#the fact his kind as in the people he belongs with were wiped out while he was left to his lonesome

[gemkun]

the fact his remark probably stems from an inward reprimand of his own actually destroys me

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

Your Friendly Neighbor

Pairing: John “Soap” Mactavish x introvert!reader

Warnings: slight angst, fluff, horrible Scottish (I tried), Soap mainly goes by John

Words: 3k

Synopsis: Soap comes home from leave and realizes he has a new neighbor…

Based off this post by @fortunatelyuniquepeach check it out. basically just Soap with an introverted/shy/maybe social anxiety reader

You are currently reading part one

Soap didn’t particularly like going back home when he was on leave. 

Nothing was wrong with the neighborhood he lived in, in fact, it was picture perfect compared to the shit he’s seen in the countries he’s been deployed to. The neighbors were nice to him whenever he was home, especially since it was a very small neighborhood with only a handful of people living in it, rent was affordable and the place wasn’t falling apart, and the neighborhood was quite beautiful as well as quiet. 

For most people, this was their dream place of living. A good neighborhood to bring up a family and perhaps get away from the everyday stress that was life; being surrounded by kind people and the ability to walk to a few local pubs without issue, sounded like it was straight out of a fairytale. A lot of people would kill to live in a place like this.

Soap hated it.

He didn’t hate the people who lived around him, don’t mistake him, but the lack of movement and noise cut through him more than any bullet could. He was used to the chaos of a battlefield, used to the violence of war that killed men without mercy and the constant bloodshed that surrounded him. 

The apple pie life just wasn’t who he was anymore.

He always told himself that he didn’t belong in the calm and quiet life of normalcy and believed that it wasn’t for him either, not after what he’s seen. He belonged on the battlefield, covered in someone else’s blood.

“John, you’ve been working out here all morning!” Ms. Brown, one of Soap’s elderly neighbors who watched his flat for him when he was gone, scolded him as she stepped out on her porch. “You just got back.”

“I’m almost done.” Soap smiled up at her as he wiped the sweat from his brow. 

He was dirty from the sweat and grass covering him from having mowed her entire lawn the moment he had put his things down in his flat. He had been too worked up and wired from work still but her lawn needed to be done, so instead of taking the rest he needed, he went to work.

“I’ll get your money.” Ms. Brown said and he quickly shook his head.

“S’alright-”

Ms. Brown was gone before he could even finish his sentence and he couldn’t help but frown as he realized that he was going to be forced to accept money he didn’t want. He could never try to justify “stealing” money from an old woman even after he decided to become an impromptu landscaper.

He sighed, wiping the sweat off his face with his shirt before he pulled the lawnmower into the garage. He tried his hardest to clean himself up while sweeping the grass off the pathway, but the cut blades stuck to him like glue no matter how many times he tried to shake off his clothes or smack it off his hands.

Soap would’ve used the hose to wash himself, and nearly did, if he hadn’t been distracted by a car driving by. Normally he wouldn’t have thought anything of it but the car turned into the driveway of the flat that was right next to his, the one that hadn’t had anyone living in it the entire time he's lived in his flat.

He had a new neighbor.

He was expecting someone much older than you, since almost the entire neighborhood was made up of the elderly, but when you stepped out of the car he couldn’t help but stare at you with wide eyes.

You were young, probably the same age as him, and quite good looking, though he was just more focused on the fact that someone had moved in beside him and he didn’t even know. 

You were oblivious to him as you walked to the back of your car and opened the trunk. You began to pull out groceries, stacking as many of them on your arms as you can, and dropped them on your doorstep. You were trying to make it one trip, but there were just too many and before Soap had even realized it, he was crossing the street. Before he knew it he was standing behind you.

“When’d ye move in?” He greeted you a little loudly.

You nearly dropped the groceries in your hands as you stared at him with wide eyes. You took him in, looking at the sweat and grease stains covering his clothes along with the mass amounts of grass stuck to him, including in the shaggy mohawk that sat on top of his head.

You looked uncertain and caught off guard especially as he leaned closer to you.

He couldn’t help it. He was too curious for his own good and up this close he could see how beautiful you really were. He tried not to stare, he could see you glancing away from him awkwardly as if you were trying to find a way out of the sudden conversation you were put in, but he was strangely enamored by you.

You opened your mouth a few times trying to find the right words to say as he waited patiently for you to say something.

“...Last week?” You answered in a soft tone as you stared at him.

“Oh, well I’m yer neighbor right next to ya.” He gestured to the other flat. “We share a wall, I just got back this mornin’, must’ve been after you left.”

You nodded as he continued to explain how he could’ve missed you this morning, though you weren’t catching most of it. In fact, you were having a hard time understanding what exactly he was saying and you could only catch a few words here and there, making it so you had to piece together what he was saying.

You stood there and shifted on your feet as you glanced at your flat a few times.

The more he spoke, the more confused you looked but Soap was too caught up in talking to you that he didn’t notice. What he did notice however, was that you were starting to struggle to hold the groceries in your hands so he immediately turned his attention to it.

“Need help?” He offered, gesturing to the groceries in your hands. “Here.”

Before you could really even protest, he took the groceries in your hands, and the rest in your car, and walked towards your front door without struggle. He picked up the ones that you had placed down by the door as well, not at all bothered by the weight of the straps against his skin as he waited for you to let him.

“Do ya like the neighborhood?” He wondered as you came up and unlocked the front door to your flat. 

“It’s nice.” You stepped inside your apartment. “Everyone’s friendly.”

You went to take the groceries back from him but Soap instead stepped inside with a flash of a smile, leaving you staring at him completely dumbfounded. You weren’t particularly looking for a chat, especially when you were still in the moving process.

Soap glanced at all of the boxes still stacked in your flat and the disarray of items strewn across every surface. He didn’t really pay much attention to it as he wandered into the kitchen and set the groceries down on the counters, waiting for you as he took in your flat.

Standing inside your kitchen gave him a strange feeling, a better strange feeling, than his entire flat ever could. Maybe it was because he hadn’t really stepped inside his flat or maybe it was because yours looked far more lived in than his. There was personality, your personality, everywhere and he could just imagine you piddling around making a lot more noise than he ever could by himself.

You’d make lunch and maybe sit in the living room, maybe even put something on the telly while you do it, filling up the empty space with life. How often would you do laundry and does your washer squeak the same way his does when he puts a load in it?

He wasn’t sure why the thought of you doing normal things in your own flat made him feel warm on the inside but he quickly pushed it away when you stepped into the kitchen. 

“I’m sorry about the mess…” You trailed off as you gestured to the many boxes stacked in the kitchen. 

“Movin’s a hassle.” He dismissed you, completely unbothered and in fact feeling more happy about it than anything else.

Soap expected you to say something but you didn’t. He watched as you stood in front of him while you fidgeted with your keys between your fingers while you awkwardly avoided eye contact with him. The silence dragged on and expected you to do something about it, to start unloading your groceries to where they needed to be but you shifted on your feet as if you were debating on doing it.

He watched you for a moment, not really understanding why you were being so quiet when he finally came to his senses.

The fact that Ms. Brown had failed to mention to him this morning that you had moved in, said enough about how much you spoke to the neighbors so of course you were going to be a little awkward when he had basically barged inside you home to help you, in good faith, when you most likely had just wanted to be alone.

He couldn’t help the slight burning feeling he felt across the back of his neck before he ran a hand through his shaggy mohawk.

“I’m John, by the way.” He outstretched his hand for you to take with a warm smile. “Forgot to introduce myself when I was helping ya.”

You introduced yourself and very hesitantly took his hand to shake. He didn’t squeeze or shake very hard despite the fact that having your softer hand against his making him involuntarily smile as a shiver nearly ran up his spine. 

He definitely didn’t want to scare you off now or make things worse between the two of you when you were going to be neighbors for the foreseeable future. He wasn’t too worried however, if he could make Ghost forgive him for the many times he did the same thing, then he could make it up to you.

“I got excited, ya know? Seeing that I had a new neighbor and forgot that not everyone’s as chatty as me.”

“It’s okay…thank you for helping with the groceries.”

Soap nodded and stopped himself from saying anything else so he could give you the peace you wanted. He went to make his way out of the kitchen, about to give you a goodbye, when his boot connected with a bucket full of water that sat in front of the sink.

His eyebrows knitted together when he looked down to see that there were a bunch of damp towels also sitting on the floor by the sink as well. He crouched down to see that the pipe was in fact broken with a large crack in it.

“I’ve been meaning to call somebody.” You said but Soap tutted and shook his head.

“Ah, no, let me. I’ll pop over, get my tools and fix ya up.” He turned to look at you with a grin without even thinking about it. “Free of charge.”

You chewed on your lip and looked as if you wanted to protest but you didn’t, which made him smile even more.

He rushed over to his flat in no time, unsure of why he was really this eager to help you out, and grabbed his tools. Before you knew it, he was underneath your sink fixing the pipe as if this was his job rather than the heinous shit he has done over the years. 

There was a smile stuck on his face as you put your groceries away while he worked. He wasn’t sure why, even as he chatted your ear off about the neighborhood, not expecting you to reply but not wanting to end the conversation with you. 

The little hums of interest and short replies from you were enough for him to keep him going. He couldn’t help but be reminded of Ghost but you were much different, a lot warmer and less rough around the edges which was more inviting than his lieutenant but not any less interesting to speak to. There was so much he wanted to know about you, so much he wanted to ask but he stopped himself because he didn’t want to overwhelm you.

“Got any friends here yet?” He wondered and peered at you from under the sink.

“I haven’t really had the time.” You looked a little unsure, maybe even embarrassed as you avoided looking at him.

“Well I’ll be around for a little while, so we’ve got plenty of time.”

You stared at him with knitted eyebrows and opened your mouth to say something as he checked to make sure the patch job held up even though he was confident it would. He ran the water in the sink and frowned when it was ice cold against his fingers, sending you a quick disapproving glance as if you had neglected to tell him about it.

“Gonna freeze yourself to death with that.” He shook his head and made his way to the water heater.

“You really don’t have to-”

“You’re off your head for thinking I’ll leave you without hot water.”

Soap was quick with fixing up your water heater and made sure to make it as hot as possible without racking up your bills. Seeing the grateful and relieved look in your eyes when tested the water made his chest warm with pride.

He would’ve stayed to chat your ear off more, he didn’t want this to be the only time he saw you or got to speak with you. He hoped that you wouldn’t close yourself off in your flat or only give him short polite answers if he ever caught you outside, he didn’t want that.

He wanted much more from you, a lot more than just being neighbors who occasionally waved at each other and that was it.

“My work here’s done.” He hid his disappointment behind a wink that made you swallow hard. “For now.”

“Thank you so much.” You gave him a small, but genuine smile that had him staring at your lips for a little longer than he should. “How much do I owe you?”

“Nothin’.”

“I can’t not pay you.”

Soap chuckled and shook his head. There was no way in hell he would ever think to take your money, no matter how pretty you looked when you gave him a pleading look as if you wanted to burn your hard earned cash on something like this. He could tell that you weren’t going to take no as an answer but he was prepared for something like that.

He hummed and asked for a piece of paper and a pen. When you gave him something, he quickly scribbled his number down on it and gave it to you, stifling a laugh when you looked up at him surprised.

“If ya really want to pay me, call me when ya need help or when ya want to chat.” He offered and you stared intensely at the piece of paper. “No sense in keeping yourself lonely ‘specially here, Ms. Brown won’t let ya.”

“Thank you, John.” You smiled again.

Soap wasn’t sure why hearing his name come out of your mouth made him feel…different. He didn’t throw his call sign around in this neighborhood, that’s what everyone here knew him as, and yet the moment the name slipped off your tongue it was like he had been pulled back into reality.

Suddenly he was all too aware of the fact that he hadn’t given himself a break since he got back. Exhaustion pulled on his muscles and on his mind, there was nothing buzzing inside of his mind that told him he had to keep working.

It made him tense up. He didn’t like that, he didn’t want to stop moving, he had to do something or else he was sure he would fall apart at the seams.

“I’ll see you around, hen.” He kept a smile on his face, hiding the knots in his stomach.

Before long he was standing in the middle of his living room, unsure of what to do. 

There was too much quiet in his flat that the noise inside of his head completely took over his senses. It was consuming him every second he stared at the floor while he fidgeted with his fingers as if the stimulation would provide some sort of comfort. 

It choked him, making it harder to breathe as he found himself stuck frozen in his own flat as if something had locked him there to torture him until he would eventually find himself too exhausted to even think anymore. He couldn’t even go into his room to get his journal to write down the endless thoughts running through his mind, the dark and disgusting thoughts that made him feel like a wolf among sheep.

He needed something, anything to keep him from spiraling and yet-

A crash from the other side of the wall and the sound of you cursing to yourself abruptly brought him out of his head.

He blinked a few times, the tension leaving his body as he left out a few deep breaths which filled his lungs with air that seemed to go into his veins and cleanse him of whatever dirtiness that had filled them. 

You made another noise and he looked at your shared wall, imagining that you were most likely unpacking again. You must’ve dropped something and he hoped that it was nothing valuable but he couldn’t have been more grateful for the fact that you had made some kind of noise. 

In fact, the more you moved around in your flat, your footsteps muffled as you walked around, the more at ease he felt because it filled up that dreaded quiet he had come to hate so much. 

He’s not sure how long he stayed there just listening to you, but he was sure he looked like an idiot with the soft smile he had on his face.

Being home didn’t seem too bad anymore.

Link to part 2

A/N: Not my best work but that's okay. This might turn into a mini series? Might make it a three parter who knows. First time really writing for Soap so I'm sorry if he seems a little off character, hopefully I'll get better at him <3

Tags: @cathnoneofyourbusiness @lillianastuff @sofasoap

[awildeternity]

Kendrick Lamar vs Drake, my own little rant

FIRST OFF, THIS HAS CREATED SOME OF THE MOST IMMACULATE MUSIC I'VE EVER LISTENED TO. I AM VIBRATING AND NOT MANAGING TO CALM DOWN, SO I'M GOING TO RANT ABOUT IT. There's so much background to this. Drake was the one to originally put Kendrick on the world stage. Kendrick was literally an opener for one of Drake's tours back in 2012. That was before Section.80, which was Kendrick's first real studio album, and even then it was more of a mixtape at the time. So, Drake and K-dot were always basically involved with one another. However, while I don't know all of the background to it, I'm pretty sure Drake has been taking shots at literally like half of the rap game for the past few years. Future, A$AP Rocky, Kanye, and obviously Kendrick a couple of times. Saying that his first big hit was basically because of Drake, and that he kept doing features with big artists like Rihanna (LOYALTY.) and SZA (All the Stars). This all leads to a lot of bullshit recently. I'm not EXACTLY sure on the timeline (Feel free to correct me if there is anything wrong), but there are a couple of notable events, notably Drake using a *AI VOICE OF TUPAC* in a song (which led to him getting a cease and desist and a LOT of heat because, well, obviously.) Kendrick accuses him of being a culture vulture, basically trying to appropriate the Black US culture that he did not grow up with. LET'S REMEMBER DRAKE WAS ORIGINALLY BORN IN A GATED COMMUNITY FOR WHITE PEOPLE IN TORONTO. HE HAS NEVER BEEN "HOOD", NEVER LIVED THROUGH GANG VIOLENCE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. HE STEALS ACCENTS TO SEEM LIKE HE BELONGS AND BASICALLY APPROPRIATES THE CULTURE LIKE A BITCH. I'm pretty sure J.Cole also dropped a song that called himself, Drake and Kendrick the "Big 3" of the Rap Game, to which Kendrick responded in Like That by saying "Fuck the Big 3, [] it's just big me." which obviously means that he considers himself a step above both of them. That's basically when we get to the most recent stuff, and the MEAT of the topic. Drake drops Push Ups. It is some tame shit, let's be honest with ourselves. That song calls out the fact that Drake "handed" Kendrick his first number one hit, which, yeah, he kind of did, but whatever. There's picks at Kendrick's height, his foot size, the fact that his label TOP DOG takes 50% (Hence the lyrics "drop and give me 50" and the push ups title, dropping a song and giving TPE 50% of the profits) Also calling K-dot "wiped down" by more popular artists like SZA, Travis Scott and 21 Savage. Also weirdly enough taking a shot at Metro, a producer that had worked with Kendrick on Like That, but like, why??? AND THEN. FOR A FEW WEEKS, KENDRICK SAYS NOTHING. ON TUESDAY OF THIS WEEK, THOUGH, HE DROPS THE ABSOLUTE BOMB THAT IS EUPHORIA. Euphoria is the title of Drake's show he co-produced that got a bunch of heat for having some weird sexualisation of teenage girls, which is already a pretty good hit, but the LYRICS THEMSELVES. KENDRICK LITERALLY CALLS OUT DRAKE ON SO MANY THINGS. Talking about how he's not a rap artist but a scam artist that wants to be accepted (culture vulture, again), talking about the Tupac shit with "I'd rather do that than let a Canadian [] make Pac turn in his grave", once again calling out Drake being fucking CANADIAN and trying to appropriate the culture. Also making a reference to YMW Kelly and calling Drake and J.Cole his "friends" (YMW Kelly murdered two of his friends, hence why that is a diss and not a compliment.) I have to comment on the absolute HATE FEST too. "I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it's gon' be direct We hate the bitches you fuck 'cause they confuse themself with real women And notice, I said "we," it's not just me, I'm what the culture feelin'"

[honorary-knight-of-favonius]

Kinktober Xiao -Day Twenty Four-

Tags for the day: Demon and Collaring

Summary: Claiming an Incubus comes with many perks, at least when you know you've claimed one for yourself

The haunting of Halloween, everyone knew the old stories that Halloween was created to scare away the things of the night. But I knew different, in fact the creatures of the night often celebrated the silly holiday with us, dressed as normal people passing out candy. 

