#rae fanfic

[runraerun]

Steddie Amnesia Ficlet: 2/3

-> Part 1 | Part 3 | AO3

cw: more head trauma/concussed!Steve discussions.

Steve hears Eddie call after him, but he doesn’t stop—he can’t face it. Not right now, anyway. Not when his eyes are stinging and his heart is pounding in his ears, each pulse more painful than the last. His legs take him to the building he’s supposed to go into, fueled purely by muscle memory. Not brain memory, of course, because nothing up there works properly anymore, apparently.

The Brain Injury Recovery Center.

It’s where Eddie expects him to go. He’ll catch Steve if he goes in, or he’ll wait for Steve by the doors until he comes back out—both options involve facing Eddie after Steve had made a total idiot of himself. Both feel utterly mortifying.

So he ducks into the alleyway beside the familiar brick building instead, just to catch his breath. It takes Steve longer than the average bear to sort out his feelings now, after all. Jesus, who’s he kidding? Everything seems to take him longer.

Steve feels hot tears streak down his cheeks before he angrily scrubs a sleeve over them. Of course Eddie isn’t his boyfriend. Eddie’s funny and cool and he’s in a band and he lights up every damn room he walks into—and Steve… well, maybe Steve was something a few years ago when he was in high school, and maybe he was even something before his accident, but now…

There’s a sharp clapping noise that sounds like thunder. A door slamming, Steve’s brain sluggishly supplies. It’s followed by shouting.

“Steve? Steve!” Eddie calls from somewhere on the street.

Steve’s heart feels like it’s going to fall out of his ass. His face is probably still blotchy and wet, his breathing hasn’t evened out yet and his eyes are still leaking like a goddamn faucet. He’s pathetic.

Can’t let Eddie see him like this…

He ducks behind a metal garbage bin, careful not to let anything but the bottom of his sneakers touch the sticky looking surfaces around him. It stinks, like rot.

“Steve?” Eddie’s voice echoes off of the alleyway walls. Steve claps a hand around his mouth to muffle out any of the pathetic sounds that seem determined to escape from him. So much of his body just does whatever the hell it feels like now. Out of Steve’s control, like everything else.

For a few, tense seconds, there’s silence. Eddie’s listening for him, maybe. Steve shuts his eyes and waits him out.

It feels like an eternity before he hears Eddie’s hurried, retreating footsteps, continuing his shouting for Steve. He sounds almost as panicked as Steve feels. Almost.

Steve gives a noisy, wet sniff and does one final scrub of his face before getting to his feet. He starts walking.

As he goes deeper into the alleyway, he thinks back on all the things he’s been wrong about. The fact that Eddie had some of his band t-shirts mixed in with Steve’s clothes… well, that was because they were both guys who wore about the same size, and Eddie left his shit everywhere. It’s no wonder some of his stuff got mixed into their laundry. And the times Eddie’s driven him places? That’s just… what friends do, Steve supposes. And all those times Eddie made Steve laugh? Made him feel like the center of the universe? Well, that’s just… Eddie. He must make everyone feel that way. It’s like his super power. But it isn’t romantic… It doesn’t mean anything more than Eddie being a magnetic person.

Steve is just so stupid. Painfully so.

He blinks as the sun hits him. He must’ve reached the other side of the alleyway.

Steve cups a hand over his eyes and grimaces. His migraine wasn’t backing down. He sighs. Time to head back.

Steve turns back into the alleyway he’d emerged from, only he’s about halfway through when he realizes the color of the buildings on either side of him are wrong. They’re brown on one side, painted green on the other. That isn’t right…

His heart jackrabbits in his chest, but he keeps walking forward. Maybe he’ll recognize the street once he’s back on the other side.

But when he gets there, it’s as unfamiliar to him as the alleyway. Steve turns, looking up and down the road to see if he could spot Eddie, or his van, or the Center. But there’s nothing.

And when someone shoulder checks him, Steve supposes he was sort of asking for it, standing in the middle of the sidewalk like that. He apologizes, but it’s too late. The person’s already out of range to hear him.

It’s as if everyone else is on fast forward while Steve’s stuck on pause. The world keeps moving along while all he seems to be able to do is watch it go by.

Why would he ever think someone as dynamic and spirited as Eddie would hitch his horse onto Steve’s busted up, barely mobile cart?

Stupid, stupid, stupid…

He presses the heels of his hands to his eyes and wills himself not to start blubbering again like a goddamn baby. His life is already one big, painful lesson in humility as it is, he doesn’t need to wallow in it.

Steve keeps walking. Figures he’ll spot something, or someone familiar to him eventually. The pounding in his head’s eased off to a dull ache, at least. Maybe there was something to this exercise and fresh air thing the doctors were always going on about, after all…

The thing is though, Steve doesn’t spot anything familiar. Not even vaguely so, and it’s not until the streetlights turn on that he realizes he’d spent the majority of the day wandering around the streets like some lost dog that managed to slip his leash.

It’s cold too, and all he’s got on is jeans and a polo. It’s October, isn’t it? No wonder he’s got goosebumps all up and down his arms.

Then, he finally spots something familiar; a phone booth. Steve breathes a sigh of relief. He’d just call his parents. They’d come pick him up.

He gets the booth and lifts the receiver before he blanks. A quarter. He’d need that. Duh, Harrington. So he hangs up the phone and pats his pockets until he finds a wallet, but all that’s inside of it are a couple of crisp bills. He’d need to break one.

Steve turns, scans the street until he spots a well lit, invitingly warm looking diner. The joint looks so damn cozy that he forgets to make sure the street is clear before he steps out into the middle of it.

Tires screech, harmonizing with the horn that’s blasting at him—Steve flinches, reaching up to cover his head and braces for impact.

To his great relief, the hit never comes. Which, thank fuck. He can’t afford anymore accidents. As it is Robin’s threatened to make him wear a helmet full-time.

Steve doesn’t listen to whatever the person yells at him, he just hurries to get the hell out of his way of the other moving vehicles.

“Smooth, Harrington. Real smooth.” He mutters to himself as he catches his breath.

He pushes the door to the diner open with shaking hands, but it’s blissfully peaceful inside, and he can actually feel his insides unclench as he stands inside of it.

“Sit anywhere, hun, I’ll be right with you.” A woman’s voice tells him. Steve nods and slips into the nearest booth overlooking the street. Watches the cars go by. There’s even a couple of cop cars, sirens blaring, lights flashing. Steve wonders briefly what sort of emergency they’re rushing off to when the waitress comes to his table.

“What can I get you, handsome?” She asks, cheery and warm like the rest of the diner.

“Uh…” Steve frowns, taking a few seconds to process the question, “nothing. I’m just waiting for my parents to come pick me up.”

The waitress taps the side of the notepad. “Well you gotta order something, hun, or you can’t stay here.”

Steve wants to stay here. It’s warm and smells fucking amazing, like “pancakes?”

She waitress smirks. “Yeah, we got those. You want a stack?”

“Yeah, please.” Steve smiles back, laughing along with the waitress like he’s in whatever joke that’s currently so amusing to her. “I’m starving.”

“You want some coffee too, to help you sober up, maybe?”

“Oh, I’m not drunk.” He huffs out a little self deprecating laugh, “I wish. No, I—uh, my meds, they’re the kind that you can’t mix with alcohol. Coffee too. Bummer, right? Yeah… But, uh, it is what it is, I guess—so…”

He can feel it. The way his mind so often wanders. He’s lost his train. His track. He frowns, eyes drifting towards the street again, watching the headlights zip by.

“…so just the pancakes then?” The waitress asks, jolting his train back onto its rails. His attention snaps back onto her.

“Yeah, pancakes. Sure.” Steve flashes her what he hopes is a charming smile.

She returns his smile and leaves him be, and he lets himself relax. Props his head up on a fist and watches life go on for everyone else but him.

He gets his pancakes, and some juice too that he doesn’t remember ordering, but hey, that’s nothing new. And damn, the pancakes taste even better than they smell. He needs to remember the name of this place so he can come back with everyone. What did the doctors say? Repeat something in your head over and over until it sticks. Repetition. Repetition, repetition, repetition…

It’s around the time his fork hits an empty plate that one of the police cars stops in front of the diner window, lights on, but the sirens are off now.

Hopper steps out.

Huh. That’s weird. Steve wonders what sort of emergency he’s here for.

When Hopper enters through the glass doors, the bell hung over the entry way rings out pleasantly. An angel getting their wings.

His eyes land on Steve and the older man sighs, shoulders falling. Relief, Steve recognizes. Hopper pulls the radio from his belt and says something into it before stomping over.

Then it clicks.

Oh. Steve’s the emergency.

He feels his face heat up. The handful of other patrons scattered across the diner are all looking at him.

“There you are.” Hopper sighs, gruff and exasperated.

Steve sinks into his seat, just a little. “Shit. I fucked up, didn’t I?”

“Just a little.” Hopper chuckles dryly. He takes off his hat and slips into the booth across from Steve, apparently not in any sort of hurry now that he’s found the runaway dog.

Steve runs a hand through his hair, a nervous tic he’s developed. “Sorry.”

“Nah, don’t be sorry. Just strangle Munson for me when you see him next, will ya?” Hopper drops his hat onto the table and waves the waitress down. He orders a coke.

Munson. Eddie.

The memory of how he made a total and utter fool of himself comes rushing back, slamming down onto him like one of those cartoon anvils. Jesus, how did he forget that..?

Suddenly the pancakes aren’t sitting so good in his gut. Feels like he’s gonna ralph.

“Was he freaked out? Eddie, I mean.” Steve asks, cautiously approaching the question. Did Eddie say anything about why…?

“Yeah, him and Robin both. Then the kids found out too—don’t ask me how. I suspect the curly-haired one has an illegal transmitter.” Hopper leans back in the booth as the waitress drops off his coke. He takes the straw out and drinks it right from the glass. Steve waits for him to finish, doesn’t say a word.

When Hopper puts the glass down, Steve just sits and watches the way the drops of condensation run down the cup, distorting around the fingerprints Hopper’s left. “Anyway, they’re all out on their bikes looking for you too.”

Hopper smiles fondly, like it’s something charming and not… pathetic. “You got a lot of people that care about you, kid.

Steve swallows around the lump in his throat, and nods. Tries for a grin, but it’s weak. Probably wouldn’t fool anyone, much less a cop. “Yeah, I’m a real lucky guy.”

Hopper looks like he wants to say something else, but he just takes a breath and nods. Steve’s grateful he doesn’t argue. Doesn’t think he has the energy in him right now to fend off the ‘but look how far you’ve come!’ ‘Your speaking’s gotten so much better!’ ‘It could be a whole heck of a lot worse!’ comments.

“What do you say we get you home? Unless you want dessert? My treat.” Hopper offers with a grin.

“No, I just want to go to sleep,” he says, before remembering his manners, “thanks, though.”

“Alright then.” Hopper glances down at the cleared plate of pancakes and the half finished coke before sliding out of the booth, followed by Steve. He takes out wallet, but Steve beats him to it. He tosses down a few bills, hoping it’s enough. Hopper doesn’t comment, so it must be.

The drive back to his and Robin’s apartment is a solemn one, but it’s strangely peaceful. Hopper’s got the heat on full blast due to Steve’s lack of coat, and the motion of the vehicle along with the darkened sky leaves Steve feeling wrung out in a way he hasn’t felt in a long time.

In fact, when they finally arrive, Hopper’s gotta shake his shoulder to wake him up.

“We’re here.” He rumbles out in his gruff baritone.

Steve lifts his head from his folded arm and looks up at the modest building. He wonders how far they live from the pancake diner. If they could walk there, sometime, him and Robin and Eddie.

But then Steve realizes he never got the name of it. He feels his insides sink. Another thing lost to him.

“Thanks, Hop,” Steve gives Hopper a nod and what he’s sure is a tired smile. “I’ll, uh—I’ll try not to run off again.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it.” Hopper says, diplomatically. “Let me walk you in.”

Steve cringes at the idea. He’s grateful for Hop and all he’s done—especially the part about not making him feel like a complete dummy—but he just wants this all to be over and for things to revert back to how they were. And at this point he’s so close he can taste it.

Steve busies his hands by undoing his seat belt. “No, it’s okay, really—“

Hopper looks like he’s about to argue but Robin damn near crashes out through the building’s illuminated front doors. She makes a b-line for Steve, who’s just barely gotten out of the cruiser.

She wraps her arms around him and doesn’t let go. “Steve! Holy shit, you scared me so bad. I’ve been out of my mind!”

Steve’s arms are trapped at an awkward angle, but he reaches around her as best he can, arms like flippers. “I’m okay. Seriously. Look, not even a scratch.”

She doesn’t laugh. Just squeezes him harder. Truthfully, Steve doesn’t know if he’s okay, but it’s what everyone always seems to want to hear from him, so he says it often.

“I’ve already killed Eddie like three times.” Robin murmurs into Steve’s chest, before finally pulling away. Her eyes are bloodshot, her nose stuffy, like she’s been crying.

“It’s not his fault, Rob.” Steve’s brows pinch together as he frowns, “is he…”

But when Steve looks up towards their building, he can see Eddie standing in the doorframe, his dark silhouette illuminated by the entry way lights. He’s still as a statue, holding open the door for them, arm extended out into the cold autumn night. Steve’s insides squirm.

“You got him from here, Buckley?” Hopper calls from his cruiser and Robin ducks to meet his eye before giving him a thumbs up. She loops her arm around his waist and they start towards their place—towards Eddie.

Before they reach him, Steve keeps his voice down as he asks, “Can I just go to bed? I don’t—I can’t talk about it right now.”

“Okay.” She nods, “I get it.”

But she doesn’t, not really.

Steve avoids eye contact with Eddie when they finally reach the building, and before he can say anything, Robin interrupts. “He’s going straight to bed. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” Eddie says in a small voice. He doesn’t argue. Doesn’t even follow them back up to their apartment. Maybe Eddie’s even relieved he doesn’t need to confront it tonight. Maybe they won’t ever confront it… maybe he’s hoping Steve’s brain will take care of everything and make him forget. Make it like it never happened. Part of Steve wishes—

No. He doesn’t wish that. His brain’s already functioning at half capacity, he doesn’t want to thank it for fucking up, even if it might make Steve’s life easier.

Whatever Eddie’s expression is, Steve doesn’t look back to find out. He keeps his eyes on his feet, focusing on putting one step ahead of the other.

When they finally arrive at Steve’s matchbox sized bedroom, he doesn’t even bother changing into pajamas, or even out of his jeans for that matter. He just falls into his bed, pulls a pillow over his head and wills himself to let go of the day and surrender to the sweet pull of blissful unconsciousness.

🫣 Oops, I made it worse. But I promise the Eddie and Steve confrontation is in the next part! 🙏 This is tagged angst with a happy ending for a reason.

Tag List: (message me to add or remove yourself.)

@morallyundefined @estrellami-1 @ollieolive @mugloversonly @wheneverfeasible @steddiefication @what-if-a-dragon @wrenisfangirling @yesdangerpls @flustratedcas @scarletyeager @snowstar2368 @starxlark @sofadofax @lawrencebshoggoth @stevesworldxx @jizzing-bastard-600and69 @bambibiest @queenie-ofthe-void @lilpomelito @bananahoneycomb @kaspurrcat @deadwhiterosesstuff @dame-zoom-a-lot @3vilpurpl3d0t @loudmariachibands @steddieislife

[formulamar]

she’s a ferrari - pt 2

charles leclerc x yn!ferrari

fc: Addison Rae

summary: as a child, the great-grand daughter of Enzo Ferrari used to spend her weekends hanging around the paddock. but once she went off to university her appearances became rare. what happens when she starts working for Ferrari? and... one of the drivers steals her heart.

