my-tin-can-mans

[my-tin-can-mans]

Strange Hearts, Part 4 The Duke

Leto x Reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Strange Hearts Spotify Playlist

Summary: When an arranged marriage brings you to Caladan, you find that another man piques your interest

Disclaimer: I thought of this while fic and started writing under the impression Paul was in his early to mid-‘20s like Timothy. So for the sake of this story he and the reader are both in their twenties. Sorry for any inaccuracies, I’ve only watched the movie and really only paid attention to Oscar lmao.

Warnings: A little bit of angst. Unwanted Marriage? technically love triangle/affair.

Leto had always been a composed Duke. It took a lot to break that from him, yet it seemed that the moment he walked into the library that trait had shifted. No that wasn't it, it wasn't in the library. It wasn't even when you kissed him later that night, although he did seem to like it. 

When he had come to apologize to you, he had kept his composure, when he turned and started to walk away, he had kept his composure, but when he held his hand to the knob on your door and heard a broken cry, it slipped through the cracks of it. Leto was the Duke, a ruler, and a pleaser, and to hear you sound so hurt, and knowing it directly related to him, he could not bear it. 

You were gorgeous, you always had been. When he had visited you in your homeworld he had always thought so. Thought that when you were to be married, it would cause wars as to who your father would marry you off to. How ironic that you were offered to the only person that made it difficult for him to now forget about you. 

Leto didn’t pity you for your situation, but he did empathize with you. Sacrificing yourself and your dreams for the hopes and aspirations of your fathers, seemed all too familiar. Maybe that's why he had been so drawn to you. Maybe that is why he kissed you back that first night you were here and why he turned to comfort you after hearing your cry. 

Something about you showing up in his house had switched his mind to a different setting. Maybe it was the fact that he couldn’t, no shouldn't have you. He definitely could, he's proven as much. But that wasn’t it, no, because he has you and he still felt the need to be close to you. You were like a virus that entered his life unexpectedly. Everything about you invaded his mind. The soft skin he had touched, your smell, your sweet voice. 

When he left your room that night, Leto went back to his. He opened the door to find Lady Jessica sitting on his bed waiting for him. Shit. 

Leto loved Lady Jessica with every part of himself. But when he had been with you, he hadn’t thought of her. And now the thought made his stomach sink. Jessica has always been there for him, always stayed by his side, and loved him no matter what. He had just thrown all that down the drain for some girl who was getting married. 

What an idiot. What did he think was gonna happen? He had Jessica and you had Paul, although you and Paul weren’t really together, not yet at least, he could tell Paul liked you and that made his stomach sink even lower. You had to share this castle with them now. He had put you in the worst predicament ever. Not only were you upset about the wedding and being forced into a new place, but now he had feelings for you while he was devoted to someone else and you were supposed to be to another. 

“Hey,” Jessica had whispered to him, “where were you, you're usually in bed by now I was just coming to look for you.” 

Shit. That could've gone badly. The idea popped into his mind. Jessica walking in on him with you. He doesn’t think Jessica would've taken it well. While she was only his concubine, they still held a deep and intimate connection. 

“Sorry,” he scrubbed his hand down his face, trying to rub his brain off the busy thoughts, “I was just working a little late, and lost track of time.” 

God, if that wasn't the most cliche line. She sweetly smiled at him, making the guilt in his stomach sink even lower, “you work too hard sometimes you know that?” she stated as she beckoned him over to the bed. 

If only that were the issue right now. 

Leto settled into bed that night with Jessica, but her presence, since the first time he met her, did not calm him like it usually did. And as he drifted off to sleep, he saw you in his mind. Your bare form beneath him, sprawled on the silk sheets, soft and wanting. 

_________

The day of the wedding had arrived and the duke was indifferent. His son had spent the morning with him and seemed excited about the wedding. It seemed that every time his feelings for you grew, so did the guilt as well. 

“I know that I was hesitant about this at first father but, I’m starting to see this is for the best, I know I hardly know her but I really do like her, and this way when i am to start ruling like you I’ll have someone else who prides themselves on doing what's best for their people, not someone who is after my power.” Paul had said to him. 

“I’m glad you see it that way, I was afraid that even though I let you choose, you might decide that I didn't really give you a choice and you might resent me for that.” 

Paul took a moment to think, they were sitting in his room Paul sitting on the end of his bed, Leto in a chair across from it, waiting for the tailor to arrive for Paul. It was the only moment that would probably get alone with each other for a while. 

“You know I talked to her, and I can’t help but feel bad. She didn’t have a choice in this as I did, and even though she’s willingly doing this now and doesn’t seem to have any ill-will intentions toward me, it makes me pity her for that.” 

That's where he and his son seemed to differ. He didn't pity you, he understood you, even though he and Jessica got along well, it wasn’t a choice for him, it was forced upon him by people in higher positions, and that had always irritated him, he never had a say in the matter. If it weren't due to the fact of his older age, he was sure it wouldn’t have been a choice but for you to marry him instead. But this way after his son took over, the alliance would last for a longer period of time. 

Just as Leto began to open his mouth and speak advice to his son on you, the door to his room opened and the tailor, along with a few others came flooding in. Paul, now having his attention diverted, and Leto not wanting to talk about private matters in front of people who could spread ill word about the three of you, slipped away to start getting read in his own room. 

Leto had been to many prestige events, he didn’t need a tailor and help to get ready, while he was way away, a servant had laid out his dress uniform on his bed for him and that was enough. He hated the attention anyways. Being alone while getting ready allowed him to decompress his thoughts and prepare for the upcoming blizzard of people. 

That was until the door had cracked open and you came rushing in. his heart had melted the moment he has seen you. That look in your eyes was all too familiar. It had been the same look in his own eyes when his father had given him the ultimatum of being the Duke. 

Yet somehow you still looked absolutely stunning in your gown, even with the forlorn look your face wore. Once again his affection for you grew as his heart sunk and sunk at the same time, and then. Then, Idaho walked in. 

While this didn't worry Leto as much as it should have, he knew Idaho would always be loyal to him over anything, he couldn’t help but come to a realization that this was now solidified as a scandal if it were to breach further into other people's knowledge. 

That fact hung over his head while he stood beside his son and watched him vow to be your loyal husband, and to stand by you. His face remained expressionless as you did the same, it stayed this way when the two of your placed rings onto each other's fingers, the same when your eyes swiftly shifted to him as the officiant stated for the two of you to kiss. It was so swift it went unnoticed by everyone but him. And then when you and Paul had finally softy met, through hesitance and tension the whole room could probably feel, his face still remained the same. 

It was something that he had been trained to do through his years serving as a Duke. Without this skill, he's sure his internal thoughts would provoke many wars. He's sure that if he wore his thoughts on his face during these moments, the same would happen. 

His composure stood strong for the majority of the night. Only slightly internally cracking when he spared a glance in your direction. You had looked just as much, if not more miserable than you had when you came to visit him earlier that day. The deed was done and over and maybe it was shock written on your face from the fact that this had still happened, maybe it was the fact that today was supposed to be about the marriage of you and Paul, and yet the room read as only a celebration of alliances, but you look genuinely distraught. 

The more he looked at you through the night, the more he thought about how truly unhappy you seemed. It wasn’t fair. This led him to the idea that probably wasn’t the best decision he has ever made. As he swept you across the floor as the two of you danced, he decided he would play it off as being a host if anyone were to draw suspicions of the two of you. 

That night everyone was busy. Guests were heading home, opting to travel than spend the night. Maids and servants were left to clean and Lady Jessica had gone off somewhere to converse with other members of the Bene Gesserit. This left Leto alone and to his own devices. 

While he undresses from his robes he considered going to your room to find you, he figured you would need some sort of comfort after the day and he was sure you wouldn’t be with Paul. though it was traditional to consummate the marriage on the first night, the both of you were very timid and he figured Paul would have offered you the chance to decline, especially given the conversation between the two earlier in which he recalls Paul pitying you. 

That's why for the first time this night, when he knocked on his son’s door, opting to stop by his room first and finish the conversation they had started earlier that day, his face finally gave way to his emotions when the person who opened the door was you.

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

A/N: Sorry this is long overdue and also a little shorter than the rest.

[my-tin-can-mans]

Hi. Sorry to bother, but i love your story "strange hearts" and wanted to ask if there will be more chapters or if you have a posting schedule? Anyway thanls for the wonderfull stories 🤗

First of all wow! Thank you so much! Unfortunately I don’t have any sort of post schedule, I post when I have motivation which usually isn’t often….. I have quite a few chapters planned but this next one is short and has taken me months to finally just be able to sit down and write it so I don’t know when I’ll get to the next ones. But if you look at my page, you might find a new chapter today 👀

[my-tin-can-mans]

Pretty Nails

Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: Eddies insists on tagging along to the nail salon with you.

Notes: So yeah, that little thought I had? Decided to write a four-page sickening fluff to it. Also, if the salon ladies' names seem oddly familiar, I was watching bobs burgers while writing this.

Warnings: Fluff that's all it is. (what no angst? that's surprising for me). some sexual situations and implications to smut so minors DNI.

____

“Alright, Eds, I gotta go. I have a nail appointment in 20,” you said, leaping off his bed from your previous spot. You turned back to look at him for a beat before searching for your shoes that had been haphazardly taken off the moment you stepped into his room earlier today, only to see him with a childish pout against his lips. You giggle in response. 

“That’s not fair,” he said, “I barely got to see you all week between you working at the family video and those projects you’ve been working on. I missed you, and now you're leaving?”

“To be fair, you should've been working on the project too for Ms. O’Donnell’s class, and it's not my fault you were daydreaming about me instead,” he raised his eyebrows at your sass, “and it's also not all my fault that we barely got to see each other, you had a hellfire meeting that lasted two hours over the usual time last night, could've spent all night with me if not.” 

It was Saturday, and every last Saturday of the month was spent at the nail salon. He knew that, but every time throughout the whole year you two have been dating, he put up a fit that you couldn’t spend that time with him. Although he would never really complain because he loved how excited you got when you showed him the new set you had put on, and not that he would ever tell you, but he secretly loved the way you raked the fresh sharp nails down his back while he was pounding into you, it made him hot just thinking about it. He also loved to see whatever pretty color you got wrapped around his cock, your dainty hands barely wrapping all the way around him. So yeah, although Eddie complained about you being gone for a little while during his usually planned time to spend with you, he would never truly be upset that you got your nails done. 

He frowned at your reasonings. Jutting his lower lip out even more in a cartoonish pout now, “baby,” he whined, “can you reschedule till next week? I wanna spend all day with you.” 

You shook your head adorningly at him. “I can't just reschedule; im a regular, and they practically expect me. You know, if you wanna complain about not being with me so much, you can just tag along.” 

His face lit up at the suggestion, and you were almost shocked at that. Sure he was clingy sometimes, but you couldn't imagine him ever wanting to come to a nail salon with you. He'd stick out like a sore thumb. Not only that but there wasn't much for him to do for him there besides sit by you. He was so energetic and bored so quickly that he’d probably start complaining after the first ten minutes. 

“Can I really come?” he asked. 

“Sure,” you shrugged, sitting down on the bed after finding your shoes to put them on. You figured he was just bluffing. He’d drive you there, change his mind and then drop you off. 

So you can imagine your surprise when the bell on the door to the salon rang while you stepped through with the metalhead puppy-dog trailing your heel. The girl who usually did your nails perked up from her spot behind her table. 

“Oh honey, it's so great to see you. Come, sit down,” she spoke, gesturing to you with her hand, not noticing the man attached at your hip yet. That was until you sat down in your chair, and Eddie just stood behind you, not knowing what to do. 

“Lousie, this is Eddie. He wanted to tag along today.” you nodded your head back to him while giving her a knowing smirk. 

