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skyfallslayer · 4 months

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Should We Stay or Should We Go? || Chapter Three

-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

🎲Summary: An Increasingly concerned Nancy looks for Barb and finds out what Jonathan’s been up to. The boys pair up with El for an investigation. Joyce is convinced that Will and Steph are trying to talk to her. Meanwhile, Steve feels like someone’s watching his every move.

🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Slow burn! Byler

🎲Rating: Teen-Mature

🎲Word Count: 15,209 (Oh, lord)

🎲Date: 05/27/24

🎲Warnings: Angst; Heavy Language & Dialogue; References To Broken Friendship; Talks of Kidnapping; Mental Strain/Breaking Down; Talks of Mental Health Issues; Bullying of All Kinds; Physical Fighting; Lying; "Death"; Crying (Lots of it); Brief Mention of Corpses; Gun Use; Implied Unloving Parents; Will & Steph's Mental Strain - Joyce's Too; Hopper Being a Great Cop & A Total Mess; Dustin Being a Gangster & A Total Mess; Steve's 'Asshole Era'; Steve's Emotional Damage. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

-This also contains me not knowing how the fuck the Upside Down works despite so much research.-

(And let me know if I missed anything)

🎲A/N: So… this is a very long, very intense one. Very emotional too. Hopefully y'all are ready for this. I notice a lot of you readers are spitting out theories and I can't help but love them. But unfortunately I have to stay silent and let you guess wait 🤭. While rewatching this episode, I totally forgot how fucking good of an actress Winona Ryder is. Seriously, rewatch the scenes with her and the lights again and you'll see. Any who, Happy Memorial Day everyone! Enjoy!

Steve practically had to “bully” Tommy into taking his girlfriend home last night. It was hard for him to make eye contact with her after their argument – A real argument, not just some mindless bickering they’ve done in the past that doesn’t pack much heat, but a real, real argument – and when she came back to his room only a few minutes later telling him that Barb must have left already and needed a ride, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

Was this making him feel and look like a coward? Probably. But it’s not like he didn’t want to risk having another eye opening conversation with her again.

Eye opening, my ass. There was no “eye opening”. I’m just being paranoid. But was he though?

Nancy, oh, sweet Nancy, always talked about how she was aiming for journalism as her major. For a while, to be honest, he couldn’t really see it. Sure, curiosity was practically tattooed on her heart, but the months they’ve been dating he hasn’t seen anything else that screams “I’m a Journalist”.

That was until last night.

He’s not sure why he never put that box away after their friendship ended, he doesn’t know why he didn’t just stuff it into his closet or under his bed, but the fact that someone had found it in his spot he called “out of sight, out of mind” shocked him. The little box that could fit under his dresser, completely oblivious to anyone who stands next to it. Of course out of all the days for someone to finally have spotted it was the day he brought his girlfriend to his home (Still, it might have been better for her to find it rather than his parents. They sure were… nosy).

And of course she would be the one to break him down when he was trying to forget, forget because it was the best option here.

And his girlfriend was smart, one of the traits he most admired, and she could read through his lies most of the time, a trait he hates. Loathe. But… did he really think he could have avoided all this? That once he put a lid on their friendship she would suddenly vanish? Every single thing about Stephanie Henderson would be forgotten? That was the plan, the “dream” so to speak. I guess dreams don’t always stay dreams unless you put work into them.

“So who is she to you?” Nancy asked, standing up and flashing the memorabilia at him.

She was just… just some kid he knew since they were five. Nothing more than that, It shouldn’t be more than that. She was just some girl that had confidence radiating out of her as they lock pinkies and swore–

“I’m not jealous. I’m just curious.” Nancy replies, honestly. She takes another look at the photos in her hand before looking back at him. “I mean, if she isn’t your friend anymore, then why do you hang on to all this stuff? Or better question–”

“Nancy, stop, it’s just–”

“Why did you break it off?”

His brain short circuits again. “What?”

“I said, ‘Why did you break it off?’ I mean…” She flips through some of the photos he has, memorized. “From what I see, you two remind me of Barb and I. You two look like you were tied at the hip. So why break it off?”

Because he had to. He needed to. God knows if he didn’t, her and her family would be… Jeez. He could barely remember it, not wanting to remember it.

The memory was blurry. So blurry. Maybe it was the many hits in the head for his shitty memory, or maybe he was really, really trying not to remember it.

What was his parents planning on doing again that made him so… scared?

“Look, I just want to understand you. I mean, every time I think I have you figured out you throw me through a loop.” She gives him a reassuring look as she picks up the box, shuffling whatever was remaining around. “I mean, from what I see, you seem like a completely different person then. I just wonder if it’s a good thing or a bad–”

No… no. He still doesn’t understand what she meant. He hasn’t “changed”. He’s still the same person since the day he was born. What was she even getting that from? A couple glances at some photos gave her a new impression of him? There’s no way. It’s laughable. It’s totally laughable. Everything that’s happened between him and Henderson was totally laughab–

“‘CAUSE IT WAS MY FAULT!! OKAY?!” Steve snaps, startling them both (He can’t believe he just lost his cool like that). He swallows again, head spinning at the memories (Why did he fucking leave the box right there?). “I just… there was an incident and… it… shaped my decision, okay? But it didn’t involve me or her with a gun, it was… s-someone else. Someone I know. I don’t know why I’m holding onto it, I…”

That certainly wasn’t laughable.

Sometimes that memory is hazy, which he preferred, but the other times it was crystal clear. Too clear. Just a heated exchange between him and someone else just before it went to shit. He still remembers the pain in his bicep, the wind feeling like it was getting knocked out of him with someone’s loud scream. Then came the sinking realization that Henderson wasn’t bouncing up to her feet like he did.

It still… fucks with him sometimes. Taunting. Haunting. Torturing.

Nancy breaks eye contact, and only reverses it when she gathers the right words. “Look, Steve, I’m sorry I intruded, I probably shouldn’t have but… I’m just trying to understand you.”

Steve shakes his head, still confused. “I-I…” He shrugs, and crosses his arms defensibly. “What’s there to understand?”

Exactly. There’s nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Nothing. She doesn’t need to go digging around Pandora’s box.

But Nancy looked at him with eyes full of pity and took another step closer. “I don’t know what the reason was for you two to stop being friends, but all I know, from what I gathered, she wasn’t the one to end it.” She places Steph’s flier on his chest that he subconsciously grabbed, and said one last thing before leaving his room. And that was,

“Maybe there was a good reason for you to end it, but that’s not an excuse for you to stop being who you really are.”

But I haven’t changed. I’ve been the same person since I was born. Even his own gut coiled at his denial. The heaven’s beyond were probably busting a lung. Hell was shaking its head. He just keeps telling himself that lie and maybe it’ll come true one day.

Yeah, right.

This boy’s been telling himself that for almost two years now and hasn’t even sunk in yet.

Steve sighs, rolling in his bed to face his alarm clock; The red numbers glaring at him. It hadn’t even gone off yet, he still has about an hour but…

Another sigh. School. Right.

He didn’t even feel like going, too mentally exhausted from staying up pretty much all night, completely alone with his thoughts – His very dangerous, troubling thoughts. He didn’t want to go, but his parents were going to be home any minute now from their trip and were not going to be happy if they saw him just lying around. They were surely going to berate him for missing a day of learning. Except...

Fuck. Going wasn’t an option, his brain hurts and his body was dragging and he really, really didn’t want to see Nancy’s pitiful eyes, or listen to Tommy’s mocking, or Carol’s sexified comments. Fuck, no. Fuck.

Where can he hide out for the next eight hours? He started putting what was left of brain together as he threw something on, not even trying to dress to impress today, and snagged his precious car keys. He is about a foot outside his bedroom when something tells him to stop. His chocolate eyes stare at the box on the end of his bed, something deep inside tells him not to leave it unoccupied.

He swallows, wanting to tell his subconscious to fuck off and leave him be, but…

“Fuck it.” He races back over, making sure the lid was on before taking it with him.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| THE OTHER SIDE ||

It’s been… how many days since then? They don’t know. They stopped counting every time they ran into trouble. Like… right now. Traumatized by the beast pulling an innocent woman into the Harringtons’ pool and violating her before coming after them. They were lucky to have some kind of head start or otherwise they might have been goners. But–

Jesus. It was getting hard to breathe in this place, the cold weather was getting to them too.

Eventually, miraculously, they had escaped from their predator when their bodies finally gave out.

“Fuck.” Stephanie gasped as the two of them collapsed in someone’s backyard. They both sat on their hands and knees, a line of sweat dripping off their icy noses. She sniffles and pants, her breath being seen in the air. “This is getting ridiculous.”

It really, really was. They can’t even take a break without worrying if that thing would come after them.

How am I supposed to figure out how to get out of here if I can’t even stop to think? She sits back on her news, frowning. “Why does it keep coming after us?”

Will sneezes, and sniffles before resting his body against the side of the random house. He starts fiddling with his frigiding fingers, worried if he was going to say something wrong. “I don’t think this time it was. It looks like it was attacking someone else.”

“That’s true.” She sighs, taking her cap off for a second to rest. “However, we either were at the wrong place at the wrong time, or that thing was following us and grabbed the first prey it saw.”

He nods. “Yeah. But that doesn’t explain where the person came from. Does… that mean we aren’t the only people here?”

“I don’t know.” Are there actually more people here? “I mean, I guess on the bright side, if more people are going missing someone’s gotta know what’s going on, right?”

That honestly didn’t cross her mind at all while being here. She was so worried about keeping herself and especially Will alive that she didn’t think about what was going on on the other side. How was her family reacting? His family too? And what about the town? Did the police actually give a fuck this time?

I really hope it’s Hopper. He seems like the only one who gave shit last time. Stephanie prays he’s on her case as she subconsciously tries to grab the chain around her neck, only to find nothing. Her heart sinks as she looks down and feels around the front of her shirt.

“Shit.” She says, dreadfully. Did she really lose her–

“What?” Will replies, concerned.

“Uh, I just…” Fuck. “I just uh, lost my necklace.” She frowns again. “I didn’t even realize it.”

Now it was his turn to look sad (I guess you could say he was just copying her expression). “We can go look for it if you like.”

She’s already shaking his head. “No. It’s okay. I could have lost it on the first day here without realizing it.”

“Can you replace it?”

“It’s… I don’t know. It was a gift.” She looks over at him, his expression seems so broken over her confession. “It’s okay, Will. It’s not a big deal.”

“I know, but still.”

Stephanie couldn’t help but crack a small smile on her peach lips, and ruffle the boy’s hair. “Don’t ever change, kid. You’ve got a good little heart.” That seemed to do the trick because the boy blushed and seemed all proud of himself.

“Do you think it’s safe to rest here for a bit?” Will asked, as she looked around.

“Yeah.” She nods. “I think we’ll be fine. How about you pull out the blanket?”

They both shrug their backpacks off, and keep their guns by their sides pointed safely away; Will unrolls the blanket they took from her house and scoots closer. Steph tucks the fabric under their feet before the boy snuggles up to her side. Dying from the cold was off the menu for the both of them. For most of the time they stayed quiet, controlling their breathing and rubbing their cold hands in their laps.

“There’s something I don’t understand though.” Will blurted out. I guess this was the thought that came to mind in the moment of silence.

“And what’s that?” The older girl asked, sparing him a glance.

“If that thing is supposed to… you know, kill people, then why bring them here?” He stares up at her nervously. “Why not just kill us in our world? Why the extra hassle to bring us here?”

Her eyes widened slightly, those words hitting her like a truck. “That’s… a good question.” A really good question. It was something else she hasn’t thought about either. If the beast could go between worlds, why bring them here for the kill?

Will must have noticed the wheels turning in the girls head and looks down hopelessly. “It’s going to be hard for people to find us then, right?”

Stephanie says nothing, and gnaws on her bottom lip because he’s right. If they’re stuck in another world then…

How are their loved ones going to know?

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

When Jonathan woke up the next day he wasn’t expecting his mother to be leaving before he did. “Mom? Where are you going?” He asked, as she stopped upon hearing him speak.

“Oh, I’m going to town. I’m going to pick up a few things.” She replies, putting her belongings into her purse. “I was… you know, thinking about maybe getting some stuff Will likes to eat so he can have it when he gets home. Or, you know–”

“Mom?”

“And maybe a new phone? Our old one’s obviously not fine, so–”

“Mom?” Jonathan tries again, getting a hum. “You sure you’re okay going by yourself? I can miss school again if you don’t feel comfortable yet.”

“No, no, don’t do that. Go… I just need to get out of the house. I’ve been stuck in here for a few days.” Joyce replies, reassuring her oldest. “I’ll be okay.”

“Okay.” He nods. “But if something happens just… call the school and I’ll be there.”

“Okay.” She says, giving her a quick hug. “Thank you, sweetie. I’ll see you later.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

In the early morning at the Wheeler’s house, the boys were planning a mission to finally figure out what happened to their friends.

“We just tell our parents we have AV Club after school. That’ll give us at least a few hours for Operation Mirkwood.” Mike explains, the three of them gathered around the upside down D&D board.

“You seriously think that the weirdo knows where Will and Steph are?” Lucas said, making the other boy eye roll.

“Just trust me on this, okay? Did you get the supplies?”

“Yeah.” He nods, and shows off what he’s got. “Binoculars... from ‘Nam. Army knife... also from ‘Nam. Hammer, camouflage bandana…” He grins. “And the wrist rocket.”

Dustin looks at him strangely, almost laughing. “You’re gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?”

“First of all, it’s a wrist rocket. And second of all, the Demogorgon’s not real. It’s made up. But if there is something out there, I’m gonna shoot it in the eye–” Lucas snaps the rubber and startles his friend. “And blind it.”

“Dustin, what did you get?” Mike asked, trying to get straight to the point.

“Well, alrighty.” Dustin starts pouring stuff out of his bag, also proud of what he grabbed (Which is totally not what Mike told him to bring). “So, we’ve got... Nutty Bars, Bazooka, Pez, Smarties, Pringles, Nilla Wafers, apple, banana, and trail mix.”

“Seriously?” Lucas said, disappointed.

“We need energy for our travels. For stamina. And besides, why do we even need weapons anyway?” He points to the girl on the couch. “We have her.”

“She shut one door!”

“With her mind! Are you kidding me? That’s insane!” Dustin could almost laugh with all the stuff he could think of about her powers. “Imagine all the other cool stuff she could do. Like…” He quickly looks around and grabs a giant toy version of the Millennium Falcon. “I bet that she could make this fly!” He stands in front of El and holds it out. “Hey. Hey. Okay, concentrate. Okay?” He lets go of the toy that quickly drops to the floor. “Okay, one more time. Okay. Use your powers, okay?”

“Idiot.” Lucas mumbles once the toy drops to the floor again.

Mike sighs. “She’s not a dog!” He says, taking it away from him.

“Boys!” Karen calls out from above. “Time for school!”

He crouches down in front of Eleven as the rest of his friends make their way up stairs. “Just stay down here. Don’t make any noise, and don’t leave. If you get hungry, eat Dustin’s snacks, okay?”

“Michael!”

“Coming!” Why must he be rushed? “You know those power lines?”

“Power lines?” El asked, confused.

“Yeah. The ones behind my house?”

“Yes.”

“Meet us there, after school.”

“After school?”

“Yeah, 3:15.” It took a second for Mike to realize that she didn’t understand. “Ah. Hang on.” He unstraps his watch and ties around her own wrist. “When the numbers read three-one-five, meet us there.”

“‘Three-one-five’.” She repeats.

He nods. “Yeah. Three-one-five.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| THE OTHER SIDE ||

“Did you get any rest?”

Her tired blue eyes looked back at him, his face scrunched up in concern for the girl that almost tripped two seconds ago. And to answer his question, it was ‘no’. Their little rest had turned into sleep, but once again she couldn’t dare close her eyes with the beast lurking somewhere (She’s honestly surprised she’s still standing at this point).

“Yeah, I got a little.” She said, hoping that sounded convincing.

Will narrows his eyes and steps in front of her, stopping them from walking any further. “No you didn’t.”

“Will–”

“Why aren’t you getting any sleep?”

She sucks in a breath. Guess there was no point in arguing with a twelve year old. “Because I’m keeping an eye out.” She tries taking a step around him but he follows.

“That’s bullshit.” He replies, shocking her (She’s honestly heard him cuss before. Which is ironic since he hangs out with three boys that act like cussing is their first language).

“Will, it’s true. I’m keeping an eye out.”

“Yeah, I understand. But you can’t keep missing sleep because of that.”

“Someone’s got to protect you. Just like I promise.”

“Well how are you supposed to do that when you can barely stand?” That seemed to strike a nerve. “Can you just… next time we sleep, I’ll watch and you actually sleep.”

“Will–”

“And, if I hear something, I’ll wake you up immediately. How’s that?”

Well… she can’t say no to that face. She sighs. “Okay. I’ll sleep.” She replies, getting him to smile. “But you wake me up if you hear anything, okay? Don’t you even think about doing the opposite and handling it yourself. I don’t want you to wound up hurt or dead. Got it?”

“Got it.”

The two of them continued their unwanted detour that ended up being Hawkins’ little downtown. This place looked more like the apocalypse than their neighbourhoods. Dark, abandoned, quiet and completely trashed. It seemed a little scarier to walk around than the previous routes they took.

“Maybe we can hide out somewhere here?” Will asked, as they stopped at an intersection to look around.

“Possibly. If anything’s open we can. I want to avoid making too much ruckus in case that’s what attracts the monster.” Steph said, thinking.

They walked slowly and carefully by each store, peeking inside to see if anything got their attention. Stephanie blissfully sighs upon seeing a familiar sign and points.

“Dude, I kill for some chicken parmesan right now.” She says, smiling at the thought of eating Italian at ‘Enzo’s’.

“Hmm, meatball’s sounds good. But I think I really want my mom’s Sloppy Joes.” Will admits, and can already picture it in front of him.

“Sloppy Joes are awesome too. I wouldn’t mind eating that when I get back either. Then Enzo’s.”

“Totally Enzo’s.” He chuckles. “Uh, so when we do get out of here, how do we explain this to someone?”

“What? This?” She gestures to the open air. “You mean that telling the authorities that we were abducted by an eight foot tall creature with just a mouth and brought to a creepier version of Hawkins doesn’t sound truthful?”

He makes a face. “I… I don’t know. They might think we’re crazy.”

“Crazy, but it’s true.” She shrugs. “I really do wonder how we’re going to explain this.”

“I hope my mom contacted Chief Hopper. I know they were good friends growing up, I’m sure he believes her.”

“I hope it’s him, I don’t really like some of the people he works with.”

Will tilts his head, confused. “You don’t like cops?”

“No, I don’t certain cops here. I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them.”

“How come?”

“Well–” She cuts herself off and stops, eyes trailing to something inside one of the shops. She takes a second to make sure she’s seeing that right before pointing and saying, “November 6th.”

Will perks up at that. “That’s the day when we had our D&D campaign. The night we disappeared.”

“Yeah.” Steph looks around her hand following up to another object, a clock. “Nine Twenty-Three. That’s probably around the time we disappeared too.”

“But why is everything stuck this way?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, didn’t this place exist beforehand?” Will asked, head spinning. “How come everything is stuck on the night we disappeared?”

She purses her lips. “It… exist because of us? Or does time run differently here?”

“This is making my head hurt.”

She chuckles. “You and me both, kid.”

They continued their walk, popping into a few shops when they saw something useful, like another set of matches or even a sleeping bag they could share. They eventually ended up at a hunting store and scavenged there. Steph started grabbing a couple boxes of shotgun shells and ones that could fit inside Mr. Harrington’s pistol. It felt strange to have something like this in her possession, especially given the history of it. A very… bittersweet history of it.

Stupid, Harring– The small box tv on the counter startled her when it made a noise. When her gaze locks onto it, she realizes it’s not even on. She sighs, shaking her head. Now I’m imagining shit? This is getting fucking ridiculous.

She starts making room inside her bag for the ammunition when–

|| –Those Poor Children. ||

Stephanie nearly drops everything and grips the gun and starts frantically searching for the voice. What in the fucking–

|| Jesus, I know. I can only imagine what their families are going through. ||

|| It’s such a shame– ||

“What the…?”

“Did you hear that too?” Will asked, eyes full of hope as she looked between him and empty space behind the counter.

“Huh? Um… Y-Yeah. I-I did.” She swallows and then realizes something. “Wait… is that what you– Is that what you were talking about?”

“Yeah!” He shakes his head eagerly. “I told you, I swear I could hear my mom and Jonathan talking that night. I told you I wasn’t crazy.”

Stephanie takes a deep breath, still in a bit of disbelief I mean– This changes everything she’s thought about this place. “If we can hear somebody, then…” She couldn’t even finish the sentence. It was so shocking.

“Maybe we can talk to them. I know for a fact my mom heard me when I called the phone. She even responded when I talked back.”

“So it’s totally possible.” She goes silent to think, an idea coming to mind in a matter of seconds. She grins. “Follow me.”

Will of course does, a little intrigued by the fact that they found themselves climbing to the top of an old bell tower that overlooks most of Hawkins. “What is this place?”

“Somewhere I probably shouldn’t have been hanging out at when I was young.” Steph admits. “Don’t worry, the tower hasn’t been used in decades ‘cause the bell’s broken. Alright.” She smacks her hands together. “We have to figure out a way to get someone’s attention. Whether it’s your family, my family, friends, or hell, even some random stranger. We just need to get someone’s attention.”

“But how? I’m not even sure how any of this works.” Will asked, truthfully. He’s still not even really sure how he was able to contact his mom that night.

She hums, scratching her head. “Where’s your house at?” He gets close to the edge, looks around and points to it in the distance. She nods and starts doing the same as she speaks, “Alright, well there’s mine, Lucas’, and Mike’s. So we got options. We just need to figure out how you were able to speak to your mom that night. If we can figure that out, maybe we can do it again.”

“All I really did was just dial my house’s number and she picked up.”

“Okay. Maybe it’s just that simple after all.”

“Well… I know whatever happened that night, it fired the house’s phone. We’re going to need a new phone.”

“We can get one. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll move on to another house. Hopefully, one of our friends will pick up.”

And they have to. This is our only plan right now. She waves for him to go first. “Careful going down, it’s more tricky than going up.”

“Okay.” He says, doing what he was told.

She starts to follow closely behind when another voice appears.

|| I am such an idiot. ||

She froze, her heart sinking again. She looks back at one of the corners of the tower, and an aching feeling in her gut.

“Steve?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Steve had a cigarette in one hand, and his other tangled up his own locks; One leg was dangling off the tower, while the rest of his body laid against the arch of the opening. Today was stupidly sunny, barely any clouds and no smell of precipitation in the air for a chance of rain – the aesthetic was the complete opposite of his mood right now.

He took a puff of nicotine and blew it out like a long, heavy sigh. The shit from last night keeps replaying in his head, provoking him to do or say something he’s probably not supposed to (or is supposed to, his subconscious yells at him) – He still doesn’t understand why he suddenly ended up here out of place. He could have gone to skull rock, or even the quarry, or maybe even just running around the mall hoping no one realizes he’s a teenager and asks why he’s not in school.

He groans, closing his eyes, listening to the traffic below and people bickering, praying nobody looks up and finds him here. Again, why did I pick this place?

“I am such an idiot.” He mutters, then the insecurities he had slowly started to fade away when he felt a presence nearby. Worried that maybe a cop finally found him, he changes his sadden look for something cooler before opening his eyes and looking.

But strangely enough, no one was even there.

“Huh.” Steve blinks, swearing that he could feel someone was watching him. Maybe though? I mean, this was an old church that may or may not be haunted.

He shakes his head. “Fuck this.” He puts his bud out on the ground and stands up to leave.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Hey, Where’s Steve? I didn’t see his car in the parking lot.” Nancy asks, butting into Carol and Tommy’s conversation. She honestly wanted to see him to give him another apology, she still felt bad for prying so much about something she probably shouldn’t have seen. And I want to see if he’s in a good mental state today.

She watches the couple spare a look and gets worried, “What?”

“You haven’t seen him yet?” Carol said, as she shakes her head. “That’s weird.”

“Steve never skips school.” Tommy adds.

“What did you guys argue about last night?”

“Us?” Nancy said, pointing to herself. “You think he’s not here because we fought?”

“It’s a possibility. He finally has a girlfriend who’s charm finally made the King skip class.” Carol said, arms cross. “I’d say that’s an achievement.”

She scoffs. “First of all, It was just a disagreement, nothing more. A second, there’s no way that’s the reason he’s not here.”

“Maybe you hit one of his insecurities you were yelling about last night.”

Nancy holds her tongue and ends up just leaving in a huff. Every time she thinks she’s finally on their level, she’s pushed back down. She sighs and enters her first class of the day. Her gaze follows over to where her friend would be at, but atlas, her desk was empty.

She reaches out and taps the girl in front of her shoulder. “Hey, Ally. Where’s Barb?”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “Um, shouldn’t you know?”

Nancy’s stomach dropped. “You haven’t seen her anywhere... at all?”

Ally shakes her head just as the bell rings and everyone’s ordered to sit down, leaving the Wheeler to wonder if she stayed home too because of their bickering.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“There she is. Emerald City.” Powell announced as they pulled up to the one and only laboratory in Hawkins. They were going off really their only lead at this point, and hoping it plays out.

“I heard they make space weapons in there.” Callahan replies, getting a look.

“Space weapons?”

“Yeah. You know, like, Reagan’s Star Wars. I guess we’re gonna blow the Ruskies to smithereens.”

“Hey, can I help you?” The guard asked once the police car rolled to a stop just in front of the gate.

“Uh, yeah. We’re here for a tour.” Hopper lied.

“Oh, we don’t give tours.”

“Okay... A quick look around.”

“You have to get clearance for that. You can contact, uh... Rick Schaeffer at the Department of Energy.”

“Maybe you seen it on TV.” Hopper pushes, not backing down from this. “We got two local kids missing. We have reason to believe they might have snuck in here.”

“Like I said, you have to speak to Mr. Schaeffer.”

Hopper exhaled through his nose, and turned the car and placed his hat on the dashboard; His partners beside him grew quiet, and let him have at it. “What’s your name?”

“Patrick.”

“Patrick, I got a panicked mayor, and I got reporters breathing down my neck and I got two very upset mothers.” He said, his face growing softer, more wounded like. “Now, I know the kid’s not in there, but I gotta check off this box. Patrick, would you do me a favor? Would you speak to your boss and see what you can swing for us? I’d really appreciate it. I’m talking ten minutes, tops.”

Just ten minutes to see if they were in there. That’s all that the police chief needs…

And wants.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Steve heads inside the shop nearby, his stomach growling for food. It completely slipped his mind this morning – or afternoon now – he’s completely lost track of time.

