#ad mike is and always will be my weakness

[ataliagold]

But My Heart Is Just A Little Boy

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Rating: Teen (swearing)

W/C: 2012

Tags: Established Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, hurt/comfort, Steve Harrington has dyscalculia, Steve Harrington has self esteem issues, Steve Harrington needs a hug, fluff, light angst, DnD, Mike and Dustin are a little mean here

Notes: Just slowly posting some of my AO3 stuff here as well :) Title from Rattlesnake by Jack Van Cleaf.

___

Steve joining in on Eddie’s campaign was supposed to be a nice surprise for his boyfriend.

And it was; Eddie’s face had lit up with joy when Steve had walked in and sat down with the kids around the table. Steve had taken the dice Dustin had loaned him and lined them up in front of him, from the D4 (the funny triangle one) up to the D20 (the one with heaps of sides, Steve reminded himself.)

If he kept them in that order it would help him pick the right dice quickly, he’d decided.

Because he wanted this to go to perfectly.

Eddie had been asking him to join in on a game for months, but Steve had so far refused, only coming along sometimes to watch quietly. There were parts of it that piqued his interest – namely the combat and the creatures Eddie planted into the game, because some of them were so damn cool even if Steve wouldn’t readily admit it out loud. A small part of him, a much younger part that had loved fairy tales and stories about knights and dragons and sword fights before his father had confiscated those books, deeming them too childish, watched with a quiet giddiness as the kids battled all manner of beasts.

But much of the game was so complicated - there were so many numbers, and Steve had no idea how Eddie and the kids managed to keep track of everything, how they added dice values together so damn quickly and kept track of a seemingly endless list of stats and bonuses and modifiers, whatever the hell they were.

Eddie knew about his difficulty with numbers. He’d seen the way Steve had to count with his fingers, how it took him far too fucking long to do a simple equation, how he stood in Melvald’s staring at the price of something just trying to make the numbers make sense so they wouldn’t blow their grocery budget.

And Eddie was patient, always. But D&D was Eddie’s realm, his place to shine, and Steve was so worried about holding him back and ruining the game every time he had to pause to add two fucking dice together.

Finally, he’d caved. Secretly, with Dustin’s help, he’d put a character sheet together. He’d made a paladin because Dustin had told him it suited him. Steve made him strong and lawful good, just like the knights he used to read about as a little boy. Dustin had rolled his eyes a little at that but Steve had been quite proud of what he’d put together.

Plus, Dustin had promised to help him with the math.

But here Steve was, well over an hour into the campaign, and he was struggling.

Cheeks burning, he turned to Dustin yet again.

“Wait, which one am I rolling?” he whispered.

Dustin rolled his eyes. The kid had been patient at first, but it was beginning to wear thin.

Steve was beginning to wear thin.

“The D10, Steve,” Dustin hissed.

“Right,” Steve nodded, grabbing for one of the dice.

“That’s the D8, Steve,” Mike said wearily.

Steve’s cheeks flushed even hotter, and he grabbed the other dice, rolling it quickly.

“Ahhh...seven,” Steve announced.

“You slash at the goblin, your blade cutting deep into its chest, the creature gurgling and reeling backwards…” Eddie leant over the table, giving a dramatic recount of events.

Steve smiled, unable to help it. His boyfriend was having such a good time, and even if Steve wasn’t enjoying himself so much, well, that was ok. He could do this, for Eddie.

“…but it scrabbles back to its feet, weak but alive,” Eddie finishes.

Mike groaned and slapped the table.

“It has to be almost dead,” Lucas announced.

“Yeah, but there’s still four others,” Mike pointed out.

“This one must be on two hit points or less,” Will surmised.

How did he know that? Steve frowned, let the kids talk amongst themselves. His gaze wandered over to Eddie, watching him lean back in his chair, eyes shining. He shot a wink at Steve when he caught him looking, then frowned a little, obviously noticing Steve wasn’t looking all that comfortable.

You ok? He mouthed at him.

Steve nodded quickly.

But he felt small.

Grow the fuck up, you’re fine.

“…Steve!” Mike groaned.

Steve’s attention snapped back to the kids. “What?”

“Stop staring at Eddie and tell us how many hit points you’ve got left.”

“Um…” Steve glanced down at the piece of paper in front of him. He’d scribbled some numbers down like Dustin had told him to every time his character had taken damage, but there were a lot of numbers there and he wasn’t sure they all actually related to his hit points…

“Give it here,” Dustin snatched the paper from him impatiently, peering down at it.

Steve waited while Dustin assessed his work, the feeling vaguely reminiscent of being back in school, his teachers reading over his work with a disappointed shake of their heads.

“This can’t be right, Steve,” Dustin sighed. “It says you’re on twelve hit points…is that a twelve? Your writing’s messy.”

Steve nodded. “Yours isn’t much better, pea-brain,” he mumbled, just to shoot something back at the kid.

Dustin narrowed his eyes at him. “You must have less than that because of the damage you took in the last round. You’re probably down to…eight at the most, by now.”

“Just make it eight, then,” Steve grumbled.

“Eight it is, big boy,” Eddie agreed.

“It doesn’t work like that, though,” Mike huffed. “You actually have to keep track of this stuff Steve, there’s no point playing if you just make the numbers up.”

“It doesn’t matter, really,” Will tried to intervene quietly. “It can just be eight.”

Dustin picked up his pencil, drawing some columns on Steve’s paper. “Ok, so just use this one column to keep track of damage, don’t write all over the page. There’s your total hit points at the top, and every time you take damage, write it down under there, ok? And then just take it off the total. Simple.”

Like it was that fucking easy. Maybe for them, it was. They didn’t get every number mixed up in their brain, they didn’t stare at a single digit trying to put some numeric value behind it and coming up with zilch.

Dustin was trying to help, Steve knew. But his tone of voice was so fucking condescending that it had Steve squirming in his seat, wishing he was anywhere else.

He felt Eddie’s eyes on him.

“Come sit by me, Stevie, I’ll help you keep track.” Eddie said gently.

“You’ll just go easy on him, and that’s not fair!” Mike whined.

“Can it, Wheeler,” Eddie snapped at him.

“Just because he can’t do basic math.”

“Right, you get to roll with disadvantage now, just for that,” Eddie told him smugly.

Mike was retorting with something, but Steve didn’t hear it.

His pulse was thumping in his ears, his cheeks on fire. The years were stripped from him, the sensitive child he’d tucked away inside a long time ago forced to the surface.

“Look, just carry on without me,” Steve muttered, and stood up quick enough that his chair scraped on the floor.

“Steve -” Dustin started, but Steve was finished, striding towards the stairs and blinking back tears.

He wasn’t going to cry in front of the kids, not over a fucking game, not over something his boyfriend loved so much.

But they were coming faster than he could blink them back as he headed out of Mike’s stuffy basement and out to the driveway, the cold night air caressing his flushed face.

This was supposed to have been a treat for Eddie. It was supposed to be fun, and Steve had ruined the night by being fucking stupid.

A tear tracked down his cheek , Steve losing the battle against them. He’d just drive home, he decided. Steve had come straight from work that day, so Eddie had come separately in his van, he wouldn’t be inconvenienced.

And then they could finish their game in peace, without having to treat Steve like a five-year-old.

He was getting in the driver’s seat when Eddie ran to him, both hands reaching for him.

“Stevie…” Eddie murmured softly.

“I’m sorry,” Steve mumbled, dragging his sleeve across his face, smudging the tears there.

“Why? The kids were being assholes, I’ve already yelled at them.”

Steve shook his head. “I was just slowing everyone down, they were getting frustrated, I get it.”

“No, sweetheart, they were being rude,” Eddie corrected him. “Especially Wheeler.” Eddie brushed his thumbs across Steve’s cheeks, crouching down beside the open driver’s door. “I’ve told them to pull their heads in. Do you…do you want to come back inside?”

“Eds…” Steve leant into his hands a little. “I’m no good at it. I really wanted to try, for you, and I’m so sorry I ruined it, but there’s too many numbers and I can’t keep track of everything and it takes me so fucking long and it’s embarrassing because I can’t even keep up with a bunch of kids, and I just feel like I’m back at school again.”

Eddie cupped his cheeks again, tilting Steve’s head to look at him. “Hey. You haven’t ruined anything, they did. I’m so happy you came along tonight, because I know you did it for me. But look, D&D doesn’t have to be your thing -”

“But -”

“It doesn’t,” Eddie cut in. “Just like…your balls in laundry basket games aren’t mine. But I like hanging around while you and Wayne watch them, and I love how excited you get about it, and how you sit there with that fucking pretty smile…”

Steve huffed out a small laugh, and Eddie grabbed his wrist to press a kiss to the inside of it.

“But I don’t know what’s going on most of the time,” Eddie continued. “It makes you happy, and that’s enough for me. So, I don’t want you to feel like you have to play D&D just for me if it’s not something you enjoy. It’s more than enough that you listen to my ideas, that you help me write -”

“I don’t really,” Steve said quietly.

“You do! Or have you forgotten who came up with that fucking amazing twist with the elven prince?”

“I got it from a movie,” Steve argued.

“So? I didn’t think of it, and it had the little shrimps completely stumped.”

Steve managed a small smile. “I do like some of the stories,” he admitted quietly. “But I think…I just wanna go home, ok? You can carry on.”

Eddie shook his head. “I’m gonna get them to pack up in there. I’ll drop them home, then follow you back, ok?”

“Steve?” came Dustin’s voice from behind Eddie, small and hesitant.

Steve quickly straightened up in his seat, wiping a hand across his face.

“Yeah, buddy?” he replied, his voice a little hoarse.

“I’m…I’m sorry. That we weren’t more patient. It’s ok if you struggle with numbers, and we should’ve helped more.”

“It’s ok, Dusty,��� Steve told him.

Eddie frowned, reached down to squeeze Steve’s hand, then turned to Dustin. “It isn’t ok,” he argued. “But it was nice of you to apologize.”

Dustin nodded. “If you want to try again sometime, I promise I’ll help more. I…I really liked having you play.”

“Thanks,” Steve managed.

“Tell Wheeler to start crafting his apology too,” Eddie said firmly, still cradling Steve’s hand in his own. “Otherwise he’s rolling with disadvantage for the whole next session.”

Dustin’s eyes widened a little before he nodded.

After packing up, the kids waited sheepishly by Eddie’s van. Eddie stayed crouched next to Steve a moment longer.

“Go home, get comfy on the couch, and pick out any movie you want to watch, ok?” Eddie murmured to him. “When I get home I’m gonna order us some pizza, and I’m gonna cuddle the shit out of you, understand?”

Steve laughed softly. “Sounds perfect.”

“Good. I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.”

___

[catierambles]

Feral Instincts Ch.22

Pairing: The Rogue’s Gallery (Geralt, Syverson, Mike, August Walker, Walter Marshall) x Stephanie Daniels (OFC)

WC 2064

Warnings: Mentions of abuse, toxic masculinity, sex trafficking, child marriage

Note: Local LEOs=Local Law Enforcement Officers

Stephanie followed Mike over as Sy pulled away from the young man, their eyes red.

“Hey, Mike.” He said, looking at him with a watery smile and Mike pulled him into a hug, holding him tight.

“You little shit. Where were you?” Mike asked and Albert gave a weak laugh.

“Found him in a shelter in Chicago.” Geralt said, “Had a fellow Tracker in the area keep an eye on him until I got there.”

“Geralt, I didn’t--” Sy started.

“You didn’t have to.” He said and Sy laid his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. “He was going by Mondego, not Syverson, so it took a bit to actually find him.”

“Mom’s maiden name.” Mike said, pulling away from him and Albert nodded.

“Don’t remember a lot about mom, but I remember that.” He said, “And I didn’t want to carry his name around.”

“Understandable.” Sy said, “It’s my fuckin’ fault.”

“I don’t blame you, Markus.” Albert said, “Not for one minute did I ever blame you.”

“I shoulda been there.”

“You were deployed.” He said, “Halfway around the world. Mike tried to stop him, but he…”

“Mikey?” Sy asked.

“He ripped my wolf out of me.” Mike said, rubbing at his shoulder.

“I don’t understand what’s going on.” Stephanie said.

“Our old man is a sonofabitch.” Sy said with a sniff, “Always resented the fact that Mike wasn’t also an Alpha, and when I got home from a deployment, I found out that Al went through his first shift and manifested as an Omega. Dad kicked him out.”

“Are you serious?” Stephanie asked, “How old were you?”

“Twelve, almost thirteen.” Albert said with a shrug. “Bounced around from shelter to shelter for a while, but no packs wanted to take in a male Omega.”

“Why not?” Stephanie asked, “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Omegas are mostly female, doll, male Omegas are few and far between so a lot of Alphas see male Omegas as weak or effeminate. Don’t want that weakness in a pack, so they exclude’em.” Sy said, “Not sayin’ I agree with it, I don’t.” He added quickly, seeing how her expression turned, “I wanted to kick dad’s ass when I got home and found out, but Mikey was still livin’ there and didn’t want him to take it out on him when I had to leave again.”

“We wanted to find you when Sy grabbed me from college and moved us.” Mike said, “But the trail was stone cold and we didn’t know where to start.”

“You--” Albert said, looking at Stephanie, “You’re a female Alpha.”

“I am.” She said, nodding.

“Are you…are you Markus’ Mate?” He asked and she hesitated.

“She is.” Sy said, “Mine and Mike’s.”

“Can I…can I be in your pack?” He asked hesitantly.

“Why are you asking? Sweetheart, you already are.” Stephanie said and tears filled his eyes, his face crumpling. She beckoned him with open arms and he stepped into her, returning her hug and sobbing quietly into her shoulder. “No one is going to hurt you again, okay?” He nodded against her, his arms tightening around her. “You’re home now, you’re with your brothers.” A kind of peace settled over her as she held him, running her fingertips through the back of his hair.

"I can feel you again, Steph." Mike said with a sigh and she reached out, tangling her fingers with his.

"Well, shit." Sy said, "Doll, there's somethin' about you when it comes to the Syverson men. Mike's your Beta and Mate, I'm also your Mate, and I'll be damned if you didn't just claim Al as your Omega."

"He's a child, Sy, was three steps above an infant when he was on his own." Stephanie said, holding Albert against her with a hand at the back of his head, the teenager relaxing against her, his arms at his sides, "And if I ever meet your father, he's a dead man. Do you understand? I'm putting him in the ground."

"I believe you." Sy said, "Like to see that, actually. Also, Al ain’t a child. He’s sixteen.”

“And the brain doesn’t complete development until the mid-twenties. His brain is still developing, he’s still in puberty and will be for a few more years. He’s a fetus.”

“You’re not gonna…you know…”

“Michael!” She snapped, “What part of he’s a fetus did you not understand?”

“Hey, is everything all right?” Heather asked, jogging over and Albert picked his head up to look at her, “August is all intense and it’s making Peter nervous. Aw, who’s this little cutie?”

“This is Albert.” Stephanie said, “Sy and Mike’s little brother.”

“Hi Albert, I’m Heather, a friend of Steph’s. Aren’t you just the most adorable little Omega I’ve ever seen.”

“Ease up, Heather, I already claimed him.” Stephanie said, rolling her eyes.

“Are you sure? Because I can take him if you don’t have room.” Heather said.

“Ain’t that Peter’s decision?” Sy asked and she made a rude sound, rolling her eyes.

“Please, he may be the Alpha, but I run the show. This pack would burn to the ground without me.” She said, “Really, if you don’t have room for him--”

“Do I gotta lick him or something?” Stephanie asked, “You know what? Fine.” Pushing his hair out the way, she licked a stripe up his forehead with an exaggerated sound, making him smile. “There. I licked him so he’s mine.” That made him laugh and she ruffled his hair back into place.

“I wanna get licked.” Mike said, pouting slightly.

“Sweety, I licked other places on you to make you mine.” Stephanie said and Geralt hid a snort behind his hand. "Geralt, if you could please collect Mr. Broody and Walter?"

"Yeah." He said and walked away, heading across the park and coming back a short time later with them in tow.

"Feeling better?" August asked, but his tone wasn't one of concern, more of annoyance.

"Walker…" Sy started but she held up a hand.

"I got this." She said and pulled away from Albert, going to August to look up at him. Their eyes met and he huffed a sigh, folding his arms over his chest. Neither one of them blinked, a small smile pulling at her lips and tension built in the air between them before August broke contact, looking away from her. "That's what I thought. If you ever treat me like that again, ever take that tone with me again, especially while my brain is staging a coup d'etat, we're done, understood? I won't be made to feel like a burden ever again." He looked at her again and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Steph." He said and she nodded, stepping into him and sliding her hands over his chest before pulling him down into a kiss, her fingers weaving through his hair. "I love you."

"I love you too." She said, “But I won’t be made to feel like that again.”

“Oh yeah.” Albert said, “Female Alphas can have more than one Mate. Forgot about that.”

“Who’s the kid?” August asked.

“Albert.” Sy said, “Our little brother.”

“Hi.” He said, giving August a short wave and got a scowl in return. “What?”

“You’re an Omega.”

“I am.” He said, shrinking away from him a little. “Is that…okay?”

“It’s perfectly fine.” Stephanie said pointedly. “There’s no problem with it at all.”

“None.” August said after a pause. “Just would have expected a brother of theirs to be another Beta or Alpha, is all.”

“You already bring him into the pack?” Walter asked.

“She licked me so I’m hers.” Albert said with a nod.

“She what?” Walter asked with a laugh.

“She licked him so he’s hers.” Heather repeated.

“On the forehead!” Stephanie said, “Geez.” Peter then jogged over and they looked at him as he approached.

“Everything okay?” He asked.

“Everything is fine.” Stephanie said, “Some family stuff came up.”

“So um…” He started, rubbing the back of his neck, “This is awkward. Some of the others are getting a little nervous with both August Walker and Geralt Rivian being here.” Stephanie blinked at him for a moment before looking back up at August.

“You know how you said you would explain later?” She asked, “Explain now.”

“It’s just the work we do for the Pack Council.” August said.

“I didn’t know you worked for the Council, too.” Sy said and he shrugged.

“It’d be bad PR if it got out.”

“Why would it be bad PR?” Stephanie asked, “I know what Geralt does, but what do you do?” He didn’t answer her, looking down at her with a steady stare. “Walker.”

“He’s the Council’s attack dog.” Peter said quickly and August’s head whipped around to look at him, making him back up a step. “Whenever a pack makes moves against or consistently defies Council orders, they send him in to clean house. He takes out leadership and anyone involved, and the remaining members are absorbed into other packs in the area. At least, that’s the rumor, but he’s been sighted in places where packs have gone dark so it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”

“August?” Stephanie asked and he turned his attention back to her, holding her arms gently.