Perhaps the boy across the hall was one of these creatures, or I was extremely drunk, both are very plausible. He looked ethereal as he gave children candy with such a slight smile. His body was adorned in an outfit that seemed to resemble that of a Victorian vampire. Even the fangs that were normally hidden behind a closed mouth made an appearance with his smile. 

“Xiao! The movie!” someone shouted from inside his apartment. To be honest it was a woman I knew all too well, and the only reason I never approached the male I was fawning over this whole time. As the boy sighed he returned inside the apartment the moment he was cleared of children. God, the things I wanted to do to him were practically wrecking my mind. 

As the night faded away and the trick or treaters ceased, I began cleaning up all the beer cans and candy wrappers I had scattered everywhere during the down time between children. I hauled all my trash down the stairs and walked towards the trash can outside my apartment. I didn’t expect to hear that damn woman and the alluring coming out as well. 

“That movie was awful. Absolute dogshit.” The man commented. 

“I thought it was good, I mean sure it was cliche but it was good.” The male rolled his eyes. 

“Ganyu, candy man is better than that shit. And I hate candyman.” 

I huffed tossing the garbage bag into the trash can before wiping my hands and heading back to my apartment. I heard a car leave and then I felt a and on my back I looked back to see the male I had been fantasizing about. 

“You’re pretty drunk aren’t you?” I hummed and stumbled up the stairs to my apartment with the male’s hand on my back the whole way. When I got into my apartment I headed for the couch crashing onto the plushiness of it.

When I felt a hand on the back of my thigh I turned around to see Xiao, “you really are a cute little neighbor.” 

Xiao turned around and straddled my hips, “To think someone as serious as you has such perverted thoughts about me. Honestly I’m flattered I managed to break down that wall just enough to come here.” Xiao had his forehead on mine and peppered a small kiss on it. 

“Shall I go down and begin that seemingly infinite list you want to complete with me?” I don’t know why but I reached out and took his hair into my hands, forcing him off of me and pushed him down onto the couch. I latched my lips onto his and kissed Xiao deeply. While kissing Xiao I used a knee to rub his cock though those pants of his. Xiao pulled away with a sigh. 

“I haven’t been dominated in ages, I have to admit I kind of missed being on the receiving end of things.” Xiao smirked as I continued my actions, I knew this was wrong fantasizing about someone else’s boyfriend was wrong but fuck he was hot and all I wanted was to leave a mark that he belonged to me. I took a hand and diligently wrapped it around his throat, squeezing it just slightly enough to just make his eyes roll back into his head. The male opened his mouth to combat the feeling of his breath being taken away as he panted like a dog. 

After his face began to turn I removed my hand and body from him only for Xiao to hurry and pin me down, “You have no idea how much I want to hear your perfect fucking voice calling my name, or degrading me, fuck this shit I want to hear everything.” Xiao placed his lips on mine and I tangled my fingers into his hair as he hummed softly. 

“I hate that I can’t hear any of your adorable sounds, god, if I could I don’t think I’d be able to handle it.” Xiao laid his body on mine dry humping my cunt. I heard something and began looking around the room but Xiao kept trying to get me to ignore whatever it was. I eventually pushed him off and was about to stand up to go find the source of the sound when he took my hand and kissed me again. 

“If you go find that sound we can’t finish what we started here. So, ignore it. I promise we can finish. . .” I looked around and saw a collar, I took my hand away and grabbed the collar before heading back to Xiao and putting it on him, having some kind of leash appear in my hand. 

“Enough of your fucking whining and get on your knees!” I said, within seconds the boy was on his knees. I sat back on the couch and opened my legs, I’m not sure what brought the change but as Xiao stared at my cunt he grew horns of some kind and licked his lips as his eyes turned darker. 

“I-I want it.” He slurred out coming closer to my cunt, “Gods I want it so badly. C-can I?” Xiao looked at me with pure need and I smirked. 

“Go ahead and feast.” Xiao giggled before that tongue of his moved my shorts to the side revealing the fact I hadn’t been wearing underwear and as I had told him he began to feast on me. 

“You. . .taste. . .so gud~” He slurred, annoyed by his talking I forced him deeper by grabbing those horns, “MmffmH! Mmm!!” Xiao hummed as he got the memo and shut himself up focusing on my cunt more. I felt that heat rise as Xiao’s tongue worked magic. But right before I could let all the pressure go Xiao pulled away licking his lips with his tongue which was now barbed and toy-like. 

“Why did you stop!” I whined. 

“I’d love it if you came on my tongue but we both know that’s not how you want to cum tonight. So may I?” I groaned but nodded and Xiao planted a kiss on my forehead.  I watched Xiao lower his pants showing off a rather strange yet enticing looking cock.  The cock head had barbed like skin pieces and curved in the most perfect way. Rather than letting Xiao plunge into me I took it into my hand curious about the barbs and the moment my finger grazed one Xiao’s knees buck and his cock twitched. 

“T-the fuck~ W-why’d did it have to be the real one. . .” Xiao whined as I used two fingers to stroke a barb having whine and put his hands on the back of the couch as I played with his cock, “S-so sensitive~”

Xiao continued to whine as I played until he used all the strength he could muster and push himself hard enough to escape my grasp. Xiao covered his cock and bit his bottom lip, “I-If you do anymore I-I’ll cum. . .”I smirked and got up from the couch and went closer to Xiao until I was sitting on his hips. 

“W-wait! T-too much stimulation!!” He moaned, I smirked and raised my hips high enough until I could comfortably lower myself onto Xiao. When I managed to have him inside Xiao’s appearance had changed once more. His horns grew more and sharper, he now had a fang type of situation, his eyes were glowing beautifully, but the most noticeable part was the tail and the fading black arms. Xiao also had nails that were digging into my floor ready to rip it. 

I don’t know why but I felt something bad would happen if those hands stayed there so I guided them onto my body, the moment I led the hands to my hips I was practically being pounded from below. Xiao was lifting me without any trouble as he used my cunt as his own personal fleshlight I began to dig my nails in his arms. The sheer amount of pleasure I was feeling was overwhelming and I couldn’t focus on anything but this pleasure. 

I’m not sure when or how but I passed out along the way, which was strange as it was a dream. At least I thought it was until I felt the pale boy snuggled up against me in bed as we were both nude. He had returned to normal though, no horns, glowing eyes, fangs, tail or nails. It was almost as if I had dreamed everything but I knew I hadn’t. 

“You’re awake?” Xiao asked in a husky morning voice. I gently hummed, “You’re not working today right?” he asked.

“N-no. . .” Xiao hummed. 

“Then let’s stay in bed awhile. I’ll make coffee and breakfast the next time we wake up.” though it was strange hearing those words it helped me calm my racing heart and eventually the offer of extra sleep was outrageously appealing. 

I’ll ask my questions another time. 

Taglist:

@stygianoir @yunadxd

[withacapitalp]

Tell Him (Nothing) Everything Pt 2

Part One Link to ao3

Chapter Two- Second Mistakes

After their disastrous first meeting, Eddie found himself going to Steve’s bakery pretty much every single day. He would wake up, shower, put on at least semi-clean clothes, and walk down to Claudia’s just in time for the morning rush to be over. In fact, the only days he didn’t were Saturday and Sunday, because those were the days that Steve’s brother and his friends would hang around the cafe on and off all day. 

Needless to say, Wayne was ecstatic at this sudden one eighty. He had no idea what had happened to drag Eddie out of his depressive spiral, but he was happy about it all the same, and Eddie was happy that his uncle was happy. 

There was definitely enough happiness to go around. 

He and Steve entered into an easy kind of routine. For five or six hours straight Eddie would sit at the countertop on the far end of the bakery, writing lyrics and bars in his ratty old notebook while Steve ran his cafe and offered Eddie little nibbles to ‘taste test’. 

When things were busy Eddie liked to hop the counter to ring people up while Steve packed boxes of sweets and made drinks. And, when things were slow, Steve would turn the music up and dance around while he cleaned. Eddie was forced to put his pen down and watch the sinfully silly delight. There was no point in trying to pretend he wasn’t blatantly staring at Steve’s ass as he wiggled his hips and wiped down tables, singing along to ABBA and Bonnie Tyler in the goofiest voice Eddie had ever heard. 

Arguably, that might have been the best part of their new easy whatever this was, but Eddie knew there was something better. 

No, the best part was the talking.

Eddie hadn't realized how quiet he had gotten until he was back to jabbering all day long with someone who was easy to talk to. Steve just had this way of getting Eddie to open up, and for the first time since Chrissy, he felt like he had found someone to chat with that didn’t completely exhaust him. 

It was mostly because they never talked about anything too heavy. They definitely got to the personal- Steve’s brother, Dustin, was a frequent topic of conversation as Steve fretted about raising him ‘properly’- but they never got to the painful. Eddie didn’t ask why Steve was raising his thirteen year old brother at only twenty three, and Steve never wondered why Eddie was in town when he clearly didn’t belong in a place like Hawkins. 

It was fun. It was easy. 

It made Eddie feel completely guilty.

He wasn’t sure if he was even allowed to have good things anymore. He had been given the best person in the world, and he had destroyed her, so the universe had decided to give him another wonderful person? 

Didn’t it know Eddie was a ruiner? 

Well, if the universe hadn’t figured that out yet, then Eddie had resolved to not feel all that guilty about being selfish and keeping Steve when he knew he shouldn’t. He would hoard this happiness until the world righted itself and remembered that he didn’t deserve it. 

But for now, it was ten o’clock, and the cafe smelled like berries. 

“Helllloooooooooo, hungry customer waiting!” Eddie called out, obnoxiously ringing the bell over and over, needing to drown out both his thoughts and the disgustingly cheerful bubblegum pop playing over the speakers. 

“Get out!” Steve singsonged back, his voice growing louder as he came closer. 

“You’d miss me too much, Angeleyes,” Eddie replied, walking to his usual spot and hopping up onto the bar stool, not bothering to wait to see Steve come out from the back. Angeleyes was just one of the many nicknames Eddie had come up with for Steve’s…interesting music choices. 

“Don’t make fun of ABBA, or I won’t let you sample my new recipe,” Steve pouted as he walked over holding a still steaming tray of delectable goodies. His apron was a soft sea green today, the paw prints an icy blue that matched the polo he was wearing. 

Eddie couldn’t stand how cute Steve was, he really couldn’t. 

“What’s this one?” Eddie asked, reaching over. 

“Watch!” Steve immediately said, pulling the tray back so Eddie couldn’t burn his fingers, “Blackberry lemon crumble bars,” 

Steve put the tray down and carefully placed one on a plate, making Eddie’s coffee the way he liked while they waited for the bars to cool down a little. 

“I went out with Dustin and the kids this weekend and we picked a ton of them,” Steve said, passing over the plate and the cup. Eddie broke the treat in half, delighting in the shower of crumbs that fell on the china plate shaped like a cat.

The second the flavor hit his tongue he let out an absolutely sinful moan. At the start Eddie had tried to play it up, enjoying the way his noises would make Steve turn bright red, but he quickly realized he didn’t have to exaggerate anything. Steve’s food was just that good. 

“Sunshine, I’m gonna propose marriage,” Eddie said, his mouth still full, “Be ready for a big fat ring. I’ll wife you up, and then you can just travel the world with me and bake.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Steve automatically said, laughing softly and ignoring Eddie’s flirting the way he always did. He leaned over the counter, grabbing the other half of the bar and eating it much more delicately, somehow avoiding making a complete mess, “You should’ve come with us. It was a nice hike,” 

“Yeah, you lost me at the word ‘hike’. I don’t do hikes,” Eddie joked, conveniently avoiding the real reason he would never spend any time with Steve outside of this cafe, the reason he never came on weekends. 

Because not only was the idea of meeting Steve’s little brother was kind of intimidating (A child prodigy with a dungeons and dragons obsession? Yeah that kid was way too cool for his own good), but Eddie also knew that if Dustin didn’t like him, Steve would probably never talk to him again. 

Or worse, Dustin might recognize him. Then Steve really would never talk to Eddie again.

“Alrighty no hiking. Then what do you do all day? Besides coming here to bother me,” Steve teased, opening the display case and beginning to place the rest of the bars in a neat uniform row. 

“Nothing,” Eddie replied, grabbing his notebook and getting ready for their usual routine to start. He had a pretty good idea for some lyrics about berry kissed lips and tart lemons dripping sour into open wounds. 

“Sounds pretty boring,” Steve said idly. 

“Relaxing,” Eddie countered, looking up from his book, “You forget- I’m on vacation,” 

Well, bereavement. If running away from your entire life to hide at your uncle’s house in Podunk, Indiana could count as bereavement. 

“Ah yes, vacation from this mysterious job of yours that I’m not allowed to know anything about,” Steve said with a roll of his eyes. There was no heat in his voice, no edge to his tone, but Eddie’s stomach was starting to drop anyway. 

They knew all kinds of things about each other. Eddie knew all about Steve’s time as a high school jackass, and Steve had heard the calamities of Eddie’s own teenage years, but then there were gaps. Huge gaps. Big glaring gaps. Mostly on Eddie’s side. 

He couldn’t share most of the things that had happened in his last ten years without revealing his secret. Still, the longer he held onto pretending he was normal, the worse the fallout was going to be when he had to admit he wasn’t. 

“You can ask,” Eddie eventually said with a fake casual shrug, “Just no guarantees I’m gonna answer,” 

But he would. He had decided that if Steve pressed, if he really wanted to know, he would spill it all. The ball was unknowingly in Steve’s court, and that took the pressure off. Steve was the one who decided when this all ended and reality snuck back into their little corner of the world. 

“Nah, you’ll tell me whatever it is when you’re ready,”  Steve replied easily, once again keeping them both in suspense. The bell on the door jangled behind Eddie, signaling that customers had just entered. Steve greeted them with a big smile, and then he was walking away from Eddie who unabashedly stared at Steve’s back.  

Sunkissed Small Town Atlas, what I wouldn’t give to be on my knees holding your world?

God, Eddie was going to Hell. Those lyrics were even too dirty for Corroded Coffin. 

He wrote them down anyway. 

“By the way, Dustin burned me some new CDs of stuff he likes,” Steve said later that day when it was just the two of them again. He was elbow deep into the espresso machine, trying to fix something that was broken with the milk frother, and Eddie was about two seconds away from jumping into help him, “I told him that you’re into metal and rock too, and he said that these would be more your speed,”

“Burned CDs,” Eddie said with a soft laugh, coming around the counter and picking up the plastic cases Steve had nodded towards, beginning to rifle through them. They were covered in sharpie doodles and careful writing of every song. 

The kid had taste. Most of this was the stuff Eddie grew up on. 

“Hey, not all of us can afford music streaming,” Steve shot back, popping his head out of the machine for a second to stick his tongue out at Eddie before burying his face back into the mechanics. 

