#bex writes fanfic

[bex-pendragon]

Guess who's doing @100wednesday again after 84 years? Me, that's who! In light of the cancellation and pending removal of Willow 2022 from D+, I got inspired to write a few words. This show has meant a lot to me and I'm going to miss it so much.

Elora keeps looking over her shoulder. 

The others think it’s because she’s using her magic. That she’s on alert for danger.

“You can relax a little,” Kit says as they make camp. “The Wyrm isn’t following us yet.”

Elora fakes a smile. She admires Kit’s bravado; her heroism.

Elora doesn’t tell them she’s not looking for the Wyrm, or the Crone, or any of the other enemies they’ve faced. She fears them, but they aren’t the reason she looks back.

They’ve left something unfinished. Something - someone - is missing.

She can’t tell them she’s looking back because she’s looking for Graydon.

[babybluebex]

*claps hands together* okay SO. listen. even though i know some people dont like it, i am kind of a sucker for “tomboy character gets femmed up and male protagonist falls for them hard” cliche, and imagining that with a fem!reader (or just a kinda fem enby like myself) who’s one of eddies childhood friends SENDS me 😭 ofc no pressure!! your writing is wonderful as always and take all the time you need 🥰

𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 | 𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: you’re not exactly a girly-girl, but, after corroded coffin is booked to play prom, you decide to surprise your best friend with a dress and a confession. 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: eddie munson (stranger things) x fem!reader 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: tomboy!reader, a LOT of fluff, brief blood mention 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: eek thanks for sending in this request! i had such a good time writing it!

You didn’t usually give much thought to dances or school functions, or really school at all. All of the events, be it homecoming or the Snowflake Ball or that weird assembly about saying no to drugs, were a complete snooze fest. Even prom irked you. Who would actually want to hang around the gymnasium and drink flat punch for hours and listen to whatever crappy band was hired out for the night? The concept of it never struck any flame inside you, so you never cared about it. 

Until this prom. Until Corroded Coffin. 

“How the fuck,” you started, tossing a crumb at Eddie as he strutted proudly around the lunch table. “Did you manage to get Higgins to hire your sorry-ass band to play prom?” 

“I can be persuasive!” Eddie returned quickly, dodging your crumb with a smile. “Anyway, I also told him that it would motivate me in my schoolwork.”

“How would that…” you began with a roll of your eyes. “Never mind, I don’t wanna know how you smooth-talked that away. So, you’ve got your Saturday booked up. What happened to renting Halloween, like we talked about?” 

“We can still do that,” Eddie told you quickly. “Prom officially ends at 11, then I’ve got the rest of the night for my favorite girl.” 

Your heart swept up into your throat as he passed behind you, his hand lightly trailing your shoulder. You and Eddie had been through thick and thin since meeting, way back in preschool, and he loved you like you were his sister. You, however, had something festering in your heart. 

It had happened back years ago, despite the awful buzzed hairstyle that he had rocked all through junior high. Somewhere between seventh and eighth grade, you had developed a huge crush on your best friend, one that had consumed every second of every day. And now, your last year of high school (and Eddie’s third senior year), your crush had managed to dull down to less all-consuming and more… Loving. 

You didn’t have a crush on your best friend, you loved him. And soon you would leave him for college. You worried if your friendship would survive the distance, but, the one time you had talked to Eddie about it, he had assured you that he would write and visit every chance he got. But, as the time drew nearer and nearer, it felt less likely to happen. He would get a job, you would move, and you’d never have time for each other, and, eventually, he would only be that guy you used to know.

Spending time with Eddie mattered to you, and you were only slightly hurt that Eddie would drop your plans to perform at the stupid fucking prom. He had never gone to prom, nor had you ever heard him express any interest in going, and you groaned at him. “Since when do you even wanna go to prom?” you asked. 

“Since I decided that this is my last chance to,” Eddie said, and he finally settled down in his chair at the head of the lunch table. “I’m fuckin’ done with Hawkins High, and I’m gonna graduate and leave this place in my dust. I don’t have anything to lose. Anyway, it’s a gig. I’ll get paid. We can rent Halloween and buy some snacks. Sounds like a good deal to me.” 

You crossed your arms over your chest. “I’m going,” you told him. 

“Going where?” Eddie asked, and you coughed out a laugh. 

“To prom, dork,” you returned. “I wanna see you guys perform.” 

“Really?” Eddie asked with a furrow of his eyebrows. “Prom isn’t my scene, but it’s really not your scene. Don’t torture yourself just ‘cause you wanna spend time with little ole me.” 

“What do you mean it’s ‘not my scene’?” you asked, and you stole a carrot off of Dustin’s lunch tray. The freshman gasped at you, and you jokingly mocked his gasp before giving him an exaggerated pout. “Prom can be my scene.” 

“You just don’t…” Eddie started. “Getting all dressed up and everything, I know you hate that.” 

“You’re right,” you sighed, slumping back in your chair. “But you never know, I might surprise you and show up. It’s just a Corroded Coffin gig, right?” 

“We’re gonna be playing dumb covers,” Eddie grumbled. “We were given a very specific list of dos and don’ts. No heavy metal, nothing vulgar—”

“So, you’re a cover band for the night,” you giggled, and Eddie scrunched up his face in fake-annoyance before he tossed a pretzel in your direction. It hit your cheek and fell down into your lap, and you grinned as you plucked it up and ate it. “I know how you feel about musical integrity, Eds.”

“Yeah, well, integrity goes out the window when you get paid,” Dustin chuckled, and Eddie flashed him a dirty look. “Well, doesn’t it?”

“Whatever,” Eddie said. “Fuck you guys. If you wanna show up to prom, do it. See if I care.” 

“I will,” you told him, and you stuck your tongue out at Eddie at the same time that he stuck his out at you. “And I’ll watch you care so much.”

Prom, unluckily for you, was only 3 days out. You hated the idea of dressing up for it, just as Eddie had predicted you would. You hated the whole glitz and glamour thing, and the thought of intentionally getting all dolled up with hair and makeup and some big dress and heels made you feel sick. But, you considered, it was for Eddie. You would do a lot for him, this included. 

The problem came with the dress. Dresses were scarce in your closet, let alone something really nice, and you knew that no stores would have anything like what you wanted that was even remotely in your price range on such a short notice. 

On the night, just hours short of prom, you chewed your lip as you held the phone to your chest, debating if you truly wanted to do this, and you rolled your eyes as you got over yourself. It was Eddie— you could show up in a potato sack and he’d still call you pretty. 

You quickly dialed Mike Wheeler’s number, rotating the dial as you tried to remember it. You had only ever called him once before, getting on his ass for being late to Hellfire last semester, but it wasn’t the younger Wheeler that you wanted to talk to. 

His mom answered the phone. “Hi, Mrs. Karen,” you said, hoping to sound sweet and charming. “Is Nancy around? I have a question for her.” 

“Why’re you calling me?” Nancy asked as the phone was passed to her, and you sighed. 

“You’re the only girl I remotely know,” you started. “And I need a dress.” 

“A dress?” Nancy repeated. “Why? Are you going to prom tonight? Don’t you have a prom dress?” 

“Well, no,” you started, curling the phone cord anxiously around your finger. “I, umm, wasn’t really planning on going to prom. But now I am, and, like I said, you’re, like, the only girl I even sorta halfway know. We were in Kaminsky’s class together sophomore year, and Mike’s in Hellfire, and I just… I need a dress. Anything! It could be a church dress, sundress, it could be anything. I just need help.” 

“Right,” Nancy said slowly. “Umm… Come over, I guess. I’ll see what I can do for you.” 

You had never even been over to Wheeler’s house before, and going to see specifically Nancy Wheeler felt odd. You especially felt weird walking into her pink-topia bedroom, wearing your ripped jeans and dirty Converse and flannel shirt that used to be Eddie’s but you had stolen off of him. To top it all off, of course, her only dress options were pink and/or glittery. But you weren’t going to be a choosing beggar, and you decided on one that was the least egregious. A strapless burst of light pink tulle that fell down to your calves hugged your frame, and you examined yourself from every angle in Nancy’s little white wicker mirror. 

“How is that?” Nancy asked, stepping behind you into the reflection. 

“I feel like a princess,” you mumbled, turning again to look at your back. 

“Is that good or bad?” Nancy asked, and you shrugged. 

“It’s…” you started. The dress showed off your dirty shoes and scrunched socks, but you sorta liked the way it looked. You felt pretty. “I think it's good.” 

“And if you let your hair down…” Nancy started softly, reaching out and shaking your hair out of the perpetual ponytail that it was in. Your hair was dented from the ponytail holder as it fell down, and you took a deep breath. “Maybe curled it… A little makeup… Is Eddie your date?” 

