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corroded-hellfire · 11 months

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Sight for Sore Eyes - Eddie Munson x Reader

An As You Wish Story

Summary: With both of Eddie's sons having respective issues at school, you feel more a part of the family than ever when all of the Munsons want you by their side.

Note: I thought this up in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep, now here we are. I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: mentions of bullying, mentions of violence, mentions of blood, dad!eddie, older!eddie

Words: 5.2k

[As You Wish masterlist]

It’s family movie night in the Munson house, but unlike most other quality times with you and the boys, Eddie can’t focus on the film that’s playing on the television. Ryan brought home yet another disappointing progress report. Not only is that unusual for his eldest son, but it’s also frustrating because when Ryan comes home to do his homework, he always understands it. Be it you or Eddie who goes over it with him once he’s finished, both of you can confirm that the kid knows his stuff. So why are his grades suffering?

At first, Eddie was concerned that Ryan was being bullied. He had brought up to you the idea of teaching Ryan how to fight, but you insisted it would be better to talk to Ryan’s teacher and see if she noticed anything. Mrs. Renner told Eddie that she had not seen anything out of the ordinary, but she would keep a special eye on Ryan. After two weeks of observing Ryan and other students throughout the day, she was able to report back to Eddie that everyone seems to like Ryan and he had no problems with anyone those entire two weeks. It was a relief, but Eddie was back to square one.

Possibilities still running through his mind like crazy, Eddie absent-mindedly rubs his thumb across the small strip of your skin exposed as your t-shirt rides up.

“My powers are beyond your mortal imagination. For instance, my eyes can see straight through your armor. Oooh! All right, that's it! Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family! Make a note of this. Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow, dis…”

The small, red dragon's rant barely registers in Eddie’s mind as his eyes trail over to Ryan, sitting on the other side of you. His son’s face is all scrunched up as he looks towards the television, his small body even leaning as forward as he can in his seat. Eddie’s brows furrow as he watches Ryan for a few moments, and the boy’s facial muscles don’t move at all.

“Uh, bud? Ry? Can you see the TV okay?” Eddie asks.

“It’s kinda blurry, isn’t it?” Ryan asks, scrunching his face up to squint even more. “Is it ‘cause it’s an old TV?”

You swivel your head towards your boyfriend and the two of you share a knowing look. Eddie’s shoulders sag with relief, a simple solution to an issue that’s nagged at him for weeks may be within reach.

“It’s not blurry,” Luke blurts out from his place on the floor in front of the couch. His Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle coloring book is flipped open in front of him, half colored and half covered in butter stains from the six-year-old’s fingers that keep digging into the popcorn bowl. “TV’s fine,” Luke follows up, spewing a few kernels out of his full mouth.

Movie pushed from your mind at this new revelation you may have stumbled upon, you turn yourself on the couch to face Ryan better. Eddie adjusts his arm that was around you to simply wrap his arm around your middle and lets his fingers glide softly over the cotton of your t-shirt.

“Um, Ryan?” you ask, watching his adorable little face as it pinches up this way and that to watch the animated singing soldiers on the television. “Where do you sit in your class?”

Now Ryan’s face just scrunches up in confusion; to him, this question came out of nowhere.

“By the bulletin board and the bathroom key hanging on the wall. Right behind Lorraine Poe,” he says.

“Oh, sweetie, no, I meant, like, towards the front, towards the back…” you trail off.

“Kinda middle I guess,” Ryan answers with a shrug, turning back towards the movie.

Eddie lets out a gentle sigh and you lean your body back against his. His large, warm hand rubs over your belly for a moment as he watches his son’s profile.

“Can you see the board okay?” Eddie asks. “At school?”

“Sometimes,” Ryan answers, the song in the movie pulling most of his focus.

“Sometimes?” his dad questions.

“Yeah. Sometimes my teacher writes so small that I can’t always see what it says, though.”

You frown and tilt your head down onto Eddie’s shoulder.

“Have any of the other kids said anything about her writing being too small?” you ask.

“No.”

“Ry?” Eddie clears his throat. “I think maybe we should take you to an eye doctor.”

This captures the eight-year-old’s attention back from the screen. He pulls his knees up to his chest and wraps his arms around them. It makes your heart ache at how small and vulnerable he looks like this, the fear of going to the doctor evident on his cherubic face.

“Why?” he asks softly.

“Well, it sounds like you’re having trouble seeing. The board at school is blurry, the television here is blurry,” Eddie points out.

“I don’t want to go.” Ryan shakes his head.

“Why not, sweetie?” you ask as you reach forward to move some hair off of his forehead.

Ryan’s fingers start to fidget where they’re pressed up against his jeans and he begins to gnaw on his lower lip—a few nervous habits he picked up from his father.

“What if there’s something wrong with my eyes?” he asks in a small voice.

“Ryan, honey.” You lean forward out of Eddie’s grip so you can wrap your arms around the eldest Munson brother. “There is nothing wrong about needing some help to see. Plenty of people do.” You hold him against your chest and rub your hand up and down his arm soothingly.

“I don’t want glasses,” he mumbles.

Being a kid is hard enough already. Add how soft spoken Ryan is and add new glasses on top of it, and you can understand where he’s coming from. Some jerky kids might say some mean things. But that’s not a reason he shouldn’t get his eyes checked out.

“Hmm,” you muse. “You know, I can think of a very special little boy who wears glasses. He’s probably the coolest kid there is besides you and Luke.”

“Who?” Ryan is clearly curious, but still hesitant about where you’re going with this.

“You don’t know?” you ask him with a smile. “You only read about him every night before you go to bed.”

Ryan gasps in delight, sitting straight up in your arms.

“Harry Potter!” The excitement on his face has your heart gushing from the inside out.

“The Boy Who Lived!” you cheer. “He’s a super powerful wizard and he needs glasses to see.”

A shy but genuine smile starts to appear on Ryan’s face and Eddie subtly gives your waist a small squeeze of appreciation.

“There’s also Superman,” Eddie adds.

“Clark Kent wears the glasses,” Luke corrects his father, eyes never leaving the TV. You do your best to hold in a giggle; wherever Eddie’s geeky knowledge ends, Luke’s begins.

“And Clark Kent is Superman,” Eddie says, picking up a piece of popcorn and tossing it at the back of Luke’s head.

Ryan seems more at ease now, his body posture more relaxed and less rigid as he settles back into the couch cushions. You go to snuggle back into Eddie’s side when Ryan looks up at you with those big brown eyes that are identical to his father’s and slips his small hand into yours.

“Will you go with me?” he asks, voice soft.

You could almost cry at the question. He wants you to go with him. The love and trust he has in you in this moment of fear and uncertainty means the world to you. Eddie doesn’t miss the emotion on your face at the comfort you bring to his son. He knows he’s so lucky to have you, the woman of his dreams, but the fact that you and the kids wholeheartedly love each other as well? It’s enough to make Eddie tear up any time he thinks about it for too long.

Before you give Ryan an answer, you look at Eddie, wanting to make sure that this is okay with him and that you’re not overstepping. Eddie gives you a nod, his eyes shining with pure adoration.

“Of course I will, Ry.” You press a kiss to the top of his head, and he then lays it down on your shoulder.

“Thank you,” he answers, just loud enough for you to hear.

There’s no reason he has to thank you. This moment, this trust and love he’s giving to you as a parental-type role means the world to you. You’re clearly not the babysitter anymore—you’re their dad’s girlfriend, but a new relationship is blossoming between you and the boys as well. The strong ties that always bonded you and the kids are being bronzed, never to fray or be broken. This is starting to feel in the neighborhood of motherly and it feels more amazing than you could have imagined.

Ryan keeps his hand in yours the entire time you sit in the waiting room of the tiny optometrist’s office. The fact that you’re his comfort in this situation has you practically beaming enough to be one of the models on the posters that surround you of people who are overly excited to have a new pair of glasses. Ryan has always loved and felt safe with you, but this is different, and you both know it—even if neither of you know how to put it into words.

“Ryan Munson?”

His small hand is surprisingly strong as he grips yours like a lifeline at the sound of his name. Before you stand up, you lean in to whisper in his ear.

“I’m going to be right next to you the whole time. I promise.”

The words have Ryan loosening his vice grip just enough that you’re able to feel your fingers again. The two of you are led into a small office that has model after model of the human eye and a large chair directly in the middle of the room.

“You must be Ryan,” the doctor says as he steps into the office and shuts the door behind him. He’s an attractive man with a kind smile, right around Eddie’s age. “I’m Dr. Barnes. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Ryan gives him a nervous smile as he climbs into the large chair. “Nice to meet you too.”

You take a seat in a yellow hard plastic chair near the door and the doctor turns around to introduce himself to you as well. After he shakes your hand, his attention goes back to his patient.

“Tell me a little bit about what’s been going on with your eyes, Ryan,” Dr. Barnes says as he sits down on a rolling stool.

The boy shifts in the large chair, the nervousness still very prevalent. “Um, well I-I haven’t been able to see the board very good at school. A-And at home the TV is all blurry.”

“Well, we definitely have to fix that!” Dr. Barnes says with a sympathetic sigh. “Gotta be able to do your work at school and then come home and watch cartoons. It’s a good thing your mom brought you in.”

You freeze, half a sputter coming from out of your mouth because you don’t know what to say. It’s a logical assumption on the doctor’s part, but if you let it slip by without correcting him will Ryan think that’s weird? If you correct the doctor will Ryan take that as meaning you don’t want to be called his mother? Or would Ryan feel like you’ve crossed a boundary if you just go on letting Dr. Barnes think that you’re his mom?

“She’s the best,” Ryan says, saving you from speaking at all. The anxiety immediately leaves your body at his words. The way Ryan smiles at you from his chair while the doctor sets things up has your heart soaring. His look practically says, yeah, I said you’re my mom because that’s what I want.

Somehow you manage to keep it together without crying—you’ll do that in front of Eddie later. Dr. Barnes turns out the main lights and puts a focused light on an eye chart just above your head. You watch as he tests Ryan’s vision by looking at different charts and signs full of numbers and letters of all sizes before he lowers the phoropter in front of the eight-year-old’s face. Ryan almost goes cross eyed trying to look at the machine as it gets closer to him, and you can’t help but chuckle.

“Okay, I’m gonna show you two different lenses and you tell me which one is clearer while looking at that chart. Sound good?” Dr. Barnes asks.

“Uh huh,” Ryan says as tries to find the right angle to look into the machine. His voice is much steadier now.

“One or two?”

“Uh…one.”

Multiple strengths are tried out and it seems like Dr. Barnes asks Ryan to pick between “one and two” about a million times. Even you’re getting fidgety in your seat by the end of it, so you can only imagine how antsy Ryan is.

It was pretty evident to you that Ryan would end up needing glasses, but the little boy looks less than thrilled when the two of you head back out into the main area so you can find some frames.

After spotting a few pairs that he likes, Ryan starts to find it fun, seeing which ones look better on him and which ones make him look silly. In the end, he settles on two different sets of frames—which Eddie already said he’s cool with because he’d bet good money that one pair would either get lost or broken before the year is out.

As you’re paying, Dr. Barnes makes sure the copy of Ryan’s prescription is all filled out before he hands it to you. The paperwork comes with a smoldering smile from the optometrist, and as flattering as it may be, it still makes you feel a tad awkward.

“I suppose I’ll see you back here in a few weeks, huh?” Dr. Barnes asks, directing the question at you instead of Ryan.

“Oh,” you say, caught off guard by the flirting. You look down and shake your head, but you see your ringless hand and understand why the man probably thinks you’re a single mom. “His dad,” you start, wrapping your arm around Ryan’s shoulders, “he, um, my boyfriend will probably be the one coming here to pick up the glasses with Ryan.”

“Ah,” Dr. Barnes says with a nod. “I guess I’ll see you soon then, Ryan.”

You look down to see Ryan squeezing his lips together, trying not to laugh as he nods his affirmation. He clearly understands what just happened and his expression makes it difficult for you to keep your laughter held in as well.

The glasses will be ready in about two weeks and the little Munson doesn’t seem bothered by the fact that he has to wear them anymore.

After the eye doctor, you take Ryan out for lunch at Schoop's Hamburgers, just the two of you. Both of you order milkshakes and you hold a finger up to your cold lips.

“Don’t tell Luke or your dad, they’ll be so jealous!”

Ryan just giggles and takes another sip of his strawberry shake while trailing an “X” over his heart with his right index finger.

“Daddy’s taking me to pick the glasses up?” Ryan asks as you’re throwing away your garbage.

“Maybe,” you admit with a shrug. “Depends on our schedules that week. But I have a feeling your dad will want to be the one to take you.”

“Because the doctor wanted to kiiiiiiss you?” Ryan asks in a mischievous little voice that you’d expect from Luke more than him.

“Yes,” you acquiesce with a chuckle. “But I’m sure he’s just as excited to see what your new glasses look like.” But it’ll definitely be mostly about Doctor McFlirty, you think.

When you get home, Eddie’s at the kitchen table, looking over some bills. As soon as you and Ryan walk through the door, Eddie pushes it to the side and stands up.

“Hey, how’d the appointment go?” Eddie looks back and forth from you to Ryan, not sure which one of you will speak first.

“He did great,” you tell Eddie, throwing a wink Ryan’s way.

“I picked out some glasses and they’ll be ready in two weeks!” he proudly tells his dad. Then his eyes light up and he lets out a small giggle. “And the doctor wanted to steal your girlfriend, Daddy.”

“What?” Eddie’s immediately defensive and looks towards you, eyebrows raised.

You can’t help but giggle right alongside Ryan at Eddie’s expression. “He tried flirting with me, but I told him I was with you.”

“He was bummed,” Ryan adds.

“I’m taking you to pick those glasses up,” Eddie tells his son, jabbing his thumb into his t-shirt clad chest.

“You were right!” Ryan says with a laugh, looking over at you.

“Do I know your Dad or what?” you ask as the two of you high five one another.

A couple of weeks later, the glasses are finally in. Eddie takes Ryan by the office after he gets off work to go pick them up.

The smell of roasting garlic fills the air as you make dinner and Luke is watching television when they get home. Ryan bounces in, excited about his new glasses. There’s a proud gleam in his eye as he stands in the middle of the entryway, taking in the view of the apartment clearly for the first time in a while.

“Let me see, let me see!” you say as you step out of the kitchen. “Aw, Ry! They look even better than the display ones you tried on at the store!”

The rectangular black frames complement his dark eyes and honey brown hair. You’re overcome with how handsome of a young man your little Ryan is turning into.

Luke kneels on the couch cushion and turns around to see his brother.

“Lemme see.”

Ryan does a one-eighty to show his little brother. All Luke does is give him a thumbs up before he goes back to watching The Fairly Odd Parents.

“It feels kind of funny,” Ryan tells you, rubbing his left eye beneath the glasses. You can already see fingerprint smudges on the lenses and you’re grateful you remembered to buy lens cleaning cloths the last time you went grocery shopping. “What does? What feels funny?” you ask.

“Seeing things that are far away!” he says, both excitement and a slight bit of irritation in his usually calm tone. “Almost makes me a little dizzy.”

“Doctor said that’s normal,” Eddie says, resting his hands on his son’s shoulders. “Your eyes will get used to them real quick, then it won’t feel that way.” He raises an eyebrow and looks at you. “And this doctor also seemed a bit nervous around me.”

You giggle and bound over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck. “He’s threatened by what a wonderful, sexy man you are.”

“Gross,” Luke mumbles from the couch.

Soda almost sprays out of your nose at Eddie’s story about a difficult customer who came into work this morning, when one of his co-workers pops his head into the breakroom.

“Hey, Eddie,” he says, rubbing a hand over his bald head, leaving small streaks of grime behind. “There’s a phone call for you.”

“Oh, okay,” Eddie says. He crumples up the tin foil you brought his sandwich in and tosses it in the large trashcan behind him. Not in a particular hurry, Eddie stands up and stretches his arms over his head. He smirks and presses a quick kiss to your lips when he sees you checking him out. Your gaze continues to look him up and down as he takes the few steps over to the phone on the wall.

“Hello?” Eddie asks.

The chicken sandwich lying on the table in front of you looked good when you first arrived to have lunch with your boyfriend, but now that you’re full it looks as if it’s taunting you. Crinkling fills the room as you pack it back up in its foil. Just as you’re lifting your can of diet Dr. Pepper to your lips, Eddie’s face clouds with worry and he lets out a frustrated sigh.

“Yeah, uh, I’ll be right there,” he says into the phone.

“What’s wrong?” you ask, slipping your leftovers into your large black purse. As Eddie hangs the phone back up, you walk over to stand at his side, careful of getting your clothes dirtied by his coveralls.

Instead of answering you, Eddie lets out another sigh and presses a kiss to your forehead. “Gimme a second, baby.”

You watch, confused, as Eddie steps across the hall into his boss’s office. There seems to be a short, quick conversation before your boyfriend comes back out and slips his hand into yours.

“It was the school,” Eddie tells you as he leads you towards the exit and out into the parking lot.

“Are the boys okay?” you ask, feeling your heart rate pick up as you walk briskly towards his truck.

“Luke’s in the principal’s office,” Eddie tells you with an agitated huff. “He got into a fight.”

“He what?” Your eyes almost pop out of your head. “Is he okay?”

“Just a little banged up, according to the principal,” Eddie says as he opens the passenger side door for you.

“Poor baby.”

Long strides lead Eddie around his truck, and he situates himself in the driver’s seat. He gives a humorless chuckle as he starts the engine.

“Wayne wasn’t fucking kidding when he said Luke is a little version of me.”

“First of all, we all say that,” you tell him. “Second of all, you fought at school?”

“Oh, baby,” Eddie says with a soft laugh as he pulls out of the parking lot and onto the main road. “Remind me to tell you some stories when we get home.”

When you get to the school, you and Eddie practically jump out of the truck and head towards the building. Once you’re both inside, you feel rough calloused fingers tangle with your own. His eyes are straight ahead but you can tell Eddie’s nerves are on edge as he gives your hand a soft squeeze.

Luke is sitting on the bench outside of the principal’s office, his legs dangling over the edge, swinging back and forth. He’s watching his black and white sneakers disappear beneath the wooden seat before reappearing again, taking no notice of you coming down the hall. Only his profile is visible from the angle you’re approaching from.

“Luke,” Eddie says as the two of you walk up to him.

The young boy jumps off the bench and turns to face the two of you. You’re startled to see his eye already bruised and purpling, along with a small cut on his bottom lip. There’s the instinct to pull him into your arms and take care of him and tell him it’s all going to be okay. But Luke’s grinning up at the pair of you; a stark contrast to the evidence of the brawl on his face.

“Oh, hi! They told me they called Daddy, but I didn’t know both of you were coming!” The excitement on his face to see both of you is adorable yet seems out of place since he must know he’s going to get in trouble.

“Luke, what happened?” Eddie asks at the same time that you ask, “Are you okay?”

