#i’m actually happy with my top posts this year awe

[warmsol]

2023 Tumblr Top 10

1. 1,264 notes - Mar 23 2023

2. 1,192 notes - Oct 2 2023

3. 1,126 notes - Apr 23 2023

4. 1,016 notes - May 12 2023

5. 1,005 notes - May 10 2023

6. 934 notes - Mar 29 2023

7. 848 notes - Apr 12 2023

8. 828 notes - Sep 22 2023

9. 821 notes - Mar 29 2023

10. 786 notes - Sep 20 2023

top ten more like tumblr wrapped 🫶🏼 thanks for the love this year guys

[hella1975]

forever wishing sam fender would unrelease dead boys

[underoossss]

Head over Heels - S.H

masterlist

pairing: steve harrington x grumpy!f!reader

summary: Steve falls for Robin’s grumpy friend, and he falls hard.

warnings: family problems mention, trust issues, angst, hurt/comfort, no spoilers, (there’s fluff I promise!!!)

grumpy x sunshine trope

an: I know this is the first Steve fic I’ve posted IN FOREVER and I’m sorry! my writer’s block, personal problems, work and health, have all contributed to how long it took me to finish this. But I promise to make it worth your while, this is the same length as babe baby beautiful and I hope it makes you happy. I dedicate this to all my grumpy beloveds out there, who, like me. don’t relate 100% to the sunshine tropes bc sometimes life just freaking sucks. I poured my heart out with this one so, I hope this comforts you and that you like it! Please let me know. 💘

——-

The September breeze pushes Steve’s hair back as he makes his way to the Hawkin’s start-of-autumn fair, a new thing the town is trying out to make the citizens feel more upbeat after all the incidents they’ve experienced. His friends trail after him, Mike and Lucas arguing over something he doesn’t understand, Max listening to Dusting complain about some prank the soccer team played on the Hellfire Club and Robin walking by his side. Everyone shouts food orders over their shoulder, running towards the picnic tables in search for an empty one, and leaving Steve and Robin alone.

His friend is rambling by his side, and Steve nods along to what she’s telling him. She has a new friend this year, met her at homeroom when she was introduced as a new student. A senior like Robin, she got along with her just fine. I talk a lot and she doesn’t, it’s a good fit, I think she really needed a friend that day, Robin says, and now she’s friends with all of us. Steve hums in understanding, switching schools in senior year sounds awful, and he wonders why you chose to do that. He wouldn’t, unless it was for something serious.

“Anyway here she comes!” Robin says excitedly, waving you over. “I can’t believe she actually came, she’s not comfortable with strangers and she doesn’t know you. I thought she’d sit this one out.”

Steve follows Robin’s line of sight and spots you walking towards them in the distance. Baby blue sweater, light washed jeans and black high-top converse, make you stand out from the orange foliage around you. Your face is serious as you get closer, only breaking into a small smile when you wave at Robin and accept her hug. When you step back your face morphs back to neutrality, a slight furrow to your brow as you hide your hands in your back pockets.

Robin says your name and motions towards Steve. “This is Steve, the friend I told you about.” She explains, “He’s our chauffeur, monster-fighter and designated babysitter.”

Steve furrows his brows and looks sideways at Robin before he looks at you and grins. “Hi, nice to meet you.” He offers his hand and you give it one quick shake before pulling back and looking away. Steve wasn’t expecting that reaction, but he guesses what Robin said is true, you don’t like strangers.

“We’re going to get Apple fritters! They have massive ones here and they serve them with big scoops of ice cream.” Robin tells you, glancing down the line as it moves. There are only three people left to order, so the three of you step into line. “Let me check if they’re still doing the ice cream on top.”

With that, Steve is left to wait next to you until Robin is back. You shift from one leg to another, almost nervously and Steve glances at you. Your eyes meet his and then look away, not scared or nervous, just looking away like you can’t be bothered to make conversation with him. Is he intimidating? Steve asks himself or are you just a massive buzzkill that can’t even comment on the weather.

Steve tries again, scratching his cheek. “So, uh, you’re in senior year like Robin?”

You nod, looking down at your feet before looking at him. “Yeah, we have a lot of classes together. I know the guys over there as well.” Your hand lifts to point at Eddie, who’s just arrived at the table, and the kids talking around him.

Huh, so you do speak, Steve notes, but only when prompted. “Cool.” He nods, looking at your face and noticing the way you look away immediately. “So why did you move to Hawkins all of a sudden? I mean senior year, that’s gotta be rough.”

You press your lips together, looking uncomfortable by the question. Steve has the faint idea that he asked the wrong thing. “I should go say hi to everyone.” You say after an awkward cough. “If there’s ice cream can you tell Robin I’m good with cookie dough?”

Steve wordlessly takes the 5 bucks you hand him and sees you rush away from him. In the distance he can see everyone’s faces light up when they spot you, beckoning you over with excited waves, and your reluctant barely there smile as you greet them and sit down. Steve doesn’t get it; he is half mortified and half confused when Robin comes back. How is it that everyone is your friend when you’re so closed off and Steve doesn’t want to say it but… grumpy.

“Are you sure your friend wants to be here?” Steve asks Robin, looking over at you again. You’re sitting with your elbows leaning on the table, listening to everyone talk around you, neutral expression on your face. Bored, even.

“Of course, she does.” Robin is quick to say. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, she doesn’t look too thrilled to be talking to you.” Steve shrugs.

“You clearly don’t know her.” Robin shakes her head. “What did you do?”

“I only asked her about her move to Hawkins.” Steve holds his hands up defensively, then adds. “She said she likes cookie dough ice cream.”  

They pause their conversation to order the fritters and pay, then continue talking while they wait.

“Okay, you shouldn’t have asked that. First of all.” Robin rolls her eyes, “Second of all, she’s friends with all of us.”

Steve huffs in disbelief. “Oh so she likes you? That’s her I like you face.”

“She adores us, you… not really but that’s cause she doesn’t know you.” Robin nods with certainty, then worries her bottom lip. “The move question is just tricky for her.”

Steve moves to say something when their order is called, and she go back to the booth to take the trays laid out in front of them. There are eight apple fritters with ice cream they have to juggle back to the table but manage to fit in their hands and arms.

“Look Steve.” Robin says seriously, lowering her voice after a sigh.” She slows her pace, so they take longer to get back to the table. “She has been through a rough time; I won’t tell you what because it took her a long time to trust me enough to open up.”

“Okay…” Steve nods, going over her words and feeling a soft pang of guilt. He wouldn’t have judged you so harshly if he knew you were struggling with something. He wouldn’t have asked you about you changing towns. “You could’ve told me that before I messed up earlier. Before I was bitchy too.”

“You’re always bitchy.” Robin huffs, then hums when she looks at you sitting in the distance. “She’s wonderful Steve, in her own way, so don’t judge her by the way she presents herself. When she trusts you, you’ll see what I‘m talking about.” She gives him a pointed look.  

Robin’s words echo in his head as they reach the picnic table and hand over the food to their friends. Steve places yours in front of you with a nod to which you say thank you. Now that he knows a little more about you, Steve guesses you were both left with a bad first impression. They aren’t his forte, and it’s not his fault you weren’t the same person with him as you are with Robin. You don’t know each other, of course it was going to be awkward. Steve sees what Robin means as everyone chats and eats; he sees it in the way your eyes soften, and lips smile slightly when Max begins to tell you something. He sees it in the way you lean closer to the redhead and whisper something that has her laughing soon after; you smile as well before turning your attention back to the group. Dustin and Eddie are planning some sort of revenge on the jocks from the soccer team who messed up something in their Hellfire Room.

Steve tries to focus on what they’re saying but he’s too busy looking at you, trying to figure you out. What happened? What’s the thing that you told Robin that made you keep the gentleness you showed to Max tucked away? You feel him looking at you and meet his eyes, it’s a distrustful glance from the way you narrow your eyes at him. Okay, Steve probably stared at you too long. He looks away and hears you sigh before you do too, tuning back into the conversation between the Hellfire club sitting at the other end of the picnic table.

“That’s a horrible plan.” You say plainly, making Max snort and Eddie pause the conversation. The metalhead rolls his eyes –no annoyance, no malice in sight. Steve supposes Eddie knows you like Robin does.

“Why is that, buttercup?” Eddie asks.

“They’ll know it was you, and they’ll beat you up, Munson.” You tell him seriously with an eye roll of your own –Steve doesn’t need to know you to catch the concern in your tone. “Put some laxatives in their protein powders instead.”

Steve lets out a bark of laughter that startles the table; that would be a good prank if he’s being honest. Everyone turns to look at him, including you and Steve clears his throat. “It’s a good idea.” He mumbles rubbing his chin, then meets your eyes briefly to find something like amusement in them.

“No, no, no.” Dustin shakes his head. “It is an objectively good plan, there’s no way they’ll know it’s us.”

“Yeah, we’ll wait for them to leave and then sneak into the locker room.” Eddie adds. “We’ll seal their lockers shut, they can’t change into their gear the next day and their coach yells their ears off.”

“The perfect plan.” Dustin says proudly and looks around the take to see who agrees.

“You sure they won’t be able to trace the prank back to you? See it as immediate revenge for what they did?” Max asks nodding towards you, “She’s right.”

“We’re absolutely sure.” Eddie confirms with a nod, clapping his hands in front of him.

“Can I read the eulogy at your funeral then?” You ask Eddie and Dustin with fake enthusiasm. “I call dibs.”

Steve chuckles and next to him, Robin fakes discontent as she rolls her eyes. “Damn, I wanted to do it.”

You send a smile her way before you clear your throat. “Eddie and Dustin died as they lived.” Your words are solemn as you speak. “With bad plans and too much confidence that they’ll work.”

“They always work.” Eddie says, chuckling at your words with everyone else. You simply raise one eyebrow at him, which Steve must admit is hot, and Eddie shakes his head. “I guess they sort of work.”

“So, laxatives?” Dustin asks Eddie after a minute, a defeated hunch to his shoulders.

“Laxatives.” Eddie and the rest of Hellfire repeats before the table bursts into laughter– including Steve.

His eyes don’t leave you though. You’re not laughing like everyone else but there’s a small smile on your face. It is reserved but softens your face in the loveliest way. It shows him you are enjoying their company despite the otherwise inexpressive look on your face. Steve begins to wonder then… if he wins your trust, the one you have with Robin and Max, will you smile at him the same way you do with them? Bright and beautiful enough to blind him? He guesses it would be worth a shot, getting to know you more, because if he’s being honest, he’s intrigued.

--------

The next time Steve sees you it’s at a party. It’s mid-October and the cold weather turns it up a notch with the cold bite to the air. He wouldn’t have gone to the party in the first place, if he’s being honest, but Robin forced him to go. Everyone will be there she’d said but Steve didn’t know who everyone would be. Only when he arrived at Kevin Rotner’s house did he begin to recognize some familiar faces. Nancy, Johnathan, and Eddie arrive at the same time he does and the five of them walk up the driveway and the small path leading to the front porch. There’s loud chatter inside and a boombox playing to the loudest volume in the dinning room. There are people sitting in the staircase laughing at a joke and more loud conversation coming from the backyard. He navigates the house with his friends until Robin spots you in the kitchen, and Steve doesn’t know why he’s so nervous when he sees you. You greet Robin with a hug and shrug when she tells you something, he can hear. Your face is pretty and serious as you look over Robin’s shoulder, spotting everyone else coming to say hi. Steve sees you take a deep breath before you greet everyone — almost as if you’re preparing yourself for small talk and hugs. He greets you last, more open and approachable than last time, and he’s surprised when you wave. “Hi, Steve.”

Something inside Steve jumps, but he thinks it’s only his own surprise. He’s about to say something, when Robin and Nancy take your hand and drag you away with the promise of some new gossip, they have to tell you.

Steve talks to a few people here and there; mostly the ones he’s kept in touch with after high school. Other than that, he doesn’t know anyone else; he doesn’t know if it’s cause he’s grown up but he’s not really having fun. There are people jumping into the pool despite the weather while those who mind the cold have gathered inside the house. Steve’s mostly avoiding the crowds, where the air is too hot despite winter being near, while keeping an eye out for his friends. Nancy and Jonathan are talking to some people he doesn’t know in the kitchen, Robin is trying not to combust while she talks to her crush —her lab partner in biology— and Eddie is walking around the entire party with his lunchbox.

When Steve sees you again, you are people watching in the living room, eyes trained on a few people in the middle of the room. He moves to stand next to you, and you shift your gaze towards him but say nothing; Steve thinks it means it’s okay if you stand here. Your foot taps to the music –Tears for Fears’ Head Over Heels –and your head moves almost imperceptibly to the music. The two of you are quiet for a while, and it’s not awkward like Steve expected it to be, not after the way he messed up at the fair. He’s pleasantly surprised, and relaxes a bit more next to you, slouching slightly against the wall. One of your arms is crossed over your chest while your other elbow rests on it, a red cup in your hand. The music continues to play and your eyes are still trained on the people talking in the living room, they’re some old Hawkins High students Steve kind of recognizes. There’s Angela and Karen, Bradley and Peter and some other people he doesn’t know the names of. Steve leans his weigh on his right leg, which brings him closer to you.

You don’t move away, simply pass him your red cup. Steve moves to shake his head no and say he’s driving, but you speak up before he does. “It’s only soda.” You say and nod at the cup that Steve takes the cup from you shortly after.

“What’re you watching?” Steve asks.

“The only interesting thing that’s going to happen in this party I think.” You look at him finally and lean closer, Steve isn’t sure you’re aware of it. “I think there’s going to be a fight.”

Your eyes hold amusement in them, like you’re excited for what’s about to happen. The tiniest movement of your mouth has Steve glancing down, you’re grinning, barely; he thinks it’s cute.

Steve’s eyebrows raise, interest spiked, and is about to say something when you turn your head again. Bradley is saying something to Angela, his voice loud and slurred but incomprehensible over the music, and not a second later an equally intoxicated Peter swings a punch at him. Another girl, who Steve doesn’t know, confronts Angela they start arguing with Karen joining the fight. Bradley and Peter fall to the ground, wrestling each other while others try to break the fight.

“Wait isn’t she?” Steve’s mind catches up the everything that happened puts two and two together. He’s pretty Angela is dating Bradley, not Peter.

“Yup.” You say with a shrug, tilting your head. “It was all a matter of time before it happened.” It’s all you say, then chuckle. Steve does too, he can’t help himself at the sound of your own laughter, until the two of you are giggling at the fight in front of you.

The music changes then, to something more upbeat, and Steve’s mind can only think about asking you to dance. Would you say yes? Probably not. Before he can ask you though, you step away from the wall. More people have gathered in the living room to watch the fight, and you decide to make your way to the front door. Do crowds bother you? Steve wonders.

“Wait.” Steve goes after you and closes the door behind him. “Where are you going?”

“Home.” Your back is turned to him. The cream-coloured sweater you wear over your lilac skirt and your black boots look lovely on you, and so does your hair. Steve doesn’t know why but he thinks it frames your face perfectly. There’s also a hint of remaining lip-gloss on your lips that shines with the streetlamp’s light… and Steve, well Steve thinks You’re so pretty.

“It’s cold, don’t tell me you’re going to walk.” Steve speaks again, shaking away his previous thoughts.

You shrug, “I usually do, it’s not too far.”

Steve doesn’t know where you live but he knows Rotner lives far away from almost everyone in Hawkins. Your house is probably far away. “I’ll drive you.”  Steve offers, but you sigh and look away.

“Go back to the party Steve, you can drive Robin home.” You say simply. “I’ll see you around.”

“No, she can go with Nancy.” He follows you until he’s walking next to you. “It’s not safe for you to walk home, come on.”

You sigh again and look up at the sky, annoyed. If you’re annoyed, then he’s too, because you’re making a dumb decision for the sake of being stubborn. And you probably don’t know that he’s stubborn too, so you might have to argue all night about whether this decision is right or not. Why is it so hard for you to accept a ride home? You offered him soda and were talking to him just now; it was nice. More than nice.

“I won't stop asking.” Steve says, crossing his arms and stepping in front of you.

Your eyes meet his in an intense half-glare, and Steve can’t help but think how nice your eyeliner looks on you. It does something to him he hasn’t felt in a while. He feels like he can’t breathe while heat creeps up the back of his neck —it’s October, he shouldn’t feel hot at all. A moment later you roll your eyes, though backing down first, and giving Steve some time to breathe as you turn around.

“Alright.”

Steve can’t help smiling in triumph, knowing he just won, and follows you as you walk towards his car further down the road. Amusement paints his eyes as he looks at you; your lips are pursed, and a huff escapes you.

 “You’re pouting” Steve says, looking at your lips and the annoyed look on your face. It makes him smile. You’re pouting.

“I’m not” You look sideways at him.  

“Oh, you are.”

“Shut up, Harrington.” You say and he laughs, opening the passenger’s door for you.

-------

From then on Steve does his best to increase his charm and be a gentleman. He offers you his help as well as rides home whenever he can, especially when you’re alone. The last thing he wants is for you to think that he’s only being nice when your common friends are around. Steve sees you more often now, not as much as he’d like, he must admit, but enough to know more about you. What you’re okay with sharing, more like.  

As he suspected from the party, you don’t like crowds (they make you nervous), and when Steve asked why you’d changed the topic. You work at the Deli on Main Street, have a younger brother named Chris, and you love coffee. He always sees you drinking one in the morning when he gives both you and Robin a ride to school, and whenever he stops by at the deli for lunch during your shift. Most important of all, Steve is starting to see what Robin meant when she said not to judge a book based on its cover. Because, despite your grumpy exterior, there’s a whole personality hidden underneath.

Steve can tell. There are hints and pieces; from the way you dress, to the music you like, and comic books you read and often exchange with Max. When he takes the time to look, he sees the gentleness with which you do things, and the care with which you treat your friends. He also sees your distrust for what it is: fear. You’re afraid, to let new people in, to get hurt, and Steve doesn’t know why.  

