#4705

[corvianbard]

#4705

Lady, good lady, Once so green yet now reddish, The white lord has come.

[every-tome]

[pesterloglog]

Dave Strider, Rose Lalonde, Kanaya Maryam, Karkat Vantas

Act 6, page 4696-4721

DAVE: hey

ROSE: Sup.

DAVE: anyone seen terezi around

ROSE: No.

ROSE: Why?

DAVE: we were gonna do a thing

DAVE: but shes not around and not answering my messages

DAVE: on any one of the probably ten thousand computers lying around that they would show up on

ROSE: A thing?

DAVE: yes a thing

ROSE: I see.

DAVE: shut up

DAVE: what about you have you seen her

KANAYA: No

KANAYA: Have You Seen Gamzee

DAVE: are you serious

DAVE: of course not

DAVE: i havent seen that guy at all since the first day we got here

DAVE: not once

KANAYA: Yeah

KANAYA: I Know

DAVE: talk about an elusive juggalo

DAVE: probably like the shyest fuckin juggalo of all time

DAVE: im pretty sure only karkats seen him

DAVE: dont expect him to rat him out either because of the "morail" junk

DAVE: moirail?

DAVE: mwah rail...

DAVE: alien words

KANAYA: I Wouldnt Expect Him To

KANAYA: I Wouldnt Even Ask It Would Be Really Bad Form To Ask Him That

DAVE: yeah

DAVE: i mean i bet you think youre imparting some really obscure cultural fact about trolls

DAVE: but really if a human said to another human

DAVE: "hey man can you tell me where your best clown friend is hiding so i can go chainsaw him to death"

DAVE: just fyi that would probably be bad form too

KANAYA: Okay

DAVE: i dunno its been a year already i think hes really intent on hiding

DAVE: and hanging on to those dead bodies

DAVE: hes probably scared to death of you at this point anyway

DAVE: maybe you should just let it go

KANAYA: Hmm

DAVE: rose back me up

ROSE: I try to stay out of troll interpersonal politics.

DAVE: interpersonal

DAVE: wait

DAVE: are you saying this is like

DAVE: a spade quadrant thing

DAVE: is she trying to be his kismet fish

ROSE: I'm saying no such thing!

DAVE: well if she hates him isnt that what that means

ROSE: Dave, don't be a dick. You're embarrassing her.

DAVE: haha no im not shes cool

DAVE: look shes being cool about it

KANAYA: Im Being Cool About It

DAVE: see????

KANAYA: Its Not Like That

KANAYA: I Just Want To Find Him

KANAYA: And

KANAYA: At Least Wound Him Somewhat

DAVE: yeah see i knew there had to be a perfectly harmless and unerotic explanation

ROSE: (shh!)

KANAYA: No

KANAYA: See Im Explaining This Badly

KANAYA: All Im Saying Is Basically

KANAYA: Just

KANAYA: Fuck That Guy

DAVE: got it

DAVE: so what are you up to in here

DAVE: whats with all these books

ROSE: Research.

ROSE: We're trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

ROSE: You are aware this meteor has many secret rooms scattered throughout, including libraries, right?

DAVE: hell yeah

DAVE: we looted one of them for the can town project

ROSE: Can Town?

DAVE: i told you about can town didnt i

ROSE: No??

DAVE: well

DAVE: the thing about can town

DAVE: and all there really is to say about can town is

DAVE: its awesome

DAVE: the end???

ROSE: Wow.

ROSE: What a story.

DAVE: fu

DAVE: so

DAVE: what is the point of this research

ROSE: Primarily to gain a more thorough understanding of the situation we'll be entering when we arrive.

DAVE: i thought you pretty much already knew the situation

DAVE: since you can see the future

ROSE: Oh my God.

ROSE: I've told you. I can't see the future!

DAVE: yes you can

DAVE: you totally can

ROSE: Ok. But not all of it. Only certain relevant pieces.

ROSE: It's a bit frustrating when people make that presumption about you.

ROSE: For instance, you are a Knight of Time. Since you have such mastery over time, doesn't that mean you should know everything about the future too?

DAVE: no thats totally dumb

DAVE: i could know things about the future if i time traveled and found out first hand

DAVE: nobodys mistaking that about me im a time traveler not a fuckin fortune teller its simple as shit

ROSE: Right. So there are significant limitations on what you can know, governed by certain rules.

ROSE: That's how it is for a Seer too.

DAVE: ok whatever

ROSE: But I will say that I have been able to use these abilities to assist with research.

ROSE: I can treat my finite glimpses as an additional source of information.

ROSE: If you combine that with the knowledge we've gathered from these texts, and things we've learned from our various encounters with the deceased, with a bit of inference and deduction, a more detailed picture is coming into focus.

DAVE: nice

ROSE: Do you want to hear about it?

DAVE: uh

DAVE: now?

ROSE: Yes.

ROSE: Why not? It's been a year.

ROSE: It seems like all we've done on this trip so far is indulge in lavish interior decoration projects and screw around with mysterious "Can Town" initiatives, which may or may not be consuming valuable library resources as building materials.

ROSE: We could make at least some effort to squeeze in annual briefings on our objective.

DAVE: yeah that would be pretty legit of us

ROSE: I think you'll find that when it comes to striving for a reasonable approximation of legitimacy, we are simply the most barely adequate there is.

DAVE: ok i didnt really catch any of that bullshit cause i wasnt listening

DAVE: im gonna make myself a cup of coffee and get primed to listen to you saying a lot of stuff like that

DAVE: do you want some

ROSE: Um. Sure.

DAVE: kanaya?

KANAYA: No Thank You

DAVE: ok

DAVE: ...

DAVE: this fuckin thing

DAVE: where did you even unearth this piece of shit from

DAVE: oh ok there it goes

DAVE: two hot revitalizing cups of shitty coffee

DAVE: fresh out of the weird pod

DAVE: why do we even drink this shit

DAVE: i guess just cause this thing is here

DAVE: like somehow the temptation is even stronger because the coffee sucks?

DAVE: dunno how the fuck that works

DAVE: wish there was such a thing as apple juice on troll world

DAVE: could go for a bottle of aj

DAVE: i wonder if theres any booze squirreled away on this meteor

DAVE: kinda feels like we should be drinking our asses off here

DAVE: no adults nothing to do

DAVE: thats what you do without adults right

DAVE: get wasted all the time?

DAVE: wait what the fuck am i saying trolls dont even have adults

DAVE: well they do

DAVE: but theyre all in outer space being insane badasses

DAVE: i guess they do have the stupid nanny monsters

DAVE: do the monsters give a shit if they get wasted

ROSE: Are you talking to us?

DAVE: what

ROSE: We can't even hear you mumbling over there.

DAVE: oh

ROSE: How's that coffee coming?

DAVE: off the shit is how

DAVE: all being like

DAVE: in cups and everything

ROSE: Be sure it makes it to the table before it accumulates that strange unctuous film on the surface.

DAVE: so whats with the big book youre writing in

DAVE: is that more wizard fan fiction

ROSE: No, it's something like an extensive journal.

ROSE: I'm recording everything we've been through so far, and detailed notes on everything we know about the game.

ROSE: I'm also using it to document our research, and extrapolate on the new session and players.

DAVE: so its like

DAVE: your nigh unreadable gamefaq

DAVE: in tome form

ROSE: Somewhat.

DAVE: you sure like to write big game guides

ROSE: I don't look at it that way.

ROSE: I'm approaching it from a standpoint of responsible historical documentation.

ROSE: Don't you think people in the future will want to know about our story?

DAVE: i guess

ROSE: I think it could be a very useful resource some day.

ROSE: It could be helpful to others beginning their own quests.

DAVE: ehh

DAVE: chances of that seem pretty remote

KANAYA: I Really Wouldnt Rule It Out

DAVE: ok totally sold on that suddenly

DAVE: on account of not caring

DAVE: so tell me about the new session

DAVE: what is there to know

DAVE: and most importantly

DAVE: how is everything going to go wrong this time

ROSE: From what I understand, everything already has gone wrong before the game even started, in many different ways than ours did.

ROSE: There are indications of thicker political intrigue. Assassination attempts. And a usurpation of the throne more insidious than what we dealt with.

ROSE: But those examples still don't illustrate the fundamental fault with their session.

ROSE: Ours had a similar fault. It was a null session.

ROSE: Literature on the subject says null sessions are actually very common.

ROSE: It is any session resulting in failure, and as such, designed to result in failure from the start, due to Skaia's comprehensive "knowledge" of its own fate, and that of all it illumines.

ROSE: Biologically speaking, it's to be expected that null sessions far outnumber the successful ones. When it comes to reproductive systems, overwhelming redundancy is commonplace.

ROSE: A universe has a reproductive system that spreads many seeds, as it were, most of which never come to fruition. So we shouldn't feel too bad about our results, really. It was quite par for the course.

ROSE: But then, it would also seem that exceedingly few null sessions result in the birth of a massive green star fueled by two dead universes. For what it's worth.

DAVE: ok but i thought the whole point of this

DAVE: the scratch thing

DAVE: is it gave us a chance to still win

DAVE: but youre saying the new session has a fault too?

ROSE: Well, yes. There's more to it though.

ROSE: The new session is essentially our session, rebooted with different parameters which also affected the original conditions of our universe.

ROSE: And strangely, it seems the new one is a null session as well, but within a much less common subset of all null sessions.

ROSE: This one is referred to as a void session.

DAVE: ok

DAVE: which is what

ROSE: It's very simply a session in which nothing is prototyped before entry, at all.

ROSE: Hence, by Skaia's preemptive all-knowing and its influence on the rest of the incipisphere, there are not even any towers on Prospit or Derse built to receive the split kernels.

ROSE: See?

DAVE: weird

DAVE: why would these alt universe players fuck up in such an obvious and stupid way

ROSE: I don't know what specifically led to the failure to prototype anything.

ROSE: But it doesn't really matter. As I said, the session was designed this way before they began playing. Any efforts to prototype may have been in vain regardless. Possibly subject to sabotage.

DAVE: didnt you say at some point that not prototyping anything would be really bad

ROSE: Yes.

ROSE: It's just another way to create an infertile session. Though by a less catastrophic and bloody route we took to achieve the same result.

ROSE: By contrast, it leads to a rather harmless, uneventful session. Underlings remain unaugmented, and so does the royalty.

ROSE: And while this may sound advantageous to the players, it's a curse in disguise. The lack of prototypings which keeps adversaries unevolved has the same influence on the battlefield.

ROSE: Without successive prototypings, the battlefield will never reach its final form, which must be fertilized to grow a new universe.

ROSE: Instead, it remains in its most basic form, stuck in eternal stalemate.

ROSE: There is nothing players in a void session can do to change this. They are resigned to live out the rest of their days in a dead end session.

DAVE: still waiting to hear how this is in any way an improvement on all the shit we just escaped from

ROSE: It's a vast improvement.

ROSE: The new session is a blank slate, without a ridiculously short time limit for victory like ours had.

ROSE: There will be no time limit at all, in fact.

ROSE: Once we arrive, ostensibly that is when the nature of the session will change.

ROSE: It won't be classifiable as either a null or void session anymore. It will be something which, as far as I can tell, is unique.

ROSE: The fully matured battlefield from our session can be used to make the new one viable. The path to success will be made possible by a combination of efforts and assets from both iterations.

ROSE: Usually scratched sessions are absolute resets, and involve no direct influence from the first attempt at all. I can't find any precedent for our situation.

DAVE: jade has our battlefield right

ROSE: Yes.

DAVE: so she shows up and drops it in skaia

DAVE: and then we take the result of all that damn frog breeding we did and stick the thing in there somehow

DAVE: and we sit back and wait for it to do its huge ribbit or whatever

DAVE: and were golden

ROSE: Pretty much.

ROSE: As long as there is an actual vacancy in the center of Skaia when we get there.

DAVE: is that going to be a problem

ROSE: I don't think so.

ROSE: Even if it were, it would be a trivial obstacle.

ROSE: But as it is, I think the forces opposing these players are clandestinely working toward the same goal as we are.

ROSE: From what I can tell, gestures of antagonism, while certainly posing legitimate danger, have been factored in as critical stepping stones to one destination shared by all parties.

ROSE: I don't know why this is, or what the motives are yet.

ROSE: The appearance is one of clear sailing ahead, but traces of conspiracy are everywhere.

DAVE: ok but

DAVE: conspiracies aside

DAVE: did it ever really look like clear sailing to you

DAVE: thats not what i was seeing

DAVE: we are going to arrive and then soon after jack is going to show up

DAVE: and then we have to beat him right

DAVE: so there kind of is a time limit

ROSE: Yes, we will have to deal with Jack before all is said and done.

ROSE: And that will definitely be a major challenge.

ROSE: But it is not impossible. At least, not by design.

ROSE: When I said there would be no time limit in this session, I was talking about something more specific.

ROSE: There will be no reckoning.

DAVE: oh

DAVE: why not

ROSE: It's a logical consequence of any void session.

ROSE: The battlefield never evolves, and therefore the more extensive war between Prospit and Derse never takes shape.

ROSE: It is only when the Prospitian king falls in battle that the reckoning can be initiated by the forces of Derse.

ROSE: The meteors then rush to destroy the battlefield, while Skaia redirects them through defense portals for as long as it can.

ROSE: Thus, if there is no war, there is no reckoning, no meteors, and no imminent threat of failure.

ROSE: This is of course good news for Earth as well. During the reckoning, Skaia redirects all incoming meteors to the only place it can. Earth.

ROSE: So it turns out that players who initiate a void session are not actually condemning their home planet to an apocalyptic wasteland after they leave.

ROSE: In the new instance of our universe, Earth is just fine.

ROSE: Sort of.

DAVE: so

DAVE: no meteors came at all

DAVE: you mean by fucking up and having to scratch we also sort of saved earth in the process

ROSE: Again: sort of.

ROSE: And it's not that there were no meteors whatsoever.

ROSE: Just the vast majority of the destructive onslaught never showed up.

ROSE: But delivering the temple to the site of the forge is still integral to jumpstarting the session.

ROSE: That meteor however could have been propelled through a portal by any means, not just via the reckoning.

DAVE: i see

DAVE: what about the players themselves

DAVE: they had to arrive on meteors too didnt they

DAVE: i guess the baby meteors were some exceptions too right

ROSE: Yes.

ROSE: But they weren't flung through portals in their own session, nor will they be created there.

ROSE: They were created in our session, and sent back through our portals. Just like us.

DAVE: ................

ROSE: To understand what happened, it really helps to understand exactly what a scratch is.

ROSE: When John severely damaged the Beat Mesa on your planet, and sent it off to Skaia to release its temporal energy there, you could view it as a kind of "request."

ROSE: We were asking Skaia to change everything at a fundamental level, and we gave it the energy to do so.

ROSE: But Skaia is a very passive entity. It only "knows" and "sees," but it never quite "acts."

ROSE: When it is asked to change everything, there is only so much it has control over.

ROSE: In fact, it has control over exactly one thing. The defense portals.

ROSE: It can decide to send important meteors to different points in time than originally planned, thus creating alternate realities.

ROSE: Offshoots of promise, rather than futility.

ROSE: And it turns out the most important meteors of all tend to be the ones delivering the young players to their planet.

ROSE: So all it has to do to change everything is tweak their destination times a bit.

ROSE: All internally-prompted changes in the post-scratch universe are decided entirely by this modest adjustment to the parameters.

ROSE: It's a very simple concept, actually.

ROSE: Yet the consequences are dramatic. It results in not only a hard reset for the session, but a partial reset for the universe too, due to the many causal entanglements between a session and its originating universe.

DAVE: what do you mean tweak the destination times

DAVE: where did they get sent to

ROSE: A variety of different time periods.

ROSE: The simplest way to way to look at it is to picture the original destinations of our two groups of four ecto-babies...

ROSE: And switch them.

DAVE: what

ROSE: Though this is just a slight oversimplification.

ROSE: While it's roughly true, Skaia had some peculiar whims this time.

ROSE: While most landed in time periods corresponding with the original group,

ROSE: It seems that two of the new players arrived four centuries ahead of everyone else.

ROSE: For some bizarre reason.

DAVE: uh

ROSE: But they're still apparently able to communicate with their coplayers through I guess some Trollian-like technology, and they're still able to establish game connections with the others. So this stands as an odd but not otherwise terribly significant detail.

DAVE: so

DAVE: uh

DAVE: in this alt universe group of us and

DAVE: them

DAVE: which ones are the actual players

ROSE: I'll give you a hint.

ROSE: It isn't us.

DAVE: fuck

DAVE: why did i know that was gonna be the answer

ROSE: And to think that usually I'm the one accused of knowing the future.

DAVE: i dunno if im ready to process the ramifications of this bullshit

ROSE: You would find it less disconcerting if the players were alternate versions of us?

DAVE: man

DAVE: at least im used to dealing with alt daves

DAVE: ive been fuck deep in alt daves before

DAVE: its a goddamn delight if you want to know the truth

DAVE: but i dont even know what to think about...

ROSE: What?

ROSE: Meeting a deceased figure of authority as a peer?

DAVE: lets not even talk about it ok

DAVE: can we slow down this meteor

DAVE: delay the meetup

DAVE: maybe fight jack for a little while

ROSE: I honestly thought you would find the idea exciting.

ROSE: I know I'm looking forward to it.

