#luca: one? you gave me thirty!

[mixsethaddams]

Eddie and Steve were sitting on the back porch of the little two bedroom house that Owens and his merry band of government lackies gave to the Munsons in exchange for signed NDAs.

It was getting late and Steve knows he should go home, but Eddie keeps finding new conversations to strike up and it just feels too natural to keep responding. Getting up and announcing he was going home would be downright rude. The deckchair he was lounging in was confortable too, so it just made more sense to stay.

Eddie passed Steve the joint they had been nursing between them. Steve had lost track of what they were talking about a long time ago. He was too caught up in the low rumble of Eddie’s voice, quiet enough to make it feel like they were sharing secrets even if they were all alone with nothing scandalous to say. It didn’t matter what Eddie was saying. Steve was happy to just listen. The subtle fizz of the weed spread across his skin as he leaned his head back and enjoyed the light breeze that cut through the warm night.

Today was the same as every other day.

Steve woke up, showered, picked Robin up for work, and then spent eight hours rewinding tapes. He listened to her go on and on about her latest discovery of why Vickie was the perfect person, adding commentary where needed. Steve was happy for her, he was. He just wished she wasn’t so distracted. Not today.

And then he ferried Mike to Dustin’s, Will to the hospital to visit Max, brought Lucas home from the hospital so he could shower and then right back over again. He was barely through the door when Eddie called and asked how his day was, insisting Steve come over to hang out when he heard it was just ‘fine, average, nothing special’.

Steve had wanted nothing more than to fall asleep on the couch with a terrible tv movie in the background. There was something about Eddie, though. Something in the way he moved, the way he said Steve’s name and dragged his teeth along his bottom lip over the V sound. The thoughts of staring at the stars with Eddie might just be the one thing that could redeem today. Even if no one else would understand.

Steve arrived thirty seconds before two large pizzas, courtesy of one of Argyle’s buddies in the business. They each had all Steve’s favourite toppings. Which was weird because Eddie definitely didn’t like olives or pineapple. Steve had a cold beer in one hand and hot slice in the other before he even said ‘hello’.

If there was any way Steve wanted to spend the final hours of today, it was with Eddie. He knew why, of course. He bit his tongue every time he got close to saying it out loud, but he knew exactly what that something was.

“And I figured hey, if it means I don’t have to sell weed to highschoolers anymore, then why not, you know?”

Steve’s brain took a second to catch up to Eddie’s train of thought about his new job. He was going to be working in a garage with Reefer Rick’s nephew.

“Totally,” said Steve, sipping the mostly empty bottle in his hand, the liquid warmed by being held so long. “I bet you’ll be great at it too,”

“Yeah well,” said Eddie, quirking his eyebrows. “I hope so,”

They fell into silence again and Steve started to think it might not be rude to leave any more. The joint was down to the nub, the beer was gone, and Eddie’s eyelids were looking heavy.

“I should, uh…” said Steve, shifting his weight on the chair to stand up.

“Why didn’t you tell them?” asked Eddie, looking up at the moon. Steve could see its reflection in his eyes.

Steve stopped.

“Tell who?” he asked. “Tell them what?”

Eddie sighed.

“It’s your birthday, man…” breathed Eddie. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Oh…” said Steve. He could feel his face heat up. “I don’t… I guess its not a big deal for me… Not for years…”

Eddie nodded solemnly.

“You’re too good for us, Harrington,” said Eddie, shaking his head. “I saw what you did for Robin’s birthday. Did she remember, at least?”

Steve didn’t say anything. He knew he’d probably get a frantic apology and a card tomorrow. It wasn’t like he was going to hold it against her.

“Pizza and beer isn’t exactly the five star treatment you deserve,” said Eddie. “Hope it’s enough to, you know, make today not suck entirely,”

Eddie waved his hand around in a circle, as if gesturing to the very day itself.

“This actually might be the best end to a birthday I’ve ever had,” admitted Steve. “So, you know, thanks. For doing this for me, I mean,”

“Thanks for eating all the olives,” joked Eddie, draining his beer bottle. “Besides, any excuse to hang out with you, I’ll take it,”

“Yeah?” asked Steve, his voice smaller than he expected.

“Yeah,” answered Eddie gently. “I like being with you,”

Steve’s stomach lurched. He followed Eddie’s gaze to the moon. She was beautiful tonight and Steve felt safe the cool glow she cast over them.

“How did you know?” asked Steve, playing with the hem of his sweater. “Or like, care?”

“Saw it on your license a whole back,” Eddie answered, lighting two cigarettes at once and handing one to Steve. “And I cared because… Because I care. I didn’t want you to be sad on your birthday,”

“Oh,” said Steve meekly. “I’m not sad. Not now. I’m happy now, so it worked,”

Steve took the offering of the cigarette and sat back in his chair, looking at his hand and the subtle hint of ‘don’t go’.

“Did you have a birthday wish?” asked Eddie, holding up the still-lit match. It was burning quickly down towards his fingertips.

“Just one…” said Steve slowly, looking through the flame at Eddie.

“A person?” asked Eddie.

Steve gulped, and nodded.

“So make it,” Eddie said. “Don’t tell me, or it won’t come true,”

Steve blew out the flame, still gazing into brown eyes, watching them turn black when the light was gone.

Eddie’s watch beeped. It was midnight.

“Didn’t come true,” said Steve sadly, his eyes still fixed on the point where Eddie had been holding the match between them.

“Give it time…” said Eddie softly.

Steve took a long drag of his cigarette and wondered if this is what every night would be like. If his wish came true and he got exactly what he wanted, would he sit out here and smoke and stare at the stars and listen to Eddie talk every night? Was he allowed to have that?

“I wished for the person that makes me happy,” said Steve, not looking over at Eddie but feeling bolstered by weed and boldened by beer.

“It won’t come true now,” teased Eddie, his voice low.

“Even if I tell them?” asked Steve, turning to look at Eddie. He looked into Eddie’s eyes again and thought of all the things he wanted to say. He felt something shift between them when Eddie didn’t look away.

“I made a wish on my birthday too,” said Eddie. “That didn’t come true either,”

“What did you wish for?” asked Steve.

Eddie’s arm flopped between their chairs, his cigarette burning steadily between his fingers.

“To make someone happy,” he said.

“Like…” whispered Steve.

Steve slowly moved his hand so it brushed against Eddie’s, the backs of their fingers rubbing together. Steve hooked Eddie’s pinkie with his own. Eddie looked at their hands and smiled gently.

“Yeah,” said Eddie quietly.

Steve hummed.

“Guess I just needed to wish for it too,” said Steve.

[luvjunie]

— when the dam breaks

contains: third person pov (42!miles’), no reader, feelings of anxiety, some harsh language, use of the n-word once, a one-sided fight, angst, mentions of grief, brief comfort at the end

summary: miles was holding himself together just fine, until he wasn’t. wc: 2,748

a/n: this fic is based on one of my headcanons from this post,(the 12th one). handling the grief of losing a parent is one of the hardest, most painful things to navigate, especially when you’re a teen and in school. i can directly relate to miles!42 because of this, which is probably why i’m able to go so in depth with his character. i’m really proud of how this turned out so i hope you guys enjoy reading <3

The back of Ms. Bellam’s history class was Miles’ favorite spot to sit in. The seat by the window, specifically. Where he could gaze out with the fantasy of being anywhere else but stuck listening to the lecture in his fifth block; forced to hear his teacher rave on about some old expedition he couldn’t bring himself to give a shit about.

But today, Miles was not in the back of the class.

He had a bad feeling the moment the bell rung and the projector powered on to display the newest assignment the tall, stocky woman had on the agenda; a partnered project. Which, unfortunately, meant a new seating chart was on the horizon.

Miles must’ve spaced out during the introduction of the assignment, but his teacher’s assertive voice brought him back to the very moment he was dreading.

“Cody, you’re paired with—“ Ms. Bellam pulled a small slip of paper out from a little bucket of randomized names on her desk. “—Lauren.”

She ignored the quiet groan she got after unknowingly pairing two exes together and drew two more names. “Bailey, you’re with Lucas.”

“Sarah, you’re with… Faith. And Miles,” The brunette-haired teacher stuck her hand into the bucket once more to pull out the very last slip of paper, and read it with finality. “You’re with Gabby.”

Miles lifted his head and did a quick scan of the faces around, until he met the eyes of his new partner, Gabby, who gave him a small wave from the front of the class. His jaw clenched at the realization that he’d have to give up his safe corner, since the seats around him were filled, while the one next to her was open.

“Alright everyone, if you’re not already next to your partner, go find them.”

With an inaudible grumble and something along the lines of ‘i hate this fucking class’ and a mix of ‘kill me now’— Miles rose from his chair, snatched his backpack up with a little too much force, and crossed the classroom to plop down defeatedly next to the girl he was paired with.

Chin tucked in his hand and eyes glued to the ticking clock above the white board, he didn’t know how long he sat like that, or how much valuable information he’d missed while he ignored the overly peppy, thirty-year old’s directions to the class. But he did know that the minute hand on that damn analog device wasn’t moving fast enough for his liking. The droning of voices overlapping and the bouncing of ideas filled the once silent air after instructions had been given, but Miles was far from focused on the task at hand.

The incessant tapping of his pencil against the hard plastic of his desk, matched with the clearly agitated bounce of his leg had his partner stealing experimental glances in his direction— her lips having been licked ample times from the stress of debating on whether to make the difficult decision of speaking to the boy who was clearly not interested in conversation— or even being here at all.

She spoke up anyway. “Um… So most of the other groups have pretty much chosen already. That means we’re left with James Cook, Vasco de Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, or—“

“You can pick for us. I don’t really care which one.” Miles interrupted.

“Oh—“ Gabby blinked. His response was curt, but at least she got one. “Okay then, Ferdinand Magellan.” Flipping through the rubric that had been passed out at some point, she referred to the second page with her index finger. “It says our presentation has to be between six to eight slides, which includes the works cited for our research. So we could do one introduction slide, and maybe about,” she paused to think. “Four?— information slides? And then we could add some fun facts and trivia questions at the end so we can get our class participation points in without too much effort. That cool with you?”

Gabby was a nice girl. She never bothered him, never looked at him weird when he’d come into class late sometimes, and had actually ran through the hallway to return the notebook that fell out of his open backpack just last week. He wasn’t aggravated at her, but more so at the fact that everybody could stare at the back of his head now instead of the other way around, like it was before. It made him self conscious about everything, even down to the way he was sitting in his chair. He could feel a few beams on his back right about now, and adjusted his position slightly.

Miles sighed and reminded himself to respond to her politely. “Uh-huh. Sounds good.”

A voice to his left behind him caught his attention, the voice in question belonging to one of the most obnoxious boys he’d ever had the displeasure of knowing— Ethan Thompson. Someone who always had too much to say and nothing productive or appropriate to add— it usually being something creepy or gross about a girl he wanted to ‘get to know’.

Miles would’ve tuned him out, like he always did, but this time it was impossible. Probably because out of all the conversations regarding the explorers meant to be researched, this one had absolutely nothing to do with history, or even school for that matter.

“Bro, did you hear about what happened to…”

Miles strained to hear as best as he could without moving from his seat, though it was a struggle since Gabby was still talking his ear off to the right of him about who would do what when it came to their workload.

“Miles?”

He ignored her as another voice chimed in, and his back stiffened.

“I know dude, my sister told me about it. Said he was killed in action or somethin’ like that… I just know his mom is crushed. I feel really bad.”

Miles knew people talked about this, he wasn’t dumb. But damn, did they have to do it when he was right there?

Then, there was a laugh.

Miles was confused. He didn’t find anything regarding the topic of their conversation even remotely comical.

“Fuck that,” Ethan quieted his voice, though not quiet enough. “That just means Mrs. Morales is single and up for grabs now.”

It took less than a second for Miles’ blood to simmer to a scalding boil. He held a subtle finger up and quieted Gabby, who was currently asking him about what they should research first.

“Can you give me just… one second?” he asked gently.

Gabby’s words died on her tongue and she gave a muddled nod.

Miles threw his elbow over the back of his chair when his torso whipped around, his eyes glazed with enmity and immediately catching Ethan’s.

“The fuck you just say?”

Ethan froze.

Miles’ tone was lethal, rage lifting the volume above the blurred chattering around, venom spitting from his tongue like he intended to kill the boy with words alone. The speed in which the class fell silent would’ve been humorous had there not been such hostility within the air.

“Miles, language!” Ms. Bellam’s eyes snapped up from her computer screen, her face a picture of disbelief at his unusual vitriol. He was always quiet as a mouse in her class, well behaved above all.

Jaws hung slack, the gazes of the students around darted back and forth between the two boys continuously, the tension in the room palpable.

Miles sat up straighter in his seat, jaw clenched and his patience dwindling. To say he was seething would be a dangerous understatement.

“Nah, nah Ms. B,” His head cocked, and his eyes narrowed at Ethan, ruinously. “I wanna know what this nigga just said ‘bout my fuckin’ mom.”

“Oh shit…” Gabby gulped. Today was the most she’d heard Miles speak in class almost the entire semester.

“It was a joke, bro.” Ethan huffed a chuckle, a nervous thing that his friend easily picked up on. Miles was not one to bluff, and Ethan was notorious for taking things too far.

“Don’t bro me, repeat that dumb shit you just said and watch how fast I knock your ass out.” Miles gritted through his teeth, hot air puffing through his nostrils like a bull who’d just seen red.

“Boys, enough!” Ms. Bellman was standing now, hands planted to her desk as she watched with bated breath, just like the rest of the class-now-turned-audience.

Ethan shrugged, and Miles swore he felt his eye twitch.

Strike one.

Then, the boy playfully nudged his friend’s arm with a cocky smirk, as if he thought the threat he’d just received wasn’t one that would be carried out.

Strike two.

“He’s baiting you, Miles…” Gabby whispered dejectedly, in warning, only so Miles could hear. But his tunnel vision had already set in.

“Go ‘head. Repeat yourself.” Miles demanded.

Nails digging into the skin of his palms hard enough to leave crescents in their wake, there was a voice in the back of his mind, reminding him that he could get into serious trouble if he didn’t get his emotions in check, fast. He’d progressed so quickly in his after school M.M.A classes, that now, even getting into a simple fist fight could land him a serious assault charge. A judge would take one look at the history of his intense training, and the option to deem his hands as deadly weapons in the case would immediately be presented, and most likely acted upon.

Knocking the teeth out of a rich white boy would never be the smart decision here, especially not for someone who looked the way he did.

He’d be sent straight to juvie.

“I mean, all I was sayin’ is, technically—“ Ethan threw his hands up in a careless manner. “If I play my cards right, I could be your future step-daddy.”

Strike three.

Ms. Bellam was yelling now. “Ethan, principal’s office, now!”

And that probably would’ve been the better option, had he actually had a choice.

Miles’ movements were swift when he shot out of his seat, and the students in his way followed suit with yelps and gasps as they quickly removed themselves from the area. The desks blocking his pathway to pummeling the shit out of this kid loudly screeched against the school’s tile when they were shoved out of the way, and the one he’d mindlessly flipped over in his stampede proceeded to erupt the room into pure pandemonium.

One punch would’ve been good enough, Miles knew that. But in this moment, thinking rationally was so far out of his reach he would’ve missed it even if he’d jumped for it. He’d swung a closed fist to Ethan’s jaw and knocked him to the floor with ease, then followed him down, sat on his chest and had the boy’s arms pinned under his knees so he couldn’t protect his snobby-ass face. One punch would’ve been good enough, but just two vehement blows later, the satisfying crack of a bone that wasn’t his under Miles’ knuckles had him sending a few more into the reddened face of the boy beneath him, just to really get his point across.

“Jesus Christ— Miles!” Ms. Bellman scrambled from her seat in a panic and rushed to fling the classroom’s door open, her desperate yells directed to anyone who might’ve been strolling the hallways. “We need security in here! You-!” She pointed to a student with a bathroom pass. “Go get security, and tell them to come to room 205, now! Go!”

Everyone was yelling at once, but Miles couldn’t hear anything other than the ringing of rage in his ears. Anger is only grief turned sour— a terribly perilous thing to leave untreated.

Some of his classmates were frozen with shock, or fear, maybe— hands clasped over their gaped mouths while others had their phones out with the camera app open—vampires for some good drama while they hooted and hollered at the most exciting thing they’d seen this entire year.

“That’s enough!”

Strong arms suddenly hooked under Miles’ armpits and prevented his fist from worsening the damage already done. Two male teachers from neighboring classrooms had rushed in and yanked him up and off Ethan, his hips bucking as he kicked his way up onto his feet. Miles’ chest expanded and collapsed with the weight of his heaving breaths, face flushed with the remnants of his lost temper as he directed his attention to Ethan’s friend, who looked like a deer in headlights.

“When your boy wake up, tell him watch his mouth next time!”

Miles didn’t know why he was yelling. It was common knowledge that it’s pretty rare for someone who’s unconscious to understand what you’re saying to them.

He didn’t struggle when the two teachers dragged him away, but when they shoved him out the door and into the hall with more force than he thought necessary, he snatched his arms away from their grasp with a rolled shrug, and huffed a frustrated grunt about how he knew how to walk on his own.

—

The drive home was eerily silent. The radio hadn’t been touched, and neither had Miles by his mother’s gaze the moment they’d left the principal’s office after he received his verdict.

Out of school suspension. One week.

It was the best the administrative staff could do after Rio swallowed her pride and went as low as begging them not to expel her boy.

Slumped in the passenger seat with his hands in his lap, Miles didn’t bother to look at the bruises he knew were forming on his knuckles. It was a familiar feeling, and at the moment he was more concerned with why it felt like his throat had been stuffed with cotton when he tried to talk.

“Mamá, I—“

“Do not. Speak.” Rio’s breath wavered, her hands clutching the wheel so hard she thought she’d crush it. She tried not to let her voice break. “Not one word.”

Silence.

—

It all settled in as they climbed the stairwell, the images of what just happened flashing back in his mind every time he blinked; what he’d done playing over and over again in a continuous loop. The wooden railings creaked under the weight of his mother’s hand, and as she knowingly skipped the one that had weakened over the years, he knew the home that held every single emotion he tried to leave behind when he went to school was now just a few steps up.

Rio’s key twisted in the lock before she opened the door, and Miles followed behind her, shoulders slouched dispiritedly. He resembled something of a stray puppy; desperate for attention, but acceptant and grateful that it, as much of a nuisance as it may be, was being tolerated enough to stay on it’s finder’s heels.

He thought being scolded by his mother was bad, but the lack thereof was even worse. Her brows were clenched, and her conflicted yet somehow blank expression told him that she truly did not have any words for him as she leaned on the kitchen counter, hands clasped firmly around the edge so tightly her knuckles paled. She didn’t even know where to start, and Miles didn’t blame her. He refused to explain why he’d snapped when it was asked of him. When his mother’s widened eyes had pleaded with him to tell the principal what happened in that classroom that set him off in such a way, he didn’t. He had no reason not to, at least one he could think of right now, but his voice just wouldn’t allow it. Both in that office, and now in their kitchen, dimly lit by the warm light above the stove, the weight of his mother’s disappointment clung to the suffocating silence, like a fish to a hook and he just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Mamá, I’m sorry.” He whispered in a quick breath, the lump in his throat painful when he swallowed it.

“Good money, Miles.” Rio shook her head, a hand coming up to rest over the rise and fall of her chest. “Good money! We paid good money to get you into that school, your dad and I. I work hard to keep you there and you just—“

Dad.

