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danses-with-dogmeat · 3 months

Note

if ur still taking requests, could you do r!companions reacting to when sole introduces them (maybe to like a settler or something) as their husband/wife for the first time :0?

Romanced! FO4 Companions React to Sole Referring to Them as Husband/Wife for the First Time

This is so precious! It makes me wonder what weddings in the wasteland are like 🤔

Anyways, let me know if you wanna see anyone else for this! :)

(also, sorry for being gone for a thousand years, love you guys for sticking around <3)

I hope you love it!

Cait:

Not much had changed after they'd said their vows.

It was a strange practice in this sort of reality, anyhow. Who in their right mind would be off fiddling with the thought of marriage when most folks were struggling on scraped hands and knees just to get by?

Sole, apparently.

Wouldn't be the first time they'd concerned themselves with something so unimportant and hairbrained in their new reality. Damn pre-war mentality.

But she'd humored them. They didn't do a whole ceremony, didn't have a priest or a cake, or even a dress. No, it was just each other and a few words, a couple of promises that she would never admit had... well, had choked her up, somewhat.

Sole's always been too sentimental for they're own good. And for my own good too, apparently.

Like she'd thought before the 'ceremony,' though, nothin' was all that different after the fact. Traveling together, watching each other's backs, sleepin' at Sole's place on the same shoddy mattress...

She didn't mind that, though. Nothin’ had to change for Cait to know that she was truly happy for the first time that she could remember.

What had shaken her, though, was when they'd met a couple settlers that had recently moved to Sanctuary when they stopped by for a visit. That, too, had been normal. At first.

Preston gave them his usual too-long to-do list, Codsworth told them he'd been keeping the hubflowers in the front yard nice and tidy, Sturges showed off the new paint-job on the power armor Sole had gifted him a while back. When they ran into those new folks, though, when that word 'wife' left her lover's lips, Cait had physically reeled back like she was dodging a blow.

Sole's look after the interaction was full of concern, of uncertainty. It made Cait's chest ache.

"Jus' unused to it, is all." She'd told them as reassuringly as she could manage, her fingers moving over Sole's shoulders to lace together at the base of their neck. "It'll come with time, love."

"Good," They said, their huff of relief only slightly exaggerated. "But if it doesn't, I'm warning you now, I might just have to marry you again."

Cait chuckled at that.

"And next time, I'm not letting you forgo the ceremony."

"No!" Cait groaned playfully.

"Nor the guests, or the dress, and those sappy vows will be read for everyone to hear--"

"Enough, you little shite. Go on, then. Call me wife at the end of ev'ry sentence, jus' don't make me go through all that."

Sole giggled in return, their own hands finding purchase at Cait's hips and pulling her close.

"Though..." The redhead continued, with a mischievous glint in her bright eyes. "I, myself, wouldn't mind a second honeymoon."

Curie:

"Aw, mon cheri! Let me try, let me do it, too!"

Sole's grin was contagious as they motioned for their adorable wife to continue with her… well, unnecessary, (but Sole would never tell her that) introduction.

"Zhis is mon mari/épouse. We are just married, you see?"

The Diamond city bar-goer nodded politely to them, giving Sole an amused look that wasn't caught by the over-excited synth.

"Congratulations, you two look very happy."

Curie squeezed her hand all the tighter around Sole's, and she looked simply fit to burst with joy at the stranger’s words.

"We are. 'Appier zhan I could've dreamed." Her eyes sparkled as she looked fondly to her Sole, “We are so lucky to ‘ave found each other.”

“It’s true…” Sole echoed, the bargoer all but vanishing from the couple’s attention as they became lost in each other again.

“Maybe I should just leave you two be, for now. Seems like you’re still in that honeymoon phase, to me.”

“That's, ah…” Sole’s words dissolved into a chuckle, as Curie turned away with a blush. “That’s also probably true. It was lovely meeting you, though!”

Their new acquaintance waved a hand as he headed towards the bar once more, shaking his head with a grin as he noticed the way the pair went right back to existing in their own, sweet world. It was refreshing, he thought, to see two people so happy, so in love, in a world like this one.

Danse:

He’d tried to introduce himself, at the start, to these friends of Sole’s, but… He’d slipped up, as he often does.

Danse. My name is Danse. Nothing precedes that, I’m… not a Paladin anymore.

He’d never been without a title before, not since he joined the Brotherhood all those years ago, and his name still felt so naked without it, like it was missing something so integral. As usual, however, Sole had saved him. They’d noticed, even before he did, that he was about to err, and thankfully cut him off beforehand, but then…

He’d almost forgotten. He didn’t know how he could forget. The day he and Sole vowed to spend the remainder of their lives together had been one of the best of his life, but their past weeks were filled with the rest of the days upon that list… They hadn’t been away from each other’s sides, hadn’t really met anyone new, so it was almost uncanny when he heard the word– the title leave their lips.

I’ve never been without a title…

Unwittingly, Danse found himself puffing up at the sound of it, much like he had when he was first called ‘Paladin’. He grinned and stood straight and proud, nodding decisively at the sound of the word husband leaving his partner’s lips. His spouse’s lips.

Danse had never planned for an outcome like this, never thought it would be possible to dedicate the time, energy, emotional attention and knowhow he needed to be involved in a lifelong, committed relationship, but then again, Sole had made many things possible that he’d never known would be in store for him. He couldn’t imagine his life any other way now, even with the severe deviation from his original plan for himself, and though, at first, he felt like the entire situation was drastically more than unideal, he didn’t know how he ever managed to consider himself truly happy without Sole by his side. They filled the immense chasm of hurt that was drilled through him the day he lost his identity, the day he was no longer a part of the cause that he’d dedicated his everything to, but if they were to be taken from him? Gone from his life for one reason or another? He knew not even the Brotherhood could fill the crippling hole they would leave in their wake.

This new title, the new responsibility to be there for his counterpart, through thick and thin, sickness, health, all that the wasteland would throw at them, and everything in between, as far as Danse was concerned, it was the most worthwhile endeavor he’d ever taken on, and he knew he would do everything in his power to never let them down. No matter what it took, he’d strive to be worthy of that title bestowed upon him by the one he loves and respects more than any other.

Deacon:

Deacon didn’t think he’d ever be back here again… Not that he wasn’t absolutely thrilled to be Sole’s partner, their spouse, but… did he really deserve that title? He sure as hell didn’t the first time, and now, though he’s definitely less of a bigot, he still can’t wrap his head around the idea of Sole being happy with him, wanting him. As their husband.

Shit…

He’d have to say something at some point, have to respond, have to smile and nod and shake hands and allow himself to be introduced like this...

Yikes.

It was a familiar feeling, but in a horrible, anxiety-inducing sort of way. He didn’t want anything more than he wanted to be Sole’s husband, he’d been the one to propose after all, but introducing him like this? Was that safe? Was it necessary?

The spy bit his lip, his body visibly stiffening up at the words leaving Sole’s lips, but the worst part? The worst part was that jump in his gut at the sound of it. At first he thought it was the discomfort, with a healthy sprinkling of fear and just a pinch of panic, but it wasn’t the cold shock that those emotions tended to elicit, no, this was sort of… warm? An excited sort of anxiousness, an enthusiastic leap within himself, not the uncomfortable churn he’d been expecting.

Maybe I can be used to this again. Like the first time.

Despite himself, despite the momentary thousand-yard stare accompanied by a half-open mouth, Deacon recovered rather rapidly, and even found himself smiling. His eyes crinkled up beneath his iconic shades and he turned to look over to his love, his spouse, and his teeth broke through the threshold of his lips into a broad grin.

“Whew, could get used to that.” He whispered with a wink and Sole had to bite their lips to keep from smiling too big.

Goddamn, I don’t deserve them.

“Well, you heard the boss. Sole’s husband. Yeah… Pleased to meet and shake.”

But shit… I really could get used to this again. That much is true.

Hancock:

“Fuck, sunshine, say it again for me, will ya?”

Hancock immediately turned to face them at the sound of it, their hand in his proving not to be nearly enough contact to sate his need for his new spouse. He separated their fingers as that glorious title of his left their lips once more, as their mischievous eyes met his, opting to instead wrap both of his wiry arms around them, pulling his partner close while completely disregarding the traveling merchant in front of them. They’d get back to their purchase in a moment, but first… Hancock leaned forward, pressing his lips to his partner’s with a fervor that rivaled that of their kiss upon the altar.

How can anyone expect me to hold back when they’re lookin’ at me like that? When they call me their ‘husband.’

The ghoul felt himself shudder, a grin spreading from his lips, infecting theirs in turn as he finally managed to pull away.

“Mmm, yeah, damn straight.”

Who would’ve ever thought?

The esteemed bachelor, infamous junkie, proclaimer of every kinda freedom, and the Mayor of the city of sin and mirth… Married. And he couldn’t be more proud of it, more overjoyed at the prospect of spending his life with the one he loves, dedicating himself to one person. Sure, he never thought he’d see the day. But that didn’t change a damn thing.

“Yeah, Sole’s husband speaking here. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

MacCready:

Maybe he should feel guilty, maybe the sound should make him sad, should douse him in memories of his past, in a future that he’d hoped for, but never came to be. A future with another person, another possibility for his life… But when Sole called him their husband for the first time, in front of all these people at the bar, still dressed in their glorious, dare he say sexy, wedding clothes… God, the ex-merc couldn’t quit grinning.

It felt… strange, sure, to be called husband again, but damn, it felt good, too. It was a reminder that he still could be happy, it was proof that there are second chances, even in a world as cruel as this one. Even for both of them, who came from broken homes, from pasts filled with loss and hardship, from such different upbringings, there was still hope.

And so, he smiled. And he let himself smile.

He’d dealt with the guilt already, since the moment he felt affection for his partner rising to the surface. From that first awkward kiss, their strangely sad first time together, to his first terrifying declaration of his love, he’d felt that guilt simmering under the surface, waiting to boil over and burn him from the inside out, make him hurt all over again, make moving on impossible, but… Even though it had always been there, it’s grown… weaker. Sole’s reciprocation, their affirmation, their shared feelings of wrongfulness that linger behind every touch, every feeling of fondness, of love… The two of them were two sides of the same damn coin, broken pieces that, by some miracle, could fit together to make each other whole.

That, and he knew what Lucy and Nate/Nora would want. Their late spouses loved them both, and they would want them both to be happy now, not wallow away their days alone in grief and guilt.

And now, MacCready could smile. And damn, did he do so. It was embarrassingly toothy, it scrunched his eyes and brought tears to them. He’d cried when he saw them at the wedding, and his eyes have hardly been dry since the ceremony earlier that day, and even as the pair collected their drinks from the bar top, he couldn’t keep his eyes off his partner. His spouse.

It was strange to feel like this again, to be back in this situation, back to this point in life, just with another person, but if it was with Sole, MacCready could truly be happy again, if it was with them… he didn’t want to be anywhere else.

Nick:

It was so difficult to look away, to stop the smile from spreading too far across his synthetic lips, to pull his hand away from Sole’s in order to greet this stranger, to act as though it were normal for them to refer to him in that way. It shouldn’t be strange, with how long they’ve been together, how long they’ve been itching to use those titles for one another, but it still sent a shock through him. The warmness spread through his chest in such a way he didn’t know was even possible. Nothing could have ruined the moment that that word left his incredible partner’s lips, not even the way the stranger’s eyes were widened, their mouth drawn to a thin line in surprise and just a hint of revulsion. Nick couldn’t care less.

Keeping his good hand firmly clasped with Sole’s, he extended his skeletal one out for them to consider, finally forcing himself to look away from Sole’s sweet, glowing expression to meet the other’s judgemental gaze. If he’d cared even in the slightest, he might’ve snorted and made some remark, but this didn’t matter at all. The approval of some schmuck in the wilds of the Commonwealth wasn’t even remotely something Nick desired, and there was no way in hell he’d let something like this ruin even a fraction of his elation at finally becoming Sole’s husband.

“Good to meet ya.” He said with an insultingly broad grin as their eyes locked to his metal hand, their own making no move to embrace his in the customary greeting.

“Usually it’s polite," Nick began, with just a hint of salt, "When someone extends a hand, to shake it.”

That seemed to pull the stranger from their thoughts, and tentatively, they reached out and gave a small shake before quickly pulling away.

“There we go, that’s it.” Nick let his skeletal hand fall back to his side and felt Sole give his other a tight squeeze in comfort. “And just in case you didn’t catch it, it’s Nick. Valentine. Detective extraordinaire, and Sole’s husband.”

A sweet sound met his ears as Sole chuckled beside him, their grin scrunching their eyes as they gave their husband that look, the one that said it all, the one he’d never grow tired of seeing. The amusement at his words, and that genuine affection for him behind it all, god, it’s what Nick lived for.

Piper:

“Aw, Blue! It sounds so good when you say it!” The reporter’s eyes lit up as Sole introduced her to the bartender, and her hand squeezed their arm all the tighter. She’s been waiting, what seems like forever, to hear those words leave her partner’s lips. Now, it was even better than she’d imagined. She gazed lovingly in Sole’s direction, as they patiently waited for her to turn her attention to the man across the counter.

“Right! Hi, yes, yeah. I’m their wife. Nice to meet you.” She grinned at the man as a look of good-humored exasperation passed over his features. At his response’s lack of enthusiasm, Piper leaned forward, nearly separating her arm from Sole’s, and brought her free hand to the side of her mouth, whispering to him nearly loud enough for the entire room to hear.

“We just got married.”

“I couldn’t have guessed.” He said, deadpan, with the slightest indication of a grin crinkling his eyes.

“Here’s your key, you two. Enjoy.”

Sole thanked the man as Piper enthusiastically hauled them towards the stairs up to their rented room. They followed along behind the giggling reporter, their grin rivaling her own as the pair stumbled up the wooden steps excitedly. With Piper, it certainly was bound to be an eventful honeymoon. But Sole already knew that when they married her, and who were they kidding? They wouldn't have it any other way.

Preston:

Preston just cannot quit staring. He hardly even hears what the other minutemen are saying to him and his new spouse, still their General and Lieutenant. It was rather uncharacteristic of him to be paying so little attention, but how can he help it? It was their wedding day, and Sole looked more incredible than he’d ever seen them, which was saying a whole hell of a lot for his near-perfect partner; not to mention the way they’d practically ordered him to refrain from thinking of work for the whole day.

He’d thought it would be harder to do so, his overzealous work ethic being the brunt of many a joke amongst the other minutemen and Sole’s many friends, and yet… Today, Preston finds it much easier than ever before to focus on nothing but them.

Sole. In all their perfect glory, standing by his side, fingers locked between his, a persistent and glorious grin spread across their lips as they greeted the many guests that attended the ceremony.

As an unfamiliar couple approached the pair, Preston still remained utterly entranced by his love, their polite voice, the way the soft glow of the slowly setting sun highlighted every perfect feature, the feel of their hand in his, their shoulder pressing comfortingly against his own.

When their introduction leaves Sole's lips, he’s pulled back to reality.

‘My husband,’ they’d said. That’s… That’s me.

Preston blinked as his cheeks swelled from the pressure of his humongous grin.

I will never get tired of that. He decided in less than an instant. In fact, as the night goes on, into the next few weeks of their early marriage, and all the years after, he tries to refer to them by their own spously title as often as is appropriate, and glows with pride and appreciation each time they do the same.

X6-88:

It wasn't proper, but for once in the courser's life, he couldn't be bothered to care.

Sole was his Director, and if anyone in the Institute took issue with their word, with their choices when it came to their own personal life, they could bring it up to him. He'd love to see how that plays out.

For now though, X6 allowed himself the unusual pleasure of being unbothered by it. Dr. Ayo could look as appalled as he wanted, Dr. Volkert could keep blushing with barely-checked rage up to his ear tips, and the rest of X6’s fellow coursers could continue with their stony glares.

Though he wouldn't admit it, X6 actually withheld a crooked grin at the way some of the synths looked at him with such awe. He felt their glares, heard their whispers, saw the ways their fists clenched, but it was peripheral at best. Sole took center stage of his attentions on this day, and the intensity of a courser's attention was unmatched.

He felt their hand brushing his arm, his shoulder, his waist, he heard their voice say his name, introduce him with that hefty title he never once would've considered for himself if not for them, and he saw their face, their infectious grin. If they were aware of the animosity in the air surrounding them, Sole gave no indication.

And nor should they.

They had nothing to be ashamed of. One day, in the not-too-distant past, he might not have held that same opinion. Today though, he couldn't fathom 'shame,' and 'Sole' existing on the same plane. He was lucky to have them. Being with them was a greater honor and opportunity than the synth could have previously imagined possible for himself. He only hoped, in such an earnest, sentimental way that it felt as though he'd left his own body, that they felt similar sentiments at being with him.

If their expression, their words, their sincere vows were anything to go off of though, X6 would say that his hope was well-founded.

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itsnotgray · 10 months

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what a duo | jack hughes

imagine jack hughes with a grumpy x sunshine trope

like you’ve got mr.sunshine personified, who somehow winds up with his own little storm cloud.

he meets her at a bar in jersey, where she’s sitting in the corner, fondly watching her friends, happy to stay out of their chaos. and jack just spots her from across the room, dead set on getting to know who she is.

now, the second she makes eye contact with him, she knows who he is. how could she not? his face is plastered all over jersey, the gem of the city. but does that make her change her normal attitude? ahahaha- no.

she immediately locks eyes with him, and says “no, nice try,” and makes her way to her friends, unable to see jacks entire body seemingly recoil at her rejection.

a few days later, one of nico’s friends is having a baby shower, and nico unfortunately couldn’t make it, claiming he was “sick” (jack knew the man had a date he thought jack didn’t know about) instead, sending jack in his place.

jack, while loving to be social, isn’t into being social with a massive crowd of strangers. so instead, he gravitated towards the corner. where, surprise surprise- he’s met with the face of the woman who rejected him.

upon seeing the man, she goes to move away, before seeing his demeanor not as cheerful as she remembered it (which she instantly decided she hated. he should always be cheerful- it looked so much better on him).

“what, not running away this time?” he snaps, eyes glued to the masses of people congregating in the backyard. after a few beats of silence, she sighs, before answering, “i’m sorry.” “stormy, apologizing to me? never thought i’d see the day!” he exclaims, cheerful personality seeping through his pores yet again, a brightness within him unable to be contained.

she giggles, quickly getting used to his antics, before pausing. “…stormy?” she questioned, head tilting in jack’s direction (jack thinks she looks adorable- a bit like an angry kitten).

“well when i saw you in the corner of the bar, you looked like the sad guy in the cartoons who has a literal storm cloud hovering over their head,” he shyly muttered, taking a sip of the now warm drink clasped in his hand, glancing nervously towards the sea of people.

a longer period of silence ensues, jack beginning to grow fearful of her reaction. so much so, that he goes to get up to relocate to the opposite corner of the room, before she suddenly speaks.

“well then i guess that makes you sunshine?” she questions in a teasing tone.

“excuse me?” he quickly answers, confusion radiating from his body.

“if i reminded you of a storm cloud, then i guess that makes you sunshine. because the minute you made your way towards me, despite my reaction, you lit up the room jack. so- that makes you sunshine,” she finishes, her cheeks growing red, matching the red tinge on jack’s cheeks

at her sudden outburst, jack has relaxed back into his seat, a comfortable silence now taking over.

the pair sit in a short silence before jack breaks it, “sunshine and a storm cloud- what a duo we are,” he states, causing the duo to burst into a fit of giggles.

and that- that was the start of something truly beautiful.

#jack hughes imagine #jack hughes x reader #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #hockey oneshot #new jersey devils #nhl fic #jack hughes #nhl hockey #hockey fanfiction #hockey imagines

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boldlyvoid · 2 years

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Employee of the Month 2: Stocking Stuffers

Eddie Munson x Fem Reader | Part One

Summary: Christmas is the season for Giving

Warnings: food mention, appearances from eddies friends, teasing, kissing, lots of fluff, meeting the family, gift exchanges, Eddie's scars, the truth about Hawkins + the upside down, love confessions, oral sex (m+f), hand jobs, squinting, cum play, first times, Protected p in v sex

word count: 13.9k

Eddie makes her breakfast the next morning, with Wayne trying to sleep on the couch in the living room, thinking he has no idea that Y/N slept over last night… it’s not like her coat and her shoes are by the door or anything.

They eat quietly in his room, they haven’t talked about what happened last night or the fact that they’re dating now… she quietly eats with a confused look on her face like she’s thinking really hard, it’s cute.

He stares at her with a smile, “what’s on your mind, princess?”

“Huh?” She looks up at him finally, wiping away any trace of what she was thinking about. “Oh, I just… I can’t believe this is real and I’m not dreaming right now like I actually slept over last night. You actually like me, that actually happened last night…”

“You’re a big girl now,” he teases first. “No, but really, I feel the same, it happened really fast.”

She nods, fighting a smile as she remembers it fondly, “but it was nice…”

“Waynes out there,” he whispers, pointing through the wall, “you can’t get all horny on me when he’s here, I have to behave.”

“Shut up,” she smacks his knee lightly. “I am not getting all horny on you I was just saying, it was fun and I would like to do it again sometime… with my boyfriend.”

“We work together again tonight, and tomorrow,” he reminds her. “And if you don’t have anything to do on Monday, you’re more than welcome to stay every night, so we can, you know…”

“You can stay with me on Sunday night?” She suggests, knowing Monday was Christmas eve and her mom wouldn’t let her miss it. Not since her dad died. “And we could spend Christmas together if you wanted? I think my mom would actually love to have you at the table too.”

He nods, “I’d love to, I think Waynes working nights but he’d be able to come to dinner before work?”

“I’ll talk to my mom about it,” she fills with glee. “You know, I wasn’t going to say anything but I’ve been working on a Christmas present for you and I’m even more excited to give it to you now.”

“Thank god,” he feels a wave of relief wash over him. “Cause I got you something too and I didn’t want it to be weird if you didn’t get me anything, I was freaking out a bit about it.”

“Really?” She can’t believe it. “You didn’t have to do that?”

“You didn’t have to get me anything either, but’cha did,” he reminds her, giving her the biggest heart eyes ever. He’s so gone for her it’s a little dramatic how much his heart aches for her when she’s right there in front of him.

She returns to her plate with a big smile, stabbing her fork into the scrambled eggs with a shake of her head and then she points it at him, “you’ve gotta stop being so cute before I jump on you again.”

He drops it there, they finish their food and he brings them all back to the kitchen carefully. The two of them get dressed again, he brings her coat and boots over to the other door by his room, not wanting to disrupt Wayne at all. He bundles up and heads out to start the van about 5 minutes before she’s ready to go, making sure it’s nice and warm when she gets inside. He holds her hand on the ride back to her place, he walks her to her door and kisses her with the promise of being back at a quarter to 8 for work.

And then he’s alone again.

The pressure of it all shows up when he’s pulling out of her neighbourhood. So he doesn’t turn back towards the trailer park, instead, he heads downtown. He pulls right up beside Steve’s Beemer at the video store and heads inside with a feeling he can’t shake off.

“Hey, stranger,” Robin lights right up, she was home for the holidays and working with her one best friend, surprised to see another already. “What are you doing up so early?”

“It’s noon?” He laughs, “but uh, I had to drop my girlfriend off at her place before work.”

“Girlfriend!?” She lights right up, “the girl you like from the grocery store, right?”

