#lots of bat boys swimming in the water

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

You should do cheka in 10 yrs maybe hes a first year in nrc

Omg Cheka NRC era?? 😭

A lot of the headcanons I have written here were inspired by child!Simba’s behaviors, just cuz I don’t think he’d yet have the traits of adult!Simba at 15 years old + we don’t know a lot about adolescent!Simba.

What comes after Ever After?

Cheka Kingscholar is one of latest fresh-faced first years at NRC—and, as Fate would have it, the Mirror of Darkness sorts him into Savanaclaw, the very same dorm his beloved uncle once ruled over. Cheka’s so excited about the news that he phones up his uncle on the spot and lets him know!! (“Oi, aren’t you in the middle of the opening ceremony right now?! Sheesh, to think that the heir to the throne has no regard for maintaining decorum during formal functions… Ol’ Kifaji would shed a tear if he knew.”)

Speaking of phoning back home, Cheka keeps lines of communication with his family open! He’s constantly calling or writing to say hi or to give life updates. Boy can yap for what seems like forever, which deeply annoys Leona, but makes his parents gush about how excitable he is.

He’s the bane of most of his classmates’ existence. His cheer and boundless energy alone are annoying enough to deal with, but he’s also got a cocky streak to him. Cheka frequently boasts about how he’ll be king someday and speaks passionately about these lofty, grand ideals he has. It gives the impression that he doesn’t fully understand the weight of his crown quite yet.

His ego has him stupidly challenging his dorm leader like every other week for the seat. Cheka always gets his ass handed to him, but that doesn’t stop him from getting back up and trying again!! His dorm members think he’s reckless, but they have to admire his tenacity.

Cheka’s a “go with the flow” kind of guy. If something goes wrong, he’ll let it slide or shrug it off. He lives by this motto from his home country… Hakuna matata! Ever heard of it? It means “no worries for the rest of your days.” Unfortunately, this also means he had a tendency to run away from problems rather than attempting to solve them. This has earned him no shortage of ire from staff and fellow students alike.

He’s not very interested or gifted in academics; Cheka has a habit of getting distracted in lectures and cutting classes in favor of going on what he calls “adventures” into unknown nooks and crannies on campus, especially the forbidden areas. He’s too curious not to! “Danger?” Cheka barely bats an eye. “I laugh in the face of danger.”

He likes to eat grubs and other bugs in his food, claiming that they “taste like chicken” and that they’re an excellent source of protein. Cheka’s adventurous stomach has made him infamous on campus; he’ll sometimes receive dares to try out strange food concoctions (chocolate milk, corn, and jello was a recent one), which he’s always up for.

Cheka is not as good at magift/spelldrive as he would like (despite pestering his uncle to coach him). He also weirds his classmates out whenever they’re playing a sport and he tries to rally them to do a group chant.

A proud member of the Pop/Light Music Club!! He’s great at improvising lyrics and getting the audience to clap and dance along to the upbeat songs he writes.

Has two bodyguards enrolled at the school to protect him, similar to the hat Sebek and Silver did for Malleus 10 years ago. They’re kinda goofy and laidback, but if Cheka is ever in need of help, they’re there for him.

Sometimes Kifaji pays a visit to Night Raven College to check up on his prince. He usually has a scolding prepared for Cheka, whether it be on his behavior or grades, but it comes from a place of genuine love and concern. Cheka reassures him that he’s doing fiiine, so lay off and let him live a little, won’t he?

Cheka loves to swim around in the Savanaclaw lounge’s indoor pool. He once dove into it from the second story railing and did a dive bomb, sending water flying everywhere.

On nights when he can’t sleep, he gazes out of his bedroom window and stares at the stars. They look so different on Sage’s Island than they do back home—but stargazing always makes Cheka feel less lonely. He knows the great kings of the past are looking down on him, and that his father and uncle are blanketed under this same sky.

[sc0tters]

In The Water | Luke Hughes

summary: Luke has had a wandering eye for you all week so when he gets you in the pool one night it’s finally his turn to have some fun.

request: yes/no

warnings: sexual themes, p in v, swearing.

word count: 1.69k

authors note: I’ve been waiting to write this for weeks! It was fun writing the Luke x Quinn bsf pairing cause it means all I need to do is a Quinn x Luke bsf pairing then I’ve done all of the brother and friend pairings! Part of me is also starting to think that I’ve forgotten how to write smuts because I really don’t know how I feel about this one…

Luke thought the world was being cruel to him.

Originally he was fine when he heard that Quinn was bringing a girl to the lake house. But the moment he met you that idea quickly changed when he realised it was you.

The youngest Hughes boy didn’t know you from a bar of soap but watching you walk around in shorts and your little bikini top with Quinn’s tigers hat on your head made him feel some kind of way.

His speculations that something was going on between you and Quinn weren’t so wrong either, being neighbours in Vancouver you two learnt how to lean on each other during the pandemic and that sometimes resulted in sexual interactions between you two. But your little fuck buddy time together was a mere moment in your relationship and the last time you had gotten on your knees for the Hughes boy was well over a year ago.

But the level of banter that you two seemed to gain from having gone that far.

Quinn was fast asleep as you slipped out of the bed next to him letting your feet take you downstairs as you realised the light outside was still on.

Curiosity got the best of you and you were glad that it did as you walked out to see Luke in the pool.

His back muscles were defined as he would extend his arms with each stroke before he brought them back to his sides “I can feel you staring at me.” Luke mumble stretching his arms as he let his fingers press on the wall in front of him never taking this eyes off of the water.

You took this as a moment to walk up to him letting your legs down into the water as you sat on the side a couple of feet away from him “got a lot to stare at.” You shrugged sending him a smile as you weren’t going to hide that you were indeed looking at him “would have thought you’d want a closer look.” His smirk was clear as he finally looked up to see your eyes staring at him.

Taking in how his curls were wet as water droplets fell against his skin felt like a sight for sore eyes “where is the fun in just giving it to you Rusty?” You raised your eyebrows mentally letting out a silent cheer as Luke listened to you.

His fingers let go of the wall before he slowly swam over to you settling between your legs as he pushed your knees wider apart “think it’s unfair having you on a higher level than me.” Luke frowned as he let his hands run up your legs “can’t be getting Quinn’s shirt wet.” You shot back irritatingly reminding the younger boy about his thoughts of what Quinn must have done to you.

The hockey player ran his tongue over his lower lip “could just get you out of it.” It was the obvious option but the way it nervously came out of his mouth made you smirk “never thought of that one before.” You brought your hands to the hem of the shirt before you pulled it over your head revealing the skimpy little lingerie set that you decided to wear underneath it.

His swim shorts grew tight around his cock as his eyes trailed over your breasts with nipples barely covered by the black lacy fabric of the bra “fucking hell.” Luke mumbled under his breath taking in the sight as his eyes stared at the left nipple as he realised that you had pierced it.

The shiny titanium bar clearly stuck out as you pushed yourself off of the bricks that lined the pool slotting yourself between Luke and the wall as you smiled “you like what you see Hughesy?” You asked letting your fingers run down his abs as you innocently batted your eyelashes at him.

Luke swore that he was a deadman walking as he watched you look at him like he was the only man in the world “it’s all perfect.” His hands ran over your jaw as he tilted it up letting you look at him “like a fucking goddess.” The boy added bringing his lips down to yours.

You wanted to push onto your toes as his lips against yours and the boy smiled at your desperation “what do you want princess?” Luke smirked as you brought your hands up to hold his.

The hockey player watched as you let your lips form a pout “just fucking kiss me already Luke.” Your complaint was short lived when he captured your lips in a kiss.

It was hot as his tongue ran over your lower lip wanting to slide it into your mouth “please,” you whined feeling his bulge against your core “you sure?” Luke pulled away with big eyes full of concern “I don’t have a condom-” he added as he didn’t even have one upstairs and going into either of his brothers rooms to get one was just asking for a disaster to strike.

You pecked the boys lips wanting him to shut up “I’m on the pill and clean,” your tone was suggestive as he smiled “I am too.” Luke nodded as his heart practically pounded out of his chest “come and get me baby.” You mumbled into his ear before you pushed him away trying to swim away as you wanted to tease him.

Luke took a mere few seconds to reach out and grab your foot as he pulled you towards him “I don’t like chasing.” The hockey player muttered as his hands moved to your bra unhooking the back of it.

He wrapped his hands around your legs as he picked you up “have your way with me Lukey.” You smiled as he dropped his head to your pierced nipple.

His mouth wrapped around the sensitive peak “fuck Lu,” you cried as his tongue swirled around your piercing “you’re so good,” you cooed totally unaware of how each cry that left your lips went straight to his cock.

Your fingers locked into his curls as Luke brought his hand up to your other nipple making sure that it wouldn’t feel left out “I want you cock Luke.” You blurted out making him smile as he pulled away from your breasts “let’s get you out of these then.” Before you both knew it there was a wet mound of clothing that sat next to the pool as Luke ran his fingers over your stomach.

It was almost sweet as he backed you up against the wall “you sure you want this?” Luke asked you as his hands went to either side of you “yes Luke.” You nodded softly kissing his lips as he brought his cock up between your legs teasing your clit “shit!” You groaned as his cock slid down your slit before he trusted into your cunt.

Luke’s hands gripped at your sides as you adjusted to his size “move, please.” You gritted out making him nod “can’t believe how good you feel.” Luke blurted out as your picks moved up to wrap around his waist “been thinking about this all week.” He added making you smile through hooded eyes.

His breath fanned against your skin as you brought your hands up to lock in his hair again “should have made a move sooner.” You gritted your words out as your pussy clenched around his cock.

The hockey player nipped at your neck “can’t have hickies.” You shook your head “like my bikini.” The reminder of the tiny pieces that you wore made Luke smirk “want the boys to know you had a good time.” Trevor had been trying to flirt with you since the moment he arrived so this all was doing absolute wonders for Luke’s ego.

Water was pushed around you both as mini waves formed with each thrust of the boys cock “Luke-” your complaint was cut off as his hand slipped in between you both reaching down to your clit “oh my god!” You slapped your hand over your mouth as his cock began to throb between your legs.

Luke shook his head pulling your hand away “it’s just me baby.” He smiled pecking your lips “boys so asleep they won’t hear you.” The boy added knowing that each of the boys in the house were not going to be coming outside regardless of if they heard your moans or not.

Your legs tightened around his waist “I’m not gonna last.” You confessed letting your hands pinch at your breasts.

It made Luke smirk at how he knew he was making you feel “let it go baby.” The hockey player nodded pecking your lips as he wasn’t far behind “let anyone out here hear how good I make you feel.” He added sucking at your earlobe as you cried out.

It was hot watching you come around his cock as you body shook showing him just how good he made you feel as you brought your hips to grind against his bringing Luke’s orgasm on in the process “don’t stop.” You moaned letting your head fall back as he continued to fuck you through your orgasm.

As you both came back down your breaths were heavy “that was hot.” You blurted out smiling as you pecked his lips when he slid his cock out of you “you think you can survive for another one?” Luke asked as he watched you make your way over to the other side of the pool “it’s getting late.” You sighed motioning to the sun that was starting to rise over the water as you pushed out of the water letting droplets run down your naked body.

Luke smirked as he watched you pull Quinn’s top over you “both need a shower before we go to bed.” The boy loved how the grey fabric clung to your wet breasts “grab those clothes and meet me up there.” You smiled as he sent you a salute pushing off of the wall to the other side of the pool before he followed your wet footprints into the house.

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Okay so we've done "Lazarus water is ghost booze", "Lazarus water is rotting ectoplasm", and even "Lazarus pit as spooky swimming pool" but consider:

Danny getting dunked in the pit waters and being contaminated with constant pit rage. He's destroying everything around him and his friends + sister+ clone must work around/ sabotage the JL, JLD and GIW in order to save Danny from them and get close enough to try to filter out the Lazarus water from his body using one of the Fenton Parents inventions.

The GIW keep interfering with the JL and JLD, hilariously insisting they have authority here and trying in vain to chase the heros off. Sometimes even actually fighting them. Or well, trying to at least.

Phantom doesn't exactly have the greatest reputation. Between the media blackout over Amity and what little that does get through painting him in a bad light thats not really a saprise.

Still, not everyone is convinced Phantom is a villian. Superman thinks Phantom is being mind controlled while most of the bats think the teenager was drugged and is on a rampage because of it.

Jason swears up and down that he felt the pit in that kid and he was swallowed up in pit rage the likes he had never seen before. Jason is determined to help this kid because if he can save this kid then maybe there's some hope for himself. Tim offers his help as well, suspicious of how similar Phantoms eyes are to someone suffering from the effects of the pit and at least partially convinced Jason is right.

It all culminates into Team Phantom saving Danny with the Justice Leages help and slapping the GIW all the way to thier new jail cells. Danny, after emptying his stomach contents into the ground, gets asked some medical questions, like his name and what day it was.

Turns out Danny thought it was the day everything started and had no memory of anything that happened while he was rampaging, which his friends and family thank thier lucky stars for. The boy can't handle much more trauma. Anywho, Danny gets placed in the watchtower medbay while they filter out any lingering L water and he's placed on an iv drip to replenish all the vitamins and hydration he lost while he was out of it.

Batman, Superman and others have all had talks with him, comforting him and actually listening to what he had to say. Something not many adults in dannys life did. Hood swiftly became friends with the kid and they bonded over being "Death Buddies" and Danny eventually told them about Vlad and Freakshow and his parents and how they all need to be stopped. He begged for leniency for his parents as they were genuinely insane and needed help.

Danny and his team get placed in a witness protection program of sorts and is visited by a lot of heros from time to time.

[popironrye]

The Lost Boys

Leisure Headcanons

💋 David 💋

Is a skilled fire arm shooter. (Loves the cowboy aesthetic)

Has his own gun hidden in the cave.

Doesn't get the chance too often, but will ride a horse when the chance arises.

Likes wood carving. Mostly non specific whittling into basic shapes or animals. It helps him relax.

Movie nut! When the boys go the Max's store to fool around, David makes sure to tuck a movie or two that catches his eye in his coat. Tends to watch them alone, all the questions from Paul would just grate on his nerves too much.

I imagine David would be like REALLY good at origami for no particular reason. He doesn't even try, just once the boys do it just because and he's just the best at it.

I don't know if vampires can emerge in water in the lost boys lore, but if they can David loves to swim. Chilling in water clears his mind.

💀 Dwayne 💀

Skater boi! Does a lot of sick tricks, but when you can levitate it's less impressive. XD

Doesn't care for guns, but likes archery. Hammers his own arrow heads. Dwayne and David like to pick a spot in the woods to shoot make shift targets.

A real book worm. Will spend a lot of time just silently reading for hours.

Takes up knitting from time to time. He prefers hand knitted blankets and throws rather then the store ones.

Likes to make jewelry. Made his own necklace.

Enjoys all types of puzzles. Cross word, jigsaw, and brain teasers.

Can sew and offers to sew up holes made in all the clothes the boys decide not to get new ones.

🌿 Paul 🌿

Can play the guitar.

Also likes to sing, and is pretty good at it. Wanted to start a band, but the other boys weren't up for it.

Has the biggest music collection and is always hogging the tabletop/cassette/cd player.

Amateur photography. Just likes to take photos randomly. Some are really artsy.

Got really into tie dye for a while. Although he might have just been high.

When he wants to relax, Paul really likes to stargaze. Laying outside the cave looking at the sky and hearing the waves of the ocean just makes him feel at peace.

When David isn't using the tv monitor, Paul enjoys quite a few video games. He also likes to take on the arcade and carnival games at the boardwalk.

🪶 Marko 🪶

Aside from pigeons, Marko will try to domesticate a number of animals to the cave, including stray dogs, cats, deer, badgers, squirrel, foxes, bats, and even a black bear once.

He in fact did NOT domesticate a black bear, but he did wrestle one.

He does his own patchwork on his jacket.

Like David, he likes to sculpt into wood, but he usually carves patterns and landscapes into more grand pieces.

He's also a skilled painter. Mostly he'll paint murals on sections of the cave David says is ok for him to paint on.

He collects sea shells on the beach.

He'll style the others hair. Especially David who he'll cut and dye in the way he likes best.

🔥Pack Activities🔥

Dart throwing. The bigger the target the better. David and Dwyane are very competitive at this one specifically.

Rollerblading. Put wheels on shoes, what more can you want?

Listening to music. The boys have very wide music tastes and sometimes they cross over and they all like the same stuff. They take turns around the player of their choice to just smoke, drink, and listen to the sounds of the music plays.

Card games. Specifically poker when they're all together. They make things more interesting when they make bets.

And of course motocycle cruising and board walk loitering.

Something that always strikes me with vampires in fiction and indeed with any immortal creature with the high and emotional intelligence of humans. IMMORTALITY IS FUCKING BORING!

I mean, think about it. Imagine you're given all the free time in the world with very little responsibility with no fear of getting sick or tired allowed to do pretty much whatever you want. What would you do? Cause I would go stir crazy. So I came up with these dumb little head canons on how I image the boys specifically would pass the time in their little vampire lives that doesn't revolve around murdering and feeding off of people.