It was good that he did, because if Steve hadn’t, he would’ve seen the way Eddie’s jaw was dropping as he looked at the hand drawn devil mask on one of the CDs. An extremely familiar devil mask.  

“Corroded Coffin?” Eddie whispered faintly, all of his extremities starting to go numb. 

Was this Steve’s subtle way of telling Eddie he was caught? Was he trying to pull a joke or something? 

“Oh yeah, you’ll see a lot of them. He’s totally obsessed with that band,” Steve replied, cursing loudly as the machine began to spit water at him. Eddie abandoned the CDs and hurried over, helping Steve to do battle against his machine 

“Dustin really likes them?” Eddie said out of breath, panting as they both tried to come down from the high of fighting against the coffee demon. 

“Obsessed,” Steve gushed, grabbing the case with the Corroded Coffin CD and waving it around as he walked over to the player hooked up to the speakers, “He has all their music, a bunch of their records on vinyl, posters and everything. I even saved up to get him and his friends tickets to go see them live,”

Steve’s tone dropped at the last sentence. His brow furrowed, and his face pulled into an uncharacteristic frown as he slipped the CD in. The sound of Eddie’s own voice began to fill his ears. This was one from the before time, back in their MySpace/Youtube era before they recorded their first album. 

The kid really was a fan. 

It’s raining down. 

All around. 

Hellfire. 

God, sometimes it was hard to not cringe at his old lyrics. Sixteen year old Eddie really thought he was a genius. And his voice was still too high, it hadn’t fully dropped back then. Eddie decided to distract himself from the way the song made him want to curl up in a ball and die, focusing on Steve and the way he still seemed upset. 

“You sound disappointed. Not happy that your baby brother is a metalhead?” Eddie asked, keeping his tone light and hoping that would give Steve an out if he didn’t want to talk about what was bugging him. 

“Oh no, as long as he’s safe and happy I don’t care,” Steve said dismissively, waving a hand around his head, “I guess I just- you know the tickets I got him? The ones to see this band? They’re totally useless, because they canceled their whole tour.”

“The entire tour?” Eddie blurted out, rearing back with a jolt. 

He knew that they had to cancel at least the first few dates because he had disappeared, but the entire eight month tour?! They weren’t even supposed to start touring until next week, and Indianapolis was still three months away. 

The other guys were that sure Eddie wasn’t coming back…

To be fair to them, Eddie was also not so sure he was going back. But that had to be a shit ton of money, and without a lead singer or a manager-

Eddie had royally screwed his bandmates. His brothers. He had been so focused on what he needed, he forgot they needed him too. He forgot that without Eddie Munson, there was no Corroded Coffin. 

Chrissy would’ve killed him for that. 

If he hadn’t killed her first. 

Eddie couldn’t help the soft noise that escaped from his throat, and he walked on wooden legs back to his usual corner, tucking himself into the seat and trying to curl up and be as small as possible. Not only was the guilt back, but it had grown devil horns and demon wings, exponentially worse now that Eddie could no longer ignore how many people he was screwing over. 

“There’s a really big mystery about it. Apparently something happened to their manager and she died?” Steve continued to babble, completely unaware of the burning fire poker he was jabbing into Eddie’s chest, “The lead singer, Freddy something, was close with her, and after that he just kind of vanished. It was a big media circus,” 

Freddy. It wasn’t funny, because nothing about the situation was funny, but Eddie laughed anyway. He laughed, because if he didn’t, he was going to start crying. The laughter bubbled out and spilled across the countertop, sounding nothing like Eddie knew himself to sound like.  

“Eds?” 

Steve’s warm hand cupped his face, and when Eddie looked up a watery blurry version of Steve was looking back at him, and when he blinked to clear his vision, he became aware of the tear tracks already cutting through his face. 

Oh. Apparently he could do both. Eddie had never laughed and cried at the same time, but here he was. 

“What happened?” Steve asked, letting his thumb softly brush against Eddie’s cheek, wiping away the tears in a move that was so intimate it sent shivers shooting down his spine. 

The last person who had done something like this for him was Chrissy, and that comparison was just one shade too much for him. Eddie untangled himself from Steve and hopped down, going around the counter and grabbing the black apron with white paw prints that Steve left out for him, tying it around his waist and attacking the dishes in the sink with ferocity. 

Steve let him, sitting back against the counter and waiting. He had learned in the last few weeks that there were moments where Eddie just needed to do something physical to work out whatever was happening inside of him. The first time it had happened, Eddie had just paced for an hour straight, and he was sure Steve would kick him out when he was done, but the younger man had simply shrugged and offered for Eddie to do the dishes the next time instead.

‘Might as well get some free labor out of it’ had been Steve’s reasoning, and Eddie had wanted to kiss him right then and there. 

“Dustin’s pretty upset I bet,” Eddie finally croaked out after he finished rinsing out one of the cat themed mugs. It wasn’t just his bandmates he was letting down, but also all of the fans that had been loyal to them for years and years. 

Eddie was letting everyone down. 

“Well, he was at first, but he’s trying to be understanding about it. He said it was like if I lost Robin. I can’t even begin to imagine what that would feel like,” Steve said cautiously, as if he wasn’t sure that they should just drop the fact that Eddie had been crying only moments before. 

When Eddie didn’t say anything he crept closer, leaning into Eddie’s space to grab a towel and begin to dry the cups on the rack. 

“Are you o-” Steve began. 

“I’m glad Dustin isn’t too disappointed,” Eddie cut in, unable to hear those words. If he heard them again, then he would tell Steve the truth. 

He wasn’t okay. He didn’t know if he was ever going to be okay again. 

“I am too. I just wish I hadn’t spent so much money on those stupid tickets. That was Christmas and his birthday gift all in one,” Steve sighed. Eddie flinched at the sound, looking down at the soaped up canister in his hands instead of at the man he had personally screwed out of hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars. 

“You didn’t get a refund?” Eddie asked, unable to believe that the other members of the band wouldn’t give everyone their money back. 

“Well some of it,” Steve said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, “I got the price of regular admission tickets back, but I got a bunch of extra stuff too- good seats, backstage passes, the works. All of that was apparently nonrefundable.”

“How much was it?” 

Eddie didn’t want to know the answer, but he needed to know. He was apparently a masochist now. 

“Backstage passes for all six of them plus me to chaperone?” Steve asked rhetorically watching Eddie wince in sympathy, “Yeah, I was feeling that loss for a few months,”

Eddie didn’t have any more dishes, but he had lots of energy, so he grabbed a washcloth and began to wipe down the counters, avoiding Steve’s eyes which he could still feel locked onto his back. 

“Geez, you must really hate that lead singer, huh?” Eddie was attempting to go casual, but he was so far from it that it wasn’t even funny, “I mean the dude just disappears because one person died?” 

Any second now Steve was going to call him on his weirdness, and Eddie was going to have to blurt out the entire terrible story and try to beg for forgiveness. 

“No, not at all,” Steve replied without giving it any thought. 

“Really?” Eddie breathed, turning around to stare at Steve with wide eyes. Steve shrugged, going back to fiddling with his coffee machine. 

“I don’t really know what happened, but if I lost Robin? I wouldn't want to talk to anybody, let alone jump up onto a stage and try to perform, or act like nothing happened. I think everyone just feels bad. Apparently the fans are still leaving him lots of tweets and stuff. Dustin told me some hashtag was trending for him a couple weeks ago,” Steve said, grabbing his phone with the obvious intent to show Eddie. 

He was going to look up Corroded Coffin. Which would lead directly to tons of headlines with Eddie’s face plastered on them. 

Eddie was up and moving before he even knew it.  

“What are you doing?” Steve asked slowly as Eddie grabbed his wrist and pulled it down, making sure Steve couldn’t look at his phone. 

“I don’t wanna see it.” Eddie said in a rush. 

He didn’t want his secret exposed, but he also didn’t want the reminder of who he was. He wanted to keep being Steve’s Eddie. A stranger with funny little quips and a refined palate. He wanted to be able to keep being this person for a little while, whoever he was. He didn’t want to go back to being the Eddie that had lost his Robin.  

“Please,” Eddie said, lowering his voice to a whisper. Steve stood there blinking at him for a second, staring at Eddie like he couldn’t really make sense of him. 

“Alright,” Steve said, finally hesitantly agreeing. Eddie breathed out a long slow sigh of relief, leaning back against the counter and letting go of Steve’s wrist. 

“You’re a really nice person, Steve Harrington,” He said with a tired grin. 

“And you’re a very confusing person Eddie Eddie,” Steve shot back with an incredulous little laugh. He pushed off of his own counter and held a hand out, “But you are a good taste tester. Now come back here and help me make this next batch of crumble bars perfect. I think it might need a frosting,” 

Eddie went willingly, the sound of his own voice over the speakers filling his ears. 

[boatem-probler]

And Now for Something Completely Different, in... Tokyo Soul!

1 / 2 / You Are Here! / 4 / 5 / 6

Smaller batch of episodes today, just a strange little mini-arc while Taurtis is presumably unavailable.

This report contains mentions of: gross humor, sexual humor, and harassment.

Previously on Tokyo Soul:

Grian: “I’m into dudes.”

“Fully Cooked Ramen?”

Grian: “Hey, Mr. Principal! :) Your teacher gave us snipers! :) I don’t know what kind of circus you’re running here! :)”

This Time...

Episode 11 – THE SUPER STORE

We open on Grian walking in on Sam in the bathroom. Sam makes Grian wipe for him. I wouldn’t relate this but I’ve seen people mentioning it out of context and was confused, and thought others may have also been confused. So allow me to clear up the confusion. There was never any context to begin with.

Also, Taurtis was taken away in the night by “officers” for not having the proper visa, Señor Loro reports. He promptly leaves.

Oh also it’s the weekend apparently, so they don’t have school. Instead, Sam has scheduled a job interview for them. Which is good, since Sam just spent the last of their money on KitKats.

Sam also steals a teddy bear from the hotel gift shop.

They ask Igbar for directions to the superstore, because Igbar knows where everything is. He also gives them his umbrella.

They arrive at the superstore, where they and the only other non-manager employee, Jason, immediately antagonize each other.

They’re interviewed by the manager, Mr. Nautilus, and Sam overshares quite a bit. Luckily, Mr. Nautilus also has a dead girlfriend, so he and Sam have a point of commonality.

Also, Tokyo Soul takes place in That One Time 2027, according to the calendar on the wall.

Mr. Nautilus doesn’t like either of the boys, but the superstore is short staffed, so they’re hired anyway! They’re each given a key to the bathroom and a company credit card.

Episode 12 – I HATE JASON

Sam and Grian have changed into their work uniforms. Also, it seems that Jason and Mr. Nautilus were watching them change through the bathroom mirror, which is in fact just a window. Okay.

The principal is shopping at the superstore and Grian immediately tears back into him about his staff.

They try to sell the principal a watch. Jason steals their sale.

Books that are for sale at the superstore: Squid Erotica. The Normie’s Guide to Memes. Why Squids Can’t Be Trusted. History of Anime. If Microwaves Could Dream. How to Lick Feet: For Dummies. Theoretical Panty Physics. Encyclopedia of Aliens.

Apparently the squid erotica is a priceless heirloom belonging to Mr. Nautilus, and the boys weren’t supposed to sell it. They also have no idea how the cash register works. Jason continues to antagonize them by being more competent than they are.

Professor Geode is here. He now has a disconcertingly wide smile, and his face appears to be glitching, or possibly melting. He requires trash and human waste. Mr. Nautilus is not pleased that the boys let him into the staff bathroom.

Professor Geode requires human food. Jason swoops in to sell him a bike, assuring him that it’s perfectly edible, and he can in fact feed it to people.

Also, Jason can teleport maybe??

Episode 13 – KILL JASON!

Sam and Grian hide in the electronics section to come up with a plan to get Jason fired, but Jason teleports behind them, so they relocate to the bathroom. They still appear to be unaware of Jason and Mr. Nautilus watching them through the mirror-window.

Grian’s plan is to push over some shelves and make it look like Jason did it. Sam’s plan is to push the shelves onto Jason, and break his legs. Grian insists that they are NOT going to kill anyone in this town, but eventually says that breaking Jason’s legs might be “for the best”. They are then called to the manager’s office.

He just wants to chew them out for not being more like Jason, rather than for threatening to break Jason’s legs.

Jason is now wearing Grian’s head???? He’s pretending to be Grian’s reflection for some reason??

A customer wants something for “chop chop”. Sam tries to sell them a garden trowel. Jason shows up and sells them a giant anime sword. They want him to test it on Grian and Sam.

Grian and Sam are sent to clean the bathroom. They continue to discuss strategy.

Sam: "Do you want me to set him on fire?" Grian: "Um… I would, but I think that’s illegal."

Mr. Nautilus is now wearing Sam’s head?? I honestly can’t tell if they’re supposed to actually be acting as Sam and Grian’s reflections or what. What the hell is going on in the superstore.

Sam and Grian successfully sell some guy panties for 500 or 5000 dollars, I’m not sure what exactly the exchange rate is between dollars and gold bars retextured to look like 1000 yen bills.

……But then it turns out the guy is a known counterfeiter, whose money will explode if you try to use it.

They try to slip the fake money into Jason’s cash register, but Jason catches them, so they decide to just go with plan B, which is “bring him into the bathroom and waterboard him in the toilet”. This also fails, because he still has that giant anime sword. AND a katana.

Sam and Grian decide to quit.

Mr. Nautilus claims they signed a contract and he can get them deported. Sam and Grian tell him this is bullshit, and just make a run for it.

Sam shows Grian around their house, as this is the first time he’s been there. Sam assigns Grian the dingy basement.

The sushi from episode 1 is STILL on their table.

Grian Trauma Count!

Traumatic Events:

Taurtis being deported is kind of glossed over because it’s probably just an excuse for why CC!Taurtis couldn’t film that day, but I would think that would count.

Bathroom Mirror-Window.

Threatened with two giant swords by Jason.

Next Time... Taurtis Is Back!

[hypnotisedfireflies]

A Social Pariah

@poetic-justicesong sent me some wonderful Joel & Sarah prompts.  I dipped my toe into an early snapshot of their life in Mermaids and it’s a bit of a challenge for me, but it’s fun to push myself so I really want to dig into these.  I’m keeping them as separate posts rather than posting the ask itself, otherwise I might lose track without it floating in my inbox. :)

This is compliant for both DD and SQ.

1/? : The first time Joel has to be strict with his discipline with Sarah, where she usually has him wrapped around her finger.

The sound of Sarah wailing permeated the very foundations of the house.  It broke through her sealed bedroom door, bounced down every step and circled round and round Joel’s head like gathering rain clouds.  He ran the dishcloth under the faucet and squeezed it out, bouncing his fist up and down in midair as the little droplets escaped through his fingers.  He took his time cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, alone.  That chore was usually shared between Joel and his daughter but there weren’t no way she was gettin’ her little ass downstairs to help tonight.  No, that was a bridge too far. 

He'd thought that by the time he washed, dried and put away every dish that Sarah would be through with her tears.  But they just kept comin’ and they were giving Joel a stomach ache.  His unspoken mandate of raising a little girl who’d never want for anything or have reason to cry was at war with the fact that she had to learn the hard lessons, too. 

All grown up at eight, Sarah had been counting down the days to Poppy’s birthday party.  They were going to the roller rink, the one styled somewhere between the 50s and a John Hughes movie.  That rockabilly nostalgia of the 1980s which had given boys cheap leather jackets to sweat through in summer and poorly-styled DA hairdos.  Tommy had gotten pretty good at sculpting his own hair like that back in the day.

But then Sarah had broken the carnival glass lamp.

Look, the lamp didn’t mean much to Joel.  It was kind of ugly, bright red puckered with little golden orbs in two ornate little tiers.  It was only in the house because it had belonged to his mother, but Joel didn’t pour his attachment into such things.  People and memory were what mattered, not stuff, and certainly not stuff that looked like that.  He didn’t remember his mother having any particular feelings about it either – or his father – which was probably how Joel had ended up with it in the first place.  Luis had just brought it around one day while he was cleaning out his place and left it behind.  In most of the intervening years since, it had lived in the closet.  Joel had only taken it out recently because … well, they needed a lamp in the lounge.

So breaking the lamp wasn’t the problem.

