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ellemj · 7 months

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Needs & Wants - Sex Pollen Trope Pt. 10 (FINAL PART)

Bucky Barnes x Reader

*Read parts 1-9 first for the full effect!*

Summary: Everything is out in the open between you and Bucky now, but there are two rules for your new secret relationship.

Warnings: unprotected sex, teasing, possessive!Bucky (hehehe), maybe fluff (?), profanity, use of y/n, MINORS DNI, 18+!!!

Feel free to comment and let me know if this requires any other warnings.

Word Count: 2.2k

Author's Note: We've finally reached the end. I think I'll miss this version of Bucky and reader but I'm pretty excited about the work that I'm planning on putting out here next. Hopefully everyone's okay with the conclusion of this, I didn't want to have anyone riding off into the sunset or anything, but I also didn't want to have a horribly sad ending, so this felt right. You guys should totally let me know in the comments what kind of things you'd like to see from me soon! I don't know if I'll take specific requests anytime soon, but I'd love to at least find out what might get you all excited. Thanks for the umpteenth time to @littlemiss-yeehaw for being the best cheerleader and warnings-writer out there. She also draws some unbelievable shots of Bucky based on scenes in these fics.

In the shower, on the hotel bed, in the chair by the window, hell, even on the floor when the two of you rolled off of the bed in the heat of the moment. You’d successfully christened every surface of your hotel room before the clock ever struck midnight. You hadn’t meant to go at it like horny teenagers who found themselves home alone for the first time, but that’s what happened. It’s like you were both thinking about how this may not continue once you get back to the compound tomorrow morning, so you fit as much as you could all in one night.

Now, you’re laying side by side in bed. Your most recent tryst involved you on your hands and knees with Bucky doing all of the right things behind you, and it thoroughly winded you both. You listen as your collective breaths fill the air, the two of you each coming down from your post-orgasmic highs.

“Do you think Dr. Raynor will figure this out?” You ask softly, raising a hand and wiping a bit of sweat from your brow. Bucky laughs and turns his head to look at you. He still can’t get past how pretty you look after doing such dirty, animalistic things with him. Even without the super soldier serum decreasing his refractory period to mere minutes, he thinks he’d be recovered and ready for round five just from looking at you like this.

“That’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

“It’s on my mind, yeah.” You admit. You’re probably more worried about it than you should be, but deep down, Bucky’s worried too.

“So, how do you want to handle it?” Bucky asks, fully rolling onto his side to face you.

“Maybe we just wait and see what she has to say after observing tonight’s mission and then go from there. I don’t want to say anything first and give her anything to use against us.” He’s listening to your words, honestly, he is. He doesn’t think he could ever miss a word you say. But he can’t stop himself from reaching over and running his fingertips along your flushed cheek. You turn to look at him and he lets his fingers ghost over your lips and down the column of your throat until he reaches the notch between your collarbones. His eyes linger there for a moment. Something’s missing.

“You never gave me my dog tags back.” He whispers. You’re not wearing them, and neither is he. So, where are they?

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure when to give them back.”

“Bullshit, you wanted to keep them.” Bucky teases. You push his hand away from your neck at the accusation, but can’t stop the smile that’s creeping over your features. Fuck, he’s so into you. He closes the distance between the two of you and places his body carefully over yours under the covers, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to your lips. Even just kissing you sets off fireworks inside of him.

“They’re sitting on my nightstand, back in the compound.” You tell him, hoping it doesn’t make you sound too obsessed. You had planned to give them back all week, but avoiding him made that a little difficult, so instead you left them sitting beside your bed. It was sort of comforting to see his name every night before you fell asleep, and every morning when you woke up.

“Keep them.” He insists, pressing another kiss to your soft, soft lips. You get lost in the moment, focusing on the feeling of his tongue working against yours, his scent enveloping you in the most consuming way, and his weight keeping you pinned to the mattress. You could stay like this forever.

This, of course, is when Bucky’s phone would ring. He groans in annoyance as he breaks the kiss and touches his forehead to yours, looking down into your eyes.

“Tell me not to answer it.” He pleads. You purse your lips, knowing it’s probably someone from the team calling with some kind of update or new order. Bucky groans again before rolling off of you and snatching his phone off of the bedside table. He answers it and puts it on speaker, confirming that it’s someone from the team.

“Hey, sorry to call so late. The threat has been neutralized so you guys can head back now and get some sleep, we’ll debrief in the morning.” Sam sounds tired but calm, so it must have been more of a nuisance situation than a major threat. Bucky closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose with his vibranium hand.

“Sounds good, we’ll be back soon.” He grumbles. You can tell he’s annoyed that you won’t be staying the night here. When he hangs up the call, he lets out a deep sigh before sitting up on the side of the bed, with the covers gathering around his waist. Without thinking, you crawl up behind him and wrap your arms around his torso, hugging him from behind. He stiffens as if he didn’t expect your touch, but that just makes you lean into him more, resting your chin on his shoulder. You feel him slowly relax and having that effect on him warms you to the center of your being

“We’re going to go home, get some rest, and debrief in the morning like this was any other mission.” You say, attempting to be reassuring.

“That’s what you want? To pretend like this was any other mission?” He questions, running his hands over where your arms are wrapped around his abs.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant we don’t have to run in and tell everyone that something might be going on between us.”

“Might?” He chuckles. You feel his abs shake beneath your hands as the melodious sound leaves his lips. You never heard him laugh much before, and you didn’t expect to like it as much as you do.

“Hey, I told you that I fell for you, and you said fuck, I’m cumming. How am I supposed to know you feel the same way?” You tease, letting go of him and laying back on the bed, drawing the covers up over your naked body. He turns a bit to face you and starts pulling the covers away from you slowly.

“Y/n…” He says your name with so much genuine feeling that it sends tingles throughout your body. Has he always said your name like that and you just never noticed before? Yes. “I made you wear my dog tags while I fucked you.” What the hell does that have to do with what you just said? He can see the confusion on your face and it brings a smile to his. He slides back under the covers next to you and begins peppering kisses across your shoulder and collarbone.

“Bucky…” Fuck, if you start saying his name again there’s no way either of you will make it back to the compound tonight. He quickly makes his way up to your face, attaching his lips to yours for a moment and then tugging on your bottom lip with his teeth as he pulls away. It’s the nicest way anyone has ever shut you up.

“I wanted to be able to pretend like you were mine. I fell way before you did.” He whispers against your lips. Holy shit. He feels the same way. Bucky Barnes feels the same way about you as you feel about him.

You know that you have orders to head back to the compound, and neither of you are the type to disobey orders from above, but how are you supposed to pack up and head out after finding out that you have feelings for each other? You can’t stand the thought of traveling back to the compound tonight knowing that you’ll have to put on a show and pretend like nothing happened here. So, why not delay a bit and take what you want one more time?

That very rational thinking is what inspires you to slide your hand between the two of you and wrap your fist around Bucky’s already-hardening cock. He sucks in a breath at the feeling of your small, soft hand wrapping tightly around him, and he wonders how he went so long without having you this way. You’ve been right across the hall from him all of this time. You’ve been going on missions with him for the last two months, giving each other shit nearly every waking moment, and completely missing what had been there the whole time. Love. He won’t say it out loud yet, he doesn’t want to scare you off, but that’s what it is. He’s sure of it. He loves you. He may not say it but he can damn well express it.

That’s how Bucky finds himself, for the fifth time tonight, guiding the tip of his cock inside of your perfect cunt. He’s done this enough times now that he knows as soon as he bottoms out inside of you, you’ll tense up and scrunch your eyes closed, trying your hardest to adjust to his size. He watches as you do just that, and then he feels your entire body relax beneath him and he knows you’re ready. He pulls one of your legs up and over his hip as he begins fucking you into the mattress. When your eyes flutter open to meet his, he has to go completely still inside you so he won’t cum right then and there. You laugh to yourself. You know what eye contact does to him and you love it.

“What’s the matter, James? Keep going.” You taunt, wiggling your hips and forcing his cock to slide into you another inch. He’s only halfway inside of you. He breathes out a slow, calming breath before leaning down and nuzzling his face into your neck, letting his cock sink into you slower than it ever has before.

“You like rushing me, don’t you?” He asks, giving your cunt gentle thrusts. A soft hum leaves your lips at the pleasure that’s beginning to build in your lower stomach. You’re so focused on the feeling that you don’t even acknowledge his question. “Don’t rush me tonight.” He buries himself to the hilt before stilling once more, drawing a whine from your lips. “We’re making love, not fucking, sweetheart.”

---

A few hours later that same morning, a very uneventful debrief took place in the conference room at the compound. You and Bucky turned in your mission reports, leaving out the details of what happened in the hotel room, and then you were dismissed to have a few hours of freedom before having to meet with Dr. Raynor.

Everyone probably assumed that the two of you went off to your respective rooms upstairs, but it took little convincing to get Bucky to sneak over into yours. When he stepped inside and shut the door behind him, the first thing he noticed was his dog tags, right where you said they were.

You kick your shoes off by the door and walk over to sit on one of the small gray chairs that you have off to the side of the room, feeling surprisingly nervous that Bucky Barnes is seeing your room for the first time. Nervous. After everything the two of you have done this week? You’re ridiculous. You watch him as he crosses the room and scoops the dog tags off of your nightstand. He stares at them in his palm for a moment, and for a second you worry that he might pocket them. However, when he turns to you with a soft smile and a mischievous glint in his eye, your fears are assuaged.

“Do you have any rules? For this thing that we’ve got going on?” Bucky asks, taking the free chair across from you and setting the dog tags flat on the coffee table that separates the two of you. You tilt your head to the side, studying him closely. You see what he’s doing. The first night, while under the influence of that chemical, you gave him one rule: no kissing. He returned with his own rule: wear his dog tags while he fucks you.

“I have one. We keep this a secret, just between us, for as long as we can.” You respond, letting your eyes trail over his physique. He’s sitting in your chair the same way he sat in the chair in the hotel room last night. The man knows how to demand attention without saying a damn word. You watch as his licks his bottom lip and then leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together in front of him.

“Fine. It’s a secret.” He agrees, his gaze briefly lingering on your neck. “But I have one rule too.” He reaches out with his flesh hand and begins sliding the dog tags across the table toward you. “You’ll never take these off again.”

BONUS CHAPTER

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#bucky barnes #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #marvel #mcu #the winter soldier #winter soldier #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes smut

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wileys-russo · 3 months

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before the void (fresa’s version) II a.putellas

filling the void (one) filling the void (two)

so many of you sent me cute little thoughts and ideas about what you thought childhood was like for fresa and so to soften the blow of all the angst i've been posting, here they are as some cute little memories before the void (fresa’s version) II a.putellas

with the significant age gap and both her older daughters supposedly responsible eli would often leave you home alone with them when having to work the night shift, the extra money needed now as a single mother of three.

"can i have the one with the red lid now pequeña? por favor." alexia asked holding out her hand as you frowned, staring down at the series of small spice jars by your side.

grabbing the one you deemed correct you held it up to your sister who grinned. "muy bien, gracias fresa!" you giggled as she tickled your stomach and turned back to dinner.

"is it ready now?" you asked eagerly, swinging your legs where you were sat on the counter, at five years old you seemed to have an insatiable appetite and very little patience. "did i say it was ready?" your sister replied with an amused smile, the almost nineteen year old quirking an eyebrow.

"no." you sighed with a frown. "then no fresa it is not ready!" alexia laughed as again you huffed, hungry scowl deepening. "don't you remember hermanita if the wind changes and you're making an ugly face you get stuck like that forever?" alexia warned as you paled in fear and quickly forced a smile.

"much better." your sister ruffled your hair and gently grabbed you, helping you down from the counter. "can you put these on the table?" alexia held out three spoons as you nodded, taking them from her and darting away.

"done! now is it ready?" you collapsed tiredly into your sisters leg whose body vibrated with laughter. "soon. can you go get alba please nena?" alexia ran a hand through your hair staring down at you in amusement as you sagged against her.

"when i come back will it be done?" you asked hopefully as the older putellas rolled her eyes fondly, more than used to your questioning and impatient ways.

"sí pequeña, when you and alba get back it will be all ready." alexia promised as you perked up and tried to run off but the older girls hand held the collar of your shirt. "ale!" you whined trying to push her away.

"beso." your sister squatted down and tapped her cheek as you huffed but begrudgingly kissed her cheek, trying to run off again but her strong arms held you captive.

"did you just roll your eyes at me? no manners fresa!" alexia tutted, grinning as you squirmed and wriggled trying to slip out of her hold, whining and smacking at her arms to no avail.

"finish dinner, i'm starving." you gave up fighting and instead went limp, pouting up at her. "well i know alba snuck you cookies an hour ago so tell your worm to stop eating all your food! then you wouldn't be so hungry." alexia teased, poking at your stomach and kissing over your face before finally letting you go.

"tan impaciente fresa. vamos!" she playfully kicked your behind with a grin sending you stumbling forward as you shot her a glare as mean as you could manage but ran off before she could grab at or kick you again.

reaching up you pulled down on your middle sisters door handle, pushing it open and frowning at how dark it was inside, nose crinkling at the strange smells in her room.

"alba. alba!" you tried calling from the doorway, seeing a large lump under her covers as your fifteen year old sister was taking a nap, something your mami had warned you teenagers did sometimes when they were in a bad mood and going through something called 'puberty'.

"alba." you called again, wandering toward her bed and reaching up for the corner of the duvet, tugging on it as you were only met with an annoyed moan and a hand shooting out to push you away.

"dinners done, vamos!" you huffed impatiently, grabbing her now limp arm which hung off the edge of her bed and attempting to pull her out of bed with a grunt, failing miserably as she didn't move an inch.

"go away diablillo." your sister groaned, rolling over onto her other side as you pulled yourself up and onto her bed. "i'm hungry and we can't eat till you get up." you kicked at her under the covers only getting a tired grunt in reply.

"alba!" you scowled kicking her harder as her arm shot out again to shove you away, almost sending you tumbling off the bed as you caught yourself. "get up!" you shook her shoulder as she pushed your hand away, eyes still closed.

"now alba." you huffed, intending to hit her shoulder only as she rolled over again to try and pull you into bed with her your hand collected against her cheek with a rather loud smack and her eyes shot open as your widened in fear.

"muerto!" your sister growled as you leapt down from her bed, sprinting away and hearing her footsteps thunder after you. "ale!" you yelled as the eldest putellas frowned and you quickly hid behind her.

"nice bed hair idiota." alexia snickered as alba scowled and scraped her hair up into a bun, sending you a menacing glare where you peeked out.

"leave fresa alone and go sit down." alexia ordered pointing at the table, having started to dish up. "but she-" alba began to argue, falling silent at the hard look from her older sister and retreating to the table.

"i can do it!" you tugged on your sisters shorts as she grabbed both her bowl and yours, having already placed alba's down at the the table which the girl was hungrily digging into.

"be very careful por favor." alexia warned as she carefully handed you the bowl and you nodded, holding it in two hands and very slowly walking to the table. "alba!" alexia warned seeing the younger girl about to try and trip you over, her leg retreating with a huff.

"aqui." alexia took your bowl again and put it on the table as you climbed up onto a chair. "gracias." you smiled at your sister who sat down beside you, kissing her cheek and starting to eat as alba mumbled her own thanks among a mouthful of food.

"no you do it." alba argued with a shake of her head, collapsing down into the sofa as alexia held out a towel in her direction awhile later. "i made dinner! we're both supposed to help out when mami's at work." alexia reminded, a sharp crack echoing around the living room as the towel snapped against her younger sisters ankle.

"ow! puta. this is me helping, if i do it i might be tempted to drown her!" alba shrugged honestly as your eyes widened and you tugged again on alexia's shorts. "you do it. i don't wanna drown!" you begged as your eldest sister sighed but nodded.

"make yourself useful and wash up then. now hermana!" alexia snatched the remote where the girl reached for it, tucking it into her pocket as alba groaned but got up and made her way to the kitchen.

"para eso! diablillo." alexia laughed as you stood up in the bath and kicked water at her, soaking her shirt as she dropped your towel on your head and pulled the plug from the bath.

"can't see!" you complained as you tried to pull the towel off but alexia held it over your head, lifting you out of the bath and placing you carefully onto the mat on the floor.

"when's mami comin back? soon?" you asked hopefully once your sister had dressed you, hanging up your towel and hoisting you up onto her hip despite the fact you were old enough and more than capable of walking.

"she'll be back when you wake up tomorrow, bed time fresa." alexia covered your face with her hand as you tried to argue, already well prepared for what was coming as she made her way down the hall and into your bedroom.

"the sun is still up!" you protested, standing up in bed with your arms crossed and a frown making alexia smile, the large shirt you'd insisted on wearing drowning your tiny body and making you look a lot cuter than you were trying to convey with your current scowl.

"because it is daylight savings nena, the sun goes to bed at nine but you go to bed at eight!" alexia pulled the curtains shut as you groaned. "one more hour." you bargained as the older girl shook her head and sat down in the chair in the corner.

"no." "half hour?" "no." "twenty minutes." "no." "sí." "no." "sí!" "no!" "sí."

"n-dios mio why am i arguing with a five year old. bed time, now fresa." alexia sighed fixing you with the best stern look she could manage but it did nothing as you shook your head and leapt out of bed, racing off as alexia threw her head back and sighed deeply.

"sorry for hitting you hermana." you climbed up onto the couch and dropped yourself into alba's lap, kissing her cheek with a charming smile your sister was unable to resist, messing up your hair with a fond roll of her eyes.

"hey! that is not your bed fresa, go." alexia appeared, pointing to your bedroom behind her as you shook your head and grabbed albas arms wrapping them around you.

"come on ale mami isn't here, let her stay up a little later." alba chuckled taking your side as alexia scoffed. "yeah ale, you're not mami." you grinned cheekily as your eldest sister gave in with a sigh, handing alba the remote and sitting down on the other end of the couch.

"one episode and you're putting her to bed then." alexia warned getting comfortable as alba clicked into your favorite cartoon and you grinned happily, wriggling around a little before settling, your sisters hand tangling in your hair.

between the rising and falling of alba's chest and her arms tightly wound around you paired with her fingers scratching lightly at your scalp you barely made it a further ten minutes before you'd gone completely limp.

another five and alexia glanced over with a snicker seeing both you and alba now dead asleep on the other end of the lounge together. with a roll of her eyes she pushed herself up, gently shaking alba's ankle whose eyes fluttered open.

"go to bed hermana." the girl chuckled, gently picking you up as you immediately latched on, alba sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "no its fine you said you wanted to watch that new movie, put her to bed and i'll find it." she stretched out and blinked a few times before grabbing the remote.

"don't you have class tomorrow?" alexia questioned with a raised eyebrow. "relájese mami i have a half day, i don't start till eleven." alba rolled her eyes mockingly and gestured for her to put you to bed.

alexia was grateful you barely stirred as she tucked you in, brushing your hair out of your face and kissing the crown of your head, backing away and leaving your door open just a crack in case you woke up and called out later.

"popcorn?" alba asked with a hopeful smile before alexia could even sit down, the older girl rolling her eyes but retreating to the kitchen none the less as alba clicked play on a horror movie they'd both been wanting to watch.

as they both settled in, fixated on the screen and the popcorn shared between them, neither girl heard your door push open a little more or the soft patter of your feet as you rubbed your eyes and left your room.

as a kid you'd always had eager ears, you might have been loud and outgoing just like your sisters but you also learned from a very young age that sometimes staying quiet was just as beneficial.

so knowing well enough if either one of your sisters saw you you'd just be sent right back to bed you quietly made your way into the living room, ducking down and sitting on the floor by the arm of the couch where neither of them could spot you.

your eyes struggled to stay awake as you leant your head against the couch, but hearing the murmured chatter of your sisters just above your head was comforting as your body sagged and you fought to keep your eyes open.

though that wasn't an issue as suddenly someone was violently decapitated on screen and you couldn't help but gasp, the unexpected noise making both of your sisters jump more than the movie was.

"pequeña! you are supposed in bed what are you-" alexia was by your side in an instant, scooping you up as you hid your face in her neck and alba hurried to turn the movie off as the violently gruesome murders continued.

"hey hey fresa está bien, its just a movie its not real!" alexia felt you tremble and held you tighter, taking a seat again and rubbing your back softly. "come on nena, its way past your bedtime." alexia sighed once you'd calmed a little, standing to her feet.

you glanced toward alba over alexia's shoulder who drew her finger over her throat and flopped her head sideways mimicking the beheading making your eyes widen in fear before she was out of sight.

"your bed." you poked at your sister and shook your head firmly when she attempted to put you down, clinging on tightly with arms locked around her neck. "no fresa, your bed." alexia sighed and pryed you off of her, your hands gripping at her shirt with another shake of your head.

"i told you hermanita it was just a movie, you are very safe in your bed. alba and i are here, mami will be home soon and you need to sleep!" alexia poked your nose and stood, again prying your hands away from where they fisted at her top.

though as she kissed you goodnight and tucked you in again, the moment her back turned she heard you move and glanced over her shoulder as you now stood right behind her.

"you are not sleeping in here tonight, are you?" alexia sighed knowingly as you shook your head firmly, arms crossed across your chest. "vale. go get in my bed and i will be there in a second pequeña." your sister gave in, shaking her own head as you sprinted off toward her room.

alba having headed off to bed it would seem alexia checked all the doors were locked and left the lamp on for whenever eli got home, heading after you to her own room.

"are you mad at me?" you asked quietly with a worried frown as after changing and flipping the light off your sister climbed into bed beside you. "no fresa, you are too cute to be mad at. but go to sleep por favor!" you whined as she pinched your cheeks and you tucked yourself into her side.

over the years your co-sleeping habits had been something that was a point of contention. when you were much much younger and your sisters slept on the floor by your crib you grew accustomed to not being by yourself even as a baby.

as a toddler it was a fight for your parents not to wake up with you wedged between them or curled up on the end of the bed not unlike a cat did, and no matter how many times you were put back in your own bed you seldom stayed there more than a few hours.

but there was one person who would never turn you away the moment you could walk well enough to make it to her room and that was alexia, relishing in the fact you wanted to spend so much time with her and enjoying nothing more than being able to tease alba about being your favorite.

though as alexia grew older she started to want her own space, but without a lock on her door you seemed to arrive near every night tugging on her arm or climbing up into her bed uninvited.