Now what kind of junk sounds appetizing today? He starts wandering around, not at all familiar with this layout or the shop for that matter (Why didn’t he just go to the sandwich shop next door again?). As he slips through one of the aisles, he notices the person in front of him struggling to reach for something off the high shelf.

Deciding to be a nice boy, he reaches up and grabs it down for her. “Here you go, Ma’am.”

“Oh, thank you.” She said, surprised and grateful. “How kind of you.”

“Early Christmas shopping?”

“Oh, I wish. No, I just need a new phone in case my son calls the house.”

He nods. “Your son lives far then?”

“Um, no, h-he’s missing.”

Oh?

Oh…

Oh!

Steve’s eyes widened at the realization. “Oh, oh my god, I’m so sorry. You’re that kid’s mother.”

“I am.” Joyce says, shifting her weight around.

“Am… so sorry, I-I didn’t know, I–”

“Like you said, you didn’t know.” She puts the phone into the shopping cart. “It’s okay.”

“Okay, um…” This was awkward, right? Steve shifted on his feet too, not really sure how to wrap this up. “Uh, do you have… uh… heard any updates?”

Joyce shakes her head, sadly. “Not yet. I know the Police Chief has put many of his guys and volunteers to work. But I think at this point they covered all of Hawkins.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I just, uh–” He trails off, struggling to make a sentence. “Sorry, I was just being nosy. I don’t really hear much news, I…” He swallows. “I went to school with the Henderson girl, so...”

Is he making any sense? Hopefully she’s understanding what he means– Fuck, his heart’s racing so fast.

“Oh, yeah?” Joyce said, looking bittersweet – Looking like she was a mother staring at her hurt child (How come his own mother never looked at him like that?). “Must be hard knowing someone you knew is missing.”

Damn, right on the money. “Yeah.” He says, his throat feeling tight.

She hums, and then gives him a stern expression. “Shouldn’t you be in school though?”

Annnnddddd… Fuck.

Nice Going, Harrington. He scolded himself as he racked his brain for a believable lie. “Oh, uh, I-I graduated already. I was a grade ahead.”

“Oh.” She says, apologetically. “My mistake.”

“No worries, seriously. It happens all the time.” At least he didn’t say something stupid, and needs to get out of this conversation before he does but… damn his little heart sometimes. “Uh–” He gestures to her cart full of different items. “Do you want me to pay for some of that? For bothering you? Or uh, I… I know you’re probably–”

“Oh, no!” She shakes her head. “No. Thanks, but I can get it. Money’s a little tight, I’ll admit, but there’s nothing I can do about it. You know?”

“You sure?”

“Yes. I appreciate the offer.” Joyce smiles, and subconsciously pats the young man on his shoulder. “You’re very sweet. Take care.”

“You too.” He says, seeing this as he exits and walks past her.

Joyce watches as he turns to another aisle, growing a bit sad by the interaction.

Alright, do I have everything? She has a new phone, some groceries– things she knows Will would like–

The display of string lights flickered for a second.

Confused, thinking most likely it was probably a short circuit, she doesn’t understand why she ended up muttering her youngest name, “Will.”

Coincidentally, the light flickers shortly afterwards. “Will!” She says, again, hope blooming in her chest. Then, all the lights on the display shined for a few seconds.

God, call her crazy, but maybe this was a sign that her son is still close by.

Before anyone could blink, the checkout counter was filled up with so many boxes of Christmas lights, some just the basic color, and some of the tri-colors. She can only imagine how much this is going to cost her, but who cares! If this is strangely how she can talk to her son, then this is what she shall do.

Her Boss, who was the clerk for the day, looks at her worriedly. “Joyce–”

“Just ring me up, Donald.” Is all she said, patiently waiting until he was all finished. Without sparing another word, she gathers all the bags into her hands and races to her car.

Donald sighs while watching her leave. “That poor woman.” He says, just as Steve comes up to the counter with his snacks and drinks. He raises an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be minding your own business?” Steve said, becoming bitter again.

“Mmm, hmm.” He scans everything and a price pops up on his screen. “That’ll be Five-Fifty.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| THE OTHER SIDE ||

“Found a phone.” Will said, almost immediately as they entered. It shouldn’t be a shock since this is the place his mother works at.

“That should work.” Steph said, smiling. “Let’s get a move on.”

Will gets up on his tippy toes to grab it, slowly pulling it off the shelf when something presses his hand. Startled, he falls back and the older girl grabs the box before it falls.

“What happened?” She asked, worriedly.

“S-Something touched me.” He says, taking a step back.

“What?” She hands him the box and peeks over the shelf herself (She’s not exactly tall either). There was nothing odd out of the ordinary, just the normal dust and native plants that grew in this world. She frowns. “I don’t really see anything.”

Suddenly the display of lights flickered. Out of instinct her hand reaches for the pistol at her side. Then her heart sinks at the next thing.

|| Uh, do you want me to pay for some of that? I know you’re probably– ||

“Steve?” Stephanie says, surprised.

So she wasn’t crazy after all. She did hear him.

Will looked up at her, stunned too. “Steve Harrington?” He asked, but before she could speak another voice could be heard.

|| –I can get it. Money’s a little tight, I’ll admit, but there’s nothing I can do about it. You know? ||

|| You sure? ||

|| Yes. I appreciate the offer. You’re very sweet. Take care. ||

“Mrs. Byers?/Mom?!” They both erupted, then went quiet to see if they could hear anything else.

Nothing.

“Shit.” The oldest said, and now gnawing on her lip again, nervously (And completely forgetting about Steve for the time being). “That might have been our chance.” She hears the boy drop the phone somewhere next to her. “Will?”

The boy seemed fascinated with an idea swirling around in his head. Stephanie finds herself just watching, waiting to see what he had in mind. Will reaches up and lets his fingers brush the display of some string lights, the lights getting a little bit hazy – It was almost like his touch was giving them electricity.

|| Will. ||

Joyce’s voice broke through very faintly, but they both heard it and nearly cried.

“Touch the light again.” Steph said, urgently. Will does what he’s told and they both stay quiet again.

|| Will! ||

“She hears us.” He says, happily.

“Holy shit…” She chuckles. “I have an idea. Touch all the lights.”

Frantically, they rush to touch all the lights they saw on display, not even questioning how this was even possible, they just hoped Joyce got the message. Once the hue died down they both held their breaths, and crossed their fingers. And then…

|| Just ring me up, Donald. ||

Stephanie threw her hands up. “Yes!” She says, with Will laughing beside her. “Thank you, Ms. Byers.”

“My mom’s the best.” He said, with a warm look.

“Hell, yeah she is. And forget the phone–” She locks eyes with him, determined. “I think we figured out a better way to communicate.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“And you think these missing kids may have crawled through there?”

Hopper spares the man a glance before looking back at the drain. Somehow, he convinced the security guard to let him and his guys in, but so far their theories are turning out pretty sour. “Well, that was the idea.”

Their “Tour Guide”, I guess you can call him that, made a fact that was all smug and prideful. “Yeah, I just don’t see how that’d be possible. We’ve got over 100 cameras. Every square inch covered, plus all my guys. No one breaks in here. Certainly not some kids.”

Hopper perked up at the news, eyes trailing to a few cameras in view. Now it was his turn to be the smug one as he asked, “Those cameras, you keep the tapes?”

Well… I don’t think the guide was expecting that reaction.

Now, the three of them were following the man inside, the hallways swarmed with men in lab coats, and a security team blocking a room that was marked “hazardous”.

The police Chief found this a bit suspicious and asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you guys do in here?”

The guide chuckles. “You’re asking the wrong guy.”

“Staying one step ahead of the Russians?”

“I expect. Something like that.”

“Who’s in charge here?”

“That’d be Dr. Brenner.”

“And he builds the space lasers?” Callahan asked, eagerly.

“Space lasers?”

“Ignore him.” Hopper replies, sighing. They eventually entered the surveillance room, the three of them watching the screen closely. “This is the night of the 6th and 7th we’re seeing here?”

“That’s correct.”

Hopper narrows his eyes, waiting to see if he sees anything unusual. However, to his surprise, the tape only lasted less than a minute. “Is that it?” He asked, in disbelief.

“Like I said, we would have seen them.”

And then the cops were practically shoved out of there, and the guide gives them their condolences for the tired search (Yeah, what an asshole, right?).

“The night of the 7th, we had a search party out for Will and Stephanie. You remember anything about that night?” Hopper asked, seeing if he wasn’t the only suspicious one.

“Mmm, not much to remember. Called it off.” Callahan replies, thinking.

“‘Cause of the storm.” Powell adds.

“Yeah, a lot of rain that night.” Hopper says, arriving at their car. “You see any rain on that tape?”

“What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know.” He spares a look at the building, a sinking feeling in his gut. “But they’re lying.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the boys were outside shifting through the playground for some rocks. Mike picks one up and shows it off. “How about this one?”

Dustin looks and shakes his head. “Too big for the sling.” He says, getting on his knees to do some digging. “So, do you think Eleven was born with her powers, like the X-Men, or do you think she acquired them, like... like Green Lantern?

“She’s not a superhero. She’s a weirdo.” Lucas replies, rolling his eyes.

“Why does that matter?” Mike snaps, offended. “The X-Men are weirdos.”

“If you love her so much, why don’t you marry her?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Mike, seriously?”

“What?”

“You look at her all, like…” Lucas makes a giggly face, and softens his body language, followed by a higher pitched voice, “‘Hi, El! El! El! El! I love you so much! Would you marry me’?”

“Shut up, Lucas.”

“Yeah, shut up, Lucas.” Their bully, Troy, announced as he stomped towards the group. “What are you losers doing back here?”

“Probably looking for their missing friends.” James said, smirking.

“That’s not funny. It’s serious. They’re in danger.” Dustin hisses, annoyed.

“I hate to break it to you, Toothless, but they’re not in danger.” Troy bites back. “They’re dead. That’s what my dad says. He said that Byers was probably killed by some other queer. And maybe your sister’s been killed by some crazy stalker who is into weirdos like her.”

The two bullies laugh as Dustin looks like he’s about to strangle someone. No one says anything about Will like that. And nobody especially says something like that about his big sister.

Mike sees this, and puts his arm in front of his friend to soothe him. “Come on. Just ignore them.” He says, and starts to leave, only to be tripped – and face planted into the ground.

“Watch where you’re going, Frogface.” Troy spats, but he instantly gets a taste of his own medicine.

To everyone’s surprise, Dustin was the one to deliver the karma, which was forcibly shoving him to the ground.

Everyone stared, and before someone could speak he shoved James too and scrambled to pick up Mike.

“Lucas! Let’s go!” Dustin yells, and silently tells Mike to go. As they were leaving, he flips the bullies the bird and snaps, “You shitheads need to keep Will and Phanie’s name out of your mouths! Got it?!”

And then they broke off into a Usain Bolt type sprint.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| THE OTHER SIDE ||

They finally ended up back on Mirkwood, guns loaded, backpacks full, and hope in their chest. If this works, if Joyce does this right, then maybe they can finally communicate to the other side. All they needed to do was tell her where they are, and maybe they could figure out a way to get back.

It sounded easy, and they just hoped it was.

The two of them were silent for most of the walk, and when they got to this specific road, the boy grabbed her hand, shaking. She says nothing, ‘cause nothing needs to be said about it. If that’s what made him feel safe then so be it.

“Do you think it’s negative emotions?” Will eventually said, breaking the ice.

Stephanie tilts her head, confused. “Hmm?”

“Do you think that’s how we can hear some people? Through negative emotions?” He looks up at her. “Like my mom, she must be worried about me, maybe that’s why we can hear her?”

Her eyebrows shoot up, shocked. It’s definitely a plausible theory (But would that apply to Steve as well? And if so, why is he so worried?). “Maybe.”

“But would that go with us too?” He adds, the wheels in his head really were turning today. “I mean, is that how the beast picks their victims? Because they’re in a bad mental state?”

Well, now that makes sense if you put it that way. “It’s possible.” She said, nodding. Yeah, that’s completely possible.

It explains a lot of things. More or so she wanted to admit. She knows these last two years were… interesting to say the least. Definitely could qualify as a ‘Bad Mental State’. And… she also has felt a bit stressed about school and talks about her future. But if she knew herself was in a bad state, then that means–

“Then… are you okay?” Steph asked, realizing something. The boy froze, like actually froze when she said that. It was a trippy sight to see. “Will?”

“What?”

“Are you okay?” She tries again, a bit gentler this time. “Mentally?” Nothing. “Will–

“I… I’m fine.”

And then he lets go of her hand and starts walking a bit quicker– not even realizing he was doing so. She stops, concern on her face. She wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction from a simple yes or no question. She makes a note for herself that when they do get out of here she’s going to have a talk with him (Or at least tell Joyce about her concerns).

She sighs. Always got to be the therapist, Henderson.

She takes a step to move but stops, her eyes trailing off the road to her right, right into the void of the trees. It was weird. She felt like someone was standing right there – The same kind of presence back at the clock tower.

“Huh.” She turns her attention back in front of her, then proceeds to freak out a bit when she notices how far Will was. She cusses and breaks into a sprint to catch up quickly.

Completely unaware of who that presence really was.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Steve steps over the barricades, his feet sinking into the leaves. Curiosity got the best of him you could say, or maybe the conversation last night really was getting under his skin (Like he’ll ever admit that), but he found himself here. Standing at a… crime scene, I guess.

Her car went off road with herself and the Byers boy in it. Not long afterwards, they ditched it.

His brown orbs trailed from the tree the vehicle hit and down the long road. He also knows, from what he’s heard, they both ran back to the boy’s house and then the trail went cold after that. But that’s the part that tickled his brain a bit.

Why run all the way back home, a place you’re probably the safest at, and then leave it? It didn’t make sense in his book. Hell, it shouldn’t make sense in anybody’s book. What was the urge for them to run away from home and into the thick woods that surrounds Hawkins?

He rubbed his chin and started thinking like he was going to solve this or whatever. Like…

He then scoffs at himself.

What the fuck am I even doing? What is he doing? Why did he drive himself here? It’s not like he should care anymore. I mean, he shouldn’t care anymore. His parents would have his head if they knew–

Then there it is again.

That strange feeling that someone’s watching him.

He turns around, half expecting a cop to be there to scold him, the other half expecting nothing and– Oh! What do you know? It was nothing.

But even if it was nothing, he swears someone is standing there, watching his every move. Almost like this presence was here to judge him and see what other stupid things he can do today.

It was definitely giving him the heebie-jeebies.

He frowns, and looks away. “What the fuck…?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

It took her an hour, but Joyce got all the lights up. She strung them all through the house, up along the wall and hanging gently off the ceiling. She hopes that she’s not losing her mind – She knows how silly this looks; Putting up Christmas lights in November (I mean, the holiday’s not that far off but still). She was expecting some reaction to happen, some or maybe all of them would immediately start blinking; Instead, her doorbell rings and she’s met with Karen Wheeler.

Not wanting to be rude, Joyce invited her and her youngest in. Karen pops in a casserole she made into the oven, sitting next to the worried mother and tries to see what state she was in.

Joyce chuckles nervously when her guest notices the festive decoration. “Will always loved Christmas, you know. So I thought if I... I put the lights up... I don’t know, he... I’d feel like he was home somehow.” She covers part of her face with her hand. “I-It’s silly, I-I know…”

Karen shakes her head. “No. No, it’s not silly.” She takes the other woman’s hand in hers, giving her a gentle squeeze. “How is Jonathan holding up?”

Joyce takes a deep breath. “You know, he’s good at taking care of himself. He always has been, you know? I…” She scoffs. “I mean, he thinks I’m losing my mind, but…”

“Joyce.” Karen says, softly. “I want you to know something. If you need anything, anything at all... Ted and I are here for you.”

This sentimental moment caused them both to become oblivious to the lights flickering on in the hallway, a walkway pointing towards Will’s room. The only one who didn’t miss it was Holly, who was now sliding off her chair to follow.

“Thank you.” Joyce said, sincerely.

Karen smiles. “Okay.”

The two women continued to talk, Joyce even bringing up Mike’s feelings about the whole thing – and even wondered if Claudia and Dustin were okay too. Meanwhile, little Holly Wheeler watched the lights flickered on and off, guiding her to the bedroom. Her eyes watched in awe as the many, many lamps that were lingered around Will’s room turned off and on one-by-one in a symphony-like way.

She giggles and claps, excited to watch this “show”. Then…

They all stopped and the nightmare began.

Her happiness starts to pool away as she hears a scary sound. She then turns white as a ghost when she notices one of the walls was moving and stretching out towards her.

Who knows what would have happened if Joyce hadn’t come in and grabbed Holly, handing her back to her mother.

“She shouldn’t be here.” Joyce said, scared in both tone and facial expression.

Karen didn’t notice the seriousness of her look as she apologizes, “Oh, I’m sorry. She’s quite the explorer these days.”

“Wait, did you see something?” The worried Byers brushes her off, and the little girl nods quickly. “What did... what did you see? Tell me. What did you see?”

“Joyce!” The blonde scolds, but she’s already being shooed away.

“Karen, thank you for the casserole, but I need you to leave.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Nancy tapped her foot repeatedly, impatiently waiting for the person to pick up the phone. “Come on, come on, come on…” She mumbled, gripping the payphone tight. “Come on–”

[ ‘Hello?’ ]

Oh, thank god. “Hi!” She says, eagerly. “Hi, uh, Ms. Holland, it’s Nancy.”

[ ‘Oh, Nancy, how are you?’ ]

“Good. I’m good. Um, I was just wondering, uh, is Barb there?”

[ ‘Mmm... No, she hasn’t come home yet.’ ]

“But she did come home, right? After the vigil?”

[ ‘No, she said she was staying with you last night.’ ]

Shit. Nancy mentally scolds herself. “Right, yes. She did, sorry. I meant, did she come home this morning? I think she left some textbooks and she was gonna go pick them up.”

[ ‘Oh, um, no, I haven’t seen her.’ ]

“Do– do you know what? I just remembered... she’s at the library.”

[ ‘Nancy, will you please have her call me as soon as you find her?’ ]

“Yeah.” She shakes her head, frowning at how worried Barb’s mother was sounding. “Yeah, I will. Sorry to bother you.”

She hangs up the phone, frustrated. This wasn’t like Barb at all. In the past when they’ve had some disagreements, she’s never once disappeared like this. The only thing Barb’s ever done that was “extreme” was she did the silent treatment for most of the school day.

This is so weird. This whole day’s been weird. She sighs and digs out some more change for the machine, and dials another number she knows by heart. The whole time as it rang she was nipping at the tip of her thumb. To her surprise, a voice she’s never heard before answered the phone.

[ ‘Hello?’ ]

The voice was a bit husky, but sweet with a pinch of sass.

Nancy’s confused, and twirls the phone cord around her finger. “Oh, I’m sorry, who’s this?” She asked, wondering if she dialed the number wrong. “Is this the–”

[ ‘This is Jessica. How can I help you?’ ]

Jessica?

Jessica? Who’s…

Her eyes widened.

Oh.

Now she recognizes the name.

It was Steve’s mother – The woman she hasn’t met yet – The woman she’s “meeting” for the first time over the phone.

She swallows, nervously. “Oh, I-I’m… sorry. I was trying to get a hold of Steve.” She replies, feeling a bit awkward (and nervous?).

[ ‘Steven? And who are you to him?’ ]

Well she sounds lovely. She can hear the snobbishness in her tone, almost offended that someone was calling for her son. That’s a little weird.

“Um, I’m his girlfriend.” Nancy replies, trying to sound confident. “I was just wondering if he’s home? I haven’t seen him at school day and I’m a little worried.”

Then came the very long, very uncomfortable pause. For a second there she thought the mom hung up, it was so quiet.

[ ‘Girlfriend? That’s new. ]

“Did Steve not tell you about us?” Nancy asked, a bit hurt and a bit confused. He seemed so proud to show the whole school that they were dating, how come he never told his mother?

[ ‘What’s your name?’ ]

Skipping my question. I love it. “Um, Nancy. Nancy Wheeler, Ma’am.”

[ ‘Wheeler, you said?’ ]

“Um, yes.” Now she was puzzled even more. Was this a bad thing–

[ ‘That’s wonderful!’ ]

Nancy blinks. “It… is?”

[ ‘My son’s dating a Wheeler! I almost can’t believe it.’ ]

And the woman was laughing with joy(?), which Nancy puts to the side. She just needs to get an answer to her own simple question. “That’s… wonderful, um… is Steve there?”

[ ‘No, he’s not. *Sigh* I swear if that boy’s skipping school, we’re going to have a problem.’ ]

And I think I just made everything worse. She straightens herself up, ready to end this. “Okay, Well… thanks, Mrs. Harrington, I’ll see if he’s maybe hiding out somewhere in the school.”

[ ‘Okay. Well, you have a good rest of your day, sweetheart.’ ]

Sweetheart? Nancy shakes her head again. “Thanks. You too.” She hangs up the phone. Well that was even weirder than the last one.

She crosses her arms, turning to head inside only her eyes to beeline to Carol and Tommy following someone closely – Tommy looking pissed off, especially.

“What the heck?” She says, and hurries towards them.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Hopper and his partner entered the library with an idea – an idea hanging on a very thin thread that is. So, he puts on his best smile and takes off his hat, strolling up to the woman at the desk. “Hey, Marissa. How you doin’?”

The librarian pursed her lips. “You have a lot of nerve showing up here.”

He blinks. “What?”

“You could have at least called, said, ‘Marissa! Hey, it’s not gonna work out. Sorry I wasted your time. I’m a dіck’.”

Oh, now he remembers. “Yep.” He said, agreeing immediately. “I’m sorry. Uh... Maybe we could go out again next week?” She, and even Powell, made a face at him that gave him his answer. He smacks his lips and looks around. “Newspapers? You guys got newspapers around here?”

Marissa nods and shows them where they all are. “We have the New York Times, the Post, all the big ones. Organized by year and topic. You can find the corresponding microfiche in the reading room.”

“Okay, we’re looking for anything on the Hawkins National Laboratory.”

“Well, shouldn’t you be looking for that missing kid?”

“Yeah. We are.” Hopper pushes, and adds, “So, why don’t you start with the Times, and we’ll check out the Post.”

She scoffs in disbelief and walks off, Powell stepping up with a look on his face. “The librarian?” He said, getting a shrug.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Nancy sped up when she saw who they were stalking in the parking lot. Why would two people like Tommy and Carol go after a kid like Jonathan Byers? Nothing that went through her mind would give her that answer. When she got closer is when it got more intense.

Tommy was practically manhandling Jonathan, yelling and trying to take his bag away from him. The eldest Wheeler sped up even more, full on running now.

She manages to step between the two of them, arms out in defense. “Hey! What’s going on?”

“This creep was spying on us last night!” Tommy said, pointing furiously. “Nicole says he was taking pictures of us by the pool.”

“I was looking for my brother.” Jonathan replies, holding his bag close.

“Bullshit. Now let me see.”

“Back off!”

Nancy steps in between them again. “Tommy, stop!” She yells, making him scoff.

“You’re defending this creep, Wheeler?” Carol asked, in disgust.

“First of all, you really going to believe what Nicole said? The girl’s like the boy who cried wolf.”

“Nancy–”

“Lastly, so what if he has photos of us at the pool? It wasn’t like we’re naked.”

“Naked or not, he still took pictures of us!” Tommy snaps, taking a step closer as she takes a step back.

“Pictures or not, he was looking for his brother–”

“How do you know, huh? How?”

“Because he’s been hanging out missing poster signs of him and missing school because he’s the big brother.” Nancy looks over her shoulder, locking eyes with Jonathan. “Go.” He hesitates. “Go, man!”

Not wasting another opportunity, he hustles off towards his car. Tommy tries to lunge towards him, but Nancy isn’t letting up.

“What the fuck, Nancy?!” Tommy shouted, and she chose to ignore him by walking away once she knew Jonathan wasn’t around. “Nancy!”

“Nancy, get back here!” Carol yelled.

“Nancy, you such a fucking princess! Wait until your boyfriend hears about this!”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Dude, I can’t believe you did that!” Lucas said, as they bike away from the school. “You know Troy and James are not going to let that slide.”

“I don’t care!” Dustin says, bitterly (and if he could cross his arms right now he would). “I don’t like when people bad mouth my friends, bad mouth my sister! I mean, for Christ’s sake, she was giving Will a ride home. What’s so bad about that?”

He doesn’t care if James’s waiting tomorrow to give him a wedgie, or Troy’s fist plummeting into his face, he doesn’t care. Both Will and Phanie had their fair share of bullying themselves, or whispers of derogatory names and speeches – All because Will was the “quiet kid” and wears “colorful” clothing; All because his sister wasn’t a “girly-girl” and a total nerd. He’s heard that all throughout his life, and sometimes he said something, sometimes he stays silent when told too – He probably should have done that today.

But those… fucking bullies just had to poke him when he was the most stress. Stressed out with each day that none of them had come home.

Jeez, he’s either going to get scolded or praised by his mother if she finds out about that interaction.

“And don’t even try to convince me to beg them for forgiveness. They don’t deserve it and I’m standing my ground.” Dustin adds, shutting his friend up. As they rode closer and closer to their houses, he frowned, worriedly.

I just hope El knows what she’s talking about. He just wants to find them both soon (Safe and sound would be a plus).

The boys continued to ride until they arrived at the power lines behind the Wheelers’ house. Mike shouted and told the girl to hope on, warning all of them they only had a few hours to pull this off.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Joyce was standing in her kitchen with a cigarette when Chester started barking. She looks up to see the lights in the living room start flickering, and hurries in there. As soon as she entered they died down. Then, slowly the light directly above her activated, and then made a pathway to the other side of the room. Her fingers laced around them, and followed, ending up being directed at a bundle of them lying on the floor.

She rushes to take them in her hands, sitting down and taking a deep breath. It was now or never to find out if she was really losing her mind or not. She closes her eyes, and whispers,

“Will... are you here?”

There was a brief pause followed by the ball lighting up and fading. She chuckles in excitement, completely over the moon with fresh tears in her eyes.

“Okay, good, good, good, good. Are you…” How should she do this? “Um, blink once for yes, twice for no. C-Can y-you do that for me, sweetie? Can you do–” The ball lights up again just once as she feels a tear run down her cheek and hugs the object.

She can feel it in her bones, in her heart now. She knows this is her baby boy. She knows that her son is still with her.

Joyce smiles and sniffles. “Oh, good boy. Good boy. Okay, Will, um–” Another deep breath. “Is… Is Stephanie with you too?”

