#of course this means that the chapter is kinda shitty

[kamiversee]

➶-͙˚ ༘✶ 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙁*𝘾𝙆 𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

✧.* CHAPTER 48 || The Drama (part 3)

[ { SYPNOSIS } ] ➤ A tale in which Gojo Satoru blackmails you into seducing a list of people to clear his debt. Sounds easy enough, right?

[ { CHAPTER CONTENT } ] ➤ language, semi-angst, & heated tension.

[ { WORD COUNT } ] ➤ 5k

[ { A/N } ] ➤ Prepare to drop your jaw a few times and possibly take a TikTok break or two ^.^

[ { PAIRINGS } ] ➤ jjk men x f!reader. gojo x f!reader. geto x f!reader. toji x f!reader. choso x f!reader. sukuna x f!reader. nanami x f!reader.

[ [ chapters mlist } ]

——YOUR EYES LOCK WITH Geto’s and his eyebrows immediately rise, the two of you equally surprised to see each other.

Please pretend not to know me, please pretend not to-, “Heyy Gorgeous, what’re you doing here?” Geto greets you, completely forgetting about Yuki who he initially came to meet.

Dammit Suguru, you had one job. Squeezing your eyes shut for a moment, you sigh heavily, “Uh, Hi Suguru…”

Of course, alarms are going off in Choso’s head from the moment he heard a guy’s voice refer to you as gorgeous, quickly turning his head to see just who the fuck you were talking to. He disliked how quickly he got jealous but he couldn’t help himself sometimes, especially when he recognized the face of the man who’d approached the table.

Geto sends a smile to Yuki before taking a seat beside her and across from you. Your heart rate is all over the damn place. How the fuck are you gonna get out of this situation?

Wait no, calm down, Geto wouldn’t say anything crazy right…?

Yuki smacks Geto’s arm playfully as soon as he sits down, “Took ya’ long enough, I was here for like an hour waiting on you!”

Geto rolls his eyes, “You’ll live.”

“Tch,” Yuki scoffs before placing a hand on his shoulder and looking at you, “Well, I would introduce you two but it seems you guys already know each other.”

“Uh,” You’re sweating and you don’t miss how Choso’s staring at the side of your face, “Yeah, we know each other.”

Geto leans back into his seat, comforting himself as he parts his legs and locks eyes with you, “Oh we definitely know each other.”

You grit your teeth. This is going to go so horribly…

Yuki, oblivious to it all, then looks at Choso, “And what about you, Cho? You know this guy too?”

Choso looks at Geto and Geto looks at Choso.

There’s some kinda tension you sense, “Yeah,” Choso scoffs, “I know his shitty ass brother.”

Your brows furrow and you look at Geto, “You didn’t tell me you had a brother.”

Geto chuckles at Choso, “Yours isn’t any better than mine,” He says before returning his sights to you, “And I didn’t tell you because he’s annoying and there was never any reason for me to bring him up.” He explains with a shrug.

You pout, “Still would’ve been nice to know…”

“He’s a weirdo, you wouldn’t like him anyways,” Geto claims.

Choso’s looking at you again, a million thoughts running through his head as you oh so casually talk to Geto. He studies your body language, watching how you sit back and fold your arms under your chest, still pouting.

Do you even realize how you look in the eyes of others? Are you actually aware of how flirtatious your movements come off as? Choso dislikes how blind to your own actions you seem.

Yuki clears her throat, “Anyways guys,” She begins, “Now I’m really curious! Geto, how do you two know each other?” She questions you and the raven-haired man across from you.

Again, the two of you meet eyes and you send him a look. Does he catch this look? Yes and no. Yes, he can tell something’s off but no, that doesn’t stop what comes out of his mouth.

“Hmmm,” He hums in thought before leaning forward to rest his chin in his palm as he refuses to break eye contact with you, “Should I tell our story or should you?” Geto purrs in that pretty tone of his, smiling tauntingly at you.

You hate the way it flusters you too as memory after memory after memory floods your brain, “I mean, t-there’s not much of a story to tell, is there?”

The male tilts his head, completely ignoring the death stare he’s receiving from Choso as his eyes remain on you, “We met through…” He pauses, carefully picking his words, “A friend,” Geto explains.

You nod, your nerves dying down just a little bit, “Right, and then uhm…”

“Then we got close,” Geto continues for you before turning to Yuki, “And became really good friends.”

The sigh of relief you let out doesn’t fail to catch Choso’s ears— he could tell there was more to this story. There was obviously so much sexual tension just oozing from Geto’s eyes every time he looked at you and Choso wasn’t exactly going to let that slip past him.

“Really good friends, huh?” Choso echos.

Your heart jumps and you turn to the man, “Yeah…”

Geto moves his gaze over to Choso and smirks, “Yeah, really good friends.”

The snarky attitude coming from Geto did nothing more than piss Choso off, “That’s it? Just friends?”

The male across from you moves to fold his arms over the table and leans forward a bit, his brows knitting together and a cocky smile spreading across his overly handsome features.

“Just friends…” He repeats, his eyes unwavering as he maintains the visual hold with Choso.

You sigh but your next breath is caught in your throat within seconds.

“…Who fucked from time to time,” Geto added on.

Silence floods the table.

Your face goes hot and your heart sinks past your toes and to hell with how nervous you become. A vein pops out in Choso’s forehead, Yuki’s eyes are wide and she’s got an amused smile on her face, and Geto’s sitting there with a smug expression as he continues to stare Choso down.

“Holy fuck!” Yuki bursts out laughing, breaking the tension completely. She began to wheeze and hit Geto’s arm a few times along with the table because of how hard she was laughing.

She’s cackling and choking on her own laughter before she eventually settles down and looks at you, “So you really do have a type!” She breathes.

Your face is burning in embarrassment, shame, and guilt. “I…”

“Dark-haired depressed-looking men, huh?” Yuki recalls, looking back and forth between Choso and Geto, “Oh this is too good.”

Choso glares for a moment longer before he clicks his tongue, sits back in his seat, and nods. He’s ticked off but, in courtesy of you and knowing he’s not your boyfriend, he tries his best to simmer the emotion.

Well, that was until he looks at you, “Friends who fucked? Seriously?”

You look at him, shame flooding your eyes, “I, uh… I-“

“Is he…” Choso’s eyes narrow and he gives you a look.

You’re unsure of what his look meant but Geto interrupted the moment by speaking yet again, “Is there a problem?”

Choso just barely looks at the guy, “If there was it would’ve been solved by now. Calm yourself.” He voices out in a nonchalant tone.

Geto scoffs, “Oh trust me, I’m calm. Are you?” He questions in return as he quirks a testing brow.

Choso sizes him up and down and then nods, “Yeah.”

You hate yourself for thinking it but the two were kinda hot going back and forth like that.

Yuki is barely holding in her laughter, “Okay so wait-,” She snickers, “Lemme’ get this whole thing straight….” Pointing at Choso, she smiles and looks at you, “He likes you,” She says, moving to point at Geto, “And you’ve fucked him?”

“W-Well, I’ve fucked both of them before, actually,” You correct timidly.

“Slut,” Geto mumbles under his breath playfully. He didn’t mean it in a mean way, of course, he knows the truth behind your situation to some extent.

You look at him, “Pervert.”

“Ha!” Yuki huffs, “Damn, how do I get myself involved in this love triangle?”

Choso drags his gaze over toward the blonde, “You don’t because there is no love triangle.” He explains. Then, Choso moves to toss an arm over your shoulder and pulls you to him, “Whatever they had goin’ on is dead,” He claims.

Your brows furrow and you look at Choso as your body is held against his, “Cho-“

He looks at you, “Is it not?”

You swallow your words down, “Y-Yeah, it is but-“

“Ohhh, I get it now,” Geto chimes in, “Thisss is why you stopped hooking up with me.” He points out, “I thought Satoru told you to stop or something-“

“Suguru, please.” You utter through gritted teeth as you look at him with begging eyes.

He raises a brow and his face twists up in confusion, “Please what? I just never knew why you stopped calling me to have sex.” Geto shrugs, “Didn’t know you went and found yourself a new fucktoy-“

A vein pops out along Choso’s jawline and he’s trying so very hard not to snap, “Say somethin’ else.” He challenges the male sitting across from you suddenly.

Geto’s eyes flick over to Choso in an instant and he tilts his head, “Fuck are you gonna’ do? I haven’t said anything wrong, have I? Calm yourself.”

Choso scoffs, “I am calm.”

“You look like you’re about to pop a blood vessel over there,” Geto points out, chuckling a bit, “And I don’t get why either? Are you two dating?”

Choso’s starting to hate that question more and more because the answer is still ‘no’ no matter what he says or does. Therefore making his anger seem dramatic and unprovoked.

You decide to answer, “Not yet.”

That’s when it clicks for Geto that he may have crossed a line or two, “Oh? Well, sorry if I offended your soon-to-be boyfriend,” He says with a huff, finding the whole thing entertaining if anything.

Choso rolls his eyes and turns his head to the side. He wants to leave so desperately. He hates Geto, hates Yuki at the moment, and he doesn’t know what he’s feeling toward you.

“I-It’s fine,” You murmur, mustering up your confidence again, “After all, Yuki and Choso used to fuck so I don’t exactly see a problem here…”

Choso’s eyes go wide and he turns his head to you, “Well Yuki didn’t just go blurting it out and she also doesn’t look at me like she wants to rip me out of my clothes.”

You look at him with your brows pinched together, “Why’re you saying this to me like I told Suguru to go and blurt everything out.”

“Cause’ maybe if you told me about this before it’d be less awkward.” Choso fires back. For the first time ever, he’s irritated with you.

“I did.” You huff out, “We had this conversation months ago.”

Yuki and Geto are watching the two of you go back and forth— Yuki snickering and Geto acting as though he were watching some kinda TV show as he carefully eats one of the forgotten cookies on the table.

“Did we?” Choso questions, cocking an eyebrow.

“The same time you told me about Yuki, I told you about Suguru.” You recall the memory like it was yesterday, “I just never said his name.”

“Yeah,” Choso scoffs and rolls his eyes, “I wonder why.”

Your face twists up in annoyance, “Didn’t seem necessary.”

“How’s it seem now?” Choso asks.

You fall quiet and so does he, both of you simply glaring at one another. His arm is still around your shoulder and both of you are upset with each other for the first time. 

You dislike how he’s acting about this as if you didn’t tell him there were people you slept with before you started talking to him and Choso can’t stand the fact that one of your old flames is at the table openly flirting with you.

“Damn,” Geto purrs, “You guys are in love, aren’t you?”

Both of you snap out of your challenging stares and turn to look at Geto in sync.

He nudges Yuki’s arm, “Look at ‘em arguing like a true couple. Kinda’ cute, no?” He teases. Deep down, Geto was studying the two of you more than he let on.

Yuki nods in agreement, “Hell yeah, even just now I couldn’t tell if they were about to rip each other apart or if they were about to start making out.”

Is that really how the two of you just seemed to others? Are the feelings you both hold of one another that obvious?

“Hah, y’know what…” Choso breathes, turning his attention to you once more, “Is there anyone else I need to know about?”

You freeze up. Every inch of your body just tenses and since Choso’s arm is still over your shoulder, he notices.

“There is, isn’t there?” He hums.

You glance at Yuki and Geto for a split second before meeting Choso’s questioning gaze, “Can we talk about this some other time and not in front of others?”

The male stares at you for a moment, thinking hard about what you just said before nodding, “Fine…”

“Yup,” Geto chimes in, “You two are adorable.” You both look at the man in sync for a second time and he laughs, genuinely admiring your dynamic, “See? Even your movements are synchronized.” 

“Anyway,” Yuki cuts in, “Before this gets too drama-induced, let’s change the subject a bit, yeah?”

All four of you collectively agree upon that seeing as it’d only been a few minutes and things were already going to shit.

Yuki focuses those pretty brown eyes of hers on you, “Though, I did want to ask, you seriously didn’t know Geto had a brother? Thought’ everyone knew that…”

You shrug, “I never really know much outside of what I’m told.”

“Uhuh…” She nods, slowly turning to the man beside her and giving him a nudge with her elbow, “And you didn’t tell her about Kenjaku because…?”

“I already said why.” Geto states simply, “He’s weird and no one likes him.” Then, he makes brief eye contact with Choso, “Well, I guess not no one apparently..”

Choso raises a brow, “Hell’s that supposed to mean?”

Geto tips his head to the side, “You hang out with him, no?”

“He hangs out with me.” Choso clarifies in a way that makes him seem like he’s not too fond of the man they’re talking about.

“Same difference, pigtails.” Geto spits back.

You kick Geto’s leg beneath the table and he winces before looking at you, quickly met with a look of warning. To which, he rolls his eyes.

Meanwhile, you’re also wondering how you haven’t crossed paths with the brother these three seem to be talking about… Or, any of Choso’s friends for that matter.

“Enough about my brother though,” Geto’s leaning back into his seat and he huffs out a sigh, “Heard’ yours almost got arrested last week.”

Your brows furrow and you decide to play innocent for only a moment, “What?”

Yuki starts nodding, “Yeah, I think he tried to kill someone this time-“

“Can we stop talking about him.” Choso requests. However, his words come off as a statement instead of a question.

You look at Choso, “Cho, what’re they talking about?”

The hairs on his body begin to stand up and he feels goosebumps surfacing. Choso keeps his head straight ahead, his eyes down at the table as he realizes he’s never told you about Sukuna.

Of course, you already know about the guy but from Choso’s perspective, you’re completely lost.

“Uhm.” Choso swallows, “I-“

“Wait,” Yuki cuts off, “You didn’t even tell her about your older brother?!” She questions loudly, tilting her head in a disappointed manner.

Choso feels himself shrinking in his seat, “You know why and that demon of a person is not my brother.”

You turn to Choso. If not for the list, you actually wouldn’t have known anything about Sukuna so, for some reason, it kinda upsets you as you think about how he didn’t open up to you about that man at all. And it’s even worse that everyone else seems to know except for you…

“Older brother?” You ask, tilting your head at Choso.

He avoids eye contact with you, “Don’t worry about it.”

Yuki scoffs, “Holy shit, your type is becoming scary consistent here. I mean, two dark-haired depressed lookin’ men who both never bothered to open up to ya’ about their family?” She points out to you.

You play off her words, “Yeah and I’d like to know why. You’ve told me about all your other brothers but failed to mention an older one.”

“He’s not my brother,” Choso repeats, almost as though he refuses to say anything else.

You narrow your eyes at him. Why is he lying about it and denying his relation to Sukuna? “You’re clearly lying and I don’t understand..”

“Just drop it, princess.” Choso sighs, softening his tone with you so that he doesn’t reveal how irritated he’s becoming.

You scoff, “You could at least tell me why you haven’t mentioned him before?”

“And you could at least drop the fuckin’ subject,” Choso curses, his eyes meeting yours.

Unlike earlier when you two bickered, it was getting a bit more serious. Something about the topic of Sukuna irked Choso to no end and whatever it is about their relationship, he didn’t want to share with you.

Naturally, knowing you already have one guy who keeps shit from you, you do not want to deal with another. Plus, this is the last thing you expected from Choso, he usually tells you everything so…

“What’s the big deal?” You ask, your face contorting into something both confused and concerned, “If you have an older brother, I feel like I should know who it is.”

“Right, and I feel like I should know all the guys you’ve fucked but it seems like not everyone gets what they want,” He fires back.

Oh something’s clearly off with Choso because in any other situation, he’d never say such a thing like that to you. Hell, even as the words left his lips, he regretted it but he wasn’t going to apologize just yet— he was too aggravated to do so.

And you, being the woman you are who doesn’t exactly take shit like this from anyone, you allow your tongue to slip just as he did, “Ever consider the possibility that he could be one of them and that’s why I want to know who he is?”

Geto lets out a whistle in complete shock, Yuki’s eyes are as wide as ever and her jaw is dropped, while Choso…

His arm comes off you and he instantly shoots up to his feet, taking a step backward and out of the booth with a face that almost seems as though he’s repulsed by what just came out of your mouth.

“The fuck did you just say?!” Choso shouts, anger taking over his expression at the suggestion of what you just told him.

His brows are tightly knit together, his fists have balled up, and his glare is so damn intense that for a moment, and only a moment, you not only felt fear but also as though you were shrinking under his gaze.

Even so, you still won’t allow Choso to yell at you the way he just did, “First off, calm the hell down, I didn’t say I fucked him, I said it’s a possibility.”

“How? How the hell is that even a possibility?!” He yells again.

“Because I’ve slept around before Choso. I’m not saying I had sex with the guy yesterday, I’m saying that at one point I was a freshman in college and explored myself the same way most people do!” You huff out to him, “So how about you sit the hell down and talk to me like you have some fuckin’ sense?”

He tilts his head at you and his eyes narrow. Choso opens his mouth but then he quickly shuts it. Even through his anger, he could only look at you like this for so long before the sight of your equally upset expression got to him.

His glare lasts for a second longer and Yuki leans toward the table to whisper, “Guys, you’re kinda’ causing a scene here…”

Choso looks around the cafe to see the few other people there looking over at the booth. To which, he only gets even more aggravated, “Fuck are you all staring at?” He spat.

Most of them pretended as though they hadn’t been just staring and returned to whatever they were doing. Meanwhile, you reach a hand over and grab Choso’s wrist before pulling him back into his seat.

For someone who you earlier couldn’t move against, he seemed to be moved by your tug rather easily and was quickly sat back down. He then goes as far as smacking your hand away from him in a way that says he didn’t want you touching him.

And that… that right there was what really did it for you, “I don’t know what the fuck is going on with you, Choso, but I swear you have ten seconds to start explaining shit to me or I’m leaving.” You want him, your tone cold.

Choso scoffs and inches his face toward yours, “I fuckin’ dare you,” He challenges, “Leave me. Go ahead. All you’ll be leaving me for is some asshole who’s treated you like shit.”

Oh his words were so true that they were starting to sting. It was starting to get bad and both of you were on the verge of blowing up on the other.

“Excuse me?” You utter in disbelief.

“Did I stutter? You said there was someone else right? And whoever he is he’s an asshole right?” Choso recalls, “So if you wanna leave then do it. Leave.”

You grit your teeth, “I don’t understand why you’re being like this right now when all you have to do is tell me about your-“

“I’m not obligated to tell you shit about my family,” He cuts off, scoffing afterward, “Cause’ uh, I’m not sure if you forgot but you're not my girlfriend, remember?”

You nod and that agitated smile begins to spread across your face, “Right, and I sure as hell won’t ever be if you don’t explain yourself to me.”

Choso hesitates at the sound of that. You had him there completely. No longer could Choso keep it from you, especially not when the prospect of being your boyfriend was on the line.

Damnit, “My ‘older brother’s’ name is Sukuna,” He finally tells you, tipping his head to the side, “There? Happy now?”

“No, actually.” You murmur. 

Choso grows confused, “And why’s that? What is it now-“

“Cause’ I've had sex with him.” You blurt out.

Okay. It may be confusing as to why you just told him that. You could have lied. Hell, maybe you should’ve lied. But, given the situation, it was in your best interest to put the information out there from now.

When else would you get such an opportunity to do so? And if you later tell him, he’d only be more hurt if you didn’t tell him sooner.

“You what?” Choso breathes. His heart dropped. Anger hadn’t quite struck him yet because he wasn’t sure he heard correctly just now.

“I said I’ve had sex with him-“

Choso shoots to his feet again. His hands go up to his hair and he pushes some of the stray strands back a bit, trying to process what he just heard. “You… Y-You slept with…” His breathing grows erratic and his eyes just barely meet yours, “Tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m not,” You say, your voice small. You could only hold this in for so long. You’d need to get this out eventually, “I-“

“You slept with that piece of shit?!” Choso yells again, almost like he can’t believe his own ears.

Geto tries to defuse the situation, “Hey, quit yellin’, we’ll get kicked out-“

“Don’t fuckin’ talk to me,” Choso fires his way before settling his anger back to you, “A-And you, you had sex with… You… Sukuna? Itadori Sukuna? The one with the face tats and pink hair? O-Of all f-fuckin’ people…” He stammers out.

“I didn’t know he was your brother,” You lie, “A-And again, it’s not like I did this yesterday-“

“None of that matters,” Choso heaves out, “T-That’s not the point. Do you have any idea who the hell you had sex with? Forget that he’s related to me, I don’t give a shit about that part, it’s the person he is and the shit he’s done t-that just makes me so… s-so fuckin’ angry that you’d ever even...”

His words fall off his tongue and he visibly grows disgusted. Though, you weren’t sure if that was directed toward you.

“Okay, wait.” You breathe out, moving to stand up just as he has, “If you’re not upset because I slept with him and he’s your brother then… what is it?”

“You seriously don’t know?” Choso asks blankly, confused how you could be so out of the loop.

You blink, “Obviously not?” Your reaction held nothing but the truth because, honestly, you never knew why people kept calling Sukuna an asshole when he was rather sweet to you-

“So you mean to tell me you’ve never heard anything about Sukuna before sleeping with him?” Choso questions.