Her face lit up. She knew all about Eddie. What else were you supposed to do but gossip for 40 minutes a month with the same girl? Of course, you also talked about her relationships. She had two kids and was in the dating pool, so she always had a crazy story between the two. “Oh, very nice to meet you here,” she said, gesturing to the table beside you that was thankfully empty, “you can sit at Tina’s booth for now. She’s out on lunch and doesn’t have another client coming for an hour.” 

As Eddie went to sit down in the chair beside you, Louise looked at you, mouthing he's cute to you while wiggling her eyebrows. You giggled in response. “Alright, honey, here's the colors. You know the drill. You make up your mind while I get this set filed and ready.” She handed you the ring with the samples of every color on them. 

Before you could pick it up off the desk, though, a ringed hand was snatching it out of your view. You turned your head to see Eddie curiously looking at the swatches. He flipped through them with focused attention you only ever saw when he was planning a DnD campaign or re-reading lord of the rings. When his gaze glanced over at you, though, you raised a brow questioningly. 

He gave you the same look he had earlier when he asked if he actually could tag along, “can I pick?” he asked. Your eyebrows rose in shock. Surely he didn't actually care what color you got put on your nails. 

“Sure, but no black or red  Eds.” you smriked. Those were his favorite colors. There was no way he would want to pick out any other color, “it’s still summer. I wanna bright warm color to match.” It was late September, basically fall already, but it was still a little warm outside, and while you liked his taste in music, and you liked the way he dressed, you had always been a bit more girly girl. That was alright, though. He loved to see the little sundresses you wore when it has hot out. He also loved to find you in a def leopard shirt and ripped jeans. He wasn't picky, really. 

“Okay,” he said, focusing his attention back on the swatches, “I can do that.” 

Your mouth hung open at his response. And when you turned back to Louise, she had a knowing smirk on her face.  You rolled your eyes, just your luck. Here you thought you were gonna get to have some relaxing time and gossip a little, but instead, you're stuck with whatever funky color Eddie decided to choose because you can’t say no to him and no gossiping because said gossip would've been about him and well, he's sitting right beside you, and you couldn’t gossip about anything else because well let’s face it, Eddie didn’t know how to keep a secret so if you told Louise the fact that Steve had practically tripped over himself when you handed him a stack of adult films to start rewinding in the back, you knew that Eddie would never let Steve hear the end of it the next time you all hung out. 

But apparently, this day was just shock after shock from Eddie because when Lousie had finished filing off the old color and filling the gaps, she turned to Eddie to ask for the color he picked, grinning. “Alright, hun, what lovely color have you picked out for your equally lovely girl,” she said teasingly. 

He mirrored her smirk, holding up a single swatch and handing it to her. She looked at it, her smirk growing in size. “Ah, you did good, hun, perfect summer color.” she sat it down, getting up for a moment to grab the color. You snatched the swatch to look at what color he chose, it was going on our nails, and you were the last one to see it. 

It was… a very good choice. A warm peachy pink color. Perfect for summer and also great for going into fall. When you looked back at him, he was wearing the smug smirk still, and it made you want to scoff. How dare he be able to pick out the perfect color? You shook your head at him, and he laughed. 

Somewhere along the line, Tina had come back from grabbing lunch and was now sitting at her desk on the other side of Eddie. While you were busy listening to Louise talk about the date she had recently gone on, Tina and Eddie were chatting off to the side as well. You weren't really paying attention. You were just glad he was occupied enough not to start complaining, also glad that Tina seemed to be enjoying his company too and not annoyed someone was sitting in front of her while she was off the clock. 

“Alright, hun,” Lousie said, pushing your hand back to you, “60 seconds in the lamp, and you’re all good to go.” 

You placed your hand in the LED lamp, waiting for the gel to cure. When you looked over to let Eddie know you were almost done, his hand was in Tina’s, and she was brushing paint onto them. Your jar dropped. It wasn't that Eddie wearing polish was a new thing. He painted them every once in a while with a cheap bottle he got from the drug store. But seeing him with his hand perched up on the table chatting as you did with Lousie was definitely a little different. Not only that, but he was having Tina, who was supposed to be on her break, doing them. 

“Eds,” you said sternly, “she's on break. Why do you have her painting your nails!” 

He frowned at your words, “she offered.” he said, looking like a scolding puppy who just peed on a rug. 

Before you could reprimand him anymore, Tina spoke up, “it's fine, hun, I did offer, and I wouldn’t if I wasn’t okay with it, plus hes nicer than most of my clients and not as picky either.” she giggled, handing him his hand back to put under the lamp. 

Your mouth continued to hang open. Taking your hand out of the lamp after it beeped at you, you shifted focus and stood up, and grabbed your purse to pay. Once again, Eddie snatched it out of your hands from where he was sitting. 

“Nuh uh, princess, don’t even think about it. I’m paying for both of us today.” he winked at you, grabbing his wallet from his pocket with the hand that wasn’t curing under the lamp at the moment. 

“Eds, that’s really sweet, but you don't have to,” you said. He shook his head. 

“Of course I do, gotta spoil my girl somehow.” you gave him a halfhearted eyeroll that he knew you didn't really mean smiling while doing so. 

His hand finished curing, and he popped up, thanking Tina and searching through his wallet while you both walked to the front to pay. 

When you got back to Eddie’s trailer, he insisted on doting over your new nails. “Come on, you gonna show me your new set like you always do,” he said, taking your hand already to inspect them, “wow, princess, such a pretty color. Who picked that out?” he teased. 

He kissed your fingers, murmuring a so pretty again. He kissed up your arm, all the up to your neck. “Think we need to test them out though.” he mumbled into your neck, leaving a wet trailing of kisses all the way up to your mouth as well. 

“What do you mean?” you said, pulling back a bit to see his whole face. At your words a devilish grin appeared on his face. 

“Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean,” he said, pushing you back to lay fully on his bed. It was safe to say that after the night was over, Eddie was welcome to tag along to the nail salon with you anytime. 

[my-tin-can-mans]

Going to get your nails done and Eddie tags along and ends up getting really excited and picking out your nail color and getting his done to match.

[my-tin-can-mans]

I was talking to a guy and I made an off handed comment About me writing and now he wants to know what I write 😳😳 tf am I supposed to say

[my-tin-can-mans]

Also I just wanna say I don’t think I’ve ever craved a sense of domesticity the way I have with Steve and Eddie and all the kids w us UGH what is WRONG W ME I AM DOWN BAD WTF SHDVWHASHSH

[my-tin-can-mans]

Scoured the World Wide Web and read every eddie x Steve x reader content I could find…. It’s not enough…. I need more….. to google docs??? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhjh

[my-tin-can-mans]

It Gets Loney at the Harringtons

Steve Harrington X Henderson!Reader

Notes: Pushing my Robin and Vicky agenda in this. A small blurb ended up taking over my night and writing a 3K one-shot oops.

Warnings: maybe a little angst, but just Steve being in his feels. Goofy Fluff at the end.

Summary: Steve doesn't like to admit it but, he hates being in that big empty house alone, and you're the only one willing to stay.

_________________________

Friday nights were always busy at the Family Video, that’s why you, Steve, and Robin would always work it together. When school got out, Steve would pick you and Robin up, then zip to the store to take over from Keith right before rush hour hit. 

This Friday was no different. When you pulled in and opened the door Keith let out a whole speech about how the three of you were always late. You definitely weren’t. School got out at 2:30 and your shift started at 3, placing the three of you usually a few minutes early anyways depending on how long Robin decided to ogle at Vicky before getting into Steves's car. 

The night seemed to be going on just as planned. After everyone was out of school and work, they would head over to pick out a movie for the weekend, leaving the three of you to stay busy from 3 till about 8, when things started to slow down enough that you were free to start closing up for the night. 

“Hey losers,” Steve said from behind the counter, as you were putting up return movies to their rightful place, Robin being a few aisles off doing the same, “My place tonight, yeah? My parents aren’t home this weekend, and I might’ve saved a copy of Labyrinth in the back. I know how much you’ve wanted to watch it since it came out, Henderson.” Steve wiggled his eyebrows at you. 

“Can’t” you heard Robin speak up, not being able to her from wherever she was standing a few aisles over, “got assigned an English essay with a partner, oh my god that reminds me I didn’t get to tell you who my partner is!” 

The screech at the end made you and Steve exchange a look, already knowing who by the excitement and the way Robin told you every single minute of English class since that was a class she shared with Vicky. 

“Robin, this is very good progress, right? You two gonna go study for a bit and next thing you know you’re leaning in and kissing her!” your voice rose in excitement. 

“Gross Henderson! I’m not some horny freak like Harrington over there,” a small offensive hey could be heard from behind the counter where Steve stood, the both of you ignoring it, “besides I’m still not a hundred percent sure she’s even into me like that, she could just think we’re really good friends, also Vicky’s like the top of the class, there’s no way she's not gonna want to take this seriously, and I respect that!”

“Well, Buckley I respect your respect for her have fun.” you giggled. 

“Yeah, you two stay safe, use protection.” Steve laughed too, a little bit more menacingly than yours. 

“Stop talking like that Steve! She's gonna be here any minute to pick me up!” she whined. Out of the corner of your eye from the VHS tape, you were putting on the shelf you could see Robin approaching the counter, smacking Steve on the arm. 

Just as their little feud died down, a car pulled up into the parking lot, red hair popping out of it. “Oh Robin,” you singed, “your date is here” 

You peeked around the aisle to see her reaction, catching her face blossom with a red tint. “You’re so dead tomorrow.” she stated, running into the back to grab her backpack before speeding past the two of you and out the door, turning around once to wave you guys goodbye, “you two good to close up here right? I kinda forgot to ask.” 

“Yeah yeah, get outta here Buckley,” Steve waved her off, “tell her to have you home by 10” he joked. 

“Yeah okay mom,” Robin rolled her eyes, waving again at you before closing the door behind you. 

Without Robin here the place seems to be a lot quieter. It wasn't that you and Steve needed her to talk or be a buffer, it was actually the contrary. Steve and you were close, before Robin ever entered the picture of the three of your friendship, almost being eaten alive by Demo-dogs while trying to protect your brother and his friends will do that to you though. 

But over the years you and Steve didn’t need to talk much, the unsaid quietness was comfortable. Robin and you were in the same grade, had survived middle school together so you were pretty close, you had tried not to drag her into the whole upside-down mess but when the three of you worked at Scoops together, it was inevitable. Now the three of you were practically inseparable which was great, your two best friends were also now each other's best friends too. 

As the two of you went about the rest of the closing routine in silence, your mind wandered to other things. “What about you Henderson?” Steve questioned while you stood on the outside of the door while he locked it. 

“What about me?” 

“Plans tonight like Robin?” 

“Nah I got paired up with one of the stoners that sits in the back, barely spoke a word to me when we had free time in class so I’ll just do the essay over the weekend by myself.” 

He chuckled at you as he turned around to face you, “Sorry to Hear that Henderson but I just meant are you free?” he pulled a VHS out of his jacket, waving it in front of you, “Wasn’t joking about Labyrinth, got it just for you.” he smirked. 

“Oh you’re so thoughtful,” you giggled, “but I don't know Steve, it’s been a long day,” you said looking down at your watch to see it read 9:30, “plus it's getting late why don’t we call it a night and then we can watch the movie tomorrow with Robin.” 

“Well, we don’t have to watch the movie tonight.” Steve said as the two of you headed to his car, you getting into the passenger seat, “We can just hang out tonight, I still got the place to myself, you can stay in the guest room, and then tomorrow we can go get Robin, she can give us a minute by minute report of her and Vicky which you and I both know is bound to happen, then we can watch the movie.” he said casually starting the car up and putting it in reverse. 

Whenever Steve had the place to himself he always invited people over. Whether that be you and Robin, or letting the younger part of the party use it to all hang out together and go crazy in, of course to a reasonable amount, he never let them do anything bad, just a safe space without parents to have some fun. But he had never invited just you over, this was new territory. Sure the two of you were close, and yeah you hung out before without anyone else, actually many times, but this was different you never went over to his house just the two of you, let alone spend the night. Not that you thought he was gonna make a move on you or anything but the thought was just kinda weird. What would the two of you even do?

