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fadedin2u · 11 months ago

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pick up and roll the dice (ch. 1)

read in between the lines, i know you love me…

Summary: You’ve been best friends with Ellie since she moved into your neighborhood in elementary school, and now, you’re sharing a dorm room together at college. What could go wrong when you both start reading between the lines? Based on the song Hold On by The Internet.

word count: 2.5k

content: childhood best friends!au, dealer!ellie, fem!reader, college!au, modern!au, hurt/comfort, ellie’s a little bit of a player, ellie is a simp (not surprising), art major!ellie, kinda slow burn??

warnings: sexual harassment (mentioned), drug usage (weed), lots of cursing (what do you expect), men (mentioned), expect nsfw chapters in the future so MDNI 18+

notes: this is my first fic i’ve written for tlou, and it’s about damn time bc i’ve been lurking in the ellie williams x reader tags for months lmao, hope you enjoy! next chapter should be out by the end of the weekend! reblogs/likes are much appreciated :) let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!

You’re welcomed into your dorm room by the smell of pot smoke. You walk in, already in a foul mood, shaking with adrenaline and anxiety. You drop your bag on the floor and kick off your shoes.

Ellie, your roommate and close friend since childhood, is sitting on her twin bed, leaning out the window as she smokes a joint. She’s dressed casually in a pair of old sweatpants and a t-shirt, her auburn hair haphazardly thrown up into a half-bun, most strands too short to all be gathered into a single bun. When she catches sight of you, she immediately can tell something is up.

“You okay?” Ellie asks, tapping the ash from her joint out the window.

You walk over to Ellie’s bed and melodramatically collapse face-first with a “Hmmph.”

“I’m dropping out.” You deadpan, your voice muffled by Ellie’s duvet.

Ellie takes a long drag from her joint and exhales a puff of smoke before turning to you, her eyebrows raised. “Huh? What?”

She sits up, holding the joint between her fingers before she gestures for you to clarify.

“You can’t drop out. What’re you gonna do all day? Sit around and eat Oreos?”

You stay face-planted onto Ellie’s bed.

“Yup. And I’ll be lazy and happy.” You say.

It takes every ounce of self-restraint inside of Ellie to not shove you off of her bed right this second. Instead, she leans forward and nudges your shoulder with her knee.

"Babe. Honey. Sweetie. Angel-Face. Get up. You sound like a dumbass right now.”

You roll over, and Ellie notices that your eyes are red and puffy, clearly having cried before coming back to the dorm.

“Hey! I’m having a crisis!” You exclaim, folding your arms over your chest.

Ellie’s face softens and her eyebrows furrow, concerned. “Hey… What’s going on? Want some of this?” She offers the joint to you.

You take it gratefully, taking a long drag. You shake her head, looking down at your miniskirt. “I really need to stop wearing this skirt in public… When I was walking back here, two dudes started following me and saying weird, gross shit. I tried telling them off, but I must have looked so pathetic that they just laughed… They followed me almost the whole way here.”

You pass the joint back to Ellie, saying sarcastically, “So, yes. In conclusion, I’m dropping out.”

Ellie is stunned silent. Her high buzz instantly fades and she reaches out to put a comforting hand on your shoulder. Ellie doesn't say anything at first, but she looks down at you with a worried expression on her face.

She puts out her half-finished joint, and scoots forward on the bed towards you. Her expression is stern and angry, and she seems utterly furious on your behalf.

“Did those fucking pieces of shit touch you? Did you call the cops?”

As she’s speaking, Ellie’s entire demeanor changes, and it’s obvious how upset these men made her. Ellie always seems to have a lot of rage built-up inside of her, but it’s amplified now.

You bite your lip, looking down.

“They didn’t touch me… I didn’t call the cops. I wasn’t thinking clearly, I should have called someone, but I was so freaked out, and… I’m sorry, Els.” You say quietly.

Ellie grabs your arm and pulls you towards her.

"It's okay, babe. It's not your fault."

Ellie leans forward to hug you tightly, rubbing your back.

"Those dickwipes should have never said anything to you. Let alone touched you. If they ever do that again, you tell me, and I'll take care of it."

Ellie takes a deep breath and sighs. She leans back against the wall and pulls you with her, keeping you close. You allow yourself to be pulled into Ellie’s hold, grateful, and you feel tears press at the back of your eyes.

“I’m sorry, I really don’t want to cry again.” You say, hiding your face in Ellie’s shoulder.

Ellie wraps her arms around you tighter, comforting you.

"Hey. It's alright to cry. Let it all out." She murmurs soothingly. "Don't be ashamed. You were just fucking harassed."

She holds you, continuing to rub your back and kissing the top of your head. Ellie feels sick at the thought of you hurting or struggling alone.

You sniffle as a few tears run down your cheeks, still hiding your face in Ellie’s shoulder.

“I just don’t understand what I can possibly do in those situations. And I feel like they happen all the fucking time.”

You wipe your face, “Like fucking yesterday! When I got catcalled at 8AM by the construction workers working on the new science building, and I was just trying to get to class!”

You shake your head, “I just feel so helpless in those situations, because they don’t even see me as a real person.”

"Well, you gotta make them see you as a force to be reckoned with." Ellie says, her voice stern.

She pauses, and lets out an exhale.

"These guys obviously aren't going to stop catcalling and harassing women, so either we ignore the comments, or we learn how to respond. It's a fucking shame that it has to be this way but..."

Ellie sighs and leans back. She rubs your shoulder with one hand, and her other hand gently rests on your thigh.

You feel your cheeks go hot, hyper-focused on Ellie’s hand on your leg.

“But, Els… I can’t fight for shit. There’s no way those guys could ever be intimidated by me the way you can intimidate them.”

You wipe your face, embarrassed by your tears. “Like, how could they possibly see me as anything other than a ‘slut who’s asking for it’, if I recall what they wouldn’t stop saying to me correctly.” You say, quoting the men who followed you home.

Ellie leans in a little closer and rests her head on your shoulder.

"I think that my girl can kick ass and dish it out as good as she takes it." Ellie's expression looks serious, and she gently squeezes your thigh as she speaks.

"Like, have you ever seen those videos on Instagram where girls absolutely own some big dudes? That'll be you, dude. Trust me, I know exactly what you're capable of. You just gotta learn how to take up space."

You laugh a little, wiping your face again.

“Is this you telling me that I need to take a boxing class?” You ask, raising an eyebrow.

Ellie chuckles, and smiles as she squeezes your leg again.

"Hell yeah. Take a boxing class. I wanna see you punch a fuckin' guy's lights out the next time he wants to harass you."

Ellie pauses and takes a deep breath.

"If you're worried about money for lessons or fuck-all, you know I got your back, right?" Ellie says earnestly. "And if there's any guy who's giving you problems, just say the fucking word and I'll kick their ass for you."

You laugh again, sniffling as you hug Ellie.

“My knight in shining armor.” You joke.

You pull back, taking a breath. “Thank you though, seriously. Today was just an overall shitty day, and I’m just glad that I get to come back to our dorm and be with my best friend.”

"Anytime." Ellie's expression is soft as she smiles at you.

Ellie glances at the joint on her bedside table, and glances back at you.

"Wanna hit that? Or are you tapped-out?"

You go to pick up the joint, and use Ellie’s lighter to re-light it.

“Me? Tapping out? Please-“ You say as you smile at Ellie, taking a drag.

Ellie chuckles, watching you with a fond smile.

You pass the joint to Ellie. “Besides, I’m chilling the fuck out tonight. Today was garbage, and I don’t want to keep thinking about anything.”

Ellie chuckles and shakes her head as she takes the joint.

"I feel so bad that you had such a fucking awful day. I know you've been going through some stuff recently, so today was the absolute last thing you needed."

Ellie inhales a long drag, and looks down at you.

"Can I ask you something, though?"

You nod, “Yeah, what’s up?”

You take the joint, hit it, and pass it back to Ellie.

Ellie takes another inhale and holds the smoke in for a moment.

"Do you ever just... like... hate men?" she looks at you. "I mean, you know... with everything you experience, and the guys you described today. Like, you ever just look at a guy, and immediately start hating him?"

Ellie pauses, taking another hit, "I mean, it's all I can think about, half the time, and I just... I can't fucking stand them most of the time."

You sigh, taking a hit from the joint and nodding.

“Yeah. I wish I didn’t. I wish that most men didn’t act the way they do, but they do. It’s kinda hard not to hate people who objectify and demean you every day of your life just for existing.”

Ellie pauses before speaking, "Do you think that Joel might ever be like that? I mean, I don't think so. He's a good guy and all. Just... you never know."

Ellie pauses and sighs. She's obviously been worrying about this for a while.

"Am I being dumb? Am I being stupid for thinking like that? I don't know. I just… I'm worried that, one day, people I love like Jesse and my dad are going to turn out to be a couple of fucking perverts."

You pause, having known Joel for years, taking a hit from the joint.

“I- I don’t know. I think they’re good people, especially Joel, but you never really know, until they slip up,” You say.

You squeeze Ellie’s shoulder, “I do really think that Joel is one of my favorite people I’ve gotten the chance to know, and I have crazy high standards for men. Your dad would never do anything to hurt you, and I don’t think he’d do anything to any one else either.”

You pass the joint to Ellie.

Ellie takes the joint and inhales, then passes it back to you.

"Yeah, you're right. You're totally right, and I know that. It's just hard, because I have such a negative image of guys right now, but you're right."

Ellie leans back and relaxes, "I just feel like I've been having some trust issues lately, and it sucks, and I've been… paranoid about people."

She pauses, and her voice starts to falter. "I just don't want to be let down like I have, you know?”

You nudge Ellie’s leg with your knee, “Hey. I won’t let you down. Or, at least, I’ll always try to not let you down, no matter what.”

You smile at Ellie, “We’re a team. Always have been, always will be.”

Ellie's eyes light up, “That's right. We will always have each other's backs. We’re always going to be there for each other."

Ellie takes a hit from the joint, and leans back. "I love you, you know that? Even though I've been a total bitch, these last few weeks… I need you more than you could possibly know."

Ellie pauses and looks down at you. "You are, without a doubt, the best friend I've ever had in my whole life."

You take the joint from Ellie, hitting it with a smile on your face as you internally curse yourself for getting flustered. Your head feels fuzzy from the weed.

“The feeling is mutual.” You say, passing Ellie the joint.

“I never got to ask, by the way, but how was your date with that girl… Kaylee? Karlie?” You ask to change the subject, trying to remember the name of Ellie’s latest of many campus flings.

Ellie laughs, "It's Kylie." she corrects, smirking and nudging your thigh.

"The date was a fun distraction, even though Kylie is a complete airhead. And, uh..." Ellie pauses, her face warming with embarrassment.

"...she tried to kiss me, and I completely froze.”

Ellie takes a hit and shakes her head, "I can't believe that I turned her down! She's cute and a fuckin’ cheerleader. I should have gone for it, I probably ruined my chances with her."

You laugh a little, pushing down the spikes of jealousy piercing your chest.

“Ellie Williams froze when a girl tried to kiss her?” You tease, knowing that Ellie is normally fairly bold.

“What happened? Were you too nervous or something?” You ask, taking a hit from the joint and passing it back to Ellie.

Ellie's face is a mix of embarrassment and frustration as you tease her. Ellie pauses, thinking.

"...Well, I froze because... I… I don't know. She seemed like a nice girl, but she's so... shallow."

Ellie sighs, taking a hit from the joint, and leans back.

"I'm a horrible dater, I know. I just have such a hard time connecting with people, I don't know."

You frown, “Hey. Don’t beat yourself up. She just doesn’t sound like the right girl, and that’s totally fine. You don’t need to get mad at yourself for not having an instant connection with a girl just because she’s hot.”

You pass the joint to Ellie, “Okay, you have the rest.”

Ellie smiles at you as she takes a hit and holds it in.

Ellie lets it out and shakes her head. "...Yeah, you're right. I just think I'm just trying so hard to find a connection with someone, y'know?"

"It's just hard to really trust someone new… I've been hurt by a lot of people in my life, and the last thing I want is to get hurt again." Ellie explains, her freckled cheeks rosy.

You sigh, “It is really scary to be vulnerable like that with people, I… I really fucking get that.”

You play with the hem of your skirt as you talk, “But there are people who are good, and trustworthy, and won’t leave you in the dust. I mean, you’re proof of that for me.”

Ellie's expression softens as she looks over at you

"I guess we are really similar in that way. We're both traumatized, we're both paranoid, and we're both distrustful. Fuck, who could blame us?" Ellie says with a shrug.

Ellie pauses, "I'm just glad I have you. You're the only people who I think I can really be myself around. Everyone else can fuck off. But not you."

Your stoned, hazy mind is thankfully quiet as you lean against Ellie, the two of you sat side-by-side on her bed.

Ellie’s cheeks get more pink as you do, her eyes half-lidded and red as she pulls you into her.

“Just… Relax. You really fucking deserve it.” Ellie says softly, her voice low and raspy from the smoke.

You nuzzle your face into her shirt, closing your eyes as you melt into her, and everything is good.

Ellie looks down at you, her pupils dilated and cheeks flushed. She looks back up at the ceiling, clenching her eyes shut as she thinks, I’m fucked.

chapter 2

texts with ellie and reader

#Spotify #ellie williams #tlou2 #tlou #ellie williams x reader #ellie x reader #ellie williams fanfic #ellie tlou #rose writes #pick up and roll the dice

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lucisfavoritedemon · 2 months ago

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Through The Portal: Chapter 4

Series Masterlist

Chapter Summary: Ford must talk Y/n down from making a rash decision. Both must face their tormentor head on.

Pairing(s): Stan x reader (platonic present, romantic past), Ford x reader, Dipper x best friend!reader, Mabel x best friend!reader Bill x reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, mentions of hopelessness, torture, mental manipulation, PTSD, unrequited love, flashbacks.

A/N: The events and ideas are based on a theory I have about the Nightmare Realm. This is in no way canonically true, just my theories based on what we canonically know about the Nightmare Realm.

“What!? Are you crazy? I would never even think about doing that to you!” Ford was frantic, he really couldn’t believe I just blurted that out so casually.

“Using the memory gun and erasing the thoughts of Bill, and what I saw and went through in the Night Realm, it might just work. I’m willing to make that sacrifice if it means keeping the rift safe.”

“No! That’s not even an option on my radar.”

“I’m aware, that’s why I’m making it an option.”

“No. I’m not doing that. I care about you too much to erase your memories all willy-nilly like that.”

“It’s not willy-nilly, Ford. I know what I’m asking of you and I know it’s a hard decision but…”

“A hard decision!? It’s an impossible decision that I am refusing to make. I’m not gonna do it, and neither are you. End of discussion.”

I sigh, “may I ask why?”

“Because, if I erased your memory of your time in there and your memories of Bill…you’d forget who I am.”

His words struck me. Was this Ford’s weird way of hinting at something? I shook the thoughts away. Ford and I had been through a lot when it came to Bill, and maybe he finally felt like someone truly understood him fully. He wouldn’t come out and say it, but he was scared of being the outcast he felt he always was.

“Okay, I’m sorry I asked.”

“It’s okay. As long as you promise never ask me to do that again.”

I nod, “is there anything else you need from me?”

Ford shook his head, “you can head back upstairs. I just felt like you should know what I found. You and I are of like minds and we both know how evil Bill truly is.”

I nod, “okay, if you need anything from me, you know where to find me.”

We shared an understanding look for each other before I walked back upstairs where the twins started to bombard me with questions and stories again. It felt nice that they were accepting of me into their life.

The next couple of weeks were interesting. Dipper and Ford told me about their adventure playing Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons that was then brought to life because Stan had thrown their dice, making the infinity sided die to roll out of its case. I enjoyed them sharing their adventure with me as I tried to make sense of my night terrors as Mabel called them.

The following week I helped the twins help Stan run for Mayor of Gravity Falls. I supported him 100% as the Stan I knew back in 1973 would have made a great mayor. I didn’t realise how much he had changed, or what little knowledge he had on politics. Still, I was happy to support him no matter what. After saving the kids, he was elected mayor by getting the birdly kiss from the mayor picking eagle. Little did I know Stan had a very extensive criminal record. I guess people do really change more than you realize.

I knew the adventure this week, though, was going to be interesting. I was fast asleep when all of a sudden I was in the middle of the nightmare realm. I feared it was another nightmare, then suddenly it morphed to where I was standing in the middle of a field.

“Y/n?” I heard Ford’s voice call out.

I turned around and saw him standing there, “Ford?”

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

That’s when we heard the malicious laugh of Bill Cipher. It was no coincidence Ford and I were here. Bill had a plan for us. Big plans.

“Well, well, well, well, well, well, well, well, aren’t you two a sight for sore eye. Stanford Filbrick Pines, my ol’ pal. And, could this be, my sweetheart? Y/n? I think it is.”

“Bill Cipher. What do you want from us?” Ford asked, pulling me behind him.

“Oh quit playing dumb, IQ. You two knew I’d be back. You think shutting down that portal can stop what I have planned. I’ve been making deals, chatting with old friends, preparing for the big day. You can’t keep that rift safe forever. You’ll slip up and when you do…” Bill then shows us a tear leading from our world to the nightmare realm, and I feel like I’m gonna puke.

“Get out of here! You have no dominion in our world!” Ford yelled at Bill, keeping a protective hand on me.”

“Maybe not right now, but things change, Stanford Pines,” Bill’s voice morphs into a creepy deep one, “things change.” He then rises into the tears laughing maniacally.

I shoot up screaming. Scared out of my mind. Bill was coming, and I was utterly terrified. The thought of actually facing Bill scared the shit out of me. Bill was someone I never wanted to actually face ever again. The fact that he appeared to Ford and I meant he was growing stronger and stronger with each passing day. That was the thing that scared me the most.

The next morning I could barely get out of bed. I sat there lost in thought, I was unable to fall back asleep after our meeting with Bill. I heard Ford call for a family meeting and I gathered all the courage I could muster and walked downstairs.

“Y-Y/n? Are you alright?” Ford asked, looking at me concerned.

“I’m scared, worried, I didn’t go back to sleep last night if that’s what you mean.” I stated.

Ford felt terrible I had gotten dragged into this, but little does he know I did it to myself. Bill’s infatuation with us was no coincidence.

“Ooh, mysterious scrolls and potions. Are you going to tell us we’re finally of age to go to wizard school? Is there an owl in this bag?” Mabel asked hopping in a chair and started to go through the bag Ford had on the table.

“No, I assure you if there is an owl in this bag, he’s long dead.” Ford took the bag from her.

Dipper and her sat down as I stood behind Ford. He pulled out a scroll paper and showed it to the kids, “Now, tell me children, do any of you recognize this symbol?” He holds up a scroll with Bill on it.

They both gasp before Dipper speaks, “Bill.”

“Y-You know him?” Ford was shocked, and so was I.

“Know him!? He’s been terrorizing us all summer. I have so many questions and theories.” Dipper spoke frantically.

“Dipper’s been pretty paranoid since Bill turned him into a living sock puppet.” Mabel added.

“The important thing is, we defeated him twice.” Dipper interjected.

“Once with kittens, and once with tickles.”

“It was a lot more heroic than it sounds.”

I looked at Ford concerned about the kids. This was serious, the fact they have faced Bill. It means he now has access to their minds, especially Dipper. Ford looked back at me with the same concerned look.

“The fact you have dealt with Bill is gravely serious.” Ford spoke up.

“So, how do you know Bill?” Dipper questioned. I knew I wasn’t ready to talk about that yet, and I knew Ford wasn’t ready either.

“Y/n and I have encountered many dark beings in our time, Dipper. What matters now is, his powers are growing stronger, and if he pulls off his plans, no one in this family will be safe.”

I wanted to punch Ford for confirming my suspicions. He was never good at comforting, so I don’t blame him entirely, but I didn’t want those to be confirmed. Neither did the kids as they gasped at what Ford just stated.

“Fortunately there should be a way to shield us from his mental tricks.” He unrolls a map onto the table, and grabs a marker, “a way to Bill-proof the shack. All I have to do is place moonstones here, here, here, and here, “he draws circles on the map, “sprinkle some mercury, and let’s see. I always forget the last ingredient.” He flips through Journal 1, “ugh. unicorn hair.”

“That’s not, like, rare, is it?” Dipper asks.

“It’s hopeless. Unicorns reside deep within an enchanted glade, and their hairs can only be obtained by a pure, good-hearted person who goes on a magical quest to find them.”

Mabel began screaming at the top of her lungs. She begged Ford to let her go on this quest to get the hair. Naming everything she has done that proves that she is obsessed with unicorns. Then she mentions that she is probably the most good-hearted person in the room. No one argues with her about that. Ford agrees to let her go, giving her the journal and a crossbow.

“Y/n, you wanna come with me and the girls on this quest?”

“I actually need Y/n here with Dipper and I.” Ford answers before I can say anything.

Mabel shrugs and calls her friends and sets off on the quest for unicorn hair. Ford leads Dipper and I down to the second floor of the basement. A place neither of us have seen yet.

“If we can’t Bill-proof the shack, we’re going to have to do the next best thing. We’re gonna have to Bill-proof our minds.” Ford pulls out a device that strangely looks like a torture device.

Ford begins to turn the machine on and places the metal helmet on Dipper’s head. This must have been the device Ford wanted to use on me a couple weeks ago, but worried my mind would still be vulnerable to his torment because of my dreams.

“So, what is Bill exactly?” Dipper questions.

“No one knows for sure. Accounts differ of his true motivations and origins. I know he is older than our galaxy, and far more twisted.”

“No kidding…” I mumble, still traumatized from my extra time with him in the nightmare realm.

Ford gives a sympathetic look before he continues, “not a physical form, he can only project himself through our thoughts through the mindscape. That’s why he wants this.” Ford holds up the rift, “I dismantled the portal, but with this tear, Bill still has a way into our reality. To get his hands on this rift, he would trick or possess anyone.”

“So how do we keep Bill out of our minds?” Dipper inquired.

“There are a number of ways I personally had a metal plate installed in my head.” Dipper doesn’t believe him, so Ford taps his head proving he does, “but this machine is safer. It will scan your mind, biologically encrypting your thoughts so Bill can’t read them.” Ford switches the screen on, “now, say hello to your thoughts.”

Dipper thoughts play across the screen. Some are interesting, others are utterly embarrassing. I felt bad that his poor thoughts were on display for us.

“By the way, you two never told me what your history with Bill was.”

“Dipper, do you trust us?” Ford asks, and he nods, “then you’ll trust that’s not important. Now, focus. It's time to strengthen your mind.”

The three of us sit there for hours as the machine slowly encrypts Dipper’s thoughts. I look over at Ford who has fallen asleep at his desk. “Must be nice to be able to sleep anywhere…or at all…”

“What’s been going on with you lately by the way? You’re more distant and paranoid, especially today.”

“It’s Bill. He scares the heck out of me. The thought of coming face to face with him in a physical form terrifies me.”

“S-so you had a bad experience with Bill too, huh?”