“No,” you scoffed, but you looked away from the mirror all the same. “No, his band is performing, and I was gonna surprise him.” 

Nancy suddenly got a smile on her face, like she knew something or understood you, and she said, “You’re trying to look nice for Eddie.”

“No, I’m not!” you said. “I… I don’t know. I just wanna… Look like I’m going to prom, I guess. It’ll shake him up, seeing me in a dress, it’s gonna be funny.” 

“Honey,” Nancy said gently. “It’s okay to wanna look nice for the guy you like. I mean, any girl would want that.”

“I don’t like Eddie—” you tried to say, but Nancy shook her head, her permed curls bouncing around her face. 

“Then why do you wanna look so nice?” Nancy asked. “You could’ve showed up in your jeans.” 

You frowned, examining the dress once more, and you sighed. “Okay, fine,” you mumbled. “I just… I like Eddie, I really like him, and I just… Maybe I do wanna look nice for him, whatever. Don’t judge me.” 

Nancy looked at your reflection for a few more quiet moments, and she finally said, “You can keep that dress. I never wear it.” 

The band was already performing by the time you showed up. Given, you had shown up a little late, but you were sure that Eddie wouldn’t mind. You were sure that, even if you hadn’t showed up at all, he wouldn’t have minded. 

That way, you would’ve missed seeing him in that dumb fucking suit. 

Suit was not exactly what it was. It was a tuxedo, black, with a white shirt that had some frilly bullshit on the chest. You could tell that Eddie was despising the black bowtie around his neck and the cumberbund around his middle, and you also knew for a fact that he was hating every second of having his hair pulled back into a ponytail. You almost wanted to laugh at him. Your hand came up to cover your mouth to hide your laughter, as if he could see you from across the gym. 

Eddie was standing very still as he played his guitar, some gentle-paced love song that couples all around the gym were slow dancing to. You had seen him play guitar before, and you knew that he usually played with all of the energy in his body, headbanging and jumping around. You had wiped blood off of his face before after he had rammed his head into the headstock of his guitar, even. He looked miserable, and you frowned. Poor Eddie. 

You weaved through the dancing couples to make it up to the small stage, and Eddie’s dark eyes found you in an instant. You waved at him carefully, not wanting to draw his attention away from the song for too long, but that failed in an instant. He had already missed a cord and, as his hands floundered to get back on track, he struck a sour note. 

You saw him mutter something that looked like “Fuck it”, and he pulled his guitar up and over his head before he said something in Jeff’s ear. Then, he jumped down from the stage and, smugly adjusting his bowtie, swaggered up to you. 

“Alright, cut that shit out,” you laughed as he approached you. “I can tell you’re not having a good time.” 

“Jesus Christ, am I that easy to figure out?” Eddie asked, dropping his hand from his tie. “I hate this fucking monkey suit.” 

“You look like the kid from Back To The Future,” you giggled. “That tux is hideous, Eds.” 

“Kinda felt like him too,” Eddie mumbled. “My hands stopped playing when I saw you. Holy shit, by the way! You look—”

“Hideous?” you repeated with a shrug. “I know.” 

“Beautiful,” Eddie said breathlessly. His eyes were canvassing your whole body, from your curled hair to your pink-painted lips to your dress, and even down to your scuffed Converse and scrunched-up socks. “I didn’t know you had this in you.”

“Shut up,” you laughed, reaching out and punching Eddie’s shoulder. “If I look beautiful, then you’re downright handsome.”

“I’ll take it,” Eddie chuckled lightly, and the smile dropped off of his face. “You wanna… You wanna dance?” 

“Seriously?” you asked. “Do you really wanna dance?”

“Kinda,” Eddie shrugged, and your heart jumped in your chest. “But not if you don’t want to.” 

“Oh,” you said softly. “Well… Yeah. Sure.” 

You watched Eddie swallow thickly as he took a step towards you, and your skin rippled as he put his hands on your waist. “Have you ever slow danced before?” you asked, and Eddie shook his head. 

“No,” he said. He seemed nervous, and you were taken aback. Eddie, your high-strung best friend, never afraid and always loud, was nervous. Was he nervous to dance with you? Or was he really that insecure about the way he was dressed?

“You do look really nice,” you mumbled. “Really… Seriously handsome.”

“Thanks,” Eddie said as you circled your arms around his neck. “Umm, are my hands okay here?” 

“Yeah,” you told him. After a moment of consideration, you added, “They can go lower, on my hips, if you want.” 

“No,” Eddie said. “I like holding you here.” 

You nodded, trying not to think about his words too hard. Sure, you had hugged Eddie before, loads of times, and he always threw his gangly arms around you and squeezed hard, and he never seemed anxious about it. Your heart was racing inside your chest as you moved even closer to Eddie and rested your chin on his shoulder, letting your cheek brush his neck. Your body fit against his like the most perfect puzzle piece, and you sighed lightly. 

It was now or never. “Eds?” you whispered. His grip tightened on your waist at the gentle nickname, and you started to add, “I—”

Eddie cut you off, though, in the best way he could have. He turned his head and swiftly pressed his lips to yours, lingering for just a moment before pulling away, all too soon for your liking. “Sorry,” he said quickly. “I, umm… I’ve had the biggest crush on you for a long time. A-And you’re about to leave for college, and you look so fucking beautiful— not that you don’t look beautiful every day, I actually sorta prefer your jeans and everything— and I just, I can’t hold it back any more. I love you.”

“Eddie,” you sighed heavily, your voice trembling. “I mean… I don’t know what to say to you.”

“Tell me you love me,” Eddie whispered, and he pushed a lock of your hair behind your ear. “Tell me I didn’t just fuck everything up.” 

You looked at him, entranced by his wide, dark eyes, and you leaned back in, pressing your lips to his again. His hands fluttered on your waist for a moment before he dragged you right up against him, his palms pressing flat to your back, and his lips moved gently against yours as he kissed you. Eddie was kissing you; it was your dream come true. 

As you broke the kiss, you could feel Eddie’s heartbeat flush against your chest, and you giggled softly, looking down at your swaying feet. “I love you, you dork,” you told him. 

“You still down for Halloween later?” Eddie asked hopefully, his eyebrows raising. “Watching a scary movie with your boyfriend?” 

“Yes,” you told him with a smile. “Yes, I am so down for that. As long as you let me hide during the scary parts.” 

“I’ll kiss it better,” Eddie said. “How does that sound?”

“Perfect.”

[thedarkestgreys]

this bad boy is off to my beta so might as well throw up a sneak peek at yvor 30 ✨✨✨

[bookwyrminspiration]

Hey, for the prompt ask game, can you do “ Jeez, i don’t even wanna know how you got that battle wound there; sit down and let me fix it up, won’t you? “ with Dex and the triplets? Maybe it could be post-canon, and it could be the triplets comforting Dex? But if you have another idea, you can do that too!

Hi Nonsie!!! I certainly took my sweet time, but I hope you enjoy--I had a lot of fun figuring out their dynamic and each of the triplet's personalities :)

dear god please just let me sleep <- ao3 link

warnings: blood, injury

word count: 5k

Dex hoped he’d be able to slip away to his room before anyone caught him; he’d been running on a bare few hours of sleep the past few days, and if he didn’t crash soon, his body would make him.

Especially with how his arm stung--he couldn’t wait to sleep that off. And then immediately jump back into a political clusterfuck of trolls and mutants and treaties.

But he should’ve known better.

“You’re back!” Bex shouted, falling through the wall of the entryway and nearly losing her balance to careen through the other. “HE’S BACK!”

She turned to yell the second part at someone else, and sure enough Lex slipped through a moment later--literally. His ice path was apparently too slick for him, and as it cruised past before ending abruptly, he, too, cruised past and directly into the wall.

“Took you long enough!” his younger brother said, grinning as he shook frost from his hair--a perfect mix of their parents. “Where WERE you? We’ve been waiting all day!”

Dex summoned what little energy he had left, hoping one final show of bravado would be enough to get him through this. And then, on the other side, his bed would be waiting for him all soft, and warm, and peaceful…

“Just stupid elf work--it’s all boring. You’d hate it,” he said, offering a small smile back as he moved to continue, hoping they’d lose interest. If he just got to his room, he could close the door behind him and put up that sound-barrier he’d made from that old obscurer. “What were you waiting for?”

Rex caught up with them then, carefully stepping over the trail of ice Lex had left through the house and stopping Dex short when he said, “You. You said you were free to hang out this afternoon, remember?”

He hadn’t.

“AND! I’ve decided--we’re playing BRAMBLE!” Bex bounced through the wall again.

