#anyway Friday and yesterday were really great days

[loki-laufeyson223]

Friday Night: Dean Winchester (This Damaged Soul of Mine)

Warnings: Amazing Dean in the beginning, smut, oral (f receiving), unprotected p in v (wrap it up kiddos), really sweet aftercare (cause that's a warning all in itself)

Word Count: round bout 3k

The Loki version of this story is here!

Friday Night: Loki Laufeyson

The first thing that greets me in the morning is my loud alarm ringing in my ear. I reach over and shut it off immediately, though I know I need to get up and get ready for work but God, I really don’t want to. It was 4:30 in the friggin morning. Usually I would turn to my husband, if we weren’t already in a tight embrace, but today he was in Claremore, Oklahoma dealing with a nasty wendigo. Dean had left sometime yesterday right after supper, which was pizza. I would normally go on those kinds of hunts with Dean but hunting doesn’t pay the bills. Getting up at the crack of dawn and leaving an hour later to go work at the children’s clinic here in Lebanon, however, does.

I reluctantly rolled out of bed and grabbed some clothes to put on after my shower. After I got out of the shower I shook my long blonde hair out with a towel and got dressed in black leggings and my favorite green and black flannel. I stalked my way to the kitchen in the bunker to fix some coffee, which I call liquid fuel, and fix some breakfast. I put on my favorite playlist of old rock, some of The Beatles, and maybe some Elvis. My brother-in-law, Sam, was still on his daily run but I knew he would be getting back soon. So, I went ahead and grabbed four eggs from the fridge and put some butter in the pan I already had heating up on the smallest eye on the stove. After the eggs were cooking on the stove the coffee machine went off and I grabbed my favorite Led Zeppelin mug and poured the hot black liquid into the cup and grabbed the vanilla creamer and poured just enough in for the smallest bit of flavor. Dean always said he hated creamer in his coffee but the day after I brought it home it was already open and used. He tried to blame it on Sam but we both knew that was a flat out lie.

“Hey De?”  “Yeah Sweetheart, what’s up?”  “Who got into my new creamer?”  “Uh….. I don’t know. Have you asked Sammy?”  “Yeah he said he hadn’t gotten any. He’s been drinkin’ Eileen’s.”  “What ‘bout Cas or Jack?”  “They can’t taste.”  “Oh well it wasn’t me if that’s what you’re thinkin’.”  “Yeeeaaahhh. Ok, sure hun.”  He got up from his spot at the bench and came over to me. “Don’t you need to leave for work?”  “Oh yeah. Crap.”  Leaning down so I can angle my head up to reach, he presses a soft and lingering kiss on my lips.  “Bye De.”  “See ya later Sweetheart.”  As soon as I walked out of the kitchen Sam came up to me. “I saw him pouring it into his coffee earlier.”

Smiling at the memory, I walk over to the oven and take the pan off of the stove and set it on a hot pad. I was grabbing a plate from the cabinet when Sam walked in still sweating a little from the long run back home. “Hey Scar.”  “Hey Sam. How was the run?”  “It was good until another runner came up beside me with their kid.”  “What’s so bad about that?”  “The kid grabbed the string connected to my headphones and pulled it out of my phone somehow.”  “Ah, I see. Everyone heard your Celine Dion.”  “Uh, no. I don’t listen to her.”  “Yeah, sure. Cut the crap we all know she’s your favorite.” He rolled his eyes at my comment.  “Anyways, I made eggs and coffee.”  “Great. Hey, by the way is Eileen up yet.”  “No but I heard her alarm go off when I got up.”  “Ok thanks.”  “No problem.”  He went over to the cabinet of coffee mugs and grabbed the one I got him for Christmas with a moose on it and it said “So get this”. “I thought you used that for target practice.”  “Eileen talked me into keeping it.”  “Well then thank you Eileen.”  “You’re welcome.”  Suddenly Eileen walked into the kitchen. Last Christmas Sam saved up enough money to get Eileen a cochlear implant, so she could hear and communicate with Dean and I since we didn’t know ASL. Sometimes I forgot she had it. Sam walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her shoulders then pulled away to press a kiss to her forehead. “Mornin’ Clover.”  “Hey Sam.”  I sat down with my plate and coffee and grabbed the pepper and sprinkled some onto the bland eggs.  “I still don’t know why you insist on using pepper on everything instead of salt.”  

Sam made a face as I added more pepper to my eggs and ate them with a smirk, just in spite. As soon as I finished eating I got up and put my plate in the sink, already in a rush to get to the bathroom and brush my teeth so I could hurry up and get out the door. Eileen noticed I hadn’t finished my coffee so she grabbed a to-go coffee cup and poured it in there while I was in the bathroom. “Alright, bye yall!”  I called from the garage door.

 I saw Eileen running towards me holding the cup, “Thought you might want to have the rest of this. Oh and Sam said bye.”  “Thanks Eileen.”  “No problem. Now get to work before you’re late.”  I gave her a nod and walked out the door. I grabbed the keys to my green and black Supercharged Kawasaki H2R and my Ghost Rider helmet and made my way to the motorcycle. I got on, putting the key in the ignition. I turned the key, hearing the engine roar to life. I balanced the bike and kicked up my stand, putting it in gear. I revved the engine and took off.

Eight hours later I pulled into the garage and into my spot. I put down my kickstand and took off my helmet before dismounting my bike. Today there were two kids I had to send to the emergency room because the parents underestimated just what was wrong with their kid. It sucked and was stressful. It didn’t help that the parents always blamed it on me as if I had been with them the whole day. 

As I’m grabbing my laptop case out of the side bag on the bike I hear what sounds like someone running. Before I could turn around to see who it was, the sound stopped. I knew that the bunker was warded so it couldn’t have been a spirit so I just continued to walk back towards the door. I heard running behind me and next thing I knew I was being tackled from the back. 

“Gottcha Baby!”  “Dean, what are you doing?”  I raised my eyebrows as his hand traveled down from my midsection to my hips. “No no no no no. Dean don’t you dare!”  He did the exact opposite and began tickling my sides. “Dean, no, s-stop! P-please.”  “What was that Hun? I didn’t quite hear you.”  He continued his attack on my sides and it lasted for what felt like forever. When he finally stopped, we were both out of breath from laughing so hard. 

Dean turned to me with a beaming smile that lit up his entire face, eyes shining from laughter and just pure happiness.  “Sorry babe, it seemed like you were having a bad day.”  “I was and I really needed that. Thank you.”  “No problem. Now, let’s get in the bunker. I got a surprise for you in the Dean Cave.”  “What kind of surprise?”  “You’ll see when we get there.”  I rolled my eyes but at that moment, Dean lifted me off the ground and pulled me into a bridal style carry. I yelped at the sudden surprise and he took off towards the Dean Cave. 

When we got there the first thing that caught my attention was the speaker that we use for parties, was set out. The next thing was the palate set out on the floor and the sushi that was beside it. “Dean, what is this?”  “Since it’s Friday and you had a long day, I decided to give you a little treat.”  “That’s so sweet but, what’s the speaker for?”  “I figured we could listen to music while we hung out or we could watch a movie. So, which do you want to do?”  “How do you feel about music?”  “That’s just fine for me.”  I walk over to the speaker with my phone in hand and turn on my bluetooth, connecting my phone to play music. The first song I play is When the Levee Breaks and Dean gives me a look of approval and we go to sit down on the palate constructed of just about every bed-set here in the bunker. 

Dean hands me one of the trays of sushi before grabbing his own. “So, what exactly happened today that made it so bad?” I sighed, thinking about the very colorful threats that were thrown at me once I told the parents what actions they needed to take to ensure their child’s health. I was only doing my job. “I had to send two kids to the emergency room today and the parents weren’t happy about it to say the least.”  “Oh, Hun, I'm sorry.”  “It ain’t your fault. I get it though.” Dean’s brow furrowed. “I mean if it was my kid I would be upset too. I probably wouldn’t yell at the doctor but, still.”  “You probably handled it a lot better than I would’ve.” I laughed and shook my head, shrugging my shoulders in agreement. 

The song ends as I’m taking my first bite of the bubba roll Dean got from the small Japanese place just a few minutes from the bunker. I pick up my phone and play my mixed playlist on Spotify. I know Dean would usually act like he hated pop in front of Sam or anyone else but with me, he’ll sing his heart out and dance like there’s no one around. I go to the song that’s absolutely necessary at this moment, Uptown Funk. It always manages to pick up my mood when I’m down at a low, along with the company of Dean, of course. I sat down my food and stood up, grabbing Dean’s hand in the process.  “Scar, really? Right now?”  “Yes right now. Get up!”  “Sweetheart, Sam’s home.”  “I know. If he walks in, both of you can get over it.”  “That’s something for him to tell people though Hun.”  “Yeah and I have plenty on him and so do you.”  He rolled his eyes and smiled. Dean finally got up and lifted me up off the ground, spinning me around as he did. We danced like we were teenagers at their first prom, in the best way possible. 

The song finished and when the next one came on, Dean’s face lit up. He immediately dove into the first verse of Can’t Help Falling in Love. My husband pulled me into his arms and began to sway gently side to side while moving around the room.

Wise men say

Only fools, only fools rush in

Oh, but I, but I, I can’t help falling in love with you

Shall I stay?

Would it be, would it be a sin?

If I can’t help falling in love with you

Like a river flows

Surely to the sea

Darling, so it goes

Some things, you know, are just meant to be 

Take my hand

Take my whole life too

For I can’t help falling in love with you

For I can’t help falling in love with you

He finishes the song and dance with an enchanting kiss. Enveloping my lips with his, he grabs the sides of my face pulling me deeper into the kiss. I reach around and intertwine my hands in his dark brown locks. Here recently he’s been growing out his hair and it’s made it down to right below his neck, his bangs just barely reaching beneath his eyebrows. His hair has grown out to be a dark brown in his older age. Small flecks of gray sprinkled throughout. The cool feeling of the soft strands only heighten the small pool in my stomach. 

That is until Dean pulls away. When I whine softly in protest, Dean puts a finger to my lips and trails his finger down to my chin and tilts my head up so I’m looking straight into the green oceans that he calls normal eyes. Nothing that breathtaking can be “normal”. “Scarlett, no matter what anyone says, you’re an incredible doctor. I mean you worked your ass off for those degrees. You shouldn’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I mean if you were my kid’s doctor and you found out something that was really wrong with them, I would have given over my paycheck that week. And before you say anything, no I’m not just saying this to make you feel better. I’m telling you the truth, ‘cause that’s just what we all need to hear sometimes.”

I smiled and blinked away the tears that had formed in my eyes. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled those soft, pillowy lips down to mine. Dean groaned and slipped his tongue into my mouth. The kiss formed a beautiful symphony between us and we played the song that we knew by our hearts. 

Dean pulled away just enough to grumble “Bedroom” and oh did I comply. I nodded and he grabbed the underside of my thighs and hoisted me up so I could wrap my legs around his hips. Our lips never parted as he walked us to the bedroom we share amongst all the others in the bunker, we chose this one with the feeling and anticipation to make memories that would last a lifetime.  

Somehow, Dean managed to get the door open, us in, closing and locking the door behind us, still without breaking the feverish kiss. He laid me down on the bed with such ease it made me feel like I weighed nothing but a feather. Dean got up from the bed to rid himself of everything he was wearing and got back on top of me to “assist” me in the same way. 

When I was completely bare before him, Dean just stared with lust and awe in his eyes. “So beautiful.”  He murmured sweet little nothings as he kissed his way from my neck to my bare heat. He pressed a kiss to my clit and went down further to lick a hot, wet stripe all the way back up. My thighs instinctively went close around his head and he placed a firm hand against one and pushed just slightly. “Gotta have my meal spread out for me Baby.”  A cocky grin spread across his lips as he dipped his head back down to my dripping pussy and buried his tongue as far as he could, and oh was it far, into my inner walls. 

My hands found their way to his hair and pulled tight at the brown, peppered lock causing the god of a man to groan, the vibration sending a shiver to my core and up my spine. “Oh God, Dean!”  

Dean took his free hand and brought it up to my clit, making small tantalizing circles and applying just the right amount of pressure to the small pearl, to send me to oblivion with release. A guttural groan pulled itself from the depths of my throat with my finish and Dean brought himself up to my lips and claimed my lips with his in a lust filled kiss that left us both completely breathless.

“Dean, I need you now.”  The plea came out more broken than I intended but it still got the message across because Dean was ready in an instant, already leaning back on his heels and lining himself up with my entrance. He looked to me with a silent ask for permission, I nodded and with that my breath had completely left my body as he buried himself to the hilt with the first thrust. 

Dean was holding himself up with his forearms and was hovering just above my face, he leaned down to my ear, just a little lower beneath the sensitive lobe and sucked a dark bruise on the spot that he knew drove me wild everytime. “Dean, please, move.”  He nodded slightly and pulled out to the tip and thrusted back in again with more force behind it with a deep groan. 

Our bodies moved in unison, like two puzzle pieces finding their way with each other with ease until Dean shivered and I felt his length twitch inside my hot core and with one final thrust, the one I love most in this world found his release, painting my insides white. My release was triggered by his own, my eyes rolling to the back of my head. When we had both caught our breath and calmed down mostly, Dean got up to go get a towel to clean us both up. 

With the towel thrown aside and us both content in the bed, I grabbed my husband’s waist in a tight hug. “Hey Baby.” He whispered into my hair, pressing a lingering kiss to my head before propping his chin up there. I just yawned in response and heard Dean chuckling softly, his shoulders moving slightly with the action. “You tired?”  “Mhm.”  Dean kissed the top of my head again and I closed my eyes and welcomed the sleep that followed shortly after. The last thing I heard before sleep claimed me completely was my husband’s deep voice slightly mumble, “G’night Sweetheart. I love you with all of this damaged soul of mine.”

Taglist: @holdmytesseract @bayleighmiller @whollyintroverted @spnjohnlocked @javagirl328 @km-ffluvluv @mischief-dream @asher-england69 @buttercupcookies-blog @glitterylokislut @shineywizardbird @disneygirl1859

[oneforthemunny]

yayo (remastered) |older!dilf!eddie munson x reader|

prompt: when your younger sister calls you to pick her and her friend up, it leads you to meeting her friend's dad.

this is the first chapter of the older!eddie remaster! title stays the same, i'm just revamping it :) you can read the original series here!

contains: age gap (eddie is early forties, reader is late twenties early thirties, all consensual), language, teenage stupidity of younger siblings (and their friends) lol, slightly mean eddie but not really.

word count: 3.5k+

“Hello?” A groggy, croak of an answer fell from your lip. Eyelids pulled together, weights of sleep held them closed, pressing the cool screen of your phone to your ear. 

There was a pause, nearly timid in response. “Hey.” The familiar tone ridded whatever sleepiness you still felt, kickstarted every instinct of panic, flooding through your veins, right down to your core. 

“It’s me.” You pulled the phone away to check anyways, Madeline’s name flashing across the screen, still decorated with a flurry of bright, smiley emojis from when she added them years ago. 

“What’s wrong?” Call it older sister instinct, maybe dread, but you knew by the tightness in her tone something was wrong. 

“Will you do me a favor?” Madeline sucked in a breath from the other line. “A big favor, like a huge one. Please, I’ll owe you one back forever, and-” 

“-What do you need?” You muttered, too groggy to be fully annoyed, legs swinging out of the warmth of your covers to the frigid wood of the apartment’s floor. Using the soft, purple glow of Roku Village on the TV, you stumbled around towards the light switch. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah, I am. Well, I mean- like physically, I’m fine.” Madeline paused, hesitation filling the line. “Look, you can’t tell Mom or Dad. Do you swear?” 

