduced me to these two women who will be taking my measurements and doing my makeup. After introductions, he left to take care of other stations on the set. I stood on a circular platform as one woman took some fabric measuring tape to get my exact sizes.

Together we all made some small talk like how was my flight, how long they’d been working in the industry, and things of that nature. “So, (y/n), do you have a boyfriend?” Leslie, the one doing my makeup, asked. If there wasn’t a pale white layer of foundation on my face, they would’ve been sure to see the blush creeping on my cheeks.

“I-I do actually. He’s a musician and streamer.” I stuttered. Leslie looked over to Hazel, who was the lady taking my measurements.

“That sounds exciting! A musician and actress together!” She gleamed. “That’s a whole movie in itself, isn’t it?”

“We’re working on a horror movie, Leslie, not a romantic comedy.” Hazel clarified, jotting down the last of my measurements. I chuckled at her little clarification before my phone buzzed on the vanity table. I looked over to Hazel and as if she read my mind, she nodded her head towards it so that I may have permission to answer.

I trotted over toward my phone, realizing it was Wilbur who was calling me. Immediately, I swiped to answer.

“Hey, honey,” I smiled. “What’re you doing calling me at this hour?” I asked.

“(y/n)! I missed you—! And so does chat. Chat also misses you.” He quickly clarified. “If you couldn’t tell, I’m streaming. Can I see you? It feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“You saw me yesterday, Will!” I exclaimed, sitting in the vanity chair.

“Hm,” he hummed. “Not important. Let me see you.” I rolled my eyes before looking at myself in the mirror, eyes widening from how unrecognizable I looked. My face was pure white and half of it was decorated with large, bloodied teeth. Contacts were put in to give me tiny pupils with slight red veins to make it look like my eyes were wide and strained. I had under-eye scars that looked like stitches. Leslie came up to me, holding a detailed red mask of what looked like the devil with the most twisted smile and haunting horns.

“Don’t forget this!” Leslie chimed. I smiled taking it in my grasp. I turned back to Wilbur, who already had his video call on with a silly angle of the camera too close to his face.

“Alright, Will, prepare yourself. Don’t show this to chat because this is a huge spoiler, I’m pretty sure.” I warned. I turned on my camera but made sure it was pointing in my lap. Looking up in the mirror I hovered the mask over my face and then pointed the camera toward the mirror. I watched Wilbur back away from his camera to get a better angle. With one eyebrow raised and a head tilt, he smiled.

“Well, that’s a cool fuckin’ mask but I’m trying to see my (y/n)!” He commented. Slowly, I moved the mask away and his jaw dropped to the floor before a huge smile grew across his face.

“(y/n)! Oh my god, you look so fucking cool! Is that going to be the look for the movie?!” He asked, almost bouncing up and down in his seat like a little boy. I softly giggled, amused by his eagerness.

“Mhmm,” I hummed. “Do you like it?”

“Dude I fucking love it. You look amazing.” He said, cheek resting in his palm. “I wish I could show chat this. You look so fuckin’ cool.” I tried smiling at him, but it only made the teeth look scarier, causing me to laugh. Wilbur noticed my struggle and giggled at my antics.

“Ah, shit, I can’t even give my loving boyfriend a cute little smile!” I exclaimed.

“I love that giant, toothy, monstrous smile anyway, darling! Don’t worry. You’re my cute lil’ demon.” He assured. I sarcastically groaned at the cheesy nickname. He paused, looking at me in admiration before sitting back up. “Alright, well, chat keeps calling me a simp, so I have to go.”

“You are the biggest simp.” I commented.

“Oh, shut up,” he said, squinting at me. “Call me when you get back to your hotel, okay? I love youuuu—”

“I love you tooooooo—” We both dragged the end of our sentence until Wilbur hung up. I leaned back into my chair, an enamored sigh escaping my lips.

Even if he isn’t next to me as I go through the biggest stages of my career, he still finds a way to encourage this heart of mine to pursue my dreams.

♡♡♡

a / n ~ sorry this took so long! Mental health hasn't been serving me the best. Reblogs and likes are super appreciated !! Thank you so much for the support <3 Requests open too!

[everytaylorswiftsongisaboutcats]

Taylor Swift Eras Tour Swift Streams w Me Miami Night 2

Ladies, Gents, and Non-Binary friends, we have arrived: live updates here we go

If any announcements, new costumes, new collabs, or MAJOR events happen they will be highlighted in red with all caps. If I’m wrong I’ll cross it out😂🤡 heads up probably won’t be as active as last night unless things go CRAZY; heart stamp for closed usually set🩷💛❤️💜🖤🩶🤎🩵🤍💙

Lover:

Classic opening

Gold & Blue bodysuit

Black Man jacket

Typical speech

Usual Lover set🩷

— Does the house always tip forward instead of burn?

Fearless:

Normal dress: black & silver / cacio e peppe

Usual Fearless set💛

Red:

This is NOT Taylor’s Version (clowning me again😂)

New-ish speech like last night addressing this final tour leg

Usual Red set❤️

Speak Now:

NEW DRESS!!! Teal? — almost Swiftbowl for me?😂 Looks like a new version of blue dress mixed with firework starry night but just blue…

lets see what Tay Nation names? It’s giving dare I say… snake scale vibes? I’m liking TEALor Swift (minus the fact it’s not super Teal unless Hq’s prove otherwise?)

Usual set: Enchanted✨💜

Reputation:

Black & Gold again

Usual Rep set so far☑️

Her smile during lwymmd was cute

Happy rain show✨

Usual Rep Set🖤

folkmore/everlore:

Green Folkmore dress

Usual folklore set🩶

Normal Betty & Champagne Problems speeches

Usual evermore set🤎

1989:

Yellow top Pink skirt (nothing new)

Usual 1989 set🩵

TTPD:

Usual TTPD set thus far

Who’s afraid of little old me? dress w Black gloves

Florence has appeared again to perform Florida!

Black suit gold coat

Normal TTPD set🤍

Surprise Songs:

NEW Surprise Song Dress! It’s PURPLE & GORGEOUS! & so pretty it gets a speech addressment (loving the sparkles)

Surprise songs are — Guitar: Should’ve Said No (another debut song?🤡) x I DID SOMETHING BAD (she’s really messing with us🤡🤡) & — Piano: loml x White Horse (HOLY MOTHER NO WORDS) “IM SO SORRY CAUSE YOU SHIT TALKED ME UNDER THE TABLE”

Midnights:

NEW Midnights Tee (Silvery Blue?… lots of Icy vibes)

Normal Bodysuit: Chevron

Normal Karma Jacket: Dark Blue

Normal Midnights set💙

She really said I can do what I want Debutation clowns & dress color debates, and I’m here for it!🫶 See you tomorrow for Night 3

[occasional-arb]

Scramble Recital ~Shibuya Halloween Night~ Translation

(In Ramuda’s studio.)

Ramuda: Alright! So that’s why we’ll be the ones keeping the peace in Shibuya on Halloween☆

Dice: What do you mean “so that’s why”!

Gentaro: We just got here, isn’t it a bit dictatorial to make such a decision without even discussing it with us first?

Ramuda: No way! I’m sure you guys know that Shibuya’s filled with parties on Halloween night, right?

Dice: That’s true. It’s hard to get to the pachinko parlor with so many people partying in the streets.

Ramuda: It’s good to have fun on a holiday, but some people get a teensy bit carried away.

Gentaro: Yes, it makes the news every year. It is a bit disconcerting.

Ramuda: Right?? So this year, let’s patrol the streets and fix all the problems ☆ Sounds good, right? Right? Okay, it’s decided!!

Dice: Well I’m free, so as long as you buy me something to eat, it’s cool with me.

Gentaro: Sigh… Always such a despicable person. Maybe even evil…

Gentaro: Unlike him, I live to serve the people of the world without compensation, so I will partake for nothing in return.

Dice: Now that’s a good lie.

Ramuda: So what’s the real reason???

Gentaro: I’m writing a Halloween themed story. I needed to do some research anyway, so this was perfect timing.

Dice: So you’re evil too…

Gentaro: Call it what you like.

Dice: So, will we just walk around the city like usual, then?

Ramuda: Isn’t that boring? We should all dress up in cosplay to go on patrol!

Dice: Oh, that sounds fun!

Ramuda: Right??

Gentaro: Cosplay, huh… I’m not very keen on the idea…

Ramuda: But you’ll stand out if you’re not dressed up! When in Rome, right?

Gentaro: …Alright. I suppose it might make for good story material…

Ramuda: Yay! I’ll make us all costumes!!

Dice: If I’m gonna do this, I wanna dress up as Bakuchi from “Misfortunate Gambling Legend: Bakuchi”!

(T/N: This is a parody of the Kaiji franchise.)

Ramuda: Okay, I’ll make it for you! What costume does Gentaro want??

Gentaro: …Nothing in particular. I’ll leave it up to you.

Ramuda: Since Gengen likes to wear traditional clothes, you should be Kenki from Edo Sword Demon Romantic Story!

(T/N: This is a parody of Rurouni Kenshin. Soma Saito also plays Kenshin in the reboot anime.)

Dice: What about you, Ramuda?

Ramuda: Hehehe! My costume is actually already done! I’ll show you! Wait here a sec!!

(Ramuda leaves and comes back with long blond hair and a frilly red dress. …If this is parodying something specific, I don’t know what it is lol. )

Ramuda: Ta-da! What do you think??

Dice: O-oh…

Gentaro: Quite the extravagant costume… What is this a cosplay of?

Ramuda: I’m a villainess ☆ So what do you think? Isn’t it cute??

Dice: I guess it suits you…

Gentaro: As long as you like it, anything is fine…

Ramuda: I can’t wait to see you guys in your costumes! Let’s all keep Shibuya safe together!!

(The day before Halloween, in Ramuda’s studio again.)

Ramuda: Sorry, guys! There’s some work I have to do tomorrow so I won’t be able to join you…

Gentaro: If it’s work, it can’t be helped. Don’t worry about it.

Dice: So are we canceling it?

Ramuda: Don’t cancel, I already made your costumes! And I called in some extra help to take my spot!

Dice: Extra help?

Gentaro: Who is it?

Ramuda: Tomorrow will be great! He’s a guy that I trust, so it’s fine!

Gentaro: …I suppose that’s fine.

Dice: You’ll still buy me food, right?

Ramuda: Yep! I’ll get you something real nice afterwards!

Dice: Hell yeah!

Gentaro: Goodness... Truly a despicable man.

Ramuda: Then tomorrow I’ll be leaving Shibuya in your hands!

Dice: Yep! Leave it to me!

Gentaro: As you command.

(Halloween, Shibuya Crossing. Dice is wearing his not Kaiji cosplay.)

Dice: Woah, lotta people here.

Dice: Everyone else is dressed so flashy, I don’t stand out at all.

Gentaro: Sorry to have kept you waiting.

Dice: Oh!

(Gentaro appears wearing his not Kenshin cosplay.)

Dice: Something’s different about you.

Gentaro: I’m used to wearing a kimono, but… I still feel uncomfortable carrying a sword at my waist, even if it’s just a toy. It feels like I’m doing something nefarious…

Dice: Well, everyone else is dressed up too. I don’t think it’ll bother anyone.

Gentaro: I suppose. By the way, has our help arrived yet?

Dice: Nope, not yet.

???: Sorry to keep you waiting!

(Ichiro appears wearing some… kind of costume that vaguely resembles Takeshi Goda, a character also played by Subaru Kimura in Doraemon. Apparently.)

Gentaro: Yamada Ichiro-san?

Dice: Are you our help?

Ichiro: Yeah, Ramuda asked me to lend you guys a hand. Let’s do this!

Dice: By the way, that outfit suits you strangely well.

Ichiro: Right? I was surprised when I tried it on too.

Gentaro: You’re Toshihiko, the bully from a popular children’s anime, correct?

Ichiro: Yep. I guess cause it was last-minute, Ramuda could only make a simple costume.

Dice: Alright! Well, let’s go grab some food before going on patrol.

Ichiro: Can’t work on an empty stomach!

Gentaro: Dice… Please pay for yourself this time.

Dice: Nahahahaha!

(Dice walks off)

Gentaro: That wasn’t a joke.

(Shibuya Center Gai)

Ichiro: I heard this would be crazy, but it’s even wilder than I expected.

Gentaro: There’s not even a particular event going on, people just use Halloween as an excuse to party.

Dice: It’s hard to get through the crowds…

Child: Sniff… Hiccup…

Ichiro: Hm? Was that a child crying?

Gentaro: Hm… I didn’t hear anything.

Dice: I didn’t either.

Ichiro: This way!

(Different spot on Shibuya Center Gai.)

Child: Huuuu… Mama!

Gentaro: Oh, there is a child.

Dice: Must’ve gotten separated from his mom.

Ichiro: Whatever happened, we need to get him to stop crying so he can talk to us.

Dice: Alright! Leave it to me!

Dice: Hey kid, let’s go look for your mom together!

Child: Uweeeeehhh!

Dice: Ah! P-please stop crying! I’m trying to help you!

Gentaro: It’s only natural to be scared when a strange man speaks to you so brashly.

Dice: I-I wasn’t brash…

Ichiro: Hey kid, where did your mom go?

Child. Uuuuh… Toshihiko?

Ichiro: Yep!

Dice: He’s imitating Toshihiko’s voice…

Gentaro: Children are simple, after all. Of course they’ll open up to a familiar character.

Ichiro: Glad you know about me!

Child: Yeah! I watch you every week!

Ichiro: Thanks for your support!

Ichiro: So, where’s your mom at?

Child: I dunno…

Ichiro: I see…

Ichiro: Well, don’t worry! Toshihiko-sama will find her!

Child: Really?!

Ichiro: Yeah! So no more crying, okay?

Child: Okay!

Gentaro: How do we find someone in this crowd?

Ichiro: His parents are probably looking for him too, so if the three of us rap together and get some attention, they should notice us.

Gentaro: True… They’re probably not far, so it might work.

Ichiro: Right? Then let’s get started—

(They rap.)

Mother: Takashi!

Child: Mama!

Dice: Oh! Looks like the mom is here!

Ichiro: Great.

Mother: Excuse me… Sorry for all the trouble. Thank you!