He wishes there was something he could do to fix it, to make you see the glass half full instead of half empty, or to change your sporadic pessimism.  But then he figures, he would be changing you, and that’s not something he wants. If he’s being honest, your friend group (Steve isn’t sure if he’s your friend, officially at least) needed someone with an objective outlook on life to set their heads straight. And if he’s honest with himself, he likes all the things that make you you. He likes your confidence when you don’t care what people think about you. He likes it when you fight with Robin over who chooses the music, despite it being his car. And he's pretty much obsessed with your face; the hard set of your jaw when you get impatient, the brow you silently arch that makes him feel things he shouldn’t, and the silent way you listen to conversation, only speaking up when you think it’s necessary. Steve is more than a bit obsessed.

He had been wrong that first day. He didn’t know you and wrongly assumed you weren’t happy to be there with them, when you actually were. He reflects upon it now that he knows your facial expressions; your eyebrows had been relaxed, and your eyes didn’t have a hard edge to them. You had been at ease, only closing yourself off when Steve tried to dig into your move to Hawkins. He really started off with the wrong foot, but it all takes a turn on a Friday night.

You visit FV for a tape mid-afternoon, surprising Steve at work. The weather is more than chilly outside, and Steve notices right away how you have no jacket on, only a dark red sweater. He’d been doing some paperwork behind the counter when the bell over the door for his attention. It rewarded him with the sight of you walking in, looking around before your eyes settle on him.

“Hey, Steve.” You say voice light as you approach him and lean your elbows on the counter. “Do you have karate kid available? My brother is begging us to watch it again tomorrow.”

Steve doesn’t know why but he struggles to speak for a moment —it probably has to do with the fact that you look very pretty, and two, this interaction is so different from your first one he shortcircuits. After a long pause you raise a questioning eyebrow, “You okay?”

Steve clears his throat. “Yeah. Um, we have it, let me go get it.”

“Thank you.” You nod as he dashes away from the counter.

“Did you walk here?” Steve asks once he’s cleared his head and reaches the action movie aisle. He sees you shrug over the stands.

“I usually do, I don’t mind it.” You explain simply.

“You’re not wearing a jacket though.” Steve grabs Karate Kid and goes back to the counter. Why are you always out in the cold without a jacket? It’s a miracle you haven’t fallen sick, he thinks.

“I left school in a rush, I was gonna be late for work.” You shrug again, eyes visibly lighting up when you spot the movie. “Thank God. Chris would have been insufferable if someone beat me to it.”

Steve crouches down behind the counter and retrieves his own jacket —a grey bomber— before placing it on the counter in front of you. “Here.”

“Steve,” You tell him seriously, rolling your eyes. “I’m not taking your jacket.”

“Why not? You’re the one walking out in the cold, I only have to walk towards my car.” He dismisses your refusal with a wave of his hand.

“Hey!” Robin says, calling your name as she emerges from the back room. “Perfect timing, I was going to call you.”

“Here to rent karate kid.” You tell her, a small smile on your face.

“And choosing hypothermia over my jacket.”  Steve chimes in, sliding his jacket pointedly towards you.

“It’s not that cold Steve.” You roll your eyes at him again, “But I know you’ll annoy me until I say yes.”

Steve gives you a triumphant smile and you shake your head, Steve would even say it’s shyly, before you take the jacket and shrug it on. “The movie? Please.”

Robin speaks up while Steve rings you up. “We’re gonna hang out at Nancy’s tonight. The kids will be there too, you should come.”

Steve risks a glance at you, in his jacket; a huge mistake. He seriously underestimated his reaction to seeing you in his clothes, because it is downright adorable and something he was unprepared for. The sleeves go past your hands and the whole thing is oversized on you, his shoulders being broader than yours and his torso longer. Steve bites back a smile —he hopes you never give it back to him; this is a sight he’d love to see more often.  He turns back to the computer to hide his grin from you and silently hopes you’ll say yes.

“Will there be other people?” You ask Robin, and Steve is quick to shake his head no and reassure you. Too quick.

“Just the usual gang.” Steve tells you, clearing his throat to hide his eagerness. “No one else.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Robin insists with a smile, then moves her gaze towards Steve, who tries to ignore the way she raises a knowing eyebrow at him. He’s gonna have an earful once you leave, he can bet on it.  

“Okay, I’ll be there.” You nod, then exchange some cash for the movie Steve hands to you. “Thank you, Steve.”

Steve leans his forearms on the counter, trying to give you his most charming smile to see if he’ll get one of those you give Robin in return. “We’ll pick you up after work.” Steve says and you look into his eyes for a long second before nodding.

“Sure.” You shrug, eyes shifting away from his. “I’ll see you guys later.”

------

At Nancy’s, chaos ensues. The kids argue over what board-game to play while Eddie and Robin argue over what record to play next. Steve is listening to Nancy and Jonathan talk about a volunteering drive she’s organizing and from where he stands, he can see you leaning against the wall next to Robin. Your face is neutral as you listen to the record that’s currently playing, tuning out Eddie’s argument for the most part until you speak up.

“Or you can let me choose?” You ask calmly, glancing at them briefly before going back to looking down at your feet.

“No!” Both Eddie and Robin say at the same time, and Steve notices the corner of your mouth twitch upwards.

“You chose this one, buttercup.” Eddie says with a sigh. “You’re only gonna choose one to annoy us.”

This earns Eddie an eye roll. “How exactly do you know that?” You ask. “It could’ve been a great pick, now you’ll never know Munson.”

Steve tries to tune back into Nancy’s explanation when Max pushes the board game she wanted to play away with a huff. It clatters to the ground as she stands from her place in front of the coffee table. You spot her and call her name only a moment later.  

“Hey Max, I got the new Wonder Woman!” You say after a moment when the read-head stops glaring daggers at the boys. 

Her eyes light up, a dramatic change from the look in her eyes moments ago. “Really? Can I see it?”

“‘Course, I brought it for you.” You roll your eyes, this time full of fondness, and nod towards the kitchen. “It’s in my bag.”

 Steve can’t follow your conversation because the doorbell rings, signalling the pizza Nancy ordered arrived. The weather feels much colder than earlier as he opens the door and steps outside, he pays for the pizza, tips the delivery guy and goes back inside. Arms full of pizza boxes, he walks back to the dining table, shooting a pointed look at Dustin and Mike. “Zip it or you don’t get a single slice.”

The high schoolers move more discarded boardgames away from the table in a heartbeat, scrambling to undo their mess and opening the pizza boxes in a hurry. Steve spots you still standing in the kitchen talking to Max as everyone helps themselves to pizza and decides to let you both know the food is ready.

“So, you skate too?” Max is asking you excitedly, leaning her hip against the kitchen counter.

You chuckle — it hits Steve in the chest and Steve doesn’t know what to do with that. “I do,” You grin, “I mean I used to when I lived in Indianapolis, but I haven’t since I moved here.”

“We can go to the skate-park tomorrow.” Max proposes raising her eyebrows, “If you want.”

You nod, “Sure. I’ll look for my skateboard tonight, let’s hope I still remember how to use it.”

“Pizza’s here.” Steve says, interrupting and smiling at you both. When your eyes meet his, your lips move to smile but in a matter of seconds you stop yourself.

It makes Steve furrow his brows and walk over to you as Max leaves to grab a slice. “You okay?” Steve asks, and your eyes meet his again briefly before they dart away as you sidestep him.

You make your way to the front door in a rush, this time though you do grab your jacket—his jacket— on the way. Just like he did the night of the party, Steve follows you, worried and confused at your reaction. Robin glances at him from the dining table, an unspoken question in her eyes but Steve can only shrug. He is certain he didn’t do anything wrong just now, but somehow, he messed up because you just fled from him.

“Stop.” Steve says after calling your name. “What happened?”

“Nothing, I just need some air. You should go back inside Steve.” Your back is to him, shoulders tense and close to your ears defensively.

“No,” He shakes his head. His lips go down into a frown briefly as he looks at your back. He voices the question he always asks himself when you shut him down. “Did I do something?”

“No.” You say when you turn, eyebrows meeting in the middle as you glare at him but Steve sees the way you struggle to hold it in place. After a second it falls, and your face just crumples to exhausted look. “I want to be alone.” You whisper.

 “You think a glare and a pout are intimidating enough to drive me away?” Steve shakes his head.

“I don’t pout.” You say, lips pursed and jaw tense. Pouting.

“You do and it’s not working.”  

You change tactics then, raising an eyebrow and staring him down like the night at the party but Steve shakes his head. “That’s not working either.”

“Why are you insisting so much on this!” You finally ask, raising your voice and crossing your arms in front of you. Your jaw clenches as you look away and Steve sees your eyes squeeze shut.

He runs a hand down his face and breathes out. “Whether you like it or not there are people who want to get to know you.”

“What, like you?” Your eyes cut a suspicious look Steve’s way and he can see your walls come back up right in front of him. A tear falls down your cheek and you’re quick to wipe it away, harshly. “Why?”

Steve throws his hands up in the air, exasperated but not raising his voice, “To be your friend! Just like Robin and Eddie are your friends.” His shoulders move up and down, trying to cover up how much he likes you and looks forward to your company. “Why are you so distrustful, is it something I did?”

“It’s not about you, Steve.” Your eyebrows meet in the middle again, and you look away from him, directing your gaze to the snow-covered lawn. “If… If it bothers you so much, why do you even want to be my friend? Because you’re wrong Steve. No one else does, and I’m more than fine with that.”

Steve shakes his head, knowing you’re lying to him and trying to convince yourself. His voice softens. “Because despite it, I like you, I think you’re… cool.”

“Cool?” The way you raise your eyebrows makes Steve chuckle.

Funny, caring, fucking beautiful, Steve wants to say but he just nods his head at your question.

“Yeah, and you’re interesting, and I… want to be your friend.” Steve’s hands settle on his hips as he shifts his weigh to one leg, looking down to the ground. Glancing at you briefly, he drops his voice to whisper your name. “Don’t leave. I’m not lying… that’s what worries you right?”

Steve assumes that’s where your distrust comes from; you told him it wasn’t something he did, then it must be that you’re scared to trust him. He’s known there are many feelings behind your hard exterior, one of them being fear. Steve doesn’t want you to fear him, and he wonders who broke your trust in the past. Silence settles between the two of you; you seem to be going over his words and Steve is giving you the time to do so. He’d wait an hour if necessary and reassure you a thousand times if it would mean you believe him. Steve panics when he sees you swallow hard and shift your eyes at the sky, the last thing he wanted to do was make you cry.

But you don’t cry. Instead, you take a deep breath and look into his eyes. There’s a vulnerability there that awakens an urge in Steve to hug you. “You promise?” Your voice is a whisper, but he hears you clear as day. You’ve never spoken so softly before, and Steve wishes it could have happened under other circumstances.

Steve looks into your eyes and nods with sincerity, hoping you can see he’s being completely honest with you. “Yes.”

“I do like you, Steve. You just scare me.” You look down at the ground for a moment and nod to yourself as Steve’s eyebrows shoot hop in surprise. A moment later, your eyes drift back to Steve and there are emotions dancing around in them he’s never seen before. “I’m sorry.”

Steve nods and something inside him tightens when you offer a small smile. It’s like something shifts between the two of you despite neither of you moving. In a matter of seconds, everything feels easy, natural, like the brief moment your shared at the party in October. Steve realizes it’s because you’ve let your guard down; you stand differently in front of him, more comfortable, less apprehensive. You scare me. “You wanna tell me why?”

You press your lips together and shake your head. “Another time, maybe?”

Steve tries to hold back a smile, but he can’t, it takes over his entire face. When he sees you shiver, he offers his hand. “Let’s go back inside, or I can drive you home if you want to leave.”

“I can stay a bit longer.” You say when you grab his hand –an electric shock goes up his arm. “I really want some pizza. But if they play Monopoly I’m definitely leaving.”

Steve’s laughter follows you as he leads the two of you back to the house.

--

The coffee cup Steve places in front of you at work the next Monday lands with a soft thud on the counter. It’s black coffee with some milk and sugar; the way Steve’s learned you take it every day. The sound and his presence make you look up at him over the top of your book, a doubtful eyebrow raised and a serious look on your face. Fuck your pretty, Steve thinks. Your eyes shift from the coffee to his face a couple of times before you close your book.

“What’s this?” You ask, leaning back on your seat and tilting your head.

Steve leans his elbows on the counter in front of you and tilts his head right back. “Considering you drink around 5 of these a day, one would think you’ll know what it is.”

“Ah, that’s where you’re mistaken. I actually drink 10.” You deadpan, looking at him with fake disappointment. “I thought you knew me, now that we’re friends and all.”

Steve laughs, looks down and shakes his head. When he looks at you again, there’s a half smile on your face. “Come on.” He says. “Let’s go grab some food.”

“I literally work at a deli, Steve.” You tell Steve seriously, motioning to your surroundings. “We’re surrounded by food.”

Steve copies what you just said with a roll of his eyes and smiles again. “I mean something else, babe. Come on.”

With a sigh you stand up from your seat and round the counter, leaving your apron behind. “You’re lucky I get a break in a couple of minutes.” You tell Steve before yelling over your shoulder. “Hank I’ll be back!”

Steve’s eyes light up and he considers his visit a triumph. He’s becoming surer and surer his feelings for you go beyond friendship and fondness and lean more towards: I want to hold your hand all the time, and cuddle you while we watch movies then forget about the movie and get lost on you. He wants to put his arm around your shoulder freely, have you lean your weigh against him and steal a kiss, probably more than one. No. It won’t ever happen so Steve shouldn’t even be thinking about it. He opens the passenger’s door to his car for you and smiles when you get in, your coffee in your hand.

It becomes a routine of sorts, either you visit him at Family Video bringing sandwiches for him and Robin or he picks you up, a coffee waiting for you in his car and drives you wherever feels right that day to eat your lunch. You talk about your day, or whatever gossip you heard that day. One day you even confessed to be scared about graduation.

“Everyone is so excited to finish school, and here I am so terrified about the future I haven’t opened any of my college application letters.” You muttered, picking at a loose thread on your sweater.

“Why are you scared?” Steve asked you and you swallow hard.

You turned your body on your seat, facing him as you shrugged. “I feel lost, I don’t know what I should major in. I also don’t know where I’d like to go, and I can't even research these colleges without panic settling on my chest.” Your eyebrows furrowed and your jaw got tense and Steve knew that meant you felt angry and this time it was at yourself.

Steve took your hand without a second thought, but you let him. “You know, you don’t have to figure it all out right now.”

“It feels like it.” You whispered looking at him, frustration and embarrassment shining in your eyes.  “Everyone else has it figured out.”

Steve shook his head; you shouldn’t feel embarrassed with him. “If there’s something I’ve learned about you, is that you don’t care about what other people are doing. What do you want?”

“I ask myself that question every day.” You mirrored his head shake and looked away. “Let’s talk about something else. Please?”

Steve was happy to change the subject, anything to cheer you up. By the time you go back to the Deli to continue your shift, he realized it was the first personal thing you’ve told him. Ever. It made him happier than he cared to admit.

-----

Two months after your talk in Nancy’s driveway, you invite Robin, Nancy, Eddie, Jonathan and Steve to your house. It’s the first time you’ve let anyone other than Robin into your home, this time for movie night. Your father and brother went back to Indianapolis to pick up other stuff from your old house, you said, it’s perfect timing. Steve and Robin arrive together, and shortly afterwards Eddie’s knocking on the door.

 Your house is cozy and simply decorated with a forest green comfy looking couch, a dark brown coffee table and a TV in the living room and all the basic stuff in both the dining room and kitchen.  There’s a record playing somewhere, and Steve can’t help the smile that comes to his face when he sees the way you’re mouthing the words as you move back and for the between the kitchen and living room bringing snacks, drinks and pizza for everyone. You’re wearing a cream-coloured sweater he recognizes from the party back in October and something funny happens in his stomach when he realizes just how far your friendship’s evolved since then.

“Babe come on take a break, we can help.” Steve stops you from going back to the kitchen with a hand on your shoulder and a fond look on his face.

You open your mouth to say something when Eddie and Robin appear on either side of you, presenting the movies they –surprisingly– were in charge to pick. “The best horror movies.” They say in unison.

Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise as you take the three VHS tapes from them. “Oh. Um, great! Thank you.” Your reaction hides behind the grin you shoot both, who nod and disappear to the kitchen.

“You’re pouting.” Steve says stepping closer to you again in the living room; your eyes that were fixed on the VHS tapes drift upwards to meet his own. Steve smiles.

“I’m not pouting.” You tell him with a roll of your eyes, lips settling back into a pout as you scan the titles of the movies once more. “These are just scary.”

“You’re still pouting.” Steve whispers, like it’s a secret. His eyes drift down to your lips, a mistake that has him swallowing hard, before the doorbell rings, signalling Johnathan and Nancy arrived. He’s quick to turn and go let them in. It’s a perfectly timed distraction. He shouldn’t think about kissing you, because despite no matter how badly he wants to, you’d never let it happen, or feel the same way he does to let it happen.  “Just saying!”

Once the first movie plays, Eddie and Robin settle on one end of the couch, while Nancy and Johnathan sit on the floor in front of them. Steve shoots Robin a I know what you’re doing look before sitting next to her and feeling the couch dip under your weigh when you settle on the empty seat next to him. A sweet floral scent he now recognizes as your shampoo or your perfume reaches him and Steve actively decides to focus on the movie, not the way he wants to pull you over his lap and breathe you in. Eddie and Robin laugh every now and then and the four of you turn to look at them, there’s nothing funny about the movie. You begin covering your face with the bucket of popcorn as the movie progresses, your face grimacing as the suspenseful music picks up.

Steve leans closer to you, his voice a whisper as he speaks. “It’s just special effects don’t worry about it.” You turn to look at him, worried puppy dog eyes gazing into him and dammit you make it so hard to keep his distance. “Trust me.” Steve winks, lightening the mood only to jump and scream when he turns to the movie once more and a jump scare comes on.

It seems like the perfect medicine for your fear. For you forget about it and lean your head back laughing, a full-on belly laugh, that’s so contagious and beautiful Steve laughs with you. Nancy and Robin share a knowing look he doesn’t notice before they shush the two of you, shoving at his elbow and your knee. You cover your mouth with your hand and your shoulders shake as you lean your head on Steve’s shoulder, turning your body towards his; Steve’s never been so happy to be scared in his life.

