#not having anything to do that wasn't stuck being in the house or going shopping for things i have no space for

[nephiliam]

Ngl i feel like I'm on the brink of a mental break down from everything thats gone on for the past two months and jesus fucking christ do i wish i wasn't right now

[devoutekuna]

Matching their father's energy

Includes- Toji, Sukuna, Nanami, Gojo, Geto

Sukuna-

Sukuna's daughter definitely inherited the mouth that can move all around her body, normally her father would use it to bite her whenever she was acting like a brat, and she took that upon herself to do the same, finally mastering the movement of the small mouth, always keeping it on the palm of her hand. Using it to her advantage as she bit anyone she found annoying, especially her father, even trying to sharpen the teeth inside of it so that it would hurt more, but her father didn't even notice that he had been bitten since it was so weak to him. "Did you feel that?" Grinning at him, as her head stuck into his eyesight. "Feel what?" Pushing her head out of his way, he hadn't even noticed that she had bitten it. A distraught look appearing on her face as she heard his question. "But I bit you!" Waving her hand in his face. "Didn't feel a thing" smirking at her as he put her on the floor.

Nanami-

"Thank you love" kissing your cheek as you handed him a coffee. He was sat reading a book at the kitchen table, his daughter sat opposite him,marrying to copy his actions, first by reading a book, staring at it despite not understanding a word it said, it was about finances so of course she didn't get it, even putting on someone's glasses she found. "Can I have one too mummy?" Talking about the coffee as she pointed at it.

"No, I'm not giving you a coffee" a small chuckle being heard as he peered over his book, trying to cover it up with a cough. "Why not!?" Acting shocked as if she hadn't been told repeatedly that she wasn't to have caffeine. "Cause I said so." Defending your point and you poured yourself a cup, gloating in her face. "But dad gets one" mumbling under her breath as she slouched In her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

Geto-

His daughter has seen him countlessly swallow the balls full of curses, watching her father's disgust appear as he washed it away and put on a smile for him daughter, later she had found out about the minty flavour of chewing gum, always going to the shop to buy some with you. Soon enough she wanted to try do what he was doing, finding a small button in the house and shoving it down her throat only to choke on it and fortunately he was there to save her, even though it ended in tears, she still tried again but with bigger objects.

Gojo-

Gojo has a thing for eating big meals, so when his son was born, he wasn't surprised that he had a big appetite just like him. Scoffing down nearly a full tub of ice-cream, it was 2am and Satoru had just woken up for a drink, walking into the kitchen only to find his 3 year old with a spoon in his mouth and a half empty tub of vanilla ice-cream, sat on the tile flooring. "Hi daddy" smiling at the man as he rook the spoon out of his mouth, going in for another spoonful before realising how rude it was not to offer some. Hand stuck out with a spoon attached to it. "Want some?" Oblivious to the fact that he had just eaten half a tub. Scratching his bare stomach as he wore only sweatpants, pondering if he should take the offer. "I'm good" patting the girl's head as he walked towards the fridge.

Toji-

He has a thing for killing people, that's why he was an assassin fortunately your daughter didn't know how to kill nor use her cursed technique. For her birthday she had been begging for a bat after seeing a group of kids playing with one.

"Hiyahh!" Hitting the man with the wooden bat, you didn't understand why she needed a wooden one and not a plastic one, but then again, it was the same bat that a professional baseball player used. "Go away",grabbing the bag and bringing it to his face. "Go use your ball if you want to use this" he didn't understand why she didn't use the ball that came with it, instead trying to smash up anything in her path, though it was normally just cushions.

[yespleasetommyshelby]

Before he cheats - Modern Tommy Shelby x reader

I've had this song stuck in my head for days and it's gotta go 😩 This literally took me all of 2 hours to plan/write/post and it hasn't been proofread so bare with!

Enjoy! 🥰

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"56, 57, 58, 59, 60, that's it, I'm done." I huffed as i threw my phone onto the sofa besides me, frown on my face as I sighed. "That's two fucking hours!" I muttered to myself stamping my feet into my trainers I threw my coat on before picking up my phone on some final hope that I'd actually had a reply, but low and behold, obviously not.

"Fucking Thomas Shelby always thinking with his mother fucking dick." I continued to mutter under my breath as I left my home on Watery Lane slamming the door behind me, my chest burning in anger. Stepping out onto the path I shoved my hands into my coat pockets, fists clenched as I headed the short distance down the road to the house where I'd practically grown up.

"Watch where you're fucking going!" I screeched as a teenager flew past on his bike almost knocking me into the road. "Fucking males and their fucking shit." I continued to slate each and every male that came into view in the 2 minutes it took to get to my destination, 'men are all the bloody same' my mum used to say, 'honestly, get yourself a women, their much easier.' Looking back maybe I should've taken her advice.

"Where is he?" I asked as I pushed open the doors to the betting shop that sat in Watery Lane, the punters and staff going silent as I watched with my hands on my hips. "Oh come on, you know exactly who I'm talking about!" I all but yelled into the silent room, after being with Tommy for 2 years now I had almost as much authority as him, almost.

"Y/n, not here." Polly's voice had my head on a swivel, finally spotting her in the doorway to John's office I stormed over ignoring the looks I was getting from everyone.

"Where is he Pol?" I sighed as I flopped down into Johns office chair. "And why are you in here?" I asked noticing that John wasn't in his own office.

"He's disappeared with Esme somewhere, honestly these Shelby boys and their dicks are ridiculous." She mumbled, lighting the cigarette she held in her hand.

"Tell me about it." I sighed, knowing that if Tommy wasn't in the office he was only going to be in one other place. "He's at the Garrison then." I asked, watching as she froze slightly before shaking her head.

"I think so, yeah, what's he done this time?" She sighed as she rubbed her eyes, having dealt with nothing but pissed up (and off) men and women placing bets they can't afford all morning, dealing with her nephews love life was definitely not on her to do list.

"Nothing Pol, he's done nothing which is the fucking problem! He was supposed to meet me 2 hours ago and I haven't heard anything since a lousy morning text all because he's too busy with that fucking whore Grace!" I ranted, reaching out and taking one of her cigarettes before lighting it and slamming the lighter down on the desk. "You know what I'm done." My voice sounded much more convinced then my mind as I said the words.

Shaking my head I stood up in a flash, out of Johns office and into Tommys within a second, without looking I reached behind Tommys desk and picked up the baseball bat that I knew he kept there in case of emergency's. Pushing my way past Polly who was stood in the doorway I made my way through the punters and out into the street without a second look, the bat weighing heavy in my hand.

"Y/n! What are you doing?!" Pol's voice follows me out into the street. "Come back inside!" She yelled, passers by stopping to look at the scenes, before a sharp look from Pol had them walking on.

"Woah! What's going on here?" I was stopped in my tracks as Arthur, John and Esme appeared from the corner ahead of me, grins on their faces as they looked from the bat in my hand to the scowl on my face.

"Looks to me that she's off to play baseball." John laughed, his input met with a thud on his chest by his wife.

"Would you two idiots shut up already." She giggled slightly as she pushed her husband into his older brother. "Now what's up with the bat?" She asked, smirking slightly as she had a feeling she knew exactly where you was going, after sitting on the phone for an hour the last time Tommy pissed you off she knew not to get in the way.

"Like John boy said." I shrugged, my hold on the bat tightening ever so slightly. "I'm going to practice baseball with a nice new shiny Land Rover I saw parked outside of the Garrison." I grinned before pushing my way through the trio and continuing on my way.

I couldn't help but let out a loud laugh as the Garrison came into view and just as I had predicted there was brand new Land Rover sat outside its doors. The brand new Land Rover that only 3 days ago I had travelled up to Scotland to collect with Tommy, not knowing that it would be the last journey I'd take with both him and the car.

"Y/n come on back to the shop love, we'll sort this shit out." Polly pleaded once more making me stop in my tracks, the Shelby's had been like a family to me, even in the years before me and Tommy had officially gotten together, being friends with Ada and all.

"I'm sorry Pol." I sighed shaking my head as I turned to face her and the trio that had followed behind. "But right now, right now he's probably slow dancing with that bleach blonde tramp and she's probably getting frisky. Right now he's probably buying her some fruity little drink 'cause she can't shoot whisky." I laughed a little, knowing for a fact that she couldn't handle the drink that Thomas Shelby worships so much. "Right now he's probably up behind her with a pool stick showing her how to shoot a combo, but he don't know." I laughed as I reached into my pocket and pulled out my keys, my hand wrapping around the longest and sharpest of them all, ironically the spare key Tommy had given me for this exact car.

I could help but grin as I stuck my key through the shiny black metal of the drivers door, the small act creating some kind of pleasure, a pleasure that only increased as I walked my way down the car, the key dragging a horribly crooked line right down the side.

"Right that's enough now! Cut this shit out!" Polly yelled, her eyes flickering between her nephews burnt lover and the door which he could come through at any second. "Think about what you're doing y/n." She almost pleaded, or at least as close as I'd ever seen her.

Ignoring her I made my way round to the passengers side, the metal bat dragging across the floor being the only sound to be heard, except for the muffled giggles that the other two Shelby brothers struggled to keep back. A wave of emotion hit me as I climbed into the car, a lone tear slipping down my cheek which I quickly wiped away.

"He doesn't deserve it." I muttered to myself as I quickly wiped it away without a second thought. "Fuck him and all the whores he's had in this fucking car." I growled gripping my keys as I began to carve my name into the leather seat.

"What the fuck is going on right now?!" My head snapped up as I heard another voice, Ada having stumbled upon my little rage room experiment, shall we call it.

"Ada! Nice of you to join us, i'll tell you what's going on shall I?" I asked as I hopped down from the car swing the bat up over my shoulder as I waved over to her. "Right now, your brother, you know the one that I'm supposedly engaged to, is in there living it up with that Irish tart of a woman!" I yelled, using the bat to point towards the door, not caring how loud my voice had gotten. "Right now she's probably up singing some white trash version of Shania karaoke, right now she's probably saying 'I'm drunk' and he's thinking that he's gunna get lucky! Right now, he's probably dapping on three quids worth of that bathroom polo!" I screamed, the more thought I put into what was actually going on just inside fuelling the rage even more.

I let out a gut wrenching scream as I swung the bat into his headlight, once, twice, three times moving on to the next I swung again laughing as the glass crashed to the floor before swing it into the windscreen for good measure. Throwing the bat to the floor I put my hands on my hips and grinned as I looked at the mess that was Tommy Shelby's new car before making my way over to Arthur.

"I need your knife." Holding my hand out infront of him. "Please Arthur." I sighed knowing that he always carried one no matter where he went.

With a sigh and grin he reached into his pocket and placed the small switch blade into my hand.

"Seriously Arthur?! Why the fucking hell did you give her a knife?!" Polly yelled as she threw her arms up in frustration, knowing that if anyone was going to be killed for this it wasn't going to be her.

"She asked nicely Pol." He shrugged, loving the fact that his brother was about to have the surprise of a lifetime and all he had to do was sit and watch.

Sticking the knife into the front tyre I smirked as the hiss of air filled the air, walking round and putting a knife slash in all of the tires for good measure, I stood back with a grin laughing at the look of amusement over the 3 Shelby siblings faces, the smirk on Esme's and the fed up look Polly had been giving me for the last 10 years.

"What the fucking hell is going on?!" The man of the hour roared as he stepped out onto the street, the pub doors banging against the walls before Grace appeared behind him, eyes cast down. "Answer me!" He bellowed, the vein in his neck popping with each syllable.

"Hi Tommy, remember me?" I asked sarcastically making his eyes jump to me, his face dropping ever so slightly. "You know, the fiance that you used to have!" I stepped forwards as I spoke shoving him back slightly, knowing if it was anyone else they would have recieved a bullet to the head, but I knew he'd never lay a hand on me.

"Y/n? I thought we were meeting later?" He asked, brows furrowed in confusion as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, the numerous texts and missed calls flashing on the screen and the time that read two and a half hours after the planned meeting time. "Oh." He muttered, wiping his hand across his face. "What have you done?" He asked as his eyes trailed along the nice long line that now travels the length of his new car.

"Yeah, oh." I nodded, laughing slightly as Grace stepped out besides him. "I suppose you missed the show while you were in there with ol' Gracie here. But I'll give you a rundown shall I? Well I dug my key into the side of your pretty little souped up four wheel drive, carved my name into your leather seats. I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights and slashed a hole in all four tires, maybe next time you'll think before you cheat." I couldn't help the tears that fell next, the adrenaline slowing and my whole body began to ache, the end of an era, me and the Shelby's.

"Y/n-" "No." I cut him off, not wanting to listen to any kind of reasoning he would throw at me, anything to get him back in the good book. "I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl, because the next time that you cheat, oh you know it won't be on me, no, not on me." I wiped my eyes before pulling of the ring that he had given me 6 months ago. "Guess I'll give it to you aye, Gracie." I muttered, throwing the ring at her feet before turning to walk away.

"Y/n!" His voice reached my ears just as I'd passed Polly, Arthur, John, Esme and Ada. "Y/n please!"

"Bye Tom!" I yelled without turning back, keeping my head up I shoved my hands into my pockets and carried on, not giving them the chance to see the tears that were currently streaming down my face.

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There you have it! My first fic where they don't end up happily ever after, hopefully you enjoyed!

Feel free to send any requests! 💖

[c0la-queen]

You | Tord x Reader

Here we go! I'm sorry if this isn't my normal quality, I wrote it while fighting off a headache... but also, I wanted to be a little silly! Because these are silly guys! I hope you enjoy the slight cliffhanger I left it on, hehe! Mwah, mwah!

Warnings: Tord is a bit of a weirdo, stalking behavior, obsession, Tord is 100% making assumptions about you and your personality, love this little freak <3

Words: 1.5k

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Being a quiet person is not always an easy thing.

Some people would think it was. You never have to worry about saying the wrong thing. There were less chances of you offending anyone from your words.

Or, some people think the opposite. "I could never handle being so quiet" they say. It must be a headache to be around so much noise.

And… they were right, in Tord's opinion. It was nice to not have to get stuck in awkward conversations. He had the added bonus of being intimidating, so people eventually got the hint and stopped trying to talk to him. However, he also had to keep enough Advil on hand to tranquilize a small horse, considering he decided to live with the three loudest motherfuckers on the planet. Pros and cons, and such.

There were times when it proved to be nice, though.

Like right now.

The odd occasions where he had the day to himself. Tom and Matt were at work, Edd was visiting his parents, so that left Tord to his lonesome. What a great day.

As much as he would have liked to spend the whole day in the house, he couldn't. He needed to go grocery shopping - the fridge looked abysmal. At least it was warm and sunny outside. Still, he dragged his feet. He really didn't want to go to the store.

Ugh.

He was the son of the Red Leader. He had seen much worse shit. He had killed men in cold blood without batting an eye. He was not going to be bested by the looming possibility of social interaction.

…maybe he needed therapy?

…

Nah.

--

If Tord ever managed to invent a time machine, the first thing he was going to do was find the person who developed wireless earbuds and give them a kiss.

Being an intimidating looking person was a great way to ward off unwanted conversations. But there were always people who had no sense of self preservation and chose to try and talk to him anyway. Wearing earbuds while he was out helped with that. Nobody was stupid enough to try and deliberately get him to take his earbuds off. (Except Edd and Matt, but they know that they'll get away with it.)

