#let's play a game called which one are supposed to be a fic until i give up :>>>>

[scribblesofagoonerr]

I'm not a loser!

Pairings: lia wälti x teen reader, caitlin foord x teen reader, awfc x teen reader

Massive thinks to @alotofpockets for her help with motivating me to write and put this out. Sorry it's taken a while, but I wasn't overly keen with how I wrote it & even now, I feel like it's not my best work.

I hope you like it though, and please let me know your thoughts of what you'd like to see happen in this mini fic series!

Things really hadn’t been going in your favour today at all, in fact it had been a completely terrible day at school and you didn’t realise that it was only about to get worse.

Since the day started, it had been horrible from the very minute that you woke up, overhearing the latest argument between your two mums’ on the phone as they fought about you, but you didn’t care to listen to any of the conversation; It always seemed to land back around on the same topic that you argued about, and that subject being you.

It seemed like your mood only worsened when your latest test was handed back to you, graded with a big fat F circled in red around it and it’s not like the disappointing look you received from your teacher helped matters either.

You were quick to shove the paper in the bottom of your backpack, at least then you could try and forget about it; The last thing you wanted was to see the disappointed looks from either of your mums, after you promised them that you would try and keep your head down.

But sometimes it was easier to say that then actually do it.

It’s not like you have ever been a troublemaker in school, but it’s been tough to keep on top of everything and now you’re finding yourself both in trouble at school and at home; You were currently grounded after the latest stunt that you pulled over the weekend with Kyra, which you didn’t find completely fair, but your mama seemed to think different, so what did you know?

The rest of the morning at school hadn’t exactly been great either, you’d somehow managed to land yourself with a break time detention for the forgotten piece of English homework that you were supposed to hand in, but it wasn’t meant like you did it on purpose when there’s added pressure from football games and training, not to mention the messy home life situation that you currently faced, so it's’ safe to say that your school work has now been slacking ever so slightly.

By the time that the bell for lunch went, you were more than ready to escape the classroom. However, when you were walking out of the classroom that’s when it all changed and you came face to face with your tormentor.

“Oi, Y/L/N!” You flinched at the familiar voice of your bully shouting at you from behind, just as you thought that you had been doing so well to avoid them only for you to turn a corner and see them.

You could say that life’s never really been the easiest roller coaster for you, your past homelife hadn’t exactly been fantastic and you’d never even felt true happiness until you found your home at your childhood dream club with a new family that welcomed you with open arms.

The day you signed your first ever professional contract, your life changed completely. When the opportunity arose for you to play for the Arsenal womens’ senior team, you couldn’t help but leap at the chance to play for your dream club, even if you were still quite young.

It was all you’d ever wanted to do.

Despite the rough start in your life, you’ve necessarily not been one of those types of kids to act out, you just get on with life without a single complaint, even with the challenges that you’ve faced in life.

Just like the current situation right now, your own personal tormentor.

You weren’t bothered at first when it was tolerable, it was just harmless name calling and sure, the names’ spilled were mean but you had enough sense just to ignore them but then it got worse and eventually the names turned into physical assault.

You just didn’t know what to do anymore.

“Oi, don’t ignore me, Y/L/N. I know you can hear me, you stupid twat” Your own personal bully continued to shout aloud to get your attention.

Mustering up all the courage that you had, you bit your bottom lip and spun around to face your bully although they were tall and had that slight advantage over you, “I… I wasn’t ignoring you. I just didn’t hear you” Your quick to lie and cover your tracks.

“Whatever” The older girl muttered, rolling her eyes before she continued to push you into a nearby locker, “Listen, stupid. The chemistry homework needs to be handed in today, do you have it or not?”

Your eyes widened in a sudden panic, you’d completely forgotten about it when you were so busy with football and trying to keep up with your own school work that you pushed your bullies’ to the back of the pile, and now you knew that you were gonna pay for it.

“Well, do you?” You pulled out of your thoughts by a sharp pinch on your bicep.

“Um, no… I forgot about it” You quietly admitted, although you knew it was an instant mistake right there and then.

“You forgot? Huh, you really must’ve been born stupid then” The bully spat venomously as they tower over you with a menacing look on their face, “Well, I guess we have a problem now then, don’t we?” they sneer at you.

A single second later, you hissed out loud in pain at the instant impact of being thrown directly into the locker behind you, you can’t help but flinch as an automatic response to the violence that is being directed towards you while you peer up with wide eyes as they tower over you with a venomous look in their eyes.

“You’re not going to fight back, you wuss? What a loser!” They taunt you before they throw you directly into the locker again, “Huh, no response, no defence. You really are a sad little lost orphan aren’t you” they continue to taunt.

You don’t know what it was inside of you but it was like something snapped. You couldn’t take it any longer of the harsh comments spewed or the violence, you didn’t have to put up with it either.

“I’m not… I’m not an orphan” Your usual calm approach to your bully has gone as you can’t help but growl at the older girl while clenching your fists tightly, “I’m not a loser either, I’m not— I’m not!” 

“Oh, yeah? Prove it then, loser” They smirk, almost challenging you.

You couldn’t even explain the next few minutes even if you tried. 

It was like you blacked out in a state of absolute rage, your fists flying at them as you remembered the self-defence that your mum had so helpfully taught you in case you ever needed it in a situation like this, and now it finally came in handy against them.

“I’m not… I’m not a loser!” You exclaimed loudly as you lifted your own fist up and swung it in the direction of their face, “I am not… I am not a loser!” You’d lost control of your anger like a flick of the switch, lashing out and throwing punches at your bully whos’ been endlessly taunting you for the better part of the last several months.

Even though you know you were  bound to be in trouble for it, you couldn’t care less right now because punching your bully and sticking up for yourself was definitely worth it in the end.

And maybe this way, you’d be able to get the attention of both your mums’ in the same room, so that was another positive reason to punch the girl square in the face.

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Bye” Lia exhales a sigh as she ends the most recent phone call with your head teacher this week, having asked her to come down to the school after you’d landed yourself in trouble.

“What’s going on?” Leah looks at the older women confused as the trains alongside her in the gym.

Lia exhales a sigh and slips her phone into her pocket, “That was the school again. Y/N is in trouble” she explains to the blonde.

“Again?” Leah's eyebrows furrow, confused, “What happened this time?” she wonders.

“I don’t know, but I guess I’ll find out when I get down there” Lia mumbles, standing up from the bench that she was previously sitting on, “I seriously don’t know what’s been going on with her lately. It’s just one thing after another” she adds.

“I guess Y/N/N is having a rough time, maybe?” Leah comments that sounds more like a question, not used to your recent streak of wild behaviour compared to the calm girl you are usually.

“What’s going on with Y/N?” Caitlin overhears the conversation and the mention of your name, before she makes her way over to join the two women, “Is she okay? Has something happened?” she asks, confused.

Lia exhales a sigh as she has to face her ex-girlfriend and speak to her, “The school just called, Y/N is in trouble” she explains once more as she pinches the bridge of her nose.

“What? What happened?” The Australian woman frowns and digs into her own pockets, pulling her phone out to check for any missed calls from the school, “The school hasn’t phoned me about it” she mumbles, furrowing her eyebrow.

“Well there’s no point in phoning both of us when we’re at the same place most of the time, is there?” Lia remarks, not having the time nor energy to explain anything further.

Caitlin continues to frown and shake her head in disagreement, “I should still be kept in the loop with what’s going on. I hardly hear what’s happening with her at the minute” she states.

“You are told what’s going on Caitlin, I don’t keep things from you” Lia exhales a sigh as she tries to keep calm while talking to her ex-girlfriend, “What more do you want me to do?” she asks.

“Aye, that kid. What’d she do this time?” Katie joins in on the conversation, not sensing the seriousness of it all, “Bad mouth the teacher or get caught cheating on a test?” she jokes.

Lia purses her lips in annoyance with the Irish woman, “It’s not funny, Katie” she states, bluntly.

“Oh come on, so the kid gets into a bit of trouble every now and then. It’s not a big deal” Katie insists, rolling her eyes.

“You’re clearly not seeing the point of how serious this is then, Katie” Leah steps in as she can see Lia getting herself annoyed with Katie’s mock teasing, “This isn’t funny, you know Y/N/N and you know that she’s never usually like this at all!” she remarks.

Katie holds her hands up in mock surrender, “Relax, eh, Williamson, will ya? I’m only joking here, there’s no need to take the high ground about this now, is there?” she says and she can’t help but rile the blonde up.

Leah scoffs in disagreement with the brunette, “You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if her behaviour as off lately was down to your antics when she’s around your house on the weekend, cos’ she certainly doesn’t act like this when she’s at Lia’s house” she remarks.

“My antics?” Katie fires back in disbelief.

“Y/N/N acting up isn’t anything to do with how she is at ours” Caitlin chips in and defends the pair of them, “I don’t know what is going on with Y/N/N but this isn’t something that’s neither mine or Katies’ fault” she tells them.

“Oh, really?” Leah scoffs and raises her eyebrows before she looks at the Swiss woman, “Do you want me to come down to the school with you?” she offers.

“Would you?” Lia glances at the blonde in appreciation.

“Of course, I would–” Leahs’ agreement is cut off.

“No way, absolutely not!” Caitlin interjects, very much in disagreement with that decision, “If anyones’ going down to the school with you then it should be me!” she states.

“Caitlin–” Lia begins to speak.

“No, I’m Y/N’s mum just as much as you are, Lia” The Aussie woman insists, not liking the idea of being pushed out of the picture, “We should go down to the school and deal with this together, as a family” she mumbles.

“We broke up Caitlin, we’re not a family anymore” Lia quietly tells her, shaking her head in disagreement, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to go down to the school together, Caitlin. I will go with Leah and then I’ll just tell you what happens” she tells her.

“Why not? No offence, Leah but this hasn’t got anything to do with you!” Caitlin objects to the idea as she looks at the blonde.

“I’m going there to support Lia and that’s important right now” Leah explains to the Aussie woman.

Caitlin shakes her head completely in disagreement with the idea, “No, no– I should be there, Y/N is my daughter, not yours!” she points the finger at the blonde firmly before she looks at Lia, “Fine, if you don’t think we should both go down there then why don’t I just go down there? In fact I’ll take Katie, we’ll take her back to ours afterwards instead” she declares.

“Oh yeah, Y/N/N loves Coopurr!” Katie exclaims, in agreement with the suggestion.

“There we have it then. I’ll find out what’s been going on with Y/N/N and then we’ll go back to ours” Caitlin insists with the idea.

Lia shakes her head in disagreement, “Oh, and make it seem like I’m the bad cop when you bring her home?” she questions.

“That’s not what I’m trying to do here, Lia! I’m just trying to help you out here and be the parent that Y/N/N needs– She’s my kid too, you know?” Caitlin shouts back in response, earning the attention of a few girls in the gym, including their captain Kim.

“I’m not saying that she isn’t. I know she is but it’s easier to do it this way” Lia explains, avoiding the looks from the rest of the girls in the gym who look concerned.

“Is it? It just seems like you’re pushing me out of the picture!” Caitlin makes her feelings evidently clear.

“Caitlin has got a point, Lia. You can’t stop her from seeing Y/N/N like you’re trying to do that” Katie chips in, looking at the Swiss woman.

Lia turns to look at Katie in disbelief, “Stay out of this, Katie. This isn’t your argument to get involved in” she says as she begins to collect her stuff. 

“Okay, alright, that’s enough. You’re all causing a scene in here” Kim speaks up loudly as she walks over to them as she overhears the conversation between the 4 adults in the gym, “What is going on?” she asks, glancing between them all.

“Y/N got into trouble at school” Lia begins to explain.

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have known that unless I didn’t overhear Lia and Leah talking about it” Caitlin huffs and rolls her eyes.

“I told you, I was getting round to it” Lia fires back as she scowls at her ex-girlfriend.

“Yeah, right” Caitlin mutters in disagreement, “ “And now she won’t even let me come down to the school with her, when I have every right to do that!” she adds.

“It’s just better this way, Caitlin” Lia explains to her ex-girlfriend, exhaling a sigh.

“Caitlin has every right to be there for Y/N” Katie chips in defending her girlfriend.

“Why are you getting involved in this, Katie?” Leah questions the Irish women.

“Why are you getting so involved, Leah?” Katie fires back at the blonde.

“Seriously, Katie? You just seem to find this whole thing hilarious like it’s one big joke!” Leah mutters, shaking her head, “I’m right to want to be there for Lia in this” she adds.

Kim shakes her head in disbelief at the 4 of them acting like they are, “Alright, that’s enough. Okay?” Kim interjects in an authoritative tone of voice as she looks between the 2 exes, “Regardless of you all blaming each other, it’s not going to help you figure out what is going on with Y/N/N unless you work together” she tells them.

Lia’s facial expression softens in realisation, “You’re right, Kim. I didn’t think about it that way” she admits as she looks at her ex, “Look Caitlin, I’m not trying to push you away like you think I am. I just think it’ll be difficult for us to both be there, right now. I’m sorry and I know Y/N is your daughter and you do have every right to see her, just as I do but I would prefer to do this with Leah by my side instead, okay? I’ll text you and let you know what is said, but please understand I find it better to do this way” she tells the woman quietly, finding it hard enough to be in the room with her ex-girlfriend without dealing with anything else.

Without saying anything more, Lia and Leah left the gym as they quickly notified Jonas about the recent events, before they head out to the car to make the way down to your school to find out what trouble you’ve landed yourself in this time.

You knew the single minute that you raised your fist at the girl it would end up in dire consequences, however now finding yourself sitting outside the head teachers’ office with bruised and bloody knuckles, you remain hopeful that this latest stunt was something that both of your mums would be coming down to talk to the head teacher.

Although you still can’t help but wonder how it got so bad?

It wasn’t like you could talk to either of your mums though, because most of the time when you spent time with either of them, you didn’t really want to mention the other in case it brought up any sort of hurt feelings, but you needed them both together.

You didn’t really mean to get yourself in that much trouble today, in fact you’ve never really been one to cause many problems at school if you’re being honest, but you were just so sick of them pushing you around and calling you endless names that you finally had enough and lashed out.

As soon as you hear the sound of footsteps nearing you, you remain hopeful as you look up with eager eyes, hopeful to see your two mums together.

However, you’re severely disappointed when its’ your mama and Leah instead.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, you didn’t want Leah to be here with your mama; You wanted your mama and mum together, but why did that seem so impossible to do?

“Hi mama” You mumble, biting your bottom lip as you avoid the disapproving look on both of their faces, “Hi Leah” you acknowledge the presence of the blonde, whos’ stood there obnoxiously chewing gum.

“Hey kid” Leah greets you with a worried smile.

Lia exhales a sigh and shakes her head, “What have you done this time, Y/N/N?” she questions.

“It wasn't my fault” You try to defend yourself, picking at the skin around your nails.

“I find that one hard to believe Y/N. This is the third call I have had from your school this week” Lia reminds you, moving to sit beside you on the uncomfortable plastic chair, “Do you want to tell me what happened before I go in and speak to your head teacher?” she asks.

“Nope” You shake your head in disagreement.

Leah furrows her eyebrows and sits on the other empty chair, “What happened, kid? It’s not like you to be in this much trouble, or acting out in general” she tries to get answers out of you.

You shrug your shoulders carelessly and bite your bottom lip, “Dunno, is mum coming down as well?” you wonder, curiously as you look at Lia.

“No, Y/N/N. It’s just us– Is this why you’ve gotten yourself into trouble at school, so your mum and I would come down together?” Lia asks in realisation, putting the pieces together about it all.

“Maybe, sorta. I don’t know, cos’ it didn’t work anyways” You mumble, deflating your shoulders as you stand up to head into the office after the head teacher calls you all in; Leah and Lia share a look of confusion with another, finding it hard to understand why you would do that as they follow you in behind.

The result of your behaviour in school leads to you being suspended for the next 2 weeks, which your mama isn’t best pleased with at all if the silence is anything to go by as you trail behind them to the car.

Every time you have tried to talk, you're met with a stern look from the Swiss woman which makes you shut up pretty quickly.

“Mama?” You try your luck to get her a response.

Once again, you were met with complete silence on the car ride back apart from the faint sound of music playing.

“Okay, I know I messed up but how much longer am I going to receive the silent treatment for?” You huff aloud as you peer out the window as your mama drives out of the school car park.

Yet again, complete silence.

“Come on, seriously? The fight wasn’t even my fault in the first place!” You whine in protest, huffing and crossing your arms in the back of the car.

Leah clicks her tongue as she sits in the passenger seat, “You shouldn’t even be fighting in the first place, Y/N” she states sternly.

You resist the urge to roll your eyes and not snap back at the blonde, who you really don’t know why she’s even here, you wanted your mum instead, not her.

“I had my reasons to do it, Leah!” You mutter as you glance out of the window in the back of the car.

“Hey! Be nice” Lia glares at you to knock it off.

“What? I’m not doing anything!” You huff in annoyance and fight the urge to kick the back of her seat, “And I did have a good enough reason!” You still continue to insist.

“I don’t want to hear any of the excuses, Y/N” Lia exhales a sigh, shaking her head.

“But if you just let me explain–” You're cut off before you even have a proper chance to speak.

“Explain what, Y/N/N– How can I be so sure about what you’re telling me when you’ve been acting out like you have been for the last several weeks, huh?” Lia scolds you as she looks in the rear-view mirror, “I don’t know what has even gotten into you anymore, Y/F/N!” she states.

You kinda know that your mama does have a point in saying that, because despite your own rough upbringing with your biological parents, you’ve never really acted out or gotten into much trouble until recently, however with how its’ been the last several weeks, you can’t deny that you haven’t been acting out in an attempt to get the attention both of your mums together in the same room.

It just didn’t work this time round.

You just didn’t know you wouldn’t be able to control the anger any longer and you would end up lashing out like in the way that you did. No matter how many people tried to talk to you to figure out what was going on, nobody really understood what was going on right now.

You can’t help but scoff in response, “You won’t even hear my side of things though, at least I know that mum would take the time to listen to me. Why can’t I go and stay at her house instead?” The words slip out of your mouth without much realisation and it’s definitely loud enough for both women to hear.

“Y/N, your mama wants you to stay with her” Leah chips in.

“Why? And why are you even here when this has nothing to do with you?” You glare at the blonde, although you know it’s not her fault for what’s happening, but despite that you’re a stubborn teenager and refuse to admit when you’re in the wrong sometimes

“Y/N” Lia gasps in shock, “Don’t be rude, you don’t speak to people like that” she scolds you.

“It’s the truth though” You mumble and technically, you’re telling the truth about that one.

The Swiss woman shook her head in disagreement, “There’s no need to be so rude, okay? I won’t stand for it, so apologise please– And you know when it comes to you, that your mum and I are both on the same page” she tells you.

“Are you? Cos’ all you ever seem to do is fight these days” You remark snidefully.

“That’s not true, Y/N/N” Lia frowns at you.

“Yes it is, you guys always argue about me– I can’t even tell you how I feel, so I was only defending myself like how mum taught me to do” You explain to the older women.

“What!?” Lia exclaims in shock.

“Mum taught me self defence in case I ever needed to use it. Definitely showed them that today cos’ now they won’t mess with me again” You grin proudly to yourself.

“Are you… Of course she bloody did” Lia mutters, clenching her hands on the steering wheel.

“Calm down, Wally” Leah rests her hand on the older womens’ thigh.

“Mama, you’re clenching your fists. You might want to just chill out a bit” You note in concern as Lia looks angry and you realise you’re going in a different direction back home, “Where are we going?” you ask.

“Change of plan, Y/N. We’re going to see your mum after all” Lia states as she grips the steering wheel tighter.

© scribblesofagoonerr

[hellfirenacht]

Wing Man Part 8

Fic Summary: Steve 'the Hair' Harrington is your best friend, and is constantly striking out. Sick of this, you two make a deal; you'll wing man for each other. Hooking Steve up with dates is easy, but he finds himself struggling to find you a date. At least, until Dustin starts talking about his new cool friend Eddie.

(1 2 3 4 5 6 7)

Chapter Summary: Eddie explains himself, and you two make plans to hang out on purpose.

a/n: Sorry I haven't been updating! I swear, I'm almost always thinking about this fic but I've been trying to figure out where to go with it. I'm started to see how I want to shape the story (over 40k words in, go figure). Thank you all so much for your patience!

Also, I've had a lot of people ask me about Paige and have shown interest in what happened between her and Eddie. She is actually from Eddie's prequel novel, Flight of Icarus! I'll still explain bits and pieces during the story, but I highly recommend reading the novel for the full context. I am trying to write this in a way you don't need to read FoI, but it does give extra context to the story.

Anyway, we continue.

Aside from the mixtape playing in the van, it was surprisingly quiet between you and Eddie. Despite his eagerness to show up and take you out, now that you were sitting in his passenger side seat again, he had no idea what to do next. The sound of Iron Maiden was rumbling through the van, crackling through the old speakers. 

It wasn’t often that Eddie was at a loss for words or couldn’t come up with something to say. After embracing his role in the Hawkins High ecosystem as the resident loudmouth freak he could always come up with something to say to break the ice or cause a ruckus. 

But, being loud wasn’t exactly a substitution for actual charisma. He could hold the attention of his Hellfire Club during the game, and keep them safe enough from most bullies even. But intimidation was different than... whatever the hell he was supposed to be doing here. Flirting? That seemed right. He knew he should be trying to flatter you or compliment you or do something to show that he had an interest in you. 

“So,” you were the one to break the silence between the two of you. “What have you been up to for the past two weeks?”

Eddie know what you actually meant was “What the fuck, man?” which was a really fair question. 

“I should have called you sooner.” It was best to go ahead and rip the bandaid off now and get this conversation out of the way. “I’m sorry, I wanted to but I couldn’t.”

“Why not?” you asked, leaning against the passenger side door as you looked at him. Despite your eagerness to get out of Family Video with him, he could see that you weren’t going to just let him not explain why he hadn’t talked to you. Not that he was going to leave you hanging like that anyway. 

“My phone blew up.” Eddie said bluntly. 

“Your phone blew up? Like... actually exploded?” you asked, trying to see if he was fucking with you. 

“Remember that huge storm a few weeks ago? Turns out that old trailers don’t exactly have the best wiring sometimes so when lightning strikes it knocks out power for a few days and fries some important wires.” he explained. “So... yeah, we just got a new phone today and when I tried to call...”

“So, I didn’t answer my phone so you decided to track me down?” There was amusement in your voice which he took as a good sign. “Seems like you could have done that part earlier. I’m not hard to find.” 

“I’m not exactly interested in stalking.” Eddie snorted. “I’m already on enough people's shitlist in town.”

“Oh, you’re no fun.” you laughed. “You know where I live, you could have shown up at my doorstep in the rain or used random phones around town to leave weird messages about how you can’t stop thinking about me or sent me letters with cryptic meanings.”

“Where do you come up with these things?” Eddie laughed, feeling the tension between the two of you start to dissipate. 

“I read a lot of bodice-ripper books.” you shrugged. “Trashy romance novels are a guilty pleasure sometimes.” 

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a weirdo?” 

“Steve did about an hour ago when I suggested that Bozo the clown could be the shit out of Pennywise from It.” 

Eddie wasn’t sure what he expected you to say, but it wasn’t that. Every time you had shown up in his life, you had completely thrown him off. He was starting to suspect that no amount of “Munson Magic” was going to work on you. Not that he wanted to work his dad’s charm on you to begin with. 

What he really wanted to do at that moment was ask you about your little bet with Steve. No, wait, not a bet. A deal? Maybe he should have asked Dustin more questions, or at least waited until after Hellfire to talk to the kid- 

”So what’s the plan?” You broke through his thoughts once again. “You show up out of nowhere and have me get into your unmarked van to take me to a second location... is there a second location in mind?”

There wasn’t, Eddie really hadn’t thought that far ahead.He’d panicked after his talk with Wayne and had shown up to Family Video on the chance that you’d been there. He’d run straight out the door with every intention of finding you and let you know that he was stupid for not trying harder to call you before. 

”I figured we could just... drive.” He wished he could ignore the sudden parallel between you and Paige. He wished that he could just forget about what happened in ‘84. Fuck, him and Paige never even had an official date, only hooking up in his van for a few weeks before everything blew up. 

Wait, was this a date? Crap, that had been the plan right? Show up, ask you on a date and then... then he’d be on a date. What the FUCK was he actually doing? He was acting so fucking awkward now- everything had been easier before. Why did Dustin have to open his big mouth about this?

“Just driving sounds great.” you said, and Eddie once again tried to relax. Every girl he had been with had wanted something from him. Nicole Summers and Cass Finnigan just wanted bragging rights that they got with the freak, and Paige had wanted him to be a rock hero. What did you want from him?

