#idiots in love is the best trope come fight me over it

[leascorner]

j.s. | Welcome home

Summary: After a mission, Jake gets some well deserved break at home. However the week might not turn out how he had planned.

Pairing:  Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x childhood bff!f!reader

Warnings: Angst, mention of death and near death experience, mention of break-up, probably inexact american army facts, ever most likely inexact description of Texas, mention of food, two idiots in love, happy ending

Word Count: 9.2k

A/N: I've said it before, I will say it again. The only trope that I can write/read about Jake is a childhood/best friends to lovers, don't fight me. I also see Jake as an older brother to two half-sisters his mother had with a very good man, after his father abandonned them. This is my canon.

Anyway, this is way too long and way too chaotic but I just couldn't stop writting so enjoy!

Masterlist

Y/N was literally hopping up and down with impatience - or perhaps was it the three cups of coffees she had drunk to be able to keep up with the 2-hour-long drive to the airport in the middle of the night. She was standing on the arrival floors, on her tiptoes, trying to locate the person she was picking up. The flow of travellers coming through the arrival doors was continuous, so many blond heads coming through and none of them was his.

Her childhood best friend’s flight had landed a dozen of minutes prior; 3:28 a.m. was the time she received a “be right there, see you soon” text. Ever since then, the seconds had been going past very - very - slowly and with every second passing, Y/N chest had got narrower from anticipation to the point she felt like she couldn’t breathe. It hadn’t been more than a year and a half now that they had seen each other in the flesh. Of course, there were the texts, the emails and the FaceTime calls, but it was never the same.

“Jake!”

The sea of people in front of them seemed to split in half to let them collide in one another. The said Jake let his bag fall to his feet to catch a flying Y/N, lifting her from the ground as if she weighted nothing. Her hands found the back of his neck and her head found the crook of his neck, reuniting their bodies as if they were only one mind.

“Hey sweetheart,” he sniffed her hair, intoxicating himself from her perfume.

Jake let her down reluctantly when he realized they were in the way of other people reunions. After swinging his bag over his shoulder and dragging her near a row of seats, he finally took a good look at her, dark circles under puffy red eyes and hair all other the place. He dried her tears softly and kissed the top of her head, something he was sure he hadn’t done since they were in high school and that fucker of Chad had broken up her heart - thinking of it now, it seemed like it was a lifetime away. However, he knew that in this moment there was no sadness in her tears. She was crying probably a little happiness to seeing him again, but most certainly a lot of relief to have him alive in front of her.

He took another step back to have an even greater look at her. Y/N was exactly how he last saw her one year or so ago, and exactly how she looked like even all the other times he had to leave. She did not seem to age, and he was sure that the fine smile lines she was now wearing had always been there. It brought comfort to his heart to know that whatever would happen, she would always be waiting for him. He knew it was also selfish, but he had made peace with those thoughts a long time ago. These were moments that he was collecting in his mind for when he was somewhere overseas, fighting for his life.

“My my, did you grow up a few inches?”

“Oh, shut up!” Y/N laughed and tried to nudge him in the ribs. Jake easily grabbed her right elbow to bring her closer in another embrace, so very glad to be home, even only for a little while.

Ventilation was swinging litters of hot air into the car's cabin as it was a rather chilly night for October in Texas. The full moon was lighting up all the roads in front of them, just as if it was making sure they would get home safely.

During the drive, the main discussion turned around how excited everyone would be to have him there. Y/N and her parents were the only ones to know about Jake’s surprise visit; they had only known for about three days before his flight landed that he unexpectedly got a week of leave. They would surprise his family later that day for lunch - only after they both had a rather long nap to make up for the sleepless night.

Jake had seen his family a couple more times than Y/N this past year and a half. Even if he considered Y/N to be family, this wasn’t exactly the rule of the administration. Blood family had some more privileges, like sometimes visiting for the holidays. His mother and one of his little sisters also visited him in Singapore when he was stationed there for an exercise in the Taiwan Strait; they had booked a vacation to be able to see him there. Y/N, at that time, had been unavailable - she had her own life after all.

It was what Jake found the more difficult; to keep up with her life. Most of her friends were common friends from high school. With her going to a different university and later with her different jobs, some of her friends were total strangers to him. However, they all seemed to come and go into her life, leaving more or less damage.

“I am sorry about you and Nick.”

Y/N finished getting back to the right line of the highway and removing the blinker, before glancing quickly in Jake’s direction. He was looking at her, with an expression she couldn’t quite read, but that she understood as some kind of gladness. She sighed while turning her focus back on the road.

“You can lie better than that, Jake.”

“Well, didn’t like the guy so…”

It had been a couple of months now than her longtime boyfriend Nick and she had broken up. What confused Jake the most was how this was not a topic for discussion. She hadn’t called crying; she did not seem to be angry. She just announced it to him like it was nothing and directly switched subject. He hadn’t found a way to bring it back on the table, so he asked their friends and family. They all had the same answer; she was doing fine. She seemed to have continued her life just like nothing had happened.

“Was it him-”

“It was me,” Y/N cut him off quickly abruptly, leaving Jake with an uneasy feeling. She sighed again, probably realizing how harsh her tone had been. “This wasn’t working out anyway.”

Though she could not see him, Jake nodded back acknowledging her response. He still felt like there were more to it, but he understood that now wasn’t the time to discuss it. Ever since they had known each other - and it went back to kindergarten, they hadn’t had many secrets for one another. And if they had, it was never anything major.

So, he shook off this feeling and gently grabbed her hand resting on the gearshift to squeeze it softly.

“I do am sorry, though.”

“I know.”

It was nearly six in the morning when Y/N pulled up in her parents’ driveway.

The porch light was on, welcoming them, making sure Jake knew he was expected, and it made him smile fondly. It still felt surreal somehow; after everything, he was home. Getting out of the car, he breathed the fresh air of Texas like he hadn’t breathed in years.

Y/N was already opening her trunk, getting out a duffel bag that seemed to contain some clothes for today. Jake jogged toward her before she was able to get his own khaki bag out. She rolled her eyes, smiling, when he gently slapped her hands away to take care of it.

“Mom set up a spare bed in my room,” Y/N informed him while walking to the front door. “Just like the old days.”

And nothing in the house had changed either.

The hallway was still a drive along memories with all sorts of pictures hanged upon the wall. Y/N’s parents wedding portrait. Y/N’s baby pictures. Y/N on the day of the start of her first kindergarten year - just before they met each other. A couple more of first day of school pictures - this time with him in it as well. A couple of family vacation pictures. And along with them, a couple of pictures of events he wasn’t even there to attend. Y/N’s university graduation, her parents’ thirty-year anniversary celebration party, her first promotion celebration dinner…

The kitchen was still on the right, the living room on the left and straight ahead the stairs to the bedrooms. Y/N’s bedroom still had Justin Timberlake poster hung up on the walls along with some pictures of friends and family. The teddy bear he won for her at the funfair when they were not even ten stood on her bed. Jake swore that if he opened the dresser, he would still find the shelf that was for his stuff back then.

Without many words, both of them got ready for bed. Y/N took the en-suite bathroom first and when Jake got back in his sweatpants, she was already in bed, cuddling Mister B the teddy bear. His chuckle made her look up to him with sleepy eyes and quickly look away when she realized he didn’t wear a shirt. He kissed her on her forehead before tugging her more tightly in her sheets and turning off the bedside lamp.

“Do you remember when I couldn’t sleep unless someone was holding my hand?”

Jake only hummed in answer, and even in the darkness of her room, his hand found hers instinctively. Their fingers intertwining immediately, he did just as he had promised when he was only just a kid; he never let it go.

“Son,” Y/N’s father spoke from the other side of the kitchen, “don’t worry about it.”

Jake shook his head, smiling, before proceeding with what he was already doing: loading the cup he had used to drink coffee in the dishwasher. Ever since he had been up earlier that morning, Y/N’s parents had pampered him with all their attention while also being busy preparing lunch. Every time he asked if they needed help, they would assure him he just needed to stay put in his seat.

It had always been like this, for as long as he had remembered. Whenever he had gone over when Y/N and he were still in middle school, her parents had always taken good care of him, making sure the crust of his PB&J sandwiches were cut off, putting on his favourite beddings when they were having a sleepover, drying his clothes in the air dryer when they came home soaking wet from the park. He felt loved in a different way than he did at home, where he had a hard time adjusting to his new family dynamics with his two younger step-sitters. Growing up, they continued on listening to him and caring for him. Y/N’s father was the one he went to for advice before he enrolled. Ever since, and with the little time he had with them every time he came home, it still hit him in the face how much they loved him like he was their own son.

“Do you need help with anything?” He asked once more.

This time, they did not have time to answer. Y/N appeared on the doorstep, changed out of her pyjamas, hair still wet. “The shower is all yours, Jake.”

She watched him go as if she had to make sure he remembered the way to her room. She hadn’t really realized yet that he was really here, with them, and feared that he would just disappear at any minute or that she would just wake up from whatever dream she was having. Somehow this also seemed to be all too familiar, like a play they had rehearsed a hundred time before. It broke her heart a little to know this was most likely not going to happen again before a very long time, that it could actually never happen again.

Y/N got this thought out of her head as soon as it came. She didn’t need to think about this. Not now. Not ever. She just needed to enjoy whatever time she had with him at home.

“He looks good,” her mum stated once Jake had made it to the top of the stairs.

“Yeah, he does,” Y/N spoke softly, eyes lingering to where Jake had been only a couple of seconds before, suddenly wondering if he was really as good as they thought.

When Jake got back to the kitchen the entrance clock had just struck eleven. Only sixty minutes until he would be reunited with his family. It never felt more real, but he couldn’t quite realize it. He was so used of being far away from them, totally disconnected from their realities, hearing their news after everyone else. Yet, he had always found them as he had left them, eyes watering to see him home or gone.

He joined Y/N on the vegetable preparation. Washing, peeling, cutting kept him busy while the anticipation started to build up. All while Y/N’s father asked him about what new manoeuvres he had learned. Being an aviator himself, they could talk about flying for hours to Y/N’s greatest damn; she had the biggest fear of flying - and perhaps the fact that Jake nearly crashed them while flying an old aircraft he had restored with her father when they were teenagers had something to do with it.

“These boys,” Y/N’s mother sighed playfully as Jake and Y/F/N were debating whatever solar planes were the future of aviation. Y/N smiled as she shared a knowing look with her mother, who was getting ready to lay the table in the dining room.

“Mom, hold on,” Y/N called before reaching inside the cupboard next to her, “you are missing a plate.”

“Why? Is Mark coming after all?”

Y/M/N’s face went white in only a second as she realized what she had just said. Not knowing what to do else, Y/N handed her the white plate. Looking sideways to Jake, she hoped he hadn’t heard - she didn’t want him to find out like this, when his whole family was going to be here in the next thirty minutes.

It was already too late though; Jake’s attention had of course switched to their awkward interaction. Her father was quick to step in, wiping his hands on a cloth and moving towards his wife.

“Of course he is, darling. Let me help you bring those into the dining room.”

Y/N watched them disappear before quickly turning back to the carrots she was now cutting in a Julienne, praying Jake would just drop the subject. Ever since she had learned that Jake was having a leave, she had planned their reunion to be perfect. She had purposely lied to his family, pretending to have a very big news to share with them so they all agreed to gather even if the atmosphere was not good. She had made them promise to bury the hatchet, for “her” and most absolutely for Jack. Whatever touchy topics they would have to talk about, they could do it after.

“Why wouldn’t he come?” Jake still asked and, at that moment, she knew that whatever she would tell him would never be sufficient to not draw his suspicion any further. She couldn’t lie to him even if she tried.

“Just been busing with work lately, you know how it is.”

Without letting him time to ask more questions, Y/N went for the stoves to make sure the sauce was still reducing as it should have. She could feel Jake’s eyes burning holes on her back and could only hope he would drop the subject.

“Jake, son,” Y/F/N had just gotten back from the dining room, “would you mind giving me a hand with the roast?”

After taking a last look at Y/N, still very focused on stirring the sauce, Jake turned to her father. It wasn’t until she didn’t feel his eyes on her that she turned to look at him. She watched as her father made him took out the turkey so he could put some more butter on it. Out of the corner of his eye his father gives him a reassuring wink signalling her he had got this.

The bell rang at the exact same moment Y/N put the last plate of hors d’oeuvres at the centre of the table. Shooting a look across the piece, she saw her father squeezing Jake’s shoulder in what seemed to comfort him. She smiled shyly, trying to hide her own nervousness. Thanks to her father, Jake had nearly forgotten about the earlier incident about Mark and the reason he wouldn’t have been able to make it. He hadn’t asked any other questions, and they hadn’t given away other secrets. All was well in the best of all words, or so she still tried to convince herself. It was all that mattered.

“Just like we said, you both stay here, and we’ll bring them for you.”

Y/N watched as her parents disappeared in the hall. She turned to Jake who she now realized he was close at her side - she knew from the way his lips were set in a tight smile that he was somehow nervous. When noises started coming from the hall, Y/N grabbed Jake’s hand without thinking. She needed him to know she was there, that she would always be there, just like they promised when they were younger. It would take much more than a thousand of miles and a few hiccups to take them apart. As if he was thinking the exact same thing, Jake squeezed her hand back.

Jake’s step-dad was the first to enter the dining room. Y/N saw his eyes go from herself to Jake right next to her side, his eyes lighting up in realization. Yet, he didn’t say anything, holding a finger to his lips to let them know he would stay silent while moving further into the room as if nothing had happened. He and Jake had never been particularly close; he was a good man, a good husband, and a good father to his daughters, but Jake’s fatherly figure had always been Y/N’s father.

Next to enter the room was Jake’s youngest step-sister, Sophia. She immediately spotted him, letting out a cry and running into his arms. He crushed his sister in one of those same hugs he gave Y/N when she picked him up from the airport. It warmed her heart to see them like that. Sophia was still very young when Jake had enrolled; she was only just a kid and had grown up with the lack of his older brother. She was looking up to him so much that Y/N had sometimes to remind her that he didn’t have only qualities. He was her hero in so many ways…

Sophia’s reaction got the rest of the family - his mother, Olivia, his other step-sister, and his step-brother, Mark - in the dining room quite quickly. There were a lot of “Jake!” shouted from across the room and loads of tears, happy smiles, and hugs.

“I can’t believe he is here.” Sophia cried again; this time she was in Y/N’s arms. “And I can’t believe you lied to us.”

“Sorry not sorry,” Y/N smiled, tugging a string of her hair behind her ears before bringing her in an even closer hug if it was possible. She wasn’t sure she had seen her this happy in her life, she realized.

Y/N was an only child with a very little family. Over the years, Jake’s family had grown to be her own as well. As children first, as they were always all together at either one’s house or the others. As teenagers when his step-sisters weren’t babies anymore and they had started to be able to play more with them. She remembered helping his mom getting both of his sisters ready for school, all of them celebrating Christmas at her parents or going dress shopping for Olivia’s first prom.

Ever since Jake had been deployed on the West Coast and later overseas, they had grown even closer. There were brunches on Sundays, just the three of them, where Sophia would file them up on her latest dating adventures. There were lunches at Olivia’s office after they had taken a midday yoga class. There were breakfasts with Sophia before her classes began. Y/N had always made sure they were alright, as if she had to do it for Jake.

So far, the lunch had turned out great.

Jake had told them all about his last position and this group of pilots he had been joining overseas. Everyone had started feeding him bits and pieces of what had occurred ever since the last time he’s been home. Olivia and Mark had managed not to fight, which was a miracle in itself, per Y/N’s opinion. Jake’s mom had finally stopped crying. And Sophia seemed to have forgotten about those hard choices she would have to make once she graduated from college at the end of the year.

At least, that was the case until Jake asked about it.

“So, any thoughts yet about what you’ll do next year?”

“No, not really.”

Y/N had already seen that look on Sophia’s face. It was the same one she made when she was hesitating between an avocado toast and pancakes at the place they were used to going to brunch; every time she had been making this face, she had ended up with ordering both. Sophia eyed her tentatively and Y/N immediately shook her head no, silently pleading her not to do whatever she was thinking.

Today was not the day. Jake had only gotten back from abroad hours ago, they would have enough time to discuss it in the next couple of days.

“I am thinking of enrolling,” Sophia stated abruptly.

Boom.

The bomb had landed.

Y/N sighed, mentally cursing Sophia for needing whatever validation from him. They all had talked about this extensively for months on now. Decide to enrol was one thing, accept that one of your relative would do the same was another. She knew how Jake was; he didn’t look like it at first sight, but his family was his everything. He had made the selfish decision that could result in them losing him forever, yet he wouldn’t accept that she’d do the same.

From the deathly silence that came after Sophia’s statement, Y/N rested the cutlery on the side of her plate, bracing herself for whatever had to come. Her attitude made Jake immediately turned to her. She had never seen the wrinkle between his eyebrows this deep before. She didn’t know if it was from dread, disappointment, or anger.

“You knew?”

Jaw tight, Y/N didn’t answer, and Jake huffed - of course, she knew. How could she not? She was here, with his own family, when he was thousands of miles away fighting for his country. She was here, only a ride away, when he couldn’t even remember the last time he had enough telephone network to FaceTime them. She was there, physically with them, when he was just a ghost, present for a few days a year before disappearing for months on hand.

Y/N tried to reach out for his left arm to try and calm the whole situation down, but he moved ever so slightly she couldn’t touch him. The fire in Jake’s green eyes was incandescent. He was angry, with Sophia, with her, with everyone. And to know he didn’t even know half of it…

“Let’s not start now,” his older step-sister stepped in to try and reason him.

“Why?” Jake retorted immediately. “Wanna updates me on what is going on with Mark as well?”

Olivia opened her mouth to answer and as she couldn’t seem to find something to say, she then closed it and lowered her head. She and Mark had officially announced a few weeks before Jake returned that they were going to take some time apart. They had been married for nearly three years and they were having a rough path. They had started couple therapy, trying to make things work. Y/N couldn’t count the hours Olivia had spent on her couch, crying and eating ice-creams.

Y/N knew exactly how she felt like. The deception of thinking she had found the love of her life only to realize it was more complex than this. The sadness of loving someone and it still not being enough for the two of them to be happy. The paralyzing fear of being alone, of never being well enough.

She needed a shoulder to cry onto and a lot of love, and not to be reminded of what a failure she thought she was.

“I am sorry,” Sophia mumbled. Y/N wasn’t sure to whom she was apologizing. Jake? Them?

“You can’t seriously be thinking about it?” Jake half-shouted, pointing her finger at her like he was accusing her of the worst betrayal.

“Don’t say anything you’d regret, son.”

Y/N’s father word seemed to put some sense into him as he leaned his back against his chair, folding his arms against his chest. The distress on Sophia’s face was now palpable and she was on the verge of crying from Jake’s quite violent reaction. Though she didn’t expect Jake to be totally supportive, Y/N had not expected him to reject the idea that much either. She had thought that he would’ve still listen to her reasons, maybe try to talk her out of it, but finally make peace with the idea. Just like they had. Just like they all had when he was in her shoes.

Olivia had regained her composure and wrapped an arm around her sister’ shoulders. The look she sent Jake probably refrained him from attacking again his little sister. Instead, he chose another target for his anger.

“How can anybody be cool with this?”

Before Jake’s mom could speak, Y/N called him out. “Why could you do it and not her, Jake, huh?” She wants to be like you so bad, don’t you see?

“That’s not the same thing.”

Y/N huffed and rolled her eyes.

It made her even bitter. For all the things he hadn’t told her when he had no reason to hide it from her. For him being hurt that they didn’t want to discuss as such important topics over the phone. She would have liked to be sorry to hide all this from him, yet his reaction had only comfort her on her choice.

“You’re being unfair.”

“Am I now?” he laughed. “Excuse me for putting my life at sake and not wishing for me sister to do the same.”

“Did anybody ask you to? If anything, we would all have loved to keep you by our side.”

“Oh, I see. So, this is all my fault, right?”

The daring look he offered her made her heart jump in her chest. Her stomach was in fire; consuming her from the inside. She was tired from the sleepless nights she had for the last few months. And sad about the outcome of this lunch. And disappointed in him. And quite frankly done with his attitude.

Sighing, she gave in and looked away, throwing her napkin on her plate at the same time. Whatever this was, it was too much for her to handle. “If you’d excuse me,” she announced as she moved her chair back. “I am not hungry anymore.”

“Y/N-” he called after her, grabbing her arm to make her stay. She gave him a pained look before abruptly pulling away from his grip.

“Welcome home, Jake.”

Jake’s face appeared once again on her phone screen.

Big bright smile, sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, forehead sun-kissed by the first rays of sunshine of spring. The picture had been taken one of the few times she had fly out to California to visit him. They had such a good time that Y/N used to hold all those memories close to her heart. Now, she couldn’t even look at it.

She couldn’t count the number of texts Jake had sent nor the number of messages he had left on her voice mail. She hadn’t read nor listened to any of them and had even decided to turn off her phone at some point during the night. She needed some time alone to take a breath and to swallow the disappointment that was forming a lump in her throat.

Despite the emotional roller coaster this day had been, she hadn't fallen asleep until late in the night, turning over in the sheet nonstop while thinking of all the comebacks she could have said to his face. And like every other night for months now, when she had finally managed to get some sleep, her worst nightmare had woken her up a couple of hours later.

It only made her feel worse and she cried all the tears in her body. It was like whatever emotion she had retained in the last year had come back to her like a wrecking ball. She was angry for all sorts of reasons all linked to Jake one way or another. She was also very sad of the situation she found herself into, of Jake having spoiled their reunion, of the spectacle she had given in front of her loved ones.

So, when she turned on her phone a few hours later, eyes still puffy and red from the lack of sleep and the crying, she didn’t hesitate to turn down his call when his smiley face appeared on her phone screen. At that time, she discovered the multiple texts and missed calls of her parents and Jake’s sisters. She sent them a quick group message, letting them know she was fine and that she would catch up later. Leaving her phone on the kitchen counter, she got ready for her day.

Her phone rang four more times while she was getting ready. She was now determined to let him know to leave her alone. She was still pissed, and she needed to compose herself. This was without counting on the doorbell ringing when she was about to answer her phone.

Stopping whatever she was doing, she made the few steps from the kitchen counter to her apartment door, opening it without even thinking who she would find behind. Much to her surprise it was the only person she didn’t want to see. Jake. Standing there, phone in his hand.

“Oh, come on!” he exclaimed when she nearly shut the door in his face.

He stopped it before it was fully closed and after a deep sigh, Y/N let him in without even giving him a look. She closed the door behind him, passing him - still without looking at him - and went to the living room. She leaned against the kitchen counter, crossing her arms on her chest much like he had done during lunch just the day before.

Jake stood in the middle of the room, watching around him. It was the first time he was in her new place, the one she started rented after she broke up with her long-term boyfriend. It wasn’t much, only a one-bedroom apartment with a sanitized decor - she hadn’t had the heart to make it her own. It was close to her work and not a too long drive from her parents; it was all she really needed.

Y/N studied him in silence. He must not have had the memo about the Texas weather at that time of the year as he was only wearing a beige sweater, sleeves rolled up. It wasn’t much of a surprise he had forgotten how it was; he had spent so little time home in the last ten years.

When her eyes finally got to his face, she realized he was now staring at her. She tried reading him like she could before, but what she found in his eyes, she couldn’t interpret. Perhaps something had been broken between them. Perhaps there were only so much absence someone could handle. Perhaps they had let the miles come in between them for real this time.

She couldn’t tell how long they stayed like this before he finally spoke.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Long gone was the hope she had that he would apologize.

Jake had never been one to be wrong; he was probably even the most stubborn person she had ever met. Though she liked this confidence in him, she also knew it was hiding something much deeper. His trauma of being abandoned by his father when he was still a toddler. The fear of his loved ones realizing what a failure he was, despite everything he had already accomplished. The fear of never being enough.

He had assured her it wasn’t one of the reasons he had enrolled, and she knew he was lying to her just as much he was lying to himself. But she wasn’t her twenty-something-self; she wasn’t going to protect his feelings anymore. Now that they didn’t have an audience, she could lay her cards on the table.

“Do you mean, just like you didn’t tell us about the ejection seat accident that you had six months ago?”

She saw his face drop ever so slightly before he regained his composure back. She wasn’t the only one keeping things from him, yet contrary to him, the things she was keeping a secret weren’t really hers anyway.

“How would you know?”

“Javy called me that time,” she stated dryly, memories of the call she got in the middle of the night flowing to her head. She still had nightmares about it most nights. “He wanted me to know in case your brain injury worsened, and they had to call your family.”

This secret, she had never told anyone and had carried the weight of it on her own until now. She had smiled and assured everyone that all was fine for the days - sixteen in total - they didn’t hear from him; how could he, he had been literally in a 24h surveillance at the hospital. She had had Javy on the phone to report every little detail he had of Jake’s evolution. She hadn’t had sleep for weeks straight and had nearly cried when Jake had called him after a very busy and unexpected mission he took part in - another way for putting he had just got cleared from the hospital.

“It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing, Jake! You got banned from flying for six weeks. Six fucking weeks!”

“And yet, it wasn’t the first time I ended up in the hospital, nor was it the last time. You know that’s part of the job.”

Y/N snorted.

Like hell she knew. The job description went with never being in the same time zone as your loved ones, missing every single milestone in their life, putting his very own safety at risk so they could all be free and safe, and omitting all details of the national security missions to which he was taking part. She was pretty sure though there was no line in his contract about lying about his health, especially when he could have died, to his family.

For some reason, this whole situation had made his absence even worse. She realized he didn’t feel safe to let them know when things had gone bad; if this time she had known, she couldn’t even imagine all those other times Javy hadn’t been there to inform her. It had awakened a visceral (and most likely also irrational) fear in her. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him and she still wasn’t ready to accept it.

“Why is this such a big deal when you knew what was going in here and didn’t even tell me?”

If she hadn’t been this tired, Y/N would have probably walked to him to slap him. How could he compare his near-death experience to his sisters’ decisions? How could any of it be equivalent?

“This was not my truth to tell,” she only replied blankly.

Yes, she wasn’t very proud of hiding things from Jake and lying on purpose. But she wasn’t thirteen any longer and when people confided in her - when she promised she wouldn’t tell him anything - she wasn’t going to go running to her best friend to spill all the tea.

“Will you then tell me the truth about what really happened between you and the other dickhead?”

“I already told you everything,” she answered dryly, a little bit too quickly for it not to be suspicious.

“I don’t believe you.”

Y/N knew from the sound of his voice it was pure provocation. He gave her the same daring look she had just seen the day before - the same consuming flame was in his eyes - and she could see his infamous smirk dawning on his lips. She wondered why he wanted to prove just how right he was - how he was always right - so bad. It made her skin scramble how infuriating he was.

She didn’t answer right away and stared at him, arms crossed on her chest a little bit tighter to protect herself. Everything that was happening was only making her angrier towards him. He had ruined everything, and he had just decided to continue on doing so.

She had dreamt about him coming home for months and months, to have him by her side and now, she could only wish for him to go away. The anger, the pain, the animosity; it was all too much. She couldn’t keep up anymore.

“What do you want me to tell you, huh? How much of a great boyfriend and man he was, but that it still wasn’t enough? How much a horrible person I am for not being able to fall in love with a person that would devote his own life to try and make me happy?”

Jake opened his mouth to respond, but closed it as the words sank in. It all made sense to him suddenly. Why she seemed to be relieved it was all over. Why she didn’t call him after he broke her heart. Why, on the rare occasion he had discussed the break-up with his sisters, they had never talked badly about her ex-boyfriend. He didn’t break her heart. He never did.

She was the one breaking his.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” he asked, this time his voice much softer.

How could she? When it all started with his accident - that she wasn’t even supposed to know of. When it took her five years of a stable relationship to realize her longtime boyfriend had never have been the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. When it took her half of her adult life to understand she had been lying to herself for almost all her life and that even now, she didn’t know her truth from her lies any more.

Knowing the truth, Jake didn’t know what to say. He wanted to feel sorry, he wanted to tell her he was. But was he really? It would be lying to say he didn’t exult when he had heard of the break-up... On the day she introduced him to Nick, they he had discussed - quite vividly - about the country actions in Afghanistan - one of the campaigns he had just come home from - and from that day, Jake had just decided he wouldn’t like the man. He hadn’t been very subtle about disliking him, but in his opinion, Nick had paid him back in his own coin: monopolizing Y/N whenever Jake had her on the phone, making her choose between the two of them when he had had the opportunity to fly her oversea. He still felt nauseous to recall how Y/N had seemed to only look at him every time Nick was in the room with them.

He made a few steps in her direction, going to comfort her, but Y/N only shook her head. She wouldn’t let any of this go so easily. It wasn’t because she had confided in him, that he now knew all the truth from her part, that everything else would be forgotten. There were still a lot of unspoken truth to uncover.

“Why are you really here, Jake?”

“What do you mean?”

“The reason you got this leave, what is it?”

They stood less than a metre away, eyes in eyes. Jake never felt so vulnerable as every time she looked at him as if she could read his soul. He knew she was looking for something. Something he couldn’t give her.

Looking away, he answered, “It’s nothing.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Y/N slipped away before he could even react. He watched as she turned back towards the front door. She opened it without a word and looked into his eyes as she stood leaned against it.

“Goodbye, Jake.”

And this time, he didn’t even try to fight.

Javy: Hey, got Hangman on the phone today. You okay?

Y/N: Did he vent at you for calling me that one time?

Javy: Almost.

Javy: He wasn’t really angry though. Just frustrated I guess.

Y/N: I bet. Wasn’t really the nice little break he must have planned.

Javy: If there is anything to learn from all this it is that truth is better spoken from the person they apply to.

Javy: You should talk to him.

Y/N: Yeah well I’ll see about that.

Jake was very nervous, and he wasn’t very nervous a lot.

In fact, he was pretty sure the last time he was that nervous was when he had picked Y/N up for their senior prom. Just like every year since starting high school, she had been his date - though Chad nearly had taken her away from him, but this dumbass had broken up with her only a couple of weeks before prom. That year, for some reason, everything felt different. High school years were coming to an end, they were both going to different universities. Everything was about to change, and it would never be the same. Jake had dreaded taking their relationship to the next level. If only he had known that despite going to different universities, Jake enrolling and basically the two of them living their life in parallel, their relationship had made it.

More or less so... It had been three days now since the lunch at her parents, two since their other discussion - if he would call this an argument, he was still unsure - and today was the first time he was seeing her since then.

After spending time with his family, he was on his way to meet with some of their childhood friends. Normally, Y/N was one of them and she had been invited. But with the recent events, he didn’t know if she would be here. He had had time to reflect on what had been said and finally had apologized to her voice mail as she wouldn’t let his calls through. He had given her plenty of time and space, sending in only a couple of good mornings and good nights texts, just like he was used to. Yet he didn’t know what to expect.

When he spotted her already sat at the table he had booked, his heart started pounding furiously. It gave him hope not everything between them had been broken.

“Hey,” Jake greeted Y/N softly when he had gotten at her level.

Y/N only nodded, barely looking at him, before continuing her discussion with their friend, Monica, like nothing had happened. Jake swallowed the lump in his throat before continuing to greet everyone around the table.

In all those diners they had had with their friends when he had been home, she would have been sat next to him, so close but merely touching. He would have had his arm resting nonchalantly on the back of her chair. He would have whispered all sorts of things in her ears, and she would have laughed open light-heartedly at every single one of his jokes.

That night, she was sat as far as possible from him and he had difficulty focusing on the group discussion, his mind going back to her every time. He probably went the whole evening looking at her not so subtly in the hope she would like to give him a look. She did not.

“You good?” Matt, sat at his side, asked him after the main course.

“Yeah,” Jake answered though the little tremor in his voice didn’t reflect confidence.

“Just give her a little time. It’s just a lot, y’know.”

Jake only nodded.

The problem was indeed just that: time. His flight back was in two days now and she was supposed to be his ride. He knew she would be able to drop him off without speaking a word, while he sat there in the agonizing silence. He was sure he was not able to do it for a couple of hours, he couldn’t imagine what it would be to not have her speak to him every again. He couldn’t get back to combat with Y/N still mad at him. He needed to fix things. He had been able to do it with his sisters; he had to do it with Y/N.

Indeed, the lunch had finished soon after Y/N’s dramatic departure. His sisters hadn’t spoken another word to him, and Y/N’s parents had tried to maintain some semblance of a conversation. Jake had taken a quick walk to clear his mind before going to his parents.

He had sat down with Olivia first and then Sophia, so they could tell him everything that had been going on. He sat there listening to what they had to say until they were done. There had been a lot of crying on their side (only a tiny little bit on his side - most likely because he had a dust in the eye, he would say). In the end, they had hugged and laughed and remembered that they loved each other and that nothing could be more important than that.

He had realized Olivia seemed much more at peace, somehow differently but also similarly to Y/N’s. She had so many plans on her side - buying a house, planning a trip to Europe, getting a puppy – as if she had just discovered she could be a unique person outside her marriage and she genuinely was happier.

The talk with Sophia had been a little bit more sensitive. The idea of her enrolling made his blood boiling, but he had remained calm – or at least tried to - and listened to her reasons. If he was afraid to see himself in her, her reasons were solely different than his. She didn’t want this only to do like him; it was more that he had paved the way for her. He had made her promise to think some more about it - at least, graduate from college before deciding anything - and he had promised to be supportive. He would have some work on himself, but he would cross that bridge when he’d get there.

They had of course talked about Y/N and how she was carrying the whole family on her shoulders. She always made sure everyone was alright, answering her phone at 3 a.m. to pick up Sophia from a frat party gone wild, welcoming Olivia in her tiny apartment - giving her the only bed to sleep on the couch, despite her protest - the time she turned things round after Mark and she had decided to take some time apart. She even made sure their mother was alright when his step-dad was away for business, bringing her homemade meals that she only had to heat up and keeping her company.

If he always knew what an amazingly caring person she was, it only proved him right. He would be forever grateful she was the first person to have talked to him on his first day of kindergarten. He would be forever grateful for the woman she was. If he was honest with himself, it all made him love her even more.

He wasn’t ready to watch her from afar - well, from much far away than his current position - but he would do it (or at least try), should she ask him to…

After what seemed to be an eternity, the evening finally came to an end.

Jake didn’t get the opportunity to speak to Y/N though he hesitated multiple times to just call her out or walk to her and demand that they had a chat. She was currently bidding goodbye to everyone in front of the restaurant, and Jake was watching her attentively to ambush her just as soon as she was finished. He didn’t care if he would be rude to anyone by not saying thank you for coming and goodbye; he needed to talk to her.

After she hugged Monica and promised to let her know when she got home safely, she reached for her car key in her bag and made her way to her car without even looking at him. Jake took his luck and followed her. He called after her, but she refused to acknowledge him.

“Can we not?”

“Why?” she turned around suddenly. “Want me to tell you anything else?”

“Y/N, please.”

She only raised an eyebrow before turning back and continuing walking. Too bad for her, Jake wasn’t one to give up this easily. He followed her lead up to her car that she started to unlock to get in. A wave of panic got through him as he could feel her slip away from his fingers and he didn’t want that. If they didn’t have this talk now, he was not sure they would have it at all.

“I only have two days left,” he said, interposing himself between the closed door and her. “Please.”

Y/N froze at only a few centimetres away from him. She seemed to think about what options she had. Unfortunately for her, there just wasn’t much as she couldn’t make Jake move even if she wanted to. So, she chose the reasonable choice. She crossed her arms over her chest and listened.

“I-” he sighed, passing a hand on his face, frustration clearly visible on his face now. “There has been an incident. We lost two men.”

Y/N’s arms immediately dropped to her side; the mask she wore on her face cracked. She could have been angry he lied to her, yet again, but this time, it was too serious. People died. The command had given them time off because of it. It only reminded her it could end at any time. She really could lose him.

“Jake,” she sighed.

“I-”

His voice broke and Y/N didn’t hesitate to go in for a hug. Out of habits, his arms found her waist and he buried his face in her hair. He breathed her perfume in, trying to ground himself and not totally lose it. She was his rock. There were no ways he would still be here if it wasn’t for her waiting for him at home.

He couldn’t lose her.

“I can only imagine the worry I cause you all,” he muttered in her hair. “I didn’t want to add anything to it.”

Y/N grabbed his face with both her hands and forced him to look at her. She wore a small frown on her eyebrows and determination in her eyes. While she was touched he wanted to spare their feelings, not knowing what was going on was even worse. She couldn’t count the number of times she had thought he was dead when an unknown number had called her phone. In order to support him the best way they could, they needed to know.

“Getting you back in one piece is our priority,” she started, voice bold as if she wanted him to engrave her words in his head. “That’s why we are keeping things to ourselves. We don’t want you to worry about us when you should be solely focused on staying alive.”

Jake half-smiled in return, which made Y/N relax a bit. Her hands fall on his shoulder as he kept her close to him, so close that there was no space between their two bodies. They had realized they wanted the exact same thing for one another: for them to be safe and sound.

“I worry about you all, all the time. I worry about you, all the time,” he confessed, his voice still low.

Jake reached out to tuck a loose string of hair behind her ear and Y/N instinctively leaned in his touch. It was like this between them, easy and pure. It always had. Sometimes - like these last past days, they were so caught up in life they seemed to forget what they had was so unique. Every time they had found their way back to each other.

“I left you alone while I am off, living my dream.”

“Don’t say it like you could have made any other choice, Jake.”

“I don’t regret it,” he answered right back. “Yet if I had to do it all over again, there are a lot of things about you that I would do a whole lot differently.”

Y/N nodded slowly, her heart rate slightly going up. If they often shared I-love-you’s more out of habits than anything else - though they were always genuine, Jake had never really expressed out loud how he felt about her, and from the electricity in the air - totally different from the explosive tension that had built up until now, she could feel there were more to it.

“It’s never too late, they say,” he smiled softly, his hand making it to the back of her neck.

Y/N hold her breath, searching in his eyes if he was being serious and if he was really wanting to finish the conversation they had started the night of their senior prom. If he wanted to do it right here, right now in a parking lot. It was a conversation that could have totally changed their life if they had it. A conversation for which they every so often imagined what they would have said if fear hadn’t stopped them.

If there were much younger back then, nothing now had changed at all.

“I’ve always been yours,” Y/N whispered. It would be lying if relief hadn’t wash over Jake. Of course he had known - he had always known - yet, hearing it was another thing.

“I know.”

Y/N’s bright eyes saw his eyes dove down to her lips, only a dozen of centimetres away she realized now, then back to her eyes. Her cheeks were burning up from the anticipation of what was to come. Yet, lost in each other’s eyes, none of them moved.

At that moment, the world could have stopped that they wouldn’t have noticed. Nothing else but them mattered.

“Well, kiss me then.”

[zaimta]

Hey, can i request some friends to lovers relationship headcannons for Gray, Natsu and Loke from Fairy Tail with and fem!reader please

彡FRIENDS TO LOVERS

a/n- the crazy thing is this is a trope that would work for them the best, can you tell loke is my fave i went crazy on his

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

GRAY

unfortunately for you since y’all are friends he always walkin around in his drawls, he simply does not care

he makes fun of you to no end, and don’t let you talk about something he could care less about either

“shh shh wait you hear that y/n?” he cups his ear “i don’t hear anything??” “you see because that’s the sound of someone who gives a fuck.” you rose a brow “i don’t hear any- oh.”

he thinks he’s so funny

he’s actually thee worst person to go to for relationship advice, if he openly does not like the person you’re dating and you come to him about your problems he’s like “break up with them” with no type of hesitation

at some point, you had to stop goin to him for relationship advice and only talk to him for a good rant

even if y’all are real tight he won’t tell you about ur, until he goes to that moon island and the memories resurface for him, then he’ll tell you all about it

but he’s not a big sentimental guy so it’s a little hard for him but you’re glad to know he could trust you

when he catches feelings for you he denies it terribly, he could catch himself starin at you too long and he snaps his neck in the other direction with a quickness

and don’t let anyone mention it either because it becomes even more obvious

“what are you talking about?? me and y/n? nah we’re just friends…” he says while watching you laugh with your friends with a smile

refuses to ask anyone for advice, he hopes to suffer quietly and move on

he’s the type to confess on accident, probably during a quest and you almost get hurt really bad and he saves you, you try to brush it off n make a joke out of it and he gets mad at you for it

“you could have died back there y/n. do you have any idea how that would have affected us at the guild?! how it would affect me!?” he sighs before continuing “you drive me so damn crazy you know that? i can’t live without you.”

he indirectly confesses to you with that and y’all are basically dating

unsurprisingly he acts the exact same, the only thing that changes is the fact that if he teases you too much you can shut him up with a kiss and he’s always like “oh?”, he is very aware of his effect on you and will continue to annoy you for more kisses

when he strips down it’s way more annoying than when y’all were just friends because he teases you about it

“are y’a that crazy about me that you’re embarrassed y/n?”

a good hit upside the head will do the trick just fine though

he still won’t be able to open up about things easily though, after years of constantly trying to brush things off it doesn’t come naturally to him, but he appreciates that you’re there to listen

NATSU

this trope was made for him actually

as his friend he would always drag you along to do all kinds of shit, he drags you along on quests 24/7 and trusts you to watch his back

if he starts a fight in the guild he always comes over to you smiling like an idiot whether he won or lost, constantly asking if you saw the new move he did or how cool he looked doin it

he’s at your house more than his own, he lives to annoy you first thing in the morning, he swears it’s funny but it’s not so funny anymore when he gets rocked for playing too much

he talks to you about igneel from time to time when something reminds him of his father or when he thinks of him just cause and he always tells you that igneel would love you if the two of you would meet each other

he’s not shy about his feelings towards you, he’s kinda obvious about them but not obnoxiously obvious about it, it’s clear to everyone else but not you because that’s just how he is

he would be around you more but it wouldn’t feel new because he was already around 24/7, but he would become slightly more touchy like throwing his arm around your shoulders n junk

he compliments you more too

“hey y/n! lookin good!”

eventually, y’all start jokingly flirting with each other, it goes on for a good while until you catch feelings. you try to ease up on the flirting but he keeps going so you admit that the flirting is getting to you and admit that you can’t flirt with him anymore if it’s not real and he says

“wait i thought we were already dating?”

once y’all are official things are more clear between the two of you, he screams “fun dates” guy so he loves going to nearby fairs with you on dates

he loves eating the food there and having you try some of the food

nap dates could be his thing too, you would have to talk him into it because staying still for long periods of time aint his thing, but when he comes over and he’s really tired he just wordlessly drags you into your bedroom and collapses on you and falls asleep immediately, run your fingers through his hair he loves that

his kisses have playful energy to them, you can feel him smiling into the kiss and it’s the cutest thing ever

when he tells you about igneel it’s different from when y’all were just friends, he talks about you meeting him, and him showing you off to his father knowing that he would love you as much as he does

LOKE

y'all would be real close, when he was interested in he would tell you immediately which happened literally every day, he would be like

"hey you see that girl over there? i think I'm gonna go talk to her"

and you would never be able to talk him out of it either

but at the same time, he would keep certain things from you like him being a celestial spirit, he was planning to never tell you about it till his time was up, as he feels his time fading he's filled with regret, instead of telling you how he felt he just ignored his feelings with other women and in the end he wasn't even able to tell you that he loved you

when lucy makes a contract with him, she insists that he goes and confesses his feelings for you

"we all know loke, y/n might not have noticed but we see the way you look at her…and ironically you don’t see the way she looks at you either” his eyes widen, and lucy extends her hand to him “go get her”

his confession is the sweetest thing ever

with encouragement from lucy, he wasted no time running back to the guild, he almost tripped a couple times from the brute force of his start but he didn’t care he needed to see you. he burst into the guild hall out of breath “where is y/n?!” he shouted. the other guild members crowed around loke wondering what happened, asking him about his new look, and wondering why he ran out of the guild earlier “there’s no time for that dammit where is y/n?” cana spoke over the crowd “she’s on her way home to i would go get her now before she moves on if i were you!”

he started running once again by the time he found you, you were a few steps from your house before he shouted “y/n!!” causing you to stop in your tracks at the sound of his voice “loke?” he ran up to you and sweeped you into a hug, he hugged you so tight as if you were going to disappear “i won’t leave you like that again i promise.”

the two of you share a kiss and he tells you everything, he talks about him being a celestial spirit, he tells you ab the previous wizard he made a contract with and why he made up the identity “loke”

from there he tells you his real name, and every time you say it he gets butterflies

as for y’all’s relationship he’s often out of the celestial world hanging out with you on days he’s not on lucy’s schedule

out of respect for lucy y’all never have anything planned on the days he’s contracted, and out of respect she doesn’t call him when she knows y’all are busy, she is y’all’s biggest supporter

when he’s seen around the guild he’s normally seen with you close by, his arm will always be around you one way or another whether it’s your shoulder or waist it’s gonna be there

as the king of the zodiacs, he often calls you “my queen”

he seems like the beach date type, but not during the day during the night time so y’all can see the stars, he points out his constellation

“if there’s ever a time i’m not able to be with you the stars will always be by your side.”

