#ANOTHER SUNDAY ANOTHER CHAPTER Y'ALL

[aberooski]

As the writer of the fic, my favorite least favorite piece of OUAD lore is that Zane canonically exists within the world.

[cinamun]

Well friends, its officially official .... in the case of TFA, Bishop Blackburn is deceased. He was found early this morning by The Wildfangs and reduced to one femur and one ankle bone. They even ate the man's durag....

But let's explore a little more just who this man was in the Drakerverse:

Bishop arrived as a regular character on December 17th, 2022 as the Problematic Boyfriend™ of Jayce Carruther's mother, Mercy Carruthers. He's been a menace ever since.

*Note: he did arrive in the story earlier that year, but didn't play a major role until he started fucking the mains momma

We all love a good villian so when he was "killed" in Let It Burn, written by my sister-in-storytelling @therichantsim, and she asked if I could find a use for him, I couldn't pass it up! I honestly had no idea how he might fit, until I did! His entire ruthless, felonious persona can only be attributed to Rich, I just morphed him a teeny bit for the purposes of his role in TFA.

I am grateful that I got to play with a maniac for as long as I did. However, as we move into this new chapter, we will not be seeing Bishop again in Things Fall Apart. Will there be another more diabolical evil villian lurking around the corner? Perhaps.... perhaps not.

See y'all Sunday!

[hellfirenacht]

Wing Man Part 9

Fic Summary: Steve 'the Hair' Harrington is your best friend, and is constantly striking out. Sick of this, you two make a deal; you'll wing man for each other. Hooking Steve up with dates is easy, but he finds himself struggling to find you a date. At least, until Dustin starts talking about his new cool friend Eddie.

Chapter Summary: You and Eddie go on your first date, but the past always lingers. 6.5 words

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Note: Y'all get to be a little horny in this one. As a treat <3 Also the poll results said you don't mind small details of what you all are wearing, and that you wanted to dress moderately slutty so I tried to keep that in mind. Enjoy!

Eddie kept his promise. For the next few days the two of you found yourself talking on the phone a lot between work shifts, band practice, and school. Late night talks became the norm, the two of you spending your evenings opening up to each other bit by bit. 

You told him about Family Video and gave him the scoop of which of his peers were renting from the back rooms, and he told you about his own shifts at the Hideout and about the weird things his drunk usuals would say. Bev had been giving him shifts again, which was at least a small steady income compared to his usual dealings.

The next Tuesday you had gone to the Hideout with Eddie, this time with him picking you up and dropping you off after. It wasn’t a date, not exactly. It was just two people who had an interest in each other hanging out with other people. Eddie had said the main reason it wasn’t a date was because he was technically working, and he didn’t want your first official date to have his band mates tagging along. Of course, that didn’t stop them from giving him knowing looks and giving him shit whenever your back was turned. Eddie would carefully keep tabs on how often they would do it, and would make them pay later during their campaign. 

That was fine with you, you were still more than happy to just spend time with Eddie and learn more about him. Watching him play guitar was mesmerizing and it was nice to be able to gawk at him in peace during his set without Steve telling you to close your mouth and stop drooling. 

After the set and dropping everyone else at home, the two of you had spent another two hours in his van just talking. Now that everything was out in the open, that awkwardness that had been between the two of you had faded into nothing. You found that talking to Eddie was as easy as talking to Steve, and you loved hearing about all of his stories from Hellfire and hearing him talk about his music. 

The only reason the two of you didn’t stay up until morning parked in front of your apartment building was because Eddie was reminded by you that he was still in school and needed to get some sleep for class the next day. When you kissed his cheek again before sliding out of his van he made a mental note to beg Bev to go on with Corroded Coffin on a Friday or Saturday for once. 

Halloween was on a Thursday this year, and you had made it very clear to Keith that you were not going to be working that night, or the next day. You had saved up all your bartering chips of overtime and days where you came in when anyone else couldn’t. You had put in your time off request three months in advance. 

Work could have you any other day of the week, but Halloween was yours and yours alone. You’d work Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Arbor Day, and Groundhog Day. You’d forgo Easter Sunday, New Years Eve and Day, and you wouldn’t bat an eye at Valentines day. But Halloween? That was yours and yours alone. 

It was the one day out of the year that you felt like you could be you. Even after the monster that is Hawkins High tried to strip you of being yourself, you pushed through and came out the other side of graduation with a new determination to never water yourself down again. You worked your ass off to save for your own run down apartment, to find clothing that you loved and not just what your peers told you to wear to blend in. 

If you wanted to show up to a shift on Halloween dressed as Han Solo with a Teddy Bear, you damn well could and no one could stop you. Not even Keith. 

But lucky for you, when the schedule for the week was posted that Monday, your name was thankfully cleared for Thursday and Friday. Keith could handle himself for those two morning shifts, and Robin and Steve could handle the evenings. It’s not like Family Video was really busy or open late on Thursday nights and you trusted Steve and Robin to handle the Friday rush. 

You woke up that Thursday feeling like it was your own personal Christmas. You took your time to wake up, have breakfast and get ready for the day. You almost called Eddie before you remembered that it was still a weekday and he would be in school. Besides, it would be weird to call him before your first date, right? 

Steve had given you a crash course on first dates over your shared shifts. His advice was a mixed bag to say the least. Every time he gave you insight into the male mind on how to act or dress or talk on a first date he would then backtrack when he remembered who he was talking to and who this first date was with. 

“Listen, you got this far by being a weirdo.” Steve had finally said after the conversation had basically gone nowhere. “I guess keep talking about eating bats and fake being drunk and you’ll get the guy.”

“You know, when you put it like that I’m starting to see why maybe this whole casual dating thing hasn’t worked for me in the past.” you had replied. 

Most of your Halloween was spent by yourself, but that wasn’t a bad thing. You started off with a nice slow morning of carving your annual jack o'lantern, having learned the hard way to not put it out early, lest it rot or be smashed by asshole kids in the neighborhood. The afternoon was spent around town, just taking in the crisp fall air and the decorations set up by all of the shops.. 

The hypocrisy in this town was stunning sometimes. Every other day of the year you had been followed by whispers of the Satanic Panic and any idea that something other than the norm might be related to something more nefarious was ostracized. Sometimes you could understand where the fear was coming from, after all the Byers kid had disappeared, presumed dead, and then had come back all within a week a few years ago. Barbara Holland had been killed by chemicals in the Hawkins Lab. There was even the fire at the mall that had killed the police chief, as well as the local lifeguard. It seemed like every single year some new tragedy would strike the small town. 

You couldn’t wait to run away to somewhere else. 

But for now, the day was yours and the night was Eddie’s. Your stomach flipped every time you thought about meeting up with him tonight. You had built up this production a lot over the past few days. You had seen the shadow cast about once a month since you were old enough to go at 18, give or take a few times where you had other plans. 

Each time you had gone, you had checked the board hoping to see the announcement that they would be opening auditions to be part of the cast or crew. But the show was tight knit, and that rarely happened. 

But at least that meant that tonight you could share something with Eddie other than your origami. Not that you were embarrassed by your hobby, but compared to running a D&D campaign and being in a band, it didn’t feel like much. 

You never seemed to run out of things to talk about with Eddie though, during your late night talks on the phone. When you weren’t captivated by his tales of running Hellfire or the inspiration for his music, you two would talk about everything else. Music, movies, the occasional small town gossip, anything you two could think of. You had already compiled a small list of movies that only one of you had seen, because all new relationships always start with “What do you mean you haven’t seen this movie?!”

That’s how you and Steve and Robin had bonded over those first few months. It probably wouldn’t be that much different with Eddie. 

After a long stroll through the town, a quick stop in to your favorite coffee shop for a treat, and a bout of window shopping in the Halloween aisles of local stores, you made your way home. You considered dropping by the high school to see Eddie as the afternoon came to a close, but you didn’t want to seem desperate. You’d see him soon enough anyway. 

As the evening went on, you popped in a few thematically appropriate movies that you watched between doing your hair and make up and passing out candy to kids who came up to your door. You may or may not have saved some of the best candy for yourself. And Eddie. He liked Snickers right? You hoped he did. 

You were ready a good two hours before you needed to meet him at the theater at midnight. You were starting to wish that you had invited him over to pre-game before the movie, but unfortunately you had listened to some of Steve’s advice and were left sitting around in your fishnets and dark lipstick for your first date with Eddie. The only thing you weren’t wearing yet were your tall boots which you only broke out for this showing because they were too uncomfortable to wear anywhere else. 

Steve had relented that you were going to dress weird for the date, considering the day and the nature of what you and Eddie were doing, but he said it’d be too weird to get ready with him. 

You decided that next time would be different. Next year, you’d have Eddie over all day, and the two of you would spend the day carving pumpkins and listening to music and arguing over what movie to watch as you passed out candy. Eddie would probably be stingy with the candy so that there would be leftovers for the two of you at the end of the night, and you’d be giving bars out by the handfuls. Maybe the two of you would cough up the dough for some full sized candy bars for kids with really fun costumes and-

What were you doing? You weren’t even officially dating yet, the first date hadn’t even happened! You were getting ahead of yourself, and thinking way too far ahead. You didn’t need to be thinking these domestic thoughts about a guy you barely knew. 

Get your shit together. You scolded yourself. Let’s try and go on one date first, then maybe have dirty thoughts about him and then I can have mushy domestic thoughts about him if things go well.

You were really hoping things went well. 

After around 10 pm the trick-or-treaters tapered off and you dumped the remaining candy in your bag for the movie. Your hand itched for the phone around 10:30, your brain telling you that it was getting late and that you should call Eddie now if you wanted to talk to him before bed, and you reminded yourself that you’ll see him in an hour. 

The hour could not go any slower. 

“Steve, I’m freaking out.” you said into the phone the second he picked up. “What the fuck am I doing?!”

“You’re going on a date with Eddie Munson to a midnight showing of a movie that has no plot.” he yawned. 

You resisted the urge to hang up on him and instead paced around your living room, holding onto the phone. 

“Steve, I’m serious!” 

“So am I, the more you talk about the movie the less sense it makes.” 

You lightly smacked your head against the wall. “How do you do this every week with different girls?! I’m going on one date and I feel too damn antsy.”

The chord to your phone stretched to its limit as you walked towards your bookshelf and pulled out your senior year yearbook, flipping through it. 

“Dating is like any other skill, you have to practice and actually do it to be any good.” Steve sighed into the phone. 

“I hate that.” you said, looking through the Ms. Maddison... Morrison.... Munson. 

No photo available, what the actual fuck? You flipped through the book, to the club section but there was no trace or whisper of the Hellfire Club at all in the 1984 Hawkins High yearbook. 

“This was your idea.” Steve reminded you as you pushed the book away and reached for 1983’s yearbook. 

“And? I have a lot of ideas and not all of them are good.” You flipped through the book, trying to find Eddie’s name and photo. Why hadn’t you thought of this before?

“So... are you chickening out, again?” You could hear the mild annoyance in his voice. 

“No! I’m just... I’m just nervous, alright? I haven’t been on a date since Junior year. Wait no, there was that horrible study date in Senior year. It’s been a while okay?” you groaned. 

You scanned the Ms again, stopping for a split second to snicker at Chris Morrison’s horrible yearbook photo. His hair was an unfortunate overgrown sandy haircut that looked like a bad mix of a mullet and a bowl cut, with a fringe that fell in his gray eyes. His face was stoic and he looked like he wanted to kill whoever was in charge of the camera. 

A few photos later was Eddie Munson’s Junior year photo. Somehow seeing his face in your yearbook made your shoulders relax a little bit. You at least could confirm that you had indeed gone to school with him. His face was softer looking, and his hair fell just below his jawline.You saw a peak of his Hellfire shirt, the same one in Chris’s photo. He was smiling, well as best as a teenage boy who doesn’t want to get his photo taken would smile. It was endearing, and something in the back of your mind started nagging at you that this Eddie looked more familiar. 

“Hello? Anyone home?” 

You snapped back to reality, remembering that you were on the phone with Steve. “Yeah, sorry I got distracted. What was that?” 

“I said you shouldn’t be nervous.” Steve repeated. “You like him. He likes you. It’s not that complicated. He wouldn’t have shown up that night if he didn’t have an interest in you.”

“Oh, but what if it is that complicated, Stevie?” You sighed dramatically. “After all, the three of us seem to be horribly unlucky in love.”

“You’re telling me.” Steve admitted. “Three dozen dates later and I’m still looking for that spark.” 

Steve had been head over heels for Nancy Wheeler, and had his heart crushed. You hadn’t had any luck in love ever, with only a few failed dates under your belt from high school, and two one-night stands. Robin... you couldn’t get a read on her. She seemed to have a crush on someone, and Steve definitely knew who it was but they weren’t telling you. It hurt a little, but you knew that the two had a bond that you wouldn’t be able to touch. If Robin wanted to tell you, she would. 

Okay, you did ask and make sure that the person she was crushing on wasn’t Eddie. The last thing you wanted was to date someone who your friend had feelings for. Thankfully, Robin had quickly cleared up that she didn’t even know Eddie and therefore can confidently say that she had absolutely no feelings for the guy, romantic or otherwise. 

Steve spent the next half hour calming you down and talking to you as you flipped through your high school yearbooks, picking out Eddie’s photo in each one. There was even a small blurb about the Hellfire Club in your freshman yearbook. As you delved deeper in time, his hair got shorter and shorter, and he looked more and more familiar. 

Where did you know this guy from? 

When the clock struck 11 pm, you said your goodbye to Steve, checked yourself out in the mirror one last time, and made your way to the theater. 

It was twenty minutes until show time when you parked your car and made your way into the lobby. The yellow lights illuminated the crowd of people who had shown up for the annual midnight screening, and you took a deep breath as you scanned the crowd. 

Just for tonight, you felt like you could breathe. 

Freaks and weirdos from all over had come together for a night of sex jokes, aliens, music, and yelling at a screen. The room was filled with people covered in leather, and lingerie and costumes from both the show and other media. There were a few familiar faces, and you spotted two people that you recognized from the shadow cast in the corner. They looked... upset. Not at each other, you recognized the way they were talking to each other. You and Steve and Robin had given each other the same looks before when Keith had fucked up the schedule or a customer pissed one of you off. 

Whatever was the matter, the two quickly finished their bitch session and made their way back into the theater. You wondered what that was about, but didn’t have time to think about it too hard because a hand fell on your shoulder. 

Your breath caught in your throat when you turned around to see your date. Eddie’s hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, which really showed his jawline and really long neck you wondered what the square of his jaw would feel like against your lips. He hadn’t ditched his battle vest or leather jacket you weren’t complaining and he was wearing a cropped shirt . You had to force yourself to not look at his exposed midriff you’ve never wanted to bite someone’s hips before holy shit, or note the fine trail of hair just below his belly button that dipped into his dark ripped jeans where a peak of blue boxers were peaking out. Did he taste as good as he looked?!  He had swapped out a few of his rings, but the obsidian one on his right hand stayed, and the chains on his jacket, bracelet and wallet made a noise with every movement he made. What would that sound like if he was on top of you? 

A small voice in the back of your mind told you that Dustin Henderson could rent any movie he ever wanted ever forever as long as you worked Family Video. 

You pushed those sudden X rated feelings down, and smiled up at him. “Hey, I’m glad you made it.” you managed to say, tongue tied as you thought about what you’d rather your tongue suddenly be doing- 

Eddie’s eyes drifted down your outfit in the same way that you were sure you had just looked at him. The idea that he might also be thinking similar thoughts about you made your heart race before he turned away. He was now looking around the lobby with wide eyes, taking in all the different people his expression was somewhere between elation and disbelief. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many freaks in person.” he said, his eyes darting around to the crowds of people. 

“You aren’t at Hawkins High and these aren’t children.” you said, watching his expression. “It’s why I like coming here each month. I get to meet people who are more like me.”

Eddie took in the scene, and you took in Eddie. Horny thoughts aside, you wondered how often he got to see people who weren’t cut from the standard Hawkins cookie cutter. From what he’d told you during your late night calls, his social circle was tiny. His only friends were in Hawkins, except for one Ronnie Ecker. 

You had escaped the monster that was Hawkins High School, even if you were still stuck in the beast of a town. You didn’t have much room to judge his smaller group when Steve and Robin were the only ones who you reliably hung out with on a regular basis. Even then, you knew that the two of them had a connection that went deeper than just coworkers and people who went to school together. 

Did Eddie have someone that he connected with the same way Robin and Steve did? There were so many things about him that you still wanted to know about him. 

A voice called your name, and your eyes lit up as you saw Robin and Steve walking over to the two of you. Excitement then shifted to confusion, wait, what were they doing here? Did they come here to crash your date? That didn’t seem right, not after Steve had put in so much effort into making sure that this date actually happened. 

You and Robin hugged and Steve gave a slightly awkward hello. Eddie was looking between you and your two friends, looking just as confused as you felt. 

“Hey, Robin!” you said, trying to figure out what was going on. “What are you guys doing here?”

“You invited us a month ago, remember?” Robin asked. “You made a big deal about dragging us to the Halloween showing this year and Steve and I got tickets. But don’t worry! We know this is a date so me and Steve are going to sit at the opposite side of the theater and make sure that we don’t bother you. Of course, Steve said that we shouldn’t come but we had already bought the tickets and I wanted to come and see this again.”

Oh... oh shit. Right. You had done that, hadn’t you? Before you and Steve had even started this whole thing, you had been bugging him to come see it with you. Robin had come and done it once with you earlier at the end of Summer, but Steve hadn’t been able to make it. 

In a sea of lingerie, leather, and sequins, Steve stood out like a sore thumb in his yellow sweater and tall hair. For once, he looked like the odd one out. Robin had always had a slightly edgier style, and with her sharpied black nails and chain necklaces, she fit right in. 

You were going to give Steve so much shit for it later. 

“Look, I didn’t expect us to actually come out tonight until Robin called and demanded I pick her up.” Steve said, apologetically. 

“I see what’s going on.” Eddie spoke up, looking between the three of you. “Mom and Dad are here to chaperone your first date.” 

