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hawkins-losers · 3 years ago

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STRANGE-MAS DAY 1 | Steve Harrington x Reader

Summary: Steve gets a seasonal job at the mall...as mall Santa

Word count: 1.4k

Request: Could i please request this one “‘I’ve been very naughty this year.’’ for steve❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

Can I get mall santa with Steve?

A/N: In this fic, Starcourt didn’t burn.

After dropping Mike at Will’s, you and Nancy headed to Starcourt for some Christmas shopping. There was one week left till Christmas and Nancy still hadn't bought any presents — which made her really stressed. She was usually an early shopper, but with all the college applications and extra work she put into the school’s newspaper, she didn’t have much time to go shopping.

Being so close to Christmas, you offered to go with her for moral support — everyone needs it when the mall is this busy — and because you still needed to get something for your mom.

‘’Where to first?’’

There were people everywhere.

Nancy pulled out a piece of paper from her coat pocket — a list. Her sense of organization never ceases to amaze you. She had made a list with three to five ideas for each member of her family so her shopping would go smoothly and she won’t be going home empty handed or buy stupid things the commission employees recommend her.

‘’The Gap! I saw this sweater last month that would look really good on my mom. She even has a matching lipstick.’’

You nodded. ‘’To the Gap we go!’’

After three hours of intensive shopping, your feet were hurting so you got hot chocolate at the food court and took a much needed break. So far, shopping had been a success. You had found a pair of cozy slippers for your mom and Nancy was half-way done with her list.

‘’Do you think Mike will like the dices I got him? He probably already has some—’’

‘’Stop doubting yourself, Nance. Mike is a lazy person, he probably still uses the dices that came with the D&D game. He’ll love the fancy ones you got him,’’ you said, taking a sip of your hot chocolate.

Nancy chuckled, recognizing her brother’s laziness. ‘’You’re probably right.’’

The conversation drifted to stress related to college responses that should be coming in very soon and holiday plans — the usual for seniors at this time of the year. You had applied to a few colleges; some not too far of Hawkins, and some miles away from home. The fate of your future is in those responses, but you won’t stress yourself out over those responses and ruin the holidays.

You derived your eyes from Nancy and caught one of the ‘Santa, this way’ signs, suddenly remembering Robin saying she had taken a seasonal job as a mall elf. You shared the information with Nancy and decided to go say ‘hi’ before tackling the rest of the Christmas shopping.

When you got to the Santa's Wonderland set up, a hoard of screaming and jumping children were in line by the row of giant candy canes, excited to meet Santa. You quickly spotted Robin among the other elves — she was the tallest. You called her over and she waved through the line of children to get to you and Nancy.

She was wearing striped leggings, a hat with a bell and her pockets were full of candy canes for the children. Robin gave you a candy cane each and breathed out tiredly. ‘’It’s been madness since 10am this morning and it’s not looking to slow down. Steve came in late so there was already a long line when he sat on his Santa throne—’’

‘’Wait. Steve is Santa?!’’ Nancy repeated, a little too loud and getting death stares from middle-aged moms, offended she had possibly ruined Santa's magic for their children by saying Santa wasn't the real Santa. ‘’Did you know about this?’’ she asked you.

You shook your head, candy cane already in your mouth — your sweet tooth couldn’t help it. As his girlfriend, you should have known, but Steve hadn’t mentioned anything about taking the job of mall Santa. He mentioned asking Keith for more hours at Family Video, but nothing about the mall.

‘’He’s really good at it,’’ Robin said. ‘’Our boss was hesitant because he is young, but our Santa got drunk on the first day and got fired. We needed a replacement quickly so I vouched for Steve to him and here we are. The children love him.’’

You watched him interact with the kids from a distance. He made their faces lit up whenever he talked to them and even managed to get a few words out of the shyest ones. A smile curled on your lips. Robin was right, he was really good with children.

‘’Can I go in line?’’ you asked Robin, your eyes still on Steve.

Robin didn’t understand why, but she gave you a ‘go ahead’ sign and began talking to Nancy about the Christmas movie marathon at her house tomorrow night and which movies she should bring.

The line was slow and you got some strange looks from parents — what was a person your age doing in line to meet Santa? —, but you ignored them. From their perspective, it was strange, but Santa was for everyone, not just children.

‘’Okay, who’s next!’’ Steve called at the elf responsible for the queue, his voice deeper than usual.

The boy-elf in green leggings told you to go. Still sucking on the bottom of a candy cane, you walked up to the throne set up.

Steve groaned when he saw you. How did you know about this?

The other elf by the throne shared a look with Steve, silently asking if this was okay, but Steve waved them off and pulled you onto his knee like he did to other children, trying to keep his composure and not break out of character.

‘’Some kids are a little too big to be visiting Santa,’’ he said in his deep Santa voice, keeping in appropriate places and not on your thigh where he was used to.

You pulled the end of your candy cane out of your mouth, lips all red from the candy and breath peppermint-y. ‘’I thought I would come in person and confess, I’ve been very naughty this year.’’

Steve sucked in a deep breath, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you in close. ‘’Have you? That’s alright. There’s still a few days left to be good.’’

You reached a hand to play with the buttons of his costume, looking anything but innocent. ‘’What if I don’t want to be good?’’

A groan rumbled from Steve’s throat, suddenly regretting allowing this. If there weren't so many children around, his response would not have been very PG. ‘’What are you doing here?’’ he asked instead, keeping his voice low so no children would hear.

‘’You’re not gonna ask me what I want for Christmas?’’ You received a glare from Santa and dropped your act. ‘’Why didn’t you tell me?’’

Steve sighed, one of his hands absentmindedly migrating to your knee. ‘’Because it’s an embarrassing job.’’

‘’If it makes you feel better, you look good in red.’’ You covered his hand with yours.

The corner of Steve’s lips turned. He wanted to kiss your cheek in return, but held back. ‘’This costume reeks of sweat, the beard is so itchy it's giving me rashes underneath and I can't see shit with this damn wig and hat that keeps slipping off—’’

An elf red leggings and green dress walked up to Steve, interrupting your moment. ‘’Erm, Santa, the other children are waiting. Would you mind hurrying? We need to keep the line moving,’’ he hissed, nodding toward the queue of children.

You removed your hand from Steve’s. ‘’I’m going, I’m going,’’ you said to the elf, then turned to Steve. ‘’Nancy and I have some shopping to finish. I’ll see you after work…when you take off that beard and padding.’’

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Steve Harrington taglist: @dylanstilinskiposts @captainbuckyyy12 @valevalentyne @yourfavoriteakutagawakinnie @heizenka @eddie_munsons_girlfriend @scarlet-kazuha @uhidklol-26 @magicalchocolatecheesecake @swiftbyul @Fandomfaeryreads @harrys-tittie @tinfoilhat2719 @straycatarang @wayfaring----stranger @starstruckspring @fourlokiss @mi-amoree1111 @starshipsxx @ghoulishlygrey @bubsonnobx @truewdw1 @bubsonnobx @ohhrexella @Dreamtiara @pastelbabygirl19 @steves-robin @eddiemunsonbby @evanstanwhore @bootlegmothman420 @courtmr @nia-um @strangermarvelgirl @fandomloversvaries @missmaxmayfield @m1rkw00dpr1ncess @Minksblog @soph69420world @truewdw1 @crying-caro @nancewheelersworld @nluvwitheddiemunson @veniceb1tch88 @hcloangcls @ilovetaylorswift1 @steveharringtonsupremacy @jusstdreaaming @buckyswhxre @tomspidertingle @thechoiceslookgrimm @bobafettsleftglove @princesseddie @yourfavdummy @eddiescvmslvt @slightlyvicked

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x you #stranger things #stranger things imagine #steve stranger things #strangemas

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olderthannetfic · 3 years ago

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How was the day of bananaing?

Bananariffic!

Once fully ripe, the gros michel do taste pretty different from the cavendish. I wouldn't say they taste more different than the difference between a manzano banana and a cavendish or a baby banana and a cavendish.

We started with fried Hawaiian plantain, and then tried the small amount of non-gross saba I salvaged from my moldy bunch. They were... uh... okay, I guess. I'll have to try them again later when I have time to ripen them correctly because I couldn't tell if the funky flavor was due to them being overripe or if they're just kind of weird tasting.

We moved on to the real banana comparison of manzanos, baby, cavendish, and gros michel. (Alas, my red bananas were not ripe in time. And the manzanos were barely ripe.)

We finished up with baked plantains. And also, it was fucking cold, so here's a picture of one of my Jewish friends wearing that horrible novelty blanket from the viral Hanukkah merchandise post. (Did I buy this and inflict it on friends? Of course I did.) Long live the Hanukkah nazgul!

And now, the info you've all been waiting for: What do they taste like and were all those Captain America fics right?

...

They're hard to describe?

That's horribly inadequate, but it's true. They taste different, but it's kind of like how different apples taste different. And I don't mean like granny smith vs. gala. I mean like pink lady vs. gala.

When people say that gros michel are more "candy-like", that's true, but not in quite the way I imagined. They're not really any more sugary than the cavendish. They're sort of brighter and more intense. When a little overripe, I suspect they'd be cloying in a way cavendish rarely are due to blandness.

I guess you might say they're like a cavendish with a hint of the flavor of very, very ripe baked plantains, but much lighter and less woody. That's the sort of "candy" vibe people mean. (Not the caramelized plantains either. The ones you let get suuuuper ripe before baking in the skins, as pictured above.)

What they almost remind me of is the smell and flavor of an overripe cavendish, except they're still nice and firm and pale yellow, not gloppy and old. And for this reason, not everyone present was fond of them. There was some cognitive dissonance because they seem like they should be riper than they really are.

One person preferred the manzanos (because some people are just wrong). Some people preferred the cavendish for being a little blander. The gros michel were a hit with the people who like their bananas well ripened usually. Those of us who like barely-ripe bananas didn't find the gros michel wildly better than the cavendish, though a lot of us thought they were a little better.

I am not at all convinced that Steve or Bucky would notice that Bananas Taste Funny Now. I mean, they might. But they might also think most produce, meat, milk, and a lot of other things all taste funny. They might be the prissiest farmers' market shoppers ever, drinking only the frou-frou milk in the glass bottles straight from the organic farm.

Food absolutely would taste different now, but I think it would be tons and tons of food, not just this one thing. In fact, I'll bet a lot of food would taste different in the same way. Shelf-stable modern versions of things tend to be kind of flavorless and tough. Some of what they'd have been used to (despite growing up poor) might have been a little less processed and bred for long-distance transport. (But then again, I'm no expert on this type of food history. Maybe they ate tons of canned crap?)

Is it worth spending $70 on Captain America-inspired banana experiments?

Frankly, I'm dubious.

If you have lots of disposable income and want to give it a whirl, sure. Miami Fruit is the only source I'm aware of in the US.

If you just want to have a sense of how it might be different for writing MCU fic, I'd head for the nearest Asian or Latin market (assuming you live in a banana-impoverished location like the US and not one of the many places that already has multiple bananas on the shelves of all normal markets). Pick up some baby bananas (or whatever they've got) and some regular cavendish and compare those flavors. That would give you enough of a sense of two things that taste like banana but also different.

As a food nerd, I am of course delighted to have tried these. I think they're totally worth getting as a curiosity for a party of fandom friends or a party of food nerds.

But it seems to me that the hype is due to a lot of native English speakers being from places that only ever have one type of banana. Sure, gros michel are probably better than the cavendish by a bit, but there are so many bananas. You might like a really random one best, just as there are many people with weird apple preferences.