“Have you eaten?” It wasn’t exactly late, but it wasn’t really early in the evening either. His uncle always asked him that whenever one of them got home, and it had taken Eddie an embarrassingly long time to realize that it was Wayne’s way of showing that he cared. 

“I could eat.” you replied, which at least gave this... whatever this was, some structure for the night. Eddie didn’t have a lot of cash on him, but he could probably scrape together enough to get you each a burger or something. 

When the Iron Maiden tape clicked off and spat itself out, you took it upon yourself to pull it out and look it over. “Got any other tapes in here? I need to judge your music taste.” 

That made Eddie laugh “You and every other person in this town. I have a few more tapes in here.” He tapped on the center console which you eagerly dug into, flipping through the different cassettes with eagerness. 

“Metal. Metal. Metal. Metal.” You said, going through each cassette one by one. “I’m starting to see a pattern here, Eddie.” 

“What gave it away?” He said deadpan. “Was it that I play guitar or the fact that we’ve only bonded over music so far?”

“And Chris Morrison.”

“And Chris Morrison.”

“It was your hair, actually. You look so much like Eddie Van Halen it’s actually uncanny.” You looked up from the tapes and he could feel your eyes studying his face. He was glad that it was dark out now, as he could feel warmth rising in his cheeks at the comparison. Was that a compliment? Were you into him looking like Van Halen? 

“Van Halen?” Eddie asked. “I figured I was more of a Kirk Hammett type.”

“The hair yes,” you agreed, still staring at his face as he continued to drive. “But your smile is definitely more Van Halen.”

When was the last time someone had ever looked at him with that much consideration before? Something in Eddie’s gut twisted as he glanced over at you for a split second to meet your eyes. Huh, that was weird. Had anyone made him nervous like this before? Yeah he’d been attracted to Paige but this was starting to feel different. 

He really needed a cigarette right about now. 

“I hope that’s a compliment.” Eddie managed to say as he fumbled for the packet of Camels in the cupholder by him. 

“Oh, it is. I promise.” you replied, digging out a lighter and helping him light the smoke in his mouth. The world's tiniest supernova...

Eddie hated that the closest thing he had to compare notes on when it came to a healthy romance was two months with Paige and a handful of movies that he barely watched. 

You went back to his tapes, and seemed to pick one out. You removed the tape that had been spat out, put it back in the appropriate case (which Eddie found himself appreciating), and he was surprised to hear the old riffs of Muddy Waters playing. 

“A palate cleanser.” you said, leaning back into the passenger side seat. 

Eddie felt his mind reeling from your choice of music. Muddy Waters had been how his mom introduced him to rock at a young age. The two of you sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the well loved tape as he pulled into the drive in of the next fast food joint he’d seen. 

When he pulled up to the window to pay, a fresh ten was shoved in his face before he could even reach for his own wallet. It took a moment for him to realize that you were wanting to pay. 

“You got me out of work early, it’s the least I can do.” you said, not giving him the option to say no as cash was exchanged for a bag of questionable but cheap food. You held the bag in your lap as Eddie started making his way out of town. 

“So is this an ‘eating van’ or a ‘non-eating van’?” you asked, messing with the top of the bag. 

“I think I’d starve if I didn’t eat in here.” Eddie snorted. “Knock yourself out.”

You wasted no time digging into the fries and taking a few for yourself as Eddie went to the only place that he could afford to take you right now that might be date worthy. 

Luckily, Lover’s Lake was quiet and private on weeknights. If Eddie had taken two minutes to plan this better, he would have thought to maybe clear out the back of his van and set out a blanket and have a picnic. When it came to music and D&D he was great at planning out details, with dates? Not so much. 

This isn’t a date. He reminded himself for the hundredth time tonight. She’s just a girl that you ran over to spend time with the second it occurred to you that she might have an interest in you and she really willingly hopped in your van and your friends actually like her-

Shit. This had to be a date right? Neither of you had said the word but that’s what it was... right? 

Eddie was snapped out of his thoughts with the sweet smell of hot potatoes and grease was wafting under his nose. You had shoved a few fries in front of his face and Eddie wasted no time in taking them. You continued to absently feed him fries as he found a spot to park.

The two of you divided up the food on his dashboard, and Eddie rolled down the windows to let the cool autumn air in. 

“So... what are you gonna be for Halloween?” Eddie asked, wincing internally. When was the last time anyone he knew had dressed up for Hallowen? Okay, so Hellfire Club did tend to dress up on Halloween for a special one shot but that was different- no one came to school in costumes anymore.

“It depends on my plans.” you answered. “Halloween is on a Thursday so I’m usually working. If I have a morning shift I’ll probably do zombie makeup for work, if Steve and Robin are working with me that day I think we’re gonna attempt to be Luke, Leia, and Hans.” 

“And are you gonna be Leia?” Eddie asked. 

“Ideally, I wanted to be Chewie but I don’t have the time for that.” you laughed. “Robin and I voted on Steve to Be Leia. Robin will be Luke, and I’ll be Hans Solo with a teddy bear.”

“Please tell me that Harrington isn’t going to be in the bikini.” Eddie laughed. 

“Keith said costumes had to be work appropriate so, sadly, Steve will not be gracing the store with his sweater-vest chest hair under a bra.” You sighed dramatically. “It’s like he hates the idea of us having fun!” 

“What if you have to close?” Eddie prompted, adjusting in his seat to lean against the door to face you as best he could. Next time he was absolutely clearing out the back to give you both more room. 

“Oh, I am not closing.” you said firmly. “And if Keith thinks he can schedule me that day he can suck it because I have plans.” 

You already have Halloween plans. Of course you would. It’s not like you had to worry about school on a weekday like he did. Eddie tried not to deflate in front of you and remained calm. 

“And what plans would that be?” he asked. 

“Have you ever seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show?” you asked, a smile tugging at your lips. 

He had, once, with Reefer Rick a few months ago when picking up his usual supply. A quick pick up had turned into a game of pool, which had turned into the two of them high on Rick’s couch watching an old VHS tape while Rick laughed his ass off and yelled at the tv before passing out in the middle of Tim Curry seducing Brad and Janet. 

“Once.” Eddie said, not giving the exact details of circumstance. “With a friend, I didn’t really get it.” 

“Did you see it in theaters or did you just watch it at home?” you asked, finishing off your food. 

“Friend’s house.” 

“Oh, no wonder you didn’t get it. Rocky Horror is an experience, you can’t just pop the tape in and watch it. You have to come see it in a theater.” As you spoke you were absently folding a napkin in your lap turning it into what looked like a heart. When you were done with that one, you started with another shape with a different napkin. 

“Is that an invitation?” Eddie asked, tearing his eyes away from the way your fingers moved for now. He found his heart pounding in his chest, unsure if you were actually wanting him to come to this, and from the knot forming in his stomach as the shapes you were folding reminded him of the times he met you before. 

“It is.” you confirmed, the ninja star you had shaped with the napkin was placed on the center console as you grabbed another napkin. “...It could also be a date.” 

Despite the period at the end of the sentence, Eddie heard the slight waiver in your voice on the word date. It was that same nervous stammer that had been in Paige’s voice when she offered to let him move in with her in California, it was the same hesitant inflection that one of his Hellfire players used when they weren’t sure if Eddie would approve of what crazy plan they had for their character. 

Aside from that first awkward meeting at the Palace Arcade, you had been pretty confident and upfront with him. Now here you are, laying out your intentions and seeing what he would do. 

What would he do? Eddie had shown up at Family Video with no real plan. He only knew he wanted to see you again, and he knew that Dustin and Steve were trying to set you two up. And it’s not like Eddie was completely against the idea of going on a date with you. You were sharp, and you kept him on his toes, and when you smiled at him it felt like his brain might short out. 

But he had also panicked when he had thought that you were going to kiss him before. After Eddie’s disastrous break up with Paige two years ago, it’s not like he’d been completely against any physical relationships. There had been a grand total of two other hook ups that he’d sabotaged. People weren’t interested in getting to know the freak, they just wanted to say that they had been with him. So both times, Eddie had made sure that he’d been a lousy date and a decent enough lay before deciding that he’d rather had a date with his right hand and a Heavy Metal magazine.

Eddie would rather the rumor mill call him a boring date rather than set a standard that he’d go out with anyone who asked. He wondered if he had, would Steve have put his name on the town marquis for the world to see? Would Eddie ‘the Slut’ Munson be treated any differently than Eddie ‘the Freak’?

Shit, you were still waiting for a response. 

“A date.” Eddie finally managed to echo your last words back at you. The napkin you had been messing with in your hands was now taking the shape of a ninja star. 

“I mean, if you’re interested.” you said quickly. “It could just be a friend thing. Or you probably already have plans for Halloween-”

“I don’t.” Eddie interjected. “It could be a date.”

He watched your shoulders relax and you smiled up at him. “It’s a date then.” You grabbed a napkin and your green marker out of your bag and scribbled something down, handing it over to him. 

“In case your phone blows up again, here is the date and time and location for the Halloween showing of the movie.” your eyes narrowed slightly at him. “And my work schedule has been hectic but I consistently work on Sunday’s and clock out at four.”

Eddie got the message loud and clear, he would know where to find you now. There wouldn’t be any excuses for not reaching out, but two could play at this game. He took the marker from your hand and grabbed his own napkin, scribbling his own phone number down and handing it over to you. 

“I’m at school all week, but I still play at the Hideout on Tuesdays.” He answered back. “Friday is Hellfire.”

With that, the playing field felt a little more level. Both of you now had the power to track the other one down or call when needed.   

“So what are you going to be for Halloween?” you asked, tucking the napkin with his number into your bog. 

“Oh, haven’t you heard? When you’re the town freak every day is Halloween.” Eddie chuckled. 

“So what, you’re gonna put on a polo and khakis instead?” He liked the way you scrunch your nose when you laughed. “Ditch the jewelry and cover your tattoos?” 

“That would probably scare some of the teachers at school.” Eddie had considered doing exactly that, but he really didn’t think he’d want that kind of attention. “No one dresses up at school anymore.”

“Boring.” You sighed. “I tried dressing up for Halloween my senior year but when I got to school my friends convinced me to change clothes.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “You don’t seem like the type to let other people tell you what to do.” 

“Now I’m not.” you shrugged. “I’m not in high school anymore, and all those people that I saw everyday? Turns out I was only friends with them because I saw them every day. Once you get away from that forced routine you realize that it’s all bullshit.”

Eddie could relate, probably better than anyone else. He was so sick of the day to day hierarchy of highschool that he’d scream it from on top of a table. Literally. 

“What were you trying to be before your friends killed your fun?” Eddie asked. 

“A pirate. It was last minute but I had a bandana, an eyepatch, a sock puppet with feathers glued to it for my parrot, and a wire hanger I was carrying around as a hook.” you laughed at the memory. “I ended up dropping the eyepatch before my friends made me change because I kept running into people. My wire hanger was confiscated, some asshat stole my parrot, and one of my friends gave me a sweater to change into. I didn’t even make it to first period in that outfit.”

Eddie had made it a point to not pay attention to anyone outside of his small group at school, only ever keeping an eye out for lost sheep that didn’t have anywhere else to go. He wondered, if he had seen you that morning in the brief window before you were pushed back into conformity would he have noticed you? Talked to you? You had already been nice to him before. 

“Wait,” Eddie over at you, taking in the picture you had painted for him. “You made a sock puppet parrot?”

“I needed a parrot, or else no one would get it!” you explained. “But then when I took it off and left it to go use the bathroom it was gone. I finally found the thief in fourth period because they kept playing with it and squawking my own parrot at me. But by that point I had just cut my losses and had given up on Halloween.”

“Are you usually this crafty?” Eddie asked, once again looking at the final napkin you were folding into what looked like an old cootie catcher. 

“I get bored easily.” you said. “If I don’t have something to do with my hands I can’t focus.”

“How’d you start with the whole-” Eddie grabbed one of his slightly used napkins and gave it a wave. “Folding thing?”

“Fourth grade show and tell.” you said. “I did not prepare anything and so I spent a full ten minutes in the school library to find something to show. I found a book on origami, found the easiest thing to make and realized that I actually enjoyed it.”

If that was a mystery, it sure did get solved right there. Eddie wanted to ask about Steve and Dustin. He wanted to ask you why him? He could keep his mouth shut, let this whole thing play out and see what happened. Eddie could sit here, and enjoy the fact that a girl was giving him the time of day and leave everything up in the air just like he had with Paige. 

“So I heard you and Steve had a deal going on.” Eddie said. “Something about getting dates?”

You froze for a second, the completed cootie catcher in your hands. Things were dead silent for a grand total of ten seconds. Ten agonizingly long seconds. Even the cassette player had clicked off and was now whirring as it rewind the Iron Maiden tape. 

Then you started laughing. A lot. 

“Jesus, Eddie!” you said, wiping your eyes with the ninja star as a tear threatened to spill down your cheek. “I tell you I have origami as a hobby, and you follow up with ‘So I heard you and Steve are trying to get dates.’ Seriously?”

Eddie remained silent at your reaction, trying to process your laughter. You didn’t seem scared or nervous that he had called you out, and he had to admit that he hadn’t completely thought through the consequences of asking you that question. 

“Who blabbed?” You asked, after your laughter had calmed down. 

“Henderson.” Eddie admitted and, in an attempt to ease any lingering tension he leaned forward to rest his elbow on the center console and held his chin in his hand as he looked at you. “That shrimp informed me that you found me so irresistible that you begged Steve to set you up with me.”

“Is that right?” You asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Oh yeah,” Eddie agreed. “Told me all about how ever since Chris Morrison shot you down, you’ve been desperate to get my attention to get back at him.”

“So which is it, am I attracted to you or am I using you to get back at a guy I talked to once in high school years ago?” you asked. Eddie saw a glint in your eyes, the same one he’d seen that first night at the arcade when at the air hockey table. 

“Both are true.” Eddie continued to explain, a shit eating grin on his face. “You see, you were originally going to use me to get back at Chris, but then you saw me play guitar and instantly fell in love.”

“Damn, this sounds like the plot of a terrible movie.” you laughed. “So is this the part where I tell you that ‘It started out like that, but I swear it’s not like that anymore!’? Do I beg on my knees that my feelings for you are genuine, even though we’ve hung out a grand total of two-and-a-half times?”

Five times, but who’s counting? 

“What’s the half-time?” Eddie asked. 

“You ditched me at the arcade after I said I’d be right back.” you stated matter-of-factly. “I’m hoping it’s not a pattern where you start dropping off the face of the earth just when things start getting good.”

“Between you and me,” Eddie leaned in closer. “I thought Dustin was trying to set me up with Steve. Not you.” 

Cue more laughter from you as you threw your head back. “Are you kidding me?! Dustin makes me and Steve show up to an arcade and tries to force a meeting with you- and you thought you were supposed to be dating Steve?!” 

“Not dating!” Eddie clarified quickly. “You see, Steve and I only have one thing in common and that’s Dustin Henderson. Kid practically worships Steve. I thought he was trying to get us to be friends or something.”

“Oh my god, you thought Dustin was trying to hook his two dads up!” Your cootie catcher was now crumpled up in your hands, stained with tears from your laughing. “I’m a homewrecker!” 

Yeah, this really wasn’t going the way Eddie had expected it. 

“Shit, Eddie, I’m sorry.” you said, your laughter calming down into giggles instead. “Have I been reading this whole thing wrong? I mean, if you have more of an interest in Steve I could probably set that up. He’s only ever shown interest in girls but you have long hair and are pretty enough-”

“No.” Eddie said. “I don’t have an interest in Steve- you think I’m pretty?” How were you able to throw him off so easily? He could tell that if you had been able to join Hellfire you would have been a menace at his table.

“Extremely.” you said, your voice more sincere now. 

The two of you just stared at each other for a while and Eddie felt that same twisty feeling in his gut again. You thought he was pretty. That was good, right? Did you like pretty boys? You were pretty- he liked that a lot. 

“I...” Eddie started and then dug deep inside himself to find the words he wanted to use. “Prettier than Steve?” Those were not the words he wanted to say, but he said them anyway. 

“Steve is conventionally attractive but, as I said before, not my type.” you said. “I like guys with long hair anyway.”

Eddie really couldn’t tell if he was nailing this or blowing it. “So, what is your type?” 

“I’ll tell you mind if you tell me yours.” you countered. 

Had Eddie ever really thought about what his type was? Yeah, he’d had ill-advised crushes and had been attracted to various women in comics and tv but did he have a type? He tried to connect all the girls in his mind that he’d been with, trying to find a pattern. 

Someone who actually pays attention to me. That’s pretty sad, Eddie. He came to the conclusion. Yeah, aside from his disastrous kiss with Ronnie five years ago, every girl he’d been with had been the one to show interest first, and you were no exception. But had he actually had feelings for the others? Not really. Attraction? Yeah. Feelings? Well, with Paige he had been far too busy dealing with Corroded Coffin, his dad, and school to really decide what he felt for Paige. Any other small flings had been dead on arrival.

So why did he keep wanting to spend time with you?

“Don’t go spreading this around,” Eddie started. “But if I had to pick a type, it’d be She-Hulk.” 

“She-Hulk?” you mulled that over in your mind. “So tall, green, and angry?” 

“Strong-willed, and funny as shit.” Eddie corrected. 

“And green.”

“And green.” 

“If I had known that earlier I would have picked Kermit the Frog as my Halloween costume this year.” you teased. “I don’t have a character off the top of my head, but I like people who feel.. Real.”

Real. The word that Paige and him had used over and over in those two months. 

“What’s real to you?” 

“Not high school.” you said. “Someone who’s not afraid to exist and be themselves. I’m most attracted to anyone who can let go of their desperate ego and just have fun. High school was boring because everyone was so wrapped up in their own bs of looking cool that they didn’t do anything that they actually wanted to do. Shit, even I fell into that.”

Eddie didn’t want to ask if he was real to you. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for an answer. There were lots of times he wished that he wasn’t still in school, but this time really hit harder. He was starting to really like you, and yeah part of him was terrified of that. 

The two of you finished off the last of your food and Eddie shoved all the leftover trash into the brown bag and tossed it in the back so you wouldn’t be stepping on it. 

“I don’t know much about real anymore, but I think you’re pretty badass.” Eddie finally said. “I mean, you brought a wire hanger and a fake parrot to school for a costume. That’s pretty brave, even if your friends did talk you out of it.”

“I’m more mad that the parrot was stolen and used to annoy me than the lack of costume.” you said with a small laugh. “They weren’t even funny. They just kept repeating what I said. It was easier to just shut up at that point.” 

“Didn’t think to make them say anything embarrassing?” 

“Oh, I tried. But, jocks don’t know the art of a good ‘Duck Season, Rabbit Season’ gag. Anything embarrassing I said they’d just turn it around. I’d say ‘I pissed myself in gym.’ they’d reply with ‘you pissed yourself in gym’. No love for comedy.” You took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “If you’re going to be a bully, at least give me a good story to tell later, you know?”

“I once got slammed against a locker by a jock who called me ‘a myriad freak.” Eddie said. “To this day, I still don’t know what he was trying to mean by that.”

“See? At least that’s funny.” you said, and then. “Holy shit, we’ve gotten off topic.” 

“There was a topic?” Eddie leaned back on the seat again. 

“Yes, an important one that I was very interested in before we started talking about bullies and high school and She-Hulk.” you nodded. 

Talking to you was so easy that he hadn’t realized how many topics the two of you had blown through in a short amount of time. He looked at his watch real quick and realized it was creeping towards 11 pm now. Had the two of you really been talking that long?

“What topic was it?” 

“You flirting with me.” you said, your lips pulling back in a cheshire grin. “I’m pretty sure you were at least, before I became a homewrecker between you and Steve. Normally I’d hate to break up a happy family, but I might have to make an exception this one time.”

“Was I flirting?” Eddie tilted his head with his own grin. “I’m pretty sure I was just telling you that I thought Dustin was trying to make me be friends with Steve. If I had known that the shrimp was trying to introduce me to a cute girl-” He would have shot it down and canceled Side Quest Day- “I wouldn’t have left the way I did.”

“You think I’m cute?” 

“Extremely.” 

You nodded. “Alright, then it’s a good thing that we’re going on a date. I’m glad to know that I’m not coming between you and Steve.”

It was just past midnight when Eddie dropped you off at your apartment that night. This time when you leaned over the center console towards him, he didn’t freeze up or panic. Eddie let you hug him and he hugged you back, his cheeks growing hot momentarily when he felt your lips press against his cheek and he was able to breathe in your scent. 

“See you later, Eddie. Oh, and for the movie- I highly recommend dressing up.” you looked him up and down. “Actually, just wear what you’d normally wear. I think you’ll fit right in.” 

Eddie made a mental note to ask Rick later on what he was supposed to wear for this. 

“I’ll call you.” he said. “I promise. I mean it this time.”

“Not if I call you first, I have your number now. And worst case scenario, I know where you play.” you responded. “See you Tuesday, Eddie.” 

And with that you were gone again, leaving Eddie alone in the van feeling much better than the last time he had given you a ride. There were still questions he had. He still wanted to know why exactly everyone was wanting the two of them to meet again, and why you always so readily agreed to meet up with him. But those were questions for another day. 

“You had a missed call.” Wayne said as Eddie made his way into the trailer. “Didn’t leave a name or number. Said she’d call you back.”  

Eddie laughed and shook his head, guess you meant it when you said you’d call first. 

“Don’t stay up too late watching tv.” Eddie said before heading towards his bedroom. He once again found himself falling asleep with his copy of The Hobbit, the origami flower tucked safely in the back. 

Ending note: This fic takes place during October 1985. Stephen King’s It did not come out until September 1986. I would like to ask you all politely to suspend your disbelief for the historical inaccuracy of a piece of dialogue that probably didn’t add much to the plot. If this horrible inaccuracy bothers you, please repeat to yourself “it’s just a fic, I should really just relax” which is what most of us should be doing anyway.

Dividers by: @strangergraphics

Tag List: @k8loo @terrormonster55 @sp1dyb0y1008 @crocwork-clockodile @ali-r3n @mxcheese @josephquinnschesthair @gagasbee @peaches-roses-sins @witchwolflea @vintagehellfire @royale1803 @cumslutforaemond @prestinalove @browneyedgirl320 @perpetualmess @thebook-hobbit @mistonk @cultish-corner @grishaversecaptivated @sortagaysortahigh @halialex1119 @bakugouswhOr3 @siriuslysmoking @pookiesnatcher @sky-full-0f-fl0wers @takemetoneverlandbabe @killjoynotes @maelibo

[snaillock]

heeyy^x^

i really like ur writings🤭 and i’m happy bc finally someone writes male reader stories

anyway!! i would like to request a sae x gamer/streamer m!reader fic, where the reader is a big gamer and also a twitch streamer, how did sae get along with that, how does sae take it when the reader doesn't pay attention to him because he's playing / chatting with his friends on discord🫣 sorry if i write something wrong english is not my first language😔 had a good day!!

sae itoshi x male!streamer!reader

tysm anon! i’m glad you enjoy my stuff! i also hope you enjoy this and that it’s to your satisfaction

tags: male reader, established relationship, jealous and overthinking sae, surprise! sae also sucks ass at communicating, also lowkey self-indulgent since i secretly dream of being a streamer, doing a different format than what i typically do

sae knows he’s being hypocritical but he simply can’t help it.

he saw the way you would hole yourself up in your office, streaming for several hours straight almost every day. sometimes you wouldn’t even get out to take a break.

you could’ve given yourself a much more laidback schedule thanks to sae’s success and wealth. instead you chose not to rely on him financially and prioritized your self-independence and stability. the only thing you really accepted from him career-wise was the massive clout boost that came with being his boyfriend. not to mention, you just loved the career path you chose, even if it did make you stressed sometimes. so you were more than fine with committing a lot of effort into it despite his insistence.

he understands and relates to how busy your lifestyle can get, yet he can’t help but feel a little neglected when he rarely sees you outside your office during the day and knows you don’t have much time free time to spend with him.

and perhaps he did feel jealous whenever he overheard you and your other streamer friends voice calling and playing games, laughing and cracking jokes with each other.

ugh he hated the idea that he could get jealous at all. he knows he should be more rational about this. he’s supposed to be the rational one! but he can’t help it. you’re his boyfriend! you should be spending your time with him. laughing and making jokes with him.

it’s gotten so bad that he even felt annoyed by your viewers fawning over you. he knew feeling a threatened by them was crazy because who the hell doesn’t know you’re sae itoshi’s boyfriend. anyone would be crazy to try to come in between that. plus he has plenty of his own simps going insane over him. so he of all people should be more than aware of what it’s like to be with someone who’s famous and very out there in the world. he should especially expect this when he’s dating such a good looking guy.

sae has rarely felt insecure about himself either. until his mind started spiraling and he manages to convince himself that he isn’t interesting enough to be with you compared to your gamer friends. he definitely doesn’t say anything to you about it since he doesn’t want you think he’s weak because of it. instead he lets those overcooked insecurities build up even more and more in his head until he starts believing them.

one day he noticed your office door slightly cracked open so he peeked his head in to see you streaming. which you then noticed from the corner of your eye.