And the dam broke. Though its foundation wasn’t very strong to begin with— Miles’ shoulders crumbled under the weight of his actions and his tears flooded past his waterline with choked sobs that left no room for air.

Whatever Rio was going to say had been forgotten. The sight of her son sobbing in a way she hadn’t seen since the night they’d received the news immediately put a stop to her reprimanding. Now, she was truly worried.

“Oh Miles, come come come,” She hastily tugged him into a hug and wrapped him firmly in her arms, her hands repeatedly rubbing up and down the expanse of his back. “¿Qué es Mijo? (what is it, son?) Talk to me. No te lo guardes, ¿recuerda?” (no holding it in, remember?)

Miles could barely catch his breath, and somehow talking about it was just as painful as the ache that resided deep in his chest.

“I—It was Dad, it was about—“ a quick breath in split his sentence in half. “About Dad. He was—talking about what ha—happened and I—“ Miles tried for another, but it caught in his throat, ragged and choppy and had his ribcage stuttering from the lousy attempt to cease his hyperventilating. The fact that he couldn’t get his words out uninterrupted only frustrated him more; only made him cry harder. He scrubbed at his tears with the back of his hand, but it was no use. He couldn’t stop crying. Why couldn’t he stop crying?

“He said—“ Another wilted inhale, and a hiccup. “It was abo—about you, and it was terrible and I— I just, I got so angry, and I tried Mamá, I did. But I couldn’t and—and then I was on him and I’m sorry—“

“Shh, shh. It’s okay, it’s okay.” Rio used a hand to bring his head into her shoulder, his cries muffled and his tears wetting the sleeve of her blouse as his rambling came to a halt. Miles clutched onto her tightly, arms round her waist as he fell apart in front of the woman who’d tried her best to piece him back together.

“Respira, Mijo, respira… (breathe).” Rio whispered. “Please.” Seeing her son so distraught had brought on tears of her own, but she shut her eyes, and tucked away her own feelings so she could focus on his. “It’s okay. It’s alright.”

“But you’re mad at me, I don’t want you to be mad at me—“

Rio shook her head and tutted at him. “I’m not mad at you, papa. I understand. Okay? I’m not angry. No.” She couldn’t be upset with him for something like this, not when he could barely shelter himself from his own guilt.

“It’s okay. You’re okay, baby. I’ve got you.” Miles was inconsolable as Rio continued rubbing his back, and her voice shook when she spoke, but she kept the uncertainty she held within her heart concealed from her promise to him.

“We’re going to be okay.”

[celiastjamesoscar]

Himbo Next Door

Pairings: Tara Carpenter x gn! Reader

Summary: you met Tara in the elevator your apartment and you two awkwardly hit it off. You begin to form a situationship with her, but Sam disapproves of you.

Warnings: Scream levels of violence, Pitbull Sam

Word Count: 5.5k

AN: this was from a request and I kind of expanded on it. I hope you enjoy it and if theres anything I need to change, let me know! If anyone has some requests, also let me know!

This is my first time writing a himbo reader, so im sorry that it’s not the best in that regard

Rain pattered against the quiet apartment complex as you rushed into the building, holding a pizza box. It had been a nice, beautiful day outside, but Mother Nature decided to flip on a dime. And, of course, you wore a white button shirt with black slacks, so your shirt was utterly see-through thanks to the rain. This was supposed to be a lovely evening out with friends, but it had turned into a disaster, and you were more than ready to binge-eat pizza while watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

You were initially supposed to go to a fancy restaurant with your best friend, Olivia, her boyfriend, and another close friend, Lucas. It was a going away dinner for her, as she was moving away for college. The restaurant was one of the best ones in New York City, and you somehow managed to snag a reservation for the four of you. As it was a top-notch restaurant, there was a dress code that one had to follow: black tie. You wore a handsome black suit with a white undershirt, and you were more than excited to drink the best wine and taste the best food that New York had to offer.

You meet up with your friends outside the restaurant, waiting for Olivia’s boyfriend to show up. She wore a beautiful cocktail dress, while Lucas wore a decent suit; he wasn’t what you would classify as a redneck, but he fit the description to a tee.

Thirty minutes had passed before her boyfriend showed up, and you almost lost it. He wore sweat shorts with an ugly soccer jersey, and to top it off, he wore a beanie that he refused to take off. You were always calm and collected, not one to jump to violence even when needed, but he really pissed you off sometimes.

You knew there was no way you guys would be allowed to dine at this restaurant just because of him, but you still gave it a shot. And whenever you guys walked into the restaurant, the waiter asked him to leave or change, but he insisted that he was allowed to eat there because he was ‘more of a man’ than the owner. Because of this, he turned it into a fifteen-minute argument with the manager, and then all four of you were asked to leave.

You were naturally upset about this and the fact that you had to put down a hundred-dollar deposit just to reserve a table. After you guys had left, he decided the group would go to Hardee’s, as he needed to get his daily food from there. You held your tongue as you drove there; this was supposed to be Olivia’s going-away party, but he just had to hijack everything.

Long story short, you were out a hundred dollars, listened to Olivia’s boyfriend talk about the WWE for thirty minutes, and bought a pizza at a locally-owned pizzeria. Just as you left the pizzeria, a downpour of rain started, causing your outfit to get ruined while you had to drive home in the rain. Your nerves were more than shot, but you didn’t say anything. Confrontation made you uncomfortable, and you always did your best to avoid it.

As you made your way to the elevator, a soft voice called, ‘Hold it!’ You switched the box to your left hand and held the elevator door back with your right.

“Thank you,” the voice said once she entered the elevator. She was close to a foot shorter than you, and when your eyes made contact, your heart skipped a beat. She was easily the most beautiful person you have ever seen; she had soft chestnut-brown eyes, freckles that highlighted those eyes, and the prettiest smile you had ever seen. Her bangs perfectly framed her face, and you couldn’t even mutter, ‘You’re welcome.’

She looked at you uncomfortably while looking at the elevator buttons. “Oh, looks like we’re going to the same floor then,” she said with an awkward chuckle while glancing over at you.

Your eyes snapped to the buttons and then back to her. “I guess so,” you said with a weak voice.

Tara looked at you when you spoke, but her eyes slowly drifted down to look at your shirt. She admired your abs through the soaked white shirt as it clung to your body, trying her best to keep her cheeks from getting too warm. She loved how you towered over her, and she would pay money to see your muscles or watch you work out.

Tara was snapped out of her thoughts as the elevator dinger and the doors opened. You smiled at her politely as you left the elevator, and to your surprise, she followed you down the same hallway. As you approached your door, Tara walked to the door before yours.

When you found yours, you unlocked your door and opened it, but before you walked in, you looked over your right shoulder and smiled at Tara. “It was nice meeting you,” you said softly as you walked into your apartment and shut the door. Tara smiled back at you while saying, ‘You too.’

You ran into Tara several times like that, and you tried your best to talk to her. You weren’t the best at socializing, especially with beautiful women, and Tara seemed to like that about you. You would always listen to her and seemed to enjoy what she said.

After enough small talk in the hallway, she eventually asked you to come to her apartment for the first time. You were nervous, of course, but there was no way you could pass on an opportunity to hang out with the alluring woman.

“Here we are,” Tara said as she held the door open for you. You smiled at her while walking into the apartment. It was nice and cozy, and it looked a lot like yours, and you instantly felt at home. Tara crept up behind you, grabbed your hand, and eagerly pulled you into the living room. Your cheeks immediately warmed at the touch, and you didn’t fight back as the younger girl tugged you into the living room.

You sat on the couch next to her as she grabbed the remote. “So, you know how I told you I wanted to watch a movie with you?” Tara asked with a smile while staring into your eyes; she could look into them forever and never get bored.

“Yeah, ‘The Babadook,’ I think?” You questioned with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes, that’s the one,” Tara said with a smile as she got up and looked around the entertainment center for the DVD. After a few minutes of looking, she let out a loud ‘ah-ha’ and inserted the disk into the DVD player.

She then sat on the couch and rested her head on your lap. The action caught you off guard, but then you gently ran your fingers through her hair. She smiled at the action and let out a soft sigh of happiness as she nestled into your lap.

That's how you two spent every Friday night: curled up on her couch watching movies. You enjoyed being in the girl’s company, and Tara loved showing you her favorite movies. Sometimes, you two would gossip about people on campus- you were in psychology together- or you would talk about what you had done that day.

Tara had mentioned that she had a sister she lived with, but you had never met her. Frankly, you were a little nervous to meet the older woman. You had caught yourself slowly falling for Tara, and it seemed that Tara valued her sister’s opinion more than her own. You hoped that you would make a good impression when you did meet her; you just didn’t expect to have to meet her today.

You and Tara were watching your new favorite show, ‘New Girl.’ It had been a peaceful night, and you two refused to watch an episode without the other. You were lying on the couch with Tara curled up on your chest. You guys were laughing together as Jess explained how she bought a footstool with a giant bag of meth when you heard the door to the apartment open.

Tara quickly pushed herself off your chest when she heard the door open and sat at the opposite end of the couch.

“Hey, Sam! What are you doing back here so soon?” She asks with a slightly nervous tone as she pauses the tv.

You heard the sound of boots walking toward you on the couch. You slowly push yourself up on the sofa, resting on your elbow as you look at the woman.

Sam was certainly taller than Tara, but not taller than you. She had jet-black hair and beautiful brown eyes. You were almost certain if Tara didn’t hold your heart, you would have fallen for the woman. She has a neutral expression as her eyes dart between you and Tara. “What’s going on here?” She dryly asks as she hangs up her backpack purse and turns to face you two.

You were about to say something, but Tara quickly interrupted you. “We were just watching a movie. This is Y/N, by the way,” Tara says as she nudges you, silently telling you to introduce yourself.

“Hi, I’m Y/N. You are extremely gorgeous,” you say with a giant smile as you extend your hand. Tara gives you a look of disbelief, but you can't see it as you face her older sister.

Sam looks at you suspiciously before shaking your hand. She makes sure to give you a good death grip, and if it weren’t for Tara, you probably would have melted onto the floor.

She scoffs as she rolls her eyes and lets go of your hand, and then looks at Tara, “Where did you find this street rat?”

Tara let out a small laugh that caused you to whip your hand around and give her a disheartening look. She quickly clears her throat before speaking in an annoyed tone, “I ‘found’ her in the apartment building, actually. We met in the elevator and shared a few conversations in the hallway.”

“So you have invited a stranger into our home with just you two here?” Sam asks with narrow eyes as she stares at you.

Her sister huffed, “This isn’t our first time hanging out here.”

At that, Sam’s eyes instantly leave yours, and she is staring at Tara with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open. “Are you kidding me, Tara?! Have you been hanging out with this random person while I’ve been at therapy? What if they tried to kill you?” Sam exclaims as she walks over and kneels before Tara, checking her sister for scratches or cuts.

“I would never hurt her, Sam. She’s too kind,” you say with a giant smile, even though Sam just insisted that you were a potential killer. You didn't care that she implied it; all you could think about was the beautiful girl you shared the couch with.

Sam slowly looks at you while keeping her hands on her sister’s knees. She glares at you with narrowed eyes as her eyes look you up and down. She can tell that you are taller than her and undoubtedly stronger than her. The fact that you could easily overpower both her and her sister set Sam on edge, but the way you seemed to carry yourself: the way you talked, sat, smiled, and even breathed made her even more suspicious of you. Sam had already seen how someone Tara loved killed her friends and almost both of them; she refused to let that happen again.

But you just seemed so indifferent about things. Sam wanted to call you some other things that weren’t nice, but she stuck with calling you indifferent.

Sam looked back at Tara and lightly sighed. “Is this the one you’ve been talking about?”

Tara moves around nervously while Sam calls her out. Her eyes shift uneasily between you and Sam as she fidgets with her fingers. “Um, yeah, they are,” she says with a low voice.

“Okay,” Sam says with a defeated tone as she stands up. She looks at you and speaks threateningly, “If you do anything to hurt Tara, I will kill your entire family and then you.”

You smile at Sam’s words as you sit up on the couch. “I don’t talk to any of my family, so I wouldn’t really care if you did. But I would appreciate it if you didn’t kill me; I love hanging out with Tara, and I would greatly miss it,” you say gently as you look at Tara. Tara is staring holes into the floor while she tries to hide her smile with her right hand.

Sam rolls her eyes at your comment and walks into her room, but not before sending a threatening glance at you and Tara on the couch. You had moved closer to her sister, and you looked back at her, sending her a polite wave with a friendly smile, believing that you had made a great impression on the older woman.

Sam scoffs as she walks into her room, slamming her door. You look back at Tara with a gentle smile and ask with a quiet tone, “You told her about me?”

The atmosphere in the living room immediately changed into something tense, and Tara could almost taste it on her tongue as she spoke calmly, “Um, yeah, I did. Does that bother you at all?”

You love how Tara refused to meet your gaze when she spoke; it almost made you believe she harbored romantic feelings for you, just as you did for her. “No, it doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I kinda like it,” you say with a gentle smile as Tara’s eyes meet yours.

Those beautiful brown eyes smiled for her as they quickly glanced down at your lips before returning to yours. “You mean that?” She asks in a more confident voice as she shifts her body to face you; she has pulled her left leg up onto the couch while letting her right one hang off the couch, and her entire body is facing you.

“Of course, I mean that, Tara. I actually think I made a good impression; she seemed really nice,” you say happily. Tara let out a small laugh as she grabbed your hands and pulled you closer to her. You followed her silent commands and ended up laying your head in her lap while facing the tv.

Once your head got comfortable in her lap, Tara softly ran her fingers on her left hand through your hair while she reached for the tv remote on the coffee table with her other hand. “Just so you know, you did not, in fact, make a good impression with Sam, but I still like you,” Tara said with a smile that grew bigger when she heard you scoff in response.

She loved having these small, soft moments with you. She knew you weren’t the brightest, but your kind and caring nature made up for it plenty. Tara would give up everything she had to her name if it meant spending an evening like this with you for the rest of her days. You held her heart in your hands, and it only took her two weeks to admit that after your first encounter with Sam.

You two were going on a ‘double date’ with Mindy and Anika. You were a bit iffy on calling it a double date, as you and Tara weren’t dating, but Mindy and Anika are. So in your head, you called it a ‘totally platonic hangout.’

You got dressed and left your apartment to head over to Tara’s. When you knocked, the door instantly opened, and Tara was wearing a giant smile and a cute outfit.

“Hi,” she says with an angel-like voice while staring up at you with soft eyes.

“Hi,” you reply breathlessly. If Tara would let you, you would always stare at her, admiring her beautiful features and counting her freckles.

She snaps you out of your daydream by taking your hand in hers and intertwining your fingers. You gently bump your shoulder against hers as you walk towards the elevator and out to your car.

When you two get in the car, you start it and drive towards the restaurant. You and Tara talk about your day and how you missed each other (it's been two days since you last saw each other). You tell her about the crazy things your roommates have done recently, and she laughs at your stories. She tells you about new things in her life, such as Sam asking about you more and that she’s got a new roommate named Quinn. Tara said that the girl was promiscuous but funny and lighthearted. She then starts to talk about Chad, and you instinctively tense up.

“Chad hasn’t left me alone all week, Y/N! It's starting to drive me crazy. At first, I thought he just wanted to hang out as friends more, but yesterday he told me he has feelings for me. Can you believe that?” Tara asks with a small laugh as she looks over at you. You had gripped the steering wheel tighter at the mention of Chad having feelings for Tara. Your chest began to tighten, and your heartbeat picked up with jealousy. You had no right to be jealous, but you couldn’t help. Chad was athletic like you, but he was also a lot smarter than you, which Tara valued and liked as a romantic partner.

“Oh. Well, I'm happy for you, Tara. You deserve someone like him,” you lie through your teeth with a sad tone.

At your saddened tone, Tara finally noticed how your body was tense and how you seemed to want to strangle the steering wheel. She reaches her left hand out and gently places it on your arm, “I don't like him like that, Y/N,” Tara says honestly while looking at you with love. You visibly relax at her words and almost let a smile appear.

“How come? He’s everything you want in a partner: smart, funny, caring, loyal, and strong,” you reply with a weak voice that Tara almost laughs at.

She rubs her hand up and down your arm as she says, “I don’t like him back because I have feelings for someone else.”

“Oh. Well, I hope they make you happy,” you say honestly. Tara might not like you back, but you wanted her to be happy. And if she was happy, you were too.

Tara gently squeezes your arm before pulling back and placing her hands in her lap. She looks at you with so much yearning and love that she’s surprised you can’t feel it, but then she remembers you were basically a himbo: friendly, respectful, handsome, but not that bright. “You have no idea,” she says while sending heart eyes your way.

When you two get to the restaurant, you meet with Mindy and Anika and walk in together. You four get a table in the corner of the restaurant. You are sharing a side with Tara while sitting across Anika and Tara across from Mindy. You guys made idle conversation while waiting for someone to take your orders.

An attractive young woman approaches the table with a pip in her step, “Hey guys, welcome to O’Charley’s, my name is Sadie, and I’ll be your waitress for today. What can I get your guys to drink?”

All four of you order sweet teas, and before she leaves, she sends you a flirty wink that you missed, but Tara didn’t. She let out a small scoff as she hid her face in her menu, trying to fight jealousy. You look at Tara but don’t say anything, afraid to upset the girl more.

When Sadie brings back your teas, your hand lightly brushes hers as you grab yours, causing the woman to smirk. “Alright, are you guys ready to order?” She asks as she pulls her notepad from her apron, and you guys nod. “Okay, what can I get for you, beautiful?”

You pull your head from the menu and find that Sadie is talking to you. “Oh, I would like six-ounce sirloin with a Caesar salad and fries, please,” you say with a small smile. Not a flirty one, just a friendly one, but both Sadie and Tara mistake it for a flirty one. One girl is excited, while the other is filled with thoughts of murder.

Sadie finishes taking everyone’s orders before she quickly disappears again, but the atmosphere at the table is tense. Everyone but you can feel it, to which you start another conversation, and everyone else but Tara joins in. You tried to get the girl to talk, but you would get a small ‘uh huh’ or ‘of course.’

When your meals arrive, the four of you eat in peaceful silence, occasionally talking about how excellent your food is. It was an overall relaxing dinner until the checks came.

“You guys are separate, and you two are together?” Sadie asks, gesturing to you and Tara before gesturing toward Mindy and Anika. She was asking about the checks, but Tara picked up on the hidden underlining that you did not.

“That is correct,” you say as you accept your check from Sadie and then hand Tara hers. You all pay in cash and quietly wait for Sadie to come back.

When she does, however, she hands everyone their change, and instead of leaving, she pulls out her notepad and writes her number down on it. “Give me a call sometime,” she says with a wink as she hands you the paper.

You were going to ask what she meant by that, but any words got lost on your tongue as Tara stood up from the table and stormed out of the restaurant. Your clueless eyes follow Tara out of the restaurant before you lose sight of her, and you turn away to find both Mindy and Anika staring at you with wide eyes. “Go get her, dumbass,” Anika says harshly after a moment.

You grab yours and Tara’s change before quickly excusing yourself from the table, almost knocking your chair over. After you leave the restaurant, your eyes scan the area, looking for your lady. It only takes you a few seconds before your eyes land on her; she’s sitting on a bench, just staring at the ground.

You jog over to her and stop when she looks up at you. Her eyes are filled with a bit of anger and a lot of hurt, and for the first time in your life, you are out of words to say. You were always overtly friendly with people and they often mistook flirting with friendliness, which seemed to be your downfall with Tara.