Ichiro: No problem. Just be careful not to get separated again.

Mother: Will do. Sorry again!

Child: See ya later, Toshihiko!

Ichiro: See ya! And make sure to listen to your mom!

Dice: Well, that’s that!

Gentaro: Now then, let us continue our patrol.

???: Kyaaaa!

Ichiro: What is it now?!

Dice: Over there! Let’s go!

(They go… somewhere else.)

Ichiro: No way…!

Gentaro: That woman is about to jump from the roof…

Dice: Guys! Let’s go stop her!

Gentaro: Of course.

Ichiro: Yeah.

(They go up to the roof of the building.)

Dice: Hey! Don’t do anything stupid!

Woman: D-don’t come near me! I’ll jump!

Gentaro: …Please calm down. As you wish, we’ll stay right here.

Ichiro: Hey… What happened?

Woman: My boyfriend was cheating on me with my best friend… When I confronted him about it, he broke up with me and started dating her…

Ichiro: Wow… That’s terrible…

Gentaro: Hm. A common plot development in pulp novels, but it really does drive people mad. I learned something.

Ichiro: Don’t you have a heart…?

Dice: H-hey, y’know you’ll die if you jump. If you stay alive, something good is bound to happen to you, so…

Woman: Nothing good will ever happen to me! I’d rather end it here then go on living like this…!

Dice: W-wait! Hold on a minute!

Dice: Th-That’s right! I’ll tell you my special information!

Woman: What… is it…

Dice: I know a bakery that’ll give you the heels of bread for free!

Woman: What?

Dice: It’s perfect for when you don’t have money for food! I can also tell you the good places to sleep to stay outta the wind, even in the winter!

Woman: …

Dice: Is that still no good? Then, I’ll treat you to a public bath once a week! That’ll take care of one problem…

Woman: That’s enough!

Dice: Oh! Right? It’s a pretty great deal!

(The woman gives him 1000 yen.)

Dice: Hm, 1000 yen? Why’d you give me this?

Woman: …Use it to eat something nice.

Dice: O-oh…

Woman: If you guys are his friends, you should help him…

Gentaro & Ichiro: Y-yes…

Woman: Listening to his story made me feel stupid for wanting to die.

(She leaves.)

Dice: Huh? But she left before I could tell her the info…

Gentaro: Could you please stop talking for a moment? That was embarrassing.

Ichiro: W-well, Arisugawa solved the problem, so I guess it’s fine…

Dice: What’s up with you two?

(They go back to the street and hear some kind of ruckus.)

Ichiro: What now?

Gentaro: There’s someone speaking rather harshly…

Dice: Let’s go.

(They walk towards the ruckus.)

Drunk Guy A: Bastard! I’ll kill you!

Drunk Guy B: Just try it, dumbass!

Dice: Drunk guys fighting, huh…

Ichiro: Should we stop them, Arisugawa?

Dice: Yeah.

Gentaro: Please wait a moment.

Dice: Why?

Ichiro: We don’t have time to mess around.

Gentaro: Please allow me to peacefully resolve this.

Dice: Well, I guess that’s fine too.

Gentaro: Leave it to me.

Gentaro: Ahem! You two over there?

Drunk Guy A: Huh?!

Drunk Guy B: Who the hell are you?! Shut up and stay out of this!

Gentaro: I am but a humble writer… No, I am a humble samurai now.

Drunk Guy A: The hell is this guy saying?

Gentaro: Well, it doesn’t really matter who I am.

Gentaro: Fighting in a place like this will trouble the people around you. Please lay down your spears.

Drunk Guy B: Shut it! Who talks like that? Is there something wrong with your head?!

Drunk Guy A: Yeah, worry about yourself first!

Drunk Guy B: Y’know, you’re not wrong! Ahahaha!

Gentaro: …

(Gentaro smiles and draws his sword.)

Drunk Guy A: Hey… Why did you take out your sword?

(Gentaro walks closer.)

Drunk Guy B: I-idiot! Cut it out!!!

(Gentaro smacks them with his toy sword.)

Drunk Guy A: Agh!

Drunk Guy B: Ouch!

Gentaro: Sigh… Peace has returned to Shibuya once more.

Dice: What the hell was that?! That wasn’t peaceful at all.

Gentaro: Unfortunately, they were of a species of ape that cannot understand human language. It is sometimes necessary to use force in such cases.

Dice: You were just being petty…

Ichiro: Is it alright to hit someone with that, even if it’s a toy?

Gentaro: Don’t worry, I used the flat edge.

Ichiro: That’s not the issue…

Gentaro: Now then! The next incident is calling us! Let us be off!

(Gentaro walks off.)

Ichiro: Both you and Ramuda are strange, but Yumeno might be the worst.

Dice: I’m glad you understand.

(They go back to Shibuya Crossing.)

Ichiro: I guess when there’s so many people around, you get all sorts of problems.

Gentaro: Shibuya is always crowded, but this holiday is the most perilous.

Dice: It’s fine to have fun, but people shouldn’t come if they can’t follow the rules.

Gentaro: If you must make a fuss, please don’t forget common sense.

(T/N: I can’t prove that this is a covert advertisement paid for by the city of Shibuya, but…)

Ichiro: Ugh, I can’t get through this crowd.

Dice: Yeah. Everyone’s packed in the Scramble Crossing.

Gentaro: It seems the police are trying to direct people, but nobody is listening.

Gentaro: At this rate, people will get pushed out into traffic…

Ichiro: That’s it! We can rap to help the police guide people!

Dice: Oh, good idea! If the three of us rap, there’s no way people won’t hear us!

Gentaro: Yes, then they’ll be more willing to follow directions.

Ichiro: Alright! In that case, let’s do it!

Ichiro: People of Shibuya! Please listen for a moment!

Gentaro: I know you’re having fun, but…

Dice: We’re gonna rap about traffic rules!

Ichiro: Yumeno, Arisugawa! Let’s go!

Gentaro & Dice: Yeah!

(They rap, again.)

Dice: Whew, I’m glad the flow of traffic became smoother!

Ichiro: It’s rare to hear gratitude from the police.

Gentaro: And it feels good to help people.

(They hear another ruckus.)

???: Come on! Bring me some booze!

Passerby: Apparently that doctor over there is drunk and acting up.

Dice: Another drunk guy…

Gentaro: The time has come for my sword to fly once more.

Ichiro: …No, let’s do this peacefully this time.

Dice: Alright, let’s get going then.

Ichiro & Gentaro: Okay!

[celandeline]

Summer of Like // Farleigh Start x OC (22)

We go to the field. And even though it’s just us, rules are rules, so we still strip before we enter the grass. It was dry the first time we were here, with the boys at the beginning of the summer, but now it might as well be straw for the way that it scratches at me. I probably shouldn’t smoke here, for fear of it catching fire, but I do anyway. Lately, I can’t bring it upon myself to care. I’m tired of this place. I want to go home. 

I didn’t realize how much I was depending on Farleigh for fun until now, that he’s gone. 

Venetia sighs next to me. “I wish Farleigh hadn’t ratted to Felix. Oliver will barely look at me now.” She says. “It’s so utterly boring.”

“Mm.” I hum around my cigarette. 

“What are we to do?” She sighs, overdramatic. “We’ve lost our men - mine won’t look at me, and yours is a criminal.”

“He’s not a criminal.” I say. 

“What else would you call it?” Venetia asks.

I pause, and think for a minute. “I don’t know.”

She turns to lay on her side, looking at me. “Did you ever kiss him?” She asks. 

I debate it in my head - we’re friends, and friends tell each other these sorts of things. But it feels like betraying Farleigh to say that I did. Telling Venetia that we kissed feels like admitting that she’s right to be as angry as she pretends to be, and that it’s perfectly fine to toss your family members out on the street over something that wouldn’t even put a dent in your finances. Does she deserve to know?

“No.” I say.

“A shame.” She says. “I was really hoping you would - too late, I guess. We’ll never know which of us was the best kisser.”

I let a silence settle over us, and idly smoke my cigarette. It feels like I’m mourning, a little. I didn’t know him well enough to cry, but I knew him well enough to want to know him better, and to rue the fact that I won’t get the chance. 

“You won’t miss him?” I ask. 

Venetia fiddles with the brittle ends of her hair. “I mean, yeah, obvs. But he tried to steal from us when Dad’s paying for his entire education. That’s plain evil.”

“It just doesn’t seem like something he’d do.” I say, carefully testing the waters. “He doesn’t- didn’t, I guess now, seem stupid.”

“He’s not.” She says. “He’s always got good marks - the only reason he kept getting expelled was ‘cause he kept sucking the teachers off. Like, he’s not stupid, but he is dumb.”

I know what she means - reckless. I smile a little at the image of Farleigh going out of his way to sleep with his teachers. I’m sure he got off on that power dynamic. 

“You’re kind of right though.” Venetia continues. “It’s weird, that he would try and steal something so obviously. I guess he wasn’t as sneaky as he thought he was.”

The conversation dwindles into nothingness, and I exhale a cloud of smoke, watching it dissolve into the air. That’s all I’m going to get from her, I think. That’s all I’d get from any of them. I try to put it to rest in my mind, but the closure isn’t enough. It’s frustrating that I won’t get anything more, now that he’s gone. I can’t ask him what he was thinking, or what really happened. I hate to say ‘oh well’, but what else is there to do?

“Oliver’s party’s tomorrow.” Venetia says conversationally. “What were you thinking of wearing?”

“Whatever you give me.” I say, smiling at her. 

She grins. “I don’t know why I asked - I’ve got the cutest costumes for us. Obviously nothing too over the top, but I’ve got a dress that looks like it’s made of spiders web for me, and a dress that’s covered in peaseblossoms for you. Like the fairies in the play.”

“Cute.” I say. And it does sound cute - but my sour mood makes me all too aware of how she treats me as a doll, to dress up and play with and follow her around until she gets bored of me. Expendable, once she finds someone else to fawn over her. I can’t help it though, it’s an overwhelming sense to care for her, like a force of nature. 

“I know.” She scrunches up her nose in a smile. “Maybe I’ll try it on with him again tomorrow night.” She muses aloud. “Give him a birthday present he won’t forget.”

“Disgusting.” I say. 

She giggles, flopping onto her back. “I just want to know how big it is when he’s hard.” She says. “Like, it’s got to be huge if it’s that big while he’s soft. And it’s his birthday, of course. He deserves at least a handjob.”

“You didn’t give me a handjob for my birthday.” I say. 

“I barely knew you then, it was only October!” Venetia says. “And you don’t have a penis!”

I roll so that I’m propped up on my side, partially hovering over her like I had with Farleigh the night we kissed. “And if I did have a penis?”

“I’d have given you a handjob.” She says, grinning. “Probably more.”

I can’t help but smile, lowering myself so that I’m just a bit closer to her. “You’d be so in love with me if I was a man.”

She tips her head back so that our lips are parallel. “Probably.” She says softly. One of her hands comes up to wind around the back of my neck, and pulls me down so that our lips meet briefly. When I pull away, her smile is wide. “But you’re not.”

I flop down on my back next to her. “Farleigh’s a better kisser.”

She gasps, loud, and sits up, looking down at me. “You said you didn’t!”

“I lied.” I shrug in the grass. 

“Why’d you lie?” She demands. “We’re supposed to be best friends!”

I shrug again. “I don’t know. I’m just a little…” I trail off, the presence of the hole Farleigh left behind washing over me again. 

She tilts her head. “Yeah.” She says. “Me too.” 

It’s the most genuine thing I’ve heard her say in a while. 

< previous part | next part >

[hereforthefanficsandromance]

Fan Prize Story #4: Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Thrice Prepared

Masterlists

AO3 Blogger Tumblr Audio Versions

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

Chapter Summary

Modern AU Cal takes you on your third date, this time to the Ren Faire. Rating: Teen+ Words: 3.7K

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

You are laying out tomorrow’s clothes, hoping to jump start the day to make your mornings a little easier. Your phone lies on the bed’s bottom corner, the mirrored black screen lighting up, drawing your attention. 

Cal

Hey! Wanna go with me to the Ren Fair this Saturday? 

Your heart skips a beat, a rush of butterflies filling your stomach. You’ve been on two prior dates with Cal, making this offer the inevitable third date. Three dates fill you with fear since you’ve survived the first two dates without hooking up. These days, waiting to fuck makes you an excellent candidate to become a Sister at the church. Except you don’t want to have sex on date three, but you know the ridiculous expectation is common. 

You perch on the bed’s edge, staring at the message, debating the best way to respond without giving him the wrong idea. You really want to say yes. Cal has been sweet, and his good looks don’t hurt. But he’s a guy, and after the experiences you’ve had, it’s best to assume all guys are the same. 

The Renaissance Festival is over an hour’s drive, putting you at his mercy for the adventure into the mountains. It’s surprising he wants to see you again, considering you haven’t shared your first kiss with him yet. Maybe he wants to isolate you so that you can’t reject his advances. 

If he wants to sleep with you, and you refuse, he’ll dump you, just like the others. While it hurts, it’s not the end of the world. Better to weed out the bad guys. But if he rejects you, it’ll ruin your birthday on Sunday. 

To make things worse, Cal and James are friends, and after what James did, it’s possible Cal will do it too. You flop back onto the mattress, dropping your phone face down onto your chest. The ceiling offers no reassurance, but you search the texture for answers. Your phone vibrates again, and despite your hesitations, you are quick to pull the screen before your eyes. 

Cal

No pressure! But, if you do want to go, I was thinking we could dress up? Just let me know what you’re going to wear and I’ll try to match you.

His messages offer enough reassurance to type out a response, confirming the date. He’s been kind during previous dates, buying all the snacks at the movie theater. Not grabbing your hand when you’d sneak a fistful of popcorn from the bucket. 

He’s even an attempted gentleman. He tried to pull out your chair at dinner, which was disastrously awkward. Apparently, neither of you knows how to work together for such a simple task. He ended up hitting you in the back of the knees with the seat and you fell back into the chair, too far away from the table, scooting in yourself while he mumbled apologies. 

But you won’t take any risks, creating a game plan to keep yourself safe, and alerting your friends of the details. You rifle through your closet, trying to figure out a good costume for the weekend. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

I wait, my heart pounding, for her response. Most of my closet contents lay strewn across my bed. Obviously, I will need to go shopping to get an adequate costume. I’d like to match her if she agrees to the date. 