Rex blinked slowly, watching him. “Is that still okay? We haven’t seen you in forever--you’re always disappearing places. But if you can’t--”

“Ugh, no! Base quest would be more fun!” Lex shoved at Bex, who only laughed as his hand went straight through her shoulder--and the momentum sent him tumbling to the ground, since ice coated the floor wherever he stepped.

Mom had been telling him to cut it out, since it made the house even more dangerous for quick feet, but he hadn’t gotten the message yet.

“Knock it off, you two!” he scolded, not answering Rex’s question. “If you’re going to be rough, do it outside, remember?”

Lex stood unsteadily, then made a show of thinking. “No, I don’t think I remember.”

Then he grinned, wicked, and lunged towards Dex.

Maybe if he hadn’t had four hours of sleep in the past two days, and if he hadn’t spent those two days crawling around mutant troll hives, and maybe if one of those loose trolls hadn’t swiped him solidly on the shoulder a mere few hours ago before Lovise subdued it, he’d have been able to jump out of the way.

But all of that had happened, and he went down hard.

Lex made a noise of surprise at the way Dex crumpled, Rex gasping and Bex laughing as they crashed to the floor.

He couldn’t help the strangled hiss of pain that slipped through his teeth as Lex’s hands wrapped around his arm.

And the laughter stopped.

Lex froze--metaphorically and literally, ice crusting his nails and seeping onto Dex skin as panic bloomed on his face.

“Dex?” he asked.

Someone repeated it, but he’d closed his eyes in a grimace, pushing up slowly into a sitting position. He couldn’t stand.

His shoulder pounded and his head throbbed, and maybe his heart wasn’t beating quite right. Too fast, as if there wasn’t enough time for it to finish a beat before the next.

“What’s wrong with him?” Bex asked, too loud, and the fear in her voice had him voicing his eyes open.

He couldn’t let them see this.

“I’m fine,” he lied, prying Lex’s hands from where they still grabbed him and offering what he hoped was a comforting smile. He didn’t think he succeeded. “It’s just--”

“You’re bleeding,” Rex interrupted, coming to crouch beside him and pointing.

Dex followed his finger and cursed. The binding over his scratches must’ve been knocked loose in Lex’s tackle, and now bright red had started to seep into the fabric of his tunic. And just after it’d finally stopped bleeding.

Lex didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands, shakily sober as he looked around. “My imparter’s somewhere, I’ll hail Elwin.”

“Don’t,” Dex told him, shaking his head and making himself dizzy--oh how desperately he wanted his bed. “He’s busy enough with the gnomes, and this is just a scratch.”

It was true enough.

Bex braced her hands on her hips the way she always did when she was preparing to argue--loudly. “You’re being stupid! Mom and Dad would agree with me if they were here--right Lex?”

Poor Lex looked too pale to respond, staring at the spreading blood through the fabric as he sat atop his legs next to him.

“I can treat it,” Rex offered, shifting uneasily. “If you really don’t want to hail Elwin.”

“You can what?” Dex repeated, too tired to follow.

He pulled at a thread in his tunic and looked down, cheeks flushing. “Dad’s been--he’s been working with me a lot in the store. Showed me how to make some things and how to use them. I could…I could help…” his voice faded towards the end.

Dex knew Rex had taken on almost the same role he’d had with their dad at that age, since Dex was usually too busy to help these days. If it wasn’t mutant trolls, it was the weird new illness in the gnomes--again, and this time it wasn’t the plague; they’d checked--or the weird aggression in some of the animals the Ruewen’s were taking in at Havenfield, or the million other assignments the Council and his friends had piled on him--and all this while having to keep up with the elite levels.

But he’d hadn’t been keeping track of just how far Rex had progressed already.

“Yes, do that,” Bex commanded, nodding solidly as she reached down to grab Dex as Rex disappeared down the hall. At the last moment she realized she was reaching for his bad arm and switched to the other, and he found himself hauled to his feet by his little sister.

Dex started to shake his head--he was their big brother, he was supposed to look after them--but Bex cut him off.

She’d started poking around the bloodied sleeve, and before he could stop her--though to be honest, he was so exhausted he didn’t even think to try--she’d exploited some mystical weak point in the seams and torn the sleeve clean off.

The four solid scrapes down his shoulder--previously covered by a goblin military-style wrap and some kind of second skin that’d torn loose--were on prominent display. Lex made a noise somewhere between a gag and terror.

“Stand right there--don’t even think about moving, or I’m going to rig your bathroom with stink spray.”

But as Bex reached for Lex, still pale on the floor, he couldn’t let her take complete control. He’d never live it down. “Hey,” he started, waiting until Lex looked over at him--though he looked away just as quickly. “Don’t worry about it, okay? It’s nothing--I just need to sleep, it wasn’t you.”

Lex didn’t look convinced, but before he could try again, Rex came back with a clinking bag and a furrowed look on his face.

“Okay,” he started, pulling out a bottle of youth and a cloth. He looked up and saw Dex’s now-revealed arm--but didn’t balk. “Jeez, I don’t even wanna know how you got that battle wound there; sit down and let me fix it up, won’t you?“

“LAME!” Bex scoffed, tossing Lex onto the couch where he made no move to adjust himself. Dex sank down a cushion away from him, aching. “I want to know everything! Did you get attacked by killer dwarves? A showdown with ruthless ogres?!” She took a deep breath, clearly preparing for a long string of baseless guesses--but Dex saw Lex’s wan face had started to go green.

“Stop!” he told her, and she made a scrunched face. “If I tell you, will you let it go? Lex looks like he’s gonna faint.”

She rolled her eyes. “Lex is just being a BABY, don’t hold back. Ew, what IS that?”

The second part was directed at Rex, who had settled himself next to Dex. He’d already removed the rest of the old bandage and started to clean the wound--but when he turned to look at him, he had a pot of something in his hands with a truly nasty texture.

Rex’s face went red. “It helps with irritation and infection! That’s what dad told me--it just looks like snot because that helps it stick to the skin.”

“Not you two, too!” Dex groaned, rubbing at his face with his good hand and wishing, desperately, that he’d been able to sneak up to his room before they’d caught him. Or that he’d remembered they were supposed to be hanging out today in the first place.

He should’ve gone to his dorm in the silver tower, but he hadn’t been there long enough for it to feel like home yet--and he doubted it ever would. So when Lovise had ordered him to go home and rest, he’d raised the crystal for Rimeshire and leaped before realizing this wasn’t technically where he was supposed to be.

But he did like his bed here better, so he hadn’t left.

Maybe he should’ve.

He inhaled as Rex spread whatever snot-like concoction he’d defended over his shoulder, more from the cold than anything. The chill refocused his eyes, the way splashing your face with cold water helped stave off the need to sleep just a little longer--he used the trick often when he stayed up late working. Earlier in the night he’d use a stimulant, but when it was close to done and he wanted to be able to immediately collapse after just a few more tweaks, he’d push through that way.

“So?” Bex prompted, arms folded over her chest as she kicked at his shin. “What’d you do? Was it gross? Did it hurt a lot?”

He realized there was no getting out of this. “Trolls,” he told her simply.

But of course that wasn’t enough.

“NICE! What’d they do? Did you have to fight them?” She’d leaned closer, into a bit of sun that had the staticky red hair sticking all over her head glowing in the light.

“No, and I can’t tell you anything else--it’s classified! So stop asking!”

He probably could’ve gotten away with a few more details before he got in trouble if he really wanted to--but he didn’t. He didn’t want them anywhere near the problems their world was facing; they had enough going on as it was just being them.

Bex groaned, Lex looked relieved, and Rex’s face was screwed up in concentration as he used a clean cloth and some Youth to wipe off the snot-like mixture; he hadn’t said a word as they’d let it sit, and Dex honestly couldn’t tell whether he was bothered or glad he didn’t have to hear the story.

“Am I hurting you?” Rex asked when he saw Dex was watching.

“Huh? Oh--no, you’re good.” Dex shook his head, flagging again. “I’m just tired. I forgot we were supposed to do something together today--sorry.”

Lex piped up for the first time in a while, voice uncharacteristically quiet. “Was it…bad?”

“Was what bad?”

“The…the trolls…” he whispered, his face all screwed up like he was imagining them.

Bex’s smile turned wicked. “Scaaaaaaared, are you?”

Lex’s face froze and ice sparked in his eyes as he shot back, “Am not!”

“You’re terrified! Can’t even handle thinking--”

“BEX!” Dex cut in, glaring at her. “Dad told you to stop taunting him!” As she’d gotten older, her skill at identifying the most embarrassing thing she could possibly say had evolved into a wicked talent for figuring out the sorest point she could possibly poke.