The basket handle on his arm was starting to dig into his arm as he stood in front of the pasta aisle, watching his pet idiots (roommates) argue on the group chat over what type of noodles to get. Edd wanted Ziti, Tom wanted Angel Hair, and Matt wanted Bowtie… for some reason.

Tord was busy calculating the risk vs. reward of banging his head against the shelf until he bled out of his ears when it happened.

You happened.

Through his music, he heard the sound of laughing and giggling. He glanced to the side, expecting a gaggle of obnoxious, immature 20-something year olds with the sole purpose of ruining everyone else's relaxing shopping experience. And that's mostly what it was. But, standing in the middle of them was you.

Hello, you.

You were laughing, just like the others. But not the fake laughter of conformity - no, it was real, genuine laughter. Tord didn't think he had heard anything so beautiful. He even paused his music just so he could hear it in its pure form.

The more he looked, the more he saw of you. You were like the sun, so golden and bright compared to these others you were standing with. He could tell you weren't like them, he could tell you weren't using some made up personality to try and fit in.

What the hell were you doing with people like that?

Then, you were moving. Your little group had apparently decided the joke wasn't funny anymore, so you were moving on. Disappearing into the next aisle. Disappearing from his life.

Tord threw a couple boxes of noodles into the basket without even looking at it, shoving his phone back in his hoodie pocket and moving on to the next aisle. He pretended to deliberate over what brand of laundry detergent to get as he subtly watched your group at the other end of the aisle. He was able to get a better look at you.

You were wearing a brightly colored cardigan, wool by the looks of it, that perfectly matched the colors of your earrings and purse. You liked to coordinate your outfits. You had on a little skirt that teased just enough of your thighs to draw attention without being slutty, but you also had black tights on. You liked to look attractive while still feeling like you were being modest. Your earrings and the clip in your hair looked like they had been bought from the girls' department store in the mall right across from Matt's store, that was always playing mind numbing pop songs and had unicorns everywhere. You liked cutesy, almost juvenile things.

Tord wanted to know more. He wanted to know everything about you.

--

A peaceful day all to his lonesome where he would force himself to get groceries before wasting the day away on the couch quickly shifted - now, he was spending the rest of the afternoon with you.

Well, almost.

You and your friends were walking around town, enjoying the warmth and dipping into any stores that caught your attention. Tord was also walking around town, a good distance behind your group, enjoying your warmth and drinking in every detail he could get.

And he had learned plenty.

He had no idea why you were friends with these people. From what he could tell, you were stifled in this group. They would talk over you, ignore things that you pointed out, refuse to go to stores that you wanted to go to, tease and taunt you, and walk ahead of you. Despite it all, you always kept a smile. You kept shining, kept illuminating the area around you.

They don't deserve your light.

Oh, but you knew that, didn't you? You knew, but you were so sweet and gracious that you gave it to them anyway. Maybe if you shone bright enough, warmed their skin enough, they would finally give you attention.

Tord would give you that attention. He already was, and you weren't even giving him your sunlight.

And he never would ask you to.

No, your sunlight was going to be a gift that he had to earn. It would be a blessing that he was going to work hard to have bestowed upon him.

He would never exploit you.

Like they did.

--

Tord slipped into the coffee shop, running a hand through his hair. The warm weather was causing a light amount of sweat to gather on his skin.

He pretended to look across the overfilled menu, taking in the names of all the absurd drinks available. He already knew what he was going to get.

"Hi, welcome in! What can I get started for you today, sir?"

The barista was smiling at him too much. Her eyes drifted down his chest, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. Her pupils her dilated. She was checking him out.

Not that he cared. On an objective standard, she was pretty. But she didn't shine. She wasn't sunlight. She didn't brighten up the entire room just with her smile. She didn't make the birds sing by just looking in his direction.

She wasn't you.

"Iced Americano."

"Will that be all for you? We have a whole menu of signature flavors. I'd recommend-"

"Just an Americano."

The barista blinked in surprise when he cut her off. Typical. A pretty person with a shallow mind that couldn't comprehend the idea of a person not being interested in them. She huffed softly before ringing him up and telling him his total.

He paid, then turned to go sit and wait for his order to be made. He didn't get very far, though, before he almost ran into someone.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I totally wasn't looking where I was going!"

It was you.

You were talking to him.

You were looking at him.

You were so warm.

"It's fine."

As Tord fled like a fucking coward, you gave him a sweet smile. You smiled at him. And he just walked away. Asgardians above, his father would have been so disappointed in him.

His phone buzzed in his pocket as he sat at a window table, watching your friends snicker at the coffee shop mascot.

"Mate, you've been out shopping for like 4 hours. Where are you?"

Edd's voice drifted out from his phone speaker as Tord pressed the screen to his cheek.

"Something came up."

"Did you get the bowtie noodles? Did you? Tord?"

There was a muffled 'Matt, get off me' and some shuffling fabric before Edd's voice returned.

"The fuck do you mean something came up?"

Tord glared at the boy you were talking to, watching you give him an adorable pout. Oh, the things Tord would do to you.

"I found the perfect girl for us."

[littlewriters-posts]

My Experiment 2 - Cooper Howard/Ghoul x OC

Part one here

Plot: Cooper meets a strange sweet girl from his past, wondering how someone that kind has managed to survive the place like this. He tried to forget her, but she keeps coming back.

Warning: None

It had been 30 years. 30 years since Cooper last saw Addy. He didn't think anything of her of course, after being stuck in a coffin for 30 years, he felt no reason to think of the past.

Things like that only brought pain.

After leaving Addy's shop behind, Cooper realised he had never actually told her his name. But did it matter? The likelihood of him seeing her again was very limited. She was probably dead and buried, 30 years was a lot longer than the average life expectancy.

Or so he thought.

The second time he met Addy, he was exhausted.

After letting the dog trail after him, he was on the hunt for yet another Valutie that had ventured out into the open, and had this time taken a head of a very important scientist.

But he had acquired a dog, who was following the scent.

All of a sudden, the dog gave a harsh bark, before scampering harshly to the right.

Cooper frowned "What is it boy? Picked up a scent?"

The dog carried on sniffing, walking with its nose buried in the path.

"goddamn it," The ghoul muttered, realising he was going to have to follow that damn dog whether he liked it or not.

What surprised him, however, was that after a while the dog barked again, this time at a shop.

A rather long shop, with a pink sign. It hadn't changed a bit in the last 30 years.

"Well I'll be darned," Cooper muttered, pushing the door.

He was met with the same calming smile, and cheeky eyes that he was all those years ago.

"Well I live and breath," Addy smiled, her hands on her hips "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes,"

Cooper raised his eyebrows "You weren't kidding about the no aging then hey," he said. He wasn't wrong, Addy seemed not to have aged a single day since he last saw her.

She shrugged "If 200 years is the equivalent to my body clock aging 10, I'd say I got a fair few left in me,"

"You haven't seen a girl walk through here have you? A vaultie?" he asked.

Addy shook her head "No Vaultie here Mr Howard, I think I'd know,"

Cooper eyed her suspiciously "Dogmeat here was tracking the scent ya see, dragged me to here,"

Addy nodded "Ah, yeah erm..." she paused, looking at the dog with adoration "I'm like a magnet to a compass for dogs I'm afraid. They seem to really like my scent,"

Cooper blinked at her and she sighed.

"I'm part wolf Mr Howard. That's the animal they chopped me up with?"

Cooper rolled his eyes, is temper flaring as he glared at the dog. "Stupid," he muttered angrily.

Addy shrugged "Well, you're here now sugar, so what do you need?"

"To get going, I gotta track that damn kid," Cooper said gruffly. He thought about mentioning that she was related to Addy, but decided better of it.

Addy set down a vial of Radway and a mug of steaming hot cocoa in-front of him. "Suns gone down sugar, I'd stay here if I were you,"

Cooper looked outside with a sigh, she was right of course.

"How many favours do I owe for this?" he asked in a teasing nature.

Addy winked at him "On the house honey,"

Cooper watched as she sauntered to the front door, looking outside, before shutting it, and starting on the many locks.

"I never gave you my name you know," he said "So how did ya get it?" he couldn't help but wonder if she really knew who he was, if she'd even remember one of the many people she brought coffee too all those years ago - or if she'd even recognise him in the state he was in now.

She looked back at him, a sad smile playing on her lips "You may have changed your face a bit honey, but the eyes never changed,"

Cooper stared at her, shocked. Did she really recognise him?

"Couldn't break from the cowboy costume could ya?" she laughed. Cooper chuckled slightly.

"If there's one thing I learnt it's you gotta look the part," he said "How you been holding up the past 30 years then?"

Addy shrugged "Same old really. Couple people tried to raid me, didn't work,"

She reached up by the window and started pulling a steel meta curtain down.

"Had to up security a bit," she said.

Cooper watched as she set about locking yet another set of locks.

"Set up a shower in the back if you need it, it's not hot but I managed to get it lukewarm if you wait for a bit," she said.

Cooper raised an eyebrow "I thought you were a runner, not an inventor," he said.

She shrugged "Surprisingly I had time to kill in-between days they were picking me apart. One of the scientists actually took pity on me and started teaching me how things worked,"

"How kind," Cooper said sarcastically.

It was almost uncanny, the two of them speaking. Both thought they'd never see anyone from their past ever again and yet here they were, chatting like old friends.

"Come on, " Addy said "I'll show you to ya room,"

"You got a room for me?" he asked "How sweet,"

She rolled her eyes "Not just for you asshat, it's my room too. But you can't stay out here, it's not as safe - bring your dog too,"

Cooper eyed her "With all the locks you got on this place I'd say it's as safe as you're gonna get,"

Addy grinned "Well unlike some I like to let me guard down sometime, and it's easier to do that in a smaller space,"

Cooper tipped his hat to her, following her into the smaller room.

He didn't quite remember this room from last time, or if he did it was a lot smaller. There were two single beds, each on the opposite side of the room. In the middle a small chest of draws sat, with an old TV sat on top. Old tapes lay scattered around, some with writing on, some without.

Canned food, a dog bed, and bottles of water sat in a tidy pile in the corner of the room, along with what looked like to be extra blankets and covers as well as a first aid kit.

"Nicely stocked in here as well I see," Cooper said looking around "You expecting me?" he asked, gesturing to the dog bed and the other single bed.

Addy rolled her eyes "You that full of yourself?" she asked with a laugh "If you must know, I took in a guy for about 20 years. Him and his damn dog," she said bitterly.

"What happened?" Cooper asked carefully, sensing a sticky end to the story.

Addy shrugged "Dog died of old age, he died of an overdose," she said "Bought 5 years ago now," she added as an afterthought. "Stopped taking in strays after that,"

"I'm sorry," Cooper said sincerely. He was clever enough to not get close to people in the wasteland, but that was a lesson Addy clearly hadn't yet learned.

She waved him off "It happens. Listen I'm off in the shower. There's spare clothes and shit if you wanna get comfy in that wardrobe. Take what you need,"

Cooper watched as she left, before turning back to her little table where the TV was and rifling through the tapes.

Some made him snort, a lot of them were tapes from his good old days. Mainly ones she'd been a runner on, so they included all the behind the scenes footage.

Watching them he knew would probably make his heart break, so he neglected to put them in.

One of the tapes, seemed much newer than the rest however, a white case enclosing it.

Experiment 007 it read.

This was from her vault.

Was she Experiment 007?

He checked that the shower was still running, before putting it into the TV player.

The black screen lit up white, as a man stepped away from the camera. He was short, with glasses and a stout expression.

"Experiment 007, changing human DNA," he read "If we can get this right, it's be a big discovery, and would enable us to make more soldiers when we go atop the surface," he said confidently before stepping back.

As he stepped back, Cooper let out a low growl. For in the middle of the room was a chair, and a young lady strapped too it, her wrists, ankle and forehead strapped to the seat so she couldn't move a muscle.

He recognized her instantly, for she was still seventeen in the video, as she was when he last saw her. She was dressed in a white hospital gown, and on her lap sat a brown teddy.

She was sobbing, her eyes were red and every limb she had was shaking.

"Please no," she moaned "It hurts,"

But the man didn't care, as he leant behind a glass screen.

"Please keep still Amy, It'll be a lot easier," he commanded.

Before Cooper could even realise what was going on, a big red stream of light echoed pieced right through Addy's skull, making the back of her eyes glow.

She let out a scream of pain, the teddy falling from her lap as she cried and writhered.

Cooper took the tape out quickly, breathing heavily. He'd seen some horrible things in his lifetime, it's how he learnt that killing was a mercy, but seeing that brought back pain he didn't realise he could still feel.

"I see you found the tape," Addy said, padding out of her makeshift shower room.

"I did," Cooper said lowly "Have you-"

"Watched it?" Addy asked "Don't need to, I remember everything those fuckers did. The irony? I spent six weeks, 4 hours a day under that laser and it didn't even work. They ended up cutting my head open," she shuddered "Course didn't want to use pain relief on me, that would have been a waste,"

Cooper looked at her sadly. But Addy threw a blanket at him.

"You'll need this, it gets cold at night round here. This room is enclosed with steel - hard but cold,"

"How did you manage all this Amy?" Cooper gestured to the house "Where did you even start,"

"Don't call me that," Addy shuddered "That's not my name anymore." she sighed slightly, looking round the room. "I told ya didn't I? Favours pay a lot more than caps. Got these steel sheets from a welder I helped escape some thieves. The locks installed by some guy I gave water too when he almost died. You rule people out of fear Coop, but you'll find it's crazy what people will give you out of gratitude," she said

Cooper nodded slightly, petting Dogmeats head as he lay on his new found bed.

"You did pretty well for yourself Addy," he said.

"You didn't do too badly yourself Mr Howard," she retorted with a kind smile.

He scoffed "No-ones called me that in years, you don't need to either,"

She shrugged "Can't help it. I had posters of you on my wall when I was a kid. It's like meeting a celebrity,"

Coop snorted "Well I'll give you this, you sure have a way to make a man feel special."

Addy winked at him "I'll still be your runner girl if you need one,"

There was a brief silence as Cooper took off his jacket and boots, collapsing onto the bed with a sigh of relief. He couldn't remember the last time he had laid on an actual mattress.

"When was the last time someone looked after you doll?" he asked, looking over to Addy.

She yawned, stretching up. She was dressed in a battered T-shirt and shorts which were soon covered by the many layers of blankets she put over herself.

"Dunno Coop, not since I was five I don't think," she said "Now you get a good night sleep mister. Sleeping when you know you're safe hits different, trust me,"

Coo[ felt his heart, which hadn't felt anything for such a long time, tug slightly. He silently cursed himself. Hardening his heart to the world wasn't easy, but once everyone you loved was dead it became easier not to love again.

Unfortunately, the past is never that easy to forget, no matter how hard he tried.

He let his eyes shut, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

He was awoken to a piecing scream. His first instinct was to grab his gun, which he had hidden under the pillow, and point it as the noise.

His second instinct was to open his eyes.

But there was no intruder, no threat. Just Addy, eyes tightly shut, screaming at the top of her lungs.

