#just couldn't stop thinking about how this interaction should have gone

[kleiner-ghost]

What of Kenny's and Bounty Hunter's conversation didn't get interrupted at the space Applebee's?

2nd person POV, spoilers ahead.

"So-so I killed them all. I -" Kenny rambled on.

"Listen." You interrupted, as you put your hand over his head, trying to reassure him. Well, you tried at least, but Kenny flinched away, avoiding eye contact. "Listen," you continued, "you say this is all your fault, that you're this horrible person for killing all your people-"

"Yes, t-that's exactly what I've been saying. If not for m-me, my people would still be alive, I would still have a home!"

You sat back in your chair, arms crossed over your chest. You'd thought that his rant was over earlier, but evidentially de still had some stuff to get off his chest.

"From where I stand, Garmantuous was the one to do all the killing. How many of your people did you kill?"

"All of them!"

"That was a rhetorical question." You snapped. Kenny made a small scoop backwards and shut up. "Zero. You, personally, didn't fire that canon of yours at any of your own."

"A-actually,"

You shook a finger in front of his face, hushing him again.

"And how many G3's have you killed? After how many dozens have you stopped counting? Kenny, I'm not saying you're a good guy, don't give me that face, but you gotta put things into perspective-"

The loud sound of a space RV dashing past the space Applebee's, and almost running someone over briefly snapped your attention towards the window.

"T-then, what are you you saying?" Kenny, clearly unbothered by traffic violations asked.

"That you fucked up. You were young and impressionable, and Garmantuous took advantage of that, and you fucked up, sure, but you tried to make it better."

"Wow, it took nothing at all to p-paint me as a hero in all t-this. M-maybe the others will be as stupid, I mean open minded, as you." Kenny muttered.

You weren't sure if that was sarcasm, or genuine thoughts, but you took offence to it none the less.

"If you wanna souse in your self-pity-guilt sandwich, then be my guest. But we've killed hundreds of people in these past what, 3 days?" You weren't sure how long you'd been a bounty hunter for, with the warps and all the days did blend in together, but you were sure it'd been less than a week, "Some of them even had names." You added for dramatic purposes.

You couldn't remember what any of the bounties outside of Dr. Joopy were called, but your point still stood. Judging by Kenny's expression, it was coming across too.

"Those those were G3's. T'thats not the same."

"Yeah, because you actually killed them." You pooed his forehead. "Unlike the Gatlians who were killed by orange shitface."

Kenny looked away for a second, collecting his thoughts.

"Y-you're right." He eventually conceeded. "But I don't think the others will see it like that."

"Burning crossed bridges and all that," you shrugged.

"What?"

"It's an Earth expression. Now let's go before the wrighters comes back and makes me eat this, urgh," you gave the shrimp quessadilla a dirty side glance, "or worse, makes us pay for it."

"Yeah! Let's go. And and if he comes after us, you can fire my glob shot at them!"

"Sure..."

This was another conversation that you needed to have with him, but you decided to save it for another day, as you dashed, without dining, out of the Applebee's.

[thevoidstaredback]

How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have

Communication is good. It's wonderful, even! But screaming matches? Especially ones that last this long, aren't healthy in the slightest. In fact, all they do is damage relationships. So, after convincing Barbra and Tim to go upstairs, promising that he'd be up in a few minutes with Dick, he went back to where Bruce and Dick were screaming at each other.

Nothing had been thrown yet. Small mercies.

God, Danny hated being a mediator. Why couldn't people just work out their problems by talking? It'd make his life so much easier. Was that so hard to do? Too much to ask? Apparently.

"And you-!" Bruce rounded on Danny the second he closed the door behind him. "You don't get to come into my house and-"

"Let me stop you right there, Mister Wayne." A few days into his running away, Danny discovered a new power. He can't control it, but sometimes, when he's angry or needs people to shut up, the inside of his throat goes cold and his eyes narrow. It's really cool, from Danny's perspective, and pun fully intended. Something about Mister Wayne had brought that power to the surface, and thank the gods for that because Danny really needs to be listened to right now. "I told you earlier that my name was not a fight you wanted to pick. I think I should reword that. I am not a person you want to pick a fight with."

Bruce narrowed his eyes, meeting Danny's glare with his own. "Is that a threat?"

"Yes, Mister Wayne, that was a threat. And you can hold me to it. I will win any and every fight you try to pick with me."

Dick kept glancing between the two. He had a bad feeling about these two interacting like this, but something was stopping him from getting them apart.

"I have your name and your face. It won't be too hard to get you arrested for several crimes."

"Framing a child, Mister Wayne? Good luck with that. I don't exist anymore. Besides, I can threaten the same thing about Batman, and that holds significantly more weight than anything you could do to my name."

"If you're not scared, then you'll give me your whole name."

"That was a horrible fish for information, Mister Wayne. You're slipping. You must be getting rusty in your old age."

"Danny-"

"Dick." Danny held his hand out to his - on paper - responsible adult, "C'mon, Tim and Barbra are waiting for us upstairs."

Danny lead Dick out of the room, Bruce staying behind and obviously glaring at the back of Danny's head. When the door shut, Dick sighed, every bit of tension he hadn't felt melting off of him. "Sorry about him."

Danny shook his head. "Don't apologise, Dick, you didn't do anything to spark that. However," he glanced at him from the corner of his eye, still holding his hand, "Screaming matches aren't going to fix anything between you two. I don't know if you even want a relationship with him, but he's right. We came into his house, so it's up to us to be polite. You may be his kid, but you are a guest in his home until you two can form some kind of positive relationship. The hostility between y'all right now? That demotes you to 'house guest' instead of 'visiting child'. Got it?"

"..yeah."

"Good. Now, Tim and Barbra are waiting upstairs; go find them."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to go apologise to Alfred."

"Alfred? Why?"

"Bruce may claim this as his house, but Alfred's the one who takes care of it. It's his haunt, so I'm gonna go apologise for almost starting a fight."

"Um, alright..?"

***

Dick found himself wandering into the room that had been given to Tim. It was bare bones and barely looked used, but that's where he found Tim and Babs. He sat next to her.

"Where's Danny?" Tim asked.

"I- He's gone to talk to Alfred for a minute."

"Oh? Why?"

"I don't..he wasn't really clear on that."

"Oh."

The three lapsed into a silence that hovered somewhere between comfortable and uncomfortable. Tim was on his bed, messing with something on his phone, smiling occasionally or chuckling softly. Dick and Barbra sat together on the couch against the wall between the two windows. None of them spoke for a while.

It was a lon twenty minutes of sitting, doing nothing. Sometimes one of them shifted, but no conversation was made.

The door opened. "Wow. Did I end up in a graveyard or something? Y'all're quieter than the dead." The three flinched back as if struck. "Sorry, that was in poor taste." He closed the door behind him and sat on the foot of Tim's bed. "Seriously, though, why're y'all so quiet?"

"Waiting for you," Tim answered, "What'd you talk to Alfred about?"

Danny waved his hand in the air as if to physically dispel the words. "Nothing you need to worry about. Good news, though, I have a standing invitation to the Manor, so.."

"Is that a good idea?" Barbra asked, "You and B, well...You didn't really.."

"Yeah," he smiled, "Alfred's given me permission, and that's all I need. I won't be going with you guys to the Bat Cave, though."

"What?" Tim's voice pitched up a bit, "Why?"

"That's Mister Wayne's haunt. Because he doesn't like me, I'm not gonna risk even thinking about going down there."

"But you'll come and go from his house?"

"Yes."

"Weird."

"I don't make the rules, Timmy." Tim snorted softly. Barbra smiled.

"I hate to be the one to bring the mood down again," Dick said, "But why were you wanting to go to the Cave?"

"I just said I wasn't."

"Yeah, but why would you ever need to go down there?"

At this, Danny looked a bit sheepish, turning to look away from the others and rubbing the back of his neck. "Alfred said we're staying the night."

"What!" Dick shot up from his seat.

"Are you coming on patrol with us?" Barbra asked Dick, her eyes expectant.

Tim grinned. "That'd be so cool! You two should totally join us!"

Dick shook his head. "I really-" He cut himself off, making the mistake of looking Barbra and Tim in the eye. He sighed. "Alright, I'll join you guys for the night. But I don't answer to Bruce."

"Yay!"

"Wouldn't expect ya to."

"What about you, Danny?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I don't do the whole vigilante thing anymore."

"'Anymore'?" Babs raised her eyebrow, "That's a story I wanna hear."

He blushed. "It's really not,"

"You'll be on comms, though, right?" Tim wondered.

"I, um.... Sure. I'll join you guys on comms."

"Yes!"

"But I'm still not going into the Bat Cave."

Part 13 Part 15

[kitasgloves]

boyfriend! SAKUSA KIYOOMI who's unaware about how his gaze softens when he sees you interact with children. Your playful and welcoming demeanor charmed every kid you came into contact with. He just stares tenderly at the way you play with kids, taking care of them, and making sure they're happy.

Sakusa was never a fan of children but that doesn't mean he's cruel to them. Albeit awkward, but he doesn't intentionally scare them off. Seeing you getting along with children gives him a mixture of envy and pride. The more often he sees it, his perceivement of you begins to morph differently.

When you had to babysit your co-worker's son, Sakusa reluctantly offers to help. Fortunately, the child wasn't rowdy so he didn't develop any headache.

"Ki, can you watch over him? I'm going out to buy some groceries"

Sakusa nods. He and the kid waves goodbye as they both stare back at the television filled with cartoons. During a commercial, Sakusa can feel the boy's curious gaze on him.

"Mister Kiyoomi?"

"...Yes?"

"Are you [Name]'s boyfriend?"

"Yes"

"You're very lucky"

The boy replies, now it's Sakusa's turn to be curious. He looks at the kid with a raised brow.

"How come?"

"Well, she's very nice and pretty. She takes good care of me so much so she must take good care of you too!"

"Well, you're right, kid"

"[Name] tells me you play volleyball as a job, you must be very good!"

"Of course I am"

"Can you please teach me how to play volleyball?"

Flabbergasted but amused, Sakusa agrees to teach the kid to play the sport. When you return, you find Sakusa and the boy playing volleyball in the backyard with gleeful smiles on their faces.

Since then, Sakusa has looks forward to babysitting the kid. You've noticed how close they have become. The boy would greet him by running to him and hugging him then he'd pick him up in his arms, which was a pretty big deal considering your boyfriend was openly not a fan of kids. You'd catch them talking for hours, sometimes the boy would sit on Sakusa's lap. It was incredibly endearing, you're afraid your heart is going to burst out of your chest.

Sakusa doesn't dare admit it, but he's convinced he's developing some sort of baby fever. He keeps getting scenarios in his head involving him, you, and a tiny human. That tiny human would share both his and your traits. They'll babble and cling to you and him until they learn how to form sentences, play with other children, get to school, finish college, and getting married.

Woah, slow down there Kiyoomi

First off, he should be the one getting married first. However, he couldn't stop thinking about raising a child with you. It got concerning to the point that he doesn't get disgusted about changing diapers. He thinks he's not ready to become a father. There's so much to do. He needs to buy a ring and get on one knee, kiss you at the altar, then give you his last name.

"When are you and [Name] going to have a baby?"

Sakusa chokes on his tea when your co-worker's son asks him out of the blue. Thankfully, you were gone to buy some snacks. He feels himself get red all over. The kid wasn't even fucking with him, he looked genuinely curious.

"...I don't think we're going to have one"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not ready to be a dad"

"But you already act like a dad to me, Kiyoomi-san"

"...Really?"

"Yeah! I bet your kid is going to be happy to have you as a dad!"

The boy beamed at him and he internally melts. It felt like a switch has been flipped as all form of logic went out of the window. As your co-worker comes to pick up their son later, Sakusa picks you up and carries you to the bedroom. He starts peppering you with kisses.

"Hey, why are being so lovey-dovey right now, Ki?"

"Nothing..."

"I know you, Sakusa Kiyoomi"

You poke his forehead, he pouts and buries his face against your chest.

"Can I ask you a question, love?"

"Shoot"

"Do you want to start a family with me?"

When Sakusa kooks up, there's bewilderment in your features. He purses his lips, he thinks he might've said something wrong. All of a sudden, your hand rests on his cheek as your eyes softened.

"I would love to start a family with you, Kiyoomi"

"I think I'm ready to be a dad. I got some training from the babysitting"

You laugh as you playfully pinch his cheek. He could spend an eternity like this.

"I think you'd be a wonderful dad, babe"

"Yeah? You mean it?"

"Of course, love"

You softly reassured him with a pet on his dark curls. As he smiles lovingly at you, he's already orchestrating a plan in his head. The perfect engagement ring, a flawless wedding, a romantic honeymoon, baby names, a cradle, baby formula, diapers, and a crying baby. He's especially thinking of sex positions that would knock you up successfully.

[aimbutmiss]

Crocodile couldn't digest Mihawk and Buggy getting closer at first. Everything about their shift in dynamic bothered him.

It was another boring late night when he first realised the two were closer than he anticipated. He was sitting in his office, staring at the papers in front of him in futile effort. His eyes were refusing to focus and let him read their content. He had lost track of time once again, as he did almost every night. Overworking came as naturally to him as breathing. He slowly got up from his seat with a sigh as he realised he couldn't get work done in his state, so he might as well get some sleep to work tomorrow.

Work, work, work. That's all he'd ever known. Because even when the whole world is against you, hard work always paid off. Blood, sweat and tears never betrayed you like people did. He had always lived his life according to this ideal, and he didn't have any plans to change it anytime soon.

He walked out of the office to make his way to his sleeping quarters, but stopped in his tracks as he was passing by the library. The sound of chatting and laughing was hushed, but still obvious in the silence that covered the island during the night. Normally he couldn't care less about some crew members doing God knows what, but his tiredness made it harder to think. So, he couldn't ignore his curiosity as instincts took over, his feet acting on their own. He tried to listen in, walking closer to the tent walls separating them. He quickly realised it was the clown and hawk eyes on the other side, which was ridiculous. What were the two of them doing in the middle of the night at the library? It seemed they were talking about stupid, random things. He heard something about nail polish, utterly useless.

Crocodile would have left after satiating his curiosity, but something kept him in his place. That something was the fact that the two men addressed each other by their names. Mihawk and Buggy. Not hawk eyes and the clown. Since when did hawk eyes respect the clown enough to address him by name? So, he kept listening in instead of leaving, even though he really should have gone to sleep by then. The conversation shifted... to how soft hawk eyes' hands were? Weird. Then it was completely silent. Even weirder. It took everything in Crocodile to not barge into the room to see what his colleagues were doing. But he didn't care, he didn't have any reason to. So he just left, not caring if the other two could hear his angry stomping through the thin tent walls.

Over the next week, he was hyper aware of every interaction the two had. The soft lingering touches, the quickly exchanged looks, the sheer amount of care hawk eyes seemed to have for the clown... it all baffled him. What did Mihawk see in that mess of a man painted over with an even bigger mess? And why did it bother him so much? They were two adults, they could do as they pleased and it would be none of his business. But something kept eating at his insides whenever he saw the two together. It was probably because whatever arrangement they had going on went completely against his initial plans for Cross Guild. He thought he would be using Buggy with Mihawk by his side, and the man would support him. And that was indeed the case at the beginning, the two of them bullying the clown relentlessly, just for fun sometimes. But the swordsman just had to go betray him and go soft. He really didn't get it. What could Buggy have done to do a complete 180 on this man?

When he reluctantly approached Mihawk about it, discreetly of course, the man simply said they had a book club. What a ridiculous excuse. "Do all book clubs entail fucking each other?!" Crocodile wanted to ask but bit his tongue. He had no proof of a sexual relationship going on between the two, but the signs were alarmingly increasing. He saw Mihawk walk out of Buggy's tent one morning! But again, it was none of his business...

The late nights he spent in his office slowly turned from working overtime to thinking about what the two men were doing. There were very few things that could make him stop thinking about work, so that meant this situation was getting out of control. Crocodile hated losing control. He had to do something, but he didn't know what. He didn't have the right to stop whatever the two were doing, but he clearly couldn't just ignore them either.

While Crocodile was losing sleep over this, his struggle was not hidden from the watching eyes. Everyone realised there was something wrong with the man. He was much more irritable than usual, so everyone was acting more careful to try and stay in his good graces, but it was getting harder and harder every day. It was affecting crew morale, and therefore a lot of the Cross Guild functions. Buggy and Mihawk were enjoying watching Crocodile struggle with his feelings at first, but when they realised it was starting to affect their business they decided to cut their fun short and try to get the man to stop ignoring his feelings.

Easier said than done.

It took a lot to make the man see they liked him. In the end, it was the small things accumulating over time like hawk eyes offering to give him a massage after a long meeting, the clown offering to polish his hook, Mihawk making him breakfast, Buggy feeding the fruitwanis... Crocodile was confused to say the least, but he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the extra attention and care. He couldn't help but reciprocate the acts, being a lot softer with them both. It hit him one random evening, when they were having dinner together.

"Are you two courting me?"

Buggy and Mihawk shared a glance and broke into laughter.

"Thank fuck, I thought he'd never catch on."

"Took you long enough."

Let's just say they made up for all the lost time that night.

[ivelle-serenity]

Skateboard 4

Wind breaker

fem bodied reader | smut | action | pwp | jayjo/fml | vinny/fml | wooin/fml | joker/fml | hyuk/fml | owen/fml | enemies to lovers | angsty | the other woman (?) | reverse harem | fluff | SLOW BURN! | all characters featured are 18+

author's note: interaction with Jay is now finally happening 😩👊

✧˖° — windbreaker men

✧˖° — mdni, smut, description of not safe for work content.

✧˖° — this is a story not one shot.

The next day, I couldn't stop thinking about what happened. The events of yesterday were driving me crazy, and I wanted to scream in my room. The Sabbath Crew kept popping into my mind—Wooin, Joker, and especially Jay from Hummingbird. I bit my finger while staring at the blackboard. Our physics teacher was checking our assignments. I did Dom’s assignment as promised, and I also did Jay’s. I ignored his suggestion to work on it together. There was no way I was doing that. Besides, I could handle it on my own.

But when I handed Jay his assignment, he seemed annoyed. Was he really mad at me, or was that just his usual expression?

"Is this real?" Our teacher looked up in surprise. "Dom, Jay, and Demitra got the highest scores on the assignment," he announced to the class. "All three of them tied for the highest score."

Dom’s jaw dropped as he stared at me, but I kept looking out the window. Honestly, the assignment was tough, but I managed to ace it.

"Come on, Sir! Can't you believe I have some hidden genius too?" Dom shouted, making everyone laugh.

"Well, I just can't believe anyone matched Jay's score. He always gets the highest in our class." The teacher looked at me. "It seems our new student is competing with him. This is very exciting." He grinned.

Jay kept his usual cold expression, staring at his notebook. I shrugged and started packing my things since the teacher was leaving and it was time to go home. Our classmates started making noise again as soon as the teacher left. It was like a zoo with all the ruckus they were causing. I never expected Korean students to be this loud.

I froze when I saw someone standing in front of my desk. It was Dom...

"Can we talk to you?" he asked with a sweet smile plastered on his face.

"Who's 'we'?" I replied, then noticed Jay, Mia, and Yuna also standing up.

"We saw how you ride a bike, and I gotta admit, you're really good," Dom said, stroking his chin as if deep in thought. "I don't know what happened yesterday that made Jay win when it was obvious you should have."

"Maybe Jay's just better than her," Yuna interjected, giving me a dirty look.

I smiled sarcastically. "I still don't see why you're all here in front of me."

"Join us." We all turned to Jay. His eyes were directly on mine. "Join our crew," he clarified.

I laughed, but when I realized they were serious, I laughed again.

"What is this? This is so random." I shook my head and put my notebook in my bag. "I lost, so why would I join your crew? Besides, I already did your assignments, so why—"

"Shelly's been gone for months now because of a family emergency in England. We need a rider for the cycling tournament. We're short one person for the next round. It's only temporary," Dom explained, making puppy eyes at me.

I felt like a bucket of cold water was poured over me when he mentioned Shelly's name. I had suspected she might be the Shelly I knew, and now I was right. It really was her.

I clenched my fists.

"And didn't you say that if you beat Jay, you'd join their crew? It means you really want to join—" Mia started, but I cut her off.