You shake your head, “No. A-And from what I experienced he wasn’t a bad guy like he keeps being painted as-“

“Not a bad guy?!” Choso shouts, “Are you fuckin’ dense?”

You grow frustrated that he’s yelling at you in such a way. Sure he technically isn’t in the wrong here but if he’s coming from the perspective that you knew nothing and he never told you, he’s wrong for his reaction.

Had it not been for the list and you were truly confused, which you still somewhat are, Choso would still be wrong for being so angered like this as if you knew any better.

And sure, it was manipulative of you to pretend not to know but you needed to get the important parts of the truth out there and you needed to know why the hell Choso never opened up to you about this before.

“Dense?” You scoff, “No, I’m not fuckin’ dense, Choso. I’m confused. For someone who just loves their brothers, you not only failed to ever tell me about this one but also seemed to forget that I only know so much about the guy. I didn’t date him, I fucked him, that’s two different things-“

“So?” He scoffs, “How do you even sleep with someone like him? I can’t believe you.”

“Choso, what part of I don’t know what kinda’ guy he really is, do you not understand?” You exclaim, “Maybe if you just tell me what he’s done I can understand.”

Choso nods and then clicks his tongue, glancing off to the side for a moment before moving to take a step toward you, “Tell you what he’s done, yeah? You wanna’ know why no one fuckin’ likes him? Wanna’ know why people fear him? Hm?”

“I want to know something-“

“He’s a criminal,” Choso tells you, his voice low as he nears you, “But that’s just the tip of the damn iceberg, princess.”

You swallow hard and Choso steps even closer, “O-Okay, there are plenty of criminals out there, not to defend him of course but I don’t see how that-“

“He’s hit women before,” He explains further as he gets closer to you.

“Bullshit,” You spit. Why did you say it like that? Was there some secret attachment or need to defend Sukuna inside you that you were unaware of?

“Bullshit?” Choso’s right in front of you at this point, “Baby, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

“I-“

“And you wanna know what else?” Choso whispers, leaning down to you, “Wanna know what makes him all the more insufferable?”

You swallow carefully, “W-What is it?”

“Well,” Choso tips his head to the side, “Imagine you had a younger stepbrother who you love more than anything in the world, with that younger brother comes an older asshole who not only bullies everyone he knows but also lays his hands on people…”

“Choso, a-are you saying he-“

“Yes.” He cuts off, “Sukuna doesn’t just fight random people, no. His favorite person to beat up on and fucking abuse is his twelve-year-old little brother.”

That’s when it all hits you. You now understand Choso’s hate for Sukuna.

“So, yeah, that’s the guy you fucked,” Choso says finally before straightening himself up, “Not just my older step-brother but also an abusive piece of shit.”

“Choso, I-“

“Nah,” He scoffs, “Save it. If that’s the kinda’ guys you’re into…” Choso simply trails off, he doesn’t even know what to say so he just shrugs, “I dunno’ baby, just… fuck, leave me out of it.”

He doesn’t mean that, does he?

You wish. You wish he didn’t mean that but as you stand there with wide confused eyes, Choso backs away before turning and just leaving.

The cafe is quiet and you didn’t even know what to do at first.

That was until, Geto leans forward against the table and whispers to you, “Go after him, idiot.”

You whip your head around to the man, “Y-You’re the one who brought this all up, y’know…” You say with a trembling voice.

Your emotions are all over the damn place, from regret to sorrow to annoyance to confusion and then even to just plain sadness. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know but the longer you stand there crying, the further he gets and the less time you have to explain yourself.” Geto points out in that soothing tone of his.

Water only wells up further in your eyes and you wish you never told Choso about what you did with Sukuna, “Suguru I c-can’t explain anything to him-“

“Yes you can,” He hums, and based on the look in his eyes, you finally get it.

Geto was acting as though this was all planned out…

“You…” Your eyes narrow, “You did all that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“He’s getting further awayyy,” Geto hums sweetly.

Damnit, you wish you could’ve stayed longer to dissect why the hell he just did all that but, your body moves on its own and you sigh and turn to run after Choso.

“You’ll thank me later!” Geto yells out to you finally.

Would you?

Would you really thank him later? 

Or, was this about to be the end of your relationship with Choso?

GOJO SATORU ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮

GETO SUGURU ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮

TOJI FUSHIGURO ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙪𝙢

KAMO CHOSO ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙎𝙚𝙢𝙞-𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙪𝙢 / 𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮

ZEN'IN NAOYA ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮

ITADORI SUKUNA ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙎𝙚𝙢𝙞-𝙀𝙖𝙨𝙮???

NANAMI KENTO ✔︎ 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺: 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙙

mlist || previous chapt || next chpt

tags;

@blognicole @suguruologist @luqueam @ivoryviness @sinaxalui @rxnnie18 @carlacujo @gods-landing @bitchysouljellyfish @miles4hour @sinaxalui @annananamin @heart-snow @kiyomizzx @hanuh @acehyacinth @mccookiemonster @tojis-ball-sack @cartwheel6869 @mariluvsusstuff @addie1010 @slammynics @actualz0mbie @hisbitchhh @kay-xle @cunttee3 @voids-universe @raininglovelyfire @itsbokutosjuicyass @peaceoutbritta @barbielani @gennaray @r3inae @kfmcykdy @camiihutt @tokina @curtin81937 @hopefullydecent @nameless-shade @ureuphoriasworld @forgetfulmachine @legbouk @lilliaannn @clementineee0-0 @divinelseraph @didibxx

[heavcnslyre]

chapter six — j.f. ( masterlist )

THIS IS ME TRYING.

“and my words shoot to kill when i’m mad

i have a lot of regrets about that.”

taglist: @jellybassett @glowingtree @always-reading @yla-aira @infinitywarnatenthusiast @imogen-skye @ilovegilmoregirls @lucidlivi @rubydubytuby @creepynativekid @miniemonie2001 (comment or message me to join!)

you sat alone in your room for a while, attempting to calm yourself down. it really seemed stupid after a while, honestly. jeremiah was probably just trying to be nice, and she might find someone else to bring her anyways. it wasn’t something you had to freak out about.

jeremiah knocks on your door after almost an hour.

“come in,” you call out. you’re laying in your bed, aimlessly scrolling on your phone. jeremiah comes in and smiles at you softly, then takes a seat on the edge of your bed.

“moms are back,” he says. “storms pretty much let up now, but they’re still trying to figure out the power.”

“that’s good,” you reply. he studies your face.

“is everything okay? you…left kinda abruptly.”

you look down at your hands. “oh, uh, yeah. i just…i don’t know.”

“what is it, (y/n)?” jeremiah asks, his tone serious. you look up at him.

“are you seriously going to be belly’s escort?”

he flinches. “oh. that. yeah, i think so. i mean… she told me that apparently conrad asked to be her escort but he’s been so shitty to her lately i just figured that i would do something nice for her. why not, right?”

“yeah, sure,” you say dismissively, rolling your eyes up to the ceiling. “why not?”

“what’s the problem, (y/n)?” he asks genuinely. you sigh and shake your head.

“why is she the exception for you, jeremiah?” you ask. “why, out of everyone, is she the exception?”

he stares at you, confused. “what the hell are you talking about?”

“every single time a debutante ball has ever been brought up you’ve sworn to never be an escort in your life. why is now your one exception?”

“why does it matter?” he asks. “i care about belly. of course i’m going to do something nice for her. why are you so mad about it?”

“are you kidding?” you ask, anger suddenly rising in your chest. “do you not remember when i was going to be a debutante last year?”

“(y/n), what does that have to do with me?”

“the day we sat down at dinner and i said that i was thinking about being a debutante. you immediately sat there and scoffed, and said that debutante balls were terrible and you would never be an escort,” you shake your head. “i gave up on being a debutante after that.”

jeremiah’s voice dropped. “but, why? why did my opinion matter to you? you had so many guys who would have been your escort.”

“you were the only person i would even consider asking, jeremiah,” you blurt out, and he lifts his head in surprise.

“what?”

“i genuinely cannot believe that you don’t know this already,” you run your hand through your hair. “i wanted to be your exception, jere. i would’ve loved to be a deb if you were my escort. but you couldn’t stand the idea of being my escort, could you?”

“(y/n), if i had known…” he trails off. you shake your head.

“whatever, okay?” you say. “it doesn’t matter anymore. i’ve moved on from it.”

“you could have told me,” he says.

“you really don’t get it, do you?” you ask. “you made it such an obvious point to bring that up in that moment. you knew what you were doing, jeremiah. you didn’t think of me the same way. it’s whatever. be belly’s escort. she deserves to have someone who cares about her.”

“why do you just assume i was trying to hurt you?” he asks, his tone suddenly defensive. “why couldn’t it have been an honest mistake, that i didn’t realize you thought of me like that?”

“what do you want me to think, then? that you tried to hurt me or that you’re blind?”

“you’re being ridiculous.”

“ridiculous? really?” you scoff. “how more obvious could i have fucking been? the last three summers i have done nothing but basically throw myself at you and you just—“

“no!” he yells, suddenly standing up from your bed. “no, (y/n), you don’t get to do this! you came here this summer with a boyfriend and didn’t tell me! we got so close this past year and you never fucking told me you had a boyfriend, so i walked in to this summer stupidly thinking that now was our time for something to happen. then you drop that fucking bomb on me and expect everything to be normal? you cannot call me blind when all summer you’ve been the one pretending that everything is as it’s always been.”

“jeremiah, you’re literally not listening to me,” you reply, mirroring his frustrated tone. “everything is as it’s always been to me because you’ve always treated me like this! you’ve always acted like i was so special and then walked away from me into the nearest arms of some other guy or girl! you’ve never made your feelings clear. i’m so fucking sorry that me getting a boyfriend ruined all of your plans for us that i was never a part of.”

“you’re such a fucking hypocrite,” he groans, running his hand through his hair. “you’ve always done the same thing! neither of us have ever expressed our feelings to the other. you cannot place all of this on me!”

“whatever, jeremiah,” you say, not looking at him. “whatever makes you feel good about yourself.”

he stands there and stares at you for a moment before turning around and leaving your room, slamming the door behind him. for what felt like forever, you sat motionless, staring at the door behind him. your mind was racing. jeremiah fisher just admitted he has feelings for you. that was a conversation you had imagined in your mind for years, but this wasn’t at all how you wanted or expected it to go. part of you hated yourself for being so harsh. maybe he truly just didn’t see the signs you gave him. maybe he talked himself out of believing them, just like you had for so long. but part of you was relieved that you got those feelings out. being in love with someone brings about positive emotions, but no one talks about the genuine resentment that goes along with the pining. as your feelings grew, so did the pain. a weight was lifted off of your shoulders. but, a new, maybe even heavier one replaced it. you just had the biggest fight of your lives with your best friend. no matter what, your friendship had to come first.

as much as you do genuinely believe that, you are still beyond pissed at him. you have so many unanswered questions that you aren’t even sure how to ask him. part of you talked yourself out of even believing that he had meant that he had feelings for you, but you had to try to ignore those thoughts, or else you knew you’d make things worse.

although it was still early in the evening, shortly after he left, you put your phone down and go to sleep. you decide that being asleep was better than having to stay up and think about that conversation. the power still wasn’t on, and it continued to rain outside for a while, the dark sky being a pretty good representation of how you were feeling. as dramatic as that seemed, it really was true. you felt so shitty. that was truly the only way to describe it. shitty and pathetic.

[halfdeadfullgay]

404 - Title Not Found (part/chapter 3)

Part 1 - Tumblr Part 2 - Tumblr

Ao3

Summary: Jason was expecting the gala to be boring like always but is pleasantly surprised when it isn’t.

Danny meant it as a joke but Fenton luck always strikes. At least he gets an excuse to talk to the cute guy he gave quarters to.

AN: As always this is crack, this is a whole crack fic; and I play fast and loose with DC&DP cannon. Ignore any out of character writing(mainly Vlad and Bruce).

Kinda/slow Vlad redemption, kinda like a shitty uncle that you get along with sometimes.

Danny and Jason don’t know each other’s names for a bit so they refer to each other as:

Danny - Quarter Guy

Jason - Laundry Guy

Enjoy the crack! :)

Jason immediately knew that the other wasn’t from Gotham. No one just offered anything without an immediate confirmation that they would get something in return. At least that’s how it was in Crime Alley. He and the other held small talk while they were doing their laundry.

“You just offer quarters to people?” He said sarcastically only to have an actual answer in return. “Only the cute people.” The other said with a somewhat joking tone.

“Uh huh. What’s ya name? I didn’t catch it.” Jason wouldn’t directly admit but this guy had peaked his interest even more.

“Well, I didn’t throw.” The guy answered with a smile that felt sarcastic with just a bit of wanting chaos.

The topic changed to other things. He learned that quarter guy had moved to Crime Alley awhile back, he didn’t give a clear reason why; “Just thought it’d be a good change of pace.”

He also learned that Quarter Guy was going to some kind of event with his godfather; saying that even though he agreed to go, he could still complain. And god did he complain but nothing sounded too bad. “He’s just a fruitloop, I wouldn’t doubt him trying to use me to get secrets from the other people.”

Jason didn’t share any too personal information; besides it just out of sceret identity and such but it would also feel weird to. Jason did complain about how he was more or less forced into agreeing to go to the Wayne gala, only not sharing that it was a gala or that it was a Wayne event.

“Maybe we end up at the same event.” Quater guy, who still didn’t tell Jason his name, joked. His laundry had been done before his own. Quarter guy left with a smile that only made him want to figure out why he felt familiarly even more. Jason was more curious about this guy than before but decided to hold off on figuring out more about it.

—

It was just meant as a joke. Danny really did mean as a joke but just his fucking luck(or honestly he was expecting CW to be the cause in some way), he was now looking at the guy he gave quarters to a day or two pior. He was standing next to the snack table, avoiding Vlad so he didn’t have to worry about talking to other rich people he didn’t trust. The snacks didn’t look good in any sense of the word, why did he expect rich people to know what good snacks look and taste like.

He was thinking about texting Sam to complain, knowing that she would say I told you so but that when he noticed the guy from his apartment building was there. It took a second to recgionze him since he seemed more put together and dressed nicer, but it was him. Danny wouldn’t have questioned it too much if the guy wasn’t standing next to Bruce Wayne but he was. Danny didn’t need to know any more rich people but life(or probably CW) had other plans.

He noticed that the guy hadn’t seemed to see him yet. Danny moved away from the snack table, going opposite from Wayne and the laundry guy; mainly focusing on staying hidden but a voice called him. “Danỉ͔͖̜͌ẹ̿͋̒̕l̙͖̑̾ͣ!” It wasn’t loud, at least it wasn’t to humans. It had just enough of a hint of ghost speak to have Danny turn to look. Of course when he had his back turned, Vlad had to go and speak to Bruce Wayne. “Come over, I’ve hardly seen you since we’ve arrived.”

Danny held back a sigh and eye roll as he went over to Vlad and Wayne; which also meant laundry guy. He had felt Wayne’s eyes on him as he went over, laundry guy hadn’t seemed to notice or frankly care enough to look. He looked at Bruce. He knew of “Brucie” Wayne and had wondered if it was just a persona like when Vlad used to pretend to be niceish to his dad. He side eyed laundry guy, who didn’t look at him at all.

“You didn’t tell me you had a so-“ Bruce started with a hint of curiosity. Danny was quick to cut him off. “He didn’t because I’m not.” That’s what finally got laundry guy’s attention, he looked at Danny for a second and Danny already knew that he recognized him. “Daniel, that was rude.” Vlad looked at him before going back to Bruce. “I apologize for him but he is right. He’s my godson.” Vlad said, leaving it to Danny to introduce himself.

“Yes, I do apologize for cutting you off like that.” Danny started. He used the tone he would use with some of the ghost nobles. It was a bit forced but relatively kind. He’d hate to admit and never would out loud but he learned it from Vlad. “It’s alright, I understand how words hold meaning.” He noticed how it sounded more real than “Brucie” usually did.

He just nodded before continuing, “Okay. I’ll introduce myself before Vlad tries to.” Danny made his tone sound just a bit joking. He felt laundry guy’s full attention on him. He smiled, a little fake and a little smug. “I’m Danny Fenton and as Vlad said, I am his godson.”

There was some “good to meet you”s exchanged. Danny picked up on the fact that Bruce nudged Laundry Guy to introduce himself.

—

Jason didn’t like Vlad Masters at all. He was creepy, all around weird and untrustworthy. He had only seen him a few times before, spoke to him barely unless with Bruce but something was off now. There was a strange feeling of paranoia around Vlad that he couldn’t place. Even with all his training from the Bat.

He had been staying relatively close to Bruce, not wanting to deal with questions or the other people which Bruce seemed to respect. He had noticed that Bruce had been trying to be better or very least trying to understand his perspective. It was something, it was better than nothing.

Jason had held back a groan as soon as he saw Vlad approach him and (mainly) Bruce. He tuned out most of everything, just looking at the other people around them. It was like every other time Bruce was stopped by another billionaire. Just stand there, vaguely pay attention and look at the crowd of other people. That’s how it was going until he heard Vlad call out to someone else.

“Danỉ͔͖̜͌ẹ̿͋̒̕l̙͖̑̾ͣ!“ He heard Vald call out to someone else. it sounded off, not by a lot but still. He didn’t show a reaction outside of paying more attention. He noticed Bruce didn’t show any slight reaction which was expected. Jason still didn’t care enough to fully look up at whoever Vlad had called over until Bruce had started talking and was immediately cut off.

Jason had recognized the voice right off the bat. He looked up and saw Quarter Guy or as he introduced himself, Danny. It was obvious that the other recognized him as well but spoke as if he didn’t. He thought of when he talked to him while doing laundry and how he joked about them going to the same event. He heard formalities go around when felt Bruce nudge him. A signal to introduce himself.

He faced Danny, taking note of how he acted like they hadn’t met and he decided to go along with it. “Jason. Nice meeting ya.” He said with a similar smile that Bruice Wayne was known for but each bat kid had their own distinct version of it. “Nice to meet you as well.” Danny said with his own smile, he noticed that it was a mix between genuine and fake.

Jason noticed how different the other acted compared to when they talked a few days prior. He took note of how he was not as talkative or sarcastic and just had a small sense of fakeness about him. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for people to have a more or less fake personas at galas but he found it interesting how the other did a complete 180.

“So Danny, this your first gala?” Jason asked. A bit genuinely curious and also since he knew Bruce would ask him at some point. Danny looked at Vlad for a split second before answering. It seemed like silent communication. “No and yes. I’ve been to a few before but this is the first one I’ve been to in Gotham.” He had kept the smile as he explained. “Vlad has dragged me to some all over. Although I mainly attend the few that are held in my hometown.”

Yeah, he was definitely lying about something. It was easy to guess especially when Danny looked at Vlad before he had answered. He didn’t outwardly question it or look at Bruce to see if he noticed it too, of course he had; world’s greatest detective or whatever.

“Well we’re glad that you decided to attend tonight.” Bruce spoke, or well Brucie did. Some of the others had personas similar to the Brucie one but Jason didn’t. He didn’t feel like he needed one especially after coming back. “How about Jason and you go off and do your own thing while I speak business with Vlad?”

Jason looked at Bruce for a second, they both knew something was sketchy with Vlad and instead of including him in getting more info on him, Bruce was pushing him off to Danny. Not that he was complaining but still. He looked at Danny for his response.

—

Danny looked at Vlad, a bit surprised that Vlad wasn’t one to suggest that although he would’ve been suggesting it as a way to get information against competition. Vlad just gave a nod to him, Danny held back a sign knowing that Vlad would still use it as an opportunity for that. “Sure, why not? Still getting used to the city and all.”

And with that, he was led away by Jason. He could already hear Vlad scheming. At least he would be the only ghost he’d have to deal with. Hopefully, he didn’t want to jinx himself. He just let Jason drag him away from Bruce and Vald, not really caring where they went.

They finally stopped in a more quiet corner of the gala room. It was less bright with less people which Danny was grateful for. He had attended more ghost galas than human ones. So the loudness that came with human ones was still newish to him.

“So, I guess we really did end up at the same event.” Jason said with a smug grin. Hopefully just making it known that he said it as a joke would make it seem as a crazy coincidence and not too weird.

Danny gave him a sheepish smile, “I swear I meant it as a joke.”

[pokequirks]

category: dumbair

katsuki bakugo x fem!reader

synopsis: katsuki getting serious, trip to korea and his concerns.

word count: 1.4k

warnings: +18.

note: second of category. third chapter of the series (should i make a masterlist?)

You two spent the rest of the morning together, at least what was left of it. Watching news, ordering food delivery and taking advantage of the free day that you both share. 

"I should turn on my phone" You said, heading to your belongins under Katsuki's gaze. Numerous buzzes and notifications. "Ah, shit..." You whisper.

"What's wrong?" Katsuki asks, clearly annoyed, being almost sure it was your shitty ex.

"Kijun, he's been calling like crazy" You sigh "I'll have to go to Korea."