One blink. The girl who was kind enough to pick up her son is still with him despite all this time. She can finally put some of that guilt away now.

“That’s wonderful news.” She said, her expression growing bigger. However, this was going to be the hardest question yet to ask. “Baby, I need to know…” She swallows. “Are you guys alive?”

One blink and her heart skips a beat. She thanks any God who’s listening for this.

Her lip quivers as she follows up with, “Are you guys safe?”

Two blinks.

Her son and Stephanie were not okay.

Now, Joyce was shaking like a leaf as she clenched the lights tighter, her mind running a mile a minute on what she can do. What could she say that wouldn’t revert to playing twenty questions four times over?

“I need to know where to find you two, honey. Where... where are you? Can you... can you tell me where you are? Can you…” She chokes, her cheeks completely stained. “Please, baby. I need to find you. Tell me what to do. Please just... Will…”

She didn’t know how long she sat there and cried, wondering what she could do for her baby, for Steph; But at some point a light bulb idea appeared. She suddenly found herself stringing some lights on the wall over her couch, a row of three, before popping open a can of black paint and began brushing letters on.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| THE OTHER SIDE ||

“How do we get my mom’s attention when we can’t see what she’s done?” Will asked after hours of walking back to his home, he was disappointed to find that his house still looks the same. I guess their theory about earlier was right–

This world was stuck on the day he and Steph got kidnapped by the beast.

The oldest walked around a bit, thinking. Unfortunately, despite all the lights Joyce bought, they can’t see any of them. “Did she put it in your room, maybe?” Stephanie thought, and wandered inside.

Nothing. Of course. The only thing she saw that was possibly different was some scratch marks on the wall, ones that would be too high for a dog to do.

She swallows and leaves, meeting the boy in the hallway. “Did you have scratches on your wall before?” Will gives her a weird look and shakes his head. She hums. “We got to find those lights quickly. I think that monster’s been lurking around here.”

They found themselves back in the living room, and started moving their arms around, squinting too to see if something would appear. All hope was starting to seem lost until her hand hits an object above, a glowing hue appears for a split second.

“Whoa…” Will said, in awe, and suddenly, they both swore they heard a dog barking. “Chester?”

Steph took this as a sign to keep going, hitting the same spot again before gently moving her hand along the imaginary line. She trails to the little cabinet against the wall, feeling around until she hits something that makes light.

Come on, Ms. Byers. Please tell me you’re home. The two of them waited anxiously, waiting for the woman to speak, waiting for–

|| Will... are you here? ||

Joyce’s voice broke through, breaking them.

“Mom.” Will breaths, coming down to sit on his knees. “What do I–”

“Start feeling around. Just like I did.” Steph said, coming to sit next to him. He nods again, keeping calm and feels around – His fingers touching something that made the hue appear again. “Perfect. Just like that.”

|| Okay, good, good, good, good. ||

“See?” Steph says, happily. “It’s working.”

“Mom.” Will says again, smiling. Now, they just have to stay silent and listen.

|| Are you… Um, blink once for yes, twice for no. C-Can y-you do that for me, sweetie? Can you do– ||

Of course they can. So Will reaches out and touches it once.

|| Oh, good boy. Good boy. Okay, Will, um– Is… Is Stephanie with you too? ||

One touch. Will is eternally grateful that he’s not alone in this scary place.

|| That’s wonderful news – Baby, I need to know… ||

There’s a pause, and they hold their breaths.

|| Are you guys alive? ||

Their hearts clenched at how painful she sounded.

His poor mother. I can only imagine what she must feel like. Steph thought, and touched his shoulder, trying to give him some comfort.

He touches the air with a shaky hand, trying not to beat himself up over how much his mother was suffering.

|| Are you guys safe? ||

They frown, and he touches the air twice.

I’m sorry, Mom. Will says, trying not to picture the state she was in after that answer.

|| I need to know where to find you two, honey. Where... where are you? Can you... can you tell me where you are? Can you… Please, baby. I need to find you. Tell me what to do. Please just... Will… ||

“Mom?” He croaked, after she went silent. “Mom?”

“Ms. Byers?” She said, worriedly.

“Mom, please… where did you–”

Then they heard the couch scrap across the floor, hitting the wall, followed by the sounds of hammering.

“What is she doing now?” He asks, both of them standing and hearing the string lights she must have in her hands clink together, and move along the wall. “Why is she hanging up more lights?”

Although he was puzzled, Stephanie was not. She walks over to the couch, getting onto the cushions and feeling around, the hues returning when she hits a certain spot. She laughs blissfully.

“Oh, your mom’s a genius.” Steph said, with a huge smile on her face.

Will gives her a look. “I don’t get it.”

“Watch closely. See–” She touches a line of lights near the ceiling. “Eight.” Then the middle. “Nine.” Then the bottom. “Nine. It makes twenty-six. Your mom’s a freaking genius.”

“Still not getting it.”

“Don’t you see? She didn’t just hang up more lights–” Her smile grows, and soon will his. “It’s an alphabet wall.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Nancy wasn’t sure what she was going to do. First Steve doesn’t come into school, and now no one knows where Barb is. She decides to kill two birds with one stone after school, and takes a drive over to the Harrington house. A quick driveby shows that her boyfriend’s car wasn’t there, so she figures he must have just skipped school because of last night’s disagreement. As for her best friend though, she couldn’t have said the same thing.

She slows down and parks directly behind Barb’s car, jogging over and taking a peek inside. Everything was the same, Barb’s purse was on the floor board, and the sweater she changed out of was laid in the seat.

No. No way. She couldn’t believe this. If Barb didn’t drive home last night then where was she? She tried to come up with excuses, tried to make up ideas that would lead to her coming home without her car but…

Nothing made sense.

She about cried on the way home, on the verge of a breakdown as she thinks only but the worst of the worst.

“Hey!” Her mother calls out as she enters the house. “You’re home early! How was the game?” When her mother notices how quiet she was, it is when she meets her daughter halfway. “Nancy? What’s the matter?”

“I-It’s Barb.” Nancy croaks, shaking. “I think... something happened. Something terrible.” She hopes she’s just over exaggerating, but she doesn’t know about that.

She can’t shake off this dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“I don’t know, Chief.” Powell begins, really on the fence about all that they read.

“What don’t you know?” Hopper asked, confused.

“This lady, Terry Ives, sounds like a real nut to me. Her kid was taken for LSD mind control experiments? She’s been discredited. Claim was thrown out–”

Hopper sighs. “Okay, forget about her. Take a look at this.” He slides over a newspaper clipping he printed out. The headline said: ‘MK ULTRA EXPOSED’. He points to a familiar face in the picture. “Dr. Martin Brenner.”

“Who?”

“Brenner. He runs Hawkins Lab.”

“Okay…”

Hopper sits back in his chair with disbelief and scoffs. “You don’t find that interesting?”

“Not really.” Powell said, with a shrug. “He was involved in some hippie crap back in the day, so what?”

“No, this isn’t hippie crap. This is CIA-sanctioned research.”

“Doesn’t mean he had anything to do with our kids.”

“Come on. Look at that.” Hopper points to the other people in the picture. “Hospital gowns. All of ‘em. Now, that piece of fabric that the teacher found by the pipe. That sure looked like a hospital gown to me, huh? Am I wrong?”

“I don’t know, Chief.”

“Come on, man. Work with me here. I’m not saying that there’s some grand conspiracy–” (You sure about that?) “I’m just…” He sighs, exhausted. “I’m saying maybe something happened. Maybe Will and Stephanie were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they saw something that they shouldn’t have.”

Powell makes a face. “It’s a reach.”

“It’s a start.”

Before more could be said, Powell’s radio goes off, and Callahan starts speaking.

[ ‘Hey, Powell, is the chief with you?’ ]

Hopper wastes no time to reach over and take the radio off his partner’s shoulder, answering it, “Hopper here. What do you got?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

The boys follow Eleven through the woods, the sun finally setting, slowly engulfing them in darkness if it wasn’t for the lights on their bikes. To everyone’s shock and confusion, she had brought them to a familiar place.

She turns around and faces them, replying, “Here.”

Mike gives her a look. “Yeah, this is where Will lives.”

“Hiding.”

He shakes his head. “No, no, this is where he lives. He’s missing from here. Understand?”

“What are we doing here?” Lucas asked, dropping his bike in annoyance.

“She said he’s hiding here.”

“Um…” He looks around. “No!”

Now it was Dustin’s turn to look annoyed. “I swear, if we walked all the way out here for nothing–”

“That’s exactly what we did. I told you she didn’t know what the hell she was talking about!”

Mike sighs and looks at her. “Why did you bring us here?”

“Mike, don’t waste your time with her.” Lucas replies, fed up and tired.

“What do you want to do then?”

“Call the cops, like we should have done yesterday.”

“We are not calling the cops!”

“Hey, guys?” Dustin says, something catching his attention.

“What other choice do we have?” Lucas yells again.

“Guys!” He snaps, drawing their attention to the police cars rushing by, followed by an ambulance. Their sirens were blaring loudly, and were heading in a direction they all knew where it led to.

A dreadful feeling came to all of them instantly.

“Oh no…” Mike whispers.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| THE OTHER SIDE ||

Stephanie wrote on the wall with a marker the best she could, drawing the alphabet in each row. They couldn’t see the lights or the letters Joyce probably scribbled on too, but they could make do with what they had.

“This should probably help, right?”

“Definitely.” Will agrees with a nod.

“Good.” She smacks her hands together. “Alright, come on Mrs. Byers, talk to us. Ask us some questions.”

“Come on, Mom.”

They waited and waited, until they finally heard her speak.

|| Okay. Okay, baby, talk to me. Talk to me. Where are you guys? ||

“What should we say?” Will asked, as he climbed onto the couch.

“Uh…” What could they say? “Here! Right Here. Tell her that.”

“Okay.”

Will Reached up and started touching right above each letter, listening – His mother repeating back whatever he touched.

|| ‘R’. Good, good, good, good. That’s good. Come on, come on. ‘I.. G... H... T... H... E... R... E…’.‘Right here’. ||

Stephanie frowns, worriedly. Yeah, I know it doesn’t make any sense but it’s true.

“Come on, Mom. Understand. Please.” Will begged, quietly.

|| ‘Right here’? I… I-I don’t know what that means. I need you to tell me what to do. What should I do? How do I get to you guys? How do I find you? What should I do? ||

“Um…” Will looks over at the teenager. “What should we tell her?”

Steph’s mouth opens and closes quickly. What do they tell her if they’re not even sure what this place is? “Fuck… um…” She scratches her head. “How about–”

. “I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING.” .

The vicious voice seemed to spread itself around the house like a disease making the hair on their necks stand, and a chill ran up their spines. And then all the supposed “dead” electricity started going off, turning the whole house into a light show; Radios and TVs started going frantic; Fans turning on and spinning around too.

Will starts looking around all disoriented. “Steph, what’s going on?”

“I–” She gasps as she hears the infamous growl in the distance, then the sound of the beast trying to bust through the wall behind her. “Will!!”

The boy frantically writes something out of his mother, just as the monster’s claw broke through the house. Steph takes a quick shot to stun it enough for them to run out the back door – From there, they were off running into the forest.

Again.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Joyce set the brush down, her alphabet wall was done and ready to use. She takes a few steps back so she can see the whole thing, and rubs her hands impatiently.

“Okay.” She breathes, mentally preparing herself. “Okay, baby, talk to me. Talk to me. Where are you guys?” It takes only a second for a letter to appear. “‘R’. Good, good, good, good. That’s good. Come on, come on. ‘I.. G... H... T... H... E... R... E…’.‘Right here’.”

What?

That doesn’t make sense. What do they mean they’re right here?

“‘Right here’?” She says again, puzzled. “I… I-I don’t know what that means. I need you to tell me what to do. What should I do? How do I get to you guys? How do I find you? What should I do?”

She sees the light flicker again, and waits to see what they spell. Slight spoiler…

It was not what she expected them to say.

They were letters that were going to take her breath away.

And then all the lights in the house turned on and flickers rapidly, a sound of growling coming from behind. Scarcely, she turns to find something trying to crawl out of her wall. Terrified to even scream or speak, she starts to back away towards the door as a beast breaks through the wallpaper and hisses.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

The boys biked faster and faster, trying to catch up to the emergency vehicles, fearing the worst was yet to come. Just like they suspected, they ended up right at Sattler Quarry.

Meanwhile, Hopper was shaking, praying that what Callahan told him was not true. He arrives at the scene to find paramedics going deep into the water, two stretchers trailing behind. He doesn’t even know if he parked the car or not as he rushes out; A terrible, terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He runs and blends into the crowd of firemen, waiting (im)patiently for their findings.

“Oh, Jesus.” He mutters, trying so hard to keep his composure. “Oh, God. Please tell me it’s not the kids.”

The boys and El hid behind a truck, hearts in their throats as they watched as a waterlogged body of a boy was being loaded on the stretcher – soon followed by a larger female.

As soon as he saw the clothes, as soon as he saw the color of their hair, Hopper knew he was too late. Not wanting to break down right there and scream, he turns away and heads to his car. How in the world was he going to be able to tell Joyce and Claudia about this? How was he going to tell them that he failed to save their children after they begged him to? What could he have done differently to change this atrocious outcome?

The boys were shaking their heads from afar, not wanting to believe what they’re seeing. It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare. It has to be! They can’t really be–

“It can’t be them.” Mike choked, shaking his head. “It can’t be.”

“It’s Will and Steph.” Lucas says, lips quivering. Both boys were a mess, almost coming undone, but Dustin…

Oh, Dustin.

He felt like he was about to faint.

“Phanie…?” He whispers, taking a step back while holding his head. No. No. No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No– No! This can’t be real! This can’t be! She can’t be–

“It’s really them.” Lucas said, after getting another look once the bodies were brought back to shore. Tears were in his eyes, and they were ones he wasn’t even going to try to hide like he normally would.

Same thing goes with Mike, who was hugging himself, and sobbed. His best friend was gone. A girl that was like a sister to him was gone. He just couldn’t… wait. “Dustin?” He begins, looking over his friend who seemed so far away from this world.

It was a scary look, enough for even El to get scared and worried. She reached out to him, to comfort him; She even muttered his name for the first time.

To everyone’s surprise, he slaps her hand away.

“‘Dustin’? ‘Dustin’, what?!” He snaps, hatefully. “You were supposed to help us find them alive. You said my sister was alive?! Why did you lie to us?” He points at her, scaring her again. “What’s wrong with you? What is wrong with you?!”

Eleven stays quiet, not even sure what to say from his outburst.

“Say something! Give me an answer, damn it!” He yells, as Lucas and Mike take a step closer.

“Dustin–” Mike tries, but the boy shakes his head and backs away.

“Screw this! Fuck everything!” Dustin turns around and grabs his bike, his friends ushering him to calm down before taking off. But whatever they say wasn’t going to be enough. The Henderson was practically up the hill when they finished their speech, and wasn’t planning on slowing down no matter what happens.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Meanwhile, not too far down the road, Joyce was running for her life – running whatever that thing was that crawled out of her wall. She was so scared that she didn’t even realize a car was coming towards her. Luckily, it stopped mere inches away, causing her to scream.

“Mom?” Jonathan says as he gets out. “Mom, what happened?” His mother couldn’t speak, only reaching out to grab her son and hold on to dear life. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I got you.”

But everything is not okay. Far from it.

Because in the distance, police were coming to inform them of the unfortunate news of their son and brother.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Steve slips through the sliding door in the back of his house since it was much quieter. He really didn’t feel like facing his parents just yet, and he knows this is around the time at night where they sit around with a glass of wine/beer and watch their shows. He’ll just see and deal with them in the morning, and hopefully they don’t notice any signs that there was a party last night.

He walks lightly across the floors, his mind set to go for the stairs which was going to be a bit tricky since they do tend to creak in some spots. A quick look into the living room he finds his dad on the couch, and his mother standing up but facing the opposite way.

Perfect. He thought and made his move just as his mother’s voice broke through.

The black, wavy haired and brown eyed woman was pacing around a bit, clearly upset about something – or someone to be exact.

“The boy was skipping school today, Richard. Can’t you believe that? How is suppose to keep up his grades?”

Steve had to hold back from groaning as he eye rolled. Here she goes again. He chooses to ignore it, and is about to when he hears the next thing.

“If it wasn’t for his girlfriend calling we would have never known.”

He froze as soon as his foot touched one of the steps. Nancy called?

His girlfriend actually called the house? She was actually calling because she was wondering where he was at? Even after their fight? He could smile because it warms his heart that she cares, but he was also devastated that his mother was the one to pick up the phone. He hasn’t even told–

“On the bright side, he’s dating a Wheeler. A Wheeler! You know what her father does for a living, right?” She chuckles with excitement. “It’s perfect. I can almost cry.”

And here comes another eyeroll. See this is why he didn’t bother mentioning this girlfriend this time around to his mother. He knew once she found out who her family was it was going to be a game changer.

Jesus, Christ. He can’t wait to see what’s in store for him in the morning.

“Well, it beats the other choices he’s had in the past.” His father said, pouring salt into old wounds and making him shake his head.

These freaking people, man. I swear. Steve starts to go up the stairs when he hears another voice; This time it was on the TV.

. < In Other words– breaking news. The bodies of some local children, William Byers and Stephanie Henderson have been found. > .

He froze again, this time more rigid and cold.

No.

No, he didn’t just hear that right.

No, his mind’s just playing tricks on him because of last night…

Right?

. < The children have been missing since the 6th, and local authorities and it’s volunteers worked many hours to bring them home, only for it to end in a tragedy. > .

“About fucking time.” Charles said, raising his beer with joy. “Damn weirdo. I guess our worries about her hanging out with our son again are put to rest.”

Jessica sighs with relief. “Thank God for that. I was tired of seeing her face everywhere.”

“Amen to that.”

He listened to his parents laugh, and clink their drinks together as the world started to spin around him.

No.

This isn’t right. This isn’t right. This isn’t right. This isn’t right. This isn’t–

He’s not sure how much noise he made, or if he made any, but Steve was out the door again in a split second – running straight for his car where he’ll speed off to the unknown parts of Hawkins.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Dustin stumbles inside his house, slamming the door with more force than necessary. Maybe it was necessary ‘cause it got his mother’s attention. She came from the other room, asking what’s going on as he stares at her with a red face and puffy eyes, cheeks stained with tears that wouldn’t stop falling.

“Dustin? What’s wrong?”

He felt like something was wrapped around his vocal cords, and there was a knife sticking into his chest, and there was something hot poking at his lungs. He has to speak. He has to tell her. It’s better if she knows from his lips rather than a man in blue.

“Dustin?” She tries again, getting closer.”

“M-Mom…” He begins, his whole body starting to tremble. “St-Stephanie… sh-she’s… she’s…” Oh, god. Why can’t he freaking say it?

“She’s what?” Claudia asked, worriedness creeping up onto her features.

“Sh-She’s… she’s gone.” He whispers into a sob. “Th-They found them both in… I-In the quarry.” Another sob. “Th-They’re b-both gone. M-Mom. St-Stephanie’s gone…”

And then his mother started to shake her head and said ‘No’, followed by Dustin’s reassurance. This went back and forth for who knows how long, but it ended with Claudia being in the same state as her son – a hobbling mess.

“I-It’s true…” He gasps. “I-I saw it my-myself. They’re r-really b-both gone.” And then he broke down again, this time in her arms. She holds him tight, trying to be the strong one here.

“Shh, baby, we’ll get through this.” She soothes, rubbing the curls on the back of his neck. Her son grips onto her clothes, burying his head into her chest and lets out never ending gasps for air.

“Mommy…” He choked, as his ears picked up on the sirens in front of his house.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Steve’s surprised the gas pedal hasn’t gone through the floorboard yet with how much force he’s applying. He doesn’t even know where he’s going, doesn’t even know if he’s hit something, or runs a red light, but he does know that he’s not anywhere near the speed limit.

The news story was still playing around in his head and it was certainly not helping the situation.

. < From the looks of it, the poor children had plummeted into the quarry and ended up drowning with possible hypothermia. But the mystery still remains on why these two disappeared in the first place. Hopefully, the police can find the answer to that, and bring some closure to the grieving families. > < Hopefully so, Liz. I can only imagine what they’re going through right now. > < Everyone here at WCPK would like to give our condolences. And we advise everyone watching to give a moment of silence for the children. > .

Steve slams on the breaks, the wheels spinning and making an awful sound as he stops along one of the abandoned roads in the town. He starts breathing heavily, which slowly turns into panting. His heartbeat was in his ears, his throat tight and dry, his brown eyes starting to gloss over.

“Fuck…” He whispers, in disbelief. No matter how many times he thinks this is a dream, thinks that maybe they were wrong and it was two other kids they found, his guts tells him ‘No’ and ‘This is real’.

“Fuck…” He says again, the pain was slowly turning into anger which eventually led to him banging on every surface in his car. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!”

Stephanie Henderson was dead. The girl he knew since five was dead. The girl he made promises with was dead. The girl who was there for him at his every low was dead. The girl who was the only one to make him really laugh and smile was dead.

The girl he had to give up to protect was dead.

Stephanie Henderson… The girl that was his friend.

No.

Screw that!

He didn’t want to make that choice but he had to.

The girl that is, and will always be, his friend is dead.

She was just supposed to keep moving on in her life, she was just supposed to keep hating him until she completes her dreams. She was supposed to stay in Hawkins and pretend not to know him until her dream life opens up and whisks her away.

She was supposed to be alive and safe.

She wasn’t supposed to be dead at the bottom of a quarry with a boy she offered to protect.

Everything he did to make sure she lived was now pointless.

Now, tears rolled down his face, his hands trembling and his lower lip quivered. Every emotion he kept locked up from their old friendship had returned and it was eating him away, tearing him bit by bit, suffocating him till he turned blue.

He still couldn’t believe it. He wishes he could blink and reality would reveal it was just another dream.

He knows it won’t be like that. It never will be. So instead…

Steve found himself screaming until his throat ran raw.

(TBC)