“I don’t know Steve,” you said sighing. 

“Come on Henderson! I promise I don’t bite,” he said looking over his arm that was resting on the steering wheel to look at you. 

Why did he want to hang out with you so badly, usually when you had other plans he would drop it, no hard feelings, “Steve I’m sorry but I’m tired just take me home I promise we can hang out tomorrow yeah?” 

“Yeah okay, I understand,” he said quietly. He dropped the subject, and the silence between you two now seemed a lot tenser than it usually was. 

The two of you rode in silence back to your house. You weren’t sure if Steve was just over the topic and didn’t have anything left to say, or if he was silently brooding. As he pulled into your driveway you took one last look at him to say goodbye before leaving, that was until you noticed that his eyes looked a little glassy, “Hey you alright there Harrington?” you let out a nervous chuckle. 

“Yeah, no 'm fine, have a good night Henderson.” 

“Steve,” you signed turning towards him, “come on you’re obviously not fine, first you nagged me to stay the night at your house which has never happened before, now you’re all upset about something else.” 

“It‘s nothing important, sorry for upsetting you,” he tried to brush you off, but you could tell it was important.

“Hey, how much bullshit have we been through together?” you asked, he glanced at you with a small smile, “yeah a lot of bullshit right? You can tell me anything yeah? Even if it isn’t that important I wanna know.” 

“It’s just,” he sighed rubbing his hand down his face, “ever since all ya know, said bullshit.” he gestured around, “I don't know I-I” he stammered. 

You placed your hand on his arm, soothingly rubbing up and down coaxing him to feel safe enough to tell you, “god Henderson this is gonna sound so pathetic but I hate being alone in that shitty house. I can’t stand the eery empty feeling of it all, and I mean yeah it’s not great when my shitty old man is there either but at least his yelling drowns out the sad empty feeling.” 

Your heart broke for him. Here you were thinking he was being creepy and trying to get you alone or something and he was just sad and lonely. You felt for him, you knew the feeling of having shitty parents. Your dad wasn’t in the picture at all but your mom vocally favored Dustin over you, leaving a longing and lonely feeling sometimes. 

Dustin would be home soon, with everything going on his curfew was usually around 10:30 ish, sometimes he pushed it to 11, your mom practically never said no to him. She on the other hand would probably be settled in, watching whatever soap opera was on for the night. You dreaded the thought of going in there anyways, the only reason you really wanted to be home was to get some comfy clothes on and have a good night's sleep. The idea of that all seemed to not matter in Steve’s words. 

“Alright that’s it then Harrington,” you said grabbing your seat belt but buckling it back on, “we're about to have the best sleepover ever, I mean like full middle school girls type shit,” you said laughing. 

“Hey no that’s fine you don’t have to do that I know you're tired and we're already here.” 

“Nu-uh, I never thought I’d say this but take me to your house, Harrington, I’m spending the night.” 

He chucked at you, “you’re sure?” he questioned raising his eyebrows. You nodded your head at him, smiling. He nodded back at you, “alright my place it is.” he pulled back out of your driveway, taking the path to his place. 

Once inside, Steve headed straight for the kitchen, “you hungry?” he called after you, “think I got some leftover pasta in the fridge, mom makes the best.” 

“Yeah that sounds good.” you said, following behind him, “ah crap I didn't bring anything to change into,” you pouted, sitting up at the barstool on the kitchen counter. 

“That’s fine,” Steve said opening the fridge, “you can borrow some of mine, you know where my room is go ahead and change while I heat this up.” 

“Oh, okay,” you said, hopping back off the stool and heading upstairs. The mood between you and Steve had changed significantly over the night. Normal, then tense, and now… whatever this was. It wasn't back to normal again, definitely not, while you and Steve were close and shared a multitude of trauma, he had never really confided in you like he did tonight, actually, you don’t think he’d confided in anyone like he did tonight. 

Just when you had given up on trying to find something cozy enough to sleep in from his closet and rummage through his drawers you spotted a flash of bright yellow. Jackpot. 

You came back down wearing Steve’s yellow sweatshirt and a pair of running shorts. Steve had just been taking the pasta out of the microwave, stirring it up on the counter. When he raised his head to look at you, you swore you saw him tense for a moment. 

“That’s my favorite sweatshirt,” he said looking back down, grabbing the big Tupperware bowl to spoon a portion into the two bowls he had laid out. 

“Yeah, I figured. With as much as I see you wear it, wanted to see what was so great about it and I gotta say, Harrington, I’m not sure if your gonna see it again. Better say your goodbyes.” you giggled, sitting back down on the stool you were previously at. 

He scoffed, “absolutely not, the only person who I would ever allow to take my clothes would be my girlfr-” he stopped going dead silent, passing you a bowl of pasta. 

“Right, don’t worry I’ll give it back.” you chuckled. There it was again, that tense silence between you two that never used to be there as the two of you ate pasta and avoided eye contact. 

After the two of you finished your pasta you headed upstairs, Steve insisted that he was okay, that you could sleep, he just liked knowing someone else was in the house with him. You retreated to the guest room, already knowing where it was having to share it with Robin multiple times, sometimes even Max if the kids came around to hang out, the boys instead having a sleepover in the living room, Steve insisting there would be no shmoosing in his house, practically locking Max up with you. 

You lay in bed, not being able to sleep. What the hell was the matter with you? Maybe you were just overthinking things. You and Steve were good, he was just a little down right now. You sighed, getting up to use the restroom. When you walked out into the hall you noticed the light was still on in Steve’s room. 

You walked up to where he had the door cracked, seeing him laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, he looked sad, you couldn’t leave him there like that. You cracked the door open stepping in, “can’t sleep?” 

He looked up at you, sighing, “no.” you came around to the side of the bed he wasn’t occupying, sitting down. 

“I’d ask you if you’re alright but I feel like I already know the answer.” 

He scoffed, letting out a chuckle as well. “Just thinking about that date I went on last Friday.” 

“Oh you mean the one you said tried to grope you in the car while you were trying to respectfully drive her home.” you laughed. 

“Yeah” he laughed with you, “I mean if this was a few years ago that would’ve been my wet dream but now I just want to actually find a connection and it's like I can’t. Every girl I go out with, it's like she’s not trying to go out with me, she's trying to date ‘The Hair’” he said flailing his arms dramatically to make his point, “I just wanna make a connection with someone and it's like it’s impossible.” 

“Steve did you ever think that maybe dating every girl in Hawkins isnt the way to get to that?” 

“What do you mean? How am I supposed to make a connection if I don’t date.” 

“Steve I hate to tell you but from an outsiders perspective, you taking all these girls on just one or two dates and then dropping them is putting out the wrong idea, I know you’re trying to attract a sole mate, but this energy your putting off is giving a different one. Steve you’re a great guy, just take a breather yeah?”

He smiled at you, “great guy huh?” the smiled turned into more of a smirk. You rolled your eyes. 

“Don’t Flatter yourself Harrignton, I said great guy, you’re still no Daivd Bowie.” 

“I dont know, I would consider David Bowie to be on my list of great guys.” he said wiggling his eyebrows at you playfully. 

Maybe it was the tension you had felt all day, maybe it was the emotions that gathered in your stomach from Steve being able to confide in you but, as you lied there in his bed face to face, you couldn’t help but lean in, just so enough so that you could feel his breath on your lips. His eyes traveled down to your lips and back up to your eyes again. 

“Hey, I promise I didn’t lure you into my house just to try and seduce you, you know.” 

You broke away to let out a cackle at that, laughing at the ceiling. When you finally calmed down enough to look at him again you said, “I know that Steve,” the laughter still dying down while he looked a little confused, “way to ruin the mood you dork.” you shoved his chest. 

“Wait wait wait, we had a mood? Please Henderson enlighten me!” he was laughing along with you now. Only he could almost kiss one of his best friends and then joke about it. 

“Well it isn’t there anymore so there’s nothing to enlighten you about,” you pushed him again, but this time he grabbed your hand, tugging you down. 

The two of you wrestled for a little while until he had you underneath him, “hey seriously, though I don’t want you to get the wrong idea that I apparently give off, I meant everything I’ve said to you tonight I swear this wasn’t some big ploy.” 

“Hey it’s okay Steve I know, I’m the one that leaned in.” he rose his eyebrow up at you. 

“So you wanted me to kiss you?” he questioned. 

“I don’t know, kinda” you rolled your eyes at your own words. What kind of a answer was that, fuck it. “Yes. I wanted you to kiss me, I don’t think I realized it until you were vulnerable with me but I really like you Steve, for you, not for the hair.” 

He looked down at you smirking, “not for the yellow sweatshirt either?” he raised a brow teasingly. You rolled your eyes again, not being able to take the tension that you felt building up all night and finally realizing what that tension was, attraction. 

You pulled Steve into a kiss, pressing your lips into his. He instantly melted into it, moving his mouth against yours, bringing his hand up to cup your cheek. After a few moments the two of you pulled away for air. “Fuck” he breathed against your lips, “keep the sweatshirt, hell you can have my whole wardrobe for all I care.” 

You giggled, pulling him down for another kiss. 

[my-tin-can-mans]

No More Trust

Eddie Munson X Reader, kinda Steve X Reader but it's not the focus.

Notes: Yeah I'm not so sure where this came from but I do love to write good angst. Eddie survives Vecna in this one but at what cost. Italics and flashbacks.

Warnings: literally the whole thing is angst. one small sexual interaction but not actual smut. seriously though angst.

Summary: You and Eddie used to date, but now you are about to get married to Steve until someone from your past shows up, all of the memories of why it didn't work start flooding though. the ending is open for interpretation.

——————————————————————————

“Don’t marry him.” the voice came from behind you. You knew who it was instantly and you felt your stomach sink to the floor. 

Today was your wedding day. You stood in a back room of the venue dressed in a gody white, over-the-top dress. Somewhere in this building, Steve stood in a room with all his groomsmen getting ready to call you his wife. But apparently, it wasn't going to be that easy. 

After everything that had happened in Hawkins in the past years, you felt sad and alone. When the party defeated Vecna you decided to seek comfort in someone. Luckily Steve was looking for the same thing. Dustin, your brother was excited to see his sister, the mom of the group, and Steve his mentor and, well other mom of the group together. 

You and Steve got along well together, whether that was because of all your shared trauma or the fact that you actually were meant to be together you would never be able to tell. You couldn't change the past. Although you wish you could. Before Vecna, well before everything, you and Eddie had been dating. Eddie was everything to you, he consumed your thoughts 24/7 while the two of you were separated, much to your dismay. Eddie and you were practically inseparable except for when it came to his D&D campaigns. That was until you found your brother keeping a demo dog as a pet. 

If you had to look back and place a moment in time where Eddie and your relationship started to tear it would be right there. Dealing with demo dogs had taken a toll on you. Traumatized you. You started having nightmares that you couldn’t really explain to him, so you decided it would be best to not sleep over at his place anymore. He presumed you just didn’t really care for his somewhat questionable cleaning habits so he started trying to sneak into your place after your mom had gone to sleep. 

“Eddie you can’t be here,” you stated stopping him from coming any further into your room from the window he had already climbed through. 

“Why not? Your mom’s already asleep sweetheart and if I remember correctly you said you had to drop your brother off at a friend’s for the night earlier on the phone.” 

“It's just that…” you paused. You couldn't think of a logical explanation and saying sorry I might wake up screaming because there was this one time I was attacked by creatures from another dimension and almost died doesn't really cut it, “my mom suspected I’ve been sneaking out so she's been checking up on me at night.” 

He gave you a weird look not really buying it. “Okay then, no more sleepovers. Got it.” he quipped, turning around with a blank face and climbing back out of the window he had come in from. 

