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sabraeal · 1 year ago

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In Plain Sight, Chapter 7

[Read on AO3]

Obiyukiweek 2023, Day 4: Rejection

Silence falls so thick over the line that even the fuzz from Obi’s side blots out; a total eclipse of sound. It doesn’t click, not the way it does when a call’s been lost-- or worse, severed completely from the other end-- but Shirayuki’s heart pounds so loud in her ears that she can’t trust whether or not she would have heard it if it did. Maybe she’s just been standing here for minutes, holding onto a call long over while paperwork’s churning to make her into someone else’s problem, someone who knows how to deal with a girl who can’t—

“Sorry, Miss.” The word breathlessly fans into static; she’s so happy to hear him that she forgets to flinch. “Connection must have gotten dropped there. Who is this fiancé of yours?”

“You.”

“Ahh...so I did hear that right,” he mutters wearily. “And you’re sure that it’s...? I mean, your neighbors, they think I’m...?”

“Martha-- Mrs Kino, I mean-- she talked to the movers--” Obi groans, a really, terribly distracting noise-- “and she said that they said that when they were hired, it was a man on the phone. And since I don’t have a job lined up, she assumed...?”

Someone had to be paying for it. Not many people would jump to Uncle Sam.

“Right, right.” A sigh fizzles over the phone. “You’ve got a real nosy neighbor there, Miss.”

“I’m sorry.” The mattress at her back is the perfect firmness, but at times like these she wishes it were enough to swallow her whole. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“No, no. It’s not your fault.” At least this time he sounds amused as well as put out. “That’s just how they make ‘em out here in the greatest state in the union. It’s not like we send you out into the world with top class espionage skills so you can trick the grandma next door.”

No, but she doubts Agent Anda would be pleased to know she tripped right out of the starting gate. “I know, but still. I’ve become a real handful, and I’m sure you’d rather be--”

“Trust me, Miss.” She feels rather than hears the drop in his voice, hitting the register that makes every hair stand up on end. A shiver courses down her spine, and it’s strange that it feels so...good. “Handling you is the highlight of my day. I just always thought I’d be taken out to dinner first. You know, before any marriage proposals.”

“Oh.” She probably shouldn’t be so breathless on what’s, ostensibly, a professional phone call. “Right. Did you want--?”

“Is that all your neighbor knows?”

She blinks. “Um...?”

“That there was a man who hired the movers,” he clarifies, the distant sound of clacking keys filling the silence his voice doesn’t. “I helped you into the house on the first day, did she indicate that I must be your husband, or...?”

“Uh, I don’t...think so?” Though Martha Kino seems like the exact sort of woman who might sit on that sort of information, if only to pull it out as a cute story at a baby shower. “I told them I moved in on my own. You’re supposed to be on a business trip.”

It’s luck and the last shred of her common sense that manages to swallow, and a very good kisser too. It’s bad enough that she can’t forget his stint as Hot Airport Boyfriend, but him knowing she can’t? What pride she has shrivels just thinking about it.

“Right. Right, okay.” His voice gains solid footing now, picking up speed as he tells her, “Don’t worry, Miss. Just let me handle it. I know the perfect husband material.”

The sun’s still up when Shirayuki jolts awake, her mouth dry and sticky and tasting like something might have crawled in and died. A terrible beat drums right behind her temples; when she levers up to her elbows, it pounds loud enough her head swims.

Ah, right, water. She needs to hydrate. Because she drank her weight in margaritas at lunch. Aspen may have a face that could be committed to stained glass, radiant halo and all, but those cocktails of hers— well, if any of the folk around here held with the idea that demons could come to you in the guise of an angel, two drinks of that stuff would be proof positive. It’s been years since she’s had anything but a single glass of the fruitiest, most mixed drink at the bar, and yet she’d been tempted into not just one of those margaritas, but—

Shirayuki blinks against the throbbing behind her eyes. Two, wasn’t it? One when she first sat down, another when the sweet tea was just a little too sweet for her tastes. Enough to flirt with her limits, but not dip over-- at least, not at the backyard barbecues back home, or lab happy hours. But maybe now that the humidity could take the Feels Like temperature over three digits, her well-known tipping point has inched itself a little closer to the starting line.

It’d be the best explanation for how terrible her mouth tastes. Shirayuki had never been much of a drinker, not even in her grad school days, but there’s been at least a morning or two where she’s woken up after just one drink too many, and well, it has a flavor just like this. But with only a pre-dinner nap, she can’t have earned this one, not when she couldn’t have possibly had anymore, not after—

Oh god, she told all of them that she had a fiancé. Not just any fiancé, of course, oh not, but a tall, tanned, expert kisser, and she…

Here. Aspen’s angel smile bares teeth. Looks like you might need one of these for the road.

Ah, well. That would definitely explain that. At least it’s nothing a good, carb-heavy dinner couldn’t fix, once the room stopped sloshing at the edges.

With a groan, Shirayuki drags herself upright, wincing at the light leaking through the edges of the blind. Can’t have been sleeping for long if it’s still that bright—

Something slips from the folds of her sheets, clattering onto the floor. Ah, her phone. Of course. Because she’d gotten in the door, and Obi’s sixth sense for trouble must have tingled. He’d called in just to check in, and she…

Shirayuki blinks down at her pillow, at the damp patch where she must have drooled, and— and she doesn’t remember ending the call. Only that one moment she was talking, and the next she was waking up, this foul taste in her mouth. Which could only mean that he— no, that she—

She’d just fallen asleep, mid-call. Like she was some— some small child who wandered off to nap. Oh, she can just imagine the way he’ll grin the next time she sees him, all his long limbs folded over her counter, saying something like, at your size I’m not surprised you need a little nap to make it through the day. And he’ll look at her all sly, all casual, like he wants her to circle the whole of the kitchen to step on his toes, to bunch his shirt in her fists and tell him just what someone her size can do. He’ll look at her like an invitation because—

Oh god, because he’s supposed to. That’s how fiancés look when they’re in their lover’s house. Like they belong.

Her head crashes into the cradle of her palms. Less than a week ago, Shirayuki couldn’t even see the appeal of a kiss, and now here she is, thinking about putting her hands on some— some stranger in hopes he might bend down and let her figure out whether her first try was some fluke, or— or something else. Something almost as terrifying as being hustled out of her home in the dead of night and told that if she wanted to live to see thirty, she’d need to be someone else.