“I-it wasn’t always like that, Dipper…Bill and I were actually very close…then I got a true peak at what he really wanted…on the other side of my portal…he tortured me…Ford and Stan won’t be happy I am telling you this, but you and Mabel were going to find out eventually…”

“W-Wait, your portal? Y-you didn’t go through with Great Uncle Ford?”

I shake my head, “no…I had made my own. I found an old book in my parents' attic. They used to be Anti-Cipherites, or descendants of some. A group looking to take down Bill. It had an encryption on how to summon him. I did, and that night he appeared to me. He showed me his equation, he tricked me with his flattery, saying I didn’t need school or friends. Helping him would give me everything I ever wanted. Including helping my friend so he could finally go home before his brother left for college….that friend was your Uncle Stan…”

Dipper's eyes widened, “h-how old are you then?”

“Technically 61, but the place I was stuck in has no concept of time, so I never really aged…”

Dipper’s jaw dropped, “s-so you knew Grunkle Stan before he was banned from New Jersey?”

I nodded, “Stan lived with me.”

#gravity falls #stanley pines #stanford pines #stan pines x reader #ford pines x reader #bill cipher #bill cipher x reader #dipper pines #dipper x friend!reader #mabel pines #mabel x friend!reader #fluff #minors dni

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mariefilms · 10 months ago

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╰───► MORAL CONSCIENCE- e. williams smau.

「cuatro」 ⇢ hasta cuando

Pairing — streamer! ellie x youtuber!black fem!reader x rockstar! dina

warnings — sex tapes, strap on sex, weed, strap sucking, idk what worse i think that’s it

a/n i wasn’t gonna write smut but well…..( btw, this is 3 months after chp 3 🧘🏾) this is also not proofread so.. ntm !!

chapter 3 ⇢ chapter 5

ellie had made it to your apartment not long after you blocked dina on everything. you were sick of her back and forth shit. you couldn’t understand how she would just play with your emotions and think it’s a game w/ no consequences.

deciding not to tell ellie anything that just transpired you put on a face of faux happiness.

“hi baby” ellie greeted you with a bone crushing hug and you fell right into it. “i missed you” was whispered on your lips softly as she gave you multiple chaste kisses making you giggle. “it’s barely been two days, girl pleaseee” she rolls her eyes at your teasing and moves to sit on the couch and pull out some pre-rolls that she got off of jesse and lighting one before offering you the first hit. you took it before passing it back to ellie.

“ellie. we should bake a cake high.” you looked over at her and had a wild smile plastered across your face. she looked up at you from her slouched position on the couch questioningly. “why do you look on the verge of a psychotic break!?” she giggled at your immediate pout in response to her teasing. “stop ittttt, i’m serious! it would be so fun, i might even record it since i need new content anyway” you looked over at ellie to see if she would agree to find her staring at you with something shining in her eyes. you rose your eyebrow in question and she shook her head with a chuckle. “fine, i’ll do it !” sighing she got up and gathered all the stuff needed to get you high out of your minds.

you squealed in happiness as she agreed and ran to the kitchen to get everything in place, luckily your camera and lighting was already set up. (you may have planned to persuade her into saying yes but she doesn’t need to know that !!) .

“ellie come on ! i’ve got everything ready!” you yelled out while digging in your cupboards for cake mix and anything else you might need. “i’m literally right here” she said as she slinked up behind you and wrapped her arms around your waist.

“you know you can’t be like this on camera right?” you turned around in her arms with the ingredients in your hands to find her smirking down at you before bending down and pecking you on the lips while grabbing the stuff in your hands and putting it on the table.

“ok let’s start, ready” she arranged the ingredients on th table that looked good on camera as you turned the camera on and started recording.

“hi, youtube! i know ive been MIA for like……. months, but i’m back! and i have a special guest !” you turned to look at ellie who was apparently already lighting a blunt! “psst.. ellie” you smacked her arm and pointed to the camera when she acknowledged you (finally). “ hm? oh. sup, i’m ellie” she shrugged and went back to what she was doing before you had interrupted her. “well then! i’ll just introduce her since she wants to be aggy!” you heard her scoff behind you at your comment but chose to ignore it in favor of telling the people who she was and what y’all were doing for todays video.

“and that’s basically it! so me and ellie are gonna go get… como se dice… smacked and then we’ll be back!”

you didn’t come back. in fact you never even got to start on baking the cake. as soon as the high hit you and ellie she brought up this crazy idea of making a sextape. super risky, i know. but the way she said it made you feel a certain heat start forming in your lower region. the hand rubbing up and down your inner thighs certainly didn’t help with clearing your mind at all. all you could think about was ellie and she made sure you stayed like that.

next thing you knew you were in your bedroom, naked, sweaty and a flash blinding you as ellie put the camera in your face while you were sucking her strap down your throat to get it, in her words, nice and wet so she could fuck you into the bed. just thinking about what was to come made you get all hot and bothered and you were sure the camera was picking up on all your blissed out expressions.

“fuck that’s it baby”

“takin’ me so well ma’”

“deeper.. i know you can do it baby.”

fuck. you were in heaven. ellie was on a different type of timing that day and you couldn’t get enough of it. you dragged one of your hands down from ellie’s thigh and started making little circles on your clit giving it some much needed stimulation. “i think you’re ready baby. you’ve been so good f’me” ellie bit her lip and brung the phone closer to where your lips connected to the base of the strap watching it disappear in your mouth and reappear. “fuck, you’re so sexy baby”

ellie pulled you off by your hair and dragged you up into a bruising kiss. it was sloppy and wet with spit all over each others mouths and tongues exploring. “c‘mon ellie, i’m ready! you said it yourself” you mumbled in between kisses as best as you can when you felt her reach down and spread your lips, dragging a finger in your slit letting it slightly tease your hole and gather your slick. she removed her hand making you whimper in frustration until you saw her put the same finger in her mouth and sucks. “shit y/n you taste so good” she groaned around her finger making your clit twitch as a wave of strong arousal passed through you at such a pornographic display.

“if you don’t fuck me right now ellie.”

“yes ma’am” she chuckled and took the base of her strap to line it up with your sopping wet pussy. when she slid in to the hilt your eyes rolled to the back of your head and you moaned wantonly. “fuckkk ellie” you dragged your hips up and down on her dick setting a steady, punishing and mind-numbing pace. it was so good and you were hitting ellie’s clit just right with every bounce. ellie leaned up and planted her feet on the bed to fuck up into you causing you to scream at the intensity of the sensation. “ look at the camera f’me baby. you look so good crying on my dick” you moaned pathetically and opened your eyes to look into the camera.

tags </3 @brackishkittie @robinismywifee @aouiaa @elliesbitchvenus @vnus-starr

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othernicknameisgaslighter · 1 month ago

Text

The Wisp pt. 3

(Cross posted on tumblr and AO3)

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Prev - Next Chapter

"What's the date. Exactly," Five said, dropping a wooden cutting board on the table.

"March, the twenty-fourth," Y/N replied, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

The skinny boy came back over with a loaf of bread. He paused, looking at Y/N for a bit before looking back down at the bread. "Good."

Luther piped up from across Y/N, to Five's right, "So are we gonna talk about what just happened?" He didn't respond, keeping himself occupied with two slices he pulled out of the bag. Annoyed, Luther stood from his chair. "It's been seventeen years."

Five looked up at him sternly. "It's been a lot longer than that." He disappeared, only to reappear behind Luther, on a stool to reach the marshmallows on a higher shelf.

"I haven't missed that," Luthur mumbled.

"Where'd you go?" Diego asked, seeming a tad pissed himself.

"The future." He "jumped" back to the table. "It's shit by the way."

"Called it," Klaus cheered.

This time Five walked to grab the peanut butter. "I should've listened to the old man. Jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice." He glanced over at me again before laying his eyes on Klaus. "Nice dress."

The druggie made a noise. "Danke!"

"Wait, how did you get back?" Vanya asked.

"I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time."

"That makes no sense," Diego said.

"Makes sense to me." Y/N shrugged.

Without looking up, Five replied, "Thank you, Y/N." He leapt from his seat on the table, only to be held back by Luther.

"How long were you there?" Luther asked.

"Eh, maybe forty years years, give or take."

"That would make you… Fifty three years old," Y/N thought out-loud while the others remained silent in awe. She looked him up and down once more. "Mentally, right?"

"My consciousness is fifty, to be precise," he replied. "My body is apparently thirteen again." His eyes quickly traveled up and down. "You seem to be going through something similar."

"I'm physically fourteen." Was all Y/N said. The rest of her siblings didn't push her to elaborate, after all, her being alive was a sensitive topic to Y/N.

"Hold on," Vanya spoke up. "Y/N's situation makes sense. How did that work for you?"

Five only rolled his eyes. "Delores kept saying the equations were off. Eh." He took a bite out of the disgusting sandwich. "Bet she's laughing now."

"Delores?" Y/N asked, intrigued. She pictured a curly grey haired woman nagging Five about things every day. It was almost comical.

He briefly glanced at Y/N before finding the newspaper with our "father's" death as the main headline. "Guess I missed the funeral."

"How'd you know about that?" Diego asked.

"I believe he said that he went into the future, Gogo." Y/N said to him.

"He died of heart failure, huh?" Five said absentmindedly.

"Yeah," Diego said.

"No," Luther butted in. Soon all eyes were turned to him.

"He thinks I killed him." Y/N crossed her arms, looking away and avoiding eye contact.

"I never said that!"

"Didn't deny it." Diego said.

"Oh, of course you're on her side."

Five stared at Y/N for a bit before mumbling, "Nice to see nothing's changed," as he left the room.

Allison turned. "That's it? That's all?"

"What more is there to say?" he asked without turning. "Circle of life."

Dad's remains were carried outside by Luther, who, as well as Diego, had no umbrella as the rain poured down on their small group.

Meanwhile, Y/N, Vanya, Allison, Five, and even Mom had black umbrellas as Klaus sported a clear one with Barbie-pink trim. It seemed fitting for him.

Mom looked at all of then. "What's wrong? Did I miss something?"

"Mom… Dad's dead," Allison said gently. "Don't you remember?"

"Oh, of course," she replied, frowning.

"Is… Is she alright?" Allison asked, leaning to look at Y/N down the row.

"She's perfectly okay," Diego insisted. "She just needs to... Recuperate. To charge or something."

Pogo walked up beside Vanya with a striped umbrella of his own, came in hand as he turned to face Luther. "Whenever you'd like to begin, Luther."

He took a hesitant step forward, popped the top of the urn off, and turned it upside-down. The dark, powdery contents of the jar fell to the ground unceremoniously. Klaus grimaced with a new cigarette in his hand. "Some wind might've made it… Better," the hulk of a man mumbled.

"Would anyone like to give a few words?" Pogo asked kindly. There was a heavy silence from everyone for a while. Even the teacher's pet himself kept his mouth shut tight.

Y/N looked at the statue of Ben with a sad frown, she didn't even get to go to his funeral… And than there was her statue. It was definitely… Something.

The statue of her had been placed next to Ben's, with her head looking down and her arms held up high, forming a cup with her hands. Dramatic as always...

Pogo stepped in. "He was a teacher, father, and friend. He will be missed more than can be expressed." His little sad smile remained on his little sad face.

Diego rolled his eyes. "He was a terrible person. Reginald Hargreeves was a walking disaster and hurt everyone he came into contact with. We're better off with him dead."

Allison interjected, "Diego - "

"He named me Number Two," he stated gruffly. "And that's because that bastard couldn't bother to give us real names. He made Mom do it instead."

Mother randomly asked, "Is anyone hungry? I could whip up some snacks?"

"No, it's fine, Mother," Y/N smiled at her.

"If you say so." She seemed almost dejected.

"I'll… Maybe you could make me a sandwich…" Y/N quickly said, "I wouldn't mind one of those. After all, it's sort of nostalgic." Mother smiled and nodded. She was acting… Off…

Diego moved towards the ashes. "Look, you wanna be polite and give some words? Fine by me. But at least spare all the lies about how much of a 'good person' he was."

"Diego, shut your mouth," Luther said lowly.

"Diego… I'm not sure this is a good idea." Y/N said.

The knife-wielder rounded on him. "You of all people should be agreeing with me, Number One. Years of being his little pet, after everything, he still shipped you all the way to the Moon."

"Shut up!" he hissed.

"That's how much he couldn't bear being around you!" Luther snapped. The two started brawling, Pogo at one point pleading them to stop. Klaus moved protectively in front of Five, who shoved him aside. Y/N quietly stood on the other side of Vanya, in front of Ben's statue, watching the scene unfold.

This seemed familiar, like it happened before. The fighting, the yelling, the cheering… It was all so familiar like a balloon that Y/N had lost to the wind and desperately tried to grab back. Diego started to gain what looked like an upper hand.

Vanya begged the both of them to stop, while Klaus was begging them to continue, cheering like a rabid sports fan.

Pogo huffed and slunk back inside as Diego started shouting encouragement at Luther. The former was then thrown by the latter before getting held in a chokehold.

"Get off me!" Diego wheezed. Luther was knocked off and Diego staggered closer to the statue.

"This is utterly pointless," Five muttered as he turned to leave before turning and grabbing my hand, "I need to talk to you."

"You're telling me, that I end the world?" Y/N asked in disbelief as Five jumped around looking for a coffee mug.

"I'm not saying that, I'm saying that when I ended up a few hours after the apocalypse-"'

"Which is in a few days."

"Which is in a few days. I found this." Five stopped and held up a glass eyeball. "And one of these." Five then dug through his pocket to find a few pieces of chipped porcelain.

Y/N froze, as she saw the cracked pieces and shut down almost immediately as she saw the pieces. Her hands shook and she steadied them on the table with a shaky breath.

Five placed his hand on her shoulder and she snapped her head towards him, quickly clearing her throat.

"I found it in Luthur's hand. As well as the glass eye." Five said, jumping around once again before finding a coffee mug. "If it's not you, then we need to find the owner of the glass eye."

"Hold on, 'we'? We as in our siblings right?" Y/N asked. Five shook his head.

"They're all imbeciles, I need someone who can keep up with me. And I need you to stay around me." Five said, "Keeping you around me may prevent the end of the world.

"I… Think I'm going to take that as a compliment." Y/N said as Klaus and Allison walked in the room. Five dug through the shelves curiously, probably in search of some coffee.

"Where's Vanya?" Allison asked.

"She left a while ago." Y/N said.

"That's unfortunate." Five said before taking an empty container and placing it on the table, "An entire square block, 42 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, and not a single drop of coffee."

"Dad hated caffeine." Allison pointed out.

"Well, he hated children too and he had plenty of us." Klaus laughed, clutching onto a random electric guitar.

"I mean, he does have a point…" Y/N agreed with her brother.

"Aww… Y/N agrees with me…" Klaus let the guitar drop to the floor as he stumbled over to Y/N and gave her a big hug.

The porcelain girl smiled as Klaus collapsed onto her. "You’re so amazing…" Klaus sighed.

"I'm taking the car." Five left, "Y/N, c'mon."

"Where are you two going?" Klaus asked as Y/N managed to push him off of her and stand up from her seat to follow Five.

"To get a decent cup of coffee. And to talk." Five said with a 'duh' tone.

"Do you even know how to drive?" Allison asked, crossing her arms.

"I know how to do everything." Five said snarkly.

"I mean, I've got a drivers license." Y/N shrugged. Five and Y/N held hands as they both space jumped to the garage.

The girl shivered, "I'll never get used to that." She sighed as she sat in shot gun and Five sat in the drivers seat. After a few minutes of awkwardness, Y/N broke the silence. "So… Did you just learn how to drive during the apocalypse? Like, you were lucky to find a car and ended up teaching yourself?"

Five sighed as the car drove into the road, "And to think I missed your idiotic questions…"

"Aw, you missed me?” Y/N smirked.

The two of them pulled up to Griddy's Donuts, something Y/N was very familiar with.

The bell rang in her ear as a random stranger opened the door for the two of them. "Thank you." Y/N gave a smile to the stranger.

The duo both sat down at the table before another man sat down next to them, exhaling deeply as he took his cap off and started working on a… Crossword puzzle? Y/N didn't really know.

"Sorry, sink was clogged." An elderly waitress wearing pink smiled as she took out a pad of paper and pen, "So, what'll it be?"

"Uh, give me a chocolate eclair." The man said.

"Mhmm, sure. Can I get the kids a glass of milk or something?" The waitress asked.

"The kid wants coffee. Black." Five scoffed. Y/N gave the waitress a friendly smile.

"I'll have some tea." Y/N said.

"Cute kids." The waitress smiled slightly. Five fake smiles at her as she went to the back.

"Even if you're old, you still have to be nice to other people." Y/N said, turning to him, "After all, you're physically thirteen again. Not fifty."

"You're too nice, Y/N. Even for your own good." Five shook his head.

"At least I'm not rude all the time, you've always been a smart-ass." Y/N remarked.

Five looked at her before looking away, smiling slightly as he started a conversation with the man next to him. "Don't remember this place being such a shithole. I used to come here as a kid. Used to sneak out with my brothers and sisters and… Eat donuts 'till we puked. Simpler times, huh?"

"Uh… I suppose." The man said, clearly confused as to why a thirteen year old looking boy was talking like an old man.

The waitress came over to them, setting down their orders as the man offered to pay for the other two's drinks. "Thanks." Five said as he eyed the man's jacket, "You must know your way around the city."

"I hope so. I've been driving it for 20 years." The man said.

"Good. I need an address." Five said.

Y/N drummed her fingers on the counter, looking around at the familiar looking place. She smiled as she remembered there was one time where she had to carry both Ben and Klaus out of the cafe because they got too sick off of donuts.

Their father scolded her for an hour because she took the blame. God, that was a long night.

"When'd you start drinking tea?" Five asked, suddenly snapping her out of her trance.

"Well, I enjoy it more than water and soda." Y/N said, "But sometimes I like to drink coffee.”

Five nodded as Y/N felt his eyes on her. She shifted uncomfortably before the doorbell rang and tons of people filed in.

Since she was facing the other way, she could see that they had guns. She vaguely remembered Diego saying guns were for sissies. Heh, simpler times.

"Hm… I thought they'd have more time before they found me." Five said calmly, setting his coffee mug down.

"You're gonna explain later, Five." Y/N frowned.

"Don't worry, I will." Five said.

"Let's all be professional about this, okay? On your feet and come with us. They wanna talk." The man with the gun pointing to Five's head said.

"I've got nothing to say."

"It doesn't have to go this way." The man said. "You think I wanna shoot a kid? And go back home with that on my conscience?"

"Well, I wouldn't worry about that." Five sighed as he turned to the man pointing the gun at him, "You won't be going home."

Five looked to Y/N and blinked twice. She blinked twice back as Five slowly picked up a knife and space jumped, stabbing the man in the shoulder.

Y/N quickly got up and reached for her pocket, searching for her garrote. Tightening it, she ran up behind a person and slammed them on the ground, effectively choking them before they passed out.

Y/N grunted as a bullet grazed through her side. She hissed at the pain. Five watched her get shot before bashing someone's head on the ground.

Y/N threw a fork and it landed into a man’s eye. She sighed as she felt a burning sensation in her side, dammit, she thought that her dad made her skin impenetrable. So much for that bullshit.

"Hey, Y/N! Leave it to me!" Five smiled as blood splattered onto the floor.

Y/N nodded, holding her side and coughing harshly. She grimaced before tearing her sleeve and wrapping it around her waist as a makeshift bandage.

As the lights flashed rapidly and Five finished off the rest of the attackers, Y/N hopped off the table to join Five, who had finished cutting his arm and digging out a small tracker.

"So… Did you want to come to my place? I mean, I think we have to deal with that injury sooner or later." Y/N suggested as they walked out of the diner.

"No, can't risk it at your place. Let's go to Vanya's." Five said. Y/N frowned.

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"You're injured." Was all Five said. Y/N, as if on cue, winced as she remembered the bullet wound.

"I've-" Y/N coughed, "-Had worse. I'm sure it'll heal like the rest."

"It could get infected." Five said matter-of-factly. Y/N shrugged.

"I guess I can tend to it later. Right now, we need to get to Vanya's place." She said, "We're taking the car, right?"

"Why do that when we can just-" Five grabbed her hand and space jumped into an alleyway.

"Shit! Again, you've got to warn me." Y/N said as he chuckled slightly.

"Sorry." Five said, giving her a smug smirk as he climbed up the side of a building.

"How'd you find out where Vanya lives?" Y/N asked, following him up.

"Sources." Five said as he opened the window to the second floor. Y/N sighed as she followed him.

The room was fairly clean, as expected from Vanya. There was a small kitchenette and a violin sitting on a wooden chair.

Five sat on a plush grandma chair and Y/N sat beside him in another. Five and Y/N heard keys click as the door opened. Five clicked the lamp on to reveal… Vanya. "Jesus!" She said in surprise.

"You should have locks on your windows." Five commented.

"I live on the second-floor." Vanya said, flicking the light switch on to bring some more light to the dark apartment.

"Rapists can climb." Five said.

"Five, that's not…" Y/N's voice trailed off as the stinging in her side made her body feel like it was on fire.

"You are so weird." Vanya said, closing the door and taking off her shoes and coat.

#umbrella academy x reader #five hargreeves #five hargreaves x reader #five hargreeves x reader #five x reader #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #viktor hargreeves #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #tua

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youvebeenlivingfictional · 1 year ago

Text

Year Two

Part Three of Three Years

Year One | Masterlist | Year Three

Pairing: Nathan Bateman x Reader

Rating: Explicit - 18+ Only.

Length: 7.2K

Notes: ….Hi! It’s part three! Huzzah!

Warnings: Cursing; angst; enemies to enemies who fuck; tech-talk; angst (I know I said it before but really); Nathan being Nathan; slapping; grinding; biting; the next chapter has more spice

Summary: Despite how irritating he can be, you’re finding that you mind Nathan less and less these days. He’s more like a common fungi: opportunistic, probably not harmful if consumed—not that you’re rushing to consume him, as it were.

Jenn is.

“We’ve gotta jump, we’ll be late on another call.”

It’s a warning that’s almost never been heeded before, but you say it as firmly as you can. You can feel your team casting a wary glance between you and the landline that you’re crowded around in the otherwise sparsely decorated conference room.

The old conference rooms at Sc(ai)le’s original headquarters could be a little tight for team conference calls, but at least they were comfy. The tables weren’t too big, but could fit most everyone’s laptops, and a drink or two. There had been armchairs, couches—enough space for people to chat, take calls, have a quick huddle—whatever was needed. By contrast, the conference rooms at the new headquarters feel like blank, sterile canvases. They have yet to be outfitted properly. For now, you’re all stuck with the chairs from your desks that you’ve rolled in, sitting around a long, bland, white conference table, with a landline in the middle.

“Move whatever you’re going to back,” Bateman’s order is haughty. “We haven’t finished ironing this out. I still have questions.”

A year and a half ago, you would’ve heeded him. A year and a half ago, you would’ve been afraid to push back, wary of Nathan’s burgeoning relationship with Jenn, and with Sc(ai)le. But now, a year and a half in, you’re far more aware of what you are and aren’t willing to put up with. It’s a gamble, a stupid one, but you roll the fucking dice:

“I hear you, and I’ll be more than happy to answer them. Pop them in an email and send them over at your earliest convenience. Thanks so much for your time, Nathan.”

