#bu ti just feel guilty for thinking that

[squishious]

wise mutuals dm me if u feel like giving me some advice

[worth-the-chaos]

Adventures in Babysitting - Steve Harrington x female!reader - Chapter 10

Chapter Summary: The Russian invasion and the upside down begin to merge as you meet up with the rest of the crew. You are in the fight of your lives as you scramble to try to stop the monstrous creature from the upside down before it destroys you.

Content Warning: violence, upside down, swearing

Word Count: 5.8k

Author’s Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter. Right now I can’t decide if I should start on season 4 or if it would maybe be best to pick up the story after season 5 drops since it ended on such a cliffhanger. Let me know what you think!

Series Masterlist | Chapter 9 | Next Part

***

The five of you exited the bathroom quietly, merging with the crowd leaving the movie to blend in, hoping that no Russians would find you. Your eyes darted around, scanning for any potential threat as you made your way through the crowd. There were so many people, you were beginning to feel claustrophobic. Suddenly, you felt a hand grab your arm, and your heart jumped to your throat as you turned around and prepared for the worst.

You were met with the concerned eyes of a stranger. You recognized him from somewhere, but right now you couldn’t quite place it. You wriggled free from his grasp as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Hey, are you okay? What happened to you?”

“Oh, I’m fine…yeah, I-I just got into a bit of a…car accident a couple of days ago—while I was out of town!” You quickly added at the end. Hawkins was a small enough town that any car accidents would certainly be reported. He looked skeptical and opened his mouth to speak again, but you quickly cut him off, “I really have to be going now.”

Without another word, you slipped through the crowd, putting more distance between yourself and the boy while you tried to connect the dots to figure out where you knew him from. It finally dawned on you as your mind flashed back to the Hellfire Club shirt he was wearing under his leather jacket. It was Eddie Munson. You never got the chance to really talk to him at school, mainly knowing him via the rumors that circulated around about him being bad news.

“Y/n! Where were you?” Steve whisper-shouted as you finally made your way next to him. His mind had flashed to the worst case scenario when you were no longer beside him, and he was ready to fight tooth and nail to find you.

“I just fell behind a little bit…sue me,” you rolled your eyes, trying to stay casual. You didn’t want to tell him about how Eddie had noticed that you were injured. The more low-profile you stayed right now, the better.

“Alright, we just need to get on the bus with the rest of these people, and home sweet home, here we come,” Dustin spoke up. No sooner had he said the words did you recall a very important detail from your conversation with the Russians.

“Uh, Dustin?” You spoke up hesitantly, “yeah, we might not wanna go to your house.”

“Why?”

“Well, I might’ve told them your full name,” Steve spoke up sheepishly. He felt really guilty about it, but he couldn’t really go back and undo it.

“What is wrong with you?!” Dustin seethed, exasperated with the idiot that his babysitter was somehow in love with against all odds.

“Dude, I was drugged.”

“So? You resist! You tough it out like a man!”

“Oh yeah, that’s easy for you to say,” you rolled your eyes as you came to Steve’s defense. You were in the same position that he had been in and you knew for a fact that you had “toughed it out” and it didn’t make a damn difference with that shit in your system.

“Guys,” Robin spoke up hesitantly. You noticed men dressed in black, checking bags as people left the mall. You immediately could tell that they weren’t some low level mall security guys…these were Russians. One of them turned and made direct eye contact with you and your heart began to race again, mind flashing back to what it was like to be tied up in that underground facility.

“Abort! Abort!” Dustin yelled as you all turned to run the other way. You darted to the escalator, hopping up on the divider between the two and sliding down to the lower level. As you entered the food court, you jumped the counter to one of the various food stands, gesturing for your friends to join you.

“Come on!” You shouted. They swiftly moved behind the counter and the five of you sat with your backs to it as you listened to the footsteps of the Russian guards. Steve’s hand gently began to interlock with yours and you held on tightly, trying to ease the panic that was settling in your chest.

“Y/n, we’re gonna be okay—I’m gonna make sure of it,” he leaned in, his lips brushing against your ear as he whispered ever so quietly. You turned towards him, fear in your eyes as you whispered back.

“I don’t know what to do Steve. It’s not like they’re going to give up,” you started, “they’ll leave when we’re dead.”

Your suspicions seemed to be confirmed as you heard footsteps approaching. It sounded like there was more than one of them, indicating to you that they had found your hiding spot. Your breathing picked up as you braced yourself for the worst. The footsteps stopped and a silence fell across the mall. You squeezed your eyes shut as a single tear ran down your cheek.

Suddenly, a car alarm began blaring loudly, causing you to nearly jump out of your skin. You heard the sound of metal being crushed, and you imagined the car flipping as you felt the ground reverberate with each thud of the vehicle against the tiled food court floor. Slowly, but surely, the five of you peaked out over the counter, taking in the sight of the four Russian guards, presumably dead on the floor.

You looked around, taking in the sight of the crashed car before your eyes finally caught sight of Eleven on the railing. The rest of the kids were with her, as well as Nancy and Jonathan. The seven of them ran down the escalator, meeting you in the middle of the mall.

“What are you doing here?!” Lucas yelled at Erica and you cringed knowing it was on you for putting the Sinclair girl in harm’s way.

“Ask them, it’s their fault!” She pointed at you and Steve.

“True, yeah. Totally true; absolutely our fault,” Steve quickly fessed up, not wanting it to turn into a huge argument.

“I don’t understand what happened to that car,” Robin interjected, her eyes wide as she tried and failed to understand the physics of it all.

“El has superpowers,” Dustin answered simply.

“I’m sorry?” Robin responded, clearly dumbfounded by the boy’s explanation. This was the first time in a while that you realized how ridiculous everything that you had went through in the past two years sounded.

“Superpowers. She threw it with her mind. C’mon, catch up,” Steve rolled his eyes.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Nancy asked looking at Robin.

“I’m Robin. I work with Steve and y/n.”

“She cracked the top secret code,” you chimed in.

“Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians,” Steve continued.

“Russians? What Russians?” Jonathan asked confused.

“The Russians!” Steve shouted back.

“Those were Russians?” Max spoke up. Clearly you had all be dealing with different shit and after several miscommunications later, you were still trying to catch everyone up on the latest dangers pervading Hawkins. Suddenly, El collapsed to the floor, quickly ending your very confused conversation as Mike ran over to her followed by the rest of you.

“El! What’s wrong?!” He asked.

“My leg. My leg,” she whimpered, as tears began to run from her eyes. Her face was twisted in pain and your heart ached for her. Nancy unwrapped her wound and you all realized that there was something in her leg, watching as it writhed and slithered underneath her very infected looking skin. She began screaming out in pain and Mike continued to talk to her, desperately worried for his girlfriend.

“Keep her talking, keep her awake, okay?” You looked at everyone before darting off to a storefront in the food court. You pulled several drawers open, desperately looking for anything you could use to remove whatever that thing was crawling in the poor girls leg. You finally gathered a knife, a wooden spoon, and gloves, turning on a burner to the stove and sterilizing the kitchen knife in the flame.

You sprinted back over to the group, who had repositioned El, propping her up. “Okay. Alright, El? This is gonna hurt like hell, okay?” You spoke to her softly.

“Okay,” she gasped in pain.

“I need you to stay very still for me. You’re gonna want to bite down on this,” you handed Mike the wooden spoon and he placed it gently in her mouth, her teeth already biting down on the handle as she cried in pain. Everyone was terrified, and your heart was beating wildly. You didn’t know what the hell you were doing, but given all the weird ass shit you’d been through, you knew you had to get whatever the hell it was win her leg out.

You pressed the knife to her shin, drawing it downwards to make an incision, wincing greatly as she cried out in pain. “I’m so sorry, El,” you breathed out, taking your gloved hand and sinking it into the incision. El screamed out while everyone else exclaimed in disgust. Your eyes started watering and tears began to cloud your vision as you attempted to feel for the thing writhing under her skin but to no such avail.

“No! Stop it!” Eleven dropped the spoon and began yelling at you. You quickly pulled your hand away and scooted back. “I can do it.”

Your heart broke at how pained her voice sounded, and she held up her hand above the broken skin. The slug came back to life as it began to slither across the side of her calf, moving closer towards the incision. She screamed and the storefront windows behind you shattered. Steve and Robin backed up as you darted forward, shielding kids’ heads from the glass raining down.

Eleven finally pulled the creature out of her leg and the sight of it made you immediately nauseous. It looked like a mess of bone and flesh and blood, and she tossed it across the mall from you. It began to skitter away before being quickly smashed under the shoe of the one and only Jim Hopper.

While everybody stared at Jim and Joyce and Murray, you rushed to El’s side, pulling her into a tight hug and cradling her head. She cried in exhaustion as she held onto you. “Shhhh, it’s okay; everything’s going to be okay,” you whispered into her hair, trying to calm her down. You were crying too, tears silently falling down your face as you rubbed soothing circles across her back.

By the looks of it, the three adults had experienced some shit too, and you were afraid of what they had to say as they approached the rest of you.

How much more complicated could all this shit get?

***

After about fifteen minutes of explaining, you were all on at least slightly the same page. It was difficult to wrap your head around it all. It was difficult to imagine all of the people that Hawkins had just quietly lost, disappearing over a matter of days.

“Okay, so, just to be clear, this…big fleshy monster thing that hurt El, it’s some kind of gigantic…weapon?” Steve asked, feeling the need to clarify what he had heard.

“Yes,” Nancy answered. Knowing that her and Steve dated often made you feel small in her presence. Especially since things hadn’t ended quite amicably between them.

“But instead of, like, screws and metal, the mind flayer made its weapon…out of melted people.

“Yes, exactly,” Nancy replied again, her tone indicating that she was a bit tired with his clarifying questions.

“Yeah, okay, just making sure.”

“Are we sure this thing is still out there? Still alive?” Joyce asked. You were grateful the adults were here. Something told you that if you tried to tell any other grown ups about all this messed up shit, no one would believe you. You were glad you at least had the chief of police and probably the most badass mom in all of Hawkins on your side.

“El beat the shit out of it, but yeah, it’s still alive,” Max confirmed.

“But if we close the gate again—“ Will spoke up.

“We cut the brain off from the body, and we kill it…theoretically,” Lucas finished his thought. Hopper looked hesitant and you felt the same way. It seemed like all of you kept going through all of this shit just for it to come back. You were damn tired of it coming back.

“Yoo-hoo! Yoo-hoo!” Murray Bauman’s voice rang out, cutting off your doomsday thinking. He frantically waved papers in the air and pulled Hopper and Joyce aside to explain the maps he’d drawn up of the Russian facility. You hovered behind him, noticing how crudely drawn they were, knowing that his estimates were far off.

“…I don’t know the scale on this, but I think it’s fairly close to the vault room…maybe fifty feet or so,” Murray finished explaining the location of the gate. You scoffed trying to bite back a chuckle at how grossly he’d miscalculated.

“More like five hundred,” Erica chimed in, “What, you’re just gonna waltz in there like it’s commie Disneyland or something?”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Murray spat at the young girl. Geez, he could use some lessons in babysitting, you thought as you rolled your eyes at his condescension.

“Erica Sinclair. Who are you?” She shot back and you couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes her sass really did pay off…so long as it wasn’t directed at you.

“Murray…Bauman,” he answered, his voice trailing off as he wondered why he was even entertaining her question.

“Listen Mr. Bunman, I’m not trying to tell you how to do things, but I’ve been down in that shit hole for twenty four hours. And with all due respect, you do what this man tells you, you’re all gonna die.”

“I’m sorry, why is this four-year-old speaking to me?”

“Um, I’m ten, you bald bastard,” Erica shot back. You grabbed her shoulders to settle her down.

“Erica!” Lucas scolded.

“Just the facts!” She defended herself.

“She’s right. You’re all gonna die, but you don’t have to. Sorry, may I?” Dustin asked as he sat down with the map. “It’s a bit of a maze down there but between me and Erica, we can show you the way.”

“You can show us the way?” Hopper asked incredulously.

“Don’t worry, you can do all the fighting and dangerous hero shit, and we’ll just be your…navigators,” Dustin assured the man. You couldn’t believe that was even a genuine suggestion the boy had, as you pushed past Hopper, slamming your hands down on the table causing Dustin to jump.

“No way in hell. Literally over my dead body,” you shouted, “what the fuck has gotten into you? I can’t believe you would just—”

Hopper quickly cut you off, putting his hands on your shoulders. “Cool it, okay?” He reminded you before turning to Dustin. “She’s right though. Absolutely no way in hell.”

Hopper moved to start gathering materials and you moved to join Steve as he sat on the countertop of one of the restaurants. “This is all pretty batshit crazy,” you spoke up, hugging your knees to your chest.

“It really is,” he sighed looking around at everyone prepping for the worst. “I mean, I just don’t know how we keep getting ourselves into all this shit, you know?”

“I think we just care too much,” you answered laughing. He chuckled back and there was a pause, both of your minds elsewhere as you tried to process all the shit that was inevitably about to go down.

“Hey,” you spoke up again. He looked up at you and you took in the sight of his bruised eye and his busted lip. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“What you said earlier…did you really mean it?” You held your breath as his lips turned up into a small smirk.

“Every word,” he responded simply. When you didn’t really smile in return, he was quick to speak up, sliding towards you as he grabbed your hand. “Y/n, what’s wrong?”

“I just…I-I don’t wanna be another one of your girls,” you repeated the sentiment from your fight earlier, but this time it wasn’t accompanied by seething rage. Instead, it was born of pain and fear. Fear that you weren’t enough for him. Fear that he would leave you. Steve’s heart sank and he wished that he could go back and erase his mistakes, but he couldn’t. What he could do was fix them though.

“Y/n, you’re not just ‘another one of my girls.’ I wish you would understand that,” he started, looking you in the eyes with so much sincerity that you felt compelled to look away, but you didn’t. “You are the girl y/n. I don’t want any of those other girls….I mean, why would I when I have the perfect one right in front of me?”

“But, that’s the thing…I’m not perfect,” you countered as you began to tear up. “I yell at you all the time, and-and I get you into these fucked up situations, not to mention the amount of times you’ve gotten the shit beat out of you so that I don’t get the shit beat out of me, and I’m not pretty like the other girls you talk to and—“

“Woah, woah, woah! Y/n, are you kidding me? You’re fucking gorgeous! Those other girls don’t even come close to how amazing you are. And there’s no one I’d rather get the shit kicked out of me for than you, okay? I need you to understand that,” Steve pleaded. You leaned into him, wrapping your arms around his neck as you held him close. He placed a kiss to your temple, and you held onto each other like that until Hopper came up to the two of you, speaking suddenly and causing you to jump.

“Hey, here,” he said tossing a set of keys that Steve barely caught in time, “I need you to take the kid to his dumbass radio or whatever.”

“Of course, yeah we can do that,” Steve replied hopping off the counter as he reached a hand out to help you down.

“Good…and you two—you’re, uh, being safe, right?” Hopper suddenly asked. You looked at him quizzically, unsure what his line of questioning was getting at before he added, “you know, we don’t need any more kids running around here complicating shit.”

You felt your entire face heat up as you caught on to what he was implying before Steve quickly spoke up, “No—I mean, yes! Wait, no. It’s just, we’re not…we’re not you know—“

“We’re not engaging in any activities that would add to the population,” you answered for Steve, rolling your eyes at Hopper’s intrusive question as you added, “so you don’t have anything to worry about in that department.”

The look Hopper gave you told you that he wasn’t buying what you were selling, and you rolled your eyes again, pulling Steve behind you as you grabbed Robin, Erica, and Dustin, heading out to the parking lot. When Steve saw the car he would be driving, his face lit up and suddenly he didn’t mind being on babysitting duty anymore.