A/N: Did I emotionally destroy all of you enough? I apologize a bit if so...

~~~

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itsgrimeytime · 8 months

Text

Magnolia in May (Part Thirty) || Rick Grimes (TWD) x Greene!f!reader Regency AU

Parts 1-20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29...

Taglist: @loliakeoghan23 @curlycarley @queenie32 @mgparker @misatmosfear

rick grimes taglist: @golden-hoax @mgparker

AVAILABLE ON AO3

Inspiration (in honor of Speak Now Taylor's Version): Enchanted by Taylor Swift.

Summary: Your town was small, not the smallest you knew, but anyone of high fortune was the gossip of the week. Predictably, Richard Grimes was a thing of whispers -rumors of a search for marriage among the grassy hills. You weren't one to buy into town gossip, but something about him... just seemed a little too intriguing.

TW: steamy againnnnnn (sorry) (just some good old-fashioned making out).

[[A/N: Just found this gif.... the lord's work. Oh my god. Y'all this might be about kissing again :)))), kinda sorta. Thanks for reading !!! ]]

The day of your proposal was a quite busy one, you'll admit. Not that you had a lot to do, but getting a portrait painted was no light work, you were to sit still for hours -the painter posed you rather eloquently, but still you were drawn to such aches and pains.

That is to say, you hadn't been properly alone with Mr. Grimes since the proposal. Your duties were far unfulfilled then, and then, the planning had started, and although you saw him frequently, it wasn't alone.

And Headmistress was nearly on your last nerve-

So, that brought you to your current predicament -a day of planning and Mr. Grimes had noticed such tensions and took you to walk through the hallways. You'd taken to asking about the rooms, what was in them, what they were for, if people were in there often-

"Mr. Grimes," you questioned, clearing your throat and pointing to the door on the left, "-what of that one?"

If he knew of your intentions, he didn't say anything.

"An old office," he hummed, "-only people who see it are those who clean it in the morning."

"Do they clean it any other time?"

"Because of lack of use, no," he answered you, looking at you a little puzzled -apparently he didn't know of such intentions after all.

"Well," you spoke with a little bit of a false chipper -only noticeable to those who didn't know you, "-I'd love to see it."

"Why?" he laughed, confused, "-it's just an old office, darlin'. Nothin' to see."

"I'd just love a personal tour," you teetered, still smiling but something in your eyes was far different than politeness -you wished to kiss him after all.

"Why?" he repeated, turning to completely face you.

"Must you always ask why?" you remarked, pulling him into your side and approaching the door with uttermost haste.

The doorknob was the kind that creaked when you opened it, truly showing the amount it was used. If you didn't believe him, you surely would have now.

It was floor-to-ceiling bookcases on every wall, and unlike Mr. Grimes's office, it had no windows, only books. If you were there to truly look at the room, you would've enjoyed brushing your fingers over the books, guessing what wood the desk was, and perching upon the couch.

But you weren't there for such things.

"May I ask why now?" He questioned once again, the door swinging shut behind him -you made sure of it, "-Do you find it worth such a tour, Ms. Greene?"

"It is-" you hummed, fingers brushed up on the couch -you were about a step away from him now, "-rather beautiful, I do wonder why you don't use it."

"The window allows me to see the children," he answered quickly, before pushing to more urgent matters, "-Now, may I ask what the purpose of stopping in here was? I have plenty of beautiful rooms for you to see, Ms-"

You merely turned to him, grabbed his face with your hands, and kissed him. Lips pushed together without a smidgen of hesitation, he simply followed your lead and the frustration of it all before melted on your shoulders. Until, it didn't.

He pulled back, grinning, laughing really, "You are quite cute, Ms. Greene."

It was spoken between the press of your lips, so it was rather annunciated by each word -you kissed him through such laughter, not without your own smile. ("You. Are. Quite. Cute. Ms. Green.")

You pulled back upon his words, watching him for a moment -his wide grin, he was rather cocky today, "Is it too much for a lady to just want a kiss?"

"No," he spoke, bringing a finger under your chin, "-Not at all, sweetheart, I just find it delightful you wish to kiss me so often."

"Often?" You hummed, "-I haven't kissed you in days, and you proposed to me! How is that fair?"

"It isn't," he hummed pressing one barely there to your lips, "-but such kissin' is new to me."

"How?" You questioned, genuinely, the man was so handsome, you had to avoid such urges nearly every second -especially when he remained so sweet to you.

"With, With Lori," he echoed, backing away from your lips for a moment, you nearly pulled him back-, "-we kissed for show, really. Especially later in the marriage."

"Well, you were unhappy, were you not?"

"Not originally," he posed, "-I supposed she just never really... liked it."

"Quite a loss," you remarked, without any extra thought -on instinct, if you will.

Mr. Grimes laughed, loud and boisterous, and you flushed a deep crimson at your lack of grace, "I am curious, however. What do you like about it, Ms. Greene?"

You sighed, flushing even further crimson at the implications of such a question, "Must you truly ask?"

"I must," he hummed, fingers wrapped around one of your wrists, and you felt something in your stomach twist. It was so embarrassing-

"I..." you huffed, "-It relaxes me. I... When I'm frustrated, it's so easy to forget about when I'm..."

"Kissin' me?"

You placed your hands over your eyes, the tips of your ears were certainly flushed now, and you couldn't bear to look at him. God, you certainly hated him at the moment.

He pulled your hands away from your face, a gentle pull of his hands -skin on a glove. Always so calm, so collected, "Is that all?"

Your hands now wrapped in his, you squeezed your eyes shut -still unable to look at him, "I like... I like feeling close to you. And- And I love you and... kissing helps me tell you that. Such as holding your arm, or your hand, or smiling at you, it's just... it's more special."

"Darlin'," he hummed, light and airy -you could tell he was smiling, "-look at me, will you?"

You peeked your eyes open, and were met with his own -he was quite close to whisper to you, a breath away really. Something in your face grew darker, especially with the soft gentle sort of way he was looking at you. You wished to hide again without a doubt.

"I am to be your husband," he hummed, fingers gently cradling your chin, "-it's important for me to know such things. I do wish to keep you happy after all."

You laughed.

"So, I imagine this, today, is from what?" He questioned, curiously, "The proposal? The planning?"

"Yes," you deflated, "-Headmistress is a force to be reckoned with, and I am simply exhausted from her. You must understand how just your presence helps but your..."

You fell rather quiet, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear -shyly.

"I understand, darlin'," he whispered, looming in closer to your face, "-you need a kiss, kisses, to feel better."

"Yes," you confirmed, quietly.

"What kind of husband would I be, if I don't make you feel better?"

"What kind, indeed," you hummed -offhanded, distracted.

He laughed at that, a breath away from your mouth, but you let him guide you this time. You would be patient, and gentle, like a lady was supposed to be. Perhaps, it would be more appealing to do so.

And then his lips pressed to yours and such thoughts flew out the window.

You didn't hesitate to coax out his tongue, pushing on his jaw -just as you did before. You learned how to do such a thing, you knew what his reactions were like-

He pushed you forward just a little in response, hands dipped to your shoulders, and your back pressed against the desk -a sort of cool sensation through your dress, you didn't truly mind.

Your hands settled on his shirt, his vest, pulling it forward as close as you could physically be. Closer, actually, you wished him closer.

His tongue was the first to go forward, swirling around your mouth with a slow, sort of tepid pace. He was always so careful with you, it was rather sweet. You, however, were the first to meet your tongue with his -the touch made something shoot to your toes-

He pulled back a moment, breathless and not too far, "This helpin'?"

You hummed against his lips, hands reaching out and suddenly, you decided to coat through his hair -fingers brushing through his scalp. He let out a little noise at such contact and part of you craved to hear it more, but you couldn't now.

You couldn't make him look a mess, despite how badly you wished to.

He pushed forward even further and you hissed -the desk pushed into your back, you imagined leaving a mark.

Mr. Grimes immediately pulled back, eyes darting all over your face, "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"No, no," you swallowed, hands now tenderly placed on his chest -you could feel his heart pounding, "-just the desk."

"Oh," he breathed out, relieved, "-here."

And then, as if it was as easy as breathing, he picked you up and sat you on the desk -hands on your waist for a mere second.

Your head swirled.

"You alright?" He questioned, turning to meet your eyes.

"You-" you swallowed, face a breath away from his, "-You picked me up as though I was as light as a feather."

"You are," he reasoned, leaning forward as he placed his hands through your arms and onto the desk, "-Is that what you're stuck on?"

"Well, I..." you started again, eyes darting to his lips -he was so close, "-I just believe that I very much liked it."

"Oh," he laughed, pressing a few gentle kisses to your lips -laughter breaking through the seal, "-well, that's certainly good to know."

"Certainly," you relented, pulling him down for a proper kiss.

The next few days were quite busy, planning and courting and watching your sisters and listening to Headmistress, but every once in a while, he'd pull you into that old room. Kiss you once, maybe twice, and pull you back out -it made your mind a pleasant buzz instead of a stressed one.

He kissed you nearly once everyday, and you were getting quite used to it; once you spoke how important it was to you, he nearly didn't stop.

In quiet moments of courting, he kissed you. In the privacy of his garden, he kissed you. In between planning with Headmistress, he kissed you -possibly a dozen times then. Until your heart was a flutter and the worries melted away, you weren't counting. You'd never be counting, ever, you decided.

It led to one of the most fruitful weeks of your life -you happily navigating everything your life pushed at you with a smile and even getting your foot in the door with planning. Including conversing with a dress designer about one of her ideas, which you were onto a meeting with her now -sat neatly in a room within the estate with Headmistress by your side, chattering away.

Well, just before it, actually.

You weren't sure how he'd done it exactly, but Mr. Grimes had snuck you into the old room mere minutes before the woman was to be meeting you -an excuse of a walk very much settled the Headmistress.

(You weren't sure she cared what the two of you were doing, as long as you stayed engaged to him.)

"Mr. Grimes-" you hissed, as he pulled you into the room -hand intertwined with yours.

The shut of the door was the next sound you heard, as Mr. Grimes turned to you with a rather twinkly sort of smile -clear on what exactly he had taken you here for. Not that you needed any clarification.

"Mr. Grimes," you started, standing starkly where you were, "-we cannot do this now, I have a pressing matter in minutes-"

"We lost track of time on a tour," he hummed out, stepping closer to you -you naturally, on instinct, leaned into him just as well.

You smiled, despite yourself -hands finding themselves within the back of his hair, combing through, "You're rather needy now, you know that?"

"Needy," he laughed, "-I do it for you, darlin'."

"Oh, no, no, no," you echoed with a laugh, he still pressing slow gentle kisses to your mouth, "-this is a shared problem now, Mr. Grimes."

"Rick," he corrected, landing a more powerful kiss on your lips -your fingers twisted into his hair.

"Rick," you repeated, just a breath away from his face, eyes dipping low to his lips-

"Wait, no," you stepped back, hands placed neatly on his chest, "-you must admit it."

"Admit what?" He breathed, ranging closer again.

"Admit you enjoy it just as much as I do," you held firm, despite his hands placed rather eloquently on your waist -it made your head swirl.

"I do," he spoke, rather frankly, "-I very much enjoy it."

You were startled and rather silent, before weighing in -teasing, "Well, what do you like about it?"

"What do I-" He kissed you again, all gentle force -slow and timid, "-like about it?"

"Yes," you exhaled, only slightly breathless, "-I'd like to know."

He laughed again, blue eyes shining a certain type of way, "Would you?"

"Very much so," you clarified, twirling one of his curls between your fingers.

"Hmm," he hummed, fingers cradling your face with a bubbling sort of affection, "-Does that it pleases you count?"

"If it's why you like it," you confirmed -eyes dipping to his lips, it was your weakness you swore.

"I like it for plenty of reasons," he smiled, eyes dipping to your own lips, "-the feelin', I feel sometimes that your lips bring me back to Earth. Like I was lost, but upon findin' yours I'm found."

"You mean that?"

"I belong with you," he breathed out, hands rubbing along your cheeks, "-I feel such a thing after every breath, but when I kiss you-"

You fidgetted, eyes flickering along his face.

"-I feel like everything is in place. Like I've found where I am to be."

"Rick-" you sighed, something building up your throat -mist in your eyes.

Mr. Grimes immediately began wiping at your eyes with a sense of easy patience, as if he would wait on anything for you, "My darlin'."

"My Mr. Grimes," you exhaled, biting back tears -you were so happy, "-you're going to kill me with all this one day, you know?"

"Hope not," he whispered, inches from your face, "-I shall tell you every day, so your heart remembers."

"With the kisses?" You questioned -doe-eyed, eyes fluttering over his face.

"With the kisses," he laughed, pulling you in for just one more. Or maybe two. Or maybe three-

You supposed Headmistress could wait.

#rick grimes #its griming time #stuff n' thangs #rick grimes x reader #rick grimes x y/n #rick grimes x you #rick grimes x y/n fanfiction #twd #twd rick #rick grimes fanfiction #rick grimes oneshot #magnolia in may

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lovelyladyabsinthewrites · 1 year

Text

From the Ashes Pt.8

Pairing: Rhaegar Targaryen x Lannister!Reader

Warning: Varys POV

Words:2663

Summary: Varys must carry through with his promise to Thalina. Tyrion makes a dangerous decision.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 3.5 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34

Book Two of Heir of Ash and Fire

Book One of Heir of Ash and Fire

Varys tucked away into his chambers, careful to make sure that he wasn’t followed.

This was big news. Something that no one was discover until the right time. One of his little birds from Essos had a mouthful to tell him. Jaime and (y/n) were finally in Volantis.

A great sigh of relief escaped the eunuch as he collapsed into his seat. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since (y/n)’s rooms had been engulfed by flames; her maid Thalina burnt to a crisp.

The poor girl. She had only been doing her duty protecting the youngest Lannister daughter only to be killed by the eldest. Yes, Varys knew that the whole night had been the work of Cersei. Jealousy perhaps drove her to it, Varys didn’t know the trials and battles of sisters, but he saw in Cersei something unforgiving. Thalina knew whatever ill will Cersei bore for her sister, she would die from it as well. She had accepted her fate as was duty for a red priestess. Her sacrifice, above all, was from the genuine love she had for her charge and the years they had spent together.

“The time has come.” Thalina warned him days before her actual death. The two foreigners had met up in secret with only the skulls of dragons long dead to hear what they spoke of.

It was too soon. Varys had come to like Thalina. “Surely you’re mistaken. . .”

Smiling sadly, she placed her hand atop of his own. “I am not afraid. You shouldn’t be either. Everything is for her. Remember that. She will save us all.”

Varys had puckered his lips, wanting to argue and ask her for the thousandth time if she was sure (y/n) was the one. Even back when the young lady was but a child, Thalina had been set in her conviction.

The way things were going with King Aerys and the war his son was waging, Varys desperately hoped that Thalina was right.

There was a hidden compartment in the Spider’s room where he kept all his best secrets. He went to it, unearthing a rather large wooden box that Thalina had given to him in the event of her passing and (y/n) making it safely to Volantis.

“Why are you trusting me with all these secrets?” Varys had asked when she had handed him the box. Later on he would try to open it to see what lay in there but it was locked up well.

“You care not about your own gains much like myself. You care, truly care, of the welfare of Westeros and it’s people. You play games, that is true, but it’s all for the best. You want nothing for yourself. That is why. In the future to come, a most terrible enemy will arise. One that cannot be bought or bribed. I know you’ll do what is right for Westeros. Keep this safe. When the time comes, have one of your little birds deliver it to her.”

He eyed the box, tilting it this way and that. It was heavy. Perhaps money for (y/n) to return to Westeros? “What is in here?”

All she did in response was wink and put her index finger up to her lips. “That is for (y/n) to discover. I trust you with quite a lot of things, Lord Varys. But not this. This is solely for (y/n)’s eyes.” Her gold eyes sparkled.

“Oh Thalina. . .” Varys shakes his head, remembering when the house knights had carried her body out of the burnt tower. She had been unrecognizable. Varys knew though.

He could still hear her voice.

“Take it to her.”

The circumstances surrounding (y/n) Lannister had been quite. . . unusual. Surviving death twice. Not even the strongest knight could say that.

Still. . . Varys would honor the request of the dead girl and watch what would come from it.

“I hope you’re right and you didn’t die for nothing.” Whispering to the box, he sets the box down on his desk and retrieves his pen and ink as well as a sheet of parchment.

Ears pricking at any small sound, Varys knew what the consequence would be if Aerys were to ever find out about his betrayal. Especially since Varys was aiding Rhaegar’s campaign with great discretion from the shadows. Aerys’ empire was crumbling right before the Mad King’s eyes. It needed to be done. For the good of Westers, Aerys had to be ripped from the Iron Throne. Rhaegar had proven at a young age that he would be a kind and just king, much like his ancestor Jaehaerys. Each boy had been sired by incompetent kings.

Varys purses his lips, pausing his hand in writing as he remembered a conversation he had with the now deceased Rhaella.

“They look very similar to Jaehaerys and his little queen Alysanne.”

He should tell Rhaegar that his queen was alive and well. Knee deep in battle, Varys immediately decided against it knowing that he would receive Rhaegar’s wrath later. Now was not the time. The Silver Prince was using his grief and anger to his advantage. It was proving useful in battle. Perhaps it was cruel of Varys to keep it a secret. If Rhaegar knew though, he might want to leave and look for her. They couldn’t have that. His army was so close to knocking Aerys off the board. There were whispers of certain Crownland houses wanting to flee to Rhaegar’s side. After his success in the Reach, there were already a handful of houses that instantly bent the knee to Rhaegar and swore fealty. When all was done he would tell Rhaegar. Right now his focus must remain in Westeros. (y/n) was safe in the Red Temple. Safe from violence and blood.

Finishing off his letter, Varys sealed it with gold wax; pressing his signet into it. He stashed the folded piece of paper in his sleeve and picked up the wooden chest. He had to choose his bird carefully, the one that would deliver it to Essos. Who could he trust to deliver something of the utmost importance?

Moving through the secret passages much like a spider scuttling around unseen, Varys debated who the trust should go to. Barristan Selmy.

The seasoned knight would have been perfect. Already wary of Aerys’ behavior, Varys knew that deep down Selmy wanted to join Rhaegar. His loyalty to his vows prevented him from doing so. He had ties though. Being the best knight in all of Westeros garnered him close knit ties to other houses as they admired him. Specifically Ashara Dayne, the wickedly clever violet eyed sister of Arthur Dayne.

It was a chance Varys had to take. Selmy wanted what was best for the kingdom as well. Perhaps he wouldn’t outright join the war, but if it was for the poor little queen whom everyone thought to be dead, Selmy would do it. Someone as innocent as (y/n) would surely pull at his heart strings. It would help that a great handful of people already thought that it was Aerys who killed (y/n), adding to his madness. Justice for (y/n) would be enough to get Barristan Selmy to deliver the items.

“You’re sure about this?” Barristan eyes the Spider warily. With a nod from the eunuch, Barristan goes on to ask “Does anyone else know?”

“Just the two of us. And I intend to keep it that way until Rhaegar is on the throne.” informed Varys. He kept his hands clasped in front of him, heavy sunflower yellow sleeves covering them. “I would use one of my other birds, but this information is of a delicate nature. This must make it safely to (y/n). Whatever is in the chest. . . it will aid her in the future. At least that was what I was told.”

“You don’t know what’s inside here?”

“Afraid not. There must be a special way to open it, one that I do not know of.”

Wisened eyes glance up at the bald-headed eunuch, weighing his options and what this all truly meant. Barristan didn’t know (y/n) that well when she lived in the Keep, but he did know her brother Jaime and of course her husband Rhaegar. Both men with admirable skill. Selmy had always encouraged Jaime that if he kept at his training that maybe one day he could reach the level of Captain of the King’s Guard. The young Lannister knight had disappeared the very night of that terrible fire. Unfortunately for the Guard to lose a promising knight. According to Varys though, Jaime was with his sister; protecting her and keeping her safe. Still abiding the vows he took for (y/n) was technically royalty; married to the Crown Prince of Westeros.

“How do you expect me to get this to Volantis? I can’t exactly leave the Red Keep unless Aerys does.”

That’s when Varys smiled. It wasn’t a malicious smile nor a conniving one. There was a comforting warmth and an unspoken thank you. “I can work out the details.” Barristan sighs. Doing this wouldn’t exactly be treasonous. He was helping the princess and his own Kingsguard brother.

“One of the details does include Lady Ashara Dayne.” Slyly putting that in, Varys watches as Barristan immediately becomes flustered at the thought of the maid with laughing eyes.

“I suppose. . . If you’re able to convince Aerys of letting me take leave for a while. . .”

“Good then!” Handing over the note intended for (y/n) upon arrival, Varys nods. A little hesitant to leave Selmy with such a large task, Varys pauses. The fire that had been in Thalina’s eyes as she put her trust into him was brought up. Hardly anyone trusted him and for good reason. Laying traps and spreading whispers weren’t entirely trustworthy things even if Varys vied that it was for the good of the Seven Kingdoms. Thalina was insistent that the survival of (y/n) would ultimately save Westeros.

“Take great care in the items I have left you, Ser Selmy. It was the demand of a dying girl that it safely make it to (y/n).”

Barristan saw the genuine concern on his face. It had to be important if the Master of Whispers held such worry. “You can trust me, Lord Varys.”

“I hope so.” **

Tyrion hadn’t been the same since the death of his sister. Everyone in Casterly Rock saw that clearly as the boy suddenly became silent; not speaking, instead choosing to gaze at people with his solemn mismatched eyes. BAd enough that his beloved sister, a sister who had always loved him unconditionally, was burned to death, then his brother went missing. The only two people who truly cared about him were gone.

His life at home had become intolerable. Every day was bleak knowing that he would never see Jaime or (y/n) ever again. Tyrion was alone. Hoarding himself in the library to occupy his waking moments. What else was there for a dwarf to do?

He wondered what would happen when the time came for Tywin to name the next Warden in the West. Tyrion knew that his father would never grant him the title as ‘lord’. That was fine. Tyrion didn’t want to be a stupid lord. He saw what it did to his father, a man with no joy in his life. There was more in life and Tyrion wanted to see it all.

A young child still, there was nothing Tyrion could do in the meantime. A child and a dwarf at that. (y/n) never wanted him to limit himself due to his condition though. She wanted him to live as any normal child did.

Tyrion stared at the heavy tome placed on his small laps. The printed words blur together as his thoughts steered away.

He missed them both. Wherever Jaime was, Tyrion hoped he returned safely. Since his absence, Cersei had been quite melancholy herself, not even having the energy to talk down to him. She thoroughly ignored him whenever they bumped into one another and preferred to take her dinner in her room now. That was all fine for Tyrion. What he couldn’t ignore was what he overheard one day passing by the usually empty council chambers. Tywin preferred to do his plotting in his own personal studies. He had found it strange when he heard the slightest whisper of voices come from the other side. Specifically the voice of his sister.

“I’ll throw in extra if you return my brother to me, alive.” Her tone had been gravely serious as she spoke and Tyrion could only imagine the terrifying expression on her face.

A man had replied back smoothly “It will be done, Your Grace.”

Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, Tyrion had quickly retreated back where he had come from.

He thought a lot about what he had heard. The way Cersei spoke made it sound like she knew where Jaime was. For some reason it made him nervous. Tyrion obviously wasn’t supposed to have heard any of that.

There was a lot that he probably shouldn’t have known. Like Tywin’s betrayal as he secretly aided Rhaegar in this war. It didn’t surprise him though. Tywin would go over to whoever he knew was going to win. That was how one lived so long in this kind of world.

Abruptly he slams his book shut, growing bored and more concerned with his own thoughts now. There was a bigger world outside of his library. Bigger and more interesting. Staying cooped up in his gilded cage would serve him no purpose. (y/n) and Jaime both had taken the first opportunity that came to escape Tywin’s household. Tyrion would do the same. Especially now that he knew Jaime might be alive.

He would make (y/n) proud and become someone to be admired like the knights he had been reading about.

Now that his mind was made up, Tyrion left the library and went to his rooms’ empty of any guards or maids.

Perfect. It would make his escape that much easier. No one would miss him and for once Tyrion was happy about that. There was no one left at the Rock whom he cared about. Dead and missing.

Packing a travel bag, Tyrion thought of the essentials he would need in order to make it to Rhaegar’s camp. Having already snuck into Tywin’s study to read over his letters, Tyrion already knew the whereabouts of the Silver Dragon Army (as people had been referring to Rhaegar’s army). The journey would be quite a long one, especially for an eight year old. But Tyrion had determination in his heart. He didn’t want to continue his young life quiet and sad, unable to leave the castle even though no one in there truly cared for him. Taking a page from his older siblings and take his life into his own hands.

Of course Tyrion was scared about going out into a big world all by himself. There would be no one with him until he reached Rhaegar. If he kept off the main roads though he shouldn’t run into too much trouble. Tyrion had learned how to read maps at the age of three and knew the different types of flora and fauna in Westeros. He may not be strong yet, but he was smart. That’s what happened when one was left to their own devices. What else was there to do but read. He would finally be utilizing his vast knowledge. This would be his real test. Far more than anything the maesters could muster up.

Tyrion was ready for it. A lion of Casterly Rock felt no fear and never backed down from a challenge.

Briefly, he prays to the Crone and the Warrior to keep him safe. Above all things through, he wanted (y/n) to hear his prayers so that she may protect him as well. As she always had.

#reader insert #reader insert fanfiction #game of thrones #game of thrones fanfiction #game of thrones fanfic #Game of Thrones fandom #a song of ice and fire fanfiction #a song of ice and fire fanfic #A Song of Ice and Fire #A Song of Ice and Fire fandom #ASoIaF #asoiaf fandom #asoiaf fanfiction #asoiaf fanfic

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omegaremix · 4 months

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Omega Radio for May 27, 2024; #377.

Gang Starr ft. J. Cole: "Family And Loyalty"

Benny The Butcher & Armani Caesar: "Buffalo Kitchen Club"

Meyhem Lauren & Daringer ft. Conway The Machine: "Red Pesto"

NappyHIGH f. Raekwon + Westside Gunn: "From The Projects"

Prodigal Sunn ft. Killah Priest: "Vintage"

El Camino ft. Inspectah Deck: "Victory"

Headkrack ft. Method Man + Kool Keith: "Buckwild"

Kool Keith & Real Bad Man: "Fire And Ice" + Battle (ft. Ice-T)

Real Bad Man & Blu ft. C.L. Smooth: "The Golden Rule"

Real Bad Man & Blu ft. Planet Asia: "Hebrews"

Planet Asia & Apollo Brown: "Get The Dough Off" + "Peas And Onions"

Che Noir ft. Planet Asia: "Caps Lock"

Che Noir & Big Ghost Ltd. ft. Skyzoo + D-Styles: "Brilliance"

1982 ft. Skyzoo: "Summer In New York"

Roc Marciano X Pete Rock: "Chris Angel"

KRS-One: "The Beginning"

Da Beatminerz Ft. KRS-One + Smif-N-Wessun: "Seckle"

Prodigy & Big Daddy Kane + DJ Scratch: "You Don't Want It"

DJ Premier X Snoop Dogg: "Can U Dig That"

DJ Premier & Slick Rick & Li'l Wayne: "The Root Of All"

Apathy ft. DJ Premier: "Stop What Ya' Doin'"

Apathy ft. Celph Titled: "Todd McFarlane"

Celph Titled ft. Buckwild: "Wack Juice"

Curren$y ft. Boldy James + The Alchemist: "No Yeast"

Masta Ace & Marco Polo: "Richmond Hill" + "P.P.E."

Marv Won ft. Freeway: "Roc Nation"

Royce Da' 5-9 ft. Redman: "Royce & Reggie"

Homeboy Sandman: "Then We Broke Up"

Armand Hammer ft. El-P: "The Gods Must Be Crazy"

eLZhi & Oh No: "Fireballs"

SonnyJim & The Purist ft. MF Doom + Jay Electronica: "Barz Simpson"

Madlib: "REEKYOD"

Byron G ft. Domo Genesis & Evidence & The Whooligans: "Lord Steppington"

A.F.R.O.: "Good Morning, FRO"

Cypress Hill: "Bye Bye"

DJ Muggs X Crimeapple: "Camisas"

DJ Muggs ft. Cee-Lo Green: "Jokers Wild"

Billy Danze ft. Lady Lee: "Blessings And Prayers"

El Michels Affair & Black Thought: "I Would Never" + "Glorious Game"

AZ: "This Is Why"