You can only hope that your using his name softens the blow of how abruptly you hang up on him. You glance down at your computer repeatedly, eyeing the number for the other meeting that you’re dialing into the landline as you punch it in. You glance around, finding your team slack-jawed and stunned.

“I cannot believe you just did that.”

It falls out of Amelia’s open mouth with a shocked laugh. She’s one of the product owners, someone that you’ve been working with since before you brought onto the C-Suite—and has had a front-row ticket to the rapid decline of your giving a fuck. You shrug a shoulder.

“He’ll get it,” You insist. “He knows how these meetings run over. If it’s between cutting him off or being late for our biggest client, the fuck is he gonna do, tell us to lose money?”

A couple of your team members guffaw, and you glance up to see some of them trying to fight back smiles. It makes you grin.

“Alright, c’mon,” You urge, even as you chuckle, yourself. “Button that up, we gotta work.”

You wait for the slap on the wrist from Nathan. When it doesn’t come, you wait for it from Jenn. As your monthly one on one closes out, you expect the question: Why the fuck did you hang up on our biggest backer? Stunningly, it never comes. Maybe Nathan didn't mention it to her, even in passing. Maybe he recognizes that your judgement call was the right one.

The company is in a better place than it was last year. Sc(ai)le is drawing clients and revenue in hand over fucking fist. With the newest burst of AI chatbots coming out, there has been a wave of prospective clients. Companies that used to be too busy for you are now beating down your doors. For the first time, you have a chance to be selective about your clients. They’re chasing you and your tech, not the other way around. The company has swelled from 150 people to 400 in just under a year.

Most of your local workforce is coming into Sc(ai)le’s office at least three times a week. Some opt to come in more days than their contracts necessitate, not because they like it, but because it’s just faster to run over someone’s desk to ask a fucking question than to Slack them and pray that they’re somewhere near their laptop. You’re busy, busier than you’ve ever been. The amount of work that you’ve been hit with in the first six months of your second year is closer to what you’d initially expected when you’d agreed to take on two C-Suite positions.

Are you tired? Yes.

Do you remember what your apartment still looks like in the daylight? Not really.

Do you have personal relationships outside of work anymore? Definitely not.

But you’re staring down the barrel of a year and a half of work for stock options and a job wherever the fuck you want.

There are some moments, rare moments, when you almost want to thank Nathan for strong-arming you into this position. But there are other, far more frequent moments when you want to tell him to take his ego and his backing and cram it up his frighteningly round ass.

“Knock-knock.”

You don’t bother to look up; you know the voice well enough. It sets your teeth on edge. You keep typing, eyes on your computer as your fingers fly across the keyboard.

“You know, there is a door there,” You point out, “Most people actually bother to knock on it.”

“That’s standard procedure for a closed door. Yours is wide-open. Saying knock-knock was just a formality. I could’ve walked right in.”

“If you want, I can get up and shut the door, let you knock like a normal human being.”

“Nothing about me is normal, sweetheart.”

The endearment makes your fingers freeze over your keyboard. It’s not a surprise that he does it so damn easily—but what is surprising is how it seems to just knock your brain offline.

“Are you in my doorway for a reason?” You finally ask. It’s a moment too late; you can hear him lower into a seat across from you.

“What are you doing tonight?” He asks. You fight back a sigh.

“I’m assuming I’m having dinner with you.”

“You catch on quick.”

You let your eyes slide to him. “You’re more predictable than you’d like.”

Nathan’s expression flickers with annoyance, but he’s quick to cover it up again.

“That’s something I’ve never been accused of.”

“First time for everything. We going to the diner again?”

He huffs a humorless laugh through his nose, head jerking back with it before it tips forward again. You fight back a smile as you turn toward your computer again.

“Just be ready by seven,” He adds.

“Alright.”

“And don’t try to worm out of it,” Bateman warns as he pushes himself to stand and rounds toward the door. “I’ll pull my funding.”

“I’m shaking in my boots.”

You force yourself to keep typing, even as you hear Nathan’s step hesitate before it fades complete. It’s just a little, just for a second—but to sense that you’ve managed to put a hitch in Bateman’s day and workflow when he’s put such a hitch in your life? Hell, that feels like your birthday came early.

“Too bad Jenn couldn’t join us.”

You’re trying to goad him. From her reaction to your mention of having dinner with Bateman—the way she’d pouted just a little before brightening, telling you to have fun, and to charge it to the company card—you’re fairly certain that he hadn’t mentioned it to her at all. Bateman hardly blinks as he excuses:

“She had a conflict.”

That’s bullshit.

“Besides,” He pushes on before you can argue, “You and I haven’t had a one on one since you came onto the team.”

“There was that time at, uh…Karaoke,” You correct.

“Thanks for the reminder. What are we singing?”

You raise your brows, unimpressed. “Why don't we just pencil that in for my retirement party.”

“You already have that planned?”

“Oh, sure. I’m going to make you rent out that, uh—That palazzo, out in Beverly Hills? I want an ice sculpture, the most VIP of VIPs, a whose-who of the tech industry’s who’s.”

“You make a playlist yet?”

“No, but it’ll be done, don't you worry about that.”

Nathan searches your gaze for a moment, and you see a wrinkle of curious confusion there.

“What are the hang ups?” He asks.

“What do you mean?”

“You, in this position. You’re pushing the processes forward, you developed a uniform product release cadence and communications workflow. The efficiency is through the roof, but you’re still unsatisfied.”

You look away, lips pressing into a thin line. You let your gaze drift over the decor of the restaurant, rather than hold Nathan’s eye, and let him find a hundred little faults in you. The restaurant that he’s chosen is startlingly intimate—it has a short bar, with just two seats, and only a handful of tables and chairs. The recessed lighting has been dimmed for the evening, and if the table between you and Nathan had been just a little bit longer, you might’ve had to squint to get a better look at him. As it is, your knees are brushing under the table, and if you make one wrong move reaching for the drinks menu, you’re going to make even more contact with the guy than you’ve ever wanted.

“Is it the pay?" He presses into your silence. "Because frankly, you’re being paid more than you’re worth."

“Really? I’ve been offered more to do less.”

He bristles, and you bite back a smile. He doesn’t like that—and he doesn’t need to know that it’s a bluff. You’re sure he’ll make inquiries, now that you’ve said it, and you’re sure that every one of them will tell him the truth: that you’ve never been approached by any one of them. He won’t trust it. It’s just an added little bit of discord. Hell, you’re almost proud of it.

“What is it?” He presses.

“This wasn’t a choice for me,” You shale your head, “It was a negotiation tactic. Actually, you know what, let’s just call it what it really was: it was a fucking emotional blackmail.”

He rolls his eyes openly. “Emphasis on emotional.”

“Oh, fuck off,” You scoff, “As if you’d ever take this shit lying down.”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“Exactly, so—”

“I wouldn’t have signed on in the first place.”

The fact makes you go quiet for a moment.

“Because you don’t have anyone like Jenn?”

“Because even if I had someone like Jenn, I’d leave them to sort out their own shit.”

“Well, I’ll just add that to the ever-growing list of differences between you and I.”

“It’s not that long.”

“Excuse me?”

“We’re not so different, you and I.”

“Did you watch Austin Powers on the plane?”

��Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

“Isn’t that, uh…Our methods are not so different as you pretend?”

“I paraphrased. And do I really look like someone that watches Austin Powers in his free time?”

“No comment.”

“I think we’re more similar than you’d like to believe. I think that pisses you off.”

He’s right—and it pisses you off even more. You fight to keep from fidgeting in front of him, giving him the satisfaction of your open annoyance. You finally shake your head slowly, keeping your gaze on Nathan’s.

“I’m nothing like you. And I never wanna be.”

You wanna slap the widening smile off of his face.

“Wouldn’t take much,” He goads. “I’d say you’re already halfway there. Start missing a few dinners because you’re working, start keeping a change of clothes at the office, sleeping in one of the conference rooms because you realize it’s four in the morning and you won’t have time to get back to yours, shower, change, and not fall asleep on your couch while you wait for your leftovers to heat up in your microwave.”

You feel your face going hot. You don’t want to admit that you’ve already started doing every single one of those things—that you’ve done two of those things in the last forty-eight hours.

“You know where you go from there?” Nathan folds his arms on the table, leaning forward and holding your gaze with a smiling smugness. “You stop giving a fuck what other people think. Like it or not, that’s going to include Jenn. The only voice that starts to matter is yours.”

“I told you,” You press, “I’m nothing like you.”

“And if you realize that you are?”

“I’ll shave my head, start wearing polo shirts, and move to the middle of fucking nowhere.”

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”

“The commute would be a nightmare.”

“You might look cute bald.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The two of you fall quiet as the server sets your drinks down. You gaze at yours, wondering if you can drain it and run, feign illness, or snipe that you have to join Jenn at her meeting. Maybe you can tell Nathan that you just don’t want to be there—but maybe that’s exactly what he would do. So you obligingly knock your glass against his, take a measured sip, and resolve yourself to sit through this.

“Alright,” Nathan finally relents as he sets his glass down, “We’ll move off of work. Talk about something else.”

“Like what.”

“You ever think about starting your own company?”

Your brows raise.

“This is how you talk about something other than work?”

“You hate having a boss.”

“You really like to talk in absolutes, don’t you,” You comment dryly. “I don’t mind having a boss.”

“You never just wanted to break off, strike out on your own?”

You consider bullshitting him, but this drink is still pretty damn full, and if you have it too fast, you’re almost certain he’ll insist on your having another. So you consider for a moment, then shrug.

“I guess I did, once. When we’d just gotten out of here. Jenn was working on getting Sc(ai)le going.”

“So, what happened?”

“Nothing ‘happened’. One of us had to keep things afloat until she had her foot in the door.”

“You resent her for it?”

“Of course not.”

“I would.”

“Well, I already told you. We’re not the same.”

“What was it?”

“The idea?”

“Mhm.”

“A consulting firm, crisis-response specific.”

“You could do it, you know. Once your contract is done—as long as you can resist the urge to stay.”

“I’m not going to stay.”

“Not even if Jenn asks you to? I know how much she values your opinion. Almost as highly as she values mine.”

You used to think that Jenn valued your opinion twice as much as Nathan’s, but these days, you’re dismayed to say that you’re not so sure about that.

“She won’t ask me.”

“Why do you say that?”

“If I tell her I’m happy to serve my three years and move on, she’ll be fine with it.”

“And if she isn’t?”

“She’ll learn to be fine with it.”

“You wouldn’t take her wishes into consideration?”

“The last time I did, I wound up working for you.”

“So the only voice that matters on this subject is yours.”

He’s smiling like the cat that got the goddamn cream. You fight off a groan of irritation. You hadn’t been expecting it—why the hell weren’t you expecting it? You’re mad that he caught you out like that.

Worse, you sort of admire it.

Nathan’s little visits begin increasing in frequency. You don’t question it. Maybe it’s BlueBook business; maybe it’s Sc(ai)le; maybe he’s looking into investing with another company and he just happens to be in town more these days. Whatever the fuck it is, you don’t care. You just care that Nathan is now sitting in on your meetings with various departments, with the C-Suite, with you and Jenn. It’s like you can’t swing your laptop without whacking the guy these days.

But despite how irritating he can be, you’re finding that you mind Nathan less and less these days. He’s more like a common fungi: opportunistic, probably not harmful if consumed—not that you’re rushing to consume him, as it were.

Jenn is.

Jenn is soaking up this time with Nathan like a goddamn sponge. You haven’t seen her this bright, this engaged in some kind of personal relationship in a long time, since way before Sc(ai)le.

Look, maybe you’re being a little judgemental, you’re almost certain that Jenn has a crush on Nathan. And that is…A little alarming. For one, it means putting even more of her time and interest into the guy. Beyond that, it means that she may be pinning her romantic hopes on the guy who the company’s financial hopes are resting on. Sure, Sc(ai)le is getting bigger, doing better, but the cash flow into the company is still coming from Bateman.

You think of that as you see Jenn throw her head back in a giggle, her hand landing on Bateman’s forearm. He grins, glancing toward you. If you knew less, you’d think he was trying to get you to laugh, too. But it’s Nathan, and you know better. He’s showing off. He’s showing off how likable he is to your best friend. He’s showing off the fact that he’s making her laugh, not you. He’s showing you that your place in your best friend’s life is being usurped.

Asshat.

You look down at your food as Jenn’s laughter quiets to giggles, then tapers entirely. You can feel both of them watching you, and you make a point of poking through your food, just to have something to do. You hadn’t even planned on joining the two of them for dinner, but they’d happened to catch you on your way to the parking lot and insisted.

Grabbing a meal with Jenn is fine. You can sort of tolerate grabbing a meal with Nathan. But the two of them, together? Cripes, you don’t think you can take much more of this. You can only hope this place doesn’t have a damn dessert menu. Jenn can’t resist a piece of cheesecake, and you’re dying to get the hell out of here. You’re not sure you can take much more of her simping and grinning over a man that you find moderately repugnant, and mildly attractive.

You frown, putting your fork down in favor of taking up your wine and drawing in a deep sip.

Mildly attrac—Where the fuck did that come from? Whatever it was, it’s left a bad taste in your mouth.

“You alright over there?” Nathan asks.

“Great,” You answer flatly once you’ve swallowed, “Thanks.”

“Food not to your liking? We’ll get you something else.”

You shake your head, gaze flickering to Nathan’s. “Seriously, I’m fine.”

“We’ll go somewhere else.”

“That is even less necessary than getting me something else to eat.”

“So!” Jenn chirps, breaking into your and Bateman’s bickering, “We should go somewhere after this, right?”

“You know what, I actually can’t,” You give what you hope is a regretful smile, “I’ve got a call.”

“This late?” Nathan looks down at his watch, “Who with?”

“Brickandbound, the SaaS company down in Sydney. It’s only about two in the afternoon over there. And, actually,” You push your chair back, “I did not realize how late it is. I should get back to my office, prep with the team. Thanks for dinner, Nathan.” You glance toward Jenn, warming at the grateful smile on her lips.

“I’ll see you later, Jenn. Bateman, let me know how much to Venmo you.” You offer him a pat on the shoulder, then round him, dropping a kiss to Jenn’s head before heading out. You don’t bother to give them a second look, you just go.

Mildly attractive. Mildly attractive? When the fuck did that happen?

Maybe it’s because you’ve been around him so much, and because, well…He is. He’s still an irritating little worm, of course, the most annoying person on the fucking planet (after Elon), but he’s sort of…Hot. His eyes are dark, and when he’s worked up, his gaze can be intense. His lips seem far more pink and plump these days, but that could be the increasing growth of his beard, which he only seems to trim every week or so. And his smile, which you seem to be privy to more and more these days, can be kinda nice—when it’s not smug, or slick, which is fairly rare. Still, you’re certain you’ve gotten a true smile from him a couple of times. They’re in the minority, and maybe that’s why they seem so much more special when you do get them.

You lean back in your seat in the conference room, listening to the sales and acquisitions team as they prep around you, volleying pitch lines back and forth, tweaking wording. You can only hope that Jenn’s getting those smiles from him—legitimate smiles, the kinds that’ll turn her insides to goo. She better fucking thank you for your hasty retreat later.

You glance over as you hear the team beginning to dial in. You draw in a deep breath, pushing it out quietly through your lips. You’ve been on tons of these, but they still make you a little nervous. You sort of hate it. If you’re still nervous, it means that a small part of you still gives so much of a shit that you’re afraid to make a mistake. You glance around as you hear everyone introduce themselves on the call, and open your mouth to add your name, but freeze as you see the door open.

He shouldn’t be there. He should be in some dim bar with Jenn. She should be batting her fucking eyelashes, playing with the hair that she just got done today because Bateman had emailed to let the two of you know that he would be in town—

“Hey, you’ve got Bateman on the line.” He’s waving the person in the seat next to you over one before he sits down, turning your laptop toward him to get a good look at the deck, your notes. You watch, lips parted, absolutely gobsmacked. There’s just a pause before you manage to give your name on the call, to fill in the blank—and then sales and acquisitions push on.

You hardly speak on the call. You don’t have to. The team has it handled. Luckily for you, Nathan keeps his damn mouth shut, too, save to lean over and murmur the odd question in your ear. The brush of his warm breath against your ear makes your stomach flip. You’re horrified at the feeling—at the fact that the man is there with you, and not out somewhere with Jenn; at the fact that you’re feeling something other than utter disdain for Nathan.

Is it petty jealousy? The idea that Jenn’s interest is becoming your interest? Like a little girl, jealous of the toy that her friend is playing with? Or is your disdain curdling in the oddest of ways? And what’s his fucking excuse? Is he chasing you down to piss you off? Is he chasing you down because he knows he’s pissing you off? Or did he clock the heat that you’d eyed him with over dinner, and is he after answers?

You can’t imagine Nathan chasing anyone for anything but answers.

You practically run out of the room once the meeting is up after thanking everyone. You nearly snap your laptop shut on Nathan’s questing fingers as you push yourself up, dropping your laptop into your bag, and going. You make it down the hall and around one corner before you feel fingers close around your wrist, his fingers tugging you to slow, “Hey, where the fuck’s the fire—”

You whirl around, yanking your wrist away from him.

“What the fuck, Nathan!”

His surprise splits to smugness.

“Is something wrong?”

“You know something is,” You spit. “What the hell is wrong with you? What are you doing here?”

“I was told there was a meeting.”

“You didn’t need to be here for it. You should be out.”

“Out? Doing what?”

“Out doing anything but pissing me the fuck off.” You whirl away from him, striding down the hall, and foolishly hoping that he’ll let it go. He follows you, and you hope that he’ll stop at the elevator, but he keeps right up with you. You nearly manage to slam your door in his face, but he just pushes it open, chiming, “Knock knock.”

“Please leave.”

“Why are you so pissed off?”

“Why are you here?”

“In the building? In this business?”

“In my office, why are you here right now?”

“Honestly?”

“Honestly.”

“Well, my purpose is manifold.”

“Oh, for fuckssake.”

“But I’m mostly here to piss you off.”

“Well, mission accomplished, asshat.”

You drop your things on your desk, then glance up, doing a double-take at the sight of Nathan. He has his hands braced on the back of a chair, a wide grin pulling his lips.

“Stop that,” You grit out.

“Stop what?”

“Smiling at me. Looking at me, just cut it out.”

“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to crack.”

“Crack?”

“You have been dying to snap at me since the day we met.”

“That is not true.”

“No?”

“No!”

“Since when, then?”

“Since you locked me into that dumb fucking contract.”

“I only offered you the contract. You locked yourself into it. Admit it, you hate it. You hate this, you hate me, you hate Jenn.”

The accusation spears through you like a hot, sharp knife.

“That’s not true,” You hiss, rounding your desk.

“You do, you resent her for needing you. You resent her for needing me, too. If she could just get her shit together by herself, neither of us would be here.”

“Fuck you.”

“And if you’d trusted her ability to get shit done, you wouldn’t have taken this job.”

“I thought you would be good for Jenn—You have been good for Jenn, and for the company—”

“But not for you. Nothing I’ve done has been good for you, has it—Not the raise, not the titles, not the work.”

“Shut up.”

“Am I wrong about that, too? Do you secretly like what you do? Or are you just going along to get along, biding your time until you can get out of here?”

“Get out.”

“I paid for this office, I’ll stay here as long as I want.”

“Get. Out.”

“Hell, I paid for you, I’ll talk to you as long as I—”

The slap is louder than his smug pronouncements. You’re certain it stings your hand and his cheek in equal measures. Your gut swoops. Oh—Fuck. Shit. Shit. Your heart pounds; your chest heaves. You swallow thickly as the room falls into complete silence. Nathan’s pupils are blown wide, the darkness nearly fully obscuring the brown you’ve come to know. You see his mouth move, but what he says doesn’t land on your ears the way it should.

“...What?” You ask warily.

“I said, do that again.”

Your stomach churns. He’s got to be kidding.

“No.”

“C’mon,” He urges. “I’ve been pissing you off for a year and a half now, that’s all you’ve got in you? One slap? A half-decent one at that.”

Half-decent? There’s no way. Your palm is still stinging.

“Do it,” He urges, taking a step closer. “Do it again.”

“Fuck you.”

“Hit me.”

“Fuck you—”

“You want me to turn the other cheek?” He asks, tipping his head from one way to the other. You balk at the sight of his red cheek. “Hm?”

“Look, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

“You think I’m mad?”

“Aren’t you?”

“No.”

“You should be.”

“Why’s that?” Nathan shakes his head. “You just showed me who you are the first time—who you really are.”

“This isn’t who I am,” You hiss, shaking, "No matter how badly you want to be right, I'll never be you."

“You’re right. If someone I hated offered to let me hit them again, I would’ve done it by now.”

You raise your arm, winding up for a slap, but Nathan catches hold of your wrist before the blow can land. Panic flares in your chest, and you pull in a nervous breath as he yanks you closer. Your feet stumble, leaden weights keeping your unsteady legs nearly locked into place. Nathan keeps his grip on your wrist, his eyes darting over your face.

“You do hate me, don’t you,” He murmurs, breath brushing your lips, fanning the embers of your anger.

“With my entire being, you pompous piece of sh—”

Nathan’s mouth covers yours with fierce harshness before you can get the rest out. You twist in his grasp, wrenching your wrist away from him. He lets go obligingly, but neither of you get far. You cup his cheeks, sinking your teeth into his lower lip and giving it a harsh tug. His growl snaps you out of it, and you draw back.

“Fuck,” You hiss, drawing back, “I can’t, I—” You shake your head.

“Can’t do what?” Nathan goads, hands grasping your hips.

This.

You can’t do this to Jenn. You can’t give in to the man that’s been waiting for you to fall from the moment he met you. You meet Nathan’s eye. You take in the heat lingering there, the still-pink tinge of his cheek.

“I can’t do this here.”

The trip to your apartment is taken in separate cars. It gives you time to change your mind, to clear your head. But you're still just as pissed, just as turned on. The sight of Nathan’s expectant face as he climbs out of his car makes both of those feelings so much worse. He doesn’t ask any questions as he follows you inside, as he stands almost menacingly close in the elevator, as he slouches against the wall as you unlock your door. You toss the keys into the basket by the front door, setting your work bag down.

“Take your shoes off,” You order, nodding to Nathan’s feet as you lean against the wall, kicking yours off. Nathan follows suit as you walk deeper into your apartment, flicking on the light for the kitchen.

“Do you want something to drink?” You ask.

“I want you to hit me as hard as you can.”

“Drop the fucking Fight Club schtick, alright? I told you I was sorry.”

“Were you?”

“I was trying to be.”

“I don’t want you to be.” He leans against your counter, watching you root around in your fridge. “You lose the fire already?”

“Fuck you.” You grumble it, with only half of the heat that you felt in the office. Nathan laughs, shaking his head.

“I knew I should’ve fucked you over your desk.”

The comment makes heat flare in your stomach.

“I wouldn’t have let you fuck me in there,” You shake your head. “That place is a fucking fishtank.”

“You’ll let me fuck you here?”

“I might have to slap you again, get back in the mood.”

