#loans go towards housing more i think

[c-kiddo]

[ID: A reply from SaintTheoSylas, reading: “In america at least Caddy might get a charity admission and a pile of first generation scholarships”. End ID.]

@sainttheosylas​ ah, im basing it on scottish art colleges + universities (they’re kinda merged in the fic, like at dundee and edinburgh) so theyre different things from the US , liek colleges are a different thing i think. and so fees would be paid for by the government and then there might be loans (you dont need to pay these back if you dont make enough money over however many years, like my dad recently got his fees dropped) and cad is low income enough to get bursary too which you dont have to pay back , so financially he is okie 👍 i was thinking more about qualifications .. its not super important details but its good to think about and i think i figured it out , at least the basics i need so thats ok :-3  

[deadsetobsessions]

“I ate paint once,” Danny nonchalantly threw out in the middle of game night.

The entire table stopped. Heads whipped towards Danny.

“Yeah, me too. Cardamom yellow was my favorite. Ugly as hell but the chemicals just tasted right.” Tim replied, using the distraction to nab some of Bruce’s money. Monopoly money, that is. Everyone’s heads snapped towards Tim, only Cass and Danny (who was part of the scheme) caught him cheating.

“Really? I think mine was those spray can blue cosmos paint. But that might have been more my thing for space than the actual taste.”

“WHY WERE YOU EATING PAINT?!” Dick asked, looking like he wanted to lunge over the table and shake Danny until he puked out paint. Bruce looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

“Yeah, what the fuck, Tim?” Jason snickered.

“In my defense,” Danny grinned. “I was left unsupervised. Also, Steph, you owe me $24 in rent.”

“Ugh! I’m almost out of money! Can’t you loan me some, Alfred?”

“I am sorry, Miss Stephanie, you are not qualified for another loan. In fact, one of your properties is about to be confiscated as per the collateral agreement.”

“Noooo!” Stephanie made dramatic dying noises.

“What was your excuse, Timothy?” Damian asked, eyes glued to the board and determined to win the game.

“Hey, I was probably less supervised than Danny was.”

“Yeah,” Danny perked up. “My parents brought us down to their lab all of the time. Taught us a lot of stuff.”

“Really? Like what?” Duke asked, casually slapping away Tim’s sneaky hands.

“Oh, like what a rocket launcher sounded like up close! And how to build a laser gun! Oh! And what human organs looked like when they’re fresh!” Danny chirped, collecting his money from a stunned Stephanie’s hands. He looked up.

“Oh, don’t worry! I at least learned what not to do when it comes to lab safety. And we wore hazmat suits to protect ourselves from the radiation.” Danny smiled in a ditzy fashion as the table fell silent in a horrified manner. Cass tapped his arm amusedly, but allowed his bullshit to stand. After all, it’s not like he lied.

“Radiation?” Duck’s voice raised a couple of octaves. Oh yeah, Danny’s going to laugh about that pitch for a long while.

“Organs?!” Jason’s hands closed around the plastic house he was holding rather forcefully.

“Do you even know what basic lab safety practices are, Danny?” Damian demanded, finally looking up with brows furrowed. He rolled the dice and grabbed a mystery card. He gets $100 from Alfred.

“How old were you??” Duke asked.

“Like… 8, when they first brought me in?”

“Eight.” Bruce rumbled, slipping into a more Batman like persona. When Danny sent him a confused look, Bruce straightened back into his Bruce persona. “Wow, they must have trusted you a lot!”

“Sure?”

“What were their names again?” Stephanie asked sweetly, Cass nodding at him.

“Jack and Maddie Fenton.” Not that they’ll find them here, considering his parents are dead and in another universe.

“Cool, cool, cool!” Stephanie blinked, beaming as her hands formed lethal fists underneath the table.

Danny blinked and tilted his head in an unassuming way, pretending like he had no idea what Stephanie was thinking of. He sneakily handed over $600 to Cass in order to complete his monopoly on his side of the board.

Danny stood up and spread his hands out, one hand clutching his new found victory.

"Well, lady and gents, you've all been floundering against the inevitable tide of capitalism. I am here, as a reminder that you can never win against the hopelessness that will be your financial ruin! I, Danny Fenton, have obtained a quarter of the board and therefore have won against even your best efforts!" He cackled, holding up his fan of properties triumphantly. He shot a mischievous grin at Cass, who held up a solemn thumbs up in support for his monetary takeover.

"... Danny, are you... planning on a career in villainy?" Bruce asked, after a brief and total wave of shocked silence. Damian looked like he was having a conniption at having been bested, unknowingly. Yeah, Danny was disarming like that.

"Yeah, that was concerning." Tim piped up, nabbing a ten from a shell-shocked Damian.

"Hey! The Riddler gives surprisingly good monologues! And he's really loud, so it's hard not to pick up on things. Duke, your turn." Danny sat back down, pouting. The villainy comment was a little too close to his fears.

"Damn it." Duke, who had rolled, landed smack middle of Danny's territory. He handed over a sheaf of bills to a grinning Danny.

"Wait a minute! You have cheated!" Damian bolted upwards from his seat, finally done running through the purchases he remembered Danny making. "You acquired that property not within the games' rules!"

"Okay, first of all, the rule book is a suggestion, like lab safety rules," Danny saw the others open their mouths to protest, but he quickly shut it down. "Second, there's totally no rules about selling and buying places from a private owner so suck on it. And thirdly? Cass sold it to me, so you all can take it up with her."

"Diabolical!" Damian muttered indignantly.

"... Dammit." Dick sighed, falling back into the chair and balancing on its two legs. He couldn't say anything, considering his current of bankruptcy.

"Danny. Danny, I'll buy a property from you." Jason said, eyeing one of Danny's other properties near his own cluster.

"What do you have that would interest me?" Danny asked, falling back into his Vlad-like imitation.

"Ew, don't do that," Steph reached over to jab him in the arm.

"Yeah, Jason, what do you have?" Duke said, the lovely subtle instigator that he is.

"Red Hood's signature."

The others blue-screen, gaping at the actual audacity Jason had to offer up something that would take him no effort. Danny, prepared with a poker face that came with lying straight to Jazz's ever perceptive eyes about whether he nabbed the last of her ice cream or not, was prepared.

"Red Hood? The condom guy working out of the... um. Upper East Side?" Danny asked, pretending to hesitate. He knows where Jason operated. That doesn't mean he couldn't simply pretend otherwise. For science, of course.

...

...

...

The table howled with laughter, Jason's indignant spluttering unable to say anything against Danny's wide eyed look of innocence. Cass leaned against the table, chuckles falling out of her mouth and eyes crinkled in mirth. Dick had fallen out of his chair, helplessly wheezing on the floor. Duke is hiding his face in his hands, mirroring Bruce's pose as they both shake from silent laughter. Damian is smirking, wicked and sharp as he smugly stared at Jason. Stephanie and Tim are leaning against each other, repeating "the CONDOM GUY" in alternating and increasingly louder voices. Alfred had a smile on his face and a tight grip on the bills in front of him that betrayed his amusement.

"He's a crime lord!" Jason exclaimed, indignant.

"Uh, okay. Well, I mean, why would I want a crime lord's signature? I don't want to be on his radar. Or echolocation or whatever. He's... a Bat, right? That's what you guys call that group, yeah?"

"How do you know the Rogues better than the vigilantes?!" Jason glared at his unhelpful family. Those assholes better prepare for a load of rubber bullets the next time they're on patrol near Crime Alley.

"Hey, it's not my fault the vigilantes here are unsociable. Maybe if they monologued more, I'd know who they are."

"Wouldn't- wouldn't that make them more villain like?" Tim asked, stuttering from his laughter.

"I dunno?" Danny replied, enjoying his the family's unabashed joy. "I mean, they're pretty legit and they help people already so I guess they don't need to be sociable... but still I swear I haven't heard anything about Batman other than that he grunts and is mean towards criminals."

Is mean towards criminals, Duke mouthed at a recovering Dick who was in the process of heaving himself back up. It sent him careening back down to the floor with restrained giggles. Cass tapped Danny, reminding him to eat some food.

"Tt. Of course not. They're efficient at their jobs and have no need to be seen as welcoming to criminals." Damian puffed up.

"Yeah, but they've gotta feel safe, right?" Danny shrugged as he plucked a cookie from the cookie platter. "The... one with the sword, what was it?"

"Robin." Damian supplied, eyes narrowed and trained on him.

"Yeah, the baby bird. The kids think his swords are cool so they trust him. But like, the others? The flippy blue one? Not so much."

"Wait," Dick said from the floor. "They don't trust Nightwing?"

"Nah, they trust him to protect them, but he has a history of bringing the kids to the police, you know?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Danny shrugged. "ACAB. But also because everybody knows that half the guys in the GCPD and CPS are child traffickers."

"Wait, what?" Jason and Tim straightened.

Bruce piped in, the emotional whiplash of amusement to concern to amusement to concern visibly making itself known on the man's baffled face. "I thought Batman and Commissioner Gordon took care of that?"

"Sure, the obvious ones." Danny hesitated. Well, he's pretty sure they think he's a meta so... "There's... a meta trafficking ring that they're a part of. That's. That's kind of what I was running from."

Danny looked up pleadingly. Cass placed a hand on his arm in comfort, not knowing that he was fibbing about running from them.

Danny was on the streets helping his own Alley metas to run from them.

Danny is as feral as she was, and that meant he could hide just as much as she could read off of him. Cass was the best and he felt kind of bad about lying to her, successfully or not.

"Uh. Some people said you know Batman, Bruce. I know- uh, that might not be the case but if you do, could you ask him to look into it?" Danny made his eyes tear up. "And maybe he wouldn't care about me much, I mean, I know he doesn't really like metas but if he helps out, I could totally like, leave the city once the kids are safe, promise."

Ooh, Danny put a little too much sincerity into that. He could practically hear the hearts breaking in the game room as everyone glared at Bruce.

"You won't have to leave."

"... Promise?" And Danny's voice was a little too desperate, too hopeful, because Bruce's eyes tugged down in sadness.

"Promise." He rumbled, all Bruce Wayne and all Batman. Danny's core warmed. Danny also saw the rest of the family's faces darken in pure agreement. And partial wrath.

"Yeah! We'll kick Batman's ass if he even thought about kicking you out!" Stephanie proclaimed.

"He's far more proficient in combat than you are, Brown." Damian immediately leapt to Batman's defense and that was that.

Well, later, as Danny was "sleeping" and Phantom was hovering in the cave, invisible and intangible, he got confirmation that his Alley meta kids were going to be safe, soon.

After all, the entire Batclan was suiting up and baying for blood, with Oracle's all encompassing presence behind them, fingers reaching for their enemies' weak points.

[vivwritesfics]

Horse Girl - LN4

High school sweethearts Lando and Y/N are very in love (she also happens to be Flo's best friend and they met through their yards) (any words you don't understand are probably just unimportant horsey terms dw about it) (also idk anything about flo's riding journey, so i made it mirror mine)

Lando Norris x reader

2.3K

"Flo," Y/N called as she appeared at the stable door. She had Gismo's bridle over her shoulder and her riding hat already on her head. "Think I borrow your martingale?"

Flo left her brush on her horses back and turned towards her friend. "I have conditions."

"Give them to me."

Flo held out her hand, checking things off on her fingers. "You clean it for me at the end of the week, you muck out for me tonight and we go on a hack."

Y/N let out a sigh. "I'm going out with Lando tonight," she said.

Being in a long distance relationship with an F1 driver wasn't easy. Y/N had to stay in England to take care of Gismo and Sooty while Lando was living in Monaco and travelling the world.

When Y/N could, she got somebody to look after the horses and spent a week with Lando in Monaco. When Lando could, he spent the week at Y/N's, visiting his family and watching her ride.

Y/N tried to spend as much time over the summer and winter breaks with him. But this year Y/N began competing Gismo. Lando travelled with her when he could during her competitions. He always had his camera with him, posting her on the jpg account.

Lando and Y/N had been friends for a bloody long time. When Flo started riding lessons, she was stuck behind a girl on a fat little pony that refused to do more than a walk. When their lesson activity had them riding side by side, Flo and Y/N became fast friends.

They went from a weekend lesson together to being at the yard every single day. They loaned the same horse, Y/N riding him for half of the week and Flo riding him for the other. Most of the time they'd be there on the same day, mucking out his stable together and cleaning his tack together. On Flo's day's to ride, Y/N was the one who sorted the jumps and picked up the shit.

When they were younger, when they'd spend all day at the stables, Y/N would sleep over at the Norris house. Flo lived closer to the yard so it just made sense.

Staying at the Norris house meant meeting Flo's big brother. Y/N had heard stories of him before, stories of his karting and his dreams of being in F1.

And then Y/N met Lando. He was the kind of boy who, when Y/N slept over, he wouldn't leave them alone. He was the annoying big brother that stopped by to make a comment on the film they were watching, steal some of their snacks and run off to play his PlayStation.

When they were teenagers, Y/N fifteen and Lando seventeen, things changed. He kept on with that whole annoying big brother image until he was around fifteen. And then he didn't care about teasing the girls - he was too busy winning in F3.

But at seventeen, he started to see Y/N a little differently. She was fifteen, almost sixteen when she watched him win around Silverstone. When he saw her afterwards, he saw her in a new light. Maybe it was that post win haze. But no, because the feelings didn't go away.

Lando waited two and a bit years before he made a move. He was in F2, then, waiting to take his place on the McLaren F1 team. Y/N and Flo were show jumping at the lower levels and Flo was Y/N's show groom for when she tried her hand at eventing.

Lando came up with every excuse in the book to join Y/N and Flo when they went eventing. He offered to drive the trailer for them, offered to groom and tack up Sooty for her. Of course, Lando had no idea what he was doing when it came to grooming and tacking up.

Flo was heavily judging her brother, but she let him come with them. He stood by the trailer, feeding Sooty mints while Y/N and Flo tacked up.

Before Lando entered F1, he knew he had to make his move. Y/N had agreed to help Flo with her horses for the night while she was off doing something unknown. It was November and Lando had just turned 19. It was now or never.

Lando made his way down to the stables. It was dark and freezing, the stables lit by floodlights. Y/N had mucked out Flo's horses and had moved onto hay. Her own horses hadn't yet been taken care of; she could deal with them once she was done with Flo's horses. Lando walked across the yard, trying to avoid getting mud on his shoes. "Y/N?" He called, looking from stable to stable.

Y/N emerged from a barn. She was in her black riding pants, mud splashed up the side. The mud disappeared under her coat and she wore a knitted beanie on her head. "Lando? What're you doing here?" She asked as she walked out of the barn with hay in her arms.

Lando let out a laugh when he saw the mud up her side. "Did you fall off or something?"

She let out a laugh as she threw the hay over the stable door. "Yeah, Sooty decided there was a gremlin hiding in the corner of the arena and freaked out," she answered as she bolted the stable door shut.

With Flo's horses done, Y/N started looking after her own. As she mucked out, Lando talked to her and gave Gismo attention. "So, McLaren, huh?" Y/N asked as she moved Gismo away from the stable door. "You excited?"

"You know it, baby!" Lando cheered. But his cheeks flushed with embarrassment and he scratched at the back of his neck. "Are you gonna come to any of my races?"

"Yeah I'll go with Flo."

But that wasn't what Lando meant. He cleared his throat and rocked on his heels. "What if Flo doesn't go to any? Will you?"

Y/N stopped and put her broom against the stable wall. She crossed her arms over her coat and turned towards her best friends brother. "What are you trying to say, Lan?" Because there was clearly something he wasn't getting across.

Lan. He loved it. He loved when Y/N called him Lan. He somehow went even more red as he looked at her. "I want you to come to my races with me, whether Flo is there or not."

Y/N's eyes went wide. "Oh holy shit, Lan. I'd love to." She looked back at Gismo. "But I can't. Not when I've got these guys."

"Let me take you on a date then, before I go."

That was five years ago. Now, everybody was waiting for the couple to get engaged.

They were in the process of trying to move in together, but that meant Y/N moving the horses with her. Trying to find a stables just outside of Monaco that wasn't over the top expensive seemed too be an impossible task. Lando was happy to pay any amount of money to have his girlfriend and the horses there with him.

But Y/N didn't want to do that. She didn't want to have to rely on Lando to pay for everything. She was going to make it to Monaco, to be there with him, on her own.

Until then they were stuck with the odd date night whenever Lando could come back to England. If Y/N could, she paid somebody to look after Sooty and Gismo while she went to Monaco or to the odd race.

"Is he meeting you here?" Asked Flo as they walked across the stables, towards where they kept their equipment.

Y/N nodded her head. "Should get here just before I'm done with Gismo," she answered. "Pretty good timing if you ask me."

Lando was an incredibly supportive boyfriend. He had to be, with Y/N supporting his Formula One career. Whenever Lando could he came to one of her shows. No matter if she was eventing or jumping or doing dressage, Lando was watching with his camera.

Flo let out a sigh as she passed the martingale to Y/N. "You know, it might actually be nice to see him," she said as she and Y/N made their way back over to the horse.

Y/N quickly got herself and Gismo ready. She led him out to the arena and mounted. She rode him around the arena, warming him up and sending him flying over jumps as she waited for her boyfriend to appear.

Boyfriend. It had been weird saying that at first. After he and Y/N had their first date Lando was whisked away into the world of Formula One. They called a lot in that time, but it was strange. Their dynamics had changed but they weren't together yet.

It was a while before they got to have a second date.

A month after the second they had their third. That was when Lando officially asked her to be his.

That was five years ago.

As soon as Lando turned up to the stables, he knew white trainers had been a mistake. Actually, bringing such an expensive car had been a mistake. But, he got out anyway, locked it, and walked to where he knew he would find his girlfriend.

Lando was in awe every time he watched her ride. He couldn't tear her eyes away as she sent Gismo flying over the jumps, throwing her hands forward to let his neck stretch.

Lando had sat on Gismo before. He was the calmer of the two horses, the only one Y/N trusted to take care of Lando.

When Y/N finished jumping and brought Gismo back down to a trot, Lando clapped. Once upon a time he had whistled for her, but Sooty had spooked and Y/N had fallen off. Lando hadn't done it since.

"Lan!" Y/N called as she steers Gismo towards him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," said Lando as Gismo put his head over the fence, searching him for treats. When he discovered Lando didn't have any, he resorted to getting attention instead. "Missed you as well, Gremlin."

Y/N took two minutes to cool Gismo down before she jumped off. She took him back to the stable and untacked him in record time, all while Lando watched. It was incredible watching her do the thing she loved, he realised. She must've felt the same way about him.

As soon as she was done, it was time for date night. Y/N finally managed to wrap her arms around Lando, holding him close. "You're gonna stink of horses," she said as Lando squeezed her even tighter.

"I don't care," he answered before he kissed her.

Keeping one arm around her waist, Lando walked her out to the car. Her boots were muddy on his cars interior, but Lando didn't care. She could have walked shit into his car and he wouldn't have cared.

"I brought that dress you like," Lando said. Before he'd gotten to the stables he'd stopped at Y/Ns apartment to get something for her to wear.

"You're the best, Lan," she said as she sorted the music.

I won't bore you with the details of their drive to their drive to the restaurant. Once they pulled up in the car park Y/N tried her best to get dressed in the not very spacious car, since their was no way she was getting in in her state. She combed her fingers through her hair, brushing out any hay.

"Goddamn," said Lando as she stepped out the car. Y/N slipped her hand into his and she walked in.

The restaurant was nice, rather fancy. The pair shared a candle-lit Italian dinner, with music playing softly in the background. Y/N listened eagerly as Lando spoke about his last race. "I really wish you were there, though," he muttered as he finished his dinner. "I can't wait for you to move to Monaco."

"I know, Lan. I can't wait either," she replied. They were making progress. Y/N had found a stables near enough by and it wasn't too pricy. She had a key to Lando's apartment, where she was staying for the weekend while he was away at another race.

As soon as they were finished eating, Lando asked for the bill. "No dessert?" Y/N asked with a frown. Lando loved his dessert, but today he was rushing.

"Nope," Lando answered as he paid. "My trainer would kill me."

As soon as he had paid, Lando escorted Y/N out of the restaurant. He walked her over to the car, stopping half way to do up his laces.

"Thanks for tonight, Lan," she said as she turned towards him.

But, when she did, Lando wasn't doing up his laces. He was down on one knew, an open ring box in his hand. Inside of the ring box was, well, a ring. It was simple, a band with a small stone, just the way Y/N liked it. "I know we haven't moved in together yet, but I really wanna marry you."

There was a moment where Y/N couldn't answer him. She was in complete and utter shock. The only talks of marriage had been tabloid speculation, no indicators from Lando himself. "Holy shit, Lan," she said, because that was all she could say.

It wasn't a question of whether Y/N wanted to marry him. Of course she did. She wanted that more than anything.

"Holy shit Lando Norris. Of course I'll marry you."

[emphistic]

If it’s okay with you, can I request modern day Sukuna comforting an overwhelmed reader who’s so stressed to the point of crying?

a/n: i, personally, am really bad at comforting others so i did a little self-projecting lmao — also, apologies to anyone who drowns in my sea of commas

You down the rest of your energy drink before rubbing your eyes and checking the time on your phone. 10:47pm, you sighed.

This was going to be the third time in a row that you pull an all-nighter. But it was okay. Albeit thousands deep in student debt, after you get financially stable it would be okay. When you're able to sleep without worrying about loans, it would be okay. When you're able to think without another assignment getting in the way, it would be okay. When you're able to have a relaxing night to yourself, it would be okay. When the eyebags finally decide to go away, it would be okay.

It would be okay. It would be . . . okay.

Okay?

Just okay?

You didn't need 'okay'.

Completely and utterly exasperated, you didn't even notice the tears beginning to slip down your cheeks. Quickly, you moved to wipe them away with your sleeve.

You didn't need 'okay'. You needed . . .

A hand — which you figured to be belonging to your pink-haired boyfriend, Sukuna — swiftly pushed the lid of your laptop down. "You need to learn how to take a break. Relax, kid. You haven't come to bed in days, much less: slept, even." I miss you, he wanted to say, but couldn't bring himself to.

"Heyy, I was using that. Sukunaaa," you turned to look at the man, jutting your bottom lip out into a pout.