He nods, “yeah, she uh, she came over when I was sick last week and made me some soup and read to me and tucked me in and I was like, I’m so stupid she clearly likes me too so I kissed her yesterday and now she’s my girlfriend.”

“Wow,” she leans on the counter with her head in her hands, “Steve! Are you hearing this?” She calls over to him in the back room.

“What?” He pops his head out to see Eddie, “oh, hey!”

“Y/N’s his girlfriend now,” Robin points at him with a smile, more of a shit-eating grin, really. They’ve been keeping a bet on when it would happen. “You owe me 20 bucks.”

“Come on, you couldn’t have waited till after Christmas?” Steve complains, happy for him, but out $20.

He shrugs, “sorry man, she wanted me sooo bad, I couldn’t say no to her.”

“Shut up,” Steve can tell he’s exaggerating. “How did you find a girlfriend before me?”

“Charm, raw sex appeal, pure luck,” Robin uses it as an opportunity to bully Steve, “it’s not his fault you lack those things.”

“Fuck you both,” he slaps $20 on the counter and heads back towards the stock room.

“Wait, I needed to talk to you, specifically,” Eddie calls after him, following him towards the back room. “I have a question that only you would understand…”

“Okay,” Steve seems concerned but he holds the door open and lets Eddie into the staff-only room full of VHS cases. “What’s up?”

“Have you… I mean, has anyone seen— ugh this is so weird man, I’m sorry,” he leans against the table back there with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. “Fuck. Okay, the scars… has anyone seen your scars, you know, when you’re… intimate with them?”

Steve nods, “yeah, I’ve been taking good care of them now so they’re not too bad and when they ask about it I just lie and say it’s road burn from a motorcycle crash and they buy it.”

“How do you take care of them?” He genuinely didn’t know there was a way.

“I learned from this one girl that bio oil helps with stretch marks and lightens them so I tried it and look,” Steve pulls his shirt up and moves his vest out of the way. The scars aren’t as red as Eddie’s, they’re almost the same fleshy pink as the rest of him. “You want some, you can have the rest of my bottle, I think this is as light as they’re getting for me.”

“If you don’t mind?” He genuinely wanted to try anything that would make them a little less visible. “I just don’t know how to explain to her why I have these.”

“Have you considered the truth?”

He shakes his head, “her dad died in the earthquake. How do I tell her we almost stopped it from happening but missed it by a few seconds and now her dad is dead?”

“We can give her someone to be mad at, tell her we killed Vecna, we made sure it’ll never happen again,” Steve knows that’s not much, but it’s something. “If you want, we can all help tell her? Nancy’s home as of tonight and staying here all week, or you know what? Bring Y/N to our Christmas party on Monday and we can tell her then… unless you want to wait till you’re more serious?”

“We’re pretty serious,” he can’t help but blush.

“Wait, you’ve fucked but she hasn’t seen you shirtless?” Steve can read Eddie’s face better than anyone. “How?”

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Eddie bites his lip, keeping his secrets to himself. “But we didn’t have sex, we just, you know…”

“I don’t,” Steve crosses his arms, playfully. “Explain it to me, pretend I’m an idiot—

“I don’t have to pretend.”

Steve points at him with a glare, “hey.”

“What?” Eddie laughs it off, enjoying how easy it was to bug Steve. “We kissed and did stuff, you don’t need to know anything else.”

“Fine,” Steve gives in. “I’m glad you’re happy though, man, you’re like glowing right now.”

He nods, smiling away, unable to disagree. “I can’t believe I got her… it’s fuckin’ nuts how happy she makes me.”

—

She has the house to herself until her mom gets home, which means she spends a decent amount of time in the shower without anyone telling her that she can’t. She packs a little overnight bag to bring to Eddie’s tonight, she gets all dolled up too and just in time for her mom to get home.

She’s looking in the mirror, making herself all pretty when her mom comes and stands in the doorway, leaning on the frame with a smile. “You didn’t come home last night…”

“I did not,” she turns slowly, afraid to get told off for some reason… her mom wasn’t very confrontational at all.

“Can you just tell me next time? I woke up in a bit of a panic when you weren’t in here but I figured you’d be with Eddie,” she says it without saying it. “I just want to know you’re safe.”

“I’m probably going over to his trailer again tonight, but tomorrow I want him to stay here… if that’s okay? I just figured that with Christmas coming that you’d want me here on Christmas Eve,” she explains her thinking all in one go. “Is that okay?”

She nods, “I don’t see why not. Does he have anyone to spend Christmas with?”

She shakes her head, “I’m pretty sure he’s Jewish on his uncle's side, but he said he’d like to spend Christmas with us and, his uncle works night shifts but he’d be able to come to dinner too if we have the space? He’d never turn down a good meal.”

“Yeah, I bought a big turkey last week thinking we’d have a bunch of leftovers, so it’s definitely big enough for 4,” her mom explains with a smile, happy to have guests again. “Give them the invite for me, tell them dinner is at 5:30 on Tuesday.”

“I will,” she can’t contain her excitement so she just beams a powerful smile at her. “He’s kinda my boyfriend now too…”

“Yeah?” She smiles right back, proud of her. “Well, I can’t wait to get to know him.”

“He’s really awkward at first, but he’s funny and he’s nice and just the cutest man on the planet, it’s literally not fair how cute he is,” she gets a little carried away on that.

“Yeah well, just try to behave yourself when he’s here… and be safe?” She had the talk with her in grade 6, she’s known about safe sex for years, doesn’t mean mom can’t bring it back up. “You’ve got condoms, right?”

She nods, slightly embarrassed but she knew her mom meant well. “I bought some for his stocking… that’s what I got him for Christmas, a bunch of things I thought he’d like or would make him laugh.”

“That’s cute,” she smiles, remembering how she did that for Y/N’s father. She backs up from the doorway and taps the frame lightly, “well, I’m going to make dinner, should I be expecting anyone?”

She shakes her head, “no, he’s coming to get me for work, though.”

“Sounds good.”

And then she’s gone.

It leaves her feeling a little more anxious than before. She has spent a lot of time thinking about the day she’d finally get to have sex with another person, and after last night it’s never felt realer. It’s mildly terrifying to think about. He was going to see her naked, he was going to stretch her open and slip inside of her and she was going to feel how hot and heavy he is as he fucks her and…

She has to take a deep breath and calm herself down, turned on and anxious at the same time now.

She’s so into him, she has been for so long. She's thought about him while getting off, she’s had dreams about a life with him, he’s been a constant in her fantasies and now it was going to become her reality.

—

Work is excruciatingly slow now that they’re dating.

He’s so handsy, he has to touch her every time he passes by, he kisses her cheek randomly, he comes up behind her to help her and rests his chin on her shoulder to watch what she’s doing and hold her in a weird hug around the middle. She wants to get her work done, the sooner they finish the quicker they can get out of there but he’s just happy being in her presence. He’s so happy with her.

He’s on the other side of the aisle, humming along to the songs on the speakers, shoving boxes of cereal into the shelves without a real care in the world, too caught up in the songs. “Don’t take my heart, don’t break my heart, don’t, don’t throw it away,” his voice drops to mimic the song, making her smile over at him.

He reaches back to the palette of boxes in the centre of the aisle, pretending to drum and then he points at her, “And this is my four-leaf clover! I’m on the line, one open mind, this is my…” he makes his way to her, taking her hand to dance like an old 50s couple and cradling the back of her head as he brings her closer. “Four leaf clover,” he finishes the words before he kisses her head and she settles there.

They sway along to the beat, his jaw pressed to her temple, holding her close to his heart, she feels so incredibly loved by him it was insane. She gives his hand and his side a little squeeze before pulling away with a smile, “that was nice, but stop being so cute, I have things to do.”

“Yeah, me,” he teases, letting her go.

She smacks his arm and pulls away completely, turning back to the shelf to fiddle with the boxes there, nervous to say this but she can’t stop the words from coming out, “maybe if you’re good you can have me for Christmas, you know, on top of your present…”

He leans on the shelf and crowds her space, keeping his voice down and just between them, “you know there’s no rush, right? I know I was kind of a horn-dog last night, but seriously don’t rush. I’ve waited 22 years, I can wait 22 more if I need to.”

“Well personally, I’m tired of waiting,” she presses her lips together awkwardly, admitting that to him felt embarrassing. “I would’ve done it last night if we took 5 minutes to pull apart and get undressed, honestly.”

He’s mighty surprised by that, speechlessly so.

“I’m not kidding,” she manages to laugh at how frozen he is. She pokes his cheeks a few times to bring him back and almost jumps out of her skin when he goes to bite her finger off.

He wraps her up and kisses her all over her neck and under her ear, making her laugh harder as she tries to push away from him. When she finally does pull away enough to look at him, he’s so smiley he’s blushing, “you’re everything, Y/N Y/L/N. Absolutely everything to me.”

She could melt staring into his eyes like this, she’s filled with so much love for him she could burst into a billion pieces of heart-shaped confetti… “I’ve waited so long to hear you say that to me. Too long.”

“Just wait till I feel like I’m allowed to start telling you that I love you,” he teases, letting her know he feels it, but there’s also no rush there.

Little does he know she loves him back already.

—

Back at his trailer, she’s a lot less anxious this time as she takes off her boots and hangs up their coats. Within seconds she’s, once again, all over him. Hands-on each other's cheeks, holding themselves in a heated kiss as the two of them bump into everything on the way to his bedroom.

Knocking things to the floor with a mumbled, “I’ll get that later,” from Eddie against her lips. She laughs against him, kissing his teeth as he smiles back, completely in love with her.

They tumble into his bed in a sea of laughter, he lands on her and knocks some of the wind out of her, making her laugh come out funny and then they laugh harder. He rolls off her, the two of them on their backs with their legs still dangling off the edge of the bed, cackling towards the ceiling. The room is pitch black except for the light beaming in from the hallway, causing an orange rectangle to light up his dresser and illuminates his guitar where she hangs on the wall.

His room is so dark that the old glow-in-the-dark stars still kinda work, as their laughter dies down, she can’t help but smile up at them. She reaches out to hold his hand between them and turns to him, “I haven’t laughed that hard in forever.”

“Me either,” he finally stops giggling with a sigh, unable to stop smiling either to the point that both their faces hurt.

She gets up and sits on her knees, he sits up against the headboard, he reaches over to his side table and flicks on the lamp, making the whole room glow again.

“What did you want to do tonight?” She asks, “like… make out? Watch a movie? Read?”

“All 3 sound amazing,” he reaches out for her, guiding her right back into his lap like she belongs there forever now. It’s her seat. “You pick, I’m just—

“Just happy to be with you,” she rolls her eyes playfully.

“I am!” He tickles her sides, making her grab his wrists while squealing, trying to pull him away but he’s too strong for her.

“Okay, okay, I believe you,” she gives in, wanting to be able to breathe again.

He wraps his arms around her, pulling her in close, her chest heaves as she tries to settle in her own skin again. She wasn’t really that ticklish, it was the way his fingers dug into her sides that got her all squeamish. He kisses her neck again, just under her ear, “this is all I’ve wanted for years…”

“Me too,” she settles against him, arms resting on his shoulders once more, she runs her fingers through his hair. “I have wanted this with you since I was a freshman, so like since I was 14… I saw you in the cafeteria with your curly hair and your charming smile and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

“Why didn’t you come talk to me?” he begs for the past to change.

She shrugs and pulls away, sitting up in his lap she drags her hands down his chest and plays with his shirt slightly, “didn’t think we had much to talk about, I just liked to look at you.”

“Look at us now,” he places his hand under her chin to bring her eyes back to his. “We can’t stop talking to each other.”

“Or touching each other,” she smirks. “I think this was how it was supposed to work out though, we have a lot more in common now.”

“The grocery store, being virgins…” he teases, counting on his fingers but not finding many things.

“Dead dads,” she bites her lip, knowing that was a dark joke but it felt a little too dark. But he laughs. Thank god he laughs.

“Okay so 3 things,” he teases.

“And I know you love to sing and you like metal and rock music and you play dungeons and dragons and have a band, but I don’t know about Wayne until last week and I don’t know your middle name or anything personal really,” she worries. “What if we get to know each other and it doesn’t work out?”

“What if we find new things to love together and have the best relationship that’s ever happened on earth?” He proposes the opposite of her worry, “what if we could be the happiest people on earth together?”

“I’d like to try that,” she muses, brushing his hair off his face, she leans in for a sweet kiss on the lips.

“I’ve gotta tell you some things first before you decide if you want me,” he whispers against her lips. “I’m sure you’ve got questions about everything that happened here.”

“It didn’t happen here, this is a new trailer, right?” She worries. It’s not like she believes in ghosts or anything but the idea of Chrissy Cunningham's spirit lingering made all the hair on her body stands up.

“Yeah it’s new, but, I mean, the truth about if I did it or not,” he explains with a sigh. “I didn’t, I think you know that or else you wouldn’t talk to me…”

“I never thought you did it,” she assures him, petting his hair gently, soothing him as he talks. He stares back at her with sad doe eyes, “really, I mean it. I knew you’d never be able to hurt anyone.”

“I want to tell you everything, but I don’t know it all from the beginning,” he admits. “Steve offered to help me explain it to you, they’re going to have a little Christmas thing Monday night that we’re invited to, and Nancy can probably explain it all the best.”

“Like, Harrington and Wheeler?” She’s surprised he still talks to them of all people in Hawkins. “Since when do you know them?”

“Since they tracked me down and told me they knew what really killed Chrissy, and it was the same thing that killed Barbra Holland and took Will Byers in ’83,” he explains slightly. “The lab in town made a monster and a superhero and their battle ripped the town in half.”

“So it was all connected,” she thought so, the murders were way too close to the earthquake. And as much as she didn’t want to believe the bible thumpers, it made sense that it was a series of sacrifices that caused the earth to fall inward towards hell.

Still, it wasn’t eddies fault.

He nods, “and worst of all, there’s this alternate version of Hawkins called the upside down thats like all grey and creepy and full of monsters… and I was down there for a few days. With Steve and Nancy, and Robin… and poor Dustin. I uh, I’ve gotta show you something, so you’re going to have to get off of me for a sec.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” she’s anxious to know what happened, she backs right off of him and sits on his bed with her legs crossed, watching him get up and stand.

He turns to face the bed, reaching for the hem of his shirt with a sigh, “I knew they needed more time to kill Vecna, I knew something was wrong and the whole system down there is like a hive-mind— if I hurt something attached to him, then it would give the other team some advantage… so I took off running, I got the attention of these bat things and I was going to fight them. Like an idiot.”

She covers her mouth with both her hands, scared to hear what happened to him and terrified that this is actually real. Monsters are real. And in Hawkins.

He pulls up his shirt slowly at first and then all at once, he pulls it off and tosses it to the floor without even looking at her. He can’t. She gasps, reaching out to touch it but she doesn’t, her fingers just hover, “oh my god, Eddie…”

“They kinda got me instead,” he gestures down. “It was bad… I almost died.”

She finally touches the deep pink skin on the side of his belly button. The scar tissue is velvety smooth but she can feel all the bumps and dimples of missing flesh that would never regenerate right. He’s missing his nipple, a huge chunk of his breast around to his back and there are about 4 other decent-sized patches of missing skin across his broad chest. He’s sucking in a sharp breath as she explores, letting her touch even though she’s so cold compared to him, it’s excruciating.

“Your fingers are like fuckin ice,” he finally takes both her hands in his and brings them up to his mouth to blow hot air into her palms.

“Sorry,” she manages to give him a small smile. “How bad did it hurt?”

“When it happened or after?”

“God,” she grimaces at the idea of either, taking both her hands back and placing them on his bare shoulders. “Do I even want to know?”

“I was full of adrenaline when it was happening so I don’t fully remember it all, I passed out pretty quick… and the morphine at the hospital was superb,” he’s able to joke, kissing his fingers like a chef would. “I still get these sharp shooting pains, like phantom bites, so if I ever twitch or jolt under you at night thats why.”

“Okay,” she pulls him closer to the edge of the bed and softly kisses the scar on his neck, it’s big enough to require two kisses to get it all.

Trailing her hands down his arms, she leans down and covers the next scar in kisses, then the one on the middle of his chest. Right over his heart which he hopes she can’t feel beating faster than ever before. She cups his sides, gently rubbing her thumb over the scar under his breast, she kisses where the nipple should be and the other surface area of the scar.

“I hope you know I think you’re handsome and very brave,” she mumbles against his skin, on her way to kiss the mark above his belly button.

He cradles her head in his hands, tilting her head up to look at him, “I love you.”

She straightens right up, almost at eye level with him, full of awe, “really?”

His eyes are full of tears, he’s never felt so loved in his life before. He nods softly, “thank you… you don’t know how much it means to me that you’re okay with all this.”

“I love you, too,” she cups his face in her hands. “So, so much.”

“Yeah?” He wraps his arms around her waist, holding her flush against himself. She nods, “yeah,” she responds with a cheeky smile. “Alright then,” he picks her up and tackles her right into the bed, kissing all over her face as soon as her head hits the pillow.

She’s a giggling mess, like always, she brushes his hair off his face as he hovers over her. She pulls him down for a kiss, breathing him in deeply, she wraps her legs around him and traps him there. He kisses her again and again, and again, breaking away to kiss her neck and shoulder, over her shirt.

“You can take it off,” she assures, reaching for the hem she leans forward, he pulls back and helps her pull the shirt off completely, leaving her under him in her bra.

“Wow,” he’s taken aback by the view before him, he lightly trails his hand from her shoulder down her arm, over her tummy and then up to cup her bra. His thumb glides over the cup, feeling her nipple harden behind the padding. He licks his lips, “you’re so beautiful, Y/N.”

“So are you,” she whispers up at him. With a hand at the back of his neck, she pulls him back in for another kiss.

He can’t help but smile against her lips, he steals a few more kisses and pulls away, he hovers over her and cups her face in his hands, “do you want to go a little further tonight?”

She nods, “yeah… anything on your mind?”

“Can I try and eat you out?” He asks, “I want to feel you cum on my tongue this time…”

“Please?” She melts under him, eyes almost rolling into the back of her head at the mere thought of him doing that… “oh, I want you so bad, Eddie.”

“Yeah?” He smirks, slithering down between her legs and playing with the hem of her pants. “Lift, princess.”

She does just as she’s told, and he takes her pants off first. He traces his fingers down the insides of her thighs, spreading her legs apart to display the wet patch on her cute little panties. He leans in for what she expects to be a kiss over the fabric, but instead, he presses his nose against the damp patch and breathes her in with a groan before dragging his tongue over it. “You have no idea how fucking hot you are, do you?”

“Show me?” She begs, lifting her hips again, giving him permission to peel her panties off. He slips them down her legs and off completely, he grips them in his hands and brings them to his face again, taking one last sniff before he tosses them to the floor.

She spread her legs automatically, over-eager for him to please her and not at all scared of him seeing her naked… she had a feeling no matter what she thought of herself, he was going to love and admire her pussy beyond any expectation she could have.

His shoulders drop and all the air leaves his lungs when he finally sees her, beautiful and wet and on display just for him. “Sweet Jesus…”

Without skipping a beat he flattens his tongue against her spread pussy and laps up all the evidence of just how horny he makes her. It's better than anything she has ever imagined, he sucks at her clit in just the most perfect way before flicking it back and forth with his tongue.

He runs his pointer finger over her hole, circling it gently before slipping the digit inside, pumping in and out of her as he keeps repeating the same movements on her clit. The backs of her knees start to sweat and that all too familiar heat starts to bubble in her gut and spread throughout her body, making her feel like she’s floating.

“Add a second and curl it up, fuck,” she had to take a breather as he listened, pumping into her without a single issue as he found her g spot.

“Oh, right there, Eddie, baby,” she runs her fingers through his hair and grips it tightly, her back arches with a moan, he feels so good everywhere.

His breath is hot against her clit as he takes a moment to smile up at her, proud of himself, “tell me when you’re close, pretty girl, I wanna watch it happen.”

“Okay, fuck,” she moans, pushing his face back into her cunt.

Her free hand comes up to grip her own breast, playing with the nipple between her two fingers for just a little bit more pleasure. Her legs start to tremble, “right there, oh my god, oh my god?”

His big brown eyes flick up to her, he flicks at her clit with his tongue and fucks into her with his fingers, again and again, watching her orgasm build and wash over her in a wave. She trembles, back arching, he has to hold her hips down with both hands but thats fine, he replaces his fingers with his tongue. The wet heat of his tongue inside her and his nose nudging against her clit still as she rides out her orgasm, push her into overstimulation.

“Fuck, fuck, Eddie,” she scrambles to push him away, but he holds her there, tongue fucking her deeply to ensure he gets all her cum.

He licks her clean and pulls away with a smile, face glistening, lips swollen, “good?”

“Fuck yeah,” she reaches forward as she sits up, pulling him in to straddle her hips so she can reach his bet buckle.

“What are you doing?” He asks, curious but his eyes look more cautious.

“It’s your turn?” She hesitates, making sure she’s not going to far. “Can I jerk you off?”

He laughs, shocked that she’d want to so badly, “yeah, yeah, absolutely.”

She tugs his jeans down as far as she can get them, and they stop mid-thigh, exposing his hard cock in his boxers. She runs her hand over the bulge, making him hiss, no one’s touched him before either. She felt unbelievably lucky to be the first person to ever peel back Eddie Munson's boxers and take his thick cock in their hands.

“Wow,” she says, breathless as she strokes her hand from base to tip, using her thumb to trail along the vein under his cock. She strokes him gently with one hand, still balancing on her other forearm, it’s slightly uncomfortable.

He can tell she rather be using both hands, “sit up,” he instructs. He helps her up against the pillows better and gets off her so he can slip out of his jeans.

He re-straddles her hips, and she trails her hands over his thighs, scratching her nails over his bare hips while his cock twitches there in front of her. She grips his cock at the base and slips down the pillows a bit, now at the perfect level to take him in her mouth.

She runs her tongue along the underside of his cock, she can feel the vein working overtime, he’s so fucking hard for her. She takes the head in her mouth, teasing the tip with her tongue, and she strokes the rest of him. His hands are in her hair, his eyes are closed, and his thighs tremble as he tries to keep himself upwards but she feels too good.

“I’m gonna cum,” he warns her, letting her pull away if she wanted to.

She pops off his cock with a smile, jerking him off a bit faster with ease from the added saliva. He moans, he sounds so fucking beautiful, his hips sputter and his cock twitches again and again as he releases all over her neck and chest.

“Oh, fuck,” he shutters, his cum is so hot on her skin, leaking down her chest and between her boobs, he watches the whole thing, stunned and fucked out at the same time.

She giggles amazed that he could get so lost in her touch and cum like that, it was hot and amazing and filled her with pride. She did that.

He crawls off of her, reaching for tissues on his nightstand to clean her up before he ruined her bra. “Sorry, I’m just gonna,” he says as he parts her boobs and wipes the cum off. “God, sorry there’s so much.”

“It’s fine,” she continues to laugh, “You’re so hot when you cum.”

“You’re one to talk,” he scoffs, “I would like to live between your thighs, babe.”

“Thats fine by me,” she sighs as she rests back against the pillows. “I can’t believe I waited so long to experience that.”

He tosses out the tissue once she’s clean and climbs into bed beside her, she cuddles into his chest and kisses the side of his neck. “I still love you…”

“I love you more,” he says it to one-up her, but also because he loves her more now than the last time he said it. He had a feeling it would keep doubling as the moments with her went on. His love for her was going to be never-ending.