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antoine-roquentin · 4 years ago

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Downwardly mobile white blue-collar workers and upwardly mobile white small business owners met in the grassroots of the conservative movement. The most substantial failing of The People, No is that it adheres to Frank’s thesis in What’s the Matter with Kansas: that elites manipulated “ordinary people” into the movement with pseudo-populist culture-war rhetoric while enacting their real economic agenda behind the scenes. In fact, when rank-and-file conservatives repudiated the New Deal order, the economic and cultural were so thoroughly intertwined as to be inseparable.

Before they were loyal to national politicians, many workers were loyal to particular firms and employers. The economy that replaced the New Deal order was built by industries that kept alive the capital-P Populist dream of small proprietorship and dignified, autonomous work, even as good jobs in manufacturing and family farming became increasingly scarce. “We say to you that you have made the definition of a business man too limited,” Populist leader William Jennings Bryan thundered in 1896. “The man who is employed for wages is as much a business man as his employer” — that is, if his work was productive and self-directed. For many ordinary people, heirs to the Populist tradition, “business man”–style wage work was an appealing alternative to the welfare state dependency — or union dependency — that the contemporary left was depicted as pushing. For all of Frank’s rhetorical sympathy for white “working people,” he is oddly disinterested in the places where they actually worked.

Displaced small farmers had moved into long-distance trucking since the early New Deal period, but it was in the 1960s and 1970s that independent trucking came into its own as one of the great blue-collar romances. An apparent alternative to the corporate bureaucracy and heavy-handed Teamsters union that dominated the industry, the independent trucker burst onto the scene, innumerable country ballads extolling him as one of the last species of American male who truly worked for himself. (“I’m independent,” Kris Kristofferson’s trucker character proclaimed in Sam Peckinpah’s 1978 film Convoy. “There ain’t many of us left.”) Pressure from rank-and-file independent truckers then complemented the manufacturing and shipping lobbies’ successful attempt to deregulate transportation during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The siren song of right-wing working-class populism was not only heard in trucking. Franchised fast food, another artifact of the New Deal order’s investment in auto infrastructure, offered the promise of rapid advancement from menial work to management or even bona fide small business ownership — one of the excuses for keeping wages for entry-level work at poverty levels. Even as corporate franchisees emerged to buy up licenses for dozens of locations at a time, the franchise structure distanced particular sites from the international brand and preserved a simulacrum of community embeddedness.

Up-and-coming retail firms like Amway also used organizational methods to offer employees a taste of what the management literature sometimes called “simulated entrepreneurship.” Amway’s multilevel marketing structure flushed its liability downstream to its often-indebted sales force, but this organizational approach did, at least on paper, provide the opportunity to “build your own business.” Amway’s intensely evangelical Christian internal culture is infamous today. But it’s not as if — extrapolating from Frank’s story about Republican Party culture-war tactics — Amway used Christianity to get unwitting employees in the door to do its economic bidding. On the contrary, Amway’s history is a reminder of the deep intertwining of American Christian culture with economic values of hard work, personal responsibility, and self-ownership. At the end of his life, William Jennings Bryan himself was most famous not for his Populist advocacy but for his outspoken biblical literalism.

The most important post–New Deal retail firm was Walmart. Here too, as the historian Bethany Moreton has written, economic and cultural populism were inseparable. Walmart’s leaders understood the anxieties about proletarianization that its predominantly rural workforce had inherited from the Populist period. Managers worked diligently to encourage employees to conceive of themselves as “associates” rather than workers. They would not simply sell products but would “serve” customers, in an explicitly Christian fashion. Walmart’s practice of hiring wives to work in sales and husbands to work in distribution sought to reforge the family as an economic unit, as it had been before the late 19th-century wave of industrialization and incorporation. Wages were low, but the result was “always low” prices for the stores’ community-based clientele — including its workforce.

As Walmart expanded, the middle-class consumers of Sun Belt suburbia also came to benefit from its always low prices. For the cowboy capitalists, low prices were a hedge against government dependency. By supporting supply chain deregulation and resisting unionization and minimum-wage hikes, consumers could continue to enjoy the “American standard of living” without having to rely on government handouts or high wages attained through class struggle. Behind middle-class consumerism lay the producerism of the Populists’ favorite scripture verse: “If any will not work, neither shall he eat.” Low prices were prices that the middle class could pay, ostensibly, with the sweat of their brow.

Walmart workers and shoppers were not loyal to Walmart “because of” Walmart’s cultural conservatism and “despite” its economic conservatism. Rather, Walmart formed a nexus where economic and cultural conservatism were inseparable and even indistinguishable. As with Amway and McDonald’s, Walmart’s strategy was masterminded by elite leaders capable of astonishing cynicism. But the cynicism of elite leaders does not entail, as Frank and other contemporary left-populists often imply, that the commitment of “ordinary working people” to institutions like Amway, McDonald’s, and Walmart — or the Republican Party — is shallower than it appears. Rather, conservative populism fed on the powerful compatibility between widely and firmly embraced cultural values and the economic interests of particular capitalists.

Like many white blue-collar workers, middle-class Sun Belters also dreamed the Populist dream of family capitalism. Instead of the independent trucker, their cultural heroes were the new class of billionaires that historian Steve Fraser calls “populist plutocrats.” These men were not anonymous corporate overlords but charismatic leaders of empires that they religiously kept in the family. Some of them, like Charles and David Koch and — yes — Donald Trump, inherited their fortunes. But others, like Sam Walton and Amway’s Richard DeVos, could convincingly mythologize themselves as self-made.

What the populist plutocrats held out was simultaneously cultural and economic. They offered a seductive glimpse of an economic order where even the most successful captains of industry were hardworking, personally invested owner-operators, not parasitic money manipulators. “Family values,” as Melinda Cooper has emphasized, were neoliberal economic values, and vice versa. Post–New Deal capitalism, its boosters argued, would be controlled neither by out-of-touch Washington bureaucrats nor by robotic, gray-flannel-suited managers, but by families embedded in their communities. This same logic functioned on the level of public policy: even icy-veined technocrats like the Chicago “human capital” prophet Gary Becker justified rollbacks to the welfare state on the grounds that families would have no choice but to pick up the slack, through debt if necessary, returning the family to the central place in the economic order it once occupied. These same family values were at the heart of the renewed plausibility and attractiveness of the conservative vision of work and success. When Sam Walton drove his old Ford pickup truck around Bentonville every day, it represented a promise that any Bentonville Ford driver could become Sam Walton. It was a cynical move, to be sure. But Walton’s gesture worked not just because liberal elites offered no alternatives but because it perfectly played on his employees’ deepest anxieties and beliefs.

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bowieandqueen11 · 6 years ago

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This Girl / Steve Harrington Fluff

Reader: Hey, could I have a Steve Harrington x reader where y/n went to high school with him. She was in the track team and everyone thought she was just a jock. She works at the mall and comes to visit him at work. But when Dustin comes she nerds out with him and makes Steve love her even more. She helps fight the mind flayer and is badass. She gets knocked out at one point so Steve freaks out and accidentally admits his feelings. Then have a happy ending. Thank you! I can’t wait to see it.

This is so adorable my lovely anon! All comments and feedback are much appreciated, and honestly mean a lot! <3

Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington. Now that was a name you were never going to forget. Especially as he happened to be your best friend.

High school had been tough, even with the coolest kid in Hawkins by your side. His friends were always vulgar, and rude, and quite obviously disapproved of you hanging out with them at lunch from the glares they gave you over the sticky canteen tables, bubblegum popping from their lips with an air of distaste. Sitting with someone from the track team for them was only okay if it was a hot guy they could hit on later, but Steve’s childhood best friend who constantly stole his thunder and attention? Not so much.

Sighing to yourself, you shake yourself out of your thoughts by pulling your blue apron over your head in preparation for your break away from the food court. Smoothing down your navy shorts and straightening your newly washed white dress shirt, you lift up the flap in the counter and skip away from the cash register, a small smile beginning to brighten your face at the thought of Scoops Ahoy, and at the prospect of seeing Steve’s adorable little hat that he’s so frustrated about during yet another thirty minutes of total bliss.

You still sometimes are awestruck by this great monstrosity that had managed to eat its way into the midst of small town Hawkins; the architecture, the domed roof higher than cathedral and made of the most beautiful swirling glass, a mirage of blue and white. The walkways flow with rivers of people, a sterile, blinding white tile that shine like the surface of a lake at sunrise. In the background is music to soothe, gentle flowing notes to take the shopper's cares far away, an ordered chaos full of life and hope.

Stepping into the shop, you laugh lightly to see a disgruntled Steve watching a smirking Erica walk away. Steve’s face brightens into a beaming smile as you approach.

‘Ahoy, my lady, I didn’t see you there!’

‘Steve, I literally come here the same time everyday, dipshit. Now. where’s my best friend?’

‘Hey! I thought I was your best friend?’

You shrug your shoulders, a smile tugging at your lips. ‘You’re up there. Definitely. But I have to say, David in the food court makes a mean smoothie. And what do you have, Mr Ice cream scooper?’

Whipping out his scoop and twirling it in his fingers, he runs around the corner, shock lining his expression before he comes stumbling to a halt in front of you, his little sailor hat slightly crooked over his hair. There’s silence for a moment, neither of you noticing Robin peer out with an amused, knowing smirk from the back room as the two of you start to break into giggles, before Steve comes barrelling into your arms.

You shove him out of the way however, ignoring the light gasp and ‘hey!’ that bubble from his lips as you see a mass of curls approach behind him, covered by a very recognisable red and white hat,

‘Henderson??’

‘Y/n!? Damn girl, I have missed seeing you.’

Running forwards, you nearly slip across the floor and straight into a metal chair to reach Dustin. You giggle lightly as Dustin chuckles along, the two of you doing your signature intricate handshake as Dustin hops lightly, overjoyed to see you working at the mall as well.

‘Hey...hey, hello? Earth to you two, I’m still here?’

Not noticing Steve’s plea, you wrap one arm around Dustin, before launching into a myriad of questions concerning how summer camp had been and whether he had time yet to go see Back to the Future and what he thought about the concept of time travel and on and on and on, your arms waving animatedly in the air and your eyes bright.

However, what you don’t see, are Steve’s eyes. Even as you yap, his eyes constantly lock onto your cheeks with a burning heat, willing the blush crawling up his neck to disappear as he sees Dustin pause for a moment, smirking back at Steve who only shakes his head with a giddy smile. As time seems to slow down for him, he can’t help but watch your breath rise and fall, or see the way the rays of light from the swinging lamps fall and light up the soft locks of your hair, bathing you in a halo of light, which he thought was rather fitting. Dustin was disturbed by the awe-struck look Steve was desperately giving you, his head which was tilted slightly suddenly snapping up as he heard Dustin’s high pitched giggles, turning his head towards Robin who raises her eyebrows and only replies by sliding the little counter window shut.

That was the moment Steve knew for sure, and it scared him a little to realise how furious these feelings now raged in his heart, having squashed them down to lie dormant for a while as the whole madness of the Upside Down carried on. He was ferociously, madly in love, and he couldn’t hide it anymore.

‘I’m so sorry, so damn sorry to have dragged you into this, y/n.’

‘Steve, you didn’t drag me into anything’, you try to shout over the deafening sound of bursting fireworks that fizzle and spin in bright red and blue sparkles in front of your eyes, continuing as the Mindflayer roars, ‘this was my own damn decision. Plus, I can’t just leave you all doped up for the Russians to take again, can I? What sort of best friend would I be.’

Steve’s lips twitch, and you swear you see tears well up in his eyes as he turns towards you, looking away from the Mindflayer. He steadies himself against the stone pillar, and you grimace slightly to see the blood that soaks his shirt as it pours like tears from the deep cut on his forehead, his hands shaking, but he’s not sure it’s because of the danger he finds himself in yet again.

‘I...I wish I had more time, y/n. There are so many things I wanted to say to you.’