My phone chimes with the ringtone I assigned to her. She said yes. 

I look over the description of what she’ll be wearing and make a plan in my head. Saturday is going to be great, as I’ll have her all to myself the entire ride there and back. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

You’ve got it all figured out; friends on standby, ready to drive over an hour away to pick you up if a repeat of the James incident occurs. For extra safety, you’ve got a pocket knife clipped in your boot. 

Cal is joyfully telling you a story in the driver’s seat, dressed in a regal patterned tunic with a shoulder cape, brown pants, and boots to match. He looks adorable and you can’t help but smile at how much thought he put into matching you. You’re wearing a floral print corset with off the shoulder puffy sleeves, a knee length blue skirt, and a brown belt matching your boots. 

Cal’s ranting, though a smile stays on his face. “So she comes into my work, screaming, obviously, because her tea was the wrong color. What does that even mean? It’s tea!” 

You offer a sympathetic laugh. “Customers are crazy.” 

“That’s for sure. I can’t stand this job for much longer. I need to get something real.” 

You tilt your head. “What job do you want?” 

He crinkles the freckle kissed skin between his brows. “I dunno, maybe something in an office. You know, nine to five, PTO, insurance.” 

“Sounds boring.” 

“Yeah, but it’s better than what I’m doing.” He sighs dramatically, his jade eyes playfully meeting yours. “What job do you think I should get? You know, something exciting?” 

You giggle. “Exciting…how about…an astronaut? Or secret agent?” 

He’s almost bouncing in his seat. “How ‘bout both?” 

You shake your head. “A secret agent astronaut? I didn’t realize there was so much space crime that needs a man on the inside.” 

He laughs loudly, the sounds warming you. “Well, there might be, and I promise, if that becomes a job, I’ll be the first in line.” 

“Maybe you should stick with the nine to five.” 

He looks both ways before taking a turn. “What, you think I can’t handle it?”

You roll your eyes. “I think I’d miss you if you left.” 

He checks his mirrors before looking at you. “Really?” 

You sputter. “Oh…well, yeah, of course. Because we’re friends.” 

He looks disappointed. “We’re friends?” 

You speak too loud. “No! I mean, yes, but…nevermind.” 

The car is quiet for a bit, only the sound of the radio on low. Cal doesn’t reach to turn it up, the hint of a smile on his face. You stare out the window, watching the pine trees passing on the scenic drive. 

Worry seeps into you, remembering how your last date went. How James tried to force himself on you in his stupid, dirty sports car. Your skin crawls at the memory, wishing you could scrub your skin until it no longer lingers. 

You won’t be a fool this time since you have a plan to ensure your safety: no physical contact. You can have a good time together without touching. 

Only Cal is terribly good looking. His sharp jawline and muscular form both intimidate you and draw you in. He could have anyone, and yet he keeps asking you on dates, surely because of what James told him. Maybe they have a bet, trying to see who can get the furthest with you. 

Cal pulls you from your thoughts. “So not that I think you’re a criminal or anything…” 

You whip your head to look at him. “What?” 

He puts a hand up, a big smile painting his face. “Hang on, lemme finish. The fair has a strict policy about weapons. They gotta be peace tied. You don’t have any weapons on you, do you?” 

“Oh!” A laugh escapes your lungs. “Sorry! Yeah, I have a pocket knife, and it’s not, uh, peace tied or whatever.” 

He smirks. “I don’t really think it’s time period appropriate, and I don’t have any zip ties so that we can bring it in. You’re welcome to leave it in the glove compartment, though.” 

Your heart drops, knowing that part of your plan for safety will be eliminated. But you take the small weapon out of your boot and slip it into the glove compartment. 

“Great, thank you.” 

He nods, turning into the crowded parking lot. “For sure! Glad I asked.” 

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

The festival is in full swing as you enter the castle gates. Lords and Ladies yell down compliments of your costume from the watchtower overlooking the entrance. Cal gives you a reassuring smile and leaves to grab a map of the park. 

A group of men dressed as the entire adventuring party from Lord of the Rings walks past as you wait for his return. Children dressed as princesses and princes squeal as they look around the fair for the first time. A woman dressed as a fairy sells individual long-stemmed flowers to happy couples from a wicker basket draped over her arm. 

Cal returns. “Alright, we fit right in.” 

You take the sides of your skirt and drop into a mock curtsy, earning a chuckle and half bow from Cal. “Thanks for suggesting we dress up.” 

He unfolds the map. “It’s fun to do stuff like this together. So, where do you wanna go first?” 

You look over the events. “I really like the big cat show.” 

He offers his arm with over-the-top politeness. “The big cat show it is. Looks like the first performance is starting soon. Let’s head over.” 

You had promised yourself that you wouldn’t let him breach physical contact. But this surely doesn’t count since it’s in character. You brush off the anxiety over such an insignificant gesture and link your arm through his, allowing him to guide you towards your favorite event. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

The big cat show is your favorite for obvious reasons. How often do you get to see large predatory cats unleashed and uncaged? Remarkably, they stay on stage and don’t glance towards the audience, focused instead on the treats provided by the trainers. Though, there is a warning not to let small children run around near the front. 

You both sit in the dangerous seats, two rows back. You considered taking the front row, but decided you’d rather not get eaten first if things don’t go well. 

The entire show is incredible and three different species perform a variety of tricks, showing off their immense power and speed. You perk up when the black panther comes out, practically bouncing out of your seat to see over the heads of those in front of you. It runs up a wooden pole and immediately receives a reward, earning a cheer from the crowd. 

Cal shares in your excitement, glancing between the stage and your face. He pulls out his phone to snap a few photos of your favorite cat before pocketing the device and taking your hand. His larger, warmer fingers wrap around yours, and in your excitement for the show, you accept the intimacy, squeezing his fingers as they meet your palm. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

After the show, you are buzzing with excitement, going over all your favorite parts while Cal eagerly listens. He has not let go of your hand, so he drags you over so that he can tip the performers, the humans, not the cats. The two of you stroll through the many booths, looking over the trinkets and festival specific oddities. 

Cal releases your hand to try on a dragon mask and you laugh and shake your head. As he puts it back on the wall of colorful masks, you wonder if you made a mistake getting carried away by excitement and allowing him to hold your hand. So far, you are doing a terrible job of keeping your promise to not allow physical contact. Cal interlocks his fingers with yours as you continue to the next booth and you make a decision that to counteract the physical contact, you limit your responses to one-word answers. That way, he doesn’t get the wrong idea about your eagerness. 

He pulls you towards a booth with chain mail and various weaponry. “Look at the metal working over here! Do you wanna go over?” 

You smile and nod. “Uh, sure.” 

Cal pulls the various swords out of their sheath, thumb flicking perpendicular to the blade to test its sharpness. At the end of the stall, is a selection of metal worked tiaras that catch your eye. Cal follows your gaze and gently guides you towards it, trying to determine which one caught your eye. He guesses correctly and takes the delicate piece, placing it on your head. You blush and close your eyes momentarily as he adjusts it. 

He pulls back to admire you. “It suits you. You must have been a queen in another life.” 

You let out a laugh, almost toppling the jewelry from your head. “Maybe.” 

He adjusts the crown, snaps a quick picture of you in it, and places it back on the rack. “Anything you wanna do?” 

You shrug. “Whatever.” 

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

Trying to beat the lunch rush, you break for mealtime early and easily score food and a decent table. A dish with an artichoke sits in a slathering of melted butter, prompting you and Cal to exchange a knowing glance. 

He clears his throat. “This looks messy. Stay here. I’ll go get us some napkins.”

You arrange the food on the table, trying to only take up a small portion of the community picnic bench.

“Okay.”

Cal places his phone on the table, marking that he is also sitting there in case the food rush starts early. You get settled in your spot and hear his phone chime go off. You don’t mean to look, but his settings allow for full messages to show on the lock screen, and your eyes naturally read the message.

Daniel

Hey dude, you planning on staying down there tonight?

The constant chatter of the festival turns to white noise as blood pumps through your ears. You feel a sense of cold dread wash over you, reminding you that Cal is no different from the other men. He’s not the first to expect more, especially by the third date, and he won’t be the last. Maybe you should give up dating all together.

You have tried so hard to set limits for men who only want to stomp right across those boundaries. You stopped kissing before the third date because they would get the wrong idea and expect a lot more. That backfired with James. He barely made it through the first date without assaulting you.

Cal returns, a goofy grin on his face. “You’ll never guess what I saw while grabbing these.”

You’re barely listening. “Huh?”

He babbles on. “There was an exceptionally drunk Ring Wraith arguing with Doctor Who over the accuracy of the festival in this time period.”

You stare at the pile of napkins he deposits on the table. “Right.”

He sobers. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just hungry.”

He smiles. “Let’s eat then.”

The meal is dead silent, despite Cal’s attempts to keep the conversation going. After a few halfhearted stories and commentary, he focuses on his food, offering you space to think.

You wonder if you should text your friends, let them know what you saw and that they should probably start the long drive to save you. But you don’t want to inconvenience them, especially if you’re wrong. You really want to believe Cal isn’t like that, but the evidence is damning. At the very least, confronting him is necessary before bailing. You can’t just disappear in the middle of nowhere or you’ll accidentally set off a manhunt.

After an awkward lunch, you stop at the privies, which is nothing more than a line or porta potties, but there is a sink outside to wash up after the meal. You return to Cal and he looks nervous, like he has something he wants to say, mirroring you. He doesn’t take your hand, but walks towards a clearing in the crowds, away from the now bustling food stands.

He wrings his hands. “Hey, you seem distant. Did something happen? Did I upset you?”

You press your lips into a tight smile. “Everything’s fine.”

He shifts his weight, not quite meeting your gaze. “Okay…it’s just, you haven’t looked happy since lunch.”

The illusion cracks. “Nope.”

“And I thought that maybe something happened?”

Your face flushes and you tremble. “It’s…I saw…nevermind.”

He looks confused and sad. “What? What did you see?”

You don’t let his puppy dog eyes win. “So you’re just trying to sleep with me, right? Use me and be done?”

He shakes his head, eyes wide, voice raising. “What? What are you talking about? I’m not trying to sleep with you. I mean, I am, but-”

“I knew it. You’re just like James!”

“What?”

“Men like you just want a bed warmer!”

You storm off, leaving Cal standing near a storefront selling metal roses.

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

You find a secluded spot away from the crowds near the jousting arena. Sitting in the cool shade of a large pine tree, you face away from other guests and cry. It’s humiliating, crying in public, so you keep the tears minimal and wipe them away quickly to avoid smudged makeup. There’s a lot of discomfort with how the conversation went; you wanted to confront him to hear what he had to say, but your anger got in the way and you don’t really remember much of what he said. You do remember that he said he does want to sleep with you, and that is enough to justify your outburst. Plus, this entire event has surely ruined your birthday tomorrow since you will be laying in bed all day.

As endorphins from crying replace the anger, you find it easier to think. Which unfortunately has the side effect of making you realize that you may have been brash. Cal has always been nice to you, never pushing to kiss you on the earlier dates, unlike James.

He’s seems genuinely pleased to be around you, not like he wants something from you. Maybe you were wrong. Maybe Cal isn’t anything like the guys from before. Even if James is his friend, it doesn’t mean he is the same.

You rest your forehead against your knees, realizing your mistake, having judged too quickly out of fear instead of giving him a fair opportunity to prove himself. Even if he is a good guy, he definitely isn’t going to want to date you now.

A voice cuts through your thoughts. “Hey.”

You lift your head, sniff, and use your fingertips to catch the remaining tears. “Cal.”

He holds his hands behind his back, squatting to join you. “I’m really sorry. It was that text, wasn’t it?”

Another sniff. “Yeah.”

He gives a gentle smile. “I’m not trying to use you, or just get in your pants. I mean, I’d like to…get in your pants, if you would, one day. But it’s not my end goal. I really like you.”

You let out a chuckle, and Cal’s smile widens. “I’m sorry Cal. It wasn’t fair to assume that you wanted to hurt me. You’ve been nothing but nice to me, and I ruined our date.”

He gives a full, toothy smile. “So, this is a date? I was worried when you said we were friends.”

You shake your head. “I just didn’t want to make you think that I’d let you use me, too.”

His face changes to worry. “Too? Who hurt you?”

 You swallow. “Um. It’s a friend of yours.”

“Who?”

You sigh.

“James. He took me to dinner, and he invited me back to his place when we got in the car. I said no, and he tried to force himself on me, to…convince me… I pushed him off and he yelled at me, called me names, and told me to walk home.”

Cal’s eyes harden. “Are you serious? What a tool! For the record, he is an acquaintance, not a friend. And after what you said, he’s an asshole that I won’t be associated with. Definitely going to talk to the guys about how we can handle him.”

You look at the grassy ground. “You don’t have to do that for me.”

“Are you kidding? Of course I’m going to. I’m not like him, and I won’t be friends with any guy who treats women like that! I’m really sorry that you had to go through that. I understand why you’re scared of sleeping with me.”

You meet his gaze, and his expression softens. “Thank you, it’s not that I don’t want to, one day.”

“I get it. You don’t have to explain at all. I won’t push you into anything you don’t want to do.”

“Thanks, Cal. You’re really great.”

He pulls his right hand from behind his back, holding a long-stemmed flower. “Here. I got this for you.”

You accept the vibrant pink peony, brushing his fingers in the exchange. “My favorite! How’d you know?”

He soaks in the joy on your face. “You told me on our first date.”

A smile creeps across your lips as the jousting show begins. There is a long introduction of the competing knights and the rules for the tournament. Cal sits in the shade beside you, turning to watch.

As the first knights take their position at the ends of the field, Cal leans over. “Can I hold your hand?”

You giggle and trade the flower to the other hand. “Of course!”

The first horses race forward, the blue and white knight versus the red and white. The red one takes a lance square to the center of his chest and falls from his steed. Blue moves onto the next round as green and yellow prepare for their match.

Cal squeezes your hand. “I have another question.”

You look at him. “What is it?”

A smile ghosts his lips, his eyes hooded. “Can I kiss you?”