Katsuki briefly felt like all that was built yesterday night was falling into pieces. What if you two made up? What if he finds a way to make you stay? What if he's again left there with a broken heart?

"I'm serius with you."

"Wanna go with me?"

You both speak at the same time. Katsuki's confussion and worriness disguised with his frown. Your gentle smile and eyes looking at him from above.

"I mean, if you want to go, we should sleep at my apartment. That motherfucker thinks he has some right over it".

"I'll talk to Deku,'' Katsuki said, standing and holding his phone. "I'm really serius with you. I don't want you to leave me here again for a shitty clown. Don't know how ya’ feel about marriage now, but in the future if you feel it's fine please let me know."

Katsuki finished and excused himself in order to call Deku and inform him about his trip with you and that he would be taking an extra day off, since he always took just one.

From the office Midoriya smiled happily for Katsuki and you. Finally taking place where you both belonged. With each other. Of course, he was alredy aware of the broken compromise between you and your Korean fianceé.

And you, you were left there thinking about marriage. Marriage with Katsuki. The sensation of hot cheeks as you thought about getting married to him. However, you know you have things to talk to a terapist and heal some others. So, yeah, you wouldn't probably think a lot about getting married in the near future.

For now you will only focus on being a good hero, reconnect with old friends and...

"It's done," Katsuki announced, getting out of his bedroom.

Him.

You and Katsuki had arrived at the café where you and Kijun had decided to speak. Quick kiss on his lips before separating, he going to a kinda far table, still in your vision range, and you sitting in front of the man that once was your fianceé.

"So in the end I was always right, huh?" He asks with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"We remainded friends until the night I flew back after taking you out of my apartment" He clenched his jaw, "Katsuki fucked me really well that night and he'll do the same tonight."

"I think we should sell and split the money," he changes the subject "after all, it is under our names."

"You only paid the first two three months of maintenance fee, I gave the entrace and the rest of the apartment because you 'weren't a pro hero and didn't make as much money as me', am I wrong?"

"Ahg, then give me the car and the months I paid."

"You serious? I paid for the car, the only thing you paid was the insurance and this last month you asked me to pay it," Kijun throwed his head back and complained. On the other tables people started to whisper looking at your table. "Be an adult and keep it quiet."

"Then what do you want me to do? Wanna leave me here with nothing?"

"Even after what you did I do not wish you anything bad," you sighed "I suppose you're living with the journalist and I think I can sell you the car at market price minus the amount of insurance you have paid."

"I guess that's fine..."

You reunited with Katsuki after finishing the chat with your ex. He had finished his coffee and even took your recommendation on the strawberry cheesecake. He gave you the last bite as he saw that fucker heading out the café.

"Hey look at me," Bright green eyes looking at him, lashes bating and blushed cheeks "I love you, Tsukipie."

"Uhm? I love you too," he responds, caresing the palm of your hand "What deal did the shitman and you make?"

You playfully roll your eyes and look at him, "I'll sell him the car, I'm not gonna need it since I'll only come back in order to do community work in rural areas."

Katsuki hummed and nodded.

"You could come with me and take vacations at the farms."

"I would like that."

You took Katsuki to eat street food and convenience store noodles, things you usually eated while studying and working. Maybe that was the reason why you were able to save up a good amount of money. Been now aware of your bad habits during your living in Korea Katsuki wasn't really happy about it.

"Did you really eat this shit for years?"

"Yeah, and well, not like years, for field work we were sent to towns with farms and a metheorological agency," you explained "in my free time I went to these farms and help elders with rain and harvesting the crops."

"Sure they gave you marital proposses" Katsuki whispered as you two walked down the street to wait for the bus.

"Yeah," you giggle, holding his hand "I already had Kijun and before I had you..."

"You always had me, dumbair."

"You used to call me that before you fell with me!" You took a seat at the parade, Katsuki beside you.

"Yeah, ya fell with me too." 

"Yes, I did" You kiss one of his cheeks and giggle at the sight of rosy color in them.

You took out your phone, briefly going through news on the local main app and telling Katsuki about them, like the idol you like and showcases held. Until one catched Katsuki's attention.

"That one has your hero name."

"Uh?"

You click on it and it displays a whole article about your café visit. They called him your boyfriend and others actually revealed that he is Dynamight, the number 2 in Japan.

"What does it say about me?"

"That you're my boyfriend and hero number 2 in Japan, they put nice pics of you," you show him "my boyfriend is really handsome."

Bakugo proudly smiled at your commentary, of course he is. Katsuki saw the bus approaching and indicated to you to stand up.

Once at your apartment and before Katsuki entered the bathroom you took his wrist.

"Can we try something?"

Now you were both naked. Katsuki seated with oppened legs and hands on your ass as you devour his mouth and roll your hips over his tip. Tits at his neck level. Quiet moans on his lips as you work through your orgam.

"Wanna be inside...," He whispers, breaking the conection with your lips and taking care of your tits "so bad."

You hummed, feeling all over the place. Your hands running over his muscular shoulders and blonde hair, barely taking time to think before holding his dick and putting it inside you.

"Ah, fuck," you moan, hips rolling even harder until Bakugo cruelly holds your body still and pulls it againts him, "shit, Kats, let me..."

"Kats? Dunno him" he teases, sucking on your tits, "say my name, dumbair."

"Tsukipie, wanna come, please, Tsuki" You beg and he smiles at your desesperation.

He puts you down, legs on his shoulders as he violently penetrates your pussy, one hand messing with your clit and the other holding you still. You squirm under his touch, strong hold on the bed sheets, tears running down your cheeks and pleads comming out your lips.

"Oh my God, Katsuki!" You scream loudly and he pulls out finishing on your clit.

He touches you, your skin twitches at every little friction. Chest going up and down as you tried to recover. He comes to you after a while, starts cleaning his art on your pussy. Then he pulls you closer and you smell him.

"Tired," you whisper.

"Sleep baby, you were awesome," Katsuki whispers too and he leaves a kiss on your forehead.

Katsuki's eyes traveled to the window, he could see the moon shining. And you are lying by his side. He wondered how much that bliss was going to last, how much time you were going to be with him. Utterly concerned for the future, after all...

"Tsukipie..."

"Hum?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

[tmntartblock]

TMNT LEOSAGI AU:

FIND ME IN THE FUTURE

Chapter 1/???

WARNINGS: BL00D, VIOLENCE

Introduction post:

CHAPTER 1: Everything changes

It had been a rough couple of months. Even though Shredder had been finally defeated, his little minions kept showing up. Leo was tired, always trying to keep up with their schemes but it was starting to get overwhelming. He spent countless nights planning strategies for every possible scenario, setting up his little ponds of everyone that Mikey had so kindly made for him. 

One late evening, as Leo was trying to come up a plan to invade an old storage house, Usagi appeared. Leo felt his heart filling up with warmth and the ponds dropped from his hands immediately as he went to hug his boyfriend that had been in his strict military realm for months. It was impossible to know when Usagi came to visit - sometimes it was only weeks, sometimes half a year. 

Usually it made Leo happy to see Usagi. Usagi made him feel at ease and he could focus on something else other than his responsibilities. But when Usagi appeared from a shiny blue portal, holding a little sack and tears in his eyes, the ease was nowhere to be found. 

“I am not going back”, Usagi said, voice trembling as he threw his belongings in the corner. 

“What do you mean?” Leo asked as he put his hand on Usagi’s shoulder. Usagi didn’t answer but hugged him, so tightly he could barely breathe. Leo felt Usagi’s body shaking so he held on as long as was needed. 

Usagi only started to talk when they went to bed. Leo sneaked some snacks for them from the kitchen and luckily nobody asked questions since everybody was already used to Leo spending days in solitude. 

“What happened?” Leo finally dared to ask. 

Usagi stared at his hands for a while. He didn’t touch the food Leo had brought.

“I… I had enough”, he said finally. Leo stared at him, eyes wide. They had been talking about it for years. Usagi hated the army and everything it represented. But he had vowed to his mother to keep his realm safe. It was about honor and Leo understood it too well.

“We don’t have to talk about it now”, Leo said. “Let’s talk with master Splinter in the morning. It won’t be a problem for you to stay here.”

Usagi smiled a little and gave him a quick kiss.

“Thank you, Leonardo-chan.” 

First days Leo felt happiness. Usagi was free. He was here, with him. But the inner struggle of leaving his home planet just seemed to eat Usagi’s mind, snickering in his consciousness. Usagi thought Leo couldn’t notice, but of course he did. Every time Leo asked what had happened, Usagi quickly redirected the focus on something else so Leo decided to leave it at that.

Leo could feel Usagi’s mind wonder. He could feel the distance growing every day between them. He wanted to  demand the answer but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. He had to focus on the tasks at hand - bringing down the rest of the Foot. As long as Usagi was physically safe near him, it could wait.

After some weeks, Leo’s plan had been formed and they had taken into all precautions. If the current leader of the New York’s Foot clan was in the warehouse like she was suppose to, it was going to be a hard hit for them. 

“Guys”, Leo said and looked at his brothers, Casey, April and Usagi. “It’s been a rough couple of months-”

“When was the last time it really wasn’t?” Mikey asked blantly, staring at the plan at hand. Leo sighed and Raph slapped Mikey on the back of his head.

“Hm? It was a genuine question.”

“If I recall correctly, about… 5 years ago”, Donnie said, defining his last piece of tech for the attack. “It was that one morning before the mouser attack.”

“I don’t need a reminder how shitty our lives have been, thanks Don”, Raph said. “Go on with your great speech, oh fearless leader.”

“You kinda killed the mood for that already”, Leo said trying to not sound bitter. He knew his brothers listened to him when it was necessary but any extra words went over their heads as they lost interest. “I hope everyone knows their positions.”

That night, Leo, Mikey, Raph and Casey were on top of the warehouse, waiting for Usagi to get the thermal camera to its position. 

“This waiting thing is always so boring. Why we just didn’t get here when the big boss arrives”, Mikey said, snacking on his popcorn that Leo had specifically told him not to bring.

“Because, Mikey, we don’t know when the big boss arrives.”

“But why not arrive later then?”

“We cannot let her get too comfortable. Surprise is our advantage. Like always.”

“Wait, what the shell is Usagi doing, Leo?” Raph said, interrupting them from their banter.

Leo went quickly back to the window and saw the shadow of Usagi wandering on the floor.

“Why is he not coming back up?” Raph said and looked at Leo, who felt the cold rushing through him. Leo saw Usagi stopping and waving at the darkness. What-

Foot ninja.

Leo didn’t hesitate. He broke the glass and jump through, landing on the boxes under him and then jumped on the floor. He drew his katana and put it on the ninja’s neck.

“One wrong move and you are dead.”

Leo knew he needed to pay attention to the enemy but he could not help himself but stare at Usagi who just stood there, doing nothing, staring with his big brown eyes, being impossible to read. 

“Leo! Watch out!” Raph yelled from the above and suddenly the whole warehouse was overflowing with ninjas. Others jumped in to help them. The whole plan had failed miserably but why- what- 

He was surrounded. He saw a blade coming from one direction that he had to block and then dodge the other one coming from his side. He air-kicked two other people before he could flee to clearer soil. He had been preparing for a fight but not like this. 

“Leo! Watch out!” He heard Mikey yelling somewhere above and moved just in time to not get crushed by huge containers that Mikey had been able to push to fall. This whole time Leo tried to catch a glimpse of Usagi.

The doors of the warehouse exploded open. Donnie and April had gotten the message that something had went wrong.

Then, in all the hassle, Leo saw something that made his heart drop.

Usagi, talking with the enemy. What was happening? What was Usagi doing? When Usagi shook the hand of the ninja, Leo realized.

Usagi had betrayed them. 

No. No he couldn’t. Usagi could never.

But he was the one who didn’t follow the plan. He didn’t draw his katana because he didn’t have to. It was all on ambush to get them all killed. But why? How could Usagi do this? It couldn’t be. He couldn’t. 

Leo’s mind was racing, he tried to make sense of all this. Was this the reason Usagi had been acting distant? How long he had known? Was this some long run plan of years trying to get him and his brothers?

Leo felt sick to his stomach. Time seemed as it had stopped. He stared at the man he had so wholeheartedly loved for years, betray him, just like that. He got snapped back to the reality by the cold blade cutting through his arm, sending sharp pain through his body.

Leo knew he was badly hurt. He could feel the blood flooding from his arm but the only pain he could feel was from his heart as he stared at Usagi. Usagi had stopped to look at him as he laid on the floor. If it wasn’t for Raph Leo would have been dead by now.

“Usagi, please” Leo cried and tried to get up from the ground as the blood smeared everywhere. “Usagi don’t do this.”

He knew it was pointless to plead but he couldn’t help himself. Usagi stepped into the portal and just like that, he was gone. Mikey and Donnie helped Leo back on his feet. His focus was gone, the attacks that were once easy to dodge, suddenly could reach him. 

Usagi’s betrayal made everything blurry for him. Others it filled with clarity – destroy Foot, get Leo out of there alive. Raph’s rage could be felt through the whole battlefield, and no one got spared. The current leader didn’t get a chance. She was destroyed.

The rest of the ninjas fled when the leader was killed. Leo felt the adrenaline fading with his consciousness. It took all of Leo’s power to not pass out on the way home but it was mainly due to his brothers’ annoyance that kept him conscious. 

“Leo! Stay awake or I’m gonna use your katanas to spread butter!” Mikey yelled and slapped him once more. 

When they got back home and all the injuries were taken care of, Leo could only sit and stare into an abyss. His heart was pounding heavily and all he could hear was the blood flowing through his ears. Images of Usagi filled his mind, the anger in his eyes when he last took a look at him. 

“How are you feeling, bro?” Mikey asked quietly and sat next to him. Leo wanted to smack Mikey but he’s arm was hurting.

“What do you expect, dimwit”, Raph said and scooched between them. Donnie followed and sat on the armrest. 

“We are here for you, Leo”, Donnie said and tapped gently on his head.

“Yeah. If that traitor bunny shows up again he’s gonna be a goner after that”, Raph said in a serious note. “Nobody messes with my brother’s heart without a consequence.”

| next chapter

[mouseymilkovich]

Take My Breath Away | Lip Gallagher x Reader Fic | Chapter Four

Read Chapter Three Here!

masterlist | spotify playlist

Chapter Summary: It's like something out of a movie - that beach volleyball scene in Top Gun, or something, your day at the beach with the Gallaghers. You couldn't help wondering how different your getaway might've been if Lip hadn't literally run into you... probably really fucking boring. | Lip x fem/afab reader, both are 21

Content Tags: nothing major, more mentions of Jimmy-Steve, smoking (cigs and weed), underage smoking (it's Ian you should expect this by now), reader mentions their ex, Lip gets a sunburn, Carl's a little shit, yeehaw

Chapter Four: Let's Go To The Beach

Word Count: 1.5k

The array of things you and Lip purchased were carried in various bags while you all wandered onto an empty stretch of beach. A volleyball net from the clearance section, obviously a volleyball, a shitty little disposable beach grill, some various sand toys and buckets for castle building, and of course, two coolers full of various food, snacks, and drinks.

You and Fiona set out the blanket while Ian and Lip set up the shitty little volleyball net. Fiona was pleasantly surprised by all of this, the beach day with you and her siblings was something she definitely needed.

Lip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam all decided to indulge in some beach volleyball, the two older brothers against their younger siblings. You and Fiona sat on the blanket, Franny in Fiona's lap. The two of you chatted, holding some small talk while you watched Debbie and the guys play volleyball.

Fiona must've caught your eyes gazing at Lip, cus she decided to start teasing you.

"See somethin' you like, huh?" She asked you with a little laugh. It made you blush, because, well, yeah... you did in fact see something you liked.

On top of the way Lip looked while he was shirtless and sweaty playing volleyball, you just couldn't deny how sweet it was seeing him with his younger siblings. He and Ian were basically best friends, and he was so encouraging whenever Liam had the ball... it just made you think about what a sweet guy Lip really was, under that whole cocky facade he had going.

"I haven't seen him this happy in a while, gotta be honest." Fiona commented as she took a swig of beer.

You raised your eyebrows a bit in surprise. "Really? What do you mean?"

"He kinda had a rough go recently... just some shit. College shit." She explained, sighing a little while feeting Franny some fruit.

You looked curiously, but decided not to pry, since Fiona seemed like she wasn't going to say anything else.

"You should come join in!" Lip called over to you, and you laughed.

"I fucking suck at volleyball!" You called back, shaking your head.

"So what? So does Carl!" Ian laughed, making Carl whine with offense.

After some back and forth, along with some teasing from Fiona, you relented and joined the others in the sand. Liam joined his oldest brothers on the other side, you joined Carl and Debbie's team.

Despite you sucking at it, it was actually a lot of fun. You dove to bump the ball and took a spill in the sand, but you laughed, looking up as Lip blocked out the sun and smiled down at you from the other side of the net.

"You were right..." He started, offering a hand to help you up. "You fuckin' suck at this."

You laughed again as you took the hand offered to you. "Hey, I warned you, didn't I?"

Basking in the sun - or, more importantly, watching Lip bask in the sun, was just incredible. It was like something out of a movie - honestly, you felt like you were watching that beach scene from Top Gun or something, seeing Lip all glistening with sweat and leftover sunscreen... it was becoming increasingly harder to focus on the game of volleyball rather than his muscular, sweaty body. You managed somehow, though.

The game went until Fiona called everybody to have some lunch. Lip and Ian sat on either side of the little disposable grill to try and figure the damn thing out. You just watched Lip, a little too fondly probably, but then he smiled at you while you were staring; the butterflies overwhelmed your stomach.

You and the Gallaghers indulged in your lunch, ending with ripping up a leftover hotdog bun and throwing it for some pestering seagulls.

Rather than returning to your volleyball game, you concocted a fun idea - a sandcastle building contest, going to be judged by Debbie and Franny. The remainder of you divided into pairs, you with Lip, Ian with Carl, and Fiona with Liam. You all disbursed the buckets and toys, and Debbie counted you guys down.

You drowned out the two other pairs, focusing on what you were doing with Lip. "Go get sand, I'm gonna dig a little moat."

Lip chuckled at your enthusiasm, and grabbed a bucket. "Sure thing."

You smiled a little as you watched him go closer to the shore for some wet sand, then got to work. You patted a little area of sand for the actual castle, then dug a moat - suddenly you heard Carl mutter something about that being a good idea.

"No cheating, Carl!" You heard Debbie yell at her younger brother, which made you giggle at the banter between them. It vaguely reminded you of the banter you'd heard between Lip and Ian too.

Lip came back with a bucket of packed sand, and with your direction, neatly placed it. You both built around it and decorated, until Debbie counted down the last 10 seconds and declared time.

"Goddammit!" You heard Carl yelp, seeing his and Ian's... whatever they made, that was apparently a castle.

Fiona and Liam were declared the winners for some creative ideas from the youngest sibling. Well, you had to hand it to him, he was a little genius.

The rest of the day was fun, a little more volleyball, some swimming, Debbie even got little Franny in the water for a few minutes.

As the evening grew a little later, Lip and Ian built a shitty little bonfire for everybody to enjoy. There was some marshmallows, some s'mores, some laughs. Then eventually, you were left with the oldest three Gallaghers, Debbie and Carl took Franny and Liam back to the family's suite.

"This was a pretty fuckin' nice day." Fiona muttered after she took a drag of her cigarette.

"It was their idea." Lip said, nodding towards you with a little smile.

You laughed a little bit. That was true... but you'd planned to tell Fiona it was actually Lip's idea.

Fiona smiled a little at you, nudging you gently. "Hey, thanks."

"My ex was a dick. This fuckin'... Jimmy-Steve, he sounds like he's worse than a dick. You deserved something nice." You muttered with a little smile. "And, yknow what, I had fun too. I think everybody did. I bet Liam's having a pretty gnarly sugar crash from his three s'mores right about now."

You all laughed at that. Yeah, it was probably true.

After a few more shared laughs plus a joint, you guys tidied up, and headed in for the night. Unsurprisingly, Lip came back to your hotel room with you, but you were more than okay with that.

"Jesus fuck- I thought I put enough sunscreen on you!" You yelped, noticing Lip's bright red back.

Lip looked behind him, getting a small glance of it. "Oh, shit."

He sounded way too casual about it for your liking. You whipped out some aloe, rubbing it in your hands.

"Bend over." You demanded.

"Kinky."

"Lip, let me rub this shit on your back, c'mon!"

He relented, bending enough for you to slather the gel on his sunburn. He let out a little hiss initially, but relaxed as it soothed him.

"Was that so hard?" You muttered with a little laugh.

"Guess not." He replied, smiling a little at you.

Then, he caught you by surprise, giving you a gentle kiss. But for the first time, that didn't turn into anything more, despite your thoughts swirling about his glistening, sweaty abs earlier in the day. You two just went to bed.

In the morning, you both lingered in bed for a moment, having woken up in each other's arms.

"Any plans for the Gallaghers today?" You muttered softly.

