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zayneternal · 2 months

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☾ Midnight Ties ☽

summary ↠ When Deepspace Hunter, Mina Osaki, finds herself unable to sleep in the cold and quiet of the N109 Zone Safehouse, she instead runs headfirst into the one person who puts her most on edge--and this time, he's injured. [Main Story Spoilers | References to "Midnight Stealth" Memory]

genre ↠ angst (mild moments of fluff) with him↠ Sylus warnings ↠ Long Awaited Reverly Spoilers word count ↠ 13.4k

I’m unsure what jolts me from sleep. Then again, it’s far from the first time I’ve woken in the midnight hours over the last few weeks. I can’t really say I’ve ever been sure of why sleep eludes me here.

Sitting up in the too-big bed made up of too-soft sheets, I rub my knuckles against my eyes, willing them to adjust to the darkness of the cold and quiet bedroom. I’ve lost track of how many days it’s been since I arrived back to this place, but this part of the routine is one of the few reliable parts of my day, for better or worse.

I huff out a breath, debating on if I should fall backwards onto the mussed sheets of the massive mattress and try to close my eyes once again, but the idea of staring at the back of my eyelids in this deafening silence sounds like the worst form of torture. Instead, I kick my legs over the edge, flinching at the feeling of the ice cold marble floor against my bare feet.

Would it kill someone to turn the heat up in this place? Even as the thought enters my mind, I scoff to myself, knowing the head of this household probably would kill someone for even attempting it.

Hesitating by the bed for a moment, I glance down at my sparse attire of cotton shorts and a mismatched tank top, wondering if I should find an extra layer to don. Then I recall how unnervingly empty this place becomes at night and decide against it. It’s not like there’s ever anyone to pass by in the lengthy hallways this late…or is it early? I never know.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I set towards the large mahogany door of the bedroom, snapping the lock open before pulling the heavy wood backwards. I’m not sure why I bother to lock the door–it’s not as if it would truly keep him out if his mind was set on entering. Maybe it’s because some stubborn part of me doesn’t want to make it too easy on him…or maybe I’m a little too reliant on the extra measures of boundary between the two of us.

Shaking my head of the thought, I pull the door closed behind me and step into the long hallway lined with many other doors identical to my own. I’ve not been inside most of them, but I imagine they’re more spare rooms, though as to who they’re for, I don’t know. The occupants of this residence have a tendency to make themselves quite scarce. And who could blame them?

The light in the hall is dim, giving me just enough illumination to help avoid bumping into the various vases and vanities that line the corridor. I hate how quiet it gets here, especially on the nights I’m unable to fall back to sleep and end up wandering to find something to occupy my mind. It’s like I can almost hear the air whispering next to my ears. It’s drives me crazy.

Luckily, I make it to the end of the hall just before the raging silence threatens to overwhelm me, and turn right into the open floor plan of the main living space. There are windows here that line one of the walls, overlooking the vast expanse that is the N109 Zone.

My first night here, I remember the view being somewhat deterring, what with the abandoned buildings littering the skyline and the ever-present darkness shrouding the seedy city life bustling far below. But as the nights progressed and sleep came few and far between, I found myself coming to these windows more and more often, surprisingly intrigued by how the view had morphed.

I silently shuffle towards the large length of cushioned sofa that curls around the living space, it’s end jutting up to the window, and curl myself against it. Allowing my head to fall sideways against the back of the couch, knees drawn to my chest to preserve what little warmth there is in the air, I gaze across the N109 Zone, languidly taking in the sights. It’s fascinating how differently I see the world below me now.

Where I once saw what were shady business dealings in the back alleys beneath, I now see citizens of the zone coming home to family at the end of a long day. Where I once saw destitute and rundown infrastructure, I now see life budding out of something once broken–I see people. A community. If I train my ears just right, I can even hear the jubilation of music and laughter spilling out of what I assume is a local pub on the street below.

The N109 Zone is still a treacherous place for the wrong people–it certainly was for me before he offered me respite in his own twisted way–but the longer I stay, the more I see what was once black and white as more gray and muddled. There is also good to be found here.

I begin to slip into a comfortable lethargy as I continue to watch the city breathe when I suddenly hear a loud shuffling at the door behind me.

Swiftly whipping my gaze from the window to the door across the room, I hug my knees tighter as it swings open, revealing a very familiar silhouette in the darkened doorway.

“Shit–” he hisses in a way that sounds like he’s struggling to keep quiet. His towering frame falters as he steps forward, tilting to the side before he catches himself messily on the open door.

I hold my breath, squinting in the low light to see his right hand stretched against the left side of his abdomen, pressing something against it. He regains his composure once more, lifting off the door long enough to turn and slowly close it behind him.

I don’t speak as he starts to move again. I can’t tell if he knows I’m there, and for some reason, I don’t bring myself to reveal my presence just yet. Instead, I watch as he attempts to make for the kitchen that sits against the opposite wall of the open room. He manages to get to the edge of the island counter before his weight gives way again and he slumps against the smooth surface.

“Damn it,” he curses through gritted teeth, trying to keep quiet again. My eyes widen as I suddenly realize he must be injured. The hand clutching his ribs, the slight limp to his walk, the way he can’t seem to hold himself upright. What happened to him?

I’m aware that the midnight hours in the N109 Zone are when the the work day is just beginning for groups like Onychinus. Dealings within the illegal crime organizations here are much livlier at night. And that’s doubly true for the household of Onychinus’ leader. As frustrating as it’s been knowing what goes on here at night as someone sworn to protect innocents from threats just like Onychinus, the circumstances of recent months have seemed to trump that mission for now.

A low grunt of pain sweeps me back into the present as the hunched figure in the kitchen pulls himself around to a cabinet pressed against the fridge. He moves to lift his hand to open the dark wood door but winces before he’s even raised it halfway up, yanking his arm back to his side. The faint moonlight filtering in through the windows illuminates the pained look of his sharp profile.

The sound of him trying to stifle his groans of discomfort spurs me from my hidden spot in the dark.

“Sylus.”

My soft voice feels swallowed by the darkness and size of the space, but Sylus reacts to the sound instantly, his frame straightening to its full height and his gaze whipping to find me at the edge of the island. He appears confused, then annoyed, nostrils flaring slightly in the moonlight that casts soft shadows along his cheeks.

It seems like I’ve managed to catch him off guard for the first time since we’ve met. His reaction surprises me in return, and I pause a few feet away from him, my weight shifting a bit nervously. He always has a way of making me a bit nervous.

Just as quickly as the confusion and annoyance pass over his defined features, they are gone again, replaced now with that air of cool arrogance he’s managed to perfect. His arched brow twitches, the corner of his mouth twisting into the shadow of a smirk I’ve come to know so well.

“It’s a little late to be wandering the halls, don’t you think, kitten?” The sultry lilt to his deep voice rumbles across the space between us, but I can hear the slight tension lying just beneath the surface of his words, as if he’s struggling to appear put together when, really, he’s in pain.

“You’re hurt,” I state, ignoring his attempt to divert the situation. And ignoring the gooseflesh that threatens to bubble under my skin as his piercing red gaze locks me in place. I have to admit it’s still a bit of a struggle to keep my half of the control in these interactions with him, as much as I’ve tried to grow accustomed to his unique persona.

Sylus’ mouth twists again as he breathes out a huff of laughter. “You do realize who you’re talking to, don’t you, sweetie?” A flash of his perfectly lined teeth cuts across the darkness. “Or do you not recall the events of the first time we met?”

I do recall. It seems an impossible moment to forget. The sound of the trigger going off against where Sylus had held it against his chest echoes in my mind and I wince. Glancing down to where the corner of his pectoral peeks out between the opened buttons of his black top, I remind myself that there’s no injury to be seen anymore. Only perfectly smooth, pale skin that sits atop the rippling muscle.

Shaking my head of yet another attempt at distraction, I press myself forward, daring to take a few steps towards him. “I saw you come in,” I admit. “You can barely hold yourself up.”

“I can assure you, I am perfectly fine, Miss Hunter,” he says, low and slow, his eyes remaining fixed intently on my person.

“Then you won’t mind if I just confirm that for myself, will you?” I feign an innocent look, scrunching my brows in a slightly dramatic show of concern. I hope by keeping the interaction light, he won’t notice how real my concern is.

The cocked grin on his lips falters ever so slightly, but it doesn’t go without me noticing. He’s certainly confirming something, and it’s not that he’s “perfectly fine”.

I watch as his hand falls away from his side and his arms open in front of him, gesturing down his body. That infuriating smirk is firmly fixed in place. “Help yourself, sweetie.”

I chew the inside of my cheek, throwing my usual reservations about getting close to him to the wind. My worry for what has him stumbling around in the dead of night trumps my boundaries right now. Steeling my nerves, I close the remaining few feet between the two of us, bare feet padding towards his large figure.

I can feel his electric gaze burning holes into me as I approach, but I keep my eyes fixed on his torso, irises flitting from his broad shoulders, down the length of his pale forearms, over the expanse of his open palms, and across the plane of his narrow waist. At first look, nothing seems amiss, his composure remaining intact. Squinting slightly in the dark, however, I notice how the rise and fall of his breaths is uneven and labored, and he’s favoring his weight on his right leg.

I reach my hands forward. “What do you think you’re doing?” Sylus questions, his voice betraying him with a hint of worry.

“Helping myself,” I counter cooly, willing my nerves to remain strong as my fingertips find purchase on the top button of his slightly askew dress shirt. To my surprise, Sylus allows me to continue without even the slightest step backwards, his arms hanging at his sides.

I move slowly, hoping my fingers aren’t shaking as much as I feel like they are as I deftly undo button after button. I try not to stare too long at the line of muscled skin that begins to reveal itself down his torso.

Swallowing dryly, I finally push the two halves of his black button down to the sides, eyes widening with a soft gasp as I take in what I see. The shirt had been covering exactly what I’d feared.

The left side of his ribs are in a sorry state, a semi-deep gash curling around the length of his waist, mottled with a mix of dried and fresh blood, as if the pressure he’d been providing couldn’t staunch the flow. The usually perfectly pale skin surrounding the wound is blossoming with fresh bruises of deep plum. Whatever caused this injury had to have been packing quite the punch.

What worried me most, though, was the fact that these wounds didn’t seem to be healing. If Sylus could survive a gunshot to the chest by my own hand, then what was the holdup with the self-healing this time?

“Sylus!” I manage to exclaim in a strained whisper. My hands move to hover over the wound as I rack my brain for any useful piece of the medical training I received in the Hunter’s Academy. I know I at least needed to clean the gash first.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” I hear Sylus breathe from above me. I can tell he’s trying to quell my worries, but I don’t imagine a wound like this feels any better than it looks.

Slight annoyance from somewhere unknown suddenly pricks my chest. I shoot my eyes up to find his face already bent to watch me. Looking up at him from this close, I can feel each of his exhales fall against my mouth, but I push that realization aside and scrunch my brows at him.

“What happened? Where were you? Who did this?” I begin to rattle. My eyes flit back and forth between his, searching his face for any answers he might provide. At the other end of my questioning, Sylus’ expression slowly morphs into a rare sight. The usual facade of arrogance and control slips away to reveal something unusual. Sylus almost appears…sincere.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were worried about me, kitten,” he says softly, his hand raising to reach towards my face before stopping halfway and slowly dropping, as if he second-guessed whatever he was about to do.

“I am!” I assert, hands gripping the two halves of his open shirt so tightly I realize my knuckles are going white. Sylus’ expressions stutters, the seriousness in my tone giving him pause. I sigh. “Can we please cut the big bad mafia boss act for a second? You need bandaging before this gets worse.” I shake my head, staring at the injury again. “Why hasn’t it started healing on it’s own already?”

Sylus studies my face a moment longer, his usually intense gaze softening as it passes across my features.

“Would you believe me if I told you this is already better than it started?” His voice has a hint of humor to it, as if he’s still trying to ease my concern. Instead I find myself flinching against the idea that this isn’t even the worst of it. How badly had he been hurt tonight? How much effort had it taken him to get home?

I want to swat at his chest, but for fear of causing him any more pain, I restrain myself.

“Mina…” Sylus starts, and the way he utters my name instead of one of his many rotating pet names sends a shiver down my spine. But I refuse to waste anymore time.

“Lean against the counter,” I instruct, sounding more like a Hunter than the helpless girl I’ve been these past few minutes. Sylus breathes and slowly moves to the side, leaning against the marble countertop obediently. “I’m taking this off.”

I move my hands to the base of his neck, slipping my fingertips under the collar of his dress shirt and attempting to ignore the warmth of his skin in this freezing kitchen as I begin to push the fabric down his toned arms. To my surprise and great relief, Sylus remains silent for once allowing me to work without much distraction.

The pads of my fingers brush down the length of his muscled arms, following the trail of his shirt until it’s bunched at his wrists. “Your hands, please,” I request, carefully avoiding eye contact as I hold my own hands up.

As requested, Sylus gently places hands twice the size of my own in my palms, allowing me to undo the cuffs keeping his top from sliding off completely. After pulling the sleeves away from his body, I move to yank the remainder of the shirt from where it’s tucked messily into the waistline of his trousers. Without me asking this time, Sylus raises his arms to assist in the task, wincing again when his left arm agitates the injury.

Nodding in silent appreciation, I wrap my arms around the shape of his hips, giving him a wide birth, and being careful not to get as close as his cologne is causing me to want. Gripping the last of the black fabric and pulling, I’m relieved when it comes lose easily and falls away to the floor.

“Where will I find a first-aid kit?” I finally ask once his torso is bare. I realize I’m looking around the room to avoid looking at him.

“There.” His slender finger comes into my peripheral vision, poiting towards the cabinet he had originally been trying to open. I nod and turn to open it, feeling his eyes on me the entire time. As I begin to sift through the rows of various medicine bottles, syringes, and vials full of strange liquid, I’m suddenly strikingly aware that I never changed out of my sleepwear and are still donned in nothing but cotton shorts and a tank top.

I bite your lip, silently cursing to myself as my search continues through the cabinet. There’s not much I can do about it now, I suppose, but knowing I’m under the scrutinizing gaze of Sylus every second of this venture, I feel a mite over exposed.

Finally, I discover a box of antiseptic, gauze, and painkillers and pull it from the cabinet. When I turn back around, Sylus remains leant against the counter, looking sinfully good in the low light of the darkened kitchen. My breath hitches, knowing I’ve made the mistake of taking in his full figure so present before me, but it becomes harder to avert my gaze every time I see him.

It’s been one of the biggest frustrations of coming back to the N109 Zone. But once I discovered the intrigue of Sylus and my Evol linkage and the strange connection of our Aether Cores, it was an unavoidable trip. The last few weeks, Sylus and I have been seeing a lot more of each other, researching everything we can about what our linkage could be and how to control it. It seemed a little too late when I finally realized my growing nerves and the tension between us might not be from fear anymore. A realization I’ve been more than happy to continue shoving to the depths of my mind. I’ve had more important fish to fry lately.

I find it hard to swallow as Sylus and I stare at each other, time frozen for a moment. He leans his hips leisurely against the island, legs crossed at the ankles, his palms holding him upright as they rest against the counter behind him. The position he’s in presses his shoulders apart, making them appear even broader than normal, his forearms pusling with the veins that ripple under his skin.

His face is ethereal, bathed halfway in moonlight and halfway in shadow, the silver locks of his mussed hair falling in silk ribbons across his forehead. And his eyes. Oh, those eyes. Red and depthless and intense and all trained directly on me. I forget to breath as I take in his half-hooded gaze, irises looking lazy and dazed under the fan of his lashes. He looks god-like.

“Something wrong?” Sylus breaks the silence, his words rumbling across the miniscule distance between us. He tilts his head, lips parting slightly.

“No!” I answer a bit too fast. I see the ghost of a smile twitch at the corner of his mouth. “N-No. I found the kit…”

My steps stutter back towards him, nerves hitching higher the closer we become, but one glance at the wound cutting across his ribs and I’m brought back to reality. He’s hurt and I need to focus.

Gritting my teeth, I set the open first-aid kit on the counter next to him and remove the antiseptic and clean cloth, blotting the fabric with the medicinal liquid. “This might sting,” I say gently.

I carefully press the cloth against the edge of the bloody gash, beginning to clean away the majority of the clotted and fresh blood still seeping onto Sylus’ skin. Despite Sylus’ claims that there was no need to worry, he flinches away from the ensuing sting of the cloth with a stifled moan. The noise is enough to make my stomach tighten.

“Careful, kitten,” he tuts through grit teeth, hands gripping the edge of the counter.

“I told you it might sting.” I start to smile, finding it a little ironic that the big bad leader of the most well-known crime orginazation in the N109 Zone is brought low by the sting of antiseptic.

“There’s nothing funny about this situation,” he retorts, sounding almost childlike in his annoyance.

“There might be a little something funny about it.” I shrug and try to stifle the growth of my grin, but it’s harder than I thought. “It’s just medicine, you big baby.”

Sylus groans again as I make another pass, the muscles in his own stomach tensing and untensing. “Usually the use of medicine is unnecessary.” The last word comes out like a strained hiss when the cloth rubs against the edge of the gash.

My smile grows further, the corners of my mouth stretching to their limit. I cough to stop the urge to laugh at him.

“Now that’s a rare sight,” Sylus whispers, the surprised tone of his voice pulling my eyes away from where they were focused on cleaning away more blood.

“What?” I can’t help but ask, tilting my head at his entranced expression. His eyes drop to my lips and linger there a moment longer than they probably should have.

“That smile,” he admits, the hand opposite his injury lifting as if he’s unconscious of it. The back of his lithe fingers slowly brush against the length of my cheek, and my eyes widen at the feeling. He’s so warm. His own lips part and the tips of his fingers turn to glide along the underside of my mouth, his touch almost phantasmal.

In his eyes, I see realization dawn and his hand pauses, hesitantly moving back down to his side, as much as I secretly wish it wouldn’t have. He gazes at me and in his expression is a sort of emotion I can’t quite place. He quickly covers whatever it was with a resigned smile, gentler than his usual controlled smirk.

“I’d like it if you smiled like that more around me,” he confesses. My heart beat turns erratic for a moment.

“I didn’t realize I hadn’t been,” I offer back, clearing my throat and moving back to my earlier task of cleaning the wound. As the blood clears away with each stroke of the cloth, I begin to get a clearer picture of just how deep this wound must have been for this to be the semi-healed version of it. “Sylus, what happened to you tonight?”

The diversion in topic is a slightly welcome respite from the growing tension. I sneak a quick glance at his face and find his gaze trained on the floor, eyebrows knit with thought. He waits a moment as if deciding whether to stop this line of conversation with one of his carefully crafted deflections or reveal the truth. I’m not sure if its the vulnerable air about tonight or whatever trust I’ve built up with him over these past few weeks, but he eventually sighs and speaks.

“It was a new kind of protocore weapon,” Sylus admits, gesturing to his almost-clean wound.

“A new protocore weapon?” I repeat, shocked and intrugied. “What kind of weapon?”

“I’m not sure.” Sylus shakes his head. “One of the business dealings with a former partner that was planned for tonight didn’t quite meet expectations.” He huffs a laugh to himself, as if recalling the events that lead to his injury. I find them anything but humorous but decide not to press the matter.

“Before I could take control of the situation, one of his men blindsided me,” he continues. I feel anxiety well up in my chest as I listen, but I keep quiet, letting him explain as I continue to clear away the last of the dried blood splattering his ribs.

“Normally, a wound like this would be nothing but a trivial moment of pain, but once the dust settled, I realized it wasn’t healing over like usual. The blood just kept flowing. I came back here to find a way to mend it before it got much worse.”

“Sylus,” I breathe out once he finishes. I can feel his eyes return to me though I can’t bring myself to look at him again quite yet. “I know there was no way of you knowing what tonight would bring, but…” I swallow, trying to find the right words. “Please be careful.”

“You should see the other guys,” Sylus attempts to joke. “Well, there wasn’t really much of them to see in the end…”

I want to laugh, but find myself unable. The news he’s just shared worries me more than I’d like to admit to him in this moment. A new weapon that seems to temporarily halt Sylus’ self-healing abilities? That was a big, big revelation, and one that has my mind spinning.

“I know that these dealings are part of your job, and that danger comes with the territory, but I…” I trail off, not sure of what I’m wanting to tell him. Or if I’m wanting to tell him.

“You what?” Sylus presses in a voice almost inaudible. Though I still haven’t looked at his face, I can tell how close he is to me by the sound of his voice. I can feel the tickle of his breath against my ear. When I don’t immediately respond, I jolt at the feeling of Sylus’ fingers snaking their way under my chin and tenderly tugging my gaze away from his wound and back to his awaiting eyes.

The intensity of his stare almost knocks me to the floor. I might’ve fallen had it not been for the securing grip of his fingers around my chin. His thumb traces long lines against my skin, and I hope he can’t feel the timbre of my heartbeat rocketing against my chest. “You what?” he asks again.

Oh, what dangerous territory I’ve wandered into.

“I-I…” I stammer, the words incoherent in my head. “I need to finish bandaging your wound.”

I raise the ball of gauze between our too-close faces, relief exploding in my stomach at the flimsy boundary it creates. I hear Sylus sigh and chuckle on the other side as his hand slides from my face once more. He leans back a few inches, and I feel like I can breathe again.

“Very well,” he resigns, returning his arm to his side and allowing me to continue. Sighing in relief, I move to begin wrapping the gauze around his waist when his left hand suddenly moves in tandem with my right.

“Sylus, cut it out, I need to finish before it starts bleeding again!” I complain, giving him an annoyed look only to be met with his confused expression.

“I didn’t do that,” he responds, looking down to my hands. “Not voluntarily at least.”

“This isn’t the time for games, just let me–” I move to attempt the gauze wrap a second time when the same thing happens–his hand moves in tandem with mine, blocking the way. Realization dawns on me as I lift our entwined hands into the air.

“Damn it,” I curse as we both gaze upon the faint misty glow of our Evol linkage at work. Appearing almost as shrouded handcuffs, our mysterious and unexplainable resonance linkage had a nasty habit of forming at the most inopportune times, and this had to have been the worst of those times for it to happen.

“Your Evol certainly knows how to pick a moment,” Sylus drawls sarcastically, smirking at our joined wrists. I cut him an annoyed glance, groaning to myself.

“The last time we linked, it lasted. All. Day.” I recall last week when our resonance linkage decided to make an appearance over breakfast when Sylus leaned a little too close to me to grab the butter across the table. We spent the rest of that rainy day uncomfortably packed behind Sylus’ office desk researching ways to disengage the link at will. Obviously, we had no luck.

“Well we can’t blame that on the Evol, now can we?” Sylus gives me a knowing smirk, and I fight not to roll my eyes as a blush creeps over my cheeks. One thing we both learned early on is that whatever this linkage was, it grew stronger the stronger my emotional, mental…phsyical relationship with the other person grew.

Sylus has made to tease me about it on numerous occasions, and while I always tried to play it off as an annoyance, the truth was it scared me how long the links had been lasting. I knew it was only a matter of time before the truth was out in the open and he realized how deep the change in my feelings towards him went. Who knows how long this link would last? And in the middle of the night, no less.

I’d have to learn how to control this resonance business sooner rather than later. Before long, the link might form and never break, and that was a thought that made me want to crawl into a hole and never come out.

“Well…” I start, frustration and embarrassment mixing together in my throat. “You’re just going to have to work with me to get these bandages on. Then we can worry about the link.”

Sylus chuckles at the sour expression I wear but nods in agreement, holding out his hand. It takes a few attempts, but we both manage to figure out a pattern of pass and pull that works well enough at getting the gauze wrapped around his waist without too much contortion. The silence we both work in allows me to calm down and throw myself into my task. It’s all too much to think through at the moment.

A few more moments of blissful silence pass, the gauze almost completely in place, when Sylus speaks again. “Mina…”

“Yes?” I stay focused on the wrapping.

“Why were you awake at this hour?”

The sincerity in his voice almost makes my hands stutter in their rotation. It seems for the moment, whatever form of his true self that lies beneath the cocky exterior was paying a visit.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping,” I shrug, confiding in him.

Another pause. “Is the bed not comfortable?”

“It’s perfectly comfortable,” I smile softly to myself.

“Is is it too hot? Too cold?”

“It’s freezing in this house all the time,” I laugh. “But that’s not why.”

“Are Kieran and Luke making too much noise when they come back? Is Mephisto bothering you?”

I continue laughing as the gauze goes around once more.

“Why are you laughing?” Sylus inquires. Even without looking at him, I can see the puzzled expression he wears. “I don’t see what’s funny.”

“You’re what’s funny,” I grin wider. “You’re usually not so full of questions.”

“I’m simply trying to fix whatever is keeping you awake. A Hunter needs to sleep through the night.”

My hands pause on the last rotation of the gauze, eyes zoning out on where it crosses over Sylus’ ribs. “I don’t know why I can’t sleep. I just find it hard here.”

I glance up to see Sylus gazing intently at you. He always seems to be doing that. This time there is a hint of worry laced in his scrunched features.

“I’m fine, though,” I reassure him quickly, my mouth twitching into a soft smile as I remember his earlier request. “I like coming here to watch the city. It’s relaxing.” My head tilts to gesture to the spot on the couch I’ve claimed for myself each night, the city scape stretching far beyond it.

Sylus follows my gesture and stares out the far window himself for a moment before coming back to rest on me. His face contorts as if he’s thinking hard about something before he quietly clears his throat.

“You’re not…are you…” It was so unlike Sylus to be lost for words. “Are you not used to sleeping alone?”

There’s a question within his question. One I’m caught off guard to answer.

“What? I–no,” I’m quick to respond. “I’m used to it. Very used to it.”

There’s a strange wash of relief over Sylus’ face at my response that has my insides knotting up.