“Princess, it’s similar to what I did with the Agency. So when I got out, I was approached by a Council Rep to take on the position.” He said softly.

“What did you do with the Agency?” She asked and he sighed. “August.”

“I hunted down and assassinated rogue agents.” He said and she was quiet, “Sweetheart, these were not good people, they worked with terrorist organizations or sold secrets to hostile foreign powers.”

“But the pack leaderships you…kill, they don’t do any of that.” She said and he sighed again.

“No, they don’t.”

“They just give the middle finger to the Pack Council and want to do their own thing.”

“Baby…”

“They don’t want to be governed over and just want to be left to their own devices.”

“Steph, a lot of these packs were doing shit that would get them in trouble with the human authorities. Child marriages, incest, sex trafficking of minors and Omegas, weapons stockpiling. The Council doesn’t want their own version of Waco, so they send me or one of the other Cleaners in to take care of it before they become a problem.” He said, “There’s already anti-wolf groups gaining traction in Washington, if the shit those packs were doing went public, it would just throw gas on the fire.”

“Cleaners.” She said, “That’s what you’re called. A Cleaner.”

“Yes, baby.”

“You said “a lot of these packs”, not “all of these packs”.” She said, “So not all of them were like that.”

“Sweetheart--”

“Peter, we don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, so if you want us to go we will.” She said, still looking up at August, “No hard feelings.”

“That’d probably be best, yeah.” Peter said and she nodded, “They don’t have any problems with the others, just…them.”

“I understand.” Stephanie said, “Walter, if you could help Sy pack up?”

“Of course, love.” Walter said and they walked away.

“August, wait in your car. Don’t want you making anyone else jumpy.” She said and he nodded, taking his keys back from her. “Geralt, don’t know why someone who tracks down and takes care of Ferals along with local LEOs would make them nervous, but please join August, just to be on the safe side.”

“Okay.” He said and moved away when August did.

“Mike, if you could let the others know that we’re heading out, but they are more than free to stay if they want to.”

“Of course.” He said and jogged away.

“What do you want me to do?” Albert asked.

“You had a long trip, so you’re probably tired. Go ahead and crash out in Sy’s truck if you want, I can come with you if you don’t want to be alone.” She said.

“Please.” He said and she nodded, giving him a soft smile.

“Peter, it was nice to meet you and everyone.” She said, “Heather, I’ll talk to you at work.”

“Yeah, of course.” She said and they shared a brief hug before Stephanie and Albert climbed into the backseat of Sy’s truck, Albert resting with his head in her lap, curled up on the bench seat, her fingers moving gently through his hair.

[everythingcanadian]

In waistcoat and shirt sleeves, Harvey looked like a walking wet dream. Especially when he stood in front of his office windows and let the city and sky backlight him. A glass of water in his hand. Or coffee. Or tea even. He looked confident and charming. The cheeky smile he threw over his shoulder at Mike added to that tug of want.

The first time Mike caught Harvey with his sleeves rolled up in two folds, his waistcoat hugging him nicely, and his hair just starting to lose its hold at the front, he tried not to salivate too much and have it drool down to the floor.

His legs went jelly-like as he took another step, Harvey turning towards him when he hit the floor with a thud and a grunt. His knee hurt where it hit first. And the pain radiated up into his teeth.

"Are you alright?" That voice was warm and rich. Some concern lacing the edges.

Mike nodded and looked at the legal documents now spread in front of him, paper clip coming undone as he let go to catch himself. "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine."

Harvey's brows drew together for a moment before he shifted back to his usual neutral, a play of a smirk at his lips and eyes searching for anything. "Can you at least stand up so it doesn't look like you're grovelling at my feet."

Mike gave him a mild glare and took time to gather the mess of papers and stand. But it also meant he could trail his eyes up as he got up slowly. He tracked how Harvey's clothing always fit him nicely. That his hands were elegant while holding his second coffee cup of the day with a silver band stark against the black cup sleeve.

Mike internally moaned as his eyes went to those veins. Harvey was vascular. Mike would bet nurses loved him, the back of his hands and up his forearms. The shirt was a thick cotton and had subtle grey pinstripes in it. His dark navy waistcoat had small pearlescent buttons that made it all the more sleek and suave.

He wanted to see more skin and wanted to see where else Harvey's veins showed as bold. How the hair on his arms could be an indication of the hair on his chest, in his armpits, on his legs, his groin! Mike's head was swimming in want.

Of course Harvey saw all that. Of course, when Mike's eyes got to Harvey's, there was silent laughter there and some heat behind it. The patented smirk was in full show, too. Mike was caught. And as he stood straight he did a second look over. Indulging himself now that he was already found out.

"You can look, but you can't touch. Not until we go home." Harvey teased. "Don't tell me you actually went weak in the knees for me."

The light flush said it all.

Harvey's smile went wolfish, preditor meeting its prey. "I'll be damned. Little Mike Ross falling for me."

Mike snorted. "I've been on my knees plenty of times for you. What's one more?"

"You're on your knees for me plenty enough." Harvey stated as he tapped his pinkie and ring finger on his cup. The silver engagement ring bold on his slightly tanned skin. "Let's get this done and we can head home early. We can take a couple of files with us to work on after-." Harvey left the sentence hanging and Mike actually moaned outloud this time.

"Yeah- okay let's finish this right now."

[cinematicnomad]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

tagged by @zainclaw and @andavs 🥰🥰🥰

How many works do you have on ao3? 39 apparently

What's your total ao3 word count? 288,797 words

What fandoms do you write for? actively right now? nothing really lol. haven't published a fic since 2022. but i guess you could say 911 and teen wolf given some random WIPs in my drafts. also i randomly started jotting down some notes for a stranger things steve/eddie fic that will probably never be written.

Top five fics by kudos 01. take my hand (take my everything) (buddie) 02. taste your beating heart (sterek) 03. so show me (family) (buddie) 04. you never said a word (sterek) 05. be careful (my darling) (buddie)

Do you respond to comments? yes, always! i usually try to wait until i have a dozen or so, which can sometimes take a bit of time, but eventually i respond to it all.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? i have a sterek drabble called and i fell heavy into your arms (688 words) that is basically derek seeing stiles die and then immediately letting himself be killed

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? most of them?? not sure i can think of one specifically that was happier than the others.

Do you get hate on fics? ah, i almost said no, but then i remembered that for my fic taste your beating heart every now and then i'll get scott fans who think the fic should be tagged as "bad friend scott mccall" even though he's NOT a bad friend in the fic, it's just a nuanced view of their changing relationship. like, that fic is about 3 main things that include: stiles and derek getting together, solving the main mystery, and stiles and scott's friendship maturing to a place where they can love each other and still be brothers without thinking they need to be in the same pack!! like it's FUNDAMENTAL.

anyway, i had one reader who i think quit the fic halfway through bc i gently pushed back on their rage comment insulting derek and stiles for a fight that takes place with scott. the reader left an angry reply to my response, which they then deleted before i could even look at it, and then never commented on the fic again even though they'd been commenting on the fic since chapter 1.

Do you write smut? no not really. i don't know why i'm so bad at writing sex, but i am very bad at writing sex.

Craziest crossover i have no crossovers

Have you ever had a fic stolen? not that i know of??

Have you ever had a fic translated? yes, someone translated my mike/harvey suits fic trembling hands into russian all the way back in 2013.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? i have not!

All time favourite ship? to write? to read? no idea, so i refuse to answer.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i've got a sterek idea that's an AU of the netflix show virgin river. i had a pretty brief outline that i sketched out some, and even started writing a little, but it never went anywhere. i did create an AU gifset for it and every now and then when people start reblogging it i think about going back to try and write it.

What are your writing strengths? i think i'm good at realistic dialogue? but i don't know. i haven't written in a while so i'm not feeling super great about my writing at this very moment.

What are your writing weaknesses? i suck at setting a scene. and conveying a complex emotion. also i feel like i get v bogged down in what characters are physically doing or whatever and i try to describe it and it just detracts from the story over all. yikes ok i'm feeling worse about my writing than i thought lol

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? if the context is there to understand what's being said, great. otherwise, just adding context to the dialogue tag (he said in french, in german, etc) works. personally i'd prefer not to scroll back and forth between the fic and the notes to figure out what's being said.

First fandom you wrote in? harry potter. on the site quizilla back in the year of our lord 2005 lol. i started off writing like. a harry/oc fic lol where the protagonist was the classic american exchange student who had her own prophecy. truly mortifying!!

Favorite fic you've written? i have a soft spot for taste your beating heart bc it was the first long fic i ever completed and it took me 7 fucking years to write it. but i think my favorite is actually finding our way (back home) which i really think captured everything i was aiming to do. will i ever be able to do that again??? who fucking knows. probably not. on the more self-indulgent side, i really really love the margaret buckley character study i wrote called so far from who i was.

tagging!! @woodchoc-magnum, @crazyassmurdererwall, @tattooedsiren, @machtaholic, @catdadeddie, @tripleaxeldiaz, @valleydean, @thisapplepielife, and anyone else who wants to do this.

[ailendolin]

Mike Peabody/DI Bones, snow and tradition plss 🙏

Since it took me so long to write your prompt, I chose an Easter setting for your fic to fit the time of year, anon. I hope you like this little fluffy piece between Mike and Milton!

A/N: Milton is the first name I've given D.I. Bones in my fics.

List of prompts is here.

Filled prompts are here, here, here, here and here on AO3.

Prompts are closed.

————

Snowfall [AO3]

It was snowing when Mike woke up on Easter Monday.

For a moment, all he could do was blink at the window in quiet and sleep-addled disbelief. The last few days had been blissfully warm and no matter how much he usually enjoyed the sight of snow, he was longing for the gentle warmth and colours of spring now, not the harsh cold of winter. If nature wanted to cover the world in snow, he thought resentfully, it should have done so at Christmas.

With a groan, he turned his back to the window and shuffled closer to Milton, intent on ignoring the return of winter. 

“What is it?” Milton mumbled around a yawn. His voice was soft with sleep and when he instinctively wrapped his arms around Mike to pull him close, Mike smiled despite himself.

“It’s snowing,” he said.

Even though his words were muffled against Milton’s chest and barely discernible, Milton went still beneath him. “Snowing?”

Oh no, Mike thought, blearily realising his mistake. One of the first things he’d learned about Milton long before they’d gotten together was how much he loved snow. If the weather forecast even so much as mentioned the possibility of snowfall, Milton would keep glancing at the windows with a hopeful look on his face that made puppies begging for a treat look like amateurs. And when it did start snowing, his whole face would light up in childlike wonder and he’d grip Mike’s hand with a breath-taking smile before he pulled him outside.

Mike loved seeing him like this – happy, carefree and relaxed. It was a rare sight these days with work bearing down on them like it did and leaving at least one of them hurt or bruised nearly every other weak. If not physically, then mentally. But not even the prospect of that beautiful smile was enticing enough to make him give up their warm and comfortable bed at 7.30 am on Easter Monday to go frolic in the snow.

“Don’t you dare,” he warned softly when he felt Milton move in an attempt to grab his pair of glasses from the nightstand. “We’re not going outside to build a snowman.”

He didn’t have to open his eyes to know Milton was pouting at him. “But it’s tradition!”

“Not on Easter, it isn’t,” Mike said.

“But–“

“No one builds a snowman on Easter, Mil. The neighbours will laugh at us.”

Milton snorted. “As if that ever bothered you before.”

He had a point so Mike switched gears. “It’s too early. And too cold.”

“We’re already awake, and we can bundle up,” Milton said brightly. When Mike remained silent, he added a quiet, “Please? It’ll be fun.”

Mike groaned. How could he say no to that? Milton never asked much of him. If anything, he always put Mike first and his own needs second. He was the only person apart from Sam who had ever done that, and sometimes Mike felt guilty about how easy Milton made it to love him because he knew he wasn’t the easiest person to love in return. He came with his fair share of issues and struggles but Milton, the wonderful person that he was, had embraced them all with that charming smile of his and simply said, “I love all of you, Mike.”

And even though love was not and never should be a competition, there were times when Mike couldn’t help but think that Milton did most of the work, most of the accommodating, when it came to their relationship. Going out into the snow on a Monday morning didn’t seem so bad compared to all the nights Milton had spent softly talking to him after a nightmare had left him shaking or sleeping in an uncomfortable chair when another work-related accident had once again landed Mike in the hospital. He had a lot to put up with on a day-to-day basis so Mike figured the least he could do was humour him and join him outside to build a snowman. Even if it was April and way too early in the morning.

“All right,” he sighed in defeat and was rewarded with a happy squeeze and lingering press of lips against his forehead.

“I love you,” Milton said softly, almost reverently. “So much.”

Mike lifted his head and craned his neck to kiss him properly. “Love you, too. Can we stay five more minutes in bed, though?”

Milton huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, all right. But then we’ll go outside?”

“Deal.”

Happy with the compromise, Mike lay his head back down on Milton’s chest and listened to the steady beating of his heart.

————

Half an hour later, after getting dressed and shoving some hastily made toast into their mouths, they were standing outside in their small garden, each of them bundled up in several layers of flannel, a warm winter coat, woollen hat and fleece-lined mittens. The smile on Milton’s face was bright and full of familiar wonder as he turned in a circle and looked at the snow around them.

“I can’t believe it snowed so much!” he exclaimed happily and promptly let himself fall backwards into it. Mike watched in quiet amusement as he moved his arms and legs up and down to make a snow angel and helped him back to his feet once Milton was done and held out his hand to him.

“You have snow all over yourself,” he commented fondly and gently brushed it off the back of Milton’s coat. “There, that’s better.”

“Thank you,” Milton said, almost shyly, and leaned up to press his lips to the corner of Mike’s mouth. When he pulled back, he flashed him a smile before he turned around to admire his snow angel. “Not bad, huh?”

Mike glanced at the crushed snow at their feet. It didn’t look like much, if he was being honest, and the thought must have shown on his face because a moment later, Milton laughed and threw a snowball at him.

“Hey!” Mike protested. “What was that for?”

Instead of answering, Milton just grinned and bent down to pick up more snow.

Oh, you’re going to regret this, Mike thought before he did the same. He might not love snow as much as Milton did but he had one advantage over him: he’d grown up with Sam. She had always been merciless when it came to snowball fights so Mike had quickly learned to be merciless in return so as not to get soaked. Milton wouldn’t know what hit him.

He was right. Ten minutes later, he was standing over Milton with a look of triumph on his face. “Do you admit defeat?”

“Yes!” Milton laughed in-between gasps. His face was flushed red from the cold and ice crystals sparkled in his hair. His woollen hat lay somewhere near the snow angel, crushed and caked in snow.

He was the most beautiful thing Mike had ever seen.

Letting his last snowball fall to the ground, Mike knelt down, cupped Milton’s face in his hands and pulled him into a long, loving kiss. “Never challenge a Peabody to a snowball fight.”

“Noted,” Milton said breathlessly. “Can we build a snowman now?”

Unable to resist, Mike kissed him again. “I have a better idea.”

————

An hour later, they were standing in their living room with cups of hot chocolates in their hands and admiring their handiwork. Their garden looked like a battlefield but in the middle of all the carnage, right next to the remains of Milton’s snow angel, two little snow bunnies were curiously nosing at a carrot Mike had found in their fridge earlier.

“They’re perfect,” Milton sighed happily and leaned his head on Mike’s shoulder. “Thank you for indulging me today.”

“As if that’s ever a hardship,” Mike said softly and wrapped an arm around him to pull him closer. Nodding towards the bunnies, he asked, “Do you reckon we should send Sam and Bob a picture?”

Milton snorted. “If you want a report on the myth of the Easter Bunny and a series of emojis expressing Sam’s disgust over how cute they are, then sure, go ahead.”

Mike took a contemplative sip of his hot chocolate. “I think we might keep them to ourselves a little longer.”

“Might be too late for that,” Milton said, amused, and pointed at the two pairs of eyes curiously peeking over their fence. Mike followed his gaze and laughed. They gave the neighbour’s kids a little wave and received two wide-grinned thumbs-up in return. “You realise we’ll have to this every year now, don’t you?”

Mike had resigned himself to that even before he’d suggested they make little bunnies out of snow rather than traditional snowmen. “Good thing it’s not snowing on Easter every year.”

“We could always get artificial snow…” Milton mused with a twinkle in his eye.

“Oh, sod off,” Mike laughed and playfully shoved him before he pulled him into a kiss. He felt Milton smile against his lips and closed his eyes to savour the moment. Given their line of work, days like this were precious, and he’d learned long ago to hold onto what little happiness they both managed to carve out for themselves with all his might.

Sometimes, it was not enough. There were days when the exhaustion seemed to never end; when the worry settled so deeply into his bones it made his hands shake.

But there was also hope – hope that one day, things would be better. That the sound of carefree laughter would echo around the house every day and they’d always have a reason to smile. It was the kind of future Mike had always dreamed about, and with Milton by his side, it didn’t just seem possible but actually worth fighting for.

Even if it meant building snow bunnies in April.

[anonymousewrites]

A Study of the Heart and Brain (Book 1) Chapter One

Chapter One: New Roommate

            “So…” said Molly hesitantly as she watched Sherlock examine his slide in the microscope. “What are you investigating today?”

            Sherlock, lost in his mind palace, didn’t respond. When Molly looked to (Y/N), they just shrugged and answered, “Dunno. I was just bored at the apartment so followed him here.”

            “Ah, well, alright then,” said Molly. She walked off to check on her own work, nervously checking her appearance in a nearby mirror as she passed (she had put on lipstick to try to look better for Sherlock, but he hadn’t seemed impressed).

            A knock sounded at the research office’s door, and two men walked in. One (Y/N) recognized as Mike, an acquaintance of Sherlock, and the other they didn’t. They glanced at his appearance as he stood and looked around the room and made their observations:

            Army doctor, Afghanistan or Iraq. Psychosomatic limp. Here to be our roommate? Possible. Sherlock mentioned it to Mike earlier.

            “Well, a bit different from our day,” said the man, glancing around at all of the equipment.

            “You’ve no idea,” joked Mike.

            Sherlock, without looking up, said, “Mike, can I borrow your phone? There’s no single on mine or (Y/N)’s.”

            “What’s wrong with the landline?” asked Mike.

            “He prefers to text,” said (Y/N), taking their lollipop out of their mouth to respond clearly. (Sherlock had his weaknesses; they had theirs. They almost always had a lollipop with them. If they didn’t, they got bored and distracted)

            Mike shrugged. “Sorry, it’s in my coat.”

            “Er, here.” The new guy pulled his phone from his pocket. “Use mine.”