“I’d be alright with that.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit,” Nathan chuckles.

“You really are a glutton for punishment.”

“Little bit.”

You gasp as he wraps his arms around your waist, tugging you back toward him. You whirl around, hands balled into fists, and find Nathan waiting for you, eyes bright with intrigue. You shake your head, lowering your hands to rest on his arms—his thick arms.

This is bad. This is awful. Jenn wants this man, has the worst crush you’ve ever seen her have—she needs him for work, for funding, for—

Nathan’s lips catch yours, and all thoughts of Jenn are pushed from your mind. You sigh softly, fingers curling into fists again.

“Fucking hate you,” You mumble against his lips.

“I know,” He laughs, even as you pound one of your fists against his bicep.

“Do you hate me?”

Nathan hums, grasping your hips and steering you back toward your counter.

“I have no strong feelings one way or the other.”

“Oh—You know what, get off of me—” You protest, squirming, but Nathan’s laughing again, and you’re hardly pushing at his chest with any meaning, any force. He sucks a kiss to your neck, and your pushing hands take to grasping and pulling. You turn your head, catching Nathan’s lips with yours, whimpering as his hands push you into the harsh ridge of the counter. You rest your hands on Nathan’s shoulder’s, giving him a shove. You hardly move him. In fact, he leans more heavily against you, practically crushing you into the marble. He draws back from the kiss with a sucking sound, and a groan.

“I like that,” He murmurs.

“What?”

“You know what.”

You hesitate before you give his shoulders another shove, then pound your fist against his arm. When Nathan doesn’t budge, you raise a hand, smoothing it over his cheek, then giving it a little tap.

“C’mon,” He murmurs, “You can do better than that. Make it hurt a little.”

You sweep your tongue across your lip, giving Nathan another tap, just a touch harder this time. Nathan grunts, and it’s all the warning you have before he’s turning you around. You shiver, bracing your hands on the counter. You twist, raising your hands as he draws your shirt up and off. You can’t get your hands out of the sleeves, and Nathan grasps the slack fabric, using the grasp of your shirt to keep your arms behind your back. You whimper, twisting as he presses a kiss to your shoulder. You wriggle against him, pressing your hips back. Nathan groans, pressing his face into your neck as he grinds up against you. Your clit pulses as you squeeze your thighs together, drawing in a shuddering breath.

Nathan opens his mouth, panting hotly against your skin as his hands smooth up your sides and across your front, groping your breasts through your bra. You groan in frustration, your grinding turning to wriggling.

“You gonna fuck around, or are you gonna fuck me?”

You feel Nathan smile before a sharp sting digs into your skin. You hiss at the bite, throwing an elbow back against his gut. Nathan grunts at the contact, jerking away from you. He gives you a harsher shove against the counter, grasping the back of your neck roughly. You suck in a breath as he shoves your pants down around your knees.

“This is the best you can do?” You snip. “Bending me over a counter?”

Nathan chuckles low in your ear, nipping at your earlobe.

“This is where we’re going to start,” He murmurs, “And by the time we’re finished, you won’t be able to stand.”

“Get out of my bed.”

“We aren’t going to cuddle?”

You don’t have to look at Nathan to know that there’s a shit-eating grin on his face. You’ve only spilled into your bedroom about an hour ago, and since you have, he’s drawn three more aching, slow orgasms out of you, and you’ve drawn two out of him. Now, you push yourself up and away from him, clammy hands flexing in the fabric of your sheets before you get up. You suddenly feel a wave of self-conscious nerves, naked in front of him. It didn’t matter to you a few minutes ago, when Nathan had been fucking you roughly from behind, his hands grasping greedily your shoulders, pressing with a force that’ll likely bruise you in just a couple of hours.

“Get out,” You repeat. “You know where the door is.”

You hurry into your bathroom, cranking on the shower. You force yourself inside before the water warms, wincing as the cool drops practically sting your heated flesh. You strain your ears over the sound of the water, biting your lip. You only stop when you hear the retreating thud of Nathan’s feet, and the subsequent sound of your front door closing. Once he’s out, you feel yourself relax marginally, bracing your hands against the wall and tipping your head under the warming water. You take painstaking care to clean yourself, doing your best to wipe his touch, skin, sweat, and cum from every inch of your body.

Fuck, you can’t believe what you’ve done. Nathan is the company’s biggest backer. He helped you gain your footing; he helped you create a proper place for yourself in the market. He’s Jenn’s mentor—he’s Jenn’s crush for christsakes. And you just fucked him.

Repeatedly.

When you finally pull yourself out of the bathroom, the sky is still dark, and the apartment is quiet. You glance down the hall, trying to decide your best plan of action. You hesitate before you ultimately head to your bedroom. For all of your financial growth in the last couple of years, you still only have one set of sheets. Of all of the things that you made it a point to get when you moved into a newer, bigger place, bedding was never really a priority, and your late nights at the office have lessened the need further. Still, you can’t sleep in them tonight, not until you’ve washed them. You yank them off of the bed, balling them up and striding back into the hall, shoving them into the washer with an excess of laundry detergent and scent beads before turning the water setting to hot and the cycle to deep wash.

You turn toward the kitchen next, already bracing for the sight of your discarded clothing, and the items scattered during your first frantic coupling with Nathan. You bite your lip as you come to the doorway, looking around. Cups, papers, a likely shattered BlueBook tablet. You almost want to walk away, to curl up on your bare mattress and ignore the aching in your muscles and core. But you grudgingly walk over and tidy the area, stacking them items and setting them on the counter. You take up the tablet last, wincing at the cracked screen. Yep. Bummer. You ought to expense it, just to spite him. Your lips quirk with a mean smile. Yeah, that’s what you’ll do—at least to annoy him. You’ll send him a repair invoice. Fuck it—you’ll send him an invoice for a whole new one.

“How was last night?”

You nearly choke on your coffee at Jenn’s question, but you just manage to swallow thickly and give her a smile.

“Fine! Good,” You nod. “I think we’re close to a deal.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm. They just want to iron out some things contract-wise, but we should get the signatures just in time to onboard them next quarter.”

“Awesome,” Jenn nods, smiling. She hesitates before adding, “Nathan said he was going to listen in on the call.”

“He did.”

“Did he say anything?”

“On the call? No.”

“Afterward?”

“Nnn…Nope.”

“Because a few people said that they heard arguing.”

You bite your lip. You can keep digging the hole that you’ve started, or you can come clean.

“It wasn’t an argument, it was…A spirited discussion.”

Halfway clean.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that in the first place?”

“Because, I know that you want me and Nathan to get along. And I know about the creepy little crush you have on Silicon Valley’s former boy-genius, so—”

“Shut up,” Jenn whines, covering her face with her hands, “Oh my god! Am I that obvious?”

“Probably just to me. I know you, hon. Bateman’s a smart guy, but I get the feeling that he doesn’t really get what the hair-tossing was meant to invoke last night.”

Jenn groans again, resting her arms on her desk, and setting her head on her arms. You force a smile through the rotten feeling beginning to curdle in your gut. Jenn stays there for a moment before she lifts her head, resting her chin on her arms.

“So I should be more upfront about my interest.”

It’s not a question, which is concerning.

“Jenn, I…I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s our biggest backer, and besides you, he has the largest share of the company.”

“It’s not a controlling interest.”

“No, but…If things go sour, are you prepared for the business relationship to go sour?”

“Nathan wouldn’t do that.”

“You sure? He’s, like, the king of emotional blackmail.”

“Maybe, but this has turned out alright, right?” Jenn waves her finger between the two of you. You consider for a moment before you nod.

“Yeah,” You agree, “So far. But you and I aren’t fucking, Jenn. And I don’t have the industry pull and capital to bring the building down if I decide that I don’t like one of us anymore.”

Jenn pouts, dropping her gaze to the desk and drawing in a deep breath.

“Okay,” She mumbles.

“I’m not saying never. I just think you should consider the ramifications.”

“Fiiiiiiine,” Jenn pushes herself to sit up. “What was the spirited argument over, anyway?”

“Just…” You flounder. “How he operates, how I operate. We don’t see eye to eye on most things outside of the business, you know that.”

“You seemed to be better last night. At least, you didn’t spend the evening biting each other’s heads off.”

Your palm tingles with the memory of Nathan’s cheek against your palm; you can see the snap of his head turning at the impact, the flash of hot intrigue in his eyes. You turn your gaze down to your notes in your lap, giving a small shrug.

“We’re getting better.”

“Could you sign for this, please?”

You look up from the email you’re proofreading, nodding when you see one of the people from the mail room holding a slim package.

“Sure thing.” You stand, rounding your desk and taking the proffered signature pad, scrawling it out and then passing it back with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Have a good one.”

"You, too."

You take the package, turning away and rounding your desk and opening it. Your brow furrows as you draw out a receipt and eye the Item Description column—

BlueBookTab - x1

Engrave

Your brows rise, a laugh escaping you. There’s no way. You only sent that invoice this morning, how the hell did Bateman get you a new one already? And engraved? You draw the tablet out of the box, turning it over in your hands and eyeing the etching:

For two years of work

And one night of service

Your jaw drops in shock, a stunned huff leaving you as you shake your head, fingers tightening around the tablet. Oh, you’re tempted to throw it at the wall just to spite him, and invoice him for another—but who knows that nasty shit he’d put on that one?

You consider for a moment before you pitch it at the wall. It hits the floor with a satisfying thud. You pick your phone up, zooming in on the cracked tablet screen on the floor and taking a picture. You drop it into your current text thread with Nathan, sending it, along with one word:

Whoops.

Before you can even close the text messages, you see Nathan typing on the other end. Your stomach flips as you wait. Then—

you can’t keep anything nice can you

Send me another one and let’s find out.

did you like my little message?

Oh, there was a message? I don’t think I saw anything

But then, the things that you do don’t tend to leave an impression

keep it up sweetheart

You bite your lip, trying to fight back the smile pulling your lips. It fails when his next text pops up:

im delivering the next one myself. make sure you don’t miss a thing.

Next part

Tag list: @missredherring ; @fantasticcopeaglepasta ; @paintballkid711 ; @massivecolorspygiant ; @blueeyesatnight; @amneris21 ; @ew-erin ; @youngkenobilove ; @carbonated-beverage ; @lorecraft ; @moonlightburned ; @milf-trinity ; @nolanell ; @millllenniawrites ; @chattychell ; @dihra-vesa ; @videogamesandpoorlifechoices ; @missswriter ; @thembosapphicclown ; @brandyllyn ; @wildmoonflower ; @buckybarneshairpullingkink ; @mad-girl-without-a-box ; @winchestershiresauce ; @aellynera ; @writefightandflightclub ; @thedukeofcaladan ; @beepboopyoda ; @foxilayde ; @revolution-starter ; @rachelwritesstuff ; @queen-of-elves

#Nathan Bateman x Reader #Nathan Bateman x You #Nathan Bateman/Reader #Nathan Bateman/You #Nathan Bateman fic #Nathan Bateman imagine #Three Years

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ohtobeleah · 2 years ago

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Roll Of The Dice // Jake Seresin

Chapter Four: “What’s Even Real”

Summary: Jake Seresin has never been a believer in life after death, but when he’s caught in a comatose realm stuck between reality and fantasy—what else is there to do but dream?

Warnings: Jake Seresin x F!reader Jake Seresin Angst. Hospitalisation. Grief of a loved one. Slow decline into grief induced madness. Bradley Bradshaw x platonic!reader

Word Count: 3.2k

Author Note: Well. A phatt 85% of you voted for me to flip the story and here you go. I actually LOVE how this series is taking a drastic turn. But just so we’re all on the same page. There is NO HAPPY ENDING. (Also shut the fuck up I’m still on a break)

Series Masterlist

(Naval Hospital– Jacksonville, Florida. – Present Day)

Bradley Bradshaw had never been good with hospitals. His therapist had told him once that his ever growing hatred towards the far too sterile environment was due to the fact both his mother and father had passed away in hospital beds surrounded by doctors and nurses who he couldn't really give a shit about enough to remember there names.

But here he was, walking down the hall towards room one hundred and nine of the intensive care unit at the Naval hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Bradley carried two takeaway coffees, one in each hand as nurses who had become all too familiar with the mustache-clad aviator smiled politely and sent him solemn looks of hopefulness that today might very well be the day. But he knows it's just something they’re taught in medical school. Compassion. Empathy for the friends and family members of the loved ones laying near dead, dying or recovering. Bradley didn't know what category to put Jake Seresin in at the moment, they hadnt really been all that chummy prior to the accident. Not friends nor foes. Just long-term acquaintances who loved you both dearly.

Bradley Bradshaw had known you for his entire life, uncle Sliders kid. The military brat with the heart of gold, thousand watt smile and even bigger attitude. It's probably what drew you and Jake Seresin together. That all too similar attitude and love for a good taunt. Rooster always did catch himself wondering what you saw in him, but then again, beauty was forever in the eye of the beholder.

“Hey, sorry–the line was crazy today.” Bradley cooed as he knocked with one knuckle on the door that had been slightly ajar. Stepping in, the steady beeping of Jake's heart rate monitor filled the room. “How's he been?”

“No change–” Was all you mumbled as you looked up from watching Jake breath with assistance to reach out for your coffee order Bradley had had the chance to remember off by heart. “You just missed the Doc.” Bradley could tell just how tired you were just by the way your eyes looked sunken, he knew you weren't sleeping, weren’t eating. He knew that you hadn’t left Jake's side since he was brought into his room. “She said that there's definitely brain activity going on–said he must be dreaming.” You smiled at the thought, you hoped whatever Jake was dreaming of was a hell of alot better than what he would wake up to. “The swellings gone down quite a bit, but it’s just up to him if he wants to fight to come back.”

Bradley moved across the room, grabbing the chair that sat empty in the corner of the room to drag it over to where you sat at your fiance's beside. Like every time he came to visit, he sat with a sigh, leaned into where you sat and kissed your cheek softly, a reassurance he was here for you.

“Sounds promising.” Bradley pressed his lips together before he took a sip of his coffee, watching as you did the same. “Dice, you look like crap.”

“I'm gonna let you get away with that one purely because I feel like crap.” You chuckled softly, but it had been just enough to coax the corner of your mouth into a curve. Oh how Bradley missed the sound of your laugh, you were one of his closest friends. Seeing you hurt and struggling through such a crisis made his heart ache worse than he ever imagined it could. From what Rooster could remember of his parents love, they set such a high standard Bradley didn’t know if he’d ever have a chance of replicating—he thought if anything he’d get to live long enough to live vicariously through your love for Jake and watch you thrive in some fairytale life with Hangman that he’d be happy enough with that. But that all seemed so up in the air now.

But here you both sat, watching Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin breathe assisted with tubes of all kinds shoved down his throat. Barely recognisable from the swelling, the cuts, stitches and bruises that littered his face. You could tell he was still your Jake though.

“If you wanna go home, get some rest? I can stay here with him for as long as you need.” Bradley knew what the answer was going to be before you even shook your head. Letting your gaze linger back on the gentle rise and fall of Jake's chest.

“No thanks, I wouldn’t want to miss anything—“ It was hard not to cry, but as you tried to coax your fiancé to come back to you? The tears just fell so effortlessly. “He knows I’m here.”

You carried far too much guilt on your own shoulders for what happened. Jake, although an amazing partner—was an even better wingman. He’d come after you when things got a little too out of control during a recent detachment. He’d saved your life and sacrificed his own. When you’d both been brought back to Florida of all places—You’d asked one of the nurses to contact Bradley for you, he’d been on some carrier somewhere in the middle of the ocean—but he pulled whatever strings he could to get back to you.

“Jake would want you to take care of yourself if anything Dice, he loves you so much.” Bradley placed a hand on your knee, rubbing the pad of his thumb against the soft grey material of your sweatpants. “You aren’t gonna be any good to him when he finally wakes up if you can’t even keep your eyes open.”

“He’s such an idiot.” You scoffed, your moods had been vile the last few weeks. You were sleep deprived, hungry, running of steam fueled by Starbucks caffeine and sugar free red bulls from the vending machine. “He shouldn’t have come after me, gives me a goddamn headache just thinking about it, it should have—“ A sob ripped through your chest and you were gone in seconds. Your bottom lip quivered as you fell into a heap against Jake's side, your hand reaching for his as Bradley rubbed a comforting circle against your arched back. “So so so dumb Rooster—he should have just let it be me.” It was supposed to be you.

“If there’s one person on this planet Hangman would want to die saving Dice, it would be you.” It was hard to hear but Bradley knew you had to hear it. “He would do anything to keep you out of harm's way.”

“Yeah well, what am I supposed to do if he doesn’t wake up, Rooster?” Rising from the side of Jakes hospital bed, you crossed your legs up into the chair you were perched on. “What if he just doesn’t wake up? And he gets trapped in the dreamscape world his mind is creating while I'm out here, all alone?” Bradley knew the breakdown was coming, he had seen it racing towards him at a million miles an hour over the last few days. Not taking care of yourself while giving your all to someone else was a tiring effort that broke the strongest of souls on their best days. You were only human, a much loved one at that. You didn't deserve this, Jake didn't deserve this.

“Hey.” Rooster cooed, cupping your cheeks as he gently pressed the pads of his thumbs against your swollen cheeks to wipe away the tears. “Hey, Dice, look at me yeah?” You did hesitantly, not ready to take your eyes away from Jake, your Jake, your darling Hangman, your soon to be husband. “Dice, hell will freeze over before Jake Seresin gives up fighting, it’s Jake we’re talking about right?”

“I just really really miss him Roo–” You could barely hold your head up with how tired you were, falling into Roosters chest as you sobbed your heart out. It broke his heart to know you were in such anguish. “Every fucking breath that I take since he left feels like a waste on me.”

“He's here Y/n.” Bradley didn't know what else to do except hold you tight, hold you close as you cried in his arms. Over your shoulder, Bradley took in the sight of Jake Seresin, laying there in his hospital bed, with machines surrounding him helping him do the most mundane task of all. Breathe. Jake had always been the better of them, he didn't ever think, he would just always do. He was the Hangman, the top of his class, the cockiest fighter pilot Rooster had ever had the displeasure of knowing.

But now? well–Rooster kind of wished that he’d given Jake more of a chance, perhaps there was some perplexing rhythm and reason why Jake was the way he was and did the things and did and said the stupid things he said.

“He’s here, Doc said that, didn't she? He’s here, just needs some time to find his way back.”

“I'm losing my goddamn mind Bradshaw.” Stifling a laugh, you sat back up, you wiped your tears and fixed yourself up. Taking a sip of the coffee Bradley had brought you to keep you alert. You had had your moment, now it was time to be brave, be there for Jake when he woke up. “I don't know how much more of this I can take before I lose my mind.”

“How about I go grab you some food?” Rooster simply asked, standing as he kissed the top of your head. “You like that sushi place down the road, yeah?”

“M’not that hungry–”

“I don't care, you need to eat, you can't just–” Before Rooster could finish saying that you couldn't just not eat, you were snapping at him. It wasn't the first time but it was still rather jarring.

“I said im not hungry, Rooster, you want food fine, go get yourself something, but im not fucking hungry.” It wasn't entirely your fault, Bradley knew it was coming from a place of despair and heartbreak. You couldn't control anything happening around you so you clung to something you could. He’d remembered that from therapy.

“Okay, well, I'm gonna go grab something to eat and I'll be back okay?” Bradley wasn't expecting an answer, he didn't get one either. All that met him in response was the monotone beeping of Jake Seresins heart rate monitor and the overbearing shattering sound of your own. Pressing his lips together as he shoved his fist into his pocket to fish out his phone. Bradley turned on his heels as he left the room. Leaving you to sit in your own existential crisis.

“Hey kid, how's she doing?” Slider greeted Bradley from the otherside of the phone as he left the same way he came in, passing by the same nurses that now didn't even pay him any attention. Their minds on new patients, new charts to read, new turns of events.

“I'm really worried about her, she's not eating, not sleeping, she's not doing well at all and I don't know how to help her.” It was the honest truth, Bradley didn't. He didn't know how to help pick up the pieces. Slider, your dad, although a million miles away–felt closer than ever when he brought up Bradley's own mum.

“You were the same when Carole died kid, wouldn't let a single person help you until you hit rock bottom.” Slider sighed as Braldey pressed the button on the elevator. “She's gonna hit it eventually and when she does it's gonna be brutal but you’ll be there, just don't smother her, treat her like you normally would, watch over her but dont force her to do anything she doesn't want to do.” It was the advice Rooster had been seeking. He knew your dad would know what to say, how to keep him on the straight and narrow. “When she hits that wall you’ll know, because instead of pushing you away she’s gonna grip on, hold tight and not let go for love nor money, Goose.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

(North Island —Hard Deck Bar, October 16th 2014)

“I’m here–” It came out more reluctantly than you really meant it to. But the way Jake Seresin jumped as you came up behind him and made your presence known had you breaking out into a fit of giggles on the front deck of the Hard Deck.

“Fuck–” Jake groaned as he turned around and held his hand to his tan covered heart. “Why are you so quiet? You move like a goddamn prius?” You didn't know you could roll your eyes as hard as you did.

“Can we just get this over and done with already?” You sighed dramatically, pushing past Jake as you made your way inside. He was hot on your tail, opening the door for you like the true southern gentleman that his mother had raised him to be. “Oh, thanks.” You hadn’t expected it, no one had ever opened a door for you like Jake had just done. Sure men held doors open in coffee shops in passing before, but this had been an intentional act. Jake had a pep in his step to reach the door before you could. “Why would you do that?”

“We’re on a date.” It was the cheesy grin you received in return that had you rolling your eyes twice as hard as you;d just done, surprising yourself once more at the diameter they could actually roll. Jake stood there holding the door for you—gesturing for you to step inside. “And my mother would slap me across the face full force if she saw my date opening doors all by herself.”

“Hangman I really don’t think this classifies as a date.” You tried to shut down the idea before it could bloom into something bigger inside Jake's head. But you were already too late. “I asked if you wanted to grab something to eat and have a couple of beers after work—to get to know my wingman.”

“Oh Lieutenant Dixon, if I can help it? You and I aren't just gonna be just wingman and wingwoman.” Jake shook his head. “So humour me a little, entertain the idea for a single night?” You stood in silence for a mere minute before finally admitting defeat. “One date—“ Stepping inside as Jake led you over to the nearest open bar table with a hand pressed to the small of your back, guiding you through.

“One date is all you’re gonna get, Headache.” You groaned as Jake pulled the bar chair out from underneath the small round table. He watched as you sat down with a reluctant gruff. Laughing to himself at how easy it was to get under your skin.

“One date is all I need to make you fall in love with me.” Jake replied as he walked around to find his own chair, handing you the menu as he waved over at Bill, the barkeep. “And just so we’re on the same page here sweetheart—“ Jake leaned in closer to you over the table, watching with hooded eyes and a wicked grin as you did the same. Mimicking him. “You’re a terrible wingwoman, so don’t think falling in love with me will affect your already atrocious aviation skills.”