You part your lips and nod. His soft lips connect with yours, fitting perfectly against you. His free hand moves to cup your cheek, his thumb stroking your skin.

Cal pulls you in, parting his lips. You mirror the action and he slips his tongue in the front of your mouth, brushing the underside of your teeth before pulling away.

As you separate, he keeps close, looking into your eyes, hand still on your face. “I really like you.”

You look down at his lips, then back into his eyes. “I like you too.”

“I’d like to keep seeing you.”

“I’d like that too.”

He chuckles softly, pulling further away, ensuring he can properly see you. “I’m sorry, but I have one more big question.”

You look up at him. “Yeah?”

He sucks in a breath. “Would you be my girlfriend? Because I’d really like to keep kissing you.”

You bite back a huge smile, feeling shy. “Yes, Cal. I’d like that.”

He lets out the breath he was holding and laughs. “Okay good.”

He pulls you in for another kiss as the knights collide. You don’t know who fell from their horse, too distracted by kissing your now boyfriend.

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

Need to Rant with Others Who Have Read This Story?

Join My DiscordIt's free! Members get updates, sneak peaks, bonus content, events, and countdowns to new chapters. We'd love to have you, even if you just lurk!

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆ ˚｡⋆

Love/Like/Hate What You Read?

Comment (please!) on AO3 or Blogger Anonymous/Comment/Message/Reblog on Tumblr Compliments feed me Constructive Criticism improves me

[team-aqua-official]

Hello? Hello hello?Uh, I wanted to record a message for you, to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you, I’m finishing up my last week now as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I’m here to tell you there’s nothing to worry about, Uh, you’ll do fine. So, let’s just focus on getting you through your first week, okay?Uh, let’s see, first there’s an introductory greeting from the company, that I’m supposed to read. Uh, it’s kind of a legal thing, you know.Um, “Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced.” Blah blah blah.Now that might sound bad, I know. But, there’s really nothing to worry about.Uh, the animatronic characters here, do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No. If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I’d probably be a bit irritable at night too. So, remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay.So, just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they’re left in some kind of free roaming mode at night, uh, something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long? Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too, but then there was The Bite of ’87. Yeah. I-It’s amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?Uh, now concerning your safety. The only real risk to you as a night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won’t recognize you as a person. They’ll pr-They’ll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now, since that’s against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, they’ll probably try to…forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit. Um, now, that wouldn’t be so bad, if the suits themselves weren’t filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices. Especially around the facial area. So you could imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort, and death. Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask. Heh. Yeah, they don’t tell you these things when you sign up.But hey, first day should be a breeze. I’ll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright, good night.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN

WHY IS THE POWER LIMITED

WHY ARE THEY MOVING?!????

I SHOULD HAVE STAYED UNEMPLOYED...

[the-himawari]

A3! Sakisaka Muku - Translation [SSR] MANKAI Feature (3/3)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

Muku: Fufu. It’s been a while since I’ve donned Nora’s costume. You know, I really do love this costume. It’s cute yet cool… And most importantly, it’s filled with Yuki-kun and Kazu-kun’s feelings…

Yuki: Of course the costume is second to none. But the actor himself is nothing to scoff at either.

Muku: Yuki-kun…!

Kazunari: Dropping smooth lines like that—you’re cool as hell, Yukki…!

Izumi: Muku-kun, I’m looking forward to Nora’s great adventure.

Muku: Thanks! I’d like to take everyone on a fun adventure as Nora!

-pause-

Izumi: (5 days have passed since the 5 kitties’ grand adventure—. Shiro and Kuro are gathering formation in order to search for a new “sardine”.)

Shiro [Yuki]: “Mmm~. It’s hard to find new information on a ‘sardine’, meow~.”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “I heard Mike and Tama are collecting intel in another spot. Let’s ask some other cats too.”

Shiro [Yuki]: “Good idea, meow. Let’s do our best so we can eat a yummy ‘sardine’ again~.”

Nora [Muku]: “Hey. You two look well.”

Shiro [Yuki]: “Ah, Nora!”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “You’re back?”

Nora [Muku]: “Indeed I am. Listen up, I caught wind of a certain rumour during my travels.”

Shiro [Yuki]: “A certain rumour, meow?”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “Wait, could you mean…!”

Nora [Muku]: “Apparently, there’s something called a ‘rainbow sardine’ in a location called the ‘secluded sea’… deep inside the ‘Valley of Fish’.”

Kuro & Shiro: “A ‘rainbow sardine’!?”

Shiro [Yuki]: “Meowtastic! I’ve never heard of that before!”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “I wonder what kind of ‘sardine’ it is.”

Shiro [Yuki]: “I’m sure the ‘rainbow sardine’ must be so delicious you melt with happiness, meow~…” “We can’t take drag our paws on this. Let’s get searching right away!”

Nora [Muku]: “Don’t go chasing your tail now. Mike and Tama haven’t gotten back yet, have they?”

Shiro [Yuki]: “But, but! I wanna go search now, meow!”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “Even so, Mike and Tama probably won’t be back until tomorrow.”

Nora [Muku]: “In that case, why don’t you leave a letter behind letting them know you’ll be back later?”

Shiro [Yuki]: “I’ll do that, meow!”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “*Sigh*, I suppose that works… got it.”

Izumi: (And so, the three left a letter for Mike and Tama and departed on their adventure.)

-pause-

Izumi: (Nora recounts his own heroic tales on their way to the “secluded sea”.)

Nora [Muku]: “While I was travelling alone, I fought with a crow and won… I’ve also gotten into a tussle with a ruffian cat.”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “A ruffian cat…”

Nora [Muku]: “Mhm. It seemed I just caught him in a bad mood though. We ate fish together and got to know each other.”

Shiro [Yuki]: “You’re so kind and cool, Nora~.”

Nora [Muku]: “…Hm? We were busy chatting, but I see we're already at the ‘Valley of Fish’.”

Shiro [Yuki]: “Mrrow!? We arrived while we were lost in your stories.”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “Now that we’re here, I don’t it’ll be far until we hit the ‘secluded sea’.”

Nora [Muku]: “Right. Just a little more until the ‘rainbow sardine’.”

-pause-

Izumi: (And so, the three finally reached the place dubbed the “secluded sea”.)

Kuro [Kazunari]: “So this is the ‘secluded sea’…”

Yuki: “Mrrow~! It’s so pretty…!”

Nora [Muku]: “Yes, the water is so clear.”

Shiro [Yuki]: “Alright. Let’s put our noses down and search for the ‘rainbow sardine’!”

Nora [Muku]: “Shall I take a look at the sea from up there?”

*jumps up*

Izumi: (Nora hops atop a rock. When he peers into the sea, he sees something rainbow-coloured swaying and shimmering like the so-called sardine…”

Nora [Muku]: “!”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “Hmm. I don’t see anything over here…”

Shiro [Yuki]: “Did you find anything, Nora?”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “! *Stare*. Shiro, I think that’s…!”

Nora [Muku]: “…Now!”

*pounces into the water*

Nora [Muku]: “There! Kuro, Shiro. I caught the ‘rainbow sardine’.”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “Hooray!”

Shiro [Yuki]: “You did it, meow! That’s Nora for you!” “Show me, show me! I wanna see it more up close. And hup!”

*jumps up*

Kuro [Kazunari]: “Hey, Shiro!”

Nora [Muku]: “Hey, there’s not enough space on this rock for two—!” “Uh oh…!”

Shiro [Yuki]: “Meooooow!?”

*both fall*

Izumi: (The two dive into the water as Nora supports Shiro.)

Kuro [Kazunari]: “Are you two okay!?”

Shiro [Yuki]: “Pwah!”

Nora [Muku]: “Pwahhh! Haha, we’re good.”

Shiro [Yuki]: “Urgh… sorry for hopping up all of a sudden, meow.”

Nora [Muku]: “If I think of it as my heroic tales have increased, then it’s not too bad.” “Well then. Now that we were able to find the ‘rainbow sardine’, let’s head home and eat together with Mike and Tama.”

Kuro [Kazunari]: “Sounds good to me.”

Shiro [Yuki]: “We got the ‘rainbow sardine’! I’m so happy, meow~!”

-pause-

Muku: (I was called over to the courtyard by Misumi-san… I wonder what’s going on?” Sorry got the wait, Misumi-san.

Misumi: Ah! Mr. cat, Muku's here~.

Cat: Meow~.

Muku: Ah, you’re the kitty we met the other day in Veludo city who looks like Nora…!

Misumi: I bumped into this little guy at the park. He said he wanted to thank you!

Muku: Thank me?

Misumi: This kitty here loves fish. And it sounds like he’s interested in items that are shaped like a fish too. He said he was looking for someone close by who could give him a good look at some, and then he met you guys. You said you were sorry that you couldn’t let him eat the food, but it wasn’t like that. He wanted to tell you that he was happy.

Muku: Oh, I see now. …Fufu. Thank you for coming all the way here to tell me.

Cat: Meow~.

Muku: Thanks to you, we got to go on our own great adventure too. Thank you!

---

lol idk why this was trending on twitter as I was translating this, but amazing

previous |

[ask-angel-argos]

Hello? Hello, hello? Uhh, I wanted to record a message for you... to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I’m... finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact, so... I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I’m here to tell you: there’s nothing to worry about. Uh, you’ll do fine! So... let’s just focus on getting you through your first week. Okay? Uh, let’s see. First, there’s an introductory greeting from the company that I’m supposed to read. Eh, it’s kind of a legal thing, you know. Um, 'Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza: a magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovery of damage or if death has occurred, a missing person’s report will be filed within ninety days or as soon as property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached and the carpets have been replaced.' Blah, blah, blah... Now that might sound bad, I know. But there’s really nothing to worry about. Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No! If I were forced to sing... those same stupid songs for twenty years, and I never got a bath? I’d probably be a bit irritable at night too. So remember: these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children, and you need to show them a little respect. Right? Okay. So just be aware: the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uhh, they’re left in some kind of "free-roaming mode" at night. Uhh... something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uhh... they used to be allowed to walk around during the day, too, but then there was the Bite of '87. Yeah... I-It’s amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know? Now concerning your safety: the only real risk to you as a night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uhh, if they happen to see you after hours, probably won’t recognize you as a person. Th-They’ll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now, since that’s against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, they’ll probably try to... forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit. Um, now that wouldn’t be so bad if the suits themselves weren’t filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, especially around the facial area. So you can imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort... and death. Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask, heh. ...Y-Yeah, they don’t tell you these things when you sign up... But hey! First day should be a breeze; I’ll chat with you tomorrow. Uhh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright. Goodnight.

hello phone guy

[complicatedchelsea]

Fallen Through Time For You

Chapter Twelve: Built This House of Memories

Masterlist:

(gif not mine)

(Sydney's POV)

Halloween 1986

“Are you sure we can’t talk you into going, Stevie?” Eddie teased as we waited for Robin to come out of Steve’s house. It was Halloween and Robin insisted she had to get ready at Steve’s because her parents couldn’t know that she was going to party and what she chose to wear would give her mother a ‘heart attack’.

Steve crossed his arms from where he was leaning against the doorway, the sound of the younger ones yelling from the TV room was very prominent. “And leave the kids alone in my house? I think not.”

“Mom doesn’t want to go trick or treating this year?” I teased as I peered through the doorway to see them bickering over a movie.

They had all decided they were too old to go trick or treating, but too young to get any invites to a high school party. With one look from Dustin and Max, Steve had offered up his house for a horror movie marathon, refusing to go to a high school party when Robin offered. Eddie jumped at the suggestion saying that parties were a great place to make some cash and talked me into going because I had never gone to any. Plus spending the night with a potentially drunk Robin? What could  possibly happen?

“Fuck off,” Steve laughed as he nudged me. “Those kids in there couldn’t pay me to go trick or treating with them.” He looked Eddie and I up and down. “I’m surprised he managed to talk you into going.”

“More like she wasn’t going to let me go by myself,” Eddie said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Do you like our costumes? Sid picked them out.”

“She is right here, thank you very much.” I said with a laugh as Eddie twirled me away from him, dress flaring out. “I couldn’t resist.”

“Are they being gross again?” Robin asked as she made her way towards the door, fixing a generic witch hat over her hair. “I won’t be able to put up with it tonight.”

I stuck my tongue out at her. “You’re just jealous because you didn’t ask Vickie to go with you.”

Robin rolled her eyes with a smile. “Can we talk about your costumes instead? What made you think it was a good idea?”

“You saying I can’t pull off white, Buckley?” Eddie asked as he let go of me to sweep his arms out. 

Eddie let me have full reign over our costumes this year and I just couldn’t resist the duo. After all the shit that happened back in September and being harassed in public (which thankfully had come to almost a complete stop), I had decided that Eddie should be the opposite of what everyone thought he was. Especially if half of the school was going to try and buy from him tonight, I wanted them to work for it. 

I dressed Eddie as an angel. A white, blowy shirt that we definitely took from a pirate's costume, white-tight jeans that showed off his great ass, his white Reeboks that took way too long to clean, and some cheap angel wings we found when we went shopping with Robin. He put his hair up in a loose bun and the whole costume had me flushed since he first walked out of his bedroom with it on. 

Since he was an angel, he insisted on me dressing as the devil. A red colored lace dress, fishnets tucked into a pair of Robin’s boots, fake horns on top of my head, and we topped it all off with one of those plastic pitchforks. Robin thought the matching costumes were hilarious, Steve just shook his head with a sigh claiming he put up with our antics enough during the rest of the year. 

“You are going to be the talk of Hawkins High tomorrow,” Robin said as she hugged Steve and started towards the van. “I can’t wait to watch the jocks squirm tonight.”

“Call me if there are any problems?” Steve asked us before we left. “I’ll come straight over.”

“Don’t worry,” Eddie said as he clasped Steve’s shoulder. “No one is going to piss off the drug dealer at a party and risk getting thrown out.” Eddie shook his metal lunchbox. “Plus I’ve got my own personal devil watching over me tonight, what could go wrong?”

The party was in full swing when we arrived. Eddie parked further up the block, but we could still hear the music when we got out of the van. 

“I’m getting drunk tonight,” Robin said as she put her arm through mine and pulled me towards the house. “I can’t believe this is going to be my last highschool party.”