“I’m not sure what it is,” I decide to continue, finally finishing the last wrap of the gauze and managing to secure it in place with my un-linked hand. With Sylus fully clean and bandaged, I drop my hands, unsure of what to do now.

After a beat of silence, Sylus glances back to the spot I gestured to on the couch and then to me. He tilts his head towards the window. “Care to show me the view of my city you’ve been enjoying?”

I look at him a little surprised by his request. My city. The more I get to know Sylus, the more I find myself forgetting how much influence and power he has here. To think that a few months ago I was hearing the name “Onychinus” for the first time, and now here I was, linked to it’s very leader, the most dangerous and powerful figure in the N109 Zone.

This man standing before me has become familiar in a way I wasn't expecting. He doesn’t scare me like he used to, and I find it hard to believe that he’s the one I spent so long hating before everything changed.

“Yes,” I finally whisper in response, smiling shyly in an almost childlike excitement to share this thing I’ve come to find comfort in.

“Then shall we?” Sylus gestures for me to lead the way back to the couch, and I oblige, turning to leave behind the bloodied shirt and messy first-aid kit in the kitchen and return to the view that originally pulled me out of my room.

When I reach the sofa, however, I realize quickly that sitting sideways to face the window with our hands linked the way they are is going to be an uncomfortable task. “Maybe if we…” I try sitting in a few different ways, but every position has either me or Sylus craning our shoulder in an odd way.

Sylus watches as I try to puzzle my way into the right positioning, but it’s to no avail. “Maybe we should just stand?” I laugh to myself, trying to hide my slight embarrassment.

Sylus smirks softly at me. “Come here,” he coos in that sultry way of his, the in-control and confident leader making a reappearance as he descends sideways against the cushions of the couch and pulls me with him. I can’t do anything but fall the short distance straight into his lap, his legs parted to make the perfect place for me to land.

My heart rachets into mythroat as he presses me gently back against his broad chest, my head tucked just beneath his chin. I pray vehemently that he can’t feel my heartbeat against him and thank the powers that be that he can’t see how heated my face is in this position.

I realize quickly that his idea was a sound one, though, as he wraps his long arms around my waist, bringing his linked wrist to rest just under where mine hovers awkwardly. He leans back agains the couch, sighing contendently, and I can feel the remnants of his deep voice vibrating against my back.

“Is this okay?” he whispers against your ear. I struggle not to fling myself away from him from the sheer shock of it.

Steeling myself, I breathe to calm down. “Ye-Yes. It’s fine.”

Sylus’ responding chuckle sends shivers across my arms and legs. “You can rest your hands, sweetie. No need to keep them hovering in the air like that.”

I blush violently again, and try to find where to rest them but everywhere seems too intimate, too close.

As if sensing my hesitancy, Sylus reaches his fingers towards mine and slides each digit between my own, dragging your now-encased hands into my lap. He’s always been far too confident for his own good.

“Comfortable?” he questions once our hands are settled. I want to laugh at him because this is the most on edge I’ve felt in my whole life. My heart is hammering against my ribs, my stomach is tensed in knots and I can almost promise my hands are quickly becoming clammy against the smooth, warm skin of his own .

“Yes,” I manage to lie, but he only laughs again, deep and slow and far too close to my ear.

“Too cute,” he says so quietly, I’m not sure I was meant to hear.

“Won’t I hurt you in this position?” I concernedly ask, turing my head slightly to make sure I’m not pressed against his injury.

“I’m the farthest from in pain I could be,” Sylus responds, the tip of his nose brushing along my turned cheek. Before I can even manage a yelp of surprise, Sylus continues. “Show me this city you’ve been watching,”

Grateful for the change in focus, I turn back to the window, calming slightly as I gaze back across the city, still unchanged in the last hour. Inside, however, I’m now not alone and it doesn’t feel so eerily quiet. Instead, Sylus is pressed so close that I can feel the rise and fall of his steady breathing, each exhale cascading against my shoulder. I can feel the pulsing of his heart all the way in this fingertips as they remain wrapped around mine, his thumb brushing abscently back and forth across the back of my palm.

I begin to point out the little scenes in the city below that calm me the most–the life of the pub below, the rooftop garden a few highrises away, the flocks of birds that fly overhead. With each scene I reveal to Sylus, the more relaxed I begin to feel. He doesn’t say much in response to my narration, only offering the occasional hums of acknowledgement or squeeze of my hand.

After a few minutes of my rambling, I turn my face slightly to make sure he hasn’t drifted off to sleep, but am instead met with his face mere centimeters from mine, his eyes already locked on my face. I wonder if he’s been watching me the whole time I’ve been talking…

“Yes, I have,” Sylus responds lowly, and I jump, eyes widening as he grins at me.

“Did I say that outloud?” My free hand goes to cover my mouth in embarrassment.

There is a brand new kind of mirth in Sylus’ eyes, one I’ve not been witness too this close. It sucks the breath from my lungs.

“I’ve seen this city from every angle, at every time of day, in every circumstance,” Sylus goes on, never looking away from me. “But you, little bird…”

I struggle to keep my composure in check.

“I’ve waited a long time to discover you.”

I think I might die.

“You’ll be fine, I’ve got you.”

Damn it, am I letting every thought slip into the open tonight?

Sylus’ expression goes from bright and humored to inquisitive, as if he’s considering whether or not he should voice his thoughts. He might as well, I’ve let every damn question in my head escape already. It’s only right he joins in.

“Mina,” he starts, looking almost nervous and very un-Sylus-like.

“Sylus,” I whisper back, feeling like I’m floating outside of my body.

His chest hitches slightly, lips parting as he breathes into the silence for a beat. “Earlier…when you told me I should be careful…what were you about to say?”

He sounds breathless, his question hanging in the air between us, our mouths far too close for me to be thinking straight. In the back of my mind, I recall the moment, hesitant even now to utter what I was considering an hour ago. How much would it change things between us? Whatever is left of our boundaries, what little there might be, would surely be gone. I don’t know if that’s for better or for worse.

“Please tell me.” Sylus leans in closer, his nose brushing against mine, our breaths intermingled. “Please.”

My resolve falters. “I-I…”

“You what?” Sylus seems almost desperate, his hands tightening around my own. I’ve never seen or heard him like this. It’s a new kind of vulnerable. So I decide to repay it with my own.

“I care about you.”

And now it’s out in the open between us, hanging there like a bob in the water. The only question is will he bite or reject the offering?

“I care about you, Sylus,” I whisper again, my free hand raising of it’s own volition to brush down the skin of his face, from the edge of his eyebrow to the corner of his full lips.

Sylus’ breathing becomes heavy, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly as something shifts in the air around us. “I hate seeing you hurt, and after tonight, I’m more worried than I wanted to admit about you being out in the city.” I find myself rambling into the growing tension. Anything to ease whatever is building.

“With this new weapon, I detest the idea of you out there alone…what if you don’t make it home next time?”

“Home…” Is all that Sylus repeats, as if he isn’t fully hearing every word.

I fully cup his face in my hand. As the moments have ticked by, I realize I’ve shifted in his embrace and am somehow almost fully facing him, body halfway turned in his lap as I lean into his strong arms.

Sylus exhales and leans his face into my touch, brows scrunching up in another emotion I can’t quite read.

“Is this why…” he begins, eyes dropping to my lips and then back again, “Is this why the links have been lasting so long?”

“...Yes.” My cheeks heat up once more.

“Fuck,” Sylus hisses to mostly himself, eyes drinking in my expression.

I curve my brow. “Is that good or bad?”

Sylus manages a breathy chuckle, his arm tightening around my waist now. “Good…very good. You don’t realize how much so.”

Afraid I’ll implode if I read too far into that statement, I continue, “Can I go out into the city with you? To help keep you safe? Please?”

Sylus looks slightly tormented by the question. “I’d be far too worried for your safety to consider my own, kitten.”

“I can take care of myself,” I rebut. “I’m a specially trained Deepspace Hunter, or have you forgotten?”

“I’d never forget something that could put my life in mortal danger,” Sylus responds sarcastically, chuckling softly at my responding annoyance. He strokes my face again and I melt.

“Let me take care of you,” I try again, leaning further into him, hoping to convey the sincerity of my request. Having said these thoughts out loud after all this time, I feel like a waterfall that can’t help but spill everything I’ve kept dammed up. “I want to take care of you.”

Once again, Sylus appears internally knotted up, his face contorting in an odd mix of confusion and desire. “Do you not know how much you do for me already?” he asks. “How much you’re doing for me in this very moment?”

“It doesn’t feel like enough, whatever it is,” I admit. “I can do more for you. I can fight.”

“Mina–” he strains out, conflicted. “I know you’re capable, I do, but that’s not–you don’t–”

“I don’t what?”

“Linkon City is not the N109 Zone. You’ve barely scratched the surface of how bad this place can get.”

I know I shouldn’t let it bother me, not in this moment after everything that’s been put out in the open, but his statement pricks my pride and I pull back from him. I can see that I’ve hurt him in his confused expression as I put more distance between us. I’d get up from my spot on his lap if I knew I’d make it more than half a foot without dragging him along with me.

“So you get to go out risking life and limb for your responsibilities, and I just have to sit here on my hands waiting for you to come back every night? IF you come back?”

“No, Mina, that’s not what I’m saying…fuck, I don’t even know…how are we–do we need to talk about this right now?” Sylus runs a hand through his silver locks and I watch as they fall in a messy cascade across his forehead.

I know this is not the way he probably saw this conversation going. I’m sure he would rather have me close to him and telling him more about how much I care about his wellbeing, and if I was being totally honest with myself, that’s what I wish too, but my pride is stumped against the wall of his double standards.

Why does he get to call the shots for my well-being but I get no say in his?

He looks like he’s about to reason with me again, but I shake my head. “I want to go to bed now.”

Sylus looks at a loss for words, starting at me with his jaw half open. He lifts our still-linked hands and waves them between us, as if to remind me that exiting this conversation isn’t going to be that easy.

I curse quietly to myself, looking away from him and out the window.

“Mina, please, can we–”

“No, we can’t,” I interrupt. With each passing moment, I feel more and more tense and I don’t know how to calm down. I feel like I’m on the verge of tears, the threat of the waterworks stinging at the back of my eyes, and it’s the most frustrating feeling.

Sylus, to the credit of his good judgement, is remaining quiet. I can feel him staring at the side of my face, probably wondering where this conversation turned sideways.

“Let’s go then,” he finally speaks into the growing silence.

I whip my head in this direction. “Go where?”

“To bed. If you’re so keen to sleep right now, then I will oblige.”

I look at him, confused, gesturing to our linked hands. “And how exactly do you suggest we do that?”

Without another word, Sylus scoops his free arm beneath my legs that hang over his lap and pulls. As if I’m the weight of a plushie, I’m hoisted into the air, sitting halfway over Sylus’ bare shoulder and halfway in one arm. I’m immediately annoyed by how strong he is.

“What are you–where are–”

“To bed,” he interrupts, and I can hear the tension in his own voice. I’m caught between my own frustration and the guilt of causing it, so I keep quiet, huffing in resignation as he turns and begins to trapse easily down the length of the dark hallway.

I have no idea what his plan is as he walks, wondering if he thinks the Evol link will just dissapear when he gets to my room, but instead he passes right by it. My eyes widen as I watch my heavy mahogany door grow smaller and smaller, Sylus still charging towards the end of the hall. I turn, taking in the ornate, black, double-doors at the head of the hallway…Sylus’ room.

“Where do you think you’re taking me?” I ask, incredulous.

“To b–”

“If you say “bed” one more damn time, I’ll throttle you here and now.”

Against his stoic resolve, Sylus chuckles, and I have to admit, I struggle to remain annoyed, overjoyed that he can’t see my face hanging over his shoulder.

I’ve only been in Sylus’ room twice, both during a bet to see if I could steal a brooch he’d hidden in return for his help on a mission to find the other half of my Aether Core. That seems so long ago now, though thinking back, that second visit to Sylus’ room was where our relationship started to shift from professional to…whatever is was now.

I shudder as I think about what it felt like to have him towering over me on that bed for the first time.

And now I was going back in under very different, albeit less enticing, circumstances.

I take in the familiar surroundings as Sylus pushes through the heavy doors like they’re nothing, making straight for the bed that he deftly plops me down on top of. I look up at him as he stands before me, but I can’t read his expression if my life depended on it.

“Care to explain how you saw this working?” I try, attempting to break the silence. As the moments pass and he remains like the former version of himself, walled up and unreadable, I feel my frustration beginning to be replaced by nerves and uncertainty. Is all that progress we just made for nothing? Are we back to square one now?

“First, you’ll help me out of these.”

I choke on my breath as Sylus gestures to his belt and slacks, still hugging snuggly to his narrow hips. The moisture in my mouth dries up as my eyes follow the prominent V at the bottom of his torso, the deep rivets leading straight below the button of the very pants he’s requested I help remove.

“I’ll what?”

“If we can bandage a wound while linked like this, I’m certain a simple belt and zipper won’t put up too much of a fight.”

“Sylus, I can’t–”

“If you think I’m sleeping in these in my own bed, you’re sorely mistaken,” he states, matter-of-factly. My jaw drops open. He can’t be serious. “Don’t look too disturbed, sweetie, I’ll do all the heavy lifting.” Sylus smirks as he yanks my linked hand forward.

At this angle, I have to pull against the momentum to stop my hand from making an…unfortunate collision, and cut my look of shock and annoyance up to to see Sylus looking mighty pleased with himself.

“Just keep your hand close enough to allow me to work,” he explains. I fight to not roll my eyes. I also fight to keep my cheeks from heating up. I’m beginning to remember how I used to feel in the presence of Sylus before I got through a few more of his layers. This arrogance and smugness always did make me irate.

I look across the room, finding anything and everything to analyze while I feel my hand being jostled around. I hear the metallic sound of the belt being undone and discarded to the ground. Then the unmistakable sounds of his zipper falling loose and his slacks slipping to the floor.

“Don’t be too coy, kitten. It’s not like this is isn’t anything you haven’t seen,” Sylus purrs from next to me, and my stomach does a flip against my protestation.

“Can we just get to the sleeping part?” I try my best to sound as bored as possible. How we went from mere centimeters apart, sharing breaths and encased in each others arms to putting on our best show of “Who Can Care Less?” I'll never know.

Instead of the smug response I’m expecting back, I hear a low and resigned sigh from next to me and brave a look in Sylus’ direction. His eyes are cast away towards the floor, but mine hungrily graze up his newly bare skin. It’s true it’s nothing I haven’t seen before, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious.

His lengthy frame is cut with rippling muscles that sit prettily beneath his luminescent skin. His bandaged and broad torso swims to the narrow line of his black briefs that hug the curve of his meaty thighs like something perfectly tailored. Knowing him, the briefs probably were perfectly tailored.

I am distracted from my shameless gazing, however, as I return my eyes to his face. He’s still not looking at me…he looks almost sad? I don’t recall ever seeing Sylus downcast, but if that’s not the expression sneaking onto this perfect face, then I don’t know what is. My heart lurches at the sight.

I watch as he reaches past me to pull the pristinely made sheets away from the headboard, revealing a deepset grey silk. “After you,” he offers, his previous expression masked for the moment.

My emotions are all over the place, but I keep any thoughts I have to myself as I nod and scoot back on the bed. Sylus is pulled after me by our linked wrists, and if the circumstances were any different right now, I think I might explode from the sight of his lithe frame bending to crawl onto the bed towards me.

I have to avert my gaze and swiftly burry myself beneath the cool sheets before I heat up anymore. As I settle against the pillow, I feel the bed dip next to me as Sylus does the same. Soon, I feel the silk sheets rise to encase us both, and with a swift flick of Sylus’ fingers, the lights in room go out and we’re plunged into darkness and silence.

I blink a few times, forcing my eyes to adjust to the lighting. Soon enough, the moonlight bathes everything in the bedroom in a soft glow and I can see the faint outline of the objects around me. I turn my head to the right and gaze out of the large bay window fixed into the far wall. The view of the night sky from here is breathtaking. I can’t help but feel a sense of yearning for the scene only minutes earlier, staring out the window with Sylus so close.

He’s so close to me now, but it doesn’t feel like it anymore. How did things change so quickly? I forget why I was even frustrated with him…Well, I still remember why, but I don’t know why it was so important. The downfall of pride, I suppose. And now I’m lying in Sylus’ bed more awake than ever before, wallowing in my regret and desperate for some sort of salve to the situation.

I risk a glance to my left and can make out the sharp outline of Sylus’ profile resting on the pillow next to mine. How many times have I dreamed of this? Of lying next to him in the quiet of the evening? Only there wasn’t this glaring tension resting between us in those dreams. I mentally kick myself for letting my annoyance get the better of me. And just after I’d made so much progress with him.

I can feel the heat of his hand under the blankets so close to mine, the Evol linking our wrists making it harder to move any farther apart. As I subtly test the pull of the link, I can’t help but feel it’s even shorter than when it first connected. My fingers must be mere centemeters from Sylus’.

There’s no sound in the room aside from our breathing. If I train my ears just right, I can find the rhythm of Sylus’ inhales and exhales–the only comforting thing in the vicinity. I chew the inside of my cheek as the temptation to move closer to him grows. He’s so close, so warm. And with that warmth so nearby, it intensifies the freezing air of the bedroom, chilling me right to my bones.

My free hand grips the silk sheets, pulling them up to rest just below my chin. I curl my body beneath the covers as tightly as I can, trying to retain any heat I still have from when Sylus’ was holding me against him. It’s no use. I continue to fight against the chill of the air, wondering how Sylus exists in this kind of cold all the time.

“You’re shaking the whole bed.”

The sound of his voice in the dead silence makes me jump.

“Oh…I’m s-sorry,” I chatter, my chin stuttering from the chill. “It just got so cold…You don’t have an extra blanket in here, do you?”

Instead of responding, I hear him sigh deeply before the bed dips closer to me and I’m suddenly sliding sideways directly into the bare and blazing skin of Sylus himself. He situates our linked wrists in such a way that they are comfortably resting between our bodies. I instinctively curl myself against him, drinking in his heat like water.

“Better?’ he asks, his voice close by in the darkness.

I sigh out the last of my chill, nuzzling into the crook of his shoulder, not stopping to care that the tension between our unresolved conversation is still sitting stagnant above us.

“Yes,” I say honestly. “Thank you.”

He doesn’t say anything, so I attempt to close my eyes and find rest. If silence is all that awaits me tonight, I’d rather find solace in slumber and pray that when I wake up, the link will be dissolved.

My eyes are closed all of a minute before I realize falling back asleep won’t be as easy as I hoped. My insides are too restless, my regret and guilt too heavy. I should say something, I know I should, but I’m not sure how to broach the topic again…

“I care about you, too.”

Once again the low rumble of Sylus’ rough timbre echoes into the silence before I get my chance. I jolt at the unexpected comment and feel him shift his position beside me. In the glow of the moonlight, I lift my head to see his face turned towards me, lids hooded as he finds my eyes.

Suddenly my heart is pounding again. How does he manage to do that?

“What?” is all I can think to say.

“I care about you. I realize I never returned the sentiment…earlier.”

“Oh!” I breathe out, caught off guard. “I–That’s…thank you?”

“Thank you?”

I can hear the start of a chuckle behind his words, and I can’t help but giggle in response at the absurdity of my own.

“No, not ‘thank you’--well, I mean yes, thank you, but that’s–what I meant to say was…”

“It’s ok, Mina,” he lulls my from my spiral with his calm tone. He turns even more in the darkness until we are both lying facing each other. He looks some kind of otherworldly in this light. “I wanted to you know that I’m not hesitant to bring you with me into the city because I don’t think you’re capable or don’t want you to worry for my well-being.”

I purse my lips, studying his face. His expression is still sadder than I’d like it to be, as if he’s been mulling these words over and over, unsure of how I’d respond.

“I know,” I agree, earnestly. “But then why–”

“I care about you, too,” he repeats just as emphatically as me. Under the blankets, I feel the ghost of his fingers trail against mine, testing the waters of what’s ok. I instantly fold and move my fingers to be eagerly enveloped by his own. He inches closer to me.

“You care about me,” I echo, testing each word on my lips.

He slowly grins, that hooded gaze eating me alive. His other hand reaches towards me and tucks a stray hair behind my ear, so gentle I question if this is the same man I met all those months ago.

“Yes,” he assures in a breath of a whisper. “Very much so.”

“You care about me,” I say again, sounding like a broken record.

Sylus laughs a low rumble of a laugh that shoots right through me. “I care about you so much that I worry about your safety the same way you say you worry about mine.”

I stare up at him, melting against his palm as it traces soothing lines up and down the curve of my neck. It’s like every new place he’s allowed to touch me is a place he must explore every inch of, memorizing every fold and caressing every curve.

“I have responsibilities to attend to out in the city,” he continues on, explaining in a sort of gentle voice that has me hanging onto every syllable. “If I don’t attend to those responsibilities, all that follows is chaos, the kind that would eventually rope you up inside, and I can’t have that.” His fingers tighten on my hand, as if reassuring himself I’m really here in front of him.

“Keeping you here means that I can attend to responsibilities knowing you’re safe and unharmed,” Sylus reveals. “I’m without the distraction of worrying about someone I care for.”

“You care about me.”

Sylus laughs louder this time. “Is that all you can say, kitten?”

I feel my grin growing in response to the sound of his laughter. I wonder how many other people have had the privilege to hear his laugh, his real laugh, hearty and deep and comforting.

“I’m sorry, “ I shake my head. “I’m just processing.”

Sylus inches forward almost imperceptibly, eyebrows knit together. “Surely you knew I returned the feeling?”

I suddenly become sheepish.

Sylus’ eyebrows raise in astonishment, his grin going lopsided. “Surely, you knew!”

My cheeks heat and I retreat with a squeak beneath the barrier of silk sheets, burying my face against his shoulder. I hear another well of laughter tumble over me as Sylus moves to remove the sheets from overtop of me.

“I promise I didn’t know!” I finally admit, grinning stupidly against the warmth of his skin. As the natural cadence of my giggling dies down, I continue, slightly embarrassed, “I guessed…I hoped…but you’ve been so shamelessly flirtatious since the moment we met, I could never be sure…”

Sylus feigns shock. “Shamelessly flirtatious? Tsk, tsk, sweetie, you couldn’t be talking about me.”

I laugh again and Sylus lights up at the sound, his eyes glowing.

He stares at me for a long moment, his hands reclaiming their purchases against my skin, stroking and caressing the exposed parts with such care. “Sorry if it should’ve been more obvious,” I add after a minute, gazing lazily at his face. “Wanderers and fluctuation zones I can detect all day long, but this has never been my strong suit…” I gesture between the two of us.

Sylus huffs a gentle laugh, shaking his head. “Maybe it wasn’t obvious to you, that’s ok. We’re here now.”

I bite my lip in thought and Sylus’ eyes zero in on the action, pupils dialiting before he pulls his gaze away. My stomach twists again.

“...How long?” I eventually ask, nerves lighting up inside me. I can’t bare to keep eye contact with him as I wait for an answer.

“How long?”

“How long have you…cared for me?” I feel so silly asking it out loud. As a blush creeps up my neck, I fight the urge to dive beneath the covers again.

Sylus’ fingers still their soothing ministrations against my skin, and I suddenly worry. Did I ask something I shouldn’t have? Was it too far? Too soon?

But when I anxiously meet Sylus’ eyes once again, he’s already looking at me like something I’ve never seen. His piercing red irises have a slight glow to them, his brows knit slightly in a look of sincerity that takes my breath away. He pauses a moment longer, making sure I’m keeping my eyes on him as he speaks, low and slow.

“A long time,” he utters, breathless. “A very, very long time.”

I’m slightly confused while at the same time utterly captivated. I don’t know how long these few months could’ve felt. I suppose it has seemed like forever already, but I have a feeling that’s not what he means. Something about the moment has me reeling back my questions, however. This doesn’t seem like the right time or place to broach that topic.

“And you?” He returns my question, his face earnest as he awaits my response. “When did you start to…care?”

I find his phrasing funny and giggle before I answer. “When I was looking for that brooch, I suppose.”

He looks somewhat surprised at this. Maybe it wasn’t what he was expecting. “The one from the bet we made?”

I nod.

“What about that little hunt had you see me as something less monstrous?”

I open my mouth to protest that I ever found him monstrous, but truth be told, those first few days in the N109 Zone were not my favorite to recount with him.

Instead I answer honestly. “I tried so many times so many ways to find that stupid brooch, and you were so…patient with me. Even when I eventually had you handcuffed to this very bed and you could’ve escaped at any moment, you didn’t, and you let me think I had the upper hand for a few moments.”

Sylus listens intently, his eyes trained on my lips.

“I don’t know,” I continue. “In the end when you finally handed over the brooch, at first I was annoyed that you’d let me win without really winning, but as I kept replaying the memory of it, I thought it was so uncharacteristic of you to give in…and then I started thinking, ‘What if that isn’t uncharacteristic of him, and the demeanor he usually has is the farce?’”

I watch Sylus’ eyebrow raise in question.

“The interactions we had after that…I started looking at you through that lens to test my theory, and sure enough, you aren’t the big bad meanie everyone paints you to be. At least not all the time.” I smile to myself.

Looking back to Sylus, I see his expression has become one of subdued shock.

“What?” I ask through my smile.

“I just didn’t think you were paying that close attention to me.”

“I’m quite perceptive where it counts,” I defend myself.

He smiles slowly. “Except when it comes to matters of returned affection.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay, well I’m one for one on the perception front. I’m gonna take that as a win.”

Sylus’ grin grows and he inches forward yet again. As I notice how truly close he’s gotten, my nerves begin to edge upward. My throat dry, I avert my eyes. “So, what now?”

“You could touch me.”

“W-What?” I choke out, blindsided by his request.

“If you want to, that is,” he amends, carefully looking me over. “You seem rather…timid when it comes to physical affection, do you not?”

