#I’ve heard some truly awful stories

[rosicheeks]

Not dming on this hellsite is the best thing you can do. That's a very good policy.

I’ve learned my lesson 🙃

[farfromharry]

Ozzy Munson | Eddie Munson fic

Eddie Munson x Cheerleader!Reader

Summary: When paired together for a project you think it’ll be the end of the world, and at one point it feels like it is, but then it turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to you

Word count - 19,507

Warnings - angst, language?, mean reader at times

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Everyone knew when the dreaded baby fortnight of health class was coming. It was like a legend amongst the seniors this time of year, reiterating all the past stories they’d heard from those older about how terrible it was. 

It was all your friends could seem to talk about as you waited for the first bell of the morning to ring. You were all just lingering in the hall, nearby your class. You hated that they kept reminding you of what was to come when that bell did ring. In your class there was only you and Chrissy, your fellow cheerleaders weren’t supposed to start their assignments until later in the day. You supposed at least you could get it out of the way. 

The conversation came to a sudden end when a certain individual started to make his way down the hall. Eddie Munson was a fiend when it came to the cheerleaders at Hawkins. “Ladies,” he greeted, flashing you all his infamous smirk. 

You rolled your eyes, scoffing under your breath. He was ridiculous, you seriously couldn’t stand him. And he’d noticed. “Y/N, glad I could make you smile,” he teased. “I’ve really missed seeing any emotion other than bitchy on your face.”

He managed to get on your every last nerve and you had no idea how he did it. It was like a talent he had. Or maybe it was just because you’d known one another for so long. But it seriously irritated you no matter what it was, and you swore that one day you would figure out how to put a stop to it, even if it consisted of humiliating him so bad that he just could never face you again. 

“Go to hell, Munson.”

“Only if I see you there. But for now, I guess I’ll have to get by with seeing you in class.”

The little minions of his, that were in his club, joined him, telling him it wasn’t worth it to get into it with you. They practically had to pull him away from the confrontation. If there was one thing he could manage, it was to take things too far with you all. If the basketball team found out and got involved, he would truly be screwed. So they always came to save the day.

You were incredibly grateful when he left, apparently less so than your friends who couldn’t stop discussing the encounter and his disgusting presence for the next fifteen minutes until the bell rang. 

Once in the class, it was easy to zone out when the man was droning on. You got the basic idea he was presenting, take care of the fake baby and its fake needs, work together with your partner, get graded at the end based on how well you did. A very simple concept. It didn’t need such a long winded explanation. 

You only came back to it when partners were mentioned. You hoped he would give you the choice to pick your own, but of course if he wanted his students to pass then that was a terrible idea. He also didn’t feel like making it unfairly easy for some. Within this class, you had a pretty terrible grade, unlike some, and the man knew you would surely only pair yourself with one of your friends who could do the work for you and bring that grade up. He wasn’t going to let that happen. 

You felt like you were holding your breath as you waited for your teacher to call your name alongside your designated partners. It was awful when he wouldn’t let you pick your own, this class wasn’t exactly swarming with your friends. There were more people than not that you didn’t want to be friends with. 

“Y/L/N and Munson…”

You could have sworn your heart dropped in that moment. Of all the people in the room, he and his little band of freaks were probably the ones you wanted to stay away from the most. He was the worst of it though. It wasn’t your fault that he had such a distaste for jocks, or jocks had a distaste for him, that had begun long before you became a cheerleader. But it was easy to fall into the roles of disliking one another because of where you were in the schools ‘social hierarchy’. 

He turned around in his seat at the front of the class with a wide grin on his face. He didn’t love the idea of working with you, you’ve made his life hell before– well, more-so your friends than you– but he was going to look forward to making this tough on you. 

He flashed you a wink, to which you rolled your eyes and scowled at him. You really didn’t want him to know that he was getting to you. 

As soon as everyone was partnered up, he made you all move into seats beside your ‘fellow parent’ so he could hand out the fake babies. Ever the gentleman (clear sarcasm) he made you move seats right to the front, refusing to do any of the work himself. “This is gonna be a fun couple of weeks, don’t you think sweetheart?” he teased. 

“Fuck off, Munson.”

You could hear him laughing to himself at the knowledge he’d riled you up already. It really was painfully easy to do so. Your arms were crossed over your chest, slouching in your seat as you called him a million and one different insults in your head. There was laughing from a couple desks over, and when you looked over your shoulder you noticed Chrissy, giggling to herself at the interaction. With a swift middle finger, you took to ignoring her, repeating over and over in your head how much you hated Eddie Munson. 

“Eddie,” Mr Guillermo announced, capturing the boy’s attention as the baby was passed to him. His eyes flickered between the two of you, and you were sure you could see something menacing behind his gaze, he knew what he was doing when he paired you up. “I’m expecting good things from you. Not like you haven’t done this before, and I’m sure you’ll do it again.”

Eddie saluted the man. “I keep coming back only for this assignment, Mr G. How’d you know?” Part of you wanted to laugh, and you hated yourself for it. 

He ignored those words, entirely. “I even made sure to give you the same one. Seeing as you’re pretty well acquainted already.” 

“Ozzy! Oh how I missed him.”

Mr Guillermo decided he was bored entertaining the kid, moving on to hand out the next child to the couple behind you both. All you had to do for him to hand it over was hold out your hand. He thought it was a little prissy that you just expected to get what you wanted by holding out your hand, but there he was doing it anyway. It allowed you to get a good look at the robotic baby, up close now rather than from afar in Eddie’s arms. It was a lot more creepy looking now than before.

“You named it Ozzy?” you asked. “Like Osbourne?”

He scoffed, though he was actually really impressed you knew who that was. “Yes. And he’s not an ‘it’, he’s a baby. How are you expecting to pass this class if you’re calling your child an it, mom.” He was already taking the assignment much too seriously, and you had no idea how you were supposed to make it through till the end— even if it was only two weeks— without tearing your hair out.

“This is gonna be unbearable,” you muttered under your breath, turning in your seat so you could glare at him. “First of all, don’t call me mom. Second of all, Mr G made it pretty clear this is a partnered project. If I want a good grade, I need to do some of the work.”

“Don’t worry princess, this is my third time doing this, I’m basically a pro. You’ll get the best grade in this damn class if you just let me do it.” The last two times he’d done this, he basically passed with flying colors. This time he was more or less assured to only get better, and if he would be forced to do it for a fourth time, he may as well actually be a dad. If he was ever going to accidentally knock a girl up, at least he knew he was prepared for fatherly responsibilities. 

You didn’t think he had any right to be proud about repeating his senior year three times, yet here he was, wearing it like a badge of honor. “I can’t stand you,” you complained, dropping your head down onto your arms that were resting on the desk. 

You heard him mutter something about divorced parents and trouble in paradise to the dumb baby, which led you to further hide your face. You had no idea if you could actually get through the next two weeks doing this with him, or if you’d ask for another partner within days, or give up altogether. Lord knows you wanted to. 

Becoming a parent alongside Eddie Munson might possibly be the death of you.

»»——⍟——««

It was you, alone, that made the decision that Eddie would take the first shift with ‘Ozzy.’ It was mainly because you just didn’t want to. You hadn’t exactly given him the choice though, you just got up from your seat when the bell rang and left him sitting there with the baby. 

The lack of communication meant that you hadn’t created a schedule or anything, so Eddie had no idea when he was supposed to hand the baby over to you. But after having it for the entire morning, he decided he really didn’t want to deal with it any longer. He’d gotten more than a few glares from peers and teachers. Most of his teachers already didn’t like him, and this definitely wasn’t helping his case. So the first chance he got to drop the kid on you (lunch), he took. 

He couldn’t find you at first, so he had to sit there at his lunch table with a pout on his lips and a fake baby on his knee. His friends thought it was amusing, but he was quick to shut down any jokes coming his way. 

“Dustin, I swear, if you open your mouth one more–” he trailed off when he saw the small herd of cheerleaders enter the cafeteria. Now was his chance. 

He abandoned his stuff and his lunch, getting to his feet and marching right over to the table. He almost ran into various innocent students, throwing out apologies left and right. They weren’t really his concern right now though, you were. All your friends seemed to notice him at once, and he could tell they made some kind of comment about him that alerted you. 

“Oh, god,” Marriane muttered. 

Your head cocked, then you looked over your shoulder in wonder. “What?”

“Freak alert.”

You knew exactly who she meant when she said that. It was sort of Eddie’s nickname around this place. It was actually used more than his own name was. In a way it was sad, but if he cared he never made it known. Although, maybe it was because you didn’t know him well enough for him to confide in you about it. 

“What do you want, Munson?” Chelsea questioned.

He offered a sickly sweet smile to the girl. “Chelsea, always nice to see you. But I’m here to bother Y/N for today, you’re safe.” You rolled your eyes at the sound of that.

You plastered on a fake smile, turning in your seat to be able to look at him. You noticed he had that baby in his arms, holding it like it was a real one. He wasn’t joking when he said he was basically a professional. “Munson. How can I help?”

“You’ll be taking Ozzy tonight. Better get some practice now for when you’re completely alone taking care of a screaming baby.” The grin on his face made you seethe with anger. For someone who claimed they would do all the work, he sure as hell was dropping a lot on you right now. You didn’t know how to do anything with this baby, and he wanted you to take the first night? He was insane. 

You forced a laugh. “And when did we decide this?”

“When you dropped him on me and ran out of class,” he reminded you. You watched as he took a shred of paper from the pocket of his dark colored jeans, followed by a pen that he handed you. “Write down your number, or address, whichever one you’re willing to actually give me so we can talk about this assignment away from judgy eyes.” He shot a few glares to your friends, all of whom were still eyeing him with disgust. 

As much as you didn’t want to, you scribbled down the number of your home phone, slipping it back into his hand along with the pen. It wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be to get you to do that. 

“Awesome, now that that’s settled, you can come drop him at my place around noon tomorrow.” He more or less forced the baby into your chest, leaving you no choice but to take it like you didn’t want to. He seemed all too happy about pissing you off like this. 

You shook your head, beginning to protest before he began walking away, refusing to give you the time of day you wanted to tell him you wouldn’t do this. Once you lost him in your sights, you let out a groan, slamming the fake child down onto the table. You were frustrated, angry with him in general, but your irritation got worse when the baby began to cry, loudly. 

You could basically hear Eddie’s laughter from the other side of the room, and it only furthered the way your blood boiled. 

A sudden spurt of laughter from opposite you at the table made your brow furrow. When you turned to see Chrissy laughing to herself, you shot her a glare. She tried to stop, for your sake, but just like earlier today in your class, she found it inherently funny that you were paired with him of all people. “Oh, this is gold.”

“Shut up, Chrissy,” you grumbled.

»»——⍟——««

Even though you didn’t want to, like Eddie said, you took Ozzy home with you. Your parents were more than confused when you entered the home with a fake baby in your arms. Your brother going as far to make some joke about how he knew you’d end up a teen mom.

“Don’t those things usually take nine months? I feel like I should know, I’ve had two,” your mother teased. You sighed, setting the thing down on the counter with a glare to it.  It made your mom laugh to see you look at it with such hatred, she had no idea where it stemmed from, but she wouldn’t get it even if you told her 

“This is Ozzy. He’s the fake baby I have to take care of for health.”

She nodded, and that seemed to pique your dad’s interest. “Oh, I remember that assignment. They’re still doing that? Who’s your partner?” he asked. You hated that he’d asked, you would have rather kept it to yourself, all for the sake of starting a discussion about the boy you didn’t like. 

“Eddie Munson,” you muttered, under your breath. 

Your mother gasped. “Oh, sweet Eddie! I haven’t seen him for so long, gosh I forgot about him.” You forgot about the woman's love for him, how she’d always thought he was one of the better people around you in childhood– despite the poor boy’s home life– but then one day he’d disappeared from your life without a trace. She’d questioned it before, but you always brushed it off so you didn’t have to talk about it, though she’d always had her suspicions it was due to the fault of your cheerleading friends. And she would be right.

You tried to laugh it off, hoping you didn’t have to talk about him anymore. Other than the fact he was supposed to be really well practiced at this assignment, there wasn’t really anything good you could say about him. “Yeah.”

“You know, that’s actually how me and your mom got together,” your dad said. 

That fact hadn’t ever actually been made known to you. You knew your parents had met back in highschool, highschool sweethearts actually, but they had never told you specifically about what happened. It was nice to hear, incredibly sweet to know, but you felt like that piece of information was going to lead to something else you weren’t necessarily going to like. And you would be right. 

“Who knows, maybe you and Eddie will end up like me and your mom after this whole thing.”

You scoffed. Safe to say you didn’t find that amusing, you just grabbed a snack and headed upstairs where you could forget all about the assignment. 

You set it down somewhere far away from your bed, where it could be kept out of sight and hopefully not heard. But in a weird way it still felt like it was watching you, and you wished you would have fought harder for Eddie to take it home with him.

The first thing you did was get some homework out of the way, it meant you were free to focus on other stuff over your weekend. That took longer than expected, but once that was out of the way, you wanted to take a shower, feeling like you needed it after being around Eddie for so long earlier in the day. 

The baby was left in your room, deciding it could be left alone for as long as it would take for you to clean yourself. However, you didn’t realize how wrong that would be. 

You had barely stepped under the water when you heard it cry for the first time. You huffed, dropping your head onto the shower wall in irritation. The water was switched off and you wrapped a towel around yourself, basically marching back into your room intending to shut it up as fast as possible. Turns out it just needed holding or something, which pissed you off even more. Why did the fake baby need to be held? You were busy. 

As soon as it calmed, you were off again, hoping this time you would be undisturbed. Of course you weren’t. 

This became a routine. You would be under the water for barely two minutes, and the baby would start screaming in your room again. It happened a few times, with you going between rooms, before you called it quits, marching down the stairs with a towel on and dripping wet hair, fake baby clutched in your arms possibly a little tighter than a baby should be. 

“Can you please, take this thing for a little? I’m trying to shower and it won’t stop crying.”

Your parents looked amused at your annoyance, but they took it nonetheless. A cranky Y/N was never a fun Y/N to be around. They would know, considering they’d raised you. “Of course. We’d love to spend time with our grandbaby.”

You still despised that they were leaning into it so much. They truly were as bad as Eddie with it all. You handed the baby over to your father, who immediately coddled it with a concerning amount of care. All you could do was roll your eyes and trudge back up the stairs, hearing them coo over the fake baby much too loudly, just to get on your nerves. 

Thankfully, this time around it went smoothly. You managed to take your shower in peace, then do your whole routine afterwards without being disturbed. But after that, you had no choice but to face the music again and take charge of that dumb baby. 

For the rest of the night, it didn’t bother you much (which you would be eternally grateful for). It actually allowed you to get a good night's sleep for a while, a few hours at least, and in the end it wasn’t even the thing that woke you up. 

The sound of the phone ringing was far from a pleasant way to be woken up, especially when it was all so sudden. You had been completely knocked out, wanting to get a full rest so you could go ahead with your plans the following day. It was a Saturday, so you were supposed to be getting up bright and early to hang out with your friends. You’d thought maybe if anything was to keep you up, it would be that damn plastic baby, but no, it was someone deciding to call you at four am. 

The time was actually the only reason you picked it up, just in case it was an emergency or something along those lines. Funnily enough, it wasn’t. Much to your dismay, it was Eddie deciding to be an asshole. “Hello?”

“Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty,” he teased. You groaned, already tempted to hang up so you didn’t have to listen to his idiocy. It was like he could already tell what you were thinking though, and he demanded you didn’t put the phone down, and instead heard him out. “I just wanted to see how Oz is doing.”

There was a long silence following those words that convinced him you either hadn’t heard him, or you’d hung up, but he could still hear your breathing. “Are you kidding me! You woke me up at four am to ask how the fake baby’s, fake doing?”

You heard him huff. “Stop calling him fake, he’ll hear you,” he insisted. 

“Oh my god, Eddie, I’m hanging up.”

“No!” he said. “Hey, if we’re gonna co-parent then we have to communicate!” 

You hated to admit that he was technically right. There was no way you could pass this assignment if you didn’t talk on the regular, at least for these next two weeks. After that you never had to talk again if you didn’t want to, and you probably wouldn’t if you had it your way.

“Not in the middle of the night, Eddie!” 

The yelling made him shy away a little bit. He suddenly went quiet, and you felt a little bad for scolding him like that. But then he opened his mouth again and you felt like you could rush over there and strangle him. The exhaustion was spurring you on. “But is he okay? Can I talk to him?” he questioned.

If he could see the look on your face, he would be surprised an individual could show so much annoyance towards a single human being. “I’m hanging up now,” you told him. 

He tried to protest, but evidently the line went dead very quickly after you uttered those words. His pleas were useless, essentially. 

You’d hoped that was the end of it. As soon as you’d put the phone down, you huffed, then turned over in your bed, pulled your covers up as high as your chin, and closed your eyes again. You planned on going straight back to sleep, so you could be well rested by the time you got up to head out to your plans tomorrow– with enough time to drop the baby off at Eddie’s trailer. But it seemed he had other ideas. 

The phone rang again, much to your dismay. You cursed under your breath, letting out a long breath that was supposed to let out your anger so you didn’t completely explode on him. It didn’t work though.

You raised the phone to your ear, not being nearly as polite this time around. “What do you want!”

He laughed, nervously. “I fear this is a bad time,” he tried to joke. 

You weren’t planning on sitting there at four am and listening to his stupid behaviour. “You’re gonna be the one to wake the baby if you don’t stop. So, Munson, go to sleep and leave me the hell alone, for the love of god.”

»»——⍟——««

The next morning, despite all the mishaps in the night involving your sleep, you were up bright and early. It was practically the crack of dawn, but you still started to get ready for your day. It actually brought on a wonderful plan that you thought would be very enjoyable. If Eddie wanted to dump the baby on you at a time he knew would be inconvenient, you could easily do the same to him. 

After getting ready and leaving your house, you headed for the trailer park, baby under your arm probably looking like a crazy person. Though you wouldn’t have looked out of place in this area of Hawkins all that much. 

You still remembered which trailer he lived in all the way back to when you were a kid, he hadn’t moved since the last time you’d been there. Despite how long ago that was. When you made it up the small porch to the door, you made sure to knock extra harshly. You felt a little bad for whoever else was inside, but they weren’t your concern right now. 

It wasn’t opened straight away. In fact it took another round of loud knocking for someone to slowly open the door and reveal you. Thankfully, the person opening the door was Eddie, just the guy you needed to see. 

“Morning, Munson,” you chirped, looking at the very clearly disheveled man. His hair was a complete mess, unbrushed and all over the place, falling out of the loose bun he’d thrown it in last night. His eyes were barely open, and the sun was clearly blinding him, which he tried to block out with his hand. He was still in pajamas, and your knocking on his door seemed to be the thing that had woken him. “Don’t you look refreshed,” you poked. 

“What are you doing here? It’s so early,” he whined.

You beamed, this was exactly what you’d hoped for. “Here’s your baby. Take care of him today, I know how much you missed him last night.”

He was still out of it as he took the baby that you pushed into his chest. You weren’t planning on saying anything else, just bidding him a goodbye and turning on your heel to leave. That would have been the plan, had you not been caught by his Uncle, the man having wondered who was at the door and talking to the kid so early in the morning. At the sight of the familiar face, though the one he hadn’t seen in years, he greeted you fondly. “Y/N? Hey, how are you? It’s been a while.”

The smile on your face wasn’t a fake one, you didn’t need it to be when it came to Wayne, he was truly a sweetheart, unlike his nephew. He had always been kind to you. “Hi, I’m good. How are you?” 

“Great, actually. ‘M just making breakfast, would you like to join us?”

Both you and Eddie jumped at trying to turn down the offer, the boy insisting you were busy and you saying pretty much the same thing. In reality, you had time to kill before you were due to hang with your friends— the one part of your plan to annoy Eddie that hadn’t been entirely thought through— but you really couldn’t think of anything worse than being forced to sit and eat with the boy you couldn’t stand. “Really, it’s okay.” 

“No, come on in.” The sweet look on his face made you feel like you couldn’t say no, even if you desperately wanted to. “Anything for Eddie’s lady friend.” 

You could hear the boy protesting that nickname to his uncle as you took a step inside, being pointed to the kitchen where breakfast was cooking. Wayne made some quick excuse about how he’d ‘be right back’ and then you and the boy your age were left standing there awkwardly in the room together. 

There were a tense few moments where neither of you really knew what to say. You didn’t want to be rude to the boy in his own home, you’d done a lot of things but that just felt unacceptable to you. And Eddie didn’t really know what he could say that wasn’t overly mean.

You decided to try and break the tension. Just by being polite. “So, uh, you guys do this every single day?” you asked. It seemed a little excessive, the full spread. You couldn’t imagine they managed to eat it all, everyday without fail. Sometimes you barely had enough time to grab toast before you left for school.

His head shook, messy curls moving with him. “No, uh, every Saturday. It’s his only day off, so we usually spend it together.” The confession made your heart sink a little. You were well aware Eddie hadn’t had the greatest home life in the world, and it was just him and his uncle now, So the fact you were dumping this baby on him, on the one day a week they got to spend together, when all you were really doing was going to meet your friends; you felt bad.

“That’s sweet.” 

The awkward silence was back, and it seemed like it was there to stay.

When the older Munson came back you were overjoyed. It felt as though a little bit of that tension slipped away. “Take a seat. You kids dig in. Maybe little Ozzy can even have some too.” 