He quickly grabbed her, putting a hand over her mouth, and drawing her up to him so her back was leant against his chest.

"Shhh doll," he whispered urgently "You'll wake the fucking dead,"

Addy opened her eyes as she stopped screaming, her breathing erratic.

"I - I'm so sorry," she gasped, wiping the furiously forming tears from her face.

Cooper rocked her gently, his arms still wrapped around her shoulders.

"I take it you remember that vault a little too well," he said and she nodded.

"Every night I dream of it," she said bitterly "Been a while since I woke up screaming though. I'm so so so sorry," she pouted slightly "I wanted you to get a good nights sleep,"

Cooper shook his head, letting her lean her head back onto his shoulder as she yawned.

"Don't be sorry, I slept great," he said lowly. "Now scooch over,"

Addy frowned, but did as she was told, moving to the far left of the bed, her back pressed against the wall as she watched Cooper get comfy.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Cooper rolled his eyes, opening his arms and gesturing for her too come to him. Addy's eyes widened considerably, she knew that Cooper Howard the actor probably had a soft side, but from what she heard of Cooper Howard the Ghoul, he was more likely to kill her than comfort her.

"I might be a ghoul but I was human once," he said dryly. "So shut it and let me comfort you,"

Addy paused for a second, before shrugging. She scooted down, turning onto her side so she was cuddled up to cooper's side. It was nice, she admitted, to have such a dominate presence. It was like an extra security blanket.

"No-one would believe me if I told them The Goul had gone soft," she giggled.

"You tell em and I'll have to kill you," Cooper muttered sleepily "So keep that pretty mouth shut,"

[wnbnny]

happiness looks good on you- lee felix

summary: you love felix, but he doesn't love you back.

warnings: sad ending, angst!

author's notes: hi everyone<3 this is my first fic, kinda wrote this at like 3am on a whim instead of sleeping but like😭 idk why i made this so sad (is this a sign im depressed or something) but hope u enjoy!! please to comment ur user if u want to be tagged in this or my future posts<3

"happiness looks good on you."

raging storms and unshed tears.

"happiness looks good on you."

heartbreak and rainy days.

"hurry up lix, we're going to be late," you complained, brow furrowed as you stuck your bottom lip out in a pout.

"if you really want to go to school that early just walk there yourself." felix taunted, knowing you were scared to walk alone. he was your long-term best friend, inseparable since kindergarten 'til today.

the two of you argued and bickered on the way to school, throwing insults at each other. by the time the both of you had gotten to school, you were both given a scolding and told to sit down. you glared at him as you were being scolded while he just snickered.

the audacity of this man, honestly . 

by the time class had finished, you had cooled down, just like felix knew you would. otherwise, he could just stick out his bottom lip while you huffed and pretended to be mad. 

"y/n!" he gasped, clutching at your arm, "areum just looked at me!"

he squealed, like a little kid at the toy shop, over his long time crush.

if only you looked at me in that way.

because i do.

"nah, she probably was just looking at someone else." you lied through your teeth, feeling your heart sink.

"hey, stop being mean!! she clearly looked at me," he pouted.

you sighed.

i've loved you for years and you've never noticed.

"well just confess to her already then."

it was painful watching your own crush and best friend fall for someone else, someone that wasn't you. 

you wished, rather selfishly, that areum would reject him. then you could be the shoulder he would cry on. not her. but honestly, you couldn't bring yourself to hate her. what was to hate? she was pretty, got good marks, and was friendly and easygoing. not to say you yourself weren't pretty, but you just weren't as pretty and hardworking as her. 

and you weren't the one he wanted. 

maybe the pain would end if they just ended up together and you were out of the picture. it was obvious she liked him too. 

"you really think i should? but what if i get rejected..."

you're so blind but i still love you.

"yes, how many times do i have to say this, she likes you. it's obvious." you rolled your eyes.

"should i just confess tomorrow? better late than never..." he trailed off, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth.

gods you look so cute when you do that.

"yeah. get her some flowers and write her a note."

why were you breaking your own heart? you didn't know why. maybe you just wanted to end your own heartbreak. 

"good luck with that, anyways i need to go to s house for a project." you actually didn't, but you would do anything to just escape from this.

"why~~are you really just going to leave me alone to plan my big confession by myself," he whined.

"sorry lix, but you'll figure it out." ruffling his hair, you walked out the classroom.

you did, in fact, go home. then sat on your bed and cried until you couldn't  physically squeeze any more tears out of you.  so this was what heartbreak felt like. you had known him since the both of you were ten. you had have multiple crushes here and there, but they were just passing, fleeting moments, nothing of importance. until him.

you didn't know when you had first started to like him. maybe it was that time in the library where he was helping the librarian stack books. maybe it was that time in the rain where he danced in it for hours. 

maybe it was one summer day where your world just exploded in colours. 

and now it felt like it was fading back to grey.

the next day, felix came bouncing up to you.

"i got her peonies, do you think she'll like it? i told her to meet me in the garden."

"yeah, she'll definitely like it. i would've too... " you muttered the last part all to yourself, turning away and blinking rapidly as tears threatened to prick your eyes. you offered him a smile of encouragement. 

"good luck."

when lunch came, you watched as the nervous australian carried the peonies and went to the garden.

then you watched as they walked in ten minutes later, smiling bashfully and holding hands like schoolchildren in love. 

because they were.

you went home, not even bothering to call in sick. you just grabbed your bag and went home. you would deal with the consequences later. 

your heart hurt.

you were numb.

you were hollow.

you were crying.

you hated everything.

the next few days were spent at home. you called in sick. felix texted you countless times but you ignored him.

lixie&lt;3

y/nie?

where r u?

she accepted!!!

im so happy>.<

read at 2:03 a.m.

yeah, right. good for you. but what about me?

lixie&lt;3

...hello?

y/n?

can u please respond...

im worried...

what happened???

why didn't you come to school today??

read at 3:46 p.m.

you turned off your phone then turned over and cried again. you hated this. why did you have to fall for him in the first place?

finally, after four days of missed calls, texts, and school, you had to go back. its not like you had a choice anyways. you missed your parents. they lived overseas though, so you lived alone. but you really couldn't continue living like this for the rest of your life, even if you wanted to.

"y/nie!!!" felix exclaimed, running up to you. "why didn't you respond to my texts? are you okay? it's unlike you..."

"im sorry lix, i was just under the weather. im ok." you offered him a tight lipped smile. "congrats by the way." you closed your locker door and rushed off before he could ask you anything more.

"huh? thats unlike her... why is she acting so weird lately?" 

and so you avoided him, as much as you could. you kept your conversations short and brief, not talking to him as much as possible, and even switching seats to sit far away from him. you watched his hurt face the day he walked in and saw you sitting somewhere else, but then cheering up as areum sat next to him. you watched as he laughed and held hands, ate tteokbokki and ramen with her in the cafeteria. that should've been me.

but honestly, it did nothing to fill the felix-sized hole in your heart.

you drifted apart. he barely texted you now, barely said hi to you, barely even saw you in the hallways anymore. 

then exams were finished, and graduation started to roll around. 

you watched as they attended prom and twirled around on the dance floor giggling.

you watched as they broke up on the doorstep of his dorms, watching as felix's face fell when she dumped him for another guy.

you didn't have the heart to tell him i told you so.

so you busied yourself in your exams, earning a scholarship to your dream university. felix tried reaching out to you several times to rekindle your old friendship, but you would always politely decline, preferring to be detached instead of going through more heartbreak.

you still loved him, but the once burning passion had now been reduced to a soft flicker every now and then, sparking ever so slightly whenever you saw him in the corridors. your own felix-shaped hole in your heart hadn't decreased over the years, but your heart became bigger, expanding so that other people could fit in it. the hole would always be there, but at least there was space for healing.

you turned around in the backseat of your friends' car to see the campus you had once called home fading away into the distance and felix along with it.

goodbye, the wind whispered.

"happiness looks good on you, lix. i hope you make the best of it."

[wishyouloveme]

mickey milkovich rich bitch headcanons

song rec for fic:

Warnings:Terry Milkovich

A/N: hii. I kinda might have sort of quit writing? I don't know anymore,but right now I'm not writing anything unless it's requested!

Pairing: Mickey Milkovich x reader, a tiny bit of Mandy Milkovich x reader

requested? By Anonymous,May I please request headcanons for mickey from Shameless about him having a Northside girlfriend? She kinda of ditzy(but smart in her own way) and she's sweet and posting his bail(her parents are rich or she got inheritance or whatever) whenever he's gets arrested for assaulting whoever is flirting with her. Also she's cool with Fiona and always gives her and Debbie her old clothes whenever she goes shopping. Ps she's always invited Fiona and V to go shopping"

Headcannons under the cut

× You and Micky met through Mandy,having met Mandy at school,and bonded through having shitty families.

× Mandy brought you by the house,and unsurprisingly Mickey hated you immedietly. The way your hair was so damn shiny, the way your clothes fit you oh so perfectly,and the way your jewelry fitted your personality so well.

× He only ever figured out your home situation when he heard you late on night,talking with Mandy after a particularly hard fight with your parents,and after that you two were stuck together at the hip

× The first time you agreed to go out with Mickey,you two went for a walk and talked,not very romantic i know,but I feel like Mickey would much rather take a walk with you then be stuck in a stuffy restaurant where he had to dress all fancy.

× When you were walking with him,and a guy comes up to you and flirts,you not realizing,thinking he was just being nice and basic waving off all his advances,so naturally Mickey beats the shit out of him.

× When you posted his bail,you immedietlg scolded him for getting blood on your new skirt,to which he apologized with butterfly kisses and play fights.

× All of the times you went shopping,he always hated going,but would go anyways,because you were going,and he always wanted you near him.

× When youd buy a new perfume,if he hated the smell,you never wore it again,due to him mostly just smelling you 24/7 when you guys cuddled.

× I feel like when he first heard you were giving Debbie your clothes,he'd complain,he'd bitch,he'd be flabbergasted as to why you wanted to give away clothes. He never had that connection with them,so he never understood how you did.

× Then you two were in bed,he never wanted to actually do anything,with you,surprisingly he was okay with waiting,and just spending hours talking.

× Once you guys actually did it,he was so loving afterwards,massaging your legs so you weren't sore,pressing kisses to your sweaty body,and helping you shower when you could barely stand.

× The first time you ever met Terry he mistaked you for his dead wife,and Mickey immedietly dropped in,protecting you and beating the shit out of his father.

× Surprisingly,when Terry wasn't a drunk Jerkoff (so barely ever) you two actually got somewhat along. He reminded you of your dad,which,made you immedietly want to curl up and cry.

× Before you and Mickey got together,you always hung out with Mandy,sharing everything,a lot of people thought you two were gay,to which you immedietly said no,and that you were straight. You and Mandy might have flirted a little,but it was all friendly,and never actually meant.

× Of course that all stopped the minute you got with Mickey

×Mickey dreamed about getting the hell out of Southside, and thankfully,you had the money to help with that.

× You two bought a little house outside of the city.

[muneca-lemon-steppa]

ANGELLL!!! I AM OBSESSED W YOUR ALFIE FICS. I loved your 'A brother for Cyril' fic and I wanted to ask if you'd consider a kinda 'sequel' of Alfie and his wife introducing the two dogs and Alfie thinking they'll hate each other only for them to actually become the perfect dog siblings?! Please don't feel bad if you need to decline, I'm just throwing random ideas at the wall as I saw you were seeking some. sending you lots of love always and thank you for the work you do ❤️

Anon!!! Hi friend ah this was so so sweet!!!! Thank you for sending this in this was literally such a kind message I feel so blessed!!! I hope you enjoy this story, I took it a little further than I anticipated, but I hope it satisfies 💕💕💕 sending my love! - Mo

A Brother for Cyril: Part 2

Alfie Solomons x Wife!Reader

Warnings: language, mentioning pregnancy

One thing is for certain... Alfie could never deny you anything.

To someone on the outside of your relationship, it would looked as though you were irreperably spoiled. Alfie absolutely doted on you... in his own way. It didn't make sense to those on the outside. One moment you two were fighting as if your lives depended on it, hollering and shouting obscenities, arguing about the best way to handle something. The next moment he had you in his lap, chuckling into your neck, 'begging' for forgiveness with kisses and whispered promises, "Oh treacle don't be cross with me now! Give a kiss yeah? You can't be mad at your husband forever!"

And you couldn't. You could never be truly cross with Alfie. Even when you were fighting, it wasn't truly directed at him. It was just your passions overflowing and exploding, ignited by his own stubborness. And God did you love setting each other off. For the making up was so sweet.

Alfie loved spoiling you. He loved giving you things. A sweet treat from the bakery. Delicate earrings and necklaces from his jewelry shop, engraved with his initials. A bouquet accompanied with a sonnet of his own composition. Alfie loved to dote on you endlessly, and loved to give you any type of happiness.

But this was a rat dog.

Alfie could not believe that he was actually stuck with this piece of lint. And was even more in shock that not only was he stuck with it, but you loved the piece of fur. Alfie was struggling to keep the scoffs at bay, as he watched you coo and caress the puppy, as it gave small kisses to your fingers. “Oh Alfie I’m so happy we’re going to have another dog. We really did need another puppy.”

He prayed you didn’t see the rolling of his eyes. This wasn’t a dog. Cyril, now that was a dog!! This ball of fur was pathetic! Cyril was big and strong, and was good at things! Like guarding the house and playing fetch and roughhousing on the floor. And Cyril just looked impressive! What would people think if they saw this piece of dust walking on the end of a lead held by him? Could it even walk? It was being cradled like a human baby the entire time. It was tiny… what if Cyril ate it? Alfie placed a heavy hand on your shoulder, “Now darling, don’t be shocked if Cyril and…”

“Barty.”, you reminded him.

“Yes right Barty, if they don’t get along. Cyril is a man’s dog. He probably won’t want to fraternize with the likes of Barty.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at your husband, “Fraternize? Alfie, Cyril is a dog. I don’t think he’s overly concerned with social standings in the dog park.”

“Well dear see that’s where you’re mistaken. Me and Cyril yeah we talk. Man to man. And I’m not sure little Barty here will be able to keep up. He seems a little delicate.”

“Alfie you’re not even giving him a chance!! He is just a baby!”

You held up Barty to look into Alfie’s eyes, “Look at his face darling!! He can fit in! Cyril and him are going to get along perfectly!! He just needs your love and acceptance!”

Alfie stared into the barely open eyes of the puppy, and just squinted, as if trying to measure the baby’s spirit. You moved Barty closer to Alfie, being nearly nose to nose, neither Alfie nor Barty blinking. And then Barty licked Alfie’s nose with a yip.

“OH LORD! BARTY!” Alfie lurched back, spluttering and rubbing the minimum slobber off his nose. You just cackled in your seat at your ridiculous husband. The mad baker of Camden upset by some dog slobber! “Alfie! It’s just a kiss! And Cyril’s slobber is much worse!!! You don’t care when it gets on you! You don’t mind his kisses!”

“Well first off Cyril does not kiss! Cyril snarls! And Barty and I just met! Where does he get off kissing already!”