DAVE: but your mom was just a nice alcoholic spinster who liked wizards who you complained about for no reason

DAVE: she wasnt anything like an untouchable master of irony who could replace the meat in your sandwich before it even occurred to you what the fuck you were chewing

DAVE: let me ask you this did your mom ever wiggle a puppet in your face even ONCE

ROSE: Not that I recall.

ROSE: But anecdotes like that just make me more curious to meet him, personally.

DAVE: fine well you can be on bro duty then

DAVE: ill be the ambassador to your mom

DAVE: and no that wasnt actually meant as the sick burn it sounded like

ROSE: She's your mom too, though.

DAVE: yeah i know

DAVE: ill be the ambassador to my mom then

DAVE: that sounds pretty stupid when i say it that way

DAVE: whatever

DAVE: ill be the fuckin one man welcome wagon for the john and jade teen old people and also our mom thats the plan

DAVE: so when we finally see them we can get our shit into formation like trained acrobats

DAVE: like ill blow a whistle and we make a human pyramid got it

DAVE: that way we can totally avoid anything awkward

ROSE: You do realize we've seen her already, right?

DAVE: what

DAVE: when

ROSE: Months ago.

ROSE: In a dream.

ROSE: She was floating along in Derse pajamas, asleep.

DAVE: wait that was her

ROSE: Yes.

DAVE: oh

DAVE: huh

DAVE: .....

ROSE: You're wondering why I didn't tell you?

DAVE: no

ROSE: You're specifically wondering why I wasn't forthcoming with an answer to your question at the time, "hey who was that choice babe in the pajamas?"

DAVE: god fucking dammit

ROSE: You don't find it nostalgic at all?

ROSE: Retracing the steps of some of our Freudian semi-blunders in conversations past?

DAVE: no what a load of shit

DAVE: stuff said between you and me before we knew we were related

DAVE: we both know that was a lot of horseplay bullfuckery between like smartass 10 year olds or whatever

DAVE: you cant seriously have taken any of that seriously

ROSE: ;)

DAVE: ugh dont ever do that

DAVE: all these fuckin

DAVE: momtraps and sistertraps

DAVE: what a joke i hope skaia gets to have a good laugh over shit like this

DAVE: wait i forgot skaia doesnt laugh it just "sees" and "knows"

DAVE: its like a huge blue perv thats mad jazzed for kidcest

KANAYA: What Are You People Even Talking About

ROSE: ;)

DAVE: dont you wink at her

DAVE: kanaya heres a protip that wink meant jack dick shes just being weird

KANAYA: I Feel As Though This Conversation Has Utterly Outmaneuvered My Constructive Involvement

KANAYA: Im Going To Go

DAVE: yeah im pretty much ollying outie too

DAVE: got some shit to attend to

DAVE: after you

KANAYA: Augh

KANAYA: Why Does That Always Happen

KARKAT: EVERYBODY OUT OF THE GODDAMN WAY.

KARKAT: I GOT A LAB FULL OF HUMANS, A MOUTH FULL OF YELLING, AND A TORTURED PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE FULL OF TOTALLY HYSTERICAL EMOTIONS AND UNAIRED GRIEVANCES AT PRACTICALLY EVERYBODY.

DAVE: karkat is broken guys

KARKAT: YEAH

KARKAT: OK HOLD ON

KARKAT: IF I CAN SETTLE DOWN A TICK I SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE MORE SENSE SHORTLY

KARKAT: JUST ONE...

KARKAT: *huff huff*

ROSE: Maybe you should lie down on the couch.

KARKAT: FUCK...

KARKAT: *wheeze*

KARKAT: NO

DAVE: dude what is the matter with you

KARKAT: WOW OK

KARKAT: THAT WAS A PRETTY TERRIBLE ENTRANCE.

KARKAT: ANYWAY

KARKAT: WHERE WAS I.

DAVE: dunno but i was just leaving

KARKAT: NOT SO FAST STRIDER, THIS HEAVILY CONCERNS YOU.

KARKAT: IT CONCERNS YOU EXCLUSIVELY IN FACT.

KARKAT: WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?

DAVE: just stepping out to do a thing

DAVE: which is not your business

KARKAT: LIKE MY INFLAMED QUAKING GALLSPHINCTER IT'S NOT.

KARKAT: TELL ME, ARE YOU BY ANY CHANCE GOING TO HAVE SOME COMPANY WHEN YOU STEP OUT TO DO THIS "THING?"

KARKAT: NOTICE THE TWO HEAVILY DRAMATIZED "ENCLOSURE TALONS" SURROUNDING THAT WORD, WHICH I AM SCORNFULLY PANTOMIMING WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS, AS PRESENTLY BEING DEMONSTRATED FOR YOU.

DAVE: yeah sure

KARKAT: OH??

KARKAT: WHO WOULD THAT BE MAY I ASK?

DAVE: well

DAVE: probably the mayor

DAVE: hes usually down for whatever

KARKAT: I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE FUCKING MAYOR, AND YOU FUCKING KNOW IT.

DAVE: hey dont be saying shit about the mayor

DAVE: the mayor rules hes like my best fucking friend

KARKAT: HE'S NOT A MAYOR. HE'S THE MAYOR OF FUCKSTICK JUNCTION LOCATED SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF PRETEND ASS NOWHERE.

DAVE: hes a mayor you douche his thing says mayor

KARKAT: IT SAYS "MAYO" AND HE WROTE THE "R" HIMSELF.

KARKAT: HE'S AT BEST A MAYO. AND WHO EVER HEARD OF A MAYO? IT'S EVERY BIT AS IMAGINARY AS HIS IDENTITY AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL.

DAVE: no mayo is like grub sauce but without grubs

KARKAT: WHO THE FUCK EVER HEARD OF GRUB SAUCE WITHOUT GRUBS??? WHAT'S IT MADE OF THEN GENIUS!

DAVE: like

DAVE: uh

DAVE: i dunno its white and it just sort of exists

DAVE: you dont ask about mayo thats not what you do with mayo

KARKAT: ISN'T IT FUNNY HOW QUICKLY YOUR BULLSHIT UNRAVELS WHEN SOMEONE INTELLIGENT ACTUALLY HOLDS YOU ACCOUNTABLE??

KARKAT: YOU ARE FUCKING BUSTED STRIDER.

KARKAT: YOU ARE BUSTED ABOUT "MAYO" AND YOU ARE BUSTED ABOUT TEREZI.

DAVE: hahaha you are pathetic

DAVE: this is why you all stormed in here out of breath

DAVE: what did you actually sprint all the way across the meteor to tell me this

KARKAT: WHAT I DO WITH MY LEGS AND HOW FAST I MOVE THEM IS MY BUSINESS YOU SHIT.

DAVE: yeah and what i do with mine is mine

DAVE: watch me make them make me leave

KARKAT: I SAID STAY YOUR ASS PUT, WE'RE TALKING HERE.

DAVE: dude dont touch my cape

DAVE: ...

DAVE: huh

KARKAT: WHAT

DAVE: i cant believe i seriously just said dude dont touch my cape to somebody and was serious about it

KARKAT: OK, LOOK I'M NOWHERE NEAR YOUR PRECIOUS STUPID CAPE. JUST LISTEN.

KARKAT: BEFORE YOU GO OFF TO SNOG TEREZI IN YOUR IDIOTIC LITTLE VILLAGE OF NUTRITION CYLINDERS, HEAR ME OUT.

DAVE: man

DAVE: you are so overblowing this

KARKAT: BUT I DON'T THINK THAT I AM!

DAVE: yeah you are

DAVE: you have some idea about us or what were getting up to

DAVE: so weve done a few things together to pass the time so what

DAVE: i dont even think you could call them dates or anything

DAVE: what the fuck would even qualify as a date on this gross dark meteor

KARKAT: DAVE, CAN WE JUST CUT THE SHIT?

KARKAT: I AM NOT AN IMBECILE. YOU ARE BOTH PLAINLY TIPPING INTO FLUSHED TERRITORY IRRESPECTIVE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS OR WHATEVER LAME CONDITIONS IT IS HUMANS BELIEVE TO BE OPTIMAL FOR PURSUING A MATESPRITSHIP.

KARKAT: ANYONE CAN SEE THAT, IT'S THE SHITTIEST KEPT SECRET ON THIS METEOR. PROBABLY EVEN THE FUCKING MAYOR GETS IT, AND LET'S FACE IT, HE'S A LITTLE SLOW.

KARKAT: DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD PULL THE WOOLBEAST MATERIAL OVER THE EYES OF A HARDENED VETERAN OF ROMANTIC STUDIES?

DAVE: we have one of those???

KARKAT: I HAVE SEEN THOUSANDS OF TROLL ROMANCE FILMS, EACH DEALING WITH TOPICS FAR MORE SUBTLE AND COMPLEX THAN YOUR PEDESTRIAN HUMAN MIND COULD EVER GRASP.

KARKAT: AND IN CASE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN, I'VE ALREADY WATCHED HUNDREDS OF YOUR MORE PRIMITIVE BUT MODERATELY ENTERTAINING ROMANCE FILMS.

KARKAT: REMEMBER HOW I DOWNLOADED A FUCK TON OF THEM AFTER DISCOVERING YOUR SPECIES? I AM A CURIOUS MAN, DAVE, YOU COULD LEARN FROM ME.

DAVE: yeah i remember

DAVE: havent you only watched a bunch of shitty dane cook movies on infinite loop since we left

KARKAT: YOU'RE SEVERELY EXAGGERATING, BUT YES I HAVE SAMPLED HIS WORK.

DAVE: dude

DAVE: you know youre only pretending to be a huge fan of his bullshit to piss me off

KARKAT: AGAIN LOOK AT HOW SELF ABSORBED YOU'RE BEING!!!

KARKAT: I HAPPEN TO THINK HE HAS A BRILLIANT COMEDIC MIND, FOR A HUMAN.

DAVE: hrnngngnngghhhh

DAVE: it turns out that exact sentence is my one weakness

DAVE: you win bro you got your girl back

KARKAT: OH SHUT UP.

KARKAT: I AM NOT HERE TO DEBATE YOU ON THE FINER POINTS OF CINEMA, OR TO "GET MY GIRL BACK."

KARKAT: HOW DESPERATE DO YOU THINK I AM?

KARKAT: I'M ACTUALLY HERE TO DO THE OPPOSITE.

KARKAT: I WANTED TO TELL YOU I'M TOTALLY OK WITH IT.

DAVE: oh

DAVE: ok then

KARKAT: BUT JUST LISTEN, AND TRY TO KEEP AN OPEN MIND. I KNOW THAT'S HARD FOR YOU.

KARKAT: HERE, PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.

DAVE: oh no

DAVE: what the hot mess of fresh fuck am i looking at

KARKAT: IT'S AN ALTERNIAN ROMANCE NOVEL.

KARKAT: NOW LOOK, I'M NOT VOUCHING FOR THIS PARTICULAR PIECE OF LITERATURE. IT'S ACTUALLY PRETTY TRASHY AND IF YOU'RE INTERESTED I COULD RECOMMEND MUCH BETTER THINGS TO YOU.

KARKAT: IT'S JUST THIS ONE ILLUSTRATES THE CONCEPT VERY CLEARLY.

DAVE: what...

DAVE: "concept"

KARKAT: IT'S A PRETTY TYPICAL CASE OF QUADRANT VACILLATION AS APPLIED TO AN OVERLAPPING GROUP OF ROMANTIC PAIRINGS.

DAVE: you lost me at quadrant

DAVE: for future reference thats the word that always lets me know its time to check out of a sentence

KARKAT: WILL YOU PIPE DOWN AND JUST HEAR ME OUT.

KARKAT: IT'S REALLY SIMPLE. THINK OF IT AS BEING SIMILAR TO ONE OF YOUR PRIMITIVE HUMAN LOVE TRIANGLES.

KARKAT: THOUGH THIS IS A QUADRANGLE. THOSE ARE MUCH MORE COMMON IN OUR SOCIETY AND ENTERTAINMENT, AND FOUR IS PRETTY MUCH THE MINIMUM VALUE FOR LOVE-HATE N-DRANGLES.

DAVE: n drangles

DAVE: god dammit

KARKAT: NOW HERE IS WHAT'S ACTUALLY GOING ON WITH THIS GROUP OF CHARACTERS. PAY ATTENTION. HEY, LOOK AT ME. EYES OVER HERE. GOOD.

KARKAT: SEE THE TWO HEROES IN THE MIDDLE, PARTAKING IN THEIR FLUSHED EMBRACE? PRETTY MUCH YOUR TYPICAL LOWBLOOD REDROM PAIRING. THEIR DYNAMIC IS THE GRUBLOAF AND TUBER PASTE OF THE OVERALL ARC.

DAVE: .........

KARKAT: BUT WHAT HAVE WE HERE? THERE ARE SOME NEFARIOUS HIGHBLOODS IN THE PICTURE TOO. THIS IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING.

KARKAT: THE GUY ON THE LEFT IS AN OLD CALIGINOUS FLAME FROM THE MALE LOWBLOOD'S PAST, AND HAS REENTERED THE PICTURE. AGAIN, NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. HE CAN CONTINUE TO COURT HIS MATESPRIT AND KISMESIS WITHOUT CONFLICT. IT'S A PERFECTLY AMICABLE ARRANGEMENT THAT EVERYONE'S TOTALLY DOWN WITH.

DAVE: what is that huge beefcake troll even doing

DAVE: is he grinding against the little dudes shoulder what is even going on

DAVE: why the fuck is he nude

KARKAT: NO QUESTIONS YET.

KARKAT: SO THEN THAT'S ALL FINE, PRETTY BOILERPLATE CONDITIONS FOR UNFOLDING ROMDRAMA, BUT THERE'S A TWIST.

KARKAT: THE MALE HIGHBLOOD AND LOWBLOOD START TO HAVE FLUSHED FEELINGS FOR ONE ANOTHER, AND THIS RESULTS IN SOME RED INFIDELITY BETWEEN THE LOWBLOOD PAIR.

KARKAT: OBVIOUSLY THIS IS WHERE THE FIREWORKS START GOING OFF. THE RED FEELINGS BETWEEN THE LOWBLOODS TURN TO BLACK, AND THUS BEGINS WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS QUADRANT VACILLATION.

KARKAT: MEANWHILE THE TWO MALES ARE ALSO VACILLATING BETWEEN RED AND BLACK, BECAUSE YOU DON'T JUST LET GO OF A RIVALRY SO EASILY.

DAVE: what is going on with the other chick

DAVE: all grabbing at the other one down there in the corner

KARKAT: YEAH, WELL, IT GETS EVEN MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT, PROBABLY MORE THAN NEEDED FOR THE SAKE OF MAKING THE POINT.

KARKAT: IN THE HEAT OF THEIR VACILLATION, DURING AN ESPECIALLY BLACK PHASE, THE LOWBLOOD FEMALE WAXES RED FOR A NOTORIOUS AND ESPECIALLY BRUTAL HIGHBLOOD FEMALE.

KARKAT: SO THEY HAVE THEIR THING ON THE SIDE, BUT EVEN THAT STARTS VACILLATING TOO BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL PAIR JUST KEEP SPINNING LIKE A TOP.

KARKAT: WE DON'T NEED TO GET BOGGED DOWN IN THE QUADRANGLE DYNAMIC THOUGH, AND FOR OUR PURPOSES THE 4TH PARTY IS A DISTRACTION.

DAVE: our purposes

DAVE: what the fuck are our purposes

KARKAT: THE THING IS, VACILLATION ALWAYS ADDS A LOT OF DRAMA TO EVERYTHING, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT CAN'T BE VIABLE.

KARKAT: IT CAN TOTALLY WORK, AND EVERYONE CAN BE REASONABLE ABOUT IT, IT REALLY JUST COMES DOWN TO A MATTER OF SENSIBLE SCHEDULING.

DAVE: you must be out of your fucking mind if you think i want to know where youre going with this

KARKAT: DAVE, PLEASE.

KARKAT: JUST READ THE BOOK, OK? IT'S ALL IN THE BOOK.

DAVE: im not reading that shit

DAVE: i cant even read your stupid troll language why would you think i can

KARKAT: I THINK YOU SHOULD RECONSIDER. I CAN TRANSLATE FOR YOU. I'LL READ THE WHOLE DAMN THING ALOUD IF YOU WANT.

KARKAT: SERIOUSLY, IT COULD REALLY EXPAND YOUR LIMITED HUMAN THINK PAN ON STUFF.

KARKAT: THERE'S A LOT HERE THAT'S APPLICABLE TO OUR SITUATION.

DAVE: there is nothing even slightly applicable about any of that bullshit to our situation

KARKAT: DON'T BE DENSE. OF COURSE THERE IS.

KARKAT: TEREZI AND I HAVE BEEN ON THE VERGE OF VACILLATING LIKE THIS FOR A LONG TIME.

KARKAT: IT'S ABOUT TIME WE KILLED THE SUSPENSE AND JUST ACKNOWLEDGED IT.

KARKAT: YOU AND SHE SEEM BENT ON DEVELOPING SOMETHING IN THE FLUSHED QUADRANT, AND LIKE I SAID, I'M FINE WITH THAT.

KARKAT: IF WE CAN JUST GET OUR SHIT STRAIGHTENED OUT, WE CAN BE LIKE THESE VACILLATING PAIRS THAT ALTERNATE BETWEEN RED AND BLACK, BUT IN A WAY THAT'S COMPLEMENTARY WITH EACH OTHER'S PATTERNS.