It’s…a lot. Too much. And now he’s her fiancé on top of it all, because she’s never bothered to learn that real life doesn’t give extra credit just for choosing to make it harder.

A sigh slips from her as she crouches, just enough to rescue her phone from where it’s skittered under the bedskirt, and— ah, not the best idea. Not when she’s clearly a few hours out from her last sip of something non-alcoholic. But she’s come too far to turn back now. Oma didn’t raise a quitter.

She didn’t raise a lightweight either, but that’s apparently what she’s got; Shirayuki gets to her knees, trying to get her hand around the edge of the case, and ugh, her stomach rolls up toward her throat, bile burning in the back of her throat, and—

Bzz. Bzz. Bzz. The case beats a soft tattoo against her fingers, muffled but where the screen’s pressed to the floor, and when she flips the screen up, Sugar Daddy blazes across her notifications. meet here @ 11

Sitting back on her heels— ugh, bleh, that position’s not much better— Shirayuki squints into the glare. She can’t possibly be reading that right. Eleven? Tonight? It’s about the mission, she’s sure, it’s just—

It would look bad, wouldn’t it? A young woman slipping out of her house that close to midnight while her partner’s out of town? Reads much less like a professional business meeting, and more like a, er, well, booty call.

Gears churn as she thumbs through to her messages, trying to make teeth catch. It just— it doesn’t make sense. Leaving so late will only put grist in the rumor mill, reaching its peak when her prodigal fiancé arrives, seemingly none the wiser. Unless, of course, he’s relying on that— on the neighbors thinking there’s a third wheel to their bicycle, one that can be disastrously revealed at the most dramatically appropriate moment, and he can go straight back to being her handler, and she can be—

Ah, her messages are finally open. And there’s Obi’s, right at the top— the only, besides a few utilities and some spam— and his latest is already bold in the preview. It unfurls when she swipes over it, mostly just her inquiry into her kitchenware, but the last line is still meet here @ 11. Just that. And, well…

“A link?” Her head tilts, but that does nothing to clarify the context. When she clicks, the map app opens, pointing her straight toward a— “Panera?”

Well, he had said he would like to get taken out to dinner first. She just thought Agent Obi might have higher standard. “Are those even open that late?”

Maybe they are for government employees. Or maybe they keep someone on staff there, just for these sorts of clandestine conversations, the kind that can’t happen over phone lines or during regular business hours. Or—

Her eyes flick up, a reflex more than a conscious thought, catching the time at the corner of the screen. 9:23, it reads, and there’s something about it that makes her take a second glance. The light pouring in from her windows, maybe, too bright for evening, even this far into spring. Or possibly the taste in her mouth, too strong to be from only a few hours of sleep. Whatever it is, her gaze lingers this time, squinting at where the number crouch in the corner, and—

“AM?” she squeaks, stumbling to her feet. “I’ve slept all day?”

With a wild sweep of her arm, she opens the blinds, the bright light of day filtering through, and oh, ah— there’s Mrs Kino, tending her garden. She looks up, a smile wrinkling the corners of her eyes, and waves.

“Haah…” Shirayuki sighs, weakly waving back. “I think…I need to get in the shower.”

It’s just lunch.

That’s what she tells herself as the spray pelts her back, water blurring her vision as she hastily scrapes a razor up her leg. It’s just a professional, business lunch at a chain restaurant. Not even a true sit-down experience, but…fast casual, the sort of thing that might make a nice date in undergrad, when you don’t have the time or the resources to do much besides look at each other for an hour.

Certainly nothing that she needs to put herself out for, she thinks as she skims lotion up her thighs, spreading the scent of passionflower and hibiscus far past any decent hemline. Not that she’s worried about that— hemlines and what might go past them. No, it’s just…it had been a while since she shaved, and if you shave, then you have to hydrate, and if she’s going to pamper herself, well, her nicest moisturizer is a good start.

Because it’s not a date. It’s not even coffee. Not that she would have coffee, she reminds herself, flicking through her dresses. Caffeine gives her the jitters, and the last thing she needs is to make her hands any more unsteady, or her stomach any more unsettled. There’s no reason to worry about how so many of her nicer clothes fall more on the work-appropriate side of the fashion scale rather than, er…play appropriate. This is all just a…a preliminary meeting to go over the details of this whole situation. An exchange of information before he commits to this whole…fake engagement.

So there’s no need to look cute, she insists, tugging at her most stubborn flyaways in the rearview mirror. After all, then he might think she’s trying to impress him. And if he thinks she wants to impress him, he might assume that she’s attracted to him. That maybe she’s angling to repeat that kiss in the airport, the one that had sent static through every limb of her body, the one she can’t possibly forget—

And that would be ridiculous. Shirayuki doesn’t do attraction, at least not the way other people do. She doesn’t just look at someone and decide they might be nice to touch, or that maybe she wouldn’t mind if they leaned close enough for her to catch a hint of their natural scent, or quiver just at the idea that he might close the space between them, brushing his lips over hers as gently as he had the first time, swallowing her gasp whole as he coaxes her to—

Ah! She claps a hand to her cheek, glass door jingling shut behind her. Not even the air conditioning helps cool her flush. The last thing she needs is Obi to see her like this, flushed and trembling just from the thought of him. Which is good since, with a quick scan of the shop, Shirayuki knows…

He’s not here.

There’s an explanation for this, she’s sure. He could be late, for one; Obi doesn’t strike her as the sort of person who feels the need to be fifteen minutes early to be on time. So it makes sense that he could simply be lagging few minutes behind, caught up in a traffic snarl or running a little after schedule because he wanted to catch the last few minutes of a show. He could even be in his car right now, tangled up in the tail end of a story on NPR, just wanting to hear whether or not the girl on antimalarials ever regained her memory, or if that illegally adopted baby from Korea ever actually found his parents.

There, a half-dozen reasons right off the top of her head for him to be elsewhere. And still, she can’t shake the feeling that she’s been, well, stood up.

“Ah, excuse me?”

She blinks. Oh, she’s standing right in front of the door.

“Sorry,” she blurts out, barely thinking. A shuffle scoots her clear of the vestibule. “Wasn’t paying attention.”