Of course cruising on their bikes come to mind. And there's a couple in the movie we get to see like Dwayne's skateboarding and Marko's fondness for pigeons but I wanted to throw more possibilities out there. :3

[101maverick]

Prompt request: Secretly Atlantean gothamite saving Dick Grayson Robin from drowning in the bay. She recognizes his voice as her classmate crush.

They would ideally be 13-14 ish

A/n: okok this is soooo original i’m in loooveee. I did some research to find out where exactly the Gotham bay is in terms of city area and I hope i got it right :)) Also let’s ignore the fact this took me a whole month to finish, okay? Very sorry about the wait, life has been kicking my butt recently😅

Fishy Business

The water in Gotham was shit.

The pollution typical of every big American city was one thing, but whatever the heck Gotham had was ten times worse. Like, Chernobyl level bad.

Whatever filth was thrown in the waters of the Gotham Harbour on the daily definitely saw a lot of local chemical creations, the ones the city’s rogues were so fond of coming up with to terrorise the population.

Needless to say you would not be swimming in open waters any time soon.

You missed the ocean. You missed being in your element.

The fact you weren’t stupid enough to dare a swim in chemically spiked water didn’t negate the fact the Gotham Harbour was the only body of water you had available though, if not only to look at wistfully while mourning what you had before having to come to this forsaken city.

And that’s what you were doing when it happened. You had been stood up by your classmate and crush, Dick Grayson, for your chemistry study session. Neptune only knows how much that boy sucks at the subject, and the fact he skipped out on your study session made your insides flare up in indignation. Coming to the nearest body of water and reminiscing was the best way you knew of for letting go of ugly feelings.

Just letting your hair be lightly whipped around by the wind, staring wistfully into the last blazing scorches of the dying sun, standing on one of the docks and pretending the overwhelming smell of fish came from the dredges of the seaside market you used to camp out near as a kid.

Then, of course, it happened.

A loud crash startled you out of your musings, and you turned around just in time to see a figure splashing in the water a ways away.

Who the hell goes for an evening swim here? You thought to yourself as you made your way closer to the perturbed water, keeping to the elongated shadows born of the fish crates scattered around.

Once you were close enough to distinguish more of the figure, your eyes widened considerably.

The body flailing around in the murky water of the docks was none other than Robin, infamous sidekick to Gotham’s resident bat-themed vigilante.

Gotham’s resident vigilante that was very clear about his stance on super-powered beings in his territory.

You considered your options. If Batman knew his sidekick was saved by someone with very obviously atlantean powers he no doubt would clock you as somebody who wanted to mess with him, who was probably even spying on him due to the conveniency of the coincidence.

You did not want to find out what Batman did to people who not only disregarder his rules by merely existing in the wrong place, let alone what he did to people he thought were meddling in his business.

Plus, surely Robin could swim, right? He would have no problem getting out of the water by himself, so there was no need for your water-manipulation abilities anyway.

Despite your self-reassurances and the fact you should have been hightailing it out of there as fast as possible, uncertainty kept your feet rooted to the rotten wooden panels.

And so you kept watching, growing increasingly worried as Robin failed to keep his head outside of the water for more than a few seconds at a time.

You made it approximately thirteen seconds before saying ‘fuck it’ and stepping in, emerging from the shadows you had found refuge in just enough time get a good stance, planting your feet and raising your arms while letting your abilities reacquaint themselves with the water near you.

It was a fast affair, getting your powers to grasp at the water Robin was perturbing and pulling, violently yanking both the liquid and the boy out of the Harbor and onto the dock.

The vigilante gasped, gripping the material under him while hacking coughs wracked through his chest as he expelled the water from his human lungs.

You remained hovering above him, watching him, immensely glad the visible part of his face was regaining its normal colour instead of the red-purple it had previously been.

You had always looked upon Batman and Robin as pretty unapproachable, two beacons of justice and penance for Gotham’s criminals, who struck fear into even the most hardened thugs this rotten city had to offer.

But- but Robin was light to Batman’s darkness, and he always had a smile on his face in the grainy pictures that sometimes appeared in the newspaper, and if you focused your inhuman hearing on your surroundings late enough at night you could hear laughter mixing with the swoosh of the wind and the rustling of heavy fabric and the rhythmical zapping of a rope through the air.

And plus, Robin looked so human in this moment, so defenceless while he coughed his lungs out, that you just couldn’t reconcile the boy in front of you with the pillar of rambunctious justice fixed in your mind. And above all else, you couldn’t leave a human, one with so many enemies at that, alone while there was still the risk of him not being completely out of danger.

So you stayed.

You stayed, sat on an empty crate beside him, and kept vigilant with your enhanced senses to avoid any unwanted attention. As he calmed down he seemed to slowly gain awareness of his surroundings.

After what seemed like an eternity, he got his arms under him and slowly lifted himself up into a sitting position. That’s when he took notice of you, still watching him intently.

His eyes weren’t visible through the white-out lenses of his mask, but the way his forehead creased and his mouth opened a little more around his still heavy breaths made you able to accurately guess his surprise. “You- you just…what was-“

You interrupted him before he could keep voicing his question. “Look, just don’t tell the Bat about me and we’re good, okay? I really don’t need the trouble, plus you owe me one.”

Robin just kept looking at you, chest rising and falling with each deep breath, tiny shivers coursing through his soaking-wet form.

After a few beats that felt like eons, he nodded. “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry.” He half-gasped out, voice breathy with exertion. “Won’t tell a soul.”

His voice… it was achingly familiar.

You studied the unmasked portions of his face more closely, more attentively, your superhuman eyesight undisturbed by the darkness.

You were able to make out sun-kissed skin, soaked inky locks you fantasised about running your fingers through every day during chemistry, a defined jaw, high cheekbones and lips that pulled into semi-rare but blinding smiles. Lips you dreamed about kissing at night, while you lay on your bed thinking of your life.

You were sitting face-to-face with Dick Grayson. Robin.

You nodded, looking right into those white lenses. “Good.” At that, you looked around the empty area of the docks, spying the area sounds of fighting were coming from. “Well, I, uh, better go.”

You turned to him. “Try not to drown again, thanks.” And with that you stood.

Before walking away you turned around one last time, unable to stop yourself. “And, by the way, you stood me up for our chemistry study session. We’ll catch it up tomorrow.”

Before he could reply, you ran away from the docks and into Gotham Proper.

Gosh, you really were an idiot, weren’t you?

——————————

A/n: If you like my work, please consider reblogging and checking out my other works through the master list in my pinned post<3

[alloftheimaginesblog]

almost lost you {s.h}

Plot: You're Steve Harrington's best friend so of course you're going to follow him into the depths of the lake and into the Upside Down. He's pissed that you've risked your life for him but when he sees that you're injured, your relationship shifts.

Character: Steve Harrington x Plus Size Female Reader

Warnings; MDNI, 18+, SMUT, NSFW, blood, wounds, gore, sex, soft sex

Word count: 11.6k

this is my favourite thing i've ever written

Of course you'd followed him down here, of course you weren't just going to leave your best friend to drown and/or be taken to the Upside Down and be killed. You were never a strong swimmer but you'd be damned if you weren't going to save that stupid boy. Reacting on blind adrenaline, you abandon your jacket in the boat, grab an oar and then you dive into the lake.

The water is freezing, prickling your skin like needles, but you barely register it. You have to get to him. It's a lot deeper than you expected and by the time you reach the red, glowing gate your lungs burn for sweet oxygen. Grimacing, your hand reaches out, pushing through the fleshy gate before you push your entire self through and all you can think in that moment is that you hope there's no more swimming involved.

Your back hits cold hard ground as you lay there gasping for air, thankfully no more water. You'd landed on concrete. It doesn't take long before you jump up, dripping wet and undeniably in the Upside Down, and start hitting everything in sight. They were like bats with big wings and long tails and they swarm you. You whack them with everything you have before they break away and then you see Steve a few metres away. He's being choked, strangled by one of the bat's tails, arms and legs flailing to find something to get it off of him. You spring into action, barrelling over to the bat and hitting with all of the strength you could muster. Bats swarm and attack you with teeth like razors slicing into your skin but you couldn't care about that now. You have to help Steve. With a final thwack! the bat that had been strangling him dropped down, releasing Steve's neck. It lay on the ground, twitching and making a faint screeching noise so you whack it a few more times making sure it's finally dead before dropping to Steve, "Are you okay?!"

"I told you not to follow me!" His voice is a croaky yell as he pants hard, "You shouldn't be in here! Not you!"

"You think I'm not going to follow you into the depths of hell? Oh, Harrington, we're too far into this friendship for that. I'd follow you to Mordor." He rolls his eyes at your Lord of the Rings reference, far too used to you and your nerdy comments.

"It's too dangerous-" he cuts himself off, realising that blood dribbles from various cuts on your arms, "You're bleeding."

"I'm fine," you tell him strongly and honestly you do feel fine. The adrenaline is coursing around your body and right now, you don't feel any of the wounds, "I'm fine. They're just scratches." He accepts this, leaning back to take deep breaths as the rest of your friends appear each more horrified than the last (Eddie's last to come and judging by his scream of 'what the fucking shit is this?!' you can tell he's pretty freaked), "Can you stand?"

He nods and with your outstretched hand, you help him up. Once he's up, he looks around, "You all came down?"

Eddie runs his hands through his wild curls, "Dude, they all came down and I didn't want to be the only one not here."

The five of you look around. It's terrifying down here. The whole place looks familiar but it just feels off; uncanny valley or whatever they call it. It looks like Hawkins but an evil version of it. The sky crackles above you, lightning and thunder casting an eerie red glow over the Upside Down town. You look to the ground and see that the tendrils, the long fleshy veins, are everywhere.

"Be careful where you step," Nancy says, "it's a hivemind so it's all connected. You step on it, it knows we're here." Everyone knows it's more so pointed at Robin who can never seem to keep her balance even when standing perfectly still.

Robin nods, "I can do that," she murmurs to herself as the five of you begin to walk in the direction of the Creel House. You don't know who she's trying to convince more; the four of you or herself.

There's an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. Steve's shoulder brushes yours and you immediately feel the dread die down for a moment. You breathe in a deep breath and puff out your chest as you continue walking.

As the lot of you tread through the Upside Down, you begin to feel slightly hazy, just around the edges at first as though you've just woken up and you're trying to shake off the tired and then it wrapped you up all at once. One minute you're beside him and the next, you've dropped to the floor, eyes rolling. Steve yells out, alerting his friends, as he falls beside you, hands on your cheeks. He's shouting your name, shaking you when he realises that your jeans at the thigh are dark and wet... you're bleeding. He pulls back the fabric and sees a large bite wound. He'd known you'd gotten scratched but you'd told him it was fine, not sore and not deep. He mentally curses you.

"I can help," Nancy says quickly as she rips her shirt, pulling a thick part of fabric off, "Move out the way and I'll bandage her leg."

Steve shakes his head, "I have to do it." He can't lose you; he has to be the one who saves you. He has to be the one to do it. He keeps talking to you, asking if you can hear him but you're not waking up. Panic surges inside of him, heart beating quicker as he stares down at you. Why aren't you waking up?

His hands are clumsy and shaking as Nancy hands him the piece of fabric from her now ripped shirt. Four years into this and they'd still never thought to bring a first aid kit wherever they went. The ripped cloth of the t-shirt would have to do and once tied tight, it would at least apply pressure and hopefully stop the bleeding. Steve's eyes dart to your face, scanning your face to see if you're awake. He's talking to you the whole time, panicked and adrenaline fuelled sentences that he doesn't remember.

"You gotta open your eyes, (y/n). Show me those pretty eyes."

"You think I'm really worth all this fuss?"

"You just had to follow me in here, didn't you?"

"I need you to open your eyes and speak to me, (y/n). I need to know that you're okay. Please."

"Please don't leave me."

You can hear him but it's all fuzzy. It sounds like you're underwater, he sounds far away. It feels peaceful but you fight and you fight hard. It takes every bit of strength you have to open your eyelids which feel like they're weighted down, it's brief but it's good enough. He breathes a sigh of relief as he sees your eyes fluttering, you're alive but you're slipping in and out of consciousness, world feeling hazy as you lay on the ground.

"Hey," he says, voice loud enough to wake you up but quiet enough that the rest of the group wouldn't hear, "you gotta keep those pretty eyes open for me, (y/n)."

You blink up at him, wiggling your fingers as the sensations of your body flood back to you, the pain floods back hitting hard and making you groan out. Steve asks if you're okay and all you can respond with is, "M'awake."

"Keep it that way." He holds up the makeshift bandage, "This is gonna hurt."

You're all banged up, covered in cuts scrapes and bites but the bite on your leg is the worst. Between the two of you, you're able to peel back the ripped jeans on your thigh to expose the bleeding wound. Steve grimaces, "That good, huh?" He doesn't respond and instead pulls the fabric around your leg tightly. You wince, hissing out in pain but you let him continue as he tries his hardest to be gentle by wrapping it tightly around your thigh before tying it tight. The pain from your wound is forcing you to be awake and conscious, sending streams of curse words out of your mouth. It hurts and it hurts bad, it burns and stings with every movement. Your whole body wants to sleep but the wound pulsing under the bandage won't let you and you're thankful for it. One of his hands is on your arm, never wanting to part with you, and all he can do is watch as you breathe hard, teeth grit, as you manage to sit up.

"Motherfucker," you hiss, "that hurts worse than that time I catapulted off the wall up behind Benny's and landed on that rock."

Despite everything, he manages a small smile and a breath of laughter, "Your mom never forgave me for that one even though it was your idea." He glances down at your leg, looking at the bloodied cloth, "That should hopefully stop the bleeding."

Nancy glances into the sky and realises that the bats are coming back and there are hoards of them this time, "Uh, guys?" She asks, voice tense.

Steve looks over at her and then follows her gaze upwards. Fuck. You do it too and you know that there's no time. You have to move. All you want to do right now is curl into a ball in bed - in Steve's bed - like that one time when you drunk and you fell asleep wrapped up together cause that's just what friends do, right?

"I'm okay," you tell him nodding and just like Robin not long ago, you don't know who you're trying to convince more, "just... help me up will you?"

Steve's strong hands pull you up and immediately wrap you in a tight hug, "Don't ever do that to me again," he huffs breath tickling your neck, "I thought I was about to lose you."

"You can't get rid of me that easy, Harrington." You thought that joking would help the situation but no, if anything it made him worse. He's shaking; absolutely terrified from the ordeal of thinking he'd lost you. He pulled back, heart hammering in his chest, as he stares down at his hands that are smeared with your blood. His eyes are glassy and he looks like he's about to cry. You take a breath, taking his hands in yours, "Hey," you whisper, forcing his attention away from his hands and to you instead, "I'm here, okay? I'm alright; bruised and bloodied but I'm alive, Steve, okay?"

"I can't lose you." It's an admission of some sort, not a full blown 'I love you' but it's pretty damn close. It makes your heart race and all you can do is hug him again, pulling him in tight. For a moment, just a moment, everything faded away around the two of you and you could close your eyes and pretend that everything's okay.

The moment's over all too soon when Nancy clears her throat from up ahead. You look over to her and she gives you an apologetic smile. It's time to go.

"Out of the frying pan," you say, taking Steve's hand tightly.

"And into the fire."

Walking isn't an easy task, you're slow and unsteady and with every step, you want to yell out in pain. Steve stays at your side, supporting you as much as he can, "I could carry you, you know... At the very least just a piggy back ride." You're holding everyone up and there's not enough time to let you go at your own pace, you have to move quicker but each time you try, the pain burns stronger.

Quickly, you shake your head, "Over my dead body."

"Yeah, well it might have to be if you're walking this damn slow," he snaps half serious, "Seriously, (y/n), let me lift you."

You push back from him. It's been years since someone picked you up, last time someone did they commented on how heavy you were and how you should think about losing some weight. You were humiliated that day so never again. You had a complicated relationship with your body, in some things you really liked the way your body filled out clothes, in other aspects you hated it. It wasn't a secret that you were fat, people had eyes and they could see it obviously, but it's like when your friend has a very obvious massive red spot on their face - you see it but you just don't speak about it. You don't voice things that could very well be an insecurity for some people.

"Steve, I- I'm too heavy." You feel pathetic as you say it and you can't look at him. You hate that you still have these worries and insecurities but after years of society telling you how you should look of course it had an impact on you.

Steve stops.

He ducks his head to look at you with sad eyes. He hates that you're ashamed of yourself in this way when in his eyes you're absolutely perfect. "Let me help you, (y/n), please," he says quietly so the others don't hear, "You won't hurt me, you're not too heavy, I'm strong and I can get us there faster... It'll help your leg, it'll let you rest it even for a while."

"You're not going to... to laugh at me for how heavy I am?"

Something bubbles up inside him in that moment and all he wants to do is wrap you up and keep you away from all the bad things in life. My god, he wants to kiss those insecurities away, make you realise that you're the prettiest goddamn girl in the world. No one comes close. He shakes his head, strands of his perfect hair falling out of place, and he takes one of your hands, "I'd never do that. You're not going to be heavy for me just let me help you."

