#steve and joseph are her parents

[cannedchelsea]

steve plays his guitar and sings to knives until she falls asleep (CANON)

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

What if Steve saw Eddie's performance in the Upside Down?

Nancy made sure that Steve stayed with Dustin and Eddie while they were the distractions because she knew why Steve needed to stay even if he didn't. Meanwhile, Vickie would be going with her and Robin. It had been Vickie who tracked them down, looking for revenge for a cousin she never got to know. Thanks to Chrissy's mother, they never got to know each other. Luckily, Vickie had been open to listening and never once believed that Robin would harbor a murderer. So, the three young women marched off to kill Vecna while the three young men stayed behind.

"It's a big step for woman kind everywhere. They're going off to war while the men folk stay behind," Eddie said cheerfully, and Steve gave him a look while they set up the trailer. "What? I mean it. I'm totally down for being the one barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. Let the women be the badasses they always have been."

"Yeah. I wouldn't mind being Mr. Mom," Steve said. "I definitely love to cook. If I could find the right man or woman. . .I mean. . . Shit."

"You too, huh?" Eddie asked, his eyes twinkling. "Man, can I tell you something, and you promise not to laugh?"

"Yeah, of course," Steve said.

"I've always been a bit envious that women can grow an entire human inside of them. It's like fucking magic," Eddie said, pausing, and before he knew it, he was rambling. "I feel like we should be worshipping at their feet with all the shit they have to go through. I was young, but I remember when my mom was pregnant with my brother, and it was tough on her. It was a rough pregnancy, and my dad was a misogynistic piece of shit. The doctors didn't think they would make it. It was so bad. I was there in the delivery room after begging to be there. The look on her face. . .she was so determined to bring him into this world, and she did. She was a warrior. He died a few months later. My dad was supposed to be watching him. He left him on the changing table and stepped out. . .well, you can guess what happened. She never forgave him, and I didn't either. She died a year later, and her heart had given out. She tried man, really, she did."

Eddie sniffled as he worked on turning the trailer into a cage. Steve stared at him with big eyes, his heart hurting for him.

"I'm sorry, Eddie," Steve said softly.

"He was just starting to get his Munson curls. They were the cutest little things. I think that's why I've gotten attached to Dustin. He would have been Dustin's age right now, and sometimes I wonder if he would be anything like Dustin is now. I try not to compare him to a ghost, but it's hard," Eddie said. "I definitely think of him like a brother, though."

A loud sob came from his left, and before he knew it, Dustin was throwing himself into Eddie's arms. Steve let them have their moment as he finished up, smiling softly as a deep wave of affection hit his chest. Once they broke the hug, they got the amps hooked up on the roof, and then they climbed up with Eddie's guitar. Steve watched as he flipped the guitar around, a look of glee on his face. He ripped his necklace off, his face serious.

"Chrissy, this is for you," Eddie said.

Then he was playing, and Steve watched in amazement. If anything was magic, it was him. Steve’s mouth was open as he watched his fingers move across the guitar and the way he focused. . .the way he put everything into it, he was beautiful. The lightning flashed in the background, enveloped him like it was a radiant light and not shitty weather from another dimension. It was like Eddie owned this world, like he was their God. He threw his head back and exposed his throat, his hair cascading backward. Steve was watching threw heavy eyelids now, and his heart was pounding nearly as loudly as the music. Steve knew he was gaping like an idiot now. Eddie glanced briefly at him and winked. Steve closed his mouth, blushing. Suddenly, he felt like maybe he should throw his underwear at him. Weird. He felt an elbow dig into his side, and he looked over to find Dustin wiggling his eyebrows at him. Steve rolled his eyes.

"You know if he married you, he really would be my brother," Dustin whispered.

"That's illegal," Steve scoffed.

"So, is us harboring a fugitive," Dustin scowled at him. "Why would that stop you both?"

"And your mom never officially adopted me," Steve said rolling his eyes.

"Yet. She's still arguing about it with Sue," Dustin said. "I keep telling them they can both adopt you."

"Sue wants to adopt me, too?" Steve asked.

"Oh, yeah, it's a thing," Dustin said.

"Technically, I'm an adult," Steve said.

"You can adopt adults, Steve."

The bats started coming. They climbed down and rushed into the trailer. Eddie pulled them into a hug, jumping up and down.

"That was ho - awesome!" Steve said, catching himself.

"What's hoawesome?" Dustin asked.

"Yes, Stevie, what is hoawesome?" Eddie asked, crossing his arms.

Suddenly, the bats started trying to get through the vents in the living room.

"Is this the only vent?!" Steve asked.

"My room!" Eddie yelled.

"Got it!" Steve yelled, grabbing his shield and running into Eddie's room.

Once they got the vents sealed, Eddie and Steve helped Dustin through the gate. They stood at the sheet and stared at each other. Eddie bowed, raising his hand to let Steve go first. He rolled his eyes and started climbing up. Eddie watched him with a grin, his eyes focused on his ass. He couldn't help but whistle.

"What was that?" Steve asked.

"Nothing," Eddie said quickly.

Once Steve made it through, Eddie started climbing up when he paused midway. He stared up at Steve, then looked down and looked back up as if he knew what he had to do. Steve glared at him. He knew that self sacrificing look.

"No you fucking don't!" Steve yelled out.

"Sorry."

He jumped down and cut the sheet. Steve cursed as he watched him run out the door. He turned to Dustin.

"For the sake of our mother, stay here," Steve said. "I'll bring him back."

He jumped into the gate, did a flip, and then ran out the door. Eddie was peddling off onto a bike. He knew what that asshole was doing. He was trying to buy the others more time, but Steve couldn't let him do it alone. It wasn't because Steve wanted to be the hero. It was because he was afraid that Eddie might die trying to do it, and he couldn't let that happen. He grabbed a molotov out of his bag. When the bats drew closer to Eddie, they knocked him off his bike. He pulled the cloth out and wrapped it around his spear. He doused it in alcohol and lit the spear on fire. Steve saw them bite into Eddie, their tails wrapped around his throat. He hollered and started waving the spear at them, beating them off Eddie. Suddenly, they all dropped. Eddie stood up shakily, clutching his side.

"Thanks, Ste-"

Steve drew him into a furious kiss. Eddie clutched his waist as he deepened the kiss, not caring that he was bleeding all over Steve or the fact that that he was bleeding. All he cared about was Steve's mouth and slipping his tongue inside. Suddenly, a pair of hands were pulling him away from Steve.

"Hey!" Eddie yelped.

"It's you who's bleeding," Nancy said furiously.

"Jesus, Wheeler. If you didn't want me kissing Steve all you had to do was say something," Eddie said.

"I'm perfectly happy with you kissing, Steve," Nancy said. "I just don't want you to die while doing it."

"It would be so worth it," Eddie replied and then pointed excitedly. "Oh, hey!"

Meanwhile, Vickie and Robin stood behind her with worried looks as they held hands.

"Yeah, we had the same idea, except we did it without the blood," Vickie replied.

"Smart," Eddie said, nodding.

"Alright, let's get the fuck out of here," Steve said.

As they walked towards the gate, Eddie leaned heavily on Steve. He realized something.

"Hey, we match!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think I'd rather we have matching tattoos," Steve said.

"That can be arranged, big boy," Eddie said.

"By the way," Steve whispered in his ear. "Your performance. . .so hot."

"I fucking knew that's what you meant to say," Eddie said. "So, back to those matching tattoos. . ."

"I don't know, I have to ask my moms but they're not going to like that interdimensional bats gave me some piercings, I doubt that they're going to let me get inked with a metalhead that's wanted by the police," Steve hummed.

"That's not a no!"

TWO DAYS LATER. . .

The world had been saved, Max was alright, Hop was alive, Eddie had been cleared of all charges, and Steve had been properly bullied into a hospital bed by both of his moms.

"Hey, moms, I was just wondering, and you can say no if you want, but can I get a matching tattoo with Eddie?" Steve asked.

"Absolutely not," Sue said, fluffing his pillows. "We're happy you found Eddie, but you are not getting a tattoo."

"What if it gets infected and you die?" Claudia asked as she fussed with his blankets.

"Dad -," Steve started.

"You're new to having family that cares, son," Charles said, without looking up from his paper. "Let me tell you something, mothers are usually right about this. Better let them swaddle you. I'm pretty sure that's what Claudia is trying to do now."

Claudia dropped the blanket and gave him a look.

"They said no, Eddie," Steve said to the other bed in the room.

"I heard," Eddie pouted.

[chaotic-tired-fox]

Okay so my last post blew up so here’s more obscure random Resident Evil facts for y’all!

Part one: here

Part three: here

☠️The white dog you save in Resident Evil 4 is a reference to Hewie the dog in Capcom’s other game Haunting Ground which was released at around the same time the original Resident Evil 4 was. The main character Fiona also shares resemblance to Ashley.

☠️ Chris and Claire’s parents both died in a tragic car crash said to be so bad they could only be identified by their dental records

☠️ Jill’s infection (and later cure) of the T-Virus significantly slowed down her ageing

☠️ Chris is the only main character without a clear romantic interest (Leon with Ada, Claire with Leon and Jill with Carlos)

(Edit: A few people have said Claire and Steve but Steve was only 17 at the time of his death so no I don’t care how much chemistry they might’ve had, he was a minor and Claire was 19)

☠️ In the original RE2 Jill had a picture of a man on her desk, in the remake it is changed to a dog instead.

☠️ Barry Burton is one of the only characters in the series to actually retire, moving up to Canada with his family. He and Claire still stay in contact.

☠️ Leon’s signature handgun is actually a modified Samurai Edge he named ‘Silver Ghost’ made by Joseph Kendo the brother of Robert Kendo you meet in RE2 and RE3. Originally the gun was created for Barry Burton but given to Leon instead.

☠️ One of Joseph Kendo’s books on firearms can be found in Ethan’s house at the beginning of Village.

☠️ Capcom’s other zombie series Dead Rising actually has a few references to Resident Evil in them though my favourite is a restaurant called Jill’s Sandwiches

☠️ Luis Sera was apart of Umbrella’s sixth laboratory in Europe which oversaw the creation of Nemesis.

☠️ A detail not many know about Hunk is that he possesses two hidden blades mounted to his wrists almost exactly like the ones seen in Assassins Creed

☠️ Jessica and Raymond are two villains from Revelations that are not only still alive but in possession of a T-Abyss sample and haven’t been seen in the timeline since 2005 what happened to them and the sample is a complete mystery.

☠️ Another storyline that hasn’t been explained yet is Natalia from Revelations 2 and if she may or may not be possessed by the consciousness of Alex Wesker

☠️ It’s implied in the Shadow of Rose DLC that Mia Winters lost custody of Rose sometime in her teenage years

☠️ Chris can canonically pull off front flips whereas Leon can backflip

☠️ Lobo, Tundra and Night Howl of the Hound Wolf Squad actually have little smiley face stickers on the back of their helmets whereas Canine and Umber Eyes do not.

☠️ In every main series game he’s been in (RE2,RE4,RE6) Leon has had to crawl through a sewer

☠️ All of the cgi movies as well as Infinite Darkness are considered completely canon to the story.

☠️ Upon the release of Operation Raccoon City, players could participate in an online ARG which gave away exclusive files on the characters including a psychological evaluation of Hunk which is the most information we’ve ever gotten on his character. The link to it can be found: Here

☠️ Wesker’s British accent was the result of each of his voice actors attempting to mimic the last. This was corrected in the remake of Resident Evil 4 (sadly)

☠️ You can interact with the play park in RE6 with Chris, Piers and Ada and each of them go down the slide differently

☠️ The HWS member that tackles Ethan at the reservoir is Canine and the one standing next to Chris is Night Howl.

☠️ Night Howl is also the author of the laptop reports you find in the Church and the secret underground area where the Mutamycete is in the village.

☠️ Canine is the youngest member of the HWS and the oldest is Umber Eyes

☠️ Lobo from the HWS shares striking similarities to Hunk (Read my full theory on it Here)

☠️ The Duke from Village and The Merchant from RE4 actually know each other and The Duke describes them as ‘old friends’

☠️ Sergei Vladimir, leader of the UCBS is the tallest human character in the franchise standing at 6’7.5”

☠️ Thanks to the Resident Evil 4 remake, Leon can now both speak and read Spanish

☠️ In the Heavenly Island comic, the man Chris sends to assist Claire is Parker Luciani from Revelations

☠️ In RE8 the Village is heavily isolated from the outside world thanks to Miranda and thus has remained primitive but Heisenberg had his own arrangements with the Duke for regular newspapers and cigars from the outside.

☠️ Wesker actually met Claire once while he was still leading STARS. He described her as a ‘lovely girl.’

☠️ That being said Claire swears more than any other main character (Chris, Leon, Jill)

☠️ Chris and Claire have matching leather jackets that both say ‘Made In Heaven’ on the back which is a reference to Queen (the band)

☠️ Although it doesn’t appear in the remake, Barry’s ‘Jill sandwich’ line is considered canon and referenced by his daughter Moira in Revelations 2

☠️ Revelations for the 3DS was so infamous for having its text misspelled on the side of the case Capcom had to issue replacement sleeves for all the buyers who had one.

☠️ Heisenberg calling Chris a ‘Boulder punching asshole’ means his feats in RE5 either made the newspaper or someone told him about it personally (one of the hounds maybe?)

☠️ Expanding upon an earlier fact of mine, Chris knows 7 fighting styles which are: Airforce Combatives, Karate, Boxing, Judo, Wrestling, Capoeira and Kali

☠️ Jill also knows 7 fighting styles which are: Modern Army Combatives, Taekwondo, Ju-Jitsu, Gymnastics, Tricking, Lucha Libre and Kali

☠️ Leon knows 6 fighting styles: Taekwondo, Ju-Jitsu, Wrestling, Kali, Krav Maga and Systema

☠️ The reason why there’s no children in the village in Resident Evil 4 is because Saddler’s blood ritual killed them all before the events of the game (that and the developers agreed child enemies would be far too disturbing)

☠️ The developer of the original RE4 suggests that the best snacks to have while playing the game is Diet Coke and lightly salted potato chips (eaten with chopsticks to avoid greasy controller hands)

☠️ Neither Hunk nor anyone in the USS wear Umbrella logo patches (as much as cosplayers tell you otherwise lol)

☠️ In the RE4 remake, Ashley refers to herself as a ‘master of unlocking’ which is a reference to Jill’s title given to her by Barry in the first game

☠️ Chris and Leon were designed to be complete opposites of each other and you can still see that today even with subtle details (Chris punches, Leon kicks. Chris smokes, Leon doesn’t. Leon is flirtatious, Chris is indifferent)

☠️ Wesker’s red eyes glow brighter any time he experiences strong emotions which is why they sometimes shine through his glasses

☠️ Chris’s zippo lighter was actually a gift from Claire given to him when he joined STARS

☠️ Chris can’t read piano sheet music but he can read guitar

☠️ Jill can play the piano

☠️ The story behind the basement music used in the directors cut of the original Resident Evil is so infamous and has a pretty wild story behind it. The music itself is horrendously bad and said to have been composed by a deaf composer but spoiler alert that composer wasn’t deaf at all and instead was fooling the world. The story is insane and I highly recommend checking out this video on it for the full story here

☠️ Beltway from the USS Wolfpack has a metal prosthetic leg

☠️ Beltway also swears more than any other character in Operation Raccoon City

☠️ The original RE4 has more releases than any other Resident Evil game because of its success

☠️ The original RE4 was also planned to be a lot more survival horror based like it’s predecessors but the remake of the original RE didn’t sell as well as intended so the game was reworked to be more action based instead.