“Hah, no, that’s not…” The man beside her huffs out a laugh, shoving a hand through a mop of blond so pale she’s only ever seen it on kids under three.

“You must be Shirayuki.”

That gets her attention. “Who…?”

There’s nothing about that boyish face that says mobster, but that doesn’t mean much, when she hasn’t seen any outside of The Departed. Still, there’s no snake tattoo crawling up his wrist— one of the sure signs of one of Umihebi’s men, according to Agent Anda— his nice button down only baring milky pale skin up to the elbow. And there’s no malice in his smile, only teeth so white she swears they sparkle, and eyes that crinkle at the corners, so dark a blue she almost mistakes them for black.

“Sorry, I’m doing this all backwards. I’m Zen.” He thrusts out a hand, palm refreshingly cool against hers. “Zen Wisteria. And I believe I’m your” —his smile hooks up at one side, as bashful as the little bounce he does on his toes— “future husband.”

Shirayuki blinks at him. What had Obi said on the phone yesterday? I know the perfect husband material.

“Excuse me,” she murmurs tightly. “But I think I’d like your badge number.”

#obiyukiweek23 #day 4 #obiyuki #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #witness protection au #my fic #ans #eheheheheheheheheheheheheheeh >:3c

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romeoandjulietyouwish · 2 years ago

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Vox Machina 48: witness protection AU?

okay okay okay okay

So for reasons, most of VM are put into witness protection

Percy and Cassandra for the briarwood situation.

Vex and Vax for being whistleblowers on the Clasp.

Pike and Grog for the biker gang called the Herd of Storm

They are all put into a small town, mechanic shops, gyms, book stores, etc.

Keyleth and Scanlan have no idea that any of them are in hiding. Scanlan is just a singer that switches between the coffee shop and the bar they tend to frequent. Keyleth is a gardener who tends to community lots and gardens.

Since it's such a small community, they get close immediately, there's not many other people their age around. It's hard because five of them can't say literally anything about who they are, they have to make up lies.

And yet...they still love each other so much and cling to each other when things get hard. And their court dates get closer and closer...

and it's up to you which part finds them: the clasp, the briarwoods, or the herd.

#witness protection au #critical role #vox machina #tlovm #the legend of vox machina #lis makes hcs

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detective-giggles · 2 years ago

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🪪-Witness Protection fic

Hiiiiiii friend 🙃🙃🙃. I most definitely got caught up in writing this- 205 words got added!!

🪪🪪🪪🪪

“Shh!” Carlos listens to the yelling in his earpiece and shakes his head. “I’m so getting fired.” He slips off his bulletproof vest, thrusting it toward TK. “Put this on and get down on the floor.”

🪪🪪🪪🪪

So I’m just gonna leave this here and go to bed… 🫶🫶🫶

#witness protection au #thank you for playing!#awesome asks from awesome friends 💜💜

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starry-bi-sky · 10 months ago

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i think i'm hilarious -- aka i made blood blossom danny au memes

all of these come from my DpxDC prompt "i am pushing the batdad agenda--" and it's corresponding additions in the reblogs ksdjlf.

i am. rotating them in my head. forever and always. personally i think there should be more batdad aus in dpxdc, their dynamic could be neat. :)

#THAT FIRST ONE TOOK ME A HOT MINUTE TO MAKE. i have never been more careful with a trackpad. imgflip doesnt have an undo button #i think its fucking hilarious #its a batdad au #danny fenton is not the ghost king #dpxdc #dpxdc crossover #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc #dc x dp #mmm i need to come up with a name for this au #found family ftw WHOOOO. i could just do a generic 'blood blossom au' tag but i want a specific one because i like being unique #eldest batkid danny au #chronically ill danny au #danny: im grateful he's helping me but im still kinda apprehensive...#battinson: vaults over a car to escape reporters. likes rock music. isn't fucking evil. punched a cop. actively looking for a cure #danny: ...huh. okay.#furiously pushing the batdad agenda for my own gain. just look at them guys. they're funny little guys.#unofficial witness protection to adoption pipeline.#bruce wayne accidental teen acquisition. save a teenager gain a son #its about the adventure of them going from strangers to friends to family :)#im bored of the bruce slander guys in the words of hermes from hadestown:#“[its] about someone who *tries”*#danny saw a funny man in a funny costume eat the side of a dumpster and has never related more with someone on a spiritual level #“brother eugh i feel that. oh heY WAIT HERO BUDDY?? SAME HAT??? SAME HAT?”#danny's been the only hero he's known since he was 13. on god he is leaping at this opportunity. like YES. PLEASE BE ANOTHER HERO #HELP ME GET AWAY FROM CERTIFIED CRAZY MAN. HELP. YOU'RE SCARY AND HIDING IN THE DARK. EVEN BETTER. HELP A BROTHER OUT HERE #blood blossom au #for the time being thats the name

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pbeltarts · 9 days ago

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Witness Protection Oneshot P1

So! I wrote a 3 part oneshot (in my friend's DMs) a while ago and decided to share it. I did threads on bsky and twitter, but realized tumblr i can just post all of p1 in a post. Part 1 below the cut! I'll post the other parts later on. I get nervous sharing my writing like this, but I'm trying to get more confident about it. Feedback appreciated!

BKDK/DKBK, No quirks AU

When Katsuki is 7, he falls into a river. Like a for real river. The current sweeps his feet, being more aggressive than he expects, and takes him underwater unexpectedly

He's unable to get himself righted, inhaling a ton of water as he can't find footing and carried more by the water. The water is cold, despite it being summer.

He was only at the park with his parents bc they dragged him there for some dumb potluck thing their neighbors were hosting.

One of the toddlers from their neighbors dropped a toy in the water so he was just gonna grab it, show off a lil, maybe make fun of the kid for losing it.

But now he's drowning.

Vision blurring, in and out, unable to get a lungful of air before he's in the water again.

And then, all the warbled noise in his ears from the thrashing water quiets down, his vision trying to focus again but now all he sees is green.

And he can kinda breathe, even tho it hurts and its wet and he's coughing nearly as much as he's inhaling, expelling water lodged in his throat.

The green is eyes. And hair. Staring down at him, equally soaking wet and nervously checking him over as Izuku hovers over him.

When he glances around, he realizes they're on the small outpost of land across the river, out of the water.