READ PART ONE HERE

November 2023

twitter

rumorhasitf1

liked by scunteriafer and 5,209 others

rumorhasitf1: 🚨 RUMORHASITF1 🚨

YN Ferrari stuns for Donne al Potere, an Italian magazine. The interview discusses her plans to work in the motorsport industry after graduating university. It appears Miss Ferrari will be working to develop a female motorsport program 👀 presumably with Ferrari. Additionally, she delves into her passion for motorsport and how it has evolved over the years. The photoshoot took place the weekend of the Austin Grand Prix. Read here: www.donnaalpotere/numerodinovembreynferrari.com

721 comments

ln4s: she is the only woman ever

f1fan6: CAN CHARLES FIGHT

-> f1fan05: unfortunately he can 🙁

lordpercevalfan: I'm sure she's an amazing engineer!! I can't wait to see her grow

scunteriafer: cant tell if i wanna be her or be WITH her

lec4: YESSS YN IN THE PADDOCK MORE

f1fan33: you can tell @/rumorhasitf1 lovesss YN

liked by rumorhasitf1

charlnor: Kendall Jenner is lucky YN didn't choose to be a model because DAMNNNNN

cl16fan: i'm so happy she's doing something she loves and bringing awareness to women in motorsport <3

twitter

🔒ynferrari’s story

twitter

twitter

rumorhasitf1

liked by ynupdates and 6,083 others

rumorhasitf1: 🚨 RUMORHASITF1 🚨

YN Ferrari has made her instagram account public!!!! @/ynferrari

900 comments

scunteriafer: OMG OMG OMG

sainzferrari: all the posts with fernando 🥹🥹

cl1644: CHARLES DEEP IN THOSE LIKES… SINCE 2016????

-> norrisluv: looks like he’s been down bad for awhile 😭😭

cl16fan: the highlight dedicated to her custom ferrari this QUEEN

lechairs: all the interactions with charles are so sweet 🥹🥹

sebrarri: UR TELLING ME YN HAS BEEN ATTENDING UNI IN LONDON THIS WHOLE TIME

f1fan97: lando’s comments LMAO

-> lonso14: AND nando’s replies who knew they joked so much omg

⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩ ⋆｡°✩

formulaamar 🎬: first of all, thank you so much for all the support on part 1 of “she’s a ferrari” i loved reading everyone’s comments 🥹🤍. i hope you enjoy this part just as much!!! the story is not over yet so reblog if you’re interested in a part 3!!! and comment if you wanna be on my taglist 🙂‍↔️

taglist 🌷🏷️: @agmoon03 @janeh22 @kindestofkings @ttokkisbee @swiftie-4-lifes-stuff

[viennakarma]

luna telling lewis that a parent at her fancy expensive private school asked reader out LMAOOOO

[Say Something Masterlist]

Imagine she’s a little kid and does not know how to read the room one weekend she goes to spend with Lewis and she’s just drawing absentmindedly, a picture of reader in a red dress or something.

“What are you drawing?” Lewis would ask.

“That’s mom, she was so pretty before she went out yesterday!” Luna giggles, and Lewis pauses.

“She went out?!” Luna doesn’t catch the slight high pitch to her dad’s voice.

“Yeah! With Mr. Fancypants!”

“Who’s Mr. Fancypants?”

“He’s Gabriela’s dad! Gabriela from my school, remember? She came for my birthday party!”

“Gabriela’s dad? What the actual f…”

“He’s sooooooo….” Luna hums.

“He’s so what????”

“He’s so rich and fancy!” Luna laughs.

“But I’m also rich. And so are you because you’re my heir, baby…”

“Yeah, but he’s like… super famous! I saw him on TV once!”

“I’m super famous too. I’m Lewis Hamilton!”

“Yeah, but Gabriela says he’s a politician or something! And he wears cool suits all the time, like Iron Man!”

“Suits…?” Lewis asks, rubbing his chin, “your mom is into that stuff now?”

Next drop off, Lewis is dressed in a fancy suit and he brings flowers when he rings your doorbell.

[goldsainz]

ART DECO — one shot.

pairing: charles leclerc x reader

MASTERLIST.

taglist: @lorarri @lpab @whatthefuckerr @noncannonships @lunnnix @elliegrey2803 @schumacheer @saintslewis @leoramage @ellswilliams @toomuchdelusion @anthonykatebridgerton @enhacolor @gulabjamoon @woweewoowa @forza55

request: “📀 — "art deco" by Lana Del Rey + Charles Leclerc please?”

NOTE: this has some drinking mentions, so if you don’t feel comfortable with that pls don’t read! cant believe carlos got pole in monza… the chances of ferrari actually getting a 1-2 are higher so yk what maybe this fic could become somewhat less fictional! MONZA IS FOR THE DREAMERS🙏

liked by charles_leclerc, patriciooward and 681,329 others

yourusername partay in italay

view all 10,219 comments

charlesfan1 charles teach us your ways🙏

ynfan1 suddenly i’m gay

charles_leclerc You drunk enough for the both of us

⤷ yourusername i regret everything

ynfan2 now i wanna go out too

ynfan3 this weekend better give her a reason to party too

pierregasly How’s the hungover?

⤷ yourusername made me consider never drinking again

charlesfan2 as a tifosi i’m glad charles’s good luck charm is here

charlesfan3 i wish i looked that good after getting drunk

charlesfan4 not her partying when it’s race week

⤷ ynfan4 not u being pressed when charles was right there with her😭

liked by yourusername, joris_trouche and 136 others

charles.jpg pasta con il mio amore

view all 24 comments

yourusername l'amore della mia vita the love of my life

⤷ charles_leclerc Sono pazzo di te I’m crazy about you

⤷ carlossainz55 Stop pretending you speak italian, Y/N🙄

⤷ yourusername i speak more than you for sure. and i don’t drive for ferrari.

⤷ carlossainz55 Too far.

leclerc_pascale ❤️

⤷ charles.jpg Je t'aime tellement maman I love you so much mum

⤷ yourusername tu nous manques énormément 🫶 we miss you very much

pierregasly Ohhh italian 🤌🤌

⤷ charles.jpg Zitto Shut up

⤷ pierregasly 🤨

liked by scuderiaferrari, sebastianvettel and 759,104 others

yourusername red party because FERRARI WON!!!!

view all comments

charlesfan31 i just love the caption only being about ferrari winning😭 she’s just like me fr

charlesfan32 the tifosi celebrating was insane actually

charles_leclerc Il mio più grande sostenitore ❤️ My biggest supporter

⤷ yourusername ti amo per sempre!!! i love you forever

ynfan31 don’t even watch f1 but i’m crying for them

charlesfan33 forget charles i want her

charlesfan34 Y/N YOU NEED TO COME TO MORE RACES!!

⤷ yourusername I WILL!!!

⤷ charlesfan34 every tifosi in the world just cheered

ynfan32 oh she ate

charlesfan35 bro i’m in love with her

ynfan33 ONE CHANCE. ALL I NEED.

ynfan34 red is so her colour!!!! ferrari pls get more 1-2 races🙏

liked by arthur_leclerc, isahernaez and 702,851 others

yourusername a little party never hurt no one!

view all 10,542 comments

charles_leclerc It hurts us… but whatever you say, mon amour

⤷ yourusername shhhhh

ynfan41 that blanket looks so comfy

ynfan42 i just know that sleep slapped

charlesfan41 honestly think they could’ve partied more but they stopped bc they would’ve collapsed

⤷ yourusername trust the party hasn’t stopped, we’re just moving it💪

⤷ carlossainz55 We’re partying until the next race!

⤷ yourusername THAT’S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR CARLITOS

ynfan43 who knows the next time there will be a ferrari 1-2😭

charlesfan42 if i were them i would party 24/7

ynfan44 LOOK AT HOW CHARLES LOOKS AT HER THO

charlesfan43 i just know charles is a great cuddler

[orphicdreamers-wp]

Girl Of My Dreams — Mat Barzal

Summary: In which Mat Barzal inadvertently falls for the oldest Hughes sibling and her brothers aren’t happy.

Content Warning; Taylor swift 1989 isn’t by Tay(its by reader) Mentions of University of Alabama (reader went there) Trevor Zegras being hopelessly in love with reader. Readers social media face claim is Addison Rae bc idc she’d clear as a WAG for a athlete.

Pairing: Mat Barzal x Hughes! Reader.

Mat would be lying if he said he didn’t sneak glances at the announcers box after meeting you. You had been carrying a plate of food and two margaritas to your booth where your friends sat. Tito had made a joke about you seeming familiar then the pair heard your voice and knew, “Alright now, eat up because y’all are bumming me out.” Mat’s jaw slacked, “He’d known that the Islanders had gotten a new game announcer who was a girl but he wouldn’t have known it was you. You were effortlessly stunning, you had captivated the attention of every straight man in the bar. Mat had approached you as you sat at the bar, “I’m Mat, can I buy you a drink?”

You grinned and spoke, southern accent slipping out, “I’m Y/N, I mean Barzy after the way you played last game? You better buy me a drink. ‘Yknow how many hate comments my broadcast got?” Mat grinned as the bartender approached you, “Another Corona Light and whatever she’s having on me.” You grinned sheepishly, “I’m fucking with you. I’ve heard worse.” Mat grinned, “So now would probably be a shitty time to ask you out?” You smiled at him, “Maybe not.” Mat smiled, “If I may, your not from New York are you? Where are you from?” You grinned, “I grew up in Toronto with my 3 younger brothers and moved to Alabama for college and been in New York for a few months now.” Mat grinned, “Well welcome to New York beautiful.” That was a year and a half ago. You still hadn’t told your brothers who your boyfriend was, just that his name was Mathew. Until your album release came creeping in and you wanted to go public with Mat.

Instagram

ynhughes; my album ‘1997’ is now streaming! thank you for all your support(especially the bf, ‘slut’ and ‘suburban legends’ are 4 us)

barzal97: celebrating you is my favorite pastime. i have never met someone who people gravitate towards more than you. you are by far the most wonderfully amazing woman i know. it is a privilege to say i love you🤎 this past year or so has changed my life. you make living easy and so so much better. i can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you.

trevorzegras: alexa play that should be me💔💔

ynhughes: forever in awe of you mathew barzal. amazed a gal like me is lucky enough to be adored by you🤎

oliviarodrigo; THEY HIT THE PENTAGON!! @conangray

>conangray; told you it was them i saw at radio music hall!

ny_islanders; our roman empire is all the sweet posts for to y/n today🥹🥹

sydneyemartin: brb crying. the purest people in the world. so grateful my girls get to grow up seeing a love this pure that isn’t their parents.

>ynhughes: we adore your girls more than words can express.

_quinnhughes: my biggest inspiration is out here killing it. in awe of you everyday sissy🥹 thank you for being my best friend from day 1

ynhughes: in a puddle of tears quinny. thank you for always being on my side, even when im wrong.

sabrinacarpenter; hockey players making me ugly sob wasn’t on my 2023 bingo card

elhughes; my first babies🥹 extremely emotional over you all today

>_quinnhughes: we love you momma💕

jackhughes: 1997 reasons to love my meanie head sister, i guess her bf’s alright

ynhughes: i love you little brat, come visit me and mat!!

>jackhughes: will do, sissy🫡

trevorzegras: i can’t believe she won’t date me 😞😞

>ynhughes: buck up z, your way too young for me. perfect age for @sabrinacarpenter tho!

lukehughes: the worlds best big sister came out with the best album to date

ynhughes; really feeling the hughes love train today, i need to plan for all of us to be together soon! so y’all can meet Mat!

etnow; this just in; the Hughes brothers have brought tears to my eyes supporting their sister

barzal97: the third picture is actually the most accurate representation of your sister now

>lukehughes; always messing with those darn cats! even if they are on the side of the street.

[h4rring1on]

I have a request, can I have one where Eddie and the reader is Eddie best friend, later on Eddie starts dating Chrissy but he doesn’t know that the reader likes him. The reader being sad and distant towards him though out the time.. Eddie being confused and mad at reader and thinking she is jealous, later on gets into argument with her doesn’t talk to the reader for a few weeks, very angst, for the end you make your own if you want fluff or angst. Thank you, I love your writing ❤️❤️❤️

a/n: i’m so excited for this i hope i did well though. 💔💔 did i lose my touch be honest 🙏🏻

you and eddie have been friends for god knows how long, ever since that day at recess, you’d been playing with this random toy you’d seen and he was quick to confront you, it was his!

after you ran off crying, he came to you and handed you the same toy.

‘jus quit crying! jeez you can have it!!’

ever since then, you’d been inseparable. you were around a year or two younger than him. so when he was held back in school, you were catching up to him which made you even closer than you already were

soon enough, you’d developed a crush on him. at first, it was harmless. maybe a little giggle here and there, a tiny thought in the back of your mind maybe once a week

i’d date him

but it was never anything to act upon, since you weren’t all that interested in him. until it just got worse and worse, and robin had quite the earful about it practically every day!

steve also heard about it a few times here and there since he was usually in the background stacking the shelves or so, but not the full story

you couldn’t help it though. he was so kind to you, he’d get you snacks n everything! you had a tradition, every friday night you buy a ton of snacks and watch a cheesy movie!

it was your thing.

he was so caring and loving to you that people generally thought you were dating until they got the unfortunate news

you were content with being only friends though, at least he still did quite a lot for you. up until that one day

that horrible day. where everything got ruined

you’d been walking with eddie around the school halls, talking, until he bumped into chrissy.

“oh my gosh i’m so sor…” she trails off as she looks at him

he smiles and grabs the things from the floor

“it’s all good pretty” he says and she’d suddenly opened a conversation, it was too awkward for you so you just went on to class, since you were obviously not gonna sit and watch them talk. which took like a year to finish, he didn’t even come to class!

what could’ve been so interesting he missed class to talk about.

it kept going on like this, he stopped sitting with you during break time, he’d walk her home, he’d miss classes for her, and you had held it all in up until he did it.

he did it.

you had been waiting for the past three hours at the supermarket so he could come, it was friday night, which meant it was time for your tradition.

he didn’t come, and you broke when, on your way home, you saw him and chrissy going into the movie theater, smiling as wide as possible.

he’d broken the 5 year long tradition…for her?

you went home sobbing, if anyone knew why, they’d think it would be a stupid reason, but it wasn’t. it truly hurt. he practically chose her over you.

you stopped trying to think positively after that, to just say, it’s fine! it’s just today! or—he didn’t mean to, maybe he forgot!

both steve and robin noticed it after you stopped talking about him so much, or even talking to him for that matter.

everytime he’d approach you, you’d mumble out some short response and leave. and he definitely noticed, even in the times where he does sit with you, you’d get up and leave.

it kept going on like this up until on your walk home, he grips your wrist and turns you, not harshly but firm enough to stop you.

you furrow your eyebrows as you look at him, expecting something

“well?” he says and you look around, confused

“what?”

“wh—what?? you’re asking what?? you’re not gonna explain why the hell you’ve been acting so weird?” he spits out, it was clear he’s had enough

you shrug, “weird how?” you question

“don’t bullshit me. you know exactly what i’m talking about! what the hell is going on with you!”

you laugh, as if he really had the right to ask that after how he’s been acting

“what’s going on with me? how about what’s going on with you, munson!” you spit out, and he furrows his eyebrows, you’d never use his last name..