“Tara, I am so sorry-”

“Just take me home, Y/N,” Tara cuts you off as she stands up from the bench and walks towards your car. You followed closely behind her, and when you got to the car, you went to open the door, but she shut it and opened it herself. You were slightly startled by the action but shook it off as you made your way to the driver’s side and got it. You start the car and drive back to the apartment; tension is the only thing you two feel.

You tried to talk to Tara throughout the car ride home, but she just stayed quiet and looked out the window with her arms crossed. You knew she was mad, but you couldn’t tell why. At first, you thought it might have been because of Sadie, but you and Tara weren’t dating, so she can’t be upset about it. Plus, your heart only belonged to Tara, so you would never go for anyone else.

When you two returned to the apartment building, it was an awkward ride up to your floor. When you two stepped off the elevator, you finally spoke, “Tara, please, I’m sorry, just talk to me,” you pleaded as you followed behind the girl.

You were getting ready to usher more apologies as Tara opened her door, but you were quickly cut off when she slammed the door in your face. You were stunned at the harsh action but knocked on her door once you realized what had happened. “Tara, please. Talk to me,” you said with a defeated tone. You waited a minute before sitting on the floor and resting your back against the door, sending Tara a string of apologies and asking her how you could fix it. But you got no reply, so you closed your eyes and rested your head against the door, hoping she would open up.

You fell asleep at one point but were quickly woken up when the door opened. Tara scoffed at you before she stepped over you. You stood up after she did that and followed her down the hallway. “Tara, you have to talk to me. Tell me what I did wrong,” you pleaded as you grabbed her wrist.

She pulled her hand out of your grasp. “Leave me alone, Y/N. I'm going to a party with Chad,” she said with a voice full of anger. Your heart instantly dropped at the mention of Chad, and your face showed it.

“Why Chad?” You asked with hurt, causing Tara to stop and turn around. She noticed the hurt look on your face, and she instantly wanted to wrap you in her arms and never let go, but she refused to give in easily.

“Because, Y/N, he invited me to go with him as his date. And who knows, I might even get lucky tonight,” Tara replied as she crossed her arms. She had no intention of sleeping with Chad; she just wanted to make you jealous enough so you’ll finally make a move on her, but Tara soon found out how wrong she was.

With a defeated sigh, you slumped your shoulders and spoke with a heartbroken voice, “I didn’t know you truly felt that way towards him. I hope he gives you the world then, Tara. You deserve that kind of love. I hope you have fun tonight, and just so you know, I am so sorry and I don't want to lose you.”

When you finished talking, you gave Tara a tight-lip smile as you turned around and walked toward your apartment. You were just outside your door when you felt a tiny hand slip into yours, pulling you around. You barely have time to respond before Tara crashes her lips against yours.

You were so shocked to feel her lips against your own you just stood there like an idiot before you finally broke out in a grin and kissed her back. When you kissed her back, you felt butterflies in your stomach, and your entire body became warm the more Tara kissed you. You grabbed her hips and pulled her closer, needing to feel her body against yours. Tara parted her lips to deepen the kiss, and your knees almost buckled.

When oxygen was needed, you two pulled away, resting your foreheads together. You two could hear nothing but the sounds of each other trying to catch your breaths and the drums of your hearts. You placed one final kiss on Tara’s lips and pulled away from her. “Are you still going out with Chad?” You asked with a slight frown; you really wanted to hang out with Tara after what just happened, but you were still unsure of where you stood with her.

She laughed as she grabbed your hand and opened your apartment door. “Not a chance,” she whispered against your lips, pulling you into your apartment before closing the door.

That was four weeks ago, and today you are preparing a dinner for yours and Tara’s one-month anniversary. She told you it didn't have to be anything special, as you two would have many more months together in the future, but you insisted on doing something nice. You were cutting up some steaks in the kitchen while Tara made homemade mashed potatoes. “Do you think Sam would want any?” You ask, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know. You should ask her though. I think she’s on the couch,” Tara replies as she mashes the potatoes in a saucepan. You nod at her words and head into the living room with the knife still in your hand.

Sam was lying on the couch watching tv. She wanted to stay home tonight to keep an eye on you and Tara, but she wanted to give her sister some amount of privacy.

“Hey, Sam, I'm getting ready to make some steak. Would you like some?” You ask, pulling Sam’s attention away from the tv. She leans up, and her eyes instantly land on the knife, dripping with blood. Her mind is filled with thoughts of Tara, and her body reacts before she can even think; her hands grab your arm and flips you over the couch and onto the coffee table, breaking it. She quickly takes the knife out of your hand and presses her right knee into your chest, making breathing hard for you. The action slightly turned you on, and you mentally murdered yourself for thinking that way about your girlfriend’s sister.

“What the fuck was-oh my god, Sam! Get off of her!” Tara screams as she runs into the living room, pulling Sam off your chest. You suck in some air, and Tara moves to help you up, “are you okay, love? Is anything broken?” She questions while checking over your body for any injuries.

“No, I'm okay,” you say as you stand up and look at the table, “your table isn’t, though.” Tara laughs at your comment and kisses your cheek before turning toward her sister. Her caring and loving nature was gone and replaced with anger. “Why did you do that, Sam?! Y/N was just being nice!”

Sam scoffs at Tara’s words but flinches back as Tara points the knife at her, demanding an answer. Sam reaches out and pushes Tara’s hand down, “I saw the blood on the knife and freaked out. I'm sorry, Tara,” Sam mumbled with shame.

“Don’t apologize to me; apologize to Y/N,” Tara demands, still staring at her sister.

Sam glares back at her sister before looking at you. “I'm sorry I flipped you over the couch and onto the coffee table,” Sam says with a low voice as her eyes refuse to meet yours.

“It's okay, Sam. Don’t worry about it,” you say with a smile. It really was okay with you, even though you felt slightly bad about breaking the table.

After your dangerous encounter with Sam, you and Tara return to the kitchen and finish dinner. You even made Sam a plate and brought it to her room. She thanked you as she took it, and you smiled politely as a response.

You and Tara continued having small dinners at home, followed by movie nights. She would also stay up late reading her books to you as you fell asleep. You weren’t the best at reading, but you loved the stories more than anything, and you loved them even more when Tara let you lay on her chest as she read to you.

It was game night at the Carpenter’s apartment, and the core four plus the girlfriends were over, along with Quinn, but she had a ‘male friend’ over. The six of you were playing a not-so-relaxing game of Uno when muffled screams came from Quinn’s room. The group just laughed it off, believing it was just Quinn having a really good time, but when her screams became ones of pain, and she cried for help, everyone stood up from the table and ran into the living room, staring at Quinn’s door.

The apartment had fallen into an eerie quietness that sent shivers up everyone’s spine; it was as if the temperature in the room had dropped ten degrees.

“Run,” Mindy says, but before anyone can move, the door opens, and Ghostface pushes Quinn’s body out of the door, causing it to land on Anika, knocking her to the ground.

Ghostface charges out of the room and swings his knife at Mindy, cutting her arm. You push Tara into the kitchen as you grab a bat from the corner of the room. You run towards him and quickly swing it; the sound of metal meeting bone rings throughout the apartment as he collapses onto the ground.

“Come on,” you command as you grab Tara’s hand and pull her towards the door, flinging it open as you rush everyone out of the apartment. You do a quick headcount, and when you reach head number five, you shut the door and follow everyone downstairs.

Once outside, everyone regroups with their loved ones; Anika and Chad both check on Mindy’s arm as Sam holds Tara close to her chest. You walk toward Tara and Sam, and when your girlfriend sees you, she pulls away from Sam’s grasp and throws her body at you, pulling you into a crippling hug. You smile at the contact and kiss her head, thanking all the gods that your Tara was safe in your arms.

[sweatervest-obsessed]

Yes, Mr. Darcy

Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

wc: 1784

cw: anxiety, swearing, fluff

a/n: been in such a Harrington Mood Lately.

“Y/N  Y/M/N  Y/L/N, for the love of god, we need to leave. Now.”

You were standing in front of her mirror, changing out your earrings for the third time. Nothing seemed to match quite right, but these seemed to do the trick. 

“You did not just use my full name, Buckley.”  

“You were supposed to be ready thirty minutes ago.”

“You and I both know that we’re actually leaving on time, and you tried to trick me so we could just get there earlier so you could get there to hang out with Steve.” 

Robin rolled her eyes and crossed her arms–silent though.

“And she doesn’t deny it.” 

“Oh fuck off.” 

She was just lounging on the couch, head hanging off the side, and one leg over the back. The sound of your heels alerted Robin that you were finally done. She looked up from her phone and her jaw dropped. 

“Shut. Up.”

“What do you think?” 

“I think you’re gonna kill Steve, babe.” 

You smiled. “Good.” 

“Now let’s get a move on because, again, we were supposed to be on our way by now.”

Robin hopped up from the couch and smoothed out her pants legs, trying to desperately combat the wrinkles she just creased in them. 

“You’re too tall in those shoes.” 

You gently shoved Robin's arm as you pulled on your overcoat. 

“Let's head out then?” 

___________________________________

“Steve, let’s get a move on.” 

Steve walked out of the kitchen and into the foyer, where his friends were pacing around, waiting for him. He was fiddling with the gold watch around his wrist–it just wasn't sitting right on his wrist. Why wasn’t the watch sitting in the right place? 

“Oh be still my beating heart.” Eddie clutches his heart and turns to face his best friend. “You look so handsome.” 

Dustin shoves Eddie and rolls his eyes. “We’ve been waiting forever.” 

He gave them a flash of a smile before adjusting the signet ring on his pinky finger, twisting it around and around and around and around and arou—

“Max, Lucas, Will, and Mike are there already, with Nance and Jonathan.” 

Steve huffed and fixed his hair.

Eddie reached forward and picked some lint off of his collar. 

“You seem nervous."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Oh do I?"

"Alright Jackass, ease up." Eddie crossed his arms. "There's nothing to worry about."

Dustin nodded in agreement vigorously. "There's quite literally no universe in which she says no Steve-"

“Alright. Alright." Steve waved the two of them off nervously. "Let’s go then.” 

___________________________________

“You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you”

You whipped your head around, before smiling at the man behind you. “Did…Did you just use Jane Austen as a pickup line?”

“Would you be mad that I did?” 

“No, No, I quite….I enjoyed it”

Steve laughed to himself and took your hand in his, bringing it up to his lips and softly kissing it. 

Cheeks tinging red; this man still knew how to make you blush after four years of being together. 

“You are too much Steve Harrington, simply too much” 

“Too much in general, or too much for you Miss Y/l/n because–”

Your lips were on his before he could even comprehend the rest of his thought. 

“I didn’t even know you knew who Jane Austen was..” Slowly moving from his lips and up his cheek,, kissing the corner of his lips, you hummed. Steve inhaled, snaking an arm around your waist. 

“I listen to you, ya know…” he murmured, praying to whatever god was listening that he would be able to keep quiet. His eyes darted around, making sure that no one in the banquet hall was paying attention to the twenty-three-year-olds in the corner. 

Even though everyone was there as a potential surprise engagement party disguised as a holiday party. 

The massive Christmas Tree in the front of the room caught Steve’s eye. It was perfectly decorated, just like the rest of the room–nothing out of place. The perfectly placed white string lights reflected across the room, across their families. Their picturesque perfect families danced slowly across the dance floor.

Your lips kissed the spot beneath his ear, causing Steve to groan quietly, and squeeze your waist. 

“Babygirl….” Steve mumbled, “Not in front of the whole party. Behav–”

A smirk passed across your lips as you pulled away. “I’m so sorry handsome, it’s just that when you quote one of my favorite novels at me….” 

“Yeah, Yeah. let me fix your lipstick baby” Steve slowly dragged his thumb under your lip, effectively fixing the smudging on her lips, edging the line that you clearly want to shove him over.

“Want to dance with me, darling?”

You smiled and nodded, slotting your hand in his. 

He squeezed it tightly as he caught your friends looking over at the two of you, with expectant faces. Steve tried so hard to communicate “not yet” with his face without you noticing. 

That was not the case since you stopped short. 

“Babygirl, what’s up.” 

“What was that look?” 

“What?” 

“The look Eddie and Dustin just gave you.” 

He scoffed, his chest starting to tighten up. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. 

“You’re up to something.” 

His chest ache spread across his shoulders and down his arms. “No.”

You take a small step back and look over his face. 

Your face shifts from curiosity to concern as Steve’s eyes become panicked. 

Unfortunately for Steve, he completely misread the look on your face. 

It started small, with some erratic breathing. For some reason, he couldn’t breathe. Then, he couldn’t focus. The longer you looked at him, the heavier the little box in his right pants pocket got. 

Steve was freaking the fuck out. It was as clear as day to you, even in the dim lighting. He was sure you were trying to say something because your lips were moving and your other hand had moved up to his arm. 

But Steve couldn’t hear anything beyond his heartbeat.

“Steve, is everything okay? Do you want to go out and get some air?” You gently cupped his cheek, rubbing your thumb up and down, trying to get a sense of what was going on. Steve rarely acted like this, and as your eyes flashed across his face, searching for an answer, you couldn’t find it.

His feet have not stopped shifting since you started looking at him.

“Steve?” 

He couldn’t take it. 

“Hey Steve, Baby–”

The string lights started to become too bright for him. 

“Steve.”

The world was spinning.

“Hey–”

Was everyone staring at him? Why was everyone looking at him? He needed to escape. He needed to get out of the suffocation. It was too much.

So when he shoved past you and tore out of the hall, you were beyond stunned. So were all of your friends and family who managed to notice the little scene in the corner.

But he didn’t notice because he couldn’t breathe and he needed air as soon as physically possible. 

“Is everything okay?” 

Your eyes flitted between where Steve exited and Robin walked towards you, still shocked. “I don’t…I don't know what happened Rob—I’ll be..” You started to follow him. “I have to..” 

“Did he..?”

“Did he do what?” You looked back at him. 

“Did he start…”

“Panicking for no reason? Yeah.”

Robin just nodded her head as you placed a hand on her arm and muttered something about Steve, following out after him. You missed the way all of your friends started catastrophizing. 

Snowflakes dusted his hair as Steve stepped into the parking lot. His footprints left a cartoonish path as he created a circle in the new snow on the ground, pacing around. The little box in his pocket was getting heavier and heavier until he couldn’t bear it anymore. 

Steve pulled it out, and stared at it; his hand wouldn’t stop shaking. Why wouldn’t they just stop shaking? 

“I thought we agreed on you quitting?” 

The box fell to the ground as he jumped. “Jesus– you can’t just sneak up on me like that.” 

“Yeah, well you kind of just….you know, ran off.” 

“Shi–Babe, I’m so sorry. I’m just. I needed some–uh, air”

“Yeah Steve, I know. You started hyperventilating.” 

Steve nodded but didn’t say anything else.

You slowly started walking towards him, stopping right before the cover of the building ended. She was right in front of him, he could feel her body’s warmth. Steve just studied her face, watching as she watched him. 

“I love you, you know that…”

A nervous laugh passed through your lips. 

“B-But you know right?” 

“Steve….”

“I promise I’m…”

“You’re not smoking?”

“Yeah...” A dry chuckle came out of his mouth. “Have a little faith in me, god.”

“Steve I–You just froze up and ran out of there–It looked like—”

“I know what it looked like.” He snapped. 

“Tone.” 

Steve huffed and ran his hands through his hair, making it more of a mess than it had been. “I’m sorry.” 

“Steve, what is going on?” 

“This is not how I wanted this to go?”

“What are you tal–”

Steve bent down on one knee and pulled the box out of the snowbank right next to his foot, trying to dust off the snow on it. It was a deep red velvet, and on the inside was a beautiful silver band–simple, with three distinguished, yet tastefully small gemstones encrusted in it.

“Y/n–”

“Yes.”

“Y/n, please–” He laughed nervously, “P-Please let me get through…I’ve been, um–”

“–Yes—Shit, sorry. Sorry.”

She placed her hands over her mouth, using every muscle in her body to restrain from interrupting Steve. It wasn’t working very well since she was nodding the whole time. 

“Y/n, I–we, we have known each other f-for so long, an-and I—fuck. Why can’t I get through this?” 

Y/n grabbed his hands and pulled him up off the ground, tears waiting to burst. 

“Steve…”

“No, I–fuck I had this whole fucking speech and I-I can’t even–” He started pacing again, ring box in his hand. “I’m ruining it. I’m ruining your proposal and I just–” 

“Steve Harrington, will you do me the absolute honor of being my husband.” 

Steve froze. 

“W-What” 

And he slowly turned to look at her. 

Y/n had taken out a small box from inside the pocket of her dress. She was holding it in her palm, open. It was a soft green velvet box with a simple silver band, engraved with a barely noticeable design on the top–it matched her ring perfectly. 

His lips crashed to hers, ring boxes precariously held in one another’s hands.

“You stole my moment.” He muttered against her lips, before pulling away. 

[riality-check]

Steddie with "Is this okay?" or "I saved you a seat." for the i love you without saying it thingy, please...if you're still doing it. :)

I'm super late on this, but here we go, anon! Is this okay? was done here, so I'm doing I saved you a seat.

"In the back, Henderson," Steve calls.

Dustin kind of hates that Steve isn't a loser anymore. He's back to his cool self, which means he's wearing sunglasses and doesn't look away from the road as he talks to Dustin.

He sputters. "Why? I get shotgun!"

"You get shotgun unless we're picking up Max."

"Are we picking up Max?"

"No," Steve says, finally turning to look at Dustin over the frames of his sunglasses.

Dustin wants to break them, but if he does that, Steve will probably stop driving him around.

He kind of needs Steve to keep driving him around. His mom is busy, and God knows Mr. Wheeler won't do it anymore.

"Get in the back or don't get in at all," Steve says.

Dustin rolls his eyes and gets in the back of the Beemer. Steve doesn't even ask if he's good to go before he pulls away from his house and down the street.

He doesn't usually, but a little warning would have been nice.

"I thought we were going to the arcade," he says.

"We are."

"No, we're going in the wrong direction."

In the rearview mirror, Dustin can see Steve sigh so heavily his shoulders move.

And he says Dustin is dramatic.

Steve flips his sunglasses onto his head, pushing his hair back, when they get to shadier streets. "I'm doing someone a favor, then I'm dropping you at the arcade to hang out with your friends. That okay?"

Dustin isn't really listening, not as Steve turns the car into Forest Hills. "I thought you said we weren't picking up Max."

"We're not."

"I know you're not very verbose, but could you give me answers that are more than two words?" Dustin snaps.

Steve parks the Beemer in front of Eddie's trailer and turns back to face Dustin. "Is this answer enough?"

He beeps the horn, and thirty seconds later, the front door slams open. Eddie nearly trips right out of it, all black-clothed, gangly limbs, enough metal on his outfit for Dustin to hear him jangling before he even gets in the Beemer.

"Saved you a seat," Steve says as Eddie opens the passenger seat door.

It takes Dustin a full ten seconds to realize that the smile Steve has on his face is the same one he'd use on girls at Scoops.

Wait.

"Thanks, Stevie," Eddie says, words as rushed as he seems to be. "I don't know when my van is going to get out of the shop, and Wayne needs the truck-"

"It's no problem," Steve says.

Stevie?

Dustin, for once, is speechless. The way Steve drives with one hand as Eddie takes his other one and starts toying with it has something to do with it.

