#Six and Holiday are just picking up where they left off. Because they have to.

[anyoldfandom]

I am actually. I am so emotional over the Salazar parents and I need to share this to tumblr too.

A lot of stories where the MC is adopted I feel. Either dismiss the biological parents and the impact they have on the kid's life, or makes them evil and abusive, framing the loss of the bio parents as a good thing, or at least something we shouldn't think about just look at this new family.

But Genrex doesn't do that. From the start, Rex wanted to find out more about his parents - it's one of his primary character motivations, next to helping people. He loves them, even though he doesn't know them.

And the more he finds out about them, the more he realizes they loved him. Rylander is consumed by guilt but as Rex's first connection to his pre-Event life, the first thing he does is hug him. And when he tells Rex about his parents, the two things Rex knows is that 1) they were scientists, and 2) that when he was in danger, they were desperate enough to use their secret, experimental technology to save him. Technology built from their desire to help the world, to save countless lives and end countless suffering.

And then. When he finds out that they were dead, he doesn't stop caring. It'd be so easy, too, to tie it up there - his parents were good people, he got his answer about them, the end. But they don't. He doesn't. Because the show is saying once again that they are his parents. He still calls them mom and dad, even as the show makes it clear Holiday and Six adopted Rex as their son. Even as the show even parallels Six and One with Rex and Six (and I will talk about that more later if I don't forget, trust me), to really drive home how much they're family. Rex even says he considers the two of them family, and later that he considers Noah, Claire and Annie family.

He has new family, the show tells us, but his old family still matters to him. He's upset that he never has the chance to meet his parents, that everything he hears about them, about his time with them, is secondhand knowledge. It tells us clearly that not only does Rex still love them, but that he still wants to know them. And everything we find out about them reinforces the love that they had for each other.

We see Abuela and the family in Mexico, who connect him to his birth family and tell him that he was so loved back then, and still is now. We see their office in Abysus through Rex's eyes. The picture of him and his dad on his desk. The drawing Rex drew, proudly pinned to the wall.

We see it in the familiarity of the drawing. That that robot, that build, was what Rex created when he was lost and scared and alone - that it was made to keep him safe. That it first appeared in his mind in a place he felt safe.

The show says, tenderly and softly, that the love is still there. That the fact these people died was nothing but a tragedy, that their love is a big part of what made Rex who he is today - that every molecule in his body is filled with their final gift to him. That every time he cures someone, every time he uses a build, every time he makes a machine - we see the love that they had for him.

And the way he quietly absorbs his father's face. The way he freezes and whispers "Mamá?" when he finds out Zag-Rs has their mother's voice. The fact that she even has her voice as a testament to Caesar's love, too - that it was meant to bring comfort and safety. The way Rex yells at Caesar when he finds out they have a family property, a connection to their past, the way he fights to protect it.

And, none of this takes away still from Six and Holiday being Rex's family too. None of this removes the work either set of parents did for him, the love either set has - the show says that it was unfair that the Salazar parents were lost. That Six and Holiday are not replacements, that they still love him as parents but play different roles in his life. They can not, and have no desire to, replace the Salazars. But Rex needs parents, he needs protectors, and so they will do what they can for him - at first out of necessity, to keep this kid they barely know safe, but then out of love. They aren't replacing what was lost, but are doing their best to do what Rex's bio parents would do. And they do mess up in it - they mess up in ways Rex's bio parents might not have. Six is clearly bad with showing affection, affection we saw the Salazars give Rex so easily, and Holiday is overworked and stressed constantly, sometimes breaking under the pressure and snapping at Rex and Six, things we never saw the Salazars do.

It's just. It's about how sometimes things will not be the same. They will be different. That doesn't mean the people you lost aren't still with you.

[thetriumphantpanda]

Delicate - Chapter Two: Maroon

3.7k / pairing: joel miller x f!reader

Series Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

summary: despite some last minute reservations about meeting Joel, you throw yourself into the date, but it doesn't go according to plan.

A/N: Ahhhhh oh my God - @hellishjoel and I are so excited to bring you the second chapter of Delicate! We're having the best time with this little pairing already and we hope they manage to worm their way into your hearts just like they have with us! We're taking turns in posting the chapters of this - so please make sure you're following both of us to keep up to date!

warnings: mentions of being a single parents, rom-com vibes, foul language, a bestie who is nothing but trouble, Joel being terrible at dating in general, a lil smattering of angst, mentions of food & alcohol consumption.

There’s a flow of peace that settles across you when the door to Noah’s room clicks shut. You love him, he’s the best thing that ever happened to you, and he keeps you afloat every day, but these moments, when he’s finally asleep and you can stop thinking for a minute, are the moments you crave each day. 

You settle down on the couch, mug of tea in hand, with the TV playing quietly, just for background noise more than anything, as you pick up your phone for the first time that evening. There’s a few emails, mainly about shopping sales and holidays that you think you should book but never do - those are quickly deleted to stop any temptation of spending money on something that isn’t essential. There are a few messages from your mom, just confirming that she’ll pick Noah up from school tomorrow, what she’s planned for them to do and what she’ll feed him. You shoot a message off in reply that it all sounds good and that he’s excited for some quality time with his grandparents, because it’s true, and then you set your phone down on the coffee table and try to ignore it for a while. 

You finish your tea and queue up a few episodes of a show you’ve been meaning to catch up on - something mindless that people at work always seem to talk about. So mindless that it actually sends you to sleep. You wake with a jolt a few hours later. The house is still quiet, which means Noah hasn’t decided he’s still got too much energy and needs to burn it off by jumping on the bed or pulling some of his toys out. You sigh, checking the time to see it’s almost midnight. 

You gather your stuff, put the mug in the sink to deal with in the morning before trudging up to bed. There’s a moment at the top of the stairs, where you think it would be so easy to flop down on the bed and forgo the rest of your responsibilities, but you’ve got your mother’s voice in the back of your mind, something about wrinkles and pores and how bad it is to sleep in your makeup, so you turn left into the bathroom, cover your skin in serums and creams and then finally, just after midnight, you fall into bed. 

Knowing it’s bad to look at your phone this late at night, once you’ve set your alarm, you click open the godforsaken Hinge app that Dixie had insisted on setting you up on. So far, after six months, you’d been on a fair few first dates, three second dates and had a God awful one night stand, but nothing had been sticking, no-one seemed to be exactly what you were looking for. You’d promised her that you’d try though, so as had become a nightly ritual for you, you set about giving away your daily likes, not really paying a huge amount of attention until he pops up for you. Joel. 45. From his first profile picture, the exact kind of man you’d been searching for. Rugged, handsome, 

Of the few photos he had on his profile, he was often donning a flannel or a simple short-sleeved shirt that curved around his biceps and broad shoulders. He always wore the same tilted smile, with dazzling eyes and dark hair with licks of silver. He was a handsome lumberjack of sorts. 

He looked to be an outdoorsman, at least two of Joel’s pictures were of him hiking a trail accompanied by a young girl, surrounded by greenery and tall rocks with the sunshine peeking through the branches. His face was glowing and tan from the light, his handsomeness so natural. Beautiful, even. 

Joel’s “Typical Sunday” consisted of a black coffee in the morning, followed by making burgers on the grill for him and his family before settling down to watch a Dallas Cowboys football game. That was a typical Sunday for a man, but it showed how he liked to unwind and that he was a family man. 

First, the mention of a family, plus that beautiful young woman in almost all of Joel’s pictures - a daughter, perhaps? Older than your own boy by quite a few years. He must have been on the younger side of having children if any of these assumptions were even correct. But there was something about knowing he also had a baby to be thinking of felt familiar, comforting, as they would always come first. 

 And it turns out that talking to him is pretty easy too. He’s charming, a slight insomniac like you, and from what you can tell from the slight back and forth you managed to have before you go to sleep, able to flirt a little with you too. It’s why when he asks to take you out you say yes without hesitation, it could be fun, he could be the one, who knows? 

Mornings are always chaos. Half-eaten bowls of cereal on the table, a mug of coffee made with the best of intentions but sat to go cold, a rush of getting Noah dressed and in the car with everything he needed for school and then the annoyance of getting stuck in traffic on the way to drop him off, all coalesce to make you stressed as you help Noah out of the backseat. 

“Remember granny is picking you up this afternoon okay?” You ask, bending down to kiss his cheek as he fiddles with the straps of his backpack. 

“I know, mom.” He groans, using the back of his hand to wipe the kiss off his cheek. 

You smile, ruffle his hair a bit, because no matter how much he might protest, he will always be your baby, “Behave for her, okay?” You warn lightly with a smile, “She’ll bring you back home tomorrow.” 

Noah spots some of his friends across the playground and steps around you to make his way into school. You turn, hold your hand up in a wave and shout at him to have a good day. Noah turns, walking backwards to look at you, waving right back. 

“Have a good day, mom!” 

Underneath the way he’s growing up, he’s still the sweet little boy you knew you could raise on your own. You sit back in your car, picking your phone up to make sure you’ve got enough time to go to the store and stock up on some groceries, when you notice a notification from Hinge. It’s Joel. 

Just checking you’re still okay for tonight? 

For some reason, you sit and stare at it for a few minutes, fingers itching to type something, to confirm, but there’s that usual seed of doubt that appears after all this time that makes you want to tell him something’s come up, you’ll have to reschedule. After months and months of trying to find someone, to failed first date after failed first date, you wonder if it really is worth it, no matter how good of a match Joel Miller seems on paper. Is he really going to be worth getting dressed up for? You sigh, type out your usual message of I’m sorry, I think I might have to reschedule, when the screen is filled with the face of your best friend, trying to call you. 

“Hello?” 

“Hello sexy mama!” Dixie’s voice immediately soothes you, “How are you this fine morning?” 

“I’m okay,” You speak softly, plugging the phone into the car so you can speak to her as you drive, “Just dropped Noah off at school.” 

“How is my favourite man?” She asks. 

“Yeah, he’s good, he’s staying with my mom tonight so I think he’s just pleased to be away from me for a while.” 

“It’s like the universe read my mind!” Dixie exclaims on the other end of the phone, “Do you want to go out and get wine drunk tonight?” 

You stutter for a second, because you could, you could cancel with Joel, go out and drink cheap wine and dance with your friend, but before you can say anything, Dixie picks up on your hesitation. 

“OH MY GOD!” She all but screeches, “Do you have a hot date tonight?!” 

You grumble a little, because how is she always so attuned to you like this? 

“Yeah, although I don’t know if I’m gonna go.” 

“Why not?” 

You sigh again, “I don’t know if it’s worth it anymore?” You offer. 

“Girl, get outta here with that attitude!” She chastises, “Is he hot?” 

You grumble a little again, but you can’t deny it, Joel is hot, “Yes.” 

“Well then,” You can hear her clap her hands in the background, clearly having you on speaker so she can go about her business, “If he’s hot, then there’s no harm in it, forget me and my wine, go out, drink wine with your hot mystery stranger and get fucked, girl!” 

“Dixie!” You screech, “I’m not fucking him.” 

“Whatever you say, girl!” She shouts down the phone, “If you cancel, I’m kicking your ass, okay?” You sigh, once again, something you’re getting more and more used to these days, “Have fun and be safe!” 

And then all you can hear is the dial tone from where she’s hung up on you. You think about it all the way around the grocery store, she wouldn’t know if you did cancel, would she? But you’ve known her long enough to know she’d sniff a lie out of you in seconds. So, when you settle down at your desk, you pull out your phone and send Joel a reply to confirm the plans you made last night, and then spend the rest of the work day trying not to work yourself up about the whole thing. 

You don’t think that the anxiety of waiting for a date to show up will ever get easier. Stood just inside the doorway of the restaurant Joel had chosen, you’re chewing at the skin around your thumbnail. Did you dress right? Do you look okay? When he turns up will he look like his pictures or not? Will he lean in for a kiss on the cheek? Do you give him a hug? You’d like to think of yourself as a seasoned pro at this now, but those first few awkward moments always made you anxious - there was no second chance at first impressions. 

You needn’t have worried about Joel though. When the door opens and he stands in front of you, he is exactly the man you’d studied on that app. Taller than you, broad and big. Scruff, peppered with gray across his face, though it’s neatly kept, just like this hair, although more unruly, it’s still peppered with grays and it suits him. He’s wearing dark jeans, and a flannel that you think must be saved for best. You step closer, open your arms. Joel leans down, and does indeed press a kiss to your cheek, one of his wide palms pressed lightly on your lower back as he hugs you back a little. 

“Nice to meet you, Joel.” You smile when he pulls away. 

“You too, ma’am.” He smiles back at you, and you can tell he’s nervous. 

“What have I told you about that?” You tease as you step towards the hostess, Joel giving her his name, you hope the slight teasing will put him at ease, you remember just what it was like when you started dating for the first time, and as much as you want to have a good time, you want to make sure Joel is having a good time too. 

She picks up two menus, leads the two of you to a table at the edge of the restaurant. Joel pulls your chair out for you, pushing it gently under you as you sit down. The light is low, and there’s a thrum of chatter across the whole restaurant as you open the menu, glancing your eyes over the choices. 

“Do you want to share a bottle of wine?” You ask, finger skimming the list of wines available. 

Joel nods, “Sure thing, darlin’.” 

You smile, looking down at the menu, deciding you much prefer darling to ma’am, especially in that sweet southern drawl of his. When the waitress returns, you both order food and a bottle of wine, which is quickly brought to the table, uncorked, with the dark red liquid poured into two glasses. The waitress leaves the bottle on the table as you raise your glass, Joel following suit, clinking them together before you take a sip. 

You’re watching as he does the same, a smaller sip than you, and then watch as his nose crinkles and he coughs a little. It makes you laugh, putting your glass down to cover your mouth a little. 

“Dunno why I said yes,” He shakes his head, “Fuckin’ hate wine.” 

You can’t help but properly laugh now, hoping that it puts him a little at ease. You reach over the table, lay your hand on his wrist just a touch, “What would you prefer to drink?” 

You don’t miss the way he subtly drags his wrist back from your touch, covering it by scratching at the skin on the side of his hand, but you don’t let it bother you. You’re a touchy person, it’s what makes you feel at ease mostly, but that doesn’t mean it works for Joel, so you fold your hands back in your lap. 

“Usually beer,” He mumbles, flagging down the waitress as she walks past to ask for just that, “Or whiskey.” 

“I don’t mind a beer,” You offer, trying to make light conversation, “But whiskey makes my throat burn.” 

He doesn’t offer much of a reply apart from a short hum from his mouth, his attention moving from you to the room around you, letting the table fall into silence. You look down at your lap, trying to think of things to say whilst you wait for your food. 

“So, Sarah, right?” You ask after his daughter, it’s something the two of you have in common at least, “You must be super proud of her, medical school is incredible.” 

“Yeah,” He says simply, “She’s a very smart girl.” 

You expect him to ask after Noah, ask him a little about what he’s like, maybe what his favourite subjects are at school or whether he’s in any sports clubs or anything, but he doesn’t offer anything else to you, doesn’t ask any questions. 

There’s a lull in the conversation, saved by the waitress dropping your meals in front of you, fresh tomato pasta with chicken for you and steak and mashed potatoes with asparagus for Joel. You swirl your fork through the pasta, scooping some into your mouth as Joel cuts into his steak. Your eyes are trained on him, watching how he eats - it’s one of your big tests, table manners, and to be fair to him, he passes with flying colours - sure he eats a bit fast, but it’s nothing off-putting, and he seems to be able to use a knife and fork properly and chew with his mouth closed, which is a far cry from the last person you’d been out with. 

“You look really good tonight,” You offer, setting your fork down for a moment, “The flannel is very Texas.” 

You think in the dim light you can see him flush a little, and you’ve not said anything that isn’t true, he does look good. Fucking great actually. Joel finishes swallowing, takes a swig of his beer. 

“Thank you,” He tips his head towards you, “You look nice too,” He brings his hand up to his face to motion, “Rosy cheeks.” 

You try not to let your disappointment show, it is a compliment after all, so you put all your focus back down into your meal, the two of you finishing your food in a rather awkward silence - you willing Joel to ask you something, to start a conversation, anything really. You watch as Joel pushes the asparagus around his plate after eating two of the spears, finishing off his steak and potatoes but leaving the rest of the greens. 