—

They wake up in the afternoon, they have lunch together in town and when she gets back to his trailer, she talks to Wayne about Christmas because Eddie had somehow forgotten by the time he got back from her place on Saturday…

“Now, you’re sure your mom is okay with the two of us intruding?” He asks again, “this isn’t just you two wanting us to bond right, she knows you’re asking me over?”

“Yes Wayne,” she places her hand on his arm with a smile. “She’s very excited to have a full house for Christmas again.”

“Is there anything I need to bring? Should I get her a gift as a thank you?” Wayne asks, just as giving and considerate as his nephew.

“No, just come with room for a big supper, she’s making a huge turkey,” Y/N teases. “But you know, she’d never turn down a bottle of wine…”

“Noted,” Wayne nods in agreement, “it’s the least I can do as a thank you, I haven’t had a homemade Christmas dinner in years.”

Something in the conversation also reminds Eddie that he has to wrap his friend's gifts for their party the next night.

“Do you know how to wrap things nicely?” He ponders aloud, making Wayne smile at him, he knew that was his way of asking for help.

“Yeah, what do you need help with?” She asks, following him back to his room ready to help.

He makes her close her eyes while he digs all the presents out of his closet and makes sure none of the ones he got for her are in the pile. He places them all on the bed along with some wrapping paper and tape, and finally says she can open her eyes again.

There are so many things in front of her, he’s been collecting gifts for a while clearly. And clearest of all, he loved his friends more than she could ever imagine.

“Wow, okay, what first?”

“Well,” he starts to arrange things into piles, “these are for Dustin, that’s for Gareth, Jeff and Kev. These are for Steve and this one is for Robin and…” he goes on with more names that she remembered from school and some she had never heard of like Erika and Eleven.

“And this one is for Wayne,” Eddie whispers so he doesn’t hear from the other room. He got Wayne yet another mug with a bag of specialty coffee and some nice biscotti to have with it.

“So we’ll do his first, get it out of the way,” she says as she unrolls the wrapping paper and tries to figure out the nicest way to wrap the 3 items.

“Can I ask why you got each thing?” She asks, carefully slipping the package of coffee grounds into the mug.

“I got Dustin this shirt,” he unfolds it and shows it to her, the shirt reads: “choose your weapon wisely” with a row of differently shaped dice over the letters. “And some dice,” he shakes the box in the pile and then places it on top of the shirt. “He’s the current dungeon master in their school club and when he graduates Erika will be taking over so I got her the newest edition of the dungeon masters book.”

“Oh, thats so cute,” she swoons.

“Then I got the guys in the band some new branded shirts and picks, I had them made by a company over in Shelbyville, they’re so cool,” he takes a pick out and shows it to her. The black was matte, the CC in the middle was glossy, and it popped so well. “They’re going to love them.”

He explains that he got Nancy a journal because she’s going to school for journalism so she must need one. It’s a nice deep red and he’s written her a sweet little note on the first page. Robins gift is a set of rings from Claires that he said screamed her name when he first saw them. Steve gets some fuzzy dice for his car's rearview mirror because no matter how hard they try to get him to play d&d, he’s not interested but he still needs some lucky dice.

He got Lucas a keychain with his basketball number on it. Max got some cool stickers for her skateboard. Mike got a lighter because unfortunately, his tendency to copy Eddie has gone all the way to smoking. He got Will a colouring book and his sister El, a fantasy graphic novel.

It’s a lot of things, but he holds a lot of love for these people in his heart.

She can’t wait to see what he got for her if this is the level of care he put into his friend's gifts.

—

She brings him home after a shift that feels more like 16 hours instead of just 4. By the time she’s tumbling into bed, it’s almost 1 in the morning and she’s ready to crash and sleep for the next 2 days straight. This weekend has been too exciting for her body clock to handle.

Eddie looks around her room curiously, she’s quick to step out of her clothes and climb right into bed in just her bra and underwear. She lays there against the pillows with her eyes closed, under her covers, “I’m exhausted.”

“Awe,” he comes and sits down on the edge of her side of the bed. “So I guess no fun stuff tonight, princess?”

“I mean,” she opens her eyes and leans forward. “I wouldn’t say no to an orgasm before bed… I’m starting to get used to them.”

“I was kidding,” he’s genuinely shocked that she’s down for it. “Your mom is home? Really?”

“I was also kidding,” she laughs at how eager he got, “I think one night of not having our hands all over each other will make tomorrow better…”

“What’s tomorrow?”

“Well technically right now it’s Christmas eve, it’s past midnight, so tomorrow is Christmas,” she reminds him. “I wanted to go all the way… I was thinking maybe after the party at your friends house? Before we come back here?”

“You want to meet my friends knowing we’re going to have sex after?” He teases.

She nods, “yeah, cause when else can we do it? My mom has traditions: after dinner, we have to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas movie and have hot chocolate and dessert, and then she’s going to go to bed, and I don’t think I can do that with her down the hall and us leaving just makes it obvious…”

“If you’re this anxious about it we don’t have to do it yet.”

“I’m ready for it, I just know that when my parents had sex here before the house kinda shakes, it’s old, she’s going to know every time we do it and I don’t want her to,” she explains. “It’s so awkward knowing when your parents are fucking, I can’t imagine how she’d feel knowing I’m having sex.”

“God,” he can’t even imagine the horror. “Wayne only ever had one girl over, years ago, and I only know cause she was loud.”

“So Waynes good in bed too,” she teases, watching him get visibly jealous. “I’m kidding, I only have eyes for you, big guy,” she assures him, reaching out to pull him in for a hug.

“Good,” he holds her there, running his hand over her back gently, “scoot over, I’m getting in.”

“Okay,” she does just that, tossing the covers back so he can get out of his clothes and slip right in and share the warmth.

They get all cozy, cuddled together with him as the big spoon, “I’m getting way too used to going to sleep with you.” He wraps his arm around her middle, resting his hand on her tummy, she places her hand over it and interlocks their fingers.

“I know,” she feels the same way. “It’s not like we have to stop at any time soon… I have no problem going back and forth every night so I can still see my mom often.”

“I don’t mind that either,” he agrees. “Even if I stay here some weekdays cause you have school and you just stay with me after work?”

“Yeah, I like that too,” she agrees. “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be working with you, though. I was just supposed to get holiday hours, they said they’d probably cut me come mid-January.”

“Oh,” he sounds really sad. “Well I can talk to Jerry and Linda, you’re a lot better than anyone else I’ve worked with, if you want some hours a week I’ll advocate for you.”

“Thank you,” she gives his hand a good squeeze and then let's go, she rolls over to face him, missing his sweet face. “I love you, you know that?”

He nods, “I do, funnily enough… and I’m so fucking lucky that you do.”

“I feel pretty lucky too,” she assures him. “I used to lay here after a terrible day and dream of scenarios where you’d come and talk to me at school… and now you’re actually here beside me. I don’t have to dream anymore.”

“You know,” he starts before he can really think it over. He knew she was emotional, but he says it anyway. “There was a part when I was dying, I thought it was okay cause it’s not like anyone loved me anyway,” he admits with matching teary eyes. “I’m so glad I didn’t listen to that voice.”

She cups his face and pulls him into a kiss, she smothers his face in kisses, “I love you, so, so much,” she says between each one. She pulls away with a teary smile, “I’m going to have to kiss Nancy Wheeler as a thank you for keeping you alive for me, what else can I do that says thanks for not letting my soulmate die in a creepy hell dimension?”

He laughs, “I mean, her girlfriend might get upset but you can try…”

“She has a girlfriend? That’s so cool, I had no idea what she was up to now that we’ve graduated,” she explains, not one for keeping up with everyone in her graduating class.

Eddie spends a few minutes explaining the very interesting dynamic of his friend group to her. How Robin and Steve are basically attached at the hip, which is ironic seeing as Steve dated Nancy first and now Robin in… and together, robin and Steve are like parents to the younger group consisting of Nancy’s little brother Mike, the missing kid Will Byers and his step sister Elle. Billy Hargrove's little sister Max and her boyfriend Lucas as well as his little sister Erika. And finally, Dustin. The main glue of the friend group, he was everyone's favourite, he had everyone's back, he was the little brother Eddie always wanted, it’s sweet how everyone loves him.

She’s excited to meet him later.

—

Her mom makes them breakfast, they all sit together and it’s surprisingly easy for him to talk to her. They’re a lot alike, he can tell they’ve spent a lot of time together over the years. He can also tell she really misses her husband, Eddie can’t help but feel like he played a part in taking him away, so he offers his services to her.

“Y/N was saying that you’ve been having a hard time getting to all the repairs and I was wondering if I could help? Me and my friends could get the siding done in the spring and—

“Eddie, it’s okay,” she cuts him off. “Really, it’ll get done when it gets done.”

“I want to help,” he assures her. “It's the least I can do, I have a feeling I’m going to be over a lot.”

“A lot,” Y/N echoes, nodding along. “If he wants to help then let him, mom, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“Okay, but I’m going to find a way to make it up to you,” she assures them both.

“I’ll do it for a sandwich and a hug?” He suggests, sticking his hand out to make a deal.

She takes it gladly, “I’ll throw in a pack of beer when you’re done, Y/N’s dad always did that for his buddies that helped us out.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he agrees happily.

He heads back to the trailer around noon to change and grab his presents for the party that night, and to talk to Wayne. He hasn’t had a chance to really catch up with him in the last few days. And they had a lot to talk about.

He brings him up to speed on his new relationship and the Christmas details, asking if Wayne wants his present now or at Y/N’s house the next day, he picks the latter.

“I want to open it on Christmas, it’ll be weird not doing it here but oh well,” he shrugs. “I always knew one day you’d get a partner and we’d end up doing a big Christmas or Hanukkah somewhere with your little family, it just feels like it happened a lot sooner than I expected.”

“I’m 22?”

“I know, but you’re still my little buddy,” Wayne reminds him. “You’ll always be the little boy I raised and love, no matter how big you get.”

He wraps Wayne up in a big hug, “I love you so much, old man, you know that?”

Wayne gives him a big smooch on the cheek and holds him tight, “I know. I love you too, squirt.”

He pats his back a few times before letting go of the hug, the two men pull away awkwardly, never really being touchy with each other. The last time they really hugged that much was when he was in the hospital, Wayne didn’t let go of his hand for about a week. He didn’t leave his side, he spoon-fed him, and he was a wreck until Eddie got better. He thought they had a strong bond before all hell broke loose, it was unbreakable now.

Eddie heads back into his room after that, and he spends some time making it look and smell nice. He sets out her present on the bed, wanting to give it to her right after midnight and right before the main present. He was both excited and nervous, he loves her so much he wants to make it good and fun for her while also making it memorable and special for them both.

Wayne heads to work, and Eddie has dinner with Y/N and her mom which is absolutely delicious and only makes him more excited for dinner tomorrow.

—

Y/N gets all dressed up even though he told her it wasn’t a big party, she made a chip dip and got Nancy a bottle of wine as a thank-you for hosting, she was really trying to win them over.

He holds her hand on the drive over, making sure she’s not too nervous. “Trust me, they’re all super weird and they’re going to do everything in their power to impress you, you won’t have to try hard. They love having new members join.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive… and I’ve been talking about you to Steve and Dustin for the last month, and so of course Robin also knew I liked you cause Steve can’t keep anything to himself. They will literally malfunction if one knows more than the other, it’s like their brains share a hard drive,” Eddie shakes his head with a loving smile.

He loved his friends. More than he could ever explain.

“I know for a fact they’re excited to meet you and they will love you,” he assures her with a squeeze of her hand.

“Okay,” she takes a deep breath and believes him.

“You ready? Cause we’re here,” he says as he parks outside a very large house all decorated with wreaths and lights for the holiday season. There’s a bunch of cars parked in the driveway, so they have to park on the street.

He gets out first, rushing to her side to help her out and then grabbing all their things from the back of the van. She carries the dip, and he carries in all the presents, all the way to the front door where Steve Harrington opens the door before they can even knock.

“Come in, come in,” he ushers them inside and out from the cold.

He can tell it’s really weird for her to be reacquainted with Steve, Robin and Nancy, they never really interacted much in high school but they all knew of each other. It takes about 15 minutes of knowing them and hearing weird inside jokes that she doesn’t understand for Dustin to start the retelling.

He and Nancy argue about the order of events, having led two very different sides of the same battle against the upside down.

Eventually, however, she gets it.

She eats about a whole bowl of chips as she listens, completely engrossed in the lore of Hawkins that no one except their friend group knew of. It was terrifyingly amazing, she loved the fact it brought them all together, but she hated how traumatized it left them all.

“Can I just say thank you,” she reached out for Nancy’s hand, just beside her on the couch. “Eddie’s always meant a lot to me, and I don’t think I would have him if it wasn’t for you.” She turns to the rest of the room too, all smiling because they knew Eddie found the love of his life. “I’m really grateful to all of you for making sure he got off the hook for Chrissy’s murder and everything.”

“It was nothing,” Robin, waves it off, not wanting to get too emotional. “We’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

—

He slips away to talk to Nancy in the kitchen, she’s quietly cleaning up the mess so her mom isn’t mad in the morning. Wrapping cling-film over a few dips, she’s not paying attention when he walks into the room.

“Hey, Nance?” He whispers.

“Oh, hey,” she slightly jumps but settles easily. “What’s up, did you need something?”

“Yeah… uh, I kinda have a super personal question to ask, and you can totally tell me to fuck off if it’s too personal—

“I gave you CPR, there’s nothing too personal between us anymore,” she cuts him off, always teasing him about having to kiss his nasty blood-filled mouth to bring him back to life. “You’re welcome by the way.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he waves her off and then takes a deep breath. “Um, I know you’ve been with guys before and I was just wondering if there was something you wish was different about your first time? You know, to make it better or easier?”

“Well,” she crosses her arms with a surprised yet pleased smile. She leans against the counter and thinks about it for a second, “I mean, Steve was really gentile but it still hurt a lot, I guess I wish I had explored with myself a bit beforehand cause I think if I knew what I liked it would’ve been more fun.”

“We’ve done other stuff together,” he shares, only slightly embarrassed. “I just know on my end I want it to be special for me, it’s my first time too and if I feel this nervous about it being perfect then she must too, and the last thing I want is to hurt her or make it not memorable or fun.”

“You’re you,” Nancy laughs. “Seriously, you’re so charismatic and loud and dramatic and—

“I get it, I’m a lot,” he stops her before she accidentally bullies him.

“But a good ‘a lot’. I just mean, she loves you for a reason, whatever happens, she’s going to have a lot of fun with you,” Nancy explains more articulately. “I know it.”

“Thanks,” he can’t help but smile. “You need any help in here?”

She shakes her head, “no, you go be with your girl, I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

And so he listens, he heads downstairs to see Steve and Dustin still talking Y/N’s ear off. He comes and stands behind her, chin on her shoulder and wraps his arms around her. She tilts her head to the side to rest against his, hands on his big arms as she holds him close.

—

They leave the party shortly after that, she tells them all about her mom's big Christmas breakfast plans and how they need to be up by 8am and Eddie’s friends let them go. She had a genuinely wonderful time with them, they’re friendly and sweet and absolutely hilarious. They love her Eddie, he loves them, and she can see herself fitting in quite well with them.

The clock on his dashboard reads 9:56. She told her mom not to wait up because she’d be home after midnight. They had 2 hours until then. Part of her wants their night to be long and drawn out and hot but she knows they have to get up and get dressed again just to go back to her childhood bedroom.

The stocking she got for Eddie is large enough that all the things she got for him fit inside without much fuss but some of the comic books stick out of the top. She put it inside a grocery bag and then in the back of his van earlier that night, she hopes he hasn’t looked inside or seen anything through the plastic. She really can’t wait to give it to him.

Actually, she can’t wait to give everything to him.

They pull up to said trailer all while she’s been in her own head, in a haze of sorts. He’s about to open her door when she takes a deep breath and says her over-prepared speech, “you go unlock the door, I don’t want you to see the present yet.”

“Okay,” he backs up with a sweet smile, “meet me in my room?”

She nods, “I’ll see you there in a minute.”

She waits for him to be up at the door, focusing on his key in the lock and unable to watch her open the back door of the van and take out his present. She insures that it’s all together and holds it close to her chest on the walk up to the door.

Once inside, she slips out of her shoes and trades the stocking back and forth in her hands as she takes her coat off too. “Can I come in?” She asks at his door, not looking in case he wasn’t ready.

“Yep,” he sounds like he’s smiling.

Once she steps into his room she can see his ever-glowing smirk as he stands on the opposite side of his room. He’s also holding a stocking, only his is decorated to the nines with glitter glue and little accents.

“Oh my god!?”

“No fuckin way?” He says at the exact same time.

They didn’t plan this in the slightest. Neither one knew the other even had a present until just the other day and she’s been collecting things to gift him for a while now.

They quickly make their way to each other, meeting at the foot of his bed and both taking a seat. Criss cross apple sauce facing each other, “I just thought ‘what would Eddie like?’ And it was a bunch of little things so,” She hands him the stocking.

“That’s what I was thinking for you, too,” Eddie can’t help but smile.

She takes the stocking from him, admiring how he decorated it to say her name in purple glitter glue. He drew out some trees, what looked like a can of Campbell's soup and a bunch of hearts… it’s so cute she could cry.

“Do you want to go one at a time?” He asks?

She looks back up at him with a tearful smile, “Yeah, you first.”

“Okay,” he’s more than happy to start pulling things out of his stocking.

One by one, he takes each thing out. First, he takes out the fantasy magazines and comic books and gives his thanks as he flips through the pages. “What made you pick batman and wolverine for me?”

She shrugs, “I spent a lot of time at the comic book store trying to pick what was the best and I thought the art looked cool, I thought you’d like it the best.”

“Thank you, I love them,” he places them down on the bed and takes out the next few items.

Kitkats, skittles, twix, and all sorts of candy. There’s a pack of cigarettes cause she knows he still smokes, he just doesn’t smoke as much around her. She got him a package of hair ties cause he always has one on his wrist that looks a little stretched out and worn down. A pack of chapstick because his lips always looked so soft he must love chapstick. There’s a handful of lighters that have funny saying on them like “flick your bic” which she thought he’d laugh at. And finally, at the bottom of the stocking, there’s a box of condoms.

“Oh, okay,” he can’t help but smirk as he reads over the box. “You pick these out more for me or you?”

“Both of us,” she shyly admits. “It’s not weird right?”

He shakes his head, “no, honestly it’s amazing cause I only got us a pack of 2 the other day…”

“Well, now we have 12,” she bites back a smile.

“Thank you, baby,” he smiles too, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips. “Your turn.”

“Okay,” she is more nervous to open her own gift than she was watching him react to his.

The first thing she pulls out is an agenda with 1989 embossed on the dark blue cover. “Oh my god?” She can’t believe it as she flips through the beautiful pages with elegant presets ready to help her plan the next year out.

“I figured with school and work and next year you have to do a placement that you’d need an agenda,” Eddie explains. “And I took the liberty of adding my name and number in the address book and my birthday is in there too…”

“It’s next month,” she already knew when his birthday was. “6-year crush, remember, I know a lot more than you think.”

“Sorry, forgot you were an Ed-xpert,” he teases, hands up in surrender.

She does give him a laugh, cause that was stupid and funny and he’s just too cute not to laugh. She shakes her head fondly, “that was a good one…”

“Thanks,” he’s smug now.

“Your friends would get in trouble every year for sticking candles in whatever the lunch order was on your birthday and they didn’t care, they always lit the candles anyway,” she remembers fondly. “It was cute, you always had little celebrations for everyone in hellfire.”

“We’re a family,” he shrugs. “It’s what families do.”

“It’s cute, and I love this, thank you,” she thanked him, and places the agenda down on the bed, starting her own pile of things.

He got her some gel pens to write in her agenda, as well as a bunch of stickers to decorate it. There’s candy and fuzzy socks with cute patterns on them, he also got her some chapstick and some nail polish in purple and red. Yet her favourite item in the whole stocking is a cute pair of gloves.

“Cause your fingies get cold in the van, I need to get a new heater,” he explains. “I don’t want you to be cold.”

“I love you,” she holds the gloves to her chest, feeling so overwhelmed with emotion. A simple pair of gloves in her favourite colour, they match her coat and her purse, that’s why he got them, and they’re perfect. “Eddie baby, this is the best Christmas present I��ve ever gotten.”

He gets up and stands at the foot of the bed, extending a hand to pull her up onto her knees at the end of the bed. He wraps his arms around her, holding her close to his chest as he looks down into her eyes, “I love you, merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

She wraps her arms around his neck, tilting her head to the side with a lick of her lips, “it's finally main present time, isn’t it?”

He nods seductively slow, “that it is…”

“The bed is a mess,” she whispers, reminding him with a cheeky smile. “We can’t have sex on a bunch of candy and magazines.”

“I mean we could, it wouldn’t be comfortable,” he teases, dragging his hands down her back to cup her ass. “And the chocolate would melt… but we could.”

“No,” she shakes her head with a smile. “Come on,” she pulls back and returns her attention to their presents. She starts to shove everything into her own while Eddie simply takes the box of condoms out of his pile and opens it up.

He holds up the long strip of condoms with a smile, “think we could go through all of these tonight?”

She laughs, “no, we have to save enough energy to go back to my mom's house, remember? If we’re not there Christmas morning she’s going to kill me.”

“Right,” he rips the first condom off and tosses it onto the bed and puts the rest of them on his nightside table.

He puts the rest of his presents on his dresser and while he’s over there, he takes off his shirt and tosses it towards his dirty laundry pile. She watches contently, he’s too pretty for his own good. “Sorry, did you want to do that part?”

“Undress you? No, it’s fine,” she shakes her head and meets him by his dresser, she places her own stocking there for safekeeping and wraps herself back around him. Hands-on his bare shoulders this time, she drags them down his chest and stops at his belt. “But I can continue…”

“Please,” he begs, breathless as he stares down at her, overwhelmed with how much he wants her.

She runs one hand back up his chest, over his tummy, his pecks and she stops at his neck. Cupping the nape of his neck she leans in and presses a kiss to his pulse point. With her other hand she unbuckles his belt and pops the button on his jeans, she snakes her hand inside his pants and palms over his boxers, stroking the outline of his cock and feeling him harden in her hands.

His grip on her hips tightens, he balls the fabric of her dress into his fists and tugs it up to cup her ass through her nylons as she keeps kissing his neck and stroking his cock.

He picks her up in one go, she wraps her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck for support. He walks her over to the bed and tosses her down onto the mattress once more. Reaching for his own belt, he pulls it through the loops and tosses it towards the floor, “how’d you wanna do this?”

“Could you, maybe… um,” she goes sky, watching him push his jeans to the floor and step out of them.

“Yeah, princess?”

“Could you eat me out again?” She whispers up at him.

He smirks, placing his hands on her knees and tracing his fingers down the inside of her thighs until he reaches her hips. He grips her tight and pulls her to the edge of the bed and drops to his knees, “I’d love to.”

He starts to pull down her nylons and he can tell she’s nervous again, “I shaved the other day so I’m going to be a bit stubbly…”

“I don’t mind, baby,” he assures her.