“I’m not timid!” I say defiantly, immediately proving myself wrong when Sylus dips his hand from my face to my shoulder then under the edge of blanket to my waist. I instantly flinch away from the sudden change in proximity. “Ok, well that was an unfair play!”

Sylus is laughing in earnest now, and it’s enough to distract me from my fumble.

“You were a little tense on the couch earlier, as well,” he notes, moving his hand back to the safe zone of my face. “Do you not enjoy physical contact?”

“I do!” I am quick to assure him. “I do enjoy it, it’s just…”

“Just…?”

“You make me nervous.”

“Nervous good or nervous bad?”

“Good! Nervous good.”

“So what does nervous good mean? Would you rather I not touch you just yet?” Sylus begins to remove his hands from me and I immediately feel their absence.

I shake my head, swiftly reaching back for his hands and pulling them back to where they were previously stationed. Sylus tries to hide his satisfaction.

“I don’t mind the physical contact, really!” I do my best to reassure that I am very much enthusiastic about the physical element going on here. “It just might take me a bit to get used to it without jumping is all. It’s something new.”

Sylus nods, his eyes darting away before returning with a question. “And me? How do you feel about touching me?”

My throat dries again. He truly is shameless.

“Have I given the impression that I don’t want to?” I ask sincerely, concerned I’ve come across averse to the idea.

“You haven’t exactly returned the physical sentiment the whole time we’ve been lying here.” He says it like it’s obvious.

“Oh, I haven’t?” I was genuinely unaware, much more focused on his hands on me than where mine were. Now that he’s mentioned it, I realize aside from the hand I’m holding beneath the sheets, my other hand remains curled against my own chest. “Do you…enjoy physical contact?”

“Yes,” he responds without a beat of pause. “Especially yours.”

My stomach is doing flips. “Where should I–?”

“Anywhere,” he whispers. “Everywhere.”

I hesitate a moment, overthinking every minute movement. I did touch him earlier when I bandaging his wounds, but I suppose that was with a different purpose in mind. And on the couch, I remember touching his face, didn’t I? Maybe it wasn’t enough for him. I know some people are more drawn to touch than others. I didn’t even really know I liked it until Sylus started doing it. If it feels as comforting to him as this does to me, then I decide to make an effort to return the gestures he’s already offered.

Slowly, I unfurl my hand from against my own chest and reach out towards the exposed planes of Sylus’. I place my palm flat against his collarbone, fingers running a line across the protruding feature and up along the curve of his own neck. His skin is soft and warm and I eat up every inch of it as I trace a path along the sharp jut of his jawline and then back down, down, down, across his collarbone once again and then onto the solid muscles of his chest.

I run my nails along his pale skin, and Sylus shudders beneath my touch, moving even closer to me.

“Is this ok?” I ask gently, keeping my eyes focused on what my hand is doing.

“Yes,” comes the heady whisper of approval above me. It sounds almost gutteral and it has my mind spinning. Did this really affect him that much? “More. Touch me more.”

My mind careens into an abyss at the sound of his voice. When I look up, he’s looking down with eyes half closed, irises glazed over and needy, and staring right at me.

I continue to run the pressure of my palm and the scratch of my nails along his chest, venturing across to his other pectoral and then down his sternum towards the chiseled field of his abdominals. I stop just above the gauze wrapping, avoiding placing any pressure on his healing wound. As I travel back up towards his face, I test a graze along his exposed nipple and melt inside as a low moan of approval erupts from his throat.

“Careful, kitten,” he admonishes in a dulcet tone. “Don’t start what you can’t finish.”

“Can’t fini–” I start to question before he captures my roaming hand in his own.

“Maybe that’s enough practice for now,” he decides, thumbing the back of my palm.

I look up at Sylus from beneath hooded lashes, breathing harder than I realized. I watch as Sylus’ adam’s apple bobs against the skin of his throat, his chest starting to heave like a bellows.

“Fuck…” he hisses, squeezing my hand as if trying to stop his own from moving any farther.

“What?” I question, searching that dazed expression for what he might be thinking about. Did I do something I shouldn’t have? “What’s wrong?”

Sylus leans closer to me, our mouths a breath apart. “I’m trying so hard to stop myself from kissing you right now.”

His brazen confession has my breath stuck in my throat. There’s a silence that seems like it stretches on forever between us. I force myself to swallow and say, “What if I don’t want you to stop yourself?”

His right eye glows an intense shade of red as he reigns in the flare of his Evol energy. Those irises lock their sights on my parted lips. He licks his own in a way that has me becoming a puddle against him. I didn’t realize I want to kiss him so badly until he spoke it outloud. Now it’s all I can think of. What his lips taste like, what noises he makes, how well he uses that vipers tongue of his…

“If you keep looking at me like that, I won’t be able to stop myself,” he whispers against the skin of cheek, so close that he almost feels like part of me.

“Don’t,” I plead breathlessly. “Don’t stop yourself.”

I let my eyes drift back to his enticing mouth, licking my own lips in response.

“I have to–” is all he gets out before his lips are on mine.

My head and my stomach implode in tandem, nerves and butterflies and explosions swimming all throughout my body at the feeling of him kissing me. I am in heaven, pure heaven.

I always knew Sylus was a sensual kind of person, but having his lips pressed against mine was almost sinful with how perfect it felt. The kiss is gentle but desperate, the pressure of his mouth on mine conveying how he can’t seem to get close enough, to feel enough of me.

His free hand moves from my face to my neck and up to my hair, his long digits fisting in my locks, tugging me futher into him. I suck against his bottom lip which draws out the most beautiful moan from his throat.

His Evol energy suddenly erupts in a swarm of red and black mist that swims around us both, carressing my arms, my legs, my waist, every part of me his hands can’t get to.

I feel his wrist tugging against the link beneath the sheets, trying without success to free itself and move elsewhere on my person.

“Fuck, I want to touch you, all of you,” he grinds out through breathless kisses, tugging again against the Evol link. If I wasn’t so far gone against his body, I’d find it in me to laugh that the very thing that brought us this close was now his hindrance. And with the link growing stronger the more our connection grows, I didn’t see it coming loose anytime soon.

“Sylus,” I moan against his mouth, his Evol energy shuddering around me in response.

“Say it again, Mina,” he pleads, pressing me to his chest. “Say my name.”

“Sylus, Sylus, Sylus,” I repeat in between each capture of my lips in his. We continue for a moment longer, his tongue beginning to tease the line of my mouth before he suddenly pulls away, leaving me breathless and blown out, hazy in the remnants of his touch.

I open my eyes to see his chest rising and falling in erratic patterns, his hand still fisted in my hair. His own eyes are closed, his Evol energy slowly dissipating around us. He’s trying to regain himself.

“Sylus?” I venture, my voice not sounding quite my own. “Are you ok?”

“Yes,” he breathes slowly, his voice like gravel. “Yes, I’m fine. I just need…a moment.”

“Ok,” I concede, lying back and watching him as he reigns in his explosion of energy. He’s so powerful, it’s a marvel to watch his Evol in action, and it makes me want to reach back for him even more. I lift my free hand to do just that before he intercepts my fingers in his own and holds it against his chest.

Sylus falls against the sheets and curls me against him, kissing the top of my head. “I’m sorry, I think we should stop for now…”

“Oh, ok,” I whisper, my cheeks heating in embarrassment. I make to turn myself over before he sees the blush covering my neck and face when he tightens his grip on me.

“Where are you going?” he sounds concerned.

“I thought…you said you wanted to stop.”

Sylus exhales a relieved breath. “No, kitten, please don’t misunderstand.” I meet his eyes and he massages my hand with his own in a comforting way. “I need to stop for my own sake…if we’d kept going…I don’t think I would’ve been able to control my Evol.”

My eyes light with realization. “Oh…”

“I’ve never…” His eyes go somewhere far away for a moment as he becomes lost in a thought. “That’s never happened before. My Evol going haywire…did I hurt you?” Suddenly all his worry is trained on me, his eyes looking me up and down to ensure no lingering injury was left behind.

“What? No, of course not,” I reassure him. “It felt…good.”

“Good?” Sylus repeats.

“Like there was more of you around me.”

He exhales again. “Good.”

“Was it…okay for you?” If I had a dollar for everytime I’ve blushed uncontrollably tonight, I’d be a damn millionare.

Sylus looks at me for a moment before leaning in and chuckling, his eyes closing in mirth. Was I that bad?

He opens his eyes and looks so deeply in mine that I balk under his gaze. “You have…no idea how long I’ve waited for that.” The tone of his voice sets my heart aflame. Sylus glances back to my now-swollen lips before he tears away. “I would do it again if I thought I could control myself.”

The way he looks at me so hungrily, like he could devour the whole of me in one bite makes me want to hide myself away. He is too much and not enough all at once.

“We’ll have to work on that,” I manage to finally say.

Sylus laughs and he runs the back of his hand down my face, coming to rest against my neck. “I look forward to it. Now, sleep, little bird. You’ve been up far past your bedtime.”

I blink at him and suddenly feel more tired than I have in weeks. As Sylus curls me against his side and readjusts the sheets overtop of us, I fight to stay awake and take one last look at his perfect face, suddenly terrified this has all been some elaborate fever dream and I’m about to wake up in my bed down the hall with nothing but the lingering memory of tonight to hold on to.

“Sleep, darling,” Sylus whispers again, his lips pressing to the crown of my head, his hand still linked to mine beneath the silk sheets massaging gentle patterns into my palm that have my drifting even farther off. “I’ll be here when you wake.”

And that was all I needed to hear before my eyes finally closed and sleep washed over me for the first time since I arrived. This time, I sleep all the way through to morning. ~ A/N: This is the first thing I've written since i went on a tumblr hiatus back in 2020. Love and Deepspace has drawn me out of the trenches and I am once again a fandom girlie. For now at least! I lowkey wanted to make this into a mini-series, which i might still do if I get enough of an idea for it, but for now, I hope you enjoy this moment with Sylus! Requests are open for drabbles and fics for LnDS <3 ~zayneternal <3

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chrisevansonly · 11 months

Text

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨: 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐜 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: the day had finally come to bring little matteo to the track. charles had been waiting for this day since he was born, but made sure to wait until you were ready. now matteo is 6 months old and his father couldn’t be more excited to show him everything he could about f1

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: mentions of anxiety, harsh media but other than that, lots of fluff!

𝐚/𝐧: here she is! chapter two and man have the past few days been taxing on me, i’m just trying to focus on writing and ignoring everything else so, i hope your enjoying this series and are looking forward to this chapter! it’s a bit on the shorter end but i hope that’s okay, i haven’t been feeling well lately<3

𝐰𝐜: 900 ish…?

🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️

It was finally the long-awaited day, well for Charles at least, where little Matteo was finally going to be heading to the track to watch the grand prix. Well technically you had agreed to qualifying day and if all went well then you would come back for the race on Sunday. It wasn’t like you didn’t want to bring your baby boy to watch his father do what he loves, you were still just an anxious new mom, and your husband knew that.

“Okay, extra bottles…his pacifier, pluto the dog”

“Baby, I think you have everything..”

Shaking your head you paused

“Charles, I need to make sure I have everything because if I don’t and he freaks out I-I just”

“Whoa..okay..”

Charles placed his hands on your shoulders, your eyes coming up to meet his which of course were full of nothing but love for you

“Are you sure you want to come?” he asked, no hint of disappointment at all

“Yes, I do..Char I promise I do..I’m sorry I just am all over the place I suppose”

Charles nodded, understanding exactly where you were coming from, thankfully the two of you were able to have a quiet moment together as Matteo napped before you had to leave

“It’s okay, I know you’re anxious, but we’ll take it one step at a time okay? When I can’t be with you I know Joris or Marta will be right?”

You nodded

“You also know if you need anything at all you can have someone from the team get me right away right..?”

He waited until you nodded once again before pressing a kiss to your forehead

“Right…no you’re right..okay I think I have everything ready to go then”

“Good, then let’s go get the little man and head out!”

Monaco was a beautiful city, but on race week and weekend it seemed to get that much more magical. The paddock was no different, familiar faces and friends could be spotted easily, Charles’s family around as well which was perfect for Matteo

“Bonjour petit ours!”

At the sound of Arthur Leclerc’s voice, Matteo squealed as he began to wave his little arms around, the younger Leclerc brother quickly coming over and taking him from you, before leaning forward to pull you in for a hug, placing a kiss on both of your cheeks

“Bonjour chouchou”

“Hi Thur, nice to see a familiar face”

He smiled

“Yes I would think so, this year is a bit crazy, I was just about to walk over to the Ferrari garage if you want company?”

“I’d love that! Where is Carla?”

Matteo placed a hand on Arthur’s cheek as he babbled away, his little eyes looking at everything around him

“Oh she is on her way, i’m sure she’ll be glued to you both”

Ever since you’d started your relationship with Charles and had the chance to meet Carla when she came into Arthur’s life, you’d been super close to one another, it was like having a little sister all in one.

“Well he seems to be quite content to be here”

You smiled as you looked at your little one, his eyes still enamoured by the sights and noises

“I’m surprised, I was so anxious he’d be scared of everything”

“He is a Leclerc, he was born for this.”

Arthur sent you a wink as you both arrived at the garages, truth be told the comment he made had sent a bit of worry throughout you. Charles grew up karting, and it was something he had begun to talk to you about with Matteo, and you were absolutely terrified. Terrified at the thought of him getting in that little kart, terrified to watch him go fast and potentially get hurt. It was a thought for another day.

Matteo had settled back into your arms as his uncle kissed his head and then walked away towards some of his F2 friends he’d spotted, giving you time to bring your baby boy over to the garage. It wasn’t long before he let out his tell tale excited squeal, and it meant he had either spotted his father, or Max Verstappen. Matteo’s relationship with Max was something so adorable, he’d gotten close to the dutch driver from a young age, and he and Kelly had always been two of the first people you’d call to babysit, besides your mother in law of course.

“Hey there little speed demon!”

You rolled your eyes at Max as he was quick to come over and take Matteo from you

“Oh sorry Y/N didn’t even see you there” he teased

“Sure, no I totally understand, I’m virtually invisible when I’ve got this cutie with me”

Max went to rebuttal when an arm slipped around your waist and a pair of lips pressed to your temple

“Tu n’es jamais invisible pour moi, chérie”

“Aww merci bébé!”

Leaning into Charles you laughed as Max was quick to cover Matteo’s eyes

“Come on, we need to escape, too much grossness here for you baby leclerc!”

“Bring him back before quali please!”

Charles yelled as Max began to walk away, the red bull driver yelling a ‘you got it!’ back before it was just you and your husband.

“How are you feeling now?” he asked letting you lean further into his side, knowing you needed a bit more comfort, especially when Matteo wasn’t around

“A bit better, Teo’s been loving every second..I should have known everything would be okay”

“No, it’s okay to be anxious you know that, it’s his first time here…I know you’re anxious right now knowing he’s not with you”

You hated how easily he could read you, and man did he know you inside and out like a book

“He’s safe with Max, i’m sure he’s gone to see Kelly as well, if you want I can call him?” he offered which had you shaking your head

“Oh no, let him enjoy his time, though i’m sure Maman will be over soon begging to take him, I think she’s jealous of Max”

This had Charles laughing as he nodded in agreement

“Yes she was telling me the other day that he spends far too much time with Max”

“We’re so lucky aren’t we?”

“We are.”

It always occurred to you that unlike some families you would never ever run out of love, in fact you had an abundance of it. From your friends and family, to Charles’s friends and family. Matteo would always grow up with so many people around him that adored him just as much as you and Charles did.

Even if there was a deeper conversation waiting and gnawing at you to be had, it could wait for another day. Right now you only wanted to focus on your family and Matteo as he got his first taste at Formula One track life. Nothing could wipe the smile off your face seeing how happy your boys were. Charles had settled into being a father so gracefully, managing his time at work and at home in a way that had you so grateful.

“It’s almost quali..we should go find Teo”

“Good idea, Max has stolen my son enough!”

Shaking your head, Charles took your hand and began to walk towards the one spot you knew where he would be. Soon enough, you saw your little boy laughing and clapping as he was entertained by not only Max but Christian as well.

At least you knew if Ferrari didn’t pick him when he got older Red Bull would.

english translations:

Bonjour petit ours - hello little bear

Bonjour chouchou - hello sweetheart

Tu n’es jamais invisible pour moi, chérie - you are never invisible to me baby

Aww merci bébé - thank you baby

ʚlittle karter series tag list

@goldenmclaren @a1leexxa @piastricodedfr @treehouse-mouse @therealcap @goldenalbon @wintfleur

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bipanicoverthegravessiblings · 7 months

Note

Andrew and Ashley x Male reader who can commune with the dead?

Gotcha gotcha

Graves Siblings x Medium!Male Reader

To be completely honest….the ability to talk to ghosts isn’t as cool as it sounds

Most would expect ghosts to hang around graveyards or abandoned buildings like a school, or a hospital, or a house- but no. They were everywhere

To be honest, it made sense. Why would a ghost want to hang around where they died? Thats just depressing

So, they wander. Following their loved ones. Trying to live an empty husk of their old life. Being fucking weird.

Which made it hard for you to tell the difference a lot of the time. Sometimes you’d talk to a person and they’d turn out to be a ghost!

Now you look crazy!

Like recently…

The sidewalks were virtually empty. It was getting late into the evening, and it made sense that people would head home. You yourself were making your way back to your apartment building when you spotted something….strange.

A girl. A little girl. She looked no older than…7 maybe? In all honesty you were never good guessing ages, but you knew enough to deduce that this kid was too young to be by herself. She looked around anxiously, her blonde pigtails moving every time she turned her head. Her hands fussed with the hem of her purple shirt that had a flower on it. It looked like she was looking for her parent.

You were- hesitant about walking over. A strange man approaching a child in the middle of the sidewalk looked sketchy, especially since you were nowhere near looking like this kid’s parents. But- you figured that if you didn’t, some actual creep would. So, you hesitantly stepped towards her.

“Heyyy…kid,” the girl flinched a little as you approached, making you regret your decision. Though, it was too late to turn back now so, “Uh- where’s your mom?..”

The girl blinked up at you and then looked away, hands still fidgeting with her shirt, “Away…” she sounded sad.

“Your dad?..” you raised an eyebrow.

“Also away..” she shrunk a little, this seemed like a touchy subject.

Picking up the vibe, you steered clear of parent related questions, “Are you…looking for someone? You look lost.”

She glanced up at you, and then back to her hands- her purple eyes welling with tears, “Y-Yeah…” she squeaked out.

“Well, maybe I can help you find them,” you knelt down to her height, “There aren’t a lot of people out right now, so it shouldn’t be too hard…do you remember what they look like?”

The girl nodded, “Uhh…two adults. Black hair. A boy with green eyes and a girl with pink eyes.”

Two black haired adults with green and pink eyes. Okay! Easy enough! Must be siblings…or babysitters….or….some third thing. You stood up, “Okay! Should be easy enough!” You held your hand out for the little girl, “My name is Y/N, what’s yours?”

The little girl studied your hand curiously, taking it with a small smile, “Nina!”

You and Nina searched for the adults she was supposed to be with, until you came across them sitting and eating in the outdoor area of a restaurant

You were…baffled. These people supposedly lost track of the kid they were supposed to be watching and decided to get something to eat???

You were reconsidering handing this kid over to them, but what were you going to do? Take her to the authorities? You didn’t exactly trust pigs around this kid either, so you approached the table

The pair looked at you with hostility, the man reading a paper and the woman poking it in boredom. You were clearly interrupting something. Maybe they hadn’t noticed Nina…

“Uhm- sorry if I’m interrupting anything..” you stammered, “But, I think you lost something?..” you nodded your head to where Nina was standing beside you.

Both black haired individuals narrowed their eyes at you, looks of confusion clear across their faces.

“What the fuck are you on about?…” the woman’s eyes narrowed.

You felt yourself grow flushed with embarrassment, Nina hasn’t said anything or run to hug either of these individuals….it also felt like she wasn’t holding your hand anymore…

You glanced down at your side, and lo and behold- Nina was gone. You whipped around, looking around like a mad man for the kid.

“Wh- what the?” Your eyes widened and you held out your hands defensively, “I swear there was a kid here!”

The man leaned towards the woman, whispering to her loud enough for you to hear, “You have your gun on you, right?..” the woman nodded.

Shit! Okay! Sweat poured down your face as you nervously looked around some more to avoid getting shot, “I-I swear! There was a kid here, about like….7? Maybe younger? Blonde pigtails, purple shirt with a flower on it,” you didn’t notice both individuals eyes widen, “Her name was Nina—“

“WHO TOLD YOU THAT NAME?!” The woman grabbed you by your shirt collar, pulling you close. She stared daggers at you, looking ready to kick you in the groin before shooting you dead. You gulped.

“Ashley!” The man slammed the newspaper down, reprimanding her to let you go. Ashley obliged, though turned away and grumbled. The man gave her a final glare before looking at you, “I’m sorry about her,” he had a calm demeanor…but there was something uneasy about his voice, “You said…Nina?”

You nodded, “Yeeaahhh, but I’m starting to realize that…might’ve just been a ghost. Whoops.” You held out your hands anxiously.

“Dumb bitch is still following you around?” Ashley muttered under her breath.

You turned your attention to her, “I’m sorry what?”

“Don’t mind her,” the man smiled uneasily, “I’m Andrew…now- what the fuck did you mean by ‘might’ve been a ghost’? Is this a…regular occurrence?”

“Kinda..” you rubbed the back of your neck nervously, “I kind have this sixth sense. Some people have increased empathy, I can talk to body detached spirits!” You looked Andrew and Ashley over, “Did you- know this Nina?”

“No!” They both said in perfect unison, Ashley seemingly offended while Andrew was very defensive. They clearly knew her, but you weren’t going to press any further.

“Oooookkaayyyyyy..” you adverted your gaze from their terrifying…yet alluring…ones.

You wanted to run away and hopefully never run into these people again, but they were insistent on keeping you in sight

However they knew this Nina, it was something serious.

Ashley didn’t seem to take the fact that she was still following them around very well

Andrew consistently had to calm her down from making a scene

And truthfully….watching them banter was fun

You’d idly stare at the pair, going back and forth with empty threats and remarks the other would make about those threats. It was fun. It was nice

Andrew decided it was best to keep in touch with you, given you running into Nina- though how he said it made it seem like the two had multiple dead people that would be tailing them

You didn’t say this out loud though

The more time you spent with the siblings, your theory became correct

You slowly noticed more and more spirits hanging around the three of you: A scorned looking middle aged woman with similars eyes to Andrew’s, a hooded man with his limbs floating behind him, another hooded man with thick sunglasses and a mask that obscured his face- you could go one.

You never talked with these ghosts, really the only one you did speak to was Nina- though Ashley didn’t like it when you two spoke. She didn’t like Nina in general

If she caught you talking with her, or making motions to indicate she was around- Ashley would spew profanities and horrible things til she went away

It was cruel…and you kind of hated her for it at first

Though the more time you spent with the siblings, you came to realize that they were just….broken individuals

Terrible people put into shitty circumstances

It was almost…disheartening

If things had been different, would they have turned out better? The same? Worse?

It hurt your heart more than you wanted to admit…

You knew your feelings towards these two, at first you assumed it to be just fleeting physical attraction- I mean- look at them!

But no- turns out spending time with people increased your attraction to them. Who knew!

You like to think at least one of them felt the same

You knew the whole reason they kept you around was to keep an eye on you, make sure you didn’t know anything you shouldn’t have

At least at first it was

Andrew was the first to catch feelings for you

His love of the macabre led to conversations, questions on if you’ve ever spoken with ghosts of poets or writers he was interested in

He didn’t have to know you totally lied when you said yes

Unfortunately you had to read up on old English poets in case he asked about them, but it was a worthy sacrifice

He was just happy to have someone to talk to about an interest that wouldn’t make fun of him

Ashley didn’t take too kindly to this, which is why she fell slower

She didn’t buy any of your kindness, acting distant and cold with you- especially as you got closer with Andrew

It was also causing tension between the two, you could just guess it

So you took the initiative, deciding to spend the day just you and Ashley

Ashley was going to spend the day with you whether she liked it or not…and right now it was looking like a not. Since you two arrived at the park, she hadn’t said a word to you. The only response you would get is a cold shoulder or an icy glare that cut like a knife. It was a little painful to be honest. You never wanted to piss her off or make her hate you, genuinely you wanted to get closer to her. But Ashley was proving to be difficult…

“Sky sure is pretty today!” You said, attempting to break the awkward and tense silence. It did not work, as Ashley continued to ignore you. You wanted nothing more than to book it into the nearby duck pond and just drown, putting this awkward attempt at bonding.

You were walking down a trail, Ashley actively stepping on the cracks as she walked. In the corner of your eye you spotted the familiar spirit of the middle aged woman. Her lighter green eyes narrowing at Ashley.

“What are you looking at?” Ashley’s voice pierced the silence like a katana. You blinked down at her, her eyes narrowed up at you.

“Uhhh,” you glanced at the ghost, “Just a ghost hanging around.”

“Who?”

Holy crap she’s actually talking to you! Don’t fuck this up…

“I haven’t really spoken with her..uh- black hair. Green eyes. Middle aged..” you shrugged your shoulders.

That was apparently the wrong answer- as most of your responses to Ashley were- as she clammed up. This time with more anger. Her eyes darted in the direction you’d been looking in, trying to give the ghost a death glare. Must be another person the siblings had history with, given how similar she looked to them they must be related.

Hmmm….maybe this could be put to your advantage?…

“You know I can talk with ghosts…” you said rather nonchalantly, “I could…deliver a message to this ghost if you want..”

Ashley’s eye seemed to light up at that. For the first time since meeting her, you think you said the right thing.