☠️ Crimson head zombies were also completely unique to the remake of Resident Evil and also make an appearance in Operation Raccoon City

☠️ Leon’s relationship with Helena is unique in the fact that neither of them are interested in each other and Leon instead views her as a protege because she reminds him of his younger self.

☠️ You cannot shoot the merchant in the RE4 Remake

☠️ During his time working at the Spencer Mansion, Wesker used to take long hikes around the Arklay Mountains

☠️ Mr X isn’t the only Tyrant of his type in fact multiple of him were released around Raccoon City and it’s also implied two separate Mr X’s are encountered during the story of the RE2 remake

☠️ Out of everything, crows are the most effective carriers and spreaders of the T-Virus

☠️ Hunk’s name is actually an acronym that stands for Human Unit Never Killed

☠️ Leon S Kennedy is the only playable character with a middle name, that being Scott (in fact he might be the only character in the franchise with one but don’t quote me on that)

☠️ Originally Leon’s hair was depicted as brown but was later changed to blond which it had stayed as until Vendetta made it brown again. His canon hair colour is usually agreed to be blond however.

☠️ Same goes for Chris’s eye colour which was originally blue (like Claire’s) until they changed it to brown and back to blue again in Village.

☠️ Birkin discovered the Golgotha Virus by accident while experimenting with Lisa Trevor. In the REmake you can see the G Virus tentacles on her back.

☠️ The brand of clothing and gear the Hound Wolf Squad use is a real brand you can buy exact replicas from for Airsoft called Volk Tactical Gear. There logo is printed on HWS weapons in game.

☠️ Ghosts were technically made canon in the Resident Evil universe thanks to 7 and 8 but seem to only relate to the Mold and Mutamycete (You see a ghost girl in 7’s demo/prequel and in 8 Shadow of Rose goes in depth with it)

[ladykailitha]

Royal Pain Part 21

Hello! We're back with more Royal Pain. For the person(s) that thought the kiss meant the nearing of the end of the story: NOPE! We still have a bit to get through plot wise. Plus I don't usually go through past them getting together, and wanted to explore that a little before the end.

Also, where have my commenters gone? I used to get 10 or so comments a post and the last part of "Well Met By Moonlight" only had one. My usual commenters just didn't. If I have suggested in anyway that I don't like comments or don't appreciate them, know that I really, really do! And I miss it when people who used comment don't anymore. I'm not going to name names because this isn't a callout post, just a concern, I guess.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20

Today we have a replay reaction to the kiss by the Royal Pain crew, Wayne being wise (and mention of a ring that has always been a thing in the story, I just forgot to put it in before this oops!) and Chrissy getting some advice.

***

To say that Steve was practically squealing from joy when he got to his car would be an understatement. He put his bluetooth earpiece in his right ear and immediately called Robin.

“Are you okay?” she asked as soon as she picked up.

“Eddie kissed me!” he giggled excitedly.

“No fucking way!” she gasped.

“Not yet anyway,” he said slyly, pulling into traffic.

“Steven Joseph Harrington!” Robin squeaked. “You don’t get to make dirty puns like that unless I’m in hitting distance.”

Steve laughed. “Joseph isn’t my middle name.”

He could hear her snap her fingers. “I’ll guess it eventually.”

“It’s been nearly a decade and you still haven’t guessed it,” he reminded her. “I can make it harder though...”

“Don’t you dare!” she hissed. There was silence for a moment. “You can’t make it harder, can you?”

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “I can actually, but you told me not to.”

He could feel her narrow her eyes from across town as she weighed her options.

“Go ahead,” she said haughtily. “I don’t think you can.”

Steve grinned. “I have two middle names and you’ve never guessed either one.”

“You do not!” Robin hissed. “There is no way!”

“My parents were super traditional,” he told her. “My middle names come from each of my grandfathers.”

“Oh my god,” she said, “that makes so much sense.”

Steve licked his lips and waited. Five, four, three, two–

“Don’t you change the subject, Steven!” Robin came back. “Eddie kissed you.”

“He did indeed,” Steve said, “and I will tell you all about it when I get back to the shop. I’m like three minutes away.”

“I want to know everything!”

“I promise.”

*

Steve got to the shop and everyone was standing around the front counter, chins propped up on their hands, blinking at him expectantly.

He shook his head. “Menaces, the lot of you.”

Erica batted her eyelashes. “Yeah, but you like menaces.”

Steve tilted his head to the side and then nodded. “Yeah, yeah. But first I have to tell about my lunch with Wayne.”

Erica and Chrissy groaned, pushing off the counter and rolling their eyes. Robin and Argyle stayed in position though.

“Trust me,” Steve said holding his hands up, “it’s relevant to the story.”

“This better be good, Harrington,” Chrissy snarked.

“Oh it will be,” he said with a smile, “I promise.”

He started telling them everything. Wayne’s approval, the confrontation with Quinn, Eddie coming to the rescue, the kiss.

“Lunch was definitely relevant, dude,” Argyle said. “Getting parental approval is super important in a relationship. Especially if they’re close.”

Steve nodded. “So does the story live up the hype?” he asked the girls.

Robin rolled her eyes. “I suppose.”

Chrissy giggled. “It was so cute, Stevie. I’m happy for you!”

Steve waited for Erica, who sat there tapping her lips for a moment. She cocked her head. “Ehhh...it was all right.”

Everyone protested, talking over each other.

She burst out laughing. “God, you guys so easy. Of course it was awesome. Super sweet, too.”

Steve opened his mouth to say something when the bell over the door sounded, announcing the arrival of his next client.

He turned to greet them as everyone but Robin scattered. As much as he would love to gossip about his newly minted love life, he had clients that wanted tattoos.

*

Eddie kept licking his lips the whole way to his apartment.

“What made you change your mind?” Wayne asked. “About dating Steve? Him saying ‘I love you’?”

Eddie bit his lip and shook his head. “I had made the decision before that. It was just with Seth stalking me, I didn’t want to get Steve hurt if Seth thought we were together.”

Wayne nodded. “If Seth would threaten Steve over being your friend and tattoo artist, I shudder to think what he would have done if your relationship was more serious.”

“In fact I was going to tell him before Seth threatened him,” Eddie said with a sigh. “We had plans to have dinner at his place and I was going to tell him then.”

“But then Seth showed up?” Wayne asked.

Eddie nodded. “And then that night, I was going to at least let him know that after the whole thing with Seth got resolved, I was going to kiss the hell out him, but that didn’t work out either.”

Wayne tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“That was the night he ran into an ex,” Eddie explained. “The ex. The one that broke his heart. Found out a whole bunch of other shit that night, too. I spent most of the night trying to console him.”

“So the stars finally aligned today, then?” Wayne asked.

“About god damned time, too,” Eddie agreed fiercely.

Wayne hummed. “He’s good for ya, Ed. I don’t think I’ve seen you this happy in a long time. Even when Seth was breathing down your neck, you were more solid. You had your friends, but with Steve standing beside you, you looked like you could handle whatever the world threw at you as long as you had him.”

Eddie blushed, annoyed that driving kept him from ducking his head or shoving hair in his mouth to cover the flush on his cheeks. “He makes me feel brave, because he’s been through shit too and he’s still standing. Still moving forward each day. I love that about him.”

“Good.”

They drove the rest of the trip in silence. When they got back to the apartment they chatted as Eddie helped Wayne pack for his journey back to Hawkins.

“I want to see you both come Labor Day,” Wayne growled. “No excuses, you hear?”

Eddie nodded. “Yes, sir.” He gave him a jaunty salute.

It looked absolutely ridiculous coming from a long haired metalhead and Wayne’s snort cinched it.

Eddie grinned but gave him a gentle shove. “Steve wasn’t lying when he said that was the plan, by the way. We had been talking about taking him down to meet you since the first week of us becoming friends.”

Wayne nodded sagely. “I understand that he’s not close with his parents.”

“It was big ole mess,” Eddie said softly. “His parents are very recently divorced, like it was finalized last month, recent.”

Wayne hummed. “I remember you saying something about that,” he said. “At least you had an uncle who cared when your parents decided to be shit, it doesn’t seem like Steve had that option.”

“He was close to his grandpa though,” Eddie murmured. “On his mom’s side. He was really broken up when the man died.”

Wayne zipped up his suitcase. “How old was Steve?”

Eddie shrugged. “Young. Eight or nine. His grandfather got cancer before his mom met his dad. His grandpa had struggled with the disease before it finally took him. Steve said that it had ravaged so much of his body that his death certificate was like a laundry list of possible causes of death. Heart failure, kidney failure, cancer...you name it, it was probably on the damn thing.”

“That ring he wears all the time,” Wayne asked, “that his grandfather’s?”

Eddie nodded. “His dad tried to take it for years, saying it inappropriate to leave to a little boy.”

“Only he wasn’t going to stay a little boy forever,” Wayne said. “I guessing that since he still has it, his mom interfered?”

“Maureen Harrington wasn’t going to be winning any best mom awards at any point in Steve’s life,” Eddie scoffed, “but she did do some shit and hiding that ring was one of them.”

“I’m glad he had someone looking out for him,” Wayne said. “I’m sorry it wasn’t all the time. But he at least had something some of the time.”

“He’s not jealous of me or Robin,” Eddie said, “Or anyone of his friends that have a good home life. He’s happy with his found family. He loves them as though they are blood.”

Wayne smiled. “I’m happy for you, Ed. You’ve got something real special with Steve.”

Eddie blushed. “I love him.”

“I think the whole world knows it’s mutual at this point,” Wayne said with a small shake of his head.

Eddie just grinned.

*

Steve grinned as Chrissy wandered out of her room for the third time today. The first time was that she forgot her purse in her car. The second time it was because she had a question for Robin (completely made up and not something that was essential at all to her job). The third time it was because she wanted to ask Robin if she wanted anything from the deli on the corner for lunch.

Could you tell that Vickie was being trained by Robin today?

Vickie put her hand on Robin’s arm to get her to slow down in her nervous and very rapid fire explanation of the phone system and Steve thought Chrissy was going to explode.

Chrissy was wearing a pink blouse with spaghetti straps and white lacy cardigan over the tightest jeans Steve had ever seen and he’s been to a lot of Corroded Coffin shows. Her hair was up in an artfully messy ponytail and her makeup was tasteful and very pink.

Steve was just grateful she hadn’t paired the outfit with anything high heeled and instead chose white ballet flats. He was always worried someone was going to sprain their ankles in high heels walking on their hardwood floors.

He winced as Chrissy’s poor attempt at flirting fell flat.

“Oh,” Robin said, “Steve already ordered him and me Chinese, sorry.”

“I’d love something though,” Vickie said brightly. “Do they have a turkey club?”

Chrissy sputtered for a moment before she nodded meekly. “Yeah.”

“Great!” Vickie continued. “Just let me know how much and I’ll wire you the funds.”

Chrissy nodded again and with a squeak, dashed back into her room. Steve watched as Vickie’s smile turned knowing.

He shook his head and went to go talk to his apprentice.

“Someone’s got a crush,” he said, leaning against the door frame, with his arms folded.

Chrissy threw her arms in the air. “At least you noticed. I don’t think she has.”

Steve chuckled and made his way over to her, swinging the door shut behind him.

“I love her,” he said sitting down on her client lounger, “but she absolutely loses her head when a pretty girl is around. Gay, straight, bi. Doesn’t matter she becomes an absolute mess.”

“I’ve noticed,” Chrissy said bitterly. She thought about Vickie and Mandy and how Robin was just goo around them.

He hummed, knowing exactly what she was thinking. “Here’s the thing though, you are one hundred percent ahead of the game compared to the other two girls.”

Chrissy scoffed. “What makes you think that?”

Steve grinned. “Mandy has a boyfriend, soon to be fiance and Vickie could be bisexual. But she could also be straight. Robin knows you’re a lesbian. You have the advantage of her knowing where she stands with you.”

Chrissy blinked. “Oh.”

“You want to get the girl?” Steve asked. She nodded. “Then you’ve got to step up your game. Time to woo her and not just flirt with her.”

Chrissy chewed on her lip. “But how do I do that?”

Steve shook his head. “Well for starters, paying attention. Robin and I always get Chinese on Fridays.”

She blinked for a moment, pulled out her phone and then the light bulb went off above her head. “Oops.”

“Yeah...”

She took a deep breath. “Do you think I have a chance?”

“She thinks the cheerleading thing is scary hot, so...”

Chrissy grinned. “It’s short skirt, isn’t it?”

Steve shrugged. “And the cute little socks.”

Chrissy laughed. “Can’t forget those.”

He turned to walk away, but she stopped him. “Thanks for this, Steve. I know you didn’t have to.”

Steve just smiled softly and then walked out of the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Thoughts on how to get the girl of her dreams.

***

Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Epilogue

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​ @renaissan-vvitch @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @thedragonsaunt @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @aizawa-emma @redfreckledwolf @thesuninyaface @bookbinderbitch @yikes-a-bee @littlewildflowerkitten @scheodingers-muppet @archermightbegay @hallucinatedjosten @ellietheasexylibrarian @anne-bennett-cosplayer @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @bestwifehaver @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @oldwitcheshat @nightmareglitter @tinyplanet95 @novelnovella

[hainethehero]

Sarah Rogers calling Steve her "sunshine boy" has me SOFT😭😫😩🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🌸🌸🌸

Like, of course he is her sunshine boy! Look at him! So sweet and bright and full of goodness and hope. I have this headcanon that "sunshine boy" is kind of like when parents refer to the kid that they had after a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy etc, as their "rainbow baby" that Steve was dubbed a "sunshine baby" because he'd survived birth despite being so chronically ill.

And it didn't matter to Sarah that Steve was sick and Joseph often berated him or beat on him for being a "useless little runt", she had her beautiful sunshine baby, who eventually grew into her beautiful sunshine boy.

[Look at that adorable smile🥺 imagine baby steeb cheesin at his mama after he threw up some milk]

[fandsart]

Cw: Discussion of death, dissociation

Ever since Vecna, Steve will sometimes wake up convinced he’s dead. That those vines broke his neck. This can last anywhere from 2 to 45 minutes. Lately he’s having to set his alarm an hour earlier than he used to wake up just to account for this.

Robin was horrified when he told her. He explains that it’s not exactly scary. While the idea of dying is scary, the perspective of actually being there is mostly void and numb. She’s still concerned about the fact it’s happening, but less actually sympathetic to any ‘struggle’ it causes Steve. The only real struggle it causes Steve is in the realm of time management.