[prettyboykatsuki]

keep me close to you | i. yoichi

✮ tags ; childhood best friends to lovers / idiots to lovers, reader is implied to have grown up a tomboy, stereotypical shoujo manga tropes rip, reader wears makeup, a lot of sexual tension, kissing, confessions 18+

✮ wc ; 3.6k (i don't know. don't ask me.)

✮ a/n ; the worlds most self-indulgent horseshit in the world. sorry! but im not at all actually. this is the very typical 'i didn't see you that way until i realize i did the whole time.' bc i love that trope and i love isagi ok....

reader in this kind of feels awkward in her femininity and that appears in the fic more than once!! please be forewarned.

✮ synopsis ; isagi has never seen you as much more of a friend. so he thought at least.

Isagi is in love with you.

He isn't sure when that happened. He'd love to be know but in all truth - there was never any big eureka moment that made such a thing apparent. If Isagi had to think of all the moments he maybe, sort-of, possibly loved you, they come up to him as bits of nothing-much memories.

That's exactly the problem, really. A long few years of little nothings, accumulated over time, Isagi finds that his whole life has been made up of you. There was no grand gestures of confessions or singular standout moments for him to mull over.

But there was rough-housing with you back when your hair was a little shorter and your chest a little less noticeable. And there was plenty of bike races to the store for ice-cream, and lots of bonding over music you both liked. Isagi remembers sitting on your floor in the 6th grade and watching you play video games much better than he ever could.

A lot that stuff persisted into your teen years, and even into adulthood. Isagi has never thought of it as weird. Play fighting or bike races or being reckless together felt natural - and in some ways, you were the only person who ever brought that out of him.

It was normal. You were friends and you got along as friends. Isagi never thought about it any more than that.

Just a few months ago, you got a boyfriend. Said boyfriend didn't think your friendship with Isagi was entirely appropriate. He had approached Isagi first. You talked to Isagi after, said you'd still hang out but no more rough-housing and that was that.

Isagi had heard about your boyfriend, though you didn't talk about him much. And after meeting him, it was easy enough to conclude that he was genuinely a good guy. Objectively good for you, accepting of your personality, kind and thoughtful. A good stable job There was nothing bad he could say about him. He wished there was.

"Just the being touchy. I know you two don't think anything of it since you've been friends for so long," He leans in, friendly, as he pats Isagis shoulder "But you wouldn't like if your girlfriend was being touchy with another guy right?"

Isagi had nothing to say. He'd never thought about. Never had a proper girlfriend, though he was interested in a few girls. He'd lost his virginity out of the country and had some hook-ups and talking stages. Never a girlfriend.

Would it bother him? He couldn't say. He didn't know who to think of. There was not a hypothetical girl he could conjure to give him a conclusion. Ultimately dazed, Isagi had replied with something along the lines of "Yeah man, I get it," and then left for practice without turning his back.

It bothered him for weeks. He couldn't do anything without pondering that very question. He couldn't stop thinking about the way he'd described you as his girlfriend. You'd always been a friend, and Isagi knows you as a girl. But you're you before that, and he's never quite put both things next to each other.

But he'd never even thought to look at you as a girlfriend. He brushed off such comments and so did you. You were his friend. One of the very best. You'd know each other until you die, and in a way - this is just proof of your next stage of life. You'd settle down with a partner and so would he and everything would be fine.

But, the thing was - he'd never actually conjured up the future. There was never any assured belief that you'd go and find someone to nest with so soon. It felt unnatural. Disorienting. There was an order to this strange and mad world and your relationship went against it.

Even in thinking that, it'd take Isagi weeks to figure out the extent of his feelings. Weeks of practicing, of going on group dates with his team, of drinking. Weeks of missing you. Being conscious of the sudden absence of his very best friend in the world. You still saw him but it was no longer every other day. And you still called and texted, still told him stupid stuff about your life.

But he'd go on Instagram and see pictures of you from someone else's account. You'd be wearing something he'd never seen you in before. It was pretty. You were prettier. He'd never thought about that before, if only to say that you were and always had been. And plenty of guys had noticed in highschool, too. He'd never thought about it then either.

Isagi had never really considered a lot of things. It didn't dawn on him that he loved you until Bachira pried the information out of him one night on the road.

("Yocchan is stupid,"

Isagi leans on the bench in the locker room and frowns, throwing a confused look Bachira's.

"What the hell? For what?"

It's not Bachira who tells him the information - but Rin, who walks towards his own locker with a tired expression and a towel around his shoulder.

"You're in love with her, you stupid jackass.")

Right. It'd been Rin who told it to him straight, and Rin would know a thing about love. Apparently he'd been with the same girl since highschool and he knew a thing or two. For Rin to tell Isagi such a thing made Isagi really think on it, and when Isagi finally sat down and thought about it - it was clear that he was head over heels in love.

Isagi is in love with you. It has been a tremendous pain in the ass trying to live with this information. It made sense - it really did. It made sense that everything suddenly felt so wrong. It made sense that he never new anything about love and that he could never keep a relationship.

When he thought about it, he'd never stop comparing everyone to you. If it were you—you'd be clumsy at fancy restaurants but it'd still be so much fun to go. If it were you—he might've cared much more about valentines day chocolates. It would've been so novel, so lovely - to imagine how hastily you would've made them. Not obligatory friendship chocolates but something just for him.

If it were you, he might've wanted to buy you expensive things. They'd be different. Clothes and shoes but game consoles and concert tickets. If it were you, he'd always take his sports car. He might've liked the way you fawned over them, with that wide-eyed sense of adventure he's spent his whole life getting to know.

Yes if it were you, Isagi might've gotten angry. Now that he knows, the idea you're getting so touchy-feely with another guy makes him sick. He knows he has no right to feel that way, but he can't exactly help the feeling either.

From the start, if Isagi had realized love started and ended with you, then maybe he would know a thing or two about love by now. He might've cared more about everything, had he realized it even a little sooner.

A few months ago would've sufficed.

Isagi is in love with you.

He has no idea if you feel the same, but in a way that doesn't change anything.

He's seated on his couch, alone in his apartment - and thinking wistfully that he probably has been this whole time.

He looks around his apartment, feeling a little sorry for himself. He's drinking. Even this tipsy, his mind is clouded with memories. You looked at this place together and you helped Isagi move in many months ago.

A place with a good view of the city, Isagi stands to his feet and watches near the cool glass of the window.

It takes him a while to hear his phone ring. When he does, he almost feels like he's hallucinating when he sees your name on the other side. He stares, wonders if the kami like playing malicious tricks on him, and then picks up.

He speaks slowly.

"Hello?"

He knows your crying, even though you're trying harder to hide it. That desperate sniffle that you get is an easy tell.

"Yoichi," You mutter, soft and sad "Can you come to the park?"

"At this hour? It's late. Your boyfriend is gonna be pissed."

You hiccup on the other side of the line. Isagi wants to run to you as soon as possible.

"Just come," You sniffle again, a little sadder. You're crying this time forreal "...I want to see you."

"Okay. Are you alone?"

"Mm,"

"Stay on the phone with me. I'll come soon. Stay on the line."

"Okay."

__

Isagi comes to find you at the park like you've asked. He keeps you on the line the entire Uber ride there and then as he comes through the playground to find you.

Somehow, he knows exactly where you'll be. It's the park you two grew up coming to. It's dark out, damp from the night, and Isagi finds you tucked in the same corner you always are.

You still fit there somehow, just beneath the slide. It's a big space, enough for two people. So, wordless, Isagi climbs into the little box and sits next to you. Close but not close enough, he hangs up the phone and turns his head to stare at you.

"I'm here," He says, mostly because he doesn't know what else to say.

You look up at him, obviously having been crying. You're wearing a sweatshirt and shorts, but your face has some light make-up on it like you were on a date. He forces himself not to frown as you gaze at him - pouting.

"You're here." You repeat, like you don't know what else to say. You lean your head on his shoulder. It's the most natural feeling in the world, but right now - it makes his breath hitch "Thanks for comin'"

"Are you gonna tell me what happened?"

"Well I don't want to."

"Can you really say that after crying like a baby, begging for me to come over, huh? All I want to see you—"

You elbow him without mercy.

"Shut up you jackass. Sorry to interrupt your late night jerk-off session with my tears."

It's not said with any malice, a joke - but there's insecurity laced in. Sorry for making you come see me, you want to say he's sure. He shakes his head.

"I could've been hooking up with a girl."

"Yeah? It's a miracle anyone would wanna get your dick wet, you should go back and finish the job,"

"Can't," Isagi mumbles, trying not to look at you closely "Some girl is making my shoulder wet instead though."

"Sorry," You croak, so horrifyingly sincere Isagi doesn't know how he's keeping himself upright "I can move."

"I was kidding," He says, hurriedly "It's fine. It reminds me of when we we're kids."

You huff a laugh.

"You only remember annoying stuff."

He mumbles something in agreement before there's a brief bout of silence. He speaks again first.

"Gonna tell me what happened?"

"We broke up," You mumble. Isagi feels his heart race, immediately riddled with guilt afterwards. "He broke up with me."

"I thought things were going well?"

"They were," You sniffle. It's the first time in your lives you've opened up to each other about something like this. You've talked about it, but it was always more him talking and you listening. He'd never heard about your crushes before.

In such a vulnerable, innocent position. Alone with him, confiding in him. He wants to stay with you forever "He was really good to me."

"So what? Why'd you break up?"

"I didn't love him. I liked him. And I thought I'd come to love him, but I didn't...I just couldn't love him. He knew it too, so he broke up with me."

"Was he mean about it?"

You laugh.

"Course not. He's one of the nicest guys I've ever met in my whole life. Told you, he was good to me."

"So then...? Are you sad about hurting his feelings?"

You nod, almost meek.

Isagi loves you more than life itself, he thinks.

"I wanted to love him. I thought I could."

"Why couldn't you?"

A brief pause of silence. You're debating on what to say before you seem to settle on something.

"Already someone else."

"Someone else? You love someone else?"

A whisper of hope. So small Isagi almost can't bear it. You nod.

"And what about them?"

"Doesn't love me back."

"How long?" His voice is shaking. He has no idea if you can tell. You laugh.

"A long time."

"Do I know him?"

You laugh again, a little throatier. More melancholy. Isagi feels like he's looking into an abyss. A dangerous place to fall in if he's not careful. He's already in love, already too deep. But he already steeled himself not to hope too much.

"You do know him, I guess."

"Tell me about him," Isagi almost urges. He has to be sure. He has to be sure this isn't one long dream, and that everything is real. "What he's like."

You look at him surprised.

"I thought you hated when I talked about stuff like this?"

"Changed my mind."

"Weirdo. It's nothin' special. We've known each other a while. We get along well. He likes the stuff I do and I like being around him."

"When'd you realized you loved him?"

"Middle school? Probably."

Ah. You've known each other a little longer than that, haven't you?

"You're being awfully secretive about it. Nothing more specific?"

You frown at him.

"Piss off. Go back to not caring about it. It's a dark part of my past and I already gave up on it forever ago."

"What if..." Isagi swallows. He's really the dumbest guy in the entire world for this. It could always be someone else. He knows that. "If your feelings were returned? What then?"

"I've never thought about it," You say, not even considering it might be the case "I'd be happy but I don't see the point in getting my hopes up. His type in girls is like...cuter I guess."

Isagi wants to knock himself out. Idiot. He's gone and ruined his own chances. He wish he could go back and kick the ass of his highschool self. If he called you cute right now, you'd definitely think he was trying to coddle your feelings. You are cute to him.

He can't get the words out.

"And you don't think you are?"

You shoot him a surprised look then burst out into laughter.

"Well, no. Daisuke used to say it but I don't know. Most guys wouldn't think of me as...cute? Sexy maybe? Apparently some of the guys from department see it that way."

Aah. Isagi hates this. He hates hearing that guys name without honorifics. His first name, at that.

"You should listen to the guy you used to date and not whatever knuckleheads you go to school with."

"Are you saying I'm cute, Yoichi? Started feeling bad?"

"It's not pity, alright? But you're not..not cute."

You pause before breaking out in genuine, unruly laughter. Isagi adores the sound of your voice, adores every inch of you as you giggle yourself into a fit.

"You'll never get a girlfriend like that. You have to at least be able to pretend."

It's not pretending. He wants to tell you that you're cute. The way you laugh is cute and the look you get playing stupid claw machine games is cute and the way you get excited by the 7/11 carrying your favorite things is cute. It's never been different and you still look so delighted. Everything about you is cute. Isagi wants to say all that, and that he finds you sexy too. For different, ordinary reasons those stupid guys in your department could never begin to know.

But words are useless - inconceivably pointless to try and make you understand.

"You're cute," He says first, staring at the place in front of him. Then adds "That's not pity."

"So you know how to smooth talk too?"

"It's not that either."

"Then what is it?" Your voice is wavering.

Now or never.

"A confession."

Isagi feels you tense. Feels you freeze. You start to stutter another joking, lifting your head from his shoulder to turn away but Isagi is quicker. Quick to hold your shoulder, to turn you towards him, to hold your cheek and make you look his face.

"Yoichi?"

"Is it me? Am I the person you like?"

You shake your head trying to look away.

"I don't want to answer that."

"I like you," Isagi grips your shoulder tighter, presses his forehead against yours as he holds on for dear life with hope "I only figured it out recently."

A bout of silence passes before your voice sounds again. It's shaking so hard. Isagi can hear how hard your heart is beating.

"This is fucking mean." You whisper. He frowns at you.

"Do I look like I'm joking? Huh? Does it even kind of seem like that?"

"But since when?" You're arguing. Isagi just confessed his undying love for you and you're arguing with him about it. It's so you. "I'm not even your type."

"No one is my type but you, you idiot." Isagi is exasperated explaining this. It's embarrassing but he's a lot of time to reflect and this is as true as it gets "Every single time I'd ever tried dating someone else or doing things with them - I didn't care. I just did it without thinking. But I always thought if it was you...I'd always want it to be you."

"You're not attracted to me." You assert, maybe trying to compensate.

"Fuck you, I couldn't tell you that you were hot to your face. You kicked my ass every time I mentioned the fact your tits got bigger in highsc—"

You shove him with your shoulder.

"Because you talk about it like that you shitty jock." You hiss.

"Then what do you want me to say?" Isagi mumbles, looking at you "I think you're sexy. What else is there?"

"God this is so embarrassing,"

"I'm being serious," Isagi adds, pouting, face flush with heat "You're just...you've always been attractive I guess."

You give him a small frown. Isagi thinks it's the cutest thing in the world. He wants to kiss you absolutely fucking stupid.

"Are you sure? Like really sure?"

He snorts, laughing humorlessly.

"I've been agonizing about it for weeks. Yes I'm sure."

"What if I told you to kiss me? Could you do it?"

Isagi stares at you in disbelief. He turns himself slightly, staring at you before reaching his hand out towards your cheek. You make a soft noise of surprise as he brushes his thumb underneath your eye. Your face is so hot it's burning against the palm of his hand. He lets his hand settle on the back of your neck before leaning into kiss you.

He kisses you hard but slow. Passion imbued into each tiny movement, drawing as deep as he can go without pushing his tongue between your lips.

You let out a soft moan that makes him pull away, eyes widened. Humiliated you try to shove him away, but Isagi manages to catch you by your wrist.

"Is it starting to click or do you need me to prove it one more time?"

"Ugh. Fuck, you're so,"

He grins wolfishly as he stares at you, watching you shrink so slightly under his gaze. He's not used to winning against you in any capacity with the exception of soccer. It feels good.

"I'm so?"

"Annoying."

"That's it?" He leans in again, lips brushing your cheek and pressing a kiss to it before moving down. He presses kisses down your jaw, relishing in the way you squirm. "Nothing else to add?"

"You're enjoying this too much, Yoichi," You reprimand, though you don't make any effort to move "Are you fishing for compliments?"

"I'm wondering if you find me sexy too, that's all."

You pause before leaning in. He watches the gears turn in your brain before turning your voice low.

"Wanna touch me and find out yourself?"

He pulls away instantly in shock as you blink at him innocently. There's an air of smugness about you. He feels his face burn red immediately, blood rushing up into his brain. He tucks his chin looking away from you. His brain feels like it's full of static.

He's embarrassed. By what you've said but more by how naturally everything falls into place. By how effected he is by something so simple. It usually takes so much more to get him like this.

"What the hell was'at..."

"Karma. Don't be all cocky. I've known about my feelings way longer than you."

"Didn't think you'd know jackshit about stuff like that though."

"Just cause I spare you my sex stories doesn't mean they don't exist."

Isagi feels a pang of irritation as he scoffs.

"I don't want hear about them now either."

"I thought you weren't the jealous type?"

"I just wasn't that into any of those girls."

"But you're into me? Enough that you get jealous?"

Isagi laughs at that.

"Yeah. I'm way more into you than you're ever gonna get through your head anyways."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Means I wanna get all lovey-dovey with you and embarrass you all the time."

You flush and Isagi feels like he's won. Instead of feeling elated or cocky, this time he just feels a little dazed. He stares at you through lidded eyes.

"I'm so into you," Isagi mutters, leaning his head against your shoulder "You're never gonna get it unless you look in my brain,"

You pause momentarily, leaning back enough that Isagi sits up. He looks at you curiously before he feels you tap foreheads. You close your eyes and hum, before peeking just one open.

"I looked," You say softly "I still win,"

Isagi groans internally. God. God you're so fucking cute. It's so you and it's so cute and he loves you.

"Can I please kiss you again?"

"You don't have to ask every time."

"No takebacks."

Isagi leans in again, to kiss you a little softer this time. When he pulls away, the look on your face makes him want to do it all over again. You'll be here all night if he doesn't get a hold of himself.

"You wanna come over to my place?"

"Isn't a little early for that?"

Isagi knocks your foreheads together.

"Not like that. It's late and the trains aren't running. I don't want you taking a cab,"

"I'm a big girl, Yoichi," You say sardonically "If you want me to stay over, just ask. You're still my best friend, dummy." You add the last part a little softer.

He grabs your hand.

"Then stay with me."

You nod.

"Okay. And we can have sex if you want."

"Fuck yeah."

[bangchxnnie]

how long will this last? (pt. 2)

pairing: felix and fem!reader

tropes: friends to enemies to lovers, idiots in love, brother’s best friend if you squint? , college!au?

content warnings: 3rd person writing, alcohol is mentioned, reader is nicknamed barbie, felix is stupid, cursing, orange cats, shitty writing, bin being bin, massive miscommunication, what can barely be considered angst, some suggestive elements (but as always, read at your own risk buddy!)

chapter word count: ≈4.7k

|| hlwtl masterlist || part 1 || part 3 ||

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

“Did you eat my fucking pasta leftovers?” She groans, searching through the fridge. 

“You were asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you up and ask what is off limits and what isn’t.” 

“You’re such a prick.” She slams the fridge shut and fights a full-on pout. 

My pasta…

“What bit your ass?” 

It takes a while to explain everything to her brother fully. With how busy his job has been, he’s barely popped in over the last few months. She’s be lying if she said it wasn’t good to see him, though. Scare or not. 

She keeps stopping to fight the residual anger, sadness, or the weird mix of both that comes whenever she says Felix’s name. To Chris’s credit, he does his best to sit and just listen. Until she gets to the part about Felix saying she’s not worth it. He laughs at that. 

“What’s so funny?”

“God, he’s so transparent.”

She looks at him in confusion. 

“Continue. Please.” 

BP, the little traitor, sits in Chris’s lap the whole time, purring contentedly at the constant affection.

Can’t trust none of these hoes. 

When she finishes, he sits in silence for a moment. 

“So it sounds like he’s jealous, dude.” He says simply. 

B immediately shakes her head in protest and waves him off for good measure. 

“No, he’s just a dick.” 

“That may be true too, and I do want to kick his ass, but he’s clearly and obviously jealous of you and Binnie.” 

“You’re clinically insane. There’s nothing to be jealous of!” Her irritation could not be more obvious. Folded arms, jaw tensed, eyes skyward. “He’s just an ass, and there’s nothing more to it.” 

“Are you really that oblivious? I mean, c’mon, I know I’m the brains of the family, but-“ She smacks him upside the head. “Ow! Don’t damage the goods!” 

“Then stop saying dumb shit!” Chris glares at her. 

“I’m not. Anyone with eyes and half a brain cell can see he’s into you. Like, well into you. And has been. It’s quite gross, actually.” Her heart rate picks up at his words. She doesn’t actually believe him, but it gives her butterflies all the same. 

She covers by raising an eyebrow at him. He takes it as a sign to continue. “Look, I’m not gonna tell you what to do. But think about it. He threw a fit that day because he came home and saw you flirting with Bin.”

“I wasn’t flirting with him! That’s gross. Bin was just being himself. He’s always like that. Felix knows this.”

“Doesn’t mean he likes it. Maybe he just snapped.” 

She doesn’t buy it. They’re grown-ass people.

If Felix really was that upset, why wouldn’t he just say something? He’s always been able to tell me when he’s bothered.

If it were that simple, why didn’t you tell Felix how you felt, either? 

…Even my brain is a traitorous traitor. Why are we defending him?

“Okay, fine. What about that day he lied about his laptop?” 

“Maybe he genuinely forgot he had it. Or maybe, that loud ass sound you heard was him at the door.” 

B doesn’t say anything. 

“You said he was in the hallway, right? Maybe he had come home, saw Bin and you doing…whatever the fuck you were doing, and left.” 

Surely she would have noticed if Felix had come in, right? She’s normally so observant. Or at least, she thought she was. It’s a lot of information to process. 

“I mean, really? What the hell were you doing?”

“Irrelevant. What do I do about it?” B reaches for her cat, still seated in Chris’s lap. BP hisses at her. 

Fucker.

“Talk to him, dude. Jesus Christ, I thought you were smarter than this.” Chris just sighs. 

“Thanks, dipshit. And how exactly do you expect me to do that when he ignores me at every turn?” 

“I can’t give you all the answers. Damn. You’ve got to do some of the work yourself. Now,” He gently sets BP down and stands to stretch. “I’d really like to get some sleep. Is the spare room clean?” 

B thinks she’s probably going to kill him before this week is over.

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

“What about that one? He’s so cute!” Felix points to a nearby cage, cooing at the cat on the other side. 

“His sign literally says, ‘I Don’t Like People.’” B counters, shaking her head. 

Felix just smiles that goofy smile at her that she loves. “Which means you already have something in common!” 

Her mouth drops in semi-shock at his comment, and she half-heartedly nudges his arm. “I like you well enough!” The same arm wraps around him and she continues walking. “How about this one?” She points to a couple of cages over; a little paw sticking out between the tiny metal poles of the door. 

“I dunno…she seems a little small. So dainty. She’s got to be able to hold her own in your house.” Felix plays with her as much as he can through the barrier, even going so far as to make baby talk to her. B giggles, just watching him for a bit. He’s so gentle with everything; no wonder the littles flock to him at family events. “Whad’ya think, Beautiful? Do you wanna come home with us? Just say the word, and we’ll take you home, yeah?”

Us. The way that one word makes B feel is more than dangerous. Floaty, warm, and fuzzy. After all, there is no us. Just her and Felix. As friends. Until the end of time. 

How miserable.

Felix jolts back when the cat swipes at him, catching his knuckle. “Ow! Fuck!” B blinks back to reality.

“Serves you right for calling her dainty.” 

Felix throws his free arm up in defeat. “Fair enough.”

 He steps into B’s space silently, suddenly laser-focused on reaching the top of her head. He gently moves a stray hair back into place, following it down to tuck it behind her ears. “Sorry, Gorgeous, it was standing up weird.” It’s all he offers in explanation. 

Not that she minds. But between the pet name and the touch, she’s sure her face is outing her in more ways than one. 

You’ve got to get it under control, girl! Get. A. Grip. 

Felix clears his throat, steps back, and offers his arm to her. “Shall we?” 

They interact with a few more cats, and every time Felix talks to the cats, it tugs at B’s heartstrings. She can’t help but watch the way his freckles crinkle when he smiles or how his eyes light up when any of the cats interact with him back. “How are you today, sweetheart?” or “Are you having a good day?” or B’s personal favorite, complete with baby voice-“I might have to just steal you for myself. Yeah, I think I do.” 

Eventually, they come across one that seems thoroughly uninterested in Felix. Felix tries to play with him, but he doesn’t budge. “Well, fine. Be like that then.” He pouts like a petulant toddler. 

“I think he’s just tired.” 

“Is he? He seems pretty indifferent toward me.” 

“Let me try.”

“Be my guest, gorgeous.”

B tries to coax him out from the corner of his enclosure. He slowly sits his head up and just stares at her. At least it’s more of a reaction than what he gave the man.

The cat approaches the cage leisurely like he has all the time in the world. Which, one supposes, he does. B drops her arm from Felix’s to get closer to the semi-curious cat, who lets Barbie pet him and seems content with just that. 

“I think he likes me? Maybe?” She searches the cage for his information card. 

Name: Bobby Pin 

Felix laughs. It compels another smile from B, much like anything else he does. “Bobby Pin? How do they come up with these names?” 

“I mean, my friend in grade school had a cat named Crayon. She tried to eat one as a kitten right after they got her. So there it was.” 

The way he listens so intently when she speaks makes her feel like anything she has to say is important. That she is important, it’s a feeling she cherishes more than he knows. 

Felix tries to reach for the cat again, seemingly feeling like he’s missing out. When the cat grumbles but lets him, both humans laugh. B decides that he’s the one.

She goes searching for a shelter employee. 

“Excuse me, we’d like to fill out an application for this one?” 

The memory pulses a pang in her chest that feels so wrong. It doesn’t seem right that just a few months ago, they were fine, and now, he’s saying shit like, “You’re not worth it”. It doesn’t make sense. Her conversation with Chris and the memory keeps her up until her eyelids can’t hold their own weight anymore. 

She manages an entire 36 hours almost completely people-free. She gets out of bed three times the first day. Once to use the bathroom, once to grab an obscene amount of snacks and dash back to bed, and a third time to grab the remote that fell underneath her bed. Other than that, she’s either sleeping, eating, or watching episodes of a show she’s seen a million times. It usually leads to another nap, honestly. The other days it's even less. Maybe twice, if that. Chris checks on her once a day to ensure she’s alive, asks if she wants him to stay (she says no), tells her to call if she needs him, and leaves. She doesn’t call, though. In fact, she turns her phone completely off to avoid everyone else. 

The fourth morning, however, another unwelcome visitor breaks into the apartment. He also has a key, but that’s beside the point. 

“B, are you home?” She’s already awake but would rather be sleeping off what feels like the beginning of a massive headache. Maybe it’s from all the crying. Maybe someone snuck in the middle of the night and poured alcohol down her throat. Maybe it’s from the yelling. She can’t be sure. The possibilities are endless, really. But what she is sure of is the fact that she doesn’t want to deal with Changbin. Not today.

Die. I want to crawl into a hole and make it my home like I’m some kind of mole. I could be a mole man. Mole-woman? Mole-person. 

She snaps her eyes shut and listens for his footsteps. She’s trying to gauge how far away he is since he says nothing else. She is unsuccessful.

“Well, you look awful.” 

Fuck.

“Go away.” She pulls the covers over her head and turns away from the door. 

“No, we’re not doing this sulking thing. C’mon.” He grabs BP from the foot of the bed and sets him on the floor. BP is unhappy about it, grumbling annoyed cat noises while he stretches and searches for a new sleep spot. 

“Oh, hush. You love me.” Bin argues with himself, it seems, because BP ignores him. 

He gently tugs at Barbie’s comforter. He’s trying to give her a chance to let it go. And when she doesn’t, he just snatches it from her hands and tosses it to the end of the bed. He sits on the edge and waits for her to sit up. She doesn’t. 

“Um, hello?! I have no pants on!” B protests, though she makes no effort to hide anything. Her sleep shirt is long enough that it covers everything anyway. 

“Oh, no! Legs! What’s a man to do?!” Bin faux gasps, clutching his hand to his chest. 

He deadpans seconds later. “C’mon, Barbie.” 

“If you say, let’s go party, I will kick you in the stomach.” 

Bin blinks at her. “Just get up!” 

“I don’t want to!” She thrashes around in protest, tears already threatening to expose themselves. “I’m in pain, I’m humiliated, I’ve been invaded, I’m-“ 

“Invaded?” Bin tilts his head, amused. 

She props herself up on her elbows. “Chris is here.” And just as quickly, drops herself back flat on the bed.

Bin mouths a silent oh. 

“Well, he can come too.” Changbin pats her leg and stands. 

“Where are we allegedly going?” Once again up on her elbows, B eyes him carefully. 

“The beach. Obviously.” 

An eyebrow raises. “In autumn?”

“Nobody said we were swimming. Now get up, and take a shower. You smell like sadness.” 

He finds his way to her tall dresser across the room and starts rummaging through it for appropriate clothing. 

She sighs in defeat, dragging herself up to a sitting position. A hefty yawn escapes her lips, and it dawns on her she has no idea what time of day it is.

“Wait, what time is it?” B searches for her phone, but it’s not in its usual spot on her nightstand. “And where’s my phone?” 

“7:30.” 

“AM?!” 

Bin waves her off as if it’s unimportant information. 

“You do realize this is an executable offense.” 

He turns his head to look at her, evil smile spread across his face. “Kill me and I’ll haunt you until your last breath.” 

It’s probably true. 

He tosses some clothes at her and points to the bathroom, exiting the bedroom in the same stride. “Shower. I’m gonna go wake your brother up.” 

“Best of luck, soldier.” 

She takes a deep breath, determined to face whatever the day throws her way. She quickly grabs the clothes thrown at her and heads to the bathroom. As she steps inside, a feeling of dread overcomes her. 

Why do I feel like this day is going to be a shitshow?

She closes her eyes and prays for the best. 

The shower is surprisingly refreshing. Once she finally convinced herself to get in, it’s hard to get out. A full wash can be quite draining most days, but the effort came with a little more ease once the warm stream also warmed the room. She leaves a little less dread-filled and a little more hungry.

After she gets dressed and styles herself to her liking, she heads to the spare room to see how successful Bin is at getting Chris up. He’s usually hard to rise since he doesn’t sleep much, either. 

She finds her brother and her friend..giggling. On the bed. Bin lightly punches Chris’s arm, and Chris falls into a full fit of laughter. 

She smiles, happy to see some of her favorite people so happy. “What’s so funny?” 

Their laughs settle, and Chris waves her off. “It’s nothing.” 

Bin agrees, lingering laughter escaping. “Don’t worry about it, Barbie.” 

She frowns, but doesn’t press. The uneasy feeling in her is growing, but doesn’t have the energy to have it out with them about it.

“Oh. Well, are we going to leave soon?” Her entire demeanor shifts.  

“Soon, we’re just waiting for one more arrival.” No one has time to address B's body language because as if on cue, the door shakes violently. The doorknob attempts to turn, but, of course, it’s locked. The door shakes again, and B sighs. 

“Why would you leave a brainless squirrel outside by himself?” 

Bin shrugs.

“I heard that!” It’s slightly muffled, but the hurt is still there. 

B unlocks the door and steps back, allowing Jisung to clamber inside. He almost crashes into Barbie with how aggressively he runs in. He’s breathing heavy, dramatically sets his hands on his knees to ‘catch his breath’. When he stands, he narrows his eyes at his friend.

“The door wouldn’t open.” 

B laughs. “Because it's locked, dumbass.” 

“How was I supposed to know that?”

“When it didn’t open?” She ruffles his hair. He swats her hand away and attempts to fix it, muttering something under his breath. 

Han Jisung is…a special friend. He can be incredibly intelligent, and very insightful, but it’s blanketed by a lack of common sense sometimes. Most times. He likes to say he’s too smart for his own good. There’s a sliver of truth to the statement. 

“Can we go now?” 

The beach itself is relatively uneventful. Bin packed a picnic kit and some chairs for the group to just sit and talk for a while. He even packed a book for B for when she’s burnt out socially. It’s a kind gesture, but B opts to just sit and listen to the waves, conversation as her background noise. Jisung chooses to sit with her in silence. Eventually, she lays her head on his shoulder. It’s the happiest she’s been all week. 

Nobody says anything to her until they start getting back to the car.

“You know, it’s okay to talk about it.” Chris says, pulling his seatbelt across his lap in the driver’s seat. “How you feel about it.” 

B shakes her head. “I don’t know how I feel.” 

“That’s fine too.” It’s the last he says on the subject. 

The rest of the boys pile in after closing the back of the car, resuming whatever new conversation they’d started on the walk back. B doesn’t really take in much of it. Until she heard something about her brother’s birthday.

“Oh, yeah! Have you finished everything for Saturday, Chris?” 

“Yeah, about that…” He cringes, like the words are paining him.

“What did you do.” 

“ThevenuecanceledandwehavenowhereelsetohostitsoIwashopingyouwouldletususetheapartment.” The words blur together, but she manages to get the gist. And she’s not happy about it.

“And how long have you known this, Christopher?” She stares him down through the rear view mirror. 

“Just since yesterday! I swear! I was just as mad as you are but I know that you love me and you’ll do me this major solid and I’ll owe you big time.” He flashes her his biggest smile, hoping it’ll seal the deal. The car is quiet, save for the radio, while she contemplates her answer. 

“…Yeah, you’ll owe me big time.” 

The whole car lets out a sigh of relief. “You’re the best!” Chris sing-songs. B flips him the bird, smile fighting at the corners of her lips. 

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

Turns out, Chris has much more of his party planning shit together than anyone realises. The transition from venue to house party is relatively smooth over the next few days.. Hiding away the valuables and ultra breakables (nobody plans to get that wasted, but who knows), deep cleaning every room in the house, locking doors to off-limit rooms, the works. 

“Do you really not trust your friends that much?” Barbie questions. She’s washing up the rest of the dishes before she has zero energy left. 

“It’s not his friends he’s worried about, Barbie.” Seungmin joins in, spread comfortably across her couch.

“Oh, right. The New Year’s incident.” Jisung had gotten so drunk he’d gone up to every single person at the party and challenged them to an arm wrestle, and if they lost, he got to kiss them. He almost left with a broken arm. 

“We agreed we won't talk about that anymore.” Jisung gripes anytime somebody mentions it. 

“You agreed. With yourself.” B counters. 

Jisung, Changbin, and Chris all make weird eye contact with one another. It sets off that uneasy feeling in B’s stomach again. It’s so frustrating to feel out of the loop. Again. 

“What is this, some sort of weird intimate mindmeld? What aren’t you guys telling me?” 

They make eye contact again, and Bin clears his throat. 

“Um, Felix is, uh, coming to the party.” 

Her stomach drops at his name. Whether that’s from anger or something else is unknown. She hides her feelings behind a neutral face. 

“Oh. Well, I knew that. He and Chris have been friends for ages.” 

Nobody’s buying it. 

“Are you sure?” He speaks slowly; he’s scared to spook her. 

“Yes. Just because he can’t be civil doesn’t mean I can’t. Kill ‘em with kindness, yeah?” She shrugs and walks off to her room as casually as she can manage. 

She locks her door behind her and can feel a panic attack rising with every breath. She uses her grounding techniques to fight it off before it consumes her. 

Okay, I have exactly…16 hours to get my shit together. Oh shit. Chris was right. I just need to get through the night, and then I can sit his ass down and sort this shit out. His being into me is the only logical explanation for all his bullshit. It has to be. Yeah, I’m gonna talk to him when this is all over. 

She eventually hears a knocking sound in the back of her mind. It takes a few seconds to register that it is, in fact, a real knocking sound. 

“Hey, y’okay? We can tell him no if that’s what you want. Believe me, I have no issue doing that with how stupid he’s been acting lately.” 

She tries to laugh, but it comes out choked. It’s more air than sound. Some stray tears get eaten, which is weird because she didn’t even realize she was crying. She wipes her face and gets off the bed to unlock the door. 

She’s met on the other side of the door with Chris leaning on the doorframe, a sympathetic look adorning his face. 

“It’s okay, really. One night won’t kill me.” 

“I’d be a shit brother to let him around after all this.” 

“Good thing it’s not your call, then! It’s mine, and I say I want to move forward.” 

Chris nods. He knows when it’s the final straw for her, and she’s nearing it. He doesn’t bring it up again. She’s grateful for it. 

One more day and I’ll get my answers. 

….

….

She jolts awake, a scream echoing through her brain. Was it real? Was it in her head? 

She takes a moment to process her surroundings. The clock says 2:26 am. It’s dark. It’s cold. She realises 3 things:

She had a nightmare.

Felix is not here. She doesn’t know where he is. Thankfully? Unfortunately? Why do I wanna know where he is?

The scream was real, as noted by Chris and Changbin rushing to her room to see what had happened. My bad, bro. 

It takes a cup of tea, half a movie, and an extra body (Changbin) in her room to get her back to sleep. It’s in moments like this that she deeply appreciates the friends she has and the way they support her. 

When she wakes in normal operating hours, Changbin is still asleep in her bed. Granted, he’s somehow wrapped up in two blankets, and one of his legs is hanging off the bed, but he’s still there. She reaches across and attempts to unravel him because it must be hot like that, but all he does is grumble something that sounds like, “Get off my head,” and rolls toward the middle of the bed.

Can't say I didn’t try. 

B leaves him to his fate and gets herself ready for the day. 

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

“Hi! Thank you for coming!” B greets guests happily, hugging and smiling as each person steps over the threshold of her apartment. She gestures to the nearest bedroom, offers them a place to drop their bag and coat, and tells them to enjoy themselves. It’s the same formula for nearly every person. 

While doing rounds, she spots a familiar face by the back door. 

“Look at you, all dressed up!” She wolf whistles at him, and Seungmin’s face reddens, but he brushes her off. Truthfully, it's just a button-up and pants, but he looks good anyway.

“I was told dress nice or die, so.” He does his best to keep a neutral face, but it’s obvious he’s in good spirits. 

“Well, you look very nice. Very handsome.” B teases, pinching at his cheek. She loves to mess with him like an older sister, and as much as he complains, B has a feeling he doesn’t mind one bit. To save face, however, he ducks away and wanders off to find his friend Jeongin. 

Chris is mingling happily as cohost, beer in hand, as he hugs or high-fives his friends who made it out here. Communicating the last-minute change was the hardest part, but they made it work. It's nice to see him relaxed. It doesn’t go unnoticed how he works himself into the ground at that studio of his. Hopefully, this week has been a nice break from that. 

A hand on her back makes her jump,and she gets immediately defensive. Have spins around, ready to say something about personal space, but it’s just Changbin. “My bad, my bad! I didn’t mean to scare you!” He looks…nice. Fitted polo shirt that shows off his arms (shocker) and neutral pants. It’s a good look when you add in the watch on his wrist. 

“Just wanted to tell you that you look cute, Barbie!” He continues, gesturing to the dress B picked for the evening. Black and simple. Hair and makeup to match. 

Elegant. Classy. Easy, breezy, beautiful, covergirl. 

She smiles. “It has pockets!” She dips her hands into the pockets and twirls the dress to show it off. 

“I’m thrilled for you and your pockets. Do you want a drink?” She takes him up on his offer, and he sets off on his mission. 

In the meantime, she checks up on supplies. Everything seems to be good. Something catches her attention back toward the entry, and B’s heart drops to her ass. 

In walks Felix. And he looks divine. Black turtleneck, black pants, he even dyed his hair. She swears time has stopped.

Holy shit. Just, holy shit.

She agreed with everyone earlier against greeting him for fear of a cold shoulder. She knows herself, and she won’t let it slide if he decides to show out today, and today is not the day for that. Tomorrow, definitely, but not today. Instead, she just watches him walk in and barely notices the person following behind him.