DAVE: oh my god

DAVE: why is this happening

KARKAT: LIKE WHILE SHE AND I ARE BLACK, YOU AND SHE ARE RED.

KARKAT: BUT THEN WHEN SHE AND I ARE RED, YOU AND SHE... I DON'T KNOW IF HUMANS ARE REALLY CAPABLE OF BLACK FEELINGS?

KARKAT: I GUESS THAT'S UP TO YOU. MAYBE YOU CAN JUST LIKE, SIT THOSE PERIODS OUT.

KARKAT: LIKE TAKE A BREAK, YOU KNOW?

DAVE: youve completely lost it dude

DAVE: i cant believe for a fucking second this is reasonable shit to propose even on troll world

DAVE: you just

DAVE: totally snapped

KARKAT: SNAPPED LIKE A FUCKING FOX. THIS MAKES PERFECT SENSE.

KARKAT: LIKE I SAID, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF RESPONSIBLE SCHEDULING.

KARKAT: HERE LET ME SHOW YOU.

KARKAT: I NEED SOME PAPER. WHERE'S SOME PAPER.

DAVE: hnnrrghh

KARKAT: LOOK, IT'S PERFECTLY SIMPLE.

KARKAT: HANG ON WHILE I DRAW THE GUIDELINES.

DAVE: oh no

DAVE: no you are NOT making another shipping grid dude

KARKAT: IT'S NOT A SHIPPING GRID.

KARKAT: JUST SOME ROWS AND COLUMNS FOR A SCHEDULE.

DAVE: its a grid youre drawing a goddamn grid

DAVE: im not letting you draw a grid for this stupid shit

KARKAT: COME ON, LOOK HERE. THESE ARE THE DAYS OF THE WEEK.

KARKAT: THEN WE EACH HAVE ROWS FOR THOSE DAYS AND WE CAN DRAW A HEART OR A SPADE FOR ANY GIVEN DAY.

KARKAT: THAT WAY WE KNOW WHAT'S UP IN ADVANCE, AND AVOID UNPLEASANT CONFLICTS.

DAVE: put the fucking pen down

KARKAT: HEY, CUT IT OUT. DON'T TOUCH ME.

DAVE: do not draw a shipping grid

DAVE: do not do it

KARKAT: IT'S NOT A SHIPPING GRID YOU OBTUSE FUCK.

DAVE: this is fucked up put it down

KARKAT: NO.

DAVE: you are not drawing a grid to organize our goddamn dating lives

DAVE: that is some straight up crackpot motherfuckin noise i will not abide

KARKAT: FUCK YOU. LET ME DRAW.

DAVE: stop drawing the shipping grid

KARKAT: *IT IS NOT A SHIPPING GRID*

KARKAT: THIS IS NOT SHIPPING YOU HEINOUS TOOL, THIS IS COMMON SENSE.

DAVE: you will not draw anything that even remotely resembles a grid

DAVE: do not draw an arrangement of squares or otherwise interlocking polygons

KARKAT: LET GO.

DAVE: you will not draw a spreadsheet for the purpose of allocating time spent with a mutual girlfriend you horses ass

DAVE: that is exactly the shit i do not want to see

KARKAT: LOOK, I JUST DREW A SQUARE.

KARKAT: GET READY TO SEE A LOT MORE OF THOSE!

DAVE: no

DAVE: stop

DAVE: do not draw any additional squares

DAVE: do not draw any quadrilaterals or trapezoids or rectangles or fucking n-drangles and especially as fuck not any god damned rhombuses

DAVE: i dont want to see your lines making any right angles do you understand

KARKAT: IN MY MIND'S EYE I AM PICTURING A BEAUTIFUL LATTICE OF LINES AND COMPARTMENTS, INTERLOCKING WITH SUBLIME PRECISION AT NINETY DEGREE ANGLES.

KARKAT: I IMAGINE THIS MODULAR RETICULATION AS AN ELEGANT VESSEL, IF YOU WILL, FOR THE GRAND SYNTHESIS OF OUR SHARED SHIPPING DREAMS.

DAVE: no

DAVE: that is the perfect example of what you shouldnt be drawing

KARKAT: YES

DAVE: no

KARKAT: FUCK YES

KARKAT: OOH LOOK, ANOTHER SQUARE, SORT OF.

KARKAT: KIND OF WOBBLY! IT'LL HAVE TO DO.

DAVE: no you fuck

KARKAT: WAIT, I THINK IT'S COMING.

KARKAT: HERE IT COMES, MY FIRST "SHIP", IT'S GOING IN THE SQUARE!

DAVE: put the goddamn pen down

DAVE: you piece of shit

KARKAT: HELL NO.

DAVE: yes

KARKAT: WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM??

KARKAT: OW, FUCK.

DAVE: this is so sick does she even know youre doing this

KARKAT: DOING WHAT??

DAVE: splitting up her time in a grid for your stupid rotating hate date plan

KARKAT: SHE WILL SOON ENOUGH.

DAVE: what a presumptuous sack of shit put the pen down

KARKAT: NO, I'M DRAWING.

DAVE: step away from your dumb ugly scribble grid

KARKAT: GET LOST.

DAVE: youre messing up roses book

KARKAT: YOU SMELL BAD.

DAVE: dont talk to me about rank smells

DAVE: you are the fuckin big man of smellin bad

DAVE: you dominate the paint with your stonk

KARKAT: MY LUSUS BROUGHT THINGS HOME THAT SMELLED MORE APPEALING THAN YOU.

KARKAT: IMPORTANT FACT: 100% OF WHAT HE BROUGHT HOME WAS EITHER A DEAD ANIMAL, OR LITERAL FECES.

DAVE: oh yeah well check it out:

DAVE: you smell like if someone took a dump on a butt

KARKAT: HOW CAN SHE STAND YOU WITH HER SENSITIVE NOSE?

KARKAT: HAVE YOU EVER EVEN WASHED THAT RIDICULOUS OUTFIT?

DAVE: theyre magic fucking pajamas they stay like perma clean or something

DAVE: theyre enchanted and comfy as fuck give me the pen

KARKAT: NO, IT'S MINE NOW. I'M KEEPING IT ON PRINCIPLE.

DAVE: karkat whoa man what are you doing

DAVE: why are you drawing all these human dicks

DAVE: how do you even know what they look like what have you been watching??

KARKAT: I'M NOT DRAWING THOSE!!!!!!!

KARKAT: YOU'RE MAKING ME DRAW THEM, STOP THAT.

DAVE: no way

DAVE: this book is now like

DAVE: our fight fueled ouija board of cock

KARKAT: ARGH... STOP!

KARKAT: DON'T

KARKAT: NO FUCK

KARKAT: OK NO

KARKAT: YOU DREW THAT ONE

KARKAT: YOU DREW THAT ONE!!!!

KARKAT: DON'T PRETEND YOU DIDN'T!

DAVE: are you sure man

DAVE: thats the spooky thing about penis ouija you can never be sure who did the dicks

DAVE: was it you or me or maybe a ghoooost???

KARKAT: FUUUUUUUCK LET GO OF ME!

DAVE: gimme the pen

KARKAT: NO

DAVE: yes

KARKAT: NO

DAVE: yes

KARKAT: FINE TAKE IT!

DAVE: no

KARKAT: WHAT??

DAVE: were still drawing

KARKAT: LET GO

DAVE: are you kidding this is a fucking masterpiece we have to see this through

KARKAT: I'M TRYING TO LET GO OF THE STUPID PEN BUT YOU WON'T LET ME

DAVE: we are in the shit now

DAVE: we are motherfuckin entrenched in this bitch

KARKAT: YOU CRAZY FUCK

DAVE: were running out of room rose can you turn the page for us

KARKAT: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

KARKAT: THIS ALTERCATION IS BECOMING UNCOMFORTABLY PHYSICAL, GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME.

DAVE: what are you talking about

KARKAT: YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

DAVE: shut up and draw another penis

KARKAT: YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF ALL THIS HOSTILE TOUCHING AND GRABBING DO YOU???

KARKAT: I DON'T FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT YOU STRIDER, JUST STEP OFF.

DAVE: man if you want to look at this that way then thats your business

DAVE: this is just an old fashioned beatdown where im from deal with it

KARKAT: WHY DON'T YOU OLD FASHIONED GO FUCK YOURSELF?

DAVE: stop biting my cape

KARKAT: FUFCK NYOUF.

KARKAT: RAAARARRAAUUUAAAAUUAGHGHGGHGGGGHHGH!

DAVE: shit!

[justmeinadaze]

Take It Out On Me Part 3 (Steddie X Plus Size Reader)

A/N: I bare you this! The letter that Steve's dad leaves is literally something like my best friend's mom gave her. I was so shocked! Like what parent does this and talks this way!

Enjoy <3

Warning: Dom Steddie and Sub Plus size reader and all that implies (I regret nothing!), Smut of course with the angst and the fluff. Carol and Tommy are mean to the reader and embarrass her at Steve's party. Steve briefly talks about his trauma. The dad leaves a note for Steve basically telling him he needs to be better. Dirty talk for sure, chocking, slight degrading if you squint.

Word count: 4705

You nibbled on the fries in front of you as you watched Steve and Eddie talk to each other. How had you never known that they even knew one another? 

After you guys left the school, Eddie offered to drive you but you felt more comfortable taking your own car, following them to a diner right in the middle of downtown Hawkins. You couldn’t help but pause when Steve held the front door open for you, raising an eyebrow as he gestured inside. It was such an odd contrast especially when it came to him, seeing him be so polite. 

“Do you two come here a lot?” You blurted out your question a bit too quickly causing both their heads to turn towards you, giving you an odd look. 

“Like on a date or? I mean, Harrington doesn’t really treat me like the beautiful being I am but…”

“No, I mean…”, you giggled and they smiled. It was the first time since they met you that they genuinely heard you laugh. “Why didn’t I know you guys were friends? Even he said your friends don’t know about him.”

“That is a great question. Stevie? Thoughts?”

“We hang out.”

“Getting high in my trailer after school or on weekends doesn’t count.”

“Oh yeah? And what is this? What are we doing now?”, he chuckles.

“Does it bother you?”, you ask Eddie.

“I’ve never really thought about it if I’m being honest.”

“What are you doing?”, Steve asks with a sharp tone.

“I-I-I’m just trying…to get to know you. Understand.”

“Really? Because it seems like you’re trying to cause problems between me and Munson here.” 

Your eyes meet his annoyed ones filing with your own frustration. “Is that normal for you, Steve Harrington? To think everyone has a motive?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

He turns to look at Eddie who smiles as he shrugs. “Well, look who found her voice all of the sudden.”

“Did you ever think maybe I always had a voice but it was constantly stifled by people like you!”

“Define people like me.”

“Stuck up, preppy daddy’s boys who only care about what other people think of him instead of growing a pair and just being himself!”

Eddie watched you both with a small smirk as you and Steve glared at each other. Something flashed through the man’s eyes before he glanced at the metalhead, nodding before rising from the table and heading out the door. 

“Wow, sweetheart. You really got under his skin.”

“I did?”

“Steve Harrington doesn’t just silently leave. He always has to have the last word. I’m betting it was the ‘daddy’s boy’ part.”

“I don’t understand.”

“No, baby. You don’t.”

#################

The next day, Steve didn’t say a thing to you or even look your way. In class he sat where he was supposed to and during detention that afternoon, he placed himself behind Eddie on the opposite end of the classroom.

Eddie wasn’t out right ignoring you like his friend but he wasn’t really trying to initiate a conversation with you either. He grinned when you walked by during lunch and gave a loud “Hey, princess!” when you entered the room after school. 

On Friday, nothing changed and it killed you. You had no idea why but it did. Steve was still an asshole, right? Even though you admitted you didn’t hate him, you still didn’t care about him. Right? So why during your final afternoon in detention, are you staring at him as he doodled in his notebook?

I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings. Is he going to ignore me forever now? Should I apologize? I miss his lips. Wait…what the fuck am I saying?! This is incredibly frustrating!

“Alright boys and girl, congratulations. You have made it through your week of punishment. Eddie I’m sure I will see you again. Steve and Y/N, please, for the love of God, behave.”

The three of you smile as you get up and exit the classroom. They both walk ahead of you as if they had no idea who you are. 

“Steve?” You call his name as soon as you enter the parking lot. When he doesn’t respond, you run ahead of them, trying to block their path. “Steve, please.”

They both shift around you as they continue to talk to each other. “You’re coming tomorrow night, right?”

“I’ll be there.”, Eddie grins. You watch in awe as they both get in their cars and Steve speeds away. “See you on Monday, sweetheart! Behave now.”, he winks before starting his van and disappearing down the road.

###############

“Why are we here?”, Masie asks as she looks around at all the drunk students. 

“Come on. It will be fun.”

It took some sleuthing but you found out from another girl on the basketball team that Steve Harrington was throwing a huge party on Saturday night. Your blood boiled as you realized he purposely invited Eddie in front of you to make you feel even worse. 

“I’m, um, I’m going to go find the drinks.”

“Please don’t leave me alone for long!”, your friend shouted as you left her side. 

Steve’s home was gorgeous, much nicer than your own. Kids were packed in tight as they danced to the music beating against the walls of the house. Carol’s hair came into your view and you hastily tucked into a nearby room. As you looked around you realized you must be in his father’s study.

There was a desk with papers scattered all over it. The bookshelf against the wall was filled to the brim with law books and encyclopedias. On a nearby table, you noticed a bunch of photographs of Mr. Harrington and his wife. 

Where are the pictures of Steve? Maybe he just doesn’t have any in here…that’s odd. You would think he would want to have pictures of his son close by where he works. 

You circled around to the desk, brushing papers aside as you skimmed them until something caught you attention. 

Steven,

I am very disappointed in your behavior as of late. You’re barely passing your classes. You haven’t gotten any better at basketball or swimming. You refuse to save any money for college (If you can even get into one at this point) and your mother found drugs hidden in one of your drawers. 

You spend a lot of time with that freak or girls you don’t intend on staying with. I am ashamed and so far, son, you are not living up to the Harrington name. 

I’ll give you one more year to shape up. If you can’t it together by graduation I will NOT pay for your schooling. Do you understand me?!

Sign and return to my desk. I will file it with my other investments when I get home. 

Sincerely,

Bill Harrington                                          

 X Steven Harrington

“It’s not polite to snoop, Y/N.”

You jump at the sound of his voice as you turn to find Steve leaning against the closed door with a drink in his hand. He smelled incredibly strong like liquor making your heart break. 

“Your father gave you this?”

He pushes off the wall, coming to stand beside you as he cranes his neck to look at the paper in your hands. 

“Yup. This is one of the tamer ones.”

“Steve, he talks about you like…your property.” He shrugs as he takes a seat in the office chair. “I’m so sorry. I…I didn’t—”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just a preppy, daddy’s boy who needs to grow a pair, right?”

Your head hangs as you place the letter back down on the desk. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“No. You didn’t.”

As you start to head for the door, something stops you. You spin around and his arms open in surprise when you place yourself on his lap, leaning your head on his shoulder. His chest heaves underneath you before his limbs come back down to wrap around you as his head leans against yours. 

The loud sound of glass breaking startles you both. “Fucking hell. I can’t have one God damn moment; I swear.” You slide off his lap and he angrily opens the door to find out what happened. 

You leave the room to find Masie who was sitting outside on one of Steve’s patio chairs talking to someone you two had class with. You joined her physically but mentally you were somewhere else. Sifting through the last few years, you wondered if there had been any clues to Steve’s relationship with his father. All you remembered was an asshole, Tom Cruise style wanna-be.

He never once let on there might be trouble at home. Hell, he was having a party in the house right now like he didn’t care what his dad thought. 

The feeling of something cold dowsing your body, jolted you back to reality. You stood up, watching as liquid spilled down your head, into your clothes, and on to the concrete below your feet. Your eyes met Tommy’s who was now holding an empty pitcher in his hand. 

“Shit! Y/N, I am so sorry. I didn’t see you there. Not that you’re hard to miss. Maybe it’s because you weren’t invited.”, he snickered. 

Masie stood up, placing herself in front of you. “Have you lost your fucking mind? That was extremely uncalled for!”

You panicked as your eyes looked around the pool area to see people staring at the display that was unfolding. As your body began shutting down, you felt leather being placed around your shoulders. 

“Come on, sweetheart. You’re ok.”

“Speaking of uninvited…”, Carol giggled. 

As Eddie started to turn you around, you both ran into the host of the party. Steve’s eyes scanned your fragile frame and the snarky smiles on his friend’s faces. 

“Everybody out! Out now! You heard me! Parties over!” Carol and Tommy looked around confused but didn’t move as he gently reached for your friend’s arm, tugging her towards you. “You guys, go inside. There are some towels in the washroom by the kitchen. Why are you two still here?! I said out!”

“Are you fucking kidding?”

“No, I’m not. This is MY house. Now get… out…”, Steve growls. 

Tommy wraps his arm around Carol’s shoulder as they leave his backyard. After a quick run through to make sure everyone had left, he found the three of you in his kitchen as Eddie ran a towel through your hair.

“Do you have some clothes, man? Something she can put on.”

“I-I-I can’t go home like this. M-m-my dad will kill me if I come home smelling like alcohol.”, you cried. 

“He will. Her parents are strict as hell especially her mom.” Masie rubs your back comfortingly. “She told them she was having dinner with me tonight so she could come here…for some reason.” She squints her eyes at Eddie. 