“you stop sitting with me at lunch, you miss classes just to see her, you barely ever see me! and—on top of all that—you miss our night. our night! the one we do every single week for the past five years and for what? chrissy? little princess of hawkins chrissy?”

he scoffs, “jesus christ—chrissy? that’s what this is about?!” he says and shakes his head

“yes it’s about chrissy! you barely even know her!”

“oh my god, i don’t think that’s any of your business! if youre so jealous because of how amazing she is just say that!”

“jealous? are you kidding me? that’s what you think this is? grow up, eddie!” you spit out

“it’s obviously jealousy! look at you! you see one girl that’s ten times better than you look my way and you go crazy!” he says and you pause, your heart clenched, how could he say that?

“what’s wrong with you? how could you even say that? i’ve been your best friend for—“

“don’t give me that bullshit! don’t play the victim! what is it, huh? because she’s popular? because she’s pretty? just admit you’re fucking obsessed! i don’t know how i ever even became friends with a freak like you”

your vision blurs, you don’t even say anything, you just turn and walk away, silently crying. who was this person?

eddie didn’t even bother to stay, he was quick to leave too. you walked into family video, robin wasn’t there, but steve was. and he was quick to notice your puffy red eyes, he rushed to you

“hey—hey hey peach.” he says softly and hugs you, and you breakdown in his arms, “woah woah—it’s okay…it’s okay” he rubs your back, trying to soothe you, “you wanna tell me what’s going on?”

you didn’t go to school for a couple of days, but when you did, you didn’t even bat an eye at eddie. who, in the meantime, was getting swallowed into a hole of utter guilt and shame.

he wasn’t even fully there when he was with chrissy, and in class, he’d stare at you the whole time. it went on like this for weeks, and eddie couldn’t take any more.

he didn’t even care about chrissy, and he’d realized your words were right and that she wasn’t really all that. how could be so blinded by her popularity and looks?

those weeks were hell, he’d truly realized how much he liked you, and how agonizingly painful it was to not be able to see you or talk to you at all.

so he dumped chrissy, and didn’t really feel anything. he picked up some flowers on the way and knocked on your door, this was it

you opened the door, surprised to see him, eddie noticed how pretty you look…and how he looked dead compared to you, he’s been suffering without you, you were too…right?

he calls your name and sighs, “i just���i wanted to explain myself—that day—i didn’t mean anything i said i swear to you. and—for chrissy—you were right. you were right about everything and it broke me when i stopped talking to y…” he trails off, his heart shattering at the sight of steve, in some boxers and no shirt, showing up from behind the door

you look away, and eddie didn’t speak, he just stays there, the anger building up.

“i’ll see you in a second baby okay?” you say and kiss steve before walking out and closing the door, and the look on eddie’s face got worse when you kissed steve

“wh—you’re dating him? you’re dating the king of hawkins?! that dipshit?!” he yells, how could you do this?!

wasn’t this ironic?

“what! jesus christ, this is about steve? really?” you mimic him, “if you’re so jealous about how amazing he is just say that” she says and smiles, walking away.

eddie mentally curses himself, she’d repeated the same words he said to her.

it was over. he’d lost his chance with the most amazing girl he’s ever met without realizing it.

that’s what he gets though

[pr0wlerpunk]

First time

Character: A-train

Requested|Yes|No|

Afab!Reader

Warnings: Talk about sexy times, unprotected sex(wrap up before you get smacked up), nsfw, cussing (yk the usual freaky boys stuff) (also not proofread)

You didn’t tell Reggie you were a virgin at first. You’re both really popular and if it ever got out that a member of the seven was still a virgin then it would be really humiliating

When you first joined the seven you naturally gravitated towards A-train, he was the nicest all be it cockiest out of the group. You didn’t flat out trust him and he didn’t trust you either, but as time passed you both grew closer, increasingly so that he told you his real name and a little bit about himself

You grew to like the speedster and felt bad about keeping this secret from him when he trusted you so much, It was slowly eating away at your sanity and on one particular event hosted by Vought to congratulate bringing back the deep you told him

“What did you need to talk about princess?” He smiled, the pet name rolling off his tongue with ease, making your face flush as you chewed your bottom lip anxiously

“I wanted to tell you something..something I’m kind of embarrassed about..” you sighed, your shoulders tense as your hands gripped the dress you wore. He frowned, taking a step closer towards you, the light reflecting off his glasses giving you a clear view of the worry in his eyes

“Hey, what’s up?” He gently grabbed your hand, pulling you closer to his body, his eyes searching over your flushed face

“I uhm..I’m still a virgin..” His eyes widened slightly as his lips twitched which eventually sprouted into a wide grin as he laughed, Your eyes widened as your heart started to race as a sense of worry and dread took over your features

“Don’t laugh!” You stammered, starting to pace back and forth, your hills clicking rapidly against the marble flooring as thousands of thoughts raced through your head. You only stopped when he grabbed your shoulders, the feeling foreign as it brought you back to reality

“I’m sorry, why’re you embarrassed about that exactly?” He smiled, his head tilting to the side a little as he gazed down at you

“Because I’m an adult and I’m literally apart of the Seven!” You groaned, looking down at the beautiful flooring to avoid his gaze, it wasn’t until his shoes came into frame that you looked up.

A soft smile on his lips as he brought his hand up to cheek, caressing it softly with his thumb

“there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, I’m sure you have your reasons for waiting” he said softly, his tone held a bit of warmth and sincerity that made your heart swell and a wild idea pop into your head.

You cautiously took a step forward, your hand on his chest as you looked up at him through your lashes

“can you help me?” His eyes widened, sure there were times he’d wish he could touch you more than a friend could but he knew he couldn’t, so hearing you ask him this almost made him do a double take

“You want me to help?” He’d ask carefully, scared he’d change your mind if he talked too loud or too fast. His heart pumping rapidly against his chest as he watched you nod, his hands almost instantly moving to your hips as he pulled you close to his body

“words baby, I gotta hear you say yes” you about melted when he said that, you grip tightening around the suits clear chest plate

“god, yes, please Reggie” that’s all he needed to hear as he crashed his lips against yours, his grip on your hips tightening as he pulled you flush against his chest, your eyes fluttering shut almost instantly as you gasped, his tongue slithering into your mouth as your lips parted.

he was first to pull away, his lips attaching to your neck as he nipped and kissed the soft skin, you arms going around his shoulders as a quiet moan escaped your lips, the small noise going straight to his head as he groaned against your skin

“god you’re perfect” he whispered against your skin as he backed you up against a pool table, his fingers digging into your hips as they slowly slid down to you thighs, pushing you up against the table, your dress bunching up around your hips as he slowly rolled his hips against yours

“so reactive for me” he smirked, his fingers sliding down under your dress before moving back up to stop at the waistband of your underwear, his cool fingers dipping in to collect your wetness, a soft groan leaving his lips

“I haven’t even touched you yet and you’re already so wet” he buries his head into your neck, sucking dark marks onto the skin as his fingers pump into you slowly, your back arching against him as your mouth parts open slightly, little moans and whines escaping into his ear,

he pumps his fingers a little faster now, your moans growing louder as your hand goes down to grip his forearm

“Reggie” you moan against his ear, your close, dangerously so, and you don’t think you can wait any longer, he lets out a soft grunt as he pulls his head away from your neck, his gaze flicking from your lips to your eyes

“I know baby, come for me” he grunts again, his gaze fixed on your reaction as he circles your clit, that only has you coming in seconds, your head tilted back and your eyes shut, a loud almost pornographic moan escaping your parted lips

“do you still want me to fuck you baby?” He asks softly but his tone is completely different, it’s rough and has a hint of desperation that makes you moan and eagerly nod your head, a soft “yes” leaving your lips as he pulls down the bottom half of his suit slightly, his hips pressed against yours as he removes your underwear, slipping them in his pocket as he removes his boxers

“are you sure you’re ready baby?” He asks softly, his hand coming up to gently cradle your cheek, his thump rubbing against the soft skin

“we can stop if you want” he tilts his head to the side softly as you lock eyes with his, yours completely blown out and glazed over as you nod

“I’m sure Reggie, I wouldn’t want it with anyone other than you” hearing those words slip out your mouth he nods, pressing his lips against yours as he slowly moves inside of you, not stopping until he’s completely inside, bottoming out as you clench around him, whines and small sounds of discomfort leave your lips as he tries to shush them

“I know baby, tell me when to move” he grunts softly, his fingers digging into the flesh of your thighs as he tries not to move until you say, you breath slowly trying to blink away the little pain you feel before nodding

“please Reggie” you moaned softly, giving him the confirmation he needed to start moving his hips, he’s slow at first-making sure he’s not hurting you before picking up his pace, his hips snapping against yours as the pool table slides against the floor, the balls scattering around and falling to the floor at the sudden force

“F-fuck, you feel so good baby” he’d groaned softly, his forehead resting against yours as you clenched around him, driving him further and further to the edge as he panted

“Reggie, f-fuck” you whined, your grip tight around his neck as your legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer as your vision went white and you came for the second time, with you clenching and moaning his name he’s not far behind, his hips stuttering against yours as he emptied himself inside you

You sat there panting as a soft smile made its way to your lips

“thank you Reggie” you rubbed his back softly

“no, thank you” he sighed before leaning in to press a soft kiss to your lips

Lets just say you both were incredibly close after that

(Guess I may be back omg :O)

[livelaughlovesubs]

Stay with me, forever

This one is for my lovely @rae-pss <3 but this feels less hot and more disturbing ;-; - honestly, I felt a little twisted writing this

Dom!reader x sub!michael? - Reader is gender neutral

REBLOGS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED!!!

Warning: a little dark (content), masturbation (mika), nipple play, doesn’t align with the canon events, reader got kidnapped, Mika mistakes you for luci - (calls you Hyung, brother), Stockholm Syndrom?

Word count: 2.6k

Each day was the same. Boring, stressful and exhausting. The unnerving quietness of heaven was pleasing at first, now after some time it has become annoying. Not a single noise could be heard, expect for the occasional fights that would break out between the seraphim’s. You didn’t need to watch to know who’d be fighting again, obviously it was the one who put you in this misery. Mindless gaze staring out of the window, wondering when you will be freed from this misery. How you earned to be somewhere else right now. Anywhere would be better. Hell, earth, or simply a few rooms to the left.

Long have you gotten too tired of this, of his possessiveness yet pitiful nature. You truly pitied that man, though in such situations who is the most pitiful, if not you? As if your heart sunk into the bottoms of the ocean, there was no chance of return. How many days have it been? Your sense of time has dulled, as well as other sensations. Excitement, anticipation, happiness. Was your appearance the cause of all of this, your genetics? No, none of it. It was sorely the fault of another. That was the aspect that angered you the most, at least it used to be. At this point you felt like you got consumed by the wild waves of reality, slowly going down and drowning beneath all this hardship.

Footsteps emerged from outside the door. Can you even call it a door? It was made out of metal with endless chains and locks, all for the sake of killing your hopes. You knew those steps all too well, that it has become a skill now. The ability to tell who it was by their walking habits. Without moving an ounce from the bed, your eyes rolled over to the side, eyeing the only exit of the room with a neutral gaze. Sounds of locks and metal reached your ears, a stimulation you haven’t experienced for a while now. It was awfully silent here.

After a while, the reason for the sounds showed themselves. The tall, black haired male walked inside, carefully closing and locking the room again. Twisted feelings swam to the surface like always, yet the negative ones were starting to subside. You didn’t care to look at him any further, turning away from him and staring at the wall. He didn’t deserve any kindness and attention from you, only bitterness. “I’m back.” That person said, like always. Voice deep and masking a soft, caring side. He got closer to you, you knew it from how his steps got louder and louder. Then you heard some noises again, before he whispered enthusiastically, “I so glad to see you, lucifer Hyung.”

How was it possible for him to mistake you as someone totally unrelated to you? Was he simply a hypocrite, or was he hallucinating? Something about you reminded him of that certain someone, and you didn’t know what. If only you could get rid of that trait, to finally free yourself. Though then the question remains; would he really let you live after finding out all of this was in his head? You didn’t want to be cruelly murdered by a being like him. An arrogant, insufferable and selfish being like that man in front of you, who loves to call himself a higher being, but bows his head to you whenever he can. Even now he was kneeling on the floor, just right next to the bed. Hands kept to himself as he stared at you with a dreamy gaze.

Those eyes of his were repulsive. The way he looked at you made your stomach curl, as if you got a stomach ache. It wasn’t a good feeling, you felt like vomiting every time. All this disaster was like fate playing cruel games with you, as if it wasn’t playing with you enough. At first you tried to escape or talk back, now you were starting to simply accept it. For how long have you done this? Right, you don’t know. Even though Michael was just inches away from you, you didn’t do anything. Not that you didn’t want to, lord, you wanted to punch him and suffocate him so bad, but that wouldn’t help your situation. The door couldn’t be opened except by the seraphs, a special spell which would be impossible to break. Killing him would only mean your own death all due to starvation.

You also remembered how you tried to reason with him, telling him you weren’t his dear ‘hyung’. Nothing was getting into his thick skull though. Ordering him around, trying to use it to your advantage was also out of the question, since he didn’t trust you one bit. Whenever you attempted that, he’d mumble, “I can’t let you leave again..!” If you weren’t before, at least now you were convinced he was mentally ill, a war murder with a broken mind. Every day went by the same, boredom gnawed away at your own sanity. Were you ever going to get out of here, and what will you be like once you do? Only time could tell. You didn’t even have to will to wish for a good outcome anymore.

Repressed hatred slowly build within you again, swallowing you whole. You thought you had gotten used to it by now, though you were wrong. This simply wasn’t something you can get used to, all you can do is build up a resistance and become numb to it. Eventually you turned around, sitting up a little on the soft and luxurious bed. The treatment you got was by no means bad. A room fit for royalty with the best foods ever, alongside other stuff. You didn’t have to do anything, no chores or work. One might thing this lifestyle was desirable, and it was at first. Expect by now it has become another void within your heart. Without a goal or dream, it didn’t feel like living anymore, only simply existing.

Despite the tension in the room, you finally returned his eager gaze. A blush spreading across his features as soon as he noticed your stare. His silky black hair was everywhere, eyes bearing never ending love and affection within them. Adoration you never asked for. The despicable clenching feeling returned, air becoming suffocating. You furrowed your brows, fighting the urge to scream and yell. All this cruel pain as well as laughable desperation led to pend up negative feelings your brain couldn’t process. Instead it turned all that into sexual tension and energy. Every time you’d do that you felt more disgusted with yourself, but there was no helping it considering your current situation. It was your means of escaping reality, even if it was ruining you in the long term.

You opened your mouth, about to give that angel a command. As soon as he noticed your intentions, he stopped breathing, trying to stay as quiet as possible to listen to you earnestly. If anyone were to make a single sound now, consider them dead afterwards. With a bitter yet lust ridden tone, you told him, “come here”, while you patted the bed. It was rare for you to talk to him and if you did, it’d only be short sentences. He gulped, staring at you with curiosity while he obeyed your request. Now he sat on the edge of the bed. That only lasted for a few seconds before you grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer to you. A sudden yelp escaped his throat, and he tried his best to not touch or hurt you.

He was on all fourth now, while hovering over you. A confused and flustered expression becoming visible. The way you looked at him became sharper and more aggressive, you could almost call it a glare. “I apologise, please, I lost my balance.” Michael said with a slightly nervous tone, even though it was obviously your fault he fell. Instead of answering him, you hinted at your lap. He caught on pretty quickly and sat down with a bashful smile, straddling your legs.

