#Homemade mini tank

[sunflowerwinds]

sugar, sugar | v.a

summary: vi has crept up into your mind and is keeping put so to try to relieve some of that bubbling crush energy, you bake her some protein muffins. after delivering them to her, she invites you to isha’s birthday party. meeting her entire family is nerve wracking but you’re welcome with open arms.

pairing: fem!reader x vi arcane

contains: modern!au, kick-boxer!vi, reader is an actual sweetheart, MY family (vander, isha, ekko, jinx, & sevika mentions), fluff and flirty tension, kind of slowburn but not really.

word count: 5.5K

a/n: what do y’all think of my new pfp?😝 i’m so glad everyone has enjoyed that first part of this little series. the overwhelming amount of support has touched my heart, i’m so sorry this took two weeks to come out i will try and be faster with the next part <3 & would 3 parts be too short? lmk in the replies!

— TWO

Making protein muffins was harder than you thought.

You had tried out multiple recipes with different flavors within the span of two days and it was driving your grandmother and your sister up the wall. Her kitchen now smelled like a mixture of all the different scents that were giving her a headache.

They were either dry, not enough flavor, too dense, not fluffy, too strong, etc. The list went on. But finally, on the third day of anxiously cooking, you perfected a beautiful and delicious batch of pumpkin muffins with a few blots of chocolate chips.

Ever since you found out that Vi worked at a kickboxing studio, it sparked an idea in your brain. You could bake some protein muffins to give her. Worried she wouldn’t like them, you double checked with her. You open your text thread with Vi, grinning at the last message she had sent you of the actual address of the studio so that you wouldn’t get lost.

Anxiously tapping your fingers on the steering wheel, you stare at the sign above the studio with hesitation. You had done yourself up a bit; just a tad. Okay, a little more than a tad.

This was Vi’s first time seeing you outside of work and you wanted to make a better impression than messily tossed up hair and bundled up layered outfits. You sported a mini black skirt with a pair of opaque tights with an over the shoulder cherry red sweater, your hair left in its natural state. You stare at the black marker writing of Vi’s name on the box in the passenger's seat of your car.

Would she think you were trying too hard?

No, no, no overthinking, you scold yourself. You tug down your sun visor on your driver’s side to double check your makeup before grabbing your purse and the box of muffins for Vi. You open your driver's side to step out onto the gravel parking lot, sucking in a deep breath to calm your nerves as you tug on the cold handle to the door of the studio.

The moment you stepped into the dim lit area, you spotted Vi almost immediately. A black compression athletic tank hugged her upper body, showing off her muscular upper body. Her bandaged hands were landing blows to a punching bag hanging from the ceiling. The sound of her soft grunts and the clinking of the chain holding it up the heavy vinyl bag echoed within the space.

You stand at the edge of the large mat covering the area, unknowingly frozen in place at the sight of Vi’s veins popping out of her biceps with each punch she was throwing. You snap out of it when you realize how long you might’ve been standing there for, clearing your throat and shaking your head at how embarrassing that was.

“Vi, hi!” You wave from across the rubber gym tiles at her panting figure, a bright smile on your face.

Vi lowers her balled up wrapped fists that had been previously punching the bag to wave back at you, a smile creeping onto her lips at the sight of you holding the little tray of homemade treats. You looked like a doll out of place in this sweat-ridden studio in your adorably cozy outfit.

Vi made her way over to where you stood at the edge of the mat, eyes panning up and down as subtly as possible. Seeing her outfit up close caused a heat to tickle the tips of your ears. You swore you could see her abs through the material.

“Hey, cupcake. Those for me?”

“Yep! Thought I’d drop them off before I… head out.” You cleared your throat, nervously smiling at her as you fiddled with the cardboard of the box you had bought for this.

Vi grabs a small towel from a foldable chair where parents would sit through classes to wipe over the back of her sweat-ridden neck. She was so close to you that you could feel the heat radiating from her skin. You couldn’t tell if you were staring at her as obviously as you thought. Worried you were going to seem like an absolute creep, your eyes blink as they focus on her face.

“Yeah? You have plans today?” Vi hangs the towel around her neck, crossing her arms over her chest.

The movement caused your eyes to flicker down to the protruding muscle. You were sure this time you were staring as her dark tattoos were glistening underneath the thin layer of moisture from her workout. God, you could hear your grandma now teasing you for getting distracted by muscles of all things.

“I mean I’m just going to the grocery store. Need a few more things for Isha’s cake.” You nod to confirm, flickering your eyes back up to hers.

They were somehow even more captivating than her biceps. Her lips twitch into a small grin, nodding slowly.

“The people at the store are very lucky.”

You couldn’t fight the smile that crept onto your lips.

“Shut up,” you look around at the equipment and trophies around the room to try and hide the heat that was undoubtedly forming on your cheeks. “Were you just working out here? Or did you have a class?”

“Yeah, I had a class earlier but it was for mostly 6 to 8 year olds so they didn’t beat me up too bad this time,” Vi jokes as she reminds you of her injuries from the last time you saw her.

You chuckle as you can only imagine seeing Vi with a whole group of children, gently encouraging them to take hits at her. Oh, your heart skipped at the thought.

“Yeah, I mean you look good now.” You blurt out without thinking.

Taking way too long to realize what had stumbled out of your mouth, Vi’s brows raise at your words as the faintest of smirks forms on her lips.

“Yeah?”

Your eyes flicker up to hers, self-consciousness washing over you once that realization sets in. Your mouth opens as you grip the box as some sort of comfort to ease the humiliation creeping up your neck.

“Not that you don’t look good all the time because you–you do! I mean, I don’t see you everyday but I’m sure you do,” you try and recover, voice becoming softer as you trail off.

Vi unfolded her arms from her chest to reach forward to rest them on your shoulders, faintly chuckling at your panic. “Cupcake, relax. I knew what you meant.”

You suck in a deep breath at her touch but you mask it as attempting to calm down from your frantic words.

“Okay, yeah. I’ll just leave these with you now,” you pat the top of the box, looking into her eyes. “I’ll see you soon so you can pick up the cake at the shop?”

Vi nodded in agreement with the set plan, taking the box of muffins from your hands. You nearly frown at the loss of touch that was somehow burning onto your skin even though you were wearing a thicker sweater.

“Yeah, I’ll see you soon but,” she clears her throat, moving the box to rest on one of her forearms as she brushes her front pieces of hair to the side. “Did you want to come to Isha’s birthday party?”

“Seriously?” Your smile widens.

Vi nods, eyes crinkling a bit from her smile matching your own.

“Are you sure?” You question, fiddling with the sleeves of your sweater. “It won’t be awkward not being family or anything?”

“No, I mean. It’s a small party but I think you’d have fun,” Vi shrugs her shoulders, suddenly becoming more sheepish. “Isha wants you there. Couldn’t stop talking about the nice bakery lady.”

“Just Isha?” You tilt your head, hopeful that she would give you the answer that you craved.

Vi taps on the box with a small smile. “I want you there, too.”

Oh, your gram would be jumping with glee seeing this interaction. Your face ignites a flame at her honesty, nodding with a beaming smile.

“I’ll be there. I’ll just bring the cake then.” You nod, pushing back flyways from your hair.

“Okay, good. I’ll text you the address, cupcake.”

You nod for what felt like the millionth time at the pink haired girl, taking a step back to try to force yourself to leave her warm presence.

“Okay and if you like those, uh, muffins, let me know if you want any other protein snacks. I like a good baking challenge.” You motion to the muffins.

Please say yes, you internally begged.

“I will. Though, I doubt I won’t like them if you’re the one baking them,” Vi assures your frantic mind.

You grin at her awkwardly, not knowing how to take these little flirty gestures she would throw at you. At least, you thought they were supposed to be flirty.

“Okay, okay,” you wave your hands, chuckling sheepishly to yourself as you realize you’ve probably overstayed your welcome. “I’ll leave you to… your boxing stuff.”

Vi chuckles at your wording, pointing to the clear door.

“Have fun shopping. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you, Vi.”

You felt like throwing up from your nerves.

You had texted Vi later that day after dropping off the muffins what you should wear so that you wouldn’t be either too overdressed or underdressed. It was a child's birthday party, for God’s sake but you still didn’t want to be too out of place especially around her family.

from vi ♥︎ | Do you have any options?

to vi ♥︎ | kind of? i have ideas of what i could wear but i’m stuck :/

from vi ♥︎ | Let me see and I’ll tell you what looks best!

You nearly dropped your phone on your face at the message. Standing up from your bed, you scurried to your closet to pick out two options as you didn’t want to bombard her with photos of yourself. You quickly change in your planned outfits minus the shoes, sending both of them to her. You were panting from how you switched from one to the next.

from vi ♥︎ | Fuck, you look good in both

from vi ♥︎ | I was expecting this to be an easier decision but you really just look good in either.

to vi ♥︎ | violet :(

Could she tell how flustered you were from behind the screen?

from vi ♥︎| I’m serious

from vi ♥︎ | But if you want me to choose, I’ll say the first one!

to vi ♥︎ | thank youuu! i was stressed about that lol

from vi ♥︎ | You’re going to be fine. I promise :)

to vi ♥︎ | really?

from vi ♥︎ | Yes. You’re the lady bringing the cake. No one can hate the lady bringing the cake, duh.

to vi ♥︎ | yeah, yeah, okay. i’ll relax now.

Now you were standing at the front door of the small suburban home in that very outfit that Vi had chosen; a white tee with an espresso brown cardigan over it and a pair of your favorite baggy dark wash jeans. Your hair was half-up, half-down and your cleanest pair of Docs. You rang the doorbell just a few seconds ago, patiently waiting for someone to answer the door.

If you held your breath, you could hear muffled footsteps approaching the wooden door. The sound of the locks unlatching signals you to straighten your back, preparing yourself for whoever was going to answer the door. The hinges creak as it swings open to reveal Vi, sporting a welcoming smile.

Similar to you, she was wearing a brown cut off sleeve top, a white tank top underneath the open torso portion and a pair of black jeans. You try not to read into the matching colors too much.

“Hi! I was so scared I got the wrong house,” you chuckle as you stare into her eyes.

“Nope, you got it. Everyone is in the back. Come on,” Vi reaches for your hand, tugging you through the small house halls.

You nearly drop the cake as you urge her to slow down, releasing soft chuckles at her eagerness. You glance around at the cozy walls of the home, catching a few glances at a few family photos hanging and set up on shelfs. You made a mental note to try and sneak inside to get a closer look at those.

You step through a white chipping back door, Vi guiding you to the birthday party set-up for the precious child. Green streamers hung on the wooden fence to appear as vines as a photo op and a foldable table that was filled with wrapped and bagged presents with Isha’s name in balloons with a few animal print ones surrounding the inflatable letters as music played from a speaker. It wasn’t the coldest day as it was nearing the end of November but there was a slight breeze and the sun was shining beautifully to really wrap up the sight of this unknown family.

You hold up the cake underneath the white box, subconsciously gripping onto Vi’s hand due to the anxiety swimming through your veins.

“Come on. I want you to meet everyone,” Vi insists, a charming smile on her face as she walks up to a group of people that were sitting at a round table that had a jungle leaf tablecloth over it.

The whole table had cups of drinks in front of them, talking amongst each other with animated features.

“Hey guys,” Vi speaks up, her hand still holding yours gently.

A chorus of greetings overwhelms you in a good way as she goes around the table to name them off one by one.

“Okay, this is Jinx, my other sister,” she points to a pale skinned girl with two electric blue hip length braids, a few strands coming from the front to frame her face.

The girl smiles at you with kindness, eyes widening as she seems to realize who you are.

“You’re the bakery girl? That donut was delicious. I have full trust that the cake will be amazing,” Jinx nodded with a wink, leaning into the darker skinned boy next to her.

“That’s Ekko,” Vi chuckles as she points at white haired boy.

“Hi. Nice to meet you,” he grins at you, nodding his head at you to show his acknowledgement of you.

“Hi!” You reciprocate the gesture, looking at the more broad woman on the other side of him.

“And Sevika. Don’t let that mean face scare you. Just wait until Isha comes down from the bouncy house.” Vi gave your hand a squeeze, a teasing grin on her face.

Sevika huffs at the pink haired girl's words but manages to press a semi-warm smile on her face in your direction. You nod with a more timid ‘hi’ leaving your lips. You didn’t want to say it out loud but she scared you a bit.

Okay, she scared you a lot.

“I think my dad’s inside but I’ll go let Isha know you’re here. Be right back.” Vi, after what felt like ages, released your hand to walk over to the bouncy house that was filled with a few more kids around Isha’s age.

The second her warm palm left your own, a wave of alarm washed over your features now being left alone with people that were closest to her. You turn to the group with the calmest expression you could muster to attempt to hide how nerve-wracking this was for you.

“You can relax, you know,” Jinx was the first to speak, tilting her head at your tense figure. “Here. I can take the cake. I’ll put it in the fridge.”

She stood up, reaching her pale hands out to you to take the cardboard box from you. You thank her quietly as you allow her to relieve you of that worry, leaving you alone with Ekko and Sevika.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be awkward,” you shake your head, taking the seat opposite to Sevika to leave Jinx’s spot still open.

“Vi told us how nervous you were so we were kind of expecting it,” Ekko admits which makes you wince a bit. “But, hey, we could do some ice breakers? Tell us something that’ll ease the tension.”