“What did you do?” There was the irritation, falling with a huff of pure annoyance, one only a younger sibling could bring- affection and annoyance, blended together and pouring from your tongue. 

“No, you gotta swear. Swear on your life you won’t tell.” Madeline’s voice was fiercer now, that hushed tone that you were too familiar with. 

“Ok, I swear. What do you need? Why the hell are you calling me at,” You pulled your phone back, blearily blinking to clear the clouded sleep in your vision. “Christ, at two in the morning?-”

“-Don’t start.” Madeline rolled her eyes. “C-Can you come get me and my friend?”

“From where?” You frowned, stopping in the middle of the room. 

“We’re in Chestnut Square, you know the neighborhood that the Henson’s live in? It’s, like, two streets over. I can drop you a pin.” Madeline danced around the request. 

“Why are you there?” You knew. Of course you knew. It wasn’t all that long ago you were in Chestnut Square or near the Quarry by Lover’s Lake, sipping on wine coolers and shitty beers that someone got from the gas station by the high school that never carded. 

“Why do you think I’m here?” Madeline clipped in annoyance, a huff of staticed annoyance falling from the other line. “I’m at a party-” 

“-On a Wednesday?” You scoffed. “You couldn’t even wait until Friday or Saturday like a normal delinquent? On a weekday, Madeline, seriously-” 

“-Look, can you come pick me up or not?” Madeline snapped, and you could practically see her eyes roll through the phone. “I didn’t drive. Brielle and I got picked up and the guy who brought us, he’s… he’s not doing great right now, and we just need to get home. Can you please come pick us up?” 

The streets were a ghost town as you cruised towards the neighborhood, opposite from your downtown apartment. You had work tomorrow, an early shift. Madeline couldn’t have done this yesterday on your off day, or even Friday when you closed. Your jaw set at the thought, a burst of sleep deprived, inconveniencing annoyance bursting in your chest, burning with bother. 

Still, Madeline was your baby sister, difficult as she was, you were glad she called you. 

You followed the automated voice towards the end of the neighborhood, the house bright with lights and lined with cars. Madeline was on the curb, arm wrapped tightly around the girl beside her, steadying her sway. 

“Hey,” Madeline muttered, pulling the door open. “Thank you so much. Seriously, you’re the best.” 

“The best.” Brielle slid in before Madeline. Well, slid was generous, more like fell into your back seat. 

Brielle Munson had been Madeline’s best friend for years. A staple in her childhood, and therefore a figure in your own life. Countless sleepovers, birthday parties, you’d even carpooled them to school your senior year when they started middle school. 

As well as you knew her, you never took her as the black out on a Wednesday type, but your mother had often made passing, hushed tone comments about Brielle’s own mother. “She’s a little different. Kinda a wild card.” Your mother muttered to you one day, brows raising in a pointed look. You didn’t know much about Brielle’s family, never met them. Brielle always came over to your family’s house- you figured that was why. 

“Is she good?” You muttered, pulling the rearview mirror down, angling it towards Brielle. Her head pressed in slopped defeat against the cool window, forehead rolling over the cold glass. 

Madeline turned. “Brie, you good?” 

“‘M good, ‘m good. Are we gonna get Cook Out?”  Brielle slurred, cheek pressed to the window. 

You huffed, another thing to add to the mental list of Madeline’s inconveniences- cleaning your windows of the foundation Brielle left behind tomorrow. 

“Is she gonna puke?” You huffed, shoving the gear into place, rolling away from the front of the house. 

“No, she’s not gonna puke-” 

“-Madeline, if she fuckin’ pukes, I swear to God, you will be cleaning it tonight.” You sneer, eyes flickering towards the rearview to see Brielle. “I can’t handle puke, I will not handle puke-” 

“-She won’t puke.” Madeline huffed, arms crossing over her chest in annoyance. “Brie, don’t puke.” 

“I won’t.” Brielle muttered, slouching down the window. 

“She’s almost asleep. She’s good.” Madeline shook her head. “We gotta take Brielle home first. Take a right up here.” She pointed out the window. 

“Great, I’m the fucking Uber tonight, too? Madeline, I have to work in the morning-” 

“-It’s literally two minutes away.” Madeline rolled her eyes. “She’s at her dad’s tonight. It won’t take that long. I just have to get her back in her room- shit.” Madeline turned in her seat, tapping Brielle’s knee. “Brie, you gotta wake up, ok? You have to get back to your room.” 

“Nice.” You threw your hands up, irritation bubbling to a raging boil in your chest. “You’ve got to sneak her back in? How are you gonna do that?” 

“She snuck out through her window, chill.” Madeline rolled her eyes. “Turn right at the light.” 

“So, you’re going to do what? Shove her back in? I’m not helping you. I said I’d come pick you up, and that’s it-” 

“-Did I ask you to help? No.” Madeline snarled. “Brielle, wake up, seriously.” 

“I’m literally awake.” Brielle groaned, though her eyes stayed shut. 

“Where am I going?” You threw a hand out lightly. 

“Keep going straight.” Madeline muttered, body still twisted towards the back. “Brie, do you have your phone?” 

“I think so.” Brielle muttered, lazily patting herself before turning towards the seat. “Oh, ‘s right here.” 

“Turn left into this neighborhood. Then at the stop sign take a right, her house is on the corner.” Madeline turned back towards you. 

You flicked the turn signal on with dramatic irritation, gliding into the neighborhood to the small house on the corner of the street, the edge of the cul de sac. Bloomington Lane, the street sign stood proudly above the stop sign at the edge of the road. 

“Cut your lights.” Madeline muttered, climbing over the center console towards the back of the car. You felt like you were in high school again, flooding of your own memories, sneaking your friends back inside, coming through the unlocked window in the guest room. Watching Madeline help Brielle, crouched over her trying to get her sober enough to walk, it felt like a lifetime and yesterday all at once. 

Your reminiscent memories were cut short when the porch light flicked on, a blinding cast of warm light cutting through the calm, dark of the street. 

“Shit,” Madeline hissed, wide eyed and caught, looking out the window. “Shit, shit, shit, Brie, you gotta get up. You gotta get up for real, your dad is here, Brie.” 

“No, he’s asleep.” Brielle muttered, head lolling back against the seat drunkenly. 

“Madeline.” You hissed, eyes cutting towards the porch, a silhouette of a man stalking furiously towards you. You weren’t sure if you should look, turn away, drive away, a sweaty, knuckled grip on the steering wheel. 

“Fuck, that’s Brielle’s dad.” Madeline whispered. 

“Madeline,” You growled through gritted teeth. “What the fuck-” You jumped, bare knuckles rapping furiously on your window. Through the glare of the radio on your window, you could see him on the other side. 

“Hi,” You squeaked, rolling down the window. “Sorry, I-I’m just-” 

“-Who the fuck are you?” His voice boomed, sharp and cutting as the look on his face. You flinched under the tone. 

“I-I,-” 

“-Hi, Mr. Munson.” Madeline peeked timidly around your seat. His dark eyes flicked towards her, still narrowed in intimidating challenge. “We’re just, we’re bringing Brielle home.” Madeline’s voice shook, though she tried to swallow it, steady it. “This is my sister.” 

You waved, tongue too thick and swollen to say anything. Now you really felt like you were in high school again, scared shitless, caught like a deer in blinding headlights by a furious parent. 

“She came and got Brielle and I.” Madeline didn’t offer any more explanation, instead nodding towards Brielle. 

“The fuck is wrong with her?” The spitting venom in his tone made you jump. 

“She-She just had too much to drink.” You stammered, hands still gripping the wheel. 

He tore open the backseat door, Madeline holding Brielle to keep her from falling limply out onto the concrete. “What is wrong with her? Did someone drug her?” He snapped, holding Brielle carefully. 

“No, no, n-no, I was there with her all night. We brought our own-” Madeline cringed at the glare Mr. Munson gave her. You cringed for her. “She didn’t get drugged. I-I made sure. I watched her, she just… she had too much to drink, Mr. Munson, I’m so sorry.” 

“Where’d you get it from?” He sneered, pulling his daughter out of the car with a gritted grunt. “You buy it for them?” His eyes were back on you, so harsh it had you jumping. 

“No.” You and Madeline squeaked in unison. 

“I just came and-and got them-” 

“-I called her to make sure she’d get us home safe.” Madeline added, head bobbing furiously in a nervous nod. 

“Yeah.” You looked at Madeline, then back at the fuming man. Brielle sliding in his arms, limp in his hold. “Here, I-I can help you get her in-” 

“-No.” He sneered, pulling Brielle up, ignoring her muttered huffs of protest. “I don’t need your help. You’ve done enough tonight.” You felt small under his glare, biting tone that had you shrinking into your seat. 

“I-I’m really sorry.” You muttered nervously, heart drumming with adrenaline, with fear. You didn’t know why you were apologizing, if anything, you’d made the one smart decision of the night. You thought Mr. Munson might appreciate that you’d gone to bring his daughter home safe. 

The narrowed eye glare he tossed you before he was dragging Brielle towards the house, told you he did not appreciate your vigilant efforts. Your face drained, a flush of heat and icy fear sinking in the pit of your stomach. He slammed the door so hard, you were surprised the glass swinging door didn’t shatter to pieces right there on the porch. 

You turned to Madeline, fists still clenched around the steering wheel. “You owe me. You owe me so much more now, like forever. For the rest of your life.” You sneered, shoving the gear shift into drive, peeling off the curb. You couldn’t get away from Bloomington Lane fast enough. 

“You alright?” Lydia’s brows furrow at your third- fourth yawn of the shift. A shift that had just begun, your teeth ground tight in annoyance. 

“Yeah.” You nodded, snapping the receipt cover down. “Is there any way I could get off register? I’m just super tired. My brain’s not really wanting to work this morning.” 

“Yeah, for sure. You sure you’re alright?” Lydia’s head tilted to the side, snapping the plastic lid to the latte expertly. You and Lydia Allcott had practically grown up together, been in school since Kindergarten. It was lucky, you guessed, that she was your manager. Perks of a small town like Hawkins. 

“Yeah, I’m just exhausted. I was up all night because Madeline is a moron. Snuck out and I had to drive her and her friend home, and then her friend’s dad was waiting outside when she got  home- it’s just been a night, honestly.” You rubbed the base of your neck, working out a knot that was already beginning to form from your restless night. 

Lydia sucked in a breath. “Oh,” She shook her head. “I forget you have a younger sister.” 

You snort lightly, pouring the steaming dark roast into the cup. “Yeah, me too. Until she does something stupid like that.” 

Lydia smirked, sliding the drink down the bar. “Brooke just got here. Tell her to hop on register, and you can go clean the tables.” 

You had never been so happy to be carrying the soapy, black bucket out on the floor, sudsy rag dragging slowly across the empty tables. It was slow for a Thursday, the morning school and work rush dwindled down to a ghost town. Not that you were complaining. 

The bell trilled over the door behind you, Brooke’s cheery, fake greeting echoing through the store. You didn’t turn, pushing the rag over the table, dunking it back in the bucket, wringing it out, and repeating. A rhythmic task that had your mind numbed, zoned in brainlessly from table to table. 

“Hi.” You jumped slightly, soapy water spilling over the lip of the bucket onto the table.

Your posture straightened, turning with the expectancy of a customer wanting some specific table cleaned that you hadn’t yet got to. Instead, you were met with a familiar pair of dark eyes, not as furious as they’d been last night but burning even in the low light of the cafe. 

“Hi.” You squeaked, gripping the rag in your hand, the water dripping between your fingers. “Um, wha-what can I help you with, Mr. Munson?” Fuck, he’d come back to scream some more. And at your work? How did he even know? You didn’t even have it on Facebook. 

You were shocked when his lips twitched, a faint pull of smirk on his lips. “I don’t mean to bother you.” He started, hand wrapped around the small cup in his hand. “I’m not here to- I’m here to apologize.” 

You couldn’t speak, tongue stupidly thick in your mouth again. Instead you nodded, a soft bob of your head. “And I wanted to thank you for bringing Brielle home last night. For making sure she got home alright. She could have…” He shook his head, looking over at the window. 

“She could have done something stupid, and I’m glad you were there so she didn’t.” Your heart leapt when his eyes met yours again, a pounding in your ears that rang through your whole body. 

“I-It’s really no problem.” You stuttered, voice wavering on embarrassingly unsure. 

“No, it means a lot, and I was a complete ass to you last night, and I’m here to say I’m sorry for that.” Your eyes lingered over the patch on his coveralls, a cursive, embroidered ‘Eddie’ over the faded blue patch. 

“I shouldn’t’ve been such a dick, but you go to say goodnight to your kid, and there’s a pile of pillows instead, and- I know you don’t get it. You’re too young.” He motioned at you casually. Your cheeks burned, looking down at your bucket, hand still stupidly gripping the rag under the water. 

“But y’know, if you have kids of your own, you’ll get it.” Eddie continued, his own ramblings a little rushed. Was he nervous? 

“Yeah- I mean, i-it really was no issue. I’m glad she got home safe.” You smiled softly at him. 

A pause fell between the two of you, both of you shifting a little uncomfortably at it. “I hope this isn’t weird.” You looked at him. “Me coming here. I asked Brielle where you worked so I could apologize.” 

“No, it’s- thank you. You didn’t need to apologize, I mean. I get why you were mad, I do.” You cringed inwardly at your own nervous rambling. “But, um, I appreciate it. You apologizing, I mean. I’m glad she got home safe.” 

Eddie nodded, fingers curling around his drink. “Me too.” He nodded. “Glad she has Madeline too, to look after her. That they’re friends. I mean, Brie’s always been good at makin’ friends. She’s really talkative.” Your heart swelled lightly at the way he lit up when he talked about Brielle, boasting with pride and joy. It tugged on your own heart strings. 

“Yeah, Madeline is too. She loves Brie, though. Brielle sees her more than me.” You giggled lightly. 

Eddie snorted softly, lips curling in a grin. “Yeah, you too? Thought it was just me.” He shook his head, curls bouncing lightly. You tried not to stare. “Makes me feel a little better, then. At least I know it’s not all me.” 

You weren’t sure what to say, offering a nervous smile and soft giggle, adjusting the bucket on your hip. That familiar pause of silence flooded back between the two of you, not as uncomfortable as before but still hinting at discomfort. 

“So, I wanted to say thank you, and sorry for being such an asshole.” Eddie nodded, foot tapping lightly against the floor. “But, uh, I’d really like to make it up to you.” Your eyes lifted, snapping towards his own gaze carefully. 

“I'd like to treat you to dinner if you're free. Just to show my appreciation for keeping my girl safe.” Eddie started, eyes watching yours carefully. 

Your heart hammered, breath caught- strangled in your throat. “Oh,” You managed to squeak out. “That would be f-fine.” Your head was still spinning before you could register what you were even saying. 

Saying yes to Brielle’s dad? Her father, much older than you, certainly than the type of man you usually let take you to dinner. Still, he wasn’t unattractive. Coverall sleeves rolled enough to see his inked arms, chest broad under the thick material. He didn’t look old, not shriveled and gross. He was nice to look at, even. You certainly didn’t mind looking at him. 

“I-I have to close tomorrow, but I’m free Saturday night.” Your heart jumped, shocked at your own boldness. Eddie’s brows lifted slightly, lips curling on the edge of a grin. “If you’re available, of course. Sorry, I- when works best for you?” 