Lip opened his mouth to speak before you both heard a crack of thunder, the sound making you jump slightly.

"Guess it's an inside day." Lip muttered.

After you got dressed, and reapplied a layer of aloe on his back, you and Lip went to the Gallaghers suite, and everybody had seemingly also decided it was an indoor day. Fiona ran down to the restaurant to grab food for everybody, and the youngest of the Gallaghers settled on a movie.

The rained-in vibes were obviously much different than the day prior; but it was also just nice to spend another day with the Gallaghers.

You couldn't help but wonder what your vacation would've been like if Lip hadn't spilled beer all over your stomach. Would you have met him at all? Would you have met any of your new friends, the crazy Gallagher family? You definitely knew you probably wouldn't have gotten eaten out as well as Lip did it, that was one thing you knew for sure.

"Y'alright?" Lip asked, it snapped you from your thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, just... yknow, thinkin' about stuff." You nodded with a little laugh.

"Thinkin' about doin' Lip again?" Carl laughed loudly, making your face flush bright red.

"Gross, Carl!" Debbie scolded, swatting her brother’s shoulder.

The day in the hotel suite wasn't as eventful as the previous few, but it was a nice change of pace.

Well - it would've remained uneventful, until there was a knock at the door. All you heard was one thing out of Fiona's mouth when she answered it...

"You son of a bitch!"

[lunerna21]

I FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO THE UPDATE FOR BOOK 7 AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED WITH HOW MUCH I ENJOYED IT

***SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7 JPN SERVER AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!***

***ALSO SLIGHTLY LONG POST AHEAD! MY APOLOGIES!***

UM CAN I MENTION HOW HARD I LAUGHED WHEN SILVER WAS TELLING THE STORY ABOUT FLOYD GRABBING RIDDLE'S HAIR TO SEE IF IT WAS HOT?!

AND JADE HYSTERICALLY LAUGHING WHILE AZUL IGNORES THEM!!!!

If they ever animate that scene, I'm gonna hurl from seeing Floyd just being catapulted off screen and Jade enjoying himself 😂

Floyd being so bored of his dream and just him swaying like the seaweed was freakin hysterical 😂

It just reminded me of this for some reason:

I mean it makes sense since Floyd is always up for a challenge and isn't afraid of basically anything, so of course Malleus's vision for Floyd's dream wasn't going to be very exciting

ALSO WE CAN TALK ABOUT FLOYD HAD THE BALLS TO FIGHT MALLEUS, LEONA AND EVEN FUCKING CATER?! CATER WIPED THE FLOOR FIGHTING FLOYD BUT I WASN'T EXPECTING CATER TO KICK ASS

HELL YES CATER!!

.......And then we jump into Jade's dream...

....The moment I saw how Jade imagined both Azul and Floyd...

AND THEN SOMEONE POSTED THIS ON TWITTER AND I ABSOLUTELY LOST IT

JADE BY FAR IS THE MOST HYSTERICAL CHARACTER IN TWST AND I CAN'T BELIEVE FLOYD HAD TO SEE HIS DOOFY LOOKING FACE LIKE THAT

I don't blame Floyd for duking it out with Jade I would feel the same if thats how my siblings imagined me lol

And finally, Azul's dream!!

First of all, AZUL WAS SOMETHING ELSE DURING HIS DREAMS

Azul being a coral rush player?! AND KINDA BEING JOCKY?! I wasn’t prepared for that! 😂

(special shoutout to Idia for throwing shade at his first image of a cocky player, that was 👌🏻)

JADE JUST GRABBING POOR IDIA'S TABLET AND GETTING AZUL'S SIGNATURE ON IT 😂👏🏻👏🏻

AND IDIA JUST SLOWING MOVING OFF TO THE SIDE THIS POOR GUY HAS BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH 😂

When the mermaids started harassing everyone and knocked us over, I WASNT READY FOR AZUL TO CARE WHEN WE GOT HIT

I WAS A FREAKING MESS IM SO DELUSIONAL AND I KNOW HE'S NOT ALWAYS NICE BUT AHHHHHHHH HE WAS SO CUTE HERE (Ignore me I'm delusional and I've missed Azul so much 🥺❤️)

It was so bizarre to see Azul playing a jocky player and being popular in school, but once Idia explained that any negative moments or lessons Azul had to face (bullying, losing the contracts) were no longer a thought because of it only being a dream with no negative emotions

It’s still mind boggling how detailed everyone’s dreams are but terrifying like damn Malleus has so much power and yet he can juggle so many of them

After Azul invited us to the party and was INCREDIBLY NICE for someone like him, and Idia got suss:

I knew something was up, especially after he made everyone wear the anenomes for the party AND GRIM SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER HE WENT THROUGH THIS BEFORE WHY DID HE BELIEVE THIS

Floyd and Jade bouncing off Azul being a bully was soooo worth it

It's kinda scary how I preferred the old Azul, considering he wasn't a cocky jock straight from a manga/book ICK ICK ICK

AND THEN AFTER AZUL FELL INTO THE BLOT, HE WAS A PAIN IN THE BUTT TO CORNER I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THE PLANNING AND HOW WE HELPED DESTROY THE CONTRACTS ONCE AGAIN

But this devastated me 😭

It still must've felt pretty shitty having to go through that again, but I started to cry I'm just so happy Azul woke up from his dream 😭❤️❤️❤️

Azul's battle with himself! *chefs kiss* I love how they reference it similar to the battle from The Little Mermaid and how Azul's blot form began to grow

But let me tell you something:

I WOULD DIE IF I COULD FRAME THIS!! JUST SEEING THE GLOWING EYE AND AZUL DOING THIS POSE! PERFECTION!!!

ITS SO GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK AZUL!!!❤️

This chapter was such a fun trip, and I'm so glad we're slowly getting closer to releasing everyone from their dreams

BUT ONE LAST THING! TWST INTENTIONALLY DID THIS TO HURT MY FEELINGS!

HOOOOOWWWWW DARE TWST FOR SHOVING THIS IN MY FACE I WANT MY BEST FRIENDS BACK SO BADLY AND THE FACT THAT THEY DO THIS CONSTANTLY AND ALSO GRIM BRINGING THEM UP IS JUST AWFUL

I MISS THEM SO MUCH I NEED TO SEE THEM AGAIN

NEXT UP, SAVANACLAW!! (RUGGIE I MISS YOU SO SO MUCH!!)

Enjoy the weekend~~!!!❤️

(Screenshots from https://youtube.com/@gasmask01?si=lpin67yaOvHDdg_c )

[gerrystamour]

i could be honest, i could be human [Chapters 4, 5 & 6]

Rated E | Steddie

[ FIRST PART ] [ PREVIOUS PART ] [ NEXT PART ]

No summary to save space since this is a meaty update. SOME CONTENT WARNINGS THOUGH!! There is some vaguely described homophobia and a brief mention of a homophobic hate crime. Nothing is explicitly described.

Chapter Four: November 1984

It had been a few days since Billy Hargrove had beat the shit out of Steve and his ears were still ringing. Nancy wanted him to go to the doctor about it, saying something about his brain swelling and how that was bad. He figured he was fine. If his brain was going to crush itself on the inside of his skull, it would’ve done it already, right?

Regardless, going to the doctor would mean telling someone even a fraction of the events that happened, and he was in too much pain to keep his story straight.

Everything hurt at that point. His whole head pounded, and his jaw clicked at the hinge when he yawned or chewed any food, his nose was broken, and a bunch of Steve’s teeth were worryingly loose, shifting painfully in his swollen gums. To top it all off, he had a nasty gash on the side of his head from the plate Billy broke over it that definitely needed stitches because it kept reopening. But his head would have to be shaved to get stitches, and that was not an option.

He survived, and it wasn’t like it bled that much when the wound reopened. It was fine.

It also didn’t help that his breathing was also a little fucked up. The air inside the tunnels was definitely toxic, and their stupid little makeshift masks were a pathetic attempt at protecting themselves. He could still taste the tunnels sometimes when he managed to take a deep enough breath. Steve imagined that was what rotting meat would taste like, which was not helpful in the least.

Steve had been calling himself out of class, both because he was too messed up for the faculty to just ignore and because being in that bright, noisy, and crowded building while he felt so shitty was probably what Hell would feel like.

At that moment, he was shuffling through the aisles of Melvald’s—wearing sunglasses inside like a douchebag—to grab painkillers since he already used up his supply at home. The cashier gawked at him as he paid for the medication, and he didn’t even tell her off. Steve knew how bad he looked and he was just relieved that she wasn’t Ms. Byers.

Steve headed out into the sunlight with a groan, flinching as the bright light blinded him through his dark sunglasses. He didn’t even notice that he stepped out of the store and right into someone’s path as they passed until their shoulder caught his.

Normally, a bump like that would have made Steve stumble a step at most. This time, while his equilibrium was on vacation and he could barely even stand without holding onto something, he went down hard. Steve barely got his hands out in front of him to save what was left of his busted face from another traumatic injury.

Now, he had road rash on the heels of his palms, one of his wrists hurt, and the fall triggered a wave of dizzy nausea that actually made him dry-heave a bit before he regained some of his composure. To top that all off, his sunglasses had fallen off his face and from the sound of it, they had skittered directly under someone’s foot with a resounding crack.

“Fuck,” Steve managed to groan, and distantly he knew someone was talking to him, but it was difficult to hear them over the whooshing in his ears.

The person sounded alarmed, understandably so, and Steve managed to say, “Sorry, I promise I won’t puke.”

“Bummer, I was kinda hoping you would,” the person said, their voice finally coming in clearer as the whooshing subsided. “It would really make my day.”

Eddie Munson. Of course it was Eddie, there to witness another very low point in Steve’s life.

“On second thought, maybe I will,” Steve said, shakily pushing himself up onto his knees.

“Have you been drinking, Harrington?” Eddie asked, his voice getting closer as he crouched next to Steve on the sidewalk.

“I wish that’s what this was, Munson,” Steve replied with a wry laugh, hissing when cool fingers suddenly grabbed his chin and turned his face toward him.

“What the fuck, Harrington? Who the fuck did this?”

If Steve didn’t know better, he’d think that Eddie was actually concerned. Upset even. Like he actually cared that Steve was beaten up and concussed and on his knees in the middle of the sidewalk on a Thursday morning. Even if Steve could have opened his eyes against the bright sunlight, he wouldn’t have. He wanted to avoid seeing the grin that Eddie was undoubtedly wearing, didn’t want to ruin the illusion that someone else outside of the party cared that he was hurt. 

With a hiss, Steve lifted a hand to the side of his head where he felt warmth trickling through his hair and sure enough his fingertips felt something wet. He laughed bitterly as he pulled his hand away.

Like Eddie said on Halloween—it was only funny if Steve was bleeding, right?

“Shit, Harrington, you’re bleeding,” Eddie said, and his voice was all wrong. There was no banter, no laughter, only what Steve would describe as panic if it was anyone else talking to him.

“Yeah, that happens. I’ll be fine, I just need—fuck, why is it so bright out here?” Steve croaked, trying to open his eyes but without his sunglasses, it just felt like hot icepicks were being driven through both eyeballs.

Steve could hear Melvald’s door open with a jingle, and the tense voice of the cashier said, “he can’t stay out here like that.”

“You’re actually fucking joking, right?” Eddie snapped, his tone so full of venom that Steve couldn’t help but laugh.

“I don’t want any trouble, and both of you are scaring people—”

Eddie cut her off with a mean laugh. “He’s on the ground bleeding, and you care about, what exactly?”

“Munson, stop,” Steve murmured, trying to get to his feet again but failing miserably.

“Either you both leave or I’m calling the cops,” she snapped, her tone closed off. Panic flashed through Steve about Hopper seeing him laid out on the sidewalk like he was and he shook his head.

“Oh, I fucking dare you to, lady—” Eddie started to taunt her again, but Steve smacked his leg blindly.

“Stop, Munson, seriously,” Steve insisted before addressing the employee. “We’ll leave, okay? I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

Eddie scoffed at his apology, but the employee thanked him and the door shut as she presumably went inside.

“Okay, can you help me to my car? I parked it down the street—” Steve started.

“Like hell am I taking you to your car, Harrington!” Eddie interrupted, his voice almost shrill with his outrage.

“Well I can’t stay here, so unless you have a better idea…” Steve trailed off, his head throbbing with a new flash of agony.

Eddie was silent for several moments before the various chains he wore jingled with movement. “I’m going to take you to my van, okay?” Eddie said, his voice now coming from above Steve rather than next to him. Eddie didn’t even wait for him to respond before he grabbed Steve and easily hauled him to his feet.

Steve was surprised at Eddie’s strength, not quite expecting it from the way Eddie looked and behaved. Not only was he strong enough to lift Steve, but he was controlled enough with that strength to do it without jostling him unpleasantly. When Eddie settled Steve against his side with an arm tucked firmly around his waist, that embarrassed fluttering filled Steve’s gut again for some reason.

Maybe Nancy was right and his brain was starting to swell.

That thought was reaffirmed when they reached Eddie’s van and he had zero recollection of moving. Eddie was muttering in his ear, and after a moment of concentration he managed to understand some of the words.

“—Idiot pretty-boys passing out and bleeding all over my new fucking battle vest—”

“You regularly haul around bleeding pretty-boys, plural, Munson?” Steve groaned as Eddie startled at his voice. The other man propped Steve against the bumper of his van and carefully let him go.

“Nah, Harrington, only you get the royal treatment,” Eddie admitted with a chuckle. “Can you get yourself into the van, or do you need my help?”

Steve considered the question carefully, his eyes shut and head hanging. He could probably tough out the pain enough to get himself into the van. He had toughed out the pain and dizziness to run around tunnels made of writhing vines and crawling with Demo-dogs. Crawling into a van was nothing.

And yet…

“Okay, I’m helping before you pass out on me again,” Eddie grunted as he scrambled up into the van and knelt behind him. With a huff, Eddie weaved his arms beneath Steve’s and around his chest, his own chest pressing against Steve’s back. Curly hair tickled against Steve’s cheek and hot breath puffed across his throat. “Okay, big boy, you’ve gotta help a little bit.”

Heat burst across Steve’s cheeks, that terrible fluttering feeling running rampant in his gut, but all he did was nod and hum his agreement.

“On three, okay?” Eddie said, and once he counted them in, Steve pushed up on his tip-toes at the same time Eddie lifted him. Once he was partly inside the van, Steve was able to hook his heel on the bumper and help push himself the rest of the way while Eddie pulled.

Once inside, Steve laid on a pile of blankets on top of a mattress that was probably shitty, but at the moment was the best damn thing he’d ever had the pleasure of laying on. Distantly, he heard the van doors close, as well as some fabric shifting, and blessedly the world became a lot less bright through his eyelids. Steve found himself marveling at how Eddie’s van… did not smell bad, not even that much like pot. It did smell like pot, it definitely did, but it wasn’t awful like other vehicles he had the displeasure of sitting in after a hotboxing session.

At that thought, Steve realized he had no idea if Eddie actually did any of the drugs he sold. He could have just been selling, right? And yeah, on Halloween he offered to share a joint with Steve, but that didn’t actually mean Eddie smoked pot regularly. Steve always lied about hating the chicken nuggets at school so Jonathan would actually take them from his tray when he offered. 

Suddenly, Steve felt bad about all of his assumptions about Eddie all over again.

“M’sorry,” Steve mumbled before he could stop himself, and Eddie laughed, still moving around the van.

“What are you apologizing for now, St—Harrington?”

“What I’m always sorry for,” he sighed, reaching up to cover his face gingerly. “Being an asshole.”

Eddie was quiet for a long time, or maybe it was a short time, but it felt really long because there was a script to these moments. Steve called himself an asshole, Eddie agreed, and they moved on. Eddie wasn’t agreeing, so Steve wasn’t sure how to move on.

When Eddie spoke again, he still sounded weird, almost sad. “You wanna give opening your eyes a try, Harrington?”

With a nervous sigh, Steve slowly opened his eyes and glanced around the van. It looked old and a bit rundown, like the outside suggested, but it was clean. There was a curtain between them in the far back and the middle bench, which looked like Eddie installed himself. There was also some fabric covering the rear windows, giving the space they were laying in a dimmer, gentler light. It was light enough that Steve could see, but not so bright that it hurt him.

“That’s a lot better,” Steve sighed, and finally he looked up at Eddie’s face.

Eddie was sitting next to Steve, his back leaning against the side wall of the van with his knees bent and his arms resting loosely on top of them. He looked kind of angry, and Steve was at a loss for why he would be. He remembered the muttered complaint about blood on his vest and when he looked at it properly, sure enough, there were dark red drops and smears on the shoulder.

“Sorry about your vest. I’ll pay to have it cleaned,” he promised, and when Eddie’s stare didn’t soften, he looked away nervously.

“Seriously, Harrington, who the fuck hurt you?” Eddie asked again, as if he was about to fight for Steve’s honour or something, and Steve laughed.

“Billy Hargrove,” he said as he looked back over at Eddie, and just as he expected, the other man deflated a bit, his anger turning into something closer to fear. “It was pretty fucking stupid on my part.”

“Why were you fighting Hargrove?” Eddie asked and Steve mulled over the best way to answer.

“I was babysitting—”

“Oh, fuck off, no you weren’t,” Eddie scoffed, and Steve frowned over at him.

“Yes, I was. I’m a damn good babysitter, too,” Steve said defensively. 

He was really trying not to take Eddie’s skepticism too personally; he knew how weird that concept sounded from the outside. Hell, a year ago even Steve would have scoffed at what he was saying. Still, it was really starting to suck having everything he said and did doubted because of who he was a year ago.

“Okay, and why would you be babysitting? What’s in it for you?” Eddie asked, eying him closely.

“I was helping Ms. Byers out,” Steve replied as if that answered everything, before he continued, “anyway, his step-sister was hanging out with us, and then Billy showed up, she was scared of him, so I tried to get him to leave.”

“Looks like it hurt a lot,” Eddie said quietly, cringing sympathetically.

Steve shrugged, which was a bit awkward while laying down. “Honestly, I was out cold for most of it. Didn’t feel much after the first couple hits,” he laughed, but Eddie didn’t join in.

“That’s not a fight, Harrington. That’s a beating,” Eddie replied, his voice deeper than Steve was used to hearing and lacking any of its usual lightness.

“Yeah, I guess so. Better me than her,” Steve replied with a flippant shrug; he was no stranger to being hit, even if the only other time he took a beating to the face was his fight with Jonathan the year before. Then he added before he could stop himself, “she was afraid he was going to kill her, so I tried to get him to leave. Then he threatened to kill one of the other kids, Lucas Sinclair?”

Steve looked over at Eddie and watched him as he visibly sifted through his knowledge of the people in Hawkins. Recognition sparked behind Eddie’s eyes and his expression darkened.

“I know the Sinclairs. Nice people,” Eddie said after a bit, scowling.

Steve nodded. “He’s a good kid, too, not that I’d say that to his face. It’d go straight to his head,” he said, smirking when Eddie chuckled. With a heavy sigh, Steve said, “He threatened to kill Lucas, so I hit him and then…”

He trailed off, gesturing vaguely at his face.

Eddie was still staring at Steve when he looked back, and he started to squirm a bit under the intense gaze. “You’re just a regular knight in shining armour, aren’t you?” Eddie asked after a bit and Steve laughed, especially at how angry Eddie still looked and how begrudging he sounded.

“Yeah, totally. And you know what they say,” Steve hummed sarcastically, looking up at the ceiling. “No good deed goes unpunished and all that.”

“Maybe you should start avoiding the Byers?” Eddie suggested and Steve barked out a laugh that hurt his head and made him wince.

“Christ, maybe,” he admitted, running his tongue along his loose teeth. “Starting to think I should just get the hell out of this town,” he muttered, surprising even himself.

“Shit, the King is going to abandon his kingdom?”

Steve looked back at Eddie and met his wide, dark eyes. His expression was searching and his smirk was back, the nicer one. The weird fluttering feeling in Steve’s chest and stomach had returned in full-force, and he floundered for an explanation. He wasn’t embarrassed, for sure this time.

“I don’t know,” Steve replied after a minute, sighing heavily. “Probably not. Where would I even go?”

“Aren’t you gonna go to some fancy college somewhere?” Eddie asked with a snort.

Steve grimaced and glared up at the ceiling again. “I guess,” he said hollowly.

He missed early admission between the whole dinner with Barb’s parents and the break-up with Nancy, plus luring D’art, plus getting beat up by Billy. Well, he deliberately missed it at first because he decided to take a gap year to stay close to Nancy. Because they were in love.

Steve scoffed out loud. “Yeah, totally,” he added sadly.

“Wait, Harrington, are you… not going to college?” Eddie asked and Steve groaned.

“Yeah, Steve Harrington isn’t going to fucking college,” he declared with a listless laugh. “Decided to be all romantic and take a gap year, propose to Nancy after she graduated, go to college together. Or I would work for my dad and pay for Nancy’s school or something. Not that she would need my help, she’s so smart she’ll probably land a full-ride wherever she wants.”

