#no time to edit it's almost midnight and i gotta get these thoughts out before i collapse

[danieyells]

Could I pretty please ask for any Haru stuff you found? 🥺 I've been afflicted with the Haru simp disease and only information/content of him can cure me 🛐

HARU'S CHANGED MY FEELINGS ON HIM not that i disliked him at all before but like. . .you know how he acts like the team mom? His voicelines make this worse. I thought he was more like a meddlesome but chill guy with a lot of energy. The truth is this poor man is a single mother with two unruly kids, a house full of animals, and VIRTUALLY NO HELP BESIDES YOU. No wonder he drinks nearly every fucking night. I get why Jabberwock doesn't have ordinary students but jesus christ please get some helpers in here. My man is overworked.

I ended up putting almost all of them in because. . .he is struggling poor boy. I have officially edited this to contain all of Haru's voicelines! Sorry for the wait!!

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"Hey, nice timing! One sec, I've just gotta finish feeding everyone."

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"You've got some letters! Better open them before that goat lookalike makes a meal out of them!"

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"Folks are going wild over the Anomalous Animal Back To Nature Tour, and this is your chance to experience it at a discount rate! C'mon, help me hand out these fliers!"

"Everyone stuffs up sometimes. Don't let it get to you—just think of it as a funny story you can pull out later and laugh at! Gahaha!"

the only way he knows how to cope with his pain is to laugh at it. . .my therapist told me that was good actually! he's well adjusted! disregard the nightly drinking.

"You sure are fond of {PC}, aren't you, Peekaboo? You did nothing but bite me for the first three days after we met."

tbf you were from another house and it was probably fresh after the clash. . . .

"You reckon I work hard? Nah, this is nothing to write home about. All right, let's head to the next zone!"

"Hey, nice work out there today! Let's knock a few more jobs off the list then take a break, hey?"

oh my god you take breaks? or are you telling the player to take a break while you keep overdoing it. . . .

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"Morning! Let's get this show on the road!"

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Hey, {PC}! What a coinkydink! I just finished my rounds."

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Ren? He's working at that whacky restaurant again. I'll have to go pick him up later."

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Towa's off to that hill again? I was gonna ask him to hold down the fort... Guess I'll have to stay put tonight."

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Am I tired? Nah, don't worry, if there's two things I have confidence in it's my stamina and my bad luck!"

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"The Sinostra folks are causing a kerfuffle again... I don't need any of that! You should take care not to get dragged into their mess too, you hear?"

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"You wanna know how to get the animals to like you? You just gotta show how much you love them, like this— Ow! Don't bite me, Peekaboo!"

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"None of our critters have warmed to Ren at all, even though he spends all day with them... Guess that handsome face only works on humans."

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Phew, time for a bre— Hm? That sounded like the Capybus! I'm gonna go check on her, watch Peekaboo for me!"

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"All right, the kids are all in bed. I'll just ask those two to hold down the fort, then I'll head out for a little walk..."

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"I went to wake that sleepyhead Ren up this morning, but it was like he couldn't see me even though he was looking straight at me. Reckon his eyesight's bad?"

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Course I eat, don't worry about that! Just earlier I pinched some of Peekaboo's veggies when I was making his lunch and had them with a piece of bread!"

Please eat food. . . .

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"So much to do... Gotta take in the washing and get the shopping done... Argh! There's not enough hours in the day!"

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"This? It's an energy drink. Don't feel like the day's started till I have one. (gulp) (gulp) Pwaaah!"

PLEASE EAT FOOD AND SLEEP. . . . . . . . .

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"Ah man, there's soap all over the walls again! You're so good at playing with the animals Towa, if you could just learn how to clean up after you'd get full marks..."

Towa i love you but please help your mother boyfriend captain. . . .

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Ah! I can't do dogs! How'd you get in here?! Towa!! Come here!! No!! Don't bite me!!"

He is terrified of dogs????? Towa absolutely electrocuted the shit out of that dog. Rip in pieces. That dog truly fucked around and found out. It will never go in the dorm again.

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Thanks for helping out again today, you're a real lifesaver. Sorry I can't walk you back..."

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"You reckon I look like an acrobat when I'm using my stigma? Gahaha! Maybe I'll practice balancing on a ball then!"

Baby no you are not a clown please what if you break something again--

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"...(gasp) Crap, I fell asleep... Did you put this blanket on me? Cheers... Maybe I'll grab a few more minutes..."

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"I swore I'd take responsibility for protecting all the lives in this park. I can't let anyone die on my watch."

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I don't know where I'd be without all the critters in this place if I'm honest with you. Well, gotta be my animal magnetism that's keeping them here anyway! Gahaha!"

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Hm? There's some critters whose nails were getting dangerously long so I was giving them a clip. Come here, I'll do yours too if you want!"

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Oh, off for a cheeky night out? Gahaha! I know a good place, want me to take you?"

get wasted with him and give him somebody to talk to!! he needs someone besides romeo and rui to listen to him rant sometimes!

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"A soft bed to lie down in and someone to chat with till I drift off... I'm really living the high life here."

He's a simple man. . .it's easy to imagine him holding your hand here while he dozes off. . . .

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"Really learned the ropes here, haven't you? Once we have a little cash to spare, I'll buy you your own Jabberwock uniform!"

they must be expensive if it takes until Affinity 25 to get you one! He's so conscious about his finances(disregard all of the stuff he buys and never uses--) that being given a purchased gift is surely the highest tier of affection from him haha. But also. . .he treats the anomalous animals and oftentimes even the other ghouls in Jabberwock like they're his kids. This is his way of saying 'you're part of this family too.' Which is very sweet.

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"Today's shearing day for the fluffy squad! It's actually a pretty hefty task, so I've gotta hop to it if I want to be done before summer..."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Bucket, check. Trowel, check. Me and Towa are heading to the mountains to pick some veggies. You wanna come?"

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"We've been getting a lot of balmy days lately, and the sun's up longer. Can't help but dilly-dally when I'm working..."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"I've gotta clean out all the sparrow nests soon or they won't be able to look after their kiddos properly. Looks like there's... 61 nests total..."

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"A lot of customers have been saying they wanna stay cool in the summer so I changed up the course. Now we have a special summer-only waterside tour!"

(between 11am and 4pm)

"It's hot so I invited Ren to go fishing, but his face screwed up like a prune and he yelled at me. What's he got against fish?"

Probably the same thing you have against dogs. . . .

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Phew... Finally finished harvesting all the feed crops for the day... Everyone's health is dependent on their quality, so now's the time to do it right."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Lotta bugs around this time of year... But they're important for the food chain, so I've gotta take care of them... Argh!! Give it a rest with the buzzing!"

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"Hey, nice timing! I'm about to make a fire with the dead leaves I collected so I can bake some potatoes, take a seat!"

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I like the Jabberwock uniforms. They're made out of high-performance fabric that keeps you warm when it's cold out and safe when you're handling venomous critters!"

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"The hibernation squad's gonna start eating us out of house and home this month... The food bill's gonna be rough... Eeek!"

(between 8pm and 5am)

"You reckon that's a rabbit on the moon? No way, it's a toad! C'mon, look closer!"

apparently the pareidolic toad in the moon is a Chinese myth! I wonder if they mean to suggest Haru is actually Chinese.

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"Rounds are quicker in winter since some of the critters hibernate. Makes things a little easie— Why's the kitchen on fire?!"

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Brr... Can't help but get green-eyed looking at the furry critters when it's this cold..."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Nice and toasty... Hm? I'm talking about Peekaboo! He's better than a hot water bottle in this weather!"

Haru putting Peekaboo on your tummy when you're having cramps or just in pain in general is a cute mental image, especially since Peekaboo likes you lol

(between 8pm and 5am)

"It's cold outside so some of the critters have been sneaking into our rooms at night. You heard Ren scream just now, right?"

His birthday: (September 20th)

"It's my birthday?! Oops, totally slipped my mind... Thanks for remembering!"

Your birthday:

"Happy birthday. The Capybus is all yours today—I've got a custom birthday tour all planned out for you!"

New Years: (January 1st)

"Happy New Year! How'd I ring it in? I was milking the cow and when I looked up I'd totally missed the first sunrise! Gahaha!"

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"You're kidding, I can really have this?! They say a little sugar helps sweeten a tired day! Thanks a million, this'll keep me going a while!"

White Day: (March 14th)

"Ta-da! I bought you some hand cream, for the chocolate you got me last month. Thanks for everything you do here."

hand cream when you do all of that manual labor and probably have to wash your hands a lot is a really practical gift actually, gg haru

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"Can you believe this? Ren got up early, and Towa fed everyone for me! ...Tried to make a joke for April Fools but it just made me feel empty inside..."

Halloween: (October 31st)

"Check it out! The pumpkin Capybus, in town for three days only! I sacrificed sleep and some of our budget to get her ready!"

If it's painted I really hope that paint is waterproof. . .never know when Towa's gonna make it rain. . . .

Christmas: (December 25th)

"Merry Christmas! This is a reindeer, she lives up in the mountains! And I'm Sagara Claus! Gahaha!"

just don't let romeo see it lolol

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"Hey there, miss! Looking gorgeous as ever! ...Wait, I was kidding! Come back!"

(13 affinity and above)

"You seem pretty flat out today... Nothing for it, I'll get a few other things out of the way while I wait for you to get back."

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"Phew, that's a relief... I was worried one of ours ate you... Glad to see you back."

Once again. . .an absolute sweetheart. And a single mother who is desperately in need of some help around the house. That April Fool's line really got me lolol poor guy. All of his have a lot of energy to them so i feel like i posted more than Haku, who's kind of a more low key guy lol. . . .

[xdaddysprincessxx]

Insatiable Desire

Uncle Ezra x f!reader

Warnings: Feelings 😬 , small mention of ice cream and gummy worms, somno, p in v, uhh that’s mostly it. Not edited or beta’d. All mistakes are mine.

Wc: 1680ish

When you woke up a couple hours later, he was already long gone. Your own emotions all jumbled. You find yourself cuddling your pillow, longing for it to be him. You can still smell his scent on your bed sheets. As badly as you wanna give in to him and your emotions, you know you’ve gotta stop this now. You can’t go getting attached to your Uncle Ezra. He’s an like an uncle to you for gods sake. He should be teaching you how to fish or roasting you for your choices in boyfriends and fashion. Not fucking you and ruining you for any other man.

‘Ugghhh I’m so going to hell. What the fuck am I doing?? Falling for my uncle?! Jesus Christ I’m a sick fuck.’ You think as you finally roll out of bed, collecting your shorts as you put them on to go down the street to the convenient store. You are gonna drown your emotions in some delectable cookies and cream ice cream and gummy worms and move on.

Later. . .

It’s been almost a week since the last time you’ve seen him. He’s moved into the room next to yours and sometimes at night you hear him but you honestly haven’t seen or talked to him. You’ve picked up more shifts at work, working more doubles to keep your mind and body busy. And it works. By the time you come home, you’re barely able to shower before falling into bed, dead to the world. No thoughts of the man you crave ever crossing your mind.

Friday morning you wake up, taking a little extra time to do your makeup and hair for work today. There’s a cute new waiter at work and boy does he have heart eyes for you. A blind man could see the kid has a crush on you. You can’t lie, the attention is nice. You aren’t fully sure if you like like him back or if you just like the attention you get from him. Either way it’s not Ezra and there’s no harm in a little flirting.

Coming down the stairs to grab a pop tart before heading out, you see your dad and Ezra sitting at the table. It’s the first time you’ve seen him and you notice he got a haircut. And he shaved? He still has that delicious mustache but the surrounding stubble is gone. Wearing a black tshirt that hugs his huge arms just right, showcasing his soft tummy and some dark wash jeans that fit so snug you can see how muscular his thighs are. You practically stop in your tracks, almost frozen before you realize your just gawking.

“Good morning kiddo, how’d you sleep? I feel like I haven’t seen ya in awhile.” Ezra asks as he gives you this shit eating grin that lets you know he noticed you staring.

Your cheeks heat up as you try to clear your throat,

“Good morning. Yea I’ve been working a lot. Been short staffed so they need me.” You say trying to act cool even though it came out in a higher pitched tone.

“That’s my girl! Hard worker just like her daddy.” Your dad says with his chest puffed out and a big grin on his face.

“Yup ha ha. Okay well I’m gonna head out. See ya guys.”

You couldn’t turn and walk out of there fast enough, almost tripping over your own feet as you sped towards the door.

It’s a little after midnight by the time you come home. Your feet hurt and your body is sore as you trudge up the stairs. Taking the quickest shower ever, you finally make it to your bed where you crawl under the covers, not even bothering to put pajamas on. As soon as your head hit the pillow, you were lights out. Quickly on your way to dreamland.

It started out dark, as if your eyes had just opened in your dream and had to adjust. You blink a few times before you realize where you are. Your favorite beach, sitting on soft quilt. The ocean breeze still a little chilly, causing you to bring your knees up as you hug them to your chest. That’s when you notice Uncle Ezra come out of the water, nude as the day he was born. Smiling and waving at you, you smile and wave back. Feeling carefree and relaxed. He walks up to you on the quilt when you look down and realize your also naked. Kneeling down he grabs your chin and pulls you in for a kiss. You reach up and pull him down on top of you. His cock just magically goes right in as he lays on top of you. But it feels so real. You know it’s a dream but you can’t help but notice how your physical body feels. He rocks into you a few times but something just feels off to you.

Outside of dreamland, Ezra wraps his arm around your torso to hold you tight to him as his other arm goes underneath your body, hand coming up to cover your mouth. Having spit on his dick to lube up, as he pushed into your noticeably wet heat. Not really even needing the extra added wetness.

‘Must be dreaming of me’ he thinks smugly as he gently rocks into you. He noses the side of your neck as he breathes in your scent. He pushes all the way to the hilt and stops. Throbbing his dick a few times before slowly pulling out. He begins to thrush, shallow at first so he doesn’t jostle you awake too quick. After a few thrusts is when he notices your breathing starts to pick up, he can tell your starting to wake up.

Your eyes slowly flutter open, you’re in your bed. Something feels weird, like your wrapped in your blankets too tightly. There’s something warm on the side of your neck. .

“Shh baby gotta stay quiet for me okay?”

Your eyes shoot wide open when you hear him whisper into your ear, his hand quickly covering your mouth. Your once sleep foggy brain is now wide awake. Now you realize why he felt so real in your dream.

“Mmfmmfffm”

“What’s that kiddo?” Ezra loosens his hold over your mouth as he thrusts deep inside and grinds.

“Ez - ez oooh mm” is all you manage to softly moan out,“W-what are you doing?”

“I missed my girl. I came in here to see if you were awake. I’m sorry baby I just couldn’t help myself. You looked so beautiful sleeping.”

You can’t believe he’s actually fucking you right now. And yet he feels so good rocking into you at this angle. His arms wrapped around you as he takes you. You can’t even form a coherent thought, all you can manage is

“Mm oh fuck, oh fuck, I- I missed you Uncle Ez oh fuck I missed you.” You whimper out, feeling your impending orgasm quickly approaching.

His arms somehow seemed to tighten even more as his thrusts start to speed up. His mouth by your ear as he pants, sticking his tongue out to lick your ear lobe before biting down softly, nibbling on the appendage.

Your orgasm comes crushing just as his own hits him. Pleasure so strong, both your mouths drop open as soft whines and whimpers tumble out. Your own hands grabbing at his arms, holding on for dear life as wave after wave crashes over you.

You both lay there for what feels like forever, just holding onto one another before you turn around in his arms to face him. Looking into his eyes you find a little courage to finally say what you should’ve said awhile ago, you breathe in as your lips part,

“Before you say anything I know you’ve been avoiding me pretty girl.” Ezra says, cutting you off.

“I-I -“

“Shh, I’m not as stupid as you think I am.” He says with a chuckle

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” you say with chagrin, “really it’s me who’s stupid. If I’m honest I i- I missed you. A lot. I I’m sorry.”

And there goes your original plan to cut things off with him. Going down the drain. Yea you’re going to hell for this. But fuck it. You want this with him. You like him. And god does it feel relieving to say it out loud.

“It’s just. . You’re my uncle a-and. . ,” you sigh, “I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. I really like you? I guess. That sounds so pathetic and childish but I do. I want you all to myself.”

You manage to spit out before looking down, unable to hold his gaze as you confess your feelings.

“Hey look at me.” He says softly as he puts his finger under your chin to lift your face to look up at his,

“I like you too baby. You’re not pathetic or childish. Hell you’ve had me hooked way before I ever got a taste of your sweet cunt, pretty girl. You’re mine, baby. And I’m yours.”

Your eyes widen as those words leave his lips. Ezra closes the gap between you and softly kisses your stunned lips.

Ezra pulls away with a sad expression,

“Unfortunately I got some bad news babydoll. I gotta leave for a bit. Nothing bad just a work trip but I’ll be gone for a month at most. Hopefully. You gonna miss me?”

“Yea” you whisper softly as your eyes fill with tears wanting to overflow and run down your cheeks.

“Let’s just enjoy this night honey, let’s not worry about the future or tomorrow. Nothing else matters but me and you, right here right now.” He says with a definite tone as he nudges your nose with his. You nudge his nose back and smile,

“‘Kay”

You press your lips against his as you fall into him. Tongues exploring the others mouth, lips caressing the other, you and your uncle Ezra spend what feels like hours just getting lost in each others kiss.

A/n: soooo how are we feeling? 🙂 I will warn you, yes we are feeling feelings and expressing them however Uncle Ezra is a manipulative, greedy man. At the end of the day he is fully using her. No this will not end well but the end is not close, so let’s enjoy this ride babies

[hbyrde36]

Times Like These (The Anniversary Edition)

CH 1 CH 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch5

Chapter 6: Four Chimes

WC: 7910 | AO3 link

It was nearing midnight by the time Nancy and Mike got back to Steve’s house, where everyone was still anxiously waiting up for their return.

They would have been back sooner but, as Nancy explained, they had stopped home first on the off chance that Jonathan had tried to reach her there and left a message or anything like that. 

He hadn’t.

After that unfortunately unsurprising discovery, the siblings snuck out again to make their way back to the others, only to be passed on the road by an ambulance, fire truck, and a police car, all with sirens blaring and lights flashing.

They tracked the procession to Benny’s, watching from a safe distance as the long abandoned burger place was cordoned off with caution tape. Not long after the Hawkins P.D. and Co arrived, a blackout SUV pulled up to the scene and a woman Nancy thought she recognized from her time being detained at Hawkins lab stepped out of it. 

After watching a body bag get rolled out on a stretcher, she and Mike figured it was time to get out of there before someone noticed them, and raced all the way back to Loch Nora.

“It's gotta be Patrick,” Dustin said when Nancy was finished. “He’s the only other previous victim unaccounted for.” 

“And Benny’s is the team’s usual hangout spot.” Lucas added.

“What do you think that woman was doing there?” Robin asked.

Erica sneered. “Trying to cover it up.” 

“Should we…” Eddie trailed off, biting at his bottom lip. “I dunno, this is their fault isn’t it? Should we maybe be going to them for help or something?”

“Absolutely not.” Several of them said in unison, including Steve, and Eddie quickly raised his hands in surrender to the experts. 

“When’s the last time you tried to call California?” Nancy asked.

Dustin scoffed. “Don’t you think if they went back home from the airport they would have called us by now?” 

Eddie tilted his head in agreement, while Steve threw the kid a grateful look. 

“I did actually try to call a few times when you and Mike didn’t come back on time, but it was always the same, a busy signal.” Steve admitted.

Robin wrinkled her nose. “That sounds… ominous.”

“So that means either they left the phone off the hook, or…” Mike began, but neither he or anyone else bothered to follow that thread. It didn’t seem likely to lead anywhere good. 

“What are we going to do now? We can’t just keep waiting around for an answer to magically present itself. Not with three of our party in danger.” Dustin said, gesturing generally in the directions of Max, Steve, and Chrissy. “What if the music stops working?” 

“We’ll figure something out Dusty-bun, we always do.” Robin said, reaching out to roughly ruffle his hair.

He shrugged her off, undeterred. “And what about Will, El, and Jonathan? What if it’s him, what if Vecna got them somehow?”

“Look, Dustin, we’re all worried, alright?” Steve paused, dragging one hand down his face. He looked tired and drawn. “It’s late, everyone is exhausted and we’re no good for anything like this. Let's just try and get some sleep and see what we can come up with in the morning, ok?”

The sound of protest from the kids was deafening. Even Max who so rarely took part in any of the group discussions seemed appalled at the idea of sleeping at a time like this. 

But surprisingly, Nancy agreed with Steve.

“No guys, he’s right. We-” She paused, her bottom lip wobbling almost imperceptibly. “There's nothing we can do about any of it right now.”

Suddenly Eddie felt a little bit like an asshole, because until that exact moment he’d briefly forgotten that Nancy and Jonathan were together. It had to add another level to whatever else she was feeling right now.

It usually would have been enough to get the others in line, the two older and most seasoned members of the group—the new adults essentially with Joyce so far away now—agreeing on a course of action, but still they argued. 

Nancy looked on the verge of tears, a startling thing to witness from someone who was usually so stoic in these situations, and Steve was clearly at his wits end, already rubbing his temples as if warding off an oncoming headache.

Eddie surveyed the scene and figured maybe it was time to step in and put some of his DM skills to use.

“Shut up!” He shouted as he hopped up onto the coffee table, praying it would hold his weight. Though, him crashing through the furniture might provide the same level of distraction. 

The kids immediately fell silent—Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Erica, out of habit, and Max because she was usually quiet anyway.