When his mouth can finally catch up to his brain, he asks, "How long have you two been dating?"

"What?" they say.

Eddie drops Steve's hand like it's burning him, and Steve nearly brake-checks them in the middle of Main Street.

"We're not-"

"Why did you-"

"He doesn't-"

"I-"

"Arcade, Henderson!" Steve yells, cutting off the conversation completely. "Get out, have fun with whatever quarters your mom gave you, get a ride with someone who isn't me, thanks!"

"You aren't-"

"Get out or I will keep driving this car with you in it," Steve warns.

Eddie stares, dumbfounded, between Dustin and Steve. His eyes move like he's watching a tennis match.

"Okay," Dustin says, throwing his hands up. He gets out of the car, and not five seconds after he shuts the door, Eddie and Steve start talking.

Loudly.

He'd stay, but he's already late.

He goes into the arcade, straight to the Dig Dug machine where the rest of the party is waiting.

"Dustin, where were you?"

"Did you guys also think Steve and Eddie were dating, or was that just me?"

Max looks away from the machine, causing her to die in the game. "They're not?"

"Apparently."

"When did you find that out?" Lucas asks, looking a little distracted.

"About a minute ago."

"I think things might have changed since then," Lucas says, pointing to the window.

All of them rush to it and look outside. The Beemer is still in the parking lot. Eddie and Steve are still in it, and they're-

"Oh, God, no."

"This is like watching my parents kiss."

"Why Steve?" Mike moans, letting his head drop against the windowpane again and again. "Why did he have to pick Steve? I thought Eddie was better than this."

"It's kind of sweet."

They stare in silence. It's like a car wreck. It's impossible to look away.

Max shakes her head. "You guys made me waste a quarter on Dig Dug. I'm going back to playing."

"Hey, wait up!"

The rest of them rush back. Dustin is the last to look away.

And he laments the fact that he's never riding shotgun again.

Prompts here.

[whereslynx]

Reader is out with her male cousins driving around town and posting it on Instagram and Sad Eyes gets reaaaaaaally jealous.

a/n: wait anon i love this idea, I HAD SM FUN WRITING THIS I LOVE UUU

Spooky Version <-

────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

The streets of South Central were alive, buzzing with the low rumble of car engines and the hum of late-night activity. You were in the backseat of your cousin Angelo’s ride, laughing as one of your other cousins, Lucio, cranked up the volume on the stereo. The bass thumped through the air, vibrating in your chest as you leaned out of the open window, phone in hand, snapping pictures and recording clips for your Instagram story.

“Damn, this one’s clean,” you teased, flipping the camera to show Angelo grinning behind the wheel. “Y’all wish you could keep up.”

Lucio leaned into the frame from the passenger seat, throwing up a quick hand sign with a cocky grin. “We run these streets, prima. Let ‘em know.”

Your youngest cousin, Luca, peeked out from the other window. “Ain’t nobody touching this ride, and they know it.”

The car peeled down the boulevard, the neon lights of taquerías and liquor stores painting streaks of color across the windshield. You posted another clip, this one with the caption: Rolling with my primos tonight. Where y’all at?

It didn’t take long for your phone to start buzzing. But the text that popped up made your stomach twist in a way you wouldn’t admit.

Sad Eyes 🖤

“Who are these fools?” Seen 12:03AM

You smirked, reading the message as you leaned back in your seat, letting the night air whip through your hair.

You

“Just my primos. Chill.” Sent 12:09AM

It took him all of thirty seconds to reply.

Sad Eyes 🖤

“Don’t play with me. You know what it looks like.” Seen 12:09

You bit your lip to hide your grin. He didn’t even have to say it outright—you knew exactly what was eating him up. Sad Eyes wasn’t the type to blow up your phone or make a scene, but when something got under his skin, it showed. Subtle, but it showed.

You tilted your phone to record another clip, zooming in on Lucio, Angelo, and Luca hyping each other up as the car slowed at a red light. “Squad goals,” you said teasingly, making sure the camera caught you in the backseat, looking just a little too comfortable.

By the time you pulled up to your cousins’ spot, Sad Eyes was already waiting outside.

He leaned casually against his car, arms crossed over his chest, his fitted black tee showing off the tattoos crawling up his arms. His hat was pulled low, but you didn’t miss the way his jaw clenched as he watched you hop out of the car.

Angelo gave him a nod. “Yo, what’s good?”

Sad Eyes didn’t even flinch, his sharp gaze fixed on you, cutting through the warm night air like a blade. “Sup,” he said flatly, barely sparing them a glance. His focus stayed locked on you, a quiet challenge simmering in his eyes.

You walked over, your smile teasing as you tilted your head. “You stalking me now, Sad Eye?”

He raised an eyebrow, his expression cool but his tone sharp enough to cut. “Nah, just making sure you ain’t getting into trouble with these clowns.”

Lucio scoffed, stepping forward slightly, his chest puffed out just a bit. “Clowns? Man, who you calling a clown?”

Sad Eyes didn’t bother looking at him, his tone as casual as it was cutting. “The ones who don’t know how to keep my girl outta their stories.”

Your cousins bristled, but you rolled your eyes, even as your heart skipped a beat at the possessiveness in his voice. “Relax, vato. They’re my cousins,” you said firmly, stepping between them like a buffer.

Lucio crossed his arms, glaring at Sad Eyes. “Yeah, what’s it to you anyway?”

Sad Eyes finally glanced at him, his stare calm but lethal. “It’s everything to me,” he said blatantly. The weight in his voice left no room for doubt, and while you knew he didn’t believe you at first, the truth stood firm.

The tension thickened like smoke. Angelo shifted, stepping forward as if to press the issue, but you quickly waved him off. “Stop. This ain’t even that serious.”

“It is to him,” Lucio muttered under his breath, smirking like the instigator he was.

Sad Eyes’ eyes flicked to him for a brief second, sharp and unforgiving, but his focus settled back on you. “You done playing games, or you need me to stick around longer?”

“Games?” You tilted your head, crossing your arms as your voice took on a playful edge. “Since when does cruising with my family count as games?”

His jaw ticked, the tension in his shoulders apparent even in his usual nonchalant stance. After a beat, he exhaled sharply, clearly realizing he had jumped the gun. “A’ight,” he muttered, his voice quieter but still rough. “If they’re your primos, they’re your primos.”

“Damn straight,” Angelo said, grinning smugly and crossing his arms in a mirror of Lucio’s defiance.

Sad Eyes’ lip twitched as he finally turned to him, his voice steely. “Stay out of it, homes.” He didn’t even need to look directly at Angelo to make his point crystal clear.

He didn’t outright admit he was wrong—he never did—but the way his shoulders eased and his stance relaxed told you everything.

You stepped closer to him, your teasing bravado softening just a little. “You good now?”

He glanced down at you, his hand brushing against yours in that casual, deliberate way of his. “I’m straight. Let’s bounce.”

Luca, the youngest and most mischievous of your cousins, scoffed and leaned against the car door. “Man, she’s not going anywhere.” His tone held a hint of amusement, knowing full well how much Sad Eyes hated being challenged.

“She is,” Sad Eyes replied, his voice steady, his gaze cutting toward Luca with enough weight to silence him. “’Cause I said so.” He tilted his head toward his car, his stance daring anyone to argue.

You smirked, shaking your head as you turned to grab your bag. “Let me get my stuff first.”

“Make it quick,” he said, his tone clipped as he turned back toward his car, as if the little standoff hadn’t even fazed him.

Angelo whistled low, breaking the silence. “Yo, he’s something else.”

“Tell me about it,” you muttered, but there was no hiding the smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. “But that’s my man.”

Angelo snorted, dapping you up goodbye along with the rest of your cousins. “Good luck with that.”

By the time you climbed into Sad Eyes’ car, the tension had fizzled into something quieter, more intimate. He didn’t say much as he drove, his hand finding its way to your thigh, his grip firm and grounding.

“You really thought they weren’t my cousins?” you asked, breaking the silence with a teasing lilt.

He shrugged, his free hand resting on the steering wheel, his nonchalance back in full force. “Didn’t know. Didn’t like it. That’s all.”

You laughed, leaning back against the seat and letting the night air cool your face. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yeah,” he said, smirking slightly as he glanced at you from the corner of his eye. “But you still fuck with me.”

“Maybe,” you teased, resting your head against the window. “But only because you’re driving me home.”

His quiet chuckle rumbled low in his chest, and the way his hand tightened on your thigh said everything he didn’t need to.

[tothosewholisten]

Forever Healed | TUA insert

Chapter: 15

<<previous chapter | next chapter>>

masterlist

cw: cursing, blood and hints to SA

…

“Please don't!” Another day.

“I'm begging you!” Another mission.

“I'll do anything, just don't kill me!” Another kill.

Every day was the same as the last, It was an endless cycle of pain I put many people through. The fact that I can hear and feel the life force just leaving their bodies makes me want to join them. 

How long has it been? Days, weeks, months? I felt older, but that maybe had something to do with me being back in the 50's, time travel took a massive toll on my overall health. I never want to do this again. But I don't think I'm leaving anytime soon because she would never let me, she thinks I do too much of a good job. 

The Handler says I'm a natural killer, she says that I'm purging the universe of all the things that could change the original pure timeline. The apocalypse is one of those “pure” things. I don't agree with her, but I feel my mind slipping into submission like it always has.

She says Five told her that since he and I have different missions to help their cause it would be too time-consuming to talk. I don't think I'd want to see him anyway, he put me here with the hope of a possibility. But I know I can't be away from him forever, we have to go back home by any means necessary.

I've gone on at least thirty missions.

“Oh! B/n come here!”

Thirty-one.

I quickly stood up from my seat in the library section of The Handler's office not wanting to upset the waiting woman any more than needed. She's especially cheery this morning, it makes me dread what mission she's about to put me on today. From what I've learned from eavesdropping, I'm too special to get assignments like a normal worker from a case worker, like Five. No, I have to get them straight from her.

“Why good morning! There's something important for you to do today. Something I cannot trust to any of these everyday chums here.” How is she laughing at the people she recruited and probably took away from their own homes? Just like she did to us. Her grasp on the assignment paper tightens as she narrows her eyes at me. “I'm sorry. Am I being boring?” Her cruel words break me out of my trance. 

“Of course not” I croaked out. “Continue.. please.”

Just like a switch was turned on in her head she went back to her somewhat lobotomized state. “Great. Your assignment is to find a Mr. Luca Palumbo in 1942 New York, wow aren't you lucky! Well of course you will need to eliminate him, but for timeline sake make it look like a hired kill.”

“That would help to stage the Palumbo and Amato family's hatred which also causes the flux of the Italian mob which also causes hundreds of other meant-to-be deaths.”

She made me sick with her twisted words and the false joy that was on her painted face every day. But I couldn’t fight it even if I wanted to, my faint moral compass swayed more and more every day to just get shit done like I did when I was a kid. No one back at the academy had to know what I was doing, not even Klaus. Not even Five if I played my cards right.

Who am I kidding? I sound like an idiot. Of course, Five would know, he’d been through this exact thing and he’d come out.. as normal as possible. I need to get a grip. 

Her voice cut into my headspace once again. “So what do you say?” She grinned. We both already knew my answer, since I couldn’t oppose her. But she’s sadistic, she liked making it seem like I had an option. Like giving her prey a second to run before bolting after it.

I finally met her eyes and gave her the same answer I gave thirty other times. “Of course.”

..

The perfect cover story would be me posing as a hooker or a stripper but against The Handler’s suggestions, I decided I didn't need one. I'm not from this time and I don’t care about this mission enough to cover my ass. I made my way down the dark streets of Manhattan to hopefully get this over with quickly.

Luca owned a nightclub in the heart of the city, it wasn't too rancid which was a plus but an obvious front for illegal activities. I could feel someone’s eyes on me as I entered the building but I wasn't sure if it was from a woman wearing a suit or if he was on to me.

My plan was simple: corner him when least expected and kill him with a pistol similar to the one hidden in his pants right now. 

I took a seat in a velvety booth that was closest to the club stage. Aside from the half-naked dancers there was a plethora of men. But I wasn't here to kill them, I needed to find Luca. I let my eyes follow the crowds of gamblers whose voices were louder than the live band. It took a moment but from across the room I finally locked onto Luca. 

From what I was told I expected an old seasoned mob boss but from the back he looked as old as me. I could only get a closer look at him when a pretty blonde dancer passed his way, making him turn around. 

He was a brunette with a slick hairdo and a small mustache. He nursed the cigarette between his smirking lips as she passed. With a ring-covered hand, he beckoned her back over, she looked hopeful and ready to answer any question but he never said anything. Instead, he grabbed onto her body and smacked her ass, while laughing about it with his friends. If that was me, I would've taken that hand off clean but she had to stand there and take it, it was her boss after all.

I remember being that helpless back when I was trying to find my way after the academy. The situation made me wither in anger. I wanted this man dead more than ever, disgusting scums like him don’t deserve to live. My grip on the table in front of me was tight and the ringing in my ears felt like a teapot ready to boil. 

I regained composure and watched on as he engaged in conversation with the other mob bosses. He had to do something else other than poker, I'm sure it's been hours by now. As I waited for him to get along I started to think. 

Eat, sleep, and control others, that's all these kinds of people do and nothing will ever change, the powerful stay the powerful unless there’s something we can do about it. 

Something I can do about it.

Something I can do about The Handler. 

Life would go back to what it was if The Handler was gone, no matter how fucked up it was I had finally gotten control back of myself.

But what could I do? Of course, she’d probably be an easy kill but I have no doubt she'd haunt my everlasting memory forever. Everything she said about me is exactly correct no matter how much I wish it wasn’t. I don’t like killing, it scares me and so do my powers but you have to do what you don’t like to survive. My mom taught me that.

I chuckled at myself, it's always mother-like daughter. She survived in a different country by tolerating a man who married her for some strange fetish but never retaliated against him. It had confused me a lot as a child, but when I became a teenager I started to resent her and maybe I still do. But I realize, just like that dancer, some people are just surviving, they are forced to take the poor hand dealt to them and try to make something better of it.

Until scum try to drain them of everything their worth. It’s a constant cycle, which leads me back to this guy. Luca Palumbo, the guy I was sent to kill. The guy was currently on the move toward a back door, which I wouldn't have seen if I didn't quickly snap into action.

He was walking at a fast pace for a person just heading to a different room, maybe he’d spotted someone he owed money to or maybe he’d spotted me.. 

I followed his faint figure through the strobe-lit hall, at this point I had no clue where he was going. I turned my head to make sure no one was behind me but the only thing I saw was an empty hallway. 

Luca took a sharp turn to the left, into a room that faintly looked like a storage closet and quickly faded into the dark room. Warning signs seemed to just flash in my brain but I kept going anyway, he had to be on to me. I quietly entered the room behind him but it was too dark to tell where he was. At times like these, I wish I had x-ray vision.

The only sign of where he was was when he slammed the door shut behind me, locking him and me inside the storage closet. He then took a few steps closer to me. I could tell he was trying to intimidate me. Jokes on him the only thing that scares me is my childhood trauma.

“Now I'm gonna make this quick, Sally is waiting for me. I saw your eyes on me for hours but not in the way most people's eyes drift. And then you followed me here. So what do you want?” His transatlantic accent rang in my head, it was like right out of a TV.

Questions were swirling in my head, but I knew I was here for a purpose. I'd never talked to my kills before so I didn't plan on starting now. But against my better judgment, I opened my mouth. “Who’s Sally?” I asked.

“Why, she's the newbie floozy you were also eyeing before. You're not jealous are you?” His audacity was astonishing, here I am trying to kill him and he thinks I'm a secret admirer or something. How thick can one man be?

I was fuming from the way he started talking about this girl. I couldn’t even hear it anymore and it was obvious by my heaving breathing. I've seen countless idiots and killed them for less of a reason, there had to be a reason why this one was making me so upset.

“I'm gonna turn on the light and we can solve this, alright?” He laughed. “If you wanted me you could’ve just said it. I don’t bite.”

The light illuminated the room making it easier to see his smug face. “You're not too bad yourself. Would you like to work here?” So can I be assaulted? No, thank you.

He was prodding at me, trying to rile me up; it was like he reveled in my piercing eyes and balled-up fist. But they weren't for him, they were for this stupid uniform, the suit limited my mobility because it was too small even though it was my exact measurements. I wanted to burn the horrid thing but I settled for just taking it off. 

“Starting the show a little early, no? Not that I'm complaining.” Luca goes and tries to grab onto me but before he’s able to get my shirt off I punch him in the face, sending him flying. His back hits the door and he slides down with a groan. “What the hell?” He shouts.

He gets up in a frenzy reaching for the gun at his waistline, wasting no time firing it right into my shoulder. It didn't hurt, they never did. The fucker couldn’t even fire correctly and the worst part was that it didn't even go through me. That shit was lodged into my shoulder.

I laughed at him, before reaching into my shoulder with the side of my face and pulling the bullet out with my teeth. It was a long and grimey experience but I was proving a point. Once I grabbed onto it I spit it back out at his dress shoes and watched his face turn into horror. 

“Crazy bitch!” He shrieked, accent dropped. I knew it was fake.

He panicked and reached out for the door handle but he never escaped the room. I waited for a second before acting.

Then I became a different person. I just kept punching, quick and hard right into his pretty face. I let out a slur of noncohesive words and rambles. “You're the worst kind of person on the planet!” I yelled in his messed-up face. 

“All you do is take!”

Punch

“You take from me, you take from Sally, you take from everyone you steal money from!”

Punch

“Then you try to seal me away and control me. You're just as bad as her!”

Punch

“You deserve nothing.” 

Punch

“Why am I the one who has to hurt?”

Punch

“What did I do? While you sit there on your high fucking horse.”

At this point my hand is strikingly red with his blood and so is his face. I got that same teapot ringing in my ears, I could feel every cell in his body. It’d take me only one action to crush all of them. 

Right here right now, and then he’d combust into a pool of his cancerous blood. That would be the only way I make sure when I leave he doesn't get up again. That he can't make children who have to deal with a shitty father, just like I did.

Looking at the bullet on the floor made me remember why I was there. I had a mission, even if I was too blind to see it at the moment. I stretched before grabbing my similar gun not caring if my prints were all over it. I was done with this situation.

And as he tried to crawl to the door I shot him. One for his disgusting remarks, two for his awful behavior and ten for fun. Right in the back, just like one of his cowardly friends would do. 

I rid myself of the gun and wipe my bloody hands on my shirt. Lastly, I grabbed my jacket and stepped around his body, ridding myself of this situation. I did what he couldn’t leave the room just like I could leave The Handler's box she placed me in. It was time to do something about the commission.

I needed to talk to Five. 

It was time to leave.

..

I walked in the rain with the briefcase in my hand that was given to me by the commission. I originally hoped when I stashed it under the velvet booth it would be stolen so I wouldn't have to go back. 

As quickly as I turned angry I turned back to the sad, sorry self I've always been. I sniffled and reacted for the briefcase to go back to headquarters. Being already familiar with it, I just let my hands do the work and silently sobbed.

I wish I still had my therapist, then maybe I could uncover why I'm so angry. And why I let it build up to the point where my outbursts are well.. deadly. I can't blame anyone else for that, it's just a me thing. 

When I got back to the commission and had calmed down in the bathroom I stalked the hallways. All I needed to find was a little boy in shorts and then I'd spot him. It was hard though with the bustle of people, it must’ve been lunchtime.

I’ve never been one to the mess hall because I don't want to interact with other workers and I don't really eat.. Knowing Five he wouldn't want to eat with them either so he must be somewhere around here.

