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forwhomthewordsflow · 3 months ago

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Puppy Love

modern!eddie munson x fem!reader

18+ ONLY MDNI

warnings: tooth-rotting fluff, a bit suggestive at some parts, language, more fluff

author’s note: this was totally meant to be a small lil blurb but then i ended up getting sucked into it and well…it ended up being a tiny bit longer than i thought. also, there’s some legal jargon in here that i totally might’ve misused, don’t hate me! i’m not a lawyer i swear! anywho, i’m still pretty new to the whole writing thing so please go easy on me because i’m a crybaby

p.s. i stopped writing it in order to keep the word count from going through the roof, but if you guys would like a part two picking up right where this leaves off then i’m soooo into that, i really love these two!

word count: 5.3k

Let it be known, Eddie Waylon Munson was not a dog person. This doesn’t mean that Eddie is a cat person either really, he’d actually be more inclined to categorize himself as a fish person, really. Eddie can hardly take care of himself, who in the hell would think he could take care of another living being?

Steve fucking Harrington. That’s who.

Under any other circumstances, Eddie would’ve turned him down in a heartbeat when he asked him to watch his Golden Retriever, Captain, for a week while he’s on vacation with his parents.

“Dude, c’mon. You owe me one.”

Eddie scoffed. “Since when do I owe you one?”

“I–There must be something I’ve done for you…” Steve sighs ,”Haven’t I been letting you swim in my pool free of charge?”

“Yeah, me and every single other member of our party.” Eddie rolls his eyes and crosses his arms, determined to stick to his answer of a hard no.

“Fine,” Steve huffs. “What if I gave you three hundred bucks for it?”

At this new piece of information, Eddie perked up.

“Well, well, well Harrington. Why didn’t you just lead with that?” The two boys shook hands, and that was that.

Eddie wishes he could’ve said no, but he unfortunately really needed the extra cash. The weed business had been slow due to the fact that his usual richie-rich-asshole customers are all off “summering” with their rich families wherever it is that the rich families go to do that shit.

Eddie figured that he could handle this. Steve assured him that Captain is well trained thanks to the expensive trainers that his parents hired, plus Eddie would get to stay at Hotel de Harrington while he watched the dog. Eddie will mind his business, Captain will do his own thing, and Eddie would be $300 richer at the end of it all. Sweet digs and three hundred bucks is just something Eddie doesn’t have the heart to pass up these days.

–

Eddie always manages to forget just how gi-fucking-normous the Harrington’s mansion house is. As Steve leads him through the foyer and into the numerous hallways, Eddie figures he must look like he’s stepping into a house for the first time. His jaw drops a little at the seemingly priceless artwork that hangs from the walls, the crystal vases lined up on shelves, and the expensive looking furniture placed meticulously all around the house. He hopes to hell that he doesn’t find some way to fuck something up while he’s shacking up here.

“I can’t believe you live in this art museum, Harrington.”

Steve scoffs. “Yeah, it’s all nice and fancy until you think about the fact that all the dumb shit decorating this place could probably feed a small village.”

Eddie stifles a laugh, then hears an excited bark from the other room.

“Okay, time to meet the man himself. Just warning you, he’s a hugger.” Steve winks at Eddie and jogs to unlock the door to the backyard. As soon as the glass door slides open, Eddie sees a blur of blonde fur coming towards him, and then all he can see is the ceiling.

Eddie quickly learns that this is because Captain has knocked him right on his ass.

Captain squirms on top of Eddie, trying his hardest to lick him all over his face and neck while Steve is bent over cackling at the whole ordeal.

“Okay, okay buddy. Thanks so much,” Eddie says unenthusiastically while glaring at Steve. He gently shoves Captain off of him and stands back up, only to look down and realize that his all black outfit is now covered in little golden dog hairs. This only causes Steve to laugh harder.

Steve straightens back up after being hunched over and sighs, “I warned you man,” then walks past Eddie and into the laundry room, clapping him on the shoulder as he goes.

Captain trots happily behind the boys as Steve shows Eddie where Captain’s food and water bowls are, how much to feed him and when, and where his leash and harness are. Steve assures him that he doesn’t have to take Captain on a walk or anything if he doesn’t feel like it (he so does not), but he does have a grooming appointment scheduled on the day the Harrington’s set off on their vacation.

Eddie huffs at this revelation.

“I know man, I’m sorry. My mom had apparently scheduled it months ago and forgot it was on the day we were leaving. But it’s really easy I swear, you just drop him off at noon, and then pick him back up at three. It’s already paid for and everything.” Steve looks at Eddie apologetically, and Eddie figures it won’t be that bad.

–

Eddie was wrong. He’s only been watching the dog for an hour and already he knows he’s not cut out for this shit. Captain is stuck to Eddie like fucking velcro. Who knew dogs could be so needy? Eddie goes to sit on the couch? Captain needs to sit right next to him. Eddie needs to go to the kitchen to grab a drink? Captain is practically stepping on his heels as he trails behind him. Eddie has been pretty lenient so far, it’s only a week right? But he’d had enough when Captain was demanding to follow him into the bathroom, pawing at the door and whining when Eddie wouldn’t let him in.

Thank god for that goddamn grooming appointment.

Despite being only a couple hours into this gig, Eddie needed some alone time.

Captain seemed just as excited to get out of the house when Eddie fought to put his harness on him. He never thought he’d ever be spending a full ten minutes practically wrestling with a 70 pound dog, but Captain just wouldn’t sit still. After all was said and done, Captain sat and waited next to the front door calmly, while Eddie emerged sweaty and breathing heavily.

–

The grooming salon ended up being only ten minutes away from Steve’s house, which Eddie was thankful for since Captain decided to sit shotgun and stare at Eddie the entire way over. On the outside, the place looked fancy. Eddie scoffed a bit at the Grecian columns bracketing the entrance, and the name of the salon printed in gold swoopy letters across the large window panes in the front. He couldn’t believe people were willing to shell out enough cash to bring their dogs to a place like this all for a haircut. Eddie looks over at Captain, who is of course staring at him…still, and sighs.

“Here goes nothing I guess.”

Eddie wrangles Captain out of his van and into the salon, hoping to God that these people wouldn’t be able to smell the poor on him.

What actually occurred was quite the opposite.

Upon opening the glass doors, Eddie was hit with a whoosh of cool air and a small bell chimed to let the employees know that someone had walked in. Captain was apparently very excited by the gust of air, and decided to jump in circles around and through Eddie’s legs. While Eddie was caught up in detangling himself so he doesn’t fall flat on his face, he hadn’t noticed you walking up to them.

“Hi there, need some help?”

Eddie looked up and could’ve sworn he heard a choir of angels singing.

You stood there smiling at him, the prettiest girl Eddie had ever seen in his 24 years of life on Earth. He doesn’t think he’d ever had someone smile at him like that before, but he knows he could definitely get used to it.

While you were waiting for Eddie to respond, you noticed that his dog’s leash was still quite tangled around his legs. Deciding to take things into your own hands, you take a few steps back and kneel down to the ground to call the dog to you. He comes bounding up to you, causing his leash to slide smoothly out from under Eddie’s legs, rendering him untangled at last.

Eddie blinks, suddenly he’s untangled and Captain is jumping up onto you, ever the hugger.

He finally gets his head out of his ass and jogs up to you, grabbing Captain’s leash and yanking him off of you.

“Bad boy, Captain. We’re supposed to ask for consent before hugging pretty girls.”

Eddie is elated when he spots a blush crawling up your cheeks. You stand and brush yourself off.

“It’s really okay. Captain has my consent to hug me any time he wants!” Your voice had risen to a puppy-talk octave, Eddie never imagined he’d find that so adorable. You lean down again to scratch Captain behind the ears, and the dog looks up at you with stars in his eyes. Eddie, having caught a whiff of your perfume as you bent down, is sporting the same look.

You straighten up with a happy sigh and look up at Eddie with a grin.

“Well then, now that we’re all introduced, how can I help you?”

Eddie all at once forgets why he’s here, caught up in your beautiful gaze. He feels like he should shield his eyes from yours, lest he burst into flames from taking in your beauty.

“I’m—uh...I’m grooming. N-no, that’s not right, sorry.” You giggle quietly while he tries to finish his sentence.

Eddie laughs at his own stupidity.

“Sorry. He’s getting groomed, he should have an appointment under Harrington I think?”

“Sure, let me check on that.” You turn away from him to walk back towards the front desk, and boy is it a treat for Eddie. You’re wearing a cute company t-shirt, white sneakers, and these perfect fucking denim jeans that cause Eddie’s to get a little tighter. They must’ve been tailor-made for you with the way they’re hugging your thighs, your hips, your ass–

“Alright, I’m seeing that Captain is just here for his routine trim, yes?” You look from your computer screen up at Eddie to find him already staring at you with his mouth slightly open. The look on his face makes you giggle a bit, and this seems to snap him out of his daze.

“Uh, yes. That sounds right.” Eddie shakes his head a bit to rid himself of all the impure thoughts swirling around in there. “I’m just bringing him in for a friend, so whatever’s on there should be right.”

You pretend to type some more as you try and find the will to push down the blush warming your cheeks. You already clocked that he was gorgeous when he stumbled through the front doors, but how in the hell does he keep getting better? You noticed the bulge of his bicep when he yanked Captain off of you, the warm chestnut color of his eyes, and now his super-sexy-deep voice? Being turned on at work was not on your agenda today…

After a few seconds of nonsense typing and very deep breaths, you look back up at Eddie to find him smiling at you.

“That’s really sweet of you, to help out your friend.”

Eddie puffs out his chest (as though he hasn’t been mentally complaining about watching Steve’s dog for multiple hours).

“Yeah, I do what I can to help.” Eddie shrugs his shoulders in a way he hopes comes across as ’Yeah baby, I’m just a helpful guy. Super nice, super sweet, definitely boyfriend material..’

You grin and finish getting Captain all checked in.

“Alrighty! Captain’s all good to go. I can get him taken back and then we’ll see you in three hours.”

Your sweet smile has Eddie captivated until he realizes you’re holding your hand out for Captain’s leash. Eddie reluctantly hands it over, because now he has to wait a whole three hours to see you again. You take the leash, wave ‘bye’ to Eddie, and walk through the door that leads to the rest of the salon. Eddie lets out a deep sigh.

Goddamnit.

—

Three hours turned out to feel more like three days when it meant waiting to see your face again. Eddie arrived fifteen minutes early to the salon (a first) and waited anxiously for Captain’s scheduled pickup time to roll around. Eddie strutted into the salon not a second too late before screeching to a halt.

In your place, stood a much older, much rounder lady. Eddie deflated a little, cursing himself for not finding out if you’d even be here at this time. He huffs out a breath, and begins walking up to the front desk.

Then, a thought pops into his head.

Maybe, if he’s nice enough, he can ask the older woman about you. Then at least he’d have your name and maybe even when you were working next!

Eddie decides it’s time to amp up the ol’ Munson Charm.

His tentative walk turns into a swagger-filled stroll as he reaches the front desk. Eddie leans on an elbow and smiles a devilish smile down at the woman. She looks up at him with wide eyes as he dings the silver bell that sits on the desk, winking at her while he does it.

“H-How can I help you sir?”

“Oh sweetheart, please…call me Eddie.” He goes on after she spends a moment too long gazing up at him, “And who might you be?”

She gulps and straightens her horned glasses. “B-Betty. Betty Brown.”

“Hello, Betty Brown,” Eddie can tell his charming smile is having an effect on her, and he’d be lying if it wasn’t boosting his ego a tiny bit. “I’m here to pick up my dog, Captain. Brought him by a few hours ago to get his haircut…you know how he likes to impress the ladies.”

Betty nods and takes a deep breath before turning to the computer to try and hide her smile.

“Okay, Mr. Eddie. I checked him out with the card on file, he should be up here shortly.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.” Eddie waits a moment, before launching into his plan. “I was actually hoping you could help me with a little something else.”

Betty looks back up at him, blushing when they make eye contact.

“See, when I was in here earlier, there was a really nice girl helping me out. But, silly me, I completely forgot to ask what her name was.”

To Eddie’s delight, Betty’s face lights up in recognition. She says your name with so much glee that it’s obvious to him how loved you must be around here.

“Yes, she got off an hour ago. She usually works the morning shifts, except on Fridays because those are her days off.”

Eddie quickly learned that underneath Betty’s bashful smile was a woman who loved to talk, and he couldn’t be happier for it. Eddie quickly learned how long you’ve worked here, that you don’t have any pets of your own, and that last Christmas you brought the most delicious homemade cookies for the entire staff. He also learned that you’ll be working again for the next two mornings.

Eddie left with Captain and a smile on his face, but not before pressing a kiss to sweet, sweet Betty’s hand. Thanks to her, Eddie’s confidence is restored and he actually thinks he might have a shot with you. All he has to do now is figure out what his reasons will be for coming back to the salon two days in a row.

–

He spent all evening pacing around the Harrington’s house trying to come up with excuses to come see you. All of the ones he’d thought of so far made him look like even more of a jackass than he did today.

I thought I might’ve dropped my wallet somewhere around here. A gorgeous girl isn’t going to want to go out with a guy who drops his shit everywhere. Pass.

I think Captain needs a little more of a haircut, maybe just another half inch off? First of all, Eddie doesn’t know shit about haircuts. He’s been doing his own with kitchen scissors in his bathroom mirror for over a decade. Second, he would never risk potentially offending you and your work as a dog groomer on the off chance that you’re the one who cut Captain’s hair. And lastly, for a dog, he’s got to admit that Captain looks pretty damn good after his appointment. Who knew a dog could look so regal and majestic? Anyways, PASS.

It was only after Eddie had plopped down on the leather couch with a huff of defeat that he heard the first few plinks of raindrops hitting the windows. Eddie went to his phone to check the forecast for the rest of the night, and as luck would have it, there was a 100% chance of thunderstorms until tomorrow morning. As all the pieces of his new plan began stitching themselves together, Eddie finally allowed himself to relax.

–

Eddie used to hate his “backyard,” if you could even call it that. Behind the trailer was a medium sized patch of dirt, with some sorry-looking green plant-things trying their best to survive scattered about. The only times Eddie would really look forward to going outside to play as a kid, much to Wayne’s dismay, was when it rained. Because when it rained, the once dry and grainy surface turned into slippery, messy mud. Eddie used to love sliding around and making mud pies and all of that stuff, and right now it seems like Captain is having just as much fun, if not more, than Eddie used to.

The yard was fenced in, so Eddie wasn’t too worried about Captain running away despite Steve’s promises that he’s ‘leash-trained’. Eddie planned to tell you otherwise though.

‘He just somehow managed to get away from me. Yeah, I had to chase him all through the mud and dirt this morning. But I caught him because I’m like, really fast and strong and stuff.’