“Okay kiddies, you heard your mother—and Nancy. Bed, now. We’re all in need of a long rest to properly replenish. No arguments! Or you can say goodbye to any magical items your characters collected over the last campaign. Better yet, maybe I'll make you all create brand new characters. Who wants to relive the glory days of being a level one rogue, or a level two mage?”

Max cracked a smile, as did Steve—his eyes sparkling with amusement as he watched Eddie’s antics. Chrissy and Robin hid their snorts of laughter behind their hands and there was a collective groan from the rest of the peanut gallery followed by blessed silence.

Eddie hopped down off his makeshift soapbox with a flourish. “That’s what I thought.”

As everyone made their way to where they’d be sleeping for the next few hours, he and Steve lagged behind, making sure that all the doors and windows were closed and locked, for whatever good it would do them. 

When they did finally head up the stairs themselves and into the hall, Steve stopped short, catching Eddie’s eye as the sound of stifled giggles trickled out of the room Chrissy and Robin were sharing. 

“Sounds like they’re getting along well.” Eddie said softly.

Steve grinned. “You know it’s funny, Robin is usually so nervous around… uh, people. It’s nice to see her making a friend.”

Eddie pretended not to notice the hesitation. He could appreciate Steve not wanting to out Robin without her permission, even when it was someone he knew was safe.

“I think it’s nice for Chrissy too.”

-

After so many nights in a row, getting ready for bed with Steve was becoming surprisingly comfortable and routine. Each of them taking a turn in the bathroom to shower, change, or do whatever else they needed to before going to sleep. 

Except that tonight, for the first time, Steve left the door wide open while he washed his face and began to brush his teeth. Eddie wasn't sure what to make of it. It felt like a test of some kind… or maybe an invitation? 

Did Steve want to share the small space with him? 

He could, it was just sharing a sink. Friends could do that, right? 

It wasn’t a big deal, though something about it felt like a level of closeness that Eddie'd never had with someone else before, and as dumb, and as simple a thing as it was, if that was something that was allowed—he wanted it. 

Eddie took a chance and ventured in, not looking at Steve as he took up his own toothbrush out of the holder. The tube of toothpaste was on the far side of the vanity and without Eddie even having to ask Steve passed it to him, catching his eye in the mirror, and smiling a little around his own toothbrush. 

Steve finished before he did, their shoulders brushing lightly as he bent down to rinse and spit. After drying his face Steve looked at him one last time through the mirror before slipping past to go out into the bedroom, sliding a hand along Eddie's back on the way as if he'd needed to steady himself. Eddie shivered, his skin breaking out in goosebumps at the intimate, almost familiar touch. 

As they settled into bed, Eddie had the dangerous thought that he could get used to all this—this cute domestic shit, and falling asleep next to Steve night after night. If they made it out of this thing alive it would be hard to go back to normal. Though it would be nice to see Uncle Wayne again, and the rest of his friends.

A muffled cry startled him out of his thoughts and his half-asleep state. 

He opened his eyes, not really remembering when he’d closed them, and found Steve with his face pressed into his pillow, body trembling with the effort to hold his sobs inside. 

“Hey,” Eddie crooned, sliding his arms around the other boy and pulling him in against his side. Steve went willingly, resting his head on Eddie’s chest, one arm thrown over his waist.  

“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours, Stevie?” Eddie gently stroked a hand through Steve’s hair and waited patiently for him to decide if he wanted to talk.

“I’m sorry. I swear I’m not usually like this," Steve said eventually, groaning into Eddie’s shirt.

Eddie believed it. He had a feeling Steve didn’t let himself break down very often, even in private—even when he had more than earned the right to do so. He felt honored to be someone Steve felt safe letting go in front of, and it was a privilege to be allowed to offer him comfort.

“No apologies needed, sweetheart.”

"It's just… I feel so useless this time. Usually there’s something to hit, some physical threat I can protect everyone from with my bat or my body, but—this thing? I don’t know what to do, I don’t know where I fit. I can’t protect anyone from this, and I’m fucking terrified. I’ve seen what Vecna does, and I don’t want any of you to have to go through that.” 

Steve finally looked up, wet eyes glistening in the dim light. “I’m so glad you knew to get Max started on the music before she had to–”

Eddie squeezed, tightening the hold he had on Steve with one hand while still raking fingernails lightly over his scalp with the other. 

Steve settled more heavily on top of him. 

“And I can’t stop thinking about the Byers, and El. Not that Jonathan and I are the best of friends or anything, but none of that matters now. What if Dustin is right and Vecna got them? It has to be related, doesn't it? They were right there at the airport. I’ve been driving myself crazy trying to think—I mean, what could have kept them from getting on that plane?” 

It was the million dollar question, and Eddie didn’t have any more answers than anyone else, but there was one thing he had to make absolutely sure Steve knew. 

“It's not your job to protect everyone y’know, or at least, not your job alone. Not anymore.”

-

Only a few short hours later Eddie found himself awake again, a warm weight resting on his chest, his own fingers still tangled in Steve’s soft hair.

Cracking one eye open he realized Steve was awake too, and watching him intently from the same spot he’d been before they fell asleep. 

“You get any rest?” Eddie mumbled.

Steve jolted a little in surprise. “Some,” he said. Then, perhaps realizing that he’d been staring, stuttered out another unnecessary apology.

“Sorry, you just… I mean, you look… peaceful, when you sleep. It’s, uh, cute.” A dark red blush began to spread from the base of Steve’s neck all the way to the top of his ears.  

Eddie huffed a laugh. That was… hmm. This couldn't be what it looked like, could it? There had to be some sort of heterosexual explanation for it.

“You—are clearly delirious. I think maybe you should try and get some more shut-eye.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right." Steve said through a yawn, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “But the kids will be up soon and I really don’t want them getting impatient and trying to sneak off to do something stupid without us.”

Of course, Steve was right. 

It was barely 7am, they’d all had less than 6 hours of sleep, and every child in the house was awake, and they were loud. Technically everyone in the house was awake, it was just that the younger teen’s raised voices at the early hour were particularly grating. Eddie thought teenagers were supposed to sleep in. Apparently not true for this bunch. 

The TV in the living room was tuned to the local news, and everyone was watching over the top of their cereal bowls as the anchor spoke of another murder victim having been found. The police were not naming names, still waiting to notify the victim’s family, not that it mattered. Maybe it was wrong to not want to know the name of the person who had essentially taken Chrissy’s place, but to Eddie—to all of them, it just meant that Vecna now had 3 out of 4 kills under his belt, and their time to act was rapidly running out. 

As she so often did, Nancy took charge.

“I thought about it a lot last night, and I think our only choice is to follow through with the original plan without the others. A version of it anyway.”

“The plan that’s failed three times now? The plan that’s gotten Eddie killed and who fucking knows what else?!” Dustin shouted.

“I know! Alright? I know, but with some minor adjustments, I really think it could work.” Nancy said.

Eddie looked to Steve across the room and found the other boy’s eyes were already on him, a question swirling in their depths. 

He wanted to know what Eddie thought, if he was in.  With nothing but a meaningful stare Steve communicated loud and clear that he would take Eddie’s lead. If he didn’t want to do this, then Steve would back him up. 

He didn’t, for the record. The last thing he wanted to do was the same fucking thing they’d been doing—the literal definition of insanity—but he didn’t have any better ideas, and the clock was ticking. 

He gave Steve a sad smile and a shallow nod before turning to Nancy. 

“What minor adjustments did you have in mind, Wheeler?”

-

Eddie regretted agreeing almost the second they started hammering out the details.

The crux of the plan would remain the same. Someone would play bait for Vecna, keep him busy in their mind while the others set about attacking his physical form in the Upside Down. 

“I’ll do it.” Steve volunteered immediately.  

Eddie sucked in a sharp breath. He wanted to scream—no! Absolutely fucking not! No way was he letting Steve put himself through that again, but he held his tongue. 

What was he supposed to say? What other choice did they have? Max, who was an actual under-18-years-old minor child, or Chrissy, who wasn’t much older and had no experience with this stuff. Who would he throw into the fire in Steve’s place?

No one. 

If it was up to him no one would have to play this role. But it wasn’t up to him. They needed the distraction. Without it they had no chance at all of defeating Vecna.

“Maybe it should be me.” Chrissy said. “I mean, won’t they need you to go after his body? I don’t know how to fight, I'd be useless there.”

“No, Chrissy I-” Steve began, but Nancy cut him off. 

“Eddie can come with me and Robin in Steve's place.” 

“What about the bats?” Eddie asked.

Nancy eyed up the Harrington's fancy stereo system. “If we got you a long enough extension cord could you set this up in the Upside Down?”

“Nancy, you’re a genius.” Dustin exclaimed, and Eddie couldn’t help but agree. Why hadn’t he ever thought of that?

The next and perhaps the most important detail they needed to work out was where they would enter the other dimension from. Eddie’s trailer was out, obviously, since there was no gate there this time around. Fred’s gate was inaccessible, being in his own backyard in the middle of a residential street. Too many people would see them and wonder what they were up to, most of all Fred’s poor parents. Not knowing where the most recent murder had even occurred, that only left them with one viable option.

Benny’s.  

“We need to go over there and see if the cops are still around, if it’s clear we could go in tonight.” Nancy said. 

“If we’re lucky they’ll be too busy with the other murder.” Dustin said. 

Max shook her head. “Dude.”

He winced. “Sorry.”

“Me and Eddie could take a ride over there.” Steve suggested.

“It might be safer to keep Eddie out of sight for now,” Dustin pointed out. “Jason might not have a whole lynch mob after him this time but he’s still got it out for him.”

Chrissy cleared her throat, “Nancy and I could go check it out. We made a pretty good team looking for Fred the other day, even if we didn’t manage to find him.” 

Eddie half expected Robin to want to go too, since she and Chrissy had become attached at the hip, but she’d only bumped their shoulders together looking proud and continued whispering to Steve. He’d noticed them doing a lot of that this morning actually.

Once the two girls were gone on their fact finding mission, Steve grabbed Robin and pulled her into the kitchen to start working on dinner. 

Naturally, Eddie followed, letting his curiosity get the better of him, under the guise of offering an extra set of hands to make the food.

“Want some help?” Eddie asked as he stepped into the room.

Steve looked up in surprise, his cheeks turning pink as he opened his mouth to reply. He hesitated and Robin shot Eddie a sympathetic smile behind Steve’s back

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Ah, I see. You two want some time alone then.”

“Not like that.” Steve sighed, rolling his eyes.

Eddie laughed. “I know, I know. I get it, you need some best friend time. That’s okay, I'll just go keep the rug rats out of your hair.”

It was surprisingly easy to keep the kids distracted for a while, a testament to how much they’d been through that they were able to compartmentalize like that. He told them a little, very little, about his plans for the next campaign for Hellfire, the last game he planned on running before he graduated. 

If he managed to graduate, Eddie mused, but he kept that thought to himself.

Which of course led to a discussion of who would be taking the reins when Eddie went off to bigger and better things. Dustin seemed to think he’d earned the right to inherit the kingdom, but Eddie was quick to knock him off that pedestal. 

“Do you really think Gareth would let me hand the club over to a bunch of freshmen when he’s been waiting for his moment for two years?” 

“We’ll be sophomores next year!”

Eddie waved him off. “Semantics.” He muttered “And Gare will be a senior. I expect all of you to support him, you hear me? He’s a good DM and an even better friend.”

The room fell silent when the phone suddenly rang, a sound that could mean only very good things or very bad things. It could also be a telemarketer, Eddie reminded himself, though it was a little early in day for it, they always seemed to call right as you were sitting down to eat. 

When it hadn’t been answered by the third ring Eddie jumped up and ran into the kitchen to see what was wrong. 

Something on the stove was burning and Robin was running her hands under cold water while Steve fussed over her. 

“Do you want me to..?” Eddie asked, indicating the phone when Steve looked up. He nodded gratefully.

“Uh, Harrington residence.” Eddie answered, just in case it was, god forbid, a relative or one of Steve’s father’s business partners or something like that. 

“Oh.” A young female voice came over the line. “Is this, Eddie?”

Eddie's heart rate picked up speed as he realized who it must be. “Supergirl?” 

She laughed softly. “Yes, this is El.”

“Jesus Christ kid, we’ve been so worried! What happened, are you guys okay?” Eddie said in a rush, and Steve was at his side in less than a second, pressing their heads together so he could hear her voice too.

“El?” Steve said.

“Steve!” She sounded so happy and so relieved to hear his voice, it made Eddie’s chest tight. 

“I am sorry we worried you. We are…. okay. Men in uniforms came and took us away from the Airport. I thought they were police but really they were with Doctor Owens. He knew about Henry. He knew Hawkins was in trouble and said he could help me get my powers back, so we went with him. We were in a car for a long time and then–” She hesitated, swallowing hard enough that Eddie could hear it over the phone. “I- I could not call until now, I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay. We’re just glad you’re safe.” Steve said into his side of the receiver.

“I know you were planning to go after him tonight. I…spied on you earlier, and I think I can help. I just need a little more time to get strong. Do you think you could get the others to wait until tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I think we can do that.” Steve said.

“But how are you gonna help from… wherever it is you are?” Eddie asked.

“I think we are in a place called Nevada, and I can piggyback. I’ve done it before, sort of.”

Eddie mouthed the word piggyback to himself silently, sending Steve a sideways look.

He shrugged. 

“Once Henry has Steve in his trance, I will enter Steve’s mind, find him, and help fight Henry from there. Piggyback.”

“Oh. That actually makes sense.” Eddie murmured.

“Can Steve still hear me?” She asked.

“I'm here.”

“After Henry takes you, remember to think happy thoughts. Hide in the good memories, it is harder for him to find you there. Hide for as long as you can. I will find you.”

She hung up with promises to call again the next day to work out a time for the attack. In order for this to work they had to be perfectly coordinated.

Hearing from El changed everything. Even Eddie felt a much needed boost of optimism from it, like they might finally have a real shot at beating this thing. 

They were all still worried something might happen in the meantime by delaying their plans. There wasn’t much stopping Henry from taking another random victim in the night, but they all agreed it was worth the risk to go into this fight with the full force of the party now that they had their superhero back.

Privately Eddie had a suspicion that Vecna didn’t want just anyone for his final kill anyway. He had a vendetta against them now, no doubt, and would take nothing less than someone Eleven knew and cared about. He was almost sure of it. 

Nancy and Chrissy returned with good news as well. After they were filled in about the surprise phone call, Chrissy told them that Benny’s was completely abandoned. They even found the gate, a wide crack in the wall with a pulsing red membrane in the back of the building out by the dumpster.

-

For all their talk of staying awake all night to watch over each other, by 1 o'clock in the morning, after eating way too much pizza—half in celebration, half because Robin had burned dinner—and watching several cheesy movies, almost everyone had passed out where they sat. 

Robin was slumped over on the small couch with her head draped over the armrest, while Chrissy was draped over her, and Nancy and Erica were snoring from their place on the floor in front of them.

Mike, Dustin and Lucas had all fallen asleep sitting up in a line on the longer couch, with only Max looking comfortable where she was reclined against the arm, and had her legs sprawled out over the three boys’ laps. 

Eddie was wide awake, feeling too unsettled to sleep. 

He was on the floor with his knees tucked to his chest and his back resting against the recliner that Steve was currently occupying. He understood why the kids had wanted them all to stay in one room tonight. They were worried, unsure of what the future would bring tomorrow, as was he, but if it was their last night on earth—so to speak—he would rather be spending it with Steve in the now familiar cocoon of his warmth, in the bed they’d been sharing for almost a week now. 

He finally turned, looking up, expecting to find Steve as conked-out as the rest of them but found him awake too—already gazing down at him with a look that, if aimed at another, he might call longing.

They stared at each other for a long beat before Eddie tilted his head in the direction of the stairs in silent request. Steve smiled warmly, nodded, and the two snuck off as silently as they could.

-

The air between them felt heavy, charged in a way it hadn’t quite been before, and Eddie was almost sure he wasn't the only one feeling it. 

Neither of them spoke as they climbed into bed together, as if they both knew anything they said would either be too much or not enough.

There was so much Eddie yearned to say. 

That he was scared. That he wished Steve would stay behind where it was safe, even if he knew it wasn’t practical and that the other boy would never ever sit out this fight. 

Unfathomably, he considered telling Steve how he felt about him. If his world was, maybe, about to end for the 4th time, what did he have to lose? He could tell Steve exactly how much he cared about him, how much their short time together has meant, and how he’ll never be the same after this. How he thought he might be falling in love with him. 

But Eddie was a coward, so he didn’t say any of that. He held Steve’s gaze from a foot away and wished desperately for an excuse to get close. 

As it turned out, he didn’t need one. 

Steve closed the distance between them, winding his arms around Eddie and pulling him into his chest. Their arms and legs entwined with an almost practiced ease, and when Eddie pressed his face into the crook of Steve’s neck, for the first time it didn’t feel scary or awkward, it felt like he was made to fit there.

He breathed Steve in deeply, lips brushing lightly across the other boy’s collarbone by accident, but he didn’t care. He needed to memorize this moment, sear it into his brain forever—Steve’s smell, the heat of him, the softness of his skin, because one way or another it could all be gone tomorrow. 

He tried to hold on but in the end it was too easy to fall asleep in the circle of Steve’s arms, and as he drifted off he could have sworn he felt a light kiss being pressed to the top of his head.

But maybe that part was just a dream.  

-

The shrill ringing of a phone way too close to his head jolted Eddie from his sleep. Somehow he hadn’t even realized Steve had one in his room. Must be a rich people thing. 

Eddie was closer so he snatched the handset off the base that sat on the nightstand and held it out to Steve, already sitting up and reaching for it. 

“Hello?” Steve answered roughly, sounding exactly like a person who’d just been woken up after too many days of too few hours of sleep, but after a quick reply from the caller he was instantly more alert. 

“Woah! Jonathan, slow down. What happened?”

Eddie sat up, scooching over and pressing himself into Steve’s side so he could listen in through the earpiece. 

“Some army guys showed up, tried to get El. They killed Brenner and took Owens.”

“Brenner?” Steve asked.

“Papa.” 

“Wait, that fucker has been alive this whole time? Dustin told me a demogorgon got him back when all this shit started! And he’s been there with her?!”

Steve clenched his jaw, audibly grinding his teeth. Eddie was still a little confused on the details, but he knew enough to put the pieces together. They were talking about the man who raised Eleven like she was a goddamn lab rat instead of a human being. The balls to do that to a child and have them call you Papa. It was disgusting. 

“I know, man, I know. But it was her choice. He- he was a piece of shit but he got us out of there. He got shot as soon as we made it out the door. They had a gunman in a helicopter aiming for her.”

“Jesus H. Christ, she’s just a kid.” Eddie mumbled.

“Who? Wait, is that… Eddie?!”

Eddie's face felt hot, like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar or something. He cleared his throat and tried to sound normal. “Hey Byers.”

“Is she okay? And Will?” Steve pressed on.

“They’re fine. We got away. El… she’s amazing. She stopped the helicopter, knocked it right out of the sky. She saved us. Brenner gave me his keys before he passed out, and we took off. I drove for a couple of hours till it felt safe enough to stop and grab a motel room. Hang on, she wants to talk to you-”

“Hi, Steve.” El said.

“You alright?”

“I’m tired, but I’m okay. I still want to go through with the plan.”

“Are you sure?”

“I can do it, I have to do it.”

Steve took in a breath and held it, fumbling around with his free hand until it closed around Eddie’s, squeezing. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

“I’ll find you, Steve. Do not worry.”

Steve pulled his mouth away from the receiver and made a sound halfway between a laugh and a cry. Eddie was blown away too, Everything this girl had endured and here she was trying to make Steve feel better.

“I know.” Steve said eventually. “I’ll see you soon kiddo.”

A moment later there was a shuffling over the line as she presumably passed the phone back to Jonathan. 

“I need some time to get salt and stuff for her set-up. At least the room we got has a bathtub.”

“The gate is behind Benny’s so we need to wait until dark anyway.” Steve explained. “It’ll give her some time to rest too. 7 o’clock our time should do it. We’ll have everyone in position, and I’ll start baiting Vecna.”

“Good luck.”

“You too, man.”

“And Steve, um, can you tell Nancy…” Jonathan trailed off.

They could both hear the words getting caught in the other boy’s throat. Whether it was because of the emotion of the day or because Jonathan realized who he was talking to, Eddie didn’t know, but Steve understood what he needed and as he’d said before, none of the shit from the past mattered now. 

“Yeah, man. I’ll tell her.”

-

It was a somber day. Far from the party-like atmosphere of the night before, everyone was quiet, down to the youngest member of the party, all lost in their own thoughts as they made their preparations for battle. 

The sound system from Steve’s living room was carefully broken down and loaded into the back of Eddie’s van, along with several extension cords and a gas powered generator they’d found hiding under a tarp in the garage.

Weapons were made and split between Nancy’s station wagon and Steve’s car. Between the sheer number of people and the supplies they carried, all three of their vehicles would be needed for transport.

When there was nothing left to do and the sun was beginning to set, the group got into the cars and made their way to Benny’s. 

-

Eddie pulled around to the rear of the building and backed his van up as close to the thrumming gate as he dared, quickly busying himself with getting the generator going while the others parked on the side and walked over. 

After a short argument Nancy entered the Upside Down first, wielding her brand new sawed-off shotgun. She would provide cover, if needed, while Steve and Eddie carried the sound equipment through to the Upside Down. 

Eddie carefully didn’t look Steve’s way much as they worked. 

He hadn't meant to do it, at least in the front part of his brain, but he’d spent a majority of the day avoiding Steve as much as possible. It was just… he didn’t know how he was going to say goodbye to him.