"Believe it or not, I was just joking back then." I looked away from them. "I didn't expect you to take it seriously. Look, I'm selling my bike because I don't use it anymore. Just find another rider or bring Shelly back." I stood up. But before I could leave, someone grabbed my arm. I looked up to see Jay staring at me with no emotion on his face.

"I'll do all your assignments this time," he uttered. "Just join us," he said firmly.

"I don't need your help."

"But we do."

I looked at him in disbelief, meeting his gaze. Okay, I had to admit, I wanted to try their tournament, but I didn't want to show my face. I knew Sangho was handling that event. He might recognize me, and I didn't want him to know I was in Korea.

"Fine," I said, and Dom, Yuna, and Mia's eyes widened as if I had said something shocking. "Don't help me with physics, just Korean," I added, looking away.

"Wow, you really don't seem like someone who struggles with our language," Mia remarked, amazed.

I gave them a small smile. "Just tell me the time of your training," I said to Jay.

"We were planning to train right now," Dom chimed in.

Oh fuck

This isn't bad, right? And it's only temporary. They just really need a player for a new match. I sighed, thinking about Shelly again. That woman... So she's Jay Jo's girlfriend. I thought they were talking about a different Shelly because there was no way that woman would come to Korea. Last time she told me, no matter how boring her life got, she wouldn't go to her mother's country.

"I really appreciate you accepting our request," Mia said suddenly as we walked out of the school. "If I could join them, I would, but I'm not really good at biking." She said sadly.

"When is Shelly supposed to come back?" I asked, looking at the parked bikes. I can't believe I kept saying I wouldn't bike, but I still use it to get to school.

"We still don't have any news from her... Actually, I'm starting to worry, especially for Jay." We both glanced at Jay, who was now putting on his helmet.

"Why?"

She swallowed. "Ever since she left, Jay hasn't had any contact with Shelly. These past few months, it's been obvious how down he's been. He really loves Shelly," she said with concern. I paused and looked at Jay Jo again.

He frowned when he noticed me staring, so I quickly looked away.

"She'll come back," I said to reassure her. I can't believe I had a crush on a guy who was Scott's boyfriend.

"YUNA, MY LOVE! CHEER FOR ME IN FRONT OF DEMITRA, OKAY? SO SHE KNOWS HOW MUCH YOU LOVE ME!" Dom shouted from afar.

Disgust was written all over Yuna's face. "You're just training. What cheer are you talking about?" she rolled her eyes. Dom pouted like he was being mistreated by his girlfriend. I just grinned. They are really entertaining to watch. Why would Vinny leave this crew?

I saw Mia approach her friend Yuna. I watched them from behind as we walked, carrying my bike. I didn't know where we were going, but I just followed Dom. They seemed to have a specific place for their training.

I was surprised to see Jay walking beside me. He wasn't riding his bike either, but he was already wearing his helmet. I couldn't help but laugh. He looked cute, though. He glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

"So... Inertia drift is your thing, huh?" I asked, surprising him. "It was impressive, I watched some videos of you racing." I said, looking at the road. I noticed we were falling behind. Dom walked really fast.

He still didn't say anything. He was like a mute.

"I also watched how you lean in." Based on what I saw, it was surprising that he could pull off that move. It wasn't an easy skill; it was dangerous.

"But your slide is a bit risky. Your grip on the bike isn't in the right position."

"What?"

And now he was finally talking.

I smiled at him. "You need to balance your body. The grip of your hand and your body should be opposite so you can slide lower. That's the technique to make the lean-in look better." I explained. I showed him how I held the bike. "And also, this is how you should hold the handlebar."

He looked confused, but then he suddenly got on his bike and tried the position I showed him. His grip still seemed wrong, so I walked over to him. I parked my bike to the side.

"I noticed from the video that this is why you almost fell. You need to widen your elbows." I moved closer and adjusted his elbow.

I narrowed my eyes as I focused on his grip, then reached out to adjust the position of his hand. Just as I lifted my head to explain, I realized he was staring right at me. My eyes widened in surprise when it hit me that I was actually holding his hand! I quickly pulled away, feeling a rush of embarrassment.

"It's fine." he muttered, causing me to feel flustered.

"So yeah. That's how you do it." I cleared my throat before stepping back a little.

He was silent for a moment. He lowered his hands while sitting on the bike. How could he look so hot?

"Did you master it before you did it in the tournament?" I asked, looking at him.

He shook his head. "No..." It was obvious.

My eyes widened. "So you did it without practice?"

"Hmm," he nodded.

"Where did you learn that, by the way?" I asked as I finally sat on my bike.

"I don't know his name." irritation plastered on his face.

"So it's a 'he'? Does he have blonde hair?" I smirked. "It was Owen, right?"

He stiffened when he heard me mention that name. His expression darkened. He seemed shocked that I knew.

"How did you know?"

"Because I'm the one who taught him that move." I said with bitterness in my voice before looking at the road.

He was silent, but I could see the amusement in his eyes. I couldn't blame him. He might be even more surprised if I told him I knew his girlfriend too. I didn't want to mention that because he might ask more questions. I don't really want to talk about them anymore.

"What's your relationship with him?" he asked suddenly.

"Just someone I know." I lied. "Why? Is he your friend?" I asked, but his face darkened even more. He looked so annoyed.

"I'll teach you about Korean after this training." he changed the topic.

"Why so sudden?" I laughed.

He stared at me for a few seconds before looking away. "Your Korean sounds lame."

"What?!"

[ahgasegotarmy116]

Seven Days to Fall Again | Saturday | Jeon Jungkook

Inspired by the MV "Seven" by Jung Kook ft. Latto (obvi lol) Summary: Life is meaningless without you. Who knew a broken heart could be shattered twice? Pairing: Reader x Jungkook (almost exes to lovers lol) Word Count: 3.2k ~ (sorry I took forever to update) Warnings: Explicit language, angst, mentions of an accident and death (nothing too crazy) a/n: Hope you guys like this one! I wasn't sure how I would go about including the whole funeral thing in the mix but I think I did alright lol Lemme know what you think! Start from the beginning

After finishing my shower last night I didn't even bother drying my hair or putting clothes on. All I could manage to do is barely make it to my bed and once my head hit the pillow the sobbing just wouldn't stop. 

I don't know how long I laid there, sobbing and sobbing and sobbing until my head was pounding and I couldn't push any more tears out. Something about last night shattered the fantasy of being able to move on with my life and feel happy without him when the truth is I don't think I can. 

Even though this whole week has been nothing but him barging into my life and always doing something to make things more difficult it's as if deep down I was happy he was still trying, happy that he wasn't gonna give up on us. 

I love him. I love him so much that being with him was the only thing that ever mattered. 

I wanted him to want me just as much as I wanted him but with how our lives have been recently I just felt like I was just there. Just another person that he interacted with and nothing more. It hurt to have him come home and have nothing to say to me, no time to do anything and not even an ounce of energy to spend on me. 

He my boyfriend for fucks sake! We should be spending time together and eating together and laughing and smiling together. Why have simple things like that disappeared almost entirely? 

I love him, I love everything about him but if it's come to this point that I have to question myself day after day if I'm the one who has done something wrong, done something to make him treat me like this...then I don't think we're meant to be together. 

Relationships are about trusting and loving each other and being able to give them your love. But he hasn't shown me that he loves me at all with the way he's been acting and he hasn't given me the opportunity to show him my love either. 

I just don't understand!

Reaching out for my phone I jump at the feeling of it vibrating right away, showing me that I have an incoming call.

After taking a quick glance to check the caller ID it's already got me on edge. "Hello?" I say groggily but am cut off by the sounds of heavy breathing and hospital noises in the background. 

"Y/n, y/n please you have to come quick he-" "Okay slow down take a deep breath and tell me what's going on" I coach Jimin when I hear the panic in his voice. He takes a big gulp of air and lets it out before continuing with a shaky voice. "It's Jungkook" he says and my heart stops. 

"W-what do you mean it's Jungkook? What happened?" I say, throwing the covers off of me and running around my room, grabbing clothes and franticly throwing them on. "I don't know I just, they said that there was an accident and they brought him here but there was so much blood and-" "Did he make it?" I question and I'm met with silence on the other end. "Damnit Jimin is Jungkook okay?" I shout, shaking and gripping onto the phone until my knuckles have gone pale. 

"He-he didn't make it. They said it was too late that there was nothing they could do..." he says but my arm drops and with it takes Jimin's voice. My breathing picking up as it starts to sink in. 

"Oh God what have I done?" I whisper to myself, my whole body shaking and my vision getting blurry with the tears that are bound to never stop. 

"Y/n! Y/n answer me! I'm coming over" I can hear him shouting at me from the other side and I pick it back up and let out a silent 'okay' and hang up the phone before my knees give out and I fall to the ground. 

"If I wouldn't have let him go, if I would've just asked him to stay he would-" I say aloud but cut myself off with a sob and rest my head on my bed, the sheets muffling the sounds of my screams. I'm never going to be able to forgive myself for this, I shouldn't have been so hard on him I should've just heard him out...

~~~~

Once I feel as if my sobs have died down I take that as an opportunity to get a glass of water but before I'm able to get there I hear a panicked knock on the door. I rush to open it and grasp onto him as tight as I can and not daring to let go. 

"Shhh, shh I know" Jimin comforts me, rubbing my back as he walks in, still holding onto me and guiding us both over to the couch. "Jimin h-he was here last night and I just let him walk away and I-" "Hey, don't do that, you couldn't have known that this was going to happen" he says, holding me tighter in his embrace, telling me not to go there. 

"Do his parent's know?" I ask after I've calmed down again, pulling away and sitting up to face him. "Yeah they do and they're on their way already. They're having the funeral today" he says while pushing the tear dampened strands of hair out of my face.

"Today? They can't have it today! What about the rest of his family?" I question, surprised that a funeral could even be put together so quickly. "They want to have a small intimate gathering for now and then tell everyone later. It's just too painful and they want it done quietly" he says and I nod my head, respecting his parent's wishes. 

"What time does it start?" I question, wiping away the tears that keep falling. "At five" he say, cringing at the time constraint we've been left with. "Jimin that's two hours" I say, shocked that they would be able to even be emotionally capable of setting everything up so quickly. 

"I know but this was the only spot they had available" he says and I nod my head, not bothering to ask for more details since nothing else really matters right now. "Will you take me to the funeral?" I ask, knowing for a fact that I wouldn't be able to make it there on my own. 

"Of course" he replies placing a hand on my shoulder and giving me a sad smile. "I'm gonna go home real quick and change and then I'll come back for you" he explains, placing a quick kiss on my forehead and heading out the door. I sit there and let a few more tears fall before pulling myself together and getting up to get ready. 

I don't bother putting on any makeup since there's no reason to. My boyfriend is gone and I'm not going to hide the sadness that I feel or cover up the gaping hole in my chest that once held my heart. The heart that always belonged to him and will forever stay with him. 

How could I have been so stupid? I should've made him stay. Maybe then things would be different. 

~~~~

As Jimin and I walk into the little chapel they're holding the funeral in I first lay my eyes on Mrs. Jeon who is putting up a stronger front than I thought she would. It probably hasn't hit her yet, the fact that her youngest son has been taken from her. 

Mr. Jeon is the one that notices us and comes over immediately and gives me the warmest hug I've ever received. "I'm so sorry" is all I can manage to choke out, not being able to hide my tears as I feel them start to form again, my vision going glossy. 

"Me too" he responds and leads me over to Mrs. Jeon who pulls me in close right when she sees me and that's when I lose it. "I know, it's gonna be okay. Don't worry love it's gonna be alright" she says while stroking my head, trying her best to calm me down. I choke back the sobs as much as I can but no matter how hard I try, the tears never stop. 

After a few more moments with them Jimin escorts us to our seats, just one row back from the front and I notice that I don't recognize the people in front of us, or anyone else for that matter. I brush it off and take a tissue out of the box that's placed in front of me and take deep shaky breaths in and out, finally quieting down as soon as the officiant walks up to the podium.

"Who is that?" I whisper to Jimin, taking in the gorgeous woman who is presiding over the ceremony. "Not sure but she's beautiful" Jimin says, while checking her out. I elbow him in the side and he holds back a groan in pain from the contact. 

"Not the time nor the place for that Jimin" I scold and he apologizes quietly before we continue to listen to the ceremony and as soon as she opens up the floor for people to come up and say some things that we remember about Jungkook we all watch in horror as the lid to the coffin opens and out comes a perfectly healthy Jungkook. 

We all just sit there stunned, not knowing what to do in this situation so Jungkook decides to break the silence. "Thank you so much everyone for coming. I'm sorry to have sprung this on all of you but your dedication has truly moved me" he says while climbing out of the coffin. 

"Y/n" he says, everyone now turning towards me and watching my every movement. "Please don't hate me for this but I just hoped that in doing this you would see how much we both love each other still and how I truly cannot live without you" he says while everyone sighs, acting as though this is somehow romantic. 

"Please will you give me another chance?" he asks, holding his hand out to me and I'm still frozen, flabbergasted that he would go this far. 

Jimin pokes me in the side to bring me back to reality and whispers a quick "Say yes" in my ear, encouraging me to take his hand. I take a deep breath and stand up, smiling at him sweetly and his eyes light up, waiting for that answer he's desperately been hoping for. 

"Go to hell" I growl and walk down the aisle, storming out of the place, not bothering to look back even as a commotion starts to settle in.             

"Y/n wait!" I hear Jungkook call after me, grabbing my wrist to keep me from getting to far but I rip it out of his grasp and turn around to face him. 

"You know I cried for you. I cried so hard I didn't know if I would ever stop. I cried for you last night and I cried even harder when I found out. I blamed myself for your death. I told myself 'If I just would've made him stay then he would still be here' I woke up thinking about how much I really love you and how I wanted to be with you again and then I get the call and it rips my heart out. I never would've forgiven myself" I shout at him, utterly heartbroken by this. 

"You know, something like this might've worked for your little actor friends but this is probably the worst thing you could've ever done to me. Jungkook I thought you died! You let me believe that you were dead and made me feel guilty about letting you go. Don't you see how fucking sick and twisted this is?" I continue, letting out angry tears as my voice gets louder and louder. 

"Y/n I'm sorry it was never supposed to be like this I jus-" "You just what? Huh? Wanted to see how broken I would've been without you? Wanted me to see how I don't want to live without you? Well you got your wish! Mission accomplished" I scoff, turning to leave and he stays frozen in place, this time letting me go. 

Jimin chases after me, begging to let him give me a ride home which I agree to because honestly I want to get out of here as soon as possible. Leaving behind that fucked up charade he pulled and made everyone play into. 

~~~~

"He never meant to hurt you you know?" Jimin says once he pulls up to my apartment complex. "Well he sure as hell has a funny way of showing it" I scoff, reaching for the handle to open the door. "He just doesn't want to lose you. I know he's been trying but he doesn't know what else to do" Jimin continues, leaving me leaning back into my seat again, knowing that he won't be letting me leave that easily.

"So his solution was to scar me for life?" I say, cocking an eyebrow at him and he turns away, guilt written all over his face. "Was everyone in on it except for me?" I question and he cringes before nodding his head slowly. "Great, just great" I mumble, opening the car door and slamming it behind me. 

"Just hear him out, please" is Jimin's last sentiment but I don't give him an answer as I turn and make my way to my apartment. If he thinks he's getting another chance after he's pulled a stunt like that then he's even more delusional than I thought he was. 

~~~~

Clearing my head is proving to be a lot more difficult especially when Jungkook's been blowing up my phone ever since I left. I don't understand how he could possibly think pulling a prank like that would make me want to take him back. He's just grasping at straws at this point but I guess I'm partially to blame since I really didn't give him a chance to say his piece. 

If I give him a chance now he's gonna think shit like that works on me but maybe I should just scold him and make it clear that that's not gonna get him anywhere with me. I groan and throw my head into my hands, sitting on the couch and stressing about what my next move should be and when I hear his all too familiar knocks on the door I know that I've run out of time. 

"Come in" I call out, full well knowing he still has his key on him and so I'm met with the sound of him unlocking the door before closing and locking it behind him, making his way into the apartment and onto the couch as carefully as he can. Doing whatever he can to keep me from blowing up on him. 

"Why would you do something like that to me" I say quietly after we've sat in silence, close to tear again with all the events of today and last night running through my mind all over again. "I'm so sorry Noona I just, well I didn't know what to do. After last night I was going insane. I was running out of ideas and so I stupidly thought of this plan at like three am and... I guess you know the rest of it" he trails off, full on admitting to his stupidity. 

"Anything decided at three am is probably a bad idea" I scoff, now understanding his mindset. He nods before hanging his head in shame, continuing to realize how idiotic this whole train wreck was. "What I did was stupid and insensitive and traumatizing and I apologize. I had no intention of hurting you" he says, placing his hand on top of my knee in an effort to show sincerity. 

"I know you didn't" I mumble, getting up from the couch and walking out onto my balcony, gazing up at the night sky. I take a few deep breaths to clear my head and calm my nerves before bothering to say anything else. 

As soon as I open my mouth though I'm met with two strong arms wrapping around my waist from behind and a head balanced on top of mine. "I'm so sorry Noona" he whispers, voice cracking, almost as if he was crying which from a few moments later after feeling a tear drop fall on my head I come to realize that he actually is. 

I turn around in his hold wordlessly and grasp onto him, holding him as close as I possibly can while we both cry, needing each other to really be able to heal. "Can we please talk now?" he asks and I nod my head into his chest before letting go and taking his hand while guiding us both over to the couch. 

"I just want you to know that I've thought a lot about what you said about me not being here or spending time with you and I've started to realize that I really have been distant. I haven't been taking time to appreciate you or love you so I just want to apologize for that. After what you said I started to realize that your love languages might be physical touch and quality time and I have fallen short on both sides. Now that I've realized that I'll pay closer attention to making sure your needs are met because I never want you to feel unloved by me. Ever" he says, squeezing the hand that he's still holding before continuing. 

"I know I've been busy on set with these last few episodes being filmed but that's still no excuse for not being here and I know that. I just have such a work minded attitude that I forget about the rest of my life sometimes and I know that a lot of that falls on you. If you give me the chance I really want to change and love you right this time. The way you deserve to be loved because if I could I would devote all of my time and attention to you. Every hour, every minute, every second because I never want to lose you. I don't want to give up on us" he says and I look up from my lap to see where our hands are connected when I feel a teardrop fall on them. 

"What can I do? What can I change to make it right? I'll do anything just please, don't leave me" he says. I look up at him and see a brilliant galaxy in his eyes, glassed over with crystal clear tears and my heart just breaks at the sight of him. 

I didn't realize until now just how hurt he might've been by this breakup too. I never wanted to acknowledge how heartbroken he looked every time I rejected him because I was too focused on me and my feelings. 

"Baby I'm sorry" I let out through choked sobs before pulling him in and resting my forehead against his. "I'm sorry I didn't even think about how this might've been hurting you too and I just, I want us to be together. I won't leave you Jungkook I promise" I sob and he pulls me in closer and smashes his lips against mine, kissing away our sorrow and pain and frustration and everything in between. Mending the shattered pieces of our hearts and making them one. 

Friday / Sunday Series Masterlist

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[foone]

My one bit of advice I think every gamer should hear:

GO PLAY OUTER WILDS.

Seriously. It is easily one of my top 5 games of all time, and that's mainly because I'm being cagey about if it's the #1, because it probably is.

It's a game where you're a little alien who is taking their first flight into space, in their little spaceship. You go to space and find a mystery, and have to figure it out.

It's a game entirely about learning things about the world you're in: it's a tiny solar system modeled amazingly well, with varied planetary environments, archaeology, and quantum fun.

It's a game that's hard to talk about without spoiling, because it's about solving the mysteries. There used to be some other aliens here, they're long gone. What happened to them? Their whole society was built around trying to find something: what was it? Did they find it? And there's a weird disastrous event that keeps happening, why? Can you stop it? Should you stop it? Is it connected to the other weird things that keep happening? What happened to that ice planet that exploded with vines? One of the astronauts who came before you was the best pilot who ever lived, but they vanished. What happened to them? And why can you sometimes hear their harmonica over the radio when you point it at your own planet?