"no fresa, your own bed!" the teenager would groan, removing you from where you'd snuck in, carrying you under the arms to your own room and dropping you back in bed.

but when that didn't work she'd made eli invest in a lock for her door and for a few months you finally spent the entire night in your own bed, albeit a few nightmares where eli took pity and allowed you into her bed.

as you got even older alexia didn't need to lock her door anymore as it seemed the habit was finally broken, but then when your father passed and the house was no longer the bright laughter filled space it used to be, the tides shifted.

"hey pequeña." your eyes fluttered open tiredly, finding your eldest sister knelt down by your bed, bags under her own eyes as you rubbed yours. "ale?" you rasped out as she hummed and pushed your fringe back out of your face.

"can i sleep here with you fresa?" your sister asked as you frowned, confused by the request. "why?" you questioned sitting up a little, but moving over as alexia slid into your bed beside you.

"you are sad?" you asked when alexia didn't answer your original question, slipping underneath her arm as your body slumped tiredly into hers. "sí nena, i am a little sad." alexia confirmed, her feet hanging off the end of your bed but that was the least of her concerns.

"cause of papi? cause he isn't coming home anymore?" you questioned, alexia wincing as everyone had been baring the brunt of trying to explain to you why he wasn't coming home as gently as they could to a five year old.

"sí. but you know what always makes me feel better when i am sad?" alexia whispered as you shook your head. "a hug from you, you give the best hugs fresa." alexia smiled as you looked up at her.

"really?" you yawned as your sister hummed and you shuffled around to get a little more comfortable. "you can have hugs whenever you want ale." you mumbled tiredly, tiny body clinging tightly to hers as the older girl wiped away a stray tear.

"gracias fresa." alexia kissed your forehead, your eyes already closed as you firmly fisted her shirt and she hugged you even tighter.

"but next time we can hug in your bed you're too big for mine." you sighed honestly, alexia covering her mouth to stifle a laugh, something which hadn't left her in what felt like forever.

"oh nena please don't ever grow up."

when you were younger you were a bubbly kid, intelligent too and incredibly empathetic and caring. but you did have one fatal flaw, at least to your sisters, and that was your inability to lie.

to eli you were a blessing in that sense, and though she'd always raised her girls to be honest if the older woman smelled anything amiss you were her to go for confirmation.

not unlike the first time you'd caught alba sneaking back in after a night out with friends, your sister hardly sober she'd climbed back in through the wrong window scaring you near half to death and hurrying to throw a hand over your mouth as you almost screamed.

"what are you doing!" you asked wide eyed, heart rate a near million miles an hour as your sister laid down on your floor. "dios mio fresa why is your room spinning!" alba groaned throwing a hand over her eyes as you leapt out of bed.

"no! you can't tell." your sister grabbed at your ankle sending you hurtling to the floor with a thump. "let go!" you grunted trying to pull away as alba clung on, the two of you bickering back and forth before your door opened.

"pequeña? what-" to alba's relief it was only alexia as she relaxed and you managed to yank your ankle free, shuffling away from her. "alba came through my window and now she's being weird and says my rooms spinning and-" you rambled on as alba groaned and alexia quickly realised what happened.

"you're drunk!?" alexia hissed as alba shushed her and you frowned. "whats drunk mean?" you questioned alexia who faltered for a moment, grabbing alba's hands and hauling her to sit up. "nothing. wait here fresa!" your eldest sister ordered firmly, pulling alba properly to her feet.

mumbling angrily at your other sister in spanish alexia very carefully guided alba out of your room and toward hers, wincing as alba's head thumped against the door frame.

but she breathed out a sigh of relief as eli's door stayed closed, practically dragging her younger sister to her own room as you stayed put, getting back into bed where you'd been rudely awoken.

after a few minutes and making sure alba wasn't going to choke on her own vomit alexia returned, kneeling by your bed. "you can't tell mami that alba came through your window fresa." your sister spoke firmly as you gave her a curious look.

"can i say she was drunk?" you questioned, at seven years old not able to know what that meant. "no, you can't tell mami anything." alexia shook her head. "but what if she asks me?" you questioned with a frown as your sister sighed.

"she won't. promise me you won't tell?" the brunette held up her pinky as you gave her a suspicious look. "if you do i'll take you to the beach after school tomorrow." the older girl bargained as you nodded. "will you get me ice cream?" you questioned again as alexia sighed but agreed.

"now go to sleep!" her fingers shoved at your forehead making you huff and swat her away. "i was! till drunk alba woke me up." you rolled your eyes. "not a word about it fresa, i mean it." alexia warned as you yawned and nodded, closing your eyes again.

that next day just as promised alexia picked you up from school and drove the two of you to the beach, alba meeting you there dropped off by one of her own friends.

"can i go get some shells?" you questioned, hovering by where both your sisters laid out in the sun. "sí. alba will go with you!" your eldest sister pushed at the others shoulder who groaned. "you take her." alba mumbled, voice muffled by the cap covering her face.

"no i think you will, or else maybe mami will learn where you were last night." alexia smiled smugly closing her eyes and rolling onto her back, alba pulling the cap away from her face with a dirty look as you tapped your foot impatiently.

but this little interaction didn't go unnoticed by you, and neither one of your sisters could have predicted how it would come back to haunt them as alba sighed and stood up.

"vamos, lets go find some pretty shells then hermanita."

"alba." you spoke up a little later as your sister hummed, busying herself shifting through a handful of shells for the best ones. "what does drunk mean? ale wouldn't tell me." you questioned as the older girl paused.

"uhh it means you feel sick." alba dismissed, refusing to look up and meet your eyes she felt burning a hole in her head. "like when you eat too much ice cream?" you questioned again, bending down to poke at the sand.

"uh sure, like that. oh look at this one!" alba held up a large pink spiral shell as your eyes lit up and as hoped your attention focused elsewhere, taking your sisters hand as you both wandered further down the beach and the topic didn't arise again.

"i win!" you cheered as you beat your sister back to where alexia was now sat up, watching with a smile and sunglasses dropped over her eyes.

"did you find some good shells fresa?" alexia smiled as you and alba returned and you launched yourself at her in a hug, tackling her onto her back making her laugh. "yeah. alba has em!" you nodded to your other sister who was carefully placing them into your bag.

"i think thats enough sun for you today then hermanita." you huffed as a cap was pulled down over your eyes sending the world dark for a moment before you pushed it back up.

"ice cream?" you asked hopefully as your sisters packed everything up. "we had ice cream when we got here, no more today nena." alexia chuckled pulling your hat down over your eyes again.

"i think more ice cream." you announced, pushing the hat up with an innocent smile as alexia gave you an odd look. "well i said no fresa, vamos!" she held your bag and hers in one hand and offered her other for you to take.

"i think yes, or else mami finds out about alba last night." you took her hand and parroted alexias earlier words, alba rooting in spot a few feet ahead and slowly turning. "what did you just say?" the older girl asked in disbelief.

"ice cream or i tell." you shrugged as alba scoffed. "this is your fault. arréglalo!" she pointed at alexia who stared down at you in a mix of shock and fear.

"so, ice cream now?"

another thing neither of your sisters had planned for was eli to suggest you all went to a local carnival which was on for the weekend in the centre of town that night.

both of them hoping the beach ice cream incident was a one off had been unable to say no to your puppy dog eyes that they both come when they tried getting out of it, each of them cancelling plans with friends to go to the carnival instead much to your delight.

and for the first couple of hours, everything was going well.

your sisters argued over who got to hold your hand, bickering over which rides to take you on or whose turn it was to sit with you much to eli's amusement as she trailed after the three of you, one of her friends from work joining you all on her night off.

she'd always been cautious about how her older daughters would react to her news of having another, especially with a 10 and 13 year age gap, but there hadn't been a single second where she'd regretted her decision to have you.

both your sisters fiercely protective from the moment you were born it was now to the point it almost seemed as if they'd had you themselves the way they carried on sometimes, though the more older you got the more they seemed to insist on babying you in sheer disbelief that one day you needed to grow up.

"this one." you decided, sat on alba's shoulders as the three of you stopped in front of some sort of game which looked to involve shooting down some ducks, both older girls now arguing over who could win you a prize first as alba carefully lowered you to the ground.

"ready to lose reina?" alba challenged as your eldest sister scoffed and rolled her eyes, paying the attendant and readying herself as it counted down and you watched on in awe.

though of course and as per usual it was alexia who came out on top, cheering happily as alba dropped the fake gun with a scowl. "which one fresa?" your sister hoisted you up onto her hip as the attendant pointed out which prizes you could have.

pointing out a bright purple stuffed pig your eyes lit up as it was handed to you, alexia placing you back on your feet as you hugged your new friend tightly. "that one? he is so ugly." alba frowned at your choice as the three of you wandered off to find eli.

"you are ugly!" you shot back in defense of your new friend, alba's eyebrows raising as suddenly you bolted, your sister hot on your heels as alexia yelled after you both to be careful with a shake of her head.

this afternoons events were all but forgotten as you shovelled treat after treat into your mouth, still at the age where as the youngest nobody really ever said no to you, least of all your mami.

but on reflection your sisters perhaps should have taken into consideration the two ice creams and multitude of rides and running around you'd engaged in when buying you whatever you wanted all evening.

all but asleep in alexia's arms now your eyes fought to stay awake as eli waved off her friend and the four of you headed for the car, your eyes opening again as fireworks sounded in the distance and you looked up in wonder at the bursting colours above your head.

but as you were buckled into the car, you started to feel a little funny.

"mami i feel sick." you mumbled, alba leaning over with a frown and laying the back of her hand against your forehead. "she's not hot." the brunette shrugged before suddenly you careered forward and threw up all over yourself.

"oh hija." eli winced sympathetically, hurrying around to the side of the car as alexia hunted around in the boot for something to change you into, alba too busy complaining about the smell to be of any help.

having a few small sips of water and changed into one of alexia's old training jerseys she'd pulled out of a bag you were sat back into the car, body sagged against your sisters as she'd swapped seats with alba, running her fingers through your hair.

"ale?" you spoke up as the older girl hummed. "think i'm drunk." you mumbled out as the car jolted to a stop at a red light and your sisters eyes widened, eli whipping around to face you in shock.

"you are what?"

from your very first day of school it became a routine that alexia would both drop you off and pick you up, the start and finishing times never clashing much with her training schedule whilst eli was almost always at work and alba at school of her own.

over the years alexia had gone bright red when asked if she was young when she had you, quick to explain she was just your sister as the embarrassed blush shifted to whoever had asked the question, a rambled apology normally following.

though now ten years old your school this year was trialing two half days on a thursday and tuesday for some sort of study, and with this new introduction there was a shift in routine, eli normally taking her lunch break early to quickly collect you and bring you back to work with her.

which is why on thursday when you'd finished around lunchtime you were surprised to see alexia waiting for you instead, barcelona kit on and shifting anxiously from foot to foot checking the time on her watch as her eyes roamed the playground for you.

as they found you and you waved she smiled, gesturing for you to come as you hugged your friends goodbye and raced over. "where's mami?" you questioned right away but upon your arrival something else had captured alexia's attention.

"stuck at work. what happened to your face fresa?" alexia dropped down right away, cradling your face in her hands and turning it side to side to inspect the fresh cut above your left eyebrow.

"and your knee! mierda." the eldest putellas gasped suddenly seeing the nasty gash on your right knee, dried blood already scabbing over. "thats a bad word." you reminded your sister who ignored you, too busy inspecting your knee.

"what happened? did you fall over? were you running too fast? did you have your backpack on? did you forget to tie your laces again?" alexia fired a million questions your way, only stopping when your small hand covered her mouth, sometimes the only way you knew how to shut her up when she got like this.

"i got pushed over. do you think i'll get a cool scar?" you asked excited by the prospect as alexia swatted your hands away to stop you touching the cut on your head.

"who pushed you and why?" alexia asked firmly, hands cradling your face again with a frown.

"a boy. we had to speak about our heros in class and i was telling everyone about you and how you play football for spain and barça and he said girls can't play football. then i told him he was stupid and you're better than anyone in the whole world at football and he pushed me over!" you explained, alexia's face softening for a moment.

"you said i was your hero?" she asked, a little choked up as you nodded and she pulled you into a tight hug. "ale you're all sweaty!" you groaned trying to push away from her much larger body.

"now. who pushed you?" alexia snapped back to the problem at hand as her eyes quickly scanned you for any further injury, frown depending seeing a few small cuts on your palms where you'd clearly tried to use your hands to break your fall.

"him." you pointed out the boy who caught your eye and paled as your sister let go of you and turned, face like thunder as the boy quickly cowered behind his father, alexia ordering you to wait here for her as she marched over to the pair.

you couldn't hear what was being said but watching your sisters hands flail about you knew she was angry, and it seemed the boys dad was angry too, yelling back at her for awhile.

and as much as alexia would have loved to continue to give the man a piece of her mind she knew she was already running late to return to training. so settling for threatening legal action if a single hair on your head was touched again she turned on heel and stormed away, grabbing your hand and tugging you to fall into step with her.

"vamos, you're coming to training with me pequeña."

"cutting it a little fine aren't we ale? going from a half an hour early to only ten minutes?" leila teased as alexia appeared in the change rooms still with your hand held securely in hers even as you tried now to pull away.

"we're late cause ale got into a fight at my school!" you chipped in, succeeding in yanking your hand free and making a beeline right for leila who dropped down to hug you.

"a fight huh?" marta raised an eyebrow as alexia rolled her eyes, sitting down to change out of her trainers back to her boots, still with an outdoor session to go before she was finished for the day.

"yeah she beat up some boy for pushing me over. do you think i'll get a cool scar?" you questioned leila as a few more of the girls came to greet you, your battle wounds quite the topic of conversation as your head was turned side to side over and over and your knee was poked and prodded at before marta gently covered it with a plaster.

"i didn't beat him up fresa!" alexia groaned at the questioning looks sent her way. "no she fought his papi." you corrected as laughs echoed around the change room and alexia hung her head in her hands.

"i did not fight anybody!" alexia huffed as you took your backpack off and handed it to her to be put away in her cubby, your sister quick to smother your face in sun cream much to your attempts to push her off as she explained what really happened.

"well i think that boy is stupid and you will have a very cool scar nena." patri grinned, scooping you up and tossing you over her shoulder. "badass!" you chirped as alexia's head swiveled toward you. "who taught you that?" your sister questioned as your eyes lingered on a guilty looking pina.

"you're not allowed to be left alone with claudia anymore." alexia sighed with a shake of her head, making her way out of the change rooms as patri carried you over her shoulder.

you busied yourself chattering away to mario who hung behind you with a grin at your very animated recount of what you assumed alexia had said to the boys father, your sister now just out of earshot as she walked ahead.

"do you have homework fresa?" alexia questioned with a raised eyebrow at the singular book and pen in your hand once the others had all made their way onto the pitch.

"no?" you tried with an innocent smile as your sister chuckled. "still a terrible liar diablillo." your sister teased as you deflated and begrudgingly showed her the times tables you needed to practice.

"diablillo huh?" a new voice sounded as a girl you'd not met before appeared with a grin. "fresa this is maría, she's my new team mate." alexia introduced the both of you explaining you were her sister as the girl commented on the obvious age difference.

"i was an accident." you stated suddenly as alexia frowned and bent down. "who told you that?" she questioned with furrowed eyebrows. "that boy who pushed me today." you shrugged, not too bothered by it.

"well he is wrong, sí? you are not an accident fresa, do not let anyone tell you that. you were a surprise, and surprises are always good. a perfect little surprise for alba and i, vale?" she pulled you into a very tight hug as you nodded and hugged her back making her smile.

mapi squatted down next and extended her hand toward you as your sister let you go and stood back up.

"cool!" you ignored the handshake and instead marveled at the tattoos littering her arm, tracing them in awe making both older girls laugh. "you can call me mapi, you like these huh?" mapi asked as you nodded eagerly.

"like the ones on ale's back. i tried drawing some more on her but she wouldn't let me!" you commented with an eye roll. "you wanted to draw them on my face!" alexia reminded with a scoff. "yeah your face is boring hermana." you grinned, ducking as her hand reached out to mess up your hair and the whistle blew.

"well anytime you want to draw me some more cool tattoos diablillo you are very welcome to." mapi promised with a wink before running off. "if you need help come get me or ask somebody, go do your math por favor!" alexia nodded for you to go sit in the shade as you did so.

you tried to do your math but found that watching your sister and her team train was far more interesting, book and pen abandoned in your lap after only five minutes as you watched on in awe until the final whistle blew to end training.

most of the girls headed back toward the change rooms alexia wandered over, taking a seat beside you and handing you a water bottle. "nice math fresa." she snatched your book before you could with an amused smile.

"yo te ayudaré." she rolled her eyes, shuffling a little closer and walking you through everything, pausing every now and then as a few of the girls came over to speak with you both.

"my head hurts." you complained, falling sideways so your head was in your sisters lap once you'd made it halfway through, alexia chuckling.

"must be the cut." you nodded pointing it out causing the older girl to fondly roll her eyes, deeming that was enough for now and helping you both up.

"you know fresa, you are my hero too. mi pequeña héroe!" alexia smiled softly as you both walked back into the training centre as you looked up at her in surprise.

"really?" "really nena."

"and mi hermana favorita, but do not tell alba." she winked, foot flicking up to kick you in the behind. "hey thats not fair! my legs not long enough." you tried to do the same to her almost sending yourself tumbling over as alexia laughed and grabbed the back of your shirt to steady you.

"maybe one day fresa, maybe one day."

#woso #woso community #woso x reader #woso fanfics #woso imagine #alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas #woso blurbs #🍓☀️

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doe-eyed-fool · 3 months

Text

Heaven Is Where You Are

Chapter One

Lucifer x Fem!Reader

Warning(s): Mentions of blood, Injury

Making this into a full fic lol. Enjoy~

There were consequences for every action, and it could be good or bad. When given life, one would live it to the fullest, and try to be good. Try to be forgiving, even when it hurts. Try to be understanding, even when it's hard. Try to be a better human being.

And when that life comes to an end, the consequence for doing all one can, being the best version of one's self, is the afterlife of Heaven.

Life, was a gift. Heaven, was a privilege. Not just anyone could get in.

So, when given such a privilege one would consider themselves lucky. Blessed, even. There would never come a day of hardship or anguish. It was paradise after all. It was meant to be easy, meant to be rest and relaxation for the rest of eternity.

And you, an angel granted that paradise from the very beginning, knew better than to take it all for granted.

But how much longer could you go, knowing that he was gone?

Lucifer. God's favorite. The brightest star in all existence, in your eyes. He was so much more than an angel. He inspired those around him, made everyone's day better, including yours.

Though, there were times when his creativity worried and concerned others.

And in the end, that creative mind of his, would lead him to his doom.

Even God frowned upon his ideas, his views, but God was merciful. Lucifer was given the chance to stay, if he put aside all of that "nonsense".

But Lucifer refused. He insisted that these new ideas of his could be grand. It could change the very way of life itself. And that's what scared everyone.

Lucifer was forced from Heaven, and fell into the wasteland of what would soon be called Hell down below.

Your heart ached, not a day would go by, when you didn't miss Lucifer. There was no way of contacting him, it was out of your power to do so. Many nights you spent crying, and wishing he were still here.

All you could do, was hope and pray that he was alright.

As the years go by, moving on grew harder and harder. And just as you began to give up, there was a flicker of hope that walked through Heaven's gates.

Charlie Morningstar, daughter of Lucifer.

You saw so much of Lucifer in her. The light in her eyes, her determination, her strong will, even her smile. It all reminded of you of him.

And if Charlie was here, Lucifer was still alive and hopefully well.

You couldn't give up now. Now, you had a reason to fight for a chance to see him once more. However, it would come with dire consequences...

Heaven grew further and further away from you as you rapidly descend. The pain from loosing your wings, and the harsh plummet to the hard ground below would all be worth it in the end. Just a little while longer...

You didn't move for a moment, as you looked up at the blood red sky. Your head was pounding, and your body ached, but you couldn't give in just yet.

You brought yourself to a stand, and start walking. There was only one place you could go now. And you could only hope that she would welcome you in.

You grew more exhausted by the minute as you continue onward. Nearly tripping and falling over as your legs trembled with every step.

Almost there.

You walked for what felt like hours before finally arriving at your destination. You look up at the tall building before you.

Hazbin Hotel.

Relief washed over you, but just as you took another step, exhaustion finally settled in.

And you collapsed.

Drifting in and out of consciousness, you could hear a voice, though it sounded muffled.

"The fuck? Ugh...Ey! Charlie! We got a dead body out here!"

"A what!?"

Charlie. That's who you came here for. Darkness took over before you could utter a word, but only for a brief moment.

"What happened?"

"I dunno, I just found her like this."

"Well...What should we...Wait. Is that...Her blood! It's-"

Again, into darkness. The voices only growing more and more muffled as you finally slipped into unconsciousness.

You awoke sometime later. A groan left you as you brought yourself to a sit. As you did, your back throbbed with new pain. With a hiss, you look over your shoulder. Your wings were gone, but that wasn't the only thing that stood out.

Your top was missing, the only thing keeping you covered was thick bandages wrapped around your back and chest. Who did this? You take a look around, and noticed you were in a room.

The bed you were on was surprisingly comfortable. To the left of the bed, was a large window that lead to a balcony. Ahead of you was a bathroom and outside of it, slightly towards the left, was a decently sized TV. And to the far left of the room, was a closet and the door.

Who's room was this? Where were you? Who bandaged you?

Your questions would soon be answered, as someone opened the door and walked inside. You relaxed upon seeing just who it was.

"Hey, you're awake."