“sae!” you spun your chair around to face him. you quickly took off your headphones, forgetting to mute the microphone, and held your arms out with a big smile. “come here baby!”

he was surprised and flustered from your enthusiastic response. how could he not be when he’s been living with those negative ideas about the relationship for a while that he’s gotten so used to them. he reluctantly walked over to you to which you wrapped your arms around his neck, making him bend down to your eye level.

“i’m so sorry i’ve been so busy lately,” you said before cupping his face and planting kisses on his cheeks. “i promise i’ll make it up to you.” his face softened as he felt his worries wash away thanks to your words and kisses.

“alright,” he nodded. everything’s going to be alright. he watched your screen from the corner of his eye as the live chat started going crazy, with a slight smirk on his face.

a.n: when i got this request, i was also working on a much bigger sae fic which should be coming out in a few days or so. it’s currently 2k+ words. so stay tuned and if anyone wants to be tagged when it’s posted, let me know!

i also don’t think i can post a fic without using read more. i always write so fucking much.

[hype-blue-fixation]

Pt. 1/2 | The Purest Kind of Entertainment | SFW Tickle Fic [RadioRose QPR]

I wanted to make a tickle fic and the plot thickened. If you want to skip this introduction/plot then here's the second part.

Sitting around the TV to watch different programs had become the typical night time activity. Charlie begged Alastor for weeks to take his turn sharing a “picture show,” to which he constantly made up polite excuses to let someone else go instead. But tonight the princess of Hell would be fancied something different.

“What in Heaven is this?” Angel barely lasted 5 minutes into the program before he showed annoyance for it.

“I told you before, it is called the Queen's Messenger. Very historical and groundbreaking for its period. Without this, Voxtech would never exist.” Alastor raised a brow, holding back his impatience behind a smile.

One by one, the others dropped off to sleep. Utterly bored with the outdated and slow-paced presentation. Even Charlie could barely keep her eyes open at the halfway point. When it finally ended, Alastor hummed at all the sleeping bodies. Silently irritated that they couldn't even bear 40 minutes of his favorite picture show. That was until Angel flittered his eyes open. “I didn't fall asleep. Are you proud of me, Smiles?”

“Mildly, I suppose.”

“Also I got a question,”

Alastor's ears pricked to attention.

“I just find it weird that the first thing you show us is an old romance slideshow. Surely the great Radio Demon don't have a soft spot for that sappy stuff, right?”

A disgruntled sigh came as Alastor turned the TV off and tiptoed his way around the sleeping demons. “History is history, my effeminate fellow. If something else were to be made first instead, I would have played that.”

As he went to slip off into the unknown, Angel followed in his distorted shadow. “I've got another question!”

The radio demon rolled his eyes. “If you must.”

“Do you ever think about sex?”

The question was both expected and unexpected at the same time. “Heavens, no.” Alastor instinctually replied.

“Then what do you do to bond with people you love? Kisses? Cuddles?”

“I've never met someone who interests me in that way, so none of the above. If we are discussing friendships, a benevolent game of cards and a night out at a bar never hurt anyone.”

Angel's eyes flickered to the snoring Husker. He knew very well how card games turned out in Alastor's book. Perhaps the topic really was hopeless. Perhaps Al really was a psychopath demon with no chance at anything beyond Hell. “I see. Goodnight, then. Don't be gettin too spooky out there.”

A hum of relief came from Alastor as he found the spider demon leaving. Finally some peace. A short lived peace. It wasn't too long before questions began filling his head.

“How do I show love to the people I care about?”

“Shut up, I don't love anyone.”

“Oh, but you do! Isn't she the reason you want all this power to begin with?”

“It's a lost cause. Everything I'm doing is for me, now. Hell is forever and I've earned it.”

“But what if that darling Charlie is truly onto something? And there are people here that you love too, yes? Do you ever let them know that?”

The inner dialog could have gone on and on in painful bouts of excuses and rebuttals, unsorted feelings that he preferred to keep repressed. When he began feeling this way, there seemed to be only one person in Hell that could set him straight.

[last-herondale]

Bewitching Hour

Bucky Barnes x FemReader

Warnings: cursing, alcohol use, mentions of blood, spicy 🌶️ topics 👀

Hurt/comfort, fluff, mentions of +18 stuff if ya know what I mean 😏

It’s weeks after your rescue mission and luckily Bucky is on the mend. Unfortunately, your actions on the field have you wrapped up in the biggest trial of your life. While the rest of the team votes on your future, you decide to hit up a bar and drink away your problems.

A/N: Someone suggested on my previous Bucky fic to write another piece on this storyline and i had some stroke of writers inspiration, which is very rare to come by nowadays 😩 So onwards with the y/n reader who has shadow powers and a super soldier for a boyfriend! 🫡

So this is part 2 of what I’m calling the Midnight Series. I will update my master list and link here.

Enjoy 🤘🏼

Clubs were not your scene. At first you tried a small run down bar you found in Hell’s Kitchen and that was packed on a Friday night with people from all walks of life. You had a few beers, but decided you needed somewhere different. Somewhere no one would notice you in a sea of people. Where you could drink your feelings away on what would probably be your last night of freedom.

You found a popular club not too far from the bar. The air was thick with the hot air emanating from the crowd as they danced to a booming beat. You sat at the far end of the bar, downing your 5th shot of vodka. The drink was horse piss compared to the stuff Stark stocked at the compound, but it would do for tonight.

“Another round miss?” The bartender asked, making her way down the bar as people clambered to get their drink. Her tank top was low cut, showing off her commodities that probably earned her extra tips on busy nights like these. “A double this time,” you respond, sliding over a few bills. The bartender didn’t bat an eye as she poured your drink and immediately moved on to the next customer.

Your hand shook a bit as you went to grab the glass. I should definitely stop. You thought. You had went out in the dance floor earlier, feeling the need to do something—anything to take your mind off your situation. Dancing had been a sort of release, letting your body move to the beat, letting yourself meld into the crowd like anyone else. Now you were flushed, sweating, and in your eyes—not drunk enough. I should stop. I will… after this…

Just as your fingertips touched the glass, a familiar gloved hand beat you to it and pulled the glass out of your reach. You looked up with blazing anger, your eyes turning dark at your thief. You had already been hit on by four guys, each one reeking of alcohol as the night progressed. You were one drunk idiot away from losing your shit. You felt a slight stream of smoke begin to encircle your closed fist until you recognized the man in front of you.

Immediately your eyes softened as they settled on Bucky’s concerned face. He still had harsh bruises scattered on his skin, most of them a pale yellow as they neared healing completely. He wore a dark baseball cap and a pair of phony glasses in order to blend in. While you were one of the few avengers that no one recognized, Bucky did not have the same luxury. The sight of him made your chest tighten. He was so beautiful it hurt to look at him sometimes, especially when he looked at you like this…

“Hey Buck,” you said softly, averting your eyes from him. You figured he would find you sooner or later. You left your phone at the compound when you left. It was a dangerous game to play, especially since you weren’t supposed to leave the compound in the first place. But you needed an escape, and telling Bucky would have complicated things. You wondered how many times he had called, wondering where you were in a panicked state.

“Hey Doll,” he replied with equal tenderness. He leaned onto the bar, fiddling with the shot glass in his hand, being careful to not spill its contents.

“You’ve been hard to find today.” The music around you boomed and his voice barely cut through the noise. You had to strain yourself to hear him, especially being inebriated, but you knew he would hear you just fine.

You shrugged. “I didn’t really feel like being around when the hammer dropped, ya know? If they decide to arrest me…” you willed yourself to look at the man you loved.

You were on the borderline of being drunk, and your vision danced a bit as you looked at him. He gave you a soft look, his eyes seemed to shimmer in the lights of the bar. “I didn’t want to make it easy for them.”

“They aren’t going to arrest you,” Bucky insisted. “Steve wouldn’t-“

“Of course he fucking would!” You yelled. Bucky did not react to your outburst, which made the anger in your core flicker even more.

“Fuck Steve! He’s the one that called this meeting in the first place. He wants to see me punished—I know he does. I mean come on Buck, I broke protocol, I defied his orders— I killed… so many people…” your memories flashed to that day.

The mission was the most important thing to you ever. You looked at Bucky again, and used one hand to remove the glasses from his face. He let you remove them and cup his cheek as you ran a gentle thumb over one of his fading bruises.

“I would do it all again. Every single fucking thing. I don’t care if they hate me for it—”

Bucky placed his hand over yours. You stood there a moment in silence as the rest of the bar roared around you. He always made it feel as if nothing in the world mattered but the two of you. As if the rest of the world sipped away into the background. You smiled at him, wondering how you could have ever been so lucky as to live a man like him. You stood from your chair, wobbling a bit as you regained your balance.

“I wanna dance,” you said, taking hold of his hand, “If it’s my last night of freedom, I want to have fun.” You tried to pull him with you to the dance floor but he didn’t budge. He just looked at you with a steady look.

“Y/n, let me take you home,” Bucky said. You frowned and let go of his hand. You began to back away from him and slip further into the group of dancing people. He called out for you again, but you had already lost yourself in the sea of people.

The music seemed to fill your senses. You danced and moved your body freely, wanting nothing more than to be taken by the moment. You let your hair down, spinning and feeling free in your drunken state. You felt Bucky’s hand on your shoulder and you turned around, wrapping your arms around his neck. People danced around you as you looked into Bucky’s eyes. He still had a look of concern, but there was something else in his eyes. A spark of something deeper— something wild.

“Dance with me James,” you whisper in his ear, biting at his neck as you pull him closer. He could smell the liquor on your breath and he sighed.

“You know you want to,” you teased. You slid your hands from his neck down to his chest, feeling the fabric of his shirt as you swayed to the beat. He couldn’t help but smirk at you, moving his hands ever so slowly to your waist.

You smiled brilliantly at this, and he pulled you in closer, his fingers gripping your hips as he stayed there inches away from your face. He was teasing you with his mouth, his lips parted over so slightly in a grin. You wanted to fuck him right there on the dance floor. You inched a bit closer and could smell the hint of vodka on his breath. Your eyes lit up.

Got ‘em.

The two of you danced together, a series of movements that pushed and pulled the two of you part like magnets. Everything else blurred away, and all you felt was the freedom and love and heat from Bucky. The way he looked at you, eyes blown wide when you moved against him, how he touched you in public, gentle yet firm to keep you close to him. It made everything disappear—for a little bit.

Memories from that mission flashed in your head. Dead hydra soldiers scattering the floor. The image of them choking on your shadows—the feeling of their life leaving their bodies. You told yourself it was worth it—believed in the moment it was right—

You stopped dancing and swayed a bit, holding onto Bucky’s shoulder. He steadied you and looked you over, his chest rising and falling from the dancing.

“What’s wrong doll?” The images flashed through your mind again. Bucky, beaten near an inch of his life, his metal arm on the operation table. Your stomach lurched. Sweat beaded on your forehead and the world seemed to tilt a bit under the neon lights.

“I think I’m gonna be sick— I need to get out of here.”

He pulled you by the hand gently.

“Come on,” he said as he wrapped one hand around your waist, guiding you as you stumbled a bit, “let’s get you out of this shithole.”

“Just don’t take me back— please. I can’t—“

He shushed you gently as you made your way out of the club and into the cool night air. There was a cab outside and Bucky helped you get in the car. You didn’t hear where he told the driver to go, but he insisted he was not taking you back to the compound.

“I won’t take you back sweetheart, I promise. Just relax and please try not to vomit on my nice jacket,” He teased and wrapped his arm around you as you leaned your body into his.

The idea of vomiting up the cheap liquor made you almost dry heave once. You groaned a bit as You rested your head on his chest, nuzzling your cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt. The smell of him was enough to calm your stomach for the rest of the ride.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled against him, “I’m a mess. I ruin everything.” Tears began to spill down your cheek and soak into the front of his shirt. Bucky ran his hand through your hair, kissing the top of your head.

“You dont ruin anything doll. You are perfect. You are wonderful. You are everything to me. I am alive because of you, you know that right? Hydra is gone because of you—“

“Because I killed them. I— I slaughtered them. I know I should feel some sort of regret for that… but when I think back to that day— when all I could think of was you—“ you shook your head against him.

“What they did to you— what they have already done to you over the years… Im sorry, Buck, but I don’t regret it. Not one bit. I would do it all again to save you. Maybe Steve is right— maybe I should be locked away for what I am—I’m no good— I’m a monster—“

“No.” Bucky said harshly, nearly growling against your ear. “Never think that. Do you hear me?”

His tone was a sharp blade in your chest. The last thing you wanted was to upset him, and yet here he was consoling you in the middle of the night—chasing after you like a damned child. You felt pathetic, but said no more. You just nodded once, wiping at your tears as he continued to stroke your hair.

Bucky also remained silent as the cab arrived at its destination. You looked out the window once the car stopped and were surprised by what you saw. You were outside of an old apartment building. You recognized it immediately as Bucky’s old hideout. Not even Steve knew about this safe house. Bucky paid the driver and helped you out of the car. He walked with you to the edge of the building, leaning up against the brick wall as he removed his hat. The night air swirled through his hair and he sighed.

“Any better?” He asked, watching you as you sat on the sidewalk, resting your back against the brick. The cool air was comforting, and the wave of nausea seemed to pass ever so slowly. You nodded and tilted your head back.

“Some hero I am, huh?” You laughed dryly. Bucky huffed out a small laugh.

“You know, I ask myself that almost every damn day.” You couldn’t help but laugh, turning to him with a sad smile.

“What a pair we make, eh?”

Bucky looked down at you, his expression thoughtful—but sad.

“Doll,” he sighed gently, lifting his head to look out into the night sky again. “I wish I could tell you—no show you— just how… important you are to me.” He struggled to find his words, but they made you freeze in place as he continued.

“I know what it’s like to do horrible things. Terrible, regrettable, and unforgiving things… To be haunted by the past—“ he looked down at this metal hand.

“To not be able to look yourself in the mirror most nights…”

He clenched his hand into a tight fist and exhaled slowly before turning to face you again. He held out his hand to you, and you didn’t hesitate to take it. He pulled you to your feet, guiding you closer until his hands were on your waist again.

“I used to believe that there was nothing I deserved more than to be punished for my sins. That I was a monster beyond saving. But then I met you, my little shadow monster. You saw in me what no one else believed existed—you saw the man, flaws and all. And you gave me something i never thought I deserved.”

His eyes glistened in the moonlight as he searched your face with the sweetest tenderness. As if he saw the world in your eyes.

“You gave me hope, y/n.”

A smile broke across your face as you cried and laughed. Bucky returned your smile and you pulled him in by his neck for a kiss. His mouth was gentle and sweet against yours. He pulled you closer, murmuring sweet nothings against your mouth as your tears fell down your face. The soft breeze tousled both your your hair, causing yours to swirl behind you like ribbons.

Bucky pulled away slightly, leaving his forehead tipped against yours.

“I love you, y/n. God, I love you so damned much.” You gave out a relieved laugh, and thumbed a stroke on the back of his neck.

“And I adore you,” you whispered. He pulled you in for a hug, wrapping his strong arms around you, kissing your cheeks until your tears disappeared on his lips.

“We are going to figure this out. Whatever comes our way. I promise.”

Your stomach tightened on the last part. You had made Bucky a similar promise. One you had failed to keep—one you were currently paying for. You thought about what kind of power this love held over you—over him. You were willing to destroy your life in order to keep Bucky safe— to prevent him from ever going back to being on the run, being hunted, being alone. As you held the weight of the world in your arms, you felt a sickening hole rip through your chest.

You knew what you had to do for Bucky—always for Bucky.

[artiststarme]

The Long-Lost Wheeler

This fic is based on this post from @kcsplace! I'm sorry it was such a long wait but thanks for letting me use your idea! There was no way I could compress all of my ideas into a one-shot so this will be a series. I hope you like it!

~*~*~*~

Eddie had never known who his mom was. He didn’t know her name or what she looked like. All he knew was that she left him with his dad when he was barely two months old and never turned around to look back. He would dream of meeting her as a child. His childish mind would dream up faceless women hugging him, making him lunch, playing games with him, and anything else moms were supposed to do with their sons. He would imagine being part of a happy family when he saw the other kids at school getting picked up by their moms and dads. 

After so many disappointments though and so many years gone by, he gave up hope on ever meeting her. She didn’t want anything to do with her own kid? He didn’t want anything to do with her. The nameless, faceless woman that gave birth to him was nothing but a surrogate in his mind. Just a stranger that brought him into this hard world to abandon him when the going got rough. From then on, he viewed her with little more than mild disinterest. 

Whenever he had asked his dad about her, he never had anything good to say. Old Richie Munson said she was a manipulative bitch that was always too good for everyone around her, always looking to find something better. His old man would get upset whenever Eddie brought her up and on one fateful occasion, shaved his entire head because ‘he looked too much like her’. After that, Eddie never asked his dad about her again. 

A few months after he moved in with Uncle Wayne, he felt safe enough to ask him if he knew who his mother was. Wayne was a lot more tactful and nice with his description of her. He told Eddie that she was just a scared lady, unsure of what she wanted and too skittish to take care of little Eddie with his dad. He made her sound like leaving Eddie was a byproduct of escaping his dad and Eddie lost some of his anger towards her after that. He’d been trying to get away from his dad for eleven years, he couldn’t fault her for fleeing when she had the chance. 

He thought about her even less after the Upside Down once he had a group of friends close enough to call family. They filled the void that his dysfunctional and fractured family had left behind. He also found an unexpected best friend in Nancy Wheeler. They had a lot more in common than he thought they would and they got on like a house on fire. Things were finally going well for Eddie which was ironic since it was a near death experience and week in hell that led to it. 

Hellfire was back in action after being banned from the school due to its “Satanic connotations” and was now being hosted in the Wheeler’s basement. Eddie didn’t have his throne anymore or his chalice of Mountain Dew and it smelled a bit like a sweaty armpit. However, he was surrounded by his friends and the happiness he felt more than made up for the downsides. 

They were on their fourth day of the campaign when everything blew up. The entirety of Hellfire club was situated around the Wheeler’s kitchen on the singular snack break that Eddie allowed over the course of the day. All of the boys were talking amongst each other while Eddie relaxed against the counter happily watching his friends being happy and munching on baby carrots. Everything was fine until Karen Wheeler walked in carrying several grocery bags that Eddie immediately went to help her with. 

“Here, I can help you with that,” he said, leaning down to her height to take some of the heavier bags out of her arms. 

“Oh, thank you. Mike never helps with the groceries, you would think one would want to help their mother-” Karen abruptly stopped talking once she made eye contact with Eddie. He stalled a bit in response before setting the bags down on the counter next to where he was previously situated. 

She nodded at him jerkily before moving over to Mike and dragging him by the ear just out of sight, not out of hearing though. Eddie could hear what she said loud and clear. 

“Michael, what is he doing here? You didn’t tell me that you were going to have that… that boy over to my house!” She sounded pissed and Eddie narrowed his eyes as he listened. 

“Who, Eddie? He’s my friend, I told you he was coming over. You said it was okay for me to have my friends over to play Dungeons and Dragons today!”

“I want him out of my house, Michael. Don’t invite him over again, he’s not welcome here.”

“What the hell, mom? Why? He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Now, Michael!”

Eddie didn’t know what the fuck was going on but he knew when he wasn’t wanted. Prior to the Spring Break from Hell, he would have rebelled and relished in the unease his presence caused. However, with the majority of the town still gunning for his arrest even after he was proven innocent, he knew not to make waves. 

When Mike turned the corner into the kitchen, still glowering and angry, Eddie clapped his hands to gather the rest of Hellfire’s attention. “Alright my fellow gremlins, let’s call it a day. We’ll resume our merciless quest next Friday. Expect a call with the updated Hellfire destination sometime next week. Godspeed.” 

Understandably this caused an uproar with the Hellfire members protesting and even Mike tried to convince Eddie to stay. “No, no, no, we’re all done for the day. We don’t want to overstay our welcome. We’ll wrap up the campaign next week. End of discussion!”

He gave everyone one last look and made this way back downstairs to pack up his things. He didn’t really blame her, he thought as he grabbed his things hastily. He wouldn’t want an alleged murderer in his house either. When he made his way past Karen on his way out of the house, he paused in front of her. 

“Thanks for letting us play here a few times. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable, Mrs. Wheeler. I didn’t mean to. We’ll meet somewhere else next time,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

And with that he walked out of the Wheeler’s house with the dulcet sounds of Mike screaming at his mother following behind him. 

When he brought it up to Nancy just a few days later, she was perplexed. She had no idea on why her mother would be so vocally against having Eddie in the house. Karen Wheeler was known to be the perfect doting mother. To have her kick Eddie out of her home and to hate him so blatantly was almost unfathomable. She told Eddie that she would get to the bottom of it and she did. She didn’t expect to discover that Eddie was her long-lost brother that her mother abandoned. Now how was she supposed to tell Eddie?

Permanent tag list: @doubleb11 @nburkhardt @zerokrox-blog @newtstabber @i-less-than-three-you @carlyv @pyrohonk @straight4joekeery @trippypancakes @conversesweetheart @estrellami-1 @suddenlyinlove @yikes-a-bee @swimmingbirdrunningrock @perseus-notjackson @anaibis @merricatty @maya-custodios-dionach @grtwdsmwhr @manda-panda-monium @lumoschild @goodolefashionedloverboi @mentallyundone @awkwardgravity1 @kcsplace

[mediocre-daydreams]

hello 🫶🏻🫶🏻 can i req a peter parker x stark!reader who r also bffs (with feelings 4 eachother) where both of them have this little game they like to play with eachother where they make up like insane conversations and the other has to follow along until they get tired ?? like “oh you look fine even though you got stabbed by an alien yesterday” “u dont look too shabby for someone who had to give birth to a baby” IDK like anything u want but they didnt know that their conversations were getting overheard by the other avengers and once the avengers come together and talk about it they’re like wait.. why the fuck does it sound like [] have two children at home and are secretly married IDK ANYTHING U WANT BUT AS CRAZY AS POSSIBLE i love crack fics

TYSM <33

— 🦜

i've been putting this off bc i love the idea and want it to be perfect so i stayed up late last night and in my delirious haze i came up with some dialogue prompts and i woke up this morning and found it in my notes so here's the beaut! i lowkey love it thank you 🦜 !!

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞

peter parker x stark! reader

summary: at first, you and peter were like "let's see who can uphold the most ridiculous conversations," but bro... you don't think the sexual tension is a joke anymore, and neither do the other avengers.

w/c: 3.1k

notes: crack crack crack, fluff, swearing, many sexual innuendos (and also just jokes about sex outright) and swears (c'mon it's me), mentions of abortions and roe v wade in a humorous context, murder, cannibalism, and foot fetishes in a humorous context, one "ur mom" joke, if it sounds crazy that's because it is crazy and i think u should just read it already

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

you and peter’s friendship was anything but normal. well, you supposed, nothing could ever be normal for the two of us. peter’s an arachnid abomination and i’m the daughter of an egotistical billionaire who cosplays as a flying suit.

there were two ways in which your relationship was unusual. one: the practically nonexistent line between platonic and romantic, which everybody just always had to point out. the two of you had always been a bit touchy-feely—to be fair, mostly with each other, but were you really to blame? you were stuck in a tower full of traumatized assassins, spies, and people in metal suits; it wasn’t like there was any good cuddling options around. peter was a self-described “nerd and loser,” so girls weren’t exactly lining up to cuddle with him either. 

two: you had a game going on (if it could even be called that). peter had a hard time transitioning into an “official” member of the team, so you, being the coolest and closest to his age, tasked yourself with the responsibility of being his friend.

what started as making up nonsensical greetings or coming up with more and more obscure versions of “see ‘ya later, alligator” had spiraled into a competition of who could keep the most ridiculous conversations going.

--

you were sitting beside natasha at the kitchen bar, the two of you nursing copious amounts of black coffee and sporting dark eye bags. (so maybe karaoke with katy and shang-chi on a wednesday night wasn’t the greatest idea you’d ever had.)

peter took a double-take as he made his way towards the fridge, looking perfectly refreshed and wide awake.