You nod at Ekko’s offer, pondering for a moment as you pick out a random fact from the depths of your brain’s memory log.

“Oh, I went to the hospital when I was 7 because I swallowed my Polly Pocket’s purse because my grandma said I had ‘wanted to know what it tasted like’.” You offer, glancing between the two strangers in front of you.

Sevika raised one of her palms to cover her mouth like she was trying to hide her amusement from your sentence. Ekko’s eyes widened as he snorted back a laugh, causing you to proudly smile at yourself on succeeding on breaking the ice just a bit.

“Jinx nearly burned my hair off when we were kids. She was obsessed with making homemade bombs,” Ekko shared with you, pointing to a mark in his eyebrows. “I still can’t grow hair in this spot on my eyebrow because of it.”

“I got this scar from her kicking me in the face when she wouldn’t go to the dentist when she was 9,” Sevika pointed at her half an inch scar on her top lip with a shake of her head.

“Okay so what I’m hearing is to stay clear of Jinx,” you joke.

This seemed to ease the tension between you and the two completely, them nodding to confirm. Slowly but surely, everyone started sharing stories of their childhood as did you. You learned alot about Vi and her little family through these two, feeling more connected to them already. As you shared what your jobs were like, you feel a smaller frame tackle you from the side. You look down to see a head of wild bronze waves cling onto your arm.

It was undoubtedly Isha. Vi stood behind her with a sweet smile, folding her arms over her chest before she pats Ekko on the back as she sits herself down on the other side of you. You send her a quick glance, her brows raising as if to check up on you and you nod to assure her.

“Hey birthday girl,” you look down at her, golden eyes staring into yours.

She makes a delighted sound, snuggling more into you. You rub a hand over her back for a moment before raising your hands to sign that she looked cute, motioning to her adorable birthday sash and bunny ears over her black and white striped tee.

Signing right back to you with an elated smile, she says; ‘you look beautiful.’

Your heart tightens at her kind words, signing a ‘thank you’ before tugging her into a gentle embrace. Her back was a bit damp from what you assume is the sweat from jumping around in the bouncy castle.

“She’s excited for her cake,” Vi hums as she stares down at her sister with a teasing grin.

Isha nods enthusiastically at her words to confirm said excitement, looking over to Ekko and Sevika and signing something that you didn’t pick up due to her turning away from you. They both nod, eyes following over to Vi’s figure next to you with raised brows. You turn to look at Vi in confusion at the silent communication but choose to mind your own business as Vi’s cheeks seem to match her hair now. You didn’t want to embarrass her further.

“Alright, who’s hungry? The pizza’s here!” A deep English accent comes from behind the group, a burly yet kind looking man comes from the back door which you came from carrying five pizza boxes.

Jinx trails behind him with two bags of ice stacked on her own arms.

“You hungry, cupcake?” Vi places a hand on your shoulder, jerking her head over to the man.

You suck in a deep breath at her words, feeling Isha’s fingers wrap around your own that were resting in your lap. You were unbelievably hungry but knowing that this was going to be your first impression of Vi's father made your stomach churn, attempting to suppress your hunger.

But you push through.

“Yeah, I could eat,” you nod to confirm, turning your head to the side to give her a composed smile.

Sevika and Ekko followed you and Vi’s lead as you both stood up from your seats again to walk across the slightly overgrown grass, nearly tripping as a few more children passed by your hips and legs to run towards the table full of cardboard boxes of pizza.

“Hey, hey, slow down. One at a time,” the man told the group of kids, pointing at them to grab the disposable plates.

“Dad,” Vi called, taking your right hand once again while Isha still clung to your other.

“And who is this, Violet?” He questions his daughter as he places a slice on a child's plate in the line they formed.

“Hi!” You speak up before Vi could as you introduce yourself.

The man nods at your introduction, a friendly smile on his face as he plates another child’s plate. His eyes flicker to his eldest daughter with a raise of his brows before focusing his attention on you.

“Vander. Vi’s told me alot about you,” he states as he points to the pink haired girl standing next to you. “You’re the sweet lady who made Isha’s birthday cake. Got to say, I saw it in the fridge and it’s absolutely perfect. Thank you for doing that for her.”

You felt overwhelmed by the compliments from the man, strangely having the urge to hug him but only tighten your grip on Vi and Isha’s hands.

“Oh, it really was so much fun to make too. I don’t get a lot of cake orders so I was excited to test myself, I guess,” you assure the man of your adoration with the job.

“You work up an appetite baking? We’ve got some fine cuisine here,” his voice was playful as he motions to the greasy boxes.

You nod to confirm which resulted in a strong Dad-like laugh to leave Vanders’ throat before he raised a hand to clap on your shoulder, tugging you towards the boxes now that all of the children had gotten their own pizza slices. You release the two sister’s hands before looking up at the man.

The entirety of the birthday party quickly became a party game frenzy after everyone hounded down their greasy food. There was cup stacking; Vi won that one, pin the tail on the donkey; Isha won that, limbo; you almost broke your back trying to do that, etc. You saw a more eccentric and playful side of Vi, cursing her for being such a bright person around her family.

It made her all the more attractive.

When you ended up being her partner for the wheelbarrow race, you felt like a freak for those good few seconds where you were holding her legs up by her ankles so she could use her hands to ‘run’ across the grass. You kept your eyes straight forward for as long as possible.

They lingered a bit downward because why the hell did her ass look good in black jeans? You nearly won but Isha and one of their little cousins who had come to the party won that round due to you being… well, distracted for a moment. She stuck the middle finger up and stuck her tongue out at Vi quickly before Vander could see, causing you and Vi to gasp before she celebrated with her cousin again with a cheeky grin.

Your real enemy ended up being the three legged race. You and Vi’s hips were touching, arms interlocked as a bandana was being tied around your thighs to keep you from separating. You suck in a deep breath as Sevika tightens the fabric, patting the area to tell you two it was good.

“Good luck,” Sevika tells the two of you, standing back up to move on to Ekko and Jinx who were next in the lineup.

Vi grins at the elder, looking over at you as she brushes her hair out of face.

“Who do you think is going to win, huh?”

“I know you want me to say us but I have high hopes for Ekko and Jinx. She’s very scrappy,” you admit with a soft laugh, your hand twiddling with a loose fabric on your cardigan.

Vi nods slowly in agreement at your words.

“And Ekko?” She hums.

“He matches that,” you lean in closer before pulling back as the wind blows your hair a bit.

This Vi chuckles at, not denying that accusation. Vander moves to the front very end of the fence of the backyard, cupping his large hands around his mouth to shout the countdown.

“On your marks,” he yells, “get set.”

He pauses dramatically before raising his left hand upwards to mimic a flag and slam it back down before yelling out: “Go!”

You and Vi immediately start to move yourselves forward, Jinx whining that you two were cheating already. Vi’s hard bicep tug into your own as she tried to keep you two from tripping.

Isha and one of her cousins were catching up to you quickly, their little legs beating you. Some force was on your side that day as you had stepped forward with your free leg and rolled your ankle a bit on what felt like a toy.

It happened too fast for you to comprehend but you fell to the ground. You turned to your back side without thinking and nearly twisted your ankle doing so.

Vi’s hand attempts to grab your forearm but in doing so, falls over with you. Her body covers your own, her weight laying on top of your own. You groan at the impact hitting your stomach and chest, looking down at your legs to see that the fabric of the bandana had ripped which was what caused Vi’s body to be on you and not next. Her body shifts to lift her upper body up to relieve that ache in your chest.

Vi lifts her head to stare down at you with a concerned expression, hands on either side of your head.

“Shit, are you okay?”

You tilt your head down to how Vi’s hips were pressed into yours and look back up to stare into her twisted expression.

“Yeah, I’m… good,” you lied through your teeth as the back of your head was now throbbing.

Vi’s eyes were searching your own for any sort of discomfort. Your chests were centimeters apart as you breathed heavily to try and catch your breath, eyes boring into one another's. Suddenly, your head and backache were forgotten about. You swore for just a moment Vi’s eyes flickered down to your lips before pushing up off of you, grunting as she stood to her feet.

She brushed off her jeans before leaning forward to wrap her hand around your forearm to help you up and off the grass. You allow her to tug you upwards to your feet, avoiding her glaze like the plague.

“Ekko and Jinx take the cake!” You hear Vander start to clap, wincing out loud. “You two alright? Kind of got caught up in the competition for a moment there.”

“Fine, Dad,” Vi replies as she watches you brush off your own legs, sucking in a deep breath. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“A little headache but I’ll survive, Vi.” You shake your head, brushing your hair out of your face with a lighthearted chuckle.

You two sadly couldn’t speak for longer as Vander announced it was time for cake. Vi’s hand lingered on your arm as she ushered the two of you to the set-up, watching as Jinx carefully came out with the lit birthday cake. Your eyes round with admiration at Isha scrambling to sit still in her chair as her big golden eyes widen as everyone starts to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her.

Watching the scene unfold sent a bittersweet sense of comfort, remembering how you were once that small with a family like this. You hoped Isha could have this forever, security and love wrapped into one. If a tear left your eye, you’d disguise it as it being from the impact just a few moments ago.

The party died down slowly as adults and other family members came to pick up the other children that were at the function, getting pieces of the cake shoved into their palms that Vi had been praising since she took her first bite. Feeling like you had overstayed your welcome as the family was now gathered in the kitchen area to clean up, you quietly tell Vi that you should probably head home.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll walk you out,” Vi holds her finger up to Jinx, Ekko, Sevika, and Vander who were in the middle of a conversation.

“Aw, what? You have to go home already?” Jinx furrows her brows, huffing out a breath. “I didn’t even get to embarrass Vi in front of you yet.”

You chuckle at her words while Vi grumbles a sound of annoyance at her sister.

“I’m sure you’ll do it soon enough. And yeah, I got baking duties to tend to.”

“Well, I hope we get to see you more often and not just so you can bring us cake,” Jinx stepped forward to give you a quick hug.

You pat her back with a new sense of welcoming into Vi’s family, nodding in agreement with that statement. You say goodbye to everyone, making sure to sign Isha one more ‘Happy Birthday’ to which she signs back what you think is ‘Bye, pretty cake lady.’

As you walk down the halls to the front door, Vi questions: “What are you baking next?”

Catching you off guard, you ponder for a moment.

“Well, I’ve been dying to make some cinnamon rolls but kneading the dough can be tiring.” You huff as you watch Vi open the door for you, allowing you to step onto the gray concrete walkway that leads to the driveway. “Why?”

“Just… wondering.”

Then an idea sparks in your head as you lean against your car, turning to face Vi with a hesitant smile.

“Did you want to come over to mine to help me bake them?” You offer quickly before you could fumble and retract the statement.

Vi’s dark brows raise into her hairline at your invitation.

“You just want me to knead the dough, don’t you?” She teases.

You blow out a breath of air as you shrug your shoulders as if it wasn’t the first thing you thought of. “I mean, if you really want to. I wouldn’t mind it.”

Vi purses her lips as she nods, trying to repress her beaming smile. “Yes, I do want to.”

A sense of accomplishment washes over you at how you successfully made it through today without having any major screw-ups.

“I really had a good time today. I forgot how much fun birthday parties can be,” you grin sheepishly as you stand by your car, the sunset lighting up the side of your face beautifully.

Vi’s smile only grew at how stunning you looked.

“I told you that you would. You should come over more,” Vi shrugged her shoulders, tilting her head at you.

You hum with a playful smile as you bump your shoulder with hers. “So I can get multiple concussions? I don’t think so.”

“Well, I can promise I can try to prevent as many of those as possible.”

You chuckle out an ‘okay’ at her words, fiddling with your cardigan sleeve. There was a beat of silence between the two of you, the soft breeze sending shivers down your spine. Your bad habit of admiring her silently; nearly creepily hit you when you made eye contact with her, her brows raising at you challengingly.

“Right, yeah, so I’ll let you know when I have everything to make the cinnamon rolls,” you stated as your hand hovered your driver's side door handle, snapping out of your temporary trance.

Vi’s arms folded over the front of her chest, scuffing her shoes on the concrete of their driveway as she rocked her on her heels.

You find her eyes once again, taking in a confidence wielding breath as taking a step forward to wrap your arms around her neck. Vi was taken aback for half a second, breath hitching before she let her arms drop from their spot to hold you up your torso with one arm as the other raised to cradle the back of your head with her hand. You bury your head into her neck to cling onto the warmth for as long as you could.

“Thank you again for coming, cupcake. I’ll see you soon, alright?” Vi says gently into your temple, sliding her hand off of your head.

“Yeah,” you suck in a deep breath, “I’ll see you.”

Achingly doing so, you detach yourself from her embrace to finally get into your car. Vi stood in the driveway as you reversed and drive off, waving at you until you were down the road.

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[riecoeur]

luch break.

pairing — husband!sungchan x fem!reader

summary — you and your husband sungchan have been navigating married life alongside his whirlwind idol career with riize. when a mix-up in his schedule leads you to drop off a homemade lunch during a live practice session, fans catch a glimpse of the mysterious "mrs. jung," sparking chaos online.

warnings — none, just pure fluff and a tiny bit of embarrassment for sungchan!

📌 any feedback are appreciated, i’d love to know what you think of my first mini-series, request open or send ask → 💌🦕🩵 !

🏷️ taglist ; @strawbrryvyy

your apartment smells like soy sauce and sesame oil, a faint hint of the kimbap you’d spent the morning rolling. you glance at the clock.