If it had to be someone, you would've picked Steve so with a sigh, you relent and he crouches so that you can jump onto his back. You almost forget about the pain in your leg as the nerves burn hard in the pit of your stomach. He lifts you with a surprising amount of ease, jumping to readjust you so that his hand isn't anywhere near your injured leg, "Comfy?" He asks as he starts walking.

"If I'm too heavy you can just put me down, it's okay. I'll walk faster, you don't have to-"

"(y/n)," he cuts over your rambling, "I've got you, don't worry. Just take a breath and chill out for a bit." He begins to walk and catches up with the group on their path to the Creel House. Nancy and Robin glance at you both before catching the other's eye and giving the other a knowing smile.

You bury your head in the crook of Steve's neck, breathing long and deep. Steve can't think straight. All he can focus on is the way your breath is hot against his cool skin and the way your lips gently graze his neck with every step. The feelings that he thought he'd buried down long ago burn violently under the surface. Dustin would be screaming 'I told you so' if he was here right now. For years Dustin had been trying to get Steve to realise the true nature of his feelings for you and finally, fucking finally, it was happening. He shakes his head, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart when your lips graze his skin, and instead he tries to focus on the task at hand.

Everything's over, it's done... at least for now.

You manage to get back to Steve's house in one piece, the five of you traumatised and dirty. Steve's house was empty as usual, his parents both working out of state, so the five of you crowded in Steve's car, Steve driving and you in the passenger seat with his hand in yours. The five of you cram into Steve's car, bloodied and bruised and knackered but you're all alive. Steve drives through Hawkins but his focus is entirely on you. Since your injuries, he hadn't stopped touching you; holding your hand, arms wrapped around you... He had to keep touching you, had to keep reminding himself that you were okay. Every now and then, his thumb brushes over the bloodied skin of your hand. Dustin, Lucas and Max had radioed a while back to say that they got home okay, they'd nearly been caught by police but managed to escape so it was just a straight drive to Steve's. It felt strange being back in Hawkins. You hadn't been away for too long in the Upside Down but returning as though life was normal was a weird one. Things weren't normal; things were pretty fucking strange.

As the five of you enter Steve's house, Nancy darts off to the phone. She'll be trying to get a hold of Jonathan. Eddie asks if Steve's got any beer, Steve points him in the direction of the kitchen and Robin follows in search for food.

It's just you and Steve standing in the hallway.

"How's your leg?" He asks you.

"Fucking killer," you frown, looking down at the bloodied state of your jeans. You hadn't realised just how much you'd bled with being in the tinted red Upside Down since it was kind of hard to see but now it was a stark contrast against your light blue jeans even in the darkness of the night.

"You wanna go shower first?"

You nod quickly. The thought of a shower appeals to you, being able to wash off the dirt, grime and blood and getting to properly clean your wound, oh it sounds like bliss. The only thing that halts you - as you attempt to very slowly climb the stairs - is that Steve obviously won't be in there with you. For the entirety of the night, since jumping into the lake and heading into the Upside Down, Steve had been by your side, constantly touching you in some way, and now... you weren't ready for that to stop. Things had changed, things that you weren't sure you could keep a secret for much longer, and you weren't ready to be apart from him, not yet; not ever.

You glance back at him and he seems to know what you're thinking. He can tell by the panicked look in your eye and he quickly nods and says, "I'll be right outside the door, I promise."

He helps you as much as he can upstairs, holding you up while you hiss and curse in agony as pains shoot up your leg, and helps you into his bedroom. He raids his closet and finds an old jersey of his, it's big and baggy and it'll definitely fit you, before he grabs a pair of stretchy gym shorts from his closet, "Here," he says as he hands you it, "change into these and we'll wash your clothes. We'll get everyone's stuff washed actually."

You're quiet as you nod and pad slowly back to the bathroom, Steve behind you. He slides down the wall, sitting on the floor just to the left of the bathroom door, "I'll wait here, take as long as you need." You're hesitant to leave him but you know that there's no way around this so you thank him and close the door behind you. As soon as you're in the bathroom, you want to turn back and find comfort in his arms but you force yourself to move forwards towards the shower. You have no other choice but to shower, you need to get cleaned up and you'd already prolonged that for long enough.

Stripping off your clothes is harder than you thought it was going to be, they're stuck to you, stuck to your skin from dampness, sweat and blood. You manage to peel your t-shirt off before chucking it to the floor. You take a breath as your hands work gently to untie the makeshift bandage around your leg. You curse loudly and Steve's calling out after you, asking if you're alright.

"Fine," your voice is tense as you try and breathe the pain away, "just getting these stupid jeans off. Leg's agony."

"Once you're cleaned I'll get the first aid kit and patch you up, give you painkillers too." He wishes that he could do more, that it could've been him instead of you that got badly hurt but there's nothing he can do now. All he can do is try and help you be comfortable.

"Can you talk to me about something? I need a distraction so I can pull these jeans off."

Immediately, he straightens and starts talking to you about the time in sixth grade when William Denver got a pencil lodged in his ear after a dare gone wrong. It was the distraction you needed as you managed to pull your jeans down with some ease and some pain. You stay standing for a minute just listening to him talking, it's nice; he's nice. You like that he didn't even question it, he just produced a memory from random and started rambling about it. He never made you feel silly or like you were asking for too much, he just did whatever you needed him to.

"Steve?" You say after a minute .

"Yeah?"

"You can stop talking, I did it."

"How does the wound look?"

"Gonna be honest, Harrington, I'm not fucking looking at it." It was the truth. You don't want to look at the wound, not yet. You'll wait until it was clean to do that. If you look now, you'd freak out so instead, you climb into the shower and almost instantly, you feel a million times better.

As Steve sat outside, scraping blood from under his nails, he couldn't get something that Eddie had said to him out of his head.

"It was (y/n), dude. As soon as you were pulled under, she was off like a shot. I've never seen anyone move that fast. She didn't even think about it, just dove in straight after you... You've got a good one there, dude. Can tell she really loves you."

Was that true? Did you love him? The questions whirred around Steve's mind and it was all he could focus on, nothing else except you. Things had changed and it was obvious, even to the two of you.

The water is hot but not too hot that it hurts. You stand in the shower just letting the water rush over you for what feels like forever, you're just enjoying avoiding looking at the bottom of the bathtub. When you finally look, it shocks you that it's still red, that there's still so much blood and grime on your skin that it's still turning the running water red. It makes your stomach flip and makes your eyes fill with tears. You'd hoped that by the time you opened your eyes, the only reminder about what happened that night would be the bite on your leg but when you open your eyes, the reminder is still all over you. You're still caked with dirt and blood, sticking to each and every crevice of you. With outstretched hands, you steady yourself against the wall as the reality of the whole situation hits you. It hits you hard from Steve choking to you passing out to the piggy back to the events in the Creel house... it all hits you like a train and you can't hold back the sobs that wrack your body. All you want to do is curl up and cry and sleep and pretend everything was normal.

It's too much. It's all too much. Steve was used to this life but you weren't, he'd always kept you safe from this world and now here you were, standing in the shower covered in blood; your blood, your friends blood and strange creature's blood. Bile rose in your throat as you desperately try and calm down. Your whole body is shaking as reality hits you, the adrenaline from diving into the lake to save your best friend stayed in the Upside Down, it didn't come back. You don't feel brave anymore but instead weak and scared.

Steve hears you. He can hear the sobs that come from you though drowned out by the shower but he hears and it breaks his heart. He looks at his hands which have dried blood coating them; your blood. He knows the feeling that's crashing over you, he knows how intense and overwhelming those moments are so he does the only thing he can do. He begins to talk loudly so that you can hear him over the noise of the shower, he doesn't know what he's talking about, he's just talking. He needs to fill the space, needs you to concentrate on something other than the panic and dread that's nestled and made its home so very deep inside of you.

You frown as you try and control your crying to listen. He's rambling about the time in eighth grade when he decided to skateboard off of the top of his garage and he ended up with a broken ankle. Rambling about how freaked out he was seeing the blood and the bone and how calm you were, about how you calmed him down told him that he'd be okay. You were the one who calmed him down with jokes in the ambulance ride to hospital and when they told him he'd need surgery, it was you who made him feel better by saying he'd have such a cool scar. It was you who waited hours on him coming out even despite your mom not being happy since it was a school night. It was you who visited first. It was you who signed his cast first.

"You've always been the strong one, (y/n). Always been the one to help me out... Always been you."

You'd been so focused on listening that your body worked in autopilot, scrubbing your skin hard of all of the grime and blood and when he was finished, you realised that you were almost done too. You catch a glance or two at your thigh, the wound is angry and red and it's deep but it's not as bad as it once looked. You scrub your nails furiously, trying to get the blood that's jammed under them out, before turning the water off.

You can hear him talking to someone outside the door, it sounds like Robin. You dry yourself off, careful not to irritate your thigh too much, before pulling on his jersey and shorts. They fit and they fit baggy which surprises you. They must've been huge on Steve. You wipe the steamed up mirror to look at the blurry vision of you. You like it, you like wearing his clothes. They smell like him, a mixture of cologne, pine and vanilla. You love that smell.

It's not much longer before he's knocking on the door, "You alright?"

You don't reply and instead just open the door. He almost can't function as you stand there in his clothes. It's an old jersey and shorts but oh my god, you make them look incredible. Something within him stirs, something possessive and feral inside of him but it's forgotten about after a second when you ask him if he's alright, "You're just staring at me, you good?" You feel self-conscious under his gaze because he's never looked at you like that before, at least not that you've been aware of. You shift in his jersey, self-consciously tugging at the hem to pull it down so it wasn't clinging to your stomach.

"I, uh, yeah. I'm fine." He nods quickly, "Robin came up a couple minutes ago. Her and Nancy are gonna use the downstairs shower so pointed them in the direction of my mom's closet for clothes. Eddie's just showered and is wandering about in his boxers so just don't look." You manage a small smile, "She says that Nancy's making some food if you wanted to go down-" He sees the absolute look of terror in your eyes, "Or you can wait here for me coming out the shower?" You nod quickly, "Okay, that's fine. I'll try to not take too long." He smiles knowing that you don't want to be away from him, he doesn't want to be away from you either. He grabs himself a clean towel and something to change into before disappearing into the hot and steamy bathroom.

You awkwardly manage to slide down the wall without irritating your leg too much as you wait for him to finish. You try and shut your mind off, not wanting to be alone with your thoughts for any longer than necessary, so you distract yourself with any means necessary.

You think back to when you and Steve were twelve and had thrown a party for the two of you in your basement. You'd stolen your dad's old records as the two of you danced around, wired to the moon on sugar and candy. A song had come on, Life On Mars - David Bowie, and the two of you were in total amazement. It swiftly became 'your song' as Steve dubbed it. It wasn't romantic like most couples songs were but it was a song that the two of you would dance around the room and sing loudly in the car to. You began to hum it quietly to yourself trying to stay focused in the memory of that silly party the two of you threw.

He doesn't take too long but it's been long enough when it hits the fifteen minute mark. You feel on edge. You know that he's just on the other side of the door but you don't feel right knowing that he's not there beside you. Your hands fidget nervously with the hem of the jersey as you breathe in his scent from it to keep calm. You long abandoned humming David Bowie as after five minutes, you were driving yourself insane, and instead spent the last ten minutes with your eyes squeezed shut head pressed back against the wall as you try and calm the rising panic.

The door swings open a few minutes later and there he is, standing there freshly cleaned and washed with his sopping wet hair still looking perfect and a clean t-shirt and shorts on. You reach out for him to help you up and when he does, you throw your arms around him tightly. You need to feel him, need to know he's okay and he's safe. He seems to need this embrace as much as you do as he responds by tightly pulling you against him, bodies flush against the other, warm and damp. His hands grip onto the fabric of your material as he buries his head in the crook of your neck, "I almost lost you," he breathes out. His voice is thick and you can tell that he's close to tears. He can't get over how close he came to losing you. It put everything into perspective for him then, made him realise that life was too short to continue pretending that there wasn't obviously something between the two of you.

"I almost lost you," you murmur as tears build in your eyes, lips once again grazing over the skin of his neck, "I saw you go under and I just- I didn't even think I just jumped in after you." Steve closed his eyes briefly, so what Eddie had told him was true.

It almost doesn't feel real what happened tonight. The whole thing, even this standing in the safe arms of Steve Harrington, it feels like you could blink and be back in the Upside Down so you cling to him and he clings back just as hard. Neither of you cry but the fact that you both welled up over nearly losing the other proved the point regardless.

It's not until you hear someone padding upstairs that the two of you break apart, though his hand holds yours, it's Nancy. She's wearing pyjamas that belonged to Steve's mom, loose and baggy on her, "Food's ready," her voice is quiet and her smile is apologetic knowing that she's just walked into something that she shouldn't be seeing.

Steve nods before he gathers yours and his clothes and then he leads you slowly downstairs to go and eat. Steve tells you that you'll eat then he'll patch your leg up. The smell hits you when you walk into the kitchen; pizza, chicken nuggets and fries. Nancy had raided the freezer and put on a feast for everyone. You didn't think you were hungry until you got there and saw the food. Steve bundles together everyone's clothes and chucks them into the washing machine, pouring a healthy amount of detergent in before turning it on. It's only then as the five of you crowd round the table, chairs squeaking as you pull them in, that you feel the hunger. You all eat in silence the only noise that can be heard is chewing and the grumble of the washing machine. Usually you didn't like eating in front of people, you got worried about what they'd think about your portion size or made a comment but right now you didn't care. With Steve's hand on your knee, you couldn't care about anything else right now. It doesn't take long before the food's finished and you're all guzzling on the water bottles that Nancy had placed on the table.

It's then that you look around the table, looking at everyone. Everyone's clean, smelling of vanilla body wash and coconut shampoo, with clean clothes that are a little loose and baggy (aside from Eddie who only wears boxers but he's wrapped the throw from the couch around himself) but the angry red scrapes, scratches and cuts that litter everyone's limbs are hard to hide. Nancy's managed to shower, change, cook dinner and even managed to treat hers, Robin's and Eddie's scrapes and cuts in the time it took you and Steve to shower. Impressive.

Once the food's finished, everyone scatters. No one really talks aside from their 'thank you's to Nancy. Steve gathers the plates up and puts them in the sink. You wait. He'll wash them in the morning he decides before moving to the counter where Nancy had left the first aid box. He grabs it and wiggles it in his hand, "You ready?"

You nod, "Let's get it over with."

He kneels down in front of you as you sit in the chair, "Can I?" He asks as he nods to the shorts you're wearing. You nod. Robin walks into the kitchen and quickly backs away, the scene unfolding far too intimate for anyone else to see. She warns Nancy and Eddie to stay away. Steve hands are gentle as he rolls your shorts upwards to get to your mid thigh. It's then you both get a good look at your wound. It's angry and raw but it looks better. The bleeding stopped a while ago so that's a good sign. Still hurts like hell though.

He rummages through the first aid box, finding a wipe and a large plaster, "It's gonna hurt." He tells you as he tears open the antiseptic wipe. You nod quickly and with a tender hand, he cleans it. It stings and burns but you aren't focusing on the cut, you're looking at Steve. You're looking at the way his hair falls into his vision and he blows it away with an upwards puff of air. You're watching the way his brow furrows in concentration as he gnaws on his lower lip making sure to not cause any further harm to you.

He grabs stuff to dress it with, glancing up at you, doing a double take when he realises that you're staring at him, "I'm not hurting you am I?"

You shake your head, "No, you're fine."

He goes back to gently dressing your wound and before you know it, he's finished. You go to pull away but Steve reaches out, "You forgot the most crucial part of patching up a wound," he chides, that playful tone once again back where it belongs. You frown but before you can ask what he means, his head ducks low and his lips graze the skin above the dressing. It's so soft and gentle that you wouldn't have known he'd done it had you not been staring at him with wide eyes. Where he kisses feels hot but not from the wound rather from him. Your heart beats fast in your chest and your cheeks feel like they're on fire, "There." His breath tickles over your skin. He lingers for a few seconds, too long for a friend, before he pulls back and stands up leaving you sitting there absolutely stunned.

He smirks as he turns away from you, discarding the empty wrappers in the bin, he knows what he's doing to you. Hope burns strong inside him, hope that maybe this is it; this is his chance, your chance. When he turns around you tell him to sit down, "Mine are fine," he says with a shake of the head, "not as bad as yours."

"So?" You ask with a raised brow, "Sit."

He complies.

You grab some plasters that were at the bottom of the box which happen to be some yellow and red plasters with various wild animals on them. Steve laughs slightly, "Seriously?" He asks as you grab a wipe to clean him.

"It's the only plasters you've got, not my fault Harrington."

He rolls his eyes but humours you and lets you dab his cuts carefully before sticking down the plasters. You only plaster the ones that are deeper so he ends up with some on his arms and one on his left temple. He goes to stand up, "Wait," you tell him fighting off a smirk, "you forgot the most crucial part of patching up a wound." His eyes widen slightly and his Adam's apple bobs in his throat. Two can play at your game, Harrington. Slowly, you duck your head to press gentle kisses to the cuts on his arms, lips lingering just as his did. Steve swallows hard. It's taking everything to control himself right now and even then, he's barely controlling himself. He can't stop thinking about the way your lips feel, soft and warm on his skin, and he can't stop thinking about how they'd feel against his own.