His heart hammers as you squint at him. ‘I have so many questions, but you’re kind of scaring me with this whole ‘more time’ bullcrap.’

Your voice nearly breaks as you continue. ‘You better not be trying anything, Harrington.’

Steve rustles his shorts, one slipping up his thigh as he stares at you, afraid to move but knowing the only way he could keep you safe, the girl he had been in love with since the first day of school, the girl he had shared countless sleepless nights with, countless memories of road trips during summer break where it was just the two of them and his newest Queen cassettes, was to end this himself.

He finally allows the tears to slip down his cheeks, and you huff lightly as you finally take in his meaning. Letting out a shaking breath, you whisper, ‘not on your life, Harrington.’

Standing up, stumbling to your feet, feeling angrier and more indignant now than you ever had in your life, you turn to face the thing that had plagued this town and the boy who owned your heart for too long now, raising your arms out in tight fists by your side before running forward out of a floundering Steve’s grasp, as the Mindflayer just roars in your face.

The cold, slimy tendrils wrap around your arm and his midriff, scraping and winding around your bloody uniform as Eleven scrambles back, nearly falling down the steps as an eternity of razor teeth roar out into the near empty mall. You feel the heat of the firework’s flames as the Mindflayer moves closer, your grunts and moans of frustration bursting against your lips as you feel the blood start to trickle against your chin, feel the air begin to leave your lungs as your chest begins to squeeze. Hitting out against the thing, you kick and scrab and fight with all that’s left in you, closing your eyes tight and thinking only of Steve’s laugh. And for a moment, as its hold begins to loosen, it feels as if you’ve won.

The next thing you feel, however, is not a sharp point ripping through your chest, but the cold hard crack of your back as you hit against the cold tiles again. For a peaceful few minutes, you lose consciousness, dreaming of your childhood in short flashes, not noticing Steve stumbling to his feet, his eyes bloodshot and cloudy as his heart begins to pound, whispering small little ‘no, no, no, please god no’ ‘s to himself like a mantra as he hobbles across the tiles, his boots nearly slipping in his desperation to get to you, to hold you, to know that you’re alive. He pushed Mike harshly out of the way, falling to his knees by your side.

‘No, no, goddammit y/n, not now. You can’t die now, not now! Come on, I love you! Please, y/n, I love you. I can’t lose you now.’

Nancy never thinks she’s seen Steve cry so much before, but as she wanders over, watching the tears drip down his cheeks in hot streams, his eyes nearly shut with pain as his lips blubber, so unsure as to what or say or what to do as his hands tremble, hovering over your body, she’s frightened by its intensity.

‘Somebody-somebody call a damn ambulance! I can’t lose you now, y/n. Please, god just please. I’m an idiot, I know, but I’m you’re idiot, y/n. If you can hear me, please open your eyes.’

Pressing his head down onto your neck, he begins to sob gently, before they turn into devastating, racking sobs that echo throughout the silent building.

‘Why would you do that? Why would you do that, y/n?’

‘B-because I love you too’, you whisper, your eyes flickering awake to see his wide eyes hovering over you, nearly crying at the slight hope that glints in his forlorn eyes, not even caring about the pain in your head as he wraps his arms around your middle, resting his head just above your struggling, but strong heartbeat.

‘I swear-I swear if you ever do that when I’m just about to launch into a speech about my undying love for you’, he begins to whisper with laughing hiccups, ‘you’re never getting another free sundae again.’

#stranger things #stranger things 3 #stranger things imagine #steve harrington #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fluff #joe keery #joe keery imagine #steve stranger things #steve stranger things imagine #mike wheeler #the mindflayer #steve stranger things x reader

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ponyosmom35 · 10 months ago

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I Really Miss You

Bittersweet chapter thirty two

Steve Harrington x fem oc

synopsis: Steve finally confronts Indie after freindzoning her, unable to take the silence.

link to master list:

https://www.tumblr.com/ponyosmom35/733401347573088256/simon-ghost-riley?source=share

In the sprawling expanse of the Starcourt Mall, Steve Harrington often found himself more occupied with the view across the corridor than with his actual job at Scoops Ahoy. Dressed in his overly conspicuous sailor outfit, he scooped ice cream with mechanical motions, his attention fixed on The Gap where Indie Holland, was now working.

Indie was a familiar presence, yet she felt miles away. Their interactions, once easy and filled with laughter, had become infrequent and fraught with unspoken tension. Since he had inadvertently friend-zoned her, a decision he regretted deeply, there was a palpable distance between them, marked by awkward eye contact and hurried looks away. Steve missed her terribly, missed the comfort of their friendship, and the mall felt emptier despite the constant shoppers.

Today, like many days before, Steve watched for the moment Indie would take her break. As she stepped out from behind the counter at The Gap and made her way to the food court, Steve seized the opportunity, hastily handing off his scooping duties to Robin with a muttered excuse about needing a quick break.

Indie, settling at a secluded table with a coffee, seemed lost in thought and didn't notice Steve approaching until he was almost beside her. She looked up, surprise quickly morphing into a guarded expression.

"Hey, Indie," Steve began, trying to keep his voice even. "Can we talk?"

Indie looked hesitant, her body language closed off. "Steve, I don't know if that's a good idea," she replied, her tone cool.

"I just... Please, just a few minutes," Steve pleaded, his heart sinking with the fear of losing what had once been so good between them.

Reluctantly, Indie nodded, and they found a quiet corner away from the bustling crowd. They sat, the air heavy with anticipation and past hurts.

Steve took a deep breath. "I've been thinking a lot about everything that happened... about how I handled things. I'm sorry, Indie. I really miss talking to you."

Indie cut him off, her words quick and filled with a mix of emotions. "Steve, I'm sorry too. I've been really distant, and it was wrong of me. I guess I was just hurt, and I didn't handle it well."

Her openness caught Steve off guard. "You don't have anything to apologize for, Indie. It's on me. I just... I really missed you."

The conversation slowly deepened, evolving into a sincere exchange of feelings and apologies. They both spoke of missed connections and the pain of misunderstanding.

As they delved into their heartfelt discussion, Indie glanced at Steve's Scoops Ahoy uniform and couldn't help but smirk. "So, how's life on the high seas with Robin?" she quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

Steve chuckled, grateful for the break in intensity. "Robin's great, actually. She's funny and really smart. We get along well."

Indie's smile faltered slightly, her heart twinging with a pang of jealousy she hadn't anticipated. She sounds perfect for him, Indie thought bitterly, though she kept her smile intact. "That's great, Steve. She sounds awesome."

Steve, oblivious to her inner turmoil, nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, she's been a great friend. You would really like her"

"I'm sure" she smiles

They continued talking, the air around them gradually lightening. But inside, Indie felt a mix of emotions swirling. She was happy to be reconnecting with Steve, yet the mention of Robin reminded her of what she'd pushed away and what might be growing in her absence. The thought nagged at her as they wrapped up their conversation, promising to not let so much time pass between them again.

"I heard that Billy Hargrove talked to you"

"He did" she confirms

"What did he have to say?" Steve asks, his protective instincts coming out.

"He apologized"

"He did?" steve asks in surprise

"Yeah it was really sincere"

"I'm shocked"

"He's not a bad guy, he just has a lot of shit in his head"

"He beat me unconscious and broke your head open"

"Yeah he hasn't handled himself well, and he knows that. I think he's really sorry"

"Yeah right" steve rolls his eyes

"I'm loving the uniform by the way" she says changing the subject and pointing to his uniform.

"Yeah it's unfortunate"

"No I like it! It suits you" she giggles

In all reality, she was in awe of how Steve was able to somehow make a horrific uniform look good. Only he could do such a thing.

"thanks" he says running his hands through his hair "well I gotta get back to work"

"Good luck, seems busy over there" she smiles

"Come by after your off and I'll hook you up with the best ice cream you've ever had" he smirks

"Okay" she smiles

As they parted ways, Indie felt both relief and a lingering sense of what might have been. She watched Steve return to Scoops Ahoy, his laughter reaching across the food court as he joked with Robin. Indie turned away, her heart heavy, a mixture of happiness for his newfound friendship and a selfish sadness that it wasn't her by his side, sharing those moments.

The walk back to The Gap was longer than she remembered, each step weighed down by complex feelings and the realization that moving forward might mean letting go of what could have been, even as she cherished the renewed friendship they had managed to salvage from the brink of silence.

#steve harrington fic #steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things s4 #strsnger things #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfiction #steve harrington smut #steve harrington imagine #steve stranger things #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington angst

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revisionaryhistory · 5 years ago

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Three Days ~ 52

~*~Emma~*~

It's been a very long time since I've had a panic attack, but I remember how weak and out of control I felt. The only way through is to let it have you. The more you fight the worse it gets. Diving in, letting the cycle run its course, letting the adrenaline fade, is scary and difficult. I hate for him to have to deal with this. I know all I can do is support. I can't find the miracle fix for him and anyone else trying to talk you down can interrupt your process, your coping skills. Depending on someone else to pull you through is dangerous because no one can promise they will always be available. We're still learning each other. Hell, everyone is, so we're not unique. My instinct was to give him permission to take care of himself.

I wish I could say his fear that me waking to a note wouldn't have made me wonder if something was wrong. After what Kirk and Alissa had said last night, I can't be sure a note wouldn't have scared me. But I was awake and happy when Sebastian took off out the door. We were going to have to talk about what they said and what the conversation was in the room he was in.

Sebastian started laughing right through the door, which was what I was going for. I'd taken a shower, dressed, and sat on the couch reading with a cup of coffee. As soon as I heard him unlocking the door, I flipped around where my crossed legs were up the back of the couch, my back on the seat, and my head hanging off the edge. I said, "Hey, baby." and started to sit up.

"Don't move." He threw his keys on the table near the door and ran over, dropping to his hands and knees when he got close. Crawling the last few feet, he kissed me upside down. It's harder than I expected, but we worked it out. Sebastian sat on the floor, adjusting his position until my head on his shoulder wasn't fucking with my neck. He ran his fingers through my hair, combing it down his chest. He made a contented sound; part sigh, part moan, and part hum.

I turned my head to kiss the side of his neck. "How you doing?"

"Good. Back to normal. Sweaty." He turned to kiss my temple. “Thank you."

"Not needed."

"Yes, it is."

The tone of his voice, the seriousness, told me while it was no big deal for me to let him do what he needed, for him it was. Kind of how our first night him making sure I knew he'd stop if I said to meant something different to each of us. I said a simple, "You're welcome" and added, "Anytime, Sebasti-an."

I didn’t know “anytime” in Romanian, but I wanted his name anyway.

"Oricând." He turned where we could see each other.

I repeated, "Oricând, Sebasti-an."

"I believe you."

We smiled into a crazy intense yet sweet kiss, ending with him kissing my nose. "I'll go de-stink myself then we'll hit this cafe I ran by."

"Yum."

He turned halfway to the bedroom, "Did you rearrange anything while I was gone?"

"What fun would it be to tell you."

Twenty minutes later Sebastian reappeared in black shorts and a heather gray t-shirt. I wore green shorts and a cream t-shirt. We were walking so we both laced up our shoes and headed out.

It was a gorgeous day. Bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds. I pulled down my sunglasses, "Lead the way."

Sebastian took my hand and pointed, "Two blocks north, one east. I put my name on the list. Our table should be ready when we get there."

Like yesterday we walked slow and close. The three or four inches he was taller than me made a difference in our strides, but we got in sync quickly where it didn’t look like I was being drug down the street or trying to pull him back. I like holding hands. I like the innocent familiarity of it. It's nearly impossible to walk with your arms around each other. Plus, that looks clingy. Standing still with arms around is ok, but walking is awkward and too try-hard. We could walk down the street separate from each other. We could, but what fun would that be. Besides we're in the first blush of a new relationship. Touching might be a rule. It certainly seems it is for us. I can understand where people see holding hands as an adult as clingy. For me, I want to feel his warmth. I want my touch to let him know I’m attracted to him and want to touch him. If that's what clingy means, so be it. Not like I have any control over what other people think anyway.