Using my knowledge of the place I walked over to where the case managers resided during working hours. But I stared at the floor as I walked. Not noticing the tiny steps walking out of the office, we collided for a quick second before we noticed who each other were.

It was Five, in all his tiny glory. Adored in the same fitted suit I was in but less wet and bloody. He looked just the same as when we were brought here but his hair was a bit longer and he looked more agitated.

He stared at me with his eyes wide. “Y/n” he whispered. I could almost cry again at his words. After not seeing him for months I missed the little shithead. “You look…”

I giggled and looked at my feet. “I know it's not my best outfit, I know. Trust me the water wasn't planned for.” My only coping mechanism has always been jokes.

Five was at a loss for words, I thought he was going to reply with something equally as snarky. He sighed. “I'm so sorry.”

I felt a bit angry actually, after all these months of torment. “Well, Five I think we're a little above sorry. Don’t you think so?” He had no response. “I mean you put me here and then don't talk to me for months. And after this, you get what, a body replacement? What do I get? except for more kills on my belt?” I rambled all the thoughts I'd been dying to ask someone with an actual mind in their head.

“It could’ve been anyone else Five.” I shook my head. “Even The Handler said you didn't want to talk to me.”

“And you believed her?” He finally spoke up.

“What else was I supposed to believe?” I furrowed my brows. “This is your palace. I've never been here before. It was just like when I was thrown into the academy. God.”

“…” 

“Look, if that's all you have to say. I'm gonna go get cleaned up.” I looked away back towards The Handler's office. I know Fives never was the best at expressing himself but I guess I expected more from him.

Five clears his throat. “Wait. I have a plan okay? I know I messed up. It was selfish to bring you but I need you to trust me when I say that I'm trying to do the best for us. Just come with me.”

We stared at each other again. “Okay,” I replied. “I do believe you, and I know you’ve spent your whole life trying to get back to us. I just wish that I wasn't dragged in during the process.”

He gives me a somewhat smile. “Whatever we do now, we do it together.”

“I can live with that.”

..

Five led us into the room that held all the field assignments, a room I’d never been in after we listened in on a conversation between Dot and the woman who ran it, Gloria.  They were talking about how the Handler knows Five is up to something. And that Gloria needs to send a letter to warn Hazel and Cha-Cha.

But before she could send it we made it to her first. The boy blipped us into the room and then stapled her in the back of the neck. Which caused her to drop to the floor cold. I gave him a weird look for his choice of weaponry but he only grinned.

While I was on the lookout he grabbed the message and rewrote what it said. At first, it said “Reassignment: protect Harold Jenkins” and now Five wrote for them to assassinate each other. Which was smart thinking.

We both entered in one letter for both of the workers and watched them go down the shoots. It was finally done now we just needed to get a briefc—-

“You both know that's not how we do things around here.” A familiar voice cut in. I turned to look at The Handler with dread, it was truly over now. We’re never leaving 

“Where’s Gloria?” She asked.

Five respond for us. “I don’t know we couldn’t find her anywhere.” Which could’ve been a great lie if Gloria didn't groan in pain from where I put her behind the desk. The Handler turned slowly to her hurting form as Five gave me a look that meant get ready for anything.

She looked repulsed at us but only her words pierced me in the heart. “You’re a great disappointment to me B/n. To be here with him, after I asked you not to. It makes no sense.” I could tell Five was confused by whoever’s name she just called out. But I know what she meant.

Then she turned her sights on him. “You can't change what's to come, Five. I truly find it so odd that you can shed this little fantasy. You're a first-rate pragmatist.” She raises her voice. “You two belong here with us.”

“In a few days thanks to you, we won’t belong anywhere.” He exclaims.

My gaze deepens at The Handler, “why would we want to stay here? You turned us into killers.”

She laughs at me. “Oh please, you two have always been killers. Especially you, do I need to bring up your count over the years?” She reaches down to unzip the leg proportion of her sleek dress. Revealing a pistol which she points at us. “I just pointed you in the right direction. Don’t forget about how you started. You both came from nothing!”

“You’d still be with your boring parents if not for your powers. So use them!”

My initial reaction was to shield Five from bullets or jump at the woman and kill her, but Five had other plans. He grabbed me and blipped us away behind one of the machines in the room. The whole area went into shock, someone must’ve pulled the alarm because there was a blaring sound and a whole lot of movement outside. 

The Handler never stopped shooting at us as we blipped around the room.

“What’s the rush?” She calls out. “We’re just getting started.”

As we hid she growled restless and started doing anything she could to manipulate us one last time. “Is that how you want the last line of your report card to read?”

Five whispered at me to trust him, I was confused for a second until he blipped me next to Gloria's desk and himself in front of the crazy woman. He started to egg her on. “When I'm done, I'm done, I guess.”

Her creepy smile returns to her pale face. “You can't keep this up forever, Five. We both know you have a limit. And carrying two people has to hurt a bit more right? I saved you from a lifetime of being unhappy.” She bares her teeth at him. “You owe me.” 

“Speaking of which, where is the flower?” She fakes a loving attitude as she looks around the room for me. I quickly dive under Glorida’s desk.

When she turns back around to give him one last snarky comment, I finally understand what he wants me to do. I leap out with one last satisfactory glance at him. And I grab a book from the table and smack The Handler over the head with all my might.

Thankfully it's before she could even fire the gun at him. I let out a huge sigh of relief when she fell to the ground. Five walks over to me, stepping on her long body as he does.

He looks at me. “I did owe a debt but it wasn’t to her. Come on, I owe you one.” 

“Five! That was so sweet! I could melt right now” I gushed.

“Well now I shouldn’t have said anything and I should just leave you here, ew.” We laugh at our win.

But he still drags me along down the halls towards the briefcase room with him anyway. As he rigs us a new briefcase because I forgot where I had placed the one I came back here with I watch the commotion. People running like they are headless chickens everywhere, and thankfully no Handler.

Five throws a grenade into the briefcase room and we duck for cover. “Where the hell did you get that?” I laughed.

“You don't wanna know.” He smiles.

With one last glance, we opened up the briefcase and let the blue sparks engulf us.

“Goodbye, Commission. I hope I never see you again!” I yelled at all the destruction. 

..

What’s left of The Umbrella Academy is stationed in the living room, having a discussion they had just had before..

“Hold the phone.” Klaus groans out. “We all died fighting this thing the first time around, right?” 

Diego calls out from behind the bar. “Klaus, shockingly, has a point. What gives us a win this time,”

Luther has no time to respond, even if he did it wouldn't have been heard over the crackling of electricity. Blue flashing lights take up the ceiling of the living room and two people and a black briefcase come trickling out of the sky.

Everyone runs back in fear.

“Je- Jesus!” Alison shouts while covering her head.

They all take a minute to see what actually fell onto the bar table. A sight they’ve seen before.

“You guys, am I still high or do you see them, too?” Klaus asks.

..

We both landed on the uncomfortable bar table. I could feel my head spinning from time travel, I needed to throw up. “What the hell? You said the landing would be okay this time” I yelled at him. I raised my head to see all of the questioning faces. “Oh hey, guys” I slurred out.

Luther is the first to respond. “Where the hell have you guys been?” Five is unresponsive because he’s too busy, rolling off the counter onto the floor. 

Everyone rushes to the falling boy and they start pumping him with questions. 

“Are you alright?” Allison says.

“Who did this?” Luther asks.

“What are you two wearing?” Klaus remarks

Five finally gets back up onto his feet, not before stealing the cup of coffee in Allison’s hand and walking a few steps away from everyone. “All irrelevant.”

Then they all turn to me. “It’s a long story.” I shrugged. One that was too scarring to tell.

The boy gulps down the entire full cup of coffee. I finally peered down at my clothes, we were covered in ash from the grenade and I was still soaked.

“So, the apocalypse is in three days.” Five began to speak. “The only chance we have to save our world is, well, us.’

“The Umbrella Academy” Luther mumbles. 

“Yeah, but with me, obviously. So if y’all don't get your sideshow acts together and get over yourselves, we're screwed. Who cares if Dad messed us up? Are we gonna let that define us? No.”

Everyone including myself shares his sentiment and we all shake our heads no.

“And to give us a fighting chance to see next week. I've come back with a lead. I know who’s responsible for the apocalypse.” Five hands them the paper we found earlier.

“This is who we have to stop,” I added. 

Allison opens the paper and the boys all look over her shoulder. “Harold Jenkins?” She tried out the name, it sounded weird to me too at first. Like it was fake.

“Who the hell is Harold Jenkins?” Diego belted out 

Five and I share one last of our little looks. We needed to prepare for the road ahead, but there was one last thing I had to do..

…

hey sorry for the big gap between chapters, i keep all my info on my phone about this book and it just broke. This is me on a temp phone for now!

Taglist:

@aloflapse

@isomehowexist

@elenalovestoread

@miscrying

@gabriella-aesthetic

@dakotapaigelove

@solarbeanz

@theoriginalone1111

@water-hemlock18

@tialovesyoutoo

@bunnychano3o

@rockyeatrock

[space-invading-pigeon]

One Two Three

Vecna is incensed when Pelor returns, and not because he'd been on his own. "You left them alive!" Vecna snarls, the exposed muscles of his face and neck pulled taut in his frustration. "The were right there! You could have finished them!" "They are children, Vecna, perhaps we could-" "They are a threat!" "Children!" "You need to get rid of them-" "Mind your tone, Vecna, I am not to be disrespected," Pelor growls; he can feel his eyes flashing dangerously, can feel the air grow hot with his anger. Vecna falls silent, his eyes sharp with displeasure. "I don't think we need to kill them. We can convince them to turn, they're children." "... How do you propose we do that, lord?" Vecna's response is strained, tight. Steve- er, Pelor- relaxes a bit. "They seem to be reminded of a fallen comrade when they speak to me," he announces. "I think I can show them the truth. Fighting will be futile, they'll see that if I just speak to them."

*****

"Dustin, he's gone, there's no way that he's still Steve in there, he attacked Jonathan," Mike argued, smacking his fist against the table. They'd reconvened at the Byers' home, as always; Robin and Eddie stayed with the kids, while Nancy, Hop, and Joyce took Jonathan to the hospital.

"That's not fair, Mike, you never gave up on Eddie!" Dustin shouted, shoving himself back to stand from the table.

"Eddie never tried to kill one of us!"

"Actually, I did," Eddie interrupted softly. "Twice." Mike wilted a little, leaning closer to Will.

"Well- well you never hurt us!" He tried to argue, but Eddie shook his head.

"I did, Mike. Remember? I broke Lucas's wrist, and I almost killed Dustin. If it hadn't been for Steve and El, neither of them would be here." Eddie tugged on one of his curls, expression absent. El nodded from the couch, holding up the 'rock on' gesture that Eddie had recently taught her.

"But-"

"Dude, can you chill? We know you don't like Steve, but he's one of us," Lucas admonished, making Mike blush.

"He hurt Jonathan!"

"No, Vecna hurt Steve. Steve doesn't know that he knows us, remember? When Dustin and Eddie tried his song, he stopped fighting. He ran away," Will piped up, voice soft but firm. "And when he attacked us before, he ran away as soon as he saw Jonathan. He was hurt, and Steve freaked out. He's still in there, Mike."

Mike didn't say anything for a moment, floundering for an argument. It was possibly the closest they'd seen Mike to tears since 1984. "Well- well he's still a piece of shit!" He finally snapped, storming out of the dining room and down the hall.

Silence reigned for a few minutes after Mike's departure. This time, Robin was the one to break it.

"So... I still can't tell if Mike hates Steve or has a crush on him," she noted quietly, making the kids snort (not laugh- they were all much too jaded to laugh at the moment.).

"Crush, definitely," Max decided immediately.

******

Will, Max, Lucas, Mike, and El had fallen asleep sometime during the movie Robin put on. Robin stayed in with them, waiting by the phone for any update on Jonathan.

Dustin and Eddie stepped out around midnight. They didn't go anywhere, just on the porch, while Eddie smoked a cigarette. Gods, he needed it; two Steve sightings in a week after almost a year of nothing, and both times Steve hadn't really come home. Dustin was just as exhausted, leaning forward on his knees as he watched the sky.

"We'll get him back, right, Eddie?" Dustin asked weakly. Eddie had to nod, despite his own growing doubts.

"He can't leave us, Henderson," he consoled. "He's- he's lost. Vecna's got him all turned around, but we can get him back. His song, remember?"

"His stupid, thirty-year-old Elvis song," Dustin snorted, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Eddie chuckled softly, using his whole body to nudge Dustin.

"Don't talk shit about the King, Henderson, this is the only thing we can't make fun of Steve for."

"It's a love song, Eddie."

"It's a good song, Dustin!" Eddie smiled a little wider when Dustin made a noise that could almost be called a laugh, proud to have brought Dustin out of his melancholic mood.

As Dustin calmed, his mood sank a little more. "Eddie... If he's not- not Steve, right now, than who is he?"

"Is that some kind of riddle I'm supposed to solve?"

"No, numbnuts, I mean, like, when you weren't you, you were Kas. Vecna's general. But Steve's not like you were, it's almost like- almost like he's being influenced, but not controlled." Eddie hummed at this, nodding slowly. "So who is he?"

"Just looking at him, he looks more like a general than I ever did-"

"Eddie, whatever they did to you, you still have fangs-"

"-but he's also not as... dark. Not as cold either; have you noticed he glows?" Eddie shook his head. "Anyway. The glowing, the warmth, the way that things grow around him, which is way different than them dying like things usually do from the Upside Down.... I'd say he's Pelor."

"Pelor? But Pelor is benign, what's he doing fighting us?"

"That's where Vecna's influence must come in. He tried to-to corrupt Steve, and he couldn't, so he just... confused him." Eddie drummed his fingers together, thinking hard. "It's like- like Vecna's cast Confusion on him. We just have to break the spell."

"But if he's never here long enough for us to use the song- he ran away last time, if we can't keep him around, how can we break the curse?" Dustin asked, face furrowed in thought. "How do we get him back if every time we try, he disappears?"

"We make it so he can't disappear," Eddie supplied. "We need to convince him that he's safe with us, like a feral cat- yeah, exactly like a cat! Baby steps, we make sure he knows he's safe with us, and we can get him back."

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

I think maybe one or two more parts and this will be over???

Tags: @amoris-no-smut-allowed @swimmingbirdrunningrock

[goldengleams]

i’m so fucking cool so here is my request: adam fantilli.

ok sass !!!! but yes here are some thoughts about resident cutie hockey player: adam fantilli

ok where to begin!!!

adam is literally a ray of sunshine

like he's always cheesin

i feel like adam would literally never call you by your first name

babe is his all time favorite

"babe?"

"yes adam?"

"just missed you"

"adam i've been sitting next to you for thirty minutes"

loves to talk about things he's passionate about and the people he cares for

even though you don't totally understand the hockey world, you would listen to him talk about hockey for hours if he wanted to

super easygoing guy but...struggles to talk about his sad feelings

never outwardly says that he's upset or nervous, so you have to learn his tells

leg shaking when he's nervous, super quiet and avoidant when he's upset about something

definitely ghosted you when he was making his decision to go to the draft

you're quick to show up at his door, giving him one look that just makes him crumble

"how'd you know something was wrong?"

"you ever heard the phrase 'you wear your heart on your sleeve', fantilli?"

adam is pretty good at separating his personal life from hockey but when it comes to you, he tells you how he really feels about everything without pulling punches

he's quick to introduce you to his brother, luca

takes you both out for lunch and is extremely nervous

luca watches as you place your hand on adam's thigh, lock eyes with him, and take a subtle deep breath to show him that everything will be okay

and yeah, you're basically in the family after that

adam says 'i love you' pretty early on in the relationship but you follow his lead and say it back soon after

comfortable with showing pda even though he gets chirped endlessly by the hockey boys

"yo, keep it pg around the children!"

"i gave her a kiss, rutger!"

"three second rule!"

will casually talk about you and invite you to events that are supposed to be boys only because he just enjoys your presence so much

the boys also really enjoy your presence

seems like he would be really good at buying gifts

like down to the size and everything

very attentive to you, sometimes it catches you off guard

"hey babe, got you a bowl from chipotle when luke and i were out"

"how'd you know my order?"

"oh i just remembered it from last time, got you chips and queso, too"

will post you on social media!!!

i feel like a lot of things wouldn't get talked about because Adam is sure about what he wants but sometimes it drives you a little crazy since you're a planner

"adam, you never told me your parents were in town!"

"oh, i just didn't think it was that big of a deal babe, but don't worry, they're super excited to meet you!"

gives great hugs (i can just feel it)

will always bend down so you can wrap one arm around his shoulder and another around his torso, best hugs if you know what i mean

knows when you get your period and will discreetly leave his comfiest sweatshirt in your room the night before your cycle starts

knows you get emotional, so adam will provide romcoms and tissues and allows you to just lay on him for comfort

"you're my favorite person ever, adam fantilli, and you can't ever change that"

got carried away on this one but it was for a good reason! live laugh love adam fantilli

[ryeriy]

hockey and hoes

warnings: foul language, slight smut

navigation post

a/n: I'm slowly catching up on these lol anyways enjoy :)

"Knock knock." I hear coming from my dorm door with the sound of knocking on the door. "Coming!" I say while walking towards the door and open it. My face lights up as I see Luca's face with a smile on it already. "You look so pretty like words can't even describe it right now." He says. I laugh as I hear him say that to me. "Thank you, you don't look bad yourself," I say to him. "Aw babe, you're so nice." We both let out a soft chuckle as I let him inside my dorm as I finish grabbing my phone and putting on my heels. Luca invited me to a party that a few of the guys on the hockey team were hosting at their house. Apparently, lots of people are going to be there and Luca wanted me to go with him. It's supposed to be a Halloween party and he told me we needed to dress up and if we didn't we'd be lame. Don't want to be the lame one. Plus, it's one of the only times I can dress however I want for a party and have an excuse as of why.

We decided to be Daphne and Fred from Scooby-Doo. It was his idea to do it. I mean he already kind of looks like it so I can see it. All I had to do was buy a dress, the scarf, the socks, and the purple pumps. I love it. "I like purple on you." He said while putting his arms around my waist as I closed my dorm door behind me and walked out with Luca to the nearby parking lot he parked in. "Do you think we're going to be the hottest ones there?" I asked him while we both got into his car. "Hell yeah, we will!" I laugh and he looks over at me. I look over at him as he puts his hand on my face, giving me a soft kiss. Followed by two more before we decided to pull away from each other. We buckle our seat belts and make our way to the party.

We parked on the side of the road next to the house when arrived. Getting out of the car and walking into the party. "I feel so stupid. What if we're the only ones dressed up?" I say. Luca grabs onto me and wraps his arm around me pulling me closer to him. "We'll be fine. Even if we are we can be dressed up together!" He kissed me on the head while we walked up the driveway that was packed with cars. We both walked in and all you could see was people in costumes. All of his teammates walked up to him. "Ayyy Luca!" Ethan walked up to him. They both gave each other a hug like how guys always do.

We walked around together before we found ourselves in the corner of the living room and I was standing in front of him. His hands wrapped around my waist as I leaned back behind him. I held his hands and put my head on his shoulder. "Why do you even come to these stupid parties," I say while looking at him. We've been talking to people for thirty minutes then we distanced away. "Because I like my hockey boys and the hoes." He says. "I better be the hoe you're talking about," I say while turning my head to look up at him. "Of course you are, but you're not a hoe to me." He says while he placed a kiss on my neck. I smiled at him. "Who are your hoes then?" I saw while looking up at him. "The boys who don't play hockey with me." He says while looking down at me. "Like Luke?" I questioned. "Yeah, I guess you could say Luke's one of my hoes." He says while laughing.