Your heart is beating harder but you don't let it show as you lean in close to him. Steve's eyes are trained on you, never wavering, entirely focused on your next move. You press a gentle kiss to his temple, your hand rests on his knee for leverage. Steve swallows hard again and you secretly smile knowing that you're having some form of effect on him. He can smell you, smell the shampoo in your hair that he uses, he can smell his jersey on you and he loves that he can smell himself on you. Again, that primal urge rises in him but he pushes it away as you lean back and sit back down in your chair.

"Uh... thanks," he says as he clears his throat. You like seeing him like this, flustered and flushed, "How's it feel?" He asks referring to your wound.

"Better." Your cheeks feel hot as you replay the moment of him kissing your thigh over and over in your head. He stands up and takes your hand before slowly leading you out of the kitchen and into the living room. You like the way his hand feels in yours, warm and large.

Eddie's set up camp for the night there, laying on the couch under a blanket with a cushion shoved under his head. Robin's curled in the armchair almost half asleep but Steve taps her leg and tells her to go to the guest room, Nancy too who was coming downstairs carrying blankets. Without a word, the two girls nod and head upstairs.

You and Steve aren't far behind them, following them up after he locks the door. There's no question of where you're sleeping, not an utterance of a word about it, instead it's just quiet acceptance. He makes sure that Nancy and Robin are comfortable before leading you into his bedroom and quietly closing the door behind him.

Nerves bubble in your stomach. It's different. You've been in Steve's room hundreds of times over the years of being friends. You'd slept in this room plenty before too on duvets on the floor and once in his bed curled up with him after a drunken party. This time though... it feels different. It doesn't feel like sleeping over with a friend because well, he's not a friend anymore. You aren't sure how he feels about you but you know that this isn't how friends treat each other. You don't want to get your hopes up just in case but they're there, niggling under the surface of your skin.

It's only when you're in his room with the door closed, you're unsure what to do next. Steve's not shy and he knows exactly where you're going to be. He walks to his side of the bed and lifts the duvet to get in, "Well?" He asks, "Hurry up and get in here."

He doesn't need to tell you twice.

Your heart beats fast as you climb into bed beside him. The bed smells like him, it smells like home. Steve watches you the whole time, the words he wants to say are right there on the tip of his tongue, locked behind his teeth but he's not feeling brave anymore so he stays silent. There's a certain tension in the air that you both feel as you lie on your sides, facing each other. Your heart hammers in your chest as your mind whirs with the possibilities of what might be.

The moon seems to be right outside of Steve's open windows, shining in bright so that you can see him, he's a duller and darker version in this light but he's still Steve; your Steve. You look up at him from behind long lashes and you find his eyes boring into yours, roaming and searching, looking for an answer to the question that he hasn't asked. It seems to click then, to both of you, that this was something more than what is once was or maybe this is way it always had been but it was only now you were realising it. He shifts closer and you do too as his eyes switch from your lips to your eyes. The burning desire to kiss someone has never been this strong before.

All you can hear is the beat of your heart in your ears like a drum, faster and faster, as you inch closer to him. He finds one of your hands lost under the sheets and takes it, clasping your fingers together tightly. It's then when you look up and realise that you're almost pressed together. Steve swallows, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat, as his breath tickles over your face.

It happens.

You're not sure who moved in first, it was more like a joint effort to meet in the middle. Your eyes flutter shut as Steve closes the gap between your lips, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. It's a small kiss, gentle and it doesn't last long but in that moment, everything slots together and you feel like everything's right again. He's testing the waters with this kiss, keeps it short and sweet before he pulls back a few centimetres, eyes scanning your face for some kind of regret or negativity but he doesn't find it.

Your mind reels from the fact that you and Steve just kissed. Your stomach is a jumble of nerves overlapping each other and writhing deep in the pit of your stomach. That few seconds where you're just staring at each other, eyes searching for confirmation, seemed to solidify something for the two of you, a silent agreement, consent and before you knew it, it was a push and a pull of bodies. Your free hand tangles in his shirt, pulling him close as his pulls you in at the waist.

No other kiss has ever felt like this one. It's fast and hard, smashing of lips and clashing tongues. It's hungry and passionate, it's a 'finally' moment, a breath of fresh air, a breath of relief. You've never been kissed like this before; never been kissed with such intensity and passion behind it. He kisses you like it means something because to him, it does; it means everything.

With a swift kick, he shoves the sheets to the floor where they gather in a pile. He rolls you onto your back and shifts without breaking the kiss so that he's over you, hands on either side of your head as you kiss. His knee moves between your legs, parting them, and pushing upwards. You gasp, breaking the kiss, at the sudden friction between your legs.

He snaps back.

His eyes roam your face again as your brow furrows. He worries that he's gone too far, moved too fast, but you grab a handful of his cotton shirt and pull him back down to kiss you. There's a new found confidence within you, allowing you to grab him and kiss him which you wouldn't have done before, you kiss him hard and he seems to get the hint that you want this, that you want him.

You almost feel like you need to be pinched, like at any moment you're going to open your eyes and you'll be somewhere else; that this is all a dream. For years, you'd had a crush on him but you thought it would always just be a secret and never be reciprocated but here he is, kissing you as though his goddamn life depends on it. You. He's kissing you. If 14 year old you could see you now. Well maybe not the scenes that would unfold in the next few minutes but my god, it would be the biggest confidence boost knowing that you, despite your weight and despite your size, would have Steve Harrington fawning over you. It felt good to be wanted, it felt right.

Soon the kiss turns needy and desperate as heat pools between your legs. Your hips push downwards into his knee trying to feel the friction through the cotton shorts that you wear. Steve's lips pull away from yours, extracting an audible whine from you, as he moves to your cheek, your jaw, your neck, your shoulder. He kisses everywhere, peppering small kisses on the soft skin before finding the spot on your neck that makes your gasp and makes your back arch. His hands are on your sides, dancing the hem of the jersey you wear up, and it's then it kicks in. Your hand darts out to catch his, stopping it in its place.

He stops.

"Am I going too fast- dammit, shit, sorry, sweetheart. I-I got carried away-"

You shush his worries and cut off his rambling before you answer him softly, "Self-conscious." Your voice is a mere whisper and Steve's face immediately softens. You'd never really had anyone touch you like this, with so much care and love and it makes you so aware of all of your imperfections. The worry that sits in the back of your mind, too, is that you know Steve's dating history; tiny, petite and pretty girls... Not you. Not fat and curvy and lumpy. Steve's eyes bore into yours and he can see your worries, sitting so openly and plainly in front of him.

"Baby," he murmurs, hand trailing fire over your cheek as he caresses it, "I think you're perfect." You look in his eyes and you know that there's a decade of trust there, a decade of friendship and loyalty, a decade of love, "You don't have to hide from me." You're still not quite there so Steve continues, "Your body, your smile, your laugh; you are perfect to me, (y/n). Beautiful. Your weight and size doesn't make you any less so... I want you, (y/n). Why do you think I only gave you my clothes to wear? I only want you, no one else." You hadn't thought about why you were the only one wearing Steve's clothes. It hadn't really clicked to be honest. He'd sent Robin and Nancy to his mom's closet, Eddie chose to be half naked, and you were the only one wearing Steve's clothes. It was such an honest, sweet, possessive action that it made the heat burn between your legs.

He leans down and presses a gentle kiss to the side of your jaw, then another and another before he pulls back, "You want me to stop?"

You shake your head.

"Speak up, babygirl."

"Don't stop," you whisper, "I want you... Fuck, Steve, I need you." Hearing you say it makes his cock twitch in his shorts. It doesn't take much until he's rock hard, pressing against your thigh as he kisses you again, hot and heavy.

His hands resume sliding under your shirt, over the lumps and bumps and curves of your stomach and sides until they find your bare breast, heading straight for your hard nipple. His thumb grazes over it, extracting a soft moan from your parted lips. Steve moans into your neck at the sound of you, "God," he groans, "you even sound so fucking pretty."

Your whole body feels hot, feels like you're burning a fever but in the best way possible, "Take it off," you get a moment of bravery as you push him back and pull off of the jersey, throwing it across the room where it bundles in a pile at the wardrobe. You hoist your lower half up and rather ungracefully tear off your shorts and throw them over to where the jersey resides on the floor. Thankfully Steve was to preoccupied with taking his shirt off to see.

It was when he looked back down at you, ready to move in to kiss your breast, that he stopped.

"Holy fuck, baby."

He looks at you like you're the only thing of importance in the world. The way he stares at you, drinking in your body, your curves, your stretchmarks, it makes you shift and wriggle awkwardly. The way that he looks at you, you've never had anyone look at you like that before. His gaze is so awe-filled and you never want him to stop. He follows every line, every bump, every freckle, every blemish on your body until it leads back to your face and your eyes, "So goddamn pretty."

He bends his head, taking your nipple in his mouth tongue swirling around the sensitive bud, as his fingers press into your hips. The moans that he was pulling from you were like music to his ears, every moan and mewl making his cock twitch with anticipation. Every time you moan, he hums against your nipple. God he doesn't think he'll ever get tired of hearing you or making you feel good. Your back arches and his hand slips over your stomach, groping the curve of it. You shiver and squirm but not because you're uncomfortable. His touch sends tingles down your spine and all across your soft, sensitive skin.

"Steve," you whisper out, back arching as his fingers push apart your thick thighs, "I- I- need you."

Steve growls against your skin, "Never thought I'd hear you say that, baby," he says against your skin before taking your nipple back in his mouth, tongue swirling and circling around it as his fingers trail down your thick thighs to your aching hot sex.

You've never had anyone touch you like this, your hand brushes against his and he stills, raising his head to look at you, "I've never... you know..." You're a virgin. He already knows it, just like you know that he's not and he's not been for a long time.

Steve nods, "I'll be gentle, babygirl," he murmurs, pressing a kiss to the side of your mouth, "if it hurts or you want me to stop-"

"I'll tell you."

Steve grins, that half grin you love so much, before he attacks your neck again as his fingers continue their agonisingly slow dance down your thighs, "God," he moans into your neck as he hears the way your breath hitches in your throat, "you sound too fucking pretty. I want to hear you moan for me..." His fingers graze over your slick cunt and my god, you're soaked, "God, I want to do this right; I want to take my time with you but- I don't know how much longer I can go." His fingers part you and circle your sex until they brush over your clit.

Your eyes roll backwards as your back arches to a level you never knew possible and Steve grins at your reaction. He presses harder on your clit, pressing and circling lazy circles. Your body twists and convulses, overwhelmed by the new sensations that he's causing, your words are a jumble of moans and curse words crumbling beneath him and he's never witnessed anything so beautiful.

"J-Jesus, Steve-"

His hips involuntarily buck forwards, colliding with your thigh and his head falls as he groans, "Baby, you can't say my name like that," he hisses, "you'll make me- Jesus- I've never had that before- never had this. I'm so- so desperate for you and just hearing you, just seeing you like this is enough to make me- fuck." You love having that effect on him but he doesn't let you enjoy it for too long before a finger is pushing at your entrance. He searches your eyes and you nod as he coats it in your slick heat before slowly, his finger is being pushed inside of you.

You kiss him. Lips open and tongues swirling as he pushes inside of you, you moan against his mouth and he seems to understand what you want. He shifts and slowly pushes another finger into you and it isn't long until your hands are tugging at the sheets, his hair, nails digging into strong shoulders as you come undone beneath him. Your mind is a jumble of everything Steve. All those moments with Steve. The innocent laughter of kids, the secrets of teenagers, the awkwardness of young adults. The inside jokes, the teasing jibes, the playful roll of the eyes, the secret glances when you think he isn't look, his lovesick whenever you laugh.

Steve feels like he could finish right here, right now. Not even inside you and barely started. This moment had been in the works for years and now it was here, years of tension built up into a few lustful, passionate moments. He slips his fingers from you and immediately takes them in his mouth, tasting your natural tang on his tongue. He moans against them as he licks your wetness from them, "Fucking delicious, babygirl." He tugs his shorts down and looks down at you, "Shit, condom-"

"I'm on the pill, Steve," you pant, "we don't need it."

"Are you sure? We can stop-"

"Steve," you cut him off, leaning up on your elbows to give him a quick peck, "I'm sure."

He lines himself up and readies you for him to push into you. You gasp at his size and he gives you a few seconds to adjust before he checks if you're alright and want to continue. It's not sore, it's an unfamiliar sensation but it feels good. You nod to let Steve know you're ready to continue. His finger trails lazily down your thigh, avoiding your wounds, as he looks at you with teasing eyes.

"Words, please."

"More- God, more."

He complies, his pace slow and steady. It takes everything in his to not implode then and there in your slick warmth. It's all a bit of a blur, it feels like you're high or drunk, fuzzy around the edges and tingly. Steve's groaning into your neck, sounds that drive you crazy because my god how does he sound so fucking pretty too? Your legs are tight around him as he kisses you hard, pace quickening with every thrust. It doesn't feel like anything you'd experienced before. It's deep and makes your body squirm and shake, it makes noises you didn't know you could make escape from your throat; it makes you go wild.

"You feel so-" he groans, "so fucking good, babygirl."

The way he speaks to you, voice dark and dripping with lust, could easily tip you over the edge once more but you hang on, wanting to stretch it out just a little longer. Your eyes meet Steve's. You'd always wondered that if you and Steve did ever get together, would it be awkward? Would it be uncomfortable at first? You had your answer. It wasn't awkward, it wasn't uncomfortable. It felt like how it should; it felt right. Like two pieces of a puzzle slotting together perfectly.

"Cum for me," Steve pants, peppering kisses all over your face, your neck, your shoulder. Your body involuntarily convulses, gasping at his words, "Cum for me, babygirl."

You couldn't stop yourself even if you tried. One second you're staring into Steve's eyes, the next you're tumbling into the blissful vortex of an orgasm, writhing and wriggling beneath him. The sensations overwhelm you; so much pleasure, so much build up and now you're unravelling at the seams for him; for Steve. Your eyes squeeze shut as your hands go between pulling at his hair to gripping his flesh with your nails, probably adding new cuts to his already bruised and battered body. The moans that come from you, jesus, he barely contains himself. The knowledge that he's the one making you feel this good, he's the one inside you, the one who's making you moan like that... he could explode inside you right now.

"Fucking hell, babygirl," he groans into your neck, "too fucking good, too fucking tight and pretty."

His thrusts slow as you come down from your high, allowing you some time to calm your racing heart and tingly limbs. Your breathing is erratic and you can't seem to form a single word or even a single thought but only Steve. Just Steve. Always Steve.

"I can't hold it, baby," he whispers, "you're too much; perfect but so- so fucking good." He means that you're too much in the highest of compliments. He could've came with just the sight of your naked body, hell just kissing you could've made him explode, the sound of you could've made it happen so the fact he's here, listening to you, touching you, kissing you, inside of you... it's so much; too much but he never wants it to stop. He wants it forever - wants you forever.

Slowly regaining some strength back, your hips rock into his. You're unsure of how to exactly do it but you know you're doing something right when he's cursing and gasping into your ear. The more he reacts, the more confidence you gain.

"Cum for me," you whisper in his ear just as he had done to you.

His moans make you shudder with excitement and it's not long before he's cursing and groaning loudly into your neck and the pillow you lay on, fist clenched around your hand. His thrusts grow quick and sloppy and you continue to talk him through it until he stills and shudders.

Pants fill the humid air as the two of you recover and fall down from your highs. It's a moment later when Steve slowly slides out of your warmth and slides off of you, falling onto the bed next to you. He doesn't give you any time to miss his touch because as soon as he's off of you, he's pulling you in at the waist and pressing soft kisses to your forehead.

You don't know what it is, the rushing tsunami of emotions, the reality hitting you or just the whole day's overwhelming nature but you feel vulnerable in those few moments afterwards and instinctively, your hands scrabble for the sheet, pulling it half over yourself.

"Hey," Steve murmurs, one eye open, "you never have to hide from me again."

You curl into him, "I know... It's just... weird getting used to it." It doesn't feel awkward or uncomfortable or even weird. The only weird thing about it is how normal it feels. You settle into Steve's arms as you feel a question bubbling up inside of you. "How... How was it?" It's a question that you're unsure you want the answer to because what if he hated it? What if it was just okay? It's too late now anyway, the deed has been done and the question has been asked.

Steve pulls a long breath out, "I seriously mean this, babygirl... the best, most intense, most mindblowingly awesome sex I've ever had in my life. No joke. Seriously like-"

You find yourself laughing, cheeks burning and heart racing at the compliments he continued to pour out, "Okay, okay, stop, I get it! I'm the best sex you've ever had in your life and you'll never find anyone like me ever again-"

"I don't want anyone ever again." His mood turns serious, a snap of the fingers and all laughter is gone, "I only want you, (y/n)... This isn't a one-time thing for me." You look up at him and you see that expression back once again, sad and scared, "I almost lost you, (y/n). I'm never letting you go again."

Your heart skips a beat, "So what does that mean for us?"