"You should be thanking me, actually. You've been practically living off caffeine," Sukuna gingerly grabbed you be the arm and peeled you off of your chair.

"You stink, by the way," Sukuna remarked.

"I'm busy, 'Kuna. I have to get back to my work, the due date is—"

"Do you ever stop talking?" Sukuna guided — more like dragged — you to your shared bedroom, and then into your bathroom, forcing you to sit on the tiled floor whilst he drew you a bath.

Your head, and the rest of your body, leaned against the tub; your eyes kept threatening to close, but you didn't let them. Instead choosing to continue staring at Sukuna's bare back and his unruly bed-hair.

He must've awoken and climbed out of bed just to come fetch you. Your heart fluttered at the thought, but you pushed it aside, thinking it too unrealistic.

Unbeknownst to you, you were actually wrong — maybe not in the way you imagined, though. He didn't wake up to fetch you because. . . He was never sleeping in the first place. The absence of you in his arms had kept him awake, staring at the desolate ceiling, tossing and turning — until he couldn't take it anymore, which leads you here: to present time.

Sukuna stopped the flow of the water, breaking you out of your thoughts; he turned towards you and squatted down to help you remove all your clothes.

He slowly lifted you into his arms and placed you into the bathtub, before moving to step out of his sweats.

To this, you raised a brow. "Huh? What are you doing?"

"You're not the only one in the house who needs to regularly bathe, duh."

Sukuna entered the tub behind you, pulling your back to his chest. You attempted to start washing yourself but Sukuna grabbed your wrist, kissing your knuckles, adding, "Let me take care of you. Just sit still and look pretty f'me."

The amount of tenderness and compassion that Sukuna used while washing you made you hum in content. While the sloshing and splashing of the water nearly lulled you to sleep — (assignments successfully long forgotten).

When you stepped out of the tub, Sukuna had to hold on to your waist just to wrap your towel around your middle, as you continued to sway in your exhaustion. Your legs could barely hold you up. And that didn't change a bit whilst the pink-haired man also helped brush your teeth.

It did help that Sukuna had forced you to lay down while he massaged you, though. He got on his knees and massaged and rubbed your feet, your back, and the rest of your sore spots.

Sukuna had never gotten on his knees for anyone — excluding carnal activities — but he would do it for you in a heartbeat. So he did. He got on his knees, for you.

Moments later, he rolled you onto your back before crawling into bed next to you. You immediately curled into his side, his arm going to wrap around your waist.

He pressed a kiss to your forehead, breathing in the scent of your lemony shampoo and whispering into your hair, "Go to sleep."

"Noo," you snuggled impossibly closer to his chest, seeking his warmth — which you obviously received.

"Idiot. Your body is practically crying out to you at this point. If you don't close your eyes, I'm going to give you a reason to." Sukuna used his middle and index finger to push your eyelids shut. You relented, quickly entering slumber land, and dreamt.

When you woke, your pink-haired hunk of a boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. Seeing your chance, you immediately stretched, yawned, and hurried over to and opened your laptop. Planning to continue where you had left off, only to find that all of your assignments had already been done: written and submitted.

Riiiight, Sukuna was not only handsome, but he was also freakishly smart. Silly you, must've forgotten.

A/N: i usually write sukuna as being a dumb, typical bad boy, but lets switch things up just this once (maybe)

Taglist: @starlets-things @sad-darksoul @mochimoee @r0ckst4rjk @lillycore @deepchromatose @yinyinyinyinyinyin @fivehoneyharg @desihopelessromantic @lich1 @hannas16 @acroso

[aeternallis]

It may be a bit of a hot take, but imo Kimchay has always been the most insidious of the three canon couples in KPTS, and I just love that for them.

It's deceptively easy at first glance to assume they're the healthiest/softest couple in the show, because at the onset of their relationship, they meet under the best of circumstances when compared to the other two. They don't have any questionable explicit scenes, and their storyline is almost cut off from the intertwining web of the other two couples' storylines.

But with the exception of their first meeting at the open house, every interaction thereafter—no matter how kind Kim acts, whatever feelings he begins to have for Chay, no matter how guilty he looks each time—takes place against the backdrop of Kim's hidden motives and the looming truth of who he is.

It's always been fascinating to me how KimChay stands out against the other two couples, because unlike Porsche and Pete who have the physical prowess to fight off Kinn and Vegas respectively and reinforce the boundaries they have when these hardheaded mafia men disrespects their autonomy, the only thing Chay has going for him in order to reinforce said boundaries is through mental fortitude. Being blunt with Kim about minding his own business, not answering his call, blocking his number...all these things shows the level of self-respect Chay has for himself when he's been wronged.

We the audience knows this, this isn't anything new. What Chay lacks in physical capability, he more than makes up for by that metaphorical spine of steel.

That’s not to say that I’m minimizing what Porsche and Pete went through; all the Theerapanyakul men are underhanded in some form or another. Porsche and Pete too have the capability in talking back through their own mental fortitude; they would have to, considering the lives they’ve lead thus far. But when push comes to shove, these two also have the added fighting capability—earned through a lifetime of hardship and necessity—to stave off the mafia men’s physical aggression, as we see a couple of times in the show. It’s partly through this fighting capability that they earn Kinn and Vegas’s respect, that they learn the hard way that Porsche and Pete won't be bullied so easily.

I cannot stress enough the fact that there is a difference between loving someone and respecting them.

The honesty between KinnPorsche and VegasPete has always had a brutal edge to it; I think it's why they both get a happily ever after (at least where we leave them off in the show), because they've already seen the worst of each other.

But we know that Chay in contrast isn't a fighter, if his immediate reaction to the kidnappers is anything to go by. One would think that this isn't his first rodeo with an attempted attack in his home (loan sharks and all that), and he’d know some self-defense considering who his brother is. Yet still, his instinct was to call for help, as he probably would do the same had Porsche been there with him.

But as we see in the show, Porsche’s overprotectiveness of Chay is to a point that it becomes detrimental to his safety. After all, why hasn't Porsche taught Chay to defend himself, if they've had experience before of getting harassed in their own home?

It's through mental fortitude alone that Chay can perfectly match Kim, because there is no way for this boy to fight off Kim’s aggression in the way Porsche and Pete can with Kinn and Vegas respectively.

And before I go on, I don't think there's any need to argue that Kim would never show or point towards Chay so much aggression, not when he's already done it:

The only reason Kim let go of his hand in this scene so easily is because he was stunned by Chay's antagonism towards him (besides the fact that he was butthurt af when Chay outright calls him out). This scene, along with the scene before it and the bar fight scene, heavily hints at the sort of aggression that Kim is potentially capable of showing/pointing towards Chay. (I wonder what was the stage direction given to Jeff in this scene that Barcode had to yank his wrist back that hard, yknow?)

I'm pretty sure this was partly the point of this scene below; it begs the question of that unknown dimension between the two of them:

But getting back on point: Chay only has his mental fortitude to match Kim and reinforce his boundaries, but even then, it’s not completely foolproof; given enough time, Kim can find ways to disarm Chay, as we see in their final scene together.

And of course it goes without saying, there are moments in the show where it's very obvious Kim truly returns Chay's affections, even moved and inspired by him. But ultimately, even where the audience is left off in terms of where their relationship is at, Kim doesn't respect him—or rather, he doesn't respect the boundaries Chay has drawn in the sand between them.

If Kim had truly respected those boundaries, he would not have reached out the way he did. He would not have reached out with an unknown number, in order to bait Chay into clicking that video link. He would not have used Chay's own song to re-write it into a love song for him.

Because for all of Chay's mental fortitude, in the end, even if Kim himself did not see Chay's reaction to the video, the end result he likely wanted came about: he found a way for Chay to pay attention to him again and more than that--hold that attention, because Chay doesn't delete the video.

Everything this final scene together entailed is arguably calculated on Kim's part. After all, nothing has changed: it happens against the backdrop of Kim's selfish motive. The motive has changed (from getting information on Porsche to getting Chay back/to forgive him), yes—but the nature of it hasn’t.

I think that's what makes Kimchay's relationship the most insidious of the three in my eyes, because despite everything they've been through so far, Kim still doesn't respect Chay's boundaries, not at this stage of their relationship, if ever. Besides that, Kim can and has found ways to counter Chay's strongest asset, to bring his guard down if you will.

And Chay has nothing else he can use against Kim to reinforce his boundaries, not fighting capability and certainly not distance, alas.

There is definitely a level of selfishness in Kim that surpasses the selfishness also inherent in Kinn and Vegas due to their upbringing, yknow?

It's why they hold my attention so much, I think: the sheer potential they have to become the most unhinged couple in this story, and how much I'm drawn to it like a moth a flame~

[stevie-petey]

episode eight: the upside down

You know you shouldn’t, but you laugh. Honestly, after everything you’ve been through tonight with Steve, how can he possibly think the two of you aren’t friends? “Why are you laughing?” Steve mumbles, confused.  “Sorry,” you wheeze out, still uncontrollably laughing. “It’s just–I mean, dude! We almost died together, of course we’re friends now!” “We are?” He looks like a little kid on Christmas day being given the gift he’s always wanted. Your heart warms. “Yes, idiot.”

summary: drinking game time ! take a shot every time jonathan tries ditching you or every time you almost die at the byers house, you find out that steve really is an athlete and tbh it's hot, but you know what's even hotter ? saving hawkins and reaching a tentative compromise with steve after he loans you $5 for snacks. after, jonathan makes a promise you really hope he can keep.

rating: general, cursing and slight scary violence

warnings: violence, use of fire and weapons, guns, use of fem!reader and use of y/n, slight mentions of blood and death

words: 13.7k

before you swing in: the final chapter ,,, my heart </3 please enjoy my child, i put so much into this chapter. action scenes scare me, they're hard and i'm weak, so i hope this lives up to everything you guys wanted n more ;) i cannot believe we're at the end (but i do have another chapter planned that's set in season 1, so shhhh). thank you so so so much for all your support. i never thought this silly lil fic would get that much attention, but i'm insanely flattered and grateful for each and every one of y'all. i'm so proud of what i've created and you guys are my beloveds ,,, anyways, enjoy !!!

-

You almost miss Jonathan and Nancy sneaking off. 

You had been explaining a comic book that had been in your bag to El when you noticed a shift in your periphery. Turning your head, you see Jonathan stand, offer Nancy his hand to help her up, and then walk towards the main doors together. 

What the fuck. 

“They wouldn’t dare…” You excuse yourself and run out the gym and into the hallway to follow them, absolutely furious. You’re so sick of their bullshit, of Jonathan’s bullshit and putting Nancy first. This isn’t even a petty jealousy thing, this is about the years of friendship between the two of you that has just suddenly disappeared within a damn week all due to circumstances completely out of your control. 

The slam of the main door is the only warning Jonathan gets before you’re yanking him by his coat and flinging him back, forcing him to look at you. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

You’ve never, ever yelled at him like this before. Not even earlier this week when he’d given you that bullshit apology after screaming at you for being in his room, for saying the two of you weren’t family. You didn’t yell at him for hiding Nancy’s pictures from you, for going off without you to find the monster. Despite everything, you’ve never been this cruel to him, even if he may have deserved it at times.

Jonathan’s wide eyes stare down at your hand that’s still clutched around his coat, frightened. “Bug, we were just–”

“Just what? Sneaking off without me?”

“It’s not like that, Y/N.” Nancy now steps in, her hands held up as if you’re some rabid dog she wants to calm down. “We just figured we’d help Joyce and Hopper.”

“‘We’? Are you fucking kidding me? You two talked about this, had an entire conversation, and still somehow came to the conclusion that ditching me was a great fucking idea?” You scoff, deeply hurt by the fact that the two of them had an entire conversation without thinking to include you in it. 

“Bug, can we talk about this one on one?” Jonathan asks, his voice lowered. You can see the genuine upset in his eyes and for a moment your grip on him lessens, but then you see Nancy behind him and your anger only returns. 

“No, we can discuss this right here.” 

He sighs and tries to grab the hand not clutching his coat, but you slap it away. “Bug–”

“You’ve lost that privilege.” 

“Bug–I mean, Y/N,” His voice falters. “Look, my mom and Hopper are out there right now trying to find Will while that monster is still out. Nance and I… We want to finish what we started.” 

“Without me?” You don’t mean for it to happen, but your voice catches at the end.

Jonathan’s gaze softens and this time he succeeds in grabbing your hand. You let go of him and allow him to pull you in, weak against him as always. “I’m doing this to protect them, to protect you, Y/N. I’m always trying to protect you. You know that, right?”

You used to think that you did, but now? You’re not so sure, and it terrifies you. 

Nancy has stepped away from the conversation, now kicking at rocks while you’re with Jonathan, and you can’t help but think about how wrong all of this feels. 

Throughout this entire week it’s felt like someone has given you a photo of Jonathan, smeared its lines and edges, removed his moles and his crooked smile and made it neater, altered so that if you squint you can see the boy you grew up with underneath it all… But it’s fuzzy, almost too unclear to really see. 

Now he’s standing in front of you, his smile once more crooked and cunning and his moles faded underneath the moonlight and for a second you can see him. There he is, clear and untouched and him in a way that’s never quite been yours.

“I know,” you tell him. “But how many more times do you expect me to forgive you for lying and ditching me? If you want to protect me, you need to talk to me.”

Jonathan winces. “I know, I know it sounds stupid and I know I’ve fucked up more than enough this week, I just get caught up in wanting to make sure you’re safe. It’d kill me if I let anything happen to you… I just, I can’t lose you, bug.”

“So pushing me away is your grand plan of keeping me?”

“I’ve always been an idiot.” He manages a smile, and you can’t help but laugh. 

“That’s true, but if you attempt to ditch me one more time I swear to god I’ll pour tar all over your car.”

The boy laughs and for a brief moment everything feels okay again, but it doesn’t last very long. “In our defense, we figured you’d be better off with the kids since you’re not really a fighter, ya know?” 

You drop his hand. “Excuse me?” 

Jonathan’s smile is gone. “What?”

“I’m not really a fighter? You’re kidding, right?”

“Hey, no I didn’t mean it like that–” Jonathan fumbles over his words, clearly taken aback by your sudden mood change. 

You step away from him. “How many times did I defend you against Lonnie? Better yet, remind me how we became friends in the first place. Wasn’t it because I threw milk at a bunch of idiots bullying you? Huh?”

“Y/N–”

“God, I can’t believe I almost let you get away with it again! I mean, do you even hear the bullshit that comes out of your mouth?” You deepen your voice, now doing a poor impersonation of him. “‘Hey, bug! You know I love you, right? Cool! Now, I’m gonna go do fuck all and ignore you and ditch you and then somehow turn it into me being a good guy because duh! I can never do any wrong!’”

“Please, just–”

“Did I get it right? It was a pretty good impersonation in my opinion. I mean, I am the one who has had to deal with this shit all fucking week. I think I'm an expert on this topic now.” 

Jonathan looks pained but you don’t fucking care anymore. You’ve reached your limit, you’re sick and tired of being treated like some delicate creature that’s incapable of taking care of itself. You literally slapped Tommy Hagan this afternoon in order to help Jonathan, yet here he is basically calling you weak. 

And yet Nancy is the fighter. She’s the one who gets to go along on the adventure while you’re sidelined because for some damn reason you’re always the second option. Never taking matters into your own hands, always the one left behind to clean up the mess and take care of those also discarded. 

You’re sick of it. 

You step closer to Jonathan again, so that you’re nose to nose, and whisper, “I’m tired of never being good enough.” 

And with that, you reach into his coat and snatch up his keys, a game you’ve always played with him but now has turned into a bitter taste in your mouth, and run back into the gym. Someone has to inform the kids of the plan, make sure they’ll be okay on their own. 

Dustin sees you approach and smiles, but when he notices the angry pace in your steps, he frowns. “Uh oh.”

“Yeah, uh oh.” 

“Jonathan again?”

You nod, still too angry to trust your words. “Yeah.” 

He notices the keys in your hand. “Where are you going?”

Mike and Lucas look over now, curious as to what’s happening. 

You sigh. “I’m going with Nancy and Jonathan to the Byers house, we’re going to kill the monster.” 

“Why the hell are you going?” Dustin exclaims while Mike shoutes “sick!” and Lucas mumbles “great, alone again”. El remains quiet, still resting. 

You flick your brother’s hat. “I have to, Dustin.”

“For Jonathan?” He shakes his head. “I like him, but aren’t you mad at him right now?”

“Is it just me, or is she always mad at him these days?” Mike whispers over to Lucas, who simply shrugs. 

“Girls, man.” 

You ignore them and focus on Dustin. “It doesn’t matter. He needs my help, and no one in the party gets left behind. Remember?”

“Y/N–”

“I love you,” you kiss the top of his head. “I promise I’ll be safe, just be careful, okay? I’m putting you in charge, so don’t let me down. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll see you in a few hours tops!”

Dustin tries to argue some more, but you quickly run back outside before he can get another word in. You feel horrible leaving him behind, but you know this is the right decision. If you can kill the monster, there’s less of a chance of the kids or Joyce and Hopper getting hurt. Jonathan and Nancy may be fine on their own, but there’s always power in numbers and they’ll need all the help they can get. 

You just… you have to help. You know this is what you’re supposed to be doing, even if it pains you to do so. Dustin and the kids are smart; as long as they stay at the school, they’ll be fine. 

In theory, that is.

Nancy and Jonathan are waiting for you outside. You push past them and march towards Jonathan’s care; they awkwardly follow after you. You unlock it, throw yourself into the backseat, and promptly dig through your backpack to make sure you have everything. 

The two teens get in a few minutes after you. Not one word is spoken as Jonathan starts the car and the three of you drive off, leaving Hawkins Middle behind. 

– 

You thought the car ride with Nancy and Jonathan from the funeral home had been tense, but this one? Downright painful. 

Jonathan has a tight grip on the steering wheel and keeps trying to catch your eye through the rearview mirror but you avoid his gaze. You’ve spent the last five minutes arranging and rearranging your backpack to give you something to do while Nancy has tried three times to make conversation to make this car ride bearable. 

“El seems nice.” 

“You said four words to her, Nancy.” You retort, switching open your switchblade once more to watch the moonlight dance off of its blades. 

“Right.” 

Nancy shifts uncomfortably in the passenger seat. You know she realizes she’s once again upset the balance in your relationship with Jonathan. It was only an hour ago that she tried getting you to admit your feelings for him before convincing the boy to up and leave you. Sure, Jonathan made his own decision in the end, but damn. She could’ve at least pretended to want you around. 

She notices your knives and tries to spark conversation again. “I love the color of the handle, it’s beautiful.” 

“Thanks,” you switch the blades closed and sit up in your seat. “Anyways, you geniuses have a plan or were you just counting on ditching me and winging it from there?”

“Y/N–”

“No, Nancy. I insist, let’s talk about a plan. We’re here to kill a monster, right?”

She closes her mouth and frowns, turning to Jonathan for help, but he’s no use. He’s busy tapping his fingers against the wheel and praying that the world will just swallow him up whole. Too bad for him you’re a stubborn pain in the ass and would simply pluck him back up so you can torture him some more. 

Nancy sighs. “Well, Jonathan and I were thinking we use the supplies we got earlier and lure the monster to his place, then we kill it.” 

“Awesome plan, guys!” You say, your voice dripping with sickly sweetness that leaves them both feeling even more uncomfortable. “But may I suggest some actual details or shall we just bank off of this wonderfully dull and vague plan?” 

“Sure, Y/N. Tell us what you had in mind.” Nancy rubs her face tiredly, knowing she deserves this. 

“Great! I’m assuming we’re luring the monster with blood?” They nod at you, so you continue. “Okay, so before we lure it I think we should completely booby-trap Jonathan’s house. Nail the bear trap down onto the floor, make sure the floor is cleared of anything that could trip us up. Then, once we’ve got the house secured, we knick ourselves to draw some blood and pray to whatever god is up there that we can kill the thing.” 

You pause for a moment, remembering how all the Christmas lights had been unscrewed by Joyce earlier. “The lights, we need to fix them. The monster communicates through the lights so if we have them, then we can track it.”

“That all sounds great, bug.” Jonathan finally speaks up, ass kissing. 

“Thanks, pal. Still don’t have the bug privilege back, but I’m sure you simply forgot.” 

He gulps, once more going back to being silent as he drives you and Nancy to his house. 

Nancy again tries to diffuse the tension. “How do we even kill the monster though? I mean, will my bullets be enough?”

“I have this idea, but it’s… well, it’s out there.” You bite your lip, now feeling your cocky demeanor slipping. “If we can safely set fire to it, I think that’s our best bet.”

“Fire?” Jonathan exclaims, but Nancy shushes him. 

“I think you’re right.” 

“Y/N, I know you’re mad at me but do we really have to set fire to my house–”

Now it’s your turn to shush Jonathan. “This isn’t about that. I wouldn’t burn your house down, I already told you I’d just pour tar on your car whenever I get the chance. For now, I really do think the best thing to do is burn the monster alive. In every horror movie and book, fire always gets the job done.” 

Despite herself, Nancy lets out a soft chuckle as Jonathan parks the car, now at his house. “She’s right, Jonathan. And who burns down houses these days? Tar really is the best form of revenge.” 

“I’m flattered, Wheeler. At the rate you’re going, you’ll be off my shitlist in no time.” You tell her, patting her on the shoulder before getting out of the car. You quickly open up the trunk and gather the monster hunting supplies while Jonathan and Nancy take their time getting out. 

You let yourself into the Byers home using your own key to the place. It’s been nestled in between the key to your house and the spare key to Jonathan’s car on your keychain for a few years now. 

The first thing you get started on are the lights. There’s hundreds of them to get through, but you drop your supplies and begin screwing them in one by one. Nancy and Jonathan come in soon after and silently begin to help. 

No conversation is made besides the necessary comments about the prep work. You’re all too focused on the possibility of what could happen next; the danger of the situation has finally set in. After the lights have all been fixed, you instruct Jonathan to begin nailing the bear trap down while you and Nancy discuss where to pour the gasoline. You both agree to make a path from the living room to Will’s room. 

As Nancy pours the gasoline, you follow behind her and pick up any flammables. You weren't lying to Jonathan earlier, you really don’t want to burn his house down. While the house is wrecked, it’s still a home despite everything that’s happened in it. You practically grew up within its walls, you’d do anything to keep it as protected as possible. 