If only she knew that he wasn’t the only reason. 

“Why don’t you tell them she’s spending the night with you?”

“IS she?” Your friend glares at them both. “Because I’m not leaving her here alone with you Steve Harrington.”

“Maze, it’s ok.”

“Um, Y/N, it’s not ok! Did you see what his friends just did to you?!”

“YES, I DID! I did… I’m fine, ok? Eddie, will take me home tomorrow.”

Her eyes shift between everyone before focusing on the metalhead. “I will be calling her house at noon tomorrow. If she doesn’t answer, I’m calling Chief Hopper. Do I make myself clear?”

“A bit dramatic but yes.” As soon as she leaves, Steve gestures to Eddie, who takes your hand as you both follow him up the stairs. “I like her. She has a lot of spunk.”

“Masie Collin’s has always been that way.”, the other boy sighs as he opens his bathroom door. 

“Ah. I’ve never met her before.” He focuses on your body as he removes your beer-soaked clothes, passing them to Steve who stumbles backwards into the wall. “Apparently, I got here too late. Do you need to go lay down, Harrington?” 

The man nods slightly as he pushes past you both but instead of turning towards his bedroom, you hear him stomp down the stairs. Eddie turns on the shower, waiting patiently for it to warm up. 

“Okay, Sweetheart. Go ahead and take as long as you need. I’ll go riffle through his drawers and see what I can find for you to wear.”

As he turns to leave, you reach out and grab his arm. “Will…will you stay with me?”

“Do you want me to stay in here with you or do you want me to join you?”

“Will you stand in the shower with me, please?”

Eddie steps forward, brushing your hair behind your ears with his fingers. “I said do you WANT… Talk to me like you want it.”

“Eddie, I want you take a shower with me. I don’t want to be alone.”

He softly smiles as he takes a step back and removes his shirt before sliding down his pants with his boxers. You take his hand as he guides you into the tub and you sigh at the feeling of the hot water hitting your body. 

Eddie chuckles as he reaches for the shampoo in the corner. “Well, you won’t smell like alcohol but let’s hope your parents don’t know what Steve smells like.”

He grins as you laugh, putting product in his hands, and rubbing it into your scalp. Eddie continued to help clean your body, exhaling pleasure filled breaths anytime his lips would randomly land on your skin. 

A tiny squeak left you when his fingers grazed between your legs. “Oh. Sensitive.”, he quips with a mischievous smile. 

“I’m still a little sore.”

Eddie’s eyes widen in joking surprise. “Geez, are our cocks that big?” You bite down on your bottom lip as he slowly inserts his middle finger into your entrance. “Or are you just that tight?”

He gets to his feet, placing his other hand on your lower back, sliding you closer to him. “God, I’ve never felt a pussy this tight before.” You moan as he guides his lips to your own. “Normally, I don’t ask but I know you’ve been through a lot tonight. Can I fuck you?”

“I…I don’t want you to ask. That’s what the word is for right?”

“Yeah, baby. That’s right.”

“Then take me, Eddie. Please…I need you to.”

“Fuck me.”, he groans as his lips crash to yours. 

He removes his fingers, gripping your waist to adjust your body so your back was facing him. You felt his palm dig into your shoulder as his other hand brought your hips into his own, guiding his length into your cunt. 

Eddie wrapped his arms around your tummy as he delivered several hard thrusts that pushed you forward into the cold tile. Your hands shot out to hold yourself steady as he pressed his chest flush to you back.

“Yeah? Fuck, princess, you feel so good. You like the way my cock feels?” You whimpered as your head fell against his shoulder. “Answer me, pretty girl. Tell me how much you love my dick inside of you, stretching you open.”

“I do—mmm—Eddie. Oh my god. I love the way you feel. Please—mmm—please make me cum.”

Eddie pumped his hips faster as the sound of skin slapping skin filled the bathroom. The coil that had quickly began to wind snapped as you moaned his name repeatedly. 

“Good girl. So fucking sexy when you cum. I like the way your body trembles. Fuck. Get-Get down on your knees, baby.”

He pulls out of you and you do as your told, his palm falling to the back of your head as your wrap your lips around his cock. “F-fuck. Don’t fucking move.” Curling his fingers tightly in your hair, he thrusts his hips roughly, forcing himself down your throat. As he begins to sputter, he holds you still and you feel his warm spend fill your mouth. 

“Good girl. Swallow my cum.”

After you do what he asks, he grabs your forearm helping you to your feet as he smiles. “Do you feel clean or do you want me to do another once over?”

“No, I’m ok. I’m really exhausted.”

“I can imagine.”, he chuckles as he turns off the water and steps out of the tub onto the mat. “Here. Go ahead and dry off. I’m going to go find you some clothes.”

When he doesn’t come back after you’re dry, you go looking for him, finding him in Steve’s room; the boy himself completely passed out. 

“Hey, sorry. He actually threw your clothes in the washer so I moved them to the dryer. I’m trying to find something here but kid is too fucking thin. Some of these shirts would barely fit me as a fucking crop top.”

While Eddie spoke, you had tiptoed over to Steve’s bed. Even though he was asleep, he still had a pained expression on his face. You reached out to delicately move some hair to the side and he lightly sighed as he adjusted his head to face the other way. 

The metalhead watched you with fascination as you took off the towel that wrapped around you, tossing it to the floor, and climbed into the bed beside his friend. Your hand traced his back over his shirt and again he sighed but the disgruntled look on his face softened. 

You smiled when you felt Eddie climb in behind you. For some reason, just laying between them like this made you feel comfortable; safe. His arm slide under your pillow and after a while you heard his steady breathing as he fell asleep. 

#############

The feeling of thumb caressing your lips, made your eyes flutter open and were met with the beautiful, amber ones across from you.

“Hey. Are you okay?”, you whisper. Steve nods as he lazily rolls fully onto his side facing you. “By the time I got here you were pretty wasted. Do you remember anything?”

“I remember you being nosey and Carol being a bitch. I remember kicking everyone out and you being sad. Before I fell asleep, I think I heard moaning in my shower but…” He grinned as you blushed. “You smell like me.”

“That’s good. At least I don’t smell like beer anymore.”

“It’s not fair though. You smell like me but not BECAUSE of me.” Steve’s soft palm glided down your back, over your ass to the back of your thigh, lifting it to place your leg over his waist. His hard cock pressed against the outside of your puffy lips making you moan. “I did like waking up to you naked beside me. It took all of my energy not to just take what I wanted while you slept.”

“Why didn’t you?”

He slowly grinded his waist, dragging his length between your folds causing you both to let out a needy whine. 

“Because I like hearing you whimper when I first slide my cock into your tight pussy. Like you can’t take me but you know you need me. Do you need me, honey?”

Your hands reach out to cling to the back of his neck as you place your forehead on his. “Yes, Steve. Please…fuck. I need you so bad.”

“Where, baby? Tell me where you need me.”

“I-I-I…” You stumble over your words, already feeling so overwhelmed by him.

A low, growl rumbles from his chest as his palm comes up to wrap around your throat. “You take too long to answer simple questions.”

“I’m sorry. I just—”

“I don’t care. Tell me…what you need.”

You swear you hear Eddie’s breathing pick up behind you but as you try to turn your head to look Steve grips your jaw forcing your eyes to remain on his. 

“Jesus! And so easily distracted. Did she give you this much trouble last night?”

“No. She told me she needed me and swallowed my cum like a good girl.”, Eddie responds through heavy pants. 

Aggressively, you press your lips to his, relishing in the taste that you missed for almost three days. These men were almost like a drug to you and when Steve pulled away you saw it in his eyes to. 

“Please, Steve. I missed you and how you feel inside me. I need you to make me cum.”

The man gripped your hips as he rolled you onto your back, lifting your other leg to wrap around him. As his mouth traveled down your neck, you were finally able to look at Eddie who was stroking his dick under the blanket as he watched you both. 

Your hand reached out to tug down the sheet making him chuckle. “Do you want to see me play with myself, pretty girl?”

When you nod, Eddie tosses the blanket down to the end of the bed not only exposing himself but Steve between your legs. Your hand reaches out to help him but he promptly stops you, placing your palm against his friend’s back.

“Naw, sweetheart. I had you. It’s his turn.”

With that, the boy slid his cock into your entrance, both men watching your face as it scrunched in pleasure. Steve thrust into you roughly, hitting that spot inside of you that had your eyes rolling back. 

You licked your lips as you watched the metalhead, his moans making your pussy clench. 

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, no.”, Steve whined as his head fell into the nook between your neck and shoulder. Your arms wrapped tightly around him as his rhythm faltered and you felt his seed warm your insides.

“It’s…it’s ok. It’s alright, Steve.”, you cooed as you ran your fingers through his hair. 

“Alcohol isn’t always a man’s best friend.”, Eddie breathily laughs as his own rhythm slows. 

Steve’s head shot up, quickly pulling himself out of you before climbing down your body and placing your legs over his shoulders. You cried out as his mouth wrapped around your clit and he rapidly pushed two fingers into your dripping hole. 

“Oh-oh my god.” You palm floated down, holding tightly to the back of his head. 

Eddie’s shoulder brushed your own as he scooted closer to you, his lips warming your ear. “You did say you needed to cum and if I know Harrington he would never leave a girl he likes unsatisfied.”

Your other hand tried to reach for his cock again but he hastily slapped the back of it before reaching over to slap one of your breasts. “I said no. You’re his right now. Who do you belong to right now?”

“S-Steve.”

Eddie smacked your tit again eliciting a soft moan. “Louder so I know you understand.”

“I belong to Steve! Fuck…” In response to your cries, Steve’s tongue flicked faster against you as his head shook from side to side. “Yes…just like that. I’m gonna…”

You felt the metalheads arm beside you move at a quicker pace as his breathing became more labored. Back arching, your hips grinded against the man’s fingers and tongue as you came. 

Gradually bringing your quivering legs back down to the bed, Steve placed delicate kisses on your nub making you twitch.

Eddie’s body curled inward as he came, his release shooting out and hitting his thigh. 

Usually, they were both quick to clean and take care of you, but you were surprised when Steve laid his head on your lower belly, wrapping his arm around you after bringing your bent knee to lean against his back. Eddie’s head leaned on your shoulder as his hand reached down to intertwine his fingers with your own. You weren’t sure how to react so you just did what felt right choosing to continue to play with Steve’s hair as you pressed your cheek on top of Eddie’s head. 

You don’t know how long you three laid like that but the sound of a phone ringing pushed you out of the pleasurable moment. Steve groaned as he rolled over to answer it. 

“Hello? Harrington house…yeah. Hey, dad.”

“This may take a while. Come on, princess.” Eddie yanked on your hand, guiding you back to the bathroom where he reached for a rag and cleaned you both. “Ok, stay here. I’m going to go grab your clothes.”

He reappeared quickly, beaming as he handed you your outfit. “Now you’ll smell like Harrington and rich people detergent.” You giggled as you thanked him and he disappeared again to throw on his own ensemble. 

As you descended his stairs, your breath caught at how much trash there was everywhere from his party last night. You wondered into his kitchen, finding the trash bags, and began grabbing cups and plates along the way. 

“What are you doing?”

Steve’s voice startled you, your eyes darting towards where he was watching you. “Oh, you scared me. I’m helping you clean. I don’t want your parents to get mad at you.”

“They won’t be home till Wednesday.” His eyes scanned you over, always trying to get a read on you. 

“They leave you by yourself that long?” That genuinely made you sad for him. His folks seemed to be the exact opposite of yours. Where yours at times could be pretty strict and micromanaging, his didn’t seem to care at all. Or didn’t care about their son the way they should judging by the letter you found. 

“Aw. I love it. A girl with a heart.” Eddie grins as he noisily comes down to where you both are. “Unfortunately, babe, I was threatened to have you home by noon. It is currently… a little after eleven and I don’t know how far you live.”

“I’m maybe about 8 miles that way.”, you gesture somewhere behind you. “I, um, I do need you to drop me off a few houses down. I’m sorry. It’s just if they see me hop out of a van…well any car that isn’t Masie’s they will have questions.”

The metalhead nods as he reaches for his jacket and digs for his keys. “Do you mind looping back around, Munson, to drop me back off here?”

“Not a problem, man.”

“Oh Steve, you don’t have to come.”

“Do you not want me to?”, his asks with a forceful tone. 

“Of course, I do… I don’t want to be burden.”

“Interesting.” Eddie muses as Steve grabs his jacket and you three head out the door. “Harrington thinks everyone has a motive. You think you’re a burden. Once we figure out my damage is we’ll win ‘fucked up people’ bingo.”

#################

“Yeah, I’m just right there. Thank you for taking me home.”

“My pleasure.”, Eddie grins. 

“Are you going to be okay?” You both turn to look at Steve who was now leaning forward between the two front seats. “I said I remembered Carol being bitch but Tommy was the one who poured that pitcher all over you, right?”

You nodded before down casting your gaze towards the floor. “It’s not the first time. Freshman year he spilled milk on my dress in the lunch line. In middle school, we all had that field trip to the theater and he pretended to trip, pouring soda down my back. You know, looking back on it, I’m starting to think Tommy Hagan doesn’t know how to drink a beverage.”

They both laugh, making you smile. You’d never seen Steve honestly grin with his teeth before. You reach out with your palm and bring his lips to yours before doing the same with Eddie. 

“I’ll be ok. I’m always okay.” As soon as you jump out of the van, Steve climbs into your seat. You start to head for your house but a thought suddenly hits you. “Oh! Um, I almost forgot. Do either of you have a pen?”

They look around before the metalhead make a tiny aha sound, reaching over to hand you a marker. You giggle as you take it from him, grabbing the boy’s hand and writing something on it. “That’s my line. My parents have their own…for business.” You roll your eyes as you wave and they watch you jog towards your house. 

Eddie smiles as he shows Steve his palm with your phone number scrolled across. 

#############

@manda-panda-monium @sherrylyn628 @local-stoner-bitch

@katethetank @danandphilequalsmemes @luna-munson83

@sidthedollface2 @mandyjo8719

[mostlymarvelsstuff]

To Call You Mine

Chapter 8

Authors note: sorry it's been a while. Hope you enjoy! Stay tuned for a Xmas/NYE special chapter!

Warnings: a/b/o content(claiming,marking, knotting)

Word count: 4705    Nat Masterlist   Marvel Masterlist    TCYM Masterlist

    You grunt as you thrust forward, the sound of the smacking of your hips against your Omegas ass fills the small room. Your grip on the underside of her thighs tightens as you press them further against her chest and she cries out, pleasure mixing with overstimulation as your knot slips into her for the fifth time.

   She whimpers as she shakes and her nails dig into your forearms. You have no doubt small crescent moon shapes will linger, practically imprinted into your muscles at this point. Once her grip on you relaxes you help her lay her legs out against the bed and help her get comfortable while running your fingers through her hair, not bothered that it's slightly damp with sweat.

   She tries her best not to fall asleep underneath you as your fingers lull her into a deeply relaxed state as they massage her scalp and she wraps her arms around you, letting her fingers trace along the edges of your many bandages as she revels in having you so close. You press your lips along her jaw a few times, finding it impossible not to shower her in your affections. 

   “Such a good girl, my Omega is. Did so well for me Natty, took my knot so many times.” She nuzzles into you, purring at the praise

   Despite being tired, that sentence kickstarts her brain. She realizes then just how much of your seed you had filled her with tonight, which means the probability of her soon being with your pup is extremely high. Excitement fills her and her heart swells as she thinks about the life that may soon be growing inside of her and her thoughts move to daydreams of the future with you.

   “Y/n?”

   You pick your head up to look at her, “Yes Natty?”

   She takes a deep breath, forcing her anxieties away before asking her question, “Instead of staying here, can Dima and I go home with you tonight?”

   “Baby, you don’t have to ever ask that. You're my mate, my home is your home. So of course we can go home. And tomorrow we can go shopping to buy Dima everything he needs for his new bedroom, and I’ll buy you anything you want or need. For yourself or the house.”

   “Anything?” she asks, “You really mean that?”

  You nod, “Of course I do. I’m going to treat you the way you deserve. And that means spoiling you any chance I get.”

   Happiness fills her and she can hardly contain her excitement, “I love you” 

   You press a kiss against her temple, “I love you too, detka(baby)”

   Natashas eyes widened at the use of her native language,  “You know Russian??”

  “Well, I’m not fluent by any means, but Yelena had taught me a few words and phrases back in college.” you admit, “I had wanted to learn it, so I could surprise you and talk to you in your native language. But then after we graduated and I thought you chose Bruce, I stopped taking lessons with her.”

   She smiles fondly at you and cups your face, “Let me teach you then? I’d love to be able talk with you in my native tongue”

   “I would love that. Then we can teach our pups so they can all be bilingual too.”

   A purr leaves the Omega as she holds you tightly, “I can’t wait to grow our family”

   You rest your forehead against hers, letting one of your hands brush against her stomach, “That might happen sooner than you think with how much mating we did today.”

   “I hope so” she replies, bringing her hand down to hold yours, and the two of you remain like that for a few more moments until your knot deflates.

  “Now then, if you wanna go home tonight we should get cleaned up and then have Lena bring Dima back, don’t you think?” She nods so you slowly pull yourself from her, careful to not agitate her sensitive cunt. You nuzzle against her cheek affectionately before standing, “I’ll get the bath ready and be back for you, ok?”