Your brows raised. “You know its name?” you asked, a little shocked.

The man chuckled, beginning to plate up his food as he motioned for the two of you to do the same. You were a little more hesitant than the boy beside you, all because you weren’t in your own home, but you eventually followed along. “Are you kidding? I’ve seen that baby every day for these same two weeks, for the last three years. I’m very familiar with my fake grandson by now.”

Almost like he knew he was being addressed, the baby began to cry in Eddie’s hold. “Very familiar with that sound too.” 

“So am I after someone dumped him on me yesterday.” Your words were obviously aimed at the curly headed boy, who just glared back at you, mumbling something under his breath like the baby knew he was talking to him. 

Wayne found your bickering entertaining. He thought you were like actual parents, a married couple who loved one another but couldn’t help but argue at every little thing. 

You whined, not liking that none of them were taking you seriously when you said you hadn’t enjoyed taking care of it. “Seriously, it wasn't cool Eddie, I didn’t want that thing last night.”

“Stop calling him a thing! He can hear you,” he insisted. You rolled your eyes, flipping him off when you thought Wayne wasn’t looking. He was though, but he wasn’t going to scold you, he was actually enjoying watching this go down. He had no idea how the two of you had gone from borderline friends as kids, to enemies now, but he was absolutely going to let you know he found it hilarious. You were so much more alike than you realized. 

You were relieved when the baby finally stopped screaming, though you had to admit it was a little entertaining to watch Eddie pretend it was a real baby. He shushed it as he swayed with it in his arms, and he practically cheered silently when it stopped with the ‘tears’. He was taking this whole thing more seriously than you ever would, so you supposed you could thank him for that when you ended up with a good grade. 

“You're good with it,” you commented. The ‘it’ had him glaring at you, but it only made you grin wider. You lived for pissing Eddie off. “Okay, fine. I guess he’s pretty cool.”

“He gets that from his daddy,” he boasted. 

You hated that you laughed. There was no way for you to even cover it up, he’d seen it, and he was going to bathe in the fact you found him funny. If it was anyone else you probably still would have been giggling at the dumb joke, but you were determined to keep up a facade that it was a shitty joke and nothing more– it had just caught you off guard that’s all– or at least that was what you were telling yourself. 

That one moment had seemed to break all the tension that had been lingering since you got there. From that point onwards, the three of you were laughing openly, making jokes left and right that brought the room’s atmosphere up to joyful, rather than distasteful. 

You left the Munson trailer that day with a smile on your face. In a way it felt like you had a different view of Eddie, one that you used to have before highschool hit. You didn’t think of him as quite the same freak as you did when you first saw him this morning. Only, you were going to have to keep that information to yourself if you didn’t want to be ridiculed alongside him. 

Turns out, sharing a breakfast with Eddie Munson really gives you a new outlook on the guy.

»»——⍟——««

Despite being held up at breakfast with the Munsons, you still had an ample amount of time before your plans with your friends. You got to the cafe early, just taking a seat and ordering water for the time being until they arrived. As you thought back to how you spent your morning, you didn’t notice the small smile inching its way onto your face. If you had, you would never have believed you were grinning at the thought of Eddie Munson. 

“What’re you smiling at?” you heard, snapping out of your daze to find Chrissy and Marianne taking a seat each opposite you. It quickly dropped, and a heat found its way to your cheeks. 

Thankfully, you were saved the task of coming up with a lie to tell them, when the bell above the door rang, signaling the rest of your friends bundling through the door, talking loudly as they slotted themselves into any spare seats at the table you’d picked. You were truly saved by the bell. 

After everyone was settled and had ordered their drinks, and the occasional muffin– not that you could eat anymore after the large breakfast you’d consumed– conversation seemed to take a turn and point directly to you. You didn’t love being the topic of said conversation, especially not when they were using it to bitch about people, but there wasn’t much you could do when it was seven to one. “So, Y/N, how’s it going with Mr Freak?”

At first you were unsure what she meant, still coming down from the high of the morning, but then it clicked. “Eddie?” you asked. She nodded, though pulled a face at the sound of his name. “It’s uh, it’s alright, I guess.”

They laughed. “Alright? You’re not actually starting to like that freak are you?” It’d probably be the funniest thing in the world to them if you admitted that you started liking Eddie Munson. He was less than worthy of being friends with one of Hawkins cheerleaders, and they made that fact known every time they saw him. “You’re not gonna be the next social pariah, are you?”

You forced a laugh. “No, god no. That freak? I just meant… he’s not tried to make me an unbearable, weird nerd yet. He’s kept that to himself.” He had actually kept all the nerdy stuff from you, but that was because you hadn’t asked anything about it. You just didn’t have much of the heart to say anything else about him that was meaner. 

There was a chorus of giggles, followed by your ‘friends’ delving into a round of mocking Eddie relentlessly. They didn’t hold back, and usually neither would you, but it didn’t feel right now. There was something in your gut that was telling you it wasn’t right to make fun of him, not when he wasn’t even that bad. 

It was now when you realized that your friends were the entire reason you stopped liking Eddie in the first place. There wasn’t exactly a better reason than that. They’d just been a huge influence, when they maybe shouldn’t have been. But now was too late to take back everything you’d ever said and done. 

Maybe now you could change though. Sure you couldn’t take it back, but you could try and make up for it all. Prove you were better.  

»»——⍟——««

The first health class after you were handed the babies, was more to check on your progress than teach you anything. Until your names were called for you to go up and talk to your teacher, you and Eddie just sat there, talking while you waited. 

The more the two of you talked to one another, the better you began to get along with him. He wasn’t as bad as you’d tried to make him out these past few years, and the same could be said on his behalf for you. But just because you didn’t think he was so bad after all, didn’t mean that your friends didn’t still hold their grudges against him. Conversation was about your interests, though you didn’t have that much in common, but you at least tried to seem interested. 

“So, cheerleading… that seems fun.”

It was the only thing he could think of, and it made you chuckle. It was clear he had absolutely no interest in your hobby. “It is fun, I enjoy it. It’s exercise I guess, though maybe the people could be better,” you commented. 

He scoffed. “You think?” He was obviously being sarcastic. You both knew you could do with better friends, but there weren’t many great options in Hawkins. It just so happened that you might have picked some of the worst ones. 

“I know they’re, well, horrible, but they can be okay sometimes.” It was the truth. When you were alone with some of them, they could be the greatest friends you ever had. It was when they were in a group that they seemed to change– they obviously felt like they needed to impress everywhere by being cool and mean. “Some of them value popularity too much, I think. Other than that, they can be sweet.”

He didn’t entirely believe that, he thought some of them were just the mean girls at heart that they acted like. But he wasn’t going to argue with you on it. You changed the topic for him anyway. 

“Uh, so, you’re in a band right? Corroded coffin. What’s that like?”

He couldn’t believe you even knew the name, he didn’t actually know how you knew it, but he wasn’t going to question it. He liked the fact that you’d remembered that small detail about him– and that you weren’t mocking him for it like your friends would do. It was a positive change. 

“Amazing actually, I love it. You should come see us play at the hideout sometime.”

You thought about it briefly. “Maybe I will. I’m sure you guys are great.”

It was actually easier than you expected to find a common interest. You didn’t think you would at first, but then the address of his band reminded him of something you said a few days ago. “You knew Ozzy. Is the princess cheerleader secretly a metal fan?”

It was a well kept secret, though you never thought it needed to be a secret in the first place. You thought it was beyond weird to have to keep your music taste unknown, but your friends were odd in that way. If they knew the sort of bands you liked, they would probably isolate you quicker than they had Eddie when they first started high school. 

“You could say that, but I can’t say I’m that big of an Ozzy fan.”

His jaw dropped, like you’d just said the most despicable thing he’d ever heard. “What? He’s part of, like, the greatest band ever. Even better than Metallica.”

Now was your turn to be hit with the repulsion. “No way. Metallica are so much better than Black Sabbath!” you argued. His face twisted into one of disgust. Right then and there, he could’ve claimed you were just as bad as all the others. Though he would only be joking this time. 

“I love them both, but you’re crazy.”

There was a tap on your shoulder that pulled you out of your heated debate with Eddie. You turned to see one of the basketball players you didn’t really know, holding out a folded slip of paper towards you. He edged it closer to you, and you took it with a tight lipped smile. Those players could be so awkward at times, he could have told you who wrote it, at the minimum. 

You found the note was from Chrissy, who was extremely curious as to why you seemed to be getting along so well with Freak Munson. Your eyes searched the room for her as your heart slowly sank into your stomach. No longer did you feel the easy feeling you had when you and Eddie were talking, she’d spoiled that atmosphere. When you locked eyes with her across the room, she furrowed her brows, nodding her head slightly in the direction of the boy next to you. You just shrugged, growing sheepish. 

Eddie, although curious as to who was sending you notes, didn’t ask, nor did he notice the sudden change in behavior when you turned your attention back to him. 

There wasn’t exactly much time for him to figure it out considering Ozzy began to cry. It was like perfect timing. The boy aimed to make some sort of joke about whose parent's responsibility it should be to stop the crying, but you weren’t laughing by the time it left his lips. “The better parents got this,” he teased. All eyes were on the two of you and you just wanted it to stop. 

“Uh, you do it. I’m gonna run to the bathroom.”

To say the two of you had just been bonding five minutes ago, he didn’t know where the sudden coldness in attitude had come from. He had expected you to jokingly contradict his teasing. He didn’t have time to ask, you were gone before he could even pick up the baby. “Okay… Looks like I’m doing it then.”

»»——⍟——««

The Munson boy didn’t see you again until later that day, like after the final bell had rang, signaling for everyone to go home. He managed to catch you before you got into your car, offering you a shy smile. He was unaware if he’d been the cause of the energy change earlier, so he was a little timid when approaching you. “Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to take care of him together for a little while. We’ve probably got more hope of passing if we do it together.”

You didn’t know if that was true, considering you’d done most of the project already in individual shifts, never actually together aside from the time you shared breakfast with him. It did make sense though, so surely there could be no harm in agreeing to it. “Yeah, um, come over in an hour?” you suggested, earning a nod. “You remember where I live right?”

There was another nod and a promise to be there near enough on time. He took off afterwards, with Ozzy held under his arm securely as he jogged back to his van. There was a faint smile on your face as you watched him go, but it quickly faded when you noticed the cluster of judgemental stares just a short distance away. You hadn’t even known your friends were there, but you didn’t plan on hanging around to find out what they had to say about the interaction you just had. 

Once inside your car, you let out a deep sigh, hating that it felt like you were living some sort of double life. You wanted to be kind to Eddie, even if it was just for as long as this project lasted, but he was actually funny, and sweet, and you didn’t have to try to like him. Your friends on the other hand… well that was a different story. You thought they needed to give him a chance, though they probably never would. 

“Way to go, Y/N. Picking the most accommodating friends possible,” you grumbled. 

The drive to your home was silent, filled with the thoughts of how you were supposed to win in this scenario. How did you stay friends with Eddie, and your cheerleading buddies all at once. And even as you pulled into your driveway, you still didn’t have an answer.

You headed into your home, stumbling across your mom in the kitchen, knowing you needed to tell her about your plans. “A friend’s gonna come over to study in a little bit. Is that okay?” you asked. She looked unsure, but that was primarily because she wasn’t a huge fan of your friends. You knew once she found out it was Eddie, she’d be all over the idea. “It’s Eddie,” you sighed. 

Her entire face lit up. “Oh, that’s great! I can’t wait.”

“Try to keep the excitement to a minimum. We don’t want to scare him away,” you teased.

There was a knock on your door not that much later. You’d been putting chips into a bowl for a snack, but you paused to go and answer the door, letting the boy follow you inside after a quick greeting. 

“Want anything? Chips?” you offered, holding the bowl out to him. Ozzy was in one hand, but with the other he took a greedy handful, winking at you when you scoffed and pulled the bowl away. You hadn’t intended for him to have so many, but now like half of your snack was gone. He was just proving that he had, very literally, not changed since he was a small child. 

You were planning to take off upstairs when your mother caught you. 

“Eddie, oh hello!” your mother greeted, pulling the boy into a tight hug he couldn’t escape from. It would have been funny– the look on his face– had it not meant that your mother had decided she loved the boy like her own son. She wasn’t supposed to be so accepting of him already, you were still trying to wrap your head around the fact you didn’t hate him. 

The woman was practically suffocating the poor boy, so of course you had to step in and save him. “Okay, mom, let him breathe.”

You guided him away from her, allowing him a moment of peace. He liked the affection though, he didn’t tend to get all that much. If your mother wanted to dote on him, he was happy to let her, even if it made you a little disgruntled. 

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I’m just so happy that Y/N finally has a friend over.”

Your brows furrowed, eyes narrowing as they looked in her direction. “I have friends over all the time,” you pointed out. And you did, your house was like the main hangout spot, and your mother was almost always there when they did come over. You had no idea what she was talking about. 

“None that I like,” she muttered, hoping it wouldn’t offend you too much. If you were being honest, it wasn’t a big surprise at all. In fact, it was always a bigger surprise when someone did like them. You could hear Eddie chuckling quietly, and you gave him a swift elbow to the rib, which earned a groan of pain. Neither of you were planning to address that your mom had referred to Eddie as a friend. 

“Well, before you decide you hate anymore of my peers, we’re gonna go to my room and take little Oz with us.” You took the plastic baby from the boy, pressing a dramatic kiss to its head as you began to lead the way out of the kitchen and to the upstairs. 

The Munson boy offered your mother a polite smile, though he was amused that you were finally accepting Ozzy in the way that he did. After that tiny interaction, he turned and followed you blindly, like a little lost puppy. It would’ve been charming if he didn’t keep tripping over his feet– courtesy of him not looking where he was going, which he probably should have known was really dumb. 

You laughed at him more than once, and if you caught him on a good day he might admit that your laugh made him feel some kind of way. But as for now, he’d keep that information to himself. 

The few hours together in your room were spent with Eddie putting off study, taking care of Ozzy and the occasional burst of conversation when the boy couldn’t keep a random thought to himself. It continued throughout the entire time he was there, but by the end of it, you were much more happy to entertain him.  

“You know what,” he began, head dangling over the edge of your bed, eyes focused on where you were sitting on the floor of your room. Your eyes were drawn from your textbook to his face, and the sight of him so comfortable in your room brought a smile to your face. “I’m really glad we got partnered for this project. I’ve missed talking to you.”

It wasn’t what you were expecting him to say, it’s probably the most vulnerable he’s been with you. “I think I have too.” 

You watched as he climbed off of your bed, moving to sit beside you on the floor, he did it under the guise that he’d help you with your studying, but considering he was a three time repeat senior, you didn’t know how much help he could really offer. He’d probably end up just sitting there and bothering you the whole time. It was very Eddie of him.

That was exactly what he did. Every time you tried to turn a page, or scribble something down, he was there to try and mess something up. Whether it was poking your cheek or tugging on a strand of your hair. He was always there. 

“I swear to god, Munson. I’ll kick you out if you don’t get your hands off of me.”

He chuckled, placing his hands in his lap to show you he wouldn’t bother you anymore. That didn’t last long though, not when he then kicked his foot against your leg. You groaned, dropping your pencil and shooting him a heavy glare. “You’re so annoying,” you whined. 

You didn’t realize how close the two of you had gotten amidst all the teasing, but now it was all you could focus on. If he inched forward only slightly, you were positive your lips would touch. And you hadn’t yet decided if you’d mind. You didn’t get to though, because before you could edge close enough to actually share a kiss, there was an interruption.

“Eddie! Your uncles on the phone,” your mom called. 

The yell snapped you both out of the situation you had found yourselves in. Your cheeks grew hot, and you could see the way his tinted a light shade of pink. The two of you had almost kissed, and you had no idea how you had let that happen. “I should, uh, go see what that’s about. He probably wants me home.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck nervously, eyes looking anywhere but at you so you didn’t have to face what you’d just almost done. It was something that was going to be put to the back of your mind so you didn’t have to deal with it anytime soon. 

“Yeah, yeah, go.”

You smiled at him as he got up to his feet, grabbing his stuff and rushing to the ajar door of your room. “Do you want to keep Ozzy tonight?” he asked. 

“Yeah, that’s fine with me.”

And with that he left, offering you a small smile that seemed a little forced, before taking off. You let out a breath when he was finally out of sight, letting your body relax. You hadn’t even realized how tense you’d been before. Eddie Munson was doing weird things to you, and you didn’t know he had the power. But, you seriously needed to figure out how to put a stop to it before it got bad. 

»»——⍟——««

Halfway into the second week of the project, when the big test you’d been studying for was approaching, you felt like you were on the very edge of sanity. You were so close to tripping over to insane. 

You’d thought the almost kiss would have made things weird with Eddie, but it actually just made you closer. You had graciously offered to take Ozzy for the night, considering Eddie had told you he had a gig at the hideout. You were just trying to make things easier for him to handle, but now you were beginning to seriously regret being so kind. The screaming while you were trying to study was sending you crazy. You were desperate for the baby to be quiet, but it seemed like all it wanted to do was ruin your night. 

At first you tried sucking it up, but then everything started to pile up and you were positive you were going to scream if you didn’t solve the problem. So although you tried to put it off for as long as physically possible, eventually you just couldn’t, you had to give in and call him. 

You had no idea how far into the set he must be, or if he’d even be able to answer the call, but you were seriously begging that there would be a miracle or something and he would. You stood there by the phone like an idiot, twirling the cord around your finger to try and soothe your nerves as it rang. You were so terrified he wouldn’t be able to come to the phone, and really you didn’t know what would happen if he didn’t.  

It took a few rings, so many that you thought it wasn’t going to be picked up, but at the possible last minute, a rough voice came down the receiver. “Hideout,” the unknown man said simply. 

“Hi, um–” It was like all legible thoughts left your brain. You had no idea how to describe Eddie to the man that might not even know him. “I’m looking for Eddie. H-He’s in the band that’s playing.” You could hear the music over the phone, and it was loud, your only sign that the band was in fact still performing. It made you feel even worse. 

“Munson?” he asked. He obviously knew him very well. 

“Yeah, yeah. Munson.”

He told you to hold on, then must have taken off, because all you heard was more or less silence and the faint sound of the band. It did suddenly stop, and it brought the tears from earlier back to your eyes as the guilt set into your stomach. You had a fear that he was going to be so mad at you, and you didn’t think you could take that. 

“Hello?” He sounded confused. You supposed being told to stop your set and answer the phone to some random girl didn’t really give someone a lot of context. He probably even considered not bothering at all, but now here he was. 

“Eddie? It’s me,” you said. You really hoped he would recognize your voice just from that. He did, your voice practically played on repeat in his head all day everyday. 

You could physically hear the confusion twist into concern when he next spoke. Getting a call at the bar he hung out was arguably the biggest red flag ever that something was wrong. “Y/N? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked. All the questions came at once, questions to you, ones he needed himself answering. There were a lot. 

“I’m– I don’t want to ruin your night, but I really need your help.”

Those words didn’t instill him with the confidence that you were okay. If anything it made him more bothered that he wasn’t already by your side. If he could solve your problem, then he definitely would, but he was still yet to learn what it was. “Okay, um, where are you?”

“At home. I-I’m not in danger or anything, just need some help.” Even if you weren’t in immediate danger, he could tell you were on the verge of tears, or already in tears, just from how your voice shook with your words when you spoke. “I- It’s probably stupid, and I’m dragging you away from your fun. I’m sorry, Eddie.”

“Hey, no worries,” he assured. His voice sounded so kind that you wanted to cry all over again. It was becoming a very familiar feeling this evening. “I’ll be right over. Give me, like, twenty minutes and I’m yours.”

Your thank you was barely loud enough to be heard, but he caught it just before he hung up. He hadn’t thought his night would end so early, it usually didn’t when he was performing with Corroded Coffin, even if it was a school day, but he was happy to cut it short if you needed his help, and you seriously sounded like you needed his help. 

He was even quicker than he said, which told you he’d been speeding. Usually you’d chastise him for being so unsafe, but you didn’t have the energy this time around. 

By the time he knocked on the door, you were so exhausted from your own emotions that the words just fell out. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” you began to furiously mutter as he stepped through your door. He had barely even gotten a foot through before the words started spewing out of your mouth. He hadn’t yet been able to tell you that it was okay. “I know you were busy and I really didn’t want to call, but I–”

He shushed you, shaking his head. He could hear Ozzy’s screams from somewhere in the house, but they sounded muffled, like you’d tried to hide it or something. Usually it would’ve made him laugh, but he didn’t think now was the time. “It’s okay. We were about finished anyway,” he promised. It was a lie, there was actually a while left in their show, but they could play without him. Plus it wasn’t like many people would miss him, there were only around four people in the audience. You didn’t need to know any of that though. “Tell me what’s going on.”

You’d never seen him so caring and concerned, but it was a nice change. “I– I have to study, and I don’t get half the stuff i’m supposed to a-and I can’t get the dumb baby to stop crying,” you whined, the tears spilling over your cheeks as all your problems came back to the surface of your mind. “I just… I’m overwhelmed,” you concluded. 

He frowned, though in true Eddie fashion, he couldn’t resist cracking a joke that he hoped would make you feel better. “You know, you really shouldn’t talk about our child like that.”

You rolled your eyes, but nevertheless still chuckled a little bit at the comment. It wasn’t enough to completely cure your sadness, but it helped. “Shut up and please make it stop,” you begged, eyes pleading with him desperately. 