He does feel a little guilty about lying to you. But he figures that if it’s something the two of you can laugh over at your wedding someday, then it’s well worth the little white lies.

Eddie’s brought back from his reverie of you in a long, white dress by Captain dropping the mud-soaked tennis ball at his feet…again.

He couldn’t believe how much energy this dog had. They’d already been out here for twenty minutes and Captain just kept going and going. Eddie did have to admit, it was sort of fun watching him play. He even found himself laughing out loud when Captain would get the ball stuck in a puddle of mud and not hesitate to dunk his entire head in to retrieve it. There was even one point where Captain got so excited and amped up that he just zoomed around in circles over and over again.

Maybe dogs aren’t so bad after all.

After another ten minutes of chasing around the now mud-covered tennis ball, Captain decides he’s done playing and sits down at Eddie’s feet. Eddie can’t help but notice that he’s panting pretty hard. “You must be thirsty, huh?”

Eddie runs inside the trailer to grab a tupperware bowl and fills it with cold water from the tap. He hopes to god that Captain hasn’t run away already, he’s decided to really put Steve’s whole “leash training” thing to the test. But sure enough, when Eddie shoves his front door open there he is, sitting nicely at the foot of the trailer’s steps. Eddie pats his head, then promptly wipes the flaky, dried mud off onto his jeans. “Good boy.”

After Captain is done drinking water, Eddie looks him over to ensure that he is completely and totally covered head-to-toe in mud. Letting out a satisfied sigh, he decides that it’s time for the next stage of his plan to take action.

He loads Captain into the back of his van (Eddie makes sure to drive especially slow, and Captain pretty much lays down the whole time) and he sets off towards the salon.

–

Eddie is practically vibrating with anticipation as he puts his van into park. He’s ecstatic when he sees your beautiful face smiling after two customers as they exit the salon. Eddie turns around in his seat to see Captain.

“Okay, buddy. It’s showtime. I need you to bring your A-game and be a real good wingman for me in there. Got it?”

Captain tilts his head at Eddie, as though he didn’t understand a thing he said, but then straightens up and lets out a firm bark. A laugh bursts out of Eddie as he turns the van off and goes to get Captain from the back. Before rounding the side of his van, and while he’c completely out of your sight, he does a quick smell test on his pits and breath, and then double checks his hair and teeth in the reflection of his rear windows. After deeming himself presentable, he takes a big deep breath.

“Don’t be stupid, Munson. Think charming thoughts,” he says under his breath as he starts towards the front door.

–

You’d be lying to yourself if you said you weren’t sticking around fifteen minutes after your shift was over yesterday in the hopes that Eddie would decide to come back early to pick up Captain. It’s rare that a guy comes into the salon who looks to be around your age and single, but it’s much rarer that they’re as good-looking as Eddie is. You spent the entire drive home and the rest of the night fantasizing about his voice, his big hands, his laugh. You wondered what he did while he waited for Captain’s appointment to be done, what his favorite movie was, his favorite food…But most of all, you wondered if you were making up this mutual attraction in your head? The nervous stuttering and blushing could just be from nervousness, but he was definitely staring at you a few times. You also wonder whether or not you had actually caught him staring at your ass…but maybe it’s best not to get ahead of yourself. Maybe he has a girlfriend. Maybe he doesn’t even see you that way? Maybe you should get a grip because you’re basing all of this delusion fantasy off of a ten minute conversation you had with the guy. Leave it to you to construct a made-up scenario in your head after a short interaction with a new crush.

Be that as it may…you still made sure to carve out an extra half hour to get ready for your shift today. You blow-dried your hair using your fancy products, spent quite a bit of time on your makeup, and spritzed some perfume on before you left. You even made sure to wear the same jeans as you did the day before, just in case he was looking.

The first half of your shift was spent hunched over the front desk, it was an extremely slow day so far. You found yourself perking up a bit whenever a dark haired individual would walk by the front of the salon, only to droop back down again at the realization that it wasn’t who you wished it was. With all the rain that came down in Hawkins last night, you figured more people would be making last minute appointments to have their dogs bathed, you’d hoped that today would be busy enough to keep your mind from wandering to a certain pair of warm, brown eyes. But as your shift crawled towards the halfway point, suddenly things started looking up.

As excited as you were to spot a familiar gorgeous man walking into the salon again, you couldn’t conceal the look of shock on your face once your eyes landed on his mud-covered companion.

“Oh–oh my god!” Eddie couldn’t quite read your expression, but he was relieved to hear a laugh bubble out of you after your exclamation. He stood there sheepishly for a moment before he remembered his plan: Be. Charming.

You walk out from behind the desk with a hand covering your mouth, not quite believing what you were seeing. There stood Captain, proudly smiling and panting, covered head to paw in mud. Another laugh bubbled out of you, and you were pleased to find Eddie laughing with you.

Goddamnit, that’s a sexy laugh he’s got.

“What…what happened to you?” You say to Captain, bending down to gently pat his head.

“This absolute miscreant here got out of the house this morning and found himself a nice, muddy yard to roll around in.” Eddie looked at you with a grin that made your knees weak.

He looked you up and down while you straightened back up. Was there a way for someone to get a thousand times more beautiful overnight?

A blush rose to your cheeks as you caught him checking you out. That settles it, he’s definitely flirting with you. If he can be so forward about it, maybe you can too.

You look up at Eddie through your lashes, making sure to flutter them a couple times for good measure.

“Aw. And here I was thinking you’d gotten him all dirty just so you could come and see me again.”

Eddie stills.

Fuck, he can’t believe how hot you are.

Fuck, was his plan really that shitty? Did you just call him out?

Eddie’s panicking is subdued by your quiet giggle. Thank god, you were kidding.

“It’s a good thing you managed to catch him, he looks like the type to go on an adventure in the woods.” Eddie startles, quickly realizing he’d been full-on staring at you while conducting his mental freak-out.

“Oh, yeah. I’m–like….fast…” Eddie can feel himself getting lost in your eyes as you stare up at him. His words trail off into oblivion, nothing else exists other than your pretty smile, the little crinkles next to your eyes, your lips…

Holy shit, is Eddie staring at your lips right now? Is he going to kiss you? God, you hope he does, you’ve been fantasizing about his lips for hours now. You can’t let him kiss you right here in the lobby…can you?

Eddie shakes his head a little, breaking himself from the trance you put him under.

“Ahem, yeah,” Eddie loudly cleared his throat ,”It was no big deal, really. He’s a good dog, came right back after he realized he was in the wrong.” Eddie looked down at Captain, only to find him looking right back up at him, obviously judging him for his outright lies. Eddie looks up at you, shrugging and shaking his head disapprovingly. He lets out a big, over dramatic sigh ,”I just don’t know what I’m gonna do with this one.”

“Well it’s obviously not his fault,” you reply, “Look at that face! That face could never do anything wrong. I should know, I’m actually his lawyer.” Eddie spots your poorly concealed smirk and decides to jump head first into this bit with you, excited to see if you can keep up.

“Oh really?” He crosses his arms and takes a tiny step towards you. This causes his t-shirt to pull taught around his arms, accentuating his biceps. Your mouth waters a bit.

“Yes, really. My client is as innocent as they come.” You place your hands on your hips and look up at him with a level of sass Eddie had no idea you were capable of. He decides that he loves it.

“Huh, that’s interesting. I totally object.”

“Are you implying that he acted with intent? Are you attempting to slander my client?” You place your hand on your chest in a “pearl-clutching” type of way, Eddie stifles a laugh.

“I am indeed. He knew exactly what he was doing when he ran out that door, the evidence is all over his fur,” Eddie replies.

“My client was just following his nose, any mess that ensued was purely circumstantial. He is innocent of any and all wrongdoing.” Eddie feels like he’s got stars in his eyes, he can already picture you fitting in so perfectly into a DnD campaign. You take his pause as a sign to bring your argument home.

“This is a clear case of prosecutorial overreach. My client was acting in the best interest of the household, ensuring that the yard was thoroughly inspected for potential threats, pests, intruders, or otherwise. Any mud on his fur is merely a badge of his dedication to home security.” You cross your arms, clearly having won this fake-case.

Eddie takes a step back and starts a slow clap. You take a tiny bow and burst into a fit of giggles.

“I’m impressed, sweetheart.” You hope Eddie doesn’t see how affected you are by that nickname. “Where the hell did all the legal jargon come from?”

“I used to watch a lot of Law and Order.” You look down, suddenly shy with a sparkly feeling in your chest. You really hope you didn’t come across as super weird. It’s been a while since you’ve been able to have banter like that with someone else. Hawkins isn’t a very diverse place, and you’ve found that the majority of the people living here tend to be pretty cookie-cutter conservative. It feels great to let loose a little with someone you’re interested in, you just hope you’ll get more opportunities to do it.

Eddie, on the other hand, can’t stop looking at you. Is this what falling in love feels like? The girls in this town all seem to have made their own assumptions and come to their own conclusions about Eddie: he’s a devil worshiper, a satanist, a hookup to check off their bucket list and then never speak to again. But not you, obviously. You don’t look at him with the same disgust in your eyes as everyone else in this town does. Your eyes are full of a kindness and warmth that Eddie could see himself getting used to.

“So, uh,” Eddie rambles, “What’s the verdict for Mr. Captain?” Captain perks up at the sound of his name, you giggle at the tilt of his head.

“Hm,” You tap your finger to your chin and look off into the distance, “I think a nice, relaxing bath would do. Maybe a couple treats, too, for being such a good boy.” You squat down to Captain’s height to scratch him behind the ears, and Eddie can’t help but cringe a little at the flakes of dried mud that drift down off of Captain’s head and onto the floor.

You grab Captain’s leash from Eddie as you stand back up, walking him over to the desk to get him checked in at the computer. He’s delighted to discover that you’re wearing the same pair of jeans as you were yesterday, and he mentally kicks himself for sneaking another peek at the way your hips sway as you walk. Eddie deflates a little at the realization that this might be the end of this interaction. He never wants to stop talking to you.

“I’m guessing the card on file is what we’ll be using today?” You ask sweetly, looking up at Eddie.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah that’s just fine, thank you.”

Holding eye contact with Eddie, you murmur “,You’re very welcome,” with a smile.

Oh, Eddie is so totally fucked.

Eddie watches as you walk Captain to the hallway door and hand his leash off to a younger girl. You happily trot back up to the front desk and lean on it with your smiling face resting in your hands.

“Oh, you– you’re not giving him his bath?” Eddie stammers out.

“Nope.” You reply, popping the ‘p.’ “I’m stuck on front desk duty today.”

Eddie sighs, relieved that your conversation might not be over. He puts his elbows on the counter and leans towards you a bit. “Well, it can’t be all that bad.”

Your smile widens and you tilt your head, “I think it’s starting to get better.”

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

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brunchable · 27 days ago

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It's not a Meet-𝑪𝒖𝒕𝒆, it's a Meet-𝗨𝗴𝗹𝘆. 《 Chapter 2: Figaro The Sleuth. 》

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x f!Reader Themes: It's not a meet-cute, it's a meet ugly, Grumpy Meets ✨️Sunshine✨️, Opposites Attract, Sassy Pet Matchmaker, Enemies-to-Lovers (Lite), Destined to meet again, Bucky is a hidden softie. Summary: Smelling another cat's scent on his owner, Figaro took it upon himself to investigate. Fourdays later, Y/N found herself back at Sarah's apartment where she unfortunately have to ask Bucky is she could borrow some hot sauce. A/N: This story will be OUTSIDE of MCU but Bucky's traits will be mixed comics/mcu. I hope I tagged everyone? Credits to me for the Banner lmfao. credits to @ khaer for the divider.

Figaro had a new plan today: track down the intriguing scent he’d picked up on his owner. After his daring escape from the penthouse, he trotted purposefully down the street, trailing the scent until it led him to a familiar building—one he’d noticed you visiting before. He circled around, spotting an open ground-floor window with a fire escape leading up to it. With a practiced leap, he made his way to the windowsill and peered inside.

There, lounging on the other side of the window, was the white cat he’d been tracking. She was pristine, her fur gleaming as she carefully groomed herself, completely unbothered by his presence. Figaro tilted his head, studying her for a moment before he gave a soft, questioning chirp.

Alpine paused mid-groom, her icy blue eyes sliding over to meet his with a hint of disdain. She stared at him for a long moment before slowly stretching, as if to say, And who do you think you are?

Figaro didn’t back down, flicking his tail in a friendly, if smug, greeting. Figaro, he replied, his eyes scanning the cozy room behind her. You must be the reason my human came home smelling like… this place.

Alpine blinked, then raised a delicate paw, resuming her grooming as if he hadn’t even spoken. Oh? she drawled, looking entirely unbothered. And you’ve come all this way to investigate a little scent? How curious.

Figaro’s whiskers twitched with amusement. Let’s just say I have a nose for… mysteries. And last I checked, my human doesn’t usually come home with traces of other cats all over her.

Alpine tilted her head, a slight smirk playing at the corner of her mouth, there was no other woman she slept on except you. Your human happens to have a very cozy chest, she said coolly. Can’t blame a cat for taking advantage. She paused, her icy gaze sharp. In fact, you should be grateful.

Grateful? Figaro echoed, tilting his head. Why exactly?

Alpine gave him a level stare, her tail flicking with amusement. If it weren’t for me, your precious human would’ve had the cops called on her. My human doesn’t take too kindly to… unexpected guests.

Figaro’s eyes widened, and he gave an involuntary twitch. Cops? he muttered, momentarily thrown off his cool facade. He quickly recovered, looking her over with renewed respect—and mild suspicion. Alright, maybe I owe you one.

Alpine returned to grooming her paw, feigning indifference. Yes, she replied with a graceful flick of her tail. You do.

Figaro sat, tail curling neatly around his paws, trying to look nonchalant. You don’t exactly seem like the… charitable type.

Alpine finally met his gaze directly, her icy blue eyes narrowing. Maybe I’m just better at making friends than you are. She gave a dainty sniff, her nose twitching. I noticed you took the fire escape. Not exactly… refined, is it?

Figaro let out a soft huff, unimpressed. Refined? I’m practical, Snowball.

Alpine’s ears flicked at the nickname, but she didn’t rise to it. Instead, she leaned forward, her gaze assessing. You can call it whatever you like, Figaro. But from where I’m sitting, it looks like I’m running things here.

They stayed like that, locked in a silent stare-down, each refusing to break eye contact first. Finally, Figaro let his shoulders relax, flicking his tail in what almost seemed like an invitation.

Alright, Fancy Paws, he said, stepping back a bit on the ledge, but don’t think I’m letting you off easy. I’ll be around, keeping an eye on you.

Alpine gave a dismissive flick of her tail, already turning her back on him. Suit yourself, Figaro. But if you insist on loitering around my window, at least try not to mess up the view.