She grips her dress at the hem and pulls it up and over her head, thanking god it was stretchy and didn’t have a zipper to trap her inside of it. One leg at a time he takes her nylons off, smoothing his hands over her legs and then he brings his cheek to her knee. He drags his face along her skin, kissing the hem of her panties and then right where her clit should be.

“Did you wear these panties on purpose?”

“They’re my only black pair,” she explains, black was a sexy colour, so of course, she wore them for this.

“The bow is cute, you’re like another present I get to unwrap,” he teases, running his finger over the little bow at the front of her panties.

“I guess it is,” she can’t help but smile.

He loops his fingers under the band and she lifts her hips knowingly, helping him slip them off of her and onto the floor.

She props herself up on her forearms, watching with her bottom lip sucked between her teeth. He wraps his arms around her thighs, holding them open as he inches closer to her wet pussy. He kisses the little freckle she has on her underwear line, his breath is hot against her skin as he runs his tongue over her pussy lip ever so slowly.

Using his right hand he runs his index finger from her clit to her glistening entrance, he gathers up all her slick and rubs it into her clit with his forefingers. “I want you to cum at least once for me before I fuck you, then you’ll be nice and relaxed and it won’t hurt as much.”

“I think I’ll be fine,” she’s sure of herself, sharing a bit too much because she was so comfortable with him. “I usually use three fingers when I’m alone, I think I can take it.”

He groans, “god, you’re so fucking hot.”

With only one arm holding her legs down he’s not as strong, she clamps her legs closed at the sensation of his tongue lapping over her aching clit, “be a good girl and keep these open for me, kay?”

She nods, breath hitching at the sound of good girl…

“You liked that,” he smirks. “I can tell by the way your cunt fluttered, ooo, there you did it again.”

She’s aching for more, feeling her heartbeat in her clit 10 times stronger than ever before, she needed him desperately, “please, Eddie?”

“Since you asked so nicely, baby,” he muses, voice vibrating against her core as he leans in impossibly close and licks over her hole.

Her hand goes right to his hair as she tries desperately to keep her legs open for him. He holds her pussy open with two fingers, and he drags his tongue over her cunt in long, broad strokes serpentining as he gathers her wetness. She tastes so good he moans against her, she grips his hair tighter, bringing him toward her clit as a silent instruction to suck.

She drops down against the mattress then, “oh, fuck,” she moans, letting go of her grip on his hair to hold her own legs in place for him. He flicks her clit back and forth with his tongue between soft licks and suctioning onto her clit.

He pulls back enough start pulling off his rings and he places them all on his night table. He makes perfect eye contact with her as he takes his middle and ring finger in his mouth, coating them with saliva before he circles them over her hole, “ready?”

“Yeah,” she’s breathless just watching.

He smirks, she fluttered around the tips of his two fingers, sucking them into the first knuckle. He pushes in slowly to the second knuckle, watching her suck in a deep breath at the feeling. He leans back in to suck on her clit as he bottoms out, as deep as he can be inside of her like this, he curls his fingers the way she said she liked it before and begins to thrust. Pulling out ever so slightly and pumping back into her again and again.

She feels him everywhere, back arching as she pushes her pussy into his face more. She reaches behind herself to unclasp her bra and pull it off so she could grip her tits, playing with her own hardened nipples and he watches from between her legs. He laughs slightly, hot breath against her and the feeling of his lips curling into a smile brings her attention back down to him.

“Feels so good, baby,” she praises, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair again, helping keep it out of his eyes.

She can’t help closing her legs on him again as the pressure builds, and instead of scolding her for it he simply holds her knees together and pushes her legs up against her chest. He stands, still fucking her with his two fingers, and a trail of spit hangs from his lips down to her soaked pussy.

“Hold 'em up,” he instructs her to wrap her hands around the backs of her knees to keep them up. “I want you to cum for me,” he says, rubbing the forefingers of his leg hand over her clit rapidly.

Her legs start to shake, and a strange pressure builds in her stomach that she isn’t used to, like an orgasm but so, so much more. She sounds so wet, soaking up his fingers as he fucks into her faster. He rests a knee on the bed for better balance, she can feel his hard cock against her ass cheek and that does it for her.

She cums with a shout of his name and a chain of obscenities, and he does the same. “Sweet fuck, princess, look at you, holy fuck,” he can’t believe what he’s seeing. She squirted all over his hand, the edge of his mattress and his boxers.

She drops her legs, looking between them to see the mess she made. “Oh my god?”

“That was the hottest thing I’ve ever fucking seen,” he praises her, leaning in and cupping her face with his clean(ish) hand as he kisses her. She can taste herself on him, she hums as she sucks his tongue into her mouth and experiences it all.

He pulls back and gets off the bed, leaving her there on the mattress, breathless and empty and craving more. He takes off his boxers and uses them to wipe down his hand and the inside of her thighs. “Did you know you could do that?”

She nods, “not that much though.”

“I can’t fucking wait to discover everything you can do, baby,” he smirks, reaching for the condom on the pillows and opening it with his teeth. “Get comfortable, princess.”

He examines it carefully, making sure he puts it on the right way before he rolls it on. She watches as she scoots up towards the pillows, resting her head against them and laying there with her legs spread again. He crawls onto the bed again, kneeling between her legs with his cock standing there at attention. He rests his hands on her knees and drags his fingertips down towards her aching cunt once more, “you still want this?”

“More than you know,” she’s practically drooling for him, she can’t wait to feel his cock deep inside of her.

He can’t help but smile, shaking his head slightly with disbelief. He drops down on top of her, boxing her in against the mattress, she wraps her legs around him and cups his face in her hands, “I love you.”

“I love you,” he repeats, staring deep into her soul. “Ready?”

She nods, feeling him reach between them to grip his cock at the base and guide it into her.

She sucks in a sharp breath and makes a sound she’s never heard herself make before as he slips in inch by inch, he’s a lot thicker than she anticipated but she takes him easily. “Oh my god?” They say at the same time, resting their foreheads together with deep breaths.

“Can I move?” He whispers.

She nods, “yeah, yeah please?” She doesn’t mean to beg but she needs more.

He kisses the side of her head and then her cheek, she tilts her head to the side to capture his mouth with hers, kissing him deeply as he starts to thrust. She runs one hand through his hair and the other down his back, gripping his skin, she moans against his mouth.

He kisses the side of her mouth and then her jaw, he slips a hand behind her back to arch her forward as he kisses down her neck and towards her chest. His thrusts are slow and deep as he takes her right nipple into his mouth and sucks.

She tugs on his hair, “fuck, Eddie.”

He pops off her tit with a smile, “feel good, baby?”

“I need more,” she admits, “can you go faster?”

“Yeah?” He sits up on his knees, holding her hips with both hands for support as he fucks into her deeply, over and over.

“Holy fuck,” her back arches and she reaches out to grip the sheets around her.

She meets his thrusts, pushing her hips down every time he fucks into her, getting deeper each time. She can feel him knocking at her cervix, the angel is so perfect he grazes her g spot with each thrust, she could cum just like this.

Lucky for her, he’s best friends with her clit now and couldn’t spend more than a few minutes away from her. He licks his forefingers on his right hand and brings them down to meet the sensitive bud, rubbing them counterclockwise just as fast as he was fucking into her.

“So fuckin hot,” he praises, he feels like he’s in the middle of another good wet dream about her it’s so fucking perfect. She’s everything he’s ever wanted and then some, all here, unravelling just for him. “Gonna cum for me again, princess?”

She nods, “yeah, fuck, oh my god?” She can’t believe how good it feels, her whole body tingles, and she can barely keep her eyes open she’s so cock drunk for him.

She reaches out for his chest, wanting to touch him, missing how close he just was before this. She pulls him back down and wraps her legs around him and rolls them over so she’s on top. She straddles his hips, and he’s still inside of her, she hovers enough for him to fuck up into her just as fast, only they’re a lot closer now.

She buries her face in his neck, kissing and sucking just below his ear, “oh, Eddie, oh my god, I love you,” she mumbles, over and over as he fucks up into her.

He’s so close, he isn’t sure he’s going to be able to get her off again before he loses it all inside the condom. He reaches between their bodies to thumb over her clit, immediately making her legs quake.

“Gonna cum, please? Please?” She begs, wrapping her arms under him and holding him close. “Cum with me?”

That does it for him, he fucks up into her one last time as she drops all her weight on him, riding out her high and fucking him through his own. He wraps his arms around her, kissing her shoulder between moans and whispers of her name. “Oh, I love you, I love you so much, sweet girl.”

She’s breathing heavily against his neck but he can feel her smile, “I love you more.”

He runs his fingers over her back gently, and both of them just lay there with their eyes closed, staying in the moment as long as they could. He’s still inside of her too, she doesn’t move, he’s afraid if he does then he’ll get hard again because she’s so tight and she keeps flittering around him as she calms down. It’s heaven.

“Merry Christmas,” he whispers against the side of her head before pressing a kiss to her temple. “How long do you want to lay her before we go home?”

“Home?” She repeats as she sits up carefully, “you consider my place home already?”

“You’re there, so yeah,” he admits. “I just want to fall asleep with you in my arms and I can’t do that yet, so…”

“Yeah, let’s go home,” she agrees, leaning in for one more kiss.

He holds her face in his hands, keeping her there as he breathes her in, loving every ounce of her so deeply he couldn’t even begin to express it with words. He hoped this kiss did it for him.

She pulls back with a smile, “thank you.”

“No, thank you,” he teases.

She gets off him carefully, and he hisses as he slips out, sensitive and soft. She uses the bathroom first, leaving the door open so he could come in with the used condom tied in a not and wrap it in toilet paper before hiding it at the bottom of the garbage in there. Embarrassed as all hell for Wayne to come across any evidence that they were having sex in his trailer.

She slips back into her dress, he slips into some track pants and a shirt, they get all wrapped up with their coats and she puts on her new gloves. She holds her stocking in her lap on the drive home and she still holds his hand over the centre console the whole ride too. They can’t stop smiling at each other, they don’t talk, he just has the radio on low, letting the music fill their silence.

She doesn’t know what else to say other than that she loves him. She’s overflowing with love, it’s insane.

Back in her bedroom, there are two presents left on her bed.

“Oh my god,” she whispers, picking up the one with her name knowing exactly what they are. “How did she have time to do this?”

“What?”

“These are matching Christmas pyjamas for tomorrow morning,” she explains as she hands him the other present.

He can’t believe it as he peels back the green wrapping paper to see that they were indeed the same pyjamas as the ones Y/N is holding in her hands. White shirts with red bottoms, covered in candy canes, they’re cute as hell.

“You’re officially part of the family,” she swoons, overjoyed with everything.

He tosses his PJs back onto the bed and pulls her into a hug, he cradles her head with his big hand and kisses her temple, “I love you so much.”

“I love you,” she wraps her arms around his middle and holds him just as tight.

They get undressed again, their pyjamas for the morning are placed on her dresser as the two of them climb into her bed together. She snuggled right up to his chest, just as naked as they were 10 minutes ago, they release a matching sigh as they settle in the dark room.

He runs his hand over her back, and she traces shapes into his chest with her finger. They’re silent, content, and happy. Everything they’ve always wanted to be, simply together.

General Taglist

@ncsls0515 @stevesmunsons @reidsbookclub @sweetyyhippyy @manuosorioh @mrs-dr-reid @k-k0129 @eddiemunson-rp @squishyturtle @katsukis1wife

Employee of the month taglist

@munsonficdump @angelsarecallin @wonderful-outcast @aysheashea @ick90 @bloodandtime @birdsinmywalls

Eddie

@fightingdragonswithwho @kyomito @reidselle @venomsvl @nomajdetective @girl-with-an-orange-cat @blairscott @princesseddie

#eddie munson #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem reader #eddie munson smut #stranger things #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson imagine #stranger things imagine #stranger things season 4

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clangenrising · 6 months

Text

Month 14 - Newleaf

“The desert?” Oddstripe stopped halfway through scoring his claws down the stones framing the entrance to the healers’ den to look at Scorchplume, unsure if he had heard her question properly.

The ginger she-cat cocked her head and smiled. “Yes, you came from out east, didn’t you?”

“Oh,” he melted out of his backbend into a more natural sitting position, “why, yes, I did.”

“I thought so,” purred Scorchplume sweetly. He smiled back. He noticed the tired lines under her eyes had started to disappear. It seemed she was finally getting proper sleep.

“I was wondering if you could tell me about it,” she continued. “I’m considering traveling that way and I’d love to know what I should look out for.”

“Alright,” he shrugged, happy to be helpful. “Um, I’m not sure where to start though.”

“Start with the basics,” she said, swishing her tail over her paws as she settled down. “I’ve heard they’re hard to survive in, is that true?”

“They can be,” he said, thinking back. “You have to stay out of the heat during midday but you need to get into a burrow at night to keep yourself warm or you’ll freeze, especially during leafbare.”

“Really,” Scorchplume mused.

“Oh, yes,” he nodded. “It’s sweltering in the day and shivering at night. Most animals come out around dawn and dusk so you’ll want to hunt then but also be careful for things like hawks and coyotes.” He shuddered at the thought of those massive, cackling things. He’d been lucky enough never to see one up close but their laughter was not something he could easily forget.

“Coyotes?” Scorchplume’s eyes flickered over his movement. “Are they hard to avoid?”

“Um,” Oddstripe frowned in thought. “Not terribly? If you’re hunting and you run into one, just leave the food and it won’t bother chasing you most of the time. I’m sorry, I’m not very familiar with them. They seemed to stay away from where I lived for some reason.”

“Interesting.” Scorchplume’s eyes glittered coldly in thought.

“I’d worry more about snakes, honestly. They like to hide in cool places so you have to be careful not to run into them when getting out of the heat.”

“It sounds terribly dangerous out there,” frowned Scorchplume. “Why didn’t you leave sooner? Was there something dangerous on the other side?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that,” laughed Oddstripe, flapping one of his paws idly. “I grew up there. It felt like home. When my mama disappeared it felt wrong to leave the den empty - it was such a nice spot after all - so I stayed. There were a few cats in the area, I tried to get to know them but they didn’t seem all too keen to get to know me. Until Stranger showed up, of course.”

“Stranger?” Scorchplume cut in, her voice edged with interest.

“Oh, yes!” Oddstripe brightened. “Stranger! She taught me everything I know about healing in exchange for a place to stay and help finding food. She’s actually how I learned about RisingClan! I guess she was from here?”

Scorchplume nodded politely. “Yes, I remember hearing that. Redleaf, they said she was called.”

“Yeah, that’s what Sagetooth said. She never gave me her name, though,” Oddstripe said, remembering her fondly, “not in the whole time we knew each other. So I just called her Stranger. She seemed to like it. Anyway, after she became my teacher cats stopped by more often to get help. Mostly we treated heat stroke and coughs. It was lovely. I hope she’s alright. I think she’s still there, in mama’s old burrow.”

“Do you know what’s on the other side of the desert?” asked Scorchplume and Oddstripe pursed his lips in embarrassment. Of course, she was here for information, not to hear him ramble on about a cat she would never meet.

“Not first hand,” he said, ears wilting. “The mountains run all along the north side. I think there’s a forest if you go far enough east but I’ve never seen it.”

“Mm,” hummed Scorchplume. “Thank you, Oddstripe. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me.”

“Of course!” he purred. “Let me know if you have any other questions.”

She nodded and excused herself, leaving him alone once more. He sighed a little and flexed his claws against the earth. Sometimes it felt like people only ever spoke with him when they needed a problem solved. He wondered what other people had that he didn’t. Even his kits were visiting less and less as they prepared to become warriors. It made him ache.

He finished scratching his claws across the stone, abandoning a few shed claws in the dust, and headed back inside the den to look at the stores again and see if anything needed replacing. After a brief examination, he decided they could probably do with some more borage and started out of the den.

“Ah!” jumped Aldertail who had been heading the other way. “Sorry!”

“It’s alright,” he smiled, stepping back to give her space. “What can I help you with? Are your legs bothering you?” Aldertail looked down at them and he watched her use all of her mental strength not to lick them. He kicked himself for saying anything.

“No, they’re fine,” she said. “I was just coming to see what you were doing. It’s fine if you’re busy, I can-”

“No, no, I’m not too busy,” he said. “I was just going to look for some borage.”

“Oh, okay,” she nodded, chewing her lip. “Um, could I come with you?”

“Oh!” he blinked in surprise. “Of course! I’d love to have you along!”

“Thank you,” Aldertail smiled, visibly letting her shoulders relax a little.

“Don’t mention it,” he purred, rubbing his cheek on hers as he passed her. “Come on, I’ll show you where the best patches grow.”

“Okay,” she purred shyly and scampered to catch up with him.

Oddstripe smiled to himself and led the way out of camp, glad for her company. He could always count on Aldertail to be there to brighten his day. He shook himself out, deciding to leave the moody thoughts in the past where they belonged. Today was bright and sunny and he had great company. What more could a cat ask for?

#clan gen #clangen #warrior cats #warriors #warrior cats oc #warriors oc #clangen oc #clan gen oc #Oddstripe #Scorchplume #Aldertail #Redleaf #Newleaf #clangenrising

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bloody-bee-tea · 10 months

Text

24 Days of Satosugu 2023 Day 9 - Popular

Suguru gives a polite smile to the girl in front of him. He’s certain she told him her name but he can’t remember it, even though it’s been less than three minutes.

Satoru is lingering a few steps away, something like a sneer on his face ever since Suguru stepped away with the girl when she had asked him to. It’s not the first time a virtual stranger confesses their feelings to him and Suguru is certain that it won’t be the last either, though it never means anything to him.

“That is very nice of you,” he says to the girl when she gives him some chocolate with a letter attached. “But I can’t take that.”

“Oh,” she breathes out. “Are you already taken?”

Suguru’s eyes flit over to Satoru again, and he wishes the answer was yes but all he can say is “You should really find someone else to give that to.”

The girl looks down at the chocolate and then sighs.

“I guess I should, huh?” she asks, with a wry smile on her face and Suguru is thankful that this one at least doesn’t seem to be a crier.

He had way uglier encounters in the past.

“I hope you have a good day,” he says, turning away from her with a wave and going back to Satoru, leaving the girl standing there.

Satoru’s eyes are still on her, though and Suguru wonders if he’s jealous, if he had his eyes on her and the thought makes something in Suguru’s chest clench painfully.

“You should have at least taken the chocolate,” Satoru complaints as soon as Suguru is close enough to do so and Suguru huffs out a laugh.

He should have known that was the thing Satoru was fixated on.

“That would have been mean, since I have no intention of ever calling her or seeing her again,” he gives back and bumps their shoulders together. “Now, lunch?”

“You are the one who made me wait,” Satoru grumbles out and Suguru frowns.

It might not be visible to everyone, but Suguru can see that Satoru is upset about something.

“What’s going on?” Suguru asks and Satoru shuffles on his feet.

“Nothing.” It’s such an unbelievable lie that Suguru doesn’t even bother to say anything to that and simply stares Satoru down.

Most people might be unable to hold prolonged eye contact with Satoru, but not Suguru. He has always won in a staring contest.

“I didn’t know you’re this popular,” Satoru finally huffs out and Suguru allows himself a small smile, because he knew Satoru would fold in no time.

“I don’t care about it,” Suguru says with a shrug and tugs on Satoru’s sleeve to get them back on track.

He’s hungry now and lunch does seem like a very good idea.

“Clearly. She was cute, though, wasn’t she?” Satoru asks and Suguru frowns at him.

“Satoru, you do know that—” I’m in love with you, he doesn’t say and instead finishes with “I’m gay, right?”

Satoru blinks at him as if that’s new information to him and Suguru fondly shakes his head. Only Satoru would miss something that Suguru wasn’t even hiding from him.

“I see,” he gives back and his voice sounds strange enough that Suguru comes to a stop.

“That a problem?” Suguru wants to know and for a moment it’s hard to breathe.

He doesn’t know what he’s going to do if Satoru says yes.

“No? I mean, I’m bi, so what would it matter to me, it’s just—I didn’t know,” he rambles out and that makes his previous reaction even more confusing.

“Then what’s tripping you up?” Suguru asks and Satoru avoids his eyes.

“I never see any guys hitting on you. Or—well, you hitting on any guys,” he whispers out, his hands in his pockets and hunched over as if he was bracing against a cold wind.

There are several things Suguru wants to say to that, but no words make it past his lips. The guys they come across usually try to hit on Satoru, which Suguru discourages with biting glares and the only guy Suguru ever wants to hit on is standing right in front of him, absolutely oblivious to Suguru’s feelings.

No, these are not things Suguru can say to Satoru.

“I like it that way,” Suguru finally says, hoping to shut that particular conversation down, and yet he still can’t help but to add: “What, you jealous of the attention I do get?”

“No, it’s just—no one has ever hit on me,” Satoru mutters, and clearly that matters more to him than he likes to admit.

And it’s not even true. People of all genders havedsdshave hit on Satoru, it’s just that usually it flies right over his head. There was even that one guy who put a hand inappropriate close to Satoru’s ass which Satoru still didn’t pick up on and ever since then Suguru has deterred any and all flirting attempts.

If people can’t even be decent about it, then he’s not going to let them close to Satoru.

“Does that matter to you?” Suguru asks because he was just trying to keep Satoru safe, but if that makes him unhappy then maybe he’ll have to change something.

“Not really, it’s just a little bit of a blow for the ego, isn’t it?” Satoru gives back, a forced smile on his lips and Suguru wonders why he even needs the ego boost.

Satoru’s ego is already big enough as it is and everyone they know always tells him that he’s too pretty anyway. Which is not even true, because in Suguru’s eyes, Satoru is entirely perfect.

“I wouldn’t know, it never mattered to me,” Suguru replies with a shrug. “I only ever feel vaguely uncomfortable when strangers hit on me.”

“But you’re always so nice about it.”

“They didn’t do anything wrong, I don’t have a reason to be mean to them.”

At least not to the ones hitting on Suguru himself. He is being plenty mean to people who want to hit on Satoru.

Satoru only hums at his answer and Suguru can tell that he’s really upset about this. Suguru doesn’t like the thought of letting strangers hit on Satoru again, but clearly it’s bothering him that no one has gotten a chance to do so lately and Suguru vows to stop glaring at everyone.

Surely some of the people who want to hit on Satoru must be nice enough to not cross any boundaries, like that girl just now.

Suguru is not going to like it—will probably hate every second of it—but he hates Satoru’s sad and dejected face even more.

If this is something he can do for Satoru, then he will.

~*~*~

“That guy wasn’t asking you for directions,” Suguru mildly says, because he just knows that this went right past Satoru.

“What? Of course he wanted to know, he asked about the main station,” Satoru gives back and Suguru sighs, before he points towards the huge ass sign right across the street that points towards the main station.

“Huh,” Satoru says. “What did he want, then?”

“He was hitting on you,” Suguru informs him and he’s proud that his voice doesn’t sound as bitter as he feels.

At least he now has confirmation that Satoru doesn’t intentionally ignore his flirting attempts; by now, Suguru is convinced that Satoru wouldn’t know he was being flirted with if Suguru should state it outright.

“He was what?”

“He was hitting on you,” Suguru dutifully repeats because it’s clear that Satoru doesn’t believe him at all.

“No way.”

“Yes way.”

They stare at each other for a long moment before Satoru slumps.

“I didn’t notice,” he whines out and despite everything, Suguru has to snort out a laugh.

“Yeah, that was painfully obvious.”

“How do you pick up on stuff like that, it’s so hard,” Satoru mutters, looking after the guy who left.