And, in typical Bex fashion, she loved to poke.

Lex, unfortunately for him, was an excellent target; they were together so often, and he still got riled up in a way that only egged her on. It’d started to slide off Rex long ago, so she’d lost interest in teasing him.

“I’m not!” Bex protested, spreading her hands to show how innocent she was.

“I so don’t have the energy for this,” Dex sighed, leaning back into the couch and closing his eyes.

Rex stopped him. “Wait! Don’t lean back yet, I need to get the bandage around your arm--I can’t do that if you’re laying on it.”

Lex, expression curled, reached to the floor to send a sheet of ice sliding under Bex--who lost her balance and fell through the coffee table.

Dex ignored them as they started fighting, turning to Rex; every feature was focused on his shoulder, lips thin and pale, but hands steady.

With a pang of guilt, he realized he hadn’t paid attention at all to what Rex had been doing--his eyelids had started blinking at different times, so no one could really blame him, but he still felt bad.

He’d gotten used to pain these last few years, so the faint stings in his shoulder as Rex wrapped him up barely registered--especially as he handed him a painkiller.

“You’re good at this--maybe we should give you to Elwin.” He set the empty vial aside, trying to recork it with one hand and shaking fingers. He wasn’t having much success.

A final tuck to secure the wrap. “There--you should be good. But, uh, you should probably check with Elwin later,” Rex said over Lex and Bex’s arguing about whether non-water frozen liquids counted as ice. He took the vial from Dex’s other hand and corked it easily, dropping it into his bag.

Dex shook his head. “Nah, he’s way too busy--this is fine.”

Rex looked like he wanted to argue, but only shifted and looked away.

Unable to help the small groan as Dex let himself sink into the cushions, he closed his eyes.

Then, “Was it bad?”

He decided he didn’t need to have this conversation with his eyes open, and enjoyed the reprieve as he asked, “Was what bad?”

The cushions squeaked under Rex, and Lex and Bex cut off.

“OO are you gonna tell us now?”

Rex sighed. “Was your…mission bad? You don’t…you don’t usually come home hurt. When you do come home, that is.”

“I get hurt all the time, Rex--all my friends do.”

Lex’s voice this time, from his other side. “Yeah but--but you’re always better by the time you come home. Mostly. You don't usually…” he trailed off, and Dex swore the temperature dropped several degrees on his left.

You don’t usually collapse.

“What, you worried about me?” he added a light tease to the words, lips curling ever so slightly. If he didn’t open his eyes soon he was going to fall asleep right then and there.

Bex spoke up, impatient. “Well, DUH! Why do you think I keep asking about it, dummy?”

His eyes snapped open, his mouth falling ever so slightly open as his eyebrows raised.

Bex stood in front of him, disheveled and soaked from melting snow, one of her legs still inside the coffee table. And staring directly at him.

“Huh?”

She tapped him on the forehead. “I SAID--”

“Not so loud!” he protested, and she huffed in indignation.

“I said, why do you think I keep asking about the trolls, dummy? You’re our brother, we wanna know what’s going on! You never tell us anything, that’s why I have to be so pushy!”

“You just like being pushy,” Rex said.

Bex thought for a moment, rocking back on her heels. “Yeah, that too.”

Dex looked between the three of them. Lex had his legs curled up on the cushions, ripping a hole in his pants wider, Bex with her arms crossed standing towering over them all, and Rex with his hands still stained with Dex’s blood.

And all facing directly at him.

“You worry about me?” he repeated, brain trying to reboot so it could process that--and failing.

“You never talk to us about what you and all those weird friends of yours do, but you have to know we hear the rumors,” Bex shifted her hands to her hips, and he almost felt like he was being scolded.

Lex cut in, “And when you still lived here, we’d see how you came home--you always had all those cuts and bruises.”

Dex blinked. “You were paying attention to that?”

“Not really,” Rex shrugged. “But it was hard not to notice sometimes. Especially whenever we thought about…”

“Your planting,” Bex finished for him. “We were there, you know.”

“You think about my planting?” He should probably stop repeating everything they said, but it was hard not to.

Lex admitted, “Sometimes,” and started sketching something in frost on his arm.

Dex wasn’t sure what to say to that; it was always awkward whenever it came up with his parents, but he’d never spoken about it with the triplets. It hadn’t even occurred to him it could affect them--they’d been so annoyingly loud and disconnected from the world around them when they were younger.

Of course they still were loud and annoying as hell, especially at home, and especially whenever he was around--at least Lex and Bex were. Rex was always…a little quiet. Somber.

With time, he’d started to come to terms with the fact he wasn’t going to manifest, and he’d slowly become more part of the triplet triad again like he’d used to be. But now there was a distance between them, even as he found his new place, that Dex worried would never go away.

“Did you fall asleep with your eyes open or something?” Bex interrupted his musings, shifting her weight side to side impatiently. Like she wanted to be moving.

“When was the last time you slept?” Rex asked suddenly, leaning forward and squinting like he could glean the answer from something on Dex’s face. And maybe he could, because he guessed, “A few days?”

Dex made a face, closing his eyes again. “Something like that.”

“I bet I could stay awake for an entire week,” Bex mused, nodding in agreement with herself as she looked off somewhere. “I’d definitely last longer than you,” she said, and he could only assume she was talking to Lex with the indignant noise he made.

But Lex didn’t respond. Instead, his voice turned back to Dex, hesitant and awkward. “You know--you know you can always talk to us about it--right? You know that? We could even help--we’re old enough.”

“What?! No way.” Against all his wishes, his eyes were open again--but this time it was terror, not surprise that had his heart pounding and his head throbbing with the blood rush.

Lex was adamant, even as his cheeks colored. “We’re older than you were when you met Sophie and started doing--doing whatever it is you do!”

Dex’s retort stopped abruptly in his throat as he quickly did the math and realized, with no small amount of horror, that his little brother was right. He’d been a level two when everything had started, and now--now the triplets were level fours.

He’d started even younger than them--how was that possible?

They looked so small with their shaggy hair and bright eyes, their round cheeks and wrinkled clothes--well, Bex and Lex were wrinkled. Rex had stayed composed.

Who’d been so irresponsible as to let Dex join the rebellion that young?

But even if they were older than he’d been, that didn’t make them old enough--they should stay far, far away from the dangers of his life.

Desperate, he searched for another excuse. “You don’t even know what we do! You can’t be ready for it.”

“We could if you told us!” Bex cut in, pulling at a wet knot in her hair so forcefully he winced.

“Mom might actually kill me,” he told her, and it wasn’t far from the truth. His mom, even as a member of the Collective of the Black Swan, one of its leaders, was nervous about having him involved in everything--after years of proving himself! Everything she was doing was so they didn’t have to risk themselves, so she could give them a better world on a silver platter.

Yeah, she wouldn’t be thrilled if he managed to drag his three baby siblings into it, too.

“Since when do you do what people tell you to do?” Bex shot back, succeeding in tearing the knot from her hair with her fingers and dropping it to the floor. “What---scaaared?”

“If you’re not scared, then you’re not ready!”

“You’re scared?” Lex asked, as though surprised. He’d stopped fiddling with the now-very-large hole in his pants and stared at Dex like he’d never seen him before.

Dex sighed, not sure how he’d gotten himself stuck in this conversation. “Of course I am--we don’t do this for fun, you know. We do it because someone has to. And that means risking our lives all the time! And if you don’t understand how scary that is--” he glared at Bex “--then you’re not taking it seriously and won’t be any help.”

“I understand,” Rex said, quiet. He looked at his bloody hands. “Dad and I talk about it sometimes.”

That stopped him short. “You do?”

Rex shifted as all three of them turned to him in surprise.

“Dad never talks to US about that,” Bex complained. “Why do you get to be special?”

Something behind Rex’s eyes shuttered and he tensed. “Because I’m not special.”

Even Bex looked like she regretted the words as they registered what he meant.

“Rex, you are--” Dex started, automatic, but Rex didn’t let him.

“I’m not moping,” he said. “I don’t need you to comfort me. It’s a fact. I’m not like you. That’s why…that’s why Dad and I talk about it. Because it’s…different for us. And he wants to make sure I’m ready, just in case.”

He looked away, color creeping up his cheeks.

Lex shifted, and Bex’s face was all scrunched up in a way he’d need Keefe to understand.

He wasn’t around much anymore, and he’d spent the triplet’s childhoods trying to stay away from them because they’d always caused such a headache.

But he did know this: they didn’t talk about this.

Bex and Lex had been insufferable about it in the beginning, back when they’d thought Rex would just be a late bloomer. So when it had become clear that wasn’t the case…

It’d piddled off into something unspoken between them, even as Rex found a new place in their triad. Found himself alone even in a group. Which was why Dex worried.