"it means that I-" the words are right there, locked behind teeth but he doesn't feel brave anymore, "I can't lose you."

"I can't lose you either." It's as good as an admission goes. You know how he feels just like he knows how you feel for him but the two of you have been too brave for today and neither has any intrepidness left in you so you leave it at that. You'll tell him the true nature of your feelings at some point but not right now, not yet. So for now, it's enough and it isn't long before the darkness wraps its arms around you and pulls you to sleep.

Steve settles with you wrapped up around him. He's warm, almost too warm, but he's not letting go of you. He can't. With a deep breath, he does his best to block today's events in the Upside Down out of his mind and focuses on the sound of your breathing to help lull him to sleep.

The lot of you don't get up until well into the afternoon, bodies and minds equally as exhausted. Your body is sorer in the morning, achier and just plain tired, Steve thinks it's his fault and he keeps apologising profusely but kisses work wonders to soothe his worries.

"I'm just bruised and battered. Not from you, Steve. You can't ever hurt me."

When you and Steve finally emerge from downstairs, Nancy's on the phone to Jonathan, Robin's watching TV and Eddie's surprisingly making breakfast. He's quiet and his smile doesn't quite hit his eyes but he tries his best to lift spirits. When the two of you pass Robin, she gives you a warm smile - a knowing smile but not a teasing one. After the events of yesterday, there's no teasing, no jokes; it's a 'life is fucking short so get with the one you love immediately'.

Once more, you crowd around the breakfast table, a little livelier than last night but the bruises, cuts and dark circles under everyone's eyes tells a different story. Everyone's eyes have a darkness to them; a hollow emptiness after the trauma of last night. Eddie fills in the conversation where he can but even he isn't feeling up to it so the sound of silence is something that you've grown to be used to. Steve's hand doesn't leave your hand all morning, he still doesn't want to be away from you.

After breakfast, the five of you glance around at each other and there's a question that you all think but don't say. Steve finds himself answering, "You can all stay as long as you need. My parents won't be home for a week and-"

There's a group sigh of relief.

"Maybe just one more night," Nancy says, "until we can get a proper good night's sleep." She's always been so strong, so fearless but the fact that there's a slight tremor of fear in her voice is oddly comforting to you.

"Thank god because I wasn't going anywhere." Robin says as she finishes the last of her apple juice.

"Me either," Eddie says, "maybe we could extend the invite to Henderson and the rest of the little buddies."

As the rest of the group break off, with Eddie going to call Dustin and Nancy and Robin cleaning up, you and Steve move outside to sit by the pool. Steve's arm is tight around your shoulders, pulling you into his embrace, "I love you." He's not feeling very brave today but he says it anyway. Life's too short, he learned that last night. So even despite his worries and fears, he had to tell you. Why not?

You press a kiss to his neck, smiling. See? Like two puzzle pieces slotting together. His confession makes you feel brave and makes you feel like you could tell him. Last night was a night of firsts; first time into the Upside Down, first time getting wounded, first time having sex so what's wrong with another first? First time telling someone that you love them; first time telling Steve. The boy who you thought was so far out of your league. Years ago you'd accepted your fate of just being friends but now? Now you were here, in his arms, so why the fuck would you let your fears stop you from taking the leap of faith?

"I love you, too." He presses a kiss to your forehead, smiling.

The two of you stay there, curled up together and smiling, until Dustin and crew get there and until Dustin yells at the top of his lungs, "I fucking knew it! Fifty bucks Harrington!"

[inaris-mage-of-storms]

Warning for alcohol use, vomiting, and swearing. Read on AO3.

--

When Scott dreams, he dreams of the sea.

Not a single soul would bat an eye at that. He's a pirate, after all, born and raised on an island. He wouldn't be surprised if one day someone cut him open and seawater poured from his veins instead of blood. The ocean is his home, and he knows that to his core.

What surprises him is that it isn't this sea he dreams of. It isn't this ocean that calls to him, whispering promises of safety and warmth. Instead, he dreams of a different island - if one could even call it that. It's tiny, smaller than any island he's ever seen in his waking life, with nothing more on it than an equally tiny hut. In his dreams, he sits in the shade of his hut with his feet in the water and feels at peace.

Danger is there, somewhere, but on his island he feels safe. His clothes are tattered and coral lines his pockets instead of gold, but he feels content. It's home, and it calls to him, and every time he wakes from that dream he aches with a longing for a place he's never been. 

He hates it. He can't get enough of it.

He wonders, leaning against a wall in the shadows of whatever alleyway he'd stumbled into, if he'll dream of it tonight. His head swims with every movement, and he thinks it's just as likely that he'll simply pass out until Cleo finds him and wakes him with a thorough scolding for leaving the tavern without them. You never know what's lurking in the dark, they had admonished him more than once. Rules only went so far, and it wouldn't take much for a dead-drunk Denholm to become a dead Denholm, if the wrong person found him alone.

Sometimes he dreams of Cleo, too. Like the island, they feel like home and safety. It doesn't surprise him, though the pallor of death that clings to them worries him. He wonders if it's an omen. It's why he normally never does leave the tavern without them, fearing for their safety as much as they fear for his. Sometimes he wakes up and has to reassure himself that there isn't a gaping hole in his best friend's ribs. 

He wonders if he'll ever find out why they're always dead in his dreams. He hopes he never does.

He dreams of a lot of people, and he wonders who they are. Scar is there, sometimes, with a grin that matches Cleo's, and he wonders why the swindler he's barely spoken to is in his dreams. He dreamed of Scar before he knew him, and it makes him wonder if he'll meet the rest of the strangers someday too. He wonders if he'll ever meet the red woman with the sharp grin and lonely eyes, or the blond man on the burning building. He wonders if he'll ever find out why his heart breaks every time he looks at either of them.

Most of all, he dreams of Martyn.

That surprises him more than anything else, that the man he disdains and who disdains him in return, is ever-present in his dreams of this home that doesn't exist. In his dreams, Martyn is wild and dangerous and beautiful. He's like that in the real world, too, but in his dreams that wild, dangerous, beautiful man looks at Scott with a softness he's never known and holds him with a gentleness that doesn't exist. 

He wonders if he'll ever find out why.

"Well! Look at you, crawling in the gutters in the middle of the night. Guess the golden boy has a human side after all."

"Dream of the devil," Scott mutters, getting a perplexed what? from Martyn as the man crouches in front of him. "Go away. I'm just resting a moment, that's all."

He knows he's not fooling anyone. His words are so slurred it's a wonder Martyn can even make out what he's saying, and he leans over to retch up what little bile has collected in the stomach that emptied earlier, but he'll die before admitting weakness to a Kestrel. Especially to this one. Why did it have to be this one that found him?

"You're an idiot," is Martyn's simple response, and Scott scowls at him. "Up you get."

"What? Wait - " Martyn tucks himself against Scott, one arm around his waist and the other pulling Scott's arm across his shoulders as he hoists him to his feet. "I told you, I'm fine! Just gonna wait here for Cleo."

"I mean, if you want me to leave you passed out in a heap for everyone to see what a mess you are come morning, I can do that," says Martyn, pulling him down the road. "I doubt Cleo's waking up anytime soon. Maybe I should leave you here. A little humble pie might do your prissy ass some good."

"You talk too much," grumbles Scott, and after a moment adds, "Now I want pie. Fuck you."

Martyn laughs. "Maybe when you're sober. Ow! Bite me again and I will leave you in the road, you little shit."

His thoughts are still too murky to come up with a witty retort, so Scott allows himself to be helped home by the man who hates him and feels like home. He can feel himself teetering on the edge of passing out, and knows he won't be dreaming tonight.

Shame. Martyn's gaze is soft and his hands gentle as he lowers Scott into bed, and Scott wonders if the man loves in the same way he does in his dreams.

"Stay."

Martyn looks surprised when Scott catches his wrist. "Geez, how much did you drink? Just because we look the other way when you sneak out of Sausage's room in the morning doesn't mean your mates will do the same for me sneaking out of yours. And you hate me, remember?"

"You hated me first." Scott's hold on Martyn slips away along with his hold on consciousness. "Don't hate you," is the last thing he mumbles, and he wonders if Martyn hears it.

He doesn't dream of the sea, not tonight. He dreams of Martyn saying I don't hate you either. He dreams of a hand in his hair and lips on his forehead, and wonders about the way a whispered I miss you sounds so sad. 

He wonders if he'll ever find out why.

}{ Part Two }{

[neverland93]

Peter Pan imagine/ Yesterday

Wendy had cheated on Peter, why you may ask ? I have no idea. With who? Daniel.

Daniel was the equivalent twin to Peter, blond chestnut hair. Green eyes, strong muscular arms, and a smile that could kill.

So why the hell would Wendy look for sex in someone else?

Well…

*******

“Peter can we please spend quality time together?” Wendy begged Pan

He half laughed and shook his head

“The boys and I have plans, it’s Friday night.” He stated

“But you swore Friday nights were our nights.” She said softly

“Plans change Wendy, we see each other all the time.” He said folding his arms

“Bullshit, I only see you when it’s convenient.” She challenged him

He cocked and eyebrow

“You might wanna shut your pretty mouth of yours before you get in trouble.” He said looking at her intensely.

*********

There was only so much Pan could do, keeping Wendy satisfied that is.

You see , Pan was-is King of Neverland.

He has to make sure the food supplies doesn’t run empty, the rum never runs out, the mermaids are safe, from the horny lost boys, the Indians don’t harm themselves from all the potions they make on a daily basis, as well as the lost boys so that they don’t run off a cliff playing hide and go seek, and the fairies, making sure there’s always faith trust and pixie dust.

Pan had a lot on his shoulders and Wendy crying was the last thing he needed or wanted.

********

“One day you’ll regret this.” Was all she said walking away.

Later that day Wendy has been working on the garden, planting and picking fruits that were blossoming.

When Daniel come over to her.

“Whatcha up to?” He said leaning up against a tree

“Just picking.” She said bluntly

“You look hot.” He said

“Excuse me?” She turned around about to swing on him only to find him handing her a drink of water

“Oh..” she said

“You’re sweating out here, why does Peter have you doing the hard work?” He asked

“I guess I’m not that important huh ?” she said smiling

“Man, if I were Peter you wouldn’t have to lift a finger.” He said smiling

She laughed at that, “Well maybe you should be King of the island.”

“Maybe I should so you could be my queen.” He said looking deep in her eyes.

********

It wasn’t long til Peter caught Wendy and Daniel in their bad together.

It was so odd that night.

It seemed like a normal night, everyone sat around the campfire, and Peter had his arm around Wendy , all the while Wendy kept batting her eyelashes at Daniel.

Peter had went off with some of the older lost boys claiming to be back in a couple hours knowing damn well he wouldn’t be back til the early morning.

Now some say he deserved it, some say he didn’t, but it happened, and here’s how he handled it.

Peter had a early night that evening with the lost boys, they had went exploring in a cave and had a few cups of rum but the boys had been tired from swimming in the lake the day before, it had been almost a 100 degrees and the boys were just blowing off some steam.

He had his cup in his hand drinking whatever was left and opened the door.

To see Wendy face down ass up and Daniel had his hands wrapped around her hair and waist.

But he didn’t scream, he didn’t kick Daniel’s ass, he didn’t slap Wendy, he didn’t make Daniel walk the plank, he didn’t banish Wendy, he simply turned around and and closed the door and never said a thing about it.

That’s what made Pan 10x more frightening.

********

About a year later you came along, you were just a girl who was lost, came from a fucked up childhood and needed to be around good people.

“So basically you’re gonna be doing a lot chores, laundry, dishes, cooking, if that’s not okay I can send you back to-“

“It’s fine!” You said eagerly

Pan cocked a brow, “That bad?” He asked.

“Yeah.” You said softly.

He nodded and that was that.

Everything was fine for a couple days, til Daniel talked to you.

“Are you new here?” Daniel asked you folding his arms

“Visiting.” You said not wanting to say too much.

“It’s so hot I just wanna stay in bed all day.” He said

“Yeah a nap in bed wouldn’t sound so bad.” You said

“With me?” He added

“We just met and you’re already talking about getting in bed with you? Not very subtle.” You said

“Oh laddie subtle never been my strong suit.” He smirked

You just laughed and shook your head

“So, have you talked to any other lost boys? Are you interested in them?” He asked

“I have a rule on not talking to lost boys, I heard they’re bad news.” You said folding your arms

“Good thing I’m not a lost boy, I’m second in command.l he said confidently

“Daniel are you hitting on me while I am dripping sweat picking fruits and vegetables in a garden?” You asked

“Is that so wrong?” He asked

“Y/N.” Peter said nodding at you.

You nod back

Peter looks at Daniel and punches him in the face

You gasped and put your hand over your mouth.

What the fuck.

********

Peter and Wendy went to go talk the chief of the Indians.

“Punching lost boys Pan?” The chief said

Peter rolled his eyes.

“I had a reason.” He said

“Oh really? Now would someone tell me what the hell is the reason and what’s going on?” He said angrily

Peter looked at Wendy, waiting for her to say something.

“Daniel, well he, well I.” Was all she could get out.

“Daniel and I were best mates.” Peter said clenching his jaw

“And?” He asked

“And uh, well they were best mates, until Peter found me and Daniel in bed together.” She stated looking down.

The chief looked at Peter

“You put your weight into it?” He asked

“Yes sir.” Peter nodded

“Well then, alright, see you guys at dinner.” He said leaving you two.

Peter just folded his arms, the truth just came out, and everyone was going to know.

********

Meanwhile you were taking care of Daniel’s cut

“Me and Peter has always been into the same type of girls.” He admitted

“Oh..” you said not knowing what to say

“You know what’s funny? Peter walked in on me and Wendy and he just turned around and walked away. But he sees me so much talking to you and I’m on the ground bleeding. Interesting don’t you think?” He looks you cocked a brow and smiled

“Shut up.” You said putting more alcohol on his cut to distract him for a while.

Meanwhile your brain is going 100mph

Daniel was right, why did Pan care if he talked to you?

[stardewremixed]

Alex and Abigail

She's that weird purple haired girl, right? Hangs out in graveyards sometimes?

Alex finds her kinda cute... pint-sized. Sometimes daydreams about carrying her, piggyback style.

Abi first noticed Alex when he was mourning his mom at the graveside. She respectfully ignored when he swiped at tears and found another place to journal.

Alex first noticed Abi when he was walking back from his workout at the spa on a summer afternoon. She was playing her flute in the woods. He couldn't help but stare a little bit from behind a tree. He found the music hauntingly beautiful. (And... he's a butt guy, and she has a nice ass, especially while swaying around as she played her flute).

She convinces her dad to give Alex a summer job as a stock boy.

Alex can reach the top shelves and carry heavy bags with ease.

Ngl... she appreciates the "view" of Alex hoisting large bags of potatoes.

The job doesn't pay great but it's something. And he gets a discount on Granny's groceries.

Abi once brought an order of flour, sugar, and baking powder that Alex forgot at the store. She "saved" the day. Evelyn invites her to stay for dinner.

She watched a horror movie with George while Ev fixes their food. His Gramps isn't scared of anything.

Alex didn't want to admit it but he was a little startled by the jump scare scenes. Abi talks a lot throughout the movie and dinner (which George finds annoying). Alex is only half-listening, but he likes her voice. And he's a bit mesmerized by her lips.

She stays to help Alex with dishes while Ev helps George with his evening bath. Abi is a bit playful and splashes water at himz and tosses a sponge.

Oh you're gonna get it! Alex enjoys the playfulness. He splashes her back, maybe even snaps the dish towel toward her ass.

Flirty house chores are the best!

He offers to walk her home, even though it's not far. And then dawdles a bit outside the back door.

The next time Abi sees him, she brings a nice meaty bone for Dusty.

Alex is in love! 😍

Abi wants to join the Adventure Guild... badly. Alex knows this. He offers (in a confident but sincere way) to help her train physically. If she wants. She gladly accepts.

He looks forward to training days with Abi. Starting out with light weights. Then short runs. Sit-ups. Push-ups.

As he grows more comfortable with her, Alex takes off his shirt for jogs on the beach.

She playfully pokes his abs. He likes it!

He builds her an entire training course in the woods over a few weeks. When she sees it, Abi is stunned. Speechless.

Then she leaps into his arms and kisses him, overjoyed.

Of course, it's raining.

Alex isn't big on sweeping romantic gestures. He's a practical guy. This was practical AND romantic.

At first, he's a little flushed, surprised.

They've been flirty for weeks. And she's a bit younger than him.

He expected to make the first move... eventually. But...

Abi doesn't move slow. And he loves it!

Even if it's just a summer fling, Alex feels it is worth it.

After their makeout session in the woods, the two spend loads of time together.

Swimming in the lakes, rivers.

Parasailing in the ocean.

Hiking in the mountains.

Walking Dusty around town together.

Making cookies and watching movies.

Tossing around the gridball.

Organizing a water balloon toss during the luau.

Going to the skate park / batting cages with Sam, who wholeheartedly supports this pairing.

Seb takes a bit to warm to the idea, but only because he's protective of Abigail.

He sees how happy Alex makes her, and comes around. Maybe even plays a little fantasy gridball online with Alex / Shane. Seb goes easy on Alex. Shane does not.