Everyone leaves after 3 movies. Robin gets a ride with Eddie, and Nancy leaves with Jonathan as well. Steve though, stays behind insisting on helping you clean up, but it’s a weak excuse to check on you before he leaves. He noticed you getting nervous, fidgeting with your hands anxiously when everyone started to leave. The films were long done, so Steve knows something else is worrying you and it doesn’t sit well in his heart to leave you like this. Which is why he is currently picking up trash in the living room while you do the same in the kitchen.

You’re finishing placing the dirty dishes in the sink when Steve enters the room. He noticed right away the way your shoulders hunch and you take a deep breath. “Steve…”

“You okay?” Steve closes the trash bag and moves to the sink. His eyes roam your face as he looks sideways at you and washes his hands.

“I um… I wanted to apologize to you.” You tell him quietly, passing him a kitchen towel before moving away from the sink. “For how closed-off I was when you met me.”

After drying his hands quickly, Steve turns and leans on the edge of the sink. “It’s okay, it’s not easy to trust new people right away.” He reassures you –it’s something he understands now; he understands you.

You sit on the counter opposite to him and stare at the floor for a bit, polka dot sock clad feet dangling in the air. “It’s more than that. I’m just scared of getting close to people since…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Steve shakes his head, keeping his eyes on your face.

“I trust you, Steve.”

Those four words make Steve’s chest flutter –relief, happiness, nerves– but he pushes the feeling to the back of his mind and patiently waits for you to continue. Your lips are pursed as you stare at the floor, gathering your thoughts.

“My mom…” You swallow, getting chocked up with those to words but soldiering on. With a shake of your head, you look up to the ceiling and will your tears away. “My mom left my dad, brother and I last April. She’d been cheating on dad for years… and that’s not even the worst part.”

You wipe your eyes quickly, lips pulled downwards into a deep frown when you pause again –an upside-down U Steve wishes he could smooth out with his thumb. But he stays where he stands and lets you continue.

“The other man was married too” Your eyes find Steve’s and where there’s usually a spark –like that night at the party– there’s only sadness directed at the memory. “He’s the father of a popular kid at my old high school, so you can guess what happened when everyone found out.”

Steve’s mouths opens again and this time a soft no escapes him.

You press your lips together and nod, “So not only did the news wreck our home… they made life at school unbearable for my brother and I. People who I thought were my friends just threw me away as if I was trash for something I didn’t do. Something I had no fault in.”

“Is that why you moved here?” Steve asks softly, walking closer to you. The answer to the question he asked many months ago, right in front of him and it doesn’t make him feel any satisfaction. No, it hurts him to know this. Moving away from everything you’ve known and starting over again during senior year sounds brutal.

“Yes.” You whisper and close your eyes briefly; more tears fall down your cheeks and Steve’s heart aches. Teary eyes move away from his and fix themselves on the kitchen window instead, your lips are pressed so hard against each other they’re losing colour. “She packed her bags right after school the day we found out. We saw her leave with that man, no other explanation, not even a goodbye or a note. Everyone except my dad and my brother decided to leave me that day.”

A sob escapes you then, finally breaking free and shaking your whole body; another one replaces it once it stops. Your hands move from the counter to your face, covering it as cries continue to escape you in succession. Steve wastes no time and walks to stand in front of you; he hates seeing you in so much pain. God, it must have hurt so much, just being left behind like that. His hands move to your hips and gently urge you to hop off the counter before he wraps you up in his arms. His shoulders shake with the force of your sobs as you cling to him.

“Stevie.” Your hands are bunched up in the back of his polo, holding onto him like a lifeline.

Steve can’t even relish the sound of your calling him Stevie so softly. He swallows hard as he witnesses the pain, you have felt inside of you for so long. “I’m so sorry.” He whispers.

“She left us, Steve. She just disappeared and left us grieving her despite her being alive.” You say between your tears, they soak the right side of his shirt, but Steve couldn’t care less, his arms just tighten around your waist. “She’d been pushing us away for years, treating us like garbage and now I can see it’s because we weren’t good enough for her anymore. She didn’t love any of us anymore. We… we didn’t make her happy.”

Your voice sounds hoarse from crying, and your hands tighten behind Steve’s back. When you bury your face in his chest, Steve hunches his shoulders and forms a cocoon to protect you from the past. His protective nature takes over as he holds you flush against him; his hand moves up and down your back firmly –you need to know he’s there, that he’s got you. Steve puts his cheek over your head and whispers his next words. “I’ve got you; you can cry as much as you need to, I’m not going anywhere.”

It takes a few minutes, but your sobs soon transform into soft sniffles even as you press yourself closer to him. Steve doesn’t want to upset you anymore, but he’s itching to comfort you and let you know what he wishes someone had told him years ago. “I know my own shit experience with my parents isn’t the same as what you went through.” He starts, taking a small step back so he can look at you.

His fingers take a gentle hold of your face until puffy and teary eyes meet his; Steve wipes away some stray tears. “But what your mom did to you doesn’t say anything about you alright? You’re more than good enough for anyone. If she didn’t see that, then she made the worst mistake of her life.”

You close your eyes at his words and look away, but Steve shakes his head and urges you to face him again with a whisper of your name. “You don’t have to prove your worth to anyone because your mother left. All of us see it, and we’re so lucky to have you here.”

Steve’s thumb catches more tears as your lips begins to tremble again. “I’m so fucking lucky that you trust me, and I understand why you didn’t at first, okay? I understand you.”

Your hands on his waist tighten again as your forehead drops to his right shoulder. “I didn’t used to be like this… I’m sorry that this is the me that you met.”

Steve shakes his head, sure that you feel it when he does, and pulls you flush to his chest again. Is this how you’ve felt since last summer? He wonders. Like this version of yourself is wrong or unlikable.

Sure, you’re not a smiley person, but that makes your rare smiles even more special –and they drive Steve crazy. You see the glass half-empty most times to protect yourself if things do indeed go to shit, but you also recognize genuine goodness. You don’t hesitate to encourage or celebrate everyone else’s happiness; he’s seen it firsthand, with the kids, with Robin and even himself. Steve doesn’t think he could ever get tired of your dark humour or that pretty pout that settles on your lips when you get annoyed, not to mention that making you laugh is his favorite thing in the world. Steve understands your anxiety and panic at your college decision, you don’t want another change; you don’t want to choose something you don’t like and face another disappointment again. Most of all, Steve finally understands your hesitance and the root of your gruff exterior, and he wouldn’t change a thing about it. He’s stupid in love with you; your grumpy and soft looks; your frowns and your smiles; your heart; and that tender way you’re holding onto him right now.

Steve places a kiss to the side of your head to keep himself from saying all of this out loud –it’s not the right time, not yet. Instead, he whispers above your ear, “I wouldn’t change a single thing about you.”

For a moment, stillness surrounds the two of you in the kitchen and there’s no other sound but your quiet sniffles against Steve’s shirt again. Steve doesn’t mind, he’s happy to hold you for as long as you need, which ends up being five more minutes. You take a step back and look at him with those pretty eyes of yours; they’re teary and red-rimmed but lovely all the same.

“Thank you, Steve.” You whisper, a small smile tugging at the corner of your lips until your gaze drops to his shirt and embarrassment shines in your eyes. “Sorry I cried all over you.”

“I don’t mind.” Steve shrugs and looks at you softly, hands still on your waist. “I think I know what we should do.”

You look at him curiously. “About what?”

“To cheer you up.”

The head shake you give him is immediate, just as he imagined. “I don’t–”

“You deserve a happy life.” Steve states as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and sends a wink your way hoping to amuse you. “And I think, ice cream is a good way to start. I should know, I worked at an ice cream shop remember.”

He leaves your side and walks over to the freezer to grab the ice cream he saw earlier that night when he got up mid-movie to get more ice. It’s cookie dough ice cream, which he knows to be your favourite –he’s known since that first night he met you. Knowing he’s completely serious now, your eyes stare into his eyes for a moment before you turn and grab two spoons from a kitchen drawer.

“I guess we’re having ice cream then. Considering you’re an expert.” You say with an eye roll Steve can only describe as fond when you approach him again. A moment later, you sit on the counter and Steve follows suit, sitting next to you. “Spoon?”

“Thank you.” Steve says and takes it from you after opening the ice cream tub. He offers the tub to you first, letting you scoop some ice cream with your spoon which you pop in your mouth. Your arms brush from how close you’re sitting, and Steve has to lean forward to look at you, but he doesn’t mind. He’s happy with the proximity.

A sigh escapes you and you close your eyes as you savour the ice cream. Steve feels heat creep up the back of his neck at the sound, but he shakes the feeling off; you’re only eating ice cream, to make you feel better. “You were right Harrington, this is like medicine.”

“Told you, I’m an expert.” Steve chuckles and eats his own spoonful, the creamy ice cream melting in his tongue before he laughs as you search for the cookie dough in the tub. “This is going to be just plain vanilla ice cream if you keep doing that.”

“Finders keepers.” You tell him with a shrug as you bring the cookie dough to your mouth. “It’s arguably the best part of this ice cream.”

“You’re supposed to eat the ice cream with it!” Steve argues, holding the tub away from your reach. “I want cookie dough too you know.”

You roll your eyes at him, but there’s a soft look on your face as you look at him and nod. The two of you go back to eating ice cream in silence until Steve speaks up again. There are so many things he wants to know about you still –he thinks he’ll always want to know more. “What’s something you miss from living in Indianapolis?”

You pause mid-scoop and concentrate for a few moments going over his question. A moment later a tiny smile makes its way to your lips. “There used to be a wonderful campsite my dad used to take my brother and I; we’d camp for three days and do all sort of activities.”

Steve smiles. “Like what?”

“Dad and Chris love fishing, so we’d do that. There was also hiking, swimming, s’mores. Oh! We’d all tell each other stories sitting next to the fire. They were all completely made up of course, and I think the more ridiculous they were, the more fun we had.”

Your eyes wander around the kitchen, like you’re back in the forest with your family and not next to Steve anymore. Light dances in your eyes and Steve can almost picture the three of you laughing around the fire as the catch of the day roasts on a grill nearby. He knows better than to ask about your mother, he’s got a pretty good idea what the answer would be. Besides, you’ve cried enough already, so much that Steve’s own heart feels bruised from seeing you in pain.

“You haven’t camped here in Hawkins?” Steve asks after a minute, voice quiet to avoid disturbing your memory.

You shake your head and sigh, the mirage in front of you disappearing as your eyes drift back to Steve’s. “Dad’s not the same person he was during those camping trips… he hasn’t scouted a good place for us to go. I don’t think he even wants to go camping anymore.”

Steve puts the ice cream tub on the counter and takes your hand instead. “Maybe we could go camping someday, invite everyone, have fun…”

Your head moves to rest on his shoulder, the dizzying smell of your shampoo and perfume reaching Steve’s nose at the proximity. He leans his cheek on top of your head and feels the faint nod you give him. “Maybe.”

A comfortable silence settles between the two of you, your hand still in Steve’s grasp. Until he gives it a squeeze that makes you jump, as if you forgot you were holding hands in the first place. Steve chuckles. “What?”

Your head leaves his shoulder in an instant and for a second Steve is sure you’re going to hide behind your walls again, like you did so many months ago. His fear though, is replaced with concern when you hop off the counter and check the time with a frown.

“Babe come on, what’s going on?” He hops off the counter and stands in front of you. His eyes search yours until finally your gaze meets his, your embarrassment clear in them.

“I just hate being home alone at night. It makes me anxious.” Your hands fidget in front of you, as if you’re waiting for Steve to laugh at you. Oh, so that’s why you were nervous earlier. “I can’t sleep. At all.”

He looks down at his watch and sees that it’s midnight already. “I don’t mind staying over.” Bringing his eyes back to yours, he speaks up again. “Would that make you feel better?”

You close your eyes and let out a shaky exhale before you nod. “A lot better.” When your eyes open again, they’re full of gratefulness and surprise, as if Steve wouldn’t do anything for you.

 A smile grows on Steve’s face, and he takes your hand before you can thank him, threading your fingers together as he speaks. “Come on, you’re probably tired.”

Steve, however, is everything but tired. His heart is racing at the thought of spending the night here with you. You’ve never spent so much time together in a day, he’s never seen your bedroom, and there’s something about this impromptu sleepover that makes heat creep up the back of his neck. No. He’s here to give you emotional support; you were so anxious earlier and there’s nothing he wants more than to see you happy and comfortable. If staying here, despite it sending his feelings into a frenzy, is the key for you to rest then so be it. He can stay for one night.

You don’t let go of his hand as you lead him upstairs, passing various pictures of you and your family that hang from the wall opposite the handrail. There are three bedrooms upstairs and yours is the last one down the hall, its view towards the backyard. You open the door a moment later and let go of his hand as you step inside. Now that he’s here, Steve remembers neither of you made sure the doors were locked downstairs. He should do that.

“I’m going to take a shower.” You tell him as you walk towards your dresser.

Steve nods and swallows hard, using the excuse of your safety to be downstairs while that happens. “We forgot to lock everything downstairs. I’ll go do that.”

“Oh, right.” You press your palm to your forehead; Steve can see you reprimand yourself. “Thank you, Steve.”

“No problem.” Steve is quick to shake his head as he takes a step back from the room. “I’ll be right back.”

Once Steve is back downstairs, he makes sure to check the windows and lock the front door. He fiddles with the light switches for a while before he finds the right ones and turns the lights off. The whole process takes him less than five minutes, and the shower is still running when he’s back in your room. With a deep breath he finally looks around, gazing through a metaphorical window into your world, which he surprisingly already knew a lot of. The pastel walls make him smile, and he walks along the furthermost wall where various posters have been hung –all bands and singers Robin and you have played in his car. There’s a small vanity by the closet next to the bathroom, full of tiny bottles and a couple of lip-gloss tubes. Steve also spots a purple bottle of perfume on top, and a grin makes its way to his face –that’s the one that drives him crazy, he’s sure of it. He’s about to move closer and look at the pictures you’ve pasted in the vanity’s mirror, but he’s startled to a stop when you speak.

“I left a shirt for you to sleep in, if you want it.” You say and Steve turns around.

His heart summersaults when he sees you, fresh dewy face, hair out of your face, an oversized grey t-shirt with a pink Queen logo on the front and pink cotton sleeping pants. The overhead light of the bathroom makes a small rectangle in the carpeted floor, and some steam from your shower still circles around behind you. It takes all Steve’s self-control to stay where he is and not walk up to you and pull you into his arms; no tears between you this time, just Steve holding you the way he wishes he could all the time. He looks at the t-shirt you left on your bed to distract himself and laughs when he notices the colour.

“How’d you guess I love pink?” Steve asks you, glancing your way as he walks towards the bed and holds up the t-shirt. It’s very oversized like yours, and it has a black and fuchsia print of Blondie’s lead singer on it.

“Dunno, just thought it would suit you.” you chuckle, and Steve sees you hold back a smile as you point towards the bathroom. “There’s a spare toothbrush on the sink.”

Steve nods and hurries to the bathroom, lest you notice him blushing. He finds the toothbrush instantly and proceeds to brush his teeth, and though he doesn’t know why, Steve feels extremely happy to know both of you use the same toothpaste. He glances around and looks at all the details that are entirely yours around the room. There are some facial creams on a shelf next to the mirror, a vanilla scented hand soap on the sink, and a look towards the shower shows him two purple and pink shampoo and conditioner bottles –the ones that make your hair smell like flowers. Steve rinses his mouth, then takes off his sweater and jeans before he puts on the pink t-shirt you gave him and, like a freak, smells it to find that somehow your scent still lingers in the soft cotton.

If he was panicking before, he’s panicking even more now. He’s obsessed with you, he realizes, stupidly head over the heels and all of this is making it worse; lying on a bed next to you will make it so much worse. He’s got to pull himself together. He’s doing this because of fear of being home alone, that’s all. He can sleep alongside you for a night without making a fool of himself –or worse, accidentally confess his feelings. So, pushing all bed related thoughts to the back of his mind, he walks out of the bathroom to find you already under your duvet in bed.

 Not letting himself think too much about it, Steve turns off the lamp on your nightstand and slips under the duvet too. He keeps his body still, tense more accurately, as he lies next to you. That is until you turn to face him, and he immediately does too, like a magnet naturally attracted to you.

“Do you ever fear that you’ll wake up one day and everyone you know will be gone?” you whisper in the dark; your voice is almost silent, but Steve hears you loud and clear with how close he is to you. The minty smell of your toothpaste mingles with his own breath. Is this how things are going to be between you now, deep conversations and secrets you only trust to each other? He really hopes so.

Steve shakes his head, trying to make out your face in the dark as his heart constricts in his chest. “No,” he says just as quietly, “But sometimes I’m afraid that something terrible will happen and I won’t be able to help.”

Steve closes his eyes and exhales through his nose as he voices one of his fears for the first time. He’s sure that everything that happened in the Upside Down that they managed to fix was thanks to the brains in his friend group. Steve is all physical strength, which has proved useful in the past, but against monsters or whatever the hell could come next, he’s not sure it will be enough. The thought of being useless like that and everyone suffering because of it terrifies him. Even more now that you’re a part of said friend group. He’s sure of one thing though, he’d protect you and all his friends no matter what.

Your hand slowly moves to his shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “Knowing you, Steve, I’m a thousand percent sure you’d find a way to help. Your stubbornness can be a good thing.”

A breathy chuckle leaves him as your words punch the air out of him. He’s silent for a moment, scrambling for something reassuring to say back. Words aren’t his forte, not unless he’s flirting. He’d rather pull you close to him and comfort you that way, the way he did in the kitchen. “You know… if we were to disappear for whatever reason, you can bet I’d fight my way to you. You won’t be alone.”

Steve sees you nod your head in the dark, his only sign that you haven’t fallen asleep yet. Your hand goes back to your side, in front of his before you stifle a yawn. Assuming your eyes are tired from all their crying, Steve moves his hand to cup your cheek gently.

“Go to sleep, you need to rest.” He whispers; he wants to give you more comfort, pull you close and rub your back until you fall asleep. He doesn’t because he can’t, that would make things weird.

“Thank you for staying with me.” You whisper back.