Figaro held his ground a moment longer, watching Alpine with an air of suspicion and intrigue before turning to leave. Just as he took a step back, the sound of footsteps approached. Alpine’s ears flicked toward the door, but she stayed still, her eyes narrowing at Figaro with a smug, unbothered gaze. Figaro, sensing a disturbance, glanced sideways, only to freeze as the towering figure of Bucky appeared in the doorway, staring directly at them.

Bucky squinted, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe. "Well, well, what do we have here? Alpine, making friends, are we?"

Alpine gave Bucky a dismissive flick of her tail, as if to say, You’re interrupting. She turned her head slightly, clearly unimpressed by his sudden interest in her business.

Figaro, meanwhile, stared up at Bucky with wide eyes, frozen mid-step on the windowsill. Who's this guy? he thought, sizing up the new human with a cautious flick of his tail.

Bucky raised an eyebrow, looking between the two cats, and then down at Figaro. "You lost, buddy? Or are you trying to start some kinda turf war?"

Figaro sat down, trying to look as dignified as possible, though the tip of his tail twitched with irritation. Turf war? he thought indignantly. I don’t fight over territory; I’m above that.

Alpine let out a low, amused mrrr, watching Figaro’s attempt to keep his cool. Bucky noticed and shook his head, chuckling.

“Looks like Alpine’s not too impressed with you, pal,” he muttered, addressing Figaro with a smirk.

Slowly, Bucky crouched down and extended his hand toward Figaro, palm up and open, giving him a chance to sniff. Figaro gave Bucky a wary once-over, then cautiously leaned forward, taking a whiff of the offered hand.

After a moment, he deemed the human acceptable and rubbed his head against Bucky’s fingers, allowing himself to be petted. Bucky grinned, running his fingers along Figaro’s head and scratching just behind his ears.

"Not bad for a visitor, huh?" he murmured, watching as Figaro leaned into the scratch, clearly enjoying the attention.

Once Figaro had gotten his fill, he stepped back, giving Bucky a cool, satisfied look, as if to say, You may continue.

Bucky watched this with mild amusement, shaking his head.

“Alright, tuxedo,” he said, nodding toward Figaro. “Why don’t you head home before Alpine here decides you’re overstaying your welcome?”

Alpine lifted her nose in smug agreement, casting Figaro a sideways glance as if to say, You heard him.

Figaro shot her a pointed look, not backing down. I’ll leave when I’m good and ready, he thought defiantly, but he knew when he was outnumbered. With a haughty flick of his tail, he turned to make his exit, sauntering slowly toward the window as if he had all the time in the world.

Bucky crossed his arms, watching the tuxedo cat make his grand departure.

“Yeah, you walk out of here like you own the place,” he muttered with a smirk, glancing at Alpine. “What is it with you and making new friends?”

Alpine gave him a single blink, cool and unbothered, her gaze following Figaro’s departure as if evaluating his exit strategy.

As Figaro disappeared down the fire escape, Bucky shook his head, half to himself. “This is what I get for leaving the window open. Next thing I know, there’ll be a whole parade of fancy-pants cats lining up for you.”

Alpine sat up, eyes following the retreating Figaro with a glint of satisfaction before she returned to her spot, grooming her paw as though nothing had happened.

Bucky watched her, chuckling softly. “Yeah, that’s right. You’re a real heartbreaker, aren’t you, Alpine?”

Alpine ignored him, flicking her tail just enough to indicate her complete and utter satisfaction with the encounter. She was, after all, a cat with standards.

× × × ×

Three days later, you found yourself sitting in a restaurant so lavish it looked more like a set for a movie than a place to have dinner. Soft candlelight flickered across the polished marble tables, casting a warm glow on the extravagant decor that screamed exclusivity. The maître d' had known Rhys by name, pulling out your chair as if you were royalty. It was the kind of place that made you feel like you needed to hold your breath just to fit in.

Earlier that day, your office had practically turned into a florist’s shop when an oversized bouquet of roses—deep red and fragrant—showed up on your desk. It wasn’t just one bouquet, either; it was a veritable mountain of roses, nestled in some kind of ornate, hand-painted ceramic vase. The card was short and simple: “Dinner tonight? 8 PM.”

Now here you were, seated across from him, watching as he signaled for the sommelier with a single, graceful nod. Rhys didn’t bother looking at you as he ordered a bottle of something with an Italian name, smooth-talking the waiter in a way that made you roll your eyes. He finally turned back to you, offering a soft, knowing smile, like he could sense your doubts and was ready to soothe them.

“Look, I know things got… a little off the other night,” he began, reaching across the table to take your hand. His thumb brushed gently over your knuckles, and he looked at you with that careful sincerity that had always been hard to resist. “I hate it when we’re not on the same page. You mean so much to me, and I wanted tonight to remind you of that. You deserve this, babe.”

You managed a polite smile. It wasn’t like he hadn’t done this before: a grand gesture, an expensive dinner, and words that, despite their warmth, somehow felt rehearsed. Last time, it had been diamond earrings. The time before that, a weekend getaway to Paris that he’d spent glued to his phone, disappearing to “handle some things” every few hours.

The sommelier arrived with the wine, pouring a small taste for Rhys, who swirled it with the grace of a practiced connoisseur. He took a sip, nodded approvingly, and gestured for the waiter to pour the full glasses.

“Perfect,” he said softly, as though he’d picked it himself, and turned his gaze back to you. “So, what do you say we start fresh?”

You tilted your head, studying him, hoping for something genuine in his expression. But there was nothing new. Just that same easy charm, the kind he wore effortlessly.

“Rhys…” you started, trying to find the right words.

He gently squeezed your hand, tilting his head slightly, his expression one of calm understanding.

“Hey, babe, listen. I know I messed up, alright?” His voice was tender, soothing. “But can’t we just put it behind us? I’m right here, with you, doing everything I can to make it up. Doesn’t that mean something?”

A faint smile tugged at his lips as he leaned back, looking at you with an almost expectant patience, as if waiting for you to see reason. You forced a smile, telling yourself that it was fine, that maybe you were overthinking things. Relationships took work, right? And you loved him… didn’t you?

As your dinner arrived, he launched into a story about his latest business meeting, rattling off names of people he expected you to be impressed by, and you nodded along, offering the occasional polite laugh. But the small alarms in your mind wouldn’t stop ringing. Rhys didn’t really ask about your day, or your work—he never had. And if he did, you knew he’d be glancing at his phone before you finished, acting engaged but never quite listening.

“So, how about a weekend away?” he said suddenly, his eyes sparkling with that warm look he reserved for moments like these. “Just you and me, away from all this work stress.”

You looked at him, nodding, even as a part of you screamed that this wasn’t right. But the lure of another apology, another expensive night out, dulled the doubts, and you pushed the thoughts aside.

It was easier that way.

As the waiter cleared the last of the plates, Rhys stood and held out his hand, offering that practiced smile. "Shall we?"

You nodded, slipping your hand into his as he led you out to the valet station, where you waited for the chauffeur to pull up. The evening air was cool, and you were tempted to lean back and close your eyes, but a movement caught your attention. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted Bucky walking by, his stride casual and confident, accompanied by a woman with a striking red braid. Your heart skipped a beat as you quickly ducked behind Rhys, hoping to blend into the background.

Rhys, however, turned, confusion in his eyes as he looked down at you. "What are you doing?"

“Stay still!” you hissed, pressing closer to him and peeking over his shoulder.

“Why?” he asked, craning his neck to look at whatever had made you react this way. Before you could stop him, he turned completely, exposing you from behind him.

You let out a panicked whisper. "Rhys, stop moving!"

Thoroughly confused, Rhys spun around again, only to reveal you once more as you scrambled to hide on his other side.

“What are you—? Seriously, just stay put!” you whispered fiercely, holding his arm tightly and ducking behind him again, your cheek pressed against his back.

Rhys, looking even more baffled, twisted once more to try and figure out what on earth had you acting this way. “But why—?”

“Oh my god, just stay still!” you muttered, exasperated, as he finally held himself steady, though his eyes continued darting around, searching for whatever mystery threat you seemed to be hiding from.

As Bucky and Nat walked past, still engrossed in their conversation, you held your breath, ducking even lower and gripping Rhys’s arm like a lifeline. Nat laughed at something Bucky said, and you couldn't help but notice their casual, easy camaraderie as they walked by. You felt your heart pound as you willed yourself to blend into Rhys’ back.

Rhys finally exhaled, rolling his eyes as he watched them move down the street, oblivious to the scene.

“Whoever you’re hiding from is gone,” he remarked, his gaze lingering a bit as he tracked Bucky’s figure down the sidewalk. Then he turned back to you, a bemused smile quirking up the corner of his mouth. "Happy now?”

You straightened, smoothing your dress as if nothing had happened, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Yes, actually," you replied coolly, though your heart still raced. You could feel Rhys’s curious gaze on you, but you ignored it, simply hoping you’d managed to avoid a real meet-awkward.

× × × ×

The elevator doors slid open into your penthouse, and before you could fully step inside, Rhys’s lips were on yours, his hands wrapping gently yet firmly around your waist. He kissed you with tenderness, pulling you closer as he nudged you backward. You found yourself responding out of habit, but as his hands started to roam, a flicker of doubt stirred within you.

Your hand pressed gently against his chest, breaking the kiss. “Rhys�� I’m not in the mood tonight.”

He paused, his expression softening as he pulled back, a look of quiet and heavy disappointment in his eyes.

"Oh," he murmured, running a hand down your arm as though trying to be considerate. “It’s okay,” he said softly, offering a faint smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I just… I miss you sometimes, you know?”

A twinge of guilt pricked at you as he sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I mean," he continued, his voice taking on a gentle tone, “I get that you’re tired. I just thought we’d have some time for each other tonight, that’s all.”

You felt yourself wavering, the familiar tug of guilt making you second-guess yourself. But as his hand reached for yours again, you gently pressed both of your palms to his chest, holding him at a distance.

“It’s been a long day, alright?” you said, almost apologetically. “I’m just… not feeling it.”

Rhys gave a small, understanding nod, though his face betrayed a hint of hurt.

"Yeah, no, I understand," he replied, though there was a faint edge of disappointment in his voice. “You’re probably right. I mean, we just don’t seem to connect like we used to, do we?” He gave a soft, wistful smile, brushing a thumb over your hand. "Maybe it's just me."

Before you could respond, a low growl echoed from across the room. You glanced over to see Figaro, your tuxedo cat, perched on top of the bookshelf, his yellow eyes fixed on Rhys with an intensity that made your heart swell a little. Figaro leapt down gracefully, landing on the floor and taking a protective stance in front of you, tail flicking as he let out another warning growl.

Rhys looked at Figaro and forced a small chuckle, but you caught the faint flash of annoyance in his eyes.

“Well, at least someone’s looking out for you,” he said lightly, though his smile was tight. He took a step back, fixing his shirt with a sigh. "I guess I'll leave you to it, then. Don’t worry about me."

Without waiting for a response, he gave you a small, lingering look before turning and striding out, letting the door click shut behind him. You let out a long breath, glancing down at Figaro, who was still sitting protectively at your feet, a soft meow escaping him as his fierce stance melted, and he looked up at you with wide, inquisitive eyes.

You crouched down to his level, reaching out to scratch behind his ears.

“Thanks for the backup, Fig,” you murmured, smiling as he tilted his head into your hand, clearly relishing the attention. “You’re such a good bodyguard, aren’t you?”

Figaro gave you a quiet chirp in response, almost as if he understood. Then, with an air of determination, he began sniffing at your clothes, his nose twitching as he moved closer, inspecting every inch of fabric. You chuckled, catching on quickly.

“Oh, I get it,” you said, amused. “You’re checking for Alpine’s scent again, aren’t you?”

Figaro paused mid-sniff, blinking up at you as if he’d been caught in the act. Then, with a haughty little flick of his tail, he resumed his mission, sticking his nose right into the sleeve of your blazer.

“It’s been three days, buddy. I haven’t seen Alpine since I… well, you know,” you said, laughing a bit at the memory. Figaro gave a soft meow, clearly still suspicious, and continued his inspection. “Don’t worry, she’s just a friend. I wouldn’t replace you,” you added, scratching under his chin as he leaned into your touch, still purring.

Finally, after a few more sniffs, he seemed satisfied, giving an approving chirp as he headbutted your hand, claiming you for himself. Figaro then climbed into your lap, purring loudly as he nestled himself comfortably, his paws kneading gently as he curled into you, pressing his head against your chest as if to say, You’re mine.

You sighed, leaning back into the couch and smiling down at him. “Alright, alright, it’s just us tonight, then. Think you can keep me company?”

Figaro blinked up at you, eyes half-closed in contentment, letting out a soft purr as if to answer, Always.

As you sat with Figaro purring contentedly in your lap, your phone buzzed with a new message. You picked it up to see a text from Sarah:

Sarah: Hey! How’s the new life as CEO? Keeping everyone in line?

You smiled, typing back a quick response.

You: Barely! But let’s just say I’m becoming best friends with caffeine.

A moment later, your phone buzzed again.

Sarah: Atta girl! Listen, tomorrow night? Chicken and beer, my place?

You grinned, feeling a wave of relief at the idea of a low-key night with your best friend.

You: Sounds perfect. See you then!

Sarah’s reply came almost instantly.

Sarah: Great! And don’t get lost ;)

You chuckled, rolling your eyes at the reminder, scratching Figaro’s ears as he nuzzled into you. “Haha, very funny.”

× × × ×

You clutched an empty hot sauce bottle close to your chest, heart racing from more than just the unfortunate loss at rock-paper-scissors with Sarah. She had grinned wickedly, all too delighted that you’d be the one asking Bucky for a favor. And now, here you were, standing outside his door, staring at the peephole like it was some sort of intimidating abyss.

Why am I so nervous? It’s just hot sauce, for crying out loud. You chewed on your thumbnail, whispering to yourself as you rehearsed what you’d say when he opened the door. “Hey, Bucky, I, uh… ran out of hot sauce. Well, technically Sarah ran out of hot sauce, and now here I am…”

Taking a deep breath, you gathered what little courage you had, then knocked softly.

Almost immediately, you heard his voice through the door. “Hold on a sec.”

Your pulse spiked, and you scrambled to fix yourself up, smoothing your hair, adjusting your shirt, and trying to look as casual as possible—despite the butterflies in your stomach. It’s just hot sauce. Just. Hot. Sauce.

The door swung open, and there he was, looking every bit as annoyed as someone whose night had just been interrupted. Bucky was dressed down in a gray hoodie and sweatpants, with reading glasses perched on his nose, as if he’d been in the middle of something far more important than your quest for condiment rescue. He took one look at the bottle in your hand and sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Seriously?” he muttered, voice low and gruff. “Can’t stay away?”

You forced a grin, trying to seem unfazed by his tone, though your heart was doing a wild dance in your chest.