In no time they were set up and ready to go.

It was the moment Eddie had been dreading the most since this loop had begun. His time was officially up. There was nothing left to be done, for any of it—no more preparations to make, or warnings to give. He’d changed so much and yet he had no idea if they were about to succeed or fail. 

When the farewells began, he tried to hang back, but he was pulled into the fold by Dustin—one of the few people in this world that he could never really say no to. He made his way around the group, still studiously avoiding Steve until finally the other boy caught his eye, and then it was all over. 

It was like gravity, a magnetic pull that left Eddie powerless but to walk up and meet Steve where he was.

“Remember what El said,” Eddie started, trying so hard to hold it together. “Hide in your good memories and she’ll find you there. And whatever that prick tries to show you just…”

They stood only a foot apart as the others filtered away towards the cars, but it might as well have been a mile-wide chasm for how badly the space made Eddie’s heart ache. But they weren’t alone, and Eddie didn’t dare close the distance between them. 

Steve nodded, offering him a sad smile. 

“I’ve got a few in mind, and Dustin is on Walkman duty, if anything we have to worry about him trying to pull me out too soon. It’ll be okay.”

“Come on, Steve. It’s time!” Dustin shouted through the open passenger window of the BMW. Max and Lucas were in the back seat, all of them going to the real-world Creel house with Steve.

Steve bowed his head, shaking it before looking back up to study Eddie’s face.

“Good luck, Steve.” Eddie said. 

“...You too.”

Eddie spun on his heel and forced himself to walk back towards his van. He needed to get his shit together. If they were going to defeat Vecna, he had to– 

“Eddie, wait.” Steve called out seconds before his hand landed on Eddie's elbow, just as it had that first night in his bedroom when Eddie had tried to make a break for it.

He turned and found himself enveloped in arms that had begun to feel like home, and he eagerly returned the embrace. Steve pulled back, a soft look of determination in his eyes as he cupped Eddie’s cheek, his other hand falling to rest on his hip.

Eddie’s breath hitched as the hands holding him trembled, and again with those fucking eyes of his Steve asked a silent question. He couldn't quite believe what he was seeing but he was almost sure he knew what Steve was asking permission for. 

The answer was easy. 

Eddie dipped his chin, a single shallow nod, and without hesitation or a care for who was watching Steve crashed their lips together in a desperate kiss. Eddie melted into it, winding his hand into Steve's hair and pulling him impossibly closer. 

It ended far too soon, though to be fair they could have stood around making out all night and it would never have felt like enough. Steve broke the kiss, resting his forehead against Eddie’s as they panted into each other's mouths. 

“Please, please be careful.” Steve begged, pressing one last soft kiss to the corner of his mouth before letting him go, jogging over to his car, and peeling out of the parking lot to make it to his mark on time. 

Eddie stood frozen, a little stunned as he watched the BMW drive out of sight. When he finally shook it off and turned back to his waiting crew he found them all watching him, dumbfounded. 

Except for Robin, who was trying and failing to stifle the world’s largest shit-eating grin.  

“Well what are you all just standing around for?” Eddie mumbled, picking up his axe and backpack full of prepared molotov cocktails and headed straight towards the gate.

-

Chrissy, Mike, and Erica were tasked with staying in the Right Side Up, armed with spears as they kept an eye on this side of the gate for any demopests trying to make their way out—though their main job was to wait for the signal and press play on one of Eddie’s many metal mixtapes to draw the bats away from the other Creel house, and clear the way for Nancy, Robin, and Eddie who were venturing into the Upside Down.

They were roughly half way there, having made the entire journey so far in silence when Nancy decided to go scouting up ahead, leaving Eddie and Robin alone.

“I see the way you look at him, so I’m not going to give you the shovel talk or whatever.” She said, falling into step beside him. “Just… be good to him, okay? Steve deserves that.”

Eddie’s knee jerk reaction was to scoff, and roll his eyes. “It was one kiss Buckley who knows if it even meant anything. Maybe to him it was just a, we’re probably all about to die, thing.”

In reality he didn’t know what to think. It had certainly felt real, but the circumstances were indisputably dire. Who was to say if Steve would have ever kissed him had they not found themselves in a life or death situation.

With no warning Robin cocked her arm back and punched him in the side, hard.

“Hey!”

“You listen to me, Edward Eleanor Munson–”

“Not my middle name!” He grumbled, rubbing at the spot. Robin was tougher than she looked.

“Whatever. I did not help Steve speed run through his bisexual crisis, in the middle of the fucking apocalypse, just for you to be dumb about this.”

“Can we maybe talk about this after we survive?”

“Fine, but i’m warning you, Munson, if you mess this up I’ll–”

He was saved from whatever threat Robin was about to dish out by Nancy’s return. 

“It’s just up ahead. I can see the light marking Lucas at the playground. Are you guys ready?”

“As I'll ever be.” Eddie said.

Robin nodded. “Let's do this.”

When they reached the playground Nancy gave the signal, pushing her hand through the particles three times to initiate the next phase.

Soon after, the faint sound of music started in the distance and they were forced to duck down under the play equipment as swarms of bats began to pass overhead.

That meant Steve was in, Vecna had him, and now it was their turn to finish this. 

Eddie let out a shaking breath, closing his eyes tightly against the rising panic. 

Robin laid a tentative hand on his shoulder. “He’ll be alright. Steve always makes it out, you’ll see.”

-

They failed. 

They fucking failed. 

The ugly asshole was on fire, and Nancy shot him so many times.

They had him, he was down and they thought he was dead but then they heard it.

Chimes.

Four chimes and then the ground beneath their feet started to shake. Deep down Eddie knew what that meant, but he couldn’t allow himself to think it. Not yet. 

He ran full out back to the gate, so fast that he somehow managed to lose the girls along the way. He felt bad about it in a distant way but he had to get there, he had to know. Was Steve really gone?

Eddie tumbled out of the gate, taking only a second to notice that Chrissy and Erica were huddled together by the van crying, while Mike sat a few feet away with his head between his knees.

He snatched one of the spare walkies up off the ground, pressing the button down with shaking hands. “Dustin? Lucas? Max?.. Steve?” His voice didn’t sound like his own, thick with an emotion he wasn’t ready to name as it cracked on his words. “What happened?”

“Steve, he was…” Dustin was barely audible over the glorified toy’s small speaker, but it was still evident that he’d been crying—was crying

“He- he got Vecna to take him and w- we were standing by in case things went too far b- but… Jason and Andy showed up. They held me and Max at gunpoint. They saw Steve’s car here, and they’d seen your van at his house before and… Eddie, we almost had them. They didn’t see Lucas sneaking up from behind. He tried, but the Walkman got broken in the struggle and then Steve was floating. Jason freaked out and took off, but it was too late. He’s gone.”

Eddie felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the world. He let out a painful gasping cry and let the radio fall from his hand, winding his arms around himself as his body began to shake. It felt like a black hole had formed inside his chest, an endless void, and every good thing he’d ever felt was being pulled into its vacuum of hopelessness.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the cult leader himself, and the rest of his flock.” A familiar and very unwelcome voice called out as two figures appeared around the side of the building. 

Jason and Andy came walking up, trying to look casual save for the way Jason was still limping on his bad knee, but as they got closer Eddie could see the haunted look in their eyes. They were afraid of him. 

While keeping his gaze on Eddie, Jason pushed his second in command in Chrissy’s direction. 

“Grab her, we’re getting her out of here right now.”

Eddie was torn, he wanted to help Chrissy fight Andy off but Jason already had his gun out, loosely pointed in his direction and he was afraid if he moved someone else would get hurt. 

“You've brainwashed all these people into following you, and I don’t know how you’re doing it, but I know you’re responsible for these murders somehow.” Jason said, leveling his weapon at Eddie’s chest. “I saw what your friends did to Steve Harrington.”

“You don’t fucking say his name!” Eddie growled. “And you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He lunged at Jason but he was too slow and the other boy side-stepped out of his reach easily, swinging the gun back around to aim it again. 

Just then Nancy and Robin came stumbling out of the gate. 

Jason turned, eyes widening as he saw the two girls magically appearing through a concrete wall. “What the fuck is that?!” He shouted.

Eddie didn’t look at them, he was singularly focused on Jason and taking him the fuck down. He tackled him to the ground, hoping the force of the fall would loosen his hold on his gun, instead the impact only caused Jason to squeeze the trigger with the barrel pressed right into him.

Eddie reared back, balancing on his knees as blood quickly blossomed across his chest, the bright red of it stark against the white of his Hellfire club shirt, and it occurred to him that maybe it had been bad luck to wear this particular shirt on this particular day. 

He’d just wanted to feel like himself.

Eddie collapsed backwards into the dirt and in moments he could feel it turning to mud, as a puddle slowly spread beneath him. It was hard to breathe, hard to concentrate but he could hear the sounds of a struggle and Nancy threatening to shoot Andy if he didn’t let Chrissy go. 

She must have succeeded in convincing him she meant business because suddenly Chrissy was there, falling to her knees beside him and putting pressure on his wound. Robin joined her a second later.

The pain, which he’d mostly been able to ignore, intensified as they pressed on his chest but he welcomed it—let it run through him and drown out the despair and heartbreak. 

Another gunshot rang out, and Eddie flinched, casting his eyes around wildly. All he could see was Mike consoling Erica as she cradled her arm.

“Damnit!” Nancy shouted from a short distance, and then she too came into his line of sight. “I missed. Clipped the side of the building and they got away.”

She looked down at him, and as if suddenly remembering that he was hurt started to tear at the bottom of her shirt. Eddie knew what she meant to do, but it was pointless. Even if he could be saved, which he highly doubted, he didn’t want to be. 

“No, stop.” Eddie said, struggling to talk through ragged breaths. "You gotta let me go. It’s the only way to fix this.”

“But what if this is it? What if you don’t get another try?” Nancy said. She had a strip of fabric now and seemed to be considering the best way to get it around him. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Eddie grunted. “Have to try.”

“Eddie, he wouldn’t want–” Robin began, but Eddie refused to hear it. Couldn’t accept it.

“I have to. We- we still have to kill Vecna. And Steve-” He sobbed, choking on the name. “It can’t end like this, it just can’t.”

Reluctantly Robin and Chrissy took their hands off of him and Nancy sat back on her heels looking lost and unsure. 

Eddie sputtered, a rush of coppery liquid filling his mouth, overflowing and spilling out the sides. It was hard not to struggle, his body still trying to breathe even as he was ready to let go.

Chrissy leaned over him, holding his face gently between her bloodstained hands as she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, her hot tears splashing down onto his cool skin.

He fought to give her a weak smile as she looked down at him. 

“I’m sorry, Eddie. I’m so sorry that you’re going to have to do this all over again—but you can do it, okay? I know you can. You are so brave, and loyal, and kind and I might not remember all this, but I’ll be right there with you in the next one. I promise.”

“See you soon, Chris,” was all he managed to say before releasing his final breath, and for the fourth time in his life, Eddie died.

Chapter 7

Special thanks to @penny00dreadful for being the best beta, friend and cheerleader.

Reblogs are always appreciated and if you want to be tagged, just let me know! I'd be more than happy to do so 💜

Taglist: @hitlikehammers @pearynice @cranberrymoons @thoroughlycollected @blubblesandink @finntheehumaneater @brbsoulnomming @estrellami-1 @hellion-child @mentallyundone @manda-panda-monium @spicysix @kikidoesfanfic @dreamwatch @lawrencebshoggoth @stillfullofshit @lil-gremlin-things @mamafaithful

[perpetualexistence]

Leap of Faith: A Total Drama Hug a Giant Day Submission

So, fun fact I absolutely hadn't forgotten at all: July 21st is Hug a Giant Day! Don't. Don't look at the timestamp, it's still before midnight somewhere-

As someone who's trying to bring more giant/tiny into Total Drama, it's only fair I contribute a piece into the fandom. Have a nice, fluffy Nowen giant/tiny fic! You can read it as platonic or romantic.

I'm putting it under a read more only because it ended up being like 1K words and that's a lotta words. I might end up putting this on AO3 too. And editing it slightly since this is the first draft that I put together to try to make it in time for the day.

Anyways, enjoy!

"Hey little buddy!" a voice called from around Noah's feet.

He never cared much for people on the best of days. And ever since his...unexpected growth spurt, people didn't care much to be around him either. It was fine. Nothing new. Being taller just meant it was easier to walk away from situations he didn't want to be in. It was the best for everyone, really.

Except for a certain blonde who still insisted 'once a nickname, always a nickname'.

Noah looked down to see Owen standing at ankle-height. He'd be impressed at how far Owen's voice could carry if he didn't already know how loud Owen could be when he wanted to. It used to be grating, but now it made things easier. Noah hated having to crouch.

"What?" Noah asked.

"I wanna show you something!"

"Can't you just tell me what it is from down there?"

"Nope! You've gotta come down so I can show you!"

So much for not having to crouch. Knowing Owen, this would take a while. Which would mean he'd have to crouch the whole time. His new height didn't grant him new athletic ability, so he could probably only do that for about five seconds at most before losing his balance. Which wouldn't be good for anybody.

With a loud sigh, he slid down the tree he had been leaning against. The tree groaned in protest, but it held firm. Good thing he was still a lightweight. He drew himself into a sitting position with his legs crossed.

"Well?"

"Okay, now lift me up!"

"Hey, you didn't say anything about having to lift you."

"It's part of it! Come on, lift me!"

Okay. Well, this was fine. It's not like he'd never grabbed something small before. He carried many a book before, and that had been fine. This just happened to be a much smaller book. That was also more fragile. More like a hamster if Noah thought about it. A very lovable, fragile hamster. That was the only person who had bothered to come check on Noah after he'd become giant. And if broken, wouldn't want to see him again.

No pressure.

Noah reached a hand forward to grab Owen. God, it felt so wrong that the guy who would crush him with bear hugs was now so easy to crush-

"Wait!"

Noah did his best to keep his expression as apathetic as it normally was. He knew even Owen had his limits-

"Not like that!" Owen chuckled. Wait. Chuckled? "You've gotta hold your hand flat. Like you're holding a pizza! And then I can climb on. It's for the surprise, I promise!"

Owen was still beaming up at Noah. The smile was almost blinding. It threatened to release more laughter if Noah indulged it. None out of malice though. That wasn't Owen's style.

"Whatever." Noah shrugged. It was a better idea than Noah's instinct, but Owen didn't need to know that. He moved his hand from a grabbing position to a flat one as he lowered it for Owen. Owen stepped on without hesitation.

"Great! Now lift me up, but stop when I say stop!"

Okay, this was kind of weird, but nothing too difficult. Noah lifted the normally heavy boy as if he was a glass figurine. Past his knees, his stomach, his chest-

"STOP!"

Noah's hand jerked as he stopped it. Owen stumbled, but kept his balance. Which was good. It'd be a 30 foot fall if he stumbled off. Survivable, but not without injury.

Owen stared at Noah's chest. He was close enough that he wouldn't have to shout anymore to be heard. Still, Noah didn't get why Owen was looking at his chest rather than his face.

Noah was even more confused when Owen actually started backing away from Noah. He was still mindful enough to make sure he was still on Noah's hand. Thank god for small miracles. Still, he couldn't figure out what the big guy was doing.

He got his answer when Owen started running right towards Noah. Before Noah could intervene, Owen jumped off of Noah's hand with a scream and towards Noah's chest.

Noah couldn't stop the scream bursting from his own chest. He shot his hand forward to clutch at the fabric of his shirt around where Owen landed. He only stopped squeezing at fabric when he could feel Owen's skin. Warm, and sweaty, and right there.

"Woohoo!" Owen cried. The little maniac.

"What was THAT?!" Noah screeched.

He was vaguely aware of the birds that flew away at the sound of his booming voice. He didn't care. Maybe he could use the volume of his voice to get through Owen's thick skull.

"Little buddy, it's okay! You can let me go. I've got this!"

"No, you don't have this. I have you. If I let you go, then the ground will have you."

"Okay, okay. At least let me see you?"

Noah forced himself to loosen his fingers. He slowly tilted his hand so that Owen's feet would stay standing on it.

Owen was holding onto Noah's shirt. His arms were outstretched. His face was planted into Noah's chest. If Noah didn't know any better, it almost looked like-

"I know you can't really hang out with people like you used to. You keep saying you're fine, but you seem pretty bummed out. So I wanted to cheer you up! I'd give you a bear hug, but it's really hard to do that now. This was the next best thing!"

Huh. Owen noticed more things than Noah gave him credit for. Noah wouldn't really call being around others while reading and snarking 'hanging out'. Or say that he was bummed. But maybe Noah had missed it more than he'd like to admit.

"You're going to give me a heart attack before I'm 20," Noah sighed, "What if I hadn't caught you?"

"I just knew you would."

Noah had a feeling that asking why Owen had so much faith in him would be pointless. Owen was just too trusting in nature. One day it would get him killed.

Noah would just have to make sure that didn't happen anytime soon.

"Next time just ask, okay?"

"Promise."

Noah cupped his hand around Owen again to gently press him against his chest. He didn't need to see the slight smile on Noah's face.

[pep-rambles]

The Tortured Poets Department First Impressions

So upon listening through only once here's just a few of my thoughts.

Definitely not what I expected but I LOVE it. Definitely jamming out all the way through, I honestly would be hard pressed to find a song I'd consider skipping on this. It definitely pulled me in right away.

I don't want to rank it yet because I need to listen to it a few more times but I can say with certainty it is above Midnights (sorry Midnight stans) Honestly it's probably pretty high up!

So at the beginning I was getting the vibe that "Oh this is a Midnights sister album" But then the sound changed. Like does anyone else feel it was almost like a send-up to previous Eras? "ICDIWABH" felt very 1989, "MBOBHFT" was giving me Red vibes. You could tell me "WAOLOM" was a Reputation vault track and I would ABSOLUTELY believe you. I could go on

Also, "But Daddy I Love Him" just feels like a snarkier and spicier version of "Love Story" and I DO NOT THINK THAT IS ON ACCIDENT!

Also speaking of "WAOLOM" I CRAVE a music video for that

Taylor Swift and Florence + The Machine is such a perfect and obvious mash-up I can't believe I never thought of it before!

The references to Lover and Folklore (and maybe some others I missed) at the end of "Fresh Out The Slammer" KILLED ME absolutely had me tearing up. Supports my theory this was meant to be a mash-up of the previous Eras.

Can't figure out if the vibe is supposed to be Hospital or Jail. Or Maybe psych ward for the criminally insane.

Anyway that's it for now! Gotta sleep almost 2am (lol) but I am HYPED to come back and listen again tomorrow!

EDIT:

The Anthology First Impressions

[alienisticxo]

For the fanfic ask! 🛠 🙋‍♀️🤗🤲

thank you for the ask!! 🥹🖤

🛠️— i use google docs to write my fics! i also really only write them on my phone. 😅 i know that’s kind of insane, but for some reason my fingers just move faster with texting and i can access the doc from anywhere that way, even though i write them from like midnight to 3AM just laying in bed with my headphones in and some inspiring tunes playing (mostly Let Go x Ark Patrol and the Halo/Interstellar soundtracks). 🤣 occasionally i’ll use my laptop and listen to lo-fi, but it’s rare these days.

🙋‍♀️- only a few people in real life know that i write fan fiction— my best friend, my boyfriend and one other friend. i’m pretty sure that’s it.

🤗— advice to new fanfic writers just getting started…. hmm…

just do it. (nikeTM) lol. like i know it’s easy to get caught up in “what if no one likes my pairing, what if people think it’s stupid, what if my writing isn’t up to par,” etc. when i first started actually posting my fics years ago, i thought people would say mean things or laugh at me for the crazy ideas i had, or that i would never be able to compare to some of the more seasoned writers and thus no one would read my fics… how wrong was i! i’ve learned you’ve just gotta get past that and write what you love. the rest comes with it! there’s a lid for every pot. so maybe you don’t use words like “contumacious” or “recalcitrant,” maybe you’re more casual or more intense, but that’s literally okay! everyone has their own style of writing, and you will find your crowd. while it is obviously very nice to receive praise, don’t get caught up in stats either. there are more often than not people who will read and adore your fics and never once say anything to you or give any indication of their existence. (take it from me, i used to be one of these people.)

we are here to have fun and share ideas, find others who enjoy the same things we do, and to write what makes us happy and in turn make others happy with our stories! we as readers can also tell when someone really loves what they’re writing and is having fun doing it. my biggest “tell” is when i’m editing my own chapters. if i find myself grazing through it or waiting for a specific part, i’m almost positive my reader is probably doing the same. i always make sure to sit on it and go back later for editing until i know i’m enjoying it. love what you write first and foremost, because that’s far more appealing than writing for clout or without heart.

one more thing— don’t push yourself to write when you aren’t feeling it. as much as we “can’t wait for the next chapter!!!” people are also very understanding about needing time to recharge the batteries. if you wanna abandon a fic, don’t be scared to do so either. life’s wild, so is writing. sometimes it just isn’t panning out. you may never touch it again, or you might come back in 10 years with a whole new perspective and an idea to finish, and pick up a whole new crowd, and probably still have old readers still hanging around!

okay. sorry for that entire novel— but these were things i didn’t realize before and definitely wanted to enlighten anyone else who’s afraid to give it a go!

🤲 — i would love to share a snippet of a WIP!

here is a v small excerpt from my Kismet Master Chief x Reader series!! (if you missed it, you can read the one shot that inspired it from the masterlist in my description ♡)

———

But the 117 at the far left end caught my attention. I recognized his green armor, the matte black material beneath it. I remembered that particular number becoming quite a threat to my own soldiers at one point in time.