That. That was the moment. Although it took a while for the two of you to actually break it off. That came in the summer while you dealt with the mind flayer. Well, you, didn't really deal with it, that was more for eleven and friends while you dealt with the Russian spies with Robin and Steve. Robin had been your friend for a while and Steve was beginning to grow on you after watching him practically mentor your younger brother. Not having your dad around anymore had really taken a toll on Dustin growing up. You and your mom were the only parental figures he had in his life and you knew he felt like he was missing something, after all, you couldn’t really talk to him about girls the way Steve could, no that would just be weird. So when you found out they both applied to be at Scoop Ahoy separately, this was your chance to combine your friend group much to both of their dismay about the other. 

After being interrogated and being drugged, and everything, literally everything imaginable happening, you managed to land a few scrapes and bruises. If you had just remembered those were there a little sooner when finally getting to have some alone time with your boyfriend, maybe things would've been a little different. 

You were laying on Eddie’s bed, thighs spread with Eddie in between them. He was kissing down your neck, grinding himself into you, “fuck baby, missed you so much, hate that stupid job of yours.” 

“Somebody's gotta be the breadwinner,” you giggled. The giggles turned into a moan when he hit a particularly sensitive spot on your neck while also rutting down into with a particularly rough thrust. 

“Come on now princess, we could live on the streets for all I care, just wanna be with you all the time.” 

You sighed in bliss. Happy to have him back in your arms after such a traumatic past few days. When you were with Eddie it felt like a fairytale come to life, well maybe not your conventional prince charming and cinderella, more just the true love part. 

He kissed down lower on your neck running his hands up your shirt to feel your skin, you were too distracted by the peace that had settled into your bones and the pleasant buzz of your heated make-out session to stop it from going any further. 

“What’s this?” he questioned. Sitting up on his haunches with a more serious expression on his face than you'd seen in a long time. 

“What’s what Eddie?” you asked. He frowned at you, lifting your shirt and pointing to the bruises littering your stomach and torso. 

“Did somebody hurt you?” he asked. Yes, you wanted to say, but it's okay we took care of them, nothing to worry about just your typical Russian spies in Hawkins. 

“It's fine Eddie, just-i just fell down the stairs.” 

The frown on his face grew even deeper, “you don’t have stairs at your house, the Henderson's is a one-story, I should know im the one sneaking in and out of the windows.” 

“Seriously Eds it's not a big deal,” you tried to laugh it off, “you know me im just clumsy.” 

“These are more than just being clumsy, it looks like someone held you down and punched the living shit out of you. Why the hell can't you just tell me what happened.”

“It's not that simple,” you groaned, hiding your face with your hands. Hop made it clear to you all that none of this was supposed to be told to anyone. Now he was gone and you couldn’t bring yourself to disobey him. Besides even if you did tell him he would just think you were lying anyways, it was better to try and brush it off, now that it was all over it didn’t matter anyways you could focus on the two of you instead, you going into your first senior year, and Eddie going into his hopefully final senior year. 

“How is it not that simple, we’ve been dating since you were you were a sophomore, three years, and you can’t tell me why you have some strange bruises on you?” 

His voice was stern. Serious, the mood ruined, you couldn’t distract him with kisses anymore. 

“I just can’t you okay? Can you just trust me and drop it?” 

“Trust you? Seriously.” he scoffed. He moved from between your legs, getting off his bed in favor of pacing in front of it instead, “you want me to trust you after you show up at my house after not responding to my calls for days, telling me you were working extra shifts, even though I called over there and no one answered with strange bruises on you.” 

You opened your mouth the speak but nothing came out. He stopped his pacing to look at you, “are you cheating on me?” he asked before you could think of anything to say. 

“What! Of course not.” 

“How can I believe that! You don't tell me anything anymore, I feel like you're keeping things from me, and I have for a while now, ever since last fall you’ve been acting different, I tried to tell myself it was just the stress of school getting to you, because ya know I never really got that, didn’t really care, but this summer it feels like its getting worse.” 

“Eddie please,” you begged crawling to the end of his bed, reaching out for him, “I love you so much, you have to understand that, I love you so, so much but I just-” 

“Just what?” 

You faltered, “I just can’t tell you what's going on, but I promise you're the only one for me yeah? There's no one else, I couldn’t even dream of that.” 

Silence. Eddie had stopped pacing and was standing in front of you with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at you intently as if you were a puzzle to solve. 

“I don't think I can trust you anymore,” he said solemnly, he looked down at the floor, “and if I can’t trust you, I don't think we can be together.” 

“Eddie please don’t.” he shook his head, still looking at the floor, “Eds, come on, I love you.” you said voice breaking as you reached out for him, “please” he took a step away, so when you grabbed for him you missed. 

“No don’t make this any harder, I already made up my mind, this was just my final straw.” 

So from then on, it was just you and Robin and sometimes Steve. Every once in a while you caught a glance of him in the hallways, giving his infamous speeches at lunch, striding out of the school doors with your brother when it was your turn to pick the boys up from hellfire. Dustin felt bad about joining the club sometimes with the history of you and Eddie, but you insisted it was fine. Nancy insisted that you weren't gonna be picking them up anymore after Mike told her that you almost ran off the road because your teary eyes didn't see the deer soon enough to hit the breaks properly one night. 

That was until spring break, you hadn’t seen him. Hadn't talked to him. And now you stood in the boat house of reefer Rick’s letting Dustin explain everything that had happened in Hawkins that tore the two of you apart you felt sick to your stomach. He was not supposed to be drawn into this. That's why you didn't tell him. Why after he told you to leave, you did and you didn’t look back. Too many people had been hurt and it wasn't fair to allow the same thing to happen to him. 

When everyone started to leave, you stayed behind for a second, wanting to make sure he was okay with all the information that just dropped into his lap. “So,” you hummed, “Chrissy, never knew you were into cheerleaders, would’ve joined the squad a long time ago to get your attention.” 

He huffed at you. “It wasn’t like that, she just wanted something strong, you know I don't keep that shit on me.” 

“Yeah but I also know you didn’t let clients into your house before.” 

“Yeah well that was when there was someone who I cared about stayed with me.” he scoffed at you. 

“Ouch,” you said. Getting up from the pole you were leaning on and heading towards the door if he was okay enough to be snippy with you, he was okay enough to be left alone while you guys handled this, plus you're sure Steve was getting impatient with you. 

Just as you were about to take your first step out the door, he spoke up, “is this why you were keeping things from me? Cause you were dealing with this-” he gestured around, “this shit.” 

“Yeah," you turned around to look at him, his face softening a little. 

“Why didn't you just tell me, I could’ve been there for you.” 

You scoffed, “would you of believed me if I did tell you?

“Probably not.” he signed, rubbing his face with his hands. 

“Guess trust just wasn’t our strong suit huh?” 

“No, you being honest with me wasn’t our strong suit.” 

“You just said you wouldn’t have believed me anyways!” you started to raise your voice a little, “what difference would it of made.” 

“I don't know I guess-” he looked down at his feet. “I guess now I could’ve at least had the closure of knowing it was my fault for not believing you that our relationship ended instead of you keeping things from me and being pulled into it anyways.” 

That wasn’t fair for him to say. Your eyes met again, tears rising to the surface and while you stared at him in silence you could tell he was doing the same. You walked away. Again. 

The gate to the upsidedown was closed and Vecna, the beginning of everything was gone, but you hadn't had to deal with the trauma without Eddie before. You couldn't go back to him now either, not after the conversation you had in the boat house. Not after you, almost saw him die. The image of him spitting up blood replayed in your head over and over again. You and Dustin managed to drag him through the gate and get him help. While he was in the hospital, you all gave your everything to defeating Vecna. 

When it was done and over you couldn’t bring yourself to visit him. It hurt you too much to think about it. Besides you were sure he didn’t want to see you anyways. Not after he practically told you that you were the sole reason the two of you broke up. 

Just because you weren't returning to Eddie didn’t mean you weren't lonely. You missed being able to seek comfort in his arms when things got bad. During the summer after, you hung out a lot with Robin and Steve, only now Robin had Vicky. So sometimes it was just you and Steve. And then well, you and steve became, you and Steve. 

It was easy and convenient. Steve was always complaining about not being able to connect with any of the girls he took out, you were always moping around feeling lonely. So one night when Robin had bailed movie night to sneak out with Vicky, you and Steve stayed together to watch a movie, one thing led to the next and well, that’s how you ended up here, in the wedding dress Nancy and Robin had helped you pick out. 

Your and Steve's relationship was easy, it felt right. Not as right as you and Eddie had ever felt but you were happy. That’s all that mattered. You loved Steve, and he treated you like you were the only thing that mattered in his life.  So when he asks you to marry him you didn’t think twice before you said yes. 

Although after the initial lovesick engagement phase wore off, and you were planning the wedding while Steve worked non-stop, once in a while you looked at the ring and thought, this wasn’t really you. You didn’t want to settle down and have “six nuggets” you weren't even sure if you wanted one, but Steve ensured you that the two of you would figure it out. That wasn’t it though, the ring wasn’t you. That was a silly thing to think but it did make you question things. 

If Steve couldn’t get you a ring that was you, could he really know you? He knew about your trauma, about your life, but was that enough, did he get you? You couldn’t help but wondering what type of ring Eddie would’ve gotten you if he had ever proposed to you. You shook that thought from your mind whenever it came up. 

“Don’t marry him.” he repeated. 

As you turned around to look at him your eyes fell upon Nancy and Robin, both standing there wide eyed, probably mirroring the same expression you had on your face. 

Eddie stood in the door way. Token band shirt and black jeans. For obvious reasons he hadn’t been invited to the wedding, “what” was all you could muster up. 

“Hey bud I dont think this is a really good time ya know? What with it being her wedding day and everything maybe this conversion is a little late.” Robin spoke up. He turned to look at her, glaring daggers, “Or ya know maybe this is a great plan Eddie,” she spoke sarcastically, rolling her eyes. 

Eddies turned his attention back to you once your friends rambling had been quieted, “don’t marry him.” he said for the third time. 

“Eddie what the hell do you think you’re doing.” 

“You might be happy right now but i know you, once that wears off and you move to the end of the culdesac and settle in, your not going to be.” 

“Alright I think thats enough” Nancys voice was stern. She walked over between the two of you, breaking the gaze. 

“Hey it’s okay nance, I got this,” you said placing a hand on her shoulder. “Why dont you and Robin you check up on the kids, make sure their behaving, give me a moment yeah?”

She turned to look at you, “you sure about that?” you nodded holding her gaze for a moment to make sure she understood, “holler if you need us yeah?” you nodded again and then she was walking about of the room with Robin behind her. 

Once the door has closed you turned you attention back to Eddie, “let me get this clear, I have loved you since the moment I layed eyes on you, I tired to protect you from all the bad shit in my life and that wasn’t good enough for you, you didnt trust me, and then when you did find out the truth, it was my fault. My fault for trying to protect you, my fault for our relationship ending, my fault you couldn’t take me at face value and see that all I wanted was to love you. And when I finally moved on, finally found someone who appreciated me, you come and crash my wedding.” 

“Look I’m sorry I just-” 

“No you don’t get to be sorry Eddie, you practically broke my heart twice, isn't that enough for you?” 

“Hey thats not fair you broke my heart too, I had no clue what secrets you were hiding.” 

“Were not having this conversion again, it didnt turn out well two years ago lets not do it again.” 

“Fine it’s in the past, but still, youre not gonna be happy with Steve!”

“I wouldn’t be marrying him if i didn’t think i was gonna be happy.” you scoffed. 

“I can see it in your eyes, sweetheart. Please just give me a another chance, things are different now I know everything theres nothing to hide now.” 

“Eddie please don’t do this, this isn’t fair.” 

He had been pacing this whole time in front of you, just like he had the night he broke up with you, he stopped again this time, instead of telling you to leave though he stepped forward and pressed his lips into yours. 