After some research, Robin concludes that it’s probably dissociation. After all the shit Steve’s been through, it isn’t unwarranted. With Max still in a coma, it’s not surprising he might feel a sort of disconnect from reality, his mind having to work to fully accept his reality as it is while waking. Plus the trauma of the situation, of which being choked out by the vines doesn't even begin to cover.

Usually he can’t move in this state. Well, he can move, but he doesn’t. He’ll turn his head and observe his surroundings, he’ll reposition when uncomfortable. It’s not that he doesn’t have control of his limbs, but the dead aren’t meant to go anywhere, and so to move would feel so unnatural. He’s not supposed to move, and it’s really hard to question succumbing to the mindset when you think you’re dead. Everything is void and numb, and when you’re dead, all there is left to do is stay where you are.

Sometimes he thinks about telling Dustin about his new issue, but Dustin has been kind of paranoid since Eddie died. Robin says it’s probably part of his mourning process. It’s like the bargaining step, but in advance. With the danger they know to be around them, now fully exposed to the reality that death can hit, even with all the preparations they could possibly put into place, there’s still a chance.

With all the supernatural stuff that’s happened, Steve doesn’t want Dustin to get the idea that Steve’s issue is anything prophetic. Robin says Dustin is smarter than that, but she also agrees that since it’s not really affecting anything tangibly, then him knowing doesn’t make much difference. Even after they killed Vecna.

He’s usually pretty conscious when in this state. Sure he thinks he’s dead, but he’s processing the world around him mostly fine. Thinks about how the others must be handling it. That’s really the worst part of this whole thing. Except this time he feels pretty out of it, and…

He needs to find his grave. He’s never felt a draw to move while dead before, but he desperately needs to find his resting place. He’s not supposed to be in the open air like this. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.

He wanders, and loses himself, literally. Wanders some more. Finds his grave.

Steven Joseph Harrington.

So his parents came around to bury him then. Otherwise Robin would have known to omit the middle name, and she wouldn’t have let up about it if she were involved.

“Steve?”

He turns around. It’s Eddie. So he is dead after all.

↞⬡+¤+⬡↠

Ever since Vecna, Eddie will sometimes wake up convinced he’s dead. Gnawed to death by those bats. Sometimes it lasts longer than others. Today was particularly quick, which means he has time to visit Chrissy in her coma before heading to the cemetery.

He figures with all of everything that’s happened, it’s some kind of related outlet. He wonders if he’ll eventually get through this bat stuff and move on to waking up convinced he was fully convicted of murder, and not declared innocent.

Steve’s parents finally got back into town, meaning their orders to put his body on ice were overturned so they could have the funeral. That was yesterday, and the group agreed to hold their own little ceremony the next day. Which is today.

They agreed to meet at the gate to the cemetery, and Eddie didn’t think he was that early, but none of the others are here yet. Maybe it’s earlier than he thought. He still hasn’t bought a new watch since his old one got soaked. But it’s also possible that everyone else is having a hard time dragging themselves here. Eddie never had the chance to get that close to Steve, but he’s seen how affected the others are by his passing.

But it’s also possible that he lost track of time, in fact he thinks that he might have. He’s always doing that. Usually he’s late for things, but it isn’t unheard of for him to be obscenely early. Sometimes when he has plans to do things it just makes all of the time before it become designated as ‘waiting time.’ He didn’t check the clock before he left the hospital either. Come to think of it, the sun is still pretty low.

He tries waiting it out, but he’s very impatient. Eventually he decides to try to find the grave. Only Robin already knows where it is. It’d probably be good for more people to know, even though the reason they’re meeting at the entrance is so Robin can just show them, but still. And then he can just circle back to the front once he’s found it. No big deal.

Sure cemeteries tend to be pretty big, but Hawkins is a small town, and there’s a bit of a class division between burial sites. It doesn’t take long to find the area he’s sure the Harringtons would place themselves in.

There’s a familiar head of hair in the distance, but… that can’t be right. And yet the closer he gets, it’s not just the hair; the body type too.“Steve?” he asks even though he knows it can’t be him. But the man turns around and their eyes meet. And it can’t be anyone else either. That’s Steve, with a look of bewilderment and daze to compete with Eddie’s own.

Did anyone think I actually just had Steve die somehow? Just curious Also I don't actually have any further plans for this or what any of it means, but I would encourage anyone inspired to build off of this to do so. I'd be curious how others might want to play with the premise

[thatsmzbitchtoyou]

My Queen Chapter 1

Steve Rogers is the newly inherited Duke of Brooklyn, struggling to fix the mistakes of his parents while enduring an overbearing, matchmaking mother.  He has no intention of anything romantic in his future, but will a forced love connection with the Queen change his mind?

Warnings: smut, slight domestic violence, minor character death

Next chapter

Steve sighed heavily as his mother, Sarah, blabbered on about court gossip.  He poured over his father’s books, trying to budget and fix all the mistakes and figure out what damage had been done.  His father, Joseph, had died a few weeks prior from alcohol poisoning while gambling away whatever money he had left, leaving Steve as the man of the house and the newly appointed Duke of Brooklyn.  The debts were enormous, and after selling much of the valuables from their home as well as the summer home that his parents had bought years ago, he’d been able to finally break even.  His mother had been beside herself as he’d sold her favorite things right out from underneath her, more worried about how it would make her look to her noble friends.

“Oh!  And great news!” Sarah took the pen from his fingers and twirled away from him to get his attention.

“Ma, please,” Steve grunted, reaching for the pen back.  “I don’t have time for this.”

“I’ve been speaking to the Queen’s privy counselor, Mr. Sam Wilson, you remember him,” she continued like she didn’t hear him.

“Yes, I know Sam,” Steve rolled his eyes.  “We’ve been friends for many years.”

“He’s been looking for suitors for the Queen!” Sarah quipped excitedly.  “She’s getting older and needs to marry and have an heir.  And I reminded him of you and your lack of a wife–”

“Ma please tell me you didn’t,” Steve glared at her as he stood.

Sarah withered a little at his tone, her eyes widening as she finally stopped moving.  “I…but it’s the Queen, dearest.  She’d make you a great wife.  And you a great husband!” Steve rubbed his face with his hands and started pacing around the room, Sarah following him.  “She could help us get back into a better place, your connection to her could be incredibly advantageous–”

“What makes you think I want to marry?” Steve turned on her, his eyes blazing.  “After watching you with Father all these years and how much you hated each other and brought out the worst in each other, pitting me against each of you, having affairs,” Sarah gasped.  “Yes, I know all about them.  You expect me to still want to chain myself to someone cut from the same cloth as you and all the other ridiculous nobility?  That's not love.  That’s not anything that I want to be a part of.” 

Sarah’s eyes filled with tears at her son’s accusations.  “How dare you,” she whimpered.  “I’m your mother.”

“Unfortunately,” Steve hissed at her.  “I want no part of your matchmaking games.”

Sarah straightened herself up.  “Well that’s too bad, because you have an audience with her next Friday.”  

Steve’s eyes widened, his brow furrowed, causing a deep crease between his eyes.  “You…what?”

“A lunch date,” Sarah sniffed as she wiped her eyes hastily.  “I’m trying to secure your future, and mine.  You can hate me all you want, but I didn’t endure your father for 37 years just to throw it all away.   You will meet her for lunch, be the gentleman I know you can be, flirt with her, and win her affections.”

Steve hung his head, sighing again.  He clenched his fists and walked closer to Sarah, making her back up into the wall behind her.  His eyes bored into her as he gritted his teeth.  “I will go to this lunch.  But after that, don’t you ever speak for me again.”

Sarah’s lips tightened to a thin line, defiance in her eyes, but she solemnly nodded.

***

“A lunch with Steve Rogers?” Y/N asked incredulously as she reviewed the itinerary for the week.  “You can’t be serious.”

“Is there a problem, your Majesty?” Sam asked, looking bewildered.

“Well, he’s not exactly friendly,” Y/N said, looking at his name on the paper again.  “I haven’t seen him at any events for…God, 15 years?”

“True,” Sam agreed.  “He’s not one for the spotlight.  And with his father’s gambling problems and recent death, he’s had a lot to deal with.”

“Of course,” Y/N agreed politely.  She had sent his family a condolences card upon hearing of Joseph Rogers’ death, although he was not necessarily someone that would be missed in the community.  She could understand how anyone would be embarrassed of their parents who acted in such a way so publicly and mishandled their family money.  Her own parents caused a number of controversies during their reign.  She had received multiple letters from Joseph and Sarah over the past few years asking her to increase their yearly nobility stipend money.  “I know he’s your friend, Sam.  I’m just surprised he would call on me.”

“Well…” Sam grimaced.  

Y/N eyes narrowed at him.  “Oh I see.  Sarah is meddling again.”

Sam pursed his lips, looking to the ground and nodding.  “Yes, she’s quite…enthusiastic.”

“Opportunistic,” Y/N corrected him.  She sighed.  “Well, this should be interesting.”

[moonythejedi394]

snippet from my warlord/prince fic wedding chapter

Soon, his wedding party begins donning weapons and armor rather than fine clothes. Steve assumes this is a Northern tradition. And then it isn’t long at all when Loki pops their head into the room.

“Ready?” they ask.

Steve nods. Wanda puts a flower crown of daisies, primrose, and roses on his head and adjusts the ribbons trailing down his hair.

“Ready,” she says.

Loki leads them from the sixth floor to the third. The ceremony is taking place in the ballroom; music pours from it. Loki arranges them in formation. Steve stands at the very front with his parents flanking him. A guard stands just behind Joseph, a spear point to his back. Loki has Darcy and Jane stand behind Steve and his parents to carry his train, then Natasha with Clint and Wanda on either side of her, and Sam and Riley side-by-side at the rear. Loki pokes their head around a crack in the great doors, then turns back and waves to two guards.

“On my signal, open the doors,” Loki says.

The guards take the door handles.

The music hits a soaring crescendo and then stops. A moment passes. Steve takes a breath. Then drums begin to play. Only drums, accompanied by a guttural chant in a foreign tongue.

“Now!” Loki says, hastily backing up.

The guards swing open the doors to the ballroom. The tables have been removed completely and the crowd stands in two groups, parted by a long red carpet leading from the doors, down the steps, to the stage at the top of the ballroom. 

Bucky is waiting at that end of the ballroom, with Thor, Brunhilde, Pepper, Rhodey, and Tony standing on his left, Steve’s right. Bucky again wears his teeth-and-bone armor and his greatsword, but no helm or crown and without his leather vest. Bruce stands behind a large wooden and cut stone altar. There’s a bull tied to the altar.

The drums triple in speed and fanfare plays for a moment. Loki waves for Steve to start walking. He jolts a little and goes, his arms folded through each of his parents’ elbows. He doesn’t remember the ballroom being so long. The drums get faster the closer to the altar Steve gets. Joseph’s grip on Steve’s hand is almost painful. Sarah is silently crying. Bucky is just watching Steve approach, eyes dark.

At the steps to the stage, Sarah lets go of Steve’s elbow. Joseph holds on for a second, until he’s poked in the back by the spear. He clenches his jaw and lets go. Steve glances at him, then pauses.

“I don’t pity you,” he whispers.

He turns his back on Joseph. Darcy and Jane carry Steve’s train until he takes the first step onto the stage. Steve’s wedding party splits off to the left and arrange themselves in a line. The guard ushers Steve’s parents into the crowd, then stands very close to Joseph. Steve bites his lip, then looks up at Bucky.

Bucky’s gaze meets his, then trails down. Steve gets warm in the face. Bucky just nods, smiling. He takes Steve’s elbow and they turn to the altar.

Up closer, Steve sees the altar is made of black marble and mounted on oak. There is a vast, nine-branched tree etched into the stone. The drums get louder and faster. On the altar is a goblet of wine, a bundle of rope, and a vicious-looking knife. Smoke burns from incense sat in lanterns behind the altar. Bruce raises his hands. The drums stop.

“Let Frigg, the All-Mother, be with us tonight!” Bruce calls; his voice echoes somewhat unnaturally. “Tonight, we bind the hands of the Warlord King James Buchanan Barnes, god of victory and fertility and blood, Dread Conquerer of the North, High King of the Empire of the North –” Bucky has such a stupidly long title – “And the Omega Prince of Brooklyn, Steven, son of Sarah! Rejoice, my people!”

The drums hammer again as the crowds cheer and stamp their feet. Bruce claps his hands. All goes silent.

“A groom cannot approach the altar of marriage armed! Who here will stand for him?”

“I will,” Thor answers.

Bucky unbuckles his greatsword and hands it to Thor. Thor draws it and drops to a kneeling sentry stance, sword tip to the stones. Steve and Bucky close the distance to the altar. Bruce takes from his pocket a gold ring set with a ruby. 

“This ring,” he says, “represents the eternal bond that our King has with his Omega. Prince Steven will vow to uphold that bond and place the ring on the King’s finger.”

He gives it to Steve. Steve picks up Bucky’s left hand and bites his lip as he almost trembles.

“I make you blood of my blood,” he recites, imagining the page Natasha had written the vow on. “I make you bone of my bone. I give you my cup. I swear to you my undying servitude, loyalty, and love. I will cherish and honor you. I will support you, tooth and claw, to my last breath. I give you all that is mine to give, all my earthly possessions shall be yours from now unto Ragnarok and beyond.”

Steve slides the ring onto Bucky’s finger. Bucky flips his hand and catches Steve’s, squeezing it. Bruce takes out a smaller version of the same ring and holds it up again.

“This ring represents the eternal bond that Prince Steven has with our King. King Barnes will vow to uphold that bond.”

Bruce hands the ring to Bucky and he takes Steve’s left hand.

“I make you blood of my blood. I make you bone of my bone. I give you my sword. I swear to you my undying servitude, loyalty, and love. I will cherish and honor you, I will defend you, sword and shield, to my last breath. I give you all that is mine to give, all my earthly possessions shall be yours from now unto Ragnarok and beyond.”

Bucky puts the ring on Steve’s finger. Steve grins, looking up at him. Bucky touches his chin with his other hand and then brushes his knuckles against Steve’s cheek.  Bruce wraps the rope around their wrists in a strange pattern, then whispers to Steve to grasp and pull. He does, and Bucky does, too, and the rope snaps into a knot. Bruce then lifts the goblet. Bucky takes it, then he lifts Steve’s hands and has Steve hold the goblet, as well.

Bucky pushes gently on the goblet and Steve raises it to his lips. He drinks deeply, and then lifts his hands to give it to Bucky to drink. He drains the cup and they lower their hands. Bruce takes the goblet and then the rope.

“The King will now offer a sacrifice to the All-Mother!” Bruce says, voice echoing still.

[virgil-is-a-cutie]

Listen I love the little comic of trans man Eddie who has Steve's kid but kept her away from him never having told him that he was pregnant.

But angst for Johnathan x Eddie x Steve

Both Eddie and Steve are trans men and both hooked up with Johnathan like a week or a month apart of one another, and Steve ends up moving away bc he got into college or perhaps even a relative did an adult adoption.

