#its the best movie of them all sobbing crying

[figachilles]

there is so, so much beautiful ghibli fan art in the world and almost none of it is for nausicaä. it's almost like some of you don't like spores and toxic bugs 😭

[ultralightpoe]

The Freak and The Princess -Eddie Munson

Authors Note: I think I wrote this one back when the new season first came out? Cleaning out drafts and for a couple months I was on an Eddie track fr fr

Word Count: 13,441

Warnings: SMUT SMUT SMUT - Eddie and reader are mean to each other for a bit.

(Thank you for the gif @johnclaytonmayer)

Enjoy!

It was amazing to think how much things change. 

There had once been a time where you considered Eddie Munson to be your best friend, that and your brother Gareth. There had been a time where you thought Eddie Munson was one of the most perfect people in the world, where you had craved to spend any possible second you could with him. 

Now, sitting in the back of his van soaked to the bone as you sob, you find that you’re somehow sitting across a stranger. He watches you closely, eyes stern as he wraps a blanket around you to try and help the shivering. 

It was weird to recognize every single detail of him and still feel like you didn’t all at once. 

“Do you want to smoke? Will that help?” He asks, already reaching for the lunch box hidden in the back so he could grab one of the joints you had seen him roll earlier in the day. 

“I want to go home.” You cry, a shiver going down your spine. “But I don’t want them to see me like this.” 

“Okay.” He nods, and you can see him try to come up with a plan. “I can take you to my trailer for a bit, you can shower and sleep some of this off. Okay?” 

“Okay.” You nod, hands still shaking. “Thank you….. thank you Eds.” 

He stills at the nickname, eyes catching yours for a moment before he is shuffling to get into the driver seat without another word. 

You felt silly, calling him his nickname after everything that’s happened, shuffling to lay on your side to help ease some of the pain built up. You hear him shuffle around with the music, debating if he should have it up or down. 

“Do you want music, bugs?” He asks, your chest warming at the nickname as you close your eyes, inhaling the scent from his sweater and blanket as you fall asleep. 

-

You had met Eddie your freshman year of highschool, before that he had always been Gareths mysterious friend that you had never seen before. 

But now that you went to school with them it seemed that Eddie was everywhere, not that you minded. 

You had quickly become a main member of their group, sitting with them at lunch and going to their band practices. You and your brother had always been close, so it wasn’t anything different than how it used to be. You were just hanging out with your brother…… and his extremely hot friend that you sometimes imagined kissing. No biggie.

But being completely honest everything about Eddie to you was a huge biggie. 

Like right now, as he glared at you while angrily breaking pretzels with his teeth, and all you could do was smile at him. 

“What is wrong with you?” He snaps and you preen under the attention. 

“I said what I said.” You simply reply, flipping your hair over your shoulder with confidence. 

“How can you hate Texas Chainsaw?! It’s such a classic movie! First of its kind!” He whines, snatching a fry from your plate. 

“You say that about every slasher movie, Eds.” You grumble, snatching a pretzel from his bag. “They’re all new and amazing to you. 

“Because they are!” He sighs, obviously frustrated that you wouldn’t agree. “You’re just upset that we didn’t watch that new goonies bullshit.”

“What’s going on?” Gareth asks, sitting beside you with his own lunch tray and snatching one of your fries even though he had some of his own. 

“We were just talking about movies.” You mumble, a blush rising across your skin. Wednesday nights Gareth had to work at the gas stations over night shift, so you had begun hanging out with Eddie when your brother was busy. That had turned into spending the night at Eddie’s and telling your older brother that you were spending the night at your friend Abigail’s since you knew he would get butt hurt that you hung out with Eddie without him. 

“Bugs here thinks Texas chainsaw sucked.” Eddie grunts, throwing a pretzel at you. 

“Oh no way! It’s so good!” Your brother gasps as Jeff joins the table and soon Paul joined. Suddenly the table was packed and chaos filled the once normal conversation. 

You allowed them all to talk over you, choosing to look around the cafeteria as they do so. Everyone today seemed to be in a flurry of excitement, laughing and dashing across the cafeteria. 

You make eye contact with Adam Hanson, one of the schools popular basketball players and he gives you a wide smile, winking as all his friends talk around him. 

At first you pass by it, not really thinking he was looking at you until he waves his hand to get your attention again, smiling like a goof as he wiggles his fingers right before he winks again. 

A small touch at your wrist pulls you back to the table, where Eddie is peering at you with wide brown eyes as the boys yell at each other about something. His thumb is rubbing your wrist softly as you try and smile. 

“You okay?” He asks, looking past you to where Hanson sits before looking back to your eyes. 

“I’m fine. Hanson has always been a clown.” You mumble back shrugging. 

“Okay well I was asking you if you want to retry.” Eddie mumbles, thumb still rubbing your wrist. 

“Retry?” 

“Movie night.” 

“I’m not watching texas chainsaw again.” You laugh which makes him smile. 

“I meant we need to make up for it. Get a movie you might actually like.” He scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Gareth works tonight and Wayne is going to be doing an all nighter at work so we can get another movie.” 

“That sounds like fun.” You smile at him, watching his shoulders relax a bit. 

“What sounds like fun?” Gareth asks turning to you. 

“Burning the government down.” You reply, smiling innocently. 

“That sounds like fun, count me in.” A new voice emerges from behind you, making the rest of the table blink slowly as you turn to see Adam Hanson standing there smiling wide. “What time should we meet up? I’ll bring the gasoline.” 

“I think our rebel van is already full this time. Maybe you can catch the next round.” You smile. 

“Burning down more than one government are we?” He laughs with raised eyebrows. 

“Mmm. Maybe a monarchy next.” You offer, shrugging a bit as he laughs like it’s the funniest thing in the world. “I like to keep my options open.”

“Can we help you?” Gareth scoffs, glaring at Adam like he was being a huge issue. 

“Hey, take it easy. Just trying to join a revolution.” Adam teases, hands held up in a surrender way and winking at you once more before walking off to join his friends at the door while your brother glares at you like you had done something wrong. 

“What?” 

“That was gross!” He scoffs. “Dude was ogling at my baby sister.” 

“No he wasn’t.” You scoff back, blushing a bit as your brother rolls his eyes. Risking a quick look to Eddie, nervous about his reaction, you find him wide eyed looking between your brother and yourself. 

“Wasn’t that disgusting, Eddie?” Gareth snaps, pulling the poor dungeon master into it. “The kid barely notices you then you hit puberty and suddenly he’s all over you? Fucking perve.” 

“Why are you making such a big deal about this? He was just being nice.” 

“You’re a child. And he was not just being nice.” Gareth scoffs again, smacking the back of your head. “It’s called being a pedophile.” 

“Doesn’t count. They are both minors.” Jeff reminds through a mouthful of pizza. 

“Yeah well it’s still gross.” Gareth snaps. 

Now, completely embarrassed by this whole ordeal, you risk one more look at Eddie only to realize that he was avoiding eye contact and pretending to read the textbook in front of him. 

“I’m gonna go to my locker.” You mumble, the embarrassment eating you. You grab your stuff quickly, dropping off the tray into the trash before exiting all together. 

  

Eddie’s trailer had once made you nervous, the idea of being where Eddie lived and slept. 

But now? You were very used to it, excitement fills you whenever you come over. 

Knocking, just as you always do, after parking your bike by the side so it doesn’t get stolen. Soon enough the door was cracking open and Eddie’s face came into view, a smile breaking out on his face when he sees you, opening the door wider to reveal he is only in sweats with his torso of tattoos that has your eyes widening. 

“You’re early.” He mumbles out, rubbing his eyes to try and wake up, pulling you in so he can shut the door from the cold. “Jesus. Why is it so chilly?” 

Within moments he is pulling you in for a hug, rubbing your back in an attempt to warm you up. You’re body is immediately ablaze, cheeks warm from blushing and skin hot. 

“It’s this funny thing called fall.” You joke, hugging him back tightly before he tries to shuffle you both back to his room without breaking it. A giggle escapes you when he trips slightly before you let go so he can walk normally and moves to his room with you close on his heels. 

It’s a routine that you both follow easily when you arrive, going to his room to change out of everyday clothes and into something more comfortable. 

He lets you wear one of his band tees and sweats, snatching the pillows from his bed as you change, and then he leads you back out to the living room. 

“I went ahead and got the goonies for you, because you’re a nerd.” He grunts out, moving to put the tape in. “Why are you so early today?” 

“I didn’t go home, I had a meeting after school and came straight here.” You answer, watching his interest peak as he raises an eyebrow. 

“What meeting?” You wait for him to sit on the couch, laying down before extending his arms to grab you so that you both could lay down, pressed to each other as you fixed the blanket. 

“Cheer. They have an opening so I signed up for the auditions.” You mumble, using his chest as a pillow while he looks down at you. 

“You want to cheer?” 

“Yeah. I always have. I used to do it all the time, cheer camp and everything but when I first came to Hawkins someone told me I shouldn’t.” You answer, adjusting the blanket so it covered you both as his hands move to play with your hair. 

Something about Eddie? He was ALWAYS touching you. Found every excuse in the book to do so. And it annoyed you to no end because he was so casual about it and it always left you flustered and a mess. 

“Is that why that kid came up to talk to you today?” He asks, something off about his tone. “Seemed like you knew him.” 

“I have math class with him.” You yawn, closing your eyes and keeping your nose pressed into his chest as you fall asleep. 

Sometime later he wakes you up, half asleep himself to get you both to his room, falling into the mattress and pulling you in to fall back asleep. 

-

“You’re being so weird today.” Gareth snaps through a mouthful of cereal, leaning against the locker next to yours. 

“Shut up.” You mumble out, not daring to look him in the eyes as he draws attention to you both. 

“Why me shut up? Dude this isn’t a good idea.” 

“Gareth. Take it down a notch.” You warn. 

“You want to be on the cheer team? Really?” He scoffs. “That lame group that shares maybe one brain cell between them?” 

“With me there might be more” you try to tease, watching him roll his eyes before another figure emerges. 

“Dude. Where were you last night? I called like 6 times.” Gareth sighs, and you’re just thankful that the conversation moved on from you for a moment. 

“I went to bed. Take it down a notch.” Eddie shrugs, looking at you the same time you looked at him. 

Technically he wasn’t lying. He had gone to bed. “What’s the problem?” 

“My sister wants to join the world of bimbos and stds.” Gareth snaps, and you feel Eddie move forward to avoid being pushed in the crowded hallway, his chest hitting your shoulder with warmth. 

“You want to date Steve Harrington?” He laughs, making you smile back. 

“She wants to be a cheer slut.” 

“Who does?” This time it’s Paul that asks, with Jeff right on his tail. And once again you’re thrown in the center of their arguing. 

“Seriously?” Paul laughs when he is told, blatantly laughing in your face. “That’d be so hilarious!” 

“Hey, come on.” Eddie warns. 

“I mean she’s….” Paul trails off a bit and you find yourself filling in on the words he didn’t say. You’re what? Lame? Ugly? Unlikable? 

“It’s not gonna work.” Gareth shrugs.”I just don’t want you to get hurt buggie.” 

“She’s not gonna make it. And even if she does it’s not like she’ll be on long.” Paul giggles to himself. “You’d have to put out to the-“ 

Eddie and Gareth both punch his shoulders on either side, as hard as they can. 

“See you at cheer practice, ……” a soft voice rings out, drawing your attention to Chrissy Cunningham, a girl in your class. 

She held a small smile, one that said “I got your back.” And you realized what she must have seen, you surrounded by a bunch of guys making fun of you. 

So you give a tiny wave, which makes her smile widen and suddenly you were smiling too, a little happier when she walks off. 

Something light fills your chest until you look back to Gareth who glares at you. “You’re not even in yet and you’re already acting like one of them.” 

“I don’t get why you’re so mad. Paul, you said last band practice that I annoy you guys.” You remind, snatching one of your books as Eddie stands straight suddenly. “Being a cheerleader means I don’t sit in on practices anymore.” 

“Wait; you said that?” Eddie asks, chest still pressed into your shoulder as he holds out his hand to Paul in a shocked way. “Why?” 

“Cause she always-“ 

“Can we get back to the problem at hand? You’re gonna be all cool and popular and lose all your personality.” Gareth snaps. “Just another girl with a pretty smile that the jocks use and abuse.” 

“I’d still hang out with you guys?” You laugh, closing your locker. “What are the chances that we all stop being friends? I live with you, remember Gary?” 

“Whatever bugs.” He huffs, a small smile playing at his lips. 

He waltzes off after that, bowl of cereal in hand as Paul and Jeff follow him to class. Eddie remains, watching you. 

“I don’t know why Paul said that but-“ 

“Eds, it’s fine. He’s a little right at the end of the day. I mean there’s only so much I can talk to you guys about so maybe it’s time I make a couple more friends.” You shrug. 

“You can talk to me about anything though.” Not about the huge crush you have, or the way every time he touches you your heart beats fast. 

“Not about periods or bra sizes.” You joke, moving to walk away, surprised when he follows you. “Aren’t you supposed to be on the other side of school?” 

“You can talk to me about anything.” He states again, this time more serious. “Periods. Bra sizes. Anything and everything.  I just want you to know that.” 

You smile at him, shrugging and walking away to class. 

- 

Two days later you’re rushing home with excited news, a smile splitting across your face as you run to tell everyone.  

Tonight was band practice, which meant all the boys would be in the garage so you’d probably tell them first, your new cheer uniform clutched tightly in your hands as you make your way up. 

You see Eddie’s van parked in the driveway and excitement fills you at the thought of telling him, so you cut across the lawn, just at the point where they can almost hear you when you hear them talking. 

“-I think it’s great that she’s going for the cheer team.” Jeff’s voice rings out, catching your attention “she used to cheer when she was younger right?” 

“Yeah. She stopped when she got to high school. I don’t know man, I just think it’s going to ruin her you know?” 

“At least she won’t be following us around all the time.” Paul grunts out, and your heart clenches. “She’s always there!” 

“That is a good point.” Gareth sighs. “Maybe go and make her own friends.” 

“She’s so annoying. Always talking our ear off about everything and always asking us if she can play DND.” 

“She doesn’t ask us if she can play. She asks how we play and if she can watch.” Jeff corrects. 

“For what though? So she can start coming to those hangouts?! She ruins everything!” Paul snaps and you suddenly feel really stupid. 

“I think you’re right.” Eddie laughs, which makes Jeff and Gareth laugh too and you completely shatter there. 

What happened to you talking to him about anything? 

“I’m just saying man-“ 

“Yeah yeah, we know what you’re saying Paul.” Eddie interrupts him, still laughing. You can’t hear anymore, you turn to head through the front door rather than the garage, storming up to your room and slamming your door. 

-

Eddie was anxious, had been all day since he found out the cheer tryouts were today. 

He didn’t know what he was so worried about in general, and no matter what he tried to talk himself out of he always found something else to worry about. 

What if you got in and stopped hanging out with all of them? No more secret movie nights at his trailer or sneaking you into the hideout so you can watch their shows. 

No more of you coming to band practices and cheering them on. He wouldn’t get to be near you as much. You wouldn’t sit at the table with them and he wouldn’t get to talk to you everyday. 

Or worse, you become one of them and you end up hating him just like they do.  

But then he tells himself that neither of those would happen, you would still be their friends and you loved movie night as much as he did. Or.,….. well he hoped you did. 

Besides, he would be upset if they turned you down. He knew you would be upset and he just wouldn’t be able to handle how sad you would look. 

They would be idiots to turn you away, he’s seen you dance at the hideout….. well more so like he watched you intently like a perv, scared your brother might finally notice just how much Eddie liked you. 

That had been his biggest concern as of late, Gareth. Watching your brother freak out everytime someone tried talking to you or everytime Paul hinted about you, well it made him feel like a shit friend. 

Not to mention it made him feel bad for you. You just wanted to hang out with your brother and his friends, you didn’t need him being all weird about it. 

You especially didn’t need him trailing after you like a lost puppy all the time. 

Which was why he was getting so anxious at band practice, listening to Gareth get into it with Paul over you. 

“This is such bullshit man, I already got you drooling over my sister at every turn-“ 

“I do not!” Paul snaps.

“-and not the rest of the school will be too!” Gareth yells, frustrated. 

“Just wait until she starts dyeing her hair and sucking faces with all the boys on the team!” Paul gags, which makes Jeff roll his eyes. 

“You’re just saying that because you’ve been head over heels in love with her since middle school dumbass. We all see it. And personally I think it’s great that she’s going for the cheer team.” Jeff adds, always the calm one.  “she used to cheer when she was younger right?” 

“Yeah. She stopped when she got to high school. I don’t know man, I just think it’s going to ruin her you know?” Gareth sighs, and Eddie finally recognizes what the biggest problem here was. He was afraid he wouldn’t have your back anymore. 

“At least she won’t be following us around all the time.” Paul grunts out, and Eddie finds himself clenching his fists and trying not to lose his cool. “She’s always there!” 

“That is a good point.” Gareth sighs. “Maybe go and make her own friends.” 

“She’s so annoying. Always talking our ear off about everything and always asking us if she can play DND.” 

“She doesn’t ask us if she can play. She asks how we play and if she can watch.” Jeff corrects which makes Eddie nod. He had countless nights planning the campaigns with you and always offered to teach you, but you never wanted to actually play, instead you gave him ideas on his campaigns. 

“For what though? So she can start coming to those hangouts?! She ruins everything!” Paul snaps. 

“I think you’re right.” Eddie laughs loudly, turning to Jeff in reference to Paul’s crush on you as they all laugh at Paul, who gets completely red in the face at the way they are all calling him out. 

“I’m just saying man-“ 

“Yeah yeah, we know what you’re saying Paul.” Eddie interrupts him, still laughing even though he feels like pummeling his face in. “You’re madly in love with Gareths little sister and she doesn’t like you back so you have to be angry at her for it.” 

“Back off my little sister you freak.” Gareth laughs at paul. “She’s too good for you.” 

She’s too good for everyone, Eddie thinks, turning towards the open garage door waiting to see you. “What time was that shit supposed to end anyways?” 

“All I know is she said she’d be home for dinner.” Gareth shrugs and Eddie still can’t decide if he wants you to make it on the team or not. 

All he hopes for is that they are nice too you. 

So he waits, and waits. Even when they are playing their songs he keeps his eyes on the door for you to emerge. 

Finally Gareths mom comes out smiling to call them in for dinner. 

“What about sis?” Gareth asks as everyone helps his mom set the table. 

“She’s upstairs.” This catches Eddie’s attention, heart thundering as he tries to play it cool. 

“I didn’t see her come in?” Gareth asks, moving to the stairs in an attempt to call you down but your mom is quick to stop him. 

“Don’t. She’s upset and trying to lay down.” 

“She’s upset?” Eddie asks, chest aching. “What happened?” 

“I don’t know. I went to check on her and she was crying. Said she didn’t feel well.” Your mom answers and Eddie’s fist clenched. 

They probably made fun of you, they probably made you cry at the try outs. Jeff taps his shoulder, mouthing a ‘chill out.’ That makes Eddie worried. 

Did Jeff know he had a crush on you too? 

Did Gareth know? 

“Eat up boys.” Your mom orders. 

- 

The next morning was rocky at best. 

You got up and got dressed into your cheer uniform, and then at the last second decided that since you were wearing the uniform why not do your makeup? You wanted to look cute for your first day on the team. 

You hadn’t thought about what you overheard until your brother barged in your room, giving you a confused look as you finish up the final touches on your face, suddenly embarrassed as it all comes rushing back. 

“You made it?!” He asks, which makes you roll your eyes. 

“Yes. Shut up.” You grunt, pushing him out of the way to grab your shoes. 

“Mom said you were upset yesterday, so I figured you didn’t make it.” He shrugs, admiring himself in your mirror before throwing your own brush at you.  

“I just had a migraine.” You lie, trying to play it off. Don’t cry. Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry. 

“Damn. Sorry bugs. I’ll grab time Tylenol before we leave in case it comes back.” And with that he is gone, you hot on his heels to catch up as you dash to pack your lunch. 

“Eddie is swinging by to pick us up.” Gareth informs, snatching an apple and the bottle of Tylenol before moving to count the money in his wallet for lunch. 

“Why?” The only times eddie took you to school were after your movie nights when you were at his house anyways. 

“He offered last night. Let’s go.” Your brother sighs, ushering you to the door. 

“We’ll I don’t wanna intrude and I have something after school so I can just ride my bike.” You’re quick, moving away from your brother in attempt to make it look like you forgot something. “Go on without me.” 

“Bugs, I’m sure Eddie or Paul will give you a ride after your meeting thing. Let’s gooooo.” He groans, pulling you by your hair and out the door. 

When he manages to drag you to the van Eddie leans over to open the door and Gareth waits for you to hop in. 

“I should just ride my bike. I’ve got something after school later and you guys won’t want to wait around-“ 

“We have DnD tonight.” Eddie shrugs. “We’ll be at the school late anyways.” 

There was no winning with these two, so you nod and hop in, trying not to take up too much space as Eddie stares at the uniform. 

“You got in?” 

“Why is everyone so shocked?” You snap, embarrassed and upset. They thought you were annoying and always there and apparently no one believed you would get in the squad. 

“It’s just-“ 

“Is that a donut?” Gareth asks, snatching it from the console. 

“I got it for bugs to cheer her up-“ Eddie starts right as Gareth shoves half of it in his mouth. “Nevermind.” 

“Can we just go?” You snap, attempting to avoid eye contact with both. 

- 

“Are you okay?” Eddie asks, walking with you on your way to your locker after 3rd period, his eyebrows pinched in worry and his eyes wide. 

“I’m fine.” You lie, trying to smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Maybe because I overheard people I thought were my friends making fun of me, or maybe because the guy I’ve been madly in love with since I met him thinks I’m clingy and annoying. 

“I just wanted to make sure because-“ he grunts out as Steve Harrington elbows him to get past, accidentally shoving him into you and sending you both into the lockers. “God damnit.” 

Eddie is quick to give you space, reaching for the arm that hit the lockers to make sure you’re not hurt as he blinks. 

“I’m fine.” You smile, enjoying the feeling of his hand on your skin. “Did you pack lunch today?” 

“No. But since I stopped to get you breakfast, sorry about that by the way, I picked something up.” He explains, walking with you and dropping his hand. The way he’s staring at you makes you nervous, In the best way. And you try to ignore the butterflies in your stomach as he attempts a smile, until you remember what was said yesterday and those butterflies find themselves in a blender. “Might you be interested in sharing a store made sandwich and sun chips milady?” 

“Oh how thoughtful-“ you begin, joining him in the lunchroom before you see Paul and Jeff already sitting there, panic rising. “But I realized I forgot my lunch. I’ll go get something.” 

“Okay, I can walk up with you-“ Eddie starts, but you stop him. 

“I’m fine! I’ll be good.” You mumble out. “Besides, Paul’s already calling you over.” 

Eddie gives you a worried look, but nods and heads over to the table anyways, all the boys matching in their hellfire shirts as Paul starts loudly complaining about something. 

You realize halfway to the line that your excuse didn’t make sense since you did pack lunch, and you hadn’t grabbed your wallet since this outfit didn’t have pockets so you had no money to buy anything. 

And while you stood there, debating what you should do, you see Chrissy walking towards you in her uniform as well. 

“Hey!” She smiles, moving in to hug you. “I’m so happy you made it! I was worried when there was only two spots and you were soooo good!” 