“Oh, man, now this…this is what I’m talkin’ about!”

“‘Toddfather’?” You read the license plate, thinking about how stupid men were.

“Oh, screw Todd! Steve’s her daddy now!” The boy exclaimed as he hopped in the driver’s seat.

“Did you just talk about yourself in the third person?” You asked incredulously.

“Did he just call himself daddy?” Robin added, her question focusing on the more outrageous aspect of Steve’s statement. Steve ignored both of you as he peeled out of the parking lot, chuckling as he honked the horn a couple of times.

“This isn’t a joyride! We’re trying to be inconspicuous here!” You reminded him, a scowl etched on his face.

“Sorry,” he replied but he couldn’t quite wipe the smile off of his face. He thought about how perfect this moment would be if the world wasn’t basically ending…and there weren’t three other people in the car. Just him and the girl of his dreams in a fancy ass convertible, driving as if they had all the time in the world.

Time passed and the glee that Steve was once filled with dissipated, as he continued down the same road for what felt like forever.

“How far away is this place?” He asked Dustin, frustrated and hoping that the boy was relaying the right directions.

“Relax, we’re almost there.”

“This Suzie girl must be pretty special if you lugged this thing all the way out here just to talk to her,” you spoke up, turning around as you smiled at the boy behind you. The young love was pretty cute, you had to admit…even if Henderson was a pain in the ass.

“I mean, nobody’s scientifically perfect, but Suzie’s about as close to being perfect as is humanly possible,” Dustin smiled back at you as he explained.

“She sound made up to me. She sound made up to you?” Erica chimed in, unable to believe the fact that the annoying boy to her left could possibly have pulled a girl as perfect as he was describing. No one said anything, and Dustin’s face twisted into a frown as he looked to Steve.

“Why are you hesitating, Steve?”

“I’m—I’m—I’m not! I’m not! I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real,” Steve spoke up.

“Left! Turn left!” Dustin suddenly yelled out.

“There’s not a road here?” You replied, turning in your seat to look back at the boy.

“Turn left now!”

Steve cut the wheel hard and you slid in your seat, grateful for the seatbelt holding you in place as you shrieked and Steve began ascending the unpaved hill. The ride was bumpy and as gravity began to work against you, you could feel the car beginning to struggle.

“We’re not going to make it!” You shouted at Steve.

“Yes we are! Come on, baby, come on!” The car stopped as its wheels spun. Steve kept revving the engine, but to no avail.

“Guess the Toddfather has its limitations,” Robin spoke up from the backseat. Steve scowled, putting the car in park as you all got out, walking the rest of the way to Dustin’s radio.

As Dustin gave Murray directions, things were pretty boring for you, Steve, and Robin. You had been drugged during the time the kids were moving through the ducts, so you weren’t useful in navigating. So, you laid on your back staring up at the stars as you waited. Being so far away from Hawkins made them easier to see, and you took a deep breath as you reveled in the moment of calmness, trying to forget about the horrors you were facing, just for a minute.

Your moment of tranquility ended sooner than you had expected, as you heard Steve’s voice ring out. “Hey guys.”

You immediately shot up, joining him as he looked down the hill. You could see all of Hawkins from here and the lights on the mall were going ballistic. You all ran back towards the radio and Dustin screamed into the transmitter. “Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop! Do you copy? Over!”

You heard a monstrous shriek over the radio as an inhuman scream ripped through the air around you. Dustin kept repeating his call over the radio but it was no use. They were in deep shit back at Starcourt.

Steve got up, sprinting away and you were right on his tail as Erica shouted at you. “Where are you going?!”

“To get them the hell outta there!” Steve shouted back.

“Stay here, contact the others!” You yelled, following Steve to the car.

“Stay in touch,” Robin tossed you a walkie talkie, letting you know that she’d keep the kids safe and far from danger as you hopped into the passenger seat. Steve took off down the hill and you gripped to anything you could hold onto as he drove recklessly back towards the mall.

“Steve, I’m scared,” you spoke up, gripping the armrest of your seat.

“I know, y/n. I am too,” he replied, “but if I know anything about the two of us—after all this shit we’ve been through—it’s that we’ve got this, okay? So we’re gonna get them and get the hell out.” You took a deep breath as he said it, nodding. You drove the rest of the way in silence, trying to control your breathing as you psyched yourself up for the hell you were about to face. Steve described it so simply, but you knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

Just as you were peeling into the parking lot, you saw the familiar sight of Billy’s car…speeding straight toward Nancy Wheeler. Steve pressed his foot to the floor, ramming into Billy’s car just in time to knock it off course and save Nancy from getting mowed down. You would definitely have whiplash the next day, but you decided it was very much worth it if it meant that Nancy was unharmed. You and Steve finally looked up, catching your first glimpse of the massive creature scaling the outside of the mall. It looked exactly like the shadow monster Will had drawn, except it was fleshy and bones stuck out at odd angles every which way.

“Get in!” Nancy shouted, as she pulled her car around and the two of you piled in the back. The monster leapt from the building, following as Nancy sped off out of the parking lot. Your heart raced and you buried your head in Steve’s neck as you grabbed onto him, not wanting to look at the creature anymore.

After getting a considerable distance away from the mall, hearing a weird ass musical number from Dustin and his girlfriend, who against all odds really did exist, you realized that the monster that had been following you had turned around.

“It’s turning around!” You yelled out.

“Maybe we wore it out?” Lucas suggested.

“I don’t think so,” Jonathan spoke up, quickly cutting the wheel and turning back towards the mall. Lucas passed all of you several fireworks and you split up, making your ways to different spots on the upper level.

When you got back into position, the flesh monster was standing right in front of El and Billy, reaching for her as you enacted your plan. You threw the first firework, it exploding in a spray of sparks as the creature shrieked, it exploding against its fleshy exterior.

It was really a sight to behold as the mall erupted into bright flashes of color. It was being hit from all sides, distracted from El, as it continued to get knocked from side to side.

“Hey asshole! Over here!” Steve yelled as he lit another firework and chucked it as far as he could. This is absolutely batshit fucking crazy, you thought as you threw another firework. As you threw them, you thought about all that you had been through. You thought about the young kids around you who had to grow up way too quickly. You thought about Will and Barb and Bob Newby and the horrors they had faced. You thought about all of the people that were killed to form the fleshy creature right before your eyes.

You thought about all that you had lost and you threw the fireworks with all your might.

Your stash was dwindling and as you lit another firework to throw it, Steve screamed over the walkie talkie. “Dustin! We’re out of time!”

“Hurry! Close it now!” You heard Dustin’s voice crackle through the receiver, letting the adults know that it was their time to shine. Steve threw your last firework, which went off in a fiery spray of multicolored sparks, before you realized that there were no more fireworks to be thrown.

You could see Billy standing in front of the massive monster, stoping one of its clawed arms as it reached out towards El. More bony arms appeared, slithering out of the creature as they darted forward stabbing into Billy’s side. You stared wide eyed, in shock and unable to look away. You began to hyperventilate, terror gripping every inch of your body as your legs began to give. Steve was quick to grab you before you fell, quickly pulling you to the floor as he sat, cradling the back of your head as he pulled your face into his neck.

“Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look,” he whispered to you and you could hear the terror in his voice as well, “I’m here, y/n. I’m here, okay?” He wanted to tell you that everything would be fine, but this time he wasn’t so sure. He glanced over at Billy as another arm darted forward, piercing through Billy’s chest. Steve quickly averted his eyes, wishing he had taken his own advice and hadn’t looked. Billy wasn’t coming back from that.

Max screamed out to her brother and you sobbed into Steve’s chest. Suddenly the creature began writhing, screeching and snarling in pain as it stumbled around the mall. It crashed into pillars and Steve was barely able to move you both out of the way as it careened into the railing right beside you. It thrashed a bit longer before finally falling to the ground with a resonating thud. You all gawked at it, and even though it sat in a heap on the floor, you couldn’t help but feel unease at the sight.

You didn’t get to stare at it for long before the army was bursting through the doors of the mall, guns a-blazin’ just as Steve had predicted. You all put your hands up to display that you weren’t a threat as the US soldiers escorted you out of the building. You all sat in the parking lot while they searched the facility, finally torching the mall once everyone was out. It was an elaborate cover up but you understood why it had to remain a secret.

Emergency vehicles soon showed up to attend to the fire and the wounded, and you and Steve sat side by side on a gurney. You weren’t really sure what to say. It didn’t feel like there was anything you could say in this moment. It felt like the world had ended and you were just so damn tired.

“I guess we’re gonna have to find new jobs now,” Steve finally sighed as he spoke up, smirking at you after his statement.

“Yeah….maybe ones with less obnoxious uniforms this time,” you smiled a sad smile back as you leaned into him. He threw his arm around you and it all felt so comfortable. You wished it could be under better circumstances.

After getting checked out by the EMTs on scene, your face was looking a lot better; no longer caked in dried blood. Miraculously, a soldier had located Steve’s car keys in the Russian base, and an EMT returned them to him as you sat there.

“That was quite the fire,” the EMT spoke up. You stared wide eyed and clueless for a second as you tried to gather your thoughts enough to play to the narrative that had been constructed.

“Uh, yeah…we were, um, we were really scared,” you breathed out, deciding it was better to focus on half truths at least. You never were the greatest liar.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” the EMT responded, flashing his light to check your eyes. He continued as he clicked it off, “I just don’t quite get how you both would have sustained injuries like this though. I mean, seems a bit odd considering none of the other kids showed up looking like this. And I guess I’m a bit put off by the fact that the US military is here. Hawkins is a safe town, seems a bit extreme for a mall fire.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, man. There was a fire and we got hurt. And I don’t really have a clue why the military is here; I’m just some dude working for minimum wage at a nautical themed ice cream parlor,” Steve spoke up, his tone very much indicating that he wasn’t going to give the EMT any more information.

“Whatever you say I guess. Anywho, you guys are good to go,” the EMT replied, dismissing you from the gurney. Steve and you walked over to his car, and he opened the passenger door for you and you went to get in, hesitating before you ducked down.

“Y/n? Are you okay?” Steve asked, his hand still on the door. You turned around quickly, staring up at him through your lashes. Your eyes met his and you just stared at each other for a while before you glanced down at his lips. He got the hint and began to lean in towards you, one hand going to the nape of your neck as the other wrapped around your waist to pull you closer.

Finally, his lips were on yours, and it was well worth the wait. Maybe you were two broken people who walked through hell and back, but right now it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the way he was kissing you like his life depended on it. You didn’t care about the way your lip was still split and bruised, reveling in the pain if it meant that you got to have him; if it meant that he could be yours.

Your lips moved with his in such a perfect harmony that you felt like you were dreaming. After a moment, he placed a few more gentle pecks against your lips before pulling away. Your lips chased his, desperately wanting more, but you opened your eyes to look up at him. Your heart caught in your throat at the expression on his face. You’d never seen him look at you like that before.

“Steve?”

He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t seem to find the right words. How was he supposed to tell you that you were perfect? That you were the only thing really holding him together? That you were the reason that he woke up in the morning and showed up to that shitty job and the reason that he decided to stay in Hawkins instead of trying to move away from his shitty parents?

How was he supposed to tell you that you were his reason for being?

He didn’t think he would ever find the words, so instead he settled on “I really love you y/n—like a lot.”

You smiled up at him and pulled him into a hug. “I think I love you too, Steve,” you chuckled, pulling back to plant another kiss on his lips. He smiled into the kiss, realizing that he would never get tired of kissing you.

***

It was three months later and you and Steve were finally, officially dating. You were rocking out to the radio in the front seat of his BMW, singing off key with Robin as Steve pulled into the parking lot of Hawkins’ Family Video.

“You put your mom down as a reference?” Robin asked incredulously as she stepped out of the car.

“Yeah. Why not? She’s like, super well-respected,” Steve argued and you rolled your eyes, biting back a smile.

“You’re such a dingus,” Robin sighed, stepping through the door Steve held open. You stepped through the doorway after, Steve placing a hand on the small of your back as he guided you into the store.

Your nose twitched a bit when you realized that Keith worked here. He was kind of really icky and had asked out just about every girl you went to high school with. You’d never met someone that desperate for a girlfriend before. When you had handed him your resumes, he looked at you all like you were idiots, clearly irritated that you were wasting his time.

“We didn’t get fired, you know,” you spoke up as you scowled, annoyed with the boy at the counter.

“Yeah, the mall burned down, and like killed a bunch of people,” Robin chimed in. In a way, she was looking for pity…most of the Hawkins’ community knew that you kids had been there when shit went down.

“Thanks for sharing. Didn’t know,” Keith deadpanned. “Three favorite movies, go!” He added pointing at Robin.

“Uh....The Apartment, Hidden fortress, Children of Paradise.” She quickly answered.

“You, go!” He swiveled and pointed at Steve.

“Favorite movies?”

“Did I stutter?”

“Uhhh…Animal House for sure…yeah, uh, um—Star Wars!”

“Which one?” You asked, looking up at him, annoyed that he’d just named an entire franchise.

“The one with the teddy bears, duh,” he smirked back at you as you groaned while he squeaked like an Ewok. “No? Uh…oh, the one that just came out. The movie that just came out—the one with the DeLorean and Alex P. Keaton, and he’s trying to bang his mom,” Steve chuckled while he explained it and you rolled your eyes.

Keith couldn’t really believe what he was hearing and he pointed at you and Robin. “You two start Monday,” he said before turning to Steve, “and you start never.”

“Will you just, give us a minute,” you said gesturing to you Robin and Keith.

“Why?” Steve asked, annoyed.

“Steve,” you warned the boy not to make things more difficult, placing a small peck on his lips which was enough to convince him to move along.

“Oh come on! Steve, y/n? Steve?”

“Listen, I know he’s a bit…he’s a bit of an idiot, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, he’s got other qualities,” you argued.

“He’s a douchebag of the highest order, y/n.”

“He was a bit of a prick to us in high school, I’ll grant you that, but he remains…a total chick magnet,” Robin gestured to you, and you flushed wildly.

“And this is relevant to me how?” Keith questioned, done with Robin’s bullshit.

“Uh, earth to Keith….the ladies will come in just to see him. They’ll come in, in droves. We sold so much ice cream they had to get a second shipment from Michigan! Isn’t that right, y/n?”

“Yep. Michigan,” you confirmed her lie.

“And these ladies are hot,” Robin continued, “they are so very hot. And there are too many of them for little Steve, especially now that he’s unavailable. He needs your assistance Keith.”

“What’s in it for you? Are you guys some sort of weird ass thruple?”

As soon as he said it, Steve clumsily knocked down a cardboard cutout, awkwardly trying to fix it.

“Gross, no,” Robin replied, “we’re just friends.”

Steve turned around the cardboard cutout recognizing immediately the movie it was from. “Oh Fast Times! Fast Times, ever heard of it? Top three for me, Keith.”

You and Robin laughed, and Keith groaned. “Fine, but if he screws up, it’s on the two of you.”

You knew he was gonna screw up, but you didn’t care, running over to him as he pulled you into a hug. “You ready to be coworkers again?” You asked as you smiled up at him.

“I mean, we do make a pretty kick-ass team.”

***

a/n: I hope you enjoyed this! If I end up going on hiatus, send me some requests! I’m definitely interested in continuing writing for Steve as a character. Reblog if you’re feeling generous ;)

taglist:

@season4steve @sassyheroneckgiant @tangledinthegreatxscape @maeve-wileyy @palachannie @chaerfull @usaguisenpaisblog @emilieluckwood @sabrinadelreyy @mochminnie @xprloki @kitdjarin1

[raunchyr0nnie]

Guilty Gal bedroom headcanons

Compiled my sex headcanons for the Guilty Gear ladies for fun, obviously this isn't all of them, it's the ones for Strive as well as the other ones I like the most

And like these aren't super in-depth or set in stone, they're just how I imagine em and what I think they like!