Kool G Rap ft. 38 Spesh + AZ + General Vee: "Born Hustler"

Logic ft. AZ: "Carnival"

Living Legends f. Del The Funky Homosapien: "The Return"

Deluxe hip-hop, rap, living legends, and golden-era veterans; consecutives and combos-.

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omegaradiowusb · 4 months

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MAY 27, 2024 (#377)

Gang Starr ft. J. Cole: "Family And Loyalty"

Benny The Butcher & Armani Caesar: "Buffalo Kitchen Club"

Meyhem Lauren & Daringer ft. Conway The Machine: "Red Pesto"

NappyHIGH f. Raekwon + Westside Gunn: "From The Projects"

Prodigal Sunn ft. Killah Priest: "Vintage"

El Camino ft. Inspectah Deck: "Victory"

Headkrack ft. Method Man + Kool Keith: "Buckwild"

Kool Keith & Real Bad Man: "Fire And Ice" + Battle (ft. Ice-T)

Real Bad Man & Blu ft. C.L. Smooth: "The Golden Rule"

Real Bad Man & Blu ft. Planet Asia: "Hebrews"

Planet Asia & Apollo Brown: "Get The Dough Off" + "Peas And Onions"

Che Noir ft. Planet Asia: "Caps Lock"

Che Noir & Big Ghost Ltd. ft. Skyzoo + D-Styles: "Brilliance"

1982 ft. Skyzoo: "Summer In New York"

Roc Marciano X Pete Rock: "Chris Angel"

KRS-One: "The Beginning"

Hakim Green ft. KRS-One: "The Cypher"

Da Beatminerz Ft. KRS-One + Smif-N-Wessun: "Seckle"

Prodigy & Big Daddy Kane + DJ Scratch: "You Don't Want It"

DJ Premier X Snoop Dogg: "Can U Dig That"

DJ Premier & Slick Rick & Li'l Wayne: "The Root Of All"

Apathy ft. DJ Premier: "Stop What Ya' Doin'"

Apathy ft. Celph Titled: "Todd McFarlane"

Celph Titled ft. Buckwild: "Wack Juice"

Curren$y ft. Boldy James + The Alchemist: "No Yeast"

Masta Ace & Marco Polo: "Richmond Hill" + "P.P.E."

Marv Won ft. Freeway: "Roc Nation"

Royce Da' 5-9 ft. Redman: "Royce & Reggie"

Homeboy Sandman: "Then We Broke Up"

Armand Hammer ft. El-P: "The Gods Must Be Crazy"

eLZhi & Oh No: "Fireballs"

SonnyJim & The Purist ft. MF Doom + Jay Electronica: "Barz Simpson"

Madlib: "REEKYOD"

Byron G ft. Domo Genesis & Evidence & The Whooligans: "Lord Steppington"

A.F.R.O.: "Good Morning, FRO"

Cypress Hill: "Bye Bye"

DJ Muggs X Crimeapple: "Camisas"

DJ Muggs ft. Cee-Lo Green: "Jokers Wild"

Billy Danze ft. Lady Lee: "Blessings And Prayers"

El Michels Affair & Black Thought: "I Would Never" + "Glorious Game"

AZ: "This Is Why"

Kool G Rap ft. 38 Spesh + AZ + General Vee: "Born Hustler"

Logic ft. AZ: "Carnival"

Living Legends (Statik Selektah & Del The Funky Homosapien): "The Return"

Hip-hop, rap, and golden-era veterans finally return to Omega after a long absence from the airwaves. Three full hours of new, current, and favorite artists featuring legacy champions, producers, and crate-diggers with plenty of consecutives and multiple appearances to keep things going until the final round.

Our new Summer broadcasting season starts in two weeks. There's lots of new, current, and fresh sounds and artists everywhere lined up and ready to go. We might have some bonus shows coming up, and we're putting together a special deluxe tribute. Stay tuned in the coming weeks.

June 10, 2024 (Midnight EST): first Summer deluxe Omega.

June 24, 2024 (Midnight EST): deluxe Omega.

July 8, 2024 (Midnight EST): deluxe Omega.

July 22, 2024 (Midnight EST): deluxe Omega.

August 5, 2024 (Midnight EST): deluxe Omega.

August 19, 2024 (Midnight EST): final Summer deluxe Omega.

#omega #music #playlists #hip-hop #rap #street #golden era #backpack

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ask-dgs-221bbakerstreet · 2 years

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Balmung looks at Susato. He is always a good boy. He just needs to mess with Haori a little bit since she’s the only one who doesn’t know he’s a ghost. He doesn’t want Susato to say or do anything. Balmung continues to paw at the book. When Haori opens the book she finds. “Ghost Dogs are Real and They Want to Possess You.” About the author: King Balmung Baskerville van Zieks was born 27 years ago. His mother was a retired racer who was re-homed to cull deer. His father was also used to cull deer, but was never a racer. Balmung had five litter mates. Four brothers and one sister. Three of them went on to become racers, and the other two were used for hunting. Though he would not consider any of these dogs to be members of his ‘true’ family. Balmung was adopted by the former Lord van Zieks when he was a few years old. He was raised by Klimt to be a hunter. Balmung would cull deer, rabbits, foxes, birds, and even humans. Balmung’s true family are the van Zieks. He has two older brothers Klimt and Barok van Zieks. A sister-in-law named Laura and a niece named Iris. Balmung’s prized possession is a collar that was gifted by his sister-in-law Lady Laura Baskerville. Balmung received no formal education. He was taught how to read and write by Klimt van Zieks. Balmung’s hobbies are reading, writing, going for long walks, and causing mischief. He also enjoys intellectual debates. Balmung died 12 years ago in his sleep shortly after Iris was born. Though his ghost still lives on, on this earth, ready to haunt all mortals. That means you Haori.” At the end of the book is a picture of Balmung, he looks just like the dog standing in front of Haori. Balmung waits to see how Haori will react, though he keeps up the ruse by acting as a normal dog.

---

!!!

Stay away from me, ghost dog! Don't possess me! O-Or I'll throw you!

...could you throw a ghost...?

N-Nevermind! I'll do it, I will!

Balmung, don't scare Ori anymore, okay?

Did you all know he was a ghost?! Is he here to attack us?!

Oh dear, I'll explain.

#the great ace attorney #dai gyakuten saiban #susato mikotoba #iris wilson #haori murasame #ghost asks #👻

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rose-of-the-valley · 2 years

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I posted 2,459 times in 2022

That's 957 more posts than 2021!

235 posts created (10%)

2,224 posts reblogged (90%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@demonfamilytherapist

@eternallydaydreaming2015

@levi4thans

@radarchives

@iwannawritelots

I tagged 1,258 of my posts in 2022

Only 49% of my posts had no tags

#rose speaks - 228 posts

#twst - 84 posts

#barbatos - 68 posts

#rose vibes - 47 posts

#satan - 37 posts

#lucifer - 32 posts

#belphie - 32 posts

#levi - 28 posts

#mammon - 27 posts

#asmo - 26 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#me deciding that rose and satan are actually platonic soulmates instead of whatever weird will they wont they situation i'd put them in befo

My Top Posts in 2022:

i sit in a meeting with the obey me writers and slide something across the table to them

it's $5 paper-clipped to a post-it note that reads "make them say 'thank the lord' instead of 'thank diavolo'"

28 notes - Posted August 25, 2022

youtube

this should get me through the next 5 days until the full song comes out

56 notes - Posted February 19, 2022

saw this on twitter today

65 notes - Posted September 6, 2022

Pairing: barbatos x gn!reader/mc (pre-relationship, implied romantic) Genre: fluff, sfw Warnings: n/a Word Count: ~650 Notes: i wrote this in the one hour it took my bread to rise so it is very themed around watching too many baking vids at 3am

When Barbatos came knocking at Purgatory Hall’s door at midnight, he wasn’t expecting you to answer. Likewise, you didn’t expect to see him outside the castle at such a late hour. You blinked at him a few times, both in surprise and to try and shake off some of the grogginess that came with being startled awake.

“Oh uh, hi Barbatos. What brings you here?”

“I might ask the same of you - why are you not at the House of Lamentation?”

Before you could reply, a gentle whirring noise came from inside. Barbatos glanced past the door and saw Luke fast asleep on the couch, the source of the sound a Deviltube video playing in front of him.

Your eyes followed Barbatos’s gaze as you answered. “Luke was having some nightmares, so Simeon asked if I could come over and help comfort him. We ended up watching some cooking ASMR videos.” You smiled sheepishly. “I guess we both fell asleep to them.”

“Well then, it appears we are here for the same reason. I apologize for not being here sooner - I had to finish my duties to Lord Diavolo first. May I offer my assistance at this point in time?”

The two of you carried Luke back to his room and tucked him in, saying your goodbyes to Simeon and turning off the TV on your way out. Before you could say farewell to Barbatos, he requested to walk you home, citing the time of day as a safety concern. After some protesting that he should rest sooner rather than later, you gave in and accepted his escort.

There was a comfortable silence as you walked. A warm breeze blew past every so often, and despite the Devildom’s strange weather, it felt like a perfect summer night. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour, or maybe the summer vibes, but something emboldened you to reach for Barbatos’s hand. Your pinky brushed against his, the direct contact making you hesitate until you felt his finger curl around yours. The only evidence that he knew what he was doing was the faint blush dusting his cheeks. The two of you walked like that for a while, neither commenting on your now linked pinkies.

Barbatos was the first to break the silence. “Do you often watch those kinds of videos?”

“You mean the cooking ASMR ones?”

He nodded.

“Sometimes, I guess. They’re really calming, and the recipes are pretty good when I feel like trying them myself.”

A small smile graced Barbatos’s lips. “If you would like, we could try one of the recipes together sometime. Or, if you would prefer to stand by, I would be happy to have you in the kitchen just watching and listening. Your own personal ASMR, if you will.”

You felt your cheeks flush, and not from the summer heat. “Yeah, I... I’d like that. Oh! We could start with the video I was just watching! They were making these really pretty tea macarons and I know how much you like macarons and - ”

You stopped short as Barbatos’s laughter bubbled up. “I’m sure we will find the time to try as many recipes as you’d like. However, for the moment you should probably head inside.” He gestured at the open door in front of you.

“Oh. Right.” In your excitement you’d failed to notice that you’d unlocked the door the moment you arrived, the motion routine enough to be stamped into your subconscious. If it were possible for your cheeks to get hotter, they probably would’ve. “Thanks for walking me back. I’ll text you later to see when you’re free?”

“I shall look forward to it. Macarons sound delightful.” Barbatos bowed slightly. “Goodnight, MC.”

“Goodnight, Barbatos.”

As you closed the door you heard Beel rooting around in the kitchen. His head poked over the fridge door as you walked past. “Was that Barbatos? Did I hear you talking about macarons?”

You simply smiled as you headed to bed, anticipating dreams as sweet as the desserts you would bake with Barbatos.

136 notes - Posted July 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Pairing: trey clover x gn!reader/mc (named Yuu)

Genre: fluff, crack

Warnings: n/a

Word Count: ~900

Notes: for the twst writing collab with @dulcesiabits! Thanks for the prompt! Balancing five people talking at once was difficult but also I love crackfics so it was worth

Summary: You've been acting oddly, and your first year friends are determined to find out why. After much deliberation, they've figured out that you've found a boyfriend, but despite repeated attempts they've yet to find out who it is. Still, they won't give up until they've discovered once and for all: who does the prefect like?

“Why are we keeping our relationship a secret again?” Trey asked during lunch.

“Look at how funny this is though,” you replied, gesturing at the table of your first-year peers. “They have no clue. Last I heard from Cater, they think I’m dating Riddle.”

Trey sighed. The sight of your friends huddled around a table whispering furiously about their suspicions was admittedly somewhat funny, but still... “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“What, that they think I’m dating someone else? Only if other people actually believed them.” Trey gave you a look. “Ok fine,” you relented. “I’ll tell them. But only if they ask.”

Trey sighed again and planted a small kiss on your forehead. “Fine. At least tell them it’s not Riddle before he has their heads for it.”

Meanwhile, at your usual table, the group was hatching up a plan. They’d narrowed it down to someone from Heartslabyul, so it was up to Ace and Deuce to lead. Despite the failure of their previous tries, this time they were certain they’d find out for sure.

See the full post

220 notes - Posted August 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#oh god i apologize for the fics the original posts had readmores on them #ALSO I FORGOT I MADE THE 12 MIN EDIT OF BARB'S SONG TEASER LMAO #i still think im right about making demons say thank the lord instead of thank diavolo tho #rose speaks #tumblr2022 #year in review #Youtube

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deadcactuswalking · 1 year

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 06/05/2023 (Nines’ ‘Crop Circle 2′)

Content warning: Boring music

For a fourth week, Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding take the #1 spot on the UK Singles Chart with “Miracle”, and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

It’s a pretty slow week, and one I’m honestly glad for. There is some movement but it’s kind of minimal, and in terms of new arrivals, half of it is Nines so it’s a particularly low-effort episode as a result, and hopefully a short one. In terms of notable dropouts – songs exiting the Top 75, which is what I cover, after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40 – we say farewell to some Spring hits “labour” by Paris Paloma, “Eat Your Young” by Hozier, “Oh Baby” by Nathan Dawe and Bru-C featuring bshp and Issey Cross, “golden hour” by JVKE and finally, “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras, though we essentially switched out our Pokémon when it comes to old hits, as “Shivers” by Ed Sheeran is back at #75 alongside “Until I Found You” by Stephen Sanchez at #72.

The returns that are actually notable this week are a bit further up the charts: at #60, we see “Relax My Eyes” by ANOTR and Abel Balder have a bit of a resurgence. It’s not bad at all, so it would make a good hit, but I don’t see it having a consistent run. I don’t see it happening for “Maria Maria” by Santana featuring The Product G&B either, which is back at #51. The song originally peaked at #6 in 2000, and is actually currently out-performing the modern house rendition by TECH IT DEEP, which gains to #63 this week – this is a good thing, the remix sucks. Our other notable gains include “Make Me” by Borai and Denham Audio at #66, “Giving Me” by Jazzy at #50 (oh Lord), “Dancing is Healing” by Rudimental, Vibe Chemistry and Charlotte Plank at #47, “Energy” by Digga D at #45, “Waffle House” by the Jonas Brothers at #42, “See You Again” by Tyler, the Creator featuring Kali Uchis at #27, “Hell n Back” by Bakar at #22, “Baby Don’t Hurt Me” by David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray at #13, and, yeah, that really is a mixed bag, with no really fixed trends – either in quality or in genre. With that said, we do have two songs not new to the chart but new to the top 10 – firstly, Nines gets the album boost from Crop Circle 2 to launch “Tony Soprano 2” into the top 10 at #10, though sadly for his first top 10 hit, Nines doesn’t hit #9. That spot is taking by FIFTY FIFTY, as “Cupid” surges up, becoming the girl group’s first top 10, and the first for a K-pop girl group overall. I could have sworn BLACKPINK got up there at some point due to sales but that’s not the case.

This week’s top five is much of the same. We have “Calm Down” by Rema at #5, “Wish You the Best” by Lewis Capaldi at #4, “People” by Libianca at #3, “Daylight” by David Kushner at #2 and of course, “Miracle” at the very top. Nothing unusual here, but is there anything unusual about our small batch new arrivals? Good segue, now let’s find out.

NEW ARRIVALS

#73 – “Day Date” – Clavish

Produced by R14 Beats and G-Icy DaFlex

The answer to that is no. Spoiler alert, I suppose, but we have four new songs: a single from Clavish, a single from Niall Horan, and two album cuts from Nines. Ed Sheeran is waiting for the next week, so if you don’t care for this really small, kind of uninteresting set of songs, I don’t blame you and you should skip reading this one. The most interesting thing about this week honestly may be this Clavish song, which is depressing considering... well, it’s Clavish. That’s not to say that it’s all that interesting... or at all, but “G-Icy DaFlex” is definitely a choice for producer stage name, and I will say the single verse from Clavish isn’t bad here. It’s a shame that the beat is pretty cheap-sounding, with typical bells and compressed chipmunk choir vocals behind a basic trap beat, and it’s also a shame that Clavish sounds comatose, even if the flow is tighter and the gang violence content is actually mildly compelling, and you can tell that there’s a certain frustration with his come-up due to his background that I quite like to hear from a guy like Clavish. In fact, the rhyme schemes are good, his delivery is slightly more awake and he honestly makes the beat sound a lot better than it is through his cold, multi-tracked vocals. I’m not saying this is all that good – especially with the dull hook – but it’s far from the worst UK trap I’ve heard, and knowing my opinions on Nines, it won’t be the worst this week.

#62 – “Meltdown” – Niall Horan

Produced by John Ryan and Joel Little

This was the song I was most excited to hear this week, mostly because I adore “Heaven” and was hoping for a good follow-up from this upcoming album, which I think I will go out of my way to hear eventually, since I liked the semi-Britpop direction of the lead single. Sadly, this second single doesn’t really sit with me nearly as well, starting with the same choir of vocal harmonies but shimmying itself with glimmering synths to a pretty rote pop-rock groove reminding me of his former bandmate Harry Styles’ output, which I am far from a fan of. Horan definitely does the sound better, as his voice, especially his falsetto, fits the driving rhythm section a bit better, but the chorus I feel is pretty lacking, especially with how compressed the production is. It really muddies the water: what is the hook? Is it the backing millennial whoop? The harmonic choir vocal that cuts through the mix? The seemingly random synth inflections and guitar riffs? The chorus feels lost, which really hurts a song like this. Pop rock in this vein is anthemic, but there’s not really a lead wham line to this. Hell, even “As it Was” got that right. By the time he brings out the comical robot voice – I’m not joking – I think it’s clear that too many ideas were just subjugated into this one over-arching song of broad, clashing ideas, which is a shame because those ideas aren’t necessarily bad on their own. I’ll still check out the album probably, but my expectations are much more tempered as a result of this follow-up track.

#34 – “Favela” – Nines featuring J Styles

Produced by Flyo

Welp, it’s all Nines from here on out. Crop Circle 2 debuted at #2 and we have two album cuts debuting in the top 40 this week, and given the video release and features, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one is replaced with another one – specifically “Different League” with Clavish and Nafe Smallz – by next week. Regardless, this one features J Styles of the Ice City Boyz, the group with which Nines blew up with and is the breakout star of. Honestly, I don’t understand why – J Styles handles the refrain here and even being censored over this royalty-free-sounding piano and stiff Afroswing-adjacent groove, he’s smoother and much more competent with his rapping than the ever-fluid Nines, who’s stuttering and interrupting himself with ad-libs that are basically random spoken word interludes. He’s got the unfunny cultural references and the repeated punchlines, one of which – “they don’t fear Nines until it’s one in their face” – kind of acts as some kind of catchphrase. There have been worse running gags, I suppose, but this once again does not impress or interest me in any way. If anything, I’m disappointed that J Styles gets his verse cut off at the end – he has much more to say as he recounts a specific life-threatening event, and it seems that given the verse ends with advice he was given, that he was going somewhere with it... but the song just stops. I checked the next track off of the album just in case it transitions into another verse from him, yet he’s nowhere to be seen on it so that’s all we get from him outside of the hook. In fact, they interrupt him with:

#19 – “Calendar” – Nines

Produced by Jacob Manson and SHOW N PROVE

This song is... interesting. It starts with a skit that outlines the concept of the song: he’s got a girl for every day of the week, like a calendar. He’s speaking – barely rapping – over this 90s R&B sample that doesn’t sound awful. In fact, let’s get rid of Nines for a second – just not pay attention to him. We have a roughly-mixed sample with sweet harmonies that overlap at certain parts, creating a pretty chaotic instrumental which fits the amount of girls he’s juggling, and honestly, given the skits and the soulful chorus, you don’t need Nines to create that narratives. Yet because it’s Nines’ album, he’s here, and he sucks the soul out of the track, just complaining about women for the whole song in a really embarrassingly rough vocal mix and sloppy flow that runs over into different measures. It’s just an awkward, demo-esque set of verses that act as interjections into an otherwise chill instrumental. I love the stiff drums too, it fits the 90s R&B vibe very well. You know what doesn’t? Horoscopes! The entire second verse is about horoscopes! Why?

Conclusion

...Clavish?! Clavish is the best this week has for me?! “Day Date” gets Best of the Week, mostly because of how it is really slim pickings with mediocrity defining all four of these songs... yet at least Clavish has a good verse, which I’ve just never heard from Nines. Both of his two debuts this week have an annoying amount of potential that I can attribute to everyone but Nines, and it’s really a shame that he doesn’t step up his rapping to match the quality of his guests or his production. “Calendar” is getting Worst of the Week because his performance is worse and J Styles doesn’t deserve to have his first chart debut get the Worst title. As for next week... well, it’s Ed Sheeran and we’ll see whatever else comes up. For now, thanks for reading and I’ll see you then!

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mulberrysilk · 3 years

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THEORY AND PRACTICE | PART 1

Satoru Gojo x f!reader x Geto Suguru

part 2

summary: he told you it was for your own good. That it would bring you closer to the man you loved and to win him over. That’s what Gojo Satoru, your private tutor, told you. You learned from him. You did. Though it remained private in the four walls of your chambers, you needed those lessons…for the man you loved, for your dear Suguru. To ease your mind, you’d tell yourself that it was love in theory and practice. All for Suguru.

cw: historical!AU, DUBCON, smut, ABUSE OF POWER, sensei/student relationship, corruption, manipulation, innocent /virgin reader, handjob, coercion, characters are 18+ ( Reader is between 18-20, Gojo and Getou are 27)

wc: 4.3 k

a/n: this is going probably be a three part fic afshshs hehe this was just rotting in my brain for awhile cause ughh jjk men in historical era wear makes me feel things. I hope you guys enjoy this :>

Join the Taglist here!

M I N O R S D O N O T I N T E R A C T

The estate, overgrown with a combination of lush green, dark red or orange hued trees and towering bamboos, made it tranquil, some would even say the main mansion along with the other buildings were built around the nature of the area to leave the greenery untouched. The room you’ve grown up in was situated in the east wing of the mansion, a long twisting corridor by corridor walk away from the main hall. But you didn’t mind, you preferred to be away from the political chatter and parties the elders of the family like to have, only ever rarely curious to take a peek or make an appearance if anyone interesting came to visit.

But all in all, you were very much sheltered. The walls of the estate were guarded by the most skilled guards, maids looked after you and were at your beck and call and you were privately tutored by your aunt until recently. After she remarried to some lord who you didn’t care to know nor remember the name of, your parents hired a private tutor. One that surprised and exceeded not only yours but everyone in the household’s expectations.

No one had expected a lord and a scholar as young as him to become a tutor/mentor but it seemed that after meeting him many times in gatherings, your parents had decided that a man such as him, coming from one of the most prestigious clans was a good teacher since he was some sort of prodigy, a man that excelled in almsot everything hing.

And that, he was. But also completely and utterly obnoxious...you guessed he had a sort of charm to him after the many sessions the past month. He did his job and he did it well but you’ve heard from the chatter of maids how he was outside of the estates walls, gossip that had you scoffing and flustered.

“They said you had an advisor...” he spoke, breaking the silence as he reclined comfortably on the tatami while you carefully read the literature he provided today.

“Oh?”

“Mhm..” he hummed, staring out into the open doors of your balcony that looked out at the private garden. He still was at a lost to how you managed to stay holed up here half your life. The silver haired man wondered if you’ve ever even been outside the confines of the estate.

“He’s been away for a bit...he’s more like an honorary family member but I think you two are about the same age Gojo-sensei.” You folded your hands neatly on your lap. “In a way, we sort of grew up together ever since Father took him in.”

“Eh? I was expecting some old gramps,” he chuckled, looking your way, his round dark shaded glasses sitting lower on the bridge of his nose, giving you a glimpse of his electric blue eyes.

“Father trusts him with his life, one that he saved several times.”

“Sounds impressionable.” Gojo didn’t actually mean that, he was just observing the soft look in your eyes as you spoke about this person, you were fond of them. “Where is he?” He prodded, eying your floral patterned robes, cinched together by an elegant thick belt of silk and cotton blend fabric. An outfit one would expect a young lady of your standing to wear. One that just exaggerated how pristine, innocent and untouched you were.

“He was called on...he didn’t tell me why but he said what he does helps people, and that makes me happy rather than a little sad that he’s gone for so long,” you admitted, thinking of his handsome face and that gentle smile that he always wore around you, an air of majesty and wisdom about him.

Gojo wasn’t going to lie, he was a little jealous of how sweetly you spoke of him. He wasn’t going to lose to some boring sounding stick in the mud.

“Y/N...” He leaned forward, elbows resting on the table that separated you two feet apart. You blinked up at him, the book spread open on the table forgotten. “Has your father spoken to you about any prospect of marriage? I’m asking so I could teach the things you need to know for whatever new role you might play once married. That’s why I’m here for anyways.”

You blinked for a couple of seconds, feeling embarrassed by the question before shaking your head meekly.

“Ah I see. Just because there isn’t a groom yer doesn’t mean I’ll delay our lessons!” He beamed at you with a warm smile that evoked feelings of trust. You nodded, feeling less tense since it was easy to get along with Gojo, a very laid back and carefree man.

“It’s a bit uncommon for a man to teach a lady such things...” you murmured, curiously looking up at him. “Isn’t it a bit inappropriate?”

Gojo let out a loud cheerful laugh, his voice resounding in the halls of your apartment, his silver hair glimmering in the sunshine from the balcony.

“It is but I was hired anyways. I’m more than just your mentor Y/N.” He adjusted his shades lower to see you without the dim of the lenses, beautiful bright sky blue eyes. And for a moment, everything stilled and all you heard was the beat of your heart thumping in your ears.

“Now,” he pulled you from your thoughts. “Let me evaluate how much you know.”

Evaluate? Your heart began to race in your chest, the way he looked at you felt incriminating despite the playful lighthearted smirk plastered on his face. You simply nodded, putting your trust in him as you always have as he always proved all his lessons to be fruitful.

“I-I don’t know much,” you admitted. It was a half truth. You’ve only grasped what you were able to know about romantic relationships from books and from the gossip between the maids. Some of their whispered words among each other in the safety of your private quarters when they tended to you, would have your cheeks growing hot and a weird tingling sensation forming between your thighs.

“Is that so? Not even from books? Surely you were able to come across some erotic novels in the manors library.” It’s like he was reading your mind and your fluster that gave you away. You looked down at your lap not able to answer and the man before you felt excitement shiver down his spine. It was understandable now why your whole family has secluded you all these years ; your beauty, your charming innocence and your obedience was a major bargaining tool for business with elite clans. Such a useful advantage. “Come here.”

He patted the spot on the tatami beside him and with no hesitation, you followed his command.

Gojo held out his hand to you, his long slender fingers and palm, inviting. You wondered what he was asking of you to put in his hand but without much thought, your own arm slowly moved to place yours on his. A flutter of warmth bloomed in your chest when you felt his callous yet gentle hand, taking note of how yours and his differed in size.

His thumb felt your palm, skimming the flesh and along the lines slowly. The slow ghosting slide of his fingertip on your palm made your other hand clench your skirt softly as if to ground yourself.

“So soft,” he hummed with praise that made your heart race even faster. “Clearly haven’t done a hard days work in your life.”

That felt like a jab to your chest. It was true but the way he said it was almost tauntingly, like it was a bad thing. You instinctively began to pull away but he held your hand, slipping his fingers between yours.

“Would you like to know how you can put such delicate hands to good use?” His smile didn’t falter, not even when his cerulean orbs gazed into yours, long silver lashes entrancing your in a way it always has.

You swallowed the lump that has formed unknowingly in your throat. “Embroidery?” Your answer was barely above a whisper but he heard it nonetheless.

He laughed softly as if your answer was so far fetched to his.

Gojo was entertained. It was always more fun with women like you...and such women nowadays were rare. With you, a mind raised to be obedient and so sheltered, ruining you was a dark desire that bloomed deep in the pit of his stomach.

“Would you like me to show you what they’ll be good for? Here’s another hint, should you be married, such an act would please your future husband.” He went on as if to test if you’d catch onto the implications beneath his words that would have other women flustered and growing hot under their ornate robes. But you? Your brows only furrowed and your head slightly tilted to the side like a clueless pup as you wracked your brain for the right answer.

“Cooking?” You guessed, confident with your answer.