            Sherlock was still for a moment as his eyes traced over the man and gathered information. “Oh. Thank you.” He took the phone.

            “This is an old friend of mine, John Watson,” said Mike.

            “Afghanistan or Iraq?” asked Sherlock absently as he typed on the phone.

            John frowned. “Sorry?”

            “Which was it: Afghanistan or Iraq?” repeated (Y/N), looking at John.

            “Afghanistan…” John furrowed his brow. “Sorry, how did you…?”

            He was interrupted from getting an answer as Molly walked back in carrying coffee for Sherlock.

            “Ah, Molly, coffee, thank you,” said Sherlock. He handed John’s phone back and took a sip of the coffee. Sherlock cocked his head. “What happened to the lipstick?”

            Molly smiled awkwardly. “It wasn’t working for me.”

            “Really? I thought it was big improvement. Your mouth’s too small now,” said Sherlock with his usual lack of tact.

            “Okay,” replied Molly, disappointed at her crush not liking her attempt to look good for him. She walked away to console herself with some chocolate ((Y/N) had seen her do it several times by now)

            “How do you feel about the violin?” Sherlock asked John.

            “I’m sorry, what?” John was growing more and more confused the more he was in the room with (Y/N) and Sherlock (first he had wondered why Mike took him to the hospital, then why he was in the morgue, then why there was a random teenager and man there, why the man knew he was a military man, and now why he was being asked such a random question).

            “I play the violin when I’m thinking. Sometimes I don’t talk for days. Would that bother you?” asked Sherlock.

            “I join him occasionally,” added (Y/N). Seeing John’s confused face, (Y/N) said, “Potential flatmates should know the worst about each other.”

            “Oh, so you told them about me?” asked John to Mike.

            Mike grinned. “Not a word.”

            “Then who said anything about flatmates?” questioned John.

            “I did. Told Mike this morning that we must be the most difficult people to find a flatmate for. Now here he is just after lunch with an old friend, clearly just home from Afghanistan,” said Sherlock.

            “Not a difficult leap,” said (Y/N).

            “How did you know about Afghanistan?” repeated John.

            Sherlock ignored him and put on his coat. (Y/N) pulled their purple sweater on over their grey shirt. “He has his eye on a nice little place in central London. Together we can afford it,” they said, throwing away their finished lollipop. They unwrapped another as they hopped down from the table and followed Sherlock to the door.

            “We’ll meet their tomorrow evening: seven o’clock. Sorry, gotta dash. I think I left my riding crop in the mortuary,” said Sherlock.

            “Is that it?” asked John.

            “Is that what?” Sherlock raised an eyebrow.

            “We’ve only just met and we’re gonna go and look at a flat?”

            “Why not?” remarked (Y/N). “Hard to find flatmates, might as well make this easier on ourselves.”

            “We don’t know a thing about each other. I don’t know where we’re meeting or even what your names are,” said John.

            “We know your an army doctor who’s been sent home from Afghanistan due to injury,” offered (Y/N).

            “And you have a brother who’s worried about you, but you won’t go to him for help because you don’t approve of him—possibly because he’s an alcoholic, more likely because he just walked out on his wife,” said Sherlock. “I know your therapist thinks your leg is psychosomatic—quite correctly I’m afraid.” Sherlock grinned. “That’s enough to be going on, don’t you think?”

            “The address is 221B Baker Street,” said (Y/N). “I’m (Y/N) (L/N).”

            “And I’m Sherlock Holmes.”

            And with that, the two were out the door.

            John blinked and looked at Mike. “An odd father and kid.”

            “They’re not related,” said Mike.

            John frowned. “Really?”

            “Sherlock just took (Y/N) in a year or two back,” said Mike.

            “Doesn’t seem like the type,” said John.

            “No, he doesn’t, does he?” asked Mike. “Sometimes I wonder how and why it’s lasted so long.” He shrugged. “Let me know if you figure it out. You’re the one who’ll be living with them.”

l

            “Well, this could be nice. Very nice,” said John the next day as he looked around the flat with Sherlock and (Y/N). It was cluttered with stacks of books and other miscellaneous from the pair.

            “I like it,” said (Y/N), flopping down onto the couch while Mrs. Hudson smiled fondly (she liked the teen and tried to give her the guidance and safe space that children all deserve).

            “Yes, I think so,” said Sherlock. “So we went ahead and moved straight in.”

            “As soon as we get this rubbish cleaned out…oh,” said John at the same time.

            An awkward silence descended before (Y/N) shrugged from the sofa. “We’ll straighten up later.”

            “Is that a skull?” asked John in disbelief.

            “Uhuh, it’s a friend of ours,” said (Y/N).

            “Well, what do you think, Doctor Watson?” questioned Mrs. Hudson. “There’s another bedroom upstairs for you. (Y/N) and Sherlock have taken the ones down here.” She tutted as she looked around. “Oh, goodness, look at the mess they’ve made.” She shook her head and began straightening shelves and bustling about.

            “I looked you up on the internet last night, Sherlock,” said John, sitting down in an ar(Y/N)hair and resting his cane beside him.

            “Anything fun?” asked (Y/N).

            “Found his website: The Science of Deduction,” said John. He looked incredulous and slightly disbelieving. “You said you can identify a software designer by his tie and a pilot by his thumb.”

            “We got your military career in your face and leg, and Sherlock got your brother’s drinking habit from your phone,” said (Y/N) matter-of-factly.

            “I suppose you did. I still don’t know how you did that, though,” remarked John. (Y/N) smiled mischievously.

            “What about these suicides, you two? I thought that’d be right up your alley,” said Mrs. Hudson, finishing with her insistent cleaning of the kitchen. “Three exactly the same…”

            “Four,” said (Y/N) from where they lay. They pointed to the open window where red and blue flashing lights reflected in the glass. “They’re finally going to ask someone who can solve this.”

            Sherlock glanced down. “Graham is looking serious. Something’s different about this one.” (Y/N) hummed in acknowledgment.

            Lestrade entered the room. “Where?” asked Sherlock.

            “Brixton, Lauriston Gardens,” said Lestrade.

            “What’s new about it?” asked (Y/N), looking at him upside down.

            “You know how they never leave a note? This one did,” said Lestrade. “You coming?”

            “Who’s on forensics?” asked Sherlock.

            “Anderson,” responded Lestrade.

            (Y/N) let out an exasperated sigh. “He won’t work with us,” said Sherlock.

            “If this is about him complaining that a teenager shouldn’t be at crime scenes, then you have to admit he has a point,” said Lestrade.

            “They’re smarter than Anderson,” said Sherlock, rolling his eyes. “We’ll come, but not in a police car. And (Y/N) is non-negotiable.”

            A small smile flashed across (Y/N)’s face. They would never say it aloud, but a large part of them saw Sherlock as a father figure. Obviously, Sherlock wouldn’t feel the same since sentimentality hindered logic, but (Y/N)’s heart couldn’t help but swell with pride whenever he complimented their work or wanted them around since they did a good job.

            On the other hand, while (Y/N)’s thoughts were a little more conflicted, John’s immediate conclusion was this: Ah, they’re a father and kid and don’t even know it. I’m rooming with emotionally-stunted idiots.

            Lestrade sighed and nodded before leaving. Sherlock grinned and began jumping around.

            “Brilliant! Yes! Ah, four serial suicides, and now a note! It’s Christmas!” He grabbed (Y/N) and pulled them to their feet.

            “Mrs. Hudson, it looks like we’ll be late. We might need some food,” said (Y/N) as they grabbed a lollipop.

            “I’m your landlady, not your housekeeper,” said Mrs. Hudson. “But Lord knows how you’d get fed if I didn’t make you something.” She sent a scathing glare to Sherlock. “Have you been making sure they eat?”

            “Yes, I wouldn’t want my protégé to be malnourished. Not good for a growing mind,” said Sherlock.

            Mrs. Hudson nodded approvingly. “Good.” She walked off to decide what to make.

            Sherlock paused by the door as John settled into his chair to wait for them to return. “You were in the army, correct?”

            “Yes.”

            “Seen a lot of horrendous deaths?”

            “Yes.”

            “Enough to fill a lifetime?”

            “Yes.”

            “Want to see some more?”

            “Oh, God, yes.”

            (Y/N) grinned. They had a feeling the three of them could be an excellent team.

[mothmans-left-nipple]

@afreakingdork Sooo here is my Weak Spot playlist; Donnie focused instrumentals, a lot of his POV to reader, some Reader to Donnie. So far one Donnie to Leo

I scoured my spotify for songs and ran out; i didn't want to clog it with TOO many instrumentals for now, so just a few.

I will continually add to it as i find more, hopefully i'll remember to update this post

Songs are listed with notes and my personal favorite Lyrics as an eye catch, purple for Donnie, Green for Reader!

@garbagemilkshake i used your WS Donnie doodles as the image, you're credited in the playlist description! Let me know if you'd like me to change the image!

Songs; in order of adding them. Feel free to shuffle the playlist!

Bear in mind some of these songs are NSFW

1. NGAHHH!! - Undertale ost

So many Undertale songs fit ANY donnie's Energy

2. Blah Blah Blah - The Oozes

Donnie @ Leo

"You've ruined the colour blue for me"

3. Honeybee - Steam Powered Giraffe

Donnie to reader

"You didn't have to offer your hand

Cause since I've kissed it I am at your command

But you did"

4. Dummy! - Undertale OST

This song is peak rise Donnie energy in general

5. Everyone But You - The Front Bottoms

Donnie to Reader

"I fell in love

'Cause no one saw me the way you did

And no one's seen me that way since"

6. Love Like You - Steven Universe

Donnie to Reader

"I always thought I might be bad

Now I'm sure that it's true

'Cause I think you're so good

And I'm nothing like you"

7. Blue Moon Motel - Nicole Dollanganger

Reader to Donnie

"Take me to the Blue Moon Motel

Carry me over the threshold

Treat me like I am your young bride

Together on our wedding night

Fuck me in the motel shower

Make my makeup run like a pornstar

Carry me naked to the bed

Fawn my hair out when it's still wet"

8. True Love Café - Nicole Dollanganger

Reader To Donnie

"You have such a beautiful face

I've been dreaming about it between my legs

Come over and crawl into my bed

Kiss me, get me wet, give me head"

9. Lil' Red Riding Hood - Amanda Seyfried

Donnie to Reader

"What a big heart I have

The better to love you with

Little red riding hood

Even bad wolves can be good"

10. This is Love - Air Traffic Controller

Donnie to Reader (big Bad Villain song in general doesn't fit to a T but it is mighty sexy)

"Oh I was hit as a kid

I was good but then I quit

Everyone that tried to fix me

Knows that I can't change a bit

I've got no shame, got no pride

Only skeletons to hide

And if you try to talk to someone

Well then someone has to die

Once you chase me down the hole

Yeah once you think you're in control

You'll believe that we are partners

And you'll feel uncomfortable

Oh then the darkness rolls in

And you'll forget who I have been

But you'll love, love, love it, this is love"

11. 10 Simple Murders - The Future Kings of Nowhere

A Villain song for Donnie

"By this time I had become accustomed to the kill

And I'm not proud about it but I kinda like the thrill

To feel the heartbeat in the throat, the terror in the eyes

The sorry choking noises as they beg you for their lives

Oh, strangulation music... that was number five"

12. Everything Black - Unlike Pluto ft. Mike Taylor

Donnie to Reader

"Baby, you

Should come with me

I'll take you to the dark side

Me and you

You and me

Do bad things in the night time"

13. Addicted To Love - Florence + The Machine

Reader to Donnie

"Whoa, you like to think that you're immune to the stuff, oh yeah

It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough

You're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to love"

14. Cradle of Myriad Stars - Wolf Children OST

Romantic Track for Donnie & Reader

15. You Are My Beautiful Song - Wolf Children OST

Romantic Track for Donnie & Reader

[beetleblunt]

Clowning Around

a (late) halloween special :)

Summary: Trevor drags Mikey out for a night of fun on Halloween, it goes about as well as you’d expect.

Words: 3,822

ao3 link!

Trevor crouched within the tall brush, staying hidden and waiting for his moment to strike.

The Vinewood Hills area was always bustling with life, but tonight it was especially busy, crawling with children of all ages dressed for the occasion, most of which accompanied by a parent or older sibling. Trevor grimaced at all of the happy families walking down the sidewalk. His childhood Halloweens never consisted of family time or even lone trick-or-treating, instead, he always opted for wreaking havoc on the townspeople and stealing candy from the weak. This year, although it had been some time since he even bothered to “celebrate”, wasn’t any different, and Trevor had a plan.

Any parent willing enough to take their kids out tonight would always put up a fight or give chase, and an unaccompanied group of young kids was too easy of a target, it was literally taking candy from a baby. Tonight, Trevor had his sights set on ruining the holiday of some poor teenager trying to grasp onto the remaining shred of their youth.

Just as Trevor started to grow impatient, wondering if his plan might’ve fallen through, his eyes caught a familiar black Obey Tailgater rolling slowly down the road, as if it were looking for something. As the Tailgater grew closer, and Trevor saw that to his (and only his) luck, the driver's side window was rolled down, he decided that now was his chance.

Launching himself from the brush, Trevor threw his hands up and let out a loud, guttural scream. In front of him stood a terrified child dressed in a poorly made sheet-ghost costume, and another in an expensive looking superhero costume, neither of which could’ve been older than fourteen. The one closest to Trevor jumped back and yelped, trying to keep a hold on his candy-filled pillowcase as the scary old man grabbed it from his hands.

As soon as Trevor had ahold on the big bag of candy, he shoved his hand in, and threw a few large pieces in his mouth, wrapper and all, before throwing another small handful in the child’s face, adding insult to injury. Before anybody else around them had time to fully react to his misdeeds, Trevor took a few running steps in the direction of Michaels car, which he had stopped to see what exactly his friend thought he was doing, and took a dive through the drivers window, only his front half successfully making it in. When Michael didn’t immediately put the car into motion, the other spoke up.

“STEP ON IT, FATASS!” Trevor screamed, from michaels lap, not even bothering to get his legs into the car first.

Before he could really think about it, Michael did as he was told. The tires screeched for a moment before the two took off, much faster than they probably should’ve on a dark, busy road.

For a few blocks, Michael was too stunned to speak, focusing only on leaving the neighborhood as fast as possible without any casualties as Trevor shimmied into the passenger seat, and piecing together the utter fuckery he was just roped into.

“Did you,” Michael hesitated, not sure whether he should laugh or scream, “Did you just text me to be your get away driver so that you could rob some fucking kids?”

A deranged wheeze escaped Trevor’s lips, “Get away driver?? I coulda outran those little goblins, I didn’t need a fucking driver, I called you so you could come have a little fun..” Trevor trailed off, muttering something about Michael being an ungrateful bastard.

“Fun?” Michael gawked at Trevor. “Fuckin’ a, T, l’m a father, snatchin’ some kids candy is not my idea of fun.” he finished sternly, looking back at the road and shaking his head.

Trevor stared at him for a moment, his eyes narrowing. Before Mike could notice, Trevors hand was back in the bag, and he launched a large handful of candy at the side of the others head. This surprised Michael enough that he jerked the car to the side, just barely hitting the curb as he did.

As he went to scold his friend about road safety, Michael was cut off by another high-pitched, maniacal laugh.

When the laughter didn’t die down quick enough, an admittedly terrible idea formed itself in Michaels head, and before he could think any better of it he was jerking the steering wheel again, this time on purpose. The car briefly swerved to one side, catching Trevor off guard, his head smacking against the window with a small thunk.

It was Michaels turn to laugh now, but as he did, he noticed Trevor had gone quiet. Too quiet, and when he finally snuck a glance at his now silently seething friend, he could see those glassy eyes glaring through him.

“That… hurt, Michael.” Trevor said slowly through gritted teeth.

“Oh bullshit that fuckin’ hurt-“

“Not my head, Mikey, no no nonono, that hurt,” Trevor hesitated for a moment, clenching and unclenching his fists in a poor attempt to soothe himself, “my fuckin’ feelings.

“y’know, to think I invited my supposed best friend out to have a good- no no, a fucking great time, and all he does is belittle and fuckin’ abuse me,”

Trevor continued his rant while Michael tried to squeeze in half-hearted, and mostly insincere apologies with little to no luck.

When Trevor finally wore himself out yelling, the silence didn’t last very long.

“Seriously, Trev, I’m sorry, I was just messin’ with ya,” Michael said gently, trying to smooth things over with the favored nickname from their golden days, but when Trevor still didn’t respond, Mikey decided on another route, “Hey, why don’t we go do somethin’? Like uh,” he trailed off for a second before a great idea popped into his head, “like a haunted house! I haven’t been to one of those since the kids were little!” he finished with an excited chuckle.

“Ya mean since they started hating you?” Trevor muttered an irritated response, not even bothering to entertain Michaels childish idea.

Michael opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t. In truth, that comment had stung more than he’d like to let on, as he had a haunted house in mind; one he’d seen advertised on LifeInvader and had practically begged both of the kids to go with him. Obviously they had better things to do than entertain their washed up criminal of a father, as Jimmy had said, and refused. He shook his head, dismissing the memory and sighed, deciding it best to keep the peace.

“C’mon, it’s Halloween, we oughtta do something fun, or were you just planning on traumatizing some kids and calling it a night?” He finally said, leaning back smirking, keeping one hand on the wheel, the other reaching down to playfully smack Trevor’s thigh.

Glaring down at the large hand that was lingering on his leg, Trevor scoffed, “It builds character, can’t handle a little robbery? Ya won’t make it fucking anywhere in life.” He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in an erratic motion.

“Yeah, yeah,” Michael laughed again “you’ve got plenty of character, huh?

“Oh-ho, you know it sugar tits,”

Michael grimaced a little at the choice of nickname, but remained silent until pulling up in front of a run down, tin looking warehouse wrapped up in one of the many industrial sections of Los Santos

“What the shit is this?” Trevor gruffed,

“A haunted house!” Mikey said excitedly, “What, scared?” he challenged.

Trevor didn’t move his head, but his crazed gaze slowly trained on Michael, lingering uncomfortably before he jumped towards him in his seat, his hands landing on either side. “Scared?” he leaned in, lowering his voice, “Oh I’ll show you fucking scared, Michael.”

Michaels breath hitched and something in his stomach stirred. Unsure if it was nerves or arousal, he refused to give it much thought.

“Then show me,” he smirked, reaching for the car door handle. It was a dangerous game he was playing, sure, but Michael had never been too afraid of a little danger, and as of lately, it was something he’d even craved.

Stepping out of the car, he didn’t really bother waiting for Trevor, only listening for the sound of the door slamming, which came about as late as Michael expected.