Ashley’s message to the ghost woman, and any other you came across, was vulgar and worthy of eating soap if you were to repeat it to a living person

A lot of use of the word “hussy” and “cunt”

But you delivered every message, informed Ashley when a ghost was staring at her….minus Nina of course

A ghost child is still a child, and she seemed like too good of a kid to be in the front of Ashley’s wrath

But Ashley didn’t need to know that

For once, she seemed to genuinely enjoy your company. Describing you as “pretty alright” to Andrew

Success!

From then things felt…less tense between the three of you

You were less of a hostage to them and more of a friend

And if you played your cards right….eventually you might be more

#the coffin of andy and leyley #ashley graves #andrew graves #tcoaal #andrew graves x reader #ashley graves x reader #x reader

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 11 months

Note

WIBTA for completely ignoring a very long and thought-out apology message?

TL;DR: Abusive ex sent me apology after two years of silence and I’m not sure I want to acknowledge it.

So I was in a very abusive relationship with my ex for around a year. I’m going to try not to go into too much detail, but I tend to ramble and this is a hard topic for me so I’m sorry in advance if this ends up super long.

When we started dating, it was great for the first six months or so. I noticed certain things that made me question if she could have BPD (intense jealousy, sudden mood switches, impulsivity, self-destructive behaviour) and encouraged her to speak to her therapist about it. She eventually did and was diagnosed with BPD, but she wasn’t able to get on medication for another few months. After that, everything seemed to just… completely spiral. She started to control who I could speak to (I was only allowed to be with friends for an hour, and if I was even a few minutes late she’d be blowing up my phone accusing me of cheating etc. and ignoring me for days), she wanted me to cut off every friend who didn’t like her or warned me about the relationship and would accuse me of disrespecting boundaries if I objected, she would shout at me 24/7 (e.g. we’d be talking fine, she’d tell me she had a headache, I’d say I was sorry, and she’d suddenly be yelling that she didn’t need my pity and that I was patronising her), she constantly tracked where I was and who I was with, she lied to me constantly about things both major and minor, and by the end of it she was physically aggressive. This eventually culminated in her cheating on me, me giving her another chance (zoinks), and her cheating on me again less than a month later with a man she knew had SA’d me in the past. After that I just couldn’t take it anymore and finally got the courage to leave.

This unfortunately made everything worse. She split on me - basically a BPD thing where your opinion on someone goes from love to hate or vice versa in an instant - and she made it her mission to make my life hell. For almost a year and a half after our breakup, she was sending things to my house, to my family’s houses, she was stalking my social medias and sending me death threats from burner accounts, all of her own social medias became solely dedicated to talking about me, and then the worst part - she knew I wanted to go to college to become a primary (elementary) school teacher, and so she called up the college I was going to attend and told them I was a pedophile. She went all out with this accusation and was posting it all over Twitter, messaging my friends, getting her friends to post it - it was crazy. Thankfully it did not actually affect my education because I explained what was going on and I had evidence that things she was saying happened were false, but it was a super terrifying and stressful time.

While that was going on, she used the fact I was an SA victim against me - at one point she told me to “shut up and go get raped again”, and another Tweet she made accusing me of being a pedophile was followed up with “Shame you’ll never get that teaching job, I hear they’re not so kind to people like you in prison”.

Making everything more confusing is the fact that every few months it’s like she’d switch back - she’d send me an apology message, tell all her friends it was a lie, get back in contact with me and tell me she was on meds and going to therapy and everything was getting better, and then a few weeks later she’d be posting about how abusive I was again and blocking me everywhere. It felt like there was nothing I could do - if I ignored it, she’d step it up to get a reaction, and if I did acknowledge it, she’d step it up anyway because I was reacting.

Finally, FINALLY, I threatened to get a restraining order and everything stopped.

Almost two years pass and nothing. I’m now happily engaged to a wonderful girl who was my best friend throughout that whole relationship and knew exactly how affected I was by it. I’m going to therapy, was diagnosed with PTSD, and have been slowly moving on. I still have nightmares about her, and sometimes things will get me (e.g. a few months ago I saw someone who looked like her on TV unexpectedly and had a panic attack), but things are good. Much better. I was thinking of it all much less, I wasn’t dedicating energy to it, I wasn’t even angry or upset anymore, it was just a past lesson I’d learned and didn’t need to worry about anymore.

Then last week I wake up to a message. Again, it’s been two years.

Now, this message was LONG. It was from my ex, apologising for everything she’d done. It was a genuinely nice message and clearly had a lot of thought in it. She said she knew it was selfish to message me when I’d moved on but that she had things to say for her own peace of mind. She said she was happy to see I was engaged, that she’s done a lot of self-reflecting and healing. She said she tried to date again and ended up “karma’d “ - that the relationship was scarily similar to ours but with her in my shoes this time - and that it had made her realise just how disgusting her actions had been and how badly she’d fucked me up. She made it clear she wasn’t looking for forgiveness or to reconnect, just to apologise.

Part of me is mildly skeptical because of the fact she’d apologised multiple times before and it never stuck, but the two year gap and the way it’s phrased makes me believe this is truly genuine. She seems to have matured and changed as a person.

Thing is, I just… can’t bring myself to respond. Every time I go to do it, I remember things she said or did to me and just can’t. I feel like if I just responded and said no hard feelings and explicitly told her I have moved on and am doing better, I could give her the same closure that this apology might eventually give me. It would be closing this chapter for good for both of us and I could just never think about her again.

And yet I just. Haven’t. I’m scared to open the window of communication again in any way, I’m scared it’ll be taken back, I’m scared that this will take me back to square one because she’s put herself back in my life (even tangentially) and now I’m thinking about her again after so long of trying so hard to heal.

So WIBTA if I just… didn’t acknowledge it? If I let her essentially wonder forever it it was ever seen or read because I just don’t know what to do about it, even if I’m potentially keeping closure from her for my own comfort?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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blueeyedgrlwrites · 2 months

Note

SKINNY DIPPING IN THE SEA FIRSTPRINCE PLEASE MEG I AM BEGGING YOU

I know this is almost a week late, but life decided to life this week. Anyway, here you are lovely. Also available on AO3

Henry stares up at the ceiling as moonlight filters into the room through the open window. Trees rustling as a light breeze gusts through them, crickets chirping, and, if he listens closely enough, the quiet babbling of the lake are the only sounds he hears. The rest of the house is silent; calm before the storm of chaos that will be his and Alex’s wedding day.

He knows he should be sleeping. He’s lost track of the number of times he’s been told that weddings are exhausting and he’ll need the rest. And it isn’t like he hasn’t tried any of his usual methods of trying to sleep, just none of them have worked. Henry turns his head, sees the empty space next to him, and knows the only thing that will help him sleep is Alex-shaped.

Henry grows more and more restless, knowing the only reason he’s sleeping alone tonight is because Alex’s parents, and his mother, insisted they sleep apart. For tradition’s sake.

“Oh, this is bloody absurd,” Henry mutters to himself as he gets out of bed and starts to pace, twisting his engagement ring around his finger. He pictures Alex in his room just down the hall, either laying awake or pacing around, all while making mental and physical lists of things he still needs to do before the ceremony.

Henry stops abruptly and looks out the window, just barely able to see the moonlight shining on the surface of the lake. The entire week had been full of last minute wedding things pulling him and Alex in different directions. He realizes as he stands there that he and Alex won’t have a single moment to themselves, just the two of them, until long after the reception has ended tomorrow night.

Before he can think too hard about it and find some reason to talk himself out of it, Henry’s sliding on a pair of sandals, slipping out of his room quietly, and tiptoeing down the hallway toward Alex’s. There’s no light filtering out from under the door, so Henry opens the door as noiselessly as possible and ducks inside, deciding to leave the door open just a crack.

He peeks around the wall and sees Alex laying on his side, back to him, and pads over to the bed, stopping just shy of standing right next to it.

“Are you asleep?” he whispers. Even in the darkness he can see the moment the corner of Alex’s mouth tips up into a grin.

“You know I’m not.” Alex turns his head and looks at him over his shoulder with a grin, and that’s all it takes for Henry to close the distance and climb onto the bed with Alex, straddling his hips as Alex shifts onto his back. “This is a far better way to spend our last night as bachelors.”

“It is,” Henry nods, goosebumps popping up on his skin when Alex runs his hands along his thighs. He leans down, bracing his hands on the bed just above Alex’s shoulders. “But I was thinking we could do something absolutely mad instead, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

“I’m listening,” Alex grins up at him, brow raised.

Henry gives no further explanation or indication of what he’s thinking. Alex will figure it out soon enough. He gives Alex a quick peck on the lips, sits up, and climbs off of him just to go in search of a couple towels.

Alex pushes himself to sit up and Henry just catches the curious furrow of his brow as he tucks two towels beneath one arm. Alex’s eyes dart between him and the closet, and Henry sees the moment of realization cross his face.

“Are you crazy?” Alex hisses, but stands up and crosses over to where Henry’s already standing with one foot in and one foot out of the sliding glass door that opens up to the back of the house. Henry offers his free hand and Alex takes it, letting Henry pull him outside.

Once clear of the house, they break out into a sprint down to the dock, neither of them able to keep from laughing as they run. Henry tries to hold it in, tries to shush Alex as they go. He fails, but he’s too happy at this moment to care.

“You know, the last time we did this you ran away from me,” Alex reminds him when they get to the dock and start stripping out of their clothes as quickly as they can.

“Well, then tonight is a good night to replace that memory with a new one, isn’t it, love?” Henry grins, his boxer briefs the last bit of clothing to come off before he dives into the lake. He shakes his hair out of his face when he surfaces a moment later. “Christ, you’re slow.”

He doesn’t try to hide the way his mouth spreads into a grin or the way his eyes rake over Alex’s body appreciatively, taking in every single inch of naked bronze skin.

“Pft,” Alex scoffs and finishes stripping down to nothing. He dives in after Henry, shakes his curls out of his face when he comes to the surface, and grins. “It’s not my fault your thighs and ass are fucking perfect and make me unable to do anything but stare.”

“Years of riding will do that,” Henry smirks and treads water.

“Are you referring strictly to horses?” Alex asks, and swims toward the middle of the lake

Henry shrugs innocently. “I’ll leave that for you to decide.”

He watches Alex stop mid-stroke, his eyes going wide and his jaw going a little bit slack. The best way Henry can describe it is to liken it to a computer glitch. He swims out, meeting Alex where he is, and a satisfied grin spreads out on his face when Alex seems to come back online.

“You’re damn lucky, you know that?” Alex asks, turning in the water as Henry swims in a circle around him.

“Mm, and why is that?” Henry stops and begins to tread water. After a beat, his legs kick out and lock around Alex’s hips to pull him in close, and Alex goes willingly.

“Because I won’t press charges for attempted murder.” Alex circles his arms around Henry’s neck, kicking his feet below the surface to keep them afloat.

“You would never dare,” Henry says with certainty, his fingers dancing along Alex’s spine beneath the surface.

“And why wouldn’t I?”

“Because you would find that I would simply withhold.”

“You would never!” Alex gasps and pushes at Henry’s chest. He splashes water in Henry’s direction, and Henry only just turns his head to keep from getting a mouthful of it.

They splash and play and swim, filling the night with laughter. They float lazily on their backs, gazing up at the sky, and it’s Alex that points up to the sky when he spots Orion. He reaches over and takes Alex’s hand when he lowers it, threading their fingers together and kissing the back of it.

It all feels like minutes to Henry, but the various dark blues and purples that start to give way to light tell him it’s been hours, and eventually someone will come looking for them. Alex seems to sense it, too.

“We should get back and try to sleep at least a little before we can’t anymore,” he laughs softly.

They swim back toward the dock in comfortable silence until Henry stops them in the shallows, pulling Alex back into him and wrapping him up in his arms. Alex looks at him curiously, but Henry just rests a hand against Alex’s cheek, thumb stroking back and forth slowly. The small sliver of moonlight that still glitters on the lake’s surface is reflected in Alex’s eyes.

“I love you.”

Summer holiday/vacation activities prompts

#ficlet friday #fic: a new memory #thinkof-england #rwrb #firstprince #first prince #red white & royal blue #alex claremont-diaz #henry fox mountchristen-windsor #my writing #otp: on our own terms

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sweetprfct · 5 months

Text

Written in the Stars

Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader

Summary: You are a believer in fate but after getting your heart broken, you had stopped believing it. Until you met Joe. Suddenly, it got you questioning if fate is real or not.

Author's Note: Part 3! :) Comments and suggestions are always welcome btw! Enjoy!

Wordcount: 3.7K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five - part six - part seven - part eight - part nine - part ten - epilogue

“So, how come you live in New York and not in London?” You asked Joe.

It had been several weeks since you officially met Joe and ever since then, he would come by the bookshop whenever Wes also visited Sara. Whenever he wasn’t filming, he would try and get the chance to come by and see you. You also have been busy with work so sometimes, you would come home and see Sara with a smile on her face. You would know then that Joe had come by the bookshop.

“Joe was looking for you today.” She would tell you.

“Oh?” That was all you could manage to reply all the time.

Getting to know Joe better the past several weeks has been great. You learned a lot about each other. You both had so much in common like how you both love Friends, dirty martinis, and visit different restaurants all the time. You both hate fussy eaters, and you both would judge Wes all the time because he was picky when it came to food. Not only that, but Joe was able to make you laugh and feel happy all the time. You couldn't really describe exactly the emotions that you were feeling when you were around him. All you knew was that you felt safe and comfortable with him. You felt like you could be yourself and despite your fears of getting too close with someone again, you felt like he could really understand you.

You both sat at the small table in the lounge area of Sara’s bookshop that Saturday afternoon. Sara had been telling you to come by the bookshop because Joe had been visiting and every time he came by lately, you were too busy working, and Sara knew he wasn’t there for the coffee and the books.

Joe took a sip of his coffee and replied, “Rue wanted to move to New York for her career, and we wanted to be together, so I moved in with her. I just wanted her to be happy.”

You nodded your head in understanding. “And how long ago was that?”

“Two… Three years?” Joe replied. “Wes came a year later because he was given a job opportunity here.”

“You did everything for her.” You murmured.

“Yeah,” Joe looked down at his empty mug. “Quite a bit mental, isn’t it?”

“No, I think that you just really loved her, and you wanted her to be happy.” You gave him a reassuring smile. “Love makes us do crazy things sometimes.”

Joe chuckled softly, nodding his head. He wasn’t quite sure either as to why he kept coming back to the bookshop ever since he had met you. The more he was getting to know you, he could feel this pull towards you. It was like ever since then, he couldn’t stop thinking about you. Your smile, the sound of your laughter, and the sound of your voice.

“Hey, mate, are you going to the bookshop?” Joe asked Wes one day.

Wes couldn’t help but pause in his tracks towards Joe’s front door. Wes had stopped by Joe’s apartment to drop off some things he borrowed and right before Wes could leave, Joe had asked him the same question every time he had seen him for the last month or so. Wes couldn’t even keep count anymore.

“You know you don’t need me to go to the bookshop, right? You could literally get a lift and go there by yourself.” Wes teased his best friend.

“I was just wondering.”

Wes laughed, shaking his head at his best friend’s excuse. “So, tell me… What is going on with you two.” Wes crossed his arms on his chest.

“Nothing.” Joe shrugged, but Wes had given him a look. “I don’t know. I mean she’s funny, nice, and—”

“Pretty.” Wes cut him off.

Joe smiled, “Yes, she’s well fit, but that’s not it. I feel like she understands me, you know? I’m not sure if it’s because we both met at the worst night of our life, but I just feel this pull towards her. I can’t really explain it. I… I enjoy talking to her.”

“You like her, mate.” Wes chuckled, squeezing Joe’s shoulder. “Why don’t you do something about it?”

“Because I don’t want to scare her away like what I did with Rue.”

“Listen, Rue cheated on you. She only used you for fame.” Wes patted Joe’s back. “This time, you actually found someone who’s genuine and doesn’t care if you’re famous or not.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Joe shrugged.

“C’mon, let’s go see them.”

Joe grinned as he grabbed his coat and followed Wes out the door. The bookshop was quiet for a Saturday afternoon. There were only a couple of people reading and drinking coffee. The moment Wes and Joe entered the shop, Wes’ eyes immediately caught Sara’s. She was rearranging some books on one shelf, and Joe’s eyes immediately caught you. You were on one of the tall wooden ladders, putting new books on the top shelf.

“Hey, Sara, can you hand me the last stack of books?” You called out, but Joe saw how Sara was already distracted with Wes on the other side of the shelf.

Walking towards where you were, Joe grabbed the stack of books that were sitting on the cart and handed them to you. You turned to reach for them and saw Joe grinning up at you.

“Hey!” You smiled, grabbing the books. “Thank you.”

Joe watched you fill the rest of the shelf before he held out his hand to you. Taking his hand, you climbed down the ladder and smiled at him, giving him a hug.

“What are you doing here?” You asked.

As if you really didn’t know.

You knew the exact answer as to why Joe was here.

“I just wanted to hang out.” Joe shrugged.

“What’s a man gotta do around here to get some coffee?” Your conversation was interrupted by a familiar voice.

You closed your eyes for a moment and smiled before turning around to see an old Chinese man sitting at one of the comfortable chairs with a book in his hand, and an empty mug that was sitting on the small table next to him.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Cheng. I’ll be right with you.” You said.

Mr. Cheng was a regular customer for two years already. He would come in to drink coffee, and read, and he was always teasing you and Sara. He told you and Sara one day that you both reminded him of his two daughters that were currently living in Chicago. He has always been really nice, and he tends to tell both of you many stories from his adventures before.

As you made your way to get him some coffee, you saw Joe was already walking towards you with the pot of coffee in his hand. He poured the coffee on Mr. Cheng’s empty mug and handed him some cream and sugar. You couldn’t help but smile and watch Joe for a moment, interacting with the old man.

He was really kind.

Then, your eyes lingered towards the book that Mr. Cheng was reading.

“A book about fate, Mr. Cheng?” You asked, nodding towards the book he was holding. “Do you believe in that?”

Mr. Cheng finished sipping his coffee and said, “Do I believe in it? It happened to me.”

Just in time, Sara was passing by when she heard the conversation and said, “Oh, you got to tell her about that. She believes in fate.”

You snapped your head at Sara, looking at her with wide eyes. “I don’t anymore.”

Joe furrowed his brows, watching you and Sara argue. “Why not?” He asked.

You turned to face Joe and opened your mouth, but you didn’t even have words to explain. How could you explain to Joe that your ex used that reason just so he could get with you? How could you look at him and not feel stupid over that?

“The red string of fate.” Mr. Cheng interrupted the three of you.

Sara smiled at you and walked away. Mr. Cheng pointed at the sofa that was across from him. “Come, sit.” He told you.

You sat on the sofa, while Joe leaned against the bookshelf and stood behind you with his arms crossed on his chest. You were a bit interested as to what Mr. Cheng was going to tell you both, and Joe was feeling the same. He didn’t even believe in fate, but he wanted to listen and see. Maybe his mind would change.

“The red string of fate is this invisible string connected between two people who are destined to meet. The string may stretch, it might tangle, but it will never break. It said that this string is attached to our pinkies” Mr. Cheng explained.

“And this happened to you?” You asked.

You watched Mr. Cheng nodded his head and leaned forward to slip his wallet out of his back pocket. He opened it and slid out a small photo from one of the pockets.

“This is a picture of my wife.” Mr. Cheng explained, handing you the photo.

A young girl was standing in the middle of a garden park, posing next to the beautiful flowers. The picture was in black and white, but you were sure that the flowers were colorful by just looking at it. The young girl had a big smile on her face, and everything in the photo just looked beautiful.

“She’s only 19 there.” Mr. Cheng smiled, remembering his wife. “Do you see this boy?” He pointed at the boy that was passing by behind her. “That’s me. She was on vacation with her family in Hong Kong at that time, and I was out with my family, spending some time together.”

You immediately gazed up at Mr. Cheng with wide eyes. You were stunned. You looked over your shoulder and saw Joe had leaned forward towards you. He was also looking at the picture that you were holding and his lips curved into a smile as soon as he looked at you. You felt your stomach turn as you turned your attention back to Mr. Cheng. He took out another photo from his wallet and handed it to you.

“This one was taken two days later at a restaurant.”

You stared at the picture. It was a picture of Mr. Cheng smiling and looking at his mother, who was blowing out her candles on her cake. Then, your eyes lingered in the background. The young girl was there again. You could only see her side view, and she was sitting a few tables away, but you knew it was Mr. Cheng’s wife.

“That’s… That’s her.” You pointed at the young girl and watched Mr. Cheng smiled and nodded his head.

“It was my mom’s birthday. We were celebrating it and somehow, her and her family were in the same restaurant as us.”

“How… How did you guys meet then?”

You felt something in your stomach that you couldn’t explain, and you were kind of nervous about the answer to your question. Mr. Cheng slid out another photo from his wallet, and he handed you a photo of two men and two women. They had their arms around each other, and they looked so happy. Mr. Cheng and his wife looked a bit more mature in the picture.

“That’s two years later. We met at a college party through our best friends.” Mr. Cheng stated. “Her best friend had dated my best friend, and they introduced us to each other.”

A small gasp came out of your lips, feeling your heart skip a beat. You couldn’t move. You just sat there and stared at the picture of the four of them. Was Joe thinking the same thing as you right now? Or were you being delusional and stupid again?

“I, myself, never believed in fate until my wife showed me this picture of her in Hong Kong, and I found this picture of me in the restaurant. Right there and then, I knew that it was real. That we were meant for each other.”

You had stopped breathing.

Everything was all sounding too familiar, and you knew that it was a similar situation with Joe. You told yourself that you didn’t believe in fate anymore after Carter. After he had used that belief just to be with you. You had since then told everyone that it was not real. The truth was that deep inside of you, you knew you still believed it. Now, after hearing this story, you were questioning every single thing in your life. Every encounter. Every event.

Turning back to finally look at Joe’s expression, he was also a bit stunned. He hid it better than you did, but you could see it in his eyes. Both of you stared at each other for a moment, as if you two were thinking the same thing.

“You two had an encounter, didn’t you?” Mr. Cheng interrupted the both of you.

Looking back at Mr. Cheng, you felt your cheeks flushed as you cleared your throat.

“It was just once… It was just probably a coincidence.” You said.

“Three times, actually.” Joe corrected.

You nodded your head and agreed. “Right, three times.”

“How did you two first meet?” Mr. Cheng asked.

“Um… We met a year ago at a restaurant. He was proposing to his girlfriend, and I thought my boyfriend was going to propose to me.”

“But my girlfriend rejected me, and her boyfriend broke up with her. Then, we ran into each other at the mall the next day.” Joe added.

“And then, we saw each other again just about a month ago.” You looked down at your lap, playing with your fingers.

Mr. Cheng leaned back on his seat and took another sip of his coffee before saying, “You know, sometimes when certain things end, we get angry and upset over it, and we don’t realize that sometimes, it ends because the universe has a better chapter for us to begin.”

You stared at Mr. Cheng for a moment. Everything in your mind was still trying to process everything that you just heard. Everything Mr. Cheng was telling you right now was making you all nervous. Swallowing every feeling that you have, you smiled and got up from the sofa.

“I think you have a little too much coffee, Mr. Cheng.” You chuckled softly.

“Mr. Cheng never has too much coffee.” He replied as he sipped his coffee again.

You grinned, shaking your head. “Well, thank you for telling us your lovely story.”

“It was beautiful.” Joe smiled at the old man.

As you walked away, you tried to organize every thought you had until Mr. Cheng said something else that made you stop in your tracks.

“Sometimes we don’t realize that the right person has been under our noses this whole time.” Mr. Cheng called out as you looked over your shoulder and smiled at him.

You went back to stocking the shelves again. You were stuck in your head. You didn’t even pay attention to your surroundings anymore. You didn’t even realize that Joe had followed behind you.

“That story was romantic, wasn't it?” He said.

Snapping out of your thoughts, you turned to face him and asked, “Do you actually believe in the red string of fate?”

Joe stared at you. He knew his belief that he didn’t believe in fate. He thought people just chose each other, and they just work for the relationship. Joe did that with Rue. He knew he gave everything up for her, but he didn’t realize that he was also losing himself by giving it all. He thought that if he worked hard to make the relationship work, it would work. He never realized until now that sometimes, the more he held onto Rue before, the more he was hurting. He didn’t realize that sometimes, people really weren’t meant to be in someone’s life and that sometimes, people were meant to lose someone so that the universe could open the right door for them. Joe couldn’t help but think how some people didn’t even realize that. He, himself, didn’t either.

Until now.

So, did he believe in fate? Now, he did.

“Yeah, I actually think that it’s real.” Joe replied.

You raised your brow at him. Joe believing in fate? Was he just saying that to make you feel better?

“Don’t lie to me.” You retorted.

“I’m not.” Joe stated. “I’m going to be honest with you, I didn’t believe it at first but after hearing Mr. Cheng’s story? I think that it’s real.”

You didn’t say anything as you went back to your little work and stock books on the bookshelf. You didn’t want to hear anymore of the subject, and Joe could see the frustration in your eyes. As he stood there playing with his fingers nervously, he tried to change the subject. Joe tried to find the right words to ask you the question he had been wanting to ask you, and the real reason why he actually came to the bookshop today.

“So, um…” Joe cleared his throat. “There’s this Halloween event downtown…”

Was Joe trying to ask you out?

You looked over your shoulder and saw him nervously standing there in front of you. Just like you noticed before, he hid it well but for some reason, you could just tell.

“Oh?” You said.

“I was wondering if you’d like to come with me?” Joe asked.

You just thanked your little stars that your back was turned to him because Joe would probably immediately see the excitement in your eyes. You bit your lower lip, holding in your smile before turning around to completely face him with a stern casual look on your face.

“Like as your date?” You asked, crossing your arms on your chest.

Joe could feel his heart skip a beat as soon as you said those words and oh god, why did he suddenly forget the whole English language?