"What do you say we get out of here and go pick up some apple cider and donuts from the store and eat them in my car before I return you to you're palace?" Luca says while smiling at me. "Since when is my dorm a palace?" I say while laughing. "Is it a yes or no?" He said. "Yes, of course." I smiled at him as he kissed me before we decided to leave and go back to his car. Luca, can you be my hoe?" I say while walking out with him. "What?" He says while laughing. "Can you be my hoe." I repeated. "Yeah, I guess," I said while laughing.

31 days of Halloween

join my taglist

[cowgurrrl]

I Know the End

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader (plus platonic Ellie Williams x fem!reader but we focus more on Ellie in this fic)

Author's note: I didn't know how to end this but I kinda love it how it is!!

Summary: "We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster that we go bankrupt by the age of 30 and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything— what a waste." - Luca Guadanino, Call Me by Your Name aka you and Ellie talk about what's important [2.1k]

Warnings: a little bit of backstory, Ellie being a disaster lesbian, fluff, a time jump of sorts (Ellie is 18 and Charlie is 2)

It only took a whole day of running around with Dina and Ellie, but you've never seen Charlie fall asleep so fast. You were exhausted, and Joel had to run errands and then patrol, but Charlie begged to go outside in the spring sunshine the moment she woke up. Dina was supposed to come over and hang out with Ellie alone, but when she heard Charlie's two-year-old demands, she changed their plans. "Let's go to the park!" Dina agreed, much to Charlie's excitement and Ellie's confusion. You watched as Ellie looked at Dina when she wasn't looking, something familiar shifting behind her eyes before she pushed it away. 

They left to go to the park and were out all day. Charlie was half-asleep in Dina's arms when they finally came back, but that didn't stop her from clinging to Dina when you tried to take her. Before the infamous Charlotte Miller pout could take full effect, Dina leaned back so she could look at her. "How about you tell Ellie to invite me over more often so we can play? We don’t even need to hang out with stinky Ellie if you don’t want to.” She said, and Charlie laughed, letting you take her from Dina's arms. Ellie blushed and rolled her eyes at Dina's teasing, but there was no heat behind it. You wonder if you and Joel were as obvious as Ellie and Dina are. Charlie was asleep in bed not even thirty minutes later, absolutely exhausted from her girl's day out. 

When you walk back downstairs, you find Ellie sitting on the porch, watching the last bits of sunshine disappear behind the mountains. Her shoulders are relaxed, and she seems lighter. She doesn't jump when you step onto the porch to join her. Her eyes are stunning in the sunlight, all golden brown and happy. You look out at the purple and pink rays as they shine across the green fields and take a deep breath.

"Charlie said she had fun with you and Dina today." You say, sitting next to her, and she smiles.

"Good, I'm glad," she says. "We had a lot of fun with her." You turn to look at her and see that same blush invading her cheeks. You smile and turn your attention to the chipping paint on one of the chairs Joel built.

"So, you and Dina-"

"Don't." She cuts you off before you can even start, and you laugh. She looks at you like you're crazy, but you shake your head and pull your legs up to your chest. 

"You're an adult. You're allowed to have your own life. I just… would like to be in on it." You say. She sighs and rubs her eyes, the wheels in her head spinning so much that you swear you can hear them.

"It's complicated," she admits, and you smile. You remember the number of times you gave the same answer to Tess when she asked about you and Joel. Saying it was complicated allowed her to fill in the gaps you were too scared to even look at. "What?"

"Nothing. You just sound like someone I used to know." 

"Can I ask you a question?" She asks, and you nod. "How did you... know that you loved Joel?" 

"That's a big question," you admit. She winces and opens her mouth to retract it, but you stop her. "Have I ever told you about how we met? Or what we were like in the beginning?" You ask, and she shakes her head. You look at your wedding band as you trace your memories back to the very beginning and almost laugh at how stupid you two were.

"I met Tess first. She got me out of some trouble with FEDRA, and I owed her a favor. One day, she asked me to do a drop with her smuggling partner. I don't remember what her reasoning was, but I agreed. He hated me. He'll say he didn't, but he did. He thought I was a rat and wanted nothing to do with me."

"Why did he think you were a rat?"

"Because I was." You admit, and Ellie furrows her brows in confusion.

"Wait, what?"

"I had a kid at home that I needed to feed, and I was desperate, so I did the shitty FEDRA jobs, smuggling, raiding, whatever. I made a good amount of money. Not enough to make us rich, but enough for me to keep her alive and buy ammunition when it came through," you say. "When Jane died, I just… kept doing it. I had nothing else to live for, and that kind of hopelessness is a hot commodity in QZs. It makes you deadlier, more ruthless, quicker. People wanted to hire me to do their dirty jobs because they knew I could do it and not flinch."

"I never knew that." She says, and you nod, but you don't look at her. You focus on the chipping paint and how it feels under your nails when you pick at it. "Did you kill innocents?"

"I never asked about the targets, but yeah, probably. Joel's done things like that, but he never got as deep as I did. I think he hated me because he saw how similar we were, and it scared him, but we made a great team. We kept doing runs, and we barely spoke for the first few times but then... I don't know," you shrug, looking up from the paint. "Something changed. I started caring about him, and he started caring about me, but we never talked about it. We just existed together. It annoyed the shit out of Tess, but I think she knew we had to work it out one way or another. When she died, we were both lost. She was our lynchpin. She kept us together and focused. She made us a team," 

"But then we started traveling with you, and he started opening up. We started talking, like really talking, for the first time. We talked about our daughters, our pasts, everything. I saw a different side of Joel that I had never seen before, and I realized how much I loved him. I think I fell in love with him years before that but didn't realize or didn't let myself feel it," you chuckle and shake your head. Ellie's eyes haven't left yours since you started talking. You imagine her brain moving as fast as possible, trying to put the pieces together. "The fucking apocalypse happened. You would think that would make people want to admit their feelings before it's too late, but not us. It took years for us to admit we loved each other. We wasted so much time. And even now that we're married and have you and Charlie, I still wonder how our lives would be different if we had been honest sooner." You look at her pointedly, and she sighs.

"Is this the part where you tell me that love is all we need to heal or whatever bullshit?" 

"No, this is the part where I tell you exactly what I said to Joel years ago," you plant your feet on the porch and turn to look at her fully. "Something terrible happened to you. A lot of terrible, awful things happened to you, and I'm sorry. But you don't need to keep punishing yourself for the past. You are worthy of all the love in the world, and someone is here, willing to give it to you. Don't fuck it up." She doesn't say anything. She just nods. You smile and reach for her hand, her fingers cold to your touch.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, but I know Dina would be lucky to be loved by you. Any person would be. And when you're ready to bring the person you love home to us, I promise to love them as much as you do, okay?" You ask, and she squeezes you with tears in her eyes.

"Okay." She agrees. You don't say anything more. You don't need to. You just squeeze her back and take in the last bits of sunshine, watching Joel slowly appear over the hill. You laugh together at how small he looks, and Ellie says something about him getting slower as he gets older. You manage to pull it together once he’s close enough to hear, and he smiles seeing you two together.

"Hey there, cowboy." You call as Joel starts walking up to the porch. He walks over and kisses you before walking over and kissing Ellie's forehead.

"What are y'all doing out here?" He asks, squeezing Ellie's shoulders as he stands behind her. She swats at him, making him laugh, but he stays nearby.

"Talking," Ellie answers.

"'Bout what?"

"Us." You say.

"Uh oh."

"When do you think you realized you were in love with me?" You ask, and he smiles.

"From that very first day."

"Bullshit, Miller!" You yell. Thank God Charlie is the world's heaviest sleeper; otherwise, she'd be wide awake. "You were so mean to me when we did that drop."

"You were just as mean as I was."

"I guess that's true," you say. "God, Tess was so annoyed at us."

"She always said that she was gonna lock us in a room one day and not let us out until we figured out what was wrong." He says, and you smile as a pang of bittersweetness hits you. If it weren't for Tess, you would've never met Joel, and you definitely wouldn't have learned to love him without those late-night conversations with her.

"Did she ever do it?" Ellie asks. 

"No, but she sent us on more drops together. Somehow, I think that was her way of forcing us to like each other." 

"Man, she was the coolest."

"She was," you say as you look at Ellie. "She really cared about you." She nods, unsure what to do with that information but taking it in anyways. Ellie looks at you, probably knowing you would be easier to persuade than Joel.

"Is it okay if I stop by Dina's?" She asks, and you smile.

"Be home before the sun comes up, please." You say, still trying to set boundaries with her but also trying to let her be an adult. She's out of the chair and down the porch stairs before you can blink. Joel follows her movement with a confused look but doesn't try to stop her. You walk over to him and wrap your arms around his neck. He snakes his hands around your waist and pulls you close enough to smell his shampoo.

"Didn't they just hang out all day?" He asks, and you laugh.

"She's gotta go do something important. I'm sure she'll tell us about it later," you say. "How was your day?"

"Better now that I'm home." He says as he kisses you, and you roll your eyes. 

"Cheesy."

"Do I get to ask you when you realized you were in love with me now?"

"Oh, I know the exact moment I realized."

"You do?" He asks with a pray, do tell look on his face, and you nod. 

"Yep. It was my birthday, and I didn't want a big fuss, but you and Tess remembered. You got us out of the QZ and took us to one of the old buildings with a picnic that Tess made, and we watched the sunset over Boston. You traded something expensive for a nice bottle of wine, and we passed the bottle back and forth, and I looked at you as the sun was setting, and I remember thinking, "oh, fuck. I think I love him," You tell him, still seeing the moment clearly in your head after so many years.

"Do you remember the night we had to spend outside the QZ because we got caught up in a deal, and it was too dangerous to sneak in with all the soldiers?" Joel asks, and you nod. It was still early on in your relationship. At least two years before you realized you loved him. The leaves were just starting to change as fall approached, and he let you sleep with his jacket on because you were shivering so much. It was the first act of kindness he'd ever shown you. "That's when I realized I was in love with you." He finally answers, and love blossoms in your chest. He's staring at you with those big, brown eyes Charlie got from him, and you think you would do everything over again. You know you would do everything over again.

"So, you fell in love first." You tease.

"Oh, big time." 

🍓

🍓

🍓

taglist: @evyiione @nyotamalfoy @abbyhaslongshorts​

[roanofarcc]

PROJECT SUNSHINE CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO → A WITCH & A LITTLE BIT OF A BITCH

summary: steve harrington x oc | on ao3

when another product of Hawkins National Laboratory escaped a long-survived nightmare alongside her sister, she crashed into one unsuspecting teenage boy and dragged him deeper into the dark mysteries that made up their hometown.

word count. 3.1k || masterlist

warnings: cannon typical violence, child abuse, horror, gore, and depictions of mental illness. parts of this story were written pre-season 4 release. cannon divergence.

previous chapter ← → next chapter

The kids and Sunshine crouched together on the couch and peered out of the broken window to where Steve and Max’s older brother greeted each other outside. 

“How did he find out where we were?” Lucas whispered. 

“I don’t know,” Max replied with a nervous sigh. 

Stepping out of the car, a boy with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and dressed in a leather jacket came into full view. In the dim light from the porch, Sunshine recognized the teen’s face from the Halloween party. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to get a better view, to make sure she was seeing things right. 

“Wait,” she said. “That’s your brother?”

“Stepbrother,” Max quickly corrected. But yeah. Do you know him?” 

Sunshine shook her head. “Not really, but I met him at the Halloween party Steve, Nancy, and I went to. He was…” Awful, but Sunshine didn’t really want to say that to Max. Billy and his group of friends had practically surrounded her at the party and spit the rumors that had been circling town about her right in her face. 

A scoff left Max’s lips, and she kept her eyes glued on her stepbrother and Steve. “He’s an asshole.”

As they continued to watch, Sunshine grew uneasy. She thought a couple of words from Steve would be enough to get Billy to leave. What she stupidly didn’t expect was for Billy to snap his head in the direction of the broken window and look right at the group. They all gasped before ducking down in an attempt to hide, but Sunshine was almost positive Billy had seen them. 

She stood up just as Billy shoved Steve hard enough to send him to the ground and began walking towards the front door. Sunshine cursed under her breath and beckoned the kids off of the couch and tried to get them to wait in the kitchen. There was no way they could explain exactly what they all were doing at Byers home, and something about the boy rubbed Sunshine so wrong that she didn’t want to send Max home with him. 

Max only solidified Sunshine’s worries when she muttered, “Shit, shit, shit," over and over again. 

Sunshine gently grabbed a hold of Max’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It’ll be fine. No one is leaving his house except him, and nothing is going to happen to anyone, I promise.” Max said nothing in return, but she held onto Sunshine’s hand a bit tighter just as the front door swung open. 

As much as Sunshine wanted to go outside and make sure Steve was fine, she was honoring her promise of keeping the kids safe. Besides, Sunshine had watched Steve take a hit and she knew he’d bounce back. 

“Well, well, well. Lucas Sinclair, what a surprise.” Billy’s words echoed through the home uncomfortably. Lucas could have ducked behind Sunshine, he was close enough to do so, but the brave kid held his chin up and tried to hide any trace of fear on his face behind a set jaw and narrow eyes. And while Sunshine admired all of the kids' bravery, there was no need for it. No one, let alone some teenage boy had any right waltzing into someone's home and singling out a child two times smaller than him who had done nothing wrong. 

“I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max?” 

Max still clung to Sunshine’s hand as she glared daggers at her stepbrother. “Go away, Billy.” 

His eyes narrowed dangerously, and Sunshine tightened her grip on the redhead. “You disobeyed me, and you know what happens when you disobey me.” Billy paused and set his gaze on Lucas before he spit, “I break things.” He attempted to grab Lucas, but before he could, Sunshine stepped forward, pushing Max behind her, and stood her ground between Billy and the kids. 

A smirk formed on his lips as he looked Sunshine up and down. His gaze made her want to curl into herself, but she bit back her discomfort. “I remember you,” he said, drawing out his words. “You’re the crazy chick from the party. The one who came back to life. Damn, you know, I never did you that drink.”

“You should leave.” Sunshine was exhausted and she just wished Billy would get the hint to leave before he too was roped into something he wasn’t prepared to face. 

He didn’t listen, though, and took a step closer to Sunshine. The smell of his cologne was overwhelming, but it wasn’t enough to completely mask the smell of smoke that clung to him. “Ah, here’s the thing, sweetheart, I’m not the kind of person that takes no for an answer.” His eyes flickered to Lucas before they fell back onto Sunshine. “When I’m done here, I’ll take you out.” The smirk didn’t leave his face. 

“You’re not going to do anything here.” As long as she was still standing, no one would hurt any of those kids. Sunshine had spent most of her life watching children who had never done anything wrong be hurt. It was going to end there, with Sunshine and the fury of a dead girl who protected her until her final breath. 

Billy laughed, a low sound that only widened his smirk. “Yeah, right. And who’s gonna stop me? You?” When Sunshine said nothing in response, Billy rolled his eyes and grabbed her shoulder in an attempt to shove her out of the way. His fingers were still pressed against the fabric of her shirt when she balled up for opposite hand into a fist and punched him square in the jaw.

Maybe the act of violence was a little uncalled for, but her powers seemed too extreme and were pretty much shot, and the way Billy looked at Lucas made her blood boil in anger that she hadn’t felt since she was back in the Lab. She wanted his attention on her, not the kids. Punching him seemed like the way to gain it, and boy did she. 

The smirk was punched clean off his face as she stumbled back. A red mark grew on his skin where her fist connected, and a scowl stretched across his lips. “You’re so dead.” Billy balled up his fist and readied to swing on Sunshine, but one of the kids tugged frantically on her wrist and pulled her just out of his immediate range. He took a hurried step toward her, anger glowing in his eyes, but his shoulder was grabbed roughly by Steve. 

Steve spun Billy around as he said, “No. You are,” and landed a punch right to Billy’s nose. A loud ‘crack’ sounded before blood started to pour from Billy’s nose. 

Sunshine’s eyes widened in surprise. Her knuckles ached from her punch and her heart raced, unsure of what was about to happen between the two boys. 

Another smirk found its way onto Billy’s face as he wiped the blood from his nose and let out a dry laugh. “Looks like you’ve got some fire in you after all, huh? I’ve been waiting to meet this King Steve everyone’s been tellin’ me so much about!” 

Billy was close to Steve, too close for comfort. “Get out,” Steve said, his voice low as he pushed Billy back. No one except Billy wanted a fight. There was a haunting kind of rage that flashed in his eyes, almost animalist, as he swung his fist toward Steve. Luckily, Steve dodged the punch and landed one to Billy’s gut.

“Yeah! Kick his ass, Steve!” Dustin cheered as the two teenage boys began to throw punches back and forth. Dustin, Lucas, and Mike all cheered Steve on while Max and Luke stood scarily still. Sunshine couldn’t find it in herself to utter a word. Her heartbeat was in her ears, but she tried to focus on the kids and kept them out of the fury of flying fists and bloodied knuckles. 

Steve gained the upper hand in the fight. He landed hit and after hit and dodged almost every punch that came his way. And while Sunshine was glad, the display of violence that she had no control over made her nervous. She was used to having the upper hand; she was used to being the one in a fight, not watching from the sidelines. 

Billy groaned in pain as Steve hit his already fractured nose. He backed into the kitchen counter, holding his nose as blood dripped down his fingers.

For a moment, relief filled Sunshine. She thought the fight was over. She thought Billy would give up and go home in his battered state. But that relief was gone almost as quickly as it came. Steve caught his breath and spared one look toward Sunshine and the kids. They all missed the way Billy’s fingers caught the edge of a plate left on the counter. Before anyone could do or say anything, Billy brought the plate down hard against the back of Steve’s head. Glass shattered over his skull and a series of screams echoed throughout the home as Steve stumbled backward, clutching his head. 

Sunshine’s breath caught in her throat as worry froze like ice in her veins, keeping her rooted in place. The fight escalated so quickly it was dizzying. Billy stalked over to Steve’s hunched-over figure and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. “No one tells me what to do,” Billy said before he headbutted Steve as hard as he could and sent him to the floor. Another series of screams bled together, but Billy ignored all of them as he straddled Steve’s limp body and delivered a series of blows to Steve’s face. Blood flung from Billy’s knuckles and seeped out from Steve’s split-open skin. 

“Stop! You’re gonna kill him!” Dustin yelled. You’re gonna kill him. Those four words managed to knock Sunshine out of her fear-filled daze.

Seeing Steve on the ground, unmoving with his face a mess of blood and cuts, mixed with the series of pleas and screams from the kids, flipped a switch inside Sunshine. Her fear melted into rage. The image of Three’s figures crumbled against the ground as a soldier beat him to death kept on replaying inside her head. Sunshine did nothing to help him; she had watched from behind a locked door as the boy became a bloodied mess of broken bones. She couldn’t have saved Three, but she’d be damned if she didn’t save Steve. 

She rushed forward into the one-sided fight and wrapped her shaking hands around Billy’s arm in an attempt to pull him off of Steve, or at least end his steady stream of hits. She planted her feet and desperately tried to get him to budge. 