“lookin’ good!” peter clicked his tongue at you in greeting, smirking at the scowl on your face. he knew you would’ve flipped him off had you not been holding your drink.

“thanks,” you drawled sarcastically. “i’ve been trying this new diy skincare routine, where you use curdled breastmilk as a face mask for 20 minutes. it’s really helping with my dark circles.”

natasha, the woman who was never caught off guard, was caught off guard.

peter hummed thoughtfully as he poured himself a glass of milk, which he was now losing his appetite for. “20 minutes seems pretty short, don’t ‘cha think? i keep my menstrual blood mask on for at least 35 minutes.”

you scoffed, taking a large swig of your coffee and wincing at its bitterness. “yeah, well you should probably do it for longer. i can see your premature wrinkles forming from here.”

peter slipped into the seat beside you and smiled in greeting to natasha, whose eyes were bleary and unfocused. peter turned to shove his face close to yours.

“hm, maybe you should try juice cleansing. your skin is looking awfully dull today, unlike mine, which is dewey and radiant.”

you rolled your eyes. “sure, dude. look at your birdnest for hair.” you tangled your fingers through his mess of curls and scratched his scalp. peter couldn’t hide the content groan that slipped from his mouth.

“if my skin is dull, your hair is practically straw. unlike mine, which is easy, breezy, beautiful: covergirl.” you made a big show of preening your bedhead.

natasha made gagging noises. “alright, you two are disgusting. in more ways than one. can you please stop, because i’m so hungover right now and i will not hesitate to aim my projectile vomit onto one of your faces.”

you and peter looked at each other with big grins. peter shot finger guns at natasha. “eyy, that’s the spirit!”

--

you and peter found it especially funny to start these sorts of conversations in front of steve and bucky. not only were the two perplexed by modern lingo, they were also the most gullible two people on the team, which made them easy targets.

bucky and steve exchanged testosterone-fuelled jabs at each other in the sparring ring as you tied your shoelaces as peter sprayed his face with water. the two of you listened to the grunts of exertion and the various gruff noises that filled the air to appease the two supersoldiers’ masculinities.

you sighed, stretching your sore arms. you and peter had been fooling around with the gym equipment for an hour now, waiting for bucky and steve’s match to finish (and it didn’t look like either of them planned on backing down anytime soon). with a final tug on your shoelaces, you looked up at peter curiously, who blushed at your wide, innocent eyes. or perhaps he was just red from the exercise.

“you smell really good,” you commented, bumping your shoulder against his. “what cologne do you use?”

peter paused to consider his response. “it’s… my au naturale body odor. it’s cruelty free and uh, vegan.”

“that’s so earth conscious of you!” you gushed, running a warm hand up and down peter’s arm. though he was sweaty, gross, and overheated, he shivered at your touch.

“y-yeah. i haven’t showered in three weeks. it really enhances the… musky base notes of the scent. it’s very masculine,” he nodded as if he knew what he was talking about.

“well, it’s very aromatic. i like it.” you patted peter’s bicep definitively, jumping to your feet as you bent in half to stretch out your limbs. peter stared at your ass toned calves, and thought that he should work on his legs as well.

“oh hey, it looks like bucky and steve are done!” you pointed at the two heaving supersoldiers, who had stopped fighting altogether so they could stare at you and peter.

bucky mouthed “what the fuck?” to steve. steve mouthed “language” back.

--

peter was busy scrawling illegible physics notes as he, tony, and bruce watched planet earth intently. bruce was busy jabbering away at the “incredible biological discoveries” that david attenborough was narrating, and tony was absentmindedly filing his nails while occasionally poking peter in the back with his toe to correct him on a mistake he’d written.

“hey dad. bruce.” you caught sight of peter’s unmistakable form, hunched over the glass coffee table with papers scattered haphazardly across the surface and a bulletpoint pen between his teeth tha you found very seductive endearing.

“hey peter!” you squeaked. “it’s- uh, fancy seeing you here!” you blurted, cheeks heating as peter turned to you with his cute stupid fucking glasses.

“hey,” he raised his eyebrows. “you come here often?” peter purred lowly.

you gulped, unsure as to why he was bothering you so much today. maybe your period had come early.

“no, actually. i was stopping by to meet my real estate agent here; i’m loving this property,” you played along, tucking yourself into peter’s side.

“ah, well, they’re not here at the moment. i think they got stopped at security—something about smuggling exotic animals. but i could be your tour guide, if you want? i’m very… thorough.” peter waggled his eyebrows.

david attenborough began discussing whale mating habits.

“oh, are you now?” you challenged, biting your lip smugly as you watched peter began to stutter.

“y-yes, i am. and, as a matter of fact,” peter turned to pull something from his pocket. he presented you with a microfiber cloth. “i’m such a gentleman, i’ll even clean you up after.”

peter’s head was suddenly slammed into the glass table. tony had rammed his foot (not just the toes) against peter’s curls.

“stop sexing up my daughter, spiderling. i’ll take out your suit’s built-in heater.”

“i’m sorry, i’m so sorry, mr. stark,” peter sputtered.

you giggled at his immediate change in attitude. leaning in, you murmured into his ear. “me, you, my bedroom, nine pm. i’d like that thorough tour.”

neither of you were sure if the offer was genuine.

--

sam had invited the team to a backyard party with his family, but not without warning everybody to watch their language around the kids. (it was an empty threat; everyone knew sam would be the first to slip up.)

you were “chatting” with a little kid; in other words, nodding along as they infodumped about cretaceous period with surprising expertise for a 5 year old.

you felt a poke in your side and screamed embarrassingly loudly. peter stared at you for a second, cheeks puffing and lips pinching together, before he burst into laughter. spit went flying all over your face.

“ew, you nasty! eugh,” you made a big deal of it. looking at the kid, you pointed at peter. “c’mon, let’s attack him! like a… brachiosaurus!”

the kid looked at you disdainfully. “the brachiosaurus was a herbivore, idiot. and it lived during the jurassic era, not the cretaceous period.”

your jaw dropped at the child’s betrayal. the mini-paleontologist toddled away, leaving you and peter dumbfounded.

“i sure missed a lot,” peter gaped.

“i- apparently, yeah.” you tucked your head into peter’s shoulder, fiddling with your empty plate. conversation buzzed steadily around you, but you and peter only cared about each other.

the two of you sat in comfortable silence, watching as sam teased his sister and as wanda was unsuccessfully trying to teach bucky how to use a pair of tongs. (bucky insisted that his vibranium hand could do the same job.)

“so, how many of those things have you eaten?” peter pointed his chin towards your empty plate.

“uh, approximately four.”

peter nodded approvingly. “four’s pretty good. you still hungry though? i could go for some food right now.”

you smiled evilly, untangling yourself from peter. “oh petie… i’m always hungry. i was skeptical at first, but damn, do these barbeque grilled fetuses hit. they’re gluten free, i think.” 

you stood up and yelled over the table to sam. “hey, are these things gluten free?” you pointed to where wanda and bucky were tussling over the grill.

sam looked at you incredulously. “no?” 

you turned back to peter. “well, you heard the man. at least they’re ethically sourced, though. better eat up quick, before roe v. wade gets overturned. fuck scotus.”

“yeah, fuck scotus. i’m all for womens’ sexual liberation. anyway, once you’re done, can you fuck me too?” peter deadpanned.

you choked. “oh, wow. you got me that time. i concede. i-”

--

“so, what’ja do for your art project?” you and peter were entwined on a common area armchair, you resting casually on peter’s lap with one hand pressed to his chest and peter’s arms pulling you even closer to his body.

“i made a collage of my feet pics.”

“huh.” you nuzzled your nose into the collar of peter’s shirt, taking a deep inhale of his cologne (his actual cologne, not his au naturale body odor). “for free?”

“what?” peter, much like everybody else in the room (who were all clearly listening but pretending not to.)

“i mean, you’re showing your feet pics for free? you’re spiderman, pete. you could charge so much for them. here, you can use my onlyfans account.” you began to pull out your phone.

“DAUGHTER?” tony roared from the couch diagonal to the two of you. whoops.

“…father?”

“can somebody tell me why my pure, uncorrupted, virtuous daughter is in the lap of a hormonal, horny teenage boy? god knows what the white sticky stuff actually is…” tony cursed under his breath. “and would somebody like to explain why the words onlyfans, peter parker, and feet pics are being used in the same sentence and coming out of my daughter’s mouth?” 

you cringed at all the innuendos (intentional and unintentional) that tony had just dropped in front of nearly the entire team.

bruce choked on the sandwich he was eagerly chowing into. natasha choked on air. wanda was biting back a mischievous smile and steve looked like he was about to faint.

bucky leaned over to sam and loudly whispered, “what’s an onlyfans?”

--

friday rolled around, which meant it was time for the avengers’ weekly family bonding event. this week, it was movie night. wanda and natasha were clapping enthusiastically as sam and bucky danced along to the jingle bell rock winter talent show performance, which meant you and peter could snuggle up to each other and converse freely without fear of being overheard.

peter’s head was in your lap, and you were mindlessly scratching and tugging at his curls as you smiled at your teammates’ antics. even from this odd, unflattering angle, peter couldn’t help but think you were the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. the television screen illuminated your face and made your eyes sparkle more than they usually did. and he had the perfect view of your lips—so soft, sensual, always containing such happiness, always begging to be kissed…

“hey bug?” you looked down at peter, smiling softly with the look you seemed to only reserve for him.

“hi,” peter whispered breathlessly, heart racing at the nickname. the corners of his eyes crinkled in the way that seemed to be only reserved for you.

“uh, this might be a- a little forward, but what are your weekend plans, ‘cause-”

“homicide.”

“excuse me?” you squinted at peter.

“you heard me. this weekend, i plan on committing homicide.”

you sniffed, a little disappointed in where the conversation had gone but willing to play along nevertheless.

“that’s it?”

“what do you mean, that’s it? what are you doing?”

you smirked deviously. “UR MOM!” you burst into a fit of giggles that peter found adorable, so he couldn’t stop himself from laughing with you.

“my mom- my mom’s dead!” he said through cackles.

the two of you looked at each other and only laughed harder, garnering the attention of the rest of the team. 

wanda opened her mouth to speak, but tony was too quick.

“alright, this has been going on for too long. peter, off of my daughter. daughter, off from… underneath the kid.” he cursed. “god, that sounds so wrong.”

“what?” you questioned, genuinely confused at what the issue was.

peter rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, a warm pink crawling up his cheeks and to the tips of his ears.

“what? the problem is, you two are discussing matricide in front of a team of superheroes, not to mention practically dry-humping each other in a public space! not that it would be acceptable in a private space, but you get what i mean,” tony gritted.

“while we’re at it, can we talk about how your daughter has a stash of breast milk? and peter has menstrual blood? where do you even get the menstrual blood, peter?” natasha shook her head before gasping in horror. “it’s not- it’s not hers, is it?”

you waved your hands. “no, ew, gross! on the plus side, if it were hypothetically mine, that would mean i’m not pregnant.”

tony glared at you, finger in the air pointing shakily at your chest.

“okay, am i the only person who’s worried about the murder bit? because i’m pretty sure the kids were talking about cannibalizing dead fetuses at the party i threw last weekend—”

tony shrieked. “excuse me? you just said you weren’t pregnant, missy. where are you getting the fetuses from?”

“i said, hypothetically, but anyway-”

tony slapped himself in the face a few times. “god, this is why we need to stock up on condoms around here. do you guys even have sex ed in school? i don’t care if the two of you,” he waved a finger between you and peter, “are doing the deed—wait no, i do—but please tell me you’ve had the banana demonstration.”

“tony, i think the kids are quite a nice couple,” steve chimed in bravely. tony spun around and gave him a withering glare, but the supersoldier didn’t back down. “i said what i said. well, peter should definitely shower more, three weeks is criminally disgusting, but other than that, they’re good for each other.”

wanda nodded seriously. “i can hear both of them thinking about jumping each others’ bones every time i see them together. it’s kind of annoying, actually. so if you just let them fuck, my mind would greatly appreciate that.”

bruce sighed. “the sexual tension is so obvious that david attenborough doesn’t even need to narrate it for me to identify it. it’s like when those two whales were mating…”

tony dragged his hands down his face, overwhelmed. you and peter’s hands had found their way closer to each other, despite your bodies being a modest distance apart, and your pinkies intertwined reassuringly.

“care to explain?” tony waved his hands around. “the sexual tension bit? the cannibalism? the feet fetishes? just… anything?”

“it was a joke, i swear, mr. stark!” peter jabbered desperately. “it’s… a game we play. where we try and come up with the most ridiculous conversations and then just keep it going.”

you nodded furiously. “right! and i’m totally the winner. none of it was real. plus, friday would have alerted you if i ever made an onlyfans account.”

tony stroked his chin contemplatively. “so, the sexual tension bit? that was also a joke?”

peter opened his mouth, “ye-”

you opened your mouth, “no!”

the two of you gaped at each other.

“what we mean to say is, no, it’s not a joke! yes, there is… sexual tension.” you widened your eyes at peter pleadingly.

tony mumbled angrily to himself, pacing the room as the avengers watched the live-action reality tv unfold before them.

“is there really sexual tension between is?” peter hissed at you.

“uh, yeah. unless you were being serious about wanting to thoroughly fuck me and also fuck me after i went through the entire supreme court, then no, that would just be flat-out sexual.”

peter pursed his lips. “right, okay then. you’re right. there is sexual tension between us.”

you mock pouted. “so you’re saying you don’t want to thoroughly fuck me?”

peter turned bright red just as tony turned to the two of you, who had gotten much closer to each other in the time that he’d been worrying.

“gross! i’m getting secondhand cooties. whatever, you guys go have a play date or something. just… please be more classy than cady and aaron, dear god. the teenage foolery in this movie is actually-” tony shuddered, unable to express himself with words.

“i’m still interested in the property, y’know?” you whispered.

“well then, can i extend another real estate tour offer?”

“absolutely. and i will gladly take you up on that offer.”

you took peter’s hand, the two of you giggling madly as you raced and slipped down the hall towards your bedroom. you heard tony groaning and whining from the common room before he shouted, “keep it pg-13 in there!”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

peter parker masterlist | main masterlist

taglist:

@bambamwolf87 @cowboibeepbeep @yourallihave @im-a-slut-for-fluff

[eddiemunsonfanfic]

Crochet Monsters

Eddie Munson x Female Reader

Summary: Reader is a member of the theater club of Hawkins High School, and their rehearsals are usually the same days that the Hellfire Club meets to play D&D, which means she sometimes can stop to speak to their dungeon manster, Eddie Munson, who might not be as mean as he’s rumored to be. Once he learns that she enjoys crochet, reader decides to crochet something D&D-inspired for Hellfire’s dungeon master.

Or at least, that was my idea, but I had so much fun writing, that it grew into something bigger, and I hope some of you can enjoy this fic too.

You twirled around on the empty stage, letting your shawl fly, channeling your best impersonation of Stevie Nicks.

Sure, the shawl was not as gorgeous as the ones Stevie Nicks wore, but you had made it yourself, you had spent weeks and weeks crocheting it, going back and forth with the pattern, until you finally, finally, finished it last night.

You had worn it for your rehearsal with the Hawkins high school theater club, earning some compliments on it from clubmates, albeit also some eye-rolls from others, but you were too happy with your shawl to care.

Your clubmates had left already, but you had stayed for a little longer, wanting to rehearse some of the lines you thought you hadn’t delivered good enough, and after that, you couldn’t help yourself from getting onto the stage to give the shawl a twirl.

It wasn’t a big stage, neither were you in a real theater, but it was better than performing in the school's gym like you had been doing until this year, when the school’s principal finally gave in to the club’s director begging for a place and a stage for the club’s rehearsals and performances.

You twirled again, humming Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”, smiling at the fringe of the shawl flying around…

…your smile died on your lips when you looked up and saw Eddie Munson at the door, looking at you with a smile and seeming utterly amused.

You stopped mid-spin, stumbling a bit, the shawl hitting you on the face, which only added to your embarrassment. You hadn’t expected to be caught fooling around, dancing and spinning on your shawl, and you were mortified.

You had been sure nobody was around, it was late enough and nobody usually wandered to the theater, and even though the room that the Hellfire Club used was on the same corridor, you thought they had finished and had left already.

“What the hell are you doing here?!”

You snapped before you could stop yourself, you didn’t want to be rude, but you were utterly embarrassed, frozen in place until you forced yourself to jump down the small stage, resisting the urge to hide in your shawl as if you were one of those cats who thought that hiding their face meant nobody else could see them.

“Good evening to you too,” Eddie chirped as he walked into the theater, still with that amused smile on his face, and if he was about to mock you, you might have to hit him with the shawl and run.

His smile did look a bit mocking, just the tiniest hint, but it looked friendly too. You supposed that it could have been worse if anyone else who’s not Eddie Munson would have walked on you fooling around…after all, if he now might be thinking that you’re a weirdo, most of the high school thought that of him too.

To be fair, he was kind of a weirdo. Not in a bad way, no, you didn’t think so, despite what people might think. He just happened to like things that not most people of the school were into, like metal and that d&d game he played with his club.

It wasn’t like your club was popular or loved among the popular groups either, and some people at the school would call the theater club members weirdos too, but you knew it was not the same as with Hellfire Club. Plus, you didn’t have to deal with all those bullshit rumors and stupid press that surrounded d&d and that followed Eddie’s club, but that Eddie did nothing to chase away.

To be honest, you thought it was a bit Eddie’s fault too, with that brash personality of him, or rather, that facade, because you were not sure of how much of it was true Eddie and how much it’s performance…he could land himself a role on the theater club if he wanted…and if he hadn’t scared or weirded out some of your clubmates.

Because that was the thing with Eddie. He was loud, he was brash, he could be mocking and condescending with those outside his club, he didn’t hide his distaste for some of the people and groups of Hawkins high, and you’d admire his way of being unapologetically himself, if it weren’t for his patronizing ways and because sometimes, his outbursts ended up scaring and pushing away people who you thought were honestly nice, even if they didn’t share Eddie’s interests, pushing people into believing that he was a weirdo, a freak, mean and scary…

However, with him standing there close to you, with a smile that’s rather cute and at odds with his bravado, those frizzy curls bouncing crazily here and there, making his hair look like a birds nest, and with those wide doe eyes, it was hard to think of him as scary.

“So, what was that?” He asked as he wiggled his arms, mimicking one of your twirls. You were embarrassed, but you had a hard time taking offense when he looked so damn silly doing that twirl while wiggling his arms. “Part of whatever show are you guys doing now?”

You didn’t answer, just shook your head as you rushed to get your things into your bag so you could leave. You were still embarrassed, and even though you didn’t think Eddie was an asshole per se, you were not totally sure he wasn’t seconds away from mocking you, and you didn’t want to be there for that.

“So what, are you practicing for a cheerleader audition?”

Eddie kept going, seeming thoroughly amused and with a silly, shit-eating ginn. You didn’t answer that time either, you just gave him a look before rolling your eyes at him. Sure, you liked theater and you may have thought it could be fun to do some of those cheerleader routines, but you would not dare to audition for it, neither did you feel like you’d fit in.

“It’s a bold choice but I think you’ll pass the audition, cheerleading will be cooler when you’re wearing capes,” Eddie said as he gestured to your shawl.

“It’s not a cape, it’s a-” you began but stopped when you realized that he probably knew what a shawl was and he was just either joking around or mocking you…you hoped he was joking. Sometimes it was hard to tell with Eddie.

“Hhmm…it’d be cooler if it were a cape,” Eddie said, taking the shawl from your hands, throwing it around his shoulders, and giving it a twirl.

There he stood, Eddie the Freak Munson, the guy who half of Hawkins high thought was an evil Satan worshiper, with his Hellfire t-shirt and ripped black jeans, wearing a lacy shawl around his shoulders and doing a clumsy twirl.

It was so bizarre. So silly. So stupidly cute. You couldn’t help a quiet snort as you looked at him, a smile tugging at your lips, which seemed to make Eddie’s smile grow bigger. Was an allegedly Satan worshiper allowed to have such a damn cute dimple when he grinned?

“You’re right, it’d be cooler if it were a cape.” You played along, Eddie’s silliness and good mood rubbing on you, pushing away your embarrassment. “But with how long it took me to make this as it is, I can’t imagine a cape,” you sighed, wondering how many months would it take to crochet a longer cape.

“Wait…you made this?” Eddie asked and you didn’t think his brown eyes could get even wider but they did, as he looked from the shawl still around his shoulders to you. “Woah, that’s impressive, sweetheart!”

Something fluttered in your belly at his compliment, a warm, proud feeling spreading through your chest…you were not as used to that feeling as you’d wish. “Thanks.” You looked down, shy, before making yourself look at him as you smiled…Eddie was right, you made that shawl, it was impressive and you should be proud.

“So, you make costumes for your club too?”

“It’s not a costume…” You fidgeted, unsure if he was joking or not.

“No, I know! I didn’t mean it that way!” Eddie raised his hands, the shawl sliding down his shoulders slightly before he tugged it in place again…it still looked at odds with him, but the silly image made you feel less defensive. “I just mean…if you were able to make that, then you sure make the costumes for the plays.”

“Oh…” You looked at Eddie, squinting a bit…you still feared you were being made fun of, it wouldn’t be the first time, but Eddie looked genuine. “I don’t…we don’t really have costumes, we just use whatever we have at home.”

“Well, then…” Eddie looked at you, theatrically throwing one end of the shawl over the opposite shoulder, almost cape-like, making you smile again. “I ought to steal you for Hellfire’s costume department, then,” he said, his tone conspiratorial. “We don’t even have one, so you’d be the boss of the department…sounds sweet, uh?”

“As sweet as being boss sounds,” you kept going with the joke. “I’m not going to spend months and months crocheting costumes for your game.”

Eddie gave you a reproachful look, pretending to be offended and pressing his palm to his chest as if you had wounded him, so theatrically dramatic and so damn cute at it…maybe he should be the one joining the theater club.

“You could join anyway, if you wanna.” Eddie shrugged, looking down.

“Hellfire Club?” You frowned, wondering once more if he was joking or not.

“Mmh mmh.” Eddie nodded. “You like that theater stuff, uh? Acting?” He gestured to the stage. “If you come to play d&d, you can make  your own character, you’d act like them while we play…pretty cool, uh?” He added when you seemed unconvinced.

But the thing was, you weren’t unconvinced. You had read a bit about d&d, as it caught your attention, and it did sound like something you might like…but the Hellfire Club didn’t look very approachable. Sometimes Eddie would look silly and cute, like now, but other times, most times, he and his Club could look rather mean, and the fact that there were only guys wasn’t inviting either…

“Maybe…wouldn’t you be violating the ‘no girls rule’ of your boy's club by inviting me?” You tried to sound disinterested and joking so as to hide your insecurity.

“What, it is not a boy's club!” Eddie huffed.

“No? Why are there no girls in it then?” You squinted at him.

“Dunno…” Eddie shrugged. “Girls don’t like d&d?”

You huffed, shaking your head and rolling your eyes. “Sure…have you ever asked one?” You asked and Eddie just muttered nonsense like a grouchy toddler. “There you have it.”

“I’m asking you now.” Eddie shrugged again. “So what you say?”

You bit your lip…you were curious…it sounded fun…but you didn’t dare. You were afraid of being judged by the guys of the club, of doing something wrong or playing badly, of making mistakes and they laughing at you, maybe even Eddie.

“Why don’t you join the theater club?” You threw another question instead of answering his.

“What?” Eddie blinked at you, seeming taken aback.

“That game of yours, you said it, you act like your characters so…you might like acting too.” Besides, he played guitar in a group too, you knew it, so he was used to the stages. “You might like the club.”

“Nah…” Eddie scrunched his nose, shaking his head. “You theater kids are weirdos.”

“Excuse you?!” You gaped at him, even if you couldn’t help your snort and smile, Eddie was smiling too, clearly joking. “You call us weirdos? You and your Hellfire guys are the weirdos!”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but your people are the biggest weirdos,” Eddie retorted and you tried so hard to stop smiling like a fool but couldn’t.

“You and your club are the biggest weirdos, Munson,” you pretended to scorn at him which just made his playful smile grow wider

“No, you are the biggest weirdos, missis.”

“No, you are.”

“No, you are.”

“No, we are!” You changed tactics, a sly smile growing when it worked.

“No, we are the- wait, what the shit,” Eddie stopped himself when he realized that he was about to say they were the biggest weirdos and you burst out giggling. “You trickster, evil thing…” He scowled at you but he was still grinning. “You’re mean…that’s what they teach you in your club? To pretend to be nice and have everyone believing it when you’re actually the meanest person?” He sounded so comically dramatic, you may really have to kidnap him for the theater club.

