#otp: i think you'll find we're quite something

[mindibindi]

"𝙳𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚆𝚑𝚘" || 𝚃𝚎𝚗 𝚡 𝙳𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚃𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚜 [𝚙𝚝. 𝟷] [pt. 2]

[libraryofgage]

Prompt 31 of this OTP prompt list! I've got ideas for quite a few of them, but if there's one you're particularly eager to see, just lemme know ^_^ I wanna try to write a little Steddie everyday, whether that's a ficlet here or working on the Modern Steve in 80s Hawkins WIP lol

Prompt: “Why’d you— why’d you do that?” “B-Because I promised you I’d do anything to keep you safe.” 

---

When Steve had realized they were really going after Vecna this time, about to walk into his lair and fuck him up, he'd made a promise to himself. He was going to do everything in his power to keep everyone safe, especially Eddie and Dustin, especially when their final plan made those two the demobat distraction.

Steve has also learned over his past few Upside Down adventures to trust his gut. Going through some life-threatening scenarios tends to strengthen his intuition for danger and general Bad Events. So, when he's following Nancy and Robin to the Creel house and feels a horrible stirring in his stomach (something beyond anxiety and fear and stale bread sitting wrong), he stops.

"I'm going back," he says.

"What?" Nancy asks, spinning on her heel.

Robin, meanwhile, meets his gaze. A silent conversation passes between them through looks and half-gestures and a singular grunt from Robin at the end. Their entire conversation can be boiled down to, simply, "I've got a bad feeling."

Interestingly, going through Russian torture together makes people trust each other's bad feelings.

"Okay," Robin says, nodding once before looking at Nancy. "It's not like we need him anyway. I think we're pretty kick-ass on our own."

"But the plan," Nancy protests, her brows furrowing as Steve realizes she's more upset over the change in plan than she is his leaving them.

Steve places a hand on her shoulder, smiles reassuringly, and says, "Don't worry, Nance. You'll kick Creel's ass, I'll make sure Thing One and Thing Two don't get themselves killed, and we'll all go out for pizza when this is over."

Nancy stares at him for a few seconds before sighing. "Okay. Don't die."

"Wasn't planning on it."

Steve can see the trailer before he gets to it, and he can see the demobats creating a fucked up storm cloud as they stream off in one direction, and he can't hear any of the music that should be playing. The demobats seem determined to reach something that's running away, and Steve gets a sinking feeling in his chest.

He knows it isn't Dustin. Eddie wouldn't let Dustin put himself in danger like that unless it was over his dead body, and there's no way Dustin would let Eddie die unless he happened to be out of sight. Which it seems he is now, and Steve knows things must have Gone Bad to get to this point.

Steve shoots across the Upside Down, racing to reach the demobat swarm. Their screeching fills his ears, echoing and bouncing around his head as he gets closer, and he can start to hear Eddie screaming, too. The words are muffled and covered by the demobats, but he has no doubt Eddie is calling them some insulting name and embracing his Ozzie Moment.

When he's a few feet away from the edge of the swarm, Steve starts swinging with reckless abandon. He takes out demobats as quickly as he can, trying to ignore the grime and viscera that layers on top of itself and his skin as he goes. The demobats get more than a few bites in, and more than a few tails lash at his ankles and wrists and whatever else they can find, but Eddie's screams that grow increasingly more terrified spur Steve on.

After an eternity of faceless bats and black blood and his arms screaming from the exertion of constantly swinging his bat, Steve finally gets to the center of the storm. In the eye, he finds Eddie on the ground, a tail wrapped around his neck and demobats descending on his sides, and Steve sees red.

He doesn't actually process any of his actions. He only knows that one second he's watching Eddie become a demobat main course, and the next he's standing over Eddie, decapitating demobats, yanking them away, slamming them into the ground, swinging his bat at the ones that dare to get closer.