I could see the sidewalk tables when we turned the corner and seconds later the smell hit. Fresh bread, rosemary, and something sweet. Maybe banana pancakes? We had to wait for our server to finish clearing our table. We leaned against the railing by the hostess stand watching people and looking at the food. I leaned in toward him, "I love this already."

Sebastian nodded, "I've been here twice, both times amazing."

The hostess came back to take us to our table. Sebastian took my hand and lead the way. He pulled out my chair and kissed me before moving to his chair. Tables were packed rather tight and there was a near constant rumble of voices, pieces of conversations, some you could follow and some were too hushed. It was easy to tell who wanted to be heard. We were on the side next to the railing with a good view of people passing by.

I was excited to see guava juice on the menu. It was my favorite in Hawaii, but hard to find other places. Fingers crossed it was good. While our server, Kim, was off getting our drinks I leaned back in my chair and looked out onto the street, "I forgot how much I love the city. How different things feel even on the same block. Boutiques, grocers, restaurants. There’s always something to explore. I miss it. I haven’t been exploring in a long time. When I come down to see Ang and Eli, he’s usually playing so it’s mostly nightlife. Not a Sunday brunch and stroll around the neighborhood.”

Sebastian laid his hand on the table, motioning his fingers for mine. He waited until my fingers were in his before speaking, “That makes me happy. Us doing something you haven’t in a while.”

“Me too.”

“Feel free to load me down with bags if you wanna do some shopping. Lots of clothing shops around here.”

I smiled, “I’m more of an impulse shopper than a browser. Something in a window may catch my eye and pull me in. I’m not much for searching racks.”

“I search. Never know what hidden gem is shoved in between crap.”

“The exception is galleries like last night.”

“We should go back sometime when we don’t have to be anywhere.”

The food was delicious. We talked and laugh through our meal, sharing bites of what we liked best and as usual finding the other had something we liked better than our own. Kim took our empty plates away and we sat finishing our drinks and waiting for her to bring back the check. Something behind me caught Sebastian’s eye and he looked at me, “We’re going to have company.” I didn’t turn to check. A few seconds later two teenage girls were beside our table on the opposite side of the railing. Sebastian smiled, “Good morning, ladies.”

They smiled, one of them chewing nervously on her lip. The non-chewer spoke, “We didn’t want to interrupt your breakfast and were going to wait until you left, but we’ve got to meet our moms in like five minutes.”

He nodded, “Thanks for trying.”

I knew he didn’t like being approached during meals, but we were done. I couldn’t help but smile with the way they shifted from foot to foot and looked ready to either scream or burst into tears.

The same girl continued, “We love Bucky and have seen Endgame about five times. We can’t believe Cap gave Sam the shield and not Bucky. It looked like they left out a whole conversation between Bucky and Cap where he explained he was going back in time to Peggy. Bucky looked like he already knew what was going on when they hugged and then when Cap came back old.”

Sebastian made a face and bobbled his head, “I think Sam’s going to be a great Captain America.” He talked to both of them, but he kept a closer eye on the nervous one. “I think you’re right; Bucky knew what was going on. They probably did talk it out and Bucky’s always going to do what he needs to for Steve.” He stood up, moving to the railing, and reaching for the girl still chewing on her lip, “Come here.” She got closer and he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re ok.”

I heard her slightly muffled voice, “I don’t want you to be mad ‘cause we came over.”

He squeezed her tighter, “Not mad.” He let her go and looked at the phone in her friend’s hand, “You want a picture?”

They both nodded, “Please.” She handed her phone to her friend and put her arm around Sebastian.

I watched the girl shaking. She was never going to get a picture that wasn’t blurred and moving. I touched her arm, “Here, I’ll take it.” I took the first and waited for them to trade out. Sebastian pulled them both in for a hug and I took a picture of that too, because for real, that’s the picture you really want. When he let them go, I handed the girl back her phone.

Sebastian had kept his arm around the nervous one, “Can you do me a favor?” They immediately nodded, not even knowing the favor. “Don’t post this for a few hours. Some people would try and find me from your picture.”

“No problem.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you on a date?” said the brave one.

I didn’t care what he answered, but I was amused. Sebastian made a face at her, “You know I’m not going to answer.” He glanced at me then back to her, “Besides if you’ve been watching us have brunch you don’t need me to answer. I’d appreciate you keeping her out of any pictures if she was accidentally in them.” That made the brave one blush. She nodded. “Thank you.” Sebastian gave the nervous one another squeeze before returning to his seat, “Thanks for coming by to say hi.”

The nervous one waved to me. I smiled and waved back. I watched them walk away, making sure they were out of earshot before I looked back at Sebastian. “It pays to be nervous around you. She got all sorts of snuggles.”

He laughed, “She looked like she was going to pee her pants.”

“I’ll have to check your tags on the train home and see if they did as you asked.”

“They usually do. Most of my fans are respectful. The minority just happen to be more vocal.” He looked in the direction they’d walked off. “I’m sure they took sneaky pictures of us. Hopefully, they’ll edit you out. I don’t care if they say I was on a date, but I don’t want to see pictures of you.” He smiled and repeated my words from the festival, “Privacy shouldn’t be the price you pay for being with me.” He signed the check and took my hand, “Ready to go?”

“Yep.”

We wove through several blocks looking and windows and ducking inside. I broke from habit in this amazing boutique clothing store we found. I could have stayed there for hours. They had everything from comfy loungewear, bottoms, tops, outerwear, and dresses. Style ranged from cute to sexy. Sebastian was a good sport and I kept what I tried on to a reasonable number. He seemed to enjoy the fashion show and his expressions made his opinion clear. His favorite was a sleeveless hot pink mini dress with an embroidered collar and details. I was surprised. He just shrugged and said it was fun and flirty. Like me. It went home with us.

Sebastian showed me his favorite places and where he shopped. We added bags of his purchases too. We reached max shopping at the same time and headed back to his place. He dropped the bags on the chair and headed to the kitchen grabbing a couple of bottles of water. I kicked off my shoes and slouched down on the couch, “I’ll be visiting that shop again.”

“There was a lot in there that looked like you.” He handed me a bottle and sat down beside me.

“I like bright colors.”

“You look good in bright colors. You look good in black too. And muted colors. Pastels.” He leaned in and kissed me, “I guess I just like how you look. Among other things I like about you.”

I smiled my thanks and savored another kiss. I unscrewed the bottle top and took a drink. “I wanted to talk to you about last night.”

“Which part? There was a ton of shit going on last night.”

“True. I meant the part where Angie drug me out of the room with Kirk and Alissa in tow.”

He nodded, “The meeting about me.”

I laughed, “It was more about me, although you came in at the end.” I turned on the couch, pulling up one leg where my calf rested against his thigh, and I draped the other across his lap. He screwed the top onto his water bottle, laying it beside him before his hands moved to my legs. I wrapped my fingers around the one on my bent leg. I liked us being tangled together. This wasn’t a comfortable conversation. “Angie was butthurt because she thought I hadn’t talked to her about you to the degree she thought I should have.” I could tell he didn’t understand. “We don’t act like we met two weeks ago.”

His laughter interrupted me, “Will said the exact same thing to me.”

“It threw her when we showed up being more comfortable than she’d expected. I filled in Alissa and Kirk and they kept looking at each other and Alissa was repeating things slowly. Like “he threw you over his shoulder and carried you out of the park” and “you call your dad Ed.” I imitated her slow pauses. “I got a little protective and defensive. Went on a rant.” He smiled and I rolled my eyes. “Might have been a little drunk.” He scrunched up his nose and nodded. I had to kiss him. “I said the touching and kissing is just you.”

Sebastian kept eye contact and shook his head back and forth, “Not at all me.”

“That’s what they said. Even raised their hands to be called on.” That part had been funny.

“What did they say?” He didn’t seem angry or anything other than curious.

“There’s not many pictures of you being affectionate with girlfriends. A couple of pap walks. You with friends is different than you with women. You have lots of feelings, but keep them on the inside, not letting them out. Thinking too much makes you emotionally unavailable.” Those words made him wince. “I had another rant about how I don’t know the person they were talking about. I’ve never felt kept outside. We’ve always had intimate conversation, often with you initiating. I would never say you were emotionally unavailable. And after calling me a drunken cow, Alissa said the you last night was the fun, unguarded, happy Seb you are with friends.”

Sebastian looked straight ahead for a little bit and did things with his mouth. He scratched his cheek and looked back at me, “I think I’m pissed at a couple of my friends.”

I smiled and ran my fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. He didn’t pull away, he leaned back into the touch. “I don’t want you to be mad. Had you gone for a run this morning and left a note I would have been freaked out. What I know doesn’t match with what they said and I don’t want to have those thoughts in my head. It’s not fair to either of us.”

He took a hand from my leg, placing it on the back of my head to pull me closer. His kiss was deep and tense. “You are one hundred percent to right to talk to me about this. We’re about to be apart almost as long as we’ve known each other and I don’t want you doubting me. Us.”

I kissed him. Soft. I didn’t move away until I felt him relax. “It’s me being brave and vulnerable.”

“You know, I think about that conversation a lot.” He smiled again, a sweet tender smile that made my stomach flip. “It was day three and we were talking about how it’s hard to be open, honest, and vulnerable with another person. Only it wasn’t all that hard. I mean, I might think “oh shit”, but it’s never been enough to stop me.” He looked like a piece had fallen into place. He looked to the ceiling, “Which might be why I had a panic attack in the middle of the night.” His eyes returned to mine, “I don’t know if this is going to make any sense. Not because I’m scared, but because I’m not. I’m still overthinking and still have the same anxieties, but it’s different because I don’t feel like I need to cover it up. You take my shit in stride.”

“What’s different?”

He frowned and shook his head, “Besides you? No idea. Which might be why I had a panic attack in the middle of the night.” He smiled and kissed me, “I’ll read back over what I wrote this morning and figure it out.”

“And there’s always Thursday with the therapist.”

“Good point, princess.” This time he squeezed my hand, “So . . . while I’m pissed at them for dropping all that on you, nothing they said is wrong. Girlfriends and dates in between would tell you they can’t read me and they never know what I’m feeling. I don’t show it and I won’t talk about it. I run hot and cold. I get insecure and pull them closer. I get insecure and push them away. I’m different with my friends. I have intimacy issues. Commitment issues. I’m a mess.” He lifted my hand to his lips, “Except I’m not. With you. None of those things is true. With you. I don’t mean that in some unhealthy co-dependent way, it’s just different with you.”

“Did you ever think you might be different too?” I question it being all about me. I don’t have some magic wand that takes away all his “issues.” I’ll agree I may respond differently and that does make a difference, but I don’t think he’s giving himself enough credit.

“I don’t know what would be different. I may respond differently than with someone else, but you react differently. Like this morning. I can tell you how that would have gone in the past. It would have been a discussion about what was I anxious about and why didn’t wake her up and why I don’t let her in. A million questions and suggestions, but never asking what it was I needed to be ok. It played out very different and not because I did anything different.”

“I’m sorry.” I ran the back of my fingers over his beard.

“Why are you sorry?”

“I’m sorry no one asked you what you needed.” I could see my words hit him, see him feel them. It was a subtle catch in his chest and breathing.

“We’re going to pause talking for a few minutes.” He pulled me into his lap. “Because right now I need to feel you.”