He didn’t need to be asked a second time. As those words left your mouth, he took off, heading in some random direction in the hopes that he might find where you’d hidden the baby. It didn’t occur to him until after a while that he could have just asked you where it was. So he headed back to where you were standing, still in the same position looking as sad as you were before. “Where exactly is our child?”

The fact he referred to Oz that way made you smile a little. “Uh, he’s in my closet, under a few blankets and pillows and stuff,” you said shyly. It made him cackle that you’d gone to such an extent, and it was probably the exact opposite of what your assignment said you were supposed to do. This was more like what Eddie thought being your partner would be like. 

“You’re so amazing, sweetheart.”

The pet name made you flush. You wouldn’t have been surprised if he could feel it from all the way over where he was standing. It slipped out so casually, and you weren’t even sure he had noticed it, but it made your stomach flutter. Little did you know, he had noticed. He hadn’t meant for it to come out, it’d be something he’d been calling you in his head, never with the intention for it to be spoken allowed, but now he was freaking out. He just hoped you hadn’t found it too weird. 

Thankfully, he wasn’t to notice any embarrassment on your face, he had already turned away in his own humiliation before he could see yours. 

He scurried away to your room, already knowing the path from his visit the other day. You left him to it for a little while, needing a moment to breathe and clear your head before you joined him. You also needed to know that the crying had stopped before you headed up the stairs, just so you didn’t explode. 

You thought ten minutes was a good amount of time. And you’d been right. When you ascended the stairs, moving down the hall to your bedroom, he was standing inside, Ozzy in his arms as he swayed a little from side to side. It was a cute sight, and it further solidified your idea that with all this practice Eddie would surely end up being an incredible dad. 

“How do you do it?” you asked, sounding more than amazed at his abilities. He scoffed, downplaying his talents. There was no way you were going to allow that though. “Seriously, Ed. He was screaming for like three hours before you showed up.”

You watched him wince, which didn’t look like a good sign of something. You had no idea what that something was though. “What?” you quizzed. 

“That’s gonna really mess up our grade,” he teased. 

You scoffed, slapping your hand against his chest. He laughed loudly, setting the now calmed baby on your bed somewhere. Your attention wasn’t on that though, you were much more focused on the boy himself. 

It felt like he was a miracle worker. You hadn’t ever looked at the Munson boy like you did now, like he was some sort of guardian angel sent down to you. Maybe your thoughts were clouded, maybe you weren’t thinking straight, but he had never seemed more attractive than right now. 

He must have noticed a sudden shift in the atmosphere too, because there was a glaze that came over his eyes when he looked at you. You couldn’t begin to explain, but you weren’t going to try to. 

There was a weird sort of magnetism that suddenly appeared between the two of you. You felt yourself edging closer to him, and you from two weeks ago would probably have recoiled in disgust, but you were the one leaning into it most right now. So much could change in such a short time and it shocked you to think about it really. You wouldn’t change it for the world though, even if you were given the choice to. 

Eddie must have been feeling the same way. His hands lifted from his sides, settling on your face so he was practically cradling it. It was the most loved you’d felt in a while, and you really hoped he felt the same way about it. 

His touch on your cheeks made your heart pound in your chest. Your breathing was noticeably heavier, though you really hoped he didn’t notice your nerves. You’d be mortified if he knew how tense you were right now. “Y/N…” he whispered. His thumb was stroking over your cheek, which could definitely feel the heat on your face. 

“Just kiss me,” you hissed. 

As soon as he heard those words, sort of his confirmation that this was okay, he was lunging forward. You had zero idea how it had happened. To say you hated the guy such a short time ago, you were pretty much solidifying your changed feelings for him now. He was gentle with it, though you could tell he was holding back, whether that was for your sake or his. You would have been perfectly happy for him to kiss you with vigor though.

Your hands got tangled in his hair, and although he would usually hiss at the terrible pain that shot through his scalp, he found he didn’t mind it so much when it was you. He never thought the day would come when he was in this position, but here he was, a prime example that wishes do in fact come true. 

You were first to pull away, but not because you particularly wanted to, just because you needed to breathe. You couldn’t imagine passing out from lack of air while kissing Eddie was going to do well for any potential relationship. 

“Wow,” he whispered. You chuckled nervously, though you really hoped he didn’t mistake those nerves for disgust or disappointment or anything. He didn’t. He just no longer knew what exactly to say to you. You were the same way, feeling like a shy school girl all of a sudden. Never had you kissed someone and wound up with that reaction afterwards. Eddie was just… different. 

“Yeah,” you sighed, dreamily. 

There was a beat of uncomfortable silence before he spoke up. “I’ll take this rascal for the night. Let you have a nice break.” You were happy to have him take the plastic toy, wanting it as far away from you as possible for the night. A peaceful sleep was all you could ask for. With each word he edged a little closer to your front door, though really he didn’t want to leave. If he could stay with you, especially after that kiss, he would jump at the opportunity. “Goodnight Y/N. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.” You watched as he descended down your yard to his van, which you noted was parked hastily half on and off the curb. It made you chuckle, but you also found it sweet that he’d been in such a rush to get to you. At that realization, that he’d cared so much that he probably broke multiple driving laws, you couldn’t let him leave so easily.

“Eddie?” you called. He stopped walking, turning on his heel to look at you. He hadn’t expected you to jog up to him, but within seconds you were standing in front of him, grinning widely. It was the happiest he assumed you’d been all night, and he was glad he could be the cause. You didn’t say anything else, just pressed a sweet, quick kiss to his lips. A goodnight kiss you would have called it. “Thank you.”

He was blushing like crazy when you pulled away, and although this was now officially the second time he’d kissed you, it had caused him to be a stuttering mess. “It’s no p-problem.”

»»——⍟——««

The whole night you were thinking about that kiss with Eddie. Your dreams were filled with the way his hands caressed your face, how soft his lips felt against yours. You were still actually rather surprised how soft his lips had been. You woke up the next morning with that same dumb smile on your face that you’d fallen asleep with. 

You almost couldn’t wait to see him when you woke up. Getting ready consisted of you practically bouncing all over the place with your excitement. It just couldn’t be contained. However, you didn’t have the pleasure of catching him before class. He was nowhere to be seen. Eddie wasn’t exactly Mr Punctual, so you suspected he would arrive much later than he should. You would just have to deal with seeing him when he finally showed up. 

You thought you’d seen his van in the parking lot, but considering there was no sign of him inside, you assumed it was just a similar model or something that you mistook for his. You hated to admit that it made you a little disappointed. 

But, you trudged inside anyway, and found some way to busy yourself while you waited for your class to start. It just so happened though, that it looked like you were going to have to entertain your friends. Although you tried to avoid them, keeping your head down while at your locker, hoping they could just walk past and miss you, they spotted you right away. Maybe it was the bright cheerleader uniform that gave you away. “Y/N!” one of them called in a high pitched, grating voice. 

You looked over your shoulder with a faked smile. “Hey,” you greeted. 

“Feels like we haven’t seen you in forever. You haven’t abandoned us for Munson have you?” Chelsea chuckled. To her that was probably the funniest mental image in the world, but you just had to hold back from rolling your eyes. 

“Can’t have our girl with that freak. Sort of ruins our reputation.”

You frowned. “Stop,” you whined, before you could really tell yourself to shut up. It felt wrong to be letting them speak about him like this. If he was here now he would probably be devastated too. He might not always show that the stuff people say about him gets him, but you’ve started to notice he takes stuff to heart just like anyone else. You’d noticed in conversations with him recently that he was pretty self-deprecating at times, but the stuff he said was stuff you’d known your friends to yell at him. It made your stomach sink each time. 

Little did you know, out of the corner of her eye Chelsea had seen the mane of curly hair coming out of a nearby classroom. It was the same one he held his club in, and in tow was one of his younger friends who frequented Hellfire. “Oh, come on. Are you really going soft for that loser? What happened to the girl who used to despise him more than we do?”

It was in that moment where you felt painfully pressured to join in. You wished you had the strength to walk away, tell them no or stick up for him. Any of those things would have been a billion times better than giving into what they wanted and being horrible. “I’m obviously only using that freak for the grade. He just started getting clingy, can’t take a hint apparently,” you laughed. 

They had somehow timed it just right, so Eddie walked by just as the laugh tumbled out of your mouth. It felt like someone had just staked him in the heart, and he had no idea how he was supposed to react. Although the pain was only emotional, it really did feel physical for a while. He could’ve sworn his heart was cracking in his chest. Dustin saw the previous joyful expression on his face drop.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” the kid suggested. He didn’t think his friend needed to be subjected to anymore of this cruelty. 

He wouldn’t budge though, he was still standing there. He needed you to see the pain you were causing him, how you’d made him feel in the hopes it would drown you in guilt– if you could even experience such an emotion. “I didn’t know you were so shallow,” he called. It was clear to him that this was the first time you were realizing he was there. There was a fear slipping into your eyes, and you resembled something like a deer caught in headlights. “Glad to know what you really think of me.”

“Eddie–”

“No. No, I wouldn’t want to take up anymore of the princess’ time. I’m clearly not worthy.” He turned on his heel and began walking the other way. There wasn’t even anything down there that he needed, but he just knew he couldn’t face walking past you like that. Dustin followed, shooting you a harsh glare over his shoulder for hurting his friend. For the last couple days, due to all of Eddie’s girly ramblings about you, he assumed you’d changed, but now here you were proving that idea wrong. He couldn’t even imagine how truly crushed his friend was, or how pissed he was, considering Dustin himself was pretty damn pissed. 

The look of betrayal on his face hurt more than words could explain. The guilt was multiplied by at least a million. You knew you shouldn’t have said anything, you didn’t even know why you opened your big mouth to say something in the first place. It was dumb, painfully so, and it was going to take a lot to try and make up for this. And it was going to have to start with you rethinking who your friends were. You couldn’t claim to have a crush on a guy if you surround yourself with all these people who openly mock him, and you didn’t even come to his defense. 

“Excuse me,” you muttered quietly, pushing your way through the group of girls who didn’t even hear you, just so you could follow after him in the direction he took off. They didn’t know where you were going, but even if they were curious, you wouldn’t care to explain to them. You didn’t need to justify having to swallow your pride in order to talk to a guy they thought was a social reject. 

You had to chase after him like a scolded puppy, calling his name more than once. All eyes were on the two of you as you walked the maze that was the halls of the school. If he finally did give you the time of day to talk to him, you knew there was no way you could do it in front of all these people. They didn’t need to hear it. 

“Eddie, please, just give me two minutes,” you begged. The way you pleaded with him seemed to get through to him for a minute. He paused, despite Dustin’s insistence that he shouldn’t give you the time. 

He was whispering something to the kid that you couldn’t hear, but it must have been something along the lines of him giving the two of you some time. Henderson made it known how angry he was when he walked past you, glaring so harshly that you thought his look would kill you if it could. You couldn’t do anything but look away from him in discomfort, he was proud of himself at the fact he’d made you squirm. 

As soon as Dustin was gone, you took that as your sign to get started. “I’m-I’m sorry,” you began. You heard him scoff, but you also couldn’t blame him for that, that was in fact an incredibly lame ass apology. You just didn’t know what else you were supposed to say to him. 

“You’re sorry? Is that all you have to say for yourself?” People seemed to think it was exciting to watch you get yelled at by the resident freak of Hawkins. Eddie notably didn’t like jocks, and they’d seen him start arguments with Jason on more occasions that they could count, but never once had he gone for a cheerleader like this. It was like a once in a lifetime thing. 

Your eyes were growing teary. You knew it was pathetic to try and cry in the hopes it would make him kinder. It was completely unfair actually, but you weren’t sure what else to do. “I-I don’t know what to do. What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything.”

He huffed. “You want to do something for me?” It was more of a rhetorical question but you nodded after it nonetheless. “Leave me alone. Go back to your great life, and your perfect little friends, and stay away from me,” he hissed. 

He hated the look that crossed your face, but he hated even more that he was so upset by it. Why did you still have control over his heart when you’d been the one to rip it out of his chest in the first place? It wasn’t like he had done anything to deserve it. “Is that really what you want?” Your voice was so quiet that he almost didn’t hear it, and he wished he hadn’t because that sentence was truly the final thing that solidified the crack that ran down the middle of his heart. His answer to this was going to finish the both of you. 

He didn’t want to say yes. No matter how much his brain screamed at him to tell you no, he couldn’t listen to it. “Yes.”

You inhaled shakily, visibly holding back tears that his words had brought to your eyes for the second time. You wished you had just never opened your mouth, then you really wouldn’t have been in this situation. “Right. Okay.” If you could have just left it at that, the two of you might have ended on the slightest of better terms, but you just had to open your mouth again. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do? I-I don’t think you realize how serious I am when I say I’ll do anything.”

It looked as though he might have considered it for a second or two, but ultimately he decided against it. “I have to get to class,” he muttered, attempting to walk past you. 

Your hand wrapped around his bicep though, a small smile crossing your face. “Since when have you ever been on time for class, Munson?” you tried to joke. He didn’t seem to think it was funny, trying to brush you off of him. It only served to make you more sad if anything. You frowned as you removed your hand from him like he wanted you to. “Sorry,” you muttered. 

It was painfully awkward. You tried to offer something that would make him feel better, a kind act that was meant to try and get you back on his good side. “I, uh, I can take Ozzy for the day, and night, if you want.”

He had forgotten that the baby was still in his grasp, probably much too tightly considering the anger in his body right now. But he didn’t care about that so much. Now that his attention was drawn back to it though, he realized how much he didn’t want to spend the rest of this project trying to act civil with you. “Forget it. I’ll finish the project on my own, that way you can go back to being Hawkin’s perfect, princess cheerleader sooner.” It stung a little, but you supposed you’d earned it. 

He was completely avoiding your gaze, and you wished you could have said you blamed him. “Eddie…” Your voice was so weak that it almost convinced him, but he was determined to be stronger than that. He wasn’t going to give in to you just because he felt bad, you had made him feel so much worse than you were feeling right now, you deserved to feel like this. He didn’t even look at you as he walked away. 

If you didn’t have a class that you needed to get to ASAP, you could have potentially broken down into tears right there. You felt horrible, in a way you’d never felt before, and the guilt was already eating you alive. 

»»——⍟——««

It had been days since Eddie last spoke to you, and you felt like you were having withdrawals. Your original plan was to essentially never speak to him again after your project was over, but now you actually found yourself missing him and his shitty jokes. It was incredible to you how close you could get to someone in less than two weeks when doing such an involved assignment together. In any other situation, Eddie probably would have made a joke about how Ozzy now had to suffer with divorced parents, but that was missing too. There was a lot less humor in your days.

It wasn’t like you hadn’t tried, you had attempted many times to talk to him, but he didn’t want to hear it each and every time. He wouldn’t say anything to tell you to go away, he just ignored you. He actually wouldn’t even look at you. It made the class you were partnered together for painfully awkward. 

“Hey, Eddie,” you greeted, wringing your hands together nervously. He didn’t look up from where he was scribbling in his notebook. He never actually did work in this class, you knew that much, so you knew he wasn’t planning on starting now. You didn’t let him tell you you couldn’t sit beside him, you just sat down. You did hear him grumble about it though. “How’s it been going with Oz?” 

Before all this happened, he would have been over the moon that you were referring to Ozzy with a nickname, rather than calling him an ‘it’ still. Now though, he hadn’t even allowed you to take him for any period of time– not the days you were scheduled for, or the nights– he’d been doing it all. You knew he must have been exhausted, and you wished he would just ask for your help. You never thought you would be willing to care for a fake baby that just screams all the time, but now here you are. 

He didn’t answer you, which had you sinking down into your seat more. You were embarrassed. “Miss Y/L/N, is there something you’d like to share with the class?”

You had been so caught up in Eddie that you didn't even realize the class had begun. Now all eyes were on you, Chrissy and the other jocks snickering in their seats at the expression on your face. You had gone from a kicked puppy to sheepish. 

Your voice was quiet when you spoke. “No, sir. Sorry.” The man had noticed you looked a little more down today, and he put the pieces together and assumed it was something to do with Munson. He didn’t know what teenage relationship bullshit was going on, and he absolutely didn’t want to get into it, but he would step in if he thought it would affect your grade. For the most part he knew it would be fine, considering Eddie was always good with this assignment, but he would intervene if he had to. 

He nodded. “Alright, then. So today’s task requires communication. I’m expecting you and your partner to consider the financial responsibilities of having a kid. Are they going to college? How are you going to save that kind of money? It’s vital that you talk about this.”

The gesture made you smile at Mr G, grateful that he’d picked up on the fact you were trying to right a wrong and given you this opportunity. He flashed you a smile, one that he knew you’d recognise as being for you. Even if he was annoyed previously that you’d been talking when he was trying to conduct his lesson, he still had some decency to try and help. You didn’t talk again until he set you off on your tasks, giving you all the okay. 

“So, dad, you emotionally ready to plan for Oz to go off to college? Won’t be too sad watching him go?” When he didn’t respond you tried to crack a joke, hoping you could earn a smile or something at the least. “They grow up so fast don’t they?”

You watched as the metalhead’s hand shot up in the air. It took barely a minute for your teacher to recognize it, nodding his direction. “Can I go to the bathroom?” You visibly deflated, but it wasn’t like the older man could tell him no if he wanted to. 

“Sure.”

From there you were left sitting by yourself, taking Ozzy from Eddie’s desk and playing with the dolls hands for something to do. Your teacher felt pity for you, even if he didn’t know the full story of what was going on– he did have some idea considering gossip spread like a wildfire in high school— but he usually stayed out of it. Right now there was nothing he could do, so it seemed, that would help.

After failing to have Eddie actually speak to you directly, even at the instruction of your teacher, you thought your only other option was to approach his friends. 

You took your chances when you couldn’t see him at the lunch table. Him and his friends sat at the same one every day, so you knew where to look, but you had to wait for an opportunity when he wasn’t there. That wasn’t often. It took a lot of waiting, and glances over your shoulder that probably made you look pretty obsessive. But eventually, you watched as he left the cafeteria for some reason, giving you the perfect chance to head over to the table to talk. 

“Uh, hi,” you greeted, coming to a stop at the end of the table. They all turned to look at you. Some looked confused, others looked annoyed, and one of them, Jeff you thought his name was, seemed like he was prepared to greet you. That was until Dustin nudged him and shook his head. Though he was one of the youngest sitting there, it very much appeared like he was sort of running the show. The distaste within them all at the sight of you made you even more uncomfortable than you already were upon approach. “Looks like he’s told you guys then. But I just, I want to apologize, please.”

Your eyes were pleading with anyone of them that would look at you, but it seemed like none of them wanted to hear it. “Dustin,” you called. “If anyone could convince him to give me another shot, it’s you. Please.” Everyone had turned to him now, to try and gauge what he was thinking of doing. 

There must’ve been something about you that changed your tune since the last time you held an interaction with the younger boy. Whether that was your eyes, what you were asking him, or maybe he just realized you were serious about this. He thought a lot of things about the cheerleaders within this high school, but he didn’t think a single one of them would go to these kinds of lengths to embarrass someone they saw as even less than beneath them. 

It was probably that which gave him the confidence you were genuine. He cared about Eddie, and if he thought there was even a slight risk being posed to his friend, he wouldn’t go through with what you were asking of him. “Well, he’d totally not love it if you dropped those friends of yours, and he’d probably not love it if you made some sort of grand gesture to show him you were serious,” he said, raising his eyebrows and flashing you an awful attempt at a subtle wink when he spoke. 

It took you a second or two to catch on, but when you managed it was like a light bulb went off in your head. Everyone at the table, despite the fact they were still confused, saw the way in which your eyes lit up, a gasp tumbling past your lips. You placed your hands on Dustin’s shoulders, kissing his cheek gratefully, ignoring the way he blushed brightly. “You’re a lifesaver.”

With that you scurried away, bidding the table a few half-hearted goodbyes. You had a plan to concoct, so there wasn’t really any time for you to waste. You needed to find a quiet place as soon as possible where you could sit and brainstorm what this big grand idea might be. That place happened to be the library, which was basically empty considering it was lunch time. It was perfect. 

The dropping your friends part would be easy, you could say one wrong thing and you would be dead to them in seconds. So, as long as you said something about Eddie’s good nature, it would be fine. As for a gesture that would change his mind about his feelings towards you, that would be a little more difficult. Eddie was already quite the extravagant guy, so you thought it would be difficult to do something that would impress him. But you were sure you’d be able to manage eventually. There had to be something you could do that was so out of character for you that it just screamed ‘I have a huge crush on you’.

You were very stuck in your own thoughts for a while, the end of your pencil in your mouth as you chewed mindlessly. You were so distracted that you didn’t notice someone else coming into the room at first, not until they spoke to you. “Excuse me, do you–” He stopped when he realized what his mistake had been. He hadn’t realized he was speaking to you until you raised your head, though in hindsight it probably should have been obvious. Maybe it was the jacket thrown over your cheer uniform that meant he just didn’t notice. 

“Hi,” you said, weakly. The clear look of disgust on his face made your chest ache. He just scoffed, shaking his head and trodding further into the library. It looked like he was looking for something, probably one of his nerdy ones. 

With a sigh, you realized you didn’t particularly want to still be there when he came back from being lost amongst the shelves, not if he was only going to look at you with those same hatred filled eyes all over again. You didn’t know how much more of this cold shoulder you could take from him. 