[my-tin-can-mans]

Distractions and Comfort

Eddie Munson X Henderson! Reader

Notes: Oh boy. Enjoy this hurt comfort I whipped up because the guy I like and had been talking to for about a month decided to ghost me :).

Not Beta'd so if you see a mistake, no you didn't.

Warnings: None I don't think? A little angst but not the worst I've written lmao.

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

“Eddie!’ Steve yelled coming up to him from the back door of the house that currently held the ongoing party. Eddie had been in his usual spot, out back where he could deal in private when his friends dragged him to the party. Or rather you dragged him. 

Being Dustin’s older sister and also being unfortunate enough to also act as his chauffeur to and from hellfire club, you had gotten to know Eddie. Before that, your friend group consisted of Steve and Robin. Robin was your childhood friend and when you went to work with her at Scoops Ahoy you were first displeased by Steve “the king”’s presence but after enduring torture with him and Robin, you all were very close now. It took a while for the other two to allow Eddie into the friend group but you were anything if not stubborn. 

You liked Eddie, maybe a little too much for a friend. But that was all you were, just friends. You could tell by the way he looked at other girls sometimes. The way he looked at Chrissy. 

That's why for the past month you have been with someone else, trying to distract you from him. Robin had insisted that this was a bad idea, but then again all of Robins's ideas were bad so who was she to talk right? 

Patrick and you had come to the party tonight together. He hadn't officially asked you to be his girlfriend yet which had honestly been a relief to you, but when you caught him kissing another girl from the cheer team it definitely stung a little. He had gone off to get the two of you drinks while you were sitting chatting with Robin, Steve was long gone trying to find a girl while Eddie had headed out back the second all of you had arrived. When you realized Patrick had been gone for longer than a few minutes you went to search for him, finding him in the dark hallway with her pressed against the wall. 

“Hey Eddie man, have you seen Henderson?” Steve now stood directly in front of Eddie and the stranger who was shoving a bag in his pocket before standing up and scurrying away. 

Eddie closed his small lunch box looking up at Steve, “No Steve I haven’t and if you don't mind I'm kinda in the middle of something now?” he gestured to his box. 

Steve rolled his eyes crossing his arms, “she hasn’t been out here has she?” he questioned anyways. 

“Have you met her? You know she doesn’t like this shit. No, she hasn’t been out here. And why are you so worried anyways, she's probably just in some room getting down with Patrick by now. Told me she was sure tonight he was gonna ask her to be his girlfriend.” 

“Yeah, that's the point dipshit she's definitely not with Patrick. Just saw him with some other girl. Hoping I could catch her before she did but I can't find her so I think it's safe to assume she's already seen him too.” 

“Shit shit shit!” Eddie popped up from his seat. Selling his lunch box contents would have to wait another night, “She definitely didn't leave yet  Patrick drove her here, you checked the bathroom yet?” 

“Yeah, the one on the first floor but I figured I come out here before going upstairs.” 

Steve and Eddie bounded up the stairs of the house finding the door to the bathroom locked and knocked. 

“Occupied,”  your voice called out on the other end, small and broken. They shared a look with each other. 

“Princess its us open up,” Eddie spoke up. Silence. 

They looked at each other again worried for you, but Steve being impatient yelled out, “Alright look open the door, or I’m breaking it down and blaming it on you.” 

The door opened to reveal you standing there head down trying to hide your puffy eyes and red nose. “Oh sweetheart,” Eddie said to you as they both pushed their way in closing the door behind them. 

“I don’t understand,” you said back hitting the wall and sliding down, “What is it about me that men don’t want, am I really that unlovable?” you questioned. 

Steve squatted down in front of you while Eddie pressed himself up against your side. 

“No no, it's not that, you're great really. Patrick is just a dick Okay? He thinks he’s the shit because he's a basketball player and had some popularity, I should know I used to be one of those dicks.” 

“Yeah, you were too good for him anyways.” Eddie added, “he wouldn’t know what to do with you if he tried.” he spoke, bringing his hand up to your face and wiping the tear rolling down your cheek. 

“If im too good for him then why am I the one crying in a bathroom while he’s with some other girl.” 

“Because he's a dumbass,” Steve blurted out. 

“Yeah any guy would be lucky to call you theirs, your the most gorgeous girl in school, and im not just saying that, not only that but your smarter and funnier than all those other cheerleaders. Sweetheart have you seen the way guys look at you when we walk down the hallway, they practically gawk.” 

“Well they're gawking at you, but it's also probably partly because you're with the school freak,” Steve spoke. Eddie flicked him, “sorry, just came out.” 

You gave a half-hearted laugh at their banter. No matter how close they had become friends because of you, they still bickered. 

“Come on sweetheart let's get you home okay?” Eddie said standing up, holding out a hand for you as well. 

“I don’t want to go home, Dustin’s just gonna make fun of me all weekend for sulking.” you pouted on the floor. 

“I’d invite you to mine but my dad's home and he's probably just as unpleasant as Dustin, no definitely more and that means a lot coming from me.” 

“Mine it is then.” Eddie replied, “come on my uncle wont be home till the morning, plus he loves having you around anyways, says you’re a good influence.” he gave you a little smirk and picked you up off the ground. 

As the three of you walked through the crowded house to the front entrance you happened to also catch Robin along the way, Eddie kept walking by your side while Steve hung back to fill Robin in on what happened. Once you were in Steve's car, you sat in the back with Eddie, Robin taking a front seat and filling the silence with whatever word vomit that came to her mind. 

It was mostly about Patrick, telling you how one time she saw im pick his nose in class so he wasn't a suitable match anyways. You zoned everything out though, in favor of leaning your head against the window and watching the shadowed night pass through the trees. 

A warm hand touching your thigh made you jump out of your trance, looking over to see Eddie already looking at you. He moved closer wrapping his arm around you while keeping his other hand rubbing small comforting circles on your lower thigh. 

Eddie had always been a touchy person, it was just how your friendship was. So this wasn’t a new sight. In fact, it was very familiar and made you feel a little at peace with the ending of the night. 

After a few minutes, Steve had pulled into the trailer park letting you and Eddie out. Before you could get too far though he rolled his window down, “Henderson!” he yelled causing you to whip your head around, “you sure you don't want us to stay too?” 

“Nah that's alright Steve, besides, it might get a little stuffy in here with all of us,” you giggled. 

Once inside the trailer, you and Eddie went straight to his room, borrowing an oversized shirt from him in favor of you dress you had worn to the party. It was a shame you thought, you and Robin had gone shopping specifically for this night when you saw that dress you instantly fell in love, and it looked good on you too. Patrick hadn't even told you that you looked good tonight when he picked you up. That should have been enough right there to know he didn’t really give a shit. 

“Okay,” you said to Eddie after pulling his shirt over your head, “you can turn back around.” 

When he turned around he smiled upon looking at you, it wasn’t uncommon for you to spend the night here, borrowing a shirt from him every once in a while when it was unexpected and you didn't have a change of clothes. You loved Dustin, but he was gone to his friends a lot and your mother and you didn’t get along well, Dustin was her golden child, you were just there most of the time. 

“It’s shame, that dress you picked out did look good, had to waste your first time wearing it on the shitty Patrick.” 

“You, Eddie Munson noticed a bought a new dress.” you scoffed in disbelief, Robin had to of told him your plan before the night. 

“Of course I noticed, Jesus Henderson did you listen to what I said in the bathroom at all?” Eddie said flopping onto his bed, “I meant it you're gorgeous, and that dress certainly showed that off, although I will say ive always favored seeing you in my shirt.” 

You scoffed at him again, heading towards his bed to lay down as well. Eddie always flirted with you a little bit, but he did the same with Robin, hell even sometimes Steve was on the receiving end of it. But this was different. His words had started to make you blush. Calling you gorgeous was never in his vocabulary before and it made your heart ache. 

The whole reason you had got with Patrick was to distract you from your feelings for Eddie and it had been successful up until now. 

Now you were alone with Eddie, definitely not with Patrick and he was now calling you gorgeous, saying he preferred you in his clothes. It made you realize the whole reason this whole night had gone down the gutters was that you wanted to get with someone so that when Eddie finally got the balls to ask Chrissy out, which you could tell he wanted to by the way he looked at her, you might not feel as bad. 

“Bet you think Chrissy would look good in your clothes too yeah?” you mumbled, laying down facing away from him so he couldn’t see your hurt face. 

“ ‘scuse me?” he asked. “Henderson what the hell are you talking about.” 

“Oh come on, Munson,” you said, trying to turn your voice into a teasing tone when it felt like you were about to start crying all over again. “You look at her like she hung the moon and you haven’t even talked to her.” 

“I do NOT look at her like that, are you out of your damn mind! She’s dating the enemy Henderson wake up!” he laughed and shook you, causing you to let out a small giggle. “I look at her like that because she used to be so nice, and now she's with Jason. That reminds me I never got to scold you for dating one of those jerks. What the hell were you thinking anyway?” he jokes at you. 

“I don’t know what the hell I was thinking Eddie, guess I just needed a distraction.” you rolled onto your back, looking at him propped up on his elbow looking down at you with a confused expression on his face. 

“Distraction, a distraction from what?” he questioned you. 

You sighed. This was your chance, if he truly didn't have feelings for Chrissy you might as well confess yours, you’d already been hurt once tonight, why not go for another round, “a distraction from you, Eddie. I really like you, more than just friends, and it hurt me to think you might have had a thing for her instead.” 

His eyebrows rose at your confession, you covered your face with your arms not being able to bare the silence of him. 

“Henderson im gonna ask you this again, what the hell were you thinking,” he said, but this time it wasn't in a joking manner. His voice was softer than usual, quiet too. “I’ve had feelings for you ever since I saw you sitting on the hood of your car picking up that brat you call a brother for the first time.” while he spoke he also slowly started to lower to arms from your face, by the time he was finished you were both looking at each other. 

Eddie leaned down hovering above you now. Lips almost brushing but not enough to feel anything. “Can I kiss you?” he asked. 

“Please,” you whispered, closing the short distance. 

Eddie’s lips moved against yours in a feverish manner, his hand coming up to cradle your cheek in the palm of his hand. Eddie deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into your mouth, drawing out a moan from you. “Fuck” he breathed as he pulled away after a few moments. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that” 

“I could say the same.” 

He pressed his head in the crook of your neck, peppering it with little kisses, hand moving down to your waist to rub small little circles on top of his shirt. 

“Come on sweetheart it's getting late,” he said coming up to face you again and giving you another small kiss, “wanna hold you for the night.” 

Eddie moved to turn off his bedside lamp returning to his position on the bed and pulling you into his chest. You doze off into a peaceful sleep, although you weren't with whom you had planned laying next to tonight, you were much more satisfied.

[my-tin-can-mans]

Guys. I had so many good one shot starts for moon knight and now I have no motivation to finish them because Eddie Munson had taken over my life 😭😭😭😭😭

[my-tin-can-mans]

Hugs and kisses to you hope you are doing well

🥺🥺🥺 thank you! I am!!!

I was offered an internship and a job this summer so I’m staying busy unfortunately….

Although I do have a couple one shot drafts I might be posting soon.

Xx

[my-tin-can-mans]

I absolutely love strange hearts can’t wait to see what happens next

Thank you so much! I appreciate that :) right now I would say it’s kinda on a hiatus. I’m juggling finals prep along with prep for internship interviews for the summer AND planning classes for next semester so I’ve got a lot on my plate rn 😅 I do have airtime written for the next chapter I’ve been working on it’ll just be while unfortunately

[my-tin-can-mans]

Do you think Jessica would catch on between Leto and her the awkward and lustful tension between them

I mean. Jessica is a very smart woman

[my-tin-can-mans]

Oh man Duncan saw them together He wouldn’t tell anyone but the judgie looks are enough can’t wait to see how the marriage with Paul works out

Yeah the looks are rly something lol. And it’ll be interesting I now sure exactly how I plan to take reader and Paul relationship but it’s def gonna have ups and downs ;)

[my-tin-can-mans]

Strange Hearts, Part 3 The Wedding

Leto x Reader

Part 1 Part 2

Strange Hearts Spotify Playlist

Summary: When an arranged marriage brings you to Caladan, you find that another man piques your interest

Disclaimer: I thought of this while fic and started writing under the impression Paul was in his early to mid-'20s like Timothy. So for the sake of this story he and the reader are both in their twenties. Sorry for any inaccuracies, I've only watched the movie and really only paid attention to Oscar lmao.