11:47 a.m.

and figure you’ve got just enough time to swing by the company before sungchan’s practice break. he’d texted you last night, voice groggy from a late rehearsal, promising he’d be free around noon.

“bring me something good, please.”

he’d teased, and you’d laughed, already planning the little lunchbox in your head.

you slip on a hoodie, grab the bento bag, and head out, the spring air are cool. it’s a short walk to the building, and the security guard gives you a familiar nod as you flash your visitor pass, perks of being jung sungchan’s wife, even if you still feel a little shy about it. you’re used to sneaking in and out quietly, keeping things low-key. sungchan’s fans know he’s married, but you’ve both been careful about keeping your face off the radar.

the practice room’s just down the hall, and you can already hear the thump of music through the walls.

you pull out your phone to text him.

y/n:

here with food, you on break soon?

but before you can hit send, the door swings open, and sohee’s grinning face pops out.

“y/n! perfect timing… wait, you’re here now?”

he blinks, then waves you in. “come on, sungchan hyung’s gonna flip.”

“is he not on break?”

you hesitate, clutching the bag tighter. the music’s still going, a steady beat you vaguely recognize as one of their new tracks.

“uh, not exactly,” sohee says, scratching his neck.

“we’re live. like, right now. but it’s fine, he’s starving anyway.”

your stomach drops.

“live? as in… camera?”

“yep! don’t worry, you’ll be quick.”

he’s already tugging you inside before you can protest, and the room hits you all at once, bright lights, a couple of staff adjusting equipment, and the boys mid-choreography.

sungchan’s in the center, sweat glistening on his forehead, his tank top clinging to his broad frame as he hits a sharp turn. he spots you mid-move, and you swear you see his foot catch for a split second. his eyes widen, and then he’s grinning, that big, boyish smile that still makes your heart skip.

“y/n?”

he calls, voice cutting through the music. the others falter too, turning to look, and you feel your face heat up as wonbin smirks and eunseok raises an eyebrow.

“uh, hi,”

you manage, holding up the bag like it’s a shield.

“i brought lunch?”

the staff don’t miss a beat, one of them pans the camera slightly, catching your awkward wave before sungchan jogs over, waving them off.

“cut it, cut it,” he laughs, though his cheeks are pink.

“this wasn’t part of the plan.”

“jagi, what plan?” you mutter, handing him the bento.

“you said noon.”

“i meant i’d call you at noon,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

“we got held up. this is… uh… live on youtube right now.”

you freeze. “wait, what?”

“yeah, like, twelve thousand people watching,”

sohee chimes in, peeking over sungchan’s shoulder.

“hi, y/n-noona! the chat’s going crazy.”

“oh my god,” you whisper, stepping back, but sungchan grabs your wrist gently, pulling you closer.

“it’s fine, they didn’t see much,” he says, voice low and reassuring.

“just… stay here a sec, okay? i’m dying for this.”

he opens the bag, peering inside, and his whole face lights up.

“kimbap? you’re the best.”

“you’re welcome,”

you mumble, still mortified. the others are already crowding around, anton snagging a piece before sungchan can swat his hand away.

“dude, she made it for me,”

sungchan protests, but he’s laughing, that easy, warm sound that always puts you at ease.

the staff call them back to finish the session, and you slip out as quietly as you can, heart pounding.

by the time you’re halfway home, your phone’s buzzing texts from friends, a couple of notifications from X.

‘sungchan’s wife spotted?’

one post reads, with a blurry screenshot of you handing him the bag.

another.

‘who’s the lunch angel???’

you groan, burying your face in your hands. so much for low-key.

it’s past eight when sungchan finally gets home, the apartment quiet except for the sound of the tv you’d left on. you’re curled up on the couch, scrolling through the chaos online.

fan edits,

theories,

even a fan-screenrecord of him blushing when you walked in. he drops his gym bag by the door and flops next to you, still in his hoodie, smelling faintly of sweat and cologne.

“yeobo,” he says, nudging your shoulder.

“you okay?”

“i’m fine,” you say, setting your phone down.

“you’re the one who got ambushed by your own wife on live.”

he laughs, head tipping back against the cushion.

“honestly? worth it. the guys wouldn’t shut up about how good the kimbap was. and the fans, god, they’re insane. someone called you ‘lunch fairy’ already.”

“i saw,” you say, biting back a smile.

“i didn’t mean to blow up your spot.”

“nah, it’s cool,”

he says, turning to face you. his eyes are soft, a little tired, but there’s that spark in them, like he’s still riding the high of seeing you earlier.

“i like that they know i’ve got someone taking care of me.”

your cheeks warm. “yeah?”

“yeah.” he leans closer, resting his forehead against yours.

“plus, you looked cute, all flustered like that. made my day.”

“shut up,” you mutter, shoving his chest lightly, but he just catches your hand, lacing his fingers through yours. his thumb brushes over your knuckles, and for a second, it’s just the two of you.

no cameras, no fans, no schedules.

“thanks for the food,” he says quieter, like it’s a secret.

“and for dealing with… all this.”

“anytime,” you reply, squeezing his hand.

“but next time, text me the right schedule, okay?”

he grins, pulling you into his side until you’re tucked against him, his arm heavy around your shoulders.

“deal. now, wanna see the clip of me tripping when i saw you? sohee sent it to me.”

you laugh, nodding as he pulls out his phone, the warmth of him next to you chasing away the day’s chaos. maybe the internet’s losing its mind, but here, with sungchan’s arm around you and his laugh, it feels like everything’s exactly where it should be.

[4ranghaes]

can i req 23rd with leehan :D

day 12 ⋆｡˚❆˚ ｡⋆ exchanging gifts!

kim leehan x reader [fluff, gender neutral!reader]

23:01 - “can we open our presents now?”

you smiled, leaning up on your boyfriend’s chest and rolling your eyes at his repetitive question from the last few weeks, “why not?”

leehan gasped, his hand flying from your back to the back of your head, grasping tightly, “really?!”

“it’s only an hour until christmas eve,” you chuckled, “and we’re not spending christmas day together. so if you’re happy with it.”

“well…” he smiled sheepishly, looking down at you with a cheeky glint in his eye, “i’ve got you multiple! we could do one now?”

you chuckled, leaning up and kissing his lips softly, nodding, “sounds perfect.”

leehan moved quickly, jumping out of bed and opening his wardrobe, grabbing one of the multiple wrapped presents out of there, without second thought.

“why are they still in your wardrobe?” you laughed, getting one from your pile at the end of his bed, “they’re wrapped!”

leehan shrugged, a smile on his face as he came and crouched next to the bed, handing you the present as though you were a child, receiving a present from santa claus. you chuckled, taking it from his hands.

“what could it be?” you hummed, smiling as he sat back on the bed, leaning against the headboard. he raised his eyebrows in suggestion, amused look on his face.

you flipped over the now unwrapped present from your boyfriend, a homemade frame decorated with stickers (fish-based or otherwise) and a photo of you and leehan, taken on a date from mid-spring.

“that’s your favourite, right?” he said, a slight shyness peeking through, “i– it was your lockscreen.”

you broke out in a smile, crawling forward on the bed, hanging onto the back of leehan’s head as you pressed a kiss to his lips. pulling away, you remained just centimetres from his face.

“thank you,” you mumbled, kissing him again, “it’s so thoughtful, donghyun, really.”

he broke out in a smile, leaning in to kiss you again before pushing you away.

“okay, go away, i’m excited for mine,” he laughed. you sat on your knees, watching his nimble fingers shake your present, admiring the size and putting it up to his ear, you chuckling at his childish behaviour. “it’s big!”

“it’s kind of stupid,” you said, shaking your head, “don’t expect too much.”

he glared up at you before looking back down at the present, a smile spreading across his face.

“lego?” he read, looking up to you, becoming happier and happier.

“yeah…” you smiled, “it’s, um, a fish tank.”

he giggled, “really?!”

you nodded sheepishly, “you build all the fish and the decorations and the tank. but it’s small, so i thought it could be like a transportable one for you.”

“and i already have my mini!” he beamed, reaching and showing you his tiny fish tank, “it’s like all the sizes!”

you nodded, laughing, “do you like it?”

he was giggling, grabbing your face and pulling you towards him, kissing you lips repeatedly, “yes. thank you, darling. really.”

you smiled into the kiss, “merry christmas, leehan-ie.”

he pulled away, smiling as he admired your face, “merry christmas.”

[eternal-sunflowers]

Fireside

AO3 | written for @steddiebingo hop into spring mini event | prompt: grow | rating: t | wc: 4.2k | cw: language, drugs (weed) | tags: post-s4, everyone lives, eddie POV, established relationship, jargyle, platonic stonathan, eddie and jonathan are best friends

Eddie’s elbow deep in the plant beds out back of the Byers-Hopper house, pulling out weeds and turning over the dirt and mulch, getting them prepped for Joyce’s next batch of plant seeds. He’s prepped the beds so many times at this point, he thinks he could do it in his sleep. 

“Come on, you little shit.” Eddie grumbles, wrapping his fist around a particular stubborn weed. He digs down with his free hand, tries to dislodge more of the packed dirt lower down, before giving it a good pull. The weed pops free, and he tosses it on the debris pile before leaning back on his calves. “Finally.”

He takes off his gloves and tosses them down, pulls up his raggedy homemade tank top to wipe the sweat off his face. If he had to guess, it’s about a billion degrees out, and they’ve been working since, like, 7 AM, and all he fucking wants is a cigarette and about 4 glasses of water. And a shot of whiskey. And a joint. And a shower. 

Maybe not in that order.

Basically, Eddie wants to be washed free of the detritus of Joyce’s garden, laying on the patio loungers, getting high or drunk for the rest of the night.

But, before he can even dream about that, they have to clear out all the debris. Planting is for another day, at least, thank fucking hell. 

“Eddie, honey, are you done with that one?” Joyce calls across the yard from her own plant bed, head tilted as she looks over at him.

“Yes, ma’am. It’s all ready for your plantin’.” He smiles over at her, before slowly pulling himself up to standing, groaning as his muscles protest the movement, a few pops echoing through his body. He throws his arms up above him in a stretch. “Gonna clear up my space. Need any help with yours?”

She smiles back at him, throwing her hands in a shooing manner. “Oh, no, honey, you’ve done enough already. Go get cleaned up. Hop’ll have the grill up and cookin’ dinner by the time you’re out, hopefully, so you can just rest.”

Eddie leans down and starts throwing all the debris in the wheelbarrow propped up next to him. “You sure, Joyce? I don’t mind helpin’ finish up today so you’ll have an easier go of it when you start your plantin’.” 

“I know, but you’ve already done plenty. Hell, you cleared most of the beds yourself.” She chuckles.

“I just wanna make sure they’re all ready to grow up some good shi– I mean, good stuff for the season. Nothin’ beats what your garden makes.” Eddie locks eyes with her, gives her a face-splitting grin. “Purely selfish intentions, I promise.”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, I’m sure. Leave everything in the wheelbarrow. I’ll get Hop to dump it when I’m done loading mine.” She waves him off toward the house. “Now, go. Go shower and change so you can rest properly.”

Eddie ignores her, rolls the wheelbarrow over to her bed anyway and starts loading up her debris, but then she’s standing and physically pushing him toward the door. “Edward Munson, you are banned from my garden for the next 30 minutes.”

“Wha–not the full name, Joyce. I thought we were friends, how could you?” Eddie stumbles, caught off guard by just how strong she is. Fucking hell, no wonder this woman fought the end of the world and won, like, a billion times. 

Hopper opens the door then, takes a step back when Eddie stumbles to a stop in front of him. He looks between Eddie and his wife, one eyebrow raised. “Any reason you’re delivering a sweaty Munson up to the door like this, Joyce?”

“He’s banned from the garden for a half hour, Hop. He’s been working all day and wouldn’t take a real break, so I’m forcing him to go get cleaned up so he can rest.” Eddie turns briefly to see Joyce glaring at Hopper.

Hopper just sighs. “Yeah, alright. Come on, Munson, you heard my wife.” He reaches out and grabs Eddie by the shoulder, pulling him into the house, only stopping long enough for Eddie to flimsily kick his shoes off before he’s, actually somewhat gently, pulling Eddie down the hall and pushing him into the bathroom. “You know where everything is. Don’t let me see you at the back door until,” Hopper turns, looks at the clock in the hallway, “at least 4:30, alright?”

Eddie stands there, a bit dumbfounded. “Yeah– yeah, alright, okay. Loud and clear, Hop.”

Hopper nods, goes to move away, before Eddie’s reaching out, grabbing him by the arm, much to both of their surprise, because what the fuck Eddie, that is the chief of police’s arm you are willingly grabbing, even if he is your pseudo-friend-thing now, what is wrong with you??? 

They both look down to where Eddie’s hand is still resting. Hopper breaks the silence first. “You gonna tell me why you’re touchin’ me, kid?”

Eddie snaps out of it then, releases Hopper’s arm. “Yeah, shit, sorry. Just, Joyce has also been workin’ long as I have out there today, and we both know she won’t admit this, and she’ll probably kill me if she finds out I told you, but she didn’t take any real breaks today either.”

Hopper raises his eyebrows at that, a bit of anger to his gaze. “You’re tellin’ me you let my wife work the last 9 hours in the sun without a break?”