“Saturday night is perfect.” Eddie’s voice was calm, a steady tone that had your rattled nerves soothing, at least to a low roar in your chest. 

“Great.” You smiled, a little too eager, far less cool than you would have liked. Why were you so nervous? Maybe excited?

“Um, let me give you my phone number?” It sounded more like a question, setting the bucket on the table, wiping your wet, dripping hand on your black apron. You fished a pen out of the pocket, hoping Eddie couldn’t see the way your hands trembled lightly, buzzing with giddy excitement. 

“And you can just text me a-and let me know where to meet you.” You pulled a napkin out of the dispenser, chin dunking to write your digits on the thin paper. 

“I’ll pick you up.” Eddie nodded. Your gaze lifted to him, the finality in his tone, firm but oddly not pushy? It was foreign to you, sent bolts of exhilaration trickling through your spine. 

You started to protest, lips pulling in a slight frown. Eddie shook his head. “I’m old school, sweetheart. I’ll come and get you.” He smiled, eyes much warmer than you’d seen them, the hinting of dimples creasing underneath his stubble. 

Your knees tensed, swallowing down a bubbling of nervous giggles, giving a wide smile instead. Your fingertips brushed when you handed him the napkin, a featherlight touch that had your body roaring with fever. 

“I’ll see you Saturday.” Eddie smiled, so effortlessly cool it made your stomach flip-flop. “You don’t work too hard now, y’hear?” He teased, tossing you a wink that did pull out the nervous giggles you couldn’t swallow down this time. 

"Bye." You waved, the rag in your hand flopping against your wrist, cringing when the droplets hit your face. Eddie waved back, tucking the napkin in his pocket before he disappeared out the double doors. 

The drag in your feet was replaced with a springing pep in your step. Greeting customers with a cheery smile, much less dreadful than your usually forced one. Even the huffy soccer moms ordering with the usual demanding entitlement that would have you gritting your teeth. It didn’t bother you, chest light and airy with excitement, mind racing with giddy excitement about your date.

[fluentmoviequoter]

Hey could you do fluff fic for David 'Deacon' Kay x wife reader where they spend their day together after hectic week? She's school teacher. Tag me later. Thanks!!

Of course! This was a fun one; thanks for the great request!! Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!🤍 @pear-1206

Hectic Relief

Warnings: reader is an elementary teacher (I didn't specify which grade, just implied younger kids), hectic week, lots of fluffy comfort, kissing.

Word Count: 2.2k+ words

Masterlist Directory | Deacon Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

Picture from Pinterest (it goes with the end [and makes me smile😊])

“Yes, Drew?” you ask, smiling at the young boy as he lowers his hand.

“When is Sergeant Kay visiting again?” he inquires.

“Hmm… Well, he’s really busy this week, but I’ll ask him to come back soon.”

Drew nods with a bright smile. He loves your husband, Deacon, and asks about him often. Since Deacon came in for career day, Drew and several other students have become big fans of his.

“Can he come Friday?” Drew continues.

“Why Friday?”

“It’s my birthday!”

“Oh, I see. I’ll ask him, but remember what Sergeant Kay said last time? He’s really busy at work, so he may not be able to.”

“Can’t you make him?” someone else asks. “My mom makes my dad do stuff all the time.”

You chuckle at the implication that wives have control over their husbands before gesturing for everyone to pipe down.

“I’ll see what I can do, Drew,” you promise. “But either way, I’ll make sure you have a good birthday at school.”

Drew nods, and you think the day will be easier with the idea of Deacon coming in soon. It only takes an hour for that hope to be crushed, as the week takes a turn for the worse.

✯✯✯✯✯

Deacon sighs. It’s only Tuesday morning, and his week is already feeling long. He hasn’t seen you since Sunday night. Yesterday, a call ran long, and you were asleep before he came in. You moved closer to him in your sleep, but he had to leave before you woke up.

“Everyone ready for another night of overtime?” Rocker cheers before pretending to cry.

“I vote we just let the criminals take each other out this time,” someone mumbles.

“If my wife wasn’t working in this city, I’d agree,” Deacon says, surprising everyone.

✯✯✯✯✯

During your free hour, while your class is with another teacher, you drop your head to your desk and take a deep breath. The kids are restless, you’re tired, and each day this week seems longer than the last. You send Deacon a quick text to let him know you’re thinking of him and love him before turning your attention to the stack of papers on your desk.

Across town, Deacon is sitting in Black Betty, wondering when he’ll hear your voice again. It feels like the longest week of his life, and each passing minute makes him miss you more. His phone buzzes, and he smiles for the first time in hours as he reads your short message. Luca slams on the brakes and yells for backup before Deacon can answer, but he knows you understand. Even if it’s unfair to you and hard on him.

✯✯✯✯✯

By Friday morning, you feel part zombie, part teacher. The small gift you got for Drew and the card you signed from you and Deacon are sitting by your bag. You hope it’s enough to cheer Drew up even without Deacon stopping by to see his favorite of your students.

“Happy birthday, Drew,” you tell him when he enters the classroom. “This is from me and Sergeant Kay. He said to wish you a happy birthday and that he’ll come visit as soon as he can.”

It’s a lie; you haven’t even talked to Deacon in days, but you know he would be here if he could. He loves the kids and would do anything to help you out.

Drew’s smile falls just enough that you notice. He thanks you, anyway, even though he’s clearly disappointed his favorite SWAT sergeant won’t be dropping by today.

“Alright, class. Who’s ready for Fun Friday?” you ask, smiling as you pray for a nice day.

✯✯✯✯✯

Deacon clenches his jaw as he slams back against a brick wall.

“30-David, shots fired on the 4 side,” he radios.

“Copy. Shooter on the 1 side,” Street replies.

“We’re going to be here for a while, aren’t we?” Deacon asks.

Hondo nods beside him, and Deacon prepares for another day of missing you.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Drew, buddy, I know it’s your birthday, but we need to finish this lesson before recess. Let’s sit down and focus, then we can play,” you say, struggling to stay calm.

Drew huffs and falls back in his seat. When you see tears gathering in his eyes, you feel like you’re right behind him. It’s only 9 a.m., and it is the perfect, overly hectic, and stressful end to the longest week of your career as a teacher.

“I promise we’ll do something fun this afternoon, but it’s still school.”

✯✯✯✯✯

Deacon answers the phone, suppressing a stressed yell when Hicks tells 20-David to meet 50-squad on the other side of the county to aid with a hostage situation. He leans his head against Black Betty, wondering if they’d really notice if he took the rest of the day off.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he sends you a quick text, surprised when you answer almost immediately. He doesn’t know if he’ll be home tonight, and his heart breaks at your disappointed reply, even though you try to cover it as a caring and understanding message.

Deacon knows that being a cop’s wife is just as hard as being a cop, and he wants to find a way to make it easier on you.

“Guys, I need a favor,” he calls as he puts his phone away. “I need to be home for dinner. I haven’t heard my wife’s voice in almost 5 days, and if I don’t hear it today, you’re all going to know about it.”

Luca chuckles as Street’s eyes widen. “Yes, sir,” they all say together.

“She’s braver than any of us,” Hondo muses teasingly.

“Better looking, too,” Deacon replies.

✯✯✯✯✯

The final bell rings and your shoulders slump as you say goodbye to each passing student.

“Thank you,” Drew says quietly.

“You’re welcome, Drew. I’ll make sure Sergeant Kay visits soon, okay?”

He nods. “I’m sorry for interrupting.”

“It’s okay, Drew, thank you. Have a good rest of your birthday and enjoy your party tomorrow, bud.”

Drew smiles as he nods excitedly before rushing out. The stack of papers on your desk has dwindled slowly, and you carelessly push it into your bag, unwilling to stay in your classroom for a minute longer than you have to.

Sighing in relief as you start your car, you hope to see Deacon tonight, even if only long enough to kiss him and hear him say goodnight.

✯✯✯✯✯

“Told you we’d do it,” Hondo says, clapping Deacon’s back, “now please go home. Your desperation is wearing off on us.”

Deacon would reply if he had more energy or if Hondo was wrong. He has no shame in admitting that he misses you and needs your comfort after such a hectic week with seemingly pointless chases around Los Angeles County.

He’s back to the station and on his way home to you before Luca notices he left.

✯✯✯✯✯

When Deacon steps into the house, he immediately feels lighter and happier. You look up from a paper and smile, setting it aside. Beginning to stand, Deacon moves faster than you and practically falls on top of you, pinning you to the couch with a tight hug.

You move one arm across his shoulders as he buries his face between your neck and shoulder. Running your fingers through Deacon’s hair, you relax in his embrace, and the week away seems worth the wait.

“I missed you,” you tell him, scratching his scalp.

“Missed you more,” he mumbles, tightening his grip on you.

“We should order dinner then, right?”

Deacon nods, and you smile as you pull his phone out, typing in your birthday to unlock it. Once the food is ordered, you move your hands to Deacon’s tense back muscles.

“Seems like your week was as long as mine,” you muse, gently kneading a knot in his lat muscle.

He groans before sitting up, pulling himself close to you. “I’m sorry.”

You shake your head, kissing his cheek quickly before asking, “How are you?”

Deacon catches your chin, pulling you in for a real kiss as he replies, “Better now.”

Once your dinner is delivered, you sit with your thigh pressed against Deacon’s as he tells you about the string of robberies and hostage situations spanning the county this week. He’s more interested in hearing about your week, so he doesn’t go into much detail before asking about you.

“Well, today was Drew’s birthday and he was pretty grumpy,” you tell Deacon, moving your legs across his lap.

“Not Drew, he’s my favorite!” Deacon exclaims.

“I think he was upset that you couldn’t come to class on his big day,” you excuse, running a finger along Deacon’s cheekbone and down his jaw as you add, “and he was tired, like someone else I know.”

Deacon nods, leaning against you.

“We should go to bed,” you whisper.

Deacon shakes his head, making himself comfortable beside you, one arm wrapped firmly around your waist to keep you close.

“If we go get ready and get in the bed, we can cuddle easier,” you bribe.

Deacon’s eyes open as he asks, “Promise?”

Chuckling, you link your pinky with Deacon’s and promise. He holds you to it, pulling you into his arms when you’re changed and ready to relax. He hugs you tightly, refusing to let go even though you don’t try to fight him. 

As you fall asleep in Deacon’s arms, you whisper, “I love you.”

“I love you,” Deacon replies, entering into the best sleep all week.

✯✯✯✯✯

When you wake up, Deacon has moved you closer to him in your sleep. It’s as if he thought he’d wake up and you’d be gone. Brushing your finger over his facial features, you wish you could admire him all day, but you need to get up and get a glass of water.

As you try to move out of his grip, it tightens. You finally give up and decide to wake him up.

“Deac, baby, I need to get up,” you say gently.

“It’s been a week, you can’t leave,” he mumbles.

“I just need to get some water, handsome.”

Deacon seems to debate his options before unhooking his arms and saying, “Two minutes or I’m coming to find you.”

“I have no doubt.”

You return in less than two minutes, but when you offer to make breakfast and bring it back, Deacon rolls out of bed and sleepily follows you to the kitchen. Standing behind you, he keeps his arms around your waist as he helps you prepare breakfast, trailing kisses up your neck each time you turn your head.

“I’m glad we’re both home now,” you tell him, turning in his arms to kiss him.

“Me too,” he replies, pulling you in for another kiss.

✯✯✯✯✯

It takes hours, but you finally convince Deacon to talk about himself and his week at work. As you direct him to the patio, you find yourself in his lap, enjoying the sun after a week inside with your rambunctious class.

“You’re too good for me,” Deacon says, interrupting his story.

“You’re too good for me,” you repeat.

Deacon smiles at the challenging look on your face, aware that you will win any argument he tries to make. This conversation is practiced, and he knows how it ends: an agreement that you are soulmates, completing each other and perfect for one another.

“I think we need a vacation,” you tell him.

“Or a second honeymoon,” he suggests, kissing your jaw.

“But you have to come visit my class first or I’ll have a riot on my hands.”

“Technically, you’d have a better chance of getting me there for riot control.”

You laugh, leaning against Deacon’s chest as you kiss the corner of his mouth.

“I’ll see if I can make some time this week. For you and the kids.”

The sun dips below the hills, and you wonder where the day went, though you know time spent with Deacon always goes too fast.

“Same thing tomorrow?” you ask, pulling your legs up as Deacon nudges you to shift.

Lifting one of your legs so you’re sitting in his lap, your face just above his, Deacon smiles and answers, “Anything with you.”

You tilt your chin down, brushing your lips across Deacon’s. He sighs, raising his hands so one is on your waist and the other behind your neck. Settling on his thighs, you lean against Deacon’s chest as you kiss him, letting his love and comfort calm you from the inside out.

“I love you,” you say against his lips.

“Love you more.”

You push your hands against his chest, taking a deep breath before arguing, “Impossible.”

Deacon tilts his head, a bright smile making his eyes look deeper and darker than usual. He’s irresistible, and as you kiss him again, he promises himself not to let work get in the way like that again.

Pulling back, you suggest, “You should bring your whole squad next time, the kids would love it.”

“If we can spare the time.”

“'If'? You can't do it, not even for me?” you ask with a pout. “Your wife?”

Deacon nods, telling you he’ll find a way.

“It’s that easy,” you whisper, kissing his nose.

“Because you cheat,” Deacon accuses.

“Because you love me.”

Deacon can’t argue, so he pulls you down for a slower kiss, happy to spend another slow, lazy night in your arms before doing it all again tomorrow.

[eddiemunsons80sbaby]

Everybody Hurts

Chapter 4

Pairing: EddieMunsonxReader

Summary: You needed to escape, escape from your life, your messy divorce, and all the pitying looks. Looks you couldn't ignore when everyone in town had known you and Cam, had known your shame and failure. So, you took the first job you could get, teaching third grade in a town called Hawkins. Little did you know, you were walking right into another messy situation, a messy situation with big brown eyes and long dark waves. But he's resistant, at times unbearable and you start getting curious about the town's past, his past, especially when things don't start adding up.

18+ Only for eventual smut

Next chapter: 09/20

Word Count: 5.8K

Masterlist

1 2 3

You pushed open the door to the small cafe, breathing in deep, letting the smell of cinnamon and coffee soothe you after a restless night. Millie glanced up from behind the counter, a wide smile crinkling the corners of her eyes at the sight of you standing in the doorway. She lifted a hand, waving you over, already pulling a warm cinnamon roll from the bakery display. 

“I told you that you’d be back,” she teased, placing it in a bag and on the counter. 

“You did and you were right. Best cinnamon roll I have ever tasted, hands down,” you laughed, pulling your wallet from your purse. “It was the first thing I thought about when I woke up this morning.”

Well, that wasn’t entirely true but you’d rather not admit that you’d been thinking about something else that was almost the same shade as cinnamon alright, but it wasn’t a baked good. It was those eyes, intense and burning, challenging your own across the flames. You didn’t even want to admit to yourself how much he’d managed to get under your skin, crawling and burrowing deep.

“You want a latte to go with it?” asked Millie.

“Yes, please,” you responded, impressed that she remembered your drink of choice after one time considering how many orders she must handle in a day.

“So, did you get to explore much of our town yesterday?” the sweet lady questioned as she foamed the milk for your coffee. 

“I did, actually. I went to the library and grabbed a couple books and then I went down to the lake for a bit. I stopped into the Hawkins diner to grab a late lunch and wound up making some new friends.”

“Well, that’s wonderful,” beamed Millie, slipping a sleeve onto the paper cup and handing it over to you, her fingers darting across the keys of the cash register to ring up the sale. “And who are these new friends?”