“Couldn’t stay away,” you managed, waggling the empty bottle in the air. “Actually, I’m here on behalf of Sarah, who—shockingly—managed to run out of hot sauce.”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed as he looked at you, then down at Alpine, who had already trotted over to you, purring as she wove around your legs. He sighed, the tiniest bit of a smile tugging at his mouth, though his expression stayed mostly unimpressed.

“You two really are a piece of work,” he grumbled, almost to himself and referring to you and Alpine. With a low huff, he turned and disappeared into the kitchen, calling back over his shoulder, “Fine, hold on.”

You watched him go, unable to suppress a laugh as you crouched down to pet Alpine.

“Hey, sweet girl,” you cooed, scratching behind her ears. “At least someone’s happy to see me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bucky’s voice echoed from the kitchen, the same grumpy tone as before. A moment later, he returned, holding out a nearly full bottle of hot sauce. “Here,” he said, handing it over like he was reluctantly offering his most prized possession.

“Thanks, grumpy,” you teased, flashing him a bright smile. “I promise I’ll bring it back—maybe with some cookies to make up for the trouble.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, though you noticed he didn’t seem in a hurry to close the door.

“I’m not in it for cookies,” he deadpanned, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe. But the faintest hint of amusement flickered in his eyes, like he was trying not to smile. “But whatever keeps you from raiding my kitchen in the future.”

“Duly noted,” you replied, giving him a playful wink. “And I’ll remember that next time I need a ‘neighborly favor.’”

As you turned to leave, you couldn’t help but glance back, catching the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his lips—a small victory in cracking the grumpy facade of the guy with the hoodie, reading glasses, and a talent for perfecting the art of being reluctantly charming.

Just as you took a step into the hallway, you felt a soft brush against your leg. You looked down to see Alpine, trotting along beside you as if she’d decided to join you for the rest of your night. She meowed up at you, purring as she rubbed against your leg, clearly delighted by the idea. Long time no see~ Can I join you?

“Oh no, you’re coming back with me,” Bucky called from the doorway, his voice filled with an exasperated fondness. He stepped out, crouching down and reaching to scoop Alpine up.

But Alpine had other plans. With a playful flick of her tail, she darted down the hallway, paws tapping lightly on the floor as she glanced back at you both, clearly treating this as a game. You let out a laugh, glancing at Bucky, who rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide the faint smile tugging at his lips.

“Alright, let’s go,” he muttered, already jogging down the hall after her. You quickly followed, trying to keep up as Alpine zig-zagged down the corridor, occasionally pausing just to watch the two of you stumble over each other in pursuit.

You lunged, reaching out just as Bucky did, your fingers brushing against his hand, warm and rough against your skin. You both froze for a heartbeat, your hands lingering on each other, fingers almost intertwining. His blue eyes flicked to yours, a faint, surprised softness in his expression.

“Sorry,” he murmured, his voice suddenly low, as he reluctantly pulled his hand away. His cheeks had a faint tinge of color, and he glanced down, avoiding your gaze.

“It’s okay,” you replied softly, feeling your own face heat up as the lingering warmth of his touch pulsed through your hand.

A soft meow drew your attention back to Alpine, who had trotted a few steps farther down the hall and was now looking back, her tail swishing impatiently, as if to say, Come on, don’t stop now.

You shared a glance with Bucky, both of you chuckling before you took off again, nearly colliding as Alpine darted between you, then back down the hall. You tried to cut her off, reaching for her just as Bucky leaned down, and your shoulder brushed his chest, your arm catching briefly against his as you both reached for the cat at the same time.

“Gotcha!” he breathed as he finally managed to scoop Alpine up, holding her securely in his arms. She gave a little huff of protest but settled quickly, casting a satisfied look at the two of you as if she’d planned this entire chase.

Bucky looked down at you, his expression softened as he adjusted Alpine in his arms. “She’s got a mind of her own,” he murmured, giving the cat a gentle scratch behind the ears. “If I let her, she’d probably invite half the building over.”

You chuckled, shrugging as you met his gaze, still feeling the warmth of his hand and the accidental brushes that had left your skin tingling.

“Well, who could say no to her?” You paused, catching Alpine’s approving stare, and added with a grin, “She has good taste.”

With a final smile, you turned to go, the warmth of his touch lingering as you walked back to Sarah’s, already looking forward to the next time fate—and perhaps a certain cat—might bring you and Bucky together again.

× × × ×

Bucky set Alpine down on the floor, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at her. The lights cast a soft glow, shadows stretching as Alpine blinked up at him innocently before promptly starting to groom herself, as if she hadn’t just led him on a wild chase. Just doing my job here. Somebody has to give you a nudge.

“Oh, play it cool now, huh?” he muttered, watching her with a raised brow. “Got me running all over the place, and now you’re acting like you didn’t just make me look like a fool.”

Alpine paused mid-lick, giving him a blank, unbothered stare, then went right back to her grooming. Honestly, you wouldn’t need me if you’d get a clue. Ever thought of actually talking to her instead of grumbling? She flicked her tail with a touch of sass. Or maybe asking her name?

Bucky sighed, running a hand over his face. “You know, normal cats just sit still, Alpine. They don’t pull stunts like this.”

Alpine stretched out her front paws, yawned theatrically, and trotted over to her favorite spot by the window, where a perfect patch of moonlight poured in. She plopped down with a little huff, giving him a look that practically screamed Mission accomplished. Settling into the moonlight, she gave him a long, slow blink. Face it, you’re helpless without me.

Bucky raised an eyebrow, watching her settle in, already giving up on him. “Oh, so that’s it? You run me all over the hallway, leave me looking like a fool, and now it’s straight to bed?”

Alpine stretched luxuriously, flicking her tail, her eyes half-lidded as if she were already drifting off. Exactly. All done here.

“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” he muttered, unable to help the reluctant chuckle escaping him. “I’m starting to think you live to drive me nuts.”

Alpine’s only response was to give him a slow, deliberate blink, followed by a little yawn as she curled herself up into a neat ball. Trust me, I have better things to do. But if you need help with her, I’ll keep doing what it takes. She tucked her paws under her chest, purring softly as she settled comfortably into her moonlit spot.

Bucky let out a resigned sigh, shaking his head as he watched her drift contentedly into her nap, completely unbothered. “Nice, just real nice, Alpine.”

Alpine barely twitched an ear, her purrs steady as she nestled deeper, looking more self-satisfied by the second. If you’d stop being so dense, maybe I could finally get some rest. But nooo, someone’s gotta step in to make things happen.

With a chuckle, Bucky finally turned to leave, muttering as he walked away, “Yeah, alright, enjoy your victory. But one day, I’m gonna get the last word.”

She let out a long, dramatic sigh behind him, curling her tail neatly around her paws as she watched him go. Good luck with that.

× × × ×

You returned to Sarah’s place with the hot sauce in hand, still feeling the faint warmth of that brief touch with Bucky lingering on your skin. As soon as you walked in, Sarah’s eyes zeroed in on you, her mouth quirking up with barely-contained curiosity.

“Well?” she asked, leaning over the kitchen counter, an amused gleam in her eyes. “Did the hot sauce handoff go smoothly, or did you manage to embarrass yourself?”

You rolled your eyes, though you couldn’t hide your grin. “Oh, you know, just the usual ‘I tried to borrow hot sauce and his cat made a break for it’ kind of thing.”

Sarah let out a cackle, grabbing a piece of chicken and waving it at you. “Oh, I can just picture it! Poor Bucky, trying to wrangle you and Alpine at the same time. Man’s got patience, that’s for sure.”

You snorted, sitting down across from her. “Honestly, if that cat has a loyalty bone in her body, I sure didn’t see it. She trotted right after me, looking like she was about to pack her bags and move in with me.”

Sarah raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Well, maybe she just knows who has the better vibe.” She paused, then leaned in closer, her voice dropping conspiratorially. “And speaking of vibes… you still think Bucky’s kind of… hot, right?”

You blinked, caught off guard but unable to stop the laugh that bubbled up. “Sarah! I have a boyfriend, and you’re the one who’s supposed to be his neighborly buddy, not me.”

Sarah shrugged, unbothered. “Hey, just saying what we’re all thinking! I mean, that man is like a brooding mystery novel come to life—hoodies, reading glasses, and a cat? It’s like the universe took every mysterious loner trope and gave him an apartment across the hall.”

“It’s true. And he has this way of looking at you like he’s trying to figure out if you’re worth his time or if he should just ignore you forever.” You snickered, leaning back in your chair.

Sarah burst out laughing. “Right? It’s like he’s thinking, ‘Should I be annoyed by you, or should I give you a chance?’”

You shook your head, rolling your eyes playfully. “And then there’s Alpine. She’s practically his little accomplice, just trotting around, inspecting people. I swear she judges everyone who walks through that door.”

Sarah nodded solemnly. “It’s like she’s screening potential friends for him. I bet you passed her inspection with flying colors, which probably drives Bucky insane.”

You grinned, reaching for the hot sauce and holding it up victoriously. “Well, in any case, mission accomplished. Hot sauce acquired.”

Sarah took it from you, her eyes twinkling with laughter. “Good job, hot sauce hero. And, you know, if you ever need another excuse to go over there… just let me know.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, and you swatted her with a laugh.

“Calm down,” you said, grinning despite yourself. “I’ll leave the neighborly mingling to you.”

But as you settled back, that faint memory of Bucky’s hand brushing against yours slipped into your mind again, leaving you with a hint of a smile you couldn’t quite shake.

Sarah took the hot sauce from you with a grin, eyes twinkling mischievously.

“Honestly, though? As much as I get why you’re fangirling over Bucky, I think I’ll stick with you know… Captain America? Steve Rogers?” She wiggled her eyebrows, smirking as if she’d just revealed the world’s biggest secret.

Your jaw dropped as you laughed. “Wait, wait—you have a crush on Captain America? Sarah, since when?”

“Oh, since forever, love,” she replied, completely unfazed. “I mean, come on. Bucky’s hot and all, with the mysterious, brooding vibe—total cat dad energy. But Steve? He’s, like, America’s sweetheart. Have you seen that jawline? And don’t even get me started on those shoulders…”

You rolled your eyes. “Alright, but what does any of this have to do with Bucky?”

Sarah raised an eyebrow, deadpanning, “You’re joking. Please tell me you’re not that clueless.”

“Clueless about what?”

She sighed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know, girl. Figure it out yourself.”

× × × ×

You stepped out of Sarah’s apartment in a fluffy bathrobe, hair piled in a chaotic bun, and wearing one of those ridiculous panda face masks. Sarah had bossed you into taking out the recycling, claiming you were “faster and had better balance,” even though you were pretty sure she just wanted to keep watching her favorite Korean drama on the couch.

Armed with a wobbly tower of recycling in one arm and a half-empty mug of coffee in the other, you shuffled down the hall, muttering about how unfair this was—considering you were the guest. Just as you reached Bucky’s door, the inevitable happened: an empty can teetered from the top of the stack, then clattered loudly against Bucky’s door before rolling down the hall.

“Oh, for the love of—” you grumbled, watching as a few more items tumbled out of your grip, scattering in all directions like rebellious escapees.

Grumbling under your breath, you set down the rest of the recycling and dropped to your hands and knees, crawling around to collect the runaway trash. One by one, you reached for a stray plastic bottle, an empty cereal box, and a rogue pickle jar lid, grumbling the entire time. Just as you stretched out to grab the can in front of Bucky’s door, the door swung open.

You froze, one hand outstretched, still on all fours as you looked up to find Bucky staring down at you, his face set in that trademark grumpy expression, one eyebrow raised in exasperation. There you were, kneeling on the floor in a panda face mask, coffee mug abandoned on the floor beside you, and a look of pure horror in your wide, panda-eyed gaze.

He looked at you, deadpan. “Uh… good evening?” His voice held a hint of a grumble, as if you were the hundredth person to knock on his door that night.

“Evening,” you squeaked, voice muffled by the mask. Slowly, you grabbed the can you’d been reaching for and straightened, still clutching the recycling like a raccoon caught in headlights.

Bucky leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms with a sigh, like he’d been forced into this position. “Taking the recycling out, huh? Looks… intense. Is the panda look part of the routine?”

You cleared your throat, trying to save what little dignity you had left.

“Sarah’s orders,” you muttered, attempting to sound nonchalant despite the panda face mask covering your face. “She said I’m faster, so… here I am.”

“Right.” He raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical. “Clearly, she picked the right person for the job.” He glanced down at the coffee mug on the floor, lifting his chin with a sarcastic edge. “And the coffee—emergency fuel for… panda-speed?”

“Oh, absolutely,” you replied, trying to sound dignified as you met his grumpy stare with a forced smile. “This is serious business. Not everyone can pull off recycling in full panda regalia.”

He nodded, holding his expression as flat as possible. “Right. Because it takes a real pro to look like a trash panda… while actually handling trash.”

You narrowed your eyes at him, fighting the urge to laugh. “Trash panda? Wow, that’s rich, coming from the guy who looks like he’d growl at Girl Scouts just for ringing his doorbell.”

His mouth twitched, but he stayed in character, leaning against the door. “Hey, at least I don’t terrify the whole building with face masks.”

“Oh, please,” you replied, rolling your eyes. “At least I put effort into my skincare routine. What’s your secret—‘scowl until the wrinkles gets intimidated’?”

“Cute.” He kept his tone flat, though you noticed the corner of his mouth twitch slightly. “I think the panda eyes bring out your sarcasm. Really… fierce.”

“Pandas are fierce,” you shot back, smirking under your mask. “They’re nature’s gentle-but-deadly combo. Kind of like me.”

“Right, gentle and deadly,” he repeated, barely able to hold back a smirk. “Noted. I’ll remember that next time I see you crawling around my doorstep with a coffee mug and a can of pickles.”

“Look, I was handling it,” you protested, still trying to keep a straight face. “Just because you caught me in the middle of a… tactical maneuver doesn’t mean I don’t have it under control.”

“Oh yeah, sure,” he replied, maintaining his unimpressed stare. “I’m sure that’s what it was. You were practically radiating grace.”

You couldn’t hold back a laugh, rolling your eyes as you gathered the rest of the stray recycling. “Alright, laugh it up, Mr. Permanently-Annoyed.”

“Hey, I’d offer to help, but it looks like you’ve got it,” he replied, making no move to lend a hand, arms still folded as he watched you with that unimpressed look.

You stood up, giving him a playful glare. “Yeah, I do. Just don’t go stealing my panda-recycling techniques. They’re patented.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” he replied, his tone dry. “I’ll leave that look to the professionals.”

You turned to head down the hall, tossing back, “Good choice. It takes real skill to pull off ‘panda chic.’”

“Goodnight, trash panda,” he called after you with a lazy smirk, watching you attempt to saunter off with some semblance of dignity, though the effect was slightly ruined by your still-panda-masked face.