Eddie in the other hand was able to get Corroded Coffin off the ground and get small tours.

Both don't learn they're pregnant till they're 2 months along.

Steve's excuse is that he slept with a few other people during that week with Johnathan, he doesn't have a clue who the dad is.

Eddie's is that he's too busy with the band to get in contact with Johnathan. It slips his mind after his baby boy is born. His name being Joseph Wayne Munson.

Steve has a little girl with brown fluffy hair who he names Ella Willow Harrington named after El and Will.

Ella and Joseph are 5 years old when they finally meet bc Eddie is taking a break from the band, and that's when Eddie bumps into Steve.

Steve has become a make up artist or event planner that pays well.

They rebuild the friendship and eventually become a couple and it's only then do they realize Ella and Joseph look semi similar with their eye and face shape and the shade of brown hair neither parent have.

They both confess on every person they slept with before they got pregnant.

Only Eddie has Johnathan, and Steve has multiple people including Johnathan.

Idk anything else yall can choose how Johnathan learns about his kids

[swan-of-sunrise]

Hawkeye (Part III)

Summary: On Christmas Eve, (Y/N) and Steve receive some shocking updates from Clint and after the archers’ fight against Kingpin, the Tracksuits and a Black Widow assassin out for blood at Rockefeller Center, the exhausted duo accepts their hospitality.

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: Hi guys! I'm feeling a bit better now, so I've returned with a longer chapter filled with holiday fluffiness! Thank you for reading, I hope you all enjoy!

Hawkeye (Part III) December 24th, 2024 Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn (Previous Chapter)

“I still can’t believe that people really used to decorate their Christmas trees – their very dead, very dried-out Christmas trees – with lit candles.” (Y/N) shook her head in amazement as they slowly walked past the crumbling gravestones and carefully avoided the piles of snow resting atop the frozen grass on the way down the slope to their parked car. “I mean, weren’t they afraid that they’d accidentally burn their houses down in exchange for a little holiday cheer?”

Steve nonchalantly shrugged and hitched Carina higher up on his waist. “Arsenic was in practically everything, cocaine was prescribed by doctors as medicine, and people guzzled down pure wood alcohol throughout the entirety of Prohibition; trust me, candles on Christmas trees were the least of our worries. Our tree caught fire once when I was ten or eleven and after Ma put it out, she scraped together enough money to buy a secondhand strand of lights and we never put candles on our tree again.” After taking note of her stunned silence, a mischievous smile broke out across Steve’s face. “If you think that sounds crazy, then you probably don’t wanna know why we had to stop putting strings of popcorn and cranberries on the tree…”

“And you’d be absolutely, positively, one-hundred percent correct, sweetheart.”

The morning of Christmas Eve saw the Rogers-(Y/L/N) family visiting the graves of Sarah and Joseph Rogers at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn’s sole Catholic cemetery; they’d brushed clumps of snow and wayward leaves off the two weathered gravestones, laid bouquets of red and white poinsettias and recounted stories of Christmases past in a continuation of Steve and Sarah’s old yuletide tradition. Typically, Steve never cried or showed much outward emotion whenever they’d visited his mother and father’s gravesite, but that morning he couldn’t seem to keep the happy grin off his face as he held his infant daughter in his arms and explained to his parents that they would soon be giving them a second grandchild. Seeing her husband so happy about having another child and being able to experience the entire pregnancy alongside her always succeeded in causing her heart to warm in her chest, but there was something special about watching him tell his parents about the life that so many people believed – including himself – he’d never be able to live. It’s also given me several ideas of what to do with him after we put Cari down for her nap, she thought with a sultry inward smile, ideas that are a little too risqué to voice in the middle of a Catholic cemetery.

(Y/N) was in the middle of strapping a squirming Carina into her car seat when her cell phone rang. “Sweetheart, could you get that for me?”

“Of course.” He jogged around the car and climbed into the passenger’s seat, grabbing her phone out of her purse and humming in interest when he noticed the name on the screen. “It’s Clint.”

Glancing up from the buckle, (Y/N) shot her husband a knowing look and slowly replied, “That can’t be good…”

Steve nodded in agreement before swiping a thumb across the screen and putting the call on speakerphone. “Hey, Clint; (Y/N)’s hands are a little busy, so I’ve got you on speakerphone. What’s up?”

“Are you guys home right now?”

“We spent the morning laying flowers at Steve’s parents’ graves, and we’re just about ready to head home,” (Y/N) explained, a knot of apprehension beginning to fill the pit of her stomach as she detected the uncharacteristic unease in the archer’s voice. “Why do you ask?”

“We got it wrong, (Y/L/N); it was Eleanor Bishop the whole time. Kate’s mom killed Armand, framed Jack for the murder and forged his connection to Sloan Limited. She’s been working for Kingpin for well over a decade, and Kate only just found out.”

(Y/N), who’d just given Carina her pacifier and a kiss on her forehead, sat back and watched her daughter for a moment before sighing to herself, imagining the overwhelming anger, confusion and hurt that the twenty-two-year-old must’ve felt in reaction to the devastating news. “Poor Kate…how’s she holding up?”

“Better than I thought she would,” Clint replied, and there was a hint of pride in his words as he continued. “Eleanor’s turned on Kingpin and he’s gonna send a message to the city by attacking her company’s Christmas Eve gala, so Kate’s focusing on prepping for tonight’s fight. Those LARPers I told you about are giving us a hand, since most of ‘em are first responders when they’re not dressed up in costumes and pretend-fighting each other with fake weapons, and we’re gonna build as many trick arrows as we’ll need to take out an army of Tracksuits.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Steve’s hand twitch towards the glove box, where they both agreed to stash several weapons in the event that they were ever attacked by any new or former enemies. “Something else is wrong, isn’t it? Did Kingpin find out about-?”

“-No, no, it’s not that. Eleanor hired a Black Widow assassin to kill me; we had a scuffle last night but they retreated before they could finish their assignment. I just learned this morning that the assassin…it’s Yelena.” (Y/N) and Steve’s gazes met and their eyes widened in identical shock. “And this isn’t just an assignment for her. She’s here to avenge Nat’s death by taking out the one person she thinks is responsible.”

“…Clint, you aren’t responsible for the choices that Nat made. You know that, right?”

There was a slight pause on the other end of the call. “I know, Steve. But chances are she’s gonna show up tonight to complete her assignment, so I wanted to give you a heads-up in case she decides to go after you guys next.”

(Y/N) frowned. “You don’t really think that Yelena would-?”

“Nat told her about you, about how you were one of her best friends; if she’s targeting me, then there’s a chance she’ll target you, too. Just be ready for anything, okay? Booby trap the house Home Alone style if you have to, but don’t let your guards down.” The archer cleared his throat. “I’ve lost enough people in my life, and I don’t wanna lose any more of ‘em. You two read me?”

Although Clint couldn’t see them, a stoic-looking Steve nodded once. “Loud and clear. Good luck out there tonight, Clint.”

“And watch each other’s backs,” (Y/N) added, the barest hint of a smile beginning to play on her lips at the thought of the Tracksuits attempting to take on two skilled archers armed with the deadliest and most imaginative arrows in the world. “I’ve only heard stories from Nat about your plethora of trick arrows, so I look forward to seeing their aftermath on tonight’s newscast…but for Scott’s sake, maybe try and avoid using any Pym Particles.”

The archer chuckled. “Yeah, we wouldn’t want Hank to blow another fuse. I’ll be sure to call you guys after the firefight, okay?”

They bid one another goodbye and after Steve ended the call, he looked up at (Y/N) with a glint of determination in his azure eyes. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Biting her lip, (Y/N) backed out of the car’s backseat and closed the door before slipping into the driver’s seat and sighing. “Unfortunately, yes.”

“Brienne,” They both recited at the same time.

Brienne, named for the popular character from Game of Thrones, was an A.I. home defense system that Tony bequeathed to them after his death; according to Pepper, he created it shortly after their engagement announcement as a wedding present but after the Accords and what happened in Siberia, he stowed it away in his archives. It was a thoughtful gift that provided them both with a sense of security, but the A.I. – similar to J.A.R.V.I.S. and E.D.I.T.H. – came with not only a distinct voice, but a distinct and booming yell that was triggered by any movement around the perimeter of their home. The one and only time they’d activated Brienne was when they resided in Maine, and the A.I.’s defensive techniques frightened a passing black bear so badly that it scurried up a pine tree and stayed there for hours. But while (Y/N) was still unconvinced that Yelena Belova would target her in revenge for her sister’s death, she was wary of Kingpin and his considerable forces uncovering her family’s involvement in Clint’s latest mission. I suppose that the annoying A.I. is better than nothing, (Y/N) thought to herself as she switched on the ignition and her husband’s hand moved to rest on her knee, the warmth of his touch working to comfort her as they both silently contemplated their friend’s imminent fight against Kingpin, the Tracksuits and a vengeful Black Widow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“-considerable damage to Rockefeller Center, namely its ice public skating rink and the world-famous Christmas tree. But thanks to the bravery and heroism of Avenger Clint Barton, JOAD Olympian Achievement Award recipient Kate Bishop and a group of off-duty first responders, several dozen members of the organized crime syndicate called the Tracksuit Mafia were apprehended by the NYPD and no injuries were reported by any of the gala’s attendees. Additionally, Eleanor Bishop, CEO of Bishop Security and mother of Kate Bishop, was arrested for the murder of Armand Duquesne the Third, and notorious businessman and crime lord Wilson Fisk was rushed to the Rockefeller University Hospital with life-threatening injuries. After the break, we’ll talk with an eyewitness who claims to have spotted the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man swinging near the scene-”

“All’s well that ends well, I suppose.” (Y/N) remarked with a content sigh, reaching for the remote on the empty couch cushion beside her and switching the channel, settling on a broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas before continuing. “I just wish that Kate didn’t have to go through the pain of losing her mother on Christmas Eve.”

Steve, who was sitting behind her and gently massaging circles across her baby bump, pressed a comforting kiss onto her shoulder and rested his cheek on the top of her head as she nuzzled closer to him. “Eleanor chose Kingpin over her own daughter, and now she’s gotta answer for that choice. But Kate’s strong, and if she had the strength to throw herself into danger to do the right thing, then she’ll have the strength to recover from this.”

Something in Steve’s tone of voice made (Y/N) crane her neck to meet his gaze. When she saw the conflicted emotions written across his face and the faraway look in his azure eyes as he watched the cartoon playing on television screen before them, she moved her arm back and softly brushed her fingers through his cropped blonde hair to coax him into looking at her; he blinked and after his eyes finally met hers, she smiled but continued to twirl her fingers around the longer strands of his hair. “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”

Her husband remained silent for a long moment, only answering after (Y/N)’s free hand moved to rest atop one of the hands that was cradling her bump. “Christmas Eve, 2017. Wanda was off visiting Vision and I was alone in a run-down hotel room in Tunis, just waiting for Sam and Nat to come back from a meeting with one of her contacts. While I waited, I was watching this special dubbed in Arabic. I remember sitting there in that room just wishing with everything I had that I could’ve been here with you, and sometimes…sometimes, I try to imagine how different things would’ve been for us if I’d ignored the risks and the mission and come home for Christmas.”

(Y/N)’s smile faltered a little as she realized what he was tentatively referring to; late into December of 2017 was when she’d discovered that she was three months pregnant, and Steve wouldn’t find out about his daughter’s existence until the summer of 2018, when the Black Order invaded and they fought in the Battle of Wakanda. Steve met his daughter that day, only to tragically lose her several hours later in the Snap, and he’d suffered with the grief of her sudden loss alongside (Y/N) for five long years until Bruce’s Snap brought all the Vanished back. “Steve…”

“I know, sunshine, I try not to but I can’t help it-”

“Sweetheart, it’s okay,” (Y/N) gently reassured him and when Steve took a shaky breath, she cupped his cheek and traced the smile lines around his eye with the feather-light pad of her thumb. “You know that I don’t blame you for not being there, and you know that I’ll never judge you for wondering how different things might’ve been if you were.” Her hand repositioned his to cradle the top of her bump where the baby was currently shifting about, and she couldn’t help but smile at the tender look in her husband’s azure eyes when he felt their unborn child’s faint movements. “But can you feel that? The universe gave us a second chance, Steve; the important thing is that you’re here now, being a fantastic father to Carina and doing everything a loving, loyal husband is supposed to do for his pregnant wife, and every single day, I wake up and I thank the universe for giving us this second chance.”

The worry line between his brows smoothed out as his expression relaxed and he moved one of his hands to rest on the side of her neck, softly stroking her jawline with his thumb before asking, “Have I told you how much I love you today?”

“Twice, but I could always use another reminder.”

Steve’s lips quirked upwards in amusement at her words. “I love you, baby, with everything I am and more.”

(Y/N) smiled happily up at him. “And I love you too, sweetheart.” Her eyes fluttered closed as she pulled Steve’s face down and he bent around her to capture her lips in a languid yet passionate kiss.

“Lucky, do you really have to go and invade Indy’s personal space like that? I mean, c’mon, you literally just met the guy and you’re already sniffing his business! Boundaries, dude, c’mon.”

Pulling apart, (Y/N) leaned her forehead against Steve’s and let out a breathless chuckle. “I suppose we should be good hosts and check in with our guests. We’ll continue this later, Mr. Rogers.”

Eyes darkening with desire, Steve smirked and lowered his voice before replying, “I look forward to it, Professor (Y/L/N).”

They both stood up from the couch, with (Y/N) doing her best to mask just how much her husband’s use of her title had affected her and with Steve biting back the knowing smile that threatened to break out across his face, and held each other’s hand while they left the living room and strolled into the dining room; Kate Bishop, sporting fresh facial wounds and damp hair from her quick shower, was finishing up her bowl of Kraft Mac & Cheese at the table and giggling to herself while her Golden Retriever and their German Shepard lounged together on the floor by the food and water bowl. The young archer appeared to be in good spirits, despite her near deadly fight with Kingpin himself and aiding the police in arresting her mother for murder, but (Y/N) knew all too well that her cheerful mood would steadily dissipate once the post-battle adrenaline wore off and the reality of her situation set in.

“Did you want some more mac and cheese, Kate, or anything else to drink?”

Glancing up and over at them, Kate adamantly shook her head and flashed them a bright smile. “I’m good, but thank you so much for the offer! Seriously, you guys have already done so much for me and Lucky; you made us a midnight snack, I got a post-battle shower and a fresh change of clothes, and I even got some Grade-A first aid.” The young archer beamed as she gestured to the bandage that stretched across the bridge of her nose. “I mean, who knew that Steve Rogers was good at first aid? I certainly didn’t! You must’ve learned during the war, right?”

“My mother, actually,” Steve corrected, tucking his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and giving a surprised Kate an offhand shrug. “I picked a lot of fights with bullies when I was growing up and she was the one who patched me up after each loss.”