You threw your head back and cackled at the joke, laughing unabashedly. 

“Steve’s the single mom with six kids.” Robin said. “But I’m not Dad, I’m more like the cool weird aunt.” 

“‘Why am I always the mom?!” Steve demanded. 

“Because you have six kids, Steve, keep up.” you pointed out. “But we all know Dustin’s your favorite.” 

“I’m telling Wheeler.” Eddie chimed in. 

“I’m not the mom, I’m the babysitter!” 

“You literally gave Max lunch money two weeks ago.”

“That doesn’t mean-”

“Oh look! They’re starting to tag the Virgins!” You suddenly said excitedly. 

Steve and Eddie stopped and stared at you, as your eyes darted to the two cast members that you had seen earlier. Whatever they had been bitching about was now put aside, and they were now walking around, each holding a bright red tube of lipstick. They had approached some guy and drew a giant V on their forehead. 

“Right, I didn’t really tell you about this.” you explained. “So at each showing, if you’ve never seen the movie in theaters you’re called a ‘virgin’. So, there’s a bit of a hazing ritual for newcomers. They call it the Virgin Sacrifice here. Basically, they draw a V on your forehead, and then before the show starts they’ll have the Virgins come up on stage, do some sort of dare or task, and then the movie starts.”

“How bad is it?” Steve asked as Robin grabbed his arm and started dragging him to the cast members. 

“It’s usually not that bad.” You said. “When I was a Virgin Sacrifice a few years ago they had me ‘Pledge Allegiance to the Lips’ and taught me how to do the Time Warp on stage while the sprayed me with silly string.” 

“When I went they had all of us blow up a bunch of red balloons and then hit them with thumb tacks when they were still in our mouths.” Robin laughed. “They called it ‘The Great Cherry Popping’.”

“Oh my God, I remember that one guy had crazy lung capacity and blew up like, ten in a row!” you cackled. 

“What do you think they’ll have us do?” Eddie asked, and for a second your brain froze as you felt his hand wrap around yours as you started to approach the cast members. You could feel the metal of his rings, warmed by his skin, pressing into yours. 

“They always mix it up every month so it’s hard to say.” you said. “But they always go crazy for the Virgin Sacrifices on Halloween.” 

“Got a fresh Virgin for you!” Robin says, shoving Steve in front of the Columbia actress who looked Steve up and down as if she were going to eat him. 

“Aww, a cute little Virgin just for me?!” she squealed. “You shouldn’t have! Come here, Big Boy.”

Steve didn’t have much time to react as a large V was placed on his forehead with the lipstick. He didn’t seem to mind, however, when Columbia leaned over and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, leaving a large lipstick stain. 

“You know, maybe I’m seeing the appeal of this.” He said as you pushed Eddie up next. 

“A two for one deal for ya, Columbia!” you said proudly. 

“Two?!” Her eyes lit up, and you could tell that she was having the time of her life. “Is it my birthday?!” 

She looked at Eddie and pushed his bangs back as she drew the V on his forehead and gave him a smooch on the cheek as well. You could already tell what Steve was thinking when he looked at you. Probably something like It’s not normal to let another girl kiss your date or something like that. And okay, fine, you were planning on wiping the lipstick off of Eddie’s face before you went in for the kiss tonight, but you didn’t see any reason to be jealous. You knew exactly what was going to happen tonight. Hell, when you first came you ended the night with three different lipstick marksI Really, Steve and Eddie were getting stiffed tonight. Besides, Eddie hadn’t given you any reason to not trust him, and why start anything if you didn’t trust a guy?

“His name is Eddie.” you offered up and Steve gave you another look that you translated to Are you wing manning your own date?! You ignored it. 

“What a coincidence! My boyfriend’s name is Eddie!” Columbia said excitedly. “You two even have the same leather jacket! Do you also ride a motorcycle?”

To your delight, Eddie didn’t miss a beat. “Not yet, but I might one day. Just a van for now.”

“Ohh, I bet a lot of fun happens in the back of your van.” she winked, and you could see a slight blush spread across his cheeks and the tips of his ears. “You should come join me and my Eddie for dinner next week, we’re having Meat Loaf!” 

You and Robin burst into a fit of giggles at the joke, as Eddie and Steve made eye contact for a moment and just shrugged at each other. Columbia gave Robin a wink and sauntered off to another group with their own Virgin to sacrifice.

With your Virgins freshly marked, snacks in hand,  and the doors to the theater opening, you parted ways with Steve and Robin as they made their way to the front row and you made your way to the back with Eddie. 

“The back row has my favorite call and response.” you explained as the two of you made your way to an open pair of seats. “And there are a lot of lines that are standard with every show, but if you can think of a good one, don’t even hesitate. Just call it out, okay? I’ll also warn you when people are about to start throwing things.”

“So, this is a bad movie where we are encouraged to yell and throw things?” Eddie asked, a wide grin on his face. “And where we sit depends on what we say?”

“Yes, it’s complete chaos.” you said. “I love it. Every show is always a little different because of the audience participation. Keeps it fresh, you know? Also, if you sit in the back you won’t get popcorn on your hair.” 

“Jeff dumped a bucket of popcorn in my hair once.” Eddie said. “It took me a week to get all the kernels out.”

“How the hell did that happen?!”

“I was sitting down, he was walking over with popcorn to bribe me for some roll, and then there was popcorn and butter everywhere.”

“I take it you didn’t give him the advantage he wanted?” you giggled. 

“No, he desiccated a snack in front of the Dungeon Master. He’s lucky I didn’t kill his character off when that happened.”

“The more I hear you talk about Hellfire, the more I wish I had been able to join in school.” you sighed. “You always sound like you have so much fun.”

“You... sometimes I do run some one-shots.” Eddie said, messing with one of his rings. “I haven’t done a game for beginners in a while but I could get the others to suck it up and run one for you.”

A warmth burned in your cheeks and you smiled at him. “Really? You’d run a game for me just so I could play?”

“Oh yeah, but just so you know, your movie isn’t the only thing that has its own hazing ritual.” Eddie smiled at you. “I tend to go extra hard on new players, just to make sure that they’re really up for the challenge of being in Hellfire.” 

You can go extra hard on me. You just barely managed to keep that as an inside thought with the way he was looking at you with those intense doe eyes. You definitely didn’t miss the subtle way his eyes darted to your lips for just a split second. 

Oh, you were so going to kiss him tonight. Not yet, not right now. If you went in for the kiss now, you just knew that you wouldn’t want to stop kissing him. And as much as you wouldn’t mind that, you also really wanted to share this experience with him. 

“So, is that a Hellfire thing, or a you thing?” you asked. “Did any former Dungeon Masters have hazing rituals, or are you just that sadistic?” 

“Chris didn’t need to haze anyone, if that’s what you’re asking.” Eddie said. “Hard to haze new players if he never let anyone new play.”

“Touche.” 

“He was actually in the theater program the last semester he was with Hellfire.” Eddie said suddenly, as if he had just remembered. “He got roped into doing backstage work for the Spring play and ran Hellfire into the ground. He’d always change the schedule of when we could meet up, and then get pissed with everyone when he couldn’t keep up.”

“I heard that doing tech for the shows is always a lot of work.” you said. “But it really sucks that he got pissed.”

“He ended up fully quitting Hellfire halfway through the semester, and that’s when I took over.” Eddie explained. “I had already been running the club anyway, but that just made it more official.” 

The lights in the theater flickered on and off, signaling the start of the show. 

“They’ll probably call you up to be part of the Virgin Sacrifice.” you said. “If you want to back out, no judgment. Your hair covers your shame, so you could probably duck out”

“I’ll do it.” Eddie said. “It’s only fair, if I run a one-shot for you and refuse to go easy on you, the least I can do is get on stage for your interest.” 

Had anyone ever shown this much interest in something you cared about? Robin had come with you before, and Steve had to be dragged here but this felt different somehow. Shit, the more you talked to him, the more you were tempted to ask him to leave the theater right now and show you the back of his van. 

“You know, I really always wanted to be part of the shadow cast.” you explained. “I’d love to be on stage as Columbia or Janet, hell I’d even love to be Riff Raff.”

“You want to be on stage in your underwear once a month?” Eddie raised an eyebrow. 

“It looks fun, but they never have auditions. It’s a pretty tight community, so you really have to know someone to get in. The most I’ve been able to do is sign up for clean up duty after the show. They give you tickets to the next show if you do that.”

The house lights went down, and you waited for the stage lights to come on and for the cast to come up and introduce the show and start the Virgin Sacrifice. The idea of seeing Steve and Eddie up there made you so giddy, and you couldn’t wait to tell Eddie more about the cast. 

But the stage lights never came on. Instead the movie just went and started and soon a bright red pair of lips were on screen, singing to everyone. 

They were skipping the Virgin Sacrifice? You had been going to this show for years and they never skipped the Virgin Sacrifice. And on Halloween? What was going on?

You were disappointed, but there was no use letting it ruin your evening. You shook it off and focused on singing along and teaching Eddie the important things to shout and when. How could you be too disappointed when Eddie was having so much fun? He was a natural, and witty and was quick to pick up on the jokes. 

It helped even more that he was still holding your hand. 

But something felt off during the whole show. There were a few members of the cast that you didn’t recognize, and they were giving a less than stellar performance. Choreography was wrong, the lip syncing was off, and Janet’s bra and slip were too... sexy. You also felt the man with the long sandy hair playing Rocky would have better been suited for Riff Raff.

Whoever coordinated this show, didn’t do a very good job. You felt bad that Steve and Eddie’s first time at the show wasn’t the best, especially after you had talked it up so much. 

If Eddie noticed the lackluster performance, he didn’t say anything. Maybe you were being too nitpicky, he was having a blast after all. Eddie was cracking jokes, and his voice carried through the theater so well even the front row fuck the front row! could hear him. 

As the credits rolled, and everyone made their way out to the lobby, you met back up with Steve and Robin. 

“That movie made even less sense than when you told us about it.” Steve said and you just shrugged. 

“I never said it made sense, I just said it was fun.” 

“I wouldn’t mind coming back.” Eddie said. “I wonder if they’d consider a live band to go with the stage actors.” 

You had to stop yourself from dropping down to your knees. One knee or two, you hadn’t decided yet. 

Robin yawned and you caught a glimpse of a lipstick mark on her jaw. You made a note to ask about that later. “If I’m out any later, my parents are gonna kill me. I still have school in the morning.” 

“Alright, let’s get you home.” Steve said. “See you two around.” His eyes darted down to where your hand and Eddie’s were still clasped together before pushing Robin out of the lobby and towards the parking lot. 

You and Eddie followed behind, but didn’t head straight for your cars. The two of you moved to stand below the yellow lighting of the yellow marquis. You watched as Eddie leaned against the brick wall and lit a cigarette, blowing smoke that disappeared under the clear sky. 

Under this lighting, you had a familiar feeling. There was something in the back of your mind, like a picture that was made of the same smoke coming from between his lips. Every time you reached out and almost had it, it disappeared in an instant. Something about the way he looked right now gave you a faint memory of being nervous, but not in a bad way. 

“That might be the first time I’ve ever felt normal.” Eddie said, looking at you. “I didn’t realize how many freaks there really were in Indiana.” 

“There are freaks and weirdos everywhere, if you know where to look.” you said. Eddie pocketed his lighter and took another drag. “Most people hide it though. I’m glad you don’t.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It’s nice to see someone really being themselves in this town. You’re a breath of fresh air.” you looked out at the street, watching as people got in their cars and drove out of the parking lot. You caught a glimpse of the Columbia, only catching her by her hair and make up as she rushed out of the theater towards the parking lot. “I... even if this doesn’t go anywhere, I like you.” you admitted. “I want to keep being friends.”

Eddie frowned and faced you. He had dropped your hand to light his cigarette, and you noticed his hand move towards yours before stopping and falling back to his side. 

“Is this your way of letting me down easy?” he asked, and your heart broke seeing the confusion in his big brown doe eyes. 

“No!” you said quickly. “No, not even a little. No. I want to see you again. A lot.” 

Eddie’s face relaxed and this time he did take your hand. He dropped his cigarette and snuffed out the butt with his sneaker. You took the hint and moved closer to him as well. 

“You like me?” he asked, and you liked the way his dimples showed when he smiled. 

That was the high sign. You didn’t even care that he still had a lipstick mark on his cheek, when all you could focus on were those warm brown eyes. You started to lean in, and you felt Eddie’s free hand move to your arm and up towards your shoulder. When he got close enough to count his unfairly long eyelashes, you closed your eyes-

“Eddie? Eddie Munson?”

Reality snapped back into place as you two heard a voice. You looked at Eddie’s face first, and there was an intense look in his eyes. His hand fell from your arm, while you tried to decipher what his expression meant. 

You turned around to see who he was looking at, ready to kill whoever had interrupted the moment. 

You hadn’t recognized him on stage as Rocky. The man's long sandy hair was now tied back and his overgrown fringe still fell into his gray eyes. He had filled out since high school, and he wasn’t wearing that stony scowl that had been his staple all through the years you’d seen him. 

“Chris Morrison?!”

ALSO I think I might have run out of blogs to tag? It won't let me tag anymore blogs for the tag list but you can also find this story on AO3 and sub there as well!

Next Chapter

a/n: This chapter turned out way longer than expected and I still didn't fit everything into it! I had a whole other scene planned out, but that just means I have the motivation to start on the next part!

Dividers by @strangergraphics

Tag List: @k8loo @terrormonster55 @sp1dyb0y1008 @crocwork-clockodile @ali-r3n @mxcheese @josephquinnschesthair @gagasbee @peaches-roses-sins @witchwolflea @vintagehellfire @royale1803 @cumslutforaemond @prestinalove @browneyedgirl320 @perpetualmessmachine @thebook-hobbit @mistonk @cultish-corner @grishaversecaptivated @sortagaysortahigh @halialex1119 @bakugouswhOr3 @siriuslysmoking @pookiesnatcher @sky-full-0f-fl0wers @takemetoneverlandbabe @killjoynotes @maelibo @themunsonator5000 @wheels-of-despair @woodlandsubshrub @ghcstpyre @pedroschka

[staytinyville]

OUTLAW (50)

ATEEZ poly!ot8 x Reader

Cowboy AU / Wild West

Series Masterlist

Warning: none

A/N NOT BETA READ. We are back! I'm so excited to come up on this arc and finish up the story. There are going to be a total of 80 chapters in whole and I am more than happy to say that I hope to get back to it! You guys have to keep me motivated lol. ALSO MY CONCERT TO GO SEE THEM IS SUNDAY. You guys have no idea what I am going to feel coming up. If you are going to the Arlington Concert y'all be sure to hit me up. I got freebies lol.

There was something about spending a long week with the boys on the road that seemed to bring out a pain in your cheeks from how much you spent smiling. You had grown up so used to hearing people telling you to smile because you seemed to have a resting face that made you unapproachable. However it seemed that every moment you spent with the boys had you looking at them softly.

There wasn’t much of a dull moment, not even well into the night when half of you were asleep. Someone always had to bring up some random story or get another angry. You also started to notice how much they actually let go of themselves now that you were with them. It made you irritated a bit to realize that you were the only woman in a large group of men who were ultimately going to act like men. 

But even with that in mind you learned how to stand on your own. You found your feet, quickly turning around to scold or yell at the boys for doing something that wasn’t at all gentlemanly. It seemed that Jongho and Yeosang were the only ones who took into account that you were there. They would be kind enough to say excuse me after a burp or walk off when they were gassy. 

The others, well it really just fluctuated. 

“Wooyoung! Give it back!” You yelled, chasing after the boy with an arm stretched across your chest. 

You heard one of the boys wolf whistle from the wagon, chuckling as he watched you trying to reach for your shirt in Wooyoung's hold. You had only gotten to put on a pair of pants before turning around to find the second youngest running away with a cackle. 

The two of you, along with San and Mingi were washing up in the stream that you had taken camp in for the night. You weren’t shy by any means to be naked in front of them anymore. However because you didn’t know what could be in the water all you did was take off your shirt and kept on your underwear. And thus when you were not looking and had your back turned, Wooyoung thought it was a funny idea to pull a prank on you. 

“I like you better like this.” Wooyoung mock pouted, swinging your shirt around in the air above his head. 

“I'm not about to walk around without a shirt in the elements. Are you dumb?” You pouted at the boy, trying to reach for your piece of clothing once more. 

“Give me a kiss and I'll give it back.” Wooyoung grinned, his lips forming a pout ready for your kiss.

You rolled your eyes but tried to prevent the smile from over taking your lips anyways. 

One of the boys had come up behind the younger one without having him notice and quickly snatched your shirt from the teasing boy. 

“Hey!” Wooyoung shouted, turning to find Yunho standing behind him.

“There you go, Angel.” Yunho told you, handing you your shirt without much protest. 

You hummed in thanks, hands falling from your chest as you moved to put it on. Yunho giggled, lightly flicking at one of your nipples before you screamed and swatted his hand away. 

“I was going to say thank you but I don’t think I will anymore.” You scrunched up your nose, glaring at the tall boy. 

Turning away from the cackling man, you sighed as you saw Wooyoung pouting at you with his arms crossed. While it looked like he was only playing around, you did feel as though he was actually serious. 

“Come on, stop pouting.” You cooed, moving to squish the boys cheeks together. 

“It's not fair the others have had their time with you—”

“Are you asking me for sex, sir!?” You gasped, looking at him incredulously. 

“Maybe.” He whispered. 

It had only been a week since you left your home so in reality it wasn’t that long that you had been spending time with the boys. However even if it wasn’t a long while you knew that your feelings for all of them were more than words could ever express. You would never be able to tell them how much you actually appreciated them. So the little things you did for now, you hoped got through to them just enough. 

“You'll get it when you get it.” You rolled your eyes, moving to give his cheek a kiss. 

“Let's get going! We should almost be to Aurora.” Hongjoong called out, buttoning up his shirt as he had just finished getting cleaned.

The boys had told you that it was the last day they would be making camp the night before. After leaving early in the morning, they explained that they would reach the city by midday. But as you made your way closer you came to the realization the Aurora was much larger than you cared to admit. 