Binnie returns with her drink, and they watch Felix timidly approach Chris. They share a mildly awkward embrace. Another person is standing beside Felix, a woman who looks just as, if not more, uncomfortable by the situation. They can’t hear what’s being said, but they see Chris give Felix a weird look before turning his attention to the woman. Chris greets her politely, gestures to the kitchen, and makes eye contact with Bin across. 

It genuinely looks like he’s trying to say something telepathically, and Bin almost looks like he understands. 

Men. How fucking weird. 

Just like it’s weird that Bin steps behind her, semi-casually wrapping an arm around her waist. “Don't do anything crazy.” Is all he says. She’s so busy getting ready to question how much he’s had to drink and what the fuck he means that she doesn’t notice when Felix approaches. Felix clears his throat and stops an awkward distance away. 

She acknowledges him by meeting his eye but doesn’t break Bin’s hold. 

“Felix.” Bin doesn’t hide his ire. Apparently, things haven’t been as smooth as he’s been telling Barbie it has been. She makes a mental note to bring it up later. 

“Long time no see, huh?” He attempts a laugh, but it falls flat.

B scoffs. “And whose fault is that?”

Bin squeezes her waist, a warning. She ‘accidentally’ steps on his foot in response.

“How are you?” He looks straight at B. He almost sounds…genuine. She contemplates giving him a real answer. Changbin answers before she can say anything-“We’re fine.” 

Felix goes silent. The moment stretches, long and very awkward. It’s becoming more and more uncomfortable with each blink, and B prepares to just walk away before Bin decides to speak up. 

“Who’s your friend?” He gestures to the woman pretending to look around the room. Felix reaches for her hand, and she smiles, interlocking their fingers. She’s pretty. Like, really pretty. Between the two of them, B’s not exactly sure who she should be looking at. 

“This is my girlfriend, Aila.”

Changbin’s grip on ‘his’ girl tightens. 

I think I’m gonna throw up.

[strniohoeee]

OUUUU A REQUEST!!!

SMUT enemies one bed troupe with chris! GOD ID GIVE YOU MY KIDNEY FOR IT

Vie

Pairing: Chris Sturniolo X Female Reader

Synopsis: Y/N hates Chris with every morsel in her body. They’re always fighting like children. Unfortunately one day her and Chris are stuck together for a 4 hour drive…..I wonder what happens 🗣️

Warnings⚠️: THIS IS SMUTTTTT, enemies to lovers ish, and just my favorite trope ever. This was long asf LMAOO, but I really loved writing it!🫶🏽

Song for the imagine: Friends- Chase Atlantic

⚠️This is an 18+ story, so minors do not interact, or do??⚠️

All of your friends have been here for too long

They must be waiting for you to move on (woo)

Girl, I'm not with it, I'm way too far gone

I was finishing packing for the trip I was going on with the triplets when my phone started to light up. I saw Nick calling me

“Heyyy” I said picking up the phone

“Hiii I’m so sorry to call last minute, but is there any way you could pick Chris up?” He asked

“Uhhh why do I have to pick him up?” I asked getting a bit annoyed

“Well he’s a fucking idiot and we thought he got in the back seat, but he packed his shit in the back seat and made it look like he was in there, so we drove off while he was in the shower” Nick said laughing

“Wow he really is an idiot” I said laughing

“Yeah and he was screaming at us over the phone, so would you be a doll and pick him up. I’ll literally pay you, so we don’t have to turn back around” Nick said

“Don’t worry about paying me I’ll get him, but just know if he pisses me off enough I’m leaving him on the side of the road to hike to Vegas alone” I said back

“That’s fine I completely understand it” he said laughing

“Alright I’m almost done packing. I’ll head out in a few and go get him” I said

“Perfect thank you! See you in Vegasssss” he said before hanging up

A four hour drive with Chris…..I needed a gun actually. I fucking hated this kid and he hated me. We kept our distance at all fucking times, so having to sit right next to him and endure his annoying childish behavior was starting to piss me off.

After about an hour of finishing packing and making sure I had everything. I drove over to the triplets house which was like another 30 minutes. I really liked making Chris wait. I know he was getting so impatient.

I pulled up to their house and texted Chris that I was here, about 5 minutes later he came strolling out.

“Did you lock the door” I yelled out to him after rolling my window down

“I’m not a child of course I did” he said rolling his eyes

“Mmm are you sure about that?” I asked him

Chris rolled his eyes and walked back to the house….he did in fact not lock the door.

“Just saved your ass” I said as he came back and hopped in the car

“Shut the fuck up” he replied slamming the door shut

“Awww what’s wrong” I asked putting the hotel in Vegas directions in and getting ready to drive off

“Well my dumbass brothers left without me, and then you take over an hour and a half to get to me” he said huffing out

“Well if you weren’t an idiot and didn’t pack the car making it seem like you were in there, they wouldn’t have left you” I said driving off

“Yeah whatever I don’t care” he said throwing his book bag to the back of the car

“Well we’re going to be driving together for 4 hours, and I’d like to not be stressed out. I want to listen to my music and have a nice drive” I said looking over at him

“Consider me invisible” he said lifting his hood up

“Oh I consider you invisible on the daily, so this shouldn’t be an issue” I said coming to a stop at a red light

“I’m trying to be on my best behavior because Nick and Matt already talked to me about being nice to you” he said huffing

“So sad they have to talk to their grown brother about being nice to me” I said giggling

“Shut up already” he said putting his shoes on my dashboard and bending his knees

“Are you fucking crazy get your shoes off my dashboard” I said smacking his legs

“Ow you bitch” he said dropping his legs and moving away

“Don’t call me that, and this isn’t your car so show some decorum” I said rolling my eyes

“Decorum…stop using big words” he said getting upset

“Just have respect for my shit” I said huffing out a breath of annoyance

We were an hour and a half in to our drive, and Chris was chewing his snacks like an animal, burping loudly, playing his videos at max volume, talking on the phone at max volume.

I was being very patient, but he was making my skin crawl with anger. My last straw happened when he skipped my songs until he landed on something he liked

“Uh no” I said smacking his hand away

“What?” He said laughing

“I can put up with the loud chewing, the obnoxious volume of your phone and the burping, but do not touch my fucking stereo” I said glancing over at him

“Your music is fucking ass” he said shrugging his shoulders

“Oh sorry I don’t want to listen to songs solely about fucking bitches and selling drugs” I said rolling my eyes

“That’s not the only music I listen to” he said

“Sure seems like it” I said

Chris reached over and changed the song again

“HANDS OFF IDIOT” I said getting annoyed

“YOUR MUSIC IS SHIT” he yelled back

“Should’ve brought your own headphones then” I said

“I did” he said

“So then where are they?” I asked him

“In my other bag” he said in a whisper

“YES in the other bag your dumbass packed in the other car ahaha now you have to listen to my music” I said laughing at him

“Yeah whatever” he said rolling his eyes

Chris reached over to skip to the next song

“DONT” I said sternly, he ignored me anyways and pressed next

“Don’t change this one I like it” I said putting the volume up as Thinkin Bout You by Frank Ocean started to play

“I like this song too” he said sitting back

“You like this song? Yeah right” I said laughing

“No I do I swear” he said

Chris and I sang along to the song. I can say in the three years that I’ve known Chris this was the most pleasant time we’ve ever shared, and who thought it would be over Frank Ocean. We even sang to each other in a joking way completely forgetting the hate we both share for one another.

We were now 2 and a half hours into our drive when suddenly traffic came to a complete stop.

“What the fuck?” I said looking at my google maps

Suddenly my google maps time went up another hour

“A fucking hour slow down?” Chris said with his jaw dropping

I called Nick to see where they were at.

“Hey where are yall at? We’re stuck in an hour slow down” I said

“Hey, we're a little over an hour away. We got stuck in that slow down half an hour ago but it was only 20 minutes it looked like a 8 car accident or some shit” he responded

“God damn I don’t know if I can sit in an hour slow down” I said

“See how long you can stick it out, and if not just get a hotel and meet us in the morning. I’ll talk to the front desk people in Vegas and see what I can do” he responded

“Okay yeah thanks” I said

We both hung up. We were sitting in stand still traffic for a good 25 minutes when Chris started to annoy me.

“I’m hungry and I have to pee” he whined

“Yeah me too, and you don’t see me complaining” I told him

“Maybe we should get a hotel room” he said

“Mmm or we can wait it out” I said

“I’m going to piss my pants in your car then” he shrugged his shoulders

“Can’t you hold it for another 35 minutes holy shit” I said getting annoyed

“No I can’t. That’s fine I’ll just hop out right now and whip my dick out and just pee infront of everyone” he said unbuckling his seat belt

“You’re not embarrassing me like that” I said stopping him

“Well then the choice is yours” he said smiling at me like an asshole

“Oh my god you’re insufferable fine, I’ll get off right here and find a hotel or some shit” I said

I drove to a gas station first filling up my tank while Chris ran in to pee and get more snacks. He got back in the car and I went inside to pee too.

I got back in the car, and drove to the nearby hotel google maps showed me. We both hopped out and walked in.

“Hi welcome in” the lady at the front desk said

“Hi, how are you?” I asked walking closer

“I’m good, checking in?” She asked

“Actually I was wondering if you guys had two rooms available, or at least a room with two beds” I asked her

“I can check, but I’m not so sure” she said

“That’s fine! There a bad slow down on the highway, so we figured we just pull off for the night” I said nodding at her

“Oh that sucks! Let me check for you” she responded again

I walked over to Chris and told him she was checking. We sat in silence while we waited for her to check the system

“Oh uh maam” she said calling me over

Chris and I walked over to her

“So we have a room, but it’s only one king size mattress” she said

“Only one bed?” I asked her my face dropping

“I’m afraid so” she said

“Are there any hotels nearby that might have two beds available?” Chris asked her

“Considering it’s a Friday night, many hotels are taken up” she said

“That’s alright we’ll take the room, and he’ll pay” I said nodding at her and patting Chris on the chest

He looked at me before titling his head and rolling his eyes.

I walked out to the car grabbing his book bag and my one suitcase.

We both went up to the room, and opened the door. Both sighing in defeat at the sight of one bed we’d have to share.

“I’m going to shower don’t destroy anything” I said to Chris

I grabbed my stuff out of my suitcase and showered. Once I was done Chris showered also.

I tried to stay on the little loveseat and far away from the bed because I did not want to share it with him.

“Movie?” He asked

“I’m sorry, was that English? Are you two years old” I said getting annoyed

“Do you want to watch a movie stupid” he asked rolling his eyes

“Sure doesn’t really matter to me” I said rolling my eyes

Chris and I sat on the bed far away from one another as we watched a movie and ate our snacks. We watched two more movies before we decided it was late enough and we should get to bed.

Chris and I had brushed our teeth, and I decided I would sleep curled up on the loveseat.

“The fuck are you doing?” He asked me

“Going to bed what does it look like moron” I said fluffing the pillow it

“It’s a huge bed big enough for the both of us to share, so put your pride aside and just come to the bed” he said

“No I’m good” I said letting my legs dangle off the edge of the seat and slouching down

“Suit yourself” he said laughing before shutting the lights off

About ten minutes later I really wished I pushed my ego aside and laid in that damn bed. My back was curved in such an awkward way, my legs becoming numb because they were dangling and my neck hurting from straining

“In pain I bet” I heard Chris say

“Says who” I spat back

“Says the fact you can’t stay still and you’re keeping me awake” he said

“Oh shut up” I said getting annoyed

“Just lay in the bed I’ll literally put my head on the opposite end” he said

“I’m not sleeping near your feet you sicko” I replied in a hushed yell

“Well then pick your poison” he said

I huffed standing up cracking my back and neck before snatching my pillow and throwing it on the empty side of the bed

I laid down allowing my back to be aligned and I let out a sigh of relief

“Isn’t it nice when you just shut up and listen to other people for once” Chris said in a whisper

“Stop talking to me and shut your eyes” I said back

He huffed out in annoyance and got silent.

I tried to fall asleep but my mind started racing. I was laying in bed with Chris only a foot away from me, he was shirtless and in his boxers…..my heart started to race a little bit

There’s no denying that Chris is attractive. It's just when he opens his mouth I want to smack him, but also kiss him?? I don’t know what I’m thinking it’s late

We both had full control of this situation…I mean I could make a move but would he go along with it? I can feel his body heat radiating off of him and my body started to ache with an unfamiliar feeling…..well a feeling I knew all too well, but this wasn’t a feeling I’ve ever had for Chris….

My throat kept running dry as I thought of all the possibilities that could happen had I just opened my mouth and told Chris I wanted to kiss him.

No! stand strong…..it’s late at night you don’t know what you’re thinking

“Why are you breathing so hard?” Chris asked me suddenly

“I thought you were asleep” I whispered back to him

“I’m trying too but you’re breathing like you just ran a race” he said back

“Sorry” was all I could whisper back

“No smart comment, I’m shocked” he said

I looked over at Chris only being able to see the silhouette of him, and I could tell he was facing towards me.

“I’m too tired for all that” I said back

“You’re acting weird” he said

“Am not” I said my breathing getting quicker

Chris suddenly reached over placing his left hand on my heart

“Why is your heart racing so fast” he asked

“Get off of me” I said pushing his hand away

“You’re a weirdo” he said

“You ever….you ever just think you’ve made the wrong mistake in life” I blurted out

“Woah deep talks with y/n” he said laughing

“Forget I said anything” I said rolling my eyes

“I’m kidding, yeah of course I do for some things” he replied back

“I feel that way, but uhh but about you” I whispered the last part

“What do you mean” he asks

“Laying here right now my heart is racing and my breathing is getting shallow. To know that you’re so close yet so far away, and that I can’t have you is messing with my head” I told him

“Who says you can’t have me?” He asks in a whisper

“Don’t mess with my head Chris” I said shaking my head

Chris pulled me to face him and only then could I really see some of his features.

“Would it be wrong to kiss you?” He asked me

“No” I whispered out breathlessly

Chris ghosted his lips over mine teasing me

“I thought you hated me?” He said

“I don’t know what I feel about you anymore” I said back

Chris rubbed his thumb on my cheek before connecting our lips in a long passionate kiss. A kiss that made all my hatred for him flutter away. This felt so wrong yet so right. Chris is not supposed to be mine, I’m supposed to despise him….but in this moment I simply can not

Pulling away we looking into each others eyes, our noses touching

“Would it be wrong to say I want more?” I asked him

“No” he whispered to me

“Chris I need you right now” I said running my hands up his toned arms and to his neck

Pulling him in to reconnect our lips as my hand ran through his hair

“God I hate that I don’t hate you” I said pulling away

“Why do you want to hate me?” He asks laughing lightly

“Because it’s easier to hate than to have this burning desire for someone” I said

“I suppose that’s true” he said

Chris leaned over allowing me to fall back on my back as he hovered over me. Leaving light kisses on my neck as he trailed his right hand up and down my body squeezing my hips

He reconnected our lips and slid his hands under my shirt cupping my breasts in his hands causing me to disconnect from the kiss to let out a small moan

I lifted up so he could remove my shirt for me and then reconnected our lips again. Slowly kissing my jawline and down to my neck leaving open mouth kisses down my chest and to the valley of my breasts

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked me

“Yeah Chris I do” I panted out

Chris kissed up the valley of my breasts and cupped my breast grabbing my left breast and swirling his tongue around my nipple

“Ohh” I moaned out lightly my fingers running through his hair

He moved over to my right breast doing the same thing. This action alone was making me so wet I began to shift under him and whimpering out

Chris kissed down my stomach kissing over my clothes pussy causing me to grip his hair and moan out his name

He came back up and helped me slip out of my underwear

Running his hands up my legs and to my thighs giving them a squeeze

“Please Chris” I said

“I know” he whispered back

Chris slipped his own boxers off and slowly stroked himself, leaning forward on his forearm his used his right hand to guide his dick to my entrance

Slowly pushing himself in, his breathing hitching at the feeling.

“Fuck y/n you feel so good” he panted out as he bottomed out

He allowed his right arm to lean near my head as he started to thrust into me, my legs spreading wider for him. And my right hand wrapping around his left bicep

He leaned his head into my neck, his hair tickling my face and his chain slowly sliding against my collar bone

His thrusts becoming deeper and harder causing my mouth to fall open

“Oh fuck Chris this feels so good” I moaned out gripping the hair at the back of his head with my left hand.

“Fuck” he moaned out at this feeling

I leaned up a little more and wrapped my legs around his waist, his breathing becoming heavier sounding like a song in my ear. Our chests touch, sending shockwaves through my brain. Who wouldve thought fucking Chris would be this amazing

Chris thrust became faster and my moans fell out of my mouth with no signs of stopping. I never wanted this feeling to stop

“Keep going Chris I’m going to cum soon” I said raking my nails up and down his back

“Okay baby” he moaned out licking his lips as he thrusted into me harder

I laid back down and Chris leans back a bit, placing my thighs over his own as he slammed into me

“Fuckkkkkk” I moaned out gripping the sheets above my head

Chris brought his hand down to rub my clit with his thumb causing my back to arch off the bed

“Oh my god” I moaned out shutting my eyes and letting my mouth fall open

With a few more thrusts I was beginning to shudder on Chris’ dick.

“I’m going to cum” I said

“Come on pretty girl” he cooed at me

He rubbed faster, and suddenly my stomach tightened causing my thighs to shake and my eyes to screw shut

“Fuck fuck fuck” I moaned out as I came all over him

He helped me ride out my high as I tried to catch my breath. And soon he pulled out of me, stroking his dick a few times before painting my lower abdomen in his cum.

“Fuck Y/N” he moaned out as I saw him lean his head back and his arm moving to help him ride out his own high

Chris caught his breath before getting off the bed, slipping his boxers back on and turning the lamp on

His eyes glanced over at me, my body in a sheen of sweat as I laid there limp and fucked out

Chris came back with a small wet towel to wipe me clean.

I slid my underwear and my shirt back on. Chris shut the light off and came in closer pulling me to his chest.

“I’m glad you hated me it made for some pretty hot sex” he said kissing my cheek

“You’re such a weirdo” I said giggling

“A weirdo just for you” he said back

Chris and I laid in one another’s arms talking a bit before we both fell asleep.

Our alarm for 6AM going off, so we could check out by 7AM. Chris and I had both showered and packed up our stuff.

I texted Nick that we were checking out of the hotel and heading to grab breakfast before getting back on the road. Thankfully it was only an hour and a half drive to the Vegas hotel.

Chris grabbed our bags and we walked to the car. He placed everything in and before letting me get in the car he gave me a kiss

“God you’re so beautiful” he whispered out

“You’re so corny” I said rolling my eyes and blushing

Chris rolled his eyes at me and we got in the car heading through a Dunkin’ Donuts drive thru for breakfast and hoping back on the highway

We spent the rest of the car ride laughing and enjoying each other's music.

Who would’ve thought sharing a king size bed would right our wrongs….

The End

Hope y’all enjoyed this one! I actually really loved writing this one🤭 so whoever requested this I hope you enjoyed it as well! I love yall🥹🖤🖤

-J💅🏽

[m0llygunn]

Apologies and Promises (eddie munson x fem!reader)

Part 3 to Same Old Song and Dance 01 / 02 Summary: Hurt feelings hidden under the shallow guise of anger and indifference, in an inebriated state there’s no choice but to face the layers of truth.

Tropes: enemies to lovers (kind of), mean stubborn idiots in love, honestly idk at this point. Warnings: 18+! mature language, ‘bullying’, forcible wrist holding, pet names (princess, sweetheart, angel, baby), mentions of oral (m receiving), angst, alcohol consumption, vomit mention. Author’s note: I am resisting the urge to over explain why theres no smut and this chapter was needed to progress feelings (i know smut is a selling point IM SORRY... but soon i swear it'll be back). wc: 7.2k+

tags: @needylilgal022 @tlclick73 @ropickle @suethh @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels @emma77645 @yujyujj

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

You didn’t wait around for him to show but you also didn’t expect to have to wait around for him to show.

You’re not disappointed. Why should you be? You didn’t want him to pick you up anyways. 

If anything, you’re pissed. 

He relentlessly badgered you last night about it. Wouldn’t leave until you agreed to let him drive you to school. He was so insistent, that he nearly slept on your floor using that stupid notebook as a pillow.

You’re not disappointed. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Want me to knock him out?” Steve offers and you can’t help but laugh. 

Steve was dropping off his coworker-turned-best friend, Robin, when you were walking into school. He’s a close family friend— and Nancy’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, so you happily stopped for a chat. 

“Steve. I hate to break it to you but Munson’s a veteran school fighter. He might not win every fight but he’s definitely been in more fights than you.” You say, patting Steve on the cheek as he comically deflates before you.

“Hey! I won the last fight I was in and I’ve been working on my biceps, can’t you tell?” He says, flexing his arms. 

“Yeah, yeah.” You smile, watching Steve flex his unnoticeably larger arms until he rounds up his antics and leans back against his car. “Your dad at that work conference thing too?” You ask, curiously wondering if it really is a work trip your dad’s on right now. 

“Absolutely. Any chance to get away, right?” Steve says with a somber laugh. 

“I know the feeling...any chance.” You reply, nodding your head in agreement.

“Yeah, well.” Steve shrugs. “Might throw a party, might not.” He says indifferently. You perk up at the idea of a party. It’s always the same crowds that show, you know the list of attendees like the back of your hand.

“You should, I can get Nance to come along, maybe you can rekindle.” You say, hitting Steve’s arm. This could be to his benefit too, Nancy has been bringing him up again recently and that’s always the catalyst to the ‘on again’ portion of their relationship.

“You got some kind of insight?” Steve replies, eyes studying you.

You purse your lips, choosing your words wisely. “Can't say. Bad enough I already told you my business, can’t tell you her business too, Stevie.” 

Steve smiles, shaking his head, accepting your answer because he knows that’s as close as he’ll get to you spilling Nancy's secrets. 

He knows all about your rivalry with Munson, and as much as he doesn’t like the guy, he was actually the first one who suggested sleeping with him quite some time ago. It was a joke of course… yet here you are. You figured he deserved to know that he was some sort of prophet, so you filled him in. Not in as much detail as you did with Nancy, but you told him the gist of it. 

Your conversation with Steve simmers to a lull, both of you watching over the crowd of students funnelling from the parking lot into the school. You’re not explicitly looking for it, but you can’t help but notice the lack of a certain obnoxiously loud van. 

“You’re good, right?” Steve asks, shoulder bumping your own.

“Yeah.” You sigh.

“You sure?” He asks again, turning towards you enough to gauge your reaction. You shrug your shoulders.

“Maybe a little embarrassed.” You say, shifting back and forth on your feet, eyes still flickering over the bustling parking lot. 

“Don’t be. Fuck him.” He says making you snort a laugh.

“Fuck him?” You question, smirk playing on your lips.

“No! I mean, unless you want to. But he did stand you up so…” Steve says trailing off. You try to laugh it off but it sounds more like a scoff. 

“Yup. Eddie Munson stood me up.” You say, words rolling off your tongue in a confusing cross between regret and hurt even when you meant for it to be a joke. A laughable comment between two friends who know how you and Eddie interact, who know he’s nothing more than a nuisance to you, nothing more than an incessant house fly that just won’t quit circling you. 

You never thought you’d be saying that in this lifetime. You never thought he’d have the opportunity to stand you up. 

You tell yourself you’re not disappointed, but the words sure do taste like it. 

You shrug your shoulders, shaking off your thoughts. “I should go, bell’s about to ring.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

It was during your second period math quiz. A timid, curly headed freshman knocked on the door interrupting the silence of the room. 

Mrs. Rotman stood from her desk, crossing the room, engaging in a whispered conversation with the boy. She turned to look around the room, eyes flitting over the students before landing on you. She turned back to the boy, whispered something to him and sent him on his way. 

You tried to pretend you were busy doing your quiz but it was hard with her eyes focused on you as she walked in your direction.

“Honey, your fathers in the office for you. Something about a family emergency. Don’t worry about the quiz, sweetie.” She whispered, leaning down to your level with sullen eyes that made your heart rate pick up.

“Family emergency?” You questioned anxiously. 

“Yes dear, go on and head down to the office.” She said, patting your back. 

Leaving behind your quiz that you barely had a chance to start on, you quietly let yourself out of the class. 

Speed walking down the hall, opening the door to the stairwell with enough force for the sound to echo against the cement walls and linoleum floors, you hurry to descend the stairs. With your mind busy, rifling through what potential family emergency would bring your father back to town, you didn’t even notice him standing by the stairwell exit until you stepped down onto the landing. 

There’s a moment before he looks at you. A moment where your heart beats faster. A moment where you’re flooded with scary feelings. A moment were you remember last night. And a moment were you remember this morning.

“Oh for god's sake.” You groan, leaving that moment behind, churning everything into a genuine annoyance because you fell for such a stupid trick. 

“Princess, funny seeing you here. Daddy’s been waiting.” Eddie says, smirk plastered on his face, waiting with his back against the wall, trying to exude some sort of coolness that he doesn’t possess. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” You spit, burning hot from the inside out. Eddie deflates in front of you, smirk dropping as he steps away from the wall towards you.

“No?” He says, almost like he’s asking you. 

“Why the fuck would you think this was okay?” You sneer, voice raising in volume. He shrinks further.

“Just wanted to see you.” He shrugs, eyes falling to the ground.

If he 'wanted to see you', he wouldn’t have stood you up. 

“You wanted to see me?” You scoff bewilderedly.

“Yeah, and apologize for this morning.” He says, eyes flickering up to you.

You spin on your heels, ready to explain the situation to Mrs. Rotman and go back to finishing your quiz. You don't want to hear an apology for that.

“Shit— Princess, come back!” He calls after you. You hear feet clambering, catching up to you just as you clear the first set of stairs. His grasp captures your wrist and you get the eeriest sense of deja vu.

“Princess, c’mon, let me apologize.” He says, voice pleading as you try to tug yourself free.

“No. You can apologize to Mrs. Rotman’s math class for interrupting everyone during the quiz.” You huff, using all your weight to try and free yourself. 

“No, let me apologize to you.” He insists. You feel your heart rate pick up and in an instant you spin, startling Eddie with your fast movement. 

“Do you think this is funny, Eddie?” You spit, brows furrowed, face flushing hot in anger.

With his mouth pulled in a flat line, he shrugs. 

You know he's hardly phased by your spitfire and you step closer to up the ante. 

“No, seriously? Are you having fun, Eddie? Answer the question.” You say, burning your gaze into his. 

He doesn't indulge you in an answer, he just looks at you with round eyes. He doesn't cower, he doesn’t spit heated words back, he just remains looking at you with his stupidly big eyes. You're not even sure if his disposition is meant to soothe you, but it does and you hate it. It irons out nearly every wrinkle of anger and you hate it. 

“I know none of this matters to you, Eddie, but it matters to me.” You say, mustering up every blazing emotion you have left in you but it comes out too gentle to be anger.

“What matters to you?” He asks quietly, his face softening, eyes getting impossibly rounder. His grip on your wrist loosens as he steps closer to you. 

You press your lips closed, breathing deeply to compose yourself. Your sentiment is ambiguous, you recognize that. Whether is was purposeful or not is a mystery to even you. You wouldn't admit this matters, whatever this is between you and Eddie, never. You couldn't.

Even if you didn't leave space for ambiguity, you know what he's asking right now. Does he matter to you, does this matter to you?

“School, idiot.” You say quietly. You cover ambiguity by shutting him down and embellishing it with an insult. It's a lie, you both know it. It’s an orchestrated move at this point; he steps right, you step left.

He moves in closer to you, toe to toe, his chest less than arm's length away. His grip on your wrist slides down, stopping just before your palm, inches away from being a hand hold.

“You're only upset because I took you away from your quiz?” He asks quietly, amusement hinting in his tone. His eyes flicker to your lips.

“Yes.” You reply flatly. You lick your lips instinctively and you mentally scold yourself.

“No, you're not.” He laughs softly, eyes only watching your lips now. “You're really that desperate to finish a math quiz?” He asks, amusement becoming forthright.

He does think this is funny and it makes your blood boil. 

“Stop doing that.” You sneer but it comes out weak.

“Stop doing what?” He asks, eyes still unmeeting of yours.

His overconfidence and arrogance buzzes around in your head, spurring on your anger. You feel cornered by him calling your bluff and nothing good has ever come from that, especially when your heart is beating so fast you can't hear your own thoughts.

“Assuming you know me, Eddie. You don’t.” You snap, hammering your words into him like nails in a coffin, punctuating your words with a tug of your wrist but his grasp hardens, not letting you go.

He finally looks up at you, eyes meeting your gaze and you can tell your words stung by the mirrored reflection of hurt. He looks taken aback. Whatever he thought was about to happen, you pulled it out from under him like a mean trick and hurt switches to anger.

“So you’re really only upset because you’re here?” He scoffs, brows pinching.

“I just fucking said that.” You spit back.

“And you’re not at all upset because I didn’t pick you up this morning?” And that's all he has to say to send you into a flighty panic. You won't look truth in the eye, you can't.

“Eddie. Let go.” You seethe, tugging your wrist harshly. You bring your other hand to his in an attempt to pry his fingers off. His grip isn’t enough to hurt you, it’s simply unrelenting, a desperate attempt to finish this conversation.

"Princess—" He starts but you interrupt him, not wanting to hear anymore, not wanting to give him another opportunity to throw your own feelings in your face.

"Let go." You say, your volume raising out of desperation.

“Fine. Just fucking relax for a minute, Jesus Christ.” He groans, when you start swatting at his forearm. His own annoyance rises and it pisses you off because what does he have to be annoyed about? He’s not the one that got stood up. 

“I am relaxed!” You shriek, squeezing your eyes shut and stamping your foot. 

Eyes still closed, you listen to your own voice echoing off the walls, forcing you to hear yourself. It sounds like a reverb of hurt between the two of you. Despite the meaningless message your words attempt to convey, it sounds like a slip of honesty, a slip of your true feelings and how he’s affected them. It sounds tears short of being an angered cry.

A beat passes before the echoes subside, leaving the two of you in silence.

“Princess.” Eddie whispers softly. His voice isn’t loud like yours, it doesn’t vibrate off the walls but it still echoes in your consciousness, occupying a space hugged tightly next to your heartbeat. 

You feel fingertips ghost over your cheeks, delicate in nature despite residing in the antagonistic warland that you and Eddie have fostered together. Your heart catches in your throat and you hate it. 

Your face pinches in its default anger. You ready yourself to scold him, but when you open your eyes and all you see is soft, warm brown staring back at you, it doesn’t come. You hate it. 

He closes his grasps on your face, both hands holding you gently by the jaw. Both hands.

Your wrist set free, you pull away, storming back down the stairs. He steps forward, you run away— another orchestrated move.

Hearing yourself is too much, you need air. You need somewhere where your own thoughts can't reverb like your words against cement and linoleum. You need something to get you thinking straight.

Scuffing sneakers echo behind you as you clear the staircase, cross the foyer, and push open the door to the parking lot. You expect a hand around your wrist again but it doesn’t come. 

You slow to a walk and so does he, his steps crunching on the pebble covered pavement as he trails behind you quietly.

You round the corner of the building before leaning against the wall, expectant hand held out towards Eddie.

He tentatively raises his arm, fingers grazing yours, palm just barely ghosting your own, before you smack him away.

“No you idiot, cigarette.” You say, exhaling deeply. 

He mumbles an embarrassed apology before digging through his pocket.

“Here.” He says quietly, passing over his carton of camels.

You pull one out, placing it between your lips, Eddie’s eyes watching your every move. Flickering the lighter that was tucked into the empty space of the box, you light it up, smoke pluming from the corners of your lips as you take your first drag. Eddie swallows harshly, lost in thought.

“Well?” You snap, his eyes fleeting back to yours. 

“R-right. I’m sorry I didn’t pick you up this morning, princess. I’m really really sorry.” He says softly, strumming the chords of your heart with his words. You hate it.

“Why should you be sorry about that, I didn’t want you to anyways.” You say, trying to sound indifferent. You don’t though. You hear your own voice just like you did in the stairwell and you sound like a little kid who hasn’t quite mastered the art of fibbing. It’s a jejune lie, not even a good one.

“I said I would though, and I didn’t. I’m sorry.” He says, round eyes set on you.

The sun glimmers against his hair making the wavy brown strands look golden, a perfect match to the gold in the eyes staring at you right now.

He’s genuinely sorry, you believe him, and you hate it.

Continuing on your juvenile streak, you pocket his lighter before handing back his carton. You know he sees you do it but he doesn’t say anything. 

“Whatever, Eddie.” You mumble, taking a drag from your cigarette. 

You let your head fall against the brick behind you, eyes scanning thoughtlessly over the surrounding thick tree line. Eddie takes a step, his shoulder hitting the wall as he leans against it, still facing you. 

“Don't you wanna know where I was?” He asks carefully, a testing tease lingering around his words.

“Not really, but I have a feeling you’re gonna tell me anyway.” You retort, folding your arms over your chest, your burning cigarette skillfully held out to not get ash on yourself. Eddie exhales a light laugh before leaning into you. 

“Well, princess.” He starts, leaning in even closer. “I accidentally slept in because I was too busy staying up all night thinking about this girl who gave me the best head of my life.”

“Gross.” You scoff, hiding your smile by taking another drag.

“Fuck yeah. It was certified sloppy toppy. I think I was reborn yesterday, died and got as close to heaven as I ever will.” He says, body twisting so his head knocks against the brick wall dramatically. 

“Now you're just sucking up.” You grimace, taking another drag.

He laughs softly before the both of you fall into a quiet lull. You partially expected him to make some kind of joke out of ‘sucking up’ but he doesn’t. Only the sound of trees blowing in the wind can be heard, along with scattered chirps of birds in the distance.

“Are you still mad at me?” He asks, breaking the silence. You let your eyes flicker to him before focusing back on your barely burnt cigarette. You drop it, stomping it out under your shoe. It was a waste of a cigarette, but Eddie doesn’t say anything.

“I wasn’t mad at you.” You reply, facing towards the tree line again. 

“Okay, princess.” He sings, clearly not believing you. “But everything aside… we’re good?” He asks, watching you carefully.

“Eddie.” You exhale. That’s a big thing for him to ask of you and he doesn’t even realize it. How can you say that everything between the two of you is good when… What even is there between the two of you? Are you even friends? It's another truth you're not willing to face.

“Princess, tell me we’re okay or else you’ll keep me up another night.” He says, slouching his shoulders. 

“You’re being dramatic.” You laugh. He steps closer to you, hand raising and grasping a piece of your hair. You watch in your periphery as he swirls it between his fingers.

“I’ll never get another wink of sleep, I’m begging you. Tell me we’re okay or tell me how to fix it.” He says, tiptoeing even closer to you.

“Eddie.” You laugh again, shaking your head. The hair between his fingers falls but he’s quick to reach for the strands that fell into your face, skillfully tucking it behind your ear.

“All I’m asking for is your forgiveness. What d’you say, angel?” He whispers. You turn your head, looking at him skeptically with raised brows. 

“Angel? I think that’s hardly a fitting name.” You scoff.

“Trust me, it’s fitting. After last night.” He says, hand retreating from you to grab his heart dramatically, throwing his body back against the brick wall in a swoon. 

“Suck up.” You say trying to hide your amusement. You watch him as he continues his antics, biting your lip to hide your smile. 

He turns to you, looking up through his lashes, feigning a faux innocence.

“So what d’ya say, princess?" He questions, quirking a brow at you. "Want me to kiss it better?” He asks with a deep grin, eyes amusedly awaiting your response. 

You pause, not necessarily thinking about his offer but more so distracted by the way the sun reflects off of his eyes making them glow golden again.

He takes your pause as a yes, stepping into you, hands grabbing behind your ears, cradling your neck. He presses sloppy kisses all over your cheeks and up to your forehead, all while you protest through giggles. It’s sickeningly sweet. Truly sickening. You hate it.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Why’d you ask my friends where I was yesterday, princess? Are you, like, obsessed with me?” Eddie mocks into your ear startling you.

“Oh no.” You groan to yourself, flashing Nancy a preemptive apologetic look. 

“Princess, d’ya happen to have a lighter? Mine seems to have gone missing.” He says, moving on from his original remark, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. 

“No, sorry. I don’t smoke, it’s a dirty habit.” You say flatly, keeping your focus on your lunch and Nancy sitting across from you.

“Oh, that’s crazy I could have sworn I saw you hanging out in the back of the school with some guy smoking earlier? I must have been mistaken.” He says, arm wrapping around your shoulder as he throws one leg over the cafeteria bench, straddling it. 

“We weren’t ‘hanging out’.” You scoff.

“Right, right. I was groveling, my bad, princess.” He laughs. 

You look up at Nancy and she’s shaking her head, lips pursed tightly, holding back her ‘I-told-you-so’ smile. Eddie doesn't typically bother you at lunch, so to Nancy, this very much looks like him 'getting worse'.

“Eddie, don't you have somewhere else to sit?” You say, shrugging his arm off your shoulder. 

“What? Can’t come have lunch with my girl?” He teases, scooting closer to you, his knee pushing against your thigh, your shoulder practically resting against his chest. 

“I just barely forgot about the stunt you pulled earlier, you’re pushing your luck, Munson.” You warn.

“Don’t call me that.” He says flatly.

“Munson? That’s your name, isn’t it?” You laugh.

“Nope, not to you it isn’t.” He replies flatly, grabbing a grape off your lunch tray before you can stop him. 

“Is there a reason you’re here?” You say, his arrogance pinching at your agitation.

“Lighter.” He sings, eyes sparkling with amusement meeting yours, stealing another grape in the process. Turning his head, he focuses on Nancy. “Wheeler, how’s it going?”

“Good.” She laughs, still shaking her head. 

“Heard you tattled on me to Princess.” He says, eyebrows raised, a smile playing on his face.

“Eddie, leave her alone.” You huff. You feel his hand raise up your back, settling slowly, before rubbing back and forth. He leans in closer to you, face brushing against your hair.

“Gotta share the attention sometimes, princess.” He whispers just loud enough for you to hear. His breath tickles the shell of your ear and you feel your heart rate pick up.

You sit up straighter, Eddie’s chin knocking into your shoulder as you reach into your front pants pocket.

“Lighter. There. Leave.” You say, finding his free hand to push it into his hold. 

“Good girl.” He teases, quickly pulling you closer to him with a hand on your waist, pressing a kiss to your cheek. 

You feel yourself burning hot and it takes everything in you not to hit him back with some sort of insult but you know if you do he’ll just stick around for longer. 

He gets up from the bench with a coy wave of his fingers and a polite nod to Nancy, disappearing into the crowd of the lunch room.

“Nancy, if you say ‘I told you so’, I swear to god.” You say, holding back your smile as you watch your friend’s eyes burst with amusement. 

“I wasn’t going to say I told you so!” She laughs. 

“I can see it in your eyes Nancy, I know you’re dying to say it.” You reply.

“I won’t say it… but I will say that you’re blushing pretty hard right now.”

“Out of embarrassment! That was embarrassing, Nancy.”

“People aren’t usually that smiley after being embarrassed.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Eddie kept his eyes on the prize all night. Not in a creepy way, just to make sure you were okay… and because he just liked looking at you. You were making it awfully hard though, the way you kept disappearing between the groups of people occupying Harrington’s infamous Saturday night party. 

His goal was to sell what he needed to sell, then he could have his fun. So when he sold his last eighth, his heart rate picked up as he bounded through the waves of people to find you. 

He would be lying if he said he didn’t get a pang of nerves when he finally found you, all alone in the kitchen, getting yourself a drink. 

Steve decided late Friday night that the party was on. He called you up and from there you called Nancy. It’s a practiced drill at this point, Steve calls a few people, who call a few more people, and the word gets around pretty quickly. Eddie got news that night, and it was a given he would sell. He always sells at Harrington parties, similar to how you’re always drinking at them. 

“All your friends scurry off on you, Princess?” An all too familiar voice says right into your ear.

“No.” You say flatly, turning to see Eddie at your side. 

“That’s funny, I only see you.” He says, eyes teasingly looking around you before settling back to meet your gaze.

“You should get your eyes checked, there’s like 20 other people in here.” You say, motioning to all the other bodies occupying the room. 

“You know what I mean.” Eddie says, hip bumping yours gently as you pour from a bottle of something highly alcoholic into your cup. 

“Do I?” You laugh before quickly shooting back your drink. 

“Look at her, she’s a professional.” Eddie teases as you scrunch your face through the burning sensation in your throat, some of the liquid spilling down the corners of your lips from your overzealous tilt of the cup. Without as much as a second though, Eddie’s hand raises to you, wiping your chin dry. 

“Why are you so nice now?” You ask, leaning closer to him so he can hear you over the music. 

“I’m not.” He smiles, eyes leaving yours to watch as you set the empty cup down on the counter. He knows he’s lying, you both do. 

“Is it because I sucked your dick?” You giggle.

You take another step closer to him where he leans against the counter. His eyes meet yours again with a mixture of amusement and shock looming on the surface of his gaze.

“You’re more drunk than you look, princess” He holds your gaze, amusement taking the reigns until his eyes lower to the short distance you’ve created between the two of you. 

“I’m not drunk.” You scoff, rolling your eyes. Eddie watches you, you can tell he’s smiling and you’re not even looking at him. 

“Where’s Wheeler gone? You were with her all night.” He asks, changing the subject. You turn your head, meeting his gaze, lifting your eyebrows as you decipher his question. 

“You were watching me all night?” You ask teasingly, a smile playing on your lips. 

“Princess.” He exhales, rolling his own eyes jokingly. The way his little nickname for you rolls off his tongue makes your already dizzy head spin. 

“She went upstairs with Steve.” You answer, letting your hand rest on the counter, pinky brushing the material of his jeans where he leans against the marble countertop. 

“I hope she’s not as drunk as you are.” He replies, eyes on your fingers as you continue to brush them against him. You shake your head. You could tell him that their rendezvous was premeditated, and a recurring pattern between the two, but you don’t want to talk about them. 

“Aren’t you just the sweetest? First you took care of me when I was sick, now you’re looking out for my friends. Such a sweet boy.” You coo, leaning into Eddie, removing your hand from the countertop and placing it flat on his chest to stabilize yourself. 

“Baby, I think you're too drunk, look at you being sweet.” He laughs and you dip your head, hiding the way his words affect you. You’re always ‘princess’, never ‘baby’. It makes your heart beat faster and your skin prickle.

You can’t help but notice how he doesn’t touch you though. He’s always poking and prodding at you in one way or another. Last time you saw him, he was all hands and kisses to your cheeks, but now, nothing.