Charlie Morningstar. She smiled as she approached you, carefully and cautiously. She stood just before the bed. "How are you feeling?" She asks.

"Sore." You mumble. Charlie nods. "I thought you might be." She motions her hand to the table beside the bed. You look over to see a glass of water and some medicine. "Go ahead, you'll feel much better."

You thank her before reaching for the medicine and water. You downed the pills and sighed. Hopefully it will kick in soon.

"So. Um...Sorry if this is uh, a bit of a personal question but..." Charlie trailed off, rubbing her neck. "Are you...an angel?"

You nod. "I am. Well...I was. I'm not an exorcist angel, if that's what you're worried about."

"Yeah, I didn't think you were." Charlie says before sitting at the corner of the bed. "But I'm still confused. What happened?"

"It's...a very long story." You sigh. Charlie stays quiet, giving you the ok to continue. And so, you told her everything. You told her about Lucifer, and how much you cared for him. You told her how lonely you felt when he fell all those years ago. And you told her how you risked everything, for the chance to see him, just one more time.

"You must have really missed him." Charlie says softly. "I did. I still do..." You felt tears at your eyes. "Please, tell me, how is he?"

"He's doing good. Well, he is now." Charlie tells you with a small smile. "I don't know if you know this but, him and my mother split. And it kind of...really made him upset. He wasn't the same for a while after that. But, as of recently, things have been slowly getting better. We've even grown closer."

You heard rumors of Lilith suddenly disappearing without a trace. It only added to your worries. Lucifer fell with Lilith, the love of his life. They both made sacrifices, some that hurt them, but they had each other.

And that gave you a strange new feeling you'd never felt before. And you didn't like it, nor could you explain it...

"Well, I'm glad he's doing better now." You smile. "I may be overstepping here but...may I see him? I don't think I can go another second without seeing him. It would only be for a little while."

Charlie chuckles and offers her hand. "You're more than welcomed to see him. I'm sure he'd want to see you too."

Your smile grew. Finally, after all these years, you'd be able to see Lucifer again. Your heart soared at the thought, you could hardly contain your excitement.

You reach out, and take Charlie's hand.

#hazbin hotel #lucifer morningstar x reader #lucifer x reader #hazbin lucifer x reader #hazbin lucifer #hazbin hotel lucifer #lucifer #lucifer morningstar

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sphireath-wisp · 10 months

Text

#You and Me - Always Forever

Sypnosis: What was one of the moments that made them decide they wanted to marry you and vice versa?

Warnings: Might fall in love with the reader, no actual proposals (just the moments that spark that thought, that feeling that you'd want to spend a lifetime with that person), not proofread, messy interchanging grammar

Note: Bachira and Rin version is coming up soon!!

Featuring: Seishiro Nagi, Yoichi Isagi x GN! Reader

Seishiro Nagi - What made him want to marry you?

"Still can't get past that level?" You settle down next to him on the soft mattress of your bed. He whines - a 'yes' in his dictionary - and tugs on the hem of your shirt to pull you closer. The pillow originally cuddled nicely on his lap is replaced by you, you were softer than any lame pillow anyway.

His arms are wrapped comfortably around your waist whilst his hands are occupied by his phone - otherwise, he would've had his hands all over you. Nagi's head relaxes on your shoulder, fingers brushing your hair aside. You hear the tapping of his thumbs against the screen progressively get louder with the occasional soft grunts and sighs of frustration.

You chuckle, "Nagi, I'm meeting up with an old friend soon, let me go." You notice his grip on his phone tightens. Instead of listening to you, he does the opposite, holding you even closer. You huff. It always boiled down to this when it came to leaving his side - you would tell him your very valid reason for leaving, he would pout and cry, and you would have to resort to emergency measures.

Pressing a delicate kiss on his cheek, you quickly worm your way out of his arms when he isn't focused. "I'll be back later!" or so you exclaimed, creaking the door shut behind you. By the time Nagi has registered your exit, he realizes he lost in his game - you now owe him a good 30 minutes of your undivided attention and, for good measure, 10 kisses.

The night after you left was a complete blur, he was whining and complaining to Reo for who knows how long, but you never showed up. Whenever he did make the effort to drag his feet out of the bedroom, he saw you happily chatting with your friend - "I'll wait a little longer," he would mumble, not wanting to disturb your little reunion.

Before he realized it, it was already the following morning, your body hurled up to his. "I don't remember getting in bed," Nagi mutters, voice lowered into a whisper so as to not disturb your sleep. He thinks it's a bit strange - you had recently been having trouble sleeping and he always made sure you got into bed before he did... perhaps he just forgot after all.

"Ah, right." He slowly stands up, making his way to his computer as he begins to recollect the events of last night. From the little bits of last night that he could recall, he remembers calling Reo on his computer (ahem, Discord).

Much to his surprise, Reo had sent him... quite a long video that he recorded from last night. From the thumbnail, Nagi noted that Reo had screen-recorded the call he was on with Nagi.

He plops back down on the bed, wanting to be close to you as he sits through this - hopefully - entertaining video.

"(Name) left," That monotone voice, familiar white and fluffy hair - it was him in the video. "They owe me 30 minutes and 10 kisses." Nagi hears a familiar chuckle from the video as Reo begins.

"Ah, how sad. First, you can't beat that level and now your dearest (Name) isn't paying attention to you, I almost feel bad for you." Reo teases and Nagi pouts as he watches the video, perfectly mirroring the expression he wore last night.

"It's okay... I can wait."

"Stop lying to yourself, Nagi." Reo takes notice of Nagi's newfound restlessness.

"I hope (Name)..." Nagi yawns before continuing, "...hope they come back soon." He lays his arms down on the table, head resting on his right bicep whilst fidgeting with his phone. "This game's rigged."

"Lost again?" Reo chuckles. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to send (Name) all of your complaints. They'll be sure to shower you in kisses the next morning."

"Thanks, Reo, you're the best." Nagi corrects himself after pausing. "Second-best."

"Ouch, even I can't beat (Name)."

The video had dragged on with small tidbits of funny moments to keep Nagi watching, but it was mainly a compilation of him grumbling. However, it started getting interesting halfway through.

"Right, Nagi?" The silence is loud except for the sound of gunshots - likely from the game. "Nagi?" Reo repeats with a concerned expression on his face. He connects the dots. Nagi had fallen asleep. "Pfft," He bites his lip to hold back his laughter, chest bubbling.

"Alright then, night-" Just as Reo was about to end the call, he heard the door open while calling out Nagi's name. "Oh," As if you were duplicating Reo, you refrained from laughing too much and pressed a kiss on his forehead.

Reo turns off his camera, observing you with bated breath. "Did he really wait for me?" You scratch the back of your neck, helping him sit upright in the chair before somehow dragging his 190cm body to bed. It was a smart choice for Reo to mute himself, you would have heard him bursting out laughing otherwise.

"Sweet dreams, love." You couldn't help but be generous tonight, giving Nagi's cheek a soft kiss. Rubbing your eyes, you were about to grab his phone from the table before stopping mid-action.

"...This game has a saving function, right?" You conveniently take a seat right in front of the computer, a perfect view of that puzzled expression plastered on your face. "Where would it be? Wait, shit, I didn't mean to start a round."

You purse your lips, eyebrows furrowing as you randomly press buttons. You genuinely looked distressed, aware that he'd be upset if he lost progress. Multiple sighs of frustration escaped you, completely lost. But, despite your frustration, you would rather sit there and struggle than see Nagi disheartened the next day.

Eventually, you pull out your own phone with your other hand and presumably search for how to save the game. "Ohh, okay, I think I get it."

Eyes locked onto Nagi's phone, you breathed a sigh of relief when you finally figured it out. "Okay then, phew... Better save multiple times." You stood up and tiptoed your way to bed, hearing one last giggle from you before the video ended.

Nagi's left stunned - he doesn't know what to say. His parted lips slowly curve into a smile, one hand cupping your cheek. Careful not to wake you from your slumber, he lays back down in bed, gaze melting. His thumb gently grazes your lips, hand traveling to your hair before pulling you closer to him.

"...You still owe me those kisses." He buries his face into your shoulder, a content sigh leaving him.

You - What made you want to marry him?

You have... low expectations when it comes to Nagi. He's a minimal-effort type of guy. Because of the little motivation he had, because of how painfully forgetful he could be, he did everything in the little power he had to remember the little things about you.

Your birthday is his password, your favorite candy and flower is his home screen so he'll always remember to get you something special on his way home from practice, and your oh-so enchanting picture on his lock screen. He's enamored, absolutely smitten when it comes to you - perhaps that's why he asked you this.

"(Name), why do people get married? Documents... preparing for it... isn't a hassle?" Nagi snuggles his cheek against your thigh, rolling his body to lie on his back at looking up at you and the tree you both were relaxing under. Your soft chuckles escalate to loud bursts of laughter, gently pinching his cheek.

"Nagi, honey," You notice a slight smile when you call him honey, "it's for love."

You see Nagi scratch his head, fingers running through his messy white locks. "We love each other, so why aren't we married?"

"People who get married want to take their relationship a step further, move on from just boyfriend and girlfriend. You know what I mean?"

Nagi definitely did not get it. "What's the point in that?"

You purse your lips in thought, gaze shifting upwards as you stare at the sky. "It's saying that you're willing to dedicate everything to them. Spend your time with them until you both are old, promise to never leave their side, and build your future with them." Dipping your chin, you let go of his cheek and target his ear this time. "It's nothing small or pointless."

Nagi thinks for a moment and you assume he finally understood. It certainly did give you a good shock and laugh when he asked such a question, you were almost worried he was crazy enough to ask you to marry him.

"I wanna spend the rest of my life with you... Can we get married?"

Perhaps you spoke too soon. Blush spreads across your cheeks and progresses to the tip of your ears. Clearing your throat and looking elsewhere, you speak, "Nagi... not so soon."

"So when?"

"When we're older."

"How old?" Damn, he was really determined.

"When both of us are ready, to move in together, to wake up and sleep next to each other every single day."

"...Are you not ready?" Gray doe eyes stare at you, eyebrows furrowing slightly. He speaks as if he was completely serious and ready, his mind set on spending the rest of his years with you.

As much as you didn't want to disappoint him, you needed to be truthful. Your eyes met his. "No, I'm not ready, not yet."

"Okay..." Just as you expected, he sighed and backed down for a moment. Your heart ached a little seeing his reaction, but you didn't have time to say anything before he returned to his previous insistence. "What ring would you want?"

"Nagi! I told you I'm not ready. There's no need to rush." Honestly speaking, you found it a teeny bit cute, but it'd be plain impulsive to rush into marriage.

"Just tell me."

You place a hand on your chin, humming as you think about it. You weren't exactly prepared to answer such a question, so the first thing that came to your mind spilled out of your mouth like word vomit."...A diamond ring?"

"Okay." Nagi pulls out his phone, changing his lock screen to a diamond ring - Was he really serious about this? His hand holds yours, fingers caressing your ring finger specifically. "I'll wait for as long as you want me to."

You recognized that look in his eye anywhere. You had seen it when he played soccer and scored an unbelievable goal so many times. Nagi had already decided and, because you knew him so well, you were aware you couldn't stop him.

Your mouth opens at first to retort and, hopefully, knock some sense into him. However, you hold your tongue when he closes his eyes. "Sleepy, already?"

"Mmhm, you're the best pillow I could ever ask for."

"Is that why you want to marry me?" You scoff and shake your head - a big contrast to that warm smile spreading on your face.

"It's a good bonus."

Well, you could always chide him another time. You'll have all the time in the world when you're sleeping in the same bed with him and wishing him a good night or when you're celebrating anniversaries together. You'll have more than enough time after you marry him.

Yoichi Isagi - What made him want to marry you?

You take hold of Isagi's wrist, preventing him from knocking on the door of his parent's home. "Wait wait wait, I'm not ready." You take deep breaths in a poor attempt to calm down, blaming the wind for making you shiver uncontrollably when Isagi questions you - even though it wasn't even cold that night.

"Ahhh," You let go of Isagi's wrist and pace back and forth in front of the doorstep. You scratch your head, messing up the hairdo you spent so long trying to perfect at home. "What if your parents don't like me? What if they don't approve? What will happen to us?"

Isagi grabs your hand firmly, stopping you from mindlessly circling around the doorstep. He runs his fingers through your hair, taming any loose strands of hair and brushing through the tangles. "Don't worry," he squeezes your hand, "I'm here for you."

"Plus, why wouldn't they like you?" You feel a thumb caress the knuckles of your hand. "I'm sure they'll love you. Come on, let's knock on the door together."

"Not to mention, we shouldn't stay out here that long. I don't want you catching a cold in this weather." Isagi plays along with your lame excuse, neither teasing nor making fun of you for it.

Isagi was so, so sure he'd be the one reassuring you the whole night, holding your hand under the table, finishing your sentences when you stumble on your words - he was prepared and ready to be your knight in shining armor. But, why has the table turned a whole 180 degrees on him? He's the one blushing profusely, sweat clinging to his forehead as he hears his mother's question.

"Would you like to see Isagi's baby pictures?" The question was repeating in his head like a broken record, a bad dream he couldn't escape by pinching himself awake. What turned this bad dream into a full-on nightmare was when you nodded without a single atom of hesitation. Despite how much he tugged on your sleeve, you continued to smile oh-so innocently.

"Alright, let me go get them." Isagi's mother slowly stands up and you rush to her side, pulling her chair behind and helping her up. "Take your time," you remind her softly, letting go of her arms when you are sure she can stand on her own two feet. Isagi widens his eyes when he sees how patient you are with his mother.

How sly of you, trying to make him forget about his baby pictures that you happily - on the verge of eagerly - agreed to see.

"Babe!" Isagi hisses at you through clenched teeth once you sit back down next to him, his cheeks flushed. "What? You already saw my baby pictures. I think I deserve to see yours." You had begun to get comfortable around his parents and that distraught version of you that he witnessed just a while ago vanished into thin air.

"Ah, there it is!" Isagi's mother returns to the table, a dusty book in her hand. She opens its pages, revealing pictures of Isagi in his formative years inside.

"This is when he first entered kindergarten," You nod while his mother points, unable to hold back your giggles of delight. Isagi's hand almost crumples the pages of the book as he hurriedly flips to the next page.

"Oh! This is when you won your first spelling bee." Isagi's mother hums. "You were so proud of yourself back then."

"Awh, is this when he took his first steps?" You begin to join in the teasing, shifting your chair closer to his mom's.

"Mhm, isn't he cute?"

"Oh, oh! Are these his class photos?"

"He's building a sandcastle in the picture, we were at the beach that day."

Isagi could barely hear the full conversation, his mind going blank at some parts.

At this point, you could feel the steam escaping Isagi as he heats up beyond his melting point. He places one hand on your thigh, burying his face into your shoulder in absolute embarrassment. This conversation would actually make him evaporate.

You pat his head, comforting him. "Ma'am, I think we could continue this another time. Isagi needs some time to cool off." You rub circles on his back with your palm, hearing a relieved sigh escape him.

Man, you really know how to read him.

You - What made you want to marry him?

Recently, you noticed your beloved boyfriend develop a new habit. Whenever you sleep over at his house, which has been happening more often because of a pair project you both have together (that requires a ridiculous amount of discussion and cooperation), you have recently begun taking mental note of his little habits.

One of the most noteworthy examples is the fact that he has this notebook that he wrote in once in a while. Sometimes, he would write in it multiple times a day. Other times, he wouldn't write in it for a full day and maybe even leave it to collect dust for the following day as well.

In the beginning, you made the assumption that it was just a journal to rant or perhaps a diary. However, the fact that he doesn't write in it every day proves your diary theory wrong. So, you went with the former - even he would have things he needs to get off his chest.

...did he not trust you enough to confide in you? He knows you're there for him, right? Is he going through something?

It made you sickly worried, but what could you do? It would be just plain rude to go through his notebook. No matter how much you wanted to confirm it for yourself, no matter how much your curiosity killed you over and over again when you caught sight of the wind flipping the book open, you did not want to and did not have the right to invade his privacy.

That night, he sat by his desk and twirled the pen in his hand, biting the end of the pen occasionally. Tapping his shoulder at a safe distance to alert him, you observe him as he turns his head to you.

That comically soft gaze of his alone almost made you forget your words, your train of thought coming to a sudden halt. You clear your throat, "What are you writing?" Your glances alternate between him, the room, and the book (though you tried avoiding looking at the book for too long).

To your surprise, he didn't immediately shut the book, dragging another chair next to him for you. Isagi openly shows it to you, "Do you want any cats in the future? Dogs? Pets in general?" He nods when you respond, writing down your reply in the notebook.

You analyze the pages silently, at a loss of words when you really absorbed what he was writing. From your allergies to what you didn't like in food, from what he had in common with you to activities you both enjoyed, it was sweet and insane at the same time.

You couldn't believe you were just overthinking a while ago. Relief washed over you.

"Should we have a cactus, like Nagi does? Should we name the cactus too?" Isagi laughs and you follow suit, concurring with the idea.

Isagi was almost the optimistic type, looking forward to the future. It was adorable seeing him plan so much in advance. It conveyed to you how excited he was to be with you, how euphoric it sounded to spend the time he had now and the time he would have in the future with you - and he wasn't alone, you felt the exact same way.

Even though both of you knew how life could be, life never goes according to plan no matter how much you try to make it, it didn't matter. The both of you will figure things out together, just like you've always done.

"Isagi, why are you writing all of this down?"

"Okay, I know that this will sound cheesy but-" Isagi places his hand on yours, interlocking fingers with you. "It's my promise to you."

"Promise?" You blink.

"It's physical proof that I mean it when I say I'll always be with you. I'm not here for the short term, I'm going to build a life with you, (Name)." Oh no, he's left you breathless again.

"That is cheesy."

"Right?"

"But, it's just like you." You kiss his cheek. "I wouldn't change anything about you.

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thatfeelinwhenyou · 1 month

Text

SMOKE SCREENS & CIGARETTES — teaser (18+)

How does it feel to be the you that has abandoned the façade of living up to the expectations of others, venturing into the uncharted territories of your inner truth, and exploring the new horizons of what it means to be truly and completely you?

IN WHICH; a popular girl uncovers the smart goody-two-shoes was in fact living a double life.

pairing: collegestudent!heeseung x collegestudent!fem!reader

taglist: not opened yet! will update when i'm taking in tags!

coming to you soon! (hopefully)

Lee Heeseung is always known as the quiet boy in class. Although his popularity in school would suggest otherwise, he is never viewed as the rebellious or partying type. In fact, he is the kind of student who reminds the teacher about pending assignments just as the lesson is about to conclude. Simply put, Lee Heeseung fits the stereotype of a nerd—at least, that's the version of him you are accustomed to.

So, when you unexpectedly encounter him at a club in another city during your summer break, his hair, now sporting green highlights, is slicked back instead of covering his eyes as it typically does on campus. He has multiple metal studs hanging from his earlobe, but above all, he seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself, dancing, drinking, and smoking without inhibition. Needless to say, you are taken aback.

While it's not uncommon for an overage university student to be partying during their vacation, this is Lee Heeseung we're talking about. The last thing you'd expect is to see him in Club Dark Moon, one hand holding a glass of some intoxicating liquid, and the other wrapped around the waist of a girl who appears to be of similar age to yourself.

This is the same Lee Heeseung who never knows when to take a hint in class, always finding an opportunity to correct the teacher. The Lee Heeseung who never fails to maintain perfect posture throughout 3-hour long lectures. The Lee Heeseung who becomes unresponsive and distant when the conversation veers away from academic topics. The Lee Heeseung who secretly envies you because you embody everything he isn't.

Now, in the flesh, is The Lee Heeseung embodying everything you thought he wasn't.

You are popular yourself, considering your extroverted and altruistic nature; you are popular because you know how to party. Lee Heeseung is popular because he is a quiet and smart kid yet has a mysterious aura that makes him so god damn attractive. The two of you are complete polar opposites, each other's antonyms, and while possessing many contradictory qualities, you are actually similar to one another in many ways that don't meet the eye.

You frequently attend the weekly Friday night parties hosted by the university fraternities. And with each step you take, you effortlessly command the attention of every person present, your magnetic presence impossible to ignore. Everybody yearns to be in your orbit; guys want you, while girls admire your confidence and charisma, secretly wishing to be you. Your friends eagerly drag you to every party down the block, basking in the reflected glow of being associated with The Y/L/N Y/N—a name synonymous with popularity and social prowess.

Despite the overwhelming amount of attention you receive throughout your undergraduate career, a persistent sense of unease gnaws at you as you find yourself grappling with a profound sense of disconnection. While externally you seamlessly blend into the pulsating dynamic of university life, internally, you’re like a solitary figure navigating a sea of expectations and obligations. You fit in, but at the same time, you don’t.

You always think that maybe you're just stressed out with assignment deadlines. Well, clearly, since you’re partying when you should be working on the next paragraph of your final year thesis. If only the answer were as simple as that.

No, you're not stressed. You just simply do not belong to the party life. However, as the nights blur into days and the days into weeks, you begin to feel the weight of societal expectations pressing down on you, particularly the burden of being labelled as the "popular kid." And popular kids always arrive fashionably late to every party. Popular kids are the lives of the party. Popular kids are party animals.

By the time you notice your desolation, you're already too far gone, you've convinced yourself that this is your life and all you have to do is suck it up, at least until you graduate. You're constantly trying to squeeze yourself into the mould of expectations that your peers have so delicately carved out for you, that you often find yourself questioning the authenticity of your existence, wondering if the facade of popularity is worth sacrificing yourself. Your true self.

And that's being the ambitious and studious girl you always were and still are. You would rather stay at home and finish writing your 100-page psychological analysis on 'Social Cognition and Perception', or finish reading the third volume of the 'Persuasion, Propaganda, and Marketing' trilogy. Hell, you would even rather do a mountain of chores than attend another frat party.