Jogging to catch up, Trevor grimaced at the thoroughly decorated warehouse when a slightly too realistic skeleton jester animatronic peeking over the roof ledge caught his eye. Looking anywhere else, he pressed on as he clenched his fists. His gaze landed on the back of Michaels head and stayed there as they walked up the porch steps and paid their way in, with only a few crabby comments from Trevor about how ashamed Michael should feel paying that much just to walk through a “cardboard maze”.

Immediately upon entering, any light left from the street lamps outside was gone, replaced by extremely dim, occasionally flashing fluorescent lights overhead. The two made little conversation as they slowly made their way through, Trevor always a little ahead of Michael, hoping to get out as soon as possible. The jester out front had put Trevor’s irrational fear at the forefront of his mind, and while he’d never admit it, the idea of even one clown within his general vicinity made him wish he’d put up more of a fight when Michael made the suggestion. It also made him keep a hand on the pistol tucked into the side of his jeans; for a haunted house in such a big city, it sure did have some shitty security measures.

When the first haunt actor made an appearance, Trevor shut the idea down quickly, lunging at the masked man wielding a plastic chainsaw, and snapping his teeth at him like a rabid dog.

“yo, the fuck-“ The young man yelled, breaking character as he jumped back, using his prop to shield himself.

Michael didn’t take long to at least try to restrain Trevor, grabbing him by a firm bicep, he pulled him away from the nearly cowering worker, insisting that it was their jobs to jump out at them. Of course Trevor knew that, but he was already on edge, and he’d be damned if he was going to let something, especially some kid in a cheap costume, catch him off guard.

Pulling Trevor with him, Michael continued through the makeshift hallways. Most of the actors close ahead had heard or seen the previous altercation, and knew better than to make an appearance beyond standing there creepily, in fact some had even remained in their hiding places all together. This made for a peaceful couple of minutes, mostly Michael though, as the other was busy sending threatening glares towards the already terrified workers and patrons.

When they reached a point where the actors were once again blissfully unaware of the true horror trudging through their halls, and one particularly brave werewolf girl bared her faux fangs at the two, Mike, who had stayed much closer to Trevor than before, grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him closer before he could make another scene, or worse. Unfortunately, the moment Trevor stumbled back towards his friend, a second hidden actor seized his opportunity to scare the life out of what he assumed were two completely normal men. It was a sturdy framed man in a brightly colored, fake blood stained clown suit, sporting streaky face paint barley visible in the intentionally poor, flashy lighting.

Now in Trevor’s mind, what happened next was nobody’s fault, it was simply the worst possible person at the worst possible moment; just bad circumstances. The kid was just making ends meet, and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Trevor, well it obviously wasn’t his fault he had decades upon decades worth of mental and emotional issues he’d never work through. No no, if anyone was to blame, it was the sick fucks who run this joint, exposing their desperate workers to unsafe conditions, and clearly even unsafer people.

None of that mattered in the end though, not when Trevor was sending his skull into the much larger man’s, or when he reached for his gun when he didn’t go down fast enough for Trevor’s liking. Nothing mattered but the white hot fear coursing through Trevor’s veins and the red clouding his vision. He might as well have been a stranger in his own body the way it moved on its own, without even an initial thought, let alone a second one. Screams rang out in every direction, mixing with the piercing sound of the repeated gunshots that sat heavy in the air, still echoing off of the metal ceiling above.

Even throughout Michaels panic he was able to recognize the sound of heavy footsteps and gruff voices approaching. Of course security cares now. He thought for just a moment; there was bound to be cameras and plenty of witnesses, if either fled, they’d be wanted criminals, not a problem nor a rarity for Trevor, but Michael had been so well behaved lately. Of course he could just leave him here and hope security got to him before he got to Michael, he’d always had a knack for self preservation. Then a twinge of guilt set in, growing every painful millisecond that he didn’t move. Memories of every job gone south flooded his head as he forced his legs forwards, grabbing Trevor’s arm again.

“T- fuck, we gotta move,” he said just loud enough for Trevor to hear over the girl wailing above her fallen coworker.

Snapping out of his fear driven haze, Trevor took a few stumbling steps forward before properly gathering himself and taking off, only looking back to check that Mike was close behind him. When he noticed the three larger men gaining on him, he stopped in his tracks, reached back and grabbed Michaels wrist, hoping to speed him up, or at the very least ensure he’d be there if one of these infinitely more fit men were to get too close. The pair had no such luck though, Trevor had a bad habit of miscalculating his strength, and this was no exception. Michael took a tumble, immediately scrambling back up to his feet, making sure to curse at the other on his way up. Unfortunately his curses were drowned out by three more bullets being fired down the hallway, and two heavy thuds against the floor.

“M, buddy, we have got to get you some cardio in-“

Without responding, or even looking back at the carnage, Michael booked it down the dark path, hardly even waiting for Trevor anymore. They finally neared the exit, spotting a busy doorway at the end of the hall when Trevor fired the remainder of his ammo vaguely into the crowd. To neithers surprise, his method worked, and the group, which Michael wasn’t sure was actually after them, quickly dispersed in all directions, allowing the two to leave, making their way around the few limp bodies that hadn’t made it out of the crowd.

The street was nearly deserted by the time they reached the front of the building again, but the shouts that still echoed from inside the building and the wailing of sirens in the distance promised trouble if they stuck around any longer.

As they drove off, Michael struggled getting his heart rate back into the recommended range, meanwhile Trevor looked right as rain; slouched in his seat with his freshly bloodied boots against the dash, dumping an entire fun sized bag of P’s&Q’s into his mouth. Michael couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, not a good laugh, but one that came out angry, disgusted even.

“How many fuckin’ people did you just kill back there? Innocent people, and you’re sittin there with your feet up eating candy.” Michael waved an angry hand in Trevor’s direction as he chastised him, a habit he carried from years of yelling at two inconsiderate teenagers.

Trevor held his hands up defensively, as if he didn’t know what he’d done wrong, “Five, six maybe?” he thought for a moment before shaking his head dismissively, “Oh, don’t act all high and fucking mighty now that you’ve got an “honest living” pumping out two hours of garbage every so often” he mocked

“I don’t have to act high and mighty, I’m not the grown ass man who just massacred at least five people over what? A fear of party clowns?”

“HE WAS NOT,” Trevor cried, sitting up and slamming a palm down on the dash. “A PARTY CLOWN-“

Michael snorted, unintentionally cutting off Trevor’s tirade. He couldn’t help it, even through his anger and disbelief, something about the awfully familiar banter just felt right.

“What’s so fuckin’ funny, huh?”

“Oh nothing, not a thing about this is funny, T.” Michael replied as he pinched the bridge of his nose, still quietly chuckling. “Not the people you killed, definitely not all the kids you traumatized-“

“Christ, we’ve been through this, Mikey; besides, nothings illegal on Halloween if it’s objectively funny.”

“Not that you’d care if it was,” Michael lit a cigarette as he spoke “in fact, I think you prefer doing things you’re not fuckin’ supposed to.”

“Absolutely,” Trevor finally smiled, it wasn’t a happy one, but his usual crooked, cocky smile. “it’s one of the many perks of not being constrained by your dodgy west coast morals.” he finished, pointing an accusatory finger a little too close to the others face.

Michael laughed again, even he could admit that the phrase “dodgy west coast morals” wasn’t entirely untrue.

“Right right, at least your morals aren’t dodgy, just downright sick and twisted.”

“Exactly!” Trevor seemed to relax now, thinking Michael understood his point; Michael wasn’t going to bother correcting him.

The rest of the drive was silent, Michael resisting the urge to switch the radio to the news in case they were already covering earliers massacre, Trevor watching the world pass without a care. Before he could ask where they were headed now, Michael turned into his own driveway, thankful for the lack of Amanda’s red Sentinel.

“The fuck are we doing here?” Trevor asked, stepping out of the car, abandoning his now nearly empty pillowcase of candy.

“Eh, everyone’s out right now, not like we’ve got anywhere better to be.” In truth, Michael really just wanted the two of them to lay low for the time being, and he knew he could keep Trevor from terrorizing the general public if he tried hard enough.

“Not like you’ve got anywhere better to be,” Trevor muttered, but still followed the older man inside.

The two were immediately met with bickering upon entering, Tracey and Jim fighting over the television from the living room.

“Everyone’s out, huh?” Trevor mused, actually a little excited to see his niece and nephew. Before he could be stopped, he strode into the living room, arms open. “Hey, kids, miss me?” he asked, a bright smile on his face.

Tracey launched herself up from the couch and right into her favorite uncle's arms. “Oh. Emm. Gee!” she dramaticized “Trevor? It’s been like, forever!”

“Yeah, you can thank your shithead father for that, sweetie.” He replied with a brief side eye in Michael's direction.

Jimmy stood up now, but instead of going for a hug he opted for a weird teenage boy sort of handshake that Trevor didn’t really get, but tried his best on. “Yo! uncle T! How you been?” he certainly wasn’t as elated as Tracey was, and might’ve even been a little nervous, but he was friendly nonetheless.

“Good good, just been tearin’ up a haunted house with your fat old man. What about you kids? Staying outta trouble?”

“Haunted house? The one you asked us to go to?” Tracey asked her dad, finally detaching herself from Trevor’s side.

Michael reared his head back a little at the question. “Yes, actually, you little traitors. I thought you two had better things to do than sit around the house and argue all night.” he stated bitterly.

“I did, but…” Tracey trailed off defensively.

Before anybody could press her for details, Trevor spoke up, “Hey, who fuckin’ cares? It was terrible anyways.” He glared again at Michael

“It was? Why, what happened?” She questioned, happy to have dropped the previous subject.

Michael replied before Trevor could, “Nothing, or if you find out, nothing that was my fault.”

“Daddy,” Tracey began worriedly “Mom is gonna be like, so mad if she sees you on the news again, you know-“

“I said it wasn’t-“ Michael cut her off to defend himself, but stopped with a sigh when he realized it was no use, “Speaking of, where is she?”

Tracey took a nervous breath to answer him, but paused when she heard her younger brother snort quietly behind her.

“Check her yogi's house.” Jimmy mumbled, a little too amused.

Maybe some part of him was hoping his father hadn’t heard him, because Jimmy actually looked a little afraid when Michael pointed an angry finger at him to begin his rant, and more than a little afraid when he watched the anger drain from his face as Michael realized that his son was likely right, and even worse, that he really didn’t care anymore.

Michael put his hands up, and took a breath to steady himself. “Y’know what? At least it’s not my ass she’s five feet up tonight.” With that, he made his way to the kitchen to make himself a drink.

All it took was the five minutes Michael disappeared to the kitchen for the other three to make themselves comfortable on the couch with the lights dimmed, an old, admittedly terrible scary movie playing on the TV. He didn’t say anything, just stood there in the doorway, almost admiring the scene, two neat glasses of whiskey in his hands. It had been some time since his family, even excluding Amanda, had been so peaceful. He stayed there for a few minutes until Trevor noticed, and waved him over. He sat in the space between Jimmy and Trevor, passing his friend a glass and almost automatically leaning into the arm Trevor had slung over the back of the couch.

The four remained planted on the couch for the rest of the evening; each old horror film looking worse, but also somehow better than the last. Michael basked in this rare, undisturbed peace. He wasn’t sure how long it’d last, so he let each of his worries wash away one by one and he didn’t let them return, not when his whiskey emptied and he was too comfortable to get up and make another, nor when he noticed Amanda hadn’t come home for the night as he was drifting off with his head rested on Trevor’s chest, and especially not when he felt the morning sunlight creep through his eyelids when he awoke.

[lucassinclaer]

top 5 Lucas dynamics?

omg nonnie??!!! this is a delightful question thank you soso much!

lucas & el — could talk about it forever, as we know, i could write books about them with all the potential s1 left them with. the hero and the pragmatist, the two who understand each other bc they saw the flaws first. beloveds.

lucas & dustin — idiots of the highest order, great comedic potential, but also so much heart. i like to think of them as the probability calculator (lucas) and the speculator (dustin). there's sm that fascinates me about their outlook and the differences between them, but equally it's delightful to see them on the same wavelength, to make a great team. i really think there'd be sm more in terms of plot that could be done with them. again, could write books.

lucas & max — this one's to be expected. they make me want to chew gravel etc. they can be so funny, but they get each other despite being very different and complement each other because of it. again, bc the show has a weak spot writing lucas, there's a lot about the reciprocity of this relationship that i like to imagine. it's a shame they never rly show us how max is there for lucas bc i think that could have added a dimension to the ship that exists in my head.

lucas & erica — again, u n d e r - e x p l o r e d, but man. elder brother lucas >>> i'm one of the ppl that is of the opinion that lucas and erica will probably grow closer and be better communicators as they get older bc rn they're a teen and a pre-teen and uh... well let's just say my sibling and i get along really well, but growing up we were more like that. i'm a sucker for sibling dynamics, i love them sm and i think it adds a lot to lucas' character that he's the oldest of two. also, erica is my baby, let them hug!! (and for the horror dimension of it all, the slow taking over of the younger ones...... from nancy to mike to lucas to erica. man.)

lucas & mike — they're so smart, they're so dumb, they're best friends, they're neighbors, they annoy each other via walkies and lucas won't follow the right protocol and mike always corrects him. i just think they're neat and that they need each other. will sort of took on lucas' function as the lancer in s4, but willmike ultimately shares an idealism that lucas doesn't have, which makes his dynamic with mike so special to me. he needs these ppl to believe in things and they need him to remind him of the cost of focusing solely on one goal

i didn't include ellucasmax, which is technically its own thing, but i kept it to the duos and a lot about elumax is my love for their individual dynamics so see above.

[ally-holmes]

Crown

Day 20 of the 30-day short story challenge

Today's prompt was crown and for that, I rescued my fic "A Deal with Hades" and added a little extra. Fandom: The Almighty Johnsons. Pairing: Anders Johnson x Fem!Hades. Words: 912. CW: natural death/afterlife

Here it goes:

Deep inside Anders would've liked there was rain. Something to accompany his own gloomy mood.

The graveyard was quiet and sunny. Anders hated it.

He tore his eyes from the closed coffin and glanced at the crowd. That was quite a gathering. In the end, his younger brother lived a long, fulfilling life next to Gaia and was always accompanied by his best friend Zeb. Anders was certain there had always been some sarcastic joke around Axl's titanic height compared with his three brothers, but at that moment he was unable to catch it.

Axl's large frame was resting inside the coffin. His children and grandchildren were there to say his last goodbyes. Gaia cried silently in Zeb's embrace. Friends and colleagues also came to pay their respects. As well as Mike's and Ty's children and grandchildren. Odin gracious, Ty and Dawn brought into this world no less than six children!!

Ander's eyes abandoned the wrinkled faces of those adults who were once small helpless babies crying in his arms and diverted his attention to the gravestones next to Axl's. Olaf, Mike, and Ty were already three feet under. Hanna and Dawn as well. Time had passed way too violently for his taste.

A warm soft hand slipped under his and the intrusion was welcomed. He had always felt calm and loved with Aïdi's attentions.

Due to his new status as the god of Persuasion, guaranteed by Hades after their deal, Anders was immortal, and as such he'd been fake-aging next to his wife not wanting to awaken suspicions over their nature. Anders had awaited for the precise moment to leave the mortal realm and move to the Netherworld with Aïdi… with Hades.

Now was the time.

No matter how much he loved his brothers' children and grandchildren, they were not his brothers. Only in his hands was the possibility of spending time with them now that they had passed away, and he was not going to accomplish it on Earth.

"I'm ready." Hades kissed him on the shoulder to his statement.

The first thing Anders did after seeing Hades' palace for the first time was to steady himself seeing as his knees became weak. The palace was stunning and luxurious, filled with the blue aura provided by the fire of life. Aïdi was in full Hades mode, and that turned him on to no end. As a god, she was taller than as a human, her skin was bluish and her hair floated over her head in blue flames. Those intense white eyes were Anders' perdition.

Evidently, they Christianized the palace in a sexy way; although Anders found it difficult to voice that term out loud. He would never forget that he was married to a fucking god whose job was to care for the dead and the Netherworld.

Time there passed differently than on Earth and before he knew it, Hades informed him that Gaia and Zeb had also passed away. Suddenly it was time to do the coronation ceremony. He'd married Hades in the mortal realm on mortal terms, but also signed one of Hades' famous contracts that trespassed spheres. The only detail to tie it down was his position in the netherworld.

The likeness in terms of title between both planes was uncanny. Hades was king, lord, and maximized authority in the Netherworld. Nowadays not even Zeus can depose Hades from her realm. One might think that terms such as king, lord, or god are male ones for someone using feminine pronouns, but let us remember that Hades existed before humanity, before language itself. Hence the improbability of finding a proper term to name someone like her. Thus, as Hades was king, Anders was bound to be the king's consort.

Such a ceremony had never been performed in the netherworld, but it was huge for being labeled as an intimate one. None of Hades' family crawled down from Mount Olympus to take a peak of the human she had transformed into a god. Anubis did come, however, and it was the first time Anders' had felt true honest fear. That jackal head!!! Those fangs!!!

On the other hand, Anders' granddad and brothers were there hand in hand with their wives (plus Zeb). It had been the first time they had traveled from the Kiwi death realm to this one and they did it with the same appearance as when they were still gods. Axl, who had suffered from chronic pain in his last years, was the one enjoying the arrangement the most.

The ceremony went smoothly and by the end of it, he was dressed in a tailored black suit with a navy blue tie, a blue-flame lapel pin, and a silver crown. It wasn't as gorgeous as Hades' but it was still encouraging.

Hades had always been fond of guests and so she prolonged the Johnsons' stay in her palace for Anders' peace of mind.

Ty mocked him about his crown. Dawn wanted to try it out whilst Anubis' cats surrounded her mewing for pets. Mike looked at him proud-like, which was unnerving. Olaf never gave up his mystic quotes and high poetry as he intended to give Anders some advice. Axl just hugged him multiple times as if wanting to remind Anders that he was loved and missed.

The crown was supposed to be heavy with the weight of responsibility, yet it felt light as if he could finally breathe and be himself for all eternity. 

The end.

[madaboutmunson]

Devil Gate Drive

Free Space (Prompt B2 ) Summary: In which Eddie fixes a spooky campfire story that Steve mis told, sending them on a quest for a wish to be granted. Well, once, they get to Devil Gate Drive that is :)

Word Count:12196 @eddiemunsonbingo

AO3 Link ******************************************************************

One thing that is inevitable to happen around a campfire as darkness engulfs the people around it is storytelling. Some stories are to be nostalgic, some to open yourself up to others, but the most popular has to be those spooky stories. Ones to thrill and delight, specifically designed to be the perfect excuse to push wanting hands into holding or open waiting arms into protecting. But some of those tales aren’t just entire works of fiction. Some of those tales are rooted in some nutrient-weak soil of truth, but something keeps that myth alive by a sliver. So that keeps it crawling along and grazing its raw belly to reach a gathering such as this one. It simply needs to continue to be passed along until it can reach the correct listener at the correct time to bring it back to life.