When the waitress comes back to clear your plates, she asks if you’d like the dessert menu. You look to Joel, who tips his head in a way to say it’s up to you, but this has quite possibly been the most excruciating few hours of your life, so you drain your glass of wine, tip the last of the bottle into the glass and sit to wait for the bill. 

“Listen,” Joel starts, dragging your attention from the bottom of your glass to him, a look of slight regret on his face, “I ain’t too good at all this,” He tries to explain, “It’s been a long time and I’m a little rusty.” 

You kind of want to wring his ass for it a little, but underneath his apparent disinterest, you can still see the nerves of the guy who first walked through the door, and you get it, you think you’d been similar when you first started dating again, but you don’t think you’d completely lost the ability to think of a single question. 

Joel insists on paying the bill and you don’t fight him for the privilege of splitting it - you think it might upset some of that southern chivalry he has and for someone else they’ll love that. It’s a silent affair as you both stand up, gather your things. 

“How are you getting home?” Joel asks, holding the front door open for you. 

“I can just grab a cab,” You smile, “How about you?” 

He points to a truck, “Only had one so I can drive home,” He explains, “Do you mind if I wait with you for your cab?” He asks, “I’d feel better knowing you get in one safe.” 

“Of course,” You smile, “The hostess called one for me, so it shouldn’t be long.” 

There’s another lull in conversation, thankfully your cab arrives quickly, saving the silence from falling into awkwardness again. Joel beats you to the door, opening it for you. 

“I would say it’s been nice meeting you,” He speaks, “But I feel like I made this real difficult, and I’m sorry for that.” 

Going to step into the cab, you stop, leaning down to put your bag in the back seat, pausing a little before you turn back around to him, meeting his eyes. They’re striking, dark brown and beautiful, and trying to tell you just how much he knows he’s messed up. It makes your heart sink because you feel that sadness too, knowing he had so much promise, that he understood you in a way you thought other people didn’t, without even needing to talk to you, he’s a single parent, he gets it, like other people don’t. It frustrates you, makes your breath catch in your throat and your eyes glass over. 

You bring a comforting hand to his shoulder, “It’s okay,” You add a smile at the end, “It takes some time to get used to this all again, I was the same,” You look down at your shoes,  “It’ll get easier each time you do it, I promise.” 

His head dips, regret flashed across his face, like he wishes he could go back and do it all over but better this time. 

“M’sorry, again,” His tone is low, morose even, then he dips, presses a soft kiss to your cheek, “Get home safe.” 

You flop down on your bed, hand running over your face, wondering at what point it had gone wrong. He’d had so much potential, had seemed like he could be so right for you, so what went wrong? 

No sooner have you sent the ‘home safe’ message to Dixie, do you feel the soft vibrating of your phone. You answer, put the phone on loudspeaker and set it by your head. 

“So, how did it go?” 

You groan, “He had so much potential Dix,” You let out a pained noise, “I don’t know where it went wrong?!” 

“Oh honey,” She coos down the phone, aware more than anyone how much you wanted to be done with dating and finally have someone you could spend time with, “What happened?” 

“I don’t even know!” You exclaim, “Like, I could tell he was nervous, and this was his first date in years, but it was like he’d never spoken to a woman in his life, it was so hard!” 

You can hear her sucking on her teeth on the other end of the phone, “Are you being too hard on him?” She asks, “You always say the cocky men are no good because they’re rehearsed, maybe he just needs time to warm up?” 

“Dixie, I’d need a flamethrower to warm him up!” 

That gets a giggle out of her, “Mama, listen to me,” She goes into serious mode now, “Not everyone is as seasoned as you at this, and if this was his first date in years and he comes face to face with you? Of course he’s going to be nervous, you can’t write him off just for that honey.” 

That’s when your truth really hits out, “But what if I spend all that time warming him up and it’s a waste of time? He could turn out to be no good for me and then I’ve wasted so much time instead of trying to find the right person.” 

“Honey, respectfully, you’re forty, not at the end of your life, I promise that maybe spending some time trying to unravel someone a little instead of writing them off immediately might actually be worth it.” 

“I don’t know, Dix…” You trail off. 

“Just sleep on it, okay?” She offers, “See how you feel when you wake up before you send him the ‘thanks but no thanks’ message.” 

“Okay, I promise.” 

The two of your say goodbye to each other, you stay led on the bed for a while before you push yourself up, plug your phone into the charger, noticing the notification from Hinge when your screen lights up. You can see it’s Joel’s name that sits on the front screen. You sigh, sitting on the edge of the bed, weighing up whether to read it or not. Deciding that if you do read it, you’re likely to make a decision against what Dixie told you, so you leave the notification sitting there, get yourself ready for bed and then will yourself to sleep without going over every second of the date wondering what you could have done differently.

[cameronspecial]

Before The Last Petal Falls (Part 10)

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings: Sexual Innuendoes

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 2.4K

Summary: Five years later and life couldn't be more perfect for Y/N and Rafe Cameron.

A/N: Merry Christmas Eve to all who celebrate and happy holidays for those who do not. This is the final part of the Flower Universe and I am so excited for you guys to read it. I hope you guys really enjoyed this universe and have fallen just as in love with this version of Rafe and Y/N as I have. Thank you for reading!

Masterlist

The sudden pressure of little bodies on their bed awakens Y/N and Rafe from their slumber. Y/N opens her eyes to see her children staring intently at her. “Good morning, Mama,” Jack whispers as if he is trying not to wake up his father, which seems strange because he already woke both of his parents up by jumping on the bed. She smiles at her eldest and sits up to bring him into her lap. She can feel Rafe shifting on his side of the bed to bring Anna into his. “Good morning, my loves. How did you sleep?” she asks, kissing them both on the head and one on the lips for her pouty husband. He knows she expects the children to answer, but Rafe does before they do to be a little cheeky. “I slept great. I had a wonderful dream where you were wearing that red lit-.” “Okay, that’s enough from Daddy,” she jokes, covering his mouth with her hands because she knows where he is going with that dream. The children are oblivious as to what is happening and just cuddle themselves into their parents' chests. The call of sleep causes their eyelids to be drowsy. 

The quiet that overcomes the family is interrupted by the pitter-patter of the youngest Cameron child running into the room with a little doggie stuffie in his hands. Lucas runs over to his mother’s side of the bed and makes grabby hands to be picked up. Y/N leans over and brings him to sit between Rafe and her. They both wrap an arm around the boy to make sure he doesn’t feel left out. “Mommy, isn’t that your doggie?” Anna questions upon seeing the little stuffie in her brother’s hands. Y/N nods her head against Jack’s head, “Yes, baby. But I gave it to Lucas last night because he had a nightmare. It’s going to protect him like your owl or Jack’s dolphin protects you guys.” Rafe smiles down at the toy with a fond memory. “Why don’t you tell them how you got the doggie?” he suggests, ready to finally reveal the truth to his wife. 

“Sure, When I was a little bit older than you, I really wanted a doggie and when I brought one home that I found, Gramps made me return him to his owner. And that made me really sad, so Grams and Gramps got me this stuffie to make me feel better.”

“Actually, your parents didn’t get it for you. I did.”

“What? If you did, then how come you let my parents take the credit for it?”

“Because it wasn’t about the credit, my rose. It was about making you happy, which it did so I was satisfied with the result.”

“Wow, even at six years old you were absolutely whipped for me, Cameron.”

“Excuse me, I’ve been in love with you since we were five. Hear that, kiddos, your daddy played the long game and got the girl. Take that as your lesson,” Rafe describes to his children, kissing the three of them on the head. Y/N shakes her head at him and goes to get up from bed. “Let’s go make breakfast,” she orders, helping Lucas off of the bed. Rafe looks at her with a smile, “Let’s. But kids, make sure mommy sticks to toasting the bread, we don’t want the house to burn down.” This causes the three Cameron siblings to laugh their heads off. 

——

Y/N is in her home office working on her new manuscripts, when she hears the giggles of her children coming from behind the closed door. “My loves, you can come inside,” she announces, putting a pause on her writing to see what the kids are doing. Anna opens the door and lets her twin walk in first then her little brother before she goes in. The three kids run toward their mother with beaded jewelry in their hands. Rafe is not far behind them. She smiles at the gifts in their hands and takes each one of them into hers to be examined. She puts them on her, “Wow, these are beautiful. So I take it you guys liked the arts and crafts class.” The children nod at her remark and go snooping through her bookshelves. 

Jack finds a book that catches his eye and pulls it from the shelf slowly. “Mama, who is Percy Jackson,” he wonders, bringing the book over to his siblings for them to look through it together. They didn’t mean to teach their three-year-olds to read, but since Y/N practically read to them every second she could, they were prone to picking up reading eventually. Rafe and Y/N give each other a knowing look. She beckons for her kids to come to her and Rafe, who is standing behind her with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. “Well, Jack. He’s who you are named after. And Anna and Lucas are also named after people from that book,” Y/N explains, letting the kids look through the book. “Mama, why does the book have writing in it? You don’t like to write in your books,” Anna inquires, trying to read some of her father’s handwriting. This time, it is Rafe’s turn to answer. “Because Daddy wrote in the book for Mommy. He gave Mommy those books for her birthday. Each one tells her how much he loves her,” he kisses Y/N’s temple to prove the point. 

“Is that why you named us after the characters in the book?” Anna asks, which is met with nods as a response. Lucas takes the book into his hands and waddles closer to his parents, “Read, please?”  Y/N smiles down to her son and takes the book into her own. She places the annotated copy back onto her shelf and takes out a different edition of the books. “Of course, my loves. But we are going to read this copy because the other one is just for Daddy and me.”

——

The children’s favourite place in the world is the bookstore their mother owns. They love sitting behind the counter in the little chairs she bought them and reading to their hearts' content. Usually, Anna and Jack will take turns reading to Lucas. Normally, Y/N doesn’t censor what they read, if they want to read a middle-school chapter book, then she won’t stop them. However, after her three-year-old twins almost read Fifty Shades Of Gray to their one-and-a-half-year-old brother, she decided she needed to have some rules as to where the kids were picking out their books. The kids are currently in their chairs reading a copy of The Battle of The Labyrinth, while Y/N works on her manuscript between customers at the cashier. 

“Okay, so I ordered more copies of Icebreaker and more of those little cat bookmarks that have been selling so much,” Rafe informs Y/N as he makes his way out of the backroom. After they had gotten engaged, Rafe quit his job at Cameron Development and moved in with Y/N in London. She was struggling a little bit with the business management side of owning a bookstore, so Rafe offered to help and he just never stopped. Ward was beyond angry with Rafe for making that decision, but it didn’t really bother Rafe because he was angry at his father too. However, once the twins were born and with the help of Rose and his daughters, Ward saw past his anger and asked to be a part of his grandchildren’s lives. Rafe and Y/N didn’t forgive him right away, but for the sake of their children, they eventually forgave Ward and now, they FaceTime him once a week so he can see the kids. 

Y/N looks up from her computer and acknowledges that she heard him. He rounds the counter and rests his arms around her waist and his head on her shoulder. He tries to peek at what she is writing, but she quickly closes her laptop before he does. “Hey, you know you aren’t supposed to read it until it’s in the editing stage,” she chastises, turning in his arms so her arms can wrap around his neck. Rafe lets out a chuckle, “I know, but I can’t wait to see what happens to Damian. The last one ended on a cliffhanger. Although, I have a few new moves in the bedroom that I think you might want to add. It might help some poor fellow out.” He whispers the last part into her ear and she feels the heat rise to her cheeks as his breath hits the back of her neck. She giggles while shaking her head and gives him a quick peck on the lips. 

The bell above the door jingles and a voice pierces the quiet of the store. “Auntie Lace is here and she has brought gifts for her Cameron dumplings.” Lacey enters the store with a small bag in her hand and smiles when the children run over to her, screaming her name. She gets a hug from each kid and in return, they each get a cookie. They say their thanks and run over to their parents with hopeful eyes that they get to eat the sweet treat in their hands. The three of them cheer when Y/N gives them a thumbs up and they run to their chair to eat them. Y/N’s heart melts when she sees Anna and Jack each split their cookies in half to give Lucas a half each after he accidentally drops his on the floor. Rafe grins at the scene and goes to give the twins a smaller cookie from the cookie cart. 

“My second gift is about to walk through that door, right now,” Lace declares, turning towards the door and pointing. Right on time, Mason and Mabel, his fiancée, walk through the door. The children excitedly abandon their cookies at the sight of their uncle and aunt to give them both a hug. “Hello, kiddos. I’ve missed you so much,” he says, crouching down so that they can be carried by him. Jack is being piggybacked, while Anna and Lucas are being carried in his arms. 

Lacey’s restaurant opened up down the street from Y/N’s bookstore six months after Rafe and Y/N’s engagement and the Cameron family have dinner there every Sunday. She has really embraced the single-wine aunt title and she loves the children to death. The kids often spend nights over at her house when Y/N and Rafe need some time to make them more siblings. Mason met Mabel a year after Y/N and Rafe’s engagement. He had just moved to Toronto permanently and she was his next-door neighbour. The story goes that they did not like each other at all when they first met. He had the habit of playing music really loud and her fiery self didn’t stop herself from banging on his door to turn it down. However, a blackout, caused by a bad snowstorm, forced them to stay in the same room as each other because he didn’t have anything for a source of light except for his phone and this was when their love story began. 

Mabel laughs as Mason plays with his niece and nephews, and they eventually move on to asking her questions about the wedding. “Auntie Mabel, I don’t want to be a flower girl. Can I please be a ring bearer like Jack?” Anna begs. Y/N knew this was coming. Being twins meant that Anna and Jack wanted to do the exact same thing as each other, and Y/N and Rafe weren’t ones to say no just because society deemed something to be only for boys or for girls. Mabel smiles sweetly at the little girl and takes her into her arms. “Of course, you can, sweetie. Maybe Lucas can be my flower boy? Would you like that Lucas?” Mabel offers. Lucas turns towards her at the mention of his name with a smile on his face, “I flower boy.” He happily claps his hands and continues to repeat the phrase. Everyone awws at how adorable he is. “How about you close up shop a little early and we go get dinner?” Lace proposes. This is met with agreement from the children, who never turn down the offer of eating Aunt Lacey’s food. 

——

After a joyful dinner and a little bit of chaos getting Mason and Mabel settled in the guest bedroom, Y/N and Rafe can finally lie down for the night and get some rest. They both lie on their sides facing each other with a sleepy look on their face. Sparky is at the foot of the bed. Rafe reaches out for the book-shaped locket secured around her neck and opens it up to look at the picture inside. The picture of him and Sparky has been replaced with one with their children in it as well. He smiles at the picture and gives it a kiss. Y/N watches him with adoring eyes. “You know, I think I am going to need a new picture for the locket,” she mutters to him, taking his pendant into her hand. Confusion crosses his face and he responds, “Why would you need a new one?”

“Well, I think it’s missing someone.”

“What do you mean? It has Jack, Anna, Lucas, Sparky, and me. Who else could you need? I mean, I guess we can choose a picture with you in it too.”

“No, I’m not talking about me. This person will probably be here in around nine months.”

“Why? Where are they? Are you talking about your parents? Are they coming to stay with us? It can’t be Mason. He’s already here.”

She mentally face-palms herself and giggles at her husband’s cluelessness. She shakes her head, bringing herself close to him. She brings his hand onto her stomach, “No… they are currently right here.” It takes Rafe a moment to process what she said, but when he does his face turns to elation. He presses kisses all over her face, “Can’t believe we get to do it all over. I really am winning at life.” Five years ago, Rafe never thought he would be here. He didn’t think he’d get his dream woman back or the house or the children. And now, he has all of it. Rafe Cameron feels so lucky that all his dreams came true.

Taglist: @sublimepenguinpeach-blog @gillybear17 @f4ll-for-you @winterrrnight @maggiecc @magicwithaknife @loves0phelia @jiarapamuk @blisslove @baby19sthings @thelomlisrafecameron @nonbullshit-toleratingkindagirl

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Caught

Summary: Santiago inviting you and Frankie for his house warming party over the weekend leaves you to spend some nights at his new place. Getting up in the middle of the night to get some water, leaves you finding Santi and his girlfriend in the kitchen. Unable to look away Frankie finds you and decided to have some fun with you too.