“Careful there Hangman.” It wasn’t that you couldn’t already feel yourself gravitating towards Jake, it was that you were scared of just how far the two of you were willing to let this go before pumping the breaks. “Anyone with eyes glued onto their head would think you’re a little obsessed with me.” For some reason, there were a few gold coated pens sitting on the table, possibly but also probably for the keno games that Bull liked to scatter around the joint. Picking one up—Jake clicked the top before placing it in his top pocket absentmindedly. You could never have enough pens. Everytime he needed one he never had one. Everytime he had one he never needed it.

“Why don’t you roll the Dice and find out?” Jake grinned ear to ear, watching as you raised a brow in response. “Tell me a little about yourself? Perhaps I'll walk away all the more obsessed than I supposedly already am.”

“Okay–” You simply sighed, dropping your chin as you frowned. Pulling your elbows off the table as you sat back into a slight slump. “This has been fun, really, this whole act–” it was Jake's turn to frown as he listened, noticing how you wore an expression he didn't like one bit. Something laced with self-doubt. “But you can cut it out now.”

“What are you on about?” Jake asked as he handed you a menu.

“The whole, you wanna be more than friends shtick you’re really playing up.” Yep, Jake really made you say it out loud. “I'm not the type of girl whos gonna fall in love with you Seresin, I'm not here for that shit, im here–”

“Because your daddy is Ron Slider Kerner and he's chummy with Admiral Agony?” Jake didn't mean to say it like that's what he believed, he meant to say it in a way that he thought that's what you were going to say. Maybe the look he’d seen plastered across your face before wasn't self loathing after all, because when you straighten your shoulders and let out a scoff. Jake knew he fucked it. “I didn't mean it to sound like that, I just thought that's what you were going to say.”

“Sure, because you and everyone else here surely don't think I'm the class Nepotism baby.”

“That's Bradshaws title, get your own Dice.'' Jake was quick on the draw, it forced a laugh to bubble up from deep inside you as you took in the sight of his smile. So bright and all consuming.

“No Bradleys the gold star kid, but don't tell him I said that!” You sat up a little straighter, knocking your knuckle against the top of the table. “He’s practically family, which means he’ll plant me in the ground if he ever heard me say that.”

“Well, for the record, I don't think you’re a nepo baby.” Jake cooed, smirking wildly at you from across the table. The Hard Deck had started to get busier around you as you sat with the sandy blonde. The pair of you didn't seem to notice as you got lost in the conversation you were having. Something about Jake just drew you into him, you couldn't figure out what exactly it was that had your heart skipping a beat at the sound of his laugh or the glint in his eye. But there was something there. “I do think you’re gonna have a hard time following me, but I'll do my best to lead us to the top of that ladder, Dice Dixon.”

You couldn't let Jake get away with thinking he was better than you, if you were going to be the best dynamic duo Mirimar had ever seen you needed it known who was the brains of this operation. And who exactly is what that was going to led you to the top of that leaderboard, to the top of the class and beyond.

“Seresin, I have known you for the better half of one entire afternoon and I already know the most important thing about you.” You let your back rest against the plush back of the booth chair. Eyeing off the handsome aviator before you, Jake fucking Seresin was about to be the death of you and you knew it.

“Pray do tell—“ Jake replied as he mimicked your actions. Letting his back rest and the plush of the booth, waiting for you to say something witty. Something he knew he’d never forget.

“That the only place you’ll lead anymore is an early grave.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

Tags: @potato-girl99981 @averyhotchner @dempy @abaker74 @a-serene-place-to-be @starkleila @some-lovely-day @phoenix1388 @auroraboreallisfine @avaleineandafryingpan @kikaninchen-2 @xoxabs88xox

#roll of the dice // jake seresin #jake hangman x y/n #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake hangman x reader #jake seresin imagine #jake seresin #jake seresin x f!reader #jake hangman imagine #jake seresin fanfiction #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin fic #jake hangman seresin

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aeoki · 3 months ago

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Number Eight - Take a Chance: Chapter 4

Characters: Rinne, HiMERU, Kohaku & Niki Location: Los Angeles Townscape

Niki: *Munch munch* ☆ Ahh, I’ve peaked in life…♪

The West Coast is all about chilli dogs~ I’m gonna pig out on these!

Kohaku: It makes me smile seeing you eat so well.

Still, who would’ve thought this was the West Coast in America? The “IFF” was held in the east, so it’s interestin’ to see how the vibes are so different.

HiMERU: They’re about a few thousand kilometres away from each other. There’s nothing to compare that to in Japan.

It’s so far you won’t be able to get there even if you’re on the move for twenty-four hours straight. If anything, we should be happy we were able to find lunch within an hour.

Rinne: Yeah. We were even rewarded with a GPS for our car after completing the mission. That should make driving around easier now.

Anyway, the problem lies with the dice. The first mission would’ve been completed if we held out long enough, but that might not be true for the next mission.

I’ll roll the dice next. Start praying to the gods that I get something good, guys…☆

Here I go… Tap ☆

“Take a picture with the instant camera”...? Do those old cameras still exist in this day and age?

There wasn’t anything like that in the boot, right?

Kohaku: I don’t think so. I checked the boot when we got to the restaurant, but I don’t think I saw anything that looked like a camera.

Niki: I don’t remember, either. I was busy looking for food, so honestly, that was the only thing on my mind~

HiMERU: Which means we should interpret the next mission as “Find someone who will take a photo of us with an instant camera”.

Fortunately, HiMERU can speak a bit of English. HiMERU will go ask around.

Niki: I’m confident in my gestures too! I’ll give it a go and see if I can ask someone!

Rinne: Thanks.

…But is this what we should be doing for the show?

Our missions so far have been pretty normal. It’s a piece of cake compared to “The Minotaur’s Labyrinth”.

It’s nothing like the old show which basically did all that illegal stuff.

Kohaku: Yeah. We’re not being chased by a ragin’ bull, either. We’re overseas but nothin’ special has happened yet.

People are going to start doubtin’ the show, seein’ as it was rumoured to have participants drop out because of its absurdity, but this is all we’re doing in the revived version.

HiMERU: In HiMERU’s eyes, everything has worked out as desired, though.

It’s as if they prepared all this just to give us an easy opportunity to perform.

There is no guarantee there won’t be a mission on the remaining dice faces that will remind us of the show in the past, but if things continue like this, it will be quite easy.

Niki: Yeah. It feels like all our suffering has finally been rewarded ♪

Oh, excuse me, I’d like another chilli dog for takeaway, please ☆ *Niki gives a thumbs up*

No, that’s a hamburger! I wanna eat a chilli dog!

Rinne: I thought you said you were confident in your gestures?

Well, it’d be careless to just charge straight into things. Let’s try and find a private house. Maybe some of ‘em are nice to strange travellers~

We’ll take one of the camcorders from the car each, and then we’ll start asking around.

HiMERU: We have to take a photo, don’t we?

It seems far too easy. Is HiMERU overthinking and worrying over nothing?

Niki: Nahaha. It’s nothing like that! We’ve had to face all sorts of cruel things so far, so our common sense is just a bit skewed!

HiMERU: Hmm. It’s normal in the TV industry to torment the participants to increase viewership, but it’s unthinkable to leave the success of the entire show to just idols.

(It would also be a hard blow to “Crazy:B” if nothing TV-worthy is filmed.)

(Everything will succeed if we’re on a roll. On the other hand, everything is bound to fail if the opposite happens.)

(It sounds like something from the occult, but this is the truth.)

(The producers and staff will lose their enthusiasm and interest in the participants, and as a result, it’ll look as if things are heading downhill.)

(This sort of thing occasionally happens in the entertainment industry.)

(...The possibility of “Number Eight” being that sort of TV show is something HiMERU wants to avoid thinking about, but there are different risks that occur when we blindly follow what the producers tell us to do.)

(Amagi will surely do something like he always does, if there is nothing worthy to film. But that's something to keep in mind.)

(After all, the only one who can save me in the crucial moments is no one other than myself.)

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂ Next Chapter →

#number eight

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bregee13 · 2 months ago

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Drawn to Life: Mario Party Edition

Round 2

(Last Chapter) | (Start)

(Available on ao3)

😥

Mari started by rolling a four, passing Jowee, but just shy of reaching the star. "Ah, I was so close.."

"Haha! Watch this Mari, here's how the masters do it!" Patting his lover's back, Jowee rolled a six, reaching the star. But he didn't have enough coins. "W-What?! What do you mean I can't afford it? I thought they cost ten!"

Mari giggled. She knew he wasn't paying attention to the star price the second he boasted about buying it the last turn.

"Oh. No, the stars cost twenty coins." Mike explained.

"Aw, I thought we were all given enough to buy the first star?"

Mike shook his head no. "It's just a boost."

"Oh," Jowee slumped in his seat. 'Why did I misread that?'

Wilfre chuckled. "It's foolish of you to not pay attention to the basic rules."

"Hmph." Blushing, Jowee glared at the hooded Raposa. 'You Jerk! I WAS paying attention! I-' He sadly looked down at his screen. 'I THOUGHT I was paying attention..'

Mari patted Jowee's back. "You'll get one soon, don't worry."

Jowee smiled softly at her. "Thanks."

Passing Daisy, Yoshi entered the shop. "Ooh what do we have here? Double Dice, Warp Block, Half Dice, Snag Bag. Hmm! I could use all of these!" After excitedly pondering his options, Jowee bought a double dice.

'He already watched me go over the exact same items last turn? Why did this Baki take the time to go over and read the item descriptions again? Is he trying to get on my nerves?!' The impatient Wilfre sunk into his hoodie, irritated.

Leaving the shop, Yoshi came to another split in the path. "Rapo, now what do I do?"

"Why don't you use the map?" Mari suggested.

"Map?" 'Oh yeah, I think I remember Wilfre using it last turn.' "You mean this thing?" Jowee selected the map, giving him an overhead view of the board. "Hmm. If I go this way, I might get to do something with that wheel thingy. But if I do that, I'd have to go aaaaaall the way around to get to the star again." He thought about it for a moment. "I'm gonna keep going for the star." He said before landing on another red space. "Rapo! Not again!"

Mari laughed. 'He's so silly!'

"*GASP* How dare you laugh at me!" Jowee joked.

Mari continued to laugh. "Haha, I'm so sorry!"

"You better be!" Jowee grinned.

Wilfre had a headache.

Mike rolled a three. "Aw, man."

'Hopefully the human won't take nearly as long in the shop...' Wilfre thought.

Mike entered the shop to purchase a double dice and a warp block. Afterwards, he landed on a blue space.

Wilfre let out a sigh of relief, glad Mike's turn didn't take very long.

Finally came Wilfre's turn. With his double dice he rolled a four and a two, making a collective six. "Urgh.." He had hoped for a bigger role.

Being the third player to enter the shop that round, Wilfre almost felt that he had to make a good example and show the others how it's done. Carefully and quietly, he pondered his options. 'Though the last double dice was a disappointment, the addition of a second dice will certainly aid in travelling the board.' He bought a double dice. The warp block didn't interest him, and neither did the half dice. 'Why would I want to limit my speed now? Or start on an unknown space?' The snag bag however, made him curious. 'A chance to steal another player's item. ..Like another double dice? Hmm.' He bought a snag bag. 'That's enough.' He left the shop.

"He took even longer than last time..." Jowee muttered under his breath.

"Jowee, shut up." Mari corrected through gritted teeth. Praying that Wilfre didn't hear him.

Wilfre was shocked. 'I didn't intend on taking my time? I was trying to do the exact opposite of that...' He blushed, embarrassed. ...Then he got angry. "And what are YOU complaining about?!"

"Huh?"

"You appear to enjoy taking your time yourself. Isn't that right?"

"What the Rapo are you talking about?"

"Stupid Raposa! You know precisely what I meant!" Wilfre snapped. "You are no better than I am, yet you act as though you are!"

"I'm not-! Y-You're the one that thinks he's better than everyone else!"

"Jowee, stop!" Mari protested.

"No, let him speak." Wilfre approached Jowee. "Tell me, what exactly do you think I am?"

"Oh God, we didn't even get through the second turn... And I thought I'd catch a BREAK coming here." Mike muttered to himself, regretting everything.

"SHUT IT, MIKE!" Wilfre snapped. "You're not going anywhere yet."

Mike followed Wilfre's order, and decided to keep quiet and stay put.

Wilfre redirected his focus back to Jowee, and grimaced. Grabbing him by the shoulder. "Well? What. Am. I?"

Jowee shook. The words struggling to come together. "I-I-!" He looked to Mari, who's eyes were as wide as a Baki's. He felt like he was disappointing her, angering Wilfre, but he couldn't help how he felt. He turned back to Wilfre, gritting his teeth and staring into his supposed soul. "You!! I-!" 'You're evil!!! You killed Mari's dad!! You tried to overthrow The Creator!!!! You ALMOST KILLED US ALL!!! You!! You took ADVANTAGE of BOTH of us!!! You BETRAYED US!!! You LIED to ME! I FUCKING TRUSTED YOU!!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY FRIEND!!! And NOW you're expecting EVERYTHING to be FINE?!!! TO ALL GO YOUR WAY!?!!!! I HATE YOU!! I HATE YOU!! I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!!!' "I..." Tears rushed down his face. "I don't know what I think..."

Wilfre softened his gaze, as he watched the Raposa's eyes instantaneously turn from rage to pure sadness. Both emotions hooked onto him like a rip current pulling him toward certain death. He let go. And silently stepped back.

Mari rushed to Jowee's side. "Jowee!! It's okay, it's... it's okay." She comforted, trying to wipe the tears.

Jowee couldn't bring himself to respond, burying his face into her shoulder.

Wilfre trembled. 'What have I done? I've allowed my emotions to get to me and I hurt him..! Darkness!! What does he think I am now?!! What does Mari think? ...What would anyone think? Perhaps Jowee was right, maybe I am a selfish monster. How could anyone possibly see me as one of them? At this rate, I'll never be able to return as a Raposa.' He took a deep breath. 'No, No! I can't give up yet! I-I just need to keep my mind together.'

"Um," Mike spoke up. "Is everyone good?"

"What do you think?" Wilfre answered.

"It's just, if not, maybe I should go home..."

"Ah. I see," Wilfre felt his body sink. "That'd be unfortunate." '...I was really looking forward to playing this game.'

"Hey, um," Mari butt in. "Me and Jowee are gonna go take a breath of fresh air. W-we'll be back in a moment, okay?"

"Sounds good." Mike said.

Wilfre nodded, hiding under his hood.

"Excuse us.." Mari held onto the shaken Jowee, and left the Village Hall.

A new awkward silence filled the air.

Wilfre looked down at his game, considering whether or not to continue his turn. But without anyone else involved, it just wasn't the same anymore.

"So... Uh," Mike began. "What is it that you do, exactly?"

"What do I do?" Wilfre set his console down. "If you must know, I'm assisting the Mayor in protecting both of our realms from the forces of Shadow. ...Being a Shadow expert, as it were."

"Well, yeah. I kinda got that part. But, how?"

"To put it simply, I have... insider knowledge."

"...Okay? That's vague as hell."

"Don't be snarky with me." Wilfre glared. "I'll share what I will. You do your job, and I'll do mine. Got it?"

"My... job?"

He sighed. "Don't succumb to the Shadow, and don't kill yourself."

"...Oh."

It was silent again.

"So," Mike twiddled his thumbs. "Are they gonna come back, or??"

"…" Wilfre rose from his seat and walked to the door.

"What are you-?"

Wilfre shushed him before putting his ear against the door. From there he could hear Jowee babbling between heavy breaths.

"I don't know, I don't know-! I-I'm sorry…" Jowee sat against the village hall's wall, overwhelmed.

Mari sat down beside him, not sure what to do. "Jowee, it's okay. Relax. You don't have to be sorry about anything," She put her paw on his. "What's wrong?"

Jowee trembled. How could he possibly find any of the words?

"…Is it Wilfre?"

He turned his head and shrugged.

Mari was certain that was it. "Jowee, I know it's tough, but we need to get used to him. It's for the greater good."

Jowee felt a big pit in his stomach. "I know," he croaked. "But I just can't..."

"Jowee?"

"I'm sorry! I can't do it!! I-I can't trust him! I!!" He choked on his words, breaking down into a sob.

Mari looked down at the grass, guilty. 'What am I doing?! Forcing him to be okay with this? ...Some fiance I am.' "Jowee, it's okay. ...You don't have to keep playing this game if you don't want to. I-I can get it to stop."

He shook his head. "*hic* That's the worst part," Jowee squeaked, head in his paws. "I kinda want to keep going".

"What?"

"I-I don't know... It doesn't make any sense," Jowee tugged on his ears. "I feel so stupid..."

"Oh, Jowee...." She inched closer. "I think I get what you mean."

"*sniff* You do?"

"..."

The two sat there silent for a moment.

"He's so evil for everything he did.." Jowee spurted out, tears still running down his cheeks.

"...I know." Mari admitted.

"But, for some reason, I... I wish it was different."

"Me too." She sighed.

"Why?? Why couldn't we be friends? Like how I thought So- HE was."

Mari paused to think. "Maybe you still can be?"

Jowee smiled, but quickly frowned again. "No, NO!! NO!!! I can't!! It'll NEVER happen!!! He'll just betray us again! How could I possibly trust that monster?!!"

Wilfre listened, distraught, before stepping back from the door.

"Well, what's going on out there?!" Mike asked.

"It's nothing of your concern." Wilfre looked down at the floor, tail between his legs.

Curious, and not fully convinced by Wilfre, Mike went up to the door and listened himself.

"Jowee, calm down! Somebody will hear you! Besides, that's not going to happen."

"How do you know?! How can anyone know!?!"

"...I don't," She confessed. "I just. Trust him."

"W-Why?"

Mari sighed. "I don't know. It just feels like the right thing to do."

"...I know you feel that. And, maybe you're right. But sometimes I think about him and get so mad that I stop caring if it's the right thing or not."

"Jowee..."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be like that.. It's not like me."

"It's fine, but. What are we going to do now?"

Jowee thought for a second, wiping his nose with his scarf. "I think I'm gonna go back in there and try to finish what we started."

"Do you think you'll be okay?" She handed him a handkerchief to use instead.

Jowee smiled "...I'll try. No promises."

"Oh, Jowee."

Mike stepped away from the door and looked at the downtrodden Wilfre. What could be possibly say? Should he even say anything? After all, they're not exactly wrong about Wilfre. Mike was fearful himself. And yet the supposed monster looked like some kind of sad wet cat in the rain.

"Well?" Wilfre looked up at the human. "What did you hear?"

"Um," he paused. "I heard that I'll be sticking around a little longer."

Wilfre perked up. "Really?"

Mike nodded.

"I see..." 'Perhaps this is my chance at redemption,' He thought. 'I shall take this opportunity to turn the tables! And I shall win this game!!' Wilfre slowly grinned.

Mike carefully backed away from Wilfre, and returned to his seat.

"Ah-" Wilfre's grin faded. 'I should sit as well...'

After a few minutes, the door opened. "Uh, hi everyone." Mari entered. "Sorry for the wait."

"You're fine." Mike assured.

Jowee awkwardly trailed behind her. "H-hey..." He fidgeted. "I-I'm sorry for what I did earlier. I hope we can keep going."

Wilfre looked up at the Raposa and quietly nodded.

'He didn't even say anything?!' Jowee looked to Mari, who silently reassured him with a faint smile.

"Well, let's get back to it!" Mike exclaimed as the two returned to the game.

Resuming his turn, Wilfre came across the same path split Jowee did. Pulling up the map, he realized that could interact with the roulette wheel if he were to go the other way. So he did. "Wheel of Wonder, huh?" The game prompted Wilfre to choose how many coins to bet. 'I shouldn't use them all in case this doesn't pay off, however I only have 6 left. And earning as much money as fast as possible sounds like a decent strategy.' He selected 5 coins.

"Uh, that's a lot of your coins." Mike pointed out. "A-Are you sure you should-?"

Wilfre finalized his wager. 'It won't matter if I lose. I can always win more later. And if I don't deserve any more, I'd at least like to feel something.' He then had the choice between three sections of the wheel. Half of the wheel that awarded double the wager, a smaller portion that promised triple, and the smallest that awarded quintuple. Though part of him wanted to go for the times five, he held himself back and went for the times three.

The wheel spun and spun. Everyone was at the edge of their seat, waiting for the wheel to stop as the timer counted down.

Wilfre pressed a button. The wheel slowed down further and further until it came to a stop. Right on the times three portion.

"What?!" Jowee exclaimed. 'That's a lot!!'

"Woah!" Mari joined in.

The game awarded Daisy with 15 coins.

"Wow, Wilfre! That's really lucky!" Mike complimented.

Everyone seemed to that he was lucky, but Wilfre knew better. His little button press lined up just the same place it had stopped. That was no mere game of luck. It was a game of timing. Wilfre happily nodded along to everyone. The later they found out the truth, the better.

Wilfre's icon turned blue.

"Looks like it's everyone against Jowee this time." Mike noted.

"Wait, what?!"

"Ah, Jowee. Don't worry, we won't be too hard on you!" Mari assured him. "Right, everyone?"

"Uh," Mike nodded, awkward. "Y-yeah, right!"

Wilfre just looked at Jowee, silent.

"Uhh, Wilfre will go easy on you too." '...Maybe?'

"Um, t-thanks?" Jowee shuffled in his seat.

The game roulette picked a minigame called Flash and Dash. Where the players are put in a maze. Three of them equipped with flashlights are tasked with finding the one player.

Jowee dropped into the maze, only to be placed right next to Mari. 'Rapo Rapo Rapo!!'

Mari immediately noticed Jowee and ran the other way, pretending to not see him.

'Phew..' Jowee wandered the maze for a while before running into Mike.

"I see you, Jowee!" Mike proceeded to chase after him. Though, not too close to actually catch him.

"Ah!" Jowee quickly managed to outrun him, and found himself wandering the maze without any sign of anyone. 'Uhh... is anyone there?'

Mari came into frame, only to notice Jowee and turn around.

'Did Mari just run away from me?? What the Rapo is going on?!' Jowee continued to go through the maze. 'Are they hand holding me?? Rapo!!! They're hand holding me!!!' He grimaced. 'That's it! Where are they?!' Jowee ran through the maze, hunting for anyone. ANYONE to chase him fair and square.

He'd come across Mike and Mari once in a while, and get chased a little, only for them to seemingly give up and turn away.

Jowee could feel his blood boil, when he came across Wilfre. 'Oh, it's HIM. He'll probably just ignore me too!'

But as soon as the thought entered his mind, Wilfre turned to him and proceeded to give a mighty chase. Left! Right! Up! Down! Left again! Wilfre was just inches behind, and showed no signs of slowing.

'This is just a bluff! He'll turn around any second now!'

Wilfre did not turn around. And he did not slow down. He kept up the pace, and the gap between them grew smaller and smaller.

Jowee looked up from his game to see Wilfre intently focused on his screen. He was not bluffing.

Jowee ran as fast as he could, attempting to shake him off, but Wilfre only grew closer and closer. Jowee's heart pounded. Almost as though he were running from the shadowy fiend in real life. Wilfre came even closer and closer until he was right on Jowee's tail. One false move, and it would be over. "No no no no!!" 3…2…1…

The game was over.