“M’fine,” Luke answers your question with a shrug. “My hand hurts more than anything.” The boy cradles his right hand against his chest and it’s the first time you see his scraped and bruised knuckles.

“What happened?” Eddie asks again, this time with less patience.

Luke’s eyebrows furrow, a little “v” creasing his forehead. The pride from the fight vanishes from his eyes as he recalls the situation.

“Stupid Trevor Brown opened his big fat mouth on the playground!” Luke says sternly, even louder than he usually is. “He said to Brandon Simpson that Ryan’s glasses made him look like a loser.”

“So you hit him?” Eddie asks.

“No, I told him he better shut his damn—uh, dang mouth. Trevor just laughed and said Ryan was a nerd! Then I hit him.”

Eddie sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose as he squeezes his eyes closed. Secretly, he’s proud of his son for sticking up for his brother, but he has to compose himself so he can tell Luke he shouldn’t have done that. The paradox of being a parent.

“Luke, you should have told a teacher instead,” Eddie tells him. “Hitting someone is not the way to shut them up.”

“Well, punching him in the mouth did the trick,” Luke points out.

You try not to laugh, covering it up with a cough. Eddie’s better at keeping himself composed but you know he would be grinning if he could.

A door squeaks open and the principal steps out of his office with another young boy, a huge bruise blooming on his jaw and dried blood caked under his nose. Luke definitely came out the winner of the fight.

“You sit here and wait for your mom now, Trevor,” Principal Andrews says, gesturing to the bench Luke was just sitting on. “Ah, Mr. Munson. Thank you for coming.”

“And this is his girlfriend!” Luke announces proudly, coming to stand in front of you. The small boy is wiggling his way out of any trouble with you by seeming so thrilled to have you there and showing you off proudly.

Eddie nods his head at the principal, ignoring Luke, and shakes the man’s hand. You gently pat Luke’s curls, hoping he takes the hint to shut up.

“I’m sorry for the trouble,” Eddie says, and you silently wonder how many times Wayne had to say that to Eddie’s principal growing up. “This one is in for it, I’ll tell you that.” Eddie nods his head towards Luke. “Can someone just let Ryan know Luke won’t be on the bus coming home?”

“Of course,” Principal Andrews says. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Luke. We’ll be better behaved then, won't we?”

Luke turns to head down the hall without answering, but Eddie grabs the back of his t-shirt and pulls him back. He puts his hands on Luke’s shoulders and spins him around until he’s facing the principal again.

“Luke,” Eddie warns him.

“Yes, Principal Andrews,” Luke says in a monotone, eyes on the shiny white linoleum tile below his sneakers. Deciding he’s done with talking, he slips his smaller hand into yours, deciding he’d rather hold your hand than his father’s right now.

“Thanks again, Principal Andrews,” Eddie says before the three of you walk down the hallway towards the exit.

It’s utterly silent until you get into Eddie’s truck. You’re not sure what to say, because this is between father and son. Eventually, you decide you’ll just be a referee if it comes to that.

Eddie silently pulls the truck out of the parking lot and starts to head home.

“Luke,” Eddie finally says after seven minutes of terse silence. It feels like he’s said his son’s name about a hundred times already today. “I don’t like that you hit someone. But I am proud of you for sticking up for your brother.”

In the rearview mirror, Eddie can see how Luke grins at that, which makes Eddie smile in turn.

“I wasn’t gonna let those buttheads talk that way about my brother,” Luke says. “I know I’m not s’posed to hit—I do. But if someone says something about a person I love, I just get so mad, and it comes out all violent.”

“Holy shit,” Eddie mumbles under his breath, loud enough for only you to hear. “He is my mini-me.”

When you get home, you take Luke into the bathroom so you can clean up and bandage his wounds. His knuckles are still sore and stinging when you finish, so he sits on the couch with a bag of frozen corn on them. Eddie plops down next to him as you lean against the wall between the bathroom and living room, wiping off some antibacterial ointment that you accidentally got on your own hands.

“You know I have to punish you, right?” Eddie asks, raising his eyebrows as he looks down at his youngest son.

“I know,” Luke says with a sigh.

“I want you to go in your room until dinner time. Try and work on your homework if your hand starts to feel any better. And no dessert after dinner tonight.”

“And then?” Luke asks, looking up at his dad nervously, afraid of how long he’s going to be grounded.

“And then tomorrow you wake up, get ready for school, and keep being a wonderful brother.”

It takes a minute, but a smile slowly spreads to Luke’s face as he realizes there’s no punishment besides the minor consequences he’ll have to endure tonight.

“Now, go on. Get to your room,” Eddie says.

Luke gets up and heads towards the hallway before stopping and turning back to face his father.

“Don’t tell Ryan what happened, okay?” Luke says, wincing at the chill from the vegetable bag against his scrapes. “I don’t want him to know that someone said mean things about him.”

“I won’t tell him,” Eddie assures his son. Luke turns back towards the hallway, but Eddie calls him and he faces his dad again. “You’re a really good brother. Ryan is very lucky to have you, and I know he’d have your back too. I’m very lucky.”

“Aww, Dad,” Luke says, wrinkling up his nose. “So mushy. But… I know I’m lucky too. Always felt that having you and Ryan. Never with Mom though. But now I got someone pretty cool who loves me like I’m her kid and that’s even better.”

Luke continues down to his room and Eddie is filled with the overwhelming feeling of love. Love from the kind words from Luke—which are rare within themselves–the love that his two sons have for one another and that special bond, and love at the fact that Luke recognizes that you love him and Ryan as if they’re your own children. You practically see them that way anyway.

You walk in from where you’re holding up the wall, emotional yourself over Luke’s words, and take a seat next to your boyfriend on the couch.

“How ya feeling?” you ask, bringing your hand up to play with one of Eddie’s stray curls.

“I’m so fucking proud of my son,” Eddie admits with a hushed laugh. “I know I had to tell him the whole ‘violence isn’t the answer’ spiel, but I would’ve done the exact same thing that he did. When I was a kid or even now.”

“He’s such a good brother,” you say, an adoring grin on your face as well.

Eddie wraps his arm around you, and you snuggle into his side.

“So, I believe you had some stories to tell me?” You tilt your head up to smirk at your boyfriend.

Eddie chuckles and gives a shake of his head. “Oh, you better buckle up, princess. I’ve got some wild tales.”

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #older!eddie #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fan fiction #eddie munson fanfic #AYW #AYWS

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nofomogirl · 9 months

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Good Omen's problem with having two canons

They're fundamentally different. That's the problem. That's my point.

For quite a while I focused almost exclusively on the new season of Good Omens, but now I am slowly delving into analysis that takes the entire show into account, and I've encountered a little obstacle. Namely, things from S1 can be really tricky to interpret.

Fair warning: this post is going to zig-zag between various points but I want you to trust me and take this scenic route with me. It will take us somewhere eventually, I promise.

The Arrangement

It's one of the core elements in the Good Omens universe and at the same time a perfect example of the issue I want to discuss. So let's have a closer look together.

In the book, the Arrangement is presented to us in two passages:

the first one, where it is first - very briefly - mentioned:

and the second one, where it is properly introduced and explained:

The Arrangement was very simple, so simple in fact, that it didn't really deserve the capital letter, which it had got for simply being in existence for so long. It was the sort of sensible arrangement that many isolated agents, working in awkward conditions a long way from their superiors, reach with their opposite number when they realize they have more in common with their immediate opponents than their remote allies. It meant a tacit non-interference in certain of each other's activities. It made certain that while neither really won, also neither really lost, and both were able to demonstrate to their masters the great strides they were making against a cunning and well-informed adversary. (...) And then, of course, it had seemed even natural that they should, as it were, hold the fort for one another whenever common sense dictated. Both were of angel stock, after all. If one was going to Hull for a quick temptation, it made sense to nip across the city and carry out a standard brief moment of divine ecstasy. It'd get done anyway, and being sensible about it gave everyone more free time and cut down on expenses.

In the show, the Arrangement is presented to us in two original scenes in the cold opening of S1E3:

(I am quoting most relevant dialogues only)

537 AD, Wessex:

C: So we're both working very hard in damp places and just canceling each other out? A: Well, you could put it like that. It is a bit damp. C: Be easier if we both stayed home. If we just send messages back to our head offices saying we'd done everything they'd asked for, wouldn't it? A: But that would be lying. C: Eh, possibly, but the end result would be the same. Cancel each other out. A: But my dear fellow... well, they'd check. Michael's a bit of a stickler. You don't want to get Gabriel upset with you. C: Oh, our lot have better things to do than verifying compliance reports from Earth. As long as they get paperwork they seem happy enough. As long as you're being seen doing something every now and again. A: No! Absolutely not! I am shocked that you would even imply such a thing. We're not having that conversation, not another word!

1601 AD, The Globe Theatre:

A: I have to be in Edinburgh at the end of the week. A couple of blessings to do. A minor miracle to perform. (...) C: I'm meant to be heading to Edinburgh too this week. Tempting a clan leader to steal some cattle. A: Doesn't sound like hard work. C: That's why I thought we should... Well, bit of a waste of effort, both of us going all the way to Scotland. A: You cannot actually be suggesting what I infer that you are implying. C: Which is? A: That just one of us goes to Edingburgh, does both. The blessing and the tempting. C: We've done it before. Dozens of times now. The Arrangement- A: Don't say that! C: Our respective offices don't actually care how things get done. They just want to know they can cross it off the list.

S2 doesn't actually reference the Arrangement. But it does reuse the dialogue about free will where the 1020 date is dropped. We will get back to it.

The challenge of adapting Good Omens

Good Omens shares a certain characteristic with all of Terry Pratchett's solo books I've read - it couldn't care less about "showing instead of telling". Which I love, just to be clear. A book is a written medium. It's made with words and one of words' major strengths is that you can use them to just tell things point blanc.

Good Omens does it a lot and it's fantastic.

Look at that second passage from the book I quoted earlier.

From just those few sentences we learn a lot about the relationships between:

Heaven and Hell (opponents and competition)

Aziraphale and Crowley (two individuals in the same position and in direct contact with each other)

Aziraphale/Crowley and Heaven/Hell (field agent and a remote HQ that are not in direct contact)

Aziraphale/Crowley and Earth (two individuals and a space they live in)

Heaven/Hell and Earth (a board where the game is played, only winning or losing matters, what actually happens on a board does not)

It's really an extra condensed worldbuilding gem sprinkled with humor, so it's no surprise it's become one of the most iconic passages from the book.

I mean, just browse through some interviews with David and Michael - especially the ones from 2019 - where they explain what Aziraphale and Crowley are about. You'll be hard-pressed to find any where they don't reference that specific paragraph, consciously or otherwise.

But it's only this neat on the pages of the book, where narration like this takes mere seconds to absorb. It's impossible to convey the same information in a visual medium with anywhere near the same efficiency.

The fact that the majority of Good Omens is like this was, in my opinion, a main challenge the adaptation faced. The book is very narration-heavy. It's full of fun facts about characters, side jokes, hilarious comments, etc. Some of that precious material was salvaged by introducing God as a narrator, but there was only so much of it you could squeeze into a TV show. The rest had to either be fit into dialogues or lost in translation from the written medium to the visual one.

Obviously, in the case of the Arrangement, it was the dialogues.

Book canon and show canon

We all know they're not the same. Neil Gaiman also pointed it out several times. But I think our mistake is that we still tend to think about them as complementary.

Look at the Arrangement again. The show canon seems to merely expand on the book canon. Add extra details and fill in the blanks. The Arrangement works the exact same way, except now we also know more about how it started.

If we compile what we know from the book with what we know from the show, we get a more detailed timeline:

Crowley first proposes the Arrangement in 537 (show).

The Arrangement starts in 1020 (book), ie. Aziraphale finally agrees to it (show - deduction); we don't know for sure if it's a "basic version" (not getting in each other's way), or a "full version" (doing each other's jobs) but we can assume it's the former.

In 1601 "full version" of the Arrangement is in place for some time (they've done it dozens of times) but Aziraphale still objects and needs convincing.

But read that description from a book once more.

Does it really fit into the version of events shown in the TV series?

The Arrangement in the book is something that just happened. A natural, and in a way inevitable result of Aziraphale and Crowley's circumstances. We are never told who came up with it first because it doesn't matter. Because it could have been either of them. Because after five millennia on Earth, they were both ready to do it. They were both of the same mind. For all we know it might have been an unspoken agreement all along!

But for the show, the creators had to come up with a good reason for the Arrangement to be discussed out loud. And what could be a more natural situation for someone to describe and explain an idea than trying to sell that idea to someone else?

For that practical reason - among many others, no doubt - the Arrangement is not only explicitly Crowley's idea, but an idea Aziraphale vehemently rejects at first. He needs to be convinced and even when he finally relents he's never entirely comfortable with it. He keeps objecting and it requires Crowley's constant effort for them to keep cooperating in any way.

The fact that Aziraphale is reluctant gives Crowley a perfect reason to keep convincing him ie. talk about the Arrangement. But the fact that he needs to explain and keep convincing Aziraphale means that Aziraphale is no longer a person who understands the same things and feels the same way.

That is a huge change.

Of course, you may say that what I've written about the Arrangement in the book is just my interpretation. It's true that technically there's nothing there that would contradict the events from the show in any way. The thing is, the events in the show aren't very compatible with the overall characterization of the ineffable duo in the book.

Evolution of Aziraphale and Crowley

You might have read that our leading pair was originally conceived as a single character that Neil and Terry eventually decided to split into two separate individuals.

My reaction when I first learned about it was: "Of course they were! That makes so much sense!" Because honestly, as a person who watched the show first and then read the book, I was surprised at how few differences there were between the two in the original text. If you squint your eyes really tight, you can see how book!Aziraphale and book!Crowley are two versions of the same character. They're far more similar than their show versions.

Most importantly, their attitudes toward Heaven and Hell are pretty much identical. Perfectly mirrored in every regard. What Hell is for Crowley, Heaven is for Aziraphale. What Hell is for Aziraphale, Heaven is for Crowley. In. Every. Possible. Way.

Allow me to present some evidence from the book.

Exhibit #1: the end of the scene where Crowley convinces Aziraphale to interfere with Warlock's upbringing

'You're saying the child isn't evil of itself?' he said slowly. 'Potentially evil. Potentially good too, I suppose. Just this huge powerful potentiality, waiting to be shaped,' said Crowley. He shrugged. 'Anyway, why're we talking about this good and evil? They're just names for sides. We know that.' 'I suppose it's got to be worth a try,' said the angel. Crowley nodded encouragingly. 'Agreed?' said the demon, holding out his hand. The angel shook it, cautiously. 'It'll certainly be more interesting than saints,' he said. 'And it'll be for the child's own good, in the long run,' said Crowley. (...)

When Crowley first points out that good and evil are just names for sides, and then insists it's something they both know, Aziraphale doesn't react in any way. That's because these aren't things that book!Aziraphale disagrees with. He does indeed know it and doesn't deny it.

Also, please note just how cynical the angel is here with his comment that influencing the Antichrist would be a more interesting project than influencing saints!

Both would be rather OOC for show!Aziraphale.

Exhibit #2: the scene just after Warlock Dowling's birthday party, when it becomes evident he is not the Antichrist

'You said it was him!' moaned Aziraphale (...) 'It was him,' said Crowley. (...) 'Then someone else must be interfering.' 'There isn't anyone else! There's just us, right? Good and Evil. One side or the other.' He thumped the steering wheel. 'You'll be amazed at the kind of things they can do to you, down there,' he said. 'I imagine they're very similar to the sort of things they can do to you up there,' said Aziraphale. 'Come off it. Your lot get ineffable mercy,' said Crowley sourly. 'Yes? Did you ever visit Gomorrah?' 'Sure' said the demon. 'There was this great little tavern where you could get these terrific fermented date-palm cocktails with nutmeg and crushed lemongrass-' 'I meant afterwards.' 'Oh.'

Can you imagine this kind of exchange in the TV series? Can you imagine show!Aziraphale being this realistic about Heaven, and show!Crowley so naive about it? There's no way.

Show!Aziraphale genuinely believes that Heaven is good at its core.

Book!Aziraphale knows Heaven isn't any different than Hell and would punish him just as ruthlessly and unfairly as Hell would Crowley.

Show!Crowley understands both Heaven and Hell on a very deep level and is highly aware of their true nature.

Book!Crowley buys a piece of celestial propaganda about ineffable mercy and actually expects Heaven to be forgiving.

Let the magnitude of that difference sink.

Exhibit #3: same scene, a bit further

'So all we've got to do is find it,' said Crowley. 'Go through the hospital records.' The Bentley's engine coughed into life and the car leapt forward, forcing Aziraphale back into the seat. 'And then what?' he said. 'And then we find the child.' 'And then what?' The angel shut his eyes as the car crabbed around the corner. 'Don't know.' 'Good grief.' 'I suppose (...) your people wouldn't consider (...) giving me asylum?' 'I was going to ask you the same thing. (...)'

This is just a cherry on top, really.

Yes, in the book, when things go pear-shaped, both Aziraphale and Crowley consider seeking asylum on the opposite side.

Do you need more proof that book canon and show canon really aren't as compatible as they may seem?

Free will

As promised, let's get back to that dialogue because while it may not be obvious at first glance it really illustrates perfectly the problem arising from balancing between two canons.

Here is the full quote from the book:

Aziraphale had tried to explain [free will] to him once. The whole point, he'd said - this was somewhere around 1020, when they'd first reached their little Arrangement - the whole point was that when a human was good or bad it was because they wanted to be. Whereas people like Crowley and, of course, himself, were set in their ways right from the start. People couldn't become truly holy, he said, unless they also had the opportunity to be definitively wicked. Crowley had thought about it for some time and, around about 1023, had said, Hang on, that only works, right, if you start everyone off equal, OK? You can't start someone off in a muddy shack in the middle of a war zone and expect them to do as well as someone born in a castle. Ah, Aziraphale had said, that's the good bit. The lower you start, the more opportunities you have. Crowley had said, That's lunatic. No, said Aziraphale, it's ineffable.

And here, for comparison, is how it was reused in S2E3:

A: There is a stolen body in that barrel! This is wicked! C: Oh, I'm down with wicked! Anyway, is it wicked? She needed the money. A: That is irrelevant. Look, I am good. You, I'm afraid, are evil. But people get a choice. You know, they cannot be truly holy unless they also get the opportunity to be wicked. She is wicked. C: Yeah, that only works if you start everyone off equal. You can't start someone off like that and expect her to do as well as someone born in a castle. A: Ah, but no, no. That's the good bit. The lower you start, the more opportunities you have. So Elspeth here has all the opportunities because she's so poor. C: That's lunacy. A: No, that's ineffable.

I'll be honest with you - I didn't like that scene in the show. It felt jarring and off. Aziraphale was acting like it was his first day on Earth and it was frustrating to watch.