Warnings: A little bit of angst. Unwanted Marriage? technically love triangle/affair.

The wedding gown was gorgeous, much to your dismay. The white gown was draped in lace and beads, flowing all the way down to the floor. It hung around your frame perfectly and made you look like an image of elegance.

The sunlight dipping in from the windows in your room shined down on the beads and jewelry you wore. The small crown you wore gleamed in it, and if it weren't for the nerves bubbling all over you, you would’ve been enraptured by it.

As you stood there staring at yourself in front of the mirror, maids and servants running around you, fixing every minor detail, you fell frozen. You were about to be married, and the only man on your mind happened not to be your future husband.

The thought of what was to come made your head spin.

“Your grace, are you okay? You look a bit pale.” the voice came from behind you, and if it weren't for its bluntness, you wouldn’t have known it was Theresa. Every sound that you could hear came in muffled.

She came to stand in front of you, blocking you off from the mirror. She placed her hand on your shoulders to steady you, “deep breaths, your grace.” the breath you drew in a while mimicking her was shaky. You breathed a few more times with her, but nothing changed.

“Okay,” she said, “I’ll be back. I'm going to go get you some water. Why don’t you sit down, for now, your grace?” she led you over to the plush chair in your room.

Theresa disappeared from your site, and when you lifted your head to look around the room, no one else attention was on you. Of course, now that you were in the gown with your hair and makeup done, there wasn't much else for anyone to fuss over you for, which meant only a few people left in your room, too distracted from cleaning up the vanity to notice your presence very well.

You stood up and swiftly walked out of the room, your legs moving before your brain could even register it. Walking down the halls, you came across a door you knew to be the Duke's quarters. You knocked once, praying no one else would be in the room with him. Of course, you could always play it off as being lost if there was. You didn't even know how to get to the dining hall by yourself.

After a few silent moments, the door was swung open, Leto standing on the other side dressed in his uniform. As he looked up at you, he was doing the last button of the jacket.

When he registered who had knocked at his door, he grabbed your arm, pulling you into the room, “What are you doing here?” he said as he closed the door turning around, “someone could've seen you, did you make sure none of the maids followed you?” he placed his hands on your shoulders looking into your eyes, worried laced his own along with the familiar sternness of a ruler.

Worry filled your gut. You hadn’t checked to see if anyone had followed you. Your mind had been a raging storm all morning, so much so that it had started to make your stomach churn. You didn’t think about the consequences of coming to see him right now. You just knew his presence would calm you. Whether that was your feelings for him or the fact that he had been your steady constant to rely on in all of this uncertainty. He was there for you that first night when you arrived. He was there for you when you finally broke down with confusing emotions. He was a reminder that there were still people who cared about your feelings in this, that wanted to help you through this, while it felt like everyone else treated you as a placeholder, that you were an object and could've been anyone else. Because in reality, this wedding wasn't about you. It was about the alliances of two houses, to reconnect a bond and strengthen each other. This was a political strategy, and while the Duke should've been the head of it, he was the one you had turned to console in.

While he may be a duke and made strategies for his house, he was also a pawn in grander schemes. You both knew this. He also held compassion for you, which was something that tugged on your heart.

You stood there frozen, not knowing what to say to him. He sighed. “Well, no one else has come running after you yet, so I'm assuming no one saw you.”

He let go of you. You mutter a small weak sorry, which you were sure were the first words you had spoken to anyone today. He took a step back, taking you in, “sweet girl.” he breathed, “you look stunning.”

A small tear slipped down your face at his words. You wished he was saying them to any other occasion. “Hey hey, it's okay, don't cry.” he took you into his arms, tucking you under his chin and wrapping his arms around you. “C’mon now. This is supposed to be a joyous occasion.”

You let out a sob. This was anything but a joyous occasion. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry that wasn’t the right thing to say.” he took his hand to run through your hair, “listen, I know this isn't what you wanted, but what you're doing here, sacrificing your wants for your house, it's a noble thing. You should be proud.”

His pep talk didn't do anything to calm your nerves. You continued to sob into his shoulder. Finally, he slowly brought you to his bed. Sitting down, he brought you back to him again. While you continued to cry, he shushed you and ran his fingers through your hair.

When you had finally settled yourself, you pulled back a little. “I'm sorry,” you said in a shaky breath, “this morning was just a lot,”

“It's okay sweet girl, I know, but you need to keep your head held high, today is going to be a lot, and I can't be with you through every step.”

You nodded, taking in his words. He was right. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of the day. The real struggle had yet to come.

He leaned his forehead against yours, closing his eyes, and you mirrored his action. A comfortable silence rang throughout the room, probably the last moment you would get today. You knew that in a few moments, you needed to leave. Someone would figure out you were missing if they haven't already, and it would be nearly impossible to sneak out unnoticed. You were reasonably easy to spot, all-white dress, jewels, and lace glimmering in the dull sunlight seeping in through the castle's windows.

Just as you were taking a deep breath to steady yourself as you prepared to pull away, the door to Leto’s room swung open with a force that caused you to jump back in surprise. “My Lord, the princess is-” the man at the door trailed off upon fully taking into view what he had stepped into. His mouth hung open as he looked between the two of you while you stared at him, frozen in place. Upon everything else that could possibly happen today, this was the worst.

You were too scared to look at Leto and gauge his reaction. Bile started to rise in the pit of your stomach as the room felt like it was beginning to spin.

Just as you felt as if you might pass out, you saw Leto move from the corner of your eye, he stood up from his bed, walking towards the man, “Duncan, close the door,” he said to the man who had barged in, the man, Duncan you presumed was his name, didn’t move, frozen in place as you were when his eyes had first lied upon you. “Now,” Leto’s voice was solid and hard, the voice of the Duke, not Leto.

Slowly, Duncan reached behind him to close the door to the chambers of Leto’s private quarters. The duke approached him and placed his hand on his shoulders. “Listen to me, whatever you think you saw, you did not. Do you understand?” the Duke urged him.

He still didn't speak, only nodded to show that he did, in fact, understand. “Duncan, you're one of my best men. I trust that you will keep your word to me.”

Duncan nodded again, still not speaking. You couldn't tell if he was genuinely shocked or if he was scared of the Duke. Judging by his appearance, you were sure Duncan worked closely with the duke, whether that meant that he knew him well, as Leto, or if he knew him well as the duke, you weren't sure.

Leto turned to you now, walking towards you and grabbing your arm to pull you up, walking you over to the man that now stood, unwavering by the door, “I presume they know your missing and have many people looking for you at the moment,” Leto stated, turning his attention to Duncan, “Is anyone else searching for her in this hallway?” Duncan shook his head, “good. So you are to take her back to her quarters. If anyone asks, she took a walk to calm her nerves and got lost. You found her wandering the corridors and offered to escort her back, do you both understand.”

His words suggested that he was asking a question to the both of you, but it was more of a statement. You didn't have room to argue with him, neither did Duncan.

You nodded and so did Duncan, taking your arm, “of course my Duke.” he said opening the door and leading you out of it.

The silence that hung in the air on the way back to your own quarters was heavy. A man that you hadn’t even formally been introduced to now knew a secret that was too deep.

“Princess,” he turned his head to look at you as he guide you down the hallway, “you have no reason to trust me or I, you, but believe me when I say, I have no intention of telling anyone whatever it was I saw. I am loyal to the duke.”

You nodded, thanking god that you had made it back to your quarters in time to not have to talk anymore. As he opened the door and stepped in with you, Theresa who happened to be pacing back and forth met your eyes, “oh thank god!” she cried, “where the hell did you go! You can’t run off like that your grace.” she rushed to you.

“She was just taking a walk to calm her nerves, got lost in the winding hallways,” Duncan explained.

Theresa turned to him after ushering you back into the chair she had you sitting in before you ran off. “Thank you, Duncan.”

You sat in the chair letting the dull ache of your head take over for the moment while you waited to be ushered to the next thing.

__________________

The hall was decorated beautifully. White and champagne-colored drapes lined the windows in the ballroom you were currently sitting in. Everywhere you turned, there seemed to be a bouquet of flowers and lights. A row of tables sat at the head of the ballroom where you and Paul sat. Paul was to the left of you with his mother and father seated beside him. Currently, only Jessica remained there. Leto was somewhere else in the grand room, saying something about having to mingle with other diplomats from visiting worlds.

To the left of you was an empty chair. You weren’t surprised your father didn’t show up. This was purely a business transaction for him. He had no interest in celebrating that. After the empty chair sat Duncan, Paul’s best man, you hadn’t had any bridesmaids, and if it weren't for the fact that Duncan was also one of Leto’s right-hand men and was there to pose more as a security for the two of you, you were sure Paul wouldn’t have had any groomsmen either. It's not that the two of you didn’t have friends, you had had some in your homeworld, but it’s not like they could travel all the way here for an arranged marriage. You were sure Paul had other people he held near to him. It’s was just that, though, a business arrangement.

That was what you had ended up calling it now, hoping it would stop the guilt that was eating at the back of your head. Every time you looked at Paul, all you saw was Leto. and it felt like someone was whispering in your ear guilty guilty guilty. And when you were up there, not even an hour ago vowing to be his forever, all you could think of was how good Leto felt against you. How warm and safe he had made you feel earlier today. That when he told you it would all be okay, you truly hoped he meant it.

The room was lively. A continuous buzz rang in your ear from everyone talking and dancing. It felt odd, honestly, to celebrate this. But, in another bizarre way, it felt nice. It made it a little more natural. When you were young and naive, you always dreamed you would marry the man of your dreams and get to have a big wedding full of people laughing and dancing, at least the latter of that dream had come true. And you could make do with the man you married. Paul was still kind. At least you weren’t vowed to some complete asshole.

The only thing is you were kind of getting antsy. Paul hadn’t moved from his seat all night. He talked to anyone that came up to the two of you, but that was about it. You couldn't blame him, really. You didn't know what to do with yourself either. But you loved dancing. It didn’t matter who you were with. You were hoping he would’ve asked you by now, maybe break the tension slightly. It was a tradition after for the bride and groom to dance at their own reception. Perhaps that wasn't a thing here on Caladan. After all, this wasn't a traditional wedding anyway, a fact that had to keep repeating in your mind.

You sighed, sinking into your seat a little more. You were sure by the end of the night, the chair would consume you. You took another glance around the room, taking a sip of your champagne when your eyes landed on Duncan sitting off to the side of you. He’d been there a majority of the night. You were sure he had orders to keep an eye on you and Paul for security. But this time, he caught you off guard. He was staring right at you with a perplexed look on his face. It made heat rise in your up to your face and your heart hammer. You had been so emotional today with everything going on you almost forgot that he knew now. That you and Leto had a relationship that was more than just Paul. The champagne you had in your mouth went down hard, feeling a sense of fear in you. Duncan was one of Leto’s men. You had nothing to worry about, right? But you were also sure he was pretty close with Paul, and you didn’t know him. Was he loyal to his Duke, or was he dedicated to his son, with who he seemed to be close with?

The thought vanished from your mind when you heard your name uttered for the first time since your vows. When you turned to look back in front of you, Leto stood there. “I apologize for my son. I’m afraid he hasn’t ever been to a wedding before, so he’s not quite sure what to do as the groom now.” he chuckled, looking at Paul.