When you’re done, you watch Nancy load her gun. A shiver runs down our spine; she looks at ease with it, which you figure should be reassuring, but the gravity of everything leaves you feeling on edge. You leave her alone and walk into the kitchen where Jonathan is, now hammering a ton of nails into his bat. 

You begin to sharpen your blades next to him, still finding that you only feel secure by his side. The rhythmic sound of his hammering calms you, in a sense. It serves as a distraction. You know you insisted on coming, you don’t regret it and you know you’re stronger than everyone seems to give you credit for, but you’re also terrified. This isn’t just some adventure in the woods; this could kill the ones you love dearly. 

Once you’re both done preparing your weapons, the two of you walk to Will’s room and rig up a simple snare. Jonathan grabs a yo-yo and you pull up a chair to set it on. The idea is that when the string gets pulled, it’ll alert you that the monster has sprung the bear trap. It’s not the most efficient warning system, but it’ll have to do. 

The last thing to do is set the bear trap, which takes all three of you to achieve. Jonathan and Nancy hold down the edges with their body weight and you very carefully set the trap with your hand. You shake a bit as you do so, but you force your nerves down. You remind yourself that Jonathan thinks you’re too weak, too cowardly, you have to prove him wrong. 

When the bear trap clicks into place, you let out a harsh exhale and sink against the wall, your heart still pounding. Jonathan and Nancy copy you and the three of you sit in silence. You’re still shaking a bit, and Jonathan is next to you just as tense, but for the first time since you’ve met him you can’t reach out to grab his hand to steady yourself. He’s too far, both literally and figuratively. Even with him next to you, you couldn’t be more far apart. 

In the back of your mind, you hope the kids are alright. Hopefully they’re having a better night than you currently are. 

“C’mon,” you say after a few minutes, getting up to walk over to the living room. “We’ve done all we can, now we just have to draw some blood and be the prettiest bait in Hawkins.”

– 

Nancy and Jonathan decide to cut the palm of their hands, but you respectfully would rather die than have a matching scar with them. The idea makes you so uncomfortable you visibly cringe when Jonathan tells you the idea. “Yeah, no thanks. I think I’ll find somewhere else to cut.” 

He looks hurt by what you’ve said but doesn’t voice it. Instead, the three of you stand in the living room in a triangle facing each other and he begins reciting the plan. “Remember…”

Nancy goes first. “Straight into Will’s room and–” 

“Don’t step on the trap.” You finish.

Jonathan nods. “And then?”

“Wait for the yo-yo to move.” The girl says. 

“Then…” Jonathan flicks the lighter on.

You whistle low. “Let there be light…” 

“Right. Light.” The boy nods again. “Alright, we ready?”

“Ready.”

“Scar time.” 

Jonathan and Nancy bring their hands up and place their knives flat against their palms. You roll up your sleeve and place your own knife against the upper part of your arm, just below your shoulder, and take a deep breath. 

“On three,” Jonathan says. He begins counting and you all can’t seem to stop shaking. He senses your unease and looks up at you and Nancy. “You guys don’t have to do this.”

Nancy glares at him, her own voice shaky. “Jonathan, stop talking.”

You nod. “Yeah, what she said.”

Jonathan tries to argue, but Nancy squeezes her eyes shut and yells, “Three!”

You close your own eyes and slice at your arm, the pain immediate. You gasp out, never having been good with pain, but you know you have to do this for Will. The blood trails down your arm, dripping from your elbow onto the ground, and you watch as blood from Jonathan’s and Nancy’s own cuts falls onto the ground too. 

Well, at least it’ll be an easy scar to hide compared to theirs. 

“Fuck, that stings.” You say to break the silence, and Nancy nods her head in agreement. 

“Not the most pleasant feeling.” 

Jonathan guides the two of you over to the couch and grabs the first aid kit that you had prepared on the coffee table. He sits in the middle, leaving room for both you and Nancy on each side of him, but you’re still pissed at him and opt to sit on the floor in front of the couch.

Nancy begins to patch up his wound, and it takes everything within you not to reach over and help him yourself. It feels unnatural to watch someone else taking care of him, but the space between you still feels too vast to cross. 

You patch up your own cut while the two of them talk quietly. You wind a bandage tight around your arm, ensuring you won’t bleed through, and Jonathan watches above you with guilt in his eyes. Nancy is trying to reassure him that everything will be okay, but as he watches you struggle to tie the bandage he wonders if he’s fucked up more than just your friendship.

“Bug, let me help with that.” He leans down and ties your bandage before you can stop him. 

You glare at him, still having not said anything to Jonathan besides what was needed for preparation. Nancy distracts herself by cleaning up around his cut and your stomach twists into knots. This is all so miserable. 

“Y/N, I know you’re upset with me and you can go whenever. I won’t blame you, you’ve done enough for me.” Jonathan says, trying to catch your eye. 

You turn away and inspect your bandage, still reeling over the fact that he tied it for you. “I’m here for Will, and only Will.”

“Y/N…” There’s a hurt in his voice that almost makes you turn around to throw your arms around his neck and whisper a million apologies to him. To tell him everything, that you love him and that you’d do anything for him and that’s why you’re so terrified of how you feel. You know you’d burn yourself up if it meant he’d be taken care of, if it meant he was safe and happy and far away from anything that could harm him. You know you’d use up everything within you to love him. 

Instead, you remain silent.

After getting no response from you, Jonathan clears his throat and begins to say something about how the lights will serve as an alarm for the monster, trying to pretend that everything is okay, but he’s cut off by a sudden pounding on the door.

You all jump and your fingers tighten around your switchblade, ready to open it. As your heart pounds you think of all the possible ways the plan could go wrong. When you’re on possibility number twelve, a voice calls through the door. 

“Jonathan?”

“Is that… Steve?” You say out loud, in complete disbelief. 

Steve continues to pound on the door. “Are you there, man? It’s… It’s Steve! Listen, I just wanna talk!”

You’re the first to react, standing up to run over to the door. You fling it open and step outside, making sure Steve won’t be able to see inside the house. When he sees you, he stumbles back a bit. “Henderson?”

His face is still bleeding from earlier and his hair is a mess, and yet there’s a softness to him that you haven’t seen before with him. “Steve, now isn’t really a good time.”

“Can I just talk to Jonathan real quick? I just… I want to apologize about what happened earlier, see if we can maybe–” His eyes land on your bandaged arm. You curse and roll down your sleeve, feeling like an idiot for forgetting to hide the wound before going outside. 

Steve reaches out to touch it, a hint of worry on his face and his voice is now full of concern. “Hey, are you okay?”

You shiver at his touch, it’s gentle as he skims along the bandage and inspects it for any other problems. You pull away, now hiding the wound. “It’s nothing, but you should really go.”

“I want to help you, Y/N. Do you need me to get you anything?” His face is so full of worry for you that it makes you ache. Then a thought occurs to him. “Wait, where’s Byers? Why isn’t he here to help you?”

You’re about to make up a lie, but Nancy flings the door open. “Steve, listen to me.”

He looks between the two of you in complete shock. “Okay, what–”

“You need to leave.” Nancy orders.

Steve looks at you. “I’m not trying to start anything, okay?”

“I know, but–” You get cut off by Nancy.

“I don’t care about that. You need to leave.”

Steve begins to plead with the girl and you step away a bit, not wanting to intrude. You feel bad for him, he looks so beat down by what’s happened today and you suppose that you can’t really blame him. After spending maybe a total of ten hours with Nancy and Jonathan, you also have come close to losing your mind. 

If you were with Jonathan, if you truly had him, you’d react the same as Steve. Begging for the girl he loves to listen to him, to give him another chance with the promise of him changing. 

“I just want to make things right.” Steve says, impressing you with his vulnerability. He’s openly admitting to his mistakes and taking accountability mere hours after the situation has occurred, leaving you both in awe of him and also saddened for him. He loves Nancy more than anything, you can hear it in his voice. 

He deserves better. 

As you’re thinking this, you see his eyes flicker down towards Nancy’s bandaged hand and his brows furrow. “What happened to your hand? Is that blood?” His eyes now flicker over to you again. “Why are you both hurt?”

“We’re clumsy?” You say as Nancy yanks her hand away from Steve.

“It was an accident.” She agrees. 

Steve looks between the two of you, now sensing that something else is wrong. “What’s going on?” 

“Nothing!” Nancy insists, but something in Steve’s demeanor shifts. 

“Wait a second, did he do this to you? To Y/N?” His once soft voice is now filled with anger and you step in front of him. 

“Steve, it wasn’t Jonathan. You need to go, I promise I’ll explain everything later–” 

He grabs you by your side and gently moves you so that he can get past and shove through the door. Nancy yells at him to stop and tries to push him out, but she’s useless against his strength. When he manages to break in, he stumbles inside and scans over the house. 

“Shit!” You follow after him, your brain running a million miles a second trying to figure out how to explain everything to him. 

“What the fuck?” Steve mumbles, eyeing the bat with nails in it. “Y/N, what’s going on here?”

He’s looking to you for reassurance and you guess he assumes that the two of you are allies in this Jonathan and Nancy situation. You really wish you could explain, but Jonathan has grabbed him by the shoulders and is trying to push him outside. The two stumble around for a few seconds and you just helplessly watch. 

“Steve, there’s no time to explain, please just listen to Jonathan and get out of here!” You’re helping Jonathan now, trying to get Steve out the door and away from harm’s reach, but he’s still fighting back confused and lost as ever and you pity him. 

You hear a click and turn around, gasping when you see Nancy holding her gun up to Steve. “Woah, what the fuck Nancy?”

“What! What is going on?” Steve yells, now more panicked than anything else. 

While Jonathan has stepped away, you find yourself standing in front of Steve as if to somehow block the bullet. You can’t let him get hurt, he doesn’t have any part of this, he can still have a normal and happy life if he just leaves now. “Nancy, put the fucking gun down, this isn’t helping!”

Steve pleads with her as well and the two of you scream at the girl to just listen and not swing around loaded weapons, but Nancy remains firm in her stance. “You have five seconds to get out of here. I’m doing this for you.”

“Because holding a gun to his head is any better than telling him the truth?” You exclaim, entirely over the situation. 

As the four of you are arguing, the lights begin to flicker. Steve and Nancy don’t seem to notice, but you do. You look at Jonathan and say your first real words to him in hours. “Jonathan…”

He hears you and he runs over to your side, grabbing your hand as the two of you stand shoulder to shoulder. You feel your heartbeat race and you can feel him shaking beside you. He’s terrified, so are you, but his hand around yours manages to steady you. 

“Nancy!” Jonathan tries to get the girl’s attention, but she’s too busy counting down to hear him. 

He shouts at her again and the lights start to flicker more wildly and you draw your switchblade out, adrenaline coursing through you. It’s time. 

Jonathan yells once more and finally catches Nancy’s attention. “The lights!”

She whips her head around and curses, Jonathan, still tightly holding your hand, tugs you along so that you follow him as he secures his weapons and grabs the bat. “It’s here.”

“What’s here?” Steve is flailing around, utterly lost.

You all ignore him and now stand back to back in a triangle. Nancy holds up her gun, Jonathan wields his bat, and you flick your wrist to bring out your knives. “Where is it?”

“I don’t know!” 

The lights flicker rapidly and you feel overwhelmed. They were supposed to serve as a guide towards the monster, but there's no possible way to see which direction it’ll come from and for a fleeting moment you think you’ve made a huge mistake. 

Steve is still screaming, demanding answers, but you’re too busy scanning your surroundings to offer him some information. “Hello? Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going–”

The roof opens up, cutting Steve off, and you scream as the monster attempts to come down right above you. Jonathan shields you from the fallen debris and you cling onto him in utter fear. This isn’t real. This cannot be happening. 

Nancy begins to shoot at the thing while Jonathan guides you to safety. He brings you to the edge of the living room and holds your face in his hands, forcing you to really look at him for the first time all night. “Listen to me, stay here while I get Nancy.”

He kisses your forehead and then leaves, rushing over to Nancy to pull her away and guide her towards Will’s room. Steve stands next to you, frozen, and it forces you back to reality. The plan, you have to stick to the plan. 

You grab Steve’s hand and yank him so that he follows. The monster has dropped down now, a horrible creature on all fours that opens its gaping mouth to let out a horrible screech that you feel deep within your bones. This is what killed Barb. 

The four of you run to Will’s room and you only just barely have enough time to warn Steve about the bear trap. You look over your shoulder and shout, “Jump!” right as your ankle catches on its chains. 

You fall. Hard. 

Pain sears through your ankle and you try to get up, but any pressure on it sends flames through your entire body and you let out another scream. The monster catches up, looming over you, and you brace for your death. There’s no fucking way you’re getting out of this. 

You squeeze your eyes as the monster stalks close to you, its ugly mouth open and ready to kill you. Jonathan is screaming at you to get up, but Nancy is holding him back from helping. You’re relieved by this, knowing that someone has to be there for Will once this is all done. He’ll need his brother, and Nancy seems to understand this. You catch her eye and nod at her, sending a silent thank you. 

“Bug! No, let go of me! I have to help her, Nancy!” Jonathan’s voice becomes hoarse by how loud he screams, his voice breaking with fear and desperation. 

Then, right before the monster lunges at you, you feel a familiar pair of arms slide underneath your legs and pick you up. “What–”

Steve Harrington has swooped in to save you, picking you up as if you weigh nothing, ever the athlete, and swiftly jumps over the bear trap while screaming his head off. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!”

You’re so delirious from the pain in your ankle and the adrenaline pumping through your veins that you can’t help but let a laugh escape you. No fucking way is any of this real. Steve Harrington is carrying you bridal style into Will’s bedroom with Jonathan and Nancy as witnesses. 

What a life. 

Once you’re both secured in the room, Steve sets you down gently right as Nancy yells at him to shut up. As soon as Steve lets go of you, Jonathan is at your side and pulls you into a crushing hug. 

“Bug.” He breathes out against your ear, relief heavy. 

“I’m okay.” You tell him, threading your fingers through his hair. He’s shaking harder than ever, and holding onto you as if he’s scared he’ll lose you again. “I’m okay, bee.” 

He pulls away and his hands are all over you, checking everywhere for any other injuries. “Did it hurt you, are you bleeding? There should be a first aid kit–”

You grab his hands and kiss his knuckles, which seems to calm him down a bit. “I’m fine, just twisted my ankle. If you help me up, I’m sure I’ll be able to stand again.” 

Jonathan quickly helps you to your feet and you lean against him for the extra support. While you put on a brave face for Jonathan, you’re terrified out of your fucking mind. You almost died. Jonathan is still holding your hand and he’s looking at you as if seeing you for the first time and you force yourself to look away. It’s the same look from the field days ago, when you thought he’d kiss you. 

You have to focus on what’s at stake.

How the hell are you guys supposed to kill this thing?

The monster screeches, breaking the moment between you and Jonathan, and he flicks his lighter on and forces you to stand behind him. Nancy holds up her gun and you bring your knives closer to your face, Steve standing weaponless behind you. 

You all wait, tense, for the monster. It stalks closer to the room, its awful growls alerting you of its proximity, but it doesn’t appear. 

“What’s it doing?” Nancy asks, frustrated. 

“I don’t know.” You respond, equally as frustrated and scared. 

Another few agonizing seconds pass, and you stare at the yo-yo and hope that it remains still. Then, the lights stop flickering and it becomes quiet. All you can hear is your blood roaring in your ears. 

Nancy looks around. “Do you hear anything?”

“No,” Jonathan shakes his head, inching closer to the door. 

“Wait!” You tug at your still interlocked hands. You pick up his bat that had been thrown on the ground and hand it to him. “Be careful. Please.”

He gives your hand one last squeeze before letting go, accepting the bat.

As Jonathan pokes his head out to see if the monster is outside, Steve bends his head down and whispers in your ear, “Romantic.”

“Shut. Up.” You hit him in the chest, fearfully watching your best friend to make sure he doesn't die. When he motions an all clear, Nancy follows him outside, then you, then Steve. 

The house is silent and your heart sinks when you see that the bear trap has been left untouched. You realize with a horrible gut wrench that the monster is smarter than the three of you had anticipated. 

So much for your plan, then.

“It’s smarter than we thought.” 

“Yeah,” Jonathan agrees with dismay. 

He stalks against the wall towards the living room and you all follow in a single file line. You do your best to stick close to the wall but you limp with every step. Your ankle is definitely out of commission for now. Great. 

All of you are on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It couldn’t have been that easy, there’s no possible way that the monster simply up and left. You enter the living room, which has gotten even more wrecked due the monster. The wallpaper has been torn off of some parts of the wall and you see papers scattered everywhere. 

“Shit…” you mumble, kicking at a shredded wallpaper strip. 

In the corner, Steve has started to hyperventilate and mumble to himself. “This is crazy, this is so crazy, this is fucking crazy.” 

You limp over to him and grab his shoulders, making him face you. “Steve, hey. It’s okay, I’m here.”

“Y/N, what the hell just happened?” 

“It’s… complicated. For now, can you trust me that everything will be okay?” 

��Of course I trust you, it’s just…” He nods, his eyes softening. You lessen your hold on him and give him a smile, he seems to be calming down. Then, he looks around the room and seemingly remembers where he is. “This is crazy!” 

Steve lunges for the phone on the wall and tries to call for help. 

You stumble after him, the pain in your ankle slowing you down. “Steve, wait–”

Nancy gets to him first, grabbing the phone out of his hand and throwing it across the room. He looks at her, shocked. “What are you doing? Are you insane?”

“It’s going to come back!” Nancy yells at him, and you wince at the way she treats him. You know Steve will only listen to her, but she could at least be nicer about the whole situation. The three of you have had some time to process everything happening, Steve was thrown into the deep end. 

“You could be a little nicer,” you mumble, and Nancy sends you a glare. You raise your hands up in surrender. “Sorry.” 

“Steve, you need to leave. Right now.”

He looks so overwhelmed and you give him a pitying look. He stares at you, reminiscent of the way he looked at you earlier in the alley, silently begging you to say something, anything, but again you can only shake your head at him. You won’t force him to stay, it wouldn’t be fair.

“Y/N, please…” He tries one more time to get you on his side, but you can’t. Frustrated by your lack of response, Steve groans. “Fuck it!” 

He runs out the door. 

You’ll admit that you’re a bit disappointed, but you also understand. Who in their right mind would stay? 

You and Nancy share a look before the lights begin to flicker again. Dread fills you. “Fuck…”

Jonathan is back by your side and he and Nancy again form a triangle with you, all your backs pressed together as you desperately try to locate the monster. You all stumble in a circle, searching for any sign of the thing, but there’s nothing. 

“Where is it?” Nancy gasps out.

“Just fucking show yourself!” You shout, just wanting this all to be over with. Your body is drained from living in a state of fear for so long. 

“Come on you son of a bitch!” Jonathan echoes your taunts. 

Suddenly the lights turn off and you’re left alone in complete darkness. Faintly you can hear the monster’s familiar growl approaching from behind you. The hair on the back of your neck stands up, the air stands still. It’s back. Before you can react, it pounces on Jonathan. 

“Jonathan!” You scream alongside Nancy. Desperation takes over you and before you can even process what’s happening, you ignore the pain in your ankle and jump onto its back, stabbing repeatedly at it. 

Your blades only bounce off of its thick skin and the monster struggles to get you off. You hold on as tight as you can, shouting and kicking at it so that it can’t hurt him, but then it opens its mouth and for a horrifying moment you’re afraid that Jonathan will die.

“No!” You scream even louder than before and double down on your effort, stabbing and slashing as much as you possibly can to try and create some damage, but your arms are starting to ache and your ankle now feels like it’s on fire. 

“Nancy, its skin is too thick!” You sob out, nearing complete exhaustion. Then, just as you’re about to collapse from exhaustion, gunshots fill the room. 

Nancy begins to shoot at the monster and with the help of your blades, the two of you manage to pierce its skin, but even then the damage is minimal. It’s not enough, it won’t be enough. Tears stream down your face and the monster only gets closer to Jonathan, so you do the only thing you can think of: you crawl onto the top of its body and stab at its mouth. 

The monster lets out a blood curdling scream and flings you off of its back. You go flying across the room and land against the wall with a groan. All the air has been knocked out of you and your ribs are definitely going to be bruised tomorrow. Every part of you aches, but you manage to lift your head up and blearily process the monster now approaching Nancy as she continues to shoot at it, but it remains unphased. 

You crawl over to Jonathan, who is still laying on the ground. He’s motionless, and you fight everything within you not to break down and sob. You have to keep going, he has to be alive. As you reach Jonathan and frantically check for a pulse, the monster has now cornered Nancy and her gun seems to be out of bullets.

It’s over. You know it is. 

Right as you’ve accepted your fate, a screaming Steve Harrington wielding Jonathan’s bat once again manages to save the day. 

He hits the monster with the bat, effectively saving Nancy and you’re so impressed with his batting skills that you almost find him attractive with how easily he hits and dodges the monster. However, you file those thoughts away for later and finally manage to wake Jonathan up. He startles with a gasp and you check over his chest, scared he may have gotten pierced by the monster’s claws. 

“I’m fine, we need to help.”

You help each other up and you have to lean heavily against him due to your ankle. You bull riding the monster has only made the sprain worse; you’re too afraid to look down and see the damage that’s been done. 

As the two of you hobble over to Nancy, Jonathan looks at you. “Is Harrington really here right now?”

“Yes.”

“Lovely.”

Steve manages to lure the monster closer and closer to the bear trap and you watch him in awe. He’s quick footed and so sure of himself, the complete opposite of the boy from only ten minutes ago who had run out of the house screaming his head off. Now, Steve is swift with his hits and even twirls the bat in his hand to show off. The small act causes you to smile despite the horrible circumstances. 

By the time you and Jonathan are up and recovered, Steve has successfully led the monster straight into the trap. It clamps around the monster’s foot and it screeches, flailing around in the trap. Steve still has his bat held up, now frantically looking over to everyone else. “He’s in the trap! He’s stuck!”

“Jonathan, now!” Nancy screams, motioning over at him to use his lighter. 