When he was done with his rant, the van was silent for several moments until Eddie asked, “What’s wrong with that plan, lover boy?”

Steve nearly snapped at Eddie, nearly told him that he knew exactly what was wrong with that plan. He caught himself, though, remembering that he never actually told Eddie why he was crying on Halloween.

“She, uh, dumped me,” Steve replied, glancing away from Eddie. “At Tina’s party.”

“Shit,” Eddie said, and Steve nearly laughed at the little cringe on his face. “I’m sure you’ll get her back, right? Don’t people like you always get back together?”

Steve frowned at Eddie, not sure what he meant by that last bit. “Not this time. No fairytale ending here,” Steve eventually said, sighing. “She’s with Jonathan now.”

Eddie made a noise. “Halloween was only a week ago,” he said flatly.

“Glad you have a grasp on the passage of time, Munson,” Steve chuckled.

“No, the timing—”

“I know how it looks. It’s not like that,” Steve interrupted firmly. “She—Nancy wouldn’t do that. It’s more complicated than that.”

“Doesn’t look that complicated from where I’m sitting, Harrington,” Eddie challenged, and he looked properly angry again when Steve looked over at him.

“Well, it is. Ever consider that you might not actually know everything?” Steve spat, a bit meaner than he liked, before continuing, “Nancy is amazing and I was fucking it up the whole time, because I’m an idiot and a douchebag. She wasn’t cheating on me. She wouldn’t do that to anyone, even me. She’s not like that, okay?”

Eddie frowned at him, and Steve could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he mulled over what Steve had said. “I can’t decide if your steadfast faith in her is admirable or pathetic,” he admitted after a few moments, dragging another startled laugh out of Steve.

“Probably the second one,” Steve replied through a grimace of pain. “I think my head is still bleeding,” he complained, and sure enough when he touched the wound, his fingers came away wet and sticky.

“Jesus H. Christ, Harrington, why the fuck is your head still bleeding?”

Suddenly, Eddie was looming over him, straddling Steve’s midsection without putting any weight on him, turning Steve’s head so he could try to see the cut through Steve’s hair.

“It’s fine,” Steve said, heat rushing to his face.

“Dude, this needs stitches or something. You need to go to a doctor—”

“No!” Steve immediately said, shaking his head and grabbing Eddie’s thigh. “I don’t want to see a doctor, or go to the hospital.”

“Why the fuck not, Harrington? You’re bleeding, this cut is really bad, and—” Eddie stopped short, and Steve blushed when his eyes narrowed suspiciously down at him. “You don’t want them to shave your head.”

Steve blushed even darker and Eddie laughed, the mocking one that Steve had expected at the start of all this. It was actually a bit comforting at that point.

“Christ, I guess I shouldn’t be shocked that Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington would walk around with an open fucking head wound before he’d get fucking stitches,” Eddie grumbled as he went back to inspecting the cut.

Steve idly began to slide his thumb back and forth where it rested on Eddie’s thigh. He barely realized he had been doing it at all, the sensation of denim against the pad of his thumb soothing. He was snapped out of his stupor with a wince when Eddie prodded a bit too hard on his tender scalp.

“Knock it off,” Eddie snapped, his hand swatting Steve’s away from his leg. “That’s distracting.”

“What are you even doing?” Steve asked grumpily, feeling pinned even though Eddie was hovering above him.

“Trying to decide if it’s worth waking my uncle up to get your stupid jock head fixed,” he replied before sitting back on his heels to glower down at him thoughtfully. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Steve registered the way Eddie’s weight settled on his midsection, and that fluttering in his gut turned to a swooping sensation.

“Is your… uncle a doctor?” Steve asked nervously, still afraid for the fate of his hair.

“No, but he was a field medic in Vietnam and he keeps some supplies around. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but I’m a Klutz with a capital K,” Eddie replied, crossing his arms over his chest and staring down at Steve.

“And he won’t shave my head?” Steve pushed and Eddie rolled his eyes.

“I can’t promise that, Harrington, but I can vouch for your pathological vanity and we’ll see what he can manage. But this will keep bleeding and probably get infected,” Eddie warned, and Steve made a face up at him.

“Stop making sense,” he complained and squirmed under Eddie’s weight.

Eddie froze above Steve, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, for several moments. With a strangled little noise, Eddie scrambled off of Steve and back to his spot against the wall of the van.

“Okay! So, do you think you can manage sitting up front or are you going to lay back here?” Eddie asked, pulling a curly lock of hair in front of his face and fidgeting with it nervously.. 

The motion was so endearing it almost pained Steve to see it. He’d seen so many girls do that exact move when they were being shy or playful with him, and it always drove Steve mad. He wished Eddie was a girl so he could reach over and tuck his hair out of his face, pull him down for a kiss—

Those thoughts came to a screeching halt as he tried to figure out where that came from. Steve’s brain was definitely swelling, that was the only explanation for the direction those thoughts went. Maybe he should go to the hospital…

“Dude, stop spacing out on me, you’re freaking me out,” Eddie said frantically, snapping his fingers in Steve’s face.

“What?” Steve asked, unsure of what conversation they were having now.

“I’m taking you to my uncle, remember? Which means I have to drive. Are you going to hang out back here, or sit up front with me?” Eddie repeated curtly.

Steve frowned. “Do you have sunglasses I can borrow?” he asked, and when Eddie shook his head, Steve gestured around him. “Then it looks like I’m getting the real royal treatment, huh?”

“I’ll take the corners super fast so it doesn’t go to your head,” Eddie promised with a wink before he said, “Shield your eyes, Your Majesty.”

Steve chuckled and covered his eyes as Eddie scrambled over the middle bench through the seam in the curtain.

Despite his comment, the drive was actually uneventful, the gentle movement of the van actually lulling Steve to a light doze. He jolted awake when the van shut off, and a moment later Eddie poked his head through the curtains to meet Steve’s eyes upside-down.

“We have arrived, Your Highness, and we’re in luck. My uncle is already awake,” he said with a bright grin.

Steve was suddenly very unsure. “Would it’ve been a problem if he wasn’t?”

“What? No, of course not,” Eddie said with a frown, shaking his head quickly before he disappeared. Steve heard Eddie get out of the van and decided to start getting himself sat up again.

“Hey Uncle Wayne, do you have sunglasses?” he heard Eddie call, and then the quiet response from someone. He couldn’t hear the words, but it didn’t sound like a yes.

“I need your help with something,” Eddie said and Steve could hear a long-suffering sigh and the sound of footsteps coming toward the van.

“What’d you get yourself into now, kid?” The tone was so affectionate that Steve couldn’t help the small smile that came to his face.

“I didn’t get myself into shit—”

“Watch your language. Shouldn’t you be at school?”

“Just listen a minute, okay? Someone from school got a little hurt and he needs stitches—”

“Then he should be going to a doctor, Eddie. What’re you doing bringing him here?”

“Uhm, this sounded better in my head but now that I’m saying it out loud with you looking at me like that, I’m realizing it sounds kind of dumb, but he doesn’t… want his head shaved.”

Steve grimaced because… yeah, now that it was being said out loud to an actual adult, it sounded beyond dumb. It was completely childish.

“Eddie—”

“Okay, Uncle Wayne, I know. It sounds really stupid, believe me, but it’s also really important to him, and I kind of get it because I wouldn’t want my head shaved either.”

There was a long silence before a heavy sigh. “I’ll look at your classmate, and I will do my best to save his hair, but I ain’t making any promises.”

“Right! I already told him that! Thank you, Uncle Wayne! One last thing…”

“For the love of Pete, kid…”

There was quiet murmuring, too quiet for Steve to eavesdrop on from inside the van, but Mr. Munson did not sound happy about whatever other information Eddie delivered to him. After a few minutes of hushed back-and-forth, Eddie knocked lightly on the doors.

“Alright, Harrington, you decent?” Eddie called, and Steve snorted, closing his eyes.

“Ready to go when you are, Munson,” he replied and he heard the van doors open wide.

Eddie hauled him out carefully, and guided Steve up a set of stairs into what Steve assumed was his house. When Steve opened his eyes, he was met with the cramped interior of a trailer, with shelves of mugs on the walls. Where there weren’t mugs, there were baseball caps.

“Huh, nice place,” Steve said, and he meant it. It was small, a little worn out, but it was cozier than his house by several hundred degrees. It actually felt like a home, like it was lived in. Like there was love there.

“Don’t be an asshole, Harrington, you’re skating on thin ice as it is,” Eddie warned in a low voice and Steve flinched.

“I wasn’t—I didn’t mean—Sorry,” he muttered, and refused to meet Eddie’s eyes when he was deposited into one of the chairs at the tiny kitchen table. He couldn’t really blame Eddie for his assumption, but still… Just like the comment Eddie made about him babysitting, it sucked.

When Mr. Munson stepped out of the bathroom with a first-aid kit, he pulled up short upon seeing Steve, his expression dark.

“This is a little more hurt than ‘kinda’, Eddie,” Mr. Munson said in a low voice, pulling up a chair to sit in front of Steve. “You get into a tussle with a bear, kid?”

“No, sir. Another classmate,” Steve replied quickly.

“Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Apple rarely falls far from the tree,” Mr. Munson muttered, almost under his breath, and with sudden clarity Steve understood that Mr. Munson was talking about his father, that there was history there.

Steve knew about his father’s reputation; the man bragged about his glory days in high school and college. Steve often heard about it the most during the worst of his lectures and punishments growing up. Richard Harrington never let anyone forget who was in charge, and he ruled over the halls of Hawkins High and then later Harvard with his fists. Richard Harrington didn’t even have to be challenged before he asserted himself, Richard Harrington never gave anyone the chance to take his crown.

Most people seemed impressed by Steve’s father, they would call him a “man’s man” and strong. So many people described him as a provider, a protector even. A man that strong, that intelligent, that wealthy? He had to be doing something right.

And then there were people like Wayne Munson, the people who did real work and lived out of run-down trailers on the outskirts of Hawkins, and their disdain for people like Richard Harrington was palpable. Had Mr. Munson ever personally been targeted by Steve’s father? Maybe. Or maybe someone Mr. Munson knew had been.

The nauseating shame that filled Steve’s gut at that had him diverting his gaze to his lap. Part of him wanted to say he wasn’t like his father, to insist that he was his father’s greatest disappointment and how he didn’t care about trying to change that anymore.

The very thought of saying any of that out loud in front of anyone, let alone Eddie and his uncle, was mortifying, though.

“Where’s this cut you need stitched up, kid?”

Steve heard the question but it didn’t sink in right away, didn’t reach through his fog of concussion and shame until Eddie snapped his fingers in front of his face.

“Hey man, you okay?” Eddie asked when Steve looked up at him.

“Listen, I’m sorry,” Steve said, swallowing thickly against the nausea roiling in his core. “Thank you for offering to help, and thank you Mr. Munson, but maybe I should go. I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing, Harrington. Jesus, you haven’t done anything wrong,” Eddie said pointedly, and Mr. Munson frowned a bit at that. “Just show Wayne your head,” Eddie added firmly, crossing his arms.

Steve just nodded and turned his head, cringing as Mr. Munson began moving his hair out of the way to see the injury. “Jesus, kid, what the hell happened?” he asked, and his tone demanded an answer. Mr. Munson got up to collect a bowl of warm water and a washcloth, which he used to start cleaning some of the blood off of the skin around the wound.

“He broke a plate over my head,” Steve answered immediately, and Eddie made a disgusted noise. “I don’t remember much after that.”

“Knew that piece of shit wouldn’t fight fair,” Eddie grumbled.

“Was the rest of your busted face before or after the plate?” Mr. Munson asked, and Steve gave a weak shrug. “Don’t give me that, boy. Answer the question.”

“After,” Steve answered.

Mr. Munson’s hands pulled away from Steve’s head to start preparing the needle and thread. “Sounds to me like the cops should be involved,” he said shortly.

“Hopper knows,” Steve replied tensely. “I’m not pressing charges.”

“Of course you’re not,” Eddie muttered, and Steve could hear the eye-roll.

“Time for both of you to shut up now. He can’t be yapping while I’m doing this,” Mr. Munson said, which effectively shut both of them up.

Steve tried to think of other things while Mr. Munson worked quietly, and part of him was glad he was just generally in pain everywhere. He barely felt the needle. The worst part was when Mr. Munson would tug his hair just a bit too much while trying to keep it out of the way. Eventually, he huffed after a few minutes of fighting with Steve’s hair and the needle.

“That’s it—” he started and ice-cold fear lanced through Steve’s gut.

“Please don’t shave it,” he begged, and he hated how pitiful he sounded. He was struck again with just how stupid his concern was, as if his goddamn hair was actually important.

It was just one of the few things he still had going for him. Even if he no longer had the popularity, or Nancy Wheeler, or a future his father might be proud of, he still had his stupid hair.

Mr. Munson sighed, his eyes softening at the plea. “I’m not gonna shave it, kid. I promise. Eddie, get over here and make yourself useful,” he said over his shoulder, and Eddie jumped forward. “I need you to gently hold his hair away from the cut, got it? Don’t pull so hard you’re reopening it or yanking the stitches, just enough that it stays out of my way.”

Eddie nodded and stepped behind Steve’s chair to frame the cut with his hands. With hands smoothing his hair out of the way and holding him so firmly, Steve sighed and relaxed into the chair.

“That good, Wayne?”

“It’ll do.”

Steve winced when Mr. Munson got back to work, and one of Eddie’s thumbs started moving in soothing little strokes behind his ear. The effect was immediate, his body relaxing as much as it could at that moment while actively keeping his head up. Behind him, Eddie chuckled and stepped closer so Steve could rest his head back against him. The thumb kept sliding back and forth behind Steve’s ear, lulling him into a quieter state of mind for the first time in a while.

Steve startled when Mr. Munson pulled away and Eddie’s hands disappeared.

“That should do’er,” Mr. Munson sighed as he started to clean everything up. “Come back in a few days and I’ll remove them.”

Sitting up on his own, Steve asked, “Can I remove them on my own?”

Mr. Munson looked at him flatly, before looking at Eddie above Steve’s head. When he met Steve’s gaze again, his expression brooked no argument. “Come back in a few days and I’ll remove them,” he repeated and Steve nodded carefully.

“Of course, sir,” Steve muttered, looking around. “I should probably go home.”

“I’ll give you a ride,” Eddie said quickly, and when Steve looked up at him, he caught the tail-end of a wordless conversation between uncle and nephew. Eddie was shaking his head sharply before he turned a strained smile down at Steve, and Mr. Munson was rolling his eyes tiredly. “C’mon, Harrington, your chariot awaits.”

When Steve stood up, he was a lot less dizzy, which was a relief. He knew the vehicle would still be hell, but it was a necessary evil. This time, he decided he would ride up front with Eddie instead of laying in the back like an invalid.

The sun was still painfully bright, but even that was getting manageable. Once inside the van, he leaned back and shut his eyes tightly.

“You good, Harrington?” Eddie asked as he started the van.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just relaxing my head,” Steve replied, swallowing thickly. “Didn’t wanna say this in front of your uncle, but can you just drop me off downtown? My car’s still—”

“Harrington, if you think I’m going to knowingly let you drive like this for even a second, you must really have one hell of a concussion,” Eddie interrupted sharply. “I’m taking you home.”

“Not even taking me to dinner first?” Steve teased before he could stop himself.

Eddie barked out a laugh and didn’t respond.

“Seriously, Munson, my car—”

“Can’t someone else pick it up for you? You can give me your keys and I can give them to anyone you want,” Eddie suggested and Steve’s brow furrowed as he turned his face toward him, eyes still shut.

“This is ridiculous, I’m perfectly capable of driving,” he insisted and Eddie scoffed.

“Sure you are, just open your eyes,” Eddie challenged and Steve grimaced.

“Fuck you, man,” he sighed without any heat to it and Eddie laughed again.

“Seriously, though, give me your keys once we get to your house I’ll make sure your car gets back to you,” Eddie promised.

“Even if I told you to take my keys to Chief Hopper?” Steve challenged and Eddie barked out another laugh.

“Bold of you to assume me and Hopper don’t like each other,” Eddie teased and Steve actually opened his eyes just a bit to look at him.

“Seriously?” Steve asked and Eddie just chuckled and shrugged.

“I mean, the guy’s had plenty of opportunities to make my life hell, but he hasn’t,” he said evasively, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. “Figure that has to count for something.”

Steve just shrugged and closed his eyes again. “Maybe. Fine, then take my keys to Hopper,” he decided, if only because it would be less out of Hopper’s way to bring his car to him than literally anyone else.

Steve wasn’t sure how much time passed, but he was startled again as the van stopped.

“We have arrived at Castle Harrington,” Eddie proclaimed as he turned the van off, and he was smirking when Steve opened his eyes again to look at him. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

“Sure,” Steve said, and he felt his cheeks heat with a blush. Confused at that reaction, Steve got out of the van as quickly as he safely could, careful not to trigger another dizzy spell.

When he unlocked his front door, he paused to look back at Eddie, shifting his weight back and forth between his feet. “Did you want to come in?” he offered, his words a bit stilted.

“No,” Eddie laughed, looking up at the huge house. “I’ll pass, Harrington. Plus, I have an errand to run for you.”

“Right, uh, here you are,” Steve replied, handing his key chain to Eddie. “Thanks. For everything. I really appreciate it, Munson.”

“Yeah, don’t mention it, Harrington,” Eddie replied, and Steve watched as a blush rose to Eddie’s cheeks. He looked Eddie over again and remembered the blood on his vest. 

“Shit, your vest. Let me get it cleaned for you,” Steve insisted, pointing at the spots.

Glancing down at his vest, Eddie shook his head quickly. “No way, Harrington. I’ll handle it. Plus,” he started, grinning broadly as he leaned into Steve’s space. “It’s kinda metal, don’t you think?”

Steve stared at Eddie, a dazed little smile rising to his lips. “I have no idea what that means, Munson,” he admitted, and he felt a little proud at the loud laugh that got.

“Oh, Harrington, when you say shit like that, it makes me wanna corrupt you,” Eddie sighed, tilting his head as he took a step back. Steve rolled his eyes at that, the tips of his ears feeling hot.

“I’ll see you around,” Steve said, stepping backward into his house and Eddie nodded with a little wave before bounding down the walk back to his van.

Steve watched from his doorway while Eddie sat in his van and appeared to begin scolding himself. The man was always very animated, his gestures huge and typically very clear to read—the way he ran his hands through his hair in frustration, or the light smacks to his forehead, or the way he seemed to lean back and plead skyward. It was hilarious to watch if a bit baffling.

Eddie glanced back at the house and visibly jumped at seeing Steve still standing there. He couldn’t see from that distance, but Steve was positive that the nervous shake of Eddie’s head was paired with a blush. With another shake of his head and a laugh, Eddie leaned over to the passenger side of the bench and rolled the window down.

“The hell are you still standing out here for, Harrington? Get the fuck inside!” he shouted at Steve, his grin huge.

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve called back, waving at Eddie before he finally turned and shut the door.

After an afternoon being tucked into the back of Eddie’s van and then inside Eddie’s trailer with his uncle, the big Harrington house felt cavernous. His parents weren’t even in town anymore. They left again for business around the time Steve was on the train tracks with Dustin setting the trap for D’art. When he had finally gotten home after that entire ordeal, he had been relieved to have the house to himself.

There was a smaller part of him that had ached for someone to be there and care that he was hurt, to take care of his bruised face and call him in sick to school. There he was, almost eighteen and wanting his mom like a child. That ache was there again, but with an angrier edge to it that he was too sore and too tired to unravel.

With a huff, Steve went upstairs to wash up as best as he could and get changed. Belatedly, he realized that he had lost the bottle of painkillers he bought, making his entire excursion earlier pointless.‘Not completely pointless,’ Steve corrected himself as he fussed with his hair gently, a reluctant smile coming to his face as he thought about the overall afternoon.

Chapter Five: B-Side

Steve groaned at the booming cop-knocking at his front door as he shuffled toward it. He had been dozing on the couch and his equilibrium was slow to reacquaint with itself upon waking up. It was a lot better than earlier, at least.

“I’m coming, Jesus, relax!” Steve shouted as he got to the front door, opening it with a bit too much gusto and losing his balance.

Hopper was quick to catch him before he toppled over, one big hand on his shoulder and the other around his elbow.

“Jesus, kid, you somehow look worse,” Hopper grumbled, stepping inside without letting go of him.

“Thanks, Chief,” Steve said with a self-deprecating laugh, and he didn’t fight when Hopper sat him down on the stairs.

“Your folks still not home?” Hopper asked as he looked around, his eyes landing on the note that was on the side table at the door from Steve’s parents. Picking it up, he read it with a frown.

“You got a warrant for that?” Steve grumbled, tipping his head back to stare at the high ceiling instead of the subtle, sad tilt of Hopper’s frown.

“I’m off-duty, kid. I’m checking on you,” Hopper said, and Steve could hear him crumpling up the note. “This says you’re on your own for Thanksgiving?”