When you turned to look at him, he was looking down bashfully at his lap. Amusement rose in you at the teasing, and Jessica patted his back to console him. Finally, Leto cleared his throat, and your attention was on him again, “I do believe it is your wedding and since you have yet to dance yet, what type of host would I be without offering.” he held his hand out to you.

Your heart started to hammer in your chest. Wasn’t this a little outward? You had feelings for him, and you were sure it would be evident on your face if you two danced together. Sure he was just being polite. You sat there all night, sulking over the fact that everyone in front of you was celebrating while it felt like you were mourning. You deserved a dance. But wasn’t it odd that you would be dancing with him instead of your new husband? You turned to look at Paul, questioning him if he also thought this was weird. He nodded at you when you met his face, a smile on his lips. This was obviously not so out of the blue to him. Leto was his father and the Duke. So, of course, he would want to be kind to you.

You turned back the Duke and politely accepted, placing your hand in his as you sat up from the seat. As you walked from around the table, your hand had slipped from his, avoiding hitting anyone else. When you walked past Duncan, his eyes followed you, a knowing look on his face, and you seconded guess the decision of saying yes to Leto. When you looked up at Leto again though his face was calm and collected, he obviously didn’t see Duncan as a threat. He would’ve done something about it by now, right? And he certainly wouldn’t ask you to dance with him if he thought it would compromise anything.

As you rounded the table, you took a steadying breath. This was the Leto who you had feelings with, who took your virginity and held you afterward. This was the Duke, the host of your and his son’s wedding, who was just trying to be polite, make you feel welcome as part of the family now.

You retook his hand when the table no longer separated the two of you. Walking out to the dance floor, a song was just ending, and another one picked up. Leto smirked at you, “This song used to be my favorite when I was younger.”

You smiled at him while he took your waist to start dancing, “I bet the girls used to line up to dance with you.” you teased him.

“Maybe,” he, it twirled you around the room.

A comfortable silence fell between you two, and you danced through the ballroom, the need for small talk not present. Leto hummed the song as you went and dipping and swaying you. It put you into a calming trance. To be so close and in his presence seeing him so calm and relaxed.

When the song started to end, he twirled you once and dipped you as the last chord rang through the ballroom.

The smile you gave him felt genuine for the first time that day, and when you were standing straight again, you were aware of your surroundings and the many sets of eyes on the two of you.

You separated from him quickly as you looked around the room. Your eyes landed on Duncan again, heartbeat increasing with the knowing look on his face.

“Thank you, my Duke, but I think I should return to my husband.”

The smile that was on his face vanished into a serious one. He again took on the role of the duke and not Leto. “of course,” he nodded.

Your face felt very heated as you walked away to return to your seat. So many sets of eyes were still on you as you glanced around the room.

Your eyes landed on Paul halfway back. He was looking at you, but not in the same manner that Duncan had been. Instead, he seemed calmed and relaxed, a soft smile on his face as he looked upon you.

You returned to your seat, continuing to let the chair consume you as you watched the celebration resume. Time felt still in the short few minutes you danced with Leto, now the room kept on, advancing through the night as you sat there, being still replaying the few moments before you sat down in repeat in your head.

[my-tin-can-mans]

Strange Hearts Part 2 Re-encounter

Leto X Reader

Read Part 1 here

Strange Hearts Spotify Playlist

Summary: When an arranged marriage brings you to Caladan, you find that another man piques your interest

Disclaimer: I thought of this while fic and started writing under the impression Paul was in his early to mid-'20s like Timothy. So for the sake of this story he and the reader are both in their twenties. Sorry for any inaccuracies, I've only watched the movie and really only paid attention to Oscar lmao.

Warnings: A little bit of angst. Smut! (I've never written smut before so I'm sorry if its a little cringe I didn't know what I was doing.) Loss of virginity, Oral (fem receiving), unprotected sex. Minors DNI!

You woke up to a soft knock on your door. When you opened your eyes the sun was already coming through the window and leaving the room in a soft golden glow. Your main servant Theresa, entered, “Good morning my lady.” She spoke softly, going over to the curtains to let more sunlight in.

You groaned, your head had a dull ache to it as you recalled the events from yesterday. Why you were here and not in your bedroom back on your home planet, why you had a headache from staying up so late, and why for some reason a wave of embarrassment seems to still be flowing through you.

“Breakfast will be served in 20 minutes, so it's best to get up now to be prepared,” Theresa spoke in a chirpy voice that made you want to crawl further into the blankets.

That happens to be exactly what you do, “just a few more minutes,” you groaned. Shoving your face into the pillow and pulling the blanket over your head.

“My lady, as the soon-to-be wife of Paul Atreides, it is required that you eat breakfast with him, then we have some more fittings to go over for final adjustments to the dress, tomorrow we will have the rehearsal dinner and then the day after the wedding.” you peeked out from the covers to see an excited look on her face.

Your heart leaped from your chest, the first time you’d be meeting the man you were to spend the rest of your life with would be over breakfast. Theresa pulled the covers off you, “My lady come now, don’t you want to look presentable when you see him?” She questioned.

“Do I not look presentable now?” you smirked, teasing her for her choice of words, hoping to stall as much time as you could before the inevitable.

“Apologies my lady, you are beautiful, but I think you know what I mean.” she giggles at you. You were glad that the servant you had was nice and playful, it reminded you of the nanny you had while growing up. Your mother had died at a young age so you were always very familiar with the staff around the castle, your father was always too busy so they were your family.

“Fine, fine I’ll get up, but only if you make a deal with me,” she raised an eyebrow at you, intrigued, “tell me about Paul so I'm not so nervous.”

She giggled, “Of course my lady.”

***

Breakfast was….awkward to say the least. Not only was Paul there, but so was Leto and Jessica. You were nervous to talk to Paul, but you were even more nervous to be in the same general vicinity of Leto at the moment. The majority of the time it was just Jessica asking you questions about your home life while Leto ignored the three of you and Paul occasionally chimed in with a, “oh that's nice.” you couldn't tell if he was shy and nervous like you or just generally uninterested.

The bad part was you could care less if he was interested in you or not. Leto was sitting five feet away from you and every time you looked in his direction heat flooded your face. He hadn’t looked up from his plate. You didn’t know him very well but you knew this didn’t seem like typical behavior for him. He seemed to be a very caring man who loved his family, surely he didn’t ignore them at breakfast. That only left you to conclude, for a very plausible reason, that you were the reason for this. It made your appetite vanish, and every bite you took felt like it was getting stuck in your throat, making you want to vomit.

Now you were in a field just outside the castle. After final dress alterations, and lunch, which thankfully was served to you in your own room, you had some free time before dinner. Paul had come and knocked on your door, he thought it would be good to take some more time to get to know you before the wedding and thought you might like some fresh air.

The field overlooked the sea and the sun was getting low, setting the whole scene in a soft golden glow. You had to admit, the lighting was highlighting Paul’s features, making him look otherworldly. It also hurt you to admit that it did nothing for you. He was attractive, yes, but for some reason, you just weren't attracted to him.

He was nice too, so nice. It turns out your previous assumption of him being shy was the true one. After walking around for a bit, you two had sat down. You both face the sea as you talked to one another.

“I know, by the way,” he said. You turned to him, his facial expression grew serious. Bile started to rise in your throat. Your head grew dizzy. This was the part where he told you how disgusted he was that you had kissed his father and that the alliance was off. He didn't look at you as he furrows his brows, “I know you were forced into this, and I’m sorry.”

“Oh.” you simply stated. That was certainly not what you were expecting, but it was definitely a good outcome.

“If it makes you feel any better when I was a couple of years younger I didn’t even want to be the heir to the house Atreides. I soon found that it was my destiny and this, us is the first step.” he glanced at you, “look I'm still figuring things out and I know neither one of us are probably prepared to be married but my father left the decision up to me and I felt like it was the right choice for the future of my house. For our house sooner or later.”

Suddenly all the bad thoughts you had about marrying this man started to fade. Sure you still weren't attracted to him and sure you kissed his dad and might possibly have feelings for him but, the way he spoke was Nobel. He was so young and he was already thinking of the future. He was understanding of your situation, that was the most important thing to you, after all the thoughts racing in your head on the journey over here that he may hate you, despise you for this marriage.

“That means a lot to hear from you,” you replied honestly, “I know I may seem stand-offish, but then again we have the rest of our lives to get to know each other right?” you chuckled.

He smiled at you, “come on, we don’t want to miss dinner, my father will be there which is a rare occasion, he's usually busy around this time.”

Great.

***

Dinner seemed to go just the same way breakfast had gone. Unfortunately, Leto’s behavior was the same, but the air between you and Paul had settled from nervous to slightly more comfortable.

Now you were back in your room for the night. Theresa had led you back from dinner since you still didn’t know your way around the large castle. It was beautiful and intriguing and you wish you just knew the way back to the library you had found last night. You didn't even grab the book you had been reading, too distracted by Leto and his charming thoughtfulness.

You sighed, settling in for the night, once Theresa had left. Grabbing the nightgown she had lied out for you, you went to the bathroom to run a bath and decompress. The water was warm enough to soothe your muscles but not enough to soothe the thoughts that lingered in your head. You were so stupid, you kissed the father of the man you were about to marry and you think you might’ve even liked him a little.

Your father never let you near anyone that might catch your interest, you went to an all-girls school and had all-girl servants, only getting to interact with men at balls and special events. He wanted to keep you for this very particular reason and for some reason the idea of you being never touched before was an important aspect. But Leto was familiar, he was always kind and inviting, a very understanding ruler. He was handsome too, you always thought that when you would see him when you were younger. To say you had a small crush on him was an understatement. He was one of the only men your father let around you and he affected you.

You thought about him late at night sometimes, after everyone had gone to sleep, dragging your hand underneath your gown to touch yourself as you thought about how his beard would feel against you, as he kissed you, mouthed at your breasts. How it would feel if he slid down and rubbed it up against your thighs.

Paul was nice but he wasn’t your type, you felt bad because he had been kind to you so far, he knew that you didn’t want to be here, to be tied to him forever and you were just so glad he understood, but for some reason, you just couldn’t get his father out of your head. Leto had avoided you at all costs today which wasn’t a very hard thing to do considering he was a duke and had his duties, but he couldn’t so much as glance your way at dinner tonight and it pained you to know that you made him uncomfortable and he regretted it.

You couldn’t stop thinking about him over the day and a knot had permanently formed in your stomach. He kissed you back, he put his hand on your neck and pushed you into him, but then he immediately pulled back. Did you just catch him by surprise or did he enjoy it? did he want to kiss you back? It certainly felt like it.

Stop. Stop thinking about him. The water had begun to run cold and you sighed getting out and drying yourself off before putting on the nightgown. You went back to your bedroom to sit at the vanity and brush your hair before laying down to sleep.

A soft knock came from your door and you quietly told them to enter. “Theresa I’m fine, you’ve done more than enough today why don’t you go head to bed- oh” when you turned around in your chair from the vanity Theresa wasn’t at your door but instead the Duke stood, back turned, quietly shutting the door behind him.

“I already sent her away for the night.” He said, he turned back around, staying right in front of the door not daring to move a step further into your room.

“Thank you.” You said furrowing your brows in confusion as to why he was here. He had made it clear that he didn’t feel for you like you did him. Turning around you went back to brushing your hair while you watched him in the mirror. He stood unyielding. Staring back at you from the mirror and not moving a muscle. You studied him closely and he was so still you were sure he was holding his breath.

“She told me you were tired and stressed, that you didn’t want to be bothered.”

“I don’t,” you said, focusing on your hair like it was the most interesting thing in the room.

He took a few steps forward, “I’m sorry, this will only take a few moments, I just wanted to check on you, you hardly ate at dinner tonight.”

“How would you know you couldn’t even look at me,” you murmured underneath your breath. He heard you still raising an eyebrow.