Jonathan listens, using his free hand to flick the lighter on and then drops it onto the ground, right into the trail of gasoline. Immediately the monster goes up in flames, letting out horrible noises. You all shield your faces from the flames and Jonathan pulls you closer into him, still having yet to let go of you; you feel yourself sink into his side as you watch the monster wither away.

“Bug, I have to get the fire extinguisher, do you think you can stand on your own?” Jonathan asks you, his voice soft but urgent. 

You quickly nod and brace yourself for his departure. “Yeah, go.” 

He lets go of you as gently as possible before running to grab the extinguisher. When he has it, he orders everyone to get back and then smothers the flames. It takes a couple seconds, but eventually the fire gets put out, leaving behind an awful stench that makes everyone cough and gag. 

“Holy fuck,” you wheeze out, hunched over. “Burnt monster smells horrible.” 

“Yeah, no kidding.” Steve coughs out. 

Nancy covers her face with her jacket. “Where did it go?”

“It has to be dead.” Jonathan pants against the wall, looking like he’s three seconds away from passing out. “It has to be.”

“It fucking better be dead.” You mumble, hobbling closer to see what exactly was left behind. When you get closer and see the giant lump of melted skin all over the bear trap, you gag. “Oh god. Yeah, okay. It’s dead.”

Everyone sighs with relief. 

Then, you notice a Christmas light above you flicker on. Your heart stops, terrified that the monster has somehow survived, but then a second one turns on, then a third, until a path seems to be guiding you towards the living room. 

You all follow, cautious but curious, but these lights don’t feel threatening. There’s an energy to them, a comforting one that leaves you breathless. When you get to the living room, tears form in your eyes, now understanding what this all is. You look at Jonathan, who also seems to be thinking what you are. 

It’s Joyce, you know it is. 

“Mom,” he breathes out. 

You limp over to him and grab his hand. He turns to you, his eyes shining with an appreciation that he only ever has for you. He seems to be drinking you in, as if now realizing just how close the two of you came to dying tonight. You’re doing the same, thankful that he’s alive and standing next to you despite everything. There’s so much the two of you want to say, but as always the words aren’t needed. You understand each other perfectly, the balance between you centered once more. 

You put your head on Jonathan’s shoulder and he brings his hand to your hair to softly stroke it. The two of you stand like that for a second, breathing each other in and enjoying the tenderness after such a miserable day, before you slowly break apart and follow the lights going outside. 

The porch light flickers and Nancy stands next to you, watching it with uncertainty. “Where’s it going?”

“I don’t think it’s the monster.” Jonathan tells her. 

“It’s Will.” You don’t know how you know this, or what makes you feel so certain that you’re right, but somehow you know that you are. Somewhere deep within you, you feel the faint outline of hope flicker. 

A new silence surrounds the four of you at your words, and for once there’s hope between you all. Then, after a minute or so of silence, everyone begins to head back inside. Steve first, then Nancy, and finally Jonathan, leaving you alone with the crisp early winter air.

You take a deep breath, the cold air serving as a reminder that you’re alive. You let it fill your lungs until you can’t breathe in anymore, then you release the air through an exhale and feel your body settle into its exhaustion. This is the first time you’ve had a moment to yourself, so you let the exhaustion weigh upon you like a warm blanket. 

Will is safe, you can feel it. Despite everything, he’s safe and alive. Jonathan is too, still your best friend regardless of all the unspoken words between the two of you. Dustin is at the school with the kids, away from danger. Everything is okay, it’ll be okay. 

You let the moment wash over you, incredibly grateful to be lucky enough to have survived it all. Everyone you love and hold close to you is safe. You didn’t fuck up this time. God, you did it. 

Jonathan comes running out after a while, his face alight with joy and he crashes into you and picks you up to twirl you around. You laugh, loud and freely, and bury your face in his hair as he continues. “Bee, stop! Put me down, you dummy!” 

He does as he’s told, but doesn’t let go of you once your feet are on the ground. “My mom just called, they saved Will. He–he’s in the hospital, he’s okay.” 

You squeal and throw your arms around Jonathan again, squeezing him so hard that you’re afraid you'll hurt him, but he simply laughs and squeezes you just as tight. Tears come again, but this time they’re happy ones, and if it weren’t for your ankle you’d be jumping up and down right now. 

Jonathan’s laughter dies down and he cups your chin around his fingers so that you look up at him. “You did it.” 

“We did it, bug.” You softly push against him. You can’t take all the credit. 

His eyes are shining again, you haven’t seen him this happy in so long, you get lost in it. His face is lit up and his smile is back and you’re so in love with him that it claws against your throat and threatens to spill out in excess.

A beat of silence passes and Jonathan just soaks your presence in. You can’t quite read his face, but for once this doesn’t frighten you. You enjoy it, you relish in the fact that he’s still yours yet now forming into someone new and lovely and wonderful. 

“You never gave up.” He whispers at last, adoration in his voice. 

“Never.” 

“You never left me.” 

“Never.” You breathe out, the word so simple with such heavy weight behind it. 

The moment is so raw, so tender, and Jonathan is giving you that look again, the one that leaves you feeling like the sun itself has settled upon you and kissed your cheek. His eyes flick down to your lips and you smile, taunting him to lean in. He seems to understand, giving you his own teasing smile before leaning in. You lean in as well, every part of you buzzing, and right before your lips touch his, Steve bursts through the door.

“Jonathan, dude, do you have like, any food in the house?” He asks, completely oblivious to what he’s just interrupted. 

You and Jonathan break apart, laughing the tension away. He ducks his head down, clears his throat, and turns to Steve. “Sorry, man. Been a little busy this week for grocery shopping.”

Steve’s eyes bulge out of his head. “Oh shit, right. Sorry, okay. Uh… Well, I’ll be inside, I guess.” 

“We’ll be in shortly.” You tell Steve. You want to be frustrated by his timing, but something tells you that you’ll have all the time in the world to tell Jonathan how you feel. Now just isn’t the time. 

– 

The moment you arrive at the hospital, Jonathan sprints out of the car and straight towards the front desk to find out where Will is. You and Nancy follow behind, figuring you won’t be able to see Will for a while since you’re not blood related, so the two of you wish Jonathan goodbye and head towards the waiting room. 

Steve lags behind, obviously unsure where to go. Nancy immediately walks inside, but you notice his hesitation and nudge his shoulder. “I’m sure that the cut on your eyebrow needs to be looked out. Let’s go sit, okay?”

He sighs deeply. “Yeah, sure. Totally. Let’s go sit in a room full of people who probably hate me. No biggie.”

“Either come or don’t.” You shrug. “But the way I see it, you can start mending some metaphorical wounds while you wait in there.”

You don’t wait for Steve to figure out what to do, you know that Dustin is somewhere inside the waiting room and you’re buzzing to see him and the rest of the kids. You hobble inside, still very much in pain due to your injuries, but the moment you see your brother it all fades away. 

He runs into your arms and almost knocks you down with the force. Dustin clings onto you, mumbling over and over again how sorry he is. 

“Hey, wait a second,” you pull him away and crouch down, groaning a bit at the pain. “What are you sorry about? What happened?”

You look around the room and see everyone there. Nancy, Hopper, the kids, Steve, even Nancy’s parents, but there’s someone missing…

“El,” you breathe out. 

Dustin’s lip trembles and he begins to cry. You soothe him, grabbing his hand to bring him over to the seats and sit between him and Mike. Lucas is to the left of Dustin and you can’t help but notice how all the boys have dried tears in their eyes. 

When they’re ready, you have the kids explain what happened, and the more they tell you, the more guilty you feel. You should’ve been there for them, you left them all alone with that monster. You got Will back, and yet you’ve lost El as a result. It seems that no matter what you do, it’ll never quite be enough in the end. 

“It’s not your fault.” You tell Dustin, who still keeps apologizing. It was you who had left him in charge, you’re why El ended up vanquished by the monster. “You did everything you could. I shouldn’t have left you guys all alone, but I’m proud that you all took care of one another, okay?”

He sniffs and nods his head, but you know he doesn’t believe you. All the boys are somber; you know it’ll take time for them to recover. So, you do what you do best, you console them. You hold their hands and rub their backs and offer your spare comics in your bag. You do whatever you can to comfort them, to reassure them that they’re safe now and that no one will hurt them, but the light in their eyes has dimmed. 

They’ll never be the same again. 

And El… she had been so young, you don’t think you’ll ever not feel the heavy weight of guilt whenever you think of her. She had been so sweet and had trusted you. 

You should’ve been there, you wish you could’ve saved her.

Steve watches from his seat across from you. He listens in as you comfort the boys, taking care of them in such a natural way. He admires this softer side of you, one he hasn’t quite seen before. Sure, you’ve always been gentle and sincere, but watching you with the kids is something special in itself. You manage to get them to laugh, you offer them your shoulder to cry or sleep on, and you read aloud to them stories from your comics and Steve finds himself drawn towards your interactions with the kids. 

It’s sweet, something delicate and lovely, and Steve admires everything that you are. When he sees you awkwardly stand up and stumble over to the vending machines in the hall, Steve finds himself following after you. 

-

“Bitch!” You slam the palm of your hand against the vending machine in vain. The bag of chips hangs by the little spiral, taunting you. 

“That’s not a very nice word, Henderson.” 

You turn and see Steve, leaning against the wall with a fond expression. “You stalking me?”

“Nah, just wanted to watch you fight against a vending machine.”

“Ha,” you snort, turning back to the machine. “Unless you can help me get this last chip bag, you’re free to go sit back down.”

You mean it to be a joke, not expecting Steve to actually listen, but he’s at your side within a second. “Step back, let Steve handle her.” 

“What–”

Steve motions for you to move, so you reluctantly do as you’re told. Once you’re out of the way, Steve claps his hands, stretches out his neck, and then begins to aggressively shake the vending machine. 

“That is so not what you’re supposed to do–”

Suddenly the bag drops down from the hook and into the retrieval slot. Steve reaches inside, grabs the bag, and then dangles it in the air. “Tada!” 

You laugh and grab the bag from him. “Okay, I’ll admit, that was impressive.” 

“What can I say? I’m charming like that.” 

“Sure,” you smile at him, neither of you have moved yet. He’s still standing in front of you with that cocky smile on his face that’s slowly started to warm on you. You truly do understand why so many girls have fallen for him. If you ever saw Steve on the street, a stranger passing by, you’d fall a little bit in love with him yourself.

The thought startles you. “Well, uh…”

“Yes?” Steve raises his eyebrows at you, smiling. 

“Thank you for the chips. The kids haven’t eaten anything in hours, so…” You wave the three bags in your arms. “Gotta keep 'em fed.”

“Wait a second, there’s only three bags there. Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

“I only had enough money for the boy’s chips.” You say, feeling suddenly sheepish. “It’s fine, though. I’ll just eat a few pieces from them and wait until we get home.”

Steve scoffs. “Yeah, no.”

You frown at him, confused as he rustles through his jean pocket and pulls out his wallet. “I don’t want your money–”

He doesn’t listen and simply puts the cash into the vending machine and punches in a few numbers. Slowly, one by one, multiple different bags of sweets and chips come falling down within the machine. Once the last one has dropped, Steve bends down and offers the huge stash to you. 

“A feast, on me.” He winks at you and you can’t help but blush. 

“T–thanks, I guess.” You now carefully balance the rest of the snacks in your arms, the mound almost blocking your view. You’re not sure how much Steve just paid, but with all these snacks you and the kids will surely be well fed. 

Steve shrugs, and if you weren’t so tired you’d think the blush on his face was a real one. “It’s the least I can do, all things considered.”

His words give you pause. You know he’s referencing earlier today, back in the alley where fists slammed against skin and he had dragged you away from your best friend, but the memory feels like years ago. So much has happened since then, Steve has saved your life since then. 

“Steve…” Your ankle is starting to sting again from standing for so long, so you adjust your footing and try to figure out what you want to say. “I never got to thank you back at Jonathan’s.”

“Thank me?” His face scrunches in confusion in a sickeningly cute way that it almost distracts you.

“Yes. You saved my life tonight, Steve. I won’t ever forget that.” 

“Oh…There’s no need to thank me. I mean, what are friends for?” Steve freezes and clears his throat. “I mean, shit. We aren’t friends, you keep saying that. Sorry. You know what I mean.”

You know you shouldn’t, but you laugh. Honestly, after everything you’ve been through tonight with Steve, how can he possibly think the two of you aren’t friends?

“Why are you laughing?” Steve mumbles, confused. 

“Sorry,” you wheeze out, still uncontrollably laughing. “It’s just–I mean, dude! We almost died together, of course we’re friends now!”

“We are?” He looks like a little kid on Christmas day being given the gift he’s always wanted.

Your heart warms. “Yes, idiot.”

Steve starts moving around in what you can only guess is a happy dance. “Sweet! Does this mean I get a cool nickname, too?”

“A nickname?” A bag of chips threatens to fall from your arms, but Steve catches it before it can land on the ground and takes a few more snacks off of your hands. 

He readjusts the snacks he now has so that he can carry them easier. “Yeah, I mean. Byers has one, why can’t I?”

You don’t think you’ll ever stop feeling so thrown every time Steve mentions a small detail about you that he’s somehow come to notice. He has a habit of doing that, surprising you by how much he seems to pay attention to you. You thought that no one ever had before, but Steve continues to prove you wrong. 

“I’ll tell ya what,” you begin to walk back towards the waiting room, careful to step carefully to not drop anything or upset your ankle. “Let’s see how this ‘friends’ thing works out, then I’ll decide what nickname fits you best. Deal?”

Steve thinks for a moment and follows. “Hmm. I don’t know, I think I’ll need some type of precaution to make sure you give me a nickname in the end. I want one, Y/N. I’m so serious right now.”

You laugh at his pleading tone. “I can add you to my baking list. Whatever I bake, you’ll get a piece of it. Is that better?”

“God, yes!” Steve punches the air and cheers. 

You’re smiling so much that your face aches. You haven’t felt this light and carefree in so long, you’d almost forgotten what it’s like. The two of you don’t say anything else as you walk back to the waiting room, though Steve seems to slow down so that you don’t hurt your ankle keeping up, though you still let out a few winces and groans.

When you’ve arrived back at your seat, Steve sets down the snacks and runs off without another word. You’re confused by his sudden departure but don’t think much of it. Instead, you wake the boys up and show them your array of snacks, which wakes them up immediately. 

You’re mediating a fight between Mike and Lucas over who gets the bag of Chips Ahoy when a nurse interrupts. “Excuse me, ma’am. This young man over here told me I should come over and check out your ankle?”

The woman smiles and you look past her and see Steve sheepishly waving from his seat across from you. You’re stunned. Had he really gone out of his way to ensure your ankle gets treated?

You shake the thoughts out of your head and inform the woman all she needs to know. You tell her how you’d fallen and what type of pain you feel when you stand up. She inspects the ankle, her fingers cold but kind, and within a few minutes has diagnosed you with a sprained ankle. 

“All you can really do is stay off of it for a few weeks while it heals. I can go and get you some crutches, if you’d like?” She asks, rolling her gloves off and tucking them back into her pocket.

You nod. “If you wouldn’t mind, that’d be great.”

The nurse leaves with the promise of being back soon. In the meantime she instructs you to keep your ankle elevated, so you prop it against the coffee table and wait. You’re annoyed that you even have to have crutches, but then you think of Barb, of El. You’re luckier than you should be. 

– 

After an hour or so, Jonathan opens the door to the waiting room. He spots you and Mike talking softly with each other and whistles over to catch your attention. When Mike looks up, Jonathan nods at him and the boy scrambles out of his seat. 

“Guys! Guys! He’s up, Will is up!” Mike shakes awake Lucas and Dustin, who had been cuddling on the seats fast asleep. “Will’s up!”

Once they’re awake, they quickly follow after Mike and the three boys are gone in an instant, sprinting down the hall towards Will’s room. Clearly they’re eager to see their friend. 

You do your best to get up as fast as possible, but your new crutches serve more as a nuisance rather than an aid. As you struggle to get up, somehow knocking over the mountain of snacks, Steve rushes over. 

He grabs the crutches and offers you his hand. “Here, careful.”

“Thanks,” you awkwardly accept his hand and get up. Jonathan watches from the doorway, a curious look on his face. Nancy does the same from her seat, not saying a word as she watches Steve gently help you navigate the waiting room with your injury. 

Jonathan holds the door open for you and takes over once you’re out the door. He grabs the crutches from Steve and is now the one to hold your hand, balancing you. “I can take it from here, Harrington.”

“Right, yeah.” Steve scratches the back of his head and coughs. “I’ll just… yeah.” 

He heads back inside and you and Jonathan watch as he leaves. As soon as he’s out of earshot, Jonathan turns to you. “Are you two friends now or something?”

“We almost died tonight, bee. I think it’s safe to call Steve a friend now.”

Jonathan bites his lip, though there’s a far off look in his eye that leaves you feeling like you’ve missed something in the conversation. “Guess that’s true. Anyways, let’s get you to Will.”

By the time you make it to the room, the boys have swarmed around Will and are telling him everything he’s missed this week. He’s listening eagerly as they’re telling him about El, but when he sees you enter the room, his eyes light up and he tries to sit up. 

“Y/N!” Will calls out, pure excitement in his voice. 

You practically fall over in your haste to get to him. The second you’re close enough, you collapse onto his bed and give him the tightest hug you possibly can without hurting him. He feels so small against you, smaller than he’s ever felt before, and his sunken eyes and pale skin make you want to cry. 

But he’s alive and here and in your arms once again, happy and wonderful and safe. 

“Little bee,” you try not to cry, but tears are thick in your voice. “I missed you.”

Will manages a weak smile and shrugs, trying to play off the gravity of the situation. “Took a little detour home.” 

You laugh and ruffle his hair. “At least you came home, that’s all that matters.”

“Ahem,” Mike obnoxiously clears his throat, effectively ending your moment with Will. “You’re hogging Will, move over.” 

You laugh again and move away, allowing the boys to resume their millions of updates. You maneuver your crutches and walk over to Jonathan, who is standing by the door. He’s looking at the boys and Will with a soft smile on his face and you join him, standing side by side as you watch your boys finally come together again. 

Then, you feel a pair of eyes on you and you turn around. Nancy is leaning against the doorway behind you; she looks frail and distraught. There’s a sadness in her eyes as she watches the kids. You know that watching the boys reunite with their friend must remind her of Barb. She never got her happy reunion. 

You feel awful for the girl, so when her bittersweet smile drops and she turns to leave the room, you nudge Jonathan to make him aware of the situation. He sees her fleeing and begins to follow after her, but he stops. 

“What are you waiting for? Go.” You tell him, knowing it’s for the best. 

He shifts his weight, uncertain. “Are you sure?”

You’re not sure how to decipher the hidden meanings underneath those three words, but you find that you’re exhausted trying to keep reading between the lines. The feelings you’ve kept buried bubble to the surface, but you remind yourself that he loves Nancy, despite your weird moments of almost with him. There’s something there between you and Jonathan, you both can feel it, but it feels too raw and fragile to bring into the light. 

Without having to ask, you know that Jonathan will choose her. 

It breaks your heart, but you look over at Dustin and Will, who are laughing about some joke while Joyce gazes at them fondly, and you know that you can’t lose this. Maybe Jonathan knows this, too. The small family you’ve built together, it’s too precious to ruin. 

Joyce and your boys, you can’t lose them. They’re yours, and Jonathan is yours in a way that you can’t quite keep to yourself forever, but for now it’s enough. You approach Joyce, grab her hand and give her a tired smile, and the smile she returns to you reminds you that this is more than enough for you. 

You turn to Jonathan, pushing down your feelings once more in favor of appreciating the fact that Will is looking at you again, alive. “Go, bee.” 

Jonathan gives you one last look. You study his face for a moment, watching as it shifts from confusion, to hurt, then finally into acceptance. You’ll never be sure of what exactly he’d been thinking in that moment, but it seemed to have been enough for him, too.

He smiles, lets out a deep breath, and then leaves.

The door closes softly behind him. 

– 

A month later you find yourself in the passenger seat of Jonathan's car, tired from your shift at Bookstrordinary but excited to pick up your brothers. Somehow, even after missing three consecutive shifts last month, Mrs. Waters refused to fire you. 

But Jonathan? He hadn’t been so lucky. His boss fired him from the Hawk, but he hadn’t been too upset. He still drives you to and from work, so you suppose things could be worse. 

It’s late, but the two of you take your time driving to the Wheeler’s. Nothing much has changed between you two following Will’s reappearance. Sure, maybe you’re at his house more just to make sure Will is adapting well, but besides that everything seemed to go back to normal. 

Well, almost normal. 

Steve appeared at your job a few days after your conversation in the hospital. He had surprised you when you walked in, and when you asked what he was doing in a bookstore, Steve simply shrugged and said, “You can’t figure out my nickname if we don’t hang out, right? So, I’m here.”

He had become a regular at the store, stopping by whenever he could, and slowly the two of you became good friends. You’ve come to enjoy Steve’s presence, something that you never thought would ever happen. But he keeps you company as you work, he wanders around and explores the comics and books you recommend to him, and it’s nice having someone to goof off with. 

Plus, you did promise to add him to your baking list, so he’s also become your taste tester who happily eats any creation you bring in for him.

As for Nancy…

That was more of a sore subject for Jonathan. 

There was a few weeks following Will’s reappearance that you thought Jonathan and Nancy would get together, but it never happened. You’re not quite sure why, maybe it had something to do with Jonathan’s hesitation of approaching her, but it had crushed him when you and he saw Nancy and Steve making out in the hall as if nothing bad had ever happened. 

The way Jonathan’s face crumbled when he saw the couple only solidified that he’d never be yours, but you comforted him anyways. You told him he deserved better and then dragged him away. It’d taken him a few days, but eventually Jonathan was able to fake a smile again. 

You haven’t spoken about it since that day, but you leave your window open most nights for him to crawl in. The nightmares from that night fighting the monster plague you both, and the loneliness feels a little heavier than usual, but at least you have each other. 

“Jonathan! Y/N! Come in, the boys are downstairs.” Mrs. Wheeler answers the door, letting the two of you in. “And Y/N, I love that sweater on you.”

You thank the woman. “It was a gift from my mom. She claims I need to up my wardrobe, whatever that means.”

“Well, I think she has lovely taste.” 