You were riding in front with San on his horse. They all rotated between the horses and the wagon in order to not get cramps from sitting in a saddle for so long and you were not exempt from it no matter how much they tried to keep you from doing it. 

When houses and more people began to show up along the road, you looked around in wonder asking San if you were there. However he only told you they still had an hour until they reached their home in the center of the city. If the houses were so large on the outskirts you could only imagine how it must have looked in the center. 

And you were more than right when you came across the high buildings and the paved roads. The vehicles that zoomed past you, the people walking around in their fancy clothing or the shiny windows that seemed to be cleaned on the daily. 

It was something you would have never imagined you would get the chance of seeing. 

“Amazing isn’t it?” 

You turned to your side, coming across Hongjoong’s grinning face as he watched you look around in amazement. 

“It’s like nothing I’ve seen.” You smiled at him. 

“If this stuns you just wait until you see our actual home.” San spoke behind you, arms wrapped around your front to hold onto his horse's reins. 

San’s words had you pausing for a moment, turning your head a bit to look at him.

“Is this not it?” You furrowed your eyebrows. 

“It is for now.” Hongjoong answered. 

The place they stopped seemed to be the entrance to a market. You could smell the food that the people were selling in the stalls, see the ripe fruits and vegetables from the entrance as they shined in the sun. 

You heard a loud bell go off, turning as your eyes went wide from the large vehicle that was coming your way.

It was rectangle shaped, high and with many windows that showed the inside as various people sat in seats. You watched as it stopped at the entrance to the market, a large group of people getting off and chatting constantly with each other. 

“Woah.” You spoke out loud, moving to the side to allow the large car to pass. 

“Come on, Love.” Jongho took your arm in his, wrapping his fingers in between your own. 

Your head snapped up, finding only four of the boys standing with you while the others continued on their way in another direction. Jongho, Yeosang, Wooyoung, and Mingi all stayed at your side, looking around the market as they tried to find what they might want.

You watched as the other four took their leave, turning back to Jongho.

“Where are they going?” You asked.

“They’re going to the warehouse.” Yeosang answered from your side. “We’re gonna show you around for a bit if you’re up for it.”

“Always.” You smiled brightly, skipping along with Jongho in tow.

The market was colorful and full of life. You had never seen so many fashion options or even food stalls open for the public. Sure your own city had a market but it was nowhere near as big as this one. The city of Aurora made Chromer look like a small town. Which in your opinion, it might be now compared to this. 

Each boy pulled you along to where they wanted, showing you different things like trinkets or clothes you might want for later on. You tried to hold them off from getting you so many things but they told you money wasn’t the problem for them. 

“This has the best burgers in town.” Mingi grinned, holding a plate out for you to try his food.

“They’re okay. If I had the funds to buy the ingredients I would make them myself. “ Wooyoung spoke up, crossing his arms as he glared at Mingi scarfing down the carb filled food. 

“I’m sure yours are great.” You smiled at the boy, licking your lips from the bite you took. 

“You just wait!” Wooyoung clapped, taking a fry from Mingi’s plate causing the taller man to pout. 

You all took some time around 5 to take a break in some shady spots. You had a bit of a late lunch so now you were all just lounging around and waiting for time to pass before making your way to the boys home. 

“I’ve noticed there’s no wanted posters here.” You spoke out loud, watching how everyone seemed to bypass them without so much as giving Mingi a glance. 

“They are all at city hall and not many people go to look at it unless they want rewards. But honestly, the black pirates always take Mingi’s poster down before someone can notice it.” Yeosang answered, thigh pressed into yours as he took up one of your sides.

“The ones who are working with you?” You asked, tilting your head as you remembered the boy who had come out a few weeks ago to speak with them all. 

“They are all over the city. We have a common goal and are gonna try to destroy Strickland the best we can.” Jongho explained.  

With everything going the past couple of weeks you forgot all about the real battle they were fighting. The one that they had been trying to win for the past couple of years. Way before they even met you. 

Having only gotten just a smidge of what they had to go through really made you feel something worthwhile. You felt like your life had meaning being able to stop criminals who wanted to ruin the world for everyone. You felt good about yourself–felt like your life finally had meaning. You wanted to keep going–keep feeling that feeling all the time because it was what you felt was right. 

“Count me in.” You smiled, cheeks hurting from how much you were determined to get to where you wanted. 

“That’s something you’re gonna have to get through to Captain.” Yeosang smiled.

“Let’s take this to the boys.” Mingi spoke up, gesturing to the boxes of food they all had. 

The place they took you to was a large building that looked like it was abandoned. It was half-way finished–like a project that lost its funding. The windows were still intact though so you saw it as a place that was still enough to keep you from catching something from the outside. It was a lot better than camping out in the woods that was for sure. 

“This is where you live?” You asked, looking around the large space. 

It was all open, with a living room area, kitchen off to one side and another side with tarps and blankets put out to signify their room areas. It looked a lot like the camps they would make along the way but much more organized and larger. In here you could see they had much more supplies. 

“For now.” Seonghwa smiled, going up to you and giving you a kiss in greeting.

“It’s nice.” You smiled, trying to memorize where everything was. 

“You can stay with one of us and if not you can have your own bed.” Yunho explained, nodding his head to some spaces that had beds.

There was a partition of tarp to create the spaces for different rooms. Some of them even had their tents up for privacy. But overall the space was open and everyone could see everything but it didn’t seem to be a problem seeing as they were covered from the elements securely rather than sleeping inside sheets. 

“It’s okay. I got used to sharing.” You grinned up at him.

“I call first!” San shouted, head poking out from behind a column. 

“No fair!” Yunho retorted. 

“I’ll cuddle you, Yunho. Don’t worry.”

“Wooyoung!”

Series Masterlist

@thefrog3223 , @iarayara , @0rangemilk , @explorewithd , @detectivedoodle , @bangtanxberm , @a1i33a , @loveforred , @drunken-deitence , @0325tiny , @the-ghostest-with-the-mostest , @atinyreads , @atinytinaa , @lexiigom , @smilingtokki , @mismatchfluffysocks , @brain-empty-only-draken , @sousydive , @alex-tinyy , @h3arteyes4mingi , @onedumbho3 , @popcatx0 , @blue1amory , @mommahwa1117 , @sunnyhokyu , @cloudieclair , @puppyminnnie

[lexirosewrites]

Slick Sunday ask <3

I'm gonna be honest with you, I've only read Burn once, and halfway through (I think I got embarrassed when I realized accidental pregnancy was going to be a thing), but I decided to finally (bc it was always the plan) to read it again.

I'm in chapter 4, nothing has happened yet, but I remember y'all mentioning a fight, and I was thinking about "Off the races" you know, the song.

And THEN I thought what if. Burn Au, where after their big fight Steddie does not reconcile for a good stretch of time, enough that Steve gets bitter and makes his own illegal group(gang????!).

Sure, he's just an Omega, but he's full of spite and he's learned a thing or two from his time with Da— with Eddie.

And so he starts picking up other abandoned omegas, runaway kids, homeless people, you name it, they're struggling, Steve is picking them up.

He treats them like people, like family and they give him undying loyalty in exchange. And sure Steve isn't entirely the brains of the operation, but he still controls everything.

I also think about his gang (since they're mostly women and omegas) heavily relying on honey traps at the beginning of their operation, so Steve sleeps around, pretending to be the person he was when he arrived to the Munson state for a bit and Alphas fall to his feet.

I imagine Eddie eventually finds out about this (when the noise Steve makes can be heard everywhere) and he's forced to confront it. His bunny became a wild cat.

And idk idk, I'm missing a lot of context from the actual Burn story, but I got very inspired. So I might come back to this when I finish reading it all.

when i was originally planning the ending to burn (and the way things go after the fight), there was a time when steve was more bitter and angry, rather than sad and distraught.

i think in another world, he could’ve taken what he learned and started something to tear down eddie’s operations. he probably would’ve even gotten robin to help him tbh, but then there would’ve been the matter of chrissy. suffice to say it would be glorious for an omega to make an alpha eat his words!😌

[burntheedges-updates]

over again, chapter 1

This is my updates-only blog! Follow me at @burntheedges

Joel Miller x f!reader

summary: you fell in love with Joel Miller in Austin, Texas, in 2001, but you thought you lost him and your whole family in 2003 when the world turned upside down. now it's 2024, and you find the surprise of your life waiting for you in Jackson, Wyoming. or, five times you and Joel fell deeper in love, on both sides of the apocalypse (and one time you did something about it)18+ minors DNI chapter tags/warnings: fluff, flirting, light angst, cursing, no use of y/n, no description of reader (see note below), smallish age difference (reader is 26, Joel is 32/almost 33 when they meet in 2000) (small for this fandom, anyway) (the smut comes later, y'all, we're just getting started here) a/n: Well, here we go! This is part 1. This fic is completely finished. It’s a 5+1 and for some of the 5 parts I’ll post them together (on Sundays) and for some I’ll post them separately (on Sundays and Wednesdays) just due to length. Obviously I'm posting this one early (lol). I’ll tell you whatever the schedule is for the different parts. I've paid a lot of attention to the reader's description in this fic. I've avoided skin color, hair type, body shape/size descriptions, and even clothing (except for one or two spots where you are specifically wearing jeans and boots). You are vaguely shorter than Joel. He does not run his fingers through your hair, and you feel the blood rush to your face or your face heat, but you don't turn red or pink. Please tell me if you notice anything I missed - I want this to be as inclusive as possible. word count: 1724 (for this part) series main post & chapter list | series playlist (w/ plot-related mix) ao3 | chapter 2

Chapter 1: Meet Cute

Jackson, Early Winter, 2023

You’ve been heading northwest from somewhere in Kansas, thinking you’ve never bothered going out this way, even Before, so why not? It’s been months since you saw another person. You’re not even sure the last time you spoke out loud. 

You blame the lengthy isolation for how easily they get the jump on you. 

It's just after dawn when you're rudely awakened - at first, you’re not sure why, but a second kick to your hip sends you scrambling to sit up in your sleeping bag, which is tangled around your legs. Looking around as you struggle, you realize you’re surrounded by people on foot and on horseback. Every single one of them is pointing a gun at you. You glance to the side and realize your backpack along with anything possibly useful inside of it has been kicked away from you. The woman who kicked you has a steely look in her eye that reminds you, in your half awake state, of the last boss you had Before. 

“State your business.” As she speaks you notice the two men closest to her start to fan out a bit, but you don’t dare look away from her.

“I’m just passing through, I’ve been looking for a good place to spend the winter.”

Or, that’s what you would have said, if not for the voice from your past shouting your name in shock just as you open your mouth. “No goddamn way, is that really you?”

You think you must be hallucinating, because everyone you knew Before is dead, but then Tommy fucking Miller pushes his way in front of the woman who spoke. For a moment you can’t do more than stare at each other — him with his gun hanging limply in his right hand, you with your legs still tangled in your godforsaken sleeping bag. Then you launch into motion and start to kick it away as you find your voice. It comes out shaky. Or maybe you’re shaking all over.

“Tommy? But — you’re alive? Where the hell have you been? Wait, are Joel and—“

Tommy cuts you off as he pulls you to your feet and into a tight hug. “Holy shit, we thought you were dead. Holy fucking shit.”

“We? Tommy wait, are they—“

Tommy pulls back, keeping hold of your shoulders as he looks you in the eye. He’s grinning, his eyes wandering all over your face. “He’s alive, sunshine. Or he was when he came through here about a month ago. We’re expecting them back in the spring.”

You can feel your heart racing and your whole body feels hot and tingly. You’re overwhelmed. You didn’t think you could still feel hope like this. It’s terrifying, but you have to know. “He’s- Them? They’re both alive? Sarah?”

You know the answer before he even says anything. Tommy’s face falls, his eyes drop from yours, and you feel it like a sucker punch, as bad as it was the first time around. Your knees give out even though this is what you’ve known, or tried to convince yourself must be true, for 20 years. Tommy falls gently with you to the ground.

Your baby girl. “Oh god, Sarah. And Joel, he must have been—“

“Yeah, sunshine. He thought he lost you both. It wasn’t… well. It wasn’t good.” 

You’re starting to feel numb. You have no idea what your face is doing right now, but judging by Tommy’s, it isn’t pretty. 10 minutes ago you were alone in the apocalypse, and suddenly you’re face-to-face with your almost-brother-in-law and you know, without a doubt, that your fiancé hasn’t been dead this whole time. Is this shock? It’s been 20 years since you felt a shock like this. Since you felt anything like this. 

“Tommy, I… I need to sit down.”

“Well, you are sitting down, sunshine. But get up, gather your stuff. You can come to town with us. Stay as long as you’d like.” You nod, unsteady, and Tommy guides you carefully towards what must be his horse. 

The day passes in a daze. You think you might actually be hallucinating, or still back in your sleeping bag, dreaming, because a whole, functional town? A commune, and a house they’re just going to let you have as your own? A real community? With your only remaining family, miraculously alive? It’s impossible. You float through the rest of the day and find yourself sitting on a bed in a house with indoor plumbing that somehow belongs to you, having just eaten real food in the company of the family you thought you lost 20 years ago.

You give up and go to sleep. (What else are you going to do?)

...

As you settle into life in Jackson, the knowledge that you might see Joel — your Joel, any day now — never leaves your thoughts. It’s like a drum beat at the back of your mind that only repeats his name, marking time every hour of every day. You don’t know how you’ll prepare yourself for it. How could you? You haven’t seen him in 20 years. Anything could be different. You can so easily picture him with a daughter, but it’s Sarah in your mind, not Ellie, who Tommy has told you a bit about. Every time you open those old wounds that you’ve done your best to bury it hurts like the first time. Would he still want you? Still know you? Do you still know him? Would Ellie like you? You can’t imagine not knowing Joel, or Joel not knowing you, but it’s been 20 years and people change. You’ve changed, after all. Some days you barely recognize yourself. 

You express these fears to Tommy once, but he only laughs and says his brother may be stupid but he’s not stupid enough not to want you. It’s reassuring and rude, so, exactly like Tommy. At least some things never change.

The day Joel Miller walks back into Jackson you happen to be standing on the road near the gates, talking to Tommy, and you swear he spots you in less than 5 seconds. It’s like you can’t help but look to each other first, even when you don’t know the other is alive, even when you haven’t seen each other in 20 years. You’d know the shape of him anywhere and your eyes have never stopped looking for it, never stopped catching on a set of shoulders, a cocked hip, a tilted head, only to be disappointed when it faded like a mirage. When the person in front of you didn’t fit the hole he left behind. It hurt every time. Maybe it’s been the same for him. 

Joel looks like he’s seen a ghost, and you have no idea what expression is on your face, but the moment you lock eyes all you see is the moment you first met, almost 24 years ago, like a film negative laid on top of what’s really in front of you. He’s older, of course, but so are you, and he’s still the most handsome man you’ve ever seen.

He steps towards you and whispers your name like a prayer.

Joel fucking Miller. 

Austin, Summer 2000

It was a Saturday morning in late summer, so not yet the hottest part of the day, but not comfortable, either. Your belongings were steadily moving from the truck to your new rental house under your somewhat careful supervision when movement from the house next door caught your eye. You looked up just as one of the guys from the moving company almost dropped your nightstand off the back of the truck, distracting you from the sight of a young girl, maybe about 10, rocketing out of the house next door and down her front steps. She was wearing a bright green soccer uniform.

By the time your nightstand had been righted and you looked back towards your neighbors’ house, she’d made her way to the bushes between your driveways, standing on her tiptoes and taking in all of the commotion. She met your eye and grinned. You grinned back as she called, “Hi, new neighbor!” 

You walked over, stopping on the other side of the bush to introduce yourself. “Hi there, neighbor.” 

It didn’t seem possible, but she grinned even wider. “I’m Sarah, that’s my dad.”

You looked up, realizing there was a man coming down their steps towards the two of you — the most attractive man you’d ever seen in your life. He was tall, with broad shoulders and the look of a man who spent a lot of time in the sun, tan lines peeking out of his shirt sleeves. His brown curls were a bit messy and his shoulders and strong arms drew your eye like a magnet. You caught yourself giving him a quick once over and felt your face start to warm, embarrassed, but when you met his eyes again you caught him doing the same to you. You realized you were both caught and you smiled, introducing yourself. 

“Nice to meet you, darlin’. Joel Miller, and I think you’ve met Sarah.” You felt your face turn hot at the endearment but you knew he probably didn’t mean anything by it. Southern hospitality and all. “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

You’d opened your mouth to respond when you were rudely interrupted by a crashing noise from the moving truck behind you, and you whirled around to see a box on its side on the ground that definitely should not have been. You glanced back at your neighbors as you excused yourself. “It’s great to meet you! Sorry, I need to see what that was.”

They shooed you along before you could even finish your sentence, reassuring you that they understood. “Let me know if anything broke, darlin,’ I’m pretty handy, could probably fix it. It’d be my pleasure.” He smiled at you a bit, just on one side, edging towards a smirk, and you did your best not to stare at his mouth. “Deal,” you agreed, grinning. Both you and Joel seemed unable to draw your eyes away from each other. You were stuck, pinned in place under his gaze until Sarah tugged on his arm and dragged him towards their truck. “Dad, we’re gonna be late!”

The view from the back was just as nice as the front. 

...

a/n: ch 2 is up!

taglist: @morgaussy

[mikichko]

141 x latina reader recs? 👉🏼👈🏼

Hi cariñoooo!!!

First of all, very excited to see another (hopefully?) latine in the cod fandom! It makes me so happy to see y'all here :) It's like finding shiny pokemon

Second, I must apologize in advance because my god is the 141 x latina tag BARE !!! There's such a huge gap and hopefully, we'll see it close in the future.

Regardless! Here are some of the few recs I adore:

🍃 Everything that comes out Xavi's (@buttdumplin) magical fingers! He has such an amazing way of capturing the latine cultural experience in his works! It genuinely makes me feel like I'm there with the boys because of how he writes scenes and locations that are familiar to all of us. Some of my faves however are:

In Dub In Dub is Xavi's first piece and I all but squealed and giggled my way through this fic. Full of the boys talking Spanish, the amazing poly dynamic, and just generally good vibes. I reread this piece constantly.