The game is wonderful and non-linear and the most unique approach to a Metroidvania I've seen years: it's basically "what if we did the Metroidvania idea but with no items or power ups? What if the thing that you got to unlock new areas WAS INSIDE THE PLAYER'S HEAD?"

Because you don't unlock the next area by picking up the high-jump boots, you unlock it by learning something new. Now you can do something you didn't realize you could before, but now you know you can.

And that's only one of the amazing concepts they stuffed in this game. The itemless Metroidvania, the tiny simulated solar system, the quantum mechanics... Each of these alone could be enough to carry an indie game. They stuffed them all in one game combined with a great story, and that's in a gamewith relatively little dialogue!

There's like a dozen people to talk to, but you spent a lot of time reading conversations left by the long-gone aliens. You get to know them, what they were working for, how they interacted, and what happened to them, thousands of years later. It's less the bioshock style audio-logs, and more like going over bits of ancient writing, making connections and correlations from the fragments you can find.

And don't get me wrong, this might sound like this game is going to be dry and boring: it is so very not. It is a game about mysteries in the void of space, the death of a civilization, and the potentially world-ending dangers that face a living one, and even bigger concepts. It could so easily be a cosmic horror, about the cold death of space and the universe itself, and the nihilism of realizing that even a race that could cross the gap between the stars and bend spacetime to their will... They too died out. If they couldn't make it, what hope do you have, in your little spaceship that's primarily made of WOOD?

And yet... The game is always engaging. It has a few scares, and space is never a safe place to be, but it maintains a sense of humor and wonder. Yes, the universe can be scary, but it's also amazing. And you're just a little salamander-guy who wants to see it all, and figure out all the things. Maybe you don't know something yet, but tomorrow is a new day, and you can go blasting off to another planet, find some writing in a city suspended upside down over a black hole, try to fly into the core of a water planet, dodge giant anglerfish inside the warped space of an exploded planet, and try to explore an ancient city that's slowly filling with sand. It is a game about Things Ending, and it refuses to give into despair. It is one of the most relentlessly optimistic games I have ever played.

And the experience of playing it is so unique. This isn't a game where you could watch a letsplay and only get spoiled on some plot points, it's a game where the fundamental gameplay loop is about learning things. You should try it for yourself. It's got hints and many different avenues to explore (and it even keeps track of them for you, in case you forget!), so you don't have to worry much about getting stuck for too long. You can always put aside a "puzzle" and come back later, after you've learned more. (I put puzzle in quotes because it's not exactly a puzzle game. It's more of a mystery game. You aren't solving a logic puzzle or putting the pegs into the right holes, you're asking "Why is this like this? Where does this go? What is this for?" and then figuring that out from clues)

It's like 25$ on steam, and you can get it for Playstation and Xboxes as well (sadly no Switch version. They were working on one but it seems that version has stalled, with no announced release date)

You can probably get it for like 10$ if you're patient and wait for a sale.

One final note: there's also a DLC. The DLC is fully self-contained, in that you won't miss anything playing the main game without it. It basically adds a huge side-area to the game which goes and fills in some gaps in the history, explains some things, and introduces some more variety to the Outer Wilds universe.

It's utterly amazing, too. It's basically Outer Wilds 2 in everything but name, but it's totally fine to just grab the base game and play that. You can always come back and grab the DLC later if you want more Outer Wilds.

Seriously. To sum up, Outer Wilds is one of the greatest games ever made, it won a ton of awards, and it should have won more. They should invent more gaming awards just to give to Outer Wilds. This is one of the games that is going to be talked about in future "history of gaming" classes and put on lists of the 50 most groundbreaking and influential games, alongside things like Myst and King's Quest and Zork and Mass Effect. It's just that good, that groundbreaking.

[jo-harrington]

Freaky Friday - A Stranger Things Story (Part 2)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Word Count: 8.4k

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader, Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader, Eddie and Steve (Enemies to Friends)

Summary: Eddie thinks that Steve has everything in life handed to him on a silver platter (including his new girlfriend who Eddie has a crush on). And Steve just can't believe that the kids look up to Eddie the Freak, or that he lives his life without giving a single fuck.

Must be nice. But you know what they say, the grass is always greener.

Warnings/Themes: AU with no Upside Down. Body swapping, dark magic/alchemy, unrequited love, mutual pining, Babysitter Steve, No Upside Down means slightly still King Steve, unresolved feelings, manipulation/deception, Reader gets a nickname (Honey), no Y/N if I can help it, no smut in Part 2 either but the next chapter does get steamy.

Note: Ok big shout out to @ghost-proofbaby for her Steve lessons and just generally being a Steve soundboard. I'm not a Steve girl yet but...idk. And then also to @trashmouth-richie for being so supportive and listening as I ramble on about plot things. I admire you both as writers and love you guys as friends; thank you for your support.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

“No, no, no,” Steve whined as he approached the mirror, squishing his face and pinching at his cheeks. “This is a dream. I’m still asleep. Or I’m dead.”

He cleared his throat a few times, slapped it, pinched his Adam's apple. He used every bit of willpower in him to stop the voice that was coming out of his mouth from being Eddie’s voice. It didn't stop that everything else was Eddie's though.

Eddie’s hair. His face. His body.

Steve was in his house—trailer, Steve recalled. It was a trailer. He was wearing his clothes. Sleeping in his bed.

Steve vaguely recalled the thing he thought last night when Eddie left Family Video.

A curse.

Eddie had put a curse on Steve. Steve had made Eddie pay non-member prices for his stupid video rental and Eddie put a fucking curse on him?!

There was a knock at the door and Steve jumped.

"Everything alright in there Ed?" a hoarse, muffled voice asked.

"Uhhh," Steve tried to come up with some kind of response, but suddenly all of the excuses he could ever come up with eluded him. Every scrap of knowledge he had ever reluctantly learned about Eddie Munson—thwip—gone.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to focus, get in the moment, clear his head. If this was a basketball game or a swim meet, he would never let himself get this worked up.

"I'm fine," he started and then paused.

Eddie's parents weren't around anymore, who did he live with? The kids had mentioned it once or twice, said the guy was nice, a little rough around the edges. Said he let Eddie do whatever he wanted for the most part. His uncle...

"I'm fine Uncle W-wayne," Steve answered.

"Late for school," Wayne sighed. "You skipping again?"

"I--"

Steve didn't know what kind of excuse to come up with. What kind of excuses did Eddie give his uncle? His attendance was abysmal, Steve knew, and on the days he was in class, his attention was barely there. Always scribbling and doodling and cracking jokes when he was called on to answer.

He should have just dropped out the first time he failed, a fact that Steve had mocked him for repeatedly, let alone this second time.

Fuck, but if Steve was stuck in Eddie's body, he couldn't not go to school. He had enough trouble with his high school diploma, let alone without one. Maybe...maybe he could ask Dustin to help with his—

Dustin.

That little brat would be at school. Of course. He and others...they were a part of this little cult...maybe they knew what Eddie did to him? Or they could help him at the very least figure out how to reverse this curse.

"Listen son," Wayne continued. "I know it's hard to do this all over again; I told you that you didn't—"

"No, it's ok," Steve quickly cut him off. "I just slept in...accidentally. I'll go. I'm late but I'll go."

"Alright, whatever you say. I got a fresh pot going for you but I'm gonna get cleaned up and hit the hay alright?"

"Sounds good," Steve replied absentmindedly, staring around the room trying to figure out what, in all of the piles of clothing and junk, he could wear.

"Steve Harrington."

Eddie rummaged through the products in the medicine cabinet. Shampoos and after shaves and hair gels and mousses. Way more interesting and expensive sounding than the bottom shelf stuff he got at Melvald's.

He had to be honest, some of it didn't smell great and he didn't see the appeal. Oh well.

"The name's Harrington, Steve Harrington."

He shuffled through the clothes in the closet and the dressed. A lot of trendy, Sears catalog-looking stuff. Polos and windbreakers and jeans in various shades of blue. All neatly hung and folded, nothing out of place, even the underwear drawer was pristine. Nothing black or ripped or...god forbid a band tee or something like that.

Eddie was gonna have to change that...eventually.

"Hey, uh, have we met before? I'm Steve, Steve Harrington."

After the initial shock of finding that he was, indeed, in Steve's body, a sort-of calmness washed over Eddie. The panic subsided pretty quickly, to be honest; he might have been full of electric, frantic energy that dared to be contained, but he was also very good at improvising and devising a plan thanks to years of DnD.

But what was the plan when you found yourself in someone else's body? There wasn't really a handbook for that but like any good player...he would just have to play the part until the answers were revealed to him. And that meant he would have to become Steve Harrington--know Steve Harrington--in a way that he would have loathed if he wasn't in this situation specifically.

The first step had been checking out what Steve was packing.

Eddie peeled away the tight purple briefs and stared at his dick.

"Alright Harrington, alright," Eddie bobbed his head from side to side in contemplation and then grinned ferally. "Mine's bigger." And with that he adjusted himself back in the underwear and continued on his exploration.

Clothes, shoes, books—or more accurately the lack thereof.

Jesus, how have I failed twice and he graduated?

He dug through drawers, found the stash of dirty magazines under the bed, and then scanned over the calendar neatly pinned above the desk with shifts at Family Video clearly penciled-in in a handwriting that looked way too nice to be Steve's.

Steve would be expected to open the store this morning and Eddie grimaced. It wasn't exactly how he wanted to spend his day, but he had a part to play.

He grabbed the little green and orange vest hanging off the back of the desk chair and threw it on over the trendy striped polo that made him itch—did Steve have some kind of allergy or something? God, his chest and arms were just itchy, and it was driving Eddie nuts.

He headed downstairs, through the immaculate house that he vaguely knew the layout of having dealt at a party Steve held last year, to the kitchen to rummage for some kind of breakfast.

He had already checked upstairs and now again as he walked through; the house was empty. Steve's parents gone for the day.

Eddie rolled his eyes as he opened the fridge and found, among the very neat and plentiful groceries, a brown paper lunch bag with the name "Stevie" written on it with a little heart.

"Great," Eddie scoffed bitterly, the first really sour thought he’d had all morning. "His mommy still makes his lunches."

Eddie thought about the handwriting on the calendar upstairs; it was the same as the lunch bag. Thought about the neatly folded clothes, about the extremely tidy rooms. He knew Steve's mom didn't work; she didn't do much of anything except parade around town flaunting her perfect life.

And she was a real bitch.

She was on the Hawkins Town Council and the PTA. She was the first person to call Hellfire Club a cult when they had originally petitioned for some money from the PTA for shirts a few years back. She had called Eddie a menace too many times to count, periodically to his face if he parked a little too close to the front to her liking at Bradley's.

"And she makes her precious baby boy Stevie tuna salad sandwiches and ants on a log like he's 6," Eddie grumbled as he peeked inside the bag. He couldn't remember the last time someone made his lunch for him.

Well he could...in those early days with Wayne. They were both trying to navigate the new living arrangement after his mom had passed. He wasn't that great at peanut butter and jelly or carrot sticks...but he did teach Eddie that you could put potato chips inside of your sandwich though. Taught him how to make the best of a situation, to take care of himself.

So that's what he was going to do. He was gonna make the best out of this situation and play the part and get through the day. Because things were always good—life was always good—if you were Steve Harrington. And he was Steve Harrington now.

"And Steve Harrington," Eddie pushed past the bitterness and found a little spark of goodness. "Drives a BMW."

"Watch where you're going freak!" Someone grunted at Steve as they rammed their shoulder into his as they passed.

"When did everyone get so damn rude?" Steve grumbled to himself. It was the fifth person who had done that today. Hawkins High really had gone to the pits in the past few months since he graduated.

To be fair, everything had really sucked for him so far that day. He thought, Hawkins High was his stomping ground. Just put on the Harrington charm—despite the rough exterior—and everything would work out.

He was so wrong.

First he had gotten detention for being late to class, apparently for the third day that week—

God, Munson needed to get his act together; no wonder he hadn't graduated yet.

—then when he had tried to schmooze Mrs. Worth, the school secretary, into giving him Dustin's schedule, she laughed. And when he asked if he could have a copy of his own schedule, Eddie's schedule, she had just rolled her eyes and said,

"Trying every trick in the book to get out of classes, Edward. I can't help you unless you help yourself."

"How can I help myself if I don't have a schedule Jeanine?" he snarked, figuring Eddie's own signature shitty attitude would get him somewhere instead.

It only added an extra 15 minutes onto his detention.

Great.

Finally he managed to find the crumbled scrap of a class schedule in Eddie's locker—the only locker without a lock on it although he doubted anyone would want to steal from this absolute cesspit—amongst the piles of incomplete homework and garbage and overdue library books. It took everything in Steve not to rip it to pieces when he saw archaic symbols drawn all over it, no doubt another curse Eddie was waiting to enact on someone.

Steve just went through the motions and still got picked on and berated by every teacher and most of the students. Of course, Eddie fucking deserved everything he got. He was a lazy student and a menace, always causing some kind of trouble. But it made Steve especially grumbly that he would now have to deal with the fallout of Eddie's shit. Despite trying to adapt his own good behavior.

"Just gotta find Henderson and this will all have been some silly dream," Steve muttered to himself all day. And thankfully he had survived until lunch and immediately spotted Dustin and Mike as they sat down at the freaks' usual lunch table.

God he needed to get those kids away from Munson and his cult. Especially now that he knew what they could do.

He quickly crossed the busy cafeteria, uncaring of anyone he bumped into or the sharp words they spat at him.

"Henderson, we need to have a little chat," Steve announced as he reached the table. One of the older kids at the table—Steve tried to recall his name: Gary, Garth, Garrett—perked up at the sight of "Eddie" though and started chatting excitedly.

"Hey we were just talking about Hellfire tonight. I know you won't tell us anything but do we ne—”

"Hellfire's canceled," Steve dismissed coldly.

"What?!" They all started talking over one another.

"You never cancel Hellfire."

"Are you sick?"

"Guys he's dying. Or he's lost his mind."

Steve felt the annoyance bubble up inside of him and he raised his voice.

"It's canceled!" He leveled all of them with a scathing look. "I've got detention. Alright?"

"You always have detention," Mike spoke up, then cowered slightly as Steve glared at him. "Y-you've never canceled before..."

"Tough shit. Maybe next week." Steve turned his attention back to Dustin. "Let's go."

He grabbed Dustin by the arm, hauled him out of his seat, and pulled him out of the cafeteria.

As soon as the heavy double doors clicked shut behind them, Steve fell back against the wall and buried his face in his hands.

"Shit! Eddie!" Dustin's demeanor immediately went from fear to concern. "What's going on?"

"'m not Eddie," Steve groaned.

"What?"

"I'm not Eddie!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands out as if it would reveal who he actually was. "It's Steve, I'm Steve."

"O-ok?"

"I'm Steve and I woke up in Eddie's body and I don't know what's happening and I'm..." He started breathing heavily. "I'm so fucking pissed off and I'm so fucking scared."

"Hey listen man, I know," Dustin began hesitantly. "I know you keep telling us that the weed is not for freshman but if this is supposed to scare me—"

"This isn't to scare you," Steve grumbled, grabbing Dustin by the shoulders so he could pull him closer. "I'm not high. And I'm not Eddie. I'm Steve Harrington."

Dustin blinked at him.

"Ok..." he nodded slowly. "You're Steve Harrington? Tell me something only Steve and I would know."

Steve wracked his brain; there were a lot of things that he and Dustin shared, he was closer to Dustin than all of the other kids. But now, so was Eddie...so what was something that Eddie wouldn't know?

"Last year...last December..."

"Yeah?"

"The Snow Ball?"

"Ok?"

"I helped you with your hair...I told you my secret."

"Which was?"

Steve and Dustin stared each other down for a moment before Steve caved.

"Thefarrahfawcettspray," he muttered.

"What was that?"

"The Farrah Fawcett Spray, alright? I swore you to secrecy, I wouldn't tell anyone else, let alone Eddie Munson." He clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth.

"Son of a bitch!" Dustin hissed. "It really is you."

"I told you so, you little punk."

"What did...I mean..." Dustin clutched the bill of his cap with both hands and exhaled. "How?"

"I was hoping you could help me figure that out," Steve sighed. "And how to undo it."

"I think this is a little beyond my academic ability Steve."

"No, not just because you're smart. Because you hang around Munson. He's the one who did this to me."

"Wh-what?" Steve started talking a mile a minute and Dustin stopped him. "Ok, slow down. I'm gonna need you to start over. If you want me to help you, I need to know everything."

Steve spent the rest of lunch explaining everything to Dustin, from the interaction with Eddie at Family Video to feeling off last night during dinner and then waking up in Eddie's body this morning.

Dustin asked, what seemed to be, random questions. Like if he had remembered brushing his teeth the night before, if he’d had any indigestion, or if there were any scars that he had as Steve that might have appeared on "Eddie's" body instead.

"I wasn't exactly eager to check Eddie's body out," Steve scrunched his nose in dismissal.

"You didn't even take a shower or anything?" Dustin asked.

"I mean, no," Steve shrugged. "But now that I think of it...how am I gonna even be able to take a shower. Ugh, I don't want to touch Eddie's junk."

"Your junk," Dustin reminded him.

"Eddie's body," Steve insisted.

"And you're Eddie for the foreseeable future," Dustin shrugged. The bell signaling the end of the period rang and Dustin sighed. "Listen, I'm gonna skip next period and see if the school library has anything useful. But I'm not hopeful."

"Hey, you shouldn't skip class!" Steve argued.

"It's just Latin."

"Which you're failing."

"Skipping one class while you've literally had your mind transplanted into another body over night seems like the correct choice. I'll see you later." Dustin disappeared amongst the throngs of students and Steve sighed, resigned to go through the motions for the rest of the day.

It was a lot more of the same shit he'd gone through in the morning: getting body checked in the hall, having his books slapped out of his hand, teachers purposefully calling on him thinking he wasn't paying attention—even though he was, thank you very much. Although...considering that Eddie's notebooks were filled with doodles and poetry and shit...it wasn't a far stretch to believe that no, Eddie didn't actually pay any attention in class.

Steve actually had never had any classes with Eddie except for PE, really. And the fact that Eddie got into constant arguments with Coach should have been enough of an indicator of his poor academic performance as it was. But he’d based all of his assumptions on other factors. They hadn’t really interacted short of seeing him roaming the halls, the many few times Steve and his friends had mocked the Hellfire kids, even the one or two times Steve had gone up to Eddie himself to coerce him into dealing at a party.

He had always thought of Eddie as a thorn in everyone's side...but now being Eddie...

The bell rang signaling the end of the day and although Steve knew he had to get to the cafeteria for detention, he still went to find Dustin and see if he had any answers.

It wasn't a long search, Dustin was waiting by Eddie's locker looking...incredibly nervous.

"Anything?" Steve asked.

"The school library isn't well-stocked with occult books," Dustin sighed. "Best I could find was this, Mysteries of the Unknown, which I'm gonna read, I just don't think it's gonna help us out very much."

Steve groaned and covered his face with his hands.

This was just great.

“Listen, I’m gonna level with you this is��kind of outside of my expertise here Steve,” Dustin said hesitantly.

“But what about the cult stuff,” Steve asked, throwing his hands out. “You spend every Friday with Hellfire Club.”

“Playing a board game,” Dustin defended. “One that you could have learned by now if you just—”

“You’re telling me there aren’t any spells or...or something that could do this in your little game?"

"It's Dungeons and Dragons. Not Jumanji."

"...does that game maybe have a spell that—"

"No!"

"Well what about all of this shit Eddie has drawn in his notebooks, huh?" Steve fumbled to flip to one of the pages that had little symbols drawn in the corner. "What is this?"

"Probably something for a campaign. Maybe you should ask Eddie?" Steve froze and Dustin frowned. "You...have talked to Eddie about this right? You didn't just...come to school...without talking to Eddie, did you?"

Steve felt like an idiot. Of course Eddie would be in his body if he was in Eddie's. Eddie didn't just...banish Steve...he put a curse on both of them.

"Dustin Henderson, you are a genius." Steve pressed a kiss to Dustin's head, turned on his heel, and ran towards the door. Detention be damned.

"I'm not a genius, you're just an idiot!"

For all of the fears Eddie had about growing up—finally graduating, deciding if he should take some classes at the community college like the guidance counselor suggested ages ago, having to get a job or really throwing everything he had into making Corroded Coffin successful—he was honestly having a good time working at Family Video.