And it is on a late summer night such as this that one such frayed yarn of a legend does just that.

“Welcome to Devil Gate Drive! The demon says as the gates lock behind them!” Dustin completed his story with an evil laugh. His shoulder slumped at the lack of reaction of the party.

A small round of applause emitted from Steve and Robin, but Dustin rolled his eyes and waved them away, folding his arms.

“It was a great story, Dustin!” Will offered kindly.

“Yes, very good. But not a surprise. I heard it before at another party,” El said with a small smile.

Max snorted out a laugh, which was music to everyone’s ears. Having been so long since they heard her express any kind of joy, “Wow! If even El has heard it before, imagine how many times the rest of us have heard it!”

Lucas nudged her in the ribs, which he immediately got flipped off for, “What she is trying to say is. It’s not you, it’s just an old story that gets told a lot. It’s scary the first time you hear it but after, not so much,” he consoled kindly.

“Last time, I ask for recommendations from you!” Dustin glared over at Steve.

“Hey! It’s a great story. Just because this bunch of dickheads don’t know how to appreciate a classic isn’t my fault,” Steve defended, eyeing the ground around the fire.

“I knew I should have stuck to my alien abduction story,” Dustin sulked and shuffled the toes of his sneakers into the dry dirt.

“You had sci-fi, and you let King Dufus-“ Mike started.

“Dingus,” Robin corrected him quickly and then waved him on to continue.

“King Dingus, change your mind to some ancient demon junk?” Mike shook his head, “That’s on you, man.”

“Oh, because your urban legend was so good,” Dustin made a face and teased him.

“Well, at least Will was scared of my story!” Mike barked back.

“Oh yeah. Terrified,” Will added unconvincingly.

Before Dustin could snap back, Nancy clapped her hands, “Well, before this pleasant evening descends into chaos, would anyone like a ride home?” Everyone except Steve and Dustin raised their hands. Steve frowned and lowered Robin’s hand for her. Nancy took out her keys, jingled them and walked to her car.

Robin immediately elbowed Steve in the ribs, “Ow, what was that for?”

“I’m ready to go home, dingus.”

“Yeah, and I’ll take you. Like I always do. You don’t need,” he carelessly waved a hand towards the group departing, “Nancy to do it.”

“Sounds like someone is a little jealous again,” Dustin muttered under his breath.

“Oh, Steve. Jealous? Colour me surprised,” Robin joked, gathering up their trash from around the dying fire, “Honestly, he’s probably just mad everyone didn't love that story so that at the end, he could say he told it to you.”

Steve folded his arms and frowned, “Ah, no, actually. I only told Dustin that story because his other one was lame, and also, what do I have to be jealous about? Nothing. If anyone is jealous around here, it's you two licence-lacking jerks!” 

Dustin shoved the half-empty Pringles cans into his backpack, “Steve, being jealous is one thing, but lying to your two best friends about it is just plain ridiculous. You were being jealous not two days ago and have been making snide comments about it ever since.”

“Jonathan again?” Robin tutted.

“No, actually, it's a new guy, and get this, it's not even Nancy-related.” Dustin chuckled as he gossiped with Robin, who stopped what she was doing and gave him her full attention.

“OK, that's enough. I am not jealous of anyone, not Jonathan, and certainly not some King of the nerds,” Steve laughed.

“Ah, so he admits it then,” Robin pointed a hand towards Steve and turned back to Dustin, “So who is this guy?”

“Oh, you know him,” Dustin smiled mischievously.

“I know a King of the Nerds? I thought that was you honestly, Dustin,” Robin laughed as Dustin mimed out proudly, putting a crown on his own head as she bowed to him, “Hmmm,” she pondered for a second before her eyes went wide with realisation, “Oh, no way! Really?” Robin made the devil horns symbol on her hand at Dustin.

“Really!” Dustin mirrored her actions in reply but stuck his tongue out simultaneously.

“Now, why would Steve be jealous of him?”

“I’m not jealous, ok!” Steve finally exploded, “If anything, he’s doing me a favour keeping you little shitbirds occupied at least one day a week!” Steve said, kicking and chucking things around while he searched the area, “Now, where is that stupid water bottle I told you to keep ready in case of emergencies? Hmmm? In case we needed it? Probably buried under a mountain of shit for easy access, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, I’m not getting a molecule of jealousy coming off you right now, Steve. Not at all. Not one bit,” Dustin said dryly.

“Oh wow. He really is jealous,” Robin started laughing so hard she nearly fell off the stump.

“You know what? I don't even know why I’m friends with you, absolute assholes. You use me like a personal taxi and-and agony aunt service. Then, all the help I give is thrown back in my face. From now on, you can forget it!” Steve said, finally finding the water and failing to unscrew the top on the first try, making Dustin join in with Robin’s laughter.

“Oh, that's right. Laugh it up, you little dorks. And you know something else. My story is a classic! The reason they didn't go for it is because you are an awful storyteller, and you missed out the best part.” Steve said, marching over to Dustin, thrusting the water bottle at Robin to take it from him and open it.

The fire hissed behind them with a metallic jingle and the sound of a zipper in the new darkness they had been plunged into. Steve turned himself to shield Dustin and threw an arm in front of Robin as he hoisted the water bottle high over his head. 

Their eyes frantically searched the darkness to no avail, but they were still adjusting. There is a snap of a twig, and all their heads snap toward it. Then, as a unit, they back up as much as possible.

“He’s right, you know,” came a low voice from the inky blackness, “You missed the best part,” a small flame illuminates a slender face surrounded by dark waves of hair. The flame goes out, and all that is left in its place is the pulsing glow of the end of a cigarette, “You’re supposed to tell them that the entrance can be found right here in Hawkins.”

The three of them relaxed a little, knowing it was just a human and not some demo-creature, but after what happened to some of the town earlier this summer, Steve was still on guard, “Get lost, creep!” he shouted towards the occasional glow but received an elbow in the side. As he turned to complain, he was blinded by the light of Dustin’s headtorch. Once he backed off to save his eyes, the beam of light turned to illuminate the guy who had been talking.

Tall, lanky-looking, all tough fabrics and edges, other than his big eyes and hair. A new idol for at least three of the party to worship the ground of. This was Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson.

“Eddie!” Dustin all but squealed at him as the man covered his eyes with his forearm.

Dustin quickly scrambled his way up higher and provided Eddie with his own spotlight, which made them both grin wildly.

Robin waved a hand in greeting, “Buckley, nice to see you out of uniform,” he chuckled with a nod, and his eyes moved to Steve, who looked like an overwhelmed and unimpressed Mother. His hands on his hips, and his tongue licking his teeth in seething annoyance behind tight lips.

Eddie dropped his head to the side, “Aww, not happy to see me, Harrington?”

Steve narrowed his eyes, “You think urinating on a fire is impressive?” He cleared his throat and looked up at Dustin, but his headlight stayed fixated on Eddie. Steve tensed his jaw and continued, “All you’ve done is filled the air with piss molecules or whatever now. So congratulations, I guess!” Robin quickly covers her mouth with her jacket

Eddie pouted as he began to circle Steve at a slow pace that Dustin’s headlight followed, “Was just trying to help you out, big boy, no need to get so uptight,” the last overly enunciated T he bit into the air between them, and then continues to walk around and observing him.

“I had it under control, thank you. You didn’t even get it all,” Steve complained as he walked over with the water bottle, masking his face with his jacket before pouring the water on the remaining embers.

Eddie wrapped his arms around himself and looked at the ground with a barely repressed smile, ”Duly noted, Harrington. Duly noted.” Eddie seemed to concede as his eyes watched Steve from under his hair.

“I don’t think that last bit would have saved the story, to be honest. They’ve all heard that story before. I probably could have shown them a creepy gate entrance, and they wouldn’t have been even remotely scared,” Dustin complained.

Eddie slowly tore his eyes from the grumbling man at the extinguished fire, “You sure about that, Henderson? It looked pretty damn creepy to me!”

“Wait. It’s real?” A newly intrigued Dustin.

“It’s just a set of random old gates in the woods,” an entirely-over-it Steve interrupted as he kicked more dirt over the fire.

“As real as I am stood before you,” Eddie followed up with an answer of his own.

“Oh my god, can we go see them?” Dustin scrambled down from the stump, excitedly rushing over to Eddie, who reached out and dimmed the head torch down a setting.

An exasperated Steve returned to the group, shaking his head with a laugh, “There is nothing to see unless one of your new hellfound hobbies is gross old gates?”

“D’awww,” Eddie gushed like a kitten had just pawed at him, “he really is jealous of lil’ ol’ me, isn’t he? It’s Hellfire, by the way. H-E-L-L-F-”

If looks could kill, there would have been a crater where Eddie had stood, “OK, last time I go over this. I’m not jealous of you, your stupid little board game club that is mostly math and playing pretend, what ugly bands you are into, or what laws you break daily!” Turning his eyes to Dustin next, he says, “It is literally a set of gates. You can walk right around them. Whatever they guarded is long gone. I’ve been there a bunch of times. It’s stupid.” Steve said condescendingly.

“If it’s so dumb, why did you go there more than once, huh?” Dustin fired back.

An amused smile graced Eddie’s face, “Yeah, why might that be, Harrington?” 

“Yeah, that does seem a little strange, even for you,” Robin said from inside her jacket, which was zipped up over her nose.

Steve mumbled something as he avoided eye contact with the others and kicked at the ground.

Eddie cupped his hand to his ear, “What was that now? Didn’t quite catch it,” he grinned.

“I said because it’s, um, a great make-out spot,” Robin made some grossed-out noises, and Dustin simply sighed. But Eddie continued to wait, seemingly unconvinced by this reply.

“Yeah, because some creepy old gates sound so romantic,” A disgusted Robin replied.

“Hey, it’s foolproof, okay. Everyone knows being a little scared works! That’s why people go on dates to scary movies, not romantic ones,” Steve defended.

“Sound logic. It’d work on me,” Eddie shrugged, shoved his hands in his pockets, and took a few long strides between the two very confused older teens, “So what you are saying, Harrington, is the first time you went there was to make-out with someone and not because of the other part of the story you missed out?”

“Wait, what is the second part of the story?” Dustin asked eagerly, the beam of his headtorch finally leaving Eddie and falling onto Steve.

“It’s not a second part! It's why the couple went to the gates in the first place, and I didn't miss it. It just makes it sound more fairytale than scary campfire story.” Steve corrected matter-of-factly, “How long exactly were you spying on us?”

“Long enough,” Eddie winked at him.

“What is wrong with you?” A perplexed Steve shook his head at the metalhead.

“So you just missed out the original motive for the couple and replaced it with they just stumbled upon it one night walking in the woods?”  Dustin gestures pointedly at the trees surrounding them.

Eddie clasped his hands behind his back and rocked back and forth on his heels, trying very hard to hide the satisfied grin that threatened to break out across his face and send Steve right over the edge.

“Yeah, well, it's certainly more scary than a wish being granted! That's like Aladdin or some little girl’s story.”

“HEY!” Robin complained, and Steve’s face immediately apologised for him, “You know what, maybe we should hear the alternate version and decide, huh? Eddie, if you wouldn’t mind?” Robin sent a scowl at Steve and an equally threatening forced smile at Eddie.

A slight growl escapes Steve, and Eddie claps his hands and rubs them together, “So Harrington almost nailed it, except for in the original story, our pair of high school sweethearts aren’t the perfect match they seem to be, well at least not to their parents. He’s a low-down dirty punk, and she’s a sweet as cherry pie girl next door. They hear that they'll be granted one wish if they make it to Devil Gate Drive, but it will come at a price.” Eddie shrugged one shoulder, “But what price wouldn’t our lovebirds pay for one another to live happily ever after? No price is too high, right?” He spun on his heel and wielded a wicked grin an inch from Robin’s face, making her jump back in fright, “Right?” He says with an evil chuckle.

“So their wish doesn’t get granted?” Dustin asked a slight nervousness in his voice now.

“Oh no. They get their wish exactly as they asked for it. They get to be together forever, and no one can ever tear them apart. Just like they asked,” Eddie smiled over at Dustin.

“So, what's the problem? Happily ever after, right?” Robin asked, pulling Eddie’s focus back to her.

“Well, they had to pay the price, and that may have dampened the forever they were tied into just a little,” Eddie says with a smirk.

“Oh no, did one of them have to die? Or-or become a hideous monster?” Robin guessed as Eddie smiled happily at the listener's engagement and pumped his eyebrows at Steve, who simply rolled his eyes and checked his nails in response as Eddie turned back to his captivated audience. 

“No, something much more simple than that. Just a kiss,” Eddie says simply.

“Is that it?” Dustin throws his hands up, “They kiss one another and get their wish?”

“Not one another, doofus! It's a price they have to pay to someone else,” An irked Steve interjected.

“Still, it's just one kiss, and they get to be all happily together forever. That's easy,” Dustin scoffed.

“Yeah, well, when two people are in love, they shouldn’t be thinking about kissing anyone else! Not for any reason,” Steve snarled, raising Eddie’s eyebrows.

“And now we get to the reason why the story was altered,” Robin gestured both hands towards Steve with a nod.

“No, not that at all,” Steve protested as Dustin and Robin continued to nod knowingly at one another, “And can we not talk about this in front of a stranger!”

Eddie’s surprised expression melted to something compassionate, “In Harrington’s defence, the story does get quite dark from there on. Maybe he thought it might be a little too much for young, impressionable minds to handle. So he wisely gave you the PG remake,” he looked over at Steve, “Right, Harrington?”

“Yeah, exactly!” Steve said with a glance at Eddie and a mumbled thanks.

“So what happens? We can handle it,” Dustin asked quickly. Eddie looked over at Steve again, who shrugged and waved a hand carelessly in front of himself.

“Well,” Eddie began, “The couple decide that it’s worth the price of one kiss. So they go to the gates and approach the demon with their wish to be together forever, and no one would ever be able to tear them apart. He asks who will pay the price, and our little rebel-without-a-cause gent, repulsed by the thought of seeing his girl kiss anyone that wasn’t him, offers to do it himself.” Eddie crouched down to get on the level with his seated audience, “He kisses the demon, and they are free to leave Devil Gate Drive. They return home, their parents accept them, just as they asked, they get married, they get their little picket white fence house, and from the outside, everything looks peaches and cream,” Eddie’s smile grew wolfish, “But behind those doors, a coldness had slowly been eating away at the warmth of their love little by little gradually for years. The Demon’s kiss haunted the man. He would kiss his love, but it was never the same. The spark would attempt to flicker into existence but would quickly fizzle out, and though he tried hard to play his part, she could tell there was something wrong, and she too longed for something else, until finally their love gave out and was no more.”

“What so the end of the story is they just break up? That is a kind of lame ending,” Robin looked disappointed.

Eddie cackled, “Oh no, nothing as easy as a break-up. They could fight and holler all they wanted, but every time one of them tried to leave, suitcase packed, storming out the door,  they’d get to that white picket gate, aaaand,” Eddie clicked his fingers with a sharp snap, “They ended up right back in their little home, all the things they packed unpacked. Trying to make a break for it from work? Nope! Zapped straight back home. Trying to romance someone else? No way! You get the picture.”

“Oh, that is truly evil!” Robin shuddered.

“Well, that's what they get for trusting a demon,” Steve scoffed.

Eddie stood up from his crouched position and opened his mouth, about to say something, when Dustin spoke up, “It’s not the demon’s fault they made a stupid wish without thinking about it. Everyone knows you have to be specific in your wishes. They should have said something like, We wish to be happily in love with one another forever, and no one can tear us apart, and we’ll be together forever. Then, the unhappiness part couldn’t have happened. It’s easy.”

Robin raised an eyebrow at Dustin, who made a face to indicate the idea she just had had also landed in his brain, as they both looked at Steve in unison.

“No! Absolutely not, no way!” he said with as much authority as he could muster and waved his hands in an X shape in front of himself, “Eddie, tell them it's just a set of old gates, and it's too late to be creeping around the woods in the dark looking for them.”

“Well, they aren’t deep in the woods or anything,” Eddie laughed, speaking to Robin and Dustin, but stopped abruptly when his eyes met Steve’s, “but it is late, I guess.” Eddie twisted his rings around his fingers, saying, “I could be willing to tell you what happened last time I went there if, and only if, Steve tells me why he went back a second time,”

“Fine!” Steve said, grabbing Eddie by the shoulder and leading him away from the others. Once out of earshot, he pulled him closer and, in a hushed voice, reprimanded him, “What the hell are you doing? We don't want to encourage them. I’m trying to deter them. You know it's weird out there!”

“Is it? You tell me,” Eddie responded quietly with a smirk.

“Ok, ok. The first time I heard the story, the next day I snuck out to find them, but it was just a set of gates, there was nothing on either side,” Steve shifted nervously from one to the other, “I was just a kid, ok? I believed in that shit, like an idiot,” Eddie looked at him and softly shook his head but stayed silent for him to continue, “So I tried cleaning them. I thought maybe all the ivy and stuff was in the way,” suddenly Steve found himself lost in his memory, of those iron gates embraced in stone that nature was desperately trying to claim back as its own, “And then…I think….I thought…” Steve's words drifted off as did his gaze until Eddie's ringed hand reached up, turned him back to face him, and looked him directly in the eyes.

“And then what happened?” Eddie asked quietly, dropping his hands slowly back to his side.

Steve looked over him, “And then I thought I saw a spark right where the gate lock is, but the next time I came back, it didn't happen, or any of the other times I came back again.”

Eddie’s eyes widened, “A trick of the light, maybe?”

“Yeah, yeah, and we absolutely do not tell those two any of that, okay? I need you to back me up out there. Hawkins is full of weird shit. I don’t want to be chasing after them in the dark, for eaten up by a-” Steve stopped himself quickly, “A ditch, or something.”

“Sure, man. I’d love to help you, but I can’t,” Eddie said awkwardly.

“What do you mean you can’t? You said if I told you-” Steve complained, but Eddie cut him off by softly grabbing his jaw and turning his head to the vacant tree stumps and missing backpacks.

“I can’t help you because our audience seems to have left!”

“Well, at least they can’t have got far or know where the gates are,” Steve says, pushing Eddie’s hand away and quickly gathering his backpack.

“Sure they do!”