“I’ll win you back Munson,” you whispered, eyes in his general direction though you could only see quick sightings of him as he moved along the shelves. “I swear by it.” 

You began to pack up your things, hurriedly. Thankfully, you managed to head out before you saw him again, but he saw the back of your retreating figure just as you left the doors. He felt a little disgruntled. His half a question had been the most interaction he’d had with you in weeks. Though he was the one who was rejecting any form of communication with you, he had to admit he did miss talking to you.

»»——⍟——««

To say you were nervous for the day was an understatement. Your regular life was going to change for the sole reason of a boy. You had thought about it deeply, whether you wanted to make such a sacrifice for some guy that you decided you had feelings for within a week, but then you thought of all he’d done for you and made you feel in those seven days– which was so much– and then you knew this was the right decision. 

Upon entering the school, the first thing you needed to do was track down your fellow cheerleaders and give them a little piece of your mind. It wasn’t hard to find the preppy girls with the bright uniforms and high ponytails. They were in the courtyard, some sitting, others standing around and mocking anyone they set eyes on. 

Maybe if you hadn’t seen Eddie with a couple of his friends just around the corner, you might not have gone through with it, but you knew at that moment that it was really important for you to do this. Not only was it for him, but you as well. It’d make you feel like a better person to know you weren’t tearing people down everyday like they were. You might have been doing it for a while, but now was the time you put a stop to it. 

Even if you wanted to turn back last minute, they happened to spot you before you could consider doing so. 

“Y/N, there you are! We didn’t think you were ever gonna show,” Chrissy said. Usually you would have faked a smile as they all turned to welcome you, but not this time around. They were a little confused as to why you weren’t in uniform, you always were normally, it was sort of the rules. “Why aren’t you dressed for practice?” she asked. 

It was a little difficult for you to grasp how exactly to begin what it was that you wanted to say, so you thought you needed to just spit it out while you still had the guts. “I actually need to talk to you guys about something.”

Chelsea gasped, feigning sympathy. “You can tell us anything. We’re all friends here.” Her tone was painful to listen to. It was so clearly fake that you pulled a face. Usually you wouldn’t bother acknowledging it, but it was bothering you more than it ever had before right now. Now that you had mentally addressed the fact that they were pretty unbearable to be around to the average person, you found you couldn’t tolerate them any longer either.

You took a deep breath, partly to calm your nerves and partly so you wouldn’t scream at Chelsea for being so aggravating. 

“I’m quitting,” you said simply. “I don’t want to do cheer anymore.”

There were a couple gasps here and there, and though they pretty much all seemed shocked, some didn’t care as much as others did. Some were more confused than shocked. You deciding out of nowhere that you were quitting cheer, right after the events that transpired with Eddie, seemed too convenient for the two things not to be related. And of course, someone had to open their big mouth and question it, but not in the nicest way they could. “Is this because of Munson? You’re doing what that freak wants now?”

You were completely unaware that Eddie could hear your entire conversation, and he wasn’t exactly overjoyed about the way he was being spoken about. He assumed you were once again going to let those comments about him slide and he didn’t think he wanted to stick around to see how this panned out. So, with little words spoken to his friends, he took off. 

You rolled your eyes. “This isn’t because of him, it’s because you guys are assholes,” you told them. You saw the slight hurt on their faces, but surprisingly didn’t feel bad about it at all. “You’re, like, the worst friends anyone could ever have.”

Marianne scoffed. “Like he’s any better?”

“He is. He’s so much better than any of you will ever be.”

It seemed like none of them really knew what to say. They hadn’t expected this to be the way the conversation panned out– not in a million years actually. “You’re actually defending that freak, right now?” one of them asked. 

You huffed. “Stop calling him that. He has a name!” Even though you had originally felt slightly bad for how things were going down here, the more you spoke and the more they insulted the boy you liked, the more you were grateful that you’d gotten the weight of all of this off of your shoulders. The way your pisces had picked up meant attention was being drawn to you all now– once again you couldn’t have cared less.

“You know what, Y/N, if you’re gonna be his guard dog then you’re off the team.”

You laughed, right in their faces, it was like they had completely disregarded the statement that had started this whole discussion. Could they really kick you off of the team if you had quit moments beforehand. “I’m perfectly okay with that. You’re doing me a favor actually.”

Little did you know, although that conversation hadn’t exactly been heard by Eddie, it had been heard by one of his friends who would be sure to tell him exactly everything that happened after he left. Jeff was positive his friend would want to know. 

After the way you spoke to your ‘friends’ earlier today, you didn’t exactly have anyone to sit with when lunch rolled around. It meant your plan would be able to be carried out easier, considering your full attention could be put on to it, but it did mean you looked a little odd lingering in the doorway of the room. 

In the cafeteria, you had to wait for Dustin’s signal before you were going to make your little scene. He was supposed to tell you when the perfect time was, not only for Eddie, but when the room was at its busiest. The two of you agreed that although it would be terrifying, it was only really meaningful when the most people were there. If you were admitting your love to a crowd of only a couple people, then you weren’t really showing that you meant your words. Instead, you would wait until the peak of lunch, when Eddie had a dip in conversation that would give you the perfect opportunity. 

The signal was a simple wave that you were waiting for. You leaned against the doorframe of the cafeteria entrance, eyes locked on the table where the hellfire club sat, talking theatrically amongst themselves like they always did. Your eyes were on Dustin specifically, though occasionally they would stray to the head of the table where the boy you were desperate to impress sat– unsuspecting of what was about to go down. 

As soon as you saw that brief wave you headed over, ignoring the murmurs from your old friends when they saw you pass by. “Eddie?” you called, sweetly. 

However, he was far from so kind to you, turning to look at you with what could only be called a look of disgust. He sighed, dropping his food back into his lunchbox. “Why can’t you take the hint? Have you really not noticed that I don’t want to talk to you?” It was the first time he’d spoken to you in days, and the most words he’d said in a while now. 

You may have been easily pushed away before, but now you weren’t taking no for an answer. “No, this time you’re going to listen to me.”

He was about to protest, but then you turned to Dustin before he could. 

The curly haired kid offered you a hand, to which you thanked him, stepping up onto the chair and then the table in tow. Eddie was watching you in complete confusion, looking between you and Dustin in the hopes that one of you would give him some idea as to what was going on. He didn’t like being out of the loop like this, and he had no idea when you and the kid had gotten so friendly with one another, but he didn’t love it. 

You cleared your throat, shaking off your hands in an attempt to get rid of all the nerves. “Excuse me?” you yelled. Munson’s heart sank; this wasn’t what he was expecting– he couldn’t even try and take a guess of where this might be going. The chaos of the room calmed down, all eyes turning to look at you. “I have something to say,” you announced.

There were some people who yelled things at you, saying that they didn’t care or stuff along those lines. It earned some laughs, but you weren’t going to let that stop you. 

You took a deep breath, glancing at Eddie once before you looked out around at the groups of people watching you. It was slightly intimidating, especially when you could see your fellow cheerleaders giggling and pointing at you, making literally no effort to hide it. “I’m in love with Eddie Munson!” you yelled. 

There was a chorus of gasps from various places around the room. “You what?” you heard Eddie ask. He sounded entirely shocked. 

Rather than look out at the crowd, you turned to look at him again. This time around you spoke directly to him, rather than to all the other people who didn’t really need to understand the weight of your words. You hoped this way it would appear as though it was coming more from the heart. “I think I’m in love with you. And I’m sorry for being such an asshole, but I need you to forgive me.”

He looked like he didn’t know what to say, so you took the opportunity of the silence to keep talking. 

“I– I wasn’t fair to you, but it’s only been a couple days and I miss you already. And I miss taking care of that dumb baby with you,” you laughed, coaxing him into a chuckle as well. To anyone who wasn’t a senior partaking in the baby assignment, they probably thought you sounded crazy– or you’d actually had a child with Eddie– which was another shocking admission if you had. You liked how promising it was that he was laughing with you. Surely that meant you were back in his good graces. “I don’t know how you did it, but you enchanted me, and I don’t think I can come back from this.”

He was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, a look of interest on his face. It was like he was thinking over what you were proposing, and he wanted to make you sweat. But you could tell he was trying to bite back a smile. “I mean, I guess Ozzy’s missed his mom.”

Your entire expression changed. Those words had filled you with a hope that you couldn’t begin to explain. “So, what d’you say? Give me a second chance?” 

He motioned for you to get down from your place on the table. Like the gentleman he was, he helped you down, and only then did you start to feel a little shy. You didn’t know what it was, considering you’d just been perfectly fine with hundreds of eyes on you. Something felt different now, whether that was just because it felt more real or intimate, you didn’t know. “Hi,” you whispered. 

“You just can’t take no for an answer can you?” he teased. You were glad you could pick up on the fact he was joking, otherwise that sentence would have killed you. He beamed at you as you shook your head, and it was something about your smile that told him he had to kiss you that second. He couldn’t wait another moment for this, not when the last time he’d kissed you had been forever ago. 

You weren’t sure who initiated the kiss first, but you didn’t even care, it just felt right. You both knew people were watching, which probably should have made you a little uncomfortable, but for some reason it didn’t, you actually hoped your ‘friends’ were watching so they could realize how wrong they’d been. Right now you were just completely blinded by everything Eddie. The way his lips felt, the tightness his hand used to grip your waist– like he was scared of you disappearing, and the way your senses just screamed him. 

He was the first one to pull away, though his hand found the back of your head and kept you close. 

You rested your forehead against his, uncaring of those who were still watching you. Most had turned away by now, deciding they didn’t care one bit about your private life, but there were still a few stray spectators. You really didn’t plan on paying them any attention though, not when you knew they were only interested in using this as gossip they could spread around. “I’m so glad this went well,” you breathed, painfully relieved. “Do you know how embarrassing it would have been if you just rejected me while I was up there?” 

That thought made him laugh. “That’s what I should have done. Got your heart racing a little bit,” he tormented. You rolled your eyes, bumping your fist against his arm. His laughter died down a little, the boy suddenly becoming serious. “Thank you. I seriously appreciate the effort you went through to make this apology. No one’s ever done something like that for me before.”

It felt like an honor to you to be able to provide him with love he’d never gotten before. “Well, I plan to be around for a while, so there’ll be plenty more where that comes from,” you promised. His whole face lit up. 

“I hope so.” Despite the fact there were still people around, specifically Eddie’s younger friends who were still very much intrigued in the fact the boy had finally managed to get a girlfriend, he kissed you again. 

If the kids wanted to stare like you were some sort of tourist attraction, that was on them. Though they were still planning on vocalizing their disgust. “Guys, come on, your child’s watching,” Mike attempted to force you apart. To be fair to him, it did work, the two of you pulled away from each other laughing, turning your heads to where Ozzy was planted on the table where Eddie had been sitting. 

“Your friends are weird,” you muttered, grinning up at him so he knew you weren’t being judgy, just ‘observing.’ 

He nodded, squeezing you into his side. There was a kind kiss placed on your temple. “Well, you better get used to it. You’re one of us now.”

+ Bonus scene:

Graduation day was a day Eddie never thought he’d see. Out of the three he should’ve seen, he was actually only on his first one. It was an achievement for everyone, but it was a different level of achievement for him. And it was even more incredible that he actually had a girlfriend to share this with. He thought that was another day that would never come. All around, today just felt surreal. 

Wayne had cried once already, though the younger of the two insisted he couldn’t do it again unless he wanted him to get emotional too. And for the most part he’d been able to stick to that promise. 

You and Eddie met up outside the school, something that was pre-planned so the two of you could hang out before the ceremonies started. Your parents were with you, along with your younger brother, the four of you in conversation while you waited. They were actually the ones who noticed him first, and they looked more excited to see him than you did. They loved the idea of you and Eddie– your mother had always thought it was only a matter of time before the two of you got together. 

You only realized he was there after your parents stared over your shoulder for too long. “What are you guys looking at?” you asked, looking behind you to find the two Munson’s approaching– with Wayne fussing over the tie he’d made Eddie wear– he kept claiming it needed to be straightened. 

A small squeal left your lips, rushing over to him before it became clear to him that you were running at him. He was taken a little off guard by your body colliding with his, but he accepted your hug nonetheless, wrapping his arms around you. He was in a better mood than you thought you’d ever seen him– maybe that was because he was finally making it out of school.

“I missed you,” he muttered, pulling back from you to place a kiss on your lips. You grinned, trying not to flush at the behavior, he very easily made you flustered. “You saw me last night,” you reminded him. 

He shrugged. “Still missed you,” he told you, before you pulled him back in for another kiss. To say he was the one claiming he missed you, you were the one who was desperate for him to keep kissing you. Since the day you’d made things official, only a few months back now, you had adored him. At first he thought you might go back on all you said to him the day you admitted your feelings, but you weren’t ashamed of being with him like he worried you’d be. 

The sound of a throat being cleared had Eddie’s eyes snapping open. At the sight of your father, he pulled away– though he didn’t exactly want to. “Uh, as much as I love this greeting, your dad’s sort of watching.” He was right, and it looked as though the man could kill. You groaned, brushing your nose over Eddie’s before you fully pulled away. 

“Well, in that case, we should get going. Let’s go, Munson,” you instructed, tugging on his hand to lead him inside the school building. 

It was all over so quickly. You didn’t know how but it barely felt like any time at all had passed before you’d walked the stage, grabbed your diploma and were now being engulfed in a hug by your loving boyfriend and his uncle. Your family had already suffocated you with love, so now it was their turn. Plus you thought Eddie deserved even more love than you’d received, and both you and Wayne were happy to give that to him for as long as he pleased.

“Munson! I wanted to talk to you.” The sound of a voice calling his last name made his head turn. It also unfortunately meant that your hug had to come to a swift end.

Eddie hadn’t expected for Mr G to need him for anything, but when his beloved teacher called his name, he felt like he had to see what it was that he wanted. It wasn’t like the man could give him detention or anything of the sorts– which he was glad for considering he’d given some of the teachers a few of his true thoughts about them. He’d used some colorful words. 

“What’s up?” he asked.

For a second the teacher's eyes flickered to you, offering you a kind smile when he noticed you were there. It actually made the moment better.

“I’m probably not supposed to. But I thought I’d give you this, for old time’s sake.” He offered out the fake baby that resulted in your relationship, a sweet gesture. It was probably less than practical— in what world does a graduating twenty-year old need a plastic baby from his health class— but it was more about the memories that made it important. You could have sworn you saw Eddie’s eyes water a bit. “The batteries are out, so it won’t start randomly crying or anything. I just thought you might like it. As a reminder of something good that came out of having it for so long.” 

The younger of the two nodded, and you and Wayne watched on fondly. “Thank you. Don’t know how I’d get by in that big cruel world without my Ozzy,” he joked, but the thank you was completely genuine.

Conversation was made for only a short time longer. He bid you and Eddie good luck, and the two of you thanked him for being the indirect reason your relationship had begun, and then all of you were on your way, back with the final member of your little, funny family.

++Bonus bonus scene:

When you and Eddie got together back in highschool, neither of you truly thought you’d last. Even if you wanted to be with him forever, the odds weren’t in your favor, it was rare that highschool relationships made it past college— even though Eddie wasn’t going to college.

But here you were, almost a decade later against all odds. You’d gotten the degree you’d worked your ass off for, with your boyfriend taking the time to visit you at your college of choice as often as he could, and you had landed yourself a pretty decent job that you were proud of. Meanwhile your boyfriend was beginning to make it big in the musical world like he’d wanted. He started off his proper music career the same way it had run in highschool. A couple days a week he’d perform at the hideout, while working part time elsewhere for the money. One day he just got lucky, and now here he was on his way to stardom with you by his side.

Things were good, even better now that there was the impending arrival of your first child. It had been unexpected, but you and Eddie were over the moon either way, and you were going to try to be the best parents you possibly could be— even despite your jobs that require so much time and work. You’d do anything to make it possible to give this baby the most love and best life they deserved.

Just because you had begun to plan for them, didn’t mean you’d considered arguably the most vital part about having a baby. The two of you hadn’t thought about baby names, at all.

The realization didn’t even hit you until you were lying there in the hospital bed, squeezing Eddie’s hand half to death as birth kicked your ass. He was trying to help as best he could, stroking your hair and letting you take your pain out on him. The pain in his hand was nothing compared to what you were feeling, he couldn’t really complain.

“We didn’t pick a name!” you hissed, a sob bubbling up in the back of your throat from the pain. He tried to reassure you that it didn’t matter. He’d heard people say in movies and such before that sometimes the name just comes to you after you see your baby for the first time. And he was desperately hoping for your stress levels that it was true. “We’ll get one baby. I promise.” 

You winced. “There isn’t really a lot of time.” 

He was a lot more concerned about you than a name right now. What was important to him was that you just got this baby here safely, without worrying about anything else. And he told you that, to which you hastily agreed when you were informed it was time for you to start pushing. Though you were terrified beyond words, you didn’t really have much of a choice. But at least you had Eddie there every step of the way to calm your worries in any way that he could. 

There was never a moment where your hand went unheld, or you felt even slightly alone. He was proving once again that he was the most perfect man you had ever met. This was furthered when he showered you in praise after your baby, a healthy baby boy, was set on your chest for the first time. Both of you were emotional, arguably him more than you, but he still made sure you felt eternally loved.

“Any names spring to mind?” he asked, trying to rapidly wipe at the tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. He heard you laugh, like a part sigh of relief, and another part so overjoyed.

Your eyes were difficult to pull away from the baby on your chest, but you managed long enough to look your lover in the eye while you provided him with an answer to his question. “Ozzy,” you breathed. “His name’s Ozzy.” 

The nurses might have thought it was weird, because they didn’t understand the backstory behind the name like you and Eddie did, but it meant more to the two of you than you could ever begin to explain. You watched as your boyfriend’s eyes welled up at the mention of the memory that had brought you two together in the very beginning. “That’s perfect. With that name he’s gonna be the coolest baby ever. If only Mr G could see the real Ozzy Munson.” 

You hummed, stroking your thumb over his tiny head. It felt like an impossible task to be able to cherish all the features of the newborn in the way that they deserved. “Maybe he can after things calm down a little. I’m sure he’d like to see the family he played a part in creating.” 

Eddie beamed, dropping a kiss to the top of your head and then Ozzy’s– though the one Ozzy got lingered for much longer. “I think that’d be awesome.”

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

eddie munson taglist - @pastel-abyss-x @lilylilyyyyyy @spideysbae @lexi-2004 @escape-in-time-x @liltimmyst @fandomxo00 @youcantseem3 @sharnnnnnn @dreashappyworld @audhd-dragonaut @liltimmyst @ruinedbythehobbit @eddiemsbandana

[blayresmuses]

love spiral

summary: a turn in conversation has you asking uncomfortable questions that aemond can't help but answer.

warnings: ‘teach me how to kiss trope’, best friends to lovers, light smut

the leaves of the trees rustled above you as you lay with your head in aemond’s lap, your eyes closed as you listened to him read from some history book. the godswood was empty, peaceful - just how you liked it.

these moments the two of you had were sacred, buried away in the deepest chamber of your heart, a place so overwhelmingly filled with aemond targaryen. he was your childhood best friend, the person you’d grew up with through everything. you’d bickered and fought, played and learned together - you thought at times that he knew you better than you knew yourself.

‘i don’t think i’ve ever heard something so dull,’ you whined, opening your eyes and gazing up at him. ‘tell me one of your stories instead, they’re much more fun.’

he met your eye, lips quirked up in an amused smirk at the childish pout on your lips. ‘i don’t think my stories are suitable for a ladies ears.’ he went back to his book, flicking through the pages but no longer really reading. you often had this effect on his concentration, his focus disappearing at your slightest request.

‘now, now aemond,’ you urged, sitting up now and settling into the curve of his shoulder, the bark of the tree rough against your back. ‘you’ve never adopted that logic before so i advise you to tell me something before you bore me to sleep.’

aemond chuckled, a husky noise that settled deep in your belly, a feeling that scared you and excited you at the same time. ‘you advise me,’ he repeated, slamming the book shut and tossing it to the side. ‘i hate to remind you but i am a prince, if anything i should be the one advising you to be quiet and leave me in peace.’

‘where’s the fun in that?’ you took up a lock of your hair that lay on your shoulder, using it to run down his jaw, his lips and laughed as he squirmed. aemond looked so young, carefree and you were happy that in these moments you could bring it out of him, even if it did take pestering him to get it. ‘now tell me, my prince. did you visit the brothel last night? i’ve heard aegon has become a frequent visitor.’

aemond choked as if the air was too thick to swallow. he’d never truly adjusted to the blunt, brash ways you’d picked up over the years. you were a lady in every way but you also had a wickedness to you that he admired, adored even. he shook his head quickly, avoiding your eye. he actually hadn’t gone - he had in the past of course, shamefully often choosing women that resembled you in some way but it always left him feeling dissatisfied and frustrated.