His lips were rosy, smiling at you so sweetly like an innocent angel. The way his cheeks have also become rosy and red, matching his lips, was very adorable. That silky black hair of his was fluttering gently, alongside the wing poking out from his neck. He was such a beautiful and perfect being, that it irked you. There were no hard feelings, only dryness and the simple desire for entertainment filling you. You stared at his body, treating him like he was merely an object of pleasure. This was all you could do while being on such a detestable stage, forced to play in an act you loathed. A moment of silence passed, awkwardness replaced the boldness you felt earlier. Then you said in a belittling manner, “you are unbelievable.”

How his face turned into one of horror, saddened by the fact that he displeased you. “I’m sorry…what should I do to make up!?” Terror played his voice. Even this annoyed you. His attitude was getting under your skin, like an insect crawling around your organs. Aside from that weird dynamic and obsession he has over his brother, how he made it seem like you were the one trapping him made your blood boil. Instead of answering him, you just averted your gaze. Talking to a nutcase like him wouldn’t raise your mood. Maybe you should kick him out soon. His company wasn’t wanted after all.

When your eyes met his again, his body tensed and he gasped. Pupils shrinking slightly and hands clenching his own shirt tighter. The desire to puke returned as soon as you noticed what was going on down there, alongside a weird feeling of fascination. You were irritated with your own emotions, and what in the world your brain was doing, as if it wasn’t working properly. Despite him getting a hard on in such an unfitting situation, you encouraged him to take care of it, saying, “go on, put on a show for me to see.” Shouldn’t you have felt grossed out by him? So why didn’t you? Maybe because this wasn’t the first time? Despite everything you were the one who got him out of his cage, never would you have guessed he’d repay you by locking you up in a cage too.

An almost inaudible whine left him upon hearing your voice again. It took him another minute to register what you told him, before the blush across his features darkened by a few shades. Michale nodded, quickly unzipping his pants and freeing his erect dick. His hands trembled slightly while he did that, a sign of his nervousness and shyness. You almost chuckled at that, a bitter laugh to remind you of this new life you received. If you were to ever meet god, you were going to return all this suffering tenfolds.

Your eyes stuck to his crotch, watching him with a tired gaze. The angel apologised a few times more, uttering the words, “I’m sorry.. I’ll take care of it, Hyung,” as his hand creeped around his shaft, hesitantly pumping his cock. He was too embarrassed to look at you, yet he was too aroused to stop, so he stared at his hands. One glance was all you needed to tell he doesn’t do this often, due to how his movements were so inexperienced. His other hand was bawled into a fist, then it moved up his torso and started to grope his own breasts. Pinching and toying with his pink nipples. “Uh..uhm-..!” Small whimpers could be heard from him, muffled by himself.

Despite his inexperience, it seems like he was feeling good. Exposing himself in front of someone, touching himself inappropriately. His dick was twitching in his hands, precum dripping down and accumulating. “Ahhh..! NgHhh..” more moans erupted from him. You watched as his eyes became foggy with lust, facial expression melting into one of bliss. Squelching sounds filled the room, and he threw his head back. Shoulders raised to his ears while a thin layer of sweat covered his skin. Not to mention how he shook and trembled, panting as if he just ran a marathon.

His hand was dirties by his own fluids, still jerking himself off without a rhythm or tact. Some of it even got onto you. Before you even noticed it, he apologised for that, “sorry… lucifer Hyung, for being filthy…haaaah..” You doubted he was being sincere, judging by how happy he looked. A face full of ecstasy and bliss, undeniably pleasure coursing through his veins while he did shameful things under your watching gaze. “Ah.. please, brother, watch me more..! mhHhmm..- I’m so close.” Now the was just spitting nonsense. The name he called you by made you uncomfortable, though the show he put on was quite enjoyable. Especially because he looked just the right amount of pathetic for you to be amused.

Michael squinted his eyes, lips parted while lewd moans left him. He has never done anything like this, so all those new sensations were a first for him. Tingles filled his stomach, and a strange satisfaction and calmness washed over him. Tears dropping down his face from both eyes, his wings flapped occasionally too. The expression he saw behind your pupils was still one of nonchalant and pity, the same as what he remembered in a faraway memory. Hands speeding up subconsciously, voice getting louder too. The thought that someone might hear him never crossed his mind. Why should he think about anything else when you, his beloved Hyung was right here?

“Haa..ha, ah-nghh, mhmm..!!” Short and erratic gasps left him, paired with groans that bounced off the walls of your cage. “Pleaaasee…I-i want to cum..” A slight stutter slipped itself into his sentence while he wore a mindless expression. As if not a single thought plagued his brain, losing himself in all those feelings his nerves send to his brain. His heart pound like crazy, a testament to the pleasure he felt. Like a mad lad who lost any grip on reality, he repeated words of apologies. Pleading with you and begging while his release hit him, rendering him to a mess beyond recognition. The despair and desperation made you feel like you had power over him, offering a moment of comfort to you.

“I’m sorry.. ah-aAAHhh..! Please,- oh, please.” Michael whispered once more. White liquid spurt out from him, most of it landing on your belly. It’d be a lie if you said you didn’t enjoy it a little, though you were still disappointed and disgusted by all of this. Especially now that reality hit you right in the gut, with how his semen was all over your tummy and making contact with your skin. You pulled a grimace, eyeing him up like he was a filthy animal, most of the time you did believe he was. He clung his dress shirt with all his might, slowly getting down from his high, before he slumped down and hugged you. This sudden boldness and act of intimacy from him made you freeze, muscles tensing up. He crashed down on top of you, arms holding you tightly while he continued to pant loudly.

Still crying, and barely able to breathe steadily, the angel said, “I’m.. haaa.. so happy you are here with me, brother lucifer. Stay with me, forever.” He wasn’t asking, he wasn’t begging. It was a statement. A confirmation that this will become your cruel reality for god knows when eternity will end. Sorrow replaced the previous mixed emotions, and a deep sense of resentment filled your heart while you laid there, staring at him with a growing emptiness residing within you.

[thru-the-grapevine]

Lady in Red

Pairing: Woozi x fem!Reader

Genre: fluff, smut

Warnings: negative self-talk, petnames (mostly "princess" lol), fingering, unprotected sex; please note reader uses she/her pronouns and has a vagina

A/N: this is purely self-serving I was having a DAY

It’s finally Friday, you continued to chant in your head. Microsoft Outlook swam in your vision as you did your best to respond to all the emails sent last minute by people who make twice as much as you do. Yet another email full of typos demanding something of you thirty minutes before you clock out. Absolutely not. 

Setting your Teams status to “Busy,” you opted to twirl around in your office chair instead. Much more entertaining than answering bossy emails. Would it bite you in the ass on Monday? Sure. Did you care? Not right now. 

Sighing deeply, you peered at your reflection in the mirror across the hall. Your hair was a mess, sticking up in random directions as you hadn’t had the energy to style it this morning. Working from home had some advantages, but the way you neglected to care for your appearance was not one of them. 

Feeling a little gross suddenly, you picked at a cat hair stuck to your sweatpants. When was the last time you wore something that made you feel pretty? Sure, there was nothing wrong with the hoodie and sweatpants you normally opted for. They kept you warm and cozy as you slaved away to capitalism. 

But every once in a while you missed dressing up. You missed styling your hair, adding little sparkly accessories to it just because. You missed wearing clothes that didn’t make you feel like a lazy slob. 

With a sigh, you glanced back at the computer screen as another email came in. 

“What’s the sigh for, love?” a familiar voice brought a small smile to your face. 

Jihoon stood in the doorway, dressed in a simple pair of sweats and a t-shirt that you knew he chose for the way it hugged his torso, showing off all the hard work he’d put in at the gym lately. 

“Nothing really,” you sighed, not wanting to bother him. He’d been holed up in his studio a lot lately, working tirelessly on Seventeen’s next album. To see him home so early was a rare treat, you didn’t want to ruin it.

Jihoon raised an eyebrow at you, clearly unconvinced. He began walking across the room towards you, and suddenly you became hyper-aware of your appearance once again. Anxiously, you began picking more cat hair off your sweatpants, refusing to look Jihoon in the eye. How could you when he looked like a god and you felt like a pig who’d just rolled in mud? 

Jihoon hummed thoughtfully when he reached you. He put his hand under your chin, lifting your head gently to look him in the eye. Ever-observant, you could tell he knew what was wrong. Shame washed over you, but Jihoon just smiled gently. “Sign out of work,” he stated. 

“Now? But it’s not my time yet,” you argued, worried that you’d be caught. 

“Don’t care. They can let you go a little early on a Friday. I want you all to myself tonight,” he said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. 

You melted into his touch, already nodding and moving to shut down your work computer. They wouldn’t miss you. Probably. 

“Good girl,” Jihoon cooed, still messing with your hair. “Now, I want you to go pamper yourself. Take a long bath, use the nice soap and one of those fancy bath bombs I got you for Christmas. Doll yourself up. I know you’ve been missing it. I want to see my little princess feeling as beautiful as she looks.” 

At the nickname, you felt a rush of heat to your cheeks and your stomach. Blinking nervously, you looked up at him. “But what should I wear?” 

He answered almost instantly. “That red dress I bought you. I’ve been wanting to see you in it for a while now.” 

Your eyes widened. The dress in question was one Jihoon had bought you a few months ago after seeing it at a fashion show he attended. He refused to tell you the price, insisting that no price was too steep for his princess. But still, you were terrified to wear the thing. What if you tripped and the hem tore? What if you spilled something on the front and it stained? No, it was better off safe and sound in the back of your closet. 

“But-” you tried to say. 

Jihoon frowned. “Are you trying to argue with me?” 

You gulped. “No, sir.” 

“Good. Now go. I’ll order our favorite for dinner,” he said, bending down to give your cheek a gentle kiss. 

“We’re not going out?” you asked, bewildered. Why did he want you to wear the dress then? 

Jihoon smiled and shook his head, his long, dark hair flopping almost cutely as he did so. “I told you; I want you to myself tonight.” 

And with that he ushered you into the bathroom, even helping you pick out a bath bomb. Then he shut the door behind him and left you to decide how best to pamper yourself. At first you just stood there, unsure of what to do. How do you even pamper yourself? When was the last time you had a self-care day? 

Slowly, your brain kicked into gear. You turned the faucets on to nice and hot. When the tub was filled, you plopped the bath bomb in and spent a couple minutes watching the colors spread. Jihoon made sure all of the bath bombs he got you were purple - your favorite color. This one was a deep plum and smelled floral. It was lovely. 

You stripped out of your clothes, grabbed your shaving kit, and eased yourself down into the hot water. This time your sigh was one of relief as the heat eased your stiff muscles. You hadn’t realized how tense you were. 

You let yourself soak for a while, just vegetating and allowing yourself to empty your thoughts. You should’ve brought a book and a glass of wine with you. Oh well, next time. And you made the promise to yourself that there will definitely be a next time. 

Eventually, you felt the water begin to grow lukewarm and you decided to shave your legs and bathe. It felt like you were washing away the stress of the week. Every mistake you made and every scolding you got from higher-ups just fading into the background.

After you were clean and your hair was washed, you wrapped yourself in the fluffiest towel you owned and made the (chilly) trek to your bedroom. There you stared, still clad in only towel, at the beautiful red dress you laid out on your bed. It truly was gorgeous. The deep red, Jihoon’s favorite color, was complimented by silver embellishments. The swirly designs graced the flowy skirt, and the sleeves also flowed gracefully. 

Taking a deep breath, you eased yourself carefully into the dress, pleased to find it fit perfectly. Of course Jihoon had it tailored to you. He knew every inch of your body by heart. 

Deciding that if you’re going to wear this dress, you might as well go all out. You pulled out your slightly dusty makeup bag and pulled out your favorite eyeshadow palette along with the rest of your makeup. You took your time dolling your face up, feeling the icky feeling from earlier fading from your mind. 

Finally satisfied with your look, you floofed you hair to give it some volume, allowing the curls to do their thing as they air dried. Lastly you picked out some jewelry, also gifted to you by Jihoon, and slipped on a pair of sparkly silver heels. 

Nervously you peeked out of your bedroom. Then you ambled down the hall to the living room where Jihoon was waiting, the TV playing some variety show quietly in the background as he scrolled on his phone. 

Hearing the click clack of your heels, he looked up and you swear you watched his pupils dilate. 

“Holy shit,” he said, standing up. He’d changed too, now sporting a black button down with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of black slacks. “That dress is fucking perfect on you, princess,” he all but growled. He took your hand and gave you a twirl, admiring the way your cheeks flushed with his compliment. 

“Thank you,” you mumbled, shy. “It’s really a beautiful dress. I don’t think I could ever make it up to you for giving it to me.” 

“Don’t give me that,” he said, gently flicking your forehead. “It’s more than enough reward to just see you in this, my gorgeous girl.” 

Your brain was swirling with the compliments. Jihoon wasn’t often outspoken about how much he adored you, opting usually for acts of service and gifts and small gestures to make sure you felt loved. But sometimes, when you were feeling down, he allowed his walls to come down and finally tell you what he always felt. 

The two of you ate dinner, just some simple takeout from your favorite Korean restaurant nearby, and chatted. You were very careful not to spill any sauce on your dress. 

After dinner, Jihoon cleaned up the table, refusing to allow you to lift a finger. “Princesses don’t clean,” he chastised. 

You grumbled, “Princes don’t either…” 

Jihoon laughed at your obstinance and couldn’t help planting another kiss on your cheek. “Cute.” 

After he cleaned up, Jihoon began fiddling with his phone and some speakers he’d bought. You watched him in confusion until a waltz came on. Jihoon walked over to you, bowed, and held out his hand.

You shyly took it and allowed him to pull you up, wrapping an arm around your waist. Then, as if he’d practiced the waltz for years, he began to teach you the steps. 

The two of you danced slowly around the living room, careful to not bump into the table. Slowly you grew more confident in your dancing and allowed yourself to relax into the steps. Jihoon smiled at you and pulled you a bit closer. Your chest bumped against his, and you could’ve sworn you heard a sharp intake of breath from him. 

Before you could ask what’s wrong, Jihoon captured your lips in a heated kiss, not once breaking step. When you broke apart, you stared up at him, lips parted in surprise. Jihoon felt a tightening in his pants at the innocent look on your face. “As much as I love seeing you in this dress, I can’t fucking wait to take it off you,” he said. 

Your eyes widened, heat rushing to your core. Jihoon pulled you closer, allowing you to feel the growing tent in his pants. But still, the song wasn’t done, so he continued to twirl you around. You were growing impatient and tried nipping at his bottom lip to let him know. 

“Uh uh,” he said, “patience little princess. The song will be over soon. For now, let me get one last look at you in the dress I picked out for you.” 

And with a twirl, Jihoon’s eyes raked up and down your body, taking note of the way the bodice of the dress hugged your breasts. He loved the way the dress poofed out, teasing him by hiding your legs from him. 

When the song ended, it was like something snapped inside him. Jihoon pushed you backwards until you landed with a soft “oof” on the couch. He grabbed your wrists and held them above your head with one hand, the other hand holding the side of your face as he kissed you passionately. His knee found your clothed core, hiking up your skirts that fell around your thighs. 

“So fucking pretty for me,” he whispered in your ear. “Getting all dolled up just for me to ruin you. But you like that, don’t you little girl? You like it when your prince corrupts you.” 