Billy shot her a hard look as she pulled on his arm and swung his elbow back with force. It collided with her mouth and pain was quick to explode in her busted lip. She stumbled backwards as blood collected in her mouth and Billy resumed beating Steve to a pulp.

Her powers were shot to hell, Sunshine knew that, and using them anymore that night had a good chance of doing some series damage to the crossed wires inside her head. But she didn’t care what happened to her in that moment. She refused to let some teenage boy win an unfair fight that no one wanted in the first place. 

Sunshine bared her bloodied teeth and held her hands in front of her. Pouring the very last sliver of energy left inside of her into her palms, something mixed between a cry and a yell tumbled from her lips. Pain burned behind her eyes. The quickest flicker of light sparked in her hands, and she wasted no time slapping them over Billy’s eyes. She only held it for a second before her light extinguished, but it was enough to get him topple off of Steve in a grunt of pain. 

Sunshine’s world blurred before her eyes. There was an awful, metallic taste on her tongue that made her nauseous. Disoriented, she backed up against the wall to keep herself upright as Billy recovered from being temporarily blinded and stood to his feet. 

“What the hell was that?” he screamed. Sunshine remained silent and tried to stay focused. Billy’s raging figure stomped toward her. “Answer me, bitch!” His hands gripped her shoulders, pinning her against the wall. 

Sunshine pitifully tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but everything in the house had doubled in her vision. She was sure he was going to pummel her face in like he had Steve’s, but before she met such a fate, a wave of red appeared in the corner of her eye and Billy pulled away. His fingers reached up to his neck, where a syringe had been stuck and emptied. He yanked it out and turned around, coming face to face with Max. 

“You little shit.” His words began to slur, and his body started to sway. “W-What did you do?” He took a step forward, reaching out for Max, but before he could lay a finger on her, he dropped to the ground with one last pathetic groan. 

Max held Steve’s bat in her shaky hands and stared down her stepbrother with a stormy expression. “From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?” she demanded. 

“Screw you,” Billy mumbled, about to pass out as the medicine they had used to knock out Will flooded his veins. 

Max swung the bat into the floorboards between Billy’s legs. The monster-blood-coated nails dug into the wood with a sickening crunch, causing Billy to weakly lift his head and stare wide-eyed at what was almost a painful hit for him. 

“Say you understand! Say it!” 

“I…understand.” The medication won and Billy’s eyes fluttered close. 

Sunshine peeled herself off the wall and staggered forward, nearly joining Billy’s on the floor before a series of hands grabbed her. 

“Sunshine?” Dustin said her name with worry in his voice, but she said nothing to him or any of the kids. There were too many things ranging around inside her head, but her main focus was on Steve. 

“No, no, no,” she breathed out. The kids let her go and she stumbled over to where Steve lay unconscious on the ground. She kneeled at his side and took in the damage Billy had done. 

Steve’s face was caked in blood from split open wounds. One of his eyes looked too swollen to open even if he was awake. 

Sunshine’s throat was tight with emotion. She carefully brushed a few pieces of hair back from his forehead before she held the sides of his face. “Steve? Wake up. Please, wake up.” He didn’t so much as move a muscle. His chest still rose and fell, but that wasn’t enough to ease the growing panic that constricted Sunshine’s muscles. She also fought the urge to pass out beside him with an ache in her head from the overuse of her abilities. 

It all was more of a disaster than she was prepared for. 

The kids gathered around Sunshine and Steve, hovering over them with an array of varying emotions painted on their faces. 

“He’s out cold,” Dustin said, chewing on his nails. 

From where Billy lay passed out, Max reached into his pocket and pulled out something shiny that Sunshine’s swimming head couldn’t make out. “We should hurry,” she said. 

Dustin shook his head. “We can’t just leave Steve here.” 

Their voices sounded far away from Sunshine. Most of her attention was on Steve. She needed him to wake up; she needed to know for sure that he was okay. 

There was a certain level of concern and protectiveness she felt over everyone in their little monster-hunting group. They all mattered greatly to her, so to see one of them hurt and there was nothing she could do to fix it felt a horrible ache inside Sunshine’s chest. It felt as if someone had reached inside her chest and dug their fingernails into her heart. All she wanted to do was fix it, to make Steve wake up and be good as new, but she couldn’t. 

Instead, Sunshine wiped the blood from his bleeding cuts with the sleeve of her jacket and tried to stop the overwhelmed tears from leaving her eyes.

A small scoff sounded from beside Sunshine, and it was followed by Mike’s voice. “No way! We can’t take him with us. He’s gonna freak out. He didn’t even want us going in the first place.” 

“He just got the shit beat out of him for us!” Dustin protested. 

“Dustin’s right.” Lucas leapt to Dustin’s defense. “We can’t leave him. Besides, what if we do and Billy wakes up? He might actually kill him. I think we all can probably drag him to the car.”

Luke gently knocked his shoe against Sunshine’s thigh to grab her attention. “Do you know how to drive?” 

It took a minute for her to register the conversation the kids had just had. Then it hit it. Max was holding Billy’s car keys and they wanted to go through with their terribly dangerous plan to draw the monsters away from the Lab where El needed to close the Gate. 

Sunshine was quick to shake her head in protest, but the action made the room spin even more. She squeezed her eyes closed to make it stop before answering, “No. We can’t.” 

“We have to clear a path for El. Leia can’t take on all of those monsters on her own. Trust me, Sunshine, there’s too many. The only for them to make it to the Gate and back is if we call the monsters away,” said Mike. It was written as clear as day on his freckled-covered face that he was going into the tunnels with or without permission. And she knew the rest of the party, including Max and Luke, would follow him to help El and Leia. 

Sunshine slumped back on her heels and wiped Steve’s blood off on her jeans. “I can’t drive.” She had never tried, and her head spun too much for it to be safe for her to attempt it. “How are we going to get there?” 

Max raised her hand. “I can. I’ve driven before.” 

It was a bad idea. No, it was a terrible idea, but she was too tired to argue and smart enough to know she’d lose. Sunshine wouldn’t let them go alone either. There was no other choice, they were going into the tunnels. She just hoped it would be enough for all of all of them to make it back to the Byers residence in one piece.

Tag List. @sattlersquarry , @leptitlu , @echoing-oursong

[final-girl96]

STOLEN HEARTS CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Once everyone was comfortable and all snacks were set out in front of us we started the movie. Somehow, and I am sure our friends had something to do with it, me and Eddie sat beside each other. Lucas, Max, El, Mike, Dustin, and Will were all on the floor in front of the couch. Billy was at one end of the couch spread out enough that nobody would sit beside him. Steve and Robin sat close beside him, spread out as much as they could too. Jonathan and Nancy were cuddled together in the middle. Only leaving a small space for Eddie and I. We were so close that our shoulders were touching.

About twenty minutes into Elm Street, Eddie put his arm on the back of the couch right behind me. The living room was dark, besides a few candles and the glow of the tv. I tried to press myself against the arm of the couch as much as I could, but my leg still brushed against Eddie's. Everyone had changed into pajamas and grabbed blankets and pillows. I shiver racked over me, and I was sure if it was because I was cold or if it was from being so close to Eddie. My whole body was tense and full of anxious nerves. It didn't get better when he leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear.

“Are you cold? I can grab you a blanket”

Another shiver ran down my spine and I knew this one was from the feeling of his hot breath on my skin. His lips were barely brushing the shell of my ear. I didn't say anything; I couldn't. I was afraid to open my mouth. Afraid I would let out a moan instead of words. I felt the blanket that was behind me being pulled and I slightly sat forward. Eddie took the blanket and laid it across the both of us, returning his arm to the back of the couch. I looked around at our friends and everyone's eyes were on the tv.

I felt my heart beat pick up when Eddie shifted so his side was pressed up against mine more. My whole body was on alert for the whole movie. When the first movie was over I was up and out of my seat before anyone else could even move. “I'm going to the bathroom before we start the next one.” I didn't stick around for an answer before bolting to the bathroom. As soon as the door was shut and locked I was turning the faucet on and splashing cold water onto my face.

After all this time of trying to get over him and telling myself I wasn't going to forgive him for what he said and did only to start to crumble the second he touches me. I do have to admit that he does look a lot better from the last time I saw him. His cheeks aren't as hollow and he doesn't have the dark circles under his eyes. And that beard…God what I would do to feel it stretching the inside of my thighs while he…

I was startled out of my thoughts when someone knocked on the door. “Yn? Are you alright?” It was Nancy. I looked at myself in the mirror and took a deep breath before opening the door. “Hey, yeah, I'm good.” She gave me that look that she gives everyone when they're lying. Nancy was really good at knowing when someone was lying to them. “Is this about..” I held up my hand to stop her. “I'm fine, Nancy, I promise.” She held up her hands and said okay. We walked back to the living room where everyone was getting settled in again.

Billy popped the second movie in and started it before taking his seat again, spreading himself out as much as he could. I sat down beside Eddie again and he threw the blanket over our legs. “You okay?” He whispered. I nodded my, with a hum as a response.

At some point through the third movie Eddie's hand had found its way onto my leg. His fingers forcing themselves between thighs. His other arm was still behind me so he was leaning closer to me. Lips brushing my ear, “I miss you.” He moved his hand further up and I spread my legs a little to give him more room. His lips pressed against the shell of my ear. As soon as his thumb brushed over my clothes pussy I gasped and looked around. Nobody was here; just Eddie and I.

“Time for Child's Play!”

I was knocked out of my slumber when Dustin yelled. I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep. “Does anyone want anything to drink?” Nancy asked, getting up and heading for the kitchen. There was a chorus of answers and Jonathan Robin, and Steve followed after her. Billy stood up and stretched. “I'm going out for a smoke.”

“Are you okay? You look a little startled.” I turned my head to look at Eddie. “Yeah, I'm fine,” I said. He raised his eyebrow and leaned a little closer. “Look, I wanted to say I'm sorry for everything I said and did to you. I was out of control. But I've been six months sober and I've laid out rules not only for myself but for the whole band. I understand if you don't want to give me…us another chance. I can deal with just being friends or acquaintances. I just want you in my life even if it's something like this.”

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I wasn't sure if I could or would ever forgive him. I opened my mouth to try and say something but everyone came back into the living room and took their places again. Child's Play was put into the VCR and Billy hit play. It took me thirty minutes into the movie to grow the courage up to swing my legs over Eddie's lap. I looked over at him to see a smile spread across his face.

He fixed the blanket, threw his arm back over the back of the couch, and placed his other hand on my calf over the blanket. This seemed like a good start to healing things between us. If I was going to give him another chance, it would have to be slow. We would need to start at the beginning again. He would need to prove to me that he has changed. He would need to earn my trust again.

[evita-shelby]

Incantatrice

Chapter 20

Cw: murder, suicide, ghosts and blood

A/N: friends, romans, countrymen, it has been an honor to write this fic with y'all

Special thanks to @thegreatdragonfruta @zablife @wandawiccan60 @call-sign-shark @cljordan-imperium and @minaethrym

It has been a year since Grace died in his arms. Had she lived would their marriage have survived the year, he wonders?

Would she have lived to leave him and take Charlie or would she have stuck by his side even as the Italians kill them one by one?

Tommy is pushed to call for a truce after Arthur’s death. So close to Grace’s death that their funerals take place the same day even if a year apart.

First John now Arthur. Only Finn remains and he has been packed off to Boston with Ada and Karl for their safety.

“Where will you go?” Polly asks him after she tells him of her plans to go to Australia and find Anna’s grave. Michael is hesitant to go, but keeps his knowledge of Polly’s deal with Luca a secret.

Self-preservation trumps all after all. Not that he blames them.

“Hell, finally.” Tommy is strangely at peace with it.

With Grace and Lizzie and little Charlie he had considered staying alive, but now he knows it was never the sapphire, he is the curse.

As long as he lives, everyone he loves will keep dying.

First with Grace and now with Arthur.

He might make it easier for Luca and just take his revolver into his mouth. No one but Tommy Shelby can kill Tommy Shelby.

They have lost anyways.

“I would have said there is still a chance, but I don’t think there is even if we had divine intervention.” The witch taps the card that came next in their last reading.

Two of cups, failure, loss.

The vendetta would be over, the Changrettas the winners.

But at least its over.

“If you can keep an eye on Charlie for me, I would forgive you for betraying me, Pol.”

His aunt nods sadly, and leaves to catch the last train to London.

“Do it, Thomas, we will be together again, me and you and Charlie watching us from heaven with Lizzie and little Ruby.” Grace’s voice said as if she stood behind him.

The way she adds Charlie’s name sends a shiver down his spine.

Had the Italians killed him?

“Luca doesn’t keep his promises, my love, he took my sweet boy even if he wasn’t your son.” The ghost says and he turns to see her in her modest clothes when she was a barmaid, when she pretended to be the woman he fell in love with. “Join us, while we wait for the others, Tom. Just take the gun and join us.”

And he does.

Thomas Shelby is thirty-six years old when he takes his own life.

On a two of cups he wrote: “You did not keep your word.”

And just like that, it is over.

The villain defeated, the dead avenged and England ripe for the taking.

And yet Eva’s wine tastes like blood all the same.

It never got easier for her, killing even indirectly always made her see how further and further the light is.

“Tonight we celebrate our victory, maga. Tomorrow my mother comes with the children and our new life truly begins.” Luca takes the glass and kissed her hands drenched in blood only she can see.

“You killed them all didn’t you?” He is covered in blood as well, but his have the handprints of children on his pristine white shirt.

Luca plays dirty, she should’ve known he wont let them live.

“A vendetta is a vendetta, I couldn’t take any chances, Eva.” He explains his actions so well she can almost believe his lies.“I didn’t want to, but I had to, vita mia.”

He wanted then dead, always has.

His brother and father’s death only gave him the reasons to finally do it.

“Why?” she asks as to why he’d go so far.

Polly and Michael never got on their train, Ada and the two boys never reached Benjamin Younger where he waited for them to start their life together.

Every single drop of Shelby blood had been spilled over the earth on his orders while they celebrated Tommy’s suicide.

“Because I don’t forgive those who betray me.” Luca’s hold on her wrists become manacles, manacles that won’t ever come off now.

The shadow that she saw the day they married had never left, how could it leave when it had become them.

A year ago today the shadow had begun to consume Luca and now the transformation was complete.

The man who stands before her has become the true devil of Birmingham, and she his queen.

He is not the man you think he is, she can hear Audrey’s warnings.

But I do know him, the witch reminds herself, they’d been married for six years and she knows him.

She should’ve known he wasn’t going to stop until everyone was dead. And now that Shelby was gone, he wouldn’t stop until all of England fears the Black Hand.

Sabini will learn that the hard way when he outlives his use to her husband. Poor little Aurora will die just like her parents and siblings will too.

And because she loves him, she will help him every step of the way.

“A good thing I never plan to, mi amor.” The witch let go of his hands and wrapped them around his neck.

No matter what she will never regret choosing him over all the men the world had offered her that day.

With a kiss she lets the darkness consume her as it seeps in through her mouth in a loving kiss.

Fin

[bellysoupset]

Friendsgiving - Part 1

"Friendsgiving?" Leo raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms to his chest. Vince shrugged, huffing and puffing as he raised the dumbbell over his head.

"Wendy-" he gasped, crouching back down again with the weight and planting it on the ground, "suggested."

Leo grimaced, "I don't know, Vin, I'm not really in the mood..."

"It's just like any other night we hang out together, except there's more food," Vince pouted, wiping the sweat off his forehead, "c'mon, man, would you rather stay in or have my turkey?"

"Well, when you put it like that... Has Wendy already convinced Jon?" Leo touched Vince's knee with his shoe, pointing the dumbbell, "get to it."

Vince picked it up back again, groaning, before starting the exercise set all over, "I... Think shsss... She was gonna talk with him... Today," he huffed and Leo rolled his eyes.

Jonah gave in to Wendy's every whim and Leo was still jealous of that, even if he had learned to like Wendy. Maybe. Sorta.

"Fine, are Luke and Bell coming too?" He asked, causing Vince to roll his eyes in a way of saying duh, "... Do we need to bring anything? What do people do during Thanksgiving?"

"Fuck me if I know, I'm not American," Vince scoffed, dropping the dumbbell once again and planting his hands on his knees as he panted, "all I know is that we kill a bird and we're encouraged to stuff ourselves with food."

"Sounds alright," Leo nodded, "I'll bring some wine."

"How very lawyer of you," Vince teased him, straightening up and stepping closer so he could plant a big, overheated hand in the middle of Leo's shoulder blades, "your turn, kiddo."

-----------------

"Are you almost done?"

"Almost!"

Lucas rolled his eyes, finishing up lacing his boots and walking to the bathroom, where Bella was leaning over the sink in nothing but a bathrobe, doing her eyeliner.

"Really? You're going like this?"

"You're distracting me," Bell scoffed, continuing to draw her liner without being bothered by his judgmental stare, "are you done?"

"Yes," Luke glared at her mirror reflection, "I'm not taking the blame when Wendy chew us out, Isabella."

"Wendy will understand," she rolled her eyes, putting down the eyeliner and rubbing oil in her hands, starting to unclamp her curls since they had dried stuck together, "stop staring, go put the arroz con pollo in the car."

"Wendy specifically said we didn't have to bring anything," Lucas mulled over, walking back to the kitchen to grab the big bowl of colorful rice. Bella was one of the worst cooks he had ever met, so he was not even one bit enthusiastic about it, no matter how good it looked or smelt.

"Were you raised in a barn?" Bella scoffed from the bedroom and Lucas ignored the comment, walking out so he could plant the food in the backseat of the car. He glanced at the clock.

"Isabella Martinez, it's almost seven thirty!" he exclaimed, rushing back inside, "you better be rea-"

Bella twirled in front of him, "what do you think?"

"What the fuck, Bell?" Lucas growled, crossing the room in two steps so he could pull her in for a kiss, one hand on her nape, fingers curling on her hair, the other one finding it's habitual place on her ass.

Bella let out a squeal in his mouth and Luke scrunched up the tricot fabric of her skin tight red dress, tilting them so they fell on the bed. She scoffed, hiking up the skirt in order to frame his body with her knees and planted a hand on his chest

"What happened to we're gonna be late?" she panted, wiping the deep red lipstick from his lips. Luke turned his face so he could nibble at her fingertips, bunching up the skirt of her dress further up her thighs.

"I don't wanna go anymore," he scoffed, before whining in the back of his throat as he noticed she was wearing thigh-high stockings under the dress, "are you trying to kill me?"

Bella opened a wolfish smile, leaning over him, her curls cascading around them and creating a curtain of auburn as she whispered in his ear, "I'm also not wearing any underwe- LUCAS!" she squealed as he groaned loudly, rolling them on the bed and almost causing them to fall since they were far too close to the edge.

"That's it, we're not going anymore," he said, hand coming up to cup her face so he could plant a kiss on her neck, nibbling on her earlobe.

"Don't be ridiculous," she giggled, pushing him back by the forehead, "get off me, get up."

"Oh I am up alright-"

"Lucas Atwood, let go off me," she shoved his chest, "c'mon, let's go."

"It's like you enjoy watching me suffering," he whined, getting up from the bed and smoothing his dark shirt, grabbing his coat as they passed by the living room.

"I still think we should've brought more," Bella grumbled as they parked before Wendy's building, grabbing her big bowl, the one Luke had hoped she'd forget about.

"Wendy was pretty clear she didn't want us to bring anything," he said, taking the bowl from her and offering his arm for her to steady herself since she was wearing high heeled boots.