Because Bex and Lex didn’t really get it, and Rex didn’t explain it.

“Maybe Bex and Lex aren’t ready,” Rex said, scratching at the drying blood on his fingertips so it flaked off, “but I am. I know there’s…a lot I can’t do, but I can help. I helped you just now.” He pointed to Dex’s shoulder.

“Hey--I’m ready!” Lex said. “Bex is the problem, not me.” He’d dropped his legs off the couch and sat up straighter.

Dex was never going to come home again. “GUYS! Why can’t you bother mom about this--I don’t have the energy to argue with you about it right now.”

“Aww, does Dexy need to go beddy-bye?” Bex grinned, yanking her leg out of the table to reach forward and grab at his cheek like a baby.

“YES!” he burst out, swatting her away and pressing the fingers of his good arm into his eyes. “That’s ALL I’ve wanted to do since I got back--it’s why I came back. I’ve been awake for three days and spent all of them crawling through mutant troll hives and getting attacked! Of COURSE I want to sleep!”

Silence fell, and he wanted to be pissed with them the way he always used to be when they were little and hyper. He wanted to roll his eyes and shove them outside so he could enjoy how their voices muffled through the walls as he worked.

But they weren’t those people anymore.

And he simply didn’t have the energy to be angry.

“I’m done talking about this,” he sighed, moving to push up from the couch.

“Wait!” Bex lunged forward, pushing him back as she leaned on his legs, eyes bright. “Don’t go yet!”

Rex shook his head, sinking back against the cushions. “He really does need a nap.”

“Just one more minute!” she insisted, staring him right in his face. Hers was a little blurry, and he had to fight to keep her in focus. “We can do this, okay? You don’t need to keep babying us; we can take care of ourselves. We already DO--all the time!”

“I’m not trying to--”

“Yes, you ARE!” she cut him off. “Didn’t you HATE when everyone did that to you? Maybe we haven’t fought mutant trolls or anything, but we’re not little kids anymore. We can help you!”

Dex shook his head, letting it drop against the cushions. “I said I was done talking about this! Let me go.”

“No!”

“Bex!”

“PLEASE!”

“I said no!”

“What if you die again?”

The words burst from her chest, hot and angry and with enough force Dex thought they’d blow straight through him. Bex’s hands were in fists at her side, her cheeks flushed and face furious.

Lex had drawn his legs back onto the couch and wrapped his arms around them, eyes wide. Rex’d screwed up his face and dropped his gaze to the floor, finally leaving Dex’s blood on his hands alone.

Dex could barely hear himself through the ringing in his ears. “What are you talking about?”

Bex crossed her arms, looking between her three brothers--Rex and Lex both quiet, Dex confused and wondering every moment how he was still awake.

“They made me promise not to say anything, but--”

“Bex!” Lex cut in, horrified.

What? What didn’t they want him knowing?

Bex rolled her eyes, but Lex’s hand just went through when he reached for her. “Lex is a crybaby, but I’M not afraid to say it. They get all nervous when they hear the gossip about you and your weird friends, that’s why we want to help. You barely come home anymore, and when you do you’ve always got problems--like your stupid troll scratch you won’t tell us about. They’re total wrecks about it when you’re not around--they just want to seem cool in front of you.”

“Do NOT!” Lex interrupted, bright red as his hair. “You’re just as bad!”

“Am NOT!” Bex asserted, and the snowball Lex flung at her passed right through her face; she must’ve made her whole body intangible, because she fell through the table and started to sink into the floor with a wicked laugh.

Rex raised his voice. “SERIOUSLY! Can you two CUT IT OUT for ONCE?” His hands had balled into fists, and his lips had gone thin. “This is why Dex doesn’t talk to us anymore!”

Lex dropped his hand, coated in frost; Bex pulled herself up and sat back down with a thump as she became solid again.

Dex had nothing to say.

Or maybe he did. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“What?” Lex asked.

His voice was suddenly hoarse and he didn’t know why, and the words started to spill as his eyes fell closed, a battle he finally lost. “I’m sorry I’m not home as much--I didn’t…I didn’t know you cared. It’s not because of anything you did. You know that, right?”

“You don’t have to pretend it’s not,” Rex said, sounding so tired Dex wanted to cry.

“Do I look like I have the energy to pretend?” He raised his eyebrows even though his eyes were closed, and he didn’t move.

Bex responded. “No, you look awful.”

“You’re--you’re okay, right? I didn’t…” Lex was anxious again, and Dex remembered his horrified pale face as he crashed atop Dex.

“This wasn’t you, either,” he promised again.

“That didn’t answer the question,” Rex pointed out.

Dex groaned--of course they had to pick today of all days to be observant. “Just give me…a day…I’ve had worse.” His breathing was slowing, and faint alarm bells started to toll in his head; if he didn’t get up now, he wasn’t getting up for a good long while.

Then, out of nowhere, rustling came to his left.

Warmth seeped into his side as Lex pressed against him, and he felt a head on his shoulder.

“I swear I didn’t mean to,” his voice whispered next to his ear, and Dex hummed low.

“I know.”

Then Rex was on his other side, careful of his shoulder. “Did it help?” A slight tap below his bandages.

He nodded.

“Babies,” Bex muttered, but he felt the couch shift under her weight--far enough she wasn’t touching anyone, but close enough she was there. “This conversation isn’t over.”

“Not now, Bex,” Rex chided.

“I know!” Bex said. “I’m not saying now! Just making sure Dexy knows we’re not going to drop this just because he got beat up by some trolls and can’t stand straight--as if anything about him was ever straight.”

Dex stopped listening, heart slowing as his brothers shifted against him and argued with his sister. And something about it--maybe the house, which he’d been away from too long, or the noise more familiar to him than his pulse--was infinitely more comfortable than his quiet dorm back in the silver tower.

“I think he’s falling asleep.”

“Good, he looks horrible. We should draw on his face.”

“We should draw on your face. You need a mustache.”

And then Rex’s voice was at his ear, low. “Thanks. For letting me help.”

Dex could barely hear him, but he thought, No, thank you. For everything.

As he drifted off, surrounded by his little siblings on their family couch, actually together for the first time in years, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

[cammie-morgan-goode]

Usually when a teenager thinks of summer vacation, they think of hanging out at the beach or going to the mall or hanging with their friends more than their families. They associate summer with freedom.

I never had that. I never had to worry about running off to the beach or going to see my grandparents or anything. Not that I still have any but that’s beside the point.

I don’t need to look up from the book I’m reading to know that Cam is basking in the sun, her face towards the sky. She’s listening to Bex prattle on about the next James Bond movie when a group of boys pass by, ultimately ending the conversation. Bex isn’t boy crazy just… boy distracted. And it always makes me laugh.

Cam doesn’t know I’m here and that’s just the way I prefer it. She doesn’t need to know that I check up on her. She doesn’t need to know that I feel she’s safer with me just out of reach. She doesn’t need to know that I worry.

Bex throws her arms out wide and I can practically hear her accent. I watch as the group of boys pivots, turning around. A boy with tanned skin and dark hair, saunters up to Bex, eyeing her up and down. Bex could definitely take him down with one punch but I know that would cause a scene.

“What’s a girl like you doing here?” The boy asks, and I have to fight to roll my eyes.

Bex tosses her hair over her shoulder and bats her eyes. Cammie’s never done that. She’s never flirted with me before. Not that she’s needed to. I was hooked the minute we were partnered up in Solomon’s class.

“Just visiting,” Bex answers. I can see the boy practically melt from her accent. I can’t help but chuckle.

I drop my book into the open black bag at my feet and pull my shirt over my head. I shake out my hair a little bit, giving it a wind blown look. Taking off my shoes, I drop my shirt on top of them. And then I jog over to where the girls are.

“They didn’t have that smoothie you wanted babe, so I wasn’t sure which kind you would like instead,” I say a few steps in front of them.

Cammie’s mouth drops open for five seconds before she clears her throat with a cough. Bex nudges her with her elbow, as if to say real smooth.

I come to a stop next to Cam, lean down and kiss her cheek, before I straighten and offer a hand to Beach Boy. “I’m Zach. And you are?”

Beach Boy laughs like he’s uncomfortable and tells Bex that she can join his game anytime she’d like before he disappears in the sea of people. I roll my shoulders and drop onto the towel beside Cammie. She turns to look at me.

“What are you doing here, Zach?” She asks, confused.

“Thought I’d pop in, say hi,” I shrug, stealing a grape from the food on her plate, resting on her lap.

“Well while you two have some catching up to do, I’m going to find a distraction,” Bex says, getting up and sauntering back over to the group of boys. I shake my head.