Flushing, you nodded, unable to deny him. You did love dressing up for him. You did love when he absolutely ruined you. You loved every bit about him, the way he kissed you, the way he comforted you when you were upset, the way he quietly but firmly took care of you just as much as you cared for him. 

Jihoon’s hand trailed its way from your face to your neck to your chest. His lips followed suit and you gasped when he bit down on the top of your breast, tongue gently soothing the skin immediately after. 

He dropped your hands to start fumbling with the buttons in the back of your dress, hands slipping a little in his eagerness. He huffed. “This is taking too long.” Then he shocked you by ripping the back of the dress open. You felt several buttons pop off and yelped. 

“Jihoon!” 

“I’ll have it fixed later, now come here,” he responded before latching onto your breast. 

You yelped again, which turned into a breathy moan as he ran his tongue over your nipple. His other hand made its way down to your thigh to squeeze it. 

Jihoon’s focus shifted to your thighs and he knelt down to pepper kisses all up your thigh, leaving a hickey or two as well. You wiggled as his lithe fingers found your clothed core. 

“Mmm, my princess is so wet for me already,” he hummed. He bunched the dress’s skirts up higher, then took his time pulling the matching red panties down. 

Jihoon licked his lips at the sight of your soaking wet core, his dick straining painfully in his pants. You whimpered and reached out for him. Tilting his head, he stood up and leaned in close to you. 

Happily, you pulled him close and began undoing the buttons on his shirt. You felt yourself grow wetter at the feeling of his hard muscles beneath your hands. Jihoon watched your face as you concentrated on not fumbling on the buttons. Your breasts spilled out of the torn dress, and your thighs were practically begging him to come kiss them again. Your hair was already disheveled, and he found you the most beautiful person in the world. 

Finally, his shirt was off and flung to the floor. Greedily, you pulled him in for more kisses, and Jihoon was happy to oblige. While you were distracted, his hand made its way under your skirts. You let out a gasp as he inserted a finger and began pumping, his thumb circling your clit. 

Jihoon swallowed your breathy gasps greedily, hitting your g-spot expertly with every thrust of his finger. You whimpered when he inserted a second finger, and Jihoon groaned at the way your pussy practically swallowed his fingers. 

“You’re so tight, pretty girl,” he groaned, yet despite his words he inserted a third finger, making you cry out. 

His pumping didn’t slow down, even as your gasps grew higher in pitch. You could feel the coil in your stomach tightening already, the stress from the week having left you wound up. 

Between Jihoon’s fingers and his thumb circling your clit, it wasn’t long before you were crying out his name in pleasure, your thighs trembling as you rode out your high. 

Jihoon waited until you were back down to earth before removing his fingers and licking your release off them. You watched through heavy-lidded eyes as you tried to catch your breath. 

Jihoon began unbuttoning his pants, pulling them and his boxers down in one go. His dick sprang free, red and dripping with precum. You groaned, mouth watering, but Jihoon pushed you back on the couch. 

“Not tonight, princess. Tonight I spoil you, just as you deserve,” he cooed. 

You blinked up at him, pouting. “But-” 

He put a finger to your lips, shushing you. “Don’t argue, little girl. Don’t worry, I’m being greedy too. I can’t wait to fuck you until you’re screaming my name.” 

At the dirty talk, you closed your mouth, no longer even remotely tempted to argue with him. 

“Good girl,” Jihoon said before entering you with a groan. 

You moaned helplessly at the way he filled you up. He waited a moment before his patience ran out, and he began to move. 

Jihoon fucked you like you were the most precious thing in the world to him. Maybe you were in his mind, you could never know. But the way he buried himself in you and the way he moaned your name gave you little doubt of his affection. He knew your body better than you did, hitting that spot that made you see stars every single time. 

“Jihoon- ah! I’m- I’m gonna-” you tried to speak but the pleasure was overtaking you. Your mind just chanted his name over and over, and all you saw was his body over yours, his cock entering you with every thrust. 

“Cum for me, princess. Let me hear your pretty moans,” Jihoon said, increasing his speed as he felt himself racing towards his finish. 

You came hard, throwing your head back in a silent scream as your entire body trembled in Jihoon’s grasp. Feeling your cunt convulse around him, Jihoon’s pace grew erratic until he too came with a loud moan, spilling into you. He buried his face into the crook of your neck as he came down from his own high. 

After a moment of heavy breathing, Jihoon moved off of you, pulling out of you. He watched as his cum leaked out of you. Frowning, he pushed it back into you, making sure not a single drop was wasted. 

You flushed at the feeling, so full and satisfied. You gave Jihoon a dopey smile that he happily returned. “Always so good for me, pretty girl,” he crooned. “Now let’s get you cleaned up.” 

He scooped you up, your dress still halfway on your body, and carried you to the bathroom. He took the dress the rest of the way off you and turned on the faucets of the tub again, wetting a washcloth to clean you. 

“Next time, I’m buying you a purple dress.” 

[goldenraeofsun]

Baskerville

Dick vaults the last flight of stairs to the Batcave and sprints down the platform to the infirmary area. “Damian!” 

“Master Dick,” Alfred tsks as Dick skids to a halt outside the curtained area. “Please keep your voice down. Master Damian is resting.”

“I just heard,” Dick pants as he peers around Alfred to see through a gap in the curtains. “Did he say who did it?”

“Not exactly –” Alfred starts before Steph’s voice interrupts, her voice curt, “Jason.”

Dick steps around Alfred, ignoring his put-upon sigh, and slips by Damian’s bedside to stand next to Steph, barefaced, her eyes cold, as she stands next to the small figure hooked up to far too many tubes and covered in far too many bandages.

“Oh, Dames,” Dick murmurs as he reaches over to hold two of Damian’s fingers, the only visible part of him not covered in gauze. He bites his lip as he catalogs the TBI, broken left ulna, five bullet wounds his other limbs, probably fractured if not broken ribs, and split lip.

He turns to Steph. “You were patrolling together?”

Steph nods once, the movement too sharp. Her flinty gaze doesn’t waver from Damian’s face. “The Narrows. Apparently we got too close to Jason’s turf for his liking.”

Dick frowns. The edge of the gauze covering Damain’s hand chafes against his thumb, and he has to consciously stop himself from worrying it. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

“This is exactly like him,” Steph snarls under her breath. “Tim told me about Jason’s attack at the Tower after he came back. A concussion, fractured jaw, broken clavicle, a fucking bootprint of a bruise on his back from where Jason kicked him into a stone statue. Lacerations all over from being thrown around like a ragdoll by a guy with half a foot and eighty pounds on him.”

Dick’s shoulders tense, involuntarily bristling at Steph’s actuation. “He has changed.”

“Clearly, he hasn’t.”

Dick shakes his head. “That was years ago. Talia messed with his head, convinced him that Tim took his place.”

“So Tim got that epic beatdown because Jason didn’t check his sources?” Steph hisses, incensed. Her eyes burn with a rage Dick hasn’t seen in a while - he has to stop himself from taking a step back. “And what could possibly be his reason to mess with Robin this time around? The kid would rather stab himself with his katana than pick up a gun and patrol Crime Alley.”

“I have no idea,” Dick says honestly. “And you’re sure it was Jason? It wasn’t… a copycat? A frame job?”

Steph’s mouth twists. “A copycat wearing Jason’s helmet, in Jason’s territory, that moved exactly like Jason?” She looks up at Dick for the first time since he arrived. “I may be blonde, but I’m not that blonde, Dick.” Jaw clenched, she averts her gaze again and starts to pace.

Dick sighs. Too many conflicting emotions are bombarding beneath his ribcage, too many questions left unanswered.

“If he walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, shoots armor piercing rounds like a duck…” Steph continues as she pivots back towards Dick and Damian, her footsteps unnaturally loud in the Cave. 

“But, he’s been good,” Dick says quietly, half to himself, half to Steph. “Sure, Jason has his issues with us, but he covered for me when I had to deal with the demon cult in San Francisco last week.”

“Because covering for you meant taking down the Yakuza’s growing foothold in Bludhaven,” Steph says impatiently before she takes off again. “He wiped them out in two nights and spent the rest of the time signing you up for every porn magazine still in circulation and stealing your wingdings to melt into bullets.”

Dick’s eyes widen. “How did you know that?”

She stops dead, scoffing, “Please, like Bruce is the only person who has your place bugged.”

“You bugged my –”

“Not me,” Steph cuts him off, making a face like Dick is an idiot. “Tim.”

Dick just sighs. He’ll have to do another sweep of his apartment soon if he has to start looking for Tim’s tech in addition to Bruce’s.

“It was Jason,” Steph mutters as she turns back to Damian, lying so still. “I have no idea why, but he did this. He did this to Robin.”

Dick turns back to Damian’s still form and gives his fingers a light squeeze, his heart impossibly heavy. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Steph.”

“If you need an extra pair of hands to take him down,” she says as she unclasps her cape and pulls aside the curtain separating them from the rest of the Cave, “you know who to call. I’m going to go hit stuff for a while.”

* * *

Nightwing is talking with Arkham’s chief of security when his com bursts to life. Spoiler’s voice screeches, “Back up, I need back up! Anyone there? Hello?”

Nightwing blinks, all attention focused on Spoiler. He holds up a finger to Ms. Yenn and taps his com. “Where are you?”

“The Bowery!”

Nightwing’s blood goes cold. With Arkham security measures and the destruction of the bridge during the breakout last night, it’ll take him at least fifteen minutes to get back to Gotham’s mainland and yet another twenty to get all the way to the east side. Red Robin might actually get to her faster; but he’s lurking somewhere in the Diamond District at this time of night, twenty minutes to the south of the Bowery.

“What’s the threat?”

A click of another line joining the frequency. 

Spoiler pants, “Jason!”

“Jason?” Red Robin repeats, the faintest whistle of air in the background.

Nightwing would bet the last of his wingding stash that Red Robin’s already on his way to Spoiler’s location. “Hang on, Spoiler, we’re heading to you.”

He turns back to Yenn, “I’m sorry, ma’am, I have to cut this short –”

“I can’t outrun him, guys,” Spoiler pants. She yelps, and dread pools in Nightwing’s stomach. "He's too fast. Like, really fast."

In a rush, Nightwing says, “Here are our recommendations for repairs.” He all but throws the drive at Yenn. “I’ll check back in next week if you need anything from us –”

“Fuck!” 

“Have a good night now!” He barrels through the doors of Arkham and sprints for the docks where he moored his boat. 

“Why the hell are you doing this?” Spoiler demands, breathless but determined.

Red Robin’s voice comes in, “Hold on, I’m ten minutes out.”

But in bat-time, ten minutes might as well be an hour, and by the way Spoiler doesn’t respond, she knows it too. 

Nightwing asks, “And you’re sure it’s Jason?” 

“She’s not stupid,” Red Robin responds instead, his voice tense. “If she says it’s Jason, it’s Jason.”

“Right, right,” Nightwing says over the slap of Gotham Bay’s choppy waters against the side of his boat. “I –”

“Has Robin woken up yet?” Red Robin asks. “To get his story?”

Nightwing's fingers tighten on the steering wheel. “He woke up, but he wasn’t lucid.”

The sounds of three impacts in rapid succession travel down the line. Spoiler grunts in pain, and Nightwing guns the engine.

“ETA, Red Robin?” Nightwing asks.

“Eight minutes,” Red Robin reports, his voice strained. “I ran like five red lights already and nearly killed a guy on a segway, but that’s his fault for driving a goddamn segway.”

Nightwing kills the engine as he approaches the marina. With his pulse thundering in his ears, he rides the tragically slow current to the edge of the dock. He throws out the bow and stern lines and ties them up in knots that would make Bruce ground him for a week for sloppiness, back in his Robin days.

As he’s racing to his parked bike, Spoiler screams.

An ominous series of thumps come through over the comms.

“Steph, hold on!” Red Robin shouts.

Nightwing flies down the street, heading eastward. 

Spoiler moans. “What the fucking hell is wrong with you?” she gasps, coughing wetly.

This whole time, Spoiler’s opponent hasn’t said a word, which raises every single one of Dick’s red flags. If Jason had one kryptonite, it was his big, fat mouth. Like all former Robins, quips and kicks came to him naturally. And Jason might’ve ditched the roundhouses for Sig Sauers, but he can never shut his trap when the opportunity presents itself.

“Five minutes!” Red Robin calls over a flurry of honks and yells from roaring through another red light.

Spoiler doesn’t respond, but the gunshot comes in loud and clear, followed by the heart-stoppingly familiar burst of static. Her comm has been crushed.

“Tell me what’s happening, Red Robin,” Nightwing demands.

“Four minutes,” Tim says breathlessly.

The next four minutes pass in a blur of lights and pedestrians. The static rings in Nightwing’s ears, deafening in the silence over the comm line. He weaves in between the cars, through the smallest of gaps to shave off fractions of seconds.

Red Robin next checks in, and Nightwing almost misses the next turn, shifting his weight just in time, making it just in time.

“She’s here. She’s alive,” Red Robin pants, his relief palpable. “Just barely. Pulse thready. I’m getting her out of here.”

Nightwing exhales a slow breath, trying to calm himself. Disaster mostly averted, but a disaster that should have never happened in the first place.

He needs to get a handle on this, before anyone else gets hurt.

“Any visual on her attacker?”

Red Robin doesn’t answer immediately. Eventually, he says, after an extremely judgemental silence, “No sign of Jason.”

Two minutes after Red Robin whisked Spoiler away, Nightwing pulls up to her last location at the edge of the Bowery, a wide open space of concrete and weeds underneath the overpass. Scuff marks, drops of blood leading to a larger pool, hallmarks of a fight decorate the eastern edge of the lot. The scene makes his stomach churn, but he finds no evidence left by her attacker. After a fruitless search, he heads back to the Cave. 

He stays beside Damian for hours, trying his best to calm him down when he opens his eyes to see Steph on the bed next to him, unconscious and hooked up to all their backup monitors.

They have to sedate him again. 

Once both are stable and resting under Alfred’s careful eye, Dick sneaks out. If Tim caught wind of Dick’s plan, he’d never let him go through with it. But Dick couldn’t take the chance that Tim would spook Jason and Dick would be back at square one. Jason and Tim got along like two feral cats with distinct territories – fine at a distance, but chaos in close quarters.

No, he can’t afford to have Tim as backup. He’ll handle Jason on his own.

* * *

Jason watches himself wash his hands in his cramped safehouse bathroom. Silently, he seethes. Stephanie Brown’s crimson red blood turns the water pink and swirls down the drain. His head raises to the stained mirror above the sink.

“Don’t be so glum,” comes out of his mouth. His eyes stare back at him, dark and fathomless. His face smiles, too wide, baring too many teeth.

A broad, gleeful smile. 

“A little louder, lambchop. I think you may have a collapsed lung.”

The crowbar swings again.

He struggles. The ropes dig into his wrists and ankles. No give at all. He’s completely helpless.

“I left her alive, didn’t I?” comes out of his mouth next, and Jason throws himself against the invisible confines of his own head, trying to wrest back control of his body, swearing a blue streak that would make Alfred wash his mouth out with soap.

His reflection does not move an inch. “Now,” it tuts, “that’s not a very nice thing to say about my mother. Yours was hardly a saint.” It turns to dry Jason’s hands on the threadbare maroon towel hanging opposite the toilet. “Child neglect, drug abuse, not to mention her weak constitution. Is that something people say anymore? ‘Weak constitution’? I can never keep up with the lingo. But your head is filled with such fascinating vocabulary.”