Remaining silent to avoid saying something that’d give away just how deep his feelings for you run, or the fact that the opportunity to be lying here next to you is something he should be thankful for, he only rubs his thumb softly on your cheek once more before letting go. With another yawn you turn around, your back facing Steve as you whisper goodnight.

Steve doesn’t know when he falls asleep, but he knows he sleeps more peacefully than he has in a while. Not that he doesn’t sleep well often, but most days his dreamless sleep is a result of the exhaustion of the day and not peacefulness. Last night though, there were no nightmares, no tossing and turning, just a distant dream of a campfire in the woods, fireflies, and a silhouette standing peacefully by the water. At some point, early in the morning, he finds himself waking to the light sneaking into the room from a small gap in the tulle curtains. His eyes that were too sleepy to open, blink awake at the awareness that you’re in his arms. Lovely floral scent and cozy softness pressed to him.

It seems that during the night, you’d shifted to your side and burrowed yourself on his chest, an arm around his waist and leg thrown over his hip. His left arm is around you, settled between your shoulder blades, holding you to him. He lifts it and checks his watch, barely 6am but Steve knows he should go. The last thing he wants is your father getting back home and finding him in your bed. Steve doesn’t know him and that’s not the first impression he’s looking for. Besides, there’s a pressing problem in his briefs, that has appeared from being tangled up with you, that he needs to hide in his jeans before you notice. Shifting his hips way from you he looks down at your sleeping face, brushing hair away from your face before he whispers your name.

“Hmm,” You frown, eyes still closed. “What?”

“You’re a cuddler,” Steve says as he smiles; it’s something that should surprise him, but it doesn’t. Not at all.

“I’m not.” You mumble and, contradicting yourself, press closer to him.   

“Yes, you are.” He chuckles, shifting his hips backwards again. “I have to go.”

You frown but move away from him, turning and facing away. “Why?”

Steve slips from bed and puts his jeans back on, adjust himself, before pulling his sweater over his head and on top of the pink t-shirt. Call him a lovestruck fool, but he’s not giving it back. “I don’t know when your dad’s gonna be back, I don’t want him to find a boy he doesn’t know in your bed.”

You chuckle, then yawn as you shift and sit up in bed. Steve stares at you longer than he should. His eyes take in your messy hair and your still puffy eyes from all your crying the night before. He smiles widely.

“I have drool on my face, don’t I?” You sigh, moving the back of your hand to the corner of your mouth.

Steve laughs and shakes his head. “No, you don’t; you look pretty that’s all.”

His words reward him with an eyeroll and a headshake before you stand up. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

You remain silent as the two of you walk side by side all the way down to the front door. Steve takes his car keys, and you move to open the door, but pause after a moment. Steve’s eyes look into yours as he wonders if there’s something wrong but when your eyes shift up to him, a small smile settles on your lips. Next thing Steve knows, your arms go around him in a hug.

He can’t help but sigh at the feeling and leaning his cheek on top of your head. “You okay?”

You nod and look up at him. “Thank you, Steve.” You say, stepping on the tip of your toes and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“Don’t thank me.” Steve smiles, letting his arms fall to his sides as his heart skips several beats. “Wanna get a coffee later?”

Is he bribing you with caffeine just to see you again? Of course, he is. Steve is charming, and he has a lot of work to do if he wants to make a move soon.

“Only if I get to pay.” You raise an eyebrow but smile nonetheless, that rare big smile he loves.

Steve huffs and opens the door. “Sure, babe.” He says though he knows you don’t believe him.

He walks to his car when you nod –heart pounding– and smiles as he drives away. Your figure on the rear-view mirror watches him leave until he turns at the end of the driveway. Steve leans his elbow on the door, his hand settling over his mouth as he thinks about the events of last night and this morning. Hope fills his chest, and Steve feels like this is the beginning of something really good for both of you.

 ---

There’s a small shift in your dynamic after that late night conversation in your kitchen. It’s like almost as if it brought you both closer: like a barrier breaking between you and Steve. Steve knows he should take it slow, that he should better conceal his feelings to avoid scaring you off. But another part of Steve wants to throw caution to the wind because there’s been a change in you too. I trust you, Steve, you’d said, and it shows. In the way you sit closer to him, how you give away more pieces of your past and yourself when you talk. There’s less apprehension and more curiosity from both of you and Steve can’t help but fall and fall and fall. He only hopes it doesn’t end up with him crashing down painfully.

The two of you make a new habit of visiting a small the café on the weekends; you sitting sideways on the couch and Steve talking nonsense to make you laugh. It starts the day after the sleepover, and the two of you use it as time to catch up on the events of the week. It delights him; every Saturday, he wants nothing more than to lean close and kiss your smile, the one he never thought he’d be at the receiving end of. You have bad days too, days in which Steve knows you’ve been crying, days where all you want to do is sit in silence with him. Steve doesn’t mind, at all, in fact he loves all your mood equally and now that he knows the backstory of what you went through, he offers you the quiet reassurance of his presence next to you, so you know you’re not alone.

Weeks pass like this, until winter leaves and spring comes. Overnight, the breeze has no bite to it anymore, the flowers bloom again and you begin to wear the prettiest floral dresses that give Steve a whole new reason to be obsessed with you.

“You two are adorable; when are you going to tell her, dingus?”

Steve and Robin had stopped by the Deli to get something to eat during their lunch break while you were on your lunch break too. The three of you had spent the 30 minutes talking between bites of your own sandwiches until the moment Steve had to drive away and you had to go back to your shift. He hears Robins words but his eyes follow your retreating figure until you’re out of sight –his mind is begging him to find you and steal a kiss just so he doesn’t go crazy. Robin snaps her fingers in front of his face and laughs when Steve startles. He rolls his eyes and gets in the car while Robin asks him the same question again.

Steve rolls his eyes again, “Tell her what?”

“That you’re obsessed with her dummy!” Robin hits his arm, Steve sends her an annoyed look, “You love her come on, you have to tell her.”

“No, I can’t.” He’s been thinking about it more often now. Keeping it to himself has been almost impossible lately and he knows he should do it before he breaks.

“Yes, you can, and you have to.” Robin asserts, setting her converse on the dashboard. “She clearly feels the same way.”

“She doesn’t.” Steve’s answer is instant as he focuses on the road and getting back to FV, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so hard they turn white. It’s a half-lie, and they both know it.

“She does and you know it.” Out of the corner of his eye he sees Robin shake her head.  “The way she looks at you Steve… it’s unbearable to watch, coming from her.”

Steve knows it, he’s seen that change. He’s felt the pitter patter of his heart, the way his hands shake when you look at him like that, like he’s all you want. But Steve is a coward in denial, he doesn’t want to assume wrong and send you running away from him. But if Robin’s seen it… “You really think so?” He says as he parks his car and Robin nods enthusiastically.

“Duh!”

He nods to himself, “Okay... I can tell her tonight. We are hanging out at my place anyway.”

“I’ll make myself scarce, just say the word and I’ll disappear.” When Steve nods Robin cheers, opening the passenger door and stepping outside. “Don’t mess it up, Steve.”

“I’ll try.” Steve grips the steering wheel, trying to calm himself down.

Steve doesn’t get a chance to though, for that afternoon with greying clouds in the sky you show up at Family Video as soon as your shift at the Deli ends. Steve is about to go to the back and finish some inventory he has procrastinated all week when he sees you pacing in front of his car, arms crossed over your chest. His heart soars, then fills with dread –somethings wrong. He knows it right away which is why he rounds the counter and rushes outside in a heartbeat.

“Babe, what’re you doing here?” Steve says as soon as he opens the door. “It’s gonna rain come on, let’s go inside.”

But you shake your head and look at him with a look he can’t name. It’s a sad look, and it makes Steve panic; he panics even more when he sees your eyes are teary and red-rimmed. “Did something happen? At work or at home?”

“I love you.” You say, at the same time thunder cracks in the distance. Your trembling lips press together when Steve’s move to smile, and your headshake makes Steve pause. “But I don’t think we should see each other again.”

“What?” Steve’s question is a whisper, almost lost to another booming thunder. “Why would you say that? Did I do something?”

“No, Steve.” You sigh, voice shaky, looking everywhere but his eyes. Steve knows this tell though; you don’t want to be caught in a lie. “We just don’t fit–”

“No.” He says simply, shaking his head as he interrupts you. This is that night in the Wheeler’s driveway all over again, you trying to shut everyone out. His hands still shake slightly though, at your confession, your words afterwards, at the idea of losing you.

“Steve it won’t work.” You tell him, it cracks halfway with feeling, and you swallow hard before repeating yourself. “It would never work.”

“Yes it will, it’s us.” Steve tells you, shaking his head. He remembers how far you’ve come, how close the two of you have gotten. He should’ve have known it would scare you, after what happened with your family. “Of course it will! It has worked for months.”

“It won’t! It won’t work regardless of our feelings. Because I’m me! And you’re you –you’ll get sick of me and then leave. And it’ll hurt more than anything I’ve ever experienced.” You tell him, shaking your head and looking at him with reddening eyes. Both your arms are crossed over your chest, as if you’re physically protecting your heart from feeling what if feels for him. I love you, you said. Around you, the sky begins to open, bathing both of you with big droplets of water. “I told you before, you scare me because I’ve never felt this way before.”

Steve tries to take a step closer, but you take a step back; it makes him groan in frustration. “You can’t make that decision for me! How can you think I’d just leave you?”

“Because the person who I thought never would, LEFT.” You yell, eyes brimming with tears that roll down your cheeks. They mix with the raindrops that fall on both of you and Steve’s heart aches.

“Then she didn’t love you enough, not the way you deserve.” Steve places his hands on his hips, looking at the wet concrete underneath his shoes. His eyebrows meet in the middle as he swallows hard. He can’t put into words how angry it makes him that someone hurt you so much, that you’re scared of being happy again. “I thought you trusted me.”

“I do.” You tell him, hands falling to your sides. Your voice is so quiet that the rain falling around you almost drowns it out. “You know I do.”

“Then let me love you!” You’re stunned into silence by Steve’s words, confessed loudly in an outburst as he brings his hands to his hair. He meets your eyes and feels his own tear up; he really doesn’t want to lose you. “Let me prove to you that I love you like crazy, baby. Because I do, you have no idea how much.”

Your eyes squeeze shut and Steve knows you can see all of his feelings reflected on his face. “I don’t want to be heartbroken again Steve! Can’t you see you’re sunshine, and I–”

“Don’t say that.” He whispers and steps closer to you, holding both of your hands. The way you cling to them sparks a fire in his heart, keeps his hope alive. “I told you I wouldn’t change a thing about you, that I’d fight my way to you.”

You try to let go of him, but Steve only pulls you closer even as you look away from him, lip trembling. “You know my issues, especially after what happened last year.”

“I do know them, and I’m telling you now that I don’t plan on ever letting you go. This isn’t just a fling, and you know it.” His hands go to your face, holding it gently and looking into your eyes. Those beautiful eyes he’s seen tear up, the ones that crinkle in the corners when you laugh and turn steely when you’re mad. He wants to look at them forever.

You close them, bracing yourself, as the sky continues to fall all around you. Big drops of water hitting your skin and soaking your clothes every second that passes. “Even if I have bad days, or get exasperated with you, or I’m a grump?”

Steve smiles and shakes his head. If only you knew. “I love it when you’re a grump, I want to kiss your pout so badly every time.”

“I don’t pout,” You roll your eyes, but Steve can see you’re trying to hide your fear. He’s learned every little detail about you to memory, this is you trying to build a wall. Well then, Steve knows how to break them down.

“I promise,” Steve says, like he did that November night you fought outside in the cold. His nose brushes against yours as tenderly as he can, rainwater sliding down between your faces –his breath catches on his throat. “I love everything about you, everything baby, trust me. It’s you and me, that won’t change.”

You nod, trust shining in your eyes as a teary smile makes its way to your face when you let it free. It knocks the air out of Steve’s lungs. “Stevie, I love you.”

 He leans his forehead against yours, happy beyond words and because he’s not good with them he says, “I really want to kiss you.”

“Then kiss me,” You urge him.

Steve leans down, holding your face in his hands and lingering close as he braces himself for this; this moment he’s wished for so many times. He smiles, and thinks finally, before leaning in and kissing you. A noise dies in the back of his throat, his chest feels full of helium and his mind reels at the everything he’s feeling. It’s even better than he dreamed it would be. Your lips soft against his, your hands in his hair, the sigh that escapes you when one of his arms wraps around your waist and presses you flush against him. His skin is buzzing, his fingertips are tingling. So he kisses you until you’re both dizzy, brushing his tongue against yours, matching your intensity head-on. Everything is intoxicating, the sweet scent of your perfume, the softness under his hands, the way your face feels like it’s on fire as his hand remains cupping your cheek. Steve is so in love he could faint, so he breathes you in as he kisses your cheek, your jaw, your neck and just below your ear until the two of you pull back. Soaked in rain, without a care in the world.

“Does this mean you’re my boyfriend?” You ask him softly, stepping impossibly closer to him.

Steve smiles proudly, heart soaring. “Yes it does, I’m yours.”

“I want to kiss you again.” You confess after a minute, blinking away that raindrops that have gathered in your eyelashes and smiling at him. “But I’m cold.”

 Steve laughs when you frown and pulls you closer to him. “Yeah, we should probably get out of the rain.”

----

thank you for reading! reblogs are really appreciated and so is any feedback 💖

(I also wrote this tiny insight to grumpy reader’s feelings here )

[happeehippie]

instagram j.b.

summary: follow along with joe and his fiancée evie as they go through his football career.

* face claim is yasmin quintana*

series masterlist.

evie

liked by millyg, joeyb_9, and 873,190 others

evie: did some cowgirl shit

view all 2,739 comments…

millyg: yee frickin haw

> evie: bitches 🤠

user: NO WAY IS IT HAPPENING????

user: i was hoping this thing would get called off

joeyb_9: guess i better saddle up.

> evie: i’m coming home to you cowboy. 😉

user: no wait this is so cute

user: not ev in her cowgirl era

> evie: i fear it may be permanent

user: i cannot comprehend that you guys are so in love your getting married….

> user: wym you can’t comprehend it?? they’ve been together for like 7 years and are clearly very happy?

joeyb_9

liked by bengals, bose, and 912,054 others

joeyb_9: locked in #TeamBose

view all 5,108 comments…

user: this hairstyle is the best

user: ev is so lucky

> evie: like it truly doesn’t get better than this.

user: this is giving major top gun vibes

evie: i’m locked in on you. 🤪💗

> joeyb_9: 🌽

user: yalllll this man!

used: if you need consoling after this tough season hit my line

> evie: aw. i might take you up on that offer

> user: if there’s one things ev is going to do it’s make sure errrrrbody know joe is HER man

> user: no like its giving *insecure*

evie

liked by millyg, joeyb_9, and 910,002 others

evie: my mood for the foreseeable future..

view all 3,107 comments…

user: angel girl

user: she’s a stunnnnna

lahjay10_: if joe ain’t bring some of those cookies tomorrow we may have a problem

> evie: only the best for you jay

user: a ray of sunshine

joeyb_9: photo by me, socks from my closet, cookies homemade, your smile out of this world.

> evie: the man that you are…

user: i don’t know if im rooting for you or not

user: this doesn’t seem like lifestyles of the rich and famous

> evie: you’re looking in the wrong place for that content

joeyb_9

liked by bengals, evie, and 816,901 others

joeyb_9: my hands don’t look small here

view all 6,738 comments…

user: delete this my girl has ig

bengals: caption 🤌

user: you remember what them haters had to say

evie: let’s put them to good use. 😉

> user: EV! it’s too early to be spicy in the comments!

> user: nooo she’s getting some of that BDJ 🤣

user: i wasn’t prepared for this today

user: GOODNESS GRACIOUS

evie

liked by joeyb_9, bengals, and 520,091 others

evie: why is it always so cold in seattle?

view all 6,194 comments…

user: you’re giving pick me vibes

> evie: next time you’re looking for something to comment on, please, don’t pick me. (:

user: seattle is nice when it isn’t raining

user: period !!!

millyg: a moment for YOU 💗

> evie: i luv u.

user: these pics make seattle look bad

joeyb_9: the fit goes HARD

> evie: you can borrow it anytime 🤪

> joeyb_9: game day fit?

> evie: would def be top 5 of the season.

user: why are joe and ev always so goofy in the comments, and yall think they aren’t made for each other????

> user: no bc SAME! i don’t get why people think they aren’t a good fit. they’re obsessed with each other.

joeyb_9

liked by bengals, lahjay10_, and 730,726 others

joeyb_9: Dark Knight

view all 5,720 comments…

user: that’s my QB

joemainmixon: 🐐

user: you ain’t him

user: WAKE UP JOE POSTED

lahjay10_: (TOP 2) DAM SURE AINT 2! 🐐

> evie: TELL EM JAY

user: smash

evie: i think i need a hero… 🥵

> joeyb_9: i’ll be your knight in black shoulder pads.

evie

liked by millyg, joeyb_9, and 820,092 others

evie: big week 😳

view all 5,118 comments…

user: my favorite wag

user: if y’all actually are getting married im sick.

user: are you going to share what’s happening?

user: you look STUNNING

user: wym??

user: not prepared for what’s about to go down. i have a feeling.

joeyb_9: 👩🏽‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏼

> user: oh shit

user: not joe about to ruin his life if speculation is true

> user: wow everyone is supportive until you realize he really isn’t ever going to leave her for you. this is crazy behavior!

evie

liked by bengals, lahjay10_, and 1,737,026 others

evie: i think i like this little life.. 🤍

view all 15,829 comments…

millyg: and that’s MRS. Evangeline Burrow!

> user: not me just now finding out ev’s full name

> user: Evangeline??? Excuse me, that’s beautiful.

user: she doesn’t deserve it.

lahjay10_: we was TURNT TF UP!

user: i am sick with jealousy

bengals: The King and his Queen, congratulations!

user: only ring he will ever get but congrats

> user: marrying the love of your life is a bigger dub than the sb ever will be.

user: congrats!

sam_hubbard_: Finally!!

user: i knew it was coming and somehow i convinced myself he was smarter than this..

joeyb_9

liked by bengals, millyg, and 1,290,001 others

joeyb_9: Mr. & Mrs.

view all 8,628 comments…

lahjay10_: congratulations brudda!

user: most overrated player in the nfl

> user: bro can’t you let him enjoy his wedding?

user: congrats, now go get that other ring!

user: i give it a few months before they are done with each other.