Once the backsplash was wiped clean, Joel’s soft heart could no longer be overruled and he trudged upstairs to give Sarah one, final chance.  She wanted to go to the roller rink party so much.  It was tomorrow, Dad.  She had made her choice but she was … well, she was bringin’ the house down and making him feel like the worst father alive, so he decided to try just one more time with her.

Joel knocked on her door.

“Go away!”  Sarah sobbed dramatically on the other side.

“I’m comin’ in,” Joel told her and counted to ten, just in case. 

When he opened the door she was sitting on the side of her bed with Hoppy, her wallaby plushie, in her lap.  He was very wet.  Sarah’s face was streaked with tears and she looked so goddamn morose.  The world had ended.  She would be a social pariah. She wouldn’t know any of the stories the other girls told at school on Monday.

He sat beside her with a big, sympathetic smile.  He poked Hoppy.  “He’s getting’ a shower.”

“He says you’re the worst,” Sarah sniffled.  “Meanest dad ever.  You don’t even like that stupid lamp!”

“No, I don’t,” Joel agreed.

“You’re so mean!”

“But you know what I like even less than the lamp, huh?”

“I’m not lying! I didn’t break it!  I didn’t break your stupid lamp!”

He nodded slowly.  There was no sense arguing with her:  the lamp had been intact when Sarah started dancing along with MTV and when Joel came back from the garage five minutes later, it was in pieces. I didn’t do it!

“Last chance, babygirl.  Come on.”

All she had to do was tell the truth.

“I didn’t do it!”  She wailed. 

She’d dug herself in way too deep to give up now.  Being caught in the lie and maybe getting a stay of execution was preferable to admitting it.  She had just come too far.

Joel tapped Hoppy’s nose and came to his feet.  “Guess you’re stayin’ home with me tomorrow.”

“I hate you!”

“And next weekend, too.”

“I hate you!”

He closed the door on her and this time, as he went downstairs, he felt decidedly less guilty.  A real hardass wouldn’t have given her so many chances.

Sarah tried again in the morning.  She’d slept on it and reckoned with her predicament differently.

“I’m sorry I broke the lamp,” she said solemnly, standing before him as he drank his coffee.

He was glad to hear it, but he also wasn’t as dumb as she probably thought he was.

“Okay.  Thank you for tellin’ me the truth.”

“… can I go to the party, now?”

“The deal was on the table yesterday, baby.”

“What?!”

“When I ask you something, you tell me the truth.  Not the next day.  Not in your own time.  When I ask you.”

She gaped at him.  “Dad!”

“So next time – ”

“You don’t even like that stupid ugly lamp!”

“Nope, but I don’t much like you lyin’.  Ugly habit, Sarah.  Thought you and me were a team?”

“I hate you!”

She burst into fresh tears and dramatically flung herself up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door shut.

Joel slurped his coffee and turned the newspaper to the sports section.  “Sure, you do.”

[twoheartsoneclara]

my main boy five.  oh my boy.

i’ll admit, i think they dropped the ball with his writing this season.  aidan’s still turning out an incredible performance, and added a lot of nuance to his characterization despite quite frankly working with pretty much nothing.  go off, king.

i don’t know what to make of him being the founder of the commission.  granted, the commission is literally so fucking nonsense at this point, but it feels like it erases a.  LOT.  of the tragedy of five’s character.  it could possibly be tragic in a different way, but with the writers not doing fucking anything with it this season, it’s difficult to tell.  

a big part of his conflicts over the past two seasons have had to do with the fact that he fucking despises the handler, that the handler is just the one who was next in line after reginald, who saw him as a tool and used him to carry out her dirty work.  the whole “i don’t belong anywhere thanks to you.  you made me a killer.”  “you were always a killer.  i just pointed you in a direction.” and “i saved you from a lifetime of being alone.  you owe me.”  and his “i do owe a debt.  but it’s not to you.” is a key scene.  if the handler is right, that he was always a killer, then a huge part of his moral complexity is wiped away.

a huge part of what makes five compelling as a character is the conflict that he has with not enjoying being a killer and being made into one and being good at it anyways.  one of his biggest themes as a character and his driving force that’s been consistent behind his motives is what would you do, how far would you go, to save the people that you love.  and another key part of that is that he is a weapon and a killer, yes, but he was made that way.  that’s a theme across the whole series and the whole hargreeves family.  the same thing with viktor - their stories clearly parallel each others’, especially in season 1 with leonard and reginald.

the downright horror that we felt at the commission having left him in the apocalypse specifically so they could use his desperation against him and so that they could manipulate him into doing what they wanted becomes so moot when we learn that.  what?  he’s the one who created the commission actually?

and logically, it doesn’t make any sense from what we know about five as a character for him to just lie down and give up, not five as he is now or old old five.  they had to nerf him to make the plot work.  if there had been a bigger timeskip, it might have made sense but he’s still fresh off of the end of season 2.  this is the same man who literally while actively dying managed to turn back time to save his family from dying.  the same one who murdered a boardroom of people to try and get his family home.  the whole storyline about him accepting destiny makes no fucking sense.  the commission said “the apocalypse has to happen” and he said “fuck this fuck you” and utterly refuses to accept the idea of destiny.

they definitely attempted to somewhat justify it with the whole “no life spent going mad” and being just tired by the whole thing which like justified my man.  it’s definitely kind of the fallout of trying to run himself ragged for the past month.  and you can tell that aidan was trying so hard to make it work with the acting choices that he brought to the table, so again, go off, king.  

but at the same time again it’s been a month.  sure, it’s the month from hell, and he so deserves to go apeshit about it, but that’s fucking nothing compared to the 45 years stuck in the apocalypse.  like yeah he’d probably have a breakdown about it (as is his right) but it’s another core trait of five’s is that he doesn’t give up.  literally all of the plot of the entire show hinges on the fact that he doesn’t give up.  stopping the 2019 apocalypse?  five’s the only one who has knowledge about it from the beginning and shows up to stop it, and that’s only possible because he spent 45 years surviving the apocalypse and taking the deal with the commission so he could return home to stop it and save his family.  ending up in the 60s?  only possible because five took him and his siblings back so that they could escape the currently impending apocalypse.  them not fucking dying in that barn and making it possible for them to get back to 2019?  only possible because he rewound time while dying himself and managed to save them.

i understand them making allison the large driving plot force this season and tbh i’m glad they did!!  homegirl completely deserved her chance to shine and emmy fucking gave it her all.  (caveat: they definitely also fucked up that deeply on some points but by and large yes, allison did deserve to go apeshit).  and i also understand somewhat understand making the conflict between her and viktor - their dynamic has been pretty important for viktor’s story (as the second-most important character to the plot overall), and they managed to do something...half-interesting with that.  but they completely had to nerf five’s character to make all of that possible, which is just lazy writing.

on a petty note, give five mr. pennycrumb for fucking real, you cowards.  

[wobster109]

Thoughts on Parade of Providence day 3—

Kaveh

"I've heard enough. The last thing I need is more suffering."

What a moment! For Kaveh, who could never look away from anyone's suffering, who made every person's (and some creatures') suffering his own, to refuse it! This was a crucial character moment for him—all the rest of it (helping the foxes, insisting on drawing lots, donating the estate)—the rest of it was all Kaveh. Smashing the diadem, on the other hand. . . he's found his limit, perhaps for the first time. . . and he found it in himself to hold it. 🥺😭🥰

I love that he was as respectful of Sachin as he could be, despite everything. He wouldn't just take his estate for himself and ignore Sachin's wishes. And, in the end, what got Sachin (and his own father) was caring for people. I love that he used Sachin's own money to help people. . . doing what research could not, in a way. It may not have been the perfect solution Sachin was searching for, but it was something, no?

Alhaitham's Quote

"Lofty ideals may provide no defense at all against nihilism, but perhaps little decisions can. By their own choice, the idealist seeks to bring happiness to all, while denying themselves the same. Thus they shall never reach even the borders of truth until they wipe away the ignorance that blinds them."

This quote confused me a bunch. The first part seems to be approving of Kaveh, in a roundabout way: little decisions like helping the foxes, or buying a keychain, or drawing lots just because it's fair. Yet the second part seems like a critique: is he saying Kaveh shall never find truth unless he wipes away his ignorance?

On a second reading, I believe this quote is contrasting Kaveh and Sachin. Sachin is the idealist, who tried to bring happiness to all, and lost himself to despair. On the other hand, if each of us does a bit to be kind, and to help each other. . . we may stave off our slide from bad to worse.

A Tale of Two Fathers

"Whatever it is that he's researching out there, he'll always be garbage in my eyes."

I winced every time Sachin called Kaveh "my child". You HAD a child. You left him.

Kaveh's father had a child, and Kaveh's father left him.

Idealists (derogatory)! Your journey to save people began by leaving someone behind. And yet I can't be mad: Kaveh's father did make a difference. Sachin's research. . . though it cause a lot of grief, it made a difference in the end. It sent the desert people Kaveh's father, which changed who Kaveh grew to become, until he came to command and donate Sachin's estate. They ended up making a difference in the end, so I can't be mad.

And neither can Kaveh. That's the difference between him and Jiwani, who grew bitter and angry. Kaveh has grief, but never bitterness towards others.

Rishti

"To live a better life, my son became a mercenary. He was killed in a scuffle a few years ago, and his belongings were taken. Many years have passed in the blink of an eye. I wonder how his child turned out, and if they hold a grudge against him? Not many people know these things anymore. I'm getting old. Perhaps, I'll forget these things soon, too."

Good god. Archons above.

This is one of those conversations that just sneaks up on you. You're chatting with Rishti, about this bizarre and fantastical situation of a man Coming Back Wrong after coming into contact with a scrap of a dead guy's consciousness trapped in a horcrux diadem, and then. . . suddenly Rishti hits you with something so damn real.

She says it so quietly. Matter-of-factly. It's just a fact of her life, just the fabric of the universe. Nothing to rage against or bemoan. It takes a few seconds for what she has said to sink in.

I interpret this as the game giving us a glimpse into Sachin's research and the memories in his diadem. Such a quiet, profound grief, all the more heartbreaking because of how mundane it seems.

The second part of the grief is the forgetting. Rishti is an old woman, stooped and forgetful. After she is gone, who will remember her mercenary son? Will there be any trace of him left upon the world? The Aranara always say that the forest will remember, to the extent that their very power comes from stories. And in another nation, Zhongli says that the Traveler will bear witness to Teyvat's history. And in a third nation, an adventurer takes on a friend's name, and an archon takes on a friend's shape.

I know about him now, Rishti. I'll remember your son!

(I would love if finding Kaveh's father's note became a commission, either daily or weekly, someday!)

Alhaitham

Nearly had a heart attack when I wandered into Aaru village, and there he was, just casually reading the research that drove Sachin and Kaveh's father to madness. That's risky! And reckless! He has a lot of confidence in himself to be different from Sachin. And perhaps he's right to be confident, but. . . it's a pointless risk. Alhaitham isn't even interested in the research! Kaveh's lost too many people already 😭

In many ways he is Kaveh's opposite, but in this. . . he has a bit of Kaveh's recklessness.

Alhaitham! Every line of his is so loaded with meaning! I was reading each of his lines several times, to try to extract the meaning of it. "Empathy is a double-edged sword," and "All important things in life involve other people. As such, it's extremely difficult to live a life that causes no harm whatsoever to others," and "the world is not built on "correctness" alone. Sometimes, being correct means nothing at all" 😭 Can't help but feel that he's trying to say something very, very essential. I could listen to him talk for hours.

That Conversation and the Fate of Humanity

Of course Alhaitham can't possibly give a straight answer to any of Kaveh's questions, ever, and certainly not "Why were you investigating Sachin when his research doesn't interest you?" Can't just simply say "to find out about your father" like a reasonable person, noooo! Instead we have to get sidetracked and have a debate about the value of Sachin's legacy, and then later he casually throws in "Sachin. . . is very likely to have met your father" like it's unrelated.

FUCK OFF, ALHAITHAM! JUST COME CLEAN AND TELL KAVEH YOU DID IT FOR HIM!

Kaveh is exactly the same. He has to get sidetracked and have another debate about. . . I'm not entirely sure what this one is about. The fate of humanity? Alhaitham says "Someone else will inevitably pick up the same line of research one day," and I believe this means that eventually someone will choose wrong, and will instead publish the research where it will drive swaths of people into depression. After all, the topic is sure to come back again and again.

It reminds me of the Narukami Island and Vanarana quests, actually. Sachin's research is a bit like the filth that accumulates over 60 years, or the Marana (the awareness of death?) that accumulates over 500: nothing can be solved for forever. Eventually, the battle begins anew, and all we can do is hope, and take up arms when the time calls. Sometimes that means fighting the Withering. Other times? Extending your hand to a classmate or a lost fox, even if it's tiny in the grand scheme. Even if it's futile. "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

And if there comes a day when Sachin's prophecy comes true: the battle is lost, "things go from bad to worse". . . The forest will remember. We were here. Our stories were real.

"Thanks for letting me know all this." In typical Kaveh form, he says it from a safe distance after the fact, and doesn't even mention what "this" is. Thank you for letting me know that Sachin is to blame for what happened to my father, and it wasn't what I said. You're welcome, Kaveh! (In this way they are so much alike 🥰)

I think that Alhaitham's little personal quest to find answers for Kaveh. . . it's one of the little decisions that fights against nihilism.

Kaveh (Reprise)

A few loose closing thoughts:

I knew he wasn't athletic on day 1 when he nearly went into cardiac arrest climbing a tree 🥺 He's very *pant pant wheeze* it's very endearing.

How is everyone just standing around while Sachin's Horcrux tries to take over his mind? Come on, Alhaitham! Go to him!

Kaveh talks about Alhaitham a lot. Everyone at the table comments on it, it's very sweet! Rent-free in our hearts, indeed.

In closing, I found this to be so charming:

Hah, a Haravatat taking something that didn't belong to him! Immediately, I thought of Kaveh's house keys. Was delighted to find that was the actual answer!

[harringtonlovers]

COME AND GET YOUR LOVE | STANCY

chapter 4

“ meet me in the bathroom ”

ao3

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Nancy Wheeler found herself staring into the bathroom mirror. She brushed the ends of her hair slowly, taking in the scene. All she could think about was the fact that Steve Harrington was in her bedroom last night, begging her to tutor him in exchange for a fake date. How was that her new reality?

She figured she would have to look a bit different at school since she was now in a fake relationship with Steve Harrington. Her style didn't exactly fit his. She was a fan of long skirts with Emerson College t-shirts but also wore different kinds of sweaters with jeans that matched perfectly. That outfit usually consisted of some kind of belt, her statement piece. Nancy could never forget about her hair, though. She was keen on clips and half up half down styles.

However, she found herself wearing something a bit different. Instead of the thousands of layers she wore, Nancy only wore one. Her outfit consisted of a thin long sleeve painted in colors of beige and gray. She matched the shirt with a jean skirt and black loafers. Instead of using any type of hair accessory, Nancy decided to just let her hair roam wild. Her curls were loosened, and bangs were blown back to frame her face.

It was a rare occasion to be wearing an outfit like this. She would usually pull out this ensemble around the holiday season but for some reason, she felt the need to dress a little differently. That reason was Steve Harrington, but Nancy didn't want to admit it.

"Nancy! You're gonna be late for school!" Nancy heard her mom call.

"Coming!" Nancy hollered back.

The girl returned to her room to grab her belongings, stuffing a jacket into her bag just in case she felt too exposed. Rushing out of the room, Nancy skipped down the steps in an orderly fashion. At the bottom of the stairs stood Mike, her younger brother, and her mother. The two were staring at Nancy, both in different ways. Mike was full of pure disgust while her mom looked as if Nancy held the world on her shoulders.

"Oh, Nance, you look adorable!" Her mother beamed. "What's the occasion?"

Nancy reached the bottom of the stairs, wiping down on her skirt. "Oh, I just thought I would try something new today."

"You sure it's not for your boyfriend?" Mike teased.

Nancy's eyes went wide as she stared at Mike, begging him to keep his mouth shut for all of eternity.

"Boyfriend?" Their mother asked. "Nancy, you have a boyfriend that I don't know about?"

Nancy looked back at her mom, her face softening. How did someone, Mike of all people, already know about her and Steve? Had he already broadcasted it to the whole state of Indiana? "No, he's not my boyfriend."