It leaves the bathroom, and Jason loses sight of his reflection. He’s just a pair of eyes, unable to so much as twitch his pinky finger.

“Boring,” it declares as it picks up a first edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles on the end table by Jason’s couch. It lets the book fall to the floor, ignoring Jason’s wordless scream of rage. Left there, it will crack the fucking spine and, well, it was a gift from Bruce.

Jason fucks with everything else in Bruce’s life, but not their first editions. Some things are sacred, even from beyond the grave.

The first year he and Bruce were on semi-decent terms, Jason came back to his safehouse after a quiet patrol on his birthday – and Jason has thoughts about Bruce’s interference with his patrol too – to find a new book nestled among the other beaten up Penguin Classics and shitty sci fi novels he takes on boring stakeouts. There was no slip of paper with a happy birthday note on the inside, but words have never been Bruce’s forte. 

But it was their thing, so it had to be Bruce. 

No movie was too campy to watch with Dick. No cold case was too cold to tackle with Tim. And no martial arts technique was too obscure to teach Damian. 

But with Jason, no first edition was ever too rare to track down and give to his second Robin.

Jason howls as he watches his steel-toed boot kick The Hound of the Baskervilles under the coffee table. A few pages come loose and flutter back to the ground. Not a sound escapes his mouth.

“My bad,” it says in a sing-song voice that makes Jason’s blood boil. “No matter. Conan was a real fraud, let me tell you  –”

It pauses at the sound of a tap-tap-tap on the window.

At the sight of the blue finger stripes, Jason’s stomach sinks. Fuck no, Dick can’t be here. He is playing right into its hands –

But Jason just beats at the invisible bars of his cage as his body marches to stand in front of the window. His face morphs into a feigned expression of confusion as Dick meets his gaze through the glass. Get away, he screams, but, what comes out is, “Dickface, you got a problem using my front door like everyone else?”

“This is faster,” Dick grunts as he neatly disables Jason’s security measures and slides inside, graceful as one of Damian’s cats. “Plus, I’m not here for a social call.”

“So what do I owe the visit, then?” it asks, crossing its arms over its chest and raising an eyebrow.

Dick sighs. “Someone has been attacking… us,” he says slowly, studying Jason’s face carefully for his reaction.

It drops the defensive stance. “Who? Are the kids okay?” it asks.

Jason fumes. It’s not me! he shouts, but the demon gives nothing away. 

“Damian and Stephanie, so far,” Dick says, his lips pursing. “Someone got the drop on them. They who knew what he was doing. They evaded all cameras and left no evidence.”

The guilt, always lurking in the back of Jason’s mind, rolls over him like a freight train. He did that. Those attacks were his fault. 

The gremlin, flat on the ground, his hand twisted the wrong way from his broken arm, three bullet grazes leaking blood, and two bullet holes gushing with it. Five in total.

Blondie, slumped over, a halo of red surrounding her bright hair. Cracked ribs and a twisted ankle. A bullet in her thigh, left shoulder, calf, and, of course, that near miss at her temple. Head wounds always bled like a bitch. Four shots in total.

Clues for Dick to find.

Every time the demon would propose a plan of attack, alone in his apartment with just Jason for company, he would try to think of something else, anything else, but it was like asking someone not to think of a pink elephant. His mind would betray him, his real thoughts would drift to the surface, and the demon would gleefully snatch them from his consciousness and improve its plan with Jason's contribution.

Jason knew the kid, knew what they taught him in the League, and knew what Bruce was teaching him now.

He shudders, but of course none of this shows on his face.

Stephanie was harder, since Jason didn’t have as much of a history with her, and she started her vigilante career self-taught, outside of Bruce’s influence. But, Jason has several years of Bat training and League tutelage on her, not to mention a hundred pounds of muscle, so it got her in the end.

Tim – Jason dreads what the demon has in store for Tim Drake. 

“Have the gremlin or blondie said who did it?” the demon asks, raking a hand through Jason’s hair as if lost in thought.

As Dick struggles to answer, Jason tries to wrest control of anything, his pinky finger, his right knee, his left eyebrow. He lashes out at his confines, silently howling his rage.

“They both say you did it,” Dick says quietly.

It actually reels back a step – You’re overselling it, you bastard – and puts on some stupid, wounded look on his face that Jason would slap off, if he could. But, judging by Dick’s hurt expression, he’s falling for the act, hook, line, and sinker. 

Fuck you, Dick.

If Jason went around randomly attacking Bats, he’d own up to it like a man. He took on Batman himself when he was fresh out of the League, fueled by angst and spite. And when Bruce tracked him down, did Jason play coy and say, Oh, no Bruce you got the wrong dead kid you adopted and then kicked to the curb ? No, Jason did his big reveal, they had an epic fight, and he went on with his plans. Zero subterfuge, no underhanded manipulation – that was Bruce’s game, not Jason’s.

“It wasn’t me,” it answers Dick in a disturbingly convincing voice. No more than a whisper with a hint of warning.

Dick glances around, his gaze catching on one of the stray The Hound of the Baskervilles pages. “Sherlock Holmes?” he asks as he scans the text, his brow furrowing.

“What? I may not have graduated high school, but I know how to read,” it says, its tone pointed.

Dick holds up his page-free hand in a gesture of no-harm. “I didn’t think detective stories were your thing. But I should’ve known,” he says with a light chuckle that makes Jason want to throttle him because how can he be laughing now, at all times, “Brit Lit wins out over everything else, right?”

Jason feels his mouth stretch into an easy smile. “Right,” it says with his voice.

Fuck you twice over, Dick. 

Jason loved detective stories as a kid; all Robins did. They were raised by the World’s Greatest Detective; Sherlock Holmes was practically required reading, and Conan Doyle was definitely more fun than the old GCPD case reports that Bruce set as weekly assignments. Jason could tell the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning before he put on the scaly panties.

“Do you have any tracking data that recorded your location earlier tonight and last Friday?” Dick asks.

If Jason had a jaw he could use, it would have dropped open in surprise. Dick didn’t swallow the demon’s story whole.

But as the demon does something with Jason’s face, Dick rushes to say, “Damian and Steph will want proof.”

Jason would swear at the top of his voice if he could. He should’ve known. 

“They don’t know you like I do,” Dick says – pleads, really.

Christ, the guy’s pathetic.

“Well, you can’t have it,” the demon says, with a fair approximation of Jason’s quick temper. “I already have enough Bats up in my business. I don’t need little birdies on my tail when you play pin the tail on Jason because Robin took one too many blows to the head and started seeing things.”

“But–”

“Get out,” it says over Dick’s objections.

“Jay–” Something on the demon’s face makes Dick cut himself off. He carefully sets the page down on the coffee table. “Fine, I’m going. Just, look out for yourself, okay?” He meets Jason’s eyes. “I know you didn’t do this, Little Wing.” 

I didn’t.

“Get out, before I make you,” the demon says before it all but shoves Dick back out the window and slams it down behind him.

As they both watch Dick swing away, it says, “Now, let the real fun begin.”

* * *

Tim is almost too easy to track down. Despite the clear and present danger, Timmy keeps the same patrol routes he always does, with the added bonus of Big Brother watching in the wings, no doubt trying to catch the real perpetrator in the act.

Obviously, the demon couldn’t have that, so it hires a few brainless goons to blow up a yacht party on Penguin’s second-biggest boat at the same time as it places a fake 911 call about a convenience store robbery. Even if Dick figures out it’s a ploy to separate them, he will still feel compelled to stay and help search and rescue in Gotham Bay.

Jason watches with a churning feeling as Nightwing heads south and Red Robin goes north. The demon actually rubs its hands together like a two-bit spaghetti western villain about to tie a damsel to a set of train tracks.

It hops over the rooftops, supernaturally fast and agile. It keeps Red Robin at a distance, careful not to set off his well-honed sixth sense of being watched. It wouldn’t do to have Tim calling in Dick too early and ruining the big surprise.

The demon catches up with him after fifteen minutes. 

At his absolute fastest, it will take Nightwing half an hour to reach them, which is more than enough time.

“So I’m next on the list, huh?” Tim says, his voice dry as he turns around at the sound of Jason’s boots thumping down on the roof behind him. Quick as lightning, Tim snaps out his collapsible bo staff.

The demon, predictably, doesn’t say a word. It does, however, set off a miniature EMP to fry all of Tim’s fancy gadgets.

Tim raises a hand to his comm. “I want you to know, I was right,” he says. “It is Jason.”

It watches with sick satisfaction as Tim realizes his comm is dead. No help is coming. 

“What the hell did you do that for?” Tim asks as he nonchalantly twirls his staff, but Jason can read his nerves in the tense set of his shoulders – loose, Bruce always told them to stay loose – and the way he keeps his focus on Jason, not once scanning his peripherals.

“You rely on your toys too much, Timmy,” it says, taking a step closer. “So I thought I’d teach you a lesson. You need it, from what I’ve seen. You have none of Nightwing’s fluidity. Half of my brawn. A quarter of the gremlin’s training.” It reaches up and takes off Jason’s helmet, so Tim can see his bare face. “If I had to find a comparison, I’d say you’re most on level with Blondie, and she was, what, Robin for 73 days?”

Internally, Jason winces. He’d never say all that to Tim.

He’d think it, sure.

Because, from his experience, Tim isn’t a fighter on the same caliber as him and Dick and probably Damian once the little hellion goes through puberty. Tim fights smarter, relies more on his gadgets and environment than they do. He’s a relatively easier Robin to beat in close quarters, but he’s almost impossible at a distance. 

In the nonexistent-privacy of his own head, Jason’s admitted dozens of times over the past week that the kid is good and shouldn’t be underestimated. 

Tim takes the criticism with a completely blank expression. “Are you going to babble at me all night or are you actually going to do something? Because I gotta say,” he twirls his staff, daring Jason to attack while his weapon is occupied, “I’m feeling a bit left out you’re not giving me the silent treatment like you did –”

The demon lunges.

Tim dances out of the way in a dodge he definitely learned from Dick, and the fight is on.

Like with Steph and Damian, Jason tries to shut it out, but he can’t close his eyes; he can’t look away. And the demon takes all of his split-second judgments and hurls them at Tim in a merciless barrage.

A vicious punch to his kidney. “C’mon, you’re dropping your elbow, Timbo.”

A high kick to his face. “Oh, you almost blocked that in time!”

A one-two combo that sends Tim staggering back, blood dripping from his split lip, one hand cradling his cracked ribs. “Is that all you got?”

Tim smiles, crimson lacing over his teeth. “I’m just getting started.” He shifts his weight to his back foot, preparing to strike. 

The demon leans to the left for a feint –

Tim leaps backwards off the roof.

Shocked, the demon and Jason hear the poom of Tim’s grapple firing before the demon lets out a yell and follows.

Tim sprints across the increasingly decrepit Burnley townhouses, hurtling over planters full of dead bushes and overflowing piles of garbage. A stray beer bottle nearly trips him up, but he catches himself just in time. He leaps for the next building over and easily clears the ten feet of distance. 

He glances behind him, the whites of his lenses reflecting the orange street lamps. With a low curse, he throws a birdarang over his shoulder and keeps running.

The demon ducks, a feral smile curling its lip.

Tim goes too short on his next jump. His midsection slams into the edge of the roof, and he audibly gasps in pain. His gloved fingers scrabble for purchase on the crumbling concrete, and he levers himself over just as the demon takes off from the next building over. Tim sucks in a deep breath as he takes off again, weaving between rusted lawn chairs and pots full of weeds and brown dirt.

Jason and the demon overtake Tim at the next building. With a snarl, the demon yanks on Tim’s cape, sending him crashing to the ground. 

“Neat trick,” it says as it pulls out Jason’s gun from its holster. “But as fun as our little chase scene was, game’s over now, birdbrain.”

Flat on his back, Tim throws another birdarang, trying to knock the gun out of his hand. It lodges between his knuckles, and Jason internally winces at the sight, but the demon ignores it. Doesn’t even bother removing it before he fires two shots, one at each of Tim’s legs, aiming for the gaps in the armor. A third buries itself in Tim’s arm.

Tim screams as the bullets go in and through. 

“Come on, I didn’t even hit any bones,” it says in an almost bored voice as it stands over Tim, one firm, steel-toed boot on his cape, keeping him pinned like a butterfly to a corkboard. “Walk it off.” It smirks down at Tim as it plucks the birdarang out of his hand and tosses it over his shoulder. “If you can.”

Tim just glares, the corners of his mouth pinched with pain. At least he doesn’t try to get up and embarrass himself.

“Oh, right,” it says drolly, as it crouches by Tim’s side and roughly cuts him out of his outersuit, leaving it to soak up the steadily growing pool of blood around them. Redundancy is Bruce’s middle name, so the demon won’t take any chances with trackers powered by body heat or friction. It slices down the laces of Tim’s boots and pries them off.

Once Tim’s just in his black undersuit and barefoot, it hauls Tim over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and, ignoring Tim’s grunt of agony and increasingly pale face, jumps off the roof. It heads to Jason’s nearest safehouse, now three blocks away since Tim led it on that not-so-merry chase deeper into Burnley.

“Why are you taking me,” Tim groans. “You left Steph and Damian where you put them down.”

“You’re just special, Timberly,” it says as it clears another roof, landing with a heavy thump that makes Tim groan. And because it can’t let that backhanded compliment just hang there, it adds, “Bet that’s the first time anyone’s told you that, huh?”

Tim lets out a series of awful little whimpers as demon’s stomps down each of the fire escape stairs outside his safehouse. Jason catches sight of his reflection around in a third floor window, and his back is absolutely coated with blood from Tim’s bullet-ridden legs. His jacket glistens with it.

Not good.

Clang!

He startles at the sound of metal on metal, and the demon turns his head to watch one of his glocks clatter through the slats to the alley floor. 

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to play with guns?” it asks, ducking its head to get a good look at Tim, hanging upside down.

Tim just smirks and drops Jason’s other gun from where he palmed it. Down into the alley below it goes.

“You’re going to pay for that,” the demon growls. 

Tim says nothing, and Jason pushes down his worry. The snark is always the first to appear and last to disappear once a Robin puts on the cape. He tries to turn his head back to check on Tim, to make sure he’s still alive, but the demon doesn’t let him budge an inch. 

It just hikes Tim higher and opens the window to his safehouse. It drops Tim on the circular area rug in the living room. Tim coughs as he rolls onto his side, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth. “Sit tight, Timmy. I’ve got to make a call.”

“Good fucking luck,” Tim spits.

Jason would sigh in relief if he could.

The demon stops, turns to squint down at Tim in the dark living room. “What the hell are you talking about?”

But Tim just rolls over again and closes his eyes, his breathing too fast and too shallow.

“Now,” it pulls Jason’s phone out of his pocket, “What should we tell big bro, hm?”

The lights switch on.

The demon whirls in place as Dick pushes off the far wall, his expression furious. “You could tell me what the hell you were thinking, going after my family.”

For a beat, they just stare at each other.

Tim groans into the silence, “Quit the dramatics, Dick.”

Face stricken, Dick darts forward and starts to drag Tim closer.

“Woah, hey, not so fast,” the demon purrs as it reaches for Tim.

But Dick is faster; he yanks Tim out of the demon’s reach. Tim cries out as the carpet gives way to wooden floor. “Sorry, sorry,” Dick murmurs as he crouches down to run his fingers through Tim’s sweaty hair. He isn’t even looking at Jason.