‘what is it exactly that you do there?’ his head turned back swiftly at the softer tone of your voice, the slight vulnerability in your curiosity. he liked that he was the one you came to, the one to receive your thoughts. ‘i mean i have a slight idea but not the full picture-’

‘it is not for me to say,’ aemond interrupted. rough fingers caressed your jaw, his way of softening the refusal. you gazed at him, awed slightly by the thoughtfulness of his actions. you weren't some innocent doe, you'd heard gossip around court and the feelings they spoke of with men was what you were sure you had with aemond, you just had to explore it. ‘your husband. when that day comes, he’ll tell you.’

saying the words filled him with a deep sadness, a terrible sense of loathing at the imagined man who’d take that step with you, who’d show you something special that aemond wished he could have for himself. ‘but i want you to tell me,’ you insisted, resting your cheek in his palm. he couldn’t hide the flurry of emotions that rose in his eyes, his heart beat unevenly under his tunic. pictures of you played in his head, scenarios he’d imagined already a number of times. you rose up onto your knees, inching closer to him and aemond shook his head as if he could rid himself of these thoughts.

he wasn’t pure, wasn’t hindered by feelings of honour and morality like men could be. taking someone’s innocence, others wouldn’t even blink an eye, some would say it was a part of manhood but this was you. this special, remarkable being that deserved every good thing under the sun that sat in front of him and made him feel normal and wanted. the bond the two of you shared was an exceptional, one of a kind thing - even he knew that.

‘show me something,’ you said after moments of his silence. it was a demand, the determined jut of your chin and the spark in your eye told him such. he felt uncharacteristically lost, floundering under feelings and the sense of duty to do the right thing by you. ‘surely my husband would want me to know something, at least. teach me, aemond.’

how the conversation had taken this turn he didn’t know but with every word, with every second that passed with you looking at him so longingly his resolve weakened. he felt each second go past and the urge to kiss you there in the open took over until all that was left was primal need. ‘one thing,’ he agreed hoarsely, stomach turning over as you moved closer, your knee knocking into his as you leaned into him. ‘we can't actually do it but i’ll show you the general idea.’

before you could object his fingers slid through your hair, as gentle as the wind and stopped at the nape of your neck. they were clammy, his nerves really showing when they dug in, gripping you as if he were afraid you'd vanish or run. he had no problems with whores because they meant nothing but this was an entirely different situation, you were an entirely different girl. the two of you took simultaneous breaths as his thumb tipped your chin up. 

a shiver ran down your spine as aemond lowered his mouth to the delicate skin of your neck. you felt him breathe in, his nose nudging against your jaw as if he wanted to commit your scent to memory. your eyes fluttered closed at the sensation, nails digging in to your palms as he left a soft, closed mouthed kiss on your skin. you gulped from the simple touch and aemond paused, waiting for a reaction before he continued. you were shaking already, a fire starting to burn low in your tummy. 

you felt another kiss and another, pressed so sweetly into your neck until you were huffing in frustration. then they got firmer, moving slowly in the direction of your collarbones that were exposed above your dress. his tongue slid against your skin, tasting you and aemond knew already he'd never forget this moment for the rest of his life, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem. his stomach clenched as you sighed, felt you moving slightly, rocking in to thin air as if you needed something to relieve the pressure. it gave him a maddening high, so innocent you were to get so needy from the slightest thing, from him.

‘that's it,’ he breathed. ‘it starts like that but on your mouth, not there.’ reluctantly, he pulled back just the slightest bit. your foreheads touched and he watched as you gulped in air, your cheeks flushed and your bottom lip swollen as if you'd been biting down on it. such a sight it made his heart ache. 

‘i want that, show me more,’ you begged, hands coming to rest on aemonds shoulders as his mouth opened to object. ‘i don't care about how improper it is aemond, i care about you, about this.’

aemond was already weak, he didn't take much convincing and as he moved closer, the pace so slow you thought you'd thought you'd cry out in impatience. tenderly he tucked some hair behind your ear, so close you could feel his breath against your mouth. you suddenly felt nervous, remembering you haven't done this before. you could only sit there as his mouth finally pressed against yours once, twice, thrice - just like he'd done to your neck. 

aemonds lips retreated only for you to follow eagerly, slotting your lips back together. the grip on your jaw grew tight as he fought desperately to keep his control. he felt like he still had it until you moved, climbed somewhat gracefully into his lap like you were born to be there, to be his. he couldn't fight it any longer, his fingers clutched at the heavy skirts of your dress, helping you get settled. if you felt him hard underneath you you didn't mention it, he wondered momentarily if you even knew what it meant, if you knew how badly he wanted you, had wanted you for years. you just slid down until you were pressed right against him and he swore he'd never known a pleasure like it. 

you gasped in need into his mouth as the kiss grew messier. it was the epitome of a first kiss, an inexperienced, clumsy thing that grew more addicting as the time went on. your fingers tangled in his hair and with a confidence you didn't know you possessed your hips moved once slowly against his, testing the waters. a frenzied groan hit your ears, a shy feeling of power radiating off of you knowing that you could elicit a sound like that from a man of such station. ‘there isn't a thing i wouldn't give you,’ he murmured softly.

he didn't even give you the chance to answer before his lips were back on yours. almost immediately his tongue slid into your mouth and it was all you could do to try and keep up, the words having left you in a giddy, dizzied state. every nerve in your body was alive, burning so hotly you could only compare it to dragaonflame. you ached pleasantly where ever he touched, you wanted him everywhere at once. you wondered how far you would have taken it if it weren't for the gasp of horror behind you.

you pulled away as if shocked and aemond took one long glance at you, knowing what had happened, knowing you'd probably never be alone like this with him again anytime soon. your lips were swollen, red and now his, your hair was dishevelled but what really affected him was the panic in your eyes as you turned your head, making eye contact with one of the ladies of the court. he wanted to tell you that nothing bad would happen to you, not whilst he lived. one bad word against you and he'd draw his sword, no matter who it happened to be. the possessive, obsessed side of him reared his head at the thought of other people knowing about this moment, this precious occasion that was so sacred. he didn't want other men eyeing you, wondering what you felt like. it sunk in that he couldn't ever let you go. 

he would have you forever, have your first everything.

the woman stared for a few seconds longer before turning and dashing off. you rose without looking at him, cheeks now red with what he assumed was shame and humiliation. you ran off, away from him. it hurt but he accepted it, only picking up his book again as he tried to process what had happened. he could have chased after her of course, threatened her not to tell a soul but he didn't.

he sat for minutes, listening to the silence, wishing you were there. with a quick change of heart he hoped it spread quickly, a dark thought that made him feel slightly disgraced - but the quicker everyone knew the sooner your father would appear with a marriage offer to sate the rumours.

it all worked exactly in his favour, he just hoped you’d see that in time.

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Thoughts on AI

I know I’m not alone here, but I’m feeling a bit discouraged about AI.

A friend recently sent me a message where she had given a prompt to an AI and gotten a story from it. The prompt was silly and so was the story she got, but after the initial chuckle, I sat down and it REALLY hit me.

I feel like my stories are being replaced.

The stories that I write from my heart. That I spend hours on, often sacrificing sleep because it’s hard to find free time. The stories I put out there, worry about, celebrate when others read them.

Generated in a single second with the click of a button.

I know it’s not exactly the same. But as this continues, how close will it get?

I heard about people feeding unfinished fics and stories into AI to generate the ending, and it creates an almost feral protective instinct in me, a desire to delete everything I’ve ever written and try to hoard the words. Sitting on a pile of stories, as they spoil in the vacuum, rotting away to meaninglessness. I can’t imagine not sharing my work, but the thought of some program building on my characters, my worlds, destroys me.

I saw the threads on my feed about tumblr selling info to AI. I clicked the don’t sell my info option. But I feel fairly hopeless about it. Even if clicking that option magically protects it, my work is on the internet. The chances of it getting used in the future for AI learning material, the chance it’s already been used, is high.

I won’t change what I’m doing. I love writing. I love sharing my stories with people. I won’t hurt myself just to shield my work from a threat that I realistically can’t truly defend against anyways.

But it still sucks. Can we just say that? This REALLY sucks, that this is even a thing. I’m sure there are awesome applications to AI, and ways the world will be better, but the intrusion of it on creative spaces seems so awful.

Anyways, that’s my rant. Had an idea for a short that if I get time I’ll write soon. Have a good day, everyone.

[idkfitememate]

So anyway this is the newfound brain rot because I got to many ideas, not enough for a fic, but it’s gonna distract me from others so here we go lol-

(Also yeah Grandpa I’m in a manly mood)

Note from weeks later: Nah this bitch a fix tf-

“Tell me about my Дедушка*.”

Capitano looked down at the ginger with contempt. It was often now, since Dottore had let it slip - curse that bastard - that Tartaglia’s Grandfather was a Harbinger. Apparently the boy had been raised to think that great man was simply a lowly solider, not one of the most powerful men in Snezhnaya.

When he heard that, Capitano had never wanted to kill a family more.

They hid your legacy from their kids, how dare they keep living as thought they had any right!?-

He sighed.

The boy continued to bother the much larger man at any chance he got, borderline begging - or now was he? Maybe he crossed that line ages ago - the man to tell him anything about his grandfather.

War stories, tall tales, hell even DRINKING stories, the 11th would take any.

It wasn’t like his Grandfather wasn’t alive, Childe could leave the palace right now and go ask you, seeing as you lived with his family.

But what Childe wanted was to come home one day in a boisterous manner and shout at his parents:

“You LIED you FEINDS!!! How DARE YOU LIE to not only ME but the REST OF YOUR CHILDREN about their ГРАНДФАТЕР?!? And to YOU, ГРАНДФАТЕР, ALLOWED THEM TO LIE!!! How COULD YOU?!?”

But he held to much respect for both them and you, even if his father sent him off as thought sending his blood thirsty son to join the Fatui would do anything. It was like sending a polar bear to a penguins nest, he had no clue what his father was thinking.

No matter, because you were there, showing him moves and teaching him tricks and giving him tips. Though, he still felt a bit betrayed at the fact that you even hid the fact that you were one of the strongest men in Snezhnaya.

“You truly wish to know boy?” The sharp voice of his superior snapped Childe out of his head. A quick nod was enough to bring Capitano to a nearby chair and sit, Childe quickly following.

“He was brave, I can say that much… He was around before me and had made a name for himself long before I even dared touch the Fatui, let alone graced its ranks.”

Childe took in the information like a sponge, absorbing everything the man said.

“They called him Большой хищник Севера*, a powerful title I’m sure you can see. It is said that before his accident, he had not lost a single man in war or battle, but after, he only lost seven men, one of each nation.”

Childe looked on in wonder. Only seven men… in the entirety of his Harbinger career? He knew the Doctor could never account for that.

“Wait… his accident? Do you mean..?” “Yes, when he first received that scar across his face, marring it, that was the first time he lost a man, someone near and dear to him as I’ve heard. I was only then truly climbing the ranks when this happened… a pity. But he wore that scar, and his friend’s Vision, with pride.” Childe gaped.

“Wait, you mean to tell me that-“ “Yes, Tartaglia, that Vision he carries in his eye, as well as arm and ear, back and finger, even his heart, they all work. They are the last pieces of his closest comrades. He’d rather die than give them up, I’ve heard. Unfortunately the strain of using them forced him into retirement, but he comes when we call.”

Childe’s eyes widened as he screamed.

“WAIT THEY WORK?!?-“

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“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-“

Ajax looked on in awe at his Дедушка. The nearly ten foot tall giant of a man, with a full beard and furry body hair to boot had just pulled a huge fish out from beneath the ice sheet they currently stood on while ice-fishing, bare handed.

Your roaring laughter echoed through the tundra as you held the fish up proudly. You grabbed the then four year old and hoisted him onto your shoulder, that which he could fully sit on and still have some room. His hands latched onto the side of your face but that didn’t seem to phase you, as you continued your loud laughter. The cause of your laughter, being that the fish was the same size as Ajax.

“LOOK AT HOW LARGE IT IS, МАЛЕНЬКИЙ ОДИН*!! SHE IS THE SAME SIZE AS YOU BWAHAHAHAHA!!”

Ajax’s entire body shook as you continued to laugh, giggles beginning to bubble up from his own mouth.

He watched as your Hydro themed earring bounced around as your body gyrated up and down from the mere force of your laughter. His laughter grew until the two of you were basically screaming out through the tundra.

You sighed and - while still chuckling - wrapped an arm around the boys waist and began walking back home. Of course, not before grabbing the bucket filled with other fish from your fishing trip.

Ajax didn’t want to say anything, on account of the fact that it would’ve been disrespectful of course, but your arm that was wrapped around him was bumpy and hard and cold, not unlike a certain place on your chest, though it was just super cold.

The arm was usually covered in more layers or a bunch or bandages wrapped around it to soften its shape and surface, but Ajax could still feel the sharp points and edges, though he never minded.

Eventually you both made it back to the house you shared with his family, and ducking under the doorframe quickly alerted the family of your presents.

“ГРАНДФАТЕР!!!!” Ajax’s two younger siblings - a third was on his way, Teucer would be his name - ran up to you jumping at your feet. You chuckled more and let their heads, greeting each.

“Tonia, Anthon, calm yourselves!! We were only gone a few hours hah hah!!” The two only cried out in joy louder, wrapping themselves around your legs. You stumbled for a moment before walking forward as if they weren’t there.

A man and a woman watched as you walked into the kitchen and subsequently the freezer - ironic considering where you lived - to drop off the fish before waltzing into the living room. You plopped down in the couch, first removing Ajax’s coat and then your own.

The two on your legs let go and smiled up at you, the man and woman - Ajax’s mom and dad - walked over a gave you smile, a hand landing on your shoulder.

Your smile widened.

Archons you fucking loved your family.

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Archons you fucking hated these enemies.

These fuckers from Natlan were resistant little fuckers. You chop off a hand and they’d still keep fighting.

You were growing annoyed after hours of fighting, blood drenching your uniform and absolutely caking your hair, something you knew would be a bitch to get out from experience.

Your right hand of the time, a Natlander by the name of Eztil, was beside you through the whole fight. He wielded large war hammer made of various precious metals and stones, as well as prettified wood; it swung through the skies, heating up the air as his Pyro vision burned bright. Much like you, his battle-hungry smile was long gone, replaced by annoyance as he squished another enemy beneath his hammer, blood spraying across his already bloody face.

“UGH! I’m getting bored nouehuepo*!! When are we going to be finished?? I am growing hungry and wish to challenge you to another eating contest after this!!” He shouted, completely ignoring the man running at him with a knife, whom was taken down by another Fatui member.

“I do not know приятель*. But let us continue until no other man stands but us!” And with that, you both continued swinging. You with your fists, sickles and hammers, him with his war hammer and bursts of flame.

Your movements were in sync, almost like a dance as you ravaged the battle field. You had each others back, making you both the most dangerous force on the battlefield.

If only it could’ve stayed that way.

It was a second. A second to look back at your friend to make a mental check.

Then you felt a searing sensation on the side of your face not looking at him. Eyes quickly looking back, a knife was embedded in your skin and a man had his foot on your chest. He smirked, then dragged the burning hot knife up, towards your eye, but before you could fully react.

Everything went white in that eye, then black.

Then, the most searing, burning, awful sensation you had ever felt.

Your scream silenced the battlefield as you bat the man away with the knife still embedded in your flesh, his body skipping across the land like a stone on a lake. Eztil’s eyes landed on you, which was just enough time for another attack.

“EZTIL!!!” You screamed.

…

A sword embedded itself through his chest. Both your eyes widened as your hand left the knife in your eye, reaching out to your now falling comrade.

You refused to cry, because he’d live.

That’s what you said to yourself as you rushed over to him, not minding your injury.

“Eztil, don’t you DARE fucking close your eyes, do you understand me?!?” Blood bubbles from his lips as his breathing slowed. A tear slipped from his eye as one of his hands pressed against your cheek.

“Nouehuepo… take it.” He whispered. Your gaze became confused as you stared at the dying man.

“What..?-“ “My vision. Take it. She shall be of service to… y-you.” He let out a harsh cough, his blood not staining your skin, making you flinch.

“No. It is yours приятель, I could never-“ “It is my last wish. Y-you wouldn’t deny a d-dying man his last wi-sh, would you?” You sighed, smiling at him.

“I don’t want you to die of enemy hands, so would you allow me to do the honors?” His grin widened, a glint in his eyes as he laughed, which quickly turned to hacking up his lungs.

“O-of co-urse!!” He smiled, and you smiled as well. Your hand flew up to the knife in your eye, and tore it out, not caring for the fountain of blood that squelched out. You also didn’t mind the large flap of skin that fell from your cheek, revealing the musculature of your face and your gums and teeth.

“Goodbye, my friend. May you find many fights in the afterlife to satisfy your bloodlust.” He grabbed your hand with the widest smile you’d ever seen in him.

“And ma-y I see you I-in that place!” Your hand came down onto his head, knife imbedding itself into his skull. Then, you raised your arm and planted the knife tainted with you and his blood now into his chest, striking his heart head on.

The light died from his eyes and his vision, but you quickly picked up the small red jewel which had been attached to his hair. Wiping it off, you leaned back and held your hand forward, before slamming the damned thing into your eye.

The battlefield suddenly felt as though it was atop a volcano itself, the air heating up and ash seemingly falling from the sky. You gripped your friend’s weapon, testing it in your hand and grip, swinging it slightly. Your hands pressed to your waist and your hand tilted to the sky, and finally, you laughed.

Your laughter shook the world, men falling in their asses as you showcased your joy. the air grew even hotter as the vision grew even brighter. Your entire body shook as the ear hammer in your hand heated up to a point where the metals were turning white in heat, though they didn’t melt.

You turned to your men, a wide smile on your face and tears, one trail of water and one of blood, streamed from your eyes.

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR MEN?!? LET US FIGHT UNTIL ONLY WE REMAIN!! CHARRGGEEE!!!!”

You continued to laugh as you knocked down tens of hundreds of soldiers in one swipe, the sky nearly turning red at the mere sight of your bloodlust and rage.

That night would go down in history. The night the sky cried blood, the fall of a nation of soldiers, the day Natlan would forever regret.

‘The Night Man became a God”

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You stared at the bloodied Tartaglia- no. You stared at your grandson, Ajax’s bloodied form.

He only looked back at you.

“Well, Дедушка? Have I become a God?”

Holy shit this sucked the shit outta me-

This ain’t the best but I hope you enjoyed might go back and make another of these lmao-

Дедушка - Grandfather

ГРАНДФАТЕР - GRANDFATHER

Большой хищник Севера - The Great Predator of the North

МАЛЕНЬКИЙ ОДИН - LITTLE ONE

nouehuepo - my friend

приятель - buddy

[prettysweetprettysweet]

So I was thinking further about the issue at the heart of this post regarding how a lot of the audience is put off or puzzled by Achi's way of conducting himself in relation to Karan, how he seems too reserved, low-energy, or minimally invested in their relationship. I've been thinking on another circumstance that I think influences it beyond the issues I had talked about in my post.

At the beginning of our story, Achi seems to be completely adjusted to a life without romantic love or sexual relationships. When reminded of cultural expectations about all the necessary milestones for men his age, he does feel insecure and unhappy about falling short, but beyond that he probably doesn't spend an awful lot of time in a headspace where he would contemplate romance and sex at a deeper more emotion-based level. I think support for this idea is that he only made an attempt at instigating a romantic relationship (bringing coffee to a colleague) when he was feeling insecure about turning 30. When he overheard her saying essentially that he was undateable, his sadness came more from what he saw as confirmation that he was too boring to be loved rather than the loss of a potential relationship.

Achi's baseline seems to be that he doesn't spend significant time thinking about romance in relation to himself, not with good emotions - he thinks about romance mostly in terms of being a measure of failure and a gauge of character (no person has wanted to even kiss me, so I must really be an unappealing and unremarkable person) - completely detached from what makes love what it is, an incredible feeling of adoration, comfort, safety, etc. At the beginning of the story, Karan's role in his life is solely as a model of what he should be and a daily reminder that, from Achi's point of view, he is not talented, smart, unique, driven, handsome, or likable enough to reach the milestones that Karan has.

Because Achi doesn't invest much in romance, and because the idea of being in a relationship with someone as perfect as Karan is so ludicrous as to be inconceivable to him, there is absolutely zero connection in his mind between the idea of Karan and the idea of romance at the point in time when he discovers that Karan thinks about him in romantic terms near constantly. At the heart of the struggle is Achi needing to transform his view of his worth as a human being, so that he can truly give credence to the concept of he and Karan genuinely being in love with each other.

But something that I think is being overlooked is that Achi has a huge mental and emotional task in transforming how he views Karan. He needs to dismantle the idea of Karan being an idol - a model to aspire to, envy, and resent for his effortless perfection - and reposition this new, real Karan into a romantic and sexual context. That is a very layered, intricate task that can only be worked on by spending more and more time with Karan.

It is funny, though, how often idol worship bleeds into romantic yearning. We've heard Achi say some spin on Karan being the most perfect, most handsome, most prized, most kind and considerate man in the world over a dozen times. The root feelings are there - he just needs to weed out the negative thoughts and emotions that he's associated with Karan for seven long years, and try to view him as a real person with love and desire for him instead of some abstract ideological concept of male perfection.

That would be an arduous process for anyone, but especially for Achi, who thinks he has no instinct for love and desire, and zero experience to draw from. This fact coupled with his abysmal view of himself means that Achi is receiving and synthesizing Karan's overtures at a glacial pace, slow to react and completely unsure about what's right and wrong or what's normal and strange. And, really, he's just getting used to being a person who talks to another person with no masks or airs. He's realizing that he actually can offer words and thoughts from his inner self, out loud -- and that he has an avid, invested, passionate listener in Karan.

Randomly - one of my favorite illustrations of this whole thing is Achi sitting audience to Karan as he's soaking himself in water, and Achi is just...completely silent, hypnotized, deeply studious but also smiling unconsciously from some good feeling he's getting from seeing Karan like this. I was so proud of him for that moment, like yesssss the flames of physical desire are being fanned! You gawk at that boy, Achi!