   “Mhm. Thank you Alpha”

   You head into the motel's bathroom and turn on the hot water, only plugging up the tub when you've gotten it to a reasonable temperature. You smile to yourself as you notice some bubble bath. It's more than likely for the pup, but you see no harm in adding a few drops into the bath. You're sure your Omega will enjoy it.

   Once the tub is filled you return to the bedroom, where Natash still lays on the bed awaiting your return. She smiles and does grabby hands in your direction, causing you to chuckle at her cuteness, but of course you comply with her demand. You effortlessly lift her and she cuddles into your embrace.

   “You're adorable Natty” you tell her, causing her to smile widely at you from her spot in your arms and she nuzzles against you further

   “Mmm. Eh uv ou” comes a mumble of gibberish, and you laugh at not being able to understand her

   She moves her face away from you enough to glare at you, adding a playful nip at your jawline to showcase her annoyance but it only serves to make you laugh harder. She was far too cute to be intimidating, especially when you had to carry her because her legs couldn’t work properly at the moment thanks to your earlier activities.

   “Baby, repeat that for me, preferably not into my neck?” you ask as you stand in front of the tub with her

   She smiles and places a kiss against your cheek, “I said, I love you.”

   “I love you too”. Now let's get in this nice bath I prepared for us.”

   It's then she notices the bubbles that fill the tub and a smile lights up her features. You mentally high five yourself as you see her happiness and gently set her down in the warm water. She sighs at it soothes her slightly achy muscles and then eyes you expectantly. You carefully climb in behind her, and she practically climbs into your lap to cuddle against you. 

   “Is this ok?” she hesitantly asks as her insecurities show themselves. She doesn’t want to overwhelm you with her need to be near you.

   You kiss the top of her head as your arms wrap around her waist, “Of course it is, my Omega. You're always allowed to be near me. If you need or want to hold my hand, hug me, cuddle with me, sit on my lap or anything else then please do so. You don’t need to hold back your affections, ok?”

   “Okay” she responds looking up at you from your chest, “Thank you Alpha.” 

    “You're welcome, detka(baby)” you reply, causing butterflies to flutter throughout her stomach, “Do you want your hair washed?”

   “Yeah, I think I’ll wash it. It probably needs it”

   You shake your head, “Nuh uh, that's not what I asked. Do you want it washed?”

   She watches as you grab her shampoo bottle and then look at her expectantly. She's not used to Alphas actually caring, wanting to be helpful and take care of their mate. She absolutely knows you're capable of such kindnesses, but when all she's been around is Bruce, a selfish Alpha who only wanted her around to use for his own needs, it's understandable why she wouldn’t expect this. You hope that after she settles into life with you that your kindness and care no longer surprises her. 

   “Yes please” she finally responds, trying her best to ignore the few tears that have built up in her eyes

   After you finish washing and rinsing her hair she insists on helping you wash your body, knowing that your injuries would not only make such a thing more difficult but that they also need to be tended to appropriately. She relishes the way you relax under her touch, it shows that you trust her to care for you, and nothing could make her happier.

   Once you're both washed and clean you climb out of the bath and help dry each other off. You both head back into the bedroom and Natasha makes her way over to her duffle bag to grab herself an outfit. It's then she realizes you had no other outfit as you’d only had the one when released from the hospital. The one you slept in last night. 

   “Alpha, wait” she calls out to you before you can put on your shirt. You stand there in your pants as you watch her dig through her bag, “Here, wear this”

   You smile as she hands you one of your own shirts, an old one that you had given her a few years ago when she had ended up needing to change after an incident with some spilled ice cream.

   “You kept it.” you whisper in disbelief as you grab the old shirt from her extended hand

   “Of course I did. It was something of you, all I thought I would get. I wouldn’t have let it go for anything.”

   You pull it over your head and admire the way it smells like her. She had obviously worn it a lot over the years she had it. You hoped it brought her plenty of comfort and you couldn’t help but wonder if she had done anything more in your shirt though. Perhaps she touched herself dreaming that it was you doing so…you’d have to ask her about that later.

   “Well, now you have all of me Natty. But you can still wear whatever shirt of mine you’d like. I enjoy seeing you in my clothes.”

   She smiles as she grabs her phone, opening up her sister's contact, “Good, because I enjoy wearing them.”

   As Yelena pulls her car into the parking lot she can see that you have already packed her sister's car full of all her and Dimas belongings and she smiles as she looks back at her nephew, “You're gonna go live with your…well, I don’t really know what parental figure term she’ll wanna be called but the point is that you and your mama are going to go live a happy life.”

   She sends a quick text and waits before she sees the motel room door open. She smiles and sends a wave back to you before getting out of the car to hug her sister. Natasha hugs her tight as her excitement radiates throughout her body and Yelen chuckles at her giddiness.

   “Someone is excited hm?”

   “Can you blame me?” Nat replies with a quirk of her brow

   The blonde shakes her head, “Not at all, but I have to tease you about something.”

   As the two Russians talk you make your way to the car's backseat. Dima squeals happily as you open the door and you smile at the pup. You quickly undo his buckles and scoop him into your arms. He grabs at your cheeks with his chubby little hands and you laugh as he gives them curious little squeezes.

   “Hi mister. I hope you behaved well for your Auntie.”

   He looks at you before his gaze turns to your mate and he lifts a hand out in her direction, “Ma ma!”

   Your eyes nearly pop out of your head and you smile wider than ever, “Natty!!”

   Natasha and Yelena both turn your way, worried something was wrong until they see the smile on your face as you rush over to them, the pup bouncing giddily in your arms as you do so.

   “What made you so excited, Alpha?”

  You smile at your pup, “He called you Mama! It was the cutest thing!”

   Yelena chuckles at your excitement, it was quite obvious you didn’t know what she did about the pup which she honestly wasn’t surprised about with how cut off Bruce had made you from their lives.

   “Oh, moya lyubov'(my love). You're so adorable.” she says pressing a kiss against your lips, “He's been calling me that on occasion for the past few months now. I’m sorry I didn’t think to mention it to you.”

   “Don’t be sorry Natty, I’m still excited either way! I got to hear him say it!”

   She smiles again as she takes Dima from your hold. She greets him with a kiss on the cheek which he does his best to reciprocate, “Hi malen'kiy(little one). I missed you.”

   He coos at her with a smile before looking back at you. You ruffle his hair and he looks back at Nat, “Ma ma!”

  She nods, “That's right, I’m Mama. My boy is so smart”

   He turns and outstretches a hand to you once more, “Ma ma!”

   You and Nat stare, wide eyed and open mouthed at each other while Yelena beams at the pup, “Oh he is very smart.”

   Natasha brings Dimas forehead to rest upon her own, “That's right baby. That's your other Mama. She loves us so so much”

   You quickly wrap your arms around them both, kissing each of their cheeks, “I really do. You guys are my world.”

   Yelena hastily wipes away the tears that escape her eyes at the scene before her, but she notices those same tears are spilling from your eyes and her sisters as well.

   “Alright you three, enough with the sappy. Go on and get settled into your new home sestra(sister)”

   Nat breaks away from her embrace with the two of you in order to hug Yelena. The blonde is sure to pepper the pups face in kisses before saying their goodbyes and then she comes to hug you as well. You hug her back and listen to what she whispers into your ear.

   “Thank you, for loving them as they deserve”

   You can only nod in response and watch on protectively as Nat works on strapping Dima into the car. Once Yelena drives away you both get in Nats car and you begin your drive home.

   About an hour later you pull into the driveway, and you can see your car parked in front of your garage door. You make a mental note to thank Vis for following through with that. Your three car garage is plenty big enough to keep Nats car in as well, which also works in your favor because it keeps Bruce from actually having proof she was there should he drive by or send someone else to drive by. 

   “Natty baby, I’m going to go grab my keys from where Vis hid them and open the garage up for us ok? Then we can pull our cars in. I’ll let you park closest to the door that connects to the house since we’ll probably have Dima in your car most often.”

   She quickly agrees and moves into the driver's seat, waiting for you to open the door. Once you do she pulls into her new spot and you pull in beside her, leaving your motorcycle in the third spot, farthest from the door. You make sure the garage door shuts before leaving your car. You lock it and make your way over to Nats to assist her.

   You had only allowed her to carry in Dima, his diaper bag and his bag. You, being your strong Alpha self, brought everything else in. You set Dimas highchair in the breakfast nook before taking his bouncer to the living room. Natasha heads right for your bedroom, remembering where it was from the other few times she had been here over a year ago.

   You join her after a few minutes and can’t help but smile as you see her cuddling Dima on your bed, “I’m not sure if you remember but my extra bedrooms are upstairs. Ones set up as a guest room right now, but there's the other two to pick from as well as a bonus room to do whatever with up there too.”

   “Thank you, for tonight, since he doesn’t have the proper furniture I’ll make a nest in here for him. If that's alright.”

   “Of course. Tomorrow while we’re out you should pick up anything you'd like for your own nest. I have plenty of space in my walk-in closet for your clothes as well as mine so no dressers should be needed, for out here anyway. So even if you do find any furniture you’d like for in here there's still plenty of areas for you to set it up.”

   She looks excitedly around the room, “I can’t wait to have a nest again. I may not have liked Bruce, or the nest I had there very much because the supplies he let me have weren’t that comfortable, but I can’t deny it was the safest place I felt.”

   “Omegas need their nests, at least he wasn’t a complete asshole and let you have that safe space. I’m sorry he couldn’t even be bothered to allow you to be comfortable though Natty.”

   “Don’t worry Alpha, this one will be especially comfortable. And big enough for us both.”

   You join her sitting on the bed, “I think it needs to be a bit bigger too, just in case our pups need to join us.”

   She nods, “Yes, because I’ll want everyone close at first. After Dima was born all I wanted was Lena, Wanda and you and Bruce hated it. He couldn’t even be bothered to realize it was his own fault I didn’t seek him out for safety or comfort.”

   “Well, you're my mate, so you're now gonna get all the safety and comfort you want or need.”

   She hums appreciatively as she hugs you, “Thank you Alpha. But what I really need right now is some food. Can we order take out?”

   You chuckle, “Still like that family owned Chinese food place?”

   She nods enthusiastically and you quickly pull out your phone to look up their menu and order your mate her desired foods as well as finding something for yourself as well.

   Once you eat the rest of the night is spent helping your Omega get comfortable in her new home. You help her put her clothes away in your closet and even help get Dima settled in a nest before settling down to cuddle the rest of the night away.

     You awake the next morning to find Natashas body practically laying on top of yours, her head resting in the center of your chest. You smile softly and carefully grab your phone to snap a picture. Soon after she shifts and begins to softly mumble nonsense under her breath. Eventually she wakes properly and once Dima is given his breastmilk the three of you head out to the kitchen where you prepare breakfast for your new family. 

   The rest of your morning is spent following Nat around as takes in your home's furniture and decor. She makes mental notes of anything she can think of that may need to be purchased for Dima and his new room, as well as taking her own few wants into account. Though she's hesitant to actually bring these things up to you, she's still not used to her opinion and wants actually being taken into account. 

   Once at the store You plop your pup into the child seat in the shopping cart and let your Omega be the one to lead you around the store. Just as you figured she would, she leads you to the pup section first. She starts by grabbing some new toys for him. Some blocks, stackable rings, an interactive talking plush dog to help him learn and a walking toy to entice him into walking more. Then she chooses some bath toys. A rubber ducky, an octopus that acts as a little fountain, and a small little floating boat. Lastly she chooses a few more stuffies for him. A teddy bear with a cute plaid bowtie and a large super soft dinosaur.

   Next is the pup supply aisle. She grabs a few plates for him as well as utensils then picks up a pump and bottles for his breastmilk before adding two sippy cups for his juices to the cart. She also grapes a new pacifier and pack of washable bibs before moving on. She then grabs a few packages of wipes and diapers, as well as picking up a few packages of pup food and snacks for him.

   She looks at the already full cart and then at you, “Are you sure about this? I mean we still have to pick out his furniture and nest supplies, not to mention my things.”

   “It's fine Natty. I may not work for him super often, but Mr. Stark pays me well and I have my military benefits too.” you tell her, grabbing her hand, “You both need things and as your Alpha I will happily provide them for you, ok?”

   “Ok, as long as you're sure”

   “I am. So whatever he needs and wants, put it in. Then we’ll work on your things.” you tell her, smiling as you watch her walk to the end of the ails to pick up a small outdoor swing to attach to a tree, “Good choice”

   “The swings always his favorite when we go to the park.” she replies with a smile

   “Then he’ll love swinging from my giant maple tree” you fondly reply, “Do we need anything else here before looking at nest supplies?”

   She nods, “Just one more thing. I want to get a nice pup monitor system. I never needed one at Bruces because the house was so small. But since his bedroom will now be upstairs I’d feel more comfortable with one.”

   “Alright, let's see what they have then.”

   After looking through the selection the store had to offer she finally decided on one that not only let her hear things but see things too. This way she had far less to be anxious about when she was downstairs, as she could also take the screen with her anywhere she needed to.

   You head to the nesting section after that, and though Nat had packed blankets and pillows those were for actual use not nesting. So she browses through the blankets until she finds a few that she believes will suit the pup and tosses a few more pillows into the cart as well. Now the cart was absolutely overflowing with things, but you were somehow able to fit the crib and the changing table on the rack underneath the cart.

   Before heading to where your mate needs to go you grab another cart, letting her steer the one all of Dima's things were in. She feels like she's being a bit selfish, asking for so many things for him and then herself. But then she remembers that this isn’t a new place for you, it's well lived in. While for her and Dima it's very new, and aside from their clothes she was only really able to grab the bare minimum of necessities so it makes sense to purchase so much. It is very reasonable. Still, she can’t help but feel like it's too much. Surely she would be ok without things as long as Dima was taken care of and had anything he needed.

   Sensing her thoughts you take her hand once she stops in the kitchenware aisle, “Stop thinking so hard baby. I want to get you these things ok? I want to take care of your needs, your wants, and you. Please let me.”

   “Ok, thank you” she replies

   “Of course. Now what would you like me to grab?”

   She has you pick up a new set of pots and pans, as being single, you only had one of each at home currently. You mainly ate out at friends houses, restaurants or picked up fast food and take out. Along with those you also grab some utensils to aid in cooking, a slow cooker and air fryer. 

   She heads to the furniture area next and picks out a small end table with a cute lamp to go with it, as well as a small bookshelf which you also load into your cart. While you had been doing so she had moved on to look at some smaller decor items. Dima happily babbles to himself as she browses the items, and she grabs a few picture frames of various sizes. Her intent is to add Dima all over the space. 

   Finally she finds something that catches her eye. It was a beautiful plate, painted with intricate flowers and design that was easily recognizable as that of Eastern Europe. She feels a connection to it immediately. There is one problem however, she's too short to reach it.

   “Could you come help me, printsessa(princess)?”

    Confused by the pet name your head shoots up, and you glance around the aisle to find who she deems cute enough to call princess. But when you find no one else you realize she was referring to you, and a slight blush settles over the apple of your cheeks. You’d never really thought of yourself as the princess type but if your Omega thought of you that way, you wouldn't object. You would 

   “Princess?” you ask with a raise of your brow

   She nods, “You are my big and strong Alpha, but you are also my beautiful princess”

   You can't help but smile at her, “Thank you detka(baby). Now what can I help you get?”

   “That plate, please.” she says, pointing to the exact one she wanted

   You easily grab it for her and carefully hand it over, “It’s very pretty”

   “I think so too. It reminds me of all of Mama and Papas things from Russia”

   Once her heart is content with her new knick-knacks she heads on to the nesting aisle. She's immediately drawn to a huge bean bag chair, she's sure it would make the perfect base to build upon as it's about 10 feet. 

   “Is that the one you want?”

   She nods enthusiastically, “Yes! It’s perfect!”

   You chuckle, “Alright baby, I’ll grab you one. Go ahead and look at the blankets and pillows. I’ll meet you there.”

   After you get her boxed bean bag into the cart you take a quick shortcut through the stuffie aisle. You remember how many she had as a teenager, and then even in college she had quite a few. You imagine she would have had to leave them behind. If Bruce even let her have any to begin with. So, your mind is set on getting her at least one of the adorable plush items.

   When you meet back up with your Omega she's immediately suspicious of what took you so long and then notices the proud look on your face, so before she places her pillows and blankets into your cart she takes a closer look at its contents. That's when she notices them, a teddy bear and a plush lion. A smile spreads across her face as she feels how soft they both are.

   “You like them?”

    “I love them.” she replies, briefly picking up and hugging the bear

    “I’m glad. Now let's go check out and we can go home and set everything up.”

    Sure enough, that's how the rest of your day had been spent. You helped Nat set up the kitchen before moving onto building all of the furniture that had been bought. While you were busy with that your mate was working on her nest. She decided to have it in the one corner, near the windows that looked out into the backyard, that way she could soak up some natural sunlight and warmth while laying in her nest.

   Once she was pleased with her work she picked Dima up from where he'd been playing on the floor and carries him up to his room. She's impressed by your ability to build things so quickly. And she absolutely loves how his room has come together.

   “Everything looks perfect, Alpha. Thank you.” she says, kissing you in appreciation 

   “Anything for the two of you” you reply, ruffling the pups hair, “Now that we have everything I hope you both can settle in easier.” 