You couldn’t stop laughing and teasing your dear husband. He was such a secret to the outside. To everyone else, he is ferocious and unfeeling. Absolutely mad and vicious. But your Alfie… your Alfie had such a different side to him. You weren’t naive. You knew what this life entailed. Hell, you were his secretary before you were his wife. You knew what Alfie was, and knew what it took. But you weren’t afraid of him. Alfie wasn’t just the King of Camden. He was an animal. But he was also tender and artistic. He bellowed and roared and tore through men like nothing. But he also whispered his undying love for you every night, and pressed hot kisses to each of your fingers every morning. Alfie was everything. And that’s what people missed. And it’s what you cherished. That you got to hold the Mad Baker and Alfie Solomons in one.

When you got to the house, Alfie waved to Ollie goodbye, and guided you through the door, hand firmly on your waist. As soon as he opened the door to your home, the pounding sounds of massive paws fill your ears. Cyril makes a bee line to his father, and immediately starts pushing his head against Alfie’s stomach, “Hello my boy! My Cyril!! You miss your papa and mum yeah? You’re so good, you watched the house for me yeah?”

Cyril’s sweet face broke out in a large smile, panting and leaning in to Alfie’s touch. After giving all the love his boy needed, Alfie finally straightened, preparing to witness what may be a bloodbath. “Alright Cyril sit my boy sit. We have brought you something.”

Alfie motioned for you to hold out Barty, “Cyril my boy, mummy and papa have decided that you need a brother. This here is Barty, and you’re going to teach him how to be a real dog.”

“Alfie!”

“Well he’s not a dog darling! Go on put the little runt on the ground, let Cyril sniff him out.”

You gently put Barty on the ground near Cyril’s front paws. You stand back up, shifting closer to Alfie, waiting for what was to come.

Barty managed to pull himself onto his tiny paws, sniffing the air around Cyril. Cyril’s head went to the side, as if trying to understand what was just put in front of him. He leaned all the way down sniffing Barty for a long time and then… gave him the biggest kiss Alfie had ever seen.

Cyril began to bark, and bounce around with all his young dog energy. Barty began yipping excitedly hopping around Cyril’s feet. “Barty! Are you so excited to meet your big brother?” You we’re so excited, so happy that the dogs were getting along, and Barty had been accepted into the Solomons pack.

After dinner, you and Alfie took your tea in the parlor, nestled together, enjoying each others presence and the radio playing softly. Cyril and Barty were snoring together close to the fireplace. Barty was snuggled right against Cyril’s stomach, legs kicking ever so often, lost in a dream.

“I cannot believe this… Cyril has gone soft.”

From your place on Alfie’s chest you swat him, “Leave them alone. It’s sweet.”

“He romped. He’s never romped before.”

“Well you did tell him to teach Barty how to be a dog. He’s just being a good big brother. I saw him trying to play tug of war with him. It was very sweet.”

Alfie just grunted, staring off into space. Until he hummed out, “Sweet heart?”

“Yes darling?”

“Would you ever want… human puppies?”

You sat up straight, “… do you mean babies?”

“Nevermind it was stupid.”

You laughed loudly, grabbing his shoulders for him to face you, “No you stubborn man! It’s not stupid, I just have never heard someone say 'human puppies'."

He just mumbled to himself, as he typically does, but still grabbed your wrist, pressing a kiss to the inside of your palm. Meeting your eyes you feel those butterflies in your stomach that still haven’t left after all of these years, he presses you “Well?”

You sigh, smiling softly, thinking and considering as your fingers comb through his hair, “Hmmmm I’ve thought about it. Had dreams about it. I’ve always wanted a big family, just like how I grew up. I’ve thought about you holding and playing with the children. Absolutely spoiling them with your affection. Teaching them. Being the man that I know you are. I just didn’t think you wanted kids.”

Alfie leaned into your touch, still holding your hand, “I just didn’t think I’d have the chance. You know… to have a family. Thought I was getting too old. Then here you come… crashing in my bachelor life. And now… I just keep thinking about it.”

You leaned in, heart glowing at his vulnerability. You knew it was sometimes hard for him to discuss those deep feelings, it made him feel exposed. But the fact that he still opened up like that to you, it spoke to the volumes of trust between the two of you. Pressing a soft kiss to his lips you whisper, “If you want children Mr. Solomons, let’s have them.”

You think you see a small glitter of a tear threaten to show itself in his eyes, before he says, “Cyril could teach them how to be dogs too.”

The rest of the evening flows in laughter and kisses. As you dream with him about what the future holds, Cyril admires from his place on the floor, keeping his new little brother safe, and thinking about the new siblings sure to come.

[peacefulwriting]

A Christmas Wish

For years, you were used to Jake being gone for some holidays, including Christmas. His job had him gone for countless holidays and sadly, it was nothing new to you and you'd be able to handle it. When you started a family, that had all changed.

You and Jake got extremely lucky and he didn't have to leave for any deployments for a few years but that had all changed in a matter of time.

Your son had just turned 5 and you little girl was 2. Your son was old to know and remember why daddy wasn't around for the holidays, but your daughter didn't know much. You got lucky and he was gone for the spring and summer holidays and home for the ones that mattered the most.

Jake left in late October for his temporary deployment. It was only supposed to be for a little over a month, but the news came barreling down on you at the begging of December that it was going to be longer and that he should be expected to be home after the new year.

"I hate this, I know it's your career and you can't help it, but I hate this, Jake." You choked back tears. " Your kids miss you. I miss you."

"I am so sorry, honey. It breaks my heart that I'm not there. I miss you all so much."

Jake hated it as much as you did. He hated knowing that he was missing being able to go visit Santa with the kids and go look at Christmas lights while drinking hot coco. He hated being stuck on a ship with nothing but the ocean skyline in the distance.

You had to be strong for your kids and not have them see you break down. You had to still go and do everyday life with them, including going and doing Christmas things, without Jake, so that it seemed somewhat normal, even though, none of this was normal.

So, that's what you did.

You would load them into the car and go grocery shopping, Christmas shopping, going to see Santa, and Christmas lights and Ice skating, all of the things. You had to take pictures and videos for Jake and man did that break your heart.

You never thought you'd be the one to breaking down crying in the middle of a store when your son pointed to something that reminded you of Jake.

"Mama, look! It's a plane like daddy's!"

He pointed to an F18 ornament and your heart dropped while tears started to brim the edges of your eyes. You bent down, gracefully holding the ornament in your hands. Tears were spilling out of your eyes as your turned towards your son.

"Can we get it for daddy, mama?"

"I think he'd like that, baby."

You shook your head as your song grabbed the ornament and gained the biggest smile on his face. He held it so close to him throughout the whole store and all the way home. It was his little plane just like daddy's.

You got everything in the house, laid your daughter down for a nap, and took a rest, and when you looked over into the living room, you saw your son looking at the Christmas tree that uncle Rooster helped put up. He had the plane in his hand and you knew he was contemplating on wether he wanted to put it up or keep it close.

"What are you thinking, baby?"

You bent down, hugging him to your side, looking at him. He just stared right ahead at the Christmas tree and the lights.

"Will daddy be home for Christmas?"

You sighed, your heart breaking all over again. You couldn't lie to your son but you didn't want to ruin anything for him, so you did your best by sugar coating it with a little Christmas story.

You sat down on the floor and your son turned to look at you, still with that innocent smile on his face.

"You know how Santa has to work on Christmas so that all the children can get their gifts and treats?" You asked, and he shook his yes, "that's kinda like daddy's job. He he gets to fly to all these places so that he can help us and provide things for us when we need them."

"Daddy's like Santa!" He shouted with a big smile on his face.

"Yeah," you said, tears threaten to spill out again, "and that means that daddy might have to work on Christmas, like Santa, so that we can get what we need and want."

"Does daddy and Santa work together then?" He asked, so innocently.

You had to blink up so that tears wouldn't come out in front of your son. You composed yourself and looked back at him.

"I think so, baby. They are both working super hard to make sure everyone gets what they need."

You son smiled, walking to the tree and putting the F18 ornament on the tree. "Mama, if I'm really nice and ask Santa to let daddy not work on Christmas, do you think he'll get me that?"

Your heart shattered.

"Maybe if you're extra nice, baby."

Your son jumped up and down, giggling. You sat there watching him with his excitement and you had tears welling in your eyes that were slowly dripping out.

You cleaned yourself up, heading for the kitchen to make dinner for the kiddos. You silently hoped the night would go by quick, more so, the whole month of December.

"Our son thinks he if he's really nice for Santa that you'll come home."

You snapped. You know this wasn't Jake's fault, nor yours, nor your sons. He was hopeful and full of dreams while this was breaking you. The only time Jake could FaceTime you was late at night due to the time zone.

"Our little boy, full of hopes and dreams," Jake whispered, you watched through the phone as tears were coming out of his eyes. "I want that so badly, for you and the kids."

"You have no idea."

As the days passed and Christmas grew closer, you felt more and more sadness. You were loosing sleep making sure everything was wrapped and Christmas dinner was bought, and watching your son remain hopeful that Jake was coming home. You were exhausted.

Christmas Eve approached and no sign of Jake coming home. You wanted to scream and cry knowing that when you'll wake up that Jake wasn't going to be here and how sad your kids were going to be.

You finished up cleaning up the kids, laying your daughter down before your son, partly, because you know he's going to ask a thousand questions as to where daddy was.

You gave your daughter a kiss on the forehead as she cooed. You turned on the rain machine and shut the lights off and walked into your sons room.

You walked over to him as he was slipping under the covers. You grabbed the corners of them and pulled them up on his body. He pulled his arms out from under the blanket and turned on his side, looking at you.

"I think I was really nice for Santa."

"You were very nice, yes. I'm proud of you."

"I asked Santa to bring daddy home since I was so nice."

"I hope that Santa is able to give you that gift." You leaned down and kissed him on his forehead. "Goodnight, baby. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, mama."

You shut off the lights and to your bedroom. You shut the door, sighing. You didn't have anymore energy to cry, just felt empty. You knew that Christmas was going to be extremely hard and you just wish things were different. You swallowed, shutting off the lights and slipped into bed, drifting off to sleep.

"MAMA! IT'S CHRISTMAS! WAKE UP!"

You woke up to your son jumping on you and laughing. You blinked your eyes open and looked at your son, smiling. You grabbed him and pulled him in for a big hug.

"Merry Christmas, baby. Why don't we go grab your sister and see what Santa brought you?"

He shook his head with the biggest smile and jumped off the bed. You walked into your daughters room and she was already awake, just standing in her crib. You smiled, grabbing her from her crib. You gave her a kiss on the forehead.

When all of you approached the staircase, you heard the backdoor opening and jinglebells jingling. Your heart began to race as your son looked up at you with a big smile on his face. He took off down the stairs.

No, there's no way, you thought. Jake wasn't due to be home for another few weeks.

You began to take a few steps down the stairs when you heard your son gasp. Flight and fight mode activated but when the next word came out of his mouth, you felt your heart flutter.

"DADDY!"

You began to rush down the stairs with your daughter in your arms, trying to hide a smile, and once you rounded, your eyes locked with Jake's.

"I was right, mama!"

Jake laughed, giving your son a kiss on the forehead. He looked at him again and released him and your son went flying past you to the presents. Jake began to walk towards you with a big smile on his face.

"Is this real?" You whispered. "Are you really here?"

Jake stopped in front of you, grabbing your face and pulling you in for a kiss. You pulled back and placed your head into his chest, laughing. You heard him give your daughter a kiss.

"I'm home, darling."

You lifted your head, looking into his green eyes. He grabbed you by your waist, pulling you into him and placing the soft kiss on your lips. You stayed there, taking it all in and embracing your husband. You just wanted to stay in this moment forever.....

"MAMA! DADDY! COME ON!"

You and Jake pulled apart, looking at each other, laughing. He took your hand in his and you walked over to the couch, and sat down. You set your daughter on your lap and you gave your son the okay to open his presents.

You were so thankful and happy that Jake was home, able to spend Christmas with your and the kids.

A Christmas Miracle.

[mochinek0]

Love Ballads

This was previously posted on my Wattpad. It has been in the works of being rewritten. Most of it is the original storyline (wasn't published) but also changes from the shadows. It will be a long fic in the making and will be posted every Friday.

"You will be dating an upcoming model, Lila Rossi." announced Gabriel, "Is that understood, Adrien?"

"Does it have to be Lila?" asked Adrien.

'Out of all people, why did it have to be her?'

"Dating experience is necessary for your future in finding a bride to uphold the Agreste name." his father continued, "Miss Rossi is new to the public eye and will boost your standing, as you do to hers."

"Understood." sighed Adrien.

"In light of this new 'relationship', you will have three nights to appear more relatable to the public. Let me know the days and what you will be attending on said days. Miss Rossi must accompany you on one of said days." he stated.

"Yes, Father." replied Adrien, as he was dismissed.

'What do couples do? I haven't dated since I was fifteen and I'm pretty sure there's a difference.'

Adrien paced his room as he tried to figure out how to spend his new freedom.

'I have three free days, but I'm stuck with Lila one of those days.'

He didn't really want to spend time with Lila, but that was the price of his freedom. Not to mention, he had to 'date' her. Lila had always been high-maintenance and he was sure somehting like going to the movies, wasn't going to cut it for her. Not to mention, he didn't want to be in a dark room with her. He was sure she'd try something. That was another thing he had to worry about, her lies and fake tears on dates.

'I have to treat her like she's Chloe. Chloe would want five star resturants and shopping so those are out of the question to do with Lila. If I took her somewhere in public, she could create a scene.'

"What do couples do?" he asked out loud, before inspiration struck him.

'Nino!'

Adrien pulled his phone out of his pocket and immediately dialed his best friend's number.

"Adrien, Bro!" Nino answered, "What's going on? Bored at another shoot?"

"No." replied Adrien, "Not this time. I actually need some advice."

"Really? About what?" questioned Nino.

"I have three nights off to appear more 'relatable to the public' and I have no idea what to do. Of course I still have to uphold the family name and all that, but-" said Adrien.

"That's great, Dude!" cried Nino, "I'm sure I can come up with a list in an hour!"

"One catch, I have to bring Lila with me." murmured the young Agreste, "At least on one of those nights."

"Lila? As in Lila Rossi?" asked Nino.

"Yep." Adrien eye-rolled his answer, not that his best friend could tell.

"Congrats, my man! Oh, I got it! Tomorrow, most of us from the old class meet up for karaoke. Majority of us are couples, but we still let in single people, so you can spin it off to your Old Man as a couples night." said Nino, excitedly.

"That sounds great! Okay, what else?" asked Adrien, happily.

"On Wednesdays we have a Guy's Night." the DJ continued, "The girls go off and do their own thing. Sometimes they go out for drink, other times it's movies, or just lounging at someone's place. I'm sure the girls would love if Lila could join them."

"Great! Where do we meet up so I can just give him all the details?" asked the young model.

"We usually rotate places, incase the girls do the same. We usually just chill out at each other's houses, play video games, chill out, and eat junk food." Nino said.

"Okay, I might have to spin that, but I can work on that." Adrien replied, "Got anything else?"

"Fridays, we have Game Night and I seem to remember you almost being a UMS3 champ. Basically it's the same as Guy's Night, but the girls can go too. It's been our way of letting out frustrations from school or work." laughed Nino, " Close to finals, it turns into study sessions, instead."