Eddie’s own eyes widen, and he puts his hands up in front of him placatingly. “No, no, no. No, I kept tellin’ her to take a break, and she kept snapping at me about the beds needing to get done. I know Jonathan and Steve had to cancel on helping out today, and I tried to get her to reschedule, but she was hellbent on it.” He swallows, his eyes pleading earnestly. “I didn’t take a real break because she wouldn’t, and like hell was I about to let her do all that shit alone. I snuck in a few times and brought out some drinks and snacks, reminded her to go to the bathroom a few times, gave her some sunscreen and a cool towel, that kind of thing. Tried my damndest to get as many of the beds done myself as I could so she wouldn’t have to do ‘em.”

Eddie folds his arms across his chest and shrugs. “Just, I appreciate her lookin’ out for me and all, but I just wanna make sure she’s looked after too, and you’re the best person for that, man – sir, Hopper.”

Hopper just stares back at him for about 10 seconds. Eddie watches as Hopper’s expression changes from anger towards Eddie to frustration to what he’s hearing to sadness and to understanding. 

“She ate anything today?” Hopper whispers.

“Yeah, brought her a couple sandwiches ‘round midday, some fruit and crackers and stuff a couple other times.” 

Hopper grunts. “Right. Well, thanks, kid– Eddie. Thanks for lookin’ out for her. She’s, uh, not so great at doing it for herself, too busy lookin’ out for all of us idiots.”

Eddie laughs a little. “Don’t I know it. Best mom in town, probably in the whole damn world at this point.”

That earns him a smile and a nod from Hopper. “Yeah, she really is.” 

They stand there for a second, a moment of quiet understanding passing between them. An appreciation for one strong as hell woman who’s fought too hard for too long, who they both know deserves some rest but won’t take it if isn’t forced upon her lovingly. 

Hopper claps his hands, breaks the spell. “Right, well. You get cleaned up and meet us out back in half an hour, alright?”

“Will do. Thanks Hop.” Eddie nods, and Hopper walks off. 

—-----------------------

Eddie’s leaned back in a lounger in the Byers-Hopper backyard, the sound of one of Hopper’s records carrying through the conversations happening around him. He’s got a cigarette perched between his lips, taking a beautiful drag when it’s ripped from him. “Hey! The hell?”

He cranes his neck up just in time to be met with the sight of his beautiful, gorgeous, too perfect for this world boyfriend taking a drag from the stolen cigarette. Steve smirks down at him. “Hi, babe.” 

Eddie grumbles. “Could’ve just asked for one and I’d’ve given it to you.”

“This is more fun, though.” Steve takes another drag and leans down, eyebrow raised in a challenge. 

Eddie rolls his eyes and leans up, meets Steve’s lips as he exhales directly into Eddie’s mouth. Eddie greedily inhales as he connects their lips in a burning kiss, humming out his approval. 

Steve’s the first to pull away, a lazy smile on his face as he watches Eddie exhale their shared smoke. 

Eddie matches his boyfriend’s smile, opens his mouth to speak before he’s pelted in the head with a packet of seeds. “Fuckin’ – who?” He turns as he hears the telltale laughter of one Jonathan Byers who’s slumping down in the chair beside him. “I’m wounded, Byers. If you wanted my attention, all you had to do was ask.”

“Not the kind of attention I want from you, Munson, believe me. I’m perfectly happy with my own.” He nods his head behind him to where Argyle is talking to Will and El about god-knows-what, but they seem very invested. “Yeah, that’s been happening for at least 10 minutes. I gave up paying attention and came to bother you two.”

“Ah, so we’re your second choice. Running theme there, Jonny.” Steve smirks, sits on the end of Eddie’s chair and stubs out the dwindled cigarette, before scooting up and leaning back against him so they’re curled up together.

“Oh, fuck off, Harrington.” Jonathan laughs, a full belly thing, but there’s no malice to it, just an easy sort of banter between friends.

Thank fucking hell, Eddie thinks. He’s beyond thrilled they’ve hashed out all their shit and are on better terms. All it took was the world trying to end a couple times, some intense fights, and a lot of fucking weed and talking. You’d never be able to tell they weren’t always best friends, now. 

“So what can we do you for, Jonny boy?” Eddie asks, settling his arms around Steve, placing a kiss on his temple.

Jonathan pulls a couple joints from his pocket, holds them out between them. “Figured we could smoke a few, courtesy of Argyle. Shoot the shit while we wait for Hop to finish cooking.”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice.” Eddie pulls his arms back, pats Steve’s shoulder. “C’mon babe, let’s go smoke.”

Steve whines. “I literally just sat down.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Were you the one out here all day working on the beds?” Eddie cocks his head, squints at Steve’s face. “No? Right, that was me.”

“I had to work too!” Steve throws his arms out in exasperation.

“And I had to prep a billion beds for planting so Jonny’s mom over here didn’t work herself to the bone. And now, he has so graciously brought over Argyle’s weed in what I’m assuming is a peace offering since he, too, ditched today.” Eddie turns his squinted glare on Jonathan.

“Wait, you didn’t show up either, man? You literally live here.” Steve stands up out of the chair, throws Jonathan a questioning look.

Jonathan sighs, a sheepish smile taking over his face. “Yeah, got called to a shoot in Indy and mom wouldn’t let me turn them down.” He turns to look into Eddie’s glaring eyes. “I tried to tell her to reschedule, but she wouldn’t, said you two would try to get half of it done today, and we’d all kill the rest of it tomorrow. I didn’t think she’d really try to do it all today. I’m sorry, man.”

“Yeah, well, she’s too stubborn for her own good.” Eddie drops his glare as he stands. “I did most of the beds, anyway. She only had to do a couple. But, my body is fucking wrecked, and I’ve been looking forward to getting high since about the third bed I worked on, so–” He holds his hand out to help Jonathan up.

Jonathan takes it and stands, throws his arm around Eddie’s shoulder. “I gotcha, man.”

“So, what is this delightful treat Argyle has brought us today?”

“Pineapple Haze.”

Eddie laughs. “Of-fucking-course it is.”

—-------

Twenty minutes and two joints later, they’re all leaned back against one of the logs around the fire pit they’ve got set up lower down on the property, far enough away from the house that the weed smell doesn’t bother the kids, and close enough that they can all still see each other if needed. A little Upside Down trauma makes people skittish, he supposes.

They lit the fire, knowing they’d all end up here after dinner, and that the fire smell is just strong enough to make Hopper and Joyce not say anything about their kids obviously smoking pot. A pretty normal ritual at this point, to gather around the fire and talk, or drink, or play music. Eddie often sets up with his guitar and takes requests, or just plays to fill in the background noise of everyone’s conversations. It’s nice, having this kind of routine. 

Eddie’s currently leaning into Steve’s side, revelling in the warmth of his boyfriend’s arm curled around his aching shoulders. Steve and Jonathan are engaged in some conversation about Jonathan’s shoot today. Eddie knows he should be listening, but he’s honestly really, really fucking exhausted, and it’s really starting to set in now. A bone deep exhaustion brought on by too-long hours of manual labor, dulled with the sweet blanket of warmth that only weed brings. He knows he’s going to be goddamn sore tomorrow, but he’s trying not to think about that, instead focusing on the feeling of Steve’s hand rubbing soothing patterns into his arm.

“Eddie.” 

Eddie jolts. “What?”

He hears Steve laugh and looks up at his boyfriend with his best wounded look. Steve just rolls his eyes. “Oh, drop it. We’ve been trying to get your attention for, like, a few minutes.”

“Oh?” Eddie’s gaze turns sheepish then as he looks between them. “Shit, sorry, you guys. Guess I zoned out there.”

Steve squeezes his shoulder. “You’re fine, babe. Just wanna make sure you’re okay.”

“Yeah, ‘m just fuckin’ exhausted, honestly. Sorry I’m not better company.”

“Dude, you’re fine. You did a fuckin’ lot today from what I saw.” Jonathan says, knocks his knee against Eddie’s. “No apologies needed. Just tryna check in like Steve said, make sure it’s nothin’ else.”

Eddie rubs his eyes. “Yeah, no, just plain old manual labor induced exhaustion.” He pauses. “Well, that, and your boyfriend’s weed. That pineapple is hazing over me real good.”

Jonathan laughs. “Yeah, alright, you’re fine.”

“Why don’t you just shut your eyes for a bit? We’ll wake you up when the food’s done.” Steve pulls Eddie tighter to his chest.

“You sure?”

“‘Course.” Steve kisses his temple.

“Yeah, man, if anyone deserves a nap today, it’s you.” Jonathan offers a lazy smile thrown his way.

Eddie offers his own smile back, finds himself drifting off to the sounds of the fire and the calming voices of two of the most important people in his life.

—-----

“So, how was the shoot today, Jonathan?” Joyce asks while they’re seated around the fire, picking off the last bits of their dinners. 

“Oh, it was cool, I guess.” Jonathan murmurs, ducks his head a bit. 

Steve pushes his arm. “C’mon, man.”

“It’s really nothin’. Just another shoot.”

“He’s lying.”

“Steve!” Jonathan pushes the arm draped around Eddie, causing Steve and Eddie both to tip a little to the side.

Eddie groans. “Hey, don’t catch me in your crossfire. I’m an innocent bystander.”

“You’d be calling him out too if you heard what happened at the shoot today, babe.”

Eddie quirks a brow, turns his attention to Jonathan. “What’d you do, Jonny? Piss off a business owner?”

“Jesus.” Jonathan wrings his hand across his face, falling into Argyle’s shoulder. “It’s nothing.”

“Aw, come on, Jon. They just wanna hear you talk about how your swanky photography landed you a full time gig at an agency out there.” Argyle brags, dopey grin across his face.

“You what?” Will and El both scream, jumping up in excitement, before running over to jump on their brother in a tangled hug. 

“Ow! Jesus, you’re both all bony limbs, get off.” Jonathan laughs, gently shoving his younger siblings off of him. They plop down on the ground around him, faces beaming back at him.

“Jonathan? Is–did you get offered a job?” Joyce’s voice is hopeful, eyes glossy in the firelight. 

Jonathan turns to his mom, expression mirroring her own. “Yeah, I guess.”

Steve pelts him with a slice of cucumber. 

“Ow! Alright, geez, yes, I got offered a full time job up in Indy. It’s not a traditional 9-5, but it’s full time, and really good pay, and I’d get to work with a lot of really great people and businesses and stuff.” Jonathan crosses his arms. “I, uh, I really impressed them with my portfolio and my work today. They said they’d like me to start soon as possible. I just – I didn’t want to uproot everything, and didn’t expect to bring it up tonight.”

“Oh, sweetheart. I’m so proud of you.” Joyce wipes a few tears away before moving over to hug her son. 

“Well, that sounds like a means for celebration to me. What’s the masses think?” Hopper grunts out as he stands up. Will and El scramble up, eyes wide in anticipation. Hopper points at them. “Don’t get any ideas.” He walks off to the house, the two younger kids trailing after him, giggling to each other. 

Joyce is asking Jonathan questions about the shoot today, and he’s seemed to loosen up a bit now that the whole fireside isn’t listening to him. She squeezes his shoulder and stands to go follow Hopper up to the house. 

Eddie leans over, pushes Jonathan’s shoulder. “Hey, man. Sick offer. That’s amazing. Don’t let them undersell you, or else they’ve got a whole apocalypse squad to answer to.”

Jonathan laughs. “Thanks, dude. It’s a pretty good offer, I guess. I don’t really have much to compare it to, but the numbers are way more than anything I’ve ever seen in my life, so. I’m not really planning to complain too much.”

“Ah, but that’s how they get you in the creative business.” Eddie pulls himself off of Steve’s shoulder, turns a bit to face his friends. “Seriously, I’ve looked into it a bunch with all the music stuff. They try real hard to capture young talent and swindle them. I don’t know how it goes with photographers to a full extent, but I’ve shot the shit with and worked with enough gig photographers that I’ve got a decent idea of how it goes there.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, man. You’d be surprised what people will talk about in those spaces. Numbers are fully out on the table when you get a bunch of artists of any kind together. The contract writers aren’t looking out for us, so we gotta do it ourselves.”

Jonathan nods. “Yeah, shit, I didn’t even think about that. Would you, uh – would you be up to helping me with that?”

Eddie smiles. “Of course. What kind of friend would I be if I left you to the sharks? Plus, I owe you for all the great photos you’ve taken of me and the band.”

Jonathan waves his hand. “No, you don’t. No owing between friends, man. We’re all on the level here. Just take care of each other, look after each other like you said.”

“Fair enough, Byers, fair enough.”

“You be willing to ride up to Indy with me to look over the contracts later this week?”

“Fuck yeah. Just give me a day, I’ll be there.”

“Thanks, man. I really fucking appreciate this.” Jonathan fidgets with the hem of his shirt. “I’m good at, like, the budgeting part of money and stuff, but know fuck all about contracts, so anything you know would be a massive help.”

Eddie hums, closes his eyes for a moment as he thinks. He finds it helps him focus if he cuts off a few senses like that. Helps him hear his own thoughts a bit better, untangle them from each other. It’s gotten a lot harder to do so since the spring break from hell, but he’s come to terms with it a bit, and everyone gives him space to work through his thoughts, avoids pressing him to answer anything, just lets him come back to them when he can. 