A small burst of pride settles through you as she compliments you, linking your arms together as she heads to the cheer table. “I was also worried I'd be left alone. But you’re here and we’re gonna be so awesome!” 

She leads you to the table, and takes a seat like it was the most natural thing in the world, meanwhile you were panicking. What would the boys think? Would these girls want you to sit with them? 

You risk a look over to the hellfire table, seeing all of them staring at you with wide eyes, especially Eddie, who had saved the seat next to himself. 

“Girl; come on! We want to do your hair!” Sarah, the captain, giggles and pulls you to sit. 

It was for the better, all the boys thought you were annoying anyways. Maybe they would get a break from you. 

One lunch wouldn’t hurt and you wouldn’t be so annoying. Right?

- 

“Too cool to eat with us now?” Gareth teases, waiting for you after practice. The sun had gone down in Hawkins, and the sweat from practice clung to you making the night air twice as chilly. 

He had a red mark on his cheek, which told you that he probably was being overdramatic during the campaign and smacked himself again. 

“No. I…” you start to explain, right as Eddie comes out of the doors and spots you. “I was going to get lunch, but Chrissy pulled me to the table.” 

“How was it?” Eddie smiles. “You got to see how the other side lived? Any exciting news to report back?” 

“Nothing much,” you smile, walking with them both as they head to Eddie’s car. “I got to know them a little better and they all talked to me about my routine because they like-“ 

Your brother does an overdramatic yawn, tossing the back door to Eddie’s van open and throwing himself in. “Boring already.” 

You roll your eyes, shutting the door on him before moving to hop into the passenger seat. Eddie gets into the driver side, looking to where your brother is already lighting a cigarette. 

“So they liked your routine?” He asks, looking at you as he starts the van. 

“They did!” You smile, excitement bubbling in you as you move to start talking again. 

“Oh my god. No one cares. Are any of them single?” Gareth smiles, and you lean to smack his head before sitting in silence the rest of the ride. 

When you get home you’re the first to hop out, turning to grab your bag as Gareth crawls out. 

“I can get you guys tomorrow? If you’d like.” Eddie offers, face red for some reason. Gareth narrows his eyes at his friend, while you shrug. 

“Actually the girls are gonna come get me early. Thanks though Eds.” You smile, walking away as Gareth says he’ll be ready by 8. 

- 

One lunch turned to another, then another. Then that turned to going and getting a milkshake with the girls after practice and rides from them in the mornings. 

You went from always being around to never in sight, which absolutely shredded Eddie to pieces. 

It’s not like he wasn’t happy for you, you seemed to be always smiling and giggling with them. You went to the mall with them on weekends and always came back ecstatic about everything you got because the girls all said it looked great on you. 

You definitely grew into the feminine side, and his heart exploded everytime he did manage to see you….. and he was ashamed to admit his pants always got tighter whenever he saw you in uniform. 

You messed around with makeup and you always had a style for you hair. 

Eddie loved it for you, he loved that you seemed to go from stunningly beautiful to so stunningly gorgeous any guy at school wanted you. You seemed to enjoy your new look and he was happy for you. He wasn’t happy about the fact that he never saw you anymore. 

So, on a Wednesday afternoon, when he was dropping off a new cover for Gareths guitar while his friend was at work he was excited to see your shoes in the doorway. 

He waltzed up the stairs and knocked on your door, heart hammering through his ribcage as he heard you jump to answer it. 

Then there you were, as beautiful as can be, with nothing on but a tank and shorts. Excitement courses through him, a smile spreading across his face, it has been weeks since he last saw you and now he could ask about movie night. 

“Hey I-“ he stopped short when he saw Adam Hanson sitting on your bedroom floor, staring at him like he was crazy. Of course he was staring at him like he was crazy, Adam was probably wondering why the school freak was at your door. “I was just dropping off this new cover for your brother. Make sure he gets it, yeah?” 

He practically shoves it into your hands, heart thundering and desperate to get out of here. 

“Okay!” You smile at him and he feels his heart clench through his chest. “Actually Adam and I were finishing up homework if you wanted to watch a movie-“ 

Hanging out with you? Dream come true. Hanging out with you and your boyfriend? Fuck. No. So he finds himself lashing out, a mix of embarrassment and jealousy made for a bad situation. “No thanks. I have better things to do than hang out with Gareths baby sister. Or should I say better girls to do.” 

He pairs it with a bullshit wink in adams direction, not daring to look at you as he moves to walk away while you slam the door. 

“Does the freak always talk to you like that?” Adam asks, and Eddie can only hear ringing at the blood rushes to his ears. Freak. 

He doesn’t bother waiting around, instesd he marches straight out of your house and leaves. 

-

You’re in shock when you close the door, eyes welling with tears. 

“Does the freak always talk to you like that?” Adam asks, pulling your attention to him. “Woah, hey don’t cry.” 

“He’s not a freak.” You defend, as you had been doing the past two months. “And he’s never….” 

What? Talked like that before? You didn’t know that, and you knew he had talked about how annoying you were behind your back? So maybe he’s said more things too. 

“Never to my face.” You shrug, wiping away the tears that kept coming. 

Adam sighs, moving to hug you and let you cry. 

“I’m so telling my boyfriend about this.” He sneers and you laugh lightly. 

“I don’t really know what you’re long distance boyfriend will do to help.” 

“Send me treats that I can share with you obviously.” Adam laughs. “Hey, I can stay and watch that movie with you-“ 

“No it’s fine.” You sniffle. “You have a curfew.” 

And he soon enough leaves, worried about you but you keep telling him it’s fine, anger coiling in your gut at every pity look your friend gives you. 

How dare Eddie. How dare he embarrass you and say that. What had you ever done to him? 

Sure you were the annoying little sister but it’s not like he had ever told you to back off or anything. He had always made it seem like he wanted to hang out. 

You couldn’t shake the anger as you went to bed, and suddenly you found yourself in a weird spot. 

- 

The line that had originally been drawn in the sand, on whether you remained their friend or not, had quickly dispersed after that. 

In fact the sand had been kicked through  and suddenly, without warning, you and eddie had been thrown to war. 

Gone were the cute nicknames of Eds and bugs, now when you addressed each other you referred to him as freak and he referred to you as wannabe. 

You let the basketball players push him in the halls and he threw food at you and your friends in the cafeteria. 

When the winter formal rolled around Adam took you, and you had been so excited for it until Eddie made some snide comment when you came down the stairs which sent you into a sour mood the rest of the night. 

When winter break rolled around Gareth had let them come over nearly everyday for stupid band practice and whenever you came home you made sure to enter through the garage just to piss them off, making sure to unplug the amps each time. 

Like today, hands filled with shopping bags as you came home, saying bye to Chrissy as she drove off with a wide smile, and then turning to the garage. 

“Hey bugs.” Gareth greets, which you simply glare to, making sure to hit Eddie’s shoulder with your own as you pass which makes his curse out and spill his drink. 

“Freaks.” You snap, unplugging their amp and hitting the light switch as you head inside. You hear them all groan, and then you take it one step further and turn off the lights in the garage completely by the power box in the kitchen. 

“Damn it!” Gareth snaps when he realizes and you pick up the phone, dialing adams number since you promised to call him earlier. 

He picks up right as the boys all dash inside, Gareth glaring as you pretend like you don’t even see them. 

“Hey handsome, thought I’d call to check in.” You smile through the phone, hearing him laugh. 

“Hello back beautiful.” Adam says, matching your tone. “You bothering the boys again?” 

“Oh. My favorite thing to do-“ you giggle, slapping Gareth's shoulder when he reaches to hang up the phone. “Back off.” 

“I’m getting mom.” He snaps out while Paul and Jeff disappear to the garage again. He dashes to go find your mom which leaves just Eddie in the kitchen, glaring at you. 

“I miss you too.” You coo into the phone, enjoying the way Eddie’s jaw ticks as Adam laughs and plays long, enjoying the game himself. 

“What’s your problem lately, brat?” Eddie snaps, his eyes angry and set. 

“Hold on baby-“ you say into the phone, covering the mouth piece and giving Eddie your best uncaring face. “Can I help you, freak?” 

He reaches forward, cursing under his breath as he reaches around you to hang up the phone. 

“What the fuck-“ you start before he is snatching the handle from your hands and slamming it into the receiver, turning to you fully. 

“Why are you being this way? What the fuck did we do to you?” 

“I’d love to stay and chat, but I have better things to do. Or should I say better men to do.” You smile, moving to stand quickly as his eyes widen. When you move to walk away he goes to grab one of the bags in attempt to keep you in the room, the paper of the bag rips and suddenly everything you bought at that store falls to the kitchen floor. 

Your mouth falls open as Eddie’s eyes widen at the sheer amount of lingerie sets that fall out. 

Not really lingerie, but close to. All lace panties and bras that Chrissy said would look great on you. 

“I’m-“ Eddie begins, moving to help you grab them at the same time you bend to grab them so your heads hit each other. 

“Damn it-“ you gasp out, rushing to grab all the underwear as he helps you to try and shove them all in the bag.

“I didn’t realize you were so into Adam.” He sneers. 

“Oh shut up.” You sneer back, snatching everything into your hands. “Not everything is about sex-“ 

“Of course it is”. He laughs bitterly. “You’re their new play toy.” 

“I swear to god freak-“ 

“What you gonna do brat?” He seethes, getting into your personal space. 

“Everything okay here?” Gareth asks, making you and Eddie jump back. 

“Whatever Gareth.” You push past him, ignoring the excited buzz you feel from Eddie. 

- 

“Are….are you guys good?” Gareth asks eddie the next morning, making Eddie turn to glare at him. “Don’t bite my head off, okay? I just….” 

Eddie stays silent, starting the car as he watches you waltz across the lawn in the cheer uniform. 

“It’s just that she’s been so different lately and for the past couple weeks you have been too. Did you guys break up?” 

Eddie, who had started driving, immediately hits the brakes and whips to look at Gareth. “What?” 

“Did you and my sister break up?” 

“I’m not- what- we never- Gareth-“ Eddie panics, trying to find the right words. “Listen-“ 

“Dude it’s fine. I always knew okay?” 

“Wait wait wait. We never- she and I never-“ what the hell was happening. “Okay let’s back up. You thought we were dating?” 

“Oh come on. All your secret sleepovers? You really thought I didn’t know about those? You know how many times I pretended to call her friends house for you guys so mom didn’t catch her? And all the small little touches you always had or the way you looked at her. Not to mention all the paragraphs about you in her diary-“

“We never dated.” Eddie cuts him off. “She didn’t like me like that.” 

“No man. She did.” Gareth laughs. “She has always liked you like that.” 

He ignores the feeljng bubbling in his chest at the thought, shaking his head. “Why haven’t you tried to kill me if you thought we were dating?” 

“What?” 

“You’re always freaking out about her and guys, and you always threaten Paul whenever he-“ 

“Guys are gross and I don’t want them hurting my baby sister. Paul is a lame excuse for a human beings.” Gareth shrugs. “And I always figured if my sister was going to date someone it should be you. You are…..semi decent.” 

“We never dated. And she hates me now so I hate her.” Eddie starts driving again, shrugging like it didn’t matter. 

“Why does she hate you now?” 

“Not a clue.” He had a slight clue after the other night. 

“Okay well, do you think you can like… fix whatever it is?” Gareth sighs. “I miss my sister.” 

Eddie missed you too. 

-

He didn’t try to talk to you, he had debated it for all of 4 hours before you had to go and ruin it. 

Just when he was starting to talk himself into apologizing he turned the corner to find you, giggling and blushing with none other than Steve Harrington. 

Upon hearing his footsteps you turn, face falling when you see his glare before that bitch look you’ve perfected the past couple weeks falls in its place, making his heart thump wildly as he walks closer. 

“Your brother asked me to apologize.” He bites out, hands catching themselves behind his back as he glares. “Sorry.” 

“Wow. What a great apology.” Harrington smiles making you slap his shoulder with wide eyes until he laughs and nods. “I’ll see you later okay?” He smiles, tapping your nose before walking off with a simple “Bye Munson.” 

Eddie watches him leave before turning back to you with a raised eyebrow, and suddenly he was desperate to piss you off. Desperate to get under your skin the way you got under his. 

“Oh I see. You didn’t get all the panties for one guy, you got them for the whole school.” He smiles, watching your face fall into one of shock. “What’s the deal? Tap you and then get to keep the panties? Having a buy one get one free sale?” 

“Calling me a slut?” You seethed . 

“If the shoe fits baby.” He coos, smiling from ear to ear as you slam your locker and move forward. 

“I hate you!” 

“I hate you back!” He snaps back, matching your tone as you get closer and closer until your chest are pressed against each other. 

“What did I ever do wrong?” You snap, eyebrows pinching in anger and confusion. “I thought you all liked me and-“

He’s confused now, racking his brain for what you mean before he settles on an answer. “You thought the guys you’ve slept with liked you?” 

The second the words come out he hears how bad it sounds, watching as your face falls and he rushes to explain that he was just trying to understand what you meant. But it’s too late and you reach a hand up to twist his nipple. 

“OW! Holy Jesus-“ he gasps in pain, moving his body to try and pull away but you follow easily, pushing him into the nearest supply closet you can. 

By the time you actually let go he is red in the face, using his hand to rub the sore spot and trying to glare. “Do I wanna know where you -NO OW!” 

“Take it back!” You order, already twisting his second nipple which makes him gasp and move to twist your ear. 

A gasp of pain slips from you and you let go of him to pull back, both of you glaring at eachother. 

He’s panting, and so are you, adrenaline coating your nerves. 

“What’s going on lately?” He snaps, still rubbing the sore spot as you glare back. 

“You tell me.” 

“No you tell me! What did I do? Do I embarrass you? Or maybe I just annoy you-“ 

“Bold of you to say! All you and your friends can talk about is how much I annoyed you!” You snap back. 

“Who said that? Tell me and I-“

“You said it!” 

“When would I ever say that?! Is it that night at your house, because sorry if I didn’t want to hang out with you and your boyfriend!” You shove his shoulder lightly and he gasps before doing it back. Acting like literal children. 

You keep shoving each other, back and forth over and over until a laugh slowly starts leaching from both of you. And suddenly it was normal again, not that angry yelling that’s been between you guys for months. 

“Freak.” You giggle.

“Princess.” He laughs back, but then he is peering at you, hands on his hips as he tries to figure out how to fix this. 

But then, without really thinking, you are on him. Your arms wrapping around his neck as you shove your lips to his, his hands immediately flying to your hips as he lets out a surprised grunt while he catches you. 

He’s still as a board for the first second, his brain taking a moment to catch up before he is diving into the kiss himself, grip on your hips tightening as he devours you in the kiss. 

A small moan slips past his lips into yours, pulling you in as tight as he can, making sure to wrap his arms around your waist to make sure you stay close. 

When you manage to pull back you smile, seeing his eyes closed and eyebrows pinched as he takes a breath in. “Gareth was-“ 

“OH YOU UTTER-“ in an instant his blissful daze is broken as you tear yourself from him, snatching the handle of the closet and storming out leaving him confused and breathless. 

His brain registers finally, managing to pull himself together the slightest bit so he can chase after you, reaching for the handle and giving it a pull as he thinks about what he will say. 

You just kissed him, you just did what he has been dying to do for years and then you ran. 

“What the fuck?” He snaps when the door won’t open by the third pull, the handle stuck. “YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!” 

It’s another 30 minutes before someone is there to help him out, the janitor giving him a confused look as Eddie hauls out of there. 

-

Un-freaking-believable. 

You kiss that man child, give it your all and the first thing he says once you’re done is your brothers name. What a freaking imbecile. What a dumb ass. What a-

“Hey girl, you okay?” Someone asks, pulling your attention to where Maria is standing, wearing her cutest party outfit with a small smile playing off her lips. “You were mumbling angrily about a man child.” 

“I….. ugh.” You groan, dropping the brush as all the girls turn to you with excitement. 

“Tell us everything.” Chrissy smiles. 

“How did he feel? Were there fireworks?” Maria asks. 

“Oh my god, he definitely seems like he knows what he is doing.” Abigail giggles and you watch them all in shock as they stare back. 

“What?” 

“Your first kiss! How was it?” Chrissy explains, eager to know. 

“I….. I didn’t kiss Steve Har-“ 

“Ew, of course not you have standards.” Maria laughs. “But you’re obviously frustrated about a boy and I’m betting you finally kissed Munson.” 

“You….. you guys know I-?” You can’t find the words, embarrassment clawing at you as they all giggle and cheer at having caught you. 

“Oh my god, were his lips soft?” Abigail squeals. 

“Was he gentle? Or like possessive? I love possessive guys.” Maria groans. 

“Did he treat you like heaven? Oh he’s always got this love sick look when you walk by!” Chrissy kicks her feet, all three really excited. 

“Yes. Yes and yes. And no, he actually- ugh- he only sees me as Gareths little sister.” You whine, falling into the bed. “I kiss him and for a second it’s just like, amazing, and when we stopped kissing I was expecting this romantic thing. Maybe he would be all like ‘wow’ or tell me I’m beautiful. You know what the first word he said was?” 

“What?” 

“Gareth.” You explain, and they all gasp like it’s the worst thing in the world. So, ever the amazing friend, you sit up and start telling them everything. 

“I kind of like the way your brother protects you,” Maria blushes. “I mean the boys at Hawkins are all so…. “

“Sex crazed?” Abigail finishes the thought. 

“Yes. And Gareth has always been respectful to me.” Maria smiles. 

“Do you have a crush on my brother?” You giggle, staring at her. 

“No!” She blurts, then smiles a bit. “Okay maybe.” 

And just like that all 4 of your are laughing and planning for the party. 

- 

The party at Jason Carvers house was the last place Eddie Munson wanted to be, truthfully he wasn’t even sure he was allowed. The good news is he hadn’t been kicked out because he was the dealer. 

So he pretended like he was there to sell, really he was looking around for you. This was a last minute plan to talk to you, figure out where he had went wrong and try to fix it. 

Figure out how to kiss you again but he’d take anything at this point, even a friendship. He’d keep his feelings in check. 

30 minutes in to the party and he was beginning to think it was a bust, but then there you were, surrounded by 3 other girls he was sure were on the team, as they all passed by glaring at everyone like they were the queens of the universe. 

And they were, all of them beautiful and untouchable. Especially you. 

It’s like the earth stopped spinning whenever you walked in the room, Eddie’s lungs expanding as he stared at the way you greeted everyone, or rather everyone lunged to greet you. 

Eddie went to greet you, then thought vetter of it and moved to the back of the room and started to talk to the kid that had money waiting for him. 

He keeps along the sidelines of the party, letting you do your thing as he tries to come up with what to say. 

Remember when you rocked my world less than 7 hours ago? Yeah that was amazing and I miss you. 

“You okay there bud?” Someone asks, pulling his attention to where Maria, co captain of the cheer team, is smiling at him over her cup. 

“Yeah, just came in for a refill.” He nods to the keg, an obvious lie since he would never drink that piss water. 

“Right. Okay.” She smiles, and he moves to grab a cup and fill it up so it looks like the truth. “It’s cute, the way they all crowd around her.” 

He, without needing to ask, looks for you immediately . Spotting you by the pool surrounded by a bunch of guys, all desperate to talk to you. 

“Yeah I guess.” He shrugs, spine tense and doing his best not to clench the cup in his fist. 

“Well the guys surrounding her aren't what’s cute. It’s the way she keeps looking for you.” Maria giggles, obviously too drunk to keep her eyes open. “Look, right there.” 

Sure enough he sees you look around, bored of the conversation at hand as one of the guys snakes his arm around your waist. 

He doesn’t know what he’s doing, feet already moving as Maria giggles out while he dashed outside right at the moment the tool throws you both in the booth as you scream. 

His breath stops and he waits a moment for you to emerge, your eyes immediately meeting as you struggle to get to the edge of the pool, the strap of the dress you wore broken. 

The girls are all there to help you as the tool, Tommy something, reaches to pull you back in. Eddie makes quick work of pushing him in with his foot, and snatching you from the water while doing his best to make sure you’re not too exposed. 

“You okay?” He whispers, hand sliding up your body to cover your breast as you try to fix the strap quickly. 

“Y-yeah.” You sniffle, obviously holding back tears. “I’m fine.” 

The girls, your friends, are all yelling at Tommy and the other cheerleaders soon join and start throwing stuff at him in the water, Harrington pushing him back in whenever he tries to crawl out. 

“He was just being silly.” You try to ease yourself, struggling with the strap of the dress. “I don’t know why I’m upset.” 

“You were just thrown into water. It’s okay to be upset.” He smiles, shrugging off his jacket and moving to place it around you so you’re covered. “You wanna leave?”

“Yes please.” You nod, and he gets to moving, pulling you with him as your 3 friends all wave and smile like they know something, cooing out a “bye eddie.” At the same time. 

He gives them a tight wave, helping you out since you seemed to have lost a heel in the pool. 

“Is this even considered a dress?” He scoffs, leading you to his van. 

“It’s very popular in france.” You answer, letting him pull you down the street where his van is hidden, helping you into the back of it. 

-

By the time he pulls into the trailer park he can’t hear you, which means you're definitely passed out back there, and he feels guilty over every pothole and bump he hits before he is pulling into his regular parking spot. 

Wayne’s car is gone so he assumes his uncle is already at work, hopping out of the van and going along the back to open the door you’re closest to. The blanket had moved around a bit, exposing your legs to him and the smallest sight of your panties that has him feeling guilty and quickly readjusting the blanket as he rubs circles on your back to wake you up. 

“Let’s go princess.” He hums, helping you crawl out and get into the house. 

“It smells like….” 

“Sorry.” He blushes, embarrassed. “I didn’t really clean like I normally did whenever you came over.” 

“It’s fine. I was gonna say it smells like you.” You mumble, waiting for his cue to go further into the trailer. It was odd for him, watching you wait, and he’s suddenly reminded about all the time you’ve been separated. This wasn’t a regular movie night, you hadn’t had one of those in months. You probably didn’t feel comfortable being here. 

“I c-can go turn on the shower so it’s hot for you. Give you a moment to relax.” He offers, smiling when you nod before moving to the bathroom to start the shower. He knocks on Wayne’s bedroom door just in case before waltzing into the bathroom and starting the water, making sure the shampoo and body wash are both ready for you and setting up a towel for you to use. 

When the bathroom starts steaming he moves to go get you, jumping a little when he runs into you at the door. 

“Sorry!” He blurts, trying to step out of your way. You shrug, moving past him and into the bathroom, not waiting for him to leave before you shuck his sweater off and move to take the dress off. 

“Help…” you mumble, struggling to roll the fabric off since it was soaking wet and unable to reach the zipper. 

So he moves forward, ready to help you, until you stop him. “Shut the door Eds, you’re letting all the warm air out.” 

He rushes to shut the door for you, tripping over his feet and accidently falling into the door which makes it slam shut and you gasp out. “Are you okay?” 

“Yep. Yeah. Fine.” He mumbles, standing straight and trying to play it off like it was smooth. “Y-you still want help?” 

“Yes.” You nod, watching him closely to make sure he is okay before turning back around and fixing your hair so he can see the zipper. 

With shaky hands he slides it down, enjoying the way your skin shivers at the feel of his fingers down your back, before he helps you slide the fabric off your hips for it to land on the floor. 

Your skin is cold from the fabric, and it reminds him of coming in after a snowball fight and having to fight to get the jeans off leaving him in the damp but not yet wet skin.  