Adrenaline and desperation are the only things keeping Steve going for what could be seconds or hours or days; he really can't tell. His focus has tunneled to only allow his brain to think about protecting Eddie and killing flying demon rats. Even when he hears Eddie screaming his name and grabbing his leg, Steve can't spare a moment to think about him beyond "Eddie would be easier to protect if he didn't move around."

Steve doesn't kill the entire swarm. There are too many, and he's only one man. But he does hold them off until...until something calls them away. One second he's feeling overwhelmed--his heart beating out of his chest and his vision blurring red from the blood dripping down his forehead--and the next, the demobats are screeching one last time before shooting off into the sky.

He would pay attention to where they go, but Steve can only take long enough to confirm that they're gone before he's collapsing. He doesn't hit the ground. Instead, Steve hits Eddie, who had stood up at some point only to fall to his ass once more from Steve's unexpected weight.

Holy fuck, Steve just wants to nap. And he's halfway to closing his eyes and slipping into sweet, sweet oblivion when he hears Eddie, his voice absolutely wrecked from screaming and brimming with some emotion Steve can't place right now, ask him, "Why'd you---why'd you do that?! You could have died!"

"So could you," Steve manages, forcing his eyes to focus long enough on Eddie to realize he's literally being cradled in the guy's arms right now. It's surprisingly comfortable, and he can hear Eddie's rapid heartbeat from this position. "Besides, I promised to keep you safe."

"No, you didn't!" Eddie squawks, and Steve makes a mental note to mock him for it later. "I would've remembered that, Steve!"

Steve huffs a weak laugh, stifles a yawn, and lets his head fall onto Eddie's shoulder. He'll think about Eddie not calling him by some ridiculous nickname later. "To myself. Promised to keep everyone safe. 'specially you, Eds," he says, flashing a faint smile that's probably only more worrying because of the blood staining his teeth.

Eddie looks ready to say more, but Steve weakly and clumsily covers his mouth. "Just so you know, I'm passing out now," he says, his body and brain finally calling it a day once he gets the warning out.

Later, when he wakes up in the hospital, Steve will have to deal with several lectures from several people about how he shouldn't have been so reckless. He'll get to turn it around later by pointing out that Eddie would have definitely died without him.

Steve will also have to deal with Eddie staying behind and shooting him the saddest puppy-eye pout he's ever seen. It will devolve into an argument about how Steve would do it again, how Eddie didn't enjoy thinking he was dead, and how they both think the other is incredibly stupid. That argument will end with a spur-of-the-moment and intense kiss that's interrupted by Steve's heart monitor going out of control, leaving them both blushing and overwhelmed as a nurse rushes in and...and holding hands with tiny, amazed smiles as they stare at each other after the nurse leaves.

But that's all in the future. For now, Steve lets his eyes slip shut, comfortable in Eddie's arms and reasonably assured that Eddie won't go risking his life when he has to make sure Steve gets out safe.

[conceptalbummultiverse]

You ever make a playlist for your writing project-in-progress? How about making a playlist for your OTP? I did both at the same time, and because I no longer have any shame, I'm going to share it here for everyone's enjoyment. Click above to listen, click below to read through what songs are on it.

"Love to Be Loved" by Peter Gabriel

And I let go.

I can let go of it.

Though it takes all the strength in me,

And all the world can see

I'm losing such a central part of me,

I can let go of it.

You know I need it!

You know I need it!

I recognize how much I've lost,

But I cannot face the cost,

'Cause I love to be loved.

"Love Like You" by Rebecca Sugar

I always thought I might be bad.

Now I'm sure that it's true.

Because I think you're so good,

And I'm nothing like you.

Look at you go, I just adore you!

I wish that I knew

What makes you think I'm so special.

"One Caress" by Depeche Mode

When you think you've tried every road,

Every avenue,

Take one more look at what you found old,

And in it, you'll find something new.

Oh, girl,

Lead me into your darkness!

When this world is trying its hardest to leave me unimpressed,

Just one caress

From you, and I'm blessed.