Jason can’t believe it. He can count about a hundred ways Dick is leaving both of them open to attack. This goes beyond stupid.

Evidently the demon agrees with him: “What are you doing?”

Dick ignores the question. Doesn’t even glance up. “Brace yourself,” he says to Tim, “One…” he hefts Tim into his arms way before he gets to three. His mouth tightens as Tim’s eyes fly open and his face contorts in pain.

And then Dick turns his back on the demon.

“Where are you going?” It circles around to block their exit – 

Jason blinks as his forehead rams into an invisible wall. The demon reels back, almost tripping over its own feet. It darts a hand out, grunting as its knuckles meet solid air.

“I’m going to get Tim to Alfred downstairs,” Dick says. He turns his head, so Jason can see the hard glint to his eye, “And then I’m going to get you out of my brother.”

Struck dumb, the demon doesn’t say another word as Dick disappears with Tim out the door.

What the fuck just happened?

Dick… knows?

* * *

Alone in Jason’s safehouse, the demon feels around its invisible cage, muttering to itself. 

Not so fun when it happens to you, is it? Jason thinks savagely

The confines closely follow the border of the area rug, and when the demon peels it back, Jason marvels at the intricate runes carved in the wood underneath that definitely weren’t there the last time he was in this safehouse.

“How did he…” it drifts off, gnashing Jason’s teeth.

“You just couldn’t resist needling Jason, could you?” Dick says, and the demon looks up to find him leaning against the front door frame, arms crossed over his chest, his face impassive. “You did the same thing in San Francisco.” He shuts the door behind him. “It wasn’t enough to mess with the cultists that dredged you up from hell in the first place, you had to make your host’s life miserable too, even though she was just an innocent bystander.”

The demon straightens. “What can I say,” it starts, dropping the act. It stands preternaturally still. “The eternally devoted are just so boring, you know? Complete subservience wears off so soon.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Dick deadpans. He pulls a slim, leather-bound book out of nowhere. “Now, shut up. I have to concentrate. Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus omnis satanica potestas –”

Suck it, Jason crows to the demon. Dickie’s gonna kick your ass back to hell.

“Wait,” the demon shouts over the exorcism, “I can help you!”

“I sincerely doubt that,” Dick says tonelessly without looking up. “Omnis incursio, infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica –”

“Power? Money? Love? You could have it all!”

If Jason had a mouth, he would laugh loudly. As if Dick doesn’t have exactly as much power, money, and love as he wants. He runs multiple superhero teams, and he’s the son of Bruce Wayne. Nightwing is about as beloved as heroes go, save maybe Superman or Wonder Woman.

There’s nothing a demon could offer Dick Grayson that he couldn’t make happen himself. 

Well, maybe –

“Your parents,” the demon announces, and Jason lets out a wordless scream of rage. Of course the fucker picked up on that.

Dick speeds up as wind starts to whip up around them. “Ergo draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica adjuramus te –”

“I could bring them back for you.”

Dick’s brow furrows, and he swallows once before restarting, “ Cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque aeternae Perditionis venenum propinare –”

“They’d live long, happy lives,” the demon adds.

Dick pauses. 

Oh, fuck.

Worst of all, Jason can’t blame Dick in the slightest. Objectively, he knows John and Mary Grayson were good people, and he is not. Jason is doing good work, sure, but he wouldn’t call himself a good person. 

Moreover, Dick definitely has thoughts on Jason’s definition of “good work” and exactly how much killing that requires.

His saintly parents for the low, low price of one possessed, morally compromised brother? That’s hardly a choice.

The demon goads, “They’d see all you’ve accomplished, all the lives you’ve saved, all the disasters you’ve averted.”

Jason really does not like that faraway look in Dick’s eye. 

It continues, “They would be so proud, and you’d have your family back.”

Dick’s fingers tighten on pages. He looks up, his eyes flashing. “My family is right here, and I already know my parents are proud of me.” He shakes his head ruefully. “Jason, hold on. Constantine said you’re in for a pretty bumpy ride. Vade, Satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis –”

The demon yells, and the wind picks up, whipping at his hair, tugging and pulling at his clothes. Pins and needles break out all over his body. And Jason can’t even enjoy having physical sensation back before it turns to white-hot pokers, like fire licking at every inch of his skin.

He can’t even tell who is screaming any more. He has no idea if Dick is still speaking at all. All he knows is the pain.

He falls to his knees, choking and spluttering over bitter, rancid air. Down on all fours, he retches with whole body heaves. The fire spreads down his throat. It burns like acid to the very pit of his stomach. He gags, and tears spring to his eyes as something black and tarry slithers out of his mouth and splats onto the carpet.

“ – audi nos!”

Jason watches, horrified, as the thing bubbles down into nothing. Panting for breath and shivering all over, he scrambles back, off the carpet until his back hits the wall beneath the window.

Silence rings in his ears.

“Jason?” Dick drops into a squat until he’s at Jason’s level even though he’s still all the way across the room by the door. “Are you back with me?”

Jason nods, the movement too quick and too jerky, but Dick just sags back against the door in relief. 

“Thank god,” he mutters as he lets the book drop to the floor. He runs a weary hand down his face.

For a long moment, they just stare at each other. 

Dick speaks first. “I’m so sorry, Jay.”

Jason blinks. “For what?” He’s the one who beat the majority of their family to bloody pieces over the past week. His fists gave Damian a concussion, dislocated Stephanie’s shoulder, and cracked Tim’s ribs. His mind gave away all their weaknesses, starting with Dick: his family.

“For not getting the monster back in San Francisco,” Dick says, staring at Jason’s ceiling. “I just pissed it off enough to follow me back here.”

“Oh,” is all Jason can say.

Dick just shakes his head, his throat working as he swallows. “I’m sorry,” he repeats.

Jason’s skin crawls at the undeserved apology. He scrambles for a new subject instead. “I’m just trying to figure out when you knew it wasn’t me.”

Dick’s gaze flicks to the dark bookshelf in the corner of the room. It’s smaller than the one in his primary safehouse, but still stacked with well worn paperbacks and a few hardback short story anthologies. “It messed with your first edition.”

“One loose page was enough to clue you in?” he raises his eyebrows. “What kind of Sherlock Holmes shit are you on?”

Dick shrugs. “All signs pointed to you, but you were insisting it wasn’t you.” He exhales a loud breath. “It wasn’t adding up. If you had a grudge against any of us, you’d own up to it. Creatively and loudly, if I know you at all. Ergo, it was you but wasn’t you at the same time. Does that make sense?”

Jason snorts. “No.”

“So, less Sherlock Holmes and more brother intuition,” Dick says with a tired smile.

Jason can’t help pressing, “You really didn’t buy its innocence act for a second? The other option, that I was going after the kids, that’s gotta be your worst nightmare.”

“I’m an optimist,” Dick says flatly, “not an idiot. There’s a difference.” He rolls his eyes. “It’s always trust but verify with you.”

Jason shakes his head. “ Doveryay, no proveryay? Really?”

“доверяй, но проверяй” Dick repeats, the slavic syllables rolling off his tongue with a native-sounding fluency that makes Jason’s stomach clench with envy. He’s fluent too, but he will never sound like that. Dick adds, “With your history, can you blame me?”

“I guess not,” Jason says as he curls his fingers into fists.

“But this wasn’t you,” Dick says as he gets to his feet and silently walks towards Jason. “Everyone knows that, now.” He reaches down, offering Jason his hand to help him up.

Jason doesn’t take it. “It was my hands,” he mutters, “my guns.”

“But it wasn’t you,” Dick says, more firmly this time. His hand doesn’t waver. “I know you, Jay. You’ve changed. You wouldn’t attack us out of the blue.”

Jason just grunts.

Dick waggles his fingers in Jason’s face. “Come back to the Cave with me. I’m gonna pass out any minute now, and Alfred needs an assistant to help with Tim, Steph, and Damian. I don’t know what’s in the water over there, but they’re all awful at resting up.”

“Pot, kettle, Dickface.”

“Hey,” Dick holds his other hand up, “I never said anything about me.” He thrusts his offered hand closer and nearly takes out Jason’s eye. “Not getting any younger here.”

Jason scowls up at him, leaning slightly to the left to avoid Dick’s overly enthusiastic invitation. “I bet the last thing the kids want to see is my face.”

“Actually, Tim wants a record of what it’s like to get possessed, so if it ever happens to him, he knows how to beat it,” Dick says with a warm smile. “When he wakes up, he’ll be pestering you nonstop for a complete recount. And I might’ve let slip to Steph that you watch Black Sails since she’s in a pirate phase, of all things.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Dick agrees. “And as for Damian, well, he’ll want to pick over your fight in nauseating detail to know how to beat you next time.”

Jason sighs loudly. “You’re not leaving here without me, are you?”

“Nope,” Dick says cheerfully.

Jason swats Dick’s hand out of the way and gets to his feet. “If you’re wrong, you’re next on my shitlist, got it?”

Dick shudders exaggeratedly as Jason opens the window to leave. “Oh, I’m so scared.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Jason says warningly. “You’re the last Robin left, the way I see it.”

Dick throws him an odd look before he climbs through to the fire escape. “No, I’m not.”

Jason takes the steps down three at a time. “What, did Bruce pick up another black haired twerp while I wasn’t looking?”

“No,” Dick says slowly as he follows. 

“Then what the hell are you talking about?”

“You, Jay. I’m talking about you,” Dick says, deliberately slowly like the demon might’ve taken more than a few braincells when it vacated Jason’s body. “I’m not the last Robin; we are.”

Jason turns away, his face heating. He jumps the rest of the way to the alley floor, scowling as Dick backflips his way down. “C’mon,” he mutters, “Alfred’s never gonna take a break if we’re not there.”

[runraerun]

Steddie Amnesia Fic — 3/3

Part 1 | Part 2 | AO3

wc: 3k | rating: T | cw: head trauma, brain injury talk | a special thank you to @dame-zoom-a-lot for betaing! <3

The days following Steve’s Houdini act are fuckin’ tense, to say the least.

Eddie had messed up. Royally.

He could’ve sworn that when Steve took off, he’d ducked into the Recovery Center, y’know, the place he was supposed to go! If Eddie had known Steve took a detour and missed the building entirely, Eddie would’ve ran a lot fucking faster than he had. Especially after…

Well, no point in shying away from it anymore; after Steve confessed his love for him.

And how did Eddie return the favor? By being a total bone head and losing Steve for the entire goddamn day! Not to mention a good chunk of the night. Jesus… It’s no wonder Robin’s still sore.

Now, in Eddie’s flimsy defense, Steve had thrown him for one hell of a loop. One that Eddie was still seeing double from. He’s still having trouble wrapping his head around what he’d heard; Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington, King of Hawkins High, being into Eddie ‘the Freak’ Munson, the drug-dealing ne’er do well hailing from the Forest Hills trailer park. Forgive him for finding the threads a little difficult to tie together! He’s not exactly Steve’s usual fare.

But it had happened.

Things have fundamentally, metaphysically, allegorically and subatomically shifted between the two of them—there’s no getting away from that, no matter how long they try and dance around this.

Steve said he loved Eddie. Love.

That isn’t something you just move on from. At least, it isn’t something Eddie can move on from. Especially when he didn’t even get to say his piece!

The trouble is that Robin’s in all-out guard dog mode with Steve, keeping Eddie at arm's length even after a whole goddamn week goes by. Sure, she’d accepted his apology (albeit begrudgingly), but she isn’t exactly keen on letting Steve out of the house without her by his side—much less with Eddie. It would be kind of heartwarming if it weren’t so goddamn annoying.

Steve isn’t some damsel locked away in a tower, and Eddie wasn’t some knight in shining armor, planning to scale the side of a stone tower to avoid the sleeping, fire-breathing dragon…

But as Eddie stares up at the fire escape attached to the side of Steve and Robin’s brick apartment building… he'd be lying if he said he didn’t sort of feel a little shiny.

Part of Eddie can’t believe it’s really come to this, but… he just can’t stand the idea of wasting another goddamn night tossing and turning, going over and over Steve’s words in his mind. Thinking about the way Steve’s hand felt in his, the way his eyes went all soft when he told Eddie he—he loved him…

Jesus H. Christ, this is way beyond his skill set—he’s way out of fucking league here, but there’s nothing for it. Eddie needs to settle this, once and for all.

So, he takes his bandana from the back pocket of his jeans and presses the flat of it to his forehead while his hands make a tight knot in the back. He zips his leather jacket as high as it’ll go and gives his hands a shake to try and get the jitters out.

It’s not exactly a helmet and plates of armor, but it’ll have to do. Eddie takes a breath, steels himself, then climbs on top of a precariously stacked pile of milk crates that he’d crafted and leaps for the steel ladder. As soon as his feet leave the plastic tower, it collapses under him, clattering to the ground. Eddie knows he shouldn’t look back, but he sneaks a peak over his shoulder and… yep. He really shouldn’t’ve looked. He’s not that high up, but it’s enough that if he falls, he’d be feeling it tomorrow. Might even bust an ankle if he landed wrong.

He turns back to the task at hand; getting to Steve.

There’s a terrifying moment where he’s not sure if he can pull himself up, but somehow, he finds the strength to do just that. If only Coach D’Amour could see him now!

He grunts as he pulls himself up onto the platform, belly getting scratched against the grates as he goes. Eddie scrambles to get his legs underneath himself. Then, he stands, dusts himself off and takes the win, graceless as it was.

The fire escape is rickety and fucking loud as he takes the steps two at a time. It’s cold enough that even the quickest touch of the steel railings drains all the heat out of his fingers, so he just keeps them balled up, swinging at his sides. The wind is especially chilly up here too, something he hadn’t noticed on the ground, but now that he’s up a couple of floors there wasn’t anything for the wind to buff off except the side of the building and, well, Eddie.

By the time he reaches the third floor, his nose is running and no doubt red and irritated looking, and he’s woefully out of breath.

Kind of a pathetic knight, he thinks as he sniffs back the worst of it, wipes the underside of his nose on the sleeve of his jacket to get rid of what’s left.

The light in Steve’s room is on, reaching out to him through the lines of Steve’s shut blinds.

His hand is raised, wind-chapped knuckles knocking against the glass of his window before he can plan out what he’s going to say. He just wants to see Steve. Get eyes on him again. Work this out.

It’s a painful few seconds before Eddie can see movement from inside the window. He bounces on the balls of his feet as he impatiently waits for Steve to let him in. His breath fogs the window.

Then finally. Finally! The blinds are pulled up. He smiles and—

Oh Christ on a cross. That’s not Steve.

Eddie’s stomach damn near falls out of his ass as the woman on the other side of the glass screams, as shrill and high as if she were next to him.

And of course she’s in a fucking towel.

Eddie slaps one hand across his eyes and the other up in surrender, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Shit, Jesus, I—I’m not a pervert, I swear!”

Debatable, his brain supplies, entirely unhelpful in an emergency situation. But hey, what’s new?

“I was looking for my friend, not—Please stop screaming!” He screams.

“Eddie?” A familiar voice calls from below.

The hand on Eddie’s eyes lift and looks down through the metal grates under his boots. “Steve!”

Steve’s hanging half out his window, peering up at him with a bewildered expression on his face. “What’re you doing?”

Eddie holds his arms out like it should be obvious. “Seeing you!” He snaps.

Eddie’s attention is briefly yanked back to the scandalized looking woman in the window in front of him. “I’m—yeah, I’m gonna—” He backs away, and swings around the escape before thundering down the stairs, shouting another apology up in his shameful retreat.