“No, I mean yes! As… As my date.” Joe stuttered, pursing his lips. “I know Sara and Wes are gonna go. So, I was wondering if you’d like to come.”

Joe was cute when he was nervous.

You couldn’t help but smile and nodded your head, “Sure, why not? But you’re picking the costumes.”

You saw how Joe’s eyes sparkled, agreeing with what you said. “Okay, deal.”

You smiled as Joe picked up some books and helped you stock them on the shelves. Both of you didn’t even work for Sara, but you both tend to enjoy helping her around the bookshop. You weren’t sure if it was because of the comfort of the bookshop that it gave you or if it was also because hanging out with Joe made you feel safe and warm. You just couldn’t explain it.

The delicious aroma of the pasta that you cooked that night was filling the whole apartment as you and Sara sat at the dining table and ate. Friends played on the TV as the background noise, while silence filled between the two of you.

“Do you believe in the red string of fate?” You finally asked Sara the question that you have been wondering in your mind since your little conversation with Mr. Cheng this afternoon.

Sara gazed up at you, and she smiled as soon as you asked the question. Sara had known for a while now that you would be interested in that story the moment she heard it from Mr. Cheng. Sara always teased you about your belief about fate, but you knew that she always had believed it too.

“I believe in fate, yes.” Sara answered. “Not just for love. I think that we are destined to meet certain people in our life. Just like you and me.”

You smiled at Sara’s little comment. “Who knew a German girl would meet a girl who lives in the US and become best friends?”

“Exactly.” Sara agreed, sipping her glass of water. “I think you and I were also destined to meet, and I think that’s so beautiful because I now couldn’t imagine my life without you.”

You held back the tears that were welling up in your eyes as you reached for Sara’s hand. She truly was the best best friend anyone could ask for. She was right. You and her were connected in some way and were bound to meet even if she came from across the ocean. Fate had brought that two of you together because you two were destined to meet and be in each other’s lives. Ever since then, both of you made each other better every day.

“Me too.” You smiled, squeezing her hand lightly.

“And if you’re thinking about the similar situations that you have been experiencing with Joe, I think you shouldn’t overthink it. I think you should just follow what your heart says. If Joe is truly meant for you, then he is for you. No one else could take that away from you because you two are destined for each other.”

You gasped softly as your jaw dropped on the floor. Sara really knew your mind.

“Who said anything about Joe?” You argued.

“Please! We both know it’s about Joe!” Sara laughed.

You let out a laugh as you took a piece of your sourdough bread and threw it at her as she nudged it with her elbow.

“Hey! Don’t waste my bread! I baked that from scratch!” Sara exclaimed, laughing together with you.

“That’s what you get!” You stuck your tongue out at her, throwing another piece as laughter filled the place.

Though, you agreed with Sara. You kept overthinking it ever since you heard Mr. Cheng’s story. You should just go with the flow because in all honesty, you did like Joe. You weren’t too sure if you were ready to take another risk out there because you knew you were scared that you would get your heart broken again but at the same time, you knew now how you should be treated. You knew you wouldn’t let anyone treat you the way Carter did with you.

You weren’t sure either how Joe really feels. You wondered if he was also not ready to be in a relationship again. All you knew was that when you were with him, you felt happy and comfortable. Whatever you two have, you didn’t want to ruin it.

**********

@palomahasenteredthechat @sunvick @eddies-acousticguitar @demonsanddemogorgons @joesquinns @mmunson86 @ghostinthebackofyourhead @corrodedcoffincumslut @figmentofquinn @tlclick73 @browneyes8288 @bylermaxmayfield @ali-r3n @ficsbypix @capricornrisingsstuff @missonlypost @ali-in-w0nderland @amberolivia666 @lalalala-melmosworld @niallersfreckles @nanas-lasagna @emma77645 @indulgence-be-thy-name @readergf @ladamari68 @1paire2vans @d4rk4ng3l86 @paleidiot @josephquinnsfreckles @readergf

#Joseph Quinn #Joe Quinn #Joseph Quinn x Reader #Joe Quinn x Reader #Joseph Quinn x You #Joe Quinn x You #Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader #Joe Quinn x Fem!Reader #Joseph Quinn Fanfics #Joe Quinn Fanfics #Joseph Quinn Fics #Joe Quinn Fics #Joseph Quinn rpf #Joe Quinn rpf #written in the stars #part three #sweetprfct

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vax-merstappen · 6 months

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f1 boys as 1989 songs

thought i could only follow up reputation with 1989 of course! i can only add 10 pics on the app, so i picked the 10 drivers i thought best fit my favorite songs on the album! lmk if you agree or any other albums you want to see! 🩵

Lando Norris

Wonderland

For this one, I’m picturing like a fling with Lando. Like you have an amazing time together in “wonderland” where you love so hard but in the end it doesn’t work out. With all the attention Lando gets, “there were strangers watching” would put pressure on the relationship and it would all fall apart. Also “you flashed your green eyes at me” would fit with his greenish blue eyes. Like I can just picture it all falling apart dramatically after a long relationship. “We both went mad,” like you both are torn up about it? Idk I just think it fits Lando.

Max Verstappen

I Know Places

Max generally strikes me as a kind of private guy. He would want to hide away with you from the public eye, not dragging you into all the criticism that comes with being a wag. If you know places to hide, he would be totally happy to run away with you wherever you wanted to go. I feel like the “lights flash we’ll run for the fences” line really fits, like both of you trying to hide from the prying eyes of the media. Like everyone wants to be him and find him and you’ll keep him away for yourself.”

Charles Leclerc

Style

Like you would definitely be the most stylish and the it couple of f1. “Can’t keep his wild eyes on the road,” like driving through Monaco with him in his Ferrari? And I definitely see the “daydream look in your eye” with Charles as well. His eyes are stunning. You would dominate the media together, never going out of style and always being the people everyone can’t help but look at as you walk down the street. Just a stunning couple with stunning style.

Carlos Sainz

Bad Blood

Ok so I’m picturing a lovers to rivals situation with Carlos! Like you start out madly in love with him, but you break up and become rivals on track and off track. I could see him betraying you and having this sort of intense rivalry. And then maybe he tries to make up with you but “bandaids can’t fix bullet holes.” Like come on, I feel like it fits really well. Especially the way he basically started a one way rivalry with Oscar, like that but romantic? If you get it you get it.

Lewis Hamilton

All You Had To Do Was Stay

So what if he had left you years ago when he was young but realized after dating other people that you were truly the one for him? Like he’s a changed man now, he realized that he had left the best person in his life behind? But you moved on too, “now you say you want it back now that it’s just too late.” Like trying to put the pieces of what you had back together. I just feel like it fits with the character development Lewis has had throughout the years.

Daniel Ricciardo

Is it Over Now?

Ok hear me out, like I can just picture Danny Ric moving on and just being a playboy right? But you want him to come back to you because deep down you both still care about each other. In the end, you are meant for each other but you have to go through “300 takeout coffees later.” Like both of you trying to move on and wondering if your relationship ever truly ended or if you are still meant for each other. Also Daniel just screams “flashing lights.” Like I just picture him running back after going separate ways and I just picture him when I hear this song.

Alex Albon

Wildest Dreams

I’m feeling Alex as the “so tall and handsome as hell,” man that you can’t stop longing for after you go separate ways. Like you and him waking separate ways as the sun sets? And you hoping he still thinks about you as he lives his life. Like he would hurt to leave behind and it would be a soft and passionate departure. You can’t help but see him in your “wildest dreams.” So many memories with Alex would be hard to leave behind.

Logan Sargeant

New Romantics

Imagine like a crazy, wild relationship with Logan. He already gets so much hate, but imagine he just doesn’t care when he’s with you. Like you both build a “castle from all the bricks they threw at me.” You both just enjoy living life together and revel in all the hate that the fans and media throw at you. But when you’re together “every night is like a dream.” You just live your best life, entirely unbothered. Just an incredible life with Logan by your side

Lance Stroll

Out of the Woods

I feel like this song fits with taking a chance on a relationship with Lance. I think it would take a while to really see his sweet side in a relationship, but once you did, you would be inseparable from him. Like that stage of taking a chance on a guy who is so in the spotlight and often talked down on would be hard, so getting “out of the woods” would be seeing the success of your mutual efforts finally come together and having the time of your life with him. When the “monsters turned out to be just trees,” it would be like all the hate isn’t true and he really is the perfect man for you.

Fernando Alonso

Blank Space

I feel like if anyone has a crazy ex, it would be Fernando Alonso. Like imagine he dumps you, you would try to keep driving him crazy. I feel like the “boys only want love if it’s torture” fits well, like he would enjoy the game of both of you trying to make the other regret the breakup. He would definitely “love the game” of toying with you and you messing with him back. Like both of you just trying desperately to make the other jealous and ruin their lives. Lowkey I want to write a fic about this now.

#f1 imagine #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 preference #f1 fic #f1 #1989 #1989 taylor's version #taylor swift #f1 x taylor swift

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brunette-barbie4562 · 1 month

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Uncharted (Duff McKagan X OC)

Summary: Unsure of her next steps in life, Carreen Joy "CJ" Thompson finds herself taking a job working under the Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan during the Not in the Lifetime... Tour. She faces the fast-paced and foreign world of rock n' roll, touring, and groupies, as well as blossoming taboo feelings for her boss.

Trigger warnings: Sexual themes, mentions of abortion & drug use.

Note: Sorry for the late update on this one. The end of the semester happened quicker than I thought it would 😅 I’m going to really try to commit to updates every other week, unless there are special circumstances with school stuff, but I will let everyone know if that is the case. I am a bit of a perfectionist with editing and I like to do at least ten pages of content before I post, so sometimes that slows me down too. Thanks for the patience 💕

March 2018

The Farm / Redding, CA

CJ couldn’t help but check her phone every 2 seconds after sending the text to Jess. She didn’t know how Jess would respond, or if she would respond at all. Work picked back up which was a nice distractor, but CJ was drawn back to her phone.

“Hey, you mind grabbing lunch?” Mindy poked her head in the doorway. CJ looked up from her phone.

“Ya, no problem,” said CJ, “Where from?”

“I’m placing an order at Maxwell’s, what do you want?”

“I’ll take a chicken pesto sandwich,” said CJ. Mindy nodded and disappeared from the doorway. CJ leaned back in her chair, listening to Mindy place the order over the phone in the other room. Her phone made a pinging noise from her desk, and she quickly sat up, grabbing it. She had a new message. Holding her breath, she opened the notification to see Jess’ response.

Long time no talk.

CJ quickly texted back as she heard Mindy finish her call.

Can I call you in 10?

Yes.

CJ felt her nerves creep into her stomach. She walked into Mindy’s office and grabbed her wallet and the car keys off the front table.

“Should be ready, or almost ready when you get over there,” said Mindy. CJ nodded, eager to get to the car. She said a few quick hellos to some coworkers on her way out. When she got in Mindy’s car, she immediately put her phone on Bluetooth, placing the call to Jess. The phone rang several times, feeling like an eternity. By the time Jess picked up, CJ had pulled out of the parking lot. The other end was silent.

“Hey,” said CJ.

“Hey,” said Jess. There was an awkward moment of silence.

“I’m sorry,” said CJ, “I know you’ve been trying to reach out, I just- A lot has happened. I know it’s not an excuse, and I’m sorry I didn’t at least tell you I was alive.”

“I was really worried,” said Jess, sounding slightly exasperated. “I don’t have your aunt’s number, so I couldn’t call to ask what was wrong.”

“I know,” said CJ, “I’m sorry. I understand if you don’t want to hear me explain things, but I’d really like a chance too.”

“Ya,” said Jess, “Please do, I was so worried for so long.” CJ didn’t know where to start. Jess had known about she and Duff’s relationship, how deeply she had felt about him, and how they were trying to plan how to continue their relationship once the tour ended. Jess was one of the few people who had been aware of it. She was also the only person who had warned her about going all in with the relationship. Jess had always been blunt with her. She didn’t pull any punches. She could hear Jess’ words in her head from when she had first told her about Duff; Just be careful. 80’s rockstars don’t have the best track records with relationships. She had waved away Jess’ concerns at the time, but she had been right. She figured she’d get straight to the point. Jess deserved that after worrying for so long.

“I’m pregnant,” she said. There was shocked silence from the other side. “About 15 weeks pregnant.”

“Holy shit,” said Jess.

“Ya,” said CJ, sounding more nonchalant than she felt, “Crazy right? I didn’t know until a couple of weeks ago myself.”

“Wait, what have you been doing? Where are you? In California or Seattle?”

“I’m in Redding,” said CJ. She paused for a moment. “Things did not work out the way I thought they would.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” said Jess, “Whose baby is it?”

“I know you already know,” said CJ, not wanting to say his name out loud. Her emotions were mounting, and she was afraid if she said his name she’d dissolve into tears.

“So, are you keeping it?” asked Jess.

“Yes,” said CJ, “I thought about it. I even went to an appointment to have it aborted. I can’t do it. I want to keep it, even if it means struggling for a bit. I can’t describe it, but I’m already in love.”

“Hold up,” said Jess, “You’re going to have this baby, and you’re not demanding child support? That man is rich as fuck, take him for everything he has. You could be in a mansion tomorrow. That child support would be fucking loaded. You are in a great position here, even if it may not feel that way.”

“I don’t want him to know,” said CJ.

“Why?” asked Jess. “Fuck him, take him for everything. He has more money than he knows what to do with.”

“It’s complicated, there’s a lot to explain,” said CJ, as she pulled into the parking lot of Maxwell’s. “Can I call you back in a minute? I have to run into this restaurant and grab lunch. Mindy is waiting back at the office.”

“Honestly, I think this conversation would be better in person,” said Jess. “What are you doing this weekend?”

“Nothing,” said CJ.

“Great,” said Jess. “I’m coming down there tonight.” CJ felt her heart leap in surprise and excitement at the thought of her friend visiting.

“Are you sure? I can come there. I know it’s a six-hour drive,” said CJ.

“No, you stay put,” said Jess, “It’s not a big deal. I have Monday off so I can leave Monday morning. I get off early today, in about an hour. So, I’ll go home and pack and get on the road.”

“That would be amazing!” said CJ. “Just be quiet about it around my aunt, she doesn’t know…. yet.”

“Don’t worry,” said Jess, “I’ll keep quiet.”

When they ended their call, CJ sat for a moment, reflecting and feeling grateful to have such a loyal friend.

When she got back to the office, she found Mindy bent over her desk, reviewing some paperwork. She placed her to-go bag down in front of her.

“Thanks,” said Mindy, not looking up.

“Jess is coming to visit this weekend; she’ll be here tonight.” Mindy looked up in surprise.

“Oh?”

“Ya, I haven’t seen her in awhile, we’ve been texting back and forth a bit.”

“Good, you need to go out and have some fun,” said Mindy.

By the time Jess arrived it was 8:30 at night. CJ had dimmed the lights and sat down at the kitchen table after dinner, taking a moment to herself. She could hear the low drone of the television from the living room where Michelle and Mindy sat watching. It was a cold night, and the heat was blasting through the floor vents near where she sat. She shuffled her feet over the grate, enjoying the heat, having always been chronically cold in the winter. The glare of car headlights flashed through the window and washed down the wall, illuminating the room. She stood up, her heart pounding as she saw Jess’ Subaru Outback pull in.

CJ pulled open the front door, ignoring the cold on her skin and bare feet as she hurried out. Jess got up out of the driver’s seat and CJ met her with a tight hug. Tears welled up in her eyes and her voice cracked as she spoke.

“I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Me too,” said Jess, muffled by CJ’s sweatshirt. They pulled away from each other and Jess looked down at CJ’s cast arm. “What happened with that?”

“It’s part of the whole story,” said CJ, walking over to the trunk of Jess’ car. “Let me get your stuff.” Jess shooed her away and opened the trunk herself.

“No, no lifting for you.” She pulled her duffle bag out and slammed the trunk shut.

When the two girls got inside, CJ got a better look at Jess. She looked the same; a stocky but athletic build, about 5’4”, black and wavy mid-length hair that was up in a messy bun, and bright blue eyes. The only difference was her once green striped hair was now streaked with purple. She was dressed in her usual comfy outfit, a pair of sweatpants, slippers, and a hoodie.

Mindy and Michelle appeared from the living room.

“Hey Jess,” said Mindy, “Good to see you!”

“It’s good to see you guys too,” said Jess, “It’s been a minute.”

“It has,” said Mindy, “How was the drive?”

“Not bad,” said Jess.

“Did you get anything to eat?” asked Michelle, moving towards the fridge.

“Ya, I got a burger on the drive,” said Jess.

“Well, if you need anything feel free to help yourself,” said Michelle. CJ could see Mindy gearing up to ask Jess a million questions. And CJ was eager to catch up with Jess too, but right now she wanted to get her alone. As Mindy started to talk, CJ interjected.

“I was thinking, how about tomorrow night we all go out somewhere to eat and catch up?”

“Oh,” said Mindy, “Ya, that sounds great! You guys think of a place, and we’ll do it.”

“I thought we’d head to bed early and do something in the morning,” said CJ, looking over at Jess, who looked back at her cluelessly. She quickly picked up CJ’s nonverbal hint.

“Oh ya, that sounds great,” said Jess. After saying their goodnights, CJ took Jess’ hand and gently pulled her into the hallway, down towards the bedroom. She quickly shut her bedroom door as Jess put her bag down. She pulled her sweatshirt off, her T-shirt briefly riding up to expose her stomach. She turned to face Jess whose gaze was focused on her midsection.

“You don’t even look pregnant, not even a little bit,” said Jess.

“Ya and I need it to stay that way,” said CJ, “At least until I can get some things figured out.” Jess sat down on CJ’s bed and patted the spot on the bed next to her. CJ sank down onto the bed and pulled her knees to her chest, taking a deep breath.

“So, what the fuck happened,” said Jess.

“I’m not completely sure myself,” said CJ. “He just left. The night after the last show, before we were supposed to go out and talk about me moving in. He just cut things off, didn’t say why, didn’t want to talk about it. It was like night and day.” Jess was looking down at her feet, not saying anything.

“You can say it,” said CJ, “You can say I told you so.”

“No,” said Jess softly, “You’re going through enough.”

“I should’ve listened to you.”

“Well hindsight,” said Jess, “And it’s hard to take a step back and view things objectively when you have strong feelings.”

“That’s why it was so hard the past few months,” said CJ, her voice cracking as she tried to hold it together. “I was so depressed about it I couldn’t get myself to do anything. I didn’t want to see or talk to anyone.” A few tears escaped her eyes, and it quickly turned into an uncontrollable waterfall of sobs. Jess gently snaked an arm around CJ’s shoulders and pulled her close into a hug. CJ tried to be quiet, not wanting Mindy or Michelle to hear her. After a few minutes, she managed to gain control and took a deep breath, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

“I tried to go out and do things,” CJ continued. “I went snowboarding but broke my wrist. That’s actually how I found out about being pregnant, when I was in the emergency room. Who knows how long it would’ve taken me to figure it out if I hadn’t.”

“Did you not get your period?”

“I wasn’t really thinking about it,” said CJ, “It’s gone away from stress before, so I thought that was it.”

“And you’re definitely keeping it?” asked Jess.

“Yes,” said CJ. “I know it sounds weird, especially since there’s not really anything to see, on the outside at least, but I’m already in love.” She placed a hand on her still flat stomach. “Maybe it’s the hormones talking.”

“Just don’t let the hormones talk you out of getting child support,” said Jess.

“I don’t want his money,” said CJ, “He wouldn’t want this baby anyway.”

“That doesn’t mean you aren’t owed support, CJ. He made the decision to lay down just the same as you, so fuck him. Your kid deserves the same support as his other kids,” said Jess.

“You know what he told me.” said CJ with a laugh of disgust. “He told me he got a vasectomy right after his last daughter was born. That’s why I wasn’t worried about it. I thought I was being careful, but now I think he lied.” CJ paused thoughtfully for a moment longer. “I don’t know, maybe I didn’t fit in with his lifestyle. He didn’t seem like the type to care about that kind of thing. But he was always surrounded by such glamorous places and people, glamorous women. And who am I compared to all that?”

“Well either way, he should be giving you a monthly payment,” said Jess, “Doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from.”

“I don’t need him,” said CJ, “I can do this on my own.”

“When are you going to tell your aunt?” asked Jess.

“I need to find a place to live first,” said CJ, “I want to have my own place and support myself.”

“You don’t think she’ll let you stay?” asked Jess.

“I know she would,” said CJ, “and I know she’ll love any children that I have, but it’s not fair of me to bring an infant here. She did her part when she raised me. She didn’t have to do that either, but she did.”

June 1989

Los Angeles General Medical Center / Los Angeles, CA

Mindy did not think she’d ever see the inside of the maternity wing at a hospital, never mind be present for a birth. But there she was, standing at her sister’s head, letting her grip her hand tightly as she pushed her niece into the world.

The last nine months had been a whirlwind. Heather had gone into rehab quietly and stayed put, which had surprised Mindy. Things went smoothly for the first few months and Heather told Mindy she was working on getting the adoption process rolling.

Then, one day, Mindy received a call from a pissed off Heather. She remembered the first words Heather had said to her before she could even say hello. Can you believe they don’t give you money for putting your kid up for adoption? Mindy could only laugh at her sister’s selfishness and told her that of course they don’t pay you, that would be trafficking. Her initial suspicions were correct about her sister’s motivations being monetary.

Heather had gone on to rant some more about the fact it was too late for her to terminate, and then declared that she’d be keeping the baby. Mindy went from being amused to horrified. She then spent the next 30 minutes trying to convince Heather to go through with the adoption process, but to no avail. She remembered asking Heather, why keep it if you don’t want it? Her response had been, Tax breaks, benefits. Mindy had pleaded, telling her that was no reason to have a baby. She didn’t even have a job to get tax breaks on. But Heather wouldn’t listen.

On a positive note, Heather had gotten clean, stuck to plan, and the pregnancy had progressed typically with no health issues. CPS had been alerted but since she was actively in rehab and had tested clean for the past several months, there were no plans in place to remove the baby. With that, Mindy had been scrambling to get her own shit together. The idea of living with her sister long term was highly irritating. But she couldn’t put her out with a new baby, and she honestly didn’t trust Heather to care for the baby properly alone, especially if her only attachment to it was based on money. She didn’t know if Heather could stay clean. It felt unrealistic to hope for, but if Mindy let her stay and pushed her to get a job and a place of her own, maybe this would be what completely and permanently turned Heather around. She wasn’t hopeful and in the back of her mind she was contemplating back-up plans. She had never planned on being a mother or having a baby. But if she had to, she’d take Heather’s child in. She couldn’t see her niece or nephew go to foster care, no matter how inconvenient or derailing it was for her life.

Mindy had set up a crib and bought all the basic things she would need, preparing for the birth and for Heather to leave rehab and bring the baby home to the apartment. It had cost her a chunk of her savings and she had to remind herself it was for the baby, not for Heather.

Laying in the bed, Heather gripped Mindy’s hand painfully tight and let out a loud yell as she gave one last push. A moment later a sharp cry pierced the air. Time seemed to move slowly as the nurse held the baby and Mindy got a clear look at it.

“It’s a girl,” said the nurse. The baby was chunky and healthy looking, with a thick head of dark brown hair, and a good set of lungs on her as she loudly cried. They moved to clean her off and examine her. Mindy looked at Heather who was sitting there, still trying to catch her breath and looking exhausted.

“You did so good!” said Mindy with excitement. Heather didn’t respond or react to Mindy and just put her head back against the pillow. A moment later, the nurse carried the baby over to them and gently placed her on Heather’s chest. “She’s so beautiful Heather, look at her!”

Heather looked down at the baby, her face expressionless. Instead of holding her closer, she picked her up and held her out to Mindy wordlessly.

“You’re not going to hold her?” asked Mindy confused.

“No,” said Heather. After handing the baby over, she turned away from them. Mindy felt a deep sadness as the baby began to cry louder. A nurse, having seen the entire interaction came over and quietly offered Mindy a bottle of formula.

“If you want to sit here,” she said, gesturing to a cushioned armchair, “and do skin to skin.” Mindy handed the baby back to the nurse while she removed her shirt. The nurse laid the baby on Mindy’s chest and then covered them with a light blanket. Finally, the baby had stopped crying, her dark eyes cracked open and looking up at Mindy. She lightly ran a hand over the baby’s thick head of hair.

“Hey sweet girl,” she said softly to the baby, “Everything is going to be ok. I promise.” Mindy looked back over at Heather, who was still turned away.

May 2017

Somewhere over Spain

The feeling of being unsettled had permeated Duff’s day. The morning had gone as usual, other than the groupie leaving his room at 5:30 A.M., prior to there being a risk of anyone else being awake to see her go. He had seen the same woman in the lobby of the hotel just before leaving to drive to the airport. With sexual release came the buildup of his internal emotional tension. The post-hook up crash had him in his head. Being the intuitive and empathetic person that she had revealed herself to be, CJ had picked up on it immediately and asked him if he was ok or needed anything. He had told her he was fine, just tired.

She sat next to him on the plane, focused on updating his social media accounts with pictures and videos from the show the night before. She had been quieter than he was used to her being and he thought maybe he should be the one asking her if everything was ok.

The flight attendant came around with snacks and he wordlessly slid her over a bag of chips. She glanced at it and said a quick thanks before continuing with what she was doing on the computer.

“Hey, you good kiddo?”

“Hm?” she said, looking up.

“You’re just kind of quiet,” he said.

“Oh ya, sorry,” she said absent-mindedly, turning back to her work.

“Hey,” he said, slightly amused at her reaction. “You don’t need to apologize; I was wondering if anything is wrong.” She met his gaze, looking like she had something to say.