> user: considering they’ve been together for almost a decade, i don’t see that happening

user: we all wish we were ev rn!

bengals: that’s our QB, you lucky boy!

user: another thing to distract him from winning the super bowl

user: not fair

millyg: i’m not crying, you are. jk i am crying. i’ve been crying all day.

user: he’s too famous for this, he will get sick of her.

evies ig stories:

[bad268]

My Champion (Ollie Bearman X Hauger! Reader)

Fandom: RPF/Formula 2/3

Requested: Yee @arshiyuh (thank you for being patient <3)

Warnings: none.

Pronouns: None used

W.C. 1710

Summary: Follow Y/n and Ollie through different race weekends shared moments and unwavering support.

A/n: Inktober is coming up so all requests will be put on hold (doesn't mean I won't work on them, but the soonest I'll post them is probably November)

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~(^Google/Sports Illustrated)

Bahrain 2022

It was my first weekend on the track. Despite my brother’s success in Formula 3 last year, I had never had the time or money to travel with him, so this was pretty big for me. He was moved up to Formula 2 this year, so I knew that I wanted to be there to support him

I walked into the crowded garage, looking around to try and find my brother. I felt eyes on my back, so I turned around, trying to find who was looking at me. I made eye contact with a curly-haired brunette who was half hiding behind a wall. Once we made eye contact, he immediately ducked behind the wall, but I was already making my way over to him.

“Hi, can you help me find my brother, Dennis?” I asked after meeting him around the corner before he could go into one of the driver’s rooms.

“Oh, he’s already in the car,” the boy explained, the tension immediately leaving and replaced by slight remorse.

“Dang, the race doesn't start for another hour,” I sighed, “You really get in the cars that early?”

“Yeah, we have to get down to the track super early,” He explained before realizing he didn’t introduce himself. “I’m Ollie by the way.”

“Y/n.”

~~

Silverstone 2022

“Ollie?” I shouted through the Prema garage after the F3 race. “If you don’t answer me, I’ll drink the smoothie that I bought for you!”

That’s all it took for Ollie to come running out of the driver’s room out of breath and half dressed. He smirked and he pointed an accusing finger at me before saying, “I got out of the shower, but I’m not ignoring you.”

“Good, you stunk,” I answered, not acknowledging his shirtless chest. “I didn't actually buy the smoothie yet cause I wanted to see if your debrief was over.”

Clearly, I wasn’t doing a good enough job because Ollie noticed immediately that I was distracted. “Hey, my eyes are up here.” My face immediately heated up, causing him to start laughing.

“Sorry,” I muttered, dropping my head as Ollie pulled on a random Prema polo.

“You’re fine,” He chuckled, placing his hand under my jaw to lift my head. "How about we go get food and smoothies before the F2 race? We can watch it in here while we eat.”

“That sounds an awful lot like you’re asking my sibling on a date, Ollie,” Dennis said as he came into the garage. All Dennis did was point a finger at Ollie as he grabbed his balaclava from the table, “I would lecture you but I’m gonna be late, so all I’m saying is don’t be stupid.” With that, Dennis took off toward the track.

“What just happened?”

~~

Spa 2022

“Ollie, that drive was amazing!” I exclaimed as Ollie came into the Prema garage after collecting his second trophy of the weekend. “Two podiums on the same weekend! I’m so proud of you!”

Ollie suddenly grew shy under my praise as his face became red and he dropped his head with a small smile. “Thank you, Y/n/n.”

“Oh, are you suddenly an Ollie fan now?” Dennis joked, coming out of the driver's room to tease. “You didn’t even congratulate me when I won the championship!”

“You don’t need me to stroke your ego,” I laughed, hitting Dennis’ arm. “You win a lot. This weekend was his first win. Let me be happy for him. Plus, I’ve been an Ollie fan since Silverstone.”

“Just don’t make me hear it. I’m right next to your room,” He teased.

“Not that, Dennis!”

~~ Monza 2022

It was the end of the F3 season dinner before some of the team would be heading home for a few weeks. Ollie got second place in the sprint and feature, and all three Prema cars were in the top five for the feature race. Thus, the team decided a celebration was in order, especially since all three of their F3 drivers were moving up to F2 next season.

Ollie was very picky. It was common knowledge, so it wasn’t surprising when he ordered a basic spaghetti.

“It’s actually really good,” Ollie whined as a couple of the engineers ganged up on him for choosing something so simple when they’re in Italy. “Y/n/n, you try it. It’s completely different from London.”

“Well, of course, it is,” I laughed. “London is London and Italy is Italy. Italy is the land of the pasta for a reason.”

“Just try it,” He groaned, continuing to twirl his fork in the noodles. I signed in mock annoyance before leaning into Ollie’s side as I spun a bunch of noodles on my fork. We both put our forks in our mouths at the same time, and I noticed very quickly that one of our noodles was connected. Ollie seemed to pick it up around the same time, so we both turned our heads to look at each other. We were trying so hard not to laugh as the team started catching on to what we were going to do. We both leaned in, meeting in the middle of the noodle in a short kiss. The guys on the team were very split in their reactions; some were fake gagging and others were whistling.

We pulled apart after our brief display of affection, both of us smiling like crazy. I licked the remaining sauce off my lips with a smirk as Ollie and I just stared at each other, him expecting an answer.

“Spaghetti’s not that bad,” I laughed.

“Not that bad?” He questioned in disbelief. “Do we need to do that again? I think I could convince you.”

~~ Baku 2023

“I don’t think you’ll ever understand how proud I am of you,” I whispered as we were laying in our hotel bed after the feature race. We’d have to catch an early flight, so we just got some smoothies after dinner as a reward and had a movie playing in the background. Ollie laid his head on my chest as I played with his curls while the movie played on. “You made history this weekend, love. I am so incredibly proud of you.”

“If I wasn’t so tired, I would go on about how I wouldn’t be here without you,” he mumbled as he tightened his hold around my torso. “But I appreciate you. So much.”

“Well, you’re lucky I’ll always be here.”

“Oh no, you’re the lucky one,” He joked. “You get to say you’re with the guy who swept the weekend in F2. I don’t see them nicknaming a circuit after you.”

“Because Azer-bear-jan sounds better than Hauger-baijan. I don’t make the rules. I just enforce them.”

“We could debate this all night.”

~~

Abu Dhabi 2023

“You’re forgetting something, Ollie,” I stretched out as Ollie was on his way out of his driver’s room just before the race. He was doing some stretches in his driver’s room to keep warmed up during the red flag due to the amount of debris on the track while I was reading until his engineer came in giving him the 10-minute warning. “You can’t forget it.”

“Oh, right,” he responded, immediately walking up to place a short kiss on my lips. “Happy?”

“I was talking about this,” I gestured to the helmet that still sat on the table behind me, “But that works too, I guess.”

“Oh, that would be helpful. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he laughed, leaning over to grab the helmet. He started walking out the door but turned around at the last second to come kiss me. He leaned his forehead against mine, saying, “One more for good luck.” He placed one last kiss on my nose before being dragged out by Fred to race.

~~

Bahrain 2024

I had a good feeling this year. It was going to be a good year for Ollie. The first race was off to a great start with Ollie finishing second in the sprint and first in the feature race after starting fifth.

“Ollie, this is your year,” I exclaimed as I walked into the Prema hospitality where Ollie was currently in the shower after his media duties.

“Um, knock?” He laughed as he stuck his head out of the shower to see me sitting on the ground against the door.

“I’m just saying, I got a feeling, baby,” I clarified.

“Any particular reason you felt the need to tell me while I’m in the shower?” He laughed at my antics.

“I couldn’t hold that back. That’s bad luck,” I quipped back. “Plus, I needed you to know now.”

“Glad to know you’ve got my back,” He chuckled as he went back to his shower.

“Always, love,” I responded quickly.

~~

Qatar 2024

He just needed a top 5 finish. That’s all he needed, and he’ll be an F2 champion. Dino would need to win the race, and Ollie would need to place outside of the top five for Dino to challenge him for the title. However, that went out the window as soon as Ollie secured pole and Dino couldn’t start.

“Ollie, you did it!” I shouted through the headset as soon as he crossed the finish line in first place, “You are the F2 Champion!”

“All you, love,” he said back. “This is all for you, Y/n/n.”

“No, this all you. You did the hard work, Ollie,” I cried. “That was an incredible drive! Get in here!”

It didn’t take long for Ollie to pull around into parc ferme into his rightful place and jump out of his car. He stood on top of his car as everyone cheered for him before running and jumping into the sea of Prema. After the engineers gave him pats on the back and he shared a hug with his strategist, he turned his attention to me.

He slowly walked up to stand directly in front of me, allowing me to take his helmet and balaclava off. I could see the tears that filled his eyes, causing my eyes to water as well, as we just smiled at each other for a few seconds. It’s like there was no one else there. 