Ramlethal

-Service top

-Typically focuses on making sure her partner is taken care of

-Sex and intimacy are still something new to her so she enjoys receiving directions

-Not very picky when it comes to positions

-Really likes praise, but on the occasions where she bottoms she likes the sensory experience of temperature play

Elphelt

-Bottom

-Pillow Princess!!! Her darling should be so head over heels for her that they're willing to spoil her!

-That said, it's not like she won't put in the work when she needs to. A relationship is a partnership of equals, after all!

-Any position where she gets to look into her lover's eyes is a winner in her book

-LOOOOVES a good roleplay, she's got so many scenarios ready to go!

Dizzy

-Service Top

-Very unselfish lover, she will make sure her partner enjoys themself as much as she does

-Constant words of affirmation, telling her partner how pretty they are and how good they are

-Similar to Elphelt, loves any position where she gets to look her partner in the eyes

-Obviously good at praise and body worship, can also use her tail to great effect

May

-Top

-A lot of energy, can go for a while before she suddenly crashes

-Likes making her partner feel good!

-Handy with a strap but she can ride like the wind

-Enjoys sex in unconventional places, although not necessarily public

Giovanna

-Switch

-Very casual approach to sex, won't make a big deal or show out of asking her partner about it

-Likes being dominated but is willing to show a less experienced partner how it's done

-Lover her partner being on top of her but also likes oral a lot

-Semi-public sex is fun for her, she likes the risk

Millia

-Bottom

-Yeah I know she seems like a top at first glance but to me I think she's the type where at the end of the day she wants to be able to surrender control to someone who will make her feel good and take care of her

-That said she'll take charge and direct her partner if she needs to (her powers come in real handy here)! She can be a bit picky

-Loves being tied up, knowing that she can easily break out of it if she needs to

I-No

-Switch (girl's done it all)

-Sex, on top of being fun, is a distraction from The Horrors so her partner had better be ready to go at a moment's notice

-Definitely a selfish lover, she's more focused on her own pleasure, but with her prowess her partner typically ends up satisfied

-Anything's good by her but she'll typically go for positions where she has some control, like cowgirl

-She'll do pretty much anything but definitely has a sadistic/masochistic streak

Baiken

-Typically tops but a little more willing to bottom than you might think

-For her sex is more a physical need to fulfill so don't expect a lot in the way of romance or foreplay

-That said she's not selfish, she'll make sure her partner gets off too

-Likes it rough, so she'll gladly be on either end of doggy style

-She can dish out insults and take em too, so someone's gonna be bratty in this equation

Jack-O

-Switch

-Now that she's her own person, she's figuring out her likes and dislikes

-Her more energetic and silly personality has her more like a pillow princess, while her more reserved and insightful persona has her more willing to put in work

-Very flexible so she's a fan of having her legs over her partner's shoulders, being put in a press, etc.

-Likes experimenting but definitely very partial to using food in the bedroom (sweets of course!)

Bridget

-Bottom

-Struggles with dysphoria so if she's comfortable enough with her partner to be naked around them, that really means something

-You have to call her "good girl." You Have To

-She likes giving and receiving oral the most, but hey, she's got a nice butt too! Won't say no to getting fucked from behind

-She enjoys some light bondage, in a more established relationship she could maybe get into petplay

[howdoesagrapewrites]

dam the angst poly!gayatrixpavitrxreader fic was so good it broke me man :( /pos

Maybe some fluff time? please? Like they do stuff for their first anniversary? Maybe the reader wants to surprise them but they find out that all of them individually had a surprise for the other two? i think that would be nice :)

Thank u and have a great day! :)))

𝙃𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 (𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙) 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨

Cw: fluff, poly!gn!reader x Pavitr Prabhakar x Gayatri Singh,

Notes: a little break from the yandere stuff, I hope you like it!

>If we're following the tricycle storyline, Pavitr and Gayatri technically have their anniversary before, but none of them want to celebrate it that way, they weren't really happy since they were crushing on you and feeling guilty about it

>They still remember it and give little presents to eachother, but nothing too big, Pavitr calls it a "pre-versary" and he has one for you too, it's the day you bumped into him in the hallway, but you don't remember it and just assume is a little gift without much meaning (just a nice thing to do y'know)

>Pavitr isn't great at keeping secrets when it comes to the most important people in his life, but he's determined to keep your anniversary a surprise

>But so is Gayatri, and so are you

>Which leads to incredibly awkward exchanges

>"You said you'd be at the park, but I passed on my way to the bus stop, and I didn't see you" you asked

>"I was at the other side, near the pond. Feeding ducks" Gayatri sounded oddly serious about it

>"There's ducks now?" You excitedly questioned

>"Yes, it's very recent..."

>Gayatri had to create a community plan and run it through the city hall to have ducks at the park so you didn't suspected, at least you and Pav were happy about it. Pav got extremely attached to one of the ducks and now you have to visit them every week or he cries

>This has been going on for at least three months, And you're pretty sure you've been seduced to ignore certain things

>"Pav why were you- he cut you off, a finger to your lips and another hand gently holding your chin so you look up to his deep set eyes, he kisses you softly, leaving you dumbfounded and uninterested in whatever you were about to ask

>Since it's your first anniversary, you are still in highschool, making things even more complicated

>You stayed after school and stole their locker keys (for a good reason), and spent the whole afternoon stuffing flowers in their lockers so that they'd be showered in petals when they open them

>You were practically unable to sleep that night, you planned the whole day to surprise them, the fanciest dinner a high school student could afford, heartfelt long letters, and trinkets here and there that you knew they'd like, you were also really excited to see what they got for you

>But you woke up to anything but a happy anniversary

>First thing in the morning and you heard ruckus coming from a few blocks

>You looked through your window and see a weird looking villain of the week

>"Ah, spiderman will handle it, it doesn't matter" you said calmly until you remembered "wait- Spiderman's my boyfriend"

>You get dressed in a rush, grab a fruit and start running/biking to the center of whatever's going on, you know Pavitr wouldn't want you there, but you can't help it

>You're horrified when you see Gayatri tied up to some sort of machine, she wiggles around to try and free herself

>You get to the building without catching Pavitr's attention and start running the lots of stairs it takes to reach the rooftop

>As you're finally get to it, climbing the firescape ladder (I hope you know what I'm referring to)

>"Jaanu! You're not-" he uses his webs to stick the villain to the wall "You're not supposed to be here"

>"What do you mean? I already kidnapped your girlfriend, who's this?!" The villain said, he had a green enlarged head looking like a skull

>"For such a big head you're pretty close minded you know?" Pavitr said, he triumphantly swinged to the rooftop as he left the webbed up villain to the police

>You ended up recurring to your teeth to break the rope with odd materials holding your girlfriend captive

>"sweetie! Thank you, thank you, but you shouldn't have come in here!" Gayatri said between kisses and hugs

>Pavitr joined the hug and apologized for everything, of course you told him it wasn't his fault

>"Happy anniversary, I guess" you smiled

>Gayatri started looking in her pockets and found the three lockets she got for you "I'm so lucky they didn't fell off" the gold heart shaped lockets had a photo of you three you took on a photo booth almost a year ago

>Maybe it wasn't like you planned, like any of you planned, but it was a good day, any day you spend with them is beautiful in its own ways, and you hope you can keep having days like these (maybe with a little less kidnapping) for the rest of your life

[dusty-daydreams]

Hi! Fic Anon again!

I just wanted to get this off my chest. I don't believe for a moment that the reason Penelope threw Eloise under the bus (or carriage lol) was because she wanted to save Eloise. I think she did that because she knew that Eloise was close to finding out her secret of being Wistledown. She did it to save herself not El.

I feel so bad for El she is such a good friend to Penelope, but she got betrayed her. I really-really hope they don't reconcile and even if Eloise forgives her, I hope their friendship is never the same.

Have a nice day!

Hi Fic Anon!!

I can definitely see where you are coming from and I agree for the most part. I do think that Penelope THINKS that she was saving Eloise by writing that article, but I also think that wasn’t her only motivation and she isn’t being honest with herself about it.

Alongside a desire to save Eloise from the Queen, is the desire to protect herself and her little money making power hunger feeding writing habit. Further there is also the layers of resentment.

Penelope might think she loves Eloise but she also resents her deeply. Resents her for being pretty, and for being from a loving family.

I also think that part of what is going on with Penelope outing Eloise is that she is punishing Eloise for not listening to her and cutting off her budding romance with Theo/friendships with the lower classes. And I think that tied up in that is the fact that Eloise who is so deeply anti-romance is able to successfully make men, like Theo, fall in love with her while being desperately anti-romance, while Penelope who loves love isn’t being considered romantically by anyone.

So I do think that Penelope was trying to protect Eloise from the Queen but I also think that she was trying to punish Eloise for a variety of reasons and she isn’t ready to admit that to herself.

I am completely on the same page as you about their friendship though. If they ever become friends again (which I do not want but I can’t fight against) I don’t want it ever to be the same again. I want it to always be a little distant. I want things to happen in Eloise’s life and Penelope find out about it later and feel sad and guilty and remorseful that Eloise doesn’t tell her things anymore. And I want Eloise to be interested in Penelope’s life as her sister-in-law but not really as a friend or an individual.

Except that’s a lie - what I really want is for Eloise to never have to deal with Penelope again, but we can’t always get what we want!

💜💜💜💜💜

[catmaidetho]

assigning my favorite guys crane wives songs

aka, in honor of the crane wives being my #1 artist on spotify this year, have some insanity. this list is loosely based on the life series, but each song aims to encapsulate a character as entirely as possible w/o focusing too hard on any specific event. i'll also say that i actively tried to choose songs that i haven't seen us as a community talk about that much.

Etho - Volta volta is a song about making the conscious decision to be present in your life, taking back control. etho is someone who constantly jumps from thing to thing, never really staying put, and i personally interpret volta as not just consciously taking back control of your life, but also making the decision to settle into something. it is about fighting your nature of running away and choosing to stay. i will admit that this song is about vibes more than lyrical content. still, have some lyrics

"Do you remember being young and eager? My heart was buzzing like a wire Give me a reason to connect, be nearer"

Bdubs - Little Soldiers ON THE BROKEN BACKS OF ALL THE WORDS WE SPARED, LIKE LITTLE SOLDIERS IN THE TRENCHES. IT WAS A MARCH WE MADE TOWARDS RUIN AND DESPAIR BUT WE HELD HANDS ALL THE WHILE. I SWEAR THAT I LOVED YOU. I SWEAR THAT I LOVED YOU. I SWEAR THAT I LOVED YOU---I SWEAR, I SWEAR!!!!

LOOK ME IN THE EYES AND TELL ME THAT DOES NOT FUCKING SCREAM BDUBS. HE LOVES ME. I FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL BEFORE THE FLAG HAD FLOWN BUT YOU WERE ALREADY GONE!!!!!!

sorry little soldiers is one of my favorite crane wives songs. two people tied together with barbed wire, knowing that what they're in isn't good but refusing to let go out of a desperate attempt to cling onto love. tell me that isnt ethubs, especially the way we as a fandom dramatize them.

Cleo - High Horse high horse is a song about being a petty, spiteful motherfucker. it is about looking at someone you hold dear who has hurt you, and saying, "you know what? i won't stand for this" and throwing them under the bus.

"I'm done thinking about it You're never gonna get what you want So why feel guilty about it?"

Grian - How to Rest listen. look me in the eyes. i know we all like to pretend, especially in regards to scarian and the desert and double life, that grian did not/does not love scar. that the love, that the friendship, that the real connection they shared was not there because it makes for some juicy angst. look me in the eyes and tell me that grian being outright cruel towards scar is somehow more interesting than grian pretending he does not love scar, when in reality he does. tell me that blatant angst for angst's sake is more interesting than grian looking out for scar, not because of an obligation, but because scar is his friend and his ally and maybe sometimes people just chose to be around each other.

"Here's the truest thing I've ever known The heart is just a muscle with a rhythm all its own It doesn't stop when you decide not to move on The heart knows nothing of your love or of your loss"

Joel - The Wolf oh joel wants SO BAD to be a threat. he wants so badly for people to fear him, to take him seriously, to be the bad guy. however, his attempts at this often fall short, usually due to his own brazen overconfidence and snappy, petty nature. all of this, of course, pushes anyone who he hasn't latched onto away because who would want to align themselves with someone who wants so badly to be a loose canon?

"Can it be Can it be easy for once Cause I’m no good at being kind to myself Or anyone [...] I am a beast at your back You better run for your life"

Jimmy - New Colors i am by no means a jimmy expert, but this song is just so jimmy to me. he is so desperate to do well. new colors is a song about desperation. he is so desperate to be taken seriously, in a similar way to joel, but the difference is nobody ever does. i'm just going to leave you with these lyrics.

"Don't tell me that I can't Oh Lord, don't tell me that I can't I need this so damn bad"

"I give up my sight To see I give up my air To breathe"

Scar - Down The River i'm gonna admit, i really struggled to find one for scar, but i think this one works. scar doesn't put much stock into past grievances if it isn't convenient for him, he will simply move on and pretend he didn't do anything. this is ESPECIALLY relevant in moving between series---all bridges are burned, and must be rebuilt.

"Now, tell me, when you start again Where will you house your skeletons? Or will they stay behind Your settlement in kind?"

this post is getting kind of long, and im gonna admit im not confident enough in my characterization of the rest of the cast to assign them a song, so i'll leave this here for now :)

[roug-3]

Here my request: Optimus Prime x Elita/Reader in a post-TLK scenario. Prime Will not come back ti Cybertron because he doesn't want abandon his love. IDW SFW or NSFW though. Wel... Whatever 😂😂😂

I will try my best and I don’t really do character x character so I’ll do character x reader , and I’m guessing this is a human S/o so I’ll do that to. Thank you for the request, if I don’t post this in time it’s because I’m getting on/off my bus. And I’m gonna make it Bayverse bc you didn’t say if it was tfp or bay.

Warnings: light sfw, small angst and fluff

Characters included : Optimus, hound and drift

Time ⏳

After saving the world it was a mess with broken bits of buildings, they got rid of quintessa and her minions the auto bots had a choice of leaving earth and going back to Cybertron but for Optimus and his human S/o it was hard to part ways. “Do you have to go Optimus, I still need you” you say crying while looking up at your giant robotic lover, Optimus gets on one knee and gently holds the back of your head “it’ll be hard but I promise to come back one day, until cybertron is alive again I promise to come back” Optimus says lifting your chin up and rubbing your cheek ever so lightly.

The world becoming quiet around you as hound and drift walked into the ship with the others leaving you and Optimus looking into each others eyes, as you look at him your eyes start to become watery agian and Optimus begins to feel guilty that he has to leave you. Your eyes drifting to the ground you wipe your nose and eyes sniffling as you lean your head against your lovers survo/hand. Optimus never thought about having to leave you just to save a planet, and he feels like he could do something about it but he can’t.

Optimus’s POV

I watch y/n feeling like something in me is wrong, I have to save cybertron because the other auto bots and I need a home but I can’t leave her, spending time with her here on earth has been the best part about protecting earth from the deceptions. I never got to fully admit how much I love her and the fact that she brings warmth to my spark as she lightly grazes her soft hand on my survo, I decided to gently pull her up into my survo and I bring her towards my chest as I say my goodbyes “I promise you that I’ll come back to you one day, always look at the stars and think about the time we spent together” Optimus says as he carefully rubs her waist, feeling a rush of warmth go over my body as this is the last time we’ll ever see each other for a long time.