“And that never stopped you from confronting the bullies…” Kate looked between them both and shook her head in amazement. “I’m beginning to see why you two get along so well. I, um, I also just want you guys to know that I’m not gonna tell anyone about all this.” Her dark brown eyes met (Y/N)’s, her gaze filled with understanding and an earnest respect. “You were right when you said that there’s things you’ll lose living the life of a superhero; a couple of hours ago, I helped the cops arrest my mom for murder and now I officially have no family. I can’t even imagine the sort of things you two’ve lost along the way, but what you’ve got now? I sure as hell won’t be the one to take this away from you.”

(Y/N) gave the young archer a thankful smile. “We trust you, Kate. And since you’re now privy to some top-secret Avengers intel, I should probably share with you one of the most important lessons I’ve learned as a superhero.” Kate’s brow rose in interest and (Y/N) nodded towards the cluster of framed photographs that were hung above the dining room’s antique sideboard; there was one that showed (Y/N), Steve, Sam and Nat hanging out at a bar, another with (Y/N) and Steve posing next to Tony and Pepper at their engagement party, and one that was taken of the Avengers as they dined on Chinese food takeout and planned their time heist. The last picture was of Sam and Bucky with the Rogers-(Y/L/N) family on the day they broke the news of her second pregnancy to their best friends; Sam was holding Carina on his hip and Bucky tickled her sides to get her to smile for the camera while Steve’s arm was slung around the super-soldier’s shoulders, his other arm wrapped around (Y/N)’s waist and his hand joining hers in cradling her barely-there baby bump. “A family doesn’t always have to be the one you’re born into. Sometimes, it’s something you get to create for yourself.” Kate’s eyes started to prickle with unshed tears, and she immediately began to blink them away and mask her emotional response with a bright smile, which only made (Y/N)’s sympathy for the upset twenty-two-year-old grow. “This little gumball feels a little restless, so I’m gonna make some hot coca. I’d be more than happy to make enough for everyone…”

Steve, instantly catching on to her line of thinking, lifted their joined hands up and gave her knuckles an exaggerated kiss while subtly winking for just her to see. “Mmm, you know how much I love your famous hot coca, sunshine. You use real milk and imported Belgian chocolate, don’t you?”

“Of course, that’s how it becomes so rich and creamy. I even sprinkle a pinch of gingerbread over the whipped cream to give it that seasonal flair.”

“Gosh, I’d just hate for anyone to miss out on the experience of enjoying such a special beverage…”

Watching their staged exchange with a growing smirk, Kate burst into laughter and raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I get the hint! I’d love some of your famous hot coca, (Y/N).”

(Y/N) beamed in triumph, giving Steve a chaste kiss on the cheek before releasing his hand and striding into the kitchen; as she assembled her ingredients and put the saucepan of milk on the stove to boil, she listened in on Kate and Steve’s conversation about archery, smiling to herself as she imagined her husband comforting their own children in a similar manner. Steve often doubted himself as a father, a habit he’d once confessed partially stemmed from never having known his own father, but (Y/N) never once doubted that the man who was patiently listening to an impassioned rant about the possibilities of various trick arrows in combat situations and even injecting his own opinions for Kate’s benefit was meant to be a father.

“Oooo, (Y/L/N)’s famous hot coca!” (Y/N), who was mixing the chocolate into the simmering milk, glanced over to see Clint enter the kitchen; the archer was toweling his hair dry, mindful of the steri-strips and bruises that littered his face, and the sight of his fluffed-up hair and eager grin forced her to stifle her chuckles. “Need any help with that?”

“Not with this, but could you grab some mugs from the cabinet for me?” He did as she asked, setting four mugs down onto the counter and nodding when she murmured her thanks. Seeing that he was preoccupied with examining the ‘America’s Ass’ mug that Scott sent Steve for his birthday, she took the opportunity to inspect his many visible wounds and winced in sympathy. “I’m looking at Yelena’s handiwork, aren’t I?”

Clint huffed out a humorless chuckle and nodded. “Yep. Not my first time having my ass kicked by a Black Widow, but I don’t remember it hurting as much as it does now.” He sobered when he caught sight of her concerned frown, slinging the towel he’d been using over his shoulder and giving hers a reassuring pat. “I got through to her in the end, and that’s all that matters. And for what it’s worth, she only really seemed pissed at me, so it’s safe to say that you and Steve are in the clear.”

Switching the burner off, (Y/N) took the saucepan off the stove and carefully began pouring the liquid into each mug. “I know that she just tried to kill you a couple of hours ago, but I still can’t help but hope that I’ll get the chance to meet Yelena someday. I spoke with Alexei and Melina over FaceTime after the Battle of Earth and I helped them arrange for Nat’s plot in Ohio…”

“But you haven’t been able to pass along the holographic puck she recorded Yelena’s message on,” Clint finished and pursed his lips in contemplation. “You told Alexei and Melina about the puck, right?” (Y/N) nodded as she reached into the refrigerator for a can of whipped cream. “It’s safe to say that before tonight, Yelena wasn’t ready to accept that Nat’s gone, but now? It’s possible that she’ll be ready for some closure, so don’t be surprised when you open your door to see her standing on your porch one day.”

While she added a sizable swirl of whipped cream to each mug of hot coca and finished them off with a sprinkle of gingerbread, (Y/N) smiled to herself and snuck a brief glance at Clint. “You know, Nat told me once that she counted herself lucky to have the three best siblings in the world; I’ll never forget just how happy that made me, because that was around the time I finally decided to go no contact with my family. She was my sister, in every sense of the word.”

“I know how you feel; back before Laura and the kids, Nat was the only family I had.” The archer’s voice cracked but he managed to muster up a reassuring smile for her. “I know that I wasn’t there for her when she needed me and that that’s something I’m gonna have to live with…” He peered out into the nearby dining room and watched Kate enthusiastically mime firing trick arrows as she talked to Steve, his smile softening and his blue-grey eyes filling with parental pride. “But I think that she’d be proud of what I accomplished with Kate.”

(Y/N) leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss onto Clint’s cheek before giving him a smile of understanding. “I think she would, too. Now c’mon, Hawkeye, let’s go deliver a little Christmas cheer and learn about all the possible applications of boomerang arrows before your guys’ ride to JFK gets here.”

Loading the mugs onto a tray, (Y/N) and Clint joined Steve and Kate at the dining room table, where they enjoyed their hot coca and engaged in a lively debate about the sort of trick arrows that the archers believed could work in a battle; (Y/N)’s hand absentmindedly rubbed across her bump as she watched Clint and Kate’s playful argument, her lips curving into an amused grin that only widened when she caught Steve’s azure eyes and he scooted his chair closer to hers so that he could drape an arm over her shoulders. Not quite how I pictured our little Rogers-(Y/L/N) Family Christmas going, she silently admitted to herself as she contently rested her head against her husband’s shoulder, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You still haven’t convinced me that boomerang arrows aren’t an excellent idea, Clint.” Kate stubbornly crossed her arms and turned to (Y/N) and Steve with an expectant look on her face. “Be honest, guys, doesn’t it sound like one of the best ideas you’ve ever heard?”

Ever the diplomat, Steve masked his chuckles with a contemplative hum and shrugged. “I’m not too sure how you’d be able to apply it, but it’s not a half-bad idea.”

Kate fist-pumped the air in triumph while an indignant Clint’s jaw dropped and he whipped his head around to stare at Steve. “Seriously, Rogers? You think it’s a good idea that an arrow should be able to fly back at you after you’ve fired it?”

“To be fair, he never said it was good,” (Y/N) pointed out. “What he said was that it wasn’t a half-bad idea.”

“Thank you, sunshine.” The archer rolled his eyes when Steve leaned over to plant a soft kiss onto her cheek and shot him a mischievous smirk. “All I know is that you could’ve taken out a helluva lot more Chitauri during the Battle of New York if your thirty-two arrows could’ve boomeranged back to you, Barton.”

Kate’s hand quickly moved to clamp over her mouth to muffle her laughter and (Y/N) masked hers with an unconvincing cough as Clint gasped in exaggerated outrage and made a rude hand gesture towards a chuckling Steve. “Damn, Clint, need some aloe for that burn?” Kate snickered and reached across the table to fist-bump Steve. “Thanks for the support, man!” The young archer leapt up from the table and hurried over to the duffel bag she’d deposited in the entryway. “And here, I’ve already thought of how I’d design the arrow!”

“Wait, Kate, you’re gonna trip the-”

“UNAUTHORIZED WEAPONRY DRAWN ON THE PREMISES, MY LORD AND LADY!”

Clint’s hand flew towards his hearing aid and Kate yelped in surprise, poking her head back into the dining room with a shell-shocked expression written across her face. “What the hell was that?!”

With a sigh, (Y/N) set her empty mug down onto her coaster and smiled despite herself. “Brienne.”

“Or as I like to call her, the posthumous revenge of Tony Stark,” Steve added, his own grin dimming a little as a wistful gleam filled his azure eyes. “Wherever he is, he’s gotta be laughing his ass off right now…”

“Language!” (Y/N), Clint and Kate’s exclamation broke the tension and even Steve couldn’t stop himself from laughing along with them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Only one more chapter left, guys! (And don't worry, we'll soon find out who was watching (Y/N) in the last chapter) Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I’ve created a Spotify playlist inspired by this series, and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter. Enjoy!

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ziGMhEsAw833GQ9eV44nR?si=6dfead09c76848d5 

Hawkeye (Part IV)

Stumblin’ In Book VII: “Superhero Snapshots” Masterlist 

Tagging:  @mrs-obrien​​​​​ @lahoete​​​​​ @awkward117 @cminr @natdrunk​​​​ @momc95​​​​​ @savedbystyle​​​​​ @miraculouscloud @awkwardnesshabitat​​​​​ @marinettepotterandplagg​​​​​ @mangosandmimosas @supersouthy @benakenalove​​​​​ @brooke0297​​​​​ @hufflepeople​​​​​ @becausewelie​​​​​ @outoftheregular​​​​​​ @junipermurdock​​​​​ @ladydmalfoy @mads-weasley​​​​​ @username23345@crist1216​​​​​ @capswife​​​​​ @lilmschild​​​​​ @avngrsinitiative @crowleysqueenofhell​​​​​ @y-napotat​​​ @mary1raven​​​​​ @groovyqueer​​​​​ @ljej95​​​​​ @innersublimefury​​​ @prettysbliss​​​​​​  

[hxneyfarm]

woke up thinking about this post and now i have to project on my blorbos a little bit cw: bullying, homophobia, mention of parent death

steve is in the first grade when he first becomes aware of eddie munson. it's a friday, which means he's in chapel alongside all the other students at st matthew's, but this morning is different. this morning they're doing a dress rehearsal for the second graders' first communion this weekend. there's a long line of them, right up the center aisle of the chapel in alternating boy-girl order, and everybody is watching them.

most of the second graders are doing just what they should; standing with their shoulders back, hands in front of them in prayer position, awaiting their turn to get to the front of the sanctuary and take the eucharist from father hyde.

there's one boy, though, who can't seem to stand still.

ants in his pants, as steve's mother would say. and that's no good for chapel, for mass this weekend when the boy will take the holy sacrament for the first time.

he's a little smaller than the rest of his grade, scrawny almost. his hair's a mop of unruly dark curls and he's got big brown eyes that take up most of his face. his faded trousers are an inch or so too short, showing off a strip of white sock beneath. steve's father would have never let him out of the house showing white sock beneath black trousers. the boy's belt is tightened to the very last hole.

sister ignatius hovers behind the boy, just to his right, with her severe brow pulled into a scowl and her long wooden ruler clutched in her hand.

"munson better cool it," tommy whispers at steve's side. "sister ignatius is gonna get him with that ruler of hers."

but eddie munson can't stand still, and he doesn't even get to father hyde before he catches sister ignatius' ruler across the thigh. he looks like his eyes might be welling with tears after she does it, but he stills, and he forces his body to remain as still as possible until the dress rehearsal is through

--

when steve is in the fourth grade, he's chosen to play joseph in st matthew's nativity play. eddie munson - still wild, still scrawny, still incapable of being still or quiet for more than a couple of minutes at a time - has for some godawful reason been chosen as the angel gabriel.

eddie munson doesn't take anything seriously, and the nativity play is no different. during practice and rehearsal, sister ignatius has to chase him all throughout the sanctuary while he dives beneath pews and hides under the altar and inside the hollow back of the pulpit.

steve thinks eddie munson is too old to be acting like this.

when the day finally comes, though, and they perform the nativity, munson delivers. for all the screwing around he did at practice and rehearsal, he really comes through and he shines as gabriel.

he's a touch dramatic, and his voice carries a little further than the rest of them, but there's a man and a woman in the second row of pews that smile at eddie like he is the star of both of their entire worlds as he takes a bow at the end.

the woman is young, her eyes big and dark in the same way eddie munson's are, her hair big and dark and curly. eddie's mother, for sure. the man at her side, though... that's not eddie's dad. steve's not sure how he knows it, but he does.

eddie is scooped into a hug by his mother when all is said and done, and the man at her side lays a companionable hand atop his head.

it's the happiest steve has ever seen eddie munson. the calmest, the most grounded.

--

steve is in the sixth grade when he watches eddie munson get expelled from st matthews.

he heard through the grapevine that eddie's mom died over the summer. he doesn't know the specifics but munson was out of school a lot last spring. they're not friends, barely even acquaintances, so steve doesn't offer any empty condolences when he sees eddie in the hallway between classes their first day back in the fall.

by the end of the week everything falls to shit.

steve's got no idea what or who started it, but when he comes across the scene in the hallway there are three boys surrounding eddie munson. they have eddie on his knees. one boy has a hand fisted in eddie's hair, pulling his head back at an uncomfortable angle, and the two other boys are taking turns hitting him.

the boys are using words that steve has never heard before.

fag. queer. cocksucker.

eddie munson's mouth is bleeding. there's nothing behind his eyes. he looks numb, almost dead himself. the boy holding munson down tightens his hand in his hair and pulls back again.

he says to eddie, "good thing your mom died before she found out what kinda faggot her kid is, huh?" and for the briefest moment, steve sees a flash of fire in his eyes.

and then eddie spits in the face of his attacker. he sprays blood across the other boy's face and all three of them go very very still before dropping eddie in a heap on the ground and running off to find an adult.

steve considers going to eddie, helping him up off the hallway floor, but eddie munson levels him with a hard stare and says, "fuck off."

eddie doesn't come back to st matthews after that, and over the next few years steve begins to hear rumors about him; he worships the devil, he's dealing drugs. he's gay.

--

in the spring of '86, when steve pulls on eddie's battle vest in the hazy nightmare of the upside down, there's a rosary in the pocket.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Robin is a 100% a Stancy shipper, but she could also be falling for Nancy. Both can be true at the same time, especially if she starts falling for Nancy because Nancy loves Robin's platonic Steve so much. Robin said they should combine. It only makes sense that they date the same woman, and Robin wouldn't want to date Nancy without Steve anyway. Not because they're codependent but because Robin's platonically in love with Steve. I'm pretty sure that Robin is laughing at that Tom Cruise poster because she knows her best friend has the same one (we haven't seen Steve’s room since season one, he's probably redecorated by now). I love Steddie, but I think Stancy is somehow going to be endgame. Whether it's with Ronance or with Jancy. I think people also forget that the only time 'Robin' ever saw anything remotely Steddie was when Joseph Quinn improvised the big boy scene, so that was Maya's reaction. She's definitely a Stancy shipper. There's no doubt.