As you disappeared around the corner, you could hear his quiet, begrudging chuckle echoing down the hallway. You couldn’t help but smile, already thinking up a new comeback for the next time you’d cross paths with Mr. Grumpy Neighbor.

× × × ×

The next morning you stepped out of Sarah’s apartment, adjusting the delicate gold earring in your right ear as you locked the door behind you. Dressed in a sleek, tailored blazer and wide-leg trousers, paired with heels that clicked confidently against the hallway floor, you looked every inch the CEO. The polished look was worlds away from the panda-masked recycling chaos of last night, and you felt ready to conquer the day.

As you turned, you found yourself face-to-face with Bucky, who’d just exited his own apartment. He paused, taking you in from head to toe with a carefully neutral expression, his gaze lingering slightly on the structured blazer and the quiet luxury of your outfit.

For a moment, neither of you spoke, and then, almost in sync, you both broke the silence with a slightly awkward, “Good morning.”

Bucky’s eyes met yours, but his expression remained unreadable, and you couldn’t tell if he was surprised by your transformation. Maybe he was, or maybe he just couldn’t resist an opportunity to tease you.

He tilted his head, eyes narrowing just a bit as he gave you a slow once-over. “Well, look who cleaned up nice. Didn’t recognize you without the whole… ‘trash panda’ ensemble.”

You raised an eyebrow, trying not to laugh as you shot him a sidelong glance. “Ah, the ‘trash panda’ look. You must be so disappointed I don’t wear it more often.”

With huff and a shrug, Bucky stepped aside, allowing you to pass, his eyes lingering briefly as you walked down the hallway, his blank expression still firmly in place.

You both stepped toward the elevator, waiting in silence as the numbers slowly descended to your floor. As you stood there, you found your gaze drifting toward Bucky every now and then, stealing quick glances at him out of the corner of your eye. Was it wrong to find another guy attractive? Maybe it was just because you knew next to nothing about him—his name, his apartment, the fact that he had a cat named Alpine who seemed to have adopted you.

Another glance. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a natural ease in the way he stood there, casual yet composed. 183 centimeters? you guessed, then reconsidered, 187? Wait, you were wearing heels, and he was still a good bit taller than you. 190, maybe?

The elevator doors opened, and you both stepped in, standing side by side in silence as the doors closed. Suddenly, your phone buzzed. You pulled it out, and Rhys’s name flashed across the screen. Stifling a sigh, you answered in a hushed tone, trying not to disturb the quiet.

“What is it, Rhys? I’m on my way to a meeting.”

His voice was casual. “Thought I’d just check in. Haven’t heard from you all morning.”

“I’ve been busy,” you replied flatly, your tone holding an edge.

“Busy with what?” he asked, sounding as though he couldn’t imagine what you’d be up to that didn’t involve him.

“Work, Rhys. You know, that thing I do for a living?” you replied, your voice dripping with sarcasm, feeling Bucky glance at you from the side, probably picking up every word despite your attempt at discretion.

Rhys scoffed on the other end. “Alright, no need to bite my head off.”

You rolled your eyes. “I’ll call you back when I’m free. Bye, Rhys.” You ended the call, slipping your phone back into your bag with a sigh.

Beside you, Bucky’s gaze flickered your way, a slight furrow forming between his brows. The last time you’d been stuck together in this elevator, you’d been all sarcasm and snapping at him for noticing your impatience. Now, here you were, practically glowing, looking like the kind of person who actually enjoyed mornings. He seemed to be weighing this change, his expression unreadable as he watched you out of the corner of his eye.

You slipped your phone back into your bag, trying to shake off the lingering frustration from the call. Clearing your throat, you glanced over at him, forcing yourself to sound casual.

“So… what’s got you out so early this morning?”

Bucky turned his head slightly, meeting your gaze with a flicker of surprise, his brows lifting as if he hadn’t expected the question. He shrugged, his mouth tugging into a faint, almost amused line.

“Just some errands,” he replied, his hands still tucked in his pockets.

You nodded, raising an eyebrow as if trying to read more into his response. “Errands. Very mysterious,” you said, a small, teasing smile tugging at your lips.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, a low chuckle slipping past his lips as he watched you.

“Mysterious?” he echoed, that faint smirk softening his usual gruffness. “What’s so mysterious about errands?”

“Oh, I don’t know… just something about the quiet guy, up early, hands in his pockets, looking like he’s got secrets.” You shrugged, casting him a mischievous glance.

He huffed, shaking his head, though his eyes held a flicker of humor as he glanced away.

“Trust me,” he muttered, a trace of a smirk lingering, “it’s nothing exciting.”

You tilted your head, giving him an exaggerated once-over. “No, seriously,” you said, folding your arms with a mock-critical expression. “You don’t exactly give off ‘morning person’ vibes.”

He raised an eyebrow, playing along. “Oh yeah? And what’s that supposed to mean?”

You held back a grin, tapping your chin thoughtfully. “Well, you’ve got that whole ‘leave me alone or I’ll bite’ face going on,” you teased. “Figured mornings would be your natural enemy. You know, like sunlight to a vampire.”

A faint smirk tugged at his mouth.

“Careful, now,” he said, eyes twinkling with mock offense. “Are you discriminating against morning people with a resting bitch face?”

You snorted, barely holding back laughter. “I don’t know, maybe! But you’ve got a chronic case of it,” you teased. “It’s tragic, really.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah, real tragic. Guess I’m just doomed to terrify cheerful people like you.”

“Well, you’re definitely succeeding,” you replied with a grin, giving him a playful nudge as the elevator doors finally opened.

You let out a small sigh, looking up at him with a sweet smile. “Alright, well… I’ll see you later, Bucky,” you said, giving him a little wave as you stepped out, turning to head down the hall.

The moment you turned your back, Bucky’s hand started to lift, returning the wave as if on autopilot. Realization hit a second later, and he froze, staring at his own hand with a look of utter horror. He quickly dropped it, scowling at his own reflex as if his hand had betrayed him.

The elevator doors closed, leaving him alone, still side-eyeing his hand with a mix of disbelief and mild annoyance.

tags: @winchestert101 @lomlbuckybarnes @lveegsoi @itsshellzy @almosttoopizza

@aami98 @hextech-bros @hzdhrtss @winterslove1917 @infqnitysblog

@ayayaeyato @blackbirdwitch22 @mostlymarvelgirl @bohoooitsme @crdgn

@yiiiikesmish @jae0515 @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @nikey-no-likey @aami98

@almosttoopizza @hextech-bros

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lqveharrington · 8 months ago

Text

You Look Beautiful | V.

summary: Alastor introduces you to Vox, leading to an unforgettable experience with your father.

pairing: vox x lucifer’s daughter!reader

includes: drinking, fluff, VALENTINO, secret relationships, awkward flirting, lucifer being an overprotective father, lucifer also being lucifer, that’s basically it (let me know if i missed any !!)

a/n: this takes place before Vox upgrades to a flat screen TV and before Alastor leaves for his seven year absence. Also, you’re older than charlie 🤗

Being Lucifer Morningstar’s first daughter was something else. Especially when your mother left. When she left, your father fell into deep depression which left you with paperwork to fulfill from other sins and left you with the responsibility of watching over your younger sister. Having to take over both your mother and father’s royal duties was getting to you, so no wonder you resorted to occasional clubbing with your friends.

“Husk!” You enveloped the demon cat in your arms, earning a noise of complaint. “Rude.”

“I don’t take affection lightly.” He patted your back awkwardly and let you settle into the booth with him. “What took you so long?”

You roll your eyes, “Charlie wanted to invite the stupid Von Eldritch boy over. I at least had to set some ground rules.”

“She’ll disobey them.” Husk shook his head and ordered a whiskey. “You know her.”

“Yeah yeah.” You wave him off and order your own drink, tapping your nails against your flip phone. “Do you know if Alastor’s here yet?”

“Why, I would like to believe I’m here, darling.” The Radio Demon formed in front of you. Husk muttered something toward your direction, Alastor’s grin sharpening at the action. “I’ve brought along some acquaintances if you don’t mind.”

You look up before sipping your drink. “Yeah, what you’ve brought is a doll, a moth, and a tv— Ow.” You rubbed your arm where Husk jabbed you, glaring at him.

Your eyes drifted toward the three demons Alastor brought with him, tilting your head at the height differences. You learned that the shortest amongst them was Velvette. Out of the three of them, she seemed to be the one with the most fashion sense as she nitpicked everyone else’s clothing in the establishment. Her accent was heavy, leaving you to wonder what she said half of the time.

“Oh god, that bitch is wearing wrist ruffles! Someone burn it.” She spoke in distaste at the demon.

“Vel, she’s already wasted, don’t give her any more ideas.” The moth blew out pink smoke, watching the young demon stumble across the dance floor.

For a moth, he was the tallest demon between the three of them, towering over everyone even while sitting. He introduced himself to be Valentino… The porn demon. He gave you goosebumps from sitting across you. And for being the princess of hell, that means a lot. He seemed to be eyeing all the younger demons, his single gold tooth flashing when he grinned at them.

“Val, come dance with me.” Velvette dragged him out of the booth, not waiting for a response. “Voxy, you’re welcome to join.”

You shifted your gaze over to the TV demon, watching him politely decline the offer. He definitely kept you guessing. When you first saw him, he was reserved and only spoke to those he came with. However, he eventually started to loosen up, taking shots with Valentino. And for a demon with a TV box for a head, he was quite interesting.

“You’re not gonna dance?” You stir your red straw in your drink, catching the demon’s attention. “It seemed like Velvette wanted you to join them.”

“Dancing with big crowds isn’t my thing.” He swirled a claw over the rim of his glass and met your eyes. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Your eyes drift over to Husk ordering another whiskey at the bar, Alastor hot on his tail.

“Why aren’t you dancing?”

“I wasn’t up to it, but now that you mention it—“ You tilted your head back and downed your drink, not noticing the glitching TV beside you. “—You have to come dancing with me.”

“I don’t think—“

You click your tongue, pushing your drink away. “Just one song? If you don’t want to, you can leave when we get there.” You take his hand and pout, using the face your father gave you to make it more convincing. “Please?”

He huffed but let you drag him to the dance floor, moving his hand to your hip when you hit the center of the huge crowd. “You know, I’m starting to think he just invited me out to be more social with his friends.”

“Al and I are barely friends, but how is that working out for you?” You question as the red light glares against your skin.

He shrugged as his voice dripped with sarcasm. “Depends on how well I’ve been talking to the people he introduced me to.” He tugged you closer to you when drunk demons pushed against your body. “Do you even remember my name?”

You open your mouth but promptly shut it, cheeks flushed at the confrontation. “I know it! I just… Don’t want to say it.”

“Holy shit, you don’t know my name.” He spun you in his arms, smirking at your pink face. “It’s Vox, by the way.”

“I knew that.” You say with a teasing tone, laughing when he dipped you. “I bet you don’t know my name.”

Your name fell from his mouth smoothly, making you scoff in annoyance. “I believe everyone knows who you are, princess.”

You avoided his gaze after the nickname spilled out of his lips. Sure, you were called princess multiple times by many demons. But the way Vox said it made butterflies appear in your stomach, a different kind of goosebumps appearing across your skin.

As the song came to an end, you learned a lot more about the TV demon in front of you within those last six minutes than you learned from Husk in the last two years. Returning to your booth, your phone vibrated in your pocket as you excused yourself from your company. Charlie’s name lit up your screen, making you curse.

You went back over to the booth to find Vox covering your unfinished drink with his hand, glancing at his own phone. “Hey, I have to go. Sorry for cutting our discussion short. My sister called and—“

“Don’t worry! It’s not an issue! Your family is clearly important sooo…” Vox rubbed the back of his neck, tugging at the turtleneck. “Before you go, can I ask you something?”

“What’s up?” You look back up at him after shooting a text to Charlie.

His screen turned pink as your attention went back to him, all confidence leaving his system. “I was wondering if you would like to meet up again. Sometime? Not in a club possibly?”

Your face warms at his words, at a loss for your own response. “Uh.. Yes! Of course, let me just get your contact info.”

“Right!” He felt the inside of his jacket for a pen, taking your hand a scribbling down his number. “Just give me a call whenever you can.”

You smiled at how fast he switched from confident to shy within seconds. “Of course.”

“Oh my god.” You mumble as you watch your father converse with the store’s employees animatedly, rubbing your temples at the sight.

Charlie snickered at your expression as he summoned a rubber duck he was working on. “You can’t tell me you weren’t expecting this when we went out today.”

“No, I knew.” You turn away from your father’s embarrassing encounter and flick through different dresses on the rack behind you instead. “I think knowing this would happen made it a hundred times worse.”

Since Lilith left, Lucifer took it upon himself to treat his daughters out to buy their own clothing at least once a month. He just always got distracted by showing other demons his creations.

“Char, do you think I could pull this off?” You pull a dress from the rack and put it against yourself, staring at the mirror with your nail between your teeth. You quite liked it, but you weren’t sure if you would wear it more than once—

“Personally, I think you would look amazing.” A voice that was distinctly not Charlie came from your left.

You whipped your head over as your face reddened at the TV demon. “Shut up, Vox.”

“I’m serious! You would look great in that.” He fully came into your view, pressing a soft kiss to your cheek. “Didn’t expect to see you today.”

Humming, you walk back over to the rack and examine the rest of the dresses, Vox close behind. “My dad wanted to take Charlie and I out.” You glanced up at him when you pulled out a maroon dress, silently asking for his opinion. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, this is Velvette’s own designer store.” He cleared his throat, eyes darting toward the sign that had his business partner’s name under it. “She sent me to check on the stock or something.”

“Did you?” You question as you scan over the prices on the dresses, clicking your tongue. “Check on whatever she needs you to check on, I mean?”

He shrugged, “You distracted me, princess.”

You flush pink again at the name, bumping him with your hip. “Go do your job, Vox.”

“It’s not my fault I saw you!”

“Yes, it is!” You tease with an accusatory finger to his chest. “I’m an innocent bystander—“

Charlie rounded the corner of the store looking for you, eyes brightening when seeing your figure. “Hey, dad’s asking for you— Oh!” You and Vox separated swiftly, eyes wide at the young Morningstar. “Uh, am I.. interrupting something? Orrr…?”

“No no, you’re fine, Charlie.” Your face remained warm, not meeting your sister’s eyes. An awkward silence filled the room before Vox cleared his throat, making you spring into action. “Right! Charlie, this is Vox. Vox, Charlie.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Charlie.” Vox gave her a polite smile, squeezing your hip. “Your sister talks a lot about you.

Charlie practically glowed at the confession, looking over at you for confirmation. “It’s nice to meet you as well!” She glanced at the two of you in suspicion. “I’m sorry to cut your… Meeting? Uh, short, but our dad needs her…”

Vox squeezed your hip one last time before pressing a quick kiss to your temple, soft static emitting from the spot. “I’ll text you later.”