Yoshi stood above everyone else, jumping for joy.

"I.. I won?"

"Way to go, Jowee!" Mari cheered.

"Yeah, congrats." Mike added.

"I won..." He looked over at Wilfre, and carefully approached him. "Good game, Wilfre." He reached out his paw.

Stunned, Wilfre took his paw and shook it. "You too."

End Round Stats

Mari: 0 Stars, 27 Coins, no Items, 0 Items Used, +1 Blue Spaces, 0 Red Spaces, 0 Green Spaces, 0 Hexes Set, 1 Friends Made, 1 Minigames Won, 9 Steps Taken

Jowee: 0 Stars, 16 Coins, Ten Coin Hex + Double Dice, 0 Items Used, 0 Blue Spaces, 2 Red Spaces, 0 Green Spaces, 0 Hexes Set, 0 Friends Made, +1 Minigames Won, 14 Steps Taken

Mike: 0 Stars, 21 Coins, Double Dice + Warp Block, 0 Items Used, 2 Blue Spaces, 0 Red Spaces, 0 Green Spaces, 0 Hexes Set, 0 Friends Made, 1 Minigames Won, 8 Steps Taken

Wilfre: 0 Stars, 16 Coins, Double Dice + Snag Bag, 1 Items Used, 0 Blue Spaces, 0 Red Spaces, 2 Green Spaces, 0 Hexes Set, 0 Friends Made, 0 Minigames Won, 15 Steps Taken

#drawn to life #my writing #mario party #fanfic

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saintmouthed · 3 months ago

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dtcfdp chapter 2 (author commentary)

I fear it is time to Reread dtcfdp Again and I'm going to be so annoying about it, actually. Anyway I'm gonna basically reread my own fic and liveblog the experience. Chapter 2 commentary starts under the cut, but you can find chapter 1 commentary here if you're interested!

FLIRTING DISGUISED AS NEGOTIATION...oh I see that's always been a favorite of mine.

"But it’s difficult not to feel like life is passing him by, stuck in this temporary place between all the milestones of ‘average’ adulthood and unable to find his way to the next stage, watching everyone else leave him behind. With jobs, with relationships, with careers. If not with those things, then at least they know what they want and how to get it."

yeah I was going through it in early adulthood, how did you know? (I wanted this fic to like... explore that more thoroughly, but I had SO MANY threads going on in this fic, and the most interesting was the goofiness and the kink, so that's what we got)

(though this does remind me that I found my notebook where I brainstormed dtcfdp in the first time,,, perhaps I will share some of those notes as a DVD extra at the end of the commentary)

It was fun. It was kind of silly, though, because that’s just the way that we were, and I don’t think I necessarily left those encounters feeling like I got everything I could from it. R.

baby masochist R my beloved. SOOOO much projection in this fic, except my adventurous partner (the one that inspired this ex-boyfriend of R's) was too embarrassed to even admit they were into That even though it was so obvious and I knew.

Aren’t you a sadist? Do you even know the meaning of the word? R. For the sake of making sure you’re comfortable playing with me at the end of the week, I absolutely know the meaning of the word. Ange. What about for the sake of honesty? R. Rarely. Ange.

been talking about this a lot lately. Another thing that I wanted in the fic but it never made it into the actual text. I always imagined that Enjolras had a nasty breakup with someone in the scene before he met Grantaire and he blames himself, and that's why he's holding back so much and trying so so hard to be careful with Grantaire's boundaries. Of course that's part of where the whole mess comes in, they're both so worried they're doing something Wrong that they don't want to Talk to each other. lmao.

Besides, Fantine lets him use the wheels after-hours and on his days off so long as he pays for the clay, and sometimes he really fucking misses the ceramics lab.

I FORGOT ABOUT THIS...oh Grantaire and Joly and Bossuet only drink from Grantaire's hand thrown mugs. When he first started working at the Paint and Party, they were so wonky and small because he was out of practice. Now they're increasingly elaborate, to the point where Joly and Bossuet still use the wonky ones because they're afraid of dropping the pretty ones.

If you’re asking me if I’m attracted to you, though, the answer is yes. Ange

writing dtcfdp enjolras is soooo fun. Especially when I get to write his POV, because to Grantaire he's always trying his best to be suave and charming and mean, meanwhile mentally he's swearing up a storm.

Mhm. There’s nothing quite like it, and I am all kinds of mean there is. Ange.

LIKE THIS

“You feed your adventure to a hungry dragon,” Bossuet adds, helpfully. Grantaire doesn’t know how he manages to sound so excited. Bossuet has consistently gotten terrible rolls no matter the game or the dice, and out of the four of them, even with as much as they play together, he’s the only one who’s had multiple characters die in-game due to unfortunately timed crit-fails.

I STILL HAVEN'T PLAYED THIS GAME RIP....poor Grantaire having all his TTRPG characters die. That was cruel of me

the negotiation... tearing up, remembering my early forays into the scene,,, wow

Not this time, he says. R. This time? Ange.

as much as Grantaire goes insane for Enjolras saying "next time" in this fic... you just KNOW that Enjolras is frothing at the mouth at this mention.

Which is fine. He's fine (section break) He is not fine.

this never fails to make me laugh.

“This is my cue to remind you that everything about this is up to you.” “I know.” Grantaire says, voice muffled against his shoulder. “You can go home right now, if you like.” “I know.” “I absolutely will not ask you to do anything you don’t want to do.” “I know.” Grantaire says, once more, with a huff of laughter.

Ange runs his hand up and down Grantaire’s back in a comforting gesture before pulling away to look at his face. “Good. It’s always worth repeating just once more. Now, what would make you feel most comfortable? Do you want to call it off for today, or try another time, maybe?”

genuinely crying now....I love them and also just, agh. I loved getting to write him as gentle in these crucial moments. I love a sadist as you probably know but I also love a "hey, reminder, you're safe, you're in control" sweetness.

“That’s cute.” Ange says. “But unnecessary. Save your ‘sir’s for when I actually punish you.”

was just talking about this too!!!! this was legitimately my favorite thing to play with in this fic. Grantaire constantly throwing around sarcastic "sir yes sir"s and Enjolras tolerating it.... until That Scene

“Words, please.”

fucking menace. I hate when they do this (by which I mean I think it's mean, by which I mean I love it) but also I LOOOOOVE saying it myself. So. The duality of man.

“How are you feeling?” “…A little bit…fuzzy.” Ange chuckles, resting his hands on Grantaire’s thighs. “Happy?” Grantaire has to think about this for a moment. “Yeah, I guess so. Why?” “Because you’re grinning like crazy.” Grantaire touches his face to confirm that he is, in fact, grinning a wide smile. “Oh.”

SCREAMS... I forgot about this. FUCK. I love this. SO MUCH.

I'LL HOLD YOU AS LONG AS YOU NEED....do you ever CRY. I love the chapters that end like that. it's so CUTE.

this was so fun. I love reading over this fic, and lately people have really been flattering me telling me they reread it too. <3

next chapter commentary coming soon!

#antler.txt #dtcfdp #dtcfdp author commentary

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holdingforgeneralhugs · 2 years ago

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Bitter Pill to Swallow

Chapter 22 (Masterlist)

I know it's been ages but I'm finally back with a new chapter and I hope you all enjoy it ❤

"Hey, Mr intelligent intelligence officer, please tell me you know when it's gonna stop goddamn rainin'."

"It seems you've confused the job of an intelligence officer with a weatherman there Val," Lew chuckled, a wry smile on his face.

"Then maybe you can tell me how much longer we're gonna be in this goddamn woods," she quipped, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well why don't you head across that road there and ask the Krauts how much longer they're planning to stick around."

"Touché," Valerie laughed, bowing sarcastically in defeat. She huffed out a disbelieving laugh when she noticed Lew lifting a bottle to his lips and taking a deep slug from it. "Jesus Lew, tell me you're not drinkin' a bottle of Schnapps in the pissin' rain in the middle of active combat."

"What can I say, it just fell into my hand," he smirked, taking another long swig from the bottle, "would be a shame to let it go to waste."

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that," Dick sighed as he approached them through the trees, his shoulders tense. They'd been under almost constant fire for the majority of the day, and Dick had been doing his best to keep the show running. Ultimately though they'd had to pull back into the treeline, and he'd been on edge ever since. "I sent a Sherman to try and take out that Tiger Royal we spotted earlier but no dice. Damn Tiger took him down with two shots, then took a potshot at one of the others and got that too."

"It's gonna be a long night, isn't it?" Valerie sighed in dismay, meeting Dick's pitying gaze with one of her own.

"Afraid so Val," he replied, "I'm gonna need you to check in with your mortar squad, make sure they've got enough rounds to keep them going. We can't let up the pressure on the highway."

"You got it boss," she agreed, giving him a lazy two finger salute as she headed off through the trees. Dick watched her go for a moment before turning back to Nix with a disapproving frown, but he chose not to say anything to his friend.

"Glad to see you and Val have kissed and made up," Nix commented as he swigged from his bottle. Dick rolled his eyes at him before responding.

"We talked," he said pointedly, "and we're all good."

"She admit why she was angry?"

"Well...not necessarily no" Dick sighed, refusing to meet Nixon's amused gaze. She'd been incredibly cagey when he'd questioned her, but he hadn't wanted to push any further lest they end up in another argument. But that didn't mean that Nix's theory was right. Maybe it was just something really personal that she hadn't wanted to tell him about. There could be a thousand reasons as to why she'd avoided his questions.

"Right," Nix commented dryly, "well at least you're friends again. Now all you need to do is pull your head out of your ass and tell her you like her and all will be well in the world."

"Nix," Dick huffed in exasperation, "I already told you..."

"Yeah yeah, I know you did," Nix butted in, clapping him on the back before making his way towards the trees, "told me all about honour and duty and all that other crap." Dick shook his head in exasperation, refusing to even dignify Nix with a response. Nix to his credit didn't seem inclined to wait for one.

"Nix?" Dick called to his friend as he watched him amble off through the trees, "Take it easy on the Schnapps. And please try not to get caught with it." Nix gave him a half-hearted wave before continuing on his trek through the trees, Dick watching him go with concern.

~~~~

"Hey, Lieutenant Landry,"

Valerie stopped in her tracks and waited for Shames to catch up to her. He'd been with her in third platoon since they'd dropped in Holland, and Valerie found they got along well enough together. He'd been nothing but nice to her since they'd met, and she appreciated his competency in combat.

"Everything alright Shames?" She asked as they fell into step beside each other.

"All good," he replied, "just checked in with the mortar squads and made sure they were stocked up on ammo."

"Great, one less job for me to do," Valerie chuckled, clapping him on the shoulder, "I'll check in with the machine gunners and the others, you go on and have something to eat."

"Thanks Valerie, I'll check in with you again later." With that he was off through the trees again, and Valerie changed her course slightly to find her machine gunners.

"Hey Smokey, how are things lookin'?" She asked as she slid into the foxhole beside him and More.

"No real moves yet, just firing mortars back and forth across the road," he sighed, leaning his back against the edge of the foxhole.

"Gonna be a long night if that's the case," More chimed in, shaking his head, "Any chance they might just get sick of it and piss off?"

"No telling at this point I'm afraid," Valerie sighed, patting them on the back before pulling herself from the foxhole and continuing down the line.

"All good Shifty?" She asked as she passed by him, "you need anything?"

"Yes ma'am, all good here," he replied, giving her a small smile and a short nod. She moved to the next foxhole, and so on until she was satisfied all her boys were ok. Only then did she take a moment alone to catch her breath. She slid into her own foxhole with a weary sigh, leaning her head back against the side of it. Closing her eyes she settled herself into a more comfortable position, hoping she could squeeze in a few hours shut eye before she was needed on the line again.

~~~

Ironically, Alton More got his wish in the end, when in the early hours of the morning the Germans pulled back from their position across the highway.

"Pack it up third platoon," Valerie shouted wearily, "we're moving out." By the late afternoon Easy and the rest of the 506th were on the highway and marching back towards Uden once more. The rain pounded down on them relentlessly, and it served to exacerbate the already tired mood of the company. They'd only been in Holland for a week but it had been nothing but hardship ever since they'd gotten there, and the moral of the men had fallen low.

"Alright boys settle in," she called as they trudged their way into the town, "we're here for the night and maybe tomorrow so make the most of the rest while you can, you've more than earned it. I know the food situation isn't great right now, but if you're real nice and polite to the locals, they might take some pity on you and spare you some rations. I hear a whisper of one of you bein' rude to a local and there'll be hell the pay y'hear me?"

"Yes Ma'am," they chimed back wearily. Once she was sure third platoon were settled in she wandered down the main street of Uden. She spotted Dick and Harry heading into a house so she followed them, traipsing over the threshold and down the hall towards what she assumed was the kitchen.

"Don't suppose there's any good food lying around?" She asked as she sunk into one of the chairs around the table, "man what I wouldn't give for Maman's shrimp 'n' grits right about now."

"Oh don't even start on food," Harry groaned, resting his head against the tabletop, "Kitty makes the best chicken pot pie you've ever had in your life."

"Well there's good news and bad news," Dick commented as he rifled through the cupboards, "Bad news is there's no shrimp, grits, or chicken pot pie. Good news is there is some stale bread that doesn't seem to have any mold."

"What a feast," Harry snorted, but he still picked at some gratefully, "beats army rations that's for sure."

"Hell Harry, just about anything edible beats army rations," Valerie chuckled, picking at the crust of the bread. There was a comfortable silence for awhile as they each ate their share, before Harry proclaimed it was time to hit the hay and wandered off down the hall to find a bed. Valerie and Dick shared a look, silently questioning if they should also get a kip in, but neither of them made a move to go.

"Do you ever wonder what the hell we're doin' out here Dick?" She asked with a weary sigh, and he ached at how bone weary she looked in that moment.

"I wonder about that at least once a day Val," he replied, shaking his head and leaning his elbows on the table.

"You'd never realise it with you though," she mused, "you always seem so put together, so in control of yourself and everythin' else too. Meanwhile I feel like I'm startin' to crack and everyone's gonna see it sooner or later."

"Is this because of Veghal?" He asked, and when she nodded he sighed, "I promise you, we've all been struggling since that night. We're all worn out and hungry so trust me, nobody would think any different of you for feeling a bit weary from it all."

"You really think so?" She asked, a hint of vulnerability in her tone.

"I know so. And anyway, you wouldn't be saying I was put together if you'd been in Uden," he snorted, an almost shy look in his eyes as he made the admission.

"I find that hard to believe," Valerie snickered, her curiosity piqued, "care to share?"

"Well.." he started, his cheeks reddening, "the whole thing was quite stressful and I...well I...I chewed out a British Lieutenant for abandoning his tank for a cozy tea, then I...I dragged Harry out of a pub by his ear and chewed him out as well for sleeping on the job."

"Aw hell Dick" she laughed, her eyes crinkling, "I'd've paid good money to see that."

"I bet you would," he chuckled, "Harry was certainly taken by surprise that's for sure."

"See that's the thing with you," she mused, a teasing glint in her eye, "you're so quiet most of the time, so it takes 'em by surprise when you lose your temper. Not me though, I've known all along you had a mean streak."

"Oh is that so?" He snickered, raising an eyebrow at her sceptically.

"Sure is," she grinned, "but then again, I'm a special case. I seem to know just the right buttons to push."

"You certainly are a special case," he replied, a soft smile on his lips. Valerie smiled back at him, her eyes lingering on his for a beat too long before she looked away shyly and cleared her throat, her cheeks beginning to heat.

"Well I dunno about you but I think it's time I tried to get some sleep," she proclaimed, standing and dusting the crumbs off her pants. She stepped around the table but paused and glanced at Dick once more.

"Goodnight Dick," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "and thanks for the chat." She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before continuing out of the kitchen and down the hall towards the staircase.