"Who is it?" Mike asked, a smirk appearing on his lips.

Nancy gulped. "No one, Mike. Now cut it off, I have to get to school!"

Their mother sighed, placing her hand on Mike's shoulders. "Okay, let's take your sister to school. Mike, go finish up breakfast, and don't forget to clean your dishes!"

"Yes, Mom!" Mike rolled his eyes before exiting toward the kitchen.

Nancy watched him, her body full of rage. "Uh, Mom? I have to run to the kitchen real quick, do you mind just waiting in the car for me?"

Her mother agreed, grabbing the car keys and heading outside. As she listened for the front door to close, Nancy ran into the kitchen. She approached Mike, fists clenched. "What do you know, Mike?"

Mike looked up from his cereal bowl, dumbfounded as ever. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with me! The comment about me having a boyfriend to Mom? Why would you assume I have a boyfriend, hmm?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because I saw Steve Harrington climbing up our roof to gain access to your room." Before Mike continued, Nancy's fists clenched tighter than ever. By the look on her face, Mike could tell his sister was stunned. "Yeah, he wasn't very sly about it. Banging all over the spout, left his bike pretty out in the open. You're lucky Mom didn't see it." Mike took a bite of his cereal.

Nancy's cheeks reddened as she listened to the confession. "Listen, it was just a one-time thing, alright? You tell Mom, then I'll tell her about how you were out past your curfew last night."

Mike looked up. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would." Nancy stuck her hand out. "Do we have a deal?"

Mike hesitated before shaking his sister's hand. "Unfortunately."

"Great!" Nancy beamed as she pulled her hand away. "That means you cannot say anything about a boyfriend ever again. Because...Steve Harrington isn't my boyfriend."

"Yeah, whatever." Mike waved off. "We all know about Steve Harrington, and I could've told you it was just going to be a one-time thing. The dude is a God."

Nancy furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, you don't think I could hold Steve Harrington down? And what do you mean he's a God?"

Mike shook his head. "No one can hold Steve Harrington down. We've heard it all from the older kids." Mike paused, swishing his cereal around in the milk. "He's a God, as in he has every single girl wrapped around his finger. He's got great hair and is awesome at basketball. Anyone would kill to know Steve. But, I guess you got to know him pretty well, huh?"

Nancy shoved Mike, a scowl appearing on his lips. "You're annoying. Goodbye!" She spun around on her heel, waving off to Mike as she approached the front door.

"Give Steve a kiss for me!" Mike called out, a hint of laughter laced between his words.

Nancy shut the front door behind her in a fit of rage. What was her brother going on about, and why did he know so much about Steve Harrington? Was it true that almost all of the boys in Hawkins looked up to Steve in some sort of weird, twisted way? And the statement about every girl wrapped around his finger was false, considering Nancy saw right through his bullshit.

As she made her way toward the car, Nancy let out a sigh. She let herself in, plopping down onto the passenger side of the car. Her mom immediately pulled out of the driveway as Nancy buckled her seatbelt.

Staring out the window, Nancy continued to wonder about what Mike was saying. How was it possible for the whole town of Hawkins to be in love with Steve? Was there something Nancy was missing about the appeal? Sure, he was a great-looking guy. She had written about him multiple times for the paper, usually relating to how he was the star player of their basketball team. It was a privilege to know him, for sure. "Hey, mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

Nancy glanced at her mom. "What do you know about Steve Harrington?"

Her mom smiled slightly, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel. "Steve Harrington? Oh, what a great boy. His family is amazing, and he is such a good kid. I've only ever heard great things. Why?"

Nancy's nostrils flared as she leaned her head against the window. "No reason."

Oh, but there was a reason. Nancy knew deep down that she was in a sticky situation with the golden boy of Hawkins. And she wondered for the rest of the ride, how she managed to get caught up in the act that she swore she'd never fall for.

Arriving at school, Nancy could already feel her heart drop into her stomach. She shut the car door behind her after saying goodbye to her mom and reminding her to pick her up after school. As Nancy heard the car drive off, she slung her bag over her shoulder. With a soft sigh, she glanced around the parking lot.

Nancy could feel the breeze fly up her skirt. She glanced down, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "What is wrong with me?" She muttered, pulling down at the denim wrapped around her legs.

Shaking her head, Nancy's head shot back up. She turned to her left and immediately saw the familiar BMW that sat toward the back end of the parking lot. A figure leaned up against the car, signaling to Nancy that she had to go over there. The sad part was that she wanted to do anything but that. But Nancy had to hold up her end of the arrangement, whether she liked it or not.

Letting out a frustrated sound, Nancy made her way toward Steve. She glanced around, making sure no one was watching her. The two of them interacting too early would give the suspense away. Approaching Steve, he smelled faintly of cigarettes and cologne. "Morning."

Steve looked up, the cigarette dangling between his lips. "Wheeler!" He beamed, his smile bright as ever. He took a drag of the cigarette, allowing the smoke to soar through the air.

"Shush!" Nancy scolded. She looked around, eyes full of fear. "Someone could hear you and see us!"

"Jeez, someone pissed in your Cheerios this morning." Steve finished off the cigarette, dropping it to the ground and stomping on it. He smushed the cigarette before giving his undivided attention to Nancy.

"Shut up." Nancy scoffed.

"Never," Steve smirked before reaching into his car. He pulled out his duffel bag, letting out a sigh. Struggling, he reached for his letterman jacket.

Nancy watched, intrigued. "Need help?"

"Nah." Steve shut the car door, looking back at Nancy. "Just grabbing the necessities."

Nancy looked at his so-called needs, letting out a laugh. "Your duffel bag full of sweaty clothes and your jacket you probably haven't washed in weeks count as necessities?"

Steve's eyebrows furrowed. "First, no sweaty clothes. I do laundry occasionally. Second, you don't wash a letterman jacket. That's how you ruin them!" He shoved the jacket toward Nancy. "See? Leather!"

Nancy shoved it back. "Ew!" She covered her mouth, plugging her nose from the faint smell of Steve Harrington.

"You're being stupid." Steve rolled his eyes. Glancing at Nancy, he did a double-check. "Woah."

Nancy unplugged her nose, staring at Steve with a strange look. "What?"

"Your outfit." Steve leaned against his car, a smirk on his lips. "You look..."

Steve wasn't sure what to say. He knew for a fact that what Nancy was wearing wasn't her usual. In fact, he had taken notice of her various sweaters, since she's been wearing the same style since grade school. Nancy seemed preferred comfortable, casual outfits. Not jean skirts and thin sweaters that left Steve curious. Not that he was staring, but Nancy was a beautiful girl. There was no denying it.

He also took note of the sweater, loving how the neutral colors brought out the blue in her eyes. She looked stunning, but he knew it wasn't her. "Great."

Nancy's eyes widened a bit. "Great?"

"Mhm." Steve grinned before pushing his body off of the car. "So, you ready?"

Nancy was full of confusion. The two had barely thought anything through, yet Steve just wanted to jump right in. "What do you mean?"

Steve glanced back and forth between the school and Nancy. "Uhm..." He paused. "Did you forget our plan already? Jeez, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

The eyebrow-raising was starting to get exhausting. Nancy could feel her skin tighten, growing annoyed by the second. How was she going to spend the next couple of weeks pretending to date, Steve? "You're kidding."

"What?" Steve dug into his bag, pulling out a granola bar. He undid the wrapper, shoving half of the bar into his mouth. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I am the one desperate to bring my grades up."

Nancy appreciated the apology, even if he spat a few pieces of his granola bar toward her. "You're fine. However, we can't just walk in there. We need a plan."

Steve finished the rest of his granola bar, chuckling at Nancy's need for control. "Listen, Wheeler." He paused to shove the wrapper into his duffel bag. "We don't need a plan for everything. What's the issue with just going with the flow? It'll be much easier."

Nancy scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm just not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing." She said. Biting down on her lip, Nancy's eyes met the ground. "I've never really done this before, you know?"

Steve stared at Nancy. He felt a bit of pity toward her, but he knew that the reason Nancy acted this way was because she wanted a plan. "It's alright, Nancy. Just...be yourself."

Nancy looked up at Steve again, her bottom lip in a pout. "Be me? Please, that is imp—"

"Shut up!" He scolded, grabbing her hand.

Steve pulled Nancy down the gravel, rushing toward the school. Nancy tried her best to pull away, grunting and groaning as he tugged on her arm. "Steve! What the hell are you doing?!"

Steve ignored her, pulling Nancy closer to him as they started to become surrounded by students. He yanked Nancy to his side, intertwining their fingers together. "Follow my lead."

Nancy's cheeks flushed as she felt her body brush against his. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree when Steve intertwined their hands together. Feeling eyes on her, Nancy began to look around. Students were turning heads at the sight in front of them, which only made Nancy's face scrunch into fear.

The two of them glided down the hall. Steve, a smile on his face, waved to some people he knew. Nancy, eyes were full of concern, and her body was aggravated by the increased levels of anxiety. She looked up at him, yanking his arm slightly to get his attention.

Steve looked down, locking eyes with Nancy. His eyes poured into her baby blues, causing his cheeks to flush a little. Running his spare hand over his face, Steve smiled down at Nancy. "What?" He smiled through his teeth.

"They're staring," Nancy whispered back.

Steve nodded, confused as to what Nancy was concerned about. "So?"

"What do I do?"

"Just smile and wave, Nance."

The sudden nickname caused Nancy's breath to shorten. She looked back at the crowd, noticing that the two had made it inside the school. They walked down the main hallway, hand and hand. More eyes seemed to stare, whispers started to grow and Nancy's anxiety only skyrocketed.

Steve swung their hands a bit, continuing his parade down the hallway. While Nancy felt out of place, Steve owned the school. Was Nancy getting brownie points for this, or was Steve getting all of the praise? No matter what, her anxiety wasn't decreasing whatsoever.

"My locker's over here," Nancy mumbled, glancing toward the columns of lockers.

Steve followed her gaze, stopping in the hallway. This caused Nancy to halt. She took in the moment, surveying the moment. Girls were staring at her with a look of disgust, claws out and ready to mangle the brunette. She took particular notice of a certain cheerleader, the one Steve wanted to make jealous.

Gasping softly, Nancy looked away from Chrissy as fast as she could. The brunette glanced back, noticing the narrowed eyes and slight scowl on the redhead's lips. "Steve?"

"Hm?" He asked, putting his full attention to Nancy.

Nancy dragged Steve toward her locker, unlocking the door as fast as she could. Popping the door open, she glanced up at Steve. She figured that the locker was a bit of protection from the rest of the school. "I guess this is working?"

Steve leaned against the lockers, a smirk plastered on his face. "And why's that?"

"Chrissy." Nancy motioned toward her.

Steve glanced back at Chrissy, seeing the redhead. The scowl remained, which only made Steve's face light up. He waved to her quickly before turning back to Nancy. "I guess it is working, huh?"

"You're welcome," Nancy mumbled. The girl shoved her bag into her locker, letting out a sigh. "Is everyone still staring?"

Steve glanced around before chuckling. "Absolutely."

"Great," Nancy said.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, we can give them more of a show. All eyes on us means everyone's gonna know by the end of the day." Steve leaned in closer to Nancy.

Nancy's eyes continued the trend of widening the moment Steve moved in closer. His eyes had leveled with hers, meaning their lips were about the same level. Her eyes flickered to Steve's lips, her heart beating out of her chest. Was he going to kiss her? Nancy hated to admit it, but this would be her first kiss. Her first kiss was going to be with Steve Harrington, her least favorite person on earth.

"What are you doing?" Nancy whispered.

Steve stared with a smile. He could tell how nervous Nancy was. The anxiety radiated off of her body. He was going to kiss her on the lips. But, something was telling him not to. It could drag too much attention, and could potentially earn a few slaps from Nancy later on. Instead, he placed his pointer finger under Nancy's chin, pushing her head up slightly. "You'll see."

Nancy stared, her breathing becoming rapid the moment Steve tilted her head up. Their eyes met for a moment, Nancy catching sight of Steve's shit-eating grin, as well as his dark eyes full of lust. It felt like a kiss was about to happen, but instead, Steve turned her head to the side. Before Nancy could say anything, Steve pressed a firm kiss to her cheek. Her body ignited into a flame, causing Nancy to giggle a bit as he kissed her cheek.

Steve let his lips linger, pulling away slowly. The hallway seemed to fill with gasps and increased whispers, indicating that everyone who was around had witnessed Steve kissing Nancy's cheek. His eyes scanned the room, taking note of all the weird stares. Two in particular, though, coming from his best friends, Billy and Eddie. They stared at Steve: Billy confused as hell and Eddie with his mouth hanging open. All the boy could do was send a wink down their way matched with his signature grin.

Their eyes met once again, a smile appearing on Steve's lips. He heard the faint sound of Nancy's giggle but didn't want to point it out in case it embarrassed her. He was a dick, but he knew he had to be somewhat nice toward Nancy if he wanted to get tutored. "Good, huh?"

Nancy rolled her eyes before shutting her locker. "You're an idiot." Pulling her attention away from Steve, she saw the one person she didn't want to see just yet.

Robin stood at the end of the hallway, mouth hanging open. She was going to catch flies if she stayed in that position any longer. Eyes full of fear, Nancy pushed herself off of the lockers. "Shit, shit, shit."

"Hm?" Steve asked, looking over at Robin. "Ah, Robin!" He called out, sending an excited wave her way.

All the blonde could do was return the wave before strutting off to class.

Nancy gulped, unsure if Robin was upset or not.

The bell rang, signaling class was officially in session. Nancy sighed, clutching her textbook close to her chest. "I have to get to class."

"Right." Steve smiled. "I'll walk you."

"No!" Nancy blurted, causing Steve's eyebrows to raise. "I-I mean...it's okay. I think we've done enough of..." She paused, pointing her finger back and forth between the two of them. "This. We can meet up again after school for tutoring, yeah?"

"Actually, I have practice. So, no can do with the tutoring tonight."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Seriously? You need to give me a schedule."

"I will!" Steve said. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out. Alright?"

Nancy sighed, unsure of whether or not to trust Steve with the next move. He had already gotten the looks he needed, and Nancy didn't feel like going through that anxiety-ridden mess again. Plus, she had to talk to Robin before it blew up in her face. "Alright."

Steve smiled. "Perfect! Now get to class, girlfriend."

Nancy flashed a fake smile, backing up from Steve. "Same to you...boyfriend."

Steve winked at her. The boy leaned against the lockers once again, watching as Nancy backed away. The girl sent him a quick smile before turning around, heading toward her first class of the day. As she walked down the hall, Nancy's face twisted into a sour expression, mentally cursing herself for calling Steve her boyfriend.

Steve stood still, watching as Nancy rushed down the hallway. He reached up and touched his lips, reminiscing on the softness of Nancy's face. He felt lucky that she agreed to help him, especially because she could tell that she was having a hard time. He would have to do anything she asked for in the future, whether he liked it or not.

Looking around, Steve was left alone in the hallway. Pushing himself off the lockers, he wrapped himself in his letterman jacket. As he did so, he began to whistle a tune he made up himself. As he whistled, Steve made his way down the hallway toward his first class of the day.

He figured he would get a head start on attending class before Nancy yelled at him for it.

As the bell rang, Steve waltzed into the hallway. He glanced down at his watch, taking note of the time. His clock read half past 11, signaling it was time for lunch. With a quick smile, Steve clicked his heels together and made his way toward the lunch room.

Walking down the hall, Steve glanced over at the row of lockers. His eyes locked with a familiar one, coming to a complete halt. Glancing around, Steve waited a moment to let the hallways clear. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a spare sheet of paper along with a random marker. Walking toward the lockers, Steve leaned against them.

His eyes darted around the halls once more before writing his brief message. Steve signed the note before shoving it in between the cracks of Nancy's locker. The note wasn't anything serious, but Steve didn't want to cause a scene just yet. He figured he could make a better grand entrance somewhere else, even bigger than the stunt they pulled that morning.

With a swift motion, Steve went right on track toward the cafeteria. He whistled his usual tune, shaking his head along to the beat. The boy could never quite pinpoint what he was whistling, but it was usually a song he was obsessed with at the moment. Right now, he couldn't resist his guilty pleasure, Blondie.