“How could they know where they are. I didn't tell them, neither did you, and everyone else thinks it's just a stor….” Steve’s face dropped from condescension to horror, “Oh fuck, the directions are in the story. SHIT!” Steve went from sitting to sprinting faster than he ever had done in track at school before he stopped dead, turned around and shouted back at Eddie, “Hey, are you gonna help me or not?”

“No can do, Harrington, Saturday night is big business for me, got people to see, you know?” He heard Eddie shout back but could no longer see him. Steve huffed and busied himself, trying to remember the story’s directions by the beam of his torch alone.

Dustin and Robin stood before the gate as a glow emitted at the centre of the padlock. Robin instinctively put her arm in front of Dustin, who pushed it away, and the glow folded in on itself to a singular speck of light and disappeared into nothing.

“Goddamn it! What the hell happened that time?” Dustin complained and sat on the floor, resting his head in his hands.

“I don’t know! I don't know!” Robin exclaimed, her hands in her hair, “But I definitely saw it that time. I can’t believe Steve knew about this and didn’t tell us!”

“I know, right? Now that we know that all this upside-down business comes from the lab, we could wish it away. We could have no town deaths, and nothing bad would have happened to Will. I bet we could even throw in Billy not being a complete asshole and, most importantly, that Eleven got the help and friends he needed rather than getting experimented on.”

“Yes, yes! Exactly, we could save everyone, right? The story didn't say how long the wish had to be. It just had to be one wish, right?”

“Riiight,” Dustin said slowly and clapped his hands together, “I know why it didn't work just now,” he said with a big smile.

“Why?”

“Because when you threw your arm out, I thought, ‘I wish people would stop treating me like a kid.’ Maybe the wish has to be unanimous or something. Like the couple in the story, they both wanted exactly the same thing, and the gates opened for them!”

“You genius child!” Robin rushed over and grabbed him by the shoulders, making him giggle. Their laughter became interrupted by the approaching sound of wooden things clanging and knocking against one another. They both gripped one another tightly in fright until the torch light came into view, stopped and was angled up to reveal the shadowed face of a less than-amused Steve Harrington.

“What are you idiots doing out here? Are you both insane?” He hissed quietly when he got close enough.

Robin thumps him first on the arm, “Ow!” Steve frowned, rubbing his arm in complaint.

“How could you hold out on us like this?” She scolded as Dustin threw his own punch on Steve’s other arm with a laugh, which he quickly turned into the frown he was supposed to be wearing.

“I wasn’t holding out anything. One, it doesn't work, and two, after everything we’ve been through the last two years, do you really want to be wandering into some weird gate thing?” Steve gestured at the gates, and as he looked, he saw they seemed to have not changed at all, not since that fateful summer day when he was out here on his own, with only his radio for company.

Two plain iron wrought estate gates were held shut tight by a thick knotted chain and an ancient padlock delicately embossed with filigree. The top and bottom of the gates, absent of post caps, glinted like the sharpened edges of daggers, ready to shred anyone who tried to crawl under or over them. The moss-covered stone pillars that flank them, the hinges embedded in their sides, still stood, a weathered gargoyle on each. 

“Look, we just thought we could undo all the bad stuff that happened, bring back Barb, protect Will and Eleven,” Robin explained, and Dustin gave her a little nudge in the side, “E-Even makes Billy a nice guy, so Max is safe too, and you won't get knocked out. Besides, whatever is beyond that gate is no match for us, not with you along with us.”

Steve looked at their hopeful faces and groaned but tried one last thing, “You heard what Eddie said about wishes. If you aren’t specific, they can be turned against you. This all just could be a trap, so just,” he looks between the two of them, “just let me go first ok? Stay behind me, and if anything goes wrong, anything at all. You run, lock the gates behind you and don't come back, understand?”

“As long as you promise that if you get separated, and you get to make a wish, you stick to the same one, so you can get out too. Deal?”Dustin looked at him with all seriousness, “No Martyr crap.”

“Deal,” Steve said, swallowing hard, “Here,” He reached behind his back and pulled two wooden baseball bats out of his bag and handed them one each, “Just in case.” Steve pulled out a third for himself, his old trusty nail bat. “Ok, let's give it a try.”

Robin and Dustin filled Steve in on the exact wish they had planned out. They stood before the gates, bats braced over their shoulders, ready to swing at anything that came their way. Steve was the first in line.

The padlock began to glow, and the gate hinges creaked as the leaves of the gate moved back and forth, trying to free themselves from their restraints. The rattling echoed through the woods, and suddenly, the glow condensed to a singular orb of light that gently floated to one of the pillars and disappeared beneath the ivy and moss covering it. And with that, the gates creaked back into their normal position. Unmoving and unopened.

Robin rushed toward where the orb had landed. She hurriedly brushed away the plants to get to what was underneath a square brass plaque. She scrambled quickly for her torch and used the light to reveal the inscription.

“Five,” a confused Robin reported back.

“Five what?” The boys replied in harmony, only to be met with a shrug as their eyes followed the light beam to the shining plaque, which looked almost brand new other than the number five that seemed hastily hammered into it.

“Maybe we need two more people?” Steve questioned.

“No, the story had a couple pass through, and when it was just me and Robin, it almost opened too!”

“Maybe it’s….er…” Robin tapped on the gates five times, and when nothing happened, she tried the stone and then the gargoyles, but nothing happened.

She stepped back next to Dustin, who was also busy looking around the gates for anything they might have missed. Then, suddenly, the plaque started to glow.

“Whoa, whoa, what did you do,” Dustin exclaimed, looking Robin over.

“Nothing, nothing! Did you?” Dustin shook his head in reply as they both slowly turned their heads to the shuffling sound behind them.

Steve was doing half of some kind of dance. One hand in the air in front of him as he twisted his heels from right to left into the dirt, quickly stepped around with a twist of his hips, and kicked his leg out to the front and across himself with a triple step, humming something.

“What are you doing? We’re trying to figure out a puzzle here, and you’re what? Dancing?” Robin complained, and Steve stopped dead and looked a little embarrassed.

Dustin tugged on Robin’s jacket, “No look,” The plaque had stopped glowing, as Steve had stopped dancing.

She quickly turned back to him, “Wait, explain to me why you were dancing.”

“Because of the song,” Steve said, looking a little weirded out. He looked at the two blank faces in front of him, “Ok, wow! It's not even that old! The lyrics to the song say, at the age of five they can do the jive down at Devil Gate Drive’, so I tried to remember some jive moves that my Nonna taught me.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Do it again!” Dustin all but yelled, gesturing to Steve’s feet.

“Well, you don't normally do that dance on your own. I mean, you can, but it's usually danced with someone else,” Steve muttered awkwardly and extended his hand toward Robin.

“I am not co-ordinated enough for dancing,” Robin held her hands up with a laugh.

Steve moved his extended hand to Dustin, who sighed but took it all the same.

“Ok, just hold my hands and copy my feet at first, and then if I put our hands up like this,” He hoisted their joined hands together above Dustin’s head, “Just follow the moment of the spin, ok.”

After a few stumbles and an argument about which way he should turn to spin, they got into a pattern of sorts, “It’s working, guys! It’s working. Keep going”

Steve and Dustin, with huge smiles on their faces from having much more fun than they should have, pick up speed.

The glowing plaque creaked and cracked as the glow seemed to warp it until the plaque pieces and padlock finally dropped to the floor. A breathless Steve and Dustin stopped their dance, and as their eyes met, “We tell no one of this, understood?” Dustin said.

“OK, sure. But you should know, you’re pretty good. I wasn’t expecting you to be, but you clearly have some kind of natural rhythm,” Steve complimented his friend.

“Really? You think? Maybe it was because I had such an able leader to follow?” Dustin gushed back, but before Steve could fire back another kind word, Robin made them aware of the new situation.

“Guys, I hate to break up this bonding session, but um, the plaque did fall away, but, um, there is just a new one where it was,”

“Are you fucking, kidding me with this shit right now!” Dustin seethed, “Six, ok, Steve. Is there a line about being six?”

“Yeah, it's, um, something like, ‘they get their kicks’, I think,” Steve wracked his brain trying to remember.

Before he could even hum the line a second time to himself, there was a loud clang as Robin kicked hard at the chain holding the gates together, followed by a dull thud of the chain hitting the ground. 

“Man, she is awesome!” Dustin grinned up at Steve.

Robin smiled over at them and stepped back in their first formation as the gates slowly creaked open all by themselves, but what could be seen through them was certainly not the forest that they had not seconds ago been able to see through them. 

Steve carefully stepped forward, his bat ready to swing as he took in the new scene before him. A cold room lined with walls of grey stone, broken up occasionally by some hideously violent scenes depicted in stained glass. The scent of incense and snuffed-out candles fills the air, and directly opposite them is a giant set of solid wooden doors with rusted metal hinges.

“Are we absolutely sure about this?” Steve asked one last time.

“A chance to undo all this shit? To save all those people, to help Will? Yeah, I am one hundred per cent certain. We can all have our old lives back.” Dustin enthused, and that was all Steve needed to get him to step through the gates, but once inside, he found the place completely deserted.

He stayed quiet, hoping to hear the faint rustling of some foe or beastie, but all he could hear was the soft hum of electricity. He shrugged at the other two and walked toward the giant doors opposite. An unusual sensation bristled over him the closer he got to the doors, and it intensified as he reached out his hand.

“STEVE! DO NOT TOUCH THAT!” Dustin squeaked out, and Steve stopped in his tracks as the other two rushed towards him, Robin holding up a handheld mirror and giggling. As he stared into it, he saw his usually voluminous hair standing on end above his head.

“It must be electrified somehow. Hold on. There look!” Steve and Robin followed Dustin’s finger as it traced along the wall following a chunky cable and finally came to rest over a set of three switches, “Anything in your song about things being on or off?” Dustin asked, rushing over to the knife switches on the wall, each sticking out halfway, neither on nor off.

Robin joined Dustin at the switches, but Steve busied himself elsewhere at a table, frantically scribbling and smoothing down his hair.

“Geez, these look straight out of Frankenstein or something. If we pull them all down, that will turn off the power?” Robin said, full of awe, dusting the cobwebs from them and proceeding to flick the webs from her fingers back into the room behind her.

“Well, that sounds like a good first try,” They both got to task pulling the switches into the down position. There is a change in the hum, but when Dustin finds a random nail on the ground and throws it towards the door, a small zap of electricity lights up around the projectile.

“Up?” Dustin questioned, and they pushed all the switches in the opposite direction. Robin tosses something towards it this time, but the same thing happens.

“Well, there are only a certain number of combinations. We can just try them all,” Dustin shrugged happily as Steve shoved a piece of paper in front of them.

“There, those are the lyrics I remember. They’ve helped so far. Maybe if you had them too, I figured that might be quicker?” Steve said, but his eyes were looking over the switches, “So where are we at with these Dracula switches?”

“Frankenstein,” Dustin corrected.

“Yeah, well, whatever,” Steve waved his hand.

“It’s alive!” Robin said suddenly

“Ok, ok, I get it. I mixed up my movies, you guys, geez, priorities!” Steve shook his head, looking up at the switches.

“No, Dingus. The lyrics ‘Come Alive’ twice. Like, it's connected, right. So the first two on and the third one off?” She reached up and pulled the third switch down, 

The hum of electricity died, and for good measure, another metal scrap got hurtled toward the door. This time, it happily bumped against them and dropped to the floor, unfrazzled.

Robin passed the hastily scribbled lyrics to Dustin, who read them over as they moved in the usual formation in front of the doors, which Steve carefully opened as quietly as possible, but the creaking of the doors might have woken up everyone in a ten-mile radius if it hadn’t been for the fact, that none of the people in the vicinity would be waking up any time soon.

The cool night air whooshed through the open doors and hit them full force, making them stumble backwards. Once finding their feet again, they realised they had been in a chapel or church of some kind because at the foot of the stairs out of the building appeared to be a graveyard, split apart by a gravel path that led to another set of gates. On them, something flashed occasionally with light.

“Eyes open, keep close, bats ready, try to move like a ninja. Something doesn’t feel right out here,” Steve whispered quietly.

Steve took the first step down and was treated to a thunk on the back of his head. He whipped his head around only to find a very apologetic-looking Robin, “Sorry, guess that was too close.” She whispered back with a smile.

They continued down the steps and path, careful in their movement and silent as the grave until they reached the next set of gates.

What had been glinting in the moonlight was a beaten-by-the-elements mirror attached to a piece of rope that held the two tall metal gates together.

“What is this like a light thing?” Robin grumbled, angling the mirror around, trying to capture a beam of moonlight to move around the graveyard. Dustin took the lyrics out of his pocket and reread them whilst Steve covered their backs, his head moving from left to right to cover both sides of the path.

“Maybe it's to do with stars, that's right there at the top?” Dustin poked the paper and held it up for Robin.

“No, it can’t be. So far, it's been in order, right? And we just did that chorus-type bit, so we must be on the second verse now.” 

“You know, being scared aside, this has been kinda fun. It’s like an adventure, you know, but less blood and guts and more puzzles, which is preferable when you are very much in the game itself,” Dustin says with a chuckle.

“You know what, yeah, this has been fun, like before all hell broke loose at the mall, and we were figuring out that message.” Robin fondly recalled moving around the mirror and checking the back of it, “Except, of course, this is much easier.”

Dustin made a pained noise, “Why would you say something like that?”

“I’m just stating the facts. Reading song lyrics is not as difficult as translating Russian.”

The ground shook, not enough to knock them down, but enough to have them scrambling for the lyrics again, searching for mirrors, reflections, or anything related to that.

“Uh, guys. How you doing with that gate?” Steve’s voice wavered.

“Nothing yet, but we’re trying to find something to do with mirrors,” Robin said, a little flustered.

“Well, let me help you out there. There isn’t any, so I suggest you try out any other ideas you’ve got because we’ve got company.”

“Company?” Dustin laughed, turning around, only to be greeted by a shambling figure approaching in the distance, groaning, “Shit!” He said shortly and turned back to the mirror.

“Wha-what is- shit!” Robin exclaimed, picking up her bat again, “I’m gonna cover Steve. You’ve got this, buddy!”

Dustin tucked away the lyrics in his pocket and held the mirror in both hands, examining it, holding it at different angles in the light. He even tried cleaning it on his t-shirt, but nothing happened. He took out his torch and shone it directly on the mirror in the hopes that it would illuminate a clue somewhere around them, but what it did instead was light up more of the graveyard and alert the two older teens that it wasn’t just one member of the undead they would have to deal with. The stench in the air and the hands clawing out of gravesites around them made it clear that soon they might be overrun.

“Come on, Henderson. You got this!” Steve coached as he braced himself, ready to swing at the approaching figure.

Bolstered by his hero’s words, Dustin focused back on the mirror, “Come on, there must be something here,” he whispered to himself.

“Uh, Dustin, trying anything would be good at this point,” Robin’s concerned voice increased in volume, followed by the swish of a bat in the air.

“Shit-shit-shit, ok. OK! Maybe I’m overthinking this,” Dustin frantically looked over the gate, and his eyes landed on the rope tying them together. He quickly spun his backpack around himself and rustled in the pockets before finding his Swiss army knife. He flicked out one of the blades and sliced easily through the rope. He tutted at how easy that had been and pushed the now untethered gates, but the gates pushed back and held firm.

“What in the-,” Dustin said slack-jawed as he pushed on the gates one more time with all his might, but the same thing happened.

Behind him, he heard the swishing of bats, “Stay back, you putrid asshole!” Robin shouted.

A grunt from Steve, and there is another swish and a clatter of bones. Dustin’s heart pumped so hard he could hear his pulse in his ears, blocking out the sounds of battle behind him. Frustrated, he held up the mirror and yelled into it with a face of fury, “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?”

The mirror flew out of his hands so quickly as the gates threw themselves open, “Guys, it's open!” He yells.

“Ok, now listen,” Steve struggles to say with another sound of something rushing through the air, which ends with a clatter and the sound of dry heaving, “Listen,” Steve tried again as he spat on the floor, “Don’t turn back just look ahead, what can you see?”

“It's just, er fields, there is a broken cart, more path and a set of gates with a box in front of it.” Dustin managed but was desperate to take a look behind him. He was trying his very best to just do what he could until they were all safe.

This time, another loud whack filled the air with a squelch and the sounds of Robin coughing and spluttering.

“Ok, that’s good, that's good,” Steve said unsteadily, “I want you to find something to bar the gates, anything, a piece of wood, a rock, the broken cart, anything you can move, then bring it back and shout for me. Got it?”

“Got it,” Dustin confirmed and ran to find the chunkiest piece of broken cart he could find and dragged it back to near the gates, “Ok I got something,” he shouted, with his back pressed up against the wall, head looking directly away from the gates until he hears them slam shut and the wood is wrenched from his hands.

He opens his eyes and can see Robin backed up against the gates as Steve heaves the piece of wood into place. They both looked disgusting, covered in various coloured congealed liquids, intermittently heaving and spitting on the floor, catching their breath. Steve caught him looking over and rushed to him with a big smile on his face as he shook him by the shoulder, “You did so good, dude, So fucking good!”

“I did?”

“You really did!” Steve beamed proudly with a sniff and wiped his nose and mouth with his sleeve.

“Steve, can we save the proud parent routine until we are out of scent radius of these things, please?” Robin warned them.

Steve grabbed Dustin’s shoulder and forced him to walk in front, “Eyes ahead, ok, Henderson? Pick up the pace a little, alright?”

Robin ran ahead of them, and soon their quick walk migrated to almost a jog, “What was back there?” Dustin asked breathlessly.

“Um, you know zombies in the movies?”

“Yeah”

“Well, let's just say those are the My Little Pony version of the real thing.”

“You guys dealt with them easily enough,” Dustin said with a small smile of adoration. He aimed at Robin and then up at Steve.

“Er, well, we dealt with enough to get out of there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Listen, let's save this conversation until we are somewhere much more structurally sound.” Steve looked back, gripped the shoulder of Dustin's jacket, and dragged him along into a run.

Dustin kept his eyes front and saw that the box was not ordinary. The glow from it illuminated Robin's face as she stooped over it, poking it, turning to the gates, and then back to the box.

The box in question was a very particular kind. This was a classic Wurlitzer 2000 jukebox that Robin was flipping through the songs of and pushing its buttons, getting increasingly more stressed, “It’s not Devil Gate Drive, It’s not any songs by Suzi Quatro. Then I tried some songs I liked because I’m the only girl here. I’m just going through the female artists now, trying to figure out who the jukebox queen is,”

There is a crunch and the squeak of the old gates opening again. Frantically, Robin bangs her fists on the jukebox glass, “Come on, what is it?”

Steve hurriedly hip-bumps her out of the way, flicks through the pages and punches in the number. The record arm moves and picks up the record, the gates to their right click open, and the music rings out across the landscape.