“Did you make a lot of money tonight?” You ask, stepping in closer to him, your thigh pressing into his as you stand beside him.

“I did good enough.” He shrugs, arms staying closely to his sides and it almost makes you want to pout. He should be grabbing your hand or twirling your hair, doing what he always does. 

“You were busy all night.” You mumble, your head down, watching as you kick at his shoe before stepping over it with one foot. Still leaning against the counter, he shifts, arms moving at his side and you almost get excited before you realize he's just crossing them over his chest. You lower your hand, sitting it closer to his hip as you move to stand directly in front of him. 

“You were watching me all night?” He mocks, copying your same lilt.

“I set myself up for that one didn’t I?” You whisper, head down. He’s still not touching you.

“You did.” He replies, exhaling a laugh. You rest your other hand on his crossed arms, hoping he’ll get the hint but he doesn’t and you sigh, slouching into yourself. 

“What’s wrong, princess?” He asks, quietly.

“You.” You reply flatly. 

“Yeah, but you’re all pouty. You don’t pout. You scowl. Yell. Threaten violence.” He teases gently, dipping his face enough to meet your gaze. 

“You’re not touching me.” You mumble, words so quiet you can barely hear them yourself over the blaring music.

“What was that, sweetheart?” Eddie asks, leaning his ear closer to you. You step in closer to him, pushing your way between his legs.

“I said, you’re not touching me.” You grumble, annoyed that you have to repeat yourself. Even more annoyed when he hears you and still doesn’t touch you. You huff, pushing your body flat against his, but he stops you, hands on your shoulders holding you away from him.

“Princess, I can’t. You’re drunk.” He says firmly, serious eyes meeting yours. Your knee shakes as you try to stop yourself from stomping your foot. 

“You can. You just want to piss me off.” You say, funnelling all of your emotions and forcing them into a short lived anger. 

“Trust me, that’s not why.” He says softly, thumbs rubbing gentle circles on your shoulders. You happily focus on his simple caresses on your bare skin, but the feeling it gives you just leaves you wanting more.

“You're touching me right now, Eddie. Just keep doing that.” You whine, giving him your best pout paired with doe-eyes. His gaze soften, eyes fluttering over your features.

“You’re trouble, you know that?” He says, flashing you a small smile.

“You like it though, that’s why you keep coming back.” You whisper. Eddie’s mouth pulls in a flat line and you think you might have said something wrong. His grip on your shoulders falls and you’re sure you did.

You’re sure you did until you feel his hands meet your waist, pulling you towards him. Your hands slip up his chest and around his neck and you hug yourself to him tightly. You absorb every ounce of him you can, every inebriated sense of yours captivated and buzzing with feelings and flutters. Even through the thump of the bass vibrating throughout the kitchen, you swear you hear his heart, or maybe it’s yours, either way it doesn’t matter because Eddie Munson is holding you just like you wanted him to. 

“I was waiting for you to come find me.” You whisper into the skin peeking out of the collar of his shirt as you press your head to his shoulder.  

In the bustling of the party, you stand chest to chest, arms wrapped around each other like this was the only way things were meant to be. He responds to you through the movement of his hands, rubbing up and down your back, touching you, just like you asked. Soothing you like you didn’t know he could. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Eddie, you’re not doing it right, you’re supposed to just come in. I’m not supposed to have to ask you.” You whine. 

“Princess, I can’t.” He says, smiling as you try to tug him through the front door of your house. 

“You can, you did it before, remember?” You say, giving him your best pout.

“You were sick.” He says, amusement twinkling in his eyes as he stands firmly outside, your tugs not making him budge in the slightest. 

“I'm going to be sick right now, if you don’t come inside.” You whine, punctuating your words with little stomps of your feet.

You may have taken a few more shots after Eddie broke up your hug earlier. You knew you had him at that point so maybe you took them just to spite him. It made sense at the time and as the night progressed, you were right. He was by your side the whole time, never more than an arm's length away. And when it was time to go home, you didn’t even have to ask, he was already offering you a ride and guiding you to his van.

“Princess, you’re killing me.” He says exasperatedly through a smile before stepping into the doorway. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Jesus, just drink the water, princess.” Eddie laughs. 

“I’ll do it if you lay down with me.” You say stubbornly. He shakes his head and you drop yourself down onto your pillow. “Please, Eddie. Please.” You plead, your eyes catching the dizzy image of him in the lowlight of your room.

“Drink the water and I’ll think about it.” He says sternly.

“Lay down and I’ll think about it.” You mock, copying his tone.

“You are so…” He laughs, trailing off.

“Good at giving blowjobs?” You giggle, filling in his sentiment. His gaze drops to the floor as he sits on the edge of your bed, shaking his head in disbelief of the moment. 

“I was gonna say ‘impossible’.” He corrects with a laugh. 

You furrow your brows. In attempts to prove him wrong you sit up, taking the water from him and silently finish it small swallow by small swallow until your belly feels impossibly full of water. 

“Done.” You huff, falling back to your pillow dramatically. 

“Good.” He says, hand patting your calf that’s sprawled against the comforter next to him. 

“No. Good girl.” You say, correcting him through giggles. He squeezes your calf, before sitting up enough to put the glass down on your bedside table. 

“Good girl.” He says to appease you, smirk heavy in his features. 

“Was I good enough for you to lay down?” You ask, flashing him innocent eyes. He exhales deeply and even in your spinning state, you know he’s weighing his options. His eyes track the span of the bed before looking back at you, seriousness written across his features.

“No funny business.” He says firmly, making sure to make eye contact so you know he’s serious.

“No funny business.” You agree, nodding your head waiting for him to give in. 

“Only for a few minutes. Sober you wouldn’t want me here.” He says, removing his jacket and tossing it to the floor.

“Yes she would.” You mumble with a pout but quickly get excited when Eddie starts shuffling to lay down. You prop yourself up ready to cozy into him but he stops you.

“Nuh-uh. On your side of the bed, princess.” He says, motioning for you to lay back down. You throw yourself to the mattress with a whined cry. 

“You’re no fun.” You huff, whine building in your chest.

“I’m not here to have fun, princess. This is serious business.” He laughs. 

You continue pouting on your side of the bed, turning enough to watch as Eddie settles into your mattress. His hair sprawls over your pillow, just like before, his throat bobbing as he swallows before turning his head to you.

“Go to sleep.” He says and your jaw drops. His lips curl into a smile, eyes dancing in amusement. 

“You’re mean, you couldn’t even say goodnight? Just go to sleep?” You shrill, trying to focus your gaze on Eddie to get your glare across. 

“Go to sleep.” He repeats, smirking as he reaches his arm to your bedside table, switching the light off, leaving you both in the low glow of the moonlight that sweeps in through your half open curtains. 

“Eddie, I can’t unless you say it nicely.” You argue.

“Princess. Please go to sleep.” He says with teasing lilt.

“No.” You giggle.

“I said it nicely, c’mon princess.” He groans.

“Eddie.” You whine, hearing the annoyance in his voice.

“Princess.” He mocks.

You scan your eyes over him, the low light helping you find where his hand lays at his side. Quietly, you tiptoe your fingers across the mattress until you brush against his hand. Before you can close your grasp, he rips it away with a tut. 

“Eddie, I held your hand when you wanted me to.” You whine.

“That was different.” He replies.

“No it wasn’t! Just hold my hand.” You say, pushing yourself up to try and grab his hand where it lies on his stomach now.

“Lay back down.” He laughs pulling himself further away from you. You drop yourself to the bed, your bottom lip quivering. It’s not for dramatics though, you know Eddie wouldn’t be able to see it.

“No. I’m tired of doing this, I just want you to hold my hand.” You whisper back. Eddie says some kind of teasing response but you ignore it, feeling too lost in the spinning of your head. 

In your current state, you feel a lot of things. Most importantly, you’re confused. These nights usually end with Nancy and Steve. Eddie's existence would have never even crossed your mind, but now, all you want is to be close to him. It doesn’t help that he’s been making you practically beg for his attention all night. It might seem sudden, but it doesn’t come as a surprise to you when you feel your eyes grow wet. Your breathing starts to come out in harsh whines from your stomach that get caught in your throat.

When the first tear falls it feels catastrophic. It feels destructive, disastrous even. It feels like a break in your guard and you aren’t quick enough to catch it. There’s no snark left in the world that could patch this up right now. So you hide.

Pushing your face into your pillow, your tears free fall.

You feel shifting on the bed and you push your face further into the pillow.

“Are you crying?” Eddie asks softly, sounding closer to you now.

You don’t offer a response, your throat feels too tight to speak. You feel like you’re drowning in more than just tears.

“Princess, don’t cry.” He replies gently, all teasing gone from his voice. “I’ll hold your hand, here.” He finds your hand, taking it in his but it’s too late. The floodgates are open, set on their path of destruction, open to exposing damage.

His hand wraps around yours and you feel small. Not because of the size difference but because there’s a reason you don’t show these feelings. There’s a reason it’s easier for you to scowl and yell. This side feels too bare, too soft, too uncomfortable. It’s unfamiliar and scary. It feels like offering yourself up to impending disappointment. It feels like waiting for someone to pick you up and they don’t. 

He pulls your hair, you pull his back. He stands you up, what can you do besides pretend it didn’t hurt?

You should yell, you should scold, you should threaten violence. You should tear your hand away, kick him out.

But you don’t. You couldn’t, not anymore. Not right now.

You just want Eddie, all games aside. You want him in the silence of the night, not through the bass of the music where one of you has to move left while the other moves right. You don’t want to dance the line of whatever this is anymore. 

You pull his hand, willing him to come closer, a silent plea through your tears, and he does. He shifts closer until you're pressed to him, your intertwined hands hugged between your chests as his other hand wraps around you, resting against your back. He soothes you with quiet promises of everything being okay intermixed with his own apologies that only make you cry harder. 

Maybe you’re not the whole reason that you two have ended up here, but you’re half of it, and it takes two to play this game. If you tap out, you’re half of the way to it being over.

If you walk away and he follows, isn’t that just the game changing again? A game of cat and mouse?

Maybe all these metaphors are stupid. Maybe they’re all a figment of your imagination that blossomed as a child from the first time he pulled your hair. Maybe you’re too old for these playground antics. Maybe you’re too old to not say how you feel. 

“I was sad when you didn’t come to pick me up.” You whisper, your sob-filled secret sailing into the darkness of the room as if his chest wasn’t there to catch your secret. 

Your words are as much for you as they are for him, you couldn’t admit your hurt before, but now you do. 

Truth tastes soft in your mouth, not at all like the burn of alcohol you’ve drowned yourself in. It’s not sweet, it doesn’t fix everything, it just creates a storm in your belly. A fight between everything you know, everything you’ve done, and something new. It’s unnatural, it makes you feel sick. 

“I know, princess. I’m sorry.” He whispers in return, his hand rubbing against your back. You imagine with every pass of his hand on your back he’s helping you fight the furries of the storm rising inside of you, but with the storm rising, there is nowhere else for these feelings to go but up. 

“I don’t want you to say sorry, I just don’t want you to do it again.” You cry.

Your throat constricts as you feel bile rising. 

“I won’t. I promise, okay?” He says softly. His words would have eased every metaphorical storm inside you, but this storm has turned literal, you’re about to vomit.

“Eddie, I'm gonna be sick.”

It’s a rush of limbs and a dash down the hall. Everything pours from you, every uncried tear, every burn, every furry, every roar of the storm. Everything you know, everything you’ve done, it all leaves you. And in its wake all you have left is Eddie’s hand rubbing your back, telling you it’s okay. It’s soft and unnatural but you let it absorb you entirely. It burrows into you, finding a place you never knew existed, a place where softness thrives and doesn’t need to be hidden by the guise of anger and indifference.

Eddie brings you back to your bed and in the silence of the night, apologies and promises lay side by side, holding hands. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

[holylulusworld]

Unworthy (3)

Summary: Thor doesn’t think you‘re a good friend to his brother.

Pairing: AU!Thor Odinson x fem!Reader, AU!Loki Laufeyson x fem!Reader (platonic/best friends)

Warnings: past addiction, mentions of drug abuse/addiction (Loki), angst, classism, Thor being an ass, BBF trope, mentions of spiked drinks

Catch up here: Unworthy (2)

Unworthy masterlist

You’re furious. No, it’s more than that. Thor didn’t leave you and Loki alone. While your friend sleeps soundly in your bedroom, you argue with his stubborn brother.

“Let my brother go,” Thor grunts as you block his path. You refuse to let him inside your home. He ruined your career and opened old wounds. You won’t let him win this time.

“Would you lower your voice! Loki is still asleep. He needs to sleep his intrusive thoughts off. In a few hours, we will meet up with his sponsor. Thanks to you and your family, he almost had a relapse. Could you for once focus on what’s good for your brother?”

“I worry about my brother all the time,” Thor towers over you. He glares at you like you’re the bad guy in this story. Now, let me inside and I’ll bring him home.”

“Like hell,” you hold his gaze, not scared of his size and strength. “What do you want to do? Ignore his problem and pretend Loki isn’t an addict. He needs help, not ignorance. Now, get out of my sight. Duke will come around and talk to Loki. He needs people who understand and support him, not a brute forcing him to bend to his family’s will.”

Thor huffs. “I won’t let you decide on my brother’s fate. You’re a liar and…what do you know about addiction?”

You drop your eyes. “After what happened that night, I lost control over my life. He didn’t get punished because of his wealthy family. The cops and the nurse lied and let the proof disappear. And his family had the nerve to blame me. Suddenly, I was the one ruining their lovely and nice son's life. They framed me and…”

“…and?” Thor looks over your shoulder to glance inside your living room. “What did you do? Steal someone else’s brother.

“You’ll never understand the bond Loki and I share. We are both broken souls; left behind by the people who should stand by our side. No one to help you in times of need,” you lift your gaze to look him straight in the eyes. “People like you, the ones standing in the sun all the time can’t fathom how it feels standing in the shadows all the time.”

Thor swallows thickly when Loki steps inside the living room. His brother looks like he’s been through a lot last night. He hates to admit it, but you were right about Loki’s condition.

“Brother,” Loki steps toward the open door. “What are you doing here? I thought you got the message last night. I do not want to see you or your father ever again. Not if you don’t apologize to Y/N. She’s the only person caring for me and you had to ruin this for me. The only friend I have, you had to take her away from me.”

“That’s not what happened, brother,” Thor tries to argue. “I tried to protect you and tried to find out more about her. It’s not my fault she’s got a questionable past.”

“Questionable past,” Loki repeats Thor’s words. He squares his jaw before he shoves you out of his way to attack his brother.

“Loki! NO!” You wrap your arms around his waistline to hold Loki back. Loki looks slender but damn him, he’s stronger than he looks. “Idiot or not, he’s still your brother. I get that he doesn’t want me to hurt you. I’d do the same to protect you.”

“He’s a jealous bastard. I saw how he looked at you. My fine brother can’t take your rejection. All women must fall for him.” Loki fights you. He wiggles and grunts as you try to drag him off his brother.

“Loki, stop wiggling. Damn…shit…you’re like a snake,” you laugh as your friend threatens to scratch his brother’s eyes out. “Stop trying to slip out of my grasp.”

“I’ll defend your honor and punch his face. No woman will ever want to date him because I demolished his pretty face. That’s all he’s got to offer,” Loki can be a bitch if he wants to. He throws insults at his brother while you struggle to hold him back. “Oh, and his muscles. He shows them every woman he meets.”

“Uh-he tried to show them to me too, on my first day.”

“I knew it!” Loki made it. He slips out of your grasp to jump at his brother. The giant is taken aback by his brother’s attack and falls backward. He ends up on the ground, Loki on top of him.

“Guy, I don’t want to disturb whatever you’re doing there,” Duke clears his throat, “but we’ve got an appointment, and the group hates waiting. You know that Loki.”

“Duke…I can explain…I,” Loki gets up to straighten his shirt. He offers a tight smile. “Sorry. We’ve got a little overly excited about some news.” He lies. “Y/N, thank you for letting me sleep here. I’ll be back after the meeting if you’re having me.”

“Sure, darling,” you step over Thor, who's still lying on the ground to hug Loki. “My door is always open for you. Give me a call if you want me to pick you up.”

“I’ll drive him,” Duke says. “I think you and that guy on the ground have some things to discuss. Maybe before Loki comes back here.”

“Thanks, Duke.”

You get Loki’s jacket, and the spare keys you gave to him if he ever needs a place to stay. Thor still lies on the ground when you hug his brother and thank Duke again.

They leave together, chatting about the upcoming meeting while you look down at Thor lying on the ground. “You should go home now, Odinson. There is nothing here for you. Duke will help Loki now, and I’ll make sure he’s not going to relapse.”

You cross your arms over your chest, waiting for him to leave. “I’d love to leave this place, but I can’t get up.”

“Very funny,” you chuckle. “I didn’t know you can be funny too. Well, lie there all you want. I got better things to do. I won’t find a new job while babysitting you.”

“I didn’t joke,” Thor pants. He tries to roll to his side, and winces in pain. “It’s an old injury. Loki fucked my back up.”

You crouch down next to him, smirking as he glares back at you. “Aw, look at the fallen giant lying on the dirty floor.”

“Go ahead, make fun of me.”

“No,” you pat his chest. “Unlike you, I won’t hit where it hurts.” You kneel next to Thor to carefully check for injuries. “Do you need an ambulance, or can you get up with my help? I got a sturdy chair.”

“No ambulance,” he grits his teeth. “I…I got this.” Thor breathes through the pain. “I’ll try to get up.”

“Okay,” any other person would’ve told Thor to get fucked and slammed the door shut. You’re not any other person. Even though Thor is the worst, you won’t prove him right and leave him helpless and in pain. “I’ll get the chair and a pillow. If you are ready, I’ll roll you to your side. We’ll do it slow.”

“Hmm…” He eyes you up and down. “Maybe we should ask someone stronger for help. You look…”

“I held your brother back,” you huff. “I can help you get up. But, if you want someone else to help you, be my guest.”

“You’re annoying.”

“You’re an asshole,” you snap back. “Now that we clarified that we hate each other, we can get you up from the floor and out of my sight…”

“That wasn’t the plan,” you should’ve known better than helping Thor get up. Now he’s sitting on your couch, two pillows tugged behind his back. He watches you place the painkillers his private doctor described in front of him, along with a glass of water. “You cannot be around when Loki comes back. Not with these in your possession.”

When you point at the painkillers, Thor frowns. “It’s a simple painkiller, not hard drugs.”

You sigh, deep and exasperated. “You don’t get it, Thor. If Loki has a bad day, he’d drink mouthwash when it contains alcohol or swallow your whole bottle of painkillers. I don’t have pills, alcohol, or anything containing alcohol at my home to offer a safe environment to him.”

Thor furrows his brows. He never thought of hiding his booze or pills when his brother was around. “You’re very…thoughtful.”

“We need to get you out of here before Loki arrives. You should’ve taken your doctor’s offer and driven home with him.”

“I can just reside on your couch for tonight. My back will be better in the morning. I know my body…”

tags in reblog.

[obae-me]

Hi, are you taking requests? I really like your one-shots, they really help me in learning how to write emotions. So, what about the Demon Brothers getting injured for some reason (either because Lucifer punished them, or they were attacked by some creature, got into a fight, etc.), and MC notices it, even with the Demons best attempt to hide it, and decide to take care of the injuries. At first the boys are embarrassed and reluctant to accept their help, but quickly gave up and let MC take care of them. 👉👈

Anon...this is a beautiful request. I love love love hurt/comfort, especially whump tropes like these. I will absolutely do this. 100% I will do this, no questions asked. 

Although I owe you an apology because...this is another instance of mine where I take things...way too far...I should’ve known when I was almost 6000 words deep and had only briefly gone over three brothers, that I was in over my head once again...so...this is a big one...really big...well maybe not that big by fic standards, I don’t really know what the average fic holds...Anyways, enjoy! 

Rest Easy. I’m Here.

Word Count: 16,038

Warnings: Blood, Broken Bones, Bruises, Vomiting, Cuts, Concussions, Injury, Medication Use. A lot of general hurt for this hurt/comfort. 

(Please pay no mind to the fact that all these little picture banners are cropped slightly different sizes, consistency was never my strong suit.)

As Always, Read Safely! Please Enjoy! 

“Someone get Asmo!” 

“Satan, look out!” 

“My lord, Mammon can't dodge forever. He’s running out of stamina.” 

“Beel, don’t be stupid! Don’t be a hero, ya idiot! Beel!” 

“Belphie, take him away!” 

“Levi!” 

“Diavolo…we’re becoming overwhelmed, you need to leave.” 

“Absolutely not.” 

“You are royalty, and as such, I have to – Diavolo, move!” 

“Lucifer!” 

“They’ve been gone for a while…” You put down your D.D.D., placing it in your lap, a sigh coming from your chest as you stared at the front door to the House of Lamentation. How long had you waited here now, a few hours? Nearly felt like days. Every taunting tick of the clock twisted a new knot in your stomach. You knew they could take care of themselves, obviously they could. Their Deadly Sin titles weren’t just for show. There was probably very little they couldn’t handle, especially when they were all together…but…then why were they still not home? The moon might be ever-constant, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t extremely late. It was beginning to stretch into the early hours of the day now. 

They all had been suddenly called to meet Diavolo, Lucifer’s phone ringing at dinner, the prince summoning them immediately. Plates half-empty, they left. Now their dinner had gone cold…and so had the House. You couldn’t help but worry. It wasn’t too often all of them were needed at once, leaving you alone in this large and quiet mansion. None of them had answered your messages either, something else that was rather uncommon. Levi surely had his phone on him at all times, and Lucifer was pretty swift in responding to you as well, and despite Mammon’s fervent denial, he always leapt at his phone whenever you messaged him. But no, nothing. Just silence…Even the nocturnal critters outside appeared to abandon you, unable to hear their nightly cries. 

As your head tilted back, resting against the wall of the entrance-hall, you nearly drifted off. You had been sitting there for quite a while after all. If you did fall asleep, it made time warp, only feeling like a second, or perhaps it had just been rather perfect timing. The doors swung open, cold night air rushing gusting inside, the wind outside whistling as seven demons stumbled into the house. You scrambled to your feet, almost dropping your D.D.D. you’d left in your lap. Luckily you managed to catch it, shoving it in your pocket. “Welcome back!” Suddenly, the tenseness in your shoulders seemed to lift, the lungs in your chest not as tight. You could breathe easy now. 

They all looked tired, but quickly grinned as they noticed you...well a few of them did at least…actually only two of them. The others stuck to the shadows. “We’re back!” Asmo raised his arms in celebration, sounding much like normal to you, and yet…something felt…off. Maybe he was just exhausted, they had been out for hours at this point. 

“Sorry...we…took so long,” Satan spoke up, speaking at a strangely slow pace. Levi, not even looking at you, scrambled up the stairs to his room before he could speak. The demon of Wrath held his arms behind his back, a stance he hardly ever took, using his body to block off your view of Envy. “We got…caught up…in Student Council work.” 

“You did not need to wait for us,” Lucifer tilted his head…but even he seemed to not look at you quite as directly as he usually did. There was an odd air about him, a look in his eyes like he just remembered something he had forgotten. “It is late for us all. Let’s…get…” His voice got quieter and softer with each word. It seemed as if he was losing the energy to even form words, his head drooping ever so slightly. “...Some rest. You as well,” he addressed you, using an arm to usher his other brothers in the direction towards their rooms, some of them lowering their head from you strangely, some of them supporting the others up the stairs. 

None of them said anything else, and before you could even appreciate them all being home…they were gone. 

You had hoped the next morning, at breakfast, that things would return to normal. After sleeping it off, certainly the weirdness you had felt in the air would dissipate. Unfortunately…that did not seem to be the case. Most of the brothers didn’t even show up to breakfast. The only ones to arrive were Beel, Asmo, and Satan. Everyone else was gone. Asmo, with a smile over his face, tried to assure you all was well. “They’re probably still sleeping! Last night was a long night after all!” 

You raised an eyebrow, a little offended that they were clearly keeping something from you, but more worried than anything. “None of you are wearing your uniforms today,” you noticed, jutting the end of your utensil towards Satan and his common clothes, finding it difficult to eat your morning meal. 

Beel, after shoving a plateful in his mouth, somehow more voracious than usual, licked his lips and nodded his head at you comfortingly. “Diavolo gave us the day off.” 

“You can still head to classes though,” Satan chimed in. You noticed he was only using one arm to eat breakfast today. It was an odd detail to notice, but one you spotted nonetheless as he struggled to cut this morning’s pancakes. He always used a knife and a fork like a proper person, always getting irritated when someone else like Mammon would wedge the fork back-and-forth, tearing off the pieces and shoving it into his mouth. Now Satan was doing the very thing he ridiculed others for. 

Suddenly settling your utensils down, you straightened your back. “I think I’ll stay home too.” 

Each of the brothers looked at each other, flickering secret messages between them with only their eyes. Satan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, subtly wincing as he shrugged his shoulders. The next thing he said was the final nail in the coffin. Hell had frozen over today apparently. Either that or something was terribly, dreadfully wrong. “I don’t think Lucifer would like that very much.” 

“You never care what Lucifer thinks!” You suddenly shouted, a sick feeling in your stomach, your insides doing flips with anxiety. “What’s wrong with you all?” 

Apparently you surprised them all with your outburst more than you intended to. Beel suddenly started coughing, bending over in his seat. You stood up quickly, afraid he had started to choke, but Asmo beat you, making it to his little brother’s side in a rush. “Breathe, Beel, breathe…Eat slower, you can’t handle going too fast right now.” You could hear the faint wheeze in Beel’s voice, the pain in his lungs obvious, his arms hugging his own body. And yet, they still wouldn’t tell you. Not even when it was so abhorrently obvious that something had happened last night. The brother’s voices sounded muffled to your ears now, the stress fogging your senses. You faintly recalled Satan going up to take Beel to his room, Asmo the only one left. The demon of Lust cleared up the plates, doing so hoping you wouldn’t notice the way he gripped the tops of the chairs, guiding himself back to the kitchen with a hand pressed against the wall, limping. 

You had intended to remain steadfast in your stubbornness. If they weren’t going to go to classes, why should you? After all, you had stayed up almost all night, restless with worry. However, any dreams you had of staying home were dashed as the haunting doorbell to the House rang. None of the brothers were likely to answer it, and if it was a package or something of that nature, someone should probably grab it for them. Although, you knew well in the back of your mind that hardly any mail was delivered this early in the day. The idea of a package was better than more bad-news, you figured. You shuffled your way out of the dining room, rather downtrodden, opening the front door without preparing yourself to look a little less depressed. 

“MC?” You weren’t expecting to hear your name spoken by a voice so familiar. Taking a few blinks, you brought yourself out of the little slump you were in. “Is everything alright?” Simeon frowned, taking another step closer to the entrance. 

You had to quickly grin, although you knew it came off rather weak. “Just didn’t sleep a lot last night. What are you doing here?” 

A little figure jumped out from behind Simeon, almost like it was meant to surprise you. “We’re here to go to RAD together!” Luke beamed. He seemed so pleased, absolutely beside himself with joy at even just this simple thing. How did he never realize why everyone called him cute? 

The third figure outside nodded, waving at you in greeting. “Imagine our surprise when, out of the blue, all of us receive a text from Lucifer of all people, telling us to bring you to RAD.” Solomon looked quite pleased with himself. Although, that only made you feel warier. So none of them knew what was going on either? 

Simeon was the only one who seemed to share your confusion. “It’s not everyday that he asks for favors.” 

“It didn’t seem like a favor to me,” Luke scowled, unfortunately coming off more like a pout than anything. He folded his arms. “It was practically an order.” 

“Regardless of the reason,” Solomon waved his hand through the air, moving away from the brothers as the topic at hand. “Are you all ready to go?” He looked at you with a glint in his eye. That feeling in your gut still remained, but was slightly lessened. At the very least, the members of Purgatory Hall were as they usually were. Any form of normality you could get was gladly accepted. You nodded, taking a step forward and shutting the door of the House behind you. 

Simeon outstretched a hand towards you, perhaps sensing that you were feeling a bit down. You took it, feeling the warmth in his palms spread over you like a comforting blanket. Was it angelic magic or just simply his presence that calmed you so? “Don’t worry,” the angel attempted to assuage your anxiety. “If it were something threatening, Diavolo would certainly tell you about it, wouldn’t he?” 

Based on his track record…not really. Not as quickly as you would like him to anyway. Mysteries and riddles and royal duty be damned. You’d have to talk to the prince. 

You were one second away from knocking on the door to the student council office before it opened for you. Barbatos welcomed you with a calming grin, lowering his head in a little respectful bow as you stepped into the room. “We’ve been expecting you.” As the door shut behind you, you felt your shoulder gently touched by the butler’s gloved hand. He wasn’t often one to express emotion, or perhaps you’d gotten to know him well enough to tell that the slight lift to his brows was one of sympathy. “I’ve already prepared some tea as well as Devarian Cream Eclairs.” In a blink, he was over by a little table, pulling a seat out for you as Diavolo remained seated on the other side, waving you over with a grin, although even from here you could notice that his usual dazzling and thrilled smile was subdued. 

“You knew I was coming?” You took a few tentative steps before settling yourself in the chair, your hands rubbing themselves anxiously in your lap. 

Diavolo was the one who spoke up this time, nodding a bit as the corners of his mouth tugged downwards. “If I know my student council, you probably have many questions regarding last night, don’t you?” 

Your mouth felt a bit dry, and so you picked up the little teacup, smelling the sweet aroma before taking a little sip. “They didn’t tell me anything…” The teacup made a gentle noise as it settled back down on the table. You turned your head up at the prince, a pleading look in your eyes. You may not have had a pact with him and he might’ve been royalty while you were just a human, but you were hoping that the person sitting in front of you was not just the Demon Lord but Diavolo, your, dare you say, friend. Surely, he would answer your honest question. “Will you tell me what happened?” 

There was a flicker of guilt in his eyes as he spoke, and while Barbatos was naturally quiet, there was an eerie sort of silence about him, one that was abnormally noticeable. Diavolo paused but then explained everything to you. Apparently, every few millennia, an ancient Devildom Beast rises from its deep hibernation to feast. Left unchecked, it can go on a rampage, causing needless destruction and chaos. It typically follows a very regular schedule, the brothers and Diavolo able to create a plan and barrier to keep the monster away from civilization. However, without any warning, it suddenly arose, centuries early. No one could figure out why, and deep in your soul you wondered if this was somehow your fault. Strange things always happened when you were around, after all. Although, you knew it was rather silly to blame yourself for something like this. “Without any preparation, we were all forced to subdue it ourselves…and refusing it to feed naturally made it quite aggressive. There were…casualties…Forgive me.” 

Barbatos finally took a breath, shuffling a little closer to the prince. “Young Master–” 

“I will take the blame for this,” Diavolo, despite the guilt, raised his head proudly. “It was under my orders that this happened. And it was because I was there that–” He cut himself off as the words caught in his throat, something the prince was not known for. He couldn’t seem to finish his statement, but you could connect the dots. Here he was, hardly a hair out of place like usual. He had been protected. You knew the others, especially Lucifer, would do whatever it took to keep Diavolo safe. Before you really knew you were doing it, your body urged itself out of your seat, wrapping your arms against Diavolo’s body. You heard Barbatos take a sharp intake of air before letting it out in a gentle sigh. Normally, such actions like these towards the prince would’ve been unheard of, perhaps punishable even. You didn’t often like to think you were being given special treatment, but in this case, you were glad you were able to do something like give Diavolo this little embrace. You felt him chuckle, the power of his lungs rattling your ribs. He took your arms and lowered them, the smile back on his face, although perhaps a bit embarrassed that someone such as he needed an action as common as a hug to make him feel better. “I was hoping you would come see me, seeing as I have a favor to ask of you.” 

“A favor?” 

With a little nod, he glanced at Barbatos who helped you back to your seat, the butler’s hand settled on the back of your neck for just a moment, his subtle version of a thank-you. The prince cleared his throat, looking at you seriously. “I’d like you to help care for the brothers till they are back in good health. Knowing them, they’ll hide away from any of us till they are back to normal. Lucifer might be Pride, but it seems as if the stubbornness runs through all their veins. But you…they have a soft spot for you, even Lucifer.” There was a flicker of jealousy behind Diavolo’s eyes. Yes, they were close, but Lucifer’s respect would always hinge that tiny social barrier between them. “Besides, they might heal quicker with you by their side, and that’s beneficial for everyone involved. I know…it might be a lot to ask, but would you be willing to do this for me?” 

You couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “After everything we’ve all already gone through, do you even need to ask?” How many times had you been the one to clean up a mess caused by some magical or mischievous misfortune? And almost always, you were the only one unaffected by it all, always waiting for the others to return to normal. “I had planned on doing that anyway.” 

He closed his eyes as he sighed. “I had a feeling, but I never like to assume. I’m glad, though... If there’s anything Barbatos and I can do to assist you, don’t hesitate to ask.” 

“There is one thing,” you brought up, making the prince raise an eyebrow. “Can Barbatos make me a portal home?” Learning all this information suddenly made you feel antsy, practically itching to be back in the House’s familiar halls. “I feel like I’ve already been away from them long enough. I want to be there for them now.” 

Out of everyone, you figured Asmo would be the least likely to turn you away. He loved being pampered, and he seemed perhaps the most normal of the bunch. Besides, he might be willing to shed some more light on what happened to the others…and the severity of their injuries. You tried not to let the silence of the house overwhelm you as you prepared a little tray to take to Asmo. You filled it with lots of helpful but adorable things. A little yogurt cup with glistening and juicy fruits, an herbal tea that Barbatos recommended that was a rosy pink, a little vial of Devildom Medicine that you put a few stickers on in an attempt to make it ‘aesthetic’, and a few other things you just grabbed since you had no idea what Asmo was going through. Tray settled against your hip, you knocked on Asmo’s door. 

There was silence for a moment, but then a whine on the other end. “Whaaat? I’m trying to recover as much as you all are too, you know! Don’t make me get up.” 

It was clear to you that he assumed you were one of his brothers. You suddenly showing up might not be as thrilling of a surprise as you had thought it would be. “I can come in if you’d like.” 

Clattering could be suddenly heard from inside, a whimper of pain was made before the door swung open vivaciously, Asmo, wearing a silky nightgown, was leaning against the doorframe with one leg tucked behind the other. “MC, hun! What’re you doing home?” His eyes flashed down to the tray you were carrying. His smile faded, his bottom lip jutting out in a small pout. “Ah…Who told you?” 

“Diavolo.” You snuck past him in his room, settling the tray on the end of his bed. “He didn’t tell me absolutely everything though.” You suddenly turned around a hand on your hip. “What’s wrong with you? Out with it?” I sound too much like Lucifer, you thought to yourself. 

Much like you were expecting, Asmo gave in almost instantly, his eyes turning glossy with tears. He shut the door and moved away from the doorframe, one of his feet curled away from the ground. As you looked at his left leg, you noticed that from the knee all the way down, Asmo’s skin was covered in bruises, the tone to his complexion a different blend of purple, yellow, black, and even red. It was swollen. “It hurts…” The little crack in his voice broke your heart. You came over to him, offering your support as he settled an arm around your shoulders. You helped him limp back into bed, fluffing up the pillows behind his neck. 

“Why didn’t any of you tell me?” You shook your head a bit, looking down with a mixture of concern and disappointment. 

“And have you look at me this way?” A tear slid from the corner of his eye. You unconsciously brushed it away, his face leaning into your touch. “Just look at it…it’s hideous! I never wanted you to ever see me this way…” 

“Asmo…injuries happen.” You traced little hearts into his shoulder before you stood, getting to work. Grabbing some throw pillows from various pieces of furniture, you brought them next to his injured leg. “Can you lift it?” With a wince, he grabbed at his left thigh, lifting up his leg enough for you to place the pillows under. With a little flourish, you covered him with a blanket. “I brought you medicine. Barbatos said this kind should help with the pain. I also made you a little snack. You need to be well fed and rested. Do you want me to grab you some ice-packs?” 

The ever-usual confident Asmo appeared a bit meek at the treatment. “Yes…please. I tried going back downstairs for them but…” 

“No more getting out of bed,” you demanded. “You’ll just make it worse.” With a few steps, you moved over to the nightstand, grabbing the tray and settling it right next to Asmo. One of your hands brushed Asmo’s hair from his face. “I’ll be right back.” Some pink flared in his cheeks at your stern orders, but he didn’t stop you from rushing downstairs to try to find something to ice his leg with. Unfortunately, if the House did have ice-packs, they weren’t in the freezer. So, desperate measures called for frozen vegetables. You found a little hand towel in the kitchen, wrapping the pack up in that before heading back upstairs. You were pleased to find that he was in the middle of eating his snack with a little grin on his face. 

“MC…you’re so precious,” he praised you, almost purring at the mere sight of you. “You’ll be my nurse till I’m all better, right?” It was his best attempt at sounding like usual, but even the flirtatiousness of it was muted. He simply sounded exhausted. He settled down the little bowl as his arms outstretched towards you, waiting for you to come over and hug him. You placed yourself against his hip on the bed, letting him wrap his arms around you. His nose settled against the base of your neck, practically absorbing your affection as additional sustenance. Who knows? Maybe it did work that way for demons. Maybe they quite literally sucked the life out of you. Maybe that’s why Diavolo seemed to think they’d heal faster with you around. Little parasites…You parted from him after a while, holding the cold pack in your hands. 

“I’m going to place this on you. Are you ready?” You waited till he nodded before you settled the weight on his injured leg, covering his ankle and the better part of his calf. He winced, but after a minute, seemed a bit more relieved. You took this moment to curl up at his side, stroking his hair, watching the more strained and exhausted lines in his face fade. “Will you tell me more about what happened? I want to take care of all of you the best that I can, but I can’t do that if I don’t know anything.” 

“It all happened so fast…” He tried to snuggle into you without moving too much. “We were all just fighting to calm it down, but I got knocked out of the air and…it trampled my leg. I don’t remember the last time I felt so much pain. But, even so, I think I got away the luckiest…” Your poor boys…You knew that…as a human, you would’ve been little to no help in such a situation like that anyway, but still, you felt a little guilty that you weren’t there in the moment to try to help them. “I don’t know what happened to everyone, it’s still all a blur. I blacked out for a bit…but I think Satan has a broken arm. Maybe he knows more than I do.” 

“Really?” Your gasp almost sounded breathless. “What do demons usually do for broken bones?” 

Asmo slowly shook his head. “We don’t need much. I’m sure he’s already got it wrapped up. It should only take a few days to go back to normal. He’s probably upset that he can’t read his books very well, though.” After talking for so long, he whined a bit, trying to pull you closer. “It’s so cold…” 

You moved your arm to shift the ice-pack to a different part of his injured leg, letting him hold you so he could absorb your body warmth. “You should take that medicine soon and then get some rest,” you encouraged. “Sleep is often the most important step to recovery.” Asmo simply made a little whine, vocalizing his disappointment but unable to disagree. At the risk of never being able to leave his room again, you planted a gentle kiss on his forehead. “I’ll have my D.D.D. on me, so if you need anything else, just call or message me.” You tucked the blanket tighter around him, guiding his arms away from you and down to the bed. Despite him usually distressing over his hair, he smiled when a few of your fingers brushed through the strands atop his head, his eyelids flickering, like even such a simple gesture was coaxing him to rest. “Meds then beds, Asmo,” you repeated once more, watching him blush at the childish-sounding mantra. You got to your feet, making sure the lights in the room were dim. “I’ll be back to check on you later…Feel better.” 

You watched him blow you a kiss before you left, heading in the direction of Satan’s room. 

Satan would be a risky one. You had no way of knowing if his injuries would keep him from being angry or if they would make him even angrier. Not to mention he’s not the most vulnerable of the brothers. He had already tried to hide his broken arm from you –although rather poorly. However, at breakfast, he did seem rather calm about everything. Even breaking character and telling you to go to classes just to keep Lucifer in a good mood. Definitely not like Satan. Which either meant Wrath’s injuries were bothering him so much, he couldn’t even be angry towards Lucifer…or…what if Lucifer had been hurt enough to…No. He didn’t seem that bad when he addressed you in the entrance hall. Lucifer had almost seemed normal. There was no way Satan would worry about his older brother over mild wounds. 

Ah, but thinking about this was keeping you from what you should actually be doing, which was action! You might’ve been stalling a little bit, worried that as soon as you knocked on Satan’s door, his demon form would rush through. Fortune favors the bold, you recited in your head, hoping it would work as a spell of sorts. You knocked on Satan’s door, only just now realizing that you didn’t prepare or bring anything with you like you had done for Asmo. Although, maybe it was for the best. If you had come in with armfuls of stuff you thought he would need, trying to fuss over him, it would probably irritate him. He’d just have to tell you what he needed himself. 

There was no answer. Should you head in yourself?...No, that might be a death sentence. Should you announce yourself? But then would he even open the door if he knew it was you? He’d probably just shout back ‘there’s nothing to worry about’ or even ‘do you think I’m incapable of taking care of myself’. So you knocked once more, remaining quiet, trying to strain your ears to see if you could hear even just the faintest of pages moving. Of course, just as you were pressing your ear up against the door, the entire thing rattled. Even the doorframe shuddered. “Go away!” 

Well…so much for your hopes of him not being angry. What did you really expect? His title was Wrath. You shuffled on your feet for a moment, lingering by the door. Knocking a third time might set him off…maybe you should say it was you right as you opened the door. Or maybe–

“I can still hear you!” The voice in his chest rumbled, a strong aura approaching rapidly from the other side. “I swear to Diavolo, whoever it is better be gone in five seconds before I teach you what it means to –” The door opened so violently, the air almost sucked you forward. 

You jumped back, already giving your apologies. “Don’t be mad! I came back home because I heard what happened, and I already checked on Asmo and he told me that you got hurt and that I should check on you, and –” 

“MC?” The aura of fury mostly faded, the door partially shutting again as you assumed Satan was trying to hide the injured arm behind the wood. “What’re you doing at home? We told you to go to classes!” 

“I said don’t be mad!” 

Satan took a deep breath, a little glare staring at you from through the crack in the open door. “You said that Asmo told you what happened?” Well, technically Diavolo was the first one to tell you, Asmo giving more details but…now was not the time to argue over semantics. “And he told you to come check on me?” You nodded, thinking naively that maybe Satan would be touched that his brother was concerned about him. Instead, a darkness clouded his eyes, the door opening once more, only this time, Satan stormed out, fully intent on marching down the hall, probably to give Asmo his personal feelings on the matter. 