Now that is the end and sorry if it’s short , but if you do want another part to this I’ll try my hardest to make it longer . I js had to leave a cliff hanger because not all sappy fics have a happy ending 🙃 , and I had to do it! But please let me know if I should make a part 2 to this and I just maybe might make it less sad but no promises 🤫

[judebilation]

none of my friends listen to me when i talk about malevolent, which is the true tragedy. anyways episode 31 was a thing that happened.

arthur why do you make noises when you wake up.

omg kellin throwback. why the FUCK IS HE HERE.

WHERE IS MY BOY

was the sister always called samantha

we love john in the background trying to wake arthur up

what did we expect from an episode called ‘the nightmare’

ooo are we going to see the butcher again ??? thatd be cool

arthur wdym did you kill your wife. do we get bella lore.

“i cant SEE anything”

oh dear. i could write a full essay on faroe and her role in the development of arthur’s character

graveyards are Not Fun when your wife, your best friend and your child are all dead and 2/3 you had a direct hand in.

mr scratch?? damn okay.

even in dreams, john disapproves of arthurs choices

are we going through all of the trauma this man has. if so, im surprised this episode isnt three times the length.

for antagonists this season we have the butcher, whatever the fuck marie has in her house, larson indirectly and now mr scratch. how fun

i know its still harlan, but harlan-as-john and harlan-as-kellin are so different

we love arthur and all of his self denying internal monologues

the entire episdoe is just arthur’s guilty conscience.

anna stanzyck again? ooooo

AHA FUCK. WE GET BELLA LORE BUT AT WHAT COST. shit. that makes faroes death even worse tbh.

will i relisten to this entire podcast to find more connections?? yes.

i fucking knew that baby would be important.

what do you mean you knew what he looked like. you are blind.

is this some weird form of catharsis?

fucking GOD. literally everyone in this guys life is dead. his parents?? fucking hell.

arthur lester do not make me cry on the 8:47 bus.

:((( dont make me feel sad about kellin again.

AHA ITS THE FUNKY MERCENARY GUY AND HIS LITTLE ACCENT

awwwh they care about each other <3333 they are friends!

if arthur and john get separated again i am going to riot.

there was a poll about this and why arthur and bella were married. ig this is canon

AHA. aromantic headcanon more confirmed by the day.

I CANR LIVE FOR SOMEONE ELSE BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING RIGHT NOW??? LIVING FOR JOHN???

do we actually know james or did i just forget him

so this is why he feels guilty over bella’s death.

shit shit shit shit shit

god FUCKING damnit harlan why must you hurt us so.

parallels between arthur not knowing about faroe at first when she was born, and then not knowing where she was when she died. i may make a post on this.

okay i want to see how scratch ties into marie.

i hate larsons srupid fucking accent

do i have to make fanart of arthur and faroe at the park now. it feels obligatory.

those were the happiest days of your life and then she died and it was your fault and after that you wanted to kill yourself and oh my god im sobbing

yeah fuck you, scratch.

its so disconcerting that scratch sounds like john

the eldritch figure will in fact, stab you.

i think jts funny that the voices in arthurs head always narrate when arthur gets stabbed. like. i think he may realise that he has been stabbed.

WAIT SHIT I SWEAR IF THIS RELATES TO THE GUY ARTHUR KILLED AND ATE IN THE PITS

aha this is Not Good. Not Good At All.

she is free?? who is she??? wha

OMG BOY!!! :DDD

AHA SHIT FUCK GODDAMN IT THIS CANNOT BE GOOD.

FUCKING HELL. WHAT THE FUCK.

shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit

FUCKING HELL

this is very very bad.

yeah well. mans can never get a break. ever. what did we expect.

is this the song kellin was singing. maybe.

[colgatebluemintygel]

sorry I’m all up ur notifs rn but thought this should be a separate ask - in ur response to my previous ask you mentioned that remus has this air of vulnerability to him which is part of what draws ppl in, and I’m curious whether u feel that that vulnerability is outwardly visible (to other characters I mean) in OAO? Or rather, clearly it is since u mentioned it in this context lol, but I’m curious how that shows through (or if it’s just his vibes)? Since we (so far!) only rlly see him through Sirius’s unreliable narration and he obv knows Remus so well but also describes him as rlly hard to read and hard to get him to show vulnerability, and I’m curious now if that’s something about Remus that’s clear to everyone (which might be what ur referring to about him being mysterious) or something Sirius sees bc he knows Remus so well - I guess I’m intrigued that ppl seem to pick up on his vulnerability when it seems like he’s working so hard to hide his emotions in order to avoid seeming vulnerable, yk? He’s such a fascinating character lol (I am just like everyone in the club fr)

PS. this is how I’m picturing the sandals, except with the leather even more beat up and cracked:

(PPS If there’s any way you’d be willing to share where we’re up to in the OAO playlist in terms of chapters/events………finding out the Remus POV was next totally upended my personal theories about which songs were part of his POV lol so I’m v curious)

omg never apologise!!! i literally love talking about them <333 SO YES i think in part the vulnerability comes through in his general appearance; sirius is constantly waxing lyrical about how sexy and beautiful remus is, but he's also this bird boned man who looks like he lives off porridge (aka the only thing he knows how to cook) and cigarettes. he has perma eye bags and always looks a bit sleepy. yes, he FUCKS but he could also do with a protein smoothie if ya feel me. sirius's very first impression of remus was that he looked like a well-loved teddy. comforting, but also something to be treasured and protected.

i do think a huge part of the draw for people towards him is his almost contradictory nature; on one hand, he's so very kind and gives off strong sensitive guy vibes (in the same way that all tall spindly men reading beaten up books on the bus do), but he's also elusive af. and i really think this combination of traits makes people go wild; it's like a tease. like you KNOW there is so much there under the surface, but it's all being kept tightly under wraps,, and people can't help but fall for that. they want to be the one to uncover it all! added to that, he's always willing to lend an ear to other people and their problems, but he becomes v dodgy when it comes to talking about himself. sirius always feels guilty for taking up room with his feelings, and definitely part of that (not that sirius realises) is remus using sirius's feelings as a bit of a buffer for his own. if that makes sense? he's not being intentionally manipulative, but he feels like his own feelings are a burden; i think tied to that is a desire to make sure that nobody else around him feels like a burden for their feelings, but also a desire to just feel useful.

also, what will be made particularly evident in the next chapter ;-) is that remus controls himself A Lot around sirius. more than anyone else. around sirius, he's both the most himself and at his absolute most vulnerable, and that combination absolutely terrifies him. and he works overtime to try and keep himself under control. it doesn't help that sirius always finds a way to slip under remus's defenses, so he always tries extra extra hard to guard against that. but sirius always finds ways of surprising him (and vice versa)!

anywho..... i think the essence of what i'm trying to say here is: at his core, remus is incredibly vulnerable, and he works overtime to try to negate that. but!!! we will see some of those walls fall... :-) eventually :-))))

YES YOU GET IT. THOSE ARE HIS SANDALS. THEY LOOK LIKE THEY'RE FALLING OFF HIS FEET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TAKEN FROM THE GRAVE OF AN OLD WELSH SHEEP FARMER. DUG UP AT AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE AND PLACED DIRECTLY IN REMUS'S HANDS. THAT IS THE VIBE !!!!!!

oooh yes of course <333 remus's songs are house of cards - half the day is the night ;o)))))

[farfromsugafanfic]

Dangerous | Chapter 7: Hustler

Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Bad Boy!Jimin, Bartender!Reader College AU

Pairing: Jimin/Named Reader

Rating: M | Minors DNI

Chapter Warnings: mentions of vets/kittens needing to go to the vet, exes being jerks

You only had forty-five minutes to get to work and you were just getting on the bus to your apartment. The vet had given you a cardboard carrier since you hadn't had a chance to buy one, which only made you feel more guilty as you set the carrier on your lap and peered in at the sedated kitten. He was cuddled in the corner and rested comfortably despite the plastic cone around his neck. 

It hurt your heart to see him so out of it, but the vet mentioned he'd only need painkillers for a few days. The doors shut and the bus started moving. Luckily, you wouldn't have to switch buses, just walk a couple of blocks to your apartment. But, there was no way you weren't going to be late. 

[][][]

You walked into work. You'd only managed to change into a pair of jeans and a black long-sleeved top. Still, you were half an hour late. The club was busy and you made your way behind the bar and tied an apron around your waist. 

"You're late," a voice said. You felt a shiver run down your spine as you recognized it. He wasn't supposed to work tonight. 

"Yeah, I am," you said. "I had something come up." 

"You should've called." 

"Probably." You started filling drink orders and paying your ex no mind. Chul-soo was right. You should've called, but it was a Wednesday night and usually, the club wasn't this packed. You'd just finished handing someone a beer when Chul-soo pushed you out of the way and took the tip out of their hand. 

"Why don't you just leave? I'll handle it."

"Chul-soo, stop being ridiculous. I only work like two days a week, I need the shifts."

"You should've thought about that before you were late." He reached down and ripped the apron from your waist and tossed it to the side. 

"I had to pick up my kitten from the vet," you said. "The bus was running late. I was worried about him so I didn't call. Can you stop being an ass for two seconds?"

"Becoming a cat lady now?" he asked. "I see Jimin already moved on." 

You rolled your eyes and stepped from behind the bar. With all the worry bubbling up in your stomach about Jackson, you just let it go. You were about to walk towards the door when you heard someone's voice above the music. 

"Hey!" a man shouted. He waved one of his hands up in the air and you met his eyes, after which he lowered his arm and pointed towards a quieter area of the club where all the pool tables were. This portion only had a few people, a couple using one of the tables and a few others lingering along the sides on their phones.

You leaned against one of the tables as the guy worked his way through the crowd. You'd definitely seen him at the club before. You could never forget a face like his. If only you could remember when you'd last seen him. 

"Inna, right?" he asked. His black hair was combed back, exposing his forehead. The sleeves of his button-down were rolled up past the elbows and the shirt tucked in perfectly to show off his small waist. 

"Uh yeah," you said. Despite not remembering where you'd last seen him and him somehow knowing your name, something told you that you could trust him. His eyes weren't raking over your body like most guys at the club. 

"Are you okay?" he asked. "I saw what happened back there." 

"Yeah, I'm fine. He's an ex, so he likes to be a jerk." 

"You wanna play some pool?"

"Oh, I'm not really that good," you said, shifting your weight to one foot and biting your lip. "But I'll give it a shot." 

The guy smiled and handed you a cue. "I'm Jin, by the way. I think we both know Jimin." 

"Ah, that's how I know you," you said, trying not to dwell on Jimin's name. With the way he'd avoided you, you hadn't asked him to take you to pick up Jackson. It certainly would've saved you time. But you would've had to remember how his lips felt on yours and the ways his hands were so gentle against your skin. Like he was scared of breaking you again.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I think the Jimin's we know are very different." He racked up the balls and pushed them to three-quarters of the way down the table. "But he's still kinda a dick sometimes so I'll help you put on a show if you want. Just know I'm not exactly into your type." 

"Ah," you said, nodding in understanding. "What's with all of his friends wanting to piss him off?" A laugh pouring out of you. 

Jin motioned for you to take the first shot and break the balls, thus giving you the advantage in the game. You lined up the cue and hit the ball, but the balls barely broke up. 

"He still owes me fifty bucks," he said, lining up his shot. 

You laughed, your face falling as soon as Jin sunk in his first ball, permitting him to take another shot. "I didn't see him here tonight." 

"You were supposed to work tonight. Of course, he's here." 

Just as Jin finished his words, you spotted Jimin. He wasn't far away, but probably just out of earshot. Not dancing like usual, he sat at one of the tables and scrolled through his phone. You wondered why he even paid the cover charge. Of course, you knew plenty of people who came in just to sit, but that wasn't Jimin. He always came to dance or drink or both.

Jin leaned down. His second ball was in an awkward position. He leaned over the table and carefully angled his cue. You watched in amusement as his he exaggerated his movements and the ball shifted into a slightly better position. 

You picked up your cue and looked for your first ball, which you had still not managed to sink into one of the pockets. The shot wasn't straightforward, but not impossible. 

"Careful, Inna. Don't want to fall in."  

You snorted and your pool cue slipped causing the ball to roll forward an inch. You hardly noticed through your laughter until Jin smirked, "My turn." 

Your face fell. "Wait! Hey! That's not fair!"

You playfully slapped his arm as he lined up and took his shot, sinking two more balls. You huffed and crossed your arms, your pool cue leaning against the table. 

"Jinnie, you're too good." You stuck out your bottom lip. "Can you teach me?" 

With the way Jin's eyes swept over your expression, you knew he could see through your act. One corner of his lips turned upward and he approached you. 

"Grab your cue," he said, coming to stand close behind you. He placed his hands over yours and his body brushing against yours. "The trick is to keep a good balance to your cue. And, depending on the shot you have to change the angle, but the balance should remain the same. Your balance was all over the place. It made your shots inconsistent." 

"O-oh," you said. "Thanks. Where did you learn all this?" 

"My friends like coming to the club and I don't like dancing. Plus, I can make a few hundred a night off drunk freshmen."

You laughed. "You got good just to hustle drunk frat tributes? I'm sure that's gotten you into some trouble." 

Jin smirked. "Mm, I'm too pretty to hit." 

"So, what do I owe you for losing?" you asked with a quirk of your lips. 

"I'll never turn down a kiss from a pretty girl." He winked, before leaning back over the table and lining up his next shot. 

[][][]

You walked up the stairs to your apartment and pulled out your keys. You'd left the club after losing the game of pool and surrendering a kiss on the cheek to Jin. Despite flirting with Jin to get to Jimin, you came to enjoy Jin's company. He was the oldest of Jimin's friend group you'd come to find out. He graduated Jimin's freshman year but still hung around them at the college hang out spots. 

Before leaving, Jin had given you his number in case you needed anything. If Jin was into you, you would've jumped on the chance to date him, but you were thankful for a new friend nonetheless. 

You walked into your apartment and your eyes shot towards where you'd left Jackson in his carrier. The kitten had ventured out, which was a good sign. If he was already up and around, he would be back to his normal self before long. It was only when you spotted the plastic cone upside down on the floor that your stomach dropped. 

You eventually found the kitten curled up in your bedroom on one of your discarded T-shirts. He was awake and meowed in greeting when you entered the room. His temperament had improved. You picked him up and flipped him onto his back to find the surgery incision red and enflamed. It appeared Jackson pulled out a few of his stitches. 

If you hadn't held the kitten in your arms, you would've fallen to your knees. You felt like you needed to vomit, despite having nothing to drink at the club. You checked the time: 1 a.m. 

 After Googling the nearest emergency vet, you pulled out your phone. 

"What?" Jimin said, answering the phone. Luckily, his words didn't sound slurred and you didn't hear the music of the club. 

"Jimin," your voice cracked as you held the phone with your shoulder and attempted to reattach the cone around Jackson's neck. Tears pricked at your eyes as the kitten clawed at your wrists and struggled against your grasp. 

"Inna?" His voice suddenly shifted. "What's wrong? Where are you?"

"I came home and Mochi had gotten his cone off and it looks like he pulled out a few stitches and it looks really bad and maybe infected. He needs to go to the emergency vet but it's on the other side of the city and I don't know how I'm gonna get there or pay for it." Tears were falling onto your cheeks and your voice shaking with every word. 