#Sebastian Stan #sebastian stan fanfiction

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aviationfiction · 6 years ago

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XXXV

Autumn Dupont

“Autumn, how the hell do you come up with this shit? Dante, you’re going to be overweight about six months into your marriage, once you two finally tie the knot.” As my lazy frame further sunk down into the chair on the right side of the dining room table, I snickered as my brother stuck his fork into the nearly finished pile of gingerbread Belgian waffles that I placed in the middle of the table about a half an hour ago. With it, I fried up a couple of pieces of boneless chicken and scrambled some eggs for the hell of it. The setting felt like an odd double date between Isaac, Lauren, Dante, and myself as we all sat around the table enjoying the breakfast I made after both men whined endlessly about being hungry.

I had no intention to make breakfast, because I wanted to go out for it and Dante was more than willing to oblige that request if I dressed myself quickly enough, but instead of pressing his pregnant wife to cook, Isaac pestered me into the kitchen and in front of the stove. With it being Christmas Eve, the gingerbread aspect of it made sense and plus it’s a recipe that I actually wanted to test out for breakfast tomorrow. Now I’m going to have to come up with something else. It’s bad enough that I’ve been baking since this morning.

“What’s that in the oven that smells so good?”

“I tested out this new recipe that I found online. It’s an apple-pecan gingerbread cobbler.” My fiancé nearly choked on his orange juice as his eyes widened in excitement at the sweetness that his taste buds will experience tonight and tomorrow night. Christmas is always my baking extravaganza. While in Miami, I was quite ridiculous with it and would do it out of sheer boredom, only to end up having to throw away the majority of it because I couldn’t eat it all alone. Anything that wasn’t trashed went to Mario’s house. I even baked for Lebron and Savannah James a couple of times and in exchange, she’d always make an extra one of her famous red velvet cakes with cream cheese frosting, just for me. Now that? I absolutely indulged and I’m not ashamed of it whatsoever.

“I can finally use the excuse that I’m eating for two and no one will bother me about it.” Lauren endearingly ran her hand across her budding belly.

The baby has certainly become an everyday topic of discussion around here with my mother being in overdrive and overkill mode. We’ve already secured a venue for Lauren’s baby shower and given the magnitude of it, the guestlist is going to contain a couple of hundred attendees. I’m not sure if I’ve ever attended or been a part of planning a baby shower that has already leaped over the imaginary twenty-five-thousand-dollar budget Isaac playfully tossed out there when it was spoken about, but twenty-five thousand seems to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Per the parents-to-be request, if they’re having a boy, Winnie The Pooh has to be incorporated into the theme and if it’s a girl, Tinkerbell. There’s also Heather’s celebrations that I’m automatically in charge of given that I’m the only one in her life who has the best friend and “sister” title. In all fairness, her mother and I agreed on a gender reveal being done right here in New Jersey and the actual baby shower being in Miami, where both she and Mario currently reside. With Mario being from Anchorage, Alaska and Heather being from up this way, choosing Miami is fair. That way, everyone has to travel and no one can pull the “inconvenience” card due to jealousy or indifference about the event being in either one of their native cities. Despite Heather’s protest, I’m paying for a portion of both events. It’s the least I can do as the God-mother. My gift to Isaac and Lauren will be the Balmoral Pram stroller that she’s been raving about ever since she confirmed her pregnancy and maybe an incredible bassinet of some sort.

“You certainly can. I’d like to think that’s one of the joys of pregnancy; eating and relaxing.”

“It’s going to have to be a joy because it seems to be all the grandmas and your brother wants me to be doing.” The way Isaac treats her as if not even the ground is not even worthy of her footprints, says more than enough. No offense, but her being barefoot and pregnant has been his goal since the two of them met. He’s the bread winner millions of times over, so what is the point in her having to do anything else? He never once asked her to sacrifice her career for him. It was a conversation and a choice that she ultimately made and she’s been more than satisfied ever since, from what I’ve observed. So that comment is no complaint. It’s leaning more in the lane of bragging.

“Well you know how this family is.” With her. In plenty of ways, Lauren has replaced my presence around here and it’s up to me to come to terms with it and whatever it entails.

“Hey. You still feel like driving me into the city so that I can pick up that last-minute gift? If you don’t feel like it, I can take myself. It’s no big deal.”

“Yeah, of course. Whenever you’re ready.” Dante instantly nodded his head as I pushed my seat away from the table and stood up.

“I just need to take that cobbler out of the oven and wash the dishes. I should be ready once I’m done with that.”

“I can do the dishes. You cooked. I’ll wash them.” He volunteered without a second thought about it and I shooed his effort away with the wave of my hand and the shaking of my head. Even with the fiancé status, he’s a guest in the house. I could never and would never allow him to wash a dish in here.

“No. It’s fine. Just finishing digesting those waffles. I have it under control.”

“I’ll do it. Go and handle your business. I’m sure the traffic in New York is a nightmare right now. The quicker you get there, the quicker you’ll be able to come back.” Isaac’s offer came as a surprise. Though I’m unsure if there’s a motive behind it, I’ll take it for the sake of exactly what he mentioned. Last minute shoppers are always a nightmare and I’d rather not have them trigger an intense headache that is sure to ruin this Christmas Eve as I try to maneuver through their desperation to finish off their Christmas lists. What I need is already gift wrapped and awaiting my pick up.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, go. Maybe you’ll run into mom and pop out there.”

“Dear God, I hope not. She’ll keep me in the store longer.”

Once I secured my cobbler in the perfect place for it to be able to cool down, I ran upstairs to grab my bag and met Dante at the car. He’d gone out ahead out me to warm it up and to make a phone call.

It didn’t take much of a debate to get him to come and spend the holidays with my family. Initially, I was going to keep things between just he and I simply because I decorated his apartment for specifically for that and most of all, because I didn’t want to necessarily snatch him out of his comfort zone, but he insisted that he was more than okay with joining in for our dorky Christmas traditions and my enthusiasm about the holiday. The man is currently donning an exact replica of the Christmas sweater the Grinch wore to the Whobiliation in the Jim Carry live action remake, just for me. I’m one hundred percent sure he probably internally cringed when I pulled it out of the box that it came in but he put it on without much protest. I hope he’s just as enthusiastic about the matching pajamas we’re going to be wearing tonight.

“We’re going to the one on Fifth Avenue?”

“Yeah, the Rockefeller Center location.”

Per his usual, he looked on as I pulled the seat belt around myself and secured it. He then double checked it. As his eyes transitioned to the driveway, I change the station on his radio to Light FM so that I could enjoy the endless sounds of my favorite holiday songs. I’ve been doing it every single time I’ve gotten into his car or anyone else’s since the middle of November and I have no plans to stop until New Years Eve.

“You know, I’ve been watching you in action ever since December hit. You’re so in love with the holiday season. I feel like I should be mentally preparing myself for when we have kids because it’s going to be all that you’re doing now, but times a thousand.”

“Sounds about right buddy. You got down on that knee and asked, so you’re stuck with me and all of my Christmas loving antics.” Am I loser for looking forward to my first holiday Christmas card with my own family? We’re going to shoot for a holiday Christmas card once we’re married whether we have children or not at that specific point. Do you know how many of them I’d gotten in the mail in Miami from the fellow WAGs on the team? I had to deal with a stack or two being piled up on the entryway table in our foyer all throughout December. And then there’s the one that my own family does that I avoid like a plague nowadays. Even since being back, I’ve yet to find time to make it to the little photo shoot they do in the living room right after Thanksgiving. I’m one hundred percent sure that I’m going to look like the oddball and will be the one all of my relatives have so much to say about when it lands in their mailboxes. I’m the “fuck up”; you know the one who did everything wrong. The more I stay under the radar, the less they have to say about me. I thought I’d been doing a good enough job with that until Richard St. James decided to make himself a presence between his son and I.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Is it because of Heather and Lauren?”

“No. I’m thrilled for them, but I’ve always wanted kids of my own. You know this.”

“I do know that. What I mean is, does it make you want to speed up the process?”

“No, not really. As I said to you before, whatever happens will happen. I used to have a time frame on it, but I don’t anymore.”

“I have a time frame on it. I have nothing to show for myself individually. I’d at least like to get somewhere in life so that my kid will be able to be proud of me.”

“And where do you believe you are in life right now?”

“A college dropout.”

“Yeah, and so is Mark Zukerberg, Michael Dell, Steve Jobs was one, Bill Gates, Evan Williams, Jan Koum, and a bunch of others. What’s your point? I will never understand why you constantly berate and belittle yourself all in a way to unfairly compare yourself to others.” I don’t expect him to understand it, because he’s not in my position nor will he ever be. It’s something that I have to live with until I improve on it.

“Did you just compare me to the men who created Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple?”

“I compared you to college dropouts.” His lips pursed together as his brow creased in a growing frustration.

“The comparison was to make the point that the college dropout label has no standing when you go and do something beyond that. Why is it that everyone else notices the talents that you have more than you do? If going back to college is what you want to do, then baby, I’m all for it. I’ve told you that before and will tell you it again. Go back and get that degree. I know that it means something to you and you’d like to be able to at least have one higher education diploma hanging up on your parents’ mantle alongside Shane and Isaac’s. If you don’t want to go back, don’t. I’m just as fine with that. If you want to go full throttle into beginning a business for your designs, I am all for it. Whatever you need for it, I’m going to give it to you with no second thoughts or hesitation about it. Your event planning expertise is unmatched. You want to open a business for that? I’m supporting it. Whatever you want to do, I have your back, sides, and front. So, don’t sit there and make it seem like our children will look down on you because you didn’t graduate from college. If the way you take care of those who you love is any example of the kind of mother you’ll be, then consider our kids blessed.” His words never fail to silence me, especially when he’s expressing a point about what he feels about me.

In a lot of cases, we typically feel like those who love us have those moments of obligation to say something nice, whether they mean it or not, especially when we’re being our own toughest critics. Whether they truly do believe I’m a failure or not, my parents do it. My mother is always eager to have a moment to pet me and shower me with love that I sometimes do and don’t need. My father is less likely to do it than she is and it’s because I try my best not to have too many emotional moments within his presence more so for his sake than my own.

I don’t think he knows what to say to me at this point in my life other than for me to get it together and he doesn’t even say that because I’m sure he believes I’m too sensitive to hear it from him. I’ve disappointed him, though he doesn’t use that exact word or anything synonymous with it. He had to go from bragging to the entire family about my future as a doctor to maneuvering around with his head tucked between his thighs because I’d become a public spectacle. So, I usually control the direction of our conversation with one another and I keep them extremely general or focused on whatever is going on in his life. It’s for the better.

“Stacey is planning our engagement party. I just thought you should know.”

“Sounds like something Stacey would do. I’m not surprised.” At all. I’m one hundred percent sure she began planning that party in her mind as soon as he slipped the ring on my finger; maybe even before that.

“I think she wants to reach out to your mother about it. It would probably be best to include her in the planning of something like that, right?”

“I don’t know, I guess so. She kind of has herself tied up in everything going on with Isaac and Lauren’s baby, so if Stacey can bare the bulk of the work, it would probably be for the better.” The faint dust of snow trickling onto the windows immediately caused my eyes to lighten up. We’re not going to have a white Christmas at all. Because I was never anticipating it, I’m more than okay with the flurries that we’re going to get throughout today and the middle of the night. They’re further enhancing the spirit.

“Okay.”

“I already know you shut down at least twenty of her ideas about it.”

“Not twenty but maybe five or six. She’s trying to invite the whole entire New York City. You know that’s not my vibe.”

“You have a nightclub.”

“And that’s exactly why it’s not my vibe. I’d rather not have people putting on the most expensive outfit in their closet and showing up to a personal event of mine for the sake of clout chasing. If I can’t look at you and immediately recognize who you are, then no thank you. Speaking of the club, are you coming to the New Year’s Eve party?”

“I’ll be there. Will you have time for me is the real question here.”