Izuku is, as stated, soaking wet. Like him. Like he also got in the river

Doesn't take that long to realize his neighbor, this nerdy kid that he didn't mind to hang out around who liked to call himself Katsuki's best friend had saved him.

Then he realizes that from where they came on the other side, their parents were yelling for them, telling them to stay put and that help is coming.

Thats the start of some very conflicting feelings for Katsuki.

Especially when Izuku looks relieved that Katsuki is staring back at him and quieted his coughing, seemingly empty of the water in his lungs finally.

That day, that event, changes a lot of things.

Izuku gets heralded as a hero by the local press, who run a piece about him a few days later talking about his actions. "Hero boy saves friend from drowning" and it pisses Katsuki off to no end.

He doesn't like being a victim or someone to save, he definitely doesn't like that Deku is the one who "saved" him and its jumbling up with another weird feeling that he gets around the nerd so he simply decides to avoid him completely.

Even though the nerd keeps trying to talk to him, reach out.

A week passes since, and while still conflicted, he's starting to feel more annoyed that the nerd isn't around. Definitely doesn't miss him. Just annoyed.

So he figures he'll talk to him at school, a neutral zone, since he's still too annoyed to hang out at either of their houses right now.

But Izuku isn't at school the next week. Not Monday, not Tuesday, not at all.

He resorts to staring out his bedroom window looking at the house next door where Izuku is supposed to be to see if the loser is sick or something.

There's not a ton of movement and usually he only sees his mom going in and out of the house and a random guy in a suit.

Katsuki figures something must be going on, and that suspicion is only confirmed when, by the end of the week, a big moving truck is stationed outside next door.

A painfully empty feeling wriggles its way into Katsuki’s gut at the sight of it. A moving truck? The nerd’s moving? Why didn’t he say anything??

Then he remembers he’s not really given him a chance to say anything lately.

He wants to know whats up, but there's this thing called pride and he doesn't wanna seem like he cares because he doesn't, he's just curious and hasn't talked to the geek in like 2 weeks and that feels sort of wrong.

But still he just. Watches as movers in jumpsuits start loading the truck. He gets a few glances of inko, directing or helping, and finally, sometimes, he sees Izuku who looks incredibly sad.

Eyes forlorn, downturned, no smile in sight.

It feels weird. Wrong.

At some point, during the moving, Izuku sneaks out his backdoor and leaves through the fence. Katsuki knows where he's going, and he doesn't know why, but he grabs his shoes and tells his parents he's going for a walk.

He of course finds the nerd at the playground that's only a few blocks from their neighborhood, sat in one of the swings but not swinging. Takes a minute for Izuku to notice him, but he startles when he does.

He doesn't say anything, almost seems afraid to talk, like Katsuki will run off like a stray cat the minute he's acknowledged.

And frankly, Katsuki doesn't really know why he's here or what to say. It feels awkward

Finally, Izuku clears his throat, curiously and softly calling "Kacchan?.." and that sort of wakes his brain up.

Only sort of, because his only response is "You're moving."

To which Izuku shrinks away from, as if the words burnt him somehow.

After a beat of silence, Katsuki goes and sits in the other swing, staring down at his feet

Its quiet, until Izuku finally takes a breath and talks softly "..yeah. we... have to leave."

Have to? Why?? Katsuki looks over, tilting his head "What do you mean have to?"

Izuku's grip on the swing tightens, staring at his stupid red sneakers as he bites his lip. "...I messed up. Now we have to leave."

That tells Katsuki basically nothing and still makes him feel a prickling of nerves down his spine.

Katsuki waits for more, but Izuku doesn't say anything else, so he huffs an annoyed breath out. "What did you do?"

More silence stretches out before Izuku talks again. "I.... when you fell in the river.... the news..." he wasn't making sense, but Katsuki could tell he was starting to shake, as if whatever emotion or thought he was trying to get through was too much. It made his skin crawl.

"When you saved me? That's when you messed up??" he hated phrasing it that way. 'Saved' as if he needed saving. That's how everyone else likes to refer to it though.

He realizes now that Izuku never did. Despite how everyone at that potluck and the news goaded him as a hero and saying he ‘saved’ Katsuki, Izuku never agreed or said the same. Never really mentioned it, not to Katsuki and not to others at school.

Izuku sniffles, finally he looks over at him and his eyes are watery, threatening to spill tears. He tries to smile but its barely a quirk of his lips. "....If I tell you, you can't tell anybody, Kacchan."

That was enough to make the prickling grow into static nerves that sprung up and around his arms. Secrets were normally fun, a thing they could laugh about or privately hold over others without them knowing. However, whatever secrets they had prior to this moment, were usually resulting from Katsuki’s ideas or actions. A stolen container of Inko’s cookies, passing a note during class, the All Might scarf that’s been indefinitely stuck to a pole near school for the past 3 months. All of it initiated by Katsuki and indulged in or kept by Izuku.

Izuku wasn’t supposed to have his own secrets.

So he sits up straighter, giving his attention to Izuku, staring and waiting. Izuku sighs, looks back down to his feet, hands trembling enough to rattle the chains of the swing. "....Me and mama... We're supposed to be hiding... f-from my dad." he sniffles, his voice wobbly. "Mr. Toshi watches over us but..." he sighs wetly. "B-but I messed up by b-being in the news and now we have to leave or m-my dad might find us."

Katsuki barely understands this. His dad? He didn't even know Izuku had a dad. He'd never seen him. Though, if he was hiding from him, that's probably why. But why hiding? What did he do?

He may be 7, but he's old enough to understand some of what all this could imply. It makes that pain in his chest get worse. Even more so now that Izuku is crying, pulling into himself, trying not to sob outwardly or make a ton of noise as his big stupid tears fall down his face. It wasn't the first time he'd seen him cry, but it felt like crap every time and now even more so. Because he was leaving. And he was leaving because he had saved Katsuki.

Katsuki doesn't know what to say, its not like he's good at comforting people. Izuku never needed that from him when he cried before. He just got over it if Katsuki was around him.

Surprisingly, the nerd spoke again in response to Katsuki's ever-growing silence. "I-I know it will be safer.... but I don't wanna move.... I don't......" he sniffles, wipes at his eyes, and says more quietly, barely enough for Katsuki to hear him "...I don't wanna stop being your friend..."