“I’ll let you know you think so!” You open the basement door and motion for Jonathan to go down first. 

When he reaches the bottom of the steps, Jonathan makes a face. “Woah, what’s that smell? Have you guys been playing games all day, or just farting?”

“My vote is farting.” You say, hopping down the last step. Your ankle has mostly healed by now, but sometimes if you land on it wrong it makes a weird clicking noise followed by some pain, but you choose to pretend that it’s normal. 

The boys laugh and Lucas points at your brother. “Oh, that’s just Dustin. He farted.”

He begins making fart noises with his mouth and you and Dustin share a look. “Very mature, Lucas.”

The boy continues to sing and make fart noises and you can’t believe that this is your life. You’re standing in a smelly basement while picking up your stubborn brother all while simultaneously enjoying the fact that you get to call this your life. 

Jonathan calls over to Will to grab his things, so you follow suit and gently berate Lucas. “Alright, that’s enough. I gotta get Dustin home.”

“What, I thought I got to stay–”

“Jonathan is our ride and I made cookies, so let’s go.”

The moment the word “cookies” leaves your mouth, Dustin hops up and collects his things without any further argument. 

Once he’s ready, he and Lucas play wrestle as they say goodbye. While they’re distracted, you walk over to Mike and discreetly hand him a container full of double fudge brownies. You’d specifically made them for him, knowing they were his favorite, because you noticed how hard it’s been for him to adjust to El being gone. He really cared about her, anyone could see that. 

Mike’s eyes widen and he throws his arms around you. “Thanks, Y/N.”

You pat his back. “Anytime, Wheeler.”

Dustin breaks away from Lucas and runs up the stairs, so you take that as your cue to leave. 

Upstairs, Jonathan and Will are talking to Mrs. Wheeler. When they see you enter, the woman turns to you and asks if you’ll be bringing over your usual round of holiday treats. “Of course, I’ll get started on them tomorrow. You guys still like the sugarbread cookies?”

“If you make them, I think I’ll die of happiness.” Mrs. Wheeler informs you, and you laugh and tell her that you’ll have them ready as soon as possible. 

You bid her goodbye, Dustin now by your side, and you follow Jonathan and Will to the front door. Right before you open the door, Nancy calls Jonathan’s name from the top of the stairs. 

“Hey, Jonathan, wait up!” 

You, Dustin, and Will stand awkwardly in the back while Nancy hands Jonathan a wrapped gift and wishes him a merry Christmas. They share an awkward exchange since Jonathan hadn’t gotten her anything, but Nancy assures him that it’s fine. The interaction is painful to watch as Nancy doesn’t spare you a single glance. Dustin and Will look at you uncertainly when she kisses Jonathan’s cheek, but you ignore them and pretend to be interested in a Christmas decoration on the table.

This will never get any easier. 

“You ready?” Jonathan turns back to you guys, a blush on his face, and all you can do is silently nod. 

In the car you sit in the back with Dustin, who squeezes your arm in reassurance. He’s come to understand your complex feelings for Jonathan and has pieced together Nancy’s involvement. While he’s never outright consoled you, he’s shown his support in other small and wonderful ways. 

“Thanks,” you whisper, and Dustin smiles. 

“We all buckled up?” Jonathan asks as he starts up the car. 

“Yes, captain.” You mock salute. 

Will giggles at you before he sees the gift and looks up at Jonathan. “Can I open it?”

“Yeah, sure.” 

You and Dustin lean forward so you can see what’s in the box. When Will unwraps a beautiful, and no doubt expensive, camera, you gasp. The bitterness and hurt from moments ago vanishes. This gift is from Steve, you know it is, and something warm settles deep within your bones. 

You think about last month, how you’d told him not everyone can just afford a camera. 

Seems like Steve listened. 

Maybe he isn’t so bad after all. 

– 

A week later you knock on the Byers’ door, a giant container of your annual holiday cookies in your arms. 

“Bug!” Jonathan answers the door with an excited smile on his face. His new camera is in his hands and before you can even process what’s happening, he’s already taken a photo of you with your crooked earmuffs and oversized box of cookies.

He’s been using the camera ever since he got it. There’s now multiple pictures of you, always unaware or caught off guard, now hanging in the kitchen. It makes you blush to think about. 

“You didn’t even give me a chance to smile.” You complain, shoving your way inside. It’s snowing and you’re freezing. 

Joyce grabs the container to help you as soon as she sees you. “Here, honey. I’ve got it.”

You thank her and walk over to Will, who is drawing at the kitchen table. “Hey little bee. Whatcha drawing?”

“Hi, Y/N.” He slides over his picture and you’re shown a quick sketch of you and the party, this time fighting what appears to be a misshapen dog. “It’s a Dire Wolf, we’re fighting it in our latest campaign.”

“Ah, I see. Looks fluffy, though. Can’t possibly be a dangerous creature.”

Will rolls his eyes at you. “This is why you don’t play with us.”

“Careful, you’re sassing the girl who has just bravely ridden her bike through the snow to deliver her famous Christmas cookies.”

Will is out of his seat in an instant, running over to his mom, who has just placed the container on the counter. “Did you make the oatmeal raisin cookies?”

“Duh,” you snort. 

“And the chocolate chip?”

“I sure did.” You stand next to him and point at a new cookie you’re trying out this year. “This batch is a caramel banana one. Steve seemed to like it and I think it’s pretty good, so I hope you do too.”

Jonathan swoops over and kisses your head. “Of course we’ll like it, bug.”

“He’s right, you know. We always love whatever you make us, honey.” Joyce informs you, her mouth now full of cookies. 

“I’d hope so, this is like my fifth year making these for you guys. It’d be awkward if you hated my baking.” You say, now securing your earmuffs back on your head. “Anyways, I should get going. It’s Christmas, my mom won’t want me out too long.” 

Joyce looks out the window and frowns. “Did you really bike here in this weather?”

“It wasn’t too bad, I’ll be fine–”

“No. Jonathan, grab your keys and drive Y/N home.” She stares you down, daring you to argue with her, but you don’t. You know better than to argue with Joyce Byers. 

Once Jonathan has his keys, you say goodbye to everyone and wish them a merry Christmas. Jonathan throws your bike in his trunk and soon you’re off on the road. The drive is quiet but cozy. The snowflakes fall in a pretty spiral and there’s a soft song playing on the radio. 

Sometimes, if you close your eyes, you can pretend that the events from last month never happened. Will never disappeared. You never discovered that you love Jonathan. Nancy Wheeler never became friends with Jonathan, possibly something more had there been more time. When you close your eyes and sit still, you can imagine that your brother never has nightmares that wake him up screaming. That your heart doesn’t hurt when you make your best friend laugh. 

For a moment, you can forget. 

“Can we always stay like this?” You ask Jonathan softly, almost as if you’ll disturb the peace that winter has brought with its quiet snow. 

“Like what?”

You’re not sure how to express what you’re feeling. “This, us. Together.”

“Of course we’ll always stay like this.” He grabs your hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. He says this like it’s a fact, the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Pinky promise me.” You hold your pinky up. You know it’s silly, but you need him to hear you, to understand what you’re saying.

Jonathan looks over at you. “Y/N–”

“Please, promise me, bee.”

He’s silent for a moment, seeming to understand the weight of everything between, around, and within the two of you. Then, he extends his pinky finger and wraps it around yours. “I promise, bug.” 

And you believe him.

[END OF SEASON 1]

-

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[sluttywoozi]

Middle Of The Night | Geonwoo x reader

Summary: Ever since the incident at the cafe, you've been having nightmares. One night, you get up for a glass of water and find that you're not the only one having trouble sleeping.

Rating: T | WC: ~2k

AN: no spoilers beyond ep 1, reader lives w geonwoo and his mom and works at the cafe, was present for events of end of ep 1

Warnings: mention of canonical violence, insomnia, nightmares

You wake with a start, your heart racing and your brow damp with sweat as images of shattered glass and a broken, bleeding Geonwoo race through your mind. It’s been a few weeks now since the incident with the loan shark, but you’re still feeling the effects. You close the cafe before dark, and you don’t walk home unless Geonwoo or Woojin are there with you. You don’t like loud noises, or shiny black SUVs, or being in a room with too many men. 

You’re also having trouble at night, and you’re starting to think Geonwoo is too. He seems haunted, hunted, like he has to look over his shoulder all the time but doesn’t have the energy to do so because he’s sleeping with one eye open. 

It’s showing in the ring and at home. He’s been training at all hours of the day, losing sparring matches to Woojin, coming home with bruises he should have blocked. He’s losing focus during conversations, his smiles don’t reach his eyes the same way, and he even declined the last rolled omelet last night at dinner, which is what really tipped you off that whatever is wrong with him won’t fix itself. 

You don’t know if you can fix it, but you owe it to Geonwoo to try. 

For now, you’ll rub the sleep out of your eyes and try to calm your pounding heart before sliding to the edge of the bed and staring into the darkness. This is your routine ever since Geonwoo got hurt and the nightmares started, not that it really works to soothe you at all. You wish you could talk to him and see if he’s going through the same thing you are, but if he is sleeping, you don’t want to wake him. 

You do want some water, so you step into your house slippers and make your way to the kitchen as silently as you can. You normally don’t get up after a nightmare, just sit there in the quiet dark until your brain stops showing you that night, but you’re feeling parched. 

As you tiptoe down the hallway, you notice Geonwoo’s door is shut. He always keeps it open at least a crack, just in case you or his mom need anything, so it’s odd that it’s fully closed. Your hand hovers in front of the wood, your ears straining to hear anything over the white noise of the city. You’re just about to leave when you hear it. 

A hiccup, a rush of air, and then a deep, stuttered inhale, like soundless sobbing. 

“Geonwoo?” You ask as softly as you can, not wanting to startle or alarm him. 

“Mm?” 

Pushing the door open gently, you peek inside. 

He’s sitting on the bed with his back to you, his shirt damp with sweat and his head hung low. You can see the shuddered breaths he’s taking in, see the wetness of tears on the cheek he’s got turned toward you, and you feel a new fault line form in your heart. 

“Can I come in?” 

He hesitates for just a second before nodding, just long enough for you to see that he might be worse off than you thought. The Geonwoo you know would have jumped up, opened the door for you, and waited for you to settle on the bed before sitting a more than respectable distance away from you. He’d be smiling, and bright, and happy, and tired because you’d woken him up, not because he’s not sleeping. 

This Geonwoo isn’t smiling. His eyes are sunken, the corners of his mouth downturned, his frame weighed down by lingering aches and a memory that won’t leave him. 

He’s not meeting your gaze either, his back still turned to you and his fingers squeezing the sheets so hard his knuckles are pale in the moonlight. You walk toward him slowly, rounding the bed and kneeling before him to find his eyes. 

They’re watery and hollow when they finally meet yours, red like he’s been crying for hours and puffy like he hasn’t slept in days. You hate to see him like this, especially when he’s still acting like he’s fine, good even, during the day. 

“Do you wanna talk?” You ask, though you’re sure you can guess the answer. Geonwoo just shakes his head quickly, rocking forward like he can’t stand to not be moving. 

“Do you want me to leave you alone?” 

The head shake comes faster this time, one of his hands reaching for yours where they rest on your thighs. You give it to him, ignoring the sweatiness of his palm and focusing on how cold it is. He must have been out of bed for hours now, maybe since everyone turned in, and with how chilly it is in the apartment, he must be freezing. 

After contemplating the situation, you decide warming Geonwoo up is your first priority. He doesn’t seem to want to let go of your hand, so you rise to your feet and sit next to him on the bed. He leans into you, his shoulder brushing yours and a shiver traveling through his body when he feels how warm you are. 

“Why don’t we lay down? Just for a little while,” you offer, begging him in your mind to say yes. 

You can see the gears turning in his head as he thinks about it. It seems to be a difficult decision, and you wonder what all there is for him to consider but let the seconds pass in silence, knowing he’s likely to close up more if you ask. Geonwoo has never been particularly touchy with you, always sticking to pats on the shoulder and smiles instead of hugs, and you’re not sure why. Him reaching for your hand was out of character, and him leaning into you is even odder, but you can’t say you mind, especially if it gets him under the covers and out of this cool air. 

“Okay,” he agrees quietly, his voice shaky and his hands even more so as he stands and lifts the duvet for you. 

Confused, you climb in and accept the blanket he carefully lowers onto your body. You watch him walk around to the other side, the one closer to the door, and keep your limbs to yourself as he gets into bed next to you. 

It’s weird, you admit, to be close to him like this. To be in the same bed as him, ensconced in the same blankets, resting on the same mattress. You think you like it though, like how he smells and how he feels, even with how cold he is. He’s like a statue beside you, as stiff as he was when you first met, but just like then, you’ll let him relax on his own time. 

He’s not touching you but you can still feel his muscles untense one by one, his hand finding yours under the duvet and holding tight. You glance over to find him staring at the ceiling, his tears dried up and his face smoothed out. 

Smiling softly to yourself, you let your eyes close, the feeling of Geonwoo’s hand wrapped around yours anchoring you to the bed and to the present. 

Your sleep is dreamless, and when you wake, your hand is still in his. 

. 

The next night, the same thing happens. 

You shoot upright, your body in fight or flight mode, your eyes wildly taking in the room around you to remind yourself that you’re at home with Geonwoo and Soyeon, not at the cafe surrounded by men with pipes. 

You don’t bother sitting in the dark, just get up and stumble to Geonwoo’s room, the wood cold under your feet and the chilly air sparking goosebumps. You wait outside the door, holding your breath so you can listen for sounds, hoping at the same time that he’s asleep and awake. 

Awake, Geonwoo can help you. Asleep, he’s helping himself. 

You catch that telltale breath pattern and knock, your heart in your throat as you wait. He doesn’t keep you long, a hushed, “Come in,” just barely reaching you through the door. 

He’s still in bed, the heels of his palms pressed to his eyes and the blankets tangled up in his legs like he’s been running in his sleep. He shifts up to sit as you enter the room, folding his hands in his lap and crossing his legs to make himself smaller. You’ve noticed he does that around you, shrinks himself as if you could ever even think to be scared of him. Geonwoo hurts none but those who deserve it, and even then you know he still feels guilty sometimes for doing what he must. 

“Can’t sleep?” He asks softly, his gaze open and nowhere near as glassy as last night. 

You shake your head, playing with the hem of your shirt as you try to muster up the courage to ask for what you want. You’re sure he’ll say yes, but it’s difficult to make yourself vulnerable enough to speak the words. 

“Stay with me?” 

You nearly stumble over your feet in your haste to get into the bed, his hands smoothing the blankets out and lifting them for you to slide under. It’s silent for a few ticks, just the hum of the city and your breathing breaking up the quiet night, until you roll to your side to face him. 

He copies you, tucking his hands under his head and bending his knees, the position so sweet for someone so large. You both stare for a while, communicating wordlessly the pain and fear of that night. His eyelids start to flutter, his breaths growing deeper and his body relaxing, and it’s not long before you relax too. 

You wish you could hold his hand, but they’re folded beneath his head and you don’t want to disturb him, not when he’s so obviously on the verge of slumber. Being close to him is enough, his presence soothing you like nothing else. 

You’re asleep before you know it.

.

You blink awake to sunlight on your face and Geonwoo’s hand in yours. He’s still curled up and facing you, his seemingly only movement in the night being to take your hand. 

You lay there and just stare, for a while. Taking in the freckle on his nose and the lines in his plush lips, just barely feeling his breaths from the foot or so you are from him. You feel so calm, so peaceful next to him in the cool light of day. 

His eyes move beneath his eyelids, his hand flexing in yours, and you wonder what he’s dreaming about. You hope it’s something good, something safe and happy, but you’ll be here for him if it’s the opposite. 

You’ll be here for him from now on, now that you know he’s been hiding his pain from both you and his mom like this. You’re sure he didn’t want to worry or burden you, or maybe he thinks admitting that he needs help is a sign of weakness, but whatever it is, you’re not going to let him keep it from you anymore. 

Geonwoo’s hand squeezes yours, making your gaze and your focus snap back to him. He’s awake, and he’s staring at you. 

“Did you sleep well?” He rumbles, his voice scratchy and deep with sleep. 

“Yeah,” you smile, “For the first time in a while. You?”

He shyly grins back and hums, looking down at your entangled hands and brushing his thumb over yours. His grin fades, a somber look replacing the soft warmth. 

“Please don’t tell my mom what you saw,” he whispers, “I don’t want to worry her even more.”

“I won’t, of course, I won’t. But will you do something for me?” 

Taking in a deep breath, he nods, his hand tensing in yours and his eyes attentive. 

“Don’t suffer by yourself anymore. I’m here. I didn’t experience what you did but I watched it happen, and if you won’t talk to your mom, at least talk to me, please,” you implore him, your mind going back to the tears on his cheeks and the hollowness in his gaze.

You don’t recognize the look in his eyes or the slow, sweet half smile that rises to his lips, but you know you like them both. 

[holylulusworld]

Forbidden Lust - Kinktober 5

Summary: Your stepmother is the worst. But her fiancè is worth your time.

Rating: Explicit

Kinktober Special: homewrecker kink

Square filled Square 7 for @anyfandomkinkbingo​: Office Sex

Pairing: Stepdad(CEO)!Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader

Warnings: cheating, angst, jealousy, awful stepmother, sexual tension, smut, unprotected sex, quickie, kinda stepcest (they are not related by blood), dirty talk, possessive Bucky, homewrecker kink

A/N: Please be aware of the warnings. This kink is not for everyone. Also, there is more plot than expected.

Words: 2,3 k

Kinktober 2022

AFG KINK BINGO masterlist

“Another one?” you ask the blonde eyeing your colleague up and down. He dips his head as you clear your throat to get his attention. “Do you want another drink? You know, my colleague is not on the menu.”

“Engagement parties, I hate them,” he turns his back on the people at the party to look at you. “So, you’re working here or-“

“What does it look like? I’m not here to get a massage,” rolling your eyes you turn around to get a new bottle of whiskey. “Do you want another drink or not?”

“Why would anyone celebrate their engagement at a bar?” 

“How shall I know?” you shrug. “I’m just trying to do my job and go home when my shift is over. If you want to know why she came here to celebrate her engagement, ask my stepmother.”

“Stepmother?” that picked the man’s interest. “The bride is your mother?”

“Stepmother,” you correct. “I haven’t seen her since my dad’s burial. No, wait. It was right after the lawyer read the will of my father.”

“Why are you working at a bar if your dad was…rich?”

“Well, she got all of his money, the company, and the house. I didn’t want his money or shit, it just hurts that he didn’t think of me at all,” while you wipe the counter, the man frowns deeply. 

“That’s shit.”

“That’s life. She spread her legs for my father for three years and gets everything. I was his daughter all my life and must work three jobs to pay back my student loan. English literature, what a waste of time.”

“Not to me,” he offers. “Uh-name’s Steve. Steve Rogers.”

While the man in front of you holds out his hand, you look around the crowded bar to watch your stepmother get cozy with her newest conquest. Another wealthy man. 

“Y/N be a darling and make some more drinks for my friends,” your hands ball into fists when your stepmother steps toward the bar counter. She batts her eyelashes and purses her lips. “And hurry up. They are not some of your little friends, living on beer and cheap food.”

“Dot,” your stepmother’s fiancé joins her and the blonde at the bar counter. “Do we get more drinks soon or-?” he licks his lips as his eyes land on you. “Steve, I wanted you to get more drinks, not flirt with the bartender.”

You eye the man up and down. He’s wearing a dark blue suit and matching tie. His polished shoes cost more than all of your shoes, and you are fairly sure, he’s wearing even more expensive underwear.

His blue eyes drop to the drink in the blonde’s hand. “I’m thirsty. Bartender, be a doll and give me one of these too.”

He flashes you a smile, making his blue eyes sparkle. You bet he’s the kind of guy always getting his way only by smiling at people. Not tonight.

“Sorry, my shift is over,” you drop the towel onto the counter. “You can wait for my colleague, or, how about you ask my beloved stepmother? She was a waitress before she met my dad and got her greedy hands on his money.”

“She was joking, Jamie. Y/N is just jealous I found love again,” she stammers. “I never was a waitress.”

“Of course, love,” Bucky sighs as he watches you storm toward the back of the bar. “Maybe she just needs time to adjust. We could invite her for dinner.”

“Buck, I’m getting a terrible headache. I’ll find my way out,” the blonde says.

“Steve, wait,” Bucky watches his best friend and best man leave the bar. He knows Steve doesn’t like Dot. “Come on. Don’t be like that.”

“Do you,” Steve turns around to whisper in Bucky’s ear, “know anything about your soon-to-be wife but how she sucks your cock? Did you know that she got all the money, the house, and shit from her latest husband? Did you know that his daughter must work three jobs to get around?”

A week later, the bar you are working at…

“We are closed,” you jerk your head toward the door. “Go to one of those fancy clubs you are used to. We have nothing to offer here.”

“My friend Steve told me you were a good host,” Bucky plops down onto one of the bar stools and flashes you a smile. “Can I have a drink too? Last time you left me hanging.”

You take a moment to drink him in. He’s all casual today, wearing a Henley and jeans. God, he’s gorgeous. That bastard got it all. The looks. The smile. The eyes. 

If only he didn’t want to marry the woman you hate the most. 

“Why are you here?” you sigh. “I got a lot of work to do and got no time for Dot’s nonsense, or yours.”

“You don’t like your stepmother much, but she wants you to come to our wedding,” you sneer at his words. “Please don’t make this any harder for her.”

“I rather let someone stab me with a rusty knife.”

“Why are you like this?”

“Maybe you should ask her,” you turn around to get a glass for Bucky. “She came into our lives. Three years later my father dies in an accident and his lawyer tells me and his brother that he left everything to Dot. Even the company he built with his brother.”

“He loved her.”

You huff.

“Doll don’t be mad at your stepmother for things happening in the past. You should try to move on. Both of you.”

“I tried,” you slam the glass onto the counter. “She forced me to leave my home. I tried to stay away from her, while my uncle still fights her. He tries to get the company back. I gave up a long time ago.”

He looks surprised.

“She is the one not leaving me alone. Whenever she gets the chance to, she rubs salt into my wounds. Like last week. She didn’t have to rent the whole bar to celebrate her engagement party here. It was to show me she got another wealthy guy into her clutches.”