Maybe Jackson would've been better off if you and Jimin had left him in the alleyway for a rich homebody to find. Someone who can spend more time with him and who could pay for everything he needed. Not two broke college students who were barely friends and never home.

You heard rustling on the other end of the phone that brought you out of your thoughts. "I'll be there in ten minutes, okay?" 

Jimin hung up the phone soon after and you continued trying to get the cone back around Jackson's neck so that he couldn't do any more damage. Eventually, you manage to re-fasten it and wrapped him in the T-shirt you'd found him on. 

[][][]

It was less than ten minutes when you heard a quiet knock on the door. You opened it with one hand, cradling Jackson with the other. You figured it would be easier to take him without the carrier, that way you could ensure that he didn't do more damage to his incision. 

"Hey," you said, not even meeting Jimin's eyes before you stepped outside and locked the door. You hadn't grabbed a jacket, but the air wasn't too cold, just a bit crisp against your skin. You hugged the kitten closer to your body.

"I called ahead," Jimin said. "They're expecting us. I borrowed Tae's car so it's easier and we can keep a better eye on him." 

You looked up at him wide-eyed. He had really thought of everything while you only managed to stop Jackson from hurting himself more. Jimin led you down to Tae's car, a beige car that looked like something your grandmother would drive. But, the seats were large and it allowed you to bring your knees up to your chest and cuddle your kitten close.

 "When did you pick him up?" Jimin asked, pulling onto the road from the parking lot of your apartment complex. 

"Before I went to work," you said. "Well, supposed to work." You ran your fingers across the kitten's tiny brow. Jackson liked it, closing his eyes and nuzzling against your wrists which still burned underneath the fabric of your shirt with his scratches. "It was only supposed to be a few hours. I thought he would be out of it all night so I wouldn't have to worry." You paused before letting out a scoff laden sigh. "This is all my fault. I should've had someone watch him or called in or something." 

"Hey," Jimin said, his voice silky and soft. "He could've done this in two minutes while your back was turned. He's gonna be okay, all right?"

[][][]

"It looks like he just ripped out the stitches and there may be the beginning of a small infection. We'll take care of the stitches and give him so antibiotics. We'll keep a watch on him until tomorrow to make sure there's nothing else major." 

You nodded and handed over your credit card, knowing this was going to max it out, but not caring as long as Jackson was going to be okay.

"Wait," Jimin said, reaching into his back pocket. "Can you split it between these two?" 

The woman nodded, glancing between the two of you as she placed half the bill on your card and the rest on Jimin's. 

"You didn't have to do that," you said after you and Jimin had left the office and walked back to the car. 

"Yes, I did. He's half mine." 

You got into the car but didn't put on your seatbelt, not wanting to leave without your kitten. Jimin got in and shut his door, putting the keys in the ignition, but glancing over at you before starting the engine. 

"Everything okay?" 

"What time is it?" 

"Uh, just past two fifteen." 

"I don't want to go home without him," you said.

"I can stay with you," Jimin said. 

"No, it's not that," you said. "I want to stay here. I can't leave him."

Jimin went quiet for a moment before starting the engine and you felt your objection growing in your throat before you realized that he hadn't turned out towards the road, but, instead was heading deeper into the parking lot. He parked towards the edge of the lot where you were out of the way. The streetlights only dimly lighting the interior of the car so you could just barely make out Jimin's face. 

"We'll stay," he said. "But, you need to get some sleep. I think Tae has some blankets in the trunk. The backseat should be big enough to lay down."

Jimin got out of the car as you climbed into the back. He was right, the seat was larger enough for you to lay down, but you chose to sit until Jimin climbed in next to you.

"No blankets," he said. "But, you can use my jacket." 

"I'm not cold, Jimin." 

The conversation lulled and you felt the exhaustion finally beginning to overtake you. You leaned towards Jimin until your head connected with his body, not caring that you probably should avoid him, or that you felt more relaxed than you had in days when your bodies connected. 

Jimin responded immediately by placing his arm around your shoulders to make the position more comfortable for both of you. His hand came down to rest on your wrist, just below where your palm meets your wrist. You flinched as he brushed over the fresh cat scratches. 

"Did that hurt?" he asked. You felt as he gently rolled up your sleeve revealing the shallow, red scratches. "You didn't tell me you were hurt."

"I had the wrestle the cone back on him," you said, your voice a grumble. "They're just cat scratches. I'm okay. I just want to sleep." 

"Okay," he said, not arguing and simply bringing his fingers to interlock with yours.

Previous | Masterlist | Next

[frnkieroandthecongratulations]

raon needs to be open for just a sec.

hello, open air! how are u doing?

i am in a bit of a pickle here in and i am hoping that venting to tumblr will make me feel better. so i have been seeing this guy, and just for my own record and anyone who might be listening let me explain how we got here.

i wanna spare u the personals so let's make this quick. i'm 20, as of writing this, and my ex (who i just broke up with a week ago) is 33. before u say "raon wtf that is not healthy" i know. that relationship was a form of self harm bc i am addicted to my own chaos. most ppl need some form of chaos, they find it in trashy guilty pleasure reality shows, or maybe they have a friend who is annoying sometimes and they indulge in that. i need personal chaos. i like when my life is off of the rails, however, it is detrimental to my mental health. and before u say "raon u said ur gonna be quick", i did! but,,, this ties into something later.

anyways, the day after we broke up i met this guy. lets call him sam. he comes up to me on the bus and hits on me. he was smooth and it was nice. i give him my insta and my number. we start talking and he's great! like everything i've wanted in past relationships. he's affectionate, an amazing communicator, and very relatable. and literally my type.

he is all i'm looking for. and it feels weird. maybe i am seeing him for him and actually learning him instead of lusting, which would be so fucking pathetic LMAO. or even though he's a great guy he's not a great guy for me. or or or back to my earlier point!!! he's perfect for me and i am addicted to toxic, chaotic relationships bc i cannot enjoy myself in a little bit of peace. i want something to go wrong esp when it comes to another person. that's all ive known and seen. my mom has had hard relationships and i've been in some bad ones myself. but now that someone treats me like a human, i'm baffled. and the 33 year old, he was terrible. lived in a shitty motel and smoked a pack a day. told me how to spend my money when he smoked away his. i was blessed enough to afford a trip to texas and he told me i was young and stupid. you see how it's proof of how much i'm addicted to romantic chaos even though it kills me. that's what i mean, i think for once i am the god damn problem.

(one last spur of the moment typing from roan getting upset and remembering things: "we shared locations and i realized he has a bunch of ppl in his find my (iphone's location app). i literally want to throw up. is he just talking to a bunch of girls and i am just another girl in the roster running the race for his heart. bc what in the brent fucking faiyaz???")

that's all roan has for yall tonight! i hope ur day or night is gorg! and u are loved by me and your own (most high).

-roan <3

[throatpunchqueen]

Venting about my job again

Maybe I wasn’t cut out to work here in the first place - maybe I used it as an excuse to deal with some work shit and just hop into another fire.   It seems i can’t do hard anymore - at least at work.   Once it gets too challenging i say I’m done!   Not sure I’m a wimp but i’m starting to think so.    I only have so much time and so much energy and i’m wasting it on work.   but is that necessarily so - i do got out a lot but i’m always smoking to bring back my old person.    i feel like i’ve lost myself in the last few years...i wish i knew then what i knew now.    i had it so good.   i’m too reminiscent of what life was then but rather i should be focusing on how amazing my present is.   ti think the reason i’m not doing that is i don’t think it’s amazing. - i do amazing thing but i find no joy from them.   i get this sort high from it but it doesn’t last.... vacation high lasts hours not days anymore.      maybe i’m too numb - maybe i’m just done with all the bullshit.    i don’t feel like i have my person yet - patty is the closest and even the conglomration of the girls doesn co ver it.   i miss sam.   he was my person - in the height of our friendship i could tell him anything 

have i really gotten to the get off my lawn mooment... damn last night i almost hit someone.   i was such a bitch and iw as okay with that.   fucking say excuse me you self entitled bitch.  common courtesy... really can’t stand general admission anymore.   it’s h append... i’m gonna start hating going to shows. 

i keep trying to open up and then i feel vulnerable and afraid someone is going to hurt me again.   my BEST  friend destroyed me... i’m seriously considering taking all my photos where ellie is in them and cutting herout of them.   i fucking hat eher.   that was uspposed to be sam and i.   she fucking ruined my lfe.   she took my best friend.   sam needs  a back bone and it hurts me so much that he doesn’t treasure our friendship like i do.  i’m trying to show 

While     Asshat company I work for should done more validation it was outlined in the SOW and the     conversion plan that useless company was responsible for production validation

We are     doing their job and they will not be able to support the system when they     leave

They     work their 8 hours and leave…. Why are we being punished because they don’t     do their job

Dani’s     team has no accountability for their actions – in the end it is always our     fault

Cal     is a condescending asshole

We     do all the research for them and then they come back to us with basic     questions

Hand     holding and doing their job is what we are doing

Validation     is difficult when you are doing their job

I should     have left production validation on the issues log

dumb blonde   needs to be more assertive with original douche bag  – she threw us under the bus

A lack     of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part

While     I am partially responsible there is not way I could have been the app     architect when I was running the comp workstream with the most difficult     channel

Rolling     off smart DI  at the end of the year expecting me to be able to answer all the     questions

No thought     for our time, our commitments outside this job… just because it’s your     life doesn’t mean it has to be mine

Destroying     my sense of self… have never felt more inadequate or useless or u unhappy

Need     a job that will encourage me, not coddle me but HELP me to grow.. not this     bullshit roll over for the client but don’t make them accountable

freak child     did one thing… status reporting.   

Help     me to understand exactly what you expect out of a delivery lead – because     if it’s all the shit I did in the beginning of this project there is no     way anyone can do that and not crash and burn.   And if they can, go head…but strive to     make us better, not exhausted beyond relied

I feel     guilty for taking PTO.   I have the     time but only take if I am going to be away  - I’ve not taken time to just staycation     because that will never fit into the project.   The fact that I feel guilty EVERY time I     take a day off is ludicrous.   I do     have a knack for scheduling vacations at critical point in the project –     believe me, I wish that were different.       But I work this fucking job so I can travel—- it’s a means to an     end, not something I enjoy in the least.       I work with a bunch of narcissistic assholes who think Accenture is     the end all, be all.   You have no     respect for the people you work with and that work for you.   I believe that rescue dude e is probably     the only person I have worked with that acknowledges the ridiculousness of     this account.   I want them to fail….    

I will     NEVER get promoted and frankly the way you treat your SM’s I don’t want to.   Less respect for their time and far     more responsibility.  And notice who     did NOT get promoted this year – Worthy woman .       She should have been promoted and instead we propagate this boys     club bullshit that is our practice.      

People     have emotions – acknowledge that.   Mental     illness is real and this job has made mine a fucking train wreck.    

I     don’t think I’ve got what it takes to do this job… I’m not strong enough, I’m     not smart enough and I’m certainly not clever enough.    I’m never going to be good enough to succeed     at Asshole company company I work for  and I have to learn to accept that.   I need to get out of this cycle of self     hatred and that needs to start inside of me.   Although the best thing I can do right     now is find a new job that doesn’t mean I will be happy.   I need to work on all the issues…. It’s     not weight but healthiness

Don’t’     get me started on useless MD  That dude     is an MD at the account level and is the most kiss ass, dim witted fool I’ve     met at the firm.   He has no damn     clue what he is doing and he’s just there to appease the client.    

[call-me-eds]

'tis the damn season (Jasper Avenue Part 2)

Masterlist

Jasper Avenue (Part 1)

Eddie x Reader Angst

Winter break is here and you’re back in Hawkins for a month. It didn’t take long for you to run into the person you’ve been trying to forget for the last five months, your ex-boyfriend Eddie.

You had only been home from school for Winter break for 6 hours. You were already itching to go back. Your mom had made your favorite dinner and your dad didn’t even ask you to do the dishes, which is where the excitement to be home ended. You let your little sister hang out in your room while you unpacked, which kickstarted your desire to run back to your dorm.

“So I ran into Eddie the other day.”

“I don’t care,” you told her, hoping that your tone would be enough to tell her to shut up.

“He asked when you were coming home.” Your grip tightened on the sweater you were going to hang up, but you just threw it in your hamper with force. “I told him that I wasn’t sure.”

“Wow, sister of the year!” you rolled your eyes. “It’s not a big town, he’ll figure it out soon enough.” 

“I was just trying to give you a heads up.”

Being in the same zip code as Eddie had been on your mind from the moment you finished your last final. Pulling all-nighters to write papers and cram was good enough to distract you for a while, but as soon as you had the time to think again it was all Eddie, all the time. 

You barely ate and couldn’t focus long enough to remember to pack your toothbrush, you were so scared. The drunken phone call (and confession) you made to Eddie were crystal clear in your memory. Mortified didn’t even begin to describe how you were feeling, it was consuming.

Except for your ride home. A boy in your hall lived in the town over from Hawkins, and he was on the same bus as you. For the hour and a half you were trapped on the Grey Hound, you were laughing and making a new friend. 

Maybe it wasn’t love at first sight, but for the first time in five months you were able to see a future for yourself where you weren’t hung up on your past relationship. You weren’t thinking about Eddie and how high the likelihood was of you melting into a puddle if you ran into him while you were home for a month.

Maybe you could move on. 

Eddie, on the other hand, was fully feeling the impact of the lack of you in his life. He was able to shove his heartbreak under the rug and distract himself by watching black and white movie marathons and sleeping as much as his body would allow.  Thoughts of you always managed seeped into his brain, though. Especially when a man with a transcontinental accent was chasing down a train or swimming after a boat or trying to ground a plane with the love of his life on it. 

He felt so stupid for pushing you away. Why did he think that this was going to be easy? The logical part of his brain told him that he was doing what was best for the both of you. You were going to move on and meet a smart guy with enough money to go to college and not be stuck with him: scraping by with money from dealing weed to 16 year-olds. And he wouldn’t have to feel guilty for holding you back. 

Now, only 9 hours after returning home, the real trouble began. You were in the pharmacy, picking up a toothbrush to replace the one that you left in your shower caddy at school. To balance out the good hygiene you were about to practice, you passed through the candy aisle before you left. 

“They stopped selling the watermelon Twizzlers. I guess once you skipped town the demand fell.” Goosebumps exploded through your skin upon hearing his voice. It was different than how it came through the phone; much softer. 

“A lesson on supply and demand from the expert. I’m getting a better education here than at school,” you quipped, grabbing the bag of gummy worms closest to you and trying your hardest not to break into a sprint to the register. The sound of chains were right behind you, like you were in a horror movie. Being followed through the store by your ex-boyfriend was much scarier than a man with a chainsaw.

You heard him tell the young cashier to keep the change so he could catch up to you.

“Y/N, please wait.” He didn’t yell or grab your arm to twist you around in dramatic fashion, and you didn’t spit at his feet or call for a bolt of lightning to end the interaction before it really started. 

A part of you told yourself to just let him talk. This could end and really set you free. You could move on. 

Eddie’s eyes widened when you actually turned around. He lost his words for a moment, but quickly got back on track so you wouldn’t change your mind and leave him standing alone under the streetlights.

“It’s cold out, do you want to go sit inside somewhere?” he asked. You snorted through your nose and shook your head.

“No, I don’t want to go sit with you. What is it?” you demanded, patience fading fast. 

“I-I just want to talk,” he was scrambling now. 

“So talk.” He knew he was going to have to work for whatever it was he was hoping to gain from this conversation, but he didn’t think that you were going to be so harsh with him. Not that he didn’t feel he deserved it, he just rarely saw you like this. All of his memories with you were soft and sweet and full of laughter.