Hearing that makes the pain in his chest get tighter until it snaps. He swallows around a knot in his throat and stands up, moving to stand in front of Izuku, who finally looks up at him again with his green eyes swimming.

"Who said we stop being friends?" Katsuki tightens his hands into fists at his sides, so the tremble he can feel in them isn’t noticeable.

Izuku frowns "I won’t b-be around anymore... And I’m not supposed to talk t-to you anymore... S-Since its not safe...”

Katsuki scoffs, ignoring the stabbing pain, keeping his head high. "So? We didn't talk for two weeks. We're still friends right now, yeah?"

Izuku stares, sniffles, then nods.

"So we'll still be friends." he nods "until we can talk again."

Izuku is surprised, staring at Katsuki with wide eyes, but the tears are finally calming down. "But.... we'll never see each other again.... probably..." his lip wobbles, like he's gonna start up again, and it makes Katsuki's eye twitch.

He steps closer, getting in Izuku's space enough to make him lean back in surprise.

"Hah? Who says we won’t?! I said we would be, so we will! Are you doubting me?!”

Izuku stares, but the wobble leaves and is replaced by a twitch, a very small smile starting to show. "N-No, Kacchan. Sorry."

Katsuki huffs but grins in response, crossing his arms. "You should be." he backs off, Izuku sitting forward again, the smile growing a little. "Because we will see each other again, because we both know you're useless without me! If I'm not around, what will you do huh? Probably cry all the time, like a dork."

Izuku's smile finally has teeth, as he rubs the remainder of tears from his eyes. "Y-You're right. Kacchan's amazing-" he sniffles and smiles up at him. "So I h-have to see him again..."

Katsuki is pointedly ignoring the new fuzzy feeling that is settling right next to that dulling pain in his chest.

He holds out his hand, his face only warm because the setting sun is hitting him directly on his cheeks, and the nerd stares a moment before reaching out to take it and be pulled to his feet. Its gotten late and their parents will want them home. So he pulls on his hand and starts walking, Izuku trailing to his side but a lil ways back, clutching his hand like a lifeline. It feels slightly cold, and still shakes gently.

When he catches up to Katsuki's gait, Katsuki keeps his eyes forward as they walk as he speaks. "You have to promise okay?"

Izuku blinks and looks over at him. "Promise what?"

"That we'll see each other again."

Izuku stiffens a little, so Katsuki's grips his hand tighter. "But I don't know if-"

"Because then I'll promise that I'll find you, okay? Doesn't matter where you go, nerd, because you won't beat me. I'll find you." he looks over at Izuku who stares back. "So you have to promise too."

Izuku takes a moment, his eyes threatening to downpour again, but then he nods, sucking in his lips to keep the waterworks at bay. "I promise, Kaachan."

Katsuki nods and they go back home. They part at their backyard gates, Katsuki watching him go back to his house. A few hours later, both the moving truck and Izuku's mom's car are gone. His hand feels cold.

But he'll keep his promise.

#not art #writing #bkdk #dkbk #mha #bnha #bakugo katsuki #midoriya izuku #witness protection au #weeeee

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lonelychicago · 1 year ago

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tagged by the lovely @wikiangela (it's not tuesday for me yet but tomorrow ill be gone all day so im posting now bc why not ksjsjd)

here are some previous snippets: one, two and three and if you interact with this post here, you'll get tagged whenever i publish the fic <333

anyway, more from the witness protection au! 💌

"So, what's your favorite color?"

Eddie turns around, looking at Buck bemusedly. "What?"

"We're married, I guess? I should know some stuff about you."

"And you thought you'd ask about my favorite color?" Eddie turns back to the pancakes— Buck thinks maybe they smell a little burned but he doesn't dare to point that out.

"You can tell a lot about a person by their favorite color." "Like what?" Eddie asks without turning back to face him.

"I don't know." Buck rolls his eyes and lets out an exasperated breath through his nose. "Like, if you say black it's technically a color and that is your favorite, you're probably a psychopath. Or depressed."

Eddie snorts.

"Okay, maybe you can't know a lot about a person by their favorite color." Buck huffs out a weak laugh and leaves the apple to rest on the center of the table. "Still, humor me."

"Mhmm, I don't know." Buck sees the muscle of Eddie's back move under his shirt as he gives a half-hearted shrug. "I guess, blue? I haven't really thought about what my favorite color is."

"Oh, okay. Good to know my husband is boring."

"Your husband just made you breakfast. So, you're welcome."

Buck looks at the pancakes warily— The edges are really, really burned, so bad that they're black and the rest of the pancakes are a dark shade of golden, bordering on brown.

Buck raises an eyebrow at Eddie as his gaze darts back and forth from the man to the food and vice versa.

"Buck, they're fine."

"Are you sure about that, Eddie?"

"Just eat the damn pancakes, man."

and for the people who tagged me on inspiration saturday, here's a moodboard <33

tagging (no pressure): @monsterrae1 @buddierights @cowboy-buddie @cowboy-buck @eddiebabygirldiaz @jeeyuns @transbuck @forthewolves @jesuisici33 @thewolvesof1998 @eddiediaztho @exhuastedpigeon @prettyboybuckley @rogerzsteven @the-likesofus @spotsandsocks @spaceprincessem @911-on-abc @ladydorian05 @daffi-990 @hippolotamus @giddyupbuck @disasterbuckdiaz @thosetwofirefighters @messyhairdiaz @honestlydarkprincess @bigfootsmom @athenagranted @diazblunt @911onabc @housewifebuck @bekkachaos and anyone else who wants to do it!

#witness protection au #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buck x eddie #buddie #buddie fic #buddie wip #my wips #my writing #911 fic #911 wip #911 abc #911 on abc

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undertheredhood · 1 month ago

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AU where ra’s al-ghul who is so tired of dealing with jason’s bs (bc lbr, jason would’ve been the biggest menace towards him during his time at the league and also after), decides to do the worst thing he could possibly do to jason and leaks the fact that jason todd, bruce’s wayne’s adopted son who’s been dead for almost a decade is not as dead as everyone has been made to believe to the public.