Sharing Cultural Food - Kyle Focus This one is one of his most recent pieces and it just makes me feel soo many things!!! When I tell you that I've been in this exact same scenario and literally saw myself in this piece? Yeah, it was marvelous.

Meeting the Family - John Price This is not a poly piece BUT I do in fact adore it. Again, I have lived through similar scenarios of introducing friends or coworkers to family and I just, Xavi does a phenomenal job capturing it.

Now, cariño, I know you said you wanted poly recs but let me just throw you a few other pieces that I feel are tailored towards latine/hispanic readers.

🍃 Retirement Party by @sentientcave (Price x Reader)

OKAY! I know this is a controversial take, Charlie might even disagree, but to me Charlie's Dalisay reads very latina/hispanic! It might just be me projecting honestly but the touch of her Nona speaking spanish and highlighting how John spoke accented spanish too??? Yeah idk that scratched my brain just right Dark fic so mind the tags

🍃 All Works by @pricesugarwife (All in Spanish) (Multiple x Reader)

Griss's writing style is amazing! Even me, someone who probably has an eight grade reading level in Spanish, can read her work and appreciate how well written and paced it is. Naturally because it's all in Spanish and Griss is Latina herself, all of her work reads as latina reader to me! Definitely check out her work! Some of my faves are: Fearless - Johnny x Reader Derritiendo los glaciares de su corazón - Simon Riley x Reader

🍃 Gunslinger by @the-californicationist (Price x Reader)

Recommended by @/madstronaut this is a lengthy and completed piece!! I haven't completed this yet but I can tell you based on the first chapter that this is another amazing work provided to us by Cali's amazing mind. I will be putting aside all my Sunday plans to read through this whole thing.

Hope you enjoy these pieces mi amor! If I spot anything else I'll update this list!

[messedupfan]

Chapter 14

Summary: It's the new year! There's a new development in Reader and Wanda's friendship. Jean and Anna have a very important question for reader. And Rachel witnesses something special.

A/n: Hellllloooooo!! I hope y'all are having a good day. Anyone watch Love is Blind? Every season upsets me more than the last. Anyway, comment, like, reblog, and enjoy!

Masterlist | All Stories Taglist | All Chapters

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By the time you stopped staying with Wanda, the pillow wall ceased to exist. The pair of you were comfortable enough to share the space together on the bed and not overthink it. At least that's what you told each other to be able to hold one another at night. On the Sunday that Vision was meant to come for the boys, he called Wanda early in the morning. You were confused and exhausted when you accidentally picked up the phone. Your eyes went wide when you realized that you answered the wrong phone. You quickly put it on mute and woke Wanda up. She had to put on a fake voice to try and match yours. It was a hilarious attempt and she had to hit you to get you to laugh quietly. You just climbed out of bed to use the restroom. 

When you came back, Wanda had her face in her hands. You rejoined her on the bed and she leaned against you once you were settled in. “Vision extended his trip. He said he'll pick them up next Sunday. Which, I'm okay with having them longer. Of course. I love them and I mean, they love you and Rachel so I'm sure that a part of them will be okay with it. But,” she shut her eyes and shook her head as you put your arm around her. “They're going to be so disappointed. I don't even know what I can say? What do you say to a kid when their dad would rather spend the holidays with his new family?” 

You frowned as you rubbed her arm. Even though you knew the question was rhetorical, you felt inclined to answer because you've been that kid before. “My mom wouldn't tell me. She wouldn't even make an excuse on his behalf. She would just distract me with so much fun that I wouldn't even know how long it was until I finally did see my dad.” 

“Do you think that will work?” She rubbed her finger under her nose. You laughed lightly as you shook your head. 

“No, definitely not. Those kids are too smart for that. But, I think I do know something that might work,” you began to remind her of the night before when the boys were bummed by the idea that they had to go with their father because they wanted to stay and have fun with Rachel. “Just say that you asked Vision to let you have the boys a little bit longer and he agreed to let them stay until school starts again.” 

And she took your advice, while you were in the shower, she went to the boys room and told them exactly what you suggested. They were so happy and they hugged her so tight she almost felt guilty lying to them. One of the hardest lessons she learned about being a parent was accepting that she did in fact have to lie to her children on occasion. She already had to tell them that she asked to have Christmas with them and they accepted that because Rachel was still in the hospital at the time and they knew their dad wouldn't take them to visit her. They were confused when they spent time with their dad's side of the family and he wasn't there but they had so much fun with their uncle Tony that it didn't matter. He chased them around and wrestled with them when Vision would have yelled at them for running and he would have punished them for playing around so much. 

The twins loved their dad but they didn't miss him. 

Wanda hosted a New Year’s Eve party that included her mom, the Starks, her brother and his family, plus her friends. You got to invite your friends, Steve and his partner Peggy, the new guy on the job site Thor, and Darcy. A girl you met on a dating app one time and the two of you decided to be friends after. It was rare for her to be in town because she is a political science major who is interning for doctor Jane Foster while she worked on getting her own doctorate. The internship had her traveling a lot. She brought Jane with her because she claimed that the woman was a shut-in. But with the way she almost instantly gravitated to Thor, you couldn't tell. 

You also invited Bucky, another work friend, and he brought a girl he'd started seeing a couple of months prior. A woman named Natasha. When she entered the house she appeared to be on edge. So did Wanda at first, you figured you'd have to ask her about it when you got the chance. After a bit, they both relaxed. 

Of course, Anna and Jean were in attendance as well. They kept wanting to tease you about co-hosting but with so many of your co-workers and your boss being there, they let it slide. You acted as a guest and the kids knew not to mention the living arrangement. 

“So, who are you kissing at midnight?” Darcy asks as she joins you outside on the patio. You needed a break from the party and it was a nice night despite the low temperature. “Me or the hostess?” She smirks then takes a sip from her blue disposable cup. 

You shake your head as you drink from your cup. “I’m not kissing anyone at midnight.” The kids were all in the boys room and you’d hate for them to run down the stairs and confuse them because you and Wanda kissed. They were already confused because one of the nights, Billy came running in from having a nightmare and caught you in the bed. Up until then, you and Wanda were telling them that you were sleeping on the couch. You got away with telling Billy that you also had a nightmare and he seemed to have bought the excuse as he climbed in and created space between you and Wanda so that he could snuggle with his mom. 

“Oh come on, that’s no fun,” Darcy nudges you. “Tell you what, I’ll kiss Agatha so you’ll have to kiss Wanda.” 

You narrow your eyes, “You just want to kiss Agatha.” 

She made a face as she laughed, “No, I just want you to kiss Wanda.”

“How much money is involved,” you ask, knowing the people that are inside. Darcy tries to deny that there’s a bet circulating around the party and eventually gives up. You look inside of the house through the windows on the doors and watch Wanda laugh as something her sister-in-law says. Things weren’t complicated with her but you were constantly afraid that they would become complicated. “I’m not kissing her so that you and whoever else is involved can win a bet.”

“Pietro was the one who started it so,” she takes another drink, “do you really want your boss to lose.” The look she gives you confirms your unspoken question of which side of the bet Pietro was on. You couldn’t believe that he bet that you would kiss his sister at midnight. You shake your head again and finish what’s left in your cup. 

“I need another drink,” you say as you get up from your seat and walk inside. Instead of refilling your cup, you toss it into the trash. Your eyes keep finding Wanda in the small crowd as you move about the gathering talking with the different people there. You liked getting to know Tony Stark but her laugh kept grabbing your attention. One of the times she catches your gaze and mouths a hello with a cute smile. You smile back and mouth, “Hey.” 

As it got closer to the countdown to midnight, you walked upstairs to check on the kids. All of them had made themselves comfortable either on a bed or on the floor. Luna and Rachel have taken the beds, the twins and Agatha’s son are on the floor. The tv was left playing a movie and you carefully turn it off since all of them are asleep. You put blankets over the three boys and tuck the girls into the beds a bit more. You don’t realize that Wanda is watching you until you look up to leave the room. You smile as you stand in the room of sleeping children and strategically step around them to avoid waking them up. 

You leave the door open a crack once you step out into the hallway, “I can move the girls out of the room in a little bit.” You whisper as you step closer to her. “I’m buzzed right now and would hate to drop any of them,” the truth is, you’d hate to wake any of them right now. 

Wanda looks at you with admiration as she continues to smile, “It’s okay. I think they’ll be fine for the night. I um, I actually wanted to warn you about something.” 

“There’s a bet on whether or not we’ll kiss tonight?” Wanda nods to confirm that’s what she was going to talk to you about. “What do you think about it?” 

She shrugs, “I think if we do, it wouldn’t be a big deal. It’s not like we haven’t before.” You nod. 

“But?” You anticipate. 

“But, I don’t want my brother to win,” she says mischievously. “Have you heard what side he’s on?” She asks and this might be the only time in your life that you don’t regret lying when you shake your head. The two of you walk down the stairs as you hear everyone counting down. 

“How are the kiddos?” Pietro asks as the countdown continues. 

“They’re all knocked out,” you inform him. He nods and is pulled in closer by his wife as they get to ten. You look around to find Jane and Thor gazing at one another, nine. Tony and his fiance, Pepper are holding each other close, eight. Agatha and Darcy each have an arm around each other's necks as they both face the television, seven. Mrs. Maximoff is sitting on the sofa with a big grin as she counts down, six. Howard is next to her with his head tilted back as he snores loudly and his wife Maria is next to him counting with a martini glass in her hand, five. Carol is kissing Val each second that is announced, four. Natasha is sitting on Bucky’s lap while he sits on the recliner with her arm around his neck and his around her waist, three.  Jean and Anna pull each other closer as they prepare to end the count down, two. That leaves you standing close to Wanda, one. 

“Happy New Year!” Everyone cheers as the countdown on the television concludes and they each exchange a kiss with their partners. You keep your hands yourself as you give Wanda an innocent chaste kiss on the lips. It’s quick, you’re not sure if anyone caught it. She smiles as she moves closer to her mom and kisses her on the cheek as she wishes her a happy new year. 

“Awe boo!” Darcy says as she digs for cash out of her pockets. The others that bet on you and Wanda sharing a kiss toss their money in the decorative bowl at the center of the coffee table. You wink at Wanda as Pietro shakes his head and puts money in the bowl. Wanda’s eyes widen ever so slightly before she continues to play dumb about the bet. The both of you fake being upset and make it clear that whatever is between the two of you is purely platonic. 

From the top of the stairs, Rachel hobbles back to Tommy and Billy’s room to hide the fact that she saw the whole thing. 

When Sunday comes back around, you get up early to get packed. School starts again on Monday so that meant you and Rachel didn’t need to stay with Wanda anymore. It sucks because you wish that you could have an excuse to be here longer but seeing as none of the kids will be in the house in the upcoming week, there isn’t a reason for you to stay. 

You hug the boys and thank them for being so helpful with Rachel as you say goodbye. They each give you a tight hug before running off to get ready for their dad to pick them up. Wanda called him early to confirm that he will be here for them in the afternoon. He sounded annoyed and convinced her to drop them off at his house since he was recovering from his trip. 

Wanda pulls you into a warm embrace to say goodbye for the time being. You’ve had to resist kissing her the entire week. You wished that you hadn’t done it on New Year’s Eve. She didn’t make it easy either. Too many times the two of you ended up too close to each other. Wanda was getting frustrated that you weren’t getting the signals that she wanted something more from you. 

When the pair of you pull back from this hug, you and Wanda hold eye contact for a moment. Both of you are considering leaning towards each other. That is, until Tommy and Billy start shouting at each other. Wanda sighs and steps out of your arms. “I’ll text you later,” you say as you grab your bag to take to the car. Rachel and her bags are already in your truck. 

You help your daughter out of the truck when you arrive at her mom's house and you only take one of her bags inside since you need to keep the rest at your apartment. Jean and Anna give you weird looks when you're inside and you're curious as to why but you don't question it. “I'll see you guys next Sunday,” you say as you're about to leave. 

“Hold on,” Anna says as she grabs your arm to stop you. “Can you um…” her words seem to fail her. 

“Do you mind staying for tea,” Jean finishes for her. You look between the two of them and notice that something is up with them. You fear that they're about to tell you that their marriage is over so you nod and allow Jean to drag you over to the living room. “So, we wanted to thank you for giving us some extra time to ourselves.” 

“Okay,” you drag out as you eye her carefully. “What's going on?” 

Jean gives you a nervous smile, “Just wait for the tea. Okay?” You nod and sit quietly. There's an awkward tension looming in the atmosphere. You were worried about what they're going to tell you and they are nervous to ask you something very important to them. 

Anna comes in with a tray of three steaming mugs a few minutes later. “You haven't asked them yet, right?” Jean shakes her head as she waits for her wife to get settled. You accept your cup of tea with a close mouth smile and nod. 

“Okay,” Jean starts as she sets her mug down. “Anna and I were wondering if you'd consider making another baby,” you’re about to laugh considering you just went through a break up, “with me?” She concludes. You spit your tea out at the absurd question. “I should have waited for you to swallow,” Jean says as she gets up to grab a dish towel to clean up the mess but Anna pulls her back down. 

“Are you crazy?” You ask as you set the tea back onto the tray. “You tell me that you can barely afford Rachel and you want to add a newborn to your expenses?” You shout in a whisper. You don't want Rachel to get curious and walk in and get excited about having another sibling. 

“Listen, we talked about that. With the budgets the three of us have come up with-” 

“And the GoFundMe!” Anna chimes in. 

“Yes, and the GoFundMe that we set-up for the medical bills, I think we'll be able to get that covered. And it takes nine months to make the baby. Anna and I can get to a better place financially in nine months,” Jean explains. 

“Can you?” You nearly shout out loud. “Look, it's not just nine months of you growing a person. It's doctors appointments, it's prenatal vitamins, it's baby clothes and toys and furniture. We got rid of all that stuff a long time ago. It's not like you have hand-me-downs.” With your pointer finger, you tap the fingers on your other hand as you list the reasons. “Not to mention how expensive IVF can be.” 

Jean and Anna share a look, “We weren't thinking about doing this through IVF. It's safer and more cost efficient to go the more natural route.” Anna is the one to suggest this. 

You stick your neck out and slowly blink as you widen your eyes. You cannot believe what you're hearing. “You really just suggested that I fuck your wife?” 

“You don't have to be so crude about it,” Anna chides. “I plan on being present and it wouldn't be wrong for you to fornicate with my wife. It's purely for reproductive purposes.” You cringe at the medical terms she uses to describe the act she is asking of you. It makes you want to throw up. “I don't understand what is so difficult about it, you've done it with her before.” 

You slowly close your hands into fists, not because you intend to use them but because air was the only thing you could grasp without hurting yourself. “I was in love, we were in love. Rachel was created from love.” 

“And this baby would be too,” Jean argues. “We care deeply about each other, Y/n.” She tries to take one of your hands in hers but you recoil, disgusted by the touch you once found comforting. 

You shake your head, “That's not the same and you know it.” You take a few breaths to calm down before you get too worked up and as your mind clears from the shock, you are able to come up with a reasonable argument. “You two might be ready to have another kid, but I'm not ready. I can't take that on financially or even emotionally right now. Besides, there is so much that happens during their first few developing years that I wouldn't want to miss when passing them back and forth.” They share another look and you already know they've thought about a crazy solution to that. You're starting to think you should just leave. 

“Well, we were thinking that you don't have any parental rights to this one. So that we can have a kid that's ours full time. We really want a baby that we can raise together that's just ours and we chose you to help us with that.” You scowl at this, they're actually asking you to not be present in the life of a child that you're supposed to help bring into this world. You couldn't believe it. “If you think about it, we can't have kids on our own and I really want Rachel to have a sibling that comes from both of us. You've said it yourself, half siblings aren't the sa-” 

“Don’t even. I was a kid when I said that! I would never say that now. I love Kate,” you interrupt. “She is my sister.” 

“Okay, fine, whatever. You still felt that way at one point,” Jean snaps, annoyed by your lack of support. “You can go off and have as many kids as you want with whoever you want. We only have so much time to do this and we used to talk about having another kid.” Jean tries hard to convince you that this is a good idea but it only sounds more and more bizarre. 

“When we were together,” you remind her as if she was an idiot. At this point, you're starting to wonder. “Those plans disappeared the second we signed the divorce papers.” You look between the women that you have tried again and again to support and defend. When Jean introduced Anna to her parents, they weren't accepting of the relationship at all. It took you the better part of a year to get her parents to tolerate the relationship. They still held out hope that you and their daughter would reunite at some point. They knew a few couples that split up only to marry each other again a few years later. Then came the wedding last February, Jean's family didn't want to attend because they didn't want to believe it was happening. You made sure they came. 

Now here they are, asking more out of you. With what return? What do you get out of this other than a few traumatic nights and a child you won't be allowed to raise but know is part of you? Then you think about Rachel and how when she would play with her baby dolls, they weren't ever her children. They were her siblings. You've had many talks with her in the past about why she doesn't have any siblings and she has expressed how she doesn't want to be an only child. You put your face in your hands as you realize that she's already ten and she'll be eleven soon enough. You had thought your eight year age gap between you and Kate was pretty big, and when you thought about having kids you always saw yourself having kids with small age gaps. That was until you had Rachel at seventeen. 

“We're not expecting an answer now,” Jean finally says. “Just please, consider it before you say no.” 

You sigh as you can't believe that you're actually going to think this over. “Okay,” you rise and walk out of the house. You drive to the nearest liquor store, the one you met Wanda at and buy a couple of bottles of the vodka she had suggested. As soon as you got home, you drank until you passed out to forget about the asinine request. 

You overworked yourself all week, being the first one on site and the last one to leave. Someone needs to be focused on paying off those medical bills and not trying to rack up more of them. The work keeps you from thinking about what Jean and Anna asked. You couldn't believe that is a real idea they discussed and thought was okay to run by you. When you got home, you had a bottle of vodka with a side of instant noodles. 

