subzero - beverly marsh x fem!reader
it fandom week: huddling for warmth
content warnings: mentions of intoxication, smoking, swearing, fire, harmless threats, inhaler abuse, enemies to lovers, also i’m making bev tall bc i love tall gals
word count: 3k
at the ripe age of ten years old, you knew you wanted to become a mother. the appeal of bouncing children in your lap, tucking them into bed, and the empowering feeling of calming tantrums down was something you naively believed was your destiny.
now, ten-year-old you was never wrong, you knew that. but what you didn’t expect was for your dream to come true at eighteen, stuck mothering six drunken teenage sons during a hailstorm’s power outage.
“edward. kaspbrak. i swear to god, if you do not go to sleep right now i will knock you out with your own inhaler.”
eddie groans at your words, still teeter-tottering towards the mattress. richie was already in bed, practically dead for a past half-hour.
thankfully, he didn’t wake up from his comatose state when eddie gracefully slammed headfirst into the bed. you held your breath as the bed shook under eddie’s weight. drunken eddie was already a nightmare, what more, an even worse nightmare when catalysed with richie’s antics.
mike was slightly more useful. after throwing up in almost every sink in the house, he helped carry a very tipsy ben up the stairs and they were now both unconscious down the hall. bill wasn't exactly a disturbance, but he was incredibly determined to show us that he could play the piano right now if asked, that his skills were only heightened after dark. (the fact that bill had never touched a piano in his life, or that bev's apartment didn't even have a piano wasn't stopping him). bev was taking care of them in the other room, and based on the muffled conversation, was still trying to coax bill to sleep.
you and bev being the losers’ designated sober pair for tonight was the worst idea that had ever occurred to anyone. ever. the eight of you agreed. if you needed something done, you’d never leave the two of you to do it together.
but stan had explained that the rotation required the two of you to pair up tonight, no matter what. you didn’t quite understand the necessity of it but in all honesty, you’d rather put up with bev’s clownery than upset stan further.
speaking of, you glance at the lump on the floor, peacefully swaddled and engulfed in the massive duvet. you should probably check on stan’s breathing later.
now, though, you still had one child left.
hearing the sound of an air pump go off from the bed, you walk back to eddie.
“but i’m so cold and i’m not even tired,” said eddie, his inhaler still jammed in his mouth.
“eddie, the power will be back in no time, and if you keep pumping that shit in your mouth, you’re never going to feel tired,” you sigh, taking the aspirator away.
“no, but seriously.” eddie continues, his eyes filled with sleep-deprived mania. “i swear, i’m like wide awake, i don’t even need sleep right now, it’s technically the morning and nO WHAT THE HELL-”
clutching the pump in your hand, you watch the white vapour shoot against eddie’s face. nothing but eddie’s exasperated coughing filled the room.
“i told you, i’m not afraid to use this.”
“i thought...you said...you were going to...knock me out with it,” eddie questioned between coughs.
you narrow your eyes at him, “you keep this up and i will knock you with it.”
“wow, you really are gonna make a great mother someday.”
you let out a deep groan, turning to see where the new voice came from. leaning against the doorframe with a lit cigarette between her fingers was bev in all her smug glory.
“you know, after dealing with kaspbrak tonight, he makes you look like an angel,” you roll your eyes.
“hey!” you hear a muffled voice from under the blanket.
“go to sleep, pretty boy,” bev chuckles, some smoke escaping with her laugh, “i know it’s hard after seeing her troll face but you have to try.”
you rolled your eyes again at the two giggles in the room, shuffling around the bed, carefully stepping around stan’s body. you continue to walk past bev and into the hall.
the house was silent. no one lived here anymore but bev since you guys graduated, and since mr. marsh stopped residing here, the apartment had an almost peaceful quality.
walking past the guest room, you grin at the sight of mike, ben, and bill entwined together on the floor. oh, how much tamer this group would’ve been compared to the menaces next door.
you snatch your backpack from the living room sofa and dug through the pockets anxiously. searching against the walls of your bag and still finding nothing, you began to feel more and more nervous. “fucking hell, where is it,” you whisper.
at this rate, you weren’t sure if the thumping in your ears was from the sound of sharp hail hitting the windows or your heart beating in your throat. you stand up in a deeper panic, aggressively patting your pockets up and down.
“you know, as entertaining as this is to watch, i almost feel bad.”
“bev..." you sigh. "i am not in the mood."