"What Can I Do For You?" by Rebecca Sugar (I think... I know she wrote a lot of the music for Steven Universe but idk about this song specifically)

Human man, you are so much fun!

I hadn't planned on finding you quite so entertaining.

I like your band, I like your song.

I like the way human beings play.

I like playing along!

"Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" by U2

You're an accident waiting to happen.

You're a piece of glass left there on the beach.

Well you tell me things I know you're not supposed to,

And you leave me just out of reach.

Who's gonna ride your wild horses?

Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?

Who's gonna ride your wild horses?

Who's gonna fall at the foot of thee?

"Judas" by Depeche Mode

You can fulfill your wildest ambitions,

And I'm sure you will lose your inhibitions.

So open yourself to me,

Risk your health for me,

If you want my love.

"Song For Someone" by U2

You let me into a conversation,

A conversation only we could make.

You break and enter my imagination.

Whatever's in there, it's yours to take.

I was told I'd feel nothing the first time.

You were slow to heal,

But this could be the night.

"Cosmonauts" by Fiona Apple

When I met you, I was fine with my nothing.

I grew with you and now I've changed.

What I've become is someone I can't be without your loving.

Be good to me; it isn't a game.

Now let me see, it's you and me,

Forgive a good God.

How do you suppose that we've survived?

Come on, that's right, left, right,

Make lighter all the heavier,

'Cause you and I will be like a couple of cosmonauts.

Except with way more gravity than when we started off.

"Someone Who Loves Me" by Sara Bareilles

Surrender's just a word 'til you try it out,

And see how hard it is to hurt with someone else around.

I'm the worst I've ever been,

Afraid of almost everything.

The skies are clear, but storms are always coming.

Your gift to me is just to be

Bracing for the winds I always summon.

My home, my heart- thank God you are

Someone who loves me!

"Absolute Beginners" by David Bowie

I've nothing much to offer.

There's nothing much to take.

I'm an absolute beginner,

And I'm absolutely sane.

As long as we're together,

The rest can go to hell.

I absolutely love you,

But we're absolute beginners.

With eyes completely open,

But nervous all the same.

"All That" by Sparks

All the smiles and all the frowns

And all the ups and all the downs

And all the fears that you would soon be gone.

You ignore my gaping flaws,

And I see you, and I'm in awe.

And look outside, it's very nearly dawn.

I can't believe my luck in meeting you!

Hey, help me out, I can't find my left shoe.

[latenightdrabble-blog]

Spring -Part 2

Thanks to @byul-bit-arae for letting me use this moodboard! ❤

Here's part two of this little fic. Find part one here. Also, you don't really need to have read part one to read this, it's up to you!

~~~~~~

Excitement coursed through your veins as you woke up in your hotel room. Never have you been excited when you woke up. Usually, you didn't even speak to anyone until an hour and cup of coffee later. The fact that you were in Japan, for a vacation with Taeyong though, was enough to make you throw the covers off.

"Tae wake up WAKE UP!" you said, nudging him softly in the side. He was snuggled into the blanket and you almost felt bad for interrupting his sleep.

"Five more minutes..." he mumbled, pulling the covers closer to his chin.

"Tae we have SEIZE THE DAY! Just because you made your Japan debut now and have travelled here many times, it doesn't mean that you can laze around like this!"

"Baby girl lemme sleep a little more" he said and turned away from you.

Nah ah. This would not do. You quickly formed a plan of attack.

You quickly got up and went over to his side of the bed, and settled on your knees.

"Tae~ wakey wakey!" you said as you attacked him with kisses. You climbed on top of him and continued to do so as his eyes flew open. "Wha- what are you doing?" he said, a blush covering his face. He flipped you over and settled on top of you. You squealed as he began tickling you.

"Two can play at this game!"

After a lot of convincing and a couple more kisses, the two of you finally got out of bed. You looked forward to going out and exploring the Osaka. Getting dressed quickly, you headed out for breakfast.