He’s long gone but still, Suguru can’t help but to wonder if Satoru regrets it, if he would have been receptive to his flirting if he had picked up on it.

“It’s actually not,” Suguru says but doesn’t elaborate because it’s not as if he wants Satoru to notice every idiot flirt with him. It’s bad enough that Suguru already has to see, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do if Satoru ever reciprocates anything, even if it would be just a little harmless fun.

“Help me understand,” Satoru whines out and hangs himself off Suguru’s shoulder.

Suguru doesn’t have to look at him to know that Satoru is blinking his puppy eyes up at him as if they still have any effect on Suguru.

He’s ashamed to admit that they do still work pretty well, but mostly because Suguru can never find it in him to say no to Satoru. The puppy eyes are just overkill at this point.

“If someone around our age comes up to you for whatever reason, you can generally assume they are there to hit on you,” Suguru finally presses out even though he very decidedly doesn’t want to.

“There was this girl yesterday,” Satoru muses.

“Who asked if you dropped the pen? Yeah, flirting,” Suguru immediately replies and it wasn’t even a very good pretence.

They were walking down the street with no bags to speak of, how would Satoru ever lose a pen like that.

“Huh,” Satoru says. “Now that I think about it, there have been a lot of things like that happening the last few days. I wonder why that is.”

Wonder no more, Suguru wants to say, but he bites his tongue. He did stop glaring at people who want to approach Satoru, but he is still not liking it.

And it’s not as if Suguru allows everyone to come close; he has a very good eye for creeps by now and he make sure to keep those as far away from Satoru as he can.

“Can we go now?” Suguru asks in a clear attempt to distract Satoru and he breathes a sigh of relief when Satoru seems to forget all about it and explains yet again why the café they are going to is the best one there is.

Suguru dutifully listens and nods in all the right places, and really, he likes this much more than having to stand by and watch random people hit on Satoru.

~*~*~

Suguru grits his teeth as he watches the guy Satoru is currently talking to slides his hand down his arm as if he has any right to it, which he doesn’t. Suguru is the only one who is allowed these liberties with Satoru, but clearly Satoru doesn’t think the same, because he does nothing to stop the wandering hand.

Suguru has to watch how the guy smoothly transfers his hand from Satoru’s arm to his waist and he has to give it to him, that is one hell of a move. Suguru could appreciate it more, if it wasn’t done on Satoru, though.

He holds out for a while longer, but when the guy leans close to whisper something into Satoru’s ear, Suguru finally snaps.

“I think that’s enough,” he bites out as he reaches for Satoru’s arm to pull him back, pulls him to his side where he belongs.

Satoru seems mostly confused, but the guy immediately glares at Suguru. He is not one to be out-glared though, so he gives the guy a look so nasty, it makes him turn around on his heels and walk away almost immediately.

“Suguru?” Satoru asks, not moving away, but clearly more than confused about the entire situation.

“Sorry,” Suguru breathes out and immediately lets go of Satoru. “Sorry.”

“What’s going on?” Satoru wants to know, staying right where he is, pressed to Suguru’s side.

“He was being—pushy,” Suguru mutters in explanation. “He shouldn’t have taken that liberty with you.”

It’s not even a good explanation. Clearly Satoru hadn’t minded his advances at all and the only one who seems to have a problem with the entire situation is Suguru.

“I shouldn’t have, I’m sorry,” he rushes to add before Satoru can even say something.

“Was he flirting with me?” Satoru asks and of course this went right over his head again.

Suguru doesn’t even know why he worries in the first place, because Satoru never knows.

And there’s the danger, a voice in Suguru’s head whispers. Who knows how far people are going to push and Suguru is not going to take the chance that Satoru feels belatedly uncomfortable, once he realises what the true intent was.

“Satoru, please,” Suguru breathes out. “Of course he was flirting with you. You really have to be more perceptive of that; he was standing way too close, only looking at you, and that hand on your arm, your waist? Of course he was flirting.”

At that Satoru looks down, looks at the distance between them, before he looks back at Suguru’s face, and Suguru can feel himself blush because of course he’s still looking at Satoru.

He’s only ever looking at Satoru.

“Are you?” Satoru finally asks him and an immediate denial is on the tip of Suguru’s tongue but it dies a quiet death when Satoru steps even closer, all but presses against him. “Are you?” he asks again, his voice a mere whisper in the space between them and really, what is Suguru supposed to say to that other than the truth.

“Thanks for finally noticing,” he gets out and then braces for the inevitable rejection. Now that Satoru knows what he’s doing, Suguru is certain he’ll have a few choice words for him.

“All this time?” Satoru says with a frown, clearly wrecking his brain and Suguru sighs.

“All this time, Satoru,” he admits and then takes a step back. “I’m sorry.”

Satoru is still frowning but when Suguru moves away he follows, as if he was being pulled by in invisible leash.

“No,” he replies to that and Suguru’s heart falls.

Of course Satoru wouldn’t simply accept his apology; not after all this time.

“Satoru, I’m—”

“Don’t apologise,” Satoru fiercely gives back. “I’m sorry for never noticing.”

“It’s very on brand for you,” Suguru sighs out but falls silent when Satoru shakes his head even as he reaches out for Suguru’s hand.

“No, I should have noticed, I was paying so much attention to you,” he mutters. “I don’t know how to flirt.”

“Yeah, that one is painfully obvious,” Suguru replies, his heart in his throat because Satoru’s hand is still in his and Suguru can’t help but to wonder where this is going.

“I’m flirting with you,” Satoru says. “Well, I would be, if I knew how. I want you flirting with me, though,” he rushes to add and a small smile tugs on Suguru’s lips.

“For fun or—?” he can’t help but to teasingly asks because the blush on Satoru’s face makes the answer more than obvious.

“You’re so mean to me, making me say it,” Satoru complaints and then he doesn’t actually say anything because instead he leans forward and claims Suguru’s lips in a kiss.

“Answer received,” Suguru says when they part and he properly threads their fingers together.

“You were stopping people from flirting with me before, weren’t you?” Satoru asks with a happy sigh and Suguru shrugs, completely unrepentant.

“Go back to it, I don’t care for the attention.”

“But you were complaining about how popular I was and you weren’t,” Suguru teases him and Satoru melts against his side.

“I have the only one I want paying attention to me, what do I care about others?” he mutters, his head on Suguru’s shoulder and Suguru briefly wonders what sight they must make to the strangers around them.

He just hopes they all understand that Satoru is his.

“Alright then, no more flirting for you.”

“Except when it comes from you,” Satoru immediately replies and Suguru drops a kiss to the top of his head.

“Except when it comes from me,” he agrees and squeezes Satoru’s hand.

Satoru will be able to pick up on his flirting in no time, Suguru will make sure of that by showering him with love, just like Satoru deserves.

#bt writes #jjk #satosugu #geto suguru #gojo satoru #fluff #hurt/comfort #flirting #getting together #first kiss

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imeanwhynotbruv · 7 months

Text

Jack and Jane have dinner

(stranger things crossover. Don’t need to have seen four brothers, can just read as an oc)

Idea: Jack’s been put into Hoppers care after some unpleasantness with his most recent foster family. This is the first time Jack and El have been left alone for dinner since his arrival and the two take the time to bond and get to know each other while hoppers away. TW: mentions of abuse.

“Bon appetite” Jack said as he placed down the highly requested Eggo waffles and rolled up his sleeves . He had initially offered to make some more ‘dinner worthy foods’ but alas, the kid wanted waffles and who was he to deny her?

“Bon..Bon app-app-pep-?” Jane scrunched her nose at the unfamiliar words, she was sure she hadn’t heard them before.

“Bon appetite. It’s French” Jack huffed in amusement as Jane nodded her head and speared her first waffle with a determined jab of her fork.

“French” Jane whispered under her breath as she began to chew. “You know more French?” She asked slowly as she looked up to meet his eyes.

“Not really” Jack shrugged, Jane merely nodded her head in acceptance.

“Still smart. For a boy” Jane nodded to herself, as if what she had said was something recently explained to her.

“That right?” Jack laughed softly as he brought a glass of water up to his lips, trying to hide his amusement.

“Yes. Boys are dumb. Like Mike” Jane nodded her head determinedly as she shovelled more waffle into her mouth.

“Who’s Mike?” Jack asked as he cut into more of his food.

“My friend. I kissed him.” Jane said as she looked up at Jack, her eyes assessing him to gauge his response.

“When’d you do that?” Jack asked lightly, that seemed like the right answer as Jane relaxed back into her chair.

“At the Snowball” Jane grinned, though she tried to shrug it off as if it were nothing as she stabbed a particularly large section of waffle to shove into her mouth.

“What’s the Snowball?” Jack frowned slightly in confusion.

“It’s a dance. For school.” That drew another small, almost proud, smile to Jane’s lips. She liked being the one who knew things.

“Nice, never been to a school dance” Jack shrugged nonchalantly, he’d never stayed at a school long enough, or he always seemed to move somewhere new before he could attend. It never bothered him, in fact he hadn’t really realised he’d never been until he said it.

“Never ever?” Jane looked up in shock.

“Never ever. What’s it like?” Jake smiled at Jane’s surprise.

“It had balloons. And music. I danced” Jane smiled fondly at the memory, she had really enjoyed herself that night.

“And you kissed Mike?” Jake smirked slightly.

“Yes” Jane grinned.

“Even though boys are dumb?” Jack chuckled lightly as he raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. My first time” Jane grinned brightly up at him.

“Sweet” Jack nodded.

“Sweet” Jane nodded back.

“Can you dance?” Jane asked after a brief silence.

“Yeah, and I can play guitar” Jack grinned as Jane’s eyes widened.

“Really!?” Jane asked excitedly.

“Yep, even played on stage once or twice” Jack’s grin widened slightly as Jane looked at him with awe.

“You did!?” Jane leaned forward on the table, her eyes sparkling as her clothes narrowly avoided landing in her food.

“Yep” Jack grinned, popping the p as he leaned towards her.

“What else?” Jane asked excitedly as she moved her plate away, discarding it to the side to focus on the conversation.

“What else?” Jack smiled as he moved his own plate to the side.

“What else did you do?” Jane leaned in closer.

“ I don’t know, lots of things” Jack grinned.

“Did you drink?” Jane asked, eyes laser focused on him.

“A ton” Jack nodded.

“Smoke?” Jane’s nose wrinkled slightly, remembering the smell when she’d encountered it.

“All the time”

“Sleep outside?” Jane squinted her eyes.

“A whole bunch” Jack chose to only focus on the times he’d done so willingly.

“Me too” Jane grinned.

“You did?” Jack leaned in closer, his own smile growing, she must mean camping. He hoped she meant camping.

“Yes” Jane declared proudly. “Did you fight people?”

“Oh yeah” Jack nodded as he grinned.

“The bad men?” Jane whispered conspiratorially, leaning in so they were almost nose to nose.

“The worst” Jack smirked as he forced himself to keep his mind on their conversation, something made much easier by Jane’s victorious smile.

“Me too. I made one pee. I made them all go away” She beamed.

“That’s badass” Jack ginned at her, Jane nodded in agreement as her smile stretched wider across her face.

“Have you kissed too?” Jane asked slowly.

“Yes” Jack said confidently.

“When was the first time?” Jane asked innocently.

“A long time ago” Jack’s confidence slipped ever so slightly as he answered more quietly. He discreetly wrapped his hand around his arm and dug the his nails into the skin, grounding himself in the conversation an away from the back of his mind. He hoped Jane wouldn’t notice.

“Who have you kissed?” Jane squinted.

“Lot of people” Jack laughed slightly.

“Girls?” Jane smiled.

“Yep” Jack nodded easily.

“Boys?” Jane asked just the same, jack hesitated for a moment.

“Yes” Jack answered carefully, his eyes scanning the little girl’s face for any hint of disgust.

“I kissed a girl. My friend Max. For fun” Jane nodded happily.

“Nice” Jack grinned as he reached his hand out for a high five, Jane complied enthusiastically.

Jane’s smile dimmed slightly as she looked down at Jack’s arm, the deep grooves where his fingernails had been were revealed when he’d high fived her, drawing her attention down towards his skin where a few old scars lay.

“Kissed bad people?” Jane asked quietly.

Jack stilled for a moment. She had noticed then. He could just lie to her, it wouldn’t be hard to do. He’d lied to loads of different people for loads or different reasons over the course of his life, and she seemed to just believe anything.

But, for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to lie to her. She was so honest and open with the way she smiled at him, he just couldn’t do it.

So Jack nodded, trying his best to come off as nonchalant.

“Before here?” Jane asked quietly.

“Before here” Jack agreed.

“They hurt you.” Jane said, more of a statement than a question as she gently put her little hand on his arm, her little finger just barely brushing the edge of an old cigarette burn he almost couldn’t remember.

Jack leaned back in his chair slightly, he nodded his head only once, and quickly at that.

“Me too.” Jane whispered loudly, her hand tightening around his arm slightly without either of them noticing, as her eyes briefly glazed over.

Jack nodded sadly in understanding, his heart hurt for her.

“I ran away. Safe here, with Hopper” Jane’s eyes grew slightly colder.

“Safe here” her eyes seemed to bore into his soul, her tone determined and unwavering. Jack only nodded.

“You stay with me. I make bad men go away forever” Jane smiled, though her eyes remained heavy and determined.

“You’re a little badass, you know that?” Jack smiled softly as he reached over ruffle her hair. Jane smiled sweetly up at him.

Jack glanced at their forgotten dinner plates, Jane did the same before their eyes joined, neither wanted the cold leftovers.

“Wanna watch TV?” Jack asked his smile beginning to grow brighter.

“With music?” Jane asked, her eyebrow raised.

“Why not?” Jack leaned in closer.

“And ice cream” Jane’s face was inches away from Jack’s as she smiled conspiratorially.

“Of course” Jack replied in kind.

The pair grinned at each other for a moment, before they quickly dashed away from the table.

Later that night, Hopper returned home to find Jack and Jane sprawled out on the couch, the TV playing one of Jane’s muppet CDs as some random song played behind them. Two empty ice cream pots decorated the table, an incriminating smudge of strawberry ice cream around Jane’s mouth as she drooled onto Jack’s shoulder; the older boy’s arm supporting her as she practically used him as a pillow.

Hop smiled as he gently pulled his daughter into his arms, causing both teens to groggily open their eyes.

“Bed time” Hopper whispered as he placed Jane on her feet and pulled Jack up to stand.

Hopper had to repeatedly choke down his own laughter as the two teens stumbled around the cabin like mindless zombies, bumping into doors and leaning against walls as they readied themselves for bed.

After Hopper finally managed to get each child into their own bed and the lights off, he got himself ready. However, just as he lay down to go to sleep he heard a noise that snapped him into instant alertness until recognition registered in his mind.

The distinct sound of little Jane’s footsteps padded across the cabin before they came to a stop. Hopper listened quietly as two pairs of feet made the return journey to Jane’s room, dragging things across the floor behind them. Quiet voices whispered briefly as Hopper sighed to himself.

Hopper groaned tiredly to himself as he made his way to Jane’s room and opened the door, preparing himself to argue about bedtimes once again only to be stopped in his tracks.

Jack lay completely knocked out on the floor, the spare blanket beneath him acting as a mattress as he wrapped himself in his own, his hair splayed out across his pillow as he breathed deeply in his sleep.

Jane was lying in her bed on her side, facing him as her eyes blinked lazily with sleep before she turned to look at Hopper.

Hopper smiled to himself in amusement as he raised a questioning eyebrow at his daughter.

“Sleepover” Jane blinked tiredly with a smile.

Hopper carefully crossed his daughter’s room, barely managing to avoid stepping on Jack as he sat on his daughter’s bed and stroked her hair softly. Jane’s tired smile greeted him as he looked at her.

“Safe here. With us” Jane whispered as her words trialed off lazily. Hopper followed her eyes to a sleeping Jack before he nodded his head in agreement.

“You both are” Hopper whispered as he pressed a kiss to his daughter’s curls and tucked her blankets in around her.

Hopper turned off the light, just as he was closing the door he heard the tired, slurred whisper of his daughter.

“I’m a badass”

Hopper smiled as he made his way back to his room, completely content as he drifted to sleep and reminded himself to call Joyce in the morning and inform her of the new development.

•••

So it been a while 😅, but I saw Jack Mercer again recently and I love him! Then there was Jane and honestly both of them deserved better. And I saw these two gifs and here we are.

The beginning of two wonderful siblings.

(If you don’t know Jack Mercer if from the movie four brothers, it’s very good)

Anyway there you have it my lovelies

Hope you enjoyed ❤️

#four brothers #jack mercer #stranger things #eleven hopper #jane hopper #eleven stranger things #sibling bonding #child abuse #but it’s stranger things so yeah #crossover #Jack Mercer and Jane Hopper siblings #jim hopper #eggo waffles #hurt/comfort #fluff

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loftylockjaw · 3 months

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TIMING: Current LOCATION: Downtown PARTIES: Wyatt (@loftylockjaw) & Maggie (@woveninstardust) SUMMARY: Wyatt spots Maggie in town, then hurries to her defense when he realizes she's being bullied. She's upset, but grateful. CONTENT WARNINGS: none!

—

While some people looked fondly upon high school days, Maggie grimaced. Elementary school was easy- friends were easy to make at that age, and when you could play make-believe like it was your profession and draw better than most, it was easy to win other kids over. You could close your eyes on the swings and jump, and if you said you were flying, the other kids might just believe. But people grow up, and when they do, they often discard their imagination because they become self conscious of it. They shed it. Bury it. And will scoff at the things they once found joy and wonder in.

Maggie had clung to that sense of wonder like it was a life raft. It was not a bad thing to believe in something wondrous. But it put a big neon target on her back while she roamed the halls of good old WR High. Which was, decidedly, not good. It was easier now to avoid those who had been the cruelest. There were no classes to hold her captive, and lunch tables were a thing of the growing-distant past. But every so often, she heard a too-familiar voice, and she would get pulled back into that scared young girl lost in her sketchbook.

She had been sitting outside downtown, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine and fixing some rough sketches- adding detail where there had been nothing, smoothing out lines and curves; maybe, just maybe, she might add a little color work, some shading… - when she heard someone snickering. Multiple someones. Just one quick look was enough to make her want to shrink back, close her sketchbook, and go. A cluster of old classmates. Whispering. Pointing. Laughing.

The girl looked back down, trying to disappear back into her drawing like she’d never even noticed. But Maggie heard footsteps, saw shadows in her periphery, and knew this would not be fun for her.

Actually having managed to snag several uninterrupted hours of sleep, Wyatt was feeling less batshit than usual, which was good. It was a nice break, even if those tendrils of fear still lapped at his heels, threatening to catch up again once the sky grew dark. Until then, the lamia was celebrating with some well-earned sunshine and human interaction, even if it was just with strangers.

A familiar head of hair caught his attention as he walked down the street and he did a double take, recognizing the girl from the creek immediately. He grinned before remembering that he was not very ‘Mister Gator’-y right now, and his enthusiasm faded. It’d be weird for him to just approach her out of nowhere, especially when he wasn’t about to let her know that he was her alligator friend. Oh well. About to turn and leave, he paused when he saw a group of kids her age lingering nearby, looking… problematic. His instinct was correct as he watched them walk up to Maggie and say some things he couldn’t hear, then rip the sketchbook from her hands and start ripping out pages and throwing them in the air.

Oh hell no.

Wyatt surged forward, running across the street and grabbing the boy that had her sketchbook in his hands by the back of his neck. He shouted some choice expletives as Wyatt snatched the sketchbook from his hands, handing it back to Maggie without looking at her.

“What the fuck is your problem?” he snarled, shoving him roughly into his other friends, who looked equal parts pissed and freaked out.

“My problem?! What the fuck is yours!?” the kid shouted back, and Wyatt rolled his eyes.

“Ain’t you kids a little old to be bullies? How old are you?” One of the girls in the group puffed up like an annoyed chicken, thrusting her fists against her sides in an attempt to look… bigger? Tougher?

“We’re adults, you clown,” she snapped, and Wyatt grinned.

“Oh, that so? Coulda fooled me. Get the fuck outta here n’ leave this girl alone, all of ya.”

“Yeah? What’re you gonna do about it?” Wyatt shook his head, lifting a brow at their presumed ringleader.

“Don’t think you wanna find out, beanstalk. You’re adults, yeah? Means I can punch you just like I can punch any other bitch harassin’ someone, n’ the bluesuits ain’t gonna have much to say about it.” That probably wasn’t true, but they didn’t seem to pick up on his bluff. The chicken girl dropped her hands back to her sides, her eyes wide.

“... come on, Matthias. Let’s just go.”

Allison Beckett and Matthias Ford (or, as they had been in their high school days, Ally and Matty) had been the ring leaders of Maggie’s high school tormenting. They had been an average level on the popularity scale- just enough that they could float above the quiet kids. And make their lives miserable, if they so chose to. Which, with Maggie, they did. Somehow despite their being removed from the hallowed halls of Wicked’s Rest High School for so many years now, Ally and Matty and their little flock of cronies had not grown up. Not even a little. Sure, they might have jobs that paid better than hers, they might be living as adults- maybe their IDs finally matched their actual age. But in terms of maturity, they were still the bullies they had always been.

“Magnooooooliaaaaaa….” Allison’s voice rang out, syrupy sweet as she sauntered over in her perfectly matching athleisure. “What’s in your little book Magnolia? Still drawing your imaginary friends?” The group of them leered over the girl, casting shadows over the quickly shut notebook. Maggie wondered if she could treat the girl like a bear and simply not make eye contact. Maybe pretending like she didn’t exist would send her, Matty, and their gaggle of little minions away. So she stared at her feet, not uttering a word.

Unfortunately, it did not.

Matty whispered something- she couldn��t tell what- and suddenly the notebook was wrenched from the young woman’s hands before she could think to hide it. The tall boy held the notebook high above her head, turning through pages and pages of animals and creatures, real and fake. He snorted and showed it to one of the minions- Vanessa- before crowing. “We’ve got a walking crocodile! She doesn’t know that crocodiles don’t walk on two legs-”

The pages were crumpling. Some were tearing as he flung the book around from side to side, showing his friends and mocking her. All the while, Maggie’s eyes burned. Her pulse roared in her ears, muffling their jeers. The words she wished she were brave enough to say sat like a stone in her throat.

Suddenly, the shade Matty cast over her was gone, replaced by sunlight once more. Her notebook- a bit worse for wear- was held out just in front of her. Immediately, she took the book into her hands and took a few steps away. Maggie flipped through the pages to survey the damage. She could not conceal the little whimper that escaped her lips when she got to the page of the alligator she’d been working on. Ripped. Crumpled up and torn right down the middle.

When she looked back up, Ally was yanking Matty away, and the rest of their group was quick to follow. Standing alone in the place they had been was a stranger. Maggie quickly wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, forcing a smile back onto her face. It didn’t matter that she wanted to go home and crawl under the covers and cry. She could pretend for a few more seconds that everything was fine and at least thank the stranger for their intervention. “Uh... thanks… for that. You didn’t have to…”

Watching them go for a moment (making sure they didn’t gain courage to do something stupid the more distance the group put between themselves and Wyatt), he eventually turned back around to see Maggie smiling at him, teary-eyed. “Ah! I'm so sorry—” He quickly ducked down to gather the pages that had fallen to the ground, handling them carefully as he picked them up, straightening them in his hands as he moved back toward her. His gaze dropped to the sketchbook she was clutching, and he recognized more art of himself on the page, art she must have drawn after leaving the creek that day.