Cammie doesn’t even watch her go, her attention fixed on me. I can practically see the questions turning in her head. But she only stares at me. Waiting. Always waiting.

“I can’t drop in and see my girlfriend?” I ask.

But Cammie gives me the look. The look that says stop trying to avoid the question. The look that says I’m over your games Zachary.

I sigh and look out towards the water. “Townsend missed a call-in.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “And so did Rachel.”

Cammie stills. She stares at me. It seems like she can’t say anything. “Does Joe know?” She asks, her voice cracking.

“Yes. He’s with the Baxters at the safe house right now. I’m sure it’s okay, Gallagher Girl. I just didn’t want to ruin your summer,” I say quietly.

Cammie shakes her head. “No. No. I needed to know. I’m glad you told me. How many?” She asks.

I pause and chew on my bottom lip. “Four.”

Cammie sucks in a break and take her hands. “It’s going to be okay, Cam. I promise. It’s going to be okay.”

And I don’t quite know if I’m saying that for her benefit or mine.

(Written by: @cammie-morgan-goode)

[1mnobodywhoareyou]

Okay but serious question: What's your favourite dinosaur? and Reggie?

Thank you! This got Bex versed because of @narcissusbrokenmirror who also asked for it: 11."Okay but serious question: What's your favourite dinosaur?" For the bex verse

Reggie is delighted as he pushes Bex on the swing. She’s giggling as she soars through the air.

“Higher! Higher!”

He grabs the chains on either side of her and runs underneath the swing as he pushes. She screeches with glee. His cheeks hurt from smiling so widely. 

Normally Alex gets to take her to the playground so he doesn’t get this time with her but he cherishes it when he gets the chance. 

“All done!” Bex calls down to him. He catches the swing and helps her out. He sets her down on the ground, watching as she runs toward the small slide at the other end of the playground.

“You’re new,” an unexpected voice says from beside him.

He turns to them, a confused look on his face. “Hi?”

“Sorry, normally she’s here with someone else,” they nod toward Bex who is now digging in the gravel with another kid about her age. “I’m Candace. That one’s mom.”

“Ah, yeah,” he replies with realization, “normally her dad brings her but I’m the lucky one today!”

“It’s nice, right? Watching them be free?”

Reggie nods, “Yeah.”

The two of them watch the kids play while they chat. They’re interrupted occasionally when one of the kids calls for their attention or help, but they manage to hold a solid conversation. He learns that she’s a stay-at-home parent and the playground offers a bit of a reprieve. She learns that he’s a part-time student, soaking up his Bex time when he can. He doesn’t divulge anything about the band or their family, treading carefully around those topics. They had decided that the public didn’t need to know the details of their relationships or Bex’s parentage and while most of them aren’t recognizable in public, especially alone, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Though she doesn’t miss the way Bex calls him Papa.

“Okay but serious question,” Reggie says during a lull in their conversation. She turns a raised eyebrow his way. “What’s your favourite dinosaur?” 

Candace laughs. “That’s a tough one. He’d want me to say a T-Rex, of course,” she says, pointing toward her son. “But I think I’m fond of the plesiosaur.”

“That’s not a dinosaur,” he responds cheekily. 

She rolls her eyes playfully, “Okay, what’s yours?”

“She’d not care at all what my favourite is, but spinosaurus is my current top answer.”

“Oh, did you manage to somehow escape the dinosaur fascination stage?”

Reggie pouts, “Yes. Unfortunately. The little weirdo is into bugs and plants.”

Candace chuckles. “Well, what’s her favourite bug, then?”

“At this exact moment and other than the house fly?”

Another laugh, “Yeah.”

“Ants.”

Candace shakes her head with amusement. “And yours?”

“Well, based on the books we’ve been able to get from the library so far? The Brazilian Treehopper.”

“I’ve… never even heard of that.”

Reggie laughs, “Yeah, it’s a new one for me too. There are some cool bugs out there! Who knew?”

“Entomologists, probably.”

“You just… know that word off the top of your head?”

She offers a sly smile, “You have your secrets, I have mine.”

He lets out an involuntary chuckle, “Fair, fair. Well, I’ve got to get the little munchkin back home. Nice to meet you, Candace!”

“You too, Reggie. See you around.”

He walks over to the kids and crouches down to speak to Bex. It only takes a moment, and a casual reminder that her Unca ‘Uke is at home, for her to agree to leaving. They wave goodbye as they walk down the street hand in hand.

[theangrypomeranian]

WIP Game

thank you to @daddygrandpaandthebeaver for tagging me! rules: In a new post, list the of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it. And then tag as many people as you have WIPs. a lot of people have been tagged already so i'm going to tag people who haven't been yet (if i mess up and you have been tagged already my bad lol): @littleredruns, @lovelyxxxsymone, @burgerspeople, @themothernerd-fandomqueen, @killjoyjenkinz, and @thedarkestgreys

also to save myself a lil bit i'm just going to list WIPs that i'm actively working on/planning on working on again:

In Another Place (Trickey fic)

GAC Pack pop star au

Hemita Hunger Games AU

it's all fun and games ('til somebody loses their mind) (Barryl Chronicles part 4)

untitled document (Barryl pregnancy scare)

OTGW Wirtrice one shot

(different ways that you can kill) the one you love (tinimmy/zekina infidelity au)

My Love Don't Cost a Thing (zekina sugar baby/daddy au)

Chasing Shadows: chapter 42 Zeke POV

Zeke POV last chapters

nothing good starts in a getaway car (roudise reincarnation au)

World War Z au

Midnight Mass au

and a couple of ideas that i plan on trying to start: - Barryl baby au - Barryl Hunger Games AU - BobLin Titanic reincarnation au - Hemita wedding au

[fuckin-sick-bih]

sometimes i remember how my favorite book series has so much of of my favorite shit in it then i wonder how i've never written fanfiction for it... very sentient dragons? check. early 1800's time period europe? check! strong female characters? check!! deep bond between dragon and rider? check!!! dragons can canonically get colds/get sick and main character dragon sneezes? CHECK and human main character cares so so much god i'm gonna cry thinking about it

[herrmannhalsteadproduction]

I was re-reading some of the chapters from 500 Miles and I'd forgotten how cute and fun they were???

Not a brag - just more of a lightbulb moment of why people always talk about writing for yourself first.

Like, YES, INDULGE! Write all of the fluff and romance and drama and whump and angst and humour and ridiculousness that you want because then it will always be there waiting for you and you can read it anytime you want and that...

That is so much fun.

[brokenchairwrites]

Reworked something and am very proud to share this with you <3

[bex-pendragon]

Wednesday 100 #6

It's time for another @100wednesday drabble! This week, I'm delving back into Star Trek with some musings of one of my all-time faves: Seven of Nine.

The uniform doesn’t fit her at first.

She’s a commander now, but it would be incorrect to say she’s back in uniform when she never wore a starfleet uniform to begin with. The last time she served on a starship, her clothing was a form of constraint. Why did they never give her a real uniform? Did they think she didn’t deserve one?

Now that she has a uniform - an updated design from when she served on Voyager - it feels alien. It’s not physically constraining anymore, but it comes with expectations.

She’ll need her own rules to make it fit.

[luminescentglow]

Vigilante Shit

Rebecca 🤝 Bex

This idea hit me out of nowhere and I just wrote ~1200 words in like an hour.

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Rebecca cradled the envelope tightly in her hands. She wondered for the billionth time if she was doing the right thing. She mustered her courage and rang the bell.

After a few moments of tense silence, Bex Mannion answered the door. Even though Rebecca had waited outside the house until she watched Rupert leave, she still looked around to ensure they wouldn’t be interrupted.

Bex stared back at her quizzically. Rebecca unconsciously scrunched down the top corners of the envelope tightly. Her heart beat loudly in her chest. She could do this. She would do it.

“I thought you should have these. That you should know. Before they were published for the whole wide world to see.”

Read the rest on AO3

[thedarkestgreys]

so much of writing yvor at this point involves going back and reading it. but the next chapter is in production while i wait on beta edits for the mafia fic 😌🥰😘

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

SAW YOUR ASK AND ASFFGKSKWKSSOSOSOOS now now please don't keep us hanging and please make a short fic regarding bex, macey and liz giving Zach the talk TwT

The sound of the door clicking closed got Cammie to look over her shoulder. A smile crossed her face. "Hey," she greeted, sweetly.

"Hey, babe," Zach said. He came up to her and cupped her face in his hand, giving her a kiss. He glanced around the apartment as he took his jacket off. "Where are the girls?"

Cammie tilted her head towards a closed door. "In there."