“I don’t know if you’d know them…”

She laughed, waving her hand dismissively in your direction, “Darling, I have lived in this town my whole damn life. There isn’t anybody I don’t know within the town limits. Where do you think they all get their coffee from?”

“Oh…well, I met Max Mayfield at the diner and she invited me out to a bonfire with her friends at the lake last night. There were a whole bunch of people there. Umm…there was Robin, Steve, Mike, El, Lucas, Argyle, Jonathan, Nancy, Will, and this guy named Eddie.” 

Your cheeks blazed hot as you spoke his name and you found yourself once again questioning why. It was like you had no control of your body’s reaction to even the mere mention of him. 

Millie’s lips flattened against one another and she nodded, “You met yourself a nice group of people then. I get pizza from Argyle’s every single Friday night. Boy could use a hair cut but he makes a mean pie. Who ever heard of pineapple on pizza? But I’ll tell you, he knows what he’s doing. And I take my little Bella to Robin’s grooming place every month for a shampoo and a cut. And Officer Harrington is just the nicest guy. He’s always in here picking up donuts for the station. So, what did you think of everyone?”

You had the distinct impression that Millie was fishing for something specific but what she hoped to catch, you couldn’t be sure. 

“Oh, I loved them. They were a great group of people. I thought they were all really nice. Well, most of them were anyway. Eddie didn’t seem to like me all that much.”

“And why would that be? You seem perfectly likable to me.”

“I don’t know,” you admitted with a shrug. “I didn’t do or say anything. I mean, at least I don’t think I did. Well, I may have after he was rude to me but he said stuff first. He was kind of a jerk from the moment he saw me, acting like I was some intruder on his little group and wasn’t welcome.”

“Well, now, you be a little patient with that boy, okay? He’s been through a lot and it’s…well, it’s made it hard for him to trust new people but he’ll come around. He’s a sweetheart, really. He jumped my car for me just a few weeks ago when it wouldn’t start and he came over and helped me clean my gutters last year. My husband, Roy, keeps trying to act like he’s still twenty years younger than he is. He’s stubborn as a mule. He refuses to accept that there are things he just shouldn’t be doing anymore and that man’s gonna kill himself one day. I happened to be complaining about it when Eddie was in here grabbing some coffee and he just offered. Came over that weekend and went up that ladder and took care of it. I tried to pay him but he wouldn’t have it. He did let me give him some cookies though. The people in this town have been unfair to him, downright cruel if you ask me, and it’s not right. That boy’s been through enough. Don’t you go doing it too.”

Your eyes widened, shocked at Millie’s tone, as if you were the one who should be sorry, as if you were the one who’d been so damn irrational. You tried to mesh the image of the rude man you met last night who could barely carry on a civil conversation with the picture that Millie was painting but it was difficult. Based on what the coffee shop owner had told you, Eddie sounded like the nicest guy in the world so what was it about you that made him so damn unpleasant?

“I won’t. I like to come to my own conclusions about people,” you assured her. That was something you’d learned as a teacher. Previous teachers always wanted to laundry list all the bad qualities about a kid but you never wanted to know. You wanted to meet the kids yourself, build a relationship, and make your own judgment calls. 

“But he makes it a little difficult when he’s rude for no reason,” you tried. 

Millie raised her eyebrows at you and you groaned. 

“Fine. I will try to give him a chance but only because it’s you asking.”

Millie smiled, clearly mollified, “That’s my girl. Just for that, I am going to add in a chocolate chip cookie for you to enjoy later.”

“If you keep giving me free treats, you’re never going to get rid of me.”

“Maybe that’s my plan,” the jovial woman laughed. “Maybe I’m just ensuring you stick around for a while. I think this town could be better with you in it and I think you could be better in this town.”

 Your head tilted, a bit taken aback by her statement. “Oh, I think you’re going to be stuck with me for a while, especially now that I’ve found some friends. Speaking of, can I ask you something? You don’t have to tell me if it’s none of my business. I didn’t want to ask Max because it seemed rude with us not really knowing each other that well yet, but do you know why she wears sunglasses all the time?”

“Oh, that…” Millie paused, resting her arms on top of the bakery display. “Listen hon, that’s some ugly business that you don’t need to worry yourself about. That girl got lucky, very lucky that that’s all she was left with. That’s all I’m going to say about that, okay?”

“But…”

The woman held up her hand, “Darling, I don’t like talking about that time. This whole town would just rather forget it. It was a dark time for Hawkins. We’ve all moved on and there’s no point in dredging up bad things from the past that we can’t change. You’re new here and you’re so young and starting fresh after a divorce. Don’t be worrying your head about ugly stuff that had nothing to do with you.”

“Wait. How did you know I was divorced?” you asked, almost certain you hadn’t mentioned it yesterday. 

“Young girl starting over in a new town? Hiding here for four months before you finally unveiled your pretty little face to us all? Getting all hung up on the mysterious new guy you met last night? Please. That has all the markings of a relationship gone wrong and a girl trying to find her place in the world again, to get a second chance.”

“I…what…mysterious guy…Millie, all I said about Eddie was that he was rude and didn’t seem to like me. I am not hung up on him.”

“Maybe so but he’s also the only one that made your face go bright red when I asked you what you thought.” She reached across the counter, patting the top of your hand with a wink. “Listen, I think it’s wonderful. That boy needs a good girl. He needs someone to love and someone that will love him, treat him with kindness. He’s been alone for far too long.”

You snatched your hand back, “Whoa there. It’s nothing like that. I just met him and trust me, he didn’t seem like he was looking for anything romantic or anyone new period. I believe he even stated that he has no need for new friends.”

Millie snorted, rolling her eyes, “Of course he did. I’m calling it right now. You two will be in here getting your morning coffee together within the month. I can tell attraction when I see it and it’s written as plain as day all over your face.”

“You’re wrong, Millie. There is not any kind of attraction going on,” you argued, shaking your head and grabbing your breakfast, suddenly eager to get out of the cafe and away from the woman who seemed adamant to hook you up with the one person who didn’t seem keen to even breathe the same air as you. 

“We’ll see about that,” she sang, wiggling her fingers at you as you hurried out the door.

____________________________________________________________

You had never been so relieved to see your house, something you thought you’d never think after spending months cooped up inside it. You strode up the walkway, trying to push all of Millie’s words out of your head. It was all you’d been able to focus on during the walk home, almost walking into a car you didn’t see, the driver honking angrily at you. 

That woman didn’t know what she was talking about. She didn’t even know you. She couldn’t see your attraction to Eddie written on you. It didn’t work like that and it didn’t matter anyway. You had no intention of pursuing anything with a guy whose mood was as pleasant as being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the freeway when you really had to pee.

You stepped up onto the front porch of your house, the warm cup of coffee between your hands. You pulled your cardigan tightly around yourself. The May morning still held onto the chill of the previous night, the day not quite warming up yet. The sun was shining bright, the sky a bright blue that promised a pleasant spring afternoon. The puffy white clouds, gathered in heaps, reminded you of marshmallows, quickly bringing your thoughts back to last night. 

There was definitely something strange going on in this town, something strange with that group. Lucas’s response, that they’d all been through a lot, felt like a collective answer about something specific. Dustin and Robin had gotten very weird when you asked what they’d all been through. And yeah, everyone went through shit and you couldn’t begin to imagine the hardships Robin had gone through, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that it was more than that. It felt like they all got together every year on that beach because of something they’d all dealt with together, something dark and ugly as Millie had described it. Hadn’t Max begun to say something at the diner about it being more than just a celebration of spring arriving and then cut herself off? 

That wasn’t to say that, strange or not, you didn’t enjoy all of them. You did, very much so. They had been so kind, welcoming you into whatever kind of private celebration they were clearly having. Everyone had been so sweet and friendly and seemed more than happy to have you join their little party on the beach. Almost everyone at least. 

Your eyes fell on your coffee, a pair of eyes the same shade flickering through your mind, haunting you, just the way they had last night as you had lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep that just wouldn't come. You’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, your brain replaying every little interaction you’d had with the grumpy mechanic, getting more and more irritated with yourself for even caring. 

And why did you care? You’d just met him. This Eddie guy was nothing to you. So, why were you letting him consume your thoughts, steal your chance at a good night’s rest? It had been a fun night if you took him out of the equation. Why were you allowing him to ruin it for you, to become the one thing you could focus on out of the entire evening? 

It was those eyes, damn it. They’d looked at you with such hardness and disdain but then a moment later had melted into this warmth that had seeped into your skin, flowing through to the tips of your fingers and toes. And something else…behind the bravado, the arrogance, there was something haunted about him, something hurting. 

You would swear there was a pain just beyond the obvious annoyance. There was more to that man than met the eye, things he was trying to keep buried deep, covering them with his attitude. It felt like he was trying to hide in plain sight, to protect himself but you didn’t know what from and honestly, why were you making it your problem to fix? It wasn’t. He wasn’t your problem.

You rested her forehead against the post of your front porch with a groan. Jesus, what were you doing? You didn’t know anything about this guy. You were allowing Millie’s words to infect you, to contaminate you. You were probably making shit up in your head to excuse why he’d been such a dick to you when the answer was probably so much simpler than that. He just didn’t like you. He didn’t like some newcomer crashing their little party and why should he? You’d had no right to be there, not really, especially if it had always been their thing. 

Alright, enough of that. You had just stopped obsessing over one guy, trying to break down every gesture and comment to figure out the internal workings of his mind and how he could do the things he’d done. You sure as hell weren’t going to start obsessing over another one. That was not part of the new you, new life plan. 

Eddie didn’t like you, plain and simple. And yeah, he was sexy as hell, heartbreakingly beautiful actually, in a very annoying and infuriating kind of way, but he was still just a guy and not a very likable one anyway. 

Even if he’d sat outside your house to make sure you got in safe, that didn’t mean anything. He probably just didn’t want to have to explain to his friends if you’d gone missing or been murdered in your garage and he’d been the one to take you home. Wouldn’t want to be the last one seen with you, the number one suspect when the cops started asking around. 

“Ugh!” you growled loudly, rolling your head, a satisfying pop loosening your stiff neck from your restless night. No. You were not going to do this. You didn’t give a shit why he didn’t like you. It didn’t matter.

It was Sunday and by the looks of it, it was going to be a beautiful day. You stepped down off the porch, turning to face the house. You took inventory of your space, trying to paint a mental image of what you wanted for the spring and summer. Lots of vivid bright colors to brighten up your days, a full garden to keep you busy and give you something to fill your time over summer break that was now only a handful of weeks away. You would go to the greenhouse and get some plants. Nothing like some physical labor and getting dirt under your fingernails to get out of your own head and back to reality. 

The only problem was that you didn’t have a car yet and there was no way you were going to be able to haul all of those plants back on your bike. Did you really want to make multiple trips, buying only a couple things at a time? You pulled your cell phone from your pocket, flipping it open, scrolling through the numbers that your new friends had punched into your phone last night. 

You considered calling Steve for a moment but quickly dismissed it, not wanting to give him the wrong idea if he’d been leaning in that direction even slightly. The way he’d wiped the marshmallow from your mouth, his thumb lingering over your lips, made you think he just might. You definitely didn’t need that kind of complication in your life right now. You scrolled back up to Nancy and pressed the call button.

“Hello?” she answered after three rings.

“Hey, Nancy. It’s me.”

“Oh! Hi!” Nancy sang happily as if your call was the best thing that had happened to her today. It bolstered your confidence a bit, having felt just a tad presumptuous for calling her, for assuming she might want to hang out after meeting you once. “What’s up?”

“Well, I’ve been meaning to get some plants for my garden at my new house and it’s supposed to be a beautiful day. I was thinking about running to the greenhouse, but then I remembered that I don’t have a car. Kind of hard to haul a bunch of plants on a bike. I was wondering if maybe you’d want to tag along and possibly be my transportation? I know it’s kind of last minute and it’s kind of a big ask for you to donate time on your weekend. If you’re busy, I totally understand.”

“No. I’m not busy at all,” Nancy laughed. “Jonathan and I are just laying here in our pajamas being bums this morning. We’ve got nothing going on today. That sounds like fun, actually. A lot more fun than hanging here with him and his friends later. You want me to call Robin? We could grab some lunch or something and make it a girls day!”

“Oh…yeah, I would love that. That sounds great,” you grinned, pleasantly surprised at how excited you were. After months of wanting nothing more than to curl into a ball and be alone, you were genuinely looking forward to spending time with people.  

“Okay. Give me just a bit to get ready. I’ll shower and call Robin and then we’ll come pick you up. What’s your address?”

“Oh, it’s 444 Euclid.”

“Seriously? You’re right around the corner from us!” Nancy shrieked happily. “We’re practically neighbors. Alright, I should be there around eleven. Does that work?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect.”

You hung up, that feeling from yesterday creeping in again. That feeling that was eagerness for the day ahead that you hadn’t felt in so long. No more going through the motions of eat, work, sleep for you. You had friends now. You had plans. You had a to-do list that was growing longer by the day, things you wanted to do to make this place your own. This was definitely the beginning of a new chapter and you found you were excited for what life had in store for you for the first time in a year. 

___________________________________________________________

“Thank you so much,” you told your new friends as you sat on the front porch, enjoying lemonade, a well deserved break after some hard work in the afternoon sun. “This would have taken me forever by myself. I can’t wait to see what this looks like when everything finally starts to bloom.”

It had taken you a few hours of sweaty, dirty work but you finally had everything planted in the garden. You had not expected Nancy and Robin to help you with the planting. You’d figured you would go to lunch, head to the greenhouse, and then they would drop you off and you would spend the rest of the day working in your garden. But they’d insisted and you hadn’t been ready to be rid of their company so you’d agreed. It had been far more fun that it would have been alone.

The three of you’d had a very nice lunch at the diner, chatting with Max in between her taking orders and serving other customers. You were somehow now going roller skating with everyone on Thursday. You were taken aback by this group’s instant acceptance of you, how easily they included you, but you were also incredibly grateful for it, knowing you needed to actually start living your life if you were going to start having one. 

At the greenhouse, you had strolled along every aisle, Nancy and Robin extremely patient as you looked for plants of various colors that would give you the vision you wanted so badly. You’d bought a couple of large hostas that would be a pale blue, some Black Dragon coleus that would be a deep burgundy color, pink Hollyhock, blazing orange Day Lilies, bright yellow Black Eyed Susans, and some Butterfly Weed. You’d also bought two large pots for your porch and some purple Coneflowers for those. A couple bushes to frame your porch and you were feeling almost giddy at the picture that painted itself in your mind, what your house would look like in another month when everything started really growing. 

This place was finally starting to feel like your own, a place you could see yourself settling in for the future. A sense of peace and tranquility fell over you as you sat on the porch with your friends. This was your safe space in the middle of the chaos that was life. This was a space that could be filled with love and happiness in the future, a space that could be filled with friends, a space that could be the site of memories you would remember far into the future. 

“No problem,” Robin replied from where she sat on the floor, her back resting against the brick of the porch, raising her glass slightly. “Here’s to us kicking ass and getting all this work done in one afternoon.”

“I will definitely cheer for that,” you agreed, leaning forward in the swing to clink your glasses carefully. “Seriously, I would probably be working on this until dark if it weren’t for you two. Possibly still working on it through next weekend.” 

“Well, we are pretty amazing,” Robin grinned.

You smiled, “You will get no argument from me.”

Nancy tilted her head, “I can’t wait to see what it looks like when everything starts to bloom. This house is really cute.”