~~~~~~~

Half the day passed by blissfully and you had to pinch yourself to believe it was all true. You made sure you had asked Yuta for places to visit and restaurants to eat at, and slowly worked through the list. Taeyong made sure to get the other members a little something a well.

The last stop of the evening, before sunset, was one of the cherry blossom viewing gardens.

You had indulged in everything cherry blossom flavoured so far, from your latte in the morning, to the box of pocky in your hand. Taeyong found it very amusing, and his heart swelled with happiness to see you finally enjoy yourself and be fully relaxed. He knew how much you needed this trip and this time together.

"You've shown me a different side of you" he said, grinning and pulling you close.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember you used to hate pink? Now you've done nothing but eat pink things" he said, chuckling.

"Tis the season Tae! Plus, I used to hate pink, not anymore."

"Tis the season indeed. Except that Sakura beer was kind of silly, it didn't even taste like it!"

"I know!! But the can was cute."

"The can was cute" he repeated, mocking you as you both burst out laughing.

~~~~~

The path led you to the gardens, and as soon as you laid your eyes on the trees, your mouth fell open in delight.

"Woaaahhhhh! It's so BEAUTIFUL!" you said and ran ahead toward the trees. It indeed was a beautiful sight, the blossoms gently swaying in the breeze, the pretty pink dusting giving it an other worldly look. "It's so much better than all the anime I've watched..!"

"All the anime you've watched? Seriously?" Taeyong asked, catching up to you.

"Yeah~" you said dreamily. You were too taken in by the sight to focus on what he was saying. He took this opportunity to get some great candid pictures of you. it took you a while to realize but when you did, you ran up to him and said, “Tae! You sneaky little snake, you.”

“I can't help it when you're so pretty.” 

“The blossoms are prettier.”

“I doubt that.” 

“Okay you're prettier.”, you said, teasingly.

Taeyong walked ahead ahead, to pick up a flower. In his attempt to find the perfect one, you found an opportunity to get back at him. You whipped out your phone and began clicking pictures of him. He soon noticed what you were doing, and being the diva he is, threw up a few peace signs and said, “Everything I do is a pose.”

"Yeah yeah whatever.”, you said, giggling. You continued taking pictures of him, and in one of those moments, you had an epiphany. You slowly lowered your phone and stared at him, slightly in awe, with a million thoughts racing through your head. You couldn't help but think about how lucky you were to be with such a wonderful man. He had been nothing but supportive, patient and understanding, no matter how tough things got. You both understood each other so well, it almost scares you. You don't believe in soul mates, but if you did, he'd be pretty close to being one. 

"Hey, what's wrong?” He asked, seeing that you were just staring at him, not doing anything. “Is everything okay?”

“Tae” you breathed out, your voice almost a whisper, as you tried to form a coherent sentence. 

“Yeah?”

“I don't think I've ever said this but....thank you.”

“Thank you for what?”

“For always being here, no matter what. Thank you for being the absolute best. I never understood it when people used to talk about their significant others and gush about them and how they've changed their life for the better but now I do. All those stupid love songs finally make sense. I...... I don't quite know what it is I'm feeling right now because I've ever felt it before. I know you're not perfect, none of us are. I know we all have our faults, but that's just the beauty of being human. To put it simply, you make my life a lot better and I hope I can do the same for you. To be honest, I would like you to be a part of my life for a longer time.” 

“What are you trying to say? He asked, tears brimming in his eyes. 

You walked up to him and took his hands in yours. “What I'm trying to say, Lee Taeyong, is that I'd like to marry you someday. Maybe this is too soon, maybe we're not ready, maybe you don't want to, I don't know, I just had to say it. I need you to know.” 

“Wha-what?”, he asked, shock overtaking his face. He was too choked up to respond to what you had said.

“I mean it.” You said, and pulled him into a hug. You felt soft tears wet your shoulder as tears began streaming down your face as well. Honestly who knew the cherry blossoms would make you so emotional?

 Maybe it wasn't the cherry blossoms. Maybe this is what they call love. 