Without thinking about it, you grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling on it with as much strength as a human could muster. “Stop! He’s hurt enough already! I just put him to bed! If you want someone to be mad at, be mad at me!” 

Satan’s feet stopped, of his own free will obviously, seeing as you were probably not impeding his progress as much as you were hoping. You stood your ground, although a little bit shakily, and your eyes finally noticed his arm. He, as you and Asmo both expected, had already treated it to the best of his abilities. It was wrapped in bandages that even you could tell were soaked in something magical, and it was resting in a makeshift sling he had seemingly made out of one of his pillowcases. It had several different adorable cats on it, which was a strange contrast to the furious look he was giving you. “First you scream at me to not be mad, and now you’re telling me to direct my wrath towards you instead of Asmo? Which is it?! Pick!” 

“I’d prefer neither, if I’m being honest!” You exclaimed, releasing his clothes so he could turn around fully, facing you. Your shoulders slumped a bit as you stared at his arm, your eyelids drooping in sorrow. “But it’s fine. Yell at me.” If this is what he needed… “Take your anger out on me!” If you could prevent the others from being hurt again…you’d do anything. “Whatever you need to feel better.” You lifted your head to stare him down only to lower it as soon as you felt a little bonk on your head. 

As soon as the side of his hand gently struck the top of your skull, he deflated. “Are you an entire idiot?” An exhausted sigh left his lungs, rubbing at his eyes before lowering his good arm. “Taking my anger out on you would leave you hurt or even worse. Don’t you know better than to provoke a demon? I thought we all taught you better than that.” 

You rubbed the part he had hit, although it had startled you more than hurt you. Squaring your shoulders, you changed your stance to one to make it look as though you had planned this to work all along. Wait…who was supposed to be scolding who? You came here to look after him, not the other way around! “And I thought maybe you all would trust me a bit more to actually tell me the truth rather than sneak around and skulk in your rooms!” As you both locked eyes, his gaze almost flickered away from you at that. Time to double down. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re just as much of an idiot.” Normally, statements like that would rile him up again, but you were, perhaps, riding on the fact that you knew he had a weakness for you. That, and the fact that you came up and wrapped your arms around his waist probably saved you from retaliation. “I might be an idiot, sure, but I’m not completely stupid.” Your head rested against his good shoulder. “I know when something feels off with you all. Did you really expect me to stand idly by as you all suffered?” 

His little huff disturbed a few strands of your hair. “I guess I was hoping it would take you a bit longer before you found out…We all underestimated you again, didn’t we?” 

“Never forget that humans thrive on stubbornness and spite,” you reminded him with a little grin. You pulled apart from him and took his good hand. “Let’s get out of this cold hallway. You should be in bed.” A noise of mild surprise stuck in his throat as you tugged him back into his bedroom, shutting the door, carefully stepping over and around little piles of books to bring him back to his bed. He sat back down on his mattress, glaring daggers at a hardcover lying face up and open over his covers. With a swipe of his hand much like a cat, he batted it clean off his bed. Something in the back of your mind clicked. The knock at the door wasn’t what made him upset, was it? Asmo mentioned something like this, didn’t he? “Are you mad that you can’t turn the pages?” 

Heat suddenly flared up in his cheeks, almost growling. “It shouldn’t be that hard!” His broken arm was his dominant one…

“What happened to your e-book tablet? That should be fine for now, right?” 

“I lent it to Levi…” He settled back against his pillows, staring out the window. “But it’s fine, I don’t need it. Don’t bother him.” 

You looked out the window with him, wondering if there was something fascinating out there or if it was another excuse to not look you in the eyes. You sat down beside him on the bed, your forefinger resting on his good hand, tracing circles into his knuckles. You caught him trying to glance at you out of the corner of his eyes, gaze a bit softer than it had been. “Do you know what happened to the rest of your brothers? I remember Levi ran off before I could even get a good look at him.” 

Satan’s jaw tightened, a little bump forming in one of his cheeks as his tongue pressed against the side of his mouth, struggling to talk but luckily finally sharing some information. “Asmo’s knee got dislocated and has multiple fractures throughout his leg. We managed to fix it up mostly, but he still can’t walk on it very well. I remember trying to get to him, turning my back for just a second. Just one second. Then I think I was kicked. Next thing I remember, I was waking up far away from battle, my arm completely broken from the shoulder down. I returned to the fight when it was nearly over.” Against his own better judgment, he tried to shift his injured shoulder as if maybe it had healed in the little bit of time you had been with him. He winced, cursing a bit, squeezing his eyes shut till the sharp pain went away. As you rubbed his other good arm, you had to wonder to yourself if the brothers had had very many instances with pain like this. For humans, it wasn’t really rare to break a bone or dislocate something at all. What usually hurt you was nothing more than perhaps mild discomfort to these demons. So for them to feel this much pain… “We’re supposed to be your protectors…” Satan found your hand with his and gave it a squeeze. “For all of us to be put out of commission like this…” 

Your heart tugged at that. “Satan…” You stroked the side of his face with the back of your other hand, shaking your head a little. “Don’t be so dramatic. I don’t think any less of you. Not for any of you. Let me take care of all of you this time. I may not be super strong, or super fast, or insanely powerful…but I can do this at least. So please, don’t push me away. Let me help. Do you want me to go get your tablet from Levi’s room?” 

For a moment, he was speechless, slowly tilting his head towards your touch before closing his eyes completely. “If you would…yes, please.” 

“Then I’ll go do that,” you beamed. “Anything else you want me to get for you?” 

He shook his head, rubbing his cheek against your hand like his favorite felines till it was settled in your palm. “Not right now…but listen, Levi’s not…doing well. Please, be careful.” 

“What happened to him?” 

He straightened, obviously wanting more of your attention but turning serious. Sure, they all taunted and joked around with each other, fought with each other, said they couldn’t stand each other, as siblings are wont to do, but even Satan seemed upset when he spoke about his older brother, a special sort of worry swirling deep behind his eyes. Once he told you, you stood straight up, stomach churning. You gave Satan’s hand a kiss before dropping it, sprinting out of his room as fast as you could. 

Nothing prepared, no plan in your mind, you approached Levi’s room quickly. If what Satan had said was true…Satan wouldn’t lie about something like this. Which meant…Levi…You threw the door open, not even bothering to knock, which yeah, was kinda rude, but you couldn’t help it, you were riddled with concern. It was a good thing you did too, because he was doing worse than you had imagined. “Oh god…Levi…” You whispered, almost losing the strength in your voice at the shock. 

Unlike his other two brothers you’d visited so far, he seemed to have taken no steps to take care of himself from earlier. You could hardly blame him though, seeing him like this, clothes still filthy from the flight, covered in dirt and…blood. His blood. It was all over his face, matting his hair, coating his eyelids. His hands were also covered in it, clawing at his scalp, rolling around on the floor in pain, silently crying. Had he been this way for hours? And no one bothered to tell you? No one bothered to take care of him this way?! It hit you suddenly, that perhaps no one was here to help Levi because no one could. Were all the others this way?...Or were the ones you had yet to see even worse? 

Glancing at him was enough to figure out a list of what he needed. Sneaking back into Asmo’s room, you were at the very least pleased to see that the medicine bottle had a smidge less of its contents, meaning Asmo had taken some for the pain. This was what Levi needed now. You held onto it carefully, allowing yourself to look at Asmo’s sleeping face for only a split-second before leaving Lust to his beauty sleep. You dashed around the house in nearly a panic, gathering a few other things until your human arms couldn’t carry anything else. You returned to Levi’s bedroom, shutting the door behind you with your foot, nearly dropping all the items on the floor beside him, careful not to break any of the valuables. “Levi?” You spoke gently, voice filled with compassion and yet sorrow. You hated seeing him like this. You frowned as the demon continued to squirm, gasping, unable to focus on anything other than the unimaginable pain he was going through. You almost reached out to touch his head, but that would’ve been the worst idea right now seeing as how…his horns were gone. 

Heart breaking in pieces, you grabbed his wrists, trying to prevent him from causing any more damage to his head. Although his eyes were still closed, he reached out for you, gripping your clothes so tightly, he ripped holes in them with his fingers. “Help me…” He cried, not embarrassed at being caught this way, just desperate for some relief, for someone to care for him when he could not. 

“I am…I’m here,” you assured him, placing your arms under his, suddenly doing your best to slightly pick him up, dragging him over to his wall so you could prop him up against it. Somehow, you did this successfully, the adrenaline in you giving you strength you didn’t know you had. Fumbling with the medicine bottle, you poured the proper dosage into the cap. When Barbatos had given this to you, you almost laughed, ready to question why it was a liquid kind rather than in some capsule form. Now you answered your own question. Levi was hardly in a state well enough to consume this much, you didn’t want to imagine the kind of pain you would have put the both of you through if you had tried to get him to swallow a pill. Keeping him still with a hand against his face, you told him to open his mouth, dumping the medicine past his lips. 

Magically, it seemed to almost work as soon as he swallowed it. His twitching lessened, his breathing not as shallow. “MC?” He muttered your name weakly, trying to open his eyes, but finding that his dried blood had essentially sealed his eyes shut. It’s a good thing you brought a rag and a little bowl of clean warm water. 

“It’s me,” you confirmed, getting the rag wet and brushing it over his face, working on clearing up the eyelids, getting it off his eyelashes. Soon, his tears were no longer limited to slipping from the corners of his eyes. They dripped down his face, streaking down more grime as they did so. You were quick to wipe that all away, getting his face clean, trying to ignore the way he was rubbing his head against the wall. Although doing so seemed to bring him some relief, as long as he didn’t accidently touch the two bloody nubs just barely peeking above his blue-hair. After you’d cleaned his face, the medicine, your presence, and the steady motion against the cold wall had his crying stop completely. Now he simply seemed two steps away from passing out, and while you knew he desperately needed sleep after all that, you did hope you could get him fully clean before then. “Let’s try to get you to the shower, come on.” You took both his hands, leaning your full body weight back, persuading him up on his feet. 

A small wave of despair flooded over you from him as a little bit of his negative personality came through. “Gross…” He muttered, hardly having the energy in him to speak. “And dir…dirty…” He did get up eventually, almost falling forward, leaning a ton of his dead-weight on you instead. 

“I know, Levi, I know…We’re going to work on you getting clean. I’m going to need you to try to stand up though…or we’ll both fall…” Your legs were already shaking at the added pressure. Demons sure were heavy…He managed to find the strength to carry himself, holding your hand tightly as you led him through the doorway to his room. He kept wobbling, unbalanced on his own feet. Was he that exhausted or…was the sudden loss of horns on his head throwing off his entire natural stability? You tugged him away from the doorframe he was about to walk straight into, carefully and slowly leading him towards the House’s main bathroom. 

Despite being really out of it, he suddenly seemed to realize where you both were as soon as the bathroom door closed you both in. “I…I…I…” Was all he could stutter. You grabbed one of the bathroom’s chairs – an interior design choice you always questioned, but one you were grateful for now – and settled him in one, working to pull his dirty hoodie off, some of your fingers brushing over the blue scale-like details in his skin. Finally, this last act was enough to bring him almost fully to his senses. “Don’t!” He held onto his clothes while you had brought them nearly fully off, the fabric bunched up over his head, covering his face. “I…I can do it…I’ll be out– be out soon…” 

You allowed yourself to take a breath, thinking about the fact that you were essentially tearing off his clothes. Shaking your head, trying to gather yourself and your own senses, you agreed. “Okay…just remember no shampoo or anything, alright? I’ll bring you clean clothing and be right outside the door.” He didn’t exactly have the power to deny you, so he just agreed with a groan, pulling his hoodie off the rest of the way, letting it fall to the floor. Giving him his privacy, you left the room, turning back down the hall to gather Levi some clean clothes. You didn’t really know how to treat broken horns…Satan had briefly explained enough to assure you that they would grow back, it would just be extremely uncomfortable to say the least. You had to just hope that you were doing enough…and if you could help Asmo and Satan recover, they could probably help the others in ways you could not. One step at a time though. Folding up a set of clean and soft clothes, you hurried back to the bathroom, giving it a small knock. “Levi, I’m going to open up the door enough to put these inside, okay?” 

“F–Fine…” It was faint, but you heard it, opening the door just wide enough to settle the clothes on the floor before shutting it again, resting your forehead against the wood. There was silence other than the sound of rushing water. Then there was a little squeak as the showerhead turned off, a few stray drops striking the floor. You then heard him shuffling, moaning a little bit in pain as he worked to get himself dressed. As you finally took a step back from the door, it opened, Levi grasping on the door handle, his fresh clothes you’d brought him clinging to his still-soaking body. 

You sighed a bit and pointed to the chair that had remained in the place you’d left it. “Sit,” you demanded, careful not to let the magic of the pact work its way in your words. With how weak he was, you didn’t want to force his body to do anything. Levi looked at you with wide eyes before lowering his head, almost whimpering, sitting in the seat. You stepped inside, finding a soft towel, beginning to run it over his body. This was probably a useless gesture. The brothers had already explained to you that temperature, little things like staying wet, they weren’t that hazardous to demons. Yet, you couldn’t help but do it anyway, getting his arms and his legs, his neck. His hair still had a decent amount of dried blood in it, but you’d have to worry about that later. Even just touching his hairline almost had him flinch. “Okay,” you told him once you felt satisfied, going over one last spot with the towel as you cleared the water from dripping into his eyes. “Let’s get you to bed.” 

He had no complaints at that, letting you drag him back to his bedroom. It probably wasn’t needed, but you held onto his shoulders as you helped him hoist himself into his strange nest of a bed. He immediately curled up into it, a sigh leaving his chest as he finally seemed to have a reprieve from constant pain. You unfurled one of the blankets you’d brought from your room, the one he always seemed to tug away from you if he spent the night in your room. Pulling it over him, he finally looked up at you, eyes almost wavering with emotion as he gripped at the comforter. 

“Get lots of sleep. I’ll bring you food when you wake up as well as anything else you need.” You wished you could stroke his head, petting him softly. You’d have to resolve yourself to rubbing his arm instead. “Do you know if any of your other brothers really need my help right now?” You could only start to imagine what the others might be going through in silence. Levi suddenly looked frightened as he began to recall the others. He raised his head enough to speak clearly, a pleading sort of squeak in his voice. “B-Beel.” 

You steeled yourself as you approached the twin’s room. On one hand, this would be an opportunity to take care of two brothers at once. On the other hand, you knew you would suffer seeing the state the two youngest brothers were in. Levi had finally passed out as soon as he uttered his brother’s name, unable to stay awake any longer, so you had no idea what afflicted Gluttony and Sloth. Beel had shown up to breakfast at least. Yet, you had to wonder if any injury was enough to keep him away from food. He’d probably be hungry now…maybe you should’ve made him something. Best to check on them first though while you were here. 

At least you knew the twins were not as likely to turn you away as the others. Beel didn’t have that sort of stubbornness in him, and he was hardly embarrassed by anything. Belphie might initially be irritated, but he was the spoiled one. He would probably quickly change his feelings as soon as he knew you would do anything for him. A little sigh came out of you as you gathered yourself. A few of your knocks seemed to echo down the quiet halls. With these two, you announced yourself without hesitating, hoping to hear a voice on the other side. “Beel? Belphie? It’s me. Can I come in?” Nothing. Not too surprising actually. Perhaps they were both asleep? That would be a preferable scenario. “I’m coming in,” you warned, pausing for a few seconds before pushing the door open. 

The room was dark, a slight glow coming from the sun and moon decals behind the twin’s bed. It allowed you just enough light to keep from tripping on your own feet. The first thing you noticed was surprisingly Belphie’s bed. Empty. But not even just devoid of a demon, empty entirely. Pillows, blankets, stuffed cushions, even the sheets, all tugged off Sloth’s bed in what appeared to be a fit of frustration. Nothing was damaged but the mattress was bare, the nest Belphie usually slept in was in heaps on the ground. Luckily, Beel’s bed was not in the same state, a large lump under the covers, a few ginger tufts sticking out from the blanket’s hem. He usually snored, but it didn’t seem to be the case this time, which had you wondering if he was awake or not. He was, however, wheezing a little, each breath taken in shakily and painfully. You came over quietly, nervous about trying to tap him or shake him when you weren’t sure about the state he was in. So, you simply pulled down the comforter enough to see his face, rubbing the top of his head, assuming with imaginary crossed-fingers that he didn’t share Levi’s injuries. His eyebrows were scrunched in pain, but as soon as he felt your hand on his head, his eyes fluttered open. “MC?” 

“Hi, Beel,” you tried to grin, sitting next to him on the bed. “How’re you feeling?” 

“Huh?” His eyes closed again as he seemed to be thinking, humming once he came to a conclusion. “How did you know? I was told we weren’t supposed to tell you.” 

So this wasn’t some unanimous brotherly bond of secrecy? Which one of these stupid, pig-headed, prideful– ah, Lucifer told them all to hush, didn’t he? You’d have to give the eldest a scolding of your own later, even at the risk of your own health. It was what he deserved. However, that wasn’t your main concern at the moment. You nodded towards Beel. “Diavolo told me. So, I’ve been checking in on all of you. I’m here to take care of you. Anything you want– within reason –and I’ll get it for you.” 

Unlike his other siblings, Beel actually smiled. “I’m glad.” He tried to let out a relieved exhale, but only twitched in pain as soon as he tried. “Stuff like this doesn’t happen a lot. I’m sure some of them don’t know what to do…so I’m glad you’re here for them.” 

“I’m here for you too, you know,” you had to remind him. “Can you tell me what happened to you so I can help you?” 

Suddenly he frowned deeply, a sulking and guilty look crossing over his face. “I tried to help…but I ended up causing more problems for everyone…” He seemed one step away from crying, but managed not to, looking away from you instead. “Mammon was the distraction, but everyone could tell he was getting tired. I didn’t want him to get hurt so I…” He moaned a little as he took a breath to keep talking. “It ended up charging. I took the hit. I play Fangol, so I thought I could take it…but I…” He pushed the rest of the covers off him with one hand, the blankets folding up around his feet. You noticed that there were several little packets resting on his body. At least you discovered where the ice-packs were now. They appeared to all have melted though, deflated and warm. You’d have to put them back in the freezer. Beel pulled up part of his shirt, revealing the huge discolored bruises that covered his torso. He rested his hand beside him on the bed, trying to look at his own injuries with a little bit of confusion, like he wasn’t used to feeling this way. “Hurt my ribs,” he finally stated. “And it was all for nothing…my brothers all got hurt anyway…” 

“That’s not your fault, Beel.” With a kind hand, you turned his head towards you. “It’s not. You all did what you thought was best in the moment. You won’t start to feel better if you keep beating yourself up over it. Let yourself rest physically and mentally, okay?” You rubbed his head again, the gesture making him grin again. It was an act he mostly saw happen to his twin, so he was probably internally thrilled it was his turn this time. “Promise me you’ll rest.” 

“I’ll try…it’s hard though…I’m worried.” 

“About your brothers?” 

He slowly nodded. “Yeah…I know a lot of them got hurt pretty badly. Belphie seemed pretty restless earlier. I think that’s keeping me up too.” 

“So I take it you won’t be able to sleep till I take care of the rest of them?” 

Either he was taking this whole thing extra hard, or perhaps he heard the exhaustion that was beginning to creep into your voice. “Sorry…”

You tugged his shirt back down over his bruised body, picking up the multiple used-up ice packs that needed to be refrozen. “Don’t be, Beel. It’s nice that you care for your brothers that deeply. I’ve checked on Asmo, Satan, and Levi already. They’re on their first steps to recovery.” At that fact, a few lines of worry left Beel’s forehead. “I’ll put these in the kitchen for a little bit, make you a snack, and bring you some medicine, and then I’ll go take care of the rest of your siblings, okay?” 

At the mention of a snack, his stomach rumbled. “Please?” 

For a giant, muscular demon, he really could be adorable. “Of course. I’ll be right back, okay?” You tucked the covers around him for now, getting up to leave the room to finish up your new tasks. First off, the medicine you’d left in Levi’s room. You opened the door quietly, glad Levi was sleeping soundly. While you were here, you’d better find Satan’s tablet before Wrath got too impatient. Luckily, it was simply resting on Levi’s desk. Tucking that and the medicine under one arm, you left Levi to his dreams, rushing back down to Satan’s room. You were glad when knocking didn’t result in making him angry again. In fact, he didn’t respond at all. You were surprised to find Satan fast asleep when you took a peek inside his room. You couldn’t help but smile a bit at his peaceful face, setting down his tablet on his nightstand, leaving him to head to the kitchen. 

As you opened the kitchen door, you nearly walked into someone else. The demon blinked. “Beel? Oh…you’re not Beel.” 

“Belphie!” You were a bit comforted at the fact that he seemed to be walking around just fine. “What’re you doing in here? Shouldn’t you be resting?” 

“Looking for Beel…” He muttered, his eyes glazed over with pain and exhaustion, and yet despite that and being Sloth, he didn’t seem up for sleeping just yet. 

“He’s up in your room. He’s been there since breakfast…did you not notice him?” You walked around the demon for a moment, trying to multitask, putting the warm ice-packs in the freezer. You placed down the medicine on the counter, pulling out a few things to make and bring for Beel. Something easy to eat. 

“I don’t…remember…my head hurts…” Belphie lowered his head, looking away from the light in the room. 

He was acting a bit odd… “Come sit down for a minute,” you coaxed, coming over to take him by the shoulders, making him sit down at the kitchen island. “If your head hurts, take some medicine. Here.” Like you had done for Levi, you poured the medicine in the cap, holding it out for Belphie to take. Rather than taking it in his own hands, he parted his lips slightly, waiting for you to do it for him. Like you said earlier…spoiled. You couldn’t help but chuckle just a little bit as you gave him the medicine, turning your back to him to wash the cap again. Your humor was short-lived as you heard him rush out of his seat so fast, he knocked the chair over. “Belphie?” You turned just in time to watch him bend over a trash can, purging the medicine you’d just given him. Almost dropping what you’d had in your hand, you rushed over to his side, keeping him steady as he continued to be sick, a few coughs and cries between heaves. 

Once he was done, he fell to the ground, using the fabric of his sleeve to wipe off his lips, pressing his forehead against the cold floor. “What’s…wrong…with…me?” 

A headache, light sensitivity, restlessness…nausea…As you hurried to grab him a cup of water, you tried to connect the symptoms to something. Although, it’s not like you were a demon doctor or anything, how were you supposed to know for certain? You did have a guess though…You knelt beside him, grabbing his arm to pull him up upright just enough so he was sitting up against a cabinet. You tried getting him to hold the glass of water, but he kept batting you away. “Belphie…drink some. Here, take sips.” You supported the back of his head, making him drink in little doses before you felt satisfied. “I’m sorry for making you take the medicine when your stomach was upset…I had no idea.” You frowned, trying not to lecture yourself too harshly, gently placing the back of your hand on his forehead. 

At the touch, he collapsed forward, his arms wrapping around you, keeping you in a death-like grip. “So…tired…where’s Beel?” 

It would be bad if he fell asleep on you like this…You wouldn’t be able to leave…”I just told you…in your room. Did you hurt your head, Belphie?” Could demons get concussions? This seemed close to that, whatever it was. You rubbed his back at the risk of lulling him to sleep. 

“I…think so…” 

“Poor Belphie…” You couldn’t help but say aloud, letting him squeeze you a bit. “Let’s take you to bed. Can you stand up? I can’t carry you…” 

“Bed?...” 

“Yeah, in your room. A nice soft bed. I just need you to stand up for me…” After a bit of processing, he managed to stand…although he was still holding onto you, only shuffling his feet whenever you moved. His head rested in the crook of your neck, arms around your waist. He was making everything a lot harder…but if this is what he wanted…Placing a few snacks and the bottle of medicine on a tray, you somehow managed to hold onto it while having Belphie cling to you like his life depended on it. “Let’s go…” This would be an adventure. Each step you took towards the twins room, you felt more of Belphie’s strength leave him, leaning on you a little harder the further you got. By some miracle, you both made it, trying to not collapse to the floor while almost fully dragging Belphie around. 

As you opened the door, you noticed Beel brighten at the sight of you two, holding his sides as he sat up. You almost warned him against it, but if he was going to eat, better to do it upright. You weren’t sure if you’d be able to give a demon a Heimlich Maneuver if he started to choke. “Belphie! You found him.” 

Gritting your teeth a bit, you managed to pull the mentioned twin further into the room, settling the tray on Beel’s lap. “Yeah…he’s not doing so well…Can you take him off of me so I can make his bed?” 

Beel’s face fell a little bit, ignoring the snacks for now, grabbing both of Belphie’s arms, having to pry his twin off of you. You stretched a bit as soon as the weight left your shoulders. “Thanks…” Time to tackle this mess of a bed now…At least you knew Belphie wasn’t exactly picky when it came to his sleeping spots. Still, you wanted to do your best. You worked on finding the sheets first, tugging them over each of the corners. You heard the twins muttering to each other behind you, both of them trying to support each other in their own ways despite being injured. It warmed your heart, giving you a bit more energy to keep going. After the sheets were on, you threw all the cushions, letting them settle wherever they fell, spreading out the blankets and tucking back one of the corners. “Alright, Belphie, let’s tuck you in.” 

The youngest’s knees were on the floor, the top half of him resting on Beel’s bed, his body slowly slipping towards the ground. You came over behind him, hands on his sides, trying to pull him up and over to his bed. “I want…to stay…with Beel…” 

“I think it’s best if you stay in your own beds for now…” Although you were pretty tempted to do whatever he asked. Especially since he sounded so broken-hearted over leaving his twin despite only being a few feet away from him. “What if you hurt his ribs while trying to hug him? Or what if you accidentally hit your head against something since you’d be cramped trying to stay in the same bed? Once you both feel better, you can sleep wherever you want.” He didn’t really fight you, huddling up into a little ball on his bed once you’d guided him into it. You made sure only the softest of his pillows were placed under his head as you tucked several blankets around him, hoping he could sleep despite the pain he was in. 

“He looks worse than I remember…” Beel whispered from his own bed. 

“I think he must’ve hit his head pretty hard sometime during the fight,” you shared, trying to get Belphie to fall asleep by rubbing circles into his back over the blankets. “He was wandering around looking for you, and then threw up the medicine when I gave it to him. I’ll try to have him take some again after he sleeps. Maybe his stomach will settle by then.” 

Suddenly, Beel found it hard to eat his snacks, like he could feel his brother’s nausea as his own…or maybe he found it hard to enjoy himself while all his other siblings were suffering. He still managed to eat, just slowly, the two of you sitting in relative silence for a bit, observing Belphie as his eyelids struggled to stay open, finally shutting and remaining still. “MC?” Beel called your name softly, waving you over. You got up and approached him, an eyebrow raised. He surprised you as he took your face in his hands, pressing his forehead against yours. “You’re the best. I’m glad we have you looking after us…Thank you.” 

“You all can thank me by getting better as quickly as you can.” You kissed his cheek, pulling away from him with a hand settled on one of your hips. “Try to rest too if possible. Leave your brothers to me…and let me know if you or Belphie need anything.” 

“Okay,” he agreed, some worry leaving him now that his twin was back in the room, knowing that the others had you caring for them. He stifled a yawn, still unable to take deep breaths. “And MC?” He made sure to address you before you left the room. You looked over your shoulder at him. “Look after yourself too, okay? You already look tired.” 

You were…but you were far from being done…but, yes. You wouldn’t be much help if you got hurt from pushing yourself too hard. “I will, Beel. Don’t worry.” 

Only Mammon and Lucifer remained unchecked. Out of the two of them, you figured you’d save the most problematic for last…which meant you’d head to Mammon first. While Lucifer did have a special soft-spot for you, if he was hurt, it meant his Pride was doubly wounded. There was little chance he’d let you into his room. Maybe Mammon would have some idea on how to convince the eldest to let you in, and you could care for the second-born in the meantime. You were a bit worried though…Despite his grumblings, Lucifer always looked after his siblings. So why…when they needed it the most, was Lucifer nowhere to be found? He had sent that message to the members of Purgatory Hall to ensure you’d make it to RAD safely, and that was it. There had been no sign of him since then. Focus, you encouraged yourself, pacing in a little circle in front of Mammon’s door before channeling your inner Lucifer and knocking sternly. Silence. 

Somehow, despite having been met with similar disappointing responses several times today, Mammon’s missing voice sent a chill down your spine. There was no grumble, no yelp, no noise inside his room whatsoever. “Mammon?” You opened his door to spy inside. You were a quick jumble of conflicting emotions. The quietness was simply due to Mammon being completely absent from his room and not because he was so hurt he…For that you were grateful…and yet…where in the world was he?! If he was hurt, now was not the time to be out! You could only hope he was still inside the house…You’d have to go find him. 

Trying to remain quiet enough not to disturb the others attempting to rest, you sprinted through the house, checking every room you came across, playing this weird and stressful game of hide-and-seek you didn’t remember signing up for. Maybe the couches in the common room? No. The music room? Sadly not. The library? Not unless he had hidden himself amongst the books…Think, think! This was Mammon. If he wasn’t in his room, where would he be?...You closed your eyes, hands pressing against your temples as if you could squeeze the information into your brain. And then…an idea. Running back through the hall, you made your way down past the brother’s bedrooms and towards your own. He always did say your room was practically his own as well, seeing as how he was there so often. You had found your room empty when you grabbed the blanket for Levi, so it had almost slipped from your mind. But there was always the possibility Mammon had snuck in there while you were off helping the others. 

There it was…your door just ahead of you…opened by a crack when you had sworn you shut it completely when you’d left. He had to be there. Taking a moment to catch your breath, you padded slowly up to your bedroom, pushing the door open softly. Hair covering his face, breathing in little gasps, Mammon was resting at the end of your bed on his back, legs dangling off the mattress. You nearly jumped on your bed beside him, trying not to jostle him too much, touching the side of his face as you observed his split bottom lip. “H–hey,” he rasped, either having been awake the whole time or suddenly up at your touch. “You’re not–” His head tilted back as he groaned, biting his lip tightly, making the split in his lip worse, some of his blood dripping down his chin. 

“You’re hurting yourself,” you lightly scolded. “Don’t bite on your lip like that.” 

You could tell he attempted to look at you with annoyance, but it fell very short, looking like a beg instead. “Don’t…tell me what to do…” 

You had several things you wanted to say to that, most of them sarcastic, but you could tell he didn’t need that right now. “We should get you back to your room…” Running your fingers through his hair, you felt how cold his skin was…You wedged a hand under one of his shoulders, ready to help push him up, only to hear him shout in pain, his cry so sharp it rang in your ears. 

“Don’t move me!” He panted, cold sweat running down his forehead now in little beads, gulping down the pain. “Don’t…move me…” He repeated it, quieter this time. 

Hearing him like that forced tears to prick your eyes, but you didn’t dare let them fall. “Why’d you come in here then if you were hurt that bad?!” You couldn’t help but raise your voice a bit, the tone almost breaking in a little bit of panic. He looked worse for wear…beyond that, even.  

“Heh…” It was a mix between a whine and a chuckle. “I’m the stupid one…remember?” That appeared to be his only answer. He turned his head away from you and closed his eyes. “Just leave me here…yeah?” You wanted to do something, wanted to say something, but you suddenly found yourself at a loss. What should you do? What had happened to the troublesome Greed to make him like this? 

“Where?...” You finally spoke, voice a little strained. “Where are you hurt?...How badly?” He didn’t respond, and for a moment, you were worried he had blacked out. But then slowly, he reached for your hand, weakly holding it in his own. 

“Badly…” 

“Where?” You asked again. 

There was a wheeze as he tilted his head towards you again, the life draining from his face, blinking slowly. “Got me…right in the chest…’batos patched me up, but…hurts like hell…” He tried looking you in the eyes, but cast his gaze away quickly, probably embarrassed at the way he looked right now. ‘Not cool at all’, he would probably say under normal conditions. Gradually, despite his stubbornness, he lifted up his shirt. His chest was tightly bound in bandages, three large lines of blood bleeding out through the cloth. He’d been cut…or clawed at was probably the better term. Greed was selfish, ‘scummy’ most called him, and yet, he took a deep and painful breath, using up energy he didn’t really have to ask you a specific question. “How’re the others?” 

“I’ve been helping them as much as I can…” 

“Lucifer?” 

“I haven’t seen him yet...Is he bad?” 

He licked at his dry lips, swallowing some nervousness. “Don’t…tell him I told you…” His eyes looked around like he was worried his older brother might pop out of the walls. Once he figured he was safe enough, he sighed. “Idiot’s worse than I am.” 

The words struck you harshly, leaving you feeling almost numb. “Worse? He seemed almost fine when you all came home.” 

“That’s pride for ya…” 

Your head lowered, trying to ignore the worry pounding in your chest. One step at a time… One brother at a time…Now was not the time to sulk. “If we can’t get you to your room, let’s at least try to straighten you out…” 

“You’re askin’ a lot of me here…” It came off as a little bit of a joke, Mammon mentally preparing himself. “The Great…Mammon will move for ya…You might have to help a little though.” He gestured towards his feet, having you grab his ankles to swing him around vertically. Meanwhile, he dug his elbows into the mattress, pulling himself up to where your pillows were. Unlike before, he kept himself from shouting this time, probably to save some face. However, now his body was slightly trembling, pain wracking his body. 

“You did it,” you praised, tugging the remaining blankets out from under him so you could place them over his body. You pet his head, trying to dab away some of his sweat with the corner of the covers. “Good job…” You noticed your own hands were shaking. “...Hey…you’ll be okay, won’t you?” Finally, without your permission, you felt some tears slip from your eyes. “You’re not going to die on me, are you?”

The corner of his mouth twitched in a smile. “Nah…It’ll take a lot more…than some measly scratches…to do me in.” 

“Promise?...” 

He reached a hand up to brush away one of your tears, only to quickly lose the strength, his arm dropping limply to his sides. “I promise. I wouldn’t lie to ya. Give me a few days…and I’ll be right back on my feet.” You didn’t mean to doubt him, but you’d have to contact Diavolo to double check. Although, if Barbatos truly was the one to mend these wounds, you doubted he would’ve let Mammon go if he was in critical condition. 

“Barbatos gave me medicine for the pain. I’ll go get it for you, okay?” You ran your hand up and down his arm. “Do you want anything else?” 

 “Eh…if you’re askin’, some water would be nice.” 

“I can do that!” You didn’t mean to sound so enthusiastic, but if that’s all he wanted to feel better, you could do that easily. It made you feel a little less useless in this situation. “I’ll be right back!” Thank goodness the kitchen was right next door, although you left the medicine in the twin’s room…Maybe at this point, you should just have it strapped to you, since it seemed everyone needed some, making you run back for it all the time. At least it gave you an excuse to peek in on the twins again. Heading to the room first, you tip-toed in. Both twins were asleep. Now, you weren’t necessarily the prayerful type, but even you were tempted to slip in a little thank-you to the universe or whoever else might be listening. You grabbed the bottle of medicine once more and bolted back downstairs. In this situation, you would’ve been tempted to fill up the fanciest glass for Mammon, but if he could hardly move…a glass probably wouldn’t cut it…What did they have in here? You rummaged through the shelves and cupboards, looking for something that might be more useful than just a glass. Ah! One of Beel’s sports water bottles! It was one of those kinds where you hit a button and a little straw pops out. If only it wasn’t so large…oh well. Beggars can’t be choosers. You filled it up with filtered water, leaving enough empty space so if you were to tilt it, water wouldn’t come spilling out. Then you made your way back to Mammon, almost out of breath with as fast as you had been moving. You crawled up in bed on your knees, already in the process of pouring him some medicine. “Here…” You could only hope he wouldn’t be sick like Belphie. You helped him tilt his head up, pouring it into his mouth, watching him grimace. 

“Awful stuff…” Although, like for Levi, it started to take effect immediately. He took a moment to himself, breathing clearly, his body no longer shuddering. Then as the pain subsided, he started to realize just how dry his throat felt. “Water,” he demanded, a little bit of warmth coming to his cheeks…thank goodness. “Please,” he added. 

You handed him the water bottle and watched as he greedily chugged it down, almost emptying it entirely. “Easy!” You warned. “Don’t make yourself sick.” 

He gasped for air once he had gulped down enough, already looking worlds better than when you had found him, although he still was looking rough. “--’is the best water…ever had…” 

You sighed, releasing a ton of tension you’d been holding in your lungs. “It’s a good year…Vintage.” Not the best joke you’d ever made, a pretty terrible one actually, but one you shared nonetheless. Anything to break the tension. 

A breathy huff left his nostrils, the best he could manage for a laugh while his chest was in tatters. You suddenly felt his fingers weave through yours, holding your hand as he closed his eyes. “Thank you…” 

You brushed some of his hair away from his eyes, feeling the temperature in his skin begin to return to normal. “You’re welcome…Get some rest. Please don’t move rooms while I’m gone.” 

“I won’t…” He cracked one eye back open. “Gonna see Lucifer?” 

“I’ll…try. If he’s worse off than you are, I have no idea how he’ll let me even near him.” You rubbed your thumb comfortingly against Mammon’s, thinking as you frowned. These demons…You felt like your already shorter-in-comparison life-span was shrinking even further at the stress. 

Mammon hummed a little bit, releasing his hand so you could go, although you felt his hesitation. He didn’t want to let you go, but he knew he had to. “If he’s doin’ what I think he’s doin’, he’s in recovery mode right now. He’s shut himself down to heal as fast as he can to not disappoint Diavolo.” One of his fingers raised to point towards your door. “His door is probably locked, but I know Lucifer keeps an emergency Master Key somewhere in his office.” 

That sounded like a lot of work for something Lucifer would probably hate you for rather than be grateful. Intruding his office just to further intrude his bedroom after he locked it…If anyone knew what he was doing, it would be the eldest…Maybe you should leave him be. “Sounds pretty scheme-y.” Mammon almost looked wounded at that…joke not intended. “He’s the strongest out of everyone…He probably doesn’t need my help.” 

“MC…” Mammon pulled at the sleeve of your shirt, his eyes suddenly glaring at you with an unusual firmness. “Did ya not hear what I said? He’s shut down. If I can hardly move, there’s a good chance he can’t either. There’s no way he can take proper care of himself right now. ” He let go of you as he realized that he wasn’t exactly being clear. “Listen, he took a heavy hit for Diavolo. Got his wings messed up pretty badly. He was so stunned, he probably didn’t even know how badly he was hurt till he got home. If he’s not checking up on us, that means he’s unable to.” He went quiet for a moment, pressing his lips together, looking at the ceiling to your room like he was trying to sense something. Maybe he could. Maybe he had some sort of connection to Lucifer you hardly heard about, or maybe Mammon just could easily guess after having been around him for so long. “I hate to imagine it, but I have a bad feeling he’s completely unconscious.” 

“Damn Lucifer and his tenacity to keep things hidden!” Hissing to yourself under your breath, you went about Lucifer’s office like a little whirlwind. No cushion, no folder, no shelf was safe while you were on the hunt. You knew once he was better, you’d get a proper punishment from Lucifer for rummaging through his office, but you could cross that bridge when you came to it. Right now, there was a stubborn demon in desperate need of your help. Maybe you should’ve checked on him first. You knew something felt off about this whole situation. The little voices in the back of your head were trying to clue you in as soon as Satan expressed mild worry about the first-born. Yet, you had pushed those aside, because Lucifer was always so put-together. It was what choked Diavolo up during your little meeting. 

 “And it was because I was there that–” The prince had said. ‘Lucifer was wounded’, you could finally finish that statement with your own conclusion. You pounded your palms down on Lucifer’s desk, your head low, wishing that things were different. If you were smarter, you could’ve found the key by now. If you were stronger, you could simply break Lucifer’s door down by force. If you weren’t just a human…maybe you could’ve gone and fought with them. But then you would’ve gotten hurt too…you had to tell yourself. 

You sat in Lucifer’s office chair, imagining him lecturing you. ‘Pitying yourself over circumstances you have no control over is a waste of time and effort,’ he’d probably say. He would be right. Although since this was you thinking it, technically you were right. Getting frustrated wouldn’t get you anywhere. Since you were already in the process of thinking like Lucifer…where would he hide a key? Somewhere away from anything valuable for fear of Mammon finding it. So nothing near his records or anything he held dear. Being in or behind any books was probably a negative as well, just in case Satan came down to borrow some. Checking the cushions had perhaps been a waste of time, for if Belphie ever came in here to take a nap, he might knock it loose. Ugh, why did he always have to overcomplicate things? Wait…maybe that was it. Anyone who tried looking for the Master Key would probably try to think like he did, complexly. So maybe the trick was to think of this as simply as you could. Where would be a dumb place to hide something important like that? With a swift motion, you opened up one of his desk drawers, careful not to mess up the order of any important papers. Nothing. And while you did feel around for a fake bottom, you figured Lucifer’s brothers would be clever enough to check for that. Just…double-checking, following through with the ‘so-simple-it-hurts’ theory, you felt around with your hand pressed against the underside of the desk. This was probably another waste of time. The demon of Pride wouldn’t try hiding a key by just taping it under his…Your fingers brushed against cold metal. You nearly felt like screaming. With a firm tug, you pulled it free, twisting it between your fingers as you looked at it. Definitely looked like a master’s key. 

Giving yourself a few seconds to mentally settle, you took a deep breath. Then, not wasting any more time, you dashed from Lucifer’s office, scrambling through the House to make it to his bedroom. You knocked on his door simply to save your own skin. Lucifer was practically a lie-detector test. Later, if he was going to ask if you even attempted to knock first before breaking in, you could rest easy knowing you did...kinda. You nearly dropped the key trying to shove it in the proper slot, heart almost sinking when it didn’t turn as easily as you felt it should’ve. With a second, more firm try, the door clicked. You opened the door so hurriedly, you nearly stumbled inside. “Lucifer, I’m–” You had heard what Mammon told you, and yet somehow, despite being told directly that Lucifer was in a bad state, you had still half-expected to see him sitting up in bed by now, glaring at you with the fury of a thousand suns. Such was not the case. When would you learn that locked doors are locked for a reason? “--here…” You found yourself still finishing your announcement, 

The eldest was face-down on his bed, not even under the covers. One of his arms dangled from off the edge of his bed, hand still grasping a roll of bandages which had completely unrolled, trailing all the way off to the side. Black feathers rested in various places. Some on the floor, some over Lucifer’s unmoving body, some still fluttering down from his four unfurled wings. When Mammon had mentioned them being in bad shape, he wasn’t kidding. Each of his wings were held out, bent in ways they probably shouldn’t be, the feathers disturbed, the ones that were covered in blood were the ones that were doing him the favor of falling, like they were purging themselves of imperfections. Every so often, the silence would break with the sound of a snap. It sounded like someone was popping their fingers. It took you longer than it should to notice that Lucifer’s wings moved with that sound, albeit slightly. Was this…Were his bones fixing themselves that rapidly? In front of your eyes? You were a sickly sort of fascinated, although mostly sick. After a good few minutes had passed, you finally turned around, taking the master’s key and tucking it into your pocket, shutting the door so, at the very least, Lucifer had some semblance of the privacy he had hoped to keep. 