Just me and my champion.

~~~~~

© BAD268 2023. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

[vxiphoid]

PIXELATED ZEN

❨ summary ❩ genshin › genshin men playing minecraft with you ((ft. alhaitham, itto, cyno, diluc, kazuha, kaeya, heizou, & xiao))

tags ✧ modern au, drabble, fluff, chaotic energy, not proofread, cursing, ooc(?), established relationship, gn!reader, kaeya sets a forest on fire, alhaitham does not appreciate bees, mentions of pixelated deaths

amanuensis’ message ⊹ IM NOT TRYING TO KILL MY OTHER FANDOMS I SWEAR… im gonna back up from twst for a bit (im literally posting scarabia soon.) you can clearly tell who my favorites are… this unlocked a whole different part of my brain holy shit im deceased

⌜200+ e/chara ⌟

♫ blossom - t. shan

genshin masterlist

ALHAITHAM

╰┈➤ tbh he thinks minecraft is stupid, i mean, why not read a book instead of burning the images of pixels into your eye sockets😒 yeah, he’d just rather books. its a game about blocks, what could possibly be so interesting? he will admit the music is… nice. its nostalgic even though he’s never heard the track before. his favorite animals are the axolotl idk they’re his little pookies. its their little stick arms, they look so silly… as soon as haitham found out that you could color things its over, he make some sweet things like putting a sign on top of your shared house with both initials with colored dye. he’s so happy, just not very vocal about it, but he has the smallest of smiles. he definitely has headphones with the crochet sprout on it omg😭 alhaitham does not like bees whatsoever, they stung him for trying to get food. he just wanted honey :[

“look, the dog’s collar is blue. and the sign’s letters are green and then if you add a glow squid’s ink, it lights up.”

┏━━━━━━ ━ ─ ╴⋯ ⟢

ARATAKI ITTO

╰┈➤ he has waited YEARS for someone to play minecraft with him omfg. certified snack hoarder for times like these. you both literally hit each other to show love, you’ve accidentally killed him once bc he didn’t tell you that he had like half a heart… itto likes the water, hates the guardians because who do you think you are attacking him out of nowhere??? gets one shotted by the elder guardian while trying to fight it with a stick and then blames it on magma blocks pulling him down. GAMING WITH HIM IS NEVER CALM GODS💀 you cannot lay on him or anything bc as soon as those cave sounds or disc 13 start playing, he’s already done sprung out of his seat. his screams are actually really funny though, you got him a cat from how much he’s been assaulted by creepers. when you introduced him to shaders, he was so in awe. “babe i have a shadow!” type of excitement JAKEJEJDMnda.

“the cat’s name is sir arataki the third, you are now my loyal guard cat. who’s an adorable little guy?”

┏━━━━━━ ━ ─ ╴⋯ ⟢

CYNO

╰┈➤ look at this nerd (affectionate), ofc he plays cubecraft. loved it so much that when he didn’t have the actual game, he would play the really bad knockoffs💀 plays on console so you can sit between his legs, lean back, and game with him. cyno hate the split screen because he always gets confused on what side he’s on so he lets you use his switch, that way you’re both still comfortable. he’s more of an explorer if you do get mod packs for him, likes the horror ones the most. there’s nothing like hitting the enemy or shit talking the thing that could potentially one shot you with your s/o‼️ yall crouch a lot, its like a little dance. he really likes the disc “far” it itches his brain in the right way. definitely downloads the little raccoon mobs but then regrets it because he gives up all his berries to them, look at their little begging arms, literally how can you say no to that?? AND THEY WASH THE BERRIES. you both fall asleep to the ambience and to each others breathing all cuddled up ‘n warm. cyno absentmindedly sings the music while chopping wood or mining that shit has you SLUMPED. he kisses your head when you fall asleep, smiling like a silly goober.

“do-do-do-do do-do-do-do do, neow neow neow nneow neeeowwww… huh? oh, i’m almost done then we can go to bed, yeah? i’ll charge the switch too, don’t worry. just rest.”

(he’s singing that one part in danny lmfao)

┏━━━━━━ ━ ─ ╴⋯ ⟢

DILUC

╰┈➤ diluc does not understand the concept of minecraft but its okay, he’s just happy to be here. he also doesn’t call it minecraft but “cave game”, the original name, he did his research though it is rare that he actually calls it minecraft. found out that you could breed animals and accidentally made a pack of wolves. diluc is really good with redstone its actually insane😭 he’s the type to protect you the whole time while you’re getting flowers for the house, boyfriend bodyguard. diluc doesn’t play much because of his job but when he does, he’s prepared to sit for hours and spend time with you :(. these are the times where he’s most affectionate, randomly kissing your cheek, getting water for the both of you before you play, etc. luc loves the mod pack “industrial”, he can build machines, how neat is that??? also it has way more OMFP with the added features it has yk? he likes the trains :D

“is the water running…? the water’s running, they have moving windmills!”

┏━━━━━━ ━ ─ ╴⋯ ⟢

KAEDEHARA KAZUHA

╰┈➤ kazuha has the most expensive equipment yet doesn’t use this shit half of the time unless he’s streaming with heizou??? like im talking msi infinite rs pc, multiple monitors, a graphic drawing tablet, headphones with immaculate sound quality AND!!! the ear cups have fucking cyberpunk 3d wing guards on them. but anyways, minecraft, yes, he plays. in fact, kaedehara has about 10 beaten hardcore worlds every time a new update comes out, he must beat the game again. he rarely plays minecraft without his shaders so when you want to play the original og minecraft, he doesn’t mind, he actually enjoys the nostalgia. so much so the music is actually his background music when he’s just lazing around. words cannot express how much he dislikes (hates) wardens omg. he’ll protect you from them but if there were diamonds behind a warden, ig he’s going somewhere else😭 kazuha gives you random shit, weather that be something really sweet or questionable…

“love, do you want my rotten flesh? here<3 oh! and, i also got you some steak, you’re low on hearts…”

┏━━━━━━ ━ ─ ╴⋯ ⟢

KAEYA

╰┈➤ he’s heard of it, watched people play, just never played it. but when he does… he’s a menace. kaeya got his hands on flint and steel and set an entire jungle on fire… but he can be sweet sometimes! you’re the one protecting his ass while he walks around at night UNARMED to gather blue flowers for you. like you’re cute, but take a shield or something😭 he’s jumped off of a tall building before and landed on half a heart for a stack of bread you didn’t want. he’s rather oblivious to the mobs around him, he once thought shulkers were friends because they were just “silly little guys in little boxes” yk until they almost killed him. you bought him his own skin and introduced him to parrots and now its his favorite animal, he looks like a pirate!!! kaeya is chaotically sweet.

“yes, you almost died protecting me but how could you resist my everlasting love plus pixelated blue flowers?”

(has a cat unironically named ice spice LMFAO)

┏━━━━━━ ━ ─ ╴⋯ ⟢

SHIKANOIN HEIZOU

╰┈➤ your boyfriend is good at literally anything else BUT minecraft. its the way this game constantly has it out for him too like what did bro do??🙁 heizou stream’s with kazuha every now and again and on those, he still doesn’t know what to do… he’d rather play on the servers, bedwars in particular. extremely good at bw, you’d rather NOT be his enemy😭😭 wins almost every single game even when he carries, rank 98 in the server. yet when it comes to a casual server between you and him, the chats are filled with his deaths and his hashtagged rages💀 heizou despises silverfish which is also why he hates going into strongholds, they could get stomped on for all he cares! >:( he has texture packs with really beautiful skies and then a picnic mod so he can stargaze with you and eats minecraft cake :(<3

“oh. babe, green is heading for our bed, no pressure or anything. i loovveee youuu😚”

┏━━━━━━ ━ ─ ╴⋯ ⟢

XIAO

╰┈➤ xiao has the MOST downloaded mod packs, shaders, and worlds. not very expensive mod packs most of the time but when they are, they’re always good. spends his time fighting off mobs at night, #1 totem holder. he even has his own custom skin!!! he’s kinda been waiting for you to ask so when you do play mc together, you already have your own room, but when you voluntarily move your bed into his room to sleep… he melts. xiao loves cuddling while the two of you play, he’d rather your arms around him than the other way around, feels more intimate. you have matching hoodies for occasions like this. he has the dragon mod pack and has his own golden and orange dragon named ‘li’. he doesn’t talk while gaming, curses silently when he gets hit, but other than that doesn’t talk. if you want to talk, he’ll listen, he likes hearing about your day :].

“no, keep talking. i’m listening. see, li’s listening too.”

[starsandhughes]

Penalty Box Series— Jamie’s Contract Edition

23-24 Series Masterlist

sorry this is late!

yourusername

liked by jamie.drysdale, trevorzegras, and 11,346 others

yourusername MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE! actually— not please. i am demanding your attention.

my favorite ex-hubby, my jamie baby, HAS BEEN SIGNED TO THE ANAHEIM DUCKS FOR 3 MORE YEARS! *queue cheers, applause, screams, and violent tears of joy*

trevor has been unbearable (i have, too) without you. the daily facetimes were not enough by a long shot and i’m so enthralled with you being back in the golden state🧡

i had so much fun watching how happy you were at your first practice back with the team in almost a year! scrapbook moment for sure!

i can’t wait to see what you accomplish this season. i love you with my whole butt, jamie baby!

tagged jamie.drysdale and trevorzegras

view all 317 comments

jamie.drysdale i love you, too, ex-wifey! i’m so happy to be stuck with your weirdo butt for three more years🧡

yourusername i- did you- i’m sorry- STUCK WITH ME?! it’s a privilege to be in the same room as me

jamie.drysdale being stuck with you was the only problem with my comment?

yourusername i’m choosing to take “weirdo butt” as a term of endearment

jackhughes @/yourusername what if it’s not?

yourusername @/jackhughes he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body! he doesn’t even have a mean atom! he’s jamie baby!

jackhughes @/yourusername you call everyone baby

yourusername @/jackhughes and i call you jacky BOY

jackhughes @/yourusername *insert curse word here*

yourusername @/jackhughes istg i’m going to replace your dong with a gear shift

jamie.drysdale @/yourusername i’ve missed you so much

trevorzegras why are all of his pictures good ones and i got me in the penalty box?! he should have bad pictures! AND HE GETS HEARTS?!

yourusername you had like 2 “bad” pictures and you BOTH got an “i’m back, sluts” so HUSH

trevorzegras i’m begging you

yourusername oh, yeah? you’re gonna beg? i’d like to see that

trevorzegras you first, mama

jamie.drysdale @/yourusername @.trevorzegras i no longer miss you two

yourusername @/jamie.drysdale you sure? i could make you beg, too

jamie.drysdale @/yourusername PENALTY! EJECTION! SUSPENSION! DEPORTED! @.trevorzegras SAY SOMETHING

trevorzegras @/jamie.drysdale she didn’t mean it

jamie.drysdale @/trevorzegras ARE YOU SURE?!

trevorzegras @/jamie.drysdale not entirely

lhughes_06 @/yourusername EW EW EW EW EW

_quinnhughes @/yourusername SISSY! NO!

jackhughes @/yourusername AHHHHHH

yourusername pansies! every single one of you!

user90 AND WE SURVIVED THE GREAT WAR

user12 when he chews on his mouth guard> WHEN HE CHEWS ON HIS MOUTH GUARD WHILE PLAYING>>>>>>>>

_quinnhughes @/jamie.drysdale congratulations! you get sissy’s questionable ethical love and affection for three more years! good luck with that

jamie.drysdale i’d keep her in my pocket for sometimes being nice and small but she’d probably burn a whole in my pants

yourusername @/jamie.drysdale @_quinnhughes i feel attacked

_quinnhughes @/yourusername i said it out of love

jamie.drysdale @/yourusername what he said

yourusername @/jamie.drysdale @_quinnhughes is it act like me in my own comment section day? did i miss that on my calendar? or are you just obsessed with me?

_quinnhughes @/yourusername “if you can’t beat them, join ‘em” (queen)

jamie.drysdale @/yourusername ❤️

yourusername @/trevorzegras COME LOVE ME

trevorzegras @/yourusername you’re the most beautiful thing this world has ever created

yourusername @/trevorzegras aw, you simp<3

anaheimducks welcome home jd!

user7 LOOK AT HIS SMILE😭🫶

masonmctavish23 @/jamie.drysdale good to have you back, jimmy!

jamie.drysdale @/masonmctavish23 thank you!

yourusername mcbaby! you’re going to love your first post game goodie bag of the season!

masonmctavish @/yourusername but will you be able to top the last game of the season one?

yourusername @/masonmctavish23 you’re underestimating my abilities

user36 TREVOR AND JAMIE IN THE 5TH PIC OH MY GOD SLUT ME OUT

colecaufield @/jamie.drysdale you’re out of the woods!

jamie.drysdale @/colecaufield i’m in the clear!

colecaufield @/jamie.drysdale good!

yourusername out of the woods (dryfield’s version)

colecaufield @/yourusername did you just give us a ship name?

yourusername @/colecaufield yes?

trevorzegras @/colecaufield @/jamie.drysdale ARE YOU TWO CHEATING ON ME?!

jamie.drysdale @/trevorzegras did you just admit to cheating on ME?!

colecaufield @/trevorzegras YOU LOVE ANOTHER MAN?!

trevorzegras @/colecaufield @/jamie.drysdale i love you both equally! so what if we…

jamie.drysdale @/trevorzegras @/colecaufield 👀

colecaufield @/trevorzegras @/jamie.drysdale 👀

yourusername @/trevorzegras @/jamie.drysdale @/colecaufield oh so you three can make threesome jokes and i can’t?!

jamie.drysdale @/yourusername correct

colecaufield @/yourusername jealous much?

trevorzegras @/yourusername you know very well what i can do

yourusername @/trevorzegras 👀

jackhughes @/yourusername @/trevorzegras THAT IS TOO MUCH INFORMATION

user56 i came for the jamie pics and stayed for… i don’t know what this is but i love it

user70 oh the twitter girlies are going to go insane over this comment section

wyattjohnston_ @/jamie.drysdale see you on the ice?

jamie.drysdale @/wyattjohnston_ i’ll be there

yourusername @/jamie.drysdale WHAT DO I DO?

jamie.drysdale @/wyattjohnston_ y/n’s a… fan… and she’s kinda freaking out right now and i’ve been told to ask you to not read the rest of these comments

wyattjohnston_ @/jamie.drysdale got it

wyattjohnston_ @/yourusername i’d be happy to meet you when we play the ducks! maybe with some other guys, too!

yourusername @/wyattjohnston_ jamie’s lying and i’m totally not freaking out right now as i say i would love that very much!

wyattjohnston_ @/yourusername @.jamie.drysdale i’ll see you two on the 19th!

user36 oh my god it’s wyatt in sissy’s comment section🥹 i bet she’s crying so hard right now

trevorzegras there’s a LOT going on right now

lhughes_06 @/jamie.drysdale congrats, man! i know you’ll continue taking good care of sissy

jamie.drysdale @/lhughes_06 thank you! and i am currently taking care of her

lhughes_06 @/jamie.drysdale you’ve got videos, right?

jamie.drysdale @/lhughes_06 so many

jackhughes @/jamie.drysdale who’s shirt is she under?

jamie.drysdale @/jackhughes mine. send help.

jackhughes @_quinnhughes he needs help

_quinnhughes @/jamie.drysdale this is uncharted territory you’re on your own

user66 JAMIE MEME

user27 he’s so-😭🥹

_alexturcotte @/jamie.drysdale i came here to say congratulations but i’m now concerned for you well being

trevorzegras @_alexturcotte what about MY well being?

_alexturcotte @/trevorzegras you’ve been through war with her! jd’s barely been through 3 years!

jamie.drysdale @_alexturcotte thank you! she’s stopped crying and is back to freaking out

yourusername @_alexturcotte THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! IT WILL BE TOPPED WHEN I MEET THE STARS!

trevorzegras @/yourusername we’re getting married in 3 months

yourusername @/trevorzegras and i’ll rank my best days after that!

_alexturcotte @/trevorzegras it’s better to accept your fate now

jamie.drysdale hey, remember when this post was about me? that was nice while it lasted

yourusername “alone in a darkest dark, a fire is a smiling friend walking out of the shadows.” (atticus) i was saving that for something special, but since you’re whiny, i’ll tell it now. true, i’ve only known you three years, but i’ve let you see me. you know the darkest parts of me, and you’ve been beside me for a lot of the brightest parts. you, jamie drysdale, are more than embers. you’re more than the flames of a fire place, more than a bonfire at the lake house. you burnt down my walls, and guided me to catch fire myself. you’re not just a part of my life. you’re a part of me. a part that gets to stay with me for not just three more years, but every year after. i love you, i’m proud of you, and thank you.

trevorzegras update: this is one of the sweetest things she’s ever written and they’re both crying and somehow this turned into us watching the hunger games

[jamdoughnutmagician]

Daring to be truthful (Eddie Munson x Reader fluff)

Thanks to this text post from @mcbeanzontoast I had to write a little something about it so here it is. 

Word Count:1,584

Warnings:Badly written fluff, games of truth or dare, nosebleeds (but nothing graphic don’t worry), confessions of love, best friends to lovers, don’t think I’m missing anything? but let me know if I am so I can tag it

It was Steve’s idea to host a get-together for the group, shared trauma brought people together or something like that, you reasoned. The drinks had been steadily flowing as the group settled down in front of the huge tv that resided in the Harrington’s spacious living room. Steve had brought a few tapes home with him after his shift at family video and somewhere between Top Gun followed by Labyrinth, which was an odd route to go down for a movie night, but everyone seemed to go along with it nonetheless. Nancy and Jonathan had snuck away after she had climbed down from her space curled into him on his lap. It wasn’t long before he was hot on her heels, quietly tip-toeing out of the room with a blush rising to his cheeks.

With the happy couple now gone, it was only you, Robin, Steve and Eddie in the living room. The sounds of the movie now going largely ignored, fading into background noise. 

Robin downs the last few sips of beer from her bottle as she speaks up

“Let’s play truth or dare” she suggests, her freckled features rosy with the buzz of alcohol.  

“What are we, twelve years old or something?” Steve scoffs, taking a sip from his bottle.

“Scared of a little game, Stevie?” Robin teases.

“Alright then, I’m game if everyone else is. God knows I don’t have anything to hide.” Steve professed.

“Okay then, Steve..” you turn to look up at him from where you sat on the floor. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth” 

“Is it true that you use Farrah Fawcett hairspray?” you snickered as you asked him the question.

“Jill? from Charlie’s Angels?” Robin squawked out between laughs.

Steve’s face burned bright red, how did you know about that?

“I bet Dustin told you, didn’t he. That kid couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it” Steve started.

“Actually, I told her.” Eddie speaks up. “Admittedly after Dustin told me. You know I can’t be keeping secrets from my best friend, right?” he chuckles, a cheeky grin spreading across his face.

“So it’s true?” Robin asked.

“Yeah..Yeah laugh it up, alright. It’s true” he confesses, ducking his head down with a small laugh of his own.

“Truth or dare?” Eddie asks you from where he’s lounging in one of the living room’s big sofa chairs.

“Truth.” Eddie practically knew everything about you anyway, this was going to be easy.

“What was the worst date you’ve ever been on?” he asks you, his grin stretching across his lips. Fucker. Eddie knew all too well of the story of the worst date of your life, remembering how you told him how your date had not only showed up 20 minutes late with no explanation or reason why, and that he then proceeded to talk all about his ex-girlfriend, and how he’s probably still be with her if she hadn’t found about the other girl he was secretly seeing behind her back. Needless to say there wasn’t a second date.

“Oh my god! That’s awful! Sounds like you dodged a bullet there, y/nl” Robin chuckled.

“Yeah it was all downhill from the moment he opened his mouth” you joined in, laughing at your own story.

____________________

The night went on like that, swapping stories, like how Robin was almost late for band practise because she had been making out with Vickie in the school’s auditorium, or the fact that Eddie on more than one occasion had been completely wasted whilst performing on stage at the hideout. 

As well as challenging each other to do increasing stupid dares. Watching Steve try to swallow an entire spoonful of cinnamon had been a particularly amusing highlight of yours.

But Robin, who, at this point was not handling her drink very well, had dared Eddie to show-off his best metal head-banging, things had taken a turn.

The force with how much Eddie was showing off his best head-banging air guitar routine, had caused Eddie to have a nose bleed.

By now Robin was stumbling around and Steve had made the executive decision to wrangle her from where she was standing on wobbly legs on the couch cushions of the sofa.

"Are sure you guys are gonna be okay down here whilst I try to get this one to bed?" Steve asked as he held up Robin's swaying frame.

"I've got it from here Steve, you go look after Robin" You assured, watching as Steve carefully manoeuvred his friend up the stairs, before taking Eddie by the hand and leading him into the Harrington’s kitchen.

“Here..” you say, handing him a bunch of tissues. “Tip your head forward and pinch your nose. That should help stop the bleeding” you say.

“Thanks, you don’t have to help me, I’ll be alright.” he muffles from behind the tissues scrunched up under his nose.

“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t help and look after you when you needed it, huh?” you smiled at him.

After a while, Eddie’s nosebleed seemed to have stopped. With a cool damp cloth you begin to clean away the dried blood from his face.

“Y’know I never got to ask you the truth question I wanted to ask you” you say whilst dabbing the cloth against his skin.

“I don’t think that’s quite how truth or dare works, sweetheart.” Eddie teases. “I think I’m supposed to choose?”

“Okay, I know but can I ask you my question anyway?” you ask hopefully, bright eyes looking up at him.

“You can ask me anything, no secrets between us, right?” That wasn't strictly true. He did have one secret, one that he kept very close to his heart. That secret was just how big of a crush that he had on you. You two had been friends for as long as he can remember. Wherever Eddie went you followed and vice versa. It wasn’t often one of you was seen without the other. He never wanted to ruin the friendship that you two had, that relationship was one of the most important things in his life, but he couldn’t help his heart ruling his head, and the thoughts of holding you close and kissing your lips came to mind more often than he’d care to admit to.

However, what Eddie wasn’t aware of was that despite all his pining over you, and trying to keep his affections for you hidden, you very much loved him in the same way. 

Maybe it was childish to think of your best friend like that. Daydreaming about holding his hand, going on dates to the movies and kissing his lips whenever you wanted, but you couldn’t help it. Eddie Munson had been it for you ever since you’d first laid eyes on him all those years ago. 

“What’s something you would do if you knew there would be no consequences?” you asked.

Maybe it was the buzz of the alcohol, or the comfort of being in such close proximity to you, but as usual, Eddie’s mouth was moving faster than his brain could keep up with. Without hesitation, he blurts out,

“Kiss you.” 

The boldness of his answer shocks you for a moment. That’s all you’ve ever wanted to hear from him, your heart racing from the thrill of it all.