On Friday, your coworkers, Bucky and Thor, ask that you join them on a night out and you accept. You invite Steve as well because Bucky took a liking to him but wasn't sure if he could invite the guy himself. You thought it was funny that he was being weird about it but you didn't catch how flustered he was when you informed him that Steve accepted the invite. Then Thor requested that you invite Darcy and her friend. He tried to play coy but you know that he really liked Jane. He was just the idiot that forgot to call her the next day. He claimed that he waited too long and now he needed your help. You didn't mind extending it, he was a decent guy from what you've gathered. 

A couple of hours later and  you're drunk enough to start spilling your guts. Starting with how much you miss Daisy before getting into the real problem. Jean and Anna's request. Shocking everyone at the booth. The guys all agree that you shouldn't do it but Darcy plays devil's advocate and says that she knows someone that could help at no cost at all because they owed her a favor. “It's not just the sex that's the problem, Darcy,” you try to explain. “I can't just pretend it's not my kid. If I were someone that didn't mind that kind of thing, sure, I'd do it. But I'm not that person, I would want involvement.” 

She puts her hand on your back and rubs soothing circles. It would be comforting if it wasn't her touch. You begin to yearn for Wanda’s touch again. You didn't realize how much you missed it. There is a loud group of people that are being disruptive and it puts you in a bad mood as you start to miss the Hub being your go to. You doubt Phil would let you step into that building ever again. 

“Anyone want more? I'll get the next round,” you stand up even though you barely can and Darcy takes notice as she quickly joins you. Buck and Steve have engrossed themselves in a separate conversation. Jane and Thor were practically eating each other's faces. She gave him the cold shoulder when she arrived but he was able to crash through her walls pretty quickly. 

While you wait at the bar for the drinks, someone falls against Darcy and she complains about her arm hurting. That triggers something protective in you and you grab the person to try and get them to apologize. They spit in your face and you shove them. Your friends are quick to escort you out of the bar before you get into something you'll regret. 

“Give me your phone,” Darcy says as she digs through your pockets. 

“Hey, that's my phone,” you try to grab it but you're really out of it. Bucky and Steve are both holding you up, they didn't realize that you had drank so much. They exchanged worried glances as they held onto you. Thor and Jane were busy trying to calm the person you pushed. 

Wanda’s week was quite uneventful. She worked quietly on the project she was assigned. With the spare time she has in her day, she worked on her passion project. The dream house she one day hoped to build on a land she's trying to buy now. She doesn't want to continue to be limited by this house. The house that's so full of nightmares. There were good memories here, like the boys learning how to crawl and eventually walk, but it wasn't enough to erase the negative energy that has embedded itself within the walls like black mold. 

She was planning on inviting her girls over on Friday but she really only wanted to be hanging out with you. Because of that feeling, she invited someone to sleep with instead. She needed to get you out of her head. You were starting to consume her every thought. Even when she worked on the plans for her dream house. Would Y/n like this much natural light if I add this wall of windows? Wouldn't they like a woodworking space, like my father had? Maybe Rachel needs a room… she dropped her pencil and scrapped the paper. She didn't need to be thinking about that. 

Wanda was kicking the girl, Jessica, that she had over when her phone started ringing. Her heart jumped at the goofy picture of you with the caller ID that you had set, covering her screen. “Hey you,” she greets as she shuts the door. “What's up?” 

“Wanda, keep it in your pants.” Wanda moves the phone from her face as she doesn't recognize the voice. It was still your contact information. “This is Darcy. We met last week,” she says with an urgency. This gets Wanda’s heart to race with worry. 

“What's wrong with Y/n? Why are you calling me from their phone?” She asks as she searches for her keys. Ready to be driving to the hospital. 

“They're fine for the most part. I think.” She goes quiet for a second. “Look, they're really wasted and I was wondering if you could pick them up?” Darcy asks nervously. “No stop! Hey! Y/n, don't do that! Steve, Bucky, get them!” Darcy shouts away from the phone but Wanda can hear everything she says. Wanda shakes her head. So far she hadn't known you to be the drunk type. She'd seen you have a few drinks and get a buzz but she hasn't seen you in such a state that your friends have had to parent you. 

Wanda sighs, “Text me the location. I'll be there as soon as I can.” 

“Okay, thank you,” Darcy sounds distracted. “Damnit, Y/n, why do you have a flask! Stop drinking!” Is the last thing Wanda hears before the call drops. She sits in her car for a few minutes before she receives the text of the location. It was a bar close to her house and she was there in no time at all. She doesn't even have to get out of the car to help you inside because Steve and Bucky shove you into the front seat. 

“Wanda!” You say happily as you realize whose car you've been dumped into. Your eyes are closed but you recognize the scent you had been wrapped up in for two weeks. “Where's Wanda? I want to say hi,” you mutter as you start to get sleepy. 

“Here's their phone,” Darcy says as she stands at Wanda's side of the car. “Don't let them call or text anyone. They're going through something with the ex and you have to make sure that they don't say something they'll regret.” 

Wanda is confused, “What happened between Y/n and Daisy?” 

“Oh no, honey,” Darcy smiles, “Not that ex. This is baby momma drama. You'll have to ask Y/n about that one in the morning. It's not my place to go into the details.” 

Wanda nods in acknowledgement. “Thank you for calling me. Does anyone else need a ride, I'd be happy to -” 

“Nope, we're good. Just focus on Y/n. Maybe try to get some water in them.” Darcy taps the car. “Good luck,” she waves as she rejoins the group on the sidewalk. Wanda drives you back to her house and helps get you inside. She didn't realize how heavy you could be when you're not holding your weight yourself. But she manages. 

“I’m sorry I drank too much, Wanda,” you mutter as you lean against her on the sofa. She was trying to get you to drink some water before she attempted to move you up the stairs. 

“That's okay, just drink this now,” she says as she puts the plastic cup against your lips. You take a sip and nearly spit it out as you show your disgust. 

“Poison,” you exclaim. “Gah, what is that? It's awful,” you say as you lean away from it. 

“It's water,” she leans closer to you. “Drink it!” She demands. 

You make a face and take the cup and chug the whole thing. “I think my body is rejecting it. I need to chase it down with something. Do you have any vodka?” You complain and Wanda shakes her head. 

“What did Jean do to you?” Wanda asks herself and you laugh maniacally when you catch her name. 

“She wants my baby,” you answer. And Wanda is concerned that there is going to be some sort of custody battle. She can't think of why there would be. Unless Jean has a better job opportunity somewhere else. 

“She can't take Rachel from you,” Wanda says as she gets up to refill the cup. 

“Not that baby!” You shout. “My other baby. Er. A new one. She wants a new one and she doesn't want me to have it.” Wanda relaxes a bit, still confused but at least it's not something that will necessarily disrupt Rachel’s life. She walks over and claims the cup of water is vodka. You drink it as if it was the first drink you’d ever had in your life. “That’s the good stuff right there, what’s that brand?” 

She is standing in front of you as she waits for you to finish the beverage. “I’ll tell you in the morning so that you don’t forget.” When you’re don’t she reaches for the cup and instead of handing it over, you grab her by the wrist and pull her to land on top of you. She tries to push herself up but you catch her lips in a sloppy kiss. “What are you doing?” She whispers as she pulls away. 

“Something I should have done a long time ago,” you reply. 

She shakes her head, “You’re drunk.” 

“So?” You ask as you try to kiss her again. This time she is able to slip out of your grasp. 

“So, this isn’t happening,” Wanda doesn’t go into how she’d be taking advantage of you since you’re so wasted and she hasn’t had a drop of alcohol all week. She doesn’t remind you of why you rejected her before or mention that she refuses to be a rebound for you. “Let's get you to bed,” she says as she lifts you up by your arm. You shake your head, disappointed by the rejection but comply. 

You're a little wobbly as you walk up the stairs. Wanda is closely behind you to ensure your safe ascent. You stop in front of her open bedroom door. Uncertain if she wants you to stay with her. But you decide that it's not her decision to make. So you move to the guest room. Wanda doesn't argue as she collects a bottle of painkillers and fills the cup again. She leaves the items on the nightstand beside you. You fell asleep the second your head hit the pillow. You snored softly and Wanda was surprised because you never snored during the time you stayed with her.

“I'll see you in the morning,” she says while she flips the light switch off and shuts the bedroom door. Wanda grabs the pillow that smells like you out of her closet and sets it on her bed before she gets in her pajamas. She crawls into bed and clutches the pillow to her chest as she inhales your scent in order to fall asleep.

Chapter 15

Taglist: @princessprudy @sayah13 @agaymilflover @awkwardmandalorian @bentleywolf29 @thatshyboy1998 @artisannat @thisischaismagic @wqndanat @madamevirgo @likefirenrain @tearsofglitter @feltlikethat @the-writer-arcane @natashasilverfox @karsonromanoff @aloneodi @lovelyy-moonlight @red1culous @jovialsublimecomputer @natasha-maximoff @iliketozoneout @doudouneverte @druggedduck @notbornbutforged @when-wolves-howl @lifespectator @justyourwritter69 @wandaromamoff69 @awesomelygayasf @nekoannie-chan @diaryoflife @wuwu96 @wandanats-goodgirl @sincerely-indi @blueredg52 @sisiofthemultifandom @fuzzyuniversityeclipsefriend @arcturusseer @scarlettwidow34 @chasethemoon @raven-ss @canyonyodeler @sokovianbaby @alexawynters @bittysworld @hopeless-romantic17177 @spongebobtentacles

[monbons]

Stitch Sunday

Big week friends! I made some serious progress on my CORB art this weekend. Since I can't post anything finished, here is another teaser of those same legs from last week... but this week they are even sexier (if that is possible).

So in love with how this doll turned out. It is part of a set, but I can't start the second doll until a visit to the fabric store. I need fabric with the tiniest paisley print possible. Or sequins. Also tiny. We'll see if I'm successful...

In other news, I started posting The Boy Next Door. I'm glad it is out in the world, even though it is nerve-wracking in a way no other fic has been (even the first one!). This is the first idea that is all mine from beginning to end---not a canon divergence or an AU of an existing work---so it feels very high-stakes. Just my brain playing with dolls, and y'all might not like what the dolls are doing, you know? Anyway, I am having all the feelings.

Since chapter 1 and chapter 2 were originally one chapter, there won't be a teaser of anything new today because I've already teased enough from Chapter 2 in the past. Instead, let me convince you to start reading it with another snip from Chapter 1 below the cut.

I wave and smile as broadly as I can. “I just moved in!” My neighbour impersonates a Greek sculpture and doesn’t stir at all, their pale skin only adding to the illusion. I think they can hear me. I’m being extremely loud. A single pane of glass is not a real sound barrier. I motion for them to open their window. For a moment, I think they will— they lean forward, their book all but forgotten as they stretch toward the latch. I try to take this opportunity to gather more clues, although my new observations are equally contradictory. They are not just slim but flat-chested with no hips in sight. But, they move the way they play violin, like liquid—all grace and finesse. Most boys I know are bumbling fools like me. I keep waving like an idiot as I hang out of my window. They reach out a hand and … shut the drapes. Again.

I'll try to find a new snip for WIP Wednesday. In the meantime, hellos and high-fives from the doll factory!

@thewholelemon, @bookish-bogwitch, @roomwithanopenfire, @cutestkilla, @raenestee

@iamamythologicalcreature, @emeryhall, @mooncello, @hushed-chorus, @rimeswithpurple

@artsyunderstudy, @aristocratic-otter, @arthurkko, @best--dress, @brilla-brilla-estrellita

@run-for-chamo-miles, @supercutedinosaurs, @whatevertheweather, @talentpiper11, @larkral

@shrekgogurt, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @youarenevertooold, @blackberrysummerblog, @messofthejess

@drowninginships, @valeffelees, @orange-peony, @facewithoutheart, @alexalexinii

@ic3-que3n, @skeedelvee, @fiend-for-culture, @beastmonstertitan, @melodysmash

@martsonmars, @katatsumuli, @comesitintheclover, @stitchyqueer, @erzbethluna

@ileadacharmedlife, @theimpossibledemon, @letraspal, @rbkzz

[soaps-mohawk]

Heyyyy ik ur are tired ,just wanted to ask if you will post a chapter this week ,get well soon

Honey, I am not "tired", I am sick.

Congestion, sinus pain, headache, fatigue, sure my sore throat went away last night but now I have a cough. I can't sleep because I don't want to use my cpap while sick, so I wake every hour either from not breathing or because I'm choking on sinus drainage. (And yes, I sleep at an angle and it still doesn't help any.)

I wrote 600 words of chapter 16 on Saturday when I was getting sick, and I have not touched it since then, nor have I even thought about touching it because I am now fully sick.

I gave y'all two chapters last week. Two. You have no idea how badly I was stressing about Chapter 15 and how close I was to giving up writing and I still got the chapter up for everyone on Sunday WHILE I HAD A FEVER.

Regardless of the extra bonus chapter everyone got, I still would say it's not likely you'll get a chapter this week because I AM SICK. I want to rest and sleep and try to get better because I have things in my real life that I need to do too that I haven't been able to because I've been sick. I'm not even thinking about this fic and updating it right now.

I am begging y'all to remember I am a real person with a real life behind this blog. I get busy, I get tired, I get sick. I do this as a hobby. I post here on tumblr for free. I pump out 7k word chapters every week, and in the case of last week, multiple times a week. It's hard. It takes a lot of work and dedication just to do this alone while I feel healthy and normal, much less everything else I do during the week.

On top of that, Friday is my birthday and I'd like to take that day to do what I want to do and celebrate the crisis of getting yet another year older.

So no, chances are, there's probably not going to be a chapter out this week. I want to rest and recover and even if I did try to pump out 7k words in the next two days, I'm not going to be happy with it. I'm not going to like it. It's not going to be up to par with the standard I've set with the rest of the chapters quality-wise and I'm going to be tearing myself up because I'll have felt like I cheated y'all trying to write while sick just for the sake of getting a chapter out this week.

Now that I've got myself all worked up, I'm going to go lay down and rest and maybe have some soup because I'm hungry and for the first time in days, it does not hurt to eat. So take one of the chapters from last week and consider that the update for this week.

[its-in-the-woods]

Down the Rabbit Hole Chapter 16

Chapter one here, two here, three here, four here , five here, six here, seven here, eight here,nine here, ten here, eleven here , twelve here , thirthen here, fourteen here, Fifteen Here

master list

Pairing: Walton Goggins x You

Rating/Warning:  As always minor get out Almost entirely fluff, vague suggestions of sex, lots of comfort, it's sweet and sappy

Synopsis: Updated synopsis, Monday means things are busy, but not busy enough to not go look at nice dresses.

Note: Happy Sunday y'all thanks for reading and enjoy my work it means so much to me! This is just a little bit of fluff cause we all need some.

You are lying in the bed after changing the sheets, body sore in the best of way. Windows open and the cool evening breeze comes over your skin. It’s late but the two of you were too warm to sleep. Pizza had been ordered, more drinks had been made, and more sex. You can’t help the flush that crosses your face, as you remember the evening. The man was insatiable, and you don't mind. He took care of you every time, no asking or fussing, just turning into a puddle on whatever surface he had you on. Your brain wanders over to tomorrow, of course, it did. 

Tomorrow was packed, Walton had sent you an itinerary of what was going on tomorrow. It was busy. Nothing you couldn’t handle really, if set life had taught you anything it was how to handle stress. Tomorrow morning Charlotte would be coming over with some paper for you to sign, as well as a list of documents she’d need from you. It still made you nervous, but you had decided to trust Walton. No matter what, it would work, one way or another. The other thing that was happening was the red carpet event at the end of the day, you hadn’t really talked to him about it.

You slid off the bed and wandered over to the bathroom, Walton was currently shaving for tomorrow. “I kinda was hoping you’d keep the stubble” You muse, watching him work away as you lean against the door frame. His shirt covers most of you, it smells like him, smoke, vanilla something else you can't put a name to. 

Walton’s hand works quickly and easily moving over the skin covered in shaving cream. It was practice movements that he had done many times, you couldn’t help but remember the scratch of the stubble on your face. He flicks the razor into the sink as he finishes up. 

“Got to have a smooth face, that’s what they are asking for anyway,” Walton says quietly running his fingers over each area, before taking a town to wipe himself down with. 

“So about tomorrow, what does the red carpet event involve?” You ask, you can hear the trepidation in your voice.

Walton turns to you kissing your forehead, hands running over your shoulders, “Do you want to come with me? Be my date?” 

Your heart speeds up in your chest, at the thought of having several dozen photographers flashing at you. This didn't even cover the endless headlines that would surely be published the moment the photos hit twitter. 

“I would love to be your date, but umm.” You let out a breath, as you followed him over to the bed, “Would it be okay if I didn’t walk the red carpet with you?”

Walton sat on the bed, those damn hazel eyes watching you, “You worried about being seen with me?” His brows furrow as the words leave his mouth.

“No, more the other way around.” You come and sit beside him, shoulder slouching a bit, “Not sure I am up for answering the questions or dealing with all the headlines.”

Walton lays down motioning for you to come lay with him. You wiggle over and rest your head against his chest, the comforting warmth and steady beat of his heart soothing you. 

“If you want to come you’re welcome to. I don't think it will be as stressful as you might expect. That said, If you aren’t ready for that, then I will make sure you are escorted around the mayhem to meet me on the other side.” Walton tells you, hand rubbing up and down your arm.

You ponder this for a second moving closer to him, enjoying the feeling of his heat near you. “Maybe next time?” You feel a little awkward, you don’t want to disappoint him, but you're not sure if you’re ready for the hubbub that would be coming after the event. 

Leaning down he kisses you softly, hand wandering down over your cheek. “We will have many chances when you’re ready.”

"Am I being ridiculous about this?" You push, mind reeling as you feel self-conscious about the whole situation.

Walton's face breaks into a grin, and he kisses you again, "You are never ridiculous." You can hear the tease in his voice, you pout and scrunch yourself away from him.

His fingers push under your arms and tickle at your side, you squawk and try to move away as bubbles of laughter break out of your chest. Mind blanking at as you do your best to push away him tickling at you.