~~~~~~~~

“Oh my gosh hyung you are the least manliest man I know!” Yuta said with a huff, when you went back, and Taeyong told them what had transpired. “I can't believe your girlfriend had to propose to you.”

“Oh Yuta, quit it!” you said, laughing at his silly joke. 

“It's not my fault! I didn't know she was going to propose? I don't think she knew either.” Taeyong said, trying to defend himself.

“Yeah that's the truth. I didn't know. Plus, it wasn't like some proper proposal. I just said we should... Y’know.... Probably just make this official.”

“That's not what you said.” Taeyong said, teasingly.

“Oh shut up, cry baby” 

“Hey, you cried too!”

“Okay, okay, I concede. I love you!” you said, leaning forward to kiss him. Of course, you kind of forgot that there were other people in the room and deepened the kiss. 

“Listen, you guys are my OTP and all but- “ Jaehyun said, but he was cut off by Yuta who shouted, “There are children here!” before covering Sicheng’s eyes.

“Hyung, I'm literally the same age as Jaehyun, I don't understand why you're doing this.” Sicheng said with a sigh. 

“I guess you'll always be everyone's baby.”, you said, laughing. 

“But not yours, you're not that much older than I am.” Sicheng retaliated. 

“That's right. I've only adopted the dreamies.”

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

You can find my masterlist here.

[mindibindi]

"𝙳𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚆𝚑𝚘" || 𝚃𝚎𝚗 𝚡 𝙳𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚃𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚜 [pt. 1] [𝚙𝚝. 𝟸]

[mindibindi]

So what do we think? Did Donna lie at the end of Wild Blue Yonder when she said she couldn't see what the Doctor had been through in the 15 years since they were last together? She said it was like looking into a furnace, which is uncomfortable but not impossible. It smarts, it's unsustainable. You may pull back from the heat and the light eventually, you may narrow your eyes to slits to take it in, but it can be done for a short time. Which suggests that Donna can actually see into that decade and a half, but refrains from looking. It's partially a choice. She pulls back, turns away, in part due to self-preservation. But does she also pull back, turn away, not look, in order to preserve the Doctor? To protect their privacy, respect their boundaries and allow them their own personal process? Donna knows better than anyone else what it's like to have the boundaries of her brain breached without consent. To have her history, understanding and sense of her self and the world tampered with from the outside. And they have just come off an(other) experience in which their memories, personalities, thoughts, feelings, fears, desires, voices, bodies, movements, idiosyncrasies, in short everything that makes them who they are, was taken. They were stolen, copied, twisted and used. They both experienced the profound disquiet and existential horror of their self being breached and borrowed. Holding each other in the TARDIS in the aftermath is a way to ground them, to reclaim not just this precious other person who knows them better than anyone else in the known universe. It's also a moment in which they can reclaim themselves AS themselves, as sovereign entities. Based on the level of shock they both exhibit, I think it's possible that Donna made a choice to differentiate between her brain and the Doctor's. Having just experienced what they experienced, I think Donna may have told a small half-truth. I think she chose a response that gave them both a little healthy distance, prioritised their peace of mind and their relationship. She chose not to look, not to say all she might know. She let the Doctor have their history, their privacy, their process, all that belongs to them and no one else. She chose to let them tell her whatever they chose to, in their own way and their own time. Because it's far less important that she know what happened in those 15 years and far more important that the Doctor have the opportunity to talk about it with someone they trust. And that's what's always been central to the relationship between Donna and the Doctor. There was never any sense of romantised enmeshment. Her thoughts, her opinions, her sense of right and wrong differed from the Doctor's. The bigness of her personality matched the Doctor's. They were never two halves of a whole but two equally magnificent wholes that, when put together, became too powerful to defeat. And 15 years on, they still are.

[mindibindi]

𝕤𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣 »-˖°࿐♡ •➹*•⁀➷