You leaned back, taking a sip of your lemonade, smiling softly. “I really do love this house. This swing is actually what clinched the decision for me. Maybe a stupid reason to buy a house. I know it needs some work. It’s a bit of a fixer upper for sure but it has so much character and honestly, I’m looking forward to the manual labor. My brain could use the distraction for a while, especially with weeks of nothing but endless days ahead of my soon once school lets out.”

“I’m sure,” Nancy commented, her tone gentle, not pitying but empathetic. You were thankful for that. You’d run to Hawkins to get away from all the pity. You couldn’t bear it if your new friends started looking at you like that too. “I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for you. To find out your husband is cheating is bad enough but with your best friend? What kind of friend does that?”

“Not a very good one,” you replied, tugging on the edge of your sweater. “I thought she was. I mean, Cassie and I had been friends since tenth grade, since I first moved to Galena. She was the first person who was friendly to me, you know? I walked into my first class, Geometry, nervous as hell because it sucks being the new face, wondering if anyone is going to talk to you. The moment I sat down she was asking me all kinds of questions about myself and rambling about her life and it didn’t stop all morning because we wound up having every single class together. Cassie always said it was kismet. We were platonic soulmates or something, destined to meet and be in each other’s lives forever.”

“Sounds like you and Steve,” Nancy laughed, looking knowingly over at Robin. 

“Yeah, besides the fact that he’s not a woman so completely not romantic territory for me, Steve is pretty much everything else to me,” Robin agreed with a chortle. “I couldn’t stand him in high school. Oh, he was awful. He was such a prick. So many dumb girls were always hanging all over him, desperate for any small ounce of attention the King would bestow on them.”

“Hey!” Nancy shouted, looking offended. 

“Sorry, present company excluded, obviously,” Robin snorted dramatically with a roll of her eyes. 

“Wait…you and Steve?” you asked, shocked though you didn’t know why. You didn’t know these people that well but honestly, you could see it. Nancy looked like the kind of girl that would have dated a guy like Steve Harrington back in high school. Hell, you had been the kind of girl who dated a guy like Steve Harrington in high school. 

Nancy’s cheeks flushed, her lips pressing together as she shook her head, “Yeah, my sophomore year into my junior year. I was over the moon that Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington wanted to give me the time of day. I felt like the chosen one, like I’d won the boyfriend lottery. All the girls were so jealous of me because I had managed to snag the King. But uh, it didn’t end up working out, obviously.”

“Why not? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t mind. A lot of shit went down,” explained Nancy, her eyes squinting as if she were having to think far harder about the answer than she should have. It seemed like a fairly simple question. Relationships failed all the time. “My best friend, Barb, she went missing and I kind of spiraled out of control. I mean, I completely lost my shit. Jonathan’s brother, Will, also went missing. It was a really ugly time and Jonathan and I grew closer, kind of clung to each other, during it all. Two people who were going through the same thing, shared trauma…at least that’s what we were told. It wasn’t too long before I realized that I’d fallen hopelessly in love with him. I still feel awful about doing that to Steve. It wasn’t the right way to go about it but I realized that as much as I liked Steve, I wasn’t in love with him. You probably think I’m an awful person now, don’t you? Especially after everything you’ve been through.”

“No, I don’t,” you assured her, surprised to find that you meant it. “I mean, you can’t help how you feel. The heart wants what it wants. Love makes you act like a crazy person and do shit you never thought you were capable of.” Honestly, the relationship stuff was the last thing you were  focusing on from everything Nancy had just divulged. “But…your best friend and Will went missing at the same time? Obviously, they found Will. But what about your friend, Barb? Did you find her? What happened? Where were they?”

A flash of agony flickered over Nancy’s face, almost as if someone had pinched her suddenly. She curled her fingers in front of her, examining her nails carefully. You got the impression that your questions were bringing up some very painful stuff for her and you were sorry for that but you couldn’t help the curiosity you felt about what exactly was going on here. Every little snippet of information they gave you only left you with even more questions.

“No…uh, we never found Barb,” she answered, her voice cracking painfully. “There was a lab here at one time. Hawkins lab. Nobody in the town really paid too much attention to it. It was just some big building and no one knew or cared what they did in there. It turned out they were doing some illegal testing and Barb was accidentally exposed to toxic chemicals. They tried to hide the body, to conceal what had happened. The government wanted to cover it all up, brush it under the rug, but it all got brought to light in the end. We had a funeral with an empty casket but at least we had some closure. At least her parents got some closure. They were…it was so hard for them, not knowing, you know? They sold their house to pay for a private investigator. He was actually the one who blew the story wide open.” She cleared her throat. “Umm…and Will…it turned out that he got lost in the woods for a week. He was just a kid and he was exploring and he couldn’t find his way back. But luckily, they found him. He was in bad shape, had to spend some time in the hospital, but obviously he’s okay now.”

“Yeah, they actually had a funeral for him and everything but then miraculously there he was,” Robin added and you didn’t miss the look Nancy shot at her from the side, as if she’d said more than she should have.

“You had a funeral for him when he’d only been missing for a week?” you asked in disbelief. “That seems kind of fast. I mean, people go missing for months, years even, and they don’t do that. Did you all really think there was no hope that quickly?”

“Oh,” Robin squeaked, suddenly looking nervous, as if she realized the mistake she’d just made. “Umm…well, they had the funeral because they thought he was dead. There was a body of a boy who drowned found at the quarry.”

“A body? Whose body?” you demanded, extremely invested in this story. 

Hawkins was such a small town. It seemed so quiet here, so quaint and normal. Missing people, government lab cover-ups, and bodies being found was the last thing you’d ever expected to come across when moving here. When Millie had told you this town had a dark past she hadn’t been exaggerating.

“We don’t know,” Nancy interjected quickly. “It was another kid, around Will’s age. But the body was really decomposed from being in the water for so long so it was almost impossible to identify. They just assumed it was Will because he was the only kid missing in town. But then he turned out to be alive and they never could identify who the kid was that they found in the water. Whoever it was wasn’t from around here.”

Your brow furrowed as you listened to the explanation, thinking it sounded insane. Did the people of this town really just believe that a random body was the boy that was missing without any identification done? And what about this random kid that drowned? They just let it go? Where did he come from? He had to belong to somebody. Someone was out there missing their child, never knowing what had happened to him. How had no one come forward to claim him?

This was all beginning to sound like some weird dystopian novel to you: government conspiracies, illegal lab testing, misidentified bodies, cover-ups, Max’s need for sunglasses, Eddie’s story about rabid raccoons attacking him. How did a small town like this have such a sordid past? And why would a government lab set up operations in such a small town unless they were trying to stay hidden? What were they really doing there? Something bigger was going on here, something none of them seemed to want to talk about.

“Hey, what are you doing for dinner?” Nancy asked loudly, breaking you from your dive down the rabbit hole. You looked up to find your new friend looking at you eagerly.

“Dinner?” you asked, trying to follow the sudden change of topic. “Oh, I was probably just going to make grilled cheese or something easy and maybe work on my lesson plans. I didn’t get a chance to finish them at school, story of my life.”

“No, you’re definitely not doing that,” Nancy told you. “Come back to my place with us. Jonathan was ordering pizza for him and the guys and he always orders way more than we need anyway or Argyle just shows up with extra.”

“Thanks, but I really don’t want to intrude again,” you said, shaking your head. “I already butted into your annual friends thing last night and I feel kind of bad about it. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Oh nonsense,” Robin huffed, rising to her feet. “You are our friend now. You’re not intruding on anything. We’re inviting you. We wouldn’t invite you if we didn’t want you there. The guys aren’t going to care and if they do, screw them.”

“Yeah, screw them,” Nancy agreed with a smile. “We can grab a bottle of wine and go hang out in the backyard if they’re being idiots. Who needs those dumb guys anyway?”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” you relented with a small shrug, not wanting to show how pleased you actually were. 

“Of course we’re sure,” Nancy asserted with a smile.

You really didn’t want to overstay your welcome, so to speak. You didn’t want them to get tired of you or think you were clingy. They’d just met you and you didn’t want to come across as needy, even though you really kind of were. Needy for human connection, for conversation, for fun, for something to do, something to fill your time with. 

“Let me just clean up a bit and change clothes?” “Sure, take your time,” Nancy told you, sipping her lemonade. “Robin and I will be right here waiting when you’re ready.”

Those words were like a balm to your heart but you’d never tell them that. Hearing that you had people, people who would be there waiting for you when you were ready, was like a band-aid over the wound that had been bleeding out for months. You were ready, more than ready to let it heal over. 

Chapter 5

Taglist

@tlclick73 @bebe07011 @eddiesguitarskills @witchwolflea @strangerfreak @emilyslutface @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @corrodedcoffincumslut @mmunson86 @josephquinnsfreckles @katethetank

[moonysimp]

my favorite person —felipe drugovich

pov: you're a journalist and you always interview him but one day you're not doing the interviews and he starts worrying about you.

a very chaotic feature race just ended and you were ready to talk to the drivers. you were the one in charge of interviewing the podium sitters. first you talked to frederik vesti who had gotten p3, then to jack doohan who had gotten p2, and eventually it was time for you to talk to your favorite person in the f2 paddock (not that anyone knew that, or at least you thought you weren't that evident in showing it)

felipe drugovich had a very big smile on his face, and little did you know he was as happy to see you as you were to see him. felipe wasn't fond of the cameras and the microphones, in fact he was a rather shy with most reporters, but your interviews were different. you were different. he loved talking to you, it was the only time he really enjoyed getting in front of the cameras.

you matched his big smile. "p1 yesterday and p1 today, barcelona really is the place for you, isn't it?", he laughed and your heart started jumping up and down.

"yeah it has been an incredible weekend. the team didn't make any mistakes and i gave it all out there and we got the best result we could've hoped for", he said. his gaze never left yours. you two talked a bit about the race but like always, it had to end and you both had to be somewhere else.

as quick as your interviews were, he had found himself looking for you at every race weekend. he liked your presence and the way you expressed yourself, always polite but never afraid to ask the real questions. f2 was always a very agitated scenario but those moments that he spotted you around the paddock and got to say hello to you or even just exchange looks was something that he really appreciated.

"congratulations for both wins", you said to him to end the interview. you were truly amazed by him, he was an incredible driver but what you liked the most about him was that he never lost his sweet personality, even after weekends like this when he was on top of everything and everyone.

"thank you very much, y/n", he winked at you and left. you didn't know what you liked more, the way he said your name or his winks. it had become a bit of a habit for felipe to wink at you after the interviews.

he was really unsure about asking you out, because he didn't know if you even saw him that way, and if you didn't then it would be very awkward.

.

the sixth round of the f2 calendar came and you were not in conditions to interview anyone. you had talked to your boss before friday and told him you had problems with your voice and by the time friday came, you barely had any voice left, so one of your colleagues took your place.

felipe won the feature race yet again, and he hadn't seen you around during the weekend but he was sure he would see you for the post race interview. he was wrong. the person in charge was not you but a guy he had talked to a couple of times.

before he could stop himself he said the first thing that came to his mind, "you're not the person i expected to see", he fidgeted with the collar of his race suit.

the guy laughed, "yes, y/n had a problem with her voice and couldn't be here today. but anyway, another great race for you." felipe quickly wrapped up after a couple of minutes. he kept thinking about you, and he wanted to know if you were okay but didn't know how.

after that he was in the trailer laying in his bed while clément was on his phone. he broke the silence, "clém you know y/n the journalist who always interviews us post race right", he said and turned to his teammate.

"oh i don't know, felipe, maybe i wouldn't remember her if you didn’t always talk about how cute she looks", he said sarcastically and didn't take his eyes off his phone.

"dont know if you noticed but she wasn't here today, and somebody told me she had a problem with her voice and-", he stopped because clém suddenly interrupted him.

"that's why you were so quiet! oh my man you're down bad", he looked at felipe, "you're worried about her"

blood rushed into his cheeks and his hand went to his hair and brushed it, "well yeah i am you fucker, but i don't know how to find out if she's okay or not"

"leading the championship but doesn't know how to talk to a girl. you have to be kidding me", clém chuckled. "dm her on instagram, champ", wiggling his eyebrows he reached out and grabbed felipe's phone, then handed it to him.

felipe wanted to punch himself for not thinking that before. you already followed each other. he searched your user and typed a short message.

heyy y/n it was weird not seeing you around. i heard you had problems with your voice :( is everything ok?

he read it like 10 times before sending it.

if you could have screamed when you got the notification of his message, you would have done it. you certainly weren't expecting him to even notice you hadn't been around. you wasted no time to answer him.

hi felipe :) that's so sweet, thank you for messaging me. to be honest it was weird not being on the paddock haha. im alright! just lost my voice because of the flu. but it's only a matter of time until i come back.

he couldn't help but to smile at his phone and clém started laughing, felipe punched him on the arm and replied to you.

glad to hear that! i hope to see you soon.

i hope to see you soon too! and also congrats on the win ;)

after that you spent the rest of the day sending messages to each other, which was something that both of you were really excited about.

.

two weeks passed until the seventh round of the calendar and you two hadn't stopped talking. you found it was really easy to talk to felipe, the conversation never felt forced, and you quite enjoyed his sense of humour.

felipe was over the moon. he loved talking to you and he now was seriously thinking about asking you out. he felt very comfortable talking to you.

you were talking to a man holding a camera when he spotted you. felipe went still for a moment, taking in how beautiful you looked and much he had missed your presence, then shaked his head and went over to say hello to you.

the butterflies in your stomach went mad when you saw him approaching. you quickly said goodbye to karl, one of the cameramen who worked with you.

felipe gave you a kiss on the cheek, "hi, happy to see you again", you blushed a little and he found it adorable.

"happy to be back! how are you?" you asked.

"great, excited to be racing again. those two weeks felt like a lot more"

"yeah i get the feelin-", somebody from mp called felipe at that moment. he told them he would be right there in a second and turned to you. you didn't want to waste his time. "go, go, good luck today ", you said.

"thank you, y/n", he said, feeling mad about how little time he had talked to you after waiting two weeks to see you again. "see you later"

dennis won on sunday and all the boys were planning on going out to celebrate. felipe knew it was time to make his move. he texted you to know if you were still in the paddock and when you said yes, he asked you to come to the mp motorhome. he was waiting for you there.

"hey", you said when you saw him, he had changed out of his race suit and was wearing a purple shirt. that colour really suited him, you thought. "what's up?"

"hello, y/n", he greeted you. it was now or never, he thought. "the boys are planning to go out tonight, and i wanted to ask you, i mean- if you aren't too tired, if you wanted to come with me to the party", he said. you could tell he was nervous and you felt the sudden urge to kiss him right there. but you knew better than that.

you pursued your lips and nodded, "alright yeah i'd love to go with you", you said. and you both kinda stayed there smiling at each other for a bit until he snapped back to reality. you said yes. you were going out with him.

"great!", his hand went to the back of his neck, "i'll pick you up at 11"

"perfect", you said feeling like you were floating, "see you tonight, then"

.

the night went more than amazing. the club was packed when you arrived, so felipe took the opportunity and grabbed your hand and led you to the table where the boys were drinking. dennis, liam, marcus, jehan, and a guy who introduced himself as james were all sitting at the table. they obviously noticed you and felipe where holding hands but thankfully they didn't say a word about it, you were glad of that because well.. at the end of day you worked with all of them every race weekend and the last thing you wanted was them acting weird around you. 

after saying hello to all of them, felipe asked you if you wanted to get a drink and you nodded, then both of you headed to the bar. there you found a tipsy clément novalak.