"God, they're so adorable. I just wanna squeeze them, you know. If I'm permitted to see a silver lining in all of this end of the world doom and gloom, it would be the rekindling of some old flames, that frankly never should have been snuffed out. I didn't mean it as a hint but if I did meant it as a hint, would that be so terrible? For me to wish happiness for my friends?"

Robin: If only we could just like combine. Think about it. . .I know exactly what I want, I found the girl of my dreams, and I just can't get the courage to ask her out. Meanwhile, you go on a million dates and you have no idea what you want, so if we just combined all of our problems, it would be solved because alone, let's face it. . .

Steve: We totally suck. . .

So, if Rovickie doesn't work out (let's say because Vickie parents moved her out of Hawkins) or for whatever reason, Stoncy doesn't. . . Stobincy! Because alone, they totally suck. (Or if they're going to date the same girl. . .Vickie, which I could see too.) Hmm. . .why do all my short posts turn into long ones. . .I always feel a little awkward when I go on my rambly rants, so bear with me. 🫣

[princess-of-the-corner]

Been a while, but the Random Fanfic Quotes Return!

“My brother, in his infinite dumbassery, seems to have accidentally joined a cult.”

            “What.”

“Your mission because I’m making you accept it, is to help me get my idiot back.”

*

            So, he’s an All Might nerd. Arguably, he’s the king of the All Might nerds. He’s what every All Might nerd aspires to be without knowing it. He is the God Emperor of Otakus.

*

TT: always a possibility with that nonsense of direction

*

OG: Here we see the characteristics of any place that Ash visits

OG: Nothing is wrong

OG: Ash turns up

OG: Everything goes wrong

OG: Something explodes

OG: Ash leaves

*

‘It’s not fainting, it’s passing out in a manly fashion.’

*

SG: You don’t know this, Mew? 

SG: On learning their child is in danger all parents, especially mothers, suddenly gain the ability to teleport.

*

BULBASAUR: Welcome to the madness that is Ash Ketchum’s extended circle of friends.

BULBASAUR: You’re never leaving.

*

ASH: for something put together in an emergency, this food isn’t half bad.

RITCHIE: haha, thanks!

ASH: if i was cooking everything would be burned by now…

ASH: even the soda.

RITCHIE: how do you burn soda?

ASH: as it turns out, very easily!

*

TM: Shaymin, a word.

GO: What. The. Fuck.

TM: Not that one.

*

MARILL: It just kind of seems to me that anybody who says ‘things were under control’ actually didn’t have things under control!

VENONAT: Ash said that once.

MARILL: Did he have things under control?

VENONAT: Nnnnope.

*

Zapdos:“I remember when this place was calm and private.”

Keldeo:“Really?, When was that?”

Zapdos:“This morning.”

*

Steve: Listen carefully. This is absolutely true and not at all a desperate lie.

*Beat*

Steve: … he ate your last Klondike bar.

Shadow: DESTROY! DEATH! MURDER! AND MY POOR KLONDIKE BAR!!

He had the distinct feeling he’d been unfairly maligned.

*

“Never better," Dexter beeped. "Please restore my pride from the most recent backup.”

*

“An ‘dat’s why Joseph ain’t getting’ broken out of prison. Da team ain’t gonna spring morons!”

*

“Hey, Jessie?” James asked. “Did we do the motto?”

“We didn’t do the motto,” Jessie replied.

“Poor guy,” James said. “He didn’t get that chance to surrender.”

(…)

“You do know what these big R letters on our shirts mean, right?” James checked.

“I’m not impressed in small-timers who hide behind the symbol of Team Rocket,” Rico chuckled.

“…he doesn’t know what da big R letters mean,” Meowth sighed.

*

“I’m not sure I can see a flaw in your conclusion," she said carefully. "Your logic might be a bit less sure…”

*

“Okay, I am exhausted,” Momo spoke up first, “And I’m sure that once I’ve had some sleep I will have it in me to process what I just heard and respond accordingly, but for now, I’ll just say this. Iida, as the Class Representative, murder is frowned upon.”

“Technically and legally, I have committed approximately zero murders,” Iida assured her.

*

Tails: I simply say what I see. 

Tails: And I see about twenty lgbtq+ children following their trans pan poly leader to learn incredible violence. 

*

ElectricAvenue: I need your help. I can’t tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it later, and we’re gonna mess with some people.

TheFrenchiestFry: lets do it~

*

EarphoneJack: welcome to class 1a, where our luck is so bad we just accept villain attacks as an inevitability

Ridley: we have it marked on our calendars and everything

PurblePlace: you do???

Ridley: if you mean I just wrote VILLAINS in marker across my calendar? Then yeah. It’s been marked.

Ridley: the date is yes

*

09:19] glass bones paper skin: uh currently were arguing in the form of spongebob quotes

[09:19] more hands more hugs: w-what?

[09:20] glass bones paper skin: yknow like, id say ‘i was born with glass bones and paper skin’ and uraraka would say ‘KRUSTY KRAB PIZZA IS THE PIZZA FOR YOU AND ME’ and then tsu would say ‘the hash slinging slasher…….’ and then todo would say ‘goodbye everyone, ill remember you all in therapy’ iida would say ‘please stop’

*

[08:44] hanta sero fanta zero: when are yall gonna learn that kami and i are just ride or die

[08:45] hanta sero fanta zero: it doesnt matter if technically things dont involve me

[08:45] hanta sero fanta zero: if it involves kami, it involves me end of story

*

-

Absolutely beautiful.

[strangerthingssimps-blog]

Joe keery x Reader

You were sat there watching Free guy, with your 7 year old daughter on disney plus. She loved the movie, she had watched it 12 times since it came out. You didn’t mind it either.

Keys came onto the screen..

“Mom, look it’s dad” She said pointing at the screen, you looked and saw your husband Joe on the scene. He was so gorgeous in any role he had. You had met Joe in college and you got married 2 years after college in 2012.

It was a beautiful wedding, your family flew all the way from England for the wedding. Joe’s mom and sister’s helped you pick out your wedding dress since your mother wanted nothing to do with the bridal side. She just turned up to congratulate you.

You never had a good relationship with your parents; they were always away on business trips while you were stuck looking after your younger brother. Your brother was a little angel. He was 11 at the time of your wedding.

You were getting ready and one of Joe's sisters said someone wanted to see you and then your little brother walked in the room wearing a suit and handed you some flowers. You started tearing up and gave him a massive hug.

Instead of your father walking you down the aisle, Your brother found it adorable how a little boy was walking his big sister down the aisle.

In 2016, Joe got the biggest role in his life as Steve harringron. He then grew as an actor and soon you was known as the wife of the famous Joe keery. It was weird at first but then you got used to it.

In 2017, You gave birth to your daughter. Joe was emotional when he saw his daughter for the first time. He had always wanted a daughter and now he had one. You both decided to name Grace Lillie Ann keery.

Here you were now in 2021 watching his newest movie where he was playing a geeky nerd. He still was good looking to you. It reminds of what Joe looked like when you first met in college all those years ago.

Grace had Brown hair and hazel eyes, she had inherited that from her father but she had your face shape and smile which Joe is thankful for. She was wearing her Scoops ahoy hoodie that she brough when season 3 came out. She loved meeting everyone when he took her on set. She was mostly fond of Gaten since she saw him the most.

3 months later…

Joe was in Indiana filming the fourth season of Stranger things, they were all in costume and they were on a break when all of sudden they heard..

“GATEN” They all looked to see your daughter running up to gaten. Gaten then picked her up while the cast members looked in awe,

Joe saw this and saw you and ran up to you, he was happy to see both of you and his other baby, he picked up his pet pomeranian that you got him for his 24th birthday.

Gaten then passed Grace around the cast members introducing her to Jamie and Joseph, Jamie was out of costume and Joseph was dressed as Eddie. Grace smiled and gave them both a high five. They accepted and gave her a high five back.

After everyone had held Grace…

“Daddy” Grace said running up Joe in his Steve Harrington Costume. Joe saw this and kneeled down and opened his arms so that Grace could land into his arms. Grace then jumped and landed into his arms and Joe pulled her close and gave her a giant hug.

“Oh no daddy you're hurt” Grace says as she looks at Joe who was wearing the outfit he was wearing when he went into the upside down world the first time. He has fake bite marks and scars and it upset Grace.

“NO DADDY” Grace says as she starts crying at the thought of her father being hurt. All the Cast then look at Grace in awwe. Grace then started to cry harder as Joe looked at her and started to comfort her.

“No sweetie daddy’s fine, it’s fake i promise you. It’s for the scene. Daddy’s not really hurt” Joe says while trying to calm your daughter down while tears fell down her cheeks.

“You promise” Grace said through some sniffles as she calmed down.

“I promise” Joe says reassuring your daughter while the cast members stood there in Awwe. On how good Joe was with her when she was upset. None of them not even gaten had ever seen her cry before so they were a bit shocked. A couple minutes later she calmed down and stopped crying.

You then went up to Joe and gave him a quick kiss before you took your daughter into her arms and rocked her to sleep.

“You better get back to filming, me and Grace will be sitting in your Trailer while you do this alright” You say as you say goodbye to the rest of the cast and put Grace back into the stroller and head to his trailer.

When you get there the trailer is in great condition as always, you still remember when Joe had to come shoot Season 2 and it was only a few weeks after Grace was born, he felt so guilty leaving you with a newborn so he made sure he got a new trailer to fit the needs of a Newborn so that you could come and stay in the trailer while he worked on scenes.

You then got Grace out of the stroller and laid her on the little bean bag that he bought for her to sleep on in 2018, when he was filming Season 3.

[munson-blurbs]

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

TO SPREAD SOME HOLIDAY CHEER (AND AN EXCUSE TO ESCAPE YOUR IN-LAWS, OVERBEARING EXTENDED RELATIVES, SIBLINGS, and/or PARENTS)

LETS PLAY A LITTLE GAME

𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠

thank you @reidsbtch for tagging me!

𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭...

𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎: eddie x bookworm!reader romance novel smut

𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜: rockstar!eddie jerkin it to fan!reader

𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜: argyle x hippie!reader idiots in love

𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎: hidden in plain sight (escaped convict!eddie x innocent!reader)

𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎: trapped under ice ch. 1 (single dad!eddie x teacher!reader)

𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚜𝚔: immaculate misconception (rockstar!eddie x religious!reader--based on a conversation with @offensiunculae)

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛: steeb harrington--only by request

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛: edward philbert munson

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎���� 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛: i never say never because i'm the girly who wrote ted wheeler smut 🙆🏻‍♀️💅🏼

𝚂𝟻 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜?: max has powers and is able to help them defeat vecna without him even knowing

𝚔𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝, 𝚠𝚑𝚢/ 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚝?: no, i'm a firm believer that netflix couldn't pay joseph quinn enough money to reprise his role as eddie munson

𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚢 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚠𝚑𝚢/𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚝?: no, the duffers wouldn't break jonathan byers' heart like that

𝚊 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎: three that come to mind are @the-unforgivenn, @eddiemunsonsmum, and @munsonmuses

𝚊 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚘 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎: @word-wytch writes with such passion and dedication, and i love that we can just hype each other up about our wips

𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚖: pretty sure it was the roan series by @luveline!

𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚖: @corroded-hellfire and i quietly simped over each other prior to actually talking so i'm counting her

𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚎: does this count?

𝚐𝚘𝚊𝚕𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛: starting (and finishing) a 20-chapter series, taking on different reader-insert perspectives than my own, not chucking my laptop out of a window when words stopped wording

𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛: 10.1k (trapped under ice ch. 17)

𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎: best friends-to-lovers or enemies-to-lovers

𝚜𝚖𝚞𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏?: fluffy smut please!

f̾u̾c̾k̾ ̾m̾a̾r̾r̾y̾ ̾k̾i̾l̾l̾

𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚛. 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎?: fuck mr. clarke, marry ted (he's got some money), kill murray

𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚌𝚎, 𝚔𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗, 𝚘𝚛 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚊? (𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗’𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚖): fuck karen, marry joyce, kill claudia

𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚛, 𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚗, 𝚍𝚛. 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛? fuck hopper, marry wayne, kill dr. brenner

𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚢𝚕𝚎, 𝚓𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗, or 𝚔𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑? fuck jonathan, marry argyle, kill keith

𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚎, 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚢𝚕𝚎? fuck argyle, marry steve, kill eddie (he's technically already dead canonically sooooo)

𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚝, 𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚊𝚗, 𝚟𝚎𝚌𝚗𝚊? fuck vecna, marry a demogorgan, kill the demobat

no pressure tags: @corroded-hellfire @rip-quizilla @vintagehellfire @munsonmuses @pastel-pillows @the-unforgivenn @eddiemunsonsmum @word-wytch @hellfire--cult

[zaraomarrogers]

Always and Forever - 14

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Fem!reader

Warning: Angst, Fluff, 18+ content (Minors DNI)

A/n: A very special to thanks @sunshine-on-my-mind for helping me out with this chapter. Meera, I wouldn't be able to do it without your help. Thankyou for your endless support.

~*~

Dear Y/n,

I thought it was time to let you know about what happened, and if you have figured it out by yourself, I’m not surprised it took you so long.

Our mother, had made me a pawn in her game. She had framed our father and alleged him of cheating when in truth she was the one who had an affair.

And she had always played games with our family for her own gain. She used me to separate you and Steve and manipulated me.

Steve was drugged. He never cheated on you while you two were together. What happened after that- it’s better to not think about.

Also, few years ago I heard couple a rumours swirling around the firm that our mother might have a hand behind Joseph Rogers death. Yes, it wasn’t just a cardiac arrest. I ignored them in the beginning but a lot of things about her behaviour has started surfacing recently and I had to probe.  

I’m sending you whatever evidence I pulled off of our mother’s transgression. You are not as naive as you were before, so I hope you wisely decide what to do with this information. I apologise for not using my own brain and be a tool in our mother’s game.

 

Regards,

Peggy

 

~*~

 

Tiny specks of dust seemed to dance in the shaft of afternoon sunlight that slanted through the long glass window. Y/n pressed her temple harder from her left hand while still trying to remain focus on the designs in front of her. The sun light had started to cause her eyes squint making her migraine ten times more worse. She pressed the button on the extension phone to call Lily in her office and as soon as she came in, she rushed towards the desk where Y/n was seated with her face hidden in her hands.

 

“Are you okay?” Lily asked worried.

 

“Just migraine, can you please close the blinds and turn off the extra lights?” Y/n said in a low voice.

 

“Sure. Do you want me to call the doctor or something. You don’t look good.”

 

“No, no. I’ll be fine, just gonna sleep it off. Call me an Uber and go through these files, and give ‘em to Steve in the meeting. He’ll have it discussed with the financers.”