Anyways I sort of think of it like one of those pictures that changes depending on the angle and distance you're viewing it from. From far away and a profoundly unhappy angle, Karan is the perfect man that Achi will never be. when he moves in close and tilts his head back upright, Karan is now a beautiful, complex, flawed man that is deeply in love with him and inspires those same feelings in return. Achi just has to get himself to that place.

[wishfishy]

When I first heard that a new Endless Ocean was going to be released, I was incredibly excited. Just absolutely over-the-moon excited. You see, Endless Ocean 2: Blue World (also called Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep) is one of my favourite games of all time. Scratch that: it is my favourite game. It was far from perfect, but I loved it dearly and happily sank hundreds if not thousands of hours into it.

EO2 is a diving game for the wii that was released in 2010, and I have never been able to find a game quite like it. The main story was a bit cheesy, but charming and engaging, with a bevy of likeable if occasionally one-note characters, and the game itself had surprising depths (diving pun fully intended). The game had 12 different diving maps in 6 locations and while the specific areas were fictitious, they were based on very real places (the South Pacific, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, as well as a freshwater river in the Amazon) and this was reflected in the species found in each area, with a few exceptions here and there.  You could explore shallow coral reefs, a sunken castle, ancient temples, abyssal depths, a kelp forest, sandy beaches, riverbanks, hidden coves with murals, and much more. You also had a small private island as a hub location, a personal reef you could decorate, and a public aquarium which you could fill with any of the non-legendary species you discovered.

Speaking of which, the game featured 340 different species of marine and freshwater fish, sharks, rays, marine mammals, penguins, shore birds, reptiles, crustaceans, cephalopods and other invertebrates. Some of these also had different models for young or different genders. You could find truly miniscule species that most other diving games overlook entirely in zoom-spots (such as gobies and nudibranchs), and you could interact with most by feeding, touching or even riding in the case of large marine life. And on top of this you could also find legendary creatures, which could be individuals of extant species with unusual colouring or size, or even extinct species, and could be exceedingly hard to find but entirely rewarding.

This is already getting to be much too long but on top of all this you could customize your diver character, buy things for your island hub, decorate and populate a private reef to propagate and release fish, create various aquarium exhibits, discover a great many side-quests, upgrade equipment, take and sell photographs, heal sick animals, search for and sell salvage, find collectable coins, train dolphin partners, take requests for guided tours, dolphin shows, salvage and photos, dodge or placate aggressive sharks, and more that I am probably forgetting. It’s been a while since I’ve played the game, as I no longer have a wii and don’t have the first clue on how to emulate games on my PC. All this is to say that this game was something special, and I have never been able to find anything remotely close to it. And seeing as how the last one was released almost 15 years ago, I had long given up hope for an Endless Ocean 3.

And then lo and behold, a trailer dropped from out of nowhere for Endless Ocean Luminous! And it was releasing in a month! Holy Shit! What!? Yes!

But alas, the more information came out about the game, the more that excitement started to wane. A focus on multiplayer? Procedural generation? Only one map? The only character being an AI that sounded like all those awful tiktok voices? To be clear, I wasn’t expecting Luminous to be the next GoTY. I wasn’t even expecting it to be an exact replica of EO2, or continue the storyline. If it had even a fraction of what I liked about the previous game I was going to be one happy camper. I assumed that the marketing was focusing on the multiplayer aspect instead of the single-player story, that hopefully the procedurally generated map was exclusive to that multiplayer. Surely the single player mode would extend past what little was shown in the trailers. Some things seemed promising, such as an advertised 500+ species, and even more prehistoric marine life. But again, alas, what I have seen since the release is the barest and palest reflection of what I enjoyed about the previous game. I could understand cutting some content, such as the dolphin training and shows, considering the controversy of cetaceans in captivity. But it seems like there is no aquarium, no central hub of any type, no characters beyond the aforementioned AI and a single faceless diver, salvage reduced to a single click, an incredibly reduced story consisting mostly of scanning fish, no ability to feed or interact with fish and fish behaviour also seems to be quite reduced. At least photography still appears to be in the game, though its unclear to what point. Are there still photo requests? The ability for some critters to swim along with or attach to your diver looks cute at least. But everything I’ve watched so far just feels so… lifeless. Empty. As if the whole game was AI generated, which I’m at least %75 sure isn’t the case.

But I’m left kind of baffled by the direction that this game was taken in. I’ve been trying to find any information about it’s development with little to no success. Why the focus on multiplayer to the exclusion of a single player story beyond the bare minimum? What lead to the choice to have a single, procedurally generated map instead of separate, smaller, but more scientifically accurate maps? Or even a single smaller but purposefully designed map? Was this game more like the previous games at any point in its conception or development or was it always intended to be such a departure?

[transmascfanfic]

Together at Last

GIF by xMoonpiex

-Minors DNI-

Author's Note: This story is based on a day-dream I had, I hope others will enjoy it as much as I do. I apologize if there are any errors I proof read this myself.

Pairing: Captain John Price x Trans Male Reader

Word Count: 1,315

Content Warning: Fluff, slight angst, smut, quality time, physical touch, words of affirmation, p in v, cockwarming, somnophilia (kinda?)

Summary: It’s been a long week and after not having nearly enough time with his beloved Price simply can’t get close enough to his angel.

Like a completely different man, while he was still caring and sweet in public when alone he seemed to speak much more freely. He let himself become vulnerable, knowing he was completely safe with you. 

Author: transmascfanfic

The day had been long but that was nothing compared to the week as a whole. All week both you and Price had been running around the compound, hardly even having time to say hi to each other as you passed in the halls. Either he was on a call or you were rushing to deliver important papers. There was just no time to relax. As so you were feeling quite neglected as was he, not by each other rather just in general. 

As you stumbled into your room and removed your uniform you simply collapsed into the bed, letting out a heavy exhale into the pillows and pulling the blankets over yourself. It had been so long since you felt a second body in bed with you you were becoming used to sleeping alone. As you laid in the dark your whole body felt sore, aching even from all the work you’d done that week. If only you had the warm body of your lover against you to melt away that pain.

Price simply couldn't care if there was work to do, he hadn't gotten a damn minute to himself all week let alone a minute to dedicate to his angel. Well he wasn't going to stand for that any longer. He’d made it known he would be unavailable for the night and not to bother him unless the compound was burning to the ground.

As he walked towards your room he felt how tired he truly was, how lonely he had been without the companionship of his lover all week. His shoulders slumped as he slowly opened the door to your room, a small frown on his face as he knew the door had been unlocked as you hoped he would finally be able to join you.

Light shone into the room for only a moment before the door was shut and locked. Price stripped to his undershirt and boxers before climbing under the sheets. A bit surprised you hadn't noticed his presence yet. 

It took all of that and an arm wrapping around your waist for you to finally blink away the oncoming sleep and realize it was none other than Price in bed with you. Your body trembled slightly as a faint sniffle could be heard, tears had begun welling up in your eyes.

Pushing yourself further into him he wrapped his arms tighter around you. Price’s head rested against your own, his warm lips pressing kisses to your head, forehead, ear, neck, shoulder, anything he could reach. How awful he felt hearing his lover crying in his hold. “I’m so sorry angel… It’s been far too long.” His gruff yet caring voice whispers against your skin. Feeling himself being to tear up a bit as well. 

“It’s okay, I just missed you John.” You whimper into his chest, your tears staining his shirt. A large hand cups your cheek, gently guiding your gaze to meet his. “Even with tears in those pretty eyes you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.” Price spoke softly, gently wiping away your tears with his thumb.

Stroking your cheek and tilting your chin up, his lips connected with yours. A sweet and passionate kiss, one that had your hands reaching up to hold him. One hand on his shoulder and the other on his cheek, pulling him back in and holding the kiss till you were both completely out of oxygen. 

As you both eventually were forced to pull away you each felt much better, of course it would take much more than just some kissing to recharge and fill the need to be close. Neither of you wanted to sleep yet, you needed to just enjoy each other's presence. The feeling of your bodies pressed together so snugly. 

You would turn to face away from Price, the two of you now spooning together. There was almost nothing that rivaled being spooned by Price, his body was always so warm and wrapped around your own so perfectly. His head rested against yours and arms wrapped tightly around your chest. You would hold onto those strong arms, further securing yourself in his grasp. 

“You’re so handsome… I can never get you out of my head, you know that? Even despite how busy I was all week, your smile and voice were always on my mind.” Price whispered against you, he was always so romantic when it was just the two of you.

Like a completely different man, while he was still caring and sweet in public when alone he seemed to speak much more freely. He let himself become vulnerable, knowing he was completely safe with you. 

You let out a deep breath, your head rested against his chest. “I’m always thinking of you too, I missed you so much.” You mutter out, your whole body pressed against his. Trying to get as close as physically possible, as hard as you tried there still seemed to be space between the two of you and Price knew that too. 

“Do you want me to get closer?” He asks in a hushed voice, his large hands trailing down your body. “Yes please.” You mumble, knowing exactly what he was thinking. Just the thought of that deep intimacy made you excited after being neglected for so long. You turned around, your back now pressed to Price as his hands hooked the rim of his boxers. 

Slowly pulling them down, he gently stroked himself for a moment. Quickly hardening in anticipation of his lover boy. You had pulled your pajama pants and boxers down while he did that, reaching down and rubbing your hot, puffy clit to create more wetness.

Price’s hand ran down your arm, folding it up towards your chest as he held you tight. He rocked his hips against yours, rubbing the head of his thick cock against your lower lips. While Price would normally tease you at least a little he was far too desperate for that and so were you.

The head of his cock slipped inside your wet hole, there was only a slight bit of resistance from your week apart. However once he was in you both let out deep sighs of relief. Price moved his hips up a bit, fully sheathing himself inside you before wrapping both arms around you securely. Your arms wrapped around his, a familiar feeling of warmth and safety filling you. 

Price rested his forehead against the nape of your neck, doing some deep breathing and calming himself. His cock still stiffening at the prospect of intercourse, the two of you had no plans for such however.

The two of you wanted to be close, nothing more. This was a closeness that was unrivaled, it was intimate and tender. The kisses he placed along your neck and shoulders were also intimate and tender. “I love you so much, so fucking much.” Price said breathlessly between kisses.

“So handsome, my absolute everything.” You reached back, gently caressing his cheek and jawline. “Angel, is this close enough?” He asks cheekily. You could feel the smirk pressed into your back, causing you to chuckle and smile as well. 

“You know is it my love.” You say softly, feeling his nuzzle his head into the crook of your neck. Price let out a satisfied hum, finally feeling sleep begin to cloud his mind. Sleep had begun to take the both of you and no matter how you both tried to fight it off it would eventually win.

Laying in bed, under the warm, soft covers. Wrapped in the embrace of each other in more ways than one. It had been such a difficult week and you two deserved this. Eventually your bodies loosened and melted together as you fell into deep restful sleeps. Tomorrow morning would be reserved for more time together when the two of you were energized once again.

[lady-pug]

dream a little dream of me

Chapter IV of Dream a Little Dream of Me

Summary: As you settled in for the night, sleep overcame you almost as soon as your head hit your pillow.

“You called?” you heard a voice call out in the darkness.

Opening your eyes, you noticed with joyous gidiness that you were once again standing on the cobbled street, the moonlight shining softly on your skin. And Morpheus, the man you desperately wished to see, was standing only a few steps in front of you.

“I-” you almost found yourself at a loss for words “I did.”

Pairing: Morpheus | Dream of the Endless x Reader

Word count: 1,4k

Warnings: none

Notes: So… hi. I’m back. I’d like to start off by apologizing. I’m so so sorry for how long I’ve been absent, and especially for how long this story went without an actual ending to it (even though I’d promised to have it out quickly, just goes to show I shouldn’t make promises I might not be able to keep). A lot has happened in my personal and professional life in the past months that have kept me away from writing. I’ve had the first half of this chapter for almost as long as the third one has been out but so much was happening that I didn’t have the time or the motivation (sometimes I lacked both to be honest) to come back and finish it.

But I’ve finally done it. This story is finally complete. I’ve had the idea for this chapter mostly planned out in my head since chapter 1, and now I finally get to share it with you. I’d like to thank anyone who has taken the time to read this story and embark on this small journey with me, whether it be just one chapter (even just one paragraph) or the complete story. Thank you so so much for reading, and a special thank you for anyone who has left any sort of feedback, it means the world to me. And again I’m so very sorry for taking so long to write this, I sincerely hope you can forgive me. And I truly hope you enjoy this, dear reader!

Reader's gender not specified

Previous part | Masterlist | Read on AO3

Things had started to look a little bit brighter after that night. Slowly, very slowly, little by little, things in your life started getting better, getting sorted out. It wasn’t immediate, nor was it without effort, but it was something.

The first thing you did after writing ten whole pages on that fateful Word Document was to start looking for a job. Literally anything would do, just so long as it got the bills paid and added food to the table, just long enough for you to get back on your feet and find a more permanent career. You’d be the first to admit that some of the jobs you took during that time, some of the people you’d met, were simply awful, sometimes bordering on humiliating. But some you actually enjoyed, and some of the people you had met you’d keep in your heart for a long time.

You’d also tried getting in touch with the people you’d grown apart, even if they didn’t want anything to do with you, just as a way to get closure. Some answered and some didn’t. Some didn’t want to talk, others agreed to meet. Some simply told you how things you’d done had hurt them, and you told them of how they had hurt you in return. And some had even agreed to try and work things out, slowly regaining contact and, eventually, their trust.

And finally, after several long months, you managed to save up enough money to travel back to your home town for a couple of days in order to pay your relative’s grave a visit. It wasn’t perfect, nor was it ideal, but it was enough, if only for now. You felt a strange sense of calmness looking at the words engraved in their headstone. The sort of calmness you had only felt when in the Dreaming.

Speaking of, your night visits to the Dreaming and its inhabitants had been a comfortable constant in your life for the past few months, at least in the beginning anyway. At first, you kept coming back every night, cherishing your conversations with the café owner, who you had come to know was named Amanda, or the little quips Matthew threw your way whenever he saw you walking around town. Even Mervyn’s rudeness was something you had grown fond of. But the thing you looked forward to the most was seeing Dream. Sometimes he’d actually stop by and engage in casual conversation with you, other times he'd just send a small grin your way over his shoulder in passing as he strode around town. But every single time you saw him you felt a warm, fuzzy fluttering feeling in your chest.

But eventually, as things in the waking world started to get better, your visits to the Dreaming started to become progressively more scarce. You started having other dreams too, some good, some not so much, your visions of the small town, and consequently your interactions with Morpheus, dwindling by the day. While it saddened you to let this go, to let him go, you cherished it even more so.

Tonight, though, almost an entire year after your first real conversation with him by the riverside, you really wished to visit him, even if it was one last time. It had been weeks since you’d last visited and you were hoping with all your heart to be able to talk to him again. You had good news to share after all.

As you got ready for bed your thoughts kept wandering back to Dream. Why had he become so special to you? Why were you special, like Lucienne had told you, in the first place? Why did you keep going back to the Dreaming? Maybe you’d never know the answer to those questions, and you realized with a quiet start that you were fine not knowing. Those things happened, and you were honestly glad they did, there was no point in dwelling on the past now.

As you settled in for the night, sleep overcame you almost as soon as your head hit your pillow. 

“You called?” you heard a voice call out in the darkness.

Opening your eyes, you noticed with joyous gidiness that you were once again standing on the cobbled street, the moonlight shining softly on your skin. And Morpheus, the man you desperately wished to see, was standing only a few steps in front of you.

“I-” you almost found yourself at a loss for words “I did.”

He smiled softly, head slightly tilted as if to ask what was on your mind.

“It’s just-” you shook your head in order to gather your thoughts “Since… that night, I’ve been coming here less and less.”

“It’s because you don’t need this anymore.”

For a brief moment you panicked, doesn’t he want you to come see him anymore?

“What? No, I-” you stammered “I still- I still need this. I still need you!”

His grin turned soft and he averted his eyes before speaking again.

“You have gotten to a point in your life in which I am no longer needed. There is nothing holding you back anymore, you get to live your life however you see fit.”

A stinging sensation accompanied the tears brimming in your eyes, threatening to fall.

“But I still want to see you. I still want you.”

His smile widened, small lines creasing in the corners of his eyes as he took a step towards you, leaving almost no space between the two of you. 

“I once said you could see me again…”

“If I wished.” your own smile grew as realization dawned on you.

“Always.” he whispered as the back of his hand caressed your own, light like a feather.

As you stood there,breathing each other in, a moment turned into two, which then turned into a few minutes more, so much so that you almost forgot the reason for your visit.

“Why are you here?” Dream asked softly.

“Hm?”

“Why did you summon me?” he took a minuscule step back, only enough to be able to gaze into your eyes “You seemed like you had something important on your mind.”

“Oh!” you shouted, and had he been any mere mortal, Morpheus might have just flinched away from you. But he was no mere mortal and thus didn’t startle so easily, so he simply tilted his head to the side and waited for you to proceed “I finished my book.”

“That’s wonderful.” he smiled, genuinely happy for you.

“And a publisher has agreed to publish it!” you rocked on the balls of your feet, suddenly feeling bashful “I got the confirmation email today. I thought you might like to hear about it, since you were oh so interested in it before, you know.”

He chuckled softly, both of his hands resting on your shoulders to keep you in place.

“I am truly happy for you. And I feel honored you decided to come all this way to share it with me.” he removed one of his hands from your shoulder and raised it in the air “I believe this moment calls for a celebration, don’t you think?”

For the briefest of moments you panicked, believing he was sending you away once more.

“No, no, wait!” you tried to hold onto his hand but it was too late, he had already snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened. You were still there with him, not back in your bed in the morning. His smile turned smug, bordering on a smirk, as if he was already expecting your reaction.

And then you heard it. From seemingly out of nowhere came the soft whisper of a trumpet, followed by a powerful voice.

“Where is that coming from?” you looked around but could not find the source of the music.

Dream simply shrugged. That did not matter now, did it? Slowly, he raised a hand towards you, palm up and inviting. Placing your own hand on top of his, he pulled you closer, your chests practically touching, as his other arm enveloped your waist.

“This is what you call a celebration around these parts?” you teased, earning a chuckle from him.

“Only when both parts are into it.” he responded, slowly swaying you both to the rhythm of the song.

As you and Dream danced together, the soft glow of moonlight caressing your skins, you couldn’t help but sigh, a small smile playing on your lips.

“Thank you.” you whispered.

“Whatever for?” he hummed.

“For this. All of this.”

As you slipped further into his embrace, you felt peaceful. Your whole body tingled and for only a moment you wished you didn’t have to go back to the waking world.

“You’re welcome, darling.” he whispered back to you.

But you now knew you could always return here, to this very moment. All you had to do was wish for it, and Dream would bring you back here. Back to him.

[louiseintrees]

Until My Hands Can’t Write and My Lungs Collapse

Sometimes I hate dating a famous guy.

And it’s not because he’s gone. Not because he’s egotistical (he far from that), or because he’s dabbled in drugs, or is chased by young girls all the time, but it’s when you get insecure, and remember all the stunningly beautiful woman he dated and realize your nothing like them and will never be. You’re not tall, skinny, and gorgeous. Sure you might be nice like they are, but you’re not them, not by a long shot.

So as tears falling from my eyes onto the pillowcase as I stared at younger versions of Alex standing next to his past lovers I couldn’t help but feel worthless. Why would he chose me over very other woman that would have willingly done what I’ve done for him? I’m just some French history teacher who’s short and stout, that loves to play chess and has read an astronomical amount of books. I’m not special. I’m not cool. I’m not pretty. I’m average. I’m basic, like and NPC that’s just there to get the story rolling. If he didn’t like me he’d tell me right? Or would he just take pity on me and try to be nice? What if I’m hurting him? What if he could be so much happier if I was gone? Would he thrive? Would his life be better?

I felt awful. We were best friends before any of this happened and I couldn’t lose him, but I couldn’t hurt him either. I’d much rather take myself out of the equation that watch him become bored and feel that ‘loving’ me was more of job than something he just wanted to do.

I heard the door creek. And immediately I closed my phone and held the covers close to my face and pretended to sleep to explain my red eyes and maybe the wetness for sweat.

“Darling?” He questioned his voice flowing through the house like a desperate search.

I heard his light footsteps slowly approaching the door and when he opened he started to speak.

“Love?” He whispered into the room.

I think in this moment he realized I was ‘sleeping’ and he softly shut the door behind himself and I felt the weight in the bed shift as the part next to me sunk. He pulled my phone away from me and when I heard the sound of an object hitting wood, I could assume he had set it on the nightstand. I felt his arms gently pull me closer to him and I stirred a bit and to really sell it, in my cracking voice I asked,

“Alex?”

He kissed my forehead and spoken himself, “Sorry for waking you, darling.” He squeezed me tightly again peppering my head with kisses before laying his head on mine.

Suddenly I couldn’t fight back the tears anymore. They wouldn’t stop and my breath became on easy and before I knew it I was choking on my sobs.

“Hey, hey, is everything alright? Bad dream? Tired? Are you in pain?” His urgency and concern laced his voice and made it very prominent he was a little scared.

I pulled back and looked into his eyes wanting nothing more than to kiss him and not feel this way but my mind wouldn’t allow it. It would not shut up for even a second, to the point that it’s questioning whether or not his love for me was fraudulent.