Pushing the doors open to the cafeteria, Steve entered. He pulled at his jacket, adjusting it to show off the clean leather. Glancing around, he immediately found his table full of friends. He made his way over, shoving into the last seat next to Eddie. "Munson! Billy." Steve smirked. "How's it hanging?"

Eddie and Billy looked up from their food with blank stares.

Steve's smile dropped as he adjusted his posture. "What?"

"'How's it hanging'?" Eddie asked. "You can't be serious."

Steve chuckled awkwardly. "I...I don't know what you're talking about?"

Billy sighed, placing his fork down. He leaned in closer so that only the three of them could hear each other. "Nancy Wheeler?"

Steve's eyes expanded, the fake dating situation slipping from his mind for a moment. He looked at his friends, an awkward smile on his lips. "Oh..right."

"Right," Eddie said. "How come you didn't tell us?"

Steve froze. He genuinely didn't know how to react. It was odd that his friends seemed to be upset over the fact that Steve kept a girl from him, especially when they always congratulated Steve when he got what he wanted with a girl. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"Of course it is!" Billy exclaimed. "Nancy Wheeler is a prude. How the hell are you going out with her?"

Steve felt his fists clench a bit as he heard Billy's insulting words. "We just...connected?"

Eddie let out a laugh. "Connected? You two come from completely different worlds!" The boy paused before snapping his finger. "Aha! Is that why you switched to journalism?"

Billy nodded his head, agreeing with Eddie's statement. However, Steve failed to tell them the real reason why he switched in. Yes, he had touched base with them to say that the class was more manageable and he switched for Chrissy, but that wasn't the main reason. The lies seemed to build on one another, but Steve remained calm and collected to avoid drawing attention. "You caught me."

Eddie and Billy shared a look before flashing a smile toward Steve. "You dog!" Eddie smiled while Billy let out a bark.

Steve's cheeks felt hot, a wiry grin plastered on his lips. "Shut up, dicks."

"You're in it for the long game, huh?" Billy smirked, sending a wink toward his friend.

Steve suddenly felt his chest tighten, feeling guilty for talking about Nancy like this. Deep down, he knew that she was just a person as well. However, Steve also knew that this was all an act, and the odds were that Nancy was saying the same things to Robin. "Possibly. I think this weekend."

Eddie and Billy chuckled. Sharing a quick high five, Eddie moved his hair out of his face. "What about Chrissy?"

Steve gulped. "Chrissy? Oh, uh...well." He scoffed. "She's next after Nancy. Cause, you know, Chrissy's the real thing."

Billy rolled his eyes while Eddie held his hand over his mouth, mimicking a vomit noise. "You're gross," Eddie said between his various sounds. "So, you're gonna bang Nancy at Chrissy's party this weekend?"

Steve had forgotten all about Chrissy's party. Every year, Chrissy's family went out of town to visit family. Somehow, the girl had always convinced her parents to let her stay home due to school and practice. However, Chrissy used the time to throw the biggest party of the year. Besides Halloween, which usually occurred in Steve's neighborhood, Chrissy's was a close second.

Chrissy's party was going to be Steve's time to shine when it came to wooing the host. However, his new fake dating had thrown a wrench in his plan. However, the more Steve thought about it, the better. Bringing Nancy to the party would be their big moment, showing off to everyone that the two of them were together. And it only made more sense because the jealousy would skyrocket out of Chrissy. "Yeah, I am."

Eddie cocked an eyebrow, exchanging a look with Billy before looking back at Steve. "Then, you're gonna go for Chrissy?"

"Potentially." Steve winced.

"You. Dirty. Dog." Billy said. "But I love it!"

Steve watched as his friends celebrated, congratulating Steve for scoring Nancy Wheeler. In all honestly, Eddie and Billy had no idea why Steve went for her. But, with more thought into it, it was perfect timing for Chrissy's party.

"Does she think you're dating?" Billy asked.

Steve's breath hitched in his throat. "Oh, well. Yeah? I don't know. We are just...messing around?"

"Messing around?" Eddie asked. "Oh, you're so getting it this weekend!"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, maybe."

"Well, even if it doesn't happen, at least you'll get it eventually. Right?" Billy asked.

Steve usually never cared about the boy talk. However, this time it felt different. He felt as if he was violating Nancy, especially since she was doing him a huge favor. All Steve knew was to play along, but he was finding it challenging. "Maybe? I don't know. Nancy's..."

His attention shifted for a moment. He caught sight of his fake girlfriend, Nancy Wheeler, carrying a lunch tray. She walked side by side with Robin Buckley, engaging in a vigorous conversation. Steve knew that Nancy was telling Robin about the two of them, which caused his stomach to tie into a knot. Steve couldn't help but stare, taking in all of Nancy Wheeler. She looked great every day, but something about today felt different. From afar, Nancy looked more confident, full of life.

"Nancy's great." Steve continued. "She's a great girl and I'm not sure if I can break her heart."

Eddie and Billy went silent. The first to react was Eddie, who dropped his fork onto his tray in a dramatic manner. Then, Billy rolled his eyes before running a hand through his hair. "Since when does Steve Harrington care about breaking a girl's heart?" Billy asked.

Steve thought for a moment. Glancing back at Nancy, his eyes narrowed. She looked deep in conversation, struggling to open her water bottle as she listened to Robin's long speech. Steve looked back at his friends, a soft smile on his lips. "Not sure. Preparing for when I'm with Chrissy, yeah?"

His friends nodded, switching the conversation as fast as they could. Listening to the clamor faintly, his eyes went back to Nancy. He was surprised that she hadn't noticed his staring, especially because Steve felt a bit creepy, but he wished they were sitting together discussing their next move. He feared that he had messed up with his friends, so now he panicked.

A thought popped into his head, causing him to pull his gaze away from Nancy. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out another piece of scrap paper along with the same marker from earlier. Trying his best to hide the message from his friends, Steve quickly wrote a brief message for Nancy.

Meet in Bathroom.

- Steve

Hearing the faint sound of the bell, Steve grabbed the note as quickly as he could. "See ya in journalism, maybe!" Those were the last words Steve said before he bolted off toward Nancy's locker. He wanted to beat her there and get ready to meet her in the bathroom.

Pushing past a few students and muttering a bunch of excuses, Steve eventually arrived at her locker. He struggled to pull the note out, panic washing over his face. His eyes looked up, seeing the faint view of Robin and Nancy walking down the hallway. Eyes widening, Steve found the note. He looked back down rereading the note just to see if it looked proper.

Shoving the note into her locker, anxiety washes over his body. The hallway was filled, meaning that people were watching him stuff a note into Nancy's locker. Even if they didn't know it was Nancy's, she would appear there any second. The rumors would continue to fly, causing girls to faint in awe or create a revenge plan against Nancy. The first option seemed the best to Steve.

Hearing the note fall to the bottom of Nancy's locker, Steve glanced back up. Nancy and Robin were nearing, causing Steve to curse under his breath. Before he knew it, his feet were carrying him toward the nearest bathroom.

"I don't get it, Nance!" Robin screeched, causing Nancy to wince. "How could you?"

Nancy and Robin made their way down the hall, approaching Nancy's locker. They made their usual route: leave the cafeteria, go to Nancy's locker, go to Robin's locker, then head off to class. Next up on the list was journalism, Nancy's favorite class of the day. But today, it was different. It was going to be the first time that Nancy and Steve had to act like a fake couple, all with Jonathan right there.

"I don't know!" Nancy sighed as they approached her locker. "It just...happened?"

"It just happened? Oh, come on! Even I'm not falling for that." Robin leaned against the nearest lockers with a huff. "You and Steve Harrington just magically happened? No way. Not in a million lifetimes am I going to believe you! Plus, the outfit choice today? It's very cute but very not you! This is so 'Mom forced me to dress up and take our annual family Christmas picture together'!"

"You're ridiculous. It's just an outfit." Nancy said before popping her locker open. "I'm telling you, it's just happened. He...asked me out in journalism."

"He's in that class?" Robin looked over, eyebrows hunched as she saw a piece of paper fall out of Nancy's locker. With that, a second piece followed shortly after. "You dropped something, Nance."

"Hm?" Nancy questioned. Her eyes diverted to the floor, confused at the sudden sight of the random scraps of paper. "Oh!"

Nancy kneeled and grabbed the paper, flipping them over. Her heart leaped a bit at the notes, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip.

Meet after school?

- Steve

Nancy shuffled the papers to read the next one.

Meet me. Bathroom.

- Steve

"Uh, Rob." Nancy paused to stand up. "I have to go."

Robin's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Nancy looked up, showing Robin the notes. "I've been summoned."

Robin snatched the notes, reading them quickly. The blonde scoffed, looking up at her best friend. "You're seriously ditching me to go make out with Steve in the bathroom? Nance, this is low! Even for you."

Nancy winced. How was she supposed to keep this a secret from her best friend? The girl was never the best at lying, especially when it came to Robin. Robin knew just how to nail the head on the coffin, pushing anyone to the edge to confess their deepest darkest secrets. It didn't help that Robin told her life story to anyone who asked. "Robin...you just have to trust me."

Robin's face screwed up. "Trust you? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just...trust that I'm not ditching you."

"It sure seems like it." Robin snapped.

Nancy felt her heart sink into her stomach. This was going to be harder than she thought. It never occurred to her how much time Steve could potentially take up in her life. Especially taking time away from her best friend before the two split off at the end of the year. "Robin, please?"

Robin stared at Nancy for a moment. As the silence turned awkward, Robin broke the tension. "Alright, alright." She held her hands up in defense. "But if you make Steve the center of your world, I will flick you."

"Flick me?"

"Flick you!" Robin repeated.

Nancy's face softened, a smile appearing. "Whatever you say."

"Exactly," Robin smirked. "Reunite after school?"

"Absolutely!" Nancy said.

"Perfect. Meet at my car and I'll drive you home, yeah?"

"Got it." Those were the last words before Robin skipped off to her locker.

Whipping her head around, Nancy watched her friend. Shutting her locker door shut, she let out a deep sigh. This relationship was going to be the death of her, but Nancy knew it would help her out in the long run. Emerson would love to know that she was dedicated to helping others, especially in academics. The betrayal against Robin seemed worse, and she didn't want to lose her closest friend to a fake dating scandal that could potentially help her chances of getting into Emerson increase.

Leaving her thoughts at the locker, Nancy made her way down the hall. The notes made no sense, considering Steve could be in any of the bathrooms. Also, the bell had just rung, so girls could still be in the restroom. The thought of Steve Harrington waiting for Nancy outside of the girl's bathroom caused her to laugh. Her giggles stopped the minute she felt something—more like someone—tug on her arm.

The next thing she knew, Nancy was dragged into the girl's bathroom. Eyes widened, she prepared to scream her head off before a hand covered her mouth. Feeling her back press against the cold wall of the bathroom, Nancy locked eyes with familiar brown ones. Her eyebrows lifted, eyes full of confusion her relief.

Steve's hand slipped from Nancy's mouth, placing a finger against his lips. He shushed Nancy which only made her want to slap him across the face even more. "Wha—" Steve interrupted her with another shush.

Nancy began to scowl, crossing her arms over her chest. "I left Robin to meet up with you!" She whispered-yelled. "You better hurry up before I slap some sense into you."

"Shush!" Steve returned the whisper-yell.

Nancy confided, rolling her eyes in dissatisfaction. Running a hand through the ends of her hair, she listened as the last bell rang. Looking up at Steve, she waited for him to move or make another sound. Instead, he just stood there for a moment before looking down at Nancy. "Hm?" Nancy asked.

After a minute passed, Steve removed his finger from his lips. He walked over toward the bathroom door, locking it from the inside.

"Steve!" Nancy yelled. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Hear me out!" Steve replied. "Just..hear me out."

"You do realize I was on my way to find you. Make this quick before..." The first bell rang. Nancy began to panic. "We can't show up late to journalism together! God, Fred is totally going to go after my position and it's going to be all your fault!"

"You're so dramatic." Steve rolled his eyes. "There's a party this weekend."

"Awesome! Can I go now?"

"Just hear me out."

"I'm gonna hurt you." Nancy seethed.

"No, you won't," Steve smirked before continuing. "You're coming to the party with me."

Nancy stood astonished. "What?"

"You. Me. Party. Yeah?" Steve grinned while doing a terrible dance for a few seconds.

"Absolutely not!"

"Oh, come on! Everyone will be there." Steve paused. "Everyone including..."

"Chrissy, I get it." Nancy interrupted.

"Yes, it's her party." Steve smiled with confidence.

"Of course it is." Nancy had heard about Chrissy's annual party. Though not much of a partier, Nancy did wonder what it would be like to actually be invited. Would that mean she was generally well-liked at school? Robin was usually invited, but she always skipped out and just spent the night with Nancy. Nancy always thought it was a pity thing, but she never truly knew.

"Hey, what's with the attitude?" Steve placed his hands on his hips. "I thought this was our agreement." He wiggled his finger in between the two of them, growing concerned about the fact that Nancy seemed more anxious than pleased about their agreement.

He worried that he might be pressuring Nancy into this. It was evident that he threw it on her, shoving the idea down her throat until she agreed. But seeing the nervous expression on her face only made Steve ridden with guilt.

"Yeah, we agreed to fake date at school. Not to keep me from going to class and force me to go to a party with people I don't know!" Nancy fought back, growing impatient with him. Steve could be so arrogant sometimes.

Oh, the guilt was eating him alive. "That's not true! You'll know people!" He sighed.

"Yeah?" Nancy cocked an eyebrow. "Like who?"

Steve froze. He went through a list of people, struggling to reach up with an answer for Nancy. She always knew how to leave him stunned, and never failed to remind him that he would never be wiser than her. "Robin?"

"Robin didn't even mention it to me!" Nancy sighed. "Steve, what's so important about this party?"

Steve remained speechless. The idea of the party racked his brain, trying his best to come up with a positive reason for Nancy to join him. However, with the lack of ideas, he was about to jump ship. He didn't want to pressure her too much, but there was a vital element of the party that Steve forgot to mention. The idea flashed in his mind at the speed of lightning. "Jonathan!"

"Hm?" Nancy perked up.

"Jonathan will totally be there! He always comes." Steve smiles. He vaguely remembered seeing Jonathan at the last party, sitting on a couch with all of his yearbook friends. "This will give you a chance to get some alone time with him, as well as make a move!"

"First off, I will not be making a move," Nancy said. Taking a moment, Nancy thought over the situation. Her first party as Steve Harrington's date wouldn't be so bad. In fact, Nancy thought of it as a practice round for potential parties she'd attended in college. Sure, Chrissy threw one of the biggest parties of the year. But Nancy was determined to understand the culture surrounding high school parties. "However...you might've convinced me. A little. Maybe."

Steve felt his lips tug into a smile. "Maybe?"

"Maybe..." Nancy sighed. Her eyes flickered to the floor for a second before back to Steve. She could see right through the puppy dog act, but Steve wasn't in the wrong for wanting her to go to a party. At the end of the day, the two had an agreement. "Only if Robin can come."

"Done! She's so invited. I love Robin!" Steve's smile only grew wider.

"Perfect. I'll attend this party with you in hopes of talking to Jonathan and avoiding you the whole night." Nancy smirked, all full of sarcasm.

"Don't do the sarcasm." Steve pointed a finger at her. How was it possible for Nancy to push his buttons whenever they spoke?

"I have no clue what you're talking about," Nancy remarked.

"There! You did it again!" Steve yelled out in frustration.

Nancy shook her head before heading toward the door. "I'm going to journalism to claim what is rightfully mine. Also known as, my position as Editor In Chief. I suggest you wait a couple minutes before following in, yeah?"

Steve leaned against the wall, pulling out his pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket. His lighter remained in the other pocket, always ready for anything. Especially a quick smoke break. Taking the lighter to his mouth, Steve lit the cigarette in one swift motion. Sucking the substance in, he stared at Nancy with pure joy. "Should I go to journalism today?"

"Uh, yeah." Nancy reached for the door handle, unlocking the top lock. "I need someone to clean the computers."

Steve let out a chuckle. It was genuine and smooth. He enjoyed Nancy's joke, wanting nothing more than to just hang out in the bathroom with her for the rest of the day and listen to her sarcastic remarks. His grin only seemed to grow as he noticed a slight red tint on Nancy's cheeks. "Maybe I'll stop by."

"Whatever, Harrington." Nancy opened the door but turned around quickly. "Don't forget that we have to set up our tutoring schedule."