 

“Okay. Do you want me to tell Wanda or Mr. Rogers about you leaving early?”

 

“Oh no, no need. Just inform them in the meeting.”

 

“Okay. Are you sure you don’t want to see the doctor?” she was genuinely concerned.

 

“No Lily! I’ll be fine.”

 

“Okay, okay. Your Uber is 5 minutes away.”

 

“Okay, thank you Lily.” Y/n tried to stand up on her feet not without a faltered step, she immediately hold the edge of the table. She took her sunglasses out of her bag and put them on. Taking off her heels and holding them in her hand she slid her purse on the shoulder and walked towards the elevator. Lily offered to accompany her to the ground level where the ride was waiting for her but she refused.

 

It had been a week and a half since she’d been sitting on the email she received from Peggy. It took her couple days before deciding that she should share the content of the email with her father before saying anything to Steve. But Wanda and her had planned a vacation trip for Daniel and Alice for their wedding anniversary and she couldn’t burden her father with this vile  information she knew nothing about. It was better to wait for them to come back and then she’d accost the issue.

 

Peggy’s confession didn’t exactly make her feel relieved that Steve was blameless, deep down she knew that and the confirmation had just stamped Steve’s innocence. Her heart was breaking for Steve and the burden of guilt he had been carrying for four years. She didn’t remember how many times in the past week she wanted to just hold him tight, and protect him for whatever this was but she couldn’t do anything but wait for her parents to come back. She wasn’t even sure if she could completely trust Peggy and  because of the extra information Peggy had given her about Steve’s dad had her mind numb with thinking of different scenarios and things that could go wrong. Keeping everything from Steve was right thing to do for now. It was her way of protecting him from the inevitable but the least she could do was try.

 

 

Steve was in his office with few other people from the finances to discuss the yearly expenses when Lily entered the room with a gentle knock. She placed the file in front of Steve.

 

“Where’s Y/n?” Steve asked a little confused when Lily started telling him and everyone else the details of the file that Y/n had managed to complete.

 

“She left early. She wasn’t feeling well.” Lily said fixing her glasses on her nose as a nervous habit.

 

“She was fine this morning.” Steve almost mumbled to himself. “Lily, what is it? She had prepared this file, and is expected to lay out the plan.”

 

Steve didn’t mean to come off as harsh as he sounded. He apologised immediately to Lily when he saw her flinched.

 

“She was having a splitting migraine. I booked her an Uber on her request, could barely hold herself together.”

 

“Why didn’t you inform me?” Steve’s voice was low and full of concern. Other people could see the softness and worry in Steve’s expressions.

 

“I wanted to but she stopped me. Told me not to disturb you before meeting.”

 

“Well, there’s no point of having this meeting when Y/n’s not here. She had worked hard on planning the yearly spends, I can’t decide on the plans without giving this file a thorough read.” Steve said standing up on his feet, “I’m sorry guys, but I think we’re holding up on this meeting for couple a days -  good thing we still have time, so a little delay won’t be bad.” He dismissed the meeting with a tight lipped smile. His mind was wrapped up in the news Lily just gave him. He had been distant from Y/n after seeing her and Andy the night he stayed at her house. It wasn’t intentional, the hurt was doubled with fear, the fear of losing her for good had him thinking worst possibilities He kept the interaction between them bare minimum, and wasn’t surprised when Y/n didn’t make an effort to reach out to him, not that he was expecting her to be. He was just in his head that he didn’t even notice that Y/n was also uncharacteristically quiet, even with Malcolm she was not engaging. They both were in their own heads and none of them noticed that.

 

Steve entered Wanda’s studio that was on the top floor of the building and spotted her working on one of her many master creations. Steve looked around and silently praised her hard work.

 

“Wanda..” Steve cleared his throat, “I’m going to pick Malcolm up and head to Y/n's.”

 

“Mhmm...” She nodded, eyes still glued on the mannequin in front of her.

 

“Y/n has already left. She wasn’t feeling good.” Steve said again when Wanda didn’t say anything.

 

“Why? What happened?” She finally looked at him with a slight frown.

 

“Lily said she was having a migraine so she left. I’m just going to go check on her... if she needs something.”

 

“Oh no! She’s got migraine.” Wanda whispered to herself. “Okay, keep me posted, I’ll drop by once I’m done with this.” She said mentally figuring out her busy schedule.

 

“Sure.” With that Steve left. Something was not right, he could feel it in his heart. Worry started to take over him as he sped up the car. An unsettling feeling had crept into his heart the moment he entered Y/n’s house. He put down Malcolm from his arms on the floor.

 

“Y/n?” He called. He made his way up the stairs and into Y/n's room, Malcolm hot on his tail. He could hear the low voice of coughing from the bathroom.

 

“Y/n? You okay?” He peeked into the bathroom from the door, seeing Y/n bent over the toilet, vomiting and coughing. In long strides he covered the distance and sat on the floor, legs drawing on either side of her, he gently pulled her hair back from one hand and slowly rub her back.

 

“S – Steve, just go. It’s gross.” Y/n said in a low raspy voice. She slumped against Steve’s chest, on the cold tiled floor of the bathroom. Steve wrapped his arm around her protectively.

 

“Do you want me to call the doctor? We can go to any walk-in clinic? Do you need some meds? Y/n... sweetheart?” his voice was laced with concern and worry. Malcolm came to stand in the door way, clutching his stuffed puppy, worried seeing his mama like that.

 

“Mama?” Malcolm’s voice wavered with emotions. Steve and Y/n both looked at Malcolm’s who had tears in his eyes now.

 

“Mal-pal, go get mama’s pain meds. You know which one right.” Y/n said in a barely audible voice. “I’ll be fine, Steve. Don’t worry.” Her head was throbbing in pain. Malcolm made his way towards the sink cabinets, he stood on the step-stool and  opened the left one and took out a bottle of prescribed medicine. As he came towards Y/n , she felt another wave of nausea hit her, crouching over the toilet she spewed the contents of her stomach. Steve, again pulled her hair back and rubbed her back. Malcolm grabbed the towel from the sink counter and brought it to his mama and handed her the painkillers.

 

“Mama pwease be okay.” His lower lip trembled and Y/n opened her arms to hold him while still seated between Steve’s legs.

 

“I’m okay, sweetheart. I just have a headache. I’ll be okay when I wake up. You know that right, Mal-pal?”

 

Malcolm nodded, kissing her on the face. He stepped back and hold out his hand to hold her, so that he could take his mama to the bedroom. Steve was silently witnessing them, his heart clenched assuming that this wasn’t the first time it happened. Malcolm had seen and been through the situation before.

 

“Here bubba, let me help mama.” He said, taking Y/n in his arms and carried her bridal style to the bedroom. The dim light from lamp made her squint her eyes. Gently, Steve laid her down on the bed, tucking her under the covers, he placed a sweet kiss on her forehead.

 

“Go to sleep, I’ll be right here when you wake up.” He whispered and kissed her hair again.

 

He looked around and see Y/n’s pile of clothes on the floor that she changed from after coming home. He picked her work clothes along with her bra and panties and dump them in a laundry basket. Malcolm was right behind him, watching his dad cleaning up the toilet and picking up the used towel and throw it into the hamper. Steve left the bathroom light on and door slightly ajar, he turned off the night stand lamp, turning the room dark. The only light coming was from the bathroom.

 

“C'mon bubba, let’s fix you something to eat.” He carried Malcolm in his arms and came downstairs in the kitchen, setting him on the counter he asked him what did he want to eat. After a little debate, the father – son duo agreed on having some fruits and yogurt. They spent rest of the evening painting and colouring in hush voices. Malcolm told him that Y/n had had migraine before but he was unable to explain it that got Steve more worried. Dinner time rolled around real quick for Steve and Malcolm who were snuggled on the couch in the living room, watching Ms Rachel on YouTube.

 

By the time Wanda dropped by, Malcolm was tired and already sleepy. She brought Chinese takeout for Steve and Malcolm.

 

“Thanks for the dinner, Wanda. I really appreciate it.” Steve said taking a seat on the couch across from Wanda. Malcolm was in Wanda’s lap, quietly playing with the loose thread on her sweater.

 

“Oh, it’s no problem, Steve. How is she? Still sleeping?”

 

“Yup. She took the pain meds.” Steve fiddled with his fingers, unable to form a sentence. “Is – is it umm normal thing; I mean her migraine. She threw up couple a times, she’s in so much pain.”

 

“Yeah, whenever she gets this.. migraine, it’s always worse. It’s not a usual occurrence, something triggers it. I don’t know what does it this time. She seemed fine to me. But the only thing doctor had said is to sleep it off and rest.”

 

Steve nodded, “Did it happen in front of Mal too? I mean, he knows where her meds are.. I – I panicked when I came here.”

 

“Yes, she kinda explained him that if she gets it and there’s no one home, Mal knows what to do, and where to get her meds. Don’t worry Steve, She’ll be fine when she wakes up, a little drowsy but that’s the meds effect, once it flushes out of her system, She’ll be perfectly fine.”

 

“I can’t help but be worried. I’ve never seen her like this and its killing me. Mal's too small to – “ He didn’t finish, just sighed heavily and leaned against the back of the couch.

 

“I know what you mean, Steve. Its just – she wouldn’t want us to carry the weight of her worries, she’d internalise everything. I have to dig her sometimes, get to the root of her stress. She’s stubborn like that.”

 

“Yeah, I know. Same old Y/n" Steve smiled.

 

“So...”

 

“So?” Steve raised an eyebrow at her.

 

“I’m here, I mean if you...”

 

“I don’t want to be anywhere but here, Wanda. If you want to stay, you’re most welcome.”

 

“Oh okay. Guess, I can trust you with my sister and nephew.” Wanda teased.

 

Steve rolled his eyes and Wanda chuckled.

 

“I know you will take care of her and this little guy.” She slightly nudged Malcolm in the ribs who was soundly asleep.

 

“Ohhh...” she whispered looking down at Malcolm.

 

“Here let me take him to his bed.” Steve offered standing up.

 

“It’s okay, I’ll put him to bed and check up on Y/n.”

 

Steve nodded, “You sit and eat. It’s all cold now.” Wanda whispered while taking Malcolm upstairs to his room. Malcolm started stirring when she tuck him in, whimpering a little he opened his blue eyes.

 

“Where daddy?” he panicked.

 

“Mal, he is downstairs, eating dinner.” Wanda whispered rubbing his back gently.

 

“No, daddy. I want daddy. Pwease daddy.” His sleepy eyes were filled with tears.

 

“Sshh, let me...” Wanda took him in her arms again.

 

“Here, bubba. I’m right here. No need to cry buddy.” Steve must have heard his voice so he entered the room right when Wanda was about to take Malcolm back to him.

 

“See, Wan Wan is trying to help you go back to sleep.” Steve gently rocked him in his arms.

 

“Stay daddy.”

 

“Okay, I’m not going anywhere. You want  some chicken noodle soup? There’s some spaghetti as well.” 

 

Malcolm nodded his head and they made their way back to kitchen. Wanda reheat the food in the microwave while Steve sat Malcolm down on the dining chair.

 

“Thank you Wanda.” Steve said with a genuine smile.

 

“No problem Steve.” She returned the smile. “I’m gonna get going. I’ll stop by in the morning. If you need anything just call or text... or whatever okay?”

 

“Sure. Thanks again.”

 

Once Wanda left, Steve finished the dinner, putting the plates in the dishwasher, he cleaned the kitchen while making small conversation with Malcolm who just had few bites of spaghetti. He took Malcolm to his room, both of them whispering and laughing and just being silly. He changed Malcolm into his night suit, brush his teeth and tucked him again in the bed. Two and a half story later, Malcolm finally fall asleep. Steve looked at his little bean lovingly, his heart melts and he placed a kiss on his nose. It was hard for him to decide who hold the more power over him – his little boy or his baby's mama. He would do everything in a heart beat for both of them. They were his purpose of living. His happiness. His all.

 

He got up after kissing on Malcolm’s forehead one more time and came to check up on Y/n. He sat down on the floor leaning against the bed. Y/n was still sound asleep, her left hand hanging from the edge of bed. Steve took her hand in his, kissing the back of it. She stirred a little, tightening her grip in Steve’s hand she folded their intertwined hand on her chest.

 

“Did Mal eat?” she asked in raspy, sleep laced voice. Her eyes were still closed.

 

“Yes. He has.” He whispered. He couldn’t comprehend the emotion he felt.

 

“Did you eat?”

 

“Yes. Go back to sleep, sweetheart.” He said trying to restrain his feelings. He just wanted to take her in his arms and ease away her pain and all the stress that’s causing her all the suffering.

 

Steve didn’t realise when he had fallen asleep in the same position, his mind was still foggy when he felt soft caressing brush in his hair and on forehead. It took him couple a moments to register the soft touch of Y/n’s finger tips on his skin, just like the old times. He opened his eyes to meet her sleepy gaze, didn’t know what time of night it was.

 

“C’mere.” Her voice sent tingles in his body.

 

“Yeah? You okay?” He got up in a speed.

 

“Come. Lie down here.” She moved and patted on the now empty space on the bed. “You’ll get a sore neck.” 

 

Steve was dumbfounded, had no clue how to react. Every fibre in his body wanted to join her in bed, cuddle and go back to sleep but there was this hesitation in his mind. She wasn’t his anymore. His heart churned at the thought. He opened and closed his mouth unable to respond to her.

 

“Please Steve. It’s okay.” She felt his hesitance and without giving it much thought he moved underneath the covers. Y/n didn’t wait for him to settle, she wrapped her arms around his torso and snuggled into him. She was still under meds effect so it didn’t take more than few minutes for her to fall back to sleep, Steve smiled and closed his eyes, letting her soft breaths on his neck lulling him to sleep.

 

The next time he woke up when he felt something or someone poking in his ribs, like someone’s trying to shake him awake. He slightly opened his eyes, trying to adjust his vision and the reason behind this sudden intrude.

 

“Daddy?” Malcolm whispered near his ear. Steve immediately turned to look at him. He was big spooning Y/n, their legs tangled and Y/n’s head was on his arm, her back pressed against his chest.

 

“Daddy, I go pee.” Malcolm whispered again. Steve slowly moved away from Y/n trying his best not wake her up.

 

“C'mon bubba, let’s go to the bathroom.” Steve carried Malcolm to the bathroom and sat him on the toilet.

 

“Why you sweep with mama, why no me, daddy?” a small pout was formed on Malcolm’s face while he was still sitting on the toilet.

 

Steve turned around from wiping his freshly washed face on the towel and looked at his son bewildered, totally clueless of what to say.

 

“Umm... because mama asked me?” Steve shrugged earning a frown from his son.

 

“Why? Why no ask me? I mad.” He complained.

 

Steve chuckled, a little loudly much to Malcolm’s dismay, he folded his small arms on his chest.

 

“Okay, I’m sorry. When mama wakes up I ask her to let you sleep with her tonight.” Steve came to sit in front of him.

 

“C'mon bubba, let’s clean you up and make some breakfast.”