“I dare you.” you whisper, not quite yet trusting your own voice. “Kiss me.”

He leans down to you, cupping your cheek in his large hand, his clunky metal rings are a welcomed chill against the flush of your heated skin. His big brown eyes look deep in yours before he closes the gap between the two of you. 

He tentatively presses his lips to yours in an delicate exploratory kiss, the tip of his nose slightly bumping against yours. His lips are surprisingly soft, with just the slightly bitter tang of beer. You can’t help but smile against his lips, having dreamed about kissing for so long and now it was actually happening, setting the butterflies in your stomach fluttering. You never wanted it to end.

He pulls away from you, his brown eyes are soft on you as his smile spreads across his lips.

“Y’know, since we’re being all truthful and shit..I’m gonna be honest here and say I’ve always wanted to do that.” Eddie confesses.

“Well I suppose I owe you the truth, too. I’ve always wanted to kiss you too...” you say looking down to your feet, shyly. “..But more than that, I’ve been in love with you for the longest time, Eddie.” you finish, looking up to him hopefully.

“Well you know I don’t just go around kissing girls without it meaning something to me, sweetheart..” he says with a smile. “I love you too, have been ever since I laid eyes on you.” 

“So what does that make us now? Because I don’t think I can go back to being just friends.”

“Well how about we try being boyfriend and girlfriend?” Eddie offered. He’d wanted to call you his girlfriend for so long that the only title felt natural to him.

“Yeah I like the sound of that, Eds” 

“Only if we can still be best friends too. Don’t think that because you’re my girlfriend now, that doesn’t mean you’re not still my best friend.” he assured.

“I’d like that Ed.” you perch up on your tip-toes to press one more quick kiss to his lips. “I’d like that a lot.”

@penguinsandpotterheads @i-me-mine @harringtons-cupid @seatnights

[sweetest-honeybee]

How come you finished welcome home commissions before other commissions?

Sorry to be kind of rude but a friend of mine commissioned something a while before you started posting about Welcome Home and it’s understandable that you are busy but the welcome home commissions were likely commissioned after you started posting about it so I don’t know why you did them first.

I already know I’m gonna sound like an ass for a moment but here we go-

Firstly this can be taken up privately by your friend if they’re concerned. I also don’t particularly appreciate this in my inbox but to answer, it’s just whatever I can get through quickest. My oldest of the ones sitting are from much longer ago than anything anyone in Tumblr has commissioned me for and I’m finishing those tomorrow (they’re from Twitter and Instagram respectively and I dedicated my entire last Saturday to them alone). Those two have been quite kind and expressed their concerns about turnaround themselves if need be

Anything that’s particularly fun and interesting gets done quicker and keeps space open when others are a bit stuck when I need a quick slot filled like last week to cover an expense, for example. Scraping by on harder/less interesting commissions slows things down

Truly, it’s not that I don’t like some commissions, they’re just harder to sit and focus on

Additionally, my time management has been awful this year because of several points of uncertainty about getting a job, a couple scares on my living situation, and not having a clear window of time consistently to know when to work on things that have been sitting (and of course, burnout is always an issue). It’s easy to find time to just. Scribble and doodle, maybe do a piece for myself, but getting actual work done is a little more difficult. I’ve discovered preclaimed adopts and taking up so many commissions in May last minute wasas a bad choice so I’m still quite literally 15 commissions in the hole to finish on top of your friend’s commission. So making sure that isn’t gonna happen again is all I can do, at the moment. I’ve been chipping away at em in little bits of free time as best I can, reorganizing my canvases, getting a good idea of what’ll be finished first and last, etc etc I’ve actually been quite productive for the last week or so

If your friend is upset they need to tell me. They’re the client, and the content doesn’t concern you directly if you haven’t commissioned me and are waiting. If they’d like a refund because the turnaround is too long, that’s for them to communicate with me and I’m happy to provide a refund. I’m not always gonna be the best artist for the job if you want quick work and that’s fine. I’ve refunded MUCH larger pieces before for that reason. Clients may check in at any time whether I’ve got progress to show for the time or not. And oftentimes I don’t! Sometimes it’s days or a couple-few weeks before I can get progress to people, it just happens and I’ve been working on making sure it doesn’t keep happening so I don’t have to make people expect to wait so long before they hear from me. Trust me, it’s always a bit disappointing when I can’t show anything

And now that I’m working as well, my ability to finish those things just depends on what days I get to myself during the week and atm thats 3 days this week so those 3 days are dedicated to downtime and paid commission work. Which quite frankly, is a bit exhausting. Fun puppet characters and scaly dragons and whatnot are fun and rewarding and I’m clearing my queue while doing something I’m enjoying and that gets me to the older stuff much faster

I’m very sorry the turnaround estimate was more than a little off and it’ll be tweaked for better preparation in the future. I’m also sorry if they’ve asked and I didn’t respond quickly or have sounded dismissive. Hell, some clients pester and pester and that certainly makes doing work for them unenjoyable. I think about these commissions every single day and how I can approach them so I can finish them by sometime in July

[sammyfenderr]

I Love you

This is my first fic 🙈. I’ve been a Sam Fender fan for years but never had the confidence to post anything myself. I’m a massive fan of lots of writers on here @17-goingunder @theborders @the-leveller @jhangelface0523 (and many more) and they’ve all inspired me to try myself. I hope you enjoy!!

Friends to Lovers

Y/n was a shy girl. Never one to be outspoken in a group setting and certainly not one to be confident in her own skin. She struggled with her body image and with socialising with people she didn’t know too well. However, despite these so called ‘flaws’, she was kind. Her eyes had a warmth to them and when you looked into them, you felt at home. Without knowing, she had a capability to make people feel safe and good.

Sam had secretly admired her for years. She was in the same year as him in school and after Sixth Form Y/N had cemented herself well into their friendship group. Sam thought she was the prettiest girl out there. He loved how much SHE loved, how she constantly put others before herself and how her heart was just the purest. The crease between her eyebrows when she laughed and the twinkle in her eyes when she was faced with cute cat videos were little quirks he was enamoured by.

However, Y/n was far too self conscious to let herself believe anyone like Sam would be interested in her. She had been there through all his previous girlfriends, secretly earning to be them, wishing she could be the one being comforted by Sam when drunk, getting songs written about her or better still, getting random kisses and hugs from him just because he could. But she never verbalised these desires and so Sam never felt he was in the position to express to her how much he loved her. It was a vicious cycle and it was inevitable to catch up on them.

——————————————————————————

“Y/n!!”

Urgh. There it was. That sickly sweet voice Y/n had grew to hate so much.

Leah was Sam’s newest girlfriend. He’d met her a couple months back on a night out in Newcastle and they’d been going out for about 4 months. There was nothing wrong about her. She seemed sweet and made Sam happy, but that’s what made Y/n secretly resent her more.

“We were just talking about you!”

“All good things I hope” Y/n joked in jest.

“Is that a new top you’re wearing?”, the blonde girl asked.

“Erm no it isn’t actually, it was me Mams in the 90s, she let me borrow it.”

“Aw, cute”, a slight trace of a patronising tone in her voice.

“Sam was just saying how you’ve finally found a new job. Took you long enough! Anyone would think you’ve just been living off this lots money!!”

Woah. You could tell she was drunk, but she’d never been this confrontational with you before.

“LEAH.” Sam snapped. He looked mortified.

Y/n’s cheeks had flushed bright red and she began to recoil in on herself.

“Leah, what the fuck?” Dean said.

You were so confused, where had all this come from? Sure, you and Leah were never the best of friends but you also were never enemies.

“Oh calm down would yous, it was only a joke!” she declared.

But you didn’t find it funny, and Sam could tell. You were very self conscious about the fact all your friends now had money and you were still struggling to get ends to meet. You never asked anyone for help financially, but Sam new you struggled and would always be conscious never to make you feel uncomfortable because of it.

“Leah, where did that come from? You know Y/n has never taken advantage of any of us!”, the geordie blonde boy seethed.

“Oh give over, none of you can take a joke. I’m going to the toilet.”

Y/n wanted the ground to swallow her up. She hated attention, and currently everyone was staring at her. All she could think about was the quickest route to leave.

“Y/n Im so sorry I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”, Sam apologised. The look of guilt written all across his face.

“Don’t be daft,” Y/n stated, “I’m sure she meant nothing by it.”

Sam wasn’t so sure though. He’d had constant arguments in last few weeks with Leah about Y/n. Leah felt threatened by her and Sam’s relationship, and so she expressed that by declaring to Sam she didn’t like Y/n a few weeks back. She also felt like Sam cared more for Y/n then her. To make matters worst, Sam couldn’t console her on this. He loved Y/n and if it came to it, he’d pick her, every time.

——————————————————————————

An hour later and Y/n was outside the pub having a cig to calm her nerves. She was still so embarrassed from earlier but she didn’t make a fuss, just sat with her friends and pretended nothing had happened. Inside it had ruined her though, she needed a few minutes outside to just compose herself before she faced Leah again.

“May a join you?” a familiar voice filled her ears.

Subconsciously, a smile plastered its self across Y/n’s face and her rapidly beating heart began to slow. Sam was the only person who made her feel like this.

She quickly nodded her head and he took a seat next to her, his scent drowning out everything else. He was just perfect.

For a couple moments they sat in silence, just enjoying one another’s company. They were the type of friends who could do this and it wouldn’t be awkward. The warmth radiating off him was addictive and Y/n couldn’t resit her desire to be closer, deciding to rest her tired head upon his shoulder.

She was slowing starting to feel more calm and like herself until a sob could be heard from the blonde man sitting next to her.

Y/n’s head whipped round and she felt her heart shatter from the sight in front of her. His eyes looked desperate for some comfort and his body was pitifully shaking. She couldn’t take it, seeing the one person she truly loved being so broken and vulnerable.

“Oh Sammy. Come here”

He didn’t need to be told twice. His head soon buried itself into her neck and he clung onto her like his life depended on it.

Y/n had never seen him like this before. So heartbroken and inconsolable. It was torturous. His sobs were harsh and he was struggling for breath, his salty tears were soaking themselves into Y/n’s top and his hands had become white from how hard he was clinging onto his girl.

“Oh my darling, please talk to me. Tell me what you need.” Y/n whispered comfortingly.

“I need you.” was all the man said.

Y/n’s eyes began to tear up at his confession and subsequently she began to rock him side to side, whispering sweet nothings into his ear.

“Baby tell me what’s the matter, please. I hate seeing you like this and not knowing how to help you.”

“Erm..” Sam started, “Well…” he was struggling and Y/n could tell. She placed a sweet kiss on his cheek, a sign telling him to keep going, she was there for him.

“I hate how Leah treated you earlier and I hate how she clearly made you feel. You’re the best person in my life and I’ll be damned if I let anyone, especially a girlfriend, treat my best friend anything less than the princess she is.”

Y/n was speechless. Did he really care for her that much?

“Truth be told, I’ve always admired you. Thought you were the kindest, cleverest, prettiest girl I knew and I think Leah knew that deep down. But I’ve been too scared to do anything about it. I always thought you’d never feel that way about me so I’d get myself another girl who wasn’t half as interesting as you, but would be interested in me.”

What the hell was going on?! Surely Sam didn’t feel the same way about Y/n as she did for him.

“Anyway I’m rambling. The point is, I’ve just broken up with Leah.”

WHAT.

“I know it’s probably a shitty thing to do it so quickly and in such a public place but I couldn’t take it anymore. She didn’t make me happy and I didn’t really want her like I wanted you.” his voice noticeably got quieter at the end of his little speech, but Y/n heard loud and clear.

“And I’m not expecting you to feel the same way or to even say anything back to me, I just want you to know that’s it’s always been you. It always has been, and always will be.”

It was music to Y/n’s ears. That’s all she’d ever wanted to hear, right from the first day she saw him she was captivated and she knew she’d never fall out of his spell. Everything about him was perfect; his goofy smile, sensitive nature, immature humour and incredible musical talent. Y/n was in awe of him and always wished she could be good enough for him. Little had she known though, it was exactly Y/n’s humble and kind nature that had made Sam equally fall for her.

“Sam… i don’t know what to say” Y/n’s voice trembled. And before she could wipe the tears that began to pour down her face, Sam was wiping them away with the pads of his thumbs, kissing away sweetly at the tears on her cheek.

“I’ve always wanted you.”

Now it was Sam’s turn to be stunned.

“From the moment I saw you I knew I’d never love anyone the way I loved you. You were just perfect and so I never let myself believe I could ever have you because, how could someone so good love someone like me.” Y/n confessed.

“Oh Y/n, you have no idea what you mean to me. You are the best person I know and I promise, if you let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making you see yourself the way I see you.”

“Fuck, you have no idea how much I want that, Sammy.” You spoke through tears of joy.

And before Y/n could think another thought, his forehead rested upon hers and he bumped his nose against her little button one, a silent question of consent asking her if he could get closer. She smiled and nodded gently.

Suddenly his sweet lips began to press against hers. He started slowly and softly, testing the waters, before the pair let there passion take over and they kissed each other like they’d been so desperate to do since the very first day. Tears were spilling out both their eyes, it was just perfect. All she could feel was him, and all he could feel was her and that was all they wanted for the rest of their lives.

——————————————————————— ——

Arghhh. I hope this was ok?! Please let me know your feedback!!

[katatty]

Sims Say the Darnest Things: When you get this, list five of your characters and their best quotes so far. Then pass it on to five other storytelling simblrs.

Aw man, this is a fun one! I've been writing stupid stuff for my sims to say for so long it's hard to think of a top 5, but definitely have some funny moments I'd like to reminice on :)

“Who cares about work? Money isn’t everything, Raye!” “I’m just not sure I’m responsible enough for this. I feel like a kid myself half the time!” “Well, better grow up fast, because I’m keeping the baby! Bleh!!”

This line from Emmie is iconic to me and kind of sums up both the good and bad in her character! She's enthusiastic, chirpy and always ready to jump into stuff but can be kinda selfish/thoughtless with like, poor boundaries lmao. It also always makes me giggle adding "Bleh!!" to the end of her lines idk

Bella: Cassandra! Oh my, are you all right? Cassandra: I’m fine, Mom. Bella: You’re having a mental breakdown on our back porch!

idk this is just funny to me bc Bella is half concerned for Cassandra and half worried that Cassie is bringing down the vibe at her fabulous dinner party lol

Camellia: I keep thinking I’ve forgotten something!  Lori: Cami, I feel like that almost all the time. Nine out of ten times it’s nothing important!

I'm realising going though these most of them aren't even particualrly "great quotes" they're just things I found funny to write, haha. My way of escaping the "5 characters" thing by making them all require context or somehting. idk! RIP to Orion

Lilith: Since when you do you cook, anyway? Ashley: I’m teaching myself. It’s called having a growth mindset, you should try it. Lilith: Hey, I’m all about personal growth. You know I achieved lifetime happiness this week? Ashley: Our date was that good, huh?

Ashley & Lilith's unhealthy-ass relationship banter is always so fun to write, I really miss them! I really like having sims actually mention, like, game mechanics? Lilith saying "I achieved lifetime happiness this week" just tickles me. tbh i also think "it's called having a growth mindset" is really funny, really fits ashley's self-improvement-reddit-guy vibe

ok and my all time favourite scene/quote is this ripp moment idk this was 5 years ago but i still laugh thinking about it it was so unhinged

“So this makes us and the twins, what? Step-siblings? That’s hot.” “You are such a pig, Ripp!” Lilith kicked him under the table. “I’m gonna kill you.” “Chill out, Tank! It’s not like it’s real incest! You and Angela can keep fucking if you really want to.”

like most inappropriate and gross comments of all time????????? lmao. very sad that Ripp has grown as a person I miss writing him as an immature dickhead lol

ANYWAY thank u for sending this, it was really fun & nostalgic and has me really wanting to actually write posts again, maybe I will queue some up :)

tagging @potential-fate, @moocha-muses, @dunne-ias, @antisocialbunnysims & @rurpleplaysmuttingtonac if any of you fancy doing this :)

[theowritesfiction]

Thank you for tagging me, @juniperhillpatient! You know how we fic writers always enjoy an opportunity to talk about ourselves and our writing! 😉

20 Questions For Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 15

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 3,355,310

3. What fandoms do you write for? Avatar: The Last Airbender for the past few years, but I have also written for Life Is Strange, Dragon Age, Mass Effect and Baldur’s Gate fandoms.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1. the burning ring – I guess not surprising because it’s the oldest of my azutara stories, and also it’s set in the canon-verse, which always gets more clicks than any AU. 2. the white lotus gambit – my ATLA Pai Sho modern AU story. I’m actually quite surprised that this story did so well because I expected it to have very niche interest, I mean who really cares about kids playing Pai Sho… but it was about so much more than Pai Sho. 3. Azula’s kitchen nightmares – shockingly my current WIP is already up to third place in this metric, which really blows me away because I haven’t been posting it *that* long. But I’m happy that readers have resonated so well with this kitchen nightmares inspired wild weirdness. 4. The raging maelstrom – one of my zutara stories, but with a very dark katara and rather bittersweet ending. I don’t really think about this story anymore, but like… it’s still there, I guess. 5. The pit of snakes – sequel to the burning ring, enough said 😊

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes, almost always, unless someone is just being rude then I will just freeze the thread and ignore them. Or if someone comments on a story that’s like 5 years old and I can’t figure out a way to respond because I have forgotten what the story was about. Also, I don’t plan to ever disable guest comments.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? From fics currently posted on Ao3, I guess that would be the raging maelstrom. Katara sacrifices herself at the end because she sees it as the only way to atone for some of the awful mistakes she’s made, so that’s a bittersweet ending at best. I have a Dragon Age fic of 4 short chapters on ffn that’s way angstier, though. It’s called the price of immortality, and it involves my blood mage Warden sequestering herself away in Warden’s Keep together with her lover and requesting a bunch of prisoners be sent to her from Denerim. It’s all a part of an experiment to attain immortality by brewing a potion from lyrium, Andraste’s ashes and the blood extracted from the prisoners. However, she runs out of prisoners just before attaining her goal. Care to guess what happens to Zevran (her lover)? Yeah, turns out price of immortality is sacrificing your humanity and going batshit insane.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Eh, most of my fics have very happy endings, certainly the Azutara ones. Personally, my favorite is probably the once in a blue moon ending (WLG sequel), because it was from an unexpected POV and set 30 years in the future, and I liked how it allowed me to celebrate the accomplishments of all the main characters. It’s just too bad that not many people saw it.

8. Do you get hate on fics? not really. I got a lot of hate on the raging maelstrom, because there are some zutara fanatics who really hate anyone writing toxic zutara. They see it as secret kataang supporters undermining the validity of their ship. I’m glad that Azutara fandom appears saner, although that’s probably just because we're fewer lmao.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Occasionally. I used to write either F/M or F/F, but if I were to write smut again it would surely be all F/F. I just have very inconsistent mood when it comes to smut. Sometimes I like to include it, but for a while now I just haven’t felt any real urge to write anything smutty.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Yeah, I write fusion fics which is just transplanting the characters of one property into the setting of another property, where they replace the characters of that setting. I’m not sure I have written a proper crossover according to its definition.

11. there is no question 11 apparently 😊

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Someone once started translating my Mass Effect fanfics into French. I thought they were insane to even try, and they gave up after like 3 chapters.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not really, I’m not sure that would suit me well, creatively I work better on my own.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? Well, I can’t really say Azutara because I’ve been writing fanfic for a very long time, and they have been my focus for only the past 3 or so years, but lately, certainly they have been at the center of everything I write.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I don’t have anything like that. If I want to finish something, then I just do it.