"Yes ma'am," Steve said. "I'll pick you up at 8 on Friday. Yeah?"

Nancy tilted her head to the side, weary to agree to this plan. But she knew she had to do it, even if it was only for less than an hour. She hoped that she would find something to keep her company, especially if Robin was there. At the end of the day, that's all Nancy had. She didn't expect Steve to remain at her side all night, especially if Chrissy was going to be in attendance. "Yeah. Sounds good."

Nancy turned to leave but stopped once she heard Steve clear his throat. "Nance?"

She whipped her head around, curious to see what else he had to say. "Yeah?"

Steve stared, cigarette dangling from his lips. His eyes scanned up and down her body, taking in her beauty one last time. "You look great."

The flushed expression returned to Nancy's cheeks. She giggled slightly, scared to speak in case she started to babble or even trip over her words. Without saying anything, she just glared at Steve with a wicked grin. "You said that already."

Steve nodded, taking another drag of his cigarette. "I know."

Nancy looked down at the floor, clicking her heels together before looking back at Steve. Her eyes narrowed, confused as to why Steve was feeling so generous with his compliments today. "Shut up." She mumbled, before turning to leave the bathroom. "Bye, Harrington!"

Watching Nancy exit, Steve's eyes never left her. Without even noticing, his lips shifted from a grimy smirk to a genuine smile.

[rainsoakedphoenix]

You Mean Everything - Chapter 1

This was originally a story I had on my Quotev account (which is a website for quizzes, stories, etc) that I made a profile on a decade ago, which is currently under the name Bishop. I don't see many people using that website anymore and I myself don't use it much anymore so I no longer wanted to write there. This story was first published there in December of 2020 - my last genuine update was around May of 2021. I just wanted to include this note to say this story is NOT stolen - I just made an author's note on the website a couple hours ago to say I'm transferring the story here, and that my Quotev account will be deleted in 2 weeks' time

I had intended for this to be a Gally love story, but after thinking about it, I want to make it a Newt love story as well. Their love interest is my OC Ada (pictured - faceclaim is Paige McKenzie), and this story will go off the movies, so there will be 3 books following all 3 movies.

The world and the characters of the Maze Runner belong to the creator James Dashner; I am by no means claiming to own anything other than my OC Ada and her storyline

Not proofread yet, but I will come back later and do some editing

Warnings: none that I can think of at the moment, but please let me know if I need to add any

WC: 1,199

"And this is the Medical Hut. Most likely where you're going to be working, but we'll see."

Alby had just finished explaining to me all the ins and outs of the Glade. I came up in the Box just a little while ago, scared out of my mind. Looking for a way out, but of course not finding one. I got many dirty looks upon being pulled out of the Box by a soft-eyed Newt; after hearing the whispers and looking around, I had deduced it was probably because I seemed to be the only girl. They were skeptical about the fact that an organization named WCKD would send a woman to the Glade.

Aside from the dirty looks, I also noticed a few of the guys staring at me in awe: I later learned from Alby it was because they haven't seen a girl since their memories were wiped.

"Get away from the Greenie. Get back to work," he had said.

I was thankful for the order. Having a bunch of random guys staring at me wasn't helping the fact that I was forced into a place I didn't know and couldn't even remember my name. I was told it would come back to me shortly, and that it's all you're going to get back from your life before.

"Find Chuck. Little kid with the curly hair. Can't miss 'em. He'll show you where you're going to be sleeping tonight, and then introduce you to everyone. You should be done in time for dinner. Tomorrow, we'll see which job you'll fit in with best. Good luck here."

He patted my shoulder, taking me out of my thoughts, before walking away.

"Would it have hurt to at least tell me where he is?" I muttered to myself. Sighing, I decided to just walk straight and hope I came across him.

It didn't take too long to find him. Kind of. Being the new Glader, he was actually looking around for me too. Apparently, he's excited that there's now a girl in the Glade.

"That's so cool that they sent a girl up. Some of the other guys say it's a bad thing and that we're all going to die soon."

"Who's saying that?" I quickly looked over at him, slight panic on my face. Could they be right? I mean, I don't know anything about WCKD and I just met some of these Gladers but if I were in their position, I would also find it odd that after 3 years of nothing but boys, they send a girl up. But that being a death sentence? I hope not.

"Gally, for one. And whoever is actually friends with him," was his response.

"What do you mean?"

"He's kind of a slinthead sometimes. But don't tell him I said that." He had a look of worry on his face.

All I did was laugh, "Sure thing."

After talking with him a bit longer, him showing me the sleeping quarters and helping me make my bed, it was time for dinner. According to Chuck, they mostly have either meat, potatoes and vegetables, or vegetable stew and bread for their meals. It makes sense though; they only have but so many resources here, and WCKD only sends up but so much with each new Glader. The food does smell good though, and I now realize I'm very hungry.

I decided to sit with Chuck. He's really the only person I've talked to since arriving. Talking to Alby earlier, I was getting the feeling he's one of the people that are skeptical of me being here. I guess I understand though.

"The one staring at you from over there is Gally," Chuck said to me. I looked in the direction he nodded, just in time to see Gally look away.

"He looks a little angry."

"He's always angry. I think he's also upset that a girl's here. But no matter; sorry I didn't have time to introduce you to everyone."

"It's okay," I said, "I don't think I want to meet a bunch of guys who hate me already anyway."

Chuck chuckled, then looked to the side in time to see Newt walking over to us.

"Hey Greenie. How's your day here so far?" His voice is calm; not a hint of anger or hatred from him at all. His accent and presence was calming to me. Not that I wasn't already calm. He was the first one that spoke to me when I first got here. As far as I could tell, nothing but kindness ever came from that boy. Same with Chuck.

"It's been okay. I've made a new friend already," I pointed to Chuck.

"Yeah, he's easy to get along with. If you didn't know, he was actually the Greenie before you." I looked over at Chuck. "No way."

Chuck nodded. "Yep, only been here a month. It hasn't been too bad. I got a lot of stares when I first came up in the box too, because I'm so much younger than everyone else." Sadness came over me then. Who would send a child to live like this? Here, where they have to grow all their own food to survive. Where they have to make buildings from scratch to help them stay out of rainy weather. Having to make their own bedding just to have someplace comfortable to sleep. Why are we even here?

**********************************

It didn't take me long to settle in. After a few days, I had gotten used to the stares. Knew when it was time to go to bed, and when it was time to wake up. Knew when the meal times were. Gotten used to all the blood and wounds that I had to patch up. Sometimes I would even say I enjoyed it here.

My first month here went by quickly. Surprisingly, nothing bad had happened to us. Everyone kept saying we were going to die soon, but things seem pretty normal around here to me. My name finally came to me in my sleep one night. Ada. Chuck and Newt were excited when I told them.

"It's nice to meet you, Ada," Newt had said with a smile.

A loud siren snapped me out of my thoughts. I panicked, at first thinking that I had spoken too soon and maybe that sound signaled something bad. Maybe we were going to die.

Chuck soon ran by me. "Come on! We got a new one!"

It took me a second to realize what he meant by that. I quickly followed after him to where all the other Gladers were gathered. Around the Box, where I came up from just a short month ago. Newt and Alby opened the grates in time to reveal a boy, most likely around my age, trying to hide in a corner. Gally jumped down into the Box with him, crouching down.

"Day one, Greenie. Rise and shine."

[raitrolling]

The Acting Administrator had returned to the Crown Clinic a couple nights later than he had anticipated, as evident by the highly apologetic call Katrin had taken while she was manning the reception desk. 

He’d asked about his patients first and foremost, which Katrin confirmed that those appointments were either rescheduled or divvied up between the other staff, to which the doctor breathed out a huge sigh of relief on the other end of the phone, and said he was on his way back now. But first, he needed to make a number of phone calls to personally apologise to his clients, as well as inform his quadrants of his whereabouts. 

Katrin hummed in affirmation and hung up the phone, paying no mind to the call until the doctor showed up at the clinic.

Ashell looked, quite frankly, rough. It seemed like he didn’t get a wink of sleep during his entire trip, as the bags under his eyes rivalled the redblood’s own. There were bloodstains of a multitude of colours on his vest and pants (meaning that the rumours of him being a rainbowdrinker are almost certainly true...), but the fact that his face was clean suggested that it was likely he just hadn’t brought a change of clothes with him. His movements also seemed more sluggish than usual, but despite his obvious exhaustion, still greeted the receptionist with his usual kind smile.

“Ah, good evening Katrin. You’re on, ah… Reception duty tonight…?” He spoke softly as he approached the desk.

Katrin nodded in response, watching him carefully. He didn’t appear to be exhibiting any symptoms of blood starvation that she had heard of before, but then again her only knowledge came from one-off villains in comic books she had read. But he still seemed quite… Off.

“Oh, good…! Well, ah… Actually, do you mind coming with me for a moment? I’m sure there’s, well… A lot of paperwork left for me to look after, and, ah… It might be helpful to get an update of what happened in my absence, aha.” Ashell kept the soft tone, but this time it was much more deliberate. Katrin had an idea why, as sometimes when he tells her to do something in a specific tone of voice, she finds it difficult to disobey.

But, she stood up willingly and walked around the desk.

“Uh… Sure.” She said with a second nod, and the jadeblood smiled.

The two walked down the hallway together, heading towards the office that usually belonged to Ullane. Katrin would answer any questions that Ashell had, most of which only required a single sentence. Yes, his patients were all looked after in his absence. Yes, people did wonder where he was. No, no one asked for a refund or threatened legal action for their appointments being rescheduled or looked after by other doctors. And no, as far as she knows none of the patients died in his absence. Ashell was pleased that everything ran smoothly while he was gone, but just had one last question.

“Oh, and, ah… Did any of my appointments get rescheduled to later this evening…? Should I… Should I…” 

Katrin stopped, and looked over at the jadeblood. 

He was leaning to one side slightly, and looked like he was struggling to just keep his head up. His eyes were unfocused, staring vaguely ahead, and it appeared as though he wanted to finish his sentence but could not find the energy to will his mouth to keep moving.

Somewhat concerned that he might collapse onto the tiled floor, Katrin grabbed his arm to keep him steady. This seemed to snap Ashell back to reality, and he let out a tiny catlike yelp in surprise.

“Ah…! Oh, sorry, you, ah… Scared me,” He laughed, and then paused to cough into his elbow. When he wiped the back of his hand against the corner of his mouth, the redblood thought she saw a trace of some sort of black liquid smear against his skin, but he quickly used the nearby hand sanitising unit on the wall to clean his hands. “I’ve just been, well… Very tired, recently. But, ah… I’ll be fine.”

Katrin looked at him curiously, unsure if she should say anything. It was very clear that he wasn’t fine, though, and she’d imagine that no one would be happy if he continued on as normal and then treated a patient incorrectly. And she liked this guy, so it would be nice if he got to stick around for longer, as no one else is as willing to buy her lunch as he is.

“Are y’... Sure y’ don’t want t’ sleep?” She asked, a little hesitant.

There was a long pause.

“Actually, ah… Maybe I should.”

[asmrtist-brainrot]

How do you think yandere V would confess to Cheeky? I find it hard to imagine regular V doing it but yandere might be easier

- ghosti

Regular V has yan qualities already but if we dial it up enough to match his tsun qualities, yes, especially if it's pervasively wrapped in his possessive need to protect Cheeky.

I mean, there's also that light and dark balance each other and there's the history of Dark and Lady Blade probably feeding the thought that he and Cheeky were meant to be.

He's much more observant and pointedly shows he cares way more as a yandere, so he uses his knowledge that Cherky finds him attractive to pry more. He's pointedly more affectionate and while reluctant to label their relationship at first... His possessiveness is entirely for Cheeky to figure our early on that he has feelings for them.

Similarly to regular V, he makes it no secret when he wipes people from the land of the living. So it's not far off that they know he aggressively targets people that show interest in them.

He's vocal about it too, degrading the poor soul for the galling fact that they thought they were good enough for Cheeky's affection. Even boasting that they were his.

Depending on if they realize how unhinged this sounds, they could either be horrified or simply accept that it was apart if how he is as a partner. Just choosing to trust his judgement and assuming that he was just establishing dominance.

Of it makes him look better to them, he always lies and says that the interloper simply had bad intentions.

Yan V is shameless in his disposition, it had kept his family safe before and while he is aware it is unhealthy - the world they live in uses it as a hold to make sure he has some conviction to fight with. He's open with this possessive behavior, more open to affection and even seeking it out....

Not verbally still, his way with words still ain't great.

He feels like Cheeky was kind of his reward for all the things he had to endure and treats them as a the gift to his life they were. A bright spot in a world of shadows, his darling little sun and skies.

So it's likely that Cheeky and V are canonically together by the time he'd corrupted himself and killed Anima.

... Honestly, his confession came probably before he introduced L so Cheeky really didn't have reason to be jealous. It was barely even a confession, just the indirect proclamation that they belonged to him.

But it was enough(along with all the rises Olin kissing and time spent on his arm) to bolster that.

~ Dari

[messymiles]

Trust, timing and everything in between. 

Coming from a broken home, I always have issues with “letting people in.” I got so used to being the “run-to” person that I barely know how it feels like to be the one asking for help. I can clearly remember being punished by my aunt back when I was around 7yrs old, she was hitting me with a belt and before it even hits me my butt, I’d scream “Mama!!!” and realized, I didn’t have one, my parents separated when I was too young to even recognize my own mother. Another hit and I shouted “Papa!!” and again, I realized he’s not around because he worked abroad for more than half of his life- with the hope of giving us a “brighter future.” So that was the moment when I promised myself that if I ever get disappointed, troubled or hurt, I’m never gonna call anyone’s name, ever again.Yes, at such a young age, I learned to wipe my own tears and pat my own back while convincing myself that “I got this.” 

Given that my childhood isn’t the typical or easy one, I struggled alone almost my entire life. I dealt with my dilemmas alone, I learned to manipulate my way around relationships, I can barely handle my finances, I ended up leaving home a year before finishing high school. I figured I only have myself at the end of the day. Everyone is going to be busy saving their own asses anyway.  Living alone taught me a lot of lessons but I sometimes wish I didn’t have to go through them the hard way or at least not alone. I grew up being jealous or envious of my friends who had a “complete or perfect” family image. I would watch them eating altogether during “family days” in school while they were asking me to join them which felt more like pity to me than out of willingness. I didn’t like myself back then, not even how I looked. I was bullied in school for not meeting the society’s standards of beauty.I was trying to heal from a wound that people can’t see from the surface. I’m constantly battling with anxiety and it was scary.

All those experiences were in my baggage when I packed my life and moved from my province to Manila. I felt like if I didn’t belong to my hometown but I could be a part of something bigger than that. I was right. Moving to the capital opened lots of opportunities for me, it allowed me to change my narrative. It taught me that I could change things through my choices. It all starts with me. I joined feature writing competitions just because my adviser believed that my essays were good. I earned the confidence I never had growing up. I learned to accept the missing parts of me and filled it with joy and positivity. I came to terms with the fact that I didn’t have both parents growing up but I gained multiple “guardians” along the way. I realized that moving from one house to another contributed a lot to my growth and development. That I may have been a nomad but I saw it as “maybe I’m not meant to live in just one place in this lifetime.” I gained lots of friends, made beautiful memories, there were storms from time to time but I never allowed any of it to drown me. So dating this man recently, was a better experience than what I had with both of my exes combined. In this modern world, where everyone is just one tap or swipe away, I used to think that guys would only say things to get laid. I mean who doesn’t want that? The convenience of social media. Going back to this man and how it started, at first, it was just a random invitation to travel until we made it happen a few more times, once became twice, twice became thrice and we can’t stop. He’s charming, not the head turner type or headache kind of handsome, he has a genuine smile, good sense of humor, sexy accent and our core values are aligned. We went to the same school a decade ago, he was not one of the bullies, just playful and nice. We speak the same dialect but we mostly talk in English since he moved to the US after high school. He knows things that I don’t and he’d say I’m good at the things he can’t do. We pretty much have a lot of similarities, both equally crazy, wild and funny.  We talk about almost anything under the sun. He listens well, keen observer and good communicator. There’s never a dull moment when he’s around me, that even in silence, we enjoy each other’s company. I knew it’s not just me. 