“Bye.” You give him a lovesick look as you nod, walking over to a grinning Charlie.

“Soooo…” Charlie looked back, watching the TV demon’s screen become crimson with small electric hearts appearing. “Who was that?”

“Vox.”

She rolled her eyes at your bluntness, “Okay, obviously! But who is he?”

You fiddle with the hangers in your arms, not meeting her eyes. “He’s a guy… That I’m seeing… Currently…”

“Oh. My. Gosh!” She squeezed your arm with excitement, bouncing with every step. “Why didn’t you tell me? That’s super exciting!”

“I didn’t want Dad to find out.” You shake your head at the thought. “He’s been a bit overprotective with who we hang out with recently.”

Speak of the devil, he’ll appear.

“GIRLS! COME MEET THIS NICE YOUNG WOMAN!”

You and Charlie looked at each other while wincing, slowly approaching your father.

“Charlie!” You yell from your bathroom, rushing over to your walk-in closet. You sift through your dresses, looking for the maroon dress.

“What?” She yelled from your bedroom, giving KeeKee stomach rubs.

Swiftly, you snatch the dress off the hanger and run back over to the bathroom, throwing your towel over the shower and slipping into the dress. “Can you run downstairs and make sure Dad doesn’t open the door? Vox is coming to pick me up—“

“Why can’t you do it?” She groaned, flopping down onto your bed

“Because I’m not done dressing!” Your eyes flash red in annoyance with small horns poking out of your head as you peek over at the young demon. “The staff has the day off today because it’s the end of the month, and I really don’t want Dad to open the door.”

Charlie muttered something incoherent before leaving the room, KeeKee right by her heels. To be fair, you were a little rude, but you had the right to be. You were terrified for your father to meet Vox. Not that Vox was horrible, but your father's protectiveness started to rise much faster these last couple of months. As you were finishing up your makeup, your phone rang, followed by a groan coming out of your mouth.

“Hello?” You picked up your phone, slipping on your red heels and gold jewelry.

“Hi, princess.” Vox’s voice came through the cellular device, making you smile.

“Are you here already?” You glance at the clock in your room and curse at the time, running down the stairs.

He chuckled awkwardly, “Yeah, but uhm, your dad looks like he’s gonna kill me.”

“Fuck, okay, give me a second.” You shut your phone and open a portal to the front door instead of running all the way down to the foyer. “Hey, Dad!”

“Sweetie, who the hell is this guy?” Lucifer glared at the TV demon. Vox buffered at the comment, embarrassment filling his system.

You wedge yourself in between the two, whispering an apology to Vox. “Dad, this is Vox. Vox, my dad..”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mister Morningstar.” Vox offered his hand but slowly lowered it as he received no reaction.

“Uh-huh.” Lucifer looked at him up and down. “And who exactly is he?”

You hold the urge to laugh at how similar Charlie was to your father but snap back to reality when you hear Vox’s fans turn on.

“He’s my…” You glance back at the demon behind you before down at your father, linking your hands with Vox’s. “Vox is my boyfriend.”

“Your what now?” He stared at you with wide eyes, gaze shifting from the now bright pink demon to his darling daughter.

“My boyfriend.” You say again with more assurance. “We’ve been together a bit after Alastor introduced us—“

“The radio demon?” Lucifer made a face of disgust. “Okay, well you can come back inside the house and you—“ He pushed Vox out while pulling you in. “—Can leave my property.”

“Dad!” You tug Vox back to your side, apologizing once more for your father’s actions. “I’m going out with him tonight.”

“Oh, c’mon. He’s associated with the stupid radio—“

“I’m friends with Alastor!” Your eyes flash red again but calmed once Vox squeezes your hand. You blink before speaking again, taking a deep breath. “Listen, can I just go out? I’ll be back later.”

Lucifer sighed, rubbing his temple. “You’re happy? He makes you happy?”

You nod while smiling up at Vox, “Very.”

“And you’ll watch over her?” He looked over at Vox, brow raised at the demon.

“Yes, sir.” Vox squeezed your hand again.

He bit back any words of annoyance and gave a strained smile to the both of you. “Have fun on your date, sweetheart.”

You grinned and pulled him in for a hug, “Thank you! Love you!”

“Alright, just be back by midnight.” He flicked his hand which set a timer over the doorway. “Be safe.”

“We will!” You take Vox’s hand again and drag him away from the door. “That was easy.”

Vox furrowed his brows at your statement, wrapping his arm around your hip. “For you, maybe. He looked like he wanted to murder me.”

You shrug your shoulders, “You’ll get used to it.” You give him a proper look, tugging at his tie when you thought you were far enough from your father’s gaze. “You look handsome as always.”

“You look…” He pulled you close by the waist, smirking as you flushed red. “Beautiful.”

You push up on your toes and press a kiss to his lips, hands coming up to the sides of his screen. He hummed and pulled you closer, thumbs rubbing circles by your hip.

“HEY! BACK UP, BUDDY!” Lucifer yelled from the door, full demon form out on display.

You chuckle when Vox glitches, patting his chest. “Sorry, handsome.”

“STAY TEN FEET AWAY FROM HER!”

Rolling your eyes, you turn around and let your own demon form come out. “DAD!”

434 notes · View notes

modmad · 8 months ago

Note

Hey Mod, I don't know what's going on that hurt you, I feel like I missed something that's happened, but I can tell from what I did see that it didn't just hurt you, but scared you and made you feel a Lot of doubt. I've also seen a lot of messages pouring in with support, and I want to share mine.

I have hypermobile type EDS, fibromyalgia, and a whole bucket's worth of faulty wiring in my brain. And I've always had stories to tell but I never felt I was good enough to share them. If it's because I can't focus enough to get through nanowrimo, or because I can't manage the focus and time towards drawing as a hobby, or the fact that an excessive amount of either for me leads to my hands wanting to shut down. But you? You *inspire* me. Your stories, all the ones I've seen, read, experienced in some way or another, they're so good. And you're open and honest with your fans about your own health, and of course, we support you and always would rather you rest and feel as best you can, instead of pushing out something and working yourself too hard. But all of this is to say that. I think I would have given up on my own stories if I hadn't found you and yours.

I hope whatever is going on sorts itself out, I hope you're able to keep telling your stories. At your own pace, in your own way. I think you deserve to be happy. If there's anything we (your fans, especially those of us too awkward to come off anon, whoops,) can do, to help in some way? Even if it's silly videos or cute cat pictures or whatever it is that could just help you smile. We're here. We love you.

woof. I woke up to so many messages I can't even read them all in one go I'm getting too emotional- I do feel I owe an explanation so I'll explain what happened under the cut but all you guys need to know is I'm okay, I got through it, I love you, and you're so important to me and I'm so grateful for all the messages that have asked me to stay.

tw for suicidal thoughts and all that

yeah so I have the bad morning of all mornings: was introduced to the fact there's this one character (Mr Puzzles) on a very popular youtube that. resembles RGB. incredibly strongly. like. I don't want to link to it just look if you want to. Anyway at the time I thought it had just dropped (seems to have been around for 6 months actually), and having commented on it I immediately got an inbox full of hate mail.

My website, meanwhile, had locked both me and my web designer out of it, and- already in a bad state of mind- I went into full on panic/paranoid spiral of 'they have hacked it, and they are going to delete any proof that I was here before them.' This of course wasn't true, and we have since recalimed control of the site (don't know what happened there but hey. it's fine???? haha. ha.)

On top of this my father has terminal cancer of the pancreas, which is horrible for everyone already but it means that- at some point this year- I am going to be the only person with an active income in my house. I am disabled, do not make a lot of money, and the cost of living is skyrocketing. Combine that with months of Despair at the world right now, with the multiple wars, genocide, corruption and AI and the loss of control any of us have over our IP or lives and I just decided it was time to end it all.

I somehow remembered this was a bad idea to act on immediately (hard during a period of entirely irrational thought) and instead went for a very long walk, crossed the bridge I could have jumped off and during that I came out of the worst of it. I then came back home to so much love online I felt deeply ashamed for ever contemplating it, and I cried a lot. My nose is still puffy and now my feet hurt! lmao

Anyway. Yeah. There's your context. I am not going to stop hoping, making, or living. I am prone to moments of weakness and this was one of the worst of them and I am still here, thanks in a large part to all of you. I might need you in the future to defend me against this, or people who take our ideas, but I hope you know that I will do the same for you. We need each other, and to be there for you I need to be here at all.

also fuck Mr Puzzles

#context for mod's little (massive) mental breakdown yesterday #you don't need to read it but I felt folks are due an explanation #tw suicide #ask to tag #mental health is wow!!!! a thing

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amongemeraldclouds · 6 months ago

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How Lorenzo Berkshire looks at you when

…you ask him to smile for a photo before you head off to the Yule Ball.

You: what kind of smile is that? Enzo: *narrows his eyes* what? I was smiling! You: you look constipated. Think of something that genuinely makes you smile. Enzo: I don’t have to think, I’ll just look at you. Let’s try it again.

…he tries to befriend your cat.

Enzo: I think Mr. Whiskers is starting to like m— Enzo: Never mind. You: *laughing* don’t worry, he’ll like you in time. Enzo: Guess I’ll just have to hang around more often. For Mr. Whiskers, of course. Enzo’s thoughts: Mostly for you, but you don’t need to know that yet.

…he tries to bake cookies for you.

Enzo: Or maybe don’t eat it, love. This is terrible. You: I’m sure it’s not — *you take a bite then spit it out*. I really want to be supportive here, but that is… Enzo: Awful, it’s okay. You can be honest. I seem to have swapped the sugar with salt. You: It’s the thought that counts! Enzo: Well then in that case, I guess you’re the only sweet thing I need in my life.

You teach him how to bake and the batch you make together turns out yummy!

…he wakes you up the next day after sleeping together.

You: Ugh, it’s 7AM. It’s illegal to be so bright and cheery at this hour. Enzo: But it’s a good day! Especially after the night we had. You: One where you kept me up all night. I need five more minutes *you turn away from him*. Enzo: Didn’t see you complaining last night. I believe you said, “yess baby, more—” *you hit him with your pillow* Enzo: Ow! Don’t be like that, I’ll give you a good reason to wake up. *He kisses you tenderly, starting from your cheeks to your neck.*

One thing leads to another and you’re both late to class despite his best efforts to get up early. Do either of you regret it? Absolutely not.

…he adds melody to the poem you wrote about your relationship, turning it into a song.

You: I was going to tease you it’s cheesy, but it’s actually so lovely! Enzo: We could play it at our wedding. You: What wedding? You haven’t even proposed. Enzo: Does that mean you’ll say yes? You: Guess you’ll find out when we get there. Enzo: Well then in that case… *he reaches in his pocket and pulls out a small box, moving to kneel in front of you*

✿ Masterlist | 425 words

A/N: This was so fun to do! Saw this kind of format first from @rafesslxt so credit where it’s due 💚

#lorenzo berkshire x reader #lorenzo berkshire imagine #lorenzo berkshire x you #lorenzo berkshire headcanons #lorenzo berkshire fluff #lorenzo berkshire #enzo berkshire x you #enzo berkshire fluff #enzo berkshire imagine #enzo berkshire x reader #enzo berkshire #amongemeraldclouds fluff #amongemeraldcloudswrites

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selineram3421 · 1 year ago

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Petit Lapin Blanc

Part 4

Part 3

Alastor and Human Child Reader

:Platonic:

Warning! ⚠

⚠ nodding head = yes, ✨magic✨, all caps for excitement, headache, implied amnesia, mention of medicine, repeated word "Hop". ⚠

You sat on a big stool, watching the winged cat man shuffle the cards in his claws on the counter.

"Ok kid, ready for some magic?", the cat man asks.

Quickly nodding your head, you hold your stuffed toy tightly and focus on the cards.

He spreads the cards out like a fan and asks you to pick one. After pulling out a card, he tells you to memorize it and to not show him, just to remember the card before putting it back.

Three of Hearts, Three of Hearts! You think again and again.

"Ok, I'm gonna shuffle the cards again and find your card.", the cat man says, doing very cool and fancy card shuffles.

"Wow!", you say in awe.

The white haired girl was named Vaggie, she told you to watch the cat man (Husk) do card magic while she talked about boring grown up stuff with Alastor.

They weren't far but you didn't pay that much attention to what they were saying.

Because magic.

"Ok..", the cat man picks up a card and flips it face up on the counter. "Is this your card?"

Looking at the card, you frown. It was NOT your card.

"No."

"Aw man, I thought I got it.", the cat man grumbles and flips over another card. "How 'bout this one?"

It still wasn't your card.

"No."

Flip. Nope. Flip. Nope. Flip. Nope. Flip. Nope.

It kept going until all the cards were turned over, and not a single one was your card.

"Where did it go?", the cat man asks and scratches his head confused.

You pout and hide your frown with your white rabbit doll.

"I know!", he grins and reaches over. "Let me check behind your ear."

"Its not there.", you say.

There's a flick behind your ear and you see the card, your card. The Three of Hearts.

"Tada~", the cat man says.

"HOW DID IT GET THERE!?", you shout in surprise.

Alastor walked over and pat your head.

"How did what get where little one?"

"The cat man-!", you looked up and pointed at the cat person who cut in to remind you of his name.

"Husk."

"Husk! Pulled out my card from behind my ear!", you said. "I didn't put it there!"

"Hmm. Interesting indeed.", the man in red said and tapped a finger on his chin. "Maybe it was magic? Vagatha did say that Husker does do card magic."

"Woooah.", you say and look back to the cat man. "Can we do another one?"

"Sure kid.", Husk says and starts shuffling the cards again.

Then you heard a bell ring.

You woke up on a couch.

Sitting up, you found a lot of napkins covering you like a blanket. Looking around, you were confused when finding yourself in a waiting room and tried to remember.

Then your head started to hurt.

"Ow!", you cried out and rubbed your forehead.

It really hurt and you wanted medicine.

When getting off of the couch, something caught your eye. It was a stuffed rabbit toy with a bow tied around its neck, making them look fancy.

"You're coming with me."

Now with your new friend, you walked over to a door and opened it. Looking out, you saw it lead to a hallway and decided to explore.

Another door lead to a room with a lot of buttons. Then another with weird looking couches, and another to a bunch of boring file cabinets.

Opening the last door at the end of the hallway, you saw that it was an elevator.

"Ooo.", you said walking in and looked at the buttons. "Hmm.", you hummed in thought, squinting at the numbers.

Then you slid your hand to press all of the buttons.

"Yay."

It was really fun going to all the floors, but then you got bored and pressed the number one to go on the ground level.

Stepping out of the elevator, you saw someone sleeping at the main desk holding a phone.

They are sleeping, so I'll leave quietly so they don't wake up. You thought and made your way outside.