   She hums as you kiss her again, “We’ll feel at home in no time”

Taglist: @wandaromamoff69 @mmmmokdok @nataliasknife @natashasilverfox @when-wolves-howl @danveration @naomi-m3ndez @sheneonromanoff @sayah13 @likefirenrain @nighttime-dreaming @readings-stuff @chaoticevilbakugo @crystalstark02 @wackymcstupid @xchaiix @iaminluvwithnat @lovelyy-moonlight @blackwidow-3 @mistressofinsomnia @that-one-gay-mosquito @yomamagf @yourfavdummy @justarandomreaderxoxo @scoutlp23-blog @whoischanelle15 @lissaaaa145 @eline03 @wizardofstories @imthenatynat @marvelonmymind @fluffyblanketgecko @bitch-616 @dakotastormm  @zoomdeathknight @rayeofmoonlight @naslt @lattayhottay16 @yelenabelov-ed @thatonebrazilian  @marvelwomen-simp @wannabe-fic-reader

[fredericbrumby]

Décor urbain

Zone commerciale

Rue Lavoisier

01960

Péronnas

4705

[lonestarflight]

"Saturn Apollo Program

In this photograph, the Saturn I S-I stages for the SA-4, SA-6, and SA-7 missions were being assembled at the Fabrication and Assembly Engineering Division in the Marshall Space Flight Center building 4705. (Left to right: SA-6, SA-7 & SA-4.) Marshall designed, developed and managed the production of the Saturn I and the Saturn V rocket that took astronauts to the moon. SA-4, an uncrewed test flight of the Saturn I booster, was the final of a series of four tests of the Saturn I first stage."

Date: January 13, 1963

NASA ID: 6413388

[ao3feed-spinaraki]

Spinner of Stories

by hannaxjo

The war has been fought, and the heroes won. Spinner has lost everything. He’s slowly loosing hope in all things. But when being trasported from the hospital he’s been in to a prison, a miracle happens.

Aka: The ending they deserve.

Words: 4705, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Iguchi Shuuichi | Spinner, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Kurogiri (My Hero Academia)

Relationships: Iguchi Shuuichi | Spinner/Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko

Additional Tags: Fix-It, Canon Compliant, Spinner loves Shigaraki, A lot - Freeform, Post-Canon, Kinda, Post-My Hero Academia Chapter 429: I Am Here, Pre-My Hero Academia Chapter 430: Final Chapter: My Hero Academia, One Shot, Feet, a bit - Freeform, but like in a biblical way, I Don't Even Know, Reunions, Kurogiri Needs a Break (My Hero Academia), neither one of them know how to be normal, Religious Imagery & Symbolism

source: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58076581

[tolnas-vault]

Fic Review: Poetry and a Pounding

Reviewed: April 15 2024

Fic Data

Rating: E

Status: Complete

Word Count: 1943

Main Ship(s): Karlach/Wyll

Side Ship(s): None

Other Side Character(s): None

Summary:

Look, fighting devils would make anyone horny. And clearly Karlach and Wyll hang out at Hope's newly renovated House of Hope after said devil fights. That's it. That's the fic. Well that and sex.

Ao3 Stats (As of April 15 2024)

Karlach/Wyll on Ao3: 239

Karlach/Wyll (otp:true) on Ao3: 42

Karlach works on Ao3: 5153

Wyll works on Ao3: 4705

Review (Mild Spoilers Only, 18+ Art Under Cut)

Warnings: Pegging, mild reference to blood (of the, we just finished a battle variety).

Favorite Quote:

“I can multitask. Poetry and a pounding,”

Main POV: Karlach

Fanart For Fic:

By @ponderosa121

Thoughts:

You know what's nice about Wyllach? Their gender everything. Not just a subversion of gender roles, but a complete ignorance of them.

And this fic captures that so perfectly. And no I'm not just saying the cause Wyll gets pegged in this. I say that because he still plays the role of the classic prince charming while he gets pegged. He still recites poetry of his love for Karlach as she carries him to bed to be ravished.

And the two also take some time to tease each other during the act, a trope I'm always happy to see during my smut.

It's sex that feels very real and special to the pair while still being very very hot.

Who I'd recommend this fic to: Wyllach fans for certain. Just all Wyllach 18+ fans. This feels like quintessential smut for the pairing.

[ao3feed-irondadspiderson]

Caught in a wire (soon it will burst)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/51059884 by NordicChill In which Peter Parker earns an internship at Stark Industries in the midst of personal upheaval and tribulations. Words: 4705, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/M, Gen Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Michelle Jones (Marvel), Ned Leeds, Pepper Potts, Aunt May Parker (Marvel), Happy Hogan, Original Characters Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Aunt May Parker & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker Additional Tags: Angst with a Happy Ending, Miscommunication, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Hurt/Comfort, Aunt May Dies, Financial Issues read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/51059884

[sexylonestar]

Nylon # 4705

[ao3feed-fengqing]

Keep it on the Low

by Anghros Feng Xin was an unfaithful husband. Mu Qing have known this for months already, but never had the strength to talk about it. Pretending he doesn't know about his lover's infidelity was not an easy feat, and Mu Qing could feel his own mental stability flowing down the drain. It was worth it, most of the time, but not this night. Tonight, he wants to breathe without the weight that constantly presses his chest. He needs to forget, somehow, who he is and what was happening to him. That's how he ended up calling that number. Words: 4705, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 天官赐福 | Heaven Official's Blessing (Cartoon), 天官赐福 | Heaven Official's Blessing (Webcomic) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Mu Qing (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Feng Xin (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Pei Ming (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Xie Lian (Tian Guan Ci Fu) Relationships: Mu Qing/Pei Ming (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Feng Xin/Mu Qing (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Feng Xin/Xie Lian (Tian Guan Ci Fu) Additional Tags: Mu Qing-centric (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Married Feng Xin/Mu Qing (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Sad Mu Qing (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Bottom Mu Qing (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Top Pei Ming (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Flirty Pei Ming (Tian Guan Ci Fu), Dom/sub Undertones, Condoms, Infidelity, Cheating, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Some Plot, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Teasing, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, And in less than 32 hours via https://ift.tt/10ms4bp

[swampgallows]

Pointer Sisters — Telegraph Your Love Break Out Planet [BXL1-4705], 1983

[thatforgottenbasilisk]

Two Quirkless Teens Commit Plagiarism and Vigilantism!

Words: 4705

(AO3 link)

(here's hoping the readmore works)

Izuku knows that this is a really stupid idea.

Being a vigilante is very dangerous business, he knows that, especially when considering that most people who go into it are full adults with quirks, while he's thirteen and quirkless. He doesn't know what other choice he has, though, because he's thirteen and quirkless and he wants to be a hero more than anything. He figures a few years of experience being a vigilante will at least get him past the UA Entrance Exam since his 'quirk' won't, that is, if he doesn't get himself killed in the process.

It's not like he has any better ideas on how to get into UA. The use of support items is so controlled in the Hero Course entrance exam rules that he's surprised that anybody could get through with so much as an extra thread on their clothes; the weight of the academic portion of the exam is small enough that he's seen multiple posts circulating that boast perfect scores on this part met with rejection due to poor physical performance; he doesn't know any current or retired Pros, so a recommendation is functionally impossible; all in all, he's out of luck on anything that doesn't involve blatant, straight-up cheating- which is technically allowed, as long as the applicant in question can get it past all the observing staff and Principal Nedzu before acceptance letters are sent out- so since he's not taking any chances with that, he has to get a leg up somehow.

Thus, technically-not-illegal vigilantism. Vigilante laws don't apply to the quirkless, so he can't be charged for it, but he can still very much get murdered by any criminal that feels like he's a little too annoying.

Izuku weighed all the pros and cons a million times before tonight, and every time, the pros came out on top. That's why he's decked out in all black but for the shoes, standing on the roof of his apartment building, trying to gather the courage to jump to the next roof over. He actually practiced this kind of jump in the school gym, but that was a maximum of ten feet in the air with mats under him, while this is multiple stories above solid concrete.

When he finally gathers his courage, backs up, and takes a running leap off his building, it feels like a grand victory. He makes it to the other side easier than he thought he would, easier even than in the gym, and he only stumbles a little on the landing. He heaves a few big breaths, puts his hands on his knees, and promptly realizes that he's going to have to do this another dozen times tonight if he doesn't want to just be running around on the ground.

The thought is almost enough to make him turn around and jump back to his own apartment building, or else climb down the fire escape and start running around alleyways, but he decides against both of those options. The rooftops are one of the few things that can give him an advantage out here, considering how small he is compared to even others his own age, he needs the element of surprise or something to keep himself from getting stabbed immediately. Izuku remembers that, and holds the thought in his head for a moment before he decides to jump to the next building over.

With every jump, it gets easier, and with every jump he gets further and further away from home. He can still see the general area where his apartment building is, but he can't see the building itself clearly anymore, which he supposes is a good thing; it means that he's less likely to be identified as "the quirkless kid from that building over there."

He's just made another jump when he hears a crash coming from an alleyway below. He runs over towards it and looks down over the lip of the building he's on, to see a big man in a makeshift costume beating up another, smaller man, while the distant clicking of high heels on concrete fades away in the opposite direction.

Izuku wonders if he should wait for the other vigilante to finish doing his thing and then introduce himself, or just run away and look for more he could be doing. It's clear that the other vigilante has it covered, judging by the zipties on the now-unconscious man as well as the phone call on the man's own cell phone, but Izuku's problem now is whether or not to alert the other vigilante to his presence. He's heard of violence happening between vigilantes, it's on the news all the time, but that could easily be exaggerated or outright lies because of the push to discourage this sort of thing.

The big man drops the guy's phone and starts walking off, and that's when Izuku spots his shoes- bright, quirkless red, just like his own. Decision made, Izuku bangs on the fire escape exactly once, making a big metal sound that catches the man's attention easily. He looks up at Izuku, who meets his eyes and waves. While he can't quite hear what the man's saying, he's pretty sure that it's something that Mom wouldn't want said in the house, because it's an indecipherable hiss just before he starts climbing up the fire escape.

"Why the hell are you out here, kid?" Asks the man the moment he gets up onto the roof. Technically, he isn't even on the roof yet, still standing on the metal of the fire escape, but he's still towering over Izuku, which is what counts at the moment.

Izuku shrugs. "I want to be a vigilante."

The man sighs in clear exasperation, and asks with more force, "And why the hell do you want to do that?"

Izuku shrugs again. "I want to help people. Can't exactly do that as a Pro." He kicks his foot out aimlessly for emphasis, and the man seems to get it immediately.

"Okay then. Guess there's no convincing you otherwise, is there? We're the stubbornest bunch of people anyone's ever met."

Izuku nods in agreement, glad that no real argument has taken place. He'd been getting kind of worried, that the vigilante would make him stop this or else make him go home, but he gave up pretty quick once he noticed the shoes.

"Anyway, you thought of a name yet? I'm Frozone, like the guy in that old movie. Pros have a bunch of restrictions on what they can name themselves, but we don't have those problems." The man- Frozone- says conspiratorially, like he's encouraging Izuku to break some kind of hidden rule.

"Isn't that an ice-related name, though? You're quirkless, so why would you go with a themed name like that when you could be Mr. Incredible, or Mr. Fantastic, or- or even Captain Hero, if you want a historical character with a vague name." Izuku lets himself ramble a little, now that he's got someone friendly listening. Frozone laughs in response, and makes an exaggerated movement that might be an attempt to convey a wink through a completely opaque mask.

"That's where the psychological warfare comes in. If someone hears my name is Frozone, then they're gonna come at me with fire quirks and shit, right? But guess what! I'm fireproof!" Frozone then rolls up a sleeve to proudly show off a bunch of massive, puckered burn scars taking up most of his arm. Izuku barely has time to notice that one of them is shaped suspiciously similarly to a hand before Frozone pulls his sleeve back down.

"Scar tissue's thicker than regular skin, so the more burns, the more fireproofing." Frozone concludes, and Izuku's only a little bit horrified.

"That's all from this?" He asks incredulously, and Frozone seems to balk for a moment before he recovers.

He sighs, and tells Izuku soberly, "Most of it? No. I'm not going to lie to try and scare you off like most others would. I do have some fun scars from the job, but a lot of this is from the other side of the mask. I'm sure there are others who are the same, but they'll all tell you it's all from this. They tell me that it's all from this, because they think I'm too young for this job." He says it in a way that brokers no questions, not even to ask for clarification on how old Frozone really is. He seems like an adult, but he's also got his face covered, so Izuku can only guess based on height and build- Frozone's a giant, but that doesn't mean he's an adult, just heavily implies that he's beyond middle school and thus older than Izuku.

There's silence, for a moment, before Frozone laughs loudly and says, "Don't look so serious about it! Shit happens, that's all. I used to work in a kitchen, and one time a whole pot of boiling water got spilled all over me, you can still see it on my chest. It's not all bad, kid, sometimes accidents happen. I'm just... accident-prone." Frozone says accident-prone in the same way that Izuku sometimes says that Kacchan is his best friend. Sometimes Kacchan is his best friend, and sometimes accidents do happen, but that can't be all there is to it. That's never all there is to it.

"I'm accident-prone too, sometimes. Not like that, though. I don't have any scars." Izuku says plainly, and it's not really a lie. He's got scars on his knees from running too fast too many times and hitting too many different parts of the pavement or the road, but that's not what either of them are actually talking about. They're both quirkless, though. They both get it.

Frozone nods in what seems to be approval. "Good. Now, considering you're probably, like, twelve- "

"Thirteen." Izuku interrupts. Frozone waves his hand in the air like he's physically batting Izuku's correction away.

"Whatever. Considering that you're a fetus, do you even know how to throw a punch?" Izuku's a little insulted, but he's short for his age and his voice hasn't cracked a whole lot yet, so he can't blame Frozone for calling him young.

"No." Izuku answers, and Frozone sighs.

"Why'd you even come out here, then? You even pick a name before cutting holes in that sock on your head?" Izuku's mask is not a sock he cut holes out of, thank you very much, it's a balaclava that the store said was one-size-fits-all and apparently wasn't.

He didn't pick a name before coming out here, though. He shrugs sheepishly, and Frozone sighs again. Izuku's beginning to sense a pattern here.

"Okay, that's your homework. If you come back out here, you better have ideas. You will not let the heroes or cops name you, got it? That's how people get stuck with stupid shit." Izuku nods sharply, as though he's a soldier nodding to a drill sergeant, and Frozone crosses his arms, still looking disappointed.

"Cool. Now, I'm not going to let you run around and get the crap beat out of you because you don't know what the hell you're doing, and if you're dumb enough to be out here in the first place, you're probably dumb enough to keep coming back. I'll teach you how to fight, and trust me, it's going to suck. You're a little twig right now, so building that muscle memory's going to hurt like a bitch. I won't blame you if you decide to quit because of this, alright? You're gonna get more banged up out here by me than you will by most criminals later on, so if you're going to back out because of injuries, I suggest you do it now."

Izuku stays standing where he is. He and Frozone stare at each other for a moment or two, before Frozone nods.

"Alright. Here's how you throw a punch."

---

"Oh, fuck."

Izuku's been doing this for three months, now, and he'd like to say that he's pretty okay at throwing punches, jumping around rooftops, and getting out of fights he can't handle. He can even hold his own when Kacchan doesn't feel like being his best friend, which is nice, especially considering that Kacchan seems to respect him a lot more now that Izuku's given him a black eye that one time.

They exchange nods in the hallways now. Kacchan is acknowledging his existence. In public. Willingly. Izuku feels like he's living in a dream.

Frozone is a constant, and though Izuku's pretty sure he hasn't figured out where he lives, he's consistently in the same areas of town at the same times of night, even though before Izuku started being a vigilante he never saw Frozone around these parts of town at these times of night. He still hasn't thought of a name for himself, but that's not for lack of trying- his current favorite is the one that was stuck on him by another vigilante, a woman called Electrode with very intense mom energy, who had actually seen the movie that Frozone stole his name from, and summarily dubbed Izuku as 'Mr. Incredible.' He likes it, especially since it makes him and Frozone more obviously a unit, and because it's vague and gives no hints about his quirk or lack thereof.

All that said, he has never heard the sheer panic and dread come from Frozone that he just heard in that single utterance alone. Izuku looks around worriedly, but he doesn't see anyone around them; before he has the chance to look up, however, Frozone places a single huge hand on top of Izuku's head.

"Do not look up, kid. That's how he'll know we've noticed him." Frozone's voice is quiet and serious, and Izuku's growing more and more confused as Frozone starts looking for an exit to the alleyway that they are currently in.

"That's how who will notice? Who are we running from?" Izuku whispers urgently, and Frozone just shushes him.

"Eraserhead," he hisses in a half-reverent whisper. Izuku's never heard of the name before, but it must belong to someone pretty important on the vigilante scene for his presence to cause this kind of reaction in the up-to-now cool and unbothered Frozone. He removes his hand from the top of Izuku's head and immediately places it on Izuku's shoulder, in order to steer them both out of the alleyway in a way that is obviously pretending to be casual, at a pace that can best be described as the closest a powerwalk can possibly come to a dead sprint.

"Is he a criminal? A vigilante? A hero? Who exactly are we avoiding, here?" Izuku mumbles under his breath, knowing that Frozone is just close enough to be able to hear him. A name offers only questions and no real answers, and Izuku would like to know exactly how scared he should be- is he running away from a night in jail, or from getting decapitated?