Abi is so supportive of Alex's dream to play gridball professionally.

When an opportunity arises, she encourages him to try out for the minors.

And she bakes him a cake to celebrate when he makes the cut.

She is so proud of him! And he is over the moon that she believes in him.

It's not the Tunnelers. But it doesn't matter. They are both thrilled.

He trains his replacement before he leaves (Martin and Shane, when JojaMart closes).

Which makes Abi love him more.

Alex is so responsible and loyal. Even her dad has to admit that he's good for Abi.

And Alex couldn't be prouder (or louder), cheering in the front row, when she walks across the stage to get her uni diploma.

He knows she worked so hard and he throws her a party to celebrate.

Complete with a pop rocks cake!

And when she decides she wants to pursue a master's, he is right there with her, researching options, learning all he can about the various schools in the area for her specialty.

Abi selects a program near his stadium.

They get a little apartment in Zuzu City.

And every day, he walks her to class and picks her up after practice.

Literally.

She squeals every time.

He takes her out for pizza and beer.

Or cooks at home.

He's actually pretty domestic thanks to Granny. Makes good soups.

And let's be honest... he makes grilled cheeses like nobody's business.

She loves when he wears a long apron... nothing else. 😉

Alex picks out a stone.

The biggest rock he can afford.

But first... he teases her with a rock candy ring.

She loves to chew "rocks" after all. Haha!

When she sees it, she immediately says yes and jumps in his arms.

Even before seeing the "real deal."

You make me a better man... he says. And I will work hard every day to give you the life you deserve.

Her mom and his granny are thrilled to plan a wedding together.

Caroline takes Abi dress shopping, and she invites Alex over frequently for family game nights.

Alex looks forward to it and feels so welcome.

Plus Caroline brews the best tea.

Alex wasn't even a tea drinker before. But Abi's mom makes good stuff.

He feels so grateful for another mom figure in his life. Especially since he lost his mom so young.

George grunts a lot, but he sees how good Abigail is for his grandson.

And Pierre is skeptical but... he knows how well Alex cares for his daughter.

And the two get married... in the woods... where he first saw her play the flute.

Abigail with her long hair flowing, and white dreamy sleeves, flowers in her hair.

Alex in a tux... that George wore for his wedding day. Ev has to take it out a smidge (because Alex is more muscular) but he looks fantastic.

As she walks down the flower petal aisle, barefoot in the soft grass, she winks at him.

He's the luckiest guy alive!

It's a magical day!

Sometimes he can hardly believe this is his life now!

These two (suddenly) make so much sense to me! 🥰

[allthingsfangirl101]

Right in Front of You – Steve Harrington

Season 4, Episode 7

Requested by faithiegirl01

I looked over my shoulder to see the kids watching us from the shore. I quickly turned around and wrapped my arms around myself, resisting the urge to dive into the water and swim back to shore. I could feel Steve's eyes on me as we rowed to the middle of the lake. He opened his mouth to say something to me but Nancy interrupted him.

"This is it," she sighed. "This is where Patrick died."

"Alright," Eddie said loudly as he clapped his hands. "Who wants to dive down and search for a gate? Probably not me because I've never seen one."

"That counts me out," Robin chuckled awkwardly. Nancy, Steve, and I looked at each other. My heart jumped into my throat when Steve sighed and started taking off his shoes.

"What are you doing?" I stuttered.

"Somebody's gotta go down and check this out," he sighed. "Unless one of you four can top being Hawking High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then it's gotta be me. No complaints, alright?"

"But. . ."

Steve reached over and grabbed my hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze as he smiled at me.

"I'll be fine," he whispered. I opened my mouth to point out that he was going underwater, but he added, "I promise."

I looked away, unable to watch as my best friend, the boy I was secretly in love with, got ready to dive into the lake. I wrapped my arms around myself, holding my breath when I heard a splash. I struggled to keep my breathing under control as I tried not to think about Steve swimming toward a gate and what could be down there waiting for him.

I jumped when he finally came back to the surface. He swam to the edge of the boat, pulling himself up a little so he could see us. He instantly found me. I moved to the side of the boat, gently putting my hands over his.

"Did you see anything?" Robin asked.

"Yeah," he said, catching his breath. He finally looked away from me and towards Robin as he added, "Dustin was right. There's another gate."

"Underwater?" Nancy asked. "Is that even possible?"

The others started talking about the possibilities and whether or not we should go down there.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

"I'm fine," he said, squeezing my hand. "You should see it though, Y/N. The gate is pretty. . ."

"Steve?" I asked when he stopped talking. "What's wrong?"

"Something. . ."

"Steve!" I screamed when he was pulled under. I didn't hesitate. I didn't listen to my friends. I didn't even think about it. I dove in after him.

I didn't have time to focus on the fact that demobats were dragging him down. I didn't have time to focus on how scary the gate looked. I didn't have time to hesitate before swimming through the gate.

I gasped for air as I struggled to climb through the gate. I didn't have time to relax before I heard Steve gasping for breath. I turned around, my heart jumping into my throat when I saw the demobat's tail wrapped around his neck.

I grabbed the closest thing to me which was a rowboat ore. As I started to hit the bat that was choking Steve, others started attacking me. I let out a surprised scream as I started attacking the ones attacking me.

"Y/N," Steve gasped out.

"Hold on!" I yelled between swats.

I continued to fight off as many as I could as I started to hear the others coming through the gate. I'm not sure what really happened or who killed how many. All I knew was that it was over.

I froze when I turned around and finally got a good look at Steve's condition. There was a large chunk missing from his side and there was a lot of blood dripping down his torso. I tried to move but couldn't when he spit up blood. I was brought out of my trance when he fell to his knees.

"Steve!" I yelled. I ran over, collapsing next to him. My hands were shaking as I hovered over his wounds.

"Is it bad?" Steve asked, trying to sound light-hearted but it came out forced.

"I don't know," I said shakily. "It looks. . . I may be able to. . . I don't know, Steve. I don't know but. . ."

"Hey," he said gently. "I'm going to be okay."

"It looks bad."

"It's nothing," he tried to reassure me.

"We should get out of here," Eddie said. I instantly wrapped my arms around Steve's waist and helped him to his feet. We started running as fast as we could to the nearest section of woods.

It wasn't easy to carry Steve through the woods but I wasn't about to let him go. He needed my help. I would carry him all the way back to Hawkins if it meant saving him. Eventually, we got to Skull Rock.

"Steve!" I gasped when his legs gave out, causing both of us to fall to our knees. I leaned him against Skull Rock and gently reached up, moving some hair out of his face.

"I'm okay," he said through gritted teeth. He leaned his head back, struggling to catch his breath.

"We need to get his wound covered," Robin stuttered.

"Okay," I said shakily. I tried to breathe calmly, my hands shaking as they hovered over the wound. "I don't. . . I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Steve whispered. He grabbed my hand, weakly squeezing it.

"Here."

I didn't move as Nancy start ripping the bottom of her shirt. She handed it to me and I started wrapping it around Steve's waist. I winced when he gasped in pain. I looked up and saw him struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Don't leave me, okay?" I gasped out. "Promise you won't leave me, Steve."

"Hey," he whispered, making me look away from his wounds, "I would never leave you, Y/N."

"Promise?" I asked, my voice shaking. He grabbed my hand, squeezing it as tightly as he could.

"I promise," Steve whispered.

"I hate to break this up," Eddie said, staring at the horizon, "but we should probably keep moving."

"Can you walk?" I asked, looking back at Steve's wounds.

"I think so," he said, not at all convincingly. He stood up but he got dizzy. I instantly wrapped my arm around him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"I got you," I whispered. Steve looked up at me with a teasing smirk.

"Don't you always?"

                                * * * * *

Steve's POV

The group took turns helping me walk. We were on our way to Nancy's in hopes of finding some of her guns there, but it was taking us longer than necessary. We had to stop multiple times so I could rest.

Y/N helped me the most. Eventually, I noticed that she was getting tired. I made eye contact with Eddie and then glanced at her. His eyes softened before he nodded.

"How about I take a turn with Harrington?" Eddie offered.

"It's fine," Y/N brushed him off.

"Y/N," I whispered.

"I got you," she cut me off.

"Let me take over," Eddie pushed. "You've carried this dipshit for a long time. You should probably rest."

Y/N hesitated. I could feel that she wasn't going to budge. Unless I convinced her.

"Y/N," I tried again. "Let Eddie help me for a while. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" She whispered.

"I've got him," Eddie reassured her. "Take a break, Y/L/N."

Y/N sighed as she finally gave in. She held onto me until she was sure that Eddie had me. She slowly let me go, making sure I wasn't going to fall. Eddie and I waited until Y/N started walking with Nancy and Robin.

"Hey," I whispered, "I just wanted to say thanks. For saving my ass back there."

"Shit," he laughed, "you saved your own ass. I mean, that was a real Ozzy move you pulled back there."

"Ozzy?"

"You took a bite out of that bat," he clarified. "Ozzy Osbourne. Black Sabbath. You. . . He bit a bat's head off on stage. . . You know?"

"It doesn't matter," I brushed off.

"It's very metal, what you did, is all I'm saying," Eddie added.

"Thanks," I sighed.

"Henderson told me you were a badass. Insisted on the matter, in fact."

"Wait," I paused, "Henderson said that?"

"Oh yeah," he scoffed. "Shit. The kid worships you, dude. Like, you have no idea. It's kinda annoying, to be honest. I don't even know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but I guess I got a little jealous, Steve."

He glanced at me before clearing his throat and looking back toward the girls as he continued. "I guess I couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude. Rich parents. Popular. Chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way. That, like, flies in the face of all the universal. In my personal Munson Doctrine."

Eddie shook his head, slightly going back to the Eddie Munson that Dustin described. "Still super jealous, by the way."

"Okay," I laughed off. "Alright."

"Which is why I would've never jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any normal circumstances. Nope! Outside of D&D, I am no hero. I see danger and I just turn heel and run. Or at least that's what I've learned about myself this week."

"Give yourself a break," I sighed. "None of this UpsideDown shit is easy to swallow."

"See?" He interrupted me by pointing at Y/N, Robin, and Nancy ahead of us. "If it wasn't for those ladies, right there, I'd still be on that boat." He looked back at me before adding, "One in particular."

"What do you. . ."

"Y/N," he clarified. "She didn't hesitate, not even long enough to breathe. The millisecond you got pulled under, she dove in after you. It may have taken the rest of us a few seconds to get our heads on straight, but not Y/N. She wasn't about to lose you."

"I can't help but be mad at her," I said, not looking away from Y/N.

"Why?"

"Like you said, she didn't think. She dove straight in," I sighed. "She followed me through the gate and was forced to fight off demobats. She could've been killed."

"You could've been killed," he shrugged.

"I know but. . ."

"Dude," Eddie laughed. "How can you not see it?"

"See what?"

"That girl," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper as he nodded toward Y/N, "is crazy about you, Harrington."

"What are you talking about?" I scoffed.

"Don't do that," Eddie sighed, rolling his eyes. "Don't pretend you don't see what's right in front of you. It's not noble or sweet or charismatic. It's just pathetic."

"What's right in front of me?" I mumbled.

Eddie stopped walking, holding me back too. He glanced at Y/N before turning toward me. He studied me before he finally figured it out.

"You really don't see it," he said under his breath. "Wow. I didn't realize you were this dense."

"Will you stop being such an ass and just tell me what bush you're beating around?"

"Y/N's in love with you, dumbass."

My first instinct was to brush it off. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized the little things. My mind went back to the moment before I jumped into the lake. Then it changed to Y/N diving in after I got pulled back down.

After we fought them off, Y/N was immediately by my side. She was the first one to volunteer to help me walk through the woods. Her turn was longer than anyone else's.

"You think that she's. . . Is she really?"

"Of course," Eddie laughed. "You really didn't see it? The way you're the only one she goes to for help. The way she runs to you. The way she only asks you for advice. The way she only listens to you. The way she runs to you. It's obvious, Harrington. We all see it."

"That can't be true," I mumbled. "She never told me."

"Duh," he scoffed. I looked up at him, not bothering to hide my scold. He sighed, rolling his eyes as he started walking us down the path again. "You can't really blame her. You two have been friends since you were little, right?"

"Right."

"I can't believe she stood by you in your douchebag stage," he laughed, "but that's beside the point. The point is that you can't blame her for being hesitant to tell you how she feels. What if you didn't feel the same?"

"You guys alright?"

We both let out surprised yelps at Y/N's sudden voice. She looked at us like we had three heads.

"You okay?" She asked slowly.

"Of course!" Eddie said, trying a little too hard to sound natural.

"Um, okay," Y/N said slowly. "Here, Eddie. We're getting close. Why don't you catch up to Robin and Nancy and I'll help Steve the rest of the way?"

Eddie glanced at me before back at Y/N. "He's all yours, Y/L/N."

I ignored his knowing look as Y/N grabbed me. She wrapped her arm tightly around my waist, making sure she didn't accidentally touch my wound. I draped my arm loosely around her shoulders.

"You doing okay?" She asked under her breath.

"As okay as I can get," I tried to tease. My heart sank when I saw the look on her face. "Hey," he whispered, "I'm fine."

"The wound was deep," she mumbled. "I could see. . ."

"Stop," I interrupted her. "Don't focus on that. Focus on the fact that I'm right here. That I'm okay."

Y/N sighed as she leaned her head against my shoulder. "I thought I was going to lose you."

"You'd never lose me," I said as quickly as I could. "I'm not going anywhere."

We were quiet as we finally got to Nancy's house. Y/N helped me inside as the others jogged upstairs to search for Nancy's guns.

"Shouldn't we join the others?" I asked through the pain.

"No," Y/N said in a tone that told me she wasn't open to arguing. "I'm going to try and find a first aid kit or whatever medical supplies the Wheelers like to hoard."

Y/N led me into the bathroom, somehow able to move me across the vines without stepping on them. She helped me sit on the toilet before searching through the medicine cabinet.

"Come on," she mumbled as she struggled to find some supplies.

"Y/N," I tried to get her attention.

"There has to be something!"

"Y/N, please." I grabbed her hand before she could run out of the bathroom. I thought about my conversation with Eddie, deciding that this secret between Y/N and I has been in the dark for too long.

"I feel the same."

"What?" She asked, her voice getting caught in her throat. I pulled her to me, not stopping when she hesitated. She mumbled my name as I pulled her onto my lap.

"I feel the same," I said again.

"Steve," she whispered, "I don't understand."

"I know how you feel about me," I clarified.

"What are you. . ."

"I know how you feel about me, Y/N, and I feel the same."

"You. . ."

"I feel the same," I repeated as I put my hand on the back of her neck and pulled her in.

Y/N gasped when my lips touched hers. It took her a second before she started kissing me back. As she did, she gently cupped my face in her hands. We got lost in the kiss, not caring where we were. I broke away from her when my side was throbbing too badly.

"Are you alright?" She asked, breathing heavily from the kiss.

"The only thing that could make this moment better would be if we weren't in the UpsideDown," I chuckled, ignoring her question and focusing on her face inches from mine.

"And if we weren't in Nancy Wheeler's bathroom."

[grimst4rs]

Romanian marauders!!! Where would they come from????

bat i am giving you a great ol’ hug for this question because i am dying to talk about romanian marauders:

sirius: cluj. lots of things to do, big city. i feel like he would particularly enjoy central park simion bărnuțiu, with the little lake/pond and everything. regularly visits steampunk transylvania

james: bucurești. i feel like it’s obvious; he’s a big city boy. the museum of senses makes him dizzy, but he brings his friends there when the visit. has a lot of pictures of the triumph arc in his phone

peter: timișoara, solely based on vibes (and what my sister thinks). would like to be a tour guide for the tourists one day, he’s very attached to his city and knows all of its history

remus: i’m not exactly sure, but a small town in ardeal. loves the traditional cuisine and having sirius over from his big, university city. does long-distance uni courses and has sheep, too.

lily: brașov. likes being from the “chillier” part of the country and adores the gothic architecture of the city. goes to the “haunted” house near the bran castle for halloween every year

marlene: i’m thinking either constanța or mamaia, but honestly any option that is close to the beach. specifically wakes up early every morning to go swim or surf; there are algae in the water, too

mary: iași. goes to the to the copou park and the anastasie fătu botanical garden regularly, she likes seeing the colourful flowers. the palace of culture is a must-see in her opinion

dorcas: sibiu. passes by the palace and bridge of lies every day just to see them. adores the christmas fair and makes her friends come with her. they have dinner in the old town afterwards

[xandriagreat]

Ballister | Chapter 13

Prologue | Last Chapter | Next Chapter

Notice/warnings: food, pain, wounds, attack(s), arm chopping/exposition, fire, screams, crying, ANGST

▪︎▪︎▪︎

Ballister flew high in the sky.

He was crying as he flew.

'I can't believe it... I lost another friend... Because of me...' Ballister thought as he flew.

Before he got to the wall, his bat ears overheard a call that the guards of the wall were getting.

The call: “Guards, keep an eye out for the monster. It’s trying to escape!”