Ghashank’o, demon, we called him. He had quite the reputation.

He would come in handy.

“I remember you, demon,” I allowed a knowing smirk to slide across my lips.

“Caelestis,” 117 spoke with a slight bow of his head, his tone clear and polite despite my name for him. “We come to you with nothing other than peace and respect.”

“I would hope so, seeing as we’re on the same side of the battle this time around.”

“It seems we are,” he responded.

———

*** caelestis is a word i chose for a royal type of title within the covenant realm 🥹

this was fun!! sorry for being so wordy!! 😅

[hapalopus]

PrimeWatch headcanon, because apparently I Am Trash:

Because Prime was pressured by Max to keep all alien-related stuff secret from his parents, and because his life has been threatened so often, he's ironically lived a somewhat sheltered life. He's learned to repress his emotions to better cope with being in mortal danger every other day, which means he's never gotten to emotionally mature. His relationships with Julie and Esther are proof enough of that, I think. He's just never had the opportunity to develop emotionally because suppressing his emotions was literally the only thing keeping him sane. And he's never had any deep or intimate relationships because most people can't handle how immature and inexperienced he is.

NW, on the other hand, has never had to risk his life (until the stuff with the Time Bomb, which barely counts because Prof Paradox was hand-holding him through it). Sure, he's inexperienced with alien stuff, but it doesn't take much more than a day of it before he's ready to join the Plumbers Academy. He's more robust than Prime because he's actually been allowed to grow up and mature at his own pace. He's probably a lot more in touch with his emotions.

So I imagine Prime would be the one most nervous in their relationship. I don't like the idea that anyone "takes charge" in a relationship, because all relationships are about a push-and-pull between two (or more) people. But I do think NW is a lot more forthcoming and that Prime is more hesitant. And I think NW is much quicker to realize what he's feeling.

[ronnieiswriting]

Sweet Dreams- Boxer!Paz x Baker!Freader

Inspired by the events of Foul (following straight after) and the Boxer Din AU created and written by the wonderful, amazing, brilliantly talented @djarinsbeskar! WC: 1,641 Tags: 18+, mentions of smut, its a smutty AU ya'll know the drill, sickeningly sweet fluff I have been driven to write this to deal with all my Paz thots- it will become very clear that I make up for the fact that I can't write hot smut by writing the softest shit. Excuse the lack of editing, also, its quite the mess x

After Din had stormed off with his “not-girlfriend” at Avika, Paz was more than ready to go home right then and there, thoroughly unwanting to deal with the feral frenzy that Din had stirred up in and out the ring. But there was no doubt that there would be more calls for blood. And even if that weren’t the case- even if Din wasn’t on the lists tonight- Paz had to stay.

It was his job after all. And one he enjoyed more often than not.

But when he thought about you, Paz’s priorities became trivial- like dust in the wind.

He hadn’t been dating you for long but he already knew that he was in deep. To Paz, you were the one that hung the stars in the sky; you, a hardworking baker with a smile that made his heart ache and hips that made his cock twitch. It was love, the realest he’d ever found, and every day he swore his gratitude to whatever force had sent him to you.

It was almost a taunt to watch Din leave Avika with his “not-girlfriend” tucked into his side- he’d been disqualified from any more fights that night but he couldn’t look any less content about it- when Paz had to stay behind with nothing but the thoughts of you waiting for him back at his place to keep him company.

To pass a bit of time between the words that were being exchanged between Boba and Din’s opponent’s trainer, Paz checked his phone- his mood instantly brightened when he saw a notification from you.

From: Sugar Cookie💖

Hey babe, I just got home. Did you feed Kitty yet? He’s begging me for food rn but I know he’s probs got a full belly and is just being a little gobble guts lol. sent 4:13am

I gave him a tinyyy bit of kibble to hold him over in case you didn’t. Kitty knows I can’t resist him. Sorry for messaging you at work btw. I know you’re busy xx Love you xx sent 4:19am

Paz checked the current time. 5:30am. Shit. He must’ve missed the buzz of the notification amidst the chaos. Usually, your shifts at the bakery ended closer to midnight but he knew you to be a hard worker, proud of the bakery you ran by yourself, and always likely to get caught up in a task until it was done to a high standard. It was just another thing for Paz to love about you.

His thumbs hovered over the reply box; you had probably already gone to bed, exhausted from your own long day of work. He couldn’t bring himself to disturb you but he pushed past that doubt a second later, typing out a response, softened when he reread your messages about his kitten.

“Vizsla!” Boba’s voice pulled him back into reality. “Are you listening at all? This does concern you.”

Paz managed an easy half-lie, fingers tapping away as he switched contacts and began typing another message, “I’m sending Din a text- trying to figure out what started all this.”

…

When Paz finally did get home it was pushing 8am. Expecting to find you curled up in his bed, comfortably asleep, he was shocked to see you as soon as he opened the door to his apartment. You were propped up against a wall of cushions on his couch with a book resting in your lap and his kitten snoozing on your chest. Head thrown back and peacefully still, he could tell you were fast asleep.

Just the sight of you, the shape of your body outlined by the drape of the blanket that was thrown over you, your features illuminated by the warm light of the lamp, the splay of your hair over the pillows- just looking at you relieved him of so much of the stress he had carried home. His eyes traced over your form, picking out the dip and curve of your hips, and he was struck again with the amount of love he had for you. He still couldn’t believe how quickly he had developed such deep feelings for you but that fact made them no less sincere. The softness and simple intimacy (whether that be primarily sexual or emotional) that your company alone promised never ceased to amaze him.

Trying to be as quiet as he could manage, Paz shut the door behind him, put his backpack down by the door, and crossed the room to kneel down at your side. He considered leaving you there for the rest of the night- if he did he could go take a nap and then come back and wake you up by eating you out before making you breakfast- but ultimately he wanted to, needed to sleep next to you… and he couldn’t manage that on the couch.

He got the best sleep when you stayed the night, your chest made a far better pillow and your arms though relatively small provided him with so much warmth that he would be more than content to sleep without any covers (which happened sometimes when you hoarded the blankets).

Paz let out a silent sigh and reached out to stroke the hair away from your face. You stirred in response and he leaned in to press a kiss to your nose, “Hey, baby, it’s just me.”

You let out a soft moan, eyes scrunching up before blinking open, looking up at him blearily, “Paz~”

His heart could have burst at the sound of your gentle voice laden with sleep. Carefully so as not to disturb your place, Paz eased the book from your fingers. The exhaustion was palpable on your face, the weight of many hours of work pulling at the edges of your eyes. “I thought you’d be in bed by now.”

You eased yourself up on the cushions, one hand bracing the kitten against your chest. “I wanted to stay up for you. I didn’t mean to doze off.” Fuck. Paz was slipping his arms under you faster than you could process and when he stood you were tucked against his chest, kitten, blanket and all. You didn’t even seem bothered by the shift, curling your fingers into the neckline of his shirt. The simple touch drove him wild- the burn of your warm skin against his throat like a blowtorch- and the fact that you seemed oblivious to that only made him ache for you more.

When he had gotten you halfway to the bedroom you spoke again in that voice that threatened sleep, “I would've been able to stay up for you if I didn’t have to spend three hours on a last minute order for a wedding cake.”

Paz opened the door with his hip. “You don’t have to say yes to every job you know.”

“I know- but the couple was so sweet, I couldn’t say no. Plus they paid me double and half on top because of the short notice.”

He laid you out on the bed and replaced the throw blanket with his thick quilt, kitten moving to curl up beside your head on the pillow. The comfortable setting was luring you quickly to sleep again but you were still determined to see him next to you before you shut your eyes again fully. When he didn’t immediately join you, you frowned.

Paz eased the crease in your brow with a kiss there, “Don’t pout, sweetheart. I just gotta take a shower.” He could have skipped one for now, knowing you wouldn’t protest his sweaty skin, but he wanted to be rid of the flecks of blood that had stuck to him, everything that had stuck to him from that ring, before he touched you. You started to protest but Paz silenced you with a searing kiss to your lips, “I won’t be long, I promise.”

If he had thought you would be back asleep by the time he finished he was fooling himself. You scooched backwards on the mattress and petted the space you made in front, “come here.”

Paz went willingly, instantly. He eased back the covers and shuffled in next to you, clad only in a pair of boxers, hands instantly finding your skin to greedily palm the warmth that radiated from you. You cozied up to him just as naturally, arms wrapping around his neck so that he could tuck his face against the crook of your neck. With the covers pulled over the both of you, Paz felt surrounded by your presence and it calmed any remaining stress he had.

Although he had reprimanded Din for taking a violent approach to defending a woman’s honor, Paz couldn’t deny the fact that he’d be just as likely to take a similar action if anyone spoke about you like that- just thinking about those vile, entitled words directed at you made his jaw clench subconsciously. And yet just as soon as that anger stirred up in him, it dissipated again, soothed by the thump of your heart against his chest and the delicate fan of air you puffed over his damp skin.

He was reminded of the first time he told you he loved you; not long ago, in the middle of a good hard fuck when he had you by the hip, lost in the emotion of your eyes to the point where his confession had come out as a babble that became a mantra that he punctuated with each thrust of his hips. You had been on the verge of tears then, overstimulated and shaking, when you returned the words to him from your own lips: I love you too.

“I love you.” Paz whispered.

You snuggled against him tighter, a sleepy sigh escaping you when his hands ran up and down your sides. “I love you too.”

[startanewdream]

James and/or Sirius laughing at Harry for growing (or trying to) grow a beard 🧔

That’s it

That’s my comment

Ahhh, it's midnight for me I work early tomorrow but I just *had* to write something along these lines!

Set during winter break at Year 6 (or my fave pining Harry time). Warning for some slang and also that I edited on the phone

________

“Fuck. No, no, it can’t be… fuck!”

The first slang would have made Sirius stop on his way down the hall, but the tone of desolation that follows it, added by the most hopelessness he has ever heard in Harry's voice, makes him open the door to his godson’s bedroom without waiting for an answer.

(Always risky when it comes to teenagers, but it seems to be an emergency)

The first thing he notices is the rotten smell, then the smoke coming out of a cauldron with the fire beneath still lit; sparkles are coming out of Harry’s wand, which he holds high (underage magic? That he won’t tell), but then Sirius’ gaze falls on Harry’s face and he ignores anything else.

Because on Harry’s face there is something so horrendous that Sirius won’t dare to call it a beard. It’s hair.

Harry’s chin spots the same hair as in his head. It’s a dark messy beard that makes him look as if his hair grew all around his mouth.

“What the hell?”

“Don’t laugh!” Harry tells him immediately, a little bit threatening, but Sirius is truly too shocked to even break a smile. This thing is too ghastly for even him to crack a joke about it. “I… I messed up, okay?”

“Kid, that’s an overstatement,” Sirius says, getting closer to his godson slowly. He touches his beard. “How did you get hair on your chin? That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Ugh.” Harry throws a guilty look to the cauldron on the floor. “It’s Grandpa Monty’s fault.”

“Unless his ghost came back to screw your face, it seems as if you did this to yourself, kid.”

“No, I… Look!” He picks a scroll, waving it in front of Sirius’ nose. “I found his old notes in the attic. Five-Second Eazybeard! I swear I brewed the potion exactly as he wrote.”

Sirius eyes the smelly potion.

“Are you sure it was your granddad’s notes? This doesn’t seem like Monty's style at all.”

“Well… I thought so. He was the potioneer in the family, right? And he invented Sleekeazy!”

“And then he didn’t launch anything else,” Sirius reminds him, looking at the potion instructions.

“Because he was rich enough and didn’t need more money?”

Sirius laughs. “Nah, Monty was curious enough to keep inventing. This was probably an attempt that didn’t work.” Sirius shakes his head, smirking. “Look, I am not trying to pull a Lily here, but trying untested potions? That’s a bad idea, Harry.”

"I haven't had problems so far," Harry mumbles to himself. As Sirius is about to ask him what he means by that, Harry grabs his hand suddenly. "I learned the lesson, ok? Now you gotta help me!"

Sirius lifts an eyebrow. "The only thing that would help you is a scissor."

"I've tried! The bathroom is full of this thing, but it just grew back! I've tried to cut it magically, and it's all the same. You are the adult here, do something!"

"What do you want me to do? I can't do an antidote just looking at the ingredient list! You need Lily, just call her—"

"I…" the part of Harry's face that is not covered by hair flushes. "I can't. She is at the Burrow now, helping Mrs Weasley with the New Year's party."

"Then let's go, I am sure it will be easy for her—"

"No!" Harry looks in panic now, his eyes widened. "She cannot know what… what happened."

"Lily will know as soon as—"

"Not… not Mum, it's… look, that's fine. Mum will be back tomorrow, I will just spend the New Year hiding in my room pretending I don't exist."

"Harry… there's nothing to be embarrassed about. You know, growing hair body is perfectly normal at your age—"

"Ugh, stop teasing me."

"I wish I could, but you look truly horrible." Sirius winks at him, sitting on Harry's bed. "What prompted you to do this?"

Harry's flush intensifies.

"I was trying to grow a beard."

"Oh, really?"

"It's… it's stupid, okay? But Ginny was… I mean, I heard some girls saying that they enjoyed guys with a beard and I can only grow that stupid stubble and—argh—I just thought I could give it a try but now I have hair growing all around my head and—"

"You are babbling, kid, I got it."

"No, you don't." Harry runs his hand through his hair, looking very much like James when he is most nervous. "You get to grow a beard when you want it. You get this whole shining hair. You get women to sigh for you and I… I am just this stupid teenager who can't even have a full beard."

Sirius blinks. "You are worrying way too much, Harry. And, well, if you want to be assured, you are nice—girls have taken a fancy to you, haven't they?"

"That's just the Chosen One thing, it's not really… me."

Sirius fights back a smile. Harry seems really desolate.

"Look, you've grown well. You are still growing. I am sure people notice you. You have your mother's gorgeous eyes and you do look like James—if there is any comfort in this, I remind you that James got Lily to feel attracted to him, so you can't be that bad." Harry frowns, and Sirius isn't sure if it's because he doesn't want to think of their parents being attracted to each other or if because he doesn't trust Lily's opinion on this matter. "I am sure Ginny thinks you are attractive, beard or no beard."

Harry jumps.

"Who said anything—"

"Oh, are we still pretending you don't fancy her?"

Harry looks away. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Yeah, sure. So you don't mind going to the Burrow now and showing up like this?"

"Of course I do! I mean… Ron would tease me."

"Ron."

"And the twins. I mean, look at this!"

"Yeah, I would be upset if they didn't. So many joke opportunities. You are hairy, Harry."

Harry puts his hands in front of his face. Sirius refrains from telling him this doesn't hide his beard at all.

"So… what do I do now?"

"We truly need Lily's help on this… we need to go to the Burrow."

"I can't—"

"Don't worry." Sirius breathes heavily. "Your godfather won't leave you alone on this."

_________

"It was an accident, Lily," Sirius tells her, his hand playing with the hair over his chin. His new grown hair beard reaches his chest and Sirius is almost finishing a braid by now. "I was trying some old potion, and then Harry was close and it just splashed in both of us."

Lily lifts her eyebrows, her eyes moving from Sirius to Harry and then back.

"An accident?" she repeats, incredulous.

"I am so sorry," he says, the portrait of innocence. "Could you help us with an antidote? And before you say anything, I know I shouldn't have tested an unknown potion. But do this for Harry, not for me. Poor kid doesn't deserve to spend the night hiding. It's a New Year's party after all!"

Lily shakes her head, amused.

"Fine, because you asked so eloquently. I will grab my potion kit, a hair inhibitor should be enough."

"You truly are the best, Lily," Sirius tells her, beaming.

Harry waits until his mother is out of the room to let out a relieved breath.

"Thanks so much, Sirius," he says.

Sirius nods, still messing with the hair on his chin. It's so weird and it looks as ghastly in him as it does on Harry.

He doesn't regret applying that potion to his face. His sacrifice worked just as he planned to: with two people having hair growing out of their chins, the attention was divided and with Sirius taking the blame, people felt sorry enough for Harry to not mock him much.

"Hey," they turn around to see Ginny coming closer, holding a tray with some sandwiches for them. "Mum thought you would be hungry while hiding here."

"Thanks," Sirius says, because Harry seems too busy pretending to look outside the window, anything so he can try to avoid Ginny looking at his beard.

Ginny nods at Sirius, but she approaches Harry anyway.

"Your mum is already working on the antidote, don't worry," she tells him gently. "Look, it's not as bad as that time Percy tried to grow a moustache, remember?"

Harry chuckles. "You are so lying."

"I would never," she assures him, voice light. "Look at me."

Harry turns to her almost as if he can't control it. His eyes soften as he gazes upon her, and Sirius is suddenly reminded of how Lily always looks when she sees James.

Ginny raises her hand slowly, giving Harry plenty of time to back away, but he just stays quiet as she touches his beard, her fingers running through it. Sirius suspects Harry isn't even breathing anymore.

"It's soft," she tells Harry and for a moment they just stare at each other. Sirius decides that he is really witnessing a moment that he doesn't want to, but his attempt to quietly leave the room only alerts them to his presence. Ginny's hand falls back as if she got electrocuted. "Anyway, you look better without it."

Harry grimaces. "I guess that stupid stubble is better than this."

"Stupid stubble?" Ginny blinks, evidently surprised. "It's not stupid, I… I mean, girls love it on you."

"They do?"

"Yeah, well, just thinking about your stubble brushing my skin—I mean, their skin, as in other girls' shoulders, or holding your face while… never mind, I just… I just heard it, that's all. You are drawing a lot of attention."

"I know, all this Chosen One stupid thing—"

"It's not it... you are really oblivious to your charm, Harry."

"You think I am charming?" Harry asks, longing evident in his voice now.

"I…" Ginny hesitates, turning away as if she doesn't want to answer this while looking at Harry, and her eyes meet Sirius. He smirks at her, knowing perfectly well her answer. Ginny's face reddens even as her jaw sets in a protective instance. "Yeah, with the stubble. Everyone knows it. It's common knowledge. I… I have to go, I think I heard Mum calling me."

Sirius could point out that Molly didn't call her at all, but he opts for just letting Ginny go, his smirk more than enough to let her know she didn't fool him.

At the other corner of the room, Harry's face is spotting a huge grin, watching the door with a dreamy expression.

"She likes my stubble!" He declares happily. "Oh, I need to take off this stupid long beard now."

Sirius shakes his head at Harry, amused. At least Harry won't ever complain about his inability to grow a beard again.

[laurentspup]

Friends... Is that what we are? (Lamen AU) Part 7.5

Masterlist

Author’s note: 

Hey it’s been so long since I updated this! It still takes a lot of me to think of dialogue and edit the messages, so this isn’t new content. It is, however, what really happened in part 7 (when Damen went to Laurent’s house and read him a book, and kissed his forehead). I always thought this was better in paragraphs than soc med format, so here it is. I actually drafted this before part 7 and I finished it now! 

I hope you all enjoy this new chapter and I promise I will be back with a new update soon. I just have to get used to driving (just passed my license a month ago), college (it’s my last year), and work (first year in person). 

Okay that was a lot, now onto this chapter full of sweetness and pining.

Part 7.5

It’s past midnight, but Laurent still has a big smile on his face since his call with Damen. It has been a few hours after Damen simply talked about his day, about his brother, about the yacht his parents bought because they had too much money and nothing more to spend it on, anything he could think of. Laurent was more than happy to sit there and listen to his voice. He liked the man too much to do anything else about it.

He is currently studying for his upcoming biology exam on Tuesday. It’s not too bad of an exam, but there are endless terms, endless body functions, and he hates that all he can do is memorize everything. It’s not learning but it does result in an A. His phone buzzes beside him, and welcoming any distraction, he picks it up to see a text from Damen. He’s downstairs.

Laurent runs to his window to check if it’s true. Damen, knowing exactly what Laurent does every time he surprises Laurent with a visit, is looking up at him, waving. Damen’s at Laurent’s door. He isn’t supposed to be home yet, back in this city, but here he is, glowing under the porch light, gorgeous in his hoodie, and everything Laurent ever wanted. He’s speaking but Laurent, shaking his head with a look of disbelief, can’t hear him. 

“Wait one sec.” He whispers with a gesture and turns around to go downstairs in a hurry. Before opening the door, he fixes his hair and assumes a relaxed position, as if his heart isn’t pounding miles a minute at the prospect of Damen outside his house, at midnight. As if this doesn’t happen almost everyday.

Once he’s face to face with Damen’s kind eyes, with the smile that can only be read as extremely happy to see him, his heart hammers harder in his chest.

“What are you doing here?” Laurent breathlessly asks him with wide eyes, confusion and excitement evident on his face, try as he might to mask it.

Damen is also breathless, though Laurent can’t think of any reason why.

“I missed you.”

It’s a punch to all the right places in Laurent’s heart. It’s something he can never say to Damen out loud, but he feels it all the same, right down to his bones. It’s something he didn’t know Damen had the nerve to say out loud to him. 

“I mean-” Damen begins and Laurent’s face twitches. Damen must have caught it because he stops. “I mean yeah. I missed you so I drove back since there’s nothing to do at my parent’s anymore. And I got you this.”

Laurent doesn’t see the Target plastic bag in Damen’s hand until he lifts it. 

“It’s from my mom. She insisted I give you a home-cooked meal since she knows you’re mostly alone nowadays. She doesn’t stop hinting at my dad that she wants to go on a European tour too, see Paris- what? Why are you smiling?”

Laurent doesn’t know he’s smiling. He tries to school his expression even though it’s too late.