Without meaning to his eyes trail across your exposed back, heart stopping when he realizes you had forgone a bra and only had a pair of panties on. 

“I….” He tries to find words, watching you turn your head to peer at him over your shoulder. “I’ll go.” 

“You’re gonna leave me to shower in silence?” You scoff, slipping the panties off, obviously unaware of the torture you are inflicting when you toss them with the dress and move to step into the shower. 

Your legs are shaky, and he’s panicked. You might slip so he moves to help you step into the tub, his hand wrapped around your elbow gently as he makes sure to keep his eyes on your face. 

“Stay and talk to me?” You ask, and he’s sure you’re just messing with him. Torturing him as payback as you close the curtain and step into the water. 

He sits on the toilet, using the towel he had gotten you as a cover on his lap just in case you peaked your head out, he didn’t need you seeing his massive boner like the freak he was. 

“Why were you at the party?” You ask after a moment. “You hate Jason Carver.” 

“I needed to sell.” He answers a little too quickly.  

“Did I ruin your sell’s since you had to help me leave?” You ask, guilt in your voice. “I’m sorry I-“ 

“I made enough.” He interrupts you, struggling to breathe in the shirt with the steam. “Why were you at the party? You used to hate Jason Carver too.” 

“I still do. Ugh he’s the worst and he’s always following Chrissy around like a little puppy. And he’s so mean to everyone.” 

“He’s friends with Adam isn't he?” He finds himself asking, and never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would be gossiping about the jocks. Especially with you. 

“Not really, Jason said some really messed up things when Adam told everyone he’s gay.” You explain and Eddie snaps his head towards the direction of the curtain. 

“He’s gay?!”

“You can’t tell anyone okay? It’s a secret and he wants to come out himself.” You answer back, and Eddie finds himself standing up. 

You must see his figure get up through the curtain, because you open the curtain and peak your upper body out. “You’re not leaving are you?” 

“N-no. I’m just shocked. I thought you and Adam were…” 

“Absolutely not. Mom would never allow Adam in my room if he we were.” You laugh. 

“So that night you invited me for the movie, you weren’t dating him?” He was stupid, so entirely stupid.

“No? Why would I invite your for a movie in front of my boyfriend?” You laugh, and he can’t seem to process anything. Stepping forward so he was within arms length of you. 

“So you weren’t inviting me to hang out with you and your boyfriend. You were actually wanting to hang out with me?” 

“Yes?” You roll your eyes. “And I know it’s lame. I’m just Gareths little sister and all that-“ 

You disappear from his view once more, pulling both the curtains into the middle to close off the shower again as you keep going. “But I actually thought you liked hanging out with me. You know? And maybe if I gave you guys space I wouldn’t be the annoying little sister all the time but then that day rolled around and you…. It was silly. I shouldn’t have asked you-“ 

A small shriek falls from your lips as he whips the right curtain open, glaring at you. 

“What the fuck do you mean give us space? Who said what?” He’s angry now, jaw set as he glared. “What’s all this about being annoying and suddenly giving us space. Is that why you don’t sit with us?” 

“Yes! You guys just think I’m Gareths annoying little sister!” You snap, and Eddie realizes that you’re completely naked right now, so he quickly shuts his eyes with a groan and pulls the curtain back sharply, keeping it clenched in his fist as he tries to relax. 

“We don’t think that.” He snaps, eyes still squeezed shut. Truth was he always tried not to think of you as Gareths little sister, with the amount of times he’s imagined you-

You snap the other curtain to the side, letting some of the water hit his jeans and making his snap his eyes open right as you push your face close to his. “I heard you guys!” 

“You heard us? When was this, Princess? Cause I’ve never-“ 

“The day of my tryouts! I came home and you guys were talking about how annoying I was and-“ he realizes then what you had heard, his eyes widening as he stares at you before he leans forward to catch his lips onto yours, a small gasp falling from you as he lets go of the shower curtain to wrap around you. Only problem was he was leaning into you and you didn’t have a proper stance so you slipped, and he fell forward into the tub, cursing out to try and catch you both as you accidently bit down on his lip. 

He keeps one arm around your shoulders, his other catching the tub floor just in time as his body lands on yours. 

The water is hitting his back, soaking his clothes as his boner pressed into your naked form, blood leaking from his lip where you bit. 

“Are you okay-“ he begins to panic, but you’re already pushing up to pull him into another kiss, moaning at the taste of iron as your hands slide up his hips until they manage to crawl beneath his shirt and feel at his back, trying to inch the shirt off. 

He pulls back to lean up, whipping the shirt off and flinging it out of the tub, panting as you try to move so the water doesn’t hit you in the face while he moves to help you. 

“It was Paul that day.” He explains. “I don’t know what you think you heard but it was only Paul saying that. Jeff was making fun of him because the tool has a massive crush on you and- shit I’m no better am I? I’ve been dreaming about you every fucking night since I met you.” 

And once again, like two magnets, you find yourself kissing him again and he is obsessed with his. Obsessed with your taste and the way your body melds into his own as you press your chest into his. When you reach for his belt buckle he moves a hand down to stop you, shaking his head through the kiss and moving to stand with you. 

You follow, clumsy and confused, especially when his hands slide to your hips to turn you around so your back is to his chest. 

“What are you-“ your question is met with his hand sliding across your stomach and further down until his fingers find purchase in your folds, a soft moan slipping past your lips that has his blood thrumming. 

“Is this okay?” He whispers, feeling the water hit both you as you nod quickly, his name slipping past your lips. “I need to hear it, please.” 

“Yes!” You snap, your hand moving to push his wrist to apply pressure. “Eds please!” 

So he lets himself, pressing his thumb into your clit as he leans to kiss at your neck, his lip stinging against your skin as you mean out when he moves to slowly press a finger into you. 

“You’re not just the annoying little sister.” He whispers into your skin, fully pushing his finger in and wiggling it until he was ready for another, pulling it out to press both in. “I’ve never seen you like that.” 

“Eds.” You gasp out, keeping one hand on his arm as the other flies to his hair, clenching and pulling it into your fists. 

“If anything princess, I’ve tried talking myself into believing it.” He grunts out, pushing his fingers in quicker than last time. “But you’re not. You’re my girl. Right?” 

“Yes.” You blurt quickly, tugging at his hair and tilting your head to try and kiss him. He doesn’t let you, keeping his own lips pressed into your neck. 

“You’re my girl?” He asks again, voice deeper as his fingers speed up, his thumb circling your clit. The feeling of your body pressed to his, the way your hips rotate ever so slightly to try and match his movements and accidently rub your ass against his crotch. 

His jeans are now soaked, even if they weren’t from the water he is sure he’d have a wet patch from all the pre cum leaking out as he grunts out at the friction. 

“Yes. Always.” You answer, gasping at the pleasure. 

“Promise?” He grunts, nipping a bit as you try once more to kiss him. 

“Eds please!” You cry, hips moving faster as you chase your high on his fingers. 

“Promise me princess.” He growls and your eyes squeeze shut, eyebrows pinching together as your face contorts into one of pure pleasure. You barely manage to yell out a quick “swear it.” as you shake against him, making a smile spread across his lips. 

“Atta girl.” He coos, finally allowing you to tug him into a kiss, biting down on your lip as you kiss him like your life depended on it. “You wanna go to bed?” 

“Yes please.” You sniffle, swiping the bangs from his forehead as he leans to turn off the water; keeping a hand on you at all times while he manages to get you both out of the shower. 

Wrapping a towel around you and snatching both your clothes quickly before leading you to his room.  

The second he shuts the door behind him he sees you drop the towel and crawl across the bed to fall into the pillows, not even giving him a moment to grab you a shirt. 

“Wait. Lemme grab you-“ he starts, struggling to shuck off the soaked jeans and boxers before you are moving to help, helping him step out of them and dragging your hands up his thighs until they reach his hips and you’re pulling him into the bed with you. 

“I thought you wanted to sleep?” He chuckles, pressing a kiss to your collarbone as you both crawl up the bed. 

You fall into the pillows, hair splayed out as you smile at him, wrapping your legs around his hips while he covers you both with his comforter, trying to warm up. 

“I said go to bed. Not to sleep.” You mumble with a small attitude, canting your hips up into his own which makes him moan loudly. “This is bed, isn’t it?”

“Oh, smarty pants are we?” He laughs, pressing a kiss to your temple as he melts into you. His forearms slid under the pillow as he let his body weight lay against yours, kissing you ever so slowly as you tried to wiggle around and make it work. He lifts his hips for a moment to help you out, and once you’re settled he presses into you, beginning to grind himself against your folds as you hug each other close. 

“Jesus Christ.” He gasps, eyes squeezed shut as he presses his forehead to your own. 

“Who knew the satanist was so religious ?” You tease, pushing your hips forward trying to gain more friction. 

“Gotta be right now. It’s not everyday a freak like me has a cheerleader in his bed.” He smiles, kissing the corner of your lips softly. 

“I mean it could be.” You offer, making him freeze for a moment. “Or maybe in the drama room. I’ve had tons of ideas about the locker room too.” 

“Princess-“ he grunts, reaching a hand to cover your lips. “Please. You’re ruining me.”

You lick his lips and laugh when he pulls away to reach for his nightstands, moving your hips against his and kissing at his chest as he searches, getting more and more frustrated. 

“Come on- shit baby- I- please- I gotta find a condom just give me a moment please.” He gasps out, and you smile at him. 

“Forget it. I want you. Come on.” You coo and watch him physically shutter, hips pressing into yours tightly as his hands roll into fists and his eyes shut tightly. 

“Eds?” 

“Stop. Give me - fuck- a moment princess.” He grunts, shaking a bit. “I’m gonna bust before I even start.” 

So, being the brat you are, you push your hips up until he is entering you, moaning a bit as he gasps loudly. 

“No no no no.” He gasps out, which makes you freeze.

“Is it wrong? I’m sorry?” You panic, moving to pull your hips back quickly which makes his hand snap out to stop you. 

“It’s not wrong. I just- I refuse to cum.” He blurts, keeping you in the spot with a tight hold. “I can’t cum so soon.” 

“You can.” You whisper, kissing at his neck and nipping at the skin here and there. “I wanna feel it.” 

“I hate you.” 

“I hate you too.” You giggle. “And I need you to move.” 

He takes a deep breath in, giving himself one more moment to try not to cum and then begins moving his hips. Slowly at first, moaning softly as you wrap around him perfectly, moving himself so he was laying on top of you and hugging your body to his before he begins a brutal pace of snapping his hips into yours. 

You stay close, both hugging each other as he moves, the bed thumping against the wall with each thrust. 

Your moans quiet the closer you get to finishing, turning into strangled grunts and mewls as both of you focus in. The sounds of skin slapping just adding to the pleasure of it all as you come undone around him, making him gasp out as he lets go, filling you easily. 

“Oh my god.” He breathes out, shoving his nose into your neck as you try to breathe. 

“There’s that religion again.” You tease, eyes closing as your body finally relaxes. You don’t hear his response, numbing out a bit, snuggling close until his warmth is ripped from you and you have no choice but to open your eyes. 

“No no. You’re not sleeping yet.” He grunts, slapping your thigh lightly before helping you shuffle. “I’ll help you to the bathroom.” 

So he puts on a pair of boxers, putting you in one of his band tees and helping you shuffle to the bathroom to pee, and grab a warm washcloth so he can clean you up while kissing all over your face and whispering sweet nothings in your ear. 

“My good girl.” He murmurs, leaving a kiss on your ear before leading you back to the room and shoving the towels and dirty clothes in his hamper with the washcloth. 

You tuck yourself into his bed, waiting for him before you close your eyes and get comfortable. 

“Freak.” You whisper out, face pressed into his chest.

“Wannabe.” He murmurs back, playing with your hair as you finally fall asleep.

- 

You’re woken up by the shrill ringing in Eddie’s trailer, snapping awake as he lunges up and blinks. 

The ringing stops after a minute, and then Wayne’s voice breaks out calling for Eddie. 

“The phone!” He calls, making Eddie roll over you to pick up the phone. 

You giggle when his body collapses on top of you as he answers, catching the smile he sends your way. 

“It’s Eddie.” He grunts, eyebrows shooting up when the person on the other side yells. 

“You know where my sister is?! She was supposed to be home last night and-“ 

“She’s here, calm down. She slept in the couch.” 

‘Liar’ you mouth as he rolls his eyes, pinching your side. 

“Okay. I’m coming to get her.” You hear Gareth snap before Eddie shakes his head. 

“No. I’ll drop her off when she wakes up. I’ll be by for band practice anyways.” 

You hear Gareth mumble something out before the receiver clicks and Eddie hangs up on his end. 

“How’d he know to call here?” You ask, reaching a hand up to play with his hair. 

“He thought we were dating already.” 

“Oh?” You laugh before he bites on your collarbone. “Freak.” 

“Wannabe.” He grunts out, and before you know it you both are stripping once more, being quiet since Wayne is in the other room. 

- 

The cafeteria is a mess Monday morning, everyone yelling as some music plays over the speakers to get everyone excited for the game later. 

You took a moment to look across the room, not really being able to see much due to how crowded it was, but you made it to the cheer table, saying hi to the girls as they all giggled over the mark on your neck. 

“You wanna go sit over there?” You ask your three closest friends, wiggling your eyebrows. 

“You’re out of uniform aren’t you?” Jason asks, eyes narrowing at your shirt. Today you had chosen to wear a hellfire shirt over your cheer uniform. 

“Technically not.” Steve adds from the next table over, glaring at Jason. 

“What happened to your face?” You ask, eyes wide at how bad he looked. 

“Byers.” Steve grunts, and you laugh before the girls get up to follow you to the table. 

All four of you, (Chrissy, Maria and Abigail) walk up slowly, making all the guys stop and look up.

“Can we sit?” You ask, watching Eddie’s face burst into an excited grin as Gareth quickly snatches a chair for Maria. Abigail and Chrissy take the last two open spots and there was no more room. 

“I can grab a chair-“ Eddie starts, already standing to grab one before you shake your head, moving to sit on his lap. 

“I’m good here.” You smile, making him smile back and kiss your shoulder through the shirt. 

“Are you coming to DnD?” Paul asks as Gareth pretends to gag at you and Eddie. 

“No, we have a game tonight that I have to cheer at. But I figured I can wear this until then.” You shrug. 

“Where’s yours Eddie?” Paul asks, glaring at the dungeon master. 

Eddie raises a brow, and the entire table seems to freeze as they slowly realize that Paul hasn’t figured it out yet, even with you in Eddie’s lap. 

“What?” He asks, looking around. 

“This is mine.” Eddie mumbles, pinching some of the fabric of your shirt between his fingers. 

“You’re wearing his shirt? Gareth, you’re gonna allow that?!” 

Another moment of silence passes before the entire table is laughing in his face, Eddie pressing his nose into your back with his hands on your hips as he cackles. 

“What’s so funny?! Gareth said none of us could date his sister!” 

“No, I said you couldn’t date my sister, nerd bomber.” Gareth laughs. 

“What does it matter?” Eddie laughs. “I thought she was Sooooo annoying!” 

He imitates Pauls voice for the last part which sends the table into another fit of laughter. 

“Don’t you have a girlfriend in canada?” Chrissy asks, turning to you. “That was him right, the one dating the model in canada?” 

“W-we broke up. I dumped her.” Paul corrects which makes the girls laugh harder. “You guys suck.” 

“And you swallow!” You snatch one of Eddie’s pretzels to throw it at his forehead, hitting him perfectly as he glares. 

“Not funny.” He mumbles, and the table absolutely loses it. 

-

You’re surprised when you see Eddie leaning against the bleachers that night, now in his hellfire shirt and leather jacket as you get ready to perform with the girls. 

When he spots you looking he sends a wink, crossing his arms as he watches the routine. When you’re done you dash over as the game starts, giving him a quick kiss. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be-?” 

“I had a couple minutes. Thought I’d come see what all the excitement was about.” He smiles, surveying the game going on from your spot in the corner. 

“What do you think?” 

“Well seems pretty boring to watch Harrington and Carver fumble around, but there was this really smoking cheerleader.” He chuckles making you roll your eyes. 

“Freak.” 

“Wannabe.” 

“Brute.” 

“Brat.” 

“Airhead.” 

“Princess.” He smiles, kissing you one more time. “You wanna come watch the campaign?” 

“I have to dance at halftime and cheer them on. You’ll tell me about it later though?” You ask, giving him your best doe eyes. 

“You got it.” He smiles, bringing your hand up to kiss your knuckles before shaking it so the Pom Pom shakes. “Decide on what movie for tonight?” 

“I might be willing to give Texas Chainsaw one more shot.” You smile. “I think you deserve it.” 

You already know he won’t make it 10 minutes into the movie without jumping your bones anyways. 

“I was thinking breakfast club.” 

“Absolutely not.” 

“Why not?” 

“Cause I might actually want to watch the movie.” You tease before Chrissy calls you. 

Giving him one more kiss before dashing to cheer with the girls, Eddie watches you for a moment before leaving to go play DND. 

The second you both are done you meet by the drama room doors so that you can go to his place for movie night, a new routine you had built up. 

Weekends were for your friends; these nights were for just you two.

TAGLIST :: (Lmk if you want removed or added for more Eddie fics.)

@h-ness1944

[merlucide]

BLLK BOYS WHEN THEY FIND READER CRYING HC

notes: 101% self insert lmao 😭 I wrote this a few months ago I’m fine now

characters: Shidou, Sendou, Ness

warnings: mental breakdowns, sobbing ig, ness’s part

not proofread I’ll do it laterrrrrrr bllk mlist

SHIDOU RYUSEI

Shidou does a double take when he sees you crying alone. Immediately crouches down and takes your face in his hands. 

First instinct when he sees you is to go find the person who made you cry and beat the shit out of them. 

“Who the hell do I need to beat up ?!” and hastily wipes your tears when you just sob harder “Oh baby why ya cryin’?” 

When you don’t reply and just pull him closer he shuts up and holds you tightly.

Shidou puts you in his lap and rests his head against yours

shushes you while you soak his shirt, he doesn’t mind.

Its stresses him out that he doesn’t know the cause of your breakdown

When you calm down a bit, he’ll try to get some answers from you, but he’ll stop when you say you can’t talk about it right now.

In hopes of cheering you up he whips out some ice cream/comfort food

He’ll talk to you about anything and everything to take your mind off it— probably say some awful jokes while he’s at it

When you feel better and start talking/venting he just sits and listens

It breaks his heart to see you so distraught, Shidou would go to the ends of the earth and beyond for you happiness.

He will try to help you anyway he can (it’ll be a bit rough around the edges but he cares)

“You are alright sweets, this is nothin’ you can’t handle.”

“..Now if anyone makes you cry like this— I’ll go fuck em up”

SENDOU SHUTO

literally freaks out when he finds you on the floor crying.

He immediately goes to you and holds your arms and panically asks what happened.

He’ll just pull you into him and hold you rubbing your back up and down while you cry.

He’ll repeat over and over again “It’s okay, you’re okay”

He will hold you for as long as you need.

Sendou is an emotional person, and he feels for you so so very much. It breaks his heart seeing you so distraught and tired. 

He knows the feelings— being overwhelmed, stressed, and afraid. 

And he will help you any possible way he can

Is panicking sm

runs a bath for you and puts some calming salts in

will wash your hair (if you’re comfortable— otherwise he’d order/make your fav food)

He puts your fresh clothes in dryer so they are nice and warm for you

Sendou brushes/dries your hair for you while you watch your fav movie/show

If you wanna talk about he will listen, if you don’t that’s fine too, and if you want comfort— well then he’s just the best for that

“You are doing so, so great, and I’m so proud of you. It’s okay to feel this way—this is only temporary, and you can and will get through this.”

ALEXIS NESS

eh possible tw ?? it’s just ness being crazy but yk // more about ness having a breakdown than reader 😭 yandere?? help i dunno

⚠️Also wrote his part when I wasn’t having a breakdown so it doesn’t have the same energy iykwm?? 🤷‍♂️😭

okay

So like when ness sees you cry about something mundane, he simple wants to die

So when he sees you sobbing absolutely hysterically, clutched onto the floor. He’s completely and utterly shattered inside and out and suddenly oxygen does not exist

He falls to his knees desperately asking you what’s wrong

Though even though Ness is losing it rn, he still is very gentle with you

Trying not to be to loud— and always gentle with his touch

— His response isn’t exactly what you needed (at all) but when life give ya lemons .. 🫠

he isn’t even touching you right now, he wants to though, REALLY wants to

he is so ready to commit 1st-degree murder

When you grab his shirt he snaps out of his head and pulls you into him, petting your hair and soothing you

He is crying at this point btw

He’s like rocking you both back and forth softly

When you (both) have calmed down he’d start interrogating  you, which was not helpful

You’d tell him you don’t want to talk about it— which he’d understand but still desperately want answers

He’d take you to your bed and get you all comfortable

He’d light some candles and give you a massage

If you end up telling him what’s  the problem his heart breaks all over again

You shouldn’t ever have to feel this tired and distraught

He’d do anything he could to help the situation/you 

..

but just saying if it’s cause of a person …. Lmao they ARE not seeing the light of day 😭 (if your upset bc of someone, don’t ever tell him)

“My dearest are you alright now? If you ever feel like this again tell me. You should never have to suffer alone, lay your troubles on me my love”

bllk mlist

help I added ness bc it felt to short to post with out another but Ness’s sucks ass 😭😭 sorry dawgs….

Made Sept 9th 2024

[gothghostiie]

babysitter!reader chronicles continue because I babysat the whole weekend and obviously cannot catch a break

cw: comfort, reader has a strong reaction to things breaking, gn!reader

thinking about price being gone overnight, having you sleep over so he doesn't stress about coming home. he knows you don't mind sleeping on his couch and he knows his little munchkin is safe with you. you get to spend the morning with the baby who decided to wake up extra early, making some easy breakfast for both of you, hanging out the whole day, it's routine by now. in the afternoon you make a snack and decide to make some tea for both of you - the little one definitely got it's love for tea from John.

It's all good and well, until you have to put the infant down for a second to fill the electric kettle with water. you put it right next to the sink and put the little one down, telling them that they'll be right back in your arms, just let you boil the water. the baby coos as you stand up and turn around: just to be met with the sounds of crashing and clattering, and with the sight of glass shards. you immediately pick up the baby and stumble back, eyes wide as you try to process what the fuck just happened, your heart racing and your hands shaking. you have to do everything in your power to not let out a string of courses as you look at the broken kettle, trying to figure out what to do.

you decide the best course is put the baby to the safety of it's high chair while you pick up the big shards, it goes just fine until you grab the vacuum cleaner to get the small shards. the baby starts fussing, making grabby hands at you, your heart clenches. so now you're vacuuming, baby on your hip, holding on tightly. its all fine until you put the vacuum cleaner away and have a moment to gather your thoughts, the waterworks start flowing big time.

you try your hardest to hold back as you make the tea and the food, sniffling while the occasional sob falls from your lips. the baby keeps looking at you confused, touching your face and tilting their head, babbling softly as if trying to ask why you're crying. you just keep a hold of them and try to smile at them, sitting down to eat with them as you try to figure out how to tell John you broke his electric kettle.

tears are still flowing as you type out a text, not brave enough to tell him face to face. you almost wanna throw your phone out after the text is sent, but you just put it into your pocket. you distract yourself with housework, with the baby, still occasionally tearing up, when your phone vibrates.

its a simple message from John; 'be home soon.'

you can feel the nausea rise in your belly, hands trembling again as your mind goes a mile a minute. he didn't even say anything to you telling him the kettle broke, just that he's home soon. your head goes from anything to you're being fired to you'll end up never being allowed around any child ever. you try your hardest to distract yourself, cleaning up a last time before putting on a kids' movie and sitting on the couch with the baby. you're fidgeting with your fingers, you're nervous, anxious, almost near tears - your heart stops when you hear the keys jingle in the door. you freeze up, glancing at him from your place on the couch as he walks in, boots thudding heavy on the floor. he stretches with a groan, putting down his bag and hanging up his jacket before making his way over to the two of you. he stops right in front of you, arms crossed as he bends down - just to coo at his baby.