Pairing: Frankie Morales x fem. reader / Santiago Garcia x OFC

Rating: E

Wordcount: 3.5k

Warnings: established relationship, accidental voyeurism, dub con (just cause people are being watched without their consent but the watched people do not mind in the end) smut (oral; fem receiving, unprotected PiV), fluff, dirty talk (the word slut is used twice)

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You usually weren’t a big fan of being stuck in a car for two hours. But Santiago Garcia did not buy a house to settle down with his girlfriend (soon to be fiance) of two years and invite for a housewarming party every day. 

And you were always a fan of spending time with Frankie. 

You looked at him from the passenger's seat, one of his hands on the steering wheel, the other one on your thigh. He had the aviators on that you gifted him for his last birthday after he broke the pair he had before. The gray shirt he was wearing was tight around his upper arms and you could see a tiny bit of the tattoo he got earlier this year. 

God he was gorgeous. 

“See something you like?” he hummed, a smirk sneaking to his lips as he caught you staring, his hand squeezing your thigh. 

“See something I love,” you clarified and he smiled, his dimple showing and you swore you could see his cheeks blushing.

You and Frankie have known each other since you were four years old. Growing up as neighbors until he left to join the army made you spend endless summers together. 

But you hadn’t started dating until a little over six years ago. 

With him joining the army and you eventually going abroad to study you very much lost contact. After you got your degree you moved to Boston for work and only came back to the tiny town you grew up in for family celebrations or holidays. 

But then your mother died and you decided it was time to go back home to help your father. 

It was on your 26th birthday that Frankie showed up on the doorstep of your childhood home with a box of donuts and a bottle of whiskey, looking like he had been through hell and back. You would only learn much later that he had been. 

Your friendship really just picked up where you left off, just with you both legally allowed to drink booze and adult problems.

And feelings that hadn’t been there before. 

You remembered that you talked on your birthday until the early morning hours, Frankie telling you little about the army, about the divorce he was going through, about his little girl he wanted to be the best father too, about his drug addiction. Much like you told him about the man you had broken up with before you moved back home because he insisted you stay where you belonged. With him in the city. He didn’t care about your family or your feelings for that matter. 

Not that you thought you would marry the guy, but it still hurt to be so wrong in someone you loved. 

He told you everything about his little daughter Carina. She was his whole world.

She was also the reason he and his ex-wife had tried to make their marriage work but decided in the end that they were better off as friends. 

Carina and you became fast friends, even though you still think it was because of the huge amount of cookies you had baked with her and Frankie the first time he had invited you over to meet her. 

You started to spend more time together after that. 

You went on drives, you cooked together, you even went on a weekend trip into the woods where you met all his army brothers. It was the most fun trip you ever had been on. 

But something changed throughout the months after that. Touches lingered longer. Hugs seemed… tighter and more intimate. And then came his 34th birthday. 

His divorce was final, his three year old daughter was staying for the whole weekend and he had decided that it was time to teach her how to swim. 

The three of you spend the whole day at the local swimming pool. You brought muffins and sang happy birthday for him with his daughter before he blew out the one candle you had put on one of the muffins. 

When you asked him if he made a wish he only nodded at you with a small smile.

It was the perfect day.

Carina fell asleep before Frankie’s truck was even off the car park, making both of you chuckle. You stopped to pick up pizza on your way home, you insisted you pay because after all it was his birthday. When you came out of the pizza place, Frankie was leaning against his car, waiting for you. 

You put the pizza on your seat, waiting for him to go back to the car but he didn’t so you leaned next to him against the car, bumping your shoulder towards his. 

He took a deep breath before he came to stand in front of you and you still could feel the butterflies in your belly when he looked into your eyes, his fingers brushing over your cheek. They never really went away since that day.

“What did you wish for Frankie?” you had asked and he had smiled softly. 

“A birthday kiss,” he whispered. You licked your lips. 

“Then come and get it,” you whispered back. 

You would never forget this first kiss with him in the parking spot in front of a pizza place in your home town. 

That was six years ago and you have only grown closer ever since. 

By now not only your family but all friends were asking when you would get married and have children on your own. 

Both you and Frankie told them to fuck off on a regular basis but they did not seem to get the hint. 

If they knew you had been married for the last three years they would lose their minds. You got married on a beach while you were both on vacation in mexico. The only witness the older man who married you early in the morning at sunrise. 

But Frankie and you had a bet going how long it would take for anyone to notice. 

When he had asked you to marry him you had gotten him a ring too, so seeing the both of you with rings was not something out of the ordinary. 

“Can you believe that he’s going to propose?” you asked Frankie when you entered the town Santi had moved into. He had started his own Security firm here and met Tina, his girlfriend, who owned the flower shop across the street from his office. 

You had heard the story a million times, but the thought of Santiago Garcia buying all kinds of flowers on an almost daily basis for a month until he had finally asked her out still made you laugh. 

“I couldn’t believe Benny getting married too, so anything is really possible,” Frankie joked and you laughed. 

You would be staying at Santi’s place for four nights. The house warming party was in two days and Frankie had agreed to help Santi with the finishing touches of the back porch which left you and Tina mostly laying in the garden, watching your men sweat and work shirtless while offering occasional Lemonade.

You were very thankful the guest bedroom was in the basement when Frankie railed you in the shower after, his hand over your mouth to suppress your moans.

Sex with Frankie was ….

You still couldn’t believe he was the first man who ever made you cum on his cock. He was only satisfied when he made you cum at least twice. 

The day before the housewarming party you spend with Tina in the kitchen. Helping her prepare some salads and dips and things for the party on the next day while Frankie and Santi finished the work on the porch and started putting tables and chairs together. 

“I’m gonna make dessert when we come back from dinner,” Tina said. You wanted to argue but she waved you off.

“Santi is gonna help me. He has a hand for all things sweet,” she winked and you grinned. 

You were very tired after dinner. And maybe a little tipsy.

Frankie and you invited them both to a Chinese restaurant where you ate way too much sushi. 

Seeing Santi so in love with Tina was not something you ever thought you’d see. He had been living with Frankie for a while when you got back in contact with Frankie and he had a new girl every week. It went on until he decided to go back to Columbia for work.

You were happy to see him so content and happy with the woman he intended to spend the rest of his life with. 

Once back at their home you didn’t fight to help with desert anymore, letting Frankie tuck you into bed where you fell asleep almost immediately, not even waking once Frankie got into bed with you after he had taken a shower. 

You woke up hours later in his arms. One of his hand holding one of your breasts like every night. He argued he did it unintentionally but you knew how much he loved your tits. 

Checking your phone you saw that it was just after 2 am. Sighing you carefully untangled from Frankie, feeling thirsty. Sadly you hadn’t gotten a new bottle of water before going to bed. You put one of Frankie’s shirts on (apparently Frankie had undressed you to your panties after you pretty much passed out) and opened the door to make your way to the kitchen.

You were climbing up the stairs when you thought you heard a moan. Stopping where you were standing you listened for more noise, taking the rest of the stairs. When you could look through the room, your head just on the ground level you heard another moan and you turned your head towards the noise, eyes widening when you saw what was going on. 

Santiago’s house had an open floor plan on the ground floor. When you entered the house you were facing the stairs that lead to the first floor and the basement. The spacious living room lay on the left side, the kitchen on the right side. 

The kitchen was huge, having two islands, one you were facing now where Tina was laying on top, her side facing you. Santi on his knees in front of her. 

You knew you should turn around and look away but you seemed rooted to the spot. 

His arms were wrapped around her thighs, keeping them apart as he went down on her. One of her hands was in his hair, her back arched, her eyes closed, her other hand made into a fist which she pressed against her mouth to keep herself, quite unsuccessfully, quiet. 

“Fuck baby keep doing that,” she whispered and you heard Santi hum against her.

You felt yourself getting turned on, your panties dampening with your arousal. 

“Fingers… need… fuck give me two fingers,” Tina moaned lowly and you saw Santi bring one of his hands between her legs before she whimpered as two of his finger pushed inside of her. 

You closed your eyes, deciding that this is not something you should be watching, before taking a deep breath and turning around to go back down to wake up Frankie so he could fuck you, when you collided with someone. Just so stopping yourself from yelping you looked up, already knowing it was Frankie. You parted your lips to tell him to turn around when he put one of his fingers in front of his lips, his head turning towards the kitchen. 

He was completely naked, his cock already half hard.

You gulped, following his line of sight. 

He turned his head back towards you and you caught Frankie’s eyes, before he leaned down, his lips against your ear. 

“I saw you watching them,” he whispered and you shivered. His hands came to rest on your hips, taking a step down so you couldn’t see into the kitchen anymore he towered over you. 

His eyes were now on your friends in the kitchen and you sucked your bottom lip in as you heard Tina moan. 

“I think he’s gonna make her cum baby….” Frankie whispered, his eyes now finding yours again. He took a step closer, two fingers hooking into the waistband of your panties to push them all the way down, you stepping out of them, before his hand cupped your pussy. 

“Fuck you’re so wet,” his fingers parted your folds, slipping through your wet slit. 

You let your head fall back against the wall.

“Fuck I’m gonna cum,” you heard Tina moan and you released a shuddering breath. 

“Frankie…” you whispered. He shook his head slowly.

“Shh listen….” he hummed, nodding upstairs and you did. Hearing Santi’s girlfriend fall apart as she tried to keep quiet, her moans echoing through the room. 

“Fuck baby you’re so sexy. My little cock slut,” you heard Santi say and Frankie’s eyes found yours. 

“Gonna fuck this pussy so good we gonna wake up the whole neighbor hood,” he continued and you felt one of Frankie’s fingers enter you. 

You heard a slap and you were dying to see what was happening in the kitchen. 

“That turn’ you on? Making Frankie and his girl wake up to find me fucking you in the kitchen?” Santi asked.

“Fuck baby….” she moaned and your lips parted when Frankie pushed another finger inside of you, pumping them slowly, his other hand pushing your shirt up. You helped him, pulling it over your head, throwing it down. He cupped your breast, playing with your nipple.

“You want them to hear what a slut you are for my cock?” you heard Santi ask and Frankie bend down to suck one of your nipples into his mouth. Your hands flew up into his hair. 

His lips wandered up your neck, his lips against your ear as he moved his fingers inside of you. 

“When I woke up you were gone and I got up to find you and maybe fuck you in the kitchen,” Frankie said and you whimpered, very quietly. 

“But then I found you watching my best friend fuck his girlfriend…” he sucked on your earlobe and you let one of your arms fall down, your hand wrapping around his cock. You let your thumb brush over the wet tip of his cock.

“Who would have known my little wife is getting turned on from watching our friends fuck?” he looked at you then, his lips finding yours, swallowing your moan as he added another finger, stretching you out for his cock. 

“Fuck me already baby,” you head from upstairs and you pushed Frankie away. He looked at you confused until you knelt down on the stairs, getting on all fours for him. Looking over your shoulder you caught a glance of Santi pumping his cock with his hand and lining himself up to sink into his girlfriend with a satisfied groan. You caught Frankie’s eyes, smirking when you found his hand pumping his cock too. 

“Fuck me,” you mouthed and he shook his head in mock disbelief, his chest rising in a silent chuckle. 

You heard a long moan from the kitchen and cursing from Santi. 

Frankie’s hands were on your ass, parting your cheeks. He spit on his cock, taking a step closer and you felt him notch the head of his cock against your slit. 

You could hear Santi and Tina fucking, moaning from both filling the room, skin slapping on skin. 

They were doing a shit job at keeping quiet but then again it was their house.

“Can you keep quiet?” Frankie whispered, pushing the tip of his cock inside. 

“Can you?” you challenged, looking at him over your shoulder, biting your lip when he thrust his cock into you fully. 

“Fuck baby you’re so wet,” Santi moaned and you let your head fall down between your shoulders, squeezing Frankie’s cock. 

“If I knew getting caught turned you on so much, I would have fucked you in your shop,” a moan was heard from Tina and finally Frankie began to move. 

“Oh shit,” you whispered, feeling his hand groping your hips as he pumped into you with deep thrusts. 

He fucked into you, his thick cock stretching you and it felt so fucking good it took all your brainpower to keep yourself quiet. Frankie groaned quietly, giving you a hard thrust that made you moan. 

The sounds of Santi fucking his girl were almost porn worthy. And they continued doing a terrible job of keeping quiet and it made you wonder if they might want to get caught. 

Frankie fucked you harder and you moaned again, definitely too loud to not be caught. He stopped, his cock deep inside of you, his hands coming to rest on your shoulders as you waited if you had gotten caught. 

You didn’t. 

You looked at Frankie and he winked at you, before both of his hands wrapped over your mouth. He gave you a quick thrust and your eyes rolled back. 

He used his grip as leverage, beginning to pump into you with short hard thrusts. You heard him groan quietly. 

“Oh fuck, right there. Baby…. fuck you gonna make me cum,” Tina whimpered and you clenched around Frankie, making him choke on a moan. 

You risked a glance towards the kitchen, now being able to see what was going on and fuck these two looked so fucking hot. Frankie kept fucking into you while you saw Santi pump his thick cock into his girlfriend who was still laying on the kitchen island. His hands were on her breasts, groping them and you sighed into Frankie’s hands, closing your eyes. 

Frankie took a step up, his feet now next to yours on the stairs. He let go of his grip over your mouth and pushed your upper body down as his cock dove into you. The new angle made him hit your G Spot perfectly and you pressed your lips together, trying to keep quiet.

“Shit I’m gonna cum,” Santi groaned. 

“Rub my clit,” Tina moaned and you heard her cry out a long fuck as she came. Santi following her only seconds later. 

Frankie pumped harder into you and it was only seconds later that you fell apart, moaning as quiet as possible as he fucked you through your orgasm. 

“Shit baby,” Frankie groaned in a whisper. You felt him twitch inside of you, and you clenched around him, squeezing his cock and he groaned, loud, as he spilled inside of you. 

You leaned your head down, your arms laying on the stairs, breathing deeply as you still felt Frankie spill inside of you. He leaned down, his chest against your back as he kissed your shoulder. 

You turned your head, smiling softly and he kissed you. 

“There better not be any cum on the stairs, Fish,” you both heard Santi say and you jumped. Frankie’s arm came up to cover your tits as he pulled you up, both of you finding Santi and Tina looking at you with him still inside of her. 

There was an amused grin on his lips and Tina seemed amused. 

“No worries. Definitely no cum on your stairs,” you finally said and you all burst out in quiet laughter. Frankie kissed your cheek. You both took some stairs down and he pulled out of you. You felt his cum drip down your thighs and you reached for your panties to clean yourself while Frankie helped you back into your shirt. 

Turning around you wrapped your arms around Frankie’s neck and kissed him softly. You heard footsteps behind you and turned your head, finding Santi standing on top of the stairs, wearing his sweatpants. 

You sucked your bottom lip in, feeling guilty. 

“I’m sorry. I woke up and wanted to get some water and when I walked up I heard you and I just…” Santi waved his hands. You saw Tina come up behind him, hugging him from behind. 

“Next time just ask if you could join if you end up fucking,” Santi winked and you made big eyes, looking at Frankie who was still looking at him. You turned your head again, finding them both looking down at you. 

Frankie’s hand ran down your back, groping your ass. 

“Maybe we will,” he said and you looked at him, finding his eyes. It was like a silent conversation happened in the span of seconds before you turned your head to look at Santi and his girl again. 

“Yeah. Maybe we will.”

[frostandflamesfanfic]

Crafting Our Family - Eddie Munson x Reader

Crafting Our Family (Rated G)

Pairing: Single Dad!Eddie Munson x Reader

Word Count: 2.1k+

Warnings: None, I'm feeling generous this thanksgiving and giving you all fluff for dinner and dessert.

Summary: Dedicated to my friend @mischief-and-mercy over on AO3. It's the day before Thanksgiving and Eddie is determined to make it the best one yet for you. Lucky for him, he has a little helper. Who knew it would take a little girl with his dark curls and a thing of googly eyes to realize just how much he has to be thankful this holiday?