“Poor Steve is going to have his hands full with you.” Eddie said as he appeared beside me. “You’re not drinking, are you?”

I shook my head. “Even if I liked alcohol, I wouldn’t drink at a highschool party. But no, I’m staying completely sober tonight.”

“I won’t make you drive the van back to Steve’s,” Eddie said as got to the doorway. “If you really wanted to let loose.”

I shrugged. “Alcohol just makes me tired, plus I really don’t fancy my first time getting drunk at a highschool party. Have you seen what they do to the punch? No thank you.”

Eddie just smiled and pushed us through the door. The party was in full swing, music blaring and party-goers dancing around the house. We were barely three steps into the house when one of the Hellfire guy’s caught Eddie.

“Eddie!” He yelled and went in for a hug, punch sloshing out of his cup that Eddie had to avoid. “You made it!”

Eddie laughed and patted him on the shoulder before using that arm to pull me closer. “Wouldn’t miss it. The rest of the boys here?”

He nodded his head towards the back of the house. “Jeff and Gareth have already set a spot on the back porch for you.” Grant nodded our way. “Robin and Sydney! Looking good!”

Robin rolled her eyes with a smile, “I bet you're telling everything lucky lady that tonight.” She looked past them and waved to someone further down the hall. “That is my cue. Find me in a bit?”

Eddie shook his head. “No need. Sweetheart,” Eddie jerked his head towards me. “Keep an eye on that one for me? Come find me in a while, maybe we can scare one of the jocks?”

Eddie wiggled his eyebrows but laughed as Grant started pulling him towards the back of the house and leaving Robin and I to our own devices. I heard Grant give Eddie some shit about his costume and I watched Eddie just shrug his shoulders with a laugh. 

“So alcohol?” Robin asked as she took my hand and led me towards the kitchen. We pushed past plenty of sweaty people, a few that Robin knew and a few that sent me some dirty looks. In the kitchen, there were a handful of people surrounding an orange looking punch bowl, and with one swing from a cup I could see the disgust on Robin’s face. 

“I told you so, babe.” I said, trying to hold back a laugh. “Was it worth it?”

“Shut up,” Robin muttered as she poured herself another cup. “Let’s go have some fun.” 

Robin’s definition of fun was to find the rest of her band friends and proceed to get tipsy as they played different card games. After losing UNO to Vickie again, I left Robin at her side and decided it was time to find Eddie. I hadn't heard anything come from the back of the house, but I missed him. I was expecting a bit more of his presence tonight and possibly getting a few kisses by the angel before the night was over.

When I pulled the sliding door and stepped onto the back deck, I could see the Hellfire boys rough-housing in the yard. Turning to my left, I could see Eddie in all of his “angel” glory sitting on the railing, metal lunchbox sitting next to him as some girl dressed as a cheerleader was handing him some cash. 

“Are you sure I can’t get a discount?” I heard her ask as I walked over. “Surely with how you are dressed tonight you can’t be a little gracious?”

I humphed as I got closer to the pair, making myself and my disgust to the statement known. 

Eddie smiled widely and held out a hand as I passed the girl to help me up on the railing next to him. I intertwined our fingers and used my other hand to wave at the girl. “Are we done here?”

She crossed her arms, pom-poms swishing with the motion. “And who do you think you are?”

I let my smile turn a little sharper and crossed my legs. “Ever heard of the phrase “angel on your shoulder”? Well I’m the “devil of this railing” and I suggest you’d pay the angel or move on.”

“He doesn’t belong to you,” She snarled. “He can do whatever he likes. If he wants to give me a discount, he can give me a discount.”

I laughed and turned to look at Eddie. “Do you not belong to me, baby?”

Eddie leaned forward,a manic grin on his face as he pressed his lips to mine in what I’d call a very possessive gesture. When he pulled back, his hand tugged me closer so I was pressed up against him, his hand falling to squeeze my thigh. “It’s written right here on my wrist, so I’d say I belong to her. Now are you going to pay full price or not?”

She gave him the money with a huff, making her way back inside and slamming the sliding door back closed. Eddie chuckled and tossed the money into his lunchbox before turning his attention back towards me. 

“Having fun?”

I shrugged. “I missed you. There’s only so much I can take from drunk nerds and their card games.”

Eddie laughed and leaned forward to press his face into my neck, his nose rubbing against me. “I missed you too, sweetheart. I’ve been so lonely without my other half tonight.”

“Anyone give you any trouble?” I asked as he sat back up, a loving smile on his face as he looked at me. 

“Just you,” he said as he closed the lunchbox. “I think I’ve sold enough for the night. Gotta keep enough for my regular’s tomorrow.”

A yell from the yard drew our attention as we watched Grant and Jeff try to dog pile on top of Gareth. They landed in a pile, resounding groans coming from them as the rest of the party goers continued around them. 

“So,” Eddie started to get my attention. I watched him check his watch, “We have almost two hours before we said we’d get Robin home. Do you wanna check on her and maybe find an empty room and give you the full party experience?”

“Edward Munson,” I gasped mockingly and pressed my free hand to my chest. “How easy do you think I am?”

Eddie’s face turned red and he gently shoved me as he jumped down. “It’s your mind that went to the gutter! I was suggesting getting high-my true party experience bu-”

I leaned forward to kiss him and stop whatever train of thought that was about to come out of his mouth. 

“How about this?” I asked as I pulled back to see the dopey look on his face. I flushed slightly at the thought that I was the one to pull that expression out of him. “Let’s go check on Robin and just maybe you can show me some of the highlights of a highschool party?”

Three hours later we had finally gotten a drunk Robin back to Steve’s. Eddie helped me drag her to the couch and I took off her boots as Eddie went to collect the rest of her stuff from the van. 

“I thought you were going to watch her!” Steve said as he pulled a blanket over her. Robin smiled drunkenly from the couch, going on about something Vickie and one of the other girls did in the one hour that Eddie and I was missing.

“We did! It’s not my fault she got talked into shots the one hour that I was occupied!”

“Occupied?” Steve asked with his signature hands-on-his-hips pose. “What could you have possibly been doing?”

When I didn’t answer, Eddie decided it was the perfect moment to enter the room. He was tying his hair back up, exposing all the work I did to his neck. 

“What’s all the yelling about?”

Steve took one look at me and how my hair was hiding my neck  and to Eddie, his neck now proudly showing off what we got up to in that hour. 

“You two,” Steve pointed between us. “Are taking the guest bedroom tonight. If you make any noise to wake me, I will not be happy. Got it?”

“Steve!” I exclaimed as Eddie laughed. 

“Don’t worry Stevie,” Robin slurred from the couch. “Vickie talked me into it, just a little bit of Vodka!”

Steve groaned and pressed the palms of hands to his eyes. “This is what’s going to finally kill me.”

Thanksgiving 1986

“Wayne, are you sure there isn’t anything I can do?” I asked from the table. Wayne was stirring a pot on the stove; he had been in the kitchen all day excited to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for the group that was coming tonight. Well, a group that consisted of Max and Steve. After I found out that Steve was going to be alone for Thanksgiving, it didn’t take much to persuade Wayne to invite him over. Same deal with Max, her mom was working the late shift for extra cash and I couldn’t just leave her across the street. Wayne always understood when I made requests like this; taking in Eddie when he had no one else. Wayne knew what it was like to have a mismatched family. 

 “I could at least-”

Wanye didn’t hesitate to send me the look that I had been well acquainted with over the last few months. I thought Eddie was stubborn? Wayne put the man to shame. I had been trying to barter with him all day, to let me do something to help out. But Wayne dug his heels in, claiming that what I made for dessert was going to be good enough. Dinner wasn’t going to be ready for at least another hour, but Steve had already called and said he was on his way, bringing over a movie that he claimed he always watched at this time when he was a kid. Max was already over, sitting in front of the TV with Eddie watching an episode of Scooby-Doo and the both of them were already in their PJ’s. It was a Munson tradition to wear PJ’s for the major holidays; Eddie said it was because of the shifts that Wayne used to work when he was younger. Eddie just getting up and Wayne getting ready to go to bed. 

“Sweetheart,” Eddie said as he outstretched a hand in my direction. “Please come sit with us. I promise it won’t kill you.”

“I just might if you get gross,” Max said from his side. 

“What about you and Lucas?” I asked as I rolled my eyes and left Wayne to his devices to sit with them. I took Eddie’s outstretched hand and he pulled into his lap without warning. Max made a sound of protest and rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything else as she shared the blanket with the two of us. 

“What are you going to do when Steve gets here?” Max asked. “Can four people really fit on this small couch?”

Eddie sent me a mischievous look. “Well he can just sit on your lap then!”

Max snorted. “In your dreams.”

I laughed and Eddie just sighed dramatically and dropped his head to the back of the couch. “I guess he’ll just have to sit on top of you, sweetheart. It’ll be like a Steve and Eddie sandwich.”

I shook my head, the ridiculous image coming to mine. “Please don’t, the couch would just break under our weight.”

Max laughed and tugged on the blanket a bit in warning. “Here comes the good part.”

It was weird, watching an episode of Scooby-Doo a week after it came out when I had seen it from my time, way ahead of its actual air time. There was one week when Eddie was watching Saturday cartoons that I had spoiled the episode by accident because it was one that I had repeatedly seen in my time, but in this present time it was just airing. Eddie had pouted the whole day, refusing to forgive me until I had kissed it out of him later that night. 

Eddie was sitting mostly still, one hand rubbing up and down my back and the other messing with my fingers in my lap. I could tell he was excited. This was the first year that Wayne was actually here for the day of the holiday and he had more family over. He had woken me up so excited that morning, kissing every inch of my face as he rattled off all that he had planned. After dinner we were going to go over to the Byers-Hopper house (which came to a shock to no one when El showed up to invite everyone) for dessert, and Eddie had something planned for all the freshmen that he wouldn’t even tell me about.

It wasn’t too much later that there was a knock on the door before the door opened and Steve peered into the living room. “Happy Thanksgiving!”

Max echoed the sentiment with her eyes still glued to the TV as Steve sent the both of us a smile as he shut the door and hung his jacket by the door. “Scooby-Doo again?”

“How many times do I have to tell you, Harrignton?” Eddie mocked as he moved me off his lap to stand up. “If you are going to hate on Scooby-Doo, you won’t be allowed back in this house.”

Wayne made a noise in the kitchen. “Stop terrorizing our house guests! Steve, do you mind helping me with something for a minute?”

My mouth fell open in betrayal as Steve made his way into the kitchen, passing Eddie the movie he brought with him. Max scooted closer to me, laying her head on my shoulder and threading her arm through mine. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Of course, squirt,” I said as I rested my head on hers. “I wasn’t going to leave all alone next door. You guys are the first family I’ve had in a long time.”

“Me too,” Max admitted to me, but she didn’t dare move her eyes away from the screen. “Since everything, Eddie’s made a point to check in with me, but since you’ve been here it’s like I have an older sister across the road. It’s been nice having someone else to rely on.”

I moved to pull Max into a side-hug. “You’re like the sister I never knew I needed, Max. Anytime you need me, just come straight over. I need you guys just as much as you need me.”

Max didn’t reply verbally, just chose to cuddle closer to me as we watched the episode progress. It wasn’t too much later before Wayne called for dinner, all five of us deciding to sit around the coffee table in the small space. 

“So,” Wayne started as he settled into his recliner angled towards the coffee table. He placed his coffee down and set his plate in his lap. “Eds and I have this tradition where we like to say one thing that we are thankful for that happened this year. I’d like to do that this year if everyone is alright with it?”

When none of us complained, Wayne smiled and picked his mug up. “While I have a lot to be thankful for this year, I’m thankful for the health of my nephew. I know that whatever happened during Spring Break was drastic, but I’m eternally grateful that he gets to sit here with me today.”

Wayne smiled at all of us. “Eds?”

Eddie cleared his throat, his face flushing slightly as he looked around the table and his gaze settled on me. He reached his hand over to grasp mine. “I’m thankful that I finally got to meet you this year, sweetheart. While it wasn’t the best circumstances, I’m so glad that I was able to have you in life. Even though you’ve only been here a few months, these have been the best months I’ve ever had.”

I squeezed his hand back. “I’m thankful that I was able to be with you, too. For whatever that brought me here, I have to be thankful that they brought me to you. My life was so boring without you, Eddie. And now I can’t imagine a day without you. You’ve given me a better family than I’ve ever had.”

Eddie sent a wide smile. 

Max cleared her throat. “Can I go now?”

It was two hours later that we found ourselves at the Byers-Hopper house. Wayne chose to stay back, wanting to watch the game and turn in early before his shift. He looked so happy as he hugged us bye, making us promise that we would bring him a piece of pie back. 

He stopped me just before I walked out, everyone already waiting in Steve’s car with Max arguing over the radio. “I wanted you to know that I’m thankful for you too, Sydney. With you being here, I’ve never seen Eddie so happy. You’re a part of this family now and for every future holiday.”

“Wayne,” I said as I felt my throat get thick with emotion. “You’re my family too. I’m so thankful that you took one look at me and decided I would be a part of your family.”

I was now sitting on the porch swing like I did my very first night, but this time I was watching through the window as most of everyone was laughing in the living room, some movie that Will put in was playing on the TV. Eddie had his journal in hand, Will and Jonanthan at his side as he made gestures to some conversation I couldn’t hear. I was okay with sitting out here to watch them for a bit, the love I was feeling making my chest feel full. 

“Sydney?” I turned to see El standing at the doorway. “Can I join you?”

I patted the seat next to me as El joined me on the swing, spreading a blanket over us that I didn’t see her bring out. “What are you doing out here?”

“I just needed a moment,” I said as I started to push us, El curling up beside me. “This is the first happy Thanksgiving I’ve had in a long time. No fighting, no passive-aggressive comments. I just needed a moment to soak it all in out here.”

“This is the first Thanksgiving I’ve had with everyone together,” El said. “Last year we were in California and while it was nice being with Joyce and Jonathan and Will, I missed Dad so much. I keep waiting for something to happen.”

“Me too, kiddo.” I said as I moved an arm to bring her into a side hug. “Nothing’s going to happen to us, all those people in that room would lie down their lives for you.”

“You too,” El argued. “You are just as important. We are all important to each other.”