"Stooopp," You giggle wriggling away from him, trying to get your own fingers to find spots but he has you pinned in a moment. "Not fairrr."

He stops kissing you again, rubbing his nose against yours. "You are ridiculous, but I only want to see you content. Even if that means I do the event on my own. "

You roll your eyes and snuggle against him, "Fine. You've convinced me. I will go with you."

Walton kisses all over your face, "You are too good for me."

***

Charlotte had stopped by first thing, the stack of papers you needed to sign was explained in detail. Some of it goes over your head, but if you had a question, she or Walton would answer them. The list of documents you need was also relatively straightforward, many of them you had already from working in film. Charlotte and you exchanged numbers, once your show was done and you were back in LA she’d help you set up anything else you might need. The whole experience left you feeling pleasantly comfortable. It wasn't nearly as mountainous as you thought it would be.

Then Terrance comes over just as Charlotte is finishing up, the two of them exchange hugs before she takes off. The man is a whirlwind of energy, clothing is laid out on the bed, along with various accessories. The man talks a mile a minute and is all hands. You have decided to sit by the window ledge letting the two men work. Currently, Walton is topless holding up two different tops as the man looks him over. Terrance grabs a couple of bracelets, they eventually land on a simple white button-up and black jacket for interviews. Then switch to a light gray suit jacket and matching pants for the red carpet event. 

“And what about you?” Terrance turned to you, he is around your height with salt and pepper hair. Decked out in a well-tailored pair of black pants and flowing navy shirt, hands decorated with large rings. He looks elegant and at the same he commands the room. The man looks you over, taking in the simple blue jeans and a loose-fitting black top you are wearing. “Should we take you to get something for the event?”

You shake your head with a smile, "Oh, I am sure I can find something that will work for tonight."

Terrance narrows his blue eyes at you, turning back to Walton. "Do you have dresses hiding in your closet I don't know about it?'

Walton chuckles as he does up most of the buttons on the shirt. “Nothing that would fit her, I am afraid.”

The man sighed, putting his hands on his hips, turning back to you, "It will be my treat. Plus I doubt your man here has taken you out much."

You break eye contact and look away. Walton grins as he gets his jacket on. Walton looks over at you, “You are welcome to take him up on his offer.”

You ponder this for a moment, you couldn’t remember the last time you had gone shopping for something outside work clothes. Most of your wardrobe was black or neutral colored clothes, comfortable to wear, and easy to clean. “Umm, sure, I wouldn't mind finding something a little more appropriate.”

Terrance claps his hands together, “Excellent! Now I am excited!”

***

The first two interviews go off without a hiccup, everyone is professional and make sure you are comfortable. You find yourself easing into things, it’s not much different from working on set. Smaller crews, more intimate locations, and a breakneck pace. Once Walton is set you sit back and enjoy the filming process, listening to Walt tell stories never got old. As you arrive at the third interview Terrance stops by to grab you. Walton gives you a quick kiss as you are out the door with the man, down into the sunshine-spilled streets. The stylist is on the move, and you are doing your best to keep up as you slide into the front seat of his mini cooper. 

“So how are you enjoying LA,” Terrance asks, easily moving along the busy roadways. 

You shift in your seat slightly, this was the most you’ve seen of the city this weekend.“Ahh, like you said, haven't been out much,” 

Terrance chuckles as he lights a cigarette rolling down the window, “Ah, a weekend that’s been more pleasure than exploration.”

You are now officially pink, swallowing, you take a sip of water before replying, “ Something like that, we don’t get many multiple days off together.”

Terrance has a small grin on his face, “That’s Walton, man loves to be busy, I have no idea how he didn’t lose his mind during the pandemic.”

“He probably did, trying to make up for lost time now. I know I was losing my mind but I also live in a shoebox.” You reply, your mind picturing Walton just running from one end of his house to the other like some madman. 

“But you are moving down here though?” Terrance pries, as he turns down another busy street. You briefly wonder how the man had any clue where he was going.

You nod, “I wasn’t certain, but I think it makes sense. Looking forward to not having to live in an apartment anymore. Nice to have some space and be in a bigger city.”

Terrance pulls up to the small storefront, and you follow him inside. Despite the appearance, the entire place is beautifully laid out with amazing dresses. 

Terrance is going through the racks like he is looking for the cure for cancer, all careful precision and hurried movements. 

“So you’re going to be Watlon’s personal make-up artist going forward?” Terrance asks as he pulls out another dress and hands it to you. 

“Yes, that's the plan, still working out details. Don’t think I’ve seen so much paperwork” You reply, eyes wide at some of the price tags. You adjust how you carry things so nothing is touching the floor. 

“I am sure Walton will take excellent care of you. Charlotte is also a dear friend of mine, the lady knows her stuff in and out.” The man states, walking you over to the changing rooms. He hangs up several of the dresses humming over them. “I was going to try you in this red number, but I think I like these blue ones better.”

You slip into the room slipping off your clothes to pull the dress on. It has a corset back which proves tricky to do up by yourself. It has a scoop neckline, which you realize reveals Walton’s handy work of marks. 

“Walton mentioned that he was going to be traveling again,” Terrance said, pushing the curtain open to help you tie up the piece. 

“Yes, I think he mentioned that there was work lined up,” You smile, face a little flush, the dress is squishing in all the wrong ways. “I think I may need something that, umm, covers these.” You point at the marks, a small grin tugs at Terrance’s lips.

“Oh, well that changes things,” Terrance groans, immediately untying the back. He hands you a piece in navy blue with gold embroidered flowers. “I am going to have to tell him to keep the marks somewhere lower. Damn vacuum cleaner.”

A small snort leaves your mouth, as you tuck yourself back into the changing room, the thought of Walton getting scolded kept the smile there.

The zippers barely go up on this one, Terrance adjusts a tie on the side, and it slips on. The neckline covers up the marks but you feel like you are in a cardboard box. You grimace, trying to adjust the material so it looks half decent, but Terrance is already unzipping you and handing you a deep red piece. 

“Haven’t seen Walton this excited about anyone in years,” Terrance quips as you come out in the red number, it's the best out of the bunch but you aren’t sure about the color. 

“Oh? I haven’t really,” You cringe as Terrance fluffs the material out in a few areas, " asked about past relationships.”

“Nothing of interest really, man has needs and all that. But he’s really taken a liking to you,” Terrance says, before handing you a black dress. “He never shuts up about you, pretty sure he is smitten.”

“Yeah? I like him too,” You flush again as you peel off the latest pieces. Take a few breaths before slipping into the next piece. 

You walk out feeling confident about this one. It’s tight under your bust, coming up and wrapping around your neck to cover the bruises, then flows out in whisps of tulle and satin. Terrance is smiling as he grabs something sparkling, it’s layers of rhinestones that fall over you making the dress look like it’s covered in dew.

“Oh I think this is the winner,” Terrance smiles, having you spin around. The dress is sparkling in the light, it rests just at your ankles and is loose enough for you to move freely. “Yep, I am good at what I do. Look at you, just stunning”

You look in the mirror, taken aback by how you look, “Wow. This is beautiful.”

Terrance is beaming as he takes you in, “I don’t even think we need adjustments, you are looking red carpet worthy.”

A thread of doubt curling in your mind, pushing that away, and focus on enjoying the feeling. You can’t remember the last time you put on a dress much less one this stunning. Terrance fluffing and preening you, showing how to make the piece sit just right. 

“Okay, let’s get everything sorted. Few bits of paperwork, and then we will go get you some shoes,” Terrance says with a smile, you smile back before tucking yourself into the changing room. You do a silent squee, turning around in the space a few times. Stopping, you calm yourself down and change back into your street clothes. 

You carefully put the dress on the hanger and step out. Terrance hands it over to one of the staff who takes it up front.

“So with the dress,” Terrance explains walking you up to the counter, “Just hang it up in Walton’s closet before you leave, I will have someone pick it up and return it here.”

“Oh, yes of course,” You reply, slightly saddened that it was a rental. Then again with the price, it only makes sense. “I will make sure it gets back to you. Thank you so much for this.” 

Terrance fills out all the paperwork and whatever else is needed. Then you are whisked out to find some matching heels, and back on your way to meet up with Walton.

Terrance takes a puff of a cigarette as the two of you drive down the busy streets. “When you move down here I will have to take you out, and fill out the other half of that closet.”

“Really? I would enjoy that,” You reply, still a little taken aback by all of this. The thought of having clothes picked out by Terrance sounds wonderful. "Thank you again,"

“Of course, got to make sure you are looking your best,” Terrance says, butting the smoke out in an ashtray.  “Plus, I miss working with women, so many options.” 

You chuckle, pondering what the next few months might look like. Your whole world changing in the blink of an eye. 

***

The rest of the day went off without a hitch, you both are at home to get ready for the last event of the night. You pull out the gown and lay it on the bed. It doesn’t feel real. You stand there, head spinning a little, how was this even happening? Were you really going to go down the red carpet, the dress was beautiful, and you had done up your make-up, so why not? You swallow, your mind is still swirling around. 

“Hey,” Walton whispers, you turn to see him standing there. Your breath caught in your throat, he looked so good. He always looks good, but something about the cut of the suit, the fact the last few buttons aren’t done up makes him look even better. You can see his long neck peeking out between the buttons, licking your lips as you watch him move. 

“Hi,” You squeak, as you look him up and down, trying to burn the image into your mind. “I will get into this right now.”

Walton moves over, hands resting on your hips,  “If you want to stay here tonight, it’s okay. It was a busy day for both of us.”

“No, I do want to come with you, ” You say, even as you worry at your lips. “Try it out anyway.”

Walton moves away, opening up a drawer on the side table, you watch him. Slightly concerned he might have something more devious in mind, instead he comes to you with a small box. You blink a few times, as he hands it to you, feeling a little nervous as you go to open it.

“I promise that it’s nothing too fancy,” He says with a small smile, his face flushing as he watches you.

You take a moment before opening up the box, inside are two silver bracelets, one slightly smaller than the other. Taking out the smaller one you slip it on over your hand, the cool metal sends a smaller shiver over your skin. Walton takes the other and slips it onto his wrist. You run your fingertips over it Walton grinning as his bracelet pulses. 

“Oh? Wait-” You do the motion again, grabbing his wrist you can feel where you have touched. A small pulse vibrating against his skin as you move your fingers.

Walton grins as he watches you realize how it works. “If I am thinking about you,” He runs his fingers over the bracelet, and you immediately feel where his fingers touch. “You can feel me”

You let out a little giggle as you trace your fingers over your bracelet, watching him react to it. “Oh, this is so neat.”

He leans in and kisses you, you kiss him back wanting to stay there. He pulls you against him, holding you tight against his chest. You close your eyes and just take in the moment. The two of you locked in time wrapped around the other.

“I should get dressed,” You say, hesitant to move. The last thing you want to do is go out but know it’s important. 

Walton lets you go, giving you another kiss on the forehead. You slip out of your clothes and carefully step into the dress, Walton coming over to help you do up the zippers. Then you grab the rhinestone top piece sliding it down over top. You move it back and forth until it sits right, like how Terrance had showed you, the lighting in the room making it sparkle. Walton steps back, his eyes traveling over you, you do a little spin and he grins. 

“You look stunning,” He whispers, eyes going over the dress as you move in it, “It fits perfectly,”

You grin back, “Terrance knows what he is doing.”

“That he does, might have to cut the night short just so I can take you out of it,” He comes over and brings you close, fingers running over the different details of the dress. 

You lean up and kiss him, “Promises, promises.”

seventeen

As always, likes, reblogs, comments are always welcome <3 You feed the parasites in my brain.

[libraryofloveletters]

chapter one: colour me red

Chalres Leclerc x Fem!Reader + Carlos Sainz Jr x Fem!Reader

Warnings: new relationships, a little bit of flirting, carlos is having some bad thought - malice from carlos as well, charles is oblivious, alcohol and the consumption of, reader is getting caught in a wicked web already, a bit of lying and one hint to a sexual innuendo

Word Count: 1.3k

Author's Note: welcome to my new series! chapter one isn't very long, just an opening little thing but chapter two will be juicy and I will be posting the first insta file on Sunday :) I'm not sure how often I'll be updating as I have classes but I will try to get chapters out to you as often as possible :) I hope y'all enjoy it!

Call My Name Masterlist

--

Preseason was such a boring time to be a Formula One driver.

Most of their responsibilities were turning up for events being hosted by sponsors and attending multiple meetings to make sure that they have everything they'd need in the car. As much as that does benefit them, they would much rather be on track.

Hence why they were so glad today was the last of the preseason events. Ferrari was hosting their season opener at Maranello this evening.

Carlos has been twirling around from the moment he arrived, being dragged from one sponsor to the other as if he didn't already see them at some point in the last few weeks. The one person he was really looking for was his teammate, Charles.

The Monegasque driver had been hinting to Carlos that he's seeing someone, and that he would be bringing her to the event to meet everyone. He can still hear Charles' words in his head; a beautiful woman, god she's so beautiful.

Carlos, whose curiosity got the best of him, went looking for this beautiful woman online, searching every variation of a headline he could think of and yet, nothing.

He was starting to believe that Charles made her up.

Speaking of Charles, he was nowhere to be found. He figured he'd get a drink and then head out in search of his friend.

He isn't sure what came over him as he approached the bar and as much as he knew staring was rude, he couldn't help himself.

To his left, sat the most beautiful woman he had seen in his life; hair curled and tossed over her shoulders, her complexion complimented the red dress she had on and Carlos' eyes wandered over her legs, crossed over one another and he looked up and down until he stopped at the black heels she had on - the bottoms red like her dress. Expensive, he thought to himself.

A woman's voice breaks his thoughts; "did your mother not tell you that staring was rude?"

He smiles when his eyes meet hers. "Only if there's a reason I shouldn't be staring."

"So you're saying," you twirled the straw in your glass. Carlos notices your manicured nails, French tip - a term he learnt from his sisters. "That there's a reason you should be staring at me?"

"Can't help myself," he smiles again, stepping closer before sitting on the stool next to hers. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

The woman laughs, her hand resting on his arm that was stretched out over the bar counter. Carlos' knees bumped with hers, her own leg shifts, stretching out and her foot pressed to the bottom handle of his seat.

Carlos is lost in thought, watching as your lips wrap around the straw. His mind is filthy, he can't help but think what your mouth would feel like around his - You called him out to him.

"Does that line ever work for you?"

"Sometimes."

"Well," she smiles at him, her nails scratching over his arm before moving it. "You're not so bad yourself," she smiles at him sweetly.

Carlos sits with the woman for a while longer, buying her another drink as they chatted; he revealed more than she did, she simply nodded along and when he asked what she's doing here, she told him she's been invited.

As has everyone else; he tells her and she smiles, shrugging.

Someone rests a hand on her lower back, causing her to shift in her seat to see who it is. Carlos looks over, seeing that his teammate, Charles, was now leant down to press a kiss to the woman's cheek.

"You're okay?" He asks her, his hand on her shoulder as he stands behind her. Her hand reached up to rest on his, nodding. "Absolutely."

"Carlos," Charles smiles, "I see you've met y/n."

Carlos blinks, looking between you and Charles; he finally makes the connection. You were the mystery woman.

"So you're y/n," he smiles at you - to be fair, you didn't tell him your name nor did he ask.

"I am."

"I was starting to think that Charles made you up, that you weren't real and were just some fiction of his imagination." He smiles, making you two laugh.

"She's real, mate!" Charles laughs and you nod, offering him your arm. "I'm very real, feel free to pinch me and confirm."

As innocent as your gesture seemed, there was something underlying in the way you said it, the way you looked at him. Carlos doesn't say anything, glancing at his teammate before he reaches for your wrist. His index finger and thumb dragged across the soft skin of your wrist, meeting in the middle to pinch you.

The two of you are smiling at each other, Carlos's hand rests over your wrist and as much as you knew you needed to move your hand, you didn't. Charles was oblivious, he's yet to notice the tension growing between the two of you.

He speaks, squeezing your shoulder. "If that's all, mate," he smiles, "I'm gonna take her around to meet everyone, yeah?"

You smile at your boyfriend, scooting off the stool which lifted your dress a tad too high for Carlos's mind not to wander.

"I'll see you around, Carlos." You smiled at the man, interlocking your fingers with Charles' before picking up your glass.

Carlos nods, "don't let them bore you too much," he tips his beer bottle in your direction, taking a sip as you walk off with his teammate.

God, he wished he didn't feel the way that he did and he knew it was wrong, so bloody wrong, but he can't help it.

Charles was kind and he deserved love, Carlos knew as much but if you, this beautiful woman - so sweet and so charming, loved him as much as Charles seemed to love you, then why would you flirt with him?

You didn't suit Charles; you were opposites.

Mysterious, funny, charming, kind, sweet, smart - as the list goes on, Carlos does realize in fact that you do suit Charles in some ways but he held a bias.

He met you first, here.

That meant you were supposed to be his, not Charles's.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth, he would make sure you would be his one way or the other.

---

It's quiet, the room smells manly in a way, a scent that you've come to know as Charles. The bathroom door was opened after his shower, the man brushing his teeth as you watched tv in bed.

A phone buzzes on the nightstand, you don't look over but Charles hears it from the bathroom. "Is it mine?" He calls and you lean over, reaching for it.

His phone screen was dark but yours had lit up. "No! It's mine," you call back, pick to check who had messaged you.

There's a notification from Instagram.

Carlos Sainz (carlossainz55) has requested to follow you. 3m ago.

Charles comes out of the bathroom, finding you staring at your phone. "Everything okay, love?"

"Yeah," you smile, "just instagram."

He gets into bed, pulling the duvet up. "Anything interesting?"

"No," you shook your head, unlocking your phone to accept the request. "Just my friend tagging me in some give-away," you laughed before setting your phone back down.

Charles smiles, letting you lay against his side as you two watched whatever was rerunning on tv.

A few floors below the two of you and a room to the left, a man's phone lights up with a notification from Instagram.

Y/n L/n (youruser) has accepted your follow request. 1m ago.