He sighed walking closer to you, “I came to apologize for the other night, it shouldn’t have happened and I’m sorry for allowing it, I know this is a very hard time for you right now.”

The Duke was anything if not kind, you had come onto him, unwantedly, you knew he already loved Jessica but your temptations got the better of you, they seemed to do that when they were mixed with nerves. And now he stood here apologizing to you for respectfully declining your advancement on him.

You sighed turning in your chair to face him, you were going to be in his presence a lot so you might as well be on good terms, “I’m the one that should be apologizing, I made an advancement on you and you clearly were just trying to be nice to me, I should’ve known better you have Lady Jessica and I'm to be married to your son. I apologize, I just-,” you probably shouldn’t explain yourself, you’ll just dig a deeper hole, “I apologize.”

The embarrassment of the whole situation started to seep back into you, feeling your face turn hot as he stared you down. Within a quick 24 hours, your life had completely changed and you somehow manage to already screw it up. You held back tears as you waited for him to say something, but after a few quick moments, he nodded his head, at you and turned on his heel to leave.

As he headed for the door you turned back around in your chair, and let a few silent tears slip by, and after a few moments you assumed he had made it out quietly, you let out a sob. Folding your arms onto the desk and lying your head them, you cried. This was all so unfair, you had to live next to the man you had grown fond of, but never truly be able to reach him.

You felt a warm hand on your back and you let out a yelp, surprised by the fact that you weren’t alone. Looking up you saw the Duke, standing there above you with concern written across his face, “Hey, hey it's okay I’m sorry,” he said, squatting down to be eye level with you, “Come here” he pulled you into his arms, kneeling on the floor below you, pulling your head into his chest.

You were crying over him and he was comforting you. As if this scenario couldn’t get any worse. You grabbed his shoulders to steady yourself as he put his hand in your hair to stroke it and calm you.

You sat there for god knows how long, staining his suit with your tears. Your back ached from the odd angle he was holding you at and yet the pain all seemed to melt away with the touch of his hand to you.

Slowly the tears started to slow. You lifted yourself off his chest, only slightly, not wanting to pull away fully from his embrace. You brought your hand up to wipe the remaining tears that were still on your face. When you looked up his eyes were already on yours. Staring into them deeply, you couldn’t a read on him. He was also so stoic, never letting any of his emotions shine through his collected exterior.

In a brief moment, his eyes darted down to your lips and back up, making your heart surge into your throat. It was so quick if you blinked you wouldn’t have seen it, and if it wasn’t for the fact that you were studying his eyes for any emotion, you’re sure you would’ve missed it.

“Sweet girl can I tell you something.” He spoke softly.

You nodded your head, not breaking away from his intense stare.

“I-“ he faltered, gathering and choosing his words carefully, “I’m sorry that it happened because I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot and it's not fair to either one of us. That’s why I ignored you today, I didn’t want you to think I was taking advantage of your vulnerable state.”

To say you were shocked was an understatement. His words sunk into you and made your heart race. The duke enjoyed the kiss you shared, he wanted it, he wanted you. Realization hit you. Hard.

Suddenly you became hyper-aware of his breath against you, your face so close it was brushing up against his lips. His gaze nodded down to your lips again but this time it stayed there for quite some time.

“Say something, please.” He said to you.

“I don’t think you realize how glad I am to hear you say that.” You half-heartedly chuckled.

He smiled back at you, leaning in to kiss you. This kiss lasted longer than the first, and this time when he went to deepen it he didn’t pull back. His beard was rough against you but it only made you enjoy the kiss more. He kissed you harder, lifting off his knees to stand above you.

When you both pulled back to catch your breath, he placed his forehead against yours, stroking his thumb against your cheek. His breath fanned over your wet lips and when you opened your eyes to see him saw smiling at you.

He kissed your jaw, making his way down to your neck. “I’m sorry sweet girl,” he mumbled into your neck, “I’m sorry for confusing you and upsetting you, I didn’t want to make things harder for you.”

He mouthed his way back up to your mouth, kissing you again but this time it was a lot more tender. His hand found your waist and he squeezed causing you to let out a squeal, breaking the kiss. He went back down to your neck, while his hand traveled up, grabbing your breast and squeezing. The fabric of your nightgown was thin and his thumb brushed against your nipple sending a spike of arousal through you and causing you to moan, “Leto, please.” you whined, you weren't even sure what you were begging for, but you wanted more.

“What do you need sweet girl.” he spoke into your skin, beard scraping against it, “tell me what you need and I’ll give it to you.” Your mind went blank. You didn’t know what you needed. This was as far as you had ever gotten with someone before and your mind rushed, what were you supposed to say. “Shit,” he said, pulling back you look you in the face clearly, “you’ve never done this before have you?”

You shook your head. “I’m sorry, your father had told us you were pure, which I know is wrong of me to know, but he seemed adamant that that was a good quality in a wife. I just assumed he was lying or didn’t know what he was talking about.”

Of course, he would tell Leto and Paul that. If your cheeks weren’t filled with blush they certainly were now, “Do you think that's a good quality in a wife?” you asked.

“I think that honor and respect are important in a marriage, but no, I don’t.” you nodded taking in his words. You respected Paul, and from the conversation, you had earlier you know he respected you too. And, this is definitely not what you wanted to be thinking about right now. You wanted to think about the man in front of you, who wanted to take you for the first time, not the morality of your future marriage.

“If you don’t want to do this, I understand, tell me to stop and I will, I’ll walk out your door and pretend like this never happened.

“No, No please, I want this, really I do,” you said to him.

“Okay,” he nodded, placing his hand on your cheek, “but you’ll tell me if you want to stop?” he asked. You nodded your head again.

He left his position of hovering over you, standing up to his full height. Within seconds he had scooped you up into his arms and walked over towards your bed. He lied you down on the silk sheets, now keeling above you. He paused for a moment taking his time to look you over. His hand came to the inside of your exposed thigh, rubbing circles with his thumb, “so beautiful sweet girl.” he whispered. He came back to your face to kiss you again. It was desperate and his hand rose higher, he skipped where your legs met in the middle and went to the outside of your hip above your gown, rubbing circles on it again.

His lips moved down to your neck again while his hand started to rise higher, thumb grazing against your nipple. You let out a gasp at the slight simulation. “That feel good baby?” he breathed into your neck.

You went to say yes but it came out as a squeak when he when from brushing it to pinching. “Can I take this off sweet girl?” he tugged on the bottom of your nightgown which has ridden up from his hand.

You nodded your head, lifting your hips to help him take it off of you. When it was finally over your head he leaned back taking in the view of your completely naked body. Feeling exposed you tried to cross your arms over yourself but he stopped you.

“Sweet girl I wanna see you.” he smiled down at you, positioning himself between your legs. “I wanna taste you too, can I?”

Another wave of heat flooded your cheeks. You nodded at him. He took your knees and spread them, staring down at you. “Such a pretty pussy.” he mused leaning down to kiss your belly. His hands rubbed the inside of your thighs to soothe you while his kisses from your stomach increasingly got lower.

The heat from your cheeks had started to travel downwards, bundling up on your core and when his fingers brushed against your slit you audibly let out a moan.

“So wet for me sweet girl.” his mouth finally reached your slit and he licked a stripe up it. You keened. “Fuck, taste so good for me too,” you whined at his words, thighs going to clamp around his head unconsciously.

“You like that?” he asked, “you like when I tell you how good you are for me?”

“Yes”

“Yes, what” he teased, finding your clit and circling it with his tongue.

“Yes, my duke,” you said assuming he was into using his title.

“No,” he growled, “call me by my name.”

“Leto” you gasped out, right as he slid a finger into you. His fingers were thicker than yours, longer too and just one started to add pressure to your lower abdomen.

He started at a slow rhythm, keeping his mouth on your clit. “Leto” you breathed, his finger felt amazing but you needed more. “Leto please”

“What you want sweet girl? You want another finger?” he slipped another into you and you groaned. He sped up his pace a little, “come on sweet girl, need you to come for me so I can fit into you better.”

The coil in your stomach tightened at his words, crying out and spasming, “good girl.” he pulled his mouth away from you. Helping you ride your orgasm on his fingers.

When you finally calmed down he stood, undressing himself while you focused on regaining your breath. When you opened your eyes he was bare. Coming to kneel on the bed before you again. He was breathtaking. His shoulders were broad and his chest was muscular with a small patch of hair, one that trailed down to his tone belly with a little bit of fat covering it, the patch ran down all the way to his dick. He was large, you audibly gasped.

He came to rest in-between your legs again looking down at you while his arm went to rest on either side of your head. “Are you sure about this sweet girl?” he asked concern lacing his features, “we can still stop if you want to.”

“No, no.” you said, reaching a hand up to run through his beard, “I want this Leto. I want this with you.” he smiled leaning down further to kiss you.

When you broke from the kiss he rested his forehead on yours. Looking down between your bodies while you did the same. He took his length in his hand lining it up with your entrance, slowly breaching you with his tip. He took his time, slowly until he was fully sheathed inside of you.

The stretch left a dull pain and you focused on the evening your breathing. Leto kept still, kissing you check, then brow. Trailing small kisses all over your face. The pain slowly started to fade and the please of having him fully inside you for the first time took over.

You bucked your hips at him. “Leto, please move.”

“Yeah?” he said, lifting his hips up and giving a small experimental thrust.

You groaned, “just, just go slow maybe.” you asked, feeling a slight bit of pain at his thrust.

He moved at a steady pace, and soon the pain was replaced with only pleasure. Your legs came up to wrap around his hips, digging the heels of your feet into his ass to get him to pick up the pace. He understood your message and started going faster.

You moaned his name the familiar pressure starting to build up in your stomach. Your nails dug into his shoulders and let out a groan into your neck. Leto brought his thumb down to circle your clit and you cried out in pleasure, the stimulation causing you to reach your peak. You spasmed around him and after a few thrusts he pulled out, spilling his cum on your lower belly.

He lied down beside you while you both caught your breath. After a few beats, he finally looked over at you, smiling. He lifted up to kiss you, got off the bed, and walked to your bathroom. He came back with a damp cloth, cleaning you up.

When you both finally got situated on the bed you ended up lying on his chest, his arms wrapped around you. A content silence filled the air and you embraced his strong arms being wrapped around you. You felt safe and comfortable with him, and you wished you could live in this moment forever. The bliss afterglow.

After a long time of fuzzy warmth, the realization of your actions finally hit you. Not only did you just lose your virginity, but you lost it to the Duke of House Atreides, the father of the man you were supposed to marry for a treaty between their house and yours. You let you a dry laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he questioned.

When you looked up at him his eyes were closed and his face looked less tense than usual. He was gorgeous, you always thought, but this calm expression seemed to make your stomach erupt into butterflies, it was nice to see him like this and it was even better to know that you were the one to put it there, “This situation is just so… so messed up.”

His brows furrowed. Stoic expression coming up to your face and you reget even uttering a word to him now, wishing you could reverse time to a few moments ago and stay in it forever.

“I’m sorry, I-”

“No stop,” you cut him off, “stop apologizing, I wanted this just as much as you, if not more,” you laughed. You brought your hand to run through his curls.

He sighed, opening his eyes to look down at you, “I know this situation isn’t what either of us expected, I certainly didn’t think I would be attracted to my son arraigned bride to be.”

“When you say it like that it sounds so gross” you laughed. He smiled down at you, but his eyes looked sad.

“I act like a man who has all the answers, but I don’t, and I'm not sure where to go from here”

“I can’t, not marry Paul,” you said, “I didn’t have a choice I was told to come here imagine my father's horror when I told him the wedding was off and I slept with you, but I can’t spend the rest of my life with your son and pretend like this never happened, Leto, I really like you and I don’t think I can hide that feeling while I live out the rest of my days with Paul.”

“It's okay, we’ll figure something out,” he said, bringing his hand up to stroke your hair, mirroring your actions. “But for now let's get some sleep.”