Okay. This would be easy.

A piece of cake even.

He already had everything he needed: construction paper, scissors, those creepy-as-hell googly eyes, a sharpie… he even went to the craft store to pick up the special stickers Lizzie would like for decorating. Surely she would sit still long enough if she was promised she could use them later. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Oh, how wrong Eddie Munson would soon learn he was.

“Daddy,” the little girl sat in his lap asked with a tilt of her head, “what is this?”

“It’s a hand turkey, bug,” Eddie tried to explain to the curious six-year-old. He reached across the table for a pair of scissors he could use to cut out the handprint he just made on the brown construction paper. He was currently in the process of creating a reference for his daughter.

Elizabeth— or Lizzie— was settled in his lap, eyes wide and eager to watch her dad work his magic on whatever craft they were doing. She had waited patiently while he had set up the little station at the kitchen table, only politely asking for a juice box once he had finished. You had gone out to the grocery store to pick up some last minute items, so Eddie had seen this as the perfect opportunity to put together a little surprise.

The two of you had only been dating for two years, but this was the first time you would be celebrating Thanksgiving as a “family.” You had asked Eddie to move in with Lizzie in your place with you earlier in the year. He had been hesitant to accept your offer, not wanting to crowd your space. It had been hard to start dating again after taking care of his daughter on his own for so long and taking on two jobs at the record store and auto body shop. Anyone he saw not only needed to be Lizzie-approved, they needed to not break either of their hearts. Eddie knew he’d be okay; rejection had been somewhat of an old friend from his high school “freak” days. But Lizzie…

If anyone broke his girl’s heart, he would have no trouble going full Ozzy on them.

When the two of you started dating, Eddie was honestly worried about how quickly you and Lizzie connected. What if things didn’t work out? She would still ask to see you. She would want to know where you were once you left their lives, leaving the two of them to fend for themselves again. He couldn’t live with himself if that happened, especially if it was because of something he did. He couldn’t do that to his daughter. Fortunately though, he didn’t need to worry too much about it. Once the three of you moved in together, Eddie felt as though your bond grew stronger, if that was even possible. You were so good with Lizzie, making sure she was taken care of and comfortable before worrying about him or you. You made them both feel safe and Eddie found himself wondering more and more about your future together.

“Why does it look like poop?” Lizzie’s blunt question caught the metalhead off-guard and his blinked in response.

“What was that, bug?”

“Why does it look like poop?” Truth be told, Eddie was still shocked and concerned about the words that just escaped her.

“It’s brown construction paper,” he replied. “It’s not poop.”

The dark-haired tike shrugged her shoulders in a careless fashion. Her lip set in a downward line and she pointed to the cut-out paper hand. “It looks fat and poopy,” she remarked with a giggle.

Eddie frowned and looked at the object in question. He supposed he didn’t do the best job with the extraction process, but it didn’t look that bad. “What do you mean?” he asked, slightly offended. “It’s just my hand.”

Lizzie giggles. “Daddy has fat hand!” she explained with a gleeful expression on her face.

“All the better to TICKLE YOU WITH!” Eddie shouted as he tickled into her sides. With a squeal from her lips, he stood up with her in his arms and began to spin her around mid-tickle. He gave a playful cackle and blew a few raspberries against her stomach when he turned her in his arms. “Come on, let’s finish this up, yeah?” Lizzie giggled and nodded as he repositioned her against his chest. “Okay, Daddy!” she said, scooting into his lap. Her brown eyes were bright and big as a smile lingered across her features.

“Alright, now let’s see that hand of yours….” Eddie grinned in return and held up the sharpie. “Can you keep your hand super still for Daddy now? Don’t need you getting ink on you before dinner.”

--------*

“I’m home!” You called out into the hallway of your small house. It wasn’t much, but with your and Eddie’s combined salaries, it was just enough to have a comfortable home for your little family.

As you made your way into the kitchen, bags being carried from every available limb, you frowned to yourself. Where were Eddie and Lizzie? It was leading into a holiday, so Eddie had cashed in some vacation time to be there for Lizzie while you picked up some additional shifts at the diner. They were home when you left. Surely they didn’t leave? A quick check out the window showed you Eddie’s van was indeed still in the driveway. Then where were they?

Almost as if they were reading your mind, a light flashed on to your left. You were met by the colorful reflection of reds, greens, and yellows…and most importantly, the smiling faces of your missing persons.

“SURPRISE!” Lizzie cheered from her place on Eddie’s shoulders. She was wearing a black hat with a gold buckle, both fashioned from craft paper. It had to be Eddie’s handiwork.

“Welcome home, babe,” Eddie said with a smile. He gestured behind him to the display of colors. “We thought we’d do a little decorating to make this place a bit more…”

“Festive!!” Lizzie interrupted with a huge grin.

Eddie laughed. “I was going to say colorful, but that works too, bug.”

As you glanced around the room, you smiled at the decorations which had clearly been made by hand. Orange and red banners hung over the doorway and curtain rods, falling in a pattern of traced turkeys and cornucopias between the letters that spelled out HAPPY THANKSGIVING. At the center of the table was a centerpiece of wildflowers tied together by burlap ribbon, a beautiful arrangement of reds, oranges, and yellows. Their fragrance filled the room with the memory of days spent in the meadow down the road, where you and your little family had many a summer picnic.

To top it all off, each place setting was complete with a hand turkey roughly about the size of Lizzie’s munchkin handprint. Each turkey had its own plumage in a rainbow of color. Some boasted the traditional green, red, and orange, while others had more…unconventional hues of purple, blue, and pink. You supposed that was Lizzie’s doing. At the bottom of the turkey, beneath its sharpied beak, was each guest’s name written in wobbly print.

“It was all Liz’s doing,” Eddie explained as he noticed your stare at the settings. “She wrote the names and everything with barely any help.”

“Like a big girl!!” Lizzie interrupted once again, proud of her accomplishment.

The thought of Lizzie’s small hand clutched around the pen while cradles by Eddie’s much larger ring-laden one sent a warmth through your body. You could practically see her face leaning closer to the paper as she scribbled out everyone’s names. Her tongue would poke out in concentration and she would beam at every finished letter — especially Aunt Robin, who she affectionately named Auntie Bobbin (her place card turkey said as much).

“Oh, yeah?” you asked with a grin. “Well they look beautiful, pretty girl. Thank you!”

“You like it?!” Lizzie’s eyes grew wide alongside her smile. She toddled her way over to you and grabbed onto your leg for support. You soon sported a matching expression as you reached down to lift her into your arms with some added effort. She was getting so big now, but you loved her just the same.

“Oh, I love it, bug!” you said as you pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you so much!! We have to tell everyone who put this together. They’re gunna be so impressed!”

Eddie smiled to himself while he watched you walk around the room with Lizzie in your arms, making an extra effort to fawn over each decoration. There were a few times you would pause to fix her curls and pilgrim hat, which bounced around as she babbled on about each piece. He felt a flutter in his chest as he watched you press an excessive amount of kisses against her face and the small child in your arms squealed playfully in protest.

“Come on, bug,” you spoke. “Let’s go and cook ourselves a turkey for tomorrow. Maybe we can even have some cookies.”

The gasp that escaped Lizzie made Eddie’s heart melt. It was the sweetest sound he ever heard. She practically vibrated with excitement in your arms at the mention of a sugary treat. “Cookies?!” she asked with another squeal.

You and Eddie shared a laugh. “Yeah, baby,” you agreed. “Cookies.” You then risked a glance over your shoulder in his direction. “But only if Daddy comes to help us in the kitchen.”

“What?!” he squeaked out. “Oh, no, no, no. I’ve already done my bit. It’s your turn with the little gremlin. Don’t you remember what happens when she’s allowed in the kitchen?” He gave a dramatic shiver at the thought of the last time Lizzie was in charge of helping you with baking. “I still have flour in places I can’t reach.”

“That was ages ago,” you crawled out. “Besides, how hard can it be if we have both of us helping her. Come on!”

“YEAH, DADDY!” Lizzie gave a little pout. Damn those little dimples. She reached a small hand out and made a grabbing gesture in his direction. “Iz okay! Come help!”

Pretending to contemplate it for a moment, Eddie lifted a hand to cradle his chin. Like it was really a difficult decision. “Hm,” he hummed, eyes darting between the two of you. “What’s in it for me?”

“Cookies!!” Lizzie said, quite adamantly.

“Just cookies?!” he teased, eyes flickering over to you.

“I think I have an idea…” Taking the hint, you crossed the room, Lizzie still in your arms. You reached up with your free hand and tilted his face down to allow you to capture his lips with your own. When he gave a hum, you whispered into his ear promises of what rewards would be to come that evening if he joined you both.

A sly grin snaked upon his lips as he raised an eyebrow at you. “Oh, really?” he said in a tone as smooth as honey. “Well then, let’s go make some cookies, shall we?”

As Lizzie cheered while the three of you entered the kitchen, Eddie glanced back over at the banner currently hanging in the doorway. For most of his life, Eddie had been the freak, the social outcast who was thought of as weird because he played a fantasy game — because he wasn’t afraid to use his imagination in a town of confinement. He would try to fill the void caused by loneliness with a cocky attitude and selling to the highest bidders. He let out his emotions in his music, sometimes breaking amps just to let the treble of his guitar strike him through his bones. He needed an escape— he needed to feel something.

Even after he met Dustin and the party, working to save Hawkins from a psychotic monster psychic, he still felt there was something missing. So he tried to find it. That’s when he met Lizzie’s mother, who apparently was much more interested in having a brief life with a rockstar instead of having a family. It wasn’t exactly something he saw himself wanting. But when little Lizzie was dropped into his life (quite literally), he wasn’t as lonely. She made every day brighter and worth living with every smile and incessant question. He was still afraid to let himself be seen by someone else, but all that mattered was that he still had his curious little ray of sunshine.

Now he spent his days with you and his little bug. Now he looked forward to family movie nights in the living room or surprising you with your favorite dinner if he got home early. You had lit up his life in the best way possible and turned the three of you into a family. One day, he hoped he could make that family more official with that little velvet box stashed in his coat, but for now, this was all he needed.

He had his little family and for that he couldn’t be more thankful.

===============

Author's Note: Surprise! This little gem of an idea popped into my head shortly after I finished the Steve fic, so I figured...what the hell? Why not indulge myself a little bit and try something different with two new fics, one being with a whole new character! Yep, this is my first Eddie x Reader fic, so I would really appreciate any and all feedback you lovely people may have.

If you liked this story and want to see more like it on my blog, be sure to comment and reblog this post. Likes are appreciated, but it's the reblogs that really help spread the word about my writing and gives me motivation to keep this going. Once again, I hope you all have a lovely thanksgiving. If you don't live in the US or don't celebrate the holiday, I hope you have a very amazing day regardless (you deserve it!)!

Until next time, my little sparks <3

Taglist: @bakerstreethound

[kydrogendragon]

Dec 5 - Traditions

(Ao3 Link)

There were many traditions around the holidays: decorating the Christmas Tree, baking cookies, and watching Rudolph. But there was one tradition that Hob always looked forward to each year. No matter where he worked in this new century, there was always an ugly Christmas sweater contest. Hob looked in the mirror at this year’s latest creation. He had taken a truly atrocious yellow sweater from the thrift store and ironed on a giant reindeer patch on the top. Actually working colored lights were hot glued around the front, wrapping around the area of the reindeer’s horns. A bell was attached by the reindeer’s neck like a collar and a truly criminal amount of pompoms were glued all across the collar and back of the sweater and strands of tinsel were wrapped around the sleeves.

It was truly hideous.

It was perfect.

Stepping into the hallway, he spread his arms out wide. “Well? What do you think?”

Morpheus scowled at him from the kitchen island. “I think my lover has been consumed by a demon of Christmas. I would rather like him back.”

“Aw, come on now, it’s so ugly, it’s kinda charming!”

Morpheus rolls his eyes and looks down at the plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the counter top. He picks one up and holds it to his mouth as he speaks. “I am beginning to believe that after six hundred years of life, humans are destined to go mad.”

Hob laughs. He makes his way near Morpheus wraps a tinsel wrapped arm around his waist. Morpheus glares at him from the corner of his eye.

“I will not wear your monstrosities.” Morpheus states with the finality of a king.

“But then how can we win the couple’s contest?”

“This is a competition I do not wish to win.”

Hob pulls Morpheus closer, turning him to face him. He pouts, pulling forth his extremely well practiced puppy dog face.

“Not even for me?” he asks, looking up into Morpheus’s eyes. Uninspired icy eyes gaze back at him.

“Begging is unflattering, Hob.”

Hob smirked. “Not what you thought last night.” That earns him a sharp smack on the side of his head. “Yeah, alright, I deserved that one.” Moving to hold Morpheus’s hands in his own, he looks back up with a more serious expression on his face. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, you know that. So if you don’t want to wear that ugly sweater from last year, you don’t have to. You know that, right?”

Morpheus purses his lips. “I do.”

“Good. Then you know me pestering you like this is just because I love you and it’s fun when you get all petulant sometimes.” Morpheus narrows his eyes.

“Petulant.”

“Stubborn? Unamused?” Morpheus hums in response. “Well, either way, we should probably head out soon, ugly sweatered up or not. Carol always brings the best little desserts and they get snatched up almost immediately if you don’t get there soon. And I know for a fact you’ll enjoy them.”

Hob lets Morpheus go to wrap up the plate of cookies with saran wrap when Morpheus turns to him.

“Would me wearing this sweater truly make you happy?” Hob looks up from his wrap job.

“I mean. Yeah? But like I said, if you don’t want to, I don’t want to force you to.”

Morpheus stares at him for a moment before walking down the hall. Hob debates whether or not he should follow after. He decides against it and is rewarded moments later by the sight of Morpheus wearing Hob’s ugly sweater from last year. It’s a bold color mismatch of five different sweaters. A bright red one composes the sleeves, a blue one makes up the bottom half, a yellow one makes up the front right and a green one makes up the front left. The upper back panel is a black sweater with silver glitter woven into the thread. A sewn on three dimensional Santa face is plastered on the front with bright rosy cheeks. There are small ornaments hanging off of the sleeves and tinsel wrapping around the body of the sweater where the Santa face isn’t.

And somehow, against all odds, Morpheus manages to make it look almost charming.

Morpheus stares at him, brow arched. Hob has to close his mouth from where it had dropped. “I-you…”

“It is still hideous, but.” Morpheus walks up to Hob and caresses the side of Hob’s face. “You crafted it with your own hands. From the lives and stories of other clothes. You have breathed new life into it. And though it is monstrous in appearance, even nightmares have their purposes. As must this sweater, even if I do not see it. You do. And that is what matters.”

Hob could feel the wet heat of tears in the corners of his eyes. He looks up, batting away the wetness and laughs.

“Christ, Morpheus. Are you really making me cry over an ugly sweater?”

“Well, it is tear-worthy. I am sure it would haunt the minds of every fashion forward person on this planet and next.” Morpheus says with a smirk.

Hob holds Morpheus’s face in his hands and presses a kiss to the tip of his nose then to his lips. “God, I love you.”

“And I love you.” Morpheus nuzzles into the palm of Hob’s hand before sighing. “We should depart now. The less time spent on this, the better.”

“Aww, it’s not growing on you after that heartfelt speech?”

“No.”

Hob laughs. “Worth a shot. Maybe you’ll enjoy it more when we win that contest, ey?”

Morpheus hums. “Unlikely.” Grabbing the plate of cookies, Morpheus holds them in one hand and grabs Hob’s hand in the other. The two, paired in equally hideous sweaters, make their way out of the flat and towards the university where the faculty Christmas party was taking place.

To no one’s surprise, they won, both the individual as well as the couple’s Ugly Sweater Contest. Much to Morpheus’s chagrin, there had only been two others in the entire faculty who had participated. A picture of them still lives on the faculty photo board in the break room, Hob’s arm slung over Morpheus’s shoulders, beaming at the camera with Morpheus looking at Hob like he’s ready to commit murder. Hob might never be able to get Morpheus to put anything like it on again, but he’ll always cherish the memory of his old stranger, his friend, his lover, dressed in the epitome of a “no shits given” sweater and still managing a smile.