I didn’t bother to argue with her and just kept swinging us. El was quiet for a few moments, following my gaze through the window. Joyce and Hopper had made their way into the living room, Hopper’s arm around Joyce as she laughed at something Steve said. 

“Dad says that he’s your guardian now, like he’s mine.” El said as she peered up at me.

I nodded. “Murray had to have a paper trail follow me here. The only way that he could do that is if he had me “placed” in Hopper’s care. Are you okay with it?”

El’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

I shrugged. “I’m used to people not wanting me.”

El sighed. “Well we both now have people that want us. Does that make you scared?”

“It does.” I paused. “There are some days that I am scared that I will wake up back in my old life and have no way to get back to Eddie.”

El shook her head. “I’d never let that happen. I’d find you anywhere that you’d go to.”

I hugged her closer to me. “I know you would.”

El sat up, determination etched into her face. “I don’t think you do, that’s why you are sitting out here. Away from everyone. You are a part of this family, Sydney. You are my sister just like Hopper is my dad. We are not related by blood, but that doesn’t matter.”

I pulled El into a strong hug, her arms coming around me to hold me just as tough. I let her break the hug, pulling back to wipe some of the tears that gathered under her eyes. 

“If I wanted to have a family dinner, would you come?” El asked. “Just us and Dad?”

“You could make it a weekly thing and I’d be there.” I said as El smiled and tugged me off the swing. 

I followed her into the house with no complaints, only being stopped as Hopper pulled the both of us into a hug. Eddie was waiting for me on the couch,  arms wide as I sat in his lap.

“Are you okay?” He asked me quietly so no one else would hear.

I looked around at the group in the living room. Steve and Robin taking the other end of the couch and throwing popcorn at each other, Dustin and Lucas arguing on the floor in front of the TV, and Joyce and Hopper sharing a mug between them.  

“I feel really loved,” I answered as I snuggled closer to him. “Thank you for letting me be a part of this.”

Eddie pressed a kiss against my cheek in response and just tightened his arms around me. “Thank you for wanting to be a part of it.”

Christmas 1986

When I came to, it was to Eddie’s humming and the soft touch of his hands down my back. I laid there for a moment, soaking it in and wondering how I got so lucky that I could wake up to this now. That Eddie shared his touch so easily with me, like we couldn’t survive without each other. When I opened my eyes, I became aware of our placement. Sometime during the night, Eddie had ended up on his back, myself draped over him and curled to his chest. Eddie’s head was leaned back on to his pillow with his eyes closed but looking completely content in the moment. 

His eyes peaked open and glanced down at me. When he saw that I was awake, his humming abruptly stopped as a wide smile stretched across his lips. “Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

I couldn’t help but grin back. “Happy first Christmas, baby.”

His eyes brightened in excitement. “Shit, it is our first Christmas. How does it feel?”

“Just waking up with you is making it number one for me,” I enjoyed the way Eddie’s face flushed. 

He groaned and his arms moved from around me to cover his eyes. “Do you have to be so sweet in the morning?”

I moved to straddle his lap and pouted at him. “You won’t let me be sweet on you at Christmas?”

Eddie peaked his eyes out of his arms. “Are you really asking me that, sweetheart?”

Before I could process, Eddie had flipped us, me underneath him as he straddled me now, moving his hands to my hips as he leaned down to kiss at my face, his curly hair tickling my neck. I laughed as he squeezed at my sides, legs kickin to get him off of me. 

“Eddie” I laughed out. “Get off of me!”

“That’s not my name, sweetheart.” Eddie sang as his kisses became more sloppy and moved down to my neck.  

“Baby,” I relented as I pushed my hands into his hair, still giggling. “Please!”

Eddie’s hands stopped and slid up to cup my face. “Was that so hard?”

I shoved at him before he caught my hands and held them over my head as he leaned down to give me a proper kiss. I sank back into the pillows, too occupied with his mouth to form a smartass remark.

A banging on the bedroom door broke us apart, Eddie’s face hiding in my neck as I felt the heat that came off his cheek from his embarrassment. 

“Kiddos! I made breakfast!” Wayne shouted from the other side of the door. “Come out so we can celebrate Christmas!”

I giggled quietly as Eddie groaned in my neck before he sat up in my lap. I raised myself onto my elbows as he stretched his arms over his head before looking down at me. I felt myself flush under his gaze. “What?”

He smiled before rolling off of me and standing next to the bed to help me up. “Just looking at you, sweetheart. Just looking at you.”

Similar to their Thanksgiving traditions, the Munson’s had their fair share of Christmas traditions. Wayne made a huge real breakfast in the morning, pancakes from scratch that barely took any begging from Eddie to have chocolate chips in them. Eddie turned the TV to a channel that was showing kid’s cartoons, claiming that when Wayne worked the night shift he would come home and watch a few cartoons with Eddie before opening gifts and heading to bed. Some Scooby-Doo episode played on the TV as Eddie made sure I was comfortable before heading to help Wayne in the kitchen. I couldn’t even complain before Eddie was throwing a blanket on top of me and giving me a mug of hot chocolate with a look that said not to move. 

When breakfast was finished, Eddie returned with two plates stacked high with pancakes and just downed in syrup. “Are you trying to give me diabetes?”

Wayne laughed as he dropped into the recliner next to me, his plate stacked just as high but missing the sugary syrup. “I don’t know how he doesn’t have it already with all the sugar he eats.”

I pouted as Edddie sat next to me, fixing the blanket in my lap and moving my mug to the coffee table.”You eat all this sugar but won’t let me be sweet on you?”   

Wayne let out a gruff laugh as Eddie’s face turned red and instead of replying he just shoved a bag of pancake in his mouth.

Eddie could barely wait for Wayne and I to finish breakfast, bouncing on the touch and taking the plates to the kitchen to soak while Wayne sat up with a groan and headed towards the tiny tree in the corner of the living room.  It was a whole event to get the Christmas tree up. I had never had a real Christmas tree before with my father being allergic, and Wayne had just pulled the most offended face and we went that day to get one. When Wayne had left for work that night, Eddie and I spent hours decorating the TV and different parts of the trailer with Metallic playing on low. Eddie had demanded that we spent the night watching Christmas movies and combating the coldness of the trailer. 

Now, in the present watching Wayne open the gift that the kids picked out, it felt like my first real Christmas. No being forcibly woken up to cook breakfast or either being given the cold shoulder because the gift wasn’t deemed “expensive” enough. But now, watching Eddie as he pulled out another Garfield mug to add to the collection, this felt like an actual Christmas. 

“Now,” Wayne started as he put the rest of the wrapping paper in a trash bag. “I have one more gift for you, kiddo. It’s not anything special, but I just wanted you to have it.”

Wayne reached into the tree and pulled out a tiny wrapped box. He handed it to me silently, choosing to take a seat on the coffee table in front of me. With a questioning glance at Eddie and one sent back at me, I unwrapped it to find a very tiny white box. 

“Wayne-” I started. 

“Sydney, just open it.”

Inside the box was a golden key. 

“Now I know that you have lived here for months,” Wayne started as I stared down at the key. Is this what I thought it was? “And you’ve been a part of this family since the moment Eddie brought you through that door. But you deserve a key because this is your home and I need you to feel like you are welcome here. No matter what happens kiddo, you always will have a home in this trailer.”

I felt my throat get thick with emotion and tears blurred my vision as I looked at Wayne. 

“Are you sure?”

Wayne let out a gruff chuckle and pulled me forward into a tight hug. I wrapped my arms tight around him in return, my new house key pressing harshly into my palm. “Kiddo, there is nothing more I want than you having a place here.”

I laughed wetly and felt Eddie wrap his arms around me, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. I was surrounded by my new family, one that I didn’t know how I got so lucky to belong to. 

Several hours later, Eddie offered the idea of going on a walk before the sunset and the temperature got too low outside. We left Wayne inside to a sports game and I got to lock the trailer door with my new key, Eddie laughing at my excitement.    

Bundled in several layers to ward off the cold, Eddie walked us around until we reached a rusted out playground on the other side of the trailer park. He wasted no time pulling me over to the iced over swings, taking off one his layers to place on the swing before forcing me to sit and push me gently. It started to snow softly around us, the sun becoming more and more amber in the sky, creating a beautiful sunset in the midst of the cold in Hawkins. 

“How does this Christmas rank now, sweetheart?” Eddie asked me from behind. His hands gently pushed my upper back, my feet making trails in the packed snow below me. “Is it number one?”

I planted my feet to stop the swinging, making Eddie pause for a moment before his hands left my shoulder and then he was kneeling in front of me. His beautiful brown eyes were glowing in the setting sun, his cheeks rosy against the harsh cold. I moved to take a glove off, wanting to touch his rosy skin with my hands. 

“Just waking up with you this morning already made it number one.” I confessed, my breathing coming out in a cloud of fog between us, his breath matching mine. “But I don’t think I’ve ever felt as loved as I have today.”

Eddie smiled widely, biting at his lip as he rested his arms on my dangling legs. “Really?”

In this moment, in front me, Eddie looked so perfect. With the snow gently falling around us and landing in his beautiful curls, to the way he looked at me. An emotion so great swelled in my chest, one that had been slowly building since I woke up here all those months ago. It was burning in my veins, feeling up every inch of me on the inside; fighting to get out and to be known to him. 

“I think I’m falling in love with you.” I confessed to him, my quiet voice carrying across the frozen wonderland. 

Eddie’s face didn’t change for a moment. His eyes searched mine before his cheeks flushed even more and his smile won out against him biting his lip. He leaned up at me to kiss me so softly, his gloved hands cradling my face like I was the most precious thing he had ever held in his life. The moment was so tender, so sweet, that I felt tears start to swell in my eyes. I had never been held this tenderly, kissed with this much emotion that I could feel it being passed back to me through the mark.  

“Sydney.” Eddie breathed as he pulled back and moved his hands from my face. He tore his gloves off in a hurry, his hand searching for my wrist and running his fingers over our mark. “Falling? Sweetheart, I fell for you the moment I saw my name on your wrist. I’ve been in love with you for all of my life, I just hadn’t met you yet. But I can wait for you to catch up, to be completely in love with me. I’ve waited lifetimes for you, what’s a little more?”

For a second time that day, I cried. I leaned down to meet him halfway again, kissing him with what I hoped was every ounce of love I had in my body. Eddie sighed quietly, and the adoration that he felt for me, I could feel that tenfold through the mark. He only pulled back when he needed to breathe and with a mischievous smile, he pulled me down into the snow next to him. Our laughter lighting up the snow-filled sky. 

1987

“So no vodka for you,” Steve said as he snatched the bottle out of Robin’s hand and replaced it with a wine glass that I believe was filled with a softer liquor. “I am not having a repeat of Halloween.”

Robin protested at Steve as he sat down next to her on the pool lounger, tugging his bottle of beer closer to his chest. 

I felt Eddie’s chest shake into my back as he wrapped his arms tighter around me, grabbing at the blanket that Steve threw overtop of us when he took all of us out here. It was a last minute decision to have a New Year’s Eve party at his house, but Steve wanted to be able to celebrate the new year with the people he loved. Even if that included all the underage ones in the house, watching the ball drop with cups of apple cider that they liked to pretend was alcohol. 

Steve, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan, Eddie, and I were all camped out by the pool, drinks in hand as the year was counting down. Nancy talking about how excited she was to be able to graduate and attend Emerson, Robin choosing to take a gap-year to figure out exactly what she wanted to do, and Eddie determined to make ‘87 his year and finally get done with Hawkins High. 

“Did you accomplish any of your new year resolutions?” Nancy asked me. “Do you have any in mind for next year?”

I smiled as I cuddled closer to Eddie, feeling his arms tighten around me in return and a kiss being pressed to the back of my head. “As corny as it might sound, I actually think I did. I, ah, I said that I was finally gonna get out there and find people of my own. I was going to try and move out from under my parents and become my own person.” I turned my head to look up at Eddie. “I kind of did all of that in one day, didn’t I?”

Eddie smiled sweetly down at me. “What are you gonna set for this year?”

“Ah, ah.” I said as I waved a finger at him. “I don’t think I should tell you, you might try to steal mine.”

Eddie gasped dramatically and pulled me closer to him, teetering us over the side of the chair. “The betrayal!”

I laughed and heard the sound of groans around us. Nancy cleared her throat and when I looked at her, she was smiling. “As happy as it makes us that you two are happy, I might just wish for a little less PDA this year.”

Steve raised his beer in agreement and Eddie’s mouth dropped open. “We aren’t that bad!”

Jonathan snorted into his cup and Eddie had the audacity to look shocked. 

“Baby,” I said as drew his attention towards me. “We are kind of clingy.”

“Clingy?” Eddie repeated and scoffed. “If they think this is clingy then they haven’t seen anything yet.”

Before Nancy could argue, the backdoor slid open with El and Will standing in the doorway. El was bouncing with excitement. “It’s about to start! Come in so you can do the countdown with us.”

Jonathan laughed and pulled Nancy up with him as they started towards the door. With a ruffle of Will’s hair, the three of them disappeared into the doorway. Steve pushed Robin off the chair with a laugh and the two of them bickered as Robin threw an arm around El and they made their way into the house. As I stood up to take Eddie with me, he stopped me. 

“Do you think we could stay out here for this?” He asked me as I sat back down in front of him, his hand already reaching for mine. “I want to be able to kiss you and not hear any complaints from there.”

“You know they were just teasing us, right?” I asked him as I let him take my hand. I don’t think there would ever be a day that I wouldn’t not let him take it. “But if you want to stay out here, that’s fine with me.”

Eddie smiled and his cheeks flushed. “No, I know. I just want to be with you for the countdown. Bring the year in together, just us?”

I laughed and leaned into his space to kiss his cheek. “That’s fine with me.”

Eddie settled back against the chair and with grabbing motion towards me, I let him pull me back against his chest. He moved us forward just a bit so he could pull the blanket back over us, and then sighed as he settled down behind me. 

“So,” Eddie started, his fingers tracing shapes around my mark. No matter where we were, or where he was touching me, Eddie’s hands always seemed drawn to my mark. “I have to make sure before the new year comes ringing in. I’m your boyfriend, right?”