“Nothing. You’re here. No- it’s just- I don’t know what I’m saying. Come in.” He quickly says the sentences after the other, making Damen laugh and his cheeks flush. “Shut up.”

“I wasn’t saying anything!” Damen enters behind him, shaking with happiness. 

Laurent leads him to the kitchen, so he can put the food in the fridge. It’s too late to eat right now and he has a few more chapters to read.

Damen gives him the plastic bag and sits on the stool by the island. He stares at Laurent as he unpacks the tupperwares, then puts it in the fridge. A comfortable silence surrounds them, but Laurent is too conscious of Damen’s stare. It’s as if he can hear the dangerous somersaults Laurent’s heart was doing. 

“You still studying tonight?” 

“Yeah. Bio’s kicking my ass.”

“I’ll stay up with you. Nik’s not home yet, anyway. He visited his parents too since he was there already.”

“You don’t have to stay up.”

“No, I want-”

“But you can stay.”

“Well, I’m staying up and you can’t stop me.” Damen is right in front of Laurent's face when he turns to face him. He steps back quickly. “Cool?”

“Do whatever you want.” Laurent replies, heart in his throat, rushing to leave the kitchen and get to his room before Damen sees his face turn dangerously red. 

**

Laurent’s head is bent, back to Damen, busy reading the last chapter for his exam. Nothing is entering his brain anymore, but he has to read all of these at least two times to store it in his brain until his test. He’s been yawning since the third paragraph, and he has a massive headache which began in the previous chapter. 

It has been two hours since Laurent started studying and let Damen just be in the background. He would hear Damen’s little laughs, gasps, or groans at whatever game he was playing on his phone. He feels Damen’s gaze on his back, conscious of him being conscious of his every move. It was a normal routine for them at three am, but somehow, today, it was more. 

Laurent yawns again. This chapter about the reproductive system is very intriguing, but exasperating. He would rather do it himself than read about it. If only the man currently on his bed knew how much he has been thinking about him and this. He sighs at the idea, then hears Damen shuffle on his bed.

“I think you need to take a break.”

“Be quiet. I’m studying.”

“Take a break, Laurent. You’ve been reading nonstop for two hours. I got so bored I started counting how much you’re yawning. It's thirty-seven by the way.”

“That’s weird. Stop staring at me while I’m studying.”

“But I like looking at you all concentrated.” 

Laurent ignores him. “Just shut up. I have five more pages to go.”

Damen stands up and takes Laurent’s book. He holds it up above his head. Laurent rolls his eyes but doesn’t stand up.

“Give it back to me right now.” He crosses his arms like a stubborn child.

“Nope. You can try to grab it though.” The real stubborn child says.

“Just because you’re half a foot taller than me, doesn’t mean I can’t reach it.”

“Bet.” 

“I’m not in the mood for your games, Damen.”

“I’m not playing. Take a break.”

“Dude, I wanna sleep too. Just let me finish.”

“Dude?” Damen says, offended. Laurent ignores his tone again. He stares at Damen with eyebrows raised, trying to be intimidating, knowing well that it won’t work on Damen. “Fine. If you go to bed I’ll give it back to you. Even if you look super sleepy.”

“I’m not sleepy.” Just as Laurent finishes the last word, he yawns. 

Damen raises his eyebrows at him. “Thirty-eight.”

“Ha ha. Give me back the book.”

“When you go to bed.”

“I’m not falling for that.”

Damen falls back on Laurent’s bed. Maybe if he offered something else, Laurent might say yes. Maybe Laurent is just tired. 

“You gotta get this book one way or another.” Damen shrugs. 

Laurent stubbornly stays on his chair, staring daggers at Damen. What the hell is his problem? He didn’t ask him to stay up with him, he told him not to!

Laurent watches Damen flip through the book, knowing he hates it because he’s going to lose his spot. Still, he notices how Damen's index finger remains on the page he’s reading. It’s sweet, but Damen still sucks for making him take a break.

“Ugh.” Annoyed, Laurent stands and goes beside his bed. “I’m here. Hand it back.” 

“I have an idea.” Damen answers, not looking at him.

“Damen.” Laurent says, getting more aggravated by the second.

“Look, your eyes are so tired right now.”

“You’re not looking at me, and I can’t see my own eyes.”

Damen ignores him. “Did you even sleep last night?”

Laurent flushes when he remembers the reason why he hasn't slept well at all yet. It’s because of this annoying, clueless brute lying on his bed and he doesn’t even know! All the hours he spends pining for him, yet this is all that ever happens to them. 

“See? You haven’t.” Damen answers, interpreting Laurent’s expression as guilt and embarrassment. “Lie down right now and close your eyes.”

“Stop telling me what to do. I have to finish studying.” 

Laurent can just take the book, but he knows Damen will pull him and force him to lie down. God, if only Damen is going to do that for other reasons, he’d have done it the moment Damen told him to go to bed.

“I’ll read it to you.” 

“You’re going to what?” Laurent asks, genuinely taken aback.

“I'm gonna read to you while you rest your eyes. Saves time. You rest while you still learn. It’s a win-win.” Damen looks at him and smiles expectantly.

“That’s stupid, Damen. It’s five pages long. And it won’t go into my brain.” Laurent is exasperated. He’s losing patience. Hell, he doesn’t even know why he’s still keeping up this conversation. He could kick out Damen anytime. This is his house.

“Yes it would. You take in everything you hear fast.” Laurent opens his mouth to spit a vicious remark but Damen talks first. “Just let me help you. Please.”

Laurent closes his eyes, trying so hard, even though he doesn’t know why, to keep calm. He equally hates and loves Damen for making him take a break and for offering to read five pages of the reproductive system. He grits his teeth because he’s going to say yes, and he’s going to hear Damen talk about sex and sex parts without knowing what it will do to Laurent.

“You’re so annoying.” Laurent sits on the bed. Damen scoots to give him space with a wide smile on his face. “Why can’t I say no to you?” 

“It’s because secretly you really like me.”

He wants to strangle Damen. He wishes he could shake him and look him in the eye and scream “YES I FUCKING DO. DO YOU LIKE ME BACK, ASSHOLE?” Fuck him. It’s true. It’s so true, but Laurent is never going to admit that… first.

“Just read. Annoying prick.” He mumbles and makes himself comfortable on the bed. He makes sure there’s at least a foot gap between him and the idiot beside him.

“You can come closer. I don't bite.” Damen says, staring at Laurent with that glint in his eye, patting the space next to him.

“So fucking bossy.” Laurent says angrily and still scoots over. He’ll get over feeling Damen’s warmth and not being in his arms instead. “If I sleep, you better wake me up or I'm killing you.” 

He huffs as his head hits the soft pillow and his eyes close. It feels good. He thinks he hasn’t closed his eyes to blink in the past hours. 

“Can’t kill me if you’re sleeping.” Damen answers with confidence, settling back on the bed. Laurent feels him move until their shoulders touch, despite the purposeful one inch gap that Laurent left so this won’t happen. Now, he’s really annoyed and conflicted. But he doesn’t move away.

“Give me back the book.” 

“Kidding!”

“Just start.”

“So fucking bossy.” Damen teases. 

Laurent opens his eyes, ready to smack Damen or kick him out or maybe kiss him too, but he opens the book and starts reading loudly. “The penis is part of the male reproductive system. See Damen’s for ref-”

“I’m pretty sure it doesn't say your-” Laurent cuts him off.

“Shh, I’m reading.”

“Read properly, then. And I’m on the top of that page, first paragraph.”

Damen hushes him again. Laurent rolls his eyes but stays quiet. When Damen begins once more, he reads what Laurent told him to. Laurent feels his heart leap at that, desperate to reach out to Damen, put his head on his shoulder and listen from there. But he keeps his hands to himself. 

As Damen reads about functions of the reproductive organs, Laurent soaks in his voice and his warmth. Maybe, this isn’t such a bad idea. He can actually focus better. His eyes don’t hurt as much now, and he can picture the words that Damen reads. His deep voice compels him to listen, and it tugs at his heartstrings at the same time. He can’t even fathom how amazing it is to have Damen read a Biology book to him. 

This can’t be just a friendly gesture, Laurent’s brain nags at him. But he quickly kicks all thoughts of more because he knows Damen. Damen has probably done this with all of his friends. He’s just a nice guy who brings Laurent food and makes him take a break and reads his book for him, and Laurent just happens to like him. There’s nothing more.

He listens to Damen flip to the next page, and shuts off the part of his brain that continues to pine for the man beside him. He’ll take this right now and he’ll think about the repercussions tomorrow. Right now, he’ll let himself feel the warmth and comfort of Damen. Right now, he’ll listen to Damen’s voice, soothing him like a lullaby.

**

Laurent opens his eyes. It’s not dark, his lights are left on, and there’s an unfamiliar warmth beside him, something he’s unaccustomed to when he wakes alone. His head is on a harder surface, not on a pillow but- 

He shifts his eyes to the left and sees Damen's clothed chest. The chest his head is resting on right now. The chest his head rested on while he slept. The chest that’s steadily falling and rising. 

He slept and somehow, he ended up on Damen’s chest. He asked to be woken up if he slept, but he should have never trusted Damen. 

Damen, annoying, clueless Damen, whose clothed chest is under his head right now. 

He wants to move away, badly, but also, he can't. Because he wants to be here too, badly. 

Physically, there were no obstacles stopping Laurent from moving away. Damen’s arms aren’t even enveloping him. Somehow, he slept without touching Laurent, probably because he knows Laurent doesn’t like to be touched without permission. God, why is Damen so?

For a few moments, he imagines this is real. That Damen is his to sleep on, to cuddle with. That if Damen wakes right now, he’ll kiss Laurent sleepily, a lazy smile spreading across his face. So he stays for a few seconds, tempted to move his arm on top of Damen's torso and snuggle closer. He wants this to be what they are. But it’s not.

Before Laurent could do anything that he can’t explain to Damen without spilling his heart open, he sighs and prepares to move away. He no longer wants to hurt and delude himself further. He doesn’t want to think of this as a mistake, but it is. Damen doesn’t feel the same way he does. Damen is his best friend and he should stay that way. 

He moves back a little, but Damen shifts. He abruptly stops moving for a second to not wake him, but Damen puts his arms on top of him and brings him closer. 

“Don’t go.” A sleepy voice whispers as a kiss is pressed on Laurent’s forehead.

Laurent freezes. He must still be dreaming. There’s no way in hell or heaven that Damen just kissed him on the forehead, asleep or not. He swallows, too afraid to look up and find out if Damen did this on purpose or in his dream. In this position, Laurent’s head is even closer to Damen’s clothed chest and he can hear his steady heartbeat, can see the rise and fall of his chest, and can determine Damen isn’t awake at all. 

Laurent is going crazy. That’s it. He needs to leave, right now, but he can't move anymore. What the fuck is Damen doing to him? What the fuck is he dreaming about? Why can’t he just tell Laurent now that he likes him too, that nothing is ever simply friendly between them?

Once more, he tries to leave the embrace but Damen hugs him tighter. 

“Don’t go.” Damen whispers again. “Laurent, I love you.”

Laurent cannot move, cannot breathe, cannot close his eyes. He’s sure now. He’s the one dreaming.  

[undeadasshcle]

selina has never in her life been able to turn down an excuse for an expensive, targeted heist. it’s a little crude, she supposes, considering all the work the british government put in to keep this ring there. but maybe they should have guarded it better if they wanted it so bad.

still, she smiles as she hands over the bag with two wrapped boxes. one contains the ring accompanied by a pamphlet from the austen museum as well as a copy of the placard for the ring in case jason doesn’t know what it is. the other contains a set of materials for annotating - nice highlighters with the clear nib to see where you’re placing the top. some clear sticky notes as well as ones in nice pastel shades. then, a can of archival varnish to seal the annotations without damaging the paper. and, of course, and handful of her favorite pens with archival quality ink. what can she say, she knows her way around taking care of precious items.

the bag is handed over with little fanfare, just a smile. “a little bat tells me it’s your birthday.” she’s quite proud of the little gift, she must say. “sorry to say i can’t stick around. don’t do anything i wouldn’t.” delivered with a wink and a laugh. “happy birthday, jason.”

    it’s just after midnight and the city is still alive. as usual. this high up the cars are just tiny blurs, the people ants. he’s about as far up as he can get unless he goes to scale wayne tower. which he doesn’t want to do. he’s hiding in the most obvious spot, but that does tend to throw people off.

   he sits with one leg to his chest and the other dangling off the ledge. leaning on the gargoyle situated next to him. just like back when he was a kid. though he used to come up here when he was upset. far from it today. just not in the mood for much attention.

   has just lit a cigarette when he hears it. someone approaching. skilled. almost silent. not long after she’s in sight. selina kyle, catwoman, his dad’s current girlfriend. he’s about to say something when hoists herself up, but she smiles and hands a bag over. the only thought that springs to mind is maybe she’s had a change of heart?? stopped a robber and is now landing the job of returning to items onto jason. fantastic.

   “uh. what are-??” it’s answered before he can ask, eyes widening a little in surprise. of course bruce told her. maybe helped her pick something too. gaze lands on the bag in his hand, cigarette in the other temporarily forgotten. again, before he can say anything (she’s great at this), she’s flipping off ledge. sticks the landing with grace, but it was quite the drop. he’s impressed.

   “hey!!” calls after her, confusion lacing his words. “thanks?!” not sure what exactly he’s thankful for yet, but he supposes it was nice of her either way. she raises her hand to let him know she heard. watches her jump from roof to roof before vanishing down into some alley. what the fuck just happened to me??

   cigarette returns to his lips. one puff before he grinds it out on the stone next to his leg. time to inspect. two boxes, carefully wrapped. takes the box on top first and unwraps it slowly, trying not to rip the paper. a little challenge he used to do as a kid. would typically fail back then, but he’s perfected it. though it helps when it’s wrapped so well.

   the first box is an absolute dream. such pretty highlighters, more pens for his collection, new colour sticky notes and clear ones!! gotta love those. the varnish is a good idea. something he hadn’t tried before, but should get in the habit of if he wants to annotate any rarer editions. probably frowned upon, but they’re his books.

   what could even be in the second box?? this is all he needs. he’s itching to ditch the rest of his shift and go start on a new book. with the same level of care as the first, he peels off the tape and slowly unwraps the box. inside is another well secured, smaller box. black and old with a gold clasp keeping it shut. raises an eyebrow at it. jewellery isn’t really his thing but it is what selina is known for. plucks the little box from its hold and pushes the clasp to one side. inside, a bright turquoise stone, secured by a gold band. not his colour. t west goldsmith is printed on the fabric on the inside of the lid... dark eyes narrow. it looks familiar somehow. the name on the pamphlet... it all connects like a quick click of fingers. did she... go to all the way to chawton?? did she really steal his favourite author’s ring from the british government?? that was definitely not a suggestion from bruce. selina kyle is officially bruce’s coolest girlfriend yet.

   “holy-” focus goes back to the ring, lips pulling into a wide grin. “fuck.”

birthday asks!! || accepting 16/08 || @wingingthenight

[hot-wiings]

The One Where Class 3A Place A Bet On The Relationship Status Of Their Residential Introverts, Desperate For Money, Mirio And Nejire Bet They Can Get Tamaki And [Y/N] Together Before Christmas Hits.

Edited: 12-27-2020

December, 19th.

You tried to contain your smile as you walked beside Tamaki Amajiki, your boyfriend, towards class 3-A. It was rare that you got a moment alone. Being best friends with not one, but two of the most extroverted and hyper kids in your class meant solitude and peace was hard to come by. Your hands grazed each other and you knew there were light blushes on both your faces. Despite having been together for a year now, touching in public would always bring a blush to your face and a rush to your heart, although, the raging blushes weren't as deep as they were a year ago. You'd gotten more comfortable now. 

"Are you still coming over to my dorm tonight? For uh, date night?"

"Depends, is Mirio gonna phase into your room again?"

A blush spread across Tamaki's face as he remembered the incident that occurred last week. Mirio had phased into Tamaki's room and found you cuddling together. The problem was that you and Takami didn't have a public relationship. When you first got together the pressure felt high and you were both nervous to be a couple around your rambunctious class, keeping to a secret felt better, being together in secret felt more natural and lighthearted. Despite being together a year now, despite having figured out how to navigate your relationship, despite finding normality and familiarity in each other, you had yet to tell your friends. You just weren't ready to give up your secret. It was such a comprising position for two friends to be found in and while luckily you were able to play it off like you just fell asleep paying videogames, you were both nervous, paranoid, and mostly, embarrassed from almost getting caught. 

"He's patrolling with Sir Night Eye tonight."

Tamaki stopped walking once you reached the classroom door and did a quick look-see up and down the halls. They were completely barren and the idea that your entire class was just behind one door was both riveting and daunting. Tamaki softly cupped your cheeks and pressed his lips against yours. 

"Just you and me tonight. I'll bring the food, you can bring the movie."

"Can it be romantic and sappy?"

"Whatever movie you want I'll enjoy."

You played with Tamaki's tie as you let your head roll against the wall, a smile tugged your lips up. You really lucked out with him—but he would say the same thing about you.

"How about the note-hey."

You were pulled out of your thoughts as you heard your name being said. Immediately you dropped your hands from Tamaki, straightened yourself up and you looked down the halls for someone with red-tinted cheeks. Had you been caught? There was no one there.

"What is it?"

"I heard my name. Uck. This quirk is a blessing and a curse."

Your quirk was wolfism, probably what attracted Tamaki to you in the first place. It caused you to take on the complete form of a wolf under the full moon, however, on normal days you could take on wolf attributes. When you get extremely angry or tried to 'wolf out' as Nejire would call it, you could get long nails, and take on the appearance of a werewolf depending on how far you tried wolfing out. The real gem to your quirk was other wolf attributes you could use. Between seeing in the dark and a better sense of smell, enhanced hearing was amongst it.

You pressed your ear against the door to class 3-A to hear why your name was being said. You could recognize the voice of your classmates, and among those voices were Mirio and Nejire.

"[Y/N] and Tamaki? They're totally gonna end up together."

"No way! They're too shy for their own good. Amajiki would rather die than ask her out."

"I have to agree with [Student Name #1]. Don't get me wrong, Amajiki is a great guy, he's a great hero, but when it comes to girls—especially girls as cute as that—he's complete rubbish."

"Exactly, and [Y/N]... She could probably take down any villain, and she's hot as fuck, but if she had to ask Amajiki out... She'd piss herself."

You pull your ear off the wall briefly. Very brief, and very quick so you could get back to listening. You only grabbed pulled away to grab Tamaki's arm to get his attention urgently, though, it had already been on you.

"They're talking about us. Said were too shy to get together."

With Tamaki's attention on you, waiting for more, and your ear to the wall listening in, you were both anxious to hear more. Mirio's voice came into the mix.

"You gotta give my buddy a little more credit. Last week I saw them cuddling, intimately."

Nejires voice soon followed, hyper and excited on the prospect of you and Tamaki finally getting together.

"I bet if we just gave them a little push they would get together. Just a tiny, itsy, little push."

"Shy as they are? Impossible. We'll all be pros once [L/N] and Amajiki ever romantically get together."

You pulled away, a small smile and chuckle emitting from your face as you looked at your boyfriend.

"We'll be pro heroes by the time we get together."

"Maybe we should come clean... It has been a year."

You hummed in response as you put your ear back to the wall, considering the option. It would be nice. You could finally freely go on dates, you'd have to stop worrying about them finding out, and you could even hold hands in public. Mirio's voice was the next one you heard, and Nejire's was eager to follow.

"Let's wager a bet then."

"What kind of bet?"

"Well, Nejire and I owe you that money. If we can get [L/N] and Amajiki together by Christmas then you forgive our debt."

"Sound fair, but you have a week until Christmas."

"Me and Mirio have this in the bag. Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy."

"Alright, you have until midnight of Christmas Eve to get them together, not a minute later. We want picture proof too."

"Deal."

You pulled back with a scowl on your face and turned to Tamaki with crossed arms and a pout.

"What's wrong? What'd they say?"

"They're betting on us! On our relationship. If they can get us together by midnight, Christmas eve, then the money they borrowed for Mirio's PS5 will be forgiven."

Tamaki looked up and down the halls briefly before rubbing his hands up and down your arms in comfort. It was upsetting to the both of you that they were betting on you both. Did they think you were that hopeless? So hopeless and unable to get together on your own that they were able to make a quick buck off of you?

"What happens if they lose the bet?"

"Then the money gets doubled. They're betting a lot of money on us. Do they think we're that bad? Well they're wrong! Cause' here we are."

Tamaki pulled away from you as he spotted your teacher coming down the hall, rushing to get to class. He gave you a shy, coy smile as he grabbed your hand to pull you with him to class.

"I guess we'll have to make sure they lose their bet then. After all, they don't know we know."

You walked into the classroom together, pretending you hadn't heard anything of their little bet. Tamaki tugged you closer than usual, not enough to make it seem like you were in a relationship, but enough to be questionable. You had a feeling Tamaki had a plan in motion, and you were already catching on.

"Tamaki buddy! [Y/N]! We were just talking about you both."

You and Tamaki stopped from heading to your desks to talk to Mirio and Nejire who were facing you with grins on their faces.

"Oh? Really?"

"Yes, Mirio was just talking about this new movie that came out! We should all go see it together, and get something to eat too."

"That-that sounds good."

"Great! We'll go on the twenty-first, does that work out?"

You both threw your friends perfect smiles and nodded before turning away and moving to the back of the class where your desks were. They were going to lose the bet, that you were sure of.

December, 21st.

"What's our plan?"

"It's simple really. We're gonna act super cuddly. We're gonna let them think their plan is working, until the end of their bet hits, and evidently, it didn't work and they're stuck paying double the owed about of a play station five."