But despite the goodness of it all, amidst the surreal feeling, timing could be a pain in the ass. After our trip in South France and Monaco, he had to move somewhere else due to his job, he’ll stay in Asia for approximately 3 years. Same span as my goal to finish culinary here in Germany. There were times when I feel like I don’t deserve him at all and even if I do, distance would be a huge barrier too. At that time, I felt like I have nothing else to offer, unstable, caged and lost. So as much as I’d love to keep this man, I have no idea how because of the distance. I’m barely keeping my head above water these days, I’m swimming in the same ocean that once drowned me. I feel like with the fact that we both have our own personal goals, it’s impossible for us to be near, the proximity was a non-negotiable. This sucks way too much, way more than I thought. I’m torn between “I want” but “I can’t”. 

Out of all the time we spent together, during our trips. meals and vulnerable sessions, here are a few things I learned: You see when both people have chemistry and compatibility? It’s not enough. You need one more thing, it’s the timing. Contrary to my opinion before, it’s not an excuse. There will be a time when you’ll meet someone, your personalities will click, the vibes will match, it will feel like home, yet the timing just isn’t right. I hope there’s a world where “buts and ifs” don’t exist. Where timezones would align, time limit isn’t a thing, there’s no more waiting, flying from one continent to another and we can wake up next to each other, spend more time and share our laughter.

If my life were drawn into a graph, the time I was with him would be the crest in my bell curve. I can confidently say that even if we didn’t end up together, he’s definitely my 2022 highlight. That he’s my favourite person and at least he knows that by now.

You know sometimes, we may not get everything that we want, regardless of how much heart and effort we put into it. But if I ever find myself in the position to fall in love again, I’d choose this man, in a heartbeat. If that time comes, I hope the courage and happiness would outweigh the fear and traumas in the past.

It might take a while to make sense, but it will, eventually. For now, I just have to to trust the timing and everything in between.

-Miles

[luminnara]

Nesting | alpha!kiribaku x omega!reader fluff

Something soft and fluffy w a/b/o dynamics w kiribaku? Or just one of them if you don’t do poly things

Oh ho ho, don’t you worry I LOVE poly things! I especially love kiribaku x reader because like, how can you NOT lol

I made this super sweet and nice because I crave that feel good fluff! This is SFW but there’s a little mention of some adult stuff. Nothing past that though!

Requests are open!

Warnings: none

Gender neutral reader

Having two alphas wasn’t typical, at least not as far as you knew. Yeah, you were sure that there were all kinds of people and arrangements out there, but you had never really heard of alphas being willing to share an omega. Most of the time, they just got too possessive; when alphas went into ruts or omegas into heats, the pheromones being pumped into the air were sometimes strong enough to ruin entire friendships.

Not for you, though.

When the three of you became a thing, there was no drama. There was no fighting between the two boys, no conflict. You hadn’t really set out to date both of them, but, well...one thing led to another, and next thing you knew, you were all living in an apartment together, and you had two big mating marks on your neck.

It all happened so naturally. It was almost as if the three of you were fated to be together, or something. Yeah, you had your disagreements—Katsuki’s temper was infamous, and Eijiro could almost be too nice sometimes—but what relationship didn’t have a few spats here and there? Your fights never lasted long, and all in all, you were happier than you ever thought possible.

“I’m home!” Eijiro’s voice called, followed by the sound of the door closing.

But of course you already knew. You could smell him the second he walked in, and you were already up and running towards him.

“Whoa, hey!” He laughed as you launched yourself at him, catching you easily and grinning that shark grin of his. “Miss me or somethin’?”

“I always do,” you smiled, hooking your arms around his neck.

His hands settled on your butt as he held you, and he nuzzled into your neck. Both alphas always wanted to be covered in your scent, but Kirishima especially loved it, constantly shoving his nose against the glands and sometimes rubbing his entire head over them. He once told you that he liked being able to smell you on him even when you weren’t around, and the thought of him strutting around at the agency, absolutely reeking of you, made you blush whenever it crossed your mind.

“Is Katsuki home yet?” He asked, walking you down the entry hall and into the living room.

“No,” you sighed. “I think he’s working late tonight...”

You tried not to let your disappointment sound in your voice, but it was impossible to hide anything from Eijiro. He knew how stressful it could be, with both him and Katsuki working as some of the top pro heroes in the city. There were plenty of days where they both came home late, too tired to do anything other than drag themselves into bed and curl up around you. It had a tendency to leave you feeling dejected and alone, and lately, you had taken up a new hobby to try to distract yourself.

Well...hobby was a loose word. It was more just...something you had found yourself with the sudden urge to do, and tonight, the fruits of your labor were finally ready to be revealed.

When Kirishima stepped into the living room, he stopped, and you knew he had seen it.

“Hey, is that...?” He asked, voice trailing off as he stared.

You wiggled out of his arms, beaming up at him as soon as you were standing on your own. “A nest? Sure is!”

The look on your boyfriend’s face was priceless. His eyes were wide, like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The living room floor was covered in blankets and pillows, all strategically piled up to form the best, coziest nest you could make. As Kirishima took a step closer, he spotted a few of his shirts and hoodies mixed in, a grin finding its way onto his face.

“Babe,” he finally spoke up, his voice soft, “are you really nesting?”

A small blush crept to your cheeks as you nodded, suddenly feeling shy. “Yeah, I guess so...I dunno where it came from really, I just started getting the urge to make it...”

Suddenly, he swept you up into his arms again, a loud, humming purr vibrating in his chest as he gave you a squeeze with those strong arms of his. “It looks amazing, baby.”

You sighed happily, relaxing against him. “Do...do you wanna come try it out with me?”

He almost dropped you again in shock. “H-huh?”

“Yeah!” you freed yourself from his grip once more and grabbed his hand, giving him a tug. 

“Y-you trust me enough...?” his face was adorably surprised, eyes wide as he let you pull him towards your nest.

“Well yeah, duh!” you plopped down in the center of all the blankets and clothes, smiling up at him as he stood over you. “Of course I trust you...you and Katsuki are the best alphas anyone could ask for. Why do you think I felt safe enough to even make a nest?”

You could swear you saw some tears welling up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. “Fuck, I love you so much...”

“Then c’mere, silly,” you laughed lightly, patting the space next to you. 

He finally obliged, hunkering down and sighing happily as he surrounded himself with your scent. The nest was cozy, but big enough for three, and as you waited for Katsuki to get home, you found yourself chattering to Eijiro about exactly how it was made, what shirts you had snagged from his and Katsuki’s drawers, why you had piled up those pillows over there and those way over there, why every single plush in the apartment was strategically placed on top of everything else, and why he kept finding more and more of his belongings buried amongst the blankets. 

“Babe, this is mine,” he said, holding up an old, fraying wallet. 

“Yes, and?” you snatched it out of his hand, tucking it back in its spot. “You never use it. And it smells just like you.”

He chuckled, putting an arm around you and pulling you up against his chest while he continued to explore the nest. “Still can’t believe you went and did all this so quickly. You must have been working nonstop all day.”

You puffed up proudly, but before you had the chance to reply, you heard the door slam open and the sound of heavy boots stomping in. A warm, smoky-cinnamon smell wafted in, and you trilled happily. Katsuki was finally back home, and as you stood up on your knees, you saw him kicking his shoes off and hanging his coat up by the door. 

“Oy, I’m home,” he called tiredly, too busy putting on his house slippers to glance over at you yet. “Shitty hair, where are you? You make it back alive today?”

“Still in one piece, Katsuki,” Kirishima laughed, leaning back on his hand as you shot out of your nest to greet your other alpha.

“That’s something, I guess.” Bakugou grunted, turning towards the kitchen. He was moving slowly, like all of his muscles ached and he just wanted to go to bed. 

You weren’t about to let him, though. Not yet.

“Katsukiiiiiii,” you called, scrambling up onto the couch to get a better look at him. 

“Hey there, kitten.” he tossed his bag down in its usual place at the table, finally looking up at you. 

You saw his usually harsh gaze soften as his red eyes met yours, something close to the beginning of a smile tugging at the edges of his lips. Katsuki was a rough guy, always grumpy even while he was out there being one of the best heroes in the city, but at home, he was quieter. Home was a safe place for him, and even though he was still a handful, he was your handful, and you wouldn’t trade him for the world...although right now, you were starting to get irritated by the fact that he had yet to see the nest you worked so hard on.

“What’re you two losers doin’ down there?” he asked, walking towards you lazily. “Fuckin’ on the living room floor, without me?”

“Katsuki, come on.” you rolled your eyes. 

“What? It’s a valid question.” he said as he finally reached you, placing his hands over yours where they rested on the back of the couch. He closed his eyes, tilting his head up for you in an open invitation. “Miss me today?”

You nuzzled up against his chin, feeling him relax around you as you pumped out a happy, pheromone-filled scent for him. “Why don’t you take a look at what I spent all day doing, and then you tell me?”

He sighed, grumbling something under his breath as he cracked his eyes open. Then, he fell absolutely still, and when you pulled back and looked up at him, you saw that he was staring, eyes wide in disbelief. He had frozen completely, as if he had absolutely no idea how to process what he was seeing.

“Like it?” you asked, following his gaze back to your nest. 

Kirishima was still sitting in the center of it, resting one arm on his knee while he supported his weight on the other. There was a gentle, lazy smile on his face, and as he saw that Bakugou wasn’t moving, he tossed his head. “Katsuki, come see what our little omega worked so hard on.”

“Yeah, Katsuki.” you hopped off the couch, walking around the end of it to take his hand and drag him towards your nest. “Come join us.”

He let you pull him down, and for a moment, all he could do was take a deep breath and inhale the scents of his two mates. Ever so slowly, his face relaxed, and as the three of you snuggled in, he pulled you close and pressed a kiss against your forehead.

“What do you think?” you asked, getting cozy between your two boys.

“It’s fucking perfect, baby.” he said. “You’re fucking perfect.”

“Guess we’re not too bad at this whole alpha thing after all, huh?” Kirishima asked, leaning forward to greet Bakugou with a light kiss. 

“Never said we were.” Katsuki huffed, bristling for a moment before he calmed down. “Still...there are some alphas who never get to see their omega’s nest, let alone be invited in. I guess...you must feel pretty safe with us.”

“I do!” you chirped, grabbing a blanket and pulling it over yourself. “I’m happy. Well...I made this nest because I was getting so lonely during the day, and I wanted to be able to smell you guys while you were gone...”

The boys frowned at each other. 

“...but just making it made me feel better.”

You heard Katsuki sigh in relief as Eijiro gently headbutted you. 

“We have been working a lot lately...” he said quietly. 

“So we’ll change that,” Katsuki said roughly. “Our omega comes before anything. If you aren’t happy, what’s the point?”

You couldn’t help the wide smile on your face as you tugged them both down for a kiss, one by one. You spent the rest of the evening cuddled up in your nest, falling asleep on top of your boys, happy to finally, finally be getting the quality time you had been missing so much lately.

[twistedmusings]

Wake Up From Your Dream

A/N: I don't even know what I can SAY to this one except...I think I was so angry at not writing that I wrote smut outta SPITE? Can I be so angry with myself that I write Malleus smut to just get something out there? I guess I can. Anyways this ask certainly let my imagination fly q wq

Warnings: Non-con making its way into dub-con, manipulation, impregnating sex and Malleus realizing that family is really important.

You needed to find your way back to Night Raven College.

It has been so long since you’ve been back there, laughing and walking around as if there was no trouble in the world. Nevermind that you weren’t anywhere close to home and nevermind that your family was seeking you out.

As long as there was a possibility of you finding your way home, you had pretended that everything was going to be alright.

You were still a stranger to this world, you had no ties to this world and there would be no reason for you to stay once Crowley found your way back home. It was wonderful making friends with such a variety of people and watching them all grow in their own way. The way you knew you would grow from this experience as well.

Watching Ace and Deuce really come into themselves and their Unique Magic, watching the dorm leaders step into their positions of power and truly start to make a name for themselves that would help them out in their own version of the ‘real’ world. Riddle had gotten a wonderful position befitting of his family name, Leona was actually graduating, Azul was said to open a Monstro Lounge in the Coral Sea while Kalim had started investing time in his father’s trade without having Jamil help him. Even Idia was starting to take strides in his own field!

And you were proudest of Malleus. One simple conversation outside of Ramshackle had turned into a friendship you thought you would never forget. It was so wonderful to see him interact more with students, shyly following after you as you pushed him to talk more to others despite his position. That was what college was for, right? To experience new things and find your future--

You just didn’t think that Malleus would take it that far.

Was it because he was spoiled? No, even though he was born in a monarchy he still did his best to remain kind to others, especially his subjects. You were sure he was going to make a kind king in the future, even if you never got to see with your own two eyes.

You pull the hood over your head as you enter a bath house, the fae receiving you with a curious look and a smile as you hand her 2000 madols.

“Will you be booking a room tonight as well?”

“Just a simple shower and bath, that is all.”

If you were to make a guess, you were in the borders of the Valley of Thorns, a more rural area compared to the now rather modernized capital. You had stolen enough money to get you by for a few trips and you knew that places like these were the best at getting you directions. It had been a bit of a grueling trip, testing your knowledge of the fae language as well as avoiding questions about who you were and why you so desperately needed to make your way back to such a prestigious college. In a sense, you kept it minimal.

You needed to get back home.

“It’s fine. You’re fine. It’s fine. You’re fine.”

The mantra you kept repeating to yourself was whispered under your breath as you removed your articles of clothing slowly, still looking around to see if anybody had followed you in. But this is what was raising all of the hairs on your body, wasn’t it? This constant vigilance that didn’t let you sleep at night. You needed to relax, no one else would come this far.

You feel the fatigue melt as several days of walking are washed right off your body, a smile slowly creeping up on your face as you wash the dirt and oil from your hair.

It would be fine.

You would make it to Night Raven College and sneak into the Hall of Mirrors before wishing yourself back home. Crowley had said that they had pinned down the world you lived in and only after you make your wish would the connection be broken. This most likely meant that the connection was still intact since you didn’t even get a chance to to look at the mirror before you were whisked away.

Everything was going to work itself out, that’s the most you could promise yourself.

The bath is heavenly, the temperate water cooling you down from the hot shower as you look around.

There were no other patrons.

“Good.”

You lean back and press your head against a soft pillow of towels, enjoying the silence as you feel your worries soften while thinking back to what you would do when you were back home. It had been so long since you’ve seen some of your friends, your family was probably worried sick and you still had your own plans you wanted to get through.

If you had time, you could maybe drop by to see how your first year friends were doing?

Or were they in their third year now?

Wouldn’t that be a sight to see?

Your eyes close as you let yourself relax entirely, almost succumbing to sleep.

Only for a hand to grab your throat, the other covering your eyes as you hear a familiar chuckle that tenses your body up and breaks your heart.

“I am afraid we will have to postpone this shower.”

Tears well up in the corner of your eyes as you hear the sound of footsteps into the area, most likely the royal guard.

“Lilia--”

“You’d do well to stay put lest they chase after you.”

The hands covering your eyes pull back as you see a teasing smile looking down pitifully at your fresh set of tears.

“It has taken far too long to find you, Your Majesty.”

-----

“HUMAN!”

“[Y/N]-san!”

Lilia smiles as he leads you by the hand, the royal guard following close behind as Sebek and Silver join him.

“He might have already woken up, Father.”

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? DO YOU KNOW WHAT MY YOUNG MASTER HAS GONE THROUGH?”

“Sebek.” Lilia looks at his charge, “Quiet. Malleus might still be sleeping.”

Silver takes one peek at you, trying to meet your gaze but pulling away when he sees that the veil Lilia had put on you is blocking anybody’s stares from seeing your face. In fact, the second in command had put you in one of the traditional outfits for fae royalty, complete with a light veil that flowed down from the silver circlet placed on your head.

“Excellent.”

Lilia turns his attention to you and laughs.

“He has been absolutely miserable since you left. It was quite a surprise to all of us when you managed to leave the palace walls. None of us thought that you had really done it, especially him, and it really was a hassle to search the palace up and down to see just where our little human had run off to.”

His voice drops to a whisper as he brings your hand up to his lips.

“I’ll make sure to punish you for that later.”

The older fae leads you along as you finally reach your destination, smiling as he knocks on large wooden doors while pushing you slightly to stand in front of everybody.

An answer he was going to get by the end of the night.

“