"there's my little angel, missed me?" he smiles softly, but quickly frowns as he seed the expression on your face. he knits his brows, staying leaned down to the two of you. "hey, whats the matter? you look like a kicked puppy, love." he chuckles gently, trying to coax a smile out of you, but it doesn't work. you look down at the yawning baby, grabbing at John's arms, wanting to be held.

you mumble another apology, causing him to huff in confusion before it dawns on him. "love, this isn't about the broken kettle, is it?" he asks, sighing softly as you keep quiet. he finally picks up the cooing baby, it immediately nuzzles into him. "wait here." he mutters softly, putting the sleepy baby down for a nap in the nursery before coming back to you. his arms are crossed, hes frowning, you barely even look at him; not even when he sits down next to you. "c'mere, bird." he murmurs, patting the side of his thigh, lifting his arm.

your eyes widen a bit, you hesitate before scooting closer. a strong arm wraps around your shoulder, pulling you into his side. "there there. you're okay love, it's alright." he says softly, quietly, as if talking to his little one. "there's no need to be scared, yea? I'm not angry." you glance up at him, still unsure. he kisses your head gently. "it's just a kettle. I'll get a new one tomorrow." his strong hand keeps a hold of your arm, caging you against his side, the other resting on your knee with the thumb rubbing gentle circles.

you mutter another apology as tears threaten to spill again, he shushes you gently. "no, no. none of that. and no tears either, bird. its okay. these things happen." he holds you tighter, soothing you gently as you nod. he holds you like this until he feels the tension in your body lessen, finally accepting his words and that he's not mad. he presses another kiss onto your head.

"just do me a favour next time.." he hums, his tone teasing as he bites back a chuckle. "if you don't like my kettle, tell me. no need to break it.

[with-my-calamitous-love]

ARE WE FALLING LIKE SNOW AT THE BEACH?

shouto tdrk x reader

how he’d act in a relationship

same premise as the kirishima, shinso, izuku, and touya ver.

inspired by snow on the beach

shouto todoroki, who didn’t think love had a significant place in his life. who obviously felt love, from his friends, his siblings, his mom- but never the kind of love that made his heart thump out of his chest. not until he met you, that is.

shouto todoroki, who can’t get the day he first met you out of his head. it was a few moons ago, yet it replays like an award winning movie in his mind. but could anyone blame him? time stopped when he saw you. like specks of lights dancing around him. he mistakenly thought that he simply was seeing stars, dazed from the presence of you. he can’t help but wonder all the times you’ve passed by unbeknownst to him, and why it took him this long to find you.

shouto todoroki, who’s life had been emotionally abusive. his dreams at night, his waking moments, his mind, his hands, and his scars never allow him to fully escape from the past. so it makes sense just why he was so enthralled with you. he genuinely thought your quirk was the ability to stop time, the way you took the demons of his past and hushed them, allowing shouto a few moments of blissful refuge. he doesn’t understand it, but he isn’t complaining.

shouto todoroki, who doesn’t understand why you want him. who thinks that the prospect of you ever returning his feelings is impossible. who thinks its crazy, insane, uncanny, unnatural, otherworldly and fucking beautiful when you tell him you love him. he knows a lot of things, fire and ice, pain and love, mothers and fathers, life and death, but his favourite is you and him. even if it made no sense to him.

shouto todoroki, who maybe isn’t the most conversational type at times. who tilts his head adorably when you tell him a joke that flies over his head. who barley uses the class group chat, or his siblings group chat that he adds you too. who tries for you, sending emoji’s or (quite random) gifs when words fail him. he’s trying, and you love him for it.

shouto todoroki, who knows more about emotions than he lets on. who is your comfort person. who asks if you want advice for just someone for listen. who holds you while you cry, kisses your forehead and rubs circles on your back. who sits with you, holding your hand while he explains his point of view on things. who is always on your side, always knows what to say, and is always there for you.

shouto todoroki, who doesn’t understand how handsome he is. who is aware of his reputation for being the most handsome guy of 1-A, yet is so dense its adorable. who didn’t really care about what we wore until he started dating you. who suddenly feels confident in his looks, never denying the pink that blooms on his cheeks when you compliment him. who just wants to look his best for you.

shouto todoroki, who is physically incapable of finding you unattractive. who will call you beautiful when you’ve just woken up with pimple patches. when you’re all sweaty from a workout. when you’re bruised from training too hard or sobbing over some dumb drama. who thinks you’re stunning when you’re you.

shouto todoroki, whose nicknames for you are beautiful, love, darling, gorgeous, or just your name.

shouto todoroki, who opens up to you. who tells you about his past, his father, his oldest brother… who expects you to turn away in disgust. who considers just hiding away all his traumas, afraid to lose what he has with you. who watches in absolute, starstruck awe when you love him anyway.

speaking of his past… shouto todoroki, who defends you with his life. who absolutely does not care what his father thinks of you. who speaks of you like you are the creator of the universe itself when his family asks about you. who assures the people around him of his love for you, that he’s found someone who makes him happy.

shouto todoroki, who is a gentlemen in a world of boys. who leans down when you’re talking to him so you can speak in his ear. who always drives no matter what. who pays for your everything before you can protest. who zips up your clothes, buttons up your jackets, holds your bags and sleeps on the outer end of the bed. who knows everything you deserve and stops at nothing to be that for you.

shouto todoroki, can’t even speak when he’s around you. he won’t dare to jinx it, and he’s scared of wishing it. who hopes that despite how foreign and strange love may feel, that you truly are the one. who prays that you’re what he deserves, and that he can he everything you deserve and more. who’s smile lights up like a contest when you text him. who can’t be dishonest about how hard and how beautiful he’s fallen for you. who wonders if this can be a real thing. can it?

shouto todoroki, who falls for you like snow on the beach. who knows its weird, and that it shouldn’t happen, and loves you more for it. who would fall for you again, and again, and again, simply because its you.

bakugou version next!

[inkdrinkerworld]

James is there for you when your depression manifests strongly, and he helps you the best he knows how through your sadness! Tw: depression, sadness, poor eating habits

“Are you sure you’re okay, angel?” James ask the question softly, almost like he’s afraid the question itself will send you to tears.

It’s not a bad assumption.

“I’m fine, Jamie.” Except you’re in your ‘Mental Health Matters’ sweater, something James thinks is done unconsciously on your part, and you haven’t said a word since he picked you up from work.

Well, you haven’t been completely silent, but the degree of silence is unusual for your home.

He sighs, not a long frustrated one, but a soft one, a knowing sigh.

“Just sad.” You murmur quietly, playing with the cuffs of your sweater.

James knows it happens, he gets it. It just sucks when there’s no reason behind the sadness that he can fix.

He never wants you to feel like this, never wants you to be so sad you’re nauseous all the time and crying almost every day; but it’s how your brain is and he’ll be there through every bout of sadness.

He goes through a mental list, “Would it help if I took off the lights and we looked at Atlantis?” You look up at him, eyes swimming with sadness like he’s never seen before.

You hate feeling like this. This unshakable sadness that digs its claws deeper into your body the more you try to fight it, but drags you under if you don’t.

It makes you feel nothing but a rock on the sea floor getting tossed about. It makes you feel like you’ll never get a handle on yourself.

Still you try, not just for yourself but for James too.

“Do we have any more kettle corn?” James nods, kissing your nose.

“I’ll start it on the stove. You don’t have to pretend if it’s not helping, either.”

You nod, James kissing your forehead as he leaves. You trouble the skin tags on your thumb, your chest heavy and aching as you watch the blank tv.

It takes James ten minutes to get the popcorn and a milkshake. “I made this in case you changed your mind, it’s the vanilla protein one you like.”

Tears bubble up in you and fall instantly, your breath short as you watch James. “I’m sorry I’m not better yet.”

You’re breaking his heart, you really are. James rushes to hold you, the drink and popcorn on your bedside table so his hands can be free.

He tucks your face into his neck, holding you as you cry. It’s hard, not crying himself but he doesn’t want to make you feel bad.

“There’s no timeline on getting better, angel girl. I know you’re trying and that’s most important to me. And you’re trying so hard.”

You hiccup as you try to breathe in, “I am Jamie, I swear.”

He shushes you when your words start getting choked. “I know baby, I know.” James can’t help the tears that fall down his face as he holds you tighter then.

Your body sags under his touch but it’s your sobs that get him. The defeat in them makes his throat burn.

You don’t end up watching the movie, the popcorn gets stale on the table but you have a few sips of the protein milkshake and James is glad for that.

You lay completely on James’ chest, his arms tight around you. “I love you so much, angel.” His words follow you to sleep.

[gamblersdoll]

did yall miss him? masturbation, semi cheating, pretty mild.

sanemi was exactly the boy best friend you told your current boyfriend not to worry bout, because you thought that sanemi was actually just really smart, and caring about you and your feelings and relationships.

you thought sanemi was just never really out, so whenever you and your boyfriend get into a huge fight, he always offered you a night to stay at his place.

you thought sanemi was just kind hearted to you since he respected you, and knew exactly how to handle yourself.

you thought sanemi was just in alot of previous relationships so he knew how certain things were.

well, he did care about you, so to speak. but he wanted you to just be under the impression that he was your best friend, knowing what he himself was after. see, he wanted this to happen, both of you getting close before your boyfriend shows up and then make the boyfriend look crazy.

because he was, because he knew exactly what sanemi was doing. but you were.. you, you didnt know what bro codes were or how they played. yu didnt know any of that, so you just thought sanemi was trying to help.

but what you didnt know what each time you came over in tears from your boyfriend spazzing out on you, he took a picture of you in his arms after sobbing yourself to sleep. whenever you showered at his place from the night before, he chokes his cock from breathing to the thought of the water running down your body. how he would always excuse himself to the bathroom to give himself slow strokes at a time, or even just pulling his cock out behind your sleeping frame, imagining himself slipping inside and staying there.

but what you didnt know was that he and your boyfriend have had private arguments, sanemi taunting him and saying ‘you know she comes home to me when you make her cry, right bud?’ and it always sets him off, then sanemi laughs in his face about it.

what you didnt know was that sanemi personally takes matters into his own hands to stalk— no, just do research on you to figure what kind of flowers you like, (hes shown up the next day giving you them, saying ‘even friends give each other flowers,’) for him to know what kind of sushi you love and crave every period, (hes shown up with the deep fried sushi, the extra eel sauce at that,) hes taken the time to know what is your favorite horror movie for the holidays. (came with all the dvds of scream for you.)

you didnt know anything, and thats all he needed. but yet, it could have been known, your boyfriend finding this out and making a scene of it, causing you to think.

“that white haired fuck is purposely knowing this shit just to get you on his roster, babe. why cant you see that?” the man asks, glaring at sanemi.

“yeah, you keep thinkin’ that, buddy.” sanemi says, scrolling on his phone nonchalantly. “its not a rocket scientist to figure what her favorite scream movie is.” he mentions, your boyfriend at a lost for words. “… you do know which one that is, right?”

you look to him, hoping and praying he at least hits close to home, but he failed at that.

“its was five, you sick fuck.” he growled, sanemi groaning and your heart shattered.

“.. its the original, dumbass.” sanemi says, shaking his head.

“the fuck— shes never even told me this shit!”

“if she repeat watches the first one, thats her telling you.” sanemi points out, eyes back to you and holding you close. “ look man, i dont know what your problem is, but its starting to piss me off.”

“baby, if you fall for this bastard that is only trying to get you on his dick, youre practically already on it.” he barks, sanemi pulling you back.

“look here, bitch boy—“ sanemi starts, but you get in the middle of it.

“enough, i want you out.” you say, looking down and biting your nail. you hear what sounds like what was supposed to be your boyfriend, but you correct him. “ i want you out, not sanemi.”

and he leaves you in a shout, saying youll talk tomorrow after he cools off and sanemi was completely gone, but it was useless.

“dont worry, tiny,” he pets your head, kissing your forehead at that. “we can watch the first one if you want? ill even bring some talenti.” sanemi coos, striking something in your heart and cunt at that moment.

and sanemi sends the photo of you passed out on his bare chest, sending it to your boyfriend— probably ex boyfriend now, because sanemi got what he wanted..

you.

[crackedpumpkin]

All Too Human (04)

taglist: @chennqingg @theblindhag @elysiuansstuff @professionalrodent @mikadough @jenniferontheblock @blackparacosm @goth-detectives365 @crystalbeetle888 @filiswingman @beescomet

a/n: if anyone would like to be removed or added to the taglist, do let me know!

| 𝐬𝐞𝐫���𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 | 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 |

You can’t remember the last time you said ‘I love you’ to your parents. Their faces are blurry in your dream, stuck in a time when you’d stormed out of the house after a heated argument about your future. 

The whole idea that blood is thicker than water has always made no sense to you. Just because they made you doesn't mean they know what's best for you.

It's like watching an old movie, an out-of-body experience as you see your past self storm out the door with a packed suitcase and bag, plane tickets to another country already purchased and transportation arranged .

The door slams shut behind your past self. You silently watch the tears roll down her cheeks before gripping the handle of her luggage with a newfound intensity. Mom always said that you inherited your temper from your dad, but you never really understood what she meant until now.

Defiance and fear swirl within her gaze, each footstep away from the front door growing heavier. 

Shards of grief that you’ve pushed down a long time ago begin to resurface, slicing your heart and leaving raw, open wounds in their wake. The scene shifts to a later memory — when you’d first got lost in a country after leaving your home, crying alone at a bus stop.

During this moment, a pickpocket had taken your phone, your lifeline. Everything was gone: personal info, bank cards, even your one contact back home. You watch your past self wipe her eyes and wander to a nearby phone booth.

She picks up the receiver, fumbles for a coin, and dials by muscle memory. The rings echo across the line until, finally, a familiar voice breaks through.

“Hello?”

A strangled sob escapes from your lips as you watch your past self, silent and staring blankly at the phone pressed to her ear. You’re the one sinking to the floor, as if the weight of it all has finally buckled your knees, tears streaming down as if a dam has burst. "Mom," you whisper hoarsely, feeling the words break free, “Mom, it’s me.”

It’s been so long since you last heard her voice, almost long enough to have forgotten its warmth. But that same warmth brings about a chill, knowing that she can’t hear you. 

Pain blooms in your knees as they scrape against the ground, but the blood goes unnoticed. “Mom, I miss you. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I want to come home.” Your words tumble out in broken fragments, your chest heaving, breaths shallow between each shaky sentence. "I’m sorry I let you down, I’m sorry I left. I miss Dad. I miss home.”

Your past self remains motionless, a shadow oblivious of your pleas. But here, reliving it, you feel the words ripple through your body, pulling raw grief and regret to the surface. The ache has never left; it’s only buried itself deeper.

“Hello? Must be a spam call,” you hear her mumble to someone else before a click in the line signals that she’s hung up. Your past self remains there, tears forming in the corners of her eyes but her pride refusing to let them flow. 

Then, the scene shifts once more. 

You’re in San Francisco now, a brand new apartment a friend of yours had let you stay in. She’d been gracious enough to lower the rent, though it’s still pretty expensive given that you’re only working part time in a bar and at the community pool. 

Picking yourself off the ground, you wipe away the tear streaks on your face through the sniffles. Feeling your breathing calm somewhat, you watch on as your past self lays on the floor with a smile, blissfully unaware of the future that awaits her. 

Then the world spins.

Inhaling sharply as your eyes snap open, you’re met with the worried faces of Bilbo, Fili, and Kili hunched over you. Your body jerks up with a choked cough, water spilling from your mouth and into the water below.

Throat burning and eyes watery, you assess the situation. The riverbank, with no orcs in sight. Just as relief hits you, so does the pain with full force. A soundless gasp pushes past your lips as your fingers clench into fists. 

You’re almost afraid to look. 

However, you force yourself to angle your head down, and your gaze falls on the arrowhead still lodged deep in your thigh. The metal tip glints darkly, surrounded by a ring of torn fabric and smeared blood. 

Crimson trickles from the wound, pooling around the shaft and soaking into your clothes, each heartbeat sending another wave of fresh blood spilling over your skin. The area throbs, a pulsing agony that radiates up your leg, making it difficult to keep from crying out.

Your breath catches, eyes darting to Kili, who grips your shoulder firmly, his face drawn tight with worry. “It’ll be alright,” he says, though his voice wavers just slightly, betraying his own anxiety. His hand hovers near the arrow, uncertain, clearly torn between wanting to help and knowing that removing it now could make things worse.

Bilbo’s face pales as he watches the blood seep steadily from your leg, and Fili clenches his jaw, casting nervous glances between the wound and his brother. The pain sharpens, and a tremor runs through you as the realisation sinks in. You’re hurt, badly. Moving seems impossible, yet the urge to press on gnaws at you.

“We must leave now.” Bilbo’s worried eyes turn into a glare that’s aimed at Thorin from the announcement he makes. 

“Thorin, she’s injured!” He protests, stepping forward in a protective stance. “She can barely move, and you’re here in one piece thanks to her!” 

Your lips part in a murmur. “That’s sweet.” The hobbit remains firm in his posture, the leader of the group relenting. 

Kili gives your shoulder a reassuring squeeze, his gaze steady. “I’ll carry you if I must,” he murmurs, a quiet resolve in his voice.

“Two minutes. Bind the wound and prepare to leave in two minutes.” Bilbo’s shoulders relax, moving to stand near you. He’s too kind for his own good, and that bull-headed dwarf Thorin could learn a thing or two from him. What a bastard, truly.

Maybe he’s a Taurus.

But as much as you want to cry like a baby and just writhe in pain, you can’t die now. 

“I need a knife,” the plea barely makes it past your lips, Bilbo fumbling around briefly before handing you his own blade. Unsheathing it, you muster all the strength in your body to cut through the fabric, revealing bare skin that’s been torn open.

Blackened veins spider around the wound’s edges. Poison, you realise with dread. “Stay still lass,” Balin pushes past the brothers to the forefront, grabbing the closest arm and pulling it to you. Unfortunately, it happens to belong to Fili, who officially becomes your stress ball replacement.

“I’ve got you,” he says, bracing himself as Balin’s steady hands close around the arrow’s shaft. Balin glances from the arrowhead to your teary eyes, muttering, “On the count of three. One—”

He yanks the arrowhead out in one swift motion. A pained scream rips from your chest, and your face buries into Fili’s arm as the agony sears through you, leaving you breathless. The arrow clatters to the ground, stained in crimson, and blood flows freely from the puncture in your thigh.

Your breath comes in shallow, shuddering gasps, and for a few moments, you simply let yourself cry. Each sob rakes through your body, as though it might somehow release the pain. 

When you finally manage to draw in a shaky breath, the metallic taste of blood taints your tongue. Forcing down a swallow, you squeeze your eyes shut one last time before mentally putting on your big girl pants.

Patching up the wound before it bleeds any more comes first, but your frantic gaze finds no bandages or supplies around you, nothing even close to resembling gauze. Once again, you’re left with the bitter reminder that you’re in another world with none of the resources you’d grown so used to.

Desperation sharpens as you glance back and forth from Balin’s empty hands to Bilbo’s wince. The river washed away anything you might have used, and the rest of the group definitely lacked anything to do with medical supplies.

Swallowing the bile rising in your throat, you look down at your soaked tunic. It’s waterlogged and bloodstained, but it’s all you have. With a grim determination, you slip your arms out of it, leaving you bare with only a bound cloth around your chest, shivering slightly in the cool air.

As you pull off your soaked tunic, the dwarves go silent, their gazes averted — mostly. Fili’s eyes linger a little too long, clearly caught between worry and curiosity at seeing you in just your undergarb. 

But before he can get too distracted, a firm nudge from Kili snaps him out of it, his brother throwing him a hard, narrow-eyed glare. The unspoken signal is clear, and with an apologetic cough, Fili looks away, his cheeks turning the slightest shade darker.

Meanwhile, Kili’s focus remains locked on your face, searching for any sign of your discomfort beyond the pain before you hear a loud thwack, Balin having smacked the side of his head and forcing him to turn his back as well.

Amusement darts through you in the haze of pain for a mere moment, catching the reddened tips of his ears. With no other option, you set to work, cutting the tunic into strips and winding each piece tightly around your leg. 

Unfortunately, most of your strength is spent. Your left arm falls down, numb beyond belief. Everything in you is screaming to not ask for help, to not be a burden any more than you already are. But without someone to assist in bounding your leg, you’d bleed out and die.

“Kili.” The dwarf in question turns, eyes widening when he sees the helpless look in your eyes. “Please,” you croak, gesturing to the remaining material barely clinging to the skin of your thigh. 

He’s instantly by your side, his hands getting to work as he binds up your leg using the same method you’d taught to him back in the dungeons. Gritted teeth don't hold back the sharp inhales at each jolt of pain he can feel. 

In an attempt to distract yourself, you cast your gaze up to the clear blue sky. It helps somewhat, blinking away the involuntary tears that form. Once his movements cease, you look back down and meet his eyes briefly.

A flicker of admiration sits in his irises, mingled with worry and guilt. Your breath hitches for a split second before you both look away. “It’s done,” he announces with a shake of his head. He glances around at the company, scanning each dwarf quickly as you tug whatever’s left of your tunic back on.

There’s no spare fabric left from the packs, and most of their clothes are just as worn and torn from the escape. Watching him pause and his jaw tense as he makes a decision, you’re caught off guard when he reaches for his own tunic. 

Without hesitation, Kili slips his knife from his belt and cuts a length of cloth from its bottom. The tear leaves his shirt a bit shorter than usual, but he hardly notices. “Hold on now,” he murmurs gently, inching closer to you. 

The makeshift covering he’s prepared in his hands is soft, but sturdy enough to offer a thin layer to protect your modesty. "Like you said,” his voice warm but still teasing, “we should still take care of ourselves when injured.”

Your voice dies in your throat as he leans down, wrapping the cut fabric around the exposed skin between the bottom of your now torn tunic (or makeshift crop top, you silently dub), and the top of your pants. 

His fingers work deftly but carefully, tightening the bandage with an ease that belies the tension in his jaw as he tries not to look too closely at the scrape and blood pooling around your thigh.

You’re pretty sure your brain’s short-circuited now, forgetting how to breathe when his gaze meets yours once more. The ground doesn’t even feel solid under your fingertips at this point, heart turning to mush.

His gaze should be illegal, you decide. He should be in jail for the things he’s doing to my stomach right now.

The other dwarves, sensing Kili’s dedication, glance over now and then but quickly return to their tasks or their stances, giving you both the privacy the moment demands. Fili keeps his head turned but can’t resist casting a sideways look every so often, protective but still wary of intruding.

Kili pulls the bandage securely once more, his hands warm and steady. He finally lets go, resting one hand lightly against your knee for a moment as he steadies himself, catching his breath. “It should hold,” he says, his voice soft but resolute, and you can sense the relief mingled with pride beneath his words.