“Does it?” Steve asked, and genuinely he hadn’t even read it. His father’s handwriting was hard enough to read at the best of times, and the head injury didn’t help with that.

“You’re coming to Thanksgiving with me and the Byers,” Hopper said firmly, and when Steve looked at him again, his expression brooked zero argument. “And if you argue, I’m telling Joyce you’re home alone with a head injury, you got it?”

Steve glowered weakly up at Hopper before shrugging. “Okay. Should I bring something?” he asked, rolling his eyes at Hopper’s smug smile.

“I’ll get back to you on that,” he replied before leaning back against the front door, his expression stern. “What’re you doing with Munson?”

Steve frowned up at Hopper. “We ran into each other when I was out earlier and he helped me out,” he replied after a bit, shrugging. “I’m not doing drugs if that’s what you're asking.”

“That wasn’t what I was asking, Harrington,” Hopper sighed, but the uncomfortable way he glanced away said differently. “I’m keeping your car at the station until Wayne removes your stitches at least—”

“C’mon, Chief,” Steve protested, his mouth hanging open in shock. “You can’t be serious!”

“You heard me! I’ve half a mind to ticket you for driving earlier on principle!” Hopper shouted over him, just loud enough to shut Steve up. “As I was saying, I’m keeping your car at the station. I’ll bring you to Wayne’s place to get your stitches removed since you refuse to see a doctor. Then I’ll decide if you’re good to have your car back. Do you understand?”

“This is ridiculous,” Steve grumbled.

“I asked you a question, Harrington,” Hopper pressed, stepping forward to loom over him.

“Yes, sir, I understand,” Steve agreed, glancing away from him.

“Glad to hear it. Munson also gave me this. You apparently left it in his van,” Hopper said, pulling a bottle of painkillers out of his pocket and handing it to Steve.

Steve blinked at it before accepting it, smiling down at it a bit. He wondered if Eddie had been removing the blankets he bled on and that was when he found the bottle. “Uh, thanks, I thought I lost this,” he said, nodding up at Hopper.

Hopper stared down at Steve for a long while, frowning thoughtfully in that way that scrunched up his whole face. Then he sighed through his nose. “You’re a good kid, Harrington. I thought you were a snotty little prick like your old man—”

“Wow, thanks—?”

“But I was wrong. Munson’s a good kid, too, but he’s on a track that doesn’t look great. People in this town will talk,” Hopper said very deliberately. “You should be ready to deal with that if you’re gonna be running around with him.”

Steve stared at him, and he knew Hopper was right. What if word somehow got back to his parents that he had been in the local drug dealer’s van and trailer, and that drug dealer was at their house? Was that a fight he wanted to deal with while he was still firmly under his parents’ thumbs? He thought back to the argument Eddie got into with the cashier at Melvald’s and cringed. He’d be lucky if he didn’t get a “concerned” phone call from his mother within the week.

“I’m not running around with him, Chief. He was just helping me out today, okay? We go to school together, so we’re friendly,” Steve said, shrugging under Hopper’s hard stare.

“Good talk,” Hopper said before glancing around one more time. “Put your shoes on and grab a coat. You’re coming to dinner with me and El.”

“I’m not really up to going to a restaurant,” Steve declined, making a face up at Hopper.

“You need a proper meal, and I already told El you were coming,” Hopper replied, shrugging at Steve’s puzzled look.

“I don’t even—why would that matter to me?” Steve asked, even though he already felt his resolve to say no waning. He had a soft-spot for all of the kids, but especially the quieter ones like Will and Eleven. It was baffling though that him not going would possibly disappoint her. “Why would that matter to her? I’ve only really been around her like, three times, and I don’t think I’ve spoken to her once.”

“Listen, I make it a point to avoid understanding what teenage girls think about, kid,” Hopper sighed tiredly. “I told her I had to come by your place and make sure you weren’t dying on our way to dinner, and she asked if you were coming.”

“And you just told her yes?” Steve asked incredulously, even as he stood up to collect his shoes and coat.

“Of course I did,” Hopper replied, snorting. “I mean, it wasn’t like it was that hard to convince you anyway.”

“Where are we even going? Is it okay for her to be out?” Steve pushed, frowning.

For the first time since the conversation started, Hopper faltered and Steve glared. “We aren’t going to a restaurant,” Hopper admitted after a moment. “We’re going to the Byers’ house for dinner.”

Steve groaned, imagining his evening sitting at dinner with a cop, a girl with psychic powers, a boy they just barely saved from possession, his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, and Joyce Byers. Who would take one look at him and freak out completely. After everything that had happened and between them all splitting up, Joyce hadn’t actually seen Steve after all was said and done. Come to think of it, neither had Jonathan. Nancy only knew how messed up he was because she came to his house after school on Monday when he didn’t show up.

“You said if I agreed—” Steve started to argue and Hopper shook his head sharply.

“I said I wouldn’t tell Joyce you’re home alone with a head injury,” Hopper replied, crossing his arms. “And I won’t tell her.”

“She’ll figure it out, though. She’s not stupid,” Steve snapped, and Hopper just shrugged at that.

“I didn’t say I would hide that you’re home alone with a head injury either,” he stated flatly and Steve groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll go,” he finally conceded. He knew he was resigning himself to weeks of being fussed over by Joyce, but he was too tired to keep arguing in circles and he was getting hungry.

Steve pointedly ignored the way a very small part of himself that ached constantly went quiet for once.

Chapter Six: Bonus Track

Hopper groaned when the phone on his desk rang, spiking his headache to an entirely new level. He was exhausted, still recovering from everything that happened over the weekend, particularly the way he very nearly died in the tunnels.

“Yes, Flo?��� he greeted as pleasantly as he could manage as he picked up the receiver.

“Incoming, Chief.”

“Wha—?” Hopper started to ask just as his office door slammed open and in came Eddie Munson like a force of nature.

“Heya, Chief,” Eddie greeted loudly with a grin when Hopper flinched at the volume. He threw himself into the chair opposite Hopper and threw his feet up on the desk. “How’s it going?”

“What do you want, Munson?” Hopper asked flatly, eying the dirty shoes on top of his desk with disdain.

“Can’t a guy catch up with his favourite cop?” Eddie asked, batting his eyes innocently at Hopper as he fished out a cigarette and lit it.

“Cut the crap, Munson. Give me one of those if you’re going to sit here wasting my time,” Hopper demanded, and Eddie tossed him the pack. With a huff, Hopper took one of the three remaining cigarettes then pocketed the carton.

“Is it so hard to believe I just wanted to say hi?” Eddie pouted before taking a drag from his cigarette, and the effort it took for Hopper to not roll his eyes was tremendous.

Hopper lit his cigarette and willed the nicotine to calm his steadily fraying nerves. “Why would a drug dealer—”

“Alleged drug dealer,” Eddie interrupted pointedly. “Never been caught and convicted, and you know how it is, innocent until—”

“I will search you right here and now, Munson,” Hopper threatened half-heartedly and Eddie got a mischievous look on his face.

“Hop, I’m annoying, not stupid. You wouldn’t find a damn thing on me or in my van,” he said with a teasing tilt to his head and Hopper took a deep breath in through his nose and held it for five seconds. Releasing that breath, he took a drag off of his cigarette on the next one.

He would not let Eddie Munson get under his skin when his day was so close to being over. He only had to make it through two more hours until he could go home and pick El up for dinner at the Byers’.

“How. Can I. Help you. Munson?” Hopper asked slowly and deliberately before reaching over to shove Eddie’s feet off his desk.

Eddie had apparently been supporting most of his weight that way and yelped as he nearly fell out of his chair completely. Hopper couldn’t deny how much that alone raised his spirits.

“Shit, Hopper, you made me drop my smoke,” Eddie complained, picking the cigarette up and tossing it into the ashtray on the desk to burn out.

“Munson, either get to the point of your visit or leave,” Hopper pushed, and maybe something in his tone finally got through to the kid. Eddie righted himself in his chair properly before reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket. After a moment, he frowned and stood up to dig in his other pockets.

Hopper studied the kid a bit now that he was distracted, and his eyes focused on the dark stains on his shoulder. “Munson, is that blood?” he asked, alarm overtaking his annoyance as he stood up and came around the desk to look closer.

“Oh, yeah,” Eddie said as he glanced down at his denim vest, shrugging. “Yeah, it is. Not mine though.”

Hopper stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Eddie just continued digging in his pockets until he pulled out two sets of car keys and sat back down. Blinking up at Hopper, Eddie asked, “What?”

“Whose blood is on your vest, Munson?” Hopper said in a low voice, and for the first time since Eddie entered the room, he looked a bit less cocky.

“Steve Harrington’s,” Eddie replied, and Hopper stared at him for several long seconds, again waiting for him to elaborate. Eddie just raised his eyebrows up at Hopper before the corner of his mouth quirked upward into a little smirk.

“Edward Munson, you have five seconds—”

“I ran into him on the street, he ate shit, and had a massive bleeding wound where Billy Hargrove broke a plate over his head, so I took him to my uncle,” Eddie said in a tight tone, and Hopper realized that the kid was angry now. More than that, the kid was angry at him for some reason. Was he pissed the whole time and Hopper was only just figuring that out?

“Christ, Munson,” Hopper grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as his headache throbbed behind his eyes. How did Wayne live with this kid and his moods?

“Steve claims you know about the fight,” Eddie said, and it was said like a statement, but it was clearly more of a question, like he didn’t quite buy Steve’s story.

“Yes, I do. He declined pressing charges,” Hopper replied, crossing his arms and leaning back against the desk.

“Did you know about his head?” Eddie asked, and Hopper sucked his teeth. Steve had, predictably, played down his injuries when Hopper got back from the lab with El, and all of that hair of his helped hide the alleged open wound.

“Where is Harrington now?” Hopper asked instead of answering Eddie’s question, looking around for his truck keys and hat.

Eddie huffed. “Don’t worry, I made sure he got home alright. He asked me to give you these,” he said, holding up the keys for Steve’s Beemer. “It’s parked in the alley around the corner from Melvald’s.”

Hopper took the keys, a flash of anger spiking through him that the kid was stupid enough to drive with a concussion at all. When he glanced down at Eddie, he could see he was still pissed off. “What, Munson?”

“What are you going to do about Hargrove?” Eddie asked, his tone low. “Steve said he was going to kill the kids he was supposedly babysitting.”

“He was babysitting,” Hopper said, almost defensively, on Steve’s behalf and Eddie reared back.

“That’s the part of my sentence you focus on?” he asked and Hopper held a hand up.

“First of all, I will remind you that Steve declined pressing charges—”

“Why does that matter?” Eddie interjected angrily. “Does attempted murder need the victim to press charges?”

Hopper dropped what was left of his cigarette into the ashtray as he pushed off the desk to go shut the door of his office. Once he was back at the desk, half sitting on it and looming over Eddie, he said slowly, “There were extenuating circumstances surrounding the bullshit with Hargrove that you are not, and cannot be privy to, Munson. So yes, while I would love to do something about that little shit, I can’t about this incident because Steve. Is not. Pressing charges.”

Eddie glared up at him, crossing his arms over his chest and jutting his chin out defiantly. Hopper immediately thought of the day he met Eddie, and despite his generalized annoyance with the kid, he felt a sad sort of fondness.

“Why do you even care this much about it, Munson?” Hopper asked, trying to return his focus to their conversation. But when Eddie immediately looked away nervously, his face turning pink under Hopper’s stare, Hopper heaved a huge sigh and scrubbed a hand over his face.

It was about a week after Hopper returned to Hawkins to take up his post as chief of police when he met Eddie. The kid’s hair was a lot shorter, still growing out an unfortunate buzz cut, and he was skinny in a way that spoke of the neglect he dealt with before the system dropped him onto his uncle’s doorstep. Hopper had been driving around, reacquainting himself with his hometown after years away, when he happened upon a group of young men jumping Eddie. The cowards had bolted before Hopper’s truck came to a complete stop.

He could still remember the conversation they had while Hopper took the kid’s statement at the hospital.

“What started the fight?”

“I’m a faggot.” Tone sharp, full of venom.

“Is that what they said?”

“Yeah, that’s what they said, but they’re right.” Conviction, even as his eyes were full of tears, that defiant tilt of his wobbling chin. Waiting for Hopper to hit him, too. “I am a faggot.”

Hopper tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. “Eddie,” he sighed and Eddie huffed.

“You can’t say shit to me I haven’t already said to myself, Chief,” Eddie grumbled miserably, his crossed arms squeezing himself tighter as he folded in on himself.

“Harrington, though?” Hopper asked him, trying to keep his tone light, teasing almost. “Of all the boys to be all… hormonal and mushy about, it had to be a Harrington?”

“Again, Chief, I’ve already said all of that to myself. Repeatedly,” Eddie said with a shrug. “And Uncle Wayne said it all in even more colourful terms.”

Hopper heaved another sigh. “He wants you to be careful, stay safe. Hell, that’s what I want too,” he said.

“Yeah, whatever,” Eddie replied, and he slouched in his chair. “Steve’s a lot nicer now.”

“That’s true,” Hopper agreed flatly as he crouched to better meet Eddie’s eyes. Heaving a big sigh, he added, “you should still remember who his father is, and that Steve might still follow in his footsteps.”

Hopper went to high school with Richard Harrington, had been on the receiving end of his fists more times than he could count, and he knew how Richard felt about gay people. He knew how much more brutal his fists could get if he thought someone was queer. Hopper did not want Richard Harrington to find out about Eddie at all, which would be easier if the kid stayed away from Steve.

Eddie sighed and looked away from Hopper, spinning the rings on his fingers around nervously. “Yeah, I know,” he agreed reluctantly.

“Okay, good talk,” Hopper said, standing back up and returning to his chair. “Now get out of my office.”

“That’s it? You’re not going to try and tell me to stay away from him?” Eddie asked skeptically.

“I’m not your parent, Munson. Be careful, though,” Hopper replied, shrugging. “Even if Steve isn’t a problem, he’s still living with his parents.”

“We’re not even friends, Chief. You don’t have to worry about that shit,” Eddie said as he stood up and started for the door.

Hopper nodded and then he asked, “were Steve’s parents’ home when you dropped him off?”

Eddie looked back at him from the door and shook his head. “The house seemed empty. And I mean, he had to get his own—oh yeah!” he said excitedly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of painkillers. “He forgot this in my van. Can you get it to him?”

Hopper took the bottle of pills and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll get it to him, kid. Now fuck off,” he barked and Eddie snorted as he left his office with just as much noise as he arrived.

“Hey, Callahan! Love what you’re trying with the mustache, man, really distracts the eye from just… the rest of your face. Yeugh.”

Hopper snorted, allowing himself one moment to be amused by Eddie Munson’s nonsense.

[ NEXT ]

[ AO3 LINK ]

Taglist!

@patchworkgargoyle, @scarcrossdlvrs, @smalltownclaustrophobia, @indigohightide, @steddieas-shegoes, @amerikanskaya-krassavitsa, @mylilplanet, @strangersteddierthings, @just-ladyme, @bookbinderbitch, @steddierthings, @bumblebeecuttlefishes, @swimmingbirdrunningrock, @changelingbaby, @nburkhardt, @wrayofmoonshine, @ohimamarigold

Please consider reblogging and let me know if you want to stay on/join the taglist!!!

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 9 thoughts:

Not enough of my daughter. Where is my baby girl? Though I do enjoy getting different PoVs. It'll work for a little bit.

Weld is neat. Didn't feel great about him at first but he grew on me. His scene with Vista made me love him. He's a good kid. (He should probably have learned Aegis, Gallant, and Browbeat's names before talking to the team the first time though)

On the note of that scene - THEY HAD A THERAPIST THIS ENTIRE TIME? The Wards had a therapist available to them and no one was having them see said therapist after 3 of their teammates died? Piggot is so bad at this.

Me reading Flechette's chapter with the aim of making her gay as I have done with everyone else: "Oh wow this is a really easy one!"

I wanted to see more of Parian sooo badly after I first saw her and I'm so fucking glad this is how I see her! Flechette and Parian are wonderful and I hope they get gay married and retire together.

Me saying that probably highly increases the chance that one of them dies in the future.

I'm very glad Flechette gave up on Shadow Stalker. I like Flechette and she shouldn't have to deal with that asshole.

I feel so bad for Clockblocker. He's just a kid and his dad is dying and that sucks. I wanna bake him some cookies or something.

The professor of that class was so clearly identifiable as "one of those professors". All "up until now you haven't had to think, but in Parahumans 103 you'll need to think and I'm not gonna baby you yada yada". It's still just a 100 level course dude, geeze. Get off your high horse.

Clockblocker and Vista are siblings and I love their dynamic.

Despite me feeling for these kids some, the second the Travelers started clowning on them I was enjoying the shit out of myself.

Fucking Trickster is just so much damn fun. His powers are cool and he really lives up to his name. I love him.

Glory Girl getting rocketed off into the sky by Ballistic had me in tears from laughter.

Kid Win has ADHD. I was sure Kid Win had ADHD before I even started on the Kid Win chapter where he says he has ADHD. Someone get this kid some Adderall. And some therapy for all that self doubt and imposter syndrome.

Kid Win also didn't even hesitate to illegally spy on Chariots personal computer by hacking into the wi-fi, so that doesn't give me great confidence in the Wards following rules. Or any heroes. I'm sure that won't ever come up again though.

These Slaughter House Nine guys I'm sure won't be a big deal. They won't do horrible things to hundreds of people. Gonna be taken care of by heroes off screen during the next arc. No worries at all!

Vista joined the team when she was 10? The superhero team that has to deal with death on a semi-regular basis and terrifying violence all the time. That team. She joined it when she was TEN?! Shitty system you guys have here!

Saved the best for last - SHADOW STALKER GETTING FUCKING MEMED ON BY MY WONDERFUL DAUGHTER! (And my daughters friends)

God I wasn't sure about her chapter at first. She is so mean and I didn't necessarily want to spend a long time in her head watching her be mean. But then my daughter showed up in a swarm of bugs and fucked up a bunch of Nazis and I knew everything was going to be ok.

The instant Shadow Stalker started to follow Skitter I knew she was gonna get fucking wrecked. I don't know why I knew, maybe I just know my daughter well enough. But no matter the reason I was so happy to watch it happen. Wasn't worried for Skitter at any moment cause I knew she was gonna bitch slap this asshole.

Just. Damn I fucking LOVE watching my daughter just be a goddess of bugs and go to town.

I could keep going about Shadow Stalker getting absolutely destroyed for who knows how long, so I'll just have to stop myself.

And we see a new person with the Undersiders, did Aisha get her powers? I'm so happy for her! I can't wait to see what they are.

Imp is a great name and it's kinda fucking bonkers it wasn't taken by somebody else already.

Did I mention Shadow Stalker getting clowned?

Cause she did.

Just completely baited and then my wonderful baby girl even got to tase her. I'm so happy for her. Sometimes a little violence is the answer.

[suffarustuffaru]

Opinion on Reinhard's dad possibly seeing "the son he never had" on Garfiel? It could totally take that route tbh

It would be a fun dynamic imo

oh anon as a heinkel fan (hes soo terrible but so fascinating and i WANT to see him get better and grow as a person. but also you may have known that since you are asking me this hah) and someone who is quite fond of garf i lovedddd the recent heinkel-garfiel chapters... and LMAO this idea of like. heinkel being a bit soft on garfiel bc yay!! new son replacement!!! is SO FUNNY ive thought about it a little bit. and IT WOULD BE FUN and i think heinkels arc is super interesting bc he kinda hit his rock bottom in like about arc 7-early arc 8 where its like. its post arc 5 astrea drama so shit just got even more bleak for heinkel, hes stuck in dangerous territory and he doesnt believe in himself At All and hes too depressed to really try all that much at anything.

but then GARFIEL comes along and saves heinkel a couple times and garfiel gets hit down but keeps getting right tf up - and that goes against like literally everything heinkel thinks. he doesnt try to be better bc he doesnt think he can ever accomplish it no matter how hard he tries, but garfiel is someone who just WONT stop trying.

and we also see that heinkel learning more about rowan and cecilus and the whole deal with the segmunts has made heinkel go "oh. okay haha maybe im not as far gone as i thought" bc heinkel gets shown another example of a dysfunctional family with an extremely op son and a deadbeat alcoholic dad and theyre a mirror of reinhard and heinkel. except rowan and cecilus are like if reinhard and heinkel werent so miserable about their shit relationship, bc as shitty as heinkels behavior is deep down he still CARES. he cares a lot about his family. he misses reinhard - why else would he need schult to be a replacement? he's still mourning that loss, if you think about it. but rowan is just so batshit that heinkel immediately goes backtracking like "OKAY IM. IM NOT THAT BAD. MAYBE THERES A TINY LITTLE SPECK OF HOPE FOR ME AFTER ALL."

and garfiel is helping to be a catalyst as well bc of his own determination to always keep growing and keep fighting no matter what gets in his way. hes a spunky little kid whos powerful but when faced with opponents stronger than him Refuses To Give Up. thats inspirational i think for heinkel, especially when its not as if hes a shit fighter, dude is just outshadowed by his family and other people around him. he just has to get up and keep trying, so its interesting that heinkel DOES find the courage to try and protect garfiel while garfiel's trying not to die.

like i do think that its heinkel like having this grudging respect for garfiel after the interactions theyve had, also possibly feeling inspired by garfiel and having that tiny bit of hope in him after meeting rowan and interacting with garfiel, and also trying to repay garfiel. bc heinkel treats himself like dirt and gets treated like dirt a lot - im sure his thought process might be "this kid took the time to keep saving me even though im literally worthless and now hes in danger, this is the least i can do". i would be interested if it went the route of like. heinkel having that fatherly instinct rekindled - i think itd be interesting for garfiel as well bc. he IS lacking a father figure, but for heinkel, i think that its clear with how he acts with schult that heinkel does kind of miss having a son and having that sort of love in his life.

we know he DID use to be a good dad, and tbh i always kind of headcanoned that heinkel probably isnt that mean with most kids unless its someone like. you know. subaru. or julius. or reinhard of course. like heinkels not that much of an ass when his life is on the line or when there isnt super personal stakes involved (ie astrea stuff). hes a character that carries a lot of guilt and shame and self-hatred, someone who's spiraled into being the worst version of himself when he used to be bright-eyed and hardworking and full of love despite the weight on his shoulders - i think he would see a very kind and determined and spirited kid like garfiel (and might be reminded of the kid he Used to love) and hope that garfiel doesnt end up like him (ie lost, burnt out, and depressed). we see this sort of behavior a bit with schult too, bc heinkel tries to give schult advice and tries to look after schult a bit in general!! and garfiel's like a better version of heinkel you know? garfiel's a bit abrasive with a quick temper and all but hes extremely well intentioned in just about everything he does. and i think heinkel might have a fondness for all of garfiel's antics at this point T^T

but yes ty for the ask anon !! :o im very interested to see where heinkel and garfiel go from here, bc it looks like heinkel's started some baby steps in his growth!!