Steve backs up in order to let Eddie in. He climbs in as gracelessly as ever, all knees and elbows, stiff from the cold. He slides the window shut behind him once he’s in, dropping the blinds for good measure.

He wonders if Hopper is getting a call about a long-haired, wild-eyed, deranged looking peeping Tom at this very moment.

“Smooth.” Steve says from behind him, an edge of playfulness.

When Eddie turns and finally gets a good look at Steve, who looks especially comfortable in his flannel sleep pants and worn sweater, hands on hips. “I was looking for you.”

“Yeah, I got that,” Steve snorts softly, “third floor, remember?”

“I counted! Ground floor, first floor, second floor, third floor.” Eddie says, using his hand to indicate his pattern of thought, moving it up a tick with each floor.

Steve scoffs, shaking his head. And even though Eddie knows Steve’s laughing at him, he can’t help that warm feeling that pours through him, filling him up. All his cracks and edges, sealed up with Steve’s effortless being.

“No.” Steve raises his own hand, mirroring Eddie’s. He begins notching as he explains, “ground floor, second floor, third floor. The ground is the first floor, dude.”

Eddie frowns. “What? Since when?”

Steve levels Eddie with a flat look. “Since like, the civil war, dude.”

Huh. Eddie frowns. Mulling over the new bit of information. That would’ve been nice to know.

“Why were you even doing out there in the first place? We have things called front doors. And, y’know, phones.” Steve crosses his arms across his chest, losing a bit of steam as the words left him. Like he’s realized exactly what Eddie being here, in his rooms, meant.

“I had to see you.” Eddie says, like it’s not the most obvious thing in the world, “Face to face, just me and you.”

“Can’t we just—I don’t know, pretend all of… that never happened? Hell, it might drop out of my head one of these days anyway. Lots of shit does.” Steve’s says, sounding so fucking defeated that it sends a sharp pain through Eddie’s chest.

“Hey,” Eddie makes a face, gets in Steve’s space, “don’t be a jerk to yourself.”

He ducks his head in an attempt to meet Steve’s downturned gaze, which he reluctantly returns. He’s got these big, warm eyes, the color of dark honey—the kind that are hard to look away from, so Eddie rarely does. He’a got a staring problem, he knows, but… damn. Can you really blame a guy?

A nerve in Steve’s jaw jumps when he clenches his teeth together, and salt pools begin forming along the rim of those familiar eyes. When he speaks, it’s stiff. Barely above a whisper. “I’m embarrassed, alright?”

“You don’t gotta be embarrassed, man.” Without thought, Eddie’s hands go to Steve’s arms, fingers hovering around his elbows. Eddie tilts his head again to try and keep eye contact again but Steve seems determined to avoid it.

“Easy for you to say.” Steve huffs, and sits down on the edge of his bed, slipping out of Eddie’s hold, arms still crossed over his chest. “You didn’t totally humiliate yourself in front of your—friend.”

The word, one in which Eddie holds in a most sacred of views, sounds distinctly hollow when Steve says it.

“Steve, listen to me, just for a sec, alright?” Eddie gets down to the floor, one knee buried in the carpet while the others bent out in front of him. “This is my fault.” He confesses, voice full of remorse.

Finally, Steve looks at him. His brows twitch together as he makes a face. “Bullshit.”

“No, it’s true! I—I didn’t mean to, but I’m not exactly big on the whole impulse control thing, as you know, and, thinking back on things I probably… I probably let a few things slip.” Eddie explains, his rings clinking together lightly as he gestures with his hands.

Steve, however, doesn’t look any less confused. He blinks. “What?”

Eddie lets his head fall forward in a moment of defeat as he attempts to gather up his fleeting thoughts. It’s like chasing wet, feral cats up there!

Still, he picks himself back up. For Steve.

“What I’m trying to say is…” Eddie puts his hands on Steve’s knees. Feels the warmth under the soft, worn flannel. The hard muscle. Alive, whole. He tightens his grip. “Steve, I’ve been crazy about you since the first time I ever saw you. Don’t roll your eyes—I’m serious! You sat in front of me in math one year and you forgot your pencil. We were having a test that day, and you asked me if you could borrow one of mine, so I let you have the one I was using. You chewed up the end of it, squashed the eraser to all hell, but then when you gave it back to me, you smiled, thanked me and said, ‘I owe you one.’ It—okay, yeah, so it sounds, like, really small, and probably pretty pathetic, but… I was totally starstruck, man.”

At some point in his little spiel, Steve had uncrossed his arms. So Eddie takes the opportunity to clumsily take Steve’s hands, his insides feeling like a kicked hornets nest. Buzzing. He swallows. “I still am.”

Steve keeps his mouth shut, but there’s a knot in him that’s loosening, Eddie can tell. He’s just gotta keep tugging. He squeezes Steve’s fingers.

“The feeling was cranked up a few hundred clicks because of all the, y’know, near death experiences we went through together. But you get it now, right? You get how this is all my fault?”

“Eddie, you don’t have to—” Steve starts, hands stiffening in Eddie’s hold. Slipping away. But Eddie holds firm, decides to just fucking say it. If Steve could, Eddie could too.

“I’m in love with you too.” He blurts out, and now that he’s said it out loud, it’s like there’s a dam that gets busted inside of him; he can’t stop the rush of words that follows the confession. “That’s what you were seeing. That’s what you were noticing. I thought I was being slick, just keeping it friendly or whatever. Flirting, yeah, but I didn’t think you’d ever actually reciprocate. Because, honestly man, I’m not really used to people taking me all that seriously. ‘Zany, pot-head Eddie, can’t trust anything that comes out of his crooked mouth!’”

Eddie shakes his head, scoffing at his own blind spots, “But… you saw right through that shit—right through me. You didn’t make it up in your head, Steve—you felt it. You were right.”

Steve’s got a funny look on his face, but he nods. A lock of hair falls over his forehead, but he doesn’t remove his hands from Eddie’s to fix it. “You love me?”

That’s like asking if the sun would rise tomorrow morning. Of course. Of course.

Eddie pulls one of Steve’s hands and flattens it onto his chest, over the leather.

“Every time my heart beats, it's your name it calls out, man.” Eddie says, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth when he sees the red creep up on the apples of Steve’s cheeks. “D’you feel it?”

Steve gives a breathless chuckle, hesitating for a split second before he nods, playing along.

Electricity hums under Eddie’s skin, the resulting static snaps in the air around them. Eddie presses Steve’s hand against the wall of his chest a little harder, so that he can feel the pounding a bit better. Then Eddie whispers in time with the rhythm of his lovesick heart, giving it a voice, “Ste-vie, Ste-vie, Ste-vie…”

He keeps chanting until Steve’s grinning, eyes glued to their joined hands. It’s a fleeting thing, though. Eddie watches as that hard-won smile drops and a pinched look takes its place. “Even now? Eddie, I’m not—I don’t think I’m the same person I was before.”

“Are you kidding me? Especially now. In sickness and in health, right?” Somewhere in his brain an alarm sounds, but he doesn’t pause long enough to acknowledge exactly why, lest he lose momentum, “look, Steve, even if you are a little different from the guy you were in high school, you’re still you.”

A beat passes. “What if I never get better?”

“Steve, you will, the doctors said—”

“But what if I don’t? Jesus, Eddie, what if I get worse?” Steve’s voice had gone progressively more hushed as he spoke, as if he were so afraid of its possibility that even voicing it felt risky. Made it real, even in that small way. It’s something Steve’s thought about, Eddie realizes. Agonized over, even.

“Then I’m the lucky son of a bitch that gets to take care of you.” Eddie says, sure as shit. Truthfully, he can’t think of anything else he’d rather do, even if Steve hadn’t done a completely insane thing like falling in love with Eddie. His love isn’t conditional. “S’long as you’ll let me.” He tacks on.

It’s like a wall crumbling. Brick by brick, Eddie watches Steve’s resolve collapse. The rim of his eyes shine with unshed tears, his brow relaxes and his chin twitches. “You sure you want that?”

He scoffs, eyes wide. “It’s all I want.” He answers, quickly. A reflex. Who wouldn’t want to be with Steve Harrington? Eddie thought he was lucky just to be in the same fucking orbit as the guy, but now…

Now, as he watches a smile slowly spreads across Steve’s face—fucking Adonis incarnate—it feels like he won the goddamn lottery.

“Okay.” Steve utters, so softly that for a second Eddie thinks he’d imagined it.

“Okay?” Eddie asks, trying his damndest to keep from imploding. He’s fucking vibrating in his skin.

Instead of answering Eddie, Steve decides to clarify himself by leaning forward and pressing his mouth against Eddie’s.

Fireworks go off inside of Eddie, every inch of him. All lit up. Feels like he’s shining just as good as any knight.

One of Steve’s hands snake their way behind Eddie’s neck, pulling him closer, while the other remains held over Eddie’s jackrabbiting heart. Their lips part, and their kiss deepens. Eddie tries to keep up.

They eventually end up on Steve’s narrow twin bed laying side by side, legs entangled, kissing until their mouths go dry. Eddie swipes a calloused thumb over Steve’s cheek, savoring the feeling of the barely there stubble, the heat from the blush that never seems to subside.

They don’t speak for the rest of the night. Not even a ‘goodnight’ after Steve crawls over Eddie to flick off his bedside lamp, tugging the comforter up around their shoulders as he settles back into the safe harbor of Eddie’s arms. They don’t need words. Not tonight, anyway. Tonight, all they need to do is to rest.

Whatever comes after, they’ll deal with it together.

—

Tag List: (if you’d like to be added to a permanent tag list for all my Steddie fics, please comment/message me! ◡̈ thank you for reading, everyone!)

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[basiltonpitch]

i want you to stay.

for rae @ice-sculptures

“So, um,” Buck swallows, gaze darting down to Eddie’s mouth for no more than a second. “So, this was a — a date, right?” Eddie keeps his eyes trained down when he asks, “Did you want it to be?”

read on ao3 here.

[viennakarma]

I AM GNAWING AT THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE!!! This man woke up and decided to be a WHORE!

I would let this man do unspeakable things to me! I need him in a way that is concerning to feminism!

[lunar--iris]

hear me out...Fable smp gravity falls AU.

Dipper- Rae (nerd)

Mabel- Icarus (nerd's sibling)

Bill- fable (manipulative yellow guy)

Ford- enderian (fable made her open the portal and trapped her there)

Gruncle stan- Isla (gay with enderian, instead of siblings)

Please give me more character ideas (I'm very close to writing a fic for this)

[rima-niki]

Another Fable thought that could become fic, but nahhh

Just a silly what if Rae went into Icarus's mind to help them Characters: Icarus, Rae, Sherbert, Ashrill

Now imagine Rae going in their mind to try and save Ic, and it's either gold or a rainbow. There is no fully just Icarus, only the person that others made them.

There are different versions of ic in there, like how Rae had a different him, but at the same time, they're not Icarus. The first one Rae meets is a fully corrupted Sherb; it's how they, themselves, see them. They are corrupted, they are making the same mistakes no matter what, thats what they are. This corrupted version leads them to a patch of a rainbow, more specifically purple, where once Rae enters finds a version of ic that's an elf? They're kind, offering to help Rae with his journey, but Rae can tell the elf is lonely. There is no other building around outside if the sherb tm build style. The elf gives Rae a bead, then rae is back in the normal plain of gold and rainbow. The corrupted version of Icarus is there again, laughing at Rae, trying to actually help them; they're just like this, there's nothing you can help with. But Rae moves along, finding a new colour, one he hasn't seen before, a dark red; he goes in. The Icarus that Rae finds is another bird but very different, a roadrunner. She was admiralty put in alarm at the sudden appearance of Rae, someone who he thought they would never see again. Rae reassures her that he means no harm and is looking to help someone. The roadrunner says they'll help, and they look around the floating island that they've made a house on. Rae noticed something while they were talking this Icarus seemed to always be on edge, like they were ready to run or fly at any second. Was every version of their brother in some form of pain? They don't know. But after a moment of looking, the roadrunner found another bead and handed it to Rae with a goodbye. "Wowie, you're really trying this," The corrupted version spoke as Rae entered the field again. "Yes, I'm not giving up on you, Icarus." "You should, not like you'll find the last 2 that you need." "So there's two more."

"w-what no!" the corrupted one stuttered out as Rae continued to move forward, finding an almost fully broken part the gold on it was faded, but Rae entered. It's their childhood home, but it was a bit dirty it seemed like someone had just been baking. Rae walks around looking for Icarus. When they hear a thud coming from upstairs. He quickly makes his way over and finds a much younger Icarus on the floor, it seems they had fallen off. They quickly spot the much older Rae.

" Who are you! I'm real good with a sword" they say as they jump up to their feet. "I'm Rae. I don't mean you any harm. I just heard you fall and got worried." "Oh… you share the same name as my brother! That's cool. My brother is really small right now. Mom says I was that small once, too, but I don't believe her. Don't tell her I said that, tho." Icarus puts a finger to their mouth in a hushing motion. "I won't tell your mom, but are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine. I fall ALL the time, this new home, Mom allows me to go outside, and I can climb the trees, and Dad's not here to- To, I don't really know, but Dad wouldn't let me." "You fall a lot, you always do" Rae says a bit bittersweetly. "You're my brother, aren't you?" Rae just nods. " You're all big. You get such a cool horn? Do I get one? Is Mom still with us? Do we find Dad? Do I become real good at the alcemy?" Rae giggles softly." You don't get a horn, but you do get wings." "I GET WINGS!!!!!" "Yes, you do… um, Mom isn't with us right now, but I'm looking for her. You do become really good at making potions, and um, Fable is back, but he's done a lot of bad things, and he forced you to think some not-good things and a lot more." "Oh… Are we still brothers?" Icarus is saddened. "We are, and we always will be." "O-okay," Icarus nods. Icarus looks through their pocket and brings out another bead. " Then save me." "I will." Once Rae grabs it, they get brought to a different room, but one they are very familiar with, the cell that housed Icarus back in the endstone reset. "So, for some reason you still think I should be helped? Despite everything I had done to you, you really think that Icarus is worth saving?" "Despite everything you've done, you, Icarus, are still my brother. Even if you fall to Fable time and time again, I will still be there. I will still be your brother because I love you, Icarus and nothing you do will change that. You ARE my brother, that can sometimes be a bit rude and a bit harsh but you never failed to care for me. You could have left me there when you through that potion, but you didn't. You stayed and made sure I was okay. When I was turning into a beast, YOU were there. You were there when we had nothing but each other. I know Fable is promising you to bring them back, but Icarus, you'll lose so much more; please, I don't want to lose you too." When Rae looks up to Icarus, they aren't corrupted. Their ears and wings hugged close to them. "I-I don't want to lose you either, But Rae, I've gone too deep." "Then let me help you up." Icarus signs and walks over to Rae, and places the final bead in his head. "You win, Rae." -The end-

[littleraeofsunshineda]

I've had a couple of really lovely instances recently, of people bookmarking my fics and saying lovely things on those bookmarks, which makes me very happy

But the thing that is bumming me out is --

I've only seen those because I actively look at my fic's bookmarks.

Endless discourse in fandom reminds authors that bookmarks are not "for us"

And not one of these people chose to put these lovely things in the place designed to share that with the creator

They left recs for other readers or notes to their future self, but at no point did they think of communicating their pleasure to the person who made it possible.

Not one commented. Not. One.

And, look, I appreciate the rec and the loveliness.

But it also still kinda breaks my heart.