Gojo sighed with a smile and shook his head. “That’s a good answer but not the right one.” Your lashes batted up at him confused and your eyes widened a little when he brought your hand close to his lips, his warm breath fanning over you knuckles.“Shall I show you?”

You nodded, curious for the right answer and to receive the wisdom that he imparted with you that will prove useful once you’ve become a wife. A duty that your clan told you was of utmost importance.

“Before I do...you have to be very honest with me,” he kept you on the edge of your seat. “And remember whatever you and I share, stays inside this room so don’t be afraid to be honest. Like I said, I’m not just your mentor, I’m also your friend.”

“I promise,” you replied, missing the way a dark look flickered in his glowing eyes.

“Good girl.” He praised. “Now,” he swiftly moved closer to you, your back coming in contact with the tatami, his hand still holding yours while the other was pressed beside your head, his legs caging your hips as he hovered above you. “Have you ever used your pretty hands to touch yourself?”

You giggled softly, finding his question ridiculous , only fuelling Gojo’s desire for you. “Of course I have. When I touch my face, when I bathe, when I apply balms on my skin.” You answered in an obvious tone but he didn’t laugh.

“Hm...is that so?” He hummed, taking his hand laced with yours to guide it over your robed body, your eyes glued onto his movements and widening when he placed your hand right above your intimate area. “I meant here.”

“Gojo-sensei, that place...” you blabbered, wriggling beneath him, heat spreading from your cheeks to your ears. “Yoko-san told me it’s supposed to be reserved for my husband.”

“She’s not wrong, Y/N,” he chuckled. “But this is a place where your future husband can make you feel good. Remember we are in a lesson. This is all for your learning.”

You were rendered speechless, burying down the anxiety you felt in your chest and nodding.

“Now,” he sat back once more, pulling you up with him only to have you perched on his lap, your body growing warm to be this close to a man. This was closer than you’ve ever been with one. “Let’s start with Lesson number 1, shall we? For the purpose of this topic, imagine I’m your husband.”

“Gojo-sensei...” you murmured nervously, your palms against his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin through his robes. “Are you sure this is appropriate? I-It just feels...wrong.”

“I’m just teaching you, Y/N. Do you really think I’d wrong you? I just want what’s best for you and it’s my job to teach you to be the perfect dutiful wife for the sake of your clan. Besides all that,” he tilted your chin up so that you could look at him, your heart almost stopping at how the shimmer in his beautiful eyes looked at you in a way you’ve never been looked at. “For the sake of your emotions, I want you to love and be loved the way you deserve.”

“Gojo-sensei...” You didn’t know what to say once again and instead felt yourself wholeheartedly trusting him, there was no ill intent in his voice and what he just said made you feel warmth in your chest, a warm light flittering feeling. “Teach me.”

He gave you a gentle smile, masking behind a smirk at how sweet and pliant you were.

“First of all, any man would be lucky to have you as his wife,” he began, already making you flustered with his compliment. “Second, sometimes there are needs that you will feel and your husband will feel. Needs that only could be fulfilled with certain touch. It’s important to know how to relieve this needs with each other, it’s an intimate exchange between you and your husband.”

“More intimate than a kiss?” You asked, processing his words and taking mental notes. “It’s the inappropriate things isn’t it? The ones that should be reserved only in the privacy of a bedroom.”

“Yes, little one,” he squeezed your waist approvingly. “Today’s lesson, I’m going to teach you one of the many ways you can relieve that tension and fulfil his needs...” his cock was already coming to life with how you were sitting on his lap and your breasts were pressed against his chest. “Just trust me and I’ll guide you, okay?”

You nodded. “Okay...”

Gojo smiled before leaning closer, closing the gap between you and him with a kiss. You were taken aback with the notion, eyes widening but quickly fluttering close at how this warmth washed over your body. The feeling of someone’s lips on yours foreign but something you had imagined with another.

His tongue swiped your lower lip, hand caressing your body through your robes right below your breast, his thumb skimming over where your nipples perked against your dress which made your mouth part in a gasp only for him to slip his tongue inside. You squeaked at the new sensation, your body feeling hotter than it has ever been. To you it fell so messy and overwhelming, you never thought you’d lose your first kiss to Gojo, you had always thought it was one day going to be—

“Ah...” an embarrassing sound left you when he groped your breasts and pinched your hardened nipples. Heat crawled to your cheeks and you pulled back shyly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s natural. When you make those sounds, it’s music to a man’s ears.” His lips left yours to trail along your jaw and down your neck, the spot between your legs clenching and growing warm. “Remember, in this moment, I’m your husband. Your husband would kiss you and touch you like this.”

“I-I see,” you breathed out shakily, the feeling of his lips on your skin odd but a welcomed sensation. “And this will help relieve him?”

“Yes.”

“O-ah—okay,” you moaned softly, the wet slide of his tongue and the way he sucked and nipped at your skin, made your thighs squeeze together clueless to how your handsome, alluring, sensei was getting under his trousers.

“Now here’s the important part,” he calmly spoke, his composure still intact while you slowly loss yours. Taking your hand once more, he guided it to him this time, to his lap and groaned when he finally placed it over his groin. “Right here is where you make him feel good.”

“This is where...” you stuttered, embarrassment filling your chest to be touching a man’s private parts. “I shouldn’t—

“It’s okay when you’re with your husband,” he reassured you. “Now this is where you put those pretty hands to work. Undo my lower robes, sweet heart.”

Something inside you told you to protest but you reminded yourself that this was all for your learning and honestly, you were learning and getting answers that the maids wouldn’t give you when you asked when you overheard their intimate gossip.

Gingerly, you untied the ties of his black Hakama, swallowing the lump in your throat and taking deep breaths when you brushed something hard and hot beneath them. Everything that was happening right now was a first to you and Gojo knew that, he relished in that fact, hoping he’d ruin you for any other man.

When you saw the stiff shaft hidden beneath the fabric, you couldn’t pull your eyes away even though you knew you should but the way it stood in attention, pink round tip glistening with traces of some sort of liquid and how long and thick it was, it was almost impossible with how curious and new you were to this. At least, now you knew what a man’s intimate part looked like. Were they all this...pretty? This lengthy and thick?

“Darling,” he said endearingly, grinning at how you looked at him in wonder. “Don’t be afraid to touch me.”

“Does it hurt?” You asked, hesitantly touching the leaking tip, a deep hum resonating in Gojo’s chest.

“Far from it sweetheart, let’s say it’s just tense and needs a massage,” he played with his words and you took mental notes. Massage? How do you massage— “Wrap your hand around it.”

Snapping out of your thoughts you nodded doing as he said, wrapping your fingers around his girth, your inintay area clenching at the feeling of how hot he was in your palm. You noticed that your thumb and pointer finger couldn’t really touch when wrapped around him

“Good girl.” He praised, a soft smile on his face, watching your dainty hand hold him so gently. “You look hesitant...”

“I-I just thought I would do this with...” you trailed off, thinking of him.

“You can’t just have theory without practice,” he leaned on his hand, the other caressing your cheek in such a delicate loving manner. “Whoever you’re thinking of, what I’m teaching you will make him feel good and you’d want to know how to please him right?”

You nodded eagerly.

“What you’re learning is one of the ways, a wife can show her husband her love. Now move your hand up and down,”

Gently with the weight of him in your hand, you moved up and down, going all the way to the tip and spreading the clear liquid all over his shaft, making your hand glide easier.

“Mhm,” he groaned, his head thrown back a little. “That’s good sweetheart. Tighten your grip a little.”

“Like this?” You squeezed a little, feeling him harden further.

“Just like that. Keep going, love.” He rasped against your ear before taking your lips into his once more.

You kept your slow pace, picking it up when you heard his deep moans that went straight down your core. The obscene sounds of his cock being fucked in your hand and sloppy, messy, kisses shared between you and him filled your room. You felt a pool of warmth gather low between your legs, a familiar feeling that you found weird when you felt it, you could feel how it dampened your underwear and how it throbbed like an itch desperately needed to be scratched.

“Gojo-sensei...I feel...hot,” you whimpered, fighting the urge of your hips to move against his thigh.

“It’s natural,” he reassured you. “I do too. You’re doing so well darling.” He nestled his face into the crook of your neck, your eyes not helping to look at where your hand was touching him and not realising how your tongue poked out at little when you stared at the swollen tip.

“Fuck,” he swore, nipping your neck harshly making you squeak. “Your hand is heavenly. Keep going. I’m close.”

“Gojo-sensei,” you muttered his name, watching him in awe as he threw his head back, lips between his teeth as a breathy moan escaped them. Was he in pain? Was he getting the relief he needed? The whole act felt forbidden but sinfully erotic.

A low guttural grunt rumbled within his chest, kissing you once again as he spilled all over your hand, groaning into your mouth as you didn’t know when to stop, continuing to milk him for all his worth.

You felt something tight in your tummy when you felt the warm liquid coat your hands. You glanced down to see the white that spilled forth, remembering your aunt telling you about how a man’s seed that fills a woman’s womb to make a child. This was what it was.

But what captivated you the most was the look of pure bliss on his face. It filled your chest with pride to have pulled that expression from him and feeling him twitch beneath your hand made you stop, finally able to notice the way his breathing was heavy and ragged.

“Gojo-sensei...are you okay?” You asked, your hand still wrapped around his cock.

“I’m fine,” he replied, burying you face in your neck, inhaling the scent of you and your perfumes. He was more than fine. He was floating in bliss at how soft and delicate your hand was around him. He even came earlier than he intended, the thought of teaching you such lewd things despite not being your intended, spurring him on.

“Your... seed...it’s gone to waste,” you murmured worriedly, your words making him giggle softly. “I thought such activities should result in children.”

“Oh? Well that’s a different case. What I’m teaching you is let’s say...adult studies. The theory and practice of pleasure. They don’t always have to result in children. It can also be solely for the sensation...for sexual gratification.” He spoke as eloquently as ever.

“Sexual gratification,” you repeated the idea softly to yourself. It was foreign to you. All you knew about sex from your aunt and mother was that it was merely done to have children...not this. “Isn’t it selfish?”

So many questions, he thought to himself but he’s happy to provide you answers, his answers specifically.

Regaining his composure, he sat up, taking a cloth from the table to wipe your hands with.

“It isn’t selfish little one to do so with your lover.”

Those words resonated within you. The husked way and lowered tone of the way he said lover making you shiver and your heart drum in your ears.

“You’re a fast learner,” he praised, patting your head. “You’re a natural...anyone would be pleased with you.”

“I did well?” You sought for confirmation.

“You aced it,” he grinned, moving his glasses up the bridge of his nose, covering those hypnotising eyes of his. “Our first lesson for these studies was very successful. There’s still much to learn, little dove.”

“Thank you, sensei,” you beamed up at him. Your smile wide and warm as if he hadn’t just started his course of corruption.

Gojo after cleaning up the room with you, fixed himself up and lingered for another hour in your company before excusing himself to attend to his other duties related to his clan. He saw his lesson time with you to be somewhat of a break from all of that political talk between them. With you he was able to have some fun. The idea of grooming you to become his wife in the end of it all would be a grand reward. Plus, you’re family wouldn’t oppose of tying connections with a clan as powerful as his.

But it was just a thought. He couldn’t conclude it so quickly with that...besides the fun was only beginning.

The second session began the way all your previous lessons did, with literature and the next hour with geography and the last with ‘adult’ studies. As the two of you took the second break before the next lesson, the anticipation having you on edge and not able to touch your tea.

“You seem a little on edge,” he chuckled, taking a bit of the sweet red bean pastry served on the short study table on the tatami.

You placed your hands on the warm curves of the porcelain tea cup and looked at your reflection in the green tea. Did you really look that tense? You couldn’t really look at Gojo-sensei in the eye. Every time you did, you saw flashes of how his heavy lidded blissed out expression when you had pleasured him…and the memory of it made you feel all warm in your belly and had your thighs clenching.

“I’m just nervous about the next session…I still can’t shake the feeling that this is wrong,” you admitted, feeling your cheeks heat up, embarrassed to be speaking to him about this.

Gojo expected as much. You were raised and taught by mostly women in your family, who undoubtedly taught you that a woman of your stature should be reserved, obedient and noble for the sake of your family’s reputation. And that all intimate acts of a sexual nature should be reserved for one man in your life, your husband.

“I understand your anxieties,” he plastered a gentle smile to soothe you. “Think of it this way. There must be a man in your life that you love or have interest in, think of him. Think about how our lessons will supplement your intimacy with him.”

Your eyes snapped to his immediately, becoming aware of your heart beat as you thought of a certain man. Someone you’d known your whole life. A certain member of this household…Suguru.

The way you looked at him did nothing to hide the hopeful, romantic gaze in your eyes, a part of Gojo feeling jealous that another made you look so gentle, so sweet, so innocently and foolishly infatuated.

“Teach me then sensei,” you spoke with a new found determination, surprising both you and Gojo. He held back a smirk. “I want to make him feel good…feel loved. I want to be close to him.”

With his large, warm hands, he cupped your face, leaning close til his breath was against your lips, almsost brushing, so close and leaving you in anticipation.

“Then let’s get started shall we?”

#jjk.smut #tw.corruption kink #tw.abuse of power #tw.virginity #tw.coercion #tw.dark content #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen smut #Gojo smut #Gojo x reader #Gojo Satoru smut #geto suguru smut #geto x reader #jjk smut #jjk x reader #💍.geto #💍.Gojo

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bratshaws · 2 years

Text

goodness gracious 43. brb x oc

THIS FIC IS 18+ ONLY! MINORS PLS DNI!

a/n: I need jesus this one got filthy real fast pl s dont hate me!!!!

check out the fic's playlist made by the sweet @wiipes !!

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: SMUT GOOD LORD SMUT, JESUS ALMIGHTY!!!!!!!!!!!!

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42

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taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

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@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3

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Bradley and Beatrice noticed that neither of them could ever be part of Californian high society, neither of them would know how to act…because from where they were seated they could see every single rich person that ever walked on planet Earth on the ground below and around them. They were currently staring at a group of influencer-esque women who walked in wearing so much shine on their bodies it made both of them squint at how bright they were.

They were wearing sunglasses inside a restaurant at nighttime. She was sure not a single one of them had eye issues that forced them to wear those and when they seated the first thing they did was talk bad to the poor waiter who came to their table. “Oh, I hate when people treat waiters like shit.” Beatrice sneers, glaring down at the group of women “What’s stopping them from spitting on their food?”

“True.” he says, frowning his eyebrows when one of them pulls out her phone “She’s probably already writing a bad review.” Beatrice looks at him with a smile, “Complaining that they didn’t get the food before they got in, that’s outrageous. How dare the waiter not know what they want? Ugh.”

“Will probably post a picture of the empty plate too, with the caption ‘look what they brought me! Nothing!’” Beatrice covers her mouth to hold back her laughter while Rooster snorts, dropping his head and trying to hide his smirk with a hand, the couple paying attention to see if anyone else saw them laughing. “Honestly,” she giggles “I could never be someone like that, you know? Filthy rich and treating people like ass. I mean, my aunt is rich and she’s nothing like that.”

Bradley laughs remembering his surprise when he found out that her aunt owned the whole area where the wedding was taking place, “I think it’s fair to say your aunt is a good example of what people should be, she seems to be such a nice lady too.” he says with a grin, “Some people are just shitty.”

“They are.” Bea agrees, sipping her water before looking around the upper floor where the other people were currently having dinner, “I don’t think people should flaunt what they have so much, I think that just shows they are insecure and need validation from others.” she says while looking at a man who was being fed by a woman, while another rubbed his chest and hair, her nose curling in disgust, “...we really are outcasts in this place, huh?”

Rooster chuckles quietly, supporting himself on his crossed arms on top of the table, “Oh yeah.” he looks back to where the man was seated and huffs out a laugh, “But I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else. Not only because you are my girlfriend and I love you, but because you get it. Plus,” he leans closer to her from across the table, smirking, “Isn’t it fun to be the outcast in situations like these?”

As someone who used to be called an outcast, and used to hate it before embracing it the best she could, Beatrice nods with a little smile “It is, I won’t lie.”

It doesn’t take long for their dinner to arrive, which was already a feast by itself. Each of them had one main dish, a ramen bowl and steamed buns as a side snack and it all smelled so good. Neither of them waited too long, since they were both starving and dug into the food, politely of course. Sometimes they’d look down at the group of women who still seemed to be treating the waiter like shit, and she tried to hold back her laugh at Bradley’s less than kind commentary, “Brad,” she tries to chastise him, but a laugh breaks her sentence, “We can’t keep looking at them, just because they are being shitty people.” but her eyes immediately dropped to the group of women that were now being talked by the manager from below.

Now the two of them were really interested, even slowing their chewing to pay attention to what was being said. “I think they are going to get kicked out.” Rooster smirks, to which Beatrice gasps softly, trying to hide her amusement without much success. They watched the group of women, whose voices were getting louder and one of them even pulled out her phone to the manager’s face, immediately lowered their voice the second a female security guard made her way over to them.

They followed as the group of women were quietly led out of the bar, no longer wanting to fight anyone else and with one of them apparently crying as she was taken out of the restaurant. Beatrice and Rooster looked at each other with their mouths open, trying to not laugh too loud at what just happened, “Coming here was already worth it.” he finally says, bringing the water to his lips in hopes it’d cover his chuckle, while his girlfriend did the same, her shoulders shaking with quiet laughing.

“Are we evil people?” she asks after setting the glass down, “For laughing at others’ demise?”

“I mean, no? I don’t think so, they were being rude to the waiter and pretty much the whole staff. That’s just karma, babe.” he says with a shrug “Plus, it’s always a treat to make fun of rich people.”

Beatrice couldn’t help but smile, albeit still a bit guilty, but agreeing with his words by tilting her head in a nod. They didn’t order wine, mostly because Bradley was driving them and they didn’t want to be stopped and also because they had her aunt’s gift somewhere inside his apartment. When she went to her house to grab the jumpsuit she remembered that the wedding thank you gift was saved up in her fridge.

So she picked it up and decided that they could drink it together later, since she was no longer taking medication and it’d be safe for them to enjoy it! Just something they could do together.

Much like everytime, they didn’t see the time go by, they kept watching the people around them and sometimes couldn’t hold back the laugh and commentary of the lives of rich and luxurious lives of the folk there. Their dinner was lovely, their night was very lovely and Beatrice couldn’t help but lean back on her seat with a pleased smile after drinking what was left of her water.

The change in position made her cleavage pop out a lot more than before, the pale flesh on display for his hungry eyes to see, not bothering to hide his eyes as they immediately dropped to the plunge between her breasts. He still had some water left, sipping it slowly and letting his eyes wander all over her figure with complete admiration, licking his lips once he’s done, “You just look so fucking good.” he murmurs, watching the red flush spread down her chest as he spoke, “I think every outfit you own is just meant to make me lose my mind isn’t it?”

Beatrice chuckles softly, humming happily as she runs her hands through her hair and tosses it to the side so it leaves part of her neck bare, “Well, it is one of it’s uses.” she explains innocently, her face still burning a bright red, running the pad of her index finger on her empty glass’ rim, “I can’t say it’s not welcome.”

“Mmhm.” is all that he says while keeping his eyes on her still, “I can’t say I don’t like looking.” and he does, a whole lot, he especially likes how her chest expands in a deep breath and that pushes her breasts forward. “I think this is the part where I say it’s time for us to go.” she blinks at him, adjusting herself on the seat to stand up, “Because I think you remember what I promised you once you got better, right?”

I’m going to eat you up once you heal.

Beatrice bit her lower lip hard, trying to hold back her smile but nodded, not being able to contain her excitement as she held his hand and the two walked down the steps towards the restaurant’s exit. She noticed how the people looked their way, especially how some women seemed to be so focused on Bradley and honestly, she couldn’t blame them. If she saw a man like that walking by she’d look too, stepping closer to him while squeezing his hand with a little smile.

The atmosphere once they get inside the car is so dense and thick it could be cut with a knife, Beatrice trying the best she could to remain calm and not remember how they actually had sex in the backseat of his car a few weeks ago…well now she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She tries so hard to keep her eyes on the road and not on how the pants he wore were thigh and clung to his muscular thighs and especially avoided dragging her eyes higher, twirling her finger on the thin strap of her purse in hopes she’d distract herself.

“You know,” he begins, the atmosphere still as thick as before, “Maybe I could just park somewhere dark, empty and quiet…and revive what happened a few weeks ago.” oh he’s awful “Because I can’t enter the car without remembering it.”

Beatrice coughed softly, “Yeah,I um, haven’t forgotten it either.” it was probably one of the sexiest and boldest things she had ever done…she wanted to do something bold again, but not tonight. No, she had to plan a little bit more, make sure everything was going to go well too. “B-But you don’t have to, we can go to your apartment…and revive the very first time.”

Rooster’s jaw clenched alongside his hands on the steering wheel cover, his tongue running on his lower lip as he stepped on the gas, “We’ll get there in ten minutes.” he announces, flitting his eyes to her for a second, running through the length of her thick thighs and up to her chest then focusing back on driving.

He was wrong, they actually got there in six minutes. As soon as he parked the Bronco and both walked into the elevator, he slammed her against the elevator’s cold walls and kissed her deeply. Beatrice’s purse fell to her feet as her arms wrapped around his neck, dragging her nails up his scalp and getting a breathy moan out of him. They both knew the elevator had cameras, but honestly neither of them cared,Beatrice just whimpered into his mouth when he picked her up and held her against the metal walls, digging his fingers on her buttcheeks. His mouth left a wet trail of kiss down her jawline to her throat, where he proceeded to devour her skin like it was the dinner they shared hours before, “Brad…” she whispers, moving her hips to meet his own in hopes to get some friction as the elevator slowly went up.

Rooster drags his lips to her ear, his hot breath hitting the soft cartilage as he speaks, “I’m going to fuck you right in this elevator,” he growls, trying to unbuckle his belt one handed while the other hand keeps her up, “Going to fuck you so right, baby.”

A full blown shudder erupts all over her body at the idea alone, groaning at her choice of outfit since it’d mean she’d have to shimmy it all the way down her legs instead of just pulling it up if it was a dress. She tries to tell him between feverish kisses what she wants to do, but between his mouth and the pinging of the elevator going up the floors, she’s a bit distracted.

When the elevator stops and her barely open eyes turn to look at the number, she furrowed her eyebrows a bit seeing they arrived at his floor, “Brad…” she tries calling him, but he’s busy dragging his teeth down her throat, finally able to unbuckle his belt but not pull it out. The doors appeared to open in slow motion, Beatrice becoming even more alert than before, “Brad!” she whisper shouts, tapping his shoulder in hopes he looks up.

His lips drag up to her jawline, “Yeah, baby, you like that don’t you–” he stops, they both do when the door opens revealing the person on the other side. There’s a short old lady there, with dyed red hair that’s curled up in an updo, wearing a red cardigan and a flower patterned dress, squinting her eyes towards the two.

The lady keeps on squinting, “Bradley? Is that you, dear?” she reaches down towards her black purse on the crook of her elbow and Bradley hurriedly lets Beatrice back down, muttering a ‘jesus christ’ to himself as he gives his back to the door and buckles his belt back up. The old lady puts on the huge tortoiseshell glasses, the lens making her eyes double in size as she blinks up at them just in time for Bradley to turn back around and partially hide behind Beatrice, “Oh!It is you! Hello, my dear!How are you?”

He doesn’t want to be rude, but he also doesn’t think he can keep a façade of calmness much longer, “Hi, Mrs. Whitmore.” he replies, “I’m doing…fine…”

“Oh, and who’s this lovely girl?” she follows the two with her head as they walk out, Bradley still hiding himself the best he could behind Bea, “Is she your lady friend?”

“Yes, she’s my girlfriend. Beatrice.”

“H-Hello.”

“Oh!Beatrice! What a beautiful name! It’s Italian isn’t it? My first husband was Italian, my Sal, what a good man he was.” Mrs.Whitmore says with a little smile, using her cane to hold the elevator doors open, “She’s a gorgeous lady, Bradley. My my, and look at those hips!Oh I had hips like that in my day.” Beatrice just blushes looking down at her legs, squeaking a bit when the old lady taps them with the end of her cane, “Great for child bearing!I’ll tell you that much! HAH!” she laughs tossing her head back while the brunette only blushes harder, inhaling sharply and looking back at Bradley with an exasperated expression, he just stares right back and shrugs, “Oh, but don’t mind me, don’t mind me.”

They watch Mrs.Whitmore slowly make her way to the elevator, “I’m late for poker night!” Bradley steps out from behind Beatrice when he notices she’s having more difficulty than normal, ignoring his own predicament to stay behind her until she gets inside, “Oh, I’m fine! I’m fine!” she flaps her hand before eventually accepting his help so she could push herself forward, “Thank you, dear. Here,” she reaches inside her bag to pull out a few strawberry hard candies, “For you and your lady friend.”

“Thank you, Mrs.Whitmore.”

“What a sweet boy you are,” she coos, patting his cheek before pressing the button, “But I’ve got to go! I need to beat Wilma again! HAH! Good night you two! Bye-bye!” Bradley steps back so the doors close, the little lady disappearing from their view. Beatrice looks up at Rooster who had the hard candies in the middle of his palm, her shocked face turning into a smile, then a soft laugh makes its way out of her lips.

“I never see her leave her apartment.” he says quietly, “When she does she almost catches us, thank God she needs glasses.” he shoves the hard candies inside his back pocket, meeting Beatrice’s gaze and not being able to hold back his own laughter as the adrenaline of the situation comes to pass, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips, “Ah, damn it, come on.” he keeps on chuckling, grabbing her hand as they walk to his door.

Beatrice waits by his side, looking back at the elevator then at him with a smile on her face, “She seems like a sweet lady.” she says, following him inside the apartment, Jolene’s constant tail thumping greeting them, but she doesn’t move away from the couch. He tosses his keys to the coffee table, running his hands through his hair with a soft groan, interlacing his hands behind his head trying to calm himself down, “She likes you.”

“I helped her with her plumbing a few times.” he explains, dropping his arms to his sides so he could remove his suit jacket, “She always gives me these,” the hard candies are also tossed down the coffee table, Jolene stretching her neck to sniff it curiously but quickly losing interest “Or those old mint hard candies too. It depends what’s closer. She’s a nice lady, but she still thinks Reagan is president and she makes sure to say she hates him.”