“why? too busy looking for your pack of camels?” you hear the sound of a familiar cardboard flap opening, “personally, i’m more of a marlboro girl but i mean, these work too.”
you spin around and storm up to bev, snatching the lit cigarette from her lips. “that’s mine?”
she smirks, “you left your backpack open, it was practically an invitation.”
“an invitation for you to go through my shit?” you hissed, dangling the ignited end near her face.
she snatched her cig back and mockingly dangling it back near your face, “yeah, a formal invitation for me to smoke off this monstrosity of a temperature. what do you want, an apology too? i can write you one asap, let me find bill’s notebook-”
taking the cig back once more, you snap. "you’re such an ass, bev.”
she grins, following closely behind you. she could feel the heat radiating off of your body, and she secretly hoped you’d accidentally stop in your tracks so she could run into you. in the name of transferring body heat and what not. shaking off these thoughts that were hijacking her brain, she makes a kissy sound, “c’mon, you know you love it.”
“mmhm sure, bev. because i’m really into girls stealing my shit.”
pinching the flame from the cig and dumping it in the tray, she leads the both of you into the supply closet. she chuckles as she leans against the doorway, leaving you feeling trapped in the tight room. you knew she was laughing because you insisted on going in first and now that you were the one having to get the stuff, but you didn’t quite register that the things you needed was on the top shelf. up high stood a high stack of blankets. and they looked like they could singlehandedly cure the subzero temperature.
clearly, you must have been looking up at the blankets for a moment too long because bev gave up and leaned forwards to grab the stack. the sensation of her flushed against your back was enough to make you dizzy, not to mention how absolutely warm she was. and of course... it was bev.
bev. the girl who you rolled your eyes at every day, the girl who taunts you at any given minute, the girl you would, and had, risked your life for. you guys never talk about neibolt, but sometimes you catch yourself thinking of what could have happened if it went south. if you hadn’t grabbed her in time, and if you didn’t switch places just before pennywise launched at you...
absentmindedly tracing the scar down your stomach, you think of the absolute lack of regret you feel to this day. you always had this joke that you wanted to kill her, but how much of that was true?
“darling, did the cold already go and rot your brain?” bev faux-pouts, “not that there was much to begin with, but i’m still worried.” the stack of blankets was now under her arms with one stretched out as she began to wrap it around herself.
never mind. sometimes you did want to kill her.
by habit, you went on your tip toes in order to get to bev’s face, but she was already crouched a couple inches from your face. trying to keep your racing heart under wraps, you choke out a semi-convincing “don’t make me murder you, beverly.”
she grins back your serious face. "aww no, i couldn’t let you do that. the knives and other weapons are also stored up there.” she teases, slinging her arm around your shoulder and dragging you to deliver the blankets to the boys.
"oh, fuck off." you shove bev's arm off of you and walked back into richie, eddie, and stan's room. true to your word, you kneeled down to the floor and gently rolled stan’s head towards you. placing your two fingers against his pulse point, you giggle to yourself at the absurd action. if it wasn’t already obvious that he was indeed alive, he groans under you, but you shush him in time. lightly stroking his curls, you whisper. "i’m just checking up on you, stan,” placing the second blanket onto him. he groaned back.
quietly tip-toeing towards the bed, you tossed the other blanket over richie and eddie. “i swear, these guys would be dead already without us.” you laugh to yourself.
a dim light flickers from the living room and casts a light across the hall. you shut the door behind you as you leave, going into the living room to see bev on the sofa, engulfed in her own large fleece blanket. the only thing peeking out was her face and hands as her she alternated flickering her lighter's warmth on her fingers.
without thinking, you plop by her on the sofa. “whatcha doing there, you pyro?”
“it’s getting so fucking cold,” bev half-heartedly jokes. you can see her eyebrows are furrowed in concentration, but her voice was so contradictingly soft it made your heart melt.
you extended your open hand to her and she stared at it. “blood oath part two? promise to never be sober again during a powercut?”
“i wish, and shut up. don’t play dumb with me, beverly.”
you notice the slightest tinge in her cheeks as she places her hand along with her lighter in yours. you immediately recoil at her freezing fingertips and the lighter clatters to the ground. bev rolls her eyes and shifts away, “first you want to hold my hand, secondly you’re acting like i have fucking HIV.”
“firstly, smartass, i’d still hold your hand if you had HIV-”
“aww-”
“because it’s a blood-borne pathogen so unless you bleed or shit or lactate on my hand, i’m safe.”
bev’s face scrunches up. “how romantic.”