“Why do you love me? I mean, you could have almost anyone in the world. You’ve dated gorgeous models who are so kind and sweet and you could have that, why would you want me? I’m not special or cool, or gorgeous, and you can’t flaunt me everywhere because of my job so why out of any girl in the world would you choose me?” I questioned as his thumbs wiped away my tears that continued to fall down my cheeks.

“Because there’s no girl more beautiful, kind, caring, intelligent, and perfect than you. And I know that’s so cliché and stupid but I truly mean it. From the darkest depth of my heart that seems as though they have no love in them I mean it. You aren’t a model, but I don’t care about that. I wouldn’t care if I had to cross seas just to see you, or if you were an astronaut, or a model, I would still love you the same. Maybe I’d think you were a bit cooler for being all the way up in space but i wouldn’t be able to kiss you and hug you all the time which would be a downer. But, my love if I had to see every girl in the planet and chose which one to love until I’d die, by a long shot I’d chose you. If younger me knew you he wouldn’t have met any models. He would’ve had heart eyes and he’d worship the ground you’d walk on like I do now and he’d never even think about looking at a model. You’re perfect for me. And every girl that came before you would agree with me on everything I’ve said about you. I will love you when I’m dead and I will love you long after. And I would never lie about something like that. If I wasn’t in love with you I’d tell you. But I’m on the other end of that spectrum. I like having a short history teacher from France that will gush about book for hours with me and will nerd over Nabokov as much as I do. I wouldn’t change it for the world. You know how much I write about you. Small lyrics, poems, letters, songs, a whole album! Y/n I am madly in love with you, I don’t know enough words to describe it perfectly so I will do my half arsed version for you until my hands can’t write and my lungs collapse. You are everything I want and more. Three years isn’t enough, an entire lifetime even would never be enough. And even if you one day would find yourself falling out of love with me I could never stop loving you. If I were to die now I’ve lived a life knowing I’ve met the best person on earth and I’d pass with a smile on my face they could never wipe off. I’d be at peace. And if you were there too I’d be over the moon. I love you so fucking much it’s sickening to others, and if I didn’t know you personally they’d think I was some creepy stalker. You will always be my love, Y/n. And that will never, and I mean never change.”

I smiled and tears still fell. I giggled a bit and his face turned into a smile so glad I understood.

“Can I please kiss you?” He begged making sure I was okay and didn’t need a moment before he stole my breath away.

“Always.” I nodded.

He swooped his head down and locked his lips with mine gently. His lips expressed so much passion and love they screamed at me to understand his love for me.

When he pulled away I looked into his eyes again the worry in his eyes faded and now filled with happiness and the love he will always have.

“I love you, that sounds lame now.” I giggled.

“It’ll never be lame to me, darling. I love you too.”

[spadekingxoxo]

I recently discovered Doctor Masacrik, and I really like him, but when I looked on the wiki about him. I discovered 2 images that made me feel very uncomfortable, and I'm questioning if I still should like him or not. I'm asking you because you seem to have more knowledge than me. Is the creator of him actually controversial? If so, may you please explain?

truth be told i have no idea. knowing the creator is russian and mostly speaks in their language, it’s hard to tell how they truly feel and how this reflects on them as a person. truth be told i didn’t know much about his character or the creator until after i drew him (i found a youtube video of him, thus my interest piqued). from what i’ve seen (which is VERY little so i apologize for my own lack of knowledge) i believe him as a character is SUPPOSED to be bad? he finds happiness in others pain and , in his own words, is a maniac. i don’t think his character is meant to be taken as good and is painted more so as the bad guy within this story being told. that being said, i have no idea what images you’ve seen, so i have no genuine idea! if you want to dm me about this i’m more than happy to have this conversation with you, anon :-)

(NOTE; i do not condone anything the creator has done if it turns out they are problematic! i HAVE heard some awful things about them when i looked into it but i don’t think i ever found any evidence backing those rumors up after i made that last tag on my post. i know little to nothing about them being that i do not speak their language and i am completely unaware of any socials they have besides their youtube.)

edit; i glanced through the wiki and read through both the creator and dr masacriks pages and i haven’t found anything out of the ordinary (to me, at least). the closest thing to “uncomfortable” i saw was suggestive art of Masacrik, but i’m pretty sure that was just the creator sexualizing him for her own benefit. i could be missing something but that’s all i saw! i’m super sorry if i’m missing anything and i’m wrong 😭

[lambden]

2.9K words, explicit, geraskier/competence kink, no warnings. originally posted (anonymously) to ao3 here

Something pulls Geralt from his meditation early. He has no clue what it might have been; when he opens his eyes, the forest is pristine. Picturesque, even. He and Jaskier had set up camp along the actual path of the Path. Fearing that the cold mountains would greet them with a blizzard, Geralt had suggested last night that they might seek refuge in a narrow but deep canyon for safety.

Jaskier had pointed out that a blizzard was about as likely to happen as an avalanche, and that if the goddesses decided to bestow the latter disaster upon them, they’d be absolutely fucked between the high rock walls on either side of them.

The petty bickering of last night seems so trivial in the brisk morning air. The thin tarpaulin Geralt strung up over their bedrolls to shield them from snow was fine yesterday. Functional, if ugly. But now, dappled light from above makes the fabric glow, and the sparse patches of new snow beyond their camp sparkle like glitter. Everything looks beautiful in the dawn— or, not dawn, technically, since he slept in. 

Geralt strains his senses for threats and finds no distant monsters to flee; he only hears birdsong. He only sees beautiful nature. He inhales deeply, and the sharp scent of spilled blood hits him immediately before Jaskier stumbles back under the tarpaulin.

“Ah, joy, you’re finally up,” says Jaskier cheerfully. There are no obvious wounds on him and no blood visible on his clothing. If Geralt hadn’t been made to spot irregularities, perhaps he would have missed the sweat at Jaskier’s hairline. Melodious and irritating as ever, the man continues, “Can we pack up camp and start moving now? I’m beginning to understand why you always gripe when I sleep in.”

Geralt doesn’t mince words. “What happened?”

“No clue what you mean,” Jaskier sings. He scooches over to come and sit beside Geralt, resting his back against the mossy wall covered in small icicles of frozen dew. Geralt, unconvinced, leans over the bard’s lap to try to get a look at the side he’s hiding, and Jaskier sighs. “Shit. Alright, you— alright! It’s fine, Geralt, really! Just a spot of bother, nothing to write home about.”

Geralt’s glare makes it clear that he isn’t going to repeat his question.

“It’s not my blood,” tries Jaskier, which does come as a small relief, although it hardly puts Geralt’s panic to rest. “It… I had to piss, alright? So I climbed up out of the canyon, and, you know—” he does some truly reprehensible miming— “I was right in the middle when I heard this awful caterwauling coming from somewhere. I thought it was a dying bobcat or something, but… it was actually a few of them, you know. Shrieking and grunting back and forth.”

A chill runs down Geralt’s spine. He leans in slightly, nostrils flaring as he breathes the blood in once more. He should have clocked the scent for what it was: “Nekkers.”

“Yeah, a whole happy family.” Jaskier, sighing again, finally relents and shows Geralt the spray of blood along his side. True to his word, it isn’t human. It still makes the witcher unhappy. He settles back down into his own seat as his friend continues, “There must have been about eight of them.”

Suddenly the amount of blood seems like far, far too little. Geralt stares, and demands, “How are you not dead?”

“It’s a funny story, actually,” says Jaskier, sounding sheepish, of all things. “I’ve seen you fight those little shits before, so I sort of… I dunno, copied what you do. Minus the swordsmanship, and magic fire, and all that, of course.”

If his eyes were bulging out of his skull before, Geralt is sure he looks positively ridiculous now. He can’t rein in his expression or regulate his emotions, too shocked by Jaskier’s story. “You killed them?”

“What was I supposed to do, give them all names?”

“You killed eight nekkers?”

“It was a little hard to tell from the mangled bodies, but yes, I believe so.” Jaskier awkwardly clears his throat. His pulse races. “Geralt, you’re staring at me like you want to bite my head off.”

The witcher doesn’t blink. “I’ve never even seen you kill a fly.”

“Well, why would I kill a fly,” Jaskier is beginning to sound a little exasperated— then before either of them know it, Geralt is swinging a leg over his lap and straddling his thighs and pressing in close, and Jaskier’s voice rises at least an octave. “I— I have no intention of taking on contracts! It was just a minor inconvenience; I didn’t want to wake you from your meditation! You can be quite a cranky prick sometimes, you know. Are you going to teach me some demented lesson about safety by bashing my head in?”

“No,” he informs Jaskier plainly. “Tell me what happened.”

“It’s a little difficult to think while I’ve got a lapful of witcher!”

Geralt reaches between them to untie the complicated drawstrings of Jaskier’s trousers. His fingers only still when he’s got the cords loose from their knots; he glances up to check in, his gaze meeting the bard’s. Jaskier’s pupils are blown wide and dark, and how his heartbeat raced before is nothing compared to now. The silence is live, the air simmering like a place of power, and Geralt’s question goes unspoken but is understood perfectly by both men.

Jaskier nods, a small, overwhelmed motion— his chin tips forward and his head bobs with it, his lovely hair falling in front of his pretty eyes. Geralt gently pushes the errant strands of hair back, and before Jaskier can properly recuperate from that first delicate touch, the witcher inelegantly and bluntly reaches to free the bard’s cock from his pants.

“Holy ploughing mother of cunt,” Jaskier breathes.

“Tell me what happened,” repeats Geralt, “in detail.”

“Right. Yes. The nekkers.” His fist closes around Jaskier’s length just under the thick flushed head; they watch together as liquid wells up at the tip. The broad pad of Geralt’s thumb brushes over the wetness and a new drop of pre-cum rises to take its place immediately. 

Sounding more winded than Geralt has ever heard him, Jaskier manages, “They weren’t trying to sneak up on me, actually, so I had an extra minute to prepare. If they got the jump on me I would have been fucked, but as it was I had the time to rifle through Roach’s saddlebags. And, by the way, Roach was massively unhelpful during the fight. Loyal companion, my arse. I suppose I should stop talking about your horse while you’ve got your hand round my cock!”

“Focus,” says Geralt, stroking Jaskier with firmer, slower motions. “How could you have known what to use?”

That question nets him a very unimpressed look, the effect of which is only slightly dampened by Jaskier’s obvious arousal. “I’ve been your local companion for quite a while now,” huffs the bard. “I do actually pay attention, some of the time. And it’s easy enough to tell Grapeshot apart from the other explosives!”

Geralt adjusts his position atop Jaskier’s lap, fist still moving slowly around his prick. “I only had two Grapeshots made,” he mutters. “And I’ve never taught you the recipe.”

“Two was all I needed.” More turned on than he’s ever been in his life, Geralt keeps his gaze pinned to Jaskier as he tells the story— and his hand firmly in place. “You— You kept a trophy from that nekker infestation a few contracts back, and I figured, you know, they follow some kind of h-hierarchy. So I held the nasty thing up right in front of my head, and I shrunk my shoulders down and hunched my back, and… well, I’m not going to do my impression of a monster growling right now, but needless to say they fell for it.”

“Hard to mistake you for a nekker.”

“They aren’t the brightest,” admits Jaskier. His heart beats faster from the compliment regardless; Geralt feels a thick vein pulsing under the soft side of his knuckles. He chases the feeling, dragging his fingers up and down the bard’s length curiously. “It wasn’t a long ruse, anyway— I just had to get them to follow my orders. Once they’d all lined up in a group, it was easy enough to sling the Grapeshots their way; like one of those prize games from a festival, you know? But right as I threw the bombs—”

Geralt’s prick strains against the codpiece in his armour. Unable to hide the raw edge of desperation in his hoarse voice, he demands, “You threw two bombs at once?”

“Yes,” Jaskier mumbles, a bit pink. “What, is that against the rules?”

Instead of offering his immediate response, which is that Geralt is damn lucky he ran into Jaskier before Lambert ever did because if his little brother heard a story like that then he would have married the bard long before the fall of Cintra, Geralt shakes his head dumbly, and gestures with his free hand for Jaskier to continue.

“Well, one of the buggers noticed what I was doing right before the bombs exploded— or maybe he noticed that his newly beloved queen bee was actually a beheaded, reanimated corpse— and, in any case, he wasn’t too happy. While I was shielding my eyes and ears from the explosions he ran right up to me, and tore the trophy out of my hands.” Jaskier mimes this part of the fight, too caught up in his own story to even pay proper attention to Geralt jerking him off. His passion is beyond endearing. “But unfortunately for him, I had my trusty dagger.”

Geralt can’t help it— before he can restrain the sound, he snorts. “The paring knife you use to cut up Roach’s apples?”

“Yes,” huffs Jaskier. “I made do with what I had, alright? Time moves at a normal speed for us humans, you know, even during battle, so I didn’t have a moment to prepare. I just—” he thrusts his hand forward, miming gutting— “in and out, boom, done. Before I knew it, I had stabbed him in the eye. And he let out the most horrible sound, really, I’m surprised it didn’t wake you up!”

“You stabbed it in the eye,” Geralt repeats, dizzy.

“Yes…?”

“Right.” He finally lets go of the bard’s prick, rolling off his thighs. Jaskier watches with hooded, puzzled eyes that quickly widen as Geralt removes the lower half of his armour as quickly as he can. When he reaches back between his legs to shove two blunt, dry fingers into himself, the bard lets out a squeak not unlike a lutestring snapping. Geralt pants, “Tell me again.”

“Tell— tell you— wh-what exactly,” stammers the professional wordsmith. It only gets worse as Geralt takes hold of his prick once more. Jaskier’s cock is hard, standing at attention, and leaking everywhere; Geralt smears the pre-cum over its flushed, angry head. “Gods, fuck, Geralt—”

“Tell me the story again,” Geralt demands. “While I ride you.”

“I’m afraid I won’t last past the inciting incident— oh,” cries Jaskier. Geralt slides down onto him slowly, letting them both feel the tightness, and the lack of proper preparation. Geralt doesn’t care if the stretch is bordering on the edge of pain; he likes the weight inside him. It grounds him. Jaskier’s breath comes in quick, shallow puffs while Geralt inhales and exhales deeply through his nose, the same way he would after taking Killer Whale to dive to the bottom of the ocean. This isn’t too dissimilar from that— except that Killer Whale doesn’t usually make his prick hard as a whetstone.

Geralt sinks down to the very bottom of the sea. Once he’s fully seated on Jaskier’s cock, he can feel the length of it inside his arse, filling him completely. He can even feel Jaskier’s thudding heart under his hands, and echoing through the air, and pulsing deep inside him— almost in the right spot, but not quite.

The witcher places a broad hand on each of Jaskier’s shaking shoulders and uses them as leverage to pull himself up, slowly but firmly gripping onto the cock inside him as he does. Then, right as Jaskier’s cockhead is about to breach him once more, Geralt slides back down in one fluid motion. And rises to do it again. And again.

Jaskier’s grip on his hips is viselike; if Geralt was human, he might bruise. The thought allures him so he encourages the touch, tightening his own grip on the man’s shoulders as he fucks himself on Jaskier’s cock. Every time the bard opens his mouth to undoubtedly let out some irreverent prayer or curse or expression of disbelief, an incomprehensible litany of moans and other dirty sounds escapes him instead. He practically sobs when Geralt adjusts their position, bending his knees on either side of Jaskier so as to ride his cock more efficiently. With each new roll of their hips it seems to strike deeper and deeper inside Geralt. Then one of Jaskier’s hands quests around his backside to press them into a new, closer position, and the new angle has Geralt seeing stars, and suddenly he’s the one making all sorts of embarrassing noises.

“Good, that’s perfect, darling,” Jaskier, though breathless, takes the time to praise him carefully. This almost makes Geralt groan deeper than the pressure inside him. “You’re doing so good for me. Had I known this was my reward coming back from the hunt, I wouldn’t’ve wasted any time with those ugly monsters.”

“How did you know about the— the hierarchies, the family structures— that they follow a chieftain,” pants Geralt, his sweaty hair falling forward in front of his eyes. “You’re not even a witcher.” Jaskier quickly reaches up to brush it back, then holds it in a loose fist, which is, as it turns out, perfect. The hand on his scalp is just enough to ground him, and when Jaskier uses his grip to pull Geralt in closer, he doesn’t resist at all.

“Well,” Jaskier practically purrs against his lips, somehow managing to be smug even as he bounces Geralt on his cock. “It wasn’t that hard.”

Geralt surprises them both by coming all over Jaskier’s abdomen, and as his body tenses the bard follows him over the edge a moment later, arching up into him and filling him with his release. The two eruptions happen in such quick succession that they feed into each other, and it’s all Geralt can do to avoid clinging to Jaskier hard enough to hurt him. Jaskier presses against Geralt with the same fervour, kissing him almost violently; Geralt gives as good as he gets, sinking into the sensation.

When they pull away from each other’s mouths, Jaskier’s lips are bitten red and wet with spit. Geralt moves slightly and feels the odd but familiar heat shift inside him; judging from how Jaskier’s mouth falls open, he feels it too. Even after the aftershocks fade, Geralt doesn’t pull off just yet, enjoying the fullness and closeness. He bends down to kiss Jaskier again, and the bard reciprocates easily and readily. 

All those years bickering over petty, pointless nothings, when they could have been doing this instead.

“The next time there’s a monster, wake me up,” Geralt finally reproaches, punctuating the order by nipping Jaskier’s lip.

Jaskier nods, sluggish and satiated; then, because it’s Jaskier, he tacks on, “I handled it, though.”

“You got away with it this time, but you could have been in danger.”

“You like that I handled it,” accuses the bard. Geralt kisses the smirk off his face but can’t kiss away that smug edge in his voice. “You like that I can handle myself… and handle you, too.”

“As I recall, I handled you,” Geralt says. Jaskier laughs; it still sounds smug. The witcher hums thoughtfully.

He then rolls them over without warning, and ignores the resulting cry from his bard. He lowers his back onto Jaskier’s bedroll— like hell he’s staining his own bedroll with cum— and hooks his ankles around the man’s back, pushing Jaskier deeper inside. They both groan at that, and Jaskier lowers himself down without hesitation to loom over Geralt. “Shit,” he whines, bottomed out entirely inside the witcher again. “Fuck, how are you hard again?!”

“Takes a lot to tire me out,” grins Geralt. Truth be told, he doesn’t usually want this much— but Jaskier is having an unexpected effect on him. “You said you could handle me.”

“Might be the death of me, but I’ll certainly try,” huffs Jaskier. He holds Geralt up by his thighs and slowly pistons back and forth into him, pushing the load of cum already inside him even deeper. But he pauses as an idea strikes. Divine inspiration, or a gift from the muses; Jaskier talks about the concepts all the time, but Geralt hasn’t seen them really occur before. It is like glancing at the night sky and catching a comet. The man’s entire face lights up, and his tone is new as he says, “You know, I never told you about the one winter we had a pest infestation at Oxenfurt.”

Suddenly, Geralt knows precisely what he means. Trying to sit up, he protests, “You swore to me you won those extra vials of arachas venom in a game of Gwent!”

“I’m shit at Gwent, you should have seen right through that,” Jaskier laughs. He leans down, pressing Geralt back down against the mat and rocking his hips to push his length in deeper. “But the good part is that now I can tell you the whole story. In painstaking detail.”

“Oh,” breathes Geralt, quickly surrendering his anger and spreading his legs. His cock dribbles pre-cum between them. “... Yes, alright. Tell me the tale, Jaskier.”

[trashinaglass-archive]

New Daddy

Family Man pt 2 (read pt 1 here)

Request by @deepintothenature

Hi. I just read Family man and i loved it. If you accept request would you please write one about reader giving birth to their son?

A/n: I would’ve had this posted by Father’s Day if I were a good writer. But I am, in fact, a very mediocre writer so it wasn’t ready. I didn’t proof read it very closely so if something sounds stupid, my b

Full disclaimer, I’ve never had a child so sorry if anything sounds stupid.

Ends with sexual innuendos bc when does my writing not? Sorry not sorry

One thing you learned while pregnant was that people love talking about themselves. You had heard so many stories about when I was pregnant this or my delivery that to last you a lifetime. And while some of them included helpful advice, no one wanted warn you just how painful labor truly is. You didn’t expect it to easy, but you also didn’t expect it to be this bad.

Your knuckles were turning white from gripping onto the bed railing so hard, trying to breathe through the current contraction. Chris was standing next to you, one hand stroking your hair while the other rested on your hands.

“I feel so bad,” Chris said softly as he watched you. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Keep your penis away from me for the rest of your life,” you said, catching your breathe as the contraction finally subsided. The nurses giggled at your comment, probably hearing it multiple times a day by now.

“Well I don’t really like that idea.”

The anesthesiologist chuckled as she entered the room, a cart full of medication and told in tow. “Well, hopefully, I can help.” Chris stood back to let the woman do her job, watching intently as you did what you were instructed. She had been trying to make conversation with you, but you were too exhausted to contribute much of anything.

Chris, on the other hand, was in awe by the entire process. He had seen you take hits, so he knew you were strong, but he this was a whole new level of strength. And all he could do was stand there and watch.

A few hours later, you were finally holding you’re baby boy.

You and Chris were huddled together as you looked down at the tiny human lying on your chest. His thumb stroked across the baby’s forehead soothingly. “You look just like your mama,” Chris whispered in a higher than normal pitched voice.

“I don’t know. That’s a pretty distinct Evans nose,” you booped the baby’s nose gently.