"Goodnight Val," he murmured back, his eyes following her retreating back all the way down the hall until she disappeared up the stairs.

~~~~

"Lieutenant Landry, wait!"

Valerie turned around and smiled when she saw Vest jogging over to her, a letter clutched in his hand. "Aw great, we're finally getting mail."

"Its about time I know," he laughed, handing it over and giving her a salute before turning on his heel.

"Hey wait," she stopped him, "you got one for Doc Roe? I'm headin' his way so I can pass it along if you do."

"Oh that would be great thanks," he smiled, rifling through his mail bag before pulling out a matching envelope to hers and passing it to her. She bid him goodbye and made her way over to the medical tent. She was glad to see it was rather quiet in the tent, a good indicator that everyone was doing OK for the time being.

"Hey Chouchou," she called as she walked into the storeroom, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Always good t'see you Chérie," he replied softly, giving her a tight squeeze and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I've got surprise for you," she grinned as she pulled back, holding the envelope out to him between two fingers.

"About time we got some mail around here," he laughed wryly as he plucked it from her grasp and moved to sit on the side of a cot, opening his letter without delay.

"It's nice to see her writing," Valerie sighed wistfully, "almost like I can hear her talkin' to us."

"If I close my eyes I can just about imagine we're sittin' in the kitchen waitin' for her to get home with the groceries," he sighed, a tone of melancholy in his voice.

"Do you think she'd be proud of us?...of me?" Valerie asked quietly after a moment of silence, her thumb rubbing the ink on the page until it started to smudge a little.

"Course she is," Gene replied, his brows furrowing, "Why would you even say somethin' like that?"

"Well you....you're out here lookin' after people and me...well sometimes I wonder if she'd be proud of the things I do."

"You kiddin' chérie?" He exclaimed incredulously, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side, "you're out here lookin' after people too. You're their Lieutenant, their leader, and when push comes to shove and shit gets heavy they look to you. They rely on you because they know that no matter what you've got their back out there. You're smart, you care, an' I know maman would be proud if she could see you now."

"Aw hell Gene," she sniffled, wiping her eye with the back of her hand, "you didn't need to go and say all that."

"I meant every word of it, and you best believe it," he insisted, "no more doubting yourself chérie, this company is lucky to have you and don't you forget it."

"Thanks for havin' my back Chouchou," she murmured, "thanks for always bein' there when I need it."

"Always chérie," he replied, kissing the top of her head gently, "from the Bayou to Berlin, and don't you forget it."

Taglist: @tvserie-s-world @geniedocroe @generousdreamlanddestiny @sofietargaryen @cagzzz107 @stolemyspoons @alejodi0nysus @sunflowerchuck @now-im-a-belieber @50ssdelrey @50svibes @eugene-emt-roe @pennyllane @televisionboy @nandoalonsos @ask-you-what-sir @parajumpboots @mads-weasley @tetragonia

#band of brothers #band of brothers fandom #bob #hbo band of brothers #holdingforgeneralhugs #dick winters #bitterpilltoswallow #dick winters x oc #dick winters x valerie landry

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abigail-nicole · 2 years ago

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tgcf liveread 11

being part 11 of live-readthrough of TGCF Tian Guan Ci Fu Heaven Official's Blessing, officially licensed in english translation here, buy it. the twitter thread I kept returning to because keeping memories of the first time you read something you love is important! You never get the chance to read a book for the first time except once. this is a tautology but also like, savor it, which I did with this livetweet. originally tweeted 4/2/2020:

bring down the tax brackets of the whole Neighborhood he xuan. Lolol

I love Ruoye so much

I have very little to say a lot the action scenes here except it’s so lovely to see hualian supporting each other in battle

Ahhhhh I had feelings about qi rong is he finally gone?????? No?????????!!!!!

Im so invested but so sleepy anyway TOMORROW with Chapter 229 Adroit Dice. I also love reading things in translation because when’s the last time you read the word adroit? Translating is fascinating for word choice & authorial intent. Anyway hualian forever gnite

But in general, in tgcf: xie lian is like *shocked emoji* and hua cheng is like *smirk emoji*

A) hua cheng dragging all the martial gods followed Immediately by B) shi qingxuan dragging pei ming specifically

Boyfriend & Uncle united in dislike of blockhead friend

this IS ominous, especially since it’s the first time in 878990000000 words that hua cheng ever rolled poorly, and a very clever way to signal to the audience that Shit’s About To Get Real

The phrase: “Mu Qing was certainly behaving oddly”

my brains: RED ALERT: PROB JUN WU INDISGUISE DO NOT TRUST!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is another great signifier that Shit’s About To Go Down, & emotionally, because all our associations of E’ming (& therefore Hua Cheng) being upset are emotional not physical danger. because there is so little that could physically endanger Hua Cheng

also everytime xie lian pets e’ming im subconsciously screaming BUT EVERYONES WATCHING ARE YOU REALLY GONNA TIUCH HIS DICK RIGHT HERE LOLOL “strokes the hilt” mxtx did this on purpose

Feng Xin being like “ugh stop being so in love ugh gross”

wait....the 33 heavenly officials who mocked xie lian in book 4... SAME 33 HUA CHENG DEFEATED??? He takes carrying petty grudges to a new level i LOVE it

Hua Cheng shattering a sword with one hand: sexy

Everyone blaming mu qing immediately: hilarious

Xie Lian deciding not to solve all his problems with self harm & suicide: that’s GROWTH

also lol @ feng xin here

Using dead bodies as surfboards on a river of lava: creative, structually unsound, implausible, & also a hilarious visual

Hua Cheng and unconditionally supporting his partner I’m melting into the floor

An endless broken bridge over a river of lava is both metaphorically & literally doing a lot of heavy lifting here

Lolol @ xie lian roasting mu qing TWICE here

This is an interesting bit of insight. Most of this is very Shown Not Told in the text and this is the first time Xie Lian has acknowledged these things aloud to us. the Xian Le trio relationship taking on all cadences and nuances over a thousand years, every friend/enemy/annoyance/worship/dislike permutation

oh no n I’m having Feelings about Mu Qing!!

feeeeeelings !!!!!! also the phrase “bones dissolving into air” v cool

Ruoye, who before had been able to stretch exactly as long as needed.... still stretches exactly as long as needed to CREATE DRAMATIC TENSION Lololol

I really thought there’d be more sex in this book. Like........any sex

Inner sailor scouts here 600% mu qing & feng xin as mars & venus

soft <3<3<3 melting

HEART IN THROAT

HUA CHENG MISSING???? IN DANGER???? INJURED????

Xie Lian holding his breath so he won’t have to hear how close he is to crying oh my god my tiny heart cant take it

Mu Qing & Feng Xin commenting offhand about how much xie lian loves hua cheng makes me explode into silver butterflies

ANIME FIGHT ANIME FIGHT WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ANIME FIGHT!!!

Hua Cheng, the only one who could’ve been a god & chose to be a ghost king. What a hipster. Heaven is too mainstream, too country club for Our Goth King

Literally they got the final boss down to 50% health and it changed forms & restored its HP

well OKAY FINE EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO PICK MY HEART OUT OF THE SHREDDER

"The one basking in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matter is 'you', and not the state of you. No matter what's happened in the past, I will never leave you. You can tell me anything." .... "You told me this yourself."

A LOT OF WORK DONE BY THESE TWO SENTENCES HERE!!!!

IVE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED FOR A CHAPTER TITLE

my BABY my CHILD my FAVORITE WEAPON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RUOYE!!!!!!!!!

This is the best anime series finale I’ve ever seen

BIG tw cw for abusive dad jun wu

.......continued next time on tgcf liveread part 12

#tgcf #tgcf liveread #The one basking in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matter is 'you' and not the state of you.

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i-am-brandon · 1 year ago

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my life story chapter 9

That goth girl who thought I was a stalker showed me her boobs on the internet and never wanted to talk to me again. Let’s talk about other negative stuff in my life, I used to work at a pizza place, it was called lamppost pizza, there at lamppost pizza I was a bus boy, it’s not driving a bus I know that now, I don’t know if that’s a good joke, I don’t drive, lets see 1 of the customers didn’t like me, why you might ask, 1 day I wanted to watch a tv at work, what did you watch Brandon, I watched the movie idle hands, what’s that, it’s a scary movie, o yeah who’s in it Jessica alba, I liked her in that movie, 1 customer however did not she said to me I don’t know if this is the exact thing she said to me change it this movie is inappropriate, I didn’t want to change it but I did, which bummed me out because I like inappropriate stuff, people at work liked certain music, o yeah like what, Tom petty, yeah we all liked listening to that at work, is something negative gonna happen next Brandon, yes, o really like what, everybody got fired, o really for what, it wasn’t anything they did, nope, it got replaced by another pizza place called Selma’s pizza it was s deep dish pizza place, so I got fired everybody lost there job because of Selma’s pizza, I tried to get a job there they said to me do you have a degree in what cooking pizza I don’t know but no I didn’t I don’t know if I was even a college age so I didn’t get that job, remember blockbuster if not it was a place where you could rent movies and video games, I tried to get a job there, I didn’t get that job and blockbuster doesn’t have stores anymore maybe I don’t know where, I don’t remember what video rental store I went to 1 random day, and I remember seeing beetlejuice, and I thought what is that, I didn’t know what to think of the character, than they had the resident evil character Jill Valentine in the store and I thought I like her and i probably stared at Jill valentine she was made out of cardboard but also don’t stare at girls, back the girls would say to me he’s just a pervert, I don’t want to be just a pervert, that’s not all I think about, I’ve been talking about video games I think about that too, I could think about food, movies, music, who knows go many different thing’s. Than there was another video game store they went out of business and they also didn’t hire me. Target didn’t hire me. I used to work at the Amazon warehouse, they fired me for sexual harassment, what did I say to nun girl or I think it was a text message and I’ve learned you have to delete those text messages or it’s evidence, and don’t do that, I don’t remember what I texted her and I don’t know why I said that, but don’t do that, I don’t know how to talk to women, that might make me more loyal, I went to Utah 1 time to snowboard with Christians they shared the money for the bus trip there, my brother Ryan also wanted to go snowboarding, on the bus people watched Seinfeld the show seemed ok, people might of played Texas hold ‘em, I also met a drummer on the bus that person seemed ok and I don’t remember what they said to me, I might of played a dice game that basically you try to not roll a 7 or an 11 maybe it was 2 dice so I kind of did that by myself, my brother said to me on this trip he said no one gives a fuck about what you think, i may or may not of thought that he was talking about himself and he didn’t like that he couldn’t become a football player i think he wanted to make money playing football and he didn’t get to do that that might be why he said that to me I think I had no reaction to it, I wonder if I thought why did he say that, my brother Ryan is 1 of the most selfish people you will ever meet, also my brother Ryan used to do drugs and alcohol, it took him a really long time to quit that stuff, and then he got really religious, my brother Ryan wanted to go camping 1 time with my brother Travis who doesn’t like camping, I may or may not like camping it seems boring, my brothers didn’t like that camping areas don’t usually have Wi-Fi, that may or may not be negative.

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angst-and-fajitas · 2 years ago

Note

If I may add on just a little, I find this is the point where it really helps to have a strong grasp on your characters currently at play, just really get into their head, in order to figure out what sort of stuff they would do to lead in to the next big scenes as naturally as possible.

An example of some things to think about and keep in mind that will help you here are:

What are your character's current motivations? Is there anything they really want to do or really don't want to do? What steps would they take towards achieving what they want?

How does your character feel about the situation they're currently in? What sort of stuff do they do when they're feeling that way?

Do they have hobbies? Interests? Curiosities? How can those weave into the plot?

Who's in their social circle? Who would they reach out to to spend time with or not? If they have someone they want to spend time with, how do those two usually spend their time together? What do others think of the character, and how do they treat them?

What needs and demands does the setting put on them? Does a character need to stay hidden from others in the scene? Does food need to be gathered or a camp set up? Chores done? Does a character have to go to school or do homework? walk a dog? File a report? Acquire some money? Look for shelter? Think about the logistics of the setting and the current situation.

These help a lot when trying to think of stuff to do to fit in the spaces between large and medium plot points!

Let's try an example. I'm gonna make up a random character and plot off the top of my head, and use this to fill in a scene.

So let's pick a *spins wheel* fantasy story where a character named *rolls dice* Liannen has been *throws dart* kidnapped by a society of magicians because she has the power to use magic. They've kidnapped her from her home and taken her to their stronghold—that's our big plot point. And the next medium plot point that we need to get to is to have her be brought before the head honcho of the magicians. But what do we do until then? Currently, she's just sitting in a room, avoiding the acolytes who keep trying to talk to her from outside. I don't want her to just wait there for the whole chapter.

But, her motivations! I have decided that, not only does she really not want to be here, but she really wants to go home. I want her to be reckless and a little dumb, so I'm gonna have her try to escape, but not too dumb, so she's going to do it an night once they think she's sleeping. Then, the setting demands that she has to sneak around the place in order to not get caught. I have to invent terrain and obstacles for her to move through and hide behind. Because I need her not to escape for the plot, she doesn't find any exits. But what if she found something else? Something that would distract her long enough to get caught? Her interests—maybe she was a weaver back home. What if she finds a room full of historical tapestries? I could also use those to weave in some future lore. And then here can be where she gets cornered and caught, and then gets taken to see the head magician. Scene!

Anyways, that's just an example. I think the thing to keep in mind about filling in a scene between two plot points is that you need to treat it like a smaller, more compact plot of its own. It'll have little ups and downs of tension and mood, small obstacles and conflicts, and small victories and losses. You weave these in to the greater wholes of the plot and the characters, and you've got yourself a story!

I am blocked. I know the entire story line for each pov and medium and big events and how I will mix them. But I have problem in what order to put the small events that fill a chapter. I am good at plotting the big stuff, but not the small one, like those little scenes that creat an entire chapter. Can you give some advise on this? Like I have this random scene in my mind, and than I am like, 'so, what next, where does it fits even? And what event should follow after?'

Guide: Filling in the Story Between Known Events

It’s actually good that you know the entire story, including the medium and big events. That’s going to make figuring everything else out a little bit easier.

What usually helps me in a situation like this is to get a bird’s eye view of my story. You can do that a few different ways, but ultimately you’re looking to create a visual representation of your story timeline on a piece of paper, or a digital version if you prefer. You may want to do a mind map or other schematic, for example, or you can just do a basic visual timeline, which is what I generally do.

For a basic visual timeline, just draw out a horizontal line in the middle of your page to represent your story’s timeline from beginning to end. Now, plot all of the known events in order, from beginning to end. You don’t have to make this an actual timeline, as in putting in the dates and all of that. This is just a visual aid to help you see what your story looks like. Use a short label for each scene so that you’ll read it and immediately know what happens in that scene.

At this point, you need to figure out what else has to happen in your story. What I like to do here is to draw a peaked line between every two known events, then consider what needs to happen to get from the one event to the next event. So, let’s say the event on the left is your protagonist practicing the big finale song with their choir, and the event on the right (later in the story) is the scene where they arrive at the dance competition in Washington D.C. What needs to happen between those two events? Do they need to do a fundraiser to get money for the trip? Do they need to win a regional competition before they make it to the national finals? Does there need to be a dramatic moment where it looks like their star soloist might not be able to go? Should there be a scene that takes place during flight or road trip to actually get to D.C.? These are all potential scenes that could go between those two events. Now, do the same thing for the next two events, which would be the arrival at the dance competition and making it through the quarter-finals.

By the time you get to the end of your last known scene/event, you should have a pretty good list of potential scenes to fill in the space between the bigger known scenes. :)

Good luck!

#sorry for being long-winded LOL I've just had to spend a lot of time figuring out how to do this myself #so i figured it was worth sharing #writing advice #emma writes #save

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caitimetravels · 3 years ago

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she’s insignificant

chapter 3: the dangers inside

the umbrella academy x reader

disclaimer: i do not own the plot/storyline of the netflix tv series and i do not own the umbrella academy characters.

warnings: swearing, mentions of death

masterlist

y/n stared at the blue energy in the courtyard before deciding to join her siblings as they rushed to see what it was. as she ran down the stairs she caught sight of klaus holding a fire extinguisher.

"what are you doing?" she caught up with him.

"something" he shrugged, bursting out the door first. "out of the way!"

"thats not going to- klaus what the hell?" y/n went to stop him only to watch as he tried to extinguish the mass of energy. she shook her head in disbelief, stepping beside vanya.

klaus chucked the extinguisher when he realised it wouldn't work.

"what is that gonna do?" allison shouted over the loud noise. klaus threw his hands up.

"i don't know. do you have a better idea?" he stepped back in surprise as another flash came from the portal. luther pulled klaus back.

"everyone get behind me!" and in true sibling rivalry diego nodded, shielding vanya and y/n.

"yeah, get behind us!"

they watched, brows furrowing at the familiar figure that dropped to the ground. as they stepped closer the vortex disappeared.

"is that-?" y/n looked up at vanya, peeking around diego to see.

there, in a too large sized suit, stood their missing brother. he pushed himself to his feet taking in their appearance.

"does anyone else see little number five is that just me?" klaus questioned as they walked closer. the said boy stared down at himself in confusion before looking back at them.

"shit" he cursed.

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

they all moved back into the kitchen, letting five do as he pleased while he explained what he needed to.

he placed a chopping board and knife on the table while the others stood at the other end. y/n stood off to the corner, not entirely comfortable with them after being accused of murder. "what's the date? the exact date"

five walked around, grabbing bread to make himself a sandwich. vanya answered, "the 24th"

"of what?" five pushed walking back over.

"march"

"good" he pulled out two pieces of bread, laying them on the chopping board.

"so, are we going to talk about what just happened?" luther raised an eyebrow, expectantly but five stayed silent. "its been 17 years!" luther stood, frustrated but five wasn't taking any of his bullshit.

"it's been a lot longer than that" the shorter boy walked towards him before blinking behind him to grab the marshmallows. luther sighed,

"i haven't missed that"

"where'd you go?" diego piped up, unfazed.

"the future" five sighed, "and it's shit by the way" he opened up the bag of marshmallows.

"called it!" klaus raised his finger.

"do you want one?" five looked up at y/n, referring to the sandwich, a soft gleam in his eyes. the others shared a look, of course he had only missed her. she gently shook her head with a small smile. "i should have listened to the old man" five walked to the fridge, pulling out a jar. "he knew. travelling through space is one thing, travelling through time is a toss of the dice"

he paused as he opened the peanut butter, looking up at them again before noticing klaus' attire. "nice dress"

"oh, danke" klaus twirled loose material around. allison rolled her eyes.

"how did you get back?"

"in the end i had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time" he continued making his sandwich like he hadn't just shocked them.

"that makes no sense" diego scoffed,

"well, it would if you were smarter" five shrugged, ignoring the way diego stood up to fight him. luther held him back.

"did you put a decimal point in the wrong spot?" y/n asked, surprising the others. she crossed her arms, thinking "it was probably a miscalculation in your proof of the existence of a bound for the number of limit cycles of planar polynomial vector fields of fixed degree."

five paused, thinking it over before realising she was right. "it should have been 0.57" he mumbled.

"how long were you there?" luther changed the subject, obviously confused.

"45 years" five went back to his sandwich making. "give or take"

everyone sat back down in shock.

"so what are you saying? that you're 58?!" luther narrowed his eyes in disbelief. there was no way.

"no" five looked up, speaking through gritted teeth. "my consciousness is 58. apparently my body is now 16 again"

"how does that even work?" vanya croaked out, still shocked at the situation.

"delores kept saying the equations were off" five shrugged, stepping away and looking off into the distance as he took a bite of his sandwich. "bet she's laughing now"

"delores?" vanya asked. y/n froze, he had kept her? at the girl's movement, or lack thereof, allison looked over at her, raising her eyebrows.

y/n shook her head, waving it off.

five picked up the newspaper on the table, staring at the picture of their father.

"hm.. guess i missed the funeral"

"how'd you know about that?" luther questioned, defensive.

"what part of the future do you not understand?" five narrowed his eyes, slightly amused by his brothers incompetence. "heart failure, huh?"

"yeah-" diego started only to be cut off by luther.

"no" there was silence for a moment before a kitchen knife stabbed into the table beside luther's hand.

"if i had murderous intent, luther, you'd be the first on my list" y/n scoffed, walking out.

they all stared after her in shock.

"nice to see nothing's changed" five sighed before following her out.

"thats it?" allison asked, turning towards him as he walked. "thats all you have to say?"

"what else is there to say? circle of life" he called back.

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

vanya walked up to five in the parlour where he stood staring at his painting.

"nice to know dad didn't forget me" five turned to her, "read your book by the way.. found it in the library that was still standing"

he started to walk around, noticing y/n sitting on the balcony above. she had her legs dangling through the bars, calmly reading a book. he turned back to vanya.

"thought it was pretty good, all things considered" he stared her down, "definitely ballsy, giving up the family secrets. sure that went over well"

"they hate me" vanya frowned,

"well there are worse things that can happen" five was obviously trying to cheer her up, in his own way.

"you mean like what happened to ben?" there was a pause, both thinking it over.

"was it bad?" five asked softly, he knew y/n was still listening. he heard the faint sound of a book shutting. he looked away as vanya nodded.

"y/n had a hard time dealing with it.. the worst of all of us. dad forbid her from going on missions after her reaction.."

"her reaction?" five turned back, eyebrows furrowing, this wasn't in vanya's book.

"she nearly tore our souls out.. she was devastated and couldn't control her emotions. dad said it helped her though, something about a new ability. he trained her alone from then, forcing her to find you" vanya shrugged, sighing, going silent.

"find me?" five pushed, "what do you mean find me?"

"she said she did.. did she not?" vanya looked surprised now.

"no, no she did.. just didn't stay long is all" five shook his head, frowning.

"yeah well, they stopped trying when she lied to dad"

"she lied?" five looked back up at where she was previously sitting but now she was gone, the only thing left behind was her book and a wisp of smoke.

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

"ben.. i'm- i'm scared" eight sat cross legged in front of his statue. "my powers are getting stronger and i'm scared to hurt the others. i wish you were still here" she refused to cry no matter how much she wanted to. she couldn't let the same thing happen.

"i'm scared ben. what if i can't control it? what if hurt somebody? you're not here to help me and i-.. it hurts sometimes. dad doesn't understand, he never did but it hurts to suppress my emotions like he wants me to. we try so hard and he still never thinks we're enough.." she paused, pulling her knees up to her chest. "what if i am weak? what if he's right?"

unbeknownst to her ben's ghost sat beside her. "you're not weak" he shook his head, moving to look at her face. "you'll never be weak, you're so strong. please keep being strong for me" he pleaded with her as she continued to blame herself. he hated this. he hated not being there for her. he just wanted her to be okay.

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

y/n walked beside five, standing under his umbrella with him. they didn't speak as they walked back out into the courtyard. the siblings all stood in line with luther in front of them, carrying their dad's ashes.

"did something happen?" grace looked at them all, smiling despite the occasion. they all looked up at her.

"dad died.." allison answered, confused. "remember?"

"oh, yes of course" grace nodded, expression turning more somber.

"is mom okay?" allison asked, now worried about how grace was acting.

"yeah, yeah she's fine" diego quickly defended, "she just needs to rest, you know, recharge" allison looked incredulous but dropped it nonetheless.

pogo stepped forwards, looking up at luther. "whenever you're ready, dear boy"

luther breathed out, opening the lid and dropping the ashes in a pitiful pile. they all frowned.

"probably would have been better with some wind" luther griped,

"does anyone wish to speak?" pogo ignored it, looking at the rest of them. everyone stayed silent, looking away. "very well.. in all regards, sir reginald hargreeves made me what i am today, for that alone i shall forever be in his debt. he was my master and my friend and i shall miss him very much.." he paused, "he leaves behind a complicated legacy-"

"he was a monster" diego cut off, still staring down at the ashes. klaus laughed. "he was bad person and a worse father. the world's better off without him-"

"diego" allison scolded, glaring at him in surprise.

"my name is number two. you know why?" he looked over at her. "because our father couldn't be bothered to give us actual names, he had mom do it"

"would anyone like something to eat?" grace asked, smiling again, unaware of what was happening.

"no, its okay mom" vanya denied, albeit confused.

"oh, okay"

"look, you wanna pay your respects" diego stepped out in front of them, "go head, but at least be honest about the kind of man he was" he looked at pogo now.

"you should stop talking now" luther warned, anger growing. diego glared at him for a moment before fully turning to face him.

"you know, you of all people should be on my side here, number one"

"i am warning you-" diego ignored him,

"after everything he did to you" y/n sighed, crossing her arms to her chest, fighting wasn't going to fix any of them. klaus and five shared a look. "he had to ship you a million miles away"

"diego stop talking-" luther tried again. diego was definitely hitting a nerve. he jabbed a finger into luther's chest.

"that's how much he couldn't stand the sight of you!" luther grabbed his arm and swung at his head. diego ducked. they begun fighting while everyone else backed away.

"boys! stop this at once!" pogo attempted to stop them, moving back despite this.

klaus held an arm out to shield five and y/n. the former slapped it away. they continued to fight, diego egging him on and landing several punches. klaus began to chant while vanya yelled at them to stop.

"klaus" y/n warned, gaining both his and five's attention. her eyes were turning black, she was struggling.

"y/n? are you okay?" five hadn't been there, he didn't know what she would do if she lost control. pogo walked away, not wanting to stay. klaus nervously watched y/n while the others watched luther and diego fight.

"i don't have time for this" five sighed, beginning to walk away, leaving y/n with klaus under his small pink umbrella.

that was when it happened. y/n froze as they knocked ben's statue.

"aw" klaus complained while allison glared at them.

"and there goes ben's statue"

"klaus?" y/n's voice scared them all. she sounded weak. she gripped his jacket, tightly. "klaus"

"what's wrong?" he looked down at her, watching as she fought her emotions. her eyes were turning black but she kept fighting it.

diego pulled out his knife and vanya's shouting at him to stop made it harder for y/n to calm herself. he threw it at luther, cutting his arm.

"klaus" she called again and he held her arm unsure of what to do. "i-i can't.. i can't-" she let out a pained whine as her eyes darkened, she was letting go. suddenly diego and luther let out shouts of pain.