Eddie blinks, catches Jonathan’s eye. “Alright, so, I’ve got a few photographer friends here in town and then out in Indy. Some more out in Chicago and stuff, though I don’t think we’ve got enough time for that. I’ll make some phone calls tomorrow morning and get us in to meet them before you go back and meet to discuss contracts. How’s that?”

“Shit, dude.” Jonathan stammers, a wide grin stretching across his face. “Yeah, that’d be fucking amazing, seriously. Thanks, man.”

“Anytime, Jonny boy.” Eddie leans back against Steve. “We’ll get you a good deal.”

Just then, Joyce and Hopper and the kids returns, several glasses and a handle of whiskey between them. The kids hand out glasses to everyone, even themselves, Eddie notices with a shock. Hopper goes around and gives everyone a pour, only give El and Will a splash each, much to their annoyance. “Hey, you’re lucky you’re getting this.” He grumbles at them.

Hopper stands, holds his glass high in a toast. Jonathan slinks down against Argyle’s chest, tries to hide his face, but Argyle laughs and softly grabs his chin, holds his face so as to watch Hopper’s toast. 

“Jonathan, I’m proud as hell of ya, son. You’ve worked your ass off for this. I don’t always get art and stuff, but, uh, your stuff is good.” Hopper scratches his chin, brows furrowed as he looks over at Jonathan. “You deserve this job, and you’ll get much better ones after it too. You’ve got potential, son. And I’ll support you every damn step of the way until you’re one of them world-renowned photographers or something.” Eddie swears he sees tears in Hopper’s eyes as he continues. “I’m real proud of you, son.”

Jonathan stumbles up, runs into Hopper’s arms, wraps him in a hug. Hopper stumbles briefly, then returns the hug, lays his head on top of Jonathan’s. It doesn’t take long for Will and El to join the hug, Joyce following shortly behind as she waves to the three non-Byers-Hopper’s to join. Argyle laughs and bounds over, wrapping around his boyfriend’s back. 

Eddie smiles, watches the family celebrate their son’s accomplishment. He knows Jonathan deserves this, and he’s happy as hell for him. Even happier that he can offer support and help in his own way by trying to keep Jonathan from getting screwed over as best he can. He feels a bit soft watching them hug each other and laugh together. Thinks about how this is basically his family now, his little band of misfits all pressed together under the weight of many apocalypses.

Steve squeezes his shoulder. “Wanna give our congratulations and head up to bed?”

Eddie looks up at him. “You wanna sleep here tonight?” “Yeah, I’ve got a feeling Joyce’ll want an early start tomorrow with the garden. Plus, it’s already late, and I’m still a pretty high, and you’re exhausted. Joyce gave us a room for a reason.”

Eddie sighs. “Thank fuck for that. I don’t know if I could make it to the car, ‘m so fuckin’ tired, Stevie.”

“I know, babe. Let’s go get you to bed.” Steve stands, holds out his hand to pull Eddie up against him. They make their way over to the disbanding hug, pull Jonathan into a hug of their own, offer up their congratulations again. 

Steve pulls them over to where Joyce and Hopper are talking. “Hey, Joyce. Cool if we crash here tonight?”

“Of course, sweetie. You don’t have to ask to stay in your room.”

Eddie’s heart warms a bit at that, knowing he has a room in someone else’s house. It honestly makes him want to cry. “‘Preciate it, Joyce. You’re the best.”

Joyce smiles at them. “Of course. You still good for the garden, same time tomorrow morning?” 

“Wouldn’t miss the planting for the world, Joyce. Got the whole day off just for you.” Steve smiles, pulls her into a hug. “Already ready for what we’re able to grow this time.”

Joyce laughs, squeezes his shoulders tight before pulling back. “You sound just like your boyfriend.”

Eddie smiles, looks at the people around the fire pit, hanging out and chatting away, celebrating Jonathan’s new job offer. Thinks about how he’s managed to grow his own little family in spite of it all. 

Thinks about his boyfriend, a fucking godsend of a man, constantly there to love him through all his good and bad days. 

He reaches out for Steve’s hand, starts pulling him up to the house, to the room that’s their own in a place filled only with love and kindness and laughter. He yanks Steve down into the bed with him, both still fully clothed, rolls into his boyfriend’s side and starts peppering his laughing face with kisses.

Yeah, Eddie’s pretty happy with where his life has taken him.

tags (open): @sunshine-daydreams0809

divider credit: @saradika-graphics

just let me know if you'd like to be added to my permanent taglist :) thank you for reading <3

[merrock]

event: Emergency Services Carnival

location: Town Hall & Cityview Park

date & time: June 29 - July 6, 2024

ooc duration: same dates!

Once a year, we throw a carnival in town to raise money for our emergency services, so the next time that you dial 911 due to a medical emergency or a fire breaking out, or a cat stuck in a tree (it happens, we know), the best of the best has the resources that they need to get out and help you to the best of their ability.

Located downtown, in the vicinity of the Cityview Park and Town Hall, a main stretch of road has been closed and the street cleared so that tents and trucks can set up for the week, happy to provide you with eats and treats! You can spend time enjoying the park, or go 'touch a truck' and meet the ambulance workers and firefighters of Merrock as they show off their stations, as well.

For food, you can expect all of the carnival staples: pizza, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, fresh cut French fries, a number of hot sandwiches, homemade soups, hot pretzels, nachos and cheese and so much more! If you want something dessert-y, reach for cotton candy, sno*cones, homemade ice cream and milkshakes, funnel cakes, churros and lots of candy sweets.

All of your favorite games are ready to go! There's the ring toss, where you can win a glass bottle of soda, the duck pond, balloon pop, frog pond, ball toss, lucky wheel and more! Great opportunity to win that special someone a prize. There are also a few rides set up for you to enjoy: the carousel, tilt-a-whirl and ferris wheel and mini-train are at your service! And before you head home, don't forget to pay to toss a few balls at the dunk tank, see if you can knock your favorite firefighter or EMT or other prominent town figure off their mark.

Performances for the week include: local band on Saturday, 80s cover band on Sunday, Unknown Destination on Monday, country band on Tuesday, classic rock band on Wednesday, local band on Thursday, Chetan Gupta on Friday, 90s and 00s cover band on Saturday.

On July 4th, at dusk, we will be having fireworks to celebrate the 4th of July!

[buybricks]

Mini crochet dump

I’ve been spending the last couple of months altering/redoing/undoing some of my older projects

One thing I did was redo the patchwork cardigan into a sweater and a bag (the cardigan looks really good in this picture but it was waaay too big and the squares weren’t all the same size so they didn’t sit flat). Even with making these two things I still had a decent amount of yarn leftover, and I also unraveled two tops since I was never going to wear acrylic tank tops

I ended up making this blanket from the scrap yarn and some old yarn, and I ended up with exactly enough yarn for 36 squares. It was also my first time doing an invisible join, still gotta figure out how to do the corners but definitely learned a lot doing it!

(Also this was my first time blocking squares, featuring my homemade blocking board (yes it took me forever to make it. and yes my hands hurt just thinking about it))

And don’t forget about the snag (snail bag)! I don’t really think there’s much else to say about it

[welcomehomerandomness]

Welcome Home Randomness Masterlist 2

[SPOILERS] "Happy Haunting to Boo and Yours" Storybook Record but it is just the three best characters talking :)

[SPOILERS] Hidden Halloween video but the scary part is just Wally slowly losing his mind

My reaction to that information (Halloween edition)

Unemployed people at 02:51 on a Tuesday (+bonus cursed meme)

My little princesses :D

Welcome Home characters as cursed bedrooms

A follower lost their life

Don't make Frank mad (WARNING: Loud volume!!!)

I found something weird on Home…

Sunny and Frank's (NOT) Fireworks Date

Choose only one Welcome Home group

This or that? (WH Edition)

Me looking for more puppet projects be like

I think we're gonna have to kill this guy, Pillar-san…

Welcome Home characters as Christmas trees

Welcome Home theories be like

If a Welcome Home character is popular in 2019: Wally, Barnaby, Julie, Frank, Eddie, Howdy, Sally, Poppy

Welcome Home characters and their favorite chocolate

Spotify Wrapped Meme (WH Edition)

Welcome Home Website Mini-Update Reaction (12/26/2023)

Aftermath of Home's Christmas Tree

The Plush Adventures of Wally Darling 1 2

Welcome Home as Luke Correia videos Parts 1 2

A shopkeeper, a manga artist, and a jujutsu sorcerer were driving down the road…

Welcome Home characters and their favorite Sanrio characters

Choose your Welcome Home bootleg plushie

A trip to The Playfellow Exhibition

Welcome Home but Wally and the neighbors have a tank

I made an edit of the most underrated characters of Welcome Home

Welcome Home characters as kpop songs

Thank You (January 24, 2024 Birthday Message)

Plush Wally the Fairy Princess

Welcome Home characters and their Smash Bros mains

Welcome Home characters and their favorite Just Dance maps

Never give Poppy a laptop

Wally's so mentally stable it's insane

Welcome Home Teletubbies

Welcome Home Drip

Welcome Home March 8 Update Meme

Welcome Home characters as cursed gaming setups

POV: Wally doxxes you

Welcome Home Website Update Reaction Notes (3/9/2024) (SPOILERS) Parts 1 2

I accidentally predicted something…

"OMG my baby is so beautiful!!!" (Welcome Home Meme)

The Official Barnaby B. Beagle Makeship Plush Toy ad but I edited it (WARNING: Loud sounds and music)

[SPOILERS] "Howdy's Holiday Hullaballoo" Record but every time someone gets introduced, it gets faster

Project Sekai but every time my favorite character talks, the unit switches (April Fools)

BanG Dream! but every time my favorite character talks, the unit switches (April Fools)

Welcome Home characters as hilarious test answers

It's Homewarming Time!

Welcome Home Sally's Silly Theater Parts 1 2

Is this ham processed?

Happy birthday Clown and happy 1st anniversary to the welcomehomerandomness Instagram account!!!

Frank, Eddie, and Howdy go on a drive

Welcome Home characters as hilarious signs

Frank and Sally's Homewarming Teleserye Fight

How I think Welcome Home characters scream (WARNING: Loud screams)

Welcome Home characters dance to Karma by JoJo Siwa

Welcome Home as Smule TikToks (WARNING: Loud sounds)

Neighborhood Boyz song cover debut

Fwank's siwwy suwgewy owo

Welcome Home characters as cursed cat images

[SPOILERS] HOME, IS THAT YOU???

The Plush Adventures of Barnaby B. Beagle (ft. Wally Darling)

Even though I love Welcome Home, I still love these

How I think Welcome Home characters sneeze

Giving you a random object based on your favorite Welcome Home character

The Welcome Home characters are the new emotions in Inside Out 2 (Meme)

Welcome Home Murder Mystery Pause Game

Welcome Home but the other houses are sentient

My brain currently… (Meme)

My idol unit but it's my favorite characters from different fandoms (what have I created…)

What is the national tree of the Philippines? (Meme)

Welcome Home characters as cursed toys

Eddie Dear hates the French Peas from Veggietales so much

My homemade Wally Darling patch

There's a stranger (Meme)

Wally Darling and the boys go on a fishing trip

Welcome Home Questions Game 2024

Welcome Home Halloween 2024 Update Reaction (SPOILERS)

[SPOILERS] Everyone goes to group therapy (as of 10/18/2024)

[SPOILERS] Looky-Loo: Brick by Brick but it is just the three best characters talking :)

The Neighborhood Boyz have their first concert

Welcome Home characters as cursed shirts

The neighbors try the "hear me out" cake trend

Frank has enough of Barnaby, Howdy, and Sally

Welcome Home Homewarming Update deleted scene

Howdy and Wally fight over Barnaby (the music video)

The most emotional Frank x Eddie video ever!!!

[kaijubluedreams]

Food, cooking, weight loss

I really love cooking (mostly because I love good food and that's how you get good food) but I've been going through a time of being really sick of food and of having to eat. And this was mostly because I've been calorie counting and eating to lose weight, but I also got to a point where I was eating almost exclusively cheese and (homemade) white bread. So I got blue apron ready to eat meals for a while, which was really nice and helped me eat real foods, but the service quality tanked over the new year, so I canceled before I came to my boyfriend's for a month.

And now I've been here for just over 2 weeks and I've rediscovered my love of cooking and of food! We've made a couple different things so far and it's really fired me up to do more cooking. So we went to the store tonight before an incoming snow storm and got ingredients for more recipes and found fun things to try and I'm so excited!!

I've also been making cookies like a mad woman, I've made probably over 10 batches of cookies so far and we got more ingredients so I could make more. My boyfriend loves peanut butter and found some peanut butter chips, so I'm going to make some super peanut butter cookies for him for Valentine's day. He got me a mini orchid Lego I've been eyeing and I'm going to put it together while he's working evening shift that night. And then on Saturday we are going to get discount chocolate!