And when the next year came around and Hob created a new, truly awful sweater, the pair made their way to the party, Hob in his new sweater, and Morpheus in the tinsel and pom pom reindeer monstrosity of the year before.

[unrequitedloveletter]

All right! It is that time of year again and, as some who typically thrives in the fall and winter months, it is absolutely, a thousand percent, time for me to become even more insufferable than I was in September when the fall event released!! yay!!

As with last year and because I love myself a good seasonal/holiday queue, I am also doing the five days of christmas queue again! I'm not doing it how I did it last year in that it was both requests and my own work--that is partly because I dont want to make a separate event post for it--this year and probably going forward, it'll just be fics themed around Christmas that come from me and aren't requests.

Fandoms to whom this event are open are as follows: six of crows, shadow and bone, peaky blinders (tommy and alfie only) shatter me (aaron and kenji only) and free rein (pin only because I miss writing for him anyway)

Requests will be open until the 30th of december. Any request I get after NYE or New Years Day will be deleted.

the event is below the cut as this has clogged up peoples dashes enough already lol

NOW PLAYING: peace by taylor swift

the devils in the details but you've got a friend in me - age old friendships between people who can go months without talking to one another and pick up right where they left off--think platonic strong bonds and relationships that have lasted too many years to count. Give me a character, a gender pref for the reader, and a holiday activity that you want me to write strong-bonded characters (be it friends who've been friends for a decade or a couple who has been in a relationship just as long) doing and I'll write 1-5k words for it. Think good vibes, snowy weather, and hot chocolate + christmas decorating--I will write just about any holiday activity for this prompt and I promise I'll have a blast

you and me forevermore - anniversaries! One year, five years, ten years, you name it! I personally think that winter is the superior season to start a relationship in so I will write anniversary celebrations set in the winter months and all you need to do is give me a character, a gender pref for the reader, and any other specifics you'd like to add!

SHUFFLING CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST

NOW PLAYING: have yourself a merry little christmas as covered by phoebe bridgers

have yourself a merry little christmas - PROMPTS!! I wrote out holiday prompts for the season and this is my excuse to use them. Send in any combination of prompts you want--you can send me a prompt from this list with a prompt from any of the other ones, just tell me what list you're using and I'll write it!

if we make it through december we'll be fine - long fics! Give me as many details as you want--in this instance I would very much prefer specificity over vagueness so do not spare a single one--a gender pref for the reader, and I'll write what you give me! Anything goes for this. Prompts, scenarios, anything! Any genre, though when I think of this I think angst because it is very easy to write longer angst fics for me. These fics will be anywhere from 4-8k words in length and all of their necessary details are completely up to you.

[musicalchaos07]

A Very Late WIP Wednesday

The first couple of days bleed together. Joyce stayed in bed, and Jonathan came by with small meals insisting she had to eat something. Their house was proverbial Fort Knox, no one went in or out. That was until Karen sent Nancy along with a casserole and for a briefest second at the dinner table Jonathan had a look in his eye that she's seen before but she couldn't remember when.

The next week the boys went back to school, she went back to work and found out that the town was once again well aware of her latest tragedy before she had the chance to tell them. They buried Bob's ashes on a Tuesday, that much she's sure of. Afterwards, in the church hall, she walked in on Nancy consoling Jonathan and it felt like she was watching herself stand there motionless. Begging herself to do something to comfort him. Before she could, Jonathan quickly dried his tears, stiffened his upper lip and straightened up. He even asked her if she was ok, and she felt so ashamed she cried.

The next day she cleaned the house in a rage while the boys were at school. When she realized all the drawings were long gone the anger truly took hold. It was all so fucking unfair. Owens got to survive and Bob died. Bob died. Bob was dead and she couldn't move to Maine now even if she wanted to. It was like a bomb went off and she was left to pick up the pieces of her life but she can't even manage to do that. 

At some point one of Will's drawings found its way to the refrigerator. "Bob Newby Superhero" it shouted at her every time she double checked the fridge for a Demogorgon in the middle of the night. 

Eventually, the days blurred into weeks so quickly that it was Thanksgiving before she knew it. Time is funny like that. Jonathan, of course, made all the sides and the only reason they ended up with a turkey is because Hopper had enough foresight to buy them one. 

Something about sitting down to holiday dinner with her boys finally snaps her out of her grief-fueled daze. And it's with a mix of horror and guilt that she realizes the only reason their house is still standing is because of Jonathan. But if he resents her at all it doesn’t show. 

Truthfully, she really doesn't remember much at all. It comes back in small flashes, Will seizing, Bob, Mike carrying Will out, Nancy stabbing him with a poker to get that thing out, but nothing ever sticks around long enough for her to make sense of any of it. 

The next morning, Will begged to go sledding with Mike, Lucas and Dustin like they do every Friday after Thanksgiving she cautiously caves. She made sure he packed his supercomm and sent Jonathan along with him for good measure. Which neither of them seemed too thrilled about but she's not about to let Will go off on his own. 

They're still gone when she gets home from work and she tries not to panic. It's only six or so, and sure the sun went down an hour ago but there could be a perfectly logical explanation as to why they're still out. She makes herself a leftover sandwich and picks at it while trying to find something to watch that isn’t the news. She doesn’t watch the news anymore. She’s about to give up and just go lay down when she hears Jonathan’s car pull up.Joyce doesn’t hear him turn off the car but a few minutes later  He unlocks the door and makes a beeline for his room. 

“Hello?” She calls out, confused by his odd behavior. 

“Oh uh hey” he responds walking back into the door frame of the living room.

Jonathan left the front door ajar and the wind blows in, she wraps a blanket around herself to try and warm back up. Her stomach suddenly churns. 

“Where’s Will?” she realizes

She envisions him crashing into a tree and bleeding out in the passenger seat of Jonathan’s car 

“Oh I left him at Mike's” Jonathan explains.  

She stares at him wide-eyed. 

“I didn't think it was a big deal.” he mumbles, glancing down and up again.

“You couldn’t have asked first?” she cries a little too loudly

“I’m.. I’m sorry…. they were all just really excited and.. and I think Mike got some new video game but I’m picking him up in a couple hours” Jonathan reassures 

“A couple hours?” she presses, suddenly tense

“Yea” he shrugs.  

“What could possibly be so important that you need to be alone for that long?” she shrieks. 

Jonathan stares, then he starts getting well fidgety. He takes a couple of breaths trying to start talking and then stopping again. But the only noise is the drone of the tv, the car outside, and his fidgeting. She’s about to ask again, but she reminds herself to be patient while he finds his words. 

“I'm uh… Well I'm um…the thing is…” he stammers, nervously. 

The thing about Jonathan is that while he's just as earnest as Will, his thoughts are more like a puzzle or maybe a maze. Either way, it's… challenging for him to express himself as freely as Will does. And while Joyce really hates to think of him as the harder one to parent, right he's not making it any easier. She maintains eye contact and starts counting. If after fifteen seconds he doesn't say what he wants to she'll start asking leading questions. Gently coaxing him out of his shell. 

“I'm going out with Nancy” he spits out all at once when he’s almost lost her attention. 

“Nancy?” she asks

“Yea” he nods 

“Nancy Wheeler?” she questions slowly, making sure that they’re on the same page. 

“Yea, Nancy Wheeler” he says softly with a smile. 

It’s not that she doesn’t like Nancy, not in the slightest but well the two of them are an odd pair. When she found them together last year it made a little bit of sense, what with everything else going on. But she’s really not sure what the two of them are doing hanging out without a threat of monsters. At least she hopes there’s no threat of monsters. Jonathan’s still rocking on his heels in the doorframe waiting for her to say something.

“Well have fun” she resigns, because she has so many questions but no idea where to start. 

“Thanks… uh I gotta go, she's waiting for me.” he informs 

“Waiting for you?” she asks 

“Yea uh in my car” he answers 

“Your car?” she blinks at him

“Yea” 

“You left her in the car?”

“Yea” 

Leaving Nancy Wheeler in the car in the dead of winter, what is he thinking? It’s not like him to be inconsiderate. 

“Jonathan” she scolds “Let her know she can come in next time” 

“Right, right yea I will” he nods, making his way back out of the house as quickly as he came in. 

[aurumacadicus]

More mob boss Steve and stripper Tony!

Natasha has a dossier by the third of January, and she hands it to him after their morning meeting. Steve tries to take it, but she doesn’t let go. He sighs. He should have known better.

“I don’t care that you would rather go to a strip club than to a family party,” she says simply. “I don’t even care that you lied to keep everyone off your back.” Her expression doesn’t change, but her grip on the file tightens just a little. “I care that you put yourself in danger.”

Steve finally tugs the file free of her hand. “I acknowledge this. I won’t be sorry,” he replies, flipping it open to a picture of Tony’s smiling face.

Natasha crosses her arms, scowling at him. “Well,” she says when he pointedly doesn’t acknowledge her, mulish. “As long as you’re aware of how I feel.”

“You know I’m stupid,” Steve replies, eyes tracing over the MIT sweatshirt that Tony is practically swimming in.

“Yeah,” Natasha sighs, shaking her head in defeat, and turns to leave. “I’m going to go complain about you to Sam, and if Bucky finds out, that’s your problem.”

Steve waves at her without looking up. “Yeah, yeah, get out of here.” He gives the picture of Tony one last once-over, then flips open to the first page of Natasha’s research. He immediately pauses over the name.

Anthony Stark.

He remembers Howard Stark, vaguely. Business mogul. They’d shaken hands, once, when Steve had been hopeful and new. His wife had been lovely. They’d passed away in a drunk driving accident, the file says, and the drunk driver hadn’t even gotten a scratch. Anthony had been left orphaned at the tender age of nineteen. He should have had the whole world at his feet, but it had been swept out from under him instead. He’d barely graduated with his PhDs in engineering. He’d tried to take over his father’s company, but he’d been locked out of any controlling positions. “Too young,” he’d been told by his father’s business partner, by his board of directors. Shaken heads, wagged fingers. “Take a smaller role,” they said.

Anthony had tried to go to a different company, but somehow he’d been blackballed. Bullied, Steve thinks, turning more and more pages of the threats Stark Industries had rained down on their competitors. Anthony couldn’t work how he wanted there, but they’d be damned if they’d let him work somewhere else. Cameras in his face. Paparazzi asking him what it was like, being unable to get a job in his field. People after him for his money. A pressure cooker leading up to him packing a bag and disappearing from his home in Manhattan. A brief sighting in Philadelphia leaving his best friend’s family’s home. Then nothing.

Tony Carbonell had appeared in Brooklyn six months ago, working the ladies’ night at the strip club Steve frequented during holidays. He had eventually taken a more regular job at a gay club, but he preferred Steve’s on nights off, where he wouldn’t get pinched and propositioned. He's friendly with the girls there, who are fond of him in return, because he's charismatic, and sweet, and likes to learn new moves, and sometimes when he gets an especially big tip with one he gives part of it to the girl he learned from. They usually sneak the money back into his wallet.

He rents a room in a boarding house. Keeps to himself. Sends letters to a friend named James Rhodes--his college roommate. The only one who had ever cared for him besides his parents, it seems like. He has a relatively new friend, a Virginia Potts, but that seems to be all they are. He goes to coffee shops in his spare time and uses the WiFi for his old laptop. Natasha has never gotten close enough to see what for, and she was too afraid bugging it would cause the ancient thing to just become a brick.

He’s working the ladies night at the local club tonight.

Steve checks his calendar. Nothing he can’t reschedule. He picks up his phone to let May know.

“Did you fall in love at first sight with some twink at the strip club who wasn’t even working?!” Bucky barks as soon as the line picks up.

Steve puts the phone back in its cradle with a wince.

[hermionegalathynius]

The 2nd time Steve surprised you.

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Warnings: talk of family issues on Steve’s part.

“What do you think they’re talking about in there?” You asked Robin as you kept her company while she scooped ice cream. 

  After the chaos six months ago through which Dustin’s friend Eleven closed the gaping hole in the material of the universe, you and Steve Harrington actually managed to become friends. Through babysitting Dustin and his gang of troublemakers, you began to see a lot more of the guy. At school, it seemed he had lost his ‘King Steve’ title, as well as most of his friends after his break-up with Nancy. While you had a few friends at school due to band, you mostly kept to yourself during the day, but this changed as Steve (not wanting to remain seated next to Nancy in certain classes) moved next to you. According to the boy in question, he had just asked those teachers to move him and they had coincidentally placed him next to you in every. Single. Class. 

  Not that you were complaining. When he was away from his asshole friends, Steve Harrington was a decent guy and actually pretty funny. It came as a surprise to the both of you, but conversation became really easy, and time flew by when you were together. Eventually you developed a routine where the two of you would go get Benny’s Burgers whenever you’d had to drop the kiddies off somewhere. The tradition started during the Winter Ball when Dustin had insisted Steve tag along to drop him off for emotional support. The older boy had actually come early to help your brother with his hair and show him how to style it. The image of the two of them fussing over Dustin’s untameable curls definitely shouldn’t have made your heart melt the way it did. 

  After Dustin had clambered out Steve’s BMW, you and him had decided to stop by Benny’s to get dinner while you waited for the agreed-upon time at which you needed to pick Dustin up. It was the first time you were actually spending time alone with Steve since the demodogs, and it was… nice. 

  Then, summer had arrived. You and Steve were officially graduated. While you planned to use the summer holidays as a time to rest before you moved up to Indianapolis to work in a theatre orchestra for a year, Steve’s dad made him get a job. The boy had spent a good hour sitting in the car outside Benny’s, ranting to you about how much the man infuriated him. You sympathised, expressing your own disapproval of his father’s actions and attitude towards Steve. As far as you were concerned, the man clearly didn’t know his son very well, because if he could just see the wonderful man he was growing up to be, maybe he wouldn’t be so harsh on him. 

  One of the biggest shocks that came over the summer, was Steve working alongside Robin at Scoops Ahoy. When the boy had called you halfway through his first week on the job and begged you to come save him from his mean coworker, you had been delightfully surprised to find out that his ‘mean coworker’ was in fact your friend Robin Buckley from high school band. 

  To Steve’s dismay, he ended up having to share you with Robin, who he was liking less and less now that she had you on her side. 

  That’s why, when Dustin came home from camp, he jumped at the opportunity to help the kid translate a Russian code in the back room. 

  “From what I can hear,” said Robin, replying to your question, “they are trying to decipher a secret Russian communication your strange brother intercepted on his mega-radio.”

  You had literally left the store for twenty minutes to drive Max and Eleven to Starcourt mall after the two girls had called begging you to take them. Twenty minutes, and the two boys were already looking for trouble. 

   “Russian communication?!” 

  Your friend shrugged, holding up her hand and placing her forefinger and thumb half an inch apart, “Honestly, I’m this close to marching in there and insisting I help them just so Steve will come out and switch with me.”

  Your huffed a laugh, “If you do, I’ll come with you. I don’t need to witness another one of Steve’s failed attempts at flirting with the customers.”

  Robin groaned suddenly as Lucas’s sister and her group of My Little Pony fanatics entered the store. 

  “Not again,” she muttered. 

  You winced and gave her a pat on the shoulder, “Want me to hurl Steve up here so he can deal with it?”

  She shook her head, “Nah, I’ll push through. This is my last customer for the morning though. After, you and I are gonna go help your strange brother translate his Russian code and dumbass can sling ice cream.”

  With a grin, you hopped up onto the small surface behind the counter and leant back on your hands as Robin dealt with Erica’s relentless ‘tasting’. 

  After fifteen, excruciating minutes, the gaggle of girls finally left and you and Robin were free to go into the break room. 

  “Alright, babysitting time is over, you need to get in there,” Robin stated, pushing through the door, you trailing behind her with a smirk aimed at Steve that said ‘you’re in for it now, sucker’. 

  “Hey, my board! That was important data shitbirds!” the blonde yelled, whirling on the two boys. 