"I-uh, I'm not sure I can go through with this plan... Cuddly? In public? With everyone watching?"

Tamaki fiddled both his hands and looked at his feet nervously. The idea was scary. Getting intimate and close when there was a chance you could get caught was one thing, but holding hands and being cute and cuddly with the intent to be seen was another thing. It was daunting and scary. 

"I know, public affection... It's scary... But just think of it like it's just us alone. It's just me, no one else, and if you get anxious I'll be there to calm you down."

"Okay, you'll be there... We've got this."

Tamaki placed a quick kiss on your cheek before going over to his closet. He dug through his laundry until he found what he was looking for, one of his sweatshirts. It was one of his favorites, he wore it often and there was no way your friends would mistake who's it was. He walked back over to you, a budding embarrassed and happy feeling coursed through his chest at the idea of you wearing his hoodie. 

"If our objective is to flirt and act cute, then you should wear my sweater... Please?"

"Great idea, this is really gonna push them over the edge. That's smart. They're gonna lose this bet so hard."

Tamaki had a blush reddening his cheeks at your burst of affirmation that he'd done a good job. You and he looped your arms together before walking out of his dorm room and down to the main entrance of the dorms. Nejire and Mirio were waiting for you, and you smiled at them as you moved your looped arms to linked hands instead. You swung them back and forth as you walked to make it catch their attention.

"So... What movie are we seeing?"

"That new one. The romantic one. It's so romantic, and Christmas themed."

"Nejire, you gotta be more specific, that describes a lot of movies."

"The one about the best friend's who fall in love. You'll love it, it was practically made for you."

You knew Nejire would slip up like this. She got too excited about stuff and made little mistakes. She was a bad secret keeper, you loved her dearly but she was not your go-to person when you had a secret. Another part of your plan was to torment Nejire and Mirio the entire time. They didn't know that you knew, and you knew just what buttons to push to either get them to confess or paranoid enough to think that you knew and keep them on edge.

"Oh? You think so? Why?"

Mirio shot Nejire a look as if to say be more careful. His bank account was riding on this bet. He didn't want to pay back the money for the play station console, let alone have it doubled. He was confident he and her could pull this off, provided you didn't know. Nejire scratched the back of her head and laughed it off.

"Oh, come on! You can't tell me you've never thought of our little Sun Eater like that? Everyone's thought of their best friend romantically at least twice! I mean look at me and Mir'. We were best friends and now we're dating."

Nejire was smooth with her words but had Mirio not shot her a look, you were positive she would've slipped up about the bet. Instead, she fixed her words and hinted at feelings between you and Tamaki but making it seem like she was referring to herself.

"I and Tamaki are just friends."

Tamaki moved his hand from inside yours and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. He squeezed your shoulder with his hand to help stop his shaky hand as you and him looked at each other briefly. He was nervous, you could tell as he looked down at you and spoke out his words.

"Best friends."

"Mm. The bestest."

You leaned your head against Tamaki as you uttered your words. You saw how Mirio looked back at you and then nudged Nejire in the side so she could not so discreetly steal a look at you and Tamaki. You smiled, just fakely playing into their plans of getting you and Tamaki together. It was a short walk, and before long Tamaki was pulling you into the movie theater, making sure to open the door for you to which Mirio nodded approvingly as he whispered into Nejire's ear. He was proud his friend was acting like a gentleman, his plan was going to go so well, at least, that's what they thought.

You stood in line together, Tamaki and you never leaving each other's side. Occasionally Tamaki would move his hand from your shoulder to your hair, playing with it nervously, a habit he picked from cuddling with you late at night. Mirio paid for Nejire's ticket, courtesy of her being his girlfriend and they stood off to the side while they waited for you both to pay for your tickets.

"Hi, um, can we have two kid tickets for 'A Christmas kiss', a large dr-pepper, and a large popcorn?"

The man behind the counter rang you up and eyed you warily, trying to decide if he really should run you up as a child or adult–decidedly, he didn't make enough money to care how old you were. With a tired sigh, he gave you your total.

"That'll be twenty-one, nineteen."

You went to pull out your wallet from your purse, where you had hidden and concealed candy from the dollar store, but Tamaki had already beaten you to it and paid for you using MooglePay. You turned to him, a grateful smile on your face. You knew Mirio and Nejire were watching so you took a deep breath, leaned up on your tiptoes, and pressed a kiss against his cheek. You stood back down on flat feet, and with blushes on both of your faces, you carried your popcorn and pop to meet Mirio and Nejire. That was your first kiss in public, at least in public when people were looking.

"Thanks for paying Tama'. You're the best."

You made sure to say the words out loud in front of Nejire and Mirio, planting the seeds of hope and romance in their pretty little heads as blushes remained on your faces. You walked down to your designated theater room, devious plans in your heads. You both sat in the back, next to each other and secluded from other people whereas Nejire and Mirio sat in the middle. Throughout the entire hour, they kept throwing you and Tamaki not so discreet looks, trying to see how cuddly you were acting.

"Do you think they know how obvious they are?"

"Mirio's always been obvious like that. He wouldn't know discreet if it hit him."

Tamaki wrapped his arm over your shoulder and you leaned your head against his chest as he saw Mirio take another look. He had a beaming smile, he thought his and Nejire's plan to get you together was working out. As the credits rolled on the screen and the dimmed lights brightened, Nejire and Mirio got a better view of you both. You fed Tamaki a piece of popcorn, knowing they were watching you both intensely.

You and Tamaki fell into a peaceful order as he fed you a piece in response. It was normal, normal, and natural to be this way with him. This was how you acted together in the confines of your bedroom, the only difference was that you were out in public. Forgetting they were even there, Tamaki cupped your cheeks and pressed a deep kiss against your lips. Naturally, like clockwork, your body responded by deepening it and moving your lips back in sync.

"Oh my gosh, you kissed! Ahh, it's so romantic, are you gonna date now?"

"Neji' calm down, it's their first kiss."

You and Tamaki abruptly pulled away. You didn't know what kind of shows Mirio watched, but that was not what a first kiss looked like. That was what two lovers who forgot that they were out in public looked like. You and Tamaki stood up and laughed, lacing fingers.

"I mean... If Tamaki asked me out, I wouldn't stop him."

"I– If [Y/N] wants to date me. I mean, [Y/N], will you go out with me."

"I'd like that."

This was not how your plan was supposed to go.

December, 22nd.

You paced back in forth in your dorm room, your feet making a constant flow of steps and probably annoying the student living on the floor below you. It wasn't your fault, not really. This was one of the attributes you got from your wolfism quirk. It was in your doggy nature to pace when you got anxious and upset. It was biological. Your boyfriend sat on your bed, a nervous frown played on his face as he ran his shaky hands through his hair. He wasn't sure if he should comfort and soothe you or continue to silently wallow in self-pity.

"They didn't even do anything, they just took us to a romantic movie. They didn't even pay."

"I'm sorry, did I-Uhm, did I ruin the plan by kissing you?"

You momentarily stopped your pacing back and forth to stand and snap your head over in your boyfriend's direction. Anyone else would have found your actions weird. The way you stopped so fast and snapped your head over to him at an insane pace would've been creepy. Again, it was just biological reflexes due to your quirk. If he was holding a piece of bacon you would've turned quicker. 

"No."

You walked over to your boyfriend and straddled him on the bed. It wasn't sexual or sensual, your quirk was just taking over, your deep-rooted wolfy attributes. Your instinct was just to comfort your mate. He was stressed, anxious, and worried, and you could sense all of those feelings. You pulled his hands out of his hair and laced your fingers through his. They were still shaky as you smiled down at him. 

"No, it's not your fault. Never your fault. You just kissed me, we both got carried away."

"But we lost the bet, I should've paid more attention to them. I should've watched to see if they were looking."

"Uh-uh. None of that negativity. We lost the battle, not the war."

You rolled off of Tamaki, both worried you were crushing him and bashful to be in such a compromising position now that you'd come down from the primal wolfy high. 

"The conditions to the bet are that we have to kiss and say were together to [Student A] and [Student B] by midnight of the twenty-fourth. That's three days away. We're gonna invite Mirio and Nejire over, and we're gonna act like the cutest couple ever. Then tomorrow, we'll stage a huge breakup fight."

"That's a really good plan."

"Of course it is, I have the best plans."

Tamaki cupped your cheeks by hooking his slender fingers under your ears and pressed a quick kiss against the skin in between your eyebrow and let his head rest there. 

"They'll think they've got the bet in the bag, and then we'll rip it away."

"I like it. It's sneaky, and it just might work."

You pulled out your phone and punched in the password before pulling up the group chat Nejire and Mirio were in with you and Tamaki.

[Y/N]: Do you guys wanna come over to my dorm? 👉👈 me and tamaki want to thank you for going out with us. It was rly, enlightening.

Nejire Hado: Yes!! We'd love too!!!! Does this mean your dating now?!!!

You locked and put your phone back into your pocket knowing answering Nejire would be futile because she would just ask more questions once she got inside your dorm. You nuzzled yourself into Tamaki, both cuddling and scenting him–not that he'd ever know that's what you were doing.

"Can you give me a hickey?"

"What... What?"

"A hickey. I want a hickey. Think about it, if Nejire and Mirio saw it, they'd be so happy thinking they're gonna win."

"They're on their way up here though..."

Your hands gripped the sides of Tamaki's shirt, pulling him closer to you and your nesting head.

"Even better, we'll get to avoid the 'are you a couple' questions."

"Fine... Just-just doesn't be too loud, I don't want anyone hearing."

Tamaki pulled down the collar of your shirt to get to work on marking up your skin. He didn't know what was going on with you. Lately, you'd been clingier, rubbing on him and getting freeskier. Hornier, he supposed, regardless he gave in to your whims. He pulled you closer and latched his mouth to your skin, sucking, tugging, and pulling to make a bruised mark. The door burst open and he was working and a crimson blush covered both of your faces.

"Nuh- Nejire! I- I told you to stop barging in my room like that."

"Sorry [Y/N] but I–Oh Mirio! I told you they were totally getting it on."

"Well, yeah... He's my, uhm, my boyfriend now."

December, 23rd.

Tamaki Amajiki paced around his bedroom floor. He fiddled with his hands as he tried to go over your plan in his head, carefully going over every detail, and every word you spoke out to him. It was the day of your fake fight where you would 'break up', the night before Christmas Eve to spring Nejire and Mirio into panic mode.

"I- I don't think I can pull this off."

"You can do it."

You walked over to Tamaki and wrapped your arms around him from behind. You rested your head on his back, reassuring him it would be okay, and reassuring him he would do good. It brought a crimson blush to his face, but regardless he was very nervous.

"What if I mess up?"

"You're gonna do good, okay? None of what we're saying is real, alright? It's fake. We're just convincing Mirio and Nejire, and it doesn't affect what I think about you. I'll even sneak over tonight to see you."

"Okay. Okay, do you wanna go over some lines?"

"Nope, I've got thick skin, besides Nejire and Mirio are on their way up and I don't want them overhearing our rehearsal."

Tamaki pulled out of your iron-clad grip and turned around to kiss your forehead tenderly, enjoying the soft space of skin.

"I love you alright? No matter what I say, it's fake."

"I know, I love you too. Do you want a codeword, in case we're too harsh? Something to say 'hey, dial it back'. Like, uhm, squid? I think I could work that into an argument."

You pressed a quick kiss against Tamaki's lips. You would have liked to deepen and further it along but you heard a knock on the door. You assumed this was to give you privacy and make you and Tamaki more comfortable in hopes of furthering your relationship. You and Tamaki broke apart and got ready to start screaming at each other once they walked in. Mirio and Nejire came in after giving you and Tamaki a moment in case you were fornicating in some type of way.

"I can't believe you."

"Whoa, what happened?"

Mirio was quick to try and intervene. He had rarely seen Tamaki sound so upset and get worked up. It was alarming that you were the person that he had it directed at. Mirio had never seen Tamaki look at someone with as much love as he did with you. Tamaki would move mountains for you, and Mirio saw it. That was why he originally took the bet in the first place.

"I took [Y/N] out for breakfast this morning, and she was basically flirting with the server."

You had to fight off the smile on your face as Tamaki came up with the lie so quickly. You had been inside his dorm all morning playing video games together and eating junk food, a chip bag hidden half underneath the bed was there as proof. Nejire started to bite her thumb nail as she watched Tamaki get upset. Truthfully, she and Mirio had planned to slip special animal meat in his food after the movie a couple of nights ago but decided against it once you guys kissed. They wanted to get him territorial and jealous over you, clearly, that would've backfired.

"I wasn't flirting with him! All I did was say thanks and asked for a refill."

"Yeah, you were really thirsty for him, weren't you?"

"Maybe I wouldn't be so thirsty if my own boyfriend felt comfortable kissing me in public."

You had to stifle a laugh, you wanted to giggle so hard. None of this was true, but Mirio and Nejire were eating it up like butter. Your performance was so good, and Tamaki was doing so great.

"Maybe I'd be more comfortable kissing you if you didn't wolf out and get so possessive all the time."

You crossed your arms and tried to compose yourself as tears flooded to your eyes. That last comment hurt. It really hurt. You were really insecure about it and scared that your wolfism would affect your relationship. Worried you'd get too possessive and jealous, and worried that he'd find your scenting on him and habits weird. You start sniffling as the tears start to come down faster. You knew he didn't mean it. It's fake. It's fake fight, but hearing him say it felt so real.

This was your own idea, why were you being such a baby?

"Well, maybe I don't want to be with a mean squid face. Here's your sweater back, we're over!"

You ripped his sweatshirt off of your body, despite not really wanting to. It was a comfort item for you. Smelling his residue scent on things he's previously worn really brought warmth and comfort in you. On days you were particularly sad, and hurt, on days you felt pure anxiety and fear, having a piece of him with you helped. It helped you, but you still had to put on a show for Mirio and Nejire.

"Give that back to Squidward for me, will you?"

You tossed the sweater at Mirio who easily caught it with a worried expression. Although the bet was at stake here, he was worried for you as he saw hot tears make their way down your face. You took off out of Tamaki's room, making a dramatic exit with Nejire following hot on your tail.

You wanted to win the bet–or rather have your friends lose the bet since you never made the bet, but it hurt so much it didn't even matter.

December 24th, Christmas Eve.

The following day you and Tamaki kept a distance as promised. It was part of the plan. Stay separate until after midnight, then, and only then would you reveal your relationship. You had both mutually promised to keep your distance, but it hurt you both. You hadn't shown up at Tamaki's dorm that night like you promised you would. He knew that he had taken it too far after you called him a squid, but he hadn't meant to. He didn't think you would take such offense to it, he hadn't known how sensitive you were about it. To put it plainly Tamaki felt horrible. He was trying to figure out a way he could fix this but he kept coming up empty. How was he supposed to fix it when you were supposed to be ignoring each other?

On the other hand, you felt just as horrible as Tamaki did. You felt embarrassed and ashamed for being so sensitive and emotional. You didn't know what came over you. You wanted to blame it on the wolf aspect of yourself, but that only made you feel worse. You couldn't help but nibble on your lips evIry time you caught Tamaki looking over at you. On one hand, you were happy he was looking at you. You were worried you upset him with your little outburst and ruined things, this gave you hope and a sense of relief. On the other hand, you still wanted to win this bet and Nejire was following you around trying to get you to talk to Tamaki, whereas Mirio was doing the same for his friend. You both didn't want to talk, embarrassed about how things went, worried they'd messed things up on their end. 

"I see you watching him, why don't you just go talk to him."

"It's not that simple Nejire, you wouldn't understand. You and Mirio have had a long picture-perfect relationship, you're not Tamaki and me."

It wasn't like other times Nejire gave you advice. Other times you could give it to her straight and she'd give you the best input, this time you were secretly trying to foil her and Mirios plans. You couldn't just say, it was a fake fight and I overreacted. Or alternatively, it was a fake fight but his words sounded sincere, what if he really doesn't want me. You couldn't be honest with her. Especially not now, knowing she was going to take every little thing to Mirio, who inevitably, would tell Tamaki.

"So make me understand. Try to get me to understand you. You and Tamaki are perfect for each other!"

"No, we aren't!"

Your words came out in a small yell, and most people around could probably have heard what you said. You backtracked your words, embarrassed as you crossed your arms and hugged them to your chest. It was eleven-fifty, and Nejire had ten minutes for her and Mirio to get you and Tamaki together, but at this point, she didn't care. Ten minutes wasn't long enough, she had accepted defeat unlike Mirio, all she could do now was remorsefully wish with you and Tamaki were a couple. She thought you were both blind, she had never seen two people more fitting and perfect for each other. 

"I'm sorry for yelling, but he doesn't like my wolfism. You heard him, and that's not- that's not something I can change about myself. It's biological..."

"[Y/N] I-"

"You know [L/N], if Amajiki isn't interested in you anymore I wouldn't mind taking you out."

Some random guy had cut into your conversation with Nejire. You hadn't seen him here before, he looked young, most likely a first-year student. You wondered how he even got in there, it was a Christmas party at the class 3-A dorms, intended only for third-year students. The proposition was completely preposterous. You and Tamaki weren't completely over. All he had done was insult you, it was a fake insult, and while you were simply positive he was going to break up with you, you weren't going to flirt with another guy just yet, and definitely not a first year. 

"I- uhm... well- I..."

"I think what my shy friend is trying to say here is no. She's not interested, trust me."

"Awe c'mon!"

The guy leaned back against the food table he was standing in front of. You tried not to scrunch your face up in want and desire. He was leaning into a meat tray. A meat tray. The delectable treat looked so scrumptious, sausage, and cheese so perfectly put out for display. He shouldn't be leaning so hard, he'll ruin it. You wanted to devour it in an instant. Truthfully that was where your mind went when you stuttered out your reply and Nejire had to come to your rescue. You didn't care for the first year, you just wanted the meat tray. 

It didn't appear that way to Tamaki. Watching from the distance all he saw was you staring over at that guy with such a distinct look in your eyes. A look of wanting and hunger. He knew he messed up by insulting your quirk. He didn't know you'd get so hurt, but he should've thought about that first. If you had insulted his quirk like that, he'd be upset. Tamaki slowly walked forward, closer and closer trying to hear what the young first-year student was saying to you. 

"You'd love going out with me. I'd appreciate every part of you and your body."

"Oh, um... Look, I'm sure you're a nice guy and all... But like my friend said, I'm, um, I'm just not that interested right now."

"I see the way you're looking at me, quit playing hard to get. I bet your quirk really gets you going in bed."

You took a step back as the guy took a step forward. You should have told him off, you should have handled the situation better. You should have asserted yourself from the beginning instead of letting Nejire handle it, you should have shown you weren't a pushover, maybe then the guy would've gotten the point. You took more steps backward, embarrassed, and stunned at what he was implying to you. You truly just wanted the meat platter he was in front of. As the guy was about to touch you, Nejire was about to step forward and intervene when Tamaki jumped into the equation. Tamaki grabbed the guy's wrist before he could touch your hip and pushed his wrist into his body. The boy cowered back and cradled his arm from the strength Tamaki had used to squeeze him and make him cower back. 

"That- uhm, that wasn't polite. She said she wasn't interested and when a girl says no, she means no. I suggest you leave before every third-year female in this room decides to tell you that themselves." 

"Right... um right. Sorry."

The boy mumbles out a bad apology lowly before he quickly made his way out of the building. Tamaki didn't see the boy going very far in the hero course. He turned to you and hesitantly rubbed his hand up and down your arm, unsure if you would welcome his touch. 

"Are you okay?"

"It's fine, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry for upsetting you yesterday, I didn't mean to, please don't break up with me."

Part of your lip quipped up into a smile at how sweet Tamaki was acting. He didn't do anything wrong. He didn't need to apologize. It was you, all you.

"Tamaki... you don't need to apologize, I overreacted. The truth is... I'm really insecure about my quirk. I- my wolfism makes me act funny. When I go through my, you know, I react more like a dog going through heat. I get really clingy, and horny, and jealous, which can be a big turn off to some people. In all honesty, I thought you were going to break up with me."

"No, god no."

He rushed his words out as he pulled you into his arms. His hands rubbed up and down your back, trying to soothe you knowing you were on the verge of tears. He pulled back and pressed a kiss against your head. His soft lips felt good.

"I'm never breaking up with you, you're it for me. Heart, soul, and life. I don't care if your clingy, or horny, or jealous, because you'll be mine, and I'll be yours."

A smile warmed your face as your hands came up and caressed Tamaki's suit. You gripped the sides of the dress jacket and pulled him down a few inches to press a kiss against his lips. You both smiled into it, happy to feel each other again, even if it was in public. 

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas... Can we deal with Mirio and Nejire later? I just wanna cuddle you right now."

"Yes, no, yes. We can cuddle but you have to help me sneak the meat platter out of here."

Tamaki placed another soft kiss on you, this time your lips, and he smiled down at you before pulling you into the direction of the meat platter. You were special to him, so even with everyone's eyes on him and you, class 3-A's resident shy students, Tamaki started piling meat into napkins and fitting them inside his pocket. If you wanted a meat platter, then you deserved a meat platter. tI didn't matter who was watching, not when it was you with him.

[thebussynotes]

Edit : I started this last night and finished it today, this is the longer version of the previous post under this one*

Ugh, I’m having midnight thoughts and I feel myself wanting to cry every second so imma just share

(Post Byers Move)

I personally feel like Argyle plays guitar in his free time. He was the guitarist, Heather was the singer and Billy was the drummer. They always performed in Argyles house, they enjoyed themselves and after they would go to the beach and collect seashells or just mess around. Those were the good times. So imagine him walking around in Lenora, it was almost the end of fall, around December seeing none other than Neil Hargrove strolling past.