Steve always seemed a little bored and grumpy every time Eddie had stopped in. But it wasn't that bad if Eddie was being honest.

He'd been a little frantic at first, trying to figure out which key unlocked the door, and how to turn on the computer and open the cash register—thankfully there were little handwritten instructions taped under the keyboard—but once everything was up and running, it was a good time. He got to put a movie on—Star Wars, duh—easily chatted with some of the apparent-regulars who came by to make returns, even processed shipments of some new releases. It was a blast.

Eddie vaguely wondered, whenever he found himself back in his own body, if he should apply for a job here.

The bell above the door rang and Eddie turned, expecting to greet customers, only to be met with a fuming Robin Buckley.

Eddie didn’t know Robin very well, but what he did know he respected, if not outright liked. During his first senior year, she and a group of band nerds had gone up against Corroded Coffin in the last round of the Hawkins High Battle of the Bands. Now, he knew that the whole competition was rigged—Corroded Coffin had gotten second place despite being the best metal band in town—but she was pretty cool to shake their hands after the event was over. Tell them how good they were.

Of course, her band did a cover of "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions." Kind of cheating if you'd asked Eddie...but they did a pretty good job of it. He couldn't fault the student body for choosing that over the alleged Devil Worship music.

However, gone was the bashful Robin in his memory, and instead there she stood seemingly gearing up for a fight, with her sleeves rolled up and teeth gnashing together as she sneered.

"Forget something today dingus?" Robin asked "Steve" through clenched teeth.

"Uhhh," Eddie fumbled. "I don't kn—"

"Me! You forgot to pick me up for school," Robin exclaimed, hands thrown up in the air in exasperation. "You didn't even call? What gives?"

"I, uh," Eddie wracks his brain for an excuse. Because he didn't know he needed to? Because he wasn't actually Steve? "I accidentally overslept."

"And then I was worried about you," Robin rambled, running a hand through her bangs as she went on. "You could have...crashed into a pole, or...or...had a stroke and drove into a ditch."

"I'm sorry," Eddie offered with a half-smile.

"You better be! And your alarm better be set on Monday; I am not walking to school again," Robin grumbled as she headed to the back room to clock in. Eddie sighed in relief as the door shut behind her.

He really did feel bad about not picking her up for school. His friends were used to him skipping or just...sleeping late. If he wasn't at their houses to pick them up by a certain time, they knew they'd have to find another ride. Or just walk.

Gareth's mom was usually nice enough to give them rides on the days when Eddie didn't show.

But Robin...well, shit, Eddie knew Steve and Robin worked together...not only here but at Scoops Ahoy before this but damn, he didn't know Harrington was driving her to school. He must have been really good about picking her up every day if she was mad and worried.

"—and the thing is that I worried all day for nothing." Robin continued as she walked back onto the shop floor. "What if he's dead? What if his parents don't know? I think I failed my algebra test because of you so...just call next time ok?" She stared at him expectantly.

"Ok, I will," Eddie nodded. But Robin just narrowed her eyes at him and folded her arms across her chest. "What?"

"What do you mean what?" she asked. "What are you still standing there for? It's almost 4."

"Oh!" Eddie checked his watch. "Is it? I guess...my shift is over right?"

She stared at him with a dumbfounded expression and then slammed her hands on the counter, making him jump.

"This is why you're single, this is why you can't find a girlfriend," she whined. "I don't even feel bad for you anymore. Not when you're screwing it up every step of the way. I really thought you were gonna get it right this time."

What was she talking about?

"How could you forget!?"

And in spectacular timing that Eddie could only have expected in a movie, the clock struck 4, the bell rang as the door opened, and you walked in for your date with Steve.

You were nervous.

Of course you were nervous, this was your third date with Steve Harrington. Steve Harrington. You sort of still didn't believe that he had asked you out.

You didn’t believe you were still going out with him.

It was just a random night that you'd run into Family Video to grab a movie before they closed. How easily he bantered with you, how he made you laugh, how he suggested Sixteen Candles of all movies for your study night with the girls from your classes at the Tri-County Community College.

He had made a joke when he looked up your mom’s membership…if the number on file was up-to-date so he could inform you of new releases…or just to ask you out.

You had giggled so stupidly after you left. He had called that night.

You'd always been sort of afraid of him during school. He was cute, sure, charming when he wanted to be...but he was popular and a jock and kind of a douche. You’d seen him pick on countless nerds.

He was King Steve, The "Hair" Harrington, whose dad owned the car dealership and had even run for Mayor once and was expected to run again. And you...you didn't have confidence issues really, but there wasn't anything really special about you either. You'd always held out hope that your silly high school crush would ask you out, so you never accepted any of the offers you had from any other boys.

But he never ended up asking you out, no matter how many signals you gave him, how much time you spent with him. How you wore the cutest outfits if you knew you’d partner with him in class.

And shy of some random drunken makeouts and one unfortunate hookup at some stupid party to get your first time “out of the way” (according to Julie Williams)…you stayed single.

Now you were out of the dregs of the high school hierarchy, sure, but you never expected Steve to ask you out. You weren't popular by any means...

But neither was Nancy Wheeler before Steve dated her.

Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler.

You couldn't get the name out of your head. Or more accurately, you couldn't get Steve saying her name out of your head. You hadn't even heard of her until they had started dating in your junior year; she was a year younger than you and Steve. Sweet, a little timid maybe. You thought they were cute together, always kind of near each other. Holding hands or kissing or laughing.

Nancy stood in the spotlight with Steve, and they spent enough time for him to become nicer and for her to become more confident. Confident enough to dump him about halfway through your senior year.

Rumors were afloat about King Steve losing his crown. That the new kid Billy Hargrove had taken it when the king was down on his luck. But Billy was an even bigger douchebag and you'd thought...well, Steve was the big man on campus, he would bounce back right? Surely once you graduated at least? He’d find his footing and move on?

And you thought he had. He’d stayed in town, gotten a job, went about his life like it was normal. Still drove around and charmed the town, asking girls out and whatnot. Asking you out.

Imagine your surprise when he mentioned Nancy on your first date. Coffee at that little bakery in the town square; he had ordered for you before you got there and you asked if it was his favorite or something.

"Well Nance always liked it so I figured you might."

And then again at the movies, he'd ordered you a cherry coke and Mike and Ikes. No popcorn.

"Nancy always complained about the kernels getting stuck in her teeth."

You were patient and you tried to be nice. But it created this constant, subconscious comparison to her that hit you every time you saw her around town. And she was always around.

And Steve…tried, he made sure the dates were nice, he called on the phone, asked you about your day, told you about his. You just knew you couldn’t…allow yourself to feel less than, even if Steve didn’t realize he was doing it to you.

So you decided you were gonna end things.

You'd gone to Family Video to tell him as much, to have a nice discussion, before heading to your shift at Benny's. But he was very sweet, unexpectedly so. Promised your third date would be something special. You'd both dress up. He'd take you out to dinner somewhere nice.

"You're gonna love this place," Steve had said, taking your hand in his. "Nance thought it was great when I took her there too."

Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler.

And at that moment you decided to just pull your hand away and tell him "I'm sorry Steve" and "you can’t keep bringing her up, it’s over."

Until you caught sight of Eddie Munson at the corner of your eye.

Your high school crush.

Who was funny and clever and silly and handsome and more. Who was everything you could kind of ever dream of. Who you got into a fight with your best friend over because she thought she had dibs since her brother was his friend. Whose name you scribbled in your notebook and almost died the one time he flipped through to copy your notes.

Who never saw you as more than a classmate.

And you decided...even if you were tired of playing second fiddle to Nancy…you had spent enough time waiting to be noticed by Eddie. All of high school and, you were ashamed to say it, even now after the fact.

You couldn’t do this anymore. Couldn’t pass upon another boy who actually noticed you just to keep waiting on Eddie.

So you told Steve that his idea was great and you went on your merry way.

You had convinced yourself that it could work out, that you could be Steve’s girlfriend if he asked, if he kissed you at the end of the night. You'd dressed up to go to class today, knowing that you wouldn't have time to change for the date after. Your friends had teased you about your date, about the fluffy tafetta dress you'd chosen, giggled along with you and inflated your confidence.

It was still a little bit of a shock when you walked into Family Video promptly at 4 only to find Robin standing in front of the counter with the most pitying, sympathetic look in her eyes. And Steve still behind it, looking like a deer in the headlights, still dressed in his casual work clothes, hair slightly disheveled.

Not prepared for your date at all.

Did he forget?

You shouldn’t have felt bad, really. You were meeting him after his shift. You knew that you didn’t always look or feel great after work. You should have given him the benefit of the doubt.

Or did he change his mind?

Because he talked the talk yesterday and you fell for it. You let your pride get the better of you and you should have just followed your instinct to end things.

That insidious voice in the back of your mind though…

Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler, Nancy Wheeler.

…told you that he realized you weren’t good enough.

"H-hey," you greeted sheepishly. Your throat got tight

“Say hi dumbass,” Robin muttered over her shoulder. “Steve was just telling me how excited he was for your date!”

“Really?”

And then…it felt like Steve was suddenly seeing you for the first time. Because Steve Harrington just had a way about him, right?. That cool, casual exterior. That easiness.

Looking at him now…his eyes were wider and brighter, his smile bigger, eager. It was a version of him that you hadn’t experienced.

Was this maybe what Nancy Wheeler saw when she looked at him…looking at her?

And now he was looking at you this way.

"I...I'm not late am I? Or too early maybe?" you asked, suddenly bashful under his gaze.

“No,” Steve shook his head. “You’re perfect.”

“Gross,” Robin gagged. “Ok get out of here before I vomit.”

Steve practically vaulted over the counter and disappeared into the back for a moment, then situated himself at your side upon his return.

“You ready to go?” He asked eagerly. You raised your eyebrows in question and glanced down at his outfit, still dressed the same, still wearing his Family Video vest even.

“Oh you…” you started and then stopped when his smile got even brighter. “Yeah let’s go.”

You were barely out the door when a familiar van skidded into the parking lot and came to a halt in the spot next to your car. Eddie jumped out of the driver's seat and slammed the door, before pointing at Steve with a manic look in his eyes.

“You!” Eddie shouted. “What did you do? How did you do this!?”

You immediately turned to Steve, whose eyes went wide for a moment before he smiled lazily, almost condescendingly.

“Me? I didn’t do anything,” Steve announced, holding his hands up innocently.

“I know you’re in there Eddie, you son of a bitch,” Eddie grumbled and practically lunged at Steve. Steve jumped a few steps back and you got between the two of them, hoping your presence would put Eddie at ease.

Wait…

Did he call Steve…Eddie? Did he call Steve by…his own name?

Was he high or something? You tried to rationalize it: The anger, the manic look in his eyes, the way his shoulders shook as he breathed heavily. It only made sense.

“Hey look at me,” you said gently. “It’s gonna be ok, you need to take a deep breath and calm down. You’re gonna be ok.”

“Stay out of this honey,” Eddie said through clenched teeth. “This is between me and him.”

“Steve, what’s going on?” You glance back at him for an answer.

“Nothi—” Steve began but Eddie quickly spoke over him.

“He put a curse on me, he put a curse on us,” Eddie heaved.

A curse?

“M-maybe you need a doctor or something,” you tried. “You aren’t making any sense.”

”He doesn’t need a doctor,” Steve called from behind you. “He’s a freak, a criminal. He needs to be locked up.”

Eddie froze and looked between you and Steve, fear suddenly in his eyes.

“Steve are you crazy?!” You turned and hissed at him, but by the time you turned back to Eddie, he was backing away and retreating into the van.

“This isn’t over,” he threatened, pointing at Steve through the window. “You’re gonna fix this.”

“Eddie wait!” The van backed out of its spot and sped back out of the parking lot. You sighed with worry. “Eddie.”

“Sweetheart,” Steve casually put a hand on your shoulder “Don’t worry about him.”

You turned on your heel and slapped his hand off you.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?”

Eddie played the part perfectly...

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"

...or so he thought.

While he would never call anyone else a freak, standing and staring at his own face--despite the realization that Steve was in there--it was almost cathartic to yell those things at himself. To get a feel of what everyone else felt when they yelled those things at him. To not be on the receiving end of it for once.

Except you didn't seem to see it that way.

While Eddie had felt like he had hit the jackpot all day, being in Steve's body, he knew that he really came out ahead when you showed up for your date with him. The thought briefly crossed his mind...if he broke your heart as Steve...it might be a better chance for him to ask you out and for you to say yes.

But considering that he might possibly spend the rest of his life as Steve Harrington...having you was too good of a chance to pass up.

He would rather have you as Steve, knowing you would never care for him as Eddie, than lose you altogether.

Except that might be exactly what he had done as you stood there glaring at him.

"W-what?" He asked nervously.

"Are you kidding me right now?" you exclaimed. "He...there was clearly something wrong with him. How could you say those things? How could you call him those names? And then he...he left...what if he gets hurt?"

"What do you care about Eddie Munson?" he scoffed.

"He's my friend!"

Fuck.

Hearing that made his heart ache in his chest. He was a friend. Yeah. Just a friend. Which is why...if he wanted to salvage this, he would have to think quickly.

"I just...you're right," he explained, holding his hands out defensively. "He looked like...there was something wrong. And you were so quick to jump in the way...what if he hurt you?"

"He wouldn't!"

"I was worried."

"He wouldn't have hurt me."

"Listen to me," he soothed and approached you carefully in case you lashed out again. "I...I care about you, honey. I don't want to see you hurt. And Eddie...definitely looked like he was ready to hurt someone. I needed to get him away from you."

You gnawed at your bottom lip for a moment, pulling at your fingers nervously as you contemplated his excuse.

"Alright," you finally nodded. "I understand."

"You do?" he asked.

"Yeah," you sighed. "But please...please don't do that again. Don't call Eddie a freak. He's my friend and he deserves better than that."

Eddie's throat got tight, wanting to scream--

It's me. I'm Eddie. I'm in here.

--instead he took a few steps closer and folded you into a hug. You shook for a second, and god damn did he feel like he was on the verge of shaking too.

He needed a distraction.

"So...how about that date huh?" He questioned after a few moments of savoring the feel of you in his arms. "You ready to go."

"Sure," you pulled back and gave him a small smile. "Where are we going?"

Eddie, of course, had no idea where Steve had planned to take you. His mommy didn't mark dates in his calendar like she did his work schedule. So he simply decided to make something up on the spot. One of his favorite places.

He simply told you it was a surprise and led you to Steve's BMW, opening the door for you like a gentleman should, before he got you both on the way.

His fingers fidgeted on the steering wheel as he drove. He debated asking you questions, but decided against it on the off chance that they were things Steve had already on your first two dates. And the music that Steve had in the car was abysmal and wouldn't do anything to calm Eddie's nerves.

You seemed content to stare out the window as he drove though, still fidgeting with your fingers as the drab scenery passed by once he got onto old highway 77.

A few miles past Starcourt sat "Stoney Creek Adventure Center," boasting a halfway decent arcade and two miniature golf courses. With all of the new amusements in and around Hawkins, it wasn't as busy as it was the few times his mom and Rick had taken him when he was a kid. But it was still pretty lively on a Friday night: some families with younger kids, a couple of teens who snuck into the windmill to get high and make out.

Eddie escorted you out of the car and watched as you stared at the half-faded turf and oversized obstacles.

"So?" he asked, hands on his hips. "What do you think?"

Your hesitation to answer made his throat tight again.

What if this wasn't a Steve Harrington-calibur date?

"Uh..." you paused and looked at him out of the corner of your eye. "This is the place you took Nancy Wheeler? You said...you were taking me someplace she really liked."

Alright, time to make it or break it.

"I just thought you might like something different," he shrugged. "I thought...I've been bringing up Nancy a little too much. I want to enjoy new things. With you."

The way your gaze softened and you smiled at him...yeah, he was really fixing all of Harrington's fuck-ups. Give you everything you deserved.

"Oh, that's...yeah, that's really sweet," you giggled. "I...I didn't want to say anything...I know she was important to you. But I was actually starting to feel like--"

"Hey, listen," he interrupted you, knowing what you were going to say next...feeling a little smug that he was right. "The past is the past. I'm sorry I made you feel like you were playing second fiddle to Nancy."

"You really did," you confirmed.

"But I really like you," Eddie admitted, feeling a weight lift off of his shoulders as the words escaped him. Even though the voice he said them with was not his own. "I want you to feel important too. Ok?"

"Ok," you agreed, lips pursed and nose scrunched as you obviously fought a smile.

"Alright then, let's get to putting," he clapped his hands together and started walking towards the arcade to pay for your rounds of golf.

He stopped, however, as you grabbed him by the arm.

"Don't you think I'm a little overdressed?" you asked bashfully, gesturing down at yourself. "You told me we were going someplace nice."

He placed a hand over his heart and acted wounded.

"You're saying mini golf isn't nice?" he whimpered.

"No, it's perfect, I just..." you shrugged. "I don't know, I think...I don't even have a jacket or anything."

"Well tell you what," he said and peeled his Family Video vest from his shoulders. "As long as you don't tell Keith that I made you a temporary employee for the night--that's what this means you know, so don't take it lightly--you can wear my vest."

You didn't fight the smile this time, it beamed brightly in the golden afternoon light. You put the vest on and did a little turn, modeling it for him, looking slightly ridiculous with your fancy dress and the stupid green and orange vest.

What Eddie wouldn't have done right then to have his battle vest instead right then. To make you look like you were his girl and not Steve's.

"Beautiful," he told you truthfully. "Now you ready to lose? I happen to be a mini golf champion."

"In your dreams," you scoffed.

No...not in his dreams anymore...

At the end of the night, well past it getting dark, Steve drove you back to the strip mall parking lot for you to get your car and head home. But it felt no less romantic than it would have been if he was actually dropping you off at home and you were chatting on your porch before you went inside.

“I really did have a great time tonight,” you told him honestly. It felt like a cliché, like something from a tv show. But...despite the rocky start, you did have a great time and it was absolutely nothing you expected from Steve of all people, especially not after those first two dates. After all of the things you had doubted.

You had played both of the miniature golf courses, sat at the little picnic benches and shared a basket of half-soggy fries with ice cream cones--yours strawberry, his a chocolate-vanilla swirl--and chatted about your classes, and then ended the night beating the high score on Space Invaders.

Maybe things were looking up after all. Maybe you were right to give him this last chance.

“It was kind of perfect," you continued. "Thank you.”

“Well, what can I say?” Steve beamed. “I’m full of good ideas, when I’m inspired to have them.”

“And I, um, inspired you?” You asked hesitantly.

“You have no idea,” he laughed. “You wouldn’t even believe what was going on in here even if I told you.” He tapped his forehead a few times.

You reached up and rapped your knuckles on the side of his head the way you would a watermelon to see if it was ripe.

“I dunno, sounds kind of hollow to me—Steve!!” He grabbed you around the middle and started tickling you. You yelped and giggled as his fingers relentlessly tapped and pinched at your sides. “Stop it.”

“Sorry, honey, I told you I was full of ideas,” he pouted playfully but didn’t let up. “You just looked awful ticklish; it inspired me.”

“I can’t,” you laughed. “I can’t breathe.”

“I guess I can stop,” Steve sighed, the tickling letting up for a moment. His hands stilled on your waist as you caught your breath and he inched closer. “I think I’m inspired by something else now, to be completely honest with you.”

And then he did a thing--something he had been doing all night--he was looking at you like he couldn’t really believe you were there with him. His eyes were sparkling and happy. His smile wasn’t the…signature smooth Harrington smile that you’d grown accustomed to the last few dates. It was wider, easier.

“Y-yeah?” You whispered. “What’s that?”

He leaned in closer, rubbed his nose against yours. Your eyes fluttered shut and you exhaled softly.

"C-can I," he whispered, soft enough that you could barely hear him. "Can I kiss you, honey?"

"Y-yeah," you agreed just as softly. He hummed but didn't make another move, choosing to continue giving you such soft attention. It made your heart melt.

"You sure?"

"Please," you keened.

He let out a soft chuckle and pressed his lips to yours and you sighed.

If was all of the tender softness you deserved, but never knew in the fast, hormone-and-alcohol driven kisses you had experienced in high school. However few. You were simply surrounded by him.