Though you long to share your intellectual passions with your friends, you hesitate, aware that their interests lie elsewhere. They’re in it for the social society life, effortlessly navigating sorority events and basking in the glow of admiration that comes with being in your inner social circle. Yet, beneath their carefree façade, they remain oblivious to the dedication and diligence required to maintain your impeccable grades. Only assuming that you’re a natural-born beauty and brains.

Thus, this label of being the “popular kid” becomes both a mantle of honour and a burden to bear, as you struggle within the confines of a stereotype that fails to encapsulate the complexity of your identity.

It’s your last break before your final semester and you are thrilled as you eagerly plan your to-do list over the summer break. Maybe learn to play the guitar, go on a hike, or finally start reading that fiction book you had put off for months. You envision checking it all off before the final semester begins. However, your plans are unexpectedly put on hold when your friends suggest a pre-graduation chalet trip to a province northeast of Seoul.

This trip marks your first time travelling outside of the city, and it's with your adventurous, somewhat reckless friends. The decision is made hastily, with everything arranged at the eleventh hour. Your friends unanimously agree to simply "go with the flow," as Yunjin puts it.

Unfortunately for you, your meticulous personality type craves structure and detailed planning, and you are only able to feel at ease if you have an itinerary to follow. Hence, it’s not a surprise that you were apprehensive about embarking on this trip. You even considered skipping the excursion altogether. Except that wouldn't be fitting for a popular kid, would it? Popular kids should be laid-back and adaptable, they should be going with the flow too, they do not need people telling them what to do should listen and act on what people expect of them.

"Y/N! We're leaving in 5 minutes, will you be ready soon?" Chaewon barges into your room in the Airbnb that the four of you share. Despite your reluctance, you plaster on your flawless façade and smile. "Yes, yes, I'm ready. So impatient as always," you half-jokingly roll your eyes, relieved that Chaewon doesn't catch the genuine hesitation in your tone.

It’s not that you dislike your friends or anything; in fact, you're grateful that they're the most genuine people you've met at university. Unlike most students who sacrifice their integrity to gain favour, your friends are refreshingly candid about their opinions of you. While you and Chaewon didn't hit it off at first, now you're practically two peas in a pod. Yet, it doesn't change the fact that you've become a puppet catering to your friends' partying whims.

As you gaze into the mirror, you confront a version of yourself that you yourself could barely recognise. The person you once were—vibrant, authentic, and unapologetically yourself—has become obscured beneath layers of societal expectations and peer pressure. Still, it wouldn’t be the first time choosing to pretend the girl in the mirror is you, because what’s another day of grinding up your confidence and making it a meal that would last you an hour at best?

So, you do what you do best—picking out the skimpiest dress you own, spraying on your most testosterone-provoking perfume, and drawing a cat-eye sharp enough to kill anyone who dares to meet your gaze.

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greenandsorrow · 11 months

Text

"Boytoy"

WARNINGS; 18+, shameless smut, ken x fem!reader, reader uses she/her pronouns, praise k!nk, size k!nk, virgin!ken, switch!reader, sub!ken, dom!ken, the plot doesn't connect with the movie, kinda slow burn, grammar mistakes

Part 3

"i just want to be wanted, i'm not asking too much"

~roses, mareux~

Even though Ken insisted on being the big spoon, he ended up using y/n as a pillow, not that she complained. (If she were a pillow, Ken was a blanket, heavy and warm.) She was hugging him, drawing invisible patterns on his back, scratching his scalp, pouring her love into him while he hummed, being so in love, so loved, so seen. Eventually, they both fell into a peaceful slumber with content smiles still ghosting their lips.

Y/n's pov:

Her alarm goes off and she stretches, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. Ken's absence is making her frown.

"Ken?"

"Ken sweetheart?"

Ken is nowhere to be seen, at least the "life sized" version of himself. However, the doll version of himself is on y/n's bed, barely visible under all the cushions and blankets.

Y/n shakes off the empty feeling and is quickly out of her home and on her way to the university.

She's keeping herself busy so she doesn't have to think about how terrible it was to wake up, with Ken having vanished into thin air.

Later the same day, her new friends meet her for lunch and she's literally forcing herself to participate in their conversations, trying to keep Ken out of her head.

How careless was she?! What was she thinking?! A doll boyfriend! A frickin' toy had asked her to be her partner and she simply accepted, feeling happy to be his girlfriend. If her father finds out he's gonna kill her!

Y/n is disgusted with herself for making such thoughts about Ken. Because, yes, she really likes him, maybe she's beginning to love him, even. They share a strong connection, but that doesn't really matter since every time he falls asleep, he's going to be waking up in God damned Barbieland!

Y/n is in such a terrible state of mind that the rest of the day simply passes her by, without her even registering that she's now spending the night with her three classmates, in her apartment, Cillian, one of them, attempting to flirt with her multiple times.

Ken's pov:

Poor Ken is blindly gripping at the beach toys as soon as he wakes up, startled that he isn't feeling y/n's softness close to him.

He lets out the most disappointed sigh before going about his day, since he doesn't exactly have a choice.

But unlike y/n, Ken doesn't give up that easily and quickly regains his cheerfulness, excited for the night to come.

Ken is happy, how could he not be happy? He has the prettiest and kindest girlfriend in the whole universe and if that isn't enough nothing will ever be.

What's more, he's processing all the information y/n gave him on the human body. He's finally aware of both male and female anatomy, as well as terms like, having sex.

Having more free time than y/n, Ken can't suppress the longing that comes along with being separated from his girlfriend. It's gnawing at him, keeping him tense.

Still, Ken can stand all of it, because he knows that when he closes his eyes, y/n will be waiting for him on the other side. (hopefully)

And so another day comes to an end, with Ken falling asleep earlier than usual and y/n trying to survive from Cillian's terrible pickup lines.

Ken wakes up in y/n's bed. It's dark and he can hear voices coming from the kitchen. At first he's reluctant to go inside, unsure. But after ten minutes or so, he can't wait any longer and heads to where the sound is coming from.

"...and have I ever told you how good you look in those jeans?", that's Cillian, standing close to y/n, who accepts the compliment with an -awkward- smile. Ken doesn't recognise the discomfort in y/n's stance and thinks she actually liked this guy's words.

From where he's standing, still unnoticed, Ken can see how the guy is slightly leaning towards *his* girl and how he is raising a hand, probably to put it around y/n's neck.

That of course can't happen, Ken won't let it happen.

But then again, why is y/n talking to this random dude in the first place? Why is she not waiting for him, for *her* boyfriend? Did Ken do something wrong last night? Maybe he isn't good enough for y/n after all. Ken struggles to keep the knot in his throat from surfacing.

He steps forward, closer to the light coming from where the four people are standing, engaging in insignificant but surely entertaining talks.

"Y/n, love"

Ken's voice is trembling slightly, since a new emotion is making his jaw and fists clench, his gaze harden and his throat dry.

He has to repeat himself before y/n turns her head to his direction, eyes tired.

She seems surprised to see him standing there, this time in jeans with a matching jean jacket on top, abs always on display.

She should be expecting him, why is she looking at him like that?!

"Well, y/n honey, why didn't you tell us you have a roommate!?"

"He's a snuck, isn't he now!"

That's the other two girls in the group, standing by the kitchen counter.

Cillian, on the other hand, is giving Ken the death glare. He's about to say something offensive about Ken's bleached blonde hair and prominent tan, perhaps he's halfway through saying it (y/n has stopped paying him any notice).

"Oh- H-hey you! Guys, t- this is... Kenneth. He's my landlady's...nephew."

"Haha! Don't be ridiculous y/n I'm not-"

"Yes, yes you are! And you are supposed to be... sleeping. ", she's raising her voice at him.

Y/n never liked yelling and she can see that she's hurting Ken with her behaviour. But, she has to keep him unknown to the outside world, she really has to, otherwise her father will find out and that means Mattel will also find out. And if this happens, y/n and Ken will never see each other ever again.

"Y/n... what's wrong with you? Why am I supposed to be sleeping? 'Cause I thought the goal is to wake up so that I-"

"That's enough, Kenneth."

She turns to her friends, who are -luckily- not paying any real attention to anything said between her and Ken.

"I'm sorry everybody, y'know it's late and we also managed to wake up my roommate..."

"Don't mention it girl!"

"Yeah, no problem! Does Kenneth have a phone number though?"

Eventually, the "intruders" as Ken saw them, left.

Y/n lets out a sign of relief, looking up at Ken, ready to run to him and hug him tightly. She wants nothing more than to forget about her terrible day and about the panic she felt in the morning when she woke up stripped away from her breathing blanket.

How unthoughtful of her to forget that her previous actions come with consequences.

The betrayal that Ken is experiencing is making his blood boil.

"Who was that man, y/n?! Who was it?!"

He's still fighting the knot at the back of his throat.

Y/n is taken aback by Ken's tone. Her eyes are becoming glassy as she's fighting back tears. (She realises, that even though in her world the -awful- moments she shared with Cillian meant nothing since she had zero interest in him, in Ken's world this wasn't just offensive, but also a sign of disloyalty)

"Cillian is a classmate of mine. You know, he and the girls you saw are attending the same college as me."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Ken that's nonsense, you know you are m-"

"It's not nonsense y/n!"

His voice breaks a little.

He takes a few steps closer to her.

"We are girlfriend and boyfriend! Boyfriend and girlfriend! And I have been waiting for this whole day to finally end so that we can have a sleepover and a pillow fight."

"And you think that I didn't want this day to be over?! You think I wanted to sit and hear all the crap the guy you saw was telling me?!"

Ken is silent. He's still angry at y/n, but somehow understands that she wanted to see him as much as he did.

"Ken, baby, we both are aware you aren't meant to just wake up here. Just imagine if your creators found out."

Now, he feels guilty. Y/n was just trying to protect him, she's the best girlfriend in the world after all. (He's still angry though. Jealousy doesn't wear off that fast.)

"Can you prove it?

Can you prove that this Cillian guy isn't your... secret boyfriend?"

Y/n bites back a chuckle. Ken is still emotional about the whole thing, but it's starting to wear off. She'll prove him just fine.

"I don't kiss Cillian, I kiss you. I don't go down on my knees for him, but for you. I also wouldn't have sex with him..."

She doesn't need to finish the sentence to make her point clear.

Ken grabs her face in his huge hands and brings it close to his, before planting a gentle kiss on her lips.

He then takes a moment to stare into y/n's big eyes, searching for the warmth and understanding she has always showed him.

And he found them. He also found the sinful and playful glint he's also learnt to handle -a little better-.

The tension from before is still there and they're both eager to feel each other impossibly close.

notes~~

Hello everybody<333 I hope you're okay and it's also okay if you're not really okay. Thanks you stuck around! I know this part wasn't spicy, but I swear I'm keeping the best bit of this whole thing for the grand finale 😌

Dividers by; @cafekitsune

my masterlist

TIPS; CLICK HERE(PayPal link)

Tags; @notleclerc @moonmaiden1996 @vilovedr @goldenvespa @hope4rain19 @l8nightreads

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jwirecs · 9 months

Text

RECOMMENDED BTS FICS OF SEPTEMBER 2023💖

hello, hello! here are my bts recs of september! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝

** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **

🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite

Head Over Skates || @mercurygguk🔞💔🔄

↳ in which jeon jungkook is the captain of the hockey team and one of the biggest fuckboys on campus. you hate his guts and he knows it – that's why he's more than determined to make the most of three weeks of project work. you're convinced it's going to be the end of you.

My Heart Did || @aseaofyoongi🔞💔✅

↳ as soon as senior years comes to an end a lot of teens shed who we were and strive to be flourish into a more polished version of themselves. although, broken hearts aren’t so quick to heal what happens when thoughts reveal all we need to know?

Bad Idea || @back2bluesidex🔞💕✅

↳ Accepting Jungkook's invitation to watch him train topless was such a bad idea.

Don't Tell Me That... You Forgot || @sweetiestokkie💕✅

↳ (short summary that i have come up with since there wasnt one, but oc plans a secret birthday for jk. so we have a lil ol angy jjk.)

Just The Tip? || @joon4eva🔞💕✅

↳ you and namjoon are left alone together for a little too long. or: in your childhood home, you learn just how much is really "just the tip" with namjoon.

My Flower || @i-am-baechu💕✅💯

↳ Men don’t get enough flowers. That’s why whenever it’s Namjoon’s birthday, Y/N always sends flowers (someone please get me a boo so that i can give them flowers.)

Socks || @hisunshiine💕✅

↳ (theres no summary but if we talking about socks, his god dam toe socks lives in my mind rent free and i need it to start paying rent.)

Take Care Of You || @kookslastbutton🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ To keep your fiance from burning out you suggest a weekend getaway to Gapyeong, a charming town about an hour outside Seoul. You've specifically asked him to leave his work equipment at home but like a deep rooted habit, he still brings it with him. You're left with no choice but to find a way to get his attention back.

When I Say Forever || @kookslastbutton🔞💕✅💯

↳ Today’s your wedding day and the slightly shy yet handsome, doe-eyed stranger who chased after you when you dropped your wallet on the street three years ago just happens to be the man standing before you today.

7 Hybrids Moved In With Me || @lillsisamarshmallow💕💔🔄

↳ When the dog hybrid who visits her bakery starts taking extra food Y/N follows it through the alleys to find out why, but what happens when she stumbles upon an empty alley only to find 6 more hybrids and some very familiar pastries?

Entangled || @caelesjjk🔞✅💯

↳ Jeon Jungkook is Spider-Man.

Hold Me Together || @casuallyimagining💕🔄💯

↳ a collection of drabbles and headcanons featuring seokjin, yoongi, and namjoon and their significant others.... all of whom have chronic illnesses. each piece can be read on its own or as part of a series.

Leaked || @btsficsandsuch💕💔✅

↳ Req by OP's Followers: Hi ,I love your writing so much . Can I request a ot7 × platonic fem reader where they became friends accidentally and she is also their fan but something happens like a misunderstanding of sorts and she is blamed or something then when the truth comes out they ask for her forgiveness but don't make her forgive them easily also include an accident in between story if you can. Sorry if it's too confusing .have a good day

Stars Around My Scars || @vanteggukie💕💔🔄

↳ people are not always what they seem. you learned that the hard way, when you caught your boyfriend cheating, the night that was supposed to be one of the best ones you ever experienced. but on the same night you also learned that in everything bad, there’s always a little bit of good.

Rainy Days || @rklve🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ your life choices left not only yours, but jungkook's heart broken in peaces. now you're back in town, and just like pluto, even if it's cold and dark, he tends to orbit around his sun forever.

Taste Of His Own Medicine || @btsficsandsuch💔✅💯

↳ You suddenly have to leave to go back to your home country for a few months. Yoongi decides to ignore you so you decide to show him how it feels when he realizes you’re gone.

The Back Up Plan || @btsgotjams27💕✅💯

↳ one drunken night leads to an agreement that if you and jungkook are still single by 30, you'd marry each other. the only thing is jungkook has been doing everything he can to keep you single.

Aphrodite In War || @jungblue🔞💕💔🔄

↳ Everyone knew about the war that had been brewing on the edge of campus for the past two years. Sorority versus Fraternity; a showdown for the ages. However, when the escalating antics between them yields the consequence of possible suspensions for both chapters, the presidents of each house must come together to try and figure out how to end this battle… Which is kind of hard, considering they were the ones responsible for it in the first place.

Basic Needs || @gggukniverse🔞✅💯

↳ missing sex while being stuck in your apartment with your two roommates during quarantine is being the worst nightmare you could've imagined. fortunately, you're not the only one who's touch starved.

Safety Net || @pradaksj🔞💕💔✅

↳ on new year’s eve, you and jungkook reflect on each other’s entire year together.

Heart-On || @junghelioseok🔞✅💯💯

↳ your one-night stand definitely isn’t relationship material, but maybe—just maybe—your manager’s son is. (this is part of their serendipity series, make note that its not connected. do check out their jjk fic thats part of this series!!)

Territorial || @bonny-kookoo🔞💕🔄

↳ Who would've known that the big bad wolf isn't actually all that bad?

Do check out all of the other BTS Fics that i have reblogged as well!!

** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **

#bts scenarios #bts fluff #bts angst #bts smut #bts strangers to lovers au #bts hybrid au #bts friends to lovers au #bts roommates au #bts enemies to lovers au #bts established relationship au #bts fic recs #bts recs

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marvelmusing · 2 years

Text

In Another Life

Masterlist

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova x Alternate Universe!Reader

Summary: When the making at the heart of the world steals you from your own universe and drops you into the fictional country of Ravka you’re thoroughly bewildered. But this is an opportunity for you to right every wrong - and hopefully save one life in particular.

Word Count: 60.5K - COMPLETED

My Masterlist • Series Playlist

Read on AO3 HERE

Part One

One moment you’re going about your usual day, the next you’re in Ravka - the fictional country in a fictional universe. When you realise that the story you know by heart hasn’t even begun, there’s only one person you can think of going to.

Part Two

After a restless night of sleep, you wake with too many thoughts in your mind. The contents of the General’s war table provide an ample distraction, and soon the man himself joins you.

Part Three

You and Aleksander journey to Kribirsk, where everything starts to become real for you, as your plan is finally set in motion.

Part Four

Accompanied by your new recruits, you and Aleksander return to the Little Palace, and soon settle into a comfortable routine. But nothing ever stays the same for long.

Part Five

Alina is presented to the king as the sun summoner, and from that point onwards you and Aleksander become increasing busy - and apart.

Part Six

An unexpected visitor arrives with some good news, and Aleksander makes a earth-shattering discovery.

Bonus Scene

As your first interaction with Baghra occurs, a wounded Aleksander returns from a mission, and you have no chance to ponder over her opinion of you.

Part Seven

The search for the stag takes your group north into Fjerda, but it’s after you return to Os Alta that a surprising event occurs.

Part Eight

The Winter Fete goes smoothly, a perfect evening followed by a foiled assassination. A few days later, you and Aleksander journey into the Fold.

Part Nine

After a dramatic arrival into West Ravka, your group travels to Os Kervo, and you recruit a pirate privateer to join you in the search for the sea whip.

Part Ten

The hunt for the sea whip has begun, but a number of obstacles stand in your way, demanding more from you than you ever thought possible.

Part Eleven

Your near death experience has taken a toll on you, which forces Aleksander to come to a realisation.

Part Twelve

A successful return to Ravka prompts you to share warnings of the future with Aleksander, and a new (but not unfamiliar) character invites himself into your schemes.

Part Thirteen

Slowly the pieces of your plan for the Fold come into place, but thoughts and fears of the future continue to haunt you.

Part Fourteen

Ravka’s seat of power changes, and Aleksander makes a discovery that sends you both north in search of his sister.

Part Fifteen

As Alina is about to bring down the Fold, Aleksander suggests a theory that lifts your hopes.

Part Sixteen

Together, you and Aleksander journey to the monastery of Sankt Feliks. To mend the tear at the making, a sacrifice from one of you is required.

Part Seventeen

With the remains of the Fold vanquished, the people celebrate. Together, you and Aleksander work to establish peace in Ravka and a safe haven for your Grisha.

Bonus Scene

Alternate Ending

Until I Found You - IAL (Aleksander’s Version)

Aleksander isn’t expecting to find love in this lifetime, that is until you arrive. - A collection of scenes from In Another Life from Aleksander’s perspective, as well as a bonus scene.

Post-In Another Life

Future Uncertainty

Lingering insecurities rear their head now that everything has been resolved, and Aleksander encourages you to share your fears. (set mid-part seventeen)

The General’s Crown

In an attempt to escape the attention of being a living saint, you retreat into the fields and create flowers for the local children. It isn’t long before your husband finds you.

Christmas Eve

Its your second Christmas in Ravka, your first with the country at peace and Aleksander as your husband. Together, you have the perfect Christmas Eve.

The New Year

It’s New Years Eve, and the first time you’re celebrating with Aleksander as your husband.

What the Future Holds

Immortality suits you well, and your new life with Aleksander is better than you ever could have imagined.

#in another life au #aleksander morozova #aleksander morozova x reader #the darkling #the darkling x reader #the darkling au #shadow and bone au #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone

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neoarchipelago · 1 year

Text

And they were Rommates (ending)

warnings: EVERYTHING? MATURE CONTENT DEATH ALL OF IT.

this is an edning... the epilogue will be coming, and i'm working on the epub version.

The next few days were exhausting. Amy was going through a lot. She refused to do anything or go anywhere if she wasn't with you or Simon. You completely understood it. You had already decided to make an appointment with a therapist for her, hopefully helping her deal with her fear.

You had gone through some serious meetings, voicing out your anger. Hopkins was under investigation. His incompetence had to be stopped.

All the while at home it was a frenzy. You had moved into Simon's room, leaving your room to Amy. She had a hard time being alone, she'd often sleep in your bed with Simon, or you and Simon would have to rush to her bedroom in the middle of the night.

Price had offered to watch over her one night so you could rest, but it had been automatic. As soon as the little whimpering was heard, Simon had jumped off the bed, waking you up in the process. You instantly ran after him, quickly knowing what it was all about. Price had sighed, giving up, there was nothing keeping you and Simon away from the child.

She had become the center of your and Simon's attention. And the weeks passed. Time trying to heal the wounds. Amy had started therapy, it seemed to help a bit, she agreed to sleep in her new bedroom and as a compromise she knew that she could at any time join your room if she was scared. Simon had pouted, he adored being able to sleep with his two favorite girls.

As Amy started to accept her new bedroom, the boys had decided to start the makeover. Price and Simon had been extremely focused on it. The girl now had a princess room, pinks whites and drapes. Everyone had offered princesses dresses that she kept as a collection. It was during one of the moments where almost everyone was working in the bedroom that the little girl came to you to ask something.

"Y/N… i miss mama… do you think… she lookin at me?"

You felt a little pinch in your heart. You had remembered the funeral. A horrible moment for you and her. You'd still very often take her to Melissa's grave where you had decided to keep fresh flowers as often as possible.

"I know you miss mama. I miss her too… and I know… for sure, that she's looking over you. She's proud of you. I'm absolutely sure of it."

You had caressed her cheek, as she leant in, climbing to your lap to hug you.