“Hhmm hmmm.” You nodded, trying to keep a serious face and failing. “The opposite of you. You pretend and trick everyone into believing that you’re the meanest when you’re actually the nicest.”

You were almost too shy to say that, a joke that you thought may dance on the line of the truth, and you were not sure of how Eddie might take it…or maybe you’re mistaken and he’s a mean, Satan worshiper freak for real…but you certainly didn’t feel like he was.

“Excuse me?” Eddie frowned but you could see that smile that let you know he was still joking, playing offended, keeping his dramatic antics. “What did you just call me? Take that back right now, missis, I won’t have you insulting my name!”

You couldn’t help but burst out laughing, but Eddie was laughing too.

He was silly, pretending to be outraged with his offended face, so over the top, so overacting, and he was so damn fun. Eddie was a fun guy to be around, it was not the first time you thought it, but whenever you witnessed one of his loud outbursts at the cafeteria, you tended to forget how fun he was and how, despite everything, he might be one of the less mean, nicest guys at the school.

The sound of the school's custodian closing and locking doors made you realize the hour. All the after-class clubs and activities must have finished a while ago.

“We should leave, it’s past closing time,” you said and Eddie nodded. He took the shawl off his shoulders, casually wrapping it back around yours, and the gesture made something weird and unexpected twirl in your belly. You tried to ignore it. “What are you still doing? Your friends left already.”

“Someone has to clean up after the kids.” Eddie gestured dramatically to his backpack. “Then I heard some humming and found a theater weirdo twirling with a cape.” You huffed, slapping his shoulder, but you couldn’t help your smile at his own. “Come on, the last thing I want is to get locked in Hawkins high.”

You snorted as Eddie gave you some sort of overdramatic curtsy, gesturing at you to walk in front of him and out of the theater.

“I was pretending to be Stevie Nicks,” you said as you both walked down the corridor and towards the exit. “That’s what I was doing when you saw me twirling.” You didn’t know why you told him, it’s stupid, it’s ridiculous, but somehow, you trusted Eddie wouldn’t make fun of you.

“See, told you…a weirdo,” he joked, smiling when you pretended to punch his shoulder.

*

For the next few days, you didn’t speak with Eddie at school, but whenever he was around you in the corridors or at the cafeteria, or in your shared classes, your eyes seemed to want to wander to him. It was embarrassing.

However, his eyes seemed to wander to you too, or at least, some of the times when you looked at him, you caught him looking at you too. You felt shy whenever he saw you looking, but Eddie seemed unbothered by it, smiling at you, sometimes even giving you a tiny, cute wave of his fingers.

Some of your friends from the theater club, even if not all, gave you odd, inquisitive looks when they noticed it, but you shrugged it off or rolled your eyes at them.

Part of you understood it, you knew how Eddie could come off most of the time, but still, another part of you wished they wouldn’t be so quick to judge him, especially when some of you were judged too, your club sometimes made fun of by some of the popular people, even if you didn’t have to endure as much judgment as the Hellfire Club.

A week after that day when Eddie walked on you twirling with your shawl at the theater, you arrived at the club’s rehearsal early…quite early. You may try to tell yourself that it was not to see Eddie before it, you knew he met with his club that day, but the fact remained that you stopped at the open door of the room that Hellfire Club used to check if he was in there.

A smile tugged at your lips when you saw Eddie, he had arrived early too and he was placing what seemed like game boards on the table, with little monster miniatures, seeming very focused as he read some notes.

He looked up from his notes, his eyes found you and he smiled, approaching you. He seemed to always vibrate with energy, and you wondered how he did it, if he never ran out of battery…you liked it, though, somehow it tended to put you in a good mood.

“Hey! Have you come to join us?!” He seemed happy at the idea, excited even, surprising you. You hadn’t thought that he’d really care if you joined or not, you’d thought he was just being friendly the other day.

“No, uh…I’m about to go to a rehearsal,” you explained, wondering if you had imagined the disappointment in Eddie's doe eyes for a second.

All the stuff that he’d got lying around was intriguing you, though, and you couldn’t help yourself. “Do you mind if I look at it?” You asked as you gestured at the boards and the miniatures.

“Come on!” Eddie grinned at your question, tugging you inside the room. “I’ll show you all the ways in which I’m going to torture the guys today.”

“I’ll try not to comment on how evil you just sounded,” you snorted.

“Oh, but I am evil,” Eddie said, back to his theatrics. “Didn’t you know.”

“Sure you are…” you muttered, looking at the tiny miniatures with curiosity, not touching anything in case you might ruin whatever Eddie was getting ready, before he started telling you about it, and showing you some of his notes and doodles.

“So, you come up with these ideas yourself?” You asked as you read over his notes.

“Mostly…the manual gives you some premade campaigns but I ran out of them, it gives you ideas to make your own,” Eddie explained, handing you the manual. “I mean, I’ve been at it for years now, so…”

“But the players can do whatever they want?” You asked, alternating between looking at pictures on the manual and reading more of Eddie’s annotations.

“Mostly,” Eddie nodded.

“So what happens if they choose to do something you were not expecting?” It all seemed so complicated. “Something that doesn’t go with the idea that you had planned?”

“That’s why you need to have several outcomes ready,” Eddie explained, pointing at some of the notes in your hand. “Sometimes you have to improvise…most times you can just herd them like sheep,” he said with a smug smile and you couldn't help your snort.

“This is amazing, really, it’s impressive,” you said, eyes still going over Eddie’s notes for the game, missing the pleased look on Eddie’s face and what might have even been a shy flush on his cheeks. “I wasn’t kidding when I said you could join the theater club…with all this, you could also be a screenwriter!”

Eddie snorted at that. “Yeah, I’m sure your friends will love a play in which they’re warriors fighting monsters.” He waved a hand over the board.

“I would,” you said, honest, feeling something flutter in your belly at the way Eddie looked at you at that. “Although I don’t think we have the budget to afford the monsters,” you tried to joke.

“It’s no problem, we’ll just kidnap the basket team and dress them up,” Eddie joked back and you snorted again.

“Good idea.” You nodded.

“So…what do you think? Are you joining us?” Eddie asked as you looked at the pictures on the manual.

You wanted to. It looked like so much fun, your mind already creating a character with every piece of information you had found on Eddie's notes… but you still didn’t quite dare. All those rules, all that lore, Eddie and the others knew everything about it, but you didn’t, what if you made mistakes, what if you did everything wrong, what if you upset them and they were bored or angry playing with you…

“I can’t,” you finally said. “I have rehearsals almost every time you play.” Eddie pretended to pout at it, giving you the puppy eyes. You knew he was playing around and yet, it almost made you feel guilty. Damn were those pretty eyes…and now that you thought about it, his lips were quite pretty too. It was an embarrassing thought and you shut it down. “Seriously, you know it…”

“We can reschedule,” Eddie said, shrugging as if nothing and you arched an eyebrow.

“That’s not what I heard you yelling at Gareth at the cafeteria once.”

Eddie just shrugged again, smirking. “I’m the dungeon master, I can boss them around.” You rolled your eyes at that, but couldn’t help your smile. “Come on…you can be a mage and wear your cape,” Eddie suggested, you were not sure if joking or not, as he reached to hold the hems of your shawl and tug at it.

You were so tempted to say yes, the game seemed fun, creative, and Eddie was looking at you with those pretty eyes and cute smile…

… then, some of the other guys from the club walked in, seeming surprised to see you there, and the odd looks they gave you were enough to shatter your courage.

“I have to go, the rehearsal must be about to start,” you said, but when you tried to move, your shawl tugged at you, and you realized Eddie hadn’t released it yet. He did then. “But thank you, though.” It did mean a lot that Eddie had invited you to play with his cub, and you were still surprised that he truly seemed to want you to join. “I, uh…I’ll see you around.”

*

That night, you couldn’t stop thinking about d&d, about Hellfire…and about Eddie. Had you been rude? You weren’t sure…you hadn’t even really said goodbye. You had let your insecurities win and you hated it. Why couldn’t you just go and play a game that seemed fun and interesting without having to overthink everything?

Your mind kept thinking about Eddie’s doddles and scribbles of d&d adventures, the pictures of the manual, the little miniatures…then, your eyes landed on your crochet kit, and an idea formed in your brain. It was silly, it was ridiculous…but you forced yourself not to overthink, for once.

You should go to sleep, but instead, you took some patterns that you thought might be useful for your improvised work, yarn and needle, and you began to work.

*

You made sure to have your project ready for when you thought Eddie might have another of his game meetings with his club, as always right when you were rehearsing with the theater club.

You arrived early, hoping to find him alone like the last time. There he was, once again getting everything ready before the others arrived and reviewing notes, muttering to himself.

“Hey,” you called for him from the door and you couldn’t help your smile watching his as he looked at you.

“Hey, rehearsal day?” He asked and you nodded, walking inside. “Wanna see what I’m throwing at our unsuspecting heroes today?” He grinned as he passed you his notes.

“Actually, I, uh…” You fidgeted shily. “I got something for you…for the club.”

“Something?” Eddie frowned and you nodded, silent as you reached into your bag, taking out what at first glance might seem like a ball of yarn.

It was a crocheted ball indeed, stuffed with cotton, but you had also crocheted a big open mouth to it, added a couple of big, googly eyes, and a few crocheted, octopus-like tentacles with tiny googly eyes at the end of them, trying to resemble one of the d&d monsters that you had thought would be easier to turn into a crochet plushy.

You didn’t know how Eddie was going to react, you hoped he would like it but you feared he might think it silly…what you were not expecting was the squeal that came out of his mouth when he saw the crocheted monster, a sound as silly as it was cute.

“You made this?!” His wide eyes moved from the crocheted monster that you handed to him to you, and back at the monster “This is amazing!”

Eddie looked at you as if he were a kid on Christmas morning or as if you had just given him a box full of puppies, and you couldn’t stop your grin, more than pleased at his reaction.

“I’m glad you like it,” you said shyly.

“Like it, I love it!” Eddie grinned. “Thank you, sweetheart, it’s perfect. Amazing!” He repeated his praising and you tried to ignore the fluttering in your stomach.

“I thought he could help you plot all those evil things you want to throw at your players,” you tried to joke.

“He will!” Eddie nodded, and then he tried to balance the crocheted monster on the elaborate cardboard that hid his notes and side of the table from the other players. “Look at it. Perfect.”

“He’s rather cute,” you nodded, smiling, allowing yourself to be proud of your work.

“Cute? He’s not cute!” Eddie said, pretending to be offended. “He’s evil! He’s a menace!” Yes…a cute evil menace. Just like him.

You got flustered as you caught yourself thinking that. Eddie didn’t notice, too busy looking at the monster before he grinned at you.

“Now you definitely have to join us!”

That smile of him made you want to fight your insecurities, but you fidgeted, shy.

“I, uh…I…it’s just…I..." You stumbled with your words.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Eddie raised his hands apologetically, he was not smiling anymore and you hated it, his brash and confident bravado pushed aside for once  “You said no, I’ll stop being annoying, thanks for the monster, though, it’s perfect.”

“No, no, no, it’s not that! Not at all, you're not annoying!" You rushed to say, you didn’t want Eddie thinking that. “It means a lot that you invited me, and I think your ideas are great and the game seems really fun, honestly.” You felt shy but you made yourself tell Eddie all that.

“Then what?” Eddie tilted his head like a confused puppy and once again you wondered how he could be so endearing despite his dark looks. “If it’s the rehearsals I can really schedule the next game for a day you’re free.” He offered again.

“No, it’s not that…thanks, but, uh…” You fidgeted again. “I, uh…I just...I’m afraid.” You finally admitted pathetically.

“Afraid?” Eddie snorted, seeming amused. “You don’t really think we summon and worship demons, right?”

“Of course not,” you huffed, rolling your eyes.

“Then what?” Eddie asked again, reaching to tug at your shawl when you didn’t say anything, making you step closer. He looked curious and a bit confused, but also a bit worried as if he could feel something was really bothering you.

“I don’t know how to play.”

Eddie shrugged at you. “You’ll learn.”

“But…” You felt so embarrassed admitting all this, but somehow, you felt Eddie wasn’t going to laugh in your face. “I think I’ll play badly and I’ll make mistakes, and I won’t know how to do anything, and you all will be bored and annoyed…” You ranted, berating yourself.

Eddie was frowning at you, and you feared you had annoyed him already, but he just seemed puzzled, as if he hadn't expected you might feel like that.

“We really look like assholes,” Eddie said and you almost panicked…sure, sometimes they looked intimidating and kind of unapproachable but you didn’t want Eddie thinking that you thought that way of them.

“No, no, no, I didn’t mean, it’s not- '' You tried to explain but Eddie was back at smiling and so you’re not sure if he was just joking or not.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know something or if you make mistakes, you’ll learn, we won’t be annoyed or bored. I won’t be,” Eddie told you, he didn’t sound joking now, he sounded serious and you almost believed him. “And if any of the guys is an asshole, then I’ll just release a horde of orcs at them.”

You snorted, despite your shyness, and Eddie’s smile grew. “That sounds hardly fair,” you said.

Eddie just shrugged, smiling at you. “If you don’t want to play, then don’t, but if you want to, then it doesn't matter if you don’t know how, you’ll learn, just come and try it, if you don’t like it you can leave.”

He seemed so inviting…you bit your lip, looking down. “Why are you being this nice?”

“I told you to stop spreading unfounded rumors of me being nice,” Eddie retorted and you rolled your eyes, trying and failing to suppress a smile.

“Seriously, why do you care if I join?” It might be stupid but you still felt insecure.

“Well, you know, we’re a Club, clubs are always looking for people,” Eddie shrugged. “Besides, you know us, with all these sacrifices to the devil, we always need new blood.” You snorted, turning into a silly, embarrassing giggle as Eddie delivered all that with such a serious tone before he smiled again. “Don’t worry, though, I’ll rig the one at the end of the year so you’re not the one chosen to be sacrificed.”

“You really should be careful of where you say stuff like that aloud,” you said as you tried to stop giggling.

“Yeah…now that I told you all that and you know the truth, I’m afraid I can’t let you leave without becoming one of us,” Eddie said, chanting the last words.

“Then I guess I’ll have to join…” You sighed dramatically, grinning like a fool.

“Yes!” Eddie's fist bumped…damn, wasn’t he endearing.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” You couldn’t help but ask yet again.

“I’m the one asking you to join!” Eddie shook his head at you, messy curls bouncing, as if he couldn’t believe you’d ask that again. “Are you sure you want to join?”

“Yes…yes, I am.” You nodded, you were still insecure and a bit afraid, but you did want to join Eddie’s d&d game.

“Great!” Eddie’s smile grew into a grin, cute dimple and all, and your stomach did something funny. “What if you come later when we’re done, and I’ll explain to you how the game works and all that? And we can make your character.”

“Yeah…yeah, sure.” You nodded, you felt better at the idea of Eddie helping you to make a character than you having to do it on your own, and him explaining to you how to play instead of directly having to join the whole club one day.

Through the open door, you could see some of your clubmates already heading to the theater, some giving you odd looks when they saw you in the Hellfire room next to Eddie.

“See you later then,” Eddie said, releasing the end of your shawl that he was still holding.

You nodded, giving him a smile as you headed to the door, cringing at yourself when for some reason your body decided to turn back at the door to give Eddie a silly, little goodbye wave, but Eddie just gave you an even sillier curtsy in return, and you rushed to the theater grinning like a fool.

*

N/A

Thank you for reading this, if you didn’t hate it then a comment and a reblog would mean the world. Also excuse my English, it’s not my first language.

If people enjoy this, I’d love to write more of this, with reader creating her character with Eddie and joining the game, and maybe she could go see her play with Corroed Coffin and he could go see her play with the theater club...

[oathkeeperoxas]

TOP GUN / Icemav fic recs part 5

Good morning aviators, this is your Captain speaking - and I bring you more icemav fic recs to enjoy 💖

Rec list 1 here

Rec list 2 here

Rec list 3 here

Rec list 4 here

Bodies in Motion by @elwenyere

It takes Maverick a while to notice Ice is always moving.

As always, Elwen has hit it out of the park with a character and relationship study that says so much in so little, and also happens to be very hot too.

all the waves and the tides by Cristinuke

After a summer's day of playing dogfight football with the dagger squad, Ice and Mav come home to take a bath, relax, and continue their teasing conversation.

Slice of life fic and domestic fluff is just everything that I ever want, and this fic delivers in spades. Old man loving is written so perfectly as well 💖

Kissed By The Sun by @wordsonamission

After the volleyball game, Maverick is left with a nasty sunburn across his shoulders. He tries to ignore it until it fades, but the pain of the burn is starting to get to him. The guys at Top Gun give him a rough time about leaving the game early to meet up with Charlie but Ice notices that the source of Maverick's frustration isn't so much his failed dated as the tender state of his skin. Ice lets Maverick borrow a bottle of aloe and is even nice enough to help him apply it where Maverick can't reach . . . alternatively: Fellas, is it gay to smear aloe on your crush's body in the locker room after hours while making intense eye contact in the mirror?

The lengths gone to excuse slathering aloe all over your crush in this are simply epic. Men will use any reason to touch each other. Fic is well written and you can feel the summer heat radiating from it!

smoke signals by @qin-ling

Maverick figures it out on the Enterprise, sweat-soaked and high on adrenaline. Their skin brushes and it's fire in his veins, like sunlight, like a beacon in the night, and every neon sign points to— Iceman figures it out much earlier than that. Or; Maverick and Iceman are soulmates. They work it out.

Soulmate AUs in this fandom are always so crunchy, and this one does NOT disappoint! Very hot, emotionally fulfilling with excellent writing!

Bleed Out by @betanoiz

As soon as they're back from the mission Maverick goes to the hospital where Iceman is still in a coma. Things with Bradley are better, almost good, so the only thing left on his mind is the man fighting for his life - post-canon icemav looking at their history and the bits they've missed

aaaaughhhh angst my beloved... This is written with so much yearning and love and goes straight to the heart 🥺

everything's all by the way by Cristinuke

Ice and Mav have an enlightening conversation after Ice's divorce goes through.

Exes to friends to lovers is the best configuration of icemav, you can't change my mind. Very glad to have found this fic, which does the trope excellently!

twenty dollars verse by alecjbi

"Alright, the bet is $20. You have to have carnal knowledge-- of a lady this time-- on the premises." This is the story of the other time.

The back and forth between Mav and Ice here is great - love the backstory for Ice that the author crafted, and how it plays into the icemav relationship and how they approach their relationship.

your fingerprints on my skin by @saengak

Everyone calls them soulmarks—the flush of peachy red that appears on your skin whenever your soulmate touches you. It's supposed to be romantic, how the evidence of your soulmate's little affections linger. The brush of their hand. A kiss. "Don’t touch me," Ice had snapped in his face, just before the soulmark had painted itself on Pete’s skin.

Another soulmate AU, we are truly eating well. While it takes a while to get there, the end result is very worth it - and the banter and teasing at the end is so very good.

This One's For You! by ReapersOrchid

The other boys started to laugh, Slider almost choking on his spit in the process, while Ice just facepalmed slowly, hiding his face in his hands. "Oh, my god...." "Are you sure that this is the one you want, Ice?" Asked Sundown and laughed. "Unfortunately.....yes."

Short and sweet and cute, love this for Ice and Mav XD

A Shared Cup by @susiecarter

It was only a training exercise. It was only supposed to be a training exercise.

This author makes me insane I swear - this fic is so excellent, with so much ground covered in the rivals to lovers, the emotions are so thick and well earned, and the set up and worldbuilding is amazing too. Highly recommend!!

[crazyk-imagine]

Big Time Crush

Pairing: James Diamond x Insecure!Plus size!reader Characters: Insecure!Plus size!reader, Katie Knight, Jennifer “Mama” Knight, James Diamond, Kendall Knight, Carlos Garcia, Hortense “Logan” Mitchell

Briefly mentioned: Camille Roberts, Gustavo Rocque, Kelly Wainwright, Snoop Dog, The Jennifer’s Warnings: Shenanigans, Katie being a sweetheart, the boys doing their best to help James, plans not going the way anyone planned, jerky teens, don’t mess with someone the boys, Katie, and Mama Knight like, the pool is a good place for jerky people to chill in, Mama Knight always manages to find the oddest recipes  Word Count: 4,151

A/N: I honestly have no idea what happened to Dad Knight but we’re gonna pretend that Jennifer and he went through a divorce when the kids were young, and she kept her married last name

Late Christmas gift (fic) for requester @lilacprincessofrecovery​ 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You sit beside Katie, Kendall’s little sister, who’s currently working on earning a quick buck or two from the “pool jockies” as you and Camille like to call them. You glance over at her cards and see that she’s close to winning another round of go fish. 

The jockies can’t grasp the basic rules of poker so you came up with a compromise and chose a classic game of go fish. 

You lean over and whisper, “the one across from you has queens and the one to your left has seven.” 

“You’re sure?” 

“I’m right about the queens. You just need one more than the one on your right and you’ll win.” 

“Okay.” 

Thanks to your little tip, she won which none of them liked. 

“If you don’t want to lose, then don’t play,” you advise. 

The one that sits across from Katie scoffs, heading back inside, most likely getting his luggage to go home for winter break. 

“It’s been a while since you had something to eat. Do you want me to get you anything from the snack machine?” 

“I think I’m gonna head inside and go play some video games. You can join me since Kendall’s at the studio, finishing up their latest album.” 

You smile, “alright. Be prepared to lose to the master.” 

“Oh, you’re on. Oh, actually can you get some candy. Mom wants to try this weird candy recipe and I was supposed to ask Kendall, but you know, I was in the zone before he left.” 

You nod, “yeah, sure. Anything specific?” 

“No gummies and no chocolate.” 

“That leaves room for a lot of choices, doesn’t it?” 

She raises her arms, “I’m not the one who made the recipe.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” 

“I’ll wait with you.” 

“You don’t have to do that.” 

“You’re the only other person here besides my brother and his idiot friends who is actually nice to me. My mom also wouldn’t like it if I came up without you.” 

“Aww, who’s a mama’s girl.” You pull out a dollar from your pocket, reaching for your bag when you realize you left it at the table. “Hey, can you do me a quick favor and grab my bag. I want to make sure I get enough for your mom. You’ve got me curious about her future creation.” 

She nods. 

You push the buttons for the candy when a shadow blocks the light, turning you find one of the guys from the game. 

“Hey, chubbs.” 

You furrow your brows, hoping he’ll go away before Katie comes back. 

“Maybe if you didn’t eat all this junk, you’d lose a pound or two.” 

“Just because I’m getting candy, doesn’t mean it’s for me.” 

“Isn’t that what they all say.” 

You furrow your brows, “you don’t have to be a jerk.” 

“You don’t have to be a jerk, cry me a river. Quite eating this crap,” he smacks the item out of your hands. “It’s not for you.” 

You don’t look up, keeping your eyes on the floor. 

“Can’t even look away from it for a second. Pathetic.” 

He walks away when one of his buddies calls him over. 

Katie stands beside you, handing you your bag. “Are you okay?” 

You put a brave face on and nod. “Yep, all good. Now, let’s get your mom the candy so she can get started on it.” 

Katie overheard what the jerk said and wants to make you feel better, but she’s never been good at it. She’s not letting you go back to your apartment until you absolutely have to, no one should be sad or alone during the holidays. Her eyes widen at the amount of candy you got. “Okay. I think we’re more than okay. This is already a lot more than what I planned on getting.” 

“You sure?” 

She nods, “definitely.” She grabs the candy from you and holds it close to her chest. “Let’s go. If she gets started now, she can be done but the time the boys get back.” 

“You guys don’t have any holiday plans?” 

“We did but then everyone canceled so we’re stuck here but now you can hang out with us.” 

“Oh, I can? I feel honored.” 

“My mom loves you.” 

“I’ve only met her once.” 

“And she thought you really nice. Wait, until she hears about you helping me win.” 

You push the elevator close door button, wanting to get to their apartment faster. “Don’t you dare.” 

“She won’t believe me anyway.” 

“Ha!” 

The young girl shakes her head, smiling, feeling proud of herself for bed able to keep you happy… even if it’s only temporary. She has an idea that maybe you don’t actually like what you see. She sees the baggy clothes you wear to hide yourself; it makes more sense with what that jerk told you earlier. “You look nice by the way,” Katie tells you, keeping her attention on the elevator doors. 

“Oh,” you whisper, not expecting her to say that. You glance down at your usual jean and sneaker combo followed by your cute festive, semi tight Christmas holiday shirt with a black jacket to keep you warm. “Thanks. I like your shoes.” 