The pain subsides slightly with the firm bandaging, and for a moment, there’s a shared silence between you, broken only by your own slightly laboured breathing.

“You were—” Kili begins, then hesitates, a trace of his earlier admiration still in his gaze. “You held yourself well. I doubt many could do as much.”

His praise stirs something in you, though the discomfort of vulnerability lingers just beneath the surface. You’re exhausted, but his words somehow give you strength, grounding you through the pain and fatigue. 

You manage a faint smile, nodding to him in silent gratitude, watching as he rises and moves back, though his eyes linger on you just a moment longer than usual. Fili coughs loudly to shatter the moment, trying his very best to ignore whatever just happened. 

Don’t blame him at all, because what the fuck was that all about?

You blink. Get a grip. You’re not actually supposed to feel this way. He’s just a character. Just focus on surviving, that’s all you have to do now until you can go home.

Your fingers press against the makeshift bandage, testing it, and though the pain has dulled somewhat, each movement sends a sharp reminder throbbing through your thigh. You grit your teeth, willing yourself to focus. The pain is almost grounding, in a twisted way; keeping you alert, reminding you that you’re still here. Still needed. You won’t let it slow you down.

“I think I’ll be alright now. Why don’t we-” 

The sound of a branch being split open makes the breath hitch in your throat, interrupted when you spot a man standing on a jagged rock above everyone else. His shoulder-length hair is tied back into a scraggly half-up style, an arrow notched onto his bow in expert manner. 

The arrow pierced through the branch in Dwalin’s hand makes everyone else hesitate. His figure seemed familiar. Where do you know him from? Your fingertips brush against the edges of another memory partially shrouded by exhaustion, a name rings clear in your mind.

Bard. The fisherman? Or ferryman of Lake-town. Again, the details remain frustratingly out of reach, scraggly bits and pieces floating around in your head like an unsolved puzzle waiting to be pieced together. One thing’s for sure though, he’s one of the good guys.

Before you can tell the others what you know, another arrow slices through the air, knocking away a rock that Kili instinctively picked up. 

“Do it again, and you’re dead.” 

Okay, so maybe you might be wrong.

Fuck it, only one way to find out.

“You’re Bard, aren’t you?” you ask, voice strained as you struggle to remain composed through the dull throb of pain in your thigh. His head tilts in mild confusion when he spots you among the band of dwarves. “Of Laketown. The… guy.” You manage a faint smile, but the lingering ache distracts you from delivering anything close to poise.

Bard’s expression hardens, narrowing his eyes as he lowers his bow, though his stance remains guarded. There’s a flicker of surprise in his gaze, perhaps at the way the dwarves seem to fall into step behind you. “And what does it matter to you?”

The question lingers as you struggle to get up from the rock, pushing past the ache in your thigh. Bofur, quick to notice, moves to your side, offering a steadying hand, which you accept gratefully. Together, you hobble forward, keeping Bard in your sights.

Oin’s sceptical voice cuts in from behind. “Ye know this lad?”

“Not personally, no.” You shake your head, trying to inject some nonchalance. “But if we need to get into Laketown, he’s our best chance. We’re just some… merchants.” You direct your words at Bard, keeping your tone light despite knowing the cover is flimsy at best.

Bard’s eyes narrow further, clearly unconvinced. “Merchants.” The flatness of his voice draws a tired nod from you.

By now, he’s drifting toward a small boat nearby after deeming you a non-threat, and you press on, following with uneven steps, each one jarring your leg. Kili’s worried gaze catches yours, and he inches closer, hands poised to help if you stumble. You look away, avoiding his concern. There’s no point overanalyzing whatever tension lies between you two. At least, not now.

Balin steps forward, taking over with his usual warmth. “Aye, and I’ll wager you’ve hungry mouths of your own to feed?” As he speaks, Bofur helps you settle onto a nearby rock, and you give him a grateful smile, shifting your attention back to Bard.

Bard’s stance relaxes slightly, a touch of softness entering his expression at the mention of his family. Balin notices and pushes a bit further. “How many bairns?”

Bard sighs, pride slipping into his voice. “A boy and two girls.”

“Aye, and your wife’s a beauty, I’ll wager?” Balin continues, keeping his tone gentle, disarming.

Before Bard can respond, you blurt, “Oh no, she’s dead, actually.”

The bluntness drops like a stone into the conversation, the air growing heavy as all eyes snap to you. The dwarves freeze mid-reaction, their expressions ranging from horror to disbelief. Balin looks like he might choke on his own words, while Bard’s gaze sharpens, settling on you.

Well, shit.

You bite your lip, heat rushing to your face as you realize the weight of what you’ve just said. The ache in your thigh is messing with your focus, your usual filter unraveling with every throbbing pulse. Now your mouth is just running wild, practically begging to land you in trouble.

Bard doesn’t flinch, though his eyes narrow slightly, studying you with unnerving precision. “I suppose you’ve seen many a dead body, then?”

The question hits harder than you expect. His gaze dips to your bandaged thigh and the faint bloodstains on your clothes, a flicker of understanding sparking behind his eyes. You can’t tell if it’s pity or suspicion, and frankly, you’re not sure which would be worse.

You shake your head, feeling the rawness of his words cut through the haze. “Just my grandfathers and grandmother,” you say quietly, the vulnerability slipping through your usual guard with a hint of shame that clouds your words.

A beat passes, and Bard’s expression shifts slightly, perhaps a mix of understanding and solemnity. “Were you there when it happened?”

You shake your head again, guilt seeping into your cheeks in the form of a heated flush.

He nods slightly, turning back to his barrels. “Then you are blessed.”

There’s no malice in his tone, just the hard edge of someone who’s weathered his own losses. For a moment, you’re caught off guard by the strange gratitude his words evoke, though defensiveness lingers in your chest. You hadn’t expected him to care.

Kili’s sudden voice breaks the silence. “Please.” He takes a step forward, glancing at you before focusing on Bard. “She’s injured. She needs medicine, and we have none. You may choose not to help us, but surely you wouldn’t forsake your own kind.”

For a moment, Bard says nothing, watching Kili with a sharp, assessing look. But as the silence stretches, he finally steps into his boat, shuffling through his belongings.

A flash of doubt crosses Kili’s face, but before he can speak again, a heavy fabric lands on your head. Startled, you grab it, realising it’s a cloak. “Put it on,” Bard mutters, his voice firm. “Your tattered clothing will draw unwanted eyes.”

Relief flickers in Kili’s expression as Bard helps you into the boat — a quiet, unspoken agreement in his actions. As you settle in, you clutch the cloak around your shoulders, watching Bard closely.

Before he pushes off, you reach out and catch his sleeve, surprising even yourself. “My companions. I won’t leave without them.”

He raises an eyebrow, his expression cautious. “And what makes you so sure that it will matter to me?”

His question lingers, a subtle warning in his tone. You steel yourself, masking the tremor in your voice. “Because you don’t leave people in need. We’ll pay you — double, in fact,” you add, feeling Thorin bristle behind you. Balin gives him a firm look, urging him to stay silent.

Relief washes over you in waves when Bard pauses, assessing the state of the dwarves, and the desperation in your eyes. “Triple, and you will do exactly as I say.”

Balin seizes the opportunity by the neck, stepping forward with an outstretched hand. “Seems like we have a deal.”

— — — — — — 

“So what really brings you here?” It’s difficult to answer the sudden question that Bard springs forth, fiddling with the edges of your cloak as you lean against Balin. There’s a certain familiarity in his demeanour, one that resembles that of your own father.

 Hesitating, you look to Balin for approval. He nods. 

“I can only speak for myself.” The words come out slower than you intend, as though admitting them makes the whole ordeal more real. “Thranduil…let's just say he didn't take well to me pointing out that he's… a few brain cells short of a functioning idiot. So he locked me up for it.” You manage a weak smile, shrugging as if you’ve come to terms with the absurdity of it all. “I don’t know what I’m doing here. I just want to go home.”

You’ve lost track of the number of times you’ve made that wish, both out loud and to yourself. Maybe if I do it two hundred more times, there might be a pot of gold by the end of this rainbow, you think wryly. 

Wow. I’m actually going insane, aren’t I?

“Did you run away?” Bard’s follow-up question catches you off guard. There’s a gentle curiosity in his gaze, as though he’s seen this kind of longing before.

It’s difficult to answer without seeming like an absolute lunatic seeking asylum at the mention of other worlds, so you just nod, offering a half-smile. “Guess you could say that.”

Bard chuckles lightly, a sound warmer than you expected. “I’d bet you were a handful to your own parents.”

You manage a small laugh, feeling a flicker of warmth in spite of yourself. “They might’ve mentioned that… once or twice.”

At that, Bilbo, who’s been listening in with a quiet attentiveness, speaks up with a thoughtful look. “Leaving home is no easy thing,” he says, his voice soft. “I did the same, not so long ago. Not quite running away, but… close enough.” His eyes meet yours, sympathetic and knowing. “Sometimes, what starts as a reckless idea can lead you exactly where you’re meant to be.”

You arch a brow. “Even when it means getting thrown in prison?”

Bard raises an amused brow at Bilbo, half-smiling. “This hobbit here has an odd way of putting things.”

Bilbo clears his throat, a little embarrassed but smiling anyway. “Let’s just say it doesn’t always turn out so badly.” He shifts closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “And… between us, I think Thranduil might be due for a few more words from you. For his own good, of course.”

Bard chuckles, shaking his head. “Let’s hope he doesn’t put a bounty on your heads by the time you reach Laketown.”

For a moment, the tension eases. You drift along in the heavy mist, watching the shifting shapes of stone structures emerge on either side. There’s a chill in the air that seeps through your cloak, though you find a strange comfort in the silence shared between the three of you.

Even the pain in your leg has lowered to a dull throbbing, but you know better than to simply move it. Your fingers itch for the familiarity of your phone once more, wanting nothing more than to go to a hospital and get proper medication and treatment. 

But when in Rome, do as the Romans do, you suppose. 

The boat rocks gently, and you glance at Bard. His hands work the tiller with practised ease, his gaze steady, navigating the inky water as though the mist doesn’t faze him at all. His silhouette is calm, almost statuesque against the ghostly outline of ancient archways rising from the lake’s surface, relics of a world much older than you can fathom.

You lean back, letting the mist curl around you, but your gaze drifts to Kili. He’s watching the ancient stone structures slip by, the flickering light from the lantern near him casting shifting shadows over his face, softening his usual sharp, playful edges. 

You can still feel the tension from earlier. His hands steady against your skin, the warmth of his gaze in that unguarded moment. It’s enough to make your chest tighten all over again.

A part of you aches to reach out to him, but another part, one you can’t ignore, wonders if it’s really a good idea. You’re already more involved with him than you wanted to be, and each shared glance, each touch, seems to draw you deeper. 

Oh. Oh god no. 

It dawns on you with mortification, your heart sinking in your chest. You are not about to get into a situationship with him, not with your literal life at stake. You shake your head slightly, as if to clear the thought, focusing instead on the mist-laden waters and the steady, quiet pain that reverberates in your leg that anchors you to reality.

Thorin approaches, his impatient voice cutting through the silence.

“What are you trying to do? Drown us?”

Bard doesn’t even flinch, his expression calm as he turns to Thorin. “I was born and bred on these waters, Master Dwarf,” he replies smoothly. “If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here.”

The dwarves exchange glances, and you hear Dwalin mutter darkly to the others, “I’ve had enough of this lippy lakeman. I say we drop him over the side and be done wi’ it.”

You bite back a grin at Dwalin’s suggestion, sharing an amused glance with Bilbo. Unable to hold back an exasperated roll of your eyes, he stifles a chuckle of amusement from your blunt honesty. 

“We do not have to like him. We simply have to pay him ... come on now lads, turn out your pockets.” Balin instructs calmly, as if he’s used to the unfriendly attitude the rest have. You frown slightly.

“You could at least say thank you to him.” 

“Of course. After you apologise for speaking about his dead wife, perhaps?” The harshness of Thorin’s reply sends a jolt of embarrassment through you, a heated flush creeping up your neck and into your cheeks. 

Bard’s indifferent voice drifts over, his eyes focused on the waters ahead but still within earshot of the conversation. “She is injured and by my estimate, lost quite an amount of blood. I did not think that you would treat your companion with such unkindness, especially when she insisted on not leaving you behind.”

Kili glances between you and his uncle, conflict in his eyes. The warmth in your cheeks fade, reality sinking in as you realise that Bard has come to your defence. “I’m sorry about earlier,” you say softly, head slightly bowed in apology. “I really didn’t mean to blurt it out like that.” 

“I am not worried about your bluntness, but I am curious as to how you came to know of this.”

Bard’s question lingers in the air, his voice calm but probing. You hesitate, eyes darting to the dark waters slipping by as you fumble for an explanation. “I…” you start, but the words dissolve on your tongue, weighed down by the impossibility of explaining the truth.

Everyone’s watching. Bard with mild, detached curiosity, Balin with a hint of concern, and Kili with something softer, almost protective. Thorin’s gaze, however, is more impatient for answers.

So much for thinking that he’s chill with you joining the group. 

Unable to meet their eyes, you swallow, finally settling on a response, however insufficient it feels. “I can’t tell you,” you murmur, barely above a whisper. Your hands knot together in your lap, a shield against the expectant silence.

Thorin’s jaw tightens, but his expression doesn’t turn openly hostile. “You’re a mystery to us, it seems,” he says slowly, the suspicion in his voice tempered by caution. “But you've proven helpful thus far. I'll grant you that.”

But Bard’s expression softens, though his eyes remain sharp. “Everyone has secrets, Master Dwarf. Especially in times like these.” His gaze returns to you, a hint of understanding in his eyes. “I won't ask you to share anything that you're not ready to answer.”

Kili shifts beside you, his hand hovering near your arm before he quickly pulls it back, as if unsure. “She’s done more than enough,” he mutters under his breath, almost defensively.

You glance at him, surprised by the support, though it only makes the tightness in your chest more acute. His eyes hold a warmth that cuts through the tension, silently assuring you that he trusts you, even if the others don’t.

Balin clears his throat, ever the diplomat. “Aye, let’s leave things as they are. We’ve a long journey yet, and nothing to gain by second-guessing those beside us.”

Bard returns his attention to the tiller, the boat cutting through the mist as silence settles back over the group. Thorin finally looks away, though his stance remains tense, as if he’s reserving judgement until he can be certain of your intentions.

In the stillness, you sense Kili’s gaze drift back to you, his expression softened, though he quickly looks away when he catches your eye. For now, his silent support is enough.

It’s a while later before you wake up from having dozed off, finding yourself on Kili’s shoulder. Blinking away the sleep in your eyes, your hands find the edge of the boat’s seat, pushing yourself to sit upright. 

His gaze is warm and slightly teasing, but there’s a flicker of something else too—a hint of hurt that surprises you. “Looks like you needed the rest.” The smile in his voice doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

You give him a sheepish look. "I didn’t mean to doze off on you."

"Don’t worry about it," he replies, but there’s a hesitation, like he’s holding back. "You’re injured after all. Just let me know if you need it again."

There’s a small pause as you glance at him, feeling the familiar pull to let your guard down, to simply enjoy the warmth and kindness he offers so freely. But it’s not mine to take, you remind yourself, an unease settling in your stomach. Kili belongs with someone like Tauriel — someone from his world, with his bravery and his spirit.

Yet, here he is, looking at you with that softness in his eyes.

"Why are you always so… nice to me, Kili?" you murmur, hating how vulnerable the words sound but unable to stop yourself. "You barely know me, and you don’t… you shouldn’t have to go out of your way like this."

Kili looks at you, brows knitting in gentle confusion. "Because I want to." He pauses, voice lowering. "And you’re not as alone as you think, even if you feel that way. I can see it."

His words settle around you like a blanket, both warming and suffocating. A pang of guilt tugs at you as you look away, biting your lip. This isn’t supposed to happen. Not with him. But the thought of putting distance between you, of brushing off his kindness, hurts more than you expected.

"Well," you manage, forcing a playful smile as you steady your breathing, "maybe you’re just terrible at making new friends."

Kili chuckles softly, but there’s a question in his eyes. "Maybe. Or maybe I just see something good when it’s right in front of me." He hesitates, searching your face as though waiting for you to let him in. "Are you sure you’re alright?"

You feel your heart race at the sincerity in his question, the way he sees right through your defences. But the closer he gets, the more you realise that pushing him away now might hurt him, especially since he doesn’t understand why. "It’s nothing," you lie, hearing how hollow the words sound.

Kili watches you for a moment, his gaze lingering, as though he can sense the struggle within you. He doesn’t press you further, but his voice is softer when he speaks again. "You know, you don’t have to pretend with me. If you ever need to… talk, I’m here."

Your heart tugs painfully, and you fight the urge to reach for his hand. "Thank you, Kili," you murmur, forcing a smile that barely reaches your eyes. "I’ll keep that in mind."

He nods, his expression kind but uncertain, as though he’s trying to decipher the wall you’ve put up between you. But before he can say anything more, you turn away, pretending to be interested in the dark shapes of trees drifting by. You tell yourself that distance is for the best, that keeping him at arm’s length will prevent the hurt that’s bound to come. But dread pools in the depths of your soul, inching closer with each betrayed flutter of your heart.

A few clearing of throats and shuffling of feet draw your attention, spotting an uneasy look on Balin’s face as he counts the coins in his hands. He glances up at the dwarves around him, before turning to their leader. “There’s a wee problem ... we’re ten coins short.”

Without thinking, you instinctively reach into the cloak Bard had lent you, rummaging through the inner pockets. Your fingers graze something cold and rough, and you pull out two coins, which must have been left there by Bard himself. 

With a soft hiss of pain, you manage to push yourself to your feet. Bilbo, ever attentive, quickly moves to steady you, helping you shift closer to the group. “I don’t have much, but this is all I could find.”

Balin accepts the coins with a grateful nod, his eyes softening. You silently hope Bard won’t notice that his own money has ended up among the dwarves’ funds.

But as you settle back, trying not to aggravate your injury further, the atmosphere shifts. Gloin is grumbling about the expense of this venture, but the rest of the company has fallen silent, their eyes transfixed on something in the distance. You turn, following their gaze… and the sight stops you cold.

There, looming far ahead, is the Lonely Mountain. Its peak cleaves through the morning mist, jagged yet majestic, as the first light of dawn spills over the horizon. The dwarves fall silent, captivated, reverent, their gazes fixed on their distant homeland.

You stare, awestruck yourself. For all the marvels you've encountered in your own travels, like the serene slopes of Mount Fuji, and the magnificence of the Colosseum…none of it compares. The mountain is more than a landmark; it’s a vision woven from longing and memory, a piece of lost history carved into stone and sky.

But then, like a crack through still glass, the memory hits.

So came the hot dragon breath from the north, about dusk, over the Lake... Smaug came hurtling from the North, licking the mountain-sides with flame, beating his great wings with a noise like a roaring wind... Then he settled over the town, slowly turning up the heat with fire and wrath.

A wave of nausea swells in your stomach, and you press your lips together, forcing back a gag. The image in your mind is too vivid. The flames licking at Laketown, the choking smoke, the screams. You close your eyes, clutching the edge of the boat as if grounding yourself could push the memories away.

Really? Right now? Talk about bad timing-

Beside you, Gloin silently presses a leather purse into Thorin’s hand, his voice thick and reverent. “Take it... take all of it.”

Thorin’s eyes stay fixed on the mountain, unreadable, but you sense the significance of their silence, each dwarf carrying the burden of years and losses. You breathe deeply, willing the nausea to subside, focusing on the chilled air and the steady rhythm of the boat snaking through the waters.

As you manage to steady yourself, a soft nudge from Bilbo catches your attention. His brow furrows, eyes flickering with concern as he glances between you and Bard, who’s steering with an intent gaze on the dwarves’ silent devotion. Bilbo opens his mouth to speak, but before he can voice his question, Bard interrupts, his voice firm.

“The money, quick - give it to me.” he commands, drawing you all back to the task at hand.

Maybe it’s the sight of his homeland that spurs forth the sudden distrust in Thorin’s voice, his hands gripping into fists at Bard’s urgency. “We’ll pay you when we get our provisions and not before.”

“If you value your freedom, you will do as I say. There are guards ahead.”

Turning at the loud shout that travels across the water, the memory from moments earlier fades away at the sight of a town looming out of the thinning fog. Every building and path is made of wood, the dimmed lanterns revealing dark shapes of crooked buildings and the golden glows of torchlight.

“In the barrels, if you value your lives.” 

Muttered complaints and glares directed toward him go ignored. Making a move to stand up, you’re stopped by Thorin who places a heavy hand on your arm. “You will stay here. I will not have another dying before we reclaim our homeland.”

Too exhausted to argue and too numb to disagree, you sit back down. “Have you at least thought of a better disguise than a merchant?” Bard questions, sarcasm laced through his gaze. “If I were you, I’d go with mercenary.” His eyes drift down to your injury once more. “It’d explain that, at the very least.” 

His advice rings true, and you nod your head in response. “Mercenary it is.”

He gestures to the back of the cloak, a silent instruction for you to flip up the hood. The material rests atop your head, shadowing your face to the dwarves in barrels behind you. 

As his boat nears the town, you take in row upon row of crooked, thatched houses that balance on slumping piles. A long wooden bridge is the only connection with the shoreline a distance away. 

So this is Lake-Town.

A small fleet of early morning fishermen, pulling nets in from small boats, eye your hooded figure on Bard’s boat as he passes. The boat comes to a slow stop, and you watch as he moves a few boats down with practised ease.

He stops, exchanging a nod with a couple of fishermen in a hushed conversation. 

A couple of guards patrol nearby, and you hold your breath in anticipation, praying they wouldn’t notice you. Luckily, they get distracted by a noise to their right, veering sharply away from the boats and into the town. 

“What’s he doing?” Dwalin’s baffled question elicits dissatisfied mumbles from the rest.

“He’s talking to a couple of fishermen,” you say, just loud enough for them to hear. Your fingers twine together in your lap, a form of prayer for steadiness. “They’re pointing at us now, and shaking hands.”

“What?!” Thorin’s outrage is prominent, Dwalin chiming in. 

“He’s selling us out!”

“No, you guys!” You hiss, frustration creeping into your voice. “He’s bribing them. You all have trust issues, I swear.”

A sharp, audible inhale cuts through the rising tension, and you glance over at Bilbo. His eyes are wide, his expression unreadable at first, until they flicker to Bard. A glint of distrust forms in his gaze, sharp and fleeting when he sees him gesturing towards the barrels. For a moment, that look in Bilbo’s eyes feels like a betrayal…like you’ve been doubted, like something you thought was understood has been called into question.

You flinch, the hurt stark and unexpected, but just as quickly, you shake it off. It shouldn't matter. After all, it's nothing but words on a page, written by a stranger, long before any of this started. But even so, the sting lingers for a moment longer than you’d like.

The fishermen hand Bard baskets of freshly caught fish, and he makes his way back to the boat without spilling any. The parkour skills this guy displayed is enough for you to grow a newfound appreciation for him, a sense of awe in your eyes. Even at your best, you’d probably have tripped over and fallen face first into the murky waters.

Not probably. Definitely.

He reaches the boat and approaches the barrels, pausing when he sees you stand up with difficulty and reaching out your hands for one. He ponders for a moment before deciding that time is of the essence, and pours half a basket of fish over Dwalin’s barrel before handing you the remaining. 