Then, on one of the rewatches, just as I was rolling my eyes at "that's ineffable", a bulb lit in my brain. That line didn't work there because it wasn't created to be there! In the book and in S1 "it's ineffable" was kind of Aziraphale's catchphrase but in S2 it only appears this once. More importantly, in the book and S1, the fact that the angel would say that was all a build-up to the scene when he threw it in Heaven's face at the Tadfield Airbase. Using that word in S2 was like trying to make a running joke that has already reached its destination run again.

And just like that one line the entire dialogue didn't fit because it wasn't meant to be there. It was created for an entirely different context.

What's the difference?

Firstly, book!husbands' conviction was very shallow and it wasn't uncommon for both of them to spout slogans without meaning them. Therefore, book!Aziraphale's words didn't carry that much weight. The very fact that the conversation took place at the same time they formed the Arrangement tells us something about how serious he was. But show!Aziraphale's relationship with his beliefs is different, so when he says things like that it's a much bigger deal.

Secondly, the book explicitly states that Aziraphale and Crowley only developed free will on Earth, due to extended exposure to mankind. The show never really makes a stand on the matter but based on what we've seen so far I think we can safely assume that angels and demons are capable of making their own choices as much as humans do.

In other words, in its original context, the conversation was just Aziraphale talking about a concept he didn't fully grasp, quoting propaganda he didn't fully subscribe to. He was being ignorant and mildly obnoxious in an endearing way.

But using the same dialogue verbatim in the Resurrectionist carried a completely different meaning. Aziraphale who utters it in the show has no reason to be so ignorant about free will. Aziraphale who utters it in the show genuinely tries to defend Heaven. Most importantly, Aziraphale who utters it in the show, doesn't just idly bicker with his friend about general things but is judging an actual human individual that's right in front of them. That, more than anything else, makes it sound heartless and ignorant.

What is the problem with having two canons, exactly?

It's time to wrap things up.

In the opening paragraphs, I've mentioned that I've noticed the issue while interpreting scenes from S1, and yes, that was the case and I do believe that the existence of two canons is especially problematic for S1. That's because pretty much every scene in S1 is potentially like that dialogue about free will in S2, except subtler and harder to spot.

A grand majority of what we see and hear in S1 comes directly from the book. But while words and actions were kept, in some instances things that gave them their original meaning might no longer be valid in the show universe. Sometimes they easily take new meaning, and we don't even notice. But sometimes there's this dissonance that's not as easy to work around.

S1 deviated from the book and created its own canon. But the difference didn't seem to go very deep and it seemed perfectly reasonable to use some trivia from the book to shed some extra light on the content of the show. I used to do it in my head, even though I was aware of the changes that were made.

But S2 expanded the show canon so far beyond what was in the book that I'm really not sure it makes sense to compile them anymore.

There are a lot of things that were only explicitly stated in the book that I keep clinging to. But perhaps it's time to let go...

Thank you for your patience.

I know all of the above isn't exactly a revolutionary discovery, but I needed to get it off my chest before writing anything else.

#good omens #good omens 2 #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #good omens the book #differences between book and show #very long post #things I needed to get off my chest

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dat-town · 2 months

Text

fight the hurricane

Characters: Sunwoo & female reader

Setting & genre: Pacific Rim au, action, angsty with hopeful ending

Summary: In the middle of a war against alien monsters, there was a war going on inside your mind and heart too, guilt and memories eating you away. Then comes a boy who doesn’t need to Drift with you to understand you completely.

Warnings: canon-typical violence, grief, survivor’s guilt, deceased parents, past minor character death, bleeding

Words: 10.1k

Author’s note: title is from Pacific Rim; “There are things you can't fight, acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, suddenly, you can fight the hurricane. You can win.” if i had a nickel for every time i made Sunwoo the prodigy new guy in town i would have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened twice.

happy name day @lily-blue <3

By your early twenties, you had been well accustomed with the feelings of loss, grief and guilt. But again, most people were in the world you lived in.

You had been 12 when the first monster came from the sea. You had seen it all over the tv and as a kid, it had seemed exciting like a Hollywood movie and you hadn’t taken it seriously. Even your parents had been doubtful it wasn’t just the media trick.

But more and more monsters had come from the depth of the Pacific Ocean, destroyed beach towns and killed its people. They had been named Kaiju (which meant ‘strange beast’ in Japanese as your father had explained), then the Pan Pacific Defence Corps had gotten established and the Jaeger program (meaning ‘hunter’ in German) had started. It had gotten too real too quick.

You had been 14 when you had first seen a Kaiju in real life. A single one was enough to pulp your hometown into the ground. You had been shivering the whole time you had seen it march through the island. Your first thought had been that it looked like a mix of a dinosaur and an alien and the second had been that you were going to die.

You hadn’t died that day but your parents had. It had been too late when their bodies had been found under the collapsed building of your home.

A month later you had moved into the Busan Jaeger Academy and a year later Jiwon had joined too. Back then you had no idea that she would be your other half. Best friends was too mundane of a word to describe your bond.

You had been 20 when she had died… no, not just died; when she had been killed. Died was such a passive word as if she wasn’t fighting until the last moment with the Category IV Kaiju by your side in Virtual Angel, your Jaeger. The truth was that you hadn’t just lost her. You had lost yourself too. You had trained together for five years and had been active Rangers for almost two years. Something like that cannot be erased merely by death, especially not with the neural link connection you had. You had shared memories, feelings and perspectives. Sometimes you still heard her voice in your head.

After you had gotten out of the hospital, you had been declared ‘mentally unable to return to piloting’ and been transferred from the Rangers to the LOCCENT. Maybe it had indeed been for the better. You weren’t sure you could have survived losing somebody close to you again.

“Category IV Kaiju alert! I repeat: Category IV Kaiju alert,” the intercom blared through the Busan Shatterdome just like it had done simultaneously in every other Shatterdome in the world when the PPDC issued a warning. “Goddess Mercy, report to standby. I repeat…”

The voice blurred in your mind as you hurried to put on your uniform and run to the Local Command Center. Research found that Kaiju arrivals were in a certain pattern, so your scientists always predicted the next attack’s time even if they were eventually hours off. It was better to be prepared for something than to not expect it at all or always be frenzy about it.

“Reporting to duty, sir,” you saluted when you arrived at the mission control unit. Marshall Lee Sangyeon nodded at you but kept his eyes on the big screen where the Kaiju tracking was displayed. You could see the vast red spot moving fast in the blueness of the ocean, heading towards Taiwan. You swore as you took your seat next to Changmin who was on standby duty all night in case something like this happened.

“What’s the strategy?” You asked as you pulled up the necessary maps and the information on the Kaiju that the PPDC sensors could tell such as size, toxicity, speed and such when they passed through the Breach, an interdimensional portal in the Pacific Ocean. It was useful to know what you were up against as well as for the headquarters to decide how many Jaegers they would send to neutralize the threat in the ocean before it could reach and attack land.

“Juyeon and Hyunjae are getting ready. Canada sends the Snow Leopard with Jacob and Kevin and Japan reported to dispatch Rogue Kitsune too,” Changmin told you as he checked on the engineering process on your side.

“It will be Fumiya’s first battle with his new co-pilot, right?” You hummed, briefly contemplating that it could be you as well if you were strong enough to go back after losing Jiwon. Before Changmin could have confirmed, your focus shifted to the LOCCENT’s huge window because on the other side, the giant metal mecha of Goddess Mercy was gearing up for battle.

“Ranger Lee is standing by,” you heard Hyunjae’s voice in your headset, echoed by Juyeon’s and you could see on the camera on your computer screen that both of them were already in their drivesuits, heading towards the Conn Pod, the currently detached cockpit of their Jaeger. Under them dozens of J-Tech engineers worked to make sure the Jaeger was in great condition to be exported and to fight.

In the meantime technicians helped the two pilots to get fully into gear and attached the spinal clamp needed for the neural transmission.

“Their life functions and vitals are okay,” you announced after scanning the results on your screen.

“Rangers, ready?” The Marshall asked which got immediate responses:

“Yes, sir!”

“Ready to kick some Kaiju ass,” Hyunjae grinned his signature smile.

“Neural handshake initiated,” Gahyeon stated a few seconds later and you could immediately see the spike in both Juyeon’s and Hyunjae’s heart rate as well as their brain receptors’ activity. They were a well synced pair, so by the time the Conn Pod was attached to the Jaeger’s mechanical brain, the technician also announced that the drift was successful.

“Goddess Mercy is ready to launch,” Juyeon said and the Jaeger moved its right hand as a proof. Soon eight V-50 Jumphawks airlifted the monstrous size of mecha and flew it towards the ocean to drop them near the vicinity of the Kaiju.

It might have been just the two of them out there putting their lives on the line along with the other Rangers, but every Kaiju battle was teamwork. Everybody in the Shatterdome watched the huge monitor displays and followed their movements over the map via GPS signs and drones sent with them. Your team in the control room was responsible for keeping an eye on the pilots’ health, the stability of their neural connection, the Jaeger’s condition, the Kaiju’s whereabouts and the battle’s surroundings. Admittedly you had only started to appreciate this side of the work after getting disqualified as a Ranger yourself and you didn’t mind that it was only the pilots and their Jaegers that were celebrated as heroes because every win was a victory for humanity no matter who took credit or not.

“Drop happening in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… release!” Changmin counted down and you saw the transporting aircrafts release the harnesses holding Goddess Mercy in air and the metal giant landed in the water with a big splash but safely.

“Kaiju incoming from northeast, estimated arrival in 56 seconds,” you recited the information based on the map and simulation calculations into the microphone. “Snow Leopard is already on the radar too. Rogue Kitsune just left the Tokyo base.”

“It’s going to be eas–” Hyunjae’s words got cut off when something moved in the dark waters around them and the next moment they were dragged underwater.

This Kaiju was not only big in size but it had 8 long snake-like tentacles curling around Goddess Mercy’s legs. The pilots were clearly taken aback by the unexpectedly quiet attack but they managed to overthrow the slippery looking monster, engaging in hands-on combat.

Due to the toxicity and radiation level of Kaijus, it was important to make sure they bleed the least because their blue fluids could make waters poisonous and kill wildlife, flora as well as people in contact. Old solutions such as dropping nuclear missiles on them had been deemed terrible choices too due to the destruction it caused nearby. Jaegers were people’s best hope.

Hyunjae and Juyeon were fighting the monster the best they could but with its many arms, they were mostly forced to protect themselves especially because the Kaiju seemed to attack their power cell on purpose. Unfortunately the K-scientists also predicted the growth of intelligence level in higher category Kaijus. They seemed to learn during their visits and they kept evolving.

It was a relief when Snow Leopard arrived and lured the alien giant away from Goddess Mercy. This way the two of them could charge at the Kaiju at once.

“Rangers, report! Are you okay?” Marshall Lee called out for your pilots and everybody waited for their answer with their breath held back. Based on their health measurements on your screen, their adrenaline levels went frenzy but they were otherwise okay. It was the Jaeger that had some red areas in their right shoulder on the heatmap.

“We are good. Mercy’s right arm has gone limp though,” came the answer and Hyunjae’s grunting about not underestimating these bastards again could be heard.

They tried to hit and punch the Kaiju for a while, circling around it but since its tentacles were longer than the Jaeger arms, it seemed like it was just playing with them. Then Goddess Mercy released its built-in sword from its operating arm and cut off one tentacle of the Kaiju. It seemed to simultaneously weaken and piss it off, so after the blade cut off another limb, the Kaiju pushed Snow Leopard away just enough to pay more attention to Goddess Mercy as it jumped upon its chest, making the mecha lose its footing and before they could push it off or the other Jaeger could pull it off, two of its remaining tentacles pierced through the Conn Pod’s glass windows, the Jaeger’s ‘eyes’ and two others attacked the energy center in its chest, the two weakest point of the metal monstrum. Then with a snapping sound, the Kaiju ripped the Conn Pod out of the Jaeger and sent the pilots flying.

You spoke up at the same time as Gahyeon, alarmed.

“Life functions are dropping low.”

“Connection from Rangers to Jaeger is lost.”

“Send an emergency team! Get them out of there!” The Marshall shouted while the Canadian Jaeger and the just arriving Japanese one successfully neutralized the Kaiju after cutting off all its extra limbs.

Still, with the victory celebrated, your breathing was still shaky as your memories of the emergency staff pulling you out of your drivesuit was too vivid. Jiwon’s fear before your connection was cut off was too much.

You didn’t even notice that you were trembling, just when Changmin put a warm hand over your back.

“It’s over,” he whispered and you forced yourself to nod.

It’s over. For now. Your gaze glided to the huge counter on the dome’s main hall showing the time since the last Kaiju arrival: 0 days, 0 hours, 47 minutes.

At this rate, who knows when the next one will come? When will it end?

With Juyeon and Hyunjae recovering in the hospital from both physical injuries and the mental stress of sudden neural link detachment, the Busan Shatterdome and its area was defenseless and depended on the help of others. The PPDC headquarters in Seoul decided that Jeju should send their cadets to Busan to test drift compatibility between the two Shatterdomes’ residents. Busan needed new co-pilots but the more, the merrier, so the decision was applauded on all fronts except the new dorm assignments among cadets. You didn’t mind sharing a room with two more girls, especially because this was a temporary situation until the eleven Jeju cadets stayed over. Other than the housing issues though, their arrival brought excitement too. It was rare when the Shatterdome got new cadets other than following the Jaeger Academy graduation, so everybody was gossiping about the new residents. They were welcomed with an informal dinner but the next day they were in the combat rooms for training already.

“Aren’t you coming? Eric will miss you,” Changmin teased when you were leaving the canteen but you just rolled your eyes at the mention of the other boy.

“He will survive,” you shrugged. “I have a night shift tonight, so I’m going to ditch that for a nap.”

Trainings at the dome were open to anybody either to watch or participate. Sometimes you joined in for old times sake and to get in your exercise amount for the day but without Jiwon it wasn’t the same. Sometimes you went to watch though, mostly to annoy Eric with your unasked advice. He wasn’t a bad fighter, just a bit reckless and impatient.

That day you were sure the combat room would be full of people because everybody would be curious to see if there were promising matches between two cadets that show innate synchronization, the kind that was needed so two minds could pilot the same Jaeger at the same time. However with Busan’s six cadets in training and the ones coming from Jeju, the number of combinations were high, so it would take days, especially if retired ex-Rangers would like to try again too. It wasn’t unheard of that a Ranger who had once lost their partner would find another to match with but you weren’t planning on going back to the field. Not necessary out of fear, more of guilt. It had been years and you still didn’t forgive yourself for what happened to Jiwon.

Changmin promised to inform you if anything interesting happened but then you parted ways, his leading towards the training halls and yours to the dorms. Right after Kaiju attacks, you slept better knowing that you should be safe for a while but when the next predicted date was nearing you always had trouble sleeping properly, so you wanted to make the most out of these chances not only for the night shift but also for your sake as well.

By the time you woke up and got ready for work, you had like a dozen of texts from Changmin including a picture of Eric wincing at the bruises he received thanks to a girl from Jeju. Served him right though. He always went easier on girls, which might have been gentlemanly on his part but it was just stupid in your opinion, maybe that’s why you never synced either.

When you got to the LOCCENT room, Younghoon was already there.

“Hey, is there anything?”

“Nothing luckily,” he turned towards you with a greeting nod which you reciprocated.

You glanced at the giant counter that showed that it had been almost 6 days since the last attack. The K-scientists predicted at least 12-14 more before the next one based on the recent pattern but you could never know, that’s why shifts and keeping an eye out on the sensors and tectonic movements was important.

“How are Hyunjae and Juyeon?” you asked as you took a seat and signed in to your computer. Younghoon was close with the two boys since they had all grown up together but he hadn’t had a shift when his friends had gotten injured, so it must have felt terrible to just watch it from the sidelines. Not that he could have done anything from the control room. Ranger life was unpredictable like this.

“They are getting better. It will take a while for Juyeon’s broken arm to heal and both of them are still experiencing migraines because of the neural disconnection. It could have been a lot worse,” the boy noted and you knew that he was right. Some Rangers had permanent brain damage after something went wrong during Drift. That’s also why two pilots were needed to control a Jaeger, it would have been too much on one single individual.

“That’s good,” you let a small, reassuring smile paint your lips because their health mattered more than anything. But you couldn’t help but ask, your past self’s guilt towards Jiwon, the Shatterdome, the purpose of the program, sweeping into your bones. “Did they say anything about staying as Rangers?”

Younghoon looked at you with knowing eyes, like he knew exactly why you were asking. He was already at LOCCENT when you were assigned this new job after being discharged from the hospital.

“No. Maybe they are waiting for the official evaluation,” he said and you nodded. Honestly, it was hard to imagine Busan’s best duo as anything other than Rangers but then again, once you couldn’t imagine your life differently either. You had thought you would either spend your life fighting with Kaijus until humanity won or die in a Jaeger. Surviving alone had never been an option. Until it was.

On quiet nights like this when there was a low chance for a Kaiju attack, your work wasn’t particularly interesting. You recorded some info about the Pacific Ocean, the sensors’ data and created a report to submit but otherwise you were mostly reading or talking with Younghoon about Shatterdome and PPDC gossip. By the time the next shift arrived at 6AM to take over you got to know all the exciting details of the training day with the Jeju cadets.

You liked early mornings like this because everything was quiet and calm. In a few hours J-technicians would be busy running around fixing up Jaegers and building new ones, K-scientists would yell about the newest discoveries and Ranger-to-bes would compete over who could get to the combat room or the canteen the fastest. No need to get you wrong, you loved the lively atmosphere of the Shatterdome, you loved feeling the purpose that bound all of you together, the comradeship but there was something in the serenity at dawn that could finally placate your messy mind.

You walked up on the metal stairs over the hangar, right until the catwalk that led over to the other side of the building. You loved this one the most, not only because it was the highest point somebody could get without being in a mecha’s cockpit but if you sat down in the middle of it, you could face the patched up version of Virtual Angel. Your former Jaeger.

You had gained the habit of coming out here to face the elegant metal body of the weapon that once had been partly yours after what had happened with your co-pilot. The three of you, the Jaeger, Jiwon and you had shared something special. You had neutralized enough Kaijus to make any parent proud but not enough, never enough, and while you could have never made yourself pilot Virtual Angel again, she deserved to be in the spotlight again, to fight more. You hoped she would have the chance.

So early in the morning the place was always empty but not this time. You faltered when you saw a stranger sitting in your usual place, staring ahead, at the lined up Jaegers in the hangar as if he was pondering about something. He must have been deep in thought because he didn’t seem to notice your approach until you were only a few steps away from him. When he did though, he looked up at you with eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s my place,” you told him without greeting. The boy your age looked confused for a moment as he looked at the metal structure holding both of your weight about 75 meters over the ground.

“I didn’t see your name here,” he looked back at you with a tilt of his plush lips and you raised a brow, watching him do the same, his brown hair falling into his likewise dark eyes in soft waves. He wore the Jeju cadets’ uniform, same as your formal one but with a different symbol over the heart. But it was too early for even the cadets to be up.

“You don’t even know my name,” you retorted, which made the boy tilt his head in a mischievous way.