She smirks, you had given her Christmas shoes laces as a joke not expecting her to wear them of course but here you are. “I know.” 

-

“We’re back,” the child announces, walking into the apartment. 

“Who’s we exactly?” Her mom asks, the last time she tried to get Katie a friend it turned out to be an adult who then stole her car- or rental car, it was a blur after realizing it was a car that was in her possession was stolen. “Oh,” she notices you, standing in the doorway and smiles. “Come on in. I’m so happy it’s you. How are you?” She hugs you, you weakly hug her back. 

The negative thoughts try to enter your mind again. ‘She pities you. Forever the fat pitied girl.’ You give her a weak smile. “We got the last ingredient you needed for your latest creation.” 

“Oh, that’s so sweet but I’m pretty sure my daughter was supposed to tell her brother to get it.” 

“She mentioned something like that, but I figured why not try the vending machine first. Save a few bucks, you know.” 

“I knew I liked you for a reason.” 

“We’re gonna play games.” Katie tries to pull you towards the couch when her mom stops her. 

“Oh no. You promised to help me.” 

“But-” 

“It could be fun.” 

“Don’t side with her, please.” 

“You two could make Christmas cookies.” 

“Oh, yay. I’ve been waiting make some myself but-” ‘She’s gonna think your fat, talking about cookies.’ “I- uh- never found the time.” 

“Let’s make the cookies… from scratch.” 

“I don’t like the look you have on your face, Katie,” you tell the young girl. 

The smile never leaving her face. 

“How about Mrs. Knight and I switch places?” 

“First, it’s Ms. Knight. And no, you two can make the cookies.” She turns to you, “I have faith that you’ll make sure the cookies come out right. Katie just wants to throw flour on you.” 

You nod, “I figured as much.” 

The older woman smiles, patting your arm, “you’re gonna have fun.” 

A nervous chuckle escapes you, “I don’t know.” 

“You will and while you do, I’ll be over there on the couch reading a book.” 

“Fabio?” 

The mother of the apartment says nothing. 

“Have fun with your book.” 

She nods and heads over to the couch, getting comfortable. 

“Alright,” you turn to Katie, “what flavor are we making?” 

“Chocolate chip.” 

“Excellent choice.” You order her to get all of the items and ingredients you’ll need and remind her of the sweet outcome whenever she huffs and puffs. 

“Now can we make the cookies?” 

“Yep, let’s get started.” You tell her which ingredients you need while you do the mixing. 

You two sit and play hangman while you two wait for the cookies to finish cooking. “Seriously? You used the word ambrosia. How was I supposed to guess that?” 

She smirks, “don’t order me around.” 

“Oh,” you shake your head, “you’re evil.” 

“I don’t think so.” 

“Of course, you don’t.” The timer on the microwave dings. “I’ll check on the cookies.” 

The boys enter the apartment and slump against the couch, two on each side of Kendall and Katie’s mom. “I smell cookies,” says Carlos, with a confused expression. 

“I do too,” Logan and James add. 

“Mom?” 

“Ask your sister,” she flips another page of her book. 

“Okay, Katie. I-” You scream, almost dropping the hot tray of cookies. “Geez.” You grab a towel and set it on the counter before setting the tray down. 

The boys stare at the tray of heavenly smelling cookies... all except for James, who’s jaw is open as he stares at you. 

Katie sits beside Logan who sits beside her brother, watching this whole thing with amusement. 

‘They think your fat for making cookies... even though they look like they want one.’ You purse your lips at this next thought. ‘They can eat them without the sugar going to their hips.’ You avoid her gaze and turn towards the sink, washing the dishes so Ms. Knight doesn’t have to. 

Carlos and Logan glance at one another, eyes switching between each other and the cookies. 

The brainiac shakes his head, the helmet lover nods; this goes on for a couple of minutes until Carlos reaches for a cookie and hisses. 

“The cookies just came out. You saw her take them out,” Katie points out. 

“But- it’s cookies,” the corndog lover weakly argues. 

“They have to cool.” 

“But I want cookies.” 

You dry your hands on a napkin and slowly turn around. “If I,” you pause when the five turn to give you, their attention. “If I get you some cookies, will you stop trying to grab them off the hot cookie sheet?” 

The boys nod. 

Katie gets out of the chair before you asked her to get you plates. 

You scoop a couple of cookies onto each plate and slide them in front of each boy, not forgetting to give a plate to Katie and her mom. 

A small smile tugs at the corner of your lips. 

“Don’t you want to try some?” You shake your head with a polite smile, “no, thanks for offering though Katie.” 

She furrows her brows. “But you said-” 

“I- I decided that I’m gonna stop eating so much candy.” 

She knows where you’re going with this and what thoughts are running around your mind. 

“Oh, okay. Well. I’m sure I can whip up something else,” Ms. Knight offers, collecting the boys’ plates. 

You shake your head, “it's- its fine. I should go back to my place.” You walk around the counter, grabbing your bag off the table. “Thank you so much for letting me hangout here.” 

“Do you h-ave to go?” asks James, voice cracking halfway through. “You could- we could hang- hang out?” 

An uncomfortable smile stretches across your lips. “I- I would but, I have to go. Maybe some other time?” You add even though you don’t really mean it, thinking he was just being nice to the “fat” girl. 

“Oh, yeah. Okay, next time.” 

A quiet, “bye” slips past your lips before the door closes shut. 

-

The boys or Katie’s mom didn’t see you much after that day. They couldn’t find you when it was only everyone in the apartment, Kelly, Gustavo, and Snoop Dog who were stuck at the studio. 

Katie wanted to invite you to stay and hangout with them since she knows your family always have plans, leaving you here alone. She was lucky to have found you a few days after everyone came back from break. 

“How was your guy’s Christmas?” you ask her, sitting in the cabana. 

“Not better than yours.” 

“Somehow I don’t believe that.” 

-

Just because the boys haven’t talked to you since you made cookies, doesn’t mean they haven’t seen you. 

Every time James sees you, he forgets everything he was doing or thinking. 

The others always encourage him to try and ask you out (not just because they’re tired of hearing him go on and on about you) but he always gives them some sort of excuse as to why he can’t or shouldn’t making it even weirder because... it’s James. But they see how he is whenever he’s near you and know that he has a big time crush on you. 

-

Kendall pulls together an idea, knowing that you and Katie are hanging out by the pool as usual so naturally he calls, more like yanks, Carlos and Logan with him. 

“Operation: Get James a date is happening today.” 

“Today? Like today-today? We’re not ready,” Logan tells him. 

“It happens and he will get a date with the one person who can get him to use less of his body spray.” 

“How are we gonna do that?” asks Carlos. 

“I’m glad you asked.” 

They rope James into coming over and helping them with their fake plan. 

“Okay, James. I’m gonna be honest with you right now,” Kendall starts. 

“We lied!” Logan blurts out. 

“That’s not what we agreed to do.” The leader smacks the brainiacs shoulder, who whines as he holds his arm. 

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. He should know. He needs to know what we’re doing here.” 

“What exactly are we doing here?” The pretty boy chimes in. 

“We’re helping you ask out the only nice girl here.” Carlos glances over at the offended duo and sighs, correcting himself. “Who isn’t dating anyone.” 

“What?” James eyes widen. “You’re trying to get me to ask her out?! No. No. No.” 

“You can do it,” Carlos encourages him. 

“It’s all going to be fine,” Kendall pats his shoulder. 

“Take these flowers,” Logan shoves the bundle of flowers into his friends’ hand, “and go find her.” 

James trips, using his hands to put some distance between his face and the floor, not wanting to damage his face; the flowers are a now mess on the floor. 

No one stops to help, only glancing over at him and continuing with their day. 

Luckily for you, you didn’t hear it, the music blasting through your headphones blocking out all and any sounds around you. 

He sighs and pushes himself off the ground with sad and slow movements. 

The other three reach out to comfort him but he continues walking past them and into the pool area since the kids from class were having fun first day of summer pool party. 

“She’s still there,” Logan weakly adds. “This is good.” 

“Let’s go before he floats in the pool, staring into the sun,” Carlos taps his helmet before running outside. 

-

You hide in the cabana, not wanting to see anyone or have anyone see you in the jean shorts, you haven’t worn in what feels like a millennium. You don’t even know why you’re here; you should be in your apartment watching some old romance movie that you find stupid because you haven’t been in love or in a relationship. 

You don’t even know why you left the cabana flap open, maybe it was some kind of subconscious self-torture because all you see when you look at the pool is everyone from class which consist of skinny girls in bikinis. 

Just as you pointed them out to yourself, the Jennifer’s give you a polite wave, something not everyone could get which made your harsh thoughts about yourself make you feel bad for thinking these kinds of things when they’ve been nice to you for almost as long as you’ve known them. Sure, they were a bit rough around the edges when you first met the girls but after helping them when they needed it, they’ve been nothing but kind to you. 

The smile falls from your face as you watch them settle onto the pool lounge chairs. ‘They didn’t need to buy new bathing suits. They didn’t gain anything during the holidays.’ You shake your head, sighing. ‘Don’t focus on that. You look cute too. Your shorts are perfect for your shirt.’ You tug your jacket closer around your torso, half tempted to zip it but deciding not to prevent yourself from overheating. You noticed James lazily floating on one of the bed floaties, staring up at the sky. 

Almost as if he could feel eyes on him, his head rolls to the side; he glances over at you. 

You both freeze, keeping eye contact with one another. You didn’t realize it at first but, you offer a small wave in his direction. 

He returns the slow wave. 

You quickly lower your head, trying to focus on your book. ‘Why’d you even accept their invite to this?’ You bite the inside of your cheek, letting go when the flavor of copper hits your tastebuds. ‘They probably invited you out of the pity. The fat girl friends with a child. They want something to laugh at.’ 

-

Katie draws James’s attention away from you. 

“What?” He asks, with an annoyed tone. 

“Get out of the pool and talk to her. She needs someone to talk to and I can’t do it.” 

“Why not?” 

“My mom wants to me to do something that other kids my age do.” She notices the raised brow and disbelief expression he has on his face. “Whatever that means. Go and talk to her. I’m tired of you not saying anything.” 

“I can’t talk to her,” he stresses the second word as if that would help. 

“You can. It’s easy. She likes music, you’re in a band. Find common ground.” 

“You make it sound like I’m going into battle... I’m not, right?” 

“You are and oh look, we’re here.” She shoves him in front of the cabana, hiding behind one of the oddly placed plants. 

James catches himself before he could trip, glancing back of his shoulder only to find no Katie. He sighs. 

“Hi James.” 

His shoulders tense up, eyes quickly moving onto you. 

“You know my name?” 

‘This isn’t awkward.’ You nod, “kind of hard not to when you’re the newest artist around here.” You purse your lips, since when did talking to others get to be so hard. ‘Have I always sounded like this?’ 

He chuckles, “that- uh- yeah, that makes sense.” 

You gulp before you ask him if he wants to sit in here with you. 

His eyes widen in surprise making you feel bad. 

Did you make him think you hated him because if so, that was not your intentions. 

“Yeah, okay.” He’s quick to walk over towards the unoccupied seat near you. 

-

Kendall and the other two exit the Palm Woods lobby with Carlos munching on whatever caught his interest in the vending machine today. 

“Where could he be?” Logan questions with his hands on his lips. 

This was not like their friend to just disappear for hours on end (even though it had been ten minutes. The debate between snacks Carlos had with himself was absolute hell). 

The boy with the extra accessory points to something in front of him, unable to respond as he continues to munch on his snack of the day. 

“Looks like he doesn’t need any help,” Kendall comments. 

“We can get rid of these costumes then, right?” Logan starts itching his collar bone. 

“After we-” 

“Nope,” the brainiac shakes his head. “Nope, besides Carlos already stained his so, we can’t use these.” 

-

“Are you gonna go into the pool at any point today?” James asks, with an innocent tone. 

“Uh- n- I don’t think I will.” 

“Why not?” 

You say the first thing that pops into your head. “I’m not a big fan of splashing.” 

“We could hangout near a corner... or something.” 

“We?” You turn your head to him. 

He scratches the back of his neck, a nervous chuckle slipping through the small smile he has on his lips. “Uh- yeah. I mean or we could- we could just stay here, if that’s what you want. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” 

‘If only he knew.’ “Maybe when there’s less people,” you grip the edge of your jacket, further curling it around you. “We could go for a swim,” your voice wavers at the word. 

Almost as if he knows what you’re thinking he offers something else. “Nah, I’ve already been in the sun for too long. I definitely don’t want to become one of those overly tan people, you know.” 

You chuckle, knowing exactly who he’s talking about and sadly, it’s usually the parents of the other kids that live here at the Palm Woods. “Yeah, smart move on your part,” you joke with him. 

The corner of his lip’s twitches, he got you to make a joke. He didn’t think he’d be able to make you smile much less make a joke, the butterflies in his stomach start fluttering faster than ever. 

“Have any of you beaten BTF yet?” 

He furrows his brows, “how do you know about that?” 

“It’s me. Katie gets bored when she beats the pool jockies and we’ve been practicing your guys’ video games so we can beat you.” 

He chuckles, “now that I know that you’re so going down.” 

“I’d like to see you try,” you playfully shove his arm. 

“How can you stand to be near it?” The pool jocky who was being a jerk before Christmas snickers. 

“What?” James asks, not understanding why this guy is being such a jerk to such a nice person. “Just don’t feed her, she’ll never leave if you do.” He turns around, heading towards the pool area feeling very highly of himself. 

Your brows knit together, a sad pout on your lips. “Let’s just go, James.” 

“What?” He spins around, standing in front of you. “No. He doesn’t get to talk to you like that and pretend like he didn’t.” 

“It’s fine. This isn’t something new.” 

“And I’m gonna make sure it doesn’t happen again.” 

You didn’t see anything because Logan and Carlos stop you from following him. “Would you let me at least-” 

“Nope,” the former shakes his head. “Not happening. Kendall and James have got this handled.” 

Carlos nods, “yeah. We just gotta trust them-” 

And then the quick screams of the Jennifer’s and pool splashing causes all of your eyes to widen. 

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Logan says, turning you around so your back is to the facing the front desk of the lobby as he avoids your gaze. 

James walks through the open doors, stopping in the doorway, smiling when he sees you and tries to slick his hair back. 

Kendall rolls his eyes, Katie walking up behind the two. “Please stop.” 

The two jump up, hugging one another as they let out a quick scream until they realize who it is and immediately push the other one away from them. 

“You’re fine, she won’t care if your hair is messed up-” 

“It’s messed up?” He asks, reaching for hair. 

“What? No. That’s not important. If I hear you did something to make her cry or anything to hurt, her feelings. You won’t know revenge until it happens to you.” 

A short chuckle slips past your lips as you place a hand on James’s shoulder. “Let’s not threaten people today, Katie.” 

“I’m not, just implying what could happen if he isn’t nice,” she says, a fake smile tugging at the corner of her lips. 

“Yeah, I’m not buying that.” You start to push James into the direction of the elevators. You two stare at the doors, unsure of how to talk to one another knowing that he did- whatever it is he did because he cares about you. ‘My stomach feels weird, but I don’t have an upset stomach?’ “Thank you.” 

“It was fun.” 

“Not as much as it’ll be when I kick your butt.” 

“Oh, you’re on.” 

-

Carlos tilts his head, “does anyone smell cookies?” 

“As long as you don’t smell toast, we’re good,” Logan adds. 

“Huh?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Could you two walk any slower,” Katie whines. She opens the door, shaking her head watching the two having fun. She wanders over, leaning over the back of the couch. “Any more BTF?” 

“You know it.” 

“Cookies are done,” Ms. Knight announces, scooping the cookies off the cookie sheet and onto a plate. 

Everyone runs over to the counter, wincing at the temperature. 

“What does BTF mean?” asks James as he breaks a cookie in half offering you the other half. 

You accept, “oh, that.” You chuckle, “it was actually something I use to make fun of Katie but when I tell you, I… will painfully admit that I’m a fan of your guy’s music because it means… big time fan.” 

He leans in. “Can I assume someone here is your favorite member?” 

“Nope, let’s go play some more. I’m so close to getting the scoreboard to be all BTF.”

[cevansbrat0007]

If GP Andy is still accepting questions...what would he say is the kinkiest thing he and his wife ever got up to? Does he have anything else left on like a sexual bucket list he wants to try?

Summary: Andrew Barber is back to answer even more of your burning questions about his relationship dynamic with his wife. This time involving his various kinks and his sexual bucket list. Written from Andy's POV. Also, check out Volume I.

Warning: the following response contains mature themes, including references to sexual kinks, ass play, role play, D/s lifestyles, spanking, blackmail, oral sex, ex-boyfriends, BDSM clubs, cursing, and more. Minors DNI.

A/N: This installment of A Word with Andy Barber also contains a brief reference to my fic, Happy Place, Interrupted. For more insight into Andrew Barber and his Baby Girl, please check out my ongoing Growing Pains Series. All mistakes are my own. Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated.

___

So, it’s recently come to my attention through Baby Girl that we’ve received another question. I say “we” because I only feel comfortable answering these with her approval. We’re a team, my princess and I, and I never want to make her uncomfortable. As with the last correspondence, I have permission to answer your questions however I see fit – provided that I remain honest and that I share my answers with my brat when I’m finished. 

No problem. Let’s dive in, shall we? 

Hmm. The kinkiest thing my wife and I have ever done. Everyone seems to have their own idea on what qualifies as kinky these days, which is fine. Just keep in mind that what works for us and our marriage may not necessarily work for you. 

It’s not a secret that Baby Girl and I are big into role-play. We do it quite a bit actually. And while I tend to be the dominant force or the aggressor in a scene, we do occasionally shake things up. Recently, Mrs. Barber took on the role of a very ambitious employee who was committed to blackmailing her boss in an effort to move up the corporate ladder. 

She had also come into several very incriminating photos as well. I mean, she threatened to tell my wife and ruin my good name in the process if I didn’t see to her needs. What choice did I possibly have but to satisfy her? 

After all, she was going to tell my wife!  

And once I let her take the reins and run the show, we both got really into it. By the way, this wasn’t just a single scene, but one of many that spanned a little over a month. We met several times at the house and at various hotels – when we could, of course.

Sometimes life gets in the way of our play. Especially when you happen to have four kids. One of the times we had a pre-planned rendezvous, we got a call that Rory threw up during recess. Which meant we had to cancel so that one of us could go pick her up from school.

Anyway, what made this game especially kinky for me was that I allowed my supposed blackmailer to take even more pictures of myself in a few rather compromising positions. Which may or may not have included a video of her…

Fingering my ass. 

I’d never had it done before. And sure we had talked it over quite a bit beforehand. My lady and I watch porn together, so we’d seen videos. I’m not saying that I plan on letting Baby Girl shove a dildo up my ass anytime soon – the concept of pegging makes my dick wilt – but the whole experience was definitely different. And once she found my prostate, I came like a fucking geyser. 

After that, she sat on my face and ordered me to eat her until she was satisfied. She recorded that as well, and even played both back for me the last time we met up, just in case I got too cocky and thought about blowing the whistle on the whole thing. 

Guess that just means that I’ll have to keep doing what my blackmailer says so she doesn’t release the goods. Again, it’s not like I have much of a choice. Right? I figure I’ll be on the hook with this one for a while. 

At least until her promised promotion comes through. 

Anyway, Baby Girl also enjoys playing the role of a bored trophy wife. Which usually makes me the resident handyman. This particular scene always starts out fairly sweet and benign, but then evolves into something altogether different. 

It’s my job to try to resist her advances. But the more I do that, the more persistent and dominant my little wife (sorry, employer) often becomes. Last time, she somehow tied me up and subjected me to the most delicious bouts of torture… 

And I enjoyed every goddamned minute of it. 

I’m telling you that I never thought I would be into situations where I wasn’t the aggressor. But with her, I do. Honestly, I feel like I could spend hours watching fucking paint dry with that woman, and she would find a way to make it a good time.

Probably because we’d end up fucking on the floor or something. Whatever. I don’t know. Let’s just blame the nonexistent paint fumes, alright? 

Moving on.

In the spirit of sharing, I will also tell you that my wife and I enjoy meeting as “strangers” at random bars so that I can pick her up . I usually let her lead in those scenarios and base my various approaches on whatever vibe she presents me with that night. My Baby Girl loves it, as do I. The only thing I don’t enjoy is when other men take it upon themselves to hit on her too.  

Because she doesn’t always wear her wedding ring when we play. Drives me up the fucking wall. But since it can sometimes be an unintended consequence of the game, I usually just force myself to grit my teeth and let that shit ride. 

After all, what those ignorant fucks don’t realize is the woman they’re tripping over themselves for already has a man – me. And one way or another, she’s going home with that man tonight – whether it’s on my arm or over my shoulder. Truthfully, I don’t much care which way she chooses. But those are my sweet little brat’s only options.  

On to the next question. It seems you’re curious about my sexual bucket list. Fair question. My wife and I occasionally frequent a certain club. As I’m sure you can gather, these types of clubs are geared towards people with particular interests.

And yes, we are both members.

Baby Girl and I go together – I wouldn’t damn let my woman set foot in there by herself. Not that she’d allow me to ever go alone either. Even though I used to before I met her. At the time it seemed like the only way to get my needs met, but in all reality, I was engaging in some serious self-discovery.

For anonymity purposes I won’t give the name of the venue, but visiting always makes for an entertaining night out. We have rules for these nights of course. One that I’ll share with you all is that she wears a collar at all times. This is a must. And she’ll earn herself a spanking if she takes it off.

I might as well go out on a limb and tell you a little more about the collar, shouldn’t I? In case you were wondering, it’s made of black leather with the words “Daddy’s Girl” embossed on the front in pink rhinestones. It was actually her idea, funny enough. She surprised me with it way back when she realized that I possessed a bit of a housewife kink.   

But back to the club. Thanks to our nights out, I’ve learned that my princess can be a bit of a voyeur. She likes to watch other people during scenes. Nothing too crazy. But knowing how wet she gets seeing people enjoying a dash of pain with their pleasure…

Just anticipating the breathy sighs and delicate whimpers that are sure to come as she clings to me, her Daddy, gets me hard as fuck. Lately, Baby Girl has expressed a serious desire to (maybe) perform while others are watching us during a scene. 

At first I was against the idea. In case you didn’t already know, I can be one hell of a possessive bastard. She and I have been together a long fucking time already and I don’t plan on changing any time soon. I just don’t. And in that same vein, I also don’t want anyone seeing my woman the way that only I have been allowed to see her. 

Look. I know she had two other partners before me, but I don’t give a fuck. I will continue to pretend like they don’t exist unless one of them feels like showing up at my front door. I’m looking at you, Malcolm Waters. Fuck around and find out again if you want to, buddy. 

That aside, I simply don’t like the idea of anyone who isn’t me knowing what Baby Girl looks like when she cums. It’s a beautiful sight that simply isn’t meant to be shared. Nor do I want them seeing her body, not when every inch of those sweet, luscious curves belong to me.

Daddy doesn’t fucking share. It is what the fuck it is. 

But since she was apparently expecting my reluctance, my Baby Girl came prepared with a compromise. What she wants instead is for me to punish her during our scene and then “force” her to suck me off as penance. I get to choose where I want to cum – be it in her mouth, on her face, or on her chest. 

I’d be lying if I said the thought didn’t excite me. And if the situation proved to be too much for either one of us, we could always tap out and resume the scene again behind closed doors. But even though it’s a tentative thing, I suppose you could throw it on our list. Now, how’s that for an answer?

As always, I hope my above responses to all of your questions will continue to suffice for the time being. Thank you for being so respectful. And again, should you find yourself with more, please feel free to pass them along.    

Sincerely, Andrew Barber

[blackjackkent]

what do you think wouldve happened in an alternate universe where hector let karlach become a mind flayer?

(A/N after writing this whole answer: whoops, this got out of hand, hope you're okay with an Unexpected Fic. XD Also maybe a smidge weird/dark at the end, although not a ton I hope? Certainly no more than the whole game is weird/dark. XD Anyway I hope you enjoy. <3 )

Ohhhhhhhhh.

Anon, I love you for asking me this question. <3 A very intriguing one!

And it is because I love you for asking me this question that I have braved looking up a video of Karlach actually becoming a mind flayer, which I had put off doing because I am a softheart and I knew it would hurt and also make Hector yell in my head. XD And when Hector yells in my head it's a whole thing because he does double Flurry of Blows against the inside of my skull for 140damage and it's rough enough in there already.

However! I have now watched it and done some thinks. (Hot damn, Lae'zel is MAD too, at least in the version of the scene I watched. The whole thing is very upsetting.)