Caaaaaaan 

anybody 

find me 

somebody to 

Love?

As they barreled through the gates, they slammed shut behind them. Steve pushed them along until the nature around them began to melt away. Tree stumps started to be replaced by spare tyres, hills by piles of abandoned cars of eras gone by until there was an audible pop behind them, and as they turned, the gates they had just run through vanished. Turning around again, they can see couples to their left and right, just as bewildered as they were, looking around, holding one another tight.

“Queen! Of course!” Robin rejoiced a little more relaxed, though not by much, “But how did you guess the song?”

“Lucky, I guess,” Steve said, urging them forward towards a pounding beat they could all hear. As the piles of scrapped cars and trucks piled higher and higher, almost as tall as buildings, they pressed on until the view in front of them stopped them.

A pit bigger than the Quarry in Hawkins spread below them. This one, however, was barren of water but full of people, specifically couples of all eras and ethnicities, dancing together, huge smiles on their faces that didn't budge as they twisted, jived, waltzed, tangoed, and discoed around the place. Huge bonfires littered the area, making incredible waves of heat flow up and over them almost rhythmically. Above it all, on a rocky outcrop, a creature sat on a gigantic gilded throne at odds with the kingdom of trash and scrap surrounding it.

From that distance, it couldn't possibly be human-sized, closer to giant than anything. Two pointed, warped and twisted double-pronged horns on its head, the bases of which were smothered by hundreds of serpents moving over one another. Its large eyes were aflame as it surveyed the entertainment below, and its evil grin was fanged. Its upper body was bare, showing off the deep red of its toned, branded and scarred torso. From the belt of shackles around its hips and downward was a fur of the deepest black that ended in two large cloven hooves.

And just as Steve had managed to digest what must be the demon before him, the creature snapped its head towards him. He felt it looked right at him, but that must be impossible with the thousands of people here, this far away. Steve stumbled back with fright all the same as the demon threw back its head and unleashed a loud, wicked booming laugh that echoed around them, and the dancing creatures of the pit mimicked it with their own reedy cackles.

“Yep. Yeah. This was a horrible idea. We should just find a way out,” Steve said worriedly as he backed up slowly from sight of the pit but soon found himself coming to an abrupt stop. He turned to see his two friends looking back at him.

“The way back is gone, you saw it disappear the same as we did, and we’ve come this far, Steve. If we can’t go back, we may as well go forward.” Robin soothed and gestured over his shoulder.

“Robin’s right. And this is our chance. This is our one chance to make everything right.” Dustin agreed, holding his hands together like he was in prayer.

“You want to try and have a conversation with that thing?” Steve exclaimed, looking and pointing over his shoulder at the monstrosity that had now stood up to its full height from its throne, “You think that thing is gonna give a crap about Will, Barb, or Hawkins. No! It's gonna take one look at us and eat us like a snack, OK. That thing cannot be reasoned with. Look at it!” Steve protested urgently as a creeping sensation moved up his spine, “We haven't even looked for a way out. There could be hundreds. It's just how we came in is gone, right guys?” He looked for agreement from his friends, but all he saw was the colour drain from their faces, and their eyes travelled up as they were quickly overcast with shadow.

“Your hairy friend is correct, little morsels,” An impossibly warped and deep voice came from above Steve’s head, “There is a way out, but there is but one way to get there.” The demon clicked its deep red fingers tipped with black nails with grain and knots like wood. All four of them found themselves in a room with black rock walls, a hearth to simmering lava that folded over itself, and the remainder of the room contained giant-sized furniture made of silver, draped in black worn sheer fabrics, depicting strange animals and bones, “To make your wish,” The creature says sitting on another throne-like chair at the end of a long table, as it steepled its fingers together, “I trust you have one?”

Steve quickly gathered Robin and Dustin behind him, “Don’t hurt them. It’s my stupid fault we’re here. Let them go home.”

The demon leaned forward and raised its furry jet-black eyebrow to a sharpened point, “Is that your wish? For two of you to go home and one to stay? Strange if you ask me, but it is not my wish to make.”

“No!” Dustin shouted defiantly, “That isn’t our wish!”

“Ah, I see, it is not unanimous. Well, take your time. I have plenty of that. You three, however, not so much,” it smiled impossibly wide, as a few snakes that adorned its head slithered forward to taste the air between them, “but again, that really is more of a you problem, isn't it?”

“Tell me little bird,” It pointed a sharpened nail at Robin, “You are desperately quiet. Do I frighten you?”

“Ye-Ye-Yes,” She barely managed, shaking and clinging onto Steve simultaneously, almost pulling him back with her.

“Ah,” It grinned, “Finally, an honest one among you.” The snakes on its head began to uncoil from around the horns and fall down to and spill over its shoulders, “Is this better?” It asks but stops suddenly, “Ah, I remind you of someone, do I not? HA! Oh, she’s clever, isn’t she,” It laughed loud like bark and clapped its hands together, “I guess the jig is up. So be it!”

Almost like running water over a watercolour painting, this creature began to melt into something new, something they recognised, someone they recognised. Eddie Munson.

Instinctively, Steve lurched forward to attack. Now, the enemy was more his size, but Robin and Dustin held him back.

“Ah-ah-ah, big boy. Don’t be fooled by appearances in this place,” his smile quickly fades to something all the more sinister, “I could still have your insides for dipping sauce with a wave of my hand.” Steve, still vibrating with rage, forced himself to step back.

“Why did you-” Dustin began, but he was quickly cut off.

“Why did I suddenly appear in your lives, befriend you and infiltrate your little party? Well, now that would be spoilers, wouldn’t it? Suffice to say you have access to something I want, and though I have tried my best to get it, my duties here keep me from getting too far. I shall speak no further on the matter, and the feeling I’m getting about your wish, in particular, is that you want to go right back where it started anyway. And that works for me. There is one problem, however,” Eddie puts his hands to the sides of his face in a cutesy way, “The wish still has to be unanimous,”

“It is unanimous. We all want the same thing. Steve just panicked, is all,” Dustin quickly answered. Steve nodded.

“And on top of that wish, that we all get home unharmed, and you keep your evil ways away from all of us!” Robin added with gusto.

“Interesting.” Deep in thought, stroking his chin, he says, “You see me as evil and terrible and scary, and yet, I have been nothing but benevolent. You know, technically. The three of you shouldn't even be allowed in here, a group of three, without a droplet of lust or anything but platonic love on you. That doesn't cut the mustard here, not for me, not for my superiors. We dine on love’s young dream here. So, I bent the rules. I made it a test. A little loophole, if you will, and you two seemed so desperate to get through the gates, and I know how much you would each love a moment in the spotlight, congratulated by your peers, your friends, to be strong, to be intelligent, to be wise.” He got up from his seat and paced around the table, “I even gave you a challenge when you were getting bored of my little games, and then when you got here, I didn't chuck you directly in the pit before discussing your wish. And you have the gaul to stand before me, ungrateful and petulant.”

“You did all of that?” Dustin choked out.

Eddie nodded with a tuneful hum, “Yes. And Steve here has been so desperate to breach my gates for so long. He’s been graciously passing around my legend for nearly a decade now. Isn’t that right, champ?”

Now the colour drained from Steve’s face, his mouth opened to say something, but the words would not come.

“Stories spread like wildfire in the mouths of the young, but more importantly, so does belief. That is why I had to intervene when I heard Steven here twisting my tale. I was disappointed, to say the least. He’s normally so good at the exact details. Sweethearts just end up here without even thinking about it.” He beamed a toothy grin at them, as Steve could barely process the information, “But as I said, this wish is not unanimous. It hasn't been since you got to my gates, and frankly, it is getting a little repetitive saying as much. So, though you are here, you cannot leave. So, I suggest you all try to get on the same page. Do try and hurry along. I mean, I literally have all the time in the world, but I do get bored terribly easily. Especially when I’m not getting all the attention,” he sighed and headed back to his chair, kicking his legs over one of the arms and drumming his nails on the other.

“Wait, if all those people came with the same wish, then why are so many people still here?” Dustin asked.

“Oh, Dustin, you clearly didn't hear the message of the whole story! These sweethearts come here, head full of forevers, and then when they stand where you are, they state their wish. I ask for my price, and they remember the story's ending, don't they? So, being the soft-hearted fiend I am, I make them an offer. They can pay the price, have their wish, take their chances out there, or they can stay here, no price to pay, and stay as in love as they are at that moment, forever.”

“You-you tricked them,” Steve stammered furiously.

“Did I, now?” Eddie lurched forward with a sneer, thumping the table, “Or did I give them a choice? A CHOICE THEY MADE!” Eddie bellowed furiously before quickly shrinking back into a smirk, “Take a look again if you wish, Steve. There isn't a sad face in the house other than you three ingrates. I tire of this. Make your wish. Don’t make your wish. It’s all the same to me, my sweets.”

“If we don’t have lust or romantic love, what is the use in keeping us here? You could just send us home, and we’ll be sure to tell everyone your story properly,” Robin used all the charm she could, and it earned her a side glance.

“Gosh, you are clever, aren't you, birdie,” He swung his feet to the floor and paced over to them, looked each of them over, “That is because you have something far more valuable than mere love. The absolute worst thing you can be in any realm. One of you is…” he made a come hither motion with his finger, which none of them were drawn in by, and yet he still smiled as he breathed out with a gasp of ecstasy, “A traitor.”

The three friends burst into a cacophony of accusations, all being thrown at Eddie.

“That’s impossible. We’re best friends. We’d never betray one another!” Steve shouted adamantly before turning to Dustin and Robin, “He’s just trying to make us turn against one another. Don't listen to him. Just decide the wish, and let's get out of here.”

“MMM mmm mmm, descension is my favourite amuse bouche,” Eddie smiled and licked his lips as he leaned against the table on the heels of his hands.

“Wait!” Dustin shouted suddenly, “Wait! Shut up!” He squeezed his eyes shut with the shout before focusing again on Eddie and holding up three fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Eddie rolled his eyes, “Three! Any other mysteries of the world you wish me to unravel,” he laughed.

“A-ha!” Dustin smiles smugly, “And what t-shirt was I wearing the first day we met?”

Eddie’s face soured, “A "Weird Al" Yankovic t-shirt!” The grimace on his face tightened his lips like he was fighting against them opening.

“Dustin, what are you doing, man?” Steve whispered, pulling him back into the huddle with him and Robin.

“Only busy trying to find a way out of external dancing damnation!” Dustin replied as insulted as possible.

“What? Have you lost your mind?” Steve stressed as he grabbed Dustin and shook him by the shoulders.

“Yeah we need to finalise this wish, the Eddie stuff we will unpack later I promise,” Robin firmly pointed out.

“Listen, you’re both missing the point. I just figured out two things just now. One, That thing has to answer our questions. Two, the answers to those questions cannot be lies. Maybe he can’t lie at all, I don’t know, but anything we ask he can’t lie about.”

“What does this have to do with our wish?” Robin complained.

“That means one of us is lying about wanting this wish. I’m not saying either of you is a traitor, and maybe you have your reasons, but this is our chance to undo everything. Please reconsider.” Dustin pleaded with the older teens.

“Look, we all want that wish to come true. Not one of us wants to have anything bad to have happened to anyone else.” Robin put her foot down, “He’s clearly just trying to over-exaggerate something like Steve not wanting us to come to the gate in the first place. He’s just twisting it. Pitting us against one another,” Steve nodded at her in agreement.

Dustin and Robin looked at one another for a few seconds, and both turned to Steve simultaneously, “It’s you!” Robin gasped as she clasped her hand over her own mouth.

Steve felt his heart race, looking between the two closest friends he ever had. They didn't understand. Yes, it was terrible what happened to everyone, and Steve did want to undo everything, but there was something much more potent at play here. He raised his hands in surrender, and with a cracking voice, he yelled, “Please stop this. I’ll make your deal!”

There was a snap of fingers, and Dustin and Robin, mid-shot at Steve, were frozen in time.

“You know I am really contorting the rules for you now, Steve. The rule is the wish is unanimous,” Eddie purred as he circled Steve with a leisurely stroll, his hands clasped in front of him, not merely adorned with Eddie’s rings but so many others.

“It will be if the other two people can’t think or speak. It only has to be me,” Steve sniffed as he dropped his head in shame.

Eddie’s finger hooked under his chin to raise it, “My, my,” he tilted his head with a soft, adoring look, “He’s smarter than he looks, and let on.”

“It's not smart. It's sneaky!” Steve frowned with a tear threatened at his waterline as he snatched his head away from Eddie’s hand.

Eddie placed his hands over his heart, “Truly, you wound me so profoundly, my beauty. To turn away from the man who has done nothing but your bidding for years now.”

Steve’s eyes turned from sadness to surprise as Eddie continued, “Tonight, I hid your secret until I could no longer. I have my binds, as do we all. But from the moment you sat crossed-legged at my gates, sobbing your eyes out as Freddie Mercury begged me on your behalf for someone to love, did I not give you that in spades.”

“No, you did not!” Steve yelled, “Stop lying! You did no such thing!”

“I DID!” Eddie yelled right in his face, his voice boomed so loudly the room shook, and debris fell crumbled from between the stones to the floor, as Steve turned his face away, “I gave you everything I could. Did your parents not shower you with money and gifts? Did you not suddenly have the eye of most of the people in your school? Did you not become adored by your peers? Did you not become king of your tiny realm?” Eddie gesticulates wildly around the room as he bellows his efforts. He then drops to something quieter, his fanged teeth clenched and his fingers pinched to deliver the final blow, “Did I not find you the woman of your dreams and place her in your very path. In arms reach?”

“Well, you failed,” Steve pinched his nose, holding back his emotions as best he could, “None of them loved me,”

Eddie raised his chin and deeply breathed, “That is not what you asked of me.”

“You can’t love one way. That's not how that works! It’s just another, uh, trick of yours,” Steve waved his hand away as if brushing the past from his mind.

“I gave you what you asked, you had people to love, and as a cherry on top, you had people that worshipped you,”

“But it wasn’t real. It was all bullshit. What I needed back then I found without your help! Robin and-and Dustin, they care about me. They love me!” Steve stepped forward, brandishing his words like a weapon against his foe.

A growl rumbled from Eddie, “You don’t need these kids, Steve. I can give you anything you wish, just as I always have!”

“I do need them.”

“No, you don't!”

“I do. I need them to love me. Without them, I’m nothing,” and that pushed him over the edge. As his tears fell, they hissed and spit as they hit the stone floor beneath him, “And now, because of how selfish I am for it, I will have lost them.”

“YOU DON'T NEED THEM!” Eddie roared, his eyes glowing a deep red as his chest heaved.

“And what of the love I give, hmmm? The love I have given? Always will give. Is that not enough to sate you?” Eddie's eyes ignited. The hellish flames danced in them with jealousy and pure rage. Steve, lost for words, wiped the tears from his eyes. Half horrified and half in disbelief. “You think a creature, such as I, is incapable of such complexities as love. Well, you are wrong! Is a street sweeper not as capable of love as a poet? Can a peasant not woo a prince?” Eddie’s eyes searched Steve’s, his frustrated voice dropping to a whisper, “Can a demon not love the very soul of an earth angel?”

“If you love me, you’ll let us go,” Steve angrily answered back.

Eddie narrowed his eyes, pointing accusingly at Steve, “Is that what you do to things you love, Steve? Do you let them go? Or do you cling on secretly, desperately, until they drop you like a bad habit?”

Steve looked at his friends and back to Eddie, “I’m ready to make my wish.”

Eddie’s eyes bored into Steve’s, his nostrils flared in anger as he pressed his lips together tightly before taking a deep breath, “Very well. Hand over your prized trinket.” he sneered.

Steve frantically patted himself over, “I don’t have a trinket. Whatever that means.”

“What, you're two best buddies who love you so very much, never gave you anything you hold dear?” Eddie snipped.

Steve looked over at his friends again, remembering their times together, side by side in battle, sitting battered and drugged on a toilet floor, getting ready for prom, and that was when the idea came to him. He turned back to Eddie, reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys.

Eddie snatched at them menacingly, holding them up. The flames in his eyes flickered green as he held them in his grasp before pocketing them, “And your wish?” he seethed through gritted teeth.

“I wish to rewind everything to earlier tonight at the campfire, where all my friends and family were safe, and that I never told Dustin or anyone else I care about that story.”

“That's all?” Eddie raised an eyebrow in disbelief, “Not riches, not saving everyone, not throwing me into the abyss?”

“Yes, that’s all.” Steve blinked down at the floor and hung his head ashamed.

“Your wish is my command,” Eddie smirks as he saunters to Steve to claim his prize.

As their lips touched, Steve’s mind went blank. 

All he could feel was a sharp pain in his ribs.

“Hey, Dingus! Wake up. It’s nearly over,” Robin whispered with a huff of a laugh.

“Oh shit. Are you ok? Is Dustin…DUSTIN?! DUSTIN!” Steve called out frantically, only to be met with the annoyed, narrowed eyes of Dustin Henderson to his right at the side of the campfire.

“Is it too much to ask, to have a moment in the spotlight, just once?” Dustin grumbled.

Steve looked around at the others with an awkward smile, “Ha, uh, Sorry guys, real vivid dream.” He sat closer to Robin and took her hand in his as they listened to the rest of Dustin’s alien abduction story.

“Hey, are you alright?” Robin asked as Steve looked around the fire. He bit his lip as his eyes fell over Will, El, Max, and Nancy. The guilt swished heavily in his guts. It was just a dream, he tells himself.

Soon enough, they are packing up. Nancy offered a ride home, and Steve didn't stop Robin from going.

“Hey, looks like it's just the two of us, buddy!” Steve happily pulled Dustin in for a one-armed side hug.

“What is with you tonight?” Dustin laughed, shrugging him off.

“Nothing, nothing, just you know. It was a nice night.” Steve hummed pleasantly as he easily found the water bottle to put out the fire's dying embers and collected up his backpack as he and Dustin walked back down to the car.

By the time they reached the car park, Nancy is still parked in her spot, her hands over her ears as everyone else is arguing over who should sit where.

“Bet you’re glad you stuck with me, huh?” Steve chuckled and nudged Dustin in the ribs.

“No matter what happens down there. No matter who bats their eyelashes at you, I get shotgun!” Dustin said with the utmost seriousness.

“Of course, Absolutely,” Steve beamed as they approached the chaos. 

Dustin threw an arm in front of him, which he almost barreled over, “Are you high? Did you eat like a special brownie or something? Is that why you fell asleep, and since you woke up, you’ve been acting like you fell right out of a Disney musical?”