“Are you sure about that?” He questioned because he added. “Or maybe it’s my way of asking.”

“Funny, aren’t you?” You let out a little huff of laughter at that and then slid down onto the catwork and sat down next to the boy, a good arm length away, hanging your legs down, leaning against the railing. After spending years looking down from this height through the Conn Pod of Virtual Angel, you weren’t afraid of heights anymore nor the idea of falling scared you. You couldn’t be sure about the side of your unexpected companion though.

“Can’t sleep?” You found yourself asking but you didn’t look at the boy. You kept your eyes on the silver and baby blue paint over the copper Jaeger.

The cadet hummed, confirming but not elaborating. You didn’t expect it, you were strangers after all even if you were fighting the same war. You just sat down quietly for a while, not in awkward but more of a comforting silence, just the type you particularly liked on mornings like this.

“She’s beautiful,” the guy spoke up a bit later when the Sun was already up over the horizon, painting orange hues over the glass dome above your head, casting bright light over the three mechas. At first, you were confused who was the she he talked about but then you saw that he was looking at Virtual Angel too and you couldn’t help an albeit small but genuine smile.

“She really is, huh?” You agreed, feeling warmth in your chest like when somebody complimented something you could be proud of.

“I’m Sunwoo by the way.”

You turned your head to face the guy, wondering what kind of stories he could hide behind that smile of his, what kind of dreams or fears could drive him here, 75 meters high at the crack of dawn.

“I’m Y/N,” you reciprocated the introduction, forgetting about his previously mentioned intentions.

“I know,” Sunwoo nodded with a secretive smile but then he bobbed his head towards Virtual Angel. “She’s yours.”

Ah, so he really knew who you were. You weren’t sure how to feel about that.

“She was,” you corrected him, which was followed by a beat of silence.

“Aren’t you going back out there?” He asked and it seemed more genuinely curious than blaming. Some people in his shoes would have called you a coward or weak, some people would have done anything to find a partner to pilot a Jaeger together and fight but you weren’t even trying anymore.

“No, I’m not,” you confirmed, picking your nails and you weren’t sure what you expected in response. Pity? Anger? You certainly didn’t expect the boy to get playful.

“Then if I manage to sync up with somebody, can I take her out for a ride?” He raised an eyebrow and the way he phrased it made you flabbergasted.

“Are you asking for my permission?” You chuckled because it was ridiculous. PPDC owned the Jaeger, they had every right to give it to anybody who was suitable. She wasn’t really yours to begin with. But Sunwoo didn’t seem to relent. “Okay, fine. If you are cleared to pilot, kill some more Kaijus with her.”

“It would be an honor,” the guy grinned, a gummy smile showing and you weren’t sure what it was about him and his cockiness but you found yourself rooting for this random stranger to get the green light. Scientifically there was a chance of 1 to 25 that somebody would complete a successful drift without extensive training together but maybe he would be the lucky one.

Speaking of training, Sunwoo’s smartwatch pinged with a notification and he looked apologetic as he stood up.

“Gotta go for my morning run,” he excused himself and you just nodded, planning to head towards the canteen for breakfast soon anyways. You waved him off, ignoring his sly smile. You turned back to Virtual Angel, mentally warning her not to get her hopes up as if the giant mecha could have feelings on its own. It was all just in your mind.

The rest of the day passed in a blur like it often did when you had a night shift. You ate breakfast with a few early birds then went to sleep off your tiredness. At lunch you were sitting with Haknyeon from J-Tech and Chanhee from the K-science Lab when Eric slid to your table. He already wore his clothes for training, a tight fitting tee and shorts, his blonde hair flopping onto his forehead, his smile contagious.

“Are you free this afternoon?” He asked, looking at you intently.

“Hello to you too,” Chanhee muttered from the excited boy’s side, continuing to eat his dumplings the same as before, unfazed by Eric’s one track mind.

“Depends. Why?” You asked but just to be difficult, just to hear him ask you. It was just harmless teasing. You knew exactly what he wanted. You had been friends since the Jaeger Academy. If it wasn’t for Jiwon, he probably would have counted as your best friend. Even if you both had changed since then.

“We’re doing the second rounds of trainings with the new kids. I got assigned with the dude who beat everybody yesterday. Apparently he was also on the top of his classes back in Jeju too,” he chattered which made Haknyeon next to you snort.

“What kind of flowers would you like at your funeral then?” He joked which earned him a scowl but you knew Eric didn’t take it seriously either, not with that pout he looked at you.

“Please, I need you as emotional support,” he said then quietly added: “And your expertise.”

Back at school and even later at Ranger training like this you were the best strategist of your class. You might not have been the strongest but you were smart and hardworking. While the goal of these training sessions was to learn about combat skills and how to move and work together well, eventually when it came to fights, there was rarely not a winner. But even with hits and kicks delivered it was always obvious when two people just balanced each other out. It was something either innate or integrated over years, you couldn’t help Eric with that. What you could help though was analyzing this other guy’s fighting skill with other people to advise Eric about how to counterattack.

“I heard that he’s getting desperate. He hasn’t matched with anybody since he was sixteen,” Chanhee spoke up and while he himself sounded disinterested every head turned towards him at his claim.

“How do you even know that?”

“Just because I don’t talk a lot, it doesn’t mean I’m not listening to what’s going on around me,” the scientist assistant rolled his eyes at all the surprise his claim received.

You hummed, not promising Eric anything, just shoved a dumpling into his mouth, but you were certainly intrigued. You were curious how would somebody like that fight in the ring, whether he was calm because he had been doing this a thousand times already or would he be on edge, trying to prove himself every time he set a foot on the tatami. You were actually curious about it now.

So without much more pestering, you found yourself in the Kwoon combat room with Changmin and Chaewon by your side. The pairs and the match order was randomized but Eric told you that the guy would be in the third round with Beomgyu and their own match would be the seventh. Matches could last from a few minutes up to an hour maximum (stopped by the referee) and while it often ended in about fifteen to twenty minutes, the best balanced pairs could go on and on for long with close scores. You and Jiwon preferred Muay Thai, with her it felt like a dance you both knew the steps to.

The first two pairs weren’t really interesting, they were very off-balanced too, ending in less than five minutes but you could tell everybody was excited to see the infamous new guy who apparently hadn’t lost yesterday because whispers started the moment your Navy soldier-turned-trainer announced the next match.

You knew Beomgyu, so your gaze immediately cut to the other side of the painted square, breath hitching when you saw the guy from dawn. His name echoed off the walls now that you recognized him. Unlike the morning where he was in his proper uniform, now he wore gray joggers and a black tank top, loose over his frame, his sun kissed skin glinting under the yellow light of the room.

You cleared your throat and forced yourself to focus on the match in a professional manner, since that was why you were there after all. To help Eric like a good friend would, not to drool over a guy’s biceps after a single encounter. But honestly, Sunwoo’s good looks were soon forgotten because the moment the fight started, you could tell why he made a name for himself. He moved like a predator inside that square and Beomgyu didn’t stand a chance.

“So? What do you think?” Eric nudged your shoulder, excitement and nervousness mixing in his hushed voice.

“His fighting style is similar to yours,” you responded without thinking, craning your neck to lean closer, to see better as Sunwoo cornered Beomgyu, his stick stopping just below the other’s chin, earning him another point.

“What? No! He is so… aggressive,” Eric laughed but the sound was off, a bit worried as if he was wondering if he looked aggressive too then. You shook your head.

“No, he’s just confident and being a bit cocky about it,” you corrected him because actually Sunwoo’s movements were rather elegant and calculating, he was just fast like a cheetah when he needed to attack. He acted all aloof and cool while they circled around each other and then striked in the right moment, when the enemy’s attention momentarily wavered to find a spot on him. “He knows he’s better. He knew it from the moment Beomgyu waited for him to attack first and he was obvious about it. You’re the same but not in the same way. You get bored easily when you think you could win easily, that’s why you are gentler with girls, which is still annoying by the way, and get playful with the guys, which must be equally annoying too because you take something half-assedly that they have to work so much for.”

“Okay, that’s uhm… interesting. But then how do I win?” Eric still seemed taken aback by your analysis but he seemed focused on showing his true colors now that he was up against somebody on his level. You gave it a thought because you could easily see the two of them provoke each other endlessly as well as always gaining points during counterattack, so there was really only one option.

“You have to attack first and get the first point,” you told him straightforwardly and Eric took it as a challenge.

Beomgyu lost and the next few matches didn’t last too long either. Minjeong and Mia seemed promising enough for the referee to sign them up for a test Drift which earned them a cheer but it wasn’t something to get anybody’s hopes up.

“Break a leg,” Changmin patted Eric’s back when his name was called and at the younger guy’s grin, you frowned.

“Please, don’t,” you sighed and watched him make his way towards the ring just for your eyes to meet Sunwoo’s. There was a hint of mischievousness in his as he saluted towards you but then he schooled his expressions when they were finally face-to-face with the blonde boy.

They bowed towards each other and then it started. They just stared each other off for a long enough moment for you to start wondering whether Eric wouldn’t take your advice but then he charged at the other so suddenly that even though Sunwoo could duck away from his first hit, the second got him on the side. Shocked gasps and loud cheers erupted in the room. After all, Eric was the local boy and he just took the first hit on the undefeated Jeju cadet.

In that moment, you saw Sunwoo’s entire posture change, his eyes getting darker and more focused, his grip on the stick firmer. Within three steps and a combination of hits, he managed to level out. You were right: they were similar. In their own way they approached the fight the same way and others started to notice it too. Excited whispers and claps for every hit echoed in the room the more it went on. Their points were neck-to-neck just like you guessed it would be and it was thrilling really to see this kind of balance between strangers. It felt like witnessing something special.

And you weren’t the only one who thought that.

“Cadet Sohn and Cadet Kim, please follow me to my office,” the Marshall spoke up and the entire room full of people turned towards him standing in the door with the usually stern look on his face. The sweaty and panting boys exchanged a glance before handing the sticks back to the ex-Navy soldier and broke through the crowd around them, accepting the congratulatory pats on the shoulder as if they felt it too. Their connection.

They had to be Drift compatible. They were your best hope now.

Eric was buzzing with excitement later that night. They were going to have an official test Drift the next day which was a big thing, so you made sure to congratulate him before going to the hangar instead of the female dorms. Having slept in the morning you weren’t sleepy yet. So you did what you usually did when that happened, not too surprised that you found Sunwoo swinging his legs from 75 meters high this time too.

“Trying to get on her good side already?” You teased, referring to Virtual Angel which managed to make the guy let out a raspy laughter.

“I told you I would steal her from you,” he grinned and patted the floor next to him like he owned the place. It made you scoff out loud but you sat down anyways.

Both of you were quiet for a while but then he asked you about the Drift, about how it was to pilot a Jaeger, how it was out on the field. Sure, he had done countless simulations, keeping the highest score back in the Jeju Shatterdome but it wasn’t the real thing, you both knew. So you decided to tell him the truth about how vulnerable the Drift felt, revealing so many parts of you for another person, sharing so much but it was mutual and when you get to know the other person, it was like having a soulmate. Before your voice could have cracked though from talking about Jiwon, you changed topic and recited what you remembered from your first Kaiju battle. You had rather told him about the highs of Virtual Angel’s Jaeger duties than the time when it had been reduced to a mess of metal and you couldn’t make yourself look at it.

In exchange you asked Sunwoo about how he felt about the Drift, whether he was nervous but you didn’t really expect him to admit it. But as it turned out he’d had two unsuccessful neural linking already. Those times he had been hopeful, so now he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Not after spending years working on getting better and better only to not be good enough. No high score or Academy result would mean anything to him if he couldn’t make it to the frontline of the war.

You told him that he would make it and the next day you were there assisting with their Drift compatibility test which resulted in 92%. From that day they were officially Rangers on duty.

The next Kaiju attack was predicted to be in about 10 days, so Sunwoo and Eric had gotten themselves into intensive training before their first battle. Not only did they have long hours of combat practice everyday, they were quizzed on Kaiju weaknesses constantly and were assigned as roommates to bond. It must have been working because whenever you had a meal with them in the canteen, they seemed as if they had been friends for ages.

You still hung out with Sunwoo on the hangar’s catwalks, talking about how your lives had been before and what would you do if humanity wasn’t constantly threatened to get wiped out by an alien race. Sometimes when he looked at you with eyes dark and curious you could tell he wanted to ask something else too but he never did and you didn’t push, he must have had his reasons and you didn’t particularly want to talk about how it felt to lose your co-pilot which you guessed as one of those unasked questions. Sometimes you helped him train too and while you got rusty so he was clearly better, it was fun and it had been a while since you found anything about being a Ranger fun. Him not going easy on you and smiling like the Sun on its brightest days helped too.

After Sunwoo put in his official request to be assigned for Virtual Angel out of the unused Jaegers, Eric came to you asking if you were alright with that. You told him that you were more than okay with it because the Jaeger deserved one more chance and gave him tips about controlling it. He listened attentively but his mind must have been elsewhere because right after he blurted out:

“What’s up with you and Sunwoo? You spend a lot of time together,” he hummed, looking at you with half worry and half something else you couldn’t name.

“Shouldn’t you know the answer to that?” You asked challengingly because Drifting with somebody meant opening your mind to them and even unintentionally you could catch a glimpse of the other’s some recent or most significant memories.

“I would prefer it if you told me. We are old friends, aren’t we?”

Well, he wasn’t wrong but you weren’t sure what to tell him, so you shrugged.

“There’s nothing going on. He just… makes me feel normal again,” you admitted and you could see that Eric wanted to protest but bit his lip. It wasn’t you faulting him or your other friends because they had seen you at your worst, so not bringing up Jiwon or how it was to be a Ranger but not anymore was their way of being considerate. You knew it wasn’t out of pity but still, they treated you differently from before and it made you feel broken. Sunwoo hadn’t been there, hadn’t known you before, so it must have been why but he didn’t tiptoe around you like the others did and yeah, that felt good. It felt like you were finally more than the ghost of your past self. Next to him, you felt alive, not just surviving.

You weren’t on call when the Category III Kaiju came from the Breach a week later. You wished you were because this way you could only watch through the huge TV screens in the dorm as Virtual Angel ascended from its place after the neural link connection was successfully established between the mecha and its new pilots. Everybody was watching the broadcasted event with their breaths held back. People were invested usually too but it was even more apparent when it was with new Rangers. Hong Kong sent veterans, Yangyang and Renjun who had been in the business for years but if you didn’t know any better, Sunwoo and Eric could have fooled you that they had done this together before too and not just in simulations.

Later Changmin told you that they were a bit worried at first because shortly after the connection was made it seemed like Sunwoo would ‘chase a rabbit’ which was a phrase used for the event of a pilot getting lost in a memory, either their own or the other’s, too much and lost touch with reality followed by a Random Access Brain Impulse Trigger (aka R.A.B.I.T). It sometimes happened with new pilots, especially under stressful situations, but it was a good thing that Sunwoo managed to handle it before it could have gotten in the way of the battle. Yet, it made you wonder what kind of memory did he latch onto enough to hesitate. Once you had gotten stuck in there, in your mind, you had been 14 again and helpless, you had just wanted to see your parents’ face one more time. The Neural Handshake had failed then and you had recurring nightmares after that. You hoped it wasn’t like that for the boy.

When the newly celebrated heroes made it back to the base after neutralizing the Kaiju, the first thing Eric did was to envelop you in a bone-crushing hug. You closed your eyes, chuckled and congratulated him. Over his shoulder you saw Sunwoo who eyed the two of you a bit hesitantly and while you didn’t expect him to be as affectionate as the blond guy, you thought he would at least high five you but instead he just walked past you as if you were strangers.

It was the first time it happened but it wasn’t the last.

It got weird quickly. You didn’t even notice how much you got used to Sunwoo’s presence and your in dim light talks in the hangar so quickly but the difference was now striking. You never accidentally bumped into him, he was too busy to train with you and always ate together with others. You never got the chance to ask what you had done that made him avoid you.

“Are you listening?” Haknyeon waved his hand in front of your face but before he could have followed your gaze to Sunwoo with that girl from Jeju who also stayed to train with one of your own in case they could be more compatible later, you snapped your focus back on him.

“Yeah. You were saying something about a remote access Conn Pod?” You furrowed your brows, trying to make it seem like you weren’t distracted.

“Exactly. This would mean Jaegers could be piloted from here instead of risking the pilots’ life more than necessary out there. We will start testing it soon,” the J-technician guy said excitedly and any other time it would have made you more invested because if this technology had existed when Jiwon… You shook your head to not think about her and the what ifs.

“That’s cool,” you muttered, shoving the rest of the breakfast into your mouth, tearing your gaze off Sunwoo.

You couldn’t help feeling confused and maybe a bit angry too because you didn’t do anything that could have warranted the boy to act so distant. If you didn’t know better you would have thought that he acted that way because suddenly they were in the center of attention with Eric and suddenly he was too busy and popular to hang out with you but it wasn’t the kind of behavior you would have associated with him. You could have asked Eric but you would have moved to a different country sooner than giving him the chance to tease you about your ‘boy problems’.

Despite Sunwoo’s best efforts to avoid you, you saw him constantly. The Shatterdome was not that big, but maybe it was even worse because this way you saw his gaze linger on you just for a moment before snapping his gaze away, acting like he didn’t see you. Eventually it was Eric who came to you asking if you rejected Sunwoo or something and that was why he always opted out of meals together. You snorted. At least then you would know why he was like this.

Well into a week of this weird thing going on, you bumped into Sunwoo just after he seemingly finished training. You were on your way to the canteen, passing by the Kwoon combat room when he stepped out, his hair slightly damp and sweat glistening on his bare arms. He slowed down in his steps, your presence clearly taking him aback. Then he quickly ducked his head and passed by you, heading towards the changing rooms. It boiled your blood more than you cared to admit and you couldn’t take it anymore, so you decided to bite the bullet.

“Why are you avoiding me?” You span around your axis, turning after the guy’s leaving figure, successfully halting him on the way.

“I’m not–” Sunwoo’s protest died on the tip of his tongue when he saw your cutting gaze. He averted his eyes and gulped, nervousness showing. You didn’t understand anything, but when Sunwoo spoke up, his answer didn’t make any sense either.

“I don’t want to make things awkward between you and Eric,” he said and you furrowed your brows in confusion. Why would it have changed anything?

“What does it have to do with Eric?” You asked, frustrated because this was the most ridiculous explanation ever. Sure, they might have been co-pilots and you and Eric were friends but…

It hadn’t always been like that.

Under Sunwoo’s meaningful stare, you felt the need to slap yourself but you just ended up laughing. Oh god, you couldn’t believe that you were wondering about why he hated you when it was probably the opposite. The relief was instant.

“Oh please, are you jealous?” You teased, thinking back on the way Eric had hugged you all friendly and before Sunwoo could have protested, you needed ro clarify. “I don’t know what you saw in Eric’s memories but we dated for like two weeks when we were sixteen and that’s it. We’re better off as friends.”