“Dot is not like that,” you roll your eyes. Of course, Bucky cannot see the ugly monster behind her pretty façade. Dot is a master at manipulating and gaslighting people.

“Believe whatever you want. Just keep me out of this shit. Dot got all she ever wanted from me and my family. I got nothing else to offer.”

You pour Bucky a drink. “That’s the first and last drink you will ever get from me. Don’t come back here.”

Another month later, the car dealer you are working at…

“Not again.”

You can’t believe Bucky followed you to your second job. He looks at the cars, scrunching up his nose. “Hello, doll. I’m looking for…a car.”

“I don’t think you want a second-hand Volvo or an old and rusty Chevy. You look more like,” you look him up and down, “Porsche, or Ferrari. These cars are for people who work for their money and need a car to get to work. Not another status symbol.”

“Why do you hate me?”

He looks you deep in the eyes, searching your face.

“I don’t hate you,” you look away. “I just don’t want to watch another man end up losing everything he has to Dot. So please, stay away from me.”

“If only you would give her a chance, she could be a good stepmother.”

You snort. “Dude, she’s like four years elder than me. She never was and never will be a stepmother to me. She’s a bitch in heat looking for another dick to ride. A wealthy dick, of course.”

“Dick, huh?” he smirks.

You put your hands on your hips and glare at him. “If you would excuse me now. I have work to do.”

“I can see that. You are an expert in working yourself up,” how you hate his stupid smirk. “How about I invite you for dinner and we can talk some more.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No!”

“Heaven help, me with this stubborn brat. I can’t believe I’m wasting my time on her,” he can only watch you storm off. Bucky can’t help but wonder how it would feel to spank your ass.

Three weeks later, your last working place. Copy room.

“No…no,” you kick the copier. “It’s the wrong day to mess with me, bitch. I give you one last chance to give me those damn copies before I kick your ass again.”

“I don’t think a copier got an ass,” snickering Bucky leans in the doorframe to watch you fight with the machine. You kick it again. “Doll, the poor machine doesn’t deserve your hatred.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I thought we can go for dinner,” he steps inside the room and kicks the door shut with his foot. “Doll, I’m talking to you.”

“I got that.”

You don’t turn around, nor do you pay attention to Bucky when he steps closer to have a look at the copier. “How about being a little friendlier?”

“How about you get lost?”

“I get why you don’t get along with Dot,” he puts his hands on your hips and whispers in your ear. “You’re both so stubborn. Maybe I can help you get along better.”

“You can get lost. I don’t want anything to do with Dot, and the catastrophe you call your wedding.”

“I bet I can change your mind,” Bucky presses a soft kiss to your neck. “I’ll be back soon, doll.”

A month later, Barnes and Rogers Inc., your new boss’s office…

“Hi, I’m Y/N Y/L/N. I’m here for the interview,” you gape at the man sitting in a swivel chair. “You’ve got to be shitting me!”

“Welcome to Barnes and Rogers Inc., doll,” Bucky grins as you start to throw insults at him. You had hoped to finally get a full-time job. You’re tired of working three jobs. “Why did you do this? I wanted a new job, not another confrontation with my past.”

“Oh, doll,” he slowly gets up from his chair to stride towards you. “I have a better plan for you. For us.” 

“US?”

He wraps one arm around your waistline, holding you close to his chest. “Us, Y/N. I want you to be a good girl now and do as I say.” Bucky whispers in your ear. “I’ll be your daddy soon. And I’ll make sure to become a very good daddy for you.”

“Get off me,” you weakly wiggle in his iron grip. “You won’t become my dad. I had a great dad.”

“He gave all of his money to Dot,” his hand moves up to your chest to give one tit a good squeeze. “He was an awful father. Let me be your daddy…” 

You make an odd noise. This is it, the moment you have been waiting for. “I don’t think so,” you only need to rile him up a little more and…

“Fucking brat.” 

He drags you toward his desk, cursing under his breath. You let him bend you over his desk. And you don’t fight him when he shoves your skirt up your waist and your panties down your legs.

You smirk.

“What do you want to do about it.”

Bucky presses one hand to the small of your back to hold you down. “I’ll show you how to behave.”

“Show me.”

“You’re not going to walk for a while.”

He kicks your legs apart. Bucky slaps your pussy, fingers running through your slicked folds. You hold your breath and try to hide you are already a dripping mess. “Slut, already so wet for me.”

You bite your tongue. 

“Got nothing to say,” two fingers prop at your entrance, waiting, lingering to cross a line. “Fine, I wanted to go easy on you.”

“Fuck you.”

“No. Fuck you.” 

Belt buckle. Zipper. Pants dropping to the ground. A symphony to your ears.

“I’m gonna fucking ruin this cunt,” Bucky curses behind you. He runs his cock up and down your folds, gathering your slick to cover his dick. “You’re going to be my good girl.”

Biting your lower lip hard enough to draw blood you feel him snap his hips into your ass, filling you in one go. He starts moving in vigor. Rough. Fast. Without mercy.

“Fucking brat.”

Bucky drags you onto his thick length, blunt nails digging into your skin. He watches his cock disappear in your body, smirking as you push back onto him.

“That’s much better. Good girl. Taking my cock so well.”

You struggle to not moan his name. He can never know you made sure he will end up fucking you over his desk. This is all you ever dreamed of and more. 

“Jamie?” Bucky stills his movement, but his cock twitches inside of your cunt. “What? Y/N?” Dot gasps as she just caught Bucky balls deep inside of you. “What are you doing?”

“Uh-what does it look like, mommy?” you lift your head to grin at her. Bucky swallows thickly as you start to clench tightly around him. He drops his eyes to your stuffed cunt as you start moving your hips to fuck yourself on his cock. “I’m fucking daddy…”

“Dot…I…uh,” Bucky tries to find the right words. “I tried to convince her to come to the wedding and realized, I prefer fucking her and not you.”

“I will destroy you, James Buchanan Barnes!” Dot storms out of the office and slams the door shut. “We are done!”

“I got everything I wanted from you, Dot,” he grips your hips to stop you from moving. “Now, will you tell me why you came all over me when Dot caught us?”

“I-I like to fuck with taken men…sometimes…”

“Well, this is over. You are mine now,” Bucky grunts. “When I’m done with you, we will make sure you’ll get all of your money, the house, and the company back…”

“Why would you do such a thing?”

“Your father was a good friend of my family for the longest time and I tried to find out what happend to him. Having my way with you was just a ... bonus...”

 Part 2

Tags in reblog.

[gavisuntiedboot]

heyyy could you please do one where you go random grocery shopping w gavi and basically just having a normal day hanging out together?? im so sorry if its very vague i just saw smth similar in my dream😭

A/N: this one has been sitting in my inbox for so so long but I never forget about any of y’all 🫶

~~~

“Why are you dressed? Where are you going?”

Gavi’s head peaked up from over the back of the couch, the show the two of you had put on still playing on the background. He had fallen asleep on your lap about an hour ago, waking up to find your hoodie clad form trying to quietly open the door.

“I’m just going to the store to get a few things missing for dinner. I was just going to let you sleep - you seem like you could use the rest, mi amor.”

Gavi sat up fully now, rubbing his eyes and stretching, the golden light of the late afternoon sun bouncing off his tanned skin. His hazel eyes were hooded as they met yours, a pout across his plump lips.

“You don’t want me to come with you?”

Fuck. He was just so adorable.

“I want you to relax on your day off. But I would love of you came with me, Pablito. Go out on one of our sweaters - it’s chilly out.”

“Our sweaters?” Pablo asked, peering at you from over his shoulder with one eyebrow raised. Over the last year, you had slowly stealing over 80% of Gavi’s clothing with sleeves, and you occasionally let him loan them back out.

“I bought all these sweaters with my hard earned money and I have to make an appointment to wear them.” Gavi came out in his dark green Zara hoodie, spraying it with 1 million by Paco Rabanne.

“It’s my ticket sales that pay that salary, so these hoodies are still mine. Come here.”

You hugged him close, deeply breathing in his cologne. You drove to the grocery store by your house, Gavi grabbing a cart and following you around the store.

You scanned the shelves, grabbing items and handing them to Gavi, who arranged them in the cart. You moved towards the sweets aisle, standing in front of the shelves and staring up at the massive selection before you. Two arms wrapped around your waist, and you felt Pablo rest his head on your shoulder.

“Should we get Cadbury eggs or Reese’s bunnies?”

He hummed to signify that he was thinking, pulling you closer against him.

“Why don’t you get both if you can’t decide?” He asked, punctuating the sentence with a kiss on your cheek. You giggled at the sensation of his lips on you.

“Noooo Pablo, we don’t want all chocolate candy. We also want some of the sour patch kids. And some skittles. And-“

“We might want to get some toothpaste as well. Are you trying to kill us with sugar?” He asked, grabbing the items from the shelves.

“Shut up. I love sweets.” You said, moving to the end of the aisle and spotting the sour patch kids at the top. You stood on your toes to grab it, shirt riding up. You felt someone pull the hem of your sweatshirt down.

“Amor, stop showing off my girlfriend to the whole store. This is private property.” Gavi said as he kissed your temple. He released you, reached up and grabbed your sweets from the shelf, and tossed them into the cart. You grabbed the cart, moving towards the fridges, and Gavi grabbed the bar as well, caging you in his arms.

You two continued to walk around the grocery store like lovesick teenagers - maybe that’s what you were. There was nothing in the world that brought you more joy than this domestic bliss. Walking around your local grocery store, telling little jokes and stories, grabbing whatever snacks tickled your fancy. Gavi kept his arms around you, giving you somewhat discrete kisses as you two continued your shopping. At the end you scanned all your items, and as you were digging in your purse, you heard the ding of Apple Pay.

“Pablo! Why did you pay for the groceries? I wanted to treat you to dinner!”

He smirked at you, grabbing the bags.

“It will be a cold day in hell when I let my girl pay for anything. Besides, amor, you’re going to cook for us.”

You smiled, grabbing the last bag that he couldn’t carry. You two got in the car, and as you drove home, Pablo continued to tell you stories about football and training, feeding you sour patch kids on the ride home. This was it. You were in love with Pablo, and he was in love with you. And it made everything, even buying groceries, feel like a magical and memorable moment that you never wanted to end.

~~~

A/N: short and sweet 🥰🥰 hope y’all enjoy, and please feel free to send requests for new imagines (or or or - as a treat for reading this far, send things you really want to see included in the next part of just pretend 🤭). Love y’all!!!

[rosiehrs]

↳ ❝ FANWARS | 60. the end (written)

word count ; 1.9k

a/n ; this chapter is SO shit, but i js wanted to finally get it out for you guys, so i apologise for the whack ending but yunyn in love!! xx

“y/n, hurry up! we need to take pictures before it starts!” jennifer yelled out eagerly from the living room. “babe, relax. we have three hours before the show starts - you seem more excited than i do.” you replied, laughing at her tactics. “y/n/n, you know how blinks are. i mean look at you - you’re a tame one and even then you’re terrifying.” 

you gave her a smile before placing a kiss on her lips. “god, alright. let’s go pick up the girls.” as you stepped out of your apartment to walk out to jen’s car - she pulled you by the arm and stopped walking. “what’s wrong?” you asked.

“i forgot to tell you.. you look so beautiful, baby.” she smiled as she placed her hands on your waist, pulling you closer to her. you felt your face warm up as you hid into her neck. “thank you, jen. you look just as stunning. honestly, even more.” she placed a kiss onto your temple and took you in one more time. “god, alright, let’s go.” she said, pulling you with her towards the car. 

yunjin started driving to eunchae’s house - where the other girls were. yunjin kept one hand on the wheel and the other hand holding yours. after many, many months together, you trusted her driving skills more and haven’t had a near death experience since the first time. however, eunchae’s house was not far from yours so you didn’t have to worry much at all.

you quickly entered eunchae’s house once yunjin parked the car. the girls were all gathered in the living room, all dressed up and clearly excited. “unnis! you’re here, you’re here!” eunchae called out, running to the both of you and bringing you into a tight hug. one by one, you greeted your friends with a large smile and a tight embrace. stepping back, you jumped up and down. “who's ready to see blackpink?”

and in return, you heard high screeches and excited chants. “let’s go, let’s go!”

“aye, do you seriously think i’m going to let you girls leave without taking a picture?” eunchae’s mum called out, jokingly glaring all of you down. giggles and smiles spread across your faces as you gathered together and she took out her phone. “smile!” 

the stadium was a 20 minute drive away from eunchae’s house and the lot of you took eunchae’s family car (more like a van, and with eunchae’s parents’ permission of course) to the venue. sakura and chaewon sat in the front with sakura in the driver’s seat. you, yunjin and hanni behind them, and eunchae, yujin and zuha in the back. 

“marriage, have you guys thought of marriage yet?” eunchae asked from the back, causing yujin to hit the younger girl with the pink, squeaky hammer. “kid, do NOT give them any ideas. next thing you know, there will be little yunjins and y/ns walking around and i do not need that for my sanity. not yet.”

you laughed, yunjin rolling her eyes at them. “manchae, does it look like i can afford to get married right now? i can barely pay off my student loans, especially after this concert.” she replied, mindlessly caressing your hand with her thumb.

“yeah, eunchae, please do not encourage them to get married now - we just sold our souls for this concert. give us a few months.” chaewon added from the front, causing all of you to laugh. 

the ‘born pink tour’ setlist was playing in the background while the rest of them continued their bickering. you leaned into hanni who happily wrapped her arms around your arm in front of her. “you okay, unnie?” she whispered, making sure only you heard her. you turned to face the younger girl and greeted her with the sweetest smile. “i couldn’t be better, han.” you placed a loving kiss on hanni’s temple, in which she squeezed your arm in return. yunjin watched the scene in awe, holding your hand tighter. your eyes met hers and you exchanged smiles. 

“we’re here, we’re here!” eunchae called out, all of you squealing in response. 

kkura struggled to find a parking spot and urged all of you to get down and find some food. all of you got out of the car, with kazuha staying back with sakura. “come on, children - i shall lead the way.” chaewon said.

the area was packed with blinks, left and right - all you saw were outfits that consisted of the colours black and pink. people were selling headbands, giving out free banners, and music blasting from outside the stadium. to say you were excited was an understatement. seeing all these people, you had only processed where you were and what you were going to be doing for the next 3 to 4 hours. 

“baby!” yunjin said, snapping you out of your trance. “come, chaewon found some food!” she took your hand in hers and dragged you along to where your friends were. “there’s definitely more food inside the stadium, so don’t worry too much about not eating enough, yeah?” chaewon reassured as she sat down, coming back from ordering. the lot of you were mesmerised by how jampacked the area was. never in your life had you seen so many people gathered in one place. 

“god, blackpink really is in our area, huh?” yujin joked. “cheesy! zero out of ten!” eunchae replied earning herself a slap on the shoulder. “bully, you’re a bully, eunchae.”

the doors had finally opened and people rushed their way through to queue up. the eight of you tightly held onto each other, trying not to get lost in the crowd. you had taken pictures in front of the stadium, the ‘born pink tour’ backdrop designated for picture taking, near the posters - anywhere and everywhere to keep the memories. after what felt like forever, you had finally gone through security. chaewon and sakura went to buy more snacks and drinks and the rest of you immediately went to find your seats. their music videos playing on the screen and their songs blasting from the speakers. you guys sorted yourselves out and finally sat down. chaewon and sakura came back with snacks and drinks - yet you guys still had an hour till the show started. suddenly, the voices of everyone in the stadium echoed together, singing along the words of ‘stay’. 

툭하면 거친 말들로 내 맘에 상처를 내놓고

with each word, the hairs on your arms and neck stood up. 

미안하단 말 한마디 없이 또 나 혼자 위로하고

you looked around, amazed by the beautiful harmony so many people were creating together. your friends started recording and joining in, singing along with the thousands of people in the stadium. 

오늘 하루도 혹시 날 떠날까 늘 불안해 해

chills only continued to go through your spine, the stadium shaking with the sound of your voices. and finally with the next line, you joined in.

I just want you to stay

you spent the next hour singing along to songs playing on the speakers, giggling with your friends and lovingly staring at yunjin. you were sandwiched between yunjin and zuha, your fellow certified blink. unexpectedly the stadium lights went off, screams immediately echoed throughout the stadium. one by one, the stadium started to fill up with bright pink lights from the lightsticks. your hair stood up at the chance of finally seeing the beautiful pink ocean. you and your friends joined in and screamed at the top of your lungs.

the vcr started to play on the screen and yunjin excitedly squealed next to you. everyone waited in anticipation but watched the screen in awe. the light on the stage lit up, showing the four girls everyone was dying to see. the screams only grew louder as they confidently walked their way down the stage. the ‘how you like that’ instrumental started to play and the crowd only grew louder. 

‘BLACKPINK IN YOUR AREA!’ you all screamed along. in a row, the eight of you were waving your lightsticks around, dancing, singing. when rosé’s line came up, you felt as if your soul had left your body. “park chaeyoung!” you screamed, causing yunjin to laugh next to you. 

the pretty savage instrumental started to play right after, jennie immediately cheering the crowd on. “you guys ready?”

with that the crowd roared.

you and your friends started to lose your voice after each song, but everyone knew it’d be over when it was rosé’s turn to perform her solo. everyone cheered loudly after jennie’s solo, lights going down.

when rosé’s name appeared on the screen and you immediately let out the most bloody scream. the orange lights went on, and you saw her on the pedestal with her mic stand,

Ain’t no magic tool to fix it

“PARK CHAEYOUNG!”

yunjin knew for the next four minutes, she wouldn’t be your lover - it would be park chaeyoung. she knew you loved her, but she knew her place next to your wife of five years. she took her phone out and recorded you screaming bloody murder for the next four minutes of her solo. chants of how much you loved her, how the men needed to back up, how she was your wife. yunjin laughed at the whole thing, also making sure to enjoy the music while paying attention to you. 

Everything I need is on the ground

the loudest screams were definitely from your section, and from you. the lights went down and you felt your body go limp. “oh my god.”

jennifer held your hand, laughing. “you good, baby?”

“did you fucking see that?! she looked and sounded so fucking good, oh my god. her outfit, and the fucking stage, did you- LALISA!”

she laughed, knowing how important every second of this was to you. you jumped as lisa danced and sang to ‘lalisa’, however you didn’t once let go of yunjin’s hand. you loved her so much and she knew that very well.

by this point, you had lost your voice. it was time for the encore and you snickered at those who had already started leaving the stadium. “what losers,” eunchae called out, causing the rest of you to laugh in agreement. 

after a few more rounds of chanting ‘blackpink’ and ‘more’, the lights went off again and the girls came back out in their tour merch and the intro of ‘yeah yeah yeah’ started playing. 

you all stood up, singing along. you and the girls were in the moment, living one of the happiest days of your lives. 

사실 난 좀 두렵기도 해

the pink ocean still amazed you and was a sight you’d never forget. the energy from the fans, from the girls - you’d remember this night forever.

또 한 번 더 사랑에 나 아플까

you looked over at your friends, jumping, singing, laughing. and in the moment, you’d never felt happier. you were with those who you loved ever so dearly, watching another group of girls who you loved ever so dearly. and finally you looked over to yunjin who already had her eyes on you. 

운명이 던진 질문 앞에

Don’t you say no, oh, oh, oh

“i love you.” you said, your voice still clear to her through the noise from the stadium. tears had built up in your eyes, the happiness and contentment in your heart filling you up. she smiled at you, squeezing your hand in hers. “i love you too.”

she lovingly placed her lips onto yours, wrapping her arms around your waist and your arms making their way to her neck.

Just say yeah, yeah, yeah

previous | masterlist

SUMMARY - yunjin (an army) and y/n (a blink) have fallen into the stereotype of not being able to get along, continuously starting fanwars- but only with each other..?

a/n - and there we have it folks! thank u sosososo much for sticking with fanwars till the end and showing it so much love. i love and appreciate every single one of you and i hope you'll continue to enjoy the things i put out in the future! <3

+ taglist !! (closed) @invusblog @yumtooki @babycubchae @fav9yu @en-chantedtomeetyou @kittyeij @captivq @elyds @skisk1 @sserafimez @silantryoo @baerinaa @lizseos @ahnneyong @diestheticu @falling-intoo-deep @misumiausworld @luvkait @lcv3lies @wonyoungsvirus @lost-leopard-beanie @doitab @dexthzone @juhyunsthirdwife @luvvbugs @huhjxn @soobstvrs @lil-tigers-world @pretty-pretty-ela @xuimhao @nshimura @kikelikesmc @cwpiqwon @j-wyoung @urfriendlylocalidiot @edamboon @eunhhh @sam-andher-tales @zuzooms @shelovedyou @mynameisnotlaura @trishatheotaku @j3nc0re @angrybananapolice

[aheathen-conceivably]

By the time the sun had fully risen, Josephine and Zelda were in Violette’s new room helping her to unpack all of her toys and dresses. The room was already outfitted with a small bed, dresser, and a dollhouse that was just like the one Violette had in New Orleans.

Violette was enchanted by it all, but most of all by the ornate Victorian dollhouse. She scurried about the room looking for her favorite dolls to unpack, her olive eyes shining as she tucked each one into the outfitted rooms rather than notice the peeling wallpaper or her aunt’s intermittent bouts of distraction.

Her own trepidations about the move had long been allayed by her mother and aunt’s reassurances that this was a land of magic. The Land of Enchantment, they had told her, the place where all her dreams could come true. How much of their hope and optimism was feigned for her sake as well as their own on that day, she was still too young to decipher.

Outside the window, Antoine was sitting with Gio on a truck that he had bought when he first moved out that way, smoking and watching the occasional Ford pass by the road that ran in front of their farmhouse. 

“So when you said find work, I should have known, I should have asked…stupid. Stupid and hopeful.”

Gio beat a pack of cigarettes between his hands, holding it out to Antoine as he spoke, “Not stupid, old sport. If I’m being honest, I should have spent the extra cents to tell you more, but part of me feared if you knew the whole truth none of you would come. Especially Jo. Just, don’t tell her about any of this, alright? It’s not like I’m trying to trick her or anything, I just know what it’s about to be like in New Orleans. A city full of dock workers with no goods? No jobs to be found and no food to grow? I’m only trying to make sure we’re safe, me and her and all of you. But I fear she won’t see it that way.”