“I will. We’re going to be double staffed that night, so that’s less of a work load on Fred, Mike, and myself. So, I’ll be by your side the majority of the time. I promise.”

“Alright, because I don’t want to have to find some random to kiss when the ball drops.”

“I’d rather not start the New Year off in handcuffs, Autumn.”

“You’re one to talk. I was five seconds away from snatching that bartender from behind the bar at the holiday party.” The smirk on his face nearly made me punch him in the chest. Though I doubt he fed into her antics, I’m sure it stroked his ego and allowed him to know that he still has that aura that can instantly make a woman drop her panties for him without him ever having to try or say anything.

“You saw that?”

“How could I not? Her eyes were following you around the room all damn night. And then, she looked like she wanted to kill me when we were speaking.”

“You had nothing to worry about. Heather was going to kill her for you. I had to hurry up and hug her so that I could get her to turn around. If looks could kill, that chick would have been instantly dead.”

“That’s my sister!” My shoulders rose in pride. I would have done the same exact thing for her.

“I already know that you know you have nothing to worry about, so I don’t think I have to reassure you, but I will anyway. I only want you.”

“Even when I’m a horny old lady and my boobs are sagging down to my stomach?”

“We’re just going to get you a good bra and I’ll pop a Viagra or two and handle that.” As I ran my hand over his arm, we shared mutual laughter over what our lives may be like when we’re somewhere in our late sixties or seventies. I’m looking forward to it. When you’re living your life and you have someone alongside you who only enhances the greatness of that, all you want to do is live out the experiences so that you’ll have something to be nostalgic about when speaking to the younger generation. God willing, our love story will be one worthy of a novel or one that will pass down through generations of our grandchildren.

The best part in myself singing and snapping my fingers along to all of my favorite Christmas hits is Dante in the driver’s seat butchering them after I invited him to join me in my glee. While snapping his fingers, he threw in words and lines that were never apart of the songs or would ever make sense. It was so comedic that I had to whip out my phone and record him. If we had the windows down, we certainly would have attracted the attention of New Yorkers walking along the sidewalks in the busy city. I had to accuse my man of being biased because while he butchered all of the songs sung by white artists, he certainly knew the Motown classics much better than he did those. I’m so mad that I didn’t bring our Santa hats out of the house with us. They would have been perfect for the video.

“This is a gift for your mother?” Dante glanced around at the display cases while I waited for my pick up order. I’d gotten her eighteen karat rose gold bangle with round rubies within it from their Atlas collection. It cost me just a little over six thousand dollars. The bracelet I originally wanted to get for her was a nearly ten karat gold cuff with three large rubies in it, but the thirty five thousand dollar price tag was a bit too hefty. Hopefully I’ll be able to grab it for her next Christmas. It’s so regal and attention commanding, much like herself.

“Yeah. It’s a bangle. She loves bracelets.”

“Good, because I got her one too.”

“Did you? That’s perfect. I know she’s going to love it and I don’t even know what it looks like.”

My curiosity had gotten the best of me, just as his did, and I too began to look around the store at the breathtaking pieces that most would only see in a fantasy. As the thought of Dante purchasing my mom a bracelet for Christmas, I couldn’t help but to think about his own and if he’d gotten her anything. I can’t even begin to imagine how it feels to have the one son born from her womb not be interested in seeing her on the most family-oriented holiday of the year.

“Wow.” I was a bit breathless as I nearly pressed my face against the glass to get a good look at the bracelet that was reminiscent of a flower bush with its light green tourmaline gems representing accenting leaves and floral patterns filled with diamonds. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“You like that?” I didn’t even know he was behind me.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Want it?” I knew it was coming. I fucking knew it.

“No.” As quickly as he asked is as quickly as I shut him down. I don’t even want to know how much it costs.

“Why? It’s Christmas.”

“So, what.”

“And you call me the fun police.” As I waved him off, he rolled his eyes.

I thought shutting him down would keep him off of my trails as I continued to look around the store, but he still continued to follow along and then linger around areas that I’d walk away from. Even after I picked up the gift, I still continued to walk around the store for a couple of minutes not only taking in the beauty of the jewelry but also the Christmas decorations donning every area of the place. I’ll miss all of the decorations when they’re gone next week.

“Are you hungry again? You want to grab a bite to eat before we go back to the house?”

“I have something else in mind. We’re in good timing too.”

“Good timing for what?”

“You’ll see.”

“See what?”

“Oh, don’t you love this song?”

The Temptations “Let It Snow” easily drowned me out during our short-lived drive. He literally only drove a few blocks and parked the car. I threw out every urge to be stubborn and continue questioning him as we walked down the sidewalk hand in hand, and I immediately wanted to jump into the air and click my heels as Radio City Music Hall came into view. I nagged about forgetting to get tickets to this show two weeks ago. We saw it literally every year when we were kids but I haven’t been in quite some time now. I’ve yet to experience the new changes such as the 3D effects and the LED lighting.

“It took ya’ll long enough. Do ya’ll know how cold it is out here?” Mike readjusted his beanie hat.

What I thought was going to be a little afternoon date between Dante and I turned out to be a group outing that included Mike, Fredrick, Erica, Stacey, and surprisingly Heather and Mario. How does this man do it?

“Aw! My friends!” The sight of all of them standing there warmed my heart more than anything else could have done within that moment. Everyone was just as festive as Dante and I in their ugly Christmas sweaters and hats. Heather had even gone all out and gotten green and red stripped leg warmers.

“Friends? Friends don’t let their friends freeze.”

“I didn’t even know.” To further annoy him, I pulled him into a bear hug and jokingly rubbed my arms up and down his body to warm him up.

“Don’t be rubbing on him. His body heat can handle that.”

“Don’t be a hater your whole life Al B Sure face ass.”

“Where were ya’ll anyway? Dante kept texting us to make sure we’re all on time and look at the late ones.” Heather cut her eyes at him.

“At Tiffany. We were literally a few blocks away.”

“Doing rich people shit, on colored people time. Sounds like Dante.” Stacey drew me in for a hug and I immediately made a mental note to ask her about her perfume.

“I’m surprised you’re here. Where’s the baby?”

“At home with my husband and his family. His mother is getting on every fucking nerve I have, so this saved me. If I wasn’t doing this, I was going out regardless. I’ll be back in time to be there with them for the evening.”

“Can we go inside? It’s fucking cold.”

“Can we? Because if he says that one more time, I’m leaving his ass out here.” Fredrick warmed Erica’s arms by doing the same exact thing that I’d done to Mike.

“Yes. Come on. We’re going through the entrance on the side of the building.”

Our kids are going to be spoiled. I’m beyond sure of it now, because I felt like the biggest pre-teen ever as we attended the pre-show reception in the Roxy Suite. He didn’t want to go and eat because there was already a ready-made buffet and open bar for all of us. And the best part? We were able to mingle with Santa and the Rockettes, take pictures, and we shared a hot chocolate toast to the coming holiday. Though they all ripped me to shreds for shedding tears of joy, I couldn’t refrain from doing so even if I tried. This is the first holiday season without an emotional roller coaster happening within my mind. I’m not experiencing those unstable moments of my mood being up and suddenly viciously crashing without warning. Though I miss Shane with every fiber of my being, I’m smiling and living. There’s a fulfillment there that I haven’t touched the surface of since everything spiraled in my world. I feel good; great even. My tears are joyous this year. I’m thankful.

“You know, this is the happiest he’s ever been for this holiday. Look at how much Scrooge is laughing.” Stacey quickly pointed towards all four men who were huddled together and laughing at God knows what as we awaited the show’s start.”

“It’s crazy, because Fredric said the same thing.” Erica winked to give me all of the credit for that.

“I know. I thought I was in overkill mode and making him uncomfortable, but he’s been such a good sport.”

“Anything for Autumn.” Heather mocked his tone of voice as best as she could.

“It’s not even like that.”

“Yes, it is.” Unison. It felt like I was standing before a choir of three as that response came out of their mouths. Okay, I’m a bit spoiled, but so what? He’s spoiled too.

“It’s alright though. Though he didn’t agree with me, he needed someone to take care of him in all of the ways that people weren’t; in ways that I couldn’t. I do my best in the big sister role, but he needed more and you came. I believe in fate. You’re damn sure that.”

“Fate, huh?” That’s an interesting way to put it.

“Hell yeah. He’s yours too. Someone had to come through and show you that Andreas wasn’t about shit when you met him and isn’t about shit now. Now look.” Indeed. I don’t regret anything and I’m not into labeling people an upgrade, but I learned when you open yourself up to change, some beautiful things can happen within your life in the best ways.

“Well damn. Just slander the man Heather.”

“Slander? I still contemplate slashing his tires at every game I attend.”

There was a point in time when I too, wanted revenge, but I’d like to think I’m having it already. Most of all, I’m having it healthily.

Our seven o’clock arrival time back at the house was the perfect timing. I’d made it back just in time before my mother began to call my phone complaining. While changing into our pajamas for the evening, I was able to wrap up her bracelet and slip it under the tree without her ever detecting it and our traditional board game festivities began. While playing, we experimented with different flavors of hot chocolate. I came up with the idea days ago and scrambled around Jersey looking for the ingredients. I think the milk chocolate peanut butter, gingerbread, coconut tres leche, and Oreo flavors were hits. I enjoyed the eggnog version more than most of them did and there was something about vegan chai flavor that slightly impressed me. I’ll be trying that one again.

“Autumn, we’re not watching the Polar Express. Grow up. We’re watching A Christmas story.” Isaac and I argue every year during movie time. We’d already been arguing because he cheated to win Monopoly but I don’t care about that. Movie time, is my time.

“I don’t want to watch that. We can watch that tomorrow after we’ve eaten and we’re all falling asleep from the itis. The Polar Express is a better watch. It has music.”

“Let her watch it.” He’d say anything to get either one of us to quiet down. My dad hates when we argue.

“No. I want to watch a Christmas story.”

“Why don’t we just watch both tonight? That should work right?” Dante’s solution sounded like bullshit to me because we’re watching Home Alone and Home Alone 2 right after.

“Nope.”

“Baby. You have to be fair.”

“I am being fair. I said that we can watch it tomorrow.”

“Autumn. Be fair.” I thought Lauren would say something, but for whatever reason, this particular argument, she found to be hilarious. She hasn’t stopped giggling yet. It’s not even funny.

“Ma, I am being fair.”

“Whatever. She can pick the movies like she does every year. The bratty youngest child tradition continues.”

“You’re just mad because you’re old and boring.” Dante threw an arm around my shoulder as we sat on the floor and leaned against the bottom of the couch. Though he protested against wearing a onesie, there he is, sitting there in one that is identical to mine. My promise to be completely naked under mine is what convinced him to put it on, but who cares? It worked.

“And don’t forget, we’re all opening one gift before we go to bed. It’s tradition.”

“I didn’t get Autumn anything.”

“I got you something. I bought you a personality big brother.”

As I continued to search for the movie, a pillow smacked into the back of my head and laughter filled the room soon after. Once I selected The Polar Express on the screen, I relaxed against Dante in satisfaction that I’d gotten my way with the movie selection. I’ll be the same way until their child is old enough to do it. The youngest always gets to choose. That’s my tradition, whether they know it or not.

“How did you like your gift?” Unlike everyone else, Dante’s hands randomly selected one of his better gifts under the tree. I opened up a spa gift certificate from Isaac. My mother opened up a pair of Christian Louboutin pumps gifted to her from my dad. Isaac opened up Tom Ford cologne from me and Lauren squealed in excitement when she opened up The Golden Girls complete series from me. I’m not sure why she’s so obsessed with that show.