 

“I eat same wike you.”

 

Steve ruffled Malcolm’s hair and after changing him out of night suit, he brushed his teeth and washed his face. Both of them headed to the kitchen, Steve made scrambled eggs for both of them. He decided on keeping Malcolm home for the day. After breakfast, he gave Malcolm his paints and books to colour while he started working online. Y/n came downstairs a little late. She was better than yesterday but still tired and lethargic. Steve made her cereal and be his usual protective self. Wanda came by to check up on Y/n but she was fast asleep on the living room couch. She dropped off the lunch she made for them and left after a while. Y/n was in and out of sleep, only waking up for an hour or so and went back to sleep again. Malcolm had a less to no eventful day, he was bored but Steve got him busy, engaging him in conversation and making few promises to Malcolm that would probably land him in trouble once Y/n would be up and better. Their day was slow and dull, the only best thing was that Y/n was getting better as the medicine worn off.

 

~*~

"Where daddy?" Malcolm’s eyes were still closed and he was still in a sleep haze but first thing that came out of his mouth was asking about Steve. Y/n chuckled ruffling his hair one more time she opened the curtains and blinds of Malcolm’s room.

 

"Mal-pal wakey time." She started picking up the stuffed puppy from the floor that must have fallen down while Malcolm was asleep.

 

"Daddy? Need daddy." Little boy whined again.

 

"I'm right here, bubba. Wakey wakey." Steve came in and lightly tickled in Malcolm’s ribs and sleepy giggles filled the room. Y/n rolled her eyes while taking out Malcolm’s clothes from the closet.

 

"Wana go pee, daddy." Malcolm whined in between his laughter.

 

"Go ahead! You know the drill buddy." Y/n said.

 

"No, with daddy." Malcolm said clinging to Steve’s neck who was still sprawled on the bed. Y/n shook her head and Steve laughed taking the little boy in the bathroom.

 

Y/n's phone rang, Wanda was face timing her just to check in.

 

"G'morning!" Y/n smiled. She came down to the kitchen to fix coffee for her and Steve.

 

"Morning! How are you?" Wanda stuffed her mouth with a spoon full of cereal.

 

"As good as I can be." Y/n hummed.

 

"Back to mama duty yet?"

 

"Still on break. Malcolm wants Steve to do everything for him. He's making him brush his teeth right now. He won't let me do anything. I think Steve’s making him breakfast as well."

 

"Awww that's cute. Good for you, get plenty of rest, hit the salon and do your nails and stuff. Want me to book your appointment?" Wanda winked.

 

"No thank you! I'm good. Still got few things to work on before I come back to work."

 

"Ugh! Y/n, you're so boring. Steve’s got all your work done, don't worry about it."

 

"He's been loaded with work, Wan. I can't ask him for more. Besides, Mal's not letting him have at least a moment."

 

"And I'm loving every bit of it." Steve hollered from the stairs with Malcolm sitting on his shoulders making silly noises.

 

"Don't worry about the work stuff, I'll have it all covered. Just  relax and rest." He smiled at Y/n with pure adoration in his eyes.

"Hi Wanda!" He came around the corner of the kitchen island picking up his coffee mug.

 

"Hey Steve! Wassup!" Wanda smiled at the sight of Steve and Malcolm.

 

"Hi there cupcake."

 

"Hi Wan Wan! And mama just west and we'ax. 'Kay mama." He repeated Steve’s words and the three adults in the room burst into laughter including Malcolm who was now in his mama’s arms. Y/n kissed on his nose and then on cheeks and sat him on the kitchen island.

 

“Mal-pal, what do you wana have in breakfast?”

 

“Same as daddy. ‘wambled eggs.”

 

“Okay. Let me fix some for all of us then.” She chuckled taking out eggs, butter and milk from the refrigerator.

 

“Oh no, you’re not.” Steve snagged a bowl from the cabinet and all the ingredients as well. “You’re still off the duty, it includes this as well.” He pointed to the scattered items on counter. “Just sit and relax.”

Y/n narrowed her eyes on him that he efficiently ignored and started whipping the eggs in the bowl.

“Steve’s right, you know. Just enjoy doing nothing while you can.” Wanda chuckled looking at her sister’s annoyed face.

“You two are – ugghhh.” She huffed in annoyance over how Steve and Wanda was treating her delicately as if she was going to break or something.

 

They ate the breakfast mostly talking about Malcolm having fun at day care, kind of a heads up for the little boy who wasn’t ready to leave his parents. While Steve took Malcolm to drop him off at the centre, Y/n put the dishes in a dish washer and cleaned up the kitchen. Steve wasn’t going to let her do that but the glare she gave him, had him surrender rather quickly. When Steve came back home, Y/n was all showered and changed into comfy lounge pants and a hoodie. Her towel dried hair and clean, make up free face got Steve staring at her with his heart in his eyes. She smiled catching him staring at her, a deep blush formed on his cheeks and he turned to sit on the kitchen table resuming his office work and few online meetings that he had to attend. Y/n left to go to her room and when she came back, she had her iPad in her hand, few of Malcolm’s toys and what looked like a photo album. She got herself comfortable on the couch and looked towards Steve who was busy talking to one of their co-worker. He felt her gaze and looked over only to find her smiling at him. As soon as he ended the call she patted the spot next to her on the couch. Steve raised an eye brow at her mischievousness but still came to sit beside her leaving an appropriate gap between them.

“Here.” She handed him a memory book that said Malcolm’s first year. Steve looked at the book and then her, she gently nodded at him. Gulping hard, Steve opened the book, his heart beating fast and a storm of emotions swirled through him when he looked at the black and white image of a sonogram and at the bottom in Y/n’s hand  writing, three weeks was written.

“It’s him.” She pointed at the tiny peanut size spot on the image. “This was my first check-up after finding out about him. I was already three weeks along.” She smiled at him, he couldn’t return her smile.

There were all the sonograms pasted on the book, from a size of peanut to a squirrel and then a fetus, Y/n had a story to tell with every image. She made Steve laughed through his tears, letting him in on the journey she took alone.

“All the sweet things I’d had craved for, Mal loves them. I wonder still I’m not diabetic yet.” She chuckled. “You know, Alice used to make me brownies every other day, I’d finished ‘em and she’d make another batch. During my second trimester, I ate brownies like a mad person.” She sat with her legs folded, without noticing she covered the distance between them. She was now pressed into his side as she turned the page of the memory book.

There were pictures of new born Malcolm in Y/n’s arms taken at the hospital.

“I told you he was born a little preterm, right?” Steve nodded. “He decided to join us in the 36th week, Dad and Alice were on vacations...” She lightly chuckled, “... Wanda and I were home, I invited Buck to have dinner with us, Wanda had been crushing on him ever since...” She laughed, “... and just when everything was set on the table, my water broke. We rushed to the hospital, I started my contractions but it was really far apart so they sent us back home. And you know what, when we got back Bucky was still running late.”

“Typical Bucky.” Steve muttered rolling his eyes.

Y/n laughed, “Well, at least he made it just in time to take me to the hospital again. Because I couldn’t eat or rest, I was just so stressed, seven hours later we hit the hospital again and they finally took me in. I was only six centimetres dilated so we had to wait another few hours and contractions gotten worse.” Her brows were furrowed as she gently touched the picture of her and new born Malcolm.

“The pain was so much, I felt like my bones were crushing, but... you know what Steve, it was all worth it.” She smiled and looked at him. He had tears in his eyes, she gently took his hands in hers and squeezed. “Just when I was ready to deliver, doctors were there, everything was set, they could see his head but Malcolm decided to turn inside, changed his position, his head bumped into my pelvic bone and the cord was wrapped around his neck. He was getting concussion. Everything happened so fast after that, doctors made on the spot decision and cut me open. It was an emergency c-section...” Steve sighed heavily, closing his eyes. Tears slid on his cheeks and Y/n was quick to wipe them away. She gently turned his face towards her.

“Hey, it’s okay. It was all worth it. Steve, look at me.” And he did. He saw a beautiful smile on her face. “I missed you so so much I can’t even tell...”

“I’m sorry Y/n, I would spent every breathing moment apologising to you and still won’t make it up to you.”

“Shusshh!” She intertwined their fingers. “I’m telling you all of this not because I want you to feel bad or make you regret, but, because I want to let you in all the experiences that I’ve had without you. I want you to be a part of it. I don’t want you to live with the burden of guilt that you’ve been carrying, Steve.”

“Easier said than done, Y/n. You went through it alone, I wasn’t there when I should’ve been.” Steve gulped hard, his worry lines deepened.

“Forgive yourself Steve. Let the past not affect our present and future. Please Steve. Whatever happened four years ago, had already happened. It’s time to move on. I don’t want you to live like that.”

“Like what Y/n? I’m fine.”

“Bullshit!” She scoffed. “Why do you think I’m keeping this memory book for? Yes, I wanted to cease every moment of our little boy growing up. I wanted to capture all of it but deep down I was doing it for you, no matter how angry I was, I still wanted to share everything with you Steve, because you deserve it. You deserve to know about every single detail of our son's life. Please, you gotta leave the past in the past. Please don’t carry this weight anymore. Forgive yourself, Stevie. Please for me, for Mal.”

“Y/n, I can’t. I just can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Have you? Have you forgiven me? – “

“Yes.” She replied promptly.

“Before you say anything Steve, let me tell you that I was ready to forgive you even when I didn’t know about you and my sister. And I have still forgiven you because I know you, Steve, I know that you’d never do what you were made to think you did. You don’t remember anything from that night right?” He nodded. “Dad and I both think that you were drugged, we don’t have a proof but it could be a possibility. Now, why would I be mad at you for something you don’t have a control over and I told you this in New York, didn’t I?” He nodded again.

“I was angry because you didn’t come but you know what, I’m not... not anymore. You made a mistake, we all do. I wasn’t the only one hurting, you were hurting too and it took me long enough to realise that you don’t deserve to live with this guilt. You don’t deserve to be punished for the one mistake you ever made Stevie. I’m sorry I didn’t realise this sooner.” She cupped his face, wiping his tears with the pad of her thumb.

“let it go, Steve. Forgive yourself please. If you’ve ever loved me, you’d forgive yourself. Please.” She knew what she was asking him to do. That was the least she could do for him.

“I have always loved you Y/n and you know that.”

“Then what’s stopping you Steve. Let’s put everything behind us.”

“I can’t promise but I’ll try.” He gave her a tight smile. Covering the small distance between them she pressed her lips on to his. She didn’t move her lips, just pulled back enough to see his eyes widened. She chuckled lightly, leaning in to him again but just when she brushed her lips on his, he pulled back and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

“You have a boyfriend.” He whispered placing his forehead against hers.

“Oh! Yeah?! Yes.” She looked disappointed. “I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine.”

 

They sat in uncomfortable silence, steadying their rapid heart beats. Steve focused his gaze on the book that was in his lap. With a small smile he was staring at the pictures.

She stared at him in wonder, unable to keep her thoughts straight. Everything about him was beautiful, everything about him was enticing and loving.

“Can we be friends?” She asked couple a minutes later. Steve tore his gaze from the pictures to see her looking at him expectantly. For a second he couldn’t comprehend her question, not believing his ears.

“It’s okay if you’re not – don’t...” She rambled seeing Steve struggling to say something.

“No! No its not what you think...” Steve cut her off almost immediately. “Honestly I wasn’t expecting you to ask me that. I- I mean I just couldn’t believe if I heard you correctly.” Steve said sheepishly.  

“So?” Y/n chuckled.

“So, I say let’s be friends.” Steve said enthusiastically making Y/n laugh out loud. “I mean I’d be whatever you want me to be. Ya know if you’re – I mean...” Y/n put a finger on his lips shushing him.

She slid her arm in his arm, rested her head on his shoulder getting comfortable in his warmth. She dragged the book in the middle and sighed lazily.

“Let’s start with being friends.” She looked up to see him with widened eyes. “What? Friends do sit like this. Now just relax Steve.” She nudged him in the ribs lightly getting his attention back on the memory book. She started showing him all the baby pictures of Malcolm and all the stories along with it making him loosened up a bit. They watched the videos on her Ipad, Steve cried watching Malcolm took his first steps towards Y/n. The video was made in Bucky’s phone, Y/n was sitting on the floor when Malcolm stood up on his feet holding the coffee table and took a step forward without any support. He landed straight into Y/n's arms, cackling and laughing. All the adults in the background cheered on the little boy's first milestone.

There was another clip of fifteen months old Malcolm who had just started saying small words like no and yeah. Y/n made video of him sprawled on the bed playing with one of his toys babbling new words when he uttered Dada – his first clear words.

Steve gasped, emotions bubbling in his chest as he replayed the video letting his tears fall freely.

“Hey... it wasn’t suppose to make you cry.”

Steve shook his head, wiping his face with the back of his hand. He glanced at her with all the raw emotions flashed in his still red eyes.

“Why – Why’d you do that? Why’d you let him know me when I wasn’t there? I don’t deserve – “

“Would you stop with your bullshit, Steve?” She sat straight facing him, her knee touching his thigh.

“Every child deserves to know their parents, no matter how complicated the relationship is. Knowing you as his dad has been the best thing happened to him. In his eyes, you’re perfect Steve and I’d like to keep it that way... because you make him the happiest. You’re his favourite and that makes me envy you.” They both chuckled. “I know what’s going on in your head but, please, do not give in to those thoughts. You aren’t your thoughts, Steve. You’re the best father to Malcolm and both of you are lucky to have each other.” She smiled fondly at him.

“I promise I’ll try with everything in me to be the best version of myself - for Malcolm and for you, Y/n.”

Her heart did a somersault the way her name slips out of his lips. His deep soft voice sent tingles through her skin.

“I believe you.” She whispered softly. They indulge themselves to stare into each other’s eyes filled with pure love and longing. Just for a split second Steve’s gaze moved towards her lips, and it didn’t go unnoticed by her. She leaned forward again hoping that this time he might reciprocate her actions but to her disappointment, he pulled her in a hug. She sighed in his embrace wrapping her arms around him. Her palms pressed against his back gently moving up and down the length of it, made him bury his head into her neck holding onto her tightly. Their desire for each other was evident in their actions. None of them were ready to pull back. Steve knew if he’d let her kiss him, he wouldn’t be able to hold back, he’d dive headfirst in to his primal desire for her. He always knew that their love was soul – to – soul connection, it’s one of the raw, sensual connection where everything else was secondary.

Self control had always been difficult for him when it came to her, if he’d requite her kiss, it’d only make things more complicated especially when he knew she had avoided talking about her boyfriend, where the heck was he when his very new girlfriend was sick and in bed. Had they broken up already? Oh, the thought definitely made him happy but he knew better.

As much as he was elated to have her back in his arms, as friends. He was also confused of her sudden change in behaviour, but that was least of his concerns right now. The wishful part of his brain taking over the rational thoughts, he inhaled deep in her hair, the smell of her shampoo calming down his nerves as the only thought that was left was; they started out as friends many years ago, that changed and blossomed into an epic love – he was ready to take on that journey again.

~*~