“now shut it and give me your hand already.” you say, placing your palm out for her again.
now bev is the one rolling her eyes at you for a change. she gives you her hand, much slower this time though, careful not to have you pull away again. not having you pull away? why was this something she was considering?
immediately, bev felt the heat from your skin radiate against hers’, instantly igniting her skin in goosebumps. she instinctively gave you her other hand and you take with a soft smile.
“now...why the hell are you built like a goddamn radiator.” bev grumbled, rubbing her hands together under yours.
“well, i don’t see you complaining, do i?” you raise your eyebrows.
“i’m not mad...it’s just that it’s not like you need it,” bev says between chuckles, “you’re like five feet tall. not exactly a lot of surface area to heat up.”
“you’re such a dick, bev. you’re losing your hand-holding privileges,” you side-eye, pulling your warm fingers away.
she gasped, “oh, don’t you dare.”
“yes, i do. it’s not like i’m dying to feel your freezing hands on me, bev.” you desperately try to make the statement sound as sarcastic as you can, but it ends up coming out much shakier than expected.
even in the dark, you can see the glint of bev’s mischievous grin. “oh really? you don’t want to feel my freezing hands?”
“is that a trick question?” you sigh exasperatedly, “because if you as much as-”
suddenly, you feel bev’s ice-cold fingers press against the skin on your ribcage and you immediately squeal. you clamp your hand over your mouth at the scare, you try and contain the others sounds that escape you as she further presses her freezing hands against your warm skin. scrambling away from her grasp, you slap the back of her head.
“you stop that right now or i will leave you on your own porch to freeze,” you threaten through gritted teeth.
“mmhm, like you would.” she teases, continuing to press the pads of her still-cold fingertips into your stomach.
you felt your heart rate rise significantly, to the point that you were sure that your unknown warmness was actually due to bev making the blood pump 10x more than normal.
every braincell swimming inside your head was on the brink of short-circuiting at the feeling of bev’s hands dancing along the edge of your bra.
what the hell is she thinking?
after a couple more rounds of her threatening to freeze your midriff and you threatening to crack open a window, you both surrender and allow her keep her hands clasped between yours, resting atop your chest.
“are you not getting any warmer?” you groan, forcing yourself to snap out of your own feelings.
“hey, you’re the hot-pack here. do you think i’m feeling any warmer?” she goes back to press her freezing palms against your stomach.
“no, no, no, do not do that again.”
bev sighs, “then what the hell am i supposed to do?” she sits upright and tightens the blanket around her head. shifting away from you, she shivers her way back into the other end of the sofa. “i’m dressed in triple the layers you are, moved around way more than you have, i’m even wearing this gigantic fleece eyesore-”
“oh for fuck’s sake just come back here.” you roll your eyes.
bev moves about an inch closer.
you feel your heart constrict in your chest and you let yourself say it before you could think it any further, “i said, come here.” you lift one of your arms and gesture for her to come closer. scooting your body near to the end of the sofa, it was clear that the space you made was so she could easily crawl in next to you.
“are- are you... you want me to-”
you’re sure your whole face has gone red. bev she already can’t stand you so why not just make it even more awkward, huh? you bit your tongue gently, calming yourself down. if bev didn’t know that you offered to cuddle with her just because you could, then that was her fault for being so daft. you sigh, resuming back into your deadpan state. “yeah, i can’t listen to another minute of your whinging.”
“no, i heard you, i just-” she stammers, looking equally red herself. you feel a huge tiny sense of pride as you realised you’ve rendered bev speechless. beverly marsh. speechless.
“what are you waiting for?” you tease, “a formal invitation?”
having the upper hand for once was refreshing, if not thrilling. being the one to tease her and watch her become flustered was something you wish could happen more often.
bev’s face breaks out in the softest smile you’ve ever seen. she slowly makes her way over to you, shifting her body close to yours without touching you yet. “is that too much to ask for? a formal invitation?”
you let out an unexpected genuine laugh at her silliness and bev giggles in unison. this was different than your default laughter made of semi-amusement and sarcasm. she rests her weight against you, her cheek gently pressing into your collarbone. her fingertips resume their spot against the flushed skin of your stomach and your own cheeks turn red again. there wasn’t a functional reason for her to do that anymore.
“stop that before i regret this, bev.”