His touch--his soft lips molding to yours, pressing, and his hands on your waist, pulling--constant and pleading for more but never pushing. His scent that invaded your senses--sharp and citrusy and fresh, like a summer's day. His sounds, that simple...constant little hum as the seconds ticked by.

He was everywhere and everything.

But...

You thought about Eddie earlier that day, the striking, wild look in his eye. So different from the Eddie you were used to, the Eddie you cared about, the Eddie your heart beat for over the past 5 years. You were worried about him, yes, but one thought occupied your mind.

How would Eddie have kissed you?

Your heart stung when Steve pulled away and you blinked back the burning in the back of your eyes.

You couldn't entertain those thoughts, not when Steve was standing right in front of you, after he had just kissed you so perfectly, and looked at you as if you were the only thing that could ever make him happy.

“G’night honey,” he murmured.

“Goodnight,” you whispered guiltily. "Goodnight Steve."

Eddie made it back to the Harrington's house with a big smile on his face.

He could do this forever if he had to.

Live in Steve's body, go to work at Steve's job, drive Steve's car, kiss Steve's girlfriend.

He'd been partially wondering on his drive back to the house--

Between the long, sweet moments of recalling your kiss.

--if this was, perhaps, some kind of karmic reward for all of the shit life had handed to him. A terrible father, a dead mother, a short attention span, and the entire town voicing their opinion that he was some dirty, rotten, trailer park freak. And then on the contrary, Steve--who had been given everything he never asked for and was an ungrateful shit--could have some karma as well.

As he made it up the stairs--the stairs, Eddie still couldn't believe it--to his new bedroom, Eddie thought about Wayne and did feel a little guilt. He definitely suffered just as Eddie did, maybe more so, simply for the fact that he had to put up with Eddie for 10 years and now would have to put up with Steve too. Eddie's stomach turned when he thought of all the things he did just to take something off Wayne's plate. Repairs around the trailer, grocery shopping and "making dinner" (which was usually code for some kind of takeout when he was too lazy to pop some frozen pizza in the oven). Not to mention the extra cash he made dealing...would Steve do those things now that they were stuck like this?

Where was Wayne's karmic reward?

There were so many things Wayne sacrificed for Eddie. And Eddie knew and did everything he could to give back to his uncle, as much as his uncle would let him. Now with this situation with Steve, he had to do a little more to lift what would end up being an additional weight off of his uncle's shoulders.

Maybe...

Maybe "Steve" could convince Mr. Harrington to offer Wayne some better, cushier job at the car dealership? So he wouldn't have to suffer as much as he did at the plant. He definitely deserved more, but this was the first thing Eddie could think of off the top of his head. After a few months it might be a new car, or some...help with a down payment on an actual house...or at the very least, a larger trailer so that he could have his own bedroom instead of that fold-out bed.

Yeah, that was it. He would think about how he would bring it up next time he saw good ol' Pa Harrington...but since the house was still empty almost 14 hours after Steve's parents apparently left for work that morning, it might not be any time soon...

Eddie opened the door to the bedroom--momentarily dismissing his thoughts of Wayne to consider if he should get some posters to cover the pretentious plaid-papered walls--only to find the light on and his own face staring back at him, scowling, as Steve sat propped against the headboard of the bed.

Eddie hesitated in the doorway, stunned.

“I told you this wasn't over, Freak."

Fuck.

Tag List: @luna-munson83 @kaitebugg03 @invaderzia1 @delusionalbabe @secretdryrose @eddiesguitarskills @simplyundeniable98 @imaslutforcuddles @hanobe8

[early2000smovieimagines]

Meeting and Dating Han Lue

(Not my gif)(Requested by @youngcroissantturkeyworribler )

- A part of you feels very lucky that you weren't a member of the underground world that Han typically thrived in when the two of you first met: an insecure, overthinking little part of you which would've ruined a perfectly good thing before it could even begin.

- You'd like to think that you could have been cool about his usual lifestyle. That you could have seen the models who kissed up to him and the boatloads of money that surrounded him and been confident enough to brush off the feelings of envy and inadequacy. But you know, deep down, you probably wouldn't have been able to, and you would have twisted the facts of your relationship until you could; in great detail, reason why you couldn't be with "a guy like Han".

- Being forced to see him as nothing but a charming occasional customer was all for the best. Meeting him as a broke college student working a menial night shift job at a convenience store was all for the best. And allowing yourself to fall for him was all for the best as well.

- For a while, interactions with your future boyfriend was nothing to write home about. You hardly spoke a word to each other besides the usual pleasantries and the exchanging of change, and though you recognized that he was a bit of a regular; and fairly attractive, you didn't feel anything for him besides a mild appreciation; one that came from being able to regard someone with familiarity and the momentary reprieve that it typically provided.

- It wasn't until you suddenly switched shifts with your coworker for a week that your relationship actually began to take off.

- Han hadn't realized how much he looked forward to seeing you until it was taken away from him. He never thought of himself as someone who craved a form of monotony or the guarantee of someone/something being exactly where he left it, so the dejection that he feels upon seeing your coworker at the counter instead of you genuinely takes him by surprise. He'd almost been compelled to stop going to the store the longer your absence dragged on.

- Being there without you just felt …wrong? There's something about the way you usually interact with him that he just sort of craves. The passive yet warm nonchalance that you regard him with is apparently far more addictive than he realized and he finds himself missing the one girl who was just plain nice to him. Not kissing up or flirting; and definitely not judging, just …nice.

- So when he sees you standing behind the counter at the end of the week, he can't help but relax a little; it's like his worries just melt away. He can't help but comment on the fact that you were gone for a while; wanting to know if it's something he should expect in the future and praying that it isn't.

- You don't think much of it when he asks: the two of you are cordial so you blame it on regular customer curiosity. Besides, you're far too distracted with ringing him up to notice the subtle untensing of his shoulders and the way his eyes drag over your features a little too slowly to be deemed as impartial.

- When you hand him his bag, he asks if you'll be there "tomorrow" and you smile a little, assuring him that you will. He teasingly tells you that he's glad, “because your coworker makes the coffee like shit”, and he decides that he likes the little smile you crack at his joke a little too much.

- The two of you gradually grow more friendly after that, conversing about things other than how much he owes you and occasionally sharing some of the snacks he purchases. At some point, he comes in just as you're ending your shift so you ring him up quickly and he walks you out into the parking lot.

“Let me guess,” you’d said and teasingly nodded towards the crappiest car in the lot, purposely ignoring the extremely out of place expensive car sitting in one of the spaces a couple feet away. “That ones yours?”

- He'd grinned and led you over to the Mazda in question, watching you look it over with vague interest before offering to show you how fast it can go. You feel like you know him well enough to take him up on his offer; and you also don't want to miss out on the opportunity to ride in a sports car as someone with about four dollars in their bank account, so you agree and let him blaze down the highway so fast that it leaves you breathless.

- He comes to terms with the fact that he loves you while listening to your tiny noises of excitement, abruptly speeding up or drifting or turning just to hear the small surprised squeaks and laughs that you let out in response. And you come to terms with the fact that it's not just the speed of his car that leaves you feeling weightless when you're gearing up to say goodbye for the night.

"Why don't you give me your number? Driving fast's just the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot more you can see." He offers as you stand outside his car.

"Maybe the fast life isn't for me?" You joke in response.

"Oh I think it is," He teases back, gently reaching out for the phone in your hands, letting you pass it to him; or potentially deny him if it's what you prefer. There's a certain level of self assuredness in the way that he says it, like he just knows that you'll be back in a matter of time. "There, that's my number. Think about it. Decisions yours to make.”

- You do think about it, and you do call him: though admittedly, the first time you contact him, it's with a question about cars because yours is smoking and making weird noises and you’re about 65% sure that it might just blow up on the highway if you're not careful.

- He laughs when you tell him you're "scared" to pop the hood, asking where you are and giving you directions to his shop when he finds out that you're close, telling you that he'll take a look for you. He can't help but smile when he sees you pull in, car smoking just like you said and a sheepish look on your face. Adorable, he thinks to himself, and knows right then and there that he’s really in trouble.

- The car gets fixed and you offer to buy him dinner as a 'thank you', a gesture that earns you a teasing "I fix your car and now you're trying to get in my pants" but an agreement nonetheless. It isn't long after that that your situationship; for lack of a better term, begins.

- The two of you begin hanging out outside of the convenience store: he takes you out to all the places he usually goes and indulges you whenever you offhandedly mention that you'd always "wanted to do that". He buys you all the things you say that you want your future boyfriend/partner to buy you; not a coincidence, and when you're at parties you dance on each other far too intimately for anyone who claims to be "just friends".

- Not to mention the fact that you kiss each other: a trend that's started one night when you're both in his garage, sat on a couch and stealing glances at each other before you both begin to lean in and share a casual makeout session.

- After a while of this, he sort of just says "you know you're my girlfriend, right" while he's in the middle of driving you to a party, sparing you a quick yet casual glance before his eyes focus back on the road. If you had any doubts before you don't anymore and the butterflies in your stomach can attest to that. You tell him that you would "hope so" and mirror the smile that spreads across his face in response.  

- Life's simple, you make choices and you don't look back. He chose you and now he's decided to never look back.

- Being in a relationship with Han means taking it day by day. Somedays, he’ll want to stay by your side without touching you, other days, he’ll want to grind up against you on the dance floor and touch tongues with you in the booths by the wall: there’s really no method to his madness and that’s just something you’ll have to get used to. 

- That being said, he typically prefers simple gestures of affection whenever you’re out in public together: lingering kisses pressed to your lips or temple, a hug from behind while you’re leaned up against one of his cars, an arm wrapped around your shoulders or waist; things like like. He’s not particularly concerned with being polite, he just doesn’t usually feel the need to slobber all over you or overdramatically show you off; unless he’s getting something out of it. 

- Even so, he loves any and all affection that you give him in return. A nice thing about dating Han is that he simply doesn’t give a shit: sure, there’s times where you both need to be serious or he’ll want to put up a more intimidating front, but overall, he honestly couldn’t care less about people thinking that he’s “whipped”; or whatever else they’d like to call him. At the end of the day, you’re his ride or die and they’re insecure little boys who wish they were him. 

- Innocent little kisses are his kryptonite. He loves when you give him a peck for no reason; especially when the two of you are alone and the moment is terribly domestic: like when he’s lounging with his head on the back of the couch and you kiss his forehead from behind it in passing. He gets really used to them: so much so that he’ll occasionally lean towards you in anticipation of one; regardless of whether or not you showed any signs of giving him one in the first place. 

- Slow, passionate kisses. 

- He honestly has a bit of an oral fixation and I think he’d jokingly tell you that it’s “less calories” or that he’s “cutting carbs” whenever he chooses to kiss/makeout with you instead of snacking on something. But nevertheless, he always shares his snacks with you and alternates between putting food to your mouth like a pet and holding out the bag to you normally; depending on how well you take care of yourself and allow him to share. Sometimes he forcibly has to make you join him because he knows you haven’t eaten or drank any water for hours and he’d prefer it if you didn’t kill his girlfriend, thank you very much.

- Speaking of snacking: you keep some on you whenever you go anywhere with him because you know that he’ll be digging around for something in a matter of minutes, eyes still half focused on the road and hands gearing up to stop at a convenience store before you offer him a bag of something that you kept in your purse. Or he’ll be fiddling with something a little too hard and overall getting antsy and you’ll hand something over and watch as he relaxes, giving you a smile and a kiss in return.

- Sitting in his lap. He loves driving around with you lounged across him and will do everything in his power to convince you to try it with him at least once; safety regulations and laws be damned. 

- He’s not big on cuddling but he’s also an indecisive hypocrite. One minute he’ll jokingly sigh and act annoyed with you for being so clingy, and the next minute he’ll ask why you’re “so goddamn far away” and refuse to resume his activities until you’re tucked into his side. I think he just sort of forgets how much he likes it until you’re either in his arms or out of them; depending on the day.

- Honestly, it probably hits harder and makes you more flustered when he chooses to say your real name instead of a pet name since he’s kind of a recovering whore who used to have a bitch on each arm; both of which he would call baby or something of the sort. Either way, his go-to pet names are honey, baby, and angel; or a little nickname if that’s what you prefer. 

- He always has to hide his pleased little smile whenever you call him a pet name. And that’s how you know you’re special to him: because no other person in the world gets that reaction out of him; regardless of how pretty or perfect she may be.

- You’re definitely a weakness of his. From far away, he’ll seem like the coolest person in the world but the minute people look too closely, they’ll see him call you on the phone and apologize for being late, assuring you that he’ll make it up to you when you whine in response. It’s like he’s a cool criminal one minute and your doting boyfriend the next, and the change in demeanor is enough to give Sean whiplash.

- Feeling like you’re living a double life whenever he comes to pick you up in a sleek, expensive sports car: asking how your day was or what you want to get for lunch while the people around you just stop and stare.

- Sometimes, he’ll just randomly toss you his keys and tell you to drive, and the first few times he did it, it nearly gave you a heart attack. You were hypervigilant and on edge; scared to ruin his far too expensive car, and he watched you the entire time with a smile on his face, laughing and calling you cute whenever you whined out a distracted “what?”.

- Teasing praise. He might say it in an unserious way but the sentiment remains the same: the grin on his face tells you that he’s proud, even when he’s saying things like “that’s my girl” and “Look at you. When did you get so smart?”; instead of a normal “good job”. He also makes sure to notice whenever you change something about your appearance and uses it as an excuse to touch and get close to you”: complimenting you a little more seriously so you know that he really means it.

- Eye contact. Han has a tendency to pay really close attention to you; even if you’re not looking at or acknowledging him, and it gives you butterflies every time. It’s sort of like a love language of his.

- Late night talks chocked full of wisdom and enlightenment. The two of you have a lot of deep conversations about what you think of the world and the lessons you’ve learned from life. Oftentimes, he’ll tell you not to let fear control your decisions and you’ll say that's great and all but I’m still not gonna give you head while you drive down the highway.

- Getting to hear all of his crazy stories. He’s a twenty something year old man with dad lore™.

- Sitting with him while he works on his cars. It’s a good idea to learn what different mechanics tools look like because he’s bound to ask you to grab things for him.

- He’s wanted you posed naked on the hood of his car since yesterday. You worriedly say that you’d probably leave an ass imprint and he’d reply with “even better” and refuse to take no for an answer; if that was your only reservation. Either way, he keeps a photo of you with each of his cars in his wallet and insists on taking you out somewhere whenever he gets a new car; “to break it in” he says.

- Driving is basically foreplay for the two of you. He’ll do something he knows you find sexy and smirk to himself, denying it unconvincingly when you accuse him of doing exactly what he was very purposefully doing; as though you couldn't see the expectant way he glanced at you while carrying it out. He tells you he’s “in love” when you drift in front of him, and probably told you that he “creamed his pants” when you did it for the first time; after days of having him try to teach you. Overall …you should probably tease him about having a car kink.

- Taking trips to convenience stores or some random takeout place that he’s in the mood for. You guys have been to just about every restaurant in town at one point or another.

- The two of you play a lot of little games; things like chess and jenga, and a majority of the time he simply lets you win/makes it easy for you to win because he likes seeing you smile and definitely doesn’t need the money he places down for the prize. But if you were to bet a kiss or something of the sort, he would immediately flame you and you’d sit there in shock as you come to realize that he’s been lying to you about his skills the entire time.

- He does a lot of things just to see you smile. It’s his favorite sight and he loves how he can receive it just from a simple gesture or gift. A lot of your experiences are vastly different because you’ll be focused on the moment and he’ll be focused on you: shaking his head fondly and gazing at you with heart eyes as you jump around at a concert or excitedly tug him around a theme park.

- Nothing is lame to him if it has something to do with you. You can show him a picture of a cat you saw on the way home or explain your hyperfixations and he'll just sit there and let you; probably making other people wait to tell him things in the process. He especially loves whenever you tell him gossip: he finds how serious you get over it extremely entertaining.

- You’re the parents of your friend group: he gives rides, gives advice, gives money, etc. He’s very invested in your friends lives to be honest: he likes hearing the drama and putting in his two cents and he’s funded multiple dinner outings with you and your girlfriends just so he can hear the tea.

- He really doesn’t care about spending money so long as it goes to a good place, and he thinks that you’re the best place for it to go, so rest assured that you’ll be spoiled: and the more you hold back or refuse, the more he’ll want to give it to you. Much like his drivers, you’re also representing him now, so he’s not gonna let you run around in a crappy car, wearing cheap clothes and eating cheap food. Just be prepared to kiss him as payment whenever you want his card.  

- He always tells you that you should “just quit your job” whenever you call off plans with him because of work: and even though his tone is fairly teasing, he’s never completely joking.

- He jokes about you “calling your other boyfriends” whenever you don’t pick up your phone or text him back immediately. He likes casually keeping tabs on you and teasing you is just one way that he can do that without sounding all controlling or demanding. He definitely says “hot” and/or asks if you “were kissing her” when you tell him that you were “actually” with a female friend; and you threaten to hang up the phone whenever he does.

- He likes the fast life but he also likes taking things slow and lounging around with you. He enjoys the little things in life; particularly the little things that have to do with you: like arguing about what movie you’re gonna watch because he wants an action movie and you wanna watch sailor moon. You usually get your way, mainly because you make a deal with him or pull a flirty move that shocks him into letting you successfully steal the remote; though he’ll never admit to how much it flustered him.

- Han sort of treats the entire world like his living room: he just sits back and relaxes like he owns the place so regardless of where the two of you are, it’s usually a pretty chill experience. He also just likes watching you have fun so even if he isn’t interested in doing something himself, he’ll hang back and watch you entertain yourself with a smile on his face.

- Sitting out and gazing at the sea or the skyline with him in all of his favorite places and hideouts.

- Mini golfing, ax throwing, bowling, etc. He likes dates that have random activities for the two of you to do.

- Clubbing, partying, etc. A lot of your dates involve going out late at night and as a result, he’s gotten pretty used to taking care of you at the end of them: casually yet clumsily helping you take off your makeup and do your skincare routine and get you to bed, joking around with you and stealing kisses the entire time. You both annoy and amuse him when you’re drunk.

- You always have a warm bed and open arms to come back to whenever you’re with him; regardless of what issues you may or may not be having. He’s always ready to take care of you when it really matters and he enjoys babying you every now and again; guiding you around like a doting parent whenever you’re tired. He definitely purposefully keeps you with him until it’s late enough to insist that you crash with him instead of going home.

- He’s got a pretty fucked up sleeping schedule so don’t be surprised if most of your dates take place at three am or he texts you random shit late at night, telling you that you “better be asleep right now but look at this thing I saw in the morning”. The two of you finds yourselves knocked out together in random places pretty often and he likes to tease you that he keeps you around because you make a better pillow than his cars leather seats.

- You’re the only person who really has a grasp on how he thinks so the two of you usually hang back and shoot each other looks that tell you everything and your company nothing. He loves that little connection that he has with you: it makes him feel less lonely; especially since he’s someone who can sometimes feel alone in a room full of people.

- When the two of you first started dating, he’d hand you some money and urge you to go and have fun whenever he needed to handle something business related, but nowadays, he likes to involve you in everything he does: keeping you seated next to him and occasionally asking for your input. It gave you whiplash the first time he did it, putting a hand on your thigh when you moved to get up and give them privacy; it also probably shocked his business partner as well, but the symbolic trust made you melt and it’s been that way ever since.

- He’s the type of person who sees nothing wrong with committing crimes, so he wouldn’t think twice about inviting you or the people close to you to join him in his illegal endeavors. Just keep that in mind if you have younger siblings; it’s a matter you’ll probably disagree with him on.

- He lowkey just loves women who hate men: he likes the attitude, he likes the exclusivity, he likes knowing that you’re naturally loyal because you simply dislike everyone else. It makes him laugh when you get all argumentative and headstrong with the boys around you, and he’ll defend your decisions till the day he dies, a smitten smile on his face the entire time. He just loves you and your bitchiness so so much.  

- As nonchalant as Han may seem, he’s always paying attention and he has a tendency to know when shits about to hit the fan: whether that be in relation to what's going on in the “outside world” or your own emotions. He picks up on when you’re feeling anxious or angry or so on and he’ll intervene when he thinks it’s necessary in order to keep the peace and keep you happy.