  You eyes snapped to the whiteboard hanging on the wall, and sure enough, instead of the usual shipment dates and stock numbers, the Russian alphabet was written out in bright red marker with its English counterparts labelled in black. Your smirk widened and you raised your brows at Steve who was halfway through popping a piece of banana in his mouth. His eyes widened innocently and you rolled yours. 

  “I can guarantee you, what we’re doing is way more important than your data,” Dustin replied. Honestly, you weren’t sure if you should be impressed or afraid for your little brother at his adamant cheek towards your significantly scary friend. 

  “Oh yeah?” Robin challenged, walking to stand opposite the table to Dustin and Steve. Ever the loyal friend, you moved to stand beside her, crossing your arms. 

  “Yeah,” Dustin said, keeping his ground. 

  You sighed, “And how do you know these Russians are up to no good anyway?”

  The boys froze — Steve still had a mouth full of banana when Dustin demanded in a lowered tone, “How do they know about the Russians?”

  “I don’ know!” the older boy protested around the banana.

  “Did you tell them about the Russians?”

  “It wasn’t me!”

  “Hello, we can hear you!” Robin exclaimed, clearly becoming pissed off. In all honesty, you were too. Sure, you’re brother was a little science genius, but you had taught him almost everything he knew — except for all of the stuff Mr Clark had taught him. He got his passion for science from the same gene pool you did. It was about time Dustin started acknowledging your superior level of intellect as the older sibling. 

  “Actually, we can hear everything you’re saying,” you added in, “You’re both extremely loud.”

  “You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country on tape and you’re trying to translate but you haven’t figured out a single word because you didn’t realise the Russians use an entirely different alphabet than we do,” Robin continued. 

  You both watched as they looked at each other in defeat, clearly beat. Steve was refusing to meet your eyes. 

  “Sound about right?” she finished. 

  Thinking on your feet, you lurched forward, making a grab for the tape lying on the table. Steve — realising your aim — was too fast for you and grabbed the tape out from under your fingertips. 

  “Woah, woah! What are you doing?” he yelled, hugging the tape to his chest. You glared at him, blowing a flyaway strand of hair from your eyes. 

  “We want to hear it.”

  “Why?” The boys asked in unison. 

  “Because maybe we can help,” Robin said, shrugging. 

  “She’s fluent in four languages,” you pointed out, pinning your brother and your best friend with a stare. 

  Dustin perked up, “Russian?” he asked.

  “Ouyay aryay umbraday,” Robin recited. You stifled a laugh, knowing she just called Dustin dumb in pig latin. 

  “Oh ho ho ho!” Steve exclaimed. 

  “Holy shit!” said Dustin. 

  “That was pig latin, dingus,” Robin told them. 

  Steve smacked Dustin’s arm, “Idiot.”

  You rolled you eyes again. 

  “But,” Robin continued, sliding into a seat, “I can speak Spanish, and French and Italian.”

  “And we’ve both been in band for twelve years,” you added.

  “Yeah, our ears are little geniuses, trust me,” Robin finished, “What do you say?”

  She directed the last question at Steve. He laughed dryly, beginning to shake his head. 

  “Come on! It’s your turn to sling ice cream, my turn to translate! I don’t even want credit I’m just bored!” she complained, torso resting on the table too dramatically. 

  You looked at Steve and found him watching you, an expression of defeat on his face. You grinned, knowing he was about to give in. 

  “Fine,” he said, “But only if Y/n comes with to keep me company.”

  “What? No! I want to help too!” you exclaimed. 

  “Deal,” Robin said, and Steve handed her the tape. 

  You whirled a betrayed expression on Robin, “Traitor!”

  She smiled apologetically, “Sorry, kid. It’s like I told them. I’m bored.”

  You sighed, and accepted Steve’s hand to drag you back out into the store. 

  “I don’t know why you’re complaining,” he whined, “You’re my best friend.”

  Deciding to just grin and bare it, you bumped your hip against his as he grabbed a scooper, “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

  He pouted, “I’ve barely seen you this summer even though you’ve been right in the store with me.”

  Your heart warmed at his words as you jumped back onto the counter again, “You been missing me, Harrington?”

  His cheeks flushed as he leant against the counter next to you, “I…” he sighed, taking off his sailor hat and running a hand through his hair, “Every night I go home to my jackass father telling me how disappointed he is in me and explaining why I’m a terrible son. It’s been like that for as long as I can remember, and until a few months ago I had nothing to help me cope. Then I met you, and we became friends, and suddenly I could look forward to seeing you everyday.”

  You weren’t sure you were breathing. 

  “I know I don’t say it enough, but I need you. And I miss you even if you’ve only been gone five minutes.”

  “Steve,” you breathed, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise.”

  He shrugged, finally meeting your gaze with a shaky smile, “It’s not your fault.”

  “You have to know I need you too, right?” You said, leaning against him and resting your head on his shoulder, “I’m generally someone who likes her own company, but with you I never feel like I have to back away for a moment and take a breather. Back in high school I was always a little tense in the mornings because I knew I would have to interact with people I’m not comfortable around, but then I’d get to my locker and see you standing there and suddenly I could relax.”

  Something in your chest was aching as you spoke, and the truth behind your words brought a surge of affection for the boy next to you that definitely exceeded the boundaries of friendship. 

  The two of you sat like that in comfortable silence for a moment. At some point during your confession, Steve had tilted his own head to rest on yours as his hands fiddled mindlessly with his scooper. 

  Then two familiar girls walked into the store, giggling like the children they were and you frowned.

  “Is El even allowed here? I didn’t check before I drove the two of them…” you mused.

  “Either way,” Steve said, pushing off the counter, “That’s my cue to do my job.”

[rocksandrobots]

PotP Ch 54 - Christmas With The Krampus: Part 3

"Hey, thanks for helping out on such short notice," Tadashi said.

"Oh no problem, buddy." Fred's voice came over the phone. "Minimax and I were getting bored anyway. Christmas is never as big a deal as Hanukkah at my house. The only thing going on is the neighborhood lights display contest."

"Your Mom's in full-blown socialite mode?" Tadashi asked, already knowing the answer.

"Totally. Monster hunting is way more fun than tea and crumpets."

"There's no monster, Fred," Varian yelled over Tadashi's shoulder into the phone.

"Just let us know if you or Minimax see Vigor," Hiro added, ignoring his brother.

"Ten-four!... or is it four-ten... Either way, MiniMax and Fredzillia are on the job!"

Tadashi hung up the phone as the three of them entered the near-empty shopping mall.

Most of the storefronts were closed, only a handful of people roamed the food court, and a sign on the door said that the shopping center was operating at half-hours for the holiday. So they had only about an hour left to look for clues.

They made their way to the top floor, hoping that perhaps Vigor was just hiding inside, maybe wrecking one of the other window displays for the fun of it, only to have that hope dashed once they reached Canardist's emporium.

The door was ripped off its hinges and the inside of the shop was completely trashed.

"Still think there's no monster?" Hiro asked.

"Anyone could have done this," Varian replied, though with slightly less confidence than before.

Tadashi picked up a scroll off the floor and frowned. He couldn't read it.

"Varian, I think we need to keep more of an open mind here." He cautioned. "I mean, you and Canardist come from a world where fairy tale princesses are real and magical curses are a thing. Why can't this Krampus exist too?"

"Because..." Varian huffed but didn't finish his thought as he picked up an amulet hanging from a shelf. This one with Corona's royal seal on it.

"Because you don't wanna admit that you're wrong." Hiro finished for him.

Varian shot a glare at him, but couldn't deny it.

"What do you know about this Krampus? What do the legends actually say?" Tadashi asked.

Varian shrugged. "Not much. He's supposed to be Saint Nicholas's helper. While St Nick rewards good little kids with toys and sweets, the Krampus collects the souls of bad children and tortures them for their misdeeds."

He shook his head. "It's just a story parents tell their kids to get them to behave. Like with the Sandman who brings nightmares or Zhan Tiri and his shadow soldiers. None of it's real."

Hiro and Tadashi shared a look but didn't press for more details about the other horror stories that Varian had mentioned.

"Look, let's just run with the premise that all stories are based on a kernel of truth," Tadashi argued. "Like with Troy and the Iliad... exaggerated no doubt, but based off a real place and presumably a real war... With that being the case here, what would a real Krampus be like, you think?"

Varian gave the proposal some serious consideration. "Well, I guess... if he was real, he'd be some type of creature... just an animal."

"And what would a large wild animal do with a pet monkey?"

"Eat it," Hiro said, almost immediately. It was the most logical conclusion.

The other two boys grimaced.

The Varian shrugged again. "Well, nasty way to go, but what can you do? Who wants to break the bad news to Canardist?"

Tadashi stopped him from walking away. "Hold on. We can't just let a six-foot animal run around the city eating people's pets, and possibly attacking people themselves."

"How did he even get into this world?" Hiro asked.

"That would be a question for Canardist," Tadashi answered. "In the meantime, we have to hunt down this Krampus and capture it."

"And what do we do with it after we've caught it?" Varian asked. "I can't send it back. The portal isn't working the way I need it to."

"We'll figure that out once we find it... the only question is, how do we find it?"

"I have a bio-reading of the creature," Baymax responded.

"Really? How did you get that?" Hiro asked.

"It is shedding." The robot pointed at the floor and indeed there was hair everywhere.

"Great work Baymax.' Tadashi patted his creation on the shoulder. "Let's go suit up."

----------------

"Behold!" Minimax pointed down below into an alley, "There goes our psychic primate pal!"

Fred followed his faithful sidekick's finger and sure enough, spotted the chimpanzee running frantically down the road.

"Hey guys!" came Fred's voice over the intercom. "We found Vigor!"

"He's still alive?' Varian asked skeptically, as he held onto Baymax's arm tighter. The robot was carrying all three of them as they flew through the air, with Hiro and Tadashi riding on top and Varian cradled in his arms; having lost at rock, paper, scissors.

"Not for long," Hiro replied as he studied the scans through his helmet interface. A red dot was racing across the city map. "Whatever it is that tore up the store is heading straight your way Fred... and it's fast."

"Don't worry. We're on it." Fred assured them and was gone.

----------------

The superheroes found poor Vigor cowering in the corner of an alley.

"Hey buddy, it's okay." Fred coaxed the frightened animal. "You're safe now."

"Yes, no fiendish foe will do you harm while we're around," Minimax added.

The chimp came out of hiding and cooed in recognition when he realized who the armored men were.

He waddled over and hugged Hiro around his legs. A predicament that Hiro absolutely was not comfortable with.

"Yeah, th-that's right... we're here to take you home." He awkwardly said as he tried to gently pry the monkey off of him.

That's when an ominous shadow fell across them.

Everyone turned as one to see the Krampus snarling at them.

It was a towering nine-foot-tall, from its claws on its hind legs to the tips of the horns on its head. It was covered head to toe in dark fur and its bottom jaw had two protruding tusks. It slobbered drool as it growled like a dog, and Hiro could have sworn that its eyes glowed red.

Vigor howled in fright and quickly scrambled away and up the side of the building before anyone could stop him.

The monster took after him just as quickly.

The boys could feel the wind rush past them as the creature leaped up towards the roof, like how a car whizzing by might blow away the papers in your hand.

"Ok... take note... the Krampus moves very fast," Tadashi said, pointing out the obvious as everyone else stood there stunned.

Hiro shook out of his stupor first.

"Quick Baymax, after them."

He hopped onto the robot's back just as Fred swung himself up onto the roof. Minimax wasn't far behind as they rocketed into the air themselves.

"Do you see where they're heading?" Varian's voice came in over the intercom.

"I've already lost sight of them," Fred replied.

"They've turned down 2nd Market St." Baymax calmly stated.

Hiro followed Baymax's finger and his heart sank as something large and furry ducked into the subway.

"Oh no."

"What's happened?" Tadashi asked.

"They just went into Memento station."

"Don't worry, we'll head them off," Varian answered as he fished the portal magnets from his coat.

----------------

Varian and Tadashi exited the portal just in time to see everyone rushing towards the nearest exit, screaming and panicking as they went.

In the middle of the waiting platform, now on all fours and sniffing the ground with its pig-like snout, was the Krampus. It seemed totally disinterested in the frightened crowd as it poked about the various discarded presents and groceries.  

"Soooo...what do we do now?" Tadashi asked as they watched the beast get a pair of candy cane-printed boxers caught on its nose. It took a second to shake the offending underwear off before it went to gnawing on the wrapping paper that it had been packaged in.

"Well.... umm..." Varian's mind raced as he tried to rationalize the impossibility before him. "it's... it's an animal, right?

"R-right?" Tadashi agreed, unsure what Varian was getting at.

"So how would you capture a really large animal?"

"No clue," Tadashi replied, never taking his eyes off the monster as it now decided to eat a forgotten Christmas ham.

"Well how would, like, the rangers catch a bear or a lion?"

"Tranquilizers, but we haven't any-"

Varian snapped his fingers. "Sleeping powder!"

He then started to search his pockets and harness... only to slow down as he realized that Tadashi was right. "I'm out of sleeping powder..."

That's when the Krampus finally took notice of them.

Both boys gulped as the creature let out a snarl.

Varian began to scour his pockets even more frantically. "H-hold him off while I try to make a new batch of sleeping potion."

"What am I supposed to do? Wave a red flag at him like a bullfighter?"

Varian didn't answer as he screwed the top off a chimball full of blue liquid.

You could not see his eyes behind his visor, but it was clear that Tadashi was rolling them as he pressed a button on the side of his helmet and disappeared from view.

This was enough of a surprise to slow the Krampus down, as it stopped stalking towards them.

A moment later a roll of sparkly red wrapping paper, discarded by its owner in their flight from the station, lifted itself off the ground and seemingly hung in the air as if by magic.

"Here boy, toro." Tadashi whistled as he waved the paper in front of the creature.

The Krampus howled and rushed towards the sparkly paper. Tadashi barely had time to move out of the way as it grabbed the cardboard tube and bounded away, ripping the paper to shreds in a frenzy.

"Well, there goes that idea."

"How's it going?" Hiro breathlessly asked as he, Fred, and the two robots finally ran inside.

The Krampus stopped immediately and focused its attention on the newcomers.

Heroes and monster eyed each other for only a moment as Hiro realized his mistake. Then the mass of fur and muscle was bounding towards them at top speed before Tadashi could even shout a warning.

Everyone scattered, only for the Krampus' jaws to clamp around Minimax's foot at the last second.

The robot yelled as the monster shook him back and forth before throwing him into the air. Fortunately, being a robot, he was only momentarily disoriented as opposed to being hurt.

While the heroes were busy checking over their friend, Vigor screeched wildly as the monster took chase after the monkey once more. 

"No!" Hiro screamed, too late, as the Krampus overtook the poor animal. 

The creature let out a victorious howl, and then, to everyone's astonishment, it gave Vigor a playful, sloppy lick of its tongue and bounded away barking. Vigor made a chittering sound, like the money equivalent of a laugh, and happily chased after the monster. 

"Awe, how cuuuuteee!" Fred squeed while everyone else stood there dumbfounded. "They've been playing tag this whole time." 

"It kind of acts like a giant dog," Hiro observed as he tilted his head in thought. 

"Wild dogs can still be dangerous though." Tadashi reminded him. "We need to capture him and take him someplace safe." 

"Got it!" Varian shouted triumphantly as he held up a chimball. Before he could throw the sleeping powder, however, the police barged into the station. 

"Chief Cruz!" Hiro rushed toward the lead officer in relief. "We need to find a humane way of cap-"

"We're already on it." Cruz interrupted, shoving him aside. "You kids need to clear out of the way so animal control can take care of this." 

"Kids?" Hiro quietly questioned, but he was ignored as some of the officers whipped out a tranquilizer gun. 

The Krampus let out an inhuman scream as the dart embedded itself into its leg right above its paw. He started to hiss and growl as it tried fruitlessly to shake the painful splinter off. Vigor gave a worried whimper, unsure how to help his friend.

Unsuccessful in removing the dart, the Krampus then turned his attention towards his attackers, lowering on his haunches as if to pounce like a cat. Fortunately, Baymax was able to grab the creature before it could jump upon anyone. 

As the robot and monster wrestled each other Cruz was already ordering his men to shoot again. 