“there’s no way in hell you regret this.” she grins, followed by the faintest whisper of an “i sure don’t.”
you were about to reply and perhaps mention how you’d be okay with her falling asleep in your arms, that you could tolerate such juvenile behaviour. you know, in the name of public health and safety, but bev beats you to it.
“just let me warm up here for ten minutes, alright. then you can let go and i’ll sleep on my side right after,” she rushes out.
that wasn’t how you thought it was going to know. your heart sinks slightly at her words but you try not to take it personally. what else could you do? it was almost like a wake-up call, reminding the both of you that this wasn’t normal for you and bev.
after a minute or so, you found yourself absentmindedly weaving your fingers through bev’s auburn hair, gently combing it with your hands like you did earlier with stan. “you have such soft hair,” you whisper against her hair.
you hear her mumble against the blanket indistinguishably and you find yourself closing your eyes at the vibrations of her voice against you. if only bev wanted to stay here like this and this feeling between the two of you could last more than the next ten minutes. you let your eyelids drift down momentarily, and you smile at the thought.
just a couple minutes later, your mind jolts back awake, and your heart sinks at the thought of having to wake her up so she could move to her side of the sofa and sleep. you reach over to feel the ends of her hair between your fingers again, grounding yourself to this feeling one last time before bev had to wake up. once you peel your eyes open however, you immediately shut them against the bright light shining at you. was richie planning on abducting y’all in the middle of the night again? gently prying your eyes open for the second time, you notice the light is shining from the window. you sigh in relief.
wait. the window?
your eyes shoot open fully. the hail had stopped. and it’s day time.
snapping your head down to bev, you take in her figure still fit snugly into your side. her free arm rests across your chest, her legs were entwined with yours. ...and her electric blue eyes stare right into you. your heart instantly jumps into your throat as you scramble for excuses, fuck, anything that would keep you from explaining yourself.
instead, she shifts her body upwards so she’s fit even tighter against your side, placing her face into the crook of your neck. her lips were right at your pulse point, sending your mind spiralling at the thought that she could probably feel how fast your heart was beating right now. her lips move against your skin, saying something barely above a whisper.
“you tell anyone about this and i’ll fucking end you.”
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The Snack That Smiles Back
Read on Ao3
Summary: Hanbrough goes on a cute carnival date. Bill's a dork. Mike's a simp. That's it. My contribution for the @itfandomweek under the prompt: Theme Park
Warnings: Like one or two cuss words? Idk, this is honestly pure fluff.
This was nice. Mike was so happy to be spending some much-needed quality time with his boyfriend. Bill had been so busy wrapping up his novel and Mike had been throwing himself into his history studies; the two just hadn’t had a moment together.
It was Saturday and when they woke up in bed this morning, they both realized they had nowhere they needed to be, they decided to do something together. It was a good thing the carnival had come to town.
Which is how Mike finds himself trailing behind Bill, arms full with a giant teddy bear, which Bill has named “Brandy”. He won it for Bill at the Hi-Striker game. Bill walks aimlessly ahead, mindlessly taking bites of his cotton candy as he looks for their next task. Mike smiles and sighs, it’s been nice to see Bill relax and let go today, they really needed this.
They’ve spent the whole day here, and still won’t be leaving for at least a little longer. The sun is going down casting a pretty orange glow on the bright lights of the rides. They’ve ridden every ride, twice, so far. The swings were Mike’s favorite and he was able to get a lot of cute photos of Bill smiling, his auburn hair swept back by the wind as he kicked his legs when they were suspended in the air. For some forsake reason Bill’s favorite ride was that awful Zipper one, a death trap Mike calls it.
They’ve stuffed their faces with fair food and played countless games. Most of the funhouses were enjoyable, but they did avoid the clown one. That one was just disturbing.
Mike suddenly hears the unmistakable sound of farm animals, not realizing they’ve been wandering near the barn that housed the contest animals. Bill spins on his heel, obviously hearing them too. He smiles before he starts to speed walk towards it. If Bill wasn’t a grown man, Mike’s pretty sure he’d run there.
Mike huffs and quickly hurries after him. When he gets into the barn the smell hits him and he thinks of his childhood on the farm. He always did love the farm animals. Still does.
Parents are walking around with their kids, smiling as their kids get the courage to pet the cows on their noses. He sees Bill crouching down in front of a pig’s stall. He squeezes the oversized bear closer to his chest so he doesn’t accidentally bump anyone with it, and pushes his way through the crowd to him.