“Oh,” the boy mumbled and you raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, oh. So? Are we good?”

His reaction was enough confirmation that he saw something in Eric’s mind about you. Whether it was something like your first chaste kiss or just the boy asking you out, he might have misunderstood it, both how old the memory was or the feeling revolving around it. You knew from experience that it wasn’t easy to not get swept up in memories during the Drift especially if you didn’t know the other very well already. It could be a disorienting and confusing experience, so you didn’t blame Sunwoo for misunderstanding and wanting to be a good bro or whatever. You were a bit pissed at him only for not talking about it with you. You weren’t petty enough to whine about it though.

“Yeah, we… it’s good,” Sunwoo mumbled, embarrassment coloring his cheeks a brighter color which would have been kinda cute if he wasn’t so stupid.

“Good,” you muttered and turned your back on him, continuing your walk to the canteen. Fifteen minutes later Sunwoo showed up too, sitting down at your table, earning a gawking eye from Eric. You pushed a corndog into his mouth to shut him up.

Sunwoo’s and Eric’s next drop in a battle went smoothly as well. Hyunjae started to joke that they finally had some healthy competition at the dome which might have been true as he and Juyeon started the rehabilitation to go back out there. Virtual Angel shone thanks to the guys just like in her best days and it was a nice thing to see. Of course, you were worried about both boys because you knew better than anyone how fast and drastically things could go wrong but you also remembered the proud feeling that came with fighting for people’s lives and you would have never taken that away from them, especially not since you knew how long both of them had been waiting for this.

When it came to Sunwoo and you, things were back on the old track. You didn’t bring up the jealousy or whatever thing and he didn’t explain it either. A part of you thought, maybe even hoped that he would but you didn’t want to be pushy. He had a lot on his plate with the new Ranger responsibilities and getting used to living in the Busan Shatterdome after spending half his life in the Jeju one. You were content with just having him back as somebody you could talk through dawns over the catwalks.

It was one of those days, the quiet, anticipating ones. You were swinging your legs slowly, leaning against the handrails, chin over your arms, watching Sunwoo’s side profile and the way his fringe hung over his eyes.

“You know,” the boy spoke up slowly, his raspy voice vibrating in the air. “Sometimes it feels like she remembers you.”

He pointed at the Jaeger wistfully and you couldn’t help a small smile. The mecha was nothing but wires and metal, technically it didn’t have any feelings or memories. Still, you didn’t make a joke out of Sunwoo’s sentimentality.

“Yeah? How so?” You raised a brow instead, curious.

“I don’t know. It’s just… it feels like I have known you for so long,” he said and while it echoed how you felt, so you doubted it was the Jaeger’s doing, you couldn’t help but tease.

“That might be because of Eric,” you snorted, teasing and Sunwoo let out an exasperated sigh.

“You won’t let that go, will you?”

“Nope, not a chance,” you chuckled, watching a hint of crimson make its way onto the boy’s cheeks. He was usually so self-assured, dropping teasing smiles and comments that could have made you flustered if you weren’t expecting it, so it was rare to see him this shy.

“Will you tell me? What you saw when you almost went chasing that rabbit?” You asked, quieter, curious. It might not have been you, it might have been one of his own memories that had made him hesitate but with the way his attitude took a 180 degrees turn after that, you ought to think it was something involving you and seeing Sunwoo’s reaction you must have been right. He scratched the back of his neck and hummed.

“I saw you in the hospital after… your accident,” he answered slowly and you could only guess what exactly he could have seen: you on a hospital bed on machines with three broken ribs and internal bleeding. You had been passed out for a long time but according to Changmin, Eric had been by your side whenever he could be. “I was… khm, I mean, Eric was worried about you. It hurt seeing you like that. And then when we came back and I saw him hugging you first thing, I knew that you shared something special. I also wasn’t sure whether I was confusing Eric’s feelings with mine after sharing a neural connection with him so often lately.”

You knew that it could be confusing. Drifts had after-effects, some part of the other always stayed with you even after getting disconnected. Jiwon was still scolding you in your head when you ate too much instant ramen.

“And? Are you sure now?” You tilted your head.

Sunwoo grinned and leaned closer, balancing his weight over an arm sliding next to your hip.

“Ever since you called me out on my bullshit,” he confirmed and you let out a chuckle, ready to tease him about being jealous again but he was too close, you could see the light of the sunrise reflect in his orbs and the way his gaze dropped to you agape mouth, on point but patient.

You closed your eyes and smiled, meeting him in the middle when an alarm blared across the Shatterdome.

“Category IV Kaiju alert! I repeat: Category IV Kaiju alert,” Younghoon’s tense voice echoed in the wide space and you were on your feet before he could have continued. “Virtual Angel, report to standby.”

Sunwoo got up lightning fast too and there was a split moment of realization that you were about to go your separate ways, him to the Conn Pod and you to the LOCCENT as part of your on-call duty.

“See you later,” you said, promised, before turning your back on him and rushing down the corridor towards the control center.

You joined the others, setting up your computer while Jeongeun was debriefing you. The Kaiju was big and had spikes on its back, heading towards Osaka. You planted its current coordinates and possible routes into the system, watching as Sunwoo and Eric left the Drivesuit room and took their places in the Conn Pod. Spinal clamps attached, both Rangers nodding towards the LOCCENT, it was time to initiate neural interface Drift.

“Vitals are okay,” you reported and waited impatiently for the neural handshake to happen. But for some reason it took a longer time than usual.

“Pilot to Jaeger connection complete,” Younghoon finally said with a relieved sigh.

While you were waiting for the transport aircrafts to drop Virtual Angel in the middle of the ocean, you checked in with other Shatterdomes. Sydney was sending a duo but it would take them some more time to get there while Tokyo wasn’t answering. Thinking of the guys going against a Category IV Kaiju alone sent unpleasant shivers down your spine, so you prayed that it was just a communication issue with the Japanese HQ and they were already on their way.

“It’s moving faster than we predicted. At this rate, it will reach the Osaka Wall in ten minutes,” you said out loud after seeing the new calculations on your screen.

“How much longer is it for Virtual Angel?” Marshall Lee asked, concerned as well.

“At least twenty minutes, sir.”

The Marshall nodded and dialed PPDC’s evacuation team with the news of the dangers regarding Osaka Bay.

It was nerve wracking to say the least. By the time the drop happened, the Kaiju was already tearing off the Anti-Kaiju Wall that was pulled up in recent years. So close to the shore, Sunwoo and Eric couldn’t even use the built-in kinetic weapons in fear of making the wall collapse. Neutralizing the monster right there would have poisoned the beaches for weeks too but there didn’t seem to be any other choice. The Kaiju was stubborn and didn’t try to follow the mecha no matter how Eric tried to gain its attention.

You watched as they approached the Kaiju, ready to strike, to punch, the first hit seemed to piss it off and the two huge beings, one alien and one human-made, wrestled in the shallow water near the bay, trying to get a grip on each other.

“Where the hell are the others?” the Marshall stood behind you to check on the communication.

“It’s at least 30 more minutes for Summer Storm and still no news from Tokyo,” Jeungeun said with a strain in her voice too.

“Damnit,” Marshall Lee cursed under his nose and you could wholeheartedly agree.

Your fingers trembled over your keyboard, a hiss unintentionally leaving your mouth when Virtual Angel got thrown on its back. They managed to roll away before the Kaiju could have trampled upon them and they even managed to wound it across its right leg but they struggled to gain momentum.

It felt like hours, how long the battle was going on and you were too numb by the time Jeungeun gasped in shock when one of the Kaiju’s spikes pierced through the mecha and pushed it up against the Wall. The red alert appeared on your screen at the same time you heard Sunwoo’s panicked voice in your headset.

“Eric!?”

Neural link incomplete. Drift unstable.

You saw it bright and clear and you knew what it meant. Eric lost consciousness and disconnected from the Jaeger but Sunwoo was still there, still controlling this giant metal weapon, still in danger of getting sliced through by the Kaiju. It was crazy, he could die. Simply by piloting alone because that can overload one single person’s mind. There was a reason why at least two people could or should have piloted.

“Ranger Kim, report. What are your conditions?”

“Eric fainted, sir. He got hit on the side and he’s bleeding but still breathing,” the guy answered and in a way it was a relief that Eric wasn’t already dead but with the Kaiju tossing Virtual Angel around, there was no time to be relieved.

“And you?”

“I… I’m fine, sir. But I can’t feel the left side of the Jaeger, it’s like deadweight,” he said but his bodily functions were going haywire. His brain was definitely getting too much stimuli.

“Stop trying to control it, you will kill yourself,” you found yourself scolding him despite knowing that in his place you would have tried too. Because…

“A lot more people will die if I don’t try,” Sunwoo said, serious, and with the Sydney team still away, Shanghai just dispatching a Jaeger, you knew what he meant. He just needed to hold the Kaiju back until the others arrived, until he could.

You didn’t even think. You stood up abruptly and looked at Marshall Lee.

“Is the remote access Conn Pod under testing?” You asked, your conversation with Haknyeon ringing in your ears.

The superior in front of you looked confused only for a moment but then he seemed to understand what you wanted.

“Yes but it hasn’t been tested with an already connected Jaeger before, definitely not from miles away. You could die if something goes wrong,” he said and you could hear the others’ whispers, not understanding a bit.

“And if we don’t do something they both might die,” you pointed at the screen, the Kaiju trying to tear off the mecha’s arm and Sunwoo’s vitals going crazy. “I don’t want to see anyone else dying if I can do something about it and I know their Jaeger. She was mine once. I can do it.”

Lee Sangyeon looked you in the eye for a long moment and you remembered how his gaze softened when he had told you he was glad you survived. That had made you cry even harder because in that moment you hadn’t been glad that you had made it out alive. He had seen you going through it, he had seen you avoiding the hangar, detaching yourself from Ranger activities one by one. And now you were asking to go back, to Drift, to fight in an unfair battle. He knew what it must have taken you.

“Cleared. We need people from J-Tech and prepare for a new Drift,” the Marshall told Younghoon and the others but you were already running to the tech labs.

Haknyeon was muttering under his nose about you being insane as he helped you put on the drivesuit and accompanied you to the remote access Conn Pod, somebody else already hooking up Virtual Angel’s coordinates and data. There was no time to waste.

“Neural handshake initiated,” you heard somebody say and you could feel the familiar cold feeling along your spine and the start of a throbbing migraine.

“Come on, Angel. You know me. We have done this dozen times before,” you mumbled under your nose, closing your eyes and clearing your mind.

Memories flashed in front of you. Your hometown in ruins. Jiwon’s last smile at you. Blood on your hands. Sunwoo over the catwalk. Sunwoo’s smirk on the tatami. Sunwoo’s eyelashes up close.

The headache stopped.

“You are crazy,” you heard Sunwoo’s voice in your head as clear as if he was standing right next to you. You opened your eyes and you weren’t in the laboratory anymore. You weren’t even in the Shatterdome. You saw the ocean through the eyes of Virtual Angel and when you turned to your right, you saw Sunwoo looking at you in disbelief. Realistically speaking you knew that you weren’t physically there, just in your minds and yet, it felt so real. “I thought you said you won’t be doing this again.”

“I thought so too,” you admitted, giddy that it worked against all odds.

“Drift successful,” you heard somebody exclaim and you felt yourself (the Jaeger) stumble which brought you back to reality.

“I guess we are compatible,” Sunwoo said with a smirk playing on the unfair tilt of his mouth and together, you managed to make the mecha stand up and avoid the Kaiju’s next hit.

“You talk too much. Let’s kill this ugliness first,” you said but there was a hint of a smile in the corner of your mouth too.

Despite everything, it felt good to be back. It felt like something Jiwon and Virtual Angel both would have wanted you to do. You could also almost hear Eric’s chatter in your ears, complaining about missing your big comeback but he will remember, he will get the memories from his co-pilot anyways. And Sunwoo, he was right there beside you. It felt right. It felt just like a Hong Kongese Ranger once said: like you could fight the hurricane and win.

#stories #the boyz x reader #tbz x reader #sunwoo x reader #pacific rim au #the boyz angst #sunwoo angst

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spaceorphan18 · 1 month

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The Lady Whistledown Papers: 1x06 - Swish (Part 2)

Welcome back, Gentle Readers, to The Lady Whistledown Papers, where I’m taking an in-depth look at Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s character arcs and romance within the show Bridgerton!

For previous issues, follow tag : The Lady Whistledown Papers

Skipping over, like, ten minutes of Daphne and Simon sex. Look, I know it looks hot, but I don't recommend doing it outside in the rain. But that's just me. Maybe it's your thing. You do you, boo.

Anyway...

Violet

Can we talk about the beginning of this scene for a second? One of the things I truly love about Bridgerton is the family dynamics, and all of these little insights we get into the family. Gregory and Hyacinth are arguing over a ribbon and Benedict is really stepping up and being 'dad' because Anthony has other things going on, and meanwhile Eloise is just grabbing food and Violet is reading the morning newspaper and it really doesn't matter if it's 1824 or 2024, some things don't change in families, and I think that's kind of cool.

Colin trepidatiously walking into the dinning rooms screams kid who is coming out of his room after being grounded for the night. Also, the timeline is weird on this. So... we know time has passed because of the sex montage (btw - are Simon and Daphne Saphne? Why not Dimon? I feel like then you can use the little diamond emojis for them anyway...). Time has passed. Whistledown needed to be written and released. Has Colin just avoided his family for that long? Is that why he's being that sheepish about approaching his mother? What has he been up to for the past twenty-four hours?

I just had to include the family shot. Violet is pissed. Eloise is delighted. Hyacinth is like - yo, you made the news!!! Which, is funny, because according to the books, Whistledown mentions Colin, like, every other issue. How no one figured out Pen was Whistledown or her feelings for Colin just continues to crack me up. I understand why they didn't, but man it would have been entertaining if someone at least mentioned how often Colin ends up with Whistledown -- and be like, we don't know who she is, but she sure does love Colin.

Also love that Benedict is like - okay, everyone out, Mom's gonna yell at Colin now, and as much as we'd love to watch that, we probably shouldn't... The only unrealistic thing is not one of them going -- no, I want to be here and watch the drama. You know they're all talking about it in whatever room they've relocated to.

Continuing on our theme of how Colin is still very childish in nature... the FIRST thing he does when he sits down is apologize. Again. Violet does not look happy. And Colin, the child who probably didn't get disciplined all that often (or at least not from Violet) is backpedaling a little, and wanting to make immediate amends. He doesn't want to disappoint his mother. (He doesn't want to disappoint any of his family, really) But his whole demeanor here is -- kid who was caught getting in trouble and is now facing the consequences of his actions.

Violet mentions that she's glad she knew (about 2 seconds) before Whistledown reported it. Which is kind of funny because technically, Pen did know before her. But the point is -- just as Anthony was shocked by the development, so is Violet. It does feel out of nowhere.

Colin digs in his heels (stubborn man that he is) and throws out that maybe if Violet hadn't been so caught up with Daphne, she'd have seen that he was courting Marina all season. Which is very much a... you're not paying enough attention to me because of your other children... moment. And I can only imagine that in a family that size, fighting for your parents' attention is a thing that does happen.

And it's not even about attention in this minute. It's about being taken seriously. Colin is in that awkward time of late teens/early twenties where you just want everyone to think of you as AN ADULT(TM) and most people still think of you as a child. Colin's feelings feel very real to him, and while Violet and Anthony (and hell, maybe even Pen gets it) may still laugh and shake their head and go - boy, you still young yet, he doesn't feel that way.

And I mean, I'm not discredit Colin's feelings here, either. Because they are real. He does feel attachment to Marina. He does find her attractive. He does want to explore what a relationship is with her. And he does want to play out all these romantic fantasies he has. BUT. His his inexperience is showing. Because the infatuation he has with Marina is more idyllic, and not built in reality, commonality, and a deeper bond the way it will be with Penelope.

Violet says something key here -- first of all, I need to point out that even if he doesn't feel like it, and even if she is a bit preoccupied with Daphne, Violet is paying attention to all her children. She does get her children. She was well aware Colin was enjoying flirting with Marina. And it's brought up that he flirts with lots of girls. But the key element is that he never acts on any of it. The flirting is just a part of his personality, the way cracking jokes and being kind are. It's how he relates to others. He's charming.

But the thing is the whole charming thing can feel - hollow - for him. Especially when he wants to be taken seriously. Serious people in love are - charming - or - funny - or flirty. (Oh, poor Colin who has people like Anthony and Simon for role models. And Benedict, who is more like him, and who is taken even less seriously at times). Colin comments that no one takes him seriously except for Marina.

Which... isn't true. Because we all know Pen takes him seriously. And, really his other does, too. And we all know Marina isn't being altruistic with her seriousness. But Colin is really only seeing what he wants to see here. Which leads me to a thought I should have brought up in the convo about Anthony ---

The more people don't take him seriously, the more Colin decides he's in some kind of Romeo and Juliet type scenario. He almost wants it to be like that, which again, is another romantic fantasy, where he and his love can run away and be happy together, and face the world on their own despite all the people telling them no! But again, the youthfulness is on display here. Because Romeo and Juliet is not a romance to aspire to.

Violet does make the comment that she's never seen him so solemn and serious. And I am curious as to what she means here. In the last day or so? In the past few weeks? Whatever the timeline is, I think it's telling that Violet has noticed this. Colin is the type of person who you wears their emotions on their sleeve. And as much as he can withdraw when upset (sensitive soul that he is), the lack of a more jovial and lighthearted Colin is always a tell.

And I think that's another key aspect to letting Violet know that something is off about all of this. Colin, ultimately, isn't happy. Sure, he's frustrated here because (he thinks) he's in love and wants to get married and achieve his romantic dreams. But he's in love with an idea. And he doesn't want to face that fact when Anthony and Violet are kind of pointing that out. He just wants to be in love.

But being in love with an idea means you are ultimately unhappy with it. It'll never measure up to what you want it to be because it's not real. And I mean -- clearly real love comes with its own set of issues. But here, the simple act of being in love really isn't bringing him the joy it should be -- and that is telling.

The thing about Violet is that she is a sympathetic and kind person at heart, who is trying to take him seriously. She may not love this idea, but she will support him in this if it's what he really wants. Yeah, it's the 1800s, and there are all these extra societal components that layer on, but I still think she comes off as a mom who will let her kids be her kids. She'll direct them when she feels she needs to, but she allows them to make their mistakes and live their lives. And she's not perfect either, but she does try.

I also love the very honest end to this scene, where now that Daphne is married and out of the house, the reality that Violet's kids are moving on is hard. They've always been a unit and they're starting to fracture off, and that change is difficult.

I also love that, in a way to bring levity, and make his mother feel better (because he is an empathetic little soul) he jokes about Violet having her hands full with Eloise. And, you know, good luck with that. (Which is also such a sibling thing to say/do. I LOVE the sibling dynamics of this show.)

Anyway, this is such a sweet little scene, and I love that we get some Violet/Colin stuff, because while there isn't much of it -- it's always good. This episode is so good... there's so much!!