“Hey, that's really good,” he remarked, passing her the loose pages. “I mean, all of it is—seriously! D'you do art professionally? You should.” He was wearing a warm smile as he said it, shrugging with one shoulder. “Easier said than done, I know.” He pointed at the drawing of himself, a knowing smirk passing over that wide grin. “You see that guy ‘round here?”

Loose pages with footprints, scuffs, tears… how much work had they wrecked? Just in a few minutes of their stupid taunting? The girl wanted to scream. She hated that she could never force herself to be brave enough to tell a bunch of peaked-in-high-school bullies that she didn’t care what they thought. She hated that instead of grabbing her sketchbook and whacking one of them upside the head with it, Maggie’s eyes burned with tears and her body froze in place. Most of all, Maggie hated that even now, looking up at some stranger who had helped, she couldn’t convince herself to believe his kind words and compliments.

Dark brown eyes dropped their gaze, unable to keep the forced smile up in the man’s direction. Maybe if she pretended to look over her art, Maggie thought, he wouldn’t notice. “It’s just doodles and sketches…” Dammit, even her voice sounded defeated. When he pointed at the drawing of Mister Gator- the one that was half-watercolored, the one that was now ruined- she had to swallow hard to keep from losing her shit and simply bawling on the sidewalk. Maggie wished she were with Mister Gator now. She could cry in front of him, and he wouldn’t judge her. She could be herself in front of that alligator, and those bright intelligent eyes would smile at her and then everything wouldn’t seem so shitty.

She tucked the sketch up against her chest, hugging it tight. As if that might fix it. “I did- you don’t… you don’t have to be nice just because they were mean. I appreciate you stepping in… they would’ve wrecked more of my stuff- but…” The girl’s voice trailed off, words abandoning her.

“Hey, c’mon now. All my friends will tell you, I ain’t a nice guy unless I mean it,” Wyatt drawled with a chuckle. “I’m bein’ honest! You wouldn’t call a stranger a liar, wouldja?” This poor thing was in desperate need of cheering up, and as endeared as he was to her, he knew one thing at least that ought to do the trick, if their previous interactions were anything to go by (unbeknownst to her).

Sitting down on the bench where Maggie had been before those idiots had come along, Wyatt patted the empty space beside him. “You got a minute to tell me more about that fella you been paintin’? I wanna hear about it.” He gestured vaguely at the town around them, giving a shake of his head. “I mean, it’d hardly be the weirdest thing to be spotted ‘round here, right? Give me the benefit of the doubt, kid. I’m curious.” Yes, he was asking about himself, and yes, someone would probably call that vain, but he knew this girl had bonded with the creature she’d been drawing. And the way her face had lit up by that creek in the woods when he sat down beside her, he knew she had to want to tell someone, if she hadn’t already. His only goal was to help her feel better, he’d insist.

But maybe also he did want to hear someone say nice things about the beast he felt was the real him. Maybe. There’d be no admitting it.

He was right. Maggie would not call a stranger a liar. It wouldn’t be fair- especially when he had already gone through the trouble of being menacing enough to get rid of her tormentors. Big brown eyes finally looked up a little, just enough to see the man’s face. He said he wasn’t a nice guy unless he meant it. But she knew that wasn’t true just from one look. She didn’t know why, but something in his eyes was comforting.

Her fingers brushed across the torn page of her notebook, across the mostly finished illustration of Mister Gator. It was starting to feel like the alligator she’d found down by the creek had become one of her best friends in town… “I… I need to come up with a better name for him,” The girl sniffled as she flipped through to find a less damaged drawing of the creature. “But he’s real. I call him Mister Gator, because I think he’s a gentleman.” Maggie landed on a page with a detailed sketch of the alligator-cryptid’s face. She’d watched Mister Gator for as long as she could in order to drink up every little line and curve that made up the creature’s countenance. “He’s gorgeous… and can do things I’ve never seen an alligator do. And he’s smart. So smart. It’s like he knows what I’m talking about when I go to visit him…”

The artist’s fingers trailed along the picture, seeming lost in contemplation for a moment before very carefully ripping the page out of her sketchpad and handing it to the man. “Here... For helping me out.”

“I dunno, I think Mister Gator is pretty spot on,” Wyatt chuckled. It was nice that Maggie thought he was a gentleman of all things, but then she’d not really seen what that body was capable of, had she? He’d only ever been gentle with her, happy to receive the praise and attention offered without judgment or any other understanding of who he was and what he was like outside of that moment clouding it. It was a pure thing, and Wyatt didn’t want to do a damn thing that might damage that purity. So he and his alter ego, Mister Gator, would remain separate. For both their sakes.

“Maybe he does, cher, maybe he does.” Of course he did, but he couldn’t talk back. That would ruin the purity. Wyatt’s gaze dropped to the drawing he was offered, and he felt his heart swell a little bit as he looked at it. It was easy to see the care in each stroke, and coupled with the girl’s words, it made him feel appreciated in a way he wasn’t sure he’d ever been appreciated. “Thank you,” he answered softly, unable to pull his gaze away from the drawing just yet. “This is incredible. It’s for sure goin’ up on my wall.” Finally, the shifter dragged his attention up from the page to meet her gaze again, his heart breaking for her. “You tell this friend of yours I said hi, yeah? And, hey… if those couyons give you any more trouble, maybe you enlist this guy’s help, ah?” He gave the sketch a small shake. “Bet they’d be a lot more scared of somethin’ like him than a fool like me!”

Mister Gator would have liked this stranger, the girl decided. If he could appreciate a simple drawing of such a wonderful creature, then surely the man would think the living, breathing, better-than-an-alligator was the most incredible thing in the world… And yet, Maggie felt strangely protective of her reptilian friend. Humans had a terrible habit of fearing and destroying things that did not (in their minds) belong. And a bipedal alligator in coastal Maine was unusual indeed. A drawing would be more than enough. And maybe, hopefully, this stranger was just being nice. And he wouldn’t go hunting for her alligator friend. One look at his face told her all she needed to know. The story of Mister Gator was safe with this man.

“I’ll tell him,” Maggie didn’t offer the words ‘I promise’, but the sentiment was there, hidden in three little sincere words. “I’ll tell him you’re a friend… just in case you run into him, too.” That way, perhaps her gator would be safe and so would the man who shooed away the couyons as he’d called them. “Thanks, Mister…” She didn’t know his name, she realized. Yet, given the situation, it felt strangely appropriate.

There was a pause while Wyatt considered offering his name — too many people in this town would make a pretty fast connection between Wyatt and a giant alligator, but he also didn’t feel right just letting her sentence hang in the air. Less would know him by his surname, he figured.

“Barlow,” the lamia responded with a soft smile. He held out a hand to her to shake, then got to his feet. “I’ll leave you to it, miss. Thanks again for the drawin’. You take care, now. And hey, you know the best way to get back at a bully? Remind ‘em of what they’re real insecure about.” He ought to fucking know, after all. “You’re young, bet you can sleuth social media for that kinda thing pretty easy.” The man dipped his head and gave Maggie a lazy two-fingered salute before turning away and moseying down the sidewalk. He made a mental note to remember the names he’d heard and see if he could figure out who exactly those idiots were, and where they lived. If a spicy comeback from Maggie didn’t deter them, he’d take care of them himself. No one was gonna mess with his biggest fan on his watch.

#. thread ;#. with ; magnolia carter #. a girl and her gator ;

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hypnotisedfireflies · 1 year

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William seems to be one of the few parts of Tess’ past that she doesn’t mind looking back on, she always remembers him fondly. But whatever became of dear William? We know that he eventually dies?? but do you have any behind the scenes ideas about his fate? What did the time after outbreak look like for him?

In a different timeline, what would a William and Tess reunion look like post outbreak/Jackson times? How would their friendship change? What would William think of Joel? (I know we get some idea of this in Blood Orange when Tess is bantering with him in her head. (I love that scene)) I’m imagining a lot of teasing and embarrassing stories that make Rachel’s look down right tame.

I hope this ask isn’t too niche btw, I just love all the details you add into your stories and would love to know more.

Oh, what a cool ask! Thank you anon, we don’t talk about William Szulc much so this is nice to explore.

Driftersverse canon, William is definitely gone. Tess imagines in that Blood Orange banter that cause of death was waffles, which is her way of hoping that he went quickly and didn’t suffer through everything that happened. She tells herself that he was one of the first directly infected and was put down that first night.

The truth isn’t too dissimilar from that. William didn’t make it very far. He was never infected, though. He was killed in the chaos of that first weekend - Tess will never know it, but he was caught up in one of the explosions she saw from her home.

Had he lived, William would have been a pretty cunning survivor, not unlike Tess. They got along so well because they recognised a certain callousness in one another, I guess? Not the nicest thing, but they knew how to care for someone who held the world at a distance. They had an extremely low-maintenance friendship. They could be fucking horrible to one another and it was just water off a duck’s back; they could go without speaking because life was busy for months and pick up right where they left off; they had one another’s backs especially when the other person was in the wrong. But they didn’t necessarily hold one another accountable or dig too deep below the surface. Their friendship was close, but it was indulgent. All about the good times – which is kind of why Tess can’t call him in Snowqueen. I think we all have some friendships like that. There's nothing wrong with them, it's just the way some relationships are.

Had he lived and made it to Jackson it would have been a very different dynamic. They wouldn’t have been just able to pick up like they used to. Too much had happened, and I think William probably went Full Villain in those years. I mean, Tess and Joel aren’t really the good guys either, but I can imagine William going around with a title like The Commodore and living a very long-term raider/hunter existence. The kind of survivor group with FEDRA tanks and equipment, cutting FEDRA supply lines and also being a total menace to the Fireflies, too.

So I can see if William had showed up in Jackson – all that left behind for one reason or another – that it would be a kind of strange and heartbreaking time rather than joyous. Our guys would have their Spidey senses tingling that something is not right with this guy, and Joel and Lachie would come to an agreement that Tess is not to be left alone with him. So you know, Tess is trying to hang out with William and Lachie is doing a Sam Gamgee outside the window, trimming the verge.

Lachie and William, btw, on paper should be the best of friends. Both strangers in a strange land, and Australians and Brits tend to gravitate together abroad. But they have taken very different paths of survival and have different outcomes. They’d start a cricket team and teaching Jacksonites how to play, but then end up arguing about the Ashes and batting averages and spin bowling. Lachie would call him a pom, William would call him a convict, Lachie would argue that he’s only second gen on his dad’s side and third on his mum’s so he’s not a convict, blah blah blah.

Over time, William would start to get better, but I think he would be one of those people who would always be a bit unstable. But he would have a plethora of stories to tell Joel, anon! You are very right about that. Rachel was positively PG compared to what William could tell Joel. In fact, Joel probably doesn’t really want to know some of the stuff William can tell him. And here also is a person who could give Joel a more unbiased opinion of Tess and Mike’s relationship – but Joel actually doesn’t care about that anymore at this point in time. 🥹 So he never asks.

In return, William would be very mistrustful of Joel to begin with. Not really Joel’s fault; William doesn’t trust anyone (not even Tess) by this juncture. Plus, he's very obviously watching him. But over time he would start to respect him, especially given how long he has been in Tess’s life and helped keep her alive.

Ouch, that got dark. I hope that’s not a downer, anon.

Not all reunions are happy ones.

#driftersverse #asks

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topaz-eyes · 1 year

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Ten Random Lines Meme

Nicked from @shes-a-voodoo-child

rules: pick any ten of your fics, scroll to the midpoint, pick a line (or three) and share it. then tag ten people.

tagging: not tagging anyone--meme, don't meme, it's all up to you!

Midnight At The Lost And Found (Emergency!, Johnny Gage/Roy DeSoto)

“Yeah, I do.” Johnny paused for another lathering up, then continued in a carefully controlled, matter-of-fact voice. “The second is… man, I don’t know why it’s so hard to say this, but--” Johnny’s voice faltered, but recovered, and he plunged forward. “The second thing is that I love you, Roy, like, really love you, with everything I have. My heart, my soul… and yeah okay, that includes the physical way too. I’ve always liked the men as much as I like the ladies, and I figure we’re compatible in every other way, so it was easy to, uh, extrapolate…” Johnny cleared his throat; Roy could almost see the blush rising in his cheeks, as surely as he felt his own redden.

2. Watching You, Watching Me (House MD, Gregory House/Lisa Cuddy)

"Now remember the last time."

She concentrated, and suddenly she was back to eighteen years ago: back to the days when they were Greg and Lisa instead of House and Cuddy. Back to that sultry June afternoon in House's studio apartment; the day before House was to set off for Baltimore and his fellowship at Johns Hopkins. In the small, cramped room that had no air conditioning, stacks of books piled on the desk, music scores scattered on the floor by his guitar leaning against the wall; back to what turned out to be the last time.

3. Let Be (Torchwood/House MD, Jack Harkness, James Wilson)

"Now that's a nice greatcoat! God, it's gorgeous! Where'd you get it?"

Jack looked down and brushed its wool fondly. "It's an heirloom."

"It's perfect on you. You look like you stepped out of Twelve O'Clock High."

Jack grinned. "Yeah? I know a bit about that era."

James peered at him. "Are you sure you're not Gregory Peck? 'Cause you sorta look like him."

He stared at James' well-manicured hand, sobering slightly as he thought of the Captain reaching for his own. "I'm positive."

4. Home For Christmas (House MD, Gregory House, James Wilson, Blythe House)

"Don't cause a scene, House. Open it," Wilson hissed in House's ear.

"No."

Wilson glanced at Blythe, whose gaze darted everywhere across the room except where her son sat.

"If you won't do it for yourself, at least do it for your mother." He plucked the envelope off House's lap and pushed it against his hand.

5. Downpour (Lie To Me, Cal Lightman/Gillian Foster)

Soon enough the air temperature decides to drop and the breeze picks up. "Finally," Gillian sighs a few minutes later, when the first drops of water patter onto the gravel of the rooftop. She raises her face skyward in relief.

The rain steps up quickly, from sprinkle to steady. The next thing she knows, Cal's stepped up close too, his hand splayed on her waist; his breath is hot in her ear.

"Ever shagged in the rain, Foster?"

6. Stranger Cures (Strike Back, Thomas "Mac" McAllister/Samuel Wyatt)

Wyatt heard a soft, almost resigned exhale from Mac’s bed. Maybe he should just bunk down in the main room the rest of the night. But after a moment, he heard the cot springs squeak as Mac rose, followed by two creaks of wood as he crossed the floor. His mattress dipped on the edge as Mac sat beside him.

Mac laid a warm, broad hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “Will you trust me?” Mac said.

Wyatt drew in a quick, deep breath against an oncoming spasm and held it in, but it didn’t succeed, and he expelled it in frustration. “I just want this to stop, man,” he said, not bothering to hide his exhaustion now. “I don’t care how anymore.”

7. One Safe Place (X Company, Tom Cummings/Neil Mackay)

“Shove off,” Neil murmurs, not unkindly. Tom mumbles something incoherent and hooks his leg across him too.

“Fantastic,” Neil says, and rolls his eyes, but he doesn't have the heart to push Tom away. That's decided then, he's obviously not moving anytime soon. (And again, being honest, he really doesn't mind.) He settles back down, adjusting just a bit to rest his cheek on Tom's forehead to help keep the heat in (or so he tells himself). Lulled by the warmth in the shared sleeping bag, the rhythm of the rain, and the easy weight of Tom resting against him, Neil's eyelids droop, and he begins to drift.

8. Reunion (24, Jack Bauer/Tony Almeida)

Jack lived on his senses. He trusted his instincts. He knew Tony Almeida more than anyone alive, knew him down to his touch and taste and smell. But the stench of Tony's current anger and bitterness in the FBI office had overwhelmed any hint of him that Jack had filed away. He'd seen Tony frustrated and despondent, but this--

It was obvious that Bill Buchanan trusted this man implicitly, to the point of Deep Sky. But Bill too had been misled before, had placed his trust in the wrong person; hell, they all had. Double, even triple agents weren't unheard of: appearances could be surgically altered, voices re-trained, operatives conditioned. Jack had made enough mistakes today already; he couldn't afford to make another.

He had to know.

9. On The Shoulder Of Orion (Elementary, Joan Watson and Sherlock Holmes)

She looked up from the eyepiece to find Sherlock rocking back and forth on his heels, a pleased expression on his normally dour face. Joan smiled softly at him. “You’ve picked up a lot of incredibly detailed information in a very short time,” she noted.

“I promised Arthur I would assist him with his astronomy project on the evolution of stars,” Sherlock admitted, rather abashed; and he cleared his throat, looking away towards the horizon. “I believe the history of Betelgeuse makes a most excellent illustration of the concept.”

10. A Kinder Fate (Doctor Who 2005, Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, Sister-of-Mine)

"Lucy."

Once a year, every year, that had been the arrangement; but after the first year he'd forgotten and hadn't visited her since. He rushed to the mirror that hung across from the entrance to the library. He straightened his bow tie though it didn't need it, and waited.

And soon enough there she was, peeking from a crack in the door, the alien who usurped Lucy Cartwright and wore her face. "Hello, Sister-of-Mine," he greeted.

Lucy hung back by the door, her brow furrowed; gripping her balloon string tight, she shook her head.

"Yes, it's me," the Doctor said. "I've changed my appearance from the last time you saw me, but I'm still the Doctor." Still your jailer, he thought, wincing again.

#topaz writes fic #ten random lines meme #fic meme #fanfic #there may be more than 3 lines here for these lol

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cursedfortune · 1 year

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💭 + Children

Topics. @hriobzagelthewanderer

All witches know and understand the importance of children, regardless if they personally wish to take part in having them. Regardless of gender. Whether that means an evil witch will target children to do them harm because it serves their purpose best or protect them because they are vital to the future all depends on the witch one is meeting.

For Mortem, children hold a specific meaning. They embody the most potential because they are the future. Not just vital to the survival of life, but also the potential of where mortals go and what they become.

She has aided and handled herself the birthing of babies and is very efficient at it given what her powers encapsulate. Given her purpose embodies not just entropy but the potential of life, she deals with blessings of fertility or in general to the wellbeing of children. Thus any baby she has aided in the birth of will receive such.

Children themselves come naturally to Mortem to manage but she does get a little tongue tied in engaging with non-witch children. They are... a little different, a bit more confusing, but still precious. Mortem isn't a saint when it comes to children. In truth, she can be rather menacing - a cultural trait of her people, given they raise their children in a 'fuck around and find out' sort of way. If a child becomes lost and foolishly latches onto Mortem, she'll help them but will also impart upon the kid some wisdom that they should be wary of strangers. Sometimes it's just words, sometimes it's just a vibe in the air her energy puts out, other times it has been something more akin to fairytales of terrorizing them upon a hunt. The latter is often saved for the very foolish. In truth, all these things end up contributing to the child's survival - even if it means Mortem is their personal monster briefly.

On a personal level, the idea of having children is nice. She cannot foresee it actually occurring for herself because of her purpose, but it's not off the table if the opportunity arises. And she finds an individual with interesting enough genetics that she'd like to see what the hell comes out. Because witches, more often than not, tend to pick based on genetic appeal or interest (power, species, etc). Preferably, she'd like to put another witch or two into the universe, keep her specific bloodline going and just enjoy the experience of raising a child she could call her own.

Her purpose comes first. If she has no indication that the time is right, she will not allow herself the luxury of bearing a child. But until that time comes she will not risk the welfare of any potential spawn - or herself. If her purpose demanded actions it could lead to putting her child's need second and that is not something she wishes to do. Witch parents will always, to some degree, have their purpose first but be able to manage their child equally due to the right window of time allowing for them to be conceived. Mortem's mother was only halfway present when she was dependent on her, then even less as she got older. Not out of cruelty but just because her mother's purpose so strongly had her looking elsewhere. It's not something Mortem always remembers fondly and it's the last thing she'd want to do to her own kid.

Children in general in Mortem's vicinity? Temporarily adopted, regardless of how kind or terrifying she can be to them. They'll always be in safe hands. While I joke about her adopting youngsters it's also good to note: Mortem doesn't have an interest in found family dynamics by default and it takes a hell of a lot for her to give way into them. Temporary adoption until she can find a child a home is preferable. It would take rare (and plotted) circumstances for her to keep a child to raise as her own. Not because they aren't a witch, but because of her experience with her mother she's less... enthused? Willing to humor? Motivated? to engage in those dynamics. It can be accomplished but it will take a very long time to get there. She's just a bit resistant to family-based dynamics.

#asks #hriobzagelthewanderer

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fishklok · 2 years

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(frienderbender) (for the ask meme) satenik has ALWAYS given me the impression of the kind stranger you meet in the art store or market or wherever who comments on whatever item you’re holding. like you’re in the art store comparing two brushes and she softly interjects like “oh, y’know, i’ve always liked the quality of that brand. if you’re painting a lot of finer details on the canvas, it’s good for [continues for several minutes]” and like you never learn her name but you just remember her fondly for the rest of the day.

Ohh ;-; I don't go into art stores so I never had this happen to me, but she 100% would

She's also pretty tall so I can imagine her just reaching up to grab a brand she likes from the top shelf to hand it to you lol.

If Magnus ever got to grow up with Satenik more, he'd have to deal with multiple instances of her coming home like

"I met some nice people at the farmer's market today :) I invited them all over for Thanksgiving."