You didn’t enjoy acting like this any more than he liked being on the receiving end. It would be great if you could treat him as a friend and get to catch up, but right now you were still just too hurt.

“How have you been?” he asked. 

“Eddie, please,” you sighed. “Is there anything specific? I think it’s going to start snowing soon and I hate driving in the snow.”

His knees went a little weak at hearing his name come out of his mouth. God, he had really missed you. 

“I know you do. I’m sorry, I’ll let you go,” he nodded and took a step back.

“Okay,” you said, wrapping your coat tighter around your body and rushing to your car. 

You both survived, even though you thought it would kill you to see him again. You were at ease for the next week of your break, knowing that the worst thing you imagined had already happened.

The next time you saw Eddie, a bit of the edge was taken away and you felt slightly more human. 

Now that you had been exposed to the party life that went on past 10 pm, you had to spread the knowledge to your friends. You, Robin, and Steve walked into the dive bar without even having to show your fake ID’s and went straight to get drinks to keep your buzz going from the beers you already consumed in Robin’s bedroom.

“Look, there’s even going to be live music. Told you this would be fun,” you said, watching a few guys replace guitar stands and start switching out amps. You cheered as the next band walked on stage and pulled Robin towards it, knowing that you would never get her to dance with you sober.

“Thanks to our friends, Corroded Coffin, for keeping the crowd ready. We’re going to start off with a new song tonight.” Robin choked on her drink and you barely noticed the drops she spat onto your face, 

“Do you want to leave? We should leave. I’m going to go find Steve and he’s going to call someone. One of the kids has to have their license by now, right?” she asked, her heart certainly going faster than yours.

“Rob, it’s fine,” you assured her, staying cool and gulping down half of your drink. “But we should go find Steve, we kind of abandoned him.” You went back to the bar and saw Steve talking animatedly to the familiar head of black hair. 

“Oh, here they are now!” he said, pointing right at you and squashing any chance you had of being able to turn around and disappear back into the crowd. Eddie turned around and gave you a tight-lipped smile. “Guys, we just missed them play. We have to come back next week.”

“Maybe after New Year’s,” Robin said, pinching his elbow. His mouth fell open in recognition after a few seconds and she practically had to close his jaw for him.

“So, do they let you drink here for free?” you asked, nodding to the beer in Eddie’s hand.

“Uh, no, unfortunately. I can swing a private entry, though, if you don’t mind hauling a few crates of equipment through an alley,” he said. 

“Mm, I think I’ll stick with the front door.”

It wasn’t a secret that Robin, Eddie, and Steve were still close friends. There were times when you were on the phone with one of them, the background eerily silent and their voices a few octaves higher than normal, when you could tell they were together. Or sometimes they would omit big chunks of their weekends, or stop suddenly in the middle of a story and never finish. When Robin came to visit you, Steve tried to concoct an elaborate story he thought Eddie might believe, instead of just telling the truth.

“You know, I have to pee. My bladder is insanely tiny. Can you come with me?” Robin asked you.

“It’s fine. We’re not going to keel over,” you said, throwing your arm around his shoulders for a moment to prove your point. Truthfully, you didn’t know what would happen when you touched Eddie, but you weren’t prepared you for what you felt. 

Nothing.

The night went on, and while you didn’t go out of your way to talk to Eddie, you were content to thank him when he got you a refill on your drink or ask him where Robin had gone when you misplaced her. He offered to give the three of you a ride home, which you were afraid Steve would accept, but you gladly took the bus home. 

The next time you saw Eddie, the roles of inebriation were reversed. It was your last night in Hawkins before going back to school: New Year’s Eve. You were the designated driver tonight at the biggest party in town, and figured that you might run into him. What you didn’t expect was to see him getting grabbed by the collar and shoved up against a wall by some guy who was still wearing his letterman jacket two years after graduating high school.

You looked around for Steve, Jonathon, Nancy, anyone with more strength than you that could stop this. No one looked like they were paying attention, or they were just too drunk to care.

“Hey!” you snapped, rushing over. “What’s happening? Put him down.”

“This creep sold me the shittiest weed I’ve ever had. I want my money back,” he growled, pushing Eddie harder into the wall.

“I told you, Jockstrap, all sales are final,” he spat back. You rolled your eyes and dug your hand into your purse, pulling out a ten dollar bill. 

“Here, just take this,” you said. He looked between you, Eddie, and the money before letting Eddie fall.

“Next time she’s not around to protect you, I’ll expect the rest of my money,” he snatched the bill from your hand and walked away. You rolled your eyes before looking at Eddie, who was smiling widely.

“What is so funny? Being choked a new turn on?” you asked. He guffawed loudly and wiped at his eyes. “You’re high.”

“Guilty,” he smiled. 

“Okay, just don’t pick any more fights. I’m running low on cash,” you grabbed your water and went to go back into the depth of the party, but Eddie reached out and grabbed your arm.

“Hey, wait,” he said. “Thank you, really. I’ll pay you back.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” you shook your head. “Consider it backpay for all of the free weed.”

“Oh, come on,” he laughed. “I was always more than happy to share, you know that.”

“Yeah, because I get touchy when I’m high.” You instantly regretted the words as they came out of your mouth. You didn’t know if you were at a point where you could be this casual with Eddie, much less playful. “Sorry, that was weird.”

“No, I mean, it’s true,” he said. “Some of our best memories are with one of these,” he plucked a joint from behind his ear and held it up. “Any interest?”

“I’m driving tonight,” you shook your head. The two of you stood in an awkward silence for a moment. 

“Want to keep me company?” 

So now you found yourself in the backyard of a house you didn’t know, with your ex-boyfriend, while he got even higher and you tried not to say anything stupid.

“How’s school?” he asked.

“Do you really want to know?” When senior year was only halfway over and you had just gotten your acceptance letter, Eddie was more than happy to hear about all of your plans. He went to the bookstore with you when you got your class schedule, he patiently carried bags while you and your mom picked out your bedding, and he wore your spirit-wear under his graduation robe, cheering the loudest in the crowd when you crossed the stage.

“Of course,” he said seriously, sparking up the rolled joint.

“Well, it’s good. I am waiting to hear about my final grades for the semester. And by the end of this year I’ll need to pick a major,” you said.

“I’m sure you aced all of your classes,” he said it so surely that you felt silly for ever doubting yourself. 

“Yeah, well. We’ll see,” you sighed. “And, uh, how are things here?” you asked. He laughed, but not from the weed this time. Like he couldn’t believe that you were even asking that.

“It’s been better now that you’re back,” he said softly. “Feels different, like it’s back to how it’s supposed to be.” 

Your skin went a little cold at that. Not just from the wind that was picking up, but from what was going to come next. The conversation was turning into something far more serious than you should be having while Eddie was under the influence, or in general. This is something that you two were supposed to talk about in fifteen years, when you were back in town for a reunion and you ran into each other. You’d laugh and reminisce while on the arms of your significant others, only remembering the happy times you shared.

“I don’t think I ever apologized to you,” he took another long drag and you tried to interject.

“Eddie-“

“No, listen. It was really shitty, what I did. And the things I said, which I didn’t mean, and the timing. All of it was just really, really bad. These last few weeks, knowing you’ve been around and seeing you and hanging out at the bar-”

“Okay, I wouldn’t call that hanging out. I barely remember the night,” you said. He rolled his eyes and turned to face you completely, turning the conversation much more intimate than you wanted it to be.

“Whatever. It all just feels right, you know? Having you close,” he stepped forward and you felt the electricity of his fingers near your waist. The last time you had been this close while alone, the air was hot and your skin slick with sweat and each other.

“It’s been nice, seeing everyone again,” you nodded, hoping to slow his momentum and remind him of the people just on the other side of the door.

“I just, it’s been really lonely without you.” He was close enough now that you could see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “I made a mistake, doing what I did.” It wasn’t lost on you that he couldn’t outright say that he broke up with you. 

“I think that if you really want to talk, we should do it at another time when it’s not late and we’re both in the right head space,” you told him, putting your palm on his chest to get him to back away. He just wrapped his hand around yours, holding it just as tenderly as the joint still in his other hand.

“My head has never been clearer,” he promised, moving towards you fast and pressing his lips against yours. 

If you hadn’t been sober, or if he had shown up at your dorm room a month earlier, or if he just would have let you talk to him before he decided to end your relationship, you gladly would have fallen into him.

But you weren’t, and he didn’t. So you pulled away and shoved him off of you.

“What the hell?” you wiped your mouth with the back of your hand and narrowed your eyes at him.

“I’m sorry, I should have just grown a pair and worked out my insecurities with you, but I’m ready now. I’ll come to visit and meet your friends and we’ll talk on the phone, just like we were planning from the beginning. We can do this,” he went to grab your face and bring you back to him, but you were able to dodge him this time.

“Eddie, no! God!” You couldn't believe you were pushing him away when just a few weeks ago you were still dreaming of him. “I am not on the same page as you, this is not what I want. Did you seriously think that I was going to sit around and wait for you to realize you made a mistake? You had five months to call me, send out the bat signal, anything more than that fucking letter.” While you were starting to envision a life where you weren’t so hung up on Eddie, but that didn’t mean all of your emotions for him had evaporated.

“I didn’t expect you to wait for me,” he shook his head. It was your turn to laugh.

“Clearly, you did. Sure, I cried over you, Eddie, but not for some time now. You forced me to move on, so now I’m forcing you. Own up to your decision,” you spat, throwing open the screen door and going back inside.

Eddie was so sure he would be able to get you back. He thought the kindness you showed him at the bar, and now the willingness to have a conversation with him one on one, was proof that you hadn’t stopped loving him.

Truthfully, you hadn’t. You would always love Eddie, if even just a little bit, but you couldn’t throw away the months of progress you made.

He could feel it, now, too, that you weren’t going to go back to him. Instead of running after you like you had when he broke up with you, he just brought the joint back to his lips and finished it alone.

You were tearing through the party, looking for your friends while everyone was counting down from 10 to midnight. Steve came into sight first, and you impatiently waited while he had his midnight kiss with a blonde girl you recognized from History class last year. She walked away from him with a smile and you quickly made your way over to him.

“We need to go,” you said. He cocked his head to the side and you just grabbed his wrist, keeping an eye out for Robin. “There will be another girl in 1988, come on.” 

Once you found Robin, it wasn’t hard to lead them to your car due to their intoxication. You helped them both get settled in Steve’s house, and told them you’d call the next day once you got back to school.

The restless night you had hit you hard the next morning. You weren’t able to sleep on the bus ride home, and only felt relaxed enough to snooze when you were back in your dorm, where no one from Hawkins besides your family and Robin had ever been. 

Before you allowed yourself to nap, though, you went to your desk drawer. You pulled out the letter Eddie had sent you all those months ago, worn from being unfolded and refolded so many times. Without opening it, you ripped it into quarters and shoved it into the trash can. 

Eddie got his wish, you were free.

Tagging from part 1:

@daredalek @bambi-laufeyson @iheartyouyou @dasha029 @honey3-14159 @kaitioo @fujiihime @izzyxplr @persephoniniwrites

[bi-bard]

Better Than Anyone Else - Castiel Imagine (Supernatural)

Title: Better Than Anyone Else

Pairing: Castiel X Reader

Requested: by @zizzlekwum

Word Count: 1,306 words

Warning(s): cussing, kidnapping, insults, Dean can't really keep his mouth shut

Summary: (Season 5) (Y/n) and Castiel are taken hostage by angels in the hopes of getting information on how the Winchesters plan on stopping the apocalypse. (Y/n) finally reaches their boiling point with the angels that try to make Cas feel like shit.

Author's Note: I swear, Cas is one of my favorite characters to write for.

Hey! I did a rewrite of the ending of Supernatural. It took a really long time to complete, so it would mean a lot to me if you check it out. Here’s a link! (it’s on my personal account)

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I was seething.

I watched as the angels strutted around Cas and me. We were tied across from each other. Cas with some weird kind of chain and me with just rope.

They just kept poking at him.

Mocking him for his humanity. His caring nature.

It pissed me off.

"Isn't it pathetic," one of them asked. "Knowing that your choice to help the humans is pointless? You trusted them... cared about them... all for it to go to waste. They don't care about you, you're just a tool to them."

"Leave him alone," I snapped, tugging at the ropes harshly. I didn't even wince at the feeling of the material burning my skin.

"Shut up, you gnat," the 'head angel' of the group said. "You are one of the biggest reasons Castiel forgot his purpose."

"He didn't forget his purpose," I hissed. "He found it."

She held her blade to my neck, grabbing my hair so I couldn't wiggle away.

"He's one of the most caring creatures I've ever met," I continued, ignoring my fear. "He's a hero. Not just to me but to so many others. You are just trying to make him hate all he's done so he can be guilt-tripped into helping you. If you were worth helping, you wouldn't have to do that."

The angel nearly growled at me before stepping away.

I started combatting words with words.

"You mean nothing to them" was met with my response of "You're amazing and I'm honored to even know you."

"If you didn't have powers, they'd drop you like dead weight," was met with, "Don't listen to them. The boys and I think you're brilliant. You're amazing... a hero."

"They obviously don't need you... they would've saved you by now," was met with, "Sam and Dean will be here soon, they just can't teleport."

This continued until the doors were slammed open. I smiled to myself. Sam and Dean stormed in and started fighting. Sam quickly cut the ropes from my wrist and ankles and grabbed the blade the had rolled from one of the angels.

"One second," I said to Cas quickly, going after the main angel.

I sunk the blade into her stomach, ripping a key from around her vessel's neck.

"Didn't know angels used such basic locks on shit," I muttered, undoing the lock. Cas stood up instantly, moving me out of the way so he could smite an angel that was behind me.

The action died down and we all looked around to check on each other.

"All of us alright," Dean asked. I nodded. "Let's go, Bobby's waiting for us."

We went to walk out but Cas called my name. I turned back to him. He gently grabbed my hands. I blushed as I watched how careful he was as he healed the rope burns.

"Thank you," I mumbled, looking up at him.

I noticed how close we were. I took a deep breath in before turning around and following Sam and Dean. Cas teleported out.

"How are you feeling," Sam asked as Dean started driving.

"I've been better," I muttered. "They just kept insulting him. Like they knew it would hurt more than hitting him."

"What did you do," Sam asked.

"Defended him," I replied. "He deserved that. Even after they held a blade to my throat, I just wanted him to know that we cared."

There was a moment of silence.

"(Y/n)," Dean said carefully. "Do you promise not to hit me after I ask my next question?"

"I can't promise something like that, I've heard some dumb questions come out of your mouth," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Do you... love Cas," he asked.

My breath stopped in my throat for a moment.

I looked down. Was love the right word? Was that too far? I definitely liked him. He was sweet and brave but... love? He'd be uncomfortable if I said love. I sighed... maybe I did love him.

"I don't know if 'love' is too far or not," I finally admitted.

"Holy shit," Dean sounded so excited. I chuckled. "I fricking knew it! Sam, you owe me twenty bucks!"

"You bet on me?"

"...No," Dean suddenly turned guilty when he realized that I was unhappy with his choice.

"Sam."

"It was Dean's idea," he said, throwing his brother under the bus immediately. I looked at Dean.

"(Y/n)... listen..."

--time skip--

I was looking through Bobby's basement for him. He was working on some project and just needed me to help him grab some things. I was happy too. Working with Bobby was not as scary as some would assume.

I was heading back up the stairs when I heard Cas and Dean in the kitchen.

"I just want to know why (Y/n) defended me so adamantly," I froze, realizing neither one had noticed me.

"I can't tell you that, Cas, you need to ask them," he replied.