"Okay, I'll call you back in a bit to let you know how it goes and maybe to get more ideas." spoke Adrien.

"You got it, Bro." said Nino, before hanging up.

Adrien knocked on his Father's office, hoping things go his way for once.

"Enter." he heard his father call.

Adrien entered the room and waited for his father's approval to speak.

"I take it you have some ideas for these days." announced Gabriel from behind his desk.

"Yes, Father." said Adrien, "I called some of my friends for ideas for couples and many of them are old colleagues of both myself and Miss Rossi. On Saturdays, they have couples night karaoke. They also spend their Wednesdays split between gentlemen and the ladies. Friday's are game nights."

"A couple's night out will be relatable and will put your singing skills to use. This gentleman's night will also make you more relatable to your gender, just make sure you do not do anything foolish." spoke Gabriel.

"Of course, Father." calmly said Adrien.

"This 'game night', tell me more." the elder Agreste stated.

"It will be held on Fridays evenings. It is open to everyone. I was hoping to talk with you about relocating it to here, if you allow it?" answered the young model.

"Explain." said Gabriel.

"I was hoping to move this evening to my room. I am well aware I have photoshoots early morning on Saturdays. If I held it here, I could immediatley fall asleep after everyone has left. We can have everyone leave by midnight if you prefer." explained Adrien, "My room is also more equipped to handle a large amount of people and I have a vast amount of systems that can be used. I am told they use this night to destress and once finals approach, they use the night for studying together and help each other with their weakest subjects."

He could feel his father's heavy gaze on him, weighing this idea.

"I will approve this idea, for now, but your friends must be off the premise by midnight and stay only in your room, at a reasonable volume level." said Gabriel.

"Yes, Father. I shall let them know now and will inform Miss Rossi of our planned activities tomorrow." spoke Adrien.

"Very well." said the elder Agreste, with a wave of dismissal.

"So how did it go?" asked Nino.

"He approved of everything!" cried Adrien, excitedly.

"Really?" questioned his best friend.

"Yep. Oh, and I more news. He allowed us to have game night here in my room!" announced Adrien.

"Are you sure that's your Old Man." asked Nino.

"There are some rules." spoke Adrien.

"I spoke to soon." Nino sighed, causing Adrien to laugh.

"I usually have early shoots on Saturdays so everyone has to leave by midnight. We also have to stay in my room and keep the volume to a reasonable level." continued the young Agreste.

"That's cool, Dude. Still open to all genders?" asked Nino.

"Yep. I'm assuming Alya comes to these." chuckled Adrien.

"Nah, she uses it as time to prep for her classes." yawned Nino.

"It is getting late and I have a shoot at 10AM." yawned Adrien in return.

"Night, Bro. Oh, I'll text you the address to the karaoke place." spoke Nino.

"Great. See you tomorrow." said Adrien.

"Tomorrow." said Nino and hung up.

'I can't wait to see everyone again. I wonder what they've been up to. Lila won't be able to manipulate me with so many witnesses.' 

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[mawofmeraxes]

Breaking Point

request: Omg loved your fic Sneaking Out! Could you please write something for Eddie x fem!reader having an argument (angst, with fluff at the end)? Like maybe they're adults & married and it's more serious?

summary: Over five years after you had escaped from the upside down once and for all, you and Eddie discuss moving out of Hawkins, Indiana and going somewhere where Eddie wouldn't have to be scared for his life every day.

characters: eddie munson x fem!reader

word count: 3.1k

warnings: fighting, angst, fluff, happy ending, married life, marital fighting, arguments, mean eddie, angry Eddie, sad Eddie, yelling, angry reader, crying, cursing

masterlist

Eddie had been out all day.

The job he had taken over at Jimmy's Mechanic Shop seemed to take up so much more of his time recently, not that you were opposed or anything.

Living with your fiancé meant that you got to spend much more time together than when you were young high schoolers running around town causing a ruckus everywhere.

So having some more free time just to yourself wasn't something you were entirely upset about, although you were starting to miss seeing him for such a large part of your day.

It was just something that you would have to grow used to.

  Something you didn't want to get used to, however, was the amount of times you had to scrub off spray paint from your front door.

It had been five years. Five years since the deaths of Chrissy and many others.

Five fucking years and people still tried to blame Eddie even though he had been proclaimed innocent for all to hear, with the good ol' chief of police Jim Hopper (who had surprised everyone with his return after his so called death) backing him up as much as he could.

Hopper had even arrested a few of the previous vandals when you had called him upon arriving home and catching them in the middle of the act.

Yet there still seemed to be some people in this close-minded god-forsaken town who still thought that Eddie, your sweet goofball Eddie, was capable of cold blooded murder.

It made you sick to your stomach.

You had spent some hours today running your usual errands before coming home, which meant that your house was empty with no cars in front.

Meaning that the usual assholes who would spray-paint "freak", "murderer" and "killer's whore" (among many others) had the perfect opportunity to do their usual crime, just like usual.

When you got home and saw the words sprayed onto your door again, you just couldn't take it anymore.

You were like a tornado as you rushed through the house, gathering all of the correct cleaning materials that had you learned worked best after much trial and error.

You had to get it off before Eddie came home.

Luckily he had only known about it happening a few times. But other times that it had happened you had managed to clean it up before he came home, where you proceeded to act like nothing had happened and all was well.

All while you festered in your anger and your desperation to leave this town.

This town which had done nothing good for either of you. Branding him a freak and a killer when he was anything but. And calling you a slut and a whore for being with him.

Eddie was the most generous and caring man you had ever met. He was like a golden retriever with curly dark hair. Happy all the time, ready to cuddle and always licking your face. The man wasn’t capable of even harming a fly.

He was the epitome of a gentleman. Always ensuring that you were okay, cooking dinner for you when you felt unwell, massaging you when you were achy and sore.

He was perfect. Yet the people in this town hated him.

Treated him like shit all because he dressed differently, acted differently, and wasn't a sporty jock.

In the end you would usually cheer each other up by saying that they were all just stuck up assholes who were jealous of him. They were jealous that they weren't able to act as freely as him. That they had secluded themselves in a bubble of conformity that they were too scared to leave.

You quickly pulled the front door back open and slammed it before setting all of your cleaning supplies down. You sprayed the door with the one spray that you had found that worked and began scrubbing.

Eddie could be home at any second and you needed this stupid paint to be gone before he pulled in.

He had been having a little bit of a rough week due to the 5 year anniversary of Chrissy's death coming up. The five year anniversary of when you almost lost him forever.

It was hard on both of you, considering you were there with him for almost all of it. But you knew he struggled with it much more than you; both his body and his mind had been littered with scars ever since.

When he had sent you and Dustin back into the rightside up and cut the sheets before he could follow, you had felt your heart shatter in two. You had watched as he told you he loved you before sprinting outside of the trailer and into the cacophony of bats.

You had almost broken down then and there, had it not been for Dustin grabbing you by the arms and dragging your ass back in with him.

When you had managed to get back in through the portal and found Eddie, you knew that the chances of him surviving were slim.

But he was your Eds. And that boy would pull through if it meant that you would be there with him the entire time.

And after all of that. After all of the suffering that you and he had endured, these assholes just had to vandalize your home as a reminder again and again and again.

You were scrubbing like a madman now, watching as the paint smudged off and the color further smeared on the door.

You didn't even hear the car pull up, but you did hear when the car door slammed.

You turned and there he was. Eds. Greasy from the cars he had worked on throughout the day, staring at you and the paint stained door with an unreadable look in his eyes.

Your shoulder slumped, disappointed that you had been unable to get it off in time. Disappointed that he had to see it when he had been having a terrible week already.

He walked up the driveway and to the door, simply grabbing your shoulder and giving it a squeeze before passing you, opening the vandalized front door and going inside, leaving it open.

You sighed, feeling guilty for something that you hadn't even done. Feeling like you were the one that had brought that look into his eyes.

You knew you weren't, you really did, but that didn't stop you from feeling like shit about it.

You looked at the door again, wide open and showing the interior of your home and sighed once more before grabbing the door and pulling it closed so you could finish scrubbing the paint from it.

It didn't take long before all of the evidence of the vandalism was removed. The door was as clean as it had been when you left earlier, and now it was like the incident had never happened.

Now you had to face the turmoil that was sure to be raging in your home.

The house was quiet inside, no sounds that would allude to anyone being home to be heard.

You set the supplies down in the kitchen before taking your shoes off and making your way upstairs to your bedroom where you knew he would be taking his usual after-work shower.

When you entered the room, the ensuite door was closed and you could hear the faint sound of the shower running.

You assumed he was almost done, so you sat on the side of your bed and decided to wait until he was done.

You had to talk about it.

The look on his face when he came home broke your heart.

Neither of you deserved this.

Neither of you deserved to face the wrath of a town that didn't want to face the facts. A town that didn't want to accept that Eddie had done no wrong and is an innocent man.

You wanted to leave.

You had been thinking about it for a while now.

Contemplating the both of you moving out somewhere that would be welcoming. Somewhere where there would be no worry about dirty looks, vandalized doors or death threats.

Somewhere where all you had to worry about was what you were having for dinner and when the two of you could go out safely again, like you used to.

As you sat on the bed and let your thoughts run rampant, the shower in the bathroom turned off and not long later Eddie walked out. Hair dripping down his shirtless torso as he toweled it dry.

Your focus turned outward towards him, and he stopped at the look you gave him.

"I don't want to talk about it today, baby." He muttered, turning back to the bathroom to hang his towel as you stood up and crossed your arms.

You sighed, "I know, Eds, but I don't want to do this anymore." He turned to look at you, a scared look on his face. "I can't stand seeing the look on your face every time someone gives us a dirty look. It breaks my heart knowing that this town will always hate you for something you didn't even do." You breathe in before continuing, "and I try so hard to get the words off our door every time it happens because I know seeing them makes it worse but I can't keep doing it. They keep getting away with it Eddie!"

He stands there as you say this to him. A blank but sad look on his face. When you stop talking he walks over to where you stand by the bed and takes a seat, rubbing his hands across his face and releasing a sigh of his own. He looks up to you, his soft doe eyes full of sadness.

"What happens when their threats aren't just threats anymore Eddie?" You whisper, dropping to your knees grasping his hands in yours. "I'm in this home alone for hours after I'm done working baby, what if they come to hurt you and I'm the only one here? What happens when you're not here and we can't protect each other?" You begin to gasp for breath, tears welling up in your eyes as your breathing becomes more and more erratic. "What happens if I'm here one day and you're out there and they hurt you? I can't stop them, Eds." The tears start falling, and Eddie's hands grip yours tightly as they start to stream down your cheeks.

"I know, baby. But there's nothing we can do about it." He says, eyes looking into yours while his hands move to wipe away your tears.

But there is something you could do about it. You could leave.

Your eyes widen in earnest, and you sit up straighter on your knees. "But there is something," you say, "Eddie, baby we don't have to stay here. We can leave." He freezes completely, but you don't notice. "We can find a nice little town or a city! We can get jobs anywhere, and we can find a nice little home or even an apartment to move into!" A smile starts to widen on your face at the idea, but Eddie is anything but happy. There is a frown starting to mar his face, and in his eyes there is complete devastation.

"Baby, we can't just leave."

And then it's your turn to freeze. You can feel your heart breaking into two and your blood turning ice cold.

"Why not?" And the tears are back, pooling in your eyes as Eddie stares at you. Your hands start to loosen their grip on his own. "Why stay here? There's nothing for us here but pain." You give his hands a squeeze, but it's him who loosens his grip now until your hands fall from his. He continues to stare at you and starts shaking his head.

"You know why we have to stay here!" His voice is louder than before, and it makes you jump a little bit. "Everyone is here!" You lean back on your heels before starting to stand up so you can back away from him as he continues to break your heart. "All of our friends are here! My uncle is here!"

Now you stand a few feet away, backed up from the bed as he continues to sit on it, tears streaming down your face as your lips tremble and your hands shake. "I know that! Obviously I know that!" You say, and you have to look away from his face as he stares at you, a disbelieving look on his face. As though your suggestion is simply something crazy. "But Eds they'd understand!" You say, raising your voice a little. "They would understand because they know what we're going through. And it's not like we'd have to go far! We can go somewhere else in Indiana, or maybe Ohio! That way we wouldn't be that far and we can visit them and they can visit us!"

He just sits there and stares at you. His head begins shaking, and he stands up to start walking towards you.

You stand still, allowing him to come up to you where he puts his hands on your shoulders. "We have to stay here." He mutters, bending down slightly so his face is directly in front of yours. His own eyes are tearing up now. "After everything with the upside down we have to stay here. What if something happens again? We have to be here to help everyone!”

Your eyes widen in disbelief, "Eddie, it's been years!" You can't help but yell at this point. He flinches back in shock at the sudden raise in your voice.

It feels like he can't hear what you're saying. Why does the upside down matter right now? El finally closed the last gate years ago! And everyone was keeping a close eye on things now that they were all adults and Hopper was back. There was nothing to worry about.

“Just because it’s been years doesn’t mean that something couldn’t happen again!” He says, “Everytime they thought they closed the gates for good he came back stronger than before! What if he comes back again and this time we can’t do anything?” He’s looking at you with disbelief again. Like you have no idea exactly what happened and exactly how strong Vecna was.

"Eds, the gates aren’t going to just open up again! Vecna is dead!" You pull yourself away from him. Your hands going up to your head where you run them through your hair, slightly pulling in stress. "I just want to be able to go through our days with no stress! Nobody on our backs, looking at us like we've done something wrong, thinking the worst of us. One day they might kill you Eddie, just because they can!" You turn back to face him. "What happens when they decide that enough is enough?"

He goes to say something but you cut him off, "The gates don't matter! Hawkins doesn't matter! None of that matters if these god damn fucking people kill you first!" You finish your sentence with a hoarse yell.

At this point Eddie is standing directly in front of you, his eyes wide in shock from the loudness of your voice, the tears streaming down your blotchy red face while you heave in air. His own eyes start to well with tears. Your voice croaks out a whisper, "We could be happier somewhere else..." You let out a sob. “Safer somewhere else…”

The tears that have been forming in his eyes are now falling down his face, matching yours. "Baby..." He murmurs. “I know. I know, trust me I really do.” 

You collapse onto your knees as a sob wracks through your whole body, Eddie quickly walking towards you and falling onto his own knees as you both start crying together.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs, "I'm so sorry, baby." And he murmurs it over and over and over again. “I just feel like we can’t leave. We need to stay here to help keep everyone safe.” He has you cradled into his chest now, his hands wrapped around your head and holding you to him. You pull back a little and look at his face. It’s red now, to match your own. His eyes are bloodshot and his cheeks covered in tears. He gives you a sad smile. “But I know that if we stay here it’ll only make us more miserable than we already are.” You continue to watch him. He moves one of his hands to the back of your head to cup your cheek, wiping the tears that lie there away with his thumb. “I’m sorry, baby.”

  -

The slam of the car's trunk signifies that the last box has been loaded up. You stand there, hands on your hips, breathing in large lungfuls of air as the sweat drips down your forehead.

It was so hot that day. Sun blistering down onto you, skin sweaty.

Of course this just had to be the day that you and Eddie were moving to your new home.