- He had a lot of experiences with other women before the two of you met and though a majority of them weren’t that close to him; and he’d have no problem cutting them off for you when you start to get serious, I don’t think it would be crazy to assume that they’d reappear in his life every now and again. And every time they approach him, he’d just do his best to shrug them off and give you a sort of “what can you do?” glance, hoping that you’re not mad at him for his previous hoe phase. He’s usually extra touchy those nights: wanting to silently reassure you that he’ll always choose you; regardless of who comes near him or who came before you. 

- Han simply isn’t the jealous type and that’s evident in the way he reacts to people showing interest in you. He’s perfectly fine with you throwing your tits around if it benefits either of you and has, on multiple occasions, drank the free drinks that people have sent your way. He likes showing you off and doesn’t think of the people around him as competition; a fact that makes him extremely attractive in your eyes. He’s always confident in himself and even when he has his moments, all it takes is a “you like me most, right?” while you’re stood in his arms and that’ll be that. 

- He always has your back in dangerous situations and is prepared to do just about everything he can to keep you safe. I said before that you’re his partner in crime but rest assured that he’d pull you out of his business the minute he felt you couldn’t handle what was going on. 

- The two of you don’t have a lot of arguments; a result of being able to read each other like a book, but when you do manage to fight about something, he has a tendency to just be quiet and refuse to discuss things. He’s stubborn as all hell when he’s set his mind on something so there’s really no changing his decision/opinion; you’ll just have to accept that and/or wait until he can reevaluate things himself. 

- He doesn’t usually apologize verbally, he’ll just sort of move on from whatever it was that you were bickering about. If he was wrong than he’d take back what he said with a sheepish “I know” when you tell him that that’s exactly what you said when you were fighting: and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a small sorry alongside it. 

- He’s very monotone and simple with his “love you’s”; and they’re usually in response to you saying it first, but he kind of loves when you sing song at him and sweetly ambush him with a ton of them at a time; it makes him smile and always gets him a little shy. 

- He skips town a lot but he’d settle down with you if you asked. There just came a point in your relationship where he knew that you were the end of his line and decided right then and there that he would do whatever it took to stay by your side. You were bigger and better than anything else in his life, and he would have left everything behind with no regrets the minute you asked him to. 

[xythlia]

↳ THE FEVER

› HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SICKO HUSBAND ALSO SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER <3

› satoru x stepdaughter!reader [reader is like early twenties bc it was easier to write with my own age in mind idk]

› word count : 2k+

warnings : dark content stepcest, voyeurism, male masturbation, possessiveness, inherent power imbalance, peeping, showerhead masturbation, yandere ish, he's just a mega perv if I missed anything lmk!

Truth be told Satoru never thought he'd be the marrying type, if it were solely his decision he probably wouldn't have but with the external pressure to marry and produce a child he ultimately chose the path of least resistance.

A readymade family so to speak, a cheeky loophole to those unrelenting demands he'd heard since he was in his late teens. Not that he didn't care for his newfound family, he did of course. The solid golden band around his ring finger, tangible proof of his commitment. A smart, lovely, accomplished spouse with a daughter already on her way to becoming equally accomplished, if not more so.

He'd only been introduced to you a few months before the wedding date, he didn't push you for any earlier interaction because your mother had already warned him you were surly about the whole thing, distrustful of him as a would be father figure. And yes, it was a slow road to minimal acceptance but you'd made progress in the time after the wedding. For instance you no longer glare and pointedly ignore his presence in the house.

A win is a win, after all.

But as time has gone by Satoru found himself plagued by thoughts, not of his wife, but of his adorably aloof step daughter. He couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful you were, strikingly similar to your mother but with the dewiness of youth making you all the more enticing.

Maybe getting married wasn't such a bad thing.

At the same time it's become tortuous living in the same home together. Its a test of resolve, the way he can't help but stare at the way your sleep shorts have ridden up your ass when you blearily pad around the kitchen in the morning, grumbling about coffee. The way you routinely wear no bra in the comfort of the home without a second thought, although his every thought focuses around how it would feel to palm at your breasts, squeeze them and hear you whine in his hold.

All this early morning rumination comes to halt when he hears the gentle splashing sound of the shower from across the hall, pausing his endless train of thought as his cock throbs.

You're in the shower.

He can picture it: the way the water beads on your skin like rhinestones, the smell of shampoo and conditioner filling the room with the distinct scent of you, and the way soap would foam almost obscenely against the planes of your body.

If someone had the ability to print perfect snapshots of his thoughts they'd rival even the raunchiest porn publications in existence and his hand flexes against the satin sheets, fisting them in an iron grip as his cock throbs. His imagination isn't enough, the train of thought is veering into insatiable territory but it makes his pulse pound through his entire body. Lust and adrenaline mingling into a dangerous shot that he's already swallowed whole.

He has to see you for himself.

As he flings back the sheets and pads towards the bedroom door the tiniest sliver of guilt pierces the haze of desire wrapped around his brain like saran wrap. Of course he shouldn't be doing this, shouldn't even be considering it. He's your stepfather and you're his stepdaughter, struggling to adjust to the upheaval of your life and finding your place in the brutal world you inhabit parallel to the normal one. Fuck, h should be helping, not daydreaming about-

His eyes catch you in the mirror first, back turned to him as you fiddle with a bottle of body wash. Satoru has to stop himself from gasping not just at the sight of you but at the flood of rapid fire thoughts that speed through his head.

Do you touch yourself? Surely you must, a woman in her early twenties is hardly unaware of self pleasure but do you finger yourself or are you partial to toys? Have you fucked someone? It wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility, and he's seen you get dressed up for dates here and there before but it makes his blood rush thinking about some faceless nameless man getting to look at you naked, kiss that pretty pussy he's dreamt of, or god forbid be inside you.

The perfumed steam wafting from the cracked bathroom door makes his eyes flutter shut, hands flipping the waistband of his boxers down just enough to slip his aching cock out. He hisses as it springs free, lightly smacking against his abdomen. The pressure of his hand is only a bare, fleeting sense of relief considering he'd much rather see you soaking wet and on your knees in front of him, have your hands wrapped around him.

Spitting into the palm of his hand he wishes it was your mouth mapping the veins of his cock instead as he strokes himself, spreading saliva along the thick length of his shaft and his thumb swipes against his overly sensitive head feeling the warm precum leaking from his slit and it feels like he's made of hardened sugar that's now dissolving in the warm steam of the shower.

The pleasure is heightened both by the fact that this is beyond perverse and by the sick way his eyes can't move away from your reflection. The water rinsing down your body should be his fingers trailing burning paths over you, teasing adorable little noises from your lips and making you beg for him. The way your breasts look soaking wet is enough to make him nearly forget himself as his strokes become more frantic, panting in harsh, heaving breaths as his muscles scream to shove open the door and push you against the slick tile wall.

He can practically hear it, the yelp of surprise that he'd shush from you and the way you'd moan helplessly as his fingers swiped through your folds, tactile admiration of your pussy before stuffing you full of himself. It wouldn't be kind or romantic, not with the way you make him feel like a rotten dog, all starving neediness and if he sunk his teeth into you it's doubtful he'd ever be able to let go.

His breathing becomes so labored it's like a stone is pressing against his chest as he lets himself run wild, cerulean eyes blown wide but unseeing as the mental images over take him like a small vessel helpless against raging waves.

How would your hand look wrapped around his throbbing cock? Would you struggle at all, would it be new for you? Those impossibly wide, ravenous eyes are all devouring as he watches you run hands down your body. It's the sheer thrill of this entirely forbidden sight that has him nearly doubled over now, jaw clenched so hard surely his teeth would shatter if he were an ordinary man. His hand pumps his cock faster now, grip tightening as he swipes over his sensitive, weeping head and god would heaven be more than just a word if he could feel you around him. Would your eyes get that glassy, cockdrunk look and would drool slip shamelessly from the corners of your mouth as he fucks you senseless? What he wouldn't give to slap your cheek with his flushed cock, turn you into nothing but a taboo slut.

As you grab for the showerhead it nearly stops him dead.

As if you knew what kind of questions your unwelcome observer was asking.

So you do enjoy self pleasure. Seeing you adjust the jet of water and angle it just right makes his nerves feel like someone spiked fishhooks through them and yanked them impossibly taut. If only that jet of water was his tongue, lapping at your wetness and nudging your clit with his nose while your fingers tug on his alabaster hair. He'd have you on your back before you could blink, thighs squeezing his head and toes curling mid air from how thoroughly he'd work your pussy over. Fuck if only he could taste you-

The coil in his stomach snaps and he can't help the bone deep moans that escape his lips, thigh muscles trembling from the effort of keeping him upright as his balls throb and thick cum spurts in his hand. As he pants his ears ring, every sound as if it's coming through a cardboard tube pressed to his ears.

You'd look so beautiful with his cum splashed across your chest, your face.

Its not until Satoru feels goosebumps rise across the back of his neck that he remembers himself, remembers exactly what he's doing. Glancing up his eyes catch yours in the reflection.

Its damning, but he can't help being defiant against it. Grinning back at you, seeing your eyes wide with shock and your hand frozen poised above you as you were slotting the showerhead back in its holder. His heart hammers so hard against his ribcage it feels like surely it would break loose, splatter across the floor. Its a defining moment, will you scream threats at him or will you cower away?

You say nothing, do nothing but simply turn back around. Your slightly hunched shoulders glistening with moisture tell him enough, you feel exposed and vulnerable but lack the conviction to stand against the feeling. It shouldn't make him feel so elated but now he's got confirmation: you're weak in positions like this.

Would you be just as weak flat on your back?

[coupsie-daisies]

Kinktober '23: Virginity | Min Yoongi

Pairing: GN!Reader x Min Yoongi

Genre: Smut (minors DO NOT interact), Kinktober 2023

Summary: You finally tell Yoongi, the guy you probably shouldn't be fucking around with, that you're a virgin. Nothing could have prepared you for his reaction.

WC: 2.3k

Warnings: Reader is described having a vulva and breasts, but uses gender neutral pronouns, virginity loss (a dumb construct), unprotected sex, mentions of alcohol consumption, marijuana mention, fingering, Yoongi has a dirty mouth and a bit of a possessive streak, creampie, soft Yoongi

A/N: Here we go, kinktober day 1!! Hopefully yall like it, and forgive me if I fall behind schedule. Let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist for my kinktober fics

Tags: @dragonofthenorth0726 // @wooyussy // @burningupp-replies // @bunnypig18 // @decaffedthoughts // @brownieracha // @ferrethyun // @snow-pegasus // @wonuqrtz // @mixling-blog

Main Masterlist

Kinktober '23 Masterlist

This fanfiction is property of @/coupsie-daisies, reposting on any other platform is prohibited

You felt ridiculous underneath Yoongi, the thought clouding your mind as you kissed him, as his hands pushed up your shirt to expose more of your stomach for him to touch. And the worst part was that you felt even more ridiculous for thinking about it so much.

You had been fooling around with Yoongi for a couple of weeks now. You'd met at a party one of your older friends had invited you to, and you knew Yoongi by reputation only. He was a bit of a fuckboy, he'd slept with plenty of people and made quite a name for himself as an 'experience'. It was actually a little terrifying the way people talked about him, like he was something everyone had to experience.

But he'd been kind when you'd met him, introduced by your friend Hoseok with a request to help keep an eye on you. You'd been offended, actually, at the implication that you couldn't look out for yourself. But having Hobi's friends around to keep an eye on you had actually been quite nice, eliminating the need to socialize with strangers and all that. Yoongi had kept a drink in your hand, though sometimes swapping it out for water when he'd decided you should slow down, and eventually you ended up sitting on a couch, sidled up to him as he smoked up with his friends.

The first time you kissed Yoongi he was high, and you were maybe a little more tipsy than you should have been. But it was the start of something great. You and Yoongi were friends, maybe not the closest of friends but he wasn't a stranger. You felt safe with him, and you could go to each other with your needs. Any needs. Which was how you ended up under him now, his fingers rubbing firm, fast circles against your aching clit.

"Yoongi, please," You whined. He smirked, and you cursed him silently because you really did understand why everyone was obsessing over his skills.

"Please what, pretty baby?" He asked, leaning down to kiss your throat, and you huffed.

"Please, wanna cum. That's what you came over for, right? To get me off, help me destress." You were being annoying, you were sure, but you didn't care in the least. You just wanted to get off, and Yoongi had promised to help you relax. But instead he had you winding so tight you thought your muscles would tear.

"Not gonna make you cum on my fingers, baby. You want to be fucked stupid, right? Don't wanna think anymore? Gonna make you all dumb on my cock instead."

His words sent a rush of arousal through you, wetness dripping out to slick onto his fingers. But even so, he stopped, feeling the way you tensed under him. His fingers were slower now, barely giving you anything as he pulled back and gave you a questioning look.

"You don't want that?" He asked. You and him had never gone that far, sticking to dry humping or going down on each other, sometimes he'd slide his fingers into you, but that was different.

"No! I mean, I do! It's just..." You squirmed, blinking away your building anxiety. Yoongi stopped entirely, sitting back to give you space to breathe, but the distance only made you feel naked, much more exposed than you would have liked.

"You know you can tell me. We communicate. I promised to take care of you, I'm still gonna do that." He promised you, and you fought off a small, surprised expression. You hadn't imagined he'd taken it that seriously back then, let alone now.

"I'm a virgin." You said finally, avoiding his eye. There was quiet, and you squirmed before Yoongi was towering over you, his hand gripping your chin to lift your gaze back to him.

"You've been letting me play with you all this time, and you just weren't gonna tell me that?" He asked, his thumb tracing over your lower lip. You could swear his gaze was only getting more intense, and you swallowed.

"It's embarrassing," You admitted. He huffed out a tiny laugh, his eyebrow quirking upwards in the way that always had you going a little bit feral.

"Embarrassing? What about me being able to ruin you for any other man is embarrassing, pretty thing?" He asked. You felt a quiet squeak slip past your lips. You quickly regained your confidence though, not wanting to give him the upper hand.

"So you wouldn't be able to ruin me for anyone else if I'd already slept with another person? Good to know," You teased, lips curling into a troublesome grin. He rolled his eyes, tongue poking at the inside of his cheek. Then his lips were pressed to the sensitive spot just under your ear, his tongue dragging over it before sucking hard. Your body pressed closer towards his, rolling into the warmth that washed over you.

"Oh, baby, I already have." He whispered, his attention trailing further down your neck, leaving tiny bruises that you knew would bloom bright overnight. Your fingers laced through his hair, tugging lightly as a silent plea for him to leave his teasing and move on. He groaned quietly, not seeming to want to wait either.

He sat back, taking a minute to admire you as if he hadn't seen you laying naked beneath him more times than he could count on one hand. You felt a new wave of arousal rush through you under his attention. His hands brushed your stomach, sliding up to cup your tits, thumbs brushing in feather-light touches over your nipples as if he would hurt you if he touched them too firmly. You released a breathy moan, your eyes shutting as you basked in the attention.

"Gonna make you feel so good." He said, quietly enough that it was almost like he was talking to himself, but you knew better with the way his hands lowered down to knead at your thighs, feeling the soft plush flesh under his fingertips before pushing them wider apart.

You were entirely exposed to him, and even though he'd touched you just a little while earlier, this felt so much more intimate. His fingers slid easily through the wetness leaking from your hole, teasing you with slow, careful touches before sliding two into you, scissoring them and curling them carefully. His eyebrows were furrowed as he focused on the slide of his fingers inside your pussy, his tongue poking against his bottom lip. The attention had you hot all over and you squirming which only forced his fingers to prod a little harder against that spot you loved. You keened, his name on the tip of your tongue but coming out instead as a long whine.

"Please, need you. Don't wanna wait anymore. Waited forever." You huffed. He smiled, a genuine, brilliant smile as his thumb flicked over your clit. And then, finally he was pulling his hand away, maneuvering the two of you with gentle touches until he was settled between your legs, the tip of his cock nudging against your folds.

"Say it again," He requested, the head of his aching length running teasing circles around your clit. "Say you need me, tell me how bad."

"Yoongi," You huffed, and he dipped his cock ever so slightly between your swollen pussy lips, laying enough pressure over your entrance to make you choke on your complaints. Any shame or frustration gave way to pure desperation to feel more of him, to be full of him, surrounded by him. "Please, I need you. Need you so bad I could cry, want you to be my first, want you to take me."

Your words made him hiss, his hips pressing carefully forward, nudging his cock into you inch by inch. You tipped your head back against the pillows, your back arching off the bed and pushing you closer to him, needing more of him, needing him closer. One of your hands scrambled to find his waist, pulling him down closer to you. He didn't hesitate to give in, lowering himself until your chests were pressed together, his face tucked into the crook of your neck and his hips continuing their slow, steady roll against yours. It was another few moments before he was fully sheathed in your tight, wet warmth. His weight rested on his forearm beside you, his other hand gripping at your hip, thumb tracing over the curve there.

"Feel so fucking perfect wrapped around me, shit," He grumbled, voice muffled against your skin, but you heard them all the same, your walls fluttering around him as you tried to get used to the feeling of having him inside of you. He was definitely hitting places you'd never felt before, stretching you out more than his fingers ever had and making the fire in the pit of your stomach burn hotter, the flames consuming you and turning your inhibitions to ash.

"I need more. Fuck me, baby, please. Can take it." You begged, your fingers stroking through his hair again. He shifted, the movement pulling him out of you, and you almost sobbed when he rolled his hips back to draw most of the way out before sliding back in with ease. The rolling thrusts of his hips were slow, easy, and you melted into them. You tugged at his hair with one hand, the other dragging your nails against his waist, pulling him impossibly closer until you were breathing him in.

"Can't believe I haven't done this yet." He mumbled, sucking at your shoulder until a pretty little mark was left in his wake. "You're fucking made for me, built for my dick. Never gonna let you go. All mine, gonna take such good care of you."

He was almost as fucked as you were, his breath coming out in pants as his hips sped up. He slid his hand down, pulling your thigh up to wrap around his hips, drilling himself even deeper and groaning when you moaned his name, tightening around him.

"There," You managed to gasp, and Yoongi shifted, giving himself a little more leverage to speed up, fucking against the spot that had made you react so perfectly for him. He wondered under the fog of his mind if you'd ever felt it before, if your fingers could reach it, if you had been waiting for him to find it. Or maybe, he hoped as he reached down to swirl his fingers around your clit, maybe you would only associate it with him. The spot that he hit just right, the spot that he could find with ease.

"Choking me," He hissed out, never easing up. Your legs tightened around his hips, and your walls sucked him in like every pullback of his cock was a loss you couldn't stomach. You were close, he knew that reaction, knew those sounds like the back of his hand and he was determined to feel you cum on his dick. "Go on, pretty, let go for me. I know you're almost there, you can let go."

His words were soft, sweet, washing over your like ocean waves and dragging you down into your orgasm, air ripping from your lungs as you released around him. You trembled, your hips grinding up to meet his desperate movements, and his movement slowed down to ease you through it.

His movements didn't stop even as you came down, and it was hard to say if he was urging you towards a second one or if he was just too transfixed by the feeling of your walls finally wrapping around him like they'd been waiting for him to slide into you.

"Want you to cum too," You said, the hand in his hair moving to guide his lips towards you, pulling him into a kiss. The taste of him on your lips was like a drug, his tongue slipping past your lips to map out your mouth and his teeth dragging against your lip, not hard enough to be considered a bite, but certainly enough for you to know he could. It didn't take anything more than the kiss to push him over the edge, his groan getting lost in the press of your lips, and his hips pressing flush into yours as he spilled into you.

The kiss slowed, still hungry and desperate, but languid now as if he were savoring the moment of you two pressed so close together. Once he was out of breath, he pulled away, nuzzling into your neck and dragging you as close as he possibly could given your position. He rolled you onto your side with him so the two of you were tangled together, his softening cock finally slipping out of you and his leg trapping yours between his own.

"How was it?" He asked after a few moments of stroking his fingertips against your waist. You kept your eyes closed, basking in his attention and letting a smile curl on your lips.

"It was perfect." You said, pressing closer so he couldn't see the way your smile grew.