I let out a surprised laugh but stopped when I realized that Eddie had froze behind me. I moved forward in his lap so I could turn to face him. “Wait, you’re not serious are you? Of course you are, Eddie.”

Eddie’s gaze moved to his lap, his fingers twisting around each other. “It’s just, I didn’t think I asked you?”

“Why wouldn’t you be?” I asked him. “We are soulmates, aren’t we?”

Eddie groaned and pushed his palms against his eyes. “I just got nervous about asking you! I just wanted to make sure that we were going into 1987 being on the same page!”

“Baby,” I sighed softly and moved so I could take his hands away from his eyes and intertwine them with my own. “What’s going on?”

Eddie took a moment to look up at me. “You’ve been here about three months, right?”

I nodded and squeezed his hands. “And?”

Eddie shrugged. “I was just thinking about the future today. It’s about to be the new year. New year means that things are going to be changing. Are you going to go through these changes with me?”

“Baby,” I said as I moved forward to be completely in his lap. “Wherever you go, I go. Whatever we decide to get up to this year, I’m going to be right beside you.”

“Are you scared?” Eddie asked me.

“Not since the day I met you,” I told him and I meant it. Sure, I was worried and had a minor freakout about my predicament. But being with Eddie felt right, being here in 1986 with him I felt more at home than I ever had. 

Eddie smiled and we could hear the start of the countdown from inside the house. He wrapped his arms around me, drawing me closer to him with our chests brushing against each other. I felt his warm breath hit my face and the cold air around us seemed to disappear. 

“To making ’87 our year,” Eddie murmured against my lips as loud cheers reached our ears. He surged forward to bring his lips completely against mine, kissing me passionately as I heard the noise of some fireworks going off in the distance. When I pulled back, I could see the lights reflecting off his beautiful face. 

“I love you,” I breathed into the air between us. 

Eddie’s eyes searched mine, his chest rising and falling harshly against mine. When he found what he was looking for, a love-sick smile made its way across his face 

“I know,” Eddie muttered. 

It took me a moment to process his response before I reared back, leaning as much as I could out of his space with his arms around me. “I know? Eddie, did you just quote fucking Star Wars to me?” 

Eddie’s mouth dropped open in amusement and I just pushed against him trying to get out of his lap. “I take it back.”

“Wait!” Eddie laughed as I stood up and wrapped the blanket around me. “Sydney! Don’t walk away! I’m sorry, sweetheart!.”

“It’s too late!” I said dramatically as I pushed away his arm as he tried to stand up. “I can’t believe you quoted Star Wars to me the first time I said I loved you!”

Eddie fell off the chair and grabbed at my ankle as I went to walk towards the house.

“Sweetheart!” Eddie laughed and I could barely keep my laughter in. He knew I wasn’t mad at him, he could feel the adoration I had for him through the mark. “I love you! Please!” 

Valentines Day 1987

“Steve!” Robin groaned. “Do not start this now!”

“I’m just saying,” Steve argued back at Robin. “Eddie has the advantage that Sydney is literally his soulmate, she has to like his flirting. That aside, I don’t think Eddie is that good at flirting!”

Currently Eddie and I had gone into Family Video to rent a movie and were sucked into an argument that Steve and Robin were currently having. Steve was laminating about his lack of dates for Valentine’s Day while Robin had blamed it on his horrible flirting. 

I snorted and Steve sent me an annoyed look. “I’m sorry Steve. Objectively, I am not going to be able to help with your argument. I can hardly tell when Eddie is flirting half the time.”

Eddie’s mouth dropped open. “I flirt with you all the time!”

I waved my hand. “Point made. Social cues, not really my thing. If Eddie’s name wasn’t on my wrist, I don’t think I would have realized he was it for me until he literally had to spell it out in front of me.”

Eddie gawked at me while Robin tried to hide her laughter behind her hand. “Do you think you could do any better?”

I raised my eyebrows at Eddie. “Is that a challenge?”

Eddie moved to lean his back against the counter, elbows bent and resting there. I moved to step in front of him, Steve and Robin taking a step back from the counter to watch us. I took a moment to gather my thoughts before I let a small smile paint my lips. 

“Eddie, baby. Can I hold your hand?” 

I heard Steve scoff from behind Eddie, but I paid it no mind as I stepped into Eddie’s space and held my out for him to place his in. Eddie’s eyes were wide, but gave nothing away as he gently placed his hand in mine. I made a point to gently trace a finger around his palm before I flipped his hand over and traced at his knuckles. 

“As nice as your hand feels in mine,” I started as I gazed up at him under my lashes trying to hood my eyes. “I think it might feel better wrapped around my neck.”

Eddie sucked in a shocked breath, his face turning very red. I heard Steve sputter and Robin bust into laughter. 

“I-uh.” Eddie tried to say as he stood up from his slouched position, but making sure his hand stayed in mine. “Sweetheart?”

Steve threw his hands up and I couldn’t help but giggle as I leaned closer to Eddie. 

“Didn’t mean to fluster you, baby.” I said as I dropped his hand and moved to push a rouge hair from his ponytail behind his ear. “Just had to let you see how well I can dish it out.”

Eddie’s other hand came up to rest against his chest, his face still beet red. “You can’t say things like that to me in public, sweetheart.”

Steve slapped a case down on the counter behind Eddie. “That is so not fair. I can’t just say that to a girl!”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe to the ones you are chasing. But the right one? You’ll have her melting in her seat.”

Robin had finally quieted down before reaching forward with her hand above Eddie’s shoulder. I slapped her open palm for a high-five while Eddie just rolled his eyes with a smile. “You gotta teach me how to flirt with girls like that. Steve is no help at all!”

Steve sputtered again. “Robin!”

“It’s okay, Stevie.” I teased as I moved around Eddie to pat his hand. “You know how to flirt with some girls. I might just help Robin with the rest.”

Steve just took a deep breath as he stared at the ceiling. We all gave him a moment, fighting smiles as Steve had to reel himself in. He cleared his throat. “To change topics, what is everyone doing for Valentine’s Day?”

Robin shuffled some cases around. “Vickie and I might be going to see a movie?”

“Robin!” I exclaimed excitedly. “Look at you!”

Robin shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s a date. How do you see if it’s a date without giving it away that you want it to be a date?”

Steve shrugged. “You’ll know.”

Robin groaned and lowered her head into her hands. “That’s literally no help.”

“I’ve got something planned,” Eddie butted in. He sent me a wink. “Something that you’ll definitely enjoy.”

“You’re not going to share with the class?” I asked with a smile as I leaned into his side. “You know I don’t like surprises.”

“Oh, I know.” Eddie chuckled as his arm wrapped around my shoulders to keep me there. “But you won’t know until than.”

That’s all Eddie gave me, and I had to wait days to find out. Valentines Day fell on friday, which meant Eddie still had to go to school and our plans had to wait until after. Before I headed to Steve’s for the day, I stuck an obnoxious card in his lunchbox for him to find during the day. When school ended and I tagged along with Steve for Robin pickup, Eddie was sitting at the back of his van with both doors thrown open. He didn’t waste any time throwing the passenger door open and pulling me from Steve’s car, twirling me in a circle.

“Eddie!” I laughed as I lost my balance and fell into his chest. 

“Sydney,” Eddie said as his arms wrapped around my waist. “You can’t just leave cards for me to find like that. I might think you’re in love with me.”

My face flushed as I peered up at him. “I love you.”

Eddie groaned and his head fell back. “You can’t just say things like that!”

I laughed and moved out of the way so Robin could get in the passenger seat. “Have fun!”

Robin gave me thumbs up as Steve drove off and it just left Eddie and I in the parking lot. “C’mon,” Eddie said as he tugged me towards the van. “We have to go back to the trailer to change and then we will be on our way.”

To my surprise, when we got back to the trailer Eddie insisted that we change into some PJ’s. Giving me a hoodie of his to wear, he sent me off the bathroom to change with a promise of dinner. Once we were both changed, we got into the van and Eddie started driving in the direction of town. No matter how much I pleaded, the man would not give any answers. 

When Eddie parked next to the diner that we usually go to, I sent him a questioning glance as he told me to stay put and raced to the doors. He came back a few minutes later with a bag full of takeout boxes that he put in the back and would not let me peek. After we were driving a few minutes, I realized that the area around us was getting more and more wooded. 

“Where exactly are we going?” I asked him as he turned off onto a dirt road. 

Eddie groaned but sent me a smile as he turned the music down. “I guess I can’t really ruin the surprise since we are already here. I figured I would take you to Lover’s Lake to enjoy a picnic and watch the stars once it got dark. I thought that everywhere else in town would be busy, and I know that you would be more comfortable out here.”

I reached over to grasp his hand. “That sounds perfect.”

Once we got to the lake, Eddie parked with the back doors to the lake. He jumped out to get the back situated and I was surprised to see the amount of blankets and pillows stashed at the back of the van. 

“Are we having a sleepover?” I teased as I crawled between the seats instead of getting out and going around. “Is that why we are in our PJ’s?”

Eddie shrugged with a smile. “Since someone has a habit of falling asleep against me, I figured we might want to be comfortable. Plus, it’s going to get chilly later and I hate for you to get cold.”

Eddie was right. Once we had finished dinner and laid out to watch the sky darken, it was so peaceful I could fall asleep right against him. He was so warm, laying against all the pillows in the back of the van, the cool air blowing through the open doors. His voice was gentle and with the tone he was using to tell me about the latest campaign, I felt so at peace with him here. 

“Sweetheart,” Eddie nudged me as the sky got completely dark and the stars were shining brightly in the sky. “Can I give you my gift?”

I let him sit me up as he reached for something behind the driver seat. I moved to my bag, pulling out a small wrapped box as well. 

“Can I go first?” I asked him as he moved to sit with his legs dangling out of the van. 

Eddie smiled and held out his hand for the small gift. He didn’t open it, motioning for me to continue. “I really didn’t know what to get you for Valentine’s Day. Sure, I could get you some material items, but I wanted to get you something special.”

When I motioned towards the box, Eddie ripped open the wrapping paper and moved to take the cover off the box to see a ring sitting in the middle of the box. I felt my face flush a bit. “I know that you already have all these rings, but I came across this when Robin, Max, and I went shopping a few weeks ago. I know that you already have my name on your wrist, but I wanted to see something else of mine on you too.”

The ring was simple. It had a thick band, colored dark gray, and had a small moth etched into the top of the ring. When Eddie turned it over, he could see that I had our initials engraved inside the band of the ring. With another glance at me, Eddie slid it onto his ring finger, sitting proudly with the others of that hand. 

“Sweetheart,” Eddie said as he cupped my face to kiss me. The rings cool against my cheeks. “I love it.”

“It doesn’t have to mean anything!” I rushed out to say it because of the load of anxiety that washed over me. “I just wanted you to have something else to look down on and remind you of me. Also, it seemed like a really cool vintage ring and this one you don’t have to tape to fit your fingers!”

“Sydney” Eddie laughed softly as his hands tightened on my face. “I know and one day it just might mean something else. But for right now, I know what it is.”

I know that I was smiling love-sick at him, but I couldn’t care. Not with the emotions that I felt in my chest and pulsing at my wrist. “I love you.”

Eddie dropped his hands to thrust his gift at me. “Open it.”

I took the box gently, carefully opening it to see his guitar pick necklace sitting there. “Eddie?”

“I love you, sweetheart.” Eddie started as he reached forward to get the chain out. In that moment when he leaned over, I noticed for the first time that I didn’t see that chain wrapped around his neck. “I had a similar thought. I know that my name is etched into your skin and just seeing it some days brings me so much joy. But I couldn’t resist giving you the necklace. Now when you have your wrist covered, everyone will be able to see that necklace and see that you are mine.”

For the first time in a while, I felt pressure behind my eyes as I willed myself not to cry. Eddie moved to clasp the necklace around my neck, leaning back to let it fall against my chest as it seemed to catch some of the light from the stars above. “Hey,” Eddie cooed softly as he reached forward to brush at my cheeks. “What’s wrong, pretty girl?”

I sniffled and moved to place one of my hands against his. “Nothing. I just didn’t think I would ever be here with someone like you.”

“Yeah?” Eddie asked me with a smile.

“I love you so much,” I told him. “And there are days that I just look at you and I can feel it tenfold back through the mark and I just wonder about how I got so lucky. I literally fell into your lap.” I laughed wetly. “And giving me this means so much to me. You wear this everyday, aren’t you going to miss it?”

“I have something else to wear now,” Eddie said as he wiggled his hand at me. “But I love you too, sweetheart. I will never have to doubt anything because there are days for me too that I just look at you and I can feel all of it.”

Eddie dropped his hand and with a wave of his fingers, I followed his movements so I was laying against him in the back of the van. We could still see some of the stars that were further out in the distance; but here now with Eddie, it felt like we were the only ones in our little world. With his arms wrapped around me and the feeling of Eddie tracing shapes into my back, I felt perfectly at peace. 

“Happy first Valentine's Day, sweetheart.” Eddie said and I felt a kiss at the top of my head. 

“How are you going to top this one next year?” I asked him.

Eddie laughed and I could feel his body shaking against mine. “That’s all on you sweetheart.” A pause. “But you know what would make this better right now?”

“What?” I asked him as I looked up at him, my chin resting against his chest. 

“If you kissed me. Kissed me alot, actually.” Eddie said with a mischievous smile. 

The first time I leaned up to kiss him, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face which barely made it a kiss at all. But when Eddie rolled us over so he was hovering above me, the kiss was definitely more passionate. 

And it was no one’s business if we ended up falling asleep out there under the stars. 

Only for us to be rudely awakened by our bladders several hours later. 

Sydney’s First Birthday in the Past

“Happy birthday to you,” someone was singing in my ear quietly as I was roused from sleep. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

I groaned and opened my eyes to see Eddie laying on his side beside me, a tired smile on his face. “What?” I asked, still on the edge of sleep. 

Eddie reached forward to tuck some hair behind my ear, biting his lip at me. “It’s your birthday, Sydney.”

I blinked a few more times before I was fully awake. “It’s my birthday?”

Eddie laughed and shuffled closer so he was laying against me, an arm wrapped around me and his forehead coming to rest against mine. “Well that’s what the government paperwork says. Is it true?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “What would you do if it was?”