Walking. That's what you did until you were somewhere different. You don't know how, but you were suddenly watching T.V.

A white rabbit was hopping on the black screens.

Hop hop hop.

Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop.

Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop. Hop hop hop-

"Excuse me little one!"

Looking over, you see a red man.

He was kneeling down on one knee. "Could you tell me how you got here?", he asked, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Kinda had a crap day so this gets a pass. I needed to write something to get my mind off of it.

~Seline, the person.

Part 5

Taglist@

@ducky-died-inside @stolas-thebirb @c4rved-pumpk1n @naelys-the-aster @scary-noodlesblog @kiraisastay @i-3at-kidz @+?

🐇ChL | ML for Alastor🎙

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welcometothejianghu · 17 days ago

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Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 致命游戏 / The Spirealm.

The Spirealm is a 2024 drama about two young men who fall in love while basically playing a whole bunch of horror-themed escape rooms that can for-real kill you.

This show/book combo has gripped my entire ass. The second I knew I wanted to watch this, almost immediately after it started airing, I muted the tag. I was so right to do this, because this is worth not spoiling yourself about. If you are a Guardian fan in particular, you owe it to yourself to watch this for reasons I think will become clear as you go about watching it.

So! If all you need to know is that I think you need this show in your life, great! You don't even need to scroll down to the end of the post for the links; go to Viki and press play. In case you need more convincing than that, though, I'm going to give you here five reasons to watch it that are as spoilerless as I can make them.

Before we start, though, I'm going to take a moment to note that I had to torrent the video files so I could make screenshots of my own, and if I hadn't, this would have been a much uglier rec post than the others I've done. Not only were there not many promotional materials or official stills released, the show itself barely stayed up two hours on iQiyi, and that's because this drama is a...

1. (Barely) Censored Adaptation Of Same-sex Original Work

Ah, you know that MyDramaList tag well, don't you? Yeah, the original novel, Kaleidoscope of Death (which has a rec post of its own!), is supernatural story about grief and loss built on the love story between the two male leads. Now of course you know already that a mainstream Chinese television adaptation of something like that is going to straighten up everything and turn the horror romance into the sci-fi platonic love of besties.

...But damn, folks, it's still real gay.

Ling Jiushi, the sweet-faced newbie, is a canonical virgin and loving cat dad who plays the mysterious video game once, then finds himself suddenly able to enter the game worlds bodily -- and of course, if you die in the game, you die in real life. He's pretty much doomed, until he meets...

Ruan Lanzhu, the cool-as-a-cucumber veteran of the door worlds, who falls pretty much immediately for the completely oblivious Ling Jiushi, then has to spend the rest of the series consumed with lust while trying to keep him and a couple other dipshits alive.

The show preserves so many overtly gay beats and declarations of affection from the novel, to the point where it's just this side of suggesting that the romance is actually, textually happening just offscreen, every time the camera cuts away. I am forever grateful that working with Zhu Yilong on Reunion seems to have perfected sweet baby Junjie's ability to look at a man with nothing but love in his eyes.

I adore so much the dynamic they have, one where a man who has never told the truth a day in his life encounters a man so sincere and naive that you cannot seduce him with anything but absolute honesty or he's never going to get it.

There are three (3) separate door worlds where they share a bed, and in every one of them, they both sleep with their shoes on. Like the absolute freaks they both are.

2. It's puzzle solvin' time!

So if you've read some of my rec posts before, you know that I am critical of stories that center around cases that are unfollowable, uninteresting, or both (e.g., Mysterious Lotus Casebook and White Cat Legend). I am therefore thrilled to tell you that the door worlds are actually (largely) thoughtful mysteries with reasonable solutions, where you care about what's happening and why.

The way each door world is set up is that you have to solve the puzzle to find a key and unlock the door that will let you leave. One of the challenges is each world's door ghost, who has the key and does not want to give it up. The other challenge is the world-specific set of taboo conditions, where violating them means the door ghost can kill you -- and you are not always told what those taboo conditions are. That means that solving a door involves 1) figuring out what will insta-kill you, 2) not doing that, 3) finding where the hell the exit door is, 4) placating and/or scamming the door ghost long enough to snatch the key from them, and 5) running like hell to the exit door with that key before the door ghost fucks you up about it.

As the show goes on, you get introduced to the concept of door-passing shepherds, which are experienced door-finishers who take through lower-level players, building them up in the process. A lot of these shepherds work for organizations, such as the one Ruan Lanzhu runs. And a lot of them are ready to reach the exit by climbing over everyone else's corpses.

That's part of the fun of the setup: You're not just thrown in alone. You show up with a random number of other players, some with very different levels of experience. At least one of you will make it out; not everyone will. So you can add a step 6) to the list above, which is: surviving all the other players who will gleefully stab you in the back in order to be the first player out the door.

The door worlds are also lovely. They all feel like sets -- and I know that's a weird thing to say about places that are literal sets, but they manage it feel it even on film. In fact, even the show's uses of clunky-ass greenscreen feel appropriate, because of how unreal everything is supposed to be. Everything looks like a dream, which is only amplified by how beautifully everything's shot.

(What's that you say? You say the guy who directed this was the editor on Infernal Affairs? No kidding.)

From a fandom perspective, what's great here is that even though there are technically just twelve doors, there are canonically way more than twelve door worlds out there. That means that whatever worlds you want to create are valid. The best pieces of fanfic I've read are the ones that dream up their own door worlds, complete with taboo conditions, key puzzles, and world-specific perks that lead to gay sex, because come on.

3. A good middle ground of horror

So at this point you are perhaps wondering: How scary is it?

And the answer is, kind of as scary as you're willing to let your mind go with it. Everything has been science-fictioned real hard, including the video game premise that "explains" what's happening with these doors. It relies on dread way more than jumpscares. The blood/gore/gross content is extremely low, again on account of Chinese content censorship. Most icky things are done with offscreen sounds and shadows. I'm pretty squeamish about pain and injury, and I can't recall a time I had to look too long away from the screen.

However, that means the show works some real conceptual horror. That picture up there is of a man forcing three young girls to hold raw eggs unbroken in their mouths. There's nothing about that image that's not technically G-rated, and it's awful in context.

The best bits are when the monsters don't need a lick of CG to become horrors. They cast a contortionist in the Waverly Hills door world, and she absolutely earned her keep.

I have a lot of critiques about how the show handles things, especially in terms of defanging the horror elements (which it does), but one thing I think it absolutely gets right is that it understands that ghost stories are first and foremost tragedies. That's a thing I've always liked about Asian horror in particular, how often you wind up siding with the ghost. Yes, sure, she tried to strangle you with her hair, but have you ever considered she's the real victim here? There's always a bit of a calculus: Can you negotiate with the door ghost, or do you just need to stab them and run? The Spirealm prefers negotiation, and frankly, so do I.

So yeah, it's about as scary as you let it be. If your horror tolerance is low, watch it in a well-lit room and focus on the unreality of it, and you'll be okay. If you're looking for something genuinely spooky, spend some time thinking about the existential dread of the entire situation, and that'll be good for a couple good spine tingles.

4. The Obsidian Family (& Friends!)

In a show where death is always an option, you have to have characters where you actually care if they live or die. Fortunately, all your allies are charming and loveable enough that you are going to be real upset every time they get put in danger!

Obsidian is one of the organizations I mentioned earlier. It's run by Ruan Lanzhu, and it includes a cool and collected doctor, a mom friend who cooks for everybody, a guy who's maybe not having the best mental health day of his life, and two identical twins who could not be more different if they tried. They all live in the same amazing big fancy house, which is where Ling Jiushi too goes to live when he joins the group. They have big family meals, they look after one another, they hang out together -- I mean, if this is the kind of setup you love, then you will love this setup.

There are also plenty of allies who aren't technically part of Obsidian, but who are our friends nonetheless, and who come over to hang out in the Obsidian house from time to time. Some of them are rivals turned friends, some of them are clients turned friends, and some of them were just friends all along! Surely nothing bad will happen to any of them, and they'll all live happily ever after, right? ...Right?

5. Toast and Chestnut!

Of course, the true heroes of the show are Toast the Corgi and Chestnut the Kitty.

Animals are so good.

Truly, I love that one of Ling Jiushi's defining characteristics is that he is a Cat Dad. He is a simple man with simple needs, and one of those needs is to pet his kitty or he'll explode.

caveat: Some thoroughly bad adaptation choices

Yeah, so I keep talking about the novel (and talk even more about the novel in its own rec post), but I assure you, you don't need to have read the novel to feel the degree to which this is an adaptation -- and one that's had its rough, nasty, spooky, gay edges all sanded off in the desperate hope of ever seeing daylight.

Now, sometimes I consider batshit nonsense janky creative decisions to be a selling point for a show (see: Mysterious Lotus Casebook, Legend of Fei, Sand Sea)! In this case, however, I'm going to have to take points off for how incoherently bad they are here. We're talking Psych-Hunter levels of Why Would You Do That-- and the answer, as always, comes down to how you write around what censorship won't allow on television.

The novel says the doors are supernatural. The show says they're a virtual-reality computer game. Now, on the surface, this move sort of makes sense -- you can't have ghosts, but you can have computer games that make digital ghosts, which, sure, okay. But then the problem quickly becomes that the plot of the novel is not remotely built to support a sci-fi premise, so a lot of things have to be grafted awkwardly on. Like, say, a bad guy who stole his corporate logo from Even Worse Twitter. Or a game-designing bestie whose face is never seen. Or [late-stage spoilers about a major character].

The eventual explanation is that this whole setup is a righteous and good game that has somehow been corrupted by evil game-designing capitalists from the West, and that's why it can abduct you in broad daylight and kill you if you fail it. There are good people who want to purify (???) the game, and evil people who want to make money off the game. And I don't mind spoiling you for that part, because it's garbage nonsense. You will be deeply unsatisfied with the show's half-assed attempt at resolving it all. (You may, however, have that disappointment tempered with the amazing concurrent display of heterosexuality that is apologizing to your best bro by coding his perfect man for him. The Spirealm is a land of contrasts.)

Look, I consider myself a mild to moderate socialist, and even I was yawning and making jerk-off motions every time someone started to wax halfheartedly poetic about how evil American capitalism is. Like, yeah, but not because some college student made a vile and wretched video game that eats people! This show is a critique of capitalism like a five-year-old crying because he doesn't get ice cream before bed is a critique of authoritarianism.

And even this, I can't be too mad at it about, you know? I just assume that this was some absolute Hail Mary attempt at getting past censorship -- you know, maybe if we make all the right "grr, USA bad!" noises, they'll let our gay ghost story slip by? And it worked! I mean, just barely, but it did.

So yeah, fair warning that the Spirealm is a show that, if you love it (and I do), you will have to love despite some glaring flaws that haunt it all the way through and hit especially hard during what should otherwise have been an amazing endgame. But hey, we're c-drama fans! We're good at loving janky things, right?

Want to enter the World of Doors?

As I said at the start of the post, Viki's got it -- and only Viki. I'm not sure what circumstances got it up on Viki after iQiyi pulled it, but I'm glad. Watch it quick, before Viki changes its mind!

Hug him! Hug that boy!

#the spirealm #致命游戏 #kaleidoscope of death #rec post #i made this

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helengie · 2 years ago

Photo

(via Owing one cat leads to owing another collection Pet Blanket by HelenGie)

You can find more products with this pattern in HelenGie's store on Redbubble.

#findyourthing #redbubble #helengie #owing one cat leads to owing another #trendy cat miaw #funny cat #funny cats #funny cat miaw #cute cat miaw #miaw #cute cats #my cat is my life #pet blanket #red #cats news #cats of tumblr

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mcflymemes · 2 years ago

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PROMPTS FOR SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES * assorted dialogue for eerie situations, adjust as necessary 👻

where have you been? i've been looking all over for you.

where did you find that?

that wasn't here before.

that's it! i'm leaving!

i came back for you.

do you do this often?

if you didn't do it, who did?

i think we're being watched.

did that painting just move?

the locals say this place is haunted.

follow me, and stay quiet.

we need to get to the bottom of this.

something weird is going on.

i don't like the look of this.

this is the last time i listen to you.

i think you should see this.

there's no service in here.

where did it go? it was right here five seconds ago.

did you hear that?

this place is cursed.

they say someone died in here.

i'm not staying here another second.

do you smell something?

get in here! now!

we're supposed to be the only ones here.

those were footsteps.

someone else is here.

last one out's a rotten egg!

who made that noise?

i don't believe in that stuff.

the light's not working.

my battery is dead.

we should split up.

it's too late!

you came back for me?

is that blood?

no way. i'm not doing this alone.

we need to stick together.

hello? is anyone here?

i'm getting out of here!

the locals don't like this place.

looks like we're stuck here for the night.

that place looks creepy.

i don't like the look of this place.

who made that noise?

i don't believe in ghosts.

i'm getting the hell away from this place.

do you get the feeling we're being watched?

that's impossible.

i'm not going into the creepy basement alone.

what is wrong with you?

hurry! get inside!

there's no such thing as coincidences.

i'm not going first. you go.

any volunteers?

not sure we're supposed to be here.

come on! it'll be fun!

remind me never to come with you.

the door's locked! we're trapped!

hide! in here!

no way. i'll stay right here.

you keep watch.

i can't take another second of this.

are you thinking what i'm thinking?

when did this happen?

it's getting dark. we should camp here for the night.

i've heard stories about this place.

i'm not sticking around to find out.

this is bad. this is very bad.

i thought i lost you!

we need to put an end to this.

do you believe in ghosts?

we shouldn't have come here.

let's try the back door!

oh great. a creepy basement.

you go first.

this was your idea.

i don't want to die!

don't be such a scaredy cat.

where does this door lead?

come out, come out, wherever you are!

how did i let you drag me into this?

remind me never to come back.

that was quick thinking.

so that's it?

nothing's going to happen! trust me!

i can't believe you talked me into this.

you owe me big time.

they told me to stay away.

this isn't what i signed up for.

you never told me this would happen.

trust me. i'll get us out.

i think we're stuck.

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trashmouth-richie · 10 months ago

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hi, ziggy! ahhh i missed hih ❤️ could you pretty please do something for jealous!eddie where maybe somebody flirts with tooty because she got that milf glow after she had the babies lmao ily ❤️

anon💕💕 thank you for the req! this took a little spin and has an open ending, but!!! the twins are in this and some other familiar faces ❤️ might get a part 2? who knows!

a night out without the kids. almost an unheard of event. but tonight corroded coffin were performing their annual concert the night before halloween.

sissy & oz toted their overnight bags up the paved sidewalk to grandma and grandpa’s house— the same house you had once called home when the wheeler’s took you in as a teen.

reaching the front door eddie squats to eye level with the twin three year olds. “okay you two,” he says in his fatherly tone, “last time you stayed the night grandpa said you terrorized the cat.”