"He's one of those underground heroes, the kind that's chill with people like us. Thing is, he's a teacher, so he's real protective of kids and I do not want him trying to arrest me for child endangerment." Frozone hurriedly explains as they continue their powerwalk through the back alleys behind what's a popular shopping district in the daytime, and criminal hotspot at night. There are a few soft noises above them, quiet enough that Izuku wouldn't have noticed if he weren't specifically paying attention to anything coming from the rooftops, and he'd bet good money that Frozone's glancing up every so often through his mask.

"How would he arrest you for child endangerment? I'm not your responsibility, you're not my real dad." Izuku asks, and then quips, hoping to lighten the mood at least a little. Frozone doesn't respond for a moment, and then Izuku suddenly notices the homeless-looking guy who just dropped in front of them from the fucking sky.

... He's been spending too much time with Frozone lately.

"Hello, Frozone. Long time no see." The man says cordially, and Frozone's grip on Izuku's shoulder grows marginally tighter. He's got the same icy faux-polite tone as a teacher that's about to assign him several detentions, and Izuku knows that this must be Eraserhead. Nobody could pull off that tone without several years' worth of interactions in teaching children.

"Evening, Eraser. Changed my routes, you know how it is." Frozone says conversationally, in the tone of a child who's just been caught with his hand in the teacher's desk drawer. Eraserhead narrows his eyes at Izuku, who is doing a really quite admirable job of standing still and not shaking in fear. Eraserhead seems like a scary teacher. He probably doesn't teach kindergarten.

"Right. And who would your associate be? I haven't seen you around before." Eraserhead directs the last statement directly at Izuku, as though he's giving him the benefit of the doubt and giving him the chance to prove that he's just a really short adult. Izuku cannot prove this, though, and discretely kicks Frozone in the shin in lieu of answering. Frozone seems to understand the message immediately, and after a moment's hesitation, he and Izuku both start running at full speed in opposite directions.

He'd never expected to be able to outrun or even escape a pro hero, and for a fleeting moment, he imagines that he could defy his own beliefs about himself, and have another wild story that he wishes he could tell Kacchan. Unfortunately, this hope is brutally murdered in a matter of seconds, when he and Frozone are both tangled in what appears to be a bright white scarf, but feels like the stuff that rope climbing harnesses are made of mixed with some kind of metal.

"So it seems the rumors are true. It's not enough that you're out here running around and trying to get killed, you had to bring a kid into this, too. Trying to look cool for your brother or something, Frozone?" Eraserhead asks coldly, mostly just addressing Frozone, who was also caught up in Eraserhead's scarf-thing in the same matter of seconds as Izuku. No wonder this guy's a pro, he's got his own unique weapon and mastery of it, too.

"Hey! He didn't tell me to do anything, I'm a feral gremlin child! I don't even know who he is under the mask!" Izuku shouts in Frozone's defense, echoing Frozone's own exasperated nicknames for him to boot. The both of them stare incredulously over at him- Eraserhead's got it written all over his face, and he's learned to read Frozone's expressions even without seeing his actual face.

"... Yeah. What he said." Frozone echoes in a mystified voice, and Eraserhead glares at the both of them.

"Kid, I hate to do this to you, but I'm going to have to call your parents. At least wait until middle school to get into vigilantism." Eraserhead says drily, finally actually addressing Izuku himself. Izuku, for his part, is mostly insulted about the extreme lowball on his age- he is not that short- and nearly reveals personal information before thinking better of it. Of course, he's still going to reveal personal information, but he's not about to go blurting out his year or age to a guy that's about to arrest Frozone for something he's not actually responsible for. Izuku can make his own decisions, thank you.

"I'm in middle school, for your information, so by your own words I'm all clear. Also, my mom's on night shift and good luck getting a hold of my dad, so I honestly think it would be easier for everyone involved if you'd let me go." Yeah, he's definitely spending way too much time with Frozone. He would not have been this mouthy three months ago, but it's kind of late and he's not taking any of it back.

Eraserhead pinches the bridge of his nose, while Frozone quietly snickers beside him. If Izuku could free one of his hands, he'd give him a fist bump.

"Be that as it may," Eraserhead begins, obviously aggravated, "I'm still going to have to arrest you, Frozone. You've been letting him hang around you while actively getting into dangerous situations. That constitutes a violation of child endangerment laws. You know I can't control what you do with your own life, but there is a line, and you were supposed to respect that."

Frozone is silent, for a moment, before he sighs in seeming defeat. "Here goes my trump card and all semblance of peace..." he mutters to himself, just barely loud enough for Izuku to hear him, and clears his throat to speak.

"Unfortunately, Eraser, you cannot arrest a minor for child endangerment." Frozone solemnly intones, and Izuku and Eraserhead both stare at him in naked disbelief. It's so silent that Izuku swears he can hear the rats scurrying away a few buildings over, and after a moment, Frozone clearly sees the need to continue.

"I'm seventeen," he clarifies, as if that makes it any better.

"You're a child." Eraserhead echoes in obvious shock. They've clearly known each other for a while, so Izuku supposes that Eraserhead's caught off guard by this development far more than Izuku is.

"Technically speaking." Frozone replies.

"... For how long?" Eraserhead asks, before making a face like he's just realized exactly what he's asked.

"My whole life." Frozone shoots back, because he, too, is a smart-ass. Izuku definitely picked it up from somewhere.

"You know what I mean. How long have you been hiding it from me? We met two years ago!" Eraserhead looks like he's about two seconds away from pulling at his own hair in frustration, the same way that Izuku sometimes does when it gets too long and a little too easy to grab.

"Well I'm sorry that I was a particularly tall fifteen-year-old! I didn't exactly hide anything, I thought everyone knew!" Frozone shouts back in increasing exasperation, and Izuku fights the growing urge to laugh. It seems like Frozone had the opposite problem to Izuku, and simply used- is still using- it to his advantage.

"Well, this certainly is a situation! Personally, I think we could all process this development a lot better if nobody was tied up! Don't you agree, Frozone?" Izuku exclaims cheerfully, and Frozone starts nodding along.

"... I have to call both your parents." Eraserhead says, with no small amount of dread in his voice, and Frozone immediately starts shouting in protest.

"Hey! No! Fuck that, no way in hell, you're not gonna get me killed because I go out and do the same shit you do!" Frozone straight out starts screaming, and Izuku knows he's not the only one taken aback. "Most of those 'kitchen accidents' aren't from that restaurant job I talked about, you know! I only worked there for a couple months, and my only real injury was the boiling water thing! You think my old man would have a problem putting me in the ground permanently? News flash, he fucking won't! Let me the fuck out, Eraserhead!"

Frozone's thrashing around in the scarf-thing, and Eraserhead's grip on it must have slackened just enough in his shock that Frozone manages to get free. Before Eraserhead manages to get the scarf in a grip that would allow him to throw it at Frozone again, he's already gone, leaving Izuku alone with the guilty-looking pro hero.

"... Just go home, kid. Keep yourselves out of trouble." Eraserhead says in the most defeated tone that Izuku's ever heard from an adult, especially one in authority, but he doesn't need to be told twice. Izuku runs home earlier than usual that night, and realizes that while he could technically be angry at Frozone for leaving him there, he really, really isn't.

---

The next time Izuku sees Frozone is two weeks later.

Honestly, he'd thought that Frozone was avoiding him. He still kind of thinks that, considering that he doesn't see him in any of their usual meetup spots, but instead behind a dumpster where Frozone is kind of bleeding out.

He's probably not actually bleeding out, the logical part of Izuku's brain says, but that part is mostly drowned out by his internal screaming. There's a massive piece of glass stuck in Frozone's side, and the broken windows of the restaurant that Frozone is leaning against tell him where it came from. Izuku's not too sure about what to do in case of a stab wound, only that he shouldn't pull out the thing that the person was stabbed with.

"Hey, hey Frozone, can you hear me?" Izuku asks, not touching anywhere near the wound in fear of aggravating it.

"Yeah," Frozone responds quietly, after a moment of coughing. "I hear you, kid. Sorry you had to see me like this."

"No, it's fine, not your fault someone got you." Izuku immediately reassures, hands still hovering around the shard of glass, unsure of what to do.

"Didn't see the bastard coming. It's fine, though. There's, uh, there's a burner phone in my pocket, go ahead and grab that, alright? You're gonna call that number, and you're gonna tell the person on the other end of the line that Natsuo's just escaped another ransom attempt. Then give 'em this address. Got that?" Frozone says, very businesslike, and Izuku hates that Frozone's real name is probably Natsuo, and that he didn't get to tell him on his own terms.

Izuku nods, and grabs the burner phone. He dials the only contact, and Frozone takes his mask off and tosses it into the dumpster above them.

"This is Endeavor Agency's emergency line." A gruff voice immediately picks up on the other end, and Izuku nearly chokes in surprise. How did Frozone get this kind of connection? Why does he have Endeavor's emergency phone line in his pocket?

Still, he's got a job to do. "H- Hi, um, we're on the corner of 5th and Main, in the alleyway behind the dumpster, um. N- Natsuo just escaped another ransom attempt? That's what he told me to tell you, I'm sorry, sir, I just- I just got here, I don't know what's happened- " He cuts himself off as the dial tone drones loudly into his ear, and he snaps the phone shut. His stutter's gotten a lot better recently, but this is an entirely new situation, and he's still sort of reeling from the idea that Frozone isn't as infallible and strong as he's always seemed. Even when he was yelling at Eraserhead, there was a sort of defiance to it, but now he's laying in a pool of his own blood- not dying, Izuku feels like he'd know if Frozone was dying- and looking pretty pale.

"He hung up on you, right?" Frozone asks, and Izuku doesn't like that he can now see the exhaustion in his face, rather than reading it from his mask, voice, and body language.

Izuku nods, and hands the burner back to Frozone.

"I'll tell you the full story at some point. Once I'm medically cleared from this, probably. Sorry to spring all that shit on you with Eraserhead, and now with this..." Frozone huffs to himself. "This isn't how I'd have liked to tell you any of that personal shit. I'll be fine, I don't think this hurt anything vital, it just hurts like a bitch."

There's silence between them, for a moment, before Frozone quietly says, "That is my name, you know. Natsuo. You can call me that if no one's around, I don't really care. You know enough about me already, may as well, right?"

There's silence for another few moments. Natsuo finally says, even quieter than before, just barely above a whisper, "Hey. You're scaring me, kid."

Izuku jolts a little bit, and starts twisting his hands together nervously. "I'm... I'm sorry. I don't- "

Whatever he was about to say- unbeknownst to even himself, really- is drowned out by the approaching roar of fire coming from above the rooftops, followed by sirens off in the distance. Natsuo starts pushing Izuku away, and he gets the message and starts running.

He doesn't want to be caught by Endeavor.

[whywishesarehorses]

BLM Mustangs for Sale - Halter Started Fillies

Mantle Ranch has a trio of halter started yearlings! These fillies can lead, load in a trailer, and have their hooves handled.

1 YEAR OLD BROWN FEMALE HORSE (4704) 11hh

1 YEAR OLD BROWN FEMALE HORSE (4705) 11hh

1 YEAR OLD SORREL FEMALE HORSE (4710) 11hh

[hollandorks]

saved

matt murdock x original female character

chapter two

Summary: Fleeing from an abusive relationship, Grace St. James goes to the only place she still has a friend: Hell’s Kitchen. She’s forced to live in her car and beg for a job from the law firm Nelson, Murdock, and Page all the while making sure her past doesn’t catch up to her. Enter Matt Murdock: cocky, handsome, and willing to let her live with him for free until she can afford to get a place of her own. Grace is drawn to Matt in a way she’s never been drawn to anyone, causing sparks to fly as they inevitably grow closer and closer.

a/n: Fuck it, I want everyone to go ahead and see our favorite blind lawyer so I’m posting ch 2 immediately! However--not sure when the next update will be. 

Series Masterlist

word count: 4705

Grace took a deep, grateful breath of air as she and Ryan walked. “So, what time does this law firm open?”

Matt’s POV 

Things had been going decently well for Matt Murdock for once. 

Of course, he mused as he walked to work that morning, he’d been through enough that it made sense that things got to be uncomplicated. For a while, at least. 

He and Foggy had helped Karen through law school and she had taken the bar exam. He was confident she’d pass. Foggy and Marci were engaged. Matt’s best friend was actually his best friend again, and had even asked him to be best man. The firm was still getting paid in pastries and other random things–like one woman coming in to clean every other week–but it had become a much better mix of pastries and actual money. 

And Daredevil…well, Daredevil was still around. But Matt had finally found balance, or something close to it, between his life in the shadows and his life as a lawyer. Crime still happened. It was Hell’s Kitchen, after all. And the justice system couldn’t catch everything. But he wasn’t almost killing himself every other night and he wasn’t putting his friends in danger every time he investigated something. 

Matt settled into his desk for the morning. Foggy and Karen weren’t there yet. Foggy was probably off bribing Mahoney with cigars for his mom again, and Karen had some sort of appointment. 

He didn’t mind. He liked these quiet moments in the office. Sometimes he didn’t even do work–not that he’d tell them that–but simply basked in the peaceful air as he sipped coffee or ate breakfast. 

As Matt pulled out a sheaf of papers he’d meant to read the night before, there was an unfamiliar scent and heartbeat coming up the stairs. He straightened. A client, maybe? He slipped his tinted sunglasses on as he focused on the woman coming tentatively up the stairs. She had papers in her hands and smelled freshly of coffee. And she was nervous. Really nervous. Her pulse fluttered. He could hear her taking deep breaths as if to calm her nerves. 

Matt waited to hear her knock at the door. A minute passed. Two. The woman seemed to be considering leaving when she finally knocked. 

“Come in!” he called, because a blind man couldn’t play door greeter very well. He came around his desk to the doorway as the door creaked open. He waited, holding his cane loosely. 

“Oh–Hi,” the woman said, her voice strong despite how obvious her nerves were. To him, at least. Her hands were trembling slightly around her papers and her purse. “My name is Grace St. James. Are you–Are you part of Nelson, Murdock, and Page?” He heard her shift as she no doubt looked around the empty office. 

“Murdock. Matt Murdock. Mr. Nelson and Ms. Page are both out at the moment, but I’d be happy to get started on helping you with your case. Please, come take a seat.” He withdrew into his office, letting his cane bump against things as he went, before settling into his chair with his hands folded professionally. 

The woman–Grace–hesitated, then sat in the chair across from his desk. Matt forced himself not to notice too much about her, to respect her privacy, but that little part of his brain that had developed during puberty whispered, She’s beautiful. He didn’t need Foggy there to corroborate it for him, although he was certain he would the moment he saw her. 

“It’s not a case,” she said as she sat. Her back was straight but her hands were still shaky. 

Matt frowned. “Not a case?” he repeated, as if unsure he’d heard her right. People didn’t usually just…drop by. And she hadn’t asked for any of them by name, so she wasn’t a friend of Foggy’s or Karen’s. 

“I’m actually here for a job. I’ve heard that your firm has a reputation for helping good people, and that you might need a secretary.” Her voice wavered just slightly on the word good. “And I’d be really, really grateful if you could consider me for the position.”

Matt’s confusion only grew. He could tell her clothes were expensive, and she had diamond studs in her ears. Her perfume was so slight it practically reeked of money, of privilege. Only those really nice perfumes could be so subtle that he could stand them with his enhanced sense of smell. 

So what was a woman like that doing here, asking for a job? And why was she nervous? 

“A secretary,” Matt said. “Well, yes, we do probably need one of those, or an office manager. Karen–Ms. Page–was our office manager until she started working with us as a partner.” 

He knew she realized he didn’t directly answer her. She shifted in her seat. As she did, her purse shifted too. He scented metal and new plastic. The phone in her purse, so new it was practically untouched. Another odd thing to add to the list, he thought. 

“Please, Mr. Murdock,” she finally said, the desperation clear in her voice. “I’ve just–had to start over with my life, and I don’t have any other options right now. I’ll work as your maid, if you need me to. Part time, even. One day a week, I don’t care. I just really, really need a job. Please.” 

Matt’s heart panged with sympathy. She was starting over–so maybe her things were nice, but she no longer had money. It happened often enough. But there was something else there, too, some other note in her voice and in the sharp tang of the sweat that was pricking over her body. 

Fear. 

This woman was not only nervous and desperate. She was afraid. 

He’d always had a soft spot for beautiful women in trouble. Or who were trouble.

Foggy would call him a sucker. 

“We do need a secretary,” he said again, slowly this time. “And I’d be happy to consider you.” 

Some of the tension left her body so quickly he almost smiled. “Oh, thank you. I–here, I have my resume–Shit. Fuck–Sorry! I can…read it to you.” Her wince was so loud he was pretty sure a regular blind man could have heard it. 

Something about the way she spoke was really endearing. 

Matt could practically hear Foggy’s loud sigh in his head. 

“No, it’s alright, if you just want to leave it here I have to discuss any hirings with my colleagues first. But we do help good people, and if you’re alright with that, you might be a good fit. Especially if you don’t mind occasionally being paid in pastries or a free accounting consultation by some of our clients.” He flashed her a grin that he knew was charming. 

A startled laugh slipped from her lips. Her heartbeat slowed and calmed. His head tilted automatically to catch the subtleties of the sound. 

Matt smiled at her, a real smile, and he heard the little jump in her pulse as he did it. 