The brunette chuckles softly, dropping her purse on the coffee table alongside his key, toeing out her shoes before looking up seeing him rub his face from crown to chin, “You okay?’

“My elderly neighbor almost caught us fucking in an elevator.” Beatrice laughs again, trying to hold back her amusement, “So I’m a bit shocked, you know? Just,” he makes a face, holding up his fingers in a pinch gesture, “Just a bit.”

Beatrice smiles, stepping closer to him to hug his middle, propping her chin on his chest to look up at his face. Bradley huffs a soft laugh, his cheeks flushed just the tidiest bit, “You are just so cute, aren’t you?” she says, lifting a hand to caress the side of his face, “Not only you are a gentleman but you also help old ladies in need? You are just so dreamy, Brad.”

He avoids her gaze for a second, his cheeks flushing darker but he smirks, “I have my moments.” he says, leaning down to brush their lips together, “I can be a gentleman or a villain depending on the situation.”

“Oh,” she smiles against his mouth, “Like the big bad wolf you said you were?” his eyes are on her the second she says it, pupils blown wide and lips still curved up in a smirk, kissing her sweetly as she slides her arms around his neck, bringing him closer so her chest is pressed against his. He hums against her mouth, his large hands cupping her ass as he walks them backwards to his bedroom, turning the lights off on the living room.

She giggles against his mouth when he kicks his door closed and locks it for good measure, even though Jolene would never walk in, turning them around so he’d sit on the bed and she’d be on his lap, with his hands still cupping her buttcheeks through the dark green fabric. “I did say I’d eat you up, I promised it, in fact.”

“You did.” she whispers cupping his face in her hands to kiss him one more time, “Are you?’

“Am I? Oh, baby, you know I never go back on my word.” he purrs, dropping his eyes to her chest “Now, how do I get this out of you without ripping it? I’d hate to never see this again.” This question is followed by him running his hands up and down the curve of her waist, Beatrice smiling even more at him before she tugs the end of the long sleeves, which in turn pulls down the top that touched her shoulders. Inch by inch more skin was revealed, his eyes following the falling fabric with his lips parted until it reached her cleavage.

“I’ll have to stand up.” she says, “To get it all off.”

Rooster makes a noise of complaint, watching as she stood to her feet to pull the jumpsuit all the way down, but his hands held her, “Wait,” she snaps her head up towards him in surprise, “Can I?” his voice sounds so hoarse when he asks, his eyes going from her face to her partially covered body. Beatrice’s sharp intake of breath is so quiet that if the room wasn’t so silent he wouldn’t be able to hear it, but she nods with the softest ‘okay’ leaving her lips.

He grabs her by the hips so she steps between his legs, the sleeves were now hanging by the sides of her bust, the only parts still covered were just half of her breasts and lower body. Since it was such a stretchy material, all he had to do was tug gently and watch it fall to her feet. Now she only had her panties on, this pair was black with white stripes on the sides.

She loved how big his hands were and how much…ground, they covered whenever he grabbed her. Beatrice squeaked in surprise when he tugs her closer to press an open mouthed kiss to her tummy, her stomach immediately dropping with nerves, “B-Brad,” his mouth goes up, he’s slowly rising to his feet as well until his kisses touched between her breasts and stop right under her jawline, “You,” she tries to speak, but it’s hard when he’s pressing those types of kisses on her neck, “You are still d-dressed…”

Rooster pulls back, looking down at his yellow floral shirt and dark pants, gently turning her around so she lies on the bed instead. He keeps eye contact while pulling his shirt from the back, breaking it for a quick second as the fabric blocks his vision, tossing it somewhere in his room. He couldn’t help but smirk at how she was paying attention with her upper body burning a bright red, her eyes dropping to his belt, following it when he pulled the leather strip from the belt loops.

“Baby,” he begins, snapping Beatrice out of her trance only to chuckle when her green eyes immediately go back to his pants that were now sliding down his legs. “Looking at me like that,” he tuts, kicking his pants off as he’s left only with black briefs ,”Like I’m stripping for you.”

That immediately made an idea pop in her head, but she shoved it back in the confines of her mind for now. “Weren’t you?”

“No, that’s for a special occasion.” he purrs, lowering himself between her legs so their chests are touching, his lips already trailing up and down her jawline, “You know? I’m also not dressed accordingly. I need glittery underwear or something of the sort.”

“You don’t need all that-” the end of her sentence ends up with a sharp intake of breath when his mouth drops down to her neck once more, using his strength to push both of them towards the center of his bed so he could have more space to maneuver. He just chuckles, meeting her eyes while he drops kiss after kiss down towards her chest, the soft wet smacking sounds of those plush lips on her skin were making Beatrice turn even redder.

Rooster keeps on going until he reaches the beginning of her ribs, trailing his lips back so they are making their way over the curve of her breast. Beatrice whimpers softly, these weeks have been so hard that every tiny touch of his was making her body feel like it’s on fire. She can’t hold back her moan when his lips wrap around her breast, teeth and tongue caressing her nipple while one of his hands pinches and touches its twin.

Beatrice’s quiet moan when she tosses her head back seems so much louder, her eyes fluttering shut while her hips move up, trying to get some release. He pulls back from her breast, repeating the process to the other one and earning an even louder moan from his girlfriend. God, he missed this. As much as he enjoyed just holding her, sleeping next to her, there was nothing better than hearing her moaning whenever they were together.

Once her breasts are loved enough, he even gives them another love bite, he trails his mouth down to her underwear. He feels her stomach contract when he reaches it, almost trying to shy it away from him but Rooster isn’t fazed, he presses even more kisses to the soft flesh and hears her gentle, shaky whimper coming from above. When his lips touch the elastic of her underwear, he drags his big hands up her thighs to hook his middle and index fingers against the fabric, tugging it downwards.

Beatrice lifts her hips so he can remove them easily, holding back a groan when a thin string of fluid breaks when he pulls it down her legs, balling it and tossing it off the bed. “Oh this is a beautiful sight.” he coos, parting her legs so he sees her glistening center staring right back at him, “I missed it a lot.”

Once he’s done talking, he wastes no time in adjusting himself on the bed so he’s millimeters away from where he desires with his mouth watering. Beatrice has no warning, her eyes widening when she feels his mouth on her, her mouth parting in a moan as her hands fist the pillows behind her head.

Beatrice’s moans start quiet at first, soft ‘hmms’ and ‘oohs’ that sound like music to his ears, her hands not touching his hair just yet. He knows when she’ll get like that, he’s done this enough times to know every little thing that will turn her into a quivering mess. His movements were also slow as well, just languid strokes of his tongue as his hands caressed her thighs from knee to hip, sometimes opening his eyes to check how she was reacting.

He doesn’t waste much time when he sees her head tilted back against the pillows, deepening his strokes and smiling at the sudden yelp that goes past her lips. Atta girl, he thought, time to get louder. Beatrice blinked her eyes hard, hands no longer holding the pillows, this time they were clenching the sheets with her chest heaving out with deep surprised breaths “B-Brad…” she said with her voice shaking, “G-God…oh my God…”

He spreads her legs even more, holding one of them on his shoulder while the other is tucked underneath his bicep, exposing her in ways that makes the blush on her skin turn so dark he thinks she’s covered in red paint. He moves a bit faster, his hand caressing her leg until he reaches her mound, thumb sliding down just enough to press against her clit and making a jolt dart all over her body. Her moans are sharper now, louder and one of her hands makes its way towards his hair, fingers combing through the sandy strands.

“B-Brad!! Ah!!” Beatrice doesn’t know what to do, so she grips the sheets so hard she’s sure they’ll rip any minute now. She feels the pressure building, her moans rising in volume and mixing with whispers of his name, her legs twitching as she tries to close them but he’s still holding them apart. She won’t be able to hold herself back much longer, it’s getting harder for her to focus on anything but his mouth.

The pressure turns too great in a matter of seconds, her body immediately going taut as a bowstring as her back arches. Her eyes clench as her orgasm hits her with full force, almost punching the moan out of her with how much force it came out of her throat, hips rising and falling as she rides off her high. His lips are still on her even after she comes, Beatrice whimpers at how sensitive she is, hips still jumping and her heart slamming against her ribcage, “Brad…” she calls weakly, caressing his hair and trying to hold back another moan that dares to leave her throat, trying to push his head away when she feels it’s too much.

He does lift his head, after pressing a kiss on the junction of her thigh and pelvis. He doesn’t hide when he wipes his jaw with a hand, licking the curve between his thumb and index finger to get every little morsel that was left, “You still taste fucking delicious.” he growls, trailing his lips back over the same path as before, finishing against her lips with a pleased groan, “I missed this. Are you okay?”

Beatrice’s unfocused gaze meets his eyes, her eyebrows arch as she blinks up at him with confusion, “...’m fine…” she replies, “Missed it too…” She's still shivering a little bit, so he waits a few minutes for them to continue. He could wait, he waited two weeks and a half for this. While she calms down, he reaches to his side table, opening the drawer and grabbing the tin foil packet from the inside, looking back to check on Beatrice to find her already staring at him.

“Hey.”

She smiles sweetly, “Hi…” her arms reach towards him and he wastes no time in climbing on top of her, kissing her one more time and swallowing her happy moan, “You really,” she was still trying to regain her breathing, “Took the breath out of me.”

“Do you need more time?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

“I’m so sure.” she smiles, draping her arms around his neck, “I’m okay, it’s just been a while and I forgot how good you are with your mouth.” he sounds offended by it, even giving her a confused look, “Not forget, just…it slipped my mind.”

“Yeah?” he smirks, ripping the packet open, looking away from her for a second so he could roll the condom on, meeting her eyes again once he’s done, “I should remind you then.” she nods eagerly, “Since it slipped your mind.”

Beatrice just giggles, her oversensitive core twitches when he lies on top of her, his own mouth curling up in a smirk as his hands disappear between them so he could push into her. He drops his forehead to hers, both of their mouths opening in breathless moans as he hilts, keeping himself still for a few seconds while her legs wrap around his waist, smiling in relief when no pain darts from her foot.

She opens her eyes to meet his, their pupils blown wide that only rings of their eye color are visible, her hands coming up to cup his cheeks and caress his cheekbones adoringly, “I love you.” she whispers, gasping quietly when he starts to move.

“I love you too, gorgeous.” he replies with a strained voice, turning his head to kiss the inside of her wrist, before he looks back down at her. Her cheeks and chest still flushed that lovely shade of red, shining with a thin sheen of sweat that made her look downright delectable. Bradley’s lips drop to her own, swallowing her moaning as his hips move, almost being able to taste it in his tongue.

Beatrice whimpers, moving her own hips to meet his thrusts,her hands dropping from his neck to his upper back. The dips and valleys of muscle only made her heat up even more, her nails dragging down his golden skin, stopping on the dimples right above his butt. Bea breaks the kiss to moan at a specific thrust, and Rooster drops his head to the curve of her shoulder, biting the warm flesh and tasting the sweat on her skin.

She gasps out his name, hugging his neck tighter, “Brad…p-please…” she was still a bit sensitive from before but she didn’t care, “F-Faster…”

Oh he loved when she got vocal. She was so quiet at the beginning and she was still nervous sometimes, but whenever she talked it really made his whole body vibrate with excitement, “Faster? You want me to go faster?” she nods with another moan breaking past her lips when he speeds his movements just enough to make her breasts bounce, “Is this fast enough?”

She just stared at him through her half-lidded eyes, her lips curving into a word that simply broke as a moan darted out of her, tossing her head back when his hips got even faster, “Maybe,” he says through heavy breathing, “This would be faster, yeah? Is it, gorgeous?”

Beatrice moaned louder, “Braaad!!” she furrowed her eyebrows while panting heavily, clenching her eyes shut, her arms wrapped back around his neck as she felt the pressure building again. Her legs were clenched so tight against his waist she felt she’d have a cramp soon, hopefully it was a false alarm because that wouldn’t be sexy at all. So instead of worrying about that, she tried to focus on the sound of his deep breathing and moaning, her own soft gasping and the sound of their skins slapping together in a frenzied cacophony of bodies.

Beatrice knew she wouldn’t last long, just a little bit more, one of her hands dropping from his neck to slide down her body until she reached her clit. She rubbed the little bundle of nerves for a few seconds, her breathing getting louder, whispers of his name going past her lips, “Brad..” she whines, still moving her hips to meet his, looking into his eyes and feeling like she’s falling into those brown irises the longer she stares.

Bradley isn’t too far behind, but he doesn’t want to look anywhere but at her. When he hears her breathing hitch and her nails dig on the back of his neck, he just watches her back arch and a long moan rip past her lips, her channel fluttering around him. “Jesus, you are so fucking hot.” he growls, rushing after his own release and enjoying how she yelped in surprise at his hips pistoning against hers, holding onto his shoulders for dear life.

Beatrice however, is very surprised when she feels the pressure already building again in just a matter of minutes. Her eyes widen, not being able to hold it back and having a third orgasm that’s so intense her eyes roll back and she can’t even moan loud enough, just gasps out a loud breath while her hands clench at nothing. Her ears ring, her vision is blurry but she hears when he groans loudly against her neck, the vibration of his voice on her skin seeming to shake her whole body.

Once her vision is clear again, she sees the ceiling of his bedroom and the curve of Rooster’s back as he lies panting on top of her, Beatrice smiles tiredly as her head tilts to look down at him. Bradley’s breathing was shaky, his eyes fluttering open to meet her loving gaze, “Hi,” she says, running a hand on his wet cheek, “Are you okay?”

He takes a while to reply, lifting his eyebrows with amusement as his eyes close, “I…” he chuckles while licking his lips, “Whew, I think it slipped my mind too, you know?” they laugh quietly, like it’s a secret only the two of them should know. He lifts his hand to touch the curve of her cheek, following his fingers until they touch her chin, “...you still look so pretty, no matter what, huh?”

“I look like a mess.” “A sexy mess, that just,” he leans up to peck her lips, “Took the air out of me.” he hovers above her head with a little smile “I’m going to draw a bath for us, I think we deserve it.” his breath hitches and she gasps when he pulls out, but Beatrice smiles while slowly pushing herself to a sitting position watching him disappear into the bathroom. It takes her a few seconds, but she stretches her arms over her head and then follows him, groaning happily.

#bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x oc #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw x reader

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translations-by-aiimee · 3 years

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The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Chapter 27

Original Title: 二哈和他的白猫师尊

Genres: Drama, Romance, Tragedy, Xianxia, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 27 - This Venerable One Will Cook You A Bowl of Noodles

Chu Wanning felt completely faint.

He blamed himself for being so distracted and unsuspecting on Life-Death Peak. He didn't even notice someone come over.

What was going on? Where did this child come from? His last name was Mo, but Mo. . . what was is again. . . ? Mo Shao? Mo Zhu? Mo. . . Yu?

He composed himself and put on an expression that screamed: "get away". The surprise and panic in his phoenix eyes were quickly masked by his usual harsh and threatening demeanour.

"You—"

He raised his hand out of habit to discipline him, but something suddenly caught his wrist.

Chu Wanning was stunned.

He had been around for a while yet no one had ever dared grab his wrist so casually. For a while, he was frozen in place, not knowing what he should do.

Pull it away and give him a backhanded slap?

. . . It felt like a good word to describe that would be "indecent," like he was no different from a woman in this situation.

Then pull his hand away and not slap him?

. . . Wouldn't that seem like he was being too nice?

Chu Wanning hesitated for a long time and didn't move but the young man laughed: "What's this on your hand? It's pretty good-looking, do you teach how to make stuff like this? Everyone else has introduced themselves already but you haven't spoken yet. Which elder are you? Hey, do you have a headache?"

With so many questions thrown at him, while Chu Wanning's mind hadn't hurt before, now it did.

His mind felt like it was about to split in half. . .

As he got irritated, a golden light in his hand started to glow. When they saw that Tianwen was about to be summoned, the other elders were horrified and moved - Chu Wanning was crazy, right? He would even dare to whip Young Master Mo?

Then, Mo Ran was suddenly holding his hand.

Now Mo Ran had trapped both of his hands. Mo Ran didn't up on the danger of his situation. He pulled him closer and stood in front of him. He tilted his head and said with a smile: "My name is Mo Ran. I don't know anyone here, but just from looking at you, I like you the most. How about I worship you as my shizun, okay?"

This was completely unexpected. The people around them were even more horrified. Several elders gaped with mouths ajar.

Elder Xuanji: "Huh?"

Elder Pojun: "What!"

Elder Qisha: "Oh?"

Elder Jielu: "Uh. . ."

Elder Tanlang: "Hah, ridiculous."

Elder Lucun was the most feminine of the bunch with wavy hair and eyes flooded with peach blossoms: "Ah, this little boy is so bold. He's truly a courageous young man. He might even be so bold as to touch Elder Yuheng's ass."

". . . I beg you, can you not say something so repulsive?" Qisha said with disgust.

Lucun rolled his eyes gracefully and hummed: "Fine, let me put it more eloquently. He's truly a courageous young man. He might even be so bold as to touch Elder Yuheng's buttocks."

Qisha: ". . ." Just kill him and forget this ever happened.

The most popular of all the elders was the gentle and jade-like elder Xuanji. His techniques were easy to learn, and he was a modest gentleman. Most of the disciples on Life-Death Peak worshipped underneath him.

Chu Wanning originally thought that this Mo Ran would've been just like all the others. If not Elder Xuanji, then it should be the energetic Elder Pojun. It never should have been his turn

But Mo Ran was standing so close to him. His face showed a kind of intimacy and affection that was unfamiliar to him. He was like some clown that was just chosen. It was all so distressing for no reason.

Chu Wanning only knew how to deal with "awe", "fear" and "disgust". Something like "affection" was too complicated.

He didn't even have to think about it. He immediately rejected Mo Ran.

The young man froze. Hidden under his slender eyelashes, there was a sense of loneliness and unwillingness in his eyes. He lowered his head, thought for a second, and unreasonably muttered: "Anyways, I still choose you."

Chu Wanning: ". . ."

The Lord was watching with great interest. He piped in with a smile:, "A-Ran, do you know who he is?"

"He didn't tell me, how would I?"

"Haha, since you don't know who he is, why would you pick him?"

Mo Ran was still tugging on Chu Wanning's hands. He turned his head, smiling and said to the Lord: "Because he looks the most gentle and easiest to talk to."

In the darkness, Chu Wanning's eyes snapped open, everything appearing fuzzy.

. . . That was one hell of a scene to see.

He didn't know what the hell was wrong with Mo Ran's eyes back then to actually think that he was gentle. Not to mention that all of Life-Death Peak heard about it. They all sent affectionate greetings to Young Master Mo Ran with looks that said "look at this foolish kid".

Chu Wanning lifted his hand to the corner of his faintly throbbing forehead.

His shoulder hurt, his mind was in turmoil, his stomach was hungry, and his head was spinning.

It seemed like he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon.

He fumed on the bed for a while. He sat up and was about to light a stick of incense to calm his mind when suddenly there was another knock on the door.

Mo Ran was outside.

Chu Wanning: ". . ."

He didn't answer. He didn't say whether to stay or leave.

But this time, the door opened by itself.

Chu Wanning looked up gloomily. The lit match in his hand hovered in mid-air but never reached the stick of incense. After a while, it went out.

Chu Wanning said: "Get out."

Mo Ran strolled in.

He was holding a steaming bowl of noodles, fresh from the pot.

This time it was a bit simpler. The noodles weren't as fancy. The rich white noodle soup was garnished with chopped green onion and white sesame seeds, small spare ribs, bok choy, and a slightly browned poached egg.

Chu Wanning was incredibly hungry but he didn't let it show on his face. He glanced at the noodles, then at Mo Ran. He turned his face away and didn't say anything.

Mo Ran put the noodles on the table, and gently said: "I asked the inn's chef to make another bowl."

Chu Wanning lowered his eyes.

Sure enough, Mo Ran didn't make this dish himself.

"Eat some." Mo Ran said. "This bowl isn't spicy, has no beef, and no bean sprouts."

After speaking, he left and closed the door for Chu Wanning on his way out.

He apologized for Chu Wanning's injury.

But he could only do so much.

In the room, Chu Wanning leaned against the window, not knowing what to think. He crossed his arms and stared at the bowl of spare rib noodles from a distance until the heat of the noodles dissipated and they grew cold.

He finally walked over and sat down. He picked up the chopsticks, stirred up the cold and soggy noodles, and slowly ate them.

The case of the Chen family's haunting had been closed.

The next day, they picked up the black horses they had boarded from inside the stables and returned to the sect the same way they had arrived.

In the streets and alleys, tea stalls and rice shops, the people of Caidie Town were all talking about the Chen family's affairs.

The not-so-small town had broken out in scandal, one large enough for the townspeople to talk about it for a whole year.

"I didn't expect that Young Master Chen had been secretly married to Miss Luo for so long. Miss Luo is so pitiful."

"If you ask me, if the Chen family hadn't gotten rich, they wouldn't be able to survive this affair. Sure enough, men can't handle their money. Once they have money, only misfortune will await them."

One man was unhappy and said: "This wasn't Young Master Chen's fault. It's his parents' fault. Mr. Chen, that son of a bitch. His children and grandchildren should only give birth to children without assholes in the future."

Another said: "The dead are pitiful but what about the living? Look at Chen Yao, Yao Qianjin. She's the one who's truly been wronged. That black-hearted mother of the Chen family deceived her. Tell me, what should she do now?"

"Just get remarried."

The man rolled his eyes and sneered: "Remarried? Are you here to get married?"

The mud-coated man who was teased bared his teeth and picked at them, grinning: "If that woman at home agrees, I'd marry her. Ms. Yao looks so beautiful, I don't mind her being a widow."

"Bah, the toad wants to eat swan meat*."

(T/N: 癩蛤蟆想吃天鵝肉 - means having unrealistic wishes or expectations)

Mo Ran sat on the back of the horse, ears perked up, listening to all the conversations in high spirits. If it weren't for Chu Wanning's closed eyes, frown, and the words "extremely noisy" essentially spelled out on his forehead, Mo Ran might have wanted to go join the villagers.

They walked together and finally left the main city, arriving at the outskirts.

Shi Mei suddenly gasped and pointed to the distance: "Shizun, look over there."

In front of the ruined Master of Ceremonies Ghost's earthen temple, there was a large group of peasants in brown clothes and shorts. They were busy moving the bricks and stones. It seemed that they were planning to repair the damaged earthen temple and remould the golden body of the Master of Ceremonies Ghost.

Shi Mei said anxiously: "Shizun, the old Master of Ceremonies Ghost is gone but they've made a new one. Will this be cultivated into an immortal body again and do evil?"

Chu Wanning: "I don't know."

"Should we go and persuade them not to?"

Chu Wanning: "The custom of ghost marriages in Caidie Town has been around for several generations. How would you or I be able to persuade them in just a few words? Let's go."

As he spoke, dust flew up from the horse's hoof and he walked away.

It was already dusk when they returned to Life-Death Peak.

Chu Wanning said to the two disciples in front of the mountain gate: "You go to Danxin Hall and explain what happened. I'll go to the Court of Discipline."

Mo Ran looked puzzled: "Why would you go to the Court of Discipline?"

Shi Mei, on the other hand, looked worried: ". . ."

Chu Wanning nonchalantly said: "To receive my punishment."

Although it's said that an emperor commits the same crime as the common people, what emperor would actually have to go to jail for killing someone? The same goes for the cultivation world.

The elders who break the sect rules are as equally guilty as the disciples - in most sects, it's just empty talk.

In fact, if an elder breaks a rule, it was good enough just to write an apology letter. What fool would actually go to be punished with a willow vine or dozens of sticks?

So, after listening to Chu Wanning's explanation, Elder Jielu's complexion turned green.

"No, Elder Yuheng, did you really. . . did you really beat your client?"

Chu Wanning was indifferent: "Yes."

"You're so. . ."

Chu Wanning raised his stare and gave him a sullen look. Elder Jielu shut up.

"According to the law, for breaking this rule, the punishment is two hundred cane strikes, kneeling in Wushan Temple for seven days, and being forbidden from leaving the grounds for three months." Chu Wanning said. "I have no defence, and I voluntarily accept the punishment."

Elder Jielu: ". . ."

He looked around and hooked his fingers, and the door to the Court of Discipline closed with a clang. The surroundings fell silent, and it was only the two of them that stood opposite each other.

Chu Wanning: "What's the meaning of this?"

"Well, Elder Yuheng, it’s not that you don't understand the rules and their consequences, it's just that it shouldn't be something that you should be overly concerned with. This matter is finished. Let's forget it. If I beat you, won't the Lord be angry with me when he finds out?"

Chu Wanning didn't bother to talk such nonsense with him and simply said: "I hold people accountable according to the law, and I should also be held accountable myself according to the law."

Kneeling down in front of the hall, facing the plaque of sect rules, he said:

"Punish me."

#2ha novel #2ha translation #2ha #the husky and his white cat shizun translation #the husky and his white cat shizun #english translation #chinese bl #chinese novel #bl novel #yaoi novel #yaoi #danmei novel #danmei #chu wanning #mo ran #ranwan

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white-poppie · 3 years

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A/n: Merry Christmas everyone!!

(Ps I made the banner, so please don’t reuse it ♥)

Character: Kozume Kenma x G! n reader Source: Anime- Haikyu! Genre: Hurt-comfort Warnings: Self-hate Writer: @white-poppie

Recommended Music: https://open.spotify.com/track/7L8hkKW4hnemNfuOfEZcle?si=d220ccb4407843f1 (Epiphany by Jin from BTS)

(I really hope I do not get attacked for the song choice, if you don't like it, don't listen to it, but LOVE YOURSELF)

The following story is in first person POV to make it more realistic.

"Love yourself for who you are."

Such a simple thing to say, yet a difficult thing to understand.

Wouldn't the world be such a better place if everyone was content in the way they are? Feel happy and loved in their own skin.

If you asked me a few years ago about my opinion on myself, maybe I would use neutral words such as: 'okay', 'fine', but what really went in my mind was different.

That was until I met you.

None of the clubs really suited me, I decided to become the manager of Nekoma. I was so not ready for my life to be changed.

Beautiful hair, soft skin. Erratic yet alluring behaviour. Gazing at you through those regal feline eyes. You were so perfect, yet so distant.

Kozume Kenma.

Tantalizing ways of concern as if seeing through my facade. You always made me nervous but in a good way.

"Manager why are you wearing full sleeves, its really hot today."

It made me perplexed. Why were you only talking to me when your teammates termed you as 'anti-social'.

"It might be because you have been playing, I feel cold."

Those eyes barely left me when I acted a bit out of character. After all, I am the manager; representator and caretaker of the team. I had to be confident!

"Yes sir, I understand I will do it!" "Forgive me for the late submission the team had a match!" One by one more and more responsibilities piled up on my shoulders.

"This is the last time you are getting an extension." "Is that difficult to be just a manager?" "Why are you falling behind in your studies?" "Try putting more effort into your appearance, this way no one will like you."

I felt as if the entire world was against me, trying to push me down.

Guess it was fate that brought you to me that day, sniffling, breaking down oh so vulnerably, hoping that no one would see me like this.

"Manager?" The practice was over, I was closing the gym, why were you still there?

"Yeah? Do you need something?"

"No, I just left my water bottle, are you okay?"

As sobs poured out of my mouth, unruly attempts to cover them made you more shocked.

"C-calm do-down."

"Please leave, "I stated rather firmly, causing you to flinch, I felt bad, but lord forbid you from telling anyone else.

"I will leave, don't worry I won't tell anyone."