For a moment Antoine’s anger rose for his sister, dragged out here away from her home not only by Giorgio, but by him too. He had seen her hesitation when he had first contacted Gio, but had told himself that they had few other options. Now, knowing that they had to sustain a lie just to keep her here was almost enough to make him turn around and pack his bags.

Then he thought of the way she had reacted when she had seen Giorgio yesterday, and how her own pride trumped even his own. He knew that Gio was right, that there was nothing left for them in New Orleans. But most of all he knew that Josephine would never have accepted his help willingly, and she would see his actions as a way to control her; then she would run, no matter how much she loved him.

But more than anything, Antoine remembered the last time he had left her alone and the means she had resorted to to survive. How could he protect her if she ran, if they had nowhere left to go? He looked toward the house where she was now playing with Violette, together with her family. Happy. Safe.

He quelled the protective anger growing in his chest and looked back at Giorgio, “But what about money, Gio? What about food?”

Gio took a long drag and a sharp intake of breath, “I tried for years old sport, years. I can get it to grow but it always dies before it fruits. I’ve been trading for goods and taking odd jobs, but they’re harder to find every damn day. We need to grow at least enough to eat. Enough to ensure that if the work dries up the land will give us something.”

He stared at his lit cigarette for a while before he threw it onto the ground, the dry sand immediately engulfing the remaining embers, “And if I’m being honest, I’ve got reason to believe the time’s comin’ soon. There’s migrants passing through here, Antoine, makin’ me think it’s about to get a whole lot worse. Okies, they call them. This whole business, it’s turned into a shitstorm. The farm prices tanked only months after I got here and now the land is worth less than I paid for it and the farmhouse combined. I managed to see it coming and take out a loan on it before it got too bad though, enough cash to get us through a few years. But we’ve got to move fast, make sure we’re secured before things really go south.”

Must find work, he had written. Antoine threw his lit cigarette on the ground next to Giorgio’s; now it all made sense. He had brought his family on board a sinking ship.

[jacksdinonuggets]

~Fight Nights~

Y'ALL I HAD AN IDEA AND I WROTE IT.

Summary: Vaggie has a fight with Charlie and needs comfort. However, the only other person she can run to is Carmilla

Vaggie stormed out of the hotel, angry, and on the brink of tears. She and Charlie had just gotten into a fight. They didn’t fight often so it really affected them when they did. The reason that they fought? Vaggie was suppressing her negative emotions again, therefore keeping a secret. This made Charlie pretty upset since she wanted them to have a mutual relationship and not just one protector. However, Vaggie viewed herself as someone who couldn’t show weakness so she got pretty worked up when Charlie confronted her about it. She didn’t mean to turn it into an argument. It just sort of happened.

Anyways, she just really needed comfort from someone and the only other person she could really go to was carmilla. She had been taking fighting lessons once a week with her and sometimes, she would even teach a little bit of ballet so she could learn to dance-fight. At first, they would just go back and forth with returning weapons and paying some loans and business stuff but then they started to get a bit personal. Sometimes, if Vaggie was having a bad day, Carmilla would invite her into her office and they would talk about whatever was bothering her before they practiced.

So, still slightly pissed and more emotional than ever, she walked to her warehouse that was also just her normal house. She knocked on the big metal doors, hanging her head low. Now was not the time to cry.

The doors opened after a couple of seconds and Carmilla greeted her at the door.

“Vaggie, what brings you here? It is not our normal practice day,” She questioned as she urged the girl inside. 

“I just-... I needed someplace safe to cool down. Me and Charlie had a fight,” Vaggie explained. Talking had never seemed as hard as it did at that moment. It felt like with every word she was about to break down into tears. Usually, if she was feeling like this, she would go to Charlie and the two would cuddle, spend time together, or have little time. But she couldn’t because she felt wrong for having to want comfort from the person she just fought with. It would be awkward and strange.

Carmilla sighed, “How about you meet me in my office and i’ll bring up a cup of tea. Then you can tell me all about it, ‘kay?” Vaggie nodded and started walking up the stairs. She passed the big doors that lead into the main house area and went towards the office. 

As Vaggie was waiting, she could feel her headspace teetering. It was a weird feeling to want to be taken care of and comforted by basically a stranger. But somehow she grew sort of attached to her.

When Carmilla returned, she had two cups of tea in her hand. She gave one to Vaggie, who was sitting on the couch. She nodded a thank you and took a sip. Carmilla sat next to her and put her’s on the coffee table.

“Alright, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” she prompted. Vaggie took a deep breath and began.

“Charlie had begun to notice that i was hiding my vulnerable emotions and lying whenever she would ask if i was okay. I get overwhelmed easily but I would say i was fine whenever someone would ask, just to not be seen as weak. Well, she noticed and confronted me about it. We got into this huge fight and she brought up how i haven’t regressed-” Shit, she can’t tell her that. That’s too personal. Plus, what if she thinks its weird? “Uh- I mean used this one coping mechanism in a month or two and that i was repressing it,” wow, great save there.

“Anyways, she hit a few nerves that I know she probably regrets. I said a few things I’m not proud of, but it still hurts. Its like, I really want a hug but I can’t get it because she’s the only one I have who can comfort and love me!” Vaggie spiraled. At this point, she didn’t even care that she was talking to a dangerous overlord. She just needed to rant. And rant she did.

“Would it make you feel better if I gave you a hug?” Carmilla offered. She saw how Vaggie looked as though she desperately needed one. It was like looking at a small panicking child. You just needed to help them. In a way, Vaggie reminded her of her daughters. And Carmilla reminded Vaggie of a mother in a way. Not like she’s ever known hers, being a heavenborn orphan whose only family consisted of exorcists who bullied her.

Vaggie nodded. Carmilla wrapped her arms around the small, short girl and gave a reassuring squeeze. Vaggie had never wanted to cry more than did right now. It was overwhelming. But not exactly in a bad way. She felt this strange, clingy emotion towards her. 

Carmilla was about to pull away but she felt something stopping her. Vaggie’s arms were gripping her waist like her life depended on it and she could feel something wet on her collarbone where Vaggie had her head. She hadn’t even noticed the girl start crying. But nonetheless, she rubbed her back and comforted her, just like she would with her daughters.

“Shh, it's okay, I’ve got you,” she whispered in a soothing motherly tone, the one she never uses with strangers or in combat.

Vaggie’s headspace dipped so far when those words were spoken. She felt so small, like a toddler in Carmilla’s big embrace. 

“Mama..” Vaggie mumbled into her chest. It was very muffled and quiet though.

Carmilla noticed the words spoken from vaggie and knew that the girl’s headspace had dropped. She wasn’t stupid. She knew what regression was. 

“Mama’s here, sweetie,” she gently told her.

The two hugged for what seemed to be 5 minutes until Vaggie calmed down. She didn’t want to let go though. It felt so good to feel loved.

“It seems like it’s past your bedtime, little one,” she said when they pulled apart. Vaggie pouted but was noticeably tired. It was about 9:30 and her little brain could only stay up so late.

“Come on, I’ve got a spare room you can use.” she stood up and signalled for her to follow her. However, she Vaggie was having some trouble standing. She kept falling over. Having one eye and being small didn’t mix well for balance. 

Carmila bent over and picked her up. She held her by her hip as she carried her out of the office, their tea forgotten. She walked towards the big doors that led to the main house area. When she opened the doors, Clara and Odette were sitting in the living room on the couch. They looked up to see their mother carrying the princesses girlfriend? It confused them but Carmilla mouthed ‘I’ll explain later’. 

When they approached the guest room, Carmilla was able to hold Vaggie with one hand for about a second to open the door. They didn’t have any spare pajamas so Vaggie would have to sleep in her current clothes. They didn’t seem too uncoomfortable though.

Carmila laid her down in the bed and pulled the covers over her, tucking her in.

“Wha’ bout Char-Char?” Vaggie rubbed her eyes. The big kid in her knew that Charlie would be expecting her to be home in about an hour and would definitely begin freaking out if she wasn’t home by then.

“I’ll let her know you’re staying the night,” Carmilla said in a hushed voice, “For now, its ni-ni,”

Once she was done tucking her in she turned off the lights and left, but not before cracking the door just in case Vaggie needed anything during the night. Then, she went back downstairs to explain the situation to her daughters. They seemed pretty okay with it and promised not to spread it, as Carmilla knew it was something she’d probably like to keep a secret. In the end, Carmila never expected to be the mother of three, yet here she was.

[hannya-writes]

When they save you from a brothel (Zoro Edition)

Title: The perfect Girl

Fandom: One Piece

Pairing: Zoro x Reader

Other characters: The Owner

Category: romance, adventure

Warnings: there's a Kiss! Zoro is a bit Ooc because I couldn't found a way to make this happen 😅, as before there is kidnapping and violence in this chapter, there's no smut in here, walk away, horny people!! (No wait come back!!)

Author's note: just like with Luffy, this happens 6 years in the future, so Zoro would be 27 years old, why did I wrote this in the future? Bc I thought only that way Zoro would change enough to take the decisions he does (?) Nah, I just like characters to be older! Anyways, to the story we go!

• • •

You didn't started working there because you wanted.

When you were 15 your Mother/Father were sick and you wanted to help them.

You started cleaning the floors, washing dishes, serving the woman who needed help with make up or hairstyles.

The owner of the place tried to make you work for them as a prostitute, but you didn't wanted to.

So they started to pay less, at first just some berries. But those berries lost made you unable to pay for your parent medicine.

After a month without the medicine your parent started to feel worst and worst.

And like a balm, the brothel owner offered you a loan, just the right amount for the medicine.

And you thought the owner was a good person, that you would be able to pay back. :readmore:

But one day some one robbed you and the owner give you more money.

In another occasion someone stole your clothes as it was drying in the sun, the owner gave you money to buy yourself some clothes.

You couldn't pay the owner back and somehow the loan got bigger and bigger until it became an impossible amount.

Then the owner offered a deal: You could pay working for them as a prostitute or he could turn you to the police for stealing.

That time there was no room for you to say no.

Since then they gave you a room, nice clothes and even a maiden to help you with everything you needed.

Close to no clothes, very tight clothes or the worst: Lingerie and a silk robe.

And you do what you are forced to do.

There are clients that are gentle but there are those who get violent, who creep you out, who enjoy when you say no.

It's a nightmare so you try to escape. At first you sneak out but get caught.

Then you jump from the window of your room, but the guards save you from a sure death.

When they realize that you are trying to kill yourself they start to drug you.

And that's the worst because then you can't leave, you need the drug if you don't have your dosage you start to feel ill. You feel like dying but without dying.

And then you just… give up.

Zoro

Unlike Luffy, Zoro actually had the pleasure house as his objective.

However, it wasn't to exchange his money for sex. He was only interested in the Sake. The pleasure house you were trapped in was famous because of theirs.

The thing was, the place was full of people. Men with women at each of their sides. Women with skimpy clothes and big smiles.

The bar was packed too, but he was lucky as a men decided to stand up and leave with a woman.

He took the open spot and he would have ordered sake but the bartender was too busy.

"Oh god, here comes the golden bitch" a woman commented by his side and Zoro tried to not pay attention to her

"Ugh she's the favorite but she's so arrogant, who does she think she is? Boa Hancock?" The other woman complained and suddenly he got interested, he had met the ex-shichibukai but in his opinion she wasn't as beautiful as everyone said.

He followed the gaze of the two annoyed women and saw "the golden bitch" (aka you) walking towards the bar.

Zoro had seen his fair share of women, princesses, queens, warriors, samurais, minks, giants, mermaids, etc. but in all that time he had never seen a woman quite like you.

You were elegant dressed with a black dress that accentuated your figure, with a turtleneck and window in the shape of a heart. At first sight you seemed arrogant and intimidating, but after further inspection Zoro noticed how empty your expression was.

However it was easy to overlook your expression with all that gold jewelry in your wrists, neck, ears and hair. You were so eye-catching, he even felt there was a halo around you.

'Golden bitch' he almost laughed because of the accuracy of the nickname. He turned back to look if the stupid bartender was free but to no avail "the fuck do I have to do to get some Sake?" He thought to himself.

"Excuse me" you said, taking the seat by the side of Zoro before bending over the bar, almost giving everyone around an excellent view of your ass hadn't been for the dress.

When you sat back there were three bottles of sake in your hands and a sakazuki cup on your cleavage.

"I believe this is what you want to drink," you said calmly, putting two of the bottles and the cup in front of Zoro, suddenly turning into the most beautiful woman he had ever met. "I apologize for the wait the bartender is having a hard day"

"Sure" he said as you got down from the seat with your bottle of sake "thank you" he added as you turned to look at the two women who had spoken before.

"If you two have time to bad mouth me, serve the clients and stop being a couple of common bitches" you said and Zoro actually enjoyed seeing you metaphorically bite them.

After that he poured his sake on the cup and tasted the very first sip of the famous drink.

You on the other hand walked back to the side of the room, to the owner of the pleasure house, just on time to hear someone inform him that a very important pirate was there.

The owner asked who it was and the person informing showed him a wanted poster of the man you just had helped.

Which explained everything, after all you had heard his thoughts over those of everyone else.

Some time ago you had eaten a devil fruit in hopes of getting a power to escape from the pleasure house, but all you got was a power to hear people's thoughts, desires or intentions. The more powerful they got, the louder and clearer were the voices.

Moments ago all you had been able to hear was "sake, sake, sake" and the person giving you a headache with his desire for sake had been Roronoa Zoro.

"Come on, darling" the owner told you as they took you by your hand and dragged you back to the bar. "You got a special assignment" he added as he pushed a little bottle of poison on your cleavage.

'I'll get so much money if I kill him' the owner thought to himself and you felt dread filling your body.

You didn't want to do this, not again. If Roronoa Zoro discovered you were trying to poison him he would certainly kill you.

"Don't make that face, it makes you look ugly" the owner ordered you before caressing your cheek. They disgust you, with a sigh of defeat you composed your face."That's it, much better"

The owner walked to the swordsman and introduced you, adding that you will be serving him his drinks in a room since he was one of the most wanted pirates of the world and he didn't want some marine to appear and try to stop him from having fun.

Zoro accepted without a doubt, after all a place away from all those people sounded good.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Roronoa-san" you said when you got in the room.

Zoro only hummed. not wanting to give the impression that he was interested in you since you were a prostitute. He knew that give you attention would only make you try to get physical with him.

"Do you always do this?" He decided to ask as you poured the drink for him.

"Only for very special clients" you admitted without lying since this wasn't the first time you were forced to do poison someone.

"What kind of clients?" You could literally feel his distrust, it was like a needle piercing your chest.

"Ummm…" you thought for a moment, feeling that if you lied he'll know, and you weren't wrong, Zoro was studying your face. "famous clients" you smiled but he noticed the happiness didn't reach your eyes.

"How did you know I wanted sake?" He continued and you felt a cold sensation wash down your back.

"It was a hunch, I also like sake, I know how a sake lover looks like" you lied and mixed it with a truth, you liked sake, you could recognize someone who liked it.

"Get another cup then, you'll drink with me" he decided and you looked at him surprised. He hadn't took that decision as a safety measure to avoid getting poisoned, but out of a whim. That made you giggle, he seemed invincible.

"Roronoa-san is very generous" you commented and that time when you smiled a spark of life appeared in your eyes. Zoro liked that spark of vitality, he wanted to see more.

You left for a moment and when you got back you had brought the cup and more sake.

That time Zoro poured the drinks and you took a sip that made you sigh.

"Roronoa-san, you must have many stories, would you share them with me?" You spoke to him with respect and fake admiration but so naturally he almost believed it.

"I'm not good at telling stories" he answered and he immediately regretted it since you simply accepted and drank another sip of your drink with a slightly disappointed expression.

"I met my captain the day I was going to be executed…" he started his story and was instantly rewarded with an expression of surprise and happiness on your part.

'How cute' you heard him think at some point of the story when he described his friend Chopper and you got excited.

Usually men thought you looked hot, sexy, fuckable and those kinds of things. No one saw you as someone cute, it made you blush and Zoro enjoyed the unrestrained emotion his thought had provoked.

"It's your turn" he said when he ended his story and you looked at him with a confused expression.

"My turn?" You asked frowning.

"Your turn to tell me your story, it's how it works" he explained and for a moment you got trapped in a flashback, a succession of escapes ending bad, hits, lightened cigarettes being pressed on your back only for someone of the staff to "erase" your scars with the power of a devil fruit.

"I'm afraid that will kill the good mood" you commented but since he had told you a story, you decided to humor him. "This story is not mine…" you said as you started your narration.

You were creating the story as you told it but everything made sense, it was about a Swordsman, since Zoro was one.

Zoro enjoyed the story, as you were telling it, he noticed how relaxed you were, how your vacant expression came alive every now and then.

"You are good at telling stories" he praised you making you blush again.

"Thank you" you answered with a smile that made Zoro's ears turn red, how were you doing that? How were you managing to get all of his attention?

"Could you tell me another story, Roronoa-san"

"Sure, why not?" He said and noticed how you leaned forward on the table expectantly.

"Wait, Roronoa-san, I'll go for more sake" you interrupted him moments later as he told you about Enies Lobby, he nodded and you left in a hurry wanting to hear more.

"What is taking so long?" The Owner asked you when he saw you in the kitchen.

"He asked me to drink, I can't poison him" You explained and the man slapped you across the face.

"Stop being useless and find a way" he said angry and left you there.

When you got back to Zoro it was with a tray in your hands that had three bottles of Sake and a plate of snacks you ordered to poison.

"What happened?" He asked the moment you crossed the threshold.

"I'm sorry I took so long…" you started to apologize but Zoro wasn't listening, his gaze was on your cheek. In the small amount of time he had seen you, you had shown to be a level headed, smart and elegant woman who didn't bother anyone… So, who had slapped you and why?

Fuck, why was he so fucking angry about it? Has Sanji's character rubbed off on him?

"What happened?" He asked curious, pointing at your cheek and you touched it softly

"I made a mistake" you said without thinking, touching the burning skin where you had been hit. "It's ok, I deserved it"

'no, you don't' his thought warmed your heart, it made you wonder how could such a rough looking man be so sweet.

"I thought you were the favorite" He said frowning and you laughed without happiness.

"I'm just a caprice of the owner" you said, offering him a cup full of sake that he gladly took. "I'm their precious canary, but that doesn't mean he won't hit me" it took you a moment to realize what you had said, you had spoken your mind without thinking, showing him the real you.

"What an idiot" he said, still bothered every time he saw your red cheek.

Feeling his annoyance directed at the owner made you comfortable but wary, no one was that good.

"Why? Would you treat me better if I were yours?" You teased taking a seat on the table, by his side. "You know what's my work?"

'of course' Zoro answered in his mind but only looked at you with a serious expression. You leaned towards him and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"I'm a whore I kiss men, I make their fantasies reality, I let them use my bo…" it was his hard gaze that made you shut up.

Why were you saying that? Why were you discouraging the infatuation the swordsman had on you? Why did it bother you that he had made you drop your act of the perfect girl?

'how annoying…' His thoughts made you smile, a weird sensation prickled on your brain and it took you a long moment to comprehend what your devil fruit power was catching on him.

Yeah, coexisting near the love cook had finally rubbed off on him because he wanted to hold you, kiss you… get you to a safe place.

'protect' was what you were catching from the swordsman. He wanted to protect you and you were building walls to reject feeling like a damsel in distress.

"Roronoa-san…" you whispered before pushing away the sake for you to sit right in front of him with parted legs in an inviting way. Your hand took his and you guided it to your thighs. Maybe if he fucked you he'll forget about his attraction to you "It's fine if you want me" you guided his free hand to your chest but he suddenly reacted by getting away from you.

He couldn't do it, he was not made of stone, he felt things, he had urges but he didn't want to do that with you. No when you were doing it because it was your job. It would be like taking advantage of you.

"Roronoa…" you followed him with your eyes only, knowing he didn't want you to touch him, knowing what he was feeling because you were in synchrony with him.

"Shut up" he told you and you obeyed "Stop trying to get in my pants" his choice of words made you blush and laugh, laugh for real.

With a huff you hopped down from the table and he watched as you went to the very lavish bed in the room. The very same bed Zoro had been actively ignoring from the beginning.

"You aramazing...Your feelings are overpowering me" you finally said as you lay in the bed hugging a pillow.

"What?" Zoro asked, taken aback by your words.

"You have a crush on me but you respect me, you think I shouldn't be here, that I should leave" you said so softly that Zoro got closer to hear you.

"I don't…" Zoro was blushing big time.

"I ate a devil's fruit, I can read minds, so don't bother denying it" you cut his sentence.

A slight blush stayed in his cheeks.

"Fine, whatever" he almost went back to the table but noticed that you had in your hand the last bottle of sake "hey, what are you…?" He saw you drink from the bottle, his eyes followed the path of the sake that spilled from the corner of the bottle's mouth forming two very appealing rivers that traveled from your mouth to your chin and then down your throat.

He hated his sudden urge to lick the sake from your skin.

"There's been others like you," you said when you drank, taking him back to reality. You cleaned the corners of your mouth and continued. "You think you are heroes, but you just want to chain me, hide me where no one else but you, can see me" Zoro got closer and tried to take the Sake from you but you pulled your hand away to avoid his hand. "I mean, it's kinda an implanted fantasy, look at these" you showed your wrists with bracelets that covered almost half of your forearm. "This scream shackles, this says save me! Be my Prince charming" you mocked

"Pathetic" He suddenly said and you looked at him bewildered since you were able to feel his very clear desire for you but his words and attitude were the opposite. "You have embraced your cage" he leaned over you, you felt his intentions of taking the sake from you.

He was right, you were able to read minds but you felt like he was the one reading yours.

You were afraid, you didn't want to get your hopes up only to crash and discover he was a liar.

'Say the word' his mind was saying and your movement to get away from him staggered at that.

Word, what word? What was that supposed to mean? You tried to retreat but in a blink you were caged between two strong arms, the bed and the body of Zoro.

You took the last sip of the sake but before you drank it Zoro lifted you from the bed and put you over him, straddling his lap. The gravity did its job and the sake went from your mouth to his as you graced his tongue with yours slowly, so very slowly and sensually.