#satenik varoujan

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llycaons · 1 year

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ep30 (1/2): okay fine I'm eating my words. and crying. I am also crying

country boy with his little blade of grass hanging from his mouth <3 I love how wwx finds a source of joy in every situation he's in. he creates his own fun and happiness, and he's very good at it. and it's probably one of the reasons he hasn't succumbed to despair over the course of the many horrific things that have happened to him

it's so great to see her wedding outfit!! she looks so beautiful!!

these scenes hurt so much because you know what's coming and what wwx is going to lose. the wen scenes aren't sad like that...they're just very warm to me. maybe bc wwx thinks about LP and his siblings way more than the wens once he comes back to life. obviously he mourns them and he loved them, but it's not the depth of attachment he has with his siblings, who he grew up with and trauma-bonded with pretty strongly. also jyl helped raise him, she's as close to a mother as he got

oh he's crying here. I didn't remember

he doesn't even deny it! yeah im going to name your nephew after my crush. and what about it?

no matter how much hurt comes afterwards, I'm glad that jyl told wwx this. he deserves to know jc is capable of things like this, that he does care about him. and jyl has to tell him bc jc never would

last time eating soup together 😭😭😭😭😭

this was so kind of her...god I wish jyl had been the one to survive. idk if she's much of a politician but she has a HEART for the wens

this might be jc's funniest line

oh my god I'm so embarrassed. I kept talking about how jc never expressed concern or attentiveness to wwx's injuries and here he is asking after the stab wound. okay! I know! was wrong

this scene is heartbreaking

and then it focus on wen ning....god wwx does love wen ning so much. I don't think he sees the wens as siblings but he does love them

HE WANTED YOU TO HAVE IT 😭 this hurts so much bc wwx so rarely is able to accept kindness and love like this!! I'm just glad he took this charm from jyl, because he so often feels the need to refuse things like home and love bc he feels like they don't belong to him!! or can't!! wwx's perpetual state of limbo in his family and the world must be so tiring to him

bowing to jyl like she's a stranger 😭 and his face afterwards, he looks about to cry. obvs jyl calling after him is devastated, but jc too!

even sorrow and grief is able to break through jc's perma-scowl. god this hurts

and this scene where he's just staring at this charm thinking about everything he left behind....he's in such a low place rn

and then!!!

he starts reminiscing about jc!!! god dammit!!! I was so sure he only missed jyl and lwj!!! well fuck me, he does miss his brother I guess and he thinks about him fondly!!

also he thinks about lwj and their oath and leaving him, so it's a general theme of revisiting the promises he made and the person he thought he would become vs. the things he actually ended up doing. and just...struggling with those choices

REGRETS REGRETS THEY RISE

jgy being appreciative of the staff is noteworthy, maybe? I don't think we see any other characters be particularly nice to servants, or really interact with them at all

jgy is rly in his element here. I wish I could plop him into an event planning job and remove all his murderous, vengeful rage. I do think he deserved a shot and he's still being treated horribly unfairly

wwx staring dead-eyed into the distance as his sole hope for a connection to his family is being destroyed: it's fine I guess we all must accept fate

xz's really been impressing this arc. he's capturing the grief and regret and sorrow so well

oh, according to this tranlation the 'sister' a-yuan mentions, which some ppl have theorized was a sibling he lost, is just wq

well, there goes the 'yin iron quest-era a-yuan was actually his sister who looks just like him and wears the same clothes' seriously WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST USE A BABY. IT DIDN'T HAVE TO BE A REAL BABY JUST WRAP SOME BLANKETS TOGETHER AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN OBVIOUS

jzx standing up for his brother is another nice thing he does. I am inexplicably fond of him

well you know I don't approve of jgy's atrocities but REST IN PIECES YOU OLD BITCH BECAUSE GUESS WHAT HAPPENED

#cql re-rewatch

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ljsstories · 2 years

Text

Chapter Nine: Secrets & Lies

By the time Jensen left Jane's room, her vapid sister was no longer there. So she could take a hint? That was good to know. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the hushed voices he was aware of as he came down petered out. Jane's big blue eyes stared up at him, only they were her mother's eyes, her confusion would have amused him if it hadn't been for Jane's rejection. The vapid one stood with her mouth gaping open again, flushed cheeks and eyes like saucers. "That you away now son?" Jane's mother smiled apprehensively, she didn't quite know what to make of him, it was obvious that she was now aware of who he was as her demeanour had completely changed.

"Um, yeah, thanks Mrs Thomson, I have to go now." Eliza continued to stare; her mouth was now closed but her eyes followed his every move.

"So...how do you and Janey know each other?" Mrs Thomson enquired not so subtly.

"Oh, um we met in um...Millport?" Jane's mother nodded looking confused and satisfied with his answer all at the same time. "Yeah I was in a bad place, I needed time alone to find myself and..." Jane's sister looked completely flabbergasted as Jensen struggled to hide the smile that threatened to break out on his face, so he stopped fighting it and let go, thinking back fondly to the cooked meals, clean clothes and endless conversations he had when he was with Jane the year before, even though the conversations were often one sided. "...instead I found her!" Jensen's smile grew, it was true, he was so lost and she helped him find himself again, but the most important thing he found was Jane. Mrs Thomson placed her hand on her heart again and let out a small gasp, she had that look on her face that Jensen knew all too well, the look of a mother who believed she had found her daughter's future husband. "Anyway, like I said I really need to go. It was nice meeting you Mrs Thomson!" As he attempted to leave, Jane's mother grabbed his arm gently and walked with him towards the hallway.

"Let me see you out son, now you remember you're always welcome. Any friend of Jane's is a friend of ours!" Jensen glanced back at Jane's sister, still looking like she could topple over at any moment, he took satisfaction in ignoring her and treating her like she was nobody. He still hadn't forgiven her for the way she treated Jane, vapid little bimbette! As they reached the front door, Mrs Thomson looked slightly concerned. "What if somebody recognises you?" Her eyes widened like Jane's and it made his heart hurt.

"I'll be fine, thanks again for letting me see Jane." Jensen pushed down the door handle and ventured outside with the heaviest heart, he really thought seeing her face to face would resolve things, but clearly not. Mrs Thomson stood on the top step waving as he got in the car, she remained there until the car turned the corner still waving. Jensen sighed and closed his eyes, picturing that little bundle that greeted him in Jane's room. Being near her again gave him shivers, good shivers, he had missed her...missed talking to her.

"Everythin' awright boss?" Ian called back to him, he really needed to tell someone about this. He couldn't tell his sister, could he truly trust a stranger?

"Yeah!" Jensen let out an even bigger sigh, feeling a headache coming on through all of this stress. "Actually no!" He blurted out, surprising himself. "I met this girl, she's...well she helped me through a really dark time and...well I thought we had bonded but..." Jensen trailed off, looking out at the rows and rows of houses as they approached a roundabout. "...let's just say my surprise visit didn't go down well!" That was all he could reveal for now, he wasn't ready to let it all out just yet.

"The girl lives here?" Ian enquired nonchalantly.

"Yeah she does. I hadn't seen her in over a year, I've been writing to her but I never get a reply. I just thought that seeing me in the flesh might..." Trailing off again he could see a small smirk on Ian's face. "What?"

"Aye well, the thing about us Scots is we do things in our own time. We're also very stubborn, bein' pushy doesn't go doon well wi' the women folk!"

"I wasn't being pushy I..." Jensen took offence to this assumption, but Ian's smirk remained.

"Look, wi' aw due respect boss, you're American. You're fae a foreign country, literally! If you want this lassie then you're gonnae have tae play her game, no yours!" Jensen wasn't playing a game, he just wanted Jane to talk to him again. He missed her, he had a hole where she should be, he even wrote a song all about it. Games weren't his thing, he was straightforward and when he knew what he wanted he went for it, no trickery, and no playing!

"I don't wanna play a game Ian, I just want her to talk to me!"

"What does she want?" Jensen thought about this for a moment, what did she want? She wanted him to leave her alone, or at least that was what she had implied. Why though? He didn't understand, what did he do? Why had she thrown him out in the first place? He remembered sitting on the bed, reading The Shining, minding his own business when she suddenly told him to leave. The horrible things she had said, the way she just dismissed him like he was nothing. He didn't want to go, he wanted to stay...with her! "I don't mean tae be cheeky or anythin' but just cuz you're famous it disnae mean that she'll want you...ye know...whatever!" Ian's smirk had disappeared and he looked sheepishly into the rear view mirror, he was right though. Just because Jensen was famous it didn't mean that every woman would drop at his feet and worship him, nor did he expect them to, but he had hoped to win Jane over somehow. Being in the position that he was, no one had ever told him no before, this was new to him.

"No you're right, you're right!" Jensen nodded, "Jane isn't just any girl though!"

"Jane? Like yer song?"

"Yeah..." Jensen chuckled quietly, "...my muse!" Ian laughed along with him as they hit the dual carriageway heading for Glasgow.

"Well there ye go then!"

"What do you mean?" His puzzled look just made Ian laugh even louder.

"You've freaked her out! You haven't seen her in over a year, you wrote a song about her...no wonder she's givin' ye the cold shoulder!" Jensen didn't understand at first but going over it in his head he realised that by trying so hard not to overwhelm her he'd done it anyway. He'd written way too many letters, then he showed up at her door, what an idiot!

"Yeah, I did freak her out!" He nodded sadly, "Just...please don't tell my sister where we've been?" Ian smiled and winked through the mirror.

"We went to the Botanical Gardens and the Transport Museum...didn't we?"

"Thanks, I appreciate it!" This guy was pretty special, his discretion truly was worth its weight in gold.

Of course Juliet was on his case when he arrived back at the hotel, just in time to head out again for the rehearsal and sound check. He'd asked Ian to take him to the places he was supposed to be, just in case, which turned out to be a good idea as he now had over a dozen alibis having been ambushed by fans. He'd deliberately abandoned any type of disguise, but he felt completely safe, Ian doubled up as the perfect bodyguard as well as a driver. Jensen didn't want to let this guy go! "Jensy you're late!" Juliet huffed, standing in the doorway that divided their hotel rooms. She always insisted on adjoining rooms, she was paranoid, it gave Jensen mixed feelings though. Part of him felt loved and protected, the other part however felt smothered and controlled. It was very conflicting.

"I need a shower!"

"Oh no you don't, you haven't got time! You've got a meet and greet after the rehearsal, or had you forgotten about that? You're not dealing with slimy Bryan any more little brother; you're dealing with me! Also Charlie would like to have a little chat with you, I'm concerned about your recent behaviour!"

"Sweater Boy? What does he want?" Jensen pulled his t-shirt off and began unbuckling his belt as his sister covered her eyes with the back of her hand and muttered a few profanities under her breath.

"Jensen just do as you're told or I'm pulling this tour!" Standing in the hotel room in his underwear as his sister continued to cover her eyes, he could feel his rage begin to boil.

"What? Why the fuck would you do that? Have you any idea how stupid that is? How much we stand to lose?" Juliet put her hand down and squinted uncomfortably at her almost naked little brother.

"Jensy, nothing is more important to me than you! Like I said, you're no longer dealing with Bryan, I am your sister and I want what is best for you and only you! I don't give a fuck about money, fame or success! I only care about you!"

"Well you should let me shower and change if you care so much about me. Look I'll meet you at the venue, I promise I'll be quick!" Juliet looked sad, worried too. "Jules, I'm okay! You have to stop being so..."

"So what? So worried? So concerned?"

"So overbearing!" It just came out; he didn't mean for it to come out...but it did and now the hurt look on her face made him feel like shit. "I didn't mean..."

"Yes you did!" Juliet mumbled sadly, "I'll see you over there, don't be late!" She turned slowly, closing the door behind her. Shit, nice one Jensen! Why had he said that? Because his meeting with Jane was still swirling around in his mind, it still hurt, so he lashed out. He ended up hurting his big sister who only ever took care of him. He could be such an asshole! Standing under the shower he thought back to Jane again, he wanted so badly to tell Juliet about her, to have a woman's perspective, but part of him liked keeping her all to himself.

When he finally arrived at the venue, there were a handful of fans outside shouting his name. Luckily Ian managed to get him inside undetected. Juliet was standing by the stage with Sweater Boy speaking in hushed tones as he approached them. "Afternoon Jensen, got a minute?" Sweater Boy's toothy grin irked him, who was this ass hat?

"Not really, why don't you get me one of those banana milkshakes huh?" Juliet made a tutting sound as Sweater Boy looked down at her for approval. "Oh sorry, forgot he was your errand boy not mine!" Jensen smirked and attempted to leave them when Juliet grabbed his arm.

"Jensy please, talk to Charlie. Just for ten minutes, that's all I ask!" Her pleading eyes melted the iceberg that had formed around his heart ever since he'd spoken with Jane, looking this Charlie up and down Jensen addressed his sister not taking his eyes off of the Sweater Boy.

"Why? What does he want?"

"To help you, that's what he's here for!" Juliet sighed as Sweater Boy smiled nervously and rocked back and forth on his heels, touching his glasses like a blond Clark Kent.

"Thought he was here to help you? He's your assistant, isn't he?" Sweater Boy looked at Juliet and talked out of the side of his mouth, still awkwardly smiling at Jensen.

"I told you!" Juliet nodded and took hold of Jensen's hands.

"Jensy, Charlie is a therapist. He's the best in his field, I hired him to travel with us in case you needed to...in case you felt overwhelmed with this tour..."

"I don't believe you!" Jensen interrupted, pulling roughly from his sister's gentle grip and taking a few steps back. He stared at Juliet as if she was his worst enemy. "How could you...you went behind my back!"

"Jensy you tried to kill yourself, it's been well over a year and you haven't actually dealt with that. I was worried that you'd bottled it all up and that one day it would just...all come flooding back! I can't take the risk of losing you baby brother, I just can't! Charlie is here to help, I don't care if you're mad, I just want you to be okay! Look, you can hate me if you want, just talk to him, please?" Juliet had tears in her eyes, still reeling from Jensen's suicide attempt, he thought he'd explained to her that it wasn't going to happen again but it had obviously affected her more than he realised.

"I didn't agree to this, you hired a therapist for me against my will! That's a shitty move Jules!"

"Well actually..." Juliet looked down at the ground sheepishly, "...the contracts you signed for tour staff? You didn't read the fine print little brother, you did agree to this, Charlie's employment is completely legal and binding. If you want me to go over..."

"You sneaky...I hate you right now!" Jensen turned heel and stormed off, leaving Juliet and her Sweater Boy to talk to each other, he wasn't talking to that lanky douche bag, no fucking way!

***

Jane had locked herself in the bathroom to escape any interrogations from her mother or her sister. She also felt extremely sick after Jensen Reed's appearance, something she had never expected in a million years. She expected the police to appear at her door, it was all she ever thought about, but never him in the flesh. As she sat on the toilet seat trying to get her breath back, another panic attack was rearing its ugly head. Since Jensen had started contacting her she had at least one a day, no longer able to fight them off before they even started. All of her progress with Doctor Anna Fisher was gone in the blink of an eye, one foolish decision and her whole world had come crashing down. It was over, there was no coming back from this, what was the point in anything anymore? "Janey? Sweetheart? Are you in there?" Jane's mother tugged the door handle trying to get it open. "I'd like a wee word, when you're ready." She could hear her going back down the stairs as she took long, deep breaths in and out. She wasn't ready to talk about what had just happened, she would never be ready! She wished that there was some kind of potion she could slip them to forget that Jensen Reed had ever been there, maybe she could have some too, to forget he ever existed in the first place. Unfortunately there was no such thing, she stood up slowly and slid the lock aside, opening the door gingerly and listening out for Eliza or her mother. Descending slowly and peeking through the bannisters for any sign of life, she had no idea what she was going to say to them when they finally did start giving her the third degree. Eliza appeared out of nowhere, making Jane shriek.

"Holy fuck what's up with you?" Eliza yelled at her in disgust, then all of a sudden her demeanour changed and she plastered on the fakest smile Jane had ever seen. "Mum wants to talk to you." Her behaviour confused Jane, but she chose to ignore her and face their mother. She decided to just wing it, whatever she was asked, just go with the flow.

"Oh Janey, there you are. Come and sit down for a minute!" Jane obeyed her mother as she patted the seat next to her on the couch in the front room. "So you never told me you knew that Jensen Reed boy!"

"I don't!" Jane replied defensively, what a stupid thing to say, of course she knew him! Why else would he have turned up on the doorstep?

"He's an awfy nice boy Jane, you could do far worse than him!" What was she talking about? "If you'd told me at the time that he was the reason you stayed for so long at the cottage last year, then I wouldn't have bothered you. You just had me worried, and you missed your appointment with Doctor Fisher...all you had to do was explain..."

"Mum what are you on about?" Had that bastard told her? What exactly had he told her?

"What are the odds though eh? Meeting someone so famous over in Millport! Your sister's nose is a bit out of joint though...did you know where he disappeared to? You could have at least told Eliza, she wouldn't have said anything..."

"Mum you've got the wrong idea, I...what did he tell you?"

"That he was over in Millport trying to find himself and he found you. I assumed..." Jane stood up poker straight and squeezed her eyes shut, what game was he playing? When was this ever going to end?

"I...met him once. I didn't even know who he was, we just talked, shared common ground...then we went our separate ways, nothing more and nothing less. That's it! I have no idea why he came here! Please don't mention him again!" Jane rushed out of the room before Monica could say anything more. Jensen Reed was torturing her still, it didn't seem like he was going to stop any time soon now that he had involved her mother. Jane could see only one way out, she just hoped that she had the courage to do it!

"Why are you lying?" Eliza followed her all the way up the stairs to her room.

"I'm not..."

"You know who he is, don't lie! Did you do this to hurt me? As if being your sister isn't bad enough, you have to go and do this? Steal my Jensen! Is this what all that find yourself a real man shit was about? So you could have him all to yourself? To get me out of the way?"

"Get a life Eliza, he doesn't even like you!" It was out before she could stop it, Eliza's face fell and her eyes bulged out of her head. Then her face twisted into an ugly scowl.

"YOU BITCH! I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!" She shoved Jane as hard as she could and screamed all the way down the stairs, stomping so hard that the whole house shook. Jane landed on her backside on the carpet, she hit her head on the bed, a soft landing for the top of her body but the bottom not so much. That was going to leave a bruise. Why had she said that? To get her out of the way, but never to hurt her, Jane wasn't like that. She was even more determined now to do the right thing, to do the only thing that would end her torment.

***

Jensen was in a hotel in Cardiff enjoying a rare break between shows, Juliet fussing around him like a mother hen as usual, when her phone rang. He couldn't quite make out what it was all about as her expression was unreadable. "Jules? What's up?" He whispered over to her as she covered the bottom of her phone and whispered back.

"Jensen you're not gonna believe this, it's Police Scotland..." Jensen felt his knees buckle as he sat down on the bed and his breath caught in his throat, Jane had reported him for harassment! He could hear Juliet talking on her phone but only got snippets through the pounding of his heart. "But that's impossible, I'm looking right at him. He's right here! I see, well..." He wasn't even listening to his sister as his mind went into overdrive, Jane's put out a restraining order, she's told the police I'm stalking her! He was suddenly aware of Juliet now talking to him having finished her phone conversation, "...so I told them it was complete nonsense, I mean...what are they gonna think up next, that's just crazy...this chick is crazy! I'm telling you; these nut jobs will say and do anything to get your attention!"

"Don't talk about her like that!" He snapped, seeing the surprise on Juliet's face from the corner of his eye, "What did she tell them?" Jensen looked down at the carpet with his hands clasping his knees, trying to breathe in and out slowly.

"Are you even listening to me? I told you, they're holding a young woman in her twenties at Kilmarnock Police Station, wherever that is, who claims to have abducted you and held you hostage for ten days last August! I mean, how do they think these things up?" Juliet laughed incredulously as Jensen fought back the urge to vomit.

"What did the police say?"

"Jensen, she's crazy. I told them to forget about it, they talked to her for a couple of hours but because she seemed to know intimate details about our lives, they thought it best to contact your management, me, and alert us to a possible threat. I've dealt with it, don't worry, I asked them to hold her for as long as they could just to scare the little freak show, but apart from that to just drop the whole thing." Jensen shot up from the bed and stared down intently at his sister, sweat beads forming all over his face as he battled with his anger and fear all at the same time.

"DO NOT CALL HER THAT!!! Have you any fucking idea what you've done? She doesn't deserve..." Jensen stopped himself from saying anything else as Juliet's puzzled features made him realise that telling her any more would put Jane in danger...more danger!

"Jensen, I am your sister and I understand that you care about your fans but this is ridiculous! Bryan might have capitalised from this but I will do no such thing! It's best we just brush it under the carpet and make it go away! It's going to be alright Jensy!" Jensen paced up and down the room, running a hand through his hair still struggling for air.

"Okay, I gotta think!"

"Why? It's sorted, Jensy just relax. Ugh, I told Charlie it was a mistake to tell you certain things about my job but he insists that there be no secrets between us..."

"Will you forget about that sweater wearing douche canoe for just one minute? What's the matter with you? You in love with him or something?" Juliet blushed the moment the word love escaped Jensen's lips and he instantly regretted saying it. Over the past week it seemed as though Charlie and Juliet were more than just friends, or at least they wanted to be more. Jensen had agreed to speak with Charlie, Sweater Boy, for at least half an hour a week to placate his big sister, she wasn't happy about it but that was all she was going to get. He would never admit it but that first session actually helped a little, until this bomb was thrown in his lap!

"What has gotten into you? If these girls are going to go to these lengths then they need to face the consequences! You can't save them all Jensy, that girl who threw her phone at you the other night I understand, but this is completely different territory!" Jensen grabbed his backpack and tossed a bunch of things into it, grabbing his passport and his shoes as Juliet grabbed him. "Jensen! What the fuck are you doing now?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to sort this out!"

"Are you insane?" Juliet shook her head in disbelief as he shook out of her grip.

"Yeah maybe! I have to go; can you book a flight to Glasgow please?"

"I will do no such thing; Jensen don't be stupid!" Jensen slung his backpack over his shoulder and pushed past her.

"Fine I'll do it myself, Ian will help me!"

"I swear that man has a lot to answer for! I can't believe you talked me into hiring him full time! Jensen?" Juliet's voice began to rise as Jensen exited the room. "Jensen you come back here right now! I'll call mom and tell her you're being a brat!" Jensen chuckled to himself as he headed for the elevator, hearing the hotel room door click shut behind him. As if threatening him with their mother worked nowadays!

Ian Wilson was now Jensen's full-time driver and part time bodyguard. He had agreed to go on tour with him, he was also open to the idea of living in Los Angeles to work for him there. Ian was a Paisley boy born and bred, moving to L.A. was a dream come true for the almost thirty-year-old, besides Jensen trusted him with his life and his secrets and he was the only one he could talk to about Jane. It was no surprise that Ian had his back over this little excursion and even helped him to book a flight to Prestwick as it was nearer to Kilmarnock. Having a Scottish driver and bodyguard came in handy when he needed to know things regarding Jane. Ian didn't even ask why Jensen was going back to see her and Jensen didn't want to tell him, that would involve a tiny sliver of the truth and he still wasn't ready for that.

After one hour and thirty five minutes on a jet, Jensen was now travelling in a hire car to Kilmarnock. When Ian had asked if they were going to Jane's house, he was shocked but didn't ask any questions when Jensen told him they were going to the police station. Without even the slightest attempt at a disguise, Jensen was dropped off outside Kilmarnock Police Station with his heart in his mouth. Standing at the front desk, staring at the desk sergeant sitting there, he had no idea what he was going to do but he knew he had to be there to sort this whole mess out...to help Jane. "Hi, I'm Jensen Reed. I believe you have a young woman here claiming to have um...kidnapped me?" The sergeant stifled a chuckle and stared at him for a few seconds, then he finally spoke.

"Let me just get someone for you." He obviously didn't know who he was, he was in his fifties and didn't seem to look at him twice. "Constable Kerr will be with you shortly." He nodded to Jensen to sit down and wait. After about ten minutes of pacing in the foyer, two young police officers approached him like rabbits in the headlights.

"Mr...Reed? I'm Constable Kerr and this is Constable Baxter, we're the ones who interviewed the young lady who..." Before he could finish Jensen talked over him.

"Yeah, hi, where is she?"

"Mr Reed you really didn't have to come all this way to..." Again Jensen talked nervously over him.

"I was in Cardiff, I have a show to perform there tomorrow, it's my day off so...can I see her?" The two constables looked at each other and then at Jensen in complete confusion and this time Baxter spoke.

"I don't think that would be wise, honestly there's nothing to worry about she's just some wacko..."

"Don't call her that! Don't ever call her that again!" Jensen's voice cracked as he stuffed his anger back down into the pit of his stomach, the last thing he needed was to be arrested in Scotland and share a cell with Jane.

"Mr Reed, this particular young lady has a previous offence. She received a caution last year for breach of the peace and was ordered to take anger management, she was previously seeing a therapist for depression and anxiety but she hasn't seen anyone in a long time as her treatment ran its course..." This was becoming a habit of his, interrupting the police, but he didn't care, they talked shit.

"I don't understand, surely it takes as long as it takes! You don't just abandon someone who needs help!" Constable Kerr shrugged sympathetically.