“I just don’t like what happened last night,” she said. Duff felt a rush of panic. How did she know. “I shouldn’t have said what I said.” His panic immediately subsided when he realized she was talking about their conversation in the SUV, on the way back from the show.

“Oh,” he said, his relief making him slightly dismissive, “I forgot about that.” His statement made her frown deepen.

“Well, I haven’t,” she said, “I feel awful.”

“Relax,” he said, opening his bag of chips. “Like I said, you couldn’t have known. I’m not worried about it. You’re over worrying.” She didn’t say anything more to him but continued to look concerned as he stuffed a few chips in his mouth.

“Maybe you’re under-worrying,” she said, giving him sass. He laughed at her attitude and decided to change the subject.

“Sick of airplanes yet?” he asked. “Cause if you aren’t yet, you will be soon.”

“No, not yet,” said CJ.

“When we get to the North America leg in July, we use tour buses a lot more to get around, unless we’re going from one side of the country to the other. You might like that more. Sometimes we leave right after a show and drive overnight to the next city.”

“I’d be with you for that? Or on a different bus?” she asked.

“Ya, of course,” he said. As the words left his mouth, he realized he hadn’t put much thought into the subject. His previous assistant had traveled with him on the same bus. But it had been different, since his previous assistant had been a man. He had never dealt with having to travel with a female assistant. There were three beds on his bus, one in the master bedroom, which he slept in, one pullout couch, and one over cab loft bed. Despite it being a large luxury RV, he didn’t know if it would be appropriate to share such a close space with her. He didn’t know if he could share such a close space with her. The thought of it made his head spin. He couldn’t think about it now, he had over a month to think about it. He could make decisions later.

Upon landing in Lisbon, CJ received a barrage of texts, her phone pinging several times rapidly. They were all texts from Jess.

Where are you!?!?

What band is that!?

How are you on stage!?

Smiling to herself, she typed back.

This is my summer job, and maybe for longer than that.

A moment later her phone began to ring. They were still taxiing on the tarmac and CJ rejected the call and texted.

Hold on, about to head to the hotel, I’ll call in 30.

Jess quickly responded.

Ugggghhh you’re such a tease.

Duff and Mark made plans to meet for lunch after they had settled everything in their hotel rooms. It would be good to catch up a bit during a time when they weren’t backstage and preparing for a show. They planned to walk over together, but Mark got caught up with some business-related matters, and told Duff to go on ahead and get a table. Duff sat on the second-floor balcony of a little café they had chosen on the water. It was a quiet afternoon with only a few other patrons. The weather was breezy and warm, solidifying the relaxed and laidback atmosphere of the place.

When Mark arrived 15 minutes later, he had a look of discomfort on his face. He oddly sat down without saying anything.

“What?” said Duff.

“Have you been online lately?” asked Mark.

“No? not really,” said Duff. “Not since this morning.” Mark pulled out his phone and unlocked it and slid it across the table face up. Duff looked at it and was briefly confused at what he was seeing. It was a Twitter post, posted only an hour ago by what looked like a GNR fan account. It was a picture of him and CJ. It appeared to be from last night’s show, right before GNR had taken the stage. It was taken from somewhere down in the pit. It was a blurry shot of the moment he had bent down from behind the stage riser to hear CJ’s comment about Mark’s performance. CJ was slightly leaning over the back of her chair, her head tilted back. It made her cleavage in the red top she had been wearing look nearly pornographic. His face was turned inward to her ear so he could speak closely enough for her to hear him over the music. But the way that the picture was angled made it look as if he had his face buried in her neck and she was enjoying it and leaning back into it. The caption was short and read: ‘Duff’s new gf?’

By the time CJ got to her hotel room and was able to take her phone back out Jess had figured it out. A text from 20 minutes ago read,

It’s Guns N’ Roses, isn’t it.

The phone only rang once before Jess picked up.

“What the hell Thompson,” said Jess, “How are you backstage at a Guns N’ Roses concert and I’m not there!?”

“I can get you tickets,” said CJ, “Pick a date, any date, anywhere.”

“Did your aunt reconnect with Axl Rose?” Jess knew Mindy had been old friends with Axl. It had been brought up a few times during their time in college.

“Apparently they never disconnected,” said CJ, “He offered me a job as a personal assistant on their current tour.”

“You’re Axl Rose’s personal assistant!?” exclaimed Jess loudly.

“No,” said CJ, “I’m Duff McKagan’s personal assistant.”

“The bass player?” asked Jess.

“Ya, that’s the one,” said CJ, walking over the hotel window and looking out over the city.

“You have got to get me tickets!!” said Jess, “Where are you now?”

“Europe until mid-July,” said CJ, “Then we start in the U.S.”

“I’m pulling up the dates now,” said Jess. CJ glanced at the clock on the wall to see that it was 11:00 A.M. She counted the hours in her head.

“Wait a minute, what time is it there? Isn’t it like 3 in the morning?” asked CJ.

“It is,” said Jess, “I was headed to bed, but now I’m too excited to sleep.”

“Well go to bed,” said CJ, with a laugh. “I can get you tickets any time, pick a date and just let me know. I can probably get you backstage with me too.” There was a knock on her door, which distracted her away from Jess’ excitement.

“Hey, I gotta go,” said CJ, “I’ll text you; someone is at my door.”

“You’re killing me,” said Jess, “TEXT ME!”

“I will!” said CJ.

She ended the call and quickly made her way to the door, expecting it to be Duff. Instead, Tate was standing there.

“Hey,” he said, “You busy?” She was caught off guard by his presence.

“Oh, no, not at the moment.”

“There’s a gelato stand just outside the hotel. I was headed down to get some and then grab lunch with some of the others if you’re interested?” CJ had nothing else planned for the afternoon. Maybe the gym in the evening, right before dinner. But it wouldn’t hurt to get some fresh air for a bit. It also wouldn’t hurt to be social and maybe try to make some friends with the people she’d be alongside for the next several months and possibly more.

“Sure,” she said, stepping out and shutting the door behind her.

#axl gnr #80s rock #axl rose #saul hudson #guns n roses #duff mckagan #duff gnr #slash gnr #izzy gnr #80s music

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imaginesforeveryone · 3 months

Text

IM SCARED!

Pairing: Misha Collins x Y/N Warning: angst, fluff

It was your best friend Jensens birthday today & Danny was throwing a HUGE party for him

“Come on baby!” You yelled up to Misha, your amazing, quiet, loving boyfreind of 3 years.

“Sorry baby.” He said rushing down the stairs and giving you a quick little peck on your lips before walking out of the door. You locked it & went to Mishas car and got in the passenger seat. Driving about 20 minutes away to your most best friend in the worlds house. Jumping out of the car and grabbing presents from the trunk & walking to the door. Walking in & instantly your ears filled with Jenen’s contagious laugh, Jared’s loud words, & the kids laughter. Walking into the kitchen where everyone was.

“Y/N & Misha are here!!!” Jensen yelled with a loud smile on his face. Instantly being attacked by Jensen & Jared’s kids. After they all got off finally we’re able to put all your things down

“Alright. Happy birthday old man!!!” You said engulfing Jensen into your arms.

“Hey hey I’m not old. I’m in my prime.” He said with a goofy ass smile. Going around and hugging everyone else. Finally settling down outside on the back porch feeling the breeze in the warm Texas sun, with a nice cold beer in your hand, with your amazing boyfriend right beside you & all of you family surrounding you.

“So how have you guys been doing?” Jensen asked sitting beside you while Misha talked to Jared.

“Amazing actually. Better then ever. But he’s been acting kind of weird lately. Kind of on edge, nervous. But other then that pretty good.” Your explained Jensen.

“I’m sure he has some mental thing going on. You know he gets. He’s a bit crazy.” He said with a giggle at the end.

“I’ll be right back baby.” Misha said with a smile & pecked you on the forehead. You smiled & Zeppelin cane waddling over and you picked him up and set him on your lap.

“God you made some amazingly beautiful babies. They DEFINITELY get their looks from Dannel.” You said laughing & Jensen giving your a dirty look.

“So when is their going to be a little devil walking around for you guys?” Jensen asked looking at you raising an eye brow.

“Well.” You said raising an eyebrow at him.

“Wait. What?!” Jensen asked gaking his sunglasses off & getting on the end of his seat.

“Does Mish know?” He asked.

“No not yet. I’m trying to find a cute fun way to do it. But I’m also scared that he’s going to run.” You said starting to feel tears well up.

“Believe me he won’t run.” Jensen said with a smile & hugging you.

“Come on let’s go in.” He said standing up with you & Zepp. You walked into the house with Zepp in your hand but stopping dead in your tracks seeing Misha on the ground in one knee. Jensens slipped in and grabbed Zepplin from you.

“Baby, Y/N, my love, my rock, I love you so so much. I have since the day I laid my eyes on you when you walked on set at the beginning of season 10. That moment I knew you’d light my whole world up and of course you did. Every day I wake up next to you & that’s the reason I’m happy everyday of my life. So now I want to make sure that you are here for the rest of my life. That I can wake up to you every morning with you, so Y/N Y/M/N Y/L will you do me the amazing honor of being my life mate, will you marry me?” Misha said opening the little black velvet box to show a beautiful single diamond. You covered your mouth in awe.

“Well your going to be a daddy. So this is the beginning of our life. Of course I’ll marry you.” You said and his face fell & tears welled up in his eyes as he stood up quickly & engulfed you in a hug. Everyone stood around cheering & even a few snuggles around the room. He stood back & slipped the ring on your finger.

“I can’t believe we are having a baby.” He whispered into your ear.

“I know. It was just meant to be.” You whispered back.

“I must admit I’m scared.” He said to you.

“Don’t be scared you will be an amazing daddy & an amazing husband. I love you so much.” You explained to him wrapping his arms around you.

“And I love you more.” He said feeling him smile against your neck.

#misha Collins #supernatural #imagines #imagine #misha collins x reader #misha collins x Y/N #castiel

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bitchesuntitled · 10 months

Text

Through the Motions

Pairing: Francisco “Catfish” Morales x Reader

Summary: You and Frankie decide to start a family. Regardless of your mental illness and the challenges it faces.

Warnings: Mental health, cussing, pregnancy, bit of angst, comfort, fluffff, pretty much sums it up

A/N: Sooo…. This would be my first fic I’ve ever actually put out for the entire world to read. I used to have several 5 subject notebooks full of fanfic for myself and my cousins to read cause they were the only ones I trusted with that part of my brain. 15 years later and here I am. I had 4 different friends read it before I posted. All of which gave amazing input and helped me with wording, grammar, punctuation, etc. I love you guys!!! @hessofather(knows all about mentally ill pregnancy cause she did that), @jay-zzle(Spanish expert), @bi-panda(help with grammar and punctuation) and Sarah(helped with wording, who needs to get a tumblr)

Special shout out to: @chloeangelic- Thank you for being so helpful to this newbie with your writing advice! You saw this fic before it became what it is now, hopefully it’s still as interesting as you thought it was to begin with @gracieispunk for just telling me to go for it! ❤️❤️❤️

HERE GOES IT! 🫣

Masterlist

At the time you felt like this was a good idea, that you were strong enough to handle it, that it would get better as time went on. Except now you’re not so sure.

*****

It was your idea first, trying for a baby and Frankie was ecstatic. You’d discussed kids before but it was always in a wishful way, too nervous to stop the meds to actually try. Late one night while in bed you decide to talk about it once more.

“What if you can’t handle my episodes?”

“Such as…” He asks moving on his side propping up his head with his fist.

“Well… I’m kinda, actually no, I’m crazy without meds. You haven’t had to experience that side of me but other people have. I had so much rage in me all the time, I would snap in an instant at the smallest of things, there were days I couldn’t even get out of bed. I almost lost my job at one point.” You say rubbing your face trying not to think of the past without meds. He moves your hands and cups your cheek turning your head towards him.

“Hey now, we don’t have to do this. It’s up to you. I’d love it if we could have a version of you and me out in this world but it’s not a necessity if you don’t want to. I’m still going to be here whether we decide to do this or not”

“Oh god, the manic episodes! I’ve gotten those under control finally because of the meds but the mania was almost just as bad as the depression! Sooo many bad decisions, honestly surprised I don’t have a kid already. Definitely had a rise in my labido during the manic episodes,” with widened eyes and a panicked look you start to back track “Sorry! I’m so sorry! I’m rambling now.”

“Shhh, we all have a past,” Frankie laughs, shaking his head, “If we’re being truthful here though- if we try for a baby that would be helpful, right?”

You laugh and roll your eyes.

“Yeah, I guess you got me there.”

*****

Thinking about it and doing it are two completely different things. The trying part was definitely fun and then it happened. Those two pink lines happened a lot faster than you were expecting. What now? You have to get off your meds. That’s what you have to do now. It’s really happening. There is now a life growing inside of you. You thought you were ready for this. Mentally trying to prepare yourself for the moment the meds had to stop, the pregnancy hormones and what they’ll do, the changes your body will go through, the mindset you’ll need to have going through this, so much to prepare for. Then the first slip up happens. It took 3 weeks, 3 weeks for the first incident to happen.

“Oh, I see!” You say gritting your teeth, “So I need to have supper ready for you when you get home? Like I’m some 50s fucking housewife?!”

“That’s not what I even said. All I asked was what are we having for supper? I did not mean what are YOU making for supper.” Frankie said as calmly as he could. He never thought his army training would help him in a situation like this. They teach you how to handle dangerous territories, hostile situations, survival, and so much more. But this? No one ever trains you for this. For a hormonal, mentally ill, pregnant lady.

You can feel your face hot from anger turning into one of embarrassment and shame instead. Your bottom lip begins to tremble. You realize your mistake immediately. Not sure if it’s the mental illness or the hormones rushing through your body. It all kinda feels the same right now. Frankie notices the change immediately and rushes towards you.

“Bebé, bebé, bebé,” He says quietly wrapping his arms around you, pushing your head into the crook of his neck. “It’s okay. You’re okay. We’re okay. We’ll get through this just like everything else. I’m here.”

“I hate this!” You sob

*****

Your entire pregnancy you feel as if you’re going through constant loops. The manic and depressive episodes coming in waves. You sense it before it happens, a lot like when you can smell rain before it starts. The only thing is when. When is it going to hit you? Will it be a depressive episode? Where you find it near impossible to even get up but you have to in order to make sure things are ready for this baby. Will it be a manic episode? Where you have so much energy it feels like you’re going to crawl out of your own skin but also in a way beneficial because you can get so much ready for the nursery. Will it be one of sadness, anger, anxiousness? What will it be and can you make yourself stop it? Doubtful, you never can, just like now.

**9 months later**

He plops down at the kitchen table sighing. The baby has finally gone to sleep. After 2 hours of crying there is finally silence.

“What‘s wrong?” Frankie asks

“I don’t know.” you sigh, putting the last bottle in the dish rack to dry.

He can tell something is wrong by your actions. The way you’ve been rigid. You’re so stiff. You’re so tense. You feel on edge about every little thing.

The baby is crying. Needs changed again. The baby is crying. Needs fed again. The baby is crying. Needs soothed again. The baby is crying. When is there time to sleep? So over-stimulated it’s almost too much to bear.

It’s only been 2 weeks since the baby arrived and you’re back on meds finally. As with all things though, it takes time.

“What’s wrong? Hermosa, please tell me.” he asks again

“It’s just one of those days.”

One of those days, the hatred for yourself you feel. Am I a good mom yet? Am I doing everything that needs done? Is there anything I missed? I have to be perfect on the outside. Why am I NOT perfect on the outside? Can I even pretend to be perfect? The internal battle is almost too much. You don’t want to look at him. You don’t want him to see how much your mind is making you suffer because he will see it, he always sees it now.

“Baby, please talk to me!” He pleads

You push yourself off the kitchen sink and finally turn around wrapping your arms around yourself and you know he sees it. Your mind starts racing. He thinks you’re a failure. He wants to give up on you. He doesn’t want to deal with you anymore.

He gets up and takes a step closer, you take a step back. Not ready for the comfort, the consoling, the pity party to ensue. He grabs you before you can get too far away.

“You're an amazing momma. Don’t sell yourself short!”

“Hold on,” You start to remove yourself from him, “I need to get the hamburger out for supper tomorrow.”

He furrows his brows letting you go and sighs, “Will you sit down, please?”

Reluctantly you sit down and your mind starts racing and panicking again. Why does he want me to sit? Why did he sigh? Is he mad at me? Did I do something wrong?

The baby monitor goes off and you start to get up again

“Stop, sit. I got this. Stay here.”

So you sit. You sit at the kitchen table with your mind spiraling and wondering what to expect next. Can he change the diaper? Can he make the bottle if the baby needs feeding? Can he soothe the baby to go back to sleep? What does the baby need?

You hear the crackle of the monitor

“Momma is so tired, isn’t she? She needs a break sometimes. She takes such good care of you while I’m at work.“ the baby starts to wail louder, that must be the getting diaper changed cry, “Oh yes, I know mi vida, it’s so cold and momma does it better but daddy is here and can do it too.” Low and behold you are correct!

The baby stops crying. Soothed for now. Who knows how long it’ll be before they’re awake again. Frankie comes back to the kitchen.

“Mi amor, we should get to bed.”

You nod while he grabs the baby monitor then your hand, in a daze you let him lead you to the bedroom. He helps you change your clothes for the first time in three days. Frankie grabs your brush, he gently brushes til the knots are out of your hair and he puts it in a bun the way you like. He grabs you around the waist and guides you into the bed. Laying there together, he’s whispering words of praise to you, “Eres hermosa, you’re a good momma, you’re perfecto for me and our baby” placing soft kisses to your neck with each phrase, and then you hear his soft snoring. With silent tears falling down your face you finally start to drift off to sleep, you suddenly remember you forgot the hamburger meat. You try to move but with Frankie’s warmth and tight grip surrounding you you easily give up, guess there is always tomorrow.

#pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fanfiction #frankie morales #frankie catfish morales #reader fic #i’m new to this #be kind #white girl doing Spanish #angst #comfort #fanfic writing #fanfiction #fanfic #fluff #pedro pascal #y/n fics

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bunnyreaper · 1 year

Text

way back into love

pairing - gabriel reyes x f!reader wc - 1,860 warnings - weight/self-esteem issues, mild sexual content notes - chubby gabriel reyes? chubby gabriel reyes. i want soft gabe, i want him so bad - also on ao3!

Retirement was strange, and not something you thought either of you would get to experience, never mind get used to.

When Overwatch was dismantled, Gabe undoubtedly struggled at first—more so than you did.

Now, the two of you steal the moments you always wanted, in the form of a quiet domestic life on the outskirts of the city.

Gabe spends a third of his time in the kitchen, cooking you both exquisite home-cooked meals. Another third is spent catching up on a bunch of TV shows from the last several years, and a reluctant addiction to some trashy reality shows.

The final third is dedicated to the two of you enjoying each other's bodies fully. No time constraints or missions looming over you. No distractions.

Yet as of late, your alone time has been happening less and less. While a natural part of a long-term relationship in some respects, the shift had you feeling lonely, and most importantly, concerned.

The behavior seemed out of character for Gabriel—a man with so much passion.

You try to push the thoughts out of your mind as you unlock the front door to your home.

After discarding your jacket on the coat hooks, your shoes on the rack, and your purse on the side table—you make your way into the living room.

Gabriel is lounging on the couch, eyes fixed upon the TV, with a bag of chips by his side and a beer on the table.

Tiptoeing up behind him, you press a sweet kiss to the top of his head as you hang off of him, trailing your hands down his chest and caressing him.

"Hey papi." You mumble into his hair, your voice rising flirtatiously.

Your new friends had spent most of the time at your drinks talking about their escapades in singledom—and it really made you miss when you and Gabriel first started fooling around.

"Cariño." He greets, as his hands slip up to hold your wrists, stopping your groping in its tracks. "Somebody's eager." He chuckles.

"I missed my hunk. What can I say?"

"Pshh." He shrugs away from your touch somewhat, so you pull back your hands to rest between your chin and his head.

Your eyes flicker up to the screen, catching a shot of some scantily clad model types dancing around the pool. "What are you watching?"

He hesitates for a moment before offering up a quiet response. "...Love Island."

You don't need to press further to know he's embarrassed.

"Ugh." You grunt, expressing your disdain. Gabriel's new reality TV fascination was something you were on board with, but Love Island wasn't about surviving on an Island or making it to New York Fashion Week.

"I know, I hate it." He laughs, yet his gaze hasn't left the screen.

"Sure you do." You laugh, then pull away and head back over to your purse, grabbing your phone to check the time. "Want me to handle dinner, or should we just order take out?"

"No, I've got it." He calls out, finally turning around and offering you a smile.

"Can we get started soon? I'm so hungry." You ask.

"Sure."

You return his smile before heading toward the stairs. "I'm gonna go put some sweats on." You call out as you leave.

Making it to your bedroom, you pull off your sundress and the bra underneath as a matter of urgency. You're so desperate to be comfortable, and you head over to the dresser, pulling out a lace bralette and your softest sweats.

As you pull on the bralette, the bedroom door opens behind you, and Gabriel walks in with a pile of freshly washed, perfectly folded laundry.

"I meant to bring these up earlier. Do you need anything from the pile?" He sets the clothes down on the bed, and your eyes instantly land on a specific shirt of Gabriel's you love to wear—and one that drives him crazy, too.

"You've had a productive day, I see." You throw the shirt on and smile as you smooth the fabric over your thighs. "Thank you, though. I was going to do the laundry when I got back, but seems you beat me to it."

"How was your time with the ladies?" He asks, as he begins to put some of the folded pieces away in the appropriate drawers.

You decide to forego the sweats for the moment, in the hopes you won't end up needing them right now, anyway. "Good! Though they're trying to sign me up to their spin class."

"Not that you need it." Gabriel offers, as he stands before the wardrobe he's just hung some clothes in.

Unbeknownst to you, who can't see his facial expression, he appraises his reflection and begins to pick apart everything he sees.

"I can think of some other exercise I'd rather do." You turn your tone sultry, as you step behind your boyfriend and slip your arms around him once more, running your fingers across his stomach before you dip lower. "Who needs to ride a bike when I can ride you?"

Once more, his hands still yours, his fingers slipping in between your own as he pries your hands away.

"Not now, cariño." His smile is forced, his voice strained.

"Okay... sorry." You whisper, pulling away out of respect.

A heavy silence settles on the room as rejection stings you. While you respect your boyfriend's autonomy, now you're really starting to wonder if there isn't something truly amiss.

You turn away to pull on the sweats you intended to wear earlier, as just outside of your gaze, Gabriel pinches at his stomach.

"Gabe?" You ask, not turning to face him, as you worry you'll lose your nerve right now if you do.

"Hmm?" He responds absentmindedly, lost in his head and the swirl of negative thoughts.

"Is something bothering you?"

"No." He answers too quickly, and your gaze now snaps to him in suspicion. "Why?" His brows are furrowed, almost like he's frustrated with you for even asking the question.

That only makes you want to press further.

"Well, when we first got together, you couldn't keep your hands off me for a minute. And I know, it wears off with time but, you've been brushing me off more and more lately." Your throat tightens as you talk, and you try to hold back from releasing any indication of the feelings that have been building up.

You don't wish to pressure him, but you need to at least talk to him.

"Yeah, that's what it probably is, just the end of the honeymoon phase." He mutters forlornly, still not meeting your eyes.

You've known him long enough to know that at this moment, he's completely full of shit.

He meets your eye, his jaw tightened as he tries to remain resolute, yet you fix him with a look.

Moments pass where neither of you look away—him determined to remain silent, you determined to crack him.

He finally turns his head away again, facing the mirror once more with a sigh. He knows you know something is up, but that doesn't mean he intends on being entirely forthcoming. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Gabriel." You whisper, joining him at the mirror and taking one of his hands in yours. You watch his expression in the reflection, as he fights to keep his feelings from showing.

Yet the longer you stand there, holding his hand and simply being there, the more his walls start to crumble.

Without looking up, he begins to mumble. "... I've let myself go, and I don't feel worthy of you anymore."

The words completely stun you.

You weren't sure what you were expecting, but this wasn't it. At least it wasn't the thing you had feared.

"Oh papi." Your voice takes on a tone of sorrow as you step between him and the mirror, taking his other hand too. "Look at you, if this is letting yourself go, god help all the other men on this planet."

He lets out a small, sad laugh at that—a lopsided smile coming to his face, one that doesn't quite reach the eyes.

The changes in his physique haven't gone unnoticed by you, but they also haven't changed a damn thing about the way you feel for your lover, either.

"You're incredible, even if you have a little extra weight." You resist the urge to lean up and kiss him, and run your hands all over every part of him you can touch.

"But I don't look like I did when I was Commander, when I was the man you fell in love with." He admits quietly, a somewhat bitter tone to his voice.

"Yet you're just as handsome."

His hands slip out of yours, and you expect him to pull away once more, yet his arms encircle your waist as he pulls you close and presses a deep, needy kiss to your lips.

Your eyes fall shut as you feel the shivers down to your toes, before he pulls away, and you're left with a bright smile.

That kiss did nothing to quell your need for Gabriel, yet judging by the way he's stiffening against you, it seems he wouldn't mind so much the way you feel.

"And..." You walk your fingers up his chest teasingly until you reach his neck, as you pull him down, so you can whisper in his ear. "You still get me worked up like no one ever has."

"Really?" He sounds equal parts taken aback and aroused—the doubt being something you're not used to hearing from him.

You pull back, and he finally meets your eyes. There's less sadness in them than before, but you still have a little more to say.

"I love you exactly as you are, Gabriel, and I always will. Lucky for you, your abs weren't nearly the most interesting thing about you."

If only he could see how much you still wanted to climb him like a tree, or have him pin you down underneath him as he fucks your brains out—weight or no weight.

He finally smiles wide, and your heart soars.

"What really doesn't suit you isn't the extra weight, it's this uncertainty you have." You comment. "You're usually so annoyingly self-assured." You laugh to let him know you're trying to be lighthearted.