#batman #dc comics #dc universe #dcu #ra’s al ghul #league of assassins #jason todd #red hood #jason peter todd #au #crack au #jason todd au #ra’s al-ghul gets jason todd legally revived au #ra’s is so tired of jason being a menace towards him (he doesn’t understand why talia likes the brat and he doesn’t want to understand)#jason calling talia up: hey talia how upset would you be if i ripped your father’s limbs off?#ra’s just wants to be evil in peace why is his ex son-in-law’s brat bothering him #the press goes wild with this as expected to the point where bruce has to hold a press conference and confirm that yes jason is indeed alive #they probably went with witness protection as an excuse #when asked why he was in witness protection jason says it’s because he witnessed the murder of the second robin #jason’s former classmates are staring at their screens in shock bc how tf did jason go from tiny and cute to total hunk?#jason hates this so much and has come up with 250+ plans to get back at ra’s #dc #jason todd and ra’s al-ghul beef: who will be the ultimate winner?#talia is getting free entertainment from this entire mess #batfamily #batfam #jason todd dc #ra’s al ghul dc #jason todd is a menace #jason todd is red hood

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softquietsteadylove · 22 days ago

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I need the goalie AU again. Please. I beg of you to please write thena being all shy and embarrassed when hanging out together and Gil thinking it’s adorable. I CANT BELIEVE I FORGIT ABT THIS AU LIKE THAT MAN 😭💀

Thena made her third - slow - loop around the rink, mixed in with everyone else attending the free skating time available to the community. It felt bizarre, skating freely. She was in a regular old sweater and skirt with fleece lined tights on. She wasn't here to practice her axle or turns.

She was here for a...to...with...Gil was meeting her.

It wasn't them crossing paths before or after practice, no matter how planned. Since Gil had shown up regardless of his own schedule, they had both come to do so more often. They even texted, now.

Thena had given up her aversion to phones just for the occasion. Ajak had questioned what made her want one all of a sudden, but Thena had offered the pathetic but perfectly believable excuse that it was just time for her. And she could text with Makkari and Druig, now.

To her mother's credit, she had accepted the excuse and taken her to the mall that very same day.

Hey, there's a free skate this saturday. We don't have practice that day. Wanna go just for funsies? :)

It was a completely charming and adorable invitation, from the wording to the little smile he added to it. Thena had already read it over so many times she was quite sure it qualified as obsession by this point. If anything, she was lucky the phone only noted when it was read for the first time, and not every subsequent time she had gazed at it just to hear Gil's voice in her head.

"Thena!"

Her heart leapt in her chest. Sometimes she felt so conscious of it she wondered if the rink speakers were blaring it for all to hear instead of a grainy old pop song. But she waved.

Gil skated right over to her. He had powerful strides, making it across the rink in no time, although he made sure to come to a stop in a way that didn't shower her skates with the debris of his gliding. "I'm glad you could make it."

She just smiled, tucking some hair behind her ear as they started skating lazily around with everyone else. "I've never come here just for 'funsies', as you put it."

He beamed at her. "Well, maybe this'll be the first of many."

It was somewhat of an open ended invitation; not so direct as to put pressure on her but certainly they both knew the implication. She looked down at the scratched up ice beneath their skates. "Maybe."

"Did your mom like the cupcakes?" Gil asked, a far better conversationalist than she (thank goodness).

"She did!" Thena jumped at the opportunity to talk about something that didn't make her quite so nervous. "She said she was quite impressed."

"Ah," Gil shrugged, blushing with modesty as he pushed his hands into his hoodie pockets. He was just wearing a t-shirt under it, but she supposed boys always seemed to dress too light in cold conditions. "It's just a simple recipe. But I'm glad you liked 'em."

They were the single most delicious thing she had ever eaten.

"I'll return your container next practice," she promised more quietly. There was no easy way to admit that she hadn't actually told her mother she was coming today to meet Gil specifically.

All she had told her mother was that she was meeting 'some friends'. She didn't want Ajak getting any...ideas.

"No worries," he grinned at her. Gil had a real grace to him on the ice, moving easily, but matching her pace in a way that required some control over his full abilities. "Your dad seems to be less of a jerk, lately."

Thena pressed her lips together. Her father/coach had indeed been less abrasive for several of her practices. Specifically, after he had asked her if she knew why a certain young man was always lingering. "I believe I have you to thank for that, actually."

"Me?" Gil blinked, and so innocently at that.

Thena rolled her eyes. "Father may be a bit of a beast at times, but he has a reputation of decency to uphold. He can't have strangers thinking he's unprofessional."

Gil nodded, considering the words. But he looked at her with a softer expression than before, "I'll be at every one of them, then."

She felt an increasingly familiar tingle in her cheeks and rushed to correct him. "Th-That's okay, Gil! I don't mean--there's no need, really."

He gave her a doubtful little pout.

She smiled at him as they rounded the loop again. "Your presence, no matter how long it's there, is enough of a deterrent. And its protection is appreciated, believe me."

As soon as she said it, she wondered if she should have. Did she sound weird? Was she making too big a deal out of it?

But he seemed unaware of her worry. That soft expression he had remained, and he even let his arm brush hers a little, as much as their skates would allow the proximity, at least. "Well, uh, good. I'm glad I could protect you, then, I guess."

They both looked away. Thena swallowed, although even that sounded too loud in her ears at the moment. The rink was cold but her face felt warm.

Gil cleared his throat. "Uh, I..."

"Do you come to the free skate often?" Thena blurted out, before she could think better of it. She hoped she hadn't cut him off from anything important.

She just wanted to keep talking to him.

"Uh, I used to," Gil managed, even pulling one of his hands out of his pockets to fiddle with the zip of his hoodie. "Skating was always fun to me, I guess. That's how I got into hockey."

She looked at him. "Not as easy to find time for it now that you're on the team, I suppose."

He looked at her, too, knowing she knew just how true that was for the both of them. "I guess, yeah. To be honest, I liked skating, but it wasn't really my idea to join."

"Whose was it?" she tilted her head, although turning the corners again made her have to keep her hair out of her face.

"Ikaris has been on the team forever," Gil shrugged. "And he kind of convinced me to try it just 'cause I'm big. And everyone told me what a good goalie I was after, so I guess I kind of just-"

"Went with it?" she suggested, and he affirmed it for her.

"I mean, I like it," he shrugged. "But it's nice to come here just to skate. I kinda forgot what it felt like."

"Me too," she sighed, looking at the faded colours buried beneath the ice, seeing the fog of her breath and feeling the breeze through her hair. Her ankles weren't burning, her knees didn't ache. It was fun.