"You know she only said that because she hates my food-"

"-So does everyo-"

"But we could've brought the beverages. I'm just saying, I feel like a terrible guest," she pouted as they got inside the elevator and Lucas shrugged, planting a kiss on the top of his wife's head.

"I think Wen just likes hosting," he reassured her, listening as Bella mumbled something in spanish he couldn't discern.

Wendy's building had two apartments per floor. Her door was easily recognizable because not only she had painted it a deep red ever since moving in, but because there was a big wreath of orange flowers hanging on it.

They pressed the door bell, then the door swung open, revealing Jonah's face. He was holding a glass of wine, that was almost empty, the condensation marking how full it had initially been.

He was wearing a cream cable knit sweater over brown corduroy pants and Jonah raised an eyebrow, lowering his glass, "you guys are late. As usual."

"Blame Bella-"

"Blame Lucas," Bella talked over him, sneaking under Jonah's arm to get inside the house. Jon rolled his eyes, stepping away from the doorway.

"Where do I put this?" Luke held up the bowl and Jonah grimaced, glaring at it.

"Bella cooked it?"

"Yeah?"

"The garbage bin."

"You're such an arsehole," Lucas snorted, stepping around him.

Wendy had gone all out, as everyone expected. She had completely changed the configuration of her living room and extended her table so it would fit 6 people instead of only 4. There were little white pumpkins marking each plate, alongside a note.

A bunch of food already piled up on top and the lights of the kitchen were on, chatting coming from inside, as well as italian cursing that had Lucas happily walking closer.

Vince was hunched over the stove, stirring something, with an apron that was several sizes too small for him hanging around his neck and holding for dear life around his waist. His cheeks were all red, be it from the moving around, the stove heat or the wine bottle that was almost empty sitting on top of the sink.

Leo was chopping fruits and Wendy was standing on the furthest corner of the kitchen, while Bella reached to grab the plates in the cupboard.

"Hi guys - Wen, where do I put this?" Luke said and the shorter woman turned around to look at him, then grimaced at the bowl, waving it off.

"I don't know, put it in the fridge- I told you guys not to bring anything!" she berated, glaring at Bella, "Vince made enough food to feed a small army."

"I just wanted to be helpful!"

"She's just a decent guest," Vince defended Bella, "you don't go to someone's house without food, it's rude."

"Yeah, exactly," Bella pouted, while Wendy rolled her eyes, not moved one bit.

"Well, there's no place for it at the table. Lucas put it somewhere in the fridge, I don't care, and help me with the wine."

"What do you need help with?" Lucas opened the fridge and looked at it dumbfounded, there wasn't a single clear space.

"Give me that," Leo scoffed, taking the bowl of arroz con poyo and shoving Luke towards Wendy, so she could properly order him around.

Leo would be lying if he said he hadn't already changed his mind on thanksgiving being stupid. He still wasn't quite sure what to make out of the holiday itself, but getting pleasantly wine drunk over Vince's delicious food, while he giggled and played charades and trivia with his friends was a tradition he wouldn't mind keeping yearly.

Once they were all stuffed with the first round of food, they moved the party to the living room, where Wendy and Vince had pushed the couch out of the way so she could create a sit down situation with bean bags.

Leo couldn't pretend he understood exactly why, but he didn't mind it. He was happily clearing his second slice of pie, while watching Lucas' face turn redder and redder as his partner - Bell - struggled to figure out what movie he was reenacting as he jumped about hitting on his chest.

"Uhm... Kong! King Kong!" Bella shouted and Lucas let out a scoff, leveling her with a glare.

"Are you even trying?!" he groaned, the sore loser and Jonah snorted in his glass of wine, moving so he could rest his head against Leo's shoulder.

"Should I do it?" he whispered, mischievously, and Leo grinned, holding up a forkful of pie for him.

"Lucas might actually cry if you guess it," he whispered back, before saying loudly, "is it Planet of Apes?!"

"NO!" Lucas rubbed his face angrily, his wavy hair looking crazier and crazier, "C'mon, just-" he forcefully breathed, before once more imitating a monkey, glaring in Bella's direction as she continued to shout movie after movie and missing the mark.

"It's The Incredible Hulk!" Jonah exclaimed and Luke let out a shout, kicking a pillow and causing Wendy to yell at him, while Vince fell on his back against the bean bag, giggling, and Bella exclaimed "HULK!? THAT WAS NOT HULK!"

"Jonah cheated," Lucas whined, crossing his arms and Jonah giggled, chugging the rest of his wine, more than a little bit drunk.

"It's not cheating knowing your peanut brain only watches Marvel movies."

"Fuck off-"

"Lucas, sit down, it's Jon's turn," Vince said, still breathless from the giggling fit, "sit down."

Luke grumbled and sat back down, while Jonah passed his empty glass to Leo and got up in a jump, stumbling on his feet a little.

He looked at Leo intently, before winking, opening a bright smile, "c'mon, Leo, let's show the losers how it's done."

Leo giggled, knowing Jonah was doing that exclusively to piss off Lucas. He raised two fingers, causing Vince to shout "two words!"

Jon rolled his eyes, nodding. Then he pointed back at Leo and Bella desperately exclaimed "Leo! Lion! Lion - is that a movie? Lion King!"

"It's not Lion King," Lucas pouted, arms crossed to his chest, while Bella slapped his bicep, not even paying attention.

Jonah ignored them, pointing at Leo again, before dropping to one knee.

Leo frowned, "uhm- I don't..." he watched as Jon reached behind him, as if to grab a ring box, then held the invisible object in front of him, opening the box and mouthing the words, "Will you marry me?"

Leo felt like he had just walked down the stairs, then missed a step. His heart lurched, before Luke interrupted by screaming, "HEY! You can't mouth the words, what the fuck!? That's cheati-"

"I... I," Leo blinked quickly, catching Jon's smile drop on the corners, then he was back in the present, in Wendy's living room, playing charades, "is it The Proposal? With Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds?"

"YES!" Jonah grinned, springing up while Luke cried out about cheating.

Leo forced out a smile, catching Wendy looking at him with a puzzled expression. He quickly averted his gaze, standing up so he could replace Jonah in the center of the room and the game could go on, high fiving him as they exchanged places.

They continued to play for another hour, Jonah's face getting darker and darker as he continued to drink wine as if it was grape juice. More than once Leo caught him using Wendy as support to stand still.

He curled on Leo's side, letting out a little happy sigh as Wendy and Luke got weirdly into trivia, trying to one up each other.

"Uhm, you smell... Really nice," he said, burying his face in Leo's gunmetal sweater.

"Thank you, I shower," Leo sassed, turning to look his boyfriend in the eyes. They were slightly bloodshot from all the alcohol, greener than usual and Jonah wrinkled his nose in distaste, flicking at Leo's ear in annoyed manner, before he got distracted and ran his fingers through his blonde hair.

"It's so long now, it's very pretty..." he said softly, "like a prince."

"Like Charming?" Leo teased, doing the hair flip and Jonah let out a cackle, that was so unlike himself and had him rushing to cover his mouth.

"Yeah, maybe a little," he giggled, leaning forward and pressing his forehead to Leo's, like a cat when seeking affection, "are you having fun?"

"A lot," Leo whispered, letting him nuzzle their heads together and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He looked ahead, as Bella let out a loud groan and fell down on Lucas' lap, groaning about the food baby she had gotten after getting seconds and thirds of Vince's cooking.

Lucas frowned at her firstly, annoyed to have his little match interrupted right when he was winning, but the annoyance melted away quickly as she wrapped both arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, yawning.

Jonah hiccupped next to him and Leo looked back at him. He was adorable when this drunk. All tactile and easy going, as if his walls turned to dust.

"Leo, can we go home?" he groaned, his voice slow, but the words not slurred. As if he was taking the time to think through his sentences and make sure he didn't sound as drunk as he felt. He was failing miserably.

"Yeah, we can," Leo wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling them both up. To the rest of the room he announced with a fake yawn, "guys, we're leaving."

Wendy pouted, "already?" she said, getting up from where she had been happily cuddled up with Vin.

"Uhm," Jonah mumbled, staggering forward slightly and holding her by the shoulders, "it'ssslate. We have a- A kitty."

"I know, honey," Wendy snorted, amused, looking at Leo, "okay, I see," she said, acknowledging Jonah needed to be put to bed.

"JD is back home all... All alone..." Jon pouted, suddenly realizing it, "we should've bough-bruh- brought her."

"I don't think she'd have enjoyed it," Leo chuckled, grabbing him by the arms and pulling him towards the door, while Wendy retrieved both their coats and the other three staying behind chorused a "Bye guys!"

"She's so little," Jon frowned, hugging himself, "she shouldn't be alone."

"Oh baby, I promise you she doesn't mind it," Leo nearly melted in his shoes, planting a kiss to his boyfriend's brow and taking his coat from Wendy's hand, wrapping it around his shoulders, "c'mon, Dr. Banks, you're a whole bottle of wine too drunk."

"I'm not drunk," he stumbled as Leo wrapped the scarf around his neck and guided him out of Wendy's first door, pressing the button for the elevator as he quickly went back inside to say goodbye to their host and friends.

He found Jonah exactly where he had left him, slumped on a wall and playing with the fringes of his scarf, "Leo."

"Yes, babe?" Leo pulled his closer, fixing his coat and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I love you," he said, out loud, in public, loudly. Leo grinned, rubbing his back in soothing circles as they waited for the elevator.

"I know, Jon, I love you too."

"No," Jonah shook his head, stubborn, "I'm..." he hiccupped again, interrupting whatever he was going to say. The elevator arrived with a soft ding and Leo was thankful for it, as it seemed Jonah was starting to really need the fresh air.

They had driven over in Leo's car and, for once, he was glad for it. He always got more worried about messing up the interior of Jon's fancy car.

"Get in, baby," Leo tried to maneuver him in the passenger side, "c'mon, the sooner you get in, the sooner we'll go home to our kitty," he grinned at the last word.

Jonah let out a whine, "Leo..."

"Yes?" he successfully managed to shove Jonah's legs inside the car.

"I..." Jonah's shoulders hitched and he shoved a hand in Leo's chest, pushing him back just in time for a mouthful of wine-pink vomit to hit the ground between them. Jon let out a groan, "uhm... that's not good."

Leo couldn't help but chuckle at the drunken sentence, carefully stepping around the puddle of sick, "feeling better?"

"I wanna go home," Jon whined instead of answering him, so Leo simply nodded, pushing a curl away from his forehead.

"We're going home, love..." he circled the car, quickly entering on the driver's side and reaching over Jonah so he could slam the door shut, "we'll be home in a minute, lean back and close your eyes."

"We should do Christmas at our place," Jonah yawned, curling up on side, all adorable and planting a hand on Leo's leg, closing his eyes, "I know the Holidays suck, but we don't have to do the old traditions. We can make new ones."

Leo's breath caught as he turned on the car, trying not to show just how close to tears - happy or not, he wasn't quite sure - Jon's drunken words had brought him.

"Uhm," he opted for saying, taking Jon's hand in his and kissing its back, "sleep now, alright?"

"Think about it," his boyfriend yawned, without bothering to open his eyes, "I just want you to be happy..."

"I am happy," Leo said quickly, clearing his throat against the sudden knot squeezing his vocal chords, "I'm happy, Jonah, I-"

"I don't get why your name is Leo, just Leo. Why not Leonard?" Jon interrupted him, his voice a sleepy whisper.

Leo let out a chuckle, the tension melting off his shoulders as he was reminded that Jonah was drunk, not trying to do some soul searching in the parking lot.

"I don't know, Jon, I th-"

"You don't look like a Leonard," Jonah blinked at him, almost passed out, "maybe a Leon?"

"Absolutely not," Leo sighed, finally starting to drive off, "go the fuck to sleep, Jonah."

TBC

[threewaywithdelusion]

I Would've Liked To Know You: Max

(Warning for major character death (Steve) that occurs before the fic starts, implied/referenced child abuse (Max, nothing on page). This is set in 2002).

Max got the stranger who had given her a ride to drop her at the edge of the cemetery. Her cell phone rang — probably Lucas again, wondering where she was — and she switched it off. She couldn’t handle talking to him. Not yet. 

She made the walk across the fields of the cemetery from memory, pulling her coat closed around her. It was early October and it was chilly in Hawkins. She’d forgotten, since moving to California, how cold it could get here. 

Max passed the part of the cemetery where she knew Billy was buried, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t. 

She kept going until she reached the far corner of the cemetery. It had been described to her before — the headstone was under a huge tree, which bloomed with flowers in the spring. She ran her fingers over the letters carved into the rock, confirming she was in the right place. 

Steven James Harrington

November 13, 1966 - September 17, 1986

Son, friend, hero

She had long since memorized the words on the headstone.

Maybe she should’ve felt guilty, visiting Steve and not Billy, but she didn’t. Because Steve was more her brother than Billy ever had been. 

She folded her cane and took a seat on the grass, a foot away from the headstone. 

“I don’t know why I’m here,” Max said. That was a lie. “I mean, I know a little. I didn’t, like, run away and board a flight from California and then take a bus down here from Indianapolis for no reason.”

Max fiddled a bit with her cane, folding and unfolding it. She hadn’t said it out loud yet. Had barely admitted it to herself. 

But she’d come all this way to talk to Steve, dammit, so she was going to get her shit together and do it. 

“I’m pregnant,” she said. She gave a little laugh. “You’re the first one to know. I haven’t even told Lucas yet.”

Her phone felt heavy in her pocket. She hadn’t told Lucas where she was going. She’d taken the pregnancy test in a pharmacy bathroom and then had to ask the teenage girl behind the checkout counter to tell her if there were two lines. The girl had said yes, sounding judgmental. Which was maybe fair given that all she knew was that Max was in the kind of situation where she was taking pregnancy tests in a public bathroom when she couldn’t even read the stupid results. 

Max had gone home, not slept for a week straight, then picked a fight with Lucas and run away, all the way from Los Angeles to Hawkins. 

“I’m, uh. I don’t know if you can feel time passing, but I’m thirty-one. This isn’t a teen pregnancy or anything, and Lucas has a job and we haven’t broken up in years. It’s not… it’s- I should be ready for this.”

Max cleared her throat. The wind was blowing, cutting through her jacket and making the trees rustle. Max hated trees. She hated forests. They all made her think of the Upside Down. She loved the never-ending concrete of Los Angeles, the only nature the beaches and the ocean that she still loved.

When she was in California, it was easier to pretend that everything that had happened in Hawkins had been a bad dream. That she and Lucas were fine and normal and had never killed or fought or watched loved ones die. 

“I’m scared,” Max admitted. “My dad left and my mom tried, but she was never good enough. Neil yelled and Billy hurt me and how the fuck am I supposed to take that kind of upbringing and believe I’m someone who can care for a kid?”

The funny thing was that even without the monsters, Max would have been fucked up. She’d had to explain it to Lucas — how when he was silently angry it was worse, because she kept waiting for the moment he’d snap. How he could put down a plate too hard and she’d flinch, scared he was about to grab her or shove her around. How an empty fridge made her heart clench, even after years of always being able to afford food. 

She wasn’t fit to raise a baby. Especially not Lucas’s kid, who should have everything good in the world. Lucas would be an amazing dad, would play games with the kid and teach them basketball and tell stories while doing funny voices, like he did for his DnD characters. 

Max knew he wanted a kid. She also knew he hadn’t said anything because he knew she wasn’t ready. That she might never be ready. 

And then fate or a broken condom had gone and put her in this situation anyway. 

“I thought about getting an abortion,” she told Steve. Maybe it was fucked up, but it was easier to talk to Steve’s grave. Steve had been so patient with her when she’d been a teenager, always offering to listen to her problems, and she’d turned him down time and time again, staying silent and refusing to let him help her. 

“But I couldn’t do it. I don’t want to be a shitty mom, so maybe it’s the right thing to do. But I keep trying to picture my kid for some reason. And I see this little girl with warm brown eyes and my round cheeks and Lucas’s huge smile and some part of me wants that. I want to have a baby that’s half me and half Lucas and I want to do right by her.

I was lying awake, trying to figure out what I wanted to. Thinking about my shitty childhood. And then I thought of you.”

Max set her cane down in the grass, smiling faintly at Steve’s headstone. 

“I thought of the way you drove me around and patched up my skateboarding injuries and bought me milkshakes when I was said or angry but didn’t want to talk. I thought of the groceries you bought me when Mom was too drunk to remember or when there wasn’t enough money, even though I never asked and always said I didn’t need your charity. And you fucking saved my life, over and over again, like that’s a normal thing to do. You jumped in front of a demodog for me when you hadn’t even known me for a day. You didn’t even know my name.”

There was a lump building in Max’s throat, tightening so much that it hurt to talk. But she had to. It had been so hard to start and now the words were just spilling out.

“We always used to call you Mom, and we were teasing. Making fun of you cause you were some popular basketball guy but you also heckled us about our manners and picked us up from school and shit. And you acted all offended, but I saw you smiling a few times. You liked it,” she told the headstone accusingly. “You liked being our mom.”

The headstone didn’t say anything, but Max knew that if Steve were here he would be denying it, committed to the bit that he wasn’t their parent, just a reluctant babysitter. 

Max cleared her throat. “And I was thinking… God, you were just a fucking kid. Like, I’m thirty-one and I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing. And you were nineteen, with seven kids and a monster dimension under your feet and you were still a good mom. So like, I guess I didn’t just have shitty parental figures in my life.”

Max glared at the headstone, as if daring it to judge her for being emotionally vulnerable. Not that Steve would have done that, even if he hadn’t been a bunch of bones in a coffin buried under the grass she was sitting on. 

Steve would have probably been proud. 

“So I’m gonna do all that shit,” Max said. “Drive the kid around and kiss her boo-boos and buy her milkshakes when she’s feeling bad. All the things that you did. And I guess maybe that means I can be a mom.”

She blinked and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wanted to swipe it away, but she didn’t. Steve deserved to be cried over. 

They’d all moved away from Hawkins. Max only saw the town these days in her nightmares. But Steve’s grave was still here and sometimes it felt like they’d abandoned him. Even if there wasn’t a him left to abandon. Even if he would’ve wanted them to go, to escape this helltown and chase better lives elsewhere. 

He’d been gone sixteen years. More than half her life. 

It hurt to miss him still. 

“I wish you were here,” Max whispered. “I wish I could talk to you for real. I wish you could tell me I’m not crazy for thinking Lucas and I can do this.”

Max let herself fall apart a little bit, crying over the future that would never happen. Steve would never come watch the baby so she and Lucas could go on a date night or finally get some sleep. He would never get to be the fun uncle, or the one her kid ran to when they were pissed at her and Lucas for some teenage drama. To her, he would never be anything more than a memory. To her child, he would never be anything more than a story about a long-dead stranger. 

Max leaned forwards so she could touch the headstone, running her fingers over the letters that spelled out Steve’s name. 

“You would’ve made a great Uncle Steve,” she whispered. 

She bowed her head against the gravestone for a moment, resting her forehead against the cool rock. 

Then she stood, wiping the tears off her cheeks and the grass stains off her jeans. She extended her cane and made her way out of the cemetery, pausing by the gates to turn her cell phone back on. 

It kept dinging with missed calls, but Max ignored that, dialing a number by heart. 

“Max?” Lucas’s voice was warm and concerned and so full of love that she almost started crying again. 

“Lucas,” Max said. “I’m in Hawkins. I, uh, I had to talk to Steve.”

Lucas was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Are you okay?”

Max nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay. I’m coming home.”