The two of you had decided that enough was enough. After seeing your reaction to everything and talking to all of your friends about how he felt, Eddie had realized that the both of you moving out of Hawkins was for the best.

You had both contacted real-estate agents, checking out homes for sale and apartments in cities, and had found a quaint little place in another town more north of Indiana. It was a few hours away, but it was enough that no one in town recognized either of you, and the stories of what occurred in Hawkins had been swept away as much as possible.

Your eyes glanced over to the house as Eddie walked out with the last of your bags, keys in his hands as he locked it up for the final time.

A smile spread across your face, eyes filled with love as he walked towards you and the car.

He had his own smile on his face, his eyes squinted in happiness while he looked at you.

He opened up the backseat door, throwing both bags in before leaning over it, his arms coming to rest atop of it with his head following. He makes a pouty face up at you and purses his lips so you'll give him a kiss.

You laugh at him before leaning forward to meet his lips with yours.

You have never been happier. And you were so excited to start your new lives together.

requests are open!

commissions are open!

comment if you'd like to be added to the master taglist!

[manicplank]

The Color Pink (Part 5)

This looks long, but there's a lot of dialogue. Enjoy!

The First Date

Hazel was rushing to close up the cafe in a fit of excitement. Today was the day she got to go on a date with The Noise. She was so ecstatic that she was shaking. She hurriedly put all the dishes on the rack to dry. She locked up and raced home as if she was being chased by a tiger. She took a shower and blow dried her hair. She added an extra little curl at the ends. She was debating whether or not to put makeup on but decided against it as she wanted to be as natural as possible. She put on a cute pink and white plaid dress with a cropped cardigan over her shoulders. She wore a white bow in her hair and white Mary Janes. She took the short walk to The Pig City and tried to find a cab, but it was so busy that she couldn't seem to get one's attention. She waved her arms until she was practically flailing. She finally got one to pull over for her. She realized she never got the address to the place. "Where to," the cab driver asked.

"Do you know the bubble tea place," she responded.

"Ramen Spot is the only place in the city that serves bubble tea."

"Okay, then go there."

The Noise was nervous. On his way home from work, he was trembling. He had to stop and take a few breathers, he even chain smoked three cigarettes as opposed to his usual one. He didn't know why he was so nervous. It's not a date, he thought, it's totally not a date. But it was a date, and he knew it. As much as he denied it, he wouldn't have been so nervous if it wasn't. He got home and showered. He was still super nervous. What if she doesn't show up? What if she changed her mind? What if she can't stand me and leaves? He put on a nice but somewhat casual grey suit with a yellow dress shirt and black tie. He inhaled deeply and sighed before he headed out.

Noise got there before her, and this made him even more nervous. He was definitely overdressed for being at a ramen shop. He sat down at an empty table, and his phone vibrated. It was a text from Hazel;

Cab got stuck in traffic, but I'll be there in a minute!

He felt great relief knowing he wasn't going to get stood up. The door opened, and there she was. He looked up and tried to keep his jaw from dropping in awe. She looked around but didn't see him at first. He waved at her, and she was shocked to see what he looked like out of costume. She had seen it before in some of his shows and movies, but to see it in person was a whole different experience. She smiled before she walked up to the table and sat down. "Hey," she greeted, "I, uh, didn't recognize you at first." He smiled and let out a tiny laugh.

"Yeah, I don't blame you," he scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I don't expect anything less considering I wear a mask most of the time."

She scanned the table. "Um... Where's the menus?"

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot you haven't been here before. The menu is at the counter."

"You order at the counter?"

"Yeah. You order at the counter and then they bring your stuff to you when it's ready."

"Wow, that's unique. I've never heard of that."

"Everything here is really good. At least, I think."

"Well, come on! Let's order!"

They walk up to the counter, and Hazel grabbed the menu. She scanned it for a minute as she was anxious about taking too long.

"I'll take the rose black bubble tea," The Noise started to order, "and two orders of the fried dumplings." He looked at Hazel and nodded. "You ready?"

"Oh! No, no, I can pay for myself," she fretted.

"Come on," he spoke calmly, "let me treat you. That way, you're not losing anything if you don't like it."

She smiled and shrugged. "Okay, um... I'll get the strawberry milk taro bubble tea and um... the house tonkotsu ramen?"

The cashier smiled and nodded. The Noise paid, and the cashier handed him a beeper. The two sat back down at their table. "I gotta be honest," The Noise vented, "I'm a bit nervous."

Hazel sighed and giggled. "Me too. I don't know why, but this feels so different from when we talk in the cafe."

"Because it is different. A different atmosphere, a different place, different circumstances."

"I'm mostly surprised you asked me out. When we were in the cafe, I thought you were just being nice."

He laughed. "I thought the same thing! I thought you were just giving good customer service."

"Yes and no. I mean, of course I wanted to give good service to The Noise."

"Please," he smiled, "just call me Theodore."

"Wait," she raised her eyebrows, "is that your real name?"

"Yeah. Theodore Noise is my actual name. I was born with it."

"The Noise... Theodore Noise... Oh, my God, that's so clever!"

"Heh heh..." He blushed. "Thanks. Not as clever as your French 'Noisette' thing."

She laughed. "We both have clever little plays on our names, huh?"

"Yeah."

"..."

"..."

"So," she started, "tell me about your line of work! What's it like being a celebrity actor?"

"Eh, it has its pros and cons."

"I remember you telling me that at the cafe."

"Yeah. It's great, but it can suck at times. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun most of the time, but it's still work, ya know?"

"I get it. I have the same feeling about working in my cafe. It's nice, and I'm glad I do it, but some days are just so grating."

"Running a whole business is grating in general. Would you be surprised if I told you I do office work, too?"

"Really? That's crazy!"

"Well, yeah, but I'm the CEO. I have to do interviews and paperwork for employees, I have to proofread scripts, go over pilots, go through reviews and ratings. The list goes on and on."

"That sounds awful!"

"It's not the worst, but I prefer to be on set."

"I can sort of relate. I have to do all of my own financial and accounting assets. It's miserable! I get it wrong all the time, I'm terrible at math!"

"Same here. Math is the bane of my existence. Thankfully, I have an accountant for all of that. She's also my financial advisor."

Before Hazel could respond, the pager started beeping. A couple shrimp employees came out with their food, and Noise waved them down. They came over and served them their food and drinks. Hazel was impressed, the food looked amazing. Theodore handed them the pager and thanked them. She stopped them before they left, "Can we get some chopsticks?" One of the employees left and came back with two pairs of chopsticks. Noise looked nervously at the chopsticks. Hazel thanked the employee before they walked off.

"Those dumplings look amazing," she said.

"Yeah," he responded, "they're great."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just um... I don't know how to use chopsticks."

"Really?"

"Mhm. It's a bit embarrassing, I know."

"No, it's not! Here, I'll show you."

She took her chopsticks and held them in her hand. "See," she pointed it out, "you hold them like this." He put the chopsticks in his hand. He tried his best, but it felt so awkward. "You use your thumb, index, and middle finger to control them back and forth." He tried to pick up one of the dumplings and dunk it in the cup of sauce, but he dropped it. It splashed and left a small mess on the table. He blushed and seemed flustered. She giggled, "It's okay. It takes a minute to get the hang of. You can keep trying, or you can just eat with a fork if it makes you feel more comfortable."

"I think I'll just use a fork. I'd hate to make a mess." He grabbed a napkin and wiped up the small spill. "Thanks for showing me, though."

She smiled. "You're welcome! Don't worry about being bad at it. It takes some practice."

He laughed, but he still felt a bit embarrassed. "Anyways, did you want to try one of the dumplings?"

"Oh, um, what's in them?"

"It's a mixture of chicken, pork, cabbage, and carrots."

"Nah, I don't really like cabbage."

"Neither do I, but you can't even taste it. It's really good with the sauce, too. They make their own soy sauce."

"Alright, I guess I'll try one."

He scooted his plate to the center of the table so she wouldn't have to reach over it. She picked one up with her chopsticks and dipped it in the sauce. She put her hand underneath to catch any of the drips as she took a bite. Her eyes widened. She chewed it and swallowed. "Wow," she exclaimed, "that's amazing! You weren't kidding!"

"I know! I was super shocked when I tried it. There's only six of them, so that's why I usually get two orders. They also have them boiled, but I like the taste of the pan fried."

She took a bite of her ramen and slurped it up. "Oh! Sorry, that was rude."

"How is it rude? That's how you're supposed to eat ramen."

"Oh, thank God, you actually know the etiquette."

"Yep. I'm not entirely ignorant."

"I didn't mean-"

"No, no, I know what you meant," he chuckled.

The two went on to eat their meals and drink their teas. They small talked here and there in between bites. The tension wasn't as high, and the mood had lightened a lot. Hazel mixed all the toppings into her soup. "You want a bite," she asked.

"Mm-mm," Theo shook his head. "I'm not the biggest fan of ramen."

"Really?"

"Yep. I've tried it a couple times. It just wasn't for me."

"That's fair. At least you tried it."

As they tried to enjoy their meal, they were interrupted by a group of fans. Three women had approached the table. "Sorry to interrupt," said one of them, "but are you The Noise?" Theodore sighed, "Yep, that's me. I'm kind of in the middle of something, though."

"Can we get your autograph?"

"Yeah, but make it quick. Got a pen and paper?"

One of the girls scrambled over to the cashier to borrow a pen. He didn't have paper other than receipts, so he gave them three blank ones. She rushed back over to The Noise and handed him the pen and papers. He signed all three and handed each of them one. They looked at each other and squealed. As they walked away you can her each of them say;

"I'm gonna get mine framed!"

"I'm gonna get mine laminated!"

"I'm gonna eat mine!"

Theodore looked over at Hazel. "Sorry about that." He looked slightly annoyed. "That happens a lot. I swear it's been happening more and more."

Hazel smiled. "That's okay! Don't let it ruin our meal."

He smiled back. "Yeah. You're right."

-

The two finished their meal and continued to chat for a bit longer. It had gotten dark out, and they had already been together for hours. The awkward tension had faded away completely. It was time for them to part ways. Theo held the door for her as they left. She turned around at him and had a huge smile.

"I had a great time tonight," she giggled.

Theodore smiled back at her. "I'm glad to hear that. I did, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Come here!" She held her arms up, and he hugged her. They held each other and swayed for a bit. Hazel's heart raced as she rested her head on his chest. She felt something with him, something special. He was sweeter than she thought, especially with how bashful he got when he first saw her. She thought it was cute when he got embarrassed for not being able to use chopsticks. She was still a bit in denial. Maybe it was just her being in her own head and being intrigued by her celebrity crush.

What she didn't know is that he felt the same. His heart was also racing. What he classified as "totally not a date" had quickly turned into one. He already felt comfortable with her. He could actually be and act like himself. She was so soft and comfortable to hold. She was beautiful and kind. He realized that she wasn't just being nice to him when he was at the cafe. She was genuinely being herself.

They pulled away after hugging and swaying for minutes straight. He dragged his hand down her arm as the hug ended and held her hand. She looked down as she blushed.

"You want me to drive you home," he asked.

"No, I'm okay. I'll take the cab."

"Okay," he smiled at her, "just thought I'd ask."

"But I would appreciate it if you stand with me while I wait for one. I don't uh... really feel safe in the city at night."

"Of course."

They stood together side by side as the date had come to a great end. He looked at her, finally realizing that he did like her. He swallowed his fear as he said, "Wanna do this again, sometime?"

She looked at him in delight. "Of course!"

"You have my number. Call me or text me anytime. Even if we don't make plans, I'd love to get to know you better."

"Absolutely! Just don't let me interrupt you at work again!"

They laughed as a taxi pulled up. She kept eye contact as she debated kissing him, but she decided it was way too soon. Instead, she pulled him in for another hug. "Thank you," she softly said into his ear. She got into the taxi and waved to him as it pulled off. She watched out the window as they drove through the city. All of the lights were so beautiful. Even though the city was full of crime, it was also filled with grace. She couldn't stop smiling as she thought about him.

He watched as the taxi pulled off to make sure she was safe. He walked off into the parking lot and back into his car. He huffed as he sat. He pulled the pack of cigarettes out of his dashboard and hit it three times on his hand before he opened it up and took out a cigarette. He grabbed a lighter and shielded the flame from the wind as he lit the cigarette and took a long drag. He exhaled, "Ugh, fuck." Despite the good time, he couldn't help but feel anxious. He was worried that something would go wrong, that he would ruin it somehow.

[lowkeyrobin]

HEEEEEY, YOUR WRITING IS AMAZING! I would like to order something with Morgan, anything cute please!

aweeee thank you!!! I'm so glad you enjoy my stuff 🫶 ; I did a weird songfic of a song I like so iykyk ; thank you for requesting! hope you enjoy :) ; also sorry this is super short I just had no idea what to write lmao

MORGAN DAVIES ; happy hurts

summary ; he wonders where you are now, and is proud of you

warnings ; language, broken up relationship/reminiscing an old relationship (its happy I SWEAR)

tracks ; matching tattoos ; josh ross / happy hurts ; warren zeiders

word count ; 574

y/f/i = your first initial

masterlist

They say nothing lasts forever, but you both knew that wasn't true. Tattoos last forever, and the same with saying something will, even though it won't.

You don't know why you got matching tattoos with Morgan at eighteen, but you didn't really regret it now years later at twenty-two.

"Hey, Morg, why don't we do something crazy?"

"Like?"

"Get matching tattoos?"

Sometimes, he wondered how you were now and if anyone asked about that tattoo. Did you say it meant nothing, or did you tell the truth?

You had an M on your index finger, he had a y/f/i on his.

Looking down at it now as he lounges on his couch, he feels like he's right there with you, watching your favorite movie again. Like nothing ever changed.

He reminisced the long drives as the sun began to set, exploring the back roads around the woods, out where you barely had any internet. He smiled, thinking about seeing you in the passenger seat with a banana split from the local ice cream shop. You, without fail, always managed to get chocolate syrup stuck on your lip, and he'd kiss it away, ridding your lips of the sweetness.

He missed your slight road rage, mostly just being pissed that people didn't know how to drive, and how you'd passenger-seat-drive even though he'd always act annoyed. He missed being dragged into your favorite restaurant once a month to get your favorite food. He missed how you were basically friends with all the waiters and hosts there and how they'd come to sit down with you guys on their breaks. You couldn't spend any less than two hours there.

He missed celebrating your 20th birthday, and your 21st, and celebrating your friends and your family's birthdays. He missed listening to music with you and taking long drives to see something new. He missed telling you stories from his childhood and things about his hometown that he just randomly knew.

He missed telling you everything.

He was glad to see you happy though, having been moved on, having your dream job, smiling and going on adventures with someone new. He told you that when you ran into him a few months ago.

He was so happy for you, having seen you happy and moved on with your life with someone better for you. Sometimes, happy hurts, and he wouldn't let you know that it hurt a little bit for him.

Over time, he didn't have a feeling for it anymore. He smiled every time he saw your grin in another Instagram post, feeling all sorts of happiness for your own.

He never looked at anything of yours much, as you were just a story of the past, same for him. But, when he did, he always looked for your smile that clouded him with nostalgia.