[the-firebird69]

You see that they're kind of interested in it and the sun says it you have face painting down there and you can slowly turn into clowns go back to your house get your bicycle pretty bike really done it up and go step by step at the church they have a name for it down there festivals and they have them occasionally it's a great idea you used to put on a lot of them and now it's slowed down but people really need to get back to it a little it's a great idea and people can face paint and come by and say stuff and then go get in there full clown gear and some people used to do this and our son says it's a good idea you would make the bike and it's a motorcycle you wouldn't put the lights on but you'd have the seat on there and some kind of fake tank maybe even to put a e-bike kit on it and you're riding around and people would see it stitched together and they think that they're going to be the one to make it but it's a homemade job and people might do that so who knows what will show up it's a great idea and we really like it and really quarter inches pretty thick you don't really need to use that particular steel would be a lot lighter he's thinking maybe start with a mini bike and it would be Davie's harlequin with a mini bike that's RTA and really really cheap this bike would be really cheap I mean the TS steel is so cheap somebody did that and it has no rear shot and no gears no lights at all but it's but it is sturdy and can hold 330 lb at 3 or 350 and really test out at about 700 lb and we can sell it for $500 with the motor included but that's disassembled and it's a little bit bigger it's the size of the Coleman and people want that so we're going to start making those yeah and we're going to name it Davies harlequin and it's their company name and it's going to be awesome I think it's awesome this is going to be a new bike and a new it's going to be a new style there'll be several seats or one of those like a wider seat like a sun had and it was on Marcus pueschel had one it's a seat we're talking about and the tank is like a kind of a fat Bob Harley tank it's not a barber it's a big it's a big fat tank and it looks kind of funny but it really works and you put that on the mini bike a big fat tank and a big seat and it can have like a big saddle seat they use those too I'll tell you what these things are great and they're comfortable to ride going to start off that way with the mini bike and it's not going to be too small and then you make it motorcycle so I'm going to find out a way to do this. You said you have your thing with the church and then you do like another one but you do it a lot more clown stuff then you have a clown race and you try and all make a Davies harlequin and you get out there and there's a dirt pit and it's legal to go there and you organize it for a church fundraiser and you have races and oh you know how that works with races you can you all pay a fee to enter it and then the proceeds go to the church and a little bit to the winter and you all have your homemade Davies harlequin we're going to make some ourselves our designs so we're hoping that they'll be people there

Thor Freya you can make it into a bicycle too or e-bike it says it's better it's true too A lot of these he bites kind of look like it but not really they're not they're not right on

Olympus what is close but it's a chopper not a cruiser

[goldrose-star]

Thank you my darlin' girl! 💖☺️

His meals at work consists entirely of convenience store food.

Ohh Dar, baby 🙈 AJ would absolutely bring him homemade food for his breaks 🥺 just straight up walks into the gas station one day while he's reading a book and plants a big bag full of tupperware boxes containing different, warm and cold, dishes on the counter. When he looks up suprised she just tips her baseball cap, telling him "Delivery service!", a big grin on her face, while nodding to the food.

Reads to pass the time. You can find him hunched over in a chair, reading a Jack Reacher novel with knitted eyebrows.

If he ever is bored while having a shift and AJ is in town she'd visit and keep him company sometimes 👉👈

Won't mind if you ask for assistance while he's at it though. Will make you cringe as he folds the page to mark his place.

Please end this evil and gift this man some bookmarks 🙈 *throws a dozen bookmarks in Darrell's direction*

Sometimes when a customer's been nice, he slips a mini bag of m&m's in with their stuff.

Remembers regulars and tries to stock up on the items they like.

Feral cats sometimes wander out to the gas station. He likes to befriend them. One of his main goals in life is to pick up and smooch as much cats as he can. Calls every cat "Buddy". Feeds them tuna out of the can or dry kibble 🥺 whatever they like.

This is him being an absolute babe 💖🥺 I love him so much 💖

Sometimes walks out of the gas station bathroom shirtless. So, you might be in for a treat if he decides to top up your tank shirtless.

Well, I definitely won't mind! 💖👀👉👈 *whistling loudly and cheering when he walks out of the bathroom and promptly trying to cover it up with a cough*

Heya mah beloved wife!! 💖💍

I just wanted to know if you have some hcs for gas station attendant Darrell? Literally anything, could be the most random thing ever. Idk.. I just want to smooch gas station attendant Darrell's cheeks rn, feeling so soft for him, he's such a cutie 🙈

Love ya 😚

Wifey! 💍💖

Darrell Gas Station Headcanons

Gets in real early or is already there

If he gets sick of the local radio, he's taking the AUX cord

Stone Temple Pilots is almost always on. His favorite song by them is "Interstate Love Song"

Smokes at the gas station.

There's a sort of wasteland about 10 meters from the convenience store and he goes there at least twice a day.

His meals at work consists entirely of convenience store food.

Crazy over deep fried chicken tenders. Makes them in the store all the time.

Reads to pass the time. You can find him hunched over in a chair, reading a Jack Reacher novel with knitted eyebrows.

Won't mind if you ask for assistance while he's at it though. Will make you cringe as he folds the page to mark his place.

Tosses his books haphazardly. So the covers are all crumpled. Some of his other books don't have covers at all.

Sometimes when a customer's been nice, he slips a mini bag of m&m's in with their stuff.

Remembers regulars and tries to stock up on the items they like.

Feral cats sometimes wander out to the gast station. He likes to befriend them. One of his main goals in life is to pick up and smooch as much cats as he can.

Don't be surprised if you see him crouched down at the wasteland. He's probably petting a cat.

Calls every cat "Buddy".

Two stand out the most to him: a sweet, attention-hungry orange cat and a shy, one-eyed black cat.

Feeds them tuna out of the can or dry kibble 🥺 whatever they like.

Sometimes walks out of the gas station bathroom shirtless. So, you might be in for a treat if he decides to top up your tank shirtless.

[shinark-life-me]

Fish tank decoration ideas simple easy homemade at home mini nano betta

[phlhomemade]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSIE1r-2e-w)

[minnesota-fats]

I was rereading a Dead Marvel x Danny Phantom crossover ( last updated in 2014, RIP ) called Marvel Phantom by Slayer Anderson, and here is the Summary.

So...the Fentons punch a hole through to the afterlife in their basement, and develop unparalleled hover technology and...they're crackpots?

In that fic, that gets played seriously because they showed their tech and a brief glimpse of the Ghost Zone to the News for an interview on their studies and everyone on the planet, from Companies to the Military, wants their tech.

Like they made a physic cancelers shd gravity inverters for their hover machines to study ghosts, not knowing that what they did went beyond groundbreaking and make every technology look like it came from the stone age.

That they are actually geniuses that do genius things despite being 'kooky.'

And you know what, that author is right. Are there any other stories out there where someone stops and says 'You built a what in your basement that did what?!

Sure, Amity is Amity which deals with weird supernatural shit, so they get a pass on not actually stopping and thinking that, but what's everyone else excuse?

Suddenly imagine everyone knows about FentonTech and what they can do.

Remember the Fenton Crammer that can shrink humans and inanimate objects? And if a ghost gets shrunk, their powers get weaker? That can be very useful to transport stuff that would had taken time and money.

Or how they have a what's basically a futuristic tank for a RV that has a lot of space?

Or that they have an Emergency Ops Center on their home that can turn into a hover vehicle.

All of the anti-ghost weapons.

I can go on and on, but things can get funny/ hairy real fast.

Wayne Ent, Lex Corp, Cadmus, every military will want a generous piece of that Fenton Pie, with the Fentons going, what's the big deal? We only made this for ghosts and shit. Whatever happened because of that was a happy accident.

Also imagine Lex Luthor about to pop a blood vessel, and holding himself back from throttling Jack during a talk .

Lex: 'Let me get this straight. You built a pocket-sized mini nuclear reactor that can power the US for six generations at full capacity and still have the juice to power an extra two, and instead of using that to for the betterment of mankind and showing those aliens ( cough Superman cough ) their place, you use it to power a pastry machine homemade peanut butter FUDGE!?'

Jack: Gourmet peanut butter fudge! :D it even makes pies and cookies. That nice Superhero with that A on his chest sure loved the Apple Pie it made!

Luthor: *collaspes and start to foam at the mouth out of rage, shock and disbelief*

Vlad that was sitting at a corner: *Sniff*. 'Welcome to my world.'

Bro this is HILARIOUS!!!!

This is the type of chaos I LIVE FOR!

I know little to nothing of Alex Luther other than the fact that he is a xenophobe…. And that he got cancer from being a xenophobe. (Ha! that’s how it should be for racists and such(jk cancer is actually really bad and not a joke))

He would just be MAD that these social idiots would have been able to go all of this with NO FUNDING!

Like seriously where did they get the money to do this crap????

Also Vlad crying in the corner is so funny to me, the grown ass man being a pouty bitch cuz he can’t have a woman he simpped for for 20 plus years!

Wish I could add more but I can’t possibly think of what else to add other than this.

[possumcollege]

I keep seeing this guy brought up as some kind of contemporary folk hero, and it's fucking gross.

Marvin Heemeyer, the killdozer guy was a petty asshole, who gave zero fucks if his homemade tank killed people. Do not believe the goddamn internet fanboys who say he only targeted property and empty buildings. He could've murdered god- knows how many if the city hadn't evacuated most of the town once he started ramming buildings and shooting at the police.

Heemeyer was a fairly successful business owner who bought cheap land for his muffler shop, then tried to get sweeter and sweeter deals when the people he bought it from wanted to buy it back to built an enclosed concrete batch plant. The buyers agreed to accept his price even as he jacked it up at every stage. They offered him a land swap at one point for property closer to the interstate, but he kept demanding additional improvements so the deal fell apart. At that point he spread rumors about the plant to gin up support to torpedo their building permits, purely out of spite. Once the owner of the concrete plant publicly addressed allegations made by Heemeyer and other residents learned of his personal beefs with them, they lost interest in supporting him.

While some spoke favorably of him, others speak of him making threats against customers who were not satisfied Werth his work.

Also worth mentioning is that he'd been illegally dumping raw sewage into irrigation ditches for years and contaminating the town's groundwater because the building his business occupied was't connected to the municipal sewer system. He applied to be connected to the system and was approved but when the city explained that there would be a necessary $80k fee to connect the shop to nearby lines, Heemeyer refused to pay. The city offered to cover the fee for him and Heemeyer rejected their offer. Instead he continued to use the buried barrel of an old concrete mixer as an improvised septic tank and pumped it out into said ditches when it rained. Some state that this sewage setup pre-dated Heemeyer's use of the property, but this does not invalidate the fact that continuing to use it and dispose of raw sewage as he did was knowingly illegal.

His business was never threatened. The concrete plant continued to use other access roads and new construction didn't infringe on Heemeyer's property. Photos of the back of the muffler shop were taken by journalists from the road Heemeyer claimed was cut off on the day after his attack. The easement he frequently complained about was the land the city would need in order to run sewage lines to his shop, not the road to his shop. Nonetheless, he harbored a number of intense grudges because he'd destroyed much of his reputation and credibility in town through frivolous lawsuits, insincere land deals, mudslinging, and malicious trolling campaigns. He closed his own shop, sold his property, some say for 10x what he paid for it, and used that money to buy and modify the bulldozer in a building he rented from the new owner. Claims that he owned the bulldozer in order to build his own road are discredited by the fact that it was bought with money from the sale of his property.

He spent his last days outfitting the bulldozer with armor, cameras, monitors, and (counter so some claims) guns. A Ruger mini 14 rifle in .223 Remington and a Barrett .50cal sniper rifle were mounted in gunports cut in the dozer's armor. Much of the evidence of his oppression cited online stems from audio tapes Heemeyer recorded at this time, painting himself as the victim in what was essentially a suicide note. When the work was complete he rolled out with a hit list of his personal enemies. The list included the mayor, the local newspaper, people he believed had wronged him or damaged his reputation, and the Catholic church.

He repeatedly shot at the police and at people who rolled out their own heavy equipment to try and stop his massively destructive tantrum. He plowed into the library at a time when children would normally have been inside. He demolished walls people and police officers had been using for cover. He also attempted to use his mounted guns to detonate a giant propane storage tank in town. Regardless of whether its explosion could have resulted in casualties, Heemeyer seemed to believe it worth trying. He demolished homes, newly planted trees that his friends thought were keeping costumers from seeing their businesses, and numerous buildings that, as far as he knew, were still occupied.

He didn't "only target property." Granby officials did a good job of evacuating people ahead of his heavy, slow-moving vehicle. He wasn't firing "warning shots," he was taking potshots with homemade gun mounts and aiming by closed-circuit TV cameras.

Then after plowing into a building with an unexpected basement, he got stuck in a hole and killed himself rather than face consequences for his bullshit.

The legends of him being a "good man pushed too far" are horseshit and largely come from his own tapes and bloggers more interested in the myth and symbol of the man than recorded facts. Evidence supports the position that he just didn't believe laws should apply to him. Marvin Heemeyer was an avatar of entitled dude rage and I'll say as such whenever he's mentioned forever.

[justkending]

The Number One Rule. Chapter 16.

Series Summary: Y/N has always been seen as “Steve’s rambunctious sister.” However, she grew up, graduated, and moved to London to study abroad for 4 years and get her bachelor's degree. The girl that returns looks nothing like the teenager that left, but don’t worry the attitude is still there and stronger than ever. What’s to come of the two grown adults that used to push each other's buttons, but now have a lot more in common than they’ve ever realized.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Y/N Rogers (Steve’s little sister)

Word Count: 5700+

A/N: This chapter is going to give us quite a bit of background information and some throwback memories. I really enjoyed writing this one and creating a past for these characters. All of them. Let me know what you think! I’m so excited to share this one with you all:)

Chapter Sixteen:

“You know, I thought that we were close enough that you could come to me with this kind of thing. That you wouldn’t feel like you had to hide it from me. Y/N and you both,” he said with pursed lips. “Guess I was wrong.” 