As you approach Kili’s barrel, the dwarf looks up at you, glancing from the basket to your sympathetic smile in mild panic. As he accepts his fate with a small sigh, you proceed to pour the rest of the fish on top of him. 

You and Bard work quickly, the fishermen handing him more fish as needed. You manage to cover Balin, Oin, and Bombur who gives you a reassuring nod, though the disdain at the extreme smuggling is clear in his gaze.

“Now, you will have to be quiet. Let me handle the talking.” You sit back down, the sudden movement sending another shock of pain through you. Biting back yet another groan, you take slow, deep breaths. 

His demeanour becomes watchful, shoulders tense as he steers the boat towards a canal that leads into the heart of Lake-town. Audible dwarvish grumbling from the barrels makes Bard kick at one with his foot, the boat nearing the bridge.

“Quiet - we’re approaching the toll-gate.” 

A heavy iron gate blocks the canal entrance, reminding you of the pictures of mediaeval drawbridges you’d walked past in museums. A voice calls out in the gloom. 

“Halt! Goods inspection, pull alongside! Papers, please!” A voice cuts through the fog as the boat drifts closer to the checkpoint. Your heart skips a beat as the lantern light sweeps over the boat, and the guard peers in. He squints for a moment, then recognition flashes across his face. “Oh, it’s you, Bard.”

The guard lifts his lantern a bit higher, casting a wary glance at your figure, cloaked and keeping to the shadows. Your grip on the fabric tightens as you try to shrink further into yourself, hoping to blend in, but the movement only draws more attention. 

If you can’t see them, they can’t see you, right?

Bard nods in easy familiarity. “Morning, Percy.” He hands over a paper (maybe their version of a passport?) and you try to keep your breathing steady as Percy studies it. The guard’s eyes flicker back to you, brow furrowing with obvious curiosity. He hesitates, and your pulse quickens.

Is he going to say something?

“Anything to declare?” Percy’s gaze lands squarely on you, and you stiffen, forcing yourself not to shrink further or look away. Every instinct screams to turn and bolt, but you keep still, willing yourself invisible.

“Nothing — except that I’m cold and tired and ready for home.” Bard’s smooth answer cuts in, calm and final. The hint seems to work; Percy shrugs, his curiosity satisfied, and stamps the paper with a grin. “You and me both. There we are... all in order.”

Just as you feel the relief starting to settle in, your shoulders dropping, the paper is intercepted mid-air by a pale hand, snatched with a suddenness that makes you involuntarily flinch. 

“Not so fast!”

A short man holds the document up to inspect it, his long fingers curling possessively around the edges. His small, narrowed eyes sweep over Bard and then land squarely on you. 

“Consignment of empty barrels from the Woodland Realm…” he drawls, his gaze now shifting to the barrels stacked with fish. As he pauses, his lips curl in a sly smirk. “Only… they’re not empty, are they, Bard?”

Out of the corner of your eye, one of the barrels shifts ever so slightly — the one you recall Kili had climbed into. Even through the wood, you can sense the simmering frustration of the dwarves, each second in this tense exchange testing their patience.

“And who might this be?” he sneers, looking back at you.

“She’s no one of importance,” Bard replies quickly, his tone tight.

The man’s smirk broadens. “I can’t just let strangers slip past without proper inspection, can I? Pull back your hood.” His voice drips with false charm and a hint of malice, his smile stretching to reveal teeth yellowed by age and neglect.

You glance at Bard, who gives a brief nod. Reluctantly, you lower your hood, revealing your face and hair, messy from the journey. Realisation dawns on you, a name flickering in your mind: Alfrid, the gross coward from Lake-town. 

Alfrid’s brows shoot up, and he steps closer, leaning in with a sickly grin that tries (and fails) to pass as charm. The look he gives you is laden with oily interest, each lingering second making your skin crawl.

Bard steps forward, his voice calm but edged with tension. “She’s with me — a mercenary from the southern lands,” he explains, keeping his tone firm and steady. “Hired to help navigate some of the more dangerous roads. Not that it’s any business of yours.”

Alfrid’s oily grin doesn’t falter, his gaze now shifting between you and Bard, calculating and clearly unconvinced. “A mercenary, is it?” he repeats, his tone mockingly sceptical. “Quite the unusual ally for a bargeman. Seems you’ve found yourself a rather… unique guard.”

You lock eyes with him, fighting to keep your face neutral, even as your heart pounds against your ribs. His gaze feels like a rotting weight, heavy and invasive, each moment dragging on longer than the last. "I go where the coin does," you say, your voice steady despite the unease coiling in your stomach. "Bard's needs matched my skills."

Alfrid’s brows arch as his grin turns sickeningly sweet. “Oh, I’m sure you’ve got plenty of… skills.” His tone is drenched in insinuation, and your stomach tightens with revulsion. From behind him, Bard’s fists clench, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he barely restrains himself.

That motherfucking BITCH-

Stomach tightening, you hold your ground, forcing yourself to meet Alfrid’s gaze without flinching. You can practically hear the dwarves behind you, the muffled, contained fury rolling off them like a tide, and just as you tense, one of the barrels shifts behind Alfrid with an audible creak. A low, strained groan follows. You instinctively stiffen, placing the voice immediately.

Kili. It has to be. You can almost feel the seething anger radiating from the barrel he’s packed in. If it weren’t for the tight walls of the barrels and the risk of giving their position away, you know they’d be out by now. 

Alfrid doesn’t seem to notice — yet. He shifts slightly, distracted by the movement. His eyes flicker back to the barrels, a flash of suspicion crossing his face. "If we’re not done here," you say, forcing the words through your clenched teeth, "do know that I bill by my time. And unless you plan to pay on his behalf," you gesture with a dismissive wave to Bard, "I suggest you stop wasting it."

Alfrid’s eyes narrow, and for a brief moment, it seems like he might back off. Then his gaze slides back to you, lingering on your face with something more predatory. He tilts his head ever so slightly, and a low chuckle escapes his throat, like a rat sniffing around for something it can devour. "I do wonder, mercenary," he drawls, his voice sweet and mocking, "how much you're really worth... in coin, or otherwise."

You fight the urge to shudder at the way his gaze slides over you, not just seeing you, but almost stripping you with his eyes. The stifling atmosphere feels too thick, the air pressing down on your chest, but you force yourself to breathe through it.

Behind him, the faintest creak from the barrels sends a warning shot through your body. You glance quickly at Bard, and for the first time, you notice the barely contained rage in his eyes. 

You’ve handled creeps like Alfrid before, more than your fair share of them back home after years of living alone. "It’s not like you could afford it," you scoff, leaning back with deliberate indifference, inspecting your nails like this is just another boring encounter.

But the pain that flares in your thigh sends a sharp sting through your senses, a cold sweat prickling the back of your neck. You swallow it down, giving nothing else away. “Now, are we done here?”

Playitcoolplayitcoolplayitcool-

Bard steps forward, his voice colder than before, and you can feel the weight of his presence rise behind you. "Yes, are we done here?" His words drip with authority, and as he towers over Alfrid, it's clear the situation is reaching its breaking point.

Alfrid sneers, reluctant to let you both go without one final jab. He glances from you to Bard, but the impatient tap of your knuckles against the boat makes him pause. He hesitates just long enough to dig in one last time. "Ever the people's champion, eh, Bard? ‘Protector of the common folk.’ You may have their favour now, but it won’t last. The Master has his eye on you. You would do well to remember — we know where you live."

As the gates open, Bard steps back onto the boat, pushing off. “It’s a small town, Alfrid,” he calls out, a tremor of anger in his voice, “everyone knows where everyone lives.” As the boat drifts away, you slide the hood back on in an attempt to block out the lingering stare before the gate closes behind you.

Bard navigates through the canals, drifting past alleyways filled with scattered scraps of food and animals fighting over the remaining. “Don’t pay him any mind.” You look up at Bard, who glances down briefly in an assuring manner. “He has no courage to try anything, especially around me.”

“I’ll do my best,” you reply, throat dry while you try to mentally shake off the remnants of slimy creepiness from the earlier interaction. Besides, if Alfrid pulled anything, you’d kick his balls with your good leg, or punch it if needed. 

The villagers you pass by throw suspicious glances, but they immediately return to their tasks when they see who you’re with. It’s like you’re with a police officer during a parade, his assured gait warding off any threats. 

So this is what main character plot armour is really like.

One of the barrels shifts again, drawing the attention of a stall owner nearby. Leaning down slightly, you use your good leg to kick its side, a pained grunt belonging to Dori making your eyes widen. “It’s not yet time,�� you whisper with a sheepish smile.

“So, how does a child of Men end up in the company of dwarves? I imagine you’ve gone through the ordeal getting out of the Woodland Realm together, but loyalty being developed so quickly is almost unusual.” 

His observational skills are parallel to none. A part of you hesitates, yet you decide to speak. “They’re my best bet at surviving,” you say truthfully, “sure, some are a little rough around the edges, but they’re not as bad as you think they are. They helped me, after all. Could’ve left me behind.” Your voice drops to a whisper, mild happiness tinging your words, “but they didn’t.”

The dreariness of Lake-town is hard to ignore. It’s not quite as you expected. You'd read about this place before  — of its waters, its sturdy wooden bridges — but now that you’re here, it’s more of a cold, grey, intersecting web of buildings than the majestic town you had pictured.

Bard glances at you, sensing your momentary distraction. “Something on your mind?” he asks, his voice softer now, though still carrying that knowing weight.

You can’t help it. The words slip out before you realise what you’re saying. “It’s just… nothing like I pictured it. It sounded... grander, like a beacon of hope or something.” You laugh softly, though it doesn’t quite reach your eyes. “I was expecting bright lights and clean streets, maybe a place where hope is still something you can believe in.” You quickly recover, forcing a smirk. “Guess that’s the romantic in me.”

Bard raises an eyebrow but doesn’t press, though his silence speaks volumes. You regret the words as soon as they leave your mouth, hoping you haven’t revealed too much, but the damage is done.

“What did you expect?” Bard asks after a beat, his curiosity piqued. “To be honest, I’ve never thought much about how others see this place. For me, it’s just… home.” He watches you carefully, his expression unreadable, though there’s a subtle softness behind his gaze.

You hesitate, then shrug, choosing to be as guarded as possible. “I guess I thought it would be more... full of life. Like the people here were all bound together by something. But instead, it feels like everyone’s just going through the motions.”

Bard’s eyes flicker for a moment, but he says nothing, merely nodding in understanding. “Here we are,” he says, his voice breaking through your thoughts, though you barely hear him as you take in the surroundings. 

The more you see, the more industrial this part of the town looks. The wooden walkways, so prevalent in the main part of Lake-town, are replaced by grimy planks and decrepit platforms, making the whole area feel more like a forgotten factory district than a place of life. The smell in the air shifts too, thick with the scent of metal, oil, and the faintest tang of decay.

It’s an eerily similar vibe to the industrial areas back home.

I guess architecture transcends worlds, you think, almost disbelievingly. The reality of Lake-town seems like a far cry from the idea you once had, but seeing how the people who live here adapted to survive, it’s a sobering thought that grounds you to this reality.

Bard’s eyes flick to you again, though this time, there’s a quiet understanding. It’s almost like he’s aware of the thoughts swirling behind your expression, but he doesn’t press, letting the weight of the moment settle between you. 

The boat slows as it reaches a series of docks. There are no shops here, no people idly wandering. Just empty spaces, and the faint echo of villagers from the village marketplace. You glance back at him, but his face is unreadable. This is just another place to him, just another part of his harsh life. 

RIP Bard, you would’ve loved skyscrapers and electricity.

Once the boat stops, Bard uses his foot to tip the barrels over. 

Fish and indignant dwarves spill onto the deck. A singular dock worker watching on is amazed at the sight, as Bilbo and the dwarves extract fish from all parts of their clothing. Bard presses a silver coin into the dock worker’s palm. 

“You didn’t see them. They were never here. The fish you can have for nothing.”

He is so fucking cool.

Casting a brief glance back at you, he deems your injury as non-critical. “Follow me,” He orders, helping you stand up and acting as your support. Before he can make another move however, a young boy runs toward the group. 

“Da!” Bard’s steps slow to a halt, eyeing his son with concern. “Our house,” he says through rapid pants as he catches his breath, “it’s being watched.”

The panic in his voice is enough to make you snicker, and the look of confusion his son gives you when you giggle only makes it worse. Bard peers down at you, like he’s just realised he’s helped an idiot. 

You know this scene. You’ve read it a hundred times, and it was hilarious back then, but now that you’re actually standing here, all you can feel is a deep, almost painful pity for the poor dwarves.

You turn to the group behind you, and Bilbo — bless his oblivious little heart — blinks innocently. You open your mouth, barely able to hold back another laugh.

“You guys are really not gonna like this.”

— — — — — — 

The stairs creak beneath your weight, each step a battle as you grip the wooden railing like it’s the only thing keeping you upright. Every breath is laboured, but you push forward, determined to make it to the top without looking completely out of breath. No way you’re letting Bard see you struggle. Not when you’ve already made a fool of yourself enough today.

“Do they even have elevators in this place?” you mutter under your breath, trying to take your mind off the ridiculous number of steps. (10. There were 10 steps.) Whoever decided to make up the standard route to any house in this town needed a serious reality check.

Finally, you reach the door, entering it quickly before Bard shuts and bolts it behind you. The sound of his children’s voices follows, lilting and full of that chaotic energy only kids have. You’d almost forgotten what it felt like to hear that kind of noise in a home, what with being in prison and all.

At least you could check that off your bucket list and Bingo for this year.

A small girl runs up to him, her face scrunching in a mix of impatience and joy. “Da! Where have you been?” she repeats, a hint of a pout tugging at her lips.

“Father! There you are,” another girl, much taller than the first, says, letting out a long breath as if she’s been holding it in forever.

And for a second, it strikes you—a simple, quiet moment of what could almost be normal. 

“Sigrid, Tilda,” Bard introduces them to you, pausing to add your name like it’s something to be remembered. You barely keep a straight face—like you really need an introduction right now. You already feel like you’ve been here for a decade, getting your life threatened, nearly dying in a few places. One more person wouldn’t make much of a difference at this point.

Bard’s gaze flickers toward the window, his usual caution coming through, then turns back to his son, his voice low and steady. “Get them inside.” Bain who’d been introduced to you along the way nods, rushing down the stairs.

Sigrid’s concerned eyes fixate on the fresh patch of blood leaking through your bandage. You hadn’t realised it had started bleeding again. “I’ll get you some water,” she says brightly before hurrying off to what you guess is the kitchen.

Tilda guides you to a seat you all but collapse into, a weariness in your body that threatens to drag you back down into the depths of unconsciousness.

“Thank you.” Taking a moment to finally breathe, your adrenaline decides to take a rain check at the exact moment the scent hits. You smell them before you can see them, the all too familiar smell of ammonia and worse, drifting through the house.

And then — just as you're about to choke on your own laughter — Dwalin appears in the doorway. You don't even need to look up to know exactly who it is, the smell's that distinct. You can only imagine what their expressions look like.

Just then, you glance up and see Bilbo, still hovering at the back of the room. He points at you with a raised finger about to say something — only for him to pause. His mouth opens, then closes. A long sigh escapes him. “Yeah, I’m done with this…” he mutters under his breath, his shoulders slumping. You watch, struggling to hide the smile tugging at your lips.

He’s completely defeated. You almost feel bad for him, but the humour of it all? You really wish you could film this and get it on video.

“Well,” you manage, feigning innocence, “it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who stinks around here.”

The reaction is instant: a few groans, a couple of muttered “I-can’t-believe-this” comments, and you can’t help but laugh despite the ache in your leg. You look up at the dwarves' faces — tired, exasperated — and in that moment, you know they can't even be mad at you. 

After all, you did help in their escape and get shot while doing so.

Fatigue comes in waves, eyelids starting to drift shut when it occurs to you that you’re probably still bleeding out. Still, you manage a tired wink at the group before one last exhale has you fully passed out on Bard’s chair.

[chai-berries]

i’m a little crybaby bitch & i just sobbed over a movie but all i could think about is being abby’s little crybaby gf & having her comfort me </3

sooo unfortunately/fortunately i am not a big crier when it comes to anything but one of my best friends is a happy/sad/bored crier and i’ve helped her calm down post cry a few times. she’s a true cancer <3 i’ll channel her into my thoughts.

im thinking of two scenarios, watching something sad without abby & watching it with her ⤵️

watching without abby:

she’d probably be working on something in another room when you decide to start a sad fucking movie. abby’s ears perk at the first sniffle, but she brushes it off cause it’s always allergy season. but when she hears you shakily breathe out “oh,,, my gOD” with your voice all broken and wet, she’s immediately sliding to a stop right outside the living room. you’re curled up with a huge blanket swallowing you, surrounded by snacks and your emotional support water bottle. she notes your wide, glossy eyes and coos “baby what’s wrong?” and you gesture at the tv, “she - she just loves her family so so much! and she couldn’t tell them before they died!” your voice is cracking around your words.

abby has absolutely no idea who “she” is but that doesn’t keep her from sitting down and pulling you into her side, rubbing her hand up and down your arm. “they’re just a - a great family” you stutter though tears. abby looks up at the tv and sighs. “baby, why did you chose the saddest movie on netflix?” you hesitate. “uh, i was up to the challenge?” “yeah? how’s it going?” she quirks a brow at you. you laugh wetly and abby mentally fist pumps. she presses a kiss to your temple. “okay, how about we watch something happy. ill refill your water.” abby gets up to go into the kitchen when she’s stopped by a tug on her back belt loop. you’re looking up at her, eyes less glossy but still not dry enough. “what?” she asks. “thanks for putting up with a crybaby for a girlfriend.” she picks up your hand from its place at her waist and brings it up to her lips. “anything for you sweet cheeks”

watching with abby:

“no, no, no, nah, not happening! abby, please tell me they’re not gonna do what i think they’re gonna do!” you pause the movie and shake abby’s shoulder, your face so serious in the light of the television. abby giggles and shrugs like a fucking twerp and nudges you to keep watching the movie. she tells you that “you’ll find out soon - keep watching” like she’s never, in all the time you’ve been together, been witness to the millions of times you deep dived imdb and wikipedia five minutes into a movie whenever it starts out with a sad scene.

you don’t do sad movies. and it’s for a good reason! you get all dehydrated and you look sick for hours afterwards!! it’s embarrassing and gross!! abby has witnessed it once and, like her father’s daughter, handed you a glass of water and pulled you gently into her arms, holding you until you got your breathing under control. and that was a week before you asked her out!! on your first date she told you that the crying thing made her want to “take care of you forever”… is it too obvious to point out that she soooooo got lucky that night?

however, in present time she might be sleeping on the couch for trying to get a depressing movie past you. she apologizes to you, tucking you under her arm. “i promise it’s gonna be worth your tears, okay?” she kisses your head. “and i always take care of my crybaby girlfriend, don’t i?” she kisses the same spot again. you relax into her side.

… sooo it’s safe to say you sobbed a whole lot at the end and completely soaked the front of abby’s shirt. you guys had shifted horizontal mid-movie, you laying on top of her. “i hate you” sounds a lot more honest when you’re not desperately clutching at the waist of the person you’re talking to. “but it was a good story, right?? aww i’m sooo sorry, baby,” abby rubs your back. she hands you your water bottle and chocolate before you even think to ask, like she always does. then, you begin the embarrassingly to you cute to abby process that involves sips of water, bites of chocolate, and your head following the rhythm of abby’s chest up and down as you match her breaths.

<\3

no but really we all know abby will always comfort you even if she has no context to what you’re crying about! ride or die babyyyy

[blueberri-blu]

hello hello!! <3 Might I perhaps ask for some rise don/reader after the events of the movie? I rewatched it recently and woof. comfort fic needed. maybe he's staying with his partner while the lair's being patched up and they're struggling to get him to part with his battle shell for bed time? or something to that effect. -@boybeholding

Squealing, twirling my hair, kicking my feet! Thank you so much for the request! I absolutely love this idea!! ♡⁠(⁠˃͈⁠ ⁠દ⁠ ⁠˂͈⁠ ⁠༶⁠ ⁠)

Of course you may!! I re-watched the movie and, I sobbed, with snot coming out of my nose and everything (⁠っ⁠˘̩⁠╭⁠╮⁠˘̩⁠)⁠っ

Flood after the Storm ｡⁠:ﾟ

As Donnie moved many of his things to your place, you allowed him to set up his lab in the living room/spare bedroom. Most of the day was spent moving and cleaning. Cleaning the lair, seeing how to repair it, and moving things from the lair to their temporary homes.

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The battle left everyone with scars. Raph and Leo beat themselves up over almost not being able to protect their brothers, Mikey seemed to try to cheer everyone up, even though he was the one who needed it. Yet your turtle seemed to act as if nothing happened. You'll admit, he was a bit more emotionally expressive but, other than that, he didn't seem to acknowledge it at all. Due to the lair being... Well not in its best shape, Between you, April, and Cassandra, the turtles split up into y'all's places. Donnie, being your genius boyfriend, obviously stayed with you, and his brothers decided they stay with April or Cassandra, to give you and Donnie alone time.

As you and Donnie finally settled in for the night, you could tell Donnie was in deep thought as he unpacked. You decided to just stay near him, giving him space while still letting him know you're there for him. But as your eyelids felt heavier and heavier, you decided to talk to him. "Hey, don...?" "Yes, my dear?" He said all too quickly. "How are you feeling?" "Well, I must admit, my brothers have yet to give me their opinions on my rescue pods, however I do believe they were extremely satisfied, so I'll be working on them tonight so they're reusable". You knew that gathering data helped him calm down (as he made this very well known during the Krang invasion), so you decided to help him collect data from his brothers and April. Once his spreadsheet of opinions was done, you told him that it would be better if he worked on them tomorrow, as his brain would function much better after a good night's rest. "Grumble... I suppose you are correct" he said with narrow eyes. As you finished your nightly routine, you realized Donnie was in bed... With his battle shell still on. You decided that maybe you'd let him leave it on for a couple days, knowing how vulnerable he felt without it during the battle.

That was 2 months ago. Now, you struggled to get him to bed, he was upgrading the escape pods, making armour for his brothers, and trying to upgrade his battle shell. You also noticed he would randomly check Leo's location, and text or call him to check in. You knew it was going to take a good amount of time for him to settle down, but he was still going to bed with his battle shell on.

You had finally had enough, as much as you tried, you couldn't get him to open up to you. Although he was more open to giving you affection, calling you by pet names such as Love, Dear, Mon Amor, and Mi Amor, he refused to talk about the invasion. So that night, as you laid in bed, waiting for Donnie, you thought of a plan. With a newfound confidence, you marched up to Donnie in his makeshift lab, and started to cry.

Donnie was immediately pulled from his work, and ran to you, frantically asking you what was wrong. And you started to talk to him about how the invasion affected you. How you had night terrors, often waking up just to check in on him and make sure he was alive, how you went into fight mode whenever you heard loud noises, and how you desperately wanted to help him.

After you let your feelings out, and calmed down, you looked at Donnie, and told him that most of all, you were worried about him. That you understood that he was acting this way because of what happened, and that you would wait for him to open up, but most of all, that you wanted to help him get better, you wanted him to get better. After hearing this, Donnie realized that he'd been repressing everything that happened, and, due to you opening up to him, he realized you probably felt alone and scared. So, your show of trust comforted him enough to open up to you.