Thinking quickly, Ballister quickly flew down into the woods to avoid being spotted.

He shapeshifted into a fox when he got close to the ground and started to run to anywhere where no one would find him.

He ran until he tripped over his paws and started to tumble until he slid to a stop.

“Ow…” Ballister groaned as he slowly sat up. 

Ballister shapeshifted into his teen form as he looked up to see where he was.

He was in a familiar small clearing of the woods with an old wishing well.

Ballister stared at the well before looking at the huge statue of Ambrosius in the distance.

The shapeshifter shapeshifted to his child form, hugging himself as he remembered his side of the hero and monster story…

◇flashback◇

Ballister was a newly formed shapeshifter, living in a village of mythicals (or monster, some people would say) and some humans.

Ballister can shapeshift into a lot of humans and animals. But he has three favorite forms.

A seal, a cat, and his human form.

His human form is a 6 year old British-Pakistani boy, since he's young and new. So it would make sense that his human form is a child.

His human form wears an old light gray shirt and brown pants, black hair was short to his ears and two different color streaks of light blue and dark indigo in his black hair.

Ballister was walking through the village, saying ‘hellos’ to some of the neighbors as he got ready to go explore beyond the village. 

When Ballister was ready to explore beyond the village, he went to the edge of the village.

As he took in a breath, he heard familiar running footsteps and giggles going to him.

Ballister turned around to see a group of village kids running to him.

“Hi, Ballister!” a few of the kids of the village called out to him, running to him.

Ballister smiled and said, “Hey!”

“How are you?” Teddy, one of the kids, asked when the kids got to him.

“I’m good. How are all of you?” Ballister said to them.

“We’re good. Want to play with us?” Abigail, another of the kids, asked excitedly.

Ballister smiled a bit sadly at the kids as he said, “Thanks for offering but no. I’m going to explore beyond the village.”

“Aw…” the kids said in disappointment.

“Sorry…” Ballister said to them.

“It’s ok, Bal.” Frankie said, handing him the ball. “Mind starting us off?”

Ballister chuckled softly as he nodded and took the ball from them. Then he tossed the ball in the air to start the game, which made the kids cheer excitedly.

Ballister waved at them before shapeshifting into a fox and going on an adventure beyond the village.

◇

Ballister looked around as he went through the woods.

He was trying out different forms as he went.

He changed from a fox to a bear to a wolf to a squirrel. 

He noticed a finch bird on a tree branch.

Thinking that he could make a new friend, he shapeshifted into a finch bird as he flew up to the branch. 

He landed on the branch, which got the finch’s attention.

As he got a few tweets out, the finch flew off to other finches that were flying, leaving Ballister alone. 

The young shapeshifter sighed and flew off, looking for another possible friend.

Ballister noticed a river and a school of fish swimming. 

Thinking that he could make at least a new friend with one of them, he dove down and shapeshifted into a fish. He swam to the group, attempting to join the school of fish but the fish all swam away from him.

Ballister blew out some bubbles before shapeshifting into a wolf to get out of the river.

He shook some water off of himself as he got out of the river.

Then he noticed couple of deer bounding by

Thinking that he could make a new friend at least one of them,  he shapeshifted into a deer and ran after them.

He prancing after the couple other deer, mimicking their every move.

The deer noticed him and just continued to bound off, leaving him alone again in a clearing of the woods.

‘Dang it…’ Ballister thought as he stopped following them and sat down. 

He shapeshifted into a cat and he curled up.

Then he heard faint humming and giggling in the distance.

Ballister perked up and looked at where it came from as he got up before walking over to it.

Ballister hid in the bushes as he looked at a wishing well. He also saw a human village in the distance behind the wishing well. 

Ballister shapeshifted into his kid self.

Then he saw a little boy, who was walking to the well while carrying a bucket.

The little boy was wearing an off white shirt, a blue jacket, brown pants, and brown boots. He also had a red scarf wrapped around his head.

The little boy looked at the village for a moment before taking the scarf off, revealing that the boy is blonde east asian.

The boy put the bucket down to pick up two small stones and climbed up on the well. He looked at the two small stones before looking at a nearby tree stump, smiling.

From the shadows in the forest, Ballister watches the boy play by throwing one of the stones into the nearby tree stump.

The stone landed into the stump.

“Woo!” the boy said excitedly, carefully jumping on the well wall.

The boy threw the second one but it missed the stump and landed near the bush that Ballister was hiding in.

The boy sigh and jumps down from the well, walking over to get the stone.

Ballister was about to step back, to still be hidden, but he didn’t look where he was stepping as he stepped on a twig and it snapped it, which got the boy’s attention.

The boy picked up the stone before going to the bush and pulling a few branches back a bit to find Ballister.

“Hi there!” the boy said, smiling at Ballister.

Ballister waved nervously and awkwardly to him.

“Hey, it’s ok.” said the boy, who gave Ballister the stone and helped him walk out of his hiding place with a smile. “Want to play with me?”

Ballister was unsure but nodded with a smile.

He tried to throw the stone but it landed at his feet.

The boy giggled at that and explained, “That’s not how you throw.”

The boy taught Ballister how to throw. 

Then they both played, laughing as they played.

The two of them laid on the grass at one point, both of them giggling.

The boy looked at Ballister and asked, “I hope you don’t mind me asking but, what’s your name? My name is Ambrosius.”

Ballister just stared at Ambrosius.

"Can you talk?” Ambrosius asked, sitting up and looking down at Ballister.

Ballister looked at the boy and nodded. “My name is Ballister.” he said, smiling at Ambrosius. 

“That’s a pretty name.” the boy said, smiling.

That’s when Ballister made a new friend, Ambrosius.

◇

For the past couple of weeks, Ballister and Ambrosius meet by the well. 

They normally go into the woods, but not too far into the woods so Ambrosius could make it back home in time for dinner.

The things that they normally do in the woods is walking through the woods, talking about a few things (Ambrosius would do most of the talking while Ballister listened), jumping on stones of rivers (Ballister did save Ambrosius from falling into the river one time), and have sword fights (well- a wooden sword and a stick fight). A few times, they sometimes take nap in the woods.

But sometimes, Ambrosius has to be in the village to do chores.

So, Ballister goes into Ambrosius’ village and they normally play tag or just chase each other while doing chores. 

Ballister and Ambrosius was grabbing some apple picking baskets as they noticed Ambrosius’s father working on a lance, adding something to it.

“So, what’s your father working on?” Ballister asked as they walked to the apple picking field.

“He’s been adding a type of machine to the lance, you know the pointy wood thing that knights use to knock other knights down.” Ambrosius explained as they got to the field and starting to get some apples. "I don't know why."

Ballister hummed and started to get some apples too.

They put the apples in the baskets.

It was just them.

Ballister set a basket of apples down as he noticed that Ambrosius was struggling to get an apple out of the tree. 

When the little boy was about to give up and lay on the ground, Ballister shapeshifted into a little bird in front of Ambrosius for the first time. 

Ballister got the apple down and shapeshifted back to his little boy self as he caught the apple with a smile. He held the apple and looked at Ambrosius, who looked at him in a mix of shock and amazement.

Ballister’s smile faded into fear when seeing the look. “I-” he started but was cut off by Ambrosius exclaiming, “Wow! That was amazing! How did you do that?!”

Ballister didn’t expect that but he smiled at him again. “Well, to let you know, I’m not really human. I’m a shapeshifter. To answer the ‘how’ question; it’s more like what I’m feeling or I think of what I want to shift into.” he explained with a chuckle.

“That’s so cool!” Ambrosius exclaimed again. "Are there others like you?"

Ballister nodded, still smiling at him.

Then Ballister told Ambrosius to keep about him shapeshifting a secret and Ambrosius agreed to keep it secret.

◇

Ambrosius and Ballister’s friendship grew more as they got to know each other more for the past few months. 

They have gone on adventures into the woods and Ballister shows more of his shapeshifting to Ambrosius when they ’re in a good spot of the woods.

He shows mostly animal forms.

Ambrosius was amazed by all of the forms.

They were very happy with each other.

But that all changed one day, when the sun was setting…

Ambrosius and Ballister were playing with each other. Ambrosius had his wooden sword and Ballister was in his bear form.

Ballister playfully swats at Ambrosius before hugging him. Ambrosius giggled as he hugged him back before gently tapping Ballister’s head with the sword.

Ballister started to go back and did some somersaults, still hugging Ambrosius.

The both of them laughed as they hugged and somersaulted.

They were having so much fun that they didn’t notice that they were no longer in the woods and at the edge of Ambrosius’ village.

They stopped somersaulting at the edge of the village. 

Ambrosius was on top of Ballister, laughing while the shapeshifter smiled at him.

Then he noticed that his claws accidentally caught on Ambrosius's scarf. Carefully, Ballister was flapping his paw to try to get the scarf off.

Ambrosius noticed and he took of the scarf as he started to say, "Here, let me help yo-"

Then there were screams from the grown ups of the village. 

“Ambrosius!” Ambrosius’ parents shouted worriedly.

“Bear! There’s a bear in the village!” a villager shouted, warning the other villagers.

The next thing Ballister knew was that Ambrosius was pulled out of his arms by Ambrosius’ father and took a few steps away from Ballister. Ambrosius’ mother ran to her husband and son as some of the villagers ran over to help take care of the bear.

Ballister looked at himself, thinking that this form is scaring them, before shapeshifting into his little boy form, showing that it’s him and there’s nothing to be afraid of. He still held the scarf and he offered it to them.

But instead, that made all of the grown ups of the village start to freak out.

“What is that?!” one villager asked in fear.

“Get the kids inside!” one of the parents shouted to their kids to stay inside.

“Stay back!” another villager shouted at Ballister, pointing a pitchfork at him.

Ambrosius noticed that the grown ups started to get weapons.

“No! Stop! Stop! He’s my friend!” Ambrosius cried out to the grown ups. Then Ambrosius’ mother turned him around and said, “No, he’s a monster.”

Ambrosius started to get visibly shaken by his parents’ reaction. His apprehension grows as he looks at Ballister while more grown ups of the village run over with weapons, mostly pitchforks and torches.

Ballister was getting more scared as the grown ups of the village surrounded him, afraid and angry looks on their faces.

Ballister tries to explain but they relentless and don't listen to him.

Ballister shapeshifted into a cat as he tried to run but there was no way as the grown ups surrounded him, blocking him from running.

Some start to poke at him with their weapons, making Ballister more scared and shapeshifts more.

Ballister’s different forms started to blend together as  Ballister got pushed around and poked at more, leading him to be more defensive. 

His eyes burn with fear and anger as he lets out a piercing roar and slash his claws at the air.

The crowd lurches back in fear as Ambrosius’s father grabbed lance that he work on and pointed at Ballister.

“Everyone, watch out!” Ambrosius’s father shouted at the mob.

The mob got out of the way as the pointy part of the lance opened up.

Ambrosius saw this. 

Without thinking, he got out of his mother’s grip and grabbed his father’s arm to try to avoid Ballister being shot as the weaponized lance shoots.

Ballister was shapeshifting when the weaponized lance went off and it hit him. It sent him almost flying back when it hit him. Ballister hit the ground while a big piece of him, that was on fire, flew in the air and then landed on dry grass, starting a fire that became a wildfire that spread quickly to the village.

The grown ups quickly went to get the fire put out.

Ambrosius looks around at the chaos before just stares in fear at Ballister, who just shapeshifted back to his little boy form.

But this time, the form looked different.

Ballister had a fresh scar over his right eye and he was missing his right arm. Instead there was a black burnt shoulder and a small bit of an arm stump with some red.

Ballister was crying as he held his shoulder and had his right eye closed. He still held the red scarf. He looked at Ambrosius and noticed that he was scared.

Ballister tried to speak to explain but was in a lot of pain. The only thing that he could say was, “R-R-Rose…?”

Ambrosius took in a breath, mustering all the courage he could as he picked up and held his wooden sword at Ballister.

“Go back to the shadows from whence you came…” Ambrosius said in a loud clear voice.

Ballister stares at Ambrosius with a broken heart before he backs away and then disappears into the shadows.

That wasn’t the last time that Ambrosius said those words to Ballister or the last time they saw each other.

◇

Throughout the years, the village became a kingdom.

When Ambrosius became a grown up; he became a knight and helped train knights to help him fight the monsters, which was mostly Ballister.

But that didn’t stop Ballister from trying to have a conversation with Ambrosius or just seeing him from the shadows of the woods to see how he was doing. 

It did break his heart when seeing how happy he was with his own family. But he was happy for him.

One point, Ambrosius led a hunt for Ballister, to end the mayhem and chaos that he made.

Ambrosius and a big group of knights chase after Ballister to catch him, but that leads to their undoing.

After catching Ballister, Ambrosius and the knights ran into a few of the monsters of Ballister’s village. They were very angry at them while the knights had fear.

Then a fight started.

No one knows who started it. 

But it ended when  all of the knights’ lives were ended and Ambrosius was knocked unconscious.

Ballister got freed and was about to be on his way but he noticed that Ambrosius was still alive and badly injured.

So, when no one was looking, Ballister carefully picked up Ambrosius, put him on his back as he shapeshift into a horse, and took him back to the kingdom.

Ballister shapeshifted into a traveler before they got to the kingdom. 

The shapeshifter noticed that a wall was being built around the kingdom as he carried Ambrosius. ‘What’s the use for that? I can just fly over it or dig under it.’ Ballister thought, still carrying Ambrosius.

“Help!” Ballister calls out in a deep voice, getting nearby people’s attention. “This man needs help!”

A few people ran to them and guided Ballister to get Ambrosius some help.

After Ambrosius got some help and lay on a bed, Ballister looked at the injured man who he used to call his friend.

Ambrosius didn’t look very well. His skin was becoming more pale, his blonde hair was a mess, and he looked very weak.

Ballister sighed and shapeshifted into his little boy form when it was just the both of them in the room.

Ambrosius groaned a bit as he woke up and looked at Ballister. 

The weak man glared at the shapeshifter and asked with a growl, “What do you want?”

“I just want to give you back something.” Ballister answered before taking off the red scarf and putting it on the bed.

Ambrosius stared at the scarf before looking at Ballister again.

Ballister nodded and said, “I thought that you need it more than me.”

Ambrosius stared at Ballister for a moment before looking away. “You should take it and leave…” the man growled low.

That caught the shapeshifter off guard. “What-?”

“JUST GO!” Ambrosius shouted at Ballister.

Ballister jumped at that and grabbed the scarf, wrapped it around his neck. He shapeshifted into a bird before he flew out the opened window.

Ballister glanced back as he flew, seeing Ambrosius’ family enter the room to check on Ambrosius, who was crying.

Ballister started to cry too as he flew up in the sky, leaving the man who he called ‘friend’.

◇back to present time◇

Ballister was crying as he stared at the statue of the kingdom’s hero. 

A lot of people think that Ambrosius passed away as hero, but in reality, he died as a broken and injured man.

Ballister looked down as he started to remember all of the bad things that people have said about him.

‘What is that?!’

‘No, he’s a monster’

‘Freak!’

‘Monster…’

'You freak!'

‘What are you?’

‘Was everything, you helping me clear my name, was a lie?’

‘Go back to the shadows from whence you came…’

The words got louder and faster that they overlapped in Ballister’s mind.

Ballister started to believe the words as he stared at the statue of Ambrosius.

Then Ballister started growling and breathing heavily.

Ballister began clutching his hands as he started to shapeshift into a sometype of beast made of shadow and smoke. He was growing bigger and bigger as he shapeshifted, leading him to scream so loud that it could be heard everywhere.

[fl3shm4id3n]

𝓜𝔂 𝓑𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓕𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓲𝓼 𝓥𝓪𝓶𝓹𝓲𝓻𝓮

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭.

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ɴᴇᴛᴇʏᴀᴍ x ᴠᴀᴍᴘɪʀᴇ! ꜰᴇᴍ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Tw: Vampirism, child/infant testing, reader is 16, mentions of blood bags, earth black market mentioned

A/N: I watched the lost boy again and read interview with the vampire, so I wanted to write a fic involving a vampire reader. :D Might do a part two

Ps: I'll work on the Sully's Stick Together part II tomorrow.

Masterlist

Just like Spider, you had been born during the the RDA's colony base on Hell's gate, you had been born a month before Spider. Your parent's did not have any use for you, until they decided to begin some testing on you. Those tests involving bat samples and other kinds of illegal samples brought on the Black Market from earth. For a whole year you had been tested on, until the battle broke out.

The na'vi had won and the humans were sent back, only a few who had helped inside the base were allowed to stay. You and Spider had to stay behind since you were both too young to board, not to mentioned you were somewhat of a meta-human.A vampire more like it, except you didn't burn to a crisp when you went out into the sun, your skin was sensitive to sunlight so you either had to wear black long sleeves or have sun screen on.

Your vision in the dark was impressive, you could see clearly. But in the day light, your eyes were sensitive, so you wore sunglasses when you'd go out in the day. Then came your teeth, you had regular teeth but you had fangs, they were almost similar to the Na'vi's but sharper and can drain out someone's blood. Besides flawless skin, it also looked deathly, as if you were sick not to mention you were cold as ice. When it came to feeding, you drank from blood bags that had been kept in the lab, you can eat regular food, but blood or any kind of red food, you loved.