'Ask for Help' he thought and you pressed closer to him, wanting more if only for him to stop asking that of you.

"I'm not a damsel in distress...They sent me to kill you, Roronoa-san" you confessed not expecting anything from him. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"And how would you do that?" he asked amused, taking you by surprise. You tried to get away from him, but his hands kept you close to him.

"With poison" you answered with seriousness and he smirked.

"Poison" he repeated in a mocking way dismissing you "I'm no prince charming, you know? I'm a pirate" one of his hands gently pushed a strand of your hair away from your face.

You didn't have time to even be confused by his words because the idea in his head slipped inside yours: kidnap' Your eyes grew bigger and the smile in his face let you know that he was aware that you knew. You opened your mouth to tell him not to do it, but with an easy move he put you over his shoulder and started his escape.

The next minutes were filled with people trying to stop him and you giving him directions to get out of the brothel.

But Zoro is terrible with directions, so of course he turned in the wrong direction and of course he entered the wrong hall and somehow he ended up destroying the whole place.

When you finally got out, you looked in disbelief at the building in flames. How had that happened? You were not sure, but sake was flammable so…

"Roronoa-sama, you are amazing" you said as he walked away from the crime scene "wrong direction" you let him know and he stopped, turned in the other direction and started walking again.

"Your welcome" he said and you groaned in his shoulder.

"It would be easier to get you to your ship if you put me down," you said, resigned to your future.

"I'm fine, I don't need…curly brows?" When he said those last words you frowned.

"Marimo?" A man's voice answered, leaving you in the dark "that is no way to carry a lady!" He complained and Zoro growled.

'I forgot about the love cook' you heard Zoro think and you were puzzled wondering what could that mean.

The swordsman put you down and you looked at the blond man before you with an expression that made Sanji's eyes become hearts and you were able to hear his thoughts, all of his thoughts.

And Sanji's dirty and sweet thoughts at full speed scare the shit out of you, making you hide behind Zoro and fist your hands into his clothes.

"Oi! You scare her!" Zoro complained annoyed. There was a small discussion and finally Sanji guided you two to the ship where Zoro had a short conversation with the captain, who got closer to talk to you minutes later

"Y/n, do you want to be a pirate?" Asked Luffy in front of everyone and you looked at him seriously.

"No, I just want to stay by Roronoa's side"

Luffy laughed, satisfied with your answer.

"Then, welcome to the crew!"

• • •

Next... ?????? Edition

Who's edition should I write now?

[ms-demeanor]

Please delete this if it's too nosy, but weren't you getting a degree in nutrition? What happened?

It's not too nosy, people are asking about it because I've talked about it a lot!

So the deal is that I am having trouble finding nutrition programs accepting second bachelor's students that are both A) Local and B) Affordable.

When I tried to apply in the spring there was only one state school accepting second bachelor's applications for nutrition students and it was about 500 miles away from where I live (and since I can only afford to live in CA because I'm renting from family, moving out of this house isn't an option unless I'm moving to a state with a lower cost of living).

There's at least one out-of-state school and two private schools that are accepting applicants from all kinds of students, but I have looked at the average income of registered dieticians and decided that I am not going to take out loans of $30k a year for this degree.

So what I'm doing now is waiting to see what local state schools (if any) are accepting second bachelor applicants to their nutrition programs in the fall.

I also have the option of possibly applying for a chemistry degree (some local schools are accepting physical sciences majors but not biological science majors as second bachelor's and it is possible to apply to a master's program in nutrition with a BS but you have to make up the nutrition program requirements while you're in grad school or between acceptance and starting the graduate program), trying to finish that, and then applying for a master's program once I have a BS.

I'm currently enrolled in classes at my community college for the summer and fall terms that will benefit me whether I'm able to apply for a bachelor's program or not.

At the moment my plans/options are:

Wait until fall term, apply to any local nutrition programs, wait to hear back and spend the terms until I hear back fucking around and getting a silly associate's degree for the lulz. (Potentially become an RD after 2 years in undergrad and 2 years in a master's program - finish that program about 4-5 years from now)

Wait until fall term, apply to local chemistry programs, wait to hear back and spend the terms until I hear back taking as many chemistry classes as I can. (Potentially become an RD after undergrad, take gap classes to make up prerequisites - finish that program about 5-6 years from now)

Figure out that no programs are accepting 2nd bachelor's students and go to a different community college to start working on collecting certs (1-2 years for an Associate's in network security, 1 year for a certificate in Windows administration), take a few classes at my current school to finish silly associate's degree for the lulz.

The community college that I'm looking at if the other options fall through (which seems pretty likely) is much more of a trade school than my current school and offers a nutrition certification program that focuses more on food safety and commercial kitchens whereas my current school only offers what is functionally a GE transfer degree with some pretty basic nutrition classes on top of it so I may just also try to get the nutrition certification while I'm doing computer stuff and get a silly associate's for the lulz.

So basically I would love to continue working toward a nutrition degree but I don't think it's very likely that that's going to be an option I can realistically afford. There's a part of me that's like "apply to cal state chico, try to take classes online as long as possible and live in a van for a couple semesters" (because that sounds more survivable than 60-90k in loans) but if that's the barrier to entry this is a dream that I'm okay letting die.

[oftenwantedafton]

The Perfect Girl - Dave Miller/William Afton x Female Reader

Chapter 2

Rating - Explicit

No warnings for this chapter

Also available on AO3

You follow Dave Miller forward into the darkness.

The flashlight’s beam seems to be getting more wan the further in you go, as if the shadows are devouring that feeble offering of illumination.

“Dave, wait, please, you’re going too fast.”

It’s uncanny how well the man moves in that dimly lit space. As if he’s intimately familiar with it, the layout imprinted in his mind.

The security guard halts. You finally reach his side again. It’s difficult to make out much of his features now. The light flickers and your breath hitches.

“Don’t worry. I know my way around.”

“You do? How often have you been here?”

“A fair few times.” You know he’s smiling even if you can’t quite see it. That odd smile of his that’s a little too wide, nearly on the verge of being creepy. That’s how everything with him is. He’s almost handsome except there’s something cruel in the line of his brow and the angle of his jaw and the way his mouth sets. Disdain for everything around him. Except when he looks at you. Then the harsh lines soften and his pale eyes darken.

He’s even almost charming at times, except there’s something unsettling buried beneath the polite and kind exterior. You’d initially just meant to pay him back for loaning you money. Somehow it’s become a deeper debt. He’s always around, every time you look up from whatever task you’re performing at work. You swear you hear footsteps following you in the mall parking garage sometimes, but when you turn around you don’t see anyone.

So why are you here with him now? Was it really just boredom? Curiosity? Why did he look at you sometimes as if he wanted to absolutely devour you? Why weren’t you more afraid?

“Maybe we should turn back,” you say uncertainly.

“Turn back? No, I don’t think so. We’ve come this far. It’s just a little ways down this hall, I promise.”

The flashlight finally surrenders and you gasp again, automatically reaching out, and Dave’s hand finds yours. His fingertips are calloused and his skin is very, very warm.

“I’ve got you,” he says.

***

Afton wishes he was lying.

The switch to restore power really is just ahead. He supposes he could take a detour. It’s just so pleasant being there with you in the darkness, in the place that’s always been his real home, better than any house he’s ever dwelled in. How soft your hand was in his. How long had it been since he’d held one. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply. Cherry blossom today. This may be a new favorite fragrance.

“I’ve got you,” he says, and that is very nearly the truth. He almost has you right where he wants you. So close. He thinks he can push you toward it. Just a gentle nudge. And if not, well.

He’d made plans for that as well.

He tugs and it pulls you off balance. Your body collides with his. You’ve never been so close to him before. He’s nearly drunk off the feel of it. And the sounds you make, those little gasps for air…how he savors every one of those. How he wants to make your struggle to breathe even louder, lost in the throes of whatever he’s doing to you with his hands or his mouth or…

Not yet. He’s waited this long. He can wait a little longer.

He moves forward and you keep pace with him. Finally reaches the wall and feels for the switch, shoving his weight upward. There’s a loud clanking sound as it slots into place and a sizzle as the electricity begins flowing throughout the building. The overhead fluorescents flicker on and his companion sighs with relief, releasing his hand. Pity, that.

“There we are. Ready to go have some fun?”

“Okay,” you say softly.

His grin widens.

***

There is a lot to explore.

You find it hard to imagine such a large place was just walled up, concealed for who knows how long and for who knows what reason.

You’ve never seen such a vast arcade. Such a huge variety. So many pinball machines and crane machines and lanes for skee ball. Dave helps you up onto the stage and lets you peek behind the curtain to view the animatronics. You’re not sure how you feel about them yet. They’re kind of neat, but kind of creepy.

Kind of like Dave himself, you think.

You admire the fading crayon drawings previous visitors have left behind, affixed to the checkerboard patterned walls. You wonder yet again why this place was abandoned. Was it simply not a marketable franchise anymore? Were people no longer impressed with the animatronic technology, seeking entertainment in digital and virtual forms instead, the advancing game technology making these pixel offerings obsolete? You think it’s somewhat tragic.

You wander back to the arcade area, Dave trailing behind, and decide on a game called Princess Quest. You thumb a quarter into the slot, disappointed when nothing happens.

“You can’t use regular money. You need one of these,” Miller says, handing you a Faz Token. The bronze colored disc has a picture of Freddy Fazbear waving and bears the slogan Are you ready for Freddy?

“Oh. Thanks.” You fit the coin into the slot and the title screen appears. “It’s working!”

“Told you so.” He moves beside you to watch you play. You haven’t done any retro gaming in a while but you think you do a decent job progressing until the Game Over message appears. “Not bad. Try again and I’ll help you.”

He takes your hand and presses another token into it, then moves behind you. You push the coin into the slot and position your right hand fingers over the buttons, the left on the joystick. You feel his hands slide over yours.

“I…I don’t think I can play like this…” you stammer nervously.

“Of course you can.” His head is bent, his lips by your ear. You can’t help but shiver at the feeling of his warm breath there, his mouth so close. “You’re too tense. You’re working against yourself.” His fingers move against yours, guiding you. You’d never noticed how long his fingers were before, how large his hands are. They dwarf yours, nearly swallowing them up. “That’s it. Better. Just relax. Let me do all the work.”

“Dave, I…” You don’t even know what to say. Your heart is pounding. He’s no longer pushing you into the controls. He weaves his fingers between yours. The Game Over screen reappears.

“Well it seems I’m a little out of practice,” he murmurs. You don’t think he’s looked at the screen even once this entire time. You hear him inhale deeply. “You must forgive me for saying this, but your scent is intoxicating. I can’t get enough of it.” He releases one of your hands and uses it to tuck a swathe of hair behind your ear, his face pressing against the side of your neck.

You’re too startled to even react. You’ve never had anyone touch you like this. You’ve had boyfriends, sure, but it had never been this…deliberately slow and sensual. Intimate. He’s so, so close. As if he wants to press himself into your skin.

Now he’s turning your face to his, fingers gentle but firm along your jaw. You allow it. You allow him to drag his thumb beneath your bottom lip, to press his mouth to yours.

It feels good.

This sensation is new for you, too. This isn’t the way a teenager kisses. This is a grown man old enough to be your father parting your lips and touching his tongue against yours. Your stomach somersaults and you feel a warmth spread lower.

Dave draws back, a little breathless, the eyes that look at you heavy lidded. He does indeed look intoxicated. And ravenous. You’ve never seen his eyes this black.

“Do you like it? Freddy’s, I mean,” he adds.

You nod, even though you don’t think that’s what he means at all.

***

You will never know the amount of restraint it takes to leave things there for now.

How much William wants to shove you against the machine and tear your clothing off and have his way with you right then and there.

But he wants to take his time with you. Savor you. So he forces himself to shut the power off again and lead you from the abandoned pizzeria. For now, you’ll be safe. You’ll see the sunlight outdoors and return home to your bedroom that still likely bears much of your childhood delights in it, your thoughts anything but. He’d kissed you and you’d enjoyed it; of that he has no doubt. He’s started you down the path of your desecration, leading you by the hand.

Returning to his house that evening is disappointing. He can’t wait until he finally leaves here and brings you with him. He’s already begun planning the living space he’ll create for you inside his beloved, actual home. Sound proof, with all the necessities and creatures comforts you could want for. Some precautions, in case things did not quite go to plan, if you were perhaps a bit reluctant at first. He knows when the time is right he will take you and he will keep you, not in the stasis the dead children occupy, but alive and warm, his little secret hidden in the heart of the establishment, all for him, for as long as he desires. It will take some time to get things ready, of course, but that’s not a problem.

William Afton is a very patient man.

[marksbear]

Hi! I love your work and was wondering if you could do a Aaron hotchner x male reader where the reader is taller than him and he proposes to Aaron? And maybe the wedding at Dave’s house? If not it’s fine😅 Stay safe <33

Hey! Thank you for loving my work! I hope you like this one Hunter. And sorry it's been a while since I have been to a wedding. 😭

AARON HOTCHNER X TALL MALE READER

"You look better than usual Y/n. What are you about to do this time?"

Y/n friend Stanley asks while watching Y/n fix his hair for about the seventh time.

"look in my jacket pocket" Y/n points at the jacket that's currently laying on the bed. Stanley walks towards it carefully before digging his hands in the pockets. Once he pulls his hand out he is holding a black velvet box.

"No way Y/n..." Stanley mumbles out while opening the box. Stanley sees the most expensive ring in his life and lets out a gasp. "You're gonna propose to Aaron!?!?" Stanley walks over to Y/n expecting the ring.

"How did you afford the ring!?!" Stanley adds.

"Oh you know the regular. Stealing, favors, loans, lying, my life savings and shoplifting." Y/n says before answering the first question.

"Yeah... I'm ready and I hope hes ready."Y/n answers nervously. "Have you two ever talked about marriage." Stanley leans against his friend. "Well not often, but we talked about it a good amount." Y/n answers the question while making sure his clothes look good.

"Where you gonna do it."

"Somewhere lame. Like an alleyway y'know so he won't expect it." Y/n answers earning a hit on the shoulder.

"Nah i'm just joking... I want Aaron to remember this for his entire life, so why not over a great dinner and with the people he loves most."

The two stand in silence for a while until Y/n breaks it. "Think he'll say yes..."

"Y/n. I watched you stutter and choke on your words when you first met him. Now I get to watch you wait under an altar for him. Trust me Y/n I know hes the one for you. You are made for each other. Hes gonna say yes." Stanley speaks words to encouragement.

Stanley stares at Y/n until he stands on a chair fixing Y/n's hair. "Fuck. Why did God make you so tall."Stanley jokes kissing Y/n's forehead.

TIMESKIP

Surprisingly Aaron and the others arrived first at the restaurant before Y/n. The whole team is chatting among each other. While Aaron is wondering why the hell is Y/n late even though he arranged the whole thing.

"Does anyone know where Y/n is?" Spencer asks looking at the empty seat next to him. The whole team begins to make conspiracies as to why Y/n is late.

The reason is because he lost the ring

Finally after a while Y/n finally shows saying sorry to the team. Once the attention is off of him he moves his chair next to Aaron bowing his head down kissing Aaron softly on his lips.

Aaron melts into his boyfriend kissing him back with the same passion. Once the two pull away they smile at each other staring into the others eyes. "Hi Y/n" Y/n says to Aaron with a sweet smile. "Hello Aaron." Aaron says giving his boyfriend his name.

The couple are in their own world while their neighbor Penelope squeals at the couple.

The dinner is great and everyone is enjoying the food and the company Y/n tries to look normal, but sitting on a table full of FBI agents they can all see something up with him. They all can tell something is troubling Y/n.

Once it's the perfect time Y/n looks for a waiter and gives them a signal. The waiter signals the musicians in the back of the restaurant. The musicians stop playing the jazzy music to something more classy and welcoming.

The lights of the restaurant aren't as bright any more and go into something more orange like a sunset. The team became in awe looking at the scenery.

The whole place looks beautiful and it's the perfect time for Y/n.

Y/n clears his throat catching the whole table's attention. Some of the waiters give Y/n looks of encouragement before leaving. Y/n stands up moving his chair out of the way.

"Thank you everyone for coming today. I can't thank you all enough. The reason why I brought all of you here is because I wanted all of you to hear and see when I share something very important for a certain someone." Y/n takes one more deep breath before sinking to his knee.

The whole team moves around the couple to catch a better look while Aaron stares at Y/n in shock.

"Aaron Hotchner...You have been the greatest man in my whole life we shared together. I cherish every single moment with you and I never want it to stop. Even on our bad days and good ones I love every single moment we have with each other. I have such a connection and feelings for you I'd never felt with anyone Aaron Hotchner. You changed my life and you mean everything to me. I just want you to know I'll love you no matter what..."

Y/n goes silent taking the box out and opening it presenting the ring to Aaron.

"Would you marry me Aaron Hotchner?"

It feels like the world slowed down. It feels like Y/n can hear everyone's heart stopping as well as their breath. Y/n begins to overthink from Aaron's silence and tears threaten to fall. "Yes...Yes. YES. A million times yes!" The whole restaurant screams and claps.

The whole team cheers as the two share a passionate hug. Everyone congratulates the newly fresh fiance's. The rest of the dinner is full of excitement and happiness for the couple.

"Gotta ask kid how'd you do all this?" Dave asks Y/n gesturing the Champaign that was brought almost on cue and the flowers that the waiters brought. "Blackmail. Just kidding the manager owed me a solid." Y/n answers wrapping his arm around Aaron's shoulders.

Once the dinner was done Y/n got someone to drive his and Aaron's cars to their houses as Y/n and his new fiance walked around the city. The two end up at the park under a tree kissing. Aaron has his arms over Y/n's shoulders loosely hanging around his neck pulling him down. As Y/n has his hands on Aaron's waist holding him a bit higher as they share kisses.

As they pull away they lean against the tree in a comfortable silence. "God I love Y/n..." Aaron mumbles against Y/n lips as a tear falls from his eye. "I love you too Aaron. I love you more than anything." Y/n kisses Aaron's lips one more time before pulling away taking his hand walking back to the trail home.

The two make it to Aaron's house and they embrace each other in their arms on the porch. Y/n lays his chin on top of Aaron's head rubbing circles against his back. "Do you want to come inside?" Aaron asks laying his face between Y/n's chest.

"Yeah i'll come inside." Y/n gives Aaron a peck on the head before letting him out of his hold. Aaron unlocks the door and opens it holding it open for Y/n. Y/n goes inside mumbling a quick "Thank you." Before turning around waiting for Aaron to be inside.

"Hey Aar..."

Aaron hums and locks the door before looking up at his fiance.

Y/n walked up to him placing one of his hands on Aaron's cheek and caressing the cheek with his thumb before pulling Aaron in. Y/n bends his head down kissing Aaron on his lips with full passion.

"Can't wait for the day we become husbands..."Y/n mumbles softly against Aaron's lips before going back for the kiss.

Wedding day!

"Never thought i'll actually be here with you one day Y/n." Stanley says looking around at the scenery. "Never thought well still be friends." Y/n says back drinking champagne.

The two are at the way back of the backyard standing with each other side by side waiting for more guests to arrive. "Prepared a speech?"

"Nope. My speech is gonna come from the heart. And from the heart I mean cheesy romance movies." Y/n answers with a wink putting his elbow on Stanley's head as if he was a stand. Stanley rolls his eyes and argues with Y/n.

"My man!" Derek's voice breaks the two arguments up. Derek daps up both of the men with a smile. The three of them talk before Emily joins the trio then all of a sudden half the BAU is with them.

"Okay what are you guys planning." Y/n finally says watching another agent join them."Nothing it's just that it's time." Spencer says with the biggest smile on his face. Y/n gives Stanley a look before fixing his clothes and clearing his throat.

Everyone is under a huge bright tree. It is decorated with all kinds of fairy lights and Led lights. Some of the strong people bring everyone their own chairs while the best men stand next to Y/n.

Soon enough Jack is holding his father's hand walking towards the tree while everyone stands and some even recording. Y/n stares at Aaron with full of love and warmness in his eyes even some tears threatening to fall.

Once Aaron and Y/n were side by side Y/n mouthed "You look beautiful." Earning a warm smile from Hotch.

The marriage officiant smiles at both of them before looking at Y/n.

Y/n begins to say his vows never break eye-contact with Aaron. Y/n goes on and on about everything Hotch has done for him even adding Jack to his little speech. Y/n begins to wrap up his vows with his last words being

"I promise to love, protect and care for you always." "Y/n would you please repeat after me."

Y/n rolls his eyes but does what hes told. "I shall remain fateful." "I will remain fateful." "I shall not lie." "I shall not lie." "I shall love you till the end of time." "I shall love you till the end of time." Y/n shoots Aaron a wink alongside a smile.

Now Aaron turns and he says his vows alongside repeating the same words with the biggest smile on his face.

"Now are there any objections for Y/n L/n and Aaron Hotchner? Speak now or forever hold your peace." The marriage officiant asks the audience. No one says anything. Stanley opens his mouth to say something, but shuts his mouth seeing Y/n glare at him.

"Do you Aaron, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband. To spend the rest of your days with him. To care and help him throughout his life. To complete challenges with him you may face in your lives?"

"I do."

The marriage officiant turns to look at Y/n.

"Do you Y/n, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband. To help him through his best and worst days. To nurse him when hes hurt or with sickness. To honor him and cherish him as long you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Well by the power with vested in me I pronounce you both husband and husband!" The yard is filled with screams and claps. "You may kiss the groom." Y/n smiles move his head down closer to Hotch. Aaron is quick to cup Y/n's face bringing him down closer to him kissing him passionately on the lips.

Everyone is cheering for the couple getting more drinks and everyone has smiles on their faces even Stanley.

The newly wedded couple pull away from the kiss and get in a long embrace with each other. Happy tears fall from Hotch eyes as he cries softly from joy in Y/n's chest. Morgan was the one to separate the couple.

"Hi L/n." Y/n says to his husband cupping Aaron's face bringing him closer. The team swarms the couple giving them gifts and says congrats.

"Agent Aaron L/n. I can get used to calling bossman L/n." Derek says with a playful smile causing the whole team to laugh.

"Can't get enough of these L/n's." Garcia adds.

THE END