#bridgerton #polin #colin bridgerton #polination #the lady whistledown papers #i was going to do more but i'm running out of time #and maybe less is more anyway

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us3rnam3-r3dact3d · 2 months

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Fragment Friday!

My sweet friend @romirola tagged me in a fragment chain! Here’s a few paragraphs from the first chapter of my Redacted firefighter AU!! (Which I promise will be posted soon!!) this is from Freelancer’s POV who has recently dropped out of Med school and become an EMT. Enjoy!!

—

Station 10-19 was nice, very nice. A huge locker room, individual shower stalls, full sized beds with pressed white sheets. The kitchen had two ovens, a huge fridge, and the biggest pantry you’d ever seen. The firehouses you’d visited while getting certified were much smaller, much less impressive. All of this must have cost a fortune.

“Shaw’s a master of budget balancing,” Vincent had told you that afternoon during your tour. “I swear, the dude spends hours sitting in his office crunching numbers. It’s honestly a little worrying.”

You’d met David Shaw in your interview, but Sam Collins was your direct report. Shaw was a big dude, but after meeting a few of the other firefighters, you just started considering yourself scrawny. The whole firehouse was full of mutant giants.

Everybody was nice, but Vincent acted like he’d just gained a new best friend when he’d introduced himself that afternoon. He was a tall, slender man with bright gray eyes and a sharp smile. You recognized his last name, Solaire. His dad was the chief of surgery at Daliah General, the only level one trauma center in the area. It was your top pick for your residency.

Solaire wasn’t a common name, but if Vincent was the son of a two time Harper-Avery winner, he didn’t show it. He moved with a cool confidence, and seemed to have that same confidence in you. He spoke to you like you knew what you were doing. Which, to be fair, you did. You just weren’t used to people treating you like it.

“Don’t let Sam’s grumpy attitude fool you,” Vincent grinned as he led you towards the ambulance. “He’s a softy. A bit rough around the edges, but soft for sure.”

You couldn’t imagine Sam Collins being soft, but you smiled and nodded anyway. Vincent showed you where everything was on the bus, and then reiterated the few things that you would likely actually use. The compression machine, the heart monitor, the AMBU bag.

When the first code blared in your ears just as Vincent finished shoving everything back into their assigned cubbies. He grinned and patted you on the back, jumping up to the front and hopping on the radio as he revved the bus’s engine.

Sam made his appearance a few seconds later, hopping into the bus and pointing you towards one of the two passenger seats in the back, strapping himself in. He nodded for you to do the same.

It was quiet for a long time. Vincent called a few things into the radio before shouting back to Sam.

“Single vic, third story apartment. Not sure the extent of the injuries. Landlord just found a blood trail.”

“Let’s prep for a GSW and a laceration.” Sam replied. He grabbed for a few things within reach and threw them into his jump bag. “BleedStop’s over your head, Probie, grab me a few.” He held out his hand. It took you a second to realize he was talking to you. You jerked and reached up blindly, coming back with a few red and white packages.

“Are these standard issue?” You asked softly, flipping one over in your hand. You heard Vincent laughing from up front. Sam grinned.

“You were in medical school?” Sam asked after a few minutes. You nodded. “Internal medicine, peds…”

“Surgical.” You answered his unasked question. You ducked your head, looked away. Sam was quiet for a long moment.

“I was four years into my residency when I called it quits.” He said. When you looked up, he was focused on the computer output, a pinch in his brow. You didn’t dare ask a question, break his concentration, but something in your chest eased.

#firefighter story #redacted audio #Redacted asmr #redacted freelancer #redacted Vincent #Redacted sam #fragment Friday

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jellyj777 · 2 months

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02; Elastic | THE PATIENT

THE PATIENT | Book | Ch02; Elastic

JungkookxReader (fluff/angst/smut)

—Falling in love with a patient in an asylum might not be everyone's tea but you had a thing to fix something you never broke at first place.

words: 3.1k+

TROPES: One sided hate, TherapistAu.

SYNOPSIS:: —"Don't trust me, Believe in me"

WARNINGS:: Talk about abuse, Violence ahead, explicit language, Anger issues.

<- prev | index | next ->

"Do you really think you can change him, Mun?" Hoseok asks sipping on the coffee infront of him, the noise of air conditioner can be heard in the dimmed room.

"I don't want to change him, I just want him to be a better version of himself." You reply and mutter a small 'thank you' while taking the extra coffee cup that your colleague brought for you.

"This one's gonna be a tough, Y/N" he chuckles looking through the surveillance footage where Jungkook can be seen stretching the elastic on his wrist and releasing it with a pop sound, this was his fifth time doing it in under five minutes. He was doing it in a repetitive pattern, after another fifteen seconds and another 'pop' sound is heard.

"Good thing, I'm getting paid well." You shrug your shoulders focusing on the screen in front of you.

"Let's start slow, how's that?" You ask Jungkook whose eyes were closed, he hums back in agreement and opened his eyes with a sigh knowing you won't listen no matter what. That was making him furious inside.

Your hand makes its way to your ponytail taking out the elastic that was keeping your hair together making it fall on your shoulder. You slide the hair tie on the table towards Jungkook who looks at you with squinted eyes and grabs the elastic infront of him.

"Can you wear it on your wrist, please?" You say, "Left one" specifically pointing wih your finger. He hesitates for a moment but then nods back in reply and puts his left hand on the table to wear the elastic given by you. His scars were fully visible due to the half-sleeves hospital shirt dress.

Better than the surveillance footage. You think giving it a glance.

He wraps the elastic on his wrist, as you suddenly grab his wrist gently pulling it more towards you. Suprised by the sudden light grasp, he takes a quick glance of your face and then his hand again in confusion.

Stretching the elastic that was resting on the skin of his, you release it earning a 'pop' sound to which Jungkook hisses.

"Did it hurt?" You ask,

"Kinda?" He replies.

"Do that whenever you feel anxious or wanting to self harm." you smile at him diverting your eyes from his hand to his face.

The thing you noticed from Jungkook's reports is that self harming was a coping technique for Jungkook. The photos that his parents allegedly gave included the scars that he did to himself from his high school years. It was a coping technique before his anger started taking over him and that is why he had scars on his arm, left arm to be specific. Some were healed but some were new.

Those new scars are made by himself even without any weapon or a way for him to make it in this so-called dungeon (named by Jungkook himself). He would strach the skin of his arm, using his nails as a tool until blood would be oozing out. When Jungkook is supposed to take his meds, he gets really aggressive and that is when you have to step in. The whole time during that, he either flirts with you or teases you.

That is what happens when he is high due to the meds and the worst part is that you cannot reply to any of his teasings. Said by your seniors, 'not matter what the patient is saying, he/she is not in their right mind during the intake of any meds so different patients do dofferent things at that time.' Even if a patient hits you during that period of time, you're not supposed to snap back at them.

You're supposed to go with their delusions and this is taught to you when you're taking your training at the hospital. Well this is also one of the reasons why this sub unit of hospital is really famous and expensive. The royal treatment ofcourse.

Whenever it's the weekend, you've to pep talk Jungkook and your other patients before cause you work only two weekends out of four in a month like every other doctor in this department.

You noticed one thing when you were in the surveillance room last week. Jungkook has to start slow for his progress in future and starting with the stop of self-harm should be a good plan, according to you ofcourse in hope that this would work.

You have the time to give and you just hoped that he would appreciate that if it's even just a little bit.

"Just try it out, if it doesn't work. We'll try something else." You pat his hand gently as a reassurance before pulling your hand away and he pulls his hand back resting it on his lap again.

Before you could break the silence, a bitter chuckle is heard from the male infront of you whose focus was on his lap while fidgeting his fingers.

"Bullshit." He grumbles in a quiet tone almost a whisper under his breath. "Why are you doing this?" He questions to which you raise your eyebrows, and another bitter chuckle leaves his lips when he sees your confused face.

"You have potential, Jungkook. You aren't fully ruined, just yet." You answer him understanding his that you can be 'not trustable' for him, he tilts his head lightly scanning your face. There was no uncertainty in your gaze only generous worry and that made him damn confused.

How is that possible? He thinks.

Shaking his head, he leans forward "Pardon me?"

"I want to help you, Jungkook. Even a slightest change in you is a big thing for me." You say leaning back on your chair, clearing your throat before speaking again. "This is your last chance, Jungkook. And after this," Your voice turning uncertain with a hint of horror in it. "I don't what they'll do to you." You warn him not because you wanted to scare him but this was truly his last chance to improve himself and him being self-aware that this is his last chance is the first step.

He had potential, it was visible through his previous records. The door is knocked meaning the session is over for the week, you reassure him with a smile. He knows what you mean by 'they' and for gods sake he doesn't want to go back. He would rather die than go back to that place again. Creepy as it might sound but after hearing your words, he did got anxious and seeing your smile suddenly creeped the shit out of him.

He gulps.

"Try your best, I won't force you but I'll be up your way everytime." You speak, your words make him nod. This was the first time he is being so understandable cause last week's session was hell according to the aslyum. You haven't received the footage for it yet but it would be here by next week probably.

"I'll try, um... thanks i guess?" He mutters standing up. He felt like a human for the first time after talking to you. No offence, you give him a creepy doll vibes for sure. In his mind, the mental image is that you say the creepiest shit with your doll like face.

You nod in return watching his figure disappear with the nurse that came to take Jungkook for his daily activity, —dinner now probably— the worst part for Jungkook is that he can't even roam around the hospital like other patients because he wasn't like other patients.

He was a tranfered patient from an asylum and this was truly his last chance.

Therapy and Meds was his last chance.

"Do you think there's a possibility that the government will take him, again?" Hoseok questions sipping on the straw attached to the coffee cup. He was curious after reading the previous records of Jungkook and Oh, his curiosity was soon broken into horror after reading about Jungkook's previous outbursts.

"Well, if he doesn't work on himself then maybe," you roll your sleeves up keeping an eye on the screen infront as you took another sip with help of a straw before speaking up again. "I think he won't work on himself until he finds something, you know?"

"Something? Like a goal?" He raises his brows pondering,

"Mhm, like a goal or more like a hope?" You nod unsure while thinking that is currently working in your head like crazy.

"Are you planning something, Y/N?" You shrug your shoulders making him chuckle. You were clearly planning something in your mind and it was quiet obvious to Hoseok. After a moment of silence of you both looking at the screen infront, you clear your troath lightly before speaking up "Do you remember the time you took a patient out?" You question Hoseok as he nods in return.

He did take alot patients out throughout his career and the first patient he took out was for a dinner as a reward to be able to cope with their anxiety but for that he had to sign various documents and alots of paperwork taking the responsibility of the patient. Doctors are allowed to take their patients out of the hospital but the responsibility and risk is next level so not all of the doctors think about this.

Heck, not everyone likes their job this much to take patients out but Hoseok was different. He has been working here for seven years now and he would also get attached with the patients easily that would make him wanna reward them something for being able to get out of their difficult time. He is like a ray of sunshine for them and you couldn't just agree more.

"Yeah, what about it?" He pauses and then pokes your arm making you yelp "What was that for!" You exclaim laughing lightly knowing damn well what was it for. He knows you're thinking of taking a patient out and the first person comes in his mind is the guy in the screen infront of him. Jungkook ofcourse.

"Don't even try."

A warning is heard from his side. Taking a patient out is good and he obviously supports that but taking Jungkook out is not a wise decision according to him. No matter how many pep talks you would give Hoseok that Jungkook is just a human, he won't allow this. He knows Jungkook is a human being but the anger issues can take over his personality —stated from previous records too— and no way in hell you'll be able to control him.

"Damn, I've been a doctor for three years and it would be my first time too taking a patient out." You mutter out rubbing the arm he poked into dramatically.

"Take someone easy for the first time, Y/N." He grumbles glaring at you. That wasn't an advice, that was more like a statement. "Kay' fine." You sigh running your hand through your hair.

"Do you have shift this weekend?" You ask switiching the topic, not wanting to talk about it until you've a final decision about the same. Turning his chair to you —now his body facing yours— "Yeah, what about you?" He asks back making you shake your head in return.

"Lucky you." He groans rolling his eyes playfully.

"I had my shift last weekend," you spoke taking a glance at the screen again. Your butt was pressed on the edge of the table so you were basically towering him. The big screen in front of both of you changed from Jungkook's room to another patient's room.

"Oh, Y/N. I forgot to tell you" Hoseok mutters gaining your attention fully as you turn your head to look at him, he takes his phone out of his pocket.

"I have tickets to the game, sadly for this weekend. My friend bought it, do you wanna go instead of me?" He asks scrolling on his phone, probably looking for the digital tickets.

"Is it the ice hockey match?" You ask remembering that there is a match that will be happening on the weekend in your area. It came on your 'foryou' page which you didn't pay much attention to being honest. As much as you loved the sport you weren't a fangirl of it that would to to each and every hockey match.

He hummed in agreement focused on his phone, one thing that you both had in common was the interest in sports. Not that you were an expert, no. You don't even know most of the rules but the adrenaline rush to watch men— handsome men fight in the ice hockey rink is not so bad. Not supporting violence or anythign but ragged up men look so hot. Not only in ice hockey to be honest, any sport is fun to watch when you've a person like Hoseok beside you explaining the stuff that is happening in the game.

At once. Hoseok got so interested about ice skating that he infact did invite you once to go with him after learning it himself. And boy! was he good at it. He was fucking amazing. Watching him ice skate freely as if he didn't had a bone in his body didn't felt so self appreciating to you but you admired him, this guy was freaking flexible. The amount of times you fell on ice was uncountable but it was a good experience at the end of the day, earning Hoseok's laughs everytime you fell and your groans in return with a smile, atleast now you know how to ice skate after multiple failures. Thanks to him.

"Who else is going?" You inquire more cause no way in hell Hoseok would go alone to a match. He is very verbal while watching matches, keeping an update on it by speaking about it —mostly making a mental mote for himself—. Like the possibility is very low for him to go alone, not fully zero but very low. You've known him for few years now, through this lovely hospital ofcourse and he is like a social butterfly.

"My friend, if you don't mind." He replies back as a notification is heard on your phone, making it vibrate lightly in your pocket —probably the tickets that he was searching for earlier—. He looks up from his phone and sees you have raised your eyebrows at him, ofcourse saying 'my friend' wouldn't solve the mystery.

"Oh, the guy's name is Taehyung; he's a nice guy. Don't worry." Hoseok smiles answering the unheard question. Okay that smile wasn't genuine, was this his plan? He damn well knew he was working this weekend but still accepted the tickets from this guy —Taehyung?

Or maybe you're just over analyzing the whole situation because he didn't quiet know that you were free this weekend.

"Is this your way of setting me on a date?" You chuckle looking at him with raised eyebrows. This wasn't the first time he was doing this, definitely.

"Maybe?" He shrugs with a sheepish grins.

Caught him.

"You know it won't work" you speak straightening your posture,

"He's a great guy, Y/N. I wouldn't set you with someone who isn't great." Hoseok states looking at you as he stands up now towering you and grabs his stuff shoving it in his pocket. "If not anything, you'll have a new friend." He shrugs and an innocent smile crepts his face making you nod.

You do know few of his friends and so does he which makes you both have mutual friends in return and you trust his instincts that he won't set you off with a creep. Exaggerated maybe but it is the truth. Nobody can be trusted in this world especially men. Ugh.

"Kay', I'll go but this is the last time." You grumble under your breath hoping he won't do this again cause the last time didn't go so well. The guy asked you for a kiss which you denied and thankfully he didn't make a fuss about it.

Hoseok did apologize to you later on behalf of his friend's behaviour but you just shrugged it off knowing he didn't meant it. He pats your back in a 'proud' way. Acting like a cupid, isn't he now?

"I'll text him your number then, don't be late Y/N." Hoseok warns earning a hum from you in return.

Bidding byes with Hoseok, you scan your profile card on the scanner signing out for the day. Your phone chimes with a notification, curiously you take your phone out and see an unknown number.

Unknown Texter: Hey, this side Taehyung. Hoseok's friend, you must be Y/N?

Welp, that was quick.

Having a quick chat with Taehyung about the time and how you'll reach to the venue, you put your phone back in your pocket and make your way towards the elevator to tell your patients that you won't be here for the next two days.

After talking with other patients about your absence, you finally make it to the top floor with a tired sigh. Today was a long day due to all the sessions with the patients and damn, it was tiring as hell. Looking through the little glass rectangle on the door, you saw Jungkook looking out of the window in his room.

Sliding the door quietly you step inside the room, "Hey" you mutter quietly not wanting to scare him out of nowhere. "How was the dinner?" You ask Jungkook who turned around to sit back on the bed while you sat on the chair nearby.

"It was shit. Can y'all make your budget higher for fucks sake?" He grumbles making a disgusted face.

Damn was it that bad?

"Good to know the feedback. I'll talk with the staff but this isn't a hotel, right?" You reply sarcastically with a smile and a little laugh in between. "Why are you here?" He groans glaring at your smiling face.

Creepy doll. He thinks.

"I was here to tell you that I won't be here for the next two days." You mumble looking at him with your typical smiling face. "Aw, I won't be able to see your face for two days? That sucks." He speaks sarcastically in a nonchalant tone making it clear that it didn't matter to him whether you were here or not. That response was a very expected response from his behalf to be honest.

You nod and get up after giving him the meds for the night. "Alright. That's good. Have fun for two days." You smile putting the empty glass of water on the nightstand beside that Jungkook gulped down seconds ago with the medicines.

"Kay'" he nods and runs his hand through his long hair, "Night. Dream about me doc." Jungkook says with a wink, there the drugs taking over him again. He took the blanket and wrapped it around himself to sleep, you nod in return and wish him a quick 'good night' before leaving the room and eventually the hospital alas.

wattpad: Elastic;CH02 (read on wattpad)

A/N

taglist; @seokout @khadeeeeej ‘to be added in the taglist : 🏷️’

Next chapter will be posted on next friday lol. I was editing this chapter and had to re-write it all when I felt like I didn't include Jungkook too much in the conversation. I'll post the sneek-peak for the next chapter on my tumblr and Instagram as usual.