With that he turned back and walked to his car. Bucky watched as he started the engine, pulled out, and disappeared. 

What the hell kind of mess just happened?

Bucky stood there for a second. He couldn’t wrap his head around what just went down in the slightest. Steve was no longer angry at him, he caught onto that. Or at least he thought that was the case. 

No, Steve was disappointed. That was far worse than hatred coming from your best friend. Coming from anyone really, but the person you’ve been joined at the hip to, for 26 years? Yeah. That punches you in the gut and knocks all the wind out of you.

Eventually, remembering Y/N was upstairs probably pacing the ground and biting her nails not knowing what was happening, he started moving to the back porch steps. 

He wasn’t even three steps into the kitchen before Y/N was around the corner rushing to him.

“What happened?” she said looking up at him and instantly putting her hands around his upper arm. “Is that blood? Did he hit you?” she said gently, but urgently as she grazed over the split lip. “Oh, I’m going to murder him,” she said through her teeth, immediately moving to the back door. 

Bucky caught her by the waist and pulled her back into him. 

“Don’t. Don’t. He’s not out there. He left,” he explained as he tugged her back into the kitchen.

“He left? He just punched you and left?” she questioned. A fire in her eyes swirling just as much as the storm Steve had in his earlier. The types of rage are completely opposite, but at the same time just as furious.

“We talked after he punched me, but can’t say I didn’t deserve it.” Disappointment dripped from his own words.

“You didn’t deserve it, B. No one deserves getting punched about something like this.” The fire started to dim as she focused her energy back on the brunette that still had her wrapped in his arms by her waist. His eyes downcast, looking as if in another world. “Hey, talk to me. What happened?” Gently she brought her hand to his cheek and convinced him to look at her. “Talk to me, please.”

They moved to the living room and sat on the couch facing each other. Bucky had almost seemed distant, as though touching or being close to her now was a crime. No doubt Steve’s words had an effect on him in the moment.

He explained pieces of what happened. Mainly just how Steve was upset thinking they were sleeping together, and when he cleared that up, he had just expressed his disappointment of the two. He was upset and deeply hurt that they felt like they had to hide this from him.

“Could he blame us though? He literally split your lip after finding out,” she motioned to him, scooting closer to place the ice covered by a washcloth they got earlier, to his lip. 

“I’ve taken harder hits, doll. And even if he got me pretty good, I could tell he was holding back at least some.” He placed his hand over hers and sent a sad smile before taking the homemade ice pack for himself. 

“This is going to be hard to come back from with him, isn’t it?” she asked, saddened by the pain she caused her brother. Bucky could see multiple thoughts running through her head as her eyes moved back and forth while looking down. “We aren’t going to end this though, are we?” 

Her tone broke Bucky’s heart hearing her say that. The pain, worry, and complete devastation of the idea was playing like a movie in her eyes. 

“What? No!” he said, quickly shutting that idea down as he dropped the rag and grabbed both her hands. “I love Steve and I would do anything for him, but I have to draw a line- Well, I have to draw a line when it affects my happiness.” She looked at him hopeful. “In the end, I know he’ll come around. I’m not going to lose you just because of this hiccup. Sure, I don’t really know how long Steve’s going to hate me, but we’ll work it through. Nothing can hurt us that bad. You know that.”

“I do, but it still worries me.”

“Don’t worry, Y/N/N. Really, he’ll come around. It’ll just take time.”

___________________

And boy was it taking its sweet ass time…

Two weeks had passed. Bucky and Y/N still went about their love life the same way. Not wanting to rub it in Steve’s face, they steered clear of Bucky’s shared home with him. Bekah had been talking to a guy herself, and spent a lot of nights over there, so they took advantage of her empty apartment when they could. 

Luckily they wouldn’t have to worry about that too long as Y/N was looking into renting a flat herself to get some of her independence back from coming home. Of course, she worried about her mom, but Sarah was sweet and said she understood and was excited for her. She was taking more shifts at the hospital anyway, so they rarely saw each other with their opposite schedules. Sarah did make her promise Sunday dinners to continue, as it was tradition. 

Speaking of, Steve had conveniently had a work thing come up each time, so he had missed the past two weeks. 

“This is so unlike him. He usually moves his work schedule around Sunday dinners, not the other way around,” Sarah sighed as she handed a bowl of a roast over to her daughter. 

“He’s not too happy with me, Ma. I think he’s avoiding me,” she mumbled. She was all happy to be over before her mom mentioned him.  

“Why would he do that? You just got home a little over 2 months ago. That’s barely anytime I would hope for you two to start a fight up. Let alone one that I’m realizing is going on two weeks,” she said with a knowing look as she sat across from Y/N.

“It’s hard to explain. He has a good reason, but he’s also being childish about it,” she said poking at the potatoes and beef on her plate. An old irish recipe. 

“Hmmm, I see.” Causally, Sarah went back to eating as if her understanding wasn’t questionable. 

“You see? What exactly do you see?” she asked tilting her head and raising an eyebrow at her mom. She knew that look. It was the, ‘mom knows everything, even if you think she doesn’t,’ look.

“It’s quite obvious to anyone who has eyes, but I’m not going to put my comments where they don’t belong.” Again, so casual as she took a drink of water and went back to eating. 

“Sarah Rogers, you little spy. What do you know?” Y/N chuckled. Her tone was joking, but deep down intrigued. 

“Why don’t you say it dear? I don’t want to have my foot in my mouth if I’m wrong,” she gestured. “Not that I’ll be wrong, but I’ll give you a chance,” she winked. 

She eyed her mom for a second. The two sending the same stares and telepathically talking.

Then it hit her. 

“Oh my GOD! You know?!” Y/N jumped almost out of her seat, but considering the table was in the way, she sat up straight and hit her knee. “Ow, shit.”

“Language,” her mom chided. 

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “But you knew?” her disbelief coming back. “How long have you-?”

“Lord, as soon as Bucky set his eyes on you coming home. I mean of course I wasn’t there when you saw each other for the first time after all these years, but when we had dinner that night? He was practically fawning over you,” Sarah shrugged, going back to her meal.

“He was?”

“Plain as day, Mini. Though, I wouldn’t put it past you to not notice, considering he acted almost the same when you two were in highschool.”

“What?!” Y/N jumped again. Her food was long forgotten. 

“Actually at that point, I think you both were blind to it. Bucky may not even known back then,” she tilted her head.

“Okay mom, you’re throwing a lot of things at me at once. I can’t keep up, can you elaborate some?” Y/N threw her hands up as if to stop her from moving forward anymore.

“Where to start?” Sarah put her silverware down and brought her elbows up on the table before interlocking her fingers and looking off as if watching the scenes replay in front of her. 

“Freshman year, you were part of the crew that was in charge of the cancer carnival to raise all the money for that charity. You had come home and were going on and on and on about all the different ways you had come up to raise that money. Photobooths, dunk tanks, crazy games, snowcones, and all that fun stuff. Bucky and Steve had just come in from playing basketball in the driveway and were getting something to drink. Steve laughed as you went on and teased you about how you should be put in the dunk tank, and Bucky just had this look in his eye. Pure admiration for your excitement for that specific cause. That and you told your brother off showing even more how dedicated you were.”

“That was oddly specific…” 

“Oh, I’m just getting started…” Sarah had a devilish amused look on her face. “But I guess I’ll just stick with one for each year.” She waved off. “Sophomore year, you were invited to prom from an upperclassman. Who was it?”

“Peter Quill. Ugh, I remember that. He ended up ditching me that night halfway through the prom.”

“Hmm mm, Steve had called saying they were leaving early to bring you home. You were upset and bored not knowing really anyone else there.”

“I honestly had only said yes because I wanted to go to the dance with another upperclassman and rub it in Brock’s face at the time. Bucky and Steve were seniors, so they were there too…” She thought back. Her chin in her hand as she listened to the stories. 

“Well, Steve brought you home and Bucky was with him. I guess Bucky’s girlfriend at the time had the flu or something and couldn’t go, so they went with a group of guys.” Sarah got a little sidetracked, but quickly reeled in it. “Anyway, when the night was over, they had already planned on going to Bucky’s for the night. However, I came around the corner after they dropped you off and were about to head back out, and I saw Bucky was convincing Stevie to stay here that night.”

“What? That’s why they were here? I remember that actually... There was an after party at another seniors house.” Sarah raised an eyebrow knowing what happened after parties, but not knowing that was where her son had originally planned to go. “Sorry, but you know how high schoolers are. Don’t act shocked,” she chuckled. “I remember them going, but they came home pretty early.”

“Wonder why…” Sarah sighed to herself taking another bite of food before it got cold. 

Not hearing her, Y/N went on. 

“Bucky and I talked that night at like 1 in the morning to like 4. We ran into each other in the kitchen getting a late night snack, and it turned into a whole deep talk,” she thought back. “One of the few times we had a conversation like adults instead of pushing each other's buttons.”

“Yes, and you were so stunned and surprised by it, you gushed about it to me later,” Sarah nodded. “Little did you know, you had woken me up at the time and when I came to see what all the noise was in the kitchen, you and Bucky were laughing about something on the kitchen floor with your backs propped up on the cabinets. A stash of junk food sitting between you two as you talked.”

“But what does that have to do with-?”

“I came in when you were going on and on about a new history topic that you had dived into that month. You didn’t even notice him with wide eyes and absolute fondness for how smart and passionate you were on the subject. You were too busy talking to notice, I’m sure,” she laughed. 

Y/N had to think back a little further for that memory, but it popped up. “Oh God, I was going on about the progression of execution styles in the Roman times,” she threw her head in her hands of embarrassment. 

“Yeah, crazy thing to be looking at a girl like that in that kind of conversation. Talking about chopping people’s heads off wouldn’t be something I see a boy fawning over, and he looked at you like it was the most amazing story to be told. But then again, there he was. Completely blind himself.”

“Wow… I forgot about that moment. I remember the night, but some details are a little fuzzy. Not that one…” she whispered. 

“And the way you talked about it the next day? You had the same look. Subtle and hidden, but deep down I could see the wonder in your eyes.”

Y/N smiled as she leaned forward like a child at story time. “What about Junior year?”

“Let’s see. By then Bucky and Steve had gone overseas. We didn’t see much of them…”  Sarah was slightly saddened. She was proud of her son in those moments, but the fear and worry that comes with sending a child into war isn’t that fond of a feeling. 

Y/N reached across grabbing her moms hand and giving her an encouraging soft smile. Clearing her throat she started again.

 “In saying that, there may have been a moment in person, but they only came back for a month that whole year. I didn’t like that year,” she shook her head. “Who sent you all those letters though?” She asked looking back with that same knowing look. 

“Steve… and Bucky. I wrote to them both, and I was surprised when Bucky asked me to write to him as well.”

“Didn’t expect that one, hmm?” Sarah smiled. “I don’t know what was written in them, for all I know he was just sending you jokes and teasing you from over the sea like your brother did here and there... But I have a feeling there were some personal things said too.” 

“I actually kept all of those. They are in a box in my room. I have Steves in there too,” she smiled fondly as if she had completely forgotten them. Though she could never actually do that. She remembers very well all the excitement of running and checking the mail in hopes of another one being delivered. From both of them. 

Her mom was right, there were a few teasing and goofy ones, but the longer he was over there, the more serious they got. There were some crazy terrifying stories and confessions to fear in those. He had mentioned he was only writing to his family and her, but she always wondered why he sent her things like that and not his family. 

She had asked Becca once about a letter they had received, and they were sweet, but they disguised the sense of fear and longing to be home. He didn’t want his family to worry. 

That’s when Y/N started taking their writing more seriously. She would practically let him vent and write out all his struggles and frustrations while over there, and Y/N would send back distractions of random history facts (which by the way, he asked for personally even if he jested her at home for them). Then she would tell him about her week, something else he asked for, and try to send words of wisdom and reassurance for his time. 

He appreciated those and Y/N appreciated him trusting her with those thoughts. It’s not like he could send them to Steve when Steve was going through his own war over there with him.

How did she not pick up on the rise of finding respect for the other during then? The start of full-on admiration. 

“Those letters stopped coming in the next year,” Y/N deflated in her spot. The next wave of memories contained her senior year. “Well, they came, but I never could get around to writing back with everything happening.”

“You’re graduate year… Steve came back home after we got the news. It took him a while to get approved, but they dismissed him from duty out of how much he had already served in his short time there. Brave man, your brother,” she says chuckling to cover the tears that were already forming in her eyes. Her daughter's eyes matched. She grabbed her hand again, this time giving it a loving squeeze. “That was a very hard year for all of us.”

“Steve came back, but Bucky had to stay. But he somehow got time off for a few weeks to come visit…”

“Remember his first visit?” Sarah said with a sad smile.

Thinking back to that time of grief and sadness, she really had to dig. She didn’t really dust off those memories often. It wasn’t really a time you would want to look back on.

“The hospital,” Y/N eventually said in a hushed airless whisper. “How did I forget that?”

“Those were moments one doesn’t really want to recall often,” Sarah said with a new tear falling. She had a smile on her face, but it was sad and soft. Nothing stemming from joy. 

“We had just got the word,” she gasped faintly, trying to suck back the air that had left her body thinking of the horrible night. “After the surgery, one of too many, the doctors told us…” Taking a second, she hadn’t said this in a while as the family was hush hush when talking about the last days. “We only had a few months with him.”