“No, man. Is it ok for me to be happy for once?” Steve laughed, reaching into his pocket for his keys, “Shit!” he dumped his bag on the ground and started fishing out his torch, only to be blinded by a set of headlights.

A silhouette moved into the beam after a door slam, “Need a ride, Henderson?”

“Eddie!” Dustin beamed excitedly, and Steve grabbed his arm to hold him back, but he just got a frown and shoved for his effort.

Steve’s eyes made contact with Eddie’s. Dream or not, this guy was still a stranger to him. To his surprise, Eddie swallowed nervously as he approached.

“Maybe? Steve here lost his keys somewhere between here and up there.” Dustin gestured into the dark woods.

“Oh really?” With a delighted grin, Eddie said, “Not like Harrington to make a mistake, is it?”

“You’d be surprised!” Dustin laughed, but Eddie’s eyes didn’t leave Steve’s.

“Is there a problem, guys?” Nancy called over as people were finally taking their seats, and Dustin ran over to explain.

Eddie stepped closer, and Steve braced himself for something terrible, but all he felt was him take his hand, “Well, looks like it must be opposite day today, huh, Harrington? Today I get to be the saviour,” his smiled morphed to a smirk as he pressed the keys into Steve’s palm, and began stepping backwards towards his van.

Steve tried to shake it off quickly and held the keys up, “Found ‘em,” He called out before getting into his car and starting it up. Dustin promptly jumped into the passenger seat as Nancy pulled away, and Steve followed swiftly after her, not wanting to stay there any longer than he had to, still shaken and weirded out. 

Steve looked in the rearview mirror at the figure leaning against the van as they got to the exit. 

Eddie shifted, raised his hand to his mouth, and blew him a kiss.

[oreana-galena]

Get to Know Me

9 people I'd like to get to know better !

tagged by @ash-rigby! Thank you so much~!

last song: Moonlight Shadow originally by Mike Oldfield, but I get my hands on any variation I can, in any language, because the song is so charming to me. I recently found it in Russian, so I've been listening to it none stop~!

favourite colour: Ooh this is a hard one. It has to be between purple and black!

last movie/tv show: 🤔Hmm, I want to say it was Jujutsu Kaisen if we're adding anime shows. But if not, The Last Unicorn movie. I always gotta watch that one every now and again. ♥ (Love me some unicorns!)

sweet/spicy/savory?: Oh, another hard one to choose! While I've been going through a few spicy peppers, I do think sweet is always a good comfort. Got me some brownies as we speak! ♥

last thing i googled: LOZ Ocarina of Time game cover, because I was adding that to my '6 games to get to know me' thingy on IG. ♥ (Mario 64, Luigi's Mansion, LOZ Twilight Princess, FFVII and Chrono Cross were the others lol).

current obsession: Haha, oh gosh.. uuuuh... a giant orb with teeth and an anger issue. Otherwise known as King Boo. 😂 Aside from that, just monsters in general. ♥ (Tieflings are a big weakness of my many weaknesses).

tag nine people: Don't know 9 off the top of my head, but here are some who might be interested!

@baphymittens @kittycat-kai @lopsidedphantasm

If y'all want to, naturally~! ♥

[claudia-nomusaabara]

3, 4, and 17 for Magnus and Abigail!

@fishklok (finger guns)

3. a headcanon that canon doesn't disprove

Magnus

Magnus is quite particular about how a certain piece of his songwriting and an instrument should be performed down to the T. He DOESN'T LIKE IT when someone decides to go off script from anything that was practiced earlier because:

It's taking attention off the rest of the group/his ideas for the song.

It fucks up Magnus's concentration and flow.

It's like his creativity is getting spat on.

Abigail

The lady KNOWS how to have fun and to relax when given the chance.

Going by Abby saying "There? I'm not so bad." with a genuine smile in Writersklok and giggling at Dethklok's weak wrists after "tugging the snake" too much is proof of that for me.

I can imagine she has thousands of funny stories she can tell about about her work as a record cleaner and her personal life.

Her favorite memory was working as an apprentice under her uncle who was a record cleaner himself and one of these rock stars got so pissed at her uncle's critiques, the singer pulled his pants down and farted into the microphone.

4. a headcanon to spite canon, specifically

Magnus

Not only was Magnus the original creator of Dethklok but it would've added so much to the story if he held a legitimate grudge against his former band mates as well.

Think about how it's revealed in "Depths of the Humanity" that the rest of Dethklok screwed over a lot of people to get to the top and see the full story of how Magnus became the first one to get screwed over.

Especially my version of him where not only did Magnus watch them succeed and get betrayed by people he thought were his friends, but he gets to be an audience to his replacement getting accolades after a successful side project and the girl (Vanessa).

In my version he still fights Nathan or tries to (Urkel vs Mike Tyson in his prime) due to stress of perfecting their first album but stabbing him was a rumor that got legs and kept walking.

Sure, Magnus is doing okay financially as a ghostwriter and session guitarist (thank you for this idea by the way) but he always gets hotter than fish grease seeing Dethklok on his TV.

Abigail

Abigail would've wanted Pickles and Nathan put in work to prove why she should get involved with either of them.

Pickles is a fun guy and Nathan does have a caring side to him (both of them do), but she needs to see something of more substance from them.

It's why I have Abigail just being paired with Nathan to kill off the love triangle because I would've loved to see these two butt heads more but they respect that the other stands their ground when needed before fully working together.

17. favorite fanon relationship

Magnus

This goes out to you because the way you write Charles and Magnus together is amazing. You make it easy to believe that they would get together if other circumstances were at play and realistically show how they work as a couple.

Seriously I could believe those two being together in canon if the writers went that direction.

Abigail

I LOVE the idea of her and Skwiss being together, both of their personalities could mesh well if they were allowed to interact more. Her and Skwiss getting together along with Abigail and Toki are my favorite reverse uno card couples for Doomstar.

[andiwriteordie]

Andi I am so so so ... silly. Because I was literally sitting here like oh I wonder what Andi's top byler t.s. song would be.. I guess I'll never know.. :/

And then I realized i can just ask you 😭 so... What is your THE byler t.s. song?

local woman shocked that the difficult question she first asked is now being sent to her.

oh my dear, dear abby... this is a um. this is a wonderful question. and i'm not panicking at all as i suddenly cannot decide.

i feel like i'm about to cheat a little bit because um, well. the song i'm about to pick is a taylor swift feature? but she IS credited as one of the writers, so i'm going with two is better than one.

(italicized = will; bold = mike ; both)

I remember what you wore on the first day You came into my life and I thought, hey You know this could be something

ok, i love listening to this verse because it just. it reminds me of them meeting at kindergarten, and it reminds me of mike reflecting on that moment as the best thing he ever did. like obviously, neither of them knew how important this friendship would become to them when they first met, but i just love then the hindsight of the shed monologue scene and mike getting to explain how much that moment and will's friendship means to him

'Cause everything you do and words you say You know that it all takes my breath away And now I'm left with nothing

honestly, i feel like this section right here is just both of them, like they're both in love with each other, and we all know it. and i love thinking about how much they both like each other. i mean just... it's one thing to fall in love with each other, but just the way that mike and will have been in each other's lives for so long that they know each other's strengths and weaknesses and, and they still choose each other. and idk now i'm rambling and adding more to this than is necessary because it's literally just three lines but? i'm? so emotional about it? (like the differences between like... el who didn't like mike's silly singing or anything like that and didn't really seem to care about his interests? versus will who has grown up with mike, who shares so much in common with him, who makes mike feel like he can be himself? and vice versa? UGH).

also. "mike's breath catches" 🤝 "you know that it all takes my breath away"

So maybe it's true That I can't live without you And maybe two is better than one But there's so much time

To figure out the rest of my life And you've already got me coming undone

And I'm thinking two is better than one

this right here is why i picked this song. obviously, it's the title of the song, but to me, it reminds me so much of how byler is a team. i love that about them. first and foremost, they are friends, and then they are romantic partners. they work as equals and value each other as such, and you can see it in the way they interact! plus, like "maybe it's true that i can't live without you" stands out to me as so s1 coded, where mike is trying to find will and going to all these great lengths to get will back. but also, then it's s4 coded with will saying to mike that in his van confession that he needs mike and he always will!

ok also the time theme here? my brain isn't fully operational right now lol, but there's something there with the bigger stranger things time theme and especially how time is associated with mike (being late to everything in the first episodes), but also then growing up and leave their childhood behind is a theme... "there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life" feels like a full circle moment where mike realizes he doesn't have to give up his childhood and doesn't have to have it all figured out. he and will have each other, and that is what matters most.

I remember every look upon your face The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste You make it hard for breathing

i mean. i just. i feel like this is so will coded. will learning and memorizing the parts of mike he loves so much. how deeply and fully will knows mike. how will loves every part of mike—all the good and all the bad. and i swear to you, somewhere there is a "will's breath catches" line SOMEWHERE or maybe there will be in s5?

'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away I think of you and everything's okay I'm finally now believing

this right here, again reminds me of will. i think about how he talks in his van confession about how mike gives him the courage to keep fighting and to keep going. and i just think about how will has suffered through so much, how he's faced awful things, but how mike gives him the strength to keep going. mike, with how he loves and cares for will, reminds will that everything is going to be okay.

anyways, basically it's just the chorus repeated from here on out but one more thing:

There's so much time To figure out the rest of my life But I figured out when all that's said and done

Two is better than one

this is (obviously) almost a repeat of the other chorus, but i love the small lyric change to "i figured out when all that's said and done" because i think about byler at the end of all of this. they've been through years of hell together, and there were moments where they thought their friendship was falling apart. but at the end of all of it, after all the pain and the confusion and all the mistakes, they have each other.

honorable mentions include: crazier, seven (basic i know), evermore, and peace

[bigmanfrog]

okay adding onto my last post i wanna talk more about el and the byers family because that dynamic with each of them is so important for her

joyce

even from season one when joyce had never met el before, she instantly acts maternally towards her, providing comfort and reassurance and helping el feel grounded and safe while she’s in the sensory deprivation pool. this is absolutely one of the first instances we see of el realising adults aren’t all out to kill her, and a big step towards her trusting adults. we don’t get to see much of this throughout the seasons but whenever they interact, joyce is the same steady, protective and safe figure to el (and the rest of the kids), so el being taken in by joyce makes complete sense, and was also absolutely the best thing for her. it marks a change in her life, where the adult in charge of her is looking out for her best interests at all times, which she hasn’t ever consistently had. joyce never blames her kids, she stays calm and is supportive and she considers el her kid, so treats her the same way, and also provides el with a mother figure (which she’s never actually had).

will

i think will and el honestly are good for each other in very different but important ways. will has always been the one that needed saving (/the damsel in distress) and el has always been the person everyone relied on to save them all (which, fair, she does have superpowers but she’s still a child and that’s a lot of pressure). when these two interact in season four as basically siblings, you see that dynamic start to lean the opposite way. most notably during the presentation scene, el’s struggling and being laughed at and she looks at will for reassurance and encouragement, which he readily supplies to her. he tries his best to make her feel safe in school, and you see her looking to him for reassurance quite often throughout the first few episodes, as well as him taking on that protective brother role, despite his anger at her lying to mike. it’s one of the only times we see el being ‘weak’, and it gives will the chance to play the saviour, even just in a small way.

jonathan

i don’t have quite as much to say about this relationship, but it’s still worth noting how jonathan specifically acts towards el. he’s shown on several occasions to take on the older brother role with her, and though its obviously a different dynamic to him and will, there’s still that sibling relationship between them. i feel like it’s also worth mentioning how natural it is for him to refer to himself and will as as el’s brothers and joyce as her mother. it doesn’t seem like he’s lying or even doubts what he’s saying, it comes naturally to him to say that, implying that he regularly refers to them all that way and he genuinely believes it. (also joyce’s offhand comment about having three kids back home adds into this)

theres just something about el finally having a stable home life, even if nothing else in her life is stable, and her having that ripped away again to be taken back to a lab. idk i have a lot of feelings about this

[angelsanarchy]

Alone Together - Eddie/OC One-Shot Series PRT 14 Prt 1 - Prt 2 - Prt 3 - Prt 4 - Prt 5 - Prt 6 - Prt 7 - Prt 8 - Prt 9 - Prt 10 - Prt 11 - Prt 12 - Prt 13

taglist:

@thetenthdoctorscompanion @siriuslymooned @samwilsonns

"Okay so this one is actually pretty sick. I want to paint that on my van." Eddie was currently hovering over my notepad as I drew a puppet master tattoo for Eddie. Once his uncle had seen the huge piece I drew on his chest, he freaked out. He applauded my work but asked that I please draw him something a little smaller and not so colorful.

"I'm trying to decide if he needs some red hues, really give him that hellish pop." Eddie's ringed finger ran over edges of the drawing to show where he thought it would be best to put the red and I started off slow.

"Oh that's the one baby! That's perfect." He clapped his hands together shifting his chair closer to mind. The chairs at the table started filling around us and I tried not to let Eddie keep me too lost in this sketch because I didn't want to be rude to everyone else but it was Dustin and Mike who plopped down heavily shaking the table.

"Whoa! Relax! We're working on something here!" Eddie threw his arms out and Dustin offered a silent apology.

"What are you drawing?" Dustin asked squinting at the sketchpad. I turned it around for him to see and he nodded.

"Wow that's badass." Mike looked impressed.

"I'm going to get it tattooed on Thursday. It's going right here." Eddie tapped the back of his arm.

"You let Dani draw you a tattoo...for your body?" Mike seemed shocked.

"Are you questioning my artistic abilities?" I challenged playfully.

"Not at all but that's like...a very permanent thing." Mike pointed out making Eddie snort a laugh.

"Yeah Wheeler that's kind of the point of a tattoo." Eddie shifted in his chair and had his arm around the back of mine, almost protective, I gave his knee a small squeeze reminding him to be nice.

"I mean it just seems pretty intimate." Dustin slapped the back of his hand on Mike's chest. Eddie and I looked at each other.

"What? You know I think you're awesome! It just seems like such an intense thing to get. It's like a soul binding-" Mike was cut off by Dustin.

"If there are two people who are practically attached at the hip, it would be Dani and Eddie." Dustin added quickly making me chuckle.

"You know people can have tattoos removed right? Covered even." Gareth pointed out from next to me. I sat back in my chair taking in this new topic of conversation.

"No way man. I hear having them removed is like burning the skin off your body." Carl scrunched his nose and Mike got a chill.

"I think its an awesome idea. I mean Dani's practically designed our entire party. Why wouldn't he want one of her pieces on him?" Jeff spoke up and Mike held up his hands.

"I mean they're definitely a step up from some of the others he's gotten." Jeff added making Gareth almost spit across the table.

"You guys are assholes. Why do I even subject myself to this kind of abuse?" Eddie shook his head.

"Don't be so dramatic, Munson. Now the tattoo on your chest, that's what I'd call abuse." Dustin's mouth dropped open and Eddie smirked at me for ribbing him.

"She makes a point." Carl added causing the rest of the table to laugh.

"Screw you guys. I'm getting another drink." Eddie stood up and put a hand on my back making me look up at him. He was silently asking if I wanted anything and I shook my head, watching him head towards the soda machines.

"My girlfriend has a tattoo. It's small but I always wonder if maybe she'll cover it when we get old enough." Mike pushed the food around on his plate.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend. What's her name?" I smiled making him look up.

"Oh um her name is El. She moved last year but we're making it work long distance. We used to talk on the phone all the time but now we write each other letters." He explained with a weak smile.

"Same here. Me and my Suzie are going strong for almost a year now. Long distance is tough but we stay in constant contact. Doesn't help that her dad hates me." Dustin said looking annoyed.

"Why does her dad hate you?" I chuckled feeling bad for him.

"Her dad doesn't hate you. He just doesn't like that you're Agnostic which is pretty stupid." Mike reminded Dustin who shrugged.

"That's really cool that you've both found two people that you love enough to make it work from a distance. That's real love right there." Mike blushed but Dustin smiled proudly.

"Okay what did I miss? Why is Wheeler's face a stop sign and Henderson smiling like an idiot?" Eddie plopped down heavily in the chair next to me sliding a bag of skittles towards me and opening his mountain dew.

"Dani was commending the Freshman's about finding love that knows no distance or bounds." Gareth tipped his drink at Mike and Dustin who laughed.

"...with each other or-" Eddie questioned as both boys exclaimed a loud no.

"Dustin has a girlfriend named Suzie who sounds lovely but has to deal with being star-crossed as her father does not approve of his religious beliefs, which I agree with Mike. That shit is stupid." Dani explained, catching Eddie up.

"And Mike's girlfriend just moved but they write letters to one another, which is super romantic by the way. There's something really sweet about sitting down and handwriting a letter to someone imagining them sitting somewhere and reading it with a smile on their face, thinking of you." Mike finally let himself smile without blushing.

"Handwritten letters do it for ya? No bed of roses or candle lit dinners on a boat?" Eddie teased as I sat back in my chair, his body facing towards me.

"I'm fairly simple. I don't particularly like roses and I can't swim so anything on the water isn't ideal. Showing that your happiness can come from making me happy is what I like. I want effort, I want romance that shows actual character and forethought. Doing a bunch of cheesy things you copped from a John Hughes movie isn't romantic. It's predictable." I sat back and noticed how intently he was listening to me rant.

"So romance is a case to case basis is what I'm hearing." Mike chimed in.

"Exactly. Something sweet El likes might not be anywhere close to what Suzie would like. Every girl is different and if you truly care about a person, you take the time to get to know what makes them happy so you can make sure their life is full of it." I popped a skittle in my mouth watching Dustin and Mike share a look of acknowledgement.

"Shouldn't you be taking notes Eddie?" Carl spoke up making the entire table bust out in a fit of laughter. Eddie shook his head and got up to round the table sending them all into silence. I watched Eddie closely in case he had taken the playful jest as something to be fired up about.

"Boys, this is a lunch break and while I'm sure all of this has been very informative for you, I want you to take a good hard look at these other tables. They're a good mix of Hawkins good little guys and gals right?" The boys nodded carefully.

"Now take a look at the woman in front of you." Eddie put his arms around Dustin and Mike. I shook my head at him confused as to where this was going.

"She's beauty and grace at its purest form and it's a mystery even to myself why she actually wants to hang out with any of us. So if you could stop shaking her down for information about the inner workings of the female mind, that would be great." Eddie pushed Mike and Dustin's heads together and they rubbed the sides of their heads making the others laugh again. Eddie stood up straight and winked at me. I rolled my eyes taking a sip of his drink before he plopped down next to me once more and held my pen out to me to resume working on his tattoo.

I didn't mind talking about the boys personal lives but something in the way Eddie winked at me made me think he didn't want me to reveal all the secrets to them. Love certainly has a learning curve.