Ty <3

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saintarmand · 4 months

Note

What did you think of Armand’s confrontation with Claudia? I’m not really sold on the idea that Armand displays startling cruelty in that moment — he’s definitely not nice, and it’s obviously a callback to how both Lestat and Louis have physically assaulted Claudia, and how she’s permanently trapped in this cycle of being at the mercy of powerful men who abuse or mistreat her. Like, he’s the coven master, Santiago has previously stated that Armand turns vampires into corpses for almost nothing, but ultimately, he’s the coven master, with the power of life and death over his flock, so his word is law. So when I think about Armand’s actions within “coven logic” it doesn’t really seem like individualized cruelty, more like justifiable annoyance (within coven logic) at the disobedience and insolence of a new, ungrateful coven member. Outside of coven logic, it’s abusive and cruel, but within the warped logic of the coven, it seems pretty ordinary to me. I guess I’m asking because I’ve seen lots of people post about the contrast between Armand’s vulnerability with Louis followed by his immediate cruelty to the coven, but I think it makes perfect sense. When Armand’s with Louis he’s being an individual, when he’s with the coven he’s being the coven master. Like, within Claudia’s story it’s definitely a continuance of the shitty, abusive cycle she’s stuck in, but within Armand’s role as the coven master it just seems like a regular Tuesday. Does that make sense?

yeah i'm not convinced he's singling her out specifically but i'm reserving judgment on that until the end of the season, since there's definitely stuff we're not privy to yet.

i think armand probably thinks he's been letting her (and everyone) get away with too much bc of louis and is now 'correcting' that. he was criticized by the coven throughout the episode for not being present enough and everyone doing shit they're not supposed to. so now he's going back to ruthless coven master mode to try to prevent the mutiny that's brewing.

i think it's also in response to the vulnerability he displayed to louis immediately prior; that shit was scary, and afterwards he probably wanted to feel powerful and in control again. he was also interrupted by the coven in that moment, them getting in the way of his time with louis, so he was pissed off at them all in general and the 'issue' that was reported was claudia so he lashed out at her.

i also don't think the play was written to torment her; i think the coven was just excited to have a 'child actress' and didn't consider how she might feel about it at all. they don't know what it's like for her and didn't think to wonder. the casual cruelty of thoughtlessness. we don't know the extent of armand's involvement with picking that role for her so it's difficult to say if he did it on purpose in any way. but his whole thing is doing whatever is 'required' of him regardless of how painful or humiliating, and that's what he expects from everyone else too. a horrible way to live and a horrible thing to subject others to, but that's armand for you.

insane how he actually acknowledged the cycle of abuse in this episode ("magnus who begat lestat, lestat begat louis, and on and on and on") and then immediately proceeded to go make sure it keeps on cycling. man got SO CLOSE to a major revelation but then it got interrupted i guess.

in TVL, lestat talks about the contrast between the 'lost child' and the 'coven master' in armand and they are two sides of him but they're also intrinsically linked. the vulnerability and the cruelty follow from each other. coven logic IS armand logic. it's all he knows. he's the victim and the perpetrator. he knows both sides intimately, and he believes this is just how it is, how it has to be, so suck it up. "life is cruel, life is violent." for him, it always has been. he skirts the rules sometimes because he can but he clearly also believes they should apply to him too. he almost killed louis for it. he keeps curfew. "know your role, thesp, or join your maker in oblivion", he says to santiago, but isn't he talking to himself too? he was ordered to lead the paris coven nearly 400 years ago and he hasn't been fulfilling his duties lately. he tells louis to think about leaving paris but leaving the coven himself is almost unthinkable to him. almost.

um, i got sidetracked, but basically yeah i think armand's assault of claudia, as cruel and horrifying and abusive and traumatizing it is for her, is him going back to regular tuesday as coven master. it's an emotionally motivated action but not, in my opinion, designed to single her out specifically as a rival for louis's affections or whatever. at least based on the information we have now, but there may be revelations to come in the latter half of the season that change my mind. or i might change my mind because i rewatch the episode for the fifth time or read really good post arguing the opposite lol.

anyway. SAVE CLAUDIA HOLY SHIT

#armand #asks #anon #s #vampyyrit #iwtv

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bookshelf-dust · 2 years

Text

you are not a monster.

eddie munson x gn!reader

word count: 3,875

warnings: swearing, smoking, the events of vol. 2, eddie’s self-doubt and personal issues, trauma, mentions of blood, of death, sorta a fix-it-fic? the boy who lived has in fact not come to die

a/n: i’ve got, like, 240 followers now, and i am very appreciative. i don’t think i’ve ever had that many on any platform in my whole media-usage-world. i am quite the loser, so it is wild that you guys are—at least slightly—entertained by what i write. i love you ughh. this has been in my drafts for a long ass time seeing as i couldn’t seem to finish it, and i’m worried maybe it’s kinda shitty? i do like it for the most part, though. and it got long. oops. but i hope you enjoy it! <333

————

“Ugh, you know I don’t do double VHS.” Steve waved off Robin’s Saturday morning movie suggestion.

“But it’s about doomed love,” Robin tried again, clutching the video tape to her chest.

“Oh, well, that’s relatable.” Steve grabbed a cart full of movies to be restocked, swerving around a rampaging Robin.

“Precisely.”

You flipped around a movie in the new releases section that someone had fumbled with at some point or another, adjusting it so the poster was facing outwards, half-paying attention to the conversation going on between your two friends/coworkers.

“Also, Julie Christie is b-b-bonkers hot in this.” You snorted at Robin’s comment, and she tossed a sly grin your way before continuing on her rant about the most gorgeous creature she’d ever seen.

“We’re in Forest Hills trailer park in east Roane County.” Your neck cracked with the speed at which you turned your head towards the television Robin had just turned on, seeing both her and Steve staring up at the reporter.

“We don’t have a lot of details right now, but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not yet issued the victims name…”

“Holy shit,” Steve said.

You swore you could’ve fainted at that very moment. You felt dizzy, started to sweat, felt your hands shake—so much that you tossed the videos you were holding onto the counter, catching Steve and Robin’s attention.

“Hey, are you okay?” Steve asked, glancing at you and clocking how frazzled you looked.

“Th-that’s where Eddie lives. Forest Hills trailer park.” You hopped up the step to behind the counter, trying to see behind the reporter.

“No. Shit. That’s his trailer. Oh my god, that’s his trailer.”

“Hey, woah, woah, woah, calm down. How can you be sure—”

“Because Steve! I practically live there half the fucking time! I think I know what my boyfriend’s home looks like.” You felt like throwing up. Seriously, you needed some air.

"Okay, well when did you see him last?" Robin started, trying to console you before you erupted into full-blown mass panic mode. She set her hands on your shoulders.

"Last night. I went by the drama room to wish him good luck—you know, because of the campaign—" Robin nodded her head, urging you on. "It was normal, I don't know, I-love-you-see-you-later shit, but then I left to go watch Lucas! I didn't see him after that because he said he had a deal, that he had to go home and get something else f-for—"

"For what? For who?" Robin couldn't handle the suspense.

"For Chrissy Cunningham."

"Chrissy does drugs? Huh, that's interesting." Steve cocked his head, slipped his hand under his chin, contemplating the actions of the cheerleader you spoke of.

"Steve! That is not the focus right now. Besides, everyone has their moments," Robin berated her once jock-worthy friend.

"Right. No, you're right."

You separated yourself from Robin’s clutches, moving out from behind the counter. “I need to check on Wayne.”

“Wayne?” Steve questioned, looking at Robin who watched you disappear around the corner.

“Eddie’s uncle, Harrington. Keep up.” Robin clapped her hands. “She’s been with the boy for, like, ever.” Her focused shifted though, as Dustin and Max appeared, the former hurling himself over the countertop.

You collected your things from the staff room, ignoring the bickering from the other side of the door. Wayne was home, obviously, it was day time, but if the cops were there, no way was he gonna answer the phone. Maybe you should’ve gone to hunt for your boyfriend right away, but you couldn’t bear to not check on the boy’s uncle, who was probably just in the dark as you were—if not more.

It took you a little longer to get going, hands shaking so much that you dropped your keys, and then remembered to clock out. You scribbled an excuse on a sticky note in case Keith questioned your early departure on the schedule when he came in on Monday.

Pushing the green painted wood open, you slammed into Steve, who’d just finished helping a young woman, and put his hands out to steady you.

You turned your head, taking in Max, Dustin and Robin chatting wildly on three separate phones, all pacing equally. “What are they doing?” You asked, straightening Steve’s vest where you’d messed it up.

He mumbled something about Eddie’s friends when Max waved to get your attention, slamming the receiver down. “Do you know a ‘Reefer Rick’?”

The question was so odd, coming from her, that you shook your head before answering. “Yeah, Eddie’s supplier. Why?”

“Do you know where he lives? We’re trying to find Eddie.”

“Uh,” you rubbed your forehead, recalling the couple times Eddie had needed to stock up and you’d been with him. “Out by Lovers Lake.”

Dustin slammed his phone down at this new information, the group now frantic with chatter about your boyfriend’s whereabouts. You started toward the door, stressed and suddenly sweaty, when Dustin flew out from behind the counter, stopping you.

“Where are you going? Don’t you want to come look for your significant other?”

“Of course I do, Dustin. But I’m going to check on Eddie’s uncle. I don’t like the idea of him being left in the dark during all this. It isn’t fair.”

Dustin lifted his hat from his head, readjusting it and then setting it right back down.

“Okay.” He let out a breath that sounded like he’d been holding it in for a while. “Well what if he’s there? At Rick’s? Can you meet us there after your excursion? I don’t feel right looking for him without you.”

“Yeah, Dustin.” He gave you a hopeful high five, your palm stinging as you pushed your way out of the door.

————

Pulling into Forest Hills, your hands started to shake. What if they wouldn’t let you in?

You stopped beside the cop monitoring the entrance, rolling down your window.

“I’m sorry, miss. I can’t let you in. We’ve got an active crime scene on our hands.” Shit.

You took a deep breath, trying to keep yourself from stumbling over your words. “I apologize, officer. It’s just that I have a family member that lives here, and I’d really like to check on him. Just for a moment. I’m worried sick.”

The officer straightened from where he’d been level with your window, placing his hands on his hips. He looked around, looked back at you, looked up again. His resolve was slipping.

“Okay. I understand. But you have to be quick, okay? There’s a lot going on that I don’t want you getting caught up in.”

“Thank you officer, really.”

You cranked the handle, rolling up the glass panel and pulled off, trying to find somewhere to stop considering your boyfriend’s home was the crime scene. Eyes scanning for Wayne, you found purchase.

He was sat up against the geometric dome that was meant to be the designated play ground area. Except all the kids in the park had grown up at this point, so now everyone sat there to sulk or smoke.

The slam of your car door caught his attention, and he stood on seeing you, moving in your direction. He met you halfway, holding his arms out. That’s how you knew he was tired. Scared. Confused.

Wayne Munson was no cuddle-bug, but he had no aversion to hugs if he really knew you. But letting you see this much emotion right off the bat, letting you in, that’s how you knew he was hurting. This was his boy they were talking about. Where was his boy?

He was warm from being outside, and smelled of cigarettes. You pretended not to see the tear tracks left in the thin layer of dust on his cheeks. He didn’t let go for a long time.

“Have you seen him? Heard from him?”

You sniffled. “No. Not since last night. I saw him before Hellfire, but that’s all.”

Wayne wiped a hand down his face. “Did he seem alright?”

“More than. You know they were supposed to finish th—”

“The campaign. Yeah. How could I not know?” He smiled, and you could tell he was seeing Eddie hunched over the kitchen counter, pencil in his mouth.

He briefly filled you in. “They’re saying he did this. Killed that girl. But I know Eddie. He’s my boy and he didn’t do it. He couldn’t.”

“I know he didn’t. I’m sorry you had to find her. I’m going to look for him, okay? I probably shouldn’t tell you that, but I figured you needed to know. If I get to him, I’ll come tell you, okay? I’m so sorry, Wayne.”

Another hug. More reassurance on your part, on his, telling you that you couldn’t have known. You asked if he needed anything, but he said the cops were supposed to figure out where to put him soon. And that was it. You left him there, and sobbed in the car knowing how sick he was over his boy. Knowing what’d he’d seen, how frightened he was.

————

“Eddie! It’s me! It’s Dustin!”

The young boy tried so hard to get his older friend to hear him, to calm down. But that was kind of impossible given the situation. He tried to understand.

“You won’t believe me.” Eddie’s voice was broken, his eyes glassy, his fingers going numb from his grip on the broken bottle.

“Try us.” Max knew what it felt like to be that confused. To be that uneasy. But he spilled his guts, and now the group of unlikely friends sat with him.

The slam of a car door made Eddie jump, made Dustin shoot up from his spot on the floor. Dustin peeked over the window sill, spying you looking a little lost at where they might be, so he hurried outside, much to the dismay of everyone else, scaring the shit out of you, but making you hopeful nonetheless.

“Any luck?” You whispered, not quite grasping his sudden appearance from the boathouse.

“Yeah! Yeah. He’s in there. And he’s scared shitless, but he’s okay.”

“Really?” Your eyes were glazing over and there was nothing you could do about it. He was alright.

“Really.” And he took your hand, leading you back and gently pushing the door the rest of the way open. He let you in first, lingering behind.

You moved in, eyes scanning for him, first roving over Steve, Max, Robin. But there he was. Up against the wall, hands in his hair. He looked up at you, and visibly softened, but sunk in on himself nonetheless.

“Baby.”

“Eddie.” You dropped your bag, not giving him time to stand, moving to meet him on the floor.

Your knees met chilly concrete, and you went to reach out for him, but you stopped yourself, noticing how broken he looked. “Eddie? Is this okay? If I touch you?”

“Y-yeah.” He nodded as he said it, eyes moving quickly back and forth between yours. To Eddie, even though there were four other people in the room, it felt like everything else faded away the second you walked in. You came for him. You’d believe him. He knew you would.

You opened your arms, and he fell into them, arms going around your back, head falling to your chest. He buried his face against you, squeezed you so hard it hurt, but fuck if you were going to tell him to let up.

You ran your hand soothingly over his head, gently untangling curls without the intention of doing so. Glancing up, you met Dustin’s eyes, and he gave you a small smile. “Thank you,” he mouthed. Dustin wanted to thank you for putting up with him, for letting him steal your boyfriend, for being so kind, for calming Eddie down. For everything.

“I went to see Wayne, Eddie,” you told him, moving your hand to rub his back. The boy perked up at that, looking at you with fear all over his face considering what he’d done.

“I-is he…is he m-mad at me?” He looked so young, so fragile.

“No, he’s not mad at you, sweetheart. He’s just worried. Scared. Wants his boy safe.”

Eddie winced, but pulled away from you anyhow. You brushed his bangs away from his eyes, straightened his vest, buttoned a chest pocket. “Do you think you could tell me what happened, maybe? You don’t have to now, really you don’t. But whatever it is, I believe you, okay?”

He hummed in reply, and relayed the story again for you, even if it hurt, and the rest of them tried to catch you up on their theory.

What you didn’t see was Robin turning to Steve, eyes softening at the way you and Eddie interacted with one another. How that scared look in your eye that had been there at the store was gone, just from seeing him. How Eddie’s hands had stopped shaking at your presence. How he wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable with you, and how much you cared for him.

But he made it so easy for you.

————

“Shit! Shit!” You stumbled over your own feet, hopping over ever root and vine you met in your path, trying not to make your presence known.

You’d been with Steve, Robin, and Nancy. The four of you were meant to go to Creel House while Eddie and Dustin distracted those fucking bats.

But you had this feeling. This sick, sick feeling.

It was eating you alive. It was something Eddie sad at Skull Rock. Something about running. And then right before you parted ways. When he’d kissed your head and muttered in Steve’s direction, “Trust me. We are no heroes.”

And standing there with your friends, trying to save the world, you ran. Ran for Eddie’s sake. Because he was going to do something. You just knew it. Some sacrificial lamb shit.

And it hurts, the running. Your legs are burning. It’s the kind of running you haven’t done since you were a kid. The desperate kind. But this time it’s not in order to beat a friend to the finish line, to win a competition. It’s to get to your boyfriend. Because you’re afraid he’s going to die.

And you can hear them. The bats. Their horrid screams, the leathery and wet rasp of wings, of tails thrashing in their rage, their determination to get to the source of that noise. The noise that had just quit.

You’d just caught the end of Eddie’s playing, and barely had time to think about how he’d finished it. He’d been determined to finish that fucking song and it’d been two weeks.

But none of that mattered.

Because you could see the trailer now, and it hadn’t occurred to you that maybe you wouldn’t be able to get in. That was the point of their reinforcements, anyways.

You stumbled up the concrete stairs, reaching for the door handle, trying to ignore the ever increasing sound of the bats, the sounds of them closing in. You didn’t dare glance over your shoulder, knowing they’d be right there.

Wrenching open the door, metal screeching, you almost smacked into Eddie. He’d been holding onto the sheets, but he had that look in his eye. The decisive one. And then he heard you clattering in and he practically tumbled free from his hold on the fabric.

“What the hell are you doing here?” You looked up seeing Dustin, who looked equally as frightened and desperate for Eddie to get to the other side.

“Whatever it is that you’re thinking, stop it. Go. Now. Climb.”

Eddie looked at you. Really looked at you. A look that said I need to do this. I need it. “You first.” He backed away, beckoning you forward.

“No.”

“No?”

“You go. Now.”

“Baby, please go. I’m begging you. If I go now, I can buy more time. I know it.”

Eddie looked desperate. He needed this. Needed to know he was good for something. He’d been such a failure. And he could do this. He could be good.

“No! Fucking go, Eddie! Now!”

He blinked at you, not expecting the change he found in your voice. He’d never heard you sound like that before. So angry. So angry at him.

So he let up, reaching and pulling himself towards Dustin. Towards home.

You felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. And then you tried to get yourself up, calming considering in the time that you’d stood there, the noise had stopped—the bats had stopped. Your friends had done their job.

You pulled and it hurt, but you did it anyways.

————

It had been three days since Eddie almost sacrificed himself and you’d been avoiding him ever since. He knew why you hadn’t come to see him, and he was upset at himself for hurting you, for not realizing you could read him so well. But it felt like that was the only way to prove himself.

And now he was living in a fucking tent in the Wheeler’s basement, supposedly like some girl with superpowers had.

The boy was flipping through one of Mike’s old X-Men comics when the sheet providing him refuge was torn back. Dustin appeared, making Eddie jump. “Jesus Christ!”

“Here.” Dustin threw a hand radio at him and then vanished again. It took him a minute before he realized you had one too.

A few guesses later on what channel he needed, he found you.

“Hey, I know you can hear me, baby. I know you’re mad.”

You reached for radio where it resided under your bed, stretching so that you didn’t have to actually get up, the chill of hardwoods meeting your fingers.

As much as you wanted to pretend you couldn’t hear shit, you wanted to talk to him. Something was really wrong if he thought he’d needed to do that. And maybe it was wrong of you to be upset, but you loved him. He didn’t need to complete some grand act of service to be redeemed, he was already your hero.

“Afternoon, Munson.”

Eddie slumped down inside his tent, smacking his head on the wall. He really was too lanky to be living in there.

“Son of a bitch!” He rubbed his hand, skull throbbing from the impact. “Hey, honey, please come see me. I wanna talk to you. Please.”

“Yeah. Yeah, fine. Unlock the basement door, okay?”

————

You sat against the support beam at the bottom of the stairs, watching Eddie tie up the sheet so it’d quit falling down and he could see you properly.

Your lower back started to ache and he noticed, passing you a smushed pillow. Silence filled the hair until you decided to breach the surface. “What were you gonna do, Eddie?”