He was quite hesitant to go up to him because the last time he talked to him they ended in bad terms…not that they were in good terms in any way… he goes up to him and says hello, Neil looks confused at first but then it clicks to him at some point and a look of disgust creeps up his face. Argyle wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible so he quickly shot out the question, “is Bil-”… he was cut off, Neil looked at him straight in the face and spit out the news “he’s fucking dead” “w…wha?…huh?!” “He’s.fucking.dead. Don’t makes me repeat myself….” “dead?…hes…h-hes?…no…no…what did you do? What did you do?!” He assumed it was Neil’s fault, he assumed that Neil finally beat his best friend to death but Neil replied, “I have nothing to do with it, I don’t even know how he died…if you want to see him, I suggest you don’t, it will just be a waste…” “I don’t believe you!!!” “Stop your fucking yelling, and fine you don’t believe me but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s dead…now have a good life, I’m off…” he walks away into the endless road and Argyle is left shocked and he feels himself starting to shake “I…I can’t believe this…” he just couldn’t…a few days later he sets up a flight to go to Indiana, get driven to Hawkins and visit the cemetery Billy was buried at. He packs his things, notably his guitar and surf board… Jonathan stopped by his house the day before he left, Jonathan noticed he was packing a bit(he wasn’t gonna take much over to Hawkins since he was going to stay there for at least 5 days), he asks where he was going and Argyle excused it as him going to visit his other family members that were still currently in Mexico, Jonathan didn’t think much of it and gave him the okay.

Time skip to when he arrives to Hawkins, it’s probably really late so he stays at the local hotel. It’s very quiet in Hawkins, he feels homesick considering he can’t hear the crash of waves like he usually could in Cali, but he will only stay here for a few days. Argyle is still very much in denial and that denial has kept him up all night. In the morning, he gets ready to visit the graveyard, the only thing he takes is his guitar, he goes downstairs after safely locking his hotel door, (I’m not really sure how Taxi services worked in the 80s so please correct me) he whistles for a taxi. It’s doesn’t take long before a Taxi appears before him, he tells the driver to drive to the local cemetery. He makes it to the cemetery a few minutes later, it felt like forever but he was finally there, he slightly hesitated to get out of the Taxi but he had no choice so he thanked the driver and made his way into the gates.

He feels his heart racing a bit fast, he was nervous and he didn’t want to admit what was said to him, especially by none other than his best friends piece of shit father. He didn’t know exactly where Billy’s grave was, he never asked so he spent a very long while looking for his grave. After an hour of walking around, he saw a grave that had the name “William Hargrove” carved into it and his heart drops to his ass… “it…really is true?…shitshitshitshitshitshit-” he starts to freak out and starts pacing around in front of his grave, “you gotta be shitting me man!!!”. He feels tears starting to form in his eyes, his childhood best friend is gone, all the hopes they had that he will one day return to Cali was all in vain. To make matters worse he looks to the grave stone next to Billy’s and he gasps in disbelief as he read the name carved into it.

“Heather Holloway”…she’s gone too, just like Billy…another childhood friend gone. Argyle let’s out a few sobs as he gave up holding back his tears. It’s no wonder he hasn’t heard Heather in months. Heather sent letters to Argyle because Neil found out that Billy was sending letters to Argyle and got punished for it so Heather was now in charge of it. After 4 months(a month of the Byers moving to Cali), he started to worry because Heather usually sent letters every week and all of a sudden it just…stops.

He tried to drown that worry many times but today is where all that worry turns into immense sorrow. He sits down in front and in between their graves and is still sobbing his heart out. He calms down after a while but is still crying a bit because the pain of these losses is unbearable to him, he picks up his guitar and thinks shortly before letting himself play the strings with his fingers, playing a lovely tune that made have flashbacks to memories he had with them, how happy they were despite their personal struggle. That’s all Argyle wanted, wanted his friends to feel relaxed and happy around him and be comfortable with each other. He continues playing his guitar for a long while and before he knows it, the sun started to set.

He sighs sadly as he slowly stands up and looks at their graves one more time before saying “goodbye…I-…I’ll see you two tomorrow”. Eventually he makes it back to the hotel by pure luck because he was sure he got lost despite this town being as small as the palm of his hand. For the next 3 days, he goes back to their graves, play them some tunes, talks to them for a bit, heads back to the hotel. It’s the same for the next day but instead he stays at the graveyard until late at night, he wanted it to feel like how it felt back in the 70’s where Heather, Billy and himself would stay up late at night, near their personal bonfire and laying on a worn out couch with no concern and just chatting their minds off before drifting to sleep like three little bears. Despite talking to literal stone, he felt deep inside that Billy and Heather were listening to him, acknowledging his presence and appreciating that he was there which made him chuckle a little at the thought.

He said his final goodbyes to them, he looks over at his surfboard, “oh shit, I almost forgot”, he picks up the surfboard and places the surfboard horizontally infront of both of their graves. “Now you guys can share it, to make it feel a bit like home…” he smiles sadly at the graves and gently places a kiss on both stones as if he were giving them both forehead kisses “Hasta Luego, Brochacos…” he gets up, picks up his guitar and goes back to the hotel again. The feeling of homesickness was overcomes by the need to stay but he knew he couldn’t stay, he couldn’t… the next day he packs up, checks out of the hotel and leaves to the Indiana airport and flies back to Cali. He’s still very upset that his best friends are no longer alive, but is relived at the fact that he was able to say goodbye to them in his own way with no interruptions…he will never forget them, never.

*im sorry for this being way to long but it’s a longer explanation to the last post and since I’m going back to back on angst y’all are gonna suffer I’m so sorry :’D also I’m not very fond of writing so this might be as good as I thought but I still tried. Also If you have any questions feel free to ask*

[eternalstann]

Puzzle Pieces

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Warnings:Smut!!!

Tom just is tired of sharing you with the boys. You are his best friend after all. The two of you have just got to make the pieces fit...

“Tom aren’t you tired?” You yawn for the millionth time that evening.

The two of you had been working on a 10,000 piece puzzle. You were going on four hours in and still had about a quarter of the way to go.

It had been really nice though; just you and him talking about all sorts of things and drinking wine. But your brain was starting hurt staring at all the little pieces scattered everywhere.

“No! I’m not tired, and we said we would finish tonight” The brunette reminds you and you sigh.

“I know, but Tom it’s midnight..and we’ve had a long day” you try to negotiate, and you couldn’t figure out why he wanted to finish the puzzle so badly right now.

You watch as his posture slumps a little before he perks back up; “Okay, I guess we can finish in the morning” he says with a half smile and you grimace.

“Actually I’m going to breakfast with Tuwaine and Haz in the morning” you tell him and Toms face is stoic. The three of you were going breakfast without him. Not even an invite? He’s actually offended.

When Tom had first introduced all of you to each other he was ecstatic you got a long with his friends so well...but now? Now it was getting on his nerves. You went with Harry to his shoots, and he always asked for your advice about editing. You and Harrison go mini golfing like once a week. And then you and Tuwaine cooked together constantly.

He knew he should be happy for all of your friendships, but instead he found himself green with envy. He felt like he was constantly at war with the other boys, fighting for your time and attention.

It was okay to wanna be around someone your just friends with all the time right?

“Well, how about in the afternoon? We can order a late lunch” he offers and you nod. “Sounds like a plan! Now let’s get some sleep, energizer bunny” you laugh, grabbing his hand.

The small gesture completely lifted Toms sour mood. Until you got upstairs and paused.

“Oh, I almost forgot; I left my charger in Tuwaines room” you remember, pulling away from Tom. “I’ll just see you tomorrow, goodnight Tom” you chirp, walking towards the other boys room.

You were about to knock on Tuwaines door when you hear Toms slam shut without so much as a goodnight back.

You jump at the noise and bite your lip, you should go check on him.

You don’t even bother knocking, walking into his room and shutting his door behind you.

“Slam it hard enough?” You ask, placing both hands on your hips and Tom barely glances up at you, letting out a dry “sorry”

“Tom what the fucks your problem? I thought we had a nice day together and now you’re acting pissy” you confront him and he stares up at you for a minute.

“Is there something going on between you and Tuwaine?” He asks bluntly and you’re taken aback. To you, this came from way out left field.

“Huh?” Is all you manage to get out, still dumbfounded and Tom takes a few steps closer to you.

“Is. There. Something. Going. On. Between. You. Two?” He asks again, pausing between each word and you shake your head.

“No”

He wasnt a tall guy but right now it felt like he was towering over you. He steps even closer, staring you in your eyes.

“Good because I want you all to myself” his voice comes out so deep it almost doesn’t even sound like him and your heart is racing at the sudden change in pace.

“That’s the real reason why I wanted to finish the puzzle, I just wanted to spend more time with you. Some attention” he continues, voice softer now. His words have your stomach erupting with butterflies and you reach up to touch his face.

You don’t know where the sudden burst of confidence comes from; but you lean forward to peck his lips before dropping to your knees.

“Then let me give you some attention” you whisper, pulling down his shorts.

Tom takes a deep breathe, watching you press a kiss to him through his boxers and he groans quietly at the action. You look up at him and he nods, then your pretty fingers are pulling the thin cotton down his legs.

You take him in your hand, surprised at how thick he was and pump him a few times.

You shuffle closer on your knees, then lick down his shaft before dragging your tongue back up again. When you get back to his tip you wrap your mouth around him and begin bobbing your head, taking him deeper each time.

“Fuck, Y/N” Tom moans and you hum around him, loving the praise he gave you.

You move faster, working your tongue on his underside and playing with his balls. Toms thighs tense from the pleasure you provided and you look at him from under your lashes.

He looked so good like this, face flushed and eyes glassy. He was staring at you like you were the greatest thing on earth and you felt your pussy getting wetter with every passing second.

“Y/N, babe, wait. I don’t wanna cum yet” he breathes out, grabbing your shoulders and pulling you off of him with a wet smacking sound. He stands you up, and pushes your chest into the wall.

“Tom....” you whine, sticking your ass out, more than ready for him.

In a flash he’s pressed up against you, and you don’t even remember him getting your bottoms off but you don’t have much time to dwell on it before the head of his dick is sliding into you.

“Oh my god” you moan, hands splayed against the wall. You can feel Toms hands gripping your waist as he pushes in deeper. His shaky breath fans against the back of your neck, and your eyes are squeezed shut at the way he stretched you.

“Fuck, you’re so tight babe” he murmurs next to your ear and you gasp when he begins thrusting in and out of you.

“Shit, Tom. Yes!” You all but yell and he smacks your ass. “You gotta be quiet, we have an audience Y/N” he warns and you nod weakly.

“Actually, fuck it. Let them hear” he growls, slamming into you and you scream. Toms hands move to cover yours on the wall, interlacing them as he fucks you.

Your legs shake and Tom notices, releasing one of your hands to reach between you and the wall to rub your clit.

His fingers move in quick circles on your sensitive nub and you clench around him.

“Tom I’m gonna cum!” You cry out, knees buckling as your body quakes with your orgasm. Tom holds you up, fucking you through it and his grip tightens as he reaches his own peak.

You both take a second to breath before Tom picks you up and lays you down in his bed, cuddling up beside you. Your bodies molded together on his comfortable duvet.

You smile to yourself, “We fit like two puzzle pieces” you snuggle closer to him.

“Like my dick in your pussy”

“Oh my god”

———————————————————

omg I’m so trash, I’m so inactive but I promise i got some heat coming for y’all!! Hope you enjoyed, stay safe babes ❤️

[mackeydoodledoo]

By Your Side

Pairing: Jesy Nelson x (Fem!)Reader

Summary: You’ve had your run-ins with bad love and friendship betrayals. However, that never stopped you from being who you are, regardless if you were sad on the inside. That was all because of Jesy Nelson. However, Jesy had it worse. One encounter with Jesy leads to two broken people coming together in order to help each other

Warnings: Depression, Past Trauma, Slight angst, Attempted Su!c!de

A/n: Okay, so I’ve never written a story where the story is slightly dark. But, The warnings are listed above and if I’m missing any don’t hesitate to tell me! Also, y/n’s past trauma is based on my own experiences with bad-love relationships

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

As you snap the final photo of the tour, you could easily tell that one of them; Jesy Nelson looked exhausted. 

As everyone heads out back home, you could hear crying.... Jesy... Oh dear.. You grab a piece of paper and write something onto it and fold it. You slip it under the door and gently knock. You make your leave and head to the address I wrote down on it. 

Jesy's POV Jesy turns around as she hears a slight knock at the door. I thought I already told Jade and the girls I wasn't up to joining them tonight. As she picks up the note, she opens it and it isn't from one of the girls. 

"[Insert Address and 24/7 diner here], I noticed you weren't full of enthusiasm as the Jesy I normally see. But that's understandable. If you're up to a quiet evening with coffee and a small meal, Y/N Y/L/N, Head photographer for Tour." Jesy reads aloud, I could go for something quiet tonight really.

Y/N’s POV As you click through all of the pictures you've shot during tour, you feel a small tap on your shoulder 

"Y/N Y/L/N right?" Jesy asks as she seats herself across from me 

You nod and you ordered water for the both of you. You weren't down for a classy drink to celebrate the night. 

"You didn't join everyone else?" Jesy asks 

You shake your head, "I wanted something quiet tonight, I wasn't in for drunk adulting either. It's nice to wind down." 

You slide your camera over to Jesy and you let her look the photos you've taken from the duration of the tour. 

"You gonna post these?" She asks 

"Once I edit them I will," you smile, "You were really into the shots. But I love them." 

Jesy rolls onto one where she was knealing down, performing to your camera. 

"You really know how to capture shots Y/N," Jesy smiles, "I wish I could look better in them." 

"What are you talking about?" you ask, "You look amazing in them. Which is why it caught my eye during the show." 

"No I do not look amazing Y/N," Jesy states 

She puts your camera down and takes a drink of her water. 

"Jesy," you say, calmly, placing your hand on hers

You were going to say something but your mind scrambled how you really wanted to say it vs how your mind ended up piecing it together. 

"Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?" She asks 

"Well, I'm going to be in London for awhile," you state, "Aside from the hotel I was meant to be staying at. No. No I don't." 

"Do you want to stay with me?" Jesy asks out of the blue, "So you'd have somewhere besides the hotel."

"I'd like to. Thank you Jesy." You smile at her

When you and Jesy finish up our seemingly quiet dinner, she hails a cab to the hotel for you to get your remaining things and check out.

Once the both of you had all of that settled, you teo go back to her place. 

"Very Jesy," you smile 

She shows you to the guest room to settle your things down and then she begins showing you around. You have taken a big liking to her dining room as it was basically a bench with a table and a view of her backyard. 

"And you live here?! With your mans?" You ask 

"I'm actually single love," Jesy inerrupts, "It’s lonely really so I’m glad you're here." 

You smile as you follow her up the stairs and you part ways to each others' rooms for the night. However, by 3 am, you were still hooking up your photos to your laptop. You hear a gentle knock at your door. 

"Yeah?" You call out 

"Oh, Y/N you're still awake," Jesy calls back, "can I come in?" 

"It’s open," you state, putting your photo stuff away 

"What's the matter?" you ask, motioning for her to take a seat, and she does 

"It hurts," Jesy begins crying, holding up her phone to your face 

You take her phone and see a tweet... Katie Hopkins.... You were familiar with Jesy's rough past however, you never thought it was still going.... You grab your phone and begin tapping onto there. 

"What are you doing" she asks 

"Putting this bitch in her place," you growl, finishing your tweet 

Almost immediately there were likes, tweets and retweets to your post. They all say how they agree with you and how you should say it louder for the idiots in the back. One even said preach. However, Katie Hopkins replies to my tweet. 

"Oh what a knight for for this chubby mixer. You're not even as half good as the REAL photographers. This woman is desprate to gain attention from her so called fans. What a child." 

You begin replying back in such a heated manner, you didn't even realize Jesy was looking at you funny. 

"What?" You ask 

"Are you arguing with her?" She asks, sniffling and wiping her tears away 

"Yeah, what of it?" You ask, calmly, "someone has to teach her a lesson to not be so critical of people. Yeah she called me a not-real-photographer but-but I've had worse come at me. So I’m not letting her get the best of me, and I’m not gonna see you cry because of this crusty-looking-ass-bitch." 

Jesy witch cackled and you smile, knowing you made her feel somewhat better. 

"You alright now?" You ask 

"Somewhat, thank you Y/N," she says 

"Now don't worry about this and help me," You say, enthusiastically 

You pull up your photos and hook them back up into your laptop and begin going through your photos of what to post as the "Tour Series" on your Instagram page. You take off your sweatshirt and put it on her as you continue working on your photos with her. 

"Hey its almost 6 am already," Jesy states, yawning, "We should get to bed." 

"True," you reply, "You gotta show me around London because I will not know how to navigate with the steering wheel on the right side of the car." 

"Okay love. It's decided," she says, giggling 

The week goes by with Jesy touring you around London and having dinners in and out. 

"Hey what are some cool abandoned places to do photoshoots in?" You ask 

"Why?" Jesy asks, sounding nervous, "Who are you going to do them with?" 

"I was going to ask you to be my model," you say, with Jesy looking at me 

"Me?" She asks 

"Yeah," you say, "I thought it would be cool to do and explore a little bit. It would be during the day obviously." 

"Then sure, you know what you're doing when it comes to abandoned places," she says, "But I sadly don't know any." 

"That's fine," you say, "I like doing research on that."

Once you two get back to Jesy's, you hop into the kitchen as it was your turn to cook dinner. You decided that you were going to make Shrimp Tempura with Udon noodles. The udon noodles are packages because you can't cook for shit but it'll be better. You take your speaker out and connect it to your phone and put on a random playlist. 

As you were popping the tempura into the mini fryer, "Black Magic" by Little Mix came on next and you spin around, happily playing a bop. 

Take a sip of my secret potion I'll make you fall in love For a spell that can't be broken One drop should be enough  Girl you belong to me I got the recipe  And it's called Black Magic 

As you spin around, you noticed Jesy in the doorway and you almost fall over as she starts singing her part. However, she stops when you actually did fall onto the floor. 

"I'm so sorry love," Jesy laughs, "I couldn't help to listen to one of our songs." 

"Well, this is actually the first song I got introduced to Little Mix," you start, "So I got hooked since then."

Dinner finished and the both of us are both in our rooms. You are still working on the photos however, at midnight you hear Jesy crying again.... You couldn't help but your legs immediately hop off the bed and walk toward Jesy's room. 

"Jesy?" you ask, "Are you okay?" 

You could easily hear Jesy force herself to stop crying and let's you come in. You sit on her bed right next to her. She immediately puts her head on your shoulder as she still cries her eyes out. Ypu put her head into your lap and you begin to brush her hair. 

"Talk to me love," you say, brushing her hair hair gently 

"Everything hurts," she cries, "They aren't stopping.... I want this to go away. I don't want to feel this pain anymore. I want it to go away." 

You sigh.. I know this feeling... 

"I understand this feeling all too well," you say, calmly, "Though I don't understand how you exactly feel. I understand how it feels to not want to feel any form of pain anymore. I can't speak to everyone who's feeling how we are. But I don't want you to think that. That may not help but I don't want to see you be sad about stupid things. I understand that it hurts...." 

Not knowing where you could go with my whole essay further you trail off. Jesy sits up and looks at you. 

"Y/N, what happened to you?" She asks 

"Oh, you wouldn't wanna hear about it, it happened a long time ago so it's fine," You lie, but Jesy knew it was a lie 

Jesy looks at you and gives me a firm look. Not one to intimidate you but saying, "you can tell me. You can trust me." 

"It started in my second year in high school," you start, "There.... There were these two girls. They were new so I wanted them to feel more welcome. Being an extrovert at the time wasn't a real fun idea. But moving on, when we did talk I was really happy so I began showing how I act around my friends; I hug them, I walk around with them and talk to them, maybe catch them and talk to them again before they go home. I begin doing that with them. They did not like that. So they basically reported me to the assistant principal and I had to be told; feeling like I’m being cornered.... Being appointed the bad guy that what I was doing to them, they didn't feel comfortable with. The way I am around my friends wasn't a good excuse. But, the thing was they never told me they were not comfortable with who I was. I tried that and one of them said 'you did nothing wrong' but then proceeds to block me. So i even tried explaining my side of the story but their counselor didn't give two shots about my end of it. I wasn't told before hand so I had to be confronted about it. Since then.... I never trusted the counseling system there, I could only feel safe in the band room area.... And.... That was the first time having suicidal thoughts.... I was sick of who I was when that happened. I didn't want to feel the pain anymore I just wanted to not exist anymore." 

Jesy looks at you. You continue on, "Until I did winter percussion, I realized then I had better people to be around, regardless if I act the way I do." 

"That’s good love," she says, holding your cheek with her hand, "I’m glad you're still here. Truly." 

"And I'm happy you're here too," you reply, "Are you feeling any better?" 

She nods, "Thank you for checking in on me. Could you... Stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone." 

You smile, "Of course I will love." 

She immediately buries herself in your chest as you get under the covers and have her use your arm as a pillow. You didn't mind. The feeling of being held onto was a lovely feeling. 

The next morning as you woke up, you woke up before Jesy. Her back was facing you. What if I made her breakfast?? And she'd wake up to it so she wouldn't have to make an effort... She did listen to my shit show past last night so its the least I could do. You slowly slip out of bed without waking Jesy. You pull the covers up to her shoulders so she wouldn't be as cold and you make your way down the stairs as you walk into the kitchen, greeted by her dogs, whom you let out to go to the bathroom. 