Zach's brow furrowed as he looked from the door back to his girlfriend. "Yeah?" he asked, seemingly amused. "How come?"

Cammie sighed but she smiled when she turned to him again. "Why don't you go find out?" her mouth said, but her face was saying 'Brace yourself!' He gave her one last kiss before opening the door and heading inside.

Within the room her found Macey and Liz sitting across from each other at a table. They each had their hands folded in front of them, seemingly waiting for Zach to arrive. They looked up when he came in, but said nothing, their faces expressionless. Once the door shut behind him the chair at the head of the table spun around, revealing Bex.

"Hello Zachary," she said. "Please have a seat." she gestured to the chair across from her. It was a small table, just a four top really, but Macey and Liz had situated themselves closer to Bex so it was clear this was a them against him situation. Still, he took his seat.

"You're probably wondering why we've brought you here."

"To my own apartment?" he asked.

Bex glared at him. Apparently this hilarious scheme they had set up wasn't supposed to be funny. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "What's going on guys?"

Bex leaned forward as if things were about to get heated when Macey put a hand out to stop her. "There's a conversation that needs to be had if you're going to date our girl Cammie."

Zach looked at each of the girls in turn, realizing what was going on. "You guys cannot be serious," he said.

"Deadly," Macey assured.

It's not like the girls were being overly serious in their tones or words. No, it was the theatricality of it all that was making Zach laugh in the presence of girls that could definitely hurt him if they wanted to (and Bex did look like she wanted to).

"By all means," he said, after composing himself. "Continue."

"Zach," Liz chimed in. "We know that you love Cammie. And you know that we love Cammie. There's no reason why we all can't be on the same page. In fact, we'd like to all be friends."

"We are friends. I literally invited you all over for dinner tonight."

"I think you know what we're talking about," Macey said, leaning back in her seat. "And you're right you've been quite...agreeable," the other two girls nodded at her word choice. "That's why we're doing this the easy way."

"And what is it that we're doing exactly?" Zach asked.

"We," Bex began, emphasizing the word in a way that left Zach out of it. "Are giving you a fair warning that if you hurt Cammie, in any way, while dating her, you will have to deal with us."

Of course this is what it was. "Right. Of course. Because after the last two years of me protecting her, the next natural thing is to hurt her."

"Hey, no one is accusing anyone of anything," Macey butted in. "Things happen. We just wanted to give you a fair warning. You know, as your friends."

"Cammie can handle herself," Zach said.

"Oh, of course," Liz agreed.

"She just shouldn't have to," Bex finished, leaning forward across the table towards him. "There's a lot we can forgive, Zachary. Hurting Cammie isn't one of them."

"I am not going to hurt Cammie," Zach said. Both because it was true and because it seemed to be what they wanted to hear.

"Good," Macey said. "Then we understand each other." The girls exchanged looks and smiles before turning back to him.

"You're dismissed." Bex confirmed. When the three of them just stared at him he pushed back from the table and left the room.

Cammie was there when he emerged. She had her bottom lip between her teeth and raised an eyebrow at him. Zach leaned against the now closed door. "Did Bex just watch The Godfather or something?" he asked.

Cammie laughed and reached out for him, trying to pull him away from the door. Zach didn't budge though, resulting in Cammie moving to him.

"I'm serious," he said, despite the smile on his face saying otherwise. He reached out for her, pulling her even closer to him. "And you knew, didn't you? You knew exactly what they were up to."

"I told them it wasn't necessary," she admitted. "You try stopping them."

Zach shook his head in mock annoyance. "Can't believe this. My own girlfriend. In my own apartment."

"That Townsend pays for," a distinctly British voice said from the other side of the door.

"It's the least he can do," Zach said. Cammie laughed again, putting her head on his chest.

"He's got a point," they heard Liz say.

There was some shuffling around in the room and then someone tried the doorknob. It turned but the door didn't budge against Zach's full weight on it. Cammie went to move off him, but Zach pulled her back, putting all of their combined weight against the door.

"Hey!" Macey called. Cammie could tell they were trying the door again. "Let us out!"

"What?" Zach called, louder than he needed to. "What was that? Sorry, I can't hear you."

Cammie rolled her eyes as the girls all started yelling at him. Zach just smirked and reached out to play with her hair. "You look nice," he told her, fully ignoring the sounds from behind him.

"Thanks," Cammie said, smiling at him.

"Cammie!" All three girls yelled at the same time. She didn't think they heard her, just that they were trying a new tactic.

"Yeah?" She asked.

Lis started saying she should have Zach let them out when Bex interrupted her. "Cam have you been there the whole time?" She demanded.

"Yeah," her and Zach said at the same time. More yelling sounded from the other side of the door at the admission. Cammie had to cover her laughter with her hand while Zach put his head down on the crown of Cammie's head.

"Home sweet home," he mumbled against her. He tugged her face up, giving her a quick kiss before releasing their friends so they could have a nice evening together. At least, their version of nice.

[cammie-morgan-goode]

Please please can I ask a story from you about how Grant calls bex the british bombshell? I finished rereading CMH now and i've always been curious how the nickname came to be! Thank youuuuy

Are you still taking requests? 🥺 Can I please request a fic about how Grant came to call Bex "british bombshell"? Thank you!

Will you please write a fic regarding how Grant came to call bex a british bombshell??? Thank you!! 💗💗💗💗

When you grow up as an only child and then go to an all-girls school, it isn't every day that you get to learn with boys. It's not normal. It's like spotting a house cat in the lion enclosure at the zoo.

Bex was nothing short of being boy crazy. She knew she was beautiful, but she didn't flaunt it. She knew that she was a catch, but she wanted to make sure that the boy she was after knew she was special.

After all, she wasn't a daddy's girl for nothing.

Grant had all the girls swooning the minute he stepped foot into the Gallagher Academy mansion. The girls in the sophomore class had been following him around since day one.

Grant didn't care though. He was there for a purpose and girls just weren't apart of his agenda. So, he didn't really pay them any mind. That is until Bex came around.

The minute that he laid eyes on the British babe, he was practically hooked.

It wasn't like he was planning a proposal. He was there for one thing and one thing only. To learn how these girls trained and learn just how good they were out in the field. Were they friends or were they enemies? He didn't know. And he wasn't about to let them distract him. Not even a little bit.

Grant found himself the object of these girls' every topic. He didn't care. In fact, it was starting to get slightly annoying.

He spent part of his afternoon in the P&E barn. He wore a pair of basketball shorts and a plain t shirt. His hands were bare as he beat at the bag. Zach had been there earlier, helping him with his one-on-one combat but the Blackthorne Boy had said he was needed elsewhere. So, he was alone. Just the way he liked it.

He didn't see her come in which was an oversight on his part. She snuck in like a lethal gazelle, her feet not making a single sound against the dirt. He didn't see her until she was on the other side of the bag. And he hit with all his might.

The bag swayed, hitting Bex square in the chest. She braced her legs apart, keeping her feet firmly planted in the dirt. She grinned at him.

"Is that all you got, Newsome?" She asked, her voice thick with her English accent.

Grant took a step back and cocked his head to the side. He was sweaty and he knew his face was red with heat. He smirks at her. And without a second thought, he throws a punch towards the bag.

Bex grins and holds the bag steady. It nearly knocks her off her feet. But she only stumbles back a step, making her smile proudly at the boy in front of her.

"Not bad, Baxter," he says, nodding his approval.

"Almost like I was trained for this, huh?" She said, placing her hands on her hips.

Grant laughs and crosses his arms in front of his chest. He looks her up and down. He didn't want to admit that she packed a hell of a punch, making Zach hit like a feather. Not that he would ever tell him that of course.

"You sure are quite the British Bombshell, Baxter," Grant says.

Bex's heart beats fast in her chest and it has nothing to do with the heat of the barn. Her legs threaten to send her crashing to the floor. But she has to keep her cool.

"Try saying that three times fast," she giggles. And she is hyper aware that her cheeks are turning red.

Grant laughs and turns back to the bag. He doesn't notice Bex's growing smile. He doesn't notice the way she saunters out of the barn, her hips swaying with confidence.

Bex-the-British-Bombshell had quite a nice ring to it.

(written by: @cammie-morgan-goode)

[1mnobodywhoareyou]

what about love

this was meant to be my anti-Valentine's contribution yesterday but I didn't get it finished in time. BUT IT'S DONE NOW!

SPOILER WARNING FOR ALL THINGS BEX VERSE.

This takes place in her late teens so... all things bursting into life and probably most if not all of the it won't be like this for long series is already done by the time this takes place.

you've been warned.