"I guess I should come here more often too, huh?" Gil suggested lightly, and then became sheepish again.

Thena looked down at her hands clasping together. Gil had taken the first leap, not only inviting her today but also suggesting further occasions for it in the future. It was time for her to take a leap. "We could make a habit of it."

He looked at her, his curiosity piqued.

"So we can keep in mind that we like skating," she added, rather lamely, in her opinion. But to suggest that they make a regular habit out of coming here together just for the joy of each other's company--it felt a little too much, at least for now. "Outside of practice, that is."

"Yeah," he smiled at her, his usual charm emerging again. "I like the sound of that."

Again, the invitation was a good enough idea, but open enough so as not to need a full commitment this very moment.

"Hm," Thena squeaked out. She was letting the conversation roll straight into the ditch again. But Gil really had a terrible ability to push all of her thinking power out of her head just by being near her.

"Uh, speaking of things we like just for fun...?"

Thena looked at Gil, who had the same nervous but also assured smile he'd had when he first admitted he wanted to spend time with her regardless of practice schedules.

"I was gonna try a new cupcake recipe next weekend," he admitted to her more quietly. He pulled his hands out of his pockets for it. He had no need for even the light gloves she was wearing. She could see a plain leather cuff around his wrist. He looked cool with it on. "Would you wanna...come over?"

"And bake?" she blinked. She was extremely capable of consuming the results of baking. But that didn't mean she would be able to produce anything. "With you?"

"Yeah," he suggested lightly. "You could help me test it out."

Thena just stared at him, her mouth hanging open. She felt like an idiot, but she couldn't squeak out a single word. All she could think about was what it would be like to be with Gil, in his element, baking wit him, in his home.

And as much as skating for fun seemed like a hang out kind of activity, baking with him certainly seemed more in the 'date' realm.

"Thena!"

Her head was turned for too long and she hadn't realised she was drifting directly into the path of those trying to get on and off the ice. She tried to stop, but her picks were angled wrong, making her stumble.

"Whoa!"

Gil caught her before she could fall. And as much as she was happy not to tumble flat on her face - or behind - in front of him, she wasn't sure what to make of this, either.

Thena stared at him. His hand was on her back, having caught her waist in the bend of his elbow. She knew he was big, and she knew his arms were strong, but she could never have known how true those things were until now. And he was so warm. Even with his hoodie hanging open and just a t-shirt, she could feel his warmth radiating from him.

It went through his t-shirt like nothing. And her waist was now pulled right against his. Her light sweater felt like tissue paper. Her hands were grasping onto him through sheer reflex. One had a handful of his hoodie, then other had his shirt in its grips. She looked down. The bottom of it came up, revealing just a little of Gil's beautiful skin and the top of his jeans.

"Sorry!" Thena flailed to release him from her clutches. As if the near fall weren't mortifying enough, now she was pawing at him. If her face was warm before, it was positively on fire, now.

"That's okay," Gil said gently, not even a chuckle at her embarrassing display. "Are you? You're not hurt, are you?"

He was so sweet. It made her insides feel like she was in a perpetual axle spin, twirling and twirling and rushing with joy. And she could only hope she would stick the landing.

Gil let her smooth her own fluster. He stood stationary on the ice as she ran a hand over her hair, tugged at her skirt.

"Sorry," she repeated (needlessly).

"I don't mind," Gil said just as quietly. He was so sweet--so perfect.

She tapped her picks on the ice and looked up at the rink clock. She looked at him and forced a smile, "thanks."

"Do you wanna sit for a minute?" he asked, gesturing vaguely to the stands.

She looked at Gil. She could use the excuse not to look at him, collect her nerves. But she didn't want to only be nerves around him. She wanted to skate with him more, ask him more about hockey. And she wanted to learn how to make cupcakes from him.

"No."

Gil looked down at as she reached for his hand of her own volition. She had her gloves on and he didn't, but his touch was soft. Their eyes met and he blushed, "o-okay."

She started skating again, slowly, and he followed her naturally. Face aflame or not, she cleared her throat, determined to get their conversation out of the ditch. "Tell me about this new recipe we'll be making."

Gil's face lit up, and she had to look away again. But she kept his hand in hers as they resumed their looping. He pushed himself to be next to her, stride in stride, hand in hand. "Well, I found a recipe for a chocolate and vanilla swirl. I've never tried two flavours in one before, so I thought it might be cool."

They made the very best combination, Thena thought. She smiled at him, "so, what will we need for the recipe?"

#Thenamesh Goalie AU #oh my thank you so much for asking for this au!!!!#I really loved it and I've always hoped I could write more of it #I think it's so sweet #Thena has always been 100% focused on skating #it's never occurred to her to have a crush #and then along comes this PERFECT boy #he's sweet and funny and he brings her sweet treats???#also Arishem does NOT like that he has a witness to his temper #so he is less shout-y #and now that he knows it Gil never misses Thena's practices #he's not there for the whole time #but his protectiveness is in high gear #the guys from the team ask if he's really going early and staying late just for some girl #but Gil will be damned if Arishem thinks he has the right to berate Thena like that #so then he gets the idea for the skate just for fun #and he's so excited when she says yes #they've been texting and he thinks maybe she likes him too #but she's not really a wordy person and he respects that #but now they're holding hands #they're gonna have a cute baking date!!!#Thena does actually have to tell Ajak she's going to hang out with Gil now #and Ajak is like okay honey have fun with your boyfriend #Thena: HE'S NOT !!!!!!#meanwhile Ajak is like I can't wait to have a son-in-law #also #we all know he's going to call Thena Cupcake as a petname #let's just get that out of the way right now

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nouklea · 1 year ago

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It was perfect, as usual ♥️

Chapter 5 of Wyler Witness Protection AU is up

#persephoneed #witness protection au #weyler #wyler #weyler fic #wyler fic #weyler fanfic #wyler fanfic #weyler fanfiction #wyler fanfiction #wednesday addams #tyler galpin #wednesday x tyler #tyler x wednesday #jess #jesstheenthousiast

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hotluncheddie · 1 year ago

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New anon here... I've been thinking about the government shoving Eddie into witness protection without letting him say goodbye to the rest of the group, which is a real bummer Steddie-wise because they were definitely headed towards something. So Eddie is like, in the suburbs of Chicago or somewhere under the new name Nathan Edwards or something, gets a slave wage job at a Scoops Ahoy, and proceeds to eat his feelings.