Humming in thought for a moment, he pulls you even closer to his body, his fingers gripping into the shirt of his you're wearing as his attitude seems to shift.

"I recall you liking me knowing what I do to you." His voice drops deeper, becoming even more alluring as he regains a sense of his usual suave confidence.

"I do." You smile, pushing yourself up on your tiptoes and rubbing your body against him in a way intended to tease. You have every intention of taking him to bed and worshiping his body.

You can't help the oozing sex in your voice as you speak, offering him more temptation as naughty plans form in your mind. "How about I remind us both exactly what you do to me?"

#gabriel reyes x reader #gabriel reyes #reaper x reader #reaper overwatch #overwatch x reader #overwatch fanfiction

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blouisparadise · 2 years

Photo

Upon request, today we have a rec list of BL fics where Louis and/or Harry are lawyers. If you enjoy our rec lists, please be sure to like and reblog this post to help spread the word. Happy reading!

1) Pretty, Perfect Angel | Explicit | 2514 words

Harry comes home late and wakes Louis up. Louis does something he wasn't supposed to and gets in trouble.

2) Helping A Friend | Explicit | 2961 words

Louis is very energetic and sometimes a bit too much for people to handle, but Harry finds an unconventional method that works better than meds.

3) Where We Start | Mature | 3728 words | Sequel

Being sick and tired of getting teased by all his friends for being the only virgin left in his group, Louis is determined to get fucked; he doesn't care who or where or how. He just so happens to get fucked by the infamous slut, Harry Styles.

4) You'll Wait For Me Only | Teen & Up | 9106 words

Harry nips at the bondmark on Louis’ neck, Louis’ hands go to his hips, grounding him. He allows himself this, knowing that his Omega needs it too. Harry pulls back, “Go on a date with me.” He rushes out, looking at Louis’ eyes.

Louis laughs and shakes his head. “No, Louis, I’m serious. We’ve bonded for life anyway, might as well try.” Louis looks at him, “You’ve been thinking about this a lot.” Louis points out, Harry nods. “Okay.” Louis says and walks out leaving Harry. “Okay what?!”

5) You’re All I See In My Mind (I Think I See A Lifetime) | Explicit | 16312 words

Kitten hybrid Louis gets kicked out of his house. With nowhere to go and a very cold and stormy weather outside, he ends up wandering into Harry’s shed to hide from the thunder and rain (he gets terrified by it). Harry hears crying from the shed so he goes to investigate.

6) Before We Knew | Explicit | 39830 words

Louis has been skeptical of soulmates for years so it seems like fate when he finally bumps into the owner of the obnoxiously large signature printed onto his skin since age sixteen: Harry Styles, a human rights attorney who is firmly against soulmates.

7) Somebody To Love | Explicit | 51471 words

A hesitant fist hovers, ready to knock on the hard surface, when suddenly the door swings open revealing a small child with a huge smile plastered on her face.

“You’re here, finally!” She beams up at him, haphazardly brushing her orange hair away from her eyes.

He can’t help but let a grin fill his face at her anticipation. Bunching his pants at his ankles, he crouches down to her level. “You must be Margret.”

“Actually, only my daddy calls me that when I’m in trouble,” she explains with an assertive tone. “So you can call me Margo.”

“Well, Margo, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Louis.”

8) Echoes & Omens | Mature | 100707 words

Echoes of the dead come in many forms. Their imprints forever tied to the ones who'd killed them.

Louis Tomlinson is able to track the dead using their echoes, they call to him. He's used that gift to aid Scotland Yard in their investigations, with the hopes of studying Criminology at Cambridge University. He's lived a life of privilege and good fortune as a Marquess, son of the late Duke Tomlinson, with his life mapped out since day one.

Until two terrible truths are revealed.

One, he's adopted.

Two, his biological parents are London's most notorious serial killers.

Against his family's wishes, Louis travels to Chicago to uncover the truth of their incarceration. Much to his dismay, his biological mother's Lawyer, Harry Styles, wants to take his case. Together, they work to uncover what really happened all those years ago, but perhaps more is revealed than they could've ever anticipated. Trapped in a whirlwind of portents and omens, Louis and Harry find themselves pitted against an enemy they'd not foreseen.

9) You Drive Me Crazy (But It Feels Alright) | Teen & Up | 102036 words

“Harry is not short for Harold,” he corrects, his voice as thick as molasses. He lowers his eyes to Louis’ sequined lapels, rubbing one between two fingers. “Is this small or extra small? It looks lovely.”

Louis breaks away from his grip with a petulant huff and pushes him back with two fingers.

“You’re mocking me. Again.”

Harry smiles and it's a real honest swoop of his lips this time. Louis’ stomach swoops with them.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

#bottom louis #top harry #larry #fic recs #blp fic recs #lawyer harry #lawyer louis #lawyer au

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boldlyvoid · 2 years

Text

Put On The Red Light | Part One

18+ Eddie Munson x Steve Harrington

Summary: When Eddie's long-lost cousin, Roxy, shows up on his doorstep, he must accept that his whole life is changing once again.

Warnings: angst, anxiety, jealous Eddie, sexuality crisis, insecure Eddie, parental issues, implied/referenced parental abuse/neglect, background Vickie/Robin, Will/Gareth, Wayne/Mr. Clarke

word count: 9.9k

masterlist

A few loud knocks on the front door rip him from his slumber, he turns to his alarm clock to see it's after 1 pm, Wayne should be home to get it… But the knocks keep coming, more frequent and needier than ever, forcing him out of bed.

He tumbles down the hall with a groan and his eyes still closed, he rubs his face on the walk to the door and opens it with a sigh, “what?”

He’s expecting it to be Dustin or Max, or Steve maybe… Not a beautiful woman.

“Oh, um, hi,” she waves. “Does Wayne Munson live here by chance?”

He shakes the sleep from his face and blinks at her a few times, registering that she was real, he nods. “Yeah, why?”

“Is he here right now?” She stands on her tiptoes and looks past his shoulder and into the trailer.

“No, he’s not… once again, why?” He steps back so she doesn’t bump into him while trying to get a look inside, and all she does is walk into the trailer through the gap between him and the door. “Hey! You can’t just walk into my house? Who are you?”

“I’m apparently Wayne Munson’s daughter,” she explains, looking around the room at everything, “let me guess, you’re his other kid?”

“Woah, woah, woah,” both his hands go up in defence, he is too tired for this shit. “What are you talking about? Wayne doesn’t have any kids?”

She turns to him with her hand out, ready to shake his, “sorry, I’m Roxy… well, Roxanne but everyone calls me Roxy.”

“Hi… I’m Eddie… Edward,” he takes her hand delicately but she grips his tight. “Munson as well…”

“Nice to meet you,” she gives him a beautiful smile, it’s almost like looking in a mirror.

They shared a lot of similar features, dark curly hair being one of them, which is funny seeing as Wayne is balding. She’s way too pretty to be Wayne’s kid. And if she is, that makes her Eddie’s cousin and now he thinks his cousin is pretty… he drops her hand and pulls away.

“My mom reportedly fucked a man named Wayne Munson back in ’66, she never saw him again and never knew where he lived to even track him down and tell him that she was having his kid. So I’ve tracked him down and now I’m here and I want to meet my dad.”

He laughs at how crazy it is, but it sounds about right, “uh, well, I’m his nephew but he basically raised me so, I mean, I kinda feel like his son?”

“So we’re cousins,” she beams a smile at him, “I’ve always wanted a cousin!”

“Yeah, I suppose so…" he can’t believe it either. “But, uh, Waynes not here as you can see, and I don’t know where he is but you can stay and wait for him?”

“Okay, cool,” she smiles again, turning back towards the wall full of mugs and hats and getting closer to it. She examines it carefully, “so, is it just you two here? He doesn’t have like a wife or anything?”

“Nope, just us… I uh, I’m going to change,” he references down to his bare chest and ripped pyjama bottoms.

“Okay,” she doesn’t mind, she barely pays any attention to him, instead she’s looking through Wayne’s things on the walls.

Back in his room he hops into his jeans like a maniac, throws on some deodorant and a new shirt, brushes his teeth and fixes his hair and then it really hits him. “She’s your fucking cousin dude, chill out.”

He heads back into the main room full of shame, she’s moved on to the tv cabinet to look at all their tapes and movies, “I’m actually late for something, but uh, I guess feel free to stay here? There’s nothing worth stealing so, even if you’re lying I don’t think Wayne will care that I left you here.”

That makes her laugh, “I’ll watch over the place, have fun, cuz!” She gives him a wave and a smile, one that looks a lot like Waynes.

“Thanks…” he gives her a small wave back and all but runs to his van.

He doesn’t care where he’s going, he just needs to drive. His mind was completely warped by the knowledge that he had a secret cousin and she was about to infiltrate his life. Wayne, his Wayne, had a daughter. She was Wayne’s blood and much more so than Eddie is, he’s just Waynes brothers kid. He can’t help but worry that having a daughter is going to change Wayne’s life and Eddie will be slowly replaced by the child of his own that he always wanted…

Somehow he ends up parked at Family video, right beside Steve’s car, like his body knew what to do to make him feel better before his mind did.

He heads inside quickly and makes his way right to Steve, “you’ll never fucking guess what just happened to me.”

“What did you do?” Steve smirks, knowing by the ghostly look on Eddie’s face that it’s something embarrassing that he’s going to get to tease him about.

“This pretty girl showed up at my trailer looking for Wayne and I was like half asleep and half naked and she just barged in and told me she’s my cousin?”

“You have a hot cousin?” Steve exclaims, excited until he sees how Eddie’s not happy about it, “man, sucks to be you… is she still at your place?”

“Hey,” Eddie points at him, “her being hot is not the point, dude, what if Wayne kicks me out so his real kid can come live with him? What if he likes her more than me? What if she moves to town and everyone likes her more than me?”

“That’s a given, bud,” Steve teases him, placing a hand on his shoulder to pull him in for a much-needed hug. “I’m kidding, you’re going to be fine… as long as you don’t mind me hitting on your hot cousin.”

“Can you shut up,” Eddie manages to smile as he hugs him back. Holding Steve with his chin on his shoulder, he felt a lot more relaxed than before. Steve always had this effect on him.

“What's this about?” They hear Robin come barreling towards them from the back room. “I want in on a hug.” She all but tackles them as she joins in, “what’s going on?”

“Eddie has a new hot cousin,” Steve teases, extending an arm around Robin to invite her in.

“Seriously?” She looks up at Eddie from the middle of the hug.

He nods, “apparently Wayne has a real kid.”

“Oh shit,” she feels his pain, “does he know yet?”

Eddie shakes his head and pulls away from the group hug, “she’s just in the trailer, I kinda ran when I realized she’s actually related to me and too pretty for me to talk to, anyway.”

“So, she’s just in your trailer all alone?” Robin can’t help but laugh. “what’s Wayne going to do when he gets there?”

—

Wayne walks into the trailer with his hands full of groceries, Eddie’s van is gone but there’s a figure pacing back and forth in front of the living room window, “hey, I thought you were— who the heck are you?” Wayne places all the bags on the counter and stares at the woman.

“Hi,” she stands still and awkwardly waves at him. “I’m Roxanne, Roxanne Crutchstone, my mom is—

“Janine,” says with a gasp and freezes. His jaw dropped, and his heart beats double-time in his chest as he stares at the daughter of the woman he once loved. Albeit for one night, he felt a lot for her in those few hours they spent alone in the back of his chevy. And now he was seeing why. “You’re mine aren’t you?”

She nods like her head is trapped on a spring, not knowing what else to say as her eyes bubble up with tears. “My mom didn’t know how to find you, she always told me about you, I always knew I had a dad who would probably want me and— and then I saw Eddie Munson on the news and I knew, I knew you’d be here. I knew you’d be my dad.”

He makes his way to her and wraps her up in his arms, he kisses the top of her curly head of hair and that’s when she starts to sob. She’s always wanted a dad. He holds her like a father, he smells like a dad would, and he’s kind and loving and completely hers from now on.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t know about you sooner,” he whispers against her hair. “But you’re welcome here all the time… where are you living? How’d you get here? Are you safe?” He asks as he pulls back, instantly concerned and in full father mode.

“I took the bus into town a few days ago, I’m living at the apartment complex down by the hospital, it’s above the general store and post office…” she explains. “I’m taking a year off before I go to college, I thought I’d come live here and try and get to know you a bit?”

“So you’ve graduated high school?” He beams, knowing she must be the same age as the older two girls Eddie hangs around with.

She nods, “just last month.”

“Damn, you’re a smartie aren’t cha?” He teases, “Eddie didn’t until— wait did you meet Eddie?”

She nods again, “he was here, he let me in, but he said he was late for something and didn’t mind leaving me here alone, knowing that I’m yours.”

“Okay, good. He’s technically my brother's kid but I raised him so he’s mine—

“Eddie said the same thing,” she smiles, a lot like Eddie.

“He’s my boy. And it’s important for you two to get to know each other and get along, he’s very special to me… you might hear some shit about him from the folks in town but I promise you, he is nothing but kind and wonderful,” he can’t help but protect Eddie too. “He was accused of some awful things earlier this year and he’s still getting over it, but I can assure you, you’re safe with him and his friends.”

“He seemed really sweet… he was half asleep but he was nice,” she agrees. “But uh, that’s kinda how I found you? I figured that the Eddie Munson on the news was probably related to the Wayne Munson my mom slept with… and she was worried about me coming out here cause he might actually be a murderer… but, what really happened? Cause he doesn’t seem like he has a vicious bone in his body.”

“I wish I knew it all, honestly, but a girl died in our last trailer and he ran 'cause it was terrifying and so—

“So he looked really guilty,” she sympathizes.

“Extremely guilty… but then more kids from the school died in strange places, there was a huge earthquake, the lab in town took the fall and he was let off the hook,” Wayne simplifies it down to just one sentence.

“That’s unfortunate, but at least he still has some friends, you said?”

“He didn’t graduate on time like you did, so most his friends are still high school age but he has some his own, like Steve… he’s probably going to hit on you, just beware,” Wayne teases. “That boy is a walking flirt. With absolutely everybody.”

“Noted,” she can’t help but smile.

“Gosh, you look so much like your mom but there’s also so much of Eddie,” he gestures to her appearance. “The hair, your big brown eyes, your button nose…” Wayne boops his finger on her nose with a smile. “wow.”

“Mom always said I got my nose from you,” she shares fondly.

“She’s doing okay?” Wayne can’t help but wonder.

“Oh yeah, she’s actually moving in with her boyfriend now that I’m out of the house,” she explains. “I grew up just outside of Chicago, we lived with my nanny and pops the whole time…”

“Right, I remember,” Wayne can recall all the way back to that night, he was visiting Chicago for a concert, and she was having a weekend out with friends, one thing led to another and now here she is. “So, Roxanne? Is that what you prefer to be called?”

She shakes her head, “no, everyone calls me Roxy, I’m more of a Roxy.”

“Yeah,” he takes a look at her with a sweet smile, “come sit,” he moves them over to the couch again and sits right beside her. “Tell me everything, I want to know who you are.”

It feels like a lot of pressure, but he’s so calming and fatherly that she opens up quite easily. “Where should I start, dad?”

“The beginning,” Wayne smiles, tearing up a bit at the name he always wanted to be called. It wasn’t often Eddie called him dad, that was saved for high emotional moments… this was easy and new and everything he wanted.

—

When Eddie gets back to the trailer, Wayne and Roxy are still sitting on the couch, deep into a story about Wayne’s childhood that he’s heard a million times.

“Eds! You’re home,” Wayne extends an arm out to him, drawing Eddie into the living room. “You met Roxy?”

“I did,” he gives her a sweet smile. “I see you’re getting along real well…” it hurts only a little, the way they’re bonding isn’t helping his anxiety that Wayne isn’t going to love him anymore now that he has a real kid.

Wayne just shakes his head, staring at her with amazement, Eddie’s seen that look before when he’s performed with his uncle in the audience. Wayne loved her already like a real good dad should, he took her in instantly and as much as it killed Eddie to see, he knew Roxy deserved this. Every kid deserved a good dad and Wayne was the best.

“Yeah, she’s awesome… you two should hang out when I head to work?”

“I’d love to,” Roxy’s full of smile, more than willing to get to know her new cousin.

“Which I’ve gotta get ready for,” Wayne glances at his watch and stands as soon as he sees the time. “Roxy’s moved to town, she’s living over in the apartments downtown—

“Above the stores?” Eddie asks, he’s well aware of those apartments. He lived in one with his mom before she died. Before he had to move in with Wayne. They’re cheap and gross and he may not remember much from back then, but he remembers he hates it there.

She nods, “yeah, they’ve been remodelled recently, they’re really nice.”

“I’m sure,” he replies, it comes out a lot snarkier than he anticipated. “Uh, if you wanted to hang out, my friends and I have a little pizza party every Friday night, if you don’t mind meeting a few more new people tonight?”

“Yeah, I’m down,” she sounds actually really excited. “Wayne was telling me all about your friends, you have so many?”

He nods, “yeah, been through hell and back together, it’s kinda hard to lose ‘em now.”

Wayne pats his shoulder as he passes him, heading to the bathroom to get ready for work. Now it’s just the two of them.

She stands up with a smile and smooths out her shirt, “is this an okay outfit to wear?”

He nods, “yeah, I’m not going to change either, so…”

“Cool… we’re cool, right?” She asks, she can tell somethings off.

Eddie just nods, pushing the jealousy aside, “yeah, I’m good, it’s just weird for me. Y’know?”

She nods, “yeah, no, I get it, I’m sorry for just barging into your life.”

He shrugs it off and walks to the phone, “it’s cool, really… I’m just going to call Steve and give them the heads up that you’re coming… is there a pizza topping you want?”

She scurries over to him with excitement. She moves like he does, weird and unbalanced, she jumps to him instead of taking a last step and rocks back and forth on her feet, “what do you usually get?”

“Uh,” he’s a bit taken aback by how comfortable she gets with him so quick. He physically steps back too, “we get 3 meat lovers for the boys, a Hawaiian for Argyle, Max and El and a vegetarian one for Robin and Nancy… but we can throw in whatever as long as Argyle gets the order in time…”

“Ooo, okay, I’m good with some Hawaiian, actually,” she smiles, surprised that someone else in his group liked it too. “Your group sounds interesting…”

“They are,” he agrees, picking up the phone and dialling the number of the video store.

She leans against the table and smiles at him before she sits on top of it, kicking her feet, she’s content being there.

He isn’t.

It’s weird having a girl he doesn’t know too well in his trailer after everything that happened last time. It was different when Max, Robin and Nancy were in his trailer after Chrissy… they were in charge and saving the day. They knew what was going on. Now he’s bringing an outsider into their group and she will never know what really happened that week in March. But she feels like family… probably because she is. Something in the way she smiles feels like looking in a mirror but he likes her a little more than his own reflection—

“Family Video Hawkins, Steve speaking.” Eddie hears in his ear, drawing him away from his thoughts.

“Hey, Stevie… Roxy said she’d love to join us tonight and she’s another freak who likes pineapple so tell Argyle to throw in a second Hawaiian,” Eddie can’t help but smile, he too liked pineapple on pizza, occasionally. It must run in the family.

“Ew, okay,” Steve says as if he hates it but he’s smiling too, Eddie can hear it. “I’ll go next door and tell him in a sec.”

“Sounds good, okay, I’ll see you in a few hours,” Eddie says instead of goodbye.

“You will,” Steve doesn’t say goodbye either but they both hang up.

“So… Stevie, huh?”

He nods, “yep.”

“Tell me about him?”

“He’s my friend… one of my best friends,” Eddie says with a completely serious face and then his jaw tightens and he rubs his molars together to stay calm and collected. Steve was special to him. He didn’t have to explain that to anyone if he didn’t want to.

“Okay,” she puts her hands up in defeat and hops off the table, “what are some other names I should know besides Argyle and Stevie?”

“Uh, well,” he runs his fingers through his hair and wonders where to start. “So my 3 closest buddies growing up are Gareth, Jeff and Kevin, they’re in my band…”

“Oh, you’re a musician too?”

Great, he thinks to himself. What else is she taking from me?

He nods, “yeah and then Steve's best friend is Robin she’s cool, not sure if she’s going to bring Vickie or not this time they have a bit of a tumultuous friendship so, watch out for that one.”

“Sounds juicy,” she teases.

He just nods, “and then Nancy and Jonathan are always there 'cause we have it at Jonathan’s parent's place, Joyce and Hop, he’s the chief of police, they have a new house here with a big basement we can use.”

“That’s cute!”

“yeah and Jon's brother Will has a gaggle of friends too, they’re 15, very rambunctious and too many hold on,” he counts on his fingers, “Will, Dustin, Lucas, Erika, Max, Mike, El and… yeah no, that’s it. There’s 7 of them.”

“Holy shit?” She can’t believe it. “And you guys are cool having kids around?”

He shrugs, “they’ve been through some shit, they’re not really as immature as you’d expect a bunch of 15-year-olds to be.”

“Well, I’m excited to meet them,” she beams a smile at him. “Thank you for inviting me, it means a lot to me… I know it must be really strange to just have a cousin all of a sudden when it’s just been you and Wayne for so long, but I think it’ll be nice for us to get to know each other too.”

He nods, “yeah, its no problem, really.”

“Don't let it become a problem,” she whispers, keeping her voice down so it doesn’t get to Wayne. “If you have any issue with me at all, ever, just let me know. Please? You’re special to my dad and I want to have a good relationship with you too.”

He lets his walls down then, he sighs and nods, “okay… yeah, I’m a bit worried that I’ll lose him now that you’re here but I can see you’re pretty cool and normal so—

“You absolutely don’t have to worry,” Roxy assures him. “I’m not taking him from you, I just want to experience what it’s like to have a dad.”

“And who the hell am I to get in the way of that?” Eddie manages to laugh.

She opens her arms and looks at him cautiously as she moves in closer, “are you a hugger?”

“Yeah,” he smiles, opening his arms in return and taking her in for a quick hug. She’s about as tall as he is, she rests her chin on his shoulder and holds him tight.

“I always wanted a brother, too…” she says as she pulls back.

“A sister sounds nice,” he teases. “Just don’t move in and don’t touch my things and we’ll be fine.”

“Deal.”

—

“You know, I’m actually really excited to meet her,” Steve admits to Robin as they’re locking up. He lets her outside first and pulls the door closed to lock it.

“Why? ‘Cause she’s the only girl in Hawkins who doesn’t know you’re a total loser?” Robin teases, waiting at his passenger door for him to unlock it.

“They don’t think that. Only you do and I don’t really think your opinion matches the vast majority of women in this town...” he fights back, rushing to his car to get it because it’s fucking cold out and it only makes him meaner when he’s cold.

He hops in and reaches over to her door to unlock it and push it open from the inside. She hops in and throws her bag in the back. “Mm, well, I like to think I know women better than you do,” she reminds him.

“Whatever,” he grumbles, starting his beamer with a sigh. “But no, it’s not cause she’s new, it’s cause she’s probably a lot like Eddie… and you know, I always thought if Eddie was a girl then I’d date her… or if I was a girl then it would work better cause he wouldn't have to change.”

She stares at him like he’s a complete idiot, “what?”

“You know, if you were a boy there’s a girl you’d want to marry?”

“Steve, I don’t have to be a boy to like girls, you know that?” She says it slowly so that he understands her. “You don’t have to like girls just cause you’re a boy…”

“I know, but I like girls?” He reminds her, “very much I might add…”

“I wish you wouldn’t,” she really doesn’t want to hear about all the things he’s gotten to do with pretty girls that she still hasn’t. It’s not fair. “But what I’m saying is, you could like boys at the same time. That’s very much allowed.”

“I don’t think I do,” he purses his lips and shakes his head, making it convincing that he’s thought about it before and he has thought about it. A lot.

He does like men. Just one man in particular piques his interest right now. But he shouldn’t, Harringtons aren’t gay. So he says he doesn’t. Cause he can’t.

“Okay,” she drops it, “whatever you say.”

“Do you think I’m gay?” He looks at her with so much panic, just idling in the parking lot, he’s not moving until he gets an answer. And one that he likes.

She shakes her head, “no. I think you have a crush on Eddie…”

Steve can’t say that she’s wrong so he doesn’t say anything at all. He accepts her answer and nods, “interesting.”

He puts his car in reverse, places his hand behind Robin's headrest and looks behind them, peeling out of the parking lot as quickly as possible. He’s quick to leave downtown, Robin is quiet the whole time, just smirking away cause she knows she’s right and she knows it’s silent in the car right now because Steve is thinking about how she’s right.

“So what if I did?” Steve asks, almost whispering he’s so scared of the words that leave his mouth. “What if I did have a crush on Eddie?”

“Ask him out? It’s really a no-brainer, here, Steve.”

He looks at her and then back to the road a few times, mouth agape and then his voice picks right back up. In that octave, he only uses when he’s stressed out, “really? Thats it? You’re not going to do a deep dive into my brain and find out why I’m crushing on a dude of all fucking people?”

“Sounds like you’re asking yourself enough questions for the both of us inside that big head of yours,” she teases.

He shakes his head with a sigh. “If I tell you the truth are you going to make fun of me?”

“Probably,” she’s honest.

He sighs again, more exaggerated this time. “When we were walking through the upside down, going to Nancy’s, Eddie gave me this speech about how Nancy ran after me so fast so she must be in love with me but… but what he didn’t know is that I also wanted to run the first time. I almost didn’t go back to help Nancy with the Demogorgon but I did because I loved her and—and he came back in for me when he didn’t have to. You two already came down, I would’ve been fine with you guys. He didn’t need to come down but he did.”

Robin just smiles, “do you want him to love you?”

Steve shrugs, “I don’t know… but I remember staring at him and feeling like I wanted to kiss him and then the earthquake happened and you started screaming for Nancy.”