From there you decided to show random acts of kindness, throwing a bottle for me that hit my head countless times. Dropping random sticky notes in my locker. It made me feel pathetic yet loved.

Days went by until I finally got back on track. A huge match was there the next day, everyone was stressed and one evening after practice when everyone was packing up, I sat beside you.

"Nervous?"

"A bit."

"You will do great, I have seen how much you have improved."

A tiny smile appeared on your face and I would pay thousands for you to smile again.

"Thank you."

"Listen up!" I shouted grabbing everyone's attention, "After the match let's go to a barbeque, treat is on me!"

Excited cheers erupted throughout the room.

"Are you sure?" you asked.

"Yes, I saved up my pocket money."

On the day of the match, everyone was super nervous. Scores on the nick.

5-6

10-12

23-24

27-25

Everyone was overjoyed by the victory! Happy tears of joy running down the team, coaches, me and even a few spectators.

I rushed towards the team congratulating them, as if on instinct I hugged you. The whole team became eerily silent, I pulled away in embarrassment, pretty sure that I made you uncomfortable until your hand wrapped around my wrist and I collided with your chest.

Kuroo-san looked overjoyed and Yaku-san looked dejected as if he had lost some kind of bet.

Me? I was elated. Flabbergasted. Flustered and I can put as many adjectives as I want to yet they won't be sufficient.

You see Kozume, it was at this moment I knew, I was in love with you. I wanted to see that smile every morning for the rest of our lives and hold that hand forever.

Perhaps loving you was what made me forget hating myself. The pure, unadulterated infatuation I felt for you was what made me continue living my life.

Thank you Kozume for everything.

I came down from the stage, you were crying, Kuroo-san had this huge smile on his face while the rest of the team cheered.

I twisted the ring that now bound us together, yes Kozume Kenma, yes. Ask me these vows 100 years from now and my answer would still be yes. I am proud to call you mine.

〜 ➤Taglist: @denkis111, @grizzlygobbler9000, @jazzylove, @cloudsgathering, @maybeleftoverjourneys, @lordmypantsaresocool, @futuristicallykawaiiturtle, @kristaline2dmensimp, @sukxma

〜 ➤Be added to my tag list: TAGLIST (If the link doesn't work message me under this fic or personally to add you)

MASTERLIST

Love <3 @white-poppie™ on Tumblr

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felswritingfire · 3 years

Text

April Brain Rot #6

Prompts:

90. Violin

27. "Your heart is pounding."

Sebek Zigvolt x Reader

Summery: A ball between Royal Sword Academy and Night Raven College has one half fae in particular wound up- especially when he catches wind that someone is asking you for a dance.

TW: None

Word Count: 1,282

A note from Fel: This bastard (spoiler alert) gets not one but TWO fics to himself- what a little shit am I right? (I fucking love him, and so does my girlfriend and no, I will not shut the fuck up about her I love her- honey, if you're reading this I LOVE YOU- and she said that this was her favorite one so far so like *fist bump*). I hope you enjoy!

Sebek had been stealing glances at you all night. He would scold himself every time he caught himself doing it: drinking in the way the light hit your shoulders and the smile on your face as someone in your group made a particularly funny remark. He wanted this awfully… warm feeling in his chest to stop. Though, he’s been feeling that way every time you were in the room with him for a while now.

Maybe he was getting sick.

Or you poisoned him! He closes his eyes, nodding sagely to himself. That’s the only explanation. You were lying when you told him it was fine after he accidentally ate that bonbon you had made with Trey and now you were exacting your revenge-

“What’re you thinking about, Sebek?” Came Lilia’s remark as he floated behind the young man’s head.

Sebek almost let out the most pitiful screech, but bit his tongue to keep it inside (for surely he could not sully his Lord Malleus’ name with such a pathetic response! His Lord was actually here for once!). “N-” he cleared his throat, righting his posture before continuing- “Nothing, Lilia-senpai! Simply watching for any threats that could be awaiting the Young Master!”

Lilia giggles. “Oh, Sebek,” he pats his head. “I don’t think there’ll be anyone- or thing- gutsy enough to hurt our Malleus. So you should go enjoy yourself! Eat some food! Chat with friends!” The fae leans close to Sebek’s face, a sudden feeling of being overwhelmed pulses behind Sebek’s eyes as he watches Lilia’s pupils narrow into fine slits. “Or dance with a special little human before the nights up, hm?”

Sebek could feel the blush climb up his neck and ring in his ears. “I do not have a special human!” The sheer volume of his cry enough to have people around them wincing.

“Fine, fine,” Lilia said with a wave. The mischievous smile that quirked onto his face as he looks past Sebek has him dreading turning around. “So, that means you don’t mind some random boy from Royal Sword Academy whisking them away?”

“What?” Sebek could feel the blood boil under his skin as some- some- lowly male tried to ask you for a dance: holding his hand out to you with a slight bow and a gentle smile. Ace was letting out a series of high pitched ‘ooo’s!’ while Deuce was subtly trying to puff himself up behind you, crossing his arms to seem more intimidating. Grim was declaring how weird humans were while Jack and Epel were silently glowering at him, waiting for you to decide.

Hm, seems he overestimated how well that bunch could protect you. Before he knew it he was pushing through people to get to you and that boy, Lilia’s giggles following after him.

“Will you allow me this dance, beautiful stranger?”

You felt your cheeks flush a pink as the red head extended a hand to you, the very definition of princely. “I- you see, I’m waiting for someone to ask me so-”

“One dance wouldn’t hurt would it?”

“N-no-” you glanced at where Sebek had been standing only to see him gone, your heart clenching in an uncomfortably tight hold- “I suppose not.” You begin to put your hand in his when someone else catches yours, pulling you behind a broad back.

“You have no right-” You feel a shiver run down your spine at the growl, Ace and Deuce’s hands coming to pull you away from the two boys. Grim floats in front of you uneasily as Jack comes to shield you and Epel comes to hold your hand- “to touch them.”

“Pray tell, why not? This is a ball between Royal Sword and Night Raven to allow us to mingle together, is it not?”

“Maybe- but I will not allow someone so lowly to taint them.”

The red headed boy tilted his head, his gaze condescending as he crossed his arms over his chest. “And you think you’re worthy? Truly?”

Sebek straightened his back, his shoulders squaring, making him look impossibly big. “Yes.”

They glared at each other, despite the boy being up to Sebeks’ chin, he still kept his glare even with his. He opened his mouth to retort with a head of black and pink hair slipped in front of their view. “Hello!” Lilia said, his tone sing-songy as he flipped himself to float right side up. “You boys seem to be having fun!”

“I- Lilia- senpai, I don’t think we’re-”

Lilia hushed him with a finger before leaning over and nodding to you and the boys. “Why don’t you take our little (Y/N) for a dance, hm? I’m sure they’ve been waiting an awfully long time for you to do it.”

Sebek blinked, nodding and turning to you. Offering his arm as he asks: “would you allow me this dance?”

You note the blush that rests on his cheeks, a soft laugh leaving you as you put your hand on his arm. “Of course.” As he’s walking you to the center of the dance floor you look back at the boy and yell out: “I’ll dance with you later!”

Sebek bristles at that and you yelp as he almost lifts you off the ground as he sweeps you into his arms: one hand rests on the small of your back while the other holds one of your hands in a gentle grip. “I don’t want you near that boy, human.”

You feel a smile tug at your lips. “You know, I did promise him that I would dance with him later, right?”

“Yes, and I demand you revoke your promise.”

“Why?”

Sebek swayed the two of you back and forth, an annoyed sigh pushing past his lips. “He is a suspicious figure- I don’t trust him with the safety of the Young Masters friend.”

“That all?”

He huffs, pressing you closer to him. The sound of a soft tune being played on violins and a piano surrounds the two of you. It sounds like a song for lovers.

You rest your head against his chest, closing your eyes as the two of you swayed to your own rhythm. “Your heart is pounding.” You murmur.

“Well- that- I-” Sebek fumbled with his words, trying not to jostle you in his embarrassed and nervous twitches. “Don’t make fun of me, human.”

You laugh before saying: “I was waiting for you to ask me to dance.”

Sebek could feel his ears burn with a blush. “Why?”

You look up at him through your lashes before you huff and lean against his chest again. “You’re such a silly fae, you know that?”

“And what’s that supposed to mean, human?” His voice builds in volume, his eyebrows twitching into an annoyed ‘v’.

“It means your dense, my handsome knight. So very, very dense.”

“I am not dense.”

“So, you’re telling me that you’ve been picking up on my attraction towards you and haven’t done anything? Sebek Zigvolt, I would have never guessed you were someone to string people along. How cruel.”

You almost burst out laughing at the mortified look on his face. “I- I-” his pale cheeks flush a deep red as he fights to make a coherent sentence. “You like me?”

You nod, squeezing his hand. “More than you know.”

He nods once, twice- trying to fight the smile threatening to split across his face but his eyes gleam like shooting stars. “V-very good, human. You’ve chosen the perfect partner. Yes, I will do well to protect you and the Young Master from now on.”

You let out a laugh, the song ending, yet the two of you continued to sway. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Thank you for reading!

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whatifxwereyou · 3 years

Text

The Oncoming Storm Part 28: Big Bad Wolf

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

Just when you think that things were getting a bit more under your control shit gets incredibly real. Why does it feel that things are going to get worse before they get better?

The choice is coming, but have a bit more plot first. Don't worry, I'll break up the angst with some fun soon enough. Y/N needs a hug, right? Hoping to do some more art of her today too. Also, wanted to say thanks again for reading. You guys are the best ;_;

Part 27 Part 29 Chapter Index

Grounding exercises helped and while you were still shaky, you managed to get cleaned up and ready for the day. As you made your way toward Raiden’s chamber, you felt considerably more put together than you had only moments ago. Hopefully, that would be enough false confidence to fool everyone else into believing it, too. The good news was that you didn’t think that Raiden had any interest in your emotional state and he likely wouldn’t pry. You were grateful for that.

Sometimes with trauma you just wanted to move on instead of dwelling on something that was so far beyond your control you had no idea where to begin with coping.

Turning the corner, you found Kung Lao walking toward you. You were relieved to find that he looked much better than the day before. Color had flooded back to his face and while he was still bruised and bandaged, he seemed chipper. You waved at him in greeting and then, much to your surprise, he picked you right up off of the ground, spun you around, and then set you back down on your feet.

“Whoa, hey!” You laughed, getting the shivers. He was back to his old self again. “Someone’s feeling better.” You peeked at the bandages you could see and he didn’t swat you away. In fact, he seemed pretty proud that you were checking on him.

“Much better. A little sore but the fever’s gone so practically good as new.” He took a step back from you and nodded down the hall. “Yesterday is kind of a blur. Were you actually there with me or did I just hallucinate that you were?”

“…do you hallucinate often?”

“No, but…”

“Are these hallucinations usually of me?”

“I had a fever, Y/N.”

“Have you considered talking to someone about these hallucinations? Therapy is incredibly helpful.” You teased him and he rolled his eyes. “Yes, I was there with you. You were sick.”

“Did I give you a hard time? I felt terrible so that’s possible.”

“No harder than the usual.”

“Good!” He laughed but seemed relieved. What was he hiding, exactly? “Glad to hear it. What about you, Y/N? Are you feeling okay? No mysterious artifact-related illness?”

“Yes, I’m uh… I’m fine. As you said, I’m probably cursed, so I’m used to feeling like crap.” You had expected him to ask you but your voice still quavered nervously and you were annoyed with yourself. Covering it up with sarcasm was your only defense remaining.

“You are a terrible liar.” He didn’t get the chance to tease you further because Liu Kang was joining you from down the hall. Even from afar he looked terrible. He was still cute, but he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week and was paler than you’d ever seen anyone before.

“Oh no, Liu!” You gasped.

“Wow.” Kung Lao was laughing at his brother and so you smacked his arm to silence him but it didn’t work.

“Are you okay, Liu?” You glared at Kung Lao and then gave your attention back to Liu.

“I’ve already been to the infirmary.” Despite how gray he was, he smiled. “High fever but nothing I can’t handle.” He took a step back from you and tilted his head, looking you over from head to toe. Then he brushed his finger over your cheek just beneath your eye and you stiffened up in alert. Kung Lao was looking at him as though he had some nerve, too. Then you swatted his hand away and stepped back. “Have you been crying?”

You averted your eyes and tightened your lips. How could he have known? Just by looking at you? What kind of crazy in tune with your body and emotions was he? Kung Lao snapped to you in alarm and then pouted as if annoyed that he hadn’t noticed you’d been obviously upset. So much for having felt good about your façade.

“…no?” You’d taken too long to answer. Kung Lao’s pout faded and he chuckled.

“You are the worst liar, really. It was a joke at first but now I’m serious about it.”

“Is everything okay?” Liu was trying not to sound worried but was failing at it. You nodded to let him know you were fine. “Just… having a moment or…?”

“I… uh…” You wanted to say yes. That you’d had a moment. A moment where you’d needed a good cry. There was no point in you rattling through what you’d seen twice since you would have to tell Raiden. Besides, it was easier to talk to Raiden about these things. Discussion with him over it was clinical. Discussion with Lao and Liu was emotional. You could explain your bruised palms and the crazy ink web you’d created later. Oh, and the demon that had tried to murder you again. Instead, you stuttered and betrayed yourself.

“You had a vision.” Liu knew too much. He was too intuitive. He had to be stopped. Kung Lao stepped next to Liu and folded his arms over his chest in judgment. They were both judging you for trying to hide the truth from them. You huffed in frustration. How could he read you so easily? How had he known? Why couldn’t you have just said it had been hormones or something?

“Look, I’m going to talk to Raiden and I figured that I’d just tell him when I’m there. Don’t make me tell this story twice, please.” You stubbornly walked toward them and they stepped out of your way on either side of you to allow you to pass. Kung Lao caught up to you and walked alongside you on your left. He leaned over just enough to talk to you covertly.

“Are you okay?”

“I just said I didn’t want to talk about it.” You swatted him away but he kept walking closely alongside you.

“What did you see?”

“Guys! Really! I’m obviously doing okay.” You gestured to Liu who had joined you on your right and he laughed in surprise. “Liu is a different color today! Can we talk about that instead?”

Liu Kang and Kung Lao exchanged a glance in front of you and then spoke in unison. “No.”

You sighed and continued walking through the finally familiar halls. “Well, that’s too bad. I told you already, I’m fine. The most important person to talk to about this vision is Raiden. I’m not wasting my breath by saying it twice because you two are nosy.”

“Wow.”

“That’s harsh,” Liu coughed, covering his mouth with his arm as they caught up to you again.

“She’s wasting her breath, Liu.”

“I know, Lao. Here we are, worried about her, and she’s wasting her breath if she tells us what happened.”

“I hate you both so much right now.”

“Wow!” Kung Lao threw his hands into the air in mock aghast.

“She hates us now.”

“All because we care.”

“Oh my god.” You laughed and then walked faster to get past them. Them teaming up on you was intimidating but also hilarious. You sure wished that Chen’s voice wasn’t rocketing around through your brain. Your face was hot and you tried to breathe through it. Kung Lao caught up to you again and slipped his arm around your shoulder to slow your walk.

“We’re just teasing, Y/N.”

“I know how much you hate us worrying but we do worry and I’m no sorry for that.” Liu caught up slower than Kung Lao had, prayer beads wrapped around his palm.

“Especially since your arcana does violent things when you have those visions.”

“And your palms are bruised.” Liu tapped your wrist and you pulled your hands close to your stomach to hide them from him. Kung Lao pulled his arm back from your shoulder and took one of your hands, turning it over so your palm was facing up. He clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Lying. Hiding bruises. Maybe you were right, brother. She has been spending too much time with me.”

“Okay, okay boys.” You chuckled nervously and snuck away nervously from Kung Lao’s grasp. “You’ve made your point. Now hush, before I tell Raiden on both of you.”

“Tell on us? For what? You’re the one who lied.”

“Very poorly, I might add.” Kung Lao grinned. You were no longer worried if he was actually feeling better or not. It was clear he was feeling just fine.

“You would think that with all the time I’m spending with you that I would be a better liar.” You teased in return. You were glad that Liu was at least feeling well enough to joke even if you had to slow down for him. “Get it together, guys.” You scolded and then walked with them into Raiden’s chambers which had been left open in anticipation of your arrival.

You bowed before Raiden who joined you from a doorway on the left. The joking mood you’d had only seconds ago faded. Within the room were the two pedestals that you recognized from when you’d given Raiden the artifacts. Both were encased in glass. Raiden walked between the pedestals and gestured to either side of him. “They are not to be touched without my permission by any of you.”

That was an interesting way to start the conversation but you each nodded in understanding. You weren’t eager to touch them again but had a feeling you would have to. Raiden glared at Kung Lao as though that warning had been meant specifically for him. Kung Lao looked up and away, feigning innocence. Raiden then walked before you, hands clasped together behind his back.

“They have eluded my sight but I have divined that they were cursed many centuries ago and tainted by many hands. They have been locked.”

“What does that mean, Lord Raiden?” Liu stepped closer to the pedestals to get a closer look but was careful to keep his hands folded.

“It means that whoever hid these items did not wish for them to be found. More than that, they did not wish to risk their cleansing. Either these are incredibly powerful tools or conduits for something else.”

“Conduits?” Kung Lao frowned and as he stepped closer, Liu held his hand out to stop him as if to remind him not to touch.

“There are many possibilities but my magic hasn’t uncovered them. They are protected by something powerful.”

“An elder god?” Liu theorized.

“That’s one possibility.”

“What can we do?” You chimed in. It was all well and good to theorize what they were and why but what you could do was what mattered.

“Well, Y/N, you were the one who located these items with your sight. I have a feeling that the same creature who cast a shadow over you is one of the more potent hands cast upon these artifacts. It’s why you saw him.”

“And I have seen him now.” You confessed, turning your attention to the floor. “I saw him before but his face was a blur when I woke. But now? Now I’ve seen him.”

“When?” Raiden didn’t seem as alarmed as Liu Kang and Kung Lao were behind him. Merely curious.

“We fought a creature in the springs protecting the jade. I saw him in the water. I saw him clear as day. If you know an artist then I could probably describe him for a picture or something. Then this morning I saw him again.”

“This morning?” Raiden tilted his head curiously and you felt alarm radiating off of Liu Kang just like his fire.

“I couldn’t see his face this time. He stood beside my bed.” You knew it hadn’t been a nightmare but it hadn’t exactly been a vision either. “Both times he was trying to hurt me. I woke up and my room was filled with ink but it was… it was different.” You felt all eyes on you and you hated it. “It’s hard to describe. I’m sorry that I’m not better at this.” You bowed apologetically.

“You will get better with time. For now, I will read your vision as I had before with the protection of Liu Kang and Kung Lao. That will come later. Are you up for the task of trying to unlock these items, Y/N?”

“Me? Unlock them?”

“Yes. I think that your gift is connected to them. Perhaps your sight could be of some assistance in either unlocking them or for seeing a way to do so.”

“Yeah, I’ll try. Anything to help.” You bowed again and then walked between the pedestals nervously.

“Is this going to make me sick again?” Kung Lao sighed dramatically and Liu Kang shushed him.

“These are powerful and dangerous artifacts, Kung Lao. If I cannot solve this riddle then we will have to remove them from the temple. Or you will all be sick.” Raiden looked to him knowingly and Kung Lao bowed his head apologetically.

“I’m not ready to give up. Let me try.”

“Good.” Raiden walked past you and to the pedestals. With a brush of his hand against the tops of each protective container, the glass faded. You were momentarily stunned. His magic was wonderful and constantly took you by surprise. He gestured for you to join him and so you did.

“…what should I do?” You were lost. You had no idea where to begin. Even using your arcana was still nowhere near second nature to you. It was easier to do in the heat of battle or in the moment. This was premeditated and planned and more about your visions- something you had never mastered.

“Follow your gut.” Raiden instructed like that was something easy for you to do. “Touching them might help.” He stepped back to give you room.

You would try.

You touched the dotaku, fingers brushing along the ornamental designs. “Funny. It’s hot.” You admired the designs curiously. If it hadn’t been cursed then it would have been beautiful. The warmth of the bell wasn’t hot perse, but it wasn’t the natural temperature for a metallic object either. It wasn’t anything near even the inherent warmth of Liu Kang. More like a kettle that had been turned off a few moments before you’d entered the room. Raiden gestured to the jade and so you reached across the gap to touch the jade with your other hand.

It was like a hand brushed over your eyelids to close them. A hum resonated from the bell and through your body to the jade, using you to do so. You opened your eyes and when you did, the room was empty. All that remained were you and the artifacts.

You tried to snap your hands back but they were stuck fast to both items. The items wouldn’t budge from their places on the pedestals either. You tugged and pulled in a panic to try and get free your hands but it was no use. The items grew hotter and hotter beneath your touch, glowing with orange light and burning your palms.

“Let go!” You shouted in frustration, trying to tug your hands free. Then the horned man was in front of you. Skin gray and sick, eyes milky white and staring into yours. His mouth moved but not in time with the words that came out of him in a hiss.

“You will not see.” The eerie whisper traveled all around you and filled you with inescapable dread. Your legs were literally trembling beneath you. You would have crumpled in a heap had you not been trapped and stuck to the artifacts.

“Why?” You sounded rather brave for someone who had no leg to stand on. “What are you?” He tilted your chin toward him with his index finger, as if you were something too filthy for him to properly touch. His hands felt disgusting. Cold. Clammy. You shrunk away from his touch and he clutched your chin. Then his whole body was wrapped in shadow and his hand snapped to your throat so hard that you choked and were instantly without breath.

You tried to fight but there was nothing you could do and no escape. The squeezing on your neck was so intensely painful that you felt yourself fading and quickly at that. Then, for the first time, you watched as ink exploded from your hands, from your chest, spreading throughout the room, tearing through the shadow that held you prisoner.

You could breathe but your vision changed. Instead of Raiden’s chamber you saw smoke billowing from the windows of the temple, flames engulfing familiar halls. Rooms crumbled to pieces. Silhouettes of bodies laid still on the ground in the smoke, dark stains surrounding them. War was being waged on the temple! You tried to scream, to move, to help, but your hands were stuck fast. Clawed fingers ran over your arms and back to your neck, you felt each finger slowly wrap around your throat until you couldn’t breathe.

Your body was failing, limbs going numb, falling limp between the artifacts that held you prisoner. The hands grasped your face and obscured your sight and then suddenly your hands were free. The dotaku burned your hand as you let go and cracked with an ear-splitting shriek of grinding metal. As it had happened in your vision, ink exploded from within you and spread throughout the room, from wall to wall, floor to ceiling.

Liu ran to you and tried to pull you into his arms and you felt the hot spray of his blood splatter over your face and chest as the ink tore through his flesh. He fell away from you. You collapsed in a heap, unable to move, the ink taking every bit of your energy. Your body was prey to something far beyond your control. You couldn’t breathe and you tried to crawl away, to get to Liu Kang who was holding his bloodied arm. Skeletal creatures rose from the ink and a monster dripping with ink joined it. The ink had recreated the monsters you’d fought that protected the artifacts.

Kung Lao dodged them and tried to make his way through the ink web to get to you but it had crystallized and kept him at bay. He sliced through the webs with his hat, shouting words you couldn’t make out. He was making his way through but it would take too long to get to you or Liu.

“You have to breathe, Y/N!” Liu’s voice cut through the buzzing in your head but just barely. You tried to do as he asked but the more that you inhaled the more impossible it became to exhale and your lungs were so tight that you didn’t think you’d make it much longer. Ink was spreading further and further throughout the room. If you didn’t stop, you were going to kill them.

Suddenly you were burning all over as a jolt of electricity shot through you.

“Enough!” Raiden’s voice boomed like thunder and you collapsed in a heap on the floor. You gasped for breath, struggling, but at least you could get a little air. You couldn’t feel your fingers anymore and briefly the world had gone white. When your vision cleared the monsters were gone and the ink fell piece by piece before fading into dust. Your body was too frail to keep it up.

Liu rushed to your side and Kung Lao was only steps behind him. Raiden’s voice bellowed again. “Do not touch her!” You struggled to breathe, struggled to sit up, your body failing. No matter how you tried, simple things that you were used to doing just to exist weren’t working. There were spots in your vision and you tried to push yourself up to your knees but your arms were trembling. “What did you see?” You coughed and tried to speak through it but you tasted blood and collapsed back on your chest.

“She’s suffering!” Kung Lao started toward you again but lightning cracked in front of him to stop him.

“What did you see, Y/N?”

“A-a… a devil…” You managed to choke out. Pain radiated up your arm and through your shoulder, down into your chest. You grasped at the sleeve of your shirt and managed to find the strength to sit up just enough so you could pull the sleeve down. Your shoulder and chest were burning. You didn’t know what was there but you knew that something was there. It was tremendously painful.

“The bell.” Liu nodded to the crack in the bell. His arm was drenched in blood. You caught a glimpse of the bell and then looked to your shoulder where you could barely see the crack that spread from your shoulder and further beneath the lining of your shirt. You ran your fingers over it and pulled them back suddenly. Touching it sent fire through your body, agonizing shots of misery, like your bones were being burned from the inside out. Your breathing was labored again. “What does that mean? Raiden, what does that mean?”

“You are tied to these objects.” Raiden tilted his head in realization.

“What?” You had never seen Liu so mad. Kung Lao looked like it was taking every bit of his self-control not to say fuck it and run to you. “Why? And by who? How is this possible?”

“I only know the answer to one of those questions, Liu Kang. She just told us. A devil.” Raiden approached you then walked past you to the dotaku. You managed to lean up on your elbows while taking quick, shaky breaths but your whole body was rigid with pain. You could barely think, barely feel anything other than the white-hot agony spreading from your chest to your shoulder.

“Will she be okay?” Kung Lao was, again, restraining himself.

“I don’t know. I will try to repair the bell.” Raiden placed his hand so it was hovering only an inch above the metal. Lightning sparked in his hand and surrounded the metal of the bell, his eyes white and glowing. Then he pulled his hand back as if the bell had shocked him.

You pushed yourself onto your knees and stumbled to your feet. The blood rushed to your head and you nearly collapsed. Blood filled your mouth and you could feel it dripping from your nose. Liu Kang was at your side and helped you stay on your feet, his bloodied arm hanging uselessly at his other side. Kung Lao urged your other arm over his shoulder and helped keep you upright.

Liu Kang was glaring at Raiden furiously, as if he knew what would come next. You stumbled and Kung Lao wrapped his arm around your middle to help keep you upright. “You’ll be okay, Y/N,” he reassured quietly but you knew that none of you really understood what was going on.

“I must see what you saw.” Raiden stepped closer.

“She can barely stand, Raiden.” Liu seethed, his anger and frustration far quieter and much more frightening than Kung Lao’s outright fury.

“She needs rest first.”

“Time is of the essence.”

“No,” you choked, finally managing to find words. You grasped Liu’s hand that was too tight around you. “He’s right. He has to see.”

“Y/N, no, you’re too weak, what if he…” Kung Lao objected loudly. Before either of them could resist on your behalf, Raiden rested his hand on the top of your head.

Then there was pain.

Not even darkness.

Color swirling in your mind’s eye and the type of pain that you had only read of.

Then there was numbness, as if your mind had been removed from your body to spare you the pain.

Then there was nothing.

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