________________________

5 years ago: 

“He… He wha-?” Steve stammered out. “But he was in remission, not too long ago. He was fine!”

He was furious with the new information. He knew there was a chance of these specific results as his father had a new surgery every month for the cancer. Trying to locate it, trying to cut it out, trying to shrink it, trying to get rid of it with all their might. Every surgery you go in, you’re about to learn if it’s worse or better. And this? This was the worse they had gotten yet. 

“I’m sorry, Steve. You know I don’t want to tell you this news, but cancer is a horrible horrible demon we have to face in this world unfortunately,” the doctor said. He had been with them the whole journey so the family had grown rather close with Bruce Banner. Someone their father actually worked alongside with. “Just when you’re doing better, it changes things up. I will say with all the past surgeries, we probably got you a few more months then expected. We believe a few months ago, without the treatment he's undergone so far, he would no longer be here with us today.”

“So we bought him a few months. What does that matter for, if it didn’t fix it all?” Steve shouted. The anger wasn’t toward the doctor. He knew that and they knew that. But he needed someone to blame for the shit he was being handed. He couldn’t just yell at the universe. 

“Steven,” Sarah had said softly. Speaking for the first time since Steve had started his rant. “Calm down honey. Shouting and screaming isn’t going to get us anywhere.”

“Nothing’s going to get us anywhere apparently,” he hissed. His hand coming up on his head as he looked up. After a second, he harshly ran his hand down his face and looked at his mom again. He could see her guard start to fall and Steve couldn’t handle having to be strong for them right now. He was too hurt. It was too painful. He was going to break and he couldn’t let them see him do that. “Ugh, I need air. I need to get some air. I-I can’t-.” With that, he walked in long strides to the elevator and the exit. 

Sarah shook her head at the tears escaping without her consent. Turning to Y/N, she saw her youngest looking slightly downwards, frozen. Her nails were already being bitten from her nervous tick, and her eyes showing she was no longer on this earth mentally.

“Y/N,” Sarah said, taking a deep breath and standing taller. “Why don’t you go wait in the waiting room? Sit down, ok. I’m just going to talk to Dr. Banner real fast, hmm?” 

No answer. She patted her shoulder making him jump slightly as if she had never consciously been there to start. She gave her a nod and Y/N nodded back and started mindlessly heading to the waiting room with her arms folded tight across her body for comfort. Any comfort…

“Y/N?” 

She had been mindlessly looking at the ground in the chair she sat in. She couldn’t tell if it had been 5 minutes or an hour later from leaving the room with her mom.

“Y/N/N?”

That finally got her attention and she turned to see Bucky standing with his helmet in hand and jean jacket half-hazardly shifting off his shoulder from racing in from his bike. 

“B-Buck?” she said softly sitting straighter. 

Bucky sent her a sad smile as he walked to her, but he made it about 4 steps before she was running into his arms and clinging to him like he was air itself. 

“They can’t help him, Buck,” she finally said after crying for a few minutes while he ran a hand down her back softly and let her get it all out. “They said they can’t do anything further,” she pulled back enough to look up. Her arms around his middle and his around her shoulders. “We have a few months…”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Bucky sighed, finally getting the news he was waiting to hear, but this wasn’t what he was ready for. He could feel her heartbeat get faster, and at first, he just thought it was the hint to another crying session about to erupt. 

In which case, bring it on. He wanted to help her like she had helped him with all those letters of support. But then he noticed her start to slightly hyperventilate. He knew what those two combos usually come out to and he wished he didn’t.  

He brought her to a chair he was planning on sitting her in, but instead she plopped herself on the ground. Bucky instantly moved down there with her and looked her over. 

“Hey, hey, sweetheart. You’re ok. I got you. Take a deep breath,” he said, bringing her to sit in his lap and hugged her as tight as he could. The feeling of pressure was a calming mechanism for anxiety attacks. 

“I-I c-c-an’t,” she stuttered out with hiccups that were forming from her lungs needing air. 

“Yes, you can. Focus, doll.” He started doing the breathing exercises himself as a way to guide her since their bodies were intertwined. She needs to sync to his breathing. 

She stuttered a little, but her breathing was slowly calming down. 

“That’s it… You’ve got it. In and out,” he coached, feeling with each sentence she relaxed more and more. “You’re ok. I got ya. You’re doing great Y/N.”

Eventually she was back to normal. Well, not really. An anxiety attack like that is the kind that leaves you winded afterwards. Completely draining you from energy. 

He sat there and rocked her gently in their spot. Her back backed up to his chest and Bucky’s legs spread out with hers inside them as he kept his arms wrapped around her torso. The pressure helps, it really does. 

He whispered reassuring words while he played with her hair and then she leaned back and was reaching peak calmness. She turned her head on his shoulder and he looked down at her with his crystal eyes. Their faces inches apart, but nothing other than sorrow in their body.

“They said to be glad we had that long with him as every minute counts. Make all the memories you can in that time...” She closed her eyes for a second taking another deep breath before looking back at him. “How can you make memories you would want to have not so sad knowing the exact day your father could die? What good memories come from that?”

Bucky physically felt her heart in her chest break as if they shared the same one. The emotion he was reading in her eyes this time was one of the few that Bucky could never pinpoint. It was fear, sadness, depression, and longing all rolled into a scared Y/E/C eye colored girl’s orbs.

“You’re allowed to be upset Y/N. You don’t have to fake happiness during this time. Your emotions are there to be felt... But at the end of the day, would you want to look back at more fake happy memories or true and real happiness?” Bucky said. 

She wanted to make the next days her unhappy ones and leave it at that. He was right, she should and could feel sad and mad now. This situation called for it. But she didn’t want them to take up the majority of her last memories with her dad.

“Hey, you got Stevie and I,” he whispered in her ear as she turned forward again. 

“Steve just yelled at our doctors for almost 15 minutes straight from deniel and then ran out the door like a sissy,” her voice monotone, but he could hear the upset nature behind her words. “Steve’s just as messed up as me.”

“One, you’re not messed up in the least. Two, you are human. Shitty things happen and we have to go through it in each our own way. Three, no grieving process is the same. You’re allowed to scream in your pillow cause you're mad. Or cry for hours on end because you can’t comprehend it. You’re allowed to go eat a whole pint of ice cream by yourself because you're sad. Hell, I’ll join ya,” he squeezed her hand that he had interlocked together on their right side. A light start of a chuckle came out and she squeezed it back. 

“As long as you don’t insist on Rocky Road.”

“Really? I’m coming to your cry session and you’re banning me from my favorite ice cream? Some cry party,” he faked hurt. 

She let out an actual laugh and turned back to him. “I may have a cry party or two…” He nodded, showing he was proud of her for feeling that was ok and agreed with it. Her eyes showed the actual sadness behind the temporary humor, it was still there swimming around. Her smile wasn’t masking anything. “I guess you can pick your flavor you want to binge on. I get to judge you though if it sucks,” she joked.

She was distracting herself and he was ok with that. He would keep in that direction as long as she needed. And right now, she didn’t want to think about the inevitable. Remember, more happy than sad at the end. 

“What brand are we going for?” she asked. He wrapped his arms over her shoulders as she laid back on his chest in their sitting position. Her arms holding onto them in the front like the anchor that he was acting like. 

“Um, is that even a question?” he gasped. “I have good taste, Miss. Rogers. What brand do you think I go for?” 

“I’m going to say with that pretentiousness, that it’s Ben and Jerry’s,” she grinned, raising an eyebrow. 

“Nothing beats Ben and Jerry’s,” he nodded proud in his choice.

“Ok, but hear me out… Halo.” He looked at her like she was crazy. “It's like low calorie ones that are really good and kinda healthier than regular ice cream.”

“Darling, if I’m bingeing on some ice cream, you bet your ass I’m going to go all out. No low cal, shit. I want all the brownie batter.”

“Geez, you really are an ice cream snob,” she laughed more. “Guess you’ll have to try mine though because I promise you’ll join the dark side.”

“Dark side?” he asked. 

“Yeah, cause you’re eating healthy while eating ice cream, one of the most sugared things to exist. Actually, get this, In the 1880’s they invented the sundae, and after that, the amount of sugar we started adding to our toppings every decade, just kept going up in sugar.” When she finished her little fact splurge, Bucky was looking down at like she was crazy, but still smiling. 

“You’re strange, you know that? What normal person memorizes random facts like the year the ice cream sundae was invented? Or, what was it the other day?” he thought back.

“Oh, how the entire earth’s population can fit inside Los Angeles,” she remembered. “Then that led to talking about global warming, and then-…”She began listing off all the random things that followed after another. 

Her mom had peaked out the curtain 5 minutes ago to check on Y/N, and found her wrapped up in his arms comforted and then eventually laughing. They needed a little joy that night. So she took in every laugh Y/n let out followed by Bucky laughing or joking. Every single one is what got her through that night…

________________

“That’s when you saw it?” Y/N asked awestruck. She did remember that. That was one of her core memories with Bucky. She always glimpsed back to it when she was sad. It was advice she took seriously. You choose how many bad days you have. Choose wisely. 

“That’s when I knew it,” Sarah corrected. 

“Knew it? I thought you were talking about how he looked at me differently. What do you mean, knew it?” she asked, confused. 

“I had seen it all the time, but that’s when I knew he was head over heels for you. Seeing these things warmed my heart, but knowing it, gave me a whole new hope. As long as Bucky was there, you would be ok. He would make sure of that.”

“I thought that was so much longer ago…” Y/N said. “I guess I repressed it.”

“Bucky was your rock from day one, sweetheart. As soon as the world got dangerous for you, he became a huge protector over you. He checked in on you when he came over, he made you laugh, he knows how to push your buttons, but you love it. He’s a good kid Y/N.”

“I know. Which brings me to Steve being an ass and throwing a hissy fit about it.”

“Your brother is in shock right now. It was something he clearly did not see a mile away. Learning about it made him a little upset. I’ll talk to him.”

“Ma, I don’t need you to talk to him. You do that and he’ll be even more mad and think I tattle taled on him. Child,” she huffed. 

“Fine, then you better tell him. Because like it or not, I’m going to have my family dinners on Sunday, and I want BOTH of my children there. Not just one every once and awhile. Plus, you’re moving out in just a few weeks so I need you to get this done cause I’ll miss you,” she smirked. 

“Ok…” Y/N groaned basically being told to apologize and make amends to her big brother by her mom. She wouldn’t put it past her mom to ban Y/n from late night reading for punishment of not fixing it. She’d done it in highschool. She’ll do it again. “I’ll talk to him as soon as I can corner him. He’s been avoiding Bucky and I like the plague.”

“Well, then let’s set a trap.”

“Mom!”

“What? You need to fix it sooner rather than later and I want my kids to not hate each other. So, I’ll invite him over tomorrow for a makeup dinner and say you’re going out and won’t be here,” she started planning. “He won’t say no because I won’t let him. So he’ll come and you stay in your room until we’re settled, and then ta-da! He’s trapped.”

“Did you have this already typed up or something?” Y/N pulled back curiously shocked. Shaking her head out at her crazy organized mom. “Who’s to say he doesn’t stand up and walk out? I could about 99% see it going that way,” she nodded. 

“Honey, I’ll be home. He’s not leaving. Not while I’m here at least,” she winked. 

“You should become a serial killer as a side hobby. They would never catch you with how well planned out you are,” she teased her mom. 

“I thought about it once, but didn’t go my way,” Sarah stood up walking to the sink, winking.

“Mom! You’re on a roll tonight,” Y/N laughed loudly, throwing a little pea at her. 

“Hey, you make my kitchen floor a mess, and I may reconsider that side hobby,” she said pointing to the pea rolling away. 

“Ma’am, yes ma’am,” Y/N chuckled.

(Tags for this series will be closing soon as it is getting pretty full, please send an ask if you want to be added:)

I’ll post on whatever chapter I decided to close it down here.

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Huge fan (drabble)

Bakugou Katsuki x reader

Requested by @the-fandoms-georgie

GENDER NEUTRAL but the reader does wear a skirt.

Bakugou sighed when he finally entered your shared apartment. It had been a long and rough day. He plunks his keys onto the table next to the door and toes off his shoes before looking up and realizing he hears music coming faintly from the bedroom.

He makes his way casually down the hall. He's just about to push the slightly ajar door all the way open when a flash of orange catches his eye and he stops. Leaning to the left, he can just barely see you through the crack in the doorway. A devilish smirk makes its way onto his features when he takes in your attire.

Meanwhile, you, remaining completely oblivious to your husband standing just outside the door, are decked out in full Ground Zero/Dynamight cosplay. A tight black tank top hugs your torso, with Katsuki's signature orange X crossing over your chest. On your lower half you sport a black pleated mini-skirt and matching black boots. Your eyes are highlighted by heavy eyeliner to cover the bit of skin showing between your eye and the mask you wear. As you move your hands up to reposition your phone resting on the dresser Bakugou feels his heart swell and chest puff with pride when he sees your extremely detailed homemade gauntlets.

Dear god you look ADORABLE

Unable to stand it any longer your husband finally pushes open the bedroom door.

You whip around, caught of guard in the middle of making your tik tok and see Katsuki with a feral grin on his face.

"Oh! Hey Katsu," you say, trying to act casual even though you're admittedly a bit embarrassed. But Bakugou is having none of that. His crimson gaze rakes up and down your body before finally settling on your eyes.

He smirks. "Well damn teddy bear, didn't know you were such a huge fan"