"Be careful of Bay- Red Panda," Hiro advised. 

"I'm not concerned for your pet robot right now." Cruz snapped."If this next tranquilizer doesn't work then we may have to put the poor creature down." 

Hiro frowned, not only at Cruz's dismissal of Baymax's safety nor even that the officer was considering lethal force, but the Chief of Police was no longer talking to them like they were vigilantes underfoot but speaking down to them like they were children... like they were the same kids he would take out to ice cream once a month. 

However, the worrisome thought that they might have been discovered was banished from Hiro's mind when the Krampus broke free of Baymax's grasp, dogged the second dart, and ran down the railway tunnel. 

"Blast," Cruz muttered. 

"Don't worry. We'll track him down for you." Hiro yelled as he ran towards Baymax, happy to have an excuse to get away. He and the rest of the supers were already half way down the tunnel before Chief Cruz could protest.

----------------

Varian was the one to find the creature first. The Karmpus was huddled in an alley whimpering as it licked its wound. He snarled as Varian approached.

"Easy now...." Varian said softly as he inched his way forward. "Easy... I'm not going to hurt ya."

For a moment he thought the Krampus would run away again but it stumbled as soon as it tried to put weight upon its paw, and then promptly laid back down with a huff.

Varian untied the bandanna from around his neck, poured some sort of substance on it from his chimbag, and cautiously sat down next to the monster.

"Here... let's see what we can do about that paw..."

He pulled the tranquilizer dart out and the creature howled, but before the animal could even think of hurting him, Varian had wrapped the wound up with the bandana.

The Krampus seemed confused by such an action and sniffed curiously at the piece of cloth around his paw.

"It's just some chlorhexidine." he explained, though he did not know if the monster could understand him or not. "It should help ease the pain and sterilize the wound."

All the Krampus did in reply was to sigh and lay his head on Varian's lap, pinning him to the spot.

Varian resigned himself to his fate as a pillow and absentmindedly began to stroke the beast's fur.

"I know... San Fansokoyo is new and exciting and so full of amazing things to see, there's friends to make and wonderful inventions to discover... but it's also sometimes scary and unfamiliar.... with its own dangers... different from Corona's, sure, but they're still there... hiding just under the shining surface.... and you'll need those friends to help you avoid them, and they will cause they really, genuinely care about you... but... but.... it's still not home......"

The Krampus gave a sympathetic whine.

"You're probably missing the snowy pine forest that you grew up in... aren't you boy?"

Another little whimper.

"And maybe even... even your old friends and your own family?"

Suddenly Varian wrapped his arms around the hairy beast and gave him a desperate hug.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, "I'm sorry, I don't know how to get you back. I've tried and I've tried... and no, I don't want to leave everybody, but... but.... but Dad...."

The Krampus nuzzled his arm in comfort.

"Oh, what are we going to do?"

----------------

"Cantet nunc io, chorus angelorum;

Cantet nunc aula cælestium,

Gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo,

Venite adoremus

Venite adoremus

Venite adoremus

Dominum."

The rest of the gang found Varian and the Krampus in the alley and much to their surprise he was singing a Christmas carol while gently petting the ferocious animal's head.

Said creature was contently purring in his lap. Which sounded more like a motorcycle idling than a furry friend expressing contentment.

Vigor cooed with delight and ran to meet them, throwing his arms around his new friend.

"Well, we finally caught him... now what?" Tadashi asked.

Varian only looked up at him at a loss and shrugged.

"We.... we have to try the portal again, I guess," Hiro said hesitantly, rubbing his forehead in thought. "I know it's not ready yet, b-but it's not like we can keep him hidden in the city."

Varian shook his head, and with some effort crawled out from under the huge beast and stood up. "It isn't just that that portal is broken. We don't even know where to send him to. We're talking about the entire world here. We can't just dump in him Corona, or the middle of the ocean, or 17th-century Istanbul... The point is... We need an energy signature to find where he actually lives, and I've no idea where we would get that."

"Well if we can't send him back, what do we do? Turn him over to Cruz and the animal control?" Tadashi asked

"I don't know if they would know what to do with him either," Hiro said.

"Maybe put him in the Zoo?" Fred suggested.

"They wouldn't know how to take care of him. It's not like mythical creatures are their specialty."

"I know!" Minimax shouted. "We can make him our new team mascot!"

"Great idea!" Fred joined in.

"Oh no... nope" Tadashi shook his head. "For starters, we have way too many exotic pets as it is, and secondly we wouldn't know how to take care of him either."

"I think we may have to ask Carnardist." Varian finally admitted. "She knows more than she's telling us."

----------------

"Oh, Vigor!"  Carnardist cheered with glee as she smothered her long-lost pet with kisses. "Oh, I was so worried. Thank goodness you are unhurt." 

As the happy pair were reunited, Hiro made sure that the blanket they had thrown over the Krampus remained in place. 

They had called the cafe and asked the older woman to meet them back at her shop, and the supers had to think of a creative way to keep the inter-dimensional monster hidden from the rest of the shoppers; as few as there were today. The best they could come up with on such short notice was a shopping cart with a quilt hastily thrown over it. 

Varian awkwardly coughed to gain the lady's attention. 

"Yes, malchick?" 

Varian ignored the unwanted nickname. 

"You were right about the Krampus." 

Making sure that no one was looking into the shop window he pulled the cover off. 

Carnardist screamed. 

"No. No. It's okay. He won't harm anyone." Varian tried to calm the frightened woman down.

It wasn't until Vigor hopped out of her arms and went to hug the creature did she stop panicking. 

"See? He's a nice daemon." Hiro encouraged. 

"The only problem is we don't know how to send him home," Fred explained. 

"And we know you have a portal." Tadashi chimed in. 

Carnardist eyes grew dark and she slowly straightened to her full height, even though she was several inches shorter than the teenage boys before her.   

"Is that so?" 

"Oh stop pretending." Vairan huffed. "You don't want to share your tech with us, then fine. The least you can do is put this guy back where you got him." 

Carnardist folded her arms. "There are other ways to move between worlds than your portals malchick, and they require far more than just flipping a switch. I can not 'send him back'. I can not send anyone anywhere." 

"Then how did you get here?" Tadashi challenged, ignoring Varian's flabbergasted expression. 

Carnardist seemed to relent at this and walked over to a box full of scrolls that had tipped over. She picked one up. "This is the incantation for opening the door." She made to hand the parchment over to Tadashi, before quickly snatching it away. "But! It will not lead you to where you want to go. The window does not open to another world, but a pathway between the worlds." 

"A pathway between worlds?" Varian echoed slowly. 

"A dark place... an eternity of nothingness that is very difficult to traverse. Only populated by the remnants of dead universes, lost to time eons ago."

"The void," Hiro said softly as realization dawned on him.

"Even if you know where you are going," Carnardist continued. "and know the markers to find, making the journey would require much preparation and immense fortitude. Are you sure you can face such dangers?" 

"No problem," Fred said as she finally handed over the scroll to Tadashi. "We're heroes! After battling supervillains, killer robots, and literal monsters, how hard can a little old trip through negative space be?"

"There are things hiding in the dark that are far worse than monsters." She softly warned. 

This gave everyone pause. Yet Carnardist would not allow them time to consider her words fully.

"Now get that hairy brute out of my shop!" she yelled, shooing them out the door.

----------------

"Arrggh, where is that toothbru-- Ahhhhh!" Krei stopped packing and let out a girly high-pitched scream when he came face-to-face with a towering beast with horns. 

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Keri." Varian waved apologetically as he poked his head around from where he was standing behind the Krampus. 

"But we kind of need to ask you a favor," Hiro added as he stuck his head around the opposite side. 

Tadashi followed suit as his head popped up from behind the monster's shoulders. "Do you think you got room at that animal reserve for a very rare and exotic inter-dimensional demon?"

----------------

"Baby raccoons!" Honey Lemon squeed when Varian showed off his newest pets.

She giggled and cooed over the tiny creatures as she scooped one up to cuddle. "What are their names?"

"Well there's eight of them, so I thought we could all name one," Varian answered.

"You're seriously not thinking of keeping all of them," Wasabi complained.

"No, Krei is going to keep them on the forest reservation," Tadashi answered.

"But we get to visit them whenever we want." Varian cheered. 

"Them and Mr Krampus," Fred added. 

"Mr. Krampus?" Gogo asked. 

"You had to be there," Hiro answered. 

"I'm going to name mine Ferdinand." Honey Lemon announced. "He just looks like a Ferdie."

Gogo knelt down and gently petted one of the babies that was crawling around. "Jane." was all she said.

"The Pacific Northwest raccoon is also known as Procyon Lotor Pacificus" Baymax stated simply.  

"Ummm... that might be a bit too wordy for a name, Baymax." Varian gently suggested. "Why don't you call him Lotor for short?" 

"'Lotor' it is then." 

"Can I call mine trash panda?" Hiro asked.

Varian made a face. "Come on... at least be original."

"Fine... "He randomly pointed to one of the unnamed critters. "That one is now Garbage Breath."

Varian rolled his eyes in defeat. "Okay, then we'll call her by her initials, GB."

Hiro gave a smug smile in approval, but still wouldn't go near the wild animal.

"I'm calling mine Menace." Wasabi huffed.

"That's a cool name." Fred obliviously agreed as he lifted up another raccoon and nuzzled its nose. "And this one can be The Mega Awesome Raccoon Killer, aka M.A.R.K."

"What about you Tadashi?" Honey Lemon asked. 

Tadashi screwed up his face in thought. "I think I'll call mine... Rei. 

"Did you really just name it that because it starts with an R?" Hiro asked deadpan. 

"Yup," he proudly admitted.

"And I'm naming mine Hypatia!" He picked up the last cub, still ignoring the mother who hissed at him from under the 'den' made of a tarp and cardboard boxes. "Isn't she adorable?" He cooed as he scratched her ear. 

Ruddiger then climbed upon his shoulder and licked his kit on the forehead; pet and owner shared a proud smile.

[jargonbyjulia]

“It’s impossible!”

I’ve heard the saying, “Mums get no days off.” It’s true and it isn’t. I know a couple of mums that get plenty of days off, with health retreats throughout the year, child-free holidays, and so on. Sometimes days off seem IMPOSSIBLE. Even getting through some days seems impossible. I get a few hours to myself; I like to get my nails done, and tomorrow I have a first hair appointment in six months - shock horror!

I have a two and a five year old, and I work part time. On Thursdays I work at home, and I like to think of that as my day “off”. I work in peace, I play my own music, I answer only to the ding of Teams’ notifications, emails and my stomach rumbles. Today is Thursday, and I had my two year old home sick from daycare. It’s barely just winter, and we’ve been knocked out at least twice already. I did my best to keep her entertained while I caught up on the work I started Tuesday, where seven meetings had me pretty tied up. We were doing fine, and she was enjoying being home with me, watching Peppa Pig on repeat, and eating through the snack shelf of the pantry.

At 11:00am, my daughter’s school called asking if I could pick up my preppy as she had a headache, fever and sore tummy. So I alerted work, bundled up my toddler and ran to the rescue. She wasn’t well, at all. We made her warm and gave her medicine, and suddenly it was 11:30am, which means nap time for the little one. I quickly answered emails, started writing an article and reviewed some work. I made sure miss five was comfortable and then put miss two down for her nap. After that, I made a quick couple of sandwiches for us, and ate at my desk. While answering 785 questions, including “How do you spell chicken?” and “What is 78 plus 802?” (from my child, not a colleague), I worked through my list for the day, trying my hardest to focus on the tasks at hand. Suddenly it’s 1:45pm and my two year old is awake, and I break my focus. Now it’s time to prepare her food and get her playing happily with her sister. It’s much easier than I had thought, so I can get back to my work. By 3pm, she’s sitting on my lap tapping away at the keys on my computer, asking why I have a spare TV (my second computer monitor) and she just has a lousy plastic phone with dead batteries.

The dog is whining as he hasn’t had a walk all day. My husband left for work at 8:30am, and he won’t be back until we are asleep at 10pm. Miss five goes downhill as suddenly as Melbourne’s morning temperatures, and needs her fever brought down, so there’s no leaving the house. I’m starting to think getting through this day is impossible, but we push through with more snacks, YouTube kids and a cranked heater.

At 4:30pm I’m cooking lamb chops from Monday and drafting my weekly wrap-up for work.

My phone rings. My husband asks, “How was your day?” I sigh and say it was busy. I read some feedback about my work as the kids eat dinner in front of the fire I made by rubbing two sticks together because everyone is “SO COLD!” and I take a breath. Only a quick one though, as I need to run the bath for two girls who identify solely as mermaids and then hit send on one more message before the end of the working day. COB they call it; Close of Business. (Mums don’t really have a COB though, do they?!)

I haven’t had a shower all day, and it’s 6:20pm. My youngest just shut her head in the fridge trying to make imaginary apple pie for the dog, there’s a full basket of clean laundry waiting to be folded on the kitchen table and I think the wombok I was relying on to substitute as salad leaf for my dinner is growing babies. But gosh, somehow I feel accomplished. There’s ice cream on the couch slowly seeping into the earth under our home, the iPads are dead and I am tired, so tired. But I’ve nearly ticked everything off my work to-do list, and, apart from fridge-headgate, the girls are now content, warm, full, laughing, and nearly ready for bed.

Mums do get days off, but not me today. And that’s ok! We got through it. I’m forever grateful for an extremely supportive workplace who understand what people, and mums, go through on a daily basis. No one pressured me to hit unrealistic deadlines, and everyone understood what I was going through, or at least sympathised or empathised with me. And in the end, it just makes me want to work smarter, and harder. In all aspects of my life.

There will be a glass or four poured tonight, and I’d say they are well deserved. I’ve just realised baby mermaid is due for her antibiotics, so I’ll end with one of our favourite Peppa Pig quotes, “It’s impossible!”

But really Peppa, NOTHING is impossible.

[apprenticestanheight]

More than Anything- Viktor x gn! reader

Okay!! It’s not December yet, but I was listening to Turning Page by Sleeping At Last and that always gets me into a holiday kind of mood. I really wanted to write fluff, as well, so writing this out gave me an excuse to do that! Holiday themed requests can be sent in starting on the 30th (which is about 45 minutes out at the time I’m posting this, and because of fucky timezones, it’s probably already midnight for some people!) and I’ll probably start answering them on the first or second of December!

Fic type- this is fluff!! 

Warnings- this has been proofread, but I’m tired so it’s not my best proofreading work

Winter in Piltover was always a sight to see. Snow dotted the ground, people put out their Christmas lights and Christmas trees with fake snow started popping up in shop windows. It was like Christmas exploded across the city with the morning of December first. 

The only negative to winter was that days sometimes felt as quick as minutes. Viktor was awake long before the sunrise and he left work long after the sunset, but still, as Viktor pulled on his coat and grabbed the tea he’d ordered an hour before, it felt like maybe twenty minutes had passed though it’d been just a bit more than fourteen hours.

“Heading home so soon?” Jayce asked with a teasing grin as he watched Viktor run a hand through his hair. “It’s only eight.”

“I’ve been here since six,” he rebutted. “You can look over my notes on the Hexcore. I also have some notes on future projects of possibility, if you want to look at those. Did you take a look at Y/Ns notes? They’re good. If the projects with the Hextech work, there’s no reason we cannot seek out ways that it could help the sick, right?”

“Mel mentioned Y/Ns notes earlier, said that all I needed to do was get us the green light to move forward with some of their ideas. Hextech particles, programmed to kill viruses? To attack infected cells? You’ve married a fucking genius, let me just say that.” 

Viktor smiled and took a sip of his tea. “I know I did, but I’ll pass the message along.” 

Jayce gave Viktor a grin, and Viktor left.

Making it home was easier than anticipated, between traffic and the impending snowstorm. Viktor was there at eight thirty, tea long gone but heart full as he unlocked the door to the apartment the two of you shared, the smell of peppermint tea hitting his nose instantly.

He took off his coat, shuffled out of his shoes and grinned as he registered the sound of your voice as you hummed from the kitchen, briefly interrupted by a gentle thump as four padded feet met the ground, a trill being heard a moment later as a black and orange calico cat approached him. 