[carica-ficus]

“Nona the Ninth”

20/07/2024

Reading progress: 477/477 (100%) Read through since last update: 203

The final stretch! Since I've had a free day yesterday, so I decided to binge the rest of the book and it was so worth it.

Alas, the final notes:

YEESSSS!!! RAGE!! TIME FOR VIOLENCE!!!!!

Hhhh Nona's meltdown is so freeing. There was SO much tension that has built up these last few days and she took it like a champ.

Ngl, I read that part as the frustration that comes out when you're finally done masking for so long. And I mean, Nona literally mentions it in the text too. That she's wearing a mask that looks like her face. Love to see it. It's comforting in a strange way. Mostly because I get it.

Fuck. Yeah, we learn about Earth's demise. We learn about the ways humans try to escape it. We learn about the consequences. But hearing John say that they needed to get the second wave of ships ready before the next round of climate starvation really hit. Humanity really is fucked. And not just in this book.

Not the fucking cows again.

Dying of curiosity. I mean... Is she wrong? (We'll see.)

Oh, fuck. It's not Ianthe's body.

This changes everything.

It changed nothing. Except that it might have made some things worse.

Of course it's Harrow's body. I did think that to myself somewhere in the middle of the book. Like - wouldn't it be SO funny if Harrow, who was always forced to calculate everything and be 3 steps ahead of everyone else, is replaced by Nona who depends on others to survive and has no idea what the fuck's happening? And there we all have it.

ALSO.

The storyline of Harrow working so much and trying to recover after all that grief and anger and sadness becoming a person that is going through recovery, who is loved and loves others, who is struggling so much to find herself, but doesn't know how to function on her own... It's such a powerful take on mental health and everything that comes along with trauma and recovery. This is such a good book.

Is it Gideon AGAIN???

That would be so fucking funny HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Okay. She's not. But it's so much worse! Hahahahaha 🙃🙃🙃

HSJDNDNJSKSKSKSKS PALAMEDES AND CAMILLA MY BELOVED ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

No pain meds. - Every pain medication you have, please.

AAAAAAA they're so ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Oh, yeah. There it goes again. Is Nona hard of hearing? I didn't really think about this element that much, but it does appear several times. She can understand others and multiple languages only if she sees them speak.

Ok. That John chapter was something.

And I know he's a shitty guy. I do. But I get it.

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA not the Sixths doing math ALOUD in the Convoy to entertain themselves

Paul?

Sure, ok. Why not.

This kinda reminds me of that scene where Lapis (from Steven Universe) calls herself Bob during the baseball episode. Can't believe I remember that since I haven't watched the show in ages.

SUSS?????

THEN PERISH???

Okay, so much happened at the end that I just didn't want to put the book away in order to comment, so here's some thoughts at the end.

JOHN YOU DICKHEAD AAAAAAAAAAAAA

On the other hand, I am in LOVE with the way his character is written - from a perfect being to a selfish, deceitful and greedy man. I loved the way he captured Alecto. I love how he brought her into the tomb like a child, and she was in awe of everything he showed her. It's so raw. It's so sickening and repulsive and violating.

AND I LOVE that Alecto is basically the soul of the Earth. And I love that she is just a girl. That she just wants to live and love and be loved.

And that ending. AAAAA So cool. So so so so so cool. Love it.

I'm so happy I finally finished Nona. It is such a gorgeous book and I loved every bit of it. With each book I just fall more in love with the world and the characters, and I'm in awe of Muir's capability to make me appreciate every single character, no matter their background, morality or goals. Man, this story will stay with me for a long time, if not forever.

[avaisnerdytoo]

RICK AND MORTY SEASON 7 FINALE

*I TYPED THIS WHEN IT CAME OUT AND NEVER POSTED IT CAUSE PERFECTIONISM IM SORRY BUT IT'S KINDA COOL ALTHOUGH ITS BEEN LOW KEY SAID ALREADY

Read Chapter Titles for Easy navigation:

There is a lot to unpack, I want to cover some character insights, some connections to philosophical concepts I found neat, and some implications I feel the show gives regarding future seasons!

I'll write a lot, so I recommend reading the chapter titles to see if something catches your eye, I understand why you may be less interested in reading a whole thing.

Let's jump in.

BRIEF INTRODUCTION:

This has the foundations to be one of my favorite episodes they have ever made. It is like a therapy session made an episode.

I feel this single-handedly pays for the lack of Morty we saw in other sections of the season.

I think even with most of it being a simulation, the episode still has a lot to say about other characters too. Even if it was all through Morty.

Nevertheless I won't drop the fact that this is an episode of Morty, where his mind, his feelings, and his unconscious are the narrators, which means that the way it speaks of Rick may not be quite accurate, but I'll get there*

Cause I do think the writers are still consistent with Rick for a good portion*

MORTY'S DEFENSIVE LAYERS: short chapter

Dr. Wong once pointed out that the whole Smith family uses rationality to avoid emotion (a fact I sometimes really identify with btw), and this is best shown here, where the layers of Morty's ability to resist the simulation and to place protective barriers over what he feels, is a lot stronger than we realize.

You coooould argue that's simply the way the hole works, but I personally interpreted it as more...

I think we are being told that Morty has also learned (if not mastered) the ability to build the same protective walls as the rest of the family, however his ability to defeat the simulation is also not to be understated, especially if only like 3 people have survived it in years.

RICK AND DIANE (WHAT IS A REAL DIANE LIKE?): Short to Medium Chapter*

It is made clear that this representation of their relationship is not to be taken at face value, but I somewhat doubt the writers are interested in truly making Diane a part of the show. I hope I am proven wrong, but if I assume this is one of the very few instances of her we will see, then I am willing to take a leap and assume some of what we saw, could make sense within their relationship.

Diane was shown as fun, decisive, adventurous and challenging, to me, she showed a lot of Summer traits, which fits right in line with Rick's observations of her.

On the opposite end, I do think there is a big layer of Morty's own bias regarding how he'd assume someone capable of keeping up with Rick's style of character should be, and with the rest of the episode in mind, it is of no surprise he followed them across the main montage.

I feel Diane was an enabler to Rick, I doubt young Rick could be described as pathetic though, more like responsible. And Diane would probably be as well, but I do see a scenario where someone that grabs Rick's attention and respect has the resourcefulness of Summer and the courage to jump into action.

MORTY IS ALONE ALONE, A-FREAKING-LONE + an observation for Evil Morty* Long Chapter*

We know this already of course, Morty is a kid neglected by his parents pretty much, not out of malice but out of immaturity and naivety. The bond between Summer and Morty is good, and has improved, but I do not think there is a world (nor there should be), where Summer should take care of Morty more than how a sister can. (In another dimension bro would be a strong candidate to get Fairly Odd Parents)

This evidently leaves Rick as the only figure in his life with any room to provide protection, love, advice and all the things adults should do.

Which is a very shitty deal... Because Rick is far from equipped at any of these.

His experience, even in the crazy sci-fi multiverse he lives in feels very real, I consider Morty as the most complex character, and he was designed from the start to be the closest thing we -as the audience - can have to a surrogate.

It hurts to see him so adrift, of realizing day by day that there are a lot of challenges he will have to conquer alone, we know he can, but it doesn't mean it is nice to have to do so. (I may be half projecting here though cause I big time identified with him here).

It is clear Morty is really holding back to the scary world out there, he wants Rick to protect him, he wants to be looked after, he wants what we all do, to be loved and heard. Acceptance is necessary for growth, and at this moment, it is clear Morty believes no one will be there for him. (Hopefully that is proven wrong but more of that below).

I think I may now understand what Evil Morty argued when he sympathized with Rick over achieving his goal of ending Rick Prime, and still feeling unsatisfied. (that's a theory*).

MORTY'S PERCEPTION OF RICK

+ the struggles of adapting to a changing family member or friend

+ will it have an impact on the next Season?

Long chapter

Actions speak louder than words, but words matter too, and when those necessary actions come sparingly, expecting anything from the person who's bringing you conflict becomes harder.

That's the best way I can describe how Morty feels about Rick, I'm sure he values that time in Season 2 when Rick sacrificed himself for him, but there are also hundreds of variations of that event where Rick belittled Morty, and that has pretty much been the pattern since then, there are objectively worse things Rick has done than good ones...

It's unfortunate this is all Morty has, he clearly genuinely loves Rick, but I feel this episode, if followed upon through the Canon is a big eye opening for Morty.

This whole episode was a therapy session, like any process, it has to be explored through analysis, brought to the conscious mind, and peeled slowly across the stages of grief...

...

Actually, this episode was more like an Ayahuasca Trip, because it surfaced key aspects of Morty's psyche and feelings, but it only did that, unlike therapy which would keep exploring them to find how to coexist/diffuse.

There is soooo much left on the table, and the worst part is that I think this realization is incompatible with who Rick is becoming, which is reallyyyy unfortunate timing.

But completely understandable, and arguably real, on Morty's part, I feel they are being set up to be on distinct emotional paths which WILL require Rick to take more direct action.

If the idea that your closest family member can shatter the illusion of reality by saying that which you want to hear... Fuuuuck

If you ever watched Lucifer (the TV Show) there's a similar moment there that reminds me to this 🤔

SIMULATION THEORY MADE FUNNY, BUT STILL VEEEERY REAL

not character exploration just a comment on the episode

As a small comment one of my favorite tropes explored in the episode is the whole looped, "Are we out of the hole yet?", because that is the very foundation of the paradox of simulation theory, they technically explored it back in Season one, but the weight of it felt more significant here.

If you're told you live in a simulation, and then given the option to escape, all Matrix style, you don't become Neo, you instead become eternally unaware of when you're in the real world, you aren't shown the truth, it shatters your perceptions completely.

It's not that kind of show of course, but imagine the weight of experiencing, in this case, growing up, going to college, possibly losing a family member (with the worrying lack of Jerry in those scenes), getting a job, forming a life that is ripped away...

I love the running gag at this point of this occurring... The Roy Game, The Vat Of Acid Episode, The Beth and Space Beth Lesbian Simulator (my fav), and now this.

Only this one is given that weight though, even Morty begins to wonder whether he was just outright born there...

---

NO WAY I WAS DONE ALL THIS TIME

I'm sorry I didn't post this when I typed it, I had more ideas and I wanted more photos but I maxed out what I could use and my perfectionism got the better of me.

Hope there is still something here for you all 🥺🥺🥺😖

[glitched-dawn]

Tattoos of Eternal Ties

I've been putting off stuff like this for a long while, but I think I'm finally ready to post a few snippets from my wip-novel series!

This specific snippet is from the fourth novel, the backstory novel of one of the main characters. And this is quite an emotional scene, both now, before and later on, but I thought I'd keep it more tame for now.

Tattoos of Eternal Ties

Snippet of the chapter Demons, Angels and You

It had been at least one hour since Ambie and I had rowed out the boat, and we’d been messing around a lot. Ambie had summoned illusions showing fireworks, glowing constellations, memories, anything you could imagine. And I’d enjoyed watching them like nothing else.

But now we’d toned it down a little, and at the moment, Ambie was counting all his tattoos, naming the reason he’d gotten them too.

‘You already know about the first promise one, then I got the pinky-promise-hands right here over my chest, another promise to a friend of mine. Then I got the angel wings on my back, kinda just for fun, and a nonagram on my other arm. And that’s about all. I do want to get more, though…’

Then he lit up, and began turning his arms, maybe looking for a spot for his next tattoo?

‘You know what, I should probably get a buttercup tattooed somewhere here…’

I stared back at him in confusion. ‘Wait, a buttercup… a buttercup for me?’ Ambie looked up at me and grinned.

‘Yeah, of course! That’d actually fit so well, now that I think about it. Maybe on the collarbone? Or around the shoulder? Anywhere would fit, really.’

‘Wait, really…?’ Ambie scoffed at my disbelief. I was blown away, honestly. I had no idea people actually got things like tattoos for their friends. And now Ambie, of all people, wanted to get a tattoo for me?

‘It isn’t a big deal, mate! I’ve gotten worse, trust me. And better. You’ll be another beautiful speck of paint on my canvas. Like everyone else I appreciate!’

I could only nod. Literally. My eyes were tearing up so quickly I had to look away, close my eyes, bite my lip, to keep myself from sobbing out and start crying.

Did he really mean that? Was I actually important to him, a shitty little nobody with no friends, no powers, and who was about to fall apart any second now? And he wanted to etch the promise of our friendship into his skin?

But Ambie didn’t seem to mind at all. He was rather just excited about the whole thing - he seemed to love his friends so much. He was giving them eternal promises, attention, tattoos of their friendship, who knew what else he did for them? Who else knew what he might do for me?

I managed to pull myself together, push back the tears and take it for what it was - Ambie wanted to be my friend. No, Ambie was my friend. And now I chose to take Ambie’s will for a tattoo as a symbol of our friendship lasting for long.

‘By the way, why do you keep calling me buttercup? I mean, I like it, but… why?’ Ambie chuckled at my question.

‘Because that’s what I want you to be’, he responded. I wrinkled my eyebrows in confusion.

‘You want me to… be a flower…?’ I asked confusedly, but Ambie just smiled.

‘I want you to be what they stand for’, he said, grabbing my hand and swinging it back and forth in the air with each thing he mentioned. ‘I want you to enjoy life, to be happy, and… maybe you’ll not be so pure, but I hope you’ll at least enjoy our friendship.’

‘I… I don’t even know what to say’, I stammered. ‘Thank you, I guess?’ I managed a smile.

‘Yep’, Ambie simply replied. ‘And it’s also popularly associated with children, and you’re just a cool little guy, so that fits pretty well too.’

Ambie reached out and ruffled around my hair playfully, and I swatted his hand away.

‘Hey! I worked hard on that!’ I joked, smiling big. Ambie just laughed, but I could hear a glitch above me, so I assumed he’d already fixed it.

‘What, are you gonna fight me, huh?’ Ambie taunted me, grabbing onto the sides of the boat, leaning closer to me. ‘You’re gonna kick me overboard, silly captain?’ I grinned.

‘I just might’, I replied. Ambie pretended to be shocked, drawing back as he put his hand over his chest in the most dramatic way ever, fingers spread out as he gasped at my claim.

‘Good sir! You cannot simply do that to a most noble man like me!’ I grabbed the hand he was holding close to his chest, holding both of his hands in mine.

‘I can!’

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 141. brb x oc

a/n: I had a good time with my dad...it was good to take this break. Thank you for everyone who messaged me and checked on me, really, you guys are incredible and I couldn't thank you guys enough. Kinda short because of shitty connection but I hope you guys like it. Smut coming soon(reblogs and comments are super encouraged <3)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: none uwu

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/

/100/101/102/103/104/105/106/107/108/109/110/111/112/113/114/115/116/117/118/119/120/121/122/123/124/125/126/127/128/129/130/131/132/133/134/135/136/137/138/139/140

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @novastories @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2

@emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads @bigpoppajes @taytaylala12

@caitsymichelle13 @becks-things @caatheeriinee07 @dhwanishah09 @jesfreedark @katiemcrae @lilmonstrjedi @hobiismyhopeu @teacupsandtopgun @insominac23 @gh0stsgoodgirl @mygyn @chavivaelisheva

-

“So this is your school.”

“...it was.”

He sounded disappointed, with reason considering his high school looked…nothing like he remembered. He holds onto the front gates with his brows low, eyes moving at every corner he could find, hoping to see something that was similar to his brain, something that could wrack his memory. “They removed the old gym,” he mutters, pressing his face harder against the iron bars and squinting under the gentle falling now “And built it so much farther from the school building. Look,” he couldn’t even put his arm through the bars to show it to Beatrice but his wife approached him with Nicole nonetheless.

“That…gray building was your gymnasium?”

“It was rich green back then,” he mutters “They painted for St.Patrick’s day in 1956 and never changed it…until now I guess…at least the tree is still there and they added a pathwalk around it.”

“It wasn’t there before?”

“No, it was just fuckin’ hard earth.” he chuckles as he reminisces, “And some grass that looked like someone just spat it on the ground…” he walks to the left a bit, trying to see more of the glass doors that were covered with cards and ‘Merry Christmas’ signs on it…alongside a large vinyl illustration that Beatrice had to squint her eyes to see better.

“Is that a bobcat?”

“Yeah, we used to call him Bob but I’m sure that wasn’t his name.” he frowns more, “They gave him a goatee, that’s terrible.”

Beatrice felt a bit bad because of Rooster’s constant disappointment in showing her about his past, when in reality it was actually really fun. Their schools weren’t that different, except, well, hers didn’t have a tree…and the gym wasn’t that big…and of course the school building had two floors and the basement of her school was haunted but it was still good! She approached her husband, keeping Nicole wrapped inside her jacket and smiled up at him, “You are pouting.” she giggles, seeing that he immediately pouted more, “Roos, things change, I mean, it’s been over ten years since you’ve been here,right?”

“I mean,yeah.”

“It’s okay honey,” she kisses his covered shoulder, then his jawline, “I still like your school…did you have fun here?”

“I did.” he pauses, “A little.I got in a lot of trouble here too. I fought,” he sputters, “I don’t know, half of the bullies? No one bothered me once I started working out. I know most of my teachers hated that I did that…’You are good boy Bradley’ ‘Don’t let your anger control you,Bradley’, my mom was called to school too often.”

“You mentioned that.”

“She did get mad.” he mumbles, eyelids lowering, “You know? She’d get mad at me, she’d scold me and we’d fight for a few seconds then we’d make up with ice cream or she’d take me to the movies…we never got really angry at each other for too long.” until that day after he was refused entry in the Navy. “...anyway, let’s move on.”

“Where to?”

“I can’t show you the inside because, well, it’s closed…I dunno if they’d even let me do it.” he murmurs, holding the bars tighter then pushing himself away with a light impulse, “We can take a walk around the park I used to go, but-” he looks up with a frown, “Maybe we should go back to the cabin, we spent a good chunk of time outside.”

Beatrice follows his gaze to see the clouds were getting darker and darker, meaning they’d better go back or else they’d be stuck in this area and wouldn’t be able to return. Nicole, who was just having a blast, bounced on Beatrice’s arms as they walked back to the car, making her father smile towards her once he opened the back door so Bea could latch her in, “I swear, she has so much energy for a six months old.”

“She does,” Nicole’s cute little ‘mama!’ when Beatrice kissed her and placed her on the seat made her mother laugh, “My mother said that if she’s like this now it means the terrible twos won’t be so bad.”

“Really?”

“Well,” she pushes the door closed,”She said the same about Sabrina and she set my nonna’s curtain on fire when she was one and a half.” she blinks at him, “And she was considered a ‘calm’ baby.”

Rooster didn’t know if he should be worried or surprised, then he chose to turn the subject towards Bea, “But you were a calm baby.”

“I was.”

“Did you ever set anything on fire?”

“No,” she giggles, “But I used to bring insects into the house, I especially loved ladybugs.” she heard him whisper a ‘of course you would’. “And…maybe I brought some birds, some…cats and dogs I found on the street, abandoned…the cats never stayed ‘cause Leo is allergic, but the dogs? The dogs did.”