Chris’s smile was so contagious. This was a moment he had been looking forward to for so long. You always knew he was a family man, but seeing him in the moment just confirmed what you already knew: he was going to be the best dad.

“You did amazing,” he whispered as he turned to look at you. You smiled and looked back down, Chris taking the opportunity to place a kiss to the top of your head.

A ringtone went off moments later. “Who’s that?” you asked, watching Chris as he stood up to grab the phone on the table behind him.

“Scott. We got a baby yet or what?”

You roll your eyes playfully, expecting nothing less from your brother in law. “Should we FaceTime them?”

He shrugged, putting his free hand in his pocket. “If you want. I can also ignore them if you’d prefer that.”

The skin between your brows bunched up at the suggestion. “I mean, I don’t necessarily want anyone in the room passing him around, but I don’t want to just ignore them either.” You took a moment to consider before deciding getting it over with would probably be easiest. “Let’s FaceTime them.”

Chris nodded once before sitting in the chair next to you. His elbows rested on his knees as he opened the phone and began the video call. It didn’t take long before your brother in law answered.

“Where’s the baby!” He shouted immediately followed by the sound of a few smacks as if he was being reprimanded.

“What? You mean this guy?” Chris’s Boston accent jumping out stronger than ever as he kneeled next to your hospital bed with the camera facing the both of you and the little boy on your chest, partially covered by your hospital gown.

A chorus of awws rang out as the group took in the newest edition. “He looks just like you, y/n,” Chris’s mother commented. Your cheeks flushed slightly, feeling pride at the comment.

“I did put in a lot of work,” you smiled, partly joking but also kind of serious. His mom and sister shared a look of understanding, having done the same themselves.

“He hasn’t been too much trouble yet?” his sister asked.

“Not yet, but knowing Chris and Scott…” you trailed off followed by objections from both men.

“He’ll be awesome,” Scott answered for you with a slight scoff.

The youngest sister laughed. “Yeah, that’s one word for it.” You smiled at the camera and let Chris finish up the conversation, before you both said your goodbyes and ended the call.

The nurses came in not too long after to check on mom and baby as well as explain a few things before leaving. The baby was placed in a clear bassinet next to your bed to allow him and you to get some rest for the night.

“You comfy over there?” You ask quietly, watching Chris as he tried sleeping in the chair. He chuckled before answering.

“There’s been worse,” he shrugged.

“Do you want lay with me?”

He shook his head, “I’m fine. As long you’re comfortable.”

“I’ll rephrase that… will you lay with me?” You ask him. No more convincing is needed as Chris made his way to where you were lying, situating yourselves so he was lying on his back with you lying almost completely on top of him. Hands started rubbing softly along your back, as you sigh in content. “I deserve cuddles after today.”

“You do,” he laughed. “You do deserve cuddles. I also got you a little something.” Chris reached into the pocket of his sweats on the opposite side on you, pulling out a small box.

Your brows furrowed in confusion as you lift your head to look between him and the box. The thought of a push present had honestly never crossed your mind, but Chris was such a thoughtful guy. It was the least he could do for you. You took the box gently, as if whatever was inside was going to shattered at a single touch. Opening the box, you found a ring covered in small colored gems. The baby’s birthstone. “Oh my god,” you gasped, covering your mouth slightly. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“You deserve it,” He said simply before he picked the ring out of its spot in the box and took your hand, sliding on your finger. “Perfect,” he whispered, leaning does to place a kiss to your knuckle. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy,” you teased. A grin appearing on your face when you feel the muscles in Chris’s hand tighten as if he wanted to do something but knew he couldn’t.

“You better be careful with that word. We might find ourselves back here next year.”

“Absolutely not,” you replied quickly. “It’s going to be a few years before I even consider another.”

“But you will consider it?” he asked hopefully, always the one to dream of having a big family like his own.

You settle your face onto his chest, ready to close your eyes and sleep for forever. “My vagina needs to heal first.”

Your head moved with Chris’s chest as he silently laughed, not willing to miss the opportunity to he was handed. “I will take great care of your vagina, don’t you worry.”

You didn’t react or say anything back as you moved your hand a few inches higher to pinch and twist his nipple, making him yelp in surprise.

[kedsandtubesocks]

this is for @acerathia who caught my plans for the next installment in our little universe, for @procrastination-artist who made my entire world yesterday and as always for @ofmermaidstories to help bring some good deku vibes

here’s our introduction to Jedi!Deku x reader 💚

(also here’s a lovely and fancy Naboo hallway for reference)

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Naboo is something out of a dream. It is all the stories and mythical children’s tales he used to read as a boy come to life. It truly is the beautiful elegant planet sitting among the wild edge of space.

Now as a man, as a Jedi, Izuku of course can appreciate how splendid and awe striking the planet is. But a deep grim reality peeks out from the back of his mind. The investigation into the attack on the Jedi temple has brought him here.

“There are unfortunate rumors now coming out about one of the Naboo senators has been very vocal against us.” Older and gauntly in appearance yet still incredibly legendary, Jedi council member Toshinori told Izuku of his assignment.

“We are not sure about how serious the allegations are but at this point we need to investigate any rumor. And…funny enough this actually works out perfectly. Naboo has been requesting us for some time to possibly send a knight as an extra guard to help with the political unrest going on in the system.”

Izuku nodded at his mentor’s request but he still needed to ask. “Why send me?”

Toshinori smiled kindly and patted Izuku’s shoulder. “You still seem to forget you are now the hero of this generation my boy, a true honor to the title of jedi knight. They will trust you.”

So Izuku took on this assignment with honor.

“Ah! Oh my goodness there he is, a Jedi knight!” His resolve of course is already getting.

Izuku has only been on Naboo since this morning and he has awkwardly had to laugh and greet so many civilians rushing up to him with eager awestruck eyes. Now finally away from the main city and safe within the palace’s grand hallways, Izuku finds a bit of peace before he has to face his assignment.

The Monarch of the planet has requested his presence. He thanks the force for already setting this into motion. As if to bless him even more a breeze flutters into the open walkways and provides a beautiful sense of peace.

He turns the corner. There, at the edge of the steps to a bottom corridor, he finds someone sitting. Izuku’s curiosity peaks up so fast.

The robes and mostly covered face…

“You’re a royal handmaiden.” He breathes out in awe.

He’s never seen one in person and he’s surprised seeing you alone. Shouldn’t you be with the Crown?Now he flat out stares and it’s like two terrified lothcats waiting for the other to move first.

That’s when Izuku spots it. A pack of various breads and sweet baked treats sitting right beside you, one of them is already half eaten.

“Don’t tell anyone you saw this!” Your voice, so fast and panicky, suddenly blurts out like you’ve been caught red handed and Izuku can’t help it.

He laughs as his stomach growls at the sight of the beautifully baked goods.

“I won’t…Just as long as maybe I can get a bite of one of those?” Izuku asks shyly.

Your shoulders drop surprised. He’s even surprised. But what surprises him more is that even with the robe’s hood hiding most of your face, your welcoming grin shines out from under the covering.

“Sure, I’ve never eaten with a Jedi knight before.”

Izuku gladly takes a seat besides you and warmly thanks you as you hand him a piece of your stash. He takes a bite and his evergreen eyes go wide.

“This is amazing!” He gushes.

“Right? A lot of people don’t know this but Naboo actually has a knack for baked goods.” You tell him friendly.

“I would’ve never known! Now I’m really glad I got to try some and on my first day here.” Izuku means his words. He’s grateful to experience Naboo this way before he has to dig deep into its dirt.

“We heard there was going to be a new guard around. I just didn’t expect to see a famous Jedi knight.” You comment.

Izuku coughs embarrassed as he tries to still enjoy the next piece of the bread you’ve given him.

“Well, I’m just a knight. Nothing too special.”

You hum a teasing type noise at him and your lips twitch amused. A wave of heated embarrassment crawls up his skin. But he also thinks it might just be the mid afternoon heat of the planet itself. Izuku never expected Naboo weather to be like this.

“Is it always this hot?” He can’t help but ask.

“Not normally. This spring is just turning into summer faster.”

“I bet. In all those robes I’m impressed you’re handling this better than I am.” He replies to you a bit sympathetic. He couldn’t imagine being in so many long and layered robes along with having most of his face covered.

“Oh I’m used to it.” You snort. “And besides, this always helps.”

Suddenly you reach to draw the robe’s hood back and he sees you for the first time.

Your face is a bit sweaty from being under the hood for so long. A sigh of relief escapes you and your eyes mirror that. Turning to him you smile a weak almost bashful thing.

You’re stunning. Izuku justifies his blatant staring as simply appreciating the new beauty this planet has greeted him with and you so far are his favorite.

“I thought royal maidens couldn’t reveal their identity?” He asks so curious and even a bit stunned.

“Eh.” You tell him so casually with a shrug he almost snorts. “The Queen is the only one who’s identity is hidden. We’re just the entourage, nobody really cares or notices us.”

A small pang now hits inside of Izuku.

“Wait that’s not true!” He suddenly tells you. “I’ve read so much about the Naboo and of course I came across the role of a royal shadow! I remember reading that they have to know so much! The issues of Naboo, anything else going on with the Galaxy, they need to be aware of it all just in case they have to refresh the Crown’s knowledge. It’s all so impressive!”

Izuku watches your eyes go wide and oh no he’s rambled on too much like he always does.

“I’m sorry!” He’s quickly stammers out now so very embarrassed. “I just…I’ve never been here before funny enough, so this is all kind of exciting for me.”

You laugh, but it’s warm and friendly making his heart do an interesting spin. Izuku watches you break off another piece from the dwindling snack stash and hand it to him. He flings it into his mouth quickly to shut himself up from rambling any more.

“Our queen is going to love you.” You tell him with a gentle nod as you munch on the sweet bread. “There’s a lot going on and hearing someone like you speak so excited about this place…it’s wonderful.”

A bright electricity spreads from his chest down to his finger tips as if the force had just ran through his veins. “O-oh! Well, t-thank you!”

He feels like he is back to being a a nervous boy in training when Uraraka used to hand him an extra training saber. Izuku knows those feelings however, this rush of being flustered, needs to be fluttered away.

So he turns the tables. “I am excited for the meeting too. I’m sure the royal court is going to interested to hear how I found a handmaiden hiding away and snacking.”

You gasp horrified. He laughs and finds he enjoys seeing how fast your face scowls hard at him.

“I thought Jedi knights were suppose to be peace keepers, not little shits like you!”

He laughs even harder. “I’m definitely telling the Crown how vulgar and rude you are too.”

“I’m going to be the one talking to everyone first and I’m warning them about how awful you are!” You childishly fire back but it’s without malice because your voice cracks. Suddenly you’re laughing too. You and him simple simple and enjoy this fresh feeling of meeting someone new.

You sigh settling yourself down and look out to the stretch of the empty palace hallway.

“Everyone, even our beloved ruler, would understand if you told them you found me like this though…we all know sometimes we just need a moment to ourselves.”

Your voice grows wistful and even a bit vacant.

A sudden wave of understanding leaks in him. He has mediated alone often because this life, this path he’s taken, sometimes needs to be sorted through. Just sitting here now he already feels as if he is teetering between that duality of being both Jedi knight and a man simply enjoying the company of someone lovely.

“Well. We ate all my snacks.” You suddenly snort. As you stand to leave, Izuku finds he’s already missing you. “Guess my break is over, plus I’m sure you have places to be Sir Jedi.”

The title…it is indeed who he is, but right he just wants to be-

“Izuku.” He clarifies. “My name’s Izuku.”

You repeat his name and his body goes light. You freely give him your name and he holds onto it so precious.

“I guess I’ll see you later then, Izuku.”

And he does see you later.

In the grander of the Crowned One’s thrown room, the entire royal court including senators sits in a circle around the sovereign. He however looks past that. A small circle of royal handmaidens surround the monarch from the back like silent all matching shadows. Izuku can’t help it. His eyes scan the matching robes hoping to find your familiar face or even just a small knowing grin being sent his way.

“Jedi Knight Izuku. Welcome to the planet of Naboo.” Then the monarch’s voice, so commanding and hauntingly even toned, greets him. His eyes go wide for a moment.

How did they know it was him coming?

Then a soft fondness fills his chest. Of course, you really did tell everyone about him first didn’t you.

[aurathian]

Give me the shittiest soulmate scenario you can come up with but with a happy ending for zelink, please. 😆

hi zelmo!!!! happy birthday!!!!! i decided to go ahead and write your request (finally...) since its ur special day!!! when u said soulmate scenario i immediately thought of those tiktok povs so i tried to write something silly. I hope you enjoy!

For some reason, allergy-less Zelda found herself sneezing quite a lot during the spring. She knew she didn’t have allergies; when the problem first presented itself when she was a child, her father had her checked by the royal physician right away.

“No allergies.”

“That can’t be true,” her father, the king, argued.

“She may just be a sneezy kid. Children are not all that hygienic, you know. Princess Zelda will grow out of it.”

She remembered something else about sneezes, too, something from a long time ago when she was still a small child. She was sitting on her mother’s lap, rocking back and forth while being read a bedtime story when she had a sudden sneezing fit.

“You know, little bird,” her mother began gently as she closed the book, “I’ve heard a saying that when your soulmate sneezes, you sneeze too.”

“Does that mean it’s my soulmate's fault and not mine?” Zelda managed between achoos!

Her mother said nothing but only chuckled.

Zelda never did grow out of her sneezing, but she persisted anyway. Her determination to study the wildlife of Hyrule, including the flora and fauna that thrived only in the spring and summer seasons, overrode her debilitating sneezing. It was truly a shame that the most tolerable times of the year for her were fall and winter, when everything began to wither and die and her favorite flower, the Silent Princess, went away until the first melt.

On this particular spring day, the sneezing was pretty awful, but she insisted she venture out into the field anyway to study some of the Silent Princesses. She was determined to unlock the secrets of the soil, sunlight, and environment that helped them thrive so well. Every Silent Princess she had ever taken to her study had died within the night. Because of her insistence, her personal knight Link was forced to go with her as well.

“I won’t force you to eat a frog this time, I promise.”

He only smiled uneasily. It wasn’t the frogs he was worried about.

Link had what was possibly the most vicious and violent pollen allergy in all of Hyrule. When spring rolled around, he figured it might as well be over for him. Despite his great amount of outdoor duties, he did his best to stay inside, away from the flowers and the grass and all the budding greens that emitted pollen that could invade his system. Once he sneezed, he wouldn’t stop for a long while. It had gotten him in trouble during training one too many times.

But duty called, and he went out into the spring field with Zelda, that spring field teeming with malicious flowers and fatal pollen and the evil bees that spread it. When the princess told him the goal was to study some Silent Princesses, he would have fainted had he not been a disciplined warrior.

Zelda did notice his relentless sniffling from the back of her own horse, the way his grips on his reins tightened every now and then and his face contorted into something grotesque every few moments.

“Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Fine,” he choked.

She shrugged and onward they went, deeper into Hyrule Field, before stopping at a single Silent Princess Zelda had spotted. Link stayed atop his horse, wary, fighting his inner mechanisms while the princess dismounted and cheerfully knelt near the flower. He admired her in a lot of ways, but mainly her capacity to appear unaffected by the pollen wafting into her nose as she examined the flower.

“Come down here, Link,” she beckoned, voice as light as a feather and full of wonder. “This one’s rare. The colors are switched around–how peculiar.”

“I think I will stay up here,” he said. “Better view.”

She groaned, shot up, and tugged on his sleeve to get him off his horse. He stumbled down and then he was on his knees next to the flower with her, noses nearly pressed to the petals.

ACHOO!

“Ugh, I’m sorry–” But Link was quickly cut off by– ACHOO!

And now she was sneezing too, and back and forth they went, practically taking turns, trading sneezes, until they finally mounted their horses and swiftly rode away from the field. Link felt less bad about sneezing now and let the occasional one out, to which Zelda would respond similarly into her sleeve.

Link wasted no time when they returned to the castle, apologizing profusely and interrupting with another apology anytime Zelda tried to speak. He put the horses in the stable and made sure Zelda had everything she needed before he sprinted away from her, still sneezing, into the barracks.

As she watched him take refuge in one of the castle structures, sneezing and coughing and covering his mouth with his arm, she remembered what her mother said as a small smile graced her face.

[universe-of-peoples]

SPOILERS FOR THE LAST OLYMPIAN

I want to talk about Silena Beauregard.

Silena Beauregard. The girl who loved Beckendorf. The daughter of Aphrodite who revolutionized her cabin (before Drew took it backwards). And the girl who, yes, was the spy.

I’ve seen some people get very negative towards her because of her role as the spy (including my favorite podcaster :/) and while yes, she did a very bad thing, I think the level of judgment towards her and the judgment of her moral character is over-the-top and a little un-empathetic. So I wanted to do a little character study on her and her time as Luke’s spy.

First of all, I will preface this by mentioning that she was a teenager. A literal child. Her brain was still developing and she probably would have made different choices if all of this had happened when she was even just a few years older.

It’s implied that before Luke left CHB, the two of them were close friends. Now if your close friend, who you previously cared about, trusted, and thought of as a rational person, suddenly up and disappears, you’re going to be worried about them. Even if you’ve heard that they did a bad thing. You’re not going to immediately jump to thinking they’re a terrible, irredeemable person. You’re going to wonder what their side of the story is, where their mind is at, and, if you truly believe they have done something wrong, you’re going to want to see if you can bring them back to the light. As someone who’s been hurt by people who I previously knew well and trusted, I know it’s really hard mentally to pivot your brain immediately from “person who I know and trust and am very close with” to “person who hurt me and others and isn’t who I thought they were at all”. Like, your brain just doesn’t emotionally process that immediately even though you know it logically. It takes time.

So she knows that he tried to kill Percy and fled camp. But Luke… that’s her friend. She knows him. There’s a certain amount of emotional denial that someone you know, trust, and care about would do something so horrible. He must be going through something, he must need help to get out of this situation. She’s not just going to give up on her friend. She’s going to want to help him come back to the good side.

So somehow she gets in contact with him. He explains his side of the story, and while she’s not on board with him trying to kill Percy, she sympathizes with his issues with the gods. He’s her friend. She doesn’t want anything bad to happen to him. I hc that the contact bracelet might have started just as a way for them to keep in touch; mortal cell phones are a magnet for monster activity, and while Silena may be safely in camp, she wouldn’t want to endanger Luke (no matter that he’s already working with monsters).

Time goes on, and Silena gives Luke enough information so that he doesn’t die when people at CHB may have a plan to harm him. He’s trying to coax more and more info out of her; Luke is already good at manipulating people, and Kronos is even better. If she just gives them this and that intel, then they can avoid killing the other demigods on CHB’s side if they don’t have to. She can save lives. And Luke is probably sheltering her from the worst of it, too; if she really knew all of the things he was doing, she would be out of there in a heartbeat. When Kronos takes over Luke’s body, he probably takes it a step further by threatening to hurt Luke and the other defected demigods if Silena doesn’t give him information. Maybe not even directly. Maybe he just points out that anyone trying to hurt Kronos would also hurt Luke. She wouldn’t want that, would she?

Then Beckendorf dies.

Silena feels absolutely awful. No, worse than awful. Everyone thinks she’s only upset because her boyfriend died, but it’s more than that. He died because of intel that she gave Kronos. He died because she played along all this time. She let herself get strung along as it slowly got worse and worse.

But here’s the thing. Kronos is still the master manipulator. He would tell her that, well, it was Beckendorf and Percy that blew up the ship. It’s Beckendorf’s own fault that those explosives were in place and went off when they did. That’s not Kronos’s fault! And at the same time, wouldn’t it be so messed up if the rest of the camp learned that she was the spy? She better keep quiet if he doesn’t want to expose her.

So maybe she agrees to keep quiet, to save her own skin, but she thinks that she won’t give him any more intel. This is where it gets a bit more tricky for me: trying to find a reason why she kept spying after Beckendorf’s death. We know that Kronos told Percy that there was a spy, and once the whole camp knew, everyone was ready to tear whoever it was to shreds. Kronos could point out to her that she’s become their enemy. She’s put herself in this situation, and now everyone she knows at camp is out for her blood.

I hc that Silena didn’t actually give him that much intel after Beckendorf’s death, though. Not as much as he said she did. He had eyes and ears everywhere, he could have found his intel other ways. He told Percy about the spy and sensationalized her role in order to make her look bad and turn the camp against her and, in turn, her against the camp. As an incentive to keep her quiet. He thought he could salvage his spy by blackmailing her and turning the camp against her, but her will was stronger than that. So strong in fact, that in the end she died impersonating Clarisse in order to give CHB a fighting chance against Kronos.

Was she perfect? Far from it! But they were at war! And one of her closest friends was manipulating her! I think the quote “if a frog is placed into a pot of boiling water it will immediately try to jump out; but if it’s placed into a pot of cool water that’s gradually heated until boiling, it will stay put and never try to jump out” is a very good metaphor for what happened to Silena. It began with checking up with her friend to see if he’s ok and find out what’s going on, and ended with her committing espionage. If she had had the foresight to know what would become of Luke and her role in the war, she never would have done it. She just got cornered.

That’s not to say that she’s not at fault or not to blame. There were times when she could have come clean and stopped spying, especially at the end. I just think the idea that she’s this terrible irredeemable person, or that her actions are not understandable, is not true at all. I wanted to address it since I’ve been seeing it lately (cough cough The Newest Olympian podcast cough cough).