Bill is talking to the pig and petting it. Mike notices Bill's cotton candy has mysteriously gone missing.
“Did you drop your cotton candy?” he asks as he crouches to Bill’s level. He’d pet the pig if he could too, but he’s not about to set the bear down on the floor of a barn.
Bill jolts, surprised, he was apparently having a very in-depth conversation with the pig, “Yes, I dropped it. I definitely dropped my cotton candy,” he even nods his head a little, to drive that point home.
Mike glances at the pig, noticing the pig’s mouth is now stained hot pink and sugar residue surrounds it. Rolling his eyes fondly he looks back at Bill, “You dropped it right into the pig’s mouth?”
“He liked it!” He pouts in retaliation.
“I bet he did,” Mike sighs.
For the next thirty minutes, they walk around the barn seeing all the animals. Bill gets to feed the cows by hand; he was very happy about that. They both really love animals, and they would get a dog, or a pig-according to Bill- but they live in an apartment. It just doesn't work right now.
A nice lady takes a photo for them as they pose in front of the first place horse. In Mike’s opinion, all the animals are show winners. He thanks her and when he turns back around...Bill is missing. Great.
He couldn’t have gotten that far, Mike scans the crowd and heads out of the barn. His short boyfriend would be hard to see in the sea of people, but thankfully he’s at the first carnival game outside the barn.
“Ooo so close dude. Wanna have another shot?”
“Shut up and take my money,” Bill says as he hands the game attendee his wrinkled dollar bills. Is that one of the live goldfish games? Shit. Mike gets there just in time to see the last of Bill’s five ping pong balls miss the holes. “This game is rigged!”
The game attendee smugly crosses his arms, “So what? Are you just going to give up?”
Oh, this guy is good, he’s reading Bill like a book. Mike intervenes before Bill can take him up on the challenge. “No thanks! I think we’re good.” He tries to nudge Bill to get going.
Stubbornly Bill stands his ground, “I really want one, it’d be nice to have a little friend in my study,” He’s got full pout mode in effect. It’s Bill’s secret weapon against Mike and he knows it.
“But Bill they need a twenty-nine gallon tank at least and they’re a lot more work than you think they are Baby,” he tries to reason.
“Okay so? We can afford it! We’ll go buy everything they need tomorrow!” That is true Mike supposes, money wasn’t the issue here. “Please Mikey?”
Dammit. Bill knows he has him- hook line and sinker when he breaks out that nickname. Guess they’re bringing home a fish.
The game attendee clears his throat and holds the bucket of ping pong balls out enticingly, “So what’s it gonna be fellas?” he asks with a raised brow.
He glances back at Bill’s pout one more time, before admitting defeat. “Here, hold Brandy,” he says as he passes the bear over. Bill cheers as Mike digs out his wallet out of his jeans and Mike tries to hide his smile at that.
Mike exchanges his money for his five ping pong balls and takes a deep breath. Five chances to win a fish because he really doesn’t want to give this game more money than they already have. He tosses the first ping pong ball and he makes it on his first shot.
“Yes! Yes!” Bill exclaims from beside him. He hands the bear back to Mike as the game attendee grabs one of the already bagged goldfish.
The man laughs as he gives the goldfish to Bill, “Okay, here ya go dude.”
Bill is holding up the goldfish to his face, smiling at his little new two brain cell friend. He blindly reaches for Mike’s hand, not taking his eyes off the fish.
Mike grabs Bill’s hand and starts to lead them away and towards the entrance. They have to go back to the apartment and decide where a big tank is supposed to go in Bill’s small study.
They find their car relatively easy and Mike buckles Brandy in the back seat, and Bill climbs into the passenger side. He gets into the driver's side and starts up his car.
“Thank you for winning him Mikey,” Bill’s holding the bag close to his chest, but he leans over the center counsel to give Mike a kiss on his cheek. “We’re now the proud parents of-” Bill cuts his glance back to the bear in the back seat, “ two kids.”
He chuckles, “Sure we are Bill. You named Brandy, what do you plan on naming that little guy?”
“Silver!” he says, sounding quite proud of the name.
“But, Baby, that’s a gold fish,” he tries to correct.
He shakes his head, “Silver Mikey, silver. ”
“Okay Billy, silver it is.”
A/N: Ha, you get the title? Bill gets a goldfish. It's a pun and- and- I'll be quiet now.
This is my quick little and only contribution to the fandom week solely because I couldn't unthink that joke.
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