Oftentimes, he'd fall asleep remembering the good times with you and remembering the making amends at the end of your relationship. He was happy it ended well, especially with you. He wouldn't be able to live with the pain of letting you go in an awful way.

"Hey, how're you?"

"Oh, good. Just working on some stuff around the house"

He smiles as he hears your voice over the phone.

"Hey, could you come over? I need help setting up this shelf thing. We can't figure it out." You awkwardly chuckle, a packet of screws laying in your free hand.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be right over"

[mayullla]

Hey there! Can I get Venti with 🍀? And 🐝 reader please :)

If its okay ofc, ypu dont have to :D

Title: Different View

Character(s): Venti (Genshin Impact)

Summary: What was once a normal life soon came crashing down the moment you realized that you were nothing but a future playable character in this game.

Warnings/tags: Yandere themes, Gn!reader, Sagau but opposite where you are the character

[ - A little present~! Event - Closed - ]

You wondered when you started to fear the cheerful bard who would sing songs and recite poems for angel's share.

"I can't wait for you to be playable so that me and you can join hands and travel the world! Nothing can stop us." Venti the bard name said in good cheer as he sips his dandelion wine. His gaze never left you, slightly closed from the gleeful smile on his face. "Don't you think the same?"

You don’t. You wish that you would never be playable, you wished that you would never fall into his hands.

You thought that this was your life a bartender in Angel's share. Growing up finding interest in the way of making drinks while also picking up a weapon to train in. You thought that this was it. That you could never ask for any more than this, satisfied with this peaceful life. Yet you were proven wrong the moment when everything became but a screen that you could not reach while the other side could do what ever they want to your world.

You felt pain and anguish when you found out that you were nothing but a character in a game. Something that wasn't even real that your life and feelings were all just something made up for the sake of being behind that large screen, an entertainment for others.

You absolutely hated it. Yet you could not do anything about it, no matter how many days you stayed in your house stuck in your bed that Diluc your boss had to give you a break because of how he saw the dark circles under your eyes and your tired frame…. How broken you were from this news while others weren'tas affected. He tried to give you advice, but what was given and not taken cannot be recieved.

You were glad that you were not one of the first many characters to be playable, that your kit unlike others was still not even created. Something that was basically where they would tie ropes and strings to you so that you would follow each and every single command from this device the other side used.

That fact was the only thing keeping you from going insane. That you had time to appreciate what would soon be gone from your hands.

Unlike others you still had time. You still had your freedom so slowly you pulled yourself up wanting no more than to continue your life acting as if nothing was the matter as you told your boss Diluc that you can come back now to angel's share.

As a bartender you watched your fair share of drunken customers in the bar. Some were noisy if not a bit rowdy you always found comfort in the fact that your boss could not stand violent behavior in his shop and the fact that there were always the Knights of Favonious stationed around to make calling for help easier if someone decided to throw a bottle or two.

Yet this particular drunken bard was different. Someone who you used to ignore in the past you now notice because of the vision that he had on his cape. He was a "playable character" or so that was what the other person said. You never really noticed him till now too busy with your own job creating drinks for the next order but you do remember having appreciated his poems and songs that he made and sang in exchange for a bottle of dandelion wine.

He was one of the early characters to be playable when everyone found out they were nothing but a game. You thought that you would find comfort in each other's presence and that maybe he too would have felt suffocating at the fact they were nothing but puppets.

Really it was a naive thought of yours.

Something you never noticed before you noticed now.

You were wrong to ever assume that there would be people who would think like you. Your boss himself accepted this new view of the world so quickly when you always thought he was more stubborn than to accept it so quickly… so easily.

When you looked at the others with visions they too quickly accepted the fact, acting as nothing has changed. When you watched Diona just continue her search for ingredients to make the worst cocktail possible. How Jean would continue to help Monstade’s people to the point she overwork herself. Or how Kaeya and Rosaria would continue to come to the drinks their day away. Sometimes they would drink to the point they could not walk yet never once was the reason they drank because of this new view in life that they were nothing but playable characters was hard to accept.

You felt alone…

“Ah! Bartender I am back got any dandelion wine for this bard? I will pay you with stories of my quest with the team and tell you of the wonderful sceneries that I happened to come across!”

However it only got worst... you notice a certain gaze of a certain drunk bard who was gleefully smiling at you. Something you never noticed until now, when you were so sensitive to the world around you one odd pin drop will make you look up, one odd sound... tone... gaze... you were so sensitive to everything.

When did he start looking at you? You don't know.

When did you notice his poems mixed in with poems of freedom mix in with songs and poems of another world, another view, another kind of love...

He played his harp with a light smile on his face yet you could see his eyes. Dangerous your mind warned you, his eyes looked as if it was swirling with madness and obsessions hidden but the shine of mischievousness.

“What I think of the user? That this isnt freedom? Hmmm well that depends on the people and their thought. If this is something that they choose on their freewill to follow the user I see no problem with it!”

Nobody noticed how his poems of innocent love turned into poems of obsession. Nobody noticed his eyes cheerful and bright was more heavy, deep and knowing.

“I quiet like the adventures I have with the user tho and while my team is rather fun... I do miss angel share sometimes.”

He didn't stay long, usually busy as a character that was pulled by the human behind the screen he was needed in a team of 4. Those were the moments when you could breathe. But he would always come back, humming a new tune as he told you about his adventures with the team.

He told you about Imazuma's archon how he got to meet her again and how she almost killed him or how the Sumeru desert was so hot he didn't think he would make it out alive.

“Right now I wish I was sitting on the top of a tree with you, waiting for the user to come back so that me and you can go back to adventuring and finding inspiration. With a cider in hand or any of the finest liquor in other nations in hand. Dont you think it is like a dream?”

Always he would bring a present for you, a pearl he found at Watasumi Island, Sumeru rose, or maybe a small Cor Lapis from Liyue. He also made them into poems for you and others to enjoy but he would always look at you with hoping that you found the poems and rhymes as beautiful as he does.

You knew why.

"I wonder when you will become a playable character? It would be fun to see the world with you!" Venti smiled at you, he was waiting. Waiting to drag you into his arms, forced into a team with him, he was waiting for the moment when you and he could not be pulled apart as you traveled the world with him by your hip.

You never wanted anything like that.

[fics-n-stuff]

And They Were Roommates

Pairing: Steve × Eddie

Summary: After moving in together, Steve and Eddie start to realise that they might like each other a little more than they had thought until one night, with the help of just a little weed, it all comes to a head.

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: Drug use (just weed)

A/N: I've had writers block for literally two years at this point it's so hard to just finish a fic. I have so many WIPS staring back at me every time I open google docs. If you like this fic I'm begging please let me know because I'm starting to doubt my writing ability 😭

Eddie was starting to regret moving in with Steve. He felt guilty about the fact, because Steve was the perfect housemate - he was clean and caring, respectful of boundaries and good company - but Eddie was struggling. Not because of anything that Steve had done wrong, honestly Eddie was unsure if Steve was capable of doing anything wrong, but because he did too many things right. Steve cooked dinner for them both when Eddie was too busy or too tired, he baked as a hobby so Eddie always had fresh treats to pack into his lunch, he always put Eddie's laundry in when he was doing a wash and sometimes even specifically did laundry because Eddie had let it pile up. He reminded Eddie to take his meds every day, used his employee discount to rent movies on the weekends, and never complained when Eddie spent hours playing his guitar.

Eddie was falling for Steve. He was falling hard.

They were coming up on six months of living together in their cozy little house when Eddie thought he might reach his breaking point. He had slept through his alarm and panicked, thinking that he was going to be late for work. He threw on his clothes, brushed his teeth and threw his hair up into the messiest bun he'd ever done, and was ready to race out the door.

"Don't forget your lunch!" Steve called from the kitchen, stopping Eddie on his way to the front door.

"Steve, I don't have time. I-" he cut himself off as he turned to see Steve appearing in the doorway of the kitchen, Eddie's old metal lunchbox in one hand and his thermos in the other. The thermos itself had been a gift from Steve after Eddie had complained one too many times about not having enough time to drink a proper amount of coffee in the morning (and refusing to wake up any earlier).

"I gathered." Steve smiled, and lifted his arms to hold Eddie's stuff out to him. "Don't worry, I got you."

"Uh, okay. Thanks, Stevie." Eddie said, awkwardly lurching forward to grab the stuff from his hands. 

"Did you take your meds?"

"Yeah, yes, I did. I'll, uh, see you tonight."

"See you tonight. Have a good day at work." Steve replied, before promptly disappearing back into the kitchen. Eddie took half a second to regather his thoughts, looking down at the lunchbox and thermos in his hands in mild disbelief, before quickly getting back on track and leaving for work.

When he sat down for his lunch break that day, coveralls pulled down and secured with the sleeves tied around his waist in an attempt to combat the heat in the shop, he found a post-it note stuck to the inside of the lid of his lunchbox. With an eyebrow quirked in curiosity, he plucked the note from the box and held it up to read.

Six months and this is the first time you've slept through your alarm. I'm shocked, Eds. Hope I packed you a decent lunch :)

Eddie smiled, his chest warm as he folded the note and tucked it back into the lunchbox. Steve had packed him a ham and cheese sandwich, an apple, some carrot and celery sticks with hummus, and one of his homemade blueberry muffins. It was more thought than Eddie put into his own lunch most days, he usually just grabbed the first thing he saw in the fridge.

Eddie was falling for Steve because Steve took care of him. Eddie wasn't used to being taken care of like this. Eddie wasn't sure that he wanted to be taken care of if it meant feeling whatever it was that he was feeling for Steve. It didn't seem fair that he could fall so utterly head over heels without Steve even trying.

And Steve hadn't been trying. Not really. He took care of Eddie because he liked to, but also because it just made things easy. He did the laundry because he liked things to be clean, he reminded Eddie to take his meds because treating his ADHD made him less of a hurricane, he cooked and baked and rented movies because it was fun. Steve was good at taking care of people, he had a knack for it. All the things you had to do to take care of people came naturally to him.

Steve wasn't sure he'd made a better decision in his life than moving in with Eddie. He had stayed living at his parents' house for far too long and finally getting out of there gave him space to breathe.

Nancy had helped him find the house. Hawkins wasn't a town that exactly had apartment buildings; there were big houses, small houses and trailers. Nancy was the one who found it, a two bed one bath in a quiet part of town with decently low rent.

Steve had been the one to propose the idea to Eddie. Eddie, who was fine living with his uncle but was ready to be independent, and had recently secured a decent paying job at the auto shop in the next town over, had gone for the idea. And then they moved in together. And it was great. And Eddie was great. Suddenly, Steve realised that Eddie was so great. He was passionate and emotive and energetic, Steve loved to listen to him talk and loved to listen to him play guitar.

Every morning Steve got up and waited for Eddie to come crashing out of his bedroom. Every night he sat on the couch and waited for Eddie to burst through the front door. Every weekend he rented a movie or two so that he'd have an excuse to spend time with Eddie. And it was tough sharing a space with a person that he had become so enamoured with. But he wouldn't want it any other way. He liked reminding him to take his meds every day, and he liked gently nagging him to keep the place clean, and he liked the way he always smiled so wide when Steve cooked dinner or baked a fresh batch of sweet treats. Living with Eddie was perfect.

Steve was working the Friday night closing shift, so it was one of those days that Eddie actually got home first. He was hanging upside down off the couch watching TV when Steve kicked the front door shut and pulled off his jacket.

"Hey! Good day?" Steve called. Eddie hummed noncommittally in reply, haphazardly reaching into a bowl of chips that was sat on the floor and stuffing his mouth with some.

"You rent a movie?" He asked.

"Yeah, three of em." Steve nodded, kicking off his shoes in the entrance way before stepping into the living room. "You wanna watch one tonight?"

"Nah, let's save em for the weekend." 

"Okay. You eaten yet?"

"Nah." Eddie said, and paused slightly before continuing, "Wanna get high?"

"Sure, why not." Steve shrugged after a moment. "I'm not working tomorrow." Eddie flashed him a grin before turning himself right side up and making room for Steve on the couch. "You wanna order a pizza? I didn't prep anything and I don't wanna start cooking now."

"I'm always up for pizza, Harrington."

"Awesome. I'll order the food, you roll the joint."

"Perfect."

They both got up from the couch in unison, Steve heading to the draw by the phone where they kept all the takeout menus and Eddie heading to his room to retrieve his stash. They reunited by the back door five minutes later, pizza ordered and joint in hand.

"Two whole hours." Steve complained as Eddie lit up. "I will never get over it. I hate Friday and Saturday closing shifts, why the hell do we have to be open an extra two hours?"

"Because Friday and Saturday nights are when people wanna go get their movies." Eddie replied, smoke rising from his lips as he passed the joint to Steve.

"Yeah, well, I hate it."

"Yeah, I know." Eddie chuckled, used to hearing a version of this rant every time Steve worked a Friday or Saturday closing shift. "Hey, uh, thanks for packing my lunch today. But I think you might have done too good a job at it."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Steve questioned.

"The new guy at work, Freddie, he asked if my wife packed my lunch for me."

Steve choked halfway through an inhale, quickly passing the joint back to Eddie before he doubled over with his coughs. 

"Shit, sorry." He managed after a few seconds of coughing. "I, um… what did you say? Yaknow, when he said that."

"Uh, I laughed and then I told him the truth. I overslept and my housemate packed it, coz he's nice like that." Eddie smiled. He watched Steve to make sure that he was okay after his coughing fit and took an extra long pull of the joint. "He gave me a funny look, but he said it was sweet."

"What kind of funny look? Like a surprised funny look or a disgusted funny look?"

"I don't know. We were cool the rest of the day though." 

"Hm."

They smoked the rest of the joint in silence, finishing up just a little before the pizza arrived. Steve answered the door, paid the delivery boy and brought it back to the couch where Eddie had already melted into the cushions.

"You sure you don't want to watch one of the movies tonight? I rented Eraserhead just for you." Steve said. Eddie made a shocked wailing sound around the slice of pizza in his mouth and spun to face Steve.

"You rented a freaky scifi horror for me? And you plan on watching it with me?" He exclaimed.

"Well, we did also just get in our first copies of Top Gun and I was planning on making you watch that with me tomorrow so… it's more of a compensation." Steve replied with an amused smile.

"Deal." Eddie nodded enthusiastically, holding his hand out to Steve, who laughed as he shook it. "You wanna smoke another one? I'm thinking I could do with a bit more of a buzz."

"Not if you wanna watch Eraserhead tonight."

"Well, what's the third movie you got?"

"Airplane."

"Oh, we can definitely watch that stoned." Eddie grinned. "Come on, Stevie! Smoke another joint with me. I'll have most of it, promise!"

"Okay, fine!" Steve relented with a light laugh. "Go open the window and put on the movie."

"Yay!" Eddie cheered like a child, springing up from the sofa. He scurried to open up both of the nearby windows, retrieved the tape from Steve's bag that he'd left by the door and popping it into the VCR, and came back to the couch producing his little tin from his pocket.

"You know, you could just smoke on your own." Steve said.

"I could, but social smoking is better." Eddie argued, flipping his lighter in his hand and smiling around the joint between his lips. "And it's a good way to get you to chill out, you collect a lot of stress through the week." To punctuate his point, he plucked the joint from his mouth and held it to Steve's. Steve, whose hands were occupied with tearing apart two partly cut slices of pizza, parted his lips to accept the joint.