"You know and won't tell me," Cas said it as a statement, not a question.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I can't."

"Dean, I don't understand-"

"I'm sorry, Cas, but this is (Y/n)'s business."

I guess I didn't know how long they had been going around in a circle. Still, what happened next made me want to throw what I was holding at Dean's head.

"Is there something wrong with (Y/n)? Are you worried about them? What do I not know-"

"Guys," I heard Sam try to intervene.

"(Y/n) loves you, Cas," Dean finally snapped. "There! You know why now!"

My heart just sank, "How fucking dare you?"

Dean looked at me with a panicked look.

"(Y/n)-"

I held up a hand. I walked to the living, placed what Bobby asked for on the table, and then walked out of the house.

"Where are you going," Sam asked, going to stop me.

"On a walk," I snapped, slamming the front door shut behind me.

I don't even know how far into Bobby's yard I had walked. I just kept going. I was angry and stressed and embarrassed. I was ready to fight Dean and leave him tied up in the trunk of his own car.

"(Y/n)," I heard the deep voice from behind me. I ignored it. "(Y/n)."

"Cas, I really don't wanna-"

I ended up walking straight into his chest. I took a step back and looked up at his face.

"Cas... we can just forget that," I motioned toward the house. "We don't have to worry about it."

"No."

"No?"

"I don't want to forget about it," he muttered. "It made me very happy when I heard you loved me."

"Oh," I mumbled.

"I... I love you too," he had a small grin on his face, seeming nervous. Angel of the Lord... nervous.

"You do?"

"Yes," Cas nodded.

"Oh," I mumbled again.

He stepped closer to me. I felt my entire base heat up at the motion. Being this close to Cas... or anyone really... was kind of new to me. I watched him closely and saw him furrow his eyebrows.

"This is where I'm supposed to kiss you, right," he asked softly.

"If you want to."

"I want to," he replied. I smiled widely at him.

I leaned in and pressed my lips to his lightly. I grabbed the lapels of his jacket. It felt like I was going to lose him if I did. He slowly reached out to touch my sides as he relaxed into the kiss. It was a perfect moment.

I slowly pulled away, trying to hold back a laugh as he tried to lean forward and kiss me again.

"I love you," I whispered, my forehead touching him.

"I love you too," he mumbled back. "And I'd like to kiss you again."

"Be my guest," I chuckled, pulling him back into a kiss.

What a perfect moment?

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

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[taetaespeaches]

“I’m sure you were great, Peaches.”

taehyung x reader (oc) genre: fluff beta reader(s): @stayjimin​ word count: 2.1K

a/n: Hi lovelies! Here’s a moment from early on in Tae and Peaches’ friendship. There are small signs of deeper feelings but they are both too naive to realize what those feelings are. Peaches is shy, Tae is adorable, and oh yeah, this is where he starts calling her Peaches. I hope you all enjoy, and thanks for reading :))

The knock on your apartment door may as well have been completely voided as the damn thing was pushed open before the thump even sounded. Your best friend stepped inside with a loud groan, throwing his bag to the floor carelessly.

“I hate when practice runs late,” he complained, his gaze finding you, sitting on the couch, your laptop positioned on your lap as you stared at him.

“You know, one of these days your sudden entrances are going to give me a heart attack,” you told him as you moved the laptop to the coffee table. The man responded with a guilty grin as he approached the sofa.

“Have you picked out a movie?” He asked, you throwing your head back dramatically.

“Tae, I’m so indecisive, you know this about me,” you complained. “Can’t you pick it?” The man sighed dramatically, looking to the ceiling in exaggerated thought.

“Some day you’re going to have to make some decisions for yourself,” he teased, you rolling your eyes as you waved him off.

“Not today,” you replied sassily, crossing your arms over your chest. Taehung met your attitude with an adorable boxy smile, you returning the expression with a grin of your own. “You can sit down,” you told him, eyeing the way he leaned up against your couch.

Looking at you bashfully, you cocked your head back at him. “I didn’t have a chance to shower after practice,” he mumbled shyly, you nearly cooing at how cute he was.

“Do you smell?” You sat up on your knees, leaning toward him, Taehyung giggling boyishly as he set his palms on your shoulders, shoving you away. Falling back against the couch cushions, you laughed loudly as Taehyung playfully called you a weirdo. “You can shower here if you want,” you suddenly told him, his eyes widening in what appeared to be surprise.

“Is that ok?” He asked timidly, the man’s demeanor taking you by surprise as he was typically so confident and exuberant and, well, hyper. He was always so youthful, kind of like a young boy within a grown body.

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” you told him, standing up to point down the hallway to your bathroom. “There’s clean towels and washrags in the little plastic drawers next to the sink, and I can get you a change of clothes to wear. Sweats and a t-shirt ok? Want a hoodie?” You asked him, the man smiling at you fondly as you looked to meet his gaze. “What?” You suddenly became shy under his stare, Taehyung shaking his head.

“Yeah, that’s ok,” he said simply. “I’ll wear whatever you give me.”

“Ok,” you giggled bashfully. “You can use any of the products in the shower.”

“Thank you,” he nodded, “I’ll be quick.” Stepping away from you slowly as he started down the hallway.

“No, take your time, you’re fine,” you assured him as he made his way to the bathroom. “Hey Tae,” you called out, the man whipping around to look at you, wide eyed and innocent. “You only stink a little bit.”

“Oh shut up,” he laughed, his low chuckle ringing through the apartment making you smile and giggle in response.

Crossing your arms over your chest, you looked around at your own photos on your apartment walls, as though you weren’t sure how to conduct yourself with the knowledge that your best friend was currently stripping down just a few feet away. You waited until you heard the shower curtain open and the water turn on before stepping to your bedroom to find some clothes for him to wear.

Sitting on your knees in front of the bottom dresser drawer, you dug around for a pair of sweats that would be baggy enough for his comfort, though your attention was pulled from the task at hand when the sound of Taehyung’s muffled singing rang out down the hallway. Smiling to yourself, you halted your actions to listen to him for a moment.

The song was Girls Generation’s ‘Gee’ which was typical but still funny even after your few months of close friendship with the guy. Shaking your head at his antics, you grabbed a pair of sweats and stood. As you left the bedroom, you found yourself humming along to his singing as you approached the bathroom.

Knocking on the door a couple times, you called out, “Tae, can I come in? I have your clothes.”

“Yeah!” he yelled out enthusiastically, sounding as though his head was submerged under the water. Giggling, you opened the door slowly, careful to not catch him in an indecent position.

Stepping inside the bathroom, Taehyung poked his head out from behind the shower curtain almost immediately, you snorting at his quick action. Water dripped from his drenched locks as he stared at you with wide eyes.

“What does this mean?” He asked, pushing his arm out from behind a curtain, a bottle of body wash in his hand. “Pretty as a peach,” he read the label.

Eyeing the bottle, and then his wet face, water falling from his hair to the bathroom mat in front of the tub, you hummed with a shrug. “I don’t know, I guess peaches are pretty?” He looked at you with the same confusion as you tried to come up with a suitable answer. “I think, like, peaches are soft and sweet, right? So, pretty in that way. I think it’s just a cute way to call something pretty and soft and sweet.”

“Hmm,” he nodded as if he understood suddenly. “So like you.”

“I don’t think so,” you whispered under your breath though a chuckle as you became bashful under his innocent stare. He threw compliments at you in the most pure, nonchalant ways that would have your head, and heart, reeling. “I’ll leave your clothes here,” you sat them on the edge of the sink and patted them, the clothes more squished into a pile than folded.

“Thank you,” he smiled happily just before ducking his head back inside the curtain as you smiled, heading back toward the doorway.

“Hey, Tae,” you called out to him, the man sticking his face out of the shower once more, you already wearing a smirk when he met your eyes. “Hurry up in here,” you teased, holding back a laugh at how Tae’s jaw dropped open. “More cleaning, less singing.”

“But you said take my ti-” he began to defend himself as you cackled, leaving the room and shutting the door behind you.

“You’re mean, you know that?” He yelled at you through an obvious smile and chuckle as you laughed down the hallway, heading to the kitchen to gather some snacks.

Taehyung entered your life suddenly as a goofy overgrown kid, friendly and kind. Complimenting you since day one, he had done nothing over the past several months but lift you up, while entertaining you constantly as he did so. The day you met him, the day you missed your bus and spilled coffee all over your shoes, he had done most of the talking. He bought you a drink, using the little money he had as a member of a group that was just barely debuting, and he sat in that cafe with you for over an hour, just chatting away about everything from how hard dancing was to the movies he had been watching recently.

“Have you seen Moonrise Kingdom yet?” He asked through his eye smile, the boxy grin reaching every feature on his face.

“No, not yet,” you had responded, taking a sip of your new iced coffee. “Is it good?”

“Oh, it’s amazing!” He told you enthusiastically. “You’ll have to come over to the dorm and watch it,” he said simply, no hidden agenda behind the words. You felt safe. The man, as pretty and charming as he was, just desired a friendship with you.

And you found yourself gladly accepting that friendship into your life, soon letting it become the most valuable relationship you’d ever had.

Over the course of the few months of knowing Taehyung, movie nights and cafe hangouts became a regular thing for you both- when he had time, that is. And though he had been in your life for less than a year, it was hard to picture a future without Taehyung in it. You knew if life caused you both to drift apart, as people often did, you would be ok. But you also knew your world just simply would be a lot less bright and a lot less interesting without him.

Removing the bag of popcorn from the microwave that you had placed in there a few minutes earlier, you shook it just as the sound of the bathroom door opening resonated down the hallway. Tearing the bag open and pouring it into a bowl, you grabbed a piece just as Tae rounded the corner into the kitchen.

Throwing the piece at him, you giggled at the man’s flinch, his eyes wide in shock, the expression only furthering your laughter. His mouth opened into a wide smile as a deep chuckle left his throat just before gesturing at you to throw another piece.

Grabbing a piece of popcorn, you lined up your shot with your best friend’s open mouth, giggling as you tossed it, the man jumping to the side to catch it. Simultaneously, you both threw your arms up in victory, Taehyung cheering as he bounded toward you, reaching for another piece of the snack and popping it into his mouth, shooting you a big close-mouthed grin.

Eyeing up his frame, you couldn’t help the smile that curved on your lips at the sight of him in your old volleyball t-shirt with your high school’s name and mascot printed on the front of it. Taehyung caught you staring at his chest, his hand coming up to run over the lettering and the image of a volleyball passing over a net.

“I didn’t know you played volleyball,” he commented, the words coming out as a question as he seeked further information. Your gaze meeting his own, you admired the way his wet fringe hung over his eyeline slightly.  

“Oh yeah,” you smiled shyly. “I was a setter. I was actually somewhat decent.”

“I’m sure you were great, Peaches,” he complimented easily, tacking on the new pet name as if it was nothing.

“Peaches?” You questioned, your heart skipping a beat before racing, playing catch up.

“Yeah,” he grinned, quite pleased with his newfound term of endearment. “It’s fitting.”

“Is it?” You smiled, shy but intrigued.

“I told you, you’re soft and sweet,” he shrugged, “and pretty,” he smirked. “As a peach.”

“You’re such a dork,” you giggled, brushing off the way the compliment made you feel, your stomach fluttering as your heart danced inside your chest.

Smiling proudly, he placed another piece of popcorn into his mouth. “Did you pick a movie?” Sighing dramatically, you threw your head back in feigned frustration, Taehyung laughing at your acting. His hands moved to his head, shaking out the wet strands, his eyes widening as he leaned toward you. “Hey, smell my hair,” he told you, you pulling your eyebrows together in question. “It smells like yours.”

Holding back a fond smile, you inched forward, pressing your nose to the side of his head to smell the shampoo that stained the tendrils in a sweet vanilla scent.

“Ooh, I must smell good,” you grinned, the man nodding happily.

“I’ve always loved the smell of your shampoo,” he commented innocently, though the words made your heart swell. Because he knew the scent of your hair.

The scene felt weirdly intimate, in a way it never had before between you both. The man was standing in your kitchen, adorned in your high school t-shirt, his hair drenched in the fragrance of your own shampoo, munching on popcorn as he threw compliments at you left and right, leaving you shy and giddy, though you’d never let him know that.

Ever since Taehyung came into your life, he fit right into it, as if there was a place for him just waiting for his arrival. But this moment felt different, and you couldn’t place just why. As your heart pounded inside your chest, watching as Taehyung grabbed the bowl of popcorn off the counter before retrieving two drinks out of your fridge, then making his way across the apartment to the couch as if he owned the place, you just knew he was meant to be there with you. And you hoped he’d stay for life.

“Tae, let’s watch ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ again,” you called out to him, making your way toward him.

Turning around to look at you as you approached him, he wore a bright smile as he nodded happily. “Look at you making decisions!” Laughing at his comment, you rolled your eyes. “I knew you could do it, Peaches.”

“Oh, shut up.” Peaches. You liked it. You really, really liked it.

[someonestolemyshoes]

Hi! Have u done any pregnant Hanji and overprotective daddy Levi already?? Yep i think im craving for more domestic levihan family, im sorry 😭

Im a bit new here in the community, and when i read ur works, i fell in love with it already, thank you for existing!!! 💖💖💖

Hello anon! Thank you so much, I’m so glad you enjoyed my other fics :3 Sorry for the very long wait for this one, I've been struggling to find the time/motivation to write lately, but I'm feeling a little better and I figured I'd get to work on some of my prompts. Starting here!!

It ended up a little less domestic and a touch more angsty than I had originally planned, but only for a moment--happy endings all round! 

Warning: this does start off with non-graphic depictions of nausea/vomiting, I hope that doesn't bother you!

Hange had been feeling unwell for days.

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence—Hange tended to wake up feeling nauseous some days, most often when she'd neglected to eat a decent meal the evening before—but this was the fourth morning in a row now, that Hange found herself bent over the toilet bowl in the early hours of the morning, heaving up nothing but acid and empty air. 

She retched until her stomach ached. There was nothing left to bring up, but her gut still rolled unpleasantly and there was a telling tremor under her tongue that warned her it might be best to stay in the bathroom a little while longer. She settled heavily against the wall to catch her breath.

It didn't make any sense. For most of the day, Hange felt fine. A little tired, maybe, but that was only to be expected after spending half the night every night on the bathroom floor. Tonight, no doubt, would follow the uncomfortably familiar routine: Hange would dry-heave a little longer, until the queasiness abated enough for Levi to convince her to come back to bed, and then she would toss and turn, too warm beneath the bed clothes, until she could fall into a restless sleep. She'd wake up feeling a little groggy, a little bleary, unreasonably hungry, but after a coffee and some breakfast she would feel well again. Perfectly normal.

Like clockwork, Levi appeared in the doorway just as Hange had flopped herself back over the toilet. She felt his palm, cool and soft, press against the back of her neck. Hange gathered her hair back from her face with both hands, braced her elbows on the toilet bowl, letting out a groan of discomfort as her stomach twisted, threatened to revolt again. Levi's thumb rubbed soothingly against her neck.

Sure enough, she brought up nothing more, but she gagged plenty, and found herself gasping for breath by the time she leaned back against Levi, aching and exhausted. His lips pressed into her damp hair.

Levi was as silent as always. His touch was pleasant, his presence welcome. Hange needed the hand he offered to pull her to her feet, needed his reassuring grip at her hips as she brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth out. Her quaking knees felt unstable beneath her. 

He lay facing her after they got into bed. Hange was sprawled out atop the covers, shifting restlessly to find the coolest patches on the bed. Levi watched her for a moment, then said, "This isn't normal."

Hange only grumbled.

"You said you'd book an appointment with the doctor."