He told you everything, how he was scared for Raph's life, how he felt helpless and vulnerable without his battle shell, and how he felt like a horrible brother for not being able to save Mikey and him from being crushed, and most importantly, just how soul crushing it was to think Leo had died. In that moment, he opened his heart out to you, and you held him gently, while holding him tightly, rubbing his arms, rocking him, and crying along with him.

By the end of it, you and him were wet with tears, trembling from how vulnerable you two were to each other. Once you two calmed down enough, you hugged each other as you walked to your bedroom. Once you sat on the bed, you gently rubbed Donnie's shoulder, quietly asking if you could take his battle shell off. He was hesitant, but nodded. You took his battle shell off, along with his shoulder and knee pads, and finally his mask.

You both laid on your bed, his head on your chest, your beating heart bringing comfort. You laid like this the entire night. Your newfound trust for each other only strengthened with time, as you both grew, you healed from old scars, and as new ones appeared, you worked through them, together.

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I really hope you liked it! I tried my best to keep it in character! I loved this request!! Was definitely needed after the events of the movie, thank you so much for the ask!! I love it when you guys send them! Anyway, hope you are all doing well, I love y'all <3

[simplyjake]

Valentines day w Enha Hyungs🫶

summary: what u and ur man do on ur first valentines day tgt<3

a/n: and fuck everyone who got a valentine. let me be a hater but i also had to pump this one out before the day ends for me

Heeseung

Oh hee, my sweet hee

HE WENT ALL OUT

Ofc he did its ur first valentines with each other as a couple

You guys used to do valentines as friends 

Both single and lonely 

But since he finally had the balls to ask u out you can now spend it in a relationship!

He actually got u a reservation to ur fav restaurant months in advance

Bc bro knew that the place does not PLAY w reservations

Its always so busy

So the fact that he did this in advance makes ur heart swell

You bought him his first bouquet of flowers

He sobbed.

Boys deserve their flowers too!

He cherishes the flowers and when they die

He does that thing where he presses dead flowers and shit

Then puts them in a frame above his bed

He got you flowers too with a teddy thats huge as fuck

You end the night with a celebratory minecraft session <3

Jay

Such a romantic ill cry

You were never much of a valentines day celebrator

You thought it was stupid (me too bff)

That was until you finally had ur person to do it with

Im a sucker for jay playing guitar so obviously 

This man learns ur top 3 songs on guitar and plays it for you

You got him a bunch of custom guitar pics and those r all he uses btw

He gets u this big ass bouquet that came with a crown n shit

“Had to go all out for my princess” 

SHUT UP

 We know hes an excellent cook

So of course he cooked a 5 star home cooked meal for the both of you

W niki as ur server

He was promised robux if he did that btw

You got him tickets to see his fav band thats coming to town in a few days

He blew up

Sooo thankful for you

And to think this is only ur first valentines day?

Baby it only goes up from here!!

Jake

Our jakey poo

Hes the best at this shit lemme tell you

You woke up to home cooked breakfast in bed

So sweet of him awww

Hes had this day planned for a while

He saved up so that you can have a shopping spree 

Ur literally in shock bc jake??? You did not have to do all that

A nice set of flowers and movie day in would settle

But not to him nuh uh 

Dont worry you made sure you got ur gift in as well

You even got something for layla!! 

When you mentioned that u got layla a gift too he almost got down on one knee i swear to god

After ur little spree you guys went out to eat for dinner

You begged him to let u pay

He alr spent so much today that you were gonna be upset if he didnt let you pay for this one thing

He reluctantly let u pay the bill

But he HAD to be the tipper

The day couldn't have gone any better

ALSOOOO 

Posts u to “Valentine” by laufey

Sunghoon

Sunghoon is so cutie

He knew you were coming over soon so he set up his room with all of ur  favorite things

Like ur fav drinks in the shape of a heart on his bead

Giant teddy bear sitting in the corner

Rose petals and even balloons everywhere

Do u guys know the tik tok audio

“Victor u actually did this” LMFAOOOOO

You'd recreate that video with him

“Baby are u srs”

“Hoon pls we’d go viral”

And u did btw

You guys would have a cute comfy day in

He'd rather save all the big gestures for ur birthday!

You two are a really lowk couple

He posted u for v day and people slide up like

“Wtf since when did u bag a hottie”

“YOURE DATING Y/N”

And he shows them to u giggling cus like 

Hes the one who gets to show u off and be with you forever

[1d1195]

Love and Dryer Sheets VI

Read the rest here: Love and Dryer Sheets

For those that have been kind enough to continue supporting this crazy mixed up story, thank you so, SO much. I hope you like this last part.

~4.7k words

I know I say this a lot but this is a bit all over the place. The timing might not make sense but I don't think it matters (if that makes sense). I wanted to showcase a lot of time passing and hopefully it will translate.

“I think it makes sense with you too, munchkin,” she whispered.

“C’mon,” she stepped aside so Harry could enter. He moved slowly and slugged his way over to the sofa. He looked at her paused TV screen and released a tired, quiet chuckle. She smirked to herself. “Do you want me to start it over?” She asked.

He nodded sullenly. His eyes were redder than she had ever seen. There had been so many times he had come to that laundry room, red-eyed from rubbing them over and over. She could only imagine the argument that took place. Or maybe ‘argument’ was the wrong word. What do you call that? The final show? That sounded so terrible. Harry’s sweet face was all blotchy. She can’t imagine all the tears he shed because if she was in the same room she would have sobbed. Poor Harry. Even the tip of his nose was red. He needed a warm compress; her mom always got her one after a bad heartbreak or when she was crying herself silly over a broken toy when she was little or for one reason or another.

She pressed a few buttons on the remote as he sat beside her on the sofa. Carefully, she draped a blanket over him and gave his arm a gentle, comforting rub.

He sniffled—trying to do so discreetly. It felt like a stab to her heart that she couldn’t imagine feeling for anyone else. Not even Niall. (Although she imagined if someone hurt Niall, she would probably be the one doing the stabbing). “I’m sorry, munchkin,” she whispered softly. All she wanted was to take away his pain. Just like the patients she helped every day.

It was no use denying anymore that Harry meant something to her. There was time to figure that out. They were still friends right now. She was a good friend. She was good at comforting people when they were sad. This was...easy for her to do. She could make him feel a little better.

He nodded and tried to look away from her to hide the sadness and sniffles from her. She pretended not to notice.

Kiss him! The voice in her heart shouted.

You’re an idiot. The voice in her brain would have rolled its eyes if it could.

“C’mere,” she encouraged and nudged Harry to lay with his head in her lap. It probably wasn’t comfortable in the slightest. But he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, Harry was feeling the first bouts of relief in hours as she threaded her fingers through his hair and rubbed her fingertips gently on his scalp.

I could get used to this. The voice in Harry’s heart sounded almost tired. It probably was. The whole final fight with Ava was so draining. It was a wonder Harry could keep his eyes open. But he had been aching and dreaming to watch this movie with her for so very long that he wasn’t going to fall asleep now. This wasn’t what he wanted. Not in the slightest. She deserved an easy relationship. Especially after a three-year long crazy relationship that hurt her more than he could ever imagine.

Harry was going to need time. She knew that. Of course, he would. Because of the relationship she had and the way she watched her parents... It felt like Harry knew the very heartache she always felt. The little bothersome part of her mind that worried about love all the time. Harry was feeling it firsthand. She wouldn’t wish it on anyone... not even Ava.

But that just meant she knew how to support him and be there for him as best as humanly possible.

“Someplace where there isn’t any trouble...Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto?”

Harry wondered the same as Dorothy. Was there such a place?

Part of him thought it might be right on this couch.

Or maybe it wasn’t a place at all and just the sweet girl beside him.

*

“Thank you for driving me,” she said sweetly.

“Course, kitten,” he smirked. “I’ll keep an eye on all your plants,” he promised.

Harry was carrying her carry-on duffle bag and pulling her suitcase even though she insisted that she didn’t need it. In fact, she thought Harry might just drop her off at the entrance and drive away. But he wanted to walk her in. Wanted to see her off properly.

She couldn’t help but want that too.

They didn’t hold hands, but she really wanted to. She wasn’t going to kiss him. As much as she wanted to do that, too. They were moving slowly. Really slow. It was the right thing to do. They were good at being friends and they didn’t want to mess anything up. Especially after the rocky couple of months they both had.

She was going to visit Niall. The first time she had seen him in since his move approaching almost four months ago. The last time they had been apart for that long was when they were in college and Niall did a semester abroad. Harry was kind enough to drive her to the airport. “Not t’sound...crazy. But y’not going t’suddenly hate me jus’ because Niall’s going t’hate m’guts, right?” He asked.

He knew she would tell Niall. Part of him wanted her to tell Niall. It wouldn’t feel right to be friends or anything without him knowing.

“I don’t think he’s going to hate your guts,” she shrugged.

“I kissed y’when I shouldn’t have, Sunshine. Made y’cry. Pretty sure if I were Niall, I’d kill me,” he smiled knowingly.

“I don’t think he’s going to be happy,” she sighed. “But...” she bit her lip. “This is maybe a little indelicate, but... Niall said all kinds of nice things on your behalf without knowing the other stuff. When he overheard the egg thing, he asked if you were actually dating “the Wicked Witch of the West,”” she looked at him awkwardly.

Harry released out a loud burst of laughter. Shaking his head, he smiled. “Well, maybe s’hope for me yet.”

She was also hoping Niall would feel the same way about him. Once they reached security, she took her belongings from Harry and gave him a gentle smile. He grinned back, stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at her shyly. “I’ll... miss you, kitten,” he sighed, his face contorting into a half grin, a half frown.

For the last week they had spent most of their evenings together—eating dinner and watching movies. They even ventured out to run errands. Ava was long gone. In the first couple days Ava and Harry spent yelling, crying, and packing her stuff up so she could leave him. It was sad but cathartic in a lot of ways.

Ava was already in another town with the guy she had been seeing behind Harry’s back. No one batted an eyelash at Harry’s heartache. They called Ava brave for finding happiness after so long. No one cared to inquire about how the breakup went down. But, that was okay. The people closest to Harry knew what happened. Those that sided with Ava, well, good luck to them. Ava had a way of breaking hearts without any warning.

Besides, Harry had the sweet girl about to board a plane to worry about. “I think I’ll miss you most of all,” she smiled sweetly.

Having seen the Wizard of Oz no less than three times over the last week or so, Harry thought his heart would explode at her sweet quote. “Yeah?”

She frowned. “You won’t miss me?”

“No!” he grabbed her hand quickly forgoing all rational thought for a moment. What a difference a few months could make that hand holding was the worst thing he could do. “No, of course,” he shook his head. “Honestly, kitten, m’not sure how m’going t’make it a week without you,” he laughed awkward rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. “S’going t’be very boring,” he brought her hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

She smiled, her cheeks turning pink at the gentle touch of his mouth on her skin. “You sure you don’t mind picking me up really late at night either?” She asked.

He shook his head immediately. “No, not at all. Probably be sad and worried if I didn’t get t’see you when y’come back right away,” he nodded.

He still hadn’t let go of her hand. Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him! The little voice in her heart was shouting.

We’re not doing that yet. It wasn’t even her little conscience talking. It was entirely her own thought.

“Thank you,” she sighed gratefully. They stood a moment, hand in hand. Gazing at each other. Neither moved for several moments. “I guess... I better go,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he smiled sadly and released her hand. “See you soon, Sunshine.”

With a small wave she backed away and turned to leave. Harry already liked her so much. Letting her go for even a week felt like his heart was already breaking. And he knew she was going to be back. He would have to talk to Gemma and see if this was normal or okay if—

“Harry!” She shouted. Spinning around, Harry turned back to see her almost back to him now, running quickly as she dropped her bag and threw her arms around his neck. Harry’s arms instinctively wrapped around her waist while she nuzzled her face into the curve of where his neck and shoulder met. She sighed deeply and Harry had never felt so much adoration for her—or maybe anyone—in his whole life. He kissed the side of her head and inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo.

Harry really never wanted to let go.

*

Niall was pacing. She figured it was best to get it all out in the open right away. Since she was still feeling her own time zone, it was easy for her to be awake and tell him. She warned him that he had to wait until he heard everything. All of it. Every last horrible detail. He was told it wasn’t going to be pretty and he would probably get mad.

Niall thought he was going to be tired after picking her up so late at night, but he was wrong. Fueled by anger and frustration was wonders for him to listen and pace the entire time she spoke. When he heard how she cried about the kiss, he nearly tore his hair out. He stopped pacing when he heard the egg story again.

But at the end he stopped pacing and sat down as he listened to how heartbreakingly mean Ava was to Harry in their final argument. “Jesus,” he said finally. After she finished her heartbreaking tale.

“You can’t hate him,” her tone was firm.

“I hate him for kissing you when he was with someone.”

“That’s...” she sighed. “That’s fair. But I think you hate what he did, not him.”

Niall frowned and rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re sure you want to date him?”

“Well...not right now...but yeah...I mean...” she shrugged. “The Wizard of Oz, Niall. Am I just supposed to ignore that?”

“I gotta be your best friend for a second,” he said. A grim, serious look took over his features. She nodded. “How do you know he won’t... kiss someone else when you guys have arguments and stuff?” He asked.

It was a fair question and there was a pang of sadness that coursed through her heart and body. “I don’t,” she murmured. “But... I wouldn’t know that about any relationship I have.”

Niall nodded. “I can’t see you hurt like the last time,” he told her. “I won’t do it again. I’ll kick and scream and make your relationship miserable.”

“Honestly, I think Harry would appreciate that. You’ll really like him,” she promised. “He drove me to the airport and walked me in and...” she smiled. “He’s really nice Niall.”

“How long are you guys going to wait?”

“Until...it seems right.”

“Are you okay with that?”

She nodded. “We’re good at being friends. But it’s...complicated. Or complex, whatever you want to call it. We want to do it right and... I want to tell him more about my last relationship... and my parents. I want him to know that I won’t be such a walk in the park.”

“Yeah, you do have a lot of lions and tigers and bears on your yellow brick road,” Niall said knowingly.

“You’re an ass,” she rolled her eyes.

“I will love him if you want me to,” Niall said softly. “But if he puts even one little crack in your heart, I’m killing him.”

“I think he’ll agree to that,” she nodded. “You don’t think I’m stupid?”

“The heart wants, what the heart wants, princess. Harry’s a good guy, I think. It’s not his fault he dated a wicked witch... think he needs a good witch in his life,” he smiled. “May as well be you.”

*

Niall, once he had the proper amount of sleep, had about two hundred more questions. She answered every single one of them. When she didn’t know the answer, she texted Harry and waited for his reply patiently.

Some of the questions were a little more sensitive and she didn’t feel right texting them to him. So, she FaceTimed him so she could ask instead. “Niall has a question for you, but it’s a little sensitive,” she warned. She saw him sit up straighter, looking ready and prepared as best he could. He wanted Niall to like him, he knew it was necessary that he liked him. But he also knew that he did a very bad thing, and it would be hard to earn his trust. He nodded readily, like it was a job interview, but nonetheless ready to answer her question.

Niall was off to the side listening intently while he made soup for them. “I feel awkward asking this,” she admitted. Niall turned to nearly glare at her. He wouldn’t back down. It was a question they kept circling back to. One that Niall would probably go crazy about if it wasn’t answered properly.

“S’okay, s’important. S’good t’ask the tough questions,” he promised. “Don’t feel awkward, kitten.”

Niall smirked over the stove already liking the way he spoke to her. It was encouraging that he would make her talk out her feelings and not bottle them up just to protect their relationship. Even if it was awkward or uncomfortable. She sighed. “Do you have a... habit... of kissing other girls when you’re in a relationship... or when you’re upset?” she put her hand on her face to hide the embarrassment. But it was easy to see that she was comfortable asking Harry delicate questions. That never happened in her old relationship. Niall appreciated it before he even heard Harry’s answer.

“No, Sunshine, not at all. S’jus... this s’not an excuse... but you are so nice. Y’made me feel... happy when I didn’t feel happy at all. I was jus’ so tired of not feeling happy. I shouldn’t have kissed you, but it was nice. But I wouldn’t... I won’t kiss anyone but you when the time comes.”

Her heart felt so warm she could have cried. She looked over her phone screen at Niall. “Is that satisfactory?” She asked quietly. Harry smiled shyly, feeling his own face warm at the vulnerability of his statement. But he would have shouted that from roof tops. Niall was welcome to know anything about his relationship if it meant she could be his when the time was right.

“Who’s your favorite football team?” Niall asked suddenly.

“Oh, for the love of God, Niall, he’s English,” she groaned. Harry chuckled.

“It’s important, princess! Might even be more important than the kissing question,” he rolled his eyes. Everyone knew it wasn’t, but while Niall finished ladling soup into bowls for the pair of them, he wanted to tone the seriousness of the room down. He entered the shot of her screen and Harry smiled.

“Manchester United.”

“Well, it was nice knowing you Harry,” Niall said slurping up a spoonful of soup. “Maybe if you get better taste, I’ll let you date her.”

She flicked his face and rolled her eyes again. “Derby is the correct answer,” she explained for Harry. “Followed by Chelsea.”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “Sorry, Niall. Can’t help who you love.”

Niall smirked, wiggling his eyebrows at Harry. “I’ll say.”

*

“Sorry, I swear my bag is the last one,” she told her phone. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” she promised.

Harry chuckled, refraining from saying he would wait forever for her like a lovesick puppy. “S’okay, Sunshine, m’not going anywhere,” he promised.

“I know, but it’s late, and the delay didn’t help, and I know it’s probably been a long day—”

“Kitten, s’fine. M’fine. Missed you a lot. I can miss you a little longer.”

She sighed heavily into the phone. It was going to be hard to remain friends when all she wanted to do was kiss him until her lips physically hurt. “Okay, finally,” she grunted heaving her bag off the conveyor belt. “M’on my way up,” she sighed tiredly.

“See y’in a minute,” he murmured and hung up the phone.

I missed her so much. The little voice in his heart was practically crying with relief and joy that she was a mere escalator ride away now and no longer a terribly long plane ride.

Me too. His conscience agreed. They were much more in sync now that the pretty, sweet girl was in Harry’s life.

Me three. Harry thought.

Harry’s heart slowed the moment she entered his line of vision. He watched her scan tiredly for him. She was in leggings, a big sweatshirt, and a pair of trainers. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she looked exhausted from the delay and her long flight. He imagined she wanted to shower and fall right to sleep.

She very well may have been the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on.

Harry was standing in the middle of a bunch of other parties waiting for their people to ascend the escalator. There he was, patiently waiting for her. As handsome as he looked for so late at night—unfairly so, after waiting for so long and traveling to the airport not once, but twice due to her delay—she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the bouquet of flowers at his side. His smile was so heartfelt as she approached. Instinctively, he wrapped one arm around her waist, so he didn’t hurt the flowers in his other hand. He kissed the side of her head. “Missed you, kitten.”

“Missed you more, munchkin,” she sighed happily pressing her face to the crook of his neck and breathing in the warm scent of his cologne. Her arms looped up around his shoulders and she sighed again with relief.

There’s no place like home. The voice in her head and her heart were in total agreement.

*

She and Harry enjoyed being friends so very much. But both knew it wasn’t quite friends. There was the lingering promise there would be more, eventually, when the time presented itself. But for now, they would have pizza nights, watch TV shows together, and do errands and laundry together.

“Can y’tell me more ‘bout your last relationship?” Harry asked quietly. She certainly had pizza sauce on both cheeks from the way the crust bent around her mouth. She wiped a napkin across her face and looked at him. The TV show they had on in the background continued playing, but Harry was watching her.

“What about it?” She asked.

“Jus’... I don’t know. Anything.”

She took a deep breath. “Uh... he was just... controlling. I didn’t do anything to stop it,” she shrugged. “It felt like I had invested so much time into the relationship. Even if it was bad. It’s one thing to say you should or need to start over, it’s an entirely different thing to actually have the courage to do it,” she explained looking at her fingers like they had the answer. “I didn’t even have the courage. Niall had to give it to me.”

He felt every word she said. Every part of it. “Did you love him?”

“Yes,” she nodded firmly.

“Even though it was...bad?”

“You can’t help who you love,” she shrugged in response.

It was hard to be vulnerable, but with Harry it was easy. It was like talking to herself about how she felt. Or like talking to Niall. It was easy and comfortable. But it had always been that way in the time she had known him. It was easy to share hard thoughts and truths. “Do you regret it?” He asked.

She shook her head. “No... I regret losing part of myself, but that’s on me, not him. I... I should have handled it differently... but I did love him—part of him, for a really long time.” She knew Harry was partly asking questions to understand his own relationship. If it was okay to have loved Ava even if she wasn’t always nice. “Y’know, I met Ava one other time...besides the eggs,” she smirked.

“Yeah?” He muttered looking at his plate of pizza.

“Yeah...in front of the mailboxes. I just thought, ‘wow, she has to be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,’” she smiled. “I felt bad she was so...grumpy.”

Harry snorted. “Course y’felt bad,” he muttered.

She tilted her head. “Harry,” she said softly. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “You don’t have to explain your love,” she told him knowingly. “It doesn’t have to make sense.”

He looked at her with agony in his pretty green eyes. “I want it to,” he whispered.

“I know.”

Harry started the show again and finished munching on his piece of pizza.

“Sunshine?” He said softly.

“Yeah?”

He paused the show again and turned to look at her once more. This time his eyes were so clear. She had seen them angry, sad, heartbroken, but right now they looked serious. Strong. Completely resolute. “It makes sense with you.”

Her grin spreading across her cheeks and Harry thought even with pizza sauce on her cheeks that she was wrong—Ava wasn’t the most beautiful. It had to be her. Right here, a messy bun, pizza grease, and mismatching socks. He was certain.  “I think it makes sense with you too, munchkin,” she whispered.

*

Niall was coming home in a little more than a month. He only had to stay an additional two months to the original year long stay.

But that of course wasn’t the only change.

Harry started doing laundry the right way: a load of darks, a load of whites, and a load of towels.

She started liking cauliflower.

Harry had seen The Wizard of Oz at least twenty times—mostly during the week she was sick right before Christmas and Harry took care of her.

She went to Harry’s work parties. Just as his friend. But everyone kind of thought she was perfect for him anyway. Especially after seeing the startling difference between her and Ava.

But that didn’t stop the guys in Harry’s office from trying their best to win her over. “I’m sorry, I’m not really...seeing anybody,” she explained kindly.

“You have to be seeing Harry,” one of them said with an exasperated sigh.

She laughed. “No, really. We’re not... seeing anybody,” she said.

Harry never pushed her. But Harry knew he had to work out some kinks in his relationship mind anyway. Plus, he enjoyed being her friend. She had a great cure for hangovers and made the best blueberry muffins he had ever eaten.

“You’re going to replace me with him, aren’t you?” Niall asked over the phone.

She smiled and shook her head. “I don’t think anyone can replace you, Niall.”

But at Halloween, Harry dressed up as a scarecrow, she dressed as Dorothy, and he came to the hospital to spread joy to all the little patients who needed smiles more than anyone she had ever met. He delivered perfectly. He pretended to fall on shaky scarecrow legs, and he pretended he didn’t have a brain so the little ones could help search for it.

Even the slightly older kids thought he was funny and thought it was nice how he made the younger kids smile. The parents adored him, of course they did.

She adored him too.