As for Mr. St. James, he opened up a vintage 1964 Rolex watch with a yellow gold smooth bezel and a navy-blue strap that even had me slightly jealous. Engraved inside was: ‘We Love You Son’. Everything about it is timeless and sophisticated. Both my mother and father had done well with that one. She claimed they picked it out because that’s exactly the vibe they’d gotten from him upon meeting him. Their observations were on point if I must say so myself.

“I’m in love with it. Your mom is the sweetest.”

“She is.”

“It further lets me know how lucky I am, because you have a lot of her qualities.”

“Look at you trying to talk me out of my panties.”

“Based upon the agreement that we made earlier, they should already be off.”

“They are.” He didn’t hesitate to reach for the zipper of the onesie to confirm it. As the weight of his body met mine, I had to laugh because I’m beyond shocked that he’s even willing to go there while in my parents’ home.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“You have to promise me something.” His lips met mine for a tender kiss as he palmed the sides of my face with his hands.

“What’s that?”

“I know you like to surprise me sometimes and I always love and appreciate it, but promise me that you will never show up to A&M again. Don’t even stop by if you happen to be in the city and want to see during my work hours. I don’t want you coming there. Okay? Promise me.”

“Why?” And just like that, paranoia settled into the room like a thief in the night and snatched the joy away.

“There’s a lot that you don’t understand right now, baby.”

“Is there someone else?” His eyes narrowed.

“I only want you Autumn. Just you. There is not and will never be anyone else. You have to trust me with this. Please.”

Before the disappointment, I saw indifference within his eyes blended with a fear that I cannot understand. His needed promise was more of a plea and if I didn’t grant it to him, he wouldn’t be at peace. But why?

“I promise.”

“I only want you Autumn.”

As our lips met again, his hands began to draw away the wool material covering my frame. He rid me of my thoughts and it had to be his intention. I could only be lost in a world that only nested he and I; a world that is slowly being invaded no matter how hard we fight back.

The sweat on our skin meshed our frames together in a stickiness as I opened my eyes from my short-lived slumber. My eyes washed over his beautiful face as he peacefully slept. The moonlight illuminated it so perfectly. As I reached my arm up to caress his skin, diamonds dazzled and danced along my wrist like the most beautiful lighting show. A gasp instantly left my chest as I stared at the bracelet I fell in love with at Tiffany. It was the only piece of anything covering my skin besides my engagement ring. How could I ever protest this? I can only be humbled and gratified; loved and cherished.

“Merry Christmas, baby.” I kissed his supple lips.

“Merry Christmas.” Though it was mumbled and rasp filled, he opened his enchanting eyes and stared into mine.

Aside from the birth of Christ, this right here is truly the reason for the season.

Love.

#fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfic #j. cole fanfic #j cole fanfic #j. cole fanfiction #j cole fanfiction #rihanna fanfic #rihanna fanfiction

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rasytastore · 6 years ago

Text

The Best Fishing Guide

Steve Huff is lxv. He has been a fishing guide for the cardinal of these years, initial within the Florida keys and currently within the swamp town space, wherever he captive in 1996 along with his bright-eyed spouse, Patty. Huff’s specialty is fishing the thin water flats for malacopterygian, bonefish, permit, and snook, and he has guided his shoppers into unnumberable world-record fish. Last year he was inducted into the International sport fish Association’s Hall of Fame, that is that the fishing world’s town. In his book, A Passion for malacopterygian, Andy Mill calls Huff “bar none, the most effective malacopterygian guide alive, the most effective there was and also the best there ever are.” Marshall Cutchin, a former Keys guide and also the editor and publisher of the fly fishing web site midcurrent.com, goes even any, occupation him “the best guide who’s ever lived, period.”

This type of speak embarrasses Huff, United Nations agency prefers to shower accolades on others. “Steve could be a very humble guy,” says Sandy Moret, United Nations agency owns a fly search within the Keys and has fished with Huff for 3 decades. For Huff, it’s all pretty easy. “I’m simply a fishing guide,” he says. “My job is to form AN angler’s dream come back true.”

His own dreams area unit a part of the equation, as well. Guiding, at its essence, could be an unselfish endeavor, meshed to the happiness and success of the paying client, the “dream creating.” except for Huff, there's the rush—of being on the water nearly on a daily basis and making an attempt to work out the puzzle bestowed by the tides, the wind, the clouds, the fish, and also the angler’s ability. The climax, that final puzzle piece, is that the golf shot and landing of the guided angler’s targeted fish. Huff can’t live while not that rush.

Huff was born and raised in Miami. once he was 10, his father gave him a fishing rod, the primary piece of tackle he’d ever in hand. His father left the future day. Huff would neither see nor speak to him once more. “He was AN alcoholic and a gambler,” Huff says. “He in all probability died during a ditch somewhere.”

Huff is tough regarding the impact that his father’s going away might need to be had on his life. “I assume we have a tendency to age to be no matter we have a tendency to were meant to be,” he says. And anyway, thereupon rod, his father provided him with the primary tool for what would become his life’s permanent passion. Huff took the rod, solid into a Miami canal, and caught a two-pound robalo. “That was it,” he says. “I was done.” He biked everywhere town, fishing in backyards and canals. {one day|at some point|in the future|someday|sooner or later|in some unspecified time within the future} he sneaked down a hole in the middle of a causeway bridge. He solid a lure from a ladder and caught a twenty-seven-pound robalo, to the current day his largest. He knew then that he would be a guide sometime.

On the water within the swamp. PHOTO: MATTHEW HRANEK

THE SILVER KING

On the water within the swamp.

While attending the University of Miami, Huff studied marine biology. once he graduated, he told his mother of his career plans. She wasn't happy. “She told ME that fishing guides were a bunch of drunks and bums which i might ne'er quantity to something,” Huff says.

Still, she cosigned a loan thus Huff might purchase his initial guide boat. He captive to the Keys, and on November 1, 1968, he took out his initial shopper. “Poor bastard,” Huff says. The day was windy and overcast and fishless. The guy ne'er came back. “I had no clue what i used to be doing,” Huff says. “I didn’t even grasp what I didn’t grasp.”

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But Huff resolves to work it out. He poled for miles, into the teeth of twenty-five-knot headwinds. (“Best dray horse I’ve ever seen,” Cutchin says.) He scouted and discovered new spots. He tied his own flies, designed his own boats, fictitious new fishing knots. He stayed out longer than anyone else, creating the run back to the dock in complete darkness. He ne'er gave up.

And at intervals many years, people that fished with him once ne'er needed to go away him. “He’s intense and he expects you to match that intensity,” says one among his shoppers, the author Carl Hiaasen. “It causes you to a more robust angler.” Bill Hassett, an equipment store owner in St. Louis, Missouri, has fished with Huff for cardinal consecutive years. Lenny Berg, AN specialist in Fort Pierce, Florida, has been with him for xxxv years. Hiaasen could be a relative newcomer, having fished with Huff for fifteen years. “I simply feel lucky that he let ME on his boat,” Hiaasen says, laughing.

Those who do fish with him tend to urge greedy. The late Del Brown once reserved Huff for cardinal days one year to fish for allowing within the Keys. Tom Evans, holder of sixteen world records, once fast him in from March one to Gregorian calendar month fifteen. Huff currently incorporates a list of regarding fifteen shoppers, to whom he's intensely loyal (he turned down a visit with George H. W. Bush in favor of 1 of his already-booked regulars). He has taken on specifically one new shopper within the last twenty years.

His shoppers became his dearest friends. “When you’re during a boat along for 10 to 12 hours on a daily basis, you quickly get past the tiny speakers,” Huff says. “You laugh and you cry alone.” One shopper perpetually complained regarding his spouse for years. Hoping to vary the topic on the water someday, Huff flat out told him he ought to divorce her. the person referred to as back per week later and told Huff that he had filed divorce papers. “I said, ‘You’ve ought to be excreting ME,’” Huff says.

PHOTO: MATTHEW HRANEK

A snook.

As with all intense relationships, complications will arise. Huff not fishes with one among his longest-tenured shoppers. “One day I simply told him what he was: a selfish prick,” Huff says. The guy asked Huff why it took him ciao to work that out. to the current day, the 2 still speak on the phone many times a year, unable to fully disconnect. one among the saddest endings came with Del Brown, United Nations agency posthumously still holds twelve world records. Huff and Brown had fished along since 1980. They were an ideal combine on the water, with matching intensity and drive. however one late afternoon in 2001, once Brown was lxxxiii, Huff poled for AN hour into the wind to urge Brown in position to fish. Huff waited for Brown to carry up his finish of the discount and solid for a fish. however, Brown place his rod down and told Huff he needed to travel in. Huff was wracked with heaving sobs as he ran the boat in. At the dock, he told Brown through tears that he couldn't fish with him any longer. “It was very my downside,” Huff says. “Del was obtaining older and that i simply didn’t need to admit it. It busts my heart.” Brown died 2 years later.

Huff has witnessed several strange moments throughout his cardinal years on the water. AN unhooked 100-pound malacopterygian once leaped into his boat and hit a feminine shopper squarely within the chest. (On his boat future year, she wore a flak jacket as a gag.) One year he was fishing with Tom Evans once Evans suddenly had to use the lavatory. As Evans adorned off the rear of the boat, he asked Huff to solid for a rolling malacopterygian. Huff did, and he hooked and landed a 186-pound malacopterygian, which might are the globe record. however, Huff ne'er submitted it to the IGFA. “Tom needed that record thus badly,” he says. per week later, Huff junction rectifier Evans into a 177-pounder, that so did become the globe record.

But maybe the strangest factor happened with a person named Everett Watkins, United Nations agency flew from CA to fish with a disciple United Nations agency had started a visit with Huff. Watkins, AN weighty man, hooked a 125-pound malacopterygian on one among his initial casts. however, he vies the fish terribly slowly as if he were during a trance. “I told him he required in grips down on the fish as a result of there area unit solely 2 things that might happen: He would land the fish or he would break down,” says Huff. “Little didi do know there was truly a 3rd situation.”

With the fish still on his line, Watkins suddenly folded face-first onto the bow. Huff bust off the fish and ran back to the dock at full speed. “He was blue after they loaded him onto the car,” Huff says. It clothed that Watkins had AN aneurysm and was dead before he hit the deck. “I felt very unhealthy and that i asked his crony what we must always do,” Huff says. “He told ME Everett would have needed USA to travel back and fish. So we did. and that we caught 2 nice malacopterygians.” The incident spawned over many unhealthy jokes. “People aforesaid, ‘Damn, Steve, people very area unit dying to fish with you,’ and ‘Why did you break the fish off?’” Huff says. He currently takes AN angler back to the dock at the primary sign of physical distress.

Huff along with his fly-caught 186-pound malacopterygian in 1977. PHOTO: COURTESY OF Florida keys OUTFITTERS ARCHIVES

Huff along with his fly-caught 186-pound malacopterygian in 1977.

Luckily, I feel pretty smart on this overcast and funky morning as Huff and that i build a thirty-minute run into the center of what Peter Matthiessen referred to as “shadow country”—the large sky, knotty mangroves, and moving water that area unit the swamp. Huff cuts the engine and hops au fait his poling platform. He’s sporting a khaki-colored shirt and pants and a combine of closed-toed Crocs. He propels the boat forward with apparently very little effort along with his twenty-one-foot pole. We’re when robolo, the fish that has remained Huff’s favorite since his childhood days in Miami.

If you want fishing T-shirt visit store https//:rasyta.com/fishing

I fill in the bow and solid a yellow streamer that Huff devised. (“It doesn’t have a reputation. It’s simply ruminant hair and chicken feathers,” he says.) The wind from AN incoming storm is brisk however not intolerable. I’m not specifically throwing strikes with each solid. I begin to press a touch, and also the casts get even worse. Huff provides ME an important pointer: “Just hold your back solid a touch longer,” he says. I quickly see positive results. Huff poles the USA on, fifty feet some from the bank. rapidly, I begin obtaining solid takes, ANd at intervals an hour, I’ve landed 5 small (two- to four-pound) Robalo.