Just like Spider, you also knew the Sully kids, you both learned some of their ways. Spider was dedicated in him wanting to be part of the Omaticaya. You, you just went with the flow, you already had some abilities that you got growing up, those being speed, strength, flight, enhanced hearing and 20/20 vision. But you didn't mind learning how to use a bow and arrow.

The Sully kids had always been interested in your abilities, every time you had developed an ability, you'd show then first. You were all close to one another, since you all were almost the same age. You guy would do dumb shit together sometimes and would get into some trouble together.

You and Neteyam were closer from out of all the kids. You both believed it must have been because you and him would take the heat for the other or because you both were responsible older kids. you couldn't explain why, but you and Neteyam are inseparable. You'd also would spend a lot of time together, without the others sometimes you'd sneak out and night just to hang out in the woods and talk, you'd get teased by Spider, claiming that you and Neteyam are dating, you aren't.

That day you had been with Neteyam, it was just the two of you. You were hanging out around a river that had fish swimming on them. It was very hot, so you had to add double sunscreen on and you wore your red hearts shaped sunglasses. You had been fanning yourself with your hand, the heat was getting to you. "God, could it get hotter?" you whined as Neteyam was sitting next to you. "I don't know about you, but I'm used to this" he teased, also splashing some water at you, making you look at him with a glare. "Yeah, that's because you live outside, I live indoors" you hissed playfully. You yawned, a bit tired. Sometimes you'd feel drained due to the sun light or heat. "We could go back to lab if you're tired." Neteyam mentioned, you shook your head. "Nah, it's fine, I'll have a nap later" you mentioned.

"So how is that next leader training going?" You asked curiously, while looking at him. "It's alright, except my dad has way to much expectations on me, not only that but Lo'ak keeps getting himself into trouble" Neteyam said sighing, you could see how drained out he was, more drained out then you were.

You rubbed his back comfortingly. "It'll be okay, I mean I may not know much about that sort of thing, but I know things will get better" you said comfortingly. Neteyam only smiled and got a hold of your smaller hand, this was a habit of his. He'd hold your hand for hours, he got a good look at your red nail polished fingers. "This color really suits you" he said, changing the topic, you smiled at his comment, if you had a heartbeat, for sure your heart would be beating fast. "Thank you, I was thinking of painting them blue next" you mentioned, making Neteyam chuckle. "Have you gained a new ability of any kind?" he asked, you only shook your head. "No, expect, I can't really my reflection, unless I'm invited in" you mentioned.

"That's a shame, if only you could see how beautiful you look.." He said, this comment made your eyes go wide, you felt all the blood from your body rush to your face. "Not even on pictures?" he asked. You shook your head. "Nope, you'd only see my sunglasses floating" you giggled, remembering when you took a picture of yourself with Spider, only for your glasses to shown floating. "Hm, that's good thing, since I'd have the privilege of seen your face for myself in person." He said smirking, you felt as if you stopped breathing. Even though you couldn't breathe.

ₙₑₓₜ ₚₐᵣₜ

[alln64games]

Legend of the River King 64

JP release: 27th November 1998

PAL release: N/A

NA release: N/A

Developer: Pack-In-Video

Publisher: Victor Interactive

Original Name: Nushi Tsuri 64

N64 Magazine Score: 56%

Nushi Tsuri is a series of fishing RPGs that were released between 1990 and 2007. A few games have received western releases under the name Legend of the River King on the Game Boy and Game Boy Colour. Some of the later games were called River King in North America, but Harvest Fishing in Europe, to try and market it as a Harvest Moon spin-off (the mainline games of both franchises were made by Marvelous, but River King was first).

While the N64 version of Legend of the River King was marketed for a western release at some point, it ended up getting cancelled, so we’re left with a Japan-only game, which heavily relies on Japanese text. Google Lens is fine for rough translations, but is unfortunately not quite up to the task for specifics like translating fish names and other technical things like baits and lures. Still, I tried out what I could.

The game is presented as a top down 2D RPG and it looks lovely in motion, especially the water. Movement is surprisingly unrestrictive as it seems you can climb up any surface and swim through the water – there is one section where you’re blocked that’s part of a lengthy quest to reach the main objectives. The setting seems to be based on the British countryside (my girlfriend even commented on the look without seeing the red post box or football field), but with Japanese buildings.

The game stars a large family, and you get to choose which one to play as. While most of the game is the same for each, they have their own end goals. The girl I picked wanted to find a rare fish that uses a nest because it’s something her fiancé wanted to see. Along the way, you need to hone your skills by catching fish in order to get better equipment and win tournaments.

While the game is pretended in a cure and lovely 2D format, it changes completely once you get a bite on your rod. You are presented with a 3D view of the very nicely detailed fish. You need to use the analogue stick to make the fish think that the bait is real (it’s very difficult to figure out the tight motion) and use the a button to reel in. If the rod starts to strain, you’ll feel a rumble and you’ll need to let go until you see enough slack on the line to start reeling in again.

I found the fishing to be very difficult, even after reading tips online, and still struggled with the little indoor fishing that lets you fish as much as you want without using resources. You need to keep your eye on both your supplies and the quality of your rod.

Exploring the areas of the game (that I could access to – I never got the bridge repaired to access the blocked off areas), I did manage to find an old man that talked about the fish my character was after, as he laments that the species is now incredibly rare due to pollution. I did attempt to fish in this area on the off chance that I would find one, but I couldn’t even get bite, even trying lots of different bait.

I imagine that the information needed to figure out what kinds of rods, lures and baits you need to use in different locations is somewhere, but as Google isn’t great at translating those kinds of things, it’s lost on me, so this was kind of the end of my adventure. I did manage to catch a few fish, and you fill out an encyclopaedia with information – and you can make the model of the fish move its mouth by pressing A, so I had fun making it sing along to the tune of the music.

There is also more than just fishing. Wildlife will also attack you, either form you walking into them on the map or random encounters. Everything – seagulls, mice, eagles, cats, starfish – is out to get you, and you have three options: placate them with food, attack them or run away.

On top of catching fish, you also collect bugs and flowers. With bugs, you find them on the map and use your net to start the “battle” phase where you use a net or your bare hands to collect the bugs in a first person view. Cutting flowers is a bit more simple.

Legend of the River King seems like a nice and relaxing game, and it’s a shame that the language barrier makes it difficult to fully play and enjoy. I do really like this kind of RPG where the “combat” is something that isn’t a battle system, such as the handheld Mario Golf and Tennis games.

Even though I couldn’t get very far in the game, I enjoyed the time I spent with it.

It’s almost impossible to get a decent way into it if you’re not even slightly conversant in Japanese, such is the option-heavy nature of the text – but we did have a fair amount of fun once we discovered how to fish.

- Jes Bickham, N64 Magazine #26

Remake or remaster?

It would be nice to see an English translation of this game – and perhaps a Story of Seasons fishing game.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get Legend of the River King 64

[theoceantot]

Chapter 4

Fast forward a couple weeks and Perse was adjusting really well to her new living conditions. Tim and Dick were here brothers and Barbara was a mother figure to her. Brushing her hair, feeding her, and just all in all spending time with her. Barbara was definitely her main babysitter when Bruce was busy with work and being batman. Barbara would be talking to him on coms while you were in your play pen playing with toys or napping.

"Papa I here!" Perse yells from her play pen so he can hear her

"Baby, he can't respond to you right now he's beating up bad guys"

"Oh otay" Perse sadly said and went back to playing with her stuffed animals. Lately her papa hasn't been spending a lot of time with her. Always busy with something. And now he was transporting Joker to arkham asylum. again. Now she was just waiting for him to get home so she can get some much needed attention. Dick was swimming in the indoor pool with her while she was sitting on top of the water something she recently figured out she could do.

"Perse, is everything okay? you're not playing with me like you usually do" Dick asked with worry and held her in his arms bouncing Perse a bit since that usually calmed her down. Not today though. She broke away from Dicks arms and swam underwater to the bottom corner of the pool which was 8ft deep. Somewhere she was NOT allowed to swim while little. Perse didn't need to come up for air either since she could breathe underwater and she didn't float up either she she could just sit in the corner and pout.

Dick got out of the pool to find Tim and Alfred since he didn't know how to deal with tantrums.

"I'd say a timeout is in order Master Dick" Alfred declared.

"Are we sure we need to do that?" Tim asked not fully agreeing with the idea.

"How about we just ask her to come out? Im sure she just forgot she wasn't supposed to go over there.

"Sweetie, you cant be on that side of the pool you need to come out now okay?" Tim asked nicely.

"No"

"What do you mean no?"

"NO COMIN OUT"

"Well that worked buddy" Dick laughed.

"Ms Perse if you don't come out im going to inform your papa of this misbehavior" Alfred demanded

Perse didn't want papa to be mad at her so she swam up and Tim pulled her out of the pool wrapping her in a towel. Alfred leads her into the corner where she stares at the wall disappointed in herself.

'What are they gonna do to me? Make me eat tomatoes? Slam the doors? Poke me with needles?'

Dick watched Perse begin to shake and start crying hitting her head against the wall. He quickly ran over and held her close.

"NO I NO WANNA NOT AGAIN"

Perse was obviously having some sort of flashback.

Dick tried to get closer but all she did was scream, scared that he was gonna hurt her like those awful people did to her. Instead they gave her a few minutes to calm herself letting Perse figure out they weren't gonna hurt her. She calmed down and stood up slowly wobbling as she walked over to Dick.

"S-sorry"

"Princess, it was only a time out why were you so scared?"

"Da tomatoes and da shots it hurt me"

"Tomatoes?" Tim questioned

"They gross they make me eat them"

Nobody wanted to question her anymore not wanting to make her break down again. They could ask another time.

"And we forgive you honey" Dick said and picked Perse up holding her close before Tim carries her back to her nursery where he tucks Perse in her crib and turns out the light.

Everyone watches the tv as Batman is about to fight a titan affected Joker. All were watching intently praying he would be victorious again.

"Ya know bats I never struck you for the type that would take in a girl who sliced up my boys like lunch meat" Joker taunted as tried hitting Batman who quickly dodged. Joker knew about Perse. That wasn't good. Now there's a chance he could target her to get to him. He wasn't gonna let Joker hurt her. Not a chance. Batman ended up defeating Joker hoping this time would be the last but of course its never that easy with him. He would be back but for now it was over.

When he got back to the batcave everyone congratulated him. Dick was the one who had to break the news that Perse had a tantrum but they were all more concerned of just how terrified she was that they were gonna hurt her. Batman decided that tomorrow he would try to figure out who she really was and where she came from but for now all he wanted to do was see her. He stood over her crib and watched Perse sleep peacefully.

Perse wakes up next morning and doesn't feel small anymore.

'Im still so tired but I need to find Bruce and tell him everything'

I get out of my crib and slip on a pink dress with black polka dots with black heels. I've never had good clothes like this so I feel insanely confident. Bruce must have heard me on the baby monitor because I heard him coming up the stairs and opening the door. He must have been suprised to see me out of my headspace because his eyes widened a bit.

"Hello Sir" I greeted looking at the ground.

"Good morning Perse. And theres no need to call me Sir just Bruce is fine or whatever you're comfortable with"

I nodded and slowly looked up at him.

"I know you want answers from me and i'll tell you what I know"

I started from the beginning. How I was an orphan that was abused by everyone until I ran away and was experimented on. I also explained my trauma with tomatoes and needles.

"Im not used to talking this much. I wasn't allowed to talk for years which I guess I didn't care too much about since I never really talked anyway"

"I see. Thank you for telling me this im sure this wasn't easy for you. Just know that all of us are here for you and if you want I can train you to become a hero like us but thats up to you"

"I don't want anyone to go what I went through so fuck it im in"

[yeehanfrf]

Week 16 Recs: You Don't Want Sand There

For Week 16, we're celebrating the start of summer in one hemisphere and maybe providing some warmth for anyone missing it in the other hemisphere!

I asked for "summer vibes" and y'all didn't disappoint. Behind the cut, you'll find the fics gathered from the Yeehan community, organized by rating and then alphabetically by title.

General Audiences

A Summer's Promise by Rikkichi [9,254 words]

Hanzo was there, kneeling down by the water, and he had some kind of bread with him. Hanzo was tearing off small pieces of the bread and tossing it to the water, letting the fish swallow the bites whole. During all of this, Hanzo had a smile on his face. A smile that Jesse had never seen before, but that he definitely liked. It looked way better than the scowls Hanzo had been wearing a few days prior when they had met for the first time. "Hey there," Jesse said, grinning as he waved to Hanzo. Upon hearing a voice, Hanzo looked up very quickly, acting like a child that had been caught in the cookie jar. As soon as he saw Jesse, though, the other boy scowled and moved to stand up. That was when Jesse realized he had disturbed some sort of private moment, and he felt a pang of guilt. Hanzo had been enjoying himself, so why was having someone else here a problem?

Teen and Up

Mid-Mission Summer Break by wyntera [4,609 words]

With an afternoon to kill, McCree encourages Hanzo to have a little fun.

Seas the Day by PersonalSpin [3,198 words]

Overwatch beach episode, written for the Summer Gift Exchange on the McHanzo Discord!

the turning of the tides by fishpoets [5,431 words]

The end of summer doesn't have to mean the end of summer love. (Or, Hanzo goes for a swim, has a haircut, and feels a lot of feelings.)

Explicit

a cold breeze, a warm sea by extra kanin (gracon_bacon) [4,458 words] Reccer comment: "only got one this time but it's about a sweet, sweet vacation on a private island"

When you have only two days off in a month, you make the most of it. For lack of anything better to do during his rare vacation, Hanzo decides to go to a remote island with McCree. It's a day he will never forget.

Away by Vimeddiee [29,154 words] Reccer comment: "Viv's 'Away' is a masterpiece so pls go read it"

Hanzo awakens to the feel of grit in his eyes and the crunch of sand between his teeth. This in itself doesn’t rudely force him into consciousness, but the insistent flicking against his nose that he groggily attempts to bat away, does. “High tide’s coming, you better nap someplace else.” AKA I wanted to write Cassidy as a slappy boy so I DID.

Binary by mataglap [4,380 words] Reccer comment: "when I thought 'what's a summer vibe?' I thought 'Cassidy pulling the ~popsicle maneuver'"

Hanzo is arrogant and Cassidy is stubborn, which results in the world's strangest game of chicken.

Catch and Release by robocryptid [19,481 words] Reccer comment: "Catch and Release, of course. Lifeguard Cassidy as a damsel in distress and cyberninja Hanzo as his swoon-inducing savior!"

Lifeguard Cassidy works at a beach currently being terrorized by an octopus-obsessed omnic. Cyberninja is on the scene!

Coyote Lovely by t_pock [WIP; 38,969 words] Reccer comment: "Coyote Lovely (t_pock) always gave me summer-in-the-desert vibes, even though I don't know if it's set in that season specifically. Either way, it's one of my favorites even though it's not completed."

After a mission gone wrong, Hanzo and McCree must lie low in New Mexico for a week. Together.

In the Summertime by ChillieBean [41,644 words]

Halfway around the world, Cole starts a new lifeguard gig at Bondi Beach, Australia. A destination on his bucket list, he was expecting rescues, keeping people safe, laughing and joking with the locals. He was not expecting Hanzo Shimada.

on a day like this (it feels like summer) by motorghost [WIP; 4,504 words] Reccer comment: "this one by motorghost breaks my heart bc it has the loveliest liminal vibes, but it was never finished :( it's still great as a one shot though!"

Cole enjoys cushy undercover work as a lifeguard on a small, calm beach with a handsome local fisherman, but summer can't last forever. Or can it?

Today is a fine day for... by hunahuna_un [4,058 words]

After getting away from people, he takes another – closer – look of the picture he received. It is from Hanzo. And it is a picture. Hanzo is still home, laying lazily at bed, fresh out of shower, hair still dripping wet – and the bastard knows how Jesse is weak for that – naked in all his glory, holding only a small towel over his crotch, hiding his goods. Bridge piercing between his dark eyes, that promise naughty things. The nipple rings shine from morning light and his skin is still wet with droplets. Jesse lets out contented sigh and feels his cheeks becoming even more red. He curses and grits his teeth. He can feel his swimwear becoming tighter as his front gets interested in the picture he just saw. That goddamn son of a bitch.

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That's it for Week 16! I hope you're feeling the summer vibes! Thanks so much to everyone who submitted a recommendation.

If you find a fic you love using this rec list, be sure to leave the author kudos and a comment! Even "I found this fic because someone recced it" is a lovely thing to say.

Coming up for Week 17: "Better Get Comfy." This one is another word count rec week, where the only criterion is that the fic be between 25,000 and 50,000 words.

In the meantime, you can also check out the Week 15 recs here, or check the full list of past and future themes here.

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Curious about the icon and some of the fic titles? This rec blog supports #EndOTWRacism, a fan campaign asking the AO3 to make good on its 2020 promises to address racist harassment on the site. Fans of color deserve to feel safe and welcome in fan spaces. To learn more, please visit @end-otw-racism and read their Call to Action.