Rooster chuckles, his chest moving for a brief second, “You’d do that, you are just a Disney princess in real life.” her cheeks immediately turn red, “Every day I think you’ll wake up singing and the birds will help you get ready.” he wiggles his fingers, the gloves creaking when he does so, “Like Cinderella–wait, no, Cinderella has a shitty family life…who’s the best one? Oh,I know, Belle.”

“Belle?”

“I had a crush on Belle.” he smirks, “What can I say? Brunettes are my one,” he steps closer, “And only,” his arms wrap around her waist and hers go around his neck, “Weakness…and if their names start with ‘B’?” he whistles lowly, “Don’t even get me started.”

Beatrice smiles at him even more, cupping his cheeks with her gloved hands and bringing their lips together in a repetitive flurry of kisses that left the two blushing harder, a mix of their own teenage like feelings and the cold, ‘We better get out of her before it gets too cold to move,Roos.”

“I agree…one more kiss tho.” he does kiss her one final time, loving how her cherry chapstick left its taste on his lips when he licked them, “Alright, atta girl.” he swats her ass cheek as she turns around, opening the passenger door for her and waiting until she was inside fully.

Bradley entered the car a few minutes before the snow intensified so he wasted no time  stalling, driving off from his school towards the cabin. It was quite a trek to go there, but it was fine, the snow was only getting stronger behind them so it was easy to reach the cabin without worries.

Well, of course it was much better to stay inside once the snow landed heavily on the roof and the outside turned one singular color instead of the different shades they were seeing before. Beatrice held Nicole to her chest, their daughter laughing happily when she saw the snow piling on the window, stretching her little arm towards the glass as if she wanted to touch it “Wow, good thing we left,Roos, look.”

“Yeah, it’s going to be bad,” he murmured,”The weather app said it’s a red alert for this region.”

Beatrice turned around with her eyes wide, panic in her green irises, “Wait, really?”

“Yep, but don’t worry,we’ll be okay. It won’t be as bad as the first time we got here.”

“Okay-” she was about to say more but she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, pulling it out one handed to check who it was “...oh it’s Evelyn.”

“Yea?” he calls from the kitchen, ripping a cocoa packet open as soon as he poured the hot milk in his mug, “What does she want?”

Privacy, Beatrice thinks,”Just to talk…can you stay with Nikki for a bit?” he stops what he was doing and Bea has to chuckle at his boyish grin when he walks over to the two, picking Nicole from her arms and kissing her cheek over and over, “I’ll be right back.”

“Alright,” he didn’t want to pry but Beatrice left the living room area in a hurry, locking the door behind her once she reached the master bedroom, leaving her husband looking in the direction she disappeared into with a frown on his face.

Beatrice licked her lips once she was alone, then frowned, “Weird.” two missed calls…wasn’t it around seven in the morning in California? Beatrice blinked, then shook her head before pressing Evelyn’s name, almost jumping in surprise when her friend picked in the very first ring, ‘...Ev?’ she asks after a few minutes of silence.

“...hi,sorry for bothering you guys during your holiday week.”

“Um no, no it’s okay. What happened?”

Another pause, longer this time, “...I just wanted someone to talk to.” she whispered, “I’m in Jake’s family home in Texas.”

“Oh I didn’t know you were uh…traveling.”

“Me either.”

“...are you okay?”

Beatrice hears her friend sigh, then her feet walking around the room, “...I…I got kinda sick these past days, while we were here.” she explains, “And so I went to the doctor, a family friend of Jake’s…to…check.” Beatrice felt a cold claw coming up in her stomach, the fear palpable, “And see if the Pumpkin is okay.”

“...and?”

“He is okay.”

Beatrice sighed out in relief, almost falling on the floor but managing to do so by sitting on the bed, falling onto the mattress as she rubbed her forehead, “Oh thank God.” she whispered, “I’m so happy to hear that,Ev.”

“...Yeah.Me too…it was really fucking scary,Bea.” she says softly, “I thought–it was scary. The doctor told me it was normal, nothing to worry about, that it was because of the plane and the jetlag and whatnot…he said if it were twins it’d be much worse.”

Beatrice’s eyes snapped open, her body rigid, ‘...what?”

“Yeah, if it was twins and I was feeling like this,he said it’d be worse. I didn’t want him to elaborate as you know I wasn’t really in the mood to do it. It was just a random comment, nothing more.” but that made something within Beatrice panic. What does that mean? What sort of thing was she feeling? Should she be worried? What was she going to do? 

‘But…um…what exactly were you feeling?” what should she look for on the trip back?

“Just really heavy nausea, some headaches.My body hurt too, that was all I was feeling.”

“Ah…I see.”

Both of them remained silent for a second, then she hears Evelyn walk around again, “...Bea.”

“Yeah?”

“You got quiet.”

I’m worrying about the little beans inside of me so there’s a reason I’m worried but I don’t want you to worry “It’s nothing,Ev. I’m just…well,it’s scary. I didn’t know that it could happen.”

“The doctor said stress also fucks you up so…that could be why? I’ve been really tired ever since my parents found out about it.”

“Oh…I’m sorry Ev.”

“Oh it’s okay…I’m okay now.Jake’s mom is making me uh…I don’t know, something that smells nice and I didn’t want Jake to worry and I couldn’t call Shells because you know how she’d get.”

“Haha,yeah.” but her laugh sounds so nervous, she really didn’t need that right now…stress…stress causes a lot of things. So what should she do? What could she do? Maybe she should stay…quiet inside the room and not move at all- even if she planned things this week, hell even if Rooster had things planned- no, no she shouldn’t let the paranoia take over her especially since it’d be a good week…

Maybe she should tell Rooster later, he’d understand…right? Yeah, of course.

“Anyway,I’m sorry Bea…for the sudden call and message.”

“It’s totally okay,Ev.”

“...can I ask you something,though?”

“Sure,anything.”

“Do you think you can call your aunt? The witch lady?”

“...sure? Why?”

‘Just so maybe she can give me some tips on how to not freak out so much during my pregnancy,” she laughs “You know,I’m glad you already had Nikki, it’s a terrible feeling to have when you are pregnant, it really is.” she didn’t hear Beatrice’s hard swallow, “Anyway.I’m going to go now,I’ll talk to you soon okay?”

“Y-Yeah,sure! S-See you!” they end the call and Beatrice stays seated on the bed, mind running miles per minute before she sighs,rubbing her face with both hands, looking down at her phone for a few seconds…Only for then decide that maybe she should call her aunt now.

[seoll3miwrites]

Doing Time | Criminal Minds S.R

Chapter 7. Gossip

Back to Masterlist

In which Spencer gets roped into watching Twilight Chapter Title: Gossip by Maneskin

Hotch had forced her to go leave for two weeks after her shoulder injury, something she found completely unnecessary. She’s remembers how her protests fell on the deaf.

“I’m telling you sir I’m fine, it’s basically a surface wound.” She’d tried to downplay, hiding her wince when the stitchings pulled slightly.

“Federov it was a clean gun shot through your right shoulder, the EMTs said you were lucky I didn’t hit a major artery.”

“But-“ Hana began to argue before the unit chief cut her off.

“Go home and get some rest that’s an order.”

“Okay Dad.” She’d had meant to mutter it under her breath but it was still loud enough for Hotch to hear.

“Fedorov”

“Right sorry I’m leaving.” 

Now the young agent found herself lying on her apartment couch watching some trashy reality tv, while numb on pain medication. She was in the middle of laughing was an argument started between the main cast on screen when there was a knock on the door.

She grimaced as she slowly stood up and made her way over to the door and opened it find a familiar face.

“Lila!” She exclaimed to her friend, “What are you doing here?”

Her friend smiled brightly before stepping into the apartment holding a large bag. “I’m here to keep you company, what didn’t you tell me you got shot.”

“Im sorry I just didn’t want anyone to worry about me.” She answered as she moved back to the couch.

“You mean you didn’t want any pity?” Lila replied, leaving Hana speechless. “I know it’s how you were raised but you need to understand that it’s okay for you get help from people.”

“I know.” Hana begrudgingly accepted, “What did you bring?” 

“Well usually I’d bring drinks from the club but I don’t know what kinda meds they’ve got you on, so I hope you like herbal teas and shitty snacks.” 

“Aww what would I do without you?” Hana smiled brightly as she sat back down on the couch, “Oh and I forgot to say thank you for those shots the other night, the team was very happy.”

“Of course I always take care of my favourite patrons.” Lila said causing Hana to laugh as she shuffled to side to allow her friend to join her on the couch. 

The two friends sat next to each for most of the day, eating the snacks and had decided to binge a movie Lila had also told Hana to watch. She thought it was okay but was getting frustrated at the inaccuracy when it came to vampire mythology; causing a friendly debate between the pair. 

“You’re thinking about things too carefully!”

“No I’m not,” Hana argued back to her friend, “there’s not practical reason for vampires to sparkle, also why can they see their reflection. At this point they’re more like superhuman cannibals than vampires.”

“It’s a cheesy romance movie, it’s meant to be accurate.”

“Well why direct it so seriously.”

“Shut up and watch the movie.” Her friend responded, followed swiftly by her smacking Hana in the face with a couch cushion.

They watch the rest of the movie with minimal jibes from Hana about the inaccuracies, and were about the watch the second one until there was another knock on the door. The agent was about to rise from the couch but was swiftly stopped by Lila.

“Stop right there, you are injured and shouldn’t move, I’ll get the door.” She chastised as she walked towards the apartment door. 

“It’s my arm not my leg.” Hana responded, “I can move, I just hurts.”

“Yeah sure.” Hana’s friend laughed before swinging the door open. “Who are you?”

The man at the door seemed surprised to see Lila, he cleared his throat before answering, “Hi, I’m Doctor Spencer Reid with the BAU is Hana in?”

“She is.” Lila smirked before opening the door wider to let him in, “Hana you have a guest.”

“Who?” The dark brunette asked and lifting her head up to see who’s there; her smile instantly widened. “Spencer! What are you doing here?”

“I was sent to give some information,” he started, “but I also wanted to check on you.”

“Awww how sweet.” Lila spoke suggestively to her friend. In response Hana waved her hand to shoe her away to the kitchen, her friend put her hands up in surrender but still did as she’d asked.

Once her friend had left the room, she turned back to Spencer and gestured him to set next her on the couch. Surprisingly comfortable in an unfamiliar place, he walked in and swiftly took a seat next to the young agent.

“What do you need to tell me?” She’d asked once he was comfortable.

Spencer took a deep breath before continuing, “Giuseppe Montolo is dead.”

“What?”

“It was during Morgan’s interview today, he uh.” He stopped and swallowed hard, suddenly uncomfortable, causing Hana to reach out with her good hand.

“It’s okay you can tell me.” She soothed, unconsciously stroking his hand. 

Spencer nodded, “He started choking and died in the interview room, they think it was poison.”

“Did he mention anything useful beforehand?”

“Apparently the dirty dozen isn’t a group of people on a hit-list, it’s just one thing.”

She hummed in understanding, “But we don’t know what that thing is?”

“Yeah.” He answered, and hesitated again before continuing, “Do you know what it is?”

“No, it wasn’t a thing when I was active.”  

“Just thought I check.”

“Sorry I was a dead end.”, She joked.

At Hana’s word he straightened on the couch and turned his body to face her, “No, you’re not a dead end at all, I didn’t come to only get information from you. I figured you should be told in person, I mean you did know him.”

“Spencer it’s fine I was only joking.” She soothed him, stroking his hand against in small circles, “Do wanna stay and watch a weird vampire movie?”

“Actually, I’m on leave to for little bit,”

“Oh why?” She asked with minor head tilt.

“Well I’m flying to Vegas on Friday to visit my mom for the week.”

“Oh really? I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

At Hana’s words Spencer seemed to withdraw slightly and had a small unsure smile on his face, “I hope so.”

“Why wouldn’t she be?” She then realised that question was probably a bit to personal and quickly backtracked with a quiet, “I mean if you feel comfortable tolling about it.”

“No, I mean I don’t mind,” He reassured before continuing, “My Mom has Schizophrenia and she currently in a care facility but the doctor’s say she’s not doing too well, so I’ve took a sabbatical for a few days to go see her.”

“Well that’s very good of you,” she smiled warmly at him, “and I know she doesn’t know me but send her my love when you go.”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.” He laughed slightly before chasing the topic, “So what’s the movie called?”

“Well you’ve missed the first one but we’re gonna watch second one which is called…” Hana trailed off, she turned her head towards to shout at her friend, “Lila what’s this movie called?”

In response, Lila made her way back into the living room carrying two bowls of popcorn, “New Moon, is the good doctor joining us?” She asked winking at Hana.

Hana glared at her friend to stop her from speaking, Lila simply smirked back at Hana in teasing. She’d told all her friends about the drunken kiss that her and Spencer had shared, but she’d also sworn them to secrecy; especially when it came to Spencer.

The man himself spoke causing the two friends to look away from their silent conversation, “I hope you don’t mind, Hana asked if I wanted to stay and I’ve actually been given the day off.” 

“Yeah don’t worry it’s fine.” Lila replied as she sat down the armchair to let Hana and Spencer share the couch. “Have you ever seen Twilight?”

“Honestly no, although it has been recommended in the past so I know the general premise.’

Pleased with his answer Lila pressed play and the movie started. The three watched the movie quietly until they got a scene in the meadow where the main characters were lying in the sunlight, at this point Spencer spoke up.

“I thought he was vampire,” he began, “He shouldn’t be able to be in the sunlight.”

This caused Lila to groan, “Not you too, both of you just watch the movie.”

Spencer apologised quietly, and Hana shuffled closer to whisper in his ear. “Sorry about that Lila doesn’t like commentary with movies, if you want you can just tell me if you have something to say.”

And so as they watch the movie, she enjoyed how every now and then he leaned in to whisper a random fact. At one point he whispered a fact so unbelievable  Hana couldn’t help but laugh during a very serious scene, causing Lila to shush them as she watched the TV in interest. 

Each time Spencer would lean over Hana would shuffle just a little bit closer, but after doing this so many times, once the movie had finished and the third one had started Hana was casually leaning into Spencer’s arm that had wrapped around her shoulders.

She turned to Spencer suddenly aware of their close proximity, “You sure you’re good to stay so late?”

“Well it’s only four right now so, yeah I’m okay for another few hours.”

“Good” She smiled at him, before passing him the bowl of popcorn. In return, Spencer took a handful of popcorn from the bowl while smiling back at her. The pair turned back to the screen and chuckled softly as something funny happened in the movie. 

As the film continued, Hana felt her head grow heavy and out of reflex titled her head down so it rested on the good doctor’s shoulder, “Is this okay?”

Jerking slightly at her question, the doctor looked at her before replying, “Oh yeah, it’s okay.” He then relaxed further by fully wrapping his arm around her and pulling her sightly closer.

Hana stayed comfortably in the same position through the remaining movies left in the series, enjoying each time Spencer continuously whispered in her ear. Out the corner of her eye she noticed Lila glancing over towards the two and smirking before looking back at the T.V. Opting to simply ignore her friend’s teasing glances, she missed how every now and then Spencer would glance down at Hana to make sure she was still comfortable, smiling softly and then look back to the screen.

Hana also failed to notice that every time she laughed at something on screen, Spencer would follow suit with a fond chuckle. It was strange how close the pair had become despite only knowing each other for two months but they seemed to just click, and were already so comfortable with each other’s presence.

By the time they’d finished the entire movie series with small breaks in between, it was already half eleven at night and Hana was exhausted. Lila was packing up her stuff and heading to the door.

“Hey are you going to be okay by yourself tonight,” She’d asked her friend before she left, “I know Sasha’s out of town and I don’t think I’m comfortable leaving you alone.”

“I can stay if you want?” Spencer spoke up looking between the two women, causing Lila to smirk again. “Make sure you’re not in pain through the night?”

Hana stop still in surprise at how willing Spencer was to stay over for her; to make sure she was okay. “Yeah,” She spoke once she gotten over her shock, “You can stay as long as you want, I can see if I’ve got anything for you to wear.”

“If the good doctor’s staying then I’m gonna head out,” Lila moved to hug her friend, “Love you Hana and take care.”

“Thanks, Lila Love you too.” And with that she closed her apartment door behind her friend and turned back towards Spencer who was clearing the living room for her. 

“You have to do this you know?” She spoke up causing Spencer to turn to her.

“Do what?” 

“You know…” She paused before continuing, “Look after me, I’m not completely inept.”

“I know but you are injured,” He began “Just going to make sure you’re not in too much pain through the night.”

She was about to reply in thanks but she was cut off when a yawn was forced through her body, “God, I am so fucking tired.”

“Yeah? I can finish up if you want to go rest.”

“Thanks, but lemme grab something for you to wear.” With that she moved into her room, and opened to her bottom drawers where her most recent ex had left some lounge clothes. Pulling a set out she nodded in assurance that they should fit Spencer before gathering them in her arms and heading back out her room. While she found the living room empty she moved towards the kitchen where she found Spencer washing the glasses and bowl the three had used. 

“Hey,” She called to gain his attention, which she did when he turned towards her while still rinsing the last bowl. “I found some clothes you can use.”

“Really? Thanks.” He actually sounded appreciative when he took the small clothes pile.

“I do have another room but it’s my roommate’s and it be weird you sleeping there without me asking, would you be fine taking the couch, it’s pretty comfy.”

“Don’t worry I’m sure I’ll be fine, thank you though.” Spencer replied giving her a small smile.

“Well I’m gonna head to bed,” Hana spoke as she made her way to her room, “Goodnight and thanks  again.”

“Goodnight and you’re welcome.” She smiled widely at him before shutting her door, she then rushed to the bathroom and splashed cold water on herself. She need to get a hold of herself.

Prev Chapter // Next Chapter (WIP)

Taglist: @stillhere197

(Join the Taglist)

[moltenraider]

Fortnite mains

Having a main on Fortnite is something special, loving and caring about a skin that has little to no story and yet playing as them everyday really is different than the normal fandom brainrot experience

And today I want to talk about the character that was my Fortnite main

This is Sig

He was introduced on Chapter 2 Season 2, the Spies! Season (known to be the Midas Season and one of the best season)

I have NO IDEA why I started liking him, looking back at his design, he is pretty boring(? Nor even handsome, I do think his model was used for more skins(? Maybe to ones with the face covered. But as you can see looks weird

I really don’t remember why I just connected with him, not even with the first time he came on the item shop, it was later because I remember I waited for months for him to come again, and man, the day I bought him, since that day I used him non stop until I quit playing fortnite on chapter 3 season 3

Naturally, I also drew him a ton

And a lot of things happened since then, I created lore for him, I named him (his name is Sig, in my head his whole nickname was “Signature” and his real name was Edén)

I remember I used him to roleplay, which was what really made me create a deep story and give him characteristics. For example, I explained his white hair and skin by him having albinism (which is not that creative lmao) I also explained that he is always wearing dark glasses because his eyes are very sensitive to light, he was mainly a hacker. And probably one of the most important things I HC for him is that he loves frogs

This was before Fortnite added animals, and when the animals came on the Primal season I WAS SO DAMN HAPPY LMAO

So then, that I made this drawing of him as a frog

And I continued using him, playing with friends, having fun, all while I was going through some hard stuffs on my life (pandemic included)

So Sig really became a HUGE comfort character for me, it’s probably the character that I’ve feel more comfort with, and when I think about him to this day, I still smile by just remember the good times I spend while wearing him on Fortnite.

Of course there was some shitty things happening (like people calling him one of the ugliest skins hfjfh. I mean, kinda) but honestly I don’t care anymore haha

At the time I was so pissed tho, but I understand now.

When I had my 20 birthday I even asked a frog to be drawn on the cake, and it was because of him. I don’t have a pic of that, but that happened fr.

And another important thing about Sig is that he was actually the character I used to learn how to draw nsfw and suggestive stuffs, which to me is REALLY important, cuz this might sound crazy but learning that helped me improve my art an insane amount (just think that at the time I didn’t practice much naked human figure. And when I started doing so, my anatomy learn when to a peak. Yes, drawing nsfw helps with learning anatomy)

So he was also important to me artistically speaking

And while writting this I just realize how important he really was to me in so many ways, and for a character that only has a name and one stupid sentence for description, that is…

Crazy

At last, when I was stepping away from fortnite for personal reasons (and also because my switch was dying) I really wanted to keep Sig in some way

So I made this character, which is clearly based on everything I did with him so far

His name is Caesar, he is a frog

And he was going to be just that, but after all this and him carrying everything that Sig means to me. He is not just a frog character

He is my sona, my second sona to be exact, being the first one The Vicepresident

And that’s the story of how a fortnite skin became so important to me that I made them an actual original character

Right now, playing fortnite again… it might sound weird, but I don’t use Sig anymore, it doesn’t mean I don’t love him anymore, I still do. But his period as my main skin ended years ago, and I don’t want to ruin those beautiful experiences I had with him back then

That’s why he was my main, and now, I’ll wait for other skin to come and be my new Sig.