On ao3 and below the cut (1737 words)

“Here you are, mi sol,” Ray says as he hands Bex a mug of his now-famous hot chocolate, a favourite of the entire family. He leans against the deck railing next to her and stares out into the yard. “Care to tell me why you’re spending Valentine’s Day with two old men?”

“Hey!” Caleb exclaims, affronted, from where he’s trying to close the sliding screen door to the porch. “I’m not old!”

Ray chuckles and knocks his shoulder against Bex’s. She turns to offer him a small smile in mutual amusement.

Bex shrugs, blowing lightly on her hot chocolate. She takes a small sip, holding back the tears that are threatening to escape. 

“What’s going on, mi nieta?” Ray asks gently. 

Bex curses his ability to read her, even here in the dark. Caleb comes and stands on her other side, mimicking both her and Ray’s poses leaning out over the yard. He doesn’t say anything, just offers his comforting presence. She looks down at the mug in her hands and lets out a deep breath. Now or never, right?

“I… I don’t know if I know what love is.”

Bex can feel both of the men turn toward her in tandem. She doesn’t look up but she can feel their stares boring into her. 

Ray sputters slightly. “Do we… Do we not show you we love you enough?” he asks, concern and hurt lacing his voice. 

Bex’s eyes widen with realization and she turns to him, almost dropping her hot chocolate when she tries to clarify. “No! “Oh god, NO! I feel loved by you. All of you. God, I know how much all of you love me. I don’t mean it like that at all!”

Bex sets her mug down on the railing. 

“Rebecca, darling, what do you mean?” Caleb asks gently as he places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 

She turns toward him and leans back against the railing with a sigh.

“What’s going on, Bex?” Ray tries again. 

Bex looks down at her shoes and fiddles with her fingernails, a nervous trait picked up from her dad. She laughs drily to herself when she notices. She stills her fingers and shoves her hands into her pockets. Bitterly laughing again as she thinks of how much she can have in common with her parents. Just not this. Of course not this. 

“Bex,” Ray’s soft voice brings her out of her thoughts. 

She looks up at him, a pained expression taking over her face. 

“You know you can tell us anything, right?” Caleb adds. 

She looks back down at the ground. “I think I might be broken,” she mumbles.

Caleb’s eyebrows furrow and he crouches down so he can see her face. “Darling, no. Whatever’s wrong, you’re not broken!”

Her face crumples and Caleb immediately scoops her into a hug. He beckons over her shoulder to Ray who wraps both of them up from the other side. 

“Mi sol…” Ray attempts again, trying to console her but unsure of what she needs to hear right now.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” she gasps out between sobs. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Caleb assures her. “Whatever it is, we’re here for you.”

“But your Valentine’s Day. I…”

“Rebecca Rose Molina. You nothing,” Caleb insists. “We want you here. Anytime you want to be. Always.”

Bex sniffs and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. 

“Come,” Ray guides her back toward the house. They sit on the bench just outside the door and Caleb hands her the hot chocolate she’d left on the railing. He takes his place on her other side and exchanges a quick, concerned look with Ray over her head. 

“What’s going on?” Caleb asks again. 

Bex takes a deep breath and one final sniffle. She rolls her shoulders back, sitting up a bit straighter, as if trying to fill herself up with courage. “You know how I don’t really have any friends?”

Ray exchanges another look with Caleb and they both nod. “Yeah,” he says simply. 

“I don’t really think my brain… Or my heart, I guess? I don’t think they work that way?”

Ray’s brows furrow in confusion. “What way?”

“Like… The friends way. The love way. Not the way you two love each other. Or the way my dads do. Or Uncle and Tia. Or Uncle and Papa. None of it. I just… Emptiness.” She fiddles her fingers against themselves where they're wrapped around her mug.

“Emptiness,” Caleb echoes.

Bex nods, “Yeah.” There’s only a moment’s pause before she speaks up again, “Well, actually. It’s not really emptiness. It feels like it should be though.”

Caleb hums thoughtfully. “What does it feel like is there instead?”

“You guys. Our family. The things I like to do. I think maybe Riley? A little bit? I don’t really know. Everyone always makes such a big deal of their friends. Dating. I just don’t get it. And,” she takes another deep breath before continuing, “I don’t know. Our family is so much love all the time and it feels like I’m watching the same movie as everyone else but it’s in a language I don’t understand or something.”

“Have you ever tried to explain this to anyone before?” Ray asks. 

Bex shakes her head. She lifts her mug up to her lips to take another sip, scrunching her face up in disgust when the liquid hits her mouth colder than expected. Caleb lets out a light laugh and takes the mug from her. He sets it on the table beside him before turning back to Bex and Ray.

“Do you feel better now? Having told us?” Caleb asks. 

Bex pulls the sleeves of her sweater down over her hands and pulls her legs up so she can tuck her knees under her chin. “Yeah. A bit.”

“Well, I don’t know much about anything. But I’m glad we could be here for you,” Ray says. “Is there anything you need from us right now?”

Bex leans into Ray and he wraps his arm around her. “No, this is good I think. Thanks, Abuelo.”

“Any time, mi sol.”

“You know,” Caleb says after a contemplative silence, “I thought something like that once. That I might be ‘broken.’?

Bex doesn’t move from her position tucked into Ray’s side. “Oh?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t surrounded by love the same way you are though so I don’t think I noticed quite the same. But it was just work for me. For a really long time. I didn’t really want anything different. People thought it was strange but it’s not unheard of for men to wrap themselves up into their work, you know?”

Bex lets out a soft chuckle, “Yeah, I know.”

“You changed everything for me, Rebecca Rose,” Caleb reaches over and gently flicks under her chin. He looks up at Ray, “and then I met your abuelo and well, the rest is history.”

“Gross,” she utters around a fake gag. They laugh with her until her face falls. “What if I don’t find someone?”

Ray squeezes her a little tighter and presses a kiss to the top of her head in reassurance.

“Do you want to?” Caleb asks. 

Bex shrugs.

“And what about…?" He trails off, not really how to ask the question he has. "So you and Riley then, you aren’t…”

She narrows her eyes at him, “I assure you, you do not want to know the details of mine and Riley’s relationship.”

He puts up his hands in defense and Ray chuckles lightly. 

Caleb sends her a knowing smile, “I think you should consider talking to your dads about this. Especially your Papa. Reggie might understand more than you’d expect.”

Bex directs a confused look his way, “Papa? But…?”

He silences her by miming zipping his lips closed. “Not my story to tell, darling. But I think you might have more in common than you think.”

“We’ll see,” she replies noncommittally. 

Ray lightly nudges her up with his shoulder. She turns to look at him. He has a slightly pained expression on his face. “Do you still… Do you think you love us? Your family? You said you don’t know if you know what love feels like.”

“I don’t know,” she says softly. Her fingers make their ways out of her sweater sleeves and she fiddles with them. “Is that okay?”

“Of course that’s okay, mi nieta,” Ray answers as he pulls her back into his side. “Of course it’s okay.”

More tears threaten to let loose and Bex sucks in a shaky breath, “I don’t want to feel broken anymore.”

“Honey, you’re not broken.” He presses another kiss to her head, “Look at us. Look at our whole family. How many of us do you think has ever felt broken at some point?”

She sniffles, “Yeah.”

“And do you think that we’re broken?”

Bex shakes her head.

“Exactly. We just all exist in different ways. That’s all. Your dads have been pushing against ‘normal’ since before they even knew you existed. And now look at us. The whole Molina clan. A beautiful mess.”

She giggles, “Flynn and Carrie aren’t Molinas. Neither’s Uncle Stevie for that matter.”

Ray flicks the end of her nose playfully. “Neither’s Caleb,” he whispers.

Caleb rolls his eyes and stands. “You know what he meant,” he says with a teasing smile as he gathers their mugs.

“And they’re all honourary Molinas anyway,” Ray adds.

“Yeah, I know,” she replies, the corners of her lips quirking up slightly.

“Are you two staying out here for a bit?” Caleb asks.

Bex tilts her head up to look at Ray in question.

“Yeah, I think so,” he answers for both of them.

Caleb leans down to press a kiss to the top of Bex’s head. 

He’s halfway through standing back up when Ray’s voice stops him, “Excuse me?! Where’s mine?”

Caleb chuckles lightly before leaning down to press a kiss to Ray’s lips. “You’re a big baby,” he teases as he stands back up. 

“You two are so weird,” Bex says a bit sleepily. 

“Yeah, well, so are you. Get used to it,” Caleb replies jokingly before walking into the house. 

He returns a moment later with a blanket and drapes it over the pair. He kisses each of them again.

“Love you, darling.”

“Thanks, Caleb.” 

“We’ll always love you, mi sol. No matter what,” Ray adds.

“I know, Abuelo, thank you.”