Eddie pulled back a little to look at me. “Do you not like your birthday?”

I shrugged again. “It was always a mute point when I was younger. It always fell on a weekday so I had to go to school and my parents refused to do something for me when they got home for work. My brother, though? They would pull him out of school for the day and always take him out to dinner.” I tried not to show how much it bothered me. Eddie has already done so much, I didn’t want him to feel like he had to go all out for this too. “It just became another one of those things.”

“Well,” Eddie said as placed a kiss on my forehead and then trailed them from my cheeks to my chin. “We celebrate all holidays and birthdays in the Munson household. Sorry, sweetheart. You are just going to have to tough it out this year.”

I tried to pout at him, but his smile was so infectious that I couldn’t help at the one that tugged at my lips. “So Dungeon Master, what do you have planned?”

Eddie laughed and moved to sit up, pulling me along with him. He grabbed one of my hands in his, the other moving to trace lines against the back of it. “Wayne made you a special breakfast.”

I groaned in protest. “Please don’t tell me you dragged Wayne into this.”

A gruff chuckle tore my attention to the doorway to see Wayne standing there, sleeves of his flannel rolled up with a smile on his face. “All the boy had to do was mention that your birthday was coming up.”

I sent him a small smile. “Morning Wayne.”

Wayne nodded his head. “There are fresh cinnamon rolls in the kitchen if you are interested.”

“You made me fresh cinnamon rolls?” I asked excitedly. “No one has ever made them for me!”

Eddie chuckled beside me. “So get your ass in gear and get some while they are still warm.”

I threw the blanket off and followed Wayne into the kitchen. It smelled so great in there I couldn’t help but melt when Wayne placed a plate in front of me at the table. One bite and I was trying to hold back a moan. “Oh my god, Wayne. These are so good.”

Wayne laughed into this coffee mug, placing the comics he was reading from the newspaper back onto the table. “Don’t butter me up.”

“I’m serious!” I laughed and took another bite. “This is the best thing anyone has ever made for me.” 

In one second Eddie appeared behind me, smelling strongly of his body wash and leaned forward to take the bite off my fork. I turned to look at him, betrayed as he swallowed. 

“Go get ready, sweetheart.” Eddie said as he took my hand and helped me up from the table. “You’ve got a day ahead of you.”

I frowned. “Eddie, I don’t wa-”

Eddie held up his hand. “I already know you don’t want me skipping school. So I’ve made other plans for you.”

A threw a nervous glance at Wayne and he just took a drink of his coffee. “All I know is that we are meeting up later for dinner.”

I narrowed my eyes at Eddie. “What do you have planned?”

He winked at me and took another bite of my cinnamon roll. “Go get changed and you might just find out.”

I ran and took a quick shower, towel drying my hair as I grabbed one of Eddie’s sweatshirts to put on. It clearly was a P.E. sweatshirt, but the arms had been drawn all over with designs that looked similar to what was on Eddie’s D&D notebook. 

When I got back into the kitchen, Wayne was already in his recliner watching some morning TV while Eddie was on the phone. When he saw me, he abruptly got off the phone before making his way to me. 

“Comfy?” He asked as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. 

I raised an eyebrow at him. “What did you do?”

Eddie just smiled mischievously at me and motioned towards the door. There was no Max waiting for us at the van, and Eddie shrugged like he didn’t know who took her to school. I let him keep up his charades as we started the familiar path towards town, only slightly surprised when we pulled up to the police station. 

Hopper and Joyce were leaning against her car in the parking lot, their faces lighting up when they saw us pull in. I had only just gotten out of the van when Joyce had wrapped me in a tight hug. 

“Happy birthday!” She said really loud as she pulled back to look at me. “Do you feel any older?”

I rolled my eyes in amusement as Hopper stepped around her to pull me into a quick side -hug. “Happy birthday, kiddo.”

I smiled at both of them and felt when Eddie joined my side. “So what is the plan for today? Eddie won’t tell me anything.”

Joyce shrugged, but the smile on her face said otherwise. “I thought you and I could have a girls day. Give you a treat for your birthday.”

“Joyce-” I started to argue that it wasn’t necessary before she sent me a look. 

“You are one of my kids now, Sydney.” Joyce said as she reached out to squeeze my shoulder. “If I want to do things with you for your birthday, I sure as hell am going to.”

I laughed and nodded my head in defeat. “Okay then.”

Joyce made a happy noise and turned to start her car while Hopper waved at us and started to make his way into the station. I only turned to Eddie when I felt his fingers intertwine with mine, giving my palm a gentle squeeze. 

“Is this okay?” He asked me, nervously. 

I smiled at him. “It’s perfect.”

Eddie perked up and with a quick glance around he leaned down to kiss me. I let him, getting lost in the sensation of his body against mine, whining slightly when he pulled back. He chuckled, using his free hand to play with the chain that had been sitting against my neck for some time now. “I love you, sweetheart.”

My smile widened if possible. “I love you too, baby. Will I be seeing you after school?”

Eddie’s smile turned mischievous. “Well I still have a present to give you. But, I don’t know. Will you?”

Eddie stepped back from as I felt Joyce’s arm wrap around mine. “We ready to go?”

“Have a good birthday, sweetheart!” Eddie yelled as he got back into his van, the music blaring as he buckled himself in. “See you later!”

Joyce and I watched him peel out of the parking lot, some of the people walking around town shaking their heads at all the noise. When he was fully out of sight, Joyce tugged me in the direction of her car. “You ready to get our day started?”

Joyce’s first stop was a little bookstore a few town’s over. We roamed the shelves for a bit, me picking out a few books that I hadn’t read in years but seemed to be new releases here. I couldn’t resist the dragon bookmark in the fantasy section, but I knew that it wouldn’t be me using it and Joyce must have had a similar idea with the look of amusement on her face. 

Our next stop was a tiny hair salon two shops down on the same street. It was run by a lady that knew Joyce by name, taking me back to the chair and telling me whatever I wanted was already covered. I sent a look towards Joyce, but she just shrugged and sat down in the chair next to me, already talking away to the lady bringing her a coffee. 

I frowned in the mirror, one of the books that I bought sitting in my lap. “It’s been years since I’ve had my hair professionally done. What do you suggest?”

“Is this wave natural?” The lady asked me as she ran her hands through my hair.

I shrugged. “I believe so. If my hair isn’t down, most of the time I have it braided back in some way.”

“Hm,” The lady said as she moved to get a cape and secure it around my neck. “How about we cut a few of the dead inches off and go from there? What about a color?”

I moved my hand to pinch some of the hair between my fingers. All my life I had been a lighter shade of brown, borderlining on strawberry blonde. “Why not?”

It took a lot of debating and a long talk of my preferences before the hairdresser-Angela, asked me to trust her and I agreed. If I hated the color, I could always color over it? Joyce had finished not too long ago, sitting with me as I sat under one of those obnoxious hairdryers. 

“I think she picked a great color,” Joyce said with a smile. “Are you having a good time?”

“The best,” I smiled at her. “You know, my mom would never do something like this with me.”

“Her loss.” Joyce said, a tone to her voice. “You’re one of my kids now, sweetie. Anything that she wouldn’t do with you, I will. Don’t you worry about that.”

After my hair was processed and washed out, I let them keep the element of surprise as they turned my back to the mirror so they could style it for me. When they were finally finished and I got to turn around, I couldn't help but gasp. Angela styled my hair in soft curls falling down my back, nothing like the corkscrew curls that I’d seen at least two women walk out with today. As for my hair color, it was a deep copper color that really stood out against my skin tone and made my hazel eyes pop. 

“Woah,” I said as I reached up to feel a strand. 

Angela clapped beside me. “It’s a perfect fit!”

Her excitement was infectious and I couldn’t help but laugh along with her. “You did such a good job!”

With the promise of coming back for a touch up, I followed Joyce out of the salon and to a tiny cafe a street over. We had a small lunch, Joyce making small talk about the kids and Hopper but I could tell something else was bothering her. 

I sighed. “What is it?”

Joyce watched me for a moment. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

I nodded. “Why do you ask?”

Joyce reached out a hand to place over mine on the table. “It’s just your first birthday away from your parents, your friends. Eddie was worried today might be hard for you.”

I frowned. “Why would he think that?”

“El might have told me about a conversation she had with you at Thanksgiving,” Joyce said with a shrug. “I realized I might not have been checking in with you as much as I should.”

“Joyce,” I let out a relaxed laugh. “El brags me to family dinners with you guys almost every other week. You see me all the time.”

Joyce nodded. “I do, but I just wanted to make sure you knew that you could come to me about stuff.”

I squeezed her hand. “I know that I can.”

Joyce took a sip of her coffee. “You know Murray mentioned something to me the other week.”

“Hm?”

She placed her cup down. “He mentioned that when his partner was brought to the past, a box of some of his more personal items showed up. Has that happened to you?”

“No?” I shrugged. “I didn’t know that it was possible for that to happen. Nancy never mentioned it to me.”

Joyce frowned. “He should be back in Hawkins for a few days. Maybe you could ask him?”

We didn’t stay too much longer, Joyce saying it was her turn to carpool, but letting me know that Eddie had planned to meet with us at the school. 

“Not that I don’t think of El as my own,” Joyce said on the drive back. “But I really want you to know that you have a place in my family.”

I smiled. “I know that I do. I think between you, Hopper, and Wayne acting as parents with Steve trying to prove that he is my brother; I’ve got all areas covered. I promise you since I’ve woken up here I haven’t felt truly alone.”

“Good,” Joyce said. “We’re a weird group, aren’t we?”

I don’t think I could have asked for a better one.

When we got to the school, I shouldn’t have been surprised to see the group that was waiting at Eddie’s van. I only had a second once I got out of the car to get bombarded by the younger ones, trying to pull me in hugs and El trying to sing me happy birthday. 

“Guys,” I laughed delighted at the love I was receiving. I almost had to stop for a second at the sheer feeling of adoration that hit me, but it wasn’t hard to place where that emotion came from when I met Eddie’s eyes. He was leaning against the van, a smile on his face as he waited for his turn to get to me. 

Steve stepped forward, pulling me into a quick hug before throwing an arm around Dustin. “Since you didn’t tell us how important today was, we didn’t have any time to throw something together.”

I shrugged, not bothered about it. “I didn’t want you guys to make a big deal about it.”

Steve pointed at me. “Well, we will. Just wait.”

After a few more minutes of ‘Happy Birthday’ wishes and hugs from everyone, they all split into groups between Steve and Joyce. I waved back at them as they all got in their cars, leaving Eddie and I in the almost empty parking lot. 

When I turned to him, he was still leaning against his van with his hands tucked into his front pockets. He pushed off the van and slowly made his way to me, reaching out to pull at a loose curl. “You changed your hair?”

He tucked a strand behind my ear, fingers trailing along my jaw. “Do you like it?”

“Like it?” Eddie asked as his other hand joined the one on my facing, moving to rub his thumbs against my cheeks. “Sweetheart, that color does wonders to you. Damn,” Eddie let out a groan and closed his eyes with a smile. “Are you trying to kill me?”

My laughter was silenced as Eddie leaned down to kiss me, my eyes fluttering closed at the intensity of it. When one of Eddie’s hands moved to grasp mine and his fingers brushed against my mark, I almost gasped at the feelings I felt thrown back at me. 

Eddie broke away from me, staying close enough that our lips lightly brushed when he talked or more like whispered to me. “As much as I enjoy kissing you, we do have dinner plans.”

“We do?” I whispered back. 

He stood up fully now, but never letting go of my hand. “Wayne wants to take you out for your birthday. Can’t argue with the man.”

I smiled. “Well if he insists…”

“Now you’re getting it!” Eddie exclaimed as he moved to open the passenger door of the van and help me into the seat. I see him sprint across the front and as soon as he turns the keys, the van is filled with the loud music of Blue Oyster Cult. Once we’ve stopped at the trailer long enough to pick up Wayne and let Eddie dump his stuff, before we are on our way towards town. 

“Maybe next year we can actually make a plan since I know when your birthday is.” Wayne said he slammed the door shut. 

“Wayne-” I started to explain before he held up a hand. 

“Eds was the same way.” Wayne said as he pulled me into a side hug, Eddie raced ahead claiming to get the best booth in the back. “The first year he lived with me he didn’t want to celebrate anything. But I get it, kid. One day, you’ll want to start celebrating it too.”

Wayne opened the diner door for me, ushering me and as I turned to try and find Eddie-

“SUPRISE!”

The diner seemed to be empty except for my mismatched family. Eddie was standing closest to the doors, my favorite smile on his face with his arms stretched out wide. Steve and Robin off to the side of him, eyes bright as their smiles. Joyce, Hopper, and Murray sitting down in the booth off to the side, drinks raised at me. Lastly, all the younger ones were standing right in the middle with Nancy and Jonathan behind them, balloons and party favors in hand. 

I felt my eyes get wet, and it took me a few blinks to convince myself not to cry. Wayne squeezed my shoulder before moving around me and heading towards the other adults while Eddie moved to stand in front of me, taking one of my hands in his. 

“This okay?” He asked as he squeezed my hand.  

“I don’t know what I would do without you.” I said instead. 

Eddie beamed, leaning down to kiss my forehead before moving to wrap an arm around my shoulders and led me to the chaos of my surprise birthday party. “You’ll never have to know, sweetheart. Now why don’t we get some of that cake?”

Ah, hello my beautiful people. It's been a few weeks, hasn't it? Well I'm back and better than ever (had a whole allergic reaction and I won't bore you with the details but I am better and on medication for it now so no worries :) ). So this is a long one, I hope you enjoy the meal! I've been anxious to get into the main part of the story, and it's going to start in the next chapter so be prepared! I figured we could see a glimpse of the life Sydney and Eddie are living before I get into the nitty gritty. Leave a comment telling me if you liked it!

Also just in case we need to know, what should be have as Sydney's Vecna song? I'm trying to decide between something that easily accessible (which means the song is already out), or the potential issue that the song hasn't been written yet. Let me know what you guys think!

Leave a comment if you want to be tagged!

Taglist: @silky-luxe @disaster-in-waiting @sadbitchfangirl@welliguessiwritethingsnow @comboboo@tuttigunner@avalon-wolf @goth-cowgirl-03