"Only the best for my darling." He said, tipping your chin up to kiss you again. You smiled against his lips before pulling away a bit. He followed your lips, and you giggled.

"Yours, huh?" You asked, fingertips drumming against his bare chest.

"I want you to be. Always have. Now more than ever.  don't want anyone else to have you like I do." He confessed without hesitation, and the sincerity in his voice genuinely surprised you. Your teasing gaze softened, and you kissed him once more.

"Nobody will. They couldn't even if they wanted to. I'm all yours."

copyright 2023 coupsie-daisies, all rights reserved

[captn-trex]

gone, but not forgotten

Fives x F!Reader

word count: 4.4k

description: you're a bartender at 79s when the 501st gets back from a gruelling campaign. the clones make a game out of seeing who can successfully hit on you, but the one that catches your eye is the one that doesn't try at all, the one whose shoulders are weighed down by a painful loss.

warnings: nothing much, a little fluff & sad fives (post citadel), mentions of death and war as expected, non-established relationship

a/n: i'm probably gonna do a part 2 to this because it was originally gonna have a lot more to it and I still kinda wanna see that play out, but anyway, enjoy :)

part two here: how to feel again

The low lighting and heavy bass that shook the very bar you were working at were no match for the ruckus that was caused whenever the clones of the 501st entered 79s.

You watched their entry from behind the bar with a small smirk. You spotted their Captain, already shaking his head at his men and bringing up the rear as the men filtered into a booth near the entrance, clearing out the clones who were already sat there.

You were familiar with a handful of the clones of the 501st, and when one of them - Jesse, if you’re remembering correctly - caught your eye, he sent you a wink. You instinctively rolled your eyes, though there was no animosity behind it. Working at a clone bar, people expected you to be sick of the clones, but you couldn't help but find them generally endearing. Sure, they all tried to hit on you, but most of their attempts were so harmless or pathetic that you couldn't find it in yourself to be irritated by it.

As you served a variety of customers, clones and nat-borns alike, you could see the 501st boys looking over at you and then talking amongst themselves, and you quickly realised that you were to be privy to some kind of game of theirs. Between pouring drinks and cleaning glasses, you watched them with suspicion, and you noticed that there was one particularly sullen looking clone among them, one that you hadn't met before. He didn't seem to be interacting with them much, just sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest and a far-away look in his eyes.

The first to approach the bar was Kix.

“Hey there” He said your name in a flirtatious tone, “What's a pretty lady like you doing working in a place like this?” He leant over the bar a little as he spoke, a charming smile painted on his face. If his words weren't so utterly ridiculous and overused, you might have even fallen for it.

“What should I be doing if not working here Kix?” You asked back innocently with a hand on your hip, playing into his game. For now.

“I'm not sure, but someone with a smile so radiant is surely made for greater things” He smiled triumphantly, as if he had just said the most flattering thing and not insulted your career.

“Hm” You tapped your finger on your chin a few times, as if thinking hard about something, “Yeah, it didn't work, nice try though. Can I get you something to drink now?”

“Ugh” Kix slumped down to his elbows in a huff, “I'll just get a fizzbrew”

You laughed at his defeated tone as you reached into the cooler below for his drink, “Come on, did you really think that was going to work?”

“I did! And it's true! Your smile is radiant” He argued as he took his drink from you.

You screwed up your face as he reiterated the compliment, “Kix stop, you failed already, go sit down”

“Alright alright, thank for this” He smiled with a small chuckle as he dropped his credits into your hand.

“No problem”

The next to try it was Dogma.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have the most wonderful hair?” He leaned on the bar and tipped his head to the side a little with a wide grin.

“Oh maker Dogma, that's awful. Is that really the best you've got?” You couldn't help but laugh at his attempt.

“Uh-” He rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Maybe”

You smirked at him and took a glass from the back, “Krilliz?”

His eyes lit up, “You remembered”

“Of course I did, nobody else orders this nightmare fuel”

“Hey! I like it”

“And I'm glad, here” You handed him his drink with a smile, “Enjoy”

He thanked you with a sigh and headed back to the snickering of his squad mates.

Over the next hour, almost every member of the group came up to the bar and tried to flirt with you in some way, and you honestly couldn't figure out what game they were playing. Though, it was hard to know, as you shot all of them down almost immediately.

When it came time for the last clone of the group, you were a little bit worn down by it all.

“I'll get a shot of that Shesharilian vodka stuff”

The regularity of the statement was refreshing, you almost weren't expecting it.

“You're not going to tell me how my hair is so wonderful or my smile is so radiant?” You asked with a smirk, earning a chuckle from the clone in front of you, but it held no mirth.

“I would be blind not to notice, but no, I'm not a part of their little game” He admitted, but you don't entirely buy it.

“Which one are you after then?”

“Which what?” He asked, confused by your question.

“Which lady?” You clarified, nodding out into the bar.

“Oh” He chuckled lightly, if a little sadly, “I'm not after that tonight”

“What are you after then?” You asked, and he paused for a moment before sighing.

“A strong drink”

You could see that there was a certain sadness behind the request, and realised that this was the dejected looking clone that you had noticed earlier.

“Coming right up” You said, offering him a gentle smile.

You sorted the drink, stealing glances at the man, noticing the way the coloured lights along the bar seem to make the bags under his eyes more pronounced. You placed the drink in front of him, but when he went to hand you some credits, you stopped him.

“It's on the house”

“What? I can't-”

“Don't worry about it” You smiled and pushed the drink further towards him, “I can tell you need it”

He looked at you for a moment and offered a thankful smile.

“That's… Thank you…” He trailed off, and you told him your name, tapping on your name tag. He repeated it with another thanks, and told you that his name was Fives.

“I couldn't tell” You smirked, pressing a finger to your temple, where he had an aurebesh tattoo. He chuckled lightly and thanked you again, taking his drink back to the 501st table.

You watched as his brothers all patted him on the back, and he rolled his eyes with a small smile as he settled back into his seat at the edge of the group. You wondered if he had just used the sad boy approach to appeal to your better nature, and win whatever game they were playing, but you soon forgot all about it as you got on with your work.

The bar was particularly busy tonight, so you had your hands full when it came to making drinks. It seemed that there were quite a few clone legions back on Coruscant at the moment, including the 104th, who got roped into the 501st game quite easily. A flurry of clones adorning grey armour sauntered up to you, offering a variety of compliments, and getting more ridiculous each time as you rejected each one of them. Truthfully, there were a number of them that appealed to you, but you weren't going to entertain their silly idea of a good time.

At some point between all the compliments and rejection, the sad clone you now knew as Fives had settled into a seat on the end of the bar. You noticed him sitting there as the bar area became more sparse, most people opting to make their way towards the dance floor.

You slid up to him and leant on the bar, your jaw resting in your hand as you address him. “So Fives, is this wistful look in your eyes authentic, or was it just so you could win this little thing you 501st boys have going on?” You asked with a cocked eyebrow, and he looked up, the ghost of a smirk crossing his lips.

“I meant it when I said I wasn't a part of their game, not that they believed me after you gave me a free drink” He replied matter-of-factly.

You chuckled slightly, standing up straight, “Can I get you anything?”

He looked behind you at the bar for a short moment. “I probably shouldn't, I hear drowning your sorrows isn't a healthy thing to do” He smiled sadly.

“Why ever else would you come to a bar when you're sad?” You teased slightly, and he huffed a laugh.

“Because I was dragged out of bed by my brothers”

You laughed with a warmth, “Ah well, how about just some water then?”

“Sounds good” He smiled genuinely.

You got him the water from the tap and he thanked you for it before you went about sorting drinks for the other patrons that had approached the bar in the time you had been talking to him. You kept an eye on him out of the corner of your eye as you did so, and he just drank his water at a slow pace, watching his brothers dance ridiculously with a small smile and that same far away look in his eye.

As the night went on and he settled into the chair at the bar more and more, a Pantoran woman approached him, and started flirting with him unashamedly. Fives replied to her questions, not wishing to seem rude, but was too distracted by his own thoughts to entertain the kind of ideas that she surely had about the night. You watched as the Pantoran started getting a bit handsy, placing her hands on his arm and his chest as she talked to him. You saw that Fives didn’t react to this very much, but then she got very close, her lips close to his ear, and he backed away a little.

As she was speaking into his ear seductively, he looked over at you and saw you watching. You averted your eyes as you saw his smirk grow, knowing he caught you looking.

You went about busying yourself with cleaning glasses, facing the back of the bar. When you turned around to serve a customer that called for you, you caught the Patoran woman dancing with another clone on the dance floor. You smiled at the sight, she got what she wanted after all.

Fives was still sat at the end of the bar as your shift came to a close and customers were dwindling a little, so you approached him again.

“You didn't fancy the Pantoran?” You asked and he looked to you from the dance floor, turning his body.

“Didn't want to make you too jealous Cyar'ika” He leaned forward with a smirk and you chuckled.

“How considerate” You rolled your eyes a little as you grabbed a cloth and begun cleaning up the bar. “How come you're still here? Doesn't seem like you're really enjoying yourself” You observed and he released a small sigh.

“Just distracting myself really” He admitted, and you felt yourself wanting to ask more.

You approached the subject tentatively, speaking in a gentle voice, “If it's not too much to ask… what are you distracting yourself from?”

Fives paused, and with a deep sigh, looked to your eyes, seeing only an honesty in them, “I lost a brother a week ago, my twin”

“Oh, I'm so sorry, this must really be the last place you want to be then” You offered him a truly sympathetic look, and he smiled a little.

“I don't know, the company's not so bad” He let his smile grow and you reflected the gesture back at him.

“You're not so bad yourself” You grinned, then your mouth dropped as you became more serious, “But seriously” You placed a hand on his, “I'm really sorry about your brother, I know how hard that is”

He gave you an appreciative smile and turned his hand over in yours, giving it a light squeeze, “Thank you, I really appreciate that”

You smiled, and continued wiping the bar, trying to ignore the warmth that lingered on your hand from his touch.

You started doing little chores before you headed off, sweeping the floor behind the bar. As you were doing so, a rather inebriated clone approached the bar.

“Hey there pretty one, three shots of dark lum please”

“Of course” You replied with a gracious smile, and took three shot glasses from below the bar. As you were pouring the customer's drinks, they tried to talk to you some more.

“Say, when do you get off work tonight beautiful?”

You chuckled, “In a few hours”

“How many hours?”

You shrugged dismissively with a polite smile, “A few”

He kept pressing, but Fives interrupted him before he could really embarass himself.

“She's already got company tonight brother” He told him, a hand on his arm to pull him backwards slightly.

“Fives! I didn't see you there” The clone said, surprised, only earning a grunt from his brother. “Alright, good for you man, nice score” He chuckled and took the shots away as Fives rolled his eyes.

“Sorry about him” He shook his head.

“Its alright, I'm used to it” You shrugged, an appreciative smile directed at him.

“I'm sure you are, but I'm still sorry. Some of my brothers can be a bit… crass”

You laughed at that, “I'm aware”

You watched Fives for a moment, then leant on the bar looking at him intently. “So what are we doing when I get off work then?” You said with mischievous glint in your eye.

“Oh, sorry about that, I just said it so he'd leave you alone” He spoke awkwardly.

You tutted, pursing your lips, “That's too bad, I was rather looking forward to it”

Fives’ eyebrows raised, “You were?” He unconsciously leaned forward a little.

“Perhaps” You said, then pushed back, leaning against the back of the bar, “If you were only joking though-”

“Hold on now, I didn't say that” He challenged, and you bit the inside of your cheek, trying to decide if what you had in your head was really a good idea.

“If you fancy it… there's a place I go when I want to be alone. I know there's not many places like that on Coruscant but I figure you could maybe do with some peace and quiet, just to think, grieve, whatever you want. I was thinking of going there anyway” You shrugged as if it was the most casual thing in the world, offering this almost stranger your safe space.

“That sounds nice” He said genuinely, a smile on his face “I'd love to”

“Alright, well I actually get off in 5 minutes, so be ready” You confessed and he laughed, standing from his seat.

You finished cleaning up and took your apron off, hanging it up in the store room out the back. When you exited the building, Fives was waiting, and when he spotted you coming towards him he pushed off the wall he was leaning against, “Where to?”

You gestured your head towards your speeder bike close by to him and got on. As you began getting it ready to drive, you noticed that Fives was just standing next to you.

“Well get on” You laughed and his ears tinged pink. He climbed on behind you, and you were about to depart but then you turned to him, “Are you gonna hold on or…”

He rolled his eyes a little, “Just trying to be respectful” He mumbled as his hands snaked around your waist holding your abdomen gently. You couldn’t deny the way his touch sent a shiver up your spine, a warmth spreading over the area where his strong arms brushed against you.

“Well you won't get the chance if you fall off, so hold on tight”

The speeder zoomed off as you rolled your hands forward on the handlebars, and Fives’ arms tightened around you as he pulled himself into you. The sensation of him being pressed up against you made you a little breathless, despite the thick layer of armour that separated you from the warmth you could feel emanating from him.

It served as a sudden reminder of the strangeness of the situation you had put yourself in. You saw clones in the bar every day, and while you certainly found them attractive, it had never occurred to you to actually seek any kind of companionship from any of them before. You weren't even certain that was what you were doing right now, every decision you had made up to this point suddenly seemed entirely spontaneous, misguided even.

Halfway through the journey, Fives gently leaned his temple onto the back of your head, and your stomach did a flip. Even at the high speed you were going, you could feel his warm, steady breath ghosting over the back of your ear, and you had to really try not to shudder at the feeling of it.

After around 15 minutes or so, you arrived at your destination. You brought the speeder bike into an alley, and lead Fives to the apartment building you were headed towards.

“Was this just a ploy to get me to come back to your place?” He smirked slightly, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

“No” You chuckled, “This isn't my building” You spoke confidently, walking through the front door. Fives followed after you, entirely confused.

“Hey there doll, late shift again?” The Gran on reception called to you as he noticed you enter.

“It was, I'm so tired” You said dramatically, and Fives' face contorted to one of utter amusement and confusion.

“Got someone with you tonight, that's new. Lucky man” The Gran winked at Fives and you laughed slightly awkwardly.

“Indeed” You said, giving a smirky side glance to Fives, who just stayed quiet throughout the exchange. “See you later Faadu” You called as you made it inside the elevator.

You didn't listen out for the answer, and after the doors closed, Fives turned to you, “I thought you said this wasn't your apartment building”

You smirked and shrugged “He doesn't need to know that”

Fives smirked back at you, and your stomach flipped as you realised how close he was to you in the somewhat confined space. You continued to look at each other, inspecting each other's features. There was definitely a certain charm to Fives that inexplicably drew you to him more than the other clones. His eyes were a deep brown, and as you found yourself lost in them, you couldn’t find it in yourself to remember that they were identical to the ones you so often saw in the bar. Fives went to say something, but the elevator pinged and the doors slid open.

“This is it” You stepped out into the darkened hallway, and traced the steps that were so familiar, though you hadn't been here in a long time.

You made it to the end of the hallway, and hooked your fingers into the door, struggling slightly as you pulled it open. You walked into the empty apartment and made your way over towards the balcony, already captivated by the familiar view out of the large windows.

“Woah” Fives spoke quietly, following you to the balcony.

“I know right” You pushed the doors open and walked up to the railing, leaning your weight onto it, “It's the tallest building in the district, but no one lives on the top floor”

Fives joined you, coming to rest beside you on the railing, and you both looked out on the cityscape. There was a gentle breeze, and you felt your hair shift gently. The view was undeniably beautiful, and being able to look upon the city from above was truly something spectacular, though it held some complicated feelings for you. You were glad that someone was here with you, it was nice to share the space.

“I just find that… When I'm here, it makes my problems seem small, insignificant. Like, I see all these tiny little dots that are really people, and all these different lives, and it brings me… comfort, or perspective, I guess”

Fives watched you confess with interest and you turned to see his expression, full of an emotion you couldn’t quite place your finger on.

“Not that your problems are small, they're not, but-”

“I know what you mean” He smiled, a hand resting on your forearm. He left it there as he recalled something you had said earlier, “How come you were coming here tonight?”

“What?” You asked, swallowing as you felt the warmth of his hand through his glove.

“Before, you said you were coming here anyway” He reminded you.

“Oh, I- um” You looked down to your feet, “I lost my brother a year ago today”

Fives viewed you with a newfound reverence and understanding, and his hand found its way down your arm. He interlaced his fingers with your own, and started rubbing circles on your hand with his thumb. It was certainly a welcome feeling, and it kept your tears at bay, staying as a glassy outer layer to your eyes.

“I know it's not exactly the same as with your brother, but… I came here a lot when I was grieving” You looked up to him, “If it would help you, feel free to come here whenever you want. I mean, it doesn't belong to me anyway” You said, ending in a chuckle and looking out to the view again.

“Thank you, it really means a lot” He smiled, though you weren't looking at him. He followed your lead and looked out to the city as he spoke, “Being in the GAR, losing brothers is part of the deal, and you're expected to just move on, but… It's not that simple, especially with-” He swallowed, “The brother that I lost, we'd been together since we came outta the tube, I don't know what life even means without him next to me” He admitted, and you looked to him to see that his eyes were full of sadness, his eyelids half closed as if weighed down by his emotions.

“What was his name?” You asked, and he looked up to you.

“Echo”

“Why was he called that?” You asked. You knew that often clones’ names held some kind of meaning, or a story behind them at least.

Fives chuckled sadly, “He was always driving us mad by repeating the orders we were given”

You smiled, “And… how did you get your name?”

Fives grinned, “Guess”

You thought for only a split second, “You have a lot of fives in your CT number?”

“Bingo” He smiled, then faltered, looking away wistfully “yeah, ARC-5555”

“You're an ARC?” You asked, a small smirk fighting its way on your face.

“Mhm”

“That's kinda hot”

“It is?” Five turned to you with an incredulous look, and you couldn't help but let your smirk grow.

“Oh yeah, I mean, it's not like, Captain or Commander or even Lieutenant-”

“Alright alright” He rolled his eyes, and your smirk transformed into a genuine smile.

“Was Echo an ARC too?”

His amused expression faltered a little bit, “Yeah, we got promoted together” He sighed, a fond smile gracing his features, “He was always more serious about everything, kept me in check”

“You don't seem like someone who needs keeping in check” You said, tilting your head as you looked at him.

He smirked, “I'm not always this reserved. On any other night I would've been performing for your attention like the rest of my brothers”

“That's ironic I guess” You chuckled.

“How so?”

“You're the only one that did get my attention” You admitted, blushing slightly, now feeling a little sheepish under his gaze.

Fives just smiled subtly and brushed his thumb over your knuckles, reminding you of the fact that he was still holding your hand, “I guess I've gotta keep up the sad and lonely act then”

You laughed, “I don't know about that. It worked on me but I'm not sure that other women are into it”

“That's alright, I wasn't really thinking of trying it on other women” He said, dropping his voice just a bit so that it held a slightly gravelly tone.

You bit back a smirk, “Smooth Fives, very smooth”

He chuckled, “I wasn't kidding, I don't just hold hands with anyone”

“Mhm, I'm sure” You shook your head slightly, looking away from his intense gaze.

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence, letting the noise of the city replace conversation. You could hear the whizzing of speeders and other transports passing by, the noise of the people below very feint from the height of the building. You sighed deeply, remembering your brother, the reason you had come here in the first place. Fives’ thoughts dwelled on the same thing, his own brother.

“Thank you for talking to me about Echo” He spoke just above a whisper and you turned to him, “Most people just give me a sad look and a hand on the shoulder at most. It's nice to actually talk about him”

“I know” You offered him a sad smile, silently telling him you knew how he felt, “Anytime”

Fives smiled and gave your hand a small squeeze.

Being here with Fives was nice, a relief to the mental torment you found yourself enduring when you had been here grieving your brother just after his death. His presence was calming, soothing, and his hand in yours even more so. You found yourself hoping that this wouldn't be the last time you shared this experience with him.

[misc-obeyme]

This may be a little bit of a harder ask, but I saw this post (https://www.tumblr.com/l3viat8an/727484739449143297/mc-i-should-warn-you-im-not-very-good-at?source=share) the other day, which made me think— could I request something with Solomon and tickling for flufftober? It seems really cute haha

if you’d like a scenario or a little more to work with, please feel free to lmk and I’ll send another (probably anon lol) ask in!