Viktor bent down habitually, leaning heavily on his crutch to do so, laughing as the cat the two of you had dubbed Pumpkin instantly rammed her head into Viktors chin. 

You turned at the sound of his laugh. “Hey,” you said. “How bad were the roads? The snows picked up a lot since this morning.”

Viktor shrugged as Pumpkin headbutted his chin again, pressing a kiss to her forehead and using his crutch to help him get to standing once more as Pumpkin walked away disinterestedly, heading for the corner of the living room where her holiday bed was placed, in the corner of the room furthest from the Christmas tree you’d put up two days before.

“Not as terrible as I expected. How was your day off?” Viktor asked as you turned back to your tea. He wrapped an arm around your waist, rested his chin against one of your shoulders, enjoying being in your presence for the first time since he’d woken up at five that morning. 

“It was good, actually. I tided up a bit, did some laundry. My morning was productive, but I found a stack of photos from our college days and spent the afternoon reminiscing,” you laughed, one hand moving to interlace your fingers with Viktors. “Every day with you has been perfect. Every single one.”

“I love you,” Viktor whispered, the two of you slowly beginning to sway to music that wasn’t playing. 

“I love you too,” you said. “More than anything.” 

Viktor grinned a bit, knowing that there was no place he would’ve prefered being in at that moment. 

[drewzelle]

“nine mutuals you want to know better” tag game!

Tagged by @sarenhale ! I didn't have access to my computer the past couple days so I'm a bit late, but this was a lot of fun!! Thank you for the tag <3

Last Song: lately I've been relaxing to the Hollow Knight OST (City of Tears best track) but in terms of lyrical music, I recently rewatched the music video for "Little Dark Age" by MGMT because its vibes are fucking impeccable and mesmerizing (I can watch it on repeat for hours)

Favorite Color: purple is my go-to answer (especially blue-ish purples), but I also really love dark greens and desaturated earthy colors so much

Last Movie/TV Show: I feel like I haven't been watching movies lately (I'm more of a show person because I like longer form narratives) but I think the last one I watched was "Better Off Dead" while I was visiting my family for the holidays. It was a weird/surreal but good time! As for shows, I finally got around to watching Scavenger’s Reign!! Every aspect was just amazing, especially the worldbuilding and visuals. 2D animation is probably my favorite medium, so I'm really glad we're seeing more animation for adults that wants to tell a story instead of being a delivery device for lame sex jokes and cringe humor. OH ALSO DUNGEON MESHI!!! For a lot of the same reasons! Excited to watch the new episode tonight :>

Sweet / Spicy / Savory: I have a HUGE sweet tooth, so if I had to pick one, that would be it. Savory foods are great and I love them, I just have a leftover "now's your chance!" impulse from not being allowed much sugar as a kid that I can't seem to get rid of. I'm also weak to the "I deserve a lil treat" trap if I've got a bunch of sweet snacks around, so I have to be careful. As for spicy….I am SO completely unable to handle spicy food it’s almost funny, but really it’s just tragic because I LOVE cuisines known for being spicy, like mexican and thai. If I eat out, I always have to be like “can you please make it mild?” and even then, if it's not seasoned for the babiest of babies, my mouth will burn and my weak, white-person tummy will hurt.

Relationship Status: I keep forgetting I’m getting married in less than six months. My partner and I got engaged like two years ago and have lived together for almost five, so my brain just defaults to "there’s probably a guy nearby" and doesn’t think much deeper on it than that.

Last thing I googled: "morels" because I was discussing mushrooms with my friend and those are some cool lookin' guys! Shaggy ink caps too!

Current Obsession: …….One Piece 😅 I was a big fan as a teen but only got as far as the Skypiea arc before I fell off reading/watching it. The hype over the new live action version reminded me the series existed, so I’ve been not so slowly making my way through again, picking up where I left off. I love how absolutely bonkers, there-are-no-rules, anime-ass-anime it is, but also how genuine and heartfelt it can be. I also enjoy how character-driven so much of the plot is which works because of how interesting the characters are (Chopper, Robin, and Franky are my favs). I just got to the timeskip, so I’m maybe…halfway through? between this and BG3, RIP my free time lol

Last Book: I've been reading through Seiji Yoshida's "Houses with a Story" (slowly, because I want to really take it in and savor it) and it's been a delight. Very relaxing and inspiring :> (up next, I finally got copies of the Locked Tomb series, so soon I will be enjoying The Space Lesbians)

Looking forward to: Being able to organize and enjoy my "new" office space after some hectic days! My partner and I realized we barely spend any time in our bedroom except for sleeping, so we swapped my office into the bigger room in our apartment! There were some complications with getting the internet working on my PC, but we finally got it all smoothed out. Now I finally have all my books and sewing/crafting/creative stuff in one place without it feeling cramped or hiding things away in storage :>

Thank you again for the tag! I'm tagging @justagoos, @icicleteeth, @lunarliart, @saltsparkle, @fael-draws, @juliedillon, @ninamodaffari, @crabdominalpain, and the final slot for anyone else who wants to join in - but please don't feel obligated, this is just for fun! :>

[velocitytimes2]

Have an angsty Metalsandwich blurb for your Sunday night.

Rating: T for drug mention Pairing: Steve x Billy x Eddie

Wrote this as a love letter to the anniversary of Eddie sacrificing himself for his friends because I'm feeling some kind of way about it.

tw: angst, major character death, canon character death

Steve only ever returns to Hawkins now twice a year, now. His mother comes to him for holidays, doting that he shouldn’t have to pack the entire family up from Pennsylvania to come see her when one-person traveling is easier than five. Robin lives in Spokane now, all the Byers had settled down in California again – both natural born and married-in Wheelers alike, Dustin in Silicon Valley, only because of his wife, Lucas traveling for broadcasting… No one really was left in Hawkins for Steve. But no matter what, he always came back, drove over the still two-toned pavement at Town Hall to turn left and head home. Six days a year. The morning before in to spend the day with mom. The day of. The day after to pick himself up and dust himself off and pack the Volvo for the drive home.  The dates are always the same. March, for a dried out red roses and a joint. July, for sunflowers, and a Marlboro (even though he quit at twenty-seven). Both with a six pack.  July is always a fight, always explaining that he just needs time alone on the holiday to his kids, how grandma sometimes needs him home – a lie but one that helps, watching his partner understand but still hurt that his choice had always been to go back. March sometimes fought back with attempts at late-season blizzards, and isn’t that the most hilarious thing. To know that even now, even forty-fucking years later he’s being bumped into by Eddie. Even when the weather sucks, even when the snow is falling or the fourth of July is the hottest in ten years, Steve goes, sits with his back to a headstone, and talks to the two boys he’d once loved with so much in his heart that he was delirious with it.  It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy, god he had fought and clawed and torn his way to it but he was happy. Was so in love again with someone who saw him for the bat in his trunk (still), and nights where he walked the halls to press a palm to each of his children’s chests, and the days he had to go and spend with the people who weren’t able to come see him anymore. Who hadn’t left Hawkins and survived.  He knows Nancy goes to see Barb. Sometimes, on the day he leaves Hawkins Steve does too. He tells her what he can about her friends. He apologizes for not being the person he should have been, for playing the role in her death.  He walks across the same cemetery and sits with Chrissy. Knows Eddie would want him to. He sometimes lays on his back and cries on her grave, making up stories of what he and Eddie and her could have been doing now in their thirties, forties, fifties. Sometimes he just tells her about how much he had loved Eddie, loved him quietly from the side, loved him loudly behind closed doors.  No one who Billy loved is in Hawkins. So Steve tells him about what he knows about Max’s life now. He keeps him up to date with what musicians are doing. The new and the old and the in between. He tells Billy about Eddie, how much he would have loved Eddie once he got past the whole nerd thing. How much they would have loved one another.  He always ends up crying to them both. Because how do you move past horrific deaths? How do you move on with the guilt that both times you were the one to live and they weren’t?  You don’t. But you can be happy.  He is happy. But he can miss them. Thinks it’s okay he misses them. Knows they’re happy he’s happy.  “I love you. I know you're out there somewhere, watching. I’ll see you next year, baby.”

[torpublishinggroup]

Tor Books EPIC Holiday Gift Guide For Your Oddball Family

Hello hello, and welcome back to our annual TOR BOOKS HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE, where we give you what we think are the best gifts for the hyper specific, super chaotic individuals in your life. From your childhood BFF to your mildly traumatized game master, we have a whole slew of bookish picks for you this holiday season. Enjoy, and Happy Holidays, y’all!

by Rachel Taylor and a cat

For your long suffering GM (Game Master) who just wants a break from your party — via tenor

Anyone who acts as game master for Dungeons & Dragons (or any other TTRPG, to be frank) deserves an award for powering through all the shenanigans their party puts them through. From attempting to fight a dragon with a fork to accidentally leading your party off a cliff, your deeply stressed out GM deserves a cozy novel to help them decompress. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree is out now and, for an extra little something, you can submit your receipt to get an adorable acrylic charm, a perfect addition to your gift!

For your cousin who remained loyal and never left Tumblr — via GIPHY

You remember the Tumblr exodus of 2019, and for shame—you were part of it, you fragile soul. But not your cousin. Resolute, they stood by their blog and posted through the long, long night. Three years later, Tumblr is resurging and you need a gift for the one who never lost faith. What’s more Tumblr than magic danger-nerds alternatively hooking up with and hating each other as they conduct research and mainline caffeine and/or alcohol? Redeem your past mistakes with the perfect bookly gifts for your cousin: Olivie Blake’s The Atlas Six and thrilling sequel, The Atlas Paradox.

For the enthusiastic players who got their GM Legends & Lattes — @lookhuman via GIPHY

You love the players at your table, but even after years of collaborative TTRPG storytelling, you’ve never once anticipated the many ways they have conspired to unravel every plot thread you’ve ever written. How then could you ever predict what they might like as a gift? Easy. Just listen to us: Daughter of Redwinter by Ed McDonald is a fantastic epic fantasy about a girl who can A) see ghosts, and B) turn people into them with an expertly placed arrow, if she takes the mind. Of course, if anyone finds out about her power, she’s dead, and circumstances have led her to become a ward in the monastery of the very warrior-magi that would execute her. Oops! What gamesplayer can resist a quick-paced and twisting tale of magic, adventure, and deceit?

For your ex-boyfriend who’s still blowing up your phone with House of the Dragon TikTok’s — via GIPHY

So your ex-boyfriend (who you’re still friends with, DESPITE THE ADVICE OF OTHERS) just finished House of the Dragon and he won’t stop texting you about how much it sucks to have to wait 2 years for season 2. He’s right, but you can still give him a new epic fantasy to obsess over with The First Binding by R.R. Virdi. At over 800 pages, it’ll keep him busy for quite a while AND it also doubles as a premium bludgeoning weapon for you if he doesn’t appreciate your gift. Win win!

For your chronically-online uncle who needs to stop doomscrolling for his own health — @dualvoidmania via GIPHY

He’s mister doom-and-gloom. If there’s an upsetting tweet, you’ve seen it because he’s retweeted it. You don’t quite know him well enough to be comfortable with direct intervention. You need to gift him Last Exit by Max Gladstone. It’s a book about the death of idealism and the rot that creeps through the cracks of reality like so many corrosively fecund vines. It’s about a generation who thought they would transform the world and failure’s fallout. He’ll still be very DOOM-ful, but in an artistically fun, yet still scary way.

For your brother who is OBSESSED with The Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime — via GIPHY

So your brother watched The Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime and has fallen down the 14+ book-deep rabbithole that is Robert Jordan’s timeless epic fantasy series. Help him delve even further into the lore with Origins of the Wheel of Time by Michael Livingston! He’ll be able to learn even more about all the mythology and legends that inspired Robert Jordan’s universe and you’ll get some peace and quiet while he’s absorbed in his new book.

For your sister who always has at least 5 open browser tabs of Ao3 fics — via Gfycat

Who among us hasn’t spent some time reading fix-it fics on Ao3? Well, no one compares to your sister, who currently has 30 tabs open on her iPhone filled with her favorite OTP falling in love 30 different ways (IF THE SHOW WON’T GIVE THEM A HAPPILY EVER AFTER, THE INTERNET WILL). You can’t buy her the perfect 100 chapter slow burn coffee shop fix-it fic of her OTP, but you CAN buy her Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell! It features all the choicest tropes like mutual pining, slowburn, and fake dating and will be sure to put a smile on her face for the holidays.

For your estranged mother, to subtly let her know that your relationship still requires some Conversations — via GIPHY & tenor

Do you want to give your mother a gift that’s also a hint about how you feel about your tumultuous parental relationship? Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey is the gift for her! It’s got great thriller vibes, with a daughter coming back to her family home for the first time after her father was arrested for being a serial killer…which she kind of caused. And mom’s still holding a grudge over a DECADE later. It’s got drama, monsters, and enough parallels to make your mom go ‘Wait, is this f*cking play about US?!’

For the loved one in your life who waited 2.5 years to finally see My Chemical Romance live in Fall 2022 — @KyleeConriquez via GIPHY

A million years ago (Or two and a half. Whatever. Time is meaningless mush) your loved one planned to attend the My Chemical Romance reunion. A show that would eventually be put off and off and off due to ongoing events until earlier this year. It was epic, but you know what else is? Book of Night by Holly Black. Your loved one won’t have to wait 900~ days for this literary event, and just like an MCR show, they’ll want to acquire (more) goth clothes and tattoos after.

For the childhood BFF everyone called a ‘voracious reader’ growing up / anyone who was ‘a delight to have in class’ — via Goodreads

Did your childhood BFF simply devour every book in front of her? Is she still That Person whose TBR pile is precariously stacked in the corner of her living room, a threat to anyone who brushes too close? Give her a book to really whet her appetite for reading in The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean, where a very special family literally sustains themselves entirely by eating books. Did we bite a book while reading this to see if we were book eaters? Who’s to say.

For your college best friend with at least one historical quote tattoo — via GIPHY

Does your college best friend have an encyclopedic knowledge of historical retellings? Do they have, at minimum, one historically linked tattoo that prompts a 20 minute lecture whenever someone asks what it means? Do they have five different editions of The Song of Achilles on their shelf? And most importantly, do they crave a new, queer retelling to sink their teeth into? Look no further! Neon Yang has a Joan of Arc inspired, post-apocalyptic sci-fi story for you. Check out The Genesis of Misery, ​​starring a queer and diverse array of pilots, princesses, and prophetic heirs.

For the ambiguously LGBTQ+ niece whose fashion sense you try to understand, but ultimately makes you feel insecure about how fast you’re aging — @yifan via GIPHY

You love them, but no one makes you feel old like your nebulously but definitely queer niece. They’re so cool, and are very helpful in keeping you up to date on the hippest trends, but every time you talk to them, you feel the pent-up years in your joints. Get your niece A. K. Larkwood’s The Serpent Gates series, including The Unspoken Name and The Thousand Eyes. It’s about a gay orc death priestess who rebrands herself as a garbage wizard’s personal assassin and picks up a gods-cursed, magi-baddie mid-adventure. There are cosmic gods, ancient ruins, devious machinations, and a lot of awesome gay stuff.

For the sibling on their third+ rewatch of The Expanse — via GIPHY

We get it. Your sibling buddy is bummed that The Expanse has finished its TV run and is still hopelessly in love with its marriage of adrenaline-flooding action and introspective parsing of human expansion / empire. Again, we do get it, and what you need to get is Sweep of Stars by Maurice Broaddus.

For the nephew who you gifted The Way of Kings to last year — via GIPHY

Your nephew reads through books at speeds generally known only to muscle cars and lightning, and he needs long fantasy books now! The time required to produce the next installment in an epic series is often as long as the books themselves, which is unfortunate since it’s time for you to gift your nephew another book. Here’s the good news: Brandon Sanderson writes as fast as your nephew reads, and his long-awaited continuation of the Mistborn series, The Lost Metal, is the perfect gift. And then next year you can get him the next Brando Sando, and the book cycle of giving goes on and on and on.

We hope you and your loves ones have a happy and safe holiday season! Did we miss a super niche friend/family member that you want to see a gift for? Let us know in the comments!