"y/n!", he said the moment he saw you, he gave you a quick hug and shaked hands with felipe, "great to see you around, looking cute as always wouldn't you agree, felipe?"

you smiled and turned to see felipe. the expression on his face was a work of art as he said, "yeah you know i agree, mate marcus was looking for you"

"yeah i'll go straight to our table now, have a lovely night you two", he hugged you again and the hugged felipe and just like that he was gone.

a laugh escaped your lips. "i never heard marcus saying anything about clément".

"oh i didn't either", he smirked at you and ordered some beers for the two of you.

you laughed and you talked and you danced together. felipe didn't strike you as the type of guy that liked to dance, and you were surprised when he asked you dance with him, in reality he was great and you loved every minute of it.

you still couldn't comprehend how you were out in a club with felipe drugovich. the same felipe who winked at you after interviews, the felipe who drove fast cars for a living, the felipe that you had been admiring from afar for quite some time now. your hands around his neck, his hands on your waist, you couldn't stop smiling at him. you were mesmerized by him, by his brown eyes and his soft hair and his pink lips.

your gaze dropped to those pink lips you craved to taste, and he didn't let that go unnoticed. he cut the space that separated you and kissed you as the loud music resonated through the club. he kissed you gently, your hands went to his hair and his grip on your waist tightened. he had waited for this moment, he dreamed of kissing you every time he had to look at your lips while you were holding a microphone.

his tongue traced your bottom lip and you opened your mouth, and the world, the music, everything seemed to stop for a moment. one of his hands went to your cheek and the kiss deepened, he tasted sweet, and you were drowning in him. kissing him felt right. it felt like it was meant to be.

that wasn't the last time you kissed throughout the night and by the time he drove back to the hotel your lips were redder than usual. he walked with you to your room and when you opened the door you turned back to say goodbye to him. as a journalist it was rare to struggle to find the right words to say, but you were feeling so many things you didn't even know what to say. thankfully he broke the silence.

"thank you for coming with me tonight", he said.

"i had a great time", you said, "would love to do it again"

"yeah i'd love that too", he said. he really didn't want to wait a whole ass week just to see you again. "we can have dinner tomorrow if you want", he blurted.

your smile grew bigger, "perfect", you said. "it's a date then"

he hoped there were many more dates to come because he really was crazy about you. he leaned closer and gave you a peck on the lips, "see you tomorrow", he said with a shy smile.

god you were really gonna fall hard for this brazilian boy.

.

months had passed, and lot had happened. felipe was crowned champion, you two had made your relationship official and many dates had been planned.

it was a cold december night and you two went karting, you were sure you had won fair and square, felipe knew he had let you win.

you laughed as you took your helmet off, you held an imaginary microphone on your hand and went over to where he was taking his helmet off. "talk us through that last lap", you joked as if you were interviewing him, "how does it feel mr formula 2 champion, to be beaten by your girlfriend?"

he shaked his head, his smile growing bigger. he felt it more than ever. there, you with your hair messy from the helmet, pointing towards him what was most likely an imaginary microphone, with a giddy smile and your dimples shining under the lights of the karting track. he opened his mouth and said it for the first time. "i love you"

your heart stopped, you lowered your hand and you watched him very still. his curls moving for the night breeze, his beautiful smile, and you saw it in his eyes. love. you let the words sink in, and you didn’t hesitate to speak the words you felt too. "and i love you", you smiled. you were in love with the sweet boy in front of you, and he was in love with you.

felipe cupped your cheeks with both of his hands and softly kissed you. and right there, under the glowing lights of the track, you knew there were many more 'i love you' to come, and many more first times to go through together.

[foster-the-world]

I love

I love when I get to hang out with any of my kids one on one. We need to make concentrated efforts to do it more often. I'm home with baby boy all week while my husband took the girls to Cali to see his parents/sister.

Baby boy is so much fun alone (as I've said a million times). We went to the Children's Museum and the MOMA kids art lab. Kids art lab was underwhelming but he enjoyed himself. Did a quick walk through of the art. He wasn't too impressed.

We had an indoor monkey bar system set up yesterday. It took the guys a lot longer then they planned. Last night I was regretting the choice. Felt a little too risky. I think I know how we can make it safer. Its supposed to be a part of his sensory diet. We used some funds we got when the DOE reimbursed for some OT costs.

Rebel was sick Thursday night. Thankfully fine all day Friday. Flew out very early on Saturday. His parents picked them up with masks and dropped them off at a hotel. They were supposed to go right to the cousins house and were scheduled to stay with his parents. I guess his parents were worried about the stomach bug. Which is understandable but I thought it was rude not too let my husband know beforehand. He got up at 4am to take two kids on a six hour flight by himself. He would have warned the girls they were expected to go isolate in a hotel room. Of course, my husband is a Saint and just went along with it. If my parents didn't see my girls for three months there is zero chance they would give up even one hour with them - sick or not. And they weren't even sick anymore. She never had a fever. Threw up 36 hours before. Anyway not my rodeo.

Baby boys ezcema is not good. His poor little cheeks. I guess its just the cold weather.

My own scalp is so, so, so itchy. Before the last month I've never in my life had this problem. No dandruff just itchy/burning. Its not a super bad pain level but its nonstop. It keeps me awake at night. I'm assuming its related to the low iron and the hair loss. Not sure what to do. Trying shampoos right now. Probably need to do some kind of eating changes but not sure exactly what and also don't want to. My skin is also itchy but that's less persistent. The skin is also something I'm used to when the weather gets cold like this.

DOE is giving new options for baby boy since they can't find providers. I'm on the fence. It involves a different school. Its not far away, is an inclusive classroom (8 special ed kids, 8 gen ed), would include all providers (OT, PT and speech) , and would include free summer camp which also includes all providers. These are all big benefits. Its a fancy private school - which is not our vibe. I guess they reserve some DOE spots. I don't really want my poorly behaved (but o so sweet) black boy to be a scholarship kid (in essence) in a school full of rich white kids. In their defense I think by private school standards it is more diverse then most. I don't want my kids to grow up with kids who think spending $60K a year for school is normal. I think it just gives a view of the world I don't want them to have. But that's more of a concern for older grades. Not an issue for 4yo's. He can go back to our little public school for K. We need to figure out a place for providers and this maybe our best option. The free summer camp is a big draw. I need somewhere that can handle kids like him. One that is paid for and includes his services would be a huge win. They do swimming lessons and teach Spanish. He's actually picking up some Spanish vocabulary (numbers, colors, animals) so a place where that can grow would be great. DOE is setting up a tour after winter break. I'm sure its a very nice facility. Let's see how it goes. I won't hold my breathe until a solution is actually implemented.

[adventuresasmrsfindley]

That hour of sleep from 6:30 to 7:30 AM after you thought you were up for the day at 5:45 is truly unmatched 🙌🏻

One more day home for the kiddo. He has officially missed the entire week of school. Not feeling super great about that but I talked to his teacher yesterday and she agreed that his health is the number one priority. It's only PreK so like.. I get that he's not attending Harvard or something 😂 but a week feels like a lot to miss. He was really starting to perk up yesterday afternoon after starting antibiotics and did finally eat more than a bite or two of something. Hopefully he will continue on the upswing today! Ready to get back to our normal routine next week. One of his school friend's mom texted me this morning saying friend was worried about Knox and wanted to know what was going on. I thought that was sweet.

I had taken yesterday off because Cole was off for an MRI and we were going to get lunch and have a little date but obvi that didn't work out. But being off work made it feel like Friday and now I really don't want to work today lol at least it's for real Friday. I read through the team chat to see if I missed anything and it's sounding like we will be expected to be in the office 2 days a week starting in the fall-ish. Not super stoked on that but it's much better than 4 days which is what others sites around the US are expected to do. It's going to be a huge adjustment going back, especially with a school aged kid. 100% of drop off and pick up falls on me and that will never change so there will def have to be some give and take with the hours I'm in the office. Luckily I have a super understanding direct boss.

Anyways. I better get to it. Hope everyone has a great day!

[finnglas]

In order to explain my cats' latest obsession, I have to give you some history. Behind a cut, warnings for Cat Illness.

In 2015, both K and I were working a lot and I felt bad that my>our cat, Luna, was being left alone for hours on end. So we decided to get a second cat - thus, Evie joined the family. Now, being that Evie was about 2 years old and Luna was about 5 years old, they didn't really enjoy the Sudden Roommate Situation [SRS]. It took a lot longer than normal for the introductory methods to work. (They still tolerate each other more than anything but they seem to have made their peace, eight years on.)

Anyway, we got Evie in November of 2015 and in January of 2016 I lost my job and Luna also developed an ongoing UTI due to the stress of the SRS. (Between this and the Politics Situation at the time, I was so stressed I skipped my period for almost seven months. I don't think any of us have recovered.) Anyway, so Luna had to go on antibiotics, and the antibiotics gave her diarrhea, so we also put her on probiotics, but the probiotics (I learned later) gave her worse diarrhea, and the stress of constant upset stomach meant that she kept having ongoing UTIs which meant ongoing antibiotics/probiotics, etc., in a vicious cycle. I'm still mad at that vet because they refused to slow down to consider me asking "what if the fact that it's making her sick is contributing to the infection" and kept just assigning more rounds of antibiotics that I couldn't afford. Yeah that credit card JUST got paid off two months ago.

A N Y W A Y. The result of all this is that it tore poor Luna's stomach up to the point that she couldn't eat any kind of dry treat or kibble. Literally, one Greenie treat would instantly give her the shits. This means that both cats have been on wet-food-only for like, seven years. It's expensive, and not great for their teeth, but also Luna wasn't shitting herself constantly so you take what you can get. I occasionally tried samples of kibble that advertised themselves as Sensitive Stomach Formulae over the years but none of them were successful.

Fast forward to two weeks ago, when I was at my parents' for my dad's surgery and Kellie stayed home with the cats. She had to go get some more wet food for them during this time and while at the pet store, she eyed a bag of kibble that said it was for Sensitive Stomachs and had a strong impulse to Try It. So she got a small bag. Texted me about it. I said "You're awfully brave trying that while I'm not home to give her a bath when her back end winds up covered in poop at 2am."

But miracle of all miracles: Luna can tolerate this kibble. We started very very small - less than 1/8 of a cup once a day - and have been working our way up. We are at 1/6 of a cup once a day now, and there has been no stomach upset!

This is great news for multiple reasons, but one of them is that we can now have an automatic feeder which means that we can take short overnight trips without needing a cat-sitter. For long trips, of course, we'd still want someone checking in on them and giving them their supplement of wet food.

We have one such short overnight trip coming up in two weeks, so I took advantage of Black Friday sales on one of my favorite pet brands (their water fountain also came from PetLibro) and ordered them a two-bowl pet feeder. It came in yesterday (love Black Friday being a week long now) and I set it up last night. I tested it at the time by having it dispense 1/12 of a cup of kibble. Worked great! tipped most of it back into the granary and let the kitties have a couple of pieces as a treat.

WELL. They now cannot enter the room without paying tribute to the Fickle God of Kibble, aka Sammy the Automatic Feeder, just in case he has decided to dispense more kibble.

They just had their first scheduled 9am feeding, and both of them ran around like they were losing their minds before diving in mouth-first, so I am deeply amused and will be watching these developments with interest.

[fortheloveofbuddie]

Fuck it Friday/Last Line tag

Tagged by @wikiangela @daffi-990 @thewolvesof1998 @theotherbuckley @jamespearce9-1-1 🫶🏻

Okay so this isn’t just the last line that I wrote, it’s a bit of the latest chapter that I wrote but I wanted to share it with you guys, cause it’s from the omegaverse office romance fic and it’s my baby right now 🥹

Finding the words has never been so difficult for Eddie and for a moment, he forgets what the officers came in there to tell him, just enjoying Buck’s soft hand on his face. They haven’t touched like this in a while and he misses it. Every single second of it. The warmth, the care and the love that Buck is able to show with just a simple touch is enough to keep Eddie on his feet and suddenly all of the thoughts come rushing in. He lifts his eyes again and meets Buck’s, a small smile on his lips as he takes the beauty of the man in front of him in. “They were here to inform me that… my dad died yesterday morning” Eddie finally says as he places his hand on top of Buck’s and his words elicit a low gasp from Buck, blinking rapidly a few times.

He has never spoken about his family before but Buck can only begin to imagine what Eddie is going through right now. The array of emotions that must be passing through his mind as he takes it all in. “Oh, Eddie. I’m-… I’m so sorry” Buck says, swallowing harshly and at the flick of a switch, Eddie moves out of his touch and steps away from him.

The alpha is clearly upset but he doesn’t know how to handle it as he paces around his office, tracing the same steps over and over again until he just stops. “It’s fine, it doesn’t matter. I haven’t seen him in years and he never reached out to me, so…” Eddie shrugs like it’s every day that he gets told that one of his parents has passed away. “And they asked me to plan the funeral and I said no, my sisters can handle that. That’s not my problem”

There’s so much new information for Buck to take in right now and he doesn’t really know how to react to it all. Eddie’s dad just died. He has sisters. And Eddie is taking this way too lightly compared to the weight of it all. Or maybe he isn’t and that’s where his anger and annoyance comes from. “And I’m not going to the funeral anyway. I don’t have time” Eddie keeps going and Buck doesn’t even have time to get a word in. “I haven’t seen him for so many years and now he’s just dead. I don’t-… That’s great” He drops his arms harshly down his sides and then sits down at his desk.

“Eddie, you can’t skip out on your fathers funeral. You’ll regret that” Buck tells him and sits down on his desk, trying to get Eddie’s attention back. But Eddie is already lost in work, clearly trying to find a way out of this situation. That’s what he always does to deflect his own feelings. Buries himself in work and shuts down.

The words are lost on Eddie because he doesn’t even move his eyes in Buck’s direction and he doesn’t want to be seen as a bad guy for not wanting to go to his fathers funeral. Maybe he should go. Just because the man was his father after all. Not like that has any meaning anymore. “You should go, Eddie. You can’t make amends with him now but you can maybe get some peace of mind and send him on his way in a good way, you know?” Buck suggests and presses his knee against the side of Eddie’s warm thigh.

“I don’t want to go to that funeral, Buck. I just don’t. I don’t have anything left to say to him. He should have reached out to me years ago. I’m his son, his only son and he didn’t care about me at all. He didn’t” Eddie raises his voice to make a point and he takes a few shaky breaths, trying to calm himself down. “He didn’t care. And now he’s dead. And I’ll never get to see him again. That’s not fair” He’s visibly angry and upset, not knowing how to handle his own feelings. Eddie shakes his head, as if he’s trying to shake the thoughts out of his head. He’s just angry, so fucking angry and he doesn’t know what to do with it. It’s not fair. His dad doesn’t get to just die and leave him with all of these unresolved issues. It’s not fair.

Tagging!! @watchyourbuck @eddiebabygirldiaz @jeeyuns @cal-daisies-and-briars @callmenewbie @honestlydarkprincess @giddyupbuck @butraura @malewifediaz @wildlife4life @chronicowboy @loserdiaz @vampbuckley @disasterbuckdiaz @jesuisici33 @exhuastedpigeon @hippolotamus @fionaswhvre 🦋💗

[vikygoestheextramile]

I had a slip up.

Well, I don't know that this is exactly the term for it, but I had successfully been using a daily routine to keep my efforts on track for about two weeks. So, last Thursday my routine was disrupted, as it was a sort of holiday here in Greece, the point of which is "Eat all the meat in sight before the 40day lent starts!". Of course, almost no one is doing lent for 40 days after it, but almost everyone consumes meat like it's the last time they get to. 😅 More of an eating tradition than a holiday at this point, and boy, do we get many of those in Greece!