You walked closer to him, coming around the other side of the bed to see that his other hand was gripping his sheets tightly, his knuckles white the smallest hint of a tremble in his usually firm hand. It was probably unimaginably painful… Again, you had to stop and wonder what you as a human could do in this situation… You couldn’t heal him…but you could finish what he had started, since it appeared he blacked-out before he could finish. Starting with the more obvious details, you took the rolled out bandage and took it from his hand, picking it up off the floor. It would have to be disposed of now. You chucked it in a trash can, taking Lucifer’s hand that had held it and lifted it, resting his arm near his head. There was a little pause as you waited for that to wake him up. At this, he usually would’ve grabbed you, or at least turned his head at you. No. Nothing. Not even a change in his breathing. You were almost disappointed, but it was probably the best for you both if he stayed unconscious for now. Next, you took the shoes off his feet, tucking them neatly against the foot of his bed. You really tested how out of it he was after that by tugging his blanket out from under him, draping it over his legs 

Now what?...As you stood there, you noticed the bruising over his back, a few thin lines of dried blood suggesting that he had been clawed at too, only the flesh-wounds had already healed. He truly was powerful. Perhaps those ice-packs you’d put in the freezer were ready to be used again. Lucifer could use one. “I’ll be back,” you whispered, leaving him to his own devices for a little while as you headed down to the kitchen once more. 

As you opened the freezer, you prodded one of the ice-packs with your finger. Good enough. Gathering them into your arms, you noticed that you counted seven of them. Perfect. You stopped by Asmo’s first, going in the order you had taken care of them. He was still fast asleep. You removed the bag of frozen veggies you’d used as a last-ditch-effort, replacing it with a fresh ice-pack. Asmo moaned a little in his sleep, but did little more than that. Next was Satan, also resting, although it seemed he had woken up for at least a little while since you came in his room last, the tablet you’d left on his nightstand was now over his chest. Careful not to wake him up, you wrapped the ice-pack in a cloth before trying to tuck it in his sling, placing it over his arm. His eyebrows scrunched but that was all. Levi next. You guessed it, asleep. You settled his ice-pack on the top of his head. He tossed and turned a little at the disturbance, but didn’t open his eyes. You readjusted the pack as it began to slip from its place. Levi sighed aloud probably in relief. Now for the twins. 

The entire House was noiseless as its residents continued to slumber. They all looked comfortable, at least as comfortable as they could be. You yawned a bit. What time was it? Was it that late? Or was seeing all of the sins sleep making you tired? You carefully removed Beel’s blanket after you’d entered their room. He woke up at that. “I fell asleep?” 

You nodded, giving him a little grin. “Seems like it. Sorry to wake you up. I brought you one of these.” You handed him one of the remaining packs in your possession. 

“Thank you.” He settled it where the swelling seemed to be the worst, wincing. “Did you check on the others? Mammon? Lucifer?” When you nodded in silence, he seemed to take the message, although he already knew they weren’t doing great in the first place. He watched you head over to Belphie’s bed, observing you as you lifted Sloth’s head gently, letting him rest on the ice-pack like a little pillow. Belphie muttered something in his sleep, almost reaching out to grab your hand, but missing, his grasp holding tightly to his body-pillow instead. “Have you had time to rest yet?” Beel asked, voicing his concern with a little rumbling groan. 

“I will soon,” you assured him, coming back to ruffle the hair on his head. “I gotta finish looking after Lucifer.” 

He looked at you with such compassion. “When we feel better, I want to take us all out to eat.” 

“I can’t wait.” You pulled the blanket back over him, telling him to return to his rest before you left, circling back around to your room. Probably not the most efficient of paths, but the only one you could seem to follow. Mammon was out like a light, not even a twitch as you rested one of the packs in the middle of his chest. You noticed that the water bottle you brought for him was already completely empty. You’d refill it for him…and perhaps grab Lucifer one as well. “I’m back again,” you announced to the counters and cabinets. Did Beel even visit the kitchen this many times in one day?...Probably. You refilled Mammon’s container and pulled another identical one down for Lucifer. Thank goodness Beel got gifted so many of these for sports sponsorships. Water. Mammon. Dropped off. Back up to Lucifer. 

Once you got back to the eldest’s room, you rested for a second against his wall, taking a breather. “Every time something like this happens,” you spoke aloud, knowing Lucifer probably wasn’t listening, “I gain a new respect for you. Taking care of this many people is exhausting.” Placing the water on Lucifer’s nightstand, you sighed, wrapping this last final ice-pack in fabric to keep it from freezing his skin. Now you could stop thinking the word ‘ice-pack’ as it was starting to lose its meaning. Carefully, you approached Lucifer’s side, careful not to touch his outspread wings to place the bundle down along his spine. “Not even the cold will wake you, hm?” You tried looking down at his sleeping features, only to remember that he was completely face-down. “Can you even breathe like that? Honestly, when it comes down to it, you’re just as bad as the rest of your brothers.” Not even mild lectures worked, huh? You reached down, finding his chin, turning his head just enough so his face was partially exposed. His slightly parted lips seemed to breathe in the air a little easier. You brushed his hair away from his closed eyes. “There you go.” Your hand seemed to linger on the side of his face. He was so warm. Almost too warm. “Rest easier now.” Your thumb rubbed at his sharp cheekbone. “Your brothers, your worries, leave them with me.” You got away with pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Return when you are ready, and not a moment sooner, you hear me?...I’ll be back in the morning to check on you.” With that, you figured you had done what you could for the time being. You dropped your touch from him, quietly striding from his room, using the key to lock his door behind you. 

Hot…Why were you suddenly so unbelievably hot? You opened your eyes, trying to remember where you had last closed them. Ah, that was right, you had fallen asleep in the living room on one of the couches, not wanting to disturb Mammon’s sleep in your bed. Sure, you could’ve probably used greed’s own bed in return but…that didn’t feel right. However, when you fully opened your eyes, you were confused to find you were in your own room. Had you come here half-asleep or something? Or did… You raised your head, sitting up, or at least trying to sit up. Something, or someone was holding onto you. Actually, as your senses began to clear, multiple someone’s seemed to be keeping you in their grasp. Mammon was where you had left him on your bed, now to your left, holding your wrist in his hand. Belphie was to your direct right, clinging to your side. Beel was somehow right next to his twin, managing to fit himself on the small sliver of mattress that remained. Then there was Levi…curled up over all four of you, sleeping over the covers directly on your legs, wrapped up in the blanket you’d left for him. Satan was propped up against the wall at your feet, Wrath’s legs curled up to leave room for Asmo. The fifth and fourth-born were leaning against each other, keeping each other from falling over, a blanket loosely draped over the both of them. And then there was the eldest…seated in a chair beside the overstuffed bed, leaning forward to keep his back from touching the support of the seat, one of his arms outstretched, resting over both of the twins, his hand somehow managing to find yours in this mess of limbs. When they had gotten here, how they had gotten here, how you had ended up here, you had no clue. They were all asleep again though, still in the process of recovering. You had half a mind to wake all of them up, giving them a stern reminder on what it means to stay in bed! 

But no…you couldn’t do that. Not now. You’d let them have this moment, even if you were impossibly warm from all the body heat. Not that you could exactly break free from these demonic binds nor could you carry them back to their rooms. They had all probably come in one-by-one. You chuckled to yourself at the sheer ridiculousness of it, at all of them. “Sleep well, all of you,” you whispered. “Feel better soon.” 

[beanghostprincess]

I don’t have many Op friends I can talk about this with but one of my top ship tropes is when it’s established that Luffy is slow on the uptake regarding people’s relationships and even HE knows someone is in love and pining. Like, to make a point at how utterly obvious it is. Sanji cuts food for Usopp into little bite sized pieces? Luffy just asks him something that indicates Sanji and Usopp are in a relationship and the cook almost chokes. Nami tries to write a letter and is getting visibly frustrated at not finding the right words and he just looks over her shoulder like „Say Vivi I said hi!“. He witnessed Shank and Buggy finally meeting at laughtale and there is just a bunch of „I WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED YOU!“ „I never wanted you to leave!“ „YOU WERE A COWARD!“ „Why does that matter now?!“ „BECAUSE I ALMOST GAVE UP MY DREAM FOR YOU!“ and Luffy just looks at this insane display in front of him while his idol does a homoerotic sword vs dagger fight with a clown and just „Are you seeing this shit Zoro?“ like… congrats . You’re being such a lovesick idiot even Luffy is like „Damn bitch you got it bad“

Honestly, this is extremely in character and pretty much not far from the truth. Luffy, despite being a dumbass, is a very perceptive person when it comes to people's feelings. One of his best traits as a main character is that he's empathetic to the point of knowing how people feel or what they want without needing to know the background or the rest of the story. I actually hate when the fanon perception of Luffy gets simplified to "he's an idiot" because yeah, he might be reckless and stupid and he's very silly, but he's emotionally mature to a sickening extent. Savior complex much? (Not that he wants to be a hero, god forbid, he would hate that. I just mean that his constant need to save everyone so nobody he cares about dies on him or gets hurt again has made him really aware of his surroundings and people's feelings). And, well, tbh he has always been like that. Very honest and perceptive, I mean. He might be a bit slow when catching up to some things and he might not know why people feel what they feel sometimes, but he knows what they're feeling. Get me? Like he might be aware of Nami being mad at him, for example, and not knowing why, but being aware that he has to do something to change that.

What I want to say with all of this is that Luffy noticing romance within the crew is extremely canon because he knows how his friends act, and if he notices changes in a person towards someone else, he might be stupid but he's not that oblivious. Like, he knows something's up. And to him the whole concept of pining is so stupid because if you feel something, just let the other person know! But then again, his relationship with Zoro is just different from that, and not everyone can have a devoted long-term marriage without saying a word.

And his reaction towards people pining would be hilarious because the guy would be exhausted from the crew having crushes and not doing anything. A Sanuso trope I love is Luffy going to Usopp like "Hey, confess already because Sanji has been distracted lately, and if he stops cooking because he is sad and pining for you I will be very mad" and he says shit like this and goes away and leaves Usopp alone with that information as if it was the most obvious and normal thing to do. But, you know, Luffy gets things done around here, at least.

[stray-kaz]

Patched : a Nikolai Lantsov x f!reader oneshot

Anon request: Nikolai is injured in the course of a fight and reader offers to tend to his wound. He is a stubborn ass and refuses...eventually giving in.

A/N: I think I decided to make this "best friends to lovers" trope. Hope that's okay.

18+ at the end!

Nikolai thumped through the door to his bedroom in the Spinning Wheel, landing hard against the wall and almost falling to the floor. If it weren’t for his gaze catching on you sitting on the edge of his bed, he would have given up and allowed gravity to take him. But as it was, he did see you and forced himself to straighten, using his shoulders to push his body off the wall, sheer will skewing the corners of his mouth into a smile facsimile.

“Hey, you” he said, and stumbled.

“Hey, yourself, Sobachka” you grumbled, standing and hastening to him. 

He pouted at the barely tolerated nickname coming out of your mouth.

“Don’t call me that” he mumbled back. “I’m not a puppy.”

“Then stop acting like one, moi Tsar” you retorted, pulling a face at him. “How bad is it?”

“It’s just a scratch.”

He sighed and collapsed into a chair, his head rolling back. You sighed even more heavily and knelt at his feet, feeling for the pulse at his wrist. It was there, and it was strong enough, but he was still an idiot.

“I heard that” he said, not looking at you. “You speak in your head far less than you think you do.”

“Good” you snapped. “Someone ought to tell you what they’re truly thinking. I’m not too scared to do it. You could have been killed, Nikolai. And if you had died, where would I be then?”

He heard the tears in your voice and sat up properly in the chair, reaching out to cup your face with one hand and tilt your gaze towards him. You sniffed, your gaze defiant, just in case he was going to tease you for caring too much. But he just leaned forward and kissed your forehead, his palm rough and soothing against your jaw.

“I don’t have an answer for that, darling” he said softly. “Other than I hope you would be all right. And that no matter where I ended up, I would worry for you.”

You breathed out sharply and rose up to lean your weight against his knees; they widened unconsciously, without Nikolai’s say-so, opening a gap big enough for you fit your body in between.

“Let me help you” you offered, sniffing away the last of your tears.

He merely shook his head.

“No.”

His tone was firm, brooking no nonsense, but you pressed on anyway.

“You’re a stubborn mule, moi Tsar” you told him, raising an eyebrow. “A scratch would not leave you in your current state. I can help you.”

Nikolai eyed you sceptically. 

“You know you don’t have to call me that” he said. “I’m not your king yet.”

Your eyes softened as you looked up at him and he found himself shifting in the chair, striving to get away from the unkempt love he glimpsed in your face.

“You have been my king since the day I met you” you replied. “You will always be my king, Nikolai Lantsov.”

He sucked in a slow, deliberate breath and made a decision. 

“All right, fine” he all but grunted. “You can help put me back together.”

As you reached for his shirt strings, he noticed your hands trembling, and felt the heat of your fingertips pressing through the material at his collarbone. You fumbled with the slim knot, eventually overcoming it, and pulled the cords free. As your hands dropped to the hem of his shirt and worked it up over his stomach, Nikolai couldn’t help the fresh grin tugging at his lips.

“Darling, if you wanted me to take off my clothes, you should have just asked.”

He expected a quip back, but instead, you just glanced away and pulled the shirt free of his head, sliding it off his arms. It left his hair mussed and your eyes dark as you searched him for the injury. It was more than a scratch, but could still have been worse. A long, inch deep gash ran along the side of his ribs, glistening wetly in the low light.

You whistled quietly and Nikolai sighed.

“I truly hope that is because of my impressive physique and not because I need stitches.”

“You need stitches” you answered flatly.

Nikolai groaned, throwing his head back again. You couldn’t help but smile.

“For a man so unafraid of anything, you sure are scared of needles” you commented, pushing yourself to your feet. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

Nikolai rolled his eyes.

“Why would I, when you treat me with such gentleness?”

You said nothing, slipping out the door and returning a few minutes later with a stoppered bottle of amber liquid and an armful of clean bandages, a length of catgut and a sterilised needle. Without a word, you handed the bottle to Nikolai but didn’t wait for him to drink before starting work on his wound.

He hissed through his teeth, yanked the stopper out and rapidly swallowed a third of the crown’s whiskey. 

“Am I your king now?” he groaned, tensing as the needle passed through his skin.

“Be quiet, Sobachka” you muttered, concentrating. “Don’t make me stab you.”

“That’s what I thought.”

You worked quickly and carefully, tying off the stitching with a tiny knot and spreading a new bandage over the neat black lines. You smoothed it down, your fingers lingering on the warm skin over the edge of the white padding. Nikolai’s eyes flicked to yours, warmed a little by whiskey but still clear.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re very pretty when you’re causing men pain?” he asked blithely, two fingers wrapped loosely around the neck of the bottle.

You snorted and stood up, gathering the remnants of your work and heading for the door. His voice stopped you at the threshold, called you back to him.

“How long have we known each other?” he asked you, head tilted curiously to one side as his gaze burned a scalding path from the top of your head to the scuffed toes of your boots.

“More than ten years, moi Tsar” you said softly.

He shook his head slowly and got up, wincing as the stitches pulled at him. You took a step in his direction, but he held up a halting hand and shook his head again.

“More than ten years” he repeated slowly. “And in those ten years, how have I never seen what it looks like when you desire a man?”

Your gaze plummeted to the floor and you moved your weight from foot to foot, suddenly unsteady in your own body. Nikolai reached you, his boots entering your limited field of vision. The tools of your trade fell from your hands as one of his hands grasped your chin and raised it so that you had no choice but to look into his blue eyes, now burning with twin flames. You could smell the whiskey as he spoke, but instead of making you uncertain, it liquefied your knees and heated your stomach.

“Until tonight” he finally added, his voice low and his gaze dropping to your parted lips.

You swallowed unsteadily, knowing you were trapped, he had caught you, doe to stag.

“Please, moi Tsar” you barely whispered, not exactly sure what you were begging him for.

He shook his head at you.

“Uh uh” he murmured, arching a single eyebrow.

You opened your mouth to speak again, knowing that your next utterance would sentence you to him for the rest of your life, death withstanding.

“Nikolai...��

The bottle shattered the second his mouth bruised yours, pleasure coursing through his veins and numbing the pain in his side as his head swam, his two empty hands finding you to hold onto, molding to your hips. He eased your lips apart and swallowed your moan as the tip of his tongue brushed yours, so lightly.

He couldn’t believe there had ever been anyone else before you, as his hands mapped the contours of your body, lavishing attention on your clothed breasts when you arched into his palms. 

You pulled away slightly and traced the edges of Nikolai’s bandage with your fingers.

“We can’t” you groaned, whimpering needily as his hand wandered down your belly to tease underneath the front of your trousers. “Your stitches, Nikolai.”

He shrugged, seemingly ignoring the prominent strain in his own trousers.

“No matter” he said casually. “You know what we can do? Or, what I can do?”

You gasped and your eyelids fluttered, but you forced your eyes to remain open to watch his whole hand disappear and feel his roughened fingers begin their work.

[ghostfacd]

WHEN I GET HOME, I’M GONNA BURY YOU. — LUKE HUGHES

pairing; slytherin!luke x fem!hufflepuff!reader

summary; in which luke hughes kills someone for you, but not in the way you would think

genre; fluff, teeny tiny angst but it’s not between luke & reader, hogwarts!au, “hates everybody but you” trope, blackcat bf!luke + golden retriever!gf reader

author’s note; this is the last addition to the slytherin!luke hogwarts series before yn and him graduate !! there will be so much more parts of them after hogwarts so definitely stay tuned for that ^_^ luke is a changed man yall! we love affectionate lukey <3

✸ SLYTHERIN!LUKE MASTERLIST

Luke Hughes was a very cold person, there was no doubt in that.

He liked his social circle small, and only really interacted with those who were in Slytherin or in his Quidditch team. It was definitely a shocker when the students had found out that he was dating a Hufflepuff of all people, you.

The boy sat himself down in the common room of Slytherin, his icy gaze fixed on the flickering fire in the room. You walked into the room a bit later, eyes instantly searching for Luke.

You had to go fetch your textbooks and told him to meet you there. As always, he gave a curt nod and went about his way.

"Hi Lukey," you greet him softly, taking a seat beside him. "How was your day?"

Luke glanced at you briefly, his expression unreadable.

“It was fine lovie,” he says. He glances towards his two close friends, who were also in Slytherin. They were arguing quietly, hands moving in distress.

Luke had always kept his emotions and display of affection to low in public. It’s not like he was embarrassed of you, he wasn’t, but he didn’t want people to be up in his love life. He liked to love you behind closed doors rather than openly, it was just who Luke Hughes was.

“What’s wrong with them?” You ask, concerned.

“They’re having a disagreement,” Luke watches as Mark sighs sharply, hand coming up to his hair in frustration.

“I don’t get it! Why do you always have a problem with me talking to other girls?!” Mark yells, running his fingers through his hair in a rushed manner.

“Really? You really don’t get it? Fine Mark! Do whatever you want! I don’t care!” Kielle lets out an angry huff as she marches over to where you two are sitting. Luke, being the attentive person he is, already knew what she was coming for. He handed Kielle her bag, letting the girl walk off to cool herself down.

“Idiot,” Luke says to Mark as soon as he comes down to sit next to the two of you.

You shake your hand at your boyfriend, hand coming to hold his. “Lukey, that’s mean.”

“Yeah Lukey, stop being fucking mean,”

Luke was about to jump at his best friend, already annoyed at the fact that he had made Kielle upset.

“Whoa!” Quinn appears out of nowhere, holding his younger brother back. “Guys, no fighting. We’re all friends, remember?”

He turns to look at you, “hey YN, how about you come back another time? Let these boys cool down or something,”

You nod, already feeling overwhelmed by the tension in the room. You kiss Luke on the cheek, something that he slightly flinches at, which makes your raise your eyebrows.

“Bye Lu, I’ll see you later.”

He gives you a curt nod.

When you arrive back at the Hufflepuff Common Room, you had texted Luke right away. He felt bad for letting his emotions take over him, especially right in front of you.

“I don’t even know why YN likes him,” a Slytherin who Luke had not cared enough to know the name of, whispered, “he’s just always so cold, you know? Like yeah, I guess that’s just his personality, but if I were her, I would be sick of it. I need a golden retriever boyfriend, not somebody who always looks like they’d rather be dead than be with me.”

Even though Luke has heard shit being talked about him quite literally all the time—it didn’t make it hurt any less. The last time he let his insecurities get the best of him—you two had broken up. He didn’t want that to happen, not again. He loved you far too much to lose you.

So he pivots. Right into Kielle’s dorm, which, if any Professor had saw, he would’ve gotten in massive trouble for it.

“Why are you here?” She asks. She doesn’t even have to turn around to know that it’s her best friend Luke. Nobody else would walk as quietly as he did, and nobody else would enter without knocking.

“I need help, I guess,” he mutters, letting himself fall face first into the comfort of her silk mattress.

“Alright, go on.”

“I don’t even know what to do Kiels,” Luke groans from beneath the pillow, “I just feel like I could do better for YN, you know? I mean, I literally broke things off before because I was too fucking insecure. And now, the insecurities are getting to me again. I used to not care about what people said about me, but maybe they’re right.”

“Shut up Luke,” Kielle pulls the heartbroken boy over to his side so that she could face him, “don’t you dare talk that way about yourself. Luke, you’re more than enough for YN. Sure, you’re closed off and cold but we can all tell you love her.”

“Thanks Kiels,” he sniffles, taking a sweater from her bed and placing it on himself. “Is this Mark’s sweater?”

“Yeah, I need to return it to him.” The girl sighs, “what an asshole.”

“Can you give me advice at least?”

“Okay,” Kielle sits herself next to him, placing on her own sweatshirt, “just show her you love her I guess? Girls love it when the guy they’re dating isn’t afraid to show them off. I know you don’t really like PDA but it would probably mean the world to her if you showed more affection in front of others.”

Luke nods, taking in the girl’s words fully. It was easy, he thinks. He loved you, so it wouldn’t be hard to display his affection. What was hard was doing it publicly. He rarely kissed you in public; mostly just a bit of hand holding and back hugging. That or cheek kisses.

“But if I.. do PDA.. then I’ll betray my image.” Luke sighs, “my image is very dear to me.”

“You mean the image that makes everybody shit on you?” Kielle laughs, but quickly stops when she sees Luke frustrated, “okay sorry Lu. But really, is your image dearer to you than YN?”

“No,” Luke mutters, “not dearer than YN.”

“There you have it Lu,” the girl wraps her arms around the much taller boy, pulling him in for a tight hug. “Hey, don’t work yourself up over what those dumbasses are saying about you okay? YN loves you, I can see it.”

“Thanks Kiels,” Luke says, pulling away to wrap his arms around Kielle’s shoulder. “I’ll get Mark to apologize. He’s a dick for talking to other girls. It may not look like it, but he’s obsessed with you. He’s just too dumb to realize what he’s doing.”

Kielle shrugs, getting up and going over to sit herself on her desk chair. “Yeah, that’s Estapa for you.”

- -

When Luke Hughes arrives back at his dorm, he knew exactly what he had to do. He had to change, not only for you, but for himself.

There were no more bottling up emotions, no more making you cry or upset, and most definitely no more of being a bad boyfriend.

He was going to bury his old self. It was a decision that he stood by, knowing it meant it will better the relationship for the both of you. Doing it, however, was a lot harder than he had imagined.

“Alright Luke,” he reassures himself, “you’re doing this for your girlfriend. ‘Cause you love her. And you want the best for her.”

The next day, Luke Hughes arrives to class with a bright smile, so bright that it actually scares the shit out of Mark as soon as they make eye contact.

“Holy shit Hughes! Did somebody force you to smile? Blink twice for help!”

“Very funny,” Luke says, pushing the boy back harshly. Mark only laughs, not expecting his best friend to have a smile on his face this early in the morning—or at all, for the matter.

“Hi,” you say shyly as you sat down near your boyfriend. You can’t help but widen your eyes when you see him give you a boyish smile, one that makes your heart flutter inside your chest.

“Hi lovie,” he hesitate for a bit, then intertwines both your hands as he uses his free hand to wrap themselves around your shoulder.

What was going on?

“Now PDA? God Luke, what happened yesterday that made you be a changed man?!” Mark can’t help but holler loudly, quickly stopping when he sees Kielle walk into the room.

“Kiels!” He motions for her to come over, which makes the girl roll her eyes in annoyance.

“You won’t believe it Kiels, Luke is actually smiling, and he’s—he’s wrapping his arms around her shoulder! Publicly!”

“Oh settle down Mark,” Kielle takes a seat next to him, right across from you and Luke. “Glad to see my favorite couple.”

“Thanks Kie,” you reply, blushing tremendously. You hadn’t been this flushed since the day Luke had officially asked you to be his girlfriend.

“I’m guessing you two made up then?” Luke raises his eyebrows.

“Yeah, yesterday,” it was now Mark’s turn to wrap his arms around somebody; that somebody being Kielle. He pulls her close to his body, his face plastered into a wide grin. “I was calling you yesterday nonstop to tell you of the news. Why didn’t you pick up?”

“Just had to do a little burying.”

Mark raises his eyebrows. “You didn’t kill anyone, did you?” His grin grows even wider.

“Not anyone important,” Luke replies.

The two boys burst out into laughter, while you and Kielle look at each other in amusement.

Boys will be boys. And your boys were extremely interesting, to say the least.

“Alright well, Kiels and I are dating. I decided to apologize and we actually spent the night together yesterday,”

Luke’s lips form a straight line before descending into a small smile.

“Congrats.” He says, “but just so you know Estapa, if Kiels ever comes to me crying, you are so dead.”

“Hey! What if I was the one to come crying to you instead?”

“Then you must’ve done something to Kielle that would’ve made her make you cry.”

“Now that’s just unfair,”

You and Kielle can’t help but giggle quietly at your two boyfriends bickering. You didn’t know where the sudden change in Luke came from, but you were glad he was still your sweet, caring boyfriend.

“I love you,” you whisper to him quietly as you lay on his shoulder.

“I love you more.”

And for the first time publicly, Luke Hughes places a long kiss on your lips, eyes closed as he cherishes the moment.

“Gross!” Mark exclaims, “get a room!”

[moonlight-prose]

HURT

➝ 01. THE CURSE OF THE FOLD

a/n: apocalyptic stories are probably one of my favorite genres to write, because angst is my bread and butter. so here i am writing the angsiest fucking story ever. i've plotted it entirely and worked on it while waiting for the show to drop to finally post this. so hopefully you enjoy. (this takes place about ten years before the last of us.)

summary: you were alone; watched everyone you love die or you killed them yourself. and you thought it would remain that way forever...till him.

word count: 6k+

pairing: joel miller x f!reader

warnings: not sexually explicit but still 18+ (READ AT YOUR OWN RISK BUT BE AWARE), gore, violence, tw blood, angst, death, assault, one bed trope, gratuitous prose about the apocalypse setting, probably ooc writing for joel, more angst. please let me know if i missed anything.

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You were going to die. That was no longer a concept that you found to be impossible in your early stages of life. No, you knew you would die sooner rather than later. You knew that survival was a thing to strive for and death had become something to welcome. When the world turns to shit, leaving humanity on their own to fight against monsters, death didn’t seem so scary in the long run.

It became peaceful—an end that you found to be the better option. You’d rather die by the hands of humans or your own than become one of those things. Turning wasn’t the way you’d go. It was brutal and horrific; left more heartache behind than the desired numbing sensation you hoped came with death. No, you refused to become something that was no longer deemed a human, but was now viewed as a monster. 

This was a promise you made to yourself ten years ago and even now as you stared down the barrel of a gun, you knew you made the right choice. Death would be swift—an end to your life that you found satisfaction in—rather than something you feared every fucking day.

You’d stopped on your journey in an attempt to find a safe situation for the night. One that wouldn’t leave you running in the morning; for a brief moment you figured this town would do the trick. You could hide out until the sun came up and finally find a few peaceful hours of sleep. There was no one around for miles (at least you assumed as much) and what few infected were around you could handle yourself. You weren’t the best with a gun, but you could protect yourself when your life was on the line.

If only you had kept going, then maybe you wouldn’t be in this fucked situation.

The scent of gunpowder burned in the air, the potent bitterness of blood mixed with it—creating a lethal combination. You ran out of bullets two dead bodies ago—reaching for the fallen weapon by your side when three more men came out of the darkness. Their faces were covered by dirty worn-in bandanas with only their eyes showing, illuminated by the dim lights of the moon, but it was in their eyes that you saw the truth. They were hollow. Just like the other three men who thought they could come after you. Their souls disappeared a long time ago, only to leave the remnant of a human shell that was forced to do things in order to survive.

This particular sight wasn't unusual to you in the slightest.

You’d seen the best of people become tainted, broken. After all, you were one of them. The consequences of this fucking virus reached you as well; tearing the life you built up to pieces. Leaving you to watch the ashes of what came before float in the air. 

You were the veteran of a war without end. A survivor of the life that only wished to see you gone and buried. The longer you looked at them—the man you figured to be the leader stepping forward—the more you understood why humans did what they did.

They were an idiotic group of people that let things fester; that would watch the world burn ten times over before helping those around them.

He gripped your hair, yanking it until your hoarse scream of pain echoed in the night air. The barrel of the gun was shoved beneath your chin, his dark eyes watching in glee as you struggled. He loved to feel the rush of power, watching as people grew helpless to his actions. You understood that just from looking at him. Yet another pathetic man that believed he could take what he wanted from someone traveling alone. So you stopped fighting. You froze in his hold, fixing him with a smile so sweet he could have sworn it was made of sugar cane.

“You’re afraid to die,” you said softly, wincing when his hold tightened.

“Shut the fuck up,” he spit, his voice was deep yet ingrained with the hesitation of a man who didn’t like that you touched so close to the truth.

You knew this game. A sick and twisted version of a power play in order to believe that they held the upper hand in this situation. When in fact that remained far from the truth. Though you held no weapon, no more chances of survival—you had something they didn't. You didn't fear what came next. It was a better deal than this shit one right here.

Your heart slowed to a steady beat; the welcoming hope re-entering your heart with each baited breath you took. When would he finally pull the trigger? When would you finally have peace? When would the pain—the torture—finally cease? You hoped the lingering questions all came with the same answer. Soon.

"Go ahead," you prompted, going so far as to tilt your chin in his direction—feeling the press of the gun's barrel dig deeper into your skin.

His finger hovered over the trigger, before—much to your dismay—he pulled it away. "You're feisty." You heard the jeering laughter of his friends in the background. "How about we just bring you with us?"

Your stomach dropped. A new unlocked fear sending a chill down your spine. There was always something worse than being turned into a monster, always something far more horrific than not dying by your own hands. It was being trapped in a cage with no lock and no key to get you out.

Fighting against his hold, you tried to grab the gun on the ground, but he yanked you back—the disgusting scent of his breath washing over your face. "Looks like I found what you're afraid of."

"Fuck you,” you spit in his face, struggling against his hold. You refused to be taken, to be treated like an animal put up for slaughter.

He merely laughed, his hold on you tightening with each twist of your body. Dropping your weight, you waited for him to jeer at his friends before slamming the heel of your boot into his foot. As expected, his arms fell away from your body, a howl of pain splintering through the night air. It was enough for you though. He may look tough, but he didn’t seem to be able to handle pain so easily. Yanking yourself free, you felt a cold chill wash over your body as the adrenaline spiked in your body—telling you to keep going. To fight until you were finally free.

Three against one wasn’t entirely in your favor, but you held one thing close to your heart—a belief that would keep you going till your last breath. If there was nothing else to fight for—no one else—then you would fight for yourself. For the past you that used to be desperate for a life, for meaning and purpose. Those two words didn’t mean jackshit anymore in this fucked up world, but to you it meant everything.

Grabbing the metal pipe that looked like it was torn off of a plumbing system, you put what little skill you had in your swing. Really it extended to one softball game in highschool, where you ended up with a ball to the face and a measly participation trophy. You barely had time to even swing the bat before chaos ensued. But it was enough for you.

Lining up your hit you swung.

The pipe hit with a sickening crack against his face, a splatter of red falling to the floor as he fell to one knee. You were pretty sure that you loosened a tooth in his rotten mouth and had half a mind to tear the rest out with your bare hands. His buddies began to advance, their makeshift weapons being pulled from their sides as they spit curses your way. The words of your father echoed in your mind as you took another swing, hitting against one’s side, jamming your elbow into his throat when he curled in on himself.

If you find yourself in a fight, you never let them take you out first.

“Piece of shit,” you snarled, your already bloody and raw fist slamming against the side of his face.

“Grab her arms dumbass!”

Ducking under their outstretched arms, you fumbled with the small screwdriver you found on a trek through one of the houses. With a huffed out breath, you jabbed it into the third guy's armpit, grinning at his cries of agony. He fell to his knees, trying very carefully to take it out without killing himself. Giving you enough to run outside.

The cold air was sharp in your lungs, the anxiety of the situation now rushing through your veins and causing your heart to beat erratically. But you were free.

“You fucking bitch!” The main man roared, his boots thumping harshly against the cracked cement.

Sprinting, you tried to keep a quick pace down the empty street, but the fear of running into anything overlapped the fear of dealing with an already injured man. So, like an idiot you stopped. He was limping, a gash stretching across his cheek and turning his pale skin red. A feral anger flashed in his eyes like an animal hunting its prey; coming in for the final kill. You knew he could practically taste your blood on his tongue.

Your chest heaved, the breath leaving you faster than you could keep it in your lungs, but you wouldn’t go quietly. That was a death you would not accept. No, he’d take you down fighting until you eventually dragged him down to hell right alongside you. If you couldn’t survive, you’d leave behind something to remember. Your hands curled into fists, teeth baring as you watched him approach slowly. The energy in your body was beginning to wane, exhaustion seeping in, but you kept your stance.

Forever choosing to be stubborn.

You never expected the loud bang of a shotgun to go off behind you. The man fell back, his head hitting the sidewalk with another crack—turning the asphalt a darker shade of black. Fear shot down your spine, the realization that you couldn’t fight against someone with a gun while you stood with nothing. You remained still, frozen and watching in horror as the man who nearly ended your life was wiped from this planet entirely. In a way you were relieved, but the knowledge that someone else was walking up to you quickly dampened that feeling instantly.

“You okay?”

The man’s voice was deep, gruff, with a southern drawl you’d heard once before in college. You couldn’t respond—your heart still lodged in your throat. If you were in the right state of mind, you’d say your body was going into shock. His boots stopped a foot away from you, calling your attention as he stood, the shotgun still gripped tightly in his hands. 

For a brief moment you allowed your eyes to trail up his figure. Taking in the dirty brown leather jacket that looked like it’d seen better days, jeans with a sewn up hole in the knee, and a black t-shirt. You barely skimmed his face, drinking in his slightly graying dark hair and scruff before he was asking you another question.

“Did he hurt you?” His eyes were focused on the blood that stained your once clean shirt.

“It’s not mine,” you said softly, the panic now wearing off—relinquishing its hold over your body.

He nodded, his brown eyes fixing back on yours. “Are there more?”

“Not anymore,” you replied, staring at the house in the distance.

Oblivious to the slight hint of surprise in his eyes, you felt him step closer. To which you responded by stepping back, keeping the distance as much as possible. You didn’t need to fight another man tonight, who’s weapons far outweighed your own fighting capability. But then he raised his hands as if in surrender. He held his ground, waiting for you to come back to the present, before trying once more to take a small step in your direction.

This time…you let him.

“I’m not gonna hurt you.”

How could you be so sure that his words were the truth? There was a small voice in the back of your head that told you to keep running. Run until you had no choice but to stop. Till you were finally safe from the dangers of this world. Yet you knew that danger was everywhere, plaguing the very ground you walked on and this man…had just saved your life.

Rarely did you find people who wished to help you. Who were simply there as a stroke of luck in your seemingly endless string of awful situations. Once you used to run with people, be a part of a group that watched your back as intently as you watched theirs. But pain and grief seemed to follow you like a ghost. Haunting every turn you made on this never ending journey.

Voicing your thoughts, you fought back against the urge to flee. “You just shot a man and you’re telling me you won’t hurt me?”

“A man who was trying to kill you.”

He had you there.

“What’s your name?” you asked, quickly glancing in the distance—wary that something would come from the darkness.

“Joel.”

You met his brown eyes again. “Why are you here?”

He shrugged, turning away from your scrutinizing gaze. You made his skin itch with just that single look, but he could recognize the underlying fear that flared every now and then in your eyes. A look he once wore when all this shit started. Joel didn’t get scared very often anymore, having seen his fair share of horrors. But seeing you stand there helpless, yet ready to die fighting tooth and nail, made his heart lurch in a way it hadn’t in sometime.

“I could ask you the same thing.” He hiked his bag up higher on his shoulder, catching the way the fading sunlight began to dip below the houses. Casting the both of you in darkness. “Why were you running?”

Scoffing, you crossed your arms against your chest. “Usually when people try to kill me I run.”

Thankfully he didn’t question what was the motive behind their intentions. Already understanding most of it. Once again he glanced at the sky, knowing that if you didn’t find shelter soon you’d be knee deep in shit. He didn’t want that to be how either of you ended. So, he turned away from you, gesturing for you to follow him. If you were smart you’d do it without question, but Joel had a feeling you were stubborn down to your core.

“Where are you going?” you called out, confirming his suspicions with only a few words.

He nearly chuckled. “Finding shelter for the night.”

Catching up, you fell into step beside him. “You won’t kill me right?”

That time he chuckled; the sound striking you in your heart unexpectedly. “You sure are untrustworthy aren’t you?”

“Yeah well…” You fiddled with the strap on your nearly torn backpack. “I haven’t trusted anyone in a while.”

Neither had he.

He didn’t say it outloud though. Joel already knew what came upon those that dared to open themselves up in the midst of anguish. He’d been on the receiving end of that pain and chose to close himself off to it. It would help him more in the long run, than letting the feeling dig its way into his heart. Gnawing away at his insides like a meal.

What he was doing now…keeping you close when in fact you may very well kill him, wasn’t like him. He had half a mind to keep going—leave you here to fend for yourself. But then his eyes met yours, and there was that look. That pain he knew too well. Back when he thought he was going to die without a way to save himself.

He saw himself in you and maybe that’s why he allowed you to traipse along beside him.

You didn’t take kindly to people very often. Preferring to go it alone after what happened with the people you once knew, and this was no different. Staying with him for one night before parting ways would mean nothing to you in the long run. Just another stranger you passed by in the hopes of finding somewhere safe to land. You hoped that this town would be it; that you wouldn’t have to go anywhere for a long time. But the blood on your shirt continued to prove you wrong.

“There’s a two story house about a block away with a fence going around the property.”

He nodded, changing directions and heading towards the old brown building that had seen better days. The windows were broken, the front yard overgrown with weeds, and you weren’t sure if the door worked. It would have to do for the night. You couldn’t risk staying out in the open. Not when those men had found you so easily as they were passing through.

The scent of pine filled your nose as you stepped towards the black gate covered in dead vines. A large tree stood in the center of the yard—beautiful amidst the destruction caused by the world falling to pieces. You wondered what it used to look like—who lived here—before you pushed open the gate. The loud creak echoing in the night air, sent chills down your spine. Perhaps the ghosts of the owners still resided here. Wandering the halls of their former home in the hopes of finding some serenity in the chaos.

Or perhaps…they were infected.

That thought alone nearly made you back away from the property, but Joel walked right in. He seemed to hold no qualms about the building or its past. To him it was just a place to stay until he had to move right along to the next one. He held no permanency in this world—not anymore—and it had been a long time since he hoped for some.

Staying somewhere permanent always ended in death. Or at least that’s what he believed.

“You never answered my question,” you said, following him slowly up the path and to the front porch that was caved in at one spot.

The door opened with a similar haunting creak, similar to the gate; filling your senses with a musty scent of old furniture and molding wood. He crossed the threshold without another word, his hand still gripping the shotgun’s strap on his shoulder. If you were smart, you’d part ways with him right here. You would find a different house to stay in for the night before leaving this place behind when the sun rose. Yet the lingering feeling from earlier still remained in your chest.

If he wanted to kill you, he wouldn’t have saved you.

“Looks old,” you noted, staring at the furniture in what once was a put together living room. Now the couches were torn up, most likely by animals, and the floorboards had water damage to them.

A ripped painting hung above the mantle on the fireplace, small pieces of the original owners coming through strokes of a brush. You caught a glimpse of a girl with red hair and blue eyes. A woman with the exact same features on the other side. A tear went through the middle, severing the young boy and man. Turning the painting into something else entirely.

The sound of his footsteps bounced off the wooden walls as he came downstairs again. Catching you staring at the painting with an intensity in your eyes that he’d never seen before. For a moment he left you alone. Gave you this time to linger in the space of what once was—what would never be again. He used to be torn up about things like this, but eventually he learned that the past would never change, and the future was nothing but a continuous fight for survival.

Eventually he cleared his throat, drawing your attention back to him. “There’s a bedroom upstairs still in pretty good shape.”

You nodded, moving away towards the stairs. “What are the chances of this house still having running water?”

“Slim.”

Something about that response made you smile. You couldn’t put your finger on why, but you took it for what it was.

The bedroom still looked relatively normal, despite the torn comforter and water stained ceilings. The musty smell still remained—the copper scent from blood on your shirt not helping. You wondered if you’d get lucky and find clothes in the closet. Or at least a shirt that could act as a replacement. You made sure to make a mental note to check for that later.

“You can uh—you can take the bed.”