Hange grumbled again. Levi ticked his tongue and rolled to lie on his back, staring at the ceiling.

"Call tomorrow."

"If I didn't know better," Hange said sluggishly, "I'd say you were worried about me."

He scowled and rolled onto his other side, his back to her now.

"No, just sick of waking up at half four every morning to drag you back to bed."

Hange managed a small, wicked snicker, but shuffled across the space between them and pressed an apologetic kiss to the back of his neck.

"Must be dreadful," she said. Her voice sounded raw, hoarse. She buried her nose into his hair and took a long, deep breath. Levi grunted, but reached back and pulled her arm loosely over his hip. He knotted their fingers together loosely.

"Call them, Hange."

Hange gave his fingers a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"I will."

**

Hange prided herself on being a reasonably intelligent person. She had two degrees, was working towards her doctorate, and already had her name on a small handful of peer-reviewed research papers. She spoke multiple languages, read dissertations for fun, kept a (in Levi’s words) disgustingly realistic human skeleton in a box under the bed for study purposes, and had spent the better part of the last 26 years of her life studying human biology and physiology.  

How she had not predicted that she might be pregnant was almost unfathomable. 

She left the doctors office in a daze with an appointment card and several pamphlets in hand. She had been referred hastily to a midwife and the hospital would soon be sending out a date for an ultrasound—“As soon as possible,” the doctor had said, “since you’re not sure how far along you are.” 

The thing is, Hange had been on the same birth control pill for years now. Forgetful as she may be about many, many things (like eating, and bathing, and washing the dishes and taking out the garbage and and and), Hange was religious in taking that damn pill at the same time every single day. She had never missed it, not even once. Without a regular cycle, Hange had no way of predicting when they had conceived, and the doctor was eager to make sure no essential landmarks in her antenatal care were missed, if they could possibly help it.

The thought had never even crossed her mind. It seemed ridiculous now, in hindsight. The sickness was one thing, but now that she thought about it, there were a whole host of small oddities that Hange could easily attribute to pregnancy. Lethargy, and bloating, heartburn, and she had been peeing more than usual—Hange groaned, and scrubbed her hands over her face. She should have suspected, at least. Should have put the pieces together sooner. 

But, stupid and naive as it may be, she hadn’t thought it possible. Why worry about it, when Hange had taken consistent precautions to avoid it? 

She felt queasy the entire bus ride home. 

It wasn’t that she was against the idea of having children. One day, maybe. When she had finished her doctorate, got herself a steady, well-paid job. When she and Levi had moved out of their tiny, cramped apartment into somewhere bigger, somewhere more suited for a family. 

And god. Levi. 

This was something they’d never really talked about. For his part, Levi never seemed all that interested. He was good with Hange’s nieces and nephews, and Erwin’s son adored him, and he hadn’t showed any express dislike for children, but—well, tolerating other peoples little brats and raising your own are two very different things. 

What if Levi didn’t want the baby? What if he did? Hange wasn’t even sure herself what she wanted to do about the whole situation—what if she didn’t want it? What if, after some reflection, Hange decided now wasn’t a good time? Could they even afford a baby right now? Hange’s money was tied up in her education, while Levi was just making ends meet at the office. They got by well enough with just the two of them, but add in a baby? A whole other person, entirely dependant on them for support? Hange could barely feed and bathe herself, some days, never mind responsibly care for a child. 

By the time the bus pulled up near the house, Hange felt more distressed than ever. Levi, at least, was at work until the evening, so she had a few more hours to herself to mull everything over, but the entire situation made her stomach clench and churn unpleasantly with every new thought. 

The prospect of having a child was terrifying. The prospect of not having this child was nauseating. 

Levi had left the flat in pristine condition when he had left for work, but Hange barely had the energy to feel even a little guilty as she shrugged off her coat and kicked off her shoes, leaving both strewn about the floor. She dumped her bag and made her way sluggishly through to the bedroom. 

Levi had made the bed. The sheet was stretched flat over the mattress, the pillows perfectly fluffed and set against the headboard. Hange’s nightshirt, one of Levi’s old, baggy shirts, too stretched and threadbare for him to wear, had been folded neatly and left on her side of the bed, her slippers lined up smartly with the bed frame. For some reason—hormones, she told herself—her eyes watered, and a lump swelled in her throat. She sniffled pitifully as she stripped off her clothes and pulled on the shirt, clambering into the bed and tugging the sheets until the cocooned around her. 

Hange passed the rest of the day tossing and turning in bed. She tried to nap, but her mind was too restless, occupied with thoughts of the baby, with the concept of having to tell Levi when he came home. She could try to lie, say the doctors had done some blood work, that she was waiting on the results of some test or other, but Levi knew her too well. She could never lie to him, and her despondent state would give her away before she had the chance to say anything. 

The sun was beginning to set by the time she heard Levi’s keys in the door. She felt exhausted, head aching with all the thinking, considering, weighing up her options; with running over every possible outcome she could imagine. Keeping the baby, getting rid of the baby, Levi not wanting the baby, Levi leaving over the baby—every scenario she could imagine was worse than the last. There was only one idea that she had hardly dared entertain, in fear of disappointment if things didn’t work out. 

She heard Levi call out for her, but gave no answer. She listened, curled up in a ball on her side, as he shuffled around, no doubt picking up her coat and shoes from where she had abandoned them. And then he made his way towards the bedroom, steps soft on the plush carpet. The bedroom door creaked open. 

“Hange?” 

She made a small, warbled noise under the bedclothes. Levi came to sit on the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his weight. His hand found the curve of Hange’s hip. 

“How was it?” 

Hange made another noncommittal sound. She wiped her nose and eyes on the sheets, but didn’t dare show her face just yet. She wasn’t ready. She had never prepared for this conversation, never even imagined it before today. It was too soon. Not enough time to rehearse. 

Levi’s hand moved to her back, rubbing lightly up and down her spine, before dropping to the mattress behind her. He leaned over her, and she felt his lips press warm and gentle to the point of her shoulder. A fresh wave of tears poured over the bridge of her nose and down the side of her face. 

She tried to be quiet, but something—the shake of her shoulder, perhaps, or the shudder of air as she tried to take a steadying breath in—gave way to her crying. Levi moved off the bed, but Hange felt his fingers prying lightly at the sheets, pulling them down until he could get a good look at her face. He was kneeling by the bed now, face level with her, and he looked at her with worry pinching deep creases between his brows. 

“Oi, what’d they say?” 

Hange bit the inside of her lip and rubbed her damp cheek on the pillow. If Levi was bothered by her using their bedding as a tissue, he didn’t show it. He simply looked at her, eyes darting over her face, searching. It occurred to Hange then how this must look to him. She had gone to the doctors due to unexplained, violent sickness, and now she is in bed, hours later, still crying about whatever news she had received. 

“I’m fine,” she said. Levi’s tense shoulders relaxed a fraction, but his face remained pinched, frowning and concerned. Hange wanted to tell him quickly, simply, like ripping off a plaster, but the words would not come. She opened her mouth, but her throat constricted painfully. 

Eventually, she said, “my bag. There’s some stuff in my bag. Have a look.” 

Levi gave her a somewhat quizzical look, but stood, dropping a quick kiss to her temple before going to fetch the bag, and dipping his hand in to fish out the contents inside. 

Hange watched with her breath held and her stomach clenched as Levi pulled out the handful of leaflets and turned them over, looking at each one in turn. His eyes widened fractionally as comprehension dawned on him. His lips pressed into a thin line. Leaden weight settled in Hange’s gut. She curled into a tighter ball, pressing the bedsheets over her mouth and nose, waiting for him to gather himself enough to say something. 

After a moment, he spoke. 

“That’s all?” 

Huh? “Huh?!” 

Hange disentangled her arms from the sheets and sat up, staring at him. Levi moved to sit on the edge of the bed again, a scowl back on his face, though there was an intriguing flush high on his cheeks as he whacked her lightly on the top of the head with the leaflets. 

“Stupid four-eyes,” he said, exasperated. “Crying like that. I thought you were dying.”  

“I’m pregnant.” Hange said the word slowly, carefully, in case Levi had somehow misunderstood. He had the audacity to look at her like she was stupid.

“I can see that.” 

“And you have nothing more to say about it? That’s all?” 

Levi shrugged a little at her. Aside from the small patches of colour in his cheeks, Levi seemed wholly unfazed by the revelation. 

“It’s just a baby. We can handle a baby.” 

“That doesn’t terrify you?” 

Levi scrutinised her for a moment, before he said, “are you scared?” 

“Yes? Yes! How are you so calm? We can’t afford a baby—we don’t have the time for a baby? Where will they going to sleep? We don’t have a spare room. Can we get time off work to take care of a baby? How will we pay for childcare when we can’t be around?” 

“Hange,” Levi said, putting a stop to her rambling. He watched her with a pinched stare. “Do you not want it?” 

Hange had spent the majority of the day mulling over this same question. Staring a family was a huge, life-changing commitment, something that required  careful forethought and planning. They had not had that luxury. Hange was pregnant now. She had doubts and fears, more than she could ever express, but the idea of simply having a baby—of having this baby—wasn’t upsetting. In the small, brief moments she had allowed herself to imagine a future where she and Levi were parents, where they weren’t wanting for money or time, where things were well, she felt happy. Giddy. The prospect was almost exciting. 

“It’s not that,” Hange said earnestly. “I do—I’ve been thinking about it all day, and I—I do want it. But I just—we had no time to prepare. We have no savings, we have no space, I’m a mess. How are we supposed to take care of a tiny person? Babies are hard work, Levi.”

“You’re already hard work.” 

Hange laughed weakly, and wiped at her face again. Levi pressed a kiss to her raw cheek. 

“We’ll figure it out,” he said.

Hange leaned into him, sighing quietly. 

“Is this the kind of thing we can just figure out?” 

Levi hummed, shrugging his shoulder. His fingers skimmed up beneath Hange’s shirt, splaying over the small of her back and pulling her closer. 

“Why not? We’ve done a good job bullshitting our way through everything else.”  

Hange laughed lightly and bumped the side of her head against Levi’s.  

“This is different, Levi. This is a person. A tiny little person who is going to need me and you to do everything for them. What if we can’t do it? What if we mess up?” 

“Hange.” Levi pulled back a little and his hands came up to grip either side of her face, forcing her to look at him. “Stop. I know all that. But if you want the brat, and I want the brat, we’ve got no choice but to get on with it.” 

“I know, I know, but—wait, you want the baby?” 

Levi maintained eye contact with her, but it seemed to take a concentrated effort to do so. The flush of his cheeks deepened a little and his lips quirked at the corners. No doubt to compensate for the show of emotion, he pulled his face into his customary frown. 

“It’s fine,” he said. Hange fought the urge to roll her eyes and caught his hands as he lowered them from her face, pulling them into her lap. 

“Are you saying that because it’s already too late, or do you want to keep it?” 

Levi’s face took on a look of constipated strain. He curled his lip as though in distaste, then hooked a hand around the back of Hange’s neck and pulled her face to his abruptly, smacking a kiss to her lips. He let his forehead settle against hers and stroked his thumb over the hinge of her jaw. 

He fought to keep his tone neutral, but Hange could hear the happy tremor in his voice as he said again, “It’s fine.”

For the first time since hearing the news that day, Hange allowed herself to feel excited. To accept the idea that she and Levi were about to start their own bizarre little family. That Levi was still with her felt incredible enough, but to know that he was pleased—it was more than she could ever have hoped for. Hange gave a wet laugh and kissed him again. 

“Are you allergic to looking happy?” Hange asked as they broke apart. Levi clicked his tongue and pulled back to flick her square between the eyebrows. She laughed a little louder and leaned to wipe her runny nose on his shoulder. Levi muttered under his breath, but didn’t push her away.  

“Okay,” Hange said, after a moment. She sat back and pushed her hair back from her face. “Okay. We’re having a baby, then.” 

Levi’s rubbed the smile from his lips with the back of his hand, nodding. “We’re having a baby.” 

Hange sunk down to flop back over the pillows. Levi looked down at her, head tilted, chewing the inside of his lip. Hange reached up to brush his fringe off his forehead, warmth spilling in her chest when he held her hand close and turned to kiss her palm. 

She smiled a little playfully, and freed a leg from the sheets to dig her toes into his ribs. 

“If I’d known you wanted kids I would have been significantly less stressed, you know.” 

Levi quirked a brow at her. 

“I’ve told you that before.” 

“No, you haven’t.” 

“I have. At your sisters wedding.” 

Hange racked her brain, searching for the conversation. She remembered the occasion, and she remembered that she and Levi had somehow ended up babysitting Hange’s family brood. She remembered Levi, wrestling to keep her youngest nephew on his lap while the eldest, still only five or six at the time, was clambering up the back of his chair, sticky hands tugging at Levi’s collar. Hange fought hard to recall more of what was said, but could remember nothing at all of Levi announcing that he had wanted one of his own. 

“You said these brats aren’t so bad,” Hange said slowly. 

Levi nodded at her. Hange waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t, only looked at her like there was nothing more he needed to say. 

“That’s it? That’s your idea of telling me you want kids?” 

“The hell else could I have meant?” 

Hange dug her toe at him again but Levi caught her foot this time, pushing it firmly down onto the mattress. Hange reached for him with both arms instead, curling them around the back of his neck and tugging him down quickly. He toppled over her with a quiet oof, and Hange rolled them quickly, straddling his waist and dropping her weight down onto him. 

“That is the kind of thing you say clearly, Levi! These brats aren’t so bad—you’re ridiculous!” 

Levi wrestled with her arms a little longer before giving up and bringing his hands instead to rest low on her hips. He watched her with a curious expression on his face, something open and soft, and then his eyes roved down to her abdomen and his thumbs brushed inwards, beneath the hem of her shirt, stroking over her lower belly. 

This time, he didn’t fight his smile. 

He reached up and pulled her down by the neck, and kissed her soundly. Hange melted against him, welcomed the press of his tongue between her lips, shuddered pleasantly when he nipped at her bottom lip. She went with him willingly as he rolled them both over, nudging a knee between her legs and settling his weight against her. 

She was spreading her legs to make space for him, when he paused suddenly, and pulled back, leaning over the bed and scooping through the discarded back of leaflets. Hange, winded and dishevelled, watched him incredulously as he flicked through the contents of one, then tossed it aside and opened another. 

“What are you doing?” 

Without looking up, Levi replied, “Checking.” 

“Checking what?” 

“I wanna know if we can still—” he waved a hand between them, and went back to searching. 

“We’ve been—” Hange mimicked his gesture, “—up until now anyway.” 

Levi looked up at her, looking mildly horrified. He held up one his open leaflet and said, “You’ve been drinking alcohol, too. You’re not supposed to do that. And look, here—you’re not supposed to overwork. You’ll have to take on less hours at the university. And you’ll eat. Proper damn meals. Every day.” 

Hange flopped back against the pillows, eyes rolling, watching as Levi picked up each new leaflet in turn, pointing out every little adjustment that Hange would have to make. 

“This one says you should get eight to ten hours sleep per night. Every night. And not so much coffee, the caffeine’s bad for the baby.” 

The baby. It sounded surreal. It sounded ridiculous. Levi shifted to sit against the headboard beside her after opening the chunky little What to Expect While Expecting volume Hange had been handed while leaving the doctors. He seemed thoroughly engrossed, and seemingly unaware when one of his hands reached out to pull Hange’s hair free of its ponytail and sink into her hair. She hummed happily as his nails scraped over her scalp. 

Things were still scary, and Hange was still uncertain about how this whole adventure might turn out. But Levi was still with her, and Levi was happy, and that—

—Well, that was good enough.