Despite everything, I didn't overeat that day, I think everything was under control, but we did spend the night at my family home, with my partner. And guess what? You can't really perform your daily routine if you're not in your space! So I couldn't do my morning yoga, which I had been doing for 15 days straight. I thought, well, it doesn't matter, and I grabbed the opportunity to go on a hike, on a nearby mountain. It was about a 3 hour walk, and I absolutely loved every moment of it.

So after all this, I thought eating just a bit more yesterday, was okay, missing morning yoga, missing the gym that day, was okay.

But this little slip up gave me an opportunity to stretch the imperfect day, to a couple of days, and then to 3 or 4!

My partner, right now he seems to be even more prone to junk food than I am, so it makes it a bit harder for me to resist, when he doesn't, or when he invites it in. But, luckily, this only lasted 4 or 5 days. We both felt that we didn't need to be in that mental space that consuming junk food was creating for us, even if you exclude the reaction of the body completely.

But, unfortunately for my routine, on Monday I started an acting seminar. It's going great, and I'm really excited about it, BUT in terms of holding on to the routine, it's not helping, as it involves a commitment of 5 hours a day, 10am to 3pm, Monday through Friday, plus the extra work we need to put in at home, which is A LOT.

When I expressed my concerns to my therapist, about losing my routine when I start the 3-week seminar, she told me that I should focus on holding on to one or two components of my routine, and not try to do the whole thing, or, on the flipside, just completely cut it out until the course is finished.

So, these two elements combined led to me losing progress, as I gained 0,8kg, but most importantly, I lost control of my day-to-day, for the entirety of this past week. I just went through the motions, nothing more.

Today, a Saturday with no class, and, as I've been trying to get back on the horse, before it bolts into the woods and I can never find it again, I made a move.

I got up, I made my bed, I put my workout clothes on, and I rolled out the mat. And I went on youtube and I did the next practice of the 30-day Yoga Journey I'm taking, which is the one below. "Reset". And sweet Adriene, the instructor, said at the start of the video: "Today we take the opportunity to celebrate that we're halfway through the journey", which on its own made me smile, as I felt a sense of achievement for actually having done the first two weeks of the journey, even if they were before the slip-up, it was all the more reason to remember that this, all of it, it's something that I can do, but she went on to say "and we also take the opportunity to hit the reset button", and I teared up. I was resetting on my own anyway, and not exactly by choice, but I felt not alone, I felt like she was giving me an opportunity for a fresh start, although it doesn't need to be that, it only needs to be an invitation to continue where we left off, and that it was, as my body was fully able to answer the call. Nothing was gone, and it was all there.

So, I guess, onwards (and upwards) we go!

Home - Day 15 - Reset | 30 Days of Yoga

[novaismybbg]

Nova x GN!Reader short headcanons dating!

Your relationship began after Sam asked you out. Although it was slightly embarrassing for him that his mother gave you a ride, it wasn't a problem, because how would he have a car? He can't even have his driver's license yet, he's too young. And anyway, seeing him like that, a little bit ashamed and still embarrassed? It was cute. He is cute.

The place where the date was nothing fancy or expensive, just a simple bowling date. It was super fun, you especially liked seeing how nervous Sam was. It was relieving, because you were nervous too. In a short time, you both went from awkward silence and bowling to having conversation quite loudly with no awkwardness, forgetting that you were bowling.

After the game, of course, you went to eat, because you two were obviously hungry, and yet even there, both of your mouths wouldn't shut and you kept talking as if the pizza wasn't even for you.

As you might have guessed, you drove back home with his mother, who well played the role of a chauffeur. This time, you did exchange a few words and that was the end of your date. Lovely.

At school the next day, he confidently approached you. Another date? Not really. Sam wanted the two of you to just walk together after school because he had enjoyed having a conversation with you yesterday. You agreed, and after school you already walked around holding hands.

This happened few times. Well, many times actually, for almost 2 months you were hanging out wherever you could after school, during which time you both subconsciously accepted each other as romantic partners. You didn't have to announce that you were in a relationship, it all just kind of happened.

And somehow it also just kind of happened that your cute skateboarding boyfriend (I remember that he was a skateboarder) turned out to be a superhero. Not just an earth superhero, but a galactic superhero. And his father was one too, but he's somewhere in space, and it's not clear where? Well, that explains why Sam sometimes snatches your half-dates to 'help' some of his relatives.

Of course, the whole story with space cops and corrupt space cops is interesting, but this is America, somehow all superheroes are superheroing here, so it was easy for you to accept that fact that Sam is one of them. Not that it matters much, your boyfriend gives you attention and time, he loves you and takes care of you when you need it, that's all that matters, right?

So over time, he introduced you to his team, Champions, where everyone else is also a teenage superheroes. Cool, because we need more of them, the Avengers should retire (considering they barely tolerate each other, for crying out loud). So on Fridays you're hanging out with the Champion now, which is great because now you have more friends. Success!

Still, you didn't expect to have dates in space! Sam has started taking you on dates in space a lot(thanks to Cho for figuring out a convenient way for you to breathe while hanging on your boyfriend's back while he's flying at high speed.) It's fun, it's cool, it gets your adrenaline pumping, and it also helps teach you how to defend yourself from bastards. You're the romantic partner of a superhero, there's bound to be some drama queen trying to hurt you in some way, these supervillains aren't getting any more original, are they?

But your dates in space have another purpose, to find Sam's father. He misses him and you, as a very good partner, can't see how much this is affecting your boyfriend in a negative way. You want him to be happy, so you do everything you can to make him happy.

And he does the same with you.

[stevenbasic]

GITJ Post 281: Thinking About Her

I’d gotten to work a bit late that Friday, having been exhausted from yesterday and sleeping for more than twelve hours. The office, once I finally made it downstairs from my room, was abuzz with energy. Though my schedule didn’t start ‘til eleven, Vida and Morgan were seeing patients; the girls wanted to take it easy on me, I guess. And so here I was in my office, sipping on the glass of warmed-up milk Melissa had left for me along with a note. She was sorry to have to miss our Friday meeting, occupied in the other wing helping sort out some things with the construction teams. She’d be there most of the day. Huh, that’s too bad,  I thought. I’d been looking forward to seeing her. The world seemed emptier, and definitely colder, without the idea of her being around. I shivered, in fact, despite the warm milk and despite the suit jacket I wore over my too-large button-down shirt. Had someone turned down the heat?  I found myself sniffing the little yellow sticky note, hoping for an extra whiff of her perfume, and beginning to thumb through her Instagram archive for maybe my thousandth time, looking for some warmth. A couple minutes in, my cock already swollen and having attracted the unconscious rubs and attention of my right hand through my khakis, a text came through from Melissa. It’s weird but if I didn’t know better I’d say she was spying on me haha, and knows she’s on my mind…

Yes, yes, I admit it: I missed her. 

My day was not too busy with patients but nonetheless it went along quickly enough. I found myself always hoping I’d see Melissa when I came out of an exam room, or hear her voice down the hall. But apparently she was still tied up next door with the construction. We chatted through texts a bit; I did my best to sound flirty and funny, and asked if they needed my help or input. Nope, she said I didn’t have anything to worry about. Despite how badly I wanted to stay relaxed about the whole thing I couldn’t help but think: what in god’s name were they doing over there?? And - why didn’t they want my opinions? They were, to the best of my knowledge, building new medical suites. What sort of decisions was Melissa making that I shouldn’t at least be consulted on?? Melissa had her…ummm…better qualities. Her strengths. The abilities needed to plan out a new medical office were, I was sure, not among them.

But maybe she’d surprise me.

Anyway, thinking about her - what we did together yesterday, and the promise of what we might do together next time we could be alone - kept me from perseverating too much on all that. In the name of not sounding too eager and desperate, I held out as long as I could but by midafternoon I’d asked her, through texts, for another date…that evening in fact, if she was free. I felt my heart sink when she said she’d be “doing something” with her mom. But she told me how - what? What’s this? - Marisela was setting up a television for me in my apartment, as we spoke, that very afternoon. How did she get into my place? Why didn’t they ask me if I wanted a television? But concerns like that didn’t seem to bother Melissa too much, and apparently I was getting a free TV out of the deal…I didn’t dare ask from where. “We don’t want you to be bored!” Melissa said, apparently knowing I didn’t have a television before and probably couldn’t afford it after my devastating divorce. Great, but, still…how embarrassing was that, accepting a gift like charity? Having a girl set it up for you in your apartment?

That bothered me, a little, I guess. But as my casual conversations with Melissa went on over the afternoon, and we set up a date of sorts (I guess I’d be going out with the lot of them…)

Other things started to bother me as well. I thought back on the pictures and disturbing messages I’d gotten from Angie last night. How did she know about…all that? The intimacy Melissa and I had shared? Some of it was, like, really private stuff, and kind of embarrassing. Jesus, I remember being lifted, carried like a child, talking with her about our size differences, basically being a worshipful simp…and somehow I kinda think Angie had heard about it all. Thinking Melissa was that open about us with her friends made me uneasy, for sure. Even over the airwaves, through our text bubbles, Melissa could sense my unrest, that something was on my mind.

…jesus. I couldn’t help but have thoughts, images…a shrunken little prince, surrounded by his harem.

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

Patreon? Try it I think you'll like it.

[hackedmotionsensors]

Thank you to the people who stopped by my booth this weekend at LACC!! I know I was a little down yesterday but I think I was just tired lol as you are when you've been subjected to light torture that is the LA Convention center LED overhead lights lol me the whole weekend "There are FOUR lights"

Anyway everyone who stopped by was absolutely lovely. Every now and then at cons you'll get someone really nasty or rude or a weird table neighbor but everyone was super chill and it was great.

however lmao

The con ITSELF what a NIGHTMARE lol I mean I've been to worse TBF. And they did provide us with table cloth, trashcans, a helper badge and an extra chair (a minimal request but some cons don't provide that).

But they also didn't have any designated exhibitor parking (not that unusual) but at LACC its 30$ a DAY. Then when we go to set up....the tables were not set up like a normal con. Normally cons put tables right next to each other in one long row and then you have a long open isle behind the tables OR the tables will be fairly close to each other but with a walkway behind and space to slide through on the sides of the table.

lol.....they put a bar with a curtain about two feet high in between EACH table. These are normally at the end to keep random people from going down the isles behind the tables. We were basically caged in at each table. There was no space for even a regular sized person but yknow I gots a lot of stuff in my wagon yknow? lmao But also to set up I have two big suitcases and a photo stand. Luckily the guys who were behind me were comic guys so they just had their big banners and didn't show up until like an hour before the con. But it was SO INCONVENIENT. But also...if I had some physical disability I wouldn't have been able to get behind the table! Even if it was just....being very plus sized or a broken ankle. Let alone if you had a wheel chair or crutches yknow? Plus having a METAL BAR with a curtain on it in between EACH table is a MASSIVE FIRE HAZARD. And by fire hazard I mean if there was ANY sort of emergency. A gun attack (bc security was...a mess lol), an earthquake (ITS FUCKING LA!!!???? HELLO!?!?), ANYTHING that would cause people to need to flee in a fast and orderly fashion we wouldn't be able to fucking GET OUT!

And then randomly on the last day the bars behind a few of the tables in my area were just...gone lol And I definitely tweeted about it being a fire hazard but I have no idea if they saw.

ANYWAY. The security thing was ALSO a joke. Bc on Friday set up started at 8 and I got there maybe around 830? 9? and I'd been there the whole day. I ran downstairs some time in the afternoon before the show started and suddenly there's a guy at the bottom of the stairs saying I have to go through the metal detectors.

I was ALREADY in the building......what??? So then I go through the metal detectors. Bc of course but also??? if I had anything I would have already done it??? And .....I VISIBLY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING!?!?!? I was only carrying my keys. I don't have a glock strapped to my back lmao hello??? And then on Saturday I get there around the same time before opening but just barely bc again I'm trying to park in south parking which is just underneath where my table is and they made me go outside through security again. I was like....fine I guess but I'm already annoyed. Bc I tried to just bypass it lol Bc its fucking stupid like I'm an exhibitor. But they were so poorly managed they had EVERYONE walking out the same door so the regular visitors had to go THROUGH the industry and exhibitor security check. And then I had to go back all the way around to the front main steps (if you've been to AX its the dealers hall steps where everyone is cosplaying) and back around down to H hall where artist alley was. And I had a bag with me. So instead of me giving my bag to the bag check guy or having a separate one for people without exhibitor stuff they just had me walk through the metal detector anyway like dude I have a fucking ita bag on me~!!!!!!!!! Half of this stuff is METAL!!! And the same thing happened on Sunday except THAT check was moved to the front doors and EVERYONE had to go there. LIKE!?!??!? WHATS GOING ON LMAO. SO I tried to hand my bag to the bag check guy. I'm like its got metal in it? They're like no no just walk through. AND OF COURSE IT GOES OFF BC I TOLD THEM!!!!!! IT WAS METAL!!!!

And also during set up....they put artist alley near the back near the backdoors where there was a "beer garden" and food trucks and honestly the over priced quesadilla I had was really good but still....my poor wallet... But during set up as it got later in the day THE WIND started pouring in and knocked over a ton of set ups INCLUDING MY OWN. All my charms went flying bc my POS photo stand (I'm throwing it in the TRASH) fell over and all my prints were sliding around on the slide rails so I basically had to re-set up my entire display. So...thanks for that LACC as well.

AND THEN. On the last day LACC decided to not provide access to a freight elevator for artist alley. I'm not sure if the other end of the exhibit hall had to deal with this but since artist alley was down in the H Hall side of it there was ONE regular sized people elevator. And EVERYONE was trying to use it. We had to PAY to use the freight elevator. And the escalators which would have solved a lot of peoples problems who used suitcases like me....they were turned off the ENTIRE WEEKEND. They weren't even broken. They were just OFF. I guess they didn't want to pay for normal ass access to the floor. So the line to use the elevator was stretched from near the main entrance of dealers hall all the way down and back into H hall. And a bunch of us were like fuck it lets take the stairs but these are HEAVY cases of merchandise, prints, suitcases, photostands. ANOTHER massive ADA violation bc if someone has to wait that long just to use the elevator or try using the fucking stairs? Or if someone fell and hurt themselves taking their merch down??? The second suitcase when we got towards the bottom my leg almost gave out. I'm not like......super fit or in shape but I'm pretty sturdy but after a LONG THREE days of doing a convention I'm tired and hungry and frankly weak. Absolutely fuckin ridiculous.

This con was so fucking disorganized and a mess to attend. Like also I admittedly paid late but they still didn't tell me my table number until a few days before the con and they didn't TELL ME. They made me download THE FUCKING APP to get the information. Because they didn't put any of it on their website. None of the maps or artists lists were online unless you were like Scottie Young or one of the Hobbits lol

Will I do it again??? MMMMaybe????? Its a local con so its not like its hard to DO but its such a mess in terms of organization and the sales just aren't super hot bc yknow...lol its a local con??? and to be fair I had mostly vtuber stuff and not like....comic con stuff. But I'm getting better at my table display. I still need to make changes to get it perfect and I have to turn around and make merch for AI:LA as soon as possible TTnTT

I'm so tired OTL

[cambria-writes]

posting this like two days earlier than planned because im an impatient brat 🤪 i actually went through this a few more times to see if i could catch any more mistakes, but if you see any please let me know!

pairing: jane x named reader word count: 2,301 rating: PG13 warnings: description of murder scenes, blood, trauma, mentions of death, anxiety

previousnext

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕿𝖜𝖔: 𝔗𝔲𝔰𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔖𝔲𝔫

You're still a little bit in shock if you're to be honest. You  weren't born yesterday, you know who Patrick Jane is. Heard about him  shooting a potentially innocent man. Read up about the Red John murders.  Still not sure whose psych profile is more interesting. Either way,  they're both a little touched in the head. You thank your stars that Mr Jane is on the Good Side.