The week passed, yes. And things slowly changed. Soap and Margo had decided to move in together, a house really close to yours. Konig and Grim were sharing an apartment two streets away. Price had asked Liz to move in with him, deciding that time wasn't worth wasting. Gaz had decided to move in with Richard and Aquila right in front, the three becoming quickly inseparable. The house felt a bit empty. Although they'd often pass by, at least three times a week and every weekend.

Amy had learnt about your pregnancy. First she looked really happy, excited even. For a few days she looked sad, you had tried to talk to her and had cried when she asked if you'd replace her with the new baby. You had of course comforted her, that she was part of the family and absolutely nothing would replace her.

She wouldn't call you mom. And you didn't want her to nor would you force her. You'd accept it if she desired to. But her mother was Melissa. You were aunty, Y/N, sparrow. And Simon was ghost, ghosty or Simon. It was perfect like this.

The pregnancy was going well. At 14 weeks, you had started to show quite well. Simon was obsessed with you. It was hard to keep your hands off of each other. Truly. Amy had accepted to go to the mall with the team, you had remained home with him.

You felt warm. Horny. And he kept looking at you possessively, as if you were the most precious delectable thing on earth.

"Simon… you're staring." You teased, feeling how wet you were.

"How could I not? You're stunning. I want to make you mine…" he growled, slowly stepping towards you.

You had frowned, looking at your swollen stomach before teasing him again.

"Wait. Didn't you already?"

You had giggled as he tackled you softly on the couch, kissing you deeply. You had moaned very quickly.

"What was that? Do you want me darling?" He took his chance to tease you back.

You whined, kissing again, tasting him and moaning. Clothes were long gone, pulling and scratching to finally feel the skin to skin. It was more than a craving. It was a necessity, a comfort. It felt intense. Passionate.

"Simon please…"

He had chuckled. He still loved teasing you. He'd finger you slowly. Lowering himself to drop soft kisses to your belly, making you giggle through moans. Kisses traveled to your tender breast, mouth licking and sucking at your sensitive nipples.

"Simon..!" You whined again.

"So impatient…" he chuckled.

"Don't tease a pregnant woman!" You pouted.

"My apologies…" he added with a grin.

He positioned himself in between your legs, tip playing with your clit, making you moan more, desperation creeping on you.

"You alright?"

You nodded, biting your lip, feeling the tip at your entrance, slowly pushing in. You felt amazing, the stretch and fullness almost immediately responding to your raging hormones. Simon's groans and grunts only added to your desperation. He was slow, deep. He'd rarely fuck you roughly now, too scared to hurt you or the baby, thought he'd be glad to give in if you felt comfortable enough. Hands on him, lips dancing, you felt yourself wanting to cry at the intensity of your pleasure. He softly wiped the tears, dropping kisses to your cheeks, and neck.

"Lieutenant…"

You were close. So close. It edged you, torturing you. He increased the pace, feeling himself get closer and closer.

"Fuck… so pretty… round with my baby…"

God… he was so proud of it. You felt it, in the way he fucked, kissed you, gazed upon you.

"You're mine … all mine."

You were. Eternally. Foreheads touching, you felt yourself ready to burst.

"Are you going to cum… huh? You gonna cum with me baby?"

You whimpered, tears streaming. Close. So close.

"Fuck… mine. All mine…" he growled.

"Simon… ple…please… gonna… cuuum.."

"Cum for me… cum with me… fuck… marry me…"

Tipping over the edge, orgasm hitting you like an avalanche, you were exactly sure you heard it. You felt him cum, lips biting your neck softly, making sure to leave a mark.

Your high was slowly coming down, panting and heart stammering. He braced himself not to fall on you, but he remained hidden in your neck. You smiled to yourself. He probably was mortified to have asked it, especially like that.

"Yes …" you let out through your panting.

He had slowly gotten up, looking at you, wide eyed.

"Yes. I'll marry you." You added.

He had smirked, letting out a small laugh.

"Fuck yes. Miss Riley."

You had joined him in his laugh, loving looks and kisses making you melt into each other.

The news had spread like a wildfire. Everyone was already battling for a place in the wedding party. Simon had lost patience, threatening that you'd elope if they kept bickering. You were impatient. You wanted it. He had noticed it. You had walked home one day, after a shopping session with Liz and bishop that cornered you to buy a dress. Walking into the garden to a surprise wedding. Flowers and fairy lights. Amy ran to you, white little princess dress, Simon in a suit. You almost fell out of place until bishop had reminded you of the dress you had bought. It wasn't a wedding dress, but it was stunning and comfortable. And you were heavily pregnant.

Simon had teared up, Kate had walked you down to him, Price patting him in the back. To your biggest surprise, all your friends were officing. Apparently they had all decided to get certified and marry you. You had cried. Simon simply looked at you like you were the world. Everything. And you looked at him like he was your hero, the rest of your existence.

Amy was thrilled to bring the rings, the kiss making everyone cheer. Madame Riley. Miss Riley. Simon kept whispering it to you. Like a prayer. Trying to realize it.

The whole base knew by morning. Soap really couldn't shut up. But god did it make you happy to hear the recruits greet you with a 'good morning Miss Riley'.

Your next ultrasound was scheduled early, Price and Amy coming with you as Simon had to be on base. He had pouted all week for not being able to go, you had promised to come see him immediately after.

The nurse walked in as you laid down on the table. Price sat next to you on a chair, Amy on his lap.

"Well, good afternoon, Miss Riley. How are you feeling?"

"Swollen. Huge. But I'm fine." You joked.

"Well, it should be soon!"

You frowned.

"Soon? I'm only in my second trimester."

He frowned too before relaxing.

"Oh, well every pregnancy is different. Sometimes the babies like to be comfy."

"Are you saying I'm too big?" You teased, a hint of annoyance.

The cold gel made you shiver. The ultrasound started, everything was fine until the nurse froze, eyes squinting at the screen.

"Is something wrong? If there's something wrong, tell me. Now." You panicked.

"It's hum… it's nothing bad. Don't worry. But I have to check something with the doctor alright?"

Price rose, Amy in his arms, stepping closer to you.

"Price…" you looked at him, worry in your voice.

"It's alright. Breathe. Don't start panicking, it's probably nothing." He said, a warm signature smile on his lips.

The doctor had walked in, greeting you, taking his turn on the ultrasound.

"Alright… so. Here." He started pointing at the screen. "We can see a head, and here… is a second head."

You blinked. What?

"Two? Twins?" Price asked.

"Exactly. Which would explain why you look so far along. It explains your recent blood test as well. It seems to be fraternal twins."

"What… does that mean?" You frowned.

"They don't share a placenta. They're not identical twins." He explained with a smile.

You let out a breath you were holding. It was nothing. Just twins. JUST TWINS?!

"OH GOD…PRICE."

He chuckled, Amy understood the situation and she cheered, so happy that two babies were joining the family.

The way to base was a rush of anxiety. How were you going to break the news to Simon? How was he going to react?

"Y/N. Calm down love. It's going to be alright." Price said with a soothing voice.

You took a deep breath. It was going to be ok.

The team was already waiting when Price parked the car. Everyone was there, Kate included.

You had stepped out of the car, getting Amy from her car seat as she wiggled in your arms, impatient to run to Simon. Price stood next to you, winking at you before turning towards the team with you. Yes. Breaking the news. Amy ran to Simon, screaming, screeching like an adorable banshee.

"THERE'S TWO BABIES!!!"

Price burst out laughing as you closed your eyes, absolutely hating Soap for spending so much time with Amy and Tyler. You opened them back when the team let out surprised happy noises while Simon looked at you with wide eyes, Amy already climbing out of his arms to run to Tyler. You walked to him as he stepped towards you.

"Two? Two babies?" He repeated.

"Yes… twins… " you answered with a comforting smile.

He looked panicked. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped. Price cleared his throat, gaining his attention.

"Simon. Your wife is waiting for you to say something."

"Hum… yes. It's very good news. Of course darling… will… will I be up to the task?" He said, worried.

"Oh… Simon. Of course. We'll be together…I'm scared too…" you confessed.

"You don't need to. Look around you two." Price added.

The team looked at you.

"There's a whole village with you. You're not alone." He concluded.

He was right. You weren't alone. Not one second. Simon seemed to relax. He held you in his arms, close to him.

"You're amazing bunny… simply amazing… I'm in awe at you…" he whispered.

You blushed, biting your lip.

"We're going to make it… it'll be fine." You whispered back.

"Damn LT… two right in the first try… you need to stop the caffeine." Soap joked.

Simon groaned, slowly turning his head to soap to send him a death glare as the team burst out laughing.

Two babies. If the team was already obsessive with your pregnancy before now it was a hundred times worse. You couldn't catch any alone time. Picking up something wasn't even possible, gaz or soap or Liz running to help you.

"I am not handicapped!" You snapped.

You were closely watched. The pregnancy wasn't too risky but perhaps the fear that something might happen to lieutenant Riley's wife and babies was enough to set the whole base alight. It was definitely enough to have two doctors following the pregnancy and check-in on you regularly.

You were getting pissed. Annoyed. You wanted to breathe a bit. The weeks passed, the first kicks that had Simon glued to you, feeling each little push of your belly. You'd find him close to your stomach, whispering to the two little beings inside.

In the middle of your third trimester, stress and anxiety mixed with impatience. Simon was running around preparing the nursery, price and soap helping. Causing Simon to often get annoyed at the Scottish man.

You also had let your nerves get the best of you.

"No! I'm going to the park with Amy and Riley. And I do not need a babysitter. That's enough!"

"But… Y/N…" gaz tried.

"Gaz. You're a sweetheart, but I will snap at the next person who doesn't let me wash the dishes or GET A CUP OF WATER ON MY OWN."

He had nodded as you finally sighed.

"Sorry…"

"I understand. You need some time to breathe. It's probably stressful already without having us smoldering you at all times." He said with a smile.

You sniffed, nodding a bit.

"Alright, alright. But be careful, keep your phone on you."

You rolled your eyes but agreed.

Taking Amy to the park was a good moment to rest your mind. Amy enjoyed running around and playing with the rest of the children. A small cafe had an open terrasse, right in the children's playground for children's parents. You hummed at the chocolate cake in front of you and juice in your cup. You glanced at Amy running around, Riley had decided to remain with her, keeping an eye on her.

You phone vibrated, grabbing your attention. Kate was calling.

"Hello?" You answered.

"Where are you?" She asked in a rush.

"Calm down. I'm at the park with Amy." You answered slightly annoyed.

"Y/N. Keller is on base. He's here to grab the rest of his stuff." She let out, worried.

You sighed. Would you ever be at peace?

"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm in public, the idiot won't try anything. If he does, he won't get far." You answered.

"I'm sending Simon and Price to you." She warned.

"Fine!" You let out, hanging up.

Her phone call was a premonition. A warning that would foreshadow him. You looked up as Keller walked to you, taking the seat in front of you, cup in front of him.

"So he knocked you up huh?" He spoke with a disgusted grin on his lips.

You smiled. You were oddly relaxed. Yes.

"Indeed. Twins. A boy, and a girl." You stated as if you were talking to a long lost friend.

"You ruined my life. My career."

"You did all the work. I have no credit." You answered, taking a bite of the cake. God it was amazing you had been craving it for the last hour.

"I'm not going to let you get away with it!"

You chuckled. Looking intensely behind him, making him look back. Perfect timing.

"Listen Keller. I'm going to give you one chance. To walk away." You said, steady, threatening tone. He turned back to you.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You should. Especially now. I'm pregnant. With Amy. Alone. And you're trying to threaten me. It's possibly the stupidest thing you could do."

"And what are you going to do? Throw cake at me? I'm too close to you. No one will manage to help you on time." He took a long gulp of his drink.

"I'm not the one who needs help. Long ago you treated me like an enemy. You know what I'm capable of. Especially after everything I've been through. I grew." You said.

He frowned. Confused.

"Let me explain it to you." You started, cleaning your hands on your napkin. "You know. At first, I was all alone. Kept in a little cage, where Kate would come see me once in a while. I'd go to base, where people would be weary of me. Too far from the people I once knew.

I've gone through a lot. I lost, I loved. I met him.

He walked into my life with that skull mask like an actual ghost." You laughed softly to yourself

"It was hard. But it was worth it. He was worth it. He became everything to me. The way he loves me… is beyond what I'd ever deserve. He ran in, with his team behind him and nested in my heart where I gladly kept them there. I wasn't lonely anymore. And I was lucky enough to be loved by him.

He became everything you know?" You inquired like this was a perfectly normal conversation.

"He is my morning, noon, and night… the smile, the cries. He made me queen of his realm and I turned him into my god.

I lost so. DAMN. Much." Anger coated your voice now.

"I still remember her laugh every time I see that little girl run around." You turned your head to watch Amy play with the neighborhood's kids. Keller opened his mouth to say something but you quickly interrupted.

"You better let me finish." You threatened.

"I have been through so much shit. You've beat me up. I was kidnapped. Almost killed. I lost him for a split second and it was the most painful thing I've ever had to live. I've lost Melissa, taken in that little girl. I… I got pregnant." Your voice is laced with something you didn't ever expect to experience in your life. Your hand stroked the roundness of your belly where two little souls were aching to meet the world.

"Tell me Keller." You asked. "Do you think that after all of this… after all I've gone through… the betrayal by the people of this base who should have kept it safe, I'd walk around… with my precious Amy, pregnant, without safety?"

"Ha… you talking about that dog?" He chuckled darkly looking at Riley who laid near the playground watching Amy.

You chuckled darkly as well.

"Oh no… no. I've realized that I can't bear to lose them. My family. So. How's that drink of yours?" You grinned.

He looked taken aback before suddenly opening his eyes wide.

"You know, a woman created a poison, completely untraceable, she sold it in a bottle of perfume for women who wanted to kill their abusive husbands. Of course. It took a while to figure out the recipe, it was so many decades ago, but… I got it. I've decided I won't let anyone else threaten me and my family. Ever. " Your eyes had filled with a determination, a will that promised raging wars and death.

"Y/N!" You heard.

You smiled, glancing back. Simon rushed to you, Price and Liz not too far.

"Hi my love." You greeted him, with a soft smile.

"Are you alright?!" He worried, glancing darkly at Keller.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." You smiled up at him, hugging his hand.

"What did you give me?!" Keller panicked, his face growing red.

"I gave you warnings. I gave you a chance. And you decided to ignore them." You finally said, standing up. You dropped some money on the table, the waitress not too far.

"Miss… I think you should call the med bay. The gentleman seems to be having an allergic reaction." You faked a worried voice.

You called on Amy, Riley following her as she ran to you. Simon held you to him walking back to the rest of the team.

"What happened?"

"He tried to threaten me. I decided I had enough. I have too much to lose to be a little bird." You explained, a wide smile on your face.

He picked up Amy, hugging her tightly. He had a wicked grin under his mask.

"That's my wife."

You were unsure of what happened to Keller. Kate had kept it secret from you and you hadn't tried to search. You didn't care. It was too close to your due date, and you felt like you'd explode any second. It made you irritable. Very. The only ones who seemed to be perfectly safe from it were Amy and Price. Poor Simon tried his best to soothe your anger bursts, and he mostly managed.

You paced around, restlessly. You remembered how the doctor said walking would help with the labor. You wanted them out. Without offending the babies, you wanted them out.

"Darling, breathe. You'll tire yourself." Simon spoke from the kitchen, making the rest of the team chuckle.

"Tell your kids to get out then. I feel like a whale. My feet are swollen and I constantly need to pee." You said with annoyance.

"If they're as stubborn as you, you might have to wait a little while." He teased.

You wanted to laugh, but the annoyed part of you also wanted to flip him off.

"Listen here Simon Riley, this is your fault because you can't keep your hands to yourself and wear protection, so God help me I-"

It felt wet. Very. You gasped, the room turning silent. Amy let out a 'ew' as soap let out a little 'i'm gonna be sick…'.

You straightened yourself, taking a deep breath. Simon was frozen, wide eyed, awaiting for orders.

"Simon, please get the bags. Price, could you drive us to the hospital? I'm unsure my husband is responding to outside stimulus right now."

"Absolutely, let's go."

The way to the hospital was chaos. The entry to the hospital was chaos. Squad 141 and your team, Amy, and Tyler running around Kate showed up to a wreck of a waiting room.

"Ok every one shut it." Kate ordered. "First of all if you want to stay here, all of you, you better behave. Y/N my love, we got you a private room upstairs, the team can wait in a secluded area, but only if you want to." She said in a much softer voice.

You felt the begining of contractions. You winced.

"They can stay. But please be quiet." You let out through gritted teeth.

It took hours. Hours and hours. The more time passed, the more tired you felt. Simon had gone into a full panic. Kate and bishop tried to reassure him, first pregnancies could take time.

"Simon…" you tried through pain.

He rushed to your side, holding your hand.

"I'm ok, calm down… listen… I need you to go get the nurses…"

"What?!"

"No, calm down… the baby… one of them… is coming. Right. Now."

He gasped before rushing out in panic to call… pretty much the whole hospital.

An hour later. You were finally able to witness the father of your children, hugging the little babies against him. He had taken his mask off, looking at your children with wonder and love.

You were exhausted. It has been painful… exhausting. But fuck it was worth it.

"We haven't found any names yet Simon…" you whispered.

He looked up. Smiling brightly at you.

"Oh my bunny… you did amazing… you're my warrior… anything you want, anything."

You smiled to yourself rolling your eyes.

"I'm serious. Look. Fuck… look. You gave me everything. You've made me the happiest man alive… before I stepped into that appartement, hating the fact I had to share a living space. Falling face to face with a little bunny like girl…"

You chuckled.

"I thought I was done. Just a soldier. A ghost. Killer, torturer… a monster not worth loving. You took me, loved me, showed me sympathie… you've… handled me through my bullshit… fuck. You gave me a chance. You've shown me I wasn't alone… I had a family, you gave me beautiful babies… I owe it all to you."

Tears burned your eyes as if you hadn't cried enough.

"Simon… I Love you. More than anything. Thank you… for giving me a home." You whispered.

"I love you. To hell and back."

You chuckled.

"So… names?" You tried again.

"Anything my love, tell me what you have in mind."

You smirked.

"Well…"

The next day, the team was allowed to visit. Simon had forbidden them to even try to come by during the first 24h real hours.

"Hiiii!" Soap half yelled.

"Shhuuuuuu" the group said.

A little 'sorry' was heard from the poor boy. The babies were laying in their little cribs, both sleeping. Everyone surrounded them, Simon immediately standing to a protective stance. Amy in Price's arms stared in awe at the babies.

"Amy, my monkey…"

Price walked to you, dropping the little girl on the bed next to you. She hurried to hug you.

"How are you my little monkey, you enjoy spending time with grandpa? I'm sorry you had to stay-"

"It's ok, I had fun with grandpa and soap! They played princesses with me" she said with a big smile.

"What do you think of the babies?" You asked softly, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

"I'm really happy… I have two little cousins. They're cute." She said, eyes gleaming.

"I'm really happy my love… I hope you know that you'll always be my little monkey."

"I know" she hugged you tight.

"Soap, keep touching their little hats and I'll punch you." You heard Simon.

"Simon… it's alright" you scolded.

"I wasn't playing with them, I was putting it back carefully." Soap whined.

"So how's the mama?" Bishop and Kate walked to you.

"Tired… but in bliss." You said with a smile.

Small talk was started, hushed voices and whispers to make sure the babies remained in a peaceful slumber. Until the question was finally dropped.

"So… what's the name of these angels?" Liz asked.

Simon looked at you, from where he stood, arms crossed, near the babies. He walked to you, dropping a kiss to the top of your head.

"Well… we would like to introduce to you. Aria Kate Riley. And Eli John Riley."

Time stood still, silence filling the room. Soap suddenly let out a cry.

"Are you crying sergeant?" Kyle asked immediately.

Soap rushed to Simon, holding him in a tight hug. Simon looked at you before you threw him a knowing look. He patted soap's back.

Soap let go, turning to Price.

"They named him after us."

"Yes sergeant I've noticed." Price answered, emotion betraying his own voice.

Bishop grabbed soap so Price could go hug Simon and kiss your forehead.

Kate sat on the bed next to you. She threw a soft smile your way, earning a smile from you.

"I am proud of you." She said.

"Thank you. And… thank you, for bringing him into my life." You answered, with a knowing look.

"I don't know -"

"Kate. No one would have agreed to get me a roommate. No one. You pushed it. You chose him… probably with Price."

She looked down.

"Thank you. Really."

You turned to look at the new bickering near you. You sighed of content. Amy in Simon's arms, looking over your babies. The rest of the team surrounding them or you.

Home. It felt like home.

Simon looked at you, eyes gazing into you. Those beautiful eyes. His dirty blond hair and little scars. You remembered the first time he walked into your apartment, skull mask and duffle bag over his shoulder. You remembered the first breakfast you shared together. The first games. The first painful goodbyes and the way he saved you from Keller. You remembered it all. How everything slowly built itself to this moment.

"I love you." The words escaped your mouth, forgetting the room, the people. Silence won. Only his voice resonated.

"Oh bunny… I love you."

-----

Thank you.

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redrose10 · 2 months

Text

Here is alternate angst ending number 1. This is how Cinnamon & Vanilla was initially planned to end before I went in a different happier direction. For this to make sense basically forget that chapter 17 and the proposal happened and chapter 16 ended with Suri getting arrested and Mia coming back into the picture (I hope that makes sense). I will post the other angst, but less angsty version next.

WARNINGS: Very small hint of smut, cheating, character death, funeral, allusions to suicide, a suicide note, swearing. Please proceed with caution if any of these things are hard for you. There will be a second alternate ending posted next that is less harsh if you’d rather read that.

Word Count: 2,257

You watched your father-in-law slam his fists down on the large oak table. “I will not stand for this Yoongi.”, he shouted. Across the table your husband smirked, his mistress Mia, sat next to him with a sly smile.

“Father, there’s nothing you can do or say to change my mind. I am divorcing Y/N and will marry Mia. I’m done being used as a pawn for your corporate gains.”