“i no do it daddy,” sissy speaks her little voice high pitched and tattling, “ows chaseded hims.”

a frown spreads on her brothers face his brown eyes pleading, “i did not! sissy made tinky swim in the potty!”

eddie bites his lip to hide a laugh and you take a deep breath, “that’s another thing, the cat’s name is bruce, not stinky.”

“but mama,” sissy complains, head held high in a defiant pose— one eddie recognizes as a mini version of his wife, “boose 's hard to say.”

eddie ruffles her hair and stands up, talking out of the side of his mouth, “always arguing like someone else i know,”

his large hand slides down the curve of your ass pinching the leather fabric snug on your skin, giving it a tight little squeeze.

“eddie!” you scold, swatting his hand away, “not in front of the babies.”

he grabs your waist and pulls you back into him before you can rap your knuckles on the front door. his mouth is hot in your ear, “sorry mama,” he purrs, dancing his tongue on the shell of your ear, “you just look so fucking hot tonight.”

sissy and oz are both slapping the door with both palms as it swings inward. “who’s makin’ all that racket?!”

“gwampa! it’s us!”

“issy and ows!”

wayne smiles as big as he always did when his grandbabies visited, “are you sure y’all ain’t no robbers are ya?”

“gwampa’s silly, daddy!” oz squeaks, squeezing wayne tight around his leg.

eddie grins and chuckles, “aww nah buddy that word is ‘senile’”

you smack eddie in the chest and usher the kids inside to play with their cousin, alex. “thanks for watching them tonight, we really appreciate it,” you say to wayne reaching through the threshold and giving him a hug.

“ah, ain’t no problem,” wayne says flipping eddie the bird behind your back, “karen and i love these little turds.”

“u too oh two be good for grandpa and grandma okay? eddie hollers, “be nice to the cat, sissy… i’m talkin’ to you.”

her little nose wrinkles into a pout and her brows furrow together.

“swear to christ himself, that kid is the spittin’ image of you, tooty.”

“god help me.” eddie pouts, “i’m gonna go gray before i’m forty.”

—

you kiss the kids goodbye and wave from the windows of your jeep before heading to the hideout. eddie looked particularly good tonight, leather pants, a cut off shirt, he even let you smear some eyeliner on his eyelids before tonight’s gig.

“nervous?” you ask, carrying some cords from eddie’s old van that now belonged to big d.

gareth walks past you with an amp, “not really, the hideouts like home away from home, makes me feel 18 again.”

you smile and ruffle his still thick curls, “will coming tonight?”

a sad look replaces his smile, “haven’t talked to him in a week… last i heard from jonathan he was staying with joyce and hopper.”

“he’ll come around man,” eddie says coming through the back door, “he loves you.”

“yeah, i hope.”

—

the boys— men now— rocked a killer show, fans still screaming for the band even though half of them were married and the lead singer had two kids.

you were front in center, in your designated spot that you always stood after the first show where eddie sang ‘lady evil’ just for you.

now you were sporting a new homemade shirt, ‘sitter’ crossed out with ‘mama’ his old leather jacket on your shoulders.

a hand sits on your lower back you giggle, “jeez nance, how drunk are you?”

only it wasn’t nancy, but a random guy. burly and tall, a thick beard on his face matching the short hair on his head, balancing a cowboy. you didn’t recognize him from anywhere and you pull back with a shocked face,

he smiles and you can smell liquor on his breath as he leans in real close, “been watchin’ you all night little darlin’ looks like you need a drink.”

you scowl and turn away from him, looking for jonathan and nancy but they’re nowhere to be found.

“hey,” he blunders stumbling towards you, “you like cowboys?”

you don’t want to give him the time of day or even the satisfaction of a tasteful retort so you do your best to ignore him, looking at eddie as he turns to thrash the guitar riff with jeff.

eddie turns back around to continue the song and shoots you a wink, the same time a big sloppy pair of lips press on your cheek, hard and unwelcoming.

you didn’t see eddie’s eyes turn to black or the way he dropped the neck of his guitar hands balled into fist, you were seeing your own scarlet red, turning and slapping the face of the drunk asphalt “cowboy”.

eddie cuts the band and grabs the mic, “hey fucker!” he pushes his lips in a smooch and whistles like a dog, “here boy, up here.. yeah you— the guy who just got slapped.”

cowboy slap face looked up to the band, “what?”

“you must be new to town, huh? a drifter maybe?”

he lifts his head and spits on the ground, “what’s it to you?”

eddie laughs a little crazy-like, “… that,” he says pointing to you, “is my wife… and i’m sure you don’t know this or maybe your marbles are a little rattled up there with the cobwebs, but..” he jumps from the stage in a dramatic flare, wet hair bouncing behind him, skin slicked in sweat.

he tossing the mic behind him, standing tall and flicking the brim of the guys hat, toe to toe. “i’m not afraid to kill a man.”

“you’re bluffin’,”

“wouldn’t be my first, and for her,” he says moving you behind him, “won’t be my last,”

….

#eddie munson #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson smut

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mewhenimanangel · 1 year ago

Text

spiderboy, miles morales x fem!reader

part 1! ʚɞ part 2 ʚɞ part 3 ʚɞ part 4 ʚɞ part 5

pairing: earth 1610! miles morales x reader

synopsis: you didn’t think anything of it when you bumped into miles on your first day at visions. it slowly became one of the best things to happen to you.

wc: 1.9k

warnings!: cursing

You got ready for your first day at Brooklyn Visions Academy. Your mom had decided to send you there for better "academic challenges" or whatever. You were nervous but found solace in knowing you'd already have a friend there, Zoya Hart. You’ve been friends since the third grade, absolutely inseparable.

You put on your uniform skirt and finished your makeup. New school, if you didn't make a good first impression, at least you’d look good. "Y/n hurry up! I've gotta go!" your mom called out from the kitchen. "Mommy just go! I can walk" you applied her lip gloss in the mirror. "Ah-ah, you're gonna be late. Hurry up"

You rolled your eyes spraying perfume over your body. Grabbing your backpack you shoved in your books and pencil case inside. "Wait mommy I need to fill up my water bottle" you rushed to the fridge and pressed it against the water dispenser. "Come on!" your mom yelled walking over to the door. "Wait I need my headphones!" you ran to your room to grab the earbuds sitting on the dresser, quickly scratching your cat's head "Bye Bobo" you breathed out before rushing out the door. "Baby it's school what do you need headphones for?" your mom grew irritated. "If I don't have these, I'll literally kill myself"

"Aye, I told you to stop saying that!" you both walked out the door, locking it. Getting in the passenger seat, you checked her appearance on her phone, fiddling with the nose piercing that sat on her nostril. Your blonde box braids were in two pig tails, edges laid flat. You wore a gold necklace with a pendant in the shape of a bow, you loosened the tie around your neck. "I hate this stupid ass uniform" your mom laid a smack on your thigh. "Watch your mouth!" "Ow mommy sorry!" you exclaimed rubbing your hand over your leg.

You plugged your earbuds in, listening to music until you saw the school in the distance. Your heart sped up as you took her headphones out, tucking them in her backpack. "Alright baby have a good day okay. Make me proud, I love you" your mom said giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Love you too mommy bye" you replied getting out of the car as she drove off.

You opened up your phone to Zoya's contact.

'i'm here and i'm shaking where are you??' you sent a text.

'in the principal's office'

'surprise baby i'm your tour guide :P' Zoya replied.

You felt yourself bump into another body. Looking up from your phone you saw a boy with a dazed expression on his face. The boy wore a pair of Jordan 1 bloodlines, a tiny spider-man figure on his backpack. He was about four inches taller than her and a bit lanky, his skin dark brown. His hair was a taper fade with kinky curls, his eyes were dark brown almost black shade as he stared at you.

"I'm really sorry about that" you apologized putting your hands out in front of you "Ah it's cool, no worries" he brushed off with a smile. "Um do you know where the principal's office is?" you asked looking around. "Yeah, I can show you. Are you new here?" he asked leading you down the hall to the right. "Uh-huh" "New to New York?" he asked again. "Nah my parents just thought this would be a better school". He nodded his head as they came to the front door of the main office. "It's the one on the left. I've gotta get to class though. I'm Miles by the way" he said, waiting for you to respond. "Y/n" you replied with a smile.

He walked away when you made your way to the principal. "Y/n!!" Zoya exclaimed, going to hug the girl. She had a light tan complexion, pink lips and a bright white smile. Her hair was a beautiful ginger color with her curls falling past her shoulders. Zoya was about two inches taller than you, wearing a pair of platform doc marten 8053s. Her 'Z' necklace rest on her chest along with your matching bow necklace.

"Ugh I am so glad your parents sent you here!" The man behind the desk cleared his throat, alerting the two girls of his presence. "Oh sorry, Y/n this is Mr. Hale, our principal." He reached out his hand for you to shake. "Nice to meet you, Ms. L/n". She smiled as she shook his hand "Nice to meet you too, sorry I'm late" "No matter, it's your first day, just don't let it be a frequent problem." he sat back down in his chair.

"Alright, here's your schedule, look over it while i pull up your file" he handed you a piece of paper with all of your classes for the day.

'English Language Arts 11' 8:30 AM

'Modern Us History' 9:34 AM

'Ceramics 1' 10:38 AM

'Algebra 2' 11:42 AM

'Lunch 2' 12:45 PM

'Physics' 1:19 PM

'Sociology' 2:27 PM

He gave you all the information she needed: locker number and code, teacher's names, grade expectations, your guidance counselor's name and office, etc "Alright, I'll have Miss Hart here show you around." he said as the two of you made your way to the door. "Have a good day and good luck settling into your new classes. It's only September, so I'm sure you haven't missed much." he bid goodbye.

You and Zoya got to your locker as you attempted to put the code in. "Right, left, right" Zoya instructed. The locker popped open and you sorted out your things. You saw Zoya look over her shoulder at her sister, Maya. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?" she asked the girl. "Yeah, but I don't wanna be" Maya replied giggling. "Heyy, n/n! I forgot you were coming here." Maya said hugging you. "I'm giving her a tour of the school" Maya said, opening her phone to take a quick selfie with you. "Oou can I come?" Maya chirped. "Youu have a class to go to." Maya rolled her eyes and left you two to start your tour.

Zoya intertwined her arm with yours as you walked through the school. She showed you the gym, the library, the cafeteria - all huge. She showed you the student council room, the dorm halls - which wasn't necessary since you wouldn't be staying there, they made their way over to a big window in the main hallway which overlooked a courtyard where she found people sitting outside and a teacher have a class.

"This place is so fancy, shit" you exclaimed. "Ahhh it's aight" Zoya joked. Anyways, let's get you to class." It was 8:45 now and Zoya knocked on the door of your first period. "Meet me at lunch, good luck" Zoya kissed your cheek and walked away. "Well class, we have a new student joining us, Miss Y/n L/n"

Your day went pretty normal, people were nice enough to you and you talked to a few people, making their acquaintance. The bell rung which meant it was time for you to go to lunch and finally see your friend again. You sent her a text asking her where she was sitting when you bumped into someone again. "Woah, gotta stop meeting like this" the boy said letting out a light laugh. "Yeah, my bad" you let out an awkward laugh. "You have lunch now too?" he asked you "Yeah, actually I'm waiting for my friend-" you was interrupted by a hand on your shoulder.

"Hey, I'm starving let's go in the line" Zoya said. "Oh you know Zoya?" Miles said, dapping her up. "Yup, since third grade." "Cool well see you around, preferably not bumping into you" he joked and walked away with his friend. "How do you know Miles?" you asked her as you walked over to the lunch line. "Classes, plus he knows Peter." she replied, getting a cheeseburger and fries. "Why, do you think he's cute?" she teased . "Oh he's realll cute" you giggled.

You made your way over to a table where Peter, Maya, and a girl you didn't recognize were already sitting. "Yoo, n/n how you liking the school" Peter said, as he dap you up. "It's alright, fancy as fuck though" Zoya sat down next to Peter, giving him a kiss on the cheek, while you found a seat next to Maya. "Hey, I'm Kiona" the girl you didn't recognize spoke up. "Y/n, you're so pretty by the way" you smiled at the girl. "Aww thank you, you too"

Lunch ended as you and Peter parted ways with everyone. "Physics is brutal but Mr Johnson is chill as fuck" he informed you walking into the class. Peter took his seat as Mr Johnson spoke up "Ah, Miss L/n, nice to meet you. You can take a seat back there next to Morales" he pointed to the back of the room where Miles was sitting, already looking at you. You smiled at the boy and made your way to the back. "Hey" he whispered to you . "Hi" you replied. "Didn't know we'd have this class together. Shoulda told me" "You didn't ask" you joked, opening a notebook.

The bell rung and you got your stuff together "Hey what's your next class?" Miles asked, stacking his notebooks. "Sociology" you answered, putting papers in a folder. "Ah I don't have that" he said, disappointed. "Walk you to class?" he offered. You looked around and saw that Peter already left, so might as well. "Yeah, sure".

"This isn't going to make you late is it?" you asked him. "Nah it's in the same-". All of a sudden Miles tensed up and there was a loud booming noise coming from outside. Everyone in the hall, including you and Miles ran to nearby windows to see what was going on and here was a fire emerging from a bank down the road. You looked to your side to see that Miles wasn't there anymore. Out of nowhere, spider-man swung over to the bank stopping the guys who were trying to rob it. Everyone cheered when he brought the guys out, tied up in his webs

When school ended, Zoya and Maya came up to your locker as you were packing up to go home. "Hey n/n, you going home?" Maya asked, biting into an apple. "Yeah, it would be cool if i stayed in the dorms. Buttt that's mad money spending so nah". You gave the girls a hug and made your way out the building. "Oh Y/n, you're not staying in the dorms?" Miles asked, coming from the nurse's office with a few bandaids on his face and bandage on his arm. "No, what happened to you?" you asked pointing at his face. "Tripped down the stairs on the way to seventh period". You stifled a giggle and nodded your head. "Uh you want me to walk you home?" he offered.

You furrowed her eyebrows in confusion "You don't really have to do that.." "O-oh uh I was just offering, I'm not super busy right now and didn't want you to be alone-" You put her hand out and giggled "Okay yeah you can walk me home" He smiled and skipped down the steps to join you. "Don’t you get in trouble for leaving the dorms without permission?" you asked looking up at him. "Ah sometimes but I get my way out of it"

"So what happened earlier? You disappeared when the fire happened." you asked him, finally. "Oh I had....gotten..scared" he said, looking up. "Oh..okay. That's normal I guess" "Well this is my stop" you said, walking up to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow" he said waving goodbye "See you" you said with a smile, unlocking the door.

#NIA WRITES ࿐#across the spiderverse #miles morales x reader #miles morales #spiderman #spider man: across the spider verse #miles morales 1610 #earth 1610 #miles morales x you #spider man x reader

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