Probably. A few minutes later has you sitting on an old  leather couch not too far from the stainless steel table. Full, warm mug  of tea in hand rather than a small cup. You can't remember where, but  you've read that holding a warm beverage is a comforting thing. You're desperately trying to find the comfort in the situation.  "So tell me, Skye. You mind if I call you Skye?" You shake your head.  Skye's fine. It's not like you want or expect high society manners  anyways. "Great. What do you do?" He sips his tea. He looks so  carefree. Unsure if that's a façade or legitimate sociopathy. You  correct yourself: psychopathy. Jury's still out on the existence of the  former. You decide it doesn't matter just now. "I work at a book  store," you answer quietly, raising your eyes to meet Jane's when you  catch yourself staring down into your mug again. You were raised better  than that. "About... a little over two years now, probably. Friend of  the family owns it." Mr Jane nods like what you said means  something. Maybe it does. Cold reading is a strange thing. You remind  yourself to steady your breathing and still your limbs. Remember to always look up to the left. Never the right. You vaguely think that this is good practice. "Mm, right, yes, I know that much. But mean for fun. In your spare time. You draw?" He motions at your right hand. Good call.  You nod. "Yeah. Been drawing since I was a kid. I mostly, um. I do  digital art now. My hands usually shake too much for a pencil to be any  good." "Anxiety issues." It's not a question, but you nod. Jane hums and sips at his tea again. You remember to drink yours.  It's not as sweet this time but somehow it's a pleasant change of pace.  Not fruity undertones either. His steady gaze on you is unnerving. It  looks expectant. You wonder what gave away that you hadn't mentioned  everything. "You're not gonna like the other thing," you add  quietly, turning the mug in your hands. The warmth is more like searing  heat, actually. Your palms are sweating. Don't think about the body. Don't think about the body. Steady breathing. "Try me." Deep breath. Close eyes. Try and let the tension seep from your muscles.  "Fortune telling." You can almost feel him tense at the mention of it.  You told him so. "Since I was in middle school. Tarot cards, runes, um.  That kind of thing. The owner of the store lets me do free readings at  the back on Friday nights so..." You trail off and stare at your shoes.  You distantly wonder what they say about you. "There's no such thing—"  "—as psychics," you finish, cutting Jane off. "I know. I never said I  was a psychic, either. You asked what I did in my spare time, so there  you go." You try and sound confident and stable. Voice is too weak to  come off as anything other than tired. Which you very much are.  Again, Mr Jane makes a rather nondescript, noncommittal sound. Leans  back against a desk (probably his?) and contemplates you. The scrutiny  is really starting to make you feel uneasy. You clear your throat. Tea  is half gone now. You're considering if you'll want more. "You uh, you said you could help me remember. What happened after the call?" "Oh, that. Right. Have you ever been hypnotized?"

You're lead up a flight of stairs into a loft that doesn't look  like it belongs in the same building. There are boxes lining pretty much  every wall. They're all clearly labeled as having to do with Red John. A  little disconcerting. Proof of obsession is always awkward to look at.  Like an invasion of privacy. The mattress and pillow on a table off to  your right reinforce that. Does he sleep here? Live here? What the  hell.

Mr Jane pulls hour a chair for you. At a desk, on the back wall, by  the window. The sight of the city at night isn't as beautiful as you  thought it would be.

"Take a seat," he instructs. "Make yourself comfortable. Nothing's going to hurt you here."

Of course he'd say that. All hypnotists say that. You're safe and there's nothing to worry about and nothing is permanent.  Last hypnotist you saw messed you up but good. You want to laugh at the  reassurances. But honestly, they're welcome. You don't feel safe in  your own skin.

You sit down in an old barely padded wooden chair. Jane pulls out a  folding chair from... where, exactly? He sits across you, leans his  elbows on his knees and offers his hands, palm up. Strange but, okay.  You'll bite. As soon as you place your hands on top of his, something  feels strange. Off. His index and major fingers make short work of  finding the pulse at both your wrists.

You mirror the motion. Not quite sure why. Feels like reciprocation  might be alright. If nothing else, the way Mr Jane arches a brow is  satisfying enough. Something seems to alight behind his eyes, and he  settles in his chair a little more. Leans forward just a little bit  more.

"Alright, well, since you're there," he begins, quietly, smoothly.  You think about how you might be able to listen to him speak like that  all day. Night; whatever. Would make a killing with ASMR videos,  probably. "I need you to close your eyes, listen only to my voice, and  focus on the pulse at my wrist. Can you do that?"

Odd instructions. But, okay. Yes. You nod, press a little more into  Jane's wrist to properly feel the blood pumping there. His heart rate  is ridiculously slow and even. Little bit envious.

"Just feel the beat of it. Imagine the veins, the arteries. The  valves in the heart. One beat in, one beat out. The constant flow of  blood through the body. Always flowing."

You could seriously fall asleep like this. Somewhere in your mind, you remind yourself that yes, moron, that is entirely the point.

You let yourself be lulled into a blissful state of between. Not quite conscious, but also not quite not.  The nothingness is unsettling, a little, but the absence of most  everything is oddly comforting. You hear Mr Jane like he's in a distant  room. Voice barely reaching you, your thoughts.

"You're on the front stoop at Tommy's. The door-"

"The door was smashed open," you finish, gritting your teeth.

You were on your way home from the café. More research, more  information to collect. You've been looking into getting into university  for a while, but you have no spare cash to blow on anything but rent  and food. Cafés and restaurants are a good place for some peace and  quiet. All you need to do is ask for a coffee refill now and again. You  don't cause any trouble, you're a paying customer; most places are more  than happy to have you around. At least you're not a rambunctious  drunkard.

You tend to take the long way home. Why not? You enjoy talking to  the few personable people in the neighborhood. It's a nice place. Safe.  Wait. Not it isn't. Tommy's-

"Just breathe, Skye. You're fine." Jane's voice brings you back  down from a bout of panic. "It's just a memory. The door was forced  open. What did you do next?"

"I called 911, a woman answered. I started saying that someone's  been broken into when I, I... god. There's so much blood," you whimper.  The thumb at your left wrist barely helps you trudge on forward. "The  operator kept asking me if I was okay, what's wrong. I think... I  could just say 'he's dead' over and over again. I can barely get the  address out. Dear god.

"What happened then, Skye? Did you hang up?"

You shake your head resolutely. "No, no the operator asked me to stay on the line with her, so I did."

"And what did you do? What did the operator ask you to do?"

Slowly, you find that the knot in your stomach and the lump in your throat ease up a little. Strange.

"She asked me if I had somewhere safe to go to and wait for emergency services to come. I said yes."

"But you didn't leave," Jane completes. Nod; there's no lying about that. "Why did you stay, Skye?"

"I... I needed to see something, so I went to the kitchen. I think,  I put the stopper in the drain and waited it to fill with cold water."

"Why cold water? Why the sink?"

You open your mouth and shut it once. Twice. You want to say why  but something is making it incredibly difficult to get the words out.  The thumb's rubbing at your wrist again. The warmth from the friction  makes you feel odd in a way you can't put words to.

"I, I can't..." You groan, wincing. You don't quite try to pull away. Lean back a little, maybe.

"It's okay, you can tell me. Nothing's going to happen to you." He sounds so compelling. You almost want to believe him

You let yourself believe that you do.

"Scry. I wanted to scry."

Everything is tense and you feel the distinct need to vomit. Deep breaths, even breathing, and the urge doesn't quite pass but at least it's not overwhelming. The thumb at your wrist has stopped moving.

"What did you see." It's not a question. It's a demand. Disbelief,  anger, resolution. You're not sure what you hear in his voice.

"A hatchet buried by a river."

You hear someone take a deep breath. Definitely disbelief then. Unpleasant. A hand leaves you and returned to a shoulder.

"When I tap your shoulder, you're going to look outside and feel  relaxed. You're going to be starving, and the next thing you eat is  going to be the best thing you've had in weeks." Two small tap on your  left shoulder. Sharp intake of breath.

You stare at Mr Jane with a frown. It feels like a dream you woke  up from a few minutes ago. Everything was so clear, but now it feels  like everything is slipping away from you. You try to recall what was  said and come up empty. You feel like a fish out of water; mouth opens,  closes. Opens again. No words come out. You're starving.

"I'll take you back," Jane says quietly, stands and extends a hand  to you. Flatten your hands against your thighs. You've worn these jeans  all day. Unsure if you want to eat first of ask for a change of clothes.

Nevertheless, you take the hand and stand on uncertain legs.  Autopilot; you follow down a flight of stairs, past the dull hum of  activity, into an office. Told that someone will come get you, that  you've got a hotel room somewhere near home. Close enough to be  comfortable, far enough to be safe. You sit in the office for a few  minutes before someone opens the door again.

"Hi, I'm agent Van Pelt," the woman says. Her hair is striking to  you. Leaves you a little envious, if you're honest. She seems nice.  Tired, frustrated (with a hint of something else?) but otherwise  sympathetic. "Miss Benraft?" You nod and stand, walk over to the door to  shake her hand. "I'll be taking you to your room now, okay? We have an  officer who'll keep an eye out for you just in case.

Nod again. Exit the office behind the agent and follow quietly. "Is  um, does someone have my bag? I came here with a messenger back, it's  black, but I don't..."

"Oh, right yeah, of course, just a sec, I'll go get that for you."

Wait awkwardly by the elevator. Agent Lisbon and Mr Jane seem to be  having some kind of argument down the hallway. Agent Van Pelt returns  with your bag and makes sure you've got anything you need.

"Whatever I'm missing I can probably get at the motel, right?" You  get into the elevator, fidget anxiously with the strap of your bag.  Something unsettles you but you can't quite put your finger of what that  is. Feels like unfinished business.

"Probably, yeah," the agent replies, reaching in her jacket pocket  to pull out a business card. "Give me a call if you need anything  though? Or if you remember something. Every detail helps." You nod and  contemplate the name and numbers on the card. Grace feels like a very  appropriate name for her, actually.

You have no idea where you're going and follow agent Van Pelt  around, eyes on her heels. You take a moment to enter her number in your  phone; you never know. Maybe you will remember something.

The car ride is calm, peaceful. Van Pelt leaves the radio off,  leaves you to stare out the passenger window at the passing lights. The  drive is nearly an hour, from the office in Sacramento to a small town  north of Yuba. The agent gets a call or two in the meanwhile. You don't  pay attention; you're halfway to sleeping when she pulls over in front  of a motel. Thankfully, it seems like the more reputable kind. A local  officer greets her.

Grab your bag, get out of the SUV, stop in your tracks.

You're at the Riverside Motel.

@fucklife-or-me

[itwasthisorthemilitary]

March 12, 2024

One month since I left Boston. That’s NUTS. Simultaneously feels like three days and 3 years ago. 26 months left (can’t even begin to consider how weird that is). Writing this while licking a jar of peanut butter like my life depends on it. I considered using my machete to chop the jar in half so i could lick it better.

ANYWAYS.

Today was silly. I love my Spanish class, our teacher really thinks we’re all insane. We asked him if he’s ever seen that old Disney movie “How to Eat Fried Worms” but he thought this was like an educational film and not a children’s movie.

After lunch we went to San Sebastián where the rest of our cohort is living! (Los Mortales is way better in my opinion) but I miss the SASers and love getting to see them. We had a big group meeting about Worms 🪱 In my opinion it was pretty boring/i feel like i already knew most of it? There was a very cute dog tho so that made it worth it.

Lots of things coming up!

-Language progress interview on Friday (I’m stressed)

-Trainees are hosting a community meeting on Friday (we are not prepared at all. Gonna be a shit show)

-Tech week next week! All of the CECers are headed to Chiriqui for a week of in the field learning like how to make soap from used cooking oil. So so excited to see Chiriqui because it’s like 10 hours from here and is much higher in elevation so it might be COLD.

Yesterday when i was in the river for a lil dip i was wearing my tevas and thought I’d just walk down the river a bit because it was only like calf deep. It was so pretty and really felt like i was in the middle of a jungle (i was). So im just exploring, having a good time, when Carlo SCREAMS at me. #rude. Until i realized that he was screaming “CAIMANS”. So apparently the area where we swim is safe, but the area that i had walked directly into about a football field away, is not safe. And some locals had flagged him down when they saw how far i had went. So i hastily returned. Never actually saw a caiman but the locals were like “this dumb gringo”.

Here are some great photos of a sloth, a very cute puppy, my bestie Liv, and too many of us packed into a van.

[worldwright]

Good evening !

Today was a great day -as in I went for one hour to my university, one hour with my classmates and russian prof (of russian). I was shacking in anxiety -and I couldn't find my meds for this EVEN IF I PACKED THEM URGH

BUT BUT BUT, it was nice to be back and speaking and writing in russian. That said, finishing Yuri On Ice today was funny x) Oh do they love throwing little words in russian (and wtf, why is there a french guy speaking in the last episode ? i just fucking laughed at that, it was sooooo robotic of him to talk like this omg) and I will NEVER say that my accent is good, it's very french, but oh man. Their accents were funny - it's fine, russian isn't from the same linguistic group as japanese, like, at all. But for me, someone who sees on a weekly basis russians (and sometimes ukrainians, or my (half ?) serb classmate and my half-slovenian classmate -they're the ones with the best accent by far for quite obvious reasons, and apparently my (half ?) chechen classmate is good, but I never really hear him talk so. iirc ive already told you about how my region -and by extension my town- has a good amount of slavic/slavic descendant people and yes i know chechens are caucasian, not slavic but it's because of the (directly or indirectly) USSR that slavic people are here -before or after it. anyway, that's france for ya), it's extremely funny

BUT OMG I UNDERSTAND BETTER WHY PEOPLE WENT CRAZY OVER YURI ON ICE

AND OH THE JJK EPISODE OF YESTERDAY. OOOOOOOOOH I LOVED IT SO MUCH AAAAAAAAAH

Have a great morning my friend !

THE EPISODE OMFG. I LITERALLY HAD TO PAUSE TO CATCH MY BREATH WTFFFFFFFFF

my partner was like "lol megumi is for sure not gonna have lasting trauma from thissss :)" and Yes For Sure but First !!! he actually has to figure out who the Fuck that guy even Was LMAO. I think he suspected something from the way he ran over to the body....... but lol We Don't Have Time To Unpack All That 👍

also it was SO MEANNNNN of them to end the episode where they did like Bruh !!!!! Let Us See The Goddamn Summoning Ritual

I mean I know we will next week but . come onnnnnnnn

language classes sound fun!! at least if it's a language ur actually excited about learning lol, my high school Spanish classes were just kinda a drag and I wish every day that I'd taken Japanese...

and yea it's so fun to hear a language in a show that you know and the actors clearly don't 😂 like I know they don't have time to properly learn an entirely new language for a few sentences but sometimes I simply do not process those words as English, man... in the show Firefly they were speaking cowboy English with all the cussing in Mandarin 🥰 my partner said it was very amusing to hear lol

I think I actually have a free weekend??? what am I gonna do with myself.......... I've got some chores to do but after that..... maybe I'll hop on a random bus and see where I get

have a wonderful Friday, friend!!