Fundamentally it would be a tragedy, and not just for Karlach. Watching the way the scenes play out - there is just enough of Karlach in her speech that Hector would not want to disconnect from her. I think perhaps it touches on the same hope that kept him expecting a miracle for her heart right up until the end of the game - somehow, somehow we can make this work, somehow we will find a way...

But there is no way. This is who she is now, a creature of the Astral Sea with his love's voice and an empty place where her soul should be. And unlike the engine situation he can't even kiss her to make himself feel better because she looks like a squid.

-----

The one saving grace is, I suppose, she does seem happy enough. In the epilogue, she states that she has found a way to get brains to eat by consuming from terminally ill patients at a clinic in Baldur's Gate, people who have volunteered for the process because they are about to die anyway. And she talks about helping all of them live on by absorbing their memories and carrying them with her.

It's... sweet, in a way, Hector supposes.

He tries to keep busy. There's no battle in Avernus to occupy him in this timeline, so he primarily works with Jaheira and her kids on rebuilding. It's hard, physical work; it keeps his mind occupied. At first he sleeps at the Elfsong; later, after some nudging from Rion, Jaheira offers him lodging at her home, where he takes a hand in raising the latest crop of orphan children she is protecting. He sees Baldur's Gate start to bandage its wounds and begins to believe there was some purpose to all his struggle.

But his own wounds do not heal so easily.

He visits the clinic often. He and Karlach talk. Her voice is a slow near-monotone in her accent, unlike anything he ever heard from her before. Sometimes he can hear a twinge of her humor or a turn or phrase, and his heart leaps... but other times she speaks of things like destiny and infinite time in a way that reminds him more of the Emperor than the woman he loves.

She never laughs. She doesn't curse. There is never even the slightest mention of sex; though she still fully understands a double entendre when he makes one experimentally, she seems to take no interest in it. She seems to exist slightly beyond him, with a view of the world that is no longer of the Material Plane.

And yet... she does know him. She remembers everything - stories he told her of his childhood in the monastery, details of Selunite rituals she learned from him, quiet moments in camp he half-forgot himself. She still calls him Soldier, and sometimes Hec. She remembers her own parents; she remembers the city. There is just enough of her still in there... just enough for it to squeeze his heart.

----

One day she walks (well, floats) with him to the Singing Lute; she sits with him while he eats. They talk about the rebuilding; he points out from the balcony some of the new homes he has worked on. She is quiet for a long time. "It is good to see the place begin to live again," she says, in that strange cool slow voice that has replaced the old jocular drawl. "It's what it was all for."

He nods. "Do you regret it? Any of it?" Do you remember what we had? What we've lost?

"How could I, Soldier? The city still lives. You still live." A long pause. The old Karlach might have laughed sardonically, but there is no humor. "Even I still live, and I have grown beyond myself. What is there to regret?"

It sits like a rock in his stomach. If she is content, what more can he ask for? And yet it hurts... it hurts...

-----

Jaheira notices that he begins to withdraw back into himself, that he is quieter and more serious. She mentions it to Gale, on one of his visits to the city from Waterdeep.

"You're not wrong there," Gale agrees. "You weren't around yet, when we knew him fresh off the nautiloid. He was much more careful, then. Very controlled. The very picture of monastic stoicism - in between the panicked realization that we were all undergoing a supreme nightmare that never ended, of course. He lightened up, over the months - certainly by the time you knew him."

Jaheira purses her lips. "And this... he is returning to his old ways, you believe?"

"I don't think it would be unreasonable to assume," Gale says, with a sort of bleak humor, "that Karlach is no longer providing the same amount of compensatory levity that she used to."

-----

In the end, almost two years later, Lae'zel is the only one who speaks to him of it directly, and she is brutal - but effective.

"You have been hollowed out, she'lak," she says bluntly, on one of her rare visits from the Astral Plane. "It is a lessening of you. Do you still trail after your ghaik as if bound to her by a lead?"

"I have done much in the city since you left," Hector says, somewhat defensively.

"Chk. I do not speak of your body's business, k'chakhi. I speak of your mind. Your heart. You have lost yourself. You live only for others."

"As I was raised to do. As I have always done."

"Hector." She rarely speaks his name directly, but she does now, and it makes him jump. "You know of what I speak, and I will not have you ignore it. Your work in the city is admirable. You have cause for pride and contentment. Yet you pine after Karlach as if you hope to find her in the shell wearing her voice."

"She's still in there, Lae'zel."

"You mislead yourself," she spits. "Was it not you who taught me the strength to look beyond mindless devotion?"

That stings, and unconsciously he stands up a little straighter. "This is not mindless. It has been earned," he objects.

"Tas'ki. She is ghaik," Lae'zel says flatly. "What remains of her will dwindle, day by day. You know this as well as I." A pause. Then her eyes soften, and her voice with it. "You do not honor her sacrifice by this emptiness, Hector. Nor do you honor yourself."

He says nothing. His lips draw into a tight line. He hears her, and he does not want to.

"Think on what I tell you," she says - for all the world, now, as if she is the wise mentor and he the student in need of guidance. "You are no fool. You know I speak truth. Do not discount it."

-----

It takes a long time, but he does eventually start to come back to himself. Ten years. Twenty years. He grows old, though he loses none of his strength, his training too ingrained to allow him to weaken with age. The city reforms, stronger than ever, and he slowly begins to learn what life is, outside of both monastery and war.

He teaches self-defense to the children Jaheira rescues and others in the Lower City. He learns to (very badly) play a lute at Alfira's school. He tries his hand as a woodworker after so much carpentry work in the rebuilding of the Gate; one day, with some pride, he gifts Halsin a raggedly carved owl in return for the duck. He travels with Shadowheart several times to the House of the Moon in Waterdeep, reaffirming his faith in the light that has guided him through so much darkness.

And he reads voraciously. Everything he can get his hands on, from every library in the city. There is far more knowledge in the world, he comes to learn, than the particular cache with which he grew up.

He visits Karlach less, over time. And Lae'zel was right - there is less and less left of her each time he sees her. She is drifting away from him. And slowly he comes to terms with that - that what they had was a wonderful thing and a fleeting thing that will never come back to him. He learns to live for them both, for the life she would have had with him, had there been time.

He does not love again, though. He lived his whole life devoid of romance before he knew her, and he has little interest in trying to find it again in the years that remain to him.

For the most part, he moves on, and eventually finds himself relatively happy. But there is one last concession to sentimentality and to everything he has lost.

-----

On one bright, cold afternoon in mid-autumn, many years after the Netherbrain has faded into a bleak memory, he goes to the clinic. She is there, much as she always is; she has not seemed to age much in all these years, though the tentacles are slightly longer, a bit more nuanced in their movement.

He, though, is old; the grey dappling in his hair and beard has faded to white. His body acts as strong as ever, but time is implacable; he knows, as she once did, that he has very little left. It is a strange thing - a weakness of spirit rather than flesh, old age's deeper destruction that even the most disciplined monk cannot stave off forever. He is not dying, but he would be dead soon, likely within a few tendays.

"Hector," she says, flat and cool and almost unrecognizable, and inclines her head at him slightly. "You have settled everything?"

"Everything," he says quietly.

"You are still certain it is time?"

"Yes."

"Then we will begin." She gestures him to a secluded corner of the clinic, with a comfortable chair set up for the purpose. He settles himself there and looks up at the clinic's cracked stone ceiling and waits.

"It has been a good life," he comments, as much to himself as to her, as he waits for her to approach. "Lae'zel was right, that I had to move on. I have done much, seen much. I am proud of what we achieved - all of us."

There's a long, expectant silence. Then he leans his head back, closes his eyes. "I never stopped loving you, you know," he adds softly.

"I know," she answers, and her jaws sink into his skull.

[donnie-woomy]

I wrote a crack fic

Alia was softly sleeping, until her phone started ringing and she groggily picked up her phone, seeing that it was zero calling her.

“WHAT IS IT??!!!!”

“Hey girlie :D”

Said zero, being in a good mood.

“You wanna come with me, x and axl to chuck.e cheese?”

“………”

“:3 ?…….”

“Yeah sure why not”

“Ok let me call x and axl!”

Zero contacted X first, the call was immediately answered.

“Hey big boy~”

X said so ✨kawaii!✨ laying on his bed like a fucking anime girl.

“You wanna come with me and gang to chuck.e cheese?”

“Haha! sure thing!”

Then he called axl.

“Hey axl you wanna-“

“HI!!!!!💕😭😃🥰💝!!!!!”

“…..you wanna come with us to chuck.e cheese?”

“YEAH!!! I LOVE IT THERE!!!”

Everyone got ready to go, they all decided to arrive there in alia’s mini van (fucking boomer) and made it to CHUCK.E CHEESE!!!.

“lol aren’t you all a little too OLD to be here lmao”

Said some random Reploid girl, X kicked her in the shins and stole her hat. They all went to the games.

“x, zero….. we don’t have the cards to play games”

Axl said vewy swadwy wike he was abwout to crwy 🥺 (fuckin kil me plz). Zero had an idea.

“Don’t worry buddy I got a plan.”

X and Zero approached a couple nearby.

“Omg babe could you win some games for me pleeeeaaaaseeee??!!!”

“Sure thing bae-“

They both got jumped by the two hunters and had their cards stolen. Axl was 💞SO HAPPY💞 Alia fell asleep standing in place and x woke her up by drop kicking her. They went to order some pizza.

“Let’s go play some GAMES!!!!🔇🔇🔇”

Axl said very energetically. They played lots of games, then the buzzer for the pizza went off and zero screamed.

“It’s ok big boy the pizza is ready”

Said x so gayly

They all went to get their pizza, x and zero ate their slice ROMANTICALLY. Alia called them cringe, covering axl’s eyes. After that, they went to the prize table and axl saw the most amazing thing ever. A stuffed shrek toy with memory foam Jordan’s on. (I want it…)

“Guys look!!! ITS SHREK!!!”

An employee walked to the group telling them to shut up, alia cracked her knuckles and punched him in the stomach. Then chuck.e cheese and his friends came out to play a song, throwing tickets. Axl did his best to grab all the tickets, then chuck.e accidentally stepped on his hand.

“OWW!!!🔇😭”

“Oh sorry kiddo I didn’t mean-“

Chuck.e then got jumped by x, zero, and alia. They all got enough tickets for the Jordan’s shrek, and gave it to axl who was 💞JUST SO HAPPY💞. Then suddenly chuck.e cheese closed, they were all still inside.

“Stand back everyone!”

Alia exclaimed as she picked up chuck.e’s severed hand and was about to throw it at the window. Until they all heard a door open and hid in the play area.

“Don’t worry about my brother ViA, he’s probably asleep”

“Finally we can be alone”

They all peaked to see that it was RiCO and HATSUNE MIKU?!?!?!??!!?!?!!!!! They were making out so ROMANTICALLY!!!! X gasped! Zero couldn’t believe it, Axl was making a surprised face, and Alia pointed.

x-“IS THAT HATSUNE MIKU??!???!!!!”

zero-“OH MY GOD HATSUNE MIKU!!!!i!iii!!!”

alia-“ITS FUCKING HATSUNE MIKU!!!!!!!”

axl-“Hey look it’s RiCO :3”

It is now confirmed that axl is the only one with a functioning brain which is surprising (he’s not supposed to be the normal one here wtf?!). They all got out of there from the back door, meanwhile RiCO and Hatsune Miku carried on with their date.

The end :D

[chaoscheebs]

It's Midnight, Cinderella, chapter 1

In which Seto Kaiba meets a mystery man at a masquerade and things just click, but who could this man be...

(Chapter 1) - (Chapter 2) - (Chapter 3) - (Fic Tag)

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Sometimes, being a CEO sucked.

Once again, Seto Kaiba had to fulfill some inane obligation to attend a gathering of people who he either found intolerable, were seeking to use him to gain a step up in life, or worse, both. The worst part of it was this was supposed to be a masquerade, but no one seemed to bother putting in the effort to at least play up the one fun part of the concept and were largely in generic formal wear except for him. Pathetic.

Or he was alone in caring about style, until he spotted him. Soft blond curls falling softly to just above his shoulders. A carefully-tied cravat around his neck, ruffles adorning the bottom of his sleeves, shining buckles on his shoes, looking like he was a prince who walked out of some fairy tale. And judging from his frown and the way he looked around the venue, he was every bit as disappointed no one else was pushing style boundaries as Seto was.

Seto was hardly a social butterfly, but this man looked at least less insufferable than the rest of the people there, so he decided to walk over and strike up a conversation. If it turned out this man was just as dull as the rest, he was perfectly capable of walking away, after all.

Or he was going to strike up a conversation, but the man in question spoke first. The man looked him over, then smiled. “Thank goodness, I thought I was the only one who took this seriously. I was thinking about going home to change…” His voice was soft, but deeper than he expected for a man his size. It almost reminded him of…

Never mind what it reminded Seto of. The past was in the past, and he needed to remember that more often. “Hmph, don’t let others dictate what you do, especially when it’s clear you’re the one in the right. It’s them who wouldn’t know style if Special Summoned a monster right in their faces.”

The man laughed. “So you play Duel Monsters too? Glad to see I’m not alone there either.”

Seto faintly smiled. Well, now, this is shaping up better than expected. “Oh, really? Are you in the competitive scene?”

“Mm, sort of?” the man said, tapping a finger to his chin and tilting his head slightly to one side. “There’s someone who’s… I want to call him a ‘rival’, but is it really a rivalry if the other person never acknowledges you? Anyway, I’m looking to defeat him and prove myself to him.” He laughs weakly. “Kind of pathetic, don’t you think?”

“Only if you think of yourself as such,” Seto replied, frowning. “You’ll never defeat him if you have no confidence.”

The man laughed again. “Oh, I have plenty of confidence in my gaming skills! It’s just everything else that’s the problem.”

“Even that can have an impact,” Seto told him. “Walk tall like you mean business, even if you have to fake it. It’ll come naturally with practice.”

“Talking from experience?” the man asked with a smirk.

Seto took a half-step turn away from him, crossing his arms and scowling. “Do I look like the kind of man who needs to practice that?”

“With a reaction like that, yes,” the man said, stepping out so he was in front of Seto. “It’s kind of cute, though, in a tsundere sort of way~”

“‘C-cute’?! ‘Tsundere?!?’ What—?!” Seto sputtered indignantly. On what planet was he, Seto Kaiba, cute?!

“Extremely cute~” the man teased, raising himself on tip-toes to get closer to Seto’s face. “Adorable, even~” Seto turned his head with a “hmph”; a clear signal for the man to stop teasing him. “All right, all right, I’ll lay off now. Even if you are cute~”

“Anyway,” Seto interrupted forcefully, “what brings you here tonight? I don’t recall seeing you attending one of these things before.”

The man rubbed under his nose, suddenly feeling bashful. “Ahahaha… A friend of mine, who runs a small indie game company that’s been trying to break into the mainstream recently got an invite, and he sort of dragged me along, saying I need to ‘make more connections’ in the industry.” He looked around, frowned, then sighed as he gestured to a man with long, dark hair pulled back into a high ponytail, who was currently flanked by several women. “Unfortunately, he immediately decided to go flirt with girls instead of helping me with that.”

Seto smirked at the man’s dismay. “You know women can work in the gaming industry too, you know.”

The man rolled his eyes, or at least Seto presumed so, judging by the displeased tilt of the man’s head. “Well, yeah, of course, but I also know how he works. There is almost zero chance they’re talking about Dungeon Dice Monsters, believe me.” He shook his head and muttered, “And he knows I’m not the best at this kind of thing either…”

“You seem to be doing all right with me.”

The man heaved a sigh. “That’s different, you came up to me first. I never know where to start and how not to sound like a game-obsessed weirdo to people. It’d be one thing if this was a convention, but this is…”

“Full of stuffy executives who wouldn’t know a fun game if it noclipped through them and ragdolled in front of them?” Seto suggested.

The man smiled. “You. You get it.”

“I’d like to think so,” Seto said, smirking, “but I am more hands-on than most people in my position. Maybe if things had been different…” He trailed off abruptly. What was he thinking, he had just met this man and he almost started telling him his life story.

“Oh? ‘If things had been different’?” the man asked. The mask had some sort of tinted lenses obscuring his eyes, but somehow Seto could feel the concern in them coming through the lenses anyway.

“… it’s nothing. We’ll just say I’m fond of tinkering and leave it at that.”

The man frowned and started to reach out a hand, but thought better of it and let it drop. “… OK. If you’re not comfortable talking about… whatever it is… then I’m not going to pry.”

“Thank you.” Seto’s eyes briefly darted away, then returned their focus to the man. “I… appreciate the concern, however,” he muttered, almost too quiet to hear over the background chatter all around them. “Anyway. Duel Monsters,” Seto ever-so-smoothly changed the subject to, “What kind of deck do you use?”

“A control deck,” the man answered, “I like seeing how I can make weak monsters actually viable, y’know? It’s a fun challenge.”

Seto raised an eyebrow, not that is was noticeable behind his own mask. “Really? I know someone else who uses one, and he’s regarded as a formidable opponent.”

“Ahahahaha, you don’t say…” the man said, looking away as he absently tried fixing some imaginary flyaway lock of hair.

“He wouldn’t happen to be your would-be rival, would he?” Seto asked. “If so, you have an uphill battle ahead of you. For all the… difficulties between us, I would be lying if I thought just anyone could take him in a duel.”

The man, suddenly looking startled, waved his hands in front of him. “Oh, no, no, no! The man I’m after uses a beatdown deck and has this thing for dragon cards in particular! I’m not—I really couldn’t—!”

“Dragons, hm? Sounds like a man with taste,” Seto said approvingly.

The man’s eyes (Seto presumes) traced over the Blue-Eyes White Dragon embroidery adorning Seto’s suit, the head of the dragon resting over his shoulder. Pointing at the dragon’s head, the man says, “You’re a fan of dragons too, huh? Wouldn’tve guessed~”

Seto smirked. “You haven’t seen the best part of this yet, either.” He glanced around him, mentally calculating if he had enough space for what he was about to do, then reached into his jacket and flipped a hidden switch. White dragon wing materialized behind him, flapping gently for a moment before wrapping around him like a cape.

The man’s jaw dropped, then raised his hands just below chin-level, curled into fists. “That. Is so. COOL! Oh my gosh, that had to take a lot of effort to get right, especially with the energy consumption! I mean, whatever’s activating that has to be smaller than the compartment in a duel disk that contains the battery, right?!?”

“Correct,” Seto affirmed. “Unfortunately, that means there’s an issue with battery life that needs to be worked out still. This was only a side project I did for fun, after all.”

“’For fun,’” the man repeated. “Haaaa, I’d say that’s a weird idea of fun, but I’ve literally forced myself to learn coding and game engines so I could join month-long game jams, so I shouldn’t judge.”

“Really? What kind of games do you make?”

“Horror ones, mostly,” the man said. “At least in my indie work, anyway. I like trying different styles of game in the genre.” A thought struck him, then he quickly fished a card holder out of his pocket and pulled out a card to hand to Seto. “Here, in case you wanna check them out later.”

Seto accepted the card, nodded, and tucked it into a pocket without looking too closely at it; something he would later regret. “I’ll look into them, then.” The holographic wings flickered, causing him to sigh. “And that would be the battery life issue…” he grumbled, reaching into his jacket again and flipping off the switch.

“Ahaha, you at least got it working! That can be half the battle in itself,” the man said.

“True,” Seto admitted, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Still, there’s room for improvement, and one way or another, I will get this so it can stay on for a full night, damn it.”

The man smirked at him. “You’re the stubborn type, huh? How cute~”

Seto rolled his eyes, scowling but feeling faint heat building his his cheeks and ears. “There you go with the ‘cute’ nonsense again.”

The smirk became a wide grin, and somehow, Seto couldn’t bring himself to deny it was, dare he say, ‘cute’? “Sorry, sorry,” the man said, without even the faintest hint of remorse. “There’s just something about you that make me want to tease you a little~”

“You’re nothing if not bold,” Seto replied, very pointedly not meeting the man’s gaze. “Most people wouldn’t dream of attempting that.”

The man shrugged. “I spent all of high school trying to hide,”—he muttered the next part bitterly—”and apparently failing at it—” he then resumed his normal volume, “that I was bi; I vowed nothing was gonna shove me back in the closet now~”

Seto’s mask may have hidden part of the now-deepening blush, but he just knew his ears were giving it away. Damn it. “I… see. So you really think…”

“That you’re cute? Absolutely~” the man said, looking infuriatingly smug as he stood on tip-toes to close more of the height distance between them. “It’s not every day you find someone smart enough and passionate enough about his hobbies to make holographic wings for himself and who’s also charmingly dorky on top of it~”

“First I’m ‘cute’, now I’m ‘dorky’?”

“The dorkiness is part of the cuteness!” the man insisted, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. Mask or no mask, it was clear he was enjoying himself and it infuriated Seto that he wasn’t infuriated by it.

“Ugh, why are you charming?” Seto grumbled to himself, earning a cute squeak from the man.

“Y-you think I’m charming?!” he said, his previous teasing bravado fleeing in a heartbeat.

Looks like he can dish it out but can’t take it, Seto smugly thought. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t still be standing here. I don’t tolerate wastes of time.”

The man looked at the floor, shyly rubbing his arm. “Ahahaha, I guess you wouldn’t, huh…?”

Some small part of Seto recognized this as somehow familiar, but that thought was shoved aside in favor of enjoying watching the man squirm. “Anyway, do you happen to have your deck on you? I want to see what you’ve got.”

The man frowned, then shook his head. “Unfortunately, I left that at home. Apparently most people frown on dueling during formal events?” he said, like this had either happened before or he had been scolded before he had a chance to try. Probably both, Seto thought; this man looks like the stubborn type.

“Sounds like it’s a ‘them’ problem and not yours,” Seto said before pulling out his phone and unlocking it. “How fast could you assemble a functional deck if you were provided cards?”

The man looked up and tapped his lips in thought. “Only functional? Probably not that long. It wouldn’t be that good, tho’. A good deck needs time and care.”

“True,” Seto agreed, tapping out a message on his phone. “I suppose in the interest of fairness, I’ll be making one up on the fly as well. It’s no fun crushing an unprepared opponent with the big guns.”

“Yeah, it’d only—what?” the man said, abruptly changing gears when the penny dropped. “Are you seriously—?!”

He didn’t need to finish the question; as if on cue a man appeared, carrying a large and very familiar briefcase. Satisfied, Seto tucked his phone back in his pocket and started to walk away in the courier’s direction. “I am. Come along now, time’s wasting.”

The man stared at him for a moment, laughed softly as he shook his head, almost as if he was used to this sort of thing, then went to follow Seto.

-----------

“Haaaa…” The man made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sigh as he set down his hand of cards. “Told you it wouldn’t be a good deck.”

Gathering his cards up, Seto replied, “True, but it put up a better showing than expected. You might have a chance against your mystery rival.” They had long since moved to a private room at the hotel the event was held in, because apparently it was considered rude to play cards during a non-card game event. And they dare call themselves professionals in the gaming industry; pathetic. Maybe if they would actually play a game every so often they could come up with something interesting.

“You really think so?” the man asked, doing the same after adjusting his mask. He seemed anxious about removing it, so Seto let it go and thus there it still sat upon his face.

Seto gets it. He doesn’t always want to be himself either, so he left his own mask on in some weird sense of solidarity. “I do. It takes a significant amount of skill in of itself to make a functioning deck in such a short time frame, let alone one that could actually give me pause.”

The man’s lips curved up into a smile—a genuine one, not a teasing one this time—and Seto found himself wanting to see more of it in the future. “That really means a lot to me; thank you.” The man then set his cards aside, stretched across the table, a hand on the table for stability and the other on Seto’s shoulder, and kissed Seto on the cheek.

The man lingered for a moment, and that’s all it took. Maybe the rush of winning got to Seto, or maybe the man’s teasing flirtations finally won him over, or maybe the man was just that damned attractive, but Seto found himself reaching out and pulling the man into a proper kiss on the lips, earning him a cute squeak of surprise from the man.

The surprise faded quickly, however, as that hand on Seto’s shoulder curled itself into a fist, clutching Seto’s jacket tightly, unwilling to let go. One kiss became two kisses, two become more, until the man climbed over the table and onto Seto’s lap.

Well. At least Seto knew where the man stood on continuing on. One hand buried itself in those soft blond curls, the other rested on the man’s back, slowly sliding downward until it found the soft curve of his ass and squeezed.

For having such a dull start, this was turning out to be a good night.

[memphisnovels]

Small beginnings

Chapter 1. Hey, bug.