“Yeah it was action-packed down there,” she remembers all too well. “And you know, I think he wanted to kiss you too, especially when he was hot wiring the RV, you know, when he called you ‘big boy’?”

He sucks in a deep breath and nods, “yeah… I remember.”

“So you should kiss him,” Robin suggests again.

“No,” Steve panics a bit. “No. What if I’m just getting confused again like when I thought I was in love with you? I can’t kiss him and ruin everything?”

“I’m sure you won’t… Eddie isn’t straight, there’s no way,” Robin waves her hands out and then smacks then over her knees. “No way.”

“But we don’t know that, do we?”

Robin stares at him. “Really? Really?”

“What?”

“I said the same thing about Vickie and you kept yelling boobies at me!”

“I was right, wasn’t I?” Steve combats, not realizing that it proves her point.

“Which means I’m right, right now! Eddie likes you back!” Robin shouts, “come on, man, you have to know that by now! I literally walked out to find you guys hugging in the middle of the store today? You have sleepovers and share secrets, he’s just as close to you as I am and he actually wants to kiss you, so kiss him!”

“I can’t!” Steve shouts back. “I can’t ruin this and I ruin everything when I date people. I’m not dating him. Look at us! You never dated me and now you’re my best friend in the whole world, I dated Nancy and she felt trapped and lost and sad for a year and I never noticed until it was too late.”

“It wasn’t your fault, you know that,” Robin reminds him. “She was balls deep in her trauma, it was almost a year since her friend died while she was busy sleeping with you and never heard her screaming for help. Thats a hard thing to grapple with but she did love you. You did help her through it, she told me how much it meant to her that you’d go over and cuddle with her all night when she was missing barb and how you went to Barb's parents house for dinner all year when you didn’t need to. You helped her dad around the house and even went to Mrs. Hollands' house for tea on your own… you were a good boyfriend it just wasn’t meant to be and that’s okay.”

“But what if the same is for Eddie? What if it’s just a huge crush and not meant to be and everything changes?” Steve worries. “I love the way things are. If he knew I was crushing on him then everything would change and I don’t want anything to change again.”

“News flash, dingus, but Eddie’s long lost cousin showing up out of nowhere is going to change things,” Robin points out.

He groans as he pulls into her driveway, “I know… can we just drop it? Okay?” He places the car in park and takes his keys out of the ignition. “I’m not ready for things to change a lot again.”

“Okay,” Robin drops it and heads out of the car. “But if Roxy’s anything like Eddie, I’m guessing she’s going to want a date with me before you.”

“Doubt it,” Steve laughs, following her inside.

—

Eddie brings Roxy to the Byer's place a few minutes before the party normally starts. Joyce loves her right away, she fluffs her hair and says “oh, how I’d kill for locks like this.”

Only for Hopper to reply, “you did back in 64.”

She sighs and pats Roxy’s shoulder, “enjoy being young.”

She laughs, “I will now that I might make friends… I never really had any back in Chicago.”

“My boys are really sweet, I’m sure you’ll get along with them real well,” Joyce assures her. “If you like video games and George Lucas movies then you’ll fit right in.”

“I do,” she brightens right up. “I thought they sounded interesting just from their pizza orders, now I know I’m surrounded by other dorks, this is the best day ever.”

She makes Hop laugh from his recliner in the living room, “and we’ve got sports going in here if you get tired of it at any point.”

“Only Steve and Lucas ever take him up on that,” Joyce teases. “He’s dying for more sports fans.”

“I mean, I was on the girls curling team in Chicago…”

“Curling?” Eddie repeats, “like the one where you play shuffleboard on ice?”

She nods, “yeah and I was really good at it. My team was the regional champion.” She wanders into the living room after that and sits on the couch beside Hopper, “what teams do you like?”

Eddie listens in for a second but then he heads more into the kitchen, Argyle is already home with the pizzas, he’s just making a salad to go with it all. Jonathan was on pickup duty, using Argyle's van so they all had a place to sit. El was at Mike's, Will’s down the hall in his room… the house is pretty quiet right now. It wouldn’t be for long.

He stands at the counter beside argyle, “hey…”

“Hey,” argyle gives him a smile. “What’s got you so glum, my dude?”

He shrugs, “it’s been a weird day.”

“Meeting your long-lost twin’ll do that,” Argyle teases. “Seriously, are you sure Wayne isn’t your dad too? You’re like identical.”

Eddie manages to laugh, “yeah, I don’t think so unless Wayne’s taking it to the grave, I’m pretty sure his asshole brother is my father… but yeah, I see it too.”

“I’d love to meet my own doppelgänger,” Argyle says with excitement. “It would be cool to see someone, specifically a girl someone, who looked just like me and now you’ve got that! It’s sick.”

“If you think so,” Eddie huffs, resting his chin in his hand and leaning against the counter. “She’s a prettier, shinier version of me… everyone's gonna end up loving her more and I’m going to be alone again.”

Argyle puts the salad tongs down and places his hand on Eddie’s shoulder instead, “it won’t be like that, man, I promise. You’re very special. What would we do without your songs and your jokes and the way you make everyone smile? Sure, she’s nice to look at but you’re you and that’s why we love you.”

He gives argyle a side hug, “thanks, man, really. That’s very kind of you to say.”

“Meant every word,” Argyle smiles.

Just then the front door opens again and Steve’s familiar, “heey!!” Rings through the house. Both Eddie and Argyle head out to see him and Robin, entering the main room of the house and they see Steve’s jaw drop as he looks at Roxy for the first time. He goes right into Casanova mode, runs his fingers through his hair before he extends his hand to her and smiles, “hi, I’m Steve…”

“Roxy,” she shakes his hand firmly and smiles back. “Nice to meet you… and you,” she turns to Robin and freezes, the same look that was on Steve’s face is now on Roxy’s as she looks at Robin. “Hi?”

Robin smiles back, “so you’re the lookalike I’ve heard so much about.”

“What?” Roxy doesn’t understand.

“You and Eddie, you’re like twins,” She laughs, “although you are much prettier….”

Roxy blushes and laughs, she tucks her hair behind her ear and stutters on her words, “th-thanks… thank you.”

“No problem,” Robin gives her one last smile and then keeps walking inside. “Is dinner ready? I’m starving!”

“Sure is! follow me,” Argyle leads her back into the kitchen and Roxy follows quickly behind her.

Leaving Steve to walk up to Eddie and wrap his arm around him, “you okay?”

Eddie nods, “yep. Just peachy.”

They grab their plates and load them up with pizza and dipping sauces and salad, they have beers and sodas and chips for later when they’re hungry again. It’s the same every week, Joyce and Argyle will do anything to make sure the party is happy and fed and has a good time… they’re the best moms the party could ask for.

In the basement, there are 4 mismatched couches and an array of other seats. Beanbags, a hanging chair thats secured to one of the log beams in the ceiling and a single plastic lawn chair… getting enough seats for everyone was hard. And now there’s 1 more person in their group.

Robin and Roxy take a seat next to each other, already getting to know each other, it makes Eddie relax a bit as he sits beside Steve. There’s a ruckus above them, meaning the kids have arrived with Jonathan and Nancy, and the party was about to really start.

Steve can’t stop looking at Eddie, “are you sure you’re okay?”

He just nods, “yeah… I just want to eat and say hi to everyone and then go home.”

“Oh,” Steve's face drops. “Are you still feeling anxious? Do you want a hug?”

He looks over to Roxy and Robin, talking just loud enough to be heard by one another and fully absorbed in another world together. Eddie puts his plate down on the coffee table and Steve copies him, opening his arms and letting Eddie in for a quick hug, “you can always talk to me.”

Eddie pulls back a bit too quickly, looking over to Roxy again who didn’t see anything. She was already asking about Steve earlier, she already knew Steve was important to Eddie just by the tone of his voice… Steve’s so, so important to him. He just stares at Steve and it all comes tumbling out, “she lives in the apartments I grew up in… she’s living where my mom died, Steve.”

“Oh,” Steve knows the stories. All of them. They’ve spent many a night awake in Eddie’s trailer, staring up at the ceiling with their shoulders pressed together… sharing a blanket and holding hands while they shared every secret they had. Well, all but one.

“Do you want me to drive her home for you? I can tell her to only call me for rides and shit, you don’t need to go through that—”

“You don’t have to,” Eddie panics more thinking about Roxy and Steve spending a bunch of alone time together too. “Really, don’t. I can do it.”

“But if it's going to bring back your memories then you don’t have to, I’m okay bringing her home, Robin won’t mind… clearly,” he references over to them. “I haven’t seen her flirt like that before?”

“She took a page from your book,” Eddie teases, bumping Steve’s shoulder with his own.

“Yeah, and she knew I wanted to ask her out too…”

“What?” Eddie’s heart breaks right then and there.

“If it’s okay? I just… I thought maybe it would be nice cause she’s new and she doesn’t know me and—

“She has no preconceived notions about you,” Eddie finishes his sentence. “No, I get it. It’s fine.”

It’s not. It’s really fucking not. Because here Eddie was loving every single part of Steve, every story and mistake, every fear and dream and freckle and hair on his stupid fucking head. But, of course, Steve wants something different. He wants to butter her up and embellish the truth about himself and go back to being King Steve… The lover boy of the land, he could have his pick but he still wants something shiny and new and he definitely doesn’t want Eddie back.

He stands up then, “I uh, I forgot some napkins, I’ll be back.”

“Okay…”

Steve watches him leave, taking the steps 2 at a time until he’s back upstairs. He turns down the hallway and heads towards the bedrooms and the bathrooms where he bumps right into Will. He’s already crying, his face is red from trying to hold it in until he gets to the bathroom but he can't. He chokes on a sob as he pushes past Will and into the bathroom.

“Hey, hey, Eddie, what’s wrong?” Will follows him right into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. “What’s wrong? Is it a memory? A flashback? What is it?”

Eddie just wraps him up in a hug and cries, “it’s Steve…”

“Oh,” Will settles and holds him gently, running his hand over eddies back. “I know…”

Will knows better than anyone in the house, hell better than anyone in the whole town, what it’s like to be in love with your sisters boyfriend. Its the exact reason why Eddie let Will follow him and why he’s able to tell him the truth. “He wants to ask out Roxy.”

“Who?” Will asks, not caught up on everything cause he’s been in his room all day.

Eddie sighs and pulls back, wiping the tears off his cheeks and taking another deep breath. He leans against the sink, “my uncle has a daughter and she showed up today. Her name is Roxy and she’s pretty and a girl and of course Steve wants to date her.”

“Boys are so stupid,” Will just shakes his head. “I was rooting for Steve, too… I thought he’d figure out that he’s in love with you but he’s still being so stupid about it.”

“He’s worse than Mike,” Eddie manages to tease him, bringing a smile back to his own face.

Will just nods along, “I literally confessed all my feelings to him… well, I was pretending that it was what El thought about him and the idiot didn’t see through me at all. He just nodded along and was like ‘oh yeah? Huh, I guess she does always need me’ like no idiot! I do!”

“I ran through a swarm of killer bats for him… I would’ve died so he could make it back to Dustin and he still wants my cousin more than me,” Eddie shares. “I thought we were building something here, I thought he was going to figure it out that what we have is more than just friends… friends don’t sleep in the same bed and share hugs and I know for a fact he kissed my shoulder one night. I didn’t dream that. So why the fuck is he going after my cousin?”

“Does she look like you?”

Eddie nods, “like exactly the same just with tits.”

Will looks at him with a tilt of his head, “oh, Steve’s so dumb… he’s definitely in love with you and thinking this is his chance to be normal if he can just date the girl version of you.”

“You think?”

Will nods, “absolutely… I remember when Steve was dating Nancy she looked so much like Tommy H. they had the same curly hair and freckles but Nancy is a girl, she’s the safe option and then he fell in love with her.”

“How do you know that?” Eddie’s shocked, for a kid 4 years younger than Harrington, he sure knew the drama.

“Jonathan had no friends before Nancy and Argyle so he would tell me everything and we gossiped a lot… he would hear crazy shit while smoking the weed you sold him under the bleachers and then he’d come home and tell me. Like, this one time, Carole was saying that Tommy wanted a threesome with Billy, but before he wanted one with Steve but Steve was never interested and it always made Tommy really angry and then a few weeks later they broke up and she said ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he asks Wheeler and the perv for a threesome next.’ So…”

“Holy shit,” Eddie’s jaw drops and he chuckles slightly, “they weren’t kidding when they called you Will the Wise.”

He shakes his head with a smile, “they weren’t… I get it from my mom.”

“That you do,” Eddie smiles, knowing from Steve that Joyce and Nancy’s knowledge, in the beginning, is the reason they won in the end. “It’s just hard waiting for him to get his head out of his ass… even the thing with your brother was so homosexually charged.”

“What happened with my brother?”

“Did Jonathan leave out the part where he kicked the shit out of Steve so bad he had a concussion?”

“I knew he threw a punch…” Will says, thinking back on it. He was only 13 when he went missing, of course, Jonathan held back on some stuff from that week.

“Oh, no, he kicked his ass,” Eddie smiles but feels bad about it. “Tommy painted Nancy the slut Wheeler on the theatre's matinee and they got in a verbal fight in the alleyway and Jonathan took the first swing and he finished it before the cops rolled in and took Jonathan away.”

“Oh…”

“It was a rough week, Steve egged him on, he deserved it,” Eddie can’t help but side with Jonathan after knowing the whole truth. Including what Steve called Will; it’s something he’s also not going to tell Will about. Everyone wanted to spare Will the hurt of knowing the names he’s been called behind his back.

“Huh,” Will thinks about it a little harder. “Sounds like Steve uses violence to get close to men… didn’t you pin him to a wall and hold a bottle to his throat? Or did Dustin exaggerate that?”

Eddie nods, “oh, yeah, I did that…” he presses his lips together awkwardly, it was a very intense, very hot, moment between them. He thinks about it often.

“Maybe you need to have a fight,” Will suggests. “Not, like, physical, but get your feelings out, raise your voice, get in his face and wait for him to kiss you.”

Eddie laughs again, “okay, alright… that’s not a bad idea?”

“He just needs a push.”

“What about Mike? You’re not actively trying to push him and El apart, are you?”

He shakes his head, “no, no, I’d never do that to her. I love her, she’s my sister… I’m actually trying to get over Mike. I’ll just be single until I meet another gay person my age and then I’ll see where it goes.”

“I know someone,” Eddie proposes. “You know him too… if you’re okay with me telling him about you, maybe he’d want to ask you out?”

“Really?” Will lights right up. “And they’re 16?”

“He’s 17…” Eddie says, not wanting to give away that it’s Gareth. He hasn’t told any of the new Hellfire members, only the band knows.

“Yeah, no, I’d love that,” Will brightens right up. “That would be great.”

“I’ll work on that for you,” he pats Will on the shoulder, “now come on, it’s gonna be weird if they see us leaving together.”

“Here,” Will opens the cupboard behind the sink and grabs a bandaid, “I was just showing you where these are.”

“Smart… and thanks, sorry for breaking down on you, it’s been a weird fuckin day,” Eddie sighs and heads for the door. “I never normally cry.”

“No problem, it’s our secret,” Will really doesn’t mind, he follows Eddie out into the hall and then back into the kitchen unseen.

Eddie pats his shoulder one more time before slipping past him and heading back downstairs to his dinner. His spot beside Steve is still empty, the kids are meeting Roxy and asking her all about how she found Eddie and Wayne after so many years.

“Well, his name being in the news for murder was a big help… I always knew my dad’s name but I had no idea how to track down all the Wayne Munsons who went to some random festival in the mid-60s,” Roxy shares. “But Wayne told me it wasn’t Eddie at all, it was actually the lab here in town and a bunch of kids died? What the heck happened?”

They all look at each other and shrug, playing it off that they had no idea. Dustin says they have no clue what the details are, “we’re just glad he got off the hook 'cause we would’ve been charged with harbouring a wanted criminal if not…”

“And what a great job you did at that,” Eddie teases. “At least in jail I’d get clean clothes and 3 meals a day…”

“We can find something to send you to jail if thats where you want to be,” Steve teases him, reaching out for his hand to tug him back down to the sofa. “Your pizza is getting cold…”

“You wanna warm it up for me, hot stuff?” Eddie whispers, getting in his space and making Steve blush.

He pushes Eddie back, “shut up.”

“Make me…”

Steve picks up Eddie’s slice of pizza and brings it to his mouth, all but shoving the slice in there, forcing him to take a bite. “there.”

Eddie takes a big bite and Steve pulls the rest of the slice away, putting it back on the plate. Eddie watches him intently, he’s so madly in love it makes his stomach turn and flutter up to his throat. He was to look away or he’ll choke on the bite, he places his hand on his chest after, it took a lot to do that without coughing to death in front of him, and Steve noticed too.

He placed his hand on Eddie’s back and patted him a few times like a newborn baby, “you good?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he waves it off, slightly embarrassed.

Steve keeps his hand on Eddie’s back and gently runs his hand up toward his shoulder, he gives him a good squeeze and pulls him into a side hug. Eddie tilts his head toward him and Steve does the same, the bump noggins and smile before turning back to everyone else.

—

The kids usually sleep over in Will’s basement after their pizza parties, sometimes Eddie brings Max home but tonight she’s staying with El. Robin and Roxy are having a blast talking to each other and now Steve has slid into the spot beside her on the couch with his arm around the back of the couch, basically around her.

“I’m going to head out,” Eddie announces, pointing towards the door. “Rox did you want to drive home with Steve? He goes past your apartment anyway.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Steve throws in for good measure, “it would be nice to talk to you, I haven’t been able to get a word in edge wise with Robin here.”

“I would love that,” Roxy gives Steve a smile. “Uh, I’ll see you tomorrow though? Wayne invited me for dinner cause he has the night off.”

“Right,” Eddie clearly had no idea. Steve could see it in his face. “Have a good night… see you guys.”

Everyone cheers goodbye and he gets a few waves before he heads towards the stairs and starts his journey home. Alone. For the first Friday night in a long time.

“I think I’m going to go with him,” Robin announces, “it was lovely to meet you but I don’t want him to leave without me…”

“Oh, okay, bye Robin!” Roxy waves her off and then it’s just her and Steve and a bunch of children. “I guess we shouldn’t stay too much longer, that would be weird…”

“We can go whenever you like?” Steve leaves it completely up to her.

“Let’s go,” she stands up and reaches out a hand to help him to his feet as well.

Steve takes it with a smile, she was just as chivalrous as Eddie… he says goodbye to the kids, Dustin pats his shoulder during their goodbye hug and whispers in his ear, “good luck, she’s cool.”

“Thanks,” he mumbles back, “call me tomorrow if you need a ride home.”

“Will do,” Dustin says, giving Steve and Roxy a smile and a wave. “Drive safe.”

“it was so nice to meet you guys,” Roxy says one last time, “thank you for letting me come.”

“Anytime,” a few of the boys say. “Come back next week,” Dustin adds.

Lucas agrees too, “Yeah, and Max said she loved having another girl at the party now. She wanted me to say bye if she wasn’t down here when you leave, so, Bye from Max…”

“Tell her in the morning I loved meeting her too,” Roxy gives them all a smile and one last wave, “see ya!”

They wave her off and she follows Steve up the stairs, they put their shoes back on by the door and Steve hands her the leather jacket on the hook, expecting it to be hers. “Thanks,” she smiles. “Am I that obvious?”

“You’re just a lot like Eddie,” he admits.

“Which is crazy, honestly, no one at my high school was like me and now I come here and we’re like twins?” She says with a laugh, feeling a bit too loud as she looks over into the living room where Joyce and Hop are cuddling on the couch. “Oh, sorry… thank you for having me tonight, you guys have a lovely family.”

“Oh, anytime sweetheart,” Joyce gives her a sweet smile.

“You be careful on the road,” Hopper points to Steve, “the news is saying there’s a fog rolling in tonight so no dilly-dallying.”

“Sure thing, dad,” Steve rolls his eyes as he opens the front door. “See you later.”

“Bye guys,” Joyce calls back to them as they leave.

Steve leads her outside towards his car and unlocks her passenger door, opening it for her. “Why thank you, kind sir,” she pats Steve on the shoulder and then gets into the seat. Steve closes the door behind her and rushes over to the driver's side.

“So, Eddie said you’re in the apartments above the shops?” Steve double-checks as he starts the engine.

She nods, “yeah, it’s not much but I wanted a place close to my dad, even if he didn’t want me I still wanted to live here and get to know him.”

“Wayne would never not want you,” Steve assures, “believe me, from what I know about Eddie’s childhood, Wayne is meant to be a dad and take care of people, he loves everyone in Eddie’s life just as much, too.”

She smiles, “yeah, he talked very highly of Eddie… I’m still waiting for him to warm up to me.”

“He’s kinda stuck in the mindset that the love people give him is conditional, he’s afraid Wayne will leave him for you,” Steve spills the beans. “Don’t tell him I told you, but, just keep in mind that Wayne has been his whole world for the last like 9 years of his life and he’s been through so much this year that he needs that one aspect of his life to stay the same… he can’t lose Wayne.”

“I don’t plan on taking him,” she reiterates. “I really don’t, I just want to talk to him and celebrate a birthday with him and give him a fathers day present and hear that he’s proud of me… I want to feel like I’m part of a family that loves me for me.”

“I get that,” Steve really gets it, actually. He lets everything go quiet while he backs out of the Byers driveway and heads towards downtown. “I uh… I’ve always known both my parents but I didn’t feel like I had a family before when it was just me and them.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom and my grandparents but… they don’t get me,” she has to explain for good measure. “They weren’t abusive or anything it just wasn’t fun being there for the last 18 years.”

“Well, you’re here now and there’s lots of love in our little friend group to go around, so,” Steve gives her a smile. “Speaking of… if you ever wanted to hang out just like, me and you, without the rest of them, that would be nice… don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” she lights right up too. “I’m having dinner with Wayne tomorrow but I’m free the next night?”

“Sounds good,” Steve can’t stop the smile on his face. “I uh, I work till 5 but I can get you at 6?”

“That works for me,” she smiles right back. “You’ll have to pick the spot, I don’t know what’s around here.”

“There isn’t much, but Benny’s diner reopened last month so if you like diner food…”

“I have been dying for a good old diner burger,” she assures him. “This’ll be fun, I’ve never had good friends like this.”

“It’s life-changing, believe me.”

—

“and then he asked to ask her out?!” Eddie freaks out more towards the end of his story, parked in front of Robin's house while she listens to his ramble.

Robin just sighs and leans back against the seat. “I never told you he was smart.”

“This is killing me, Rob,” he turns to her with tears in his eyes. “She gets to call Wayne her dad, she gets to date Steve, everyone loved her as soon as she walked into the room… it took me years to get this and she got it all in 10 fucking seconds?”

“I don’t know how to comfort you,” Robin admits. “On one hand I know this is just your anxiety about things changing again but on the other hand… I like her so I’m part of the problem.”

“I don’t want people to not like her,” Eddie says with a sigh, he rubs his face quickly and groans from deep inside himself. “I’m overreacting, I know that, but it hurts. It physically fucking hurts that I have to share her with MY people. Wayne and Steve are my people.”

“Okay, watch yourself,” she gets jealous then. “But Steve does love you, I know that, but he loves me too and he loves Dustin and he loves Max and Lucas and Erika… I’m not sure how he is with Mike honestly, it’s a toss-up, but he loves everyone. He has the room to love people. He’s been waiting to love people like this his whole life.”

“I know…”

“Do you?” Robin questions, staring him down. “Steve loves you so much he let me and Nancy kill vecna alone so he could stay with you two. And thank fucking god he did because I wouldn’t be able to deal with him if he lost you that day, you were being an idiot thinking you could take on those bats alone.”

“He stayed for Dustin…?”

Robin shakes her head, “No. He knows that Dustin knows how to follow orders and make it out fine. He stayed for you.”

A tear tumbles down his cheek and he’s quick to wipe it away with the back of his hand. “I just wanted to win.”

“And we did,” robin reaches out and takes his hand in hers. “We won, Vecna died, the gates are closed and Hop came back to clear your good name. That’s the biggest win we could’ve ever expected…”

“Is it really a win if it brought her here?” Eddie asks, feeling a bit terrible for how much he regrets opening the door for her.

Robin nods, a smirk growing on her face, “what if she’s more like you than you thought?”

“Hm?” His brows go up. “No way…”

“You’re gay, Wayne has that thing with Mr. Clarke that no one wants to talk about… but I see it. I know there’s something fruity going on there, she’s gotta be like us,” Robin rants.

“What thing with Mr. Clarke?”

“Has Steve not told you?” Robin gawks, jaw dropped, “no… really?”

“Clearly, I have no idea what you’re talking about?”

“Mr. Clarke comes in and gets a movie every Saturday morning and Wayne drops the same VHS tape off Sunday before he goes to work… he brings it right to the desk too like I didn’t check it out to Scott the day before?” She explains. “Like, really…? it’s so clear they’re having dates on Wayne’s only day off.”

“I’m learning way too much today,” Eddie rubs his eyes, shaking his head. “Holy fuck? Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Dustin said their cots were side by side in the gym after the earthquake, he found them talking when you got arrested,” Robin keeps explaining, hoping she’s making it somewhat better the more he knows. “I think it’s either a trauma bond friendship or they’re dating. It’s been 3 months.”

“I’m normally with Steve on Saturdays,” he whispers, realizing why he hasn’t noticed this… it’s cause he’s not home as often as he used to be. “Oh my god, I’m such an ass… here I am scared that I’m going to lose him when I’ve barely talked to him in the last 3 months?”

“So maybe Roxy showing up is a good thing, maybe she’s meant to bring everyone together?” She suggests, eyes full of hope. And maybe she’s right… Robin typically is.

“Okay,” he gives in. “I’ll give her a chance.”

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