Hi there, anon!

I fear my love for Solomon is probably rather evident in this one lol. I really enjoy writing for him. Anyway, as we discussed in your other asks, I included MC enjoying being tickled, but not necessarily wanting to tickle others. And of course I wrote it for a fem!MC! Hopefully it turned out okay!

Thank you for submitting a prompt!

FLUFFTOBER 2023

fem!MC x Solomon

Warnings: none!

There were a lot of things that Solomon loved about you, but he found he could never quite get enough of hearing you laugh. It sounded like a bright waterfall full of music, cascading melodies accompanied by your bright smile.

Most of the time he was just content to observe you. You were so easy with your laugh, letting it bubble out from you simply by being with the people you cared about. Solomon could just watch you as you interacted with demons and angels, the way you so effortlessly engaged with them, laughing happily in their presence.

You certainly didn't hold back when you were talking to him either. Most of the time, all he needed to do was say some witty remark and he would be rewarded with that sweet sound.

But there were times when Solomon just could not help himself. Times when you weren't quite paying attention, completely unsuspecting, and it was just too easy.

And there was something a little bit different about the way you laughed when he tickled you. It was the same beautiful sound, but with a tinge of embarrassment, even a little bit of protest.

The first time he had done it, he had been trying to get you to tell him a secret he knew you were keeping. The attempt was a success, as you finally caved and told him what it was. You looked so guilty about having revealed it that he had offered to let you tickle him back. Solomon noted the way your demeanor instantly changed. You became shy, pulling back your hands and looking away.

When Solomon pressed you a little further, you admitted to him that tickling others made you uncomfortable. Solomon was overcome by how cute you were, bashfully telling him how you didn't like to tickle other people and then reassuring him in the same breath that you didn't mind being tickled.

Solomon wasn't sure he believed you at first. It seemed unlikely that you were really okay with it. He suspected you were only saying that so he wouldn't feel bad.

Until you very deliberately tried to get him to do it again. You started casually mentioning that you had a secret and then pretending you didn't mean to say anything about it. You even made a joke about him tickling it out of you.

Solomon was a smart man. He knew what you were trying to do. And when he finally gave in, your secret was that you didn't have a secret at all. He already knew that, of course, but hearing you say it was almost sweeter than the laugh you said it through.

Ever since then, Solomon didn't stop himself from tickling you if he saw the chance. He didn't do it all the time, usually saving it for when he really needed to hear that special laugh.

It was a quiet day in Cocytus Hall. You had been back from the House of Lamentation for a little while already. You were quiet at dinner, but it was subtle. Solomon could barely tell, but he still knew that you were feeling a little down.

He had gone to his own room, removing his cloak and preparing to do some reading, but he couldn't stop thinking about the look in your eyes. How your smile didn't quite brighten them, like it was a show you were putting on for him.

Solomon sighed and left his room, going down the hall to yours. The door was open a bit and he stuck his head in to see if you were there.

You were standing with your back to the door, looking out the window. Your hands were hanging at your sides, subconsciously tugging on the fabric of your dress. He could see your somber reflection in the window's glass.

Solomon snuck up behind you, making enough noise at the last second that you would be aware that he was there. He circled his arms around your waist, tickling at your stomach and sides.

The sound of your musical laugh greeted him and he smiled into your hair, even as you squirmed in his grip.

You protested halfheartedly as you managed to turn yourself around in his arms. You slapped lightly at his chest and leaned your head against him as he showed you no mercy, your laughter uncontrollable.

"Stop, stop!" you cried, pushing away enough to practically double over. "I can't breathe!"

Solomon was laughing now, too. He gave you a minute to catch your breath, even stepping away to make you think he was retreating for good.

You took a few steps toward him, ready to start pretending like you were offended when he moved in again.

You twisted and tried to get away, letting out a little yelp of surprise. You managed to trip over your own feet and then you really were grasping onto him.

Instead of keeping yourself upright by grabbing Solomon's arm, you only succeeded in pulling him down with you as you fell backward on your bed.

"Woah!" Solomon yelled as he fell, managing to stop himself from crushing you by putting both hands on either side of your head.

Solomon looked down at you, eyes bright, cheeks flushed, breathing heavily. He reached out to run his fingertips along your lips.

"What was that about?" you asked. "I don't have any secrets."

Solomon smiled at you. "It's hard to tell because you're so beautiful when you smile, it dazzles everybody. But I still know when you're having a bad day, MC."

You huffed a little. "You were trying to cheer me up."

"Did it work?" he asked with a smirk.

You laughed again, soft and short and lilting. "Yeah," you said, reaching up to wrap your arms around his neck. "It did."

Solomon leaned down to kiss you. He was satisfied. At least for now, he had managed to tickle away the sad look that had been lingering in your eyes.

flufftober | kinktober | masterlist | Thank you for reading!

taglist: @anxious-chick

[azrielgreen]

remember why you started

it can be so easy to start creating for others and stop doing it for yourself, but that's where it fucks up every time. there has to be a pure vein of creation just for creation's sake, for your own wild and weird indulgence in the things that caught your attention and stoked your passion. when you trade that for external praise, you begin to lose your natural love for the core experience, and it becomes work. you become obsessed with numbers, with interactions, your "place" among others and before you know it, some bullshit hierarchy has formed and all that matters is no one overtaking you, no one doing the things you were doing first because what if they do them better? what if people stop looking at what you're creating? what if you gave everything you had, and everybody leaves anyway?

create for yourself. create for YOU and you alone, in at least one area of your life. not for money, not for attention, not for validation. just one little piece of fertile earth preserved for your weird little universe of exploration and inspiration and delightful failures and unexpected brilliance.

of course it feels wonderful to have people praising your work, to have touched people in some small way, to be SOMEONE, but here's the thing. you already were someone. you were you. and this attention, this validation and praise and interaction... it never lasts. it can't last. everything passes. the only way to truly get people to stay longer than they would, is to give everything you have and more, to break yourself down into pieces and sell them off one by one, become a content machine, or worse, to become a person who steps on others to be taller. someone who polices what others create.

but none of it is real or lasting. tumblr isn't real. twitter isn't real. the cliques aren't real. of a hundred people you know in your fandom experience, three of them might be true friends.

what is real, and what lasts, is what you create.

that's what people will find in ten years time when scrolling AO3 at one AM after a horrible fucking day, if the internet hasn't gone down forever, and that is what touches people. not the things you made purely for validation or comments or popularity. the art you made for you. imagination through the lens of a person whose experiences have shaped them uniquely, beautiful and strange and unknowable to someone else who has not had that same life experience, yet there, available, open and inviting, would you like to feel something new?

so please, when you find yourself dedicating more time to your socials and the construct of your online persona than the actual thing you were creating that first set fire to your passion, think about this. if it won't matter in five years, don't give it more than 5 minutes.

when you find yourself thinking "if i write this, people will really love it and respond to it, it's what's popular right now, everyone's talking about it, this will get me back where i was before" my darling, no it won't. creating for the sole outcome of interaction and praise and attention is a waste of your beautiful energy.

i've made plenty of mistakes, i'm still making them as i go along, but i have never stopped creating for myself and i never will.

people will write the thing better than you, they WILL get more attention, comments, reblogs, impressions, likes, kudos, you'll never hold onto the height of it, because everything changes, everything passes and that's how it should be. passion is river; depriving your interests of momentum and variation will make it a stagnant pond. embrace the new, trust that it will feel good again in new ways and just keep creating what you love, for the one person who needs it most - you.

you make art for yourself first.

that's why you started.

you made the thing you couldn't find anywhere else, your way.

and THAT is what will last.

[your-average-yandere-lover]

14 𝓓𝓪𝔂’𝓼 𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓡𝓮𝓷/𝓡𝓮𝓭𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓷’𝓼

Things I genuinely think Ren-Ren and Redacted would do, because they live rent free in my mind. Did I get the both of them a little mixed up a bit; probably. Yandere and slight NSFW Content trigger warning! ૮‪ ˶ˆ꒳ˆ˵ ა

18+ Content; Minors Do Not Interact

❥ Much like your blow up mattress in the closet, Ren/Redacted would tamper with anyting that insensitive’s having guests over. You bought travel sized soap’s for guest’s to use when they come over? Really? Are you sure? No you didn't—the products aren't where you would have put them so maybe it was all part of your imagination; maybe you used them.

❥ However that being said, if you have a chalk board and write a cute little ‘welcome’ message on it, he wouldn't tamper with it, despite the message being for guests. Instead he'd pretend you wrote it especially for him, and stare at if for a couple minutes after walking in; your hand writing is too cute to look away!!! although if you happened to have a generic target welcome sign, he’d snag it or make it look like it fell super hard on the floor so it’s ruined. The apartment building you’re in has plenty of issues so maybe the rats climbed the table and knocked it off—if this happens you should really give that landlord a piece of your mind! Or move in with Ren/Redacted.

❥ Prior to meeting Redacted’s Ren persona, Leon invited you out to the beach. You were so excited to see your childhood friend again after all the time you spent apart; you even bought a new swim suit. You set the folded suit nice and neat on your living room table, ensuring nothing would happen to it. However when you woke up the suit had somehow ripped and your bottoms wouldn't stay on… you couldn't necessarily surf commando and considering how much money the suit put you out, you decided to call it, giving Leon a quick text. It had to be those damn rats again!

❥ If you like to bake—whether you’re good or not, you notice that anything you leave out has little indents, as if you unconsciously bumped the cake or knocked it with a butter knife while applying the finishing touches. Guaranteed Redacted and Ren both straight up ran a finger along side it like a kid at a birthday party who can't have a piece yet. Every time you leave something out, Ren/Redacted deeply contemplates how much they can take before you notice. They would definitely make it look like it fell off the table after having a piece— if they knew it wouldn’t upset you. Most always they stops themselves from destroying the baked good because it’s something their Angle made, with love! When they think about how they just tasted something made with your love, their brain goes haywire with scenarios of you baking together.

❥ Your perfumes have been draining so quick lately, to the point in which you wondered if all of Conan bay could smell you when you walked outside. Honestly, were you using that much? No, Redacted plays smarter not harder. He popped off at his nearest Ulta and bought an empty perfume sample vial, and the exact same perfume; now I know what you're thinking. If he already has the same perfume, why would he buy the sample vial? Because it just hits different when it's from ‘Your’ perfume. It's because ‘You’ own and use the perfume in your bathroom, and on top of that he gets to sneak the new perfume into your bag or your apartment after you’ve gone shopping, so you think you bought it—unknowingly accepting his gift. Drives the dude crazy. Made every awkward glance at ulta worth it.

❥ After you start ‘dating’ Ren because he declared it so, you might have the common thought to buy him a gift; what sane partner doesn't wanna put a smile on their own partner face? Did you get him a little pink cactus to put by his computer because it’s also pink and fluffy? A cutsie light up keyboard? A mug? don’t come for me :(；ﾞﾟ'ωﾟ'): Bet you thought you hid it well or that if you bought it while out with him, he never noticed; ya’ wrong. Ren and Redacted both notice everything their Angle does. There is only Angle. Ren had a hunch, Redacted was just pretending to be blissfully unaware but, once you give it to him, he’ll drop hints that he knew.

❥ At some point you invite Ren/Redacted over only to find that the heater isn’t working. Every time you set it to 72, ten minutes later it drops down to 62. Luckily Ren/Redacted was there to warm you up. Ren would be more passive and wait for you to say you were cold but if you took to long he’d drop some obvious hints that he was cold even though he was in fact not cold. He was the one who was playing with the thermostat after all. This Man just wants some cuddles. Whilst I think Redacted would be adamant about wanting to keep his Angle warm (Even if angle isn’t actually cold)—maybe a bit too adamant if consensual. Even so, if cold really bum’s Angle out he would probably have never messed with the temperature in the first place or he would fix it immediately to look like he was useful around the house; to impress angle of course. He would also try this but uno reversed; it would be 84 degrees up in your Livin’ room.

❥ If you didn’t drink to much while on a dinner date, Ren might pretend to be tipsy so he can have the excuse of leaning on you as you help him get home. Ren wouldn’t want you to be tipsy when he tried this because if you were under the influence, he’d want you to feel safe with him. However Redacted can hold it, despite no confirmation of his experience with alcohol, I strongly feel he can hold it. But honestly, if he can’t he wouldn’t allow himself to get drunk in the first place because he has to protect Angle. If Angle gets drunk Redacted would politely interrogate ask her questions that she probably wouldn’t answer sober, nothing too invasive that would push any boundaries or disrespect Angle—like skeletons in the closet/ deeply personal things, no. He respect’s Angle (in a weird and confusing way) and would never manipulate her into opening up while under any influence; he wants Angle to open up to him authentically on their own timing. Instead he’d ask things like “Is (f/c) honestly your favorite color?Because I saw you eyeing that blue shirt yesterday.” Or “Did you really like the song I played you yesterday on the guitar or were you being nice to me?”

❥ Redacted would straight up send your favorite band money anonymously so they’d show up and have a free concert on the beach. This man would stop at no cost to bring your favorite band to Conan bay, well he’d have to play smart if it got too expensive; if he had to use alternative methods, he would—seeing he is a hacker after all. He would invite you the moment after the band agrees because he ‘happens’ to like the band too.

❥ If you have toys Ren/Redacted would dis them while having sex. This dude would absolutely bully an inanimate object. Rens babbles would be more so focused on how great he was making you feel and how much more attention he could pay you then silicone. Redacted however would go off on how horrible that toy was because it wasn’t filling you the way you needed it, Or how your vibrator was trash compared to his hands. They’d both point out that silicone can’t cum in you…like, why keep it around when you have them?

❥ You want to go for a hike? Ren would be beyond excited to go on a hike with you…All alone…With no body else for miles because he would take you on a detour away from the main trail. A detour he happens to know well since he uses it to dump ‘garbage’ in lake Blue moss. As happy as Ren would be about hiking, he would become fed up with the mosquitos feeding on his Angle—homie was ready to google how to bite mosquitos back. Like damn, go suck on a bear or something. If you invited Redacted on a hike instead of Ren they’d straight up pull the bug spray out and launch a mosquito genocide, a bug that hurts Angle is a bug that shouldn’t exist.

[bunnyksj]

Heyooo just came across you your pfp and layout is very beautiful you're jin biased aswell? Also I would like to request and yandere yet soft jin fic also let's be friends haha you slay <3

Epiphany - KSJ x Reader

Summary: Seokjin saw you as nothing more than a fun game, but then he became obsessed. 

Author’s Note: OMG YOUR SO CUTE !!! i’d love too omg, and soft yandere jin is so real !!!

TAGS: yandere!jin, hes a little obsessed with you, but its okay, also coworker!jin again because i am obsessed LMAO, soft, he takes care of you when your drunk omg. 

 ┊┊┊✧ ⁺ ⁺ 　°

Seokjin walked into the office, running his hand back through his hair. He wasn't surprised when you came running over, handing his coffee to him, sitting down next to him, an eager look in your eyes. You eagerly yapped on and on about your day, pestering with questions about his own. He usually just replied with a simple nod of his head and a dry answer. Hoping to get you off his back. 

Seokjin was used to this behavior, of girls fawning and practically tripping over themselves for his attention. But he had to admit, he was impressed by how adamant and determined you were. It had been a full year of you desperately trying to get his attention. He often wondered when you would finally give up. 

“Seokjin!” You called, smiling brightly. “I brought you a coffee, its-” 

“Expresso, my favorite. I know.” He responded, sighing slightly, taking a seat at his office. 

Your crush on him was barely hidden. The flushed hue of your cheeks and you’d stammer and stutter your words when he (rarely) gave you compliments. And the way your lips would curl into a soft smile whenever he spoke to you, attentively listening to every word he said. Even the way you let out small, shy giggles every time he would make a joke, your soft eyes interlocking with his. It was almost intoxicating to him, the way he had so much power over you, you were like a small puppy, desperate and begging for attention. Not like he’d ever reciprocate your feelings though, he found you more entertaining, like a fun game. He wondered when you would finally stop playing. He was strangely drawn to you though.

 He couldn't deny that  your daily interactions often brighten his day. Sometimes he’d go back home, and think about all the things you said, smiling softly. There's no way he actually liked you though, right? 

 ┊┊┊✧ ⁺ ⁺ 　° 

Everyone in the office had a small break for the holidays. As soon as he came back, he saw you, bouncing eagerly to his desk. But, it was different this time, something felt off. He didn't know if it was a gut feeling, or something else entirely, but he didn't like it. The way you looked at him wasn't the same, there was less awe in them. Your cheeks weren’t as flushed as normal, your cute, shy demeanor was gone. 

“Hi Seokjin!” You chirped, smiling kindly. “How was your break?” 

“It was fine.” He responded, in his usual cold tone. “You?” 

The words that left your mouth had him in shock. 

“It was great! Me and my boyfriend-” 

Boyfriend? This couldn't be right. You liked him, right? Why wouldn't you? You were the one all over him not even a week ago. You were supposed to like him. 

“Boyfriend?” He blurted out, his tone giving away more than he would’ve liked. 

“Yeah.” You said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Seokjin, I’ve been dating him for like 3 months now.” You giggled. 

3 months? 3 whole months. You had to be joking. You had flirted with him that whole time, right? There was no way you were just trying to be friendly, you liked him. He was so sure of it. 

“That's nice.” He said, his tone flat and colder than usual. Fuck, why did he care so damn much about your stupid boyfriend? He was a grown man, it's not like he never slept around or anything. Why should he care if you have some guy in your life? 

Those thoughts echoed around his head for the rest of the day, trapped up in a mix of emotions. He was quickly snapped out of it when one of the other coworkers slapped a hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey, Seokjin! Are you coming for drinks tonight?” 

“Yeah, I’m going.” He said flatly. As much as he didnt want to admit it, he was only going to see you, to admire your pretty features and beautiful eyes. You were like a drug, pulling him in, and he couldn't get enough. He needed you, needed you to care again. He needed to see you get all shy for him, looking so cute and sweet just for him. A small smile crept onto his face just thinking about it, you and your perfect features. 

Shit, he really couldn't get enough of you. You were like a drug, keeping him trapped under your influence, coming back for more every time. He began to wonder what your boyfriend is like. If he was as handsome as he is, or if he was as smart and brooding, and if he has as strong of an aura, like he did. Maybe you just got with him to make him feel like this. Knowing you drove him crazy, before even he did. He had to admit, you were smart. 

 ┊┊┊✧ ⁺ ⁺ 　° 

He pulled up to the bar, taking the seat besides you, stealing glances at you every once in a while. 

“Hmm, Seokjin, which drink do you think I should get?”

He smiled at you, watching the way you furrowed your eyebrows in concentration, like this was the most important decision you’ll ever make. 

“You should try this one.” He said, leaning over your shoulder, his deep voice in your ear, pointing at the menu in front of you. He smirked softly when he saw the slight rosiness of your cheeks appear. God, he loved seeing you like that.

As the night went on, more and more drinks were being poured out, he noticed your words becoming more slurred, stumbling slightly. 

“Fuck, Seokjin. Could you take her home? There’s no fucking way she’s driving home like that.” 

“Of course.” He said. Why wouldn't he want to protect you? To keep you safe. He was in strong denial for the longest time, but he couldn't deny it. He was in love with you. And he needed you more than anything. 

He drove you home, gently placing you in his car. He’d go with you to pick up yours tomorrow. He smiled softly, already anticipating the day ahead. As you guys were driving home, he often looked your way, admiring your features under the dim lights, you had curled up against the car seat, exhausted from the night out. 

He carried you inside, slowly creaking open your apartment door. Your boyfriend was passed out on the couch in your living room. He had probably fallen asleep waiting for you. Oh well, Seokjin would deal with him in the morning, as of right now, his attention was mostly on you. 

He walked over to your bedroom, softly laying you down on your bed. He sat beside you, his hand stroking your hair softly, brushing it away from your face, smiling sweetly. His thumb caressed your cheek, feeling your warm skin under his cold hand. 

“Relax, sweet angel.” He said, softly. “Just rest for now, I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise.” 

“O-okay..” You mumbled tiredly, shifting slightly, trying to get comfortable. 

What a sweet girl. He’d help you with your nasty hangover in the morning, and maybe even help you get rid of your little boyfriend. 

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