He scrubbed his hands over his face, fingers bare of their usual silver, as the rings sat in a pile of his other shit, metal accoutrements proving incredibly uncomfortable to sleep in when living on the floor.

“Buy more time. I thought that if I could get the bats to back off, that they would’ve had the chance to kill Vecna. That Dustin could get home okay. I don’t know. And don’t give me that look.”

“I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. I could’ve done it. I swear. I just wanted to be good for something for once in my fucking life. Prove that I’m not this—this thing. This nuisance. This monster.”

“I guess I thought I could be the hero for once.”

You moved towards him, sitting on your knees and taking his hands into yours. He wouldn’t look at you, eyes darting around the basement walls, the old furniture indented from years of bodies molding the cushions.

“I understand. But I wish you didn’t feel that way. I wish I could fix it. I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you sooner. I was just upset because I had this feeling, Eddie. I thought you were going to die.”

“But, Edward Munson, you are not a monster. You aren’t a nuisance. Anyone that’s ever thought that is a piece of shit and you know that”

You put your hand on his cheek and he blinked. Hard.

“Eddie, look at me, please.”

The boy turned to you, looking just as young and fragile as he had in the boathouse. He looked disappointed in himself.

“You’re my hero.”

Eddie bit the inside of his lip so hard he tasted blood, forcing himself not to cry.

“Your Gareth’s hero. Mike and Lucas’ hero. Eddie, your Dustin’s hero. But, sweetheart, you didn’t have to save the world to prove yourself. You’re everything to me. To your friends. To Wayne.”

That was the tipping point. Uncle Wayne. And the tears slipped out, silent and calmly, easily sliding down his finally clean cheeks.

“R-really? I’m your hero?” Eddie’s hands were shaking.

“Yeah! Of course you’re my hero, Eddie. You’re such a badass, you know.” A grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. “You are not a monster. I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life telling you that if you’d like. I’d do anything for you.”

“You didn’t need to save the world by fighting off demo-bats, Ed. You’ve saved it by being you. By shepherding those little sheepies. Shit, you’re so good, Eddie. You’re golden.”

Eddie Munson had been waiting his whole life for those words. For someone to reassure him that he wasn’t this sick creature. This freak. And he was your hero. That was better than anything in the whole world to him.

————

Wayne rested against the cool brick that constructed Hawkins High School. His current place of refuge post-earthquake. Pulling his flannel closer his chest to keep out the wind, he reached in his pockets for a lighter and a pack of Marlboros.

He didn’t look up at the sound of gravel crunching around him, used to the noise of other people fluttering around him.

“Any chance you’d lend me one of those?”

Wayne’s hands froze from where they’d been peeling the plastic wrap off of the new cardboard box. He knew that voice. But he thought it was a trick. He looked up anyways.

And there, standing in this alleyway, somewhere he definitely shouldn’t be, was his boy. Eddie’s hands were in his pockets, a bandana over his forehead.

He smiled that award-winning smile, the one he’d used on Wayne as a kid when he wanted pancakes or temporary tattoos from the coin machine at the grocery store.

Eddie made his way over to his uncle, to—let’s face it—his dad. Wayne enveloped the boy in his arms, squeezing way too tight, but Eddie wasn’t going to complain. “My boy.”

Eddie rested his head on his uncle’s shoulder, breathing in that familiar scent that never seemed to go away, of cigarettes and the came cologne he’d been wearing since Eddie was a toddler. That smell he’d welcome after a rough day at school, after he’d done well on a science project.

“I never gave up. I never stopped looking. I knew you didn’t do it. Not my boy.”

“Thanks, uncle Wayne. For everything. I love you.”

“I love you too, kiddo.”

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

#eddie munson #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x gn!reader #stranger things fic #wayne munson #dustin henderson #robin buckley #eddie munson x you #steve harrington #eddie munson comfort #eddie munson angst #max mayfield #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x gender neutral reader #eddie munson fix it fic #savannah’s fics

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tenderlywicked · 1 year

Text

Good Omens fanfiction rec list

Is it time for me to start another rec list? Hell yeah!

NEW All Lines Are Open by FeralTuxedo, TawnyOwl95

Summary:

Anthony Crowley, bored host of a trite call-in radio show on Tadfield FM, has very few pleasures in life beyond annoying his long-suffering producer Aziraphale. When a caller reports suspicious activity at the abandoned Tadfield Manor, Crowley is determined to investigate, dragging Aziraphale along. Both of them are going to get more than they bargained for.

A local radio AU

NEW And the Devil Makes Three by stereobone

Summary:

"Are you…" Crowley holds the word on his tongue a moment. "…jealous of Satan?"

"Now that would be just ridiculous," Aziraphale says.

But he doesn't say no.

Be Ye Therefore Merciful by AmberDiceless

Summary:

(2005) Crowley does something utterly unexpected, and Aziraphale must face an opponent who cannot be thwarted. Hints of pre-A/C.

Chemistry by Twilightcitysky

Summary:

Aziraphale and Crowley have been living among humans for 6000 years, but there have always been parts of the human experience they've chosen to avoid (like allergies, head colds, and having to use the loo).

They've also never let hormones get in the way of making rational decisions, because they didn't have any hormones to speak of.

That's all about to change.

Connectivity Issues by maniacalmole

Summary:

One minute and twenty-three seconds before the whole mess began, Aziraphale received a message.

"Heaven and Earth are currently experiencing connectivity issues.

Miracles may be temporarily unable to function.

We appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this matter."

Aziraphale instantly got a headache.

Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach by Nnm

Summary:

As soon as Aubrey Thyme, psychotherapist, had opened her office door and seen her new client, Anthony J. Crowley, sitting in her waiting area, she was observing and assessing him. At first glance, she paid attention to the following:

--His clothing was expensive and stylish;

--He wore very strange but noticeable cologne;

--His relationship to the seat he occupied could only, very loosely, be described as “sitting;”

--He looked angry;

--He was wearing sunglasses.

What Aubrey Thyme, a professional, thought, upon first seeing her new client was: you’re going to be a fun one, aren’t you?

Factory Settings by Anonymous

Summary:

Crowley gets reinstated as an angel.

First Thing In The Morning by FeralTuxedo

Summary:

Aziraphale Fell, erstwhile nerd, now successful fantasy author, is signing books at this year’s Heaven and Earth convention when he spots a red-headed man in the crowd. Someone he hasn’t quite been able to forget since his school days. And as luck would have it, Anthony Crowley, former troublemaker, now responsible adult, seems keen to reconnect.

Gently, gently by what_a_writer_wields

Summary:

Heaven is cold and lonely. Hell is filthy and crowded. Aziraphale badly needs to be touched; Crowley needs fresh air, and light, and space. They can’t seem to connect on days after they’ve returned from their respective head offices.

NEW If Not Now, When by ineffablefool

Summary:

Anthony Crowley has learned by now that anything that makes him happy will be temporary at best. His quietly desperate routine is challenged when he happens to strike up a conversation with a customer at work, and he starts realizing three things, in this order: 1. oh huh this Aziraphale guy is actually interesting; 2. he can't stop embarrassing himself by accidentally flirting with him; and 3. oh no this Aziraphale guy is actually extremely attractive what do I do.

NEW I'm the treasure baby, I'm the prize by stereobone

Summary:

"Are you working for Mrs. Sandwich?" Nina asks.

"No," Crowley says. "Well, yes. Well, define 'working'."

Or, Crowley is very good at faking sex work, as it turns out.

Improvement Day by Twilightcitysky

Summary:

The time has come for Improvement Day, Heaven's decennial work retreat. The angels posted to Earth are relieved of their terrestrial assignments and join middle management in attempting to improve organizational operations right across the board. Typical activities include name games, trust falls, client-facing skill role play, and miracle budget workshops. It's loathed by all the Earth operatives- but particularly by Aziraphale, who always finds himself unable to fit in (no matter how many icebreakers there are).

This year, an angel no one quite remembers seeing before is on a mission to befriend Aziraphale, but it seems that the odds are against him. He has to contend with a networking-obsessed Gabriel and an unabashedly flirtatious colleague; Michael thinks he might be the next big thing in parsimonious celestial energy handling; and Sandalphon is sure he's seen him somewhere before. Meanwhile, Aziraphale's angry with him for showing up, the gold paint on his cheeks is flaking, losing a contact lens would mean a quick discorporation at the hands of four dozen angels, and isn't this just the story of Crowley's life?

The Injury Of Finally Knowing You by unpack_my_heart_with_words (WIP)

Summary:

Once in heaven, the angels do what they always do— a kindness.

The only blessing is that without his memories,

Aziraphale has no idea what he has lost.

Invoke by AlatusNora

Summary:

“Angel, can you stand?” Aziraphale blinked, but the world didn’t want to stick together. “Aziraphale, can you stand?”

He frowned. Confused. “Cro– Crowley?”

The demon shushed him with a hiss. “We need to go.”

Go? He hesitated, wavering. “Where?” He didn’t want to move.

But Crowley was insistent, tugging at his arm. “We’re going to get you home, promise.”

————————

In which Aziraphale is kidnapped, and Crowley mounts a one demon rescue mission to see his angel safely home.

The Loneli(ness) of a Wild Loch by Kedreeva

Summary:

Crowley has long enjoyed his peaceful, human life as the owner of a local pub on the shore of the Loch Ness. The only problem is that it's all a lie, and Aziraphale - the new cryptozoologist in town - has come to find the truth.

A Lot of Love and a Little Bit Dumb by LollipopCop

Summary:

Crowley came right out with it. “I want to love you so badly,” he confessed, his voice weak. “I really wish I could,” he said earnestly, his chest aching.

Aziraphale’s face fell into utter anguish and he gasped, a hand flying to his chest. “Oh, Crowley,” he said sorrowfully. “My dear, after 6,000 years, how can you be this stupid?”

Crowley stared at him, dumbfounded. That...was unexpected.

Crowley feels horribly guilty because he believes that he, as a demon, is incapable of loving Aziraphale back. At least one of them has an ounce of common sense...

Never Have I Ever (Been Myself) by FeralTuxedo

Summary:

Aziraphale Fell, BAFTA-winning actor of stage and screen, is bored. Bored of playing middle-aged divorcees in dull BBC dramas. Bored of answering the same questions on chat shows and breakfast television. Bored of keeping the real him hidden away.

So when the opportunity presents itself to collaborate with up-and-coming rock band Witching Hour, he takes it, against his own common sense and the condescending advice of his agent. Witching Hour’s mysterious guitarist Crowley, flame-haired, moody, and a good fifteen years his junior, certainly seems worth the risk.

A human actor/rock star AU.

Notoriety by RC_McLachlan

Summary:

As it turns out, Aziraphale has a bit of a reputation in Heaven.

"I-I beg your pardon? The Demon Tempter?"

Zadkiel gives an enthusiastic nod and leans forward. "I didn't come up with the name, but you have to admit it's rather clever! Because, you know. It's usually demons doing the tempting, but this time it's you! Tempting demons. Well, one demon."

"I don't—tempt." He doesn't technically possess a trachea at the moment, but it feels as though he does. One with something lodged rather firmly in it. "I've never—"

"You know what I mean." They wave their hands between the two of them in some vague gesture he doesn't understand. "You make the demon think you're on his side, that you love him back, and then BAM! You pull the rug out from under him, leaving him utterly devastated. And because he never learns, it just keeps happening over and over! It's monstrously funny. Wherever did you get the idea?"

One Night In Bangor (And the World's Your Oyster) by Atalan

Summary:

"All right, I know I'm going to regret asking this," Aziraphale says. "What exactly does this wager entail?"

Crowley grins like the cat that not only got the cream but has absconded with the entire cow. He grabs the bottle and swigs straight from it despite Aziraphale's tut of disapproval.

"The pot goes to whichever demon can get an angel into bed by the end of the evening."

AKA The Fic That Tumblr Made Me Write. Heaven and Hell share a corporate party once per millennium. This time someone's had the bright idea of issuing a challenge to the demons of Hell. Crowley has no intention of missing the opportunity; Aziraphale's just enough of a bastard to make him work for it.

Or Be Nice by charlottemadison

Summary:

Crowley and Aziraphale are neighbours. And...it does not go at all well, until it does.

A human AU in which Aziraphale is a bookseller, Crowley is a drummer, and they are both petty disasters in the worst/best way.

+++

“So what’s your deal?”

“My-my-my deal?” Aziraphale stammered. “I’m a bookseller, is my deal.”

“Oh,” Crowley replied, sounding as uninterested as it was possible to sound.

“It’s just, I couldn’t help overhearing, and --” Aziraphale swallowed hard. “You really are an accomplished musician. But I thought -- for after 11PM -- perhaps we could reach some arrangement?”

“Arrangement?”

Aziraphale felt his his smile turning forced. “Such as, perhaps, playing the drums *before* eleven? Instead of after?”

Crowley stared blankly at him. In fact he stared for so long that Aziraphale briefly wondered if he'd lapsed into ancient Greek again, which he was known to do in bad dreams or during panic attacks.

The Pillow Fort by Kalimyre

Summary:

Chronically touch-starved, Crowley decides to try one of those "professional cuddling" places. Aziraphale volunteers there for reasons of his own. Crowley gets attached far too quickly, but it's not as one-sided as he thinks.

A prize-winning philodendron by Elsajeni

Summary:

Crowley comes back three days later with a larger pot, a bright leafy vine spilling from it. “Here,” he says, brandishing the pot at Aziraphale. “It’s unkillable.”

“You mean you’ve done something to it,” Aziraphale accuses, inspecting the plant. It doesn’t seem obviously miracled, but...

“No,” Crowley says in a tone of enormous patience, “I mean it’s a philodendron.”

Put Out The Fire by Aleakim

Summary:

Aziraphale finds himself in a very awkward position as some sort of spell makes everyone merely glancing in his direction instantly fall deeply and desperately in love with him.

Absolutely everyone.

Well, apart from Crowley, that is.

And while both angel and demon search for a solution to this fairly unique problem, Crowley can’t help wondering whether Aziraphale might finally figure out some things he kept hidden for so very long.

Reflect What You Are by OwenAnnwn

Summary:

It's a year after the almost-apocalypse. Aziraphale makes Crowley go see a therapist.

“Have you been having any issues in particular?”

“Issues? Such as?”

“You tell me.” She could tell he had something on the tip of his tongue.

Crowley sat for a second, then blurted out, “He thinks I’ve been sleeping too much. He’s worried.”

The Rose and the Serpent by Atalan

Summary:

AU, retelling of “Beauty and the Beast”. Quite honestly, sending Aziraphale off into the forest to be held hostage by a giant snake in a cursed castle isn’t even the worst thing Gabriel’s ever done to him, and at least it means a change of scene. But then neither the snake nor the castle turn out to be quite what he’s expecting…

Rough Enough for Love by Nekhen

Summary:

“So, let me get this straight,” Crowley said, dragging that r a little for best effect. “Your librarian asks for an escort, and the first person you think of is me?”

When tabloid reporter Anthony Crowley gets roped into posing as the loving partner of their intern’s fussy librarian friend for an infernal wedding in the country, he has an inkling that he won’t come out of that little spot of bother unscathed. There is more to Aziraphale than meets the eye, and soon Crowley will discover that relationships are not for the faint of heart.

NEW Seamstress of Soho by GayDemonicDisaster (scrapheapchallenge)

Summary:

When Mrs. Sandwich spots a suspicious new guy apparently lurking on her turf, the misunderstanding leads to an unlikely friendship between the ‘seamstress’ and a demon.

Stay Here by maniacalmole

Summary:

Aziraphale gives up his shop for a good cause, but that means he needs somewhere to temporarily stay. And there's really only one person he could ask to store his most treasured possessions. Temporarily, of course.

Stitch Me Up by Get_Wrexed (unfinished, but good as it is)

Summary:

Dr. Aziraphale Fell is newly appointed as the Chief of the A&E (ER) at Celestial Harmonies Hospital in Lambeth, London. The crowd is a much different one than the patients that gathered at his previous place of work in the South Downs- and his coworkers are perhaps the oddest of all. Emergency physician Gabriel Winger seems to think Dr. Fell has robbed him of a position that was rightfully his. Beatrix Bealz, the trauma surgeon on call, doesn't look or act like a surgeon at all. And then there's that strange Head Nurse Crowley. So stand-offish with his coworkers. So sweet with the patients. A mystery, all together. Aziraphale can't help but want to solve that mystery- what physician can resist one?

Talk About It by hope_in_the_dark

Summary:

Aziraphale and Crowley have been best friends for sixteen years. Crowley's been in love with Aziraphale for almost that long. When Aziraphale tells his family that he'll be bringing his boyfriend to his step-brother's wedding, things get a bit complicated.

A Fake Dating AU.

Time After Time by iamtheenemy (Steph)

Summary:

“Ha!” Crowley said, pointing one of those long index fingers in Aziraphale’s face. “That wasn’t yesterday! That was Monday!”

It's the day after Crowley and Aziraphale thwarted their respective home offices and saved the world - and it keeps being that day again and again and again.

NEW Trial & error by fellshish

Summary:

The Metatron brings in the demon Crowley to stand trial in Heaven. For tempting an angel. Uhhhh. Awkward.

Vita Nova by AMidnightDreary

Summary:

“Angel, bloody hell. Hi. You doing okay? Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

It was quiet for a few seconds.

“I’m sorry,” Aziraphale said then, still polite, but a bit perplexed. “Who is this?”

Crowley, upon finding that Aziraphale does not remember him, is very much Not Okay with the changes Adam made after the Apocalypse That Wasn't. He can't do anything but try and make the best out of it, though.

Would I Lie to You? by FeralTuxedo, TawnyOwl95

Summary:

Anthony Crowley and Aziraphale Fell are rival team captains on popular comedy panel show Don't Lie To Me, where they exchange insults and banter to an audience of millions. But behind the scenes, a whole other game of truth and lies is being played.

A comedy panel show AU

Yes and Please and Thank You by WyvernQuill

Summary:

"Go to alpha centauri, for all I care! Go now, this very instant, and never return, do you hear me, Crowley? Never!"

Due to Crowley's firm conviction that "he need never know", Aziraphale has, for all the time they've known each other, been blissfully unaware of the obedience curse Crowley's been looping holes around since 4004 BC.

You can't really blame him, is the point. Aziraphale had no idea what his unthinking words might do, and is already planning to apologise profusely at dinner...

...which might get a little tricky, seeing as Crowley has just been sighted in the vicinity of Pluto, and has concrete orders to never show his face on earth.

Ever.

Again.

You're a dream, darling by Somedrunkpirate

Summary:

There are two very important facts:

1) Aziraphale is dead.

2) None of this is real.

-----

Crowley’s throat tightens. “My angel,” he says. “My best friend. He’s dead, you know.”

Aziraphale blinks and then blood drains from his face. “No, no. Crowley. No. I’m here. I’m right in front of you.”

“I know,” Crowley says. “Isn’t it amazing, what a dream can do?”

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens fanfiction #good omens season 2 #aziraphale #crowley #ineffable husbands #go2

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