After Mia and Yoongi were reintroduced they became inseparable. Or it was more like Yoongi was infatuated with his former love thinking he could finally have the life he always dreamed with her, but all she wanted was his money and famous last name. You and everyone else could see it except for him.

His father scoffed, “You think this woman loves you? Yoongi, she left you once before. What makes you think she won’t do it again? I thought you were smarter than this. Y/N cares for you, more than she should in my opinion. She’s done more for you than most and will be a good companion.”

You looked over and made eye contact with your husband. His eyes softened, but yours turned cold. In your mind your relationship was irreparable. The first few weeks after meeting Mia he tried to pretend like nothing was going on, but you saw the signs. The purple marks on his skin that he tried to hide. The faint scent of a floral perfume that would surround him when he got home in the middle of the night. It all came forward when one day you stopped by his office to drop off some lunch. When you knocked on the door you heard a loud thud and some shuffling and when you pushed open the same door you found him in his chair slightly out of breath with his hair ruffled like someone’s hands had been running through it. When he stood up to thank you for the lunch the zipper of his dress pants was noticeably still pulled down. You knew in that moment that you were done and you were no longer going to try to even pretend to save the marriage.

Jin happily helped you build a case against his former friend rounding up all the proof of the infidelity on Yoongi’s side so that hopefully you could get your in laws to agree to a divorce. You were surprised when it seemed that Yoongi had beat you to it and that’s how you ended up here.

Yoongi cleared his throat bringing you back to the present. “Y/n and I are divorcing. I broke my part of the contract therefore she can be the one to file. It’s not up for discussion.”, he spoke.

Mr. Min turned red with anger as he watched Yoongi walk towards the door hand intertwined with Mia’s.

“Yoongi, if you walk out of here with that woman you are no longer considered a son to me. You will step down as CEO and you will loose all access to any of the family money. You will loose the houses and cars. Everything! And don’t you dare come running back when that gold digger leaves you again.”, Mr.Min was out of breath and red in the face. You were getting worried for his health nervous he would have a heart attack. Yoongi continued to walk out the door pulling Mia behind him. She now appeared to be hesitant after Mr. Mins threats. You’re soon to be ex father-in-law gave you a small nod before walking out the same door. Jin who had been silently sitting next to you the whole time squeezed your hand, “Don’t worry Y/N, you’ll have the best divorce lawyer in Seoul.” You smiled trying to hide your pain.

Jin wasn’t kidding either. The divorce was quick and simple. Yoongi seemed to want to be done with everything as fast as possible. You got a very large sum of money plus one of the penthouses and a couple cars in exchange for keeping quiet and not going to the media about anything that happened between you and the Mins. You ended up selling the cars and the penthouse, instead buying a cute apartment just outside the city that was much more your taste. You kept some of the money as a savings and then donated a chunk to various charities that were close to you.

At the paper signing Yoongi barely acknowledged you which you appreciated. As you watched him sign the papers signaling the end of your marriage you felt a strange heaviness in your heart, but you were determined to not let the darkness of Min Yoongi follow you. You did your best to move on and leave that part of your life behind you. Getting a job and making some new friends. You did your best to create your new normal.

It was late one evening when you sat at your kitchen table replaying the last few years in your head. Startling in surprise when you felt a hand on your shoulder you turned to find your fiancé Hoseok or Hobi as you started calling him when you two met up in Korea after he’d quit his waitressing job at the beach hotel and moved back home. “Sorry love, I didn’t mean to scare you.”, he said placing a kiss on the top of your head before taking a seat at the table next to you.

“It’s okay. I was just thinking.”, you chuckled.

“Anything you want to talk about?”

Shaking your head you poured him a glass of water.

“It was a really beautiful service.”, he spoke.

“Yeah it sure was.”, you said trying to suppress the tears.

“It was surprising that his parents showed up. I know not many people thought they would. Seeing Jimin and Jungkook there was nice too.”, he said. All you could do was nod in agreement.

“Well I’m gonna head off to bed. Don’t stay up too late and come get me if you need anything”, he sighed before leaning in for another kiss which you happily reciprocated.

After he walked into the bedroom and you were sure you heard the door close you pulled out the envelope Jin had given to you after the funeral. Your name written beautifully on the front.

Not long after your divorce was finalized Mr.Min stayed true to his word. Yoongi was forcefully removed as CEO of Min Enterprises. He was cut off from all the family money and was only left with what he had already earned. It didn’t take long for Mia to go through what he had left. When she realized that she wasn’t going to be living the lavished life of a billionaires wife she was fast to leave him. Quickly marrying the son of some Australian cattle farming tycoon. Jimin had quit working for Yoongi not long after he started dating Mia exclusively. He swore it had nothing to do with you and that he just got a higher paying less stressful offer elsewhere, but you knew better. Jin quit working with Yoongi and Min Enterprises instead opting to open his own law firm. Even Jungkook had quit and took a job in Los Angeles leaving Yoongi all alone. Yoongi’s parents refused to let him back into the company, but they did start funneling him a little money here and there to keep him afloat as that was better than your famous son being homeless.

You did worry about him no matter how hard you tried not to, even contemplating reaching out to him a few times, but you were worried it would only make it worse for the both of you. It seemed like every morning you were waking up to a new story or video of him belligerently drunk, getting in fights, leaving clubs with multiple women. He was completely off the rails again and didn’t seem to have a care in the world anymore. The last video you saw of him he looked like a zombie. You knew he must’ve been living off of whiskey and cigarettes at that point and it was only a matter of time until something bad happened.

Then one morning last week you got the call. Jin was on the other end and you could just tell by the way his breathing was uneven that he didn’t have good news. He didn’t have much info, but promised to call you with the details of the funeral as soon as he knew them.

When you arrived at the church you were greeted by Jimin and Jungkook the two wrapping you in a hug. Mr. And Mrs. Min said hello and congratulated you on your new engagement. When you finally made your way over to Jin he smiled, “They found this on his bed. Has your name on it.” Gently you took the letter placing it in your bag for now as the service was about to begin.

Now back at your apartment you sat at the kitchen table staring down at the envelope. With shaking hands you gently unfolded the paper. Some parts were a little smudged thanks to the ink getting wet and drying again. A detail that definitely didn’t go unnoticed by you. A small sob escaping you as you thought about what Yoongi must have been thinking in that moment. You took a deep breath and began to read,

“Dear Y/N,

If you are reading this then it means that everything went according to my plan. I guess I just have some things I want to get off my chest and admittedly I’m too much of a coward to say them to your face or even to call you. Plus, I know if I hear your voice I’ll change my mind about this. First I want to apologize. I know I’ve done that a lot and never seemed to really mean it, but I am sorry for everything. You never deserved any of this from the start. You deserved to fall in love with someone that was capable of truly loving you back, but that couldn’t be me when I didn’t even love myself. Someone who would be there to take care of you emotionally and physically. I regret that I could never grow up and be that person. I heard that you are engaged. Congratulations. I hope that he takes care of you well and makes you as happy as you deserve.

I have reached a point in my life that is just so low I don’t think I could ever recover. What even is the point of life anyways? I guess I’ll never know. I don’t know what went wrong either. I was once a happy kid who loved music and basketball, who wanted to travel the world, who wanted to get married and have a bunch of kids. Now I’m sitting in my bathtub alone with a bottle of cheap whiskey writing a letter to a woman I never loved, but can’t get out of my head. They say you never know what you have until it’s gone. I always thought that was a bullshit excuse that people used to make themselves feel better about their choices, but I now know that it’s true. You were the best thing that could ever happen to me and I threw it all away. You were loving and kind, generous and thoughtful, loyal. You were so much when all I did was try to hurt you. I am truly sorry. I hope that your life brings you everything you’ve ever wanted and one day you’ll completely forget the name Min Yoongi. But until then I hope that maybe hearing or speaking my name won’t bring such disgust to your tongue. Maybe in the next life we can try this again. Take care of yourself Y/N.

Best regards,

Yoongi”

By the time you were done the letter was soaked with your own tears. You folded up the paper and put it back in the envelope before gently placing it in the kitchen drawer. Your heart broke for the man that was hurting so badly. You felt a slight pain of guilt that maybe there was something else you could’ve done, but in the end no one was able to help him. You were thankful for Hobi who came into your life like a big ray of sunshine bringing light and warmth. You smiled as you placed his coat in the closet, his cologne still strong with the smell of jasmine quickly surrounding you and reminding you of the new chapter of your life.

Turning to walk to the bedroom a piece of paper laying on the kitchen floor caught your eye. It wasn’t there earlier so you figured it must’ve fallen out of the envelope from Yoongi when you opened it. Shuffling over to pick it up you started laughing as you read it over,

“Thanks to your generous donation to Perry’s Sheep Farm we are able to continue rescuing sheep in need across the world. As a special thanks please see the attached photo of one of our sheep that your generous gift has helped.”

“He just couldn’t let this fucking sheep thing go.”, you chuckled. You shook your head letting out another laugh as you pulled out the Polaroid. As hard as you tried you couldn’t prevent the tears from flowing once again as you fell to the floor clutching the photos to your chest. Smiling back at you in the photo was a big fluffy sheep with a bright pink bow on the side of her head. The lettering across the bottom said, ‘Petunia’, written in Yoongi’s handwriting. Maybe it was your mind playing tricks on you, but you swore you could detect the faintest hint of cinnamon and vanilla in the air.

#bts #yoongi fanfic #yoongi x reader #min yoongi #bts fanfic #yoongi angst #cinnamon&vanilla #yoongi x y/n #yoongi fic #bts x reader #yoongi au #bts yoongi #bts fic #kim seokjin #jimin #jungkook #bts hobi

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skyfallslayer · 1 month

Text

Should We Stay or Should We Go? || Chapter Two

-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

🎲Summary: On the night of November 6th, 1983, Stephanie Henderson decided to walk her little brother’s friend, Will, back home. However… they never arrive. Now, Dustin, Mike and Lucas, and soon the exception of the girl’s ex-best friend, Steve, must band together to find out what happened. Meanwhile, Steph and Will must fight for their survival in this nightmarish version of Hawkins, Indiana.

🎲Chapter Summary: Lucas, Mike and Dustin try to talk to the girl they found in the woods; And Hopper questions an anxious Joyce about an unsettling phone call; Steph and Will must continue to survive; And Steve’s eyes get opened in a way he never saw coming.

🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Slow burn! Byler

🎲Rating: Teen-Mature

🎲Word Count: 11,024 (Oh, my lord)

🎲Date: 5/16/24

🎲Warnings: Angst; Swearing; Implied Broken Friendship; Talks of Kidnapping; Mental Strain/Breaking Down; Implying Sex; Lying; Implied Suicide; Death/Killing; Talks of Corpses; Blood; Gun Use; Steve's 'Asshole Era. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

(And let me know if I missed anything)

🎲A/N: Jesus. This was a tough one to write and edit (Hopefully I didn't make too many mistakes). But, geez. Writing different POVs, everyone's thought was a tough one. But hopefully y'all can understand 😅. Also, I am NOT a D&D player, so some of lore just comes straight from the wiki. Hopefully that's reliable enough. Anyway, sorry for the delay. Enjoy!

|| THE NIGHT BEFORE ||

“What the fuck are you?!” Will heard her scream as the creature tried to outmatch her. The light above them grew brighter and brighter, and he squeezed his eyes shut while gripping her jacket tighter. He prayed this was just another nightmare. Maybe… Maybe he’s getting his wish when he hears the silence. Does he dare open his eyes and see the truth?

He’s scared, trembling, and it heightens when he hears the girl heaving for air. So much so he clenches his grip on the fabric tighter, the strange smelling air going through his nostrils causing him to gasp himself. When his eyes snapped open is when his coughing fit started.

He hears his name being called, and hands coming around his shoulders. He almost jerks away, afraid, until his orbs settle on the silhouette before him.

“S-Steph?” He croaked, a sense of relief flooding his veins. “What just happened?” He could see the confusion on her face, looking around for clues. He followed her eyes, nose crinkling at the sight. “We’re still in the shed. But it’s… gross.”

She swallows. “Stay behind me.” She tells him, and guides herself through the door. They both shivered at the sudden drop in temperature. “Jesus, It’s freezing.”

Will and her looked around, the outside world seemed to be encased in a blue hue, the places around seemed to be tangled with vines and covered in something sticky. There was also a white powder that looked like snow, raining down from the dark skies above. A sky that didn’t even have moonlight like it did a few minutes ago.

“Did you hit your head when we crashed?” She asked after getting his attention away from the sky.

He shakes his head, almost sadly. If that had both just hit their heads, would the situation have been better? He frowns, worriedly thinking away as the older girl tries to stay calm.

“Come on.” She says, gesturing to him to follow. “Let’s go inside. I want to see something.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT ||

The rain was coming down more intensely than before, followed by the grumbling of thunder and lightning. Somehow, miraculously, the boys, mostly Wheeler, managed to convince the strange girl they found in the woods to return home with them, and hid her in the basement.

“Is there a number we can call for your parents?” Mike asked, worriedly as the girl looked between the three boys, all scared and confused.

“Where’s your hair? Do you have cancer?” Dustin spitted out, genuinely curious.

“Did you run away?” Lucas asked, skeptical.

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” Mike says, just as his friend questions a red sustain on her shirt. He slaps his hand away quickly. “Stop it! You’re freaking her out!”

“She’s freaking me out!”

“I bet she’s deaf.” Dustin suggested, before taking a quick half step and smacking his hands together. The sound makes the girl flinch, and he frowns apologetically. “Not deaf.”

“That’s enough, all right? She’s just scared and cold.” Mike said, silencing the two before running over to the laundry basket and grabbing some clothes. “Here, these are clean. Okay?”

The girl takes them, taking a second to be grateful before she starts stripping– The boys freak out, Mike running up to stop her while the other two look away.

“See over there?” He points. “Th-That’s the bathroom. Privacy. Get it?” She nods and he shows her inside. Just when he was about to shut it behind him, she grabs it forcibly. “You don’t want it closed?”

“No.” She finally says, surprising him.

“Oh, so you can speak. Okay, well… Um, how about we just keep the door…” He slowly moves it until there’s about three inches of space. “Just like this. Is that better?”

“Yes.”

Mike smiles and leaves her be, rejoining the group who were having a conversation of their own.

“This is mental.” Dustin said, freaking out.

“At least she can talk.” Mike points out, with Lucas shaking his head, replying,

“She said ‘no’ and ‘yes’. Your three-year-old sister says more.”

“She tried to get naked.” Dustin adds.

“There’s something seriously wrong with her.” Lucas said, touching his temple. “Like, wrong in the head.”

“She just went like…” The Henderson boy makes a motion of taking off shirt (and even knocked his own hat off his head).

“I bet she escaped from Pennhurst.”

“From where?” Mike said, eyebrow raised.

“The nuthouse in Kerley County.”

“You got a lot of family there?” Dustin teased, getting a dirty look.

“Bite me. Seriously though, think about it. That would explain her shaved hair and why she’s so crazy.”

“Why she went like…” He does the shirt motion again. In his mind this was helping him and Lucas’ case.

“‘She’s an escapee’ is the point. She’s probably a psycho.”

“Like Michael Myers.”

“Exactly! We should’ve never brought her here.”

“So you just wanted to leave her out in that storm?” Mike asks, irritated.

“Yes! We went out to find Will–”

“And Phanie.” Dustin pressures.

“And Steph – not another problem!” Lucas agrees.

“I think we should tell your mom.”

“I second that.”

Mike holds his hand up. “Who’s crazy now?”

“How is that crazy?” Lucas scoffed.

“‘Cause, we weren’t supposed to be out tonight, remember?”

“So?”

“So if I tell my mom and she tells your mom and your mom–”

Dustin’s eyes widened. “Oh, man.”

“Our houses become Alcatraz.” Lucas frowns.

“Exactly. We’ll never find Will, or Steph.” Mike says, seeing Dustin make the shirt motion once more, silently asking the question about the girl. “All right, here’s the plan. She sleeps here tonight.”

Henderson perked up again. “You’re letting a girl–”

“Just listen! In the morning, she sneaks around my house, goes to the front door and rings my doorbell. My mom will answer and know exactly what to do. She’ll send her back to Pennhurst or wherever she comes from. We’ll be totally in the clear. And tomorrow night, we go back out. And this time, we find Will and Stephanie.”

Lucas and Dustin share a look, until one of them finally shrugged. “I guess that works.”

“Great. We’ll start again tomorrow. Goodnight, guys.” Mike bid them as he went off to start making the mysterious girl a place to rest.

“This is crazy, man.” Lucas said, once they had snuck back out. “What the hell is Mike even thinking?”

“I don’t know. Do you think his plan will really work?” Dustin asked, as they headed over to where their bikes were hidden.

“I’m giving it less than a fifty percent chance of success.” He sighs. “I better get home.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Hey, don’t look so sad.” He pats his curly haired friend on the back. “We’ll find them.”

“I just want my sister back. You have no idea.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

In the following morning, in the Byers house, the eldest seemingly was keeping it together, making the morning meal like he always does and hoping his worrying mother would have just a bite.

“All right, Mom. Breakfast is ready.” Jonathan said, while placing the plate down in front of her, her thoughts being interrupted.

“What?” His mother said, before moving some papers. “No, be careful of the poster.”

“Yeah, okay. All right–”

“I can’t eat.”

“I just need you to eat, Mom.”

“Listen, listen. The Xerox place opens in, like…” She looks down at her watch. “30 minutes–”

“Mom–”

“And I don’t want you to go alone–”

“No, I know. I told you, I got it.”

“So I’m gonna have Karen take you, ‘cause I should be here.” She gestures around, all jittery. “Claudia will meet you there, b-but if she’s not, she’ll reimburse us for the copies of Stephanie, I–”

He shakes his head with understanding. “Okay.”

“We need to make, what, 200, 300 copies?” He nods again. “How much is a copy?”

“Mom?”

“Ten cents?”

“Mom?”

“If we– ten cents”

“Mom, Mom!” Jonathan stops her from counting the cash she had laid out, and squeezes her shoulder with her other hang to calm her. “Y-You can’t get like this, okay?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Joyce replies, taking a shaky inhale of nicotine.

“No, it’s okay.” He reassures her softly, just before someone comes knocking on their door. The mother rushed over with her son on her tail, busting the door wide open for the exhausted police officer.

“We’ve been waiting six hours.”

“I know, I came as soon as I could.” Hopper replies, nearly dead on his feet.

“Six hours.”

“A little bit of trust here, all right?” He slides his hat off. “We’ve been searching all night, went all the way to Cartersville.”

“And?”

“Nothing.”

Joyce made a choking sound and looked away. “God…”

Hopper frowns, sadly. “Flo says you got a phone call?”

“Oh, yeah.” Joyce nods and shows him their phone.

He picks it, examining the speaker part of it which was charded black. “Storm barbecued this pretty good.”

She took a step back in surprise. “The storm?”

Hopper looked at her like she had two heads. “What else?”

“You’re saying that that’s not weird?”

“No, it’s weird.”

“Can we, like, trace who made the call? Contact the–”

“No, it doesn’t work like that.” He shakes his head, and then looks at her with all seriousness. “Now, uh, you’re sure it was Will? Because Flo said you just heard some breathing.”

“No. It was him, it was Will... and h-he was scared. And then something–”

“It was probably just a prank call. It was somebody trying to scare you.”

“Who would do that?” Joyce questioned, face full of confusion and sickness.

“Well, this thing’s been on TV. It brings out all the crazies, you know. False leads, prank calls, uh–”

“No, Hopper, it was not a prank. It was him.”

“Joyce.” He begins, as she denies him again

“Come on, how about a little trust here?” She laughs dryly. “What, you think I’m– I’m making this up?”

“I’m not saying that you’re making it up.” Hopper looks at her with concern again. “All I’m saying is it’s an emotional time for you.”

“And you think I don’t know my own son’s breathing?”

“Joyce–”

“Hopper, my son’s missing. A-And not only that, someone else’s daughter is missing.” She nervously takes a puff of her cigarette. “And you know what the mess up part about that is? Stephanie didn’t have to! She didn’t have to be the sweetheart she is and take my son home. She could have just drove past him, but she didn’t! She didn’t, Hop. And now I have to live with the thought that I made someone else’s kid go missing because I. Was. Working!”

She ends with an emotional sigh, tightening the heavy tension it the room. Jonathan worriedly looking at his mother before, locking eyes with the police chief who was trying to find the right words to say.

“You hear from, uh, Lonnie yet?” Hopper asked after the small silence.

“No.”

“It’s been long enough.” He puts his hat back on. “I’m having him checked out.”

“Oh, come on!” She sighs loudly, watching him leave. “You’re wasting your time.” Then the door shuts, and rubs her temple. “Jesus. He never listens!”

Jonathan ponders for a moment, before asking, “Mom, how likely is it that Will would actually go to Lonnie’s?”

“I…” Joyce runs a hand through her messy locks. “It’s possible, but he lives a long, long way. Especially on foot. But… I don’t– maybe he would! I…” She sighs again, overwhelmed. “However, I don’t think he would have gone with Stephanie. He’s… W-Will knows your father’s not the best man, and Will, you know, has that heart of gold.”

That got a chuckle out of both of them. “Yeah.”

“I don’t think Will would have risked Stephanie like that.” She shakes her head. “No. She’s an older kid, and older sister. As much as this sounds messed up, she would have done anything to make sure Will was safe. I know it. So… my question is…” She locks eyes with her son. “What would a girl her age think is a safe place for a young boy?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| TWO NIGHTS AGO ||

Stephanie flipped the lightswitch on in the kitchen out of curiosity, but finds herself still submerged in darkness. “Just what I thought. There’s no light.” She says with a frown.

“The flash of light we saw–” Will looks up at her. “Do you think it was a power outage?”

“I don’t think there’s light here, I mean-” She starts walking around, rubbing her shaking hands together. “Look at this place. I don’t think we’re in Hawkins anymore.” She shivers just a smidge. “At least it’s a little warmer inside here.” Then she hears a distressful sound. “Will?”

The boy was pale, pupils blown wide and had a small tremble. “W-What do you m-mean we’re not in Hawkins anymore?” He asked, lip quivering with a slight pant. “B-But th-this looks like my house. D-Did w-we get taken somewhere else? Can we even g-go home? I–”

“Shit… Will–” She rushes over, hands coming up to his shoulders while she gets on one knee. “Will? Hey, bud, listen– hey.” She makes sure his gaze meets hers. “Don’t freak out. I know it’s scary, but we’re going to figure this out. Once we do, I’m going to get us home, I promise.”

The boy sniffles into his shoulder, fighting back tears. “You promise?”

“I promise.” She says it without realizing the fate of those words.

He swallows and extends out a certain finger. “Pinky promise?”

Her breath was nearly taken away by that certain question, taking her far back into a distant memory. But… like hell she’s going to let that memory change her judgment. She interlocks hers with his and repeats, “Pinky promise.”

That got him to crack a smile. “So, what next?” He asks, making her rack her brain for a plan.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT DAY ||

He woke up again to his cat’s crying. The young Henderson frowns, heart clenching at how Mews was wondering where his sister was at. For the urban legend of how cats had no emotions, he’s certainly not seeing it. He rubbed his eyes and wandered aimlessly around, the thought of calling sick into school was still fresh in his mind. Should he? I mean it made sense, and it wasn’t like the school won’t understand, so….

Was that a yes?

He walked through the hallway, curls in his eyes as slows in front of his sister’s bedroom. His cat locked eyes with him, sadness and confusion filled the slitted pupils. Mews meows again.

“She’s not back yet.” Dustin says, getting a chirp. “We’re trying. She’ll be back soon.” He starts walking away, hearing him make a sad sound once more.

“Dusty-bun, I’m going to make some posters.” Claudia said, who were gathering her belongings by the door. “I left you breakfast on the stove.”

His nervous fingers gripped his t-shirt as he tried not to sound so down. “Hey, Mom?” Her eyes meet his gaze. “Is it okay if I… stay home today?”

Claudia’s face softens bittersweetly. “Of course you can, sweety. If you leave the house for whatever reason, just leave me a note where you’re going, that’s all I ask.” She gives him a kiss on his hairline, and is one foot out the door before adding, “Oh! And be back before dark. Okay? Your Mama doesn’t need to worry about another kid.”

“Can do.”

He watches her smile and closes the door, locking it. He frowns at that action, I mean they’ve never locked their door before, and now it was becoming second nature. He was even surprised she told him he could leave the house. Or… did she not expect him to leave this place in the state he’s in? Sounds like something she would do.

He sighs and heads for the kitchen to make himself a plate. He didn’t have much of an appetite, really, but he didn’t want to hurt his mother’s feelings or make her beg for him to eat – he didn’t want to call ‘pot kettle black’ since he was the one that had to convince his mourning mother to eat last night. But it was hard, his fork just picking at the food, cutting it into smaller pieces to stare at before dropping his utensil onto the plate.

Steph… His fingers dug into his pocket and pulled the gold chain out, letting it sprawl out in his palm. He stares at it intensely, thinking. Come on, Sis, give me a sign. What happened to you and Will? What caused you to go off road and run? Run with Will’s shotgun out of all things?

What had got her so scared that they needed a weapon to protect themselves? Both her and Will were the last two people that would resort in violence, so the fact that they decided to arm themselves with a weapon tells him that something sinister was up.

But what? Dustin lays the necklace down next to him, pretending that she was here to eat with him like she always does, before deciding it was time to munch on what was left on his plate.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Hopper struggles to keep his mind clear after that conversation with Joyce. His thought always going back to this particular moment:

““Stephanie didn’t have to! She didn’t have to be the sweetheart she is and take my son home. She could have just drove past him, but she didn’t! She didn’t, Hop. And now I have to live with the thought that I made someone else’s kid go missing because I. Was. Working!””

Of course the woman felt guilty about everything. I mean, your kid goes missing, who else are you going to blame other than yourself? But she also was chipping away at the idea it was her fault that that poor girl was missing too. Blames herself for working later than usual, and wasn’t the one to come across her own son on the road and pick him up. That’s a lot of guilt for someone who’s holding the family together on her own.

He listens to the volunteers shout the children’s names, hoping that they would shout back. Hopper wishes that too. He prays that one of them would yell back for help and get this nightmare over with.

“Hey!” He shouts at the two officers. “Anything?”

Callahan shakes his head. “You?”

“No, nothing but a dead phone.”

“Joyce?”

Hopper nods. “About one step from falling off the edge.”

“She’s been a few steps for a while now, hasn’t she?” Powell asked, as he’s met with a stern glare.

“Kid’s missing, man. Show a little class.” Hopper snaps, making them avert their eyes.

“All right…”

He exhales and takes off with the rest of the group, shouting, “Come on, let’s go! We got a lot of ground to cover.” He keeps his fingers crossed that this would be it. That this would be the search that brings them home.

For their mothers' sake.

For his sake.

For every goddamn person out of here’s sake.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| THE NIGHT BEFORE ||

Stephanie shifted through the last cabinet and frowns. “Well, we can’t cook anything because there’s no electricity. But we can eat the dry goods. Unless we can figure out how to start a fire” She sighs, and wrinkles her nose. I mean, they can go a few days without eating if they didn’t want to touch the box of crackers covered in goo. But water? How were they supposed to have water if the faucet comes out with something they probably shouldn’t drink.

She rubs her temples, thinking. “I guess we’re going to have to look for some bottled stuff to drink.” She makes contact with the boy who just entered the room. “How you feeling?”

“Fine. I got a bit of a chill, but we can still grab clothes out of the closets if we need it.” Will replies, hugging his walkie talkie close.

“And the call?”

“Nothing. I mean I could hardly ever get reception over here anyway, so maybe we can try finding a different spot.”

“That wouldn’t be a bad idea." She says with a sigh. “Where’s the shotgun?”

“Oh, uh– Mom’s room.” He points behind him.

“Alright, maybe I’ll take a peek outside. If it seems clear, maybe we can try to find some reception.”

Stephanie leaves the room with Will looking back at his walkie. He had to remain strong, hopeful. He has to get through to someone. His friends, his family, one of them has to be able–

Wait.

Was he hearing things? Was his mind playing tricks?

His eyes trail to his living room where he swears he heard someone talking. It was faint, but you can’t miss it.

It sounds like… His chest tightens at a thought, his brown orbs blown wide as he looks at the yellow phone on the wall. It was probably hopeless, stupid even, I mean… the damn thing didn’t work when Stephanie tried to call for help when they were being chased. But that was the real world, this was… fake? Maybe it different, maybe it’s—

Oh, shit.

Maybe he’s just grasping at straws at this point and hopes it turns out okay.

His fingers latch around the phone, pulling it off the receiver and dials his home’s number, praying with all his might that this ridiculous idea would actually work.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, com–

Oh, he felt like crying when someone picked up.

[ ‘Hello?’ ]

His mother’s voice broke through and poke him in the heart. He couldn’t breath as relief washed over him like a storm.

[ ‘Hello? Lonnie? Hopper? Who is this?’ ]

Say something, say something, say something– His lip quivers as he swallows. “M-Mom?” He can’t wait till Steph hears about this. “M-Mom, I-It’s me.”

She can hear me right? She has to.

[ ‘Will? Will? It’s Will!’ ]

[ ‘Mom, it’s Will?’ ]

He could cry upon hearing the second voice. “J-Jonathan? Mom? M-Me and Stephanie are tr-trap in some weird place! I-I don’t know what t-to–”

Then he was cut off by the dreadful sound of the monster. Will watched as its claws wrapped around the corner, almost like it was pulling itself into the kitchen. He doesn’t even know where it came from. He didn’t even hear it freaking come in!

He froze on sight, his mother shouting something he couldn’t make out as the beast with no eyes looked directly at him. He wanted to scream but it was stuck in his throat. Is this how he was going to die? Die by listening to his mother’s pleas to answer her?

It shrieked and seemed to get bigger, ready to strike him down before it took a bullet to the face. The shot made it fall against the wall, and Will drops the fried phone and backs himself away. Stephanie looked half scared to death too as she cocks the shotgun again and fires one more when it stands up, sending it flying to the living room. As quickly as her buckling knees could hold her, she rushes over to Will, pulling him behind her as she aims the barrel into the direction the beast was. Shaking intensely, she carefully peeks around the corner to find that it had completely vanished like it did earlier. She gasps in shock before sliding to the ground herself, mentally drained.

“Steph!!” Will calls out with worry. He could see her eyes glassing over, her skin becoming paler as she shouts,

“Where the fuck are we?!”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT DAY ||

Steve strolls into school, head in the clouds, and an aching feeling in the pit of his stomach. His sleep went to complete shit after the conversation with his girlfriend last night. He still doesn’t understand why it was affecting him so much. It’s not like him and Steph hung out anymore. So why is he losing sleep over this?

You’re not even friends anymore, Harrington. He mentally slaps himself. Get your shit together–

“Boo!” Tommy yelled, jumping out from behind the corner, startling him.

“Jesus, Hagan.” Steve said, holding his chest while the other teen laughed.

“That was so easy.”

“So–” Carol’s arm snakes around him with a grin. “Did you tell your little girlfriend about your party?”

“I-I… not yet.”

“What? You didn’t tell her at her house yesterday?”

“N-No. Never got the chance to.”

“What?!” Tommy scoffs. “Stealthy Stevie didn’t get to use his skills last night?” Him and his girlfriend laughed, but then grew quiet seeing how distant the King was being. “What the fuck’s going on with you, man?”

“Um…” Steve’s gaze gets caught onto someone else, spotting a certain person posting a certain flier up on the bulletin board. He swallows, and masks a fake smile. “You guys go ahead to class. I got to grab something out of my locker.”

“Oh, we can go with you.” Carol begins, trying to follow him but he shakes them off.

“No, no. Go ahead. I’ll meet you there.” Steve ignores the strange looks they gave him before walking away. Deciding this was the ‘only’ way, he rushes over to the oldest Byers kid, ‘accidently’ pushing his shoulder into his, knocking the papers out of his hand while he was leaving. He scoffs, while saying, “Watch where you’re going!”

Jonathan says nothing as he bends over to collect the rest, oblivious to the other teenager sliding a paper away with his foot. Once he leaves, Steve retrieves the flier from under his shoe, reading it over.

HAVE YOU SEEN ME? Stephanie Henderson Age 16, 5’4” Brown Hair, Blue Eyes, 110lbs. Last seen wearing a brown work uniform, black jacket, white sneakers, and a baseball cap. Reach out to Claudia Henderson or Joyce Byers at #### or ####

Steve stares with a distant look in his eyes, thumb brushing over her picture. Such a gentle smile for a gentle person. God… why did they have to use that picture? It was right before he–

He frowns, throwing his head back.

Fuck…

What the hell was he supposed to do now?

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Back at the Wheeler’s house, Mike decided to stay home, his parents totally unaware of him doing so. He showed the new girl around his place, acting a bit giggly when they finally got to his room. He was so excited to show off his action figures, and comic books, and anything else that he holds close to his heart. He didn’t even realize she was starting to wander off to where a collection of trophies were. Her brown eyes grew with fascination by them.

“Oh, these are all my science fair trophies. We got first every year.” Mike’s smile drops just a tad. “Except for last year when we got third. Mr. Clarke said it was totally political.”

Yeah, it totally was that. He expected some kind of reaction from her, except for the one where her eyes widened and she slowly pointed to the picture of Will in their fair picture together.

Mike perked up, hopeful. “You know Will? Did you see him? Last Night? On the road? Did–” He pauses. “Hang on a sec.” Maybe he’s getting his hopes up as he grabs another photo after shifting around in his drawer. It was a picture of his friends’ families at the lake, posing nicely for the camera.

He points to the girl in the right hand corner. “This is Stephanie. She’s his sister.” He points to Dustin who’s hanging out behind her. “She supposedly gave Will a ride the night he disappeared, and we can’t find her either. Did you see her too?”

The girl studies Steph’s face, slowly the same reaction she had from seeing Will returned as she pointed again. “I–”

Her answer was cut short when they heard something from outside. Mike gets up quickly, peeking through his curtains to see his mother’s car pulling into the driveway. He pales.

“Shit.” He rushes to grab her by the hand and strings her along. “We gotta hide!”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| HOURS BEFORE ||

Of course the eldest stayed awake for most of the night, the two of them tucked away in the far corner of Will’s room, her eyes trained on the door just in case that wretched monster appeared again. She kept a good grip on the shotgun, one foot planted on the ground for a quick pop up if needed. Adrenaline was pumping in her blood, she was fighting off her exhaustion and hunger, while a tune played on her dry lips.

“♪ Here we stand

Worlds apart, hearts broken in two. Two. Two

Sleepless nights.

Losing ground, I’m reaching for you. You. You

Feeling that it’s gone

Can’t change your mind

If we can’t go on

To survive–♪”

Will stirred beside her, his head resting on her shoulder that was starting to fall asleep, but she refused to jostle the kid. God knows he needs his rest. Well… so does she, but she’ll get around to that.

Her mind wanders back to the conversation they had last night, the one where Will admitted he spoke to his mother on the phone. Shock wasn’t the right word, especially when she examined the phone that had been burnt black, and when asking again if he heard that right, the youngest Byers swears he did.

Is there actually a way to communicate to… well… ‘our world’, I guess. She ponders on that thought, wondering if it’s possible to do so without frying your phone to death. Not to mention Will swears he heard people talking before calling his mother. Can we only communicate to the people we ‘hear’?

She scolds herself. This hurts my head too much.

“♪ –The tide

Love divides

Someday, love will find you

Break those chains that bind you

One night will remind you

How we touched and went our separate ways

If he ever hurts you

True love won’t desert you

You know I still love you

Though we touched and went our separate ways– ♪”

Will stirred again, this time waking up slowly with a groan. “Was it a dream…?” He whispers, his eyes opening at a snail pace.

“I wish.” Steph says, sadly.

“Did you sleep okay?” He asks, rubbing his face.

Her heart skips a beat and a lie slips out. “Uh, yeah. It was fine.”

“That’s good.”

“We shouldn’t stay here.” She says, surprising him. “We should probably move around, maybe lose that monster for a while. And you’re probably hungry too, I know my mom keeps cans and bottled water down in our basement for emergencies. That should tie us over for a little while.”

“Is it even safe to go out?” He wonders, yet intrigued. He’ll admit… he is a bit famished.

“I don’t know. But we got to try. Right?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Whoa, whoa. Careful, careful.” Hopper says as he snags his partner by the collar. “I need you alive for the next few days, at least.”

Callahan smirked and scoffed as he gestures to the Quarry below. “Oh, hell, I could survive that.” He said, making his superior laugh. “What? George Burness made the jump. And he was drunk as a skunk. He did it on a $10 bet.”

“George is a liar. You make that jump from this height, that water turns into cement. Hits you like a ton of bricks.” Hopper smacks his hands together. “Break every damn bone in your body.”

The youngster pondered on that for a second before shaking his head. “Nah.”

[ ‘Chief, you copy?’ ]

Hopper grabs his walkie from his belt. “Yeah, Flo, talk to me.”

[ ‘Hey, Chief, we got a call from over at Benny’s. I think you need to get there right away.’ ]

And those were words he didn’t want to hear. So he and his team rushed over there as quickly as they could, and the first they were met with was the smell of a rotting corpse.

“Ugh, Jesus!” Callahan said, covering his nose.

“Suicide?” Powell asked, after a moment of silence.

Hopper hummed and stared in disbelief at the man laying on the table, pistol in hand and a bullet wound straight through the temple. There’s no way this can be real.

“Missing kid, suicide.” Callahan frowns. “You must feel like a big city cop again, huh, Chief?

“Well, I mostly dealt with strangers back then.” Hopper replies, this particular moment he almost broke down. “Benny was my friend.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| HOURS BEFORE ||

Stephanie peeked outside before gesturing to Will to follow. The two of them had backpacks on that they found lying around, going to use them to fill up with anything they could find – But the task that lay ahead was going to be hard. The task was…

Walking back through Mirkwood to the Henderson home.

No lights, just a few bullets to spare, and their pure will to survive (Or maybe it’s the fear that’s fueling that will).

“I don’t like this.” Will mutters, only a few minutes after they left the Byers’ driveway and down a few feet on the road. “What if that thing spawns in front of us again?”

“Then we shoot it and book it again. That’s all we can do now.” Steph replies, carefully looking around. But what if he’s right? What if thing actually just spawns out of thin air? Then there’s not telling where and when not to go.

He stays silent, shaking a tad as they make it further down the road. It took a hot minute for the older girl to notice this and stop briefly, the twelve year old’s eyes confused just as she held out her hand. Without missing a beat, his clammy hand takes it, squeezing it tight. She smiles just a tad, reminding her of Dustin before they started walking again.

She felt him hang on to dear life as they strolled into the darkest part of Mirkwood, the eeriness that was silence was making their hearts race. She came to a conclusion after facing the monster last night that she had to be the strong one here. She has to act like the older sister again, and remain calm, and to keep him safe.

I made a promise. I don’t know how to fulfill it just yet, but I’m going to get him out of here. Steph casts a glance down at him, the poor boy’s face looked so cold. Does hers look like that too?

She grins after a quick thought. “Hey–” His eyes locked with hers. “What does a ‘Ranger’ do in D&D? That one sounds intriguing to me.”

His face lights up. “You actually want to play D&D?”

“Hey, you suggested it, I might as well. So, the Ranger? What’s that like? The lore?”

“Well, Rangers are warriors that explore different civilizations, and they hunt down the deadliest of monsters. They’re trained in many different combat techniques, survival skills, and even some magic.”

“Magic? I like the sound of that.”

“They mostly reside in the forest, or anything ‘nature-y’.”

She chuckles. “I don’t like the sound of that. What else? Aren’t there like… classes… or different types?

“Oh, yeah.” He nods. “I guess it depends on what you prefer. Do you want me to tell you?”

“I’m all ears.” Steph said, making a motion. I’m just glad he’s stopped shaking.

“Well, there’s a lot. The most common ones are ‘Beast Masters’, which are accompanied with an animal companion. Then there’s ‘Hunters’, which are mainly just professional assassins that take down monsters of all sorts. Now, even though all Rangers have the capability of taking monsters down, Hunters are strictly made just to do that.”

She hums. “Interesting.”

“Then there’s ‘Gloom Stalkers’, who live mostly in dark realms, and take down the shadowy beasts roaming the territory. They’re pretty good at ambushing their opponents.” He smiles. “Personally, I find that the coolest.”

“Well, I can see why. What else? Do Rangers get weapons?”

“Of course! The most common is a two-blade or archery.”

“Archery sounds cool.”

“See, I agree. But I know Lucas always says it’s ‘stupid’, so–”

Steph shakes her head with a sigh. “Oh, well. I guess I’ll have to prove him wrong when I play.”

“So you are going to play with us!” Will said, joyfully, like you just told him Christmas was coming early.

“If that’s how I prove Lucas wrong, then so be it. So how does one newbie play D&D?” She asked, hopefully this will keep him occupied. At least I can keep him distracted until we get there.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT ||

“Are you out of your mind?” Lucas said, as soon as Mike was done with his explanation for them being here.

“Just listen to me.” Mike pleads.

“You are out of your mind–”

“She knows about Will and Steph.”

Dustin perks up after being the silent one here. “What do you mean she knows about them?”

Mike grabs the pictures from earlier and holds them up. “She pointed at them, at their picture. She knew they were missing. I could tell.”

“You could tell?” Lucas asked, looking between the pictures and the girl who was on the bed.

“Just think about it. Do you really think it was a coincidence that we found her on Mirkwood, the same place where they disappeared?”

Dustin nodded, agreeing. “That is weird.”

“And she said bad people are after her.” Mike said, with a frown. “I think maybe these bad people are the same ones that took Will and Steph. I think she knows what happened to them.”

“Then why doesn’t she tell us?” Lucas asked, glaring at her direction before stomping over. “Do you know where they are?” He grabs her by the shoulder. “Do you know where Will and Stephanie are?!”

“Stop it, you’re scaring her!” Mike pulls him away, as his friend brushes him off.

“She should be scared! If you know where they are, tell us! This is nuts. We have to take her to your mom.”

“No! Eleven said telling any adult would put us in danger.”

“What kind of danger?” Dustin asked, his thoughts from earlier about his sister and Will taking a shotgun with them crossed his mind.

Lucas gives him a weird look. “Her name is Eleven?”

“El for short.” Mike clarifies.

“Mike! What kind of danger?” Dustin pushes, his stomach turning.

“Danger danger!” The brunette makes a finger gun and points it between Henderson’s eyes before moving over towards Lucas who demises quickly.

“No, no, no!” Sinclair snaps, rushing for the door. “We’re going back to plan A. We’re telling your mom.”

He pulls open the door only for it to slam shut automatically. Not even batting an eye at that, he tries again, for it to not only to shut with more force but to even lock itself. The boys look back at the only explanation, and they see El standing on her feet with a drop of blood coming out of her nose.

“No.” She said, with a tone that told them not to push it.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Back at the station, Hopper was questioning an anxious friend of Benny’s. Earl was his name, and he was sitting in a chair, eyes full of disbelief as he lit a cigarette.

“Just doesn’t make any sense, Chief.”

“You, uh, notice anything odd about him the last few weeks?” Hopper asked, trying to keep it professional (even though this case was hurting him the most).

Earl shakes his head. “No, we’re fixin’ to go fishing down the Etowah next Sunday. I mean, he was lookin’ forward to it. I know that.”

“He got any enemies you might know about? I mean, people who might not want him around?”

“The exes didn’t like him much. That’s for sure, but… nah.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“Yesterday. Lunch, same as always.”

“Just you and the boys?”

“Yep. Me and Henry and…” He pauses. “Well, there was this, uh, this kid. No kid did this.”

“Kid?” Hopper nearly perked up hope. “What are you talking about?”

“Yeah. At lunch, uh, there was this boy that, uh I mean, he was trying to steal food out of Benny’s kitchen. Can you imagine that?”

Hopper locked eyes with Callahan who got the silent message. “This kid what’d he look like?”

“Well, he was about yea high.” Earl raises his arm up and out. “You know, tiny like. I didn’t get a good look at him, though. He was back in the kitchen.”

“He look like this?” Callahan asked, coming back with a missing kid poster of Will.

He takes the flier, and immediately shakes his head. “Oh, no, that’s… that’s Lonnie’s missin’ kid. No. This was a different kid. This one had really short hair. I mean, it was buzzed nearly down to the scalp.”

Hopper tries not to let his composure break, and continues to hold on to the slimmer of hope. “Yeah, well, let’s… You know, let’s forget about the haircut. I mean, if this kid had a buzz cut… could it be Lonnie’s kid?”

“Well, I-I… didn’t get a good look at him. About the right height, though. I mean, could’ve been. Yeah, that’s… Could’ve been.”

Hopper frowns, taking the poster back from him. “And, you only saw the boy right? No girl? Teenager? Dark hair?”

“No.” Earl shakes his head once more. “No. I didn’t see a girl.”

The Chief mentally sighs. This is not good.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

[ ‘A party?’ ]

Finally! Steve thought, pumping his fist. She finally sounded intrigued. He was hoping this would make up for his weird behavior at school.

And, no, no, no, It wasn’t because of– well… ‘you know who’. Totally not because of her. Totally, totally, totally not–

[ ‘Steve?’ ]

Nancy’s voice broke through his totally not clouded mind. “Uh, yeah, sorry. Yeah, a party. Well… kind of. It’s just going to be me, Tommy H. and Carol. No parents for the whole weekend, so we wouldn’t have to worry about them coming in and ruining the mo-jo.”

Just my friends and my girlfriend. Just having fun, no worries about–

[ ‘Not much of a party with just four people.’ ]

He laughs. “Okay, I’ll admit, it’s a little sad. But you know, it’s better this way. And, you know, if you want to, you can invite Barbara. If it makes you feel more comfortable. Or not. Or you don’t have to come–”

[ ‘Steve.’ ]

“Yeah?”

[ ‘I’ll totally come. But I’m going to try to convince Barb first if that’s alright.’ ]

“Yeah, Yeah. Totally. It starts at seven.”

[ ‘Starts at seven. Got it. I’ll see you then.’ ]

He smiles. “See you then. Bye.”

[ ‘Bye.’ ]

“Yes!” He said, once he hung up the phone. “Finally.” He feels his spirits get lifted again. “This is going to be perfect.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| HOURS BEFORE ||

“Welcome to Mi Casa.” Stephanie said, upon entering her home. Just as gross and dark as Will’s.

“You said the basement, right?” Will asked, the thought of eating something sounded nice.

“Yep.”

They thought navigating below “sunlight” was going to be hard, but I guess living in darkness for nearly twenty-four hours had its perks. Finding the tote where the emergency supplies were easier than they thought, their stomachs growing when they saw the cans of food.

“Hang on second.” Steph said, disappearing back up the stairs for a sec, and then coming back with some forks and a can opener. She uses her shirt to wipe it clean the best she could before using. “Pineapple or Peaches?”

“Pineapple, please.” Will said, drooling as she placed the open can in his hands. The two of them plop down criss-cross applesauce, sighing with relief that they could finally take a rest.

“We’ll have to take what we can, but don’t make your bag too heavy in case we need to run again. Got it?” She replies, sliding over a bottle of water to him too. He nods, and takes a second to chug some liquid too.

One can was enough for now, since none of them had any clue how long they’ll be here, they’ll need to ration what they can find. Food, water, a first aid kit, some mittens and hats, an extra jacket, socks (And Will was proud to find a half box of matches laying around).

“Do we need anything else?” He asked, making her think.

She hums, and feels around her pockets. “We need more ammo. Or another gun at least.”

“Do you have any?”

“No. I don’t.” She closes her eyes. Now where could we get more nearby?

But the more she thought about it, the more she dreaded. She does know one place they have a gun, and hopefully still does since it’s been so long.

She sighs. ��I know… one place that has a gun. It’s far though. Really far. It’ll take us a couple hours to get there on foot. But it’s closer than going to town.”

“If that’s what we have to do, then let’s do it.” Will said, sliding his backpack back on, ready to start their journey again. He flashes her a goofy grin. “I hope I can count this as PE for school.”

If that was a joke to cheer her up then it totally worked.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Now that they might have a lead, the police and its volunteers spread out in the woods behind Benny’s diner, hoping to find some good news (For Hopper’s sake he really hopes so).

“Hey, you think Earl really saw Will?” Callahan asked, trying to keep up with his Boss’ speed. “I mean, what’s he doin’ with a shaved head? And stealing food from Benny?”

“Tell you what, when we find him, we’ll ask.” Hopper replies, with an attitude.

“Can’t ask a corpse questions.” Powell said, getting a glare. Suddenly, one of the volunteers blew a whistle.

“Hold up! You got something?” Hopper shouted and broke into a sprint. “Hey, what do you got?”

“Not sure.” The person said, crouching down next to a drain. “Maybe nothing. I found this. In there.”

Hopper takes a piece of fabric from his hand, before shining his flashlight through the drain, still hopeful that maybe he was lying in there, scared but safe.

“No way a kid crawls through there.” Powell said, in denial.

“I don’t know… a scared enough one might. His brother said he was good at hiding.”

“Yeah, but, just Will?” Callahan asked, conflicted. “What happened to Stephanie? ‘Cause there ain’t no way a teenager’s going to fit through this drain pipe.”

“Maybe they separated?” Powell questioned.

“I’m not so sure about that. Claudia said her daughter would never leave anyone behind.”

“Willingly that is.”

“Come on, you two.” Hopper said, jogging again.

This time, they decided to follow the drain pipe that led them further into the forest. Just as their knees were about to give out, they’re met with an electric fence and a keep out sign for the one and only…

Hawkins Lab.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“El?” Mike announces his arrival into the basement. He had just finished having dinner with his family, and even convinced his mom to let his friends stay the night. All part of his plan to figure out what was happening to his missing family.

“No adults. Just us and some meatloaf.” He continues, placing a tray down in front of the makeshift fort, letting her know to come out. Her eyes trail to him and then to the two boys falling behind. “Don’t worry. They won’t tell anyone about you. They promise. Right?”

“We never would’ve upset you if we knew you had superpowers.” Dustin said, before getting hit in the leg by Mike. “Ow!”

“What Dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared… earlier. That’s all.”

“We just wanted to find our friends.” Lucas admitted, feeling a tad guilty for his actions.

“‘Friends’?” El asked, confused by that word. It was so foreign to her. What does it even mean?

“Yeah, friends. Will? Steph?”

“What are ‘friends’?”

Lucas gave her a weird look. “Is she serious?” Henderson shrugged. “Um, a friend–”

“Is someone that you’d do anything for.” Mike cuts in.

“You lend them your cool stuff, like comic books and trading cards.” Dustin adds.

“And they never break a promise.”

“Especially when there’s spit.” Lucas also puts in, making sure she was getting it.

“Spit?” El said, tilting her head.

“A spit swear means–” He spits into his palm. “You never break your word.” He holds his hand out for Dustin to take and shake. “It’s a bond.”

Mike nods in agreement. “That’s super important, because friends… they tell each other things. Things that parents don’t know.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Barbara finally pulls the car over to the side after her friend insisted they stop here. She looks over at the brunette with a strange look. “What are we doing here? His house is three blocks away.”

“We can’t park in the driveway.” Nancy said, making the ginger roll her eyes.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, the neighbors might see.”

“This is so stupid.” Barb shakes her head. “I’m just gonna drop you off.”

“Calm down, Barb. Come on. You promised that you’d go.” Nancy pleaded with her ‘baby doe’ face. “You’re coming. We’re gonna have a great time.”

“He just wants to get in your pants.”

Nancy chuckles with disbelief. “No, he doesn’t.”

“Nance… seriously. He invited you to his house. His parents aren’t home. Come on, you are not this stupid.”

“Tommy H. and Carol are gonna be there.”

“Tommy and Carol have been having sex since, like, seventh grade.” Barb cringes at the thought. “It’ll probably just be, like, a big orgy.”

“Gross.”

“I’m serious!”

“All right, well…” Nancy takes her seat belt off and starts unbuttoning her sweater. “You can be, like, my guardian. All right? Make sure I don’t get drunk and do anything stupid.”

“Ugh.” Barb said, shaking her head. She watches as her friend takes her top off and starts fiddling around in her purse for another one. “Is that a new bra?”

Nancy pauses. “No.”

“So, obvious, Nancy…”

“Hey.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“What’s the weirdo doing?” Lucas asked, watching her sit at their D&D table and close her eyes.

“El?” Mike said, as they gathered around, waiting.

When she opens her eyes, she slowly gravitates to one of the pieces and picks it up. “Will.” She replies, showing it was the Wizard piece, the one that the boy always plays as.

“Superpowers.” Dustin said, as Lucas rolled his eyes, still not convinced about this whole thing.

“Did you see him? On Mirkwood? Do you know where he is?” Mike asks, just before she brushes the rest of the figures off the board and flips it over. She places the wizard piece on the board. “I don’t understand.”

“Hiding.” She replies, the boys looking at one another. She then places another figure down, surprising them.

“Who is that supposed to be?” Lucas asked, as Dustin perked up.

“The Ranger. Is that Stephanie?” He asked, as she nodded. “Are they hiding?” She nods again. “Together.” Another nod.

“From the bad men?” Mike asked, but she shakes her head in disappointment. “Then from who?”

And without saying another word she places another figure down.

It was a beast with two heads.

The Demogorgon.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| NOW ||

It took a while like she said, and luckily they had no trouble getting there, but what was troubling the young boy was that she wouldn’t tell him where they were going. Was she embarrassed by this place? Did something happen? He doesn’t know, but it’s gnawing at him.

“We’ve arrived.” She said, as they were coming up to it.

It was… a pretty big house, much bigger than his and even his friends’ houses. He wonders if this was one of the rich neighbourhoods or something like that. And sure enough… his questions would be answered when he happened to catch the name on the mailbox.

Oh.

Now he understands why she didn’t say anything.

“So this is the…” Was he choosing his words correctly? “The King’s house?”

“Yep.” Stephanie said, hand on the doorknob which miraculously opened. She rolls her blue eyes. “They still keep it unlocked.” They stepped inside, still gloomy and covered in vines and goo like the last two. “Let’s go upstairs.”

Will follows behind, observing everything that seemed a bit foreign for him. “I knew they were rich but I didn’t know they were that rich.” He said after observing art piece after art piece that he knows isn’t locally made.

“Yeah, they got crazy money.” She said, and her pace seemed to quicken without her noticing. She hustles into the parents room, opening the closet to find a safe. “Shit.” She forgot about the lock. “Where did that bastard put the key?”

Stephanie starts running around the bedroom, pulling open drawers, looking through trinkets, his wife’s jewelry box too – A curse word after every failed attempt.

“Steph?” Will said, worriedly.

“Just give me a second.” She snapped, and left the room. She starts opening the drawers from the tables in the hallway, visibly getting more annoyed with each second. “For fuck sakes–”

“Stephanie!”

“What?!” She slammed it shut, rattling everything that was on. The force and her tone seemed to shock him, and even take a small step back. She grips the table, closing her eyes to calm herself. “Fuck. I just…”

And when she opens them she finds herself staring at the boy she wanted to forget about. It was a picture of him on his swim team, the frame saying: Championship 1981. She just stares at with emotions the youngest Byers couldn’t figure out what they were.

“Steph?” He asked, slowly.

“Yeah?”

“What happened to you and Steve?”

She continues to stare at the photo for another minute before pushing herself to stand. “I think he still keeps that knife in his room.” Was what she muttered before heading in the opposite direction to another room.

Will could only wonder what really happened to them…

Just as the lights started to flicker.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT ||

Inside the most “fabulous” party of the year, Barb laid back in one of the pool chairs, listening to the terrible music that’s blasting in her ear as her best friend watches her boyfriend slice a hole into a beer can and start drinking it all in one go.

“Is that supposed to impress me?” Nancy asked, as he sat down and lit a cigarette.

“You’re not?” Steve asked, genuinely surprised.

“You are a cliche, you do realize that?”

“You are a cliche. What with your– your grades and your band practice.”

“I’m so not in band.”

“Okay, party girl. Why don’t you just, uh, show us how it’s done, then?” He hands her the knife and a can.

“Okay.” She says, all giggly.

“You gotta make a little hole right in–”

“I got it.”

“Yeah, she’s smart, you douche!” Tommy said, as he crushes his own can on his forehead.

Soon, everyone was chanting “Chug” as Nancy down a whole beer in under thirty seconds. Everyone cheered and laughed, proud at the achievement.

“Barb, you wanna try?” Nancy asked, holding the blade up.

“What? No. No, I don’t want to. Thanks.” She said, shaking her head. But after a quick back and forth badgering she finally gave in. She rips the items out of the girl’s hand, clearly upset. It wasn’t long before her judgment was clouding her mind and accidentally nicks herself.

“Whoa, Gnarly.” Tommy said, impressed by the deep cut.

“Are you okay?” Nancy asked, worriedly.

“Yeah.” Barb said, trying to push her away.

“Barb, you’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine. Where’s your bathroom?”

“Oh, it’s– Steve stands up, and starts taking her over to the sliding door. “It’s, uh, down past the kitchen, to the left.” He frowns. Shit of course.

But before he could say anything, Tommy had pushed Carol into the pool and then jumped in after her. Steve then shrugs, and lets a smirk play on his face as he does the same to Nancy before doing a cannonball.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| NOW ||

Steph tries to contain herself as she enters his room. It was taking a lot of strength not to just start flipping things over, and tear those stupid pendants off the wall.

Stupid fucking house. Stupid fucking room. Stupid fucking Harrington. She grits her teeth, fighting back the tears in her eyes as she desperately tries to remember where he hid the blade.

She lets out a groan. “For fuck sake’s, man! Where did you put it?!” She yells, and kicks whatever was near her. She swears something must have fallen out from it, but she doesn’t even want to look.

God damn you, Harrington. She scolds, and rubs her face. How can he–

That’s when the light in his room flickered on and off scaring her half to death. “What the–”

“Stephanie!” Will’s voice shouted, kicking her into high gear.

“Fuck.” She mumbles, and races to find that blade.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| PRESENT ||

As soon as Barb comes out of the bathroom, she immediately spots a certain someone heading up the stairs. “Nance! Nancy.” She shouts, getting her to stop. “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere. Just… upstairs. To change. I… fell in the pool.” Nancy said, feeling like she was on cloud nine. “Why don’t you go ahead and go home. I’ll just… I’ll get a ride or something.”

“Nance–”

“Barb, I’m fine.”

“This isn’t you.”

“I’m fine. Just go ahead and go home, okay?”

And then Nancy leaves her all alone, confused and heartbroken by her friend’s actions. But despite being hurt, she couldn’t just up and leave her drunken buddy like this. So…

She decides to wait.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Steve had found her some clothes she could change in, and he was grinning like a kid upon the thought of seeing his girlfriend in his clothes.

I’m such a dork. He tells himself as she calls out his name. “Yeah?” There was a look in her eyes that he’s never seen before, and honestly was turned on by it.

But ‘Fuck that’, says the universe, and the home phone starts to ring.

He groans, irritated. “Hang on a second–” He proceeds to run out of the room, and shouts, “Hey! Turn the music down in case it’s my parents.”

Nancy chuckles, cheeks flush because she was ready to lose her– wait. Did something just touch her leg? She looks down to find that a box was tipped over and had opened, and wonders when that happened. Did she accidently kick it without realizing? Or was it already like that? Frankly, curiosity got the best of her as she crouched down to try to fix it. But then, her actions slowed when she saw something.

The Wheeler picks up a paper – a flier – to her surprise was the missing poster of Stephanie Henderson.

“What?” She says, quietly, confusedly. Why was he keeping this? And that’s when she puts two and two together. She starts shifting through the small pile which was made up of photos, movie tickets, receipts from a record store, arcade tokens and– “Oh, my god.”

Suddenly, Steve comes jogging back in, relief on his face. “False alarm. It was just–”

“So who is she to you?” Nancy asked, standing up and flashing the memorabilia at him.

His face falls immediately. “Hey, that’s–”

“Is she the person that was rumored you pushed away?”

“It’s nothing.” Steve replies, trying to take the stuff away from her, but she ain’t budging.

“It’s nothing, or she’s nothing?”

“It’s– W-What? You jealous?” He asked, trying to play this thing off cool, but his girlfriend wasn’t stupid.

“I’m not jealous. I’m just curious.” Nancy replies, honestly. She takes another look at the photos in her hand before looking back at him. “I mean, if she isn’t your friend anymore, then why do you hang on to all this stuff? Or better question–”

“Nancy, stop, it’s just–”

“Why did you break it off?”

His brain short circuits again. “What?”

“I said, ‘Why did you break it off?’ I mean…” She flips through some of the photos he has, memorized. “From what I see, you two remind me of Barb and I. You two look like you were tied at the hip. So why break it off?”

“I…” Why couldn’t he fucking talk all of a sudden? “I didn’t, I–”

“So, she broke it off?” She said, eyebrow raised.

“No. I-I broke it off, she didn’t do anything–”

“So… why did you?”

“Nancy–”

“Look, I just want to understand you. I mean, every time I think I have you figured out you throw me through a loop.” She gives him a reassuring look as she picks up the box, shuffling whatever was remaining around. “I mean, from what I see, you seem like a completely different person then. I just wonder if it’s a good thing or a bad–”

Now it was her turn to look lost (and for Steve to lose all the color in his face). She frowns, slowly pulling out a small casing. “Is this a… bullet?”

“That’s nothing!” He manages to snag at least that away.

“Why do you have a bullet in the box?!” She asks, eyes blown wide.

He swallows. “Nancy–”

“Did you shoot her or something?”

“What?!” He scoffs. “No! Why would I shoot her?!”

“Well did she shoot you?”

“No! Nobody shot anybody, it was just–”

“Then why do you have a stray bullet cas–”

“‘CAUSE IT WAS MY FAULT!! OKAY?!” Steve snaps, startling them both (He can’t believe he just lost his cool like that). He swallows again, head spinning at the memories (Why did he fucking leave the box right there?). “I just… there was an incident and… it… shaped my decision, okay? But it didn’t involve me or her with a gun, it was… s-someone else. Someone I know. I don’t know why I’m holding onto it, I…” He sighs and grabs the box, holding it out for her to put the stuff away.

It takes her a moment to process it all, and she does put all the stuff in her hands away, but she remains silent the whole time. She’s never seen him act this way before.

It honestly concerned her.

Nancy breaks eye contact, and only reverses it when she gathers the right words. “Look, Steve, I’m sorry I intruded, I probably shouldn’t have but… I’m just trying to understand you.”

Steve shakes his head, still confused. “I-I…” He shrugs, and crosses his arms defensibly. “What’s there to understand?”

Nancy gestures to him and says, “Well, for starters, you’re an airhead and–”

“So?” He cuts in, as she holds her tongue and continues.

“And you’re arrogant, snarky, and sweet–”

“Sweet’s fine.”

“Of course. Sweet’s fine. I love how nice you are to me, Steve.” She then frowns for him. “However, that gets overshadowed by your… insecurities.”

He pauses, now it was his turn to take in those words (What the hell did she mean by that? He’s not… no). “I don’t… I don’t have any… any–”

“Steve.” Nancy takes a step closer. “I don’t know why the kid in these pictures decided to change into the one I’m seeing before me, but if that doesn’t have to do with any insecurities, then I’m not sure why you decided to make that change willingly.”

“I… W-Willingly?” He scoffs again. “What do you mean? I never change willingly? What are you even getting at, Nance?” He hasn’t changed. He’s never changed. What is she even getting at?

But Nancy looked at him with eyes full of pity and took another step closer. “I don’t know what the reason was for you two to stop being friends, but all I know, from what I gathered, she wasn’t the one to end it.” She places Steph’s flier on his chest that he subconsciously grabbed, and said one last thing before leaving his room. And that was,

“Maybe there was a good reason for you to end it, but that’s not an excuse for you to stop being who you really are.”

And Steve’s left with an epiphany he’s not sure he can decipher.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

|| NOW ||

As soon as the lock was broken, she retrieved the gun from the safe and frantically told her companion to get down the stairs. Will and Steph’s hearts were in their ears, and it sped up when the light above the front door flickered.

“Shit–” She pulls the boy to a halt, and redirects them to the back door. “Go, go, go, go, go.”

She throws open the sliding door, and out into the backyard, but as soon as they step foot onto the ground, the lights around the empty pool start to flicker. The two of them stopped immediately and held their breaths. They weren’t sure where the beast was at, but it was definitely nearby ready to snatch them up.

They were afraid to even breathe or twitch. What if this thing really does appear out of thin air?

They both jolted when a loud growl came from somewhere inside the pool. Wasting no time, Steph taps Will on the arm and makes a shushing gesture, then waves him to follow her. The boy understood completely, and the two of them move slowly, so carefully that there’s not way–

The both of them screamed when two human hands grabbed onto the top of the pool ladder.

A girl’s head poked up, face battered and covered in grime, her glasses shattered and splattered with blood. The girl looked so fam–

“Nancy!!” She shouts, as something growls behind her, scaring all of them to their core. And when her eyes landed on the two of them, she desperately yelled for help just seconds before the beast’s claws wrapped around her head and pulled her back.

Will and Steph matched the girl’s scream, and the beast roared in delight that his prey was just right in front of it. Its claws could be seen grabbing the ladder, like it was trying to crawl out and feast.

That’s when the two of them booked it.

The guns rattled in their hands.

The tears in their eyes.

Whatever this place was, they knew…

This couldn’t get compared to hell itself.

(TBC)

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