#fishing #fishinggirls #fishinglife #fishinglures #fishingboat #fishingpole #fishingnz #fishingbc #rasyta #rasytastore

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strand3602 · 3 years ago

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brn1029 · 3 years ago

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On this date in music. Now the years vary greatly but all this stuff came down today…August 2nd

2020 - Steve Holland

Guitarist Steve Holland a founding member and the last surviving original member of American Southern rock band Molly Hatchet died age 66.

2004 - Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton bought a 50% share in Cordings to save the historic gentleman's outfitters from closure. The store, based in London since 1839 had run into financial difficulties. The guitarist said he had been fond of the shop since a window display caught his eye when he was 16, and had become a regular shopper their. Cordings was the originator of the Covert coat and the Tattersall shirt and made riding boots for the Queen Mother, the Duke of Windsor and Mrs Simpson.

2001 - Louis Armstrong

New Orleans International Airport was re-named Louis Armstrong Airport in honour of the New Orleans born trumpet player, singer and bandleader.

2000 - Jerome Smith

Jerome Smith from KC and the Sunshine Band died after being crushed by a bulldozer he was operating. Had the 1975 US No.1 single 'Get Down Tonight' and the 1983 UK No.1 single 'Give It Up.'

1987 - David Martin

David Martin, bass player with Sam The Sham & the Pharaohs died of a heart attack aged 50. Martin co-wrote the group's 1965 US No.2 & UK No.11 single 'Wooly Bully'.

1986 - Peter Cetera

Peter Cetera started a two-week run at No.1 on the US charts with the theme from the film 'Karate Kid II', 'The Glory Of Love', it made No. 3 in the UK.

1986 - Chris de burgh

Chris de burgh was at No.1 in the UK with 'The Lady In Red', it was his first No.1 after twenty-four single releases, staying at the top of the charts for three weeks.

1983 - James Jamerson

James Jamerson died of complications stemming from cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure and pneumonia in Los Angeles, he was 47 years old. As one of The Funk Brothers he was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s including songs by Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops and The Supremes. He eventually performed on nearly 30 No.1 pop hits.

1976 - Pink Floyd

Peter "Puddy" Watts, road manager with Pink Floyd died of a heroin overdose. Watts supplied the crazed laughter on the groups The Dark Side Of The Moon album.

1975 - Eagles

The Eagles went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'One Of These Nights', the group's second US No.1 single and the first to chart in the UK where it peaked at No.23.

1970 - Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with his version of 'The Wonder Of You' his sixteenth No.1. Ray Peterson recorded the original version in 1959 which gave him a Top 30 hit.

1969 - Max Romeo

'Wet Dream', by Jamaican reggae singer Max Romeo entered the UK singles chart. The song gained notoriety due to its lyrics which were of an explicit sexual nature, was banned by the BBC and most radio stations.

1968 - The Doors

The Doors started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Hello I Love You', the group's second US No.1. The Doors scored 8 top 40 US hits from 67-71.

1964 - Jim Reeves

After an intense search the bodies of Jim Reeves and Dean Manuel were found in the wreckage of an aircraft and, at 1:00 p.m. local time, radio stations across the United States announced Reeves' death formally. The single-engine Beechcraft Debonair aircraft, with Reeves at the controls had crashed 42 hours earlier during a thunderstrom. Thousands of people travelled to pay their last respects at his funeral two days later. The coffin, draped in flowers from fans, was driven through the streets of Nashville and then to Reeves' final resting place near Carthage, Texas.

1964 - The Beatles

The Beatles appeared at the Gaumont Cinema in Bournemouth. One of the supporting acts, billed as a 'new and unknown London group', was The Kinks.

1962 - Bob Dylan

Robert Allen Zimmerman legally became Bob Dylan having signed a music publishing deal with Witmark Music on 12th July of this year, engineered by Albert Grossman.

1960 - Johnny Kidd

Johnny Kidd and The Pirates were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Shakin' All Over'. Their only UK No.1. Kidd died in car crash in 1966. Many acts have covered the song, including: The Who, Led Zeppelin, Iggy Pop and The Guess Who.

1957 - Buddy Holly and the Crickets

Touring with Clyde McPhatter, The Cadillacs, Edna McGriff, Otis Rush, Lee Andrews & The Hearts, Oscar & Oscar, The G-Clefs, Buddy Holly and the Crickets appeared at the Howard Theater, Washington, DC. With “That’ll Be The Day” sitting at No. 2 on the US charts, this was Buddy's first major tour.

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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Biden, in a Burst of Local weather Orders, Rejoins the Paris Settlement WASHINGTON — President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday recommitted the USA to the Paris local weather settlement, the worldwide accord designed to avert catastrophic international warming, and ordered federal businesses to start out reviewing and reinstating greater than 100 environmental laws that have been weakened or rolled again by former President Donald J. Trump. The strikes characterize a primary step in therapeutic one of many deepest rifts between the USA and the remainder of the world after Mr. Trump defiantly rejected the Paris pact and appeared to relish his administration’s push to weaken or undo main home local weather insurance policies. Mr. Biden has elevated tackling the local weather disaster amongst his highest priorities. Along with curbing international warming, he has vowed that ending the coronavirus pandemic, restoring the financial system and addressing racial injustice would be the central causes of his administration. “We’re going to fight local weather change in a means we’ve got not earlier than,” Mr. Biden stated within the Oval Workplace on Wednesday night, simply earlier than signing the government orders. Even so, he cautioned: “They’re simply government actions. They’re necessary however we’re going to want laws for lots of the issues we’re going to do.” International leaders hailed Mr. Biden’s first strikes as a strong sign that the USA, the most important contributor to international warming in historical past, intends to restart its efforts to decrease air pollution ranges and to revive the worldwide order upended by Mr. Trump. “Welcome again to the Paris Settlement!” Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, stated in a Twitter message. Beneath the Paris Settlement, almost 200 nations have vowed to scale back planet warming emissions to avert probably the most disastrous penalties of local weather change. A letter to the United Nations signed by Mr. Biden on Wednesday formally begins the 30-day means of bringing the USA again into the accord. However analysts cautioned that Mr. Biden’s actions on day one should be rapidly adopted by a collection of aggressive home local weather insurance policies to drastically decrease the nation’s emissions of planet-warming air pollution from tailpipes, smokestacks and oil and fuel wells. Additionally on Wednesday, Mr. Biden rescinded the development allow for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which might have transported carbon-heavy oil from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast. Earlier within the day, TC Vitality, a Canadian firm, stated that it was suspending work on the road. However the prolonged authorized means of undoing most of Mr. Trump’s environmental rollbacks and changing them with new laws may take a few years and is more likely to be strewn with political land mines if Republicans or enterprise teams struggle towards them. Even earlier than Mr. Biden was inaugurated on Wednesday, some Republicans lashed out towards his new coverage course. “President-elect Biden’s insurance policies from day one damage American staff and our financial system,” Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia stated in a press release. In one other early indication of the headwinds Mr. Biden may face in Congress, Senator Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, stated he meant to introduce a decision requiring the president to hunt the recommendation and consent of the Senate for the Paris Settlement, and a separate invoice that might congressionally authorize the Keystone pipeline over Mr. Biden’s objections. The nation’s largest enterprise foyer, the USA Chamber of Commerce, which opposed a lot of former President Barack Obama’s environmental agenda, signaled its help for rejoining the Paris accord, but additionally its opposition to killing the Keystone venture. “It’s important that the USA restore its management function in worldwide efforts to deal with the local weather problem,” stated Marty Durbin, president of the Chamber’s International Vitality Institute. However he stated of the Keystone venture, “It would hurt shoppers and put hundreds of Individuals within the constructing trades out of labor.” Mr. Biden has set an bold goal for the USA to eradicate carbon dioxide emissions from the electrical energy sector by 2035 and from all the financial system by 2050. Nonetheless, it’s removed from sure that the USA may attain these targets absent new laws from Congress — a tough prospect, given the Democrats’ razor-thin one-vote majority within the Senate. Scientists stated meaning Mr. Biden might want to enact harder laws than people who have been put in place by Mr. Obama and rolled again by Mr. Trump. “There’s nonetheless a really massive chore to be executed,” stated Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and worldwide affairs at Princeton College. He famous that United Nations local weather science stories have known as for internet zero international emissions by 2050. Mr. Biden on Wednesday directed federal businesses to overview all of the Trump administration choices over the previous 4 years “that have been dangerous to public well being, damaging to the atmosphere, unsupported by one of the best obtainable science, or in any other case not within the nationwide curiosity.” That features reinstating laws, unwound by Mr. Trump, that prohibit greenhouse emissions from vehicle tailpipes and methane leaks from oil and fuel wells, in addition to changing vitality effectivity requirements for home equipment and buildings. Dr. Oppenheimer famous that reversing and changing these measures will take time. “We’ve simply misplaced 4 years,” he stated. And the brand new guidelines “should be stronger than the earlier guidelines, or else the time misplaced by the Trump administration is not going to be regained,” Dr. Oppenheimer stated. The urgency is each political and existential. Quite a few scientific stories have concluded that the primary, irreversible results of local weather change have already began to brush throughout the globe, together with rising sea ranges, report wildfires and extra devastating storms. This month, scientists introduced that 2020 was tied with 2016 for the most popular 12 months on report. In November, representatives from the nations collaborating within the Paris Settlement are to fulfill at a United Nations summit in Glasgow to announce robust new targets for lowering their home emissions. The targets are meant to be extra bold than these first inscribed within the 2015 Paris deal. Mr. Obama had pledged that the USA would minimize its planet-warming emissions throughout the financial system by about 28 % from 2005 ranges by 2025. The US is now solely about midway towards assembly Mr. Obama’s objective, however the Biden administration shall be underneath intense and almost fast stress to ramp up the goal. When it does, probably as early as June, the administration will most probably not be main the world however enjoying catch-up. Britain and the European Union have set out new carbon-cutting targets, and China has introduced that it’ll intention to hit net-zero emissions by 2060. Local weather coverage specialists stated they have been assured that Mr. Biden — via a mix of latest laws, elevated spending on renewable vitality, and supporting state efforts to maneuver away from coal-powered era — may meet and surpass the nation’s preliminary Paris goal. Most have recommended the Biden administration may decide on a brand new goal someplace between 40 % and 50 % beneath 2005 ranges by 2030. Different main economies shall be protecting an in depth eye on the Biden administration to see what particular coverage steps the brand new president plots out earlier than the Glasgow assembly. “China has laid out its concrete objective however not the concrete steps to fulfill it,” stated Byford Tsang, an analyst who focuses on China’s local weather coverage at E3G, a analysis group based mostly in London. “So, if Biden lays out a objective and takes concrete steps, it may put stress on China.” The Obama administration, which got here to its objective in relative secrecy, incorrectly assured overseas diplomats in 2015 {that a} subsequent administration couldn’t dismantle the regulatory insurance policies to chop local weather air pollution upon which that concentrate on was dependent. Now, negotiators have stated they’ve a “idiot me as soon as, disgrace on you; idiot me twice, disgrace on me” perspective about the USA and can insist the Biden administration show it might probably do what it claims. “They are saying confidence comes by foot and leaves by horse,” stated Jules Kortenhorst, chief government of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a analysis group centered on reworking the worldwide vitality financial system. “The world has missed the U.S. on this extremely necessary setting over the previous for years. Rebuilding confidence will come by foot for Biden the identical means confidence within the U.S. underneath Trump left by horse.” Supply hyperlink #Agreement #Biden #burst #Climate #Orders #Paris #Rejoins

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