"what's going on?!" allison watched them, confused and distraught. vanya quickly left their mother's side, pulling y/n into her.

"its okay, you're okay" vanya whispered to her, trying to calm her. "it can be fixed, you're okay, just relax. try to relax" listening to vanya's heartbeat she slowly calmed down, the blackness of her eyes seeping away and diego and luther straightened, no longer in pain.

y/n stared at them in shock and guilt before shaking her head and running inside. she locked herself in her room again. she was truly a demon.

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

one by one the siblings left, y/n watched sadly as they all abandoned her again. she was always left alone, the family problems only got bigger when they got together. she sighed, maybe she was better off alone.

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

y/n looked up from her book as she heard frantic footsteps around the mansion. peeking out her door she noticed vanya slowing down in front of five's room.

"oh thank god" she disappeared through his doorway but y/n could still hear her voice. "i was worried sick about you"

five had talked to vanya? why hadn't he come to her?

"sorry i left without saying goodbye" five's voice answered softly. what had he been doing? y/n quietly left her room to hear better. she wanted to be apart of her brother's plans too. she didn't want to be left out anymore.

"no, i'm the one that should be sorry. i was dismissive and i guess i didn't know how to process what you were saying.." vanya paused, "i still can't to be honest"

"maybe you were right to be dismissive" five huffed, that didn't sound like him at all? what was he really doing? "maybe it wasn't real after all.. it felt real. but well, like you said the old man did say time travel could contaminate the mind"

well vanya referred him to a therapist y/n tried to sense the room. something else was going on. carefully using her power she felt another person.. klaus. when vanya walked out y/n quickly turned to smoke, gliding along the floor, past five who watched vanya leave. klaus pulled himself out of the closet.

"that's so touching, all that stuff about family and dad and time"

"will you shut up? she'll hear you" five warned him, walking back over.

"you're lying to vanya?" y/n appeared next to klaus, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"it's nothing you should worry about" five dismissed before looking klaus over again. "i thought i told you to put on something professional"

"what? this my nicest outfit" klaus gestured to it. y/n snorted when five scoffed.

"we'll raid the old man's closet"

"whatever, as long as i get paid" klaus shrugged, beginning to walk behind five.

"when the job is done" they stopped just above the stairs.

"so, where are we going?" she followed along, smiling innocently at five who raised an eyebrow at her.

"not we, just klaus and i" five shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"five" she frowned,

"y/n" he mocked.

"just let me come, please don't leave me in the dark. i just want to help you" she pleaded, she had missed him.

he thought it over before sighing, "fine" he turned to walk again but klaus stopped him.

"but just so we're clear on the finer details" he waved his hand around, talking over the plan. "i just got to go into this place and pretend to be your dear old dad, correct?"

"yeah, something like that" five agreed, exasperated.

"what's our cover story?" klaus continued, ignoring five's look of annoyance.

"what? what are you talking about?" five shared a confused look with y/n who shrugged.

"i mean was i young when i had you, like 16.. like young and terribly misguided" five agreed just to get him to stop but he didn't. "your mother, that slut, whoever she was, we met at.. the disco and you can be his sister"

"i am his sister?" y/n raised an eyebrow, but klaus only smiled, clicking his fingers.

"okay, remember that. oh my god the sex was amazing"

y/n scoffed, walking away first, five following. "what a disturbing glimpse into that thing you call a brain"

"don't make me put you in time out" klaus waved a finger at him.

as they walked out the door onto the street y/n paused.

"what's wrong, baby sis?" klaus asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "you're not backing out already?"

"no!" she quickly denied, looking up at him as she snapped out of her starstruck daze. "it's just.. i haven't left the house in 16 years.."

klaus and five shared a sorrowful look. what had happened to her?

tags: @rxses-and-reverie

#tua #the umbrella academy #tua x reader #the umbrella academy x reader #tua x sibling reader #the umbrella academy x sibling reader #five hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #allison hargreeves #diego hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #luther hargreeves #five hargreeves x reader #klaus hargreeves x reader #allison hargreeves x reader #diego hargreeves x reader #vanya hargreeves x reader #luther hargreeves x reader

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athena-writes-i-guess · 2 years ago

Text

Mixtape - Part 4 - Life Could be a Dream

Series Summary: You’ve just moved from Los Angeles to Hawkins to finish your senior year and you meet Eddie Munson, who offers to help you find a place in your new school.

Chapter Summary: Eddie decides that he is going to ask you on a date finally but his plans get derailed by a visitor from back home.

Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3

Masterlist

Pairing: Eddie Munson X Fem!Reader

Genre: Fluff, slow burn, very slight angst, friends to lovers

Warnings: Language, anxious thoughts, insecurities, pet names used(Sweetheart, doll, dolly, princess, darling, babe)

Word Count: 4.8K

Author’s Note: Hello! Welcome to the true part 4! I posted the other one, Mistletoe, in a panic when I had no ideas for how to get the story to the next point. But I wrote this instead and this will be the true next part to this story. I left the old one up but relabeled it as a one shot.

There will be one more part before I incorporate the reader into S4!

I hope you all like this chapter, I loved writing it.

Let me know if you want to be tagged in the next one!

Let me know what you think! and if you would like to request a one-shot.

(Please see Author’s note)

Friday December 27, 1985

“It’s your roll Lady Echo,” Eddie said with a smug smirk from his spot at the head of the table.

“We’re counting on you Y/N.” Dustin said from his seat next to you, arms crossed anxiously.

“Oh no pressure there Dusty.” You shot back sarcastically.

“Sorry.” He mumbled.

You took a deep breath and shook the D20 in your hands before letting it drop to the table. It bounced around the game map dramatically before landing on its side. “19 plus 8. 27 to hit!” You said excitedly, receiving cheers from around the table.

“And how much damage?” Eddie asked with a proud grin.

“16 points of damage!” You practically yelled after dropping your dice. “In your fucking face Munson!”

The man laughed as the table erupted again, your friends yelling excitedly and high-fiving at the victory. “Good job, Lady Echo! You have defeated Strahd and you and your party become heroes of Barovia!”

The trailer was loud with the sounds of the animated Hellfire members, each congratulating you and each other for the parts they played in the campaign as they helped clean up.

“Good game Eddie! Good job saving the day Y/N.” Gareth said as he and Jeff were headed out of the door.

“Thank you!” You smiled as you were throwing some Mountain Dew cans away. “See you around!”

You walked up to Eddie who, with Dustin’s help, was breaking apart the folding table you had been using to play on, “I’m gonna use the bathroom and then we can head out?”

“Okay, sweetheart.” He replied with a soft smile. You returned it before making your way to the back of the trailer and into the bathroom.

“So, you’re going to ask her tonight?” Dustin asked quietly once the bathroom door closed.

“Yeah. After we’re done, you nerds are going to go wait in the van and I’m gonna ask her.” The metalhead said confidently. He had finally decided to ask you on a date where he was going to tell you exactly how he feels.

“What were you going to do on the date?” The freshman inquired as he helped Eddie put the table away.

“Go to the arcade, get food at the diner, see that new Clue movie, then rent a movie to watch back at one of our houses.” He responded.

“But don’t you guys normally do that?” Mike asked, confused, as he walked up with Lucas.

“Yeah but that’s cause she likes those things!” Eddie replied, “Now you dorks go wait in the van.” He said quickly, practically pushing the younger kids out of the trailer. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans as he waited for you to come out of the bathroom. You came out a moment later and Eddie had to stop himself from biting his lip as he watched you walk down the hallway, now that you were alone for the first time since that morning. You were wearing your cropped long-sleeve Hellfire shirt and your new belly button piercing was peaking out from the top of your black jeans as your hips swayed. He had taken you to get it just last week so he was still getting used to seeing it.

“You send the kids out to the van?” You asked as you shrugged on your new sherpa lined jacket.

“Yeah, told them to wait out there.” He smiled as you put on the new jean vest he had made for you for Christmas over your jacket.

“It’s cold out there, Eds!” You lightly scolded as you walked up to him, slinging your bag on your shoulder as you did.

“It’s cold to you, dolly. We’re used to this weather and it’s not that cold, Miss California.” He teased.

“Not that cold.” You grumbled, “It snowed the other day Eddie!”

“Thats normal, you big baby.” He said, taking the beanie you had taken out from your hands and pulling it over your colorful hair. He chuckled when you stuck your tongue out at him. He took both of your hands in his, lacing your fingers together. His rings were cold against your skin. “Hey doll, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me tomorrow? I was thinking we go to the arcade, then go to the diner, see that Clue movie you’ve been talking about, then rent a movie and come back here?” He asked quickly, trying to sound as casual as he could.

“That sounds great Eddie!” You beamed, “Oh I can’t wait to see the movie! Tim Curray is in it!” You said excitedly, bouncing on the balls of your feet. “Remember him from the Rocky Horror Picture Show?” Bringing up the trip you and Eddie had taken to Indianapolis the other week to see the shadowcast* perform.

“How could I forget? You said that next time we go you were gonna make me dress like Meatloaf does in the movie!” The metalhead exclaimed.

“His name is Eddie! You have to! And I’ll dress like Columbia, I’ll be your groupie!” You laughed as Eddie leaned in to press a kiss to your cheek.

“Aren’t you already my groupie?” He joked against your cheek.

“You wish, Munson!” You scoffed, pushing the man from you lightly as you turned to walk out the trailer.

“Oh but I would love to see you in that little party outfit, princess, with that gold top hat and those shorts!” He said following you out of the building.

“You dress like Meatloaf and you just might, Eds.” You smirked at him from across the van.

“Fiiiiine.” He sighed as you both jumped in.

“Dusty! I brought my Weird Al tape!” You said happily as you shoved the tape in the player.

“Sweet!” You heard from the back of the van as Eddie groaned next to you.

“Not again! You played Eat It on repeat last time!” He laughed as he made his way to the first stop. Feeling light as air becauae the girl of his dreams agreed to go on a date with him.

“Eat iiit, just eat it! Get yourself an egg and beat it!” You sang loudly as you and Eddie walked up to your front door hand in hand.

“Are you going to be singing that all night, doll?” The man teased as you opened the door.

“I just might Eddie!” You shot back with a smile.

“Hey you two!” Your dad said coming out of the living room. “We have a surprise for you pumpkin!”

“Hey babe.” You heard from the doorway to the kitchen. Both yours and Eddie’s head shot to the sound. Standing there was a man, he had firetruck red hair, a lip piercing, and was wearing a Doors shirt.

“Holy shit! Ryan?!” You shouted, dropping Eddie’s hand as you ran up to the man and jumped into his arms. He spun you around as both of your laughter filled the room.

“Hey beautiful! Oh I missed you so much!“ Ryan said as he squeezed you tightly to him.

Eddie was still standing by the front door, locked into his position as he watched you and this seemingly unknown man hug. The guy looked familiar but all Eddie could focus on was how bright your smile was. He felt a pang in his chest seeing you look like that because of someone else.

“I missed you too! How is everyone?” You asked quickly as you pulled back to look at your friend.

“We’re good, everyone is good. We all miss our bassist though.” The redhead said with a soft smile.

“Oh Eddie!” You called, turning your attention over to the man by the door. “Come here!” You beckoned him over.

Eddie walked up, trying not to show how nervous and surprised he felt. Oh and jealous, he was really trying to push that one down. He stood somewhat awkwardly next to you as you smiled up at him.

“Eddie, this is one of my best friends from back home, Ryan. Ryan, this is Eddie!” You introduced, excited to have two of your best friends meet.

“I’ve heard so much about you, man. Nice to finally meet you!” Ryan said with a friendly smile, extending his hand for Eddie to take.

“Yeah me too. Y/N talks about you guys a lot.” Eddie said with a small, forced, smile as he shook the man’s hand.

“What are you doing out here?” You asked happily.

“Well we all wanted to come out for Christmas, but I was the only one who had enough money for the plane ticket.” He laughed, ”Sorry it’s a little late, mom didn’t want me to miss actual Christmas. But I worked it out with pops. I’ll be here for a few days, Ducky.” He said, nodding his head towards your dad who was watching you all with a big smile.

“Ducky?” Eddie asked, confused. He noticed the shy look you got.

“Just a little nickname I had.” You said trying to waive it off.

“I’ve been calling her Ducky since the first grade, she didn’t have friends when we started school and she followed me around like a baby duck. So, Ducky.” Ryan explained with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Well, I can’t wait to show you around! It’s no L.A. but it’s really cute!” You said excitedly trying to quickly change the subject, “Mind if Ryan joins us to hang out tomorrow Eddie?” You asked the metalhead with a sweet smile.

“Oh.”

You thought he just wanted to hang out like usual. Eddie felt so stupid suddenly. You didn’t think about him like that, you didn’t even know he asked you out.

“Yeah, of course.” He said, trying to sound casual.

“Great! We’re going to the arcade and the diner, then we were going to go see the new Clue movie!” You said quickly.

“That sounds awesome, I can’t wait to see the Pinball Wizard in her element again.” Ryan replied, causing you to roll your eyes at the title.

“Well, we were about to watch Empire Strikes Back. Let’s go do that while you tell me everything I missed.” You said as you grabbed both mens hands and started to pull them towards your room. “Eddie, Ryan and I saw this movie 5 times in theaters, we know it practically word for word.” You laughed.

Eddie didn’t budge as you pulled lightly on his arm, “Hey, I’ll let you two catch up tonight okay? We’ll be together all day tomorrow.” The metalhead said as casually as he could, adding what he hoped was a sincere smile.

He noticed your expression drop just a fraction at his words. “Oh okay! Thank you for taking me home. I’ll see you tomorrow!” You chirped with that sweet smile Eddie loved so much.

“I’ll be here at 3. It was nice meeting you.” He said the last statement to Ryan.

“Yeah you too, see you tomorrow.” The redhead smiled back.

You dropped Ryan’s hand as you leaned up to leave your usual goodbye kiss on Eddie’s cheek. “MUAH!” You giggled to yourself when you saw the automatic grin that appeared on the brunette's face. “Get home safe.”

“Will do, dolly.” He said back, squeezing your hand before letting it go and heading out the door. Missing the amused look that appeared on Ryan’s face as he watched you two with raised eyebrows.

Eddie sighed deeply as he sat in his drivers seat, slamming his skull on the head rest as he did. “Fuck.” He felt so ridiculous and dumb, thinking you had actually said yes to a date with him. Why would you even look at him like that when you had someone like Ryan waiting back ‘home’, as you called it. He thought this was your home now, that he had helped make this your home. With him. He let out another sigh as he started the van, driving back to the trailer park as your Weird Al mixtape played quietly through his speakers.

“So that was the Eddie we’ve all been hearing about.” Ryan said as the opening music started on the movie. You were both seated against your headboard, hands joined as the text scrolled across the screen.

“Yeah that’s Eddie.” You replied with a bright smile.

“I will say, he’s cuter than I thought he would be. That picture you sent did him no justice at all.” Your friend said quietly, just so only you could hear him over the music.

“Oh I know, it’s so hard to get a good picture of him. He never wants to stay still.” You giggled.

“You two seem…close.” He decided on with a smirk.

“Just as close as you and I are Ry.” You responded with a squeeze of your hand.

“Right, right. Close like us. You know I don’t recall ever getting those love-sick eyes you send him. Or that dreamy smile.” He teased. “Unless your feelings for me have changed while you’ve been gone, babe.”

“Oh, you wish!” You said, shoving your shoulder into his as he laughed.

“It certainly would be easier if we could, wouldn’t it?” He sighed, leaning his head on your shoulder.

“Yeah, it definitely would.” You rested your head on his. “But hey, you know that I love you the way you are right? I wouldn’t want what we have to change at all.” You squeezed his hand.

“I know, Ducky. You have no idea what that means to me. I love you too, all of you.” Ryan said, returning the squeeze.

“Good, because you know we think you’re perfect. Exactly. As. You. Are.” You punctuated your words with kisses to his head causing him to chuckle. He nodded against your shoulder.

“Speaking of love, how is Alex?” You asked quietly.

“He’s good. He wanted me to say hi and that he’s been working on his pinball skills. You still have the high score at the arcade though. No one can get close. But he misses you and he can’t wait to see you this summer.” He whispered back. You both knew your parents would have no problem with Ryan’s sexuality but he still wasn’t ready to tell them, so you chose to keep your voices down. “You are coming for a visit, right? After graduation?”

“I am. I still have to talk to Eddie about it though, ask him if he wants to do the trip with me. I don’t want to drive all the way to California by myself. And I want to show him L.A. so bad. I know he’d love it there.” You said, biting your lip at the thought. “My dad got us all tickets to the Megadeth show on June 28th so I really hope he’ll say yes.”

“No shit? Pops got the tickets?” He asked, lifting his head to smile at you.

“Yeah, he still has connections in the music scene out there, was able to get us 8 tickets.” You smiled back, “I can’t wait for the show, gonna get a patch for my vest.”

“Yeah, speaking of the vest, I saw this.” The redhead said, tugging on a corner of your vest as he pulled back to look at you fully. “I love it, where did you get it?”

“Eddie made it for me for Christmas.” You flushed, not being able to keep your smile at bay.

“Oh, did he now?” Ryan asked with a knowing smirk. “I saw he added the Zeppelin shirt to the back, thats not your shirt right?”

“No, he said pops helped him find one.” You said as you absentmindedly ran your fingers along one of the bats Eddie had painted to the front right corner. “I think pops just gave him his old spare.” You said conspiratorially.

“What’s with the bats?” He gestured to your fingers.

“Oh Eddie added them, he has a tattoo that looks like this on his arm. He said he added it so I wouldn’t forget about him and so I can have him close.” Your smile grew even wider.

“Oh, I see. You know, it sounds to me like that man might be a little bit in love with you, babe.” Your friend suggested with a large grin.

“He just wants to be my friend Ry.” You sighed.

“Oh yeah, because that’s just how friends talk to each other.” He scoffed. “Y/N, I swear, I know we were only in the same room for a couple of minutes, but from what you’ve said in your letters and over the phone, and from what I can see with my own eyes, I think Eddie might have more…romantic feelings for you.”

“One of our friends said he’s had a crush on this really popular cheerleader at our school for years. Sometimes I think there might be something there between us, but then I catch him looking at her again. So I wouldn’t get your hopes up for us.” You chuckled sadly.

“Weren’t you like in love with Josh Philips from 6th grade until…hmmm let me remember,” He said with faux thoughtfulness.” wasn’t it until you met Eddie? Hmmm, seems like long held feelings for middle school crushes can change when you meet someone special.” He added almost sarcastically. You rolled your eyes with a small groan. “Just think about what I said okay, Ducky?”

You nodded with a small smile, “Now lets watch Han gut that Tuantuan.”

~The Next Day~

You walked through the doors of the arcade hand-in-hand with both Eddie and Ryan. “Where do you guys wanna start?” You asked.

“We should probably start with pinball, might as well get my ass handed to me sooner rather than later.” Ryan said with a chuckle.

“That okay, Eddie?” You asked, squeezing the hand you were holding. He had been quiet most of the ride around town as you showed Ryan Hawkins. You were a little nervous something was wrong.

“Yeah of course, doll.” He said, trying to sound light.

You led the men to the back corner where the pinball machines were located, you walked up to your favorite one, second to the left, the 1979 Star Trek cabinet.

“I see you already made your mark.” Ryan said, dropping your hand and looking up at a high score board that Kieth had put on the wall after he first saw you play, saying something about ‘needing to document such an amazing score’. Yours was higher than the next highest by over 100,000 points.

“Yeah I don’t think anyone is going to beat it.” You heard from behind you, you turned and saw Keith, hand deep into a cheeto bag.

“Hi Keith.” You said with a friendly smile.

“Hi Y/N,” He said with what he must have thought was a charming smirk, “You’re looking as hot as ever.”

You and Eddie both rolled your eyes, used to Keith at this point. Ryan however, couldn’t help the chuckle he let out causing the man to turn his attention to him.

“Who’s this Y/N? Your new boyfriend? Tired of Munson already?” Keith said with a condescending smile directed at the metalhead. You didn’t notice Eddie clench the fist of the hand that wasn’t holding yours.

“Not that it’s any of your business, Keith, but this is my friend Ryan from back home in California.” You said, rolling your eyes again. “Now go away.” You turned back to the cabinet as you heard the man scoff before walking away.

“I can’t believe you bewitched another one.” Ryan laughed as he watched you pull a quarter out of your jacket pocket. He turned to Eddie, who had his eyebrows furrowed slightly. “The dude who runs the arcade we go to, Johnny, is absolutely in love with Y/N. He asked for her number every single time we went for the last 2 years.”

“Johnny is a loser.” You smiled as you shoved the quarter into the machine, dropping Eddie’s hand you were still holding to free up yours to play. The music and lights in the machine came to life and you pulled back the plunger, shooting your first ball out onto the playfield. Just like every other time you play, you dulled out the world around you, only concentrating on your fingers hitting the buttons and the ball as it bounced around the machine. You barely even noticed as Ryan started to sing next to you as he watched, singing a song you hadn’t heard since you were back in your home arcade.

“I’m sure The Who would love your rendition of Pinball Wizard.” You teased once you had sunk your final ball, a respectable score appearing on display. You looked around and noticed that Eddie was nowhere around. “Where’d Eddie go?”

“He left a couple minutes ago, not sure.” Ryan said, looking around the room to help you find your friend. You walked down the rows of machines looking for the metalhead, you finally saw him in front of the DigDug machine, his back to you. You got within earshot as Dustin bounded up next to him.

“Hey Eddie!” The younger boy said, clapping a friendly hand onto his the brunettes shoulder. “How’s the date going?” You froze. “Date?”

“It’s not, Henderson.” Eddie said in a monotone. Pretending to concentrate solely on the game in front of him.

“What do you mean? I thought you asked her out for today? Wasn’t this part of the date you planned?” Dustin asked, confused.

“Yeah, well it was supposed to be but she didn’t know I had even asked her on a date. And her friend is in town so she asked for him to join us.” He said as he pounded on the buttons of the machine with a little more force than was probably needed. “See Henderson, an amazing girl like that isn’t gonna want to be with some trailer park loser like me from a hick place like Hawkins when she has a cool guy like him waiting for her back ‘home.’ Told you she would never see me that way.”

You were frozen as you processed Eddie’s words. He had asked you on a date? And he thought Ryan was ‘waiting for you back home’? You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Not only were you pretty much positive that Eddie Munson felt the same way about you, you were pretty sure he was also jealous. Something you never thought you would see on him. You felt a sharp jab in your side, and looked to see Ryan gesturing towards Eddie with his head, “Now or never, Ducky.” He mouthed.

“This was supposed to be a date?” You asked as you took a step towards your friends.

It was now Eddie’s turn to freeze, his hands stilling over the controls, his character dying as a result. “Oh, shit.”

“Eddie?” You asked after a moment of no response.

You saw his shoulders deflate slightly before he turned to face you. “Hey, doll. Uh- h-how much of that did you hear?” He got out with a weak smile.

“Uhm, all of it?” You said back, a shy smile on your face. You watched him rub his face with one of his hands before running it through his curls.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Please, just ignore what I said, okay?” He pleaded.

“D-do you have feelings for me Eddie?” You asked, fidgeting with the ring on your hand as you did. “Because..well- because Im crazy about you Eds.” You locked eyes with his large brown ones as they widened. “I don’t think you’re a trailer park loser. You’re one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.”

You watched as a wide smile broke out on the metalheads face as he closed the distance to you, wrapping his arms around you, pulling you into him. “Say it again please?” His face was just inches from yours.

“Im crazy about you Eddie Munson.” You said as you brought your hands up to cup his face.

“Me too, dolly. You’re all I think about.” He said, resting his forehead against yours. “Can I please kiss you?”

You nodded your head against his and then his lips were on yours quickly, like he was worried that if he didn’t kiss you right away you might change your mind. Your senses were suddenly overwhelmed completely by Eddie. The feel of his skin under your fingers as you moved them from his cheeks to around his neck, the smell of apples from his shampoo as his hair fell around your face as he leaned further into you, and the taste of cigarettes and mint as your lips molded against his.

You pulled away after a few moments, Eddie chasing your lips as you did, newly addicted to the feel of your plush ones against his and the taste of your strawberry chapstick.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know it was a date, Eds.” You said quietly as you pulled back to look at him.

“Don’t be, sweetheart.” He smiled back. “I should have been more clear.”

“You know, it’s not too late to make it one.” You heard from behind you, you both looked at Ryan who had a large smile on his face. He turned his attention to Dustin, “Hey kid, do you know how to get to Y/Ns house from here?” The freshman boy nodded his head, “Good, why don’t you show me how to get there and we’ll leave these two to start their date.” He started walking towards the exit with Dustin.

“Are you sure Ry?” You asked quickly.

“Positive, Ducky.” He beamed, “Have fun you two. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He finished with a wink as he walked out of the building introducing himself to Dustin.

You both turned your attentions back on each other, dopey, love-sick smiles on your faces.

“Sorry about him, he’s a little pushy sometimes.” You explained, “Just so you know, there’s nothing between Ryan and I, Eddie. He’s like my little brother, plus he’s got someone back in L.A., someone really great.”

“I know, I’m sorry I got jealous there.” Eddie said, biting his lip.

“Don’t be, I understand jealousy really well.” You chuckled slightly to yourself when Eddie cocked his head, “Mike told me that you like Chrissy, so I never thought I had a chance with you.”

Eddie let out a groan, “Jesus Christ, Wheeler. When did he tell you that?”

“My first campaign here.” You smirked, knowing he wouldn’t like that answer.

“We could have done this all the way back then but Wheelers big mouth got in the way?” He asked, groaning again when you nodded your head. “Well princess, we finally made it here. How about we start that date now?”

You beamed up at him with a nod as he pulled away and grabbed your hand, leading you back over to the DigDug machine he abandoned. “I know your not as good at this one but let me help you get better.”

You giggled as Eddie placed you in front of the machine and stood behind you, he put in a quarter and and then took your hands in his, moving them along the controls to help you play.

“I think I’m gonna have that song stuck in my head for days.” You laughed as you and Eddie walked through your front door hours later.

“Welcome back darling!” You both heard your grandma call from the living room. You led Eddie into the room to greet her.

“Hi grandma!” You said, kissing her on the cheek.

“Hi honey, hi Eddie.” She smiled happily to you both. “What song were you talking about Y/N?”

“Oh it was a song that was in the movie we saw today. It’s an older one. I think it was called Sh-Boom?” You said, turning to Eddie to confirm, receiving an unhelpful shrug.

“Oh I know that one! Eddie dear, go into that box and find The Chords album please and put it on the first track?” She asked happily. Eddie looked through the box for a few minutes before finding the record and putting it on the player.

The music started to play through the room as your grandmother smiled happily to the tune. “You two should dance, I love this song.”

“I don’t know if either of us know how grandma.” You said.

“Y/N, place your right hand in Eddie’s left and your other arm on his shoulder. Eddie, put your free arm around her waist and just let your feet move to the music.” She said kindly.

You did as she said, the three of you laughing as you and Eddie danced to the music.

“Every time I look at you

Something is on my mind

If you do what I want you to

Baby, we could be so fine

Oh, life could be a dream

Sh-boom, if I could take you to a paradise up above

Sh-boom, and tell me, darling, I'm the only one that you love

Life could be a dream, sweetheart, hello, hello again

Sh-boom and hopin' we'll meet again, boom”

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