Once again your lips twisted up into somewhat of a grin. “Thank you,” you replied softly, glancing his way briefly.

You’d remember him for his kindness. 

That was evident in your mind as you moved towards the bathroom. In all your years of surviving, you’d never taken so quickly to a person. For some unknown reason it felt like you’d known each other for some time—already acting like you’d been on the same journey together. When in fact he would leave tomorrow (as would you) and you’d be lucky if you came across each other again.

Maybe in another life, you mused.

Sure enough, no water came from the sink. You sighed, dropping your head forward as an ache began to spread through your forehead. What you wouldn’t give for an aspirin right about now. Shit, what you wouldn’t give for a stiff drink and a good night’s sleep. They were luxuries you hadn’t partaken in since the world was normal. When you were younger and life still had a bright hue of color about it.

You sighed, scrubbing a hand down your face before exiting back to the bedroom. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his bag on the ground by his feet and shotgun across his lap. The single sight made you think about a sculpture you’d seen in a class you’d taken before the world fell apart. Of a man sitting in the hand of god, his body curling in on itself—the weight of the world crushing him down.

Even now in the horror that became this world, life imitated art.

“Any water?” he asked, breaking your focus.

“Huh?” You glanced at the sink behind you. “Oh…no it’s dry.”

He nodded. “I’ll take the blanket.”

Standing, he winced slightly before gathering what remained of the blanket at the bottom of the bed. Just the sight caused your heart to twist. You damned yourself, wishing that you could be like everyone else. Able to watch someone else suffer on the sidelines while you protected yourself. Except you couldn’t. Not when you were taught your entire life to care for those in need; to share what you could with others.

“You already said you weren’t going to kill me,” you began, saying it with a slight smile. “So I don’t see why you should take the floor.”

For a brief moment his whole body stiffened, causing you to wonder if you’d stepped over a line. A boundary that he didn’t want to cross with strangers he just met.

“Why?” he asked, turning to face you with an unreadable expression on his face.

You shrugged. “The bed’s too big for me.”

It was partially true. The mattress looked like it would swallow you whole if you let it, but you knew the truth. And something told you he knew as well. He saved your life—this was the least you could do in return. A thank you without actually saying the words. An act of kindness that left a lingering warmth in his chest he hadn’t felt since before the outbreak.

He hesitated, staring at the soft plush bed that would no doubt give his back some relief for the night. “You sure?”

“Yes,” you said without a semblance of doubt in your voice.

Trusting someone this much may wind up to be a mistake on your part, but you pushed that thought aside for the moment. He would most likely be gone before you woke up. Or at least that’s what you told yourself. Sitting on the opposite side of the bed, you allowed your fingers to dig into what remained of the sheets. They were yellowed with age, stained by time, but still soft enough to nearly startle you.

You felt the bed dip on the other side when he sat down.

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

He sighed, the sound deep and ragged. “Not someone to give up easily are you?”

Once again your lips curved into a slight grin. “Nope.”

“I’m heading to Boston. Happened to be passing through on my way here.”

A sensation akin to fear streaked down your spine so quickly, you barely had any time to react. The name sent chills through your whole body. Boston. A city you hadn’t heard about since you left it. You could remember the day vividly; could practically taste the difference in the air as you exited your dorm room. You hadn’t known it then, but your entire world would shift in only a few hours.

You were barely nineteen at the time of the outbreak. Still a kid starting your second year of college with nothing ahead of you but time. Until the campus fell into chaos. You could still remember the screams; the agony of people losing the ones they cared about, to something worse than death.

“You know…” The memories still replayed in your mind on an endless loop. Like a movie with no end. “I went to school in Boston.”

That small detail seemed to catch his attention, because he angled his body slightly to see you better. “You did?”

You nodded, doing your best to breathe evenly in order to stave off the anxiety filling your body. “I was majoring in art history. I wanted to work in a museum one day.”

“Yeah?” He watched you turn slowly, the tension in your muscles dropping slightly the more you told him. “Which one?”

“The Met was my dream job before…”

He sighed, expression shifting to one of understanding. There were plans he had for himself, goals for his life for his family, but now that he could see the bleakness of what his future held, he’d given up the simple act of dreaming. What was there to dream about anyways? But he could see it in you. The hope that remained just beneath the surface of your sorrowful gaze. You were too young when it happened, too young to lose your life that quickly.

“I’ve been there.”

The grief faded slightly, a light returning to your face. “Really?”

He nodded, shifting until he was sitting with his leg extended on the mattress, back pressed to the headboard. “Back when I was in high school, we took a trip up there.”

Mimicking him, you felt the relief in your spine as you finally moved to a comfortable position. “What did you think?”

“Well I’m no expert in art, but I liked it.”

If you weren’t careful you would wind up falling asleep in the middle of speaking. But you fought against the exhaustion that seeped into your bones. Adamant on remaining awake, just to talk to him for a bit longer. His brown eyes watched you settle into a laying down position, your hands clasped together against your stomach. The blood on your shirt had dried to a deep brown color—until you could hardly tell it was there anymore.

“No one has to be an expert in art to appreciate its beauty,” you said softly, staring at the light brown stain in the ceiling that formed rings. It reminded you of what the inside of trees looked like. “I think all you have to do is see it and that’s enough.”

Joel settled in beside you, his back practically screaming in joy at having such a plush bed beneath him.

“Take the portrait downstairs,” you continued, unaware that he had turned his head to watch you. “Anyone can tell it used to be a well painted piece of art, but now it’s torn, severing the image of the family entirely. I think it’s poetic.”

He hummed, catching your attention and causing you to turn your head until your nose practically brushed his. “Poetic huh?”

“It reminds me of my past,” you whispered, taking in the soft lines that were beginning to form on his face. “Tells you a lot about what might have happened here.”

Joel didn’t respond, letting your words settle in his mind. Oblivious to the way they sunk into his heart as well, breaking down a small minuscule piece of the walls he’d placed there. The sound of the crickets outside rang through the open windows, filling the silent spaces between the two of you. He wondered what came before this for you—what would come after this.

“Do you have a place to go after this?” he asked, seeing your eyes grow heavy.

You shook your head. “I haven’t had a place to go in a long time.”

A part of your mind wanted to tell him that you did in fact have somewhere to go, but you couldn’t get the words out. You found that you liked his company; that you didn’t mind who he was as a person. Even though you knew nothing but his name and his path. Except to you…that was enough.

“I hear there’s a quarantine zone down in Boston.” He couldn’t get the question out, letting its implication hang in the air between you in the hopes that you’d understand. Thankfully, you did.

The breath caught in your lungs as you considered it. Returning to the place where it all began for you. The place where your future was meant to start. Just like the painting, you found it poetic in the most gruesome way. But something sour built in your chest. A feeling that told you to stay here; that if you left you’d find your way to even more destruction.

You chose to ignore it in the end.

“Okay,” you breathed, attempting a half-hearted sleepy smile before your eyes fell shut against your own will.

When you woke up, you’d deal with what this meant and how it would work, but you refused to let sleep elude you this time. Whether or not he fell asleep slipped past your mind—your body giving up after hours of strain. The ache would begin in the morning; pain you were familiar with and even welcomed. However for that moment, you were free of it; of the grief that was burrowed so deep in your heart you were afraid it’d never leave.

Unbound from the horrors that awaited you in the early hours of dawn.

You heard the birds first, chirping in the pine tree as they let the rest of the world know that the early morning hours of the day had finally arrived. You felt his arm around your waist, second. Sometime in the night you’d gone from lying side by side, barely touching shoulders, to him pressed firmly against your back. His breath hit the back of your neck, warm and accompanied with the odd snore here and there. It sent shivers down your spine.

Though you both wore several layers of clothing to stay warm during the night, you could still feel the heat of his palm seeping into your stomach. He was still asleep and while you might have agreed to go with him last night, you knew that it was better to leave and go it alone. After all, that’s what you’d been doing.

Holding your breath so as not to make any more noise, you began to shift away from him. Unfortunately for you, his grip on you was a bit too tight for you to remove. You didn’t want to disturb him. What with everything that happened last night. The fear was still a bitter taste on your tongue—reminding you that you could have died last night. That you had him to thank for why you were here in the first place.

Suddenly leaving didn’t sound like the better option anymore.

“You move a lot,” he grumbled. Your heart stopped in your chest for a brief moment.

“I–I’m sorry.” The words caught in your throat when he shifted, something pressing briefly to your lower back before he turned away. He grunted when he sat up, the sound shooting right through you. “We better get a move on.”

He still wanted you to go.

Sitting, you felt the fear begin to dissipate somewhat. “Oh…right,” you said, choosing to do what he did. Ignore that what you felt against your back was in fact what you thought.

The choice might prove better in the long run as you two traveled together. You’d been there before and in the end, it got messier than you wanted. Staying simple—alone but together—would be the easiest option. It would save you from dealing with another loss if something were to happen to him, and you hoped he felt the exact same way. Torment, heartache, they were all things you carried with you at the end of the day. A side effect of the fucking sickness that plagued the earth.

A disease that could never be reversed.

“Do you know how to get to Boston from here?” you asked, reaching for your bag.

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” he replied, stopping in front of you, a black piece of clothing in his hands. “Here.”

You must have looked confused, taking what you figured out to be a shirt. A man’s shirt if you looked close enough. “Where did you find this?”

 “Went digging through the drawers in the other room.” He turned away, heading out the door before you could give him a real response.

Except you couldn’t find the right words to actually say to him. He was a man of few words. You could tell that right off the bat. Yet his actions seemed to speak volumes, telling you all the things you imagined he’d say. Or maybe…you were on the precipice of losing your mind due to constant stress and pressure. You remember watching movies about the apocalypse and insanity always played a part—the end usually resulting in death.

You figured believing the latter was far better than assuming something about a man you just met last night. While he said he wasn’t here to kill you, the uncertainty in your veins still stuck to the instinct that told you trust had to be earned.

Heading downstairs, you found him in the exact position you were in yesterday. Standing in the middle of the living room, staring at the portrait. He met your gaze when you entered, the shotgun back where it was yesterday, bag still in place.

“Ready?” he asked, watching you adjust your bag and fix your jacket in place. The black t-shirt now underneath it. You left the ruined one in the sink.

“Ready,” you confirmed, following him outside and into the sunlight.

You wondered if there would be others after you and him inside the house; if people were looking for a safe place to stay for the night. Would they see the painting and think of its origin like you had? Or would this just be another place. A hollow building with no life anymore—a corpse that stood against the destruction around it. You smiled bitterly at that thought, knowing that if you were a building…you would be that. A walking ghost amidst nature’s final painting.

Joel walked beside you, his stroll measured and assured. He knew where he was going with each step—unafraid of what he’d find in the distance. So, you fell into step with him, your eyes focused on the horizon as you both walked along the empty street. Leaving the house behind.

[littlethingsinlife]

Happier

A/N: I had this idea while I was listening to some music and I guess I was feeling some type of way. P.s. I couldn’t find a clearer picture (rn my source of pics is pinterest lol). A little bit of a warning, I’m INCREDIBLY rusty when it comes to writing as I haven’t done it in awhile. This songfic is inspired by Olivia Rodrigo’s “happier” but it doesn’t really follow the lyrics word for word. Anyway I’m really hoping that it’s not hard to read. I hope you enjoy~

Pairing(s): Lo’ak x Tsireya, Past Lo’ak x Omaticayan!Reader 

Warning(s): None :DD Except for the writer is REALLY rusty when it comes to writing fanfic. The formatting might be a little wonky cause I copied and pasted from google doc. 

Word Count: 4,990 

More Info: The same old trope where the reader is orphaned and was taken in by the Sully’s which is why there were no questions asked she’s coming with. Also the storyline is not really in chronological order with what happened in the actual movie. There will be scenes pulled from the movie but placed where I think it would fit the best :’D

Summary: Traveling with the Sully’s to Awa’atlu was supposed to bring comfort and dissipate the fears of losing your loved one, not break your heart in two.

Part 2: i’m sorry

Key: 

(Y/N) = Your Name 

Lyrics = Bolded Italics 

Flashbacks = Italics

Na’vi Words: 

Yimkxa - Banshee Catcher 

Txe’lan - Heart

Uturu - Tradition of granting refugees sanctuary  

Marui - Pods where the clan live

Tsaheylu - Bond 

Olo’eyktan - Clan leader 

Tsahik - Spiritual leader 

Skxawng - Idiot

We broke up a month ago

Your friends are mine, you know, I know

You’ve moved on, found someone new

One more girl who brings out the better in you

We arrived in Awa’atlu a month ago. When I think about it, it pains me a great deal to have left all that I knew behind, but it would’ve killed me if they left without me, if he was no longer there, even if the forest will forever be my home it would’ve felt desolate without him and the light he would bring along with him. Oh how foolish I was to think that them leaving would be the only thing to tear my heart in two. 

The night before Tarsem became the new Olo’eyktan and the Sully’s and I would begin our journey for uturu, I cried, cried in the arms of my best friend and my first love as fears and uncertainty overwhelmed me. 

“I-I am afraid, what if the sky people come to find us again? I cannot lose any of you; it would break me into a million pieces,” I sobbed. 

“If they find us then we will fight and we will win,” Lo’ak declared as he softly rocked me back and forth in his arms. 

“You are an idiot, I was so close to losing you, to losing Kiri, Tuk, how do you think it would make me feel to lose the most important people in my life?” I sniffled. 

“(Y/N), sweet girl, you will not lose us, we will always be there for you. Do not worry your pretty head over such things, I promise that I will be with you all throughout the journey as will my family. We love you, and even if you do not believe it, you are a Sully. And you know what my dad always says.” 

“Sullys stick together,” we chorused. 

That night, he stayed cradling me in his arms until I fell asleep, whispering comforting words and giving occasional kisses to the top of my head. 

The entire journey was rough. Days seemed to blend together as we flew through the skies on our ikran. We were all quiet at the beginning as we mourned the loss of our home. But by the end of it all Kiri, Lo’ak and I found ways to entertain ourselves by telling jokes and playing a game called “I spy” that Jake taught us when he got tired of the three of us bumping ikran with one another. As we approached the village, a horn was blown to announce our arrival to the village. One by one, we all landed and dismounted our ikran. 

Jake stepped forwards with his hands in the air as a means to show we came in peace. As a large group of Metkayina surrounded us, I instinctively stepped closer to Lo’ak and Neteyam. Looking around, I could see the differences between us, our skin was darker, tails much skinnier, and their eyes were much larger. My tail whipped excitedly as I looked around, but before I was able to tell Lo’ak about any of my observations, two boys around our age started to walk towards us. Out of respect, Lo’ak, Neteyam and I greeted them properly. The teenage boys, however, turned a blind eye and began to make fun of our physical appearances. 

“Is that supposed to be a tail?” The short one laughed.

My eyes narrowed as I followed their movement and was ready to hiss, hackles raised, when Neteyam put a hand on my shoulder and quickly shook his head. Hesitantly my tail fell at the silent order. 

“Why are you so quiet? Lo’a-” I whispered as I turned around to see Lo’ak staring wide-eyed.  “What’re you staring at?” I mumbled as I followed his gaze.  

A beautiful Metkayina girl walked out of the water towards us. As she got closer, Lo’ak let out a meek hello and was rewarded with a shy giggle while an unknown ache in my chest consumed me. 

And I thought my heart was detached 

From all the sunlight of our past

But she’s so sweet, she’s so pretty 

Does she mean you forgot about me? 

Her name was Tsireya, the daughter of Olo’eyktan and Tsahik. Her brother Ao’nung and her are meant to teach us their clan's ways so we are not burdened by being “useless.” Our first lesson was to learn how to breathe properly. 

So there we all were, sitting in a circle while Rotxo, Ao’nung’s friend, and Tsireya tried to teach us to breathe from our stomachs not our lungs as it didn’t supply us enough air to dive deep enough. I sat between Neteyam and Lo’ak while Kiri was across from me. 

My eyes were closed as I tried to focus, ears twitching as Lo’ak playfully swatted my back with his tail. A small smile found its way onto my face as my tail lightly swatted him back.

“Lo’ak you are not breathing properly. Let me show you,” Tsireya scolded. Slowly my smile dropped and I opened my eyes to Tsireya putting her hand over Lo’ak’s heart and stomach.“Your heartbeat is fast. Try to focus,” Tsireya advised, demonstrating how slow we should be breathing herself. 

“Right, sorry,” Lo’ak apologized. 

I could faintly hear Neteyam and Rotxo unsuccessfully try to hold back a laugh as I closed my eyes to try to calm my mind and heart from breaking further. Unbeknownst me, a pair of eyes full of pity were on me the entire time, seeing my ears flatten and my demeanor shrink. 

Oh, I hope you’re happy 

But not like how you were with me

I’m selfish, I know, I can’t let you go

So find someone great, but don’t find no one better 

I hope you’re happy but don’t be happier 

The last two weeks had been peaceful, same routine but I had barely been able to see Lo’ak. He was always gone early in the morning and was there for lessons, but he would leave with Tsireya as soon as we were done. Even though it was our day off from lessons I hadn’t seen him at all. Maybe it was because I had been sticking to Kiri most of the day, but the lack of his presence left me feeling empty. 

Although it really was relaxing to hear the waves crash softly and to sunbathe, it appeared that Eywa had plans of her own as the moment of calm barely lasted before the sound of crunching sand and laughter came closer. My ears twitched as I slowly sat up. Looking to my side I saw Ao’nung and his group of skxawng heading towards Kiri. Narrowing my eyes I stood up quickly and headed over to where she was, but they made it there before me. 

“What is she doing? She’s just looking at the sand” Ao’nung laughed. 

“What? What’d you say?” Kiri questioned slowly, getting out of the water with a confused smile on her face. 

“Are you some kind of… freak?” Ao’nung teased as his friends laughed. 

“Leave her alone Ao’nung. She is no freak,” I hissed, grabbing Kiri’s arm to leave. “Let’s go, Kiri.'' 

“Are you sure? Look at these hands.” he persisted and grabbed the offending hands in question. 

“Ao’nung plea-” 

“Hey! Back off fish lips.” Lo’ak yelled, rapidly approaching as the beginnings of a snarl was already forming on his face.

“Oh another four-fingered freak,” Ao’nung simpered.

“Look at his little baby tail,'' one of Ao’nung’s friends pointed out while pulling at Lo’ak’s tail, causing laughter to bubble up amongst them.

“Leave us alone!” Kiri pleaded as they continued to tease and gang up on Lo’ak. I saw Neteyam stalking towards us in the corner of my eye. 

“You heard what she said. Leave them alone,” Neteyam said as he shoved Ao’nung away from Lo’ak, much to the delight of one of Ao’nung’s friends. 

“Aw, big brother comi-” Ao’nung interrupted with a hand on his chest. 

“Back off. Now,” Neteyam warned Ao’nung, lifting his hands in mock surrender shortly after. “Good choice,” he nodded, eyes never wavering. “And from now on, I need you to respect my sister.” 

Clearly unhappy with being talked down to by the brother of the “freaks,” one of the skxawng hissed before Ao’nung lifted his hand to stop him. My eyes scanned all the Metkayina boys and held Ao’nung’s stare before sticking my tongue out. 

“C’mon, let’s go,” Neteyam ordered. 

As we were leaving, I heard Ao’nung’s voice carried over by the wind. 

“All freaks, the whole family.” 

But before I could do anything, I saw Lo’ak turn and reassure us that he could handle the situation before spinning on his heel and heading back towards them.

“I know this hand is funny,” he said, voice low as he flexed the extra digit to demonstrate. “Look, I’m a freak. Alien. But it can do something really cool.” I tried to hold back my laugh while Kiri rolled her eyes. I looked at Neteyam and gave him a small smirk, he simply shook his head. 

“Watch,” Lo’ak studied the curious expressions of the Metkayina boys while they were enthralled with his hand, “first I ball it up real tight like this, then—” fast enough you could almost miss it, he punched Ao’nung not once, but three times.

“It’s called a punch, bitch!” Lo’ak crowed, pointing an accusing finger. “Never touch my sister again.”

Ao’nung lunged at Lo’ak and tackled him onto the sand. The two wrestled on the ground, and Lo’ak got a good hit in before being pulled off by his tail. What dirty fighters! I hissed but saw Neteyam shake his head and sigh before jumping in to defend his brother before I could do anything. 

“Guys. Stop it,” Kiri groaned. 

“This is embarrassing,” I said as I looked over at her, my tail swishing back and forth in anticipation. As we shared a look we could hear someone yell, “ow my tail!” and a responding,“ow my ear!” 

“This is stupid,” we both laughed. 

My eyes widened as I see Lo’ak climb atop Ao’nung and start serving blow after blow. Before this became any worse and the son of the Olo’eyktan was injured any further, I was already moving to get Lo’ak off of him. 

“You skxawng, if you keep hitting him your father will send you to Eywa faster than—” Interrupted by an elbow to the nose, I yelped in pain and I staggered back as I held my face. 

The fighting stopped. All eyes were on me. 

“Shit! (Y/N) why would you get so damn close?” Lo’ak cursed as he got off Ao’nung to look at the damage. 

“I was trying to prevent your early death, asshole,” I hissed. 

“That doesn’t justify why you would try to pry me off of him, if I didn’t know any better I would’ve thought you were trying to protect his skxawng ass over there,” he scoffed. 

“You’re the real skxawng. I already told you, I’m trying to save your ass from the harsh scolding your father will deal you when he hears that you beat up the son of the Olo’eyktan!” I yelled. 

As Lo’ak and I continued to argue, the group of boys dispersed and all that was left was Ao’nung, Kiri, and Neteyam looking at us confused. Before the argument could get worse, Jake found us and saw the aftermath of the fight. Angered by the sight of Ao’nung injured, he pushed Lo’ak and Neteyam by the shoulders and ordered me to follow him to the marui. My ears flattened and my tail wrapped around my ankle at the sound of his angered tone, but I followed anyway. 

Looking back, I saw Ao’nung sign, “thank you” and— once again—stuck my tongue out at him in distaste. Who did he think he was, thinking that I’d willingly help him after he called my friends “freaks?” Bah, he was such a presumptuous jacka—

“Keep walking, (Y/N),” Jake groused and snapped me out of my thoughts, unwilling to let anymore scuffles happen today. Feeling properly chagrined, I lowered my head and turned around only to meet eyes with Lo’ak. 

The interaction didn’t go unnoticed by him, it seemed. 

After Jake scolded us and told Lo’ak to apologize to Ao’nung, I was told to go wash the blood off of my face, so I followed silently behind a fuming Lo’ak. Lost in thought, I bumped into him and started apologizing before he turned and grabbed my shoulders. 

“When did you and fish lips get so close?” He questioned.

“Close?”  

“Yes, close.” He stepped back and tilted his head, brows creasing in growing annoyance. “Close enough that you would get hurt protecting him, trying to get me off of him. What is wrong with you? Don’t think I haven’t noticed the looks, the fact that you guys talk through sign even when we are not in the water,” he scoffed. 

“Where is this even coming from—”I sputtered in confusion, trying to gather my thoughts before feeling a rising frustration of my own. “You’re unbelievable, you know that? Why can’t you believe that I was doing it for you?! I was trying to save you from a fierce scolding for disobeying your father’s orders. I was trying to protect you,” I spit out, eyes growing blurry with angry tears. 

“Bah! Stop lying, I know you (Y/N). You would have fought alongside me and defended Kiri. You are not the same girl I knew in the forest back home,” he muttered, rolling his eyes and getting ready to walk away. “Talk to me when you’ve come back to your senses,” he called over his shoulder, leaving me behind as tears started to fall and my chest started rising and falling uncontrollably. The familiar ache was back again, only this time it stung with every sob I let out. 

And do you tell her she’s the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen? 

An eternal love bullshit you know you’ll never mean

Remember when I believed you meant it when you said it first to me? 

It was decided that I would be the first to undergo the iknimaya. Carefully jumping over a fallen log, I grabbed my yimkxa and walked closer to where the ikran rested. Behind me, I heard two new but familiar voices. Without turning around, I could hear the greetings of Lo’ak and Neteyam to the other hunters. Vaguely I registered them saying they wanted to come and watch to cheer me on. 

Facing forward, I made sure to be aware of my surroundings so I didn’t make a fool out of myself. Left and right, banshees of all shades and hues screeched and flew off. I scanned through the many ikran that flew off and briefly remembered my mentor telling us that to find the banshee we are meant to bond with for life, it must try to kill us first. 

I found myself face-to-face with a white and gold ikran that stomped angrily to show off its dominance. Powerful jaws that showed off gleaming fangs snapped in my direction, so I bared my fangs and hissed in response. Crouching slightly as I slowly circled around the beautiful creature, I faintly heard Lo’ak’s cheer of encouragement. 

 A strong wave of adrenaline shot through me as the banshee began to bare its teeth and bellow angrily. Before I could register it, I barely managed to dodge teeth aimed for my leg. Ducking and weaving out of reach from its, I quickly swung my yimkxa around its head, successfully immobilizing the jaw. With as much speed I could muster, I jumped onto the back of the ikran—its neck felt like woven stone beneath my legs as it thrashed its head about, trying to buck me off. 

It was hard to distinguish what was up or down as I clumsily grabbed at my queue to complete the tsaheylu. I could barely hear the faint cheering and war cries behind me—the feeling of my vision sharpening and my lungs inhaling with a renewed strength was too overwhelming to focus on anything else. The bond was made. 

“I will name you Tekay,” I whispered as I took the yimkxa off. 

My hands eagerly held onto her as she screeched and began to flap her wings, a signal that she was going to take off. Laughing, I led her to the edge and nose-dived off the face of the cliff. I could hear the screams of the other hunters and the two Sully boys. 

The wind pushing against my face was exhilarating and my chest swelled as I directed Tekay to fly straight up to where the ikran nest was. 

“You scared us shitless (Y/N)! What were you thinking?” Neteyam chastised as I landed. 

“It was amazing!” I shouted, breathless and full of awe. “The feeling of the air against my skin and Tekay’s speed! No words can describe how I feel at this very moment! Did you see that Lo’ak? I did it!” I exclaimed, cheeks flush with adrenaline. 

“You know you’re really beautiful when you’re excited,” Lo’ak laughs. 

Beautiful.

“Wh-what’re you talking about skxawng,” I said, turning around to face Tekay in hopes he didn’t notice the darkening of my cheeks. It seemed as though Eywa was on my side that day as Lo’ak turned back around to get on top of his Ikran and yipped at me. Looking back at him, I tilted my head. 

“Let’s race back to High Camp! The last one there is a skxawng” He taunted. 

“(Y/N)? Are you listening?” A soft voice questioned, pulling me back from my reminiscing. 

“Huh? Oh yeah, sorry… just lost in thought for a second.” I smiled. 

“What were you thinking about, hm? Maybe a certain Na’vi whose name starts with ‘Lo’ and ends in ‘ak?’” Kiri teased and giggled as my eyes grew wide and the tips of my ears grew pink.  

“N-no I wasn’t! What makes you think that!” I gasped. Suddenly, I found a great interest in the ocean. 

“Oh no reason…” she teased. 

Before I could respond I saw two heads pop out of the water laughing, looking like they were in their own little world. That nothing else mattered. As they were getting closer to shore I could see that it was Lo’ak and Tsireya. My heart clenched and I stopped Kiri before she called them over to us. There was confusion on her face, but a look of understanding replaced it soon after she saw me shake my head. 

Too afraid to move in fear of being found, I gripped Kiri’s hand in a silent plea for her to stay as still as possible. Not too far below the rock we were situated on, we could hear the both of them playfully push at and laugh with each other. Tears clouded my vision as I witnessed Lo’ak complement Tsireya. 

“You know you’re really beautiful when you laugh,” Lo’ak chuckled, pushing a stray strand of hair away from her face. My mind was a blur as the once unfamiliar feeling in my chest came back and I could only silence my sobs in my hands while Kiri shushed and comforted me. 

And now I’m pickin’ her apart 

Like cuttin’ her down will make you miss my wretched heart

But she’s beautiful, she looks kind 

She probably gives you butterflies 

I’ve been avoiding Lo’ak all week, which didn’t really take much effort on my part as he didn’t seek me out either. I found myself distancing myself from everyone, whenever I had free time I would excuse myself to a secluded area near the roots of the mangrove trees and wallow in self-pity. My sadness grew with each passing day. I’ve fallen into a routine since our fight and after witnessing  him be oh-so gentle with her, slipping away as soon as lessons are over, coming back just before dinner starts and leaving as soon as I’m done, barely talking to Kiri, Neteyam or anyone in general. 

They tried their hardest to make sure I was alright and actually taking care of myself, but it was hard to keep myself from shutting down whenever I was with them. It had gotten to the point where even Ao’nung was trying to look out for me, like some sort of switch was flipped after the fight. 

If I was in my right mind, I would’ve hissed and blatantly showcased my distaste for him, but even uttering a word other than meek “thank you”s when he hands me water or some sort of snack was more than I could handle. 

“You know you should really eat, you’ve already lost some weight,” A now-familiar voice chastised. 

With a small sigh I replied, “I’m not hungry,” pulling my knees closer to my chest. 

A shift in the air told me that the person has moved and crouched down next to me. Turning my head slightly, I saw that he was holding out a piece of fruit. I stared blankly and after a pregnant pause, he softly took my hand and places the fruit in it. 

“Ao’nung please, I already told you I’m not hungry.”

“I overheard Lo’ak telling my sister you didn’t eat breakfast.” He pulled out a small woven bag of fruit. “And lunch has already passed. Eat,” he ordered. But before he could push anymore food in my direction, I shook my head and turned away. “He can notice enough to tell Tsireya that I’m not eating, but he doesn’t care enough to talk to me himself?”

Ears twitching, I heard Ao’nung take a breath to—I’m assuming comfort me—and I interrupted him, not wanting to hear empty platitudes. It was a rhetorical question anyway, it wasn’t as if I was expecting an answer.

“If I take one bite will you leave me alone?” 

“If you finish the whole thing, then I will leave you alone,” he bargained. 

“Bah, you are insufferable,” I hissed, eyeing the fruit before taking a bite. The juice and flavors that flowed into my mouth made me realize just how thirsty and hungry I actually was. Eagerly I took another bite, until there was nothing left. 

“Right, you definitely weren’t hungry,” Ao’nung teased. Glaring at him, I nudged his shoulder. 

“This is the part where you leave, skxawng.” 

He held his hands up in surrender.  “Alright, alright I’m leaving. I’ll let Kiri know where you are, she’s been looking all over for you,”  he informed as he stood up and began climbing down the root.

As his shuffling grew distant, I growled in frustration as tears welled up in my eyes and pulled my knees even closer to my chest. Before my tears could fall, I heard the familiar sound of laughter that used to fill my stomach with butterflies and made my heart soar. Eyes wide I could see Lo’ak pop out of the water yelling. 

“I did it! Did you see that Reya?”. 

“Reya?” I whispered.

It felt like something broke.

I hope you’re happy 

But not like how you were with me 

I’m selfish, I know. I can’t let you go 

So find someone great but don’t find no one better 

“(Y/N)? Ao’nung told me you were here, are you okay?” a soft voice questioned. 

“Kiri… it hurts” I sobbed into my hands as the scene continued to replay in my head. Gentle arms wrapped themselves around my shoulders, cradling me to their chest. Shushing me as I sobbed, Kiri allowed me to let it all out before she began to softly coerce me to tell her what was wrong. With only faint sniffles being heard, I felt Kiri move so that we are sitting face to face with our hands holding. 

“Take a deep breath with me, calm your heart,” she said, voice soothing as she began to slowly inhale to set the pace. I tried to follow along the best that I could through hiccuping breaths. 

“That’s it txe’lan,” she encouraged,  “once you’ve calmed down we can speak of the storm that’s clouding your heart. Take all the time you need.” 

We sat in silence for a few minutes as the waves softly crashed against the shore, my breathing slowing and all that was left of my breakdown was a shuddering breath. I tried to pull my hands away from Kiri’s grasp but she’s too quick and she tightens her hold on my hands. 

“You are not running away from this, do not collapse into yourself or you’ll lose to the war in your heart,” Kiri insisted, her voice gentle but stern. “Please, tell me what is going on? I’m worried about you. You know I will never judge you, I am here to listen.” 

With one last unsteady breath, I began to tell her the reason for my lack of appetite and why tears stained my face more often than not. As I voiced out my insecurities my vision blurred and I felt the familiar ache in my chest rise as I tried to choke back a sob. 

“I just don’t understand how someone could change so much in such a short period of time. Seeing their lingering looks, the soft touches, the way he tells her things he used to tell me first… hurts. It hurts so much. After the fight with Ao’nung it’s like I’m nobody to him anymore,” I whispered. 

“Oh, txe’lan, my brother is an idiot but he would never think less of you…” Kiri responded. 

“When we fought he told me he didn’t know who I was anymore, that I wasn’t the same girl I used to be…” I sobbed, my hands tearing themselves away from her gentle hold to wrap around myself.  “Why didn’t he understand?” 

Kiri tilted her head as she reached a comforting arm towards me. “Understand what?”

“How could he even think I would choose somebody over him? When I did it for him and nobody else?” Another rhetorical question, I know, but my eyes searched her face for an answer regardless. I scrunched my nose in frustration at the obvious look of pity aimed at me and tried to turn away. 

“Txe’lan..”

“And you know the worst of it all, Kiri?” A mirthless laugh bubbled from my throat. “I can see how easy it is for him to push me away. To forget the years we spent together laughing, making jokes and telling each other things no one else knew about.” 

 “I don’t think he’s forgotten…” Kiri says, trying to reassure me. 

“I know that he still cares, I know that he wouldn’t just leave me behind for someone else to hurt me on purpose but it makes my heart ache. I know that I shouldn’t be sad that he’s found someone to be happy with, that I shouldn’t be selfish. I should be celebrating for him but I can’t. It feels like I’m being left behind in the dust and cast aside while he’s found the one.” As I went on, my chest became tighter and tighter. “It just hurts a lot Kiri. And I shouldn’t be hurting because he seems so— so happy, and it hurts even more—”

“(Y/N), how’re you so sure that he’s left you behind for good?” Kiri sighed and laid her hand on my knee. 

“I’m not sure, which hurts me more than knowing if he has. My heart and mind are clouded with the fear of losing him. Kiri…” I looked up to the sky to prevent any more tears from falling, my voice becoming smaller. “ I just miss my friend, I miss the way it used to be.”

“I know you do.” She frowned and moved to wrap her arms around my shaking form. 

“You’re so dead when I get to you big bro,” Lo’ak shrieked, small canines flashing as he jumped after Neteyam into the river. 

“Like you can take me on skxawng,” Neteyam laughed and dodged. 

“Oh yeah?” Lo’ak smirked, puffing out his chest. “I have a secret weapon. (Y/N)! C’mon, help me take him down!”  I popped out from behind a fallen branch with bared fangs, my tail whipping playfully as I let out a war cry and pounced onto a startled Neteyam. My legs wrapped around his waist while my arms found purchase around his neck in a weak chokehold. 

“What the—”

“Never underestimate the enemy!” I crowed with triumphant laughter as he lost balance and fell into the river.

Lo’ak was doubled over in laughter. “You should see your face!”

“Wait till dad hears about this—” Neteyam threatened, doing his best to seem intimidating while waterlogged. 

“Try your best big bro, you can’t even catch us,” Lo’ak mocked as he took my hand and started running home, laughter ringing throughout the forest. 

  “Have you tried talking to him about it?”

I let out a frustrated groan and flopped onto my back. “What would be the point?”

“Well—”

“I want to be selfish, to yell out that I miss him—us but I truly, genuinely want him to be happy, and I’m not going to get in the way of that.” Raising myself up on one arm to look out into the ocean at the silhouettes of two Na’vi kids playing in the water, I hurriedly wiped away frustrated tears that couldn’t seem to stop. “It just hurts so much more to know that he’s at the happiest point in his life without me in it.” 

I hope you’re happy

I wish you all the best, really

Say you love her, baby, just not like you loved me

And think of me fondly when your hands are on her 

I hope you’re happy, but don’t be happier 

Ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh

Ooh-ooh 

I hope you’re happy 

Just not like how you were with me 

I’m selfish, I know, can’t let you go 

So find someone great, but don’t find no one better 

I hope you’re happy, but don’t be happier

[honey-flustered]

I Loved You First

(1 of 2)

Best Friend!Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader, some Steve Harrington x Reader

Friends to Lovers trope (Fluff/Angst)

Summary: With your occult club’s big road trip coming up before graduation and prom, Eddie plans to confess his love for you. Only he’ll have to deal with competing for your attention from Steve and other human-shaped obstacles. (8.5k+ words)

Warnings: jealous!eddie, lovesick!eddie, hinted yandere!eddie, hurt and angst, insecurities, soft fluff, pining, idiots in love, boys fighting over reader, ugly duckling/swan reader backstory, mostly from eddie’s perspective, reader nicknamed “baby” or “babe”, one use of (y/n), eventual smut

Dear, stupid fucking heart

Why’d you have to go and make me fall for my best friend?

……

Oh, if only you’d look at him more…then you’d see the way he looks at you. You’d see the yearning in those big brown eyes that borders sorrow at the belief you’d never feel the same.

Yes, he’s willing to endure this pain of unrequited love for the rest of life as long as he tells you how he feels. But the issue of the matter is would he be able to handle everything else? Like the pain of seeing you in the arms of someone else. Or even worse, possibly ruining his friendship with you forever.

So he pitifully pines for you in silence, planning night after night how he’d approach his confession to you. And maybe it’s childish that he’ll remember to mention that he loved you first. But he did love you first. Before any of them. Before you blossomed into the raving beauty you are today.

Eddie saw you when you felt invisible. On days you hated the way you looked, he loved you the most. And whenever you’d let yourself be geeky and unabashed, he’d fall for you all over again.

He. Loved. You. First. Before them all.

They wouldn’t understand your humor, the things you find interesting, the weird hypothetical conversations. They wouldn’t understand you. The real you. But he understands.

So why? Why won’t you look at him?!

Wait, you were looking at him! Did you just say something? Shit! Eddie had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t registered a peep of what you said.

“Huh?” Eddie says.

“Welcome back to Earth. Did you have a nice journey in space?”

“Hardy har har.” He says sarcastically.

“You can’t blame me for teasing,” You giggle. “You’ve been out of it lately. Is everything alright?”

“I’m fine just thinking about this trip.”

He tries to walk ahead of you to keep you from seeing the blush on his face but you quickly take his hand and lead him back to you.

You place your hands on his shoulders, commanding him to look you in your eyes. “Firstly, I wanted to say thank you for going on this trip with me as my plus one. I know how you feel about the gemini twins considering they were big bullies in middle school. But they aren’t …entirely awful anymore. If that sounds remotely convincing.”

“It does not.”

“On to my next point, I guess. Maybe you’re out of it because you know who the twins will be bringing as their plus one. I know that you still have feelings for Chrissy and it’s okay that you do. Strong feelings take time to go away. This could either be an experience of closure or something that may very well bloom.”

He wraps a hand over yours. “I can assure you. I’m so over her. All I care for now is for this to be the best trip ever for the two of us. Especially for you. You’re the trip’s planner and I know how much this means to you for everything to go accordingly.”

“With you as my good luck charm, this should be running smoothly,” You grin, picking up a book of spells from the shelf. “I forgot to thank you for giving me a ride to this occult shop. So, thank you. You’re the fucking best.”

“It’s nothing. You can ask me any time.”

“No but, seriously, you’re the best. I know I’ve been a little annoying asking you to give me a ride all over the place like a goddamn chauffeur since my car fucked up,” You lower the book from your view. “How’s my car doing by the way? Ever figured out the issue?”

“Nope,” Eddie lies. “Still looking for any sign of damage. But don’t worry. You can never annoy me. Except for whenever you sing Cyndi Lauper at the top of your lungs. Then, it’s like ‘Jesus H. Christ, woman, are you trying to kill me?’.”

Another lie. He actually loves it when you do that.

You gawk at him in feigned offense, shoving him playfully. “A girl just wants to have fun, Edward. I should be allowed time after time.”

He snorts. “Referencing her song titles casually in conversation? That’s a new one.”

“Clever, ain’t it?” You wink. “So, what do you think of this spell book? Is it good enough for ‘show and tell’ night?”

“Unless we read anything in there that’ll come true, I doubt anyone would be impressed.”

“Oh, so you don’t think the tickle spell works?” You say, blinking innocently.

“The tickle spell?” Your pure features morph into a sinister smile and Eddie knew he’d walked right into that one. He raises a hand to halt you. “Do not even think about it. I bite.”

“I’ll take the risk.” Your fingers dance around his sides and he begins to giggle like a schoolgirl while cursing you like a sailor.

“S-stop t-that.” He strains between laughter.

“Alright,” You sigh, easing off of him. “Sorry, Eds. I saw an opportunity and had to seize it. You always did say you’re convinced I was a dad in another life.”

“That was mean. You know, I’m very sensitive to that,” He says while still laughing. “What was that for?”

“Because I like your smile and you’re not doing enough of that today.”

Eddie smiles wider, knowing he probably looks goofy but he’s on a high from your words. He leans back against the shelf, tilting his head to one side. “You notice my smile patterns?”

“Of course, I notice. I’m a funny person if you’re not laughing then that hurts my ego.” You quip.

“We don’t want you hurting that now, do we? It’s not like it’s the size of Texas or something.”

“You’re one to talk. You know the saying ‘big ego, little ears’.” You tug on his ears.

“My ears are far from small, sweetheart. Among other things.” He clicks his tongue.

You tug his ears with more force. “There’s that ego showing.”

He brings his hands up to yours, pulling gently. “I showed you mine. Show me yours.”

It felt as if the shelves were closing in around him but in a good way. Like the atmosphere was coming together just so it could push the two of you together. For a second, it looks like you’re looking at him the way he’s always wanted you to. But before he could lean any closer, an unexpected presence interrupts the momentum of his bravado.

“What are you guys doing?” Steve asks with a chuckle.

You look over at him, beaming. “Comparing our egos.”

Peeling off your best friend, you walk over to Steve and the two of you share a quick embrace. Eddie sighs his frustration quietly, pulling himself up from the shelf to greet his close friend.

“Harrington,” Eddie greets as the two clap each other up. “What are you doing here? Didn’t think this type of shit was your scene?”

“Baby invited me.” Steve says, pointing your way.