*

“Are you dating yet?”

It wasn’t just Niall that asked. Gemma had asked at least three times a week. Harry’s mum asked only once a week but only because she knew Gemma was asking more. Even her parents, who couldn’t agree on anything, liked Harry to the umpteenth degree.

“He’s so nice, sweetheart,” her mom said. “He’s adorable too. Clearly, he likes you,” she nodded firmly. She was helping with the Christmas decorations while Harry and her father worked on the outdoor lights. He didn’t even bat an eye at the request. He climbed the ladder to help put the lights on the gutter. “Not even Niall will get on a ladder for us,” she reminded him.

But being friends was good. Being friends was nice. There was no rush. It would happen when it was supposed to. It was good for their souls. Harry was healing. Processing. It didn’t and wouldn’t happen overnight. It took a lot of talking and a lot of assurance that everything he was feeling was normal.

“Is she why you were worried about being a dad?” She asked, randomly.

A lot of their conversations happened like that. A thought would appear in their head, and they let it out. She wanted to know, and Harry wanted to tell her.

He nodded without making eye contact. It helped sometimes not to look at each other. At least when they were having more serious conversations. It made it easier for the words to come out. They could always backtrack later. She looked back at her book. The washing machine was spinning below her, and she was enjoying the latest read—a Harry recommended book, of course.

“Did y’enjoy your childhood?” He asked while he put his laundry in the dryer.

She put the bookmark in between the pages—a birthday gift—so she would stop being a serial killer. “All things considered, yes.”

“But y’worry about...relationships,” he said.

It wasn’t accusatory. He already knew she felt that way. But she nodded affirmatively, anyway. “I do.”

“I don’t want y’to,” he stopped with the dryer and looked at her—through her. “M’not... m’all yours, Sunshine.”

It was like the part of her brain that controlled her heart saw him—really, truly saw him in that moment and said Ah, yes. You found him. Finally.

“Yeah?” She whispered with a smile on her face. He dropped his stuff beside the dryer, hurried the few steps back to her, and put his hands on either side of her hips while he stood before her.

“I never want you t’feel like I don’t love you,” he said simply. As if it wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world that he loved her. Especially when she felt it too. “I don’t want you t’think we have t’fight like y’parents do. I don’t want you t’think y’can’t spend time with Niall. M’jus... m’so happy t’be in your life. Meeting you was... it was like... finding home.”

Her heart fluttered. “I don’t want you to be angry,” she whispered.

He nodded. “I won’t be. Not like that.”

“Because... I think I loved you the moment I met you,” she told him.

Harry pressed his forehead to hers. It was the closest his lips had been to hers since the day he kissed her when he shouldn’t have. “Yeah?”

“Niall said only a lunatic quotes The Wizard of Oz,” she smiled.

He chuckled, his breath was minty and warm on her lips.

Harry would spend forever thanking the powers that be that he forgot laundry detergent the day he met her. Even though Harry hadn’t touched her mouth in over a year, it was like no time had passed at all in that very same room, when he did for the second time.

--

general taglist: @justlemmeadoreyou @daydreamingofmatilda @sunshinemoonsposts @daydreamingofmatilda @sunshinemoonsposts @youdontcaredoyou @tiredinwinter @loving-hazz @likeapplejuicenpeach @straightontilmornin @freedomfireflies @littlenatilda @kathb59 @babegoals @angel-upon @lilfreakjez @mleestiles @ameliaalvarez06 @canyonmoondreams @summertime-pills @daphnesutton @l4rrysh0use @perfectywrong @foreverxholland @lolyouallsuck @buckybarnessimpp @stylesfever @harrysxcarolina @haarrrys @lovrave @st-ev-ie @pandeebearstyles

Love and Dryer Sheets: @love-letters-to-uranus

I'm sorry if I missed anyone in the taglist. Please let me know if you'd like to join, if it didn't work, if you no longer want to be included, etc. :)

If you like this, check out my masterlist for more of my writing.

[emo-gremlin]

Um....you wouldn't mind me requesting a Mr. Puzzles x reader as parents headcanon? 👉👈

Not at all!

Im not much of a parental person myself, but I can certainly try ^^

Mr. Puzzles x reader as parents !

General

🖥 He can't conceive kids. The adaptations to his body made sure of that.

🖥 He tries his best, but can easily get very stressed, especially with younger kids.

🖥 He keeps the kids out of his office, they don't need to be in there unless supervised by you.

🖥 Keeps them out of the spotlight. He doesn't budge on this. He know the kind of monsters that are out there in the TV industry and he WILL NOT allow them in unless HE is stuck to them like glue. But definitely would prefer to keep them anonymous.

Step parent Mr. Puzzles (Divorced Reader)

🖥 Oh boy, he's trying his damndest to win them over. He knows how much they mean to you and wants them to like him too.

🖥 Pretty quickly he's watching their favorite shows with them, giving behind the scenes trivia and the like.

🖥 If the kid's a theater student, YOU KNOW he's getting in there and helping with the play and memorizing lines, making costumes, make up, set pieces, everything he helps with.

🖥 If the kid gives him a hard time, he understands. Sitting them down saying, "I'm never gonna be a replacement for your real parent. I don't want to be. What I want is to get along with you enough so it makes everyone happy."

🖥 Mainly leaves parental decisions to you.

🖥 Shitty ex spouse? Stays by your side. You aren't alone, and neither are your children. He's gentle with them, giving them space and asking how he can make them feel more comfortable. (Are there words/actions that he should avoid around them? Any imagery/sounds that might take them back to bad times? Etc. If the child can't tell him, he will ask the therapist only what he needs to know to help them recover and feel safe at home.)

🖥 If the bastard even BREATHES in the kids direction the cops are called. He takes his role as Guardian very seriously.

Step parent Mr. Puzzles (Widowed Reader)

🖥 Gives the kids time to adjust, asking only to keep the peace so that you are happy.

🖥 He understands that they're mourning, and asks about their late parent, picking up on small details that he might slip into his shows to honor them.

🖥 Asks you and the kids if you guys would be comfortable having your late partner's picture framed on every set. It's not in every shot, but sometimes it's there in a small frame, noticeable to you and the kids.

🖥 He never asks them to call him "Dad/Mom/Parent". That title isn't his to take. If they call him that of their own volition, you can catch him sobbing in his office softly hoping he can live up to the title.

Mr. Puzzles x Single parent reader

🖥 Oh you know he's doting on them. Trying his best to be a figure they can trust and look up to. He spoils them, giving them a parental figure they didn't have before.

🖥 If the kids start calling him "Dad/Mom" (He doesn't care what title the kids give him, as long as they feel comfortable giving it to him) YOU bet he's short circuiting his TV because of how much he's crying.

🖥 Small child? He's saving every drawing that the kid makes. Your fridge looks like a piñata from all the paper on it.

Adoptive Mr. Puzzles x Reader

🖥 The first time you two go to the facility, he's swarmed with kids asking about his TV head. He's patiently explaining and answering their questions, asking some of his own in return.

🖥 Its a super difficult choice to only pick one or two of the kids. He fell in love with all of them. He insisted that you two adopt siblings or best friends, so they wouldn't be alone.

🖥 He makes it a surprise when the kids are adopted. Holding a welcome home party for them and hosting a movie marathon for them.

🖥 If the kids came from a broken home....he knows how that feels. While he never got away until adulthood, he understands how...hard it can be to live with those memories.

🖥 He makes sure they feel at home. Makes sure they can come to him whenever they need to talk.

🖥 Bad parents trying to get back into their lives? He asks the kids how they feel about it, and if they say fuck no, he's calling the cops and filing restraining orders on them for the kids.

🖥 If they say yes, he supervises EVERY visit. He won't let them get hurt again if he can help it.

🖥 Is very active in the kid's lives, getting them therapy if needed, making sure they're happy.

I tried to be as inclusive to different family dynamics as possible. I apologize if I missed any. Please enjoy!

[vampirememory]

PAC | Your Love Story in Song

Someone who received a reading from me once said that I tend to write scenarios as if I'm writing a whole fanfic. While I'm not a fanfic writer, I do love writing so... This pick-a-card is about your future love story based on songs!

This can apply to your future spouse, for your future partner, etc, although it is intended to be the most impactful relationship you have. I will be using shufflemancy and intuition, plus there is a bonus moodboard/image section!

♢ There are three piles to choose from, all are CDs with writing on them/quotes. Pile one is "Songs to listen to when you're in love", pile two is "You're the only thing in life that I got right", and pile three is "Everything I could never tell you." ♢

Pile One ♢ "Songs to listen to when you're in love"

Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun

C'mon - Single Version by Panic! At The Disco & fun.

Capsize by FRENSHIP & Emily Warren

A heaviness. Two people who refuse to believe that they're in love, but rather continue to wallow in their own problems until they realize that there was someone there all along. Youth. They both take baby steps until they realize that someone has been there alongside them the whole time and together they bring themselves up. Unfortunately, the highs are high and the lows are low, and sometimes it leads to explosive fights, crying, and the neverending cycle of breakups.

It's blue. It's in the dark, two lovers holding hands as you both sob over the destruction you have caused together. You both think to yourselves "Maybe this is why we are meant to be?" A combination of hail and rain, the worst thunderstorms, and the brightest sunny days after them, but mostly because you know that others would not be able to handle your violence (not literal).

On the worst days, you almost melt into each other. On the best days, you blend and ebb with each other's flows. There is no fear in either of your depths. They can get terrifying, yes, and from an outside perspective it can be seen as a toxic, violent cycle, but it is far from the truth. It's bittersweet, it's growth, it's pulling out hair like pulling weeds and sharpening knives to cut out rotten flesh. It's painful, yes, but it's the most invigorating ride you both have ever been on, and it's the most growth you've ever had. You trigger each other in the best and worst way possible.

It's pain and ascension. Growing your wings, pulling out the flightless feathers. Scratching away dead scales, shedding and spitting up venom. Like an animal learning how to breathe again. Poetic misery.

Pile Two ♢ You're the only thing in life that I got right."

Nineteen by Dylan

Joan of Arc by Arcade Fire

Stop Making This Hurt by Bleachers

Good morning kisses and back hugs. Shared memories and shared coffee mugs, cuddles, and long movie marathons, but something is changing.

The love you shared is changing. Neither of you has gotten this far, you have no idea how to react. The passionate morning kisses become awkward side steps, the cuddles become awkward and suddenly you hate the color of the walls. You still love them, yes of course, but it's changing it's hue. Your chameleon lover is changing its colors and you haven't adjusted to the change in saturation. The giddiness goes away and becomes...comfortable. You fear that the passion is gone, you've never felt this way before. You're afraid they'll leave you.

You both lay on the duvet, staring above at the ceiling fan. Suddenly, you're both older. "How did we get here? Where has the time gone?" You both look at each other with a somewhat sad, but tender smile. The love hasn't gone away, it's just changed forms, and you're finally adjusted to the slower love you always deserved. You kiss, it's awkward and cheeky, but it brings a warmness to your body you've never felt before, a warmness you want to keep forever, and so you both do.

BONUS: While looking for images, Boreas by the Oh Hellos was playing in my head, it definitely matches the warm energy of this pile.

Pile Three ♢ "Everything I could never tell you"

East of Eden by Zella Day

Oh No! by MARINA

Mine Forever by Lord Huron

It was a hook-up, it was a fling. You never pictured that you'd actually love your goofy lover. You couldn't imagine them being serious about anyone until one night you looked into their eyes and realized it wasn't lust. Out of fear, you left, and you were terrified.

This wasn't the type of person you would bring home to your family, but rather show off to your friends and your Instagram stories, but now things are changing. They aren't the person you expected to be, and you're slowly falling in love with their dopey smile and messy hair. "Nothing can get better than this," they say with a smile, and fall asleep in your arms. You feel the same way and it scares you.

You run from it, you ghost them and break their heart just for a moment until you look at yourself in the mirror and see the person you've never wanted to become. You take off your mask and realize you're just a scared child who never knew you were worthy of love or desired love. You put in the work, you change your face, and break your old mask.

You show up to their house to apologize and try to start fresh again, and whether or not they accept your apology is up to them, but you'll never forget them regardless.

Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to check out my masterpost with more readings, or you can support me by purchasing a reading by clicking here. Thanks for the support, let me know which pile you picked and if it resonated or not :)!

[hymnserendipity]

Haitani brothers comforting little sibling

Fluff, no gender mentioned

You are seven years old, and you are at home with your older brothers Ran and Rindou, who are ten years older than you and always go out at night to do dangerous things that you don't know well. The important thing for you is to go to school and be pampered. Now you are watching the second shrek movie for the fourth time because you love watching it. Regulating your emotions is still a little difficult, and when you are in distress you usually cry out loud, but your brothers know this.

Ran noticed that u had started crying. He knew it was one of ur signs when u were tired. "Ooh Y/n, are u tired now?" Ran asked u as he patted ur head before Rindou spoke up.

"Hah, of course they are, don't u see they already have their eyes half-closed?" Rindou said while rolling his eyes.

"Yeeees" You sob. Ran took u in his arms then stood up with you in his arms. "Okay, then its time for you to get some rest, Y/n." Ran said with a smile as he glanced over to Rindou.

"You, take care of our groceries." he said, to which Rindou just rolled his eyes again before muttering 'whatever'.

"Rin Rin tooo." Ran snickered at u and nodded. "You want Rin to follow us to your room?" he asked you, to which you nodded. Ran patted ur head again in response.

"All right, Rin come with us." Ran called out to Rindou who then got up from the couch with a low grumble before following behind the two of you. Ran continued patting your head as the three of you walked into your room. Ran then sat down on your bed with you in his lap before he beckoned Rindou to sit beside them.

"Aww, come on, Y/n, no need to cry, I'm already here with you." Ran said while Rindou rolled his eyes again before sitting beside Ran. Ran, knowing that you cried when u were sleepy, continued to pat and rub your head to help you to calm down. He glanced over to Rindou with a look that said, 'Do something'.

Rindou sighed before putting a hand on your head and began stroking your hair. Ran and Rin watched as your tears started to slowly stop before Ran pulled the blanket over you, tucking you in.

Ran leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead. "Try to get some rest, okay?" he whispered to you.

"Why am i still in a crib niisan?"

Ran and Rindou let out little laughs at your question. Ran leaned closer and pinched your cheek again. You didnt know, but they weren't exactly adults. They were only 16 and 17, they tried to raise you at the best without knowing anything, so for them .. a big crib is till you are 10.

"Y/n, you're still a little kid, why wouldn't you still be sleeping in a crib?" Ran teases while Rindou nods in agreement.

"I'm big !!" Ran and Rindou snickered at your protest, both of them knowing damn well you're just a little kid.

"Oh yeah? If you're big then say, 'I'm big '" Rindou teased, a cheeky smirk painted across his face. You pout.

"I'm big!" Ran and Rindou chuckled at your little pouty face, they both found it cute. Ran reached out and pinched your cheek again before he spoke.

"Nope, you're still a little kid." Ran said with a smirk on his face.

"In the crib i can't crawl out and snuggle in your rooms." Ran and Rindou chuckled at your little complaint. Ran gently patted your head while Rindou looked down at you with a cheeky smirk.

"If we let you crawl out of your crib then you'll only come to our rooms and disturb our sleep." Rindou teased.

"Yes yes." You nod happy. Ran let out a sigh at your response. "See? Even you admitted you would disturb our sleep." he pointed out before pinching your cheek again.

Rindou let out a snicker at Ran's words, his smirk growing even bigger. "Yeah, we all know you're a little trouble maker, disturbing our sleep with your constant whining." Ran and Rindou chuckled again as they watched you giggling. Ran poked at your little stomach while Rindou just rolled his eyes.

"You're too troublesome, you know that." Rindou said with a huff while Ran continue poking your stomach again. After a little more poking and giggling, Ran and Rindou eventually stopped messing with you. Ran pulled the blanket up to your chin, tucking you in tight while Rindou patted your head softly.

"All right, it's time for you to go to sleep" Ran said with a soft smile. Ran and Rindou chuckled again as they watched you yawning, they found it quite endearing.

Ran reached out and pat your head again while Rindou pinched your cheek.

"You're getting tired now, aren't you? Just go to sleep." Rindou said in a soft voice for once.

"Rub my back niisan?? Pleeeeeease." Ran and Rindou were once again amused by your request, found it hard to refuse as you had used the word 'please' when asking.

Ran chuckled again before shifting closer, he then began rubbing your back gently.

"Alright, alright, I'll rub your back" Ran said while Rindou just rolled his eyes, again. Ran continued rubbing your back until you slowly started closing your sleepy eyes, Ran smirked at the sight.

"You're getting sleepy now, aren't you?" Ran teased. "Your eyelids look heavy when they're about to close." Ran and Rindou watched as you slowly fell asleep, your soft breathing was the only sound that could be heard in the room. Ran patted your head softly while Rindou pulled the blanket up higher, tucking it under your chin.

"Finally asleep" Rindou murmured.Ran and Rindou decided to stay by your bedside for a little longer, watching you sleep. Ran continued to pat your head gently while Rindou simply sat on the side.

Ran chuckled softly as he looked down at your sleeping face.

[dizzyjelly]

Late Night Shift

Word Count: 1.4k

Summary: You have to work the late shift and it is absolutely terrible, you come home to your girlfriend Abby who comforts you and reminds you everything will be ok.

Cw: showering together(non-sexually), crying/breaking down, stress/exhaustion, female reader

You dropped your coat on the back of one of your kitchen table chairs, a heavy sigh falling from your lips. You kicked your shoes off and left them messily by the door. It was well past ten, which was the time you were supposed to get off work. No, now it was, you pulled out your phone, 12:30 am.

You all but threw your work bag at the counter, not giving any care to the items that spilled out. You made your way upstairs and into your bedroom, a small smile made its way on your face as you saw Abby.

She was completely in her element, kegs crossed with a blanket up to her waist. A book in her hands and black, thin reading glasses adorning her face. Her hair framed her face perfectly, she'd let it down out of the usual tight braid.

"Hi baby." She cooed, setting her book down as she smiled at you from where you stood in the doorway.

"Hi." Your voice was quiet and weaker than you'd like it to be, you dropped your head down with a grimace on your face.

Abbys brows creased into an expression of worry. And before you knew it your bottom lip was quivering and tears were building in your eyes. You kept your head down in shame, you hated crying in front of people.

Even if you knew Abby loved you so dearly, and would never judge you. Something about being vulnerable in front of others made you sick to your stomach. But the way Abby would hold you and tell you everything was ok made it feel tolerable.

"Hey, what's going on?" She asked, her tone laced with sympathy.

You just sniffled and held yourself in a hug as tears relentlessly fell from your face. And of course Abby was rushing to your side in no time, wrapping her own arms around you as she brought you over to your shared bed. She laid down and pulled you into her side, you sighed as you moved to be more on top of her.

Your legs intertwined with her own and one of your arms wrapped around her while the other was laid on her chest. Your breathing became irregular as your sobs took over your body.

"I just had a t-terrible day and I has to stay at work l-la-" you groaned loudly in frustration, squeezing your eyes shut tight as you couldn't get your words out.

"I know baby, you had to stay late. It's ok, I know." She shushed you, knowing you were having a tough time saying what you wanted to.

She brought a hand to your head, combing her fingers through your hair. While her other one stayed at your side, rubbing up and down soothingly. She placed a light kiss on your forehead, then one at the top of your head.

You cried harder underneath her touch, finally being able to release all that you'd held back throughout the day. She just laid there silently and held you, her heart aching at how upset you'd been. She seriously wanted to rip whoever got you like this a new one. Finally, she'd ask,

"You wanna talk about it?" In the sweetest voice too.

"Yeah." You answered, nodding.

"Alright, whenever you're ready baby. I'm right here." She reassured you, another way of saying take your time.

After calming down for the most part, you grabbed her hand and interlocked your fingers with her own before explaining all the difficulties of your day.

"So, first of all, Riley wasn't even there today so that was a bummer," Riley was your best work friend, "Then I got stuck with not one, but two fucking party tables. And if my night couldn't get any worse, Gary didn't show up so I had to cover his shift. Thats why I was so late. And I wanted to get home early so we could watch a movie." You sniffled, snuggling against her as you closed your eyes with relaxation at the feeling of her fingers in your hair.

"Baby I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. I just want you to know that you're so strong and one bad day doesn't mean a bad life. Everything's gonna be ok and we can watch something tomorrow night." She brought her hand to your chin, picking your head up so you looked at her.

She gave you a small smile before kissing your left cheek, then your right, the tip of your nose, your forehead, and finally your lips. You smiled into the kiss, laying your head back on her chest after you pulled away.

"I just didn't want you to be mad since I was really late.." You murmured.

"What? Of course I'm not mad. I'm just glad I get to hold you and be with you now." She answered, hugging you tightly with her big strong arms.

Your breathing slowed and you sighed against her. She moved her hands all over your back, fingernails grazing it in the most relaxing way. As much as you wanted to just lay there forever, you wanted to get changed and shower. So you slowly got up, making your way to the dresser.

"Shower?" Abby asked.

"Yeah." You nodded.

"You want me to join you?" She asked, already standing to follow you to the bathroom.

You just nodded again, giggling a bit as Abby walked over to undress you. And she took her time, in the best way possible. Finally she'd stripped you all the way down and you got into the shower, which was almost too hot but not quite there. Just how you liked it.

You brought your hands to smoth your hair back as the water trickled down your back. Abby stepped in to join you shortly after, a smile present on her face at how relaxed you'd gotten. You chuckle a bit as you move past her, grabbing your shampoo bottle and getting ready to open it. Abby stops you, taking the bottle for herself.

"Let me." She says, pouring a quarter size droplet into her hand then rubbing her hands together.

You lean your head back just the slightest and your breath stutters as her hands meet your hair. She takes her time, giving you a wonderful scalp massage as she suds up your hair. Once she finally is done you wish she wasn't because of how good it felt. But you turn around and rinse your hair anyways.

You grab onto Abbys shoulders to turn her around so you can return the favor, but she shakes her head.

"Oh I already showered before you got home." She simply said.

"Wh- then why'd you wanna join me?" You ask with a light scoff.

Abby shrugs, and you roll your eyes at her.

"Quit staring at my boobs and grab the body wash." You tease and she laughs a bit.

She grabbed your loofah and pours a generous amount of body wash onto it. Then she's of course washing your body for you, first your shoulders then your chest and your stomach. And then your legs, and you of course take notice to how she goes just that much slower at your thighs and ass.

You pay it no mind as you turn so your back faces her and rinse off all the soap. Abby watches with a sparkle of adoration in her eyes. You finish up and step out of the shower, she immediately follows you and is wrapping you up in a towel in seconds. You crack a smile as she stands behind you, wrapped in her own towel as she holds your waist and kisses you along your jaw, neck, and collarbone.

Eventually she let's you get dressed, your pj's consist of a pair of black biker shorts and one of Abby’s t-shirts that basically belonged to you now. Abby smiled lazily at the sight of you, so comfortable and in your element.

She opened her arms for you from where she sat on your shared bed. You climbed onto her, smooshing your face in the crook of her neck as you wrapped your arms around her back. She wrapped her own arms around you, removing one of them to shut off the lamp on the bedside table.

She peppered light kisses over your face, before placing one final one at the top of your head. She rubbed at your back, relaxing you and pushing you closer to tranquility.

"Goodnight baby." She whispering.

"G'night." You whispered back.

You'd both fall asleep just minutes after.