“Pastries sound great,” she said with another laugh. Matt had to admit, he liked the sound. Some people had really annoying laughs. Hers was nice. Cute, even. “As long as I at least make a steady paycheck of some kind. I really do need a job, more than you know.” 

“Then I’ll give you an unofficial offer. I’d be fine with hiring you–especially since right now you’re our only applicant.” He laughed lightly as he laced his fingers together on the desk. “But I need to talk to the others first, if you don’t mind. Is your phone number on your resume?” 

“Yes, of course. Yes, my phone number’s on there, as well as my email.” She slid the papers onto his desk and tapped them twice. “Straight in front of you on the edge.” He immediately liked her more. Most people weren’t accommodating to his disability, choosing instead to pretend like it didn’t exist. Or that he was a complete invalid. 

Matt sensed her hesitation before she finally said, “I know this might sound…weird. But when you call my references, can you–can you maybe not say exactly where you’re calling from?” The noise of her teeth rasping over her lower lip. 

Matt arched an eyebrow. A weird request, yes. But the fear was back again, and this woman was practically shaking with it. “Alright. I’ll talk to the others this afternoon and call you either this evening or tomorrow.” 

“Thank you,” she said vehemently. “Thank you. Even if I don’t get the job, thank you for even considering me.” 

“Of course. It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. St. James.” 

“You too, Mr. Murdock.” 

He couldn’t help the words that slipped out. “Please, call me Matt.” To cover for his slip, he added, “You should know upfront this is a pretty laid back place to work. Foggy’s my best friend, and we’ve been friends with Karen for years, ever since she started working for us.” 

He heard the soft smile in her voice. “That sounds lovely.” There was a note of wistfulness in her voice. “Thanks again…Matt. Talk to you soon.” 

“Nice to meet you,” he called softly after her. He listened to the front door creak open then shut. Her footsteps paused right outside and she gave a small little sigh. Then her footsteps retreated outside, where he heard her do a little jig on the front sidewalk. He laughed, then sighed. 

Saint James, he thought idly. The patron saint of pilgrims, with his name attached to a beautiful woman starting over, who had fear loud in her heart. 

Matt sighed again. Of course he was going to hire her. 

Foggy was going to smack him for having a soft spot for a beautiful woman. Again. 

–

Grace’s POV

Grace’s first thought was that Matt Murdock was handsome. Then she noticed he was blind. Then she was too nervous, too afraid he’d turn her away, to notice much else. 

But he was giving her serious consideration, and that was enough for her. She had been so excited and full of hope that she’d done a little dance right there outside the office. Thankfully, it was New York, and no one passing by gave her a second glance. 

Grace immediately pulled out her new phone and texted Ryan the good–well, hopefully good–news. She’d spent another night in her car, which really hadn’t been so bad. Ryan had given her a couple of blankets and a couple of yoga mats to sleep on. With her bags in the front seat, she could let the back seat down and sleep stretched out with her lower body in the trunk. It hadn’t been that comfortable, but it was better than nothing. She’d showered and ironed her clothes that morning and even watched the baby for a few minutes while Jess showered and Ryan got the restaurant ready to open for brunch. 

Without her old phone, Grace could almost pretend Dean Bennett didn’t exist. Almost. 

She decided to walk around Hell’s Kitchen and explore a little since she hadn’t gotten much of an opportunity the day before. It was a nice day, warm but not too warm, the late August air not stifling for once. 

Maybe Nelson, Murdock, and Page could point her in another direction if they didn’t hire her, or if they could only hire her part time. Matt seemed nice, really nice, and willing to help her out. She hadn’t been able to help the little kick her heart had given at his charming smile. 

She’d realized in the same moment that she hadn’t found a man attractive in…a long time. Too long. And maybe it was just because Matt Murdock was nice to her, but damn if she hadn’t taken advantage of his blindness to study him openly for a moment as they’d talked. 

She sobered a little as she walked past a delicious smelling coffee shop and decided to duck inside. 

Well, Matt Murdock might not be nice. Because Dean had a charming smile like that, that same politeness, the same easygoing manner. 

There was no telling what Matt Murdock was like behind closed doors, and she knew that better than anyone. 

She shuddered. She thought she would know intuitively if Matt wasn’t nice, and so far she hadn’t had a bad feeling about him. That couldn’t always be trusted, though. She’d already proven not to have great judgment when it came to men. 

Grace bought herself a coffee and continued her walk. By the time she finished her coffee, she had a relatively good understanding of Hell’s Kitchen, and it was lunchtime. So she stepped inside a little restaurant that had good prices and a decent crowd to sit and kill some time. 

She’d brought her laptop with her and found herself double-checking that all of her location services were still turned off. She’d deleted all of her social media and email accounts, creating a new one just to put on her resume. So far, Ryan and Jess and their restaurant–the Family Vine–were the only contacts in her phone. 

Not having social media was kind of like having a phantom limb. Her fingers kept moving automatically to open some app or another, only for it not to be there. 

Grace searched local bookstores. 

Two hours later, an unknown number popped up on her phone, the ring startling her so badly she jumped. But it wasn’t Dean, whose number she still knew by heart, and she made herself calm down a second before answering.

“Hello?” she said as she packed her laptop up. The restaurant had started to empty and she hadn’t even noticed. 

“Hi, Ms. St. James?” a sweet, feminine voice said. “This is Karen Page at Nelson, Murdock, and Page?” 

Grace straightened excitedly in her seat. “Yes, speaking. How can I help you, Ms. Page?” 

“Hi! Matt was telling us about your informal interview this morning, and even though you were just here, the three of us would like to interview you together if you’re available.” There was a male voice in the background and a muffled laugh. Karen sighed almost imperceptibly. 

“Yes, yes of course! I, uh, I’m available anytime you are. Today, even.” She glanced at her phone and saw that it was nearing two o’clock already. 

“That would be great. Can you come around four-thirty? I know that’s short notice, but our last meetings of the day will be done by then so we have some time before closing.” Grace liked how warm Karen Page’s voice was. She also liked the idea of working with another woman–she’d feel safer with one there. Hopefully. 

“Four-thirty is great. You have no idea how much even getting an interview means to me.” Grace bit her lip, hard, to keep from gushing anymore. Was her luck really, truly turning around? Could it be so easy? So simple? 

“Great. See you soon, then.” As Karen hung up, Grace heard two men talking in the background and a loud laugh from Karen. 

“See you,” she said vaguely, unsure if Karen had even heard her. 

Grace hurried back to Ryan’s again to dump her stuff and maybe freshen up before her actual interview. She texted Jess and Ryan both to make sure it was okay that she came into the apartment and asked if the baby was sleeping. Jess responded that the baby was with her mother for the evening while they both worked in the restaurant, and that her car’s parking pass was on the table. 

And so, at four-thirty on the dot, Grace found herself knocking again on the door to Nelson, Murdock, and Page. 

It opened almost immediately, and a man with a little bit of a beer gut and brilliant smile greeted her. 

“Grace St. James!” he said excitedly, swiping his dirty blonde hair back. It was longer on top and shaved on the sides. He had a round, open face that immediately made her feel at ease. His eyes flickered to the bruise on her face and he briefly looked alarmed before he went back to smiling brightly. “I’m Foggy Nelson. Thanks for coming by again on such short notice. Come in, come in! Coffee? Tea? Uh…I think that’s all we have besides some questionable tap water. Matt! We need one of those water cooler things! What kind of law firm doesn’t have a water cooler?” 

Grace stepped inside as Foggy chattered happily at her. She stared at him, overwhelmed. He seemed like maybe he’d had too much coffee.

Matt Murdock appeared in the doorway to his office. His tinted glasses still obscured his eyes, but he wore a wide smile. He’d lost the suit jacket he’d been in that morning. His shirtsleeves were rolled up to the elbow. Okay, he really was good looking, Grace thought. 

“Foggy,” Matt said softly, “Let the poor woman breathe. How many cups of coffee have you had today, anyway?” 

“I’ve seen him have at least four, and I haven’t even been here all day,” said a familiar female voice. She was tall and blonde and beautiful. “Hi, Grace. Sorry about Foggy, he loves meeting new people.” She must be the Page portion of the firm. 

“Like a dog,” Foggy said with a laugh. “Also, probably seven. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Marci–”

Karen groaned as Matt said, “Foggy, I beg you, do not finish that sentence.” 

“I was just going to say she was snoring! She has a sinus infection! Get your mind out of the gutter, Murdock.” Foggy and Matt both laughed. Karen smiled at them and gave her a look that said, I know, right? 

Grace felt herself growing a little more at ease. What had Matt called it? Laid back? This was more than laid back–these people were…family. And she actually really liked it. 

“Sorry about them,” Karen said softly as she came to stand next to Grace. “I feel like I’m a third wheel all the time. Ouch,” she said, nodding towards the bruise on her face. “Looks painful. Hey, guys?” The last two words were louder and aimed at the still bickering friends. Grace didn’t miss how Karen didn’t ask about the bruise, and neither had Foggy. “Don’t we have a job interview to conduct?” 

Foggy froze then nodded. “Ah, yes. Job interviews. Karen, how did we interview you? Conference room?”

“I’m pretty sure I just kind of started working here,” Karen said with a laugh. “I don’t think I was interviewed.”

“I think the conference room is the only place with enough seats,” Matt said with a little tilt of his head. “Ms. St. James, if you don’t mind?” He gestured towards the room next to his office, which had a long table and four chairs. 

Grace was suddenly nervous despite the inviting atmosphere in the office. She nodded a little and went into the conference room, sitting in the seat farthest from the door. Foggy grabbed the chair next to hair and dragged it so three chairs would be facing her. She felt like she was about to go on trial. 

“Chair in the middle, bud,” Foggy said to Matt, whose hands felt around until he found the seat. All three seemed entirely at ease, while Grace thought she might throw up. She quickly pulled out two more resume copies and slid them across the table to Foggy and Karen. 

“Sorry,” she said towards Matt. “I tried to figure out how to print a Braille copy.” 

He made an odd face. Foggy beamed. 

“She was going to make you a Braille copy, Matt. I like her already!” Foggy winked at her, and she blushed. 

“Listen, Ms. St. James,” Matt started. 

“Grace,” she said. She made a face. “Ms. St. James is my mother.” All three of them smiled at her–Matt’s kind and reserved, Karen’s soft, Foggy’s wide and bright. 

“Grace,” Matt said with a nod. “You have a degree in communications from Cornell. Honestly, you seem a little…overqualified to work here.” 

“Um,” Grace said, even though she’d been expecting the question. “I mostly went there because of my boyfriend at the time. You can see there’s…a bit of a gap in my resume after I graduated. So I haven’t actually worked in that field…yet.” She almost winced. That sounded bad. She was already twenty-six. That meant she was four years out of college. Four years of not working a single job because Dean paid for everything. 

Pathetic. She was pathetic. Pathetic and spoiled, as Dean had told her before. 

Foggy shrugged. “Still. Great school. Seems like your grades were good too. Why work here?” 

Grace tried to subtly wipe her sweaty palms on her slacks. “Because, as I told Mr. Murdock this morning, I’ve recently had to start over. With everything. I need a job, any job. I’m kind of desperate. And someone said you guys have a reputation for helping people so…I figured it was a good place to start.” 

Karen and Foggy exchanged a look. The blonde raised an eyebrow. Foggy shrugged. Karen shrugged. Foggy then looked at Matt, who seemed to know he was being looked at because he dipped his chin. 

Grace was trying very hard not to panic. They were clearly communicating silently with each other, but she had no idea what was being said. Was it good? Bad? She couldn’t tell. 

“Well,” Foggy said as he leaned back in his seat. He smoothed his tie. “That was kind of our only question, because someone who went to Cornell seems way too smart to work here.” 

“We all went to Columbia Law,” Karen said with a small eyeroll. “Though Grace here probably is smarter than you two boneheads.” 

Foggy gasped and pressed a hand to his chest in mock affront. “You wound me, Karen!” 

Karen must have sensed Grace’s growing apprehension, because she said, “What he means to say is, Cornell was the only thing we’re curious about. As far as we’re concerned, the job is yours. We really are pretty desperate for some help around here, and you seem like a good fit.” 

Grace stared at her blankly for a long moment. “You’re giving me the job?” 

“Not exactly,” Matt said. Grace’s heart sank. Here it was. The other shoe dropping. “We actually want to hire you as an office manager. Not a secretary.” 

“And maybe a social media manager,” Karen added. “Because we don’t actually have social media. Or a website. So if either of those things are something you can do, we’d pay extra.” 

Grace’s heart was pounding wildly. She opened her mouth but absolutely no sound came out. 

“If you don’t accept, I really might cry,” Foggy said, voice still cheerful. “Matt obviously is no good at filing, and neither am I, and Karen’s too busy trying to show us up as a fancypants lawyer that I feel bad asking her to do any part of her old job.” 

Matt and Karen both laughed. “It’s true,” Karen said. 

“So…what do you think, Grace?” Matt said softly. She focused on him. Something about him settled her, calmed her. Her breathing eased and another little bit of tightness dissipated from her chest. 

“Yes, of course I want the job,” she said quickly. “And I can do a website, and create any kind of social media you want. I just–don’t want my name on it. Please.” 

“Ah, off the grid,” Foggy said sagely. “I see. Seems reasonable to me. As for pay, etc–” 

Foggy then outlined her pay, the vacation time, and the “shitty but at least we’ve got it” health coverage. 

Grace had to clench her fists hard to keep from crying in front of them. Her nails bit into her palms and the pain helped ground her. It was generous. Beyond generous. It wasn’t as much as some places might pay for, but she already was a little bit in love with how they treated each other and how kind they were to her. She loved the idea that they were flexible, that they helped people, that they were willing to take a shot on her despite her obvious lack of experience. 

“Thank you so much,” Grace said when Foggy declared the interview “officially over, thank God and all his saints or whatever Matt says.” They all stood and went out into the main waiting area of the office. 

“Please say you can start tomorrow,” Karen said softly, conspiratorially. “I’m in desperate need of another woman around here.” 

“I heard that!” Foggy said from where he was pouring another cup of coffee. “What about Marci?” 

“Marci’s great, but she doesn’t work here,” Karen said patiently. “Besides, she kind of scares me.” 

Foggy chuckled. “Me too,” he said. 

“Yeah, me too,” Matt said with a laugh. He tilted his chin down towards Grace. “Marci’s Foggy’s fiance. She’s a very important defense lawyer.” 

“And hot!” Foggy said. “Don’t forget that she’s hot.” 

Matt sighed good-naturedly. “Apparently she’s hot.” 

“Oh come on, Murdock–” 

“Don’t start with me, Foggy,” Matt threatened. Grace couldn’t see his eyes, but she could see the corners of them crinkle behind his glasses. 

Karen sighed and crossed her arms. “You guys are going to scare Grace away before she even starts.” 

Grace startled at her name. “No, no, I–It’s…fun. You weren’t kidding when you said it was laid back,” she said to Matt. 

“It’s a circus,” Karen said. “I would say it isn’t always like this, except it really is.” 

“Yeah,” Matt said with a raised eyebrow. “It really is. She’s not kidding.” 

“Well, that’s what happens when three best friends work together, right?” Grace said. She didn’t want to admit that she was soaking it all up. She had never been in such a happy atmosphere. Not since high school, when she used to go to Sunday night dinners with Ryan’s family. Hearing her three new bosses joke back and forth, the affection they held for each other crystal clear, made her want to work there all the more. “At least I won’t be bored, right?” 

“That’s the truth,” Foggy said. “Especially when we get paid in the occasional live chicken. Actually–got any experience catching chickens?” 

Grace stared at him, unsure if he was being serious or not. “I–Could probably figure it out.” 

“Foggy,” Matt said on a sigh. “Grace, let me walk you out. I’m heading home anyways.” 

Foggy coughed and said something under his breath that Matt clearly heard, because he sighed again. 

Matt gathered his jacket and a cane and then held out his elbow. “Come on, I’m getting you out of here before Foggy scares you off.” 

Grace laughed softly and took his arm. She wasn’t really sure how to lead a blind person–did he even need leading with a place so familiar to him? She didn’t want to ask, though, in case it was rude. 

Instead, as they descended the stairs, she said, “I really don’t think I can ever express how grateful I am.” 

Matt waved off her words with his free hand. “It’s nothing. You said we have a reputation for helping good people. That’s just what we do.” 

Grace swallowed hard. She wasn’t so sure she qualified as a good person. “Well, thanks all the same. Um–which way are you headed?” 

They stepped onto the street and Matt carefully stepped away from her. He wrapped both hands around the top of his cane and leaned into it. He pointed. 

“Oh. I’m headed the other direction. Thanks for walking me out. And the job.” She bit her lip, still feeling nervous.

“See you tomorrow, Grace,” he said after a moment. He smiled at her, so devastatingly charming that her heart stuttered a little. He was a man who knew he looked good, even though he couldn’t see himself. 

Dangerous, her mind whispered. Tempting, the rest of her said back. 

“Goodnight, Matt,” she said as she turned and walked off. 

She took a deep breath as she walked. She couldn’t believe she’d gotten the job. She’d gotten a good job. The pay was decent, the work was actually kind of relevant to her degree, and the office seemed like it’d be a lot of fun, if she let it. 

And, if she was being honest with herself as she thought about Matt Murdock’s easy smile and rolled up sleeves, the view wouldn’t be so bad either.

Next Chapter

taglist:

@zaminoo​ @thetrinitytest​