Carlos reaches over for his phone, reading the words and smiling to himself; it's every man for himself now.

--

add yourself to the call my name taglist!

taglist: @aadslovesmads @lieswithoutfairytales @steephanie07 @topguncultleader @darleneslane @barnestatic @ravisinghs_wife @elisaa-shelby @piggyinthesea @cmleitora @kmc1989 @themandaloriansdiaries @oconso

[caterpills]

(Six) (Seven) Several Sentence Sunday

Thank you so much for the tag this week @sophie1973 !!

We're due in for another heat wave during a very annoying busy time at work, so while I dread this next week, here are a few words that are still wording, but I think I'll keep them for a while. If you thought the Austin chapter of This Is More of a Comment Than a Question was the Alex Chapter™, I'm considering this upcoming Tucson one the Henry Chapter™:

But something about tonight changes. Alex finds himself tucking against Henry instead, his chest to Henry's back. His arms wind around Henry's waist, secure and solid, trying not to lose him in the tangle of blankets. It's possessive, protective. Alex knows he's being excessive, maybe even too much. But he's keeping Henry close, he needs to. His embrace is a promise of safety, so that Henry doesn't drift away. So, that neither of them do. When he thinks Henry might be asleep, a steady rhythm to his breathing the only clue Alex has, he noses at the ridges of Henry's spine, mouthing the words with barely a sound, "I've got you." Henry whispers back, small and thankful. "I know." 

Low pressure tags under the cut! Have a great Sunday, y'all!

I'm tagging people! I'm doing the THING. @alasse9 @taste-thewaste @firenati0n @thesleepyskipper @suseagull04

@myheartalivewrites @miss-minnelli @judasofsuburbia @thinkof-england @onthewaytosomewhere

@anincompletelist @14carrotghoul @porcelainmortal @duchessdepolignaca03 @wordsofhoneydew

@stellarmeadow @faketrex @sophie1973 @littlemisskittentoes @thedramasummer

@kiwiana-writes @tailsbeth-writes @jamieylnn @milowren29 @tinyarmedtrex

+ open tag!! (Sorry if I missed people! I'm going to keep adding to this in the future!!)

[infinitegalahad]

AMERICAN PROMETHEUS AND HIS ATHENA - CHAPTER 5

Pairing: J. Robert Oppenheimer x Female Identifying! Reader Summary: You and Robert, of course, were a couple. A serious one at that; no more games, judgment, hiding, and dancing around the idea. But it came with its many hardships. Word Count: 6.0k Warnings: LOTS. Please read. Infidelity, messy relationships, minor blood loss, loss of child, cursing, and minor sexism (not from Oppie). Please read and heed with caution. Notes: THAT HAT. OMG. MY HUSBAND IS LOOKING SO FINE THERE. oops sorry for being horny on the writing account, next topic! folks, buckle up, this is a lot! not only is the longest chapter, but its got a lottttt of drama happening. we're talking infidelity, marriage proposals, trinity, kitty being a bad bitch, edward teller in sunscreen, my drunk writing, groves being an ass hole and most importantly; TWO sex scenes. apparently, y'all loved my smut, and i appreciate your compliments! there's one more scene to come *insert winky face* mwahahha. i also know i said this is ten chapters, but this story is nearing it's ending, so there's one more real chapter. I'm going to try concluding the story within the week. I've been packing for school and I've got a long drive on Thursday. I'm done with most of my packing, so I will try to release the final chapter tomorrow. the epilogue will be much shorter. this has been one hecka of a ride, and the next chapter will most likely be a lot of drama. once again, your support has been amazing, thank you all for everything! <3 Taglist: @forgottenpeakywriter @queenshelbyy @chloriine36 @kodzuvk Taglist | Masterlist

It was five in the morning, and yet it didn’t feel close to it. The sky was pitch black with not a star to be soon. The only light of the source came from the dim light bulbs and the headlights of the cars that surrounded you. You lay on your stomach beneath an uncomfortable mat with your hand edging the corners of the binoculars you held, the other hand reaching for the pain of sunglasses to block the light that would hopefully come from the test bomb. 

Two years. Two years of potential hard work gone to nothing.

Awaiting the announcement of the detention, you laid and, in an attempt to hide your anxiety, thought about how the hell you ended up in the middle of New Mexico, working on some secret project for the government, and what it took to get you to be a small part in the Manhattan Project. 

You and Robert, of course, were a couple. A serious one at that; no more games, judgment, hiding, and dancing around the idea. But it came with its many hardships. 

The first straw was Kitty. 

She was much older, and from what you heard, extremely intimidating. While you respected and honored her, you also wanted to avoid her, as you felt that she did not like you at all. Robert had told her he was in a relationship with a “young” woman, emphasizing “young”, and Kitty read him the riot act. Robert thought she was overreacting, but you sympathized and understood. All you wanted was to be respectful, and honestly, avoid her at all costs. 

But of course, that didn’t happen. After one of your Friday sessions, which ended in Robert and you making love, you slept at this house and stayed until Sunday most times. You even had your own toothbrush and brush, using the feminine bathing products and flowery perfumes that Robert had gifted you. Hatomi had noticed and always said you smelled good. She had been having a possible affair with your French Literature teacher, but that was a story for another time. 

That one morning, you woke up with Robert’s arm on your waist, and a child staring directly at you. You identified him as Peter, as he was the spitting image of Robert, minus the parts that very much looked like Kitty. Blinking rapidly, you thought it was some bad dream, but the broken truck and bright, sad blue stare made you realize that Kitty was here with her and Robert’s children. 

You and Kitty didn’t take long to meet, with her being dressed and you being butt naked. 

Both of you had to smack Robert awake, who was appalled at the situation. There stood his children in front of a girl who was closer in age to them than their father and a very pissed-off mother. Naturally, this needed a very long conversation. 

Kitty glared at you while sitting on the couch with Robert’s shirt on. She, like Robert, smoked a cigarette; her cold eyes burning into your skin. Robert reached over to grab your hand, which you slapped away. 

“So you’re his student?”

You gulped and looked down, nodding. 

“And you’re getting your bachelor’s degree in what? The arts?”

“Maybe a Bachelor’s in both the arts and science, ma’am.”

She blows a puff of smoke into your face, making it feel very directed. As she gets up to get a drink, she eyes you and turns to Robert. 

“At least she’s smart.” 

As much as you really want to leave, Robert insists you stay too well, impress Kitty, and show her you can cook, provide, and care for him. It infuriates you, and as much as you look at the door, you force yourself to stay. You don’t have any clothes there, so you’re forced to wear Robert’s white oxford shorts and bottom lingerie shorts while working around Kitty. She blatantly asked if you had anything besides Robert’s clothes to wear, and you said no. She sighed. 

As Robert plays with his children, Kitty and you decide to make dinner, together. She wants to make Robert’s favorite, which you know by heart; chicken, boiled potatoes, and peas. You tell her, at least advise her, that Robert now likes his potatoes mashed and his chicken with pomegranate seeds on it. Kitty holds a large knife, and you swear that she looks like she wants to stab you with it. 

“Where do you get them from?” She coldly asks as she pours milk into the bowl to stir the potatoes. 

You look up from sauteeing the chicken with garlic and respond, “Get?”

“The Pomegranate.”

“Oh, his garden,” Your face begins to grow red, “He didn’t know he had pomegranate’s in his garden–”

“Until you told him,” Kitty interrupts. 

She stops cutting, and you stop mixing the chicken. There’s a shared silence between the two of you; filled with thousands of questions. 

You scratch behind your ear and sigh, gathering yourself before you respond. 

“Yes. He likes them a lot. I noticed Toni likes them, too. However, I shouldn’t–”

“You care.”

‘What?”

“You care about him a lot. I can see that,” Kitty goes on about. Once she’s done mixing the potatoes, she goes to the sink to clean the mixer. You can swear you hear sniffle. 

“There’s no other reason why you would be using him, y/n. I can’t think of one because there’s none. You’re troubled, yet good. You may be young and naive, but you care about Robert. You take care of him, and I, well–”

Kitty can’t finish her sentence. She drops the mixer and tries to hide her contained sobs and hunching over the sink, but you notice. You walk over to try and comfort her, but Robert’s not far. His voice echoes along with the laughter of two children. Hearing this, Kitty pulls herself together and sniffles. She walks past you with red eyes. You want to ask, but you don’t.

You learn, through numerous sources, that Kitty did not hate you, nor was jealous. She, according to one person, adored you. You found that hard to believe, but every time you sent the children gifts,s he made sure to write you an apology note. 

However, while you made room for Kitty, you utterly refused to make room for Jean Tatlock. 

At that point in your relationship, you and Robert had been going on relatively strong. He’s your boyfriend, and your Friday meetings had extended to more weekly meetings, so with stays at his house. Some people know you are an item; some are disgusted, and some are happy. None of this bothers you and Robert as you continue to be a happy couple; until it’s not happy. 

First, it’s the regrets. After each time you’d fuck, Robert would go on about how horrible of a man he is and how he can’t keep doing this. You do some further digging, and with some integration, learn that he’s not teaching next year. He’s off to some “secret location,” and within the mixture of his regret of “poisoning you”, he recommends that you two should simply stop and just leave each other. 

Of course, this breaks your heart. Hatomi, and your other friends, are horribly worried about. Your lab partner in your chemistry class, George, can see that your eyes are red and asks if you are okay. You respond that you are, having a feeling that something else is going on with Robert. 

At your next Friday meeting, you arrive early, but you don’t water the flowers, and you know why you don’t want to ever water them again. Robert comes to the door, ten minutes late, and when he opens it, you can see his collar is flipped up and his hair is a mess. As he takes a breath, you push past him and run up the stairs. You already see the pair of kitten heels by the door, and as Robert pleads for you to wait, you don’t. Once you turn the all too familiar corner to his bedroom, you hear a soft curse. It’s a woman’s voice.

Turning into his bedroom further proves your worst nightmare; another woman. Let alone, your own fucking psychiatrist; Jean Tatlock.

In your sessions with Jean, she’s been breaking more code of conduct, talking about the new man she's seeing, saying she’s having “one heck of an affair”. Based on her descriptions of him, from the lineage and nicknames, you put the pieces together, and all of them lead back to her and Robert. 

“Y/n,” Jean calmly pleads. She covers herself with a blanket as she gets out of bed, “Stop. Wait. We want to talk-”

The words “we” make your eyes swell with tears. Spinning on your heel, you beeline towards the stairs, but bump into the person you least want to see; Robert. He puts his hands on his arms, but you violently shrug and push his chest away. 

“Get away from me–” You hiss. As you back up, you sense Jean behind you and scream the same thing at her, “--Back, both of you. 

“Y/n,” Robert gently calls your voice, holding out his hands, “I’ve been meaning to tell you-”

“Tell me fucking what?” You bark at him. You point your finger back to Jean, “Robert, honestly, out of all people, my fucking psychologist? The one who describes my medications? The person I tell everything too besides you? The one I saw today just two hours ago for my weekly session?”

Jean is sobbing behind you. You like her, but yet, don’t feel bad. She’s much older than you; she should know better. 

“I had no idea–”

You scoff and let out a fake laugh, “Idea? Sure,” You look back at Jean, whose mascara is running down her face, “Don’t cry; you knew. You’re smarter than you look, you knew. You know my background, and you would go out of your way to do this? And now? We all fucking know. Robert, now we all know you were cheating on your little pure virgin girlfriend with her fucking psychologists, whom I considered to be one of my friends.” Looking at Jean, you say that last sentence, ensuring she understands you are no longer her client, let alone her friend. 

Walking down the stairs, Robert grabs your arm and forces you to stop walking. You refuse to look back, but you can hear his breathing, which makes you scrunch your firsts. 

“Y/n, I understand your anger. This is far beyond wrong. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. I think it’s best that you take the time to finish your education and, if I recommend, mingle with others your age,” Robert explains with a condescending tone, which makes your blood boil.

“I can no longer carry the guilt on my shoulders. I used you for too long, and now it’s catching up with me. I’m sorry to do this to you, y/n, but I-”

You violently throw your arm back, shaking Robert’s hold on you. Through Robert’s breathing and Jean’s sobs, you storm down the stairs. Your face feels hot, and so does your body, but you ignore it as you stumble out of the house. Ignoring the calls of your name from Robert and Jean, you run out of Robert’s house and down the hill. Once you are away, you finally let go and let the hot tears run down your cheeks. Finally, the devastation and pain hit you like a bullet. When you’re not around any trace of Robert or Berkeley or any of it, you let out a screaming sob of frustration, anger, and sadness. 

It takes you a short while to recover. 

You no longer like to associate Robert with his name. Once again, he’s reduced to Dr.Oppenheimer; your terrifying physics professor with endless icy eyes and a tendency to smoke, not the man who took your virginity and showered you with expensive gifts that you refused to throw out. The relationship between you two has been severed and erased with your function serving as professor and student. Your meetings stop, at the end of the Semester, Robert gives you an A with an E for exceptional effort. Your parents receive your report card, and out of all your grades, are most fond of your Physics report. Dr.Oppenheimer writes that you are an active participant whom he had the pleasure of working with personally in the term. As they read out his comment, your memory flashes back to it all; the dinners, the music, the fire, the terms of endearment, and the whole lot of it. 

Your mother, through a puff of smoke, remarks that he seems like an amazing man. Forcing a smile, you agree. 

Once you return after the Holiday break, nothing much has changed in Berkeley. You’re still alone yet doing well academically, Hatomi’s on the verge of ruining a marriage, and you and Robert have not spoken, according to your calendar, in over two months. 

And then you meet George. 

George is your lab partner in Physics. You have known him since your orientation at Berkeley, from the forced events to the lackluster parties. He’s always had an interest in you, and has made it clear from day one; from wanting to be your lab partner to even asking Hatomi if you preferred chocolates over flowers. When you two would sit down together, he would always initiate small talk and ask how your day is going. You’d respond and spark up small conversations about your lives. 

Into the first week of December, George asked after class if you wanted to go see Citizen Kane with him. He bought two tickets, and offered to buy you anything you wanted, but understood if you were busy since in his words, you seemed even busy on Friday afternoons. 

You knew Robert was watching. You quickly glanced up and saw him at his desk, smoking as he pretended to observe tests when really, he was observing the interaction between the two of you. 

“I’m actually no longer busy at all on Fridays,” You loudly say as you want the words to echo and burn into Robert, “And yes, I’d love to go to the movies with you.”

“I’ll pick you up at Stern?”

“I’ll be waiting.” 

George arrived an hour before and took you out for an early dinner. You knew that he loved to read like you, but you also learned he was fluent in three languages and was overall extremely educated. He made sure to ask what you enjoyed, telling you to talk about your favorite books, movies, or anything that you loved. You had told him to read the first few chapters of Citizen Kane to familiarize yourself with the movie. George went red and said he had done the same, offering that if they enjoyed the movie, they could see together and talk about the plot. 

The movie was good, and in addition to the soda and popcorn he bought you, he also took you back to his dorm and fucked you like there was no tomorrow. As he humped into you, you clawed at his back and looked up at the cycling. Everytime you close your eyes, you see and think of Robert. You forced George to look at you throughout the sec and kissed him patiently to void all thought of Robert. 

There was no doubt that Robert was bothered by you and George’s interactions. You made it not so obvious that you were George’s girlfriend, while George did; from the hushed whispers and small touches he’d give you in class. While George would be doing such small things, Robert would be intensely staring from a distance with straghinted fingers and furrowed eyebrows. At one point, he changed lab partners in an attempt to keep you and George apart. You still worked together on every single lab, and to Robert’s dismay, aced every single one. 

In the beginning, you remember Robert leaving flowers in your cubby during Labs since you’d always arrive about ten minutes early. He’d tuck them into the pocket of your lab jacket. Without fail, and everytime, you threw each flower out. Eventually all together, you stopped showing up on time and made sure to show with George. 

Robert soon began to disappear from your thoughts and life. For the remainder of the year, you only spoke to him in class and nowhere else with cold, curt interactions. George had replaced Robert in all, shape, way, and form. It was strange to go with George since he was your age, and not in your former case, your thirty five year old Physics professor who cheated on you with your friend and phys-

But that was all in the past. 

Two years had gone by. Robert was the thought of the past now and you kept yourself busy between obtaining a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Literature and Physics, all while maintaining a very serious relationship with George. You spent most summers with him on Nantucket sailing or collecting seashells. Sometimes, you’d think about the “what ifs'' of Robert taking you to New Mexico on a horseback adventure. That had once been a reality, but now would forever remain a fantasy. George reminded you that yes, there were good men in the world. You both had your many issues and ups and downs, but both of you agreed that infidelity was never on your list. 

Eventually, each cycle completes itself for everything. During the fall of your Junior year at Berkeley, George proposes to you on a weekend trip up to Napa. He’s smiling the whole way through, and says he doesn’t want to wait any longer and heads straight to the courthouse to wed. 

You want to say yes, you really do, but you can’t. No matter how many times you say you love him, you know that you love him as a confidant, but not a lover. 

Rejecting his proposal, that ends every tie with George. Things are sour for a week, but Hatomi helps moderate a conversation between you two. George sobs, which in return, makes you cry. You apologize to him, and tell him he deserves better; telling him that if he sees a pretty girl, he should take her to the movies and buy her what she wants. George smiles and thanks you for loving him, hugging you, and wishing you the best of luck in your future endeavors. He writes you a letter, but you refuse to open it and leave inside of your copy of Citizen Kane, shoving it into your bookcase for it to gather dust. 

 After you and George are finished, there’s no time to grieve as you were being dragged into another situation. What seems like any other ordinary walk to your metaphysics class results with you alone in an office space with an intimidating general. He did not introduce himself, but you gathered his name as Major Groves. He held a thick file on you, questioning your life and digging into every little detail. He pressured you on your two brothers and roommates, who happened to be associated with the Communist party, asking if you had any association. You held your hands up and was nothing but honest; saying that while Hatomi still went to your meetings, your brothers had stopped talking about the idea once both of them married and had their own families. 