“Yeah, sorry, Eds. I forgot to mention that Steve’s tagging along with us on the trip,” You explain. “He’s been trying to find something for show and tell, too. So, I invited him to the search with us. Now that Steve’s going on the trip, the twins and Chrissy being there doesn’t seen so bad, huh?”

“Yeah,” Eddie says, trying to disguise the disappointment in his tone. “I’m stoked but…confused. How are you able to go? Robin’s taking Vickie as her plus one.”

“I’m Dustin’s plus one,” Steve replies. “Apparently, his mother trusts me to supervise him on this trip.”

Eddie had forgotten that Dustin joined the occult club in addition to the hellfire club. Dustin had done so after one summer of reading strictly horror comics in which his fascination for lovecraftian creatures and cryptids grew.

“Aww, babysitter Stevie’s back.” You poke fun.

He glares at you, arms crossed. “I thought we retired that title.”

“I thought so, too. Yet here we are,” You fired back. “So what exactly are you looking to impress us with?”

Steve thinks for a moment. “I’m not sure. In fact, I shouldn’t be telling you guys what I’ll be bringing in if I’m going to win.”

“Try all you might, dear, but you’ll never beat me.” You challenge.

“What about you, Eddie? I’m guessing you think you’ll be winning this, too.”

“I’m not doing it, actually. I figured I’d let Baby have her shine in this.”

What seem like an innocent noble act to him was taken as an offensive blow to you.

You quirk up an eyebrow. “It almost sounds like you’re saying that if you were to join show and tell, you’d beat me hands down?”

Steve grimaces. “It does sound a lot like that, buddy.”

“I’m being a gentleman.” Eddie defends.

“Spare me,” You scoff. “I don’t want your pity. I want you to put your money where your mouth is. I’ll see to it that you bring your show and tell item. That way we’ll really see who comes out on top. For now, we’ll split up and we’ll leave our choices as a surprise.”

“Sounds good to me,” Steve says. “You two know much I love a little friendly competition.”

“I’m going to another section of this store. Try not to follow me.” You say in an alluring tone before strutting.

The boys wait until you’re a good enough distance before they began their sparring of words. Unbeknownst to you, some weeks ago, the boys caught on to each other’s feelings for you. Although they’ve mentioned to keep things cordial, as the two viewed one another as brothers, it proves to be quite difficult when they’re always trying to one up each other.

“So…Steve,” Eddie says with a tight smile. “You’re attending the trip. I thought you were passed high school things now that you’re a big college boy and all.”

“I decided I need to be there for my good friend, Dustin.” Steve says, matching Eddie’s polite tone.

“He’s my friend, too, ya know.”

“He was mine first.”

Eddie points at him, narrowing his eyes and smiling.“Got me there, bud. But ya know,” He begins, pacing slowly. “Baby was my friend first. Just to clear that up.”

“What’s your point?”

“Just sayin’,” Eddie shrugs, guiltlessly. “I mean, don’t be surprised during the trip if you don’t have her attention.”

Steve smirks. “Is it that I won’t have her attention or that I won’t take her attention…from you? Because the latter implies that no matter how hard I try, it wouldn’t be enough to take her away from you. But here’s the thing, Munson, I really don’t have to try. I won’t need to have her attention when she’ll already be looking at me.”

“I don’t know, man. Do you really think so? Because if she really were actually paying any attention to you, she’d see how extra swishy your hairs looking today. Looks like that Farrah Fawcett hairspray is really working miracles. You’d think she’d at least compliment the hair.”

“Oh, she’ll notice,” Steve winks. “Give it time.”

The boys exchange heated looks not registering your presence as you peeked your head in the corridor. “Did you guys find what you’re looking for?”

Steve runs his hands through his hair and sighs, “Not quite.”

“Yeah, me neither. Going to keep hunting,” You nearly continue on your way but end up doing a double take instead. “Stevie, you’re putting the ‘hair’ in ‘Harrington’ today! It just looks so glorious. Like Disney prince.”

“You flatter me.” Steve says, smugly.

When you leave, he sends Eddie a ‘told ya so’ look and Eddie fumes to himself. What’s wrong with his hair? Sure, you’ve complimented his hair every now and then but you’ve never compared it to a Disney prince’s hair. That’s a pretty top-tier compliment!

You win this round, Harrington.

——————

After purchasing your findings from the occult shop, you go over to Eddie’s place to help him pack. He’s usually last minute with these things but it never bothers you especially when you get to see his wardrobe. Sometimes, he’d even model them for you.

“Oh, please! Model this hat for me.” You plead, hands clasped.

“You setting me up, woman.” He says, spotting your polaroid camera that you did a poor job of hiding behind you.

“Come on, for me,” You pout, giving your best puppy dog eye. “I won’t take your picture.”

“Fine. But only one outfit. Just let me go into the closet and change really quick.” He grumbles.

After a few moments, he returns out of the closet wearing a Roger Rabbit costume from that one Halloween two years ago when the two of you went as Roger and Jessica Rabbit. You erupt into giggles, holding your stomach as you fell back against the mattress.

“Why?”

“Because I knew it’d make you laugh,” He says, walking over to you. You wait until his face comes in view before you take your camera and snap a picture and he looks at you with a look of stunned betrayal. “You said no pictures.”

“I can’t help it,” You say through your fit of laughter. “Why do you still have that costume?”

He tries to grab the camera from your hands but you move away, going further up the bed. He crawls after you and pulls your legs, dragging you beneath him to get the camera. He loses track of what he was aiming for, looking at you giggling below him. His lower body pressed up against yours.

Your laughter dies on your lips as you stare up at him with doe eyes. He’s breathing hard but not from the rigorous struggle to capture you.

You face heats up and Eddie’s confused as to why you seem so flustered. That is until he shifts his weight above you and feels the heavy and very hard uninvited entity between his legs, poking at your exposed belly.

His cow eyes widen, lips parted as his cheeks paint pink. “Erm—I—It’s not what it—“

You snap another photo of his reaction. “Gotcha.”

He peels off your body, sitting up in a daze while trying to adjust the cartoonish red shorts. You sit up as well, examining the photos with a fond smile. He snaps out of it, glancing over your shoulder to see the results.

“They’re perfect.” You sigh.

“I look like a tweaker.”

“But you’re my little tweaker,” You pinch his cheek. “Besides, this is for my personal collection. Something to cheer me up before I leave for university.”

Oh, right. He’d forgotten about that. Or better yet, he’s been trying to forget. He just couldn’t imagine going over to your place and not seeing you there. If he were smarter, he’d be going with you but he knew he couldn’t get accepted with his grades. He’d only barely made it as a graduate, thanks to the assistance of his friends who never gave up on him.

But of course you were leaving for university. Eddie was the one who encouraged it. Even when you told him that you’d attend community college just to be with him. What kind of friend would he be if he didn’t let you strive for the stars? You wouldn’t have let him settle if Eddie got the deal of a lifetime regarding his music.

So, as the saying goes… if you love someone, let them go.

“I’m really going to miss you.” Eddie says, quietly.

You laugh humorlessly. “Probably not too much since Jeff and Gareth will be staying in town. Then there’s also Steve.”

“They’re all great but…they’re not you,” Eddie admits. “Wanna know why I kept this stupid costume? It’s because it was one of the best Halloween’s for me. We stayed up all night in my trailer getting high, listening to Weird Al, talking about stupid shit that didn’t even matter. I loved that night. And I love…I love…”

He had no issue before telling you that he loved you. But that was when his love for you was a lot more tame in meaning. Now that his love for you burns with the intensity of a thousand suns, he chokes up in fear.

“…I love being around you. You’re my best friend.” He finishes, avoiding your gaze so you couldn’t see him being angry with himself.

He feels the slightest touch on his hand, your fingers curling around it. He swivels his head in your direction, seeing a sincere and loving smile on your face.

“Is it safe to admit that I still have my costume because it was one of the best nights of my life, too?”

He breaks a smile and you do the same, holding each other’s hand in comfortable silence.

——————

5am sky paints like a canvas of dark to milky blues and a tinge of orange in the mix as the sun rose up. Everyone was set to meet on the campus of school around this time.

In one car, there was Steve, Dustin, Robin, and Vickie. In the other were you and Eddie. Both cars pulling up in the lot simultaneously.

You exit the vehicles heading over to greet the girls and Dustin, going on excitedly about what was up on the itinerary for the 2 days. Eddie momentarily greets the group before turning his attention to Steve for yet another showdown.

“Harrington.” Eddie mutters in disdain, arms crossed.

“Munson.” Steve replies in an equally hostile tone.

“Henderson,” Dustin says, cutting in with a finger raised. “What’s with all the testosterone circling between you two? Somebody lost a video game rematch again?”

“Don’t mind us, Henderson,” Steve says, eyes still staring intensely at his rival friend. “Eddie and I are just having a little discussion.”

“You’ve only said one word to each other. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve assumed you guys are fighting over Baby,” Dustin says, laughing hysterically until he darts his eyes nervously between the boys. “P-please don’t tell me that I’m right.”

You enter the conversation, the girls following after. “Hey guys, what’s with the long faces? Was there a video game rematch that I missed?” You ask, concerned.

“Oh, no. We’re just playing around like we always do. Right, buddy?” Eddie says while ruffling Steve’s hair out of place causing Steve to stare daggers at him.

He plays it off with a laugh, fixing his hair again.“Yeah, just boys being men.”

“Oookay,” You say, puzzled. “Well, it looks like everybody else is running a little lat—oh no, I stand corrected. A few more cars are coming in.”

Eddie recognizes that red Camaro anywhere. But it couldn’t be. What would he be doing on a trip like this? But then he remembered: the douchebag had a little sister. Max.

“Billy fucking Hargrove.” Eddie and Steve say at once then exchange looks with one another.

“The hell’s he doing here?” Steve asks.

“You know this genius,” Robin says. “Max is a part of this club and she really wanted to go on this trip but couldn’t go without trusted supervision so…”

“He’s her plus one.” Eddie finishes with a groan.

Here’s your history with Billy Hargrove. He’s your neighbor. A couple years before you became the ‘beauty bombshell’ you are today, you had a crush him. Eddie knew of this which embarrassed you a bit because Billy wasn’t very nice to you or Eddie back in high school. He was always ignoring you and when he did know of your existence he’d tease you for being so flustered around him. That was until one summer starting your Junior year—him, his senior year—when you came back a whole new person.

Billy loves a challenge and you were definitely going to be one. Not only did you loathe him because you realized how shallow of a male he was but it made it much easier for you to despise him knowing his feud with Steve.

But Eddie knew Billy would stop at nothing to impress you despite him having plenty of options to choose from on this trip.

Max is clearly not in the best mood with her step brother being there. But she cheers up a little when she meets up with the gang.

Billy follows shortly behind with an awkward silence from the gang. Of course, his sights were on you but for now he decides to focus on the man he’d least expected to there.

“Is that King Steve?” Billy says

“Yeah, yeah, It’s me. Don’t cream your pants.” Steve mutters.

“I think you and I are going to get along on this trip. I’m feeling it,” He smirks then turns his attention to you and Eddie. “Well, don’t you both just look so precious. Have you guys finally tied the knot yet?”

Eddie scrunches up his nose in anger ready to fire so harsh words but you were quick with an answer. “Careful. All that hot air you’re filled with will make you fly away some day. Try talking less, maybe.”

“I’m just teasing, Babe. I know Munson could never talk you out of your pants. Hell, he couldn’t even talk you out of a car if it were burning.”

“Why don’t you fuck off, Hargrove? Or do you need somebody’s mom to help do that for you?” Eddie says, referencing Billy’s run-ins of sleeping with married women.

Billy sneers. “I needed a smoke anyway.”

The moment he leaves you drop the mean mug on your face, smiling brightly as you raise a hand for a high five. “We are a snarky pair. Nice touch on the ‘mother fucker’ joke.”

Eddie laughs, high-fiving you. “Mother…fucker? That’s genius, Baby. I don’t know how you come up with these things.”

A few more cars begin to pull in and you recognize them to be Jonathan and Argyle, The Twins and Chrissy, and the remaining of the club which one of member in particular happened to be your ex-boyfriend, Avery Spinelli.

“You didn’t tell me he’d be on the trip,” Eddie whispers. “Will you be okay spending the two days with him?”

“Oh, yeah,” You wave off. “Avery and I are still good friends. We simply just didn’t work out. If I can be in an hour and 30 minute meeting with this guy. 2 days will be nothing.”

You wait until everyone meets in the middle to begin your roll call. Once you were sure everyone was present you began to go over the trip details and itinerary.

“Good morning, everyone! I love seeing those smiling faces,” You pause for a moment, glancing at the group who all looked equally exhausted and annoyed. You swallowed hard, shifting awkwardly. “Ok, I can see that we’re not all fully awake yet. That’s fine because you will be once we get to Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Of course, that’ll be in about 9 hours, but at least this’ll allow us the chance to get to know one another more intimately.”

“That’s cool and all, dudette, but I’ve got a girlfriend that’ll kill me if I do anything like that.” Argyle says.

“Intimate as in personal, Aggy,” You explain. “Nothing sexual in nature. There are children present.”

“Mother says I’m a little man.” Dustin pouts.

“You’re not helping your case.” Max says, patting his shoulder.

“Onto the main focus of this trip,” You continue. “There’s a reason why I chose Point Pleasant. Specifically, because of Mothman sightings. We’re going to share a cabin in the woods where we’ll get to see whether or not it exists. On Day 2, we’ll be going to the cornfield to spot mysterious alien crop circles. It’s going to be a blast! Ava and Ida, would you girls like to add anything?”

“Yes,” Ava steps to the front. “This will also be a very healing experience. We’re going to really tap into the spiritual side of ourselves because in order to connect with the world of occultism, we must look within ourselves first.”

“Oh, brother.” Eddie mutters to himself, possibly too loud.

“I’m sorry, Munson. Did you like to add anything?” Ava says, bringing all eyes on him.

Eddie clears his throat awkwardly, steps up from the circle. “I just wanted to bring up an interesting fact about the cabin. Someone was murdered in one of the rooms there. Good luck finding which one.”

He steps back into place and the group is silent for a moment. You break the silence. “T-thank you for that heads up, Eddie. Well, we should be hitting the road now. There’s 15 of us. I’m thinking we carpool so there are less cars. Eddie and Argyle suggested that they’ll be taking their vans. Billy’s taking his own car as well. Which leaves the RV. A big thank you to Avery for bringing his dad’s RV. It’s perfect for carrying at least the majority of us.”

“Anything for you, Babygirl.” Avery winks.

Eddie seethes. The nerve of him to address you so casually. As if he still had you. By the look on your face, Eddie understood that you were just as confused at the sudden nickname. Usually, people just called you ‘Baby’ simply because of how kind you were but Avery thought he was just sooo clever calling you ‘Babygirl’ like it was any deviation from the original nickname.

“Dustin and I will be riding with you guys,” Steve says to you, watching Eddie’s reaction from the corner of his eye. “Robin and Vickie are going with Argyle for ‘herbalist enthusiasts’ reasons.”

Eddie almost forgot about obstacle #1. He was so caught up with the men that could potentially set their sights on you that he ignored the one who’s actively doing so.

“Maybe I should switch cars.” You joke.

“You’d never leave me.” Eddie scoffs.

“True, but that’s only because you’re terrible at reading a map.” You tap his nose before skipping away.

“I can totally read a map!”

“No, you can’t.” Steve and Dustin say simultaneously, jolting Eddie in surprise.

—————

“Bullshit! Bigfoot would annihilate Mothman,” Dustin argues. “Are you serious? Mothman? Because he has wings? Bigfoot would rip those clean off.”

“Mothman can carry Bigfoot in the air, drop him and turn him into a pancake,” You challenge. “Meanwhile all Bigfoot does is hide. Probably because he can’t fight.“

“Bros, help us settle this thing. This girl has no idea what she’s talking about. Eddie, what’s your pick?”

“I’ll have to go with Mothman, too. She’s made some pretty valid points.” Eddie shrugs.

“Thank you, Eds.” You smirk at Dustin. Meanwhile, Eddie sticks his tongue out at Steve through the reflection of his rearview mirror.

“Of course you would.” Dustin glares at Eddie.

“I actually think it would be Bigfoot that wins. He’s hiding because he’s working on some gains, obviously. Dude’s hiding a six-pack under all that fur. Mothman’s got the physique but no strength. Take it from me. I was an athlete so…” Steve finishes.

Dustin raises a chin smugly at you.

“Very valid point, Stevie. I’ll admit defeat,” You say, turning in your seat to bow your hands up and down. “All hail, King Steve and Sir Dustin.”

You sit back in place and Steve repays Eddie’s taunting, raising a middle finger the moment Eddie looks into the mirror.

“So what’s the first thing we’ll be doing today?” Steve asks you.

You read out the schedule in your planner. “We’ll meet up at the cabin, put our things away. And then we’re going to explore the haunted chapel.”

“A haunted chapel? I think I heard another interesting fact about a particular ghost that lives there. People say it’s a type of ghost so powerful when it possesses you, you begin to shake violently.” Eddie says.

Your eyes become the size of saucers. “Oh my god! What kind of ghost is that?”

“The holy ghost.”

Breaking your fearful stare, you laugh hysterically. “That was such a dad joke. I thought those were my thing.”

“I can be funny, too.” He laughs.

After hours upon hours of driving, Eddie could feel himself tiring out from staring at the road too long. You catch on to his sluggish reaction times, his silence noticeably missing from the group’s conversation. Feeling concerned for everyone’s safety, you address the situation.

“You’d like for me to drive?” You offer.

Eddie waves off your concerns. “I’m great. I’ve driven cross country in 2 days to meet with a producer who gave me a handshake along with a signed Metallica CD and sent me on my dirtbag way. This is nothing.”

“But you look so tired.”

“I could drive.” Steve says.

“I’m not letting you near my baby.” Eddie says, defensively. He blinks fast, eyes wide like a deer in headlights at the possibility of being taken out of context. “I meant like not letting you drive my van…who is like a baby…to me.”

Steve mouths a ‘Nice save’ to him.

“Eddie, please,” You pout, shaking him lightly. “You need rest. You wouldn’t want to risk getting anyone like Dustin hurt, would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t.” He sighs, reluctantly parking the car off to the side and the cars following do the same.

“Thank you,” You pat his hand. “You can go ahead and switch seats with Steve.”

“You’ll come to the back with me, right?” Eddie asks with pleading eyes.

“I’ll need help with the map, too. Sorry,” Steve shrugs. “You’ve got Dustin to keep you company, though.”

Eddie turns to look at Dustin who smiles a red smile at the metalhead, teeth and mouth red from the cherry popsicle he’d gotten from a rest stop.

Eddie exhales grumpily. “Alright. But you’re sharing whatever snack you’ve got in that gigantic backpack you’re carrying.”

“Even the strudel?” Dustin whines.

“Is that even a question? Now move over, I’m diving in.” Eddie says, pulling off his seatbelt to crawl over the console into the back.

“At least wait until I’m out of the seat.” Steve grumbles, struggling to exit the van while dodging Eddie’s wild movements. He takes his place in the front seat, locking in his seatbelt to see you watching him in content.

“Hey, cell mate 3027, looking cool.” You smirk.

“Right back at ya, 3026.”

The two of you had a little insider due to your family’s ending up in the same hotel for a holiday vacation. His room was 3027 and yours 3026.

It was your sophomore year and you only knew Steve as kind of a jerk. But by his junior, his attitude improved and on your family’s vacation, when you’d spotted him, he was kind enough to say ‘hi’ despite you being considered a ‘loser’. He’d even give you the cellmate nickname whenever he ran into you and it stuck ever since. When Eddie and Steve became friends a little after Steve graduated, your bond grew from there.

A tap on the window alerts everyone to look in the passenger window.

Billy Hargrove.

You groan your frustration and lower the window.

“Everything okay?” He asks.

“Yeah,” You say dismissively, your arms crossed. “We just switched drivers because it’s a long drive.”

“You’re thinkin’ smart and safe. I like that,” Billy praises. “That’s why you’re in charge.”

“Whatever.” You roll your eyes.

“You know, I’m really glad to be here,” He leans in. “I could use the time to really be one with nature and challenge my world view. Max invited me out of obligation and I was pretty bummed at first. Then, I heard you’d be here and I don’t know…somehow it made me feel okay.”

You snort. “Why? I don’t even like you or could even stand to talk to you.”

“Yeah, but I’d like change that. I don’t know what it is about you lately, Sassy… but I can’t get you out of my head. I’m thinking it’s divine intervention that I’m here with you instead of anywhere else. Maybe I can make things right between us.”

Your face heats up at the deep richness of voice. You avoid his gaze, crossing your arms and he smirks as if he’d won a prize. The smooth bastard.

Steve rolls his eyes and says, “You can go now, Hargrove. We’re all good here.”

“Understandable,” He says, tapping the side of the van. “Guess I’ll be seeing you again at the cabin.”

You remain silent, glaring at him.

He chuckles, nodding. “I’ll get you to warm up to me eventually.”

He walks off and you let out a breath you weren’t sure you held. He just made you so tense sometimes that you couldn’t help but to go stiff. You had to admit though…he has a way with words, knowing just what to say to make you feel little flutters in your tummy.

But if you could see what went on in Eddie’s mind you’d see how much more intense and visceral his reaction to Billy is compared to yours. He wanted to go after the bastard. He taps HIS van?! Then proceeds to flirt with the love of his life right in front of him?!

The disrespect Eddie experienced today was enough to become murderous. Steve’s expression held up no better. He was furious, gripping the steering wheel for dear life as he continues on to the road.

But then you reach a hand up, rubbing his arm to comfort him. “Hey, that must’ve been so tough for you. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay now. You know about how he kicked my ass because he was so obsessed about being better than me and taking my title as ‘King of Hawkins High’ whatever the hell that means?”

“Yeah, I heard about it. I was out sick that day. You know how they always say you miss out on all the drama when your absent,” You giggle. “I’m sure you held your own that day. Your pretty face is still intact.”

“You think my face is pretty?” Steve laughs.

“Yeah,” You nod. “I’d be blind if I didn’t.”

“What about me?” Eddie says, scooting up so that you can see him at your side. “I ain’t much to look at but—“

“Not much to look at? Dude…I’m always staring at you. All the time,” You admit. “You’ve got the prettiest eyes. I always tell you how jealous I am of them. You’re all so pretty. Especially the cutie in the back named Dustin.”

Dustin twiddles with his fingers bashfully. “My Suzie says I’m a 10.”

“That girl’s got taste.” You praise.

Eddie couldn’t care at all that you called Steve a pretty face. Not when you’ve just admitted that you look at him, too. Maybe not exactly how he hoped but it’s close enough.

“Sucks that Max couldn’t join us. Imagine having to spend 9 hours with Billy. Woof!” You cringe. “To think I had a crush on that guy.”

“I tried talking some sense into you.” Eddie says.

“Well, if ever you find me hanging around him—please, oh, please—take me away.”

“Gladly!” The three boys say in unison, confusion settling around.

————

After sometime, Dustin and you had fallen asleep during the car ride, leaving the men to become more acquainted with one another.

“Why are you suddenly into her? You never gave her a second glance?” Eddie inquires.

“Of course I didn’t. I hardly seen her at all. Our paths just never aligned to be around each other as much we do now. I’ve gotten to know her and now I like her.”

“What about Nancy? Thought you were trying to win her back?”

“Nancy and I have been over for so long. What about you? Don’t you have a thing for cheerleaders or something?”

“Chrissy was just a little crush. We all have ‘em. Doesn’t make us tied at the hip? But I’m wiser. I know what I want. I want Baby. It’s always been her. So, you should just forget about taking her from me? Because she’s already mine.”

“You wish. I’ll stop at nothing to make her mine.”

“Neither will I.”

“May I suggest something?” Dustin says, raising his head.

“Jesus!” Eddie jolts up. “Weren’t you asleep?”

“I usually wake up to the sound of a challenge. And it looks like you two are in need of settling this shit. But your going to compete for her heart, you’ll first have to knock out all the competition.

First contender: The Crush a.k.a. Billy Hargrove, psychotic douchebag turned ‘changed’ man.”

“Former…crush,” Eddie emphasizes. “She hates his guts now so he’s nothing to worry about.”

“Au contraire,” Dustin says. “Hargrove’s a prick but he’s got a way with words that’ll make any girl weak. Baby’s pretty strong but she’s only human. Word on the street is: never let your girl see him doing manual labor less you want to lose her forever.”

“Goddamn.” Eddie says, lost for words.

“Second contender: The Ex a.k.a. Avery Spinelli, astrology buff who has an affinity for women he believes are his soulmates. A girl could never really shake of her ex, now can she? And I hear he’s looking to ask Baby to prom and possibly to be his girlfriend again.”

“Wait, how are you knowing all of this?” Steve questions.

“I’m around a lot of girls in that club, okay?” He mutters, embarrassed. “Avery’s planning getting her to take him back with his show & tell performance. He told her it was a magic hat performance but it’s really just a promposal.”

“I knew I didn’t trust him!” Eddie shouts.

“Shhh,” Steve puts a finger to his lips, glancing for a moment to see you stir a little in your seat. “You’ll wake her. But fuck that guy.”

“Yeah, fuck that guy.” Eddie whisper-yells.

“Focus, amigos,” Dustin sighs. “Lastly, we have—-

“It’s Argyle isn’t it?” Eddie says. “The true himbo.”

“He’s a favorite among the ladies for sure but he’s dating Suzie’s older sister, Eden. And they’re real serious,” Dustin begins. “The Third Contender is actually The Potential a.k.a….Jonathan Byers.”

“Jonathan?!” The two men say in shock.

“Yep. According to Will and Mike, Jonathan and Nancy are on a break.”

“Holy shit.” Steve says.

“But him?” Eddie asks.

“Jonathan and (y/n) both love photography and conspiracies. Sometimes during club meeting, they’d have 1 on 1 deep conversations. Even before Jonathan and Nancy went on their break…I sensed a connection with those two. I doubt Jonathan will make any move on her, though. But from my perspective, it looks like she digs him heavily. El says she heard them talking on the phone one night.”

“Y-yeah, but Baby told me it was only because they had a school project together.” Eddie says.

“Do you know what happens when two hormonal teenagers are in close proximity?” Dustin asks rhetorically. “For all we know, they’re looking at each other in a whole new light.”

“Oh, shiiit.” Eddie groans.

“If you guys wanna get to her, you’ll have to go through them. It’s the only way,” Dustin explains. “Once their out of the way, it’ll be so much easier for her to make her decision. In fact, I’d like to add some stakes.”

“Uh-oh.” Eddie says.

“‘Uh-oh’ is right,” Dustin smiles wickedly. “Instead of confessing your feelings to her, you both should get her to confess to you first. That way for sure you’ll know who she truly has feelings for. She has to say it on her own will so you can’t ask her to say it. No sexual contact of any kind, you heathens. If either of you confess or make sexual contact before she make the move, that’s breaking the rules. And breaking the rules means punishment: a haircut!”

“Whoooa.” Steve disapproves.

“That’s just brutal.” Eddie says.

“What? You guys chicken? If you’re really that good at seducing girls, then there shouldn’t be a problem getting her to say it. Or…you can admit defeat claiming that neither of you have game.”

“Someone’s getting a little big for their britches.” Steve criticizes.

Eddie nods. “It’s his tone, right?”

“You dickheads in or not?” Dustin wages.

“I’m in.” Steve says.

“I’m in, too. This’ll be a piece of cake. Baby’s told me she liked me plenty of times before.” Eddie says, smugly.

“So do sisters to their brothers.” Steve retorts.

“Did you just brother-zoned me on her behalf?”

“It’s clear as day that it’s what she meant by it. You’d have to be brain dead to not know.”

“You’ve got some nerve…”

“Oh, I really do…”

Dustin shakes his head at the obnoxious men, placing his headphones on his head and going back to sleep.

———————

You board off the van and intake the fresh air around you. After 9 hours, you’d made it to the cabin and it was still bright out to do the planned activities of the day.

“Change of plans, everyone,” Co-Club president Ida says, standing in front of the huddled circle. “Scratch the chapel plans. My twin sis, Ava, just got off the phone with the police. Apparently, there’s a whole investigation ongoing regarding a secret fight club being held there. So instead Baby, our trip organizer, what else do you have planned for us? Hopefully, something less ‘mercury in retrograde’ kind of fuck up.”

You clenched teeth in a faux smile. “Thank you, Ida. And, no, this isn’t a fuck up yet,” You take the front. “Today, we should just relax. It’s our first day here in Point Pleasant so let’s make the most of it and enjoy the environment. I was reading the map and it looks like we’re nearby the cornfield so if we’re feeling up to it tonight, we can simply walk there. Maybe see some alien activity.”

“Hexcellent idea, Babes. I knew I was right to put you in charge,” Ava says, patting your back. “Maybe try a crystal healing bath to connect you with your guiding spirit, though. We don’t want any more bumps in the road for this trip, now do we?”

“Okay.” You try to swallow then nasty words you had to say to her.

“I’m lovin this so far,” Argyle says. “Little chillaxing here and there. Then at night, we get to hang with the aliens. I’m thinking they’ll be really vibey because they’re not held down by societal constructs like we are.”

“That’s so genius, man. How do you think of this shit?” Jonathan laughs.

“It just comes to me, bro.” Argyle says.

You take the joint from behind Argyle’s ear. “How high are you?”

“No, no. It’s ‘Hi, how are you?’, dude,” Argyle says, petting your head. “It’s okay. That one’s always a big tongue twister for me, too.”

You shake your head in bewilderment. “Let’s put our bags away so we can have some fun. I’m thinking we do show & tell in a couple hours.”

“Last one there gets the haunted bedroom.” Robin says, rushing past with her bags and Vickie follows after giggling hysterically.

The group races into the log home, claiming their bedrooms. While Eddie busies himself with unloading his duffel bag, he hears a light tap and turns to see you leaning on one side of the frame.

“Hi.” You say.

“Hey.” He says with a circling wave.

“Looks like you’ve found your room.”

“Yes, I did. But is it what I wanted? Well, that’s debatable,” He sighs. “I’m paired with your ex-boyfriend. Yeah, he’s a real hoot. He told me he knows when and how I’ll die based off of my birth chart so that’s fun.”

“Least you didn’t date him. Used to tell me he knew when I’d lose my virginity to him and somehow that line worked on me,” You laugh. “On the bright side, you don’t have a roommate like mine. Moon claims she’s a witch who died in the Salem trials and has been reborn. Which isn’t too bad until you realize that sometimes she likes the room’s temperature to be near burning hot. She says it reminds her to avenge her fallen sisters.”

“And yet I’m considered a freak?” He huffs, sitting on the edge of his bed. “Strange that the popular kids are looking to infiltrate our spaces, though? Billy…the twins running an occult club…what is happening?”

“Yeah, I know. But I guess popularity thing isn’t everything,” You sit beside him throwing your legs over his lap. “I think they’re finally starting to understand that freaks like us do whatever we like and have all the fun doing it, too.”

“What about that Steve Harrington, huh? I would have never expect him to come here. Hell, I’ve been trying to get him to go to just one hellfire campaign for literally a year now.” He laughs through his restrained anger.

“Yeah, it is a little strange,” You say in a suspicious tone. “But I’m glad he’s here. I’d like for all my friends to be here. Especially since it might be my last trip with you guys in a while.”

Every time he’s reminded of you leaving, he becomes physically ill. He pushes the inevitable away. Just a little more time.

You sit beside him, taking his hand in yours. “I know you only came because you knew it’d make me happy so again…thank you for being here.”

There’s his heart going crazy again. His palms are for sure sweaty but you don’t pull away.

“I’d do anything for you.” He says.

“Me too,” You rub a hand on his thigh. “You’re a true friend.”

His heart shatters. True Friend? No! He doesn’t want to be seen as your friend. He wants you! Why can’t you see that?!

He swallows the hard lump in his throat and whispers, “Yeah, friend.”

Your phone dings for a text message notification. Peering at the message, a cheshire grin spreads across your face.

“Oh my god! Look at this cute ass picture!” You show Eddie. It was an image of Robin, Vickie, Dustin and Max relaxing in the lake on the cutesy floaties that Vickie had brought with her for the trip. “I have to claim my floatie now.”

You stand on your feet, pulling off your tank top and Eddie’s forced out of his funk to gaze upon your beauty. You then remove your jeans, revealing your full white bikini. He shuts his parted mouth to keep from drooling and uses the little strength he has left to keep himself nailed to the bed and not pounce at you.

You were glowing. Eddie’s seen you in a bikini before but through the eyes of love had a whole new meaning. He found himself wanting to count every freckle on your body and kiss every part you felt was imperfect. If only you’d give him the chance to kiss the soft, supple skin of your thighs.

He hadn’t noticed that he’d been fiddling with the chain around his wrist, his hands mindlessly doing so to cope and hold himself down. He accidentally pulls it up and off causing it to scatter across the room.

“Oh shit. Sorry, I’ll get that.”

“No, don’t worry,” You push down on his shoulders. “I’ll get it.”

You were trying to kill him. That was it. Because you had no business, bending over in front of him the way you did to collect the wristband. Yet, here you were with your vivaciousness and plump ass that he could very well bury himself deep into and do unspeakable things to your body.

He couldn’t take it. He needed to have you. Without thinking, Eddie shoots up from the bed, striding over to you like a hungry lion on the verge of capturing his prey. But then he came along.

You straighten up, smiling at the intruder. “You’re in your trunks. Loving the chest hair. I bet the girls were all over you.”

Steve cheeks raises a shade pinker. As if the sight of you in a bikini wasn’t already overwhelming, you go and compliment him once again. “T-thanks.”

He stalks closer and instinctively you walk backwards to give him his space but he resumes forward.

“I was just telling Eddie about the float-oop!” You walk back into Eddie’s chest, laughing nervously. “When’d you get behind me?”

“Yeah, Eds. When? You weren’t thinking of doing something naughty, were you?” Steve questions, catching on to Eddie’s aroused state.

You tilt your head up and back to look at your best friend. “You were trying to come up behind me and scare me, huh?”

“Ya got me.” Eddie laughs nervously then clears his throat.

“You’re a naughty boy, indeed, Munson.” You say, poking his tummy.

Eddie’s already agitated that Steve decided to barge in but now your ex decides to enter the room as well.

“Hey, Babygirl, I was looking all over for you,” Avery says, while taking in the sight of you sandwiched between Eddie and Steve. His eyes dart between the three of you suspiciously. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Not at all,” You reply. “Was there a specific reason for why you were looking for me?”

“Yes, actually,” Avery goes to reach for something out of frame near the doorway. He pulls out a giant floatie in the style of a sunflower, putting it down in front of him. “I made sure to claim one for you because I know how much you like them. It’s even shaped like your favorite flower.”

“You remembered?” You say in surprise.

“I remember everything about you. So…you wanna go out to the lake together and try it out.”

“Oh, I was actually going to wait until Eddie’s gotten dressed first before—“

“He’ll be fine. Come on. You don’t want to miss out on the fun. Robin and Vickie’s been asking for you.” Avery eggs on.

You look over to Eddie. “You wouldn’t mind if I went down now, would you?”

“Of course not,” Eddie lies. “Go on. I’ll meet you in no time.”

You smile. “Great! See you there! Steve, ya comin’?”

“I’ll be right there. You go on for now.”

You nod then excitedly smile at Avery and he does the most fury-inducing thing in Eddie and Steve’s presence. He takes your hand. The other carries your floatie as the two of you exit the room.

“That fucker,” Steve hisses. “We have to get rid of that guy.”

“Get rid or get rid?” Eddie says emphasizing the difference in contexts. “Because at this point I’m down for whatever option.”

Steve looks at him with concern. “No more mafia movies for you.”

Dustin enters. “What are you fools doing up here? Baby’s down at the lake.”

“We’re trying to come up with a plan to get Spinelli out of the picture.” Eddie explains.

“Yeah, I seen them holding hands down there,” Dustin says while shaking his head in disappointment. “It’s looking rough for you guys.”

“You know the guy, Dustin. How do we stop him?” Steve says.

“All I know is that this dude’s very superstitious. He believes in omens and fortunes and all that make believe shit. How do we scare a guy that’s only afraid of things that don’t exist?”

A slow wicked smile dawns upon Eddie’s face. “I think my Show N’ Tell performance is going to be even more interesting than I anticipated.”

“What’s your plan?” Steve asks.

Eddie smirks, eyes playfully dark. “Don’t you worry. Just sit back and enjoy the show.”

[kdramacrybaby]

My favorite drama couples

In no particular order and some minor SPOILER warning!) → Feel free to add your own favorite couples to the post, so we can share the love.

Sh**ting Stars (Oh Han-byul / Gong Tae-sung):

They are one of my absolute favorite couples in any drama I’ve watched so far. I don’t know what it is about them, but they are just so good together! (And it doesn’t hurt that the actors have an amazing chemistry). Enemies to lovers is a guilty pleasure trope for me, and this does it perfectly – they bicker so much in the beginning, but slowly realize that they actually make a great team, and they come to rely on each other a lot. They actually communicate properly, sharing their worries without being judged, and the drama never relies on something as silly as miscommunication as a point of drama for them. It’s not often a drama makes me actually smile like a complete lovesick idiot when watching, but this just goes straight to my heart. The drama might not be my fave overall, as it has its own issues, but I’ll watch it 100 times over for them.

Hidden Love (Sang Zhi / Duan Jiaxu):

At first, I didn’t think I was going to like this drama too much as I was unsure about the whole age gap thing, but oh my word. This drama had me giggling like a teenager with a crush, and I was unable to stop smiling for most of it. They are so stinking cute together, and the fact that they actually communicate their thoughts and feelings with each other throughout it all is so important – especially with how their relationship started. I feel like I’m just repeating myself from what I said about Sh**ting Stars, but both of these couples just make me happy to watch. This relationship in particular has raised my standards so high, I’m probably going to end up single for the rest of my life. This drama really is all it’s hyped up to be and more.  

Happiness (Yoon Sae-bom / Jung Yi-hyun):

A fake marriage of convenience between two best friends, who both secretly have feelings for each other ?- sign me the fuck up. Two strong people who support each other through everything (in this case, an outbreak of zombies in their complex) – what more could you ask for? They just get each other, and both are willing to walk through hell and back for the other. We sadly don’t actually get to see them together all that much after they’ve finally confessed, but they acted like a couple anyway, so I’m not too sad about it. 

Fight For My Way (Ko Dong-man / Choi Ae-ra):

They have known each other for so long and, though they bicker, they are always the first to defend the other no matter what. They support each other’s dreams the best they can (though Ae-ra does have a problem with the fighting, and she tries to make him quit by making him choose between her and fighting, which I am not about, but I do get she’s just scared he’ll get hurt again). Either way, there is just something so pure about their love and the way they both slowly realize just what their feelings have evolved into as they grew up together.   

Doom at your service (Doom / Tak Dong-kyung):

These two had a rocky start, but I also feel like it only made them work better as a couple. The iconic lines: “So my plan is to love you, then I'll be able to live without losing anything.” / “Then let's do it right, love me to the point that you want to destroy the world for me.” are forever ingrained in my mind. It’s about both of them learning what life could actually be if you let yourself feel and live for yourself instead of living for everyone else. They help each other through it all until they both realize they deserve love, and I find that really beautiful.

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 29

welcome to the twenty-ninth fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.  

1. don’t know what i did to earn a love like this (but baby i must be doin’ something right) by littleghost

“I went to the desert to listen to country music.” It falls out of him, and he keeps going, voice hushed like there’s more than just him and Lance in this room. “It always reminded me of you and I would go stare at the stars, think of you, and listen to country.”

i know littleghost has been inactive in the voltron fandom since literally 2017 but i am so obsessed with their fic. im not huge on high school aus usually but this fic in particular had so many of my favourite niche headcanons that ive read this fic like twelve times. yall know how i feel about quiet devotion and its everywhere in this fic.

2. every day i wonder by kirargent

Lance has a stuffed-full backpack, a beanie pulled down over the tips of his ears, a blanket draped around his neck like a thick scarf, and his cell phone pressed to one ear. He looks like an idiot, and he’s being entirely too loud for a good cryptid hunt.

this shit made me fucking LAUGH. keith is such an ornery bitch i literally love him so much. this fic bodies the ‘fuck am i in love with HIM?? why??? why am i so HAPPY ABOUT IT???’ so well i love it

3. mortal bodies, timeless souls by @littendeservesbetter

“Wait!” Coran lets out a triumphant noise. “I got it! If my calculations stand corrected, then our visitors will be people we actually know! Keith, Lance, you two will be meeting your alternate selves today!”

Coran says it like the idea is so mundane that it takes Keith a while to process. The moment he does, however, he feels his heart drop to his stomach.

“We’re going to what?!” Lance yelps, effectively voicing out Keith’s thoughts.

Or, the castle's teludav malfunctions, alternate realities are mixed, and Keith finds out that he and Lance are a lot more... close in other realities.

they are fucking in love in every single reality in every single universe always and endlessly. they are Soulmates. i know its cheesy but im obsessed with them literally. also extra incentive this fic has pike/thunderstorm darkness

4. here comes the violence by stardon 

“Fancy seeing you here, Whiskers.”

Keith feels his tail wag in annoyance, which is almost as horrifying as his current situation. “No. Absolutely fucking not.” He looks at his bare wrist, pretending he has a watch. “How about we postpone this? My calendar says I’m free from the seventh of never through to the fifteenth of ain’t-gonna-happen, how does that work for you guys?”

Pidge looks up, quirking a brow. “Lance has an amazing influence on your humour, you know that?”

In which sometimes Keith is a bit Galra, sometimes not.

this fic is excellent because their both so obviously in love and down bad for each other but theyre both also stupid. borderline already dating but also not and driving each other insane is peak peak trope

5. Beast of Burden by melancholymango [EXPLICIT]

“Keith, no, we can’t go again.” Lance pleads fall on deaf ears. Keith is honed in on him now like predator to prey. He’s fighting a losing battle and they both know it. He sees it in the way Keith is raking his eyes over him, sizing him up. “We’ll be so late getting to the bar.”“Just one more.” Keith insists, herding Lance toward the counter with a stubbornness that is innately wolf. Lance pouts, but he doesn't have anywhere else to go but backward.“That’s what you said last time! And the time before that!”--The week leading up to a supermoon, as told by the world's best werewolf boyfriend, Lance McClain. The good, the bad, and the horny.

this is just monsterfucking but its also like soft in there. but mostly its monsterfucking

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!