"Well the National Health Service here provides free mental health treatment but only for about eight sessions, after that you have to go private and not everyone can afford..."

"I'll pay, whatever she needs, I'll pay for it!" Both constables looked at him as if he was crazy too, then over at the desk sergeant who raised an eyebrow.

"Mr Reed..."

"Look, this girl clearly needs help! I wanna help her! Now can I see her please?" Constable Kerr stared at him as if he was a lunatic.

"As my colleague said, that's not a good idea. The girl is delusional!"

"Please don't talk about her like that, I don't like it!" The constables gave each other knowing looks and Constable Kerr spoke again.

"If you wait here, we'll see what we can do."

"Thank you!" As the two police officers left him in the foyer, he sat down and took slow, deep breaths, trying to stay calm but desperate to see Jane. Ian arrived after parking the car and sat down beside him.

"Everything awright boss?"

"Yeah, it's...it will be!" The desk sergeant stood up and left them both alone, as Jensen's own anxiety was beginning to reach a dangerous level.

***

Jane sat in the small room alone, she knew that the police officers didn't take her seriously, even though she had divulged information that she couldn't possibly have known and claimed to have physical evidence that she abducted Jensen Reed. She'd been here for over four hours now, surely if they thought she was nuts they would have let her go by now? She was made aware of the two officers who interviewed her talking outside the room. "There's something well dodgy going on here Dave, he's a bit wacko too!"

"Aye, but...come on, kidnapping?"

"Maybe, I mean he is acting bloody weird Dave, you have to admit!"

"A do Chris, but..."

"I think we should look into this, there's something just no right about that guy!" A third male voice, the desk sergeant, joined in as Jane held her breath in terror.

"A think you should drop it lads, the reason that guy is weird is because he's one of them Hollywood types. Americans have strange ideas; they get therapy for breaking a fingernail for God's sake! Don't pay any attention to that, this is a publicity gold mine for him. He's milking it for everything he can get, that's why he offered to pay for the therapy, to look like the saintly celebrity who'll do anything for a fan. Trust me boys, he's playing you both like a fiddle!" Jane heard the other two agreeing to drop it and then it was quiet again. Had Jensen called here? Had he talked to them? What was going on? A little while later the door opened, held by one of the police officers, and Jensen walked in thanking him very much. Jane wanted to die, he was actually here in person, not on the phone, when was this hell going to end? She was left alone with Jensen Reed and his heavenly scent as he sat down opposite her and placed his hands on the table. What the hell was he doing here? Why was he torturing her like this?

"Jane what the fuck are you doing?" He whispered, he looked angry. Jane refused to talk, she looked off into the distance, not even giving him the decency to look at him. "What are you playing at?" He hissed and scanned the room nervously, as his eyes caught sight of the camera in the corner. "I'm telling you now young lady I will deny everything you say until the day I die, don't be so stupid you could go to jail!" She looked at him then, with hate in her eyes, yes she hated him right now.

"I don't care! HELLO? ANYONE OUT THERE? CAN YOU GET RID OF HIM PLEASE? I'M SCARED!!!"

"Jane!" Jensen hissed again, "I'll always deny it, always!" He looked scared and annoyed when the officer entered the room and asked him to leave, his time was up. "You need help young lady and I will make sure you get it; I'll do anything to keep you safe!" He stared intently at her whispering that last part so only she could hear, as he left the room. Jane sighed with relief, whatever happened now didn't matter, he'd humiliated her and made her out to be some crazed fan trying to get attention when all she wanted was to pay for her crime. How dare he belittle her in this way! She would never forgive him for this, never!

***

Jensen came out to the foyer with his head down, feeling completely dejected. Jane was determined to open this can of worms, so he was determined to make her out to be crazy. He had sat down with the constables and made an official statement to that fact, denying that he was ever abducted and that everything she had told them that was supposedly private was in fact common knowledge if you googled hard enough. He pleaded with the police officers to let Jane go and consider the matter closed.

When he got back to Cardiff, facing his sister was hard but he managed to convince her to let him put out an official statement about the whole abduction rumour that had gotten out somehow. He denied point blank that he was ever kidnapped and laughed it off, telling everyone that whoever was claiming to have done so was probably hired by his former manager, Bryan Whitaker, as a publicity stunt or payback for firing him or both. He also stated that as far as he was concerned the entire matter was officially closed and he would sue anyone who ever brought it up again. He hoped that this would discredit Jane's claims, even though she was telling the truth, and he felt like such a horrible person for doing so, but in order to save her he had to destroy her. Juliet gave him grief for going to Scotland in the first place, but she grew tired eventually and everything went back to normal.

His performance in Cardiff wasn't his best, he had a lot on his mind and was dying to talk to someone, Sweater Boy didn't look too bad right about now but he would have to bend the truth a little in order to protect Jane. After the show, he sat down with him to talk. "So Jensen, what was it you wanted to talk about tonight?"

"The abduction thing, it just...it upset me!"

"Why?"

"I dunno, that girl she...I felt sorry for her."

"What made you feel sorry for her?"

"Just how convinced she was that it happened, and how I hurt her by lying about it!" Sweater Boy raised an eyebrow.

"What did you lie about Jensen?" Shit, his big mouth! This had been a huge mistake, why did Juliet even bring this sweater wearing shrink boy on tour anyway? What a stupid fucking thing to do!

"Y'know..." He took in a deep breath, preparing to lie once again. "...in her eyes I was a liar, her delusions...it's so sad, I wanted to help her!"

"Well we can't help those who don't want it Jensen, I know that better than anyone." He winked at him, it made Jensen smile despite himself. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. "All I can tell you is that sometimes we just need to let go, or we run the risk of losing ourselves to things we cannot control. You're doing so well Jensen; the tour is great so far and Juliet is working so hard to keep things that way. You have a fantastic team behind you, you're multi-talented and you are loved. You have so much more than most, maybe you should concentrate on the good things and try not to think about the bad." He had a point, but Jane wasn't a bad thing, Jane was everything. What he had done to her, even though it was in her best interests, it was unforgivable. He'd blown it, but he just couldn't get her into trouble, he was going to deny it until the day he died, he hadn't lied about that! This secret they had, it was between them and no one else, so as far as he was concerned out-with the two of them it had never happened, it did not exist.

***

Jane was released without charge by the police and given a phone number for free counselling at the behest of one Jensen Alexander Reed. Jane truly hated him, what was his agenda? Didn't he want to see her punished for what she had done? Was this his way of prolonging the agony? Whatever it was, he was winning, he was getting exactly what he wanted...Jane being driven completely mad! The officers also gave her a lecture, warning her that if she did anything like this again she would be charged with wasting police time. Jensen Reed had completely destroyed her reputation. Her mother wanted to know where she had been all this time but she wasn't ready to tell the truth, even though she had told two complete strangers what she had done and they had laughed in her face, she still couldn't tell her mother. Maybe if she told Louise, she might have the same reaction as the police and laugh, or she might just finally give up on her and she would lose her forever. After all, Louise knew that Jane didn't lie, she didn't make up silly stories. Whatever she did, she was doomed! Sitting in her bedroom feeling completely humiliated, she picked up a notepad and a pen and began to write; Dear Jensen...She had a lot to say, what he had done to her, she was never going to forget. Why didn't she just trust her first instincts? That Jensen Reed was a complete and utter dick who only cared about himself. Of course he denied it, it made him look like a wuss being abducted by little old Jane the feeble woman. Why did she expect anything less? She truly thought that by tonight it would be all over and she would feel at peace, even if it meant being behind bars. She was not at peace; she was filled with hate and shame and utter despair. All thanks to Jensen bloody Reed, the man who destroyed her at every turn, who continued to toy with her emotions and with her nerves by dragging this whole thing along. Did he want her dead? If that was his plan then he was going to get his wish, because at that moment in time Jane wished she was dead, she didn't want to live like this anymore. A set of footsteps coming up the stairs shook her out of her daze, there was a knock on her door followed by Monica's voice. "Janey dear, teatime!" She couldn't eat, not now, not ever! She constantly felt sick, scared, and numb all at the same time. This was no life, what was the point in anything?

As she appeared downstairs, her sister muttered bitch under her breath, she still hadn't forgiven her for blurting out how Jensen felt about her the week before. Her mother was putting plates down on the table and chatting away cheerily to her father, it was put on, Monica was still worried sick about Jane. Maybe if Jane wasn't around she wouldn't have to worry anymore, after all she would still have her precious Eliza. She wouldn't miss Jane at all. Sitting in front of a plate of food, her nausea hit boiling point and she felt like she would vomit right there, but she managed to swallow it down and take a few deep breaths.

Later that evening, Eliza was sitting with her nose pressed to the television watching The Graham Norton Show, apparently the musical guest was none other than Jensen Reed. Jane could hear her giggling and the unmistakable voice of the man who was torturing her.

"So Jensen Reed, were you really abducted? Because you were gone for almost two weeks and to this day you haven't told anyone where you went..."

"Oh come on Graham, really?"

"Well it's possible..."

"Okay, okay! The truth is I got...a little overwhelmed during the tour with the band, my manager was putting on the pressure and I'd slipped off the wagon!"

There were a few gasps from the audience as well as some awws and ahhs.

"I was in a dark place, so I took off. I hired a car, I dressed differently, wore my hair differently and..."

All of a sudden he changed from an American accent to a flawless Irish one with great ease.

"...I travelled around Scotland and I spoke like this! I especially loved the Islands, they were grand Graham, really! Nobody batted an eye and I found what I was looking for..."

He then went back to his own accent and a sad smile spread across his perfect face.

"...I found someone who fixed all of my broken parts and...changed me!"

"Jane?"

"Yeah, Jane. But she doesn't wanna know, she's not interested in me so...y'know, hey of course I wasn't abducted! That was just some crazy tryin' to get my attention! You know how it is! Honestly you would not believe the stuff that some of them come out with, pure fiction Graham, believe me!"

Eliza turned to look at Jane with hate in her grey eyes. Jane felt her cheeks burn as she was filled with anger and embarrassment. Jensen Reed was making her a laughing stock, he was mocking her at every turn. She'd finally had enough, he wasn't going to hurt her or humiliate her anymore! As far as Jane was concerned, Jensen Alexander Reed was now dead to her!

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mrspellcaster · 2 years

Text

THE BEE AND HER WINGS -

Steve Harrington x Nancy’s childhood best friend f!Reader

summary: reader is nancy’s childhood bestfriend that is returning to hawkins after a few years. hawkins is slightly more handsome than she remembers.

warnings: no major ST4 spoilers if any!swearing, fluff, small bit of anxiety for reader, everyone is nice, reader is a nerd at heart, max is okay in this as she should be, Steve is a mother, reader has nickname Bee, me pushing my RoNance agenda

word count: 2.8k

1/3 2/3 3/3

You met Steve on a Wednesday in August. The heat was unbearable, a thousand pound weight on the shoulders of everyone in it.

You and Nancy had become friends at the ripe age of seven years old, a bond forged well enough that even if you moved away three years ago to Indianapolis you still had a place in her house, or rather basement on a hot summer day.

Hawkins still looked to be the same lifeless town it was when you left, and you certainly didn’t miss the weather. However, you did not overlook the new “Welcome to Hawkins Hell” sign, the way people were wary in a way they didn’t used to be, the whispers of the mall fire that for some reason required government reinforcements to handle.

But it was Hawkins, Indiana none the less. The most interesting thing about it for you was Mr. Clarke’s science class; which, no offense to him, is to say you weren’t leaving behind much worth missing beside Nancy.

There were letters sent to and from her; sometimes you asked about the kids you remembered when you were still curious, but you were growing, you both were, in different places, being different people. Her first boyfriend, you’d lost track of how many times she’d written his name, Steve, Steve Harrington, and almost just as quickly he was gone from the letters. There were new names, names you couldn’t keep up with, people you couldn’t really imagine. Sometimes you wanted to, wondered what it would’ve been like if you never had left.

Now you didn’t have to imagine.

You both had tried to make plans for the summer, but you were both busy, you starting a job to help pay the bills, Nancy with the Hawkins Post and some other stuff she was uncharacteristically obscure about.

You called Nancy twice, the first when you found out you were moving back to Hawkins, and a second when you found out your new place in the trailer park didn’t have air conditioning.

She’d told you the basement door should be unlocked, and that there was a key under a brick nearby if not, (you remembered, of course); told you she missed you, would love to see you, that you were of course welcome anytime, (Her parents were used to kids coming in it and out). Which is why you had no trouble swinging open the door to the Wheelers basement.

What you did not expect were seven surprised faces, none of which belonged to Nancy wheeler.

Seven shocked faces, all staring at you. You were shocked yourself, and more urgently nearly paralyzed with anxiety. You tapped two ringed fingers to the side of your shorts, once twice, felt the denim, felt the contrast between the cool room in-front of you and suffocating heat outside.

Now slightly braver you took a step inside and let the door close softly behind you. “Is- uh, Nancy here?” You pray your voice isn’t too timid.

One of the boys shot to his feet, blurted out your name, then blinked furiously, “Why- But you’re supposed to be..- How did you- When-“

Mike. You are relieved and also now with proof you somehow didn’t intrude in a strangers home, one that happened to look exactly like the wheelers anyhow-. Mike walked up to you about to open his mouth again. “When did YOU grow five feet taller?” Your voice is disbelieving but there’s a smile there that lets some of the air’s tension dissipate.

He returns your smile, you lean back to look fondly at his matured face, but still recognizing the glowing kid you used to know. “When did YOU get so short.”

Too easily you were able to throw an arm around his head and put him into a headlock, even with his new height. You smiled along with the laughter you heard behind him. He tapped your forearm with two fingers and huffed when you released him, but he can’t deny he missed you; you who never turned him down when he asked you to play D&D or take him and his friends to the movies or arcade even if you didn’t have a license.

Mike leaned back slightly only to scream up the stairs,”NANCY GET DOWN HERE!” So suddenly you flinched and you swore your brain rattled in your skull. Then much more softly, “But seriously, when did you get back Bee?”

Still smiling at him you try to think back,”Like a week ago maybe, 6 days?”

“COMING,” You hear Nancy’s voice, faint but strong, practiced, used to being carried through the house.

You never had any siblings, but when you were young you never felt like you needed them since you were never far from Nancy or Mike and all his friends. When you moved with your father to the city and he had to work full time you decided to fully apply yourself in school. You had forgotten how nice it was to have friends, which isn’t to say you made none, but you weren’t exactly the friendly type so to speak.

Maybe since you punched Jared Matthews, your schools quarter back junior year after you heard him and the other jocks talking about checking off girls names on a certain “list”. You didn’t really think twice about marching up to him to have a nice chat, but when he saw you coming he turned to his friends laughing about needing to add your name.

The moment after his nose was broken. So much for trying not to get attention, but everyone left you more alone after that, a few girls came up to you in the bathroom thanking you, saying no one had the courage to stand up for themselves which made the slight soreness in your hand worth it. And you only got a month of community service, your school’s football team was mediocre at best and all your teachers could vouch you were a valuable student as well as rank one in your class. Your dad also gave you a high-five after he heard about what happened during your weekly dinners since he couldn’t come in during the day.

Mike nudged your shoulder lightly, and you blink back to the room,”Well, I’m glad you’re back.” You beam at him.

The room is much less intimidating now, and you take the chance to look at it. There were many kids around, of course Mike, the little shit you adored, and Lucas and Dustin who you recognized from youth; but you could’ve sworn the crowd looked different. As well as the two older kids both staring at you who you could’ve sworn were arguing how they would successfully kill “the thing” when you walked in.

A boy, very handsome boy, very nice to look at brown eyed boy. Mouth slightly open, collar unbuttoned enough you catch sight of a gorgeous neck with more freckles trailing down, down it. You look away.

Next to him a curious girl with an encouraging smile, short hair, bangs, twisting a ring on her index, very pretty. You return her smile but look away to the stairs as you hear light determined footsteps.

The door creaks, more footsteps and then Nancy is standing at the bottom of the stairs. Shining, posture confident, the bravest girl you know.

You meet each other halfway and you never fail to be surprised at how strong she feels hugging you for such a small woman. But you’ve never underestimated her.

She leans back, grin beautiful and promising. “Hi Bee,” she says a little breathlessly.

You met Nancy around the third grade at the community pool, you were rescuing drowning bees with your floaties when she recognized you from class. You haven’t heard that nickname from her in three years too long.

“Hey Nance.” You feel like you should be jumping up and down or singing a song. You see the same desire in her and it makes you warm in a way much more bearable than the sun.

She grabs your hand about to pull you up the stairs when the girl on the couch speaks up. “Hold on, you just get to have the sweetest reunion of female friendship and think you get to deny us an introduction with the mysterious stranger who appeared at your door.”

Nancy falters in-perceptively, pinkens, then turns back to the many awaiting kids. “Okay,” An exhale,“Bee, this is Robin, Max, Dustin, Lucas, Erica, of course Mike,” she points at each of the respective contenders and you make a simple map in your head, Lucas is also taller than you remember, you can’t remember meeting his sister, Erica, Dustin has more teeth than you remember, Robin also flushed slightly when Nancy said her name. “and Steve.” She finishes.

Oh.

Of course that’s Steve, Nancy wasn’t lying when she attested to his looks in the letters. But as long as you were keeping things straight they weren’t together, you wondered why he was here.

Dustin smiled at you, new teeth and all,”I remember you!” You think he’s going to say something else but you’re quicker.

“I’m sorry- is that a star wars shirt?” You realized the tone of your voice isn’t as kind as you meant it to be when you notice Steve’s slight shift in body language.

Dustin is still smiling,”Why yes it is! A fan of Star Wars are you?” His Yoda impression makes you laugh, loudly, kindly. Steve relaxes, pauses at the sound of your laugh, the way your eyes shine, thinks it’s over too soon.

“Indeed A fan of Star Wars I am.” Your impression is much worse. Now everyone is smiling. You send a pleading look at Nancy,“Do you mind if we stay down here for a minute,” then more quietly,”I have some nerd talk I need to get out of my system.”

Nancy shakes her head still smiling, and knowing full well that even if she tries to take you to her room the many ducklings will follow.

You sit down on the floor in-front of Dustin, crisscrossed how you’ve done since you were a child, and you can’t see but Nancy is smiling so very brightly behind you.

“So, Dustin, would you rather live on Tatooine or the Death Star?”

His answer is fast “Death Star easy, I could be a spy for the resistance.” You nod along with him, he read your mind. “Would you rather have an Ewok companion, or a droid.”

“Droid, logistically they are more resourceful, and plus i’m a sucker for R2, I would just have to learn binary though,” Dustin laughs and your heart warms at the sound. “So have you seen any other sci-fi movies? I’m a huge fan of Blade Runner but maybe that’s out of your age range.”

Dustin opens his mouth but again someone beats him to it, “Steve! Likes Blade Runner!” Robin interjects, pauses, then turns slightly sheepish. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ease drop but Steve- Steve here, happens to work at Family Video, Hawkins local movie store, you can talk to him about movies!”

You turn your head to look at the man in question. His neck and ears are pink and he’s glaring at Robin muttering something that sounded an awful lot like “you work there too”, but you smile at them anyway.

Robin leans closer to you to whisper loudly, “He likes to think of himself as a Harrison Ford type if you get what Im saying.”

And there it is again; that laugh of yours, like music, Steve thinks, not even bothering to listen to Robin, even when she shoves his shoulders and whispers “stop gawking and talk to her.” which he is really hoping you didn’t hear.

You didn’t. Robin decided then was the moment to stand from the couch, you noticed her fiddling with her rings on one hand. She breathed something quietly about wanting to talk to Nancy, maybe more so said it to herself.

You take her place on the couch, Dustin quickly falling into a bickering conversation with Erica. It takes Steve a minute to meet your eyes, and when he does he finds you staring at him intently. His blush deepens.

“So do you like Star Wars too, Steve?”

You’re polite, withheld Steve thinks. “Well, the kid talks about it nonstop so I have a pretty good idea of what we’re talking about here. The mind control wizards and laser swords.” He waves his hand around after gesturing at Dustin.

“Jedi and lightsabers?” Your lips twitch.

His ears are red as a beet now, and he throws an arm over the back of the couch to stop from fiddling with his hands.

You watch the muscle in his arm flex, count the freckles there, feel your cheeks heat, look away.

You shift on the couch, accidentally bumping your knee with his, and decide against moving away.

“Do.. do you like working at the movie store?” You ask, still staring across the room.

You feel him move beside you, your knees still touching.

Steve talks with his hands. “Yeah, I used to work at an ice cream shop before the mall.. mall fire. We- We had these stupid uniforms, sailor uniforms we had to wear all the time. And this stupid catch phrase I had to say every time someone walked in.” Steve scratches his neck. “But that’s where I met Robin, It was exactly what I needed, sure it was more than I bargained for in the end but i’m thankful. And now I get to work at this movie store, with Robin she basically got me this job. She’s like my best friend besides the kid y’know? And the uniform there is just a green vest and I don’t mind at all, it’s like nice, it’s a nice job. Well- it’s only my second job ever. Anyway,” You turn back to meet his eyes and he sighs shaking his head. “I’m sorry I keep rambling, I’ve been spending too much time with Robin.” He looks away.

You put your hand on top his. “Steve.” You wait until he looks back at you. “You don’t have to apologize to me for talking when I asked you about yourself.” Your voice is so gentle so sweet, so honest in its rejection of his ridiculousness.

He looks down at your hand on top of his. “I- Thanks for saying that, um.. Bee.” He cringes at himself.

You laugh softly,”You can call me Bee, Steve.” And squeeze his hand once before taking yours away.

Steve thinks he misses its warmth. He watches you stand, float across the room to Nancy, hears you say it’s about time to go home, hears Nancy begin to argue you should stay, hears the resolve in your voice when you say don’t want your father to worry, thinks about how many times you said his name.

Then Steve is standing up too and he can see through the window that it is dark outside. Maybe he really was gawking at you for a long time.

“Alright who am I taking home.” You turn around at the sound of Steve’s voice, and see him; hands on his hips and much taller than you expected.

Hands raise, mockingly, exactly what he expected. Max and Robin, already saying their goodbyes. You’re talking to Nancy who’s still got a small frown on her face, promising you will be back tomorrow.

You wave at the group, and take your leave hearing others file out behind you. Robin falls into step with you.

“So, Bee,” Her tone is teasing and you wonder if she pulled the origin story out of Nancy. “Where about do you live?”

In your time away you’d forgotten how the night air smells unlike anything you could name. Heady, electric, clandestine.

“Forest Hills Trailer park.”

Robins eyes light up like fireflies. “MA- that’s where our dear Maxine lives! You can come home with us-! I mean we- Steve can give you a ride home, with- With Me and, Max!”

Your stomach flips. You turn around to see Max balancing on the curb and Steve with an arm out at the ready when he fears she’ll fall.

“I don’t wanna impose.” Your voice is smaller than you mean it to be. You can see this family, found and made and quite possibly at capacity.

Robin slings her arm around your shoulder knocking you into her, but you both just laugh. “You’ve had a place with these people before most of us.” She turns her head and shouts over her shoulder, ”Hey dingus! Our girl lives in the same spot as Max, we’re taking her!”

Steve is thankful for the dark, and an excuse to stop kicking himself for parking so far down the street. “Alright!” He tries not to sound to eager.

You hear their footsteps quicken as they run up behind you.

A sound cuts through the night air, Max’s voice, “I call shot gun!”

part 2

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