A couple years later, Steve is passing through the area, sees the Scoops, and thinks what the hell, he's doing pretty well for himself these days at whatever "fuck you dad I can make it on my own" career he ended up choosing, he can go in and tip some fresh outta high school kid the way he'd always appreciated back in his Starcourt days. And wow, the guy behind the counter definitely isn't a teenager, but he does look familiar...

:0 anon!!!!!

i’m hoping by saying he eats his feeling in the ice cream shop that we’re on the same page here… (bc oof 🥴👹)

but ugh witness protection is so sad omg but big hurt/comfort possibilities maybe i think i think

they make them leave straight out of the hospital, him and wayne and one box of stuff each. they give them new names, a new place, set wayne up with a new job. but it’s not the same, nothing is, never will be. eddie has to cut his hair, thankfully not a buzz cut but he hasn’t had his curls sit above his ears in years. it’s the thing that makes his feel most strange, he thinks - not recognising himself in the mirror.

recovering physically took a long time, mentally, just as long. but eventually he needs to be around people again, needs money, a routine. the scoops job started as kind of a joke and then he realised it was the place he applied with the easiest commute and the owner was a really chill dude at the interview and then it really wasn’t a joke anymore. eddie worked a scoops ahoy. the pay is whatever but the work is fine and with wayne’s wage they more than get by and while it’s boring, it also kind of feels like breathing room, time to slow down and learn about himself again, after everything.

after a while eddie is actually kind of digging the sailor outfit, gives him an excuse to be kind of silly and get away with way more with customers that he should. like you can’t really get mad at him, not dressed like that, not when he still gets the orders right. it feels like a character, he’s the bard, the jester, and one day he’ll break free but for now - he enjoys the free icecream.

it started small, employees are allowed one item in break and he usually went for a soda, then that changed to a milkshake or a cone. and then one night he was closing and it was right by wayne’s birthday and there was a quarter of a tub set to be thrown out. and, well, eddie thought, why not take it home?

then the new monthly schedule comes out and since most of the part timers are younger and he has his (new) van it’s got him set to closing alone most shifts. fine by him, one hour of pay where he can blast his walkman while he cleans, best case scenario even.

he was also in charge of making sure the tubs were correctly filled ready for the openers and that meant throwing out the near empty ones. so near empty that that kid in eddie seems to rear up and remind him of all those times they couldn’t afford icecream, why let it go to waste? he always did have a sweet tooth.

so most nights his routine after work is to get home, have dinner with wayne, get high, watch some tv or read or listen to music and most notably polish off whatever ice cream and ‘only just out of date so still definitely good’ toppings he’s managed to squirrel home.

that last bit is notable because it’s been a year of working there, just under a year of this new routine, and eddie’s had to size up his once baggy uniform.

he’s kept definition in his legs and arms since his job is running around and scooping frozen shit. but now he’s padded with a layer of chub and his stomach is padded with a lot more than that, having bared the brunt. his cheeks have also rounded and his thighs and ass are honestly looking better than ever.

and with everything so new that’s been forced on him, this new at least feels like his. he knows how it happened, he’s not dumb, and yeah sometimes he ate just to wallow but he enjoyed every fucking bite of that ice-cream. and yeah he knows the red stripes that streak up his sides and push agains the waistband of his shorts aren’t everyone’s idea of desirable but, this is him now. everything else in his life is new, may as well have a new body to go with it. and to be honest he finally feels like he’s recognising himself in the mirror now. this new guy he’s had to become, there are ways that it’s still his.

but god does he miss everyone. not a day goes by he doesn’t think of home, his friends, his life, the people he almost died with. steve. so every night he gets high and eats ice cream and feels his belly swell that little bit more. sometimes he cries, sometimes he laughs but he’s alive and he has wayne and they’re safe. so every night he eats icecream.

steve moves to chicago with robin. he’s in school to be a physical therapist, robin studying italian. they moved just outside the city because it’s cheaper, a nice little neighbourhood. hes getting by, he works at a gym and helps with some of the classes, it’s decent pay and fun and he’s getting more and more days where that darkness feels far away, his rain cloud isn’t so thick. he’s doing it, surviving. living, even.

but, every day he misses eddie munson.

he’s out jogging when he spots it, taken a new route and made it to a strip of stores he didn’t know were there. with a scoops ahoy. just like summer of ‘83.

he laughs.

for old times sake and knowing robin will get a kick out of it he head in inside. thinks the 20 in his sock is more than enough to have spare for a tip that should brighten whatever kid is working the counter. surely they don’t still have the same unifo- nope, they do, and the guy at the counter looks much closer to steve’s age than the high schooler he expected. he’s cute. big eyes, nice hands.

eddie’s frozen. there’s a spectre in his store. steve’s staring at him. eddie’s stares at steve. eddie’s suddenly filled with anxious energy, unsure how to process what’s in front of him. tugs at his shirt out of habit, smooths the fabric down over the plush of his stomach, readjusts his hat that doesn’t need readjusting, bounces on his toes. what the fuck.

and eddie sees that steve doesn’t quite recognise him with his rounder features and shorter hair. he can’t wear his rings to work (they’re different, gold but still chunky) and, obviously steve’s never seen him dressed like this, also probably never imagined eddie would have a belly like that.

the second thing that registers in eddie, after the initial shock, is feeling his stomach drop out in fear. for wayne. for their place. for his job… for steve.

he doesn’t remember what the rules were about contact with his past. but he’s pretty sure there were rules on it.

but then something flickers across steve’s face, a flash of lightning, and he’s moving, leaning across the counter and enveloping eddie in a hug. ‘oh thank god.’ eddie hears steve breathe, strained and relieved and so full of emotion eddie feels his throat close and his eyes burn. steve’s here. eddie squeezes back and breaths deep, he smells like sweat and hairspray and home.

his steve is here.

and all eddie can do is cling back.

they’ll have to figure something out. he can’t let go of this again.

#anon this was so good #i loved it so much #the brain worm u gave me ugh #i’m giving u a #MWAH!#hotlunch #steddie #steve x eddie #chubby eddie munson #hurt/comfort #ask #chubby!eddie munson #steddie wg #witness protection wg au

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