A Nathan Drake x ofc fic

This is based off of the uncharted movie not the games

I hope everyone likes this, it’s something I’ve been working on for a while! :)

Chapter 2 here, chapter 3 here

“Hey, it’s me. I’m so sorry, bug. Call me back when you get this. Love you.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear, pressing the play button again. Her voice resonated through the speaker once more, the voicemail I’d listened to over and over. I really didn’t even need to listen to it anymore, I knew it backwards and forwards, the way her voice sounded as she enunciated each word, the small breath she took before those last two words. She’d said it a million times before, I knew she did, just like I knew she was sorry; I guess it doesn’t really matter what I knew though.

I closed my eyes tightly, tucking my head in between my knees.

“Why do you lock yourself up in these chainsss.” Her voice echoed through our apartment, and she dragged her finger over the clothes hanging in my closet. I pressed my arm over my eyes, breathing out a laugh as she picked out a dress to examine.

“You’re wasting your time, Kate, I’m not going with you tonight.”

“Someday somebody's gonna make you want to turn around and say goodbye.” She sent me a sharp glare over her shoulder, turning the dial on the stereo causing the music to play louder. “Until then, baby, are you going to let 'em hold you down and make you cry?”

“God, you are so annoying!” I laughed as she threw a dress at my head.

The laughter echoed in my mind as my surroundings returned, the cold tiles of that bathroom pressed against my bare legs. I ran a hand through my messy curls before pressing the heels of my palms into my closed eyes. My flight to Barcelona leaves in a couple of hours and I had yet to shower or change out of the pajamas that hung from me, a combination of perfumes engrained in the fibers.

I was beginning to regret allowing Sully to recruit me once again. He’d never struggled to get me on board with any of his plans, despite my unyielding stubbornness. He had this way of getting me interested; then I’d ask questions and inevitably my curiosity would get the better of me and I’d find myself negotiating my cut with him. Magellan’s ships were a fable, or at least that’s what I’d believed, my parents had dedicated their lives to finding them, with no such luck. I had said as much to Sully when he’d first approached me with his plans. It wasn’t just my parents who’d spent years searching, he’d been hyper-fixated on the legend since I’d known him. That’s what had prompted our introduction in the first place; his association with my parents during their searches. I was so much younger then, never paying much mind to my parents’ ramblings about the riches they believed to be onboard.

“JFK please,” I spoke to the cab driver as I slipped into the back with my duffel bags. “Oh, one-stop first please, Safeguard storage down on Liberty Avenue.” The cabby nodded in response to my words. Inside my storage locker, I placed a single six-by-four cardboard box, within the box lay a piece of paper folded into thirds, inscribed on the paper was the location at which I’d find my cut from the sale of the Sancy diamond. A beloved member of the Louvres ancient collection, believed to have belonged to the Mughals of antiquity. I’d managed to swipe the cursed diamond from the museum. Perhaps swiped was an inaccurate representation, what I’d done had taken years of preparation, meticulous research, and unmatched skill. It was certainly not my first time, perhaps not even the most valuable thing I’d stolen, though, it was certainly high on the list. There were warrants for my arrest in several countries the world over, well, not for my arrest specifically but for the arrest of The Rook. Gender unknown, appearance unknown, really nothing was known about The Rook. About me, I suppose. I’d laid low for a while, cooling off from my general business, but then everything went to shit. And hey, maybe stealing the Sancy came from an angry place, but God did it feel good.

I pressed my phone to my ear, letting the voicemail play once again. The one-way flight to Barcelona was about consecutive eight hours, most of which I dozed off for content that I’d arrive at least an hour before Sully. I’d known the man since I was a kid, perhaps that is why I was extra weary of him. Or perhaps that was merely a symptom of my severe trust issues, but c’est la vie, I suppose. My connections had informed me of the company Victor Sullivan had been keeping, the company that he was now planning to cut into our deal; a fact he’d yet to tell me directly.

Nathan Drake, brother of Sam Drake, our very much deceased associate. I was willing to bet Sully had left that tid-bit out. The last I’d heard from Sully he’d acquired the cross and would meet me in Barcelona.

I camped out beside the baggage claim at customs, awaiting the intel from my connection. My phone buzzed a moment later. ‘Black utility backpack, Drake.’ The text brought a smirk to my lips. It truly was too easy, I scanned the conveyor belt, finding the bag swiftly. Sure enough, inscribed on the tag was the tell-tale surname. I glanced around for any onlookers before unzipping the bag just enough to reach within and feel around. It wasn’t long before my palm wrapped around the cool metal. In a single maneuver, I pulled the cross from the backpack and slipped it into the waistband of my shorts. Re-zipping the bag I dropped it onto the conveyor belt. I waited for Sully and his new friend to emerge from the airport before hailing a taxi and instructing it to follow their car.

My phone buzzed again, Sully this time, a text asking for the location to meet at followed by another asking if I was in Barcelona yet. I responded with a thumb-up emoji and the address I’d given the driver. Leaning my head back against the worn seat beneath me, my eyes fluttered closed. For a while, there was nothing, save for the low hum of the radio playing flamenco melodies. It was not long, however, before the memories started to flood in.

“I feel like we should go to Europe.”

I snorted as I set the table before me, adjusting the silverware that glittered under the overhead lights. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“I just feel like everything would be better there, I mean it’s Europe, how could it not be better.” 

I raised an eyebrow at her, placing the entrée plates down. “We can’t go to Europe. Dinner service starts in half an hour.”

She rolled her eyes in response. “I know I’m right, Xan, nothing would feel so bad, or hurt as much.” My heart ached at her words. I glanced at her sympathetically. Exactly five hours ago Kate had met her birth parents. They’d hugged and cried and then told her never to contact them again.

“How can you be so sure?”

She plopped down into a seat, fiddling with the edge of her black vest. “I have to be, I just have to be. Because if I’m not then I just have to accept that things might never feel any better and I’m not sure I can be okay with that.”

I studied her for a long moment. The furrow of her brows, her downturned gaze, the way her left cheek pulled in as she bit into the flesh. It was as if she was a balloon and someone had just untucked the knot, freeing all the helium within. I’d never seen her so… Deflated. “I do like sangria.” Her eyes met mine then, a little flicker of the Kate I’d known my entire life present.

“I like the idea of Barcelona.” She responded quietly. 

I shrugged. “I guess that’s where we’ll go then. We’ll spend our days lying by a beach, cooking in the sun like lizards and drinking ourselves silly on sangria and not caring what anyone has to say because all we need is each other.” I squatted down in front of her, taking ahold of her hands. “That’s all we ever need.”

“Estamos aquí, señorita.” My eyes shot open as the driver addressed me for the second time. I sat up in my seat, glancing ahead to see the bridge Sully had told me to meet him at.

“Gracias.” I responded, slipping money into his hand before exiting the car.

Sully and Sam’s brother were facing away from me, speaking in hushed tones. “There she is!” Came Sully’s familiar voice as I approached the pair.

I shook my head at him immediately before nodding toward Nathan. “Absolutely not.”

“Xanthe, this is Nate,” Sully informed, ignoring my words.

With a roll of my eyes, I disregarded Nate’s outstretched hand. “When exactly were you going to tell me about the new addition, Sullivan?”

“Right now.” He responded with a shrug accompanying a sheepish look, my irritation only grew at his words. “And by the way, what’s with the spy games why’d we have to meet here?”

I crossed my arms over my chest, holding Sully’s gaze with unwavering determination before turning it to Nate. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was but there was something vaguely familiar about him. “Just had to make sure you weren’t followed.”

“Okay, I’m pretty sure I can spot a tail, kid.” He scoffed.

A scoff left me as I scanned the bridge. “That’s funny, especially considering I’ve been on you since the airport.” My eyes returned to Sully’s as he glared at me in disbelief. “If he’s in I’m out,” I added.

“Come on, Xan, don’t be like that, he could be an asset. Just give him a chance.”

Before I could stop myself, a laugh fell from my lips. “Oh sure, you know me, always the optimist. Hey, you know what? Why don’t we all head to a cocktail bar, we can drink cosmos and braid each other’s hair.” Sully sighed exasperatedly, shaking his head in my direction. Nate glanced between the two of us, the corner of his mouth upturned. “Best of luck getting that treasure with one cross, Sully.” I turned sharply on my heel, walking away from the pair, ignoring Sully’s calls of my name. I pressed a hand to my satchel, reassurance that both crosses were safely stowed away. The corners of my lips upturned as I felt the hard metal beneath the fabric.

I chanced a glance over my shoulder as I reached the edge of the bridge. Nate’s eyes met mine as he realized the cross was missing. I missed Sully scolding him as I propelled myself over the side of the bridge, landing on a rooftop adorned by a number of constructed skylights that split the roof into pathways. I sprinted down the main clearing, one hand wrapped tightly around the strap of my back. Curls whipped around my face as I swerved between courses. Nate was hot on my tail and clearly unyielding in his efforts to catch me. I turned abruptly running down a different pathway that led to a steeple atop the building. My body crashed to the ground as another tackled me. I swore at him as he pressed my front to the cement.

“This could’ve been easy.” He chuckled, evidently feeling pretty good about himself. “Xanthe was it? Here’s how this is gonna go, Xan, I’m going hold onto these crosses and you’re gonna play nice. If you can do that then I might consider letting you back in on the plan.” He spoke after snatching my bag. I gritted my teeth, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment. I could almost hear the smirk in his voice. “Do you think you can do that?” My eyes opened as he spoke, nodding my head twice in response I clenched my hands into fists. “Good, ‘cause I really didn’t wanna have to hurt you.” He stood, freeing my limbs from his weight. I moved to my feet at once, turning to face him swiftly. Our eyes met once again as he studied me. I took a solitary step toward him, slow and non-threatening. With an outstretched hand, I offered him a pleasant smile. His eyebrows rose ever so slightly as his lips upturned, one of his cheeks had the impression of a dimple as he filled my hand with the warmth of his.

In a move that demonstrated nothing if not practiced precision, I yanked his body toward mine letting go of his hand only to reach over his shoulder and grab the strap of the satchel. I kneed him in the groin as hard as I could, a pained gasp leaving him along with the air in his lungs. In mere seconds I hooked my right leg around the back of his knee and swept his leg from under him, as he fell, I slipped the satchel from him. “Awe, I wouldn’t worry about that,” I spoke as I slung it over my body, grinning at him as he clutched his groin, face contorted in pain. With that I whipped around, leaping into the steeple, and finally putting some distance in between Nate and myself. I reached the outer edge of the roof when I heard footfalls on my tail once more. “Crap.” I breathed, glancing behind me to see Nate once again chasing after me. I dropped down onto the leaf-covered ground, bracing before standing up straight once more and taking off toward the street before me. Nate’s shouts echoed from behind me. I glanced around spotting a manmade waterfall-like feature. This could either be a really good idea or my worst yet. Leaping into the water, I ran as fast as I could, lifting my knees high with each step to move swiftly through the rushing water.

“OH SHIT!” I heard Nate shout as he leaped for me but managed to slip and fall into the pool below. I stopped for a split second to witness his fall before jumping onto the roof of a car and sliding down the window. He met my eyes as my feet hit the ground and I picked up my pace, maneuvering around the crowded courtyard to reach the car I’d hired. I accelerated immediately when the car roared to life, before slamming my foot against the break when Nate threw at the car, slapping his hand against the hood. “Listen, you don’t know where you’re going with the keys! You’re looking for a tree, right?!” He yelled in between deep breaths.

I pressed my finger to the window button, rolling it down just slightly. “Fuck off!” I responded, accelerating slightly, he remained before me, unwavering in his efforts.

“Listen to me! The eighteen were willing to wait years to go back for the gold, they wouldn’t have picked a tree as a marker.” He explained, far more calmly than before. There was a certain quality to his eyes now, something I hadn’t seen before, something almost pleading. “They would’ve picked something more permanent.”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “You’re full of shit.”

“Hey, let her go, she knows how to use the keys, so she doesn’t need us right? I guess she doesn’t need this either.” Sully called, appearing from the crowd, and pulling a worn, leather-bound notebook from the backpack.

Nate nodded, finally stepping away from the car. “Okay be my guest, get out of here.”

I shrugged, foot hovering over the accelerator as I stared at the notebook in Sully’s hand. They were right, as incredibly unlikely as it had seemed, I would need their help to find the gold. Bile rose in my throat at the thought. I sighed heavily, removing my foot from the accelerator. A knowing smirk took over Nate’s features; it suited him. He approached the car, leaning against my door, now far closer to me than I was comfortable with. The fact that he was cute made him so much more annoying. “If it’s not a tree, what is it?”

“At the auction house, Moncada called it an ‘altar crucifix.’ I didn’t think about it then, but it means that the cross was originally made to stand on an altar.”

I nodded at his words. “In a church?” It was Nate’s turn to nod now, I held his gaze for a moment, you could tell a lot about a person from their eyes. He told me this was about far more than finding some ancient treasure. “Which church?” I added, Sully’s voice echoing mine.

“God, you guys never stop, do you?” I rolled my eyes at Nate’s words. “Look, if we want to get the gold, we’re gonna have to figure out a way to trust each other.” He reached his hand out towards me. “So, give me the key.”

With gritted teeth, I held the bag toward him. “Which church?” As it transpired the church in question was Santa Maria del Pi. “Saint Mary of the Pine,” I murmured running my fingertips over the engraved tree plaque.

“You might just be a genius.” Sully praised causing me to roll my eyes, an action that seemed to be my natural state in the presence of the two men beside me. “Now you know why I brought him.”

I glanced around in search of the entrance, muttering under my breath. “’Genius' is a bit of a stretch.” Nate scoffed at my words, raising a solitary eyebrow at me. “Fine. Good work, superstar.” With that, I began to approach the nuns who were gathered by the doorway. In the reflection of the windows, I could see Nate’s eye following my profile, I wondered if it was out of distrust or if it was a side effect of an entirely different feeling, whichever it was it brought an extra pep to my step. I asked the nuns about attending the church in Spanish. The years of travel I’d undergone in my formative years had evidently allowed me to pick up many languages, however, Spanish was always the one I gravitated toward the most. When I returned to Nate and Sully they were arguing in hushed tones. I cleared my throat to gain their attention. “There’s a midnight mass tonight, so tomorrow’s the earliest we can take a look around.” The pair nodded glancing back at the church as Sully spoke up.

“You’ve got the gear at the house, right?”

With a nod of my head, I turned back toward the hire car, not bothering to ensure they were following. The drive was mostly silent, the words exchanged by the three of us few and far between. I was unsure how trustworthy Nate was, he seemed so… Soft, alarmingly so. At this point I wasn’t sure if I believed him or pitied him, this wasn’t the business to be gentle in. His brother had that quality as well, I suppose you might call it kindness, perhaps compassion. It was this deep-seated warmth that they seemed unable to shake, regardless of the cocky repartee they both put forth. Sam was the perfect example of why it pays to be dubious, why you shouldn’t let emotions guide your actions; just look at what happened to him. There was something different about Nate though, something I didn’t see in Sam, though I guess I didn’t really know a great deal about either of the Drake brothers, particularly not when I’d only just met Nathan today. I shook off the thought of wanting to know him.

From a young age, it became apparent to me that I was on my own. That might seem dramatic, but it was true, nonetheless. I was certain my parents were unaware of my existence most of the time. When they would enter a room, I was in, if they took note of my presence their only reaction was a startled one. It was as if I was a stranger, an unwelcome visitor in their home. They would gaze at me and behind their eyes, I saw nothing, no recollection, no warmth, only expectance, and something I assumed was their search for the correct words to speak to me. It was a jarring culmination of moments, my childhood. There were certain memories that were what I’d expect to see in a film depicting a family who felt nothing if not unyielding love for one another. I recalled sitting on my father’s knee as he read to me from a historical textbook or novel. The memory that followed shortly after this was sitting on the cold hard ground of an airport somewhere near Tunisia awaiting my parents. Our flight back to New York was supposed to leave at eleven AM, my parents had planned to come to the airport separately. I sat with my back to the wall, flicking through the pages of a book of art, repeatedly. The sun set and I could just about recite the bibliography by heart. They had decided they weren’t ready to give up their treasure hunt so soon, at least that’s what my nanny, Marie, told me. I didn’t see my parents until we arrived back home. My father had offered me a pat on the head as he retreated to the study with my mother, though no words were exchanged between us. I was on my own. Until I met Kate Vincent. We were twelve and she was the only person I invited to my birthday party; we’d never spoken but she never really spoke to anyone then. She would sit by herself every day at school, a book in her hands as she ignored everyone around her. Marie insisted I have at least one person over for my birthday, but I didn’t like anyone enough to invite them, or perhaps I just didn’t want to have to explain why my parents weren’t there. Kate didn’t ask, she didn’t say much at first, I was honestly surprised she even showed up. We sat at the table picking at slices of cake backed by Marie, it was just the two of us at the table when I finally cracked, finding the silence almost unbearable. “My parents aren’t here, I’m pretty sure they don’t know it’s my birthday.” It hadn’t been a complaint, merely information.

She nodded gently, picking at her fingernails. “I’ve never met my parents.” She spoke finally. From that day forward she was the only person in the entire world who I let in. My best friend, my sister. The person I knew everything about and the only one who knew everything about me in return.

Sully tilted the bottle of Rioja toward my glass but as the red liquid poured in, I was long gone, sitting in a different room years before.

The living room of our apartment was mostly bare, the only décor, a few magnets on the fridge, and Kate at my side. We had seated ourselves on the hardwood floor, a bottle of wine between us and a single slice of pizza remaining in the grease-stained box. “We did it, we really did it, bug.” She murmured, glancing around.

“Fuck yeah we did!” I clinked my glass with hers before sipping deeply. “It’s a little shitty but it's ours, so who cares.”

Joyful tears brimmed her eyes as she glanced at me. “I love it so much!” I beamed at her, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward me to embrace her. She laid her head in my lap as I stretched my legs out. “It really is so shit.” She laughed through her tears, scanning the tiny apartment. I laughed along with her, moving to lay on my back beside her. “You’re right though, it’s ours.” I sent her a sidelong smile. “Our shitty apartment.” She gripped my hand tightly as we stared at the roof. “I’m so glad I met you.” I agreed wholeheartedly with her sentiment.

I gripped the wine glass so tightly I was surprised it didn’t shatter in my hand. “I found my cross in a crypt in Genoa, I wasn’t even looking for it, so I certainly didn’t realize it was key to a much bigger fortune,” I spoke, needing anything to focus on instead of the white-hot ache in my chest. “Sully knew though.”

We continued to discuss the use of the keys; Sully added. “Well, it’s a good thing the eighteen didn’t trust each other, or we wouldn’t be here, right? Like one big happy family.”

“Toast?” Nate spoke up.

Sully and I agreed, lifting our glasses.

 “Arriba, abajo, al centro y pa’ dentro."

Nate began to take large gulps from his glass, I narrowed my eyes, making a face of disgust at the obscene noises he emitted. “Hey, kid, slow down. That’s a vintage rioja, all right? You might want to just taste it, savor it.” Sully scolded.

“Or chug it down like you’re on spring break,” I muttered, shaking my head and laughing gently as Nate left the room. “I’m onto you, you know,” I spoke, turning to face Sully. “He’s Sam’s brother, isn’t he?”

He shrugged in response. “Oh, wow, you cracked the case. Great job, Xan.”

“Does he know what happened?”

“Not yet. I-I’m gonna tell him.”

I pursed my lips, Victor Sullivan had been in my life a very long time, I knew better than to take him at his word. “When?”

“Why do you care so much? A few hours ago, you were ready to ditch me over bringing him onto the team.”

Nate returned before I had the chance to answer. “Who’s still thirsty? I found another bottle of red.”

“Hey, kid, you think she’s okay? My cat.”

“You have a cat?” I questioned incredulously as Nate plonked down onto the couch beside me.

Sully nodded, staring intently at his phone. “The man from the app said he was gonna feed her, but he hasn’t texted me back yet.”

“I don’t know what’s cuter, your concern or the fact that you just said ‘the man from the app.’” Nate teased, handing the bottle to me. Our fingers grazed as I took it, his hand was warm against mine and the lingering touch sent a shiver down my spine. I blamed the reaction on a lack of human contact over the last couple of months, turning quickly to face Sully once more as he tapped aggressively at the glowing screen.

As the night progressed, Sully retired to his room, and it was only Nate and I left talking. I stood abruptly, walking out onto the balcony. The cool breeze was a welcome relief. “Are you coming?” I called over my shoulder. A beat later he was at my side, bottle of wine in hand. I breathed a laugh, taking it from him and sipping deeply from it. A drop of wine slipped from my mouth, streaming down the curve of my chin. Nate took a step toward me, hand moving to rest on my cheek as he swiped the stray liquid with his thumb. I could feel the heat radiating from him, the fabric of his shirt brushing against my chest ever so slightly as I inhaled. He smelt faintly of whatever cologne he’d used last, red wine, and the earth.

“So, when did you decide to become Indiana Jones?” He breathed out, and his hand fell from my cheek, though he didn’t step back.

The air felt thick, hard to force into my lungs. “I’ve always liked finding things, I used to dig up all sorts of stuff and bring it to my nanny to see what she thought the history might be. This-”, I twirled my finger around the air, gesturing to the house and us. “Isn’t my usual gig, but I’m what I like to call a freelancer.” He nodded at me as I brought my hand up to catch the ring fastened to his neck, moving the metal between my fingertips to read the inscription. “Sic Parvis Magna.” I managed to read. “Greatness from small things?”

“Beginnings, close, greatness from small beginnings.” I nodded at his words, daring a glance up into his eyes, hand resting against his chest as I continued to grasp the ring. He was so close; the worst part was that I didn’t want to push him away. I told myself I was only entertaining the thought because it distracted me from reminiscing. “Hey, why did you show the stuff you dug up to your nanny? Weren’t your parents around?” There was no malice behind the question, only gentle curiosity. I shrugged, offering a small shake of my head in response. His hand fell upon my upper arm. “Who needs ‘em anyway.” He murmured.

I exhaled a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. I’d had a similar philosophy most of my adult life. I remember Sam telling me about his and Nate’s upbringing with the nuns. “Where’d you get it?” I nodded toward the ring still in my grasp

“It was my brother, Sam’s, he gave it to me before he left.” The sentiment brought a very small, bittersweet smile to my lips. I dropped the ring back against his chest before placing my hand over it softly. His own coming to envelope mine a beat later. This was dangerous, temptingly so. My other hand traced up from his elbow to his shoulder. Our eyes were locked in a silent battle, intent on finding who would break first. I was almost certain he’d leaned toward me, perhaps I’d leaned toward him, whatever the case there was an intangible magnetism between us in that moment that seemed set on drawing us in. He tucked a stray curl behind my ear, his fingers dancing down my cheek to the curve of my jaw. Just as I decided this was the perfect distraction from my unbearable thoughts, he opened his mouth once more. “I’ve got it.” I furrowed my eyebrows at his sudden words. “I’ve figured out why you’re so familiar. You’re from New York, right? You came into the bar I work at.” The familiarity suddenly dawned on me as he continued. “I remember because you gave me a fake name and I called you out on it.” He grinned at me.

The memory made me snort. “You were the weird bartender who kept flirting with me.” I teased.

He gasped. “That’s not exactly how I remember it, sweetheart.”

“Oh really, well how do you remember it, Drake?”

With a smirk, he began to recount the night in question. “I remember you hanging off every word I spoke when I told you about the history of the Moscow mule. Then you did that little move of yours where you tilt your head back to shake your hair and make sure every person in the room is incapable of looking away.” I rose an eyebrow at his words. He was right, I was flirting back that night.

“Seems like you have a pretty vivid memory there. Only you’re missing one part, I wasn’t doing it for every person in the room.” I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck as I leaned up to murmur in his ear. “Just you.” His breath fanned over my lips as I returned to face him.

His lips were merely a head tilt away. I was more than happy to oblige, however, before our lips could meet, he spoke once more. “Even your friend thought you should give me your number.” He’d meant it as a teasing remark, I knew that. “You know, the red-head you were with.” He explained as my body tensed. I pulled away from him then, putting some much-needed space between us. He furrowed his eyebrows questioningly. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, of course not, it’s just a big day tomorrow we should really get some sleep.” I cleared my throat, picking at my nails as I awaited his response.

“Yeah, o-okay, sure.” With that I left him on the balcony, walking swiftly to my room. It wasn’t until the door was shut, my back pressed against it, that I could breathe properly again. I slid down the cool wood, pressing my cheek to my knee. What was I thinking, he’s an associate, sleeping with him when I knew about his brother was completely wrong, I was an idiot for thinking that it was a good idea to mix business and pleasure. We would find this gold, split the cash, and go our separate ways.

That is how it would be.

That is how I wanted it to be.