"Okay so..... Breakfast.... Eggs, Bacon.... Pancakes, fruit... The basic necessities." you mumble to yourself 

You put on some music, not like hype music. Just music for a calm morning and you don't blast that, you don't want to wake Jesy up... Yet. You wander her fridge for all breakfast essentials and her pantry for those as well. 

You carefully walk up the stairs and back into Jesy's bedroom and place the tray onto a nightstand and lean close to Jesy. 

"Jesy," You whisper, she groans and tries to shake you away, "Time to get up love." 

Jesy turns over and her eyes flutter open, "Good morning love. Why are you up?" 

"I thought I'd treat you today," you say, bringing the food tray over. This immediately gets her to sit up. 

"For me?" She yawns, and you nod as  youplace it into her lap. 

"You shouldn't have love, thank you," she says 

"But I wanted to," you smile, "A thanks for listening last night." 

Jesy places a kiss onto your cheek as she begins eating. 

As you begin the process of posting the first part to your four part Instagram photoshoot series, you see Jesy's fingers pinching bacon; to hold it. You look up at her and she smiles. 

"You deserve to eat too," she smiles 

You smile back as you open your mouth for her to feed you as we begin finishing the breakfast you made together. 

"I also found a cool abandoned place we could do a shoot at tomorrow afternoon," you start, "It's a Manor called 'Crumbling Berklyn Manor". It looked like everything was kind of intact and looks like we could do some photos there. But only for an hour or so." 

"Really?" Jesy asks, "Wouldn't it be illegal?" 

"I'm not sure," you say, "I've done these kinds of shoots before so I know what to do." 

"You sure?" She asks, you nod 

"Trust me Jesy," you say, "But aside from that what do you want to show me today?" 

"That's for me to know and for you to find out,"Jesy teases, "But trust me, you're going to enjoy it." 

You smile as you take the tray back downstairs and clean up. 

"Hey do you have a nice outfit?" Jesy calls, 

"Sort of," you answer, "Why?" 

"Where I'm taking you tonight is a semi-nice place," she replies 

"Alrighty then," you smile

When evening falls, you keep my pants on however, you strip your hoodie and search for your black button down shirt. As you button up my shirt, you turn to the door and notice Jesy watching you. 

"Take a goddamn picture if you’re gonna stare," you tease, leaving the two top buttons unbuttoned and grab your leather jacket 

You see Jesy doing "the thing" where she puts her finger in her mouth. 

"Well don't you look ravishing," you smirk as you offer your arm 

She smiles as she takes it and the two of you walk down the stairs. It feels like a fairy tale... You open the door for her and let her out to the car. You open the left side of the door for her she smiles. 

"Oh you're going to drive this time?" She smiles 

"You've been driving me around enough," you say, smiling and closing her door, "All you have to do for me is to lead me there." 

You hop into the driver's seat and begin driving off. 

She leads you to this bar called "Bar Soho". Jesy gets you into a good parking spot and you do the same thing where you get her door. 

"Such a gentleman," Jesy smiles as she grabs my arm 

"I do try milady," you smile 

As you get to the entrance, a security person lets the both of you in through one of the entrances as you’re in awe.... 

"Oh, mama," you gasp 

"What's wrong love?" Jesy turns to me 

"I've-I've actually never been in a bar before," you say, "or it's been too long." 

Jesy smiles and drags you to the bar. The both of you sit down and Jesy orders a drink for herself. You settle on a glass of champagne and begin leaning back into your chair. You gently twirl the glass around as you notice Jesy staring at you; drinking you all in. 

"Take a damn picture," you smirk, taking a sip of my champagne 

She takes out her phone and snaps a photo and posts it to her Instagram page; Captioning "My best friend is a real lady killer. Watch out ladies she might be coming for you." you look at that post and like it. You look up at her and smirk at her again. 

"You're really full of surprises aren't you?" you ask, finishing your glass, "You wanna dance?" 

She nods as she drags you to the dance floor. Most of the songs were upbeat and fast. However, there was one song that was slowed down so Jesy's arms settle onto your arms and yours settle down to her waist. 

"When are you going to go onto your next adventure?" Jesy asks 

"Hmmm," you hum, "Whenever I feel like it. I'm still working on the current series however, I like it here too." 

"Why's that?" She asks 

"There's a certain woman keeping me bound here," you say, smiling at her 

"Well that woman sure is lucky," Jesy says, completely having my compliment go over her head 

You sigh.... But you end the dance without it being awkward. You drive back to Jesy's however, Jesy didn't say anything but just go into her room and closes the door. You sigh and go into yours.

As you work on your series, you hear crying again... Feeling bad you immediately get up and walk out of your room to hers. 

"Jesy?" you call out, "Are you doing okay? Can-can we talk?" 

You hear nothing however, the door was unlocked. You open the door and your eyes land on pills that are in the nightstand and Jesy laying still. Your legs sprint over to her and you hold her onto the floor. 

"Jesy!" You scream, "No no no no no....." 

You stuck two of your fingers into her mouth and begin making her gag to get the pills out of her mouth, "Spit it out spit it out spit it out!" 

You grab a bag and she pukes. With shaky hands you grab her phone and dial whatever number it was to the equivalent of "911" in the US. 

"What is your emergency?" The first responder asks 

"It's-it’s my friend, Jesy!" You scream, "She swallowed pills and-and I made her pull them out but I don't know what to do from here." 

"Slow down, I'll send an ambulance there, just stay close to her and don't let her move." 

You follow what the responder does and try and wake her up. 

As the ambulance arrives, you watch them take Jesy to the hospital.... 

"I need to go with her," you request, "I can't leave her alone again." 

The paramedics reluctantly let you in along to them. 

As we reach the hospital you couldn't go any further in. Face is flushing, head is reeling, you shakily call Perrie, Jade and Leigh-Anne as they were the only ones you could think of calling and within an instant they were already there. You stand up to greet them but you couldn't say anything but cry. Jade was the first one to hug you. 

"Jesy-she...." you sob, "We went to the bar and-and I told her a woman was keeping me here and she thought-she thought it was someone else..... when it-it was really her... i left her alone and.... I goddamn left her alone." 

Jade, Perrie and Leigh-Anne hug you as you sob your eyes out. 

You all wait for what felt like hours until a doctor came out. 

"Y/N Y/L/N?" He calls 

You look up, "That's me." 

"Jesy will be okay," he says, "If you never made her throw up the pills she wouldn't have made it to the Hospital." 

The girls pat your shoulder or rub your back. You still didn't feel like a hero... I still need to talk to Jesy. 

"Is she taking any visitors?" Perrie asks 

"Yes," he answers, "But only Y/N." 

You follow him to Jesy's room but you’re the only one who goes in. You notice her sitting up and she looks up and smiles at you. 

"Jesy!" You say, walking in and hugging her, "are you okay?" 

She nods, "Shouldn't you be talking up that girl you were talking about?" 

"No, Jesy listen," You say, "When I told you that the woman who was keeping me here.... That woman was you... Jesy Nelson." 

Jesy looks at me like you’re crazy. You are sometimes but you were serious about what you had just told her. However, her surprise turned to happiness when she grabs your face and kisses you. Your arms coil around her gently as you begin deepening the kiss. 

"Jesy," you say 

"Hmm?" She asks 

"When we get out of here, I am not going to leave you alone," You smile, "Because I'll be By Your Side forevermore."

[fleetingpieces]

My One in a Million Chapter 2

Thank you @inloveoknutzy​ for proofreading and support <3 and @lumosinlove​ for your amazing OCs!!

You can read Chapter 1 here

Chapter 2 - Bad habits

“So how’s that new apartment of yours?” Alice asked over the phone. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me sooner, are you already too much of a star for your commoner friends?”

Remus laughed goodheartedly as he sat down on his bed. He’d missed Alice’s voice.

“C’mon, I’m by no means a star. And I would never forget about my best friend, you know that.”

“Ohh good, I finally dethroned Leo?”

“Ok, let me rephrase that. I would never forget about my midget best friend,” Remus corrected and laughed again when Alice cursed at him. “I’m sorry Al, it’s just been a very busy couple of weeks.”

Remus glanced around his room. It looked much more homier now that everything had been unpacked and he’d gotten himself a few paintings and decorations. Everything looked exactly as he’d imagined, and Remus felt a sense of contentment at the image.

He closed his eyes, letting the sun warm up his skin and enjoying the light breeze drifting in through the open balcony door. But when he breathed in, a strong smell of nicotine wafted to his nose.

“Fuck, not again,” Remus groaned, raking a hand over his face with an exasperated sigh.

“What? What’s wrong?” Alice asked.

“My asshole of a neighbour. I swear to god Alice, it’s like he does it on purpose.”

Throwing himself down on the bed, Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. He tried to remind himself that the guy wasn’t technically doing anything wrong at the moment, but this little thing together with everything else was cutting Remus’ patience short.

“Uh oh, are you having trouble already?” 

Remus snorted.

“You could say that.” He focused on breathing in and out before launching on a rant. “I have this beautiful balcony with a view, but I can never leave the door open cause he’s always smoking outside and somehow the smell always gets into my room which is fucking annoying.”

“Well...I guess it could be worse?” Alice said uncertainly after a moment.

“That’s not all. He sometimes leaves the garbage right outside his door for hours. I don’t know what the hell he does at midnight, but I can hear his music at the weirdest hours, and then out of nowhere there are loud screams coming through the walls.”

Alice snorted and Remus rolled his eyes.

“Not that type of screams. Like angry screams?”

As the smell became too much, Remus got up and started walking towards the door.

“And the weirdest thing is, there’s so many people coming in and out from that apartment all the time. Every day. I swear, it’s ridiculous. Is he a drug dealer or something?”

Remus thought about the past week and how confusing it had been, as he’d bumped into a lot of weird, different people.

On Monday, when he was coming back from finally doing grocery shopping, he got into the elevator with a guy with messy hair and glasses. The guy was smiling so much it was a bit weird, but he was nice enough to hold the door for Remus when they were getting off. Remus smiled as well and nodded before going to his apartment and watching as the guy disappeared next door.

On Tuesday, a bloke with red hair was going out just as Remus was coming back home; they exchanged a ‘good afternoon’ and they each went their way.

On Wednesday a tall, dark, handsome stranger smiled and winked at Remus.

Thursday, a woman with red hair and green eyes struck up an animated conversation with him when he was coming back from his morning run. Remus had actually liked her, she seemed very nice and easygoing. He wondered if she was related to the guy he’d seen on Tuesday.

When Friday came around, he’d been slightly wary as he’d stepped out to take Cocoa to the park nearby. Almost as if on cue, he heard a door open and close when he was going to the lift, and soon he was joined by a shorter man with tan skin, a snapback on his head with dark curls slipping out.

He’d had to wonder if it was some sort of silly prank. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Cause every day, for a week, he’d bumped into a different person every time he went out or came back to his apartment.

All of them coming and going from apartment number 12.

Just how many people lived there? He'd casually asked the concierge about it and was surprised when the man said it was just one guy. Someone called Black, whose description matched the one of the first guy he’d met in the building.

Alice’s huffed laugh brought him back to the present as he reached the door and peered outside. And then he felt his breath catch in his throat.

Black was standing on the edge of the balcony closer to Remus’ own, and had his back turned on him. A very tanned, muscular, bare back. Remus cursed under his breath. The guy was only wearing a pair of sweatpants, and was leaning on the rail as he exhaled a plume of smoke. The way the sun reflected beautifully over his skin and dark hair had to be illegal.

“And he’s hot! Really, his back is so sexy it’s unfair!” he said as he closed the door a bit harder than he’d meant to.

Alice cackled on the other end of the line.

“Well Rem, at least you have something to look at,” she teased. “Why don’t you go say something to him?

“I would rather avoid confrontation so early on,” Remus said as he leaned back on the glass panel, ignoring Alice’s first statement. He didn’t want to have his first neighbor fight not even two weeks after moving in. But the guy was just getting on Remus' nerves, and even if he didn’t want to be that neighbour, he knew he would soon need to set some boundaries.

“I’m sorry about that sweetie,” Alice said in a sympathetic tone. Remus hummed in reply. “I hope it didn’t ruin the excitement of moving in.”

“Nah, it’s alright. It would be nice if we could get along, but worse comes to worse I’ll just have a talk and that’s it. We don’t have to be friends or anything,” Remus decided not to mention the issue with his Mum’s painting, otherwise Alice might just show up here to kick the guy’s ass herself. Smiling slightly at the idea of tiny Alice standing up to that guy, Remus glanced at the clock and cursed. “I’m sorry Al, I gotta run or I’ll be late for my first class.”

“Ok, I’ll talk to you later, yeah? Don’t be a stranger!”

“Yeah, yeah, bye Alice!” 

As soon as Remus hung up, he scrambled through his room to grab everything he needed. He stopped only for a minute to fill Cocoa’s bowl and pet him on the head before heading out, thanking the heavens that for once, there wasn’t anyone waiting for him in the hallway.

Remus had been working non stop ever since he’d started gaining popularity online, and took a few days off to adjust to his new living space before he started working at the new studio. Not that he’d completely stopped, what with making and editing videos for the page.

Some students were already waiting when Remus arrived, but he was just in time. For the first time ever he had a fully booked class, and even some people in a waiting list in case any space would free up. Remus was so thrilled, he couldn’t keep a smile from his face.

He looked around when he entered the room where he would be imparting the yoga lesson, and the first thing that caught his eye was a head of flaming hair.

The girl was wearing black leggings and a loose shirt, and Remus recognized her at once from last Thursday. She glanced up, and surprise crossed her face before she broke out in a smile.

"Hello! You're from Sirius' building aren't you? Are you here to take this class as well?"

Remus wasn't sure who Sirius was, but given the fact that she had been to the apartment next door, Remus figured it must be his dear neighbor.

Sirius Black.

Even his name was pretentious.

"Ah, no, I'm actually the new instructor," Remus said, smiling shyly.

"Oh that's great!" the woman beamed. "My friend Natalie recommended your class, said I would not regret it. So, you're Remus?"

Remus nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, pleased to properly meet you um.."

"Lily," she smiled, and Remus couldn't help but return it. It was so easy to talk to her.

Remus moved to start setting up his things while they waited for the last few students to arrive. Lily followed.

"Natalie should be here any minute, she was super excited about this. Apparently, you're pretty famous! I don't pay much attention to social media, so I haven't heard from you before." Lily smiled apologetically, but Remus waved her off.

"Oh that's not true, I'm just a normal guy that happened to have a bit of luck. I do hope you enjoy the class though." He bit his lip, wondering if he should ask the next question or if he would come off as a prying old lady, but then curiosity got the better of him. "What's the deal with all the people in that apartment? Do you all secretly live there?"

A dark look crossed Lily's face, but it was gone in a second and replaced by a small worried frown.

"No, that's just Sirius' home. I'm sorry about all the trouble, I swear it's not always like that,” she said, tugging at a strand of her hair. “Things should calm down soon...I hope."

Remus wasn't sure what that meant, but he knew asking more about it would be too nosy. It was none of his business after all, he just wanted some peace and quiet.

"Oh, I know!” Lily suddenly perked up. “We're throwing a Halloween party at Sirius' in two weeks, why don't you come over? That way you can meet everyone!"

Remus schooled his features carefully to avoid cringing. He didn't particularly like parties, the smell of smoke and alcohol, the inebriated people doing stupid shit, the many mistakes made in the thrill of the moment...yeah, Remus could live without all that crap.

"I don't know, Lily...I don't think I'm invited." And that guy and I don't really get along well, he thought.

But Lily just rolled her eyes.

"I just invited you. That flat is almost like my own home, so Sirius won't mind me inviting someone over, if that's what you are worried about."

Remus busied himself searching his bag for nothing in particular, wondering if Lily and Sirius were dating. They certainly seemed really close to each other, he could tell by the way she said his name; but how could someone as nice as Lily date that ass?

"C'mon, it'll be fun! You can make new friends, and that way it won't be so weird if you bump into any of them in the hallways again."

"I'll think about, ok?" Remus said to appease her, but he knew there was no way he'd be going to that party.

However, the look Lily gave him and the glint in her green eyes told him she wouldn't let him off so easily.

***

Later that night, Remus was sitting by the window of his living room, meditating. He’d gotten into the habit of doing it when he needed to wind down, or when there was too much on his head; and today, after a long day back at teaching, it was a good way for him to relax.

And for once, everything was quiet. No loud music coming through the walls, no people shuffling about all over the building, even the city outside seemed quieter than usual, and Remus basked in the silence that filled his ears as he breathed in deeply.

Or at least he did until he heard a loud whoop that almost made him jump out of his skin. What the hell was that?

A string of muffled words and a loud laugh followed as Remus sat there with a hand over his racing heart, trying to calm down. And even then, with his breathing completely messed up, Remus surprised himself thinking it was the first time he’d heard laughter from next door instead of just shouts, and how oddly familiar it sounded.

“For fucks sake,” he muttered, getting up.

He’d finally had enough. He’d tried to let it be and avoid confrontation, but was it really that hard to be considerate? Did he think he was the only person living here?

Breathing out, Remus made his way through the hall and knocked on the door. There was no response at first, but the noise inside quieted down. Remus waited for a bit before knocking again, a little louder than before. This time there were approaching footsteps on the other side, and he was pretty sure he could hear someone cursing.

Remus was going over his speech in his head, trying to figure out the best way to talk to this person, but as soon as the door opened, all words disappeared from his mind. Actually, every thought in his brain flew out the window as he was met by stormy grey eyes boring into his.

It was the first time he was seeing Black’s face, and why the fuck did he have to be so fucking gorgeous?

He had high cheekbones, and a jaw that was screaming to be kissed; his inky black hair held in a messy bun at the top of his head, with a few strands framing his face. Remus already knew he was fit as hell, but fucking God, those eyes.

Remus’ breath caught in his throat as he took in the slightly surprised look on Black’s face, who was looking him up and down. It was then that Remus realized he was so pissed that he hadn’t even thought about changing out of his yoga tights. His cheeks warmed up, and the thought of blushing in front of this guy annoyed him even more.

He glared at Black, who arched a perfect eyebrow.

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” he started, still trying to be polite, “I live next door, and I didn’t want to do this, but could you please keep it down? I’ve been listening to your music all week, and even if you have good taste it’s getting really annoying.”

You have good taste? What the hell was that? Remus chided himself.

Sirius glanced behind him at his apartment with mock surprise.

“There’s no music right now, is there?”

Remus rolled his eyes; he didn’t care how good looking this guy was, or how curious he was about the slight accent in his voice, he was absolutely obnoxious.

“Oh yeah, ‘cause the screaming is so much better,” Remus deadpanned. He thought he saw the corner of Black’s mouth quirk up, but he was still staring Remus down.

“Oh, I was just punishing the gang for not making the drugs faster,” Sirius said, and his mouth moved to the side, like he was biting the inside of his cheek to fight a smile.

Remus' eyes widened.

"Yeah, I'd invite you to come in and have a look, but it might be too hot in here," he continued in a teasing tone. 

"Oh my God, you heard that?" Remus fought the urge to cover his face, which he was sure was beetroot red.

"Just bits and pieces. You were talking pretty loudly," Black said, the amused smile finally appearing on his face. He leaned with a shoulder against the doorframe, looking Remus up and down again. “But hey, I could show you more of my sexy back if you really want to.”

Remus did his best to fight his embarrassment as he squared his shoulders, his expression going hard. How did this guy manage to make him so angry every time?

“I would never want anything to do with a disrespectful, self-centered prick like you." Politeness be damned, he was not going to stand here and let this man make fun of him.

Black's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he regarded Remus with new interest.

"I -"

Some voices came from inside the flat, and Black looked over his shoulder. When he turned back around, he looked Remus straight in the eye with a penetrating gaze.

"I will try to keep it down," and without another word, he closed the door in Remus' nose.

Remus just stood there for a few minutes with his mouth hanging open, absolutely bewildered, before a scowl took over his face. He turned around and marched straight into his apartment, closing the door behind him and taking a few slow breaths to calm himself.

When that proved fruitless for the first time in a very long while, he went straight to his computer and onto Padfoot’s channel. A pleased sigh escaped his lips when he saw that he was going live and clicked the video immediately. Padfoot hadn’t made a new video in a few days, which had been slightly worrying, so Remus was glad to see he was back.

When the video loaded though, Remus frowned. A game was being shown full screen, but the character was just standing there, not doing anything, and the only voices heard were from other players. Padfoot wasn’t there. The live chat was going crazy asking what happened, saying everything seemed fine and then Padfoot had just disappeared.

But a few seconds later Remus, heard a small laugh and a familiar voice talking to the viewers.

“Hey guys, I’m back! I’m so sorry about that, I was just very rudely interrupted. Although I must admit, it was a very interesting interruption. Anyway, let’s crack this thing, I left my partner alone for a long time and we all know he is as useful as a chocolate teapot.”

“I protected your sorry ass while you were away, and that’s the ‘thanks’ I get?” another voice came from the video with mock offense.

“Yeah, yeah, I appreciate your efforts Prongs, but we both know who's the one that gets things done here."

“Oh, yeah? It’s always like this with you, whenever you do something awesome it’s ‘Oh, look at me, I’m amazing’, and whenever you fuck up it’s ‘Oh, we are a team’.”

“That’s how teamwork works!” Padfoot said in his most convincing tone.

Remus laughed at Padfoot’s antics, feeling a lot better than a few minutes before, and started thinking about everything with a cooled head. He would have liked to get along with his neighbors, to have a quiet, happy life, but he could try to ignore him. He didn’t have to see the guy more than was strictly necessary. He wasn’t going to.