Still, Groves persisted and became aggressive, accusing that your friends and you were some type of danger to democracy. Communism isn't your thing ever, but you had respected it. Many people you surround yourself with were either former communist or still into it, not that it bothers you. You thought of Robert; whom never associated, but you knew he gave money. 

Which was strange. With your thought of Robert, you heard a silent shut. Groves sighed and you looked, and to your horror and saving grace, it was Robert. 

“Thank god you’re here,” Groves let out a huff as he leaned against the desk. 

“Major Groves,” Robert nodded his head as he took off his porkpie hat. He stood away from you, but beside your chair, “Is there any issue with Miss Y/n?”

Groves, still looking gruff, pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Well yes, and no. You see, I find it alarming that she has both family and friends in association with the Communist party. I also understand her, uhm,” Groves hesitated to say it out loud, “Former relations, according to you. It raises suspicious since well, she is both in association with a communist, many of whom who are female in which he know where that ends, and slept wi-”

You were about to walk out, not wanting to be dragged into whatever mess this way, but Robert’s calm voice echoed and immediately shut up Groves. 

“General, on the defense of Miss Y/n, I can assure that her ideologies and gender are mennail to the subject of the meetings. As for our past relations, there are of the past. I ask that you not criticize or grill her without my presence,” Robert’s voice commanded. He looked at you and back at Groves, clearing his throat. 

Your heart skipped a beat as you shifted in your head, clasping your hands together. Robert looked at you, and you returned his gaze, quietly thanking him. 

Once Robert entered, Groves' interrogation stopped and he got what he pulled out of class. In his words, something “big” and “important” was occurring in an undisclosed location in New Mexico. You pieced together that a weapon of destruction was being built, since Groves brought up in your profile that your skills in Physics primarily resize in the nuclear and quantum mechanics, as described by the physics course taken at your time in Berkeley. You had even taken time out of your academic schedule and did research as a job with some of your professors. All of your Physics teachers concluded that you were extremely qualified and knowledgeable in Physics, and in one of them, being Robert.

Robert had gone on about your time in his class, saying that you were one of his brightest students, whom he had given recommendation should be part of said project. He said he was willing to talk with Berkeley to configure a way for you to leave and graduate on time to come and work on his location. Major Groves said with Robert’s recommendation, he would be pleased to approve your security clearance. Groevs also mentioned that he would give you time to figure out things with you, and also implying, Robert. 

Groves had excused himself, leaving you and Robert alone. It had been two years since you two had been alone together, let alone really conversed. You still sit at the desk and look down, not wanting to look at Robert now, admiring your manicured nails in hopes that you wouldn’t chew off the nail polish. 

“Thank you, by the way,” You muttered, “You didn’t have to.”

Some things never change, and you look up to see Robert, elearning against the desk as he looks at you, smoking out of a pipe. 

“But I did. Not that I ever minded doing so.” 

The tension never left, and both of you know it. Bouncing your leg, you lean forward and gather the courage to look at Robert. 

“Why? Am I allowed to know why the hell I’m being dragged into this?” 

“Y/n, you know I can’t say why. I can say that it is important, as you would say, in the grand scheme of the universe,” Robert explained, “We are small pieces, and this project is a much larger force. A force that can end all wars.”

Confusion still infects you. Some of this makes sense, while other parts do not. You think hard back to the past and Robert’s say on the war and weapons, trying to gather your thoughts on the situation Robert has dragged you into. 

“The Germans are out of the war, that’s all I can truly think of,” You mentioned. Once we see Robert lean, your body compels you to lean forward as well, “Is this weapon of mass discussion?” 

Robert looked uncomfortable by that saying. He shifts uncomfortably and stands from his desk, slowly making his way over to you. You want to protest and tell him to not, but you gravitate towards his presence. His hair is a little more gray, and he is still cold, but as handsome as ever. 

“Call it what you want, but possibly. It’s a weapon to end all wars, ideally, the conflict in the Pacific,” Robert alluded to. You forgot how close he came to his desk. He puts his hands on the edge of the desk and you lean back, looking down. Your cheeks when red, reminding you of your younger days with Robert. Robert’s fingers anxiously curl over the wooden desk top as you let out a soft sigh, containing a noise you did not want to be heard by anyone else. 

“There’s something else,” You blurted, “You want me for something else.”

It’s radio silent for a second. Robert’s fingers shift, and you heavily sigh. 

“Robert–”

“I want you for your intelligence,” Robert says as a confession. His hands spread against the desk. As much as you try to control yourself, you can’t. Your hands uncurl from your grasp and cover his, grasping them. 

“I also wanted you.” 

With that, Robert asked to kiss you, and you didn’t even say yes as you jumped from your chair and crashed your lips into his. Nearly falling back, he grabbed you and dragged you to the ground, refusing to let go of your body and lips. It’s desperate and messy, evident that the two of you missed each other's presence. Robert asks to remove your clothes, and you let him do so. Once removing your panties and stockings, he sticks his hard dick into you and fucks you like there is no tomorrow. He covers your mouth as you cry tears of happiness and sadness, sobbing his name. Once he finishes inside of you, you hug him and sob your eyes out. Roberts holds you and says he won’t let go. 

Both of you know you have a lot of shit to work through. He had Jean and you had George. Robert knows he’s fucked up, but he still loves you,a nd as much as you don’t want to admit it, you love him as much as he loves you. The whole reason you turned down George was because you still loved Robert. It wasn’t easy for you to forget , and with Robert, he clearly didn’t. 

He promised to fix things if you came to Los Alamos with him.

And you did. 

You managed to graduate from Berkeley a year early. Groves said that he would write to your family that you were involved in a top secret Government project, promising that he would try to cover your back as much as possible. Once you were out of this project your family would question you, but it wasn’t important. After all, Robert was right; you were small things in the grand scheme of it all. 

Los Alamos is hot, cold, and isolating. You are severely depressed, but you are able to manage that with your work and Robert. The work on the bomb is no easy task; it’s full of pressure, arguments, and disagreements. You feel intimidated, surrounded by much older men, whom you feel have more power than you do, despite knowing that you are just as capable as they are. With this stress, Robert is your reliever. Every night, the two of you switch, finding a way to comfort one another in these depressing times. 

 Now, you live full time with Robert. Nothing is perfect, but the two of you talk and make things work in the best way possible. 

You tell him about George and how you turned down his proposal. Robert coldly laughs, saying that you deserved a good man, and that you should have accepted. You said you couldn't because you loved him,a dn as much as Robert thinks you are lying, he loves the honesty that comes from you. It proves to him that when he fucked you, that you were always going to be his. He tells you that he’s cut things off with Jean, promising on his knees that he won’t ever respond to her calls ever again. You force him to promise you or else you’ll leave him. Robert looks like he’s going to sob when you said that, and he repeatedly insists that he will never do such a thing to you ever again. 

You snap back to reality when they make an announcement that they will test the bomb in three minutes. The men around you anxiously chatter as they prepare for an explosion. You put on your sunglasses and look around you. You catch Edward Teller, basking in his sun chair with a face smothered in sunscreen and sunglasses. He looks down at you, and you look away into the dark night, anticipating the explosion. Your heart skips a beat, and to pass the time, you sink back into your racing thoughts. 

In Between this drama, time passes in Los Alamos. Between the bomb being congested and your relationship with Robert being rebuilt, you fall sick. You’re nauseous, vomiting in the morning and sometimes the day, your period stops, constipation, backaches, you feel like you’re dying. You’re able to hide this from everyone but Robert, who assumes what he thinks it is. One trip to the infirmary confirms that you’re two months pregnant, bordering three. 

Initially, you're shocked, but thinking back to the classroom, it all makes sense. 

You’re ecstatic, despite being extremely sick. You take time off from your job, and Robert makes sure to tell everyone that you have come down. I'll have a bug and will return within a couple of months. The only people who know about the pregnancy are you, Robert, and the doctor. Robert makes sure to keep the mater private. 

Like you, Robert is thrilled at the concept of you having a child. You’re rather young and nervous, but Robert promises to take care of you and your child. No longer can you do things on your own without Robert swooping in; whether that be cooking, cleaning, or even reaching for medicine. 

The two of you lay in bed with your feet entangled. Robert caresses your stomach as he has done before, softly going over the small bump forming in your stomach. 

“I thought I had been putting on weight,” You bluntly admitted, rolling your shoulders back. 

“And even if you were, I would love you the same as I loved you before,” Robert plants a kiss into your hair, gently patting your stomach, “You look as beautiful as ever, love. Even with our child, you’re still so tiny. You’re just as I remembered you-”, His hands grab yours as he interlocks your digits, “-in that classroom at Berkeley. You shook your leg and your skirt rode up. As you bit your lip, I looked, and I fell. I feel hard, y/n. I love you.” 

You smile to yourself and close your eyes, squeezing his hand. 

“I love you too, Robert.”

“59 seconds until the drop!” A voice booms over the loudspeaker. Anxiety, nerves, and excitement fills the crowd of Sciences, including yourself. You put a hand on your stomach, feeling the flatness. Sometimes, you can still feel that bump. It’s been a long time, but she’s still there, haunting you. 

You lose the baby at seven months, and remember there being so much blood and tears. Every night after losing the child, you cried yourself to sleep and apologized to Robert. Robert held you and comforted you at that time. He kissed you and held you close, saying that all was well as long as you were him.

You violently sobbed, thinking back to your days of reading Greek myths  at his rental house on Shasta. Just as Hades had given Persephone the seeds for her to say, Robert had impregnated to you and brought you to his desert exile. And like Persephone, you stayed. 

Just as tears were beginning to form in your eyes, a light dried the tears right out of your eyes. 

At 5:29:45 AM local time, the stillness was shattered by an imperceptible click, triggering the activation sequence of the Trinity bomb.

A brilliant, searing light erupted on the horizon with a radiance unparalleled by any natural phenomenon. The desert floor was instantaneously transformed into a blinding white sea of light, casting stark shadows of the nearby objects. The intensity of the light seemed to defy the boundaries of the human eye, as if a new sun had temporarily usurped the heavens.

A seething ball of fire engulfed the desert in those milliseconds, swelling with ferocious energy. A towering column of smoke and dust spiraled upward, its outline illuminated by the incandescent glow. The ball of fire and the mushroom-shaped cloud of debris swelled and merged into a surreal symphony of colors – brilliant whites, fiery oranges, and deep reds – like a celestial painter's brush strokes across the sky.

Trinity’s detonation unleashed a symphony of destruction that resonated not just across the desert but through history itself. The ground quaked with a seismic force, as though the Earth itself trembled at the unimaginable power harnessed by humanity's newfound knowledge. A resounding shockwave rippled through the air, shattering windows miles away and rattling the bones of those who stood witness.

The sound that followed was a peculiar and haunting one – a low, rumbling roar that bore no resemblance to the traditional thunder or even the roar of an aircraft engine. It was as if the very air had been torn apart and reconstituted into a sound that could only be described as the collective gasp of nature itself, a primordial cry at witnessing its own mastery being tested and defied.

The visual and auditory onslaught seemed to defy the boundaries of perception, leaving spectators both in awe and in terror. The Trinity test had successfully harnessed the fundamental forces of the universe and turned them into a weapon of unimaginable devastation. In the wake of that blinding light and resounding sound, a sense of profound unease settled upon those who bore witness – an understanding that the world had irrevocably changed, and humanity had ventured into a new and uncertain frontier, where the implications of our newfound power were as profound as they were perilous.

The cheers are loud and violent. People are thrilled that those two years of hard work have paid off. They're dancing, drinking, celebrating, and you feel happy, even partaking in such matters. 

When the bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, the celebrations truly ensue. The excitement from the test early explodes with raw joy. Everyone knows that the ear is coming to an end as they drink, sing, dance, cheer, and cry. Emotions flood as people celebrate, and you partake in them for a while. As you do, you look for Robert but he’s nowhere to be found. You search within the crowd but you can't identify his pork pie hat or pipe. 

Fleeing from the celebrations, you flee to Roberts office. His secretary isn’t there, so you make this way to your office. You find him standing by the window, simply looking at the crowd. As they move, he stands perfectly still. His hat is thrown on the ground and his pipe is thrown on his desk. 

“Robert?” You sing-song his name, quietly walking over, “Oppie?” 

There’s no response. He’s not acting happy, nor does he look at it. He looks devastated. 

His eyes are watery, and you can immediately feel the guilt on his shoulders. 

There’s no need for words as you walk over and crash into Robert. His arms wrap around you and with that, he quietly cries into your shoulder, sinking with you into the carpeted ground. 

[kinardsevan]

several sentence sunday

no one tagged me. i just need y'all to know that this scene exists in the next chapter of the aneurysm fic (which i'm basically writing in my free time, which i currently have very little of)

-

“I need to take a walk,” Tommy states, shaking his hands out at his sides after tossing his first empty coffee cup into the trash. He walks over to where the coffee Maddie brought him is still sitting and picks it up, is halfway to the exit of the waiting room when he hears it. 

“You’re going to leave while he’s in surgery?” 

Tommy closes his eyes and has to remind himself to breathe as his shoulders stiffen. He swallows down a gulp after another deep breath, and then turns around, forcing a smile on his face. 

“I’m going for a walk,” he replies. “Because waiting on finding out if my fiancé’s heart is going to hold on through a second surgery to correct a work-related incident is horrifying.” 

He watches as Phillip looks toward Maddie, Maddie puts a hand up toward her father and mutters his name softly, a warning to not push it. Whether that connects for the older man though doesn't seem to be clear, because Phillip has a response anyway. 

“I just think he should be here,” he says back in the same soft tone. Tommy furrows his brow, eyes squinting with irritation at the other man. 

“I have been here,” he replies. His voice is soft, almost disturbingly calm. “Every single one of the past 33 days. I’ve dealt with the anxiety, the nightmares, the vomiting, the naps on the floor because his heart couldn’t beat properly and he ran out of energy to move. Fuck, I spent the last three days before they actually did the first surgery making sure he was at least getting water down because he was so uncomfortable every time he ate that it just kept coming back up. 

“And then, I got to be here for the first surgery, which was six hours long, and he didn’t sleep the night before because he was scared. Which, by the way, meant I didn't either. I was awake for almost forty hours while you were at home, blind to it all. And then I saw him struggle just to stand again. I watched every single time they turned down the pacemaker and he had arrhythmias, and the pain it caused him. And where were you? Oh, right. Doing what I’ve known you to do best since the day I was introduced to your family—staying silent.” 

“Tommy-..” Maddie tries to cut in, and he looks over at her. 

“Please understand that I don't include you or your husband in that context,” he states, letting out a long huff. “I’m going to go outside for ten minutes. Call me if they come out.” 

“Look, I know I haven’t been the best-..” 

“You haven’t been anything!” Tommy growls at him, still trying to keep his tone soft and not draw attention. “I don't know you. I’m marrying the child you decided to bring into this world, and I don’t know three things about you. What I do know, is that I've picked up the pieces you’ve left strewn about and glued them back together. You want to act as though you’re doing some sanctimonious deed by sitting here for however long the surgery takes, and then giving him ten minutes of your time when he’s conscious before you leave again? By all fucking means, do so. It would be more than you’ve managed to do in the past two years.” 

[whatevertheweather]

Thank you @thewholelemon @moodandmist @run-for-chamo-miles and @youarenevertooold for the tags! I'm in love with everything y'all posted, what the hell.

In other news, it seems like my recipe for success is to have a Bad Saturday, unexpectedly write an unprecedented amount on Sunday, manage nothing throughout the week, then rinse and repeat. However, yesterday was a kind of okay Saturday, and I've still written a lot today, so maybe the point is really just Sunday.

In any case, what I've written today is from the same unexpected fic I mentioned in my last WIP post. But also like that post, that's not what I'm going to share, because it's not on my hit list for this year. Instead, I'm joining in with the CORB cheer by posting about, y'know, the one I started last year, good old Bait and Switch, because that's what I was getting all my words out for last weekend. Like, the next chapter is about 2 scenes away from done, when there had only been about 3 scenes in it when I started. So that's good?

Under the cut because this is already getting kinda long and I'm not stopping at six sentences.

I don’t know the answer to that. “Because I’m better than you. Now c’mon, get your head in the game. We have a plan.” “Do we?” “Here’s the plan. You give me a good zinger to make Simon go off—” “No.” “What?” “You think I can set him off with a zinger?” he audibly sneers. “This isn’t a one-liner trick. We build up to it.” “Fine,” I roll my eyes. “You long-con him, he goes off, I get my energy back. Easy-peasy.”  Baz is silent. Maybe being a dick and maybe asleep. I can never tell. Finally, he says, “And then you’ll let me out.” “Yeah,” I say. “Totally.”

The slightly difficult thing is that there's also rather a bit of angst being threaded through a fic that is at its core quite lighthearted, but I've received some comments in my time that suggest I may be good at writing things that make you laugh and then also hurt you in rapid succession, so hopefully I can pull it off without it feeling like we're switching genres.

Here's another that's a very little bit of both.

“I would not fucking say that!” Baz yelps. “Calm down,” I swat at him, but the tips of my fingers just slide through the edge of the coffin. I scowl at them. “I saw it in a film. It’s fine. It’s a totally normal thing to say.” “It’s not! It’s really, really not!” By the time he’s run out of steam screeching at me about it, I’m thinking there’s no way this ends up worth it. I don’t feel bad for doing it, but seriously, no one has ever yelled at me for this long. His voice is wearing down. Getting scratchier, which just makes him sound more violent, but then quieter. He ends by mumbling, “I hate you.” It hits weird. I mean, I don’t know. It just sounded sad. And it’s not true.  He doesn’t hate me. We’re helping each other.

Now, tags!

@you-remind-me-of-the-babe @fatalfangirl @cutestkilla @artsyunderstudy @whogaveyoupermission

@mooncello @monbons @aristocratic-otter @bookish-bogwitch @facewithoutheart

@alexalexinii @rimeswithpurple @ivelovedhimthroughworse @martsonmars @ileadacharmedlife

@confused-bi-queer @iamamythologicalcreature @noblecorgi @forabeatofadrum @emeryhall

@hushed-chorus @onepintobean @raenestee