16. What are your writing strengths? I have no idea, honestly. I guess I’m good at writing banter? I like to think I’m reasonably versatile and there’s nothing I’m amazingly good at, but also nothing I’m painfully bad with. My stories usually have a little bit of everything.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I know I’m bad at writing action scenes, but it’s just so hard to motivate myself to apply greater effort when action really bores me. Sometimes I also struggle with descriptions and setting the scene, just because English is not my native language and it can sometimes be hard to find words to properly describe what I envision.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Well, I sort of did that for my Mass Effect fic, even if it was just a Russian admiral running around screaming ‘Suka Blyat!’ XD I don’t know, there’s a time and place for it, I guess.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Baldur’s Gate 2. Really showing my age there *cry*

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? oh that’s so hard to choose. Like, the amount of plotting and research that went into White Lotus Gambit was… a lot, and I loved the result. But then again, the effort to make the ATLA characters fit into the Life Is Strange universe, the crazy amount of very detailed outlining done for that fic, and the crazy codependent Azutara… yeah, I would have to say it’s corners of the world our mere prologue

[dr-cross]

Some Bunny Man Facts and Fun

Thought I’d throw my hat in the ring here since I prefer to use Twitter to browse funny stuff, save cool art, and look at news. It’s been 2 months since Tales of the Bunny Man released and from what I’ve seen, it was received very positively with the hope for a sequel of sorts coming sometime. The latter is happening, but not for a while since the team are sort of in recess to some extent. (We’re working when we can.)

Let me hit you with a big fact; did you know the game had to be remade because my PC died? The graphics for 90% of the modelling was done on a laptop, so it was ultimately a case of “it works, let’s move on” with that period of time. There won’t be a repeat of that this time. I’m actually in a mindset of remaking the models; keeping the designs the same, just improving and getting shit together. I’m glad my PC died because what we have now is better than what we could’ve had, and it would’ve been awful on my end.

Another fun fact is originally this wasn’t going to be a game. When we first thought of ideas for it. Zeriq proposed it to be analog horror at first, while I suggested we have an entry for a game somewhere. Suffice to say, it’s kind of both, minus the realistic monochrome eyes and the crappy vhs filter.

Sparky the dog is in the game somewhere. He exists and is very real.

If the sequel does come to fruition and releases, then this game will be the only one with a custom night. Since people only play for challenges, we’ve got you covered and there will be quite a variety.

At one point, a Weezer themed cheat screen existed during the old version’s development. It was designed to erase your data if you changed certain troll values in the saves.

The reason Poltergeist isn’t like the other Phantoms is because it’s more tangible than the others, meaning it is as close to a physical entity as they get. Phantom Fredbear, BB, or Puppet aren’t a thing because spoilers.

Vincent’s fate is unknown.

The main day segments didn’t have the markers to show your objectives, but they got added during testing. Thank goodness.

JJ was set to appear at one point during development, but it wouldn’t make sense to add another kid to the pile of possessed characters already.

Outside of the additional Mimic stuff, the story and plans have remained consistent for two years straight. Suffice to say, having a document to reference is a very good thing. We’re continuing to use these.

Originally, the gameplay was going to be free roaming with an At Dead of Night style to it. Since the building is so small and there are up to six roaming characters, it wouldn’t work logically. Post-night tasks were going to be a thing too, but those would mess with the pace of the story. This was before we had everything written down.

Development started with me setting a challenge to Zeriq. I said we weren’t allowed to have a phone guy at all and no other door in the office, so that the player feels cornered constantly. That’s where the comics and the idea of giving characters different behaviours came from. These may return in some ways.

Lastly, Tales of the Bunny Man is the game that’s sort of made me like FNaF again. At times, the boat was shaky and uncertain, but we locked in and made something that Dawko of all people took interest in. A project that for once, I know I’m happy with and one that outdoes anything I’ve done before on a serious level. Things are getting better going forward, so stay for the ride if you feel inclined.

That’s a lot of rambling, but I felt this was the best outlet to spill some beans, say some facts off the top of my head, and allude to the future. What comes next? You’ll have to bark up another tree for that answer.

See ya.

[loungemermaid]

No.1 Everlark Shipper

for @jhsgf82, based off this post by @goldrushenthusiast and some of the tags/replies I left on there. crossposted to my ao3!!

We’re standing in the disgustingly hot July heat, the sun beating down on us, already burning the tops of our noses. Really, for the sake of all us Townies, the town square should be covered. I’m pale enough, but some of these kids, like little Lottie Sayers over there, are too white to be outside now. She looks like she’s going to burst into flames at any second. I look around at the sea of sweaty necks and brows, looking for a dark braid instead a blonde one. Not for me. For my idiot brother. Everdeen has her hair up in a crown of braids today, and she’s in a pretty little dress, shows off her little waist. The hair and dress make her look sweet, maybe flirty, but she’s (as always) scowling. Can’t imagine why Peeta likes her. She looks fuckin’ mean. Stuck up. Also, the fact she can kill things and drag ‘em through town? Something tells me you’d have to make sure you toed the line with her, or else. Kinda like how Mama is to him. Well maybe that’s it then.

I have heard about Everdeen for comin’ on Eleven Goddamn Years now. I know everything there is to know about this chick that can be known without actually saying a word to her, because he’s never said a word to her. I’ve seen the sketches, the letters, the truly awful attempts at poetry, the (admittedly, pretty good) pencil drawings that took weeks for him to finish scattered across our room for Eleven Years. I’ve heard the soliloquies(see, Mrs. Marks? I’m payin’ attention) practiced in the mirror, the grand planned gestures, the paper flowers and ribbons gathered and then abandoned after Sweetheart’s Day, every instance of young tender love and I could not be more sick of it. It ain’t-isn’t. Isn’t real. Not a lick of it. If it was, he’d talk to her. If she’s too scary, which again, she sure as shit looks that scary, maybe move on? Maybe pick someone different? Hell, it can even be another Seam girl, if that’s what he’s into. Leevy’s got that same little tits and long legs thing. And she actually smiles. But whatever. One day something will break it, and then I won’t have to fuckin’ hear it ever again. 

That weird Trinket woman is just about to pick the girl’s name, and I’m still wondering what it takes to get someone’s hair that big, that pink, that shiny when she reads out the slip. Primrose Everdeen. Well. Shit. I don’t know what this is gonna mean, when her little sister dies. When her dad died, Peeta talked for months about how we needed to help her. I kept telling him it wasn’t the time or place, that the last thing she needed was some over-enthusiastic Townie meddling in her shit. She already had it rough enough. We could tell she was taking care of everyone now. That her mama wasn’t doin shit, and she was the breadwinner now. I remember thinking it was weird, and how I couldn’t imagine it, then I thought about how that’s just what older siblings do. That that’s what Rye does for Peeta and me. A buffer for when Mama’s on the war path. Even when she ain’t-isn’t. Isn’t coming after me, he protects me all the same. She usually doesn’t come after me, and that somehow feels worse. I owe ‘em both a lot of beatings. Rye used to take the blame sometimes, but we all kinda quickly realized I could get away with significantly more than he could, and especially more than Peeta could, poor fucking kid. Never understood why she hates him so much.

There’s some screaming and shuffling, and I look over and there she is, her face showing real emotion for once, screaming that she’s volunteering. I can’t imagine that. How would you ever do that? And then it sinks in. Shit. Everdeen is gonna die. I look over at Peeta, who looks like he’s gonna spew. Shit. What am I even gonna say to him, when this is over? While we walk home?  Happy fucking birthday! That girl you’ve been obsessed with your whole life is gonna get gutted by some teen-freak Career. It’s too awful. I just sigh and brace for the boy’s name. Almost over. One more year of it for me, two for him. 

And then that pink and green bitch calls his name. I’m shocked. I can’t move, or see, or hear anything, and then it’s too late. He’s up on the stage and it’s too late. I can’t volunteer, can’t save him, can’t fix it. Once again he’s getting more punishment than his fair share. This kid that cries when he sees a hurt wild dog. That cried when he learned we ate our baby pigs. That’s been in love with the same girl for eleven years. The girl that’s going in with him. Shit!!! She’s going in with him!! They’re gonna die in there together. Well, I think darkly, they’re gonna have to talk now. 

I go and look for Rye, and we both just stare at each other. He’s not saying it, but he’s thinking it. “Yeah, I know. I should’ve. I… I couldn’t make the words come.” I hate myself.

I’m expecting him to scold me, to yell. Being the parent’s favorite makes me the least favorite brother. They neither one like me much. Well, that ain’t-isn’t true. They like me just fine. They’re just very jealous. I would be too, if I was-were gettin’ beat for minor shit that don’t even matter, and someone else wasn’t. I don’t expect him to hug me. He does, pulling me in close, even kissing my forehead like he did when I was little. I don’t even wipe it off this time.

“Hush. It isn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t do anything right neither.”

He smiles a little. “Either, you mean. But it doesn’t matter. It’s going to be okay. Besides, I think she’d kill him, if you went in instead. It wouldn’t be a good sacrifice. She’d hate him even more, especially if you didn’t come back.” He shook his head. “God help me for what I’m gonna say, but it’s better this way. If he comes back, JoAnn won’t think he’s worthless anymore. If he doesn’t”, his breath shudders, “if he doesn’t, well. Then she never touches him again.”

I swallow around the lump in my throat. The one thing she only did to him. Rye got beat, sure. But he didn’t get touched like she touches Peeta. It… it’s not that she straight up sleeps with him. But it’s…uncomfortable, to even watch. Humiliating. Can’t imagine what it feels like. “Right. Well, ready to say” Oh I can’t say goodbye. I blink some rogue tears. “To send him off?”

“Yeah.” He says gruffly. “Yeah.” I can tell he’s thinking what I am. This is gonna be a shitshow.

It’s worse than I thought it’d be. We’re all standing there and not saying anything. Rye at least held him while he cried. JoAnn is world class, says something truly evil. Says she’s rooting for Everdeen, and if there was any fondness I ever had for that woman, it’s done. She runs out, even though all the rest of us are begging her to not. I scoff, but Peeta is laughing, no, cackling. Like nothing has ever been so goddamn funny. 

“Love you too, Mama! Hope I get to see you again!” He yells out, voice hard and bitter. “God. What the fuck?” He scrubs at his face, leans back, screaming and laughing and sobbing into his hands. 

Rye runs after our useless fucking parents, trying to talk sense into them. It’s pointless. Anyway, we’re almost out of time. Almost out of time. I can’t fuck it up again. 

“I know it ain’t great timing to be asking you a favor, but do one for me anyway?”

“God, Soren. What?” He sighs, clearly not in the mood for whatever he thinks I might say. I sit down on the saggy sofa, clapping his shoulder.

“I need you to tell her. Please. She deserves to know.”

He huffs, rolls his eyes. “It’s all a bit pointless, ain’t it? Nothing either one of us could ever do now.”

“Yeah, but I know you. You’d never be able to live with yourself if you never told her. So you’ve gotta. Find some way. Do one of those grand gestures you’re always planning. Or, fuck, I dunno, do it private. Over coffee or whatever. But tell her, little bun.” I’ve never called him that. Not sincerely, anyway. That’s what Dad and Rye(mostly Rye these days) call him. But, it felt right. “I’m really sorry I didn’t”

“Don’t be.” He cuts me off. “I get it. Don’t be sorry. In fact, promise me. You don’t get to feel guilty about it.”

I swallow hard again. The Peacekeepers are coming to take me away. I clap him on the shoulder one more time. “Alright. I love you. Uh, good luck and all that. And happy birthday”

It gets him to laugh, even if it’s just a dark laugh. “Thanks. Uh…see…mm. See you later.”

“Yeah. See you later.” I don’t know if I believe he will, but I know he can win this. I hope he does.

I try to keep my promise, of not feeling guilty, for not stepping up and going in for him. It’s not easy. Suddenly our room feels too big, too empty.  Rye and I haven’t moved a damn thing. There’s still a half finished drawing on the desk, a pair of silver eyes. I wanna puke everytime I see them. I do my homework downstairs in the bakery now. 

We’re closed on the day of the interviews. We close a little more now, though not as much as I thought we would. Dad hides, crying in long showers or disappearing on errands, and JoAnn, Rye and I are stuck in the bakery together, avoiding curses and rolling pins being hurled at us. Now that Peeta isn’t here, I’m getting on her nerves more. I’m sporting black eyes now too, though I don’t let them show. I can’t cover them like Peeta does, and I’m a little paler than him anyway, but the little tube of concealer he left behind does fine enough. 

We all sit on the couch, pretend to be a family over some tea and cookies. We’re eating more fresh, a result of the sympathy money. People have been spending a lot on baked goods here lately. The mayer orders a cake a week. Madge must know we’re feeding Prim and Mrs. Everdeen(Mama does too, and she hates it. Dad catches an ashtray to the nose for it). She likes Katniss too. 

Anyway, my baby brother is talking to Ceasar Flickerman, and they’re playing off each other like they’ve been co-hosts for decades. He’s charming. Affable. He could make this a career if…when he wins. And then Ceaser asks about a girl, his whole body shifts. He gets a little nervous, a little small, tries to shift the conversation but Ceaser ain’t having it. He pushes Peeta again. Say it say it say it, you little dork, or I swear to god. I’m staring at his face in the tv. Maybe if I think it hard enough he can somehow get it. You promised.

He clears his throat. “Well, there is this one girl…”

I sink back into the couch with a sigh of relief. There you go, bro. Took you long enough.

She even goes for it. When they change the rules(which I still can’t get over, but maybe young love is more exciting than child murder for those people.((if that’s the case, can we make it a matchmaking game? I’ll volunteer. I’ll host.)) I just don’t know if I trust it) and she’s up in that tree, screaming his name, I know it’s over. She likes him too. She tears through the Arena just to find him, looking very camouflaged and very dead by the river. He flirts, and she giggles and blushes. What? Maybe she’s just soft for him. Good. It’s what he deserves. Hard for everyone else but soft for him.

For a few days I’m worried I’m gonna have to watch my baby brother lose his virginity on national television, but as cuddly and kissy as Katniss is, she’s clearly not very experienced. She won’t change around him, she blushes every time they kiss. She’s actually sweet. A giggly, nervous, even precious little thing. She looks even tinier next to Peeta, so short and thin and fine boned. They fit each other. They’re striking together.

It’s all anyone can talk about, but for the first time I don’t mind hearing about it all. I join in at school, spilling all the secrets I know. It’s a little shitty, but I can’t help it. It’s so…excuse the dopey ass phrasing, but as one teacher said, life affirming to see. My homelife is worse, but if they really can win and win together, it’ll be like a real life miracle. Hard proof that not everything always has to completely fucking suck, all the time. That sometimes, good things happen to people. Sometimes good things happen to the people who deserve it the most. 

The berries give me a heart attack. I’m on the edge of my seat and I don’t think I breathe the whole time. I don’t know what to expect. Are they gonna let them live? Are they gonna blow them up? Send in mutts again? Let them live and torture them on the air? I almost shut my eyes, bracing for the canons, but instead Templesmith is shouting, telling them to stop, that they both won, and he did it. He actually did it. I’m jumping and screaming and laughing and we’re all hugging even, because he fucking did it. He won, and he got the girl of his dreams. This one time, it actually works out for him. This time, Peeta gets what he wants.

[briankang]

happy new year everyone ! 2022 was....most year of all time. awful. but i had so many of you by my side to make it better, even when i had to take some times for myself. so i wanted to appreciate you all just a bit, especially since i hit a follower count! i’m almost to 3k, that’s...insane actually. anyways, onwards !

@chanstopher my beloved, my twin. isn’t it so funny we were both too shy to reach out and talk to each other and now we’re the most annoying in the world? thank you for being my minchan partner in crime, my mary kate to my ashley, peyton to my brooke, etc etc etc. i can’t wait to see you in march 💕

@lonelystreetlight bestie love 💕 we’ve really had such a year haven’t we? all of our hours long talks staying up late this spring and summer were truly unforgattable and i’m so glad we met this past year. i love you so much (and love how i always win and am right :))

@hyunpic vilma baby my sweetest angel. my first friend on stayblr, you, like hyunjin, are full of so much love that it pours out of you. i’m so lucky i get to be on the receiving end of that. your passion and light never fails to make me smile, i love you 💕💕💕💕

@hanjesungs jay my wife!!!!!! i’m so glad we met this year and bonded and that you accidentally ended up turning me not only into a hantual but also a seungmin lover. honestly what a year it’s been for my bias line. anyways. i love you, i’m so excited for march 💕

@hanjisoonie​ BABYYYYYYY i love you......chris ur one of my favorite people. ur letters always make me smile and talking with you is always the most fun 💕 one of the first people i got close to on stayblr 💕 you’re so special to me i love you so so dearly

@sweetyoungk kobe, my beloved 💕 my favorite yonktual 💕 i know we don’t talk super often but i’m always so excited to see you in my notifs and when we interact, you’re so so sweet and have such a warm vibe to you, i can’t wait to continue to grow even closer as mutuals hehe 💕

@sunmisbf mar my beloved wayvtual and sunmitual......i actually cannot for the life of me remember how we ended up mutuals but i’m so glad we did!! your posts always make me giggle and i feel like i have learned more about wayv in the past like. 2 weeks than i have literally ever from you. also you’re always the sweetest i love youuu  💕 💕 💕

also since there’s so many, a bit of a lighting round and then just a general @ -ing of the rest of you  💕 💕 💕

@agibbangs lau my beloved, i love you and you’re always so sweet  💕 minchanners are always the sweetest  hehe, @jongseobie​ love that i have unknowingly and knowingly gotten u into two groups this year. my impact. you’re one of the funniest people i know and i love when we get to chat. @ambivartence SIYUAAAAN my beloved. your art always makes me feel like im in some kind of cozy cafe curled up with a hot drink and pretty art to look at on the walls. thank u for getting me into jacob this year it ruined my life. my linotual  💕  @joshuas aria my beloved i love u the most, my sweet, top 5 favorite aussies, i miss talking with you and u harrassing me about lino 💕 i hope you’re well whenever u see this 💕 @quokki ALE my love i miss u......ur art is always the most superb and incredible and i love when we get to catch up (not often enough these days imho!!! @bangchanies dom my insane jersey beloved. ur always so funny and knowledgable and make me feel slightly less old (or maybe we are old? who’s to say), i love u 💕

and for everyone else bc there’s too many to name:

@gymleader, @acrobaticcatfeline, @yang-innie, @sanayeon, @hyunchanz, @jeonwonwoo, @superboarding, @seungknow, @seungazing, @bewby, @jinniebit, @seonghwaminho, @yonglixx, @btbtual, @leenow, @briankang, @nevoono, @hyunfelix, @diosmenu, @bangzchan, @cages-boxes-hunters-foxes, @usergyu, @bangchanz, @kyubins, @teamwangs, @fullmetalswift

that’s not everyone by any means, but if we interacted in any shape or form this year, please know how special you are to me  💕 💕 💕 💕 happy new year and thank you all for following me!!! if you have any requests feel free to send them in, and as always, please know i love you and i hope your days are rest and kind to you  💕 💕 💕

[michaelsoft-binbows]

Lately I’ve been feeling better about myself when it comes to my identity as Avery, and my gender as a whole. My IRL friends have accepted me as have the people I know online with few exceptions. Coming out to my family will still be a tough time, but I can put it off indefinitely right now. This is obviously ground I’ve covered before, but where I was going with it was this… A few weeks ago I went to ozcomicon with a few friends and my partner, and while the convention was kind of underwhelming (as ozcomicon tends to be), I introduced myself as Avery for the first time ever in person. 

It was to people I’d never met and people I will more than likely never meet again, but that was huge for me. I actually built up the confidence to do it, and even though it felt so wrong and weird to say that, after the fact it made me so damn happy that I finally did it. 

My boyfriend was there as well and honestly, any time I see him in person, I just can’t help but love him even more, and I’m so glad I got to spend some more time with him :) On the way back, I was dropping off a friend and we were in the car for a good hour and a half almost, we talked a lot, about various things but one of the conversations was again about identity and how I had been struggling with it. My memory is pretty awful so I don’t remember anything specific about it, but it really helped with my insecurities and severe imposter syndrome. I’m not free of those things by any means but it really helps that, the few remaining friends I’ve had that have stuck by me for the better part of a decade, accept me as the person I want to be.

A few little side notes as idk when I’ll be posting again, I’m fairly inconsistent… John Barrowman was at ozcomicon this year and I was so excited to watch his Q&A, but the moment he came out on stage… he just kind of confused me. He came out very loud and swearing a good amount, and some of the stories he told were a bit too suggestive for the audience I think. More suited to a small club or comedy night. I like him as Jack Harkness but even me, a massive Doctor Who fanatic, ended up walking from just being uncomfortable.

I have been trying to go through some doctors and clinicians to get an Autism assessment, I’m finally starting to work on something that’s been bothering me for many years and I will hopefully have more to report in that regard soon, I just need to find the funds since it is certainly not cheap :/

I’ve been commissioning a lot of different artists lately! I actually need to take a break for a while but I’m happy to share a few highlights from recent ones!

though top tip, do not write long posts when you're falling asleep! sorry for the likely hard to follow post ^=^' I forgot what my usual signoff is, but to anyone who took the time to read, thanks, love ya, have a great day <3