"I'm not that bad." He protested. "Go get your ashtray, we're not gonna be able to eat the pizza if we can't put down the joint."

"Yessir." Eddie chimed, rolling over the back of the couch like a chaos gremlin to go get the ashtray from his bedroom.

They ate their pizza and watched the movie, laughing a bit louder and a bit longer than was really necessary. Eddie rambled as they played rock paper scissors after the film ended, telling Steve about his day very overdramatically and not noticing how closely Steve was watching his every move. Steve was always quiet when he got high, which was the complete opposite of Eddie who somehow managed to talk even more when under the influence, so Eddie wasn't too off put by his lack of responses.

"I've got the munchies, what's in the kitchen?" Eddie asked, grabbing Steve's hand as he wrapped paper around rock.

"Hmm, not much." Steve mumbled in reply. "We've got some pretzels. There's the muffins, and the sugar cookies from last weekend." Eddie puffed his cheeks out and rocked backwards before leaning forward into Steve's space.

"I love living with a baker." He smiled dopily before quickly getting to his feet, reaching down to Steve with grabby hands to pull him up as well. "Come on Stevie, to the kitchen we go." 

Steve took the hands offered to him and let himself be pulled up off the floor, let himself be led by the hand into the kitchen, let his arms be wrapped around Eddie's shoulders like a scarf as the other opens the cabinet where they keep the snacks. 

"You want some pretzels?" Eddie questioned as he pulled down the bag, his other hand still holding Steve's where he'd placed it hanging at his chest. Steve replied with a hum that meant no, resting his head on Eddie's shoulder. "We have half a bag of chips left, you want that?" Another hummed no. "Okay, more for me." Eddie shrugged, grabbing the chips and closing the cabinet. He shuffled them over slightly to grab a plate before opening up the tins on the counter and filling the plate with muffins and sugar cookies. Then, he unwrapped Steve's arms from his shoulders and turned to face him, a sudden air of seriousness about him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, of course." Steve nodded.

"You sure? 'Cause you seem… thoughtful."

"I'm high."

"Yeah but it's a different kind of quiet than usual."

Trust Eddie to pick up on the most minute inconsistency in Steve's demeanor.

"Just…" Steve started thoughtfully, trying to arrange his words in his swirling mind. "Did you ever think you'd be so… domestic?" Eddie blinked.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean." He replied with a chuckle.

"Like… when I was a teenager I just kind of thought that I would inevitably end up like my dad. And then I was with Nancy and I started thinking maybe I could have something a little different; a marriage that wasn't loveless, a family I actually care about. But when all the Upside Down stuff happened, and it just kept coming back, it started to feel like I could never have a normal life. But now here we are, living in a normal house, going to work every day and just… living." Steve explained. "I didn't think I would ever get here, and I have no idea where I go from here."

"Well, wherever you want to go, Stevie." Eddie said with such a sweet authenticity that it made Steve feel emotional. He leaned forward to rest his head on Eddie's shoulder with a sigh, and Eddie wrapped his arms around Steve to pull him close. "It's not easy. I mean, Nancy's had her whole future planned out for years and even she got shaken by the Upside Down shit. I never second guessed persuing my music before but months in the hospital got me out of habit with it and I doubted that I could. You know that, you were the one who convinced me not to quit the band. We figured it out, you will too. We'll figure it out together." He moved one hand up to Steve's hair, twisting his fingers through the thick strands and stroking his scalp with his fingertips. Steve sighed and leaned into the touch.

"Okay." He breathed.

Eddie took a deep, hopefully discreet, breath. It wasn't often that Steve showed this vulnerable side of himself, and Eddie was proud that he showed it to him. For all that Steve did to take care of other people, Eddie especially, he didn't often let people take care of him. Eddie learned how to do it in small ways, making sure to regularly ask him how he was feeling and helping him unwind at the end of the work week, not to mention telling the kids to leave him alone for a bit if he was seeming overwhelmed or in need of a break. But this, holding Steve in his arms and giving him advice about something serious, was something he didn't get to do often. And he already loved Steve when he was coasting along nonchalantly downplaying his negative feelings for the benefit of the people around him, but when he opened up and let someone else see what he was really feeling? Eddie could feel his heart melting. 

"You're doing a good job just as you are right now, Stevie. You know that right?"

Now it was Steve's turn to feel his heart melt. Or maybe that was the weed. Either way, he didn't know when he started leaning on Eddie like this but now it was like Eddie had a magic effect on him. His voice, his touch, just being in the same room with him, it always made Steve feel more at ease. He let himself enjoy the feeling of Eddie's fingers in his hair for a few moments longer before pulling back from his hold and standing up straight.

Maybe it was the weed, maybe it was Eddie's big brown eyes, maybe it was the way that Eddie's hands lingered on his waist, but Steve was blurting out the words before his mind could tell his lips to stop.

"Eddie, I love you." He heard his own voice before he realised he was speaking. Then he panicked, and he couldn't stop himself from continuing. "I- I mean, I think I might be falling in love with you. And I- I didn't mean to, I didn't want to, but you're just so great. And we're really good friends and I don't wanna ruin that, and if you don't feel the same - I mean, you probably don't feel the same - you can just tell me and I'll never bring it up again."

Eddie was stunned. He stood completely still, staring at Steve as he continued to ramble, cheeks turning red as he blushed more with every word he spoke. If he wasn't high maybe he would be quicker to respond, but it was like Eddie's brain was ticking so slowly he could barely keep up with the words coming out Steve's mouth. Steve's mouth that he found himself staring at.

Steve was still rambling when Eddie grabbed his face in both hands and cut him off by pressing their lips together. Steve let out a surprised yelp as he was cut off mid word, his hands instinctively going to grab Eddie's hips as he returned the kiss.

This was the moment.

When Eddie pulled back he was grinning ear to ear, hands cupping Steve's face so gently.

"I love you too, Stevie. I love you so much, you have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." He said softly. Steve smiled, letting out a relieved sigh, before pulling Eddie closer and kissing him again.

He pushed Eddie back so that he was leaning against the counter, crowding him in as he deepened the kiss. One of Eddie's hands found its way to take hold of the hair at the nape of Steve's neck while the other fisted in Steve's shirt at his shoulder.

Steve's fingers had just slipped under the fabric of Eddie's t-shirt when the phone started ringing, and they both pulled back with disappointed groans. Steve begrudgingly went to answer it.

"Hello, this is Steve." He answered the phone. A moment later he was pinching the bridge of his nose as the corner of his mouth pulled into an involuntary smile. "Hey Robbie, what's up? No, I'm not stoned… It was just a little, I'm not stoned. What do you want?" Eddie couldn't help his fond grin as he watched Steve on the phone with Robin, free hand moved to sit on his hip in the classic Mama Steve pose as he listened to his best friend. "Well, how am I supposed to know what girls in California are like…? Robin, you go to Stanford so I know you're not that stupid… I can help how!? I didn't even get into community college, you are talking about a league of people that I am not a part of!"

This was going to last a while. Eddie breathed an endeared laugh, picking up his pile of snacks and heading back to the living room, winking at Steve as he passed him.

He lounged on the sofa shoveling chips into his mouth, tuning in and out of Steve's side of the phone call and chuckling at his exasperation with whatever problem Robin had called him to discuss. He hummed under his breath, a melody that he had written and had been workshopping the lyrics for, as he finished the chips and scooped up a muffin.

"Robin, I can't plan dates for you." Steve pressed his forehead against the wall in exasperation. As much as he loved Robin, she really did have a way of finding a problem in practically everything and then also making that Steve's problem. "For starters, I don't know what your neighbourhood is like. And also, I don't know what this girl is like other than what you've rambled at me… Robs- Robin- Rob- Robin! I think you've forgotten that time zones exist, because it's past midnight here and you're keeping me up with your lesbianism." Eddie snorted a laugh at that, shoving half a cookie into his mouth. "Yeah, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Eds, yell hi."

"Hi Rob! Bye Rob!" Eddie yelled with an amused smile on his face.

"Yeah, no, he is stoned." Steve chuckled into the receiver. "Alright, bye Robbie. Love you."

"I'm not stoned." Eddie pouted. Steve pushed his legs off of the sofa so that he could sit down.

"More stoned than me." He rebutted, gesturing to the half eaten pile of food scattered across the coffee table.

"That's 'cause you're a pussy." Eddie grinned teasingly. "Is Robin having a wild series of dalliances with cool California girls?"

"No, and I also don't care about that right now. I'll deal with her tomorrow, but for the meantime I think we were in the middle of something." Steve replied with a smirk. Eddie shot upright, his charm only slightly hindered by being under the influence as he leaned into Steve's space with an eyebrow raised flirtatiously.

"Were we?" He purred. 

"Well, unless you don't want to be." Steve teased. Eddie quickly placed his hands on either side of Steve's face, getting up onto his knees as he pressed their lips together to swiftly dismiss that notion. A laugh reverberated in Steve's throat as he kissed him back. He pulled back with a smile and brushed a stray curl off of Eddie's face. "Your bedroom or mine?"

[factorialsotherfandoms]

*checks my to write list*

*sees this wasn't even sort of on it*

God fucking damnit again???

Spoilers up to and including the end of OPC. Everyone feels a bit off, but this conversation will do that to you. And just dialogue because brain is *weird*. I'm not really sure if this is anything much to at all, it's just... in my head. And unlike other things in my head I was allowed to type it by the brain and hands.

"You're early."

"Just finished a debrief, thought I'd swing by and steal your coffee rather than buying one."

"Sucks to be you, we don't keep coffee in the house. I can't drink it anymore, and Rubens..."

"My God, he had some in Rome, he was a mess. Dante was fretting for /hours/."

"Yeah, sounds about right. We got stuck at a coffee shop a while back, and it was real funny."

"Speaking of Rubinho, where is he?"

"Went to get groceries."

"Isn't Ivete doing that for you guys?"

"I think he misses the outside."

"Rubens? Missing the outside?"

"It's more likely than you think. We spent... A long time indoors, you know?"

"... He never really said any details. Didn't have the heart to press it, still don't really."

"Yeah... Yeah it... What it did to me wasn't even the worst of it."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"..."

"..."

"... It's just us, isn't it?"

"Who else would even be here?"

"No, I mean... Do you remember me?"

"... No? I don't... Look, my memory's still a bit fried. Everything's still a bit fried. You're going to have to help me here."

"We met at an Indian buffet, if that helps."

"How would that- Ah. Ah right. I guess... Which were you? You don't really act like any of them."

"Fire-axe and shield?"

"Seriously? Damn, you've changed."

"Fifteen years'll do it. Don't even use those any more, got a bigger axe now."

"No but, seriously. Verissimo?"

"Yeah, I know right. Sorry I was kinda an ass?"

"Weren't we all?"

"To you, I mean. I just... I realised, I think, that it's not worth it. Being angry."

"Over some things it is. I learnt that, too."

"Life's gonna hurt anyway. Why make it worse? Why not enjoy what we can?"

"What, no more wrestling blood zombies while rifle swears because it means he can't hit it, you jump in and help me beat it to death while calling me a 'fucking idiot', and the Captain accidentally stabs me in the face trying to assist?"

"Oh, no, I jump in now. Gotta keep it off the others, you know?"

"See! I always told you I was right! ... Fuck, the others... I don't... Shit, do you know...?"

"... I said it's just us, didn't I?"

"Fuck. Fuck, shit, did they at least...?"

"No. Not even that."

"Fuck! ... Fuck, sorry just..."

"It's fine. Take a minute. Just because I decided to be happy doesn't mean it can't suck, you know?"

"Yeah just... Do you know what happened?"

"They got possessed - both of them. Separately. First was the captain, then him with the rifle. Don't really know what happened to the second, but... Our last day in Rome? Had to fight him. Or, what's within him. That shit ain't human anymore. Kian, the first occultist. Four thousand years old and would kill everyone to erase the paranormal. Tried talking to him but... Well, pretty sure he's gone."

"... The guy who nearly killed Rubens?"

"And did kill Joui, yeah."

"... Fuck."

"Yeah, yeah it was... I was so scared. I thought... I thought he'd done it, you know? Snapped Rubens' neck."

"How bad was it? He... He won't tell me."

"It... It was bad. You'd have to ask Dante, maybe Arthur. They got him first aid and back on his feet, but he was shaky and wheezing for a good bit."

"..."

"It's okay. He's safe now."

"For how long? He's not... We're just sending them to die, aren't we? And here I am, stuck in this fucking-"

"Hey! Hey none of that, you're just healing up. You'll work it out, or you'll work something else out. People always do."

"If I'd just-"

"Have you seen Rubens' scar? If you'd just, he'd have just killed both of you."

"I could have found a way. We could have found a way. If I'd just been a bit more prepared, Rubens /said/ there was something fishy about the lead but it'd been so long and-"

"And he would have got you anyway. He's... Rubens did tell you, right?"

"Antonio. I love Rubens, I love him more than anyone else in his fucking world, but he doesn't tell anyone /shit/."

"I would have thought...?"

"It's been over a year. He said a lot happened, the Collesium was run by the Host. That you got trapped in more games, and that you made it so he can't hurt people again. Other bits, but the Order won't tell me about active problems until I'm cleared for work. I can't say I'm not curious but I know what he's like and I know his nightmares. It's enough to know it's over, yeah? Can breathe and deal with other shit. Like physio. I know it's important but I hate physio. Would take a blood zombie over physio any day. Maybe even a death game. Just one though. And I get to bring a grenade."

"Sure, sure. Just..."

"I'm not gonna like what you're about to say, am I?"

"You're really not."

"Well, damn, let me just get a bit more comfortable."

"Good?"

"Absolute dogshit but we can start."

"Arnaldo - our Captain - became the Host."

"..."

"... Johnny?"

"... I see."

"It's why he... Well..."

"It explains a lot. It explains so fucking much. But fuck I didn't think... I didn't..."

"Nobody did."

"Was he...?"

"It wasn't him anymore. It had his memories, but... It wasn't him. Not anymore."

"You killed him?"

"We killed him."

"Good."

"... The item that did it. It's in the safe. One of the relics we're going after."

"So, what, it can come back?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's not... your neck?"

"... Yeah."

"How bad?"

"You'd have to get it from Rubens - he was the one treating me when I woke up."

"He has nightmares about that. I just didn't know..."

"Well, now you do."

"..."

"But hey! What a trio we make? All three of us scarred up by the same guy."

"We could make a club."

"What? Us and Arthur? Maybe we should, he could use a break sometimes."

"'Fucked up by the Host' club sure we could- Oh hey Rubens, how was town?"

"..."

"I'm fine, we're all good. Balu just got here early."

"We were just chatting."

"You're crying."

"I was just telling Johnny about what happened to our team. From... Back then."

"I'm fine, Rubens. Balu can help you put stuff away."

"Hey!"

"Well I'm injured, and we're still got an appointment to get to. So! Go make yourself useful. Chop chop!"

"Laughing! You're laughing at me! Rubinho how could you!"

"Get your ass in that kitchen, Balu!"

"I'm going, I'm going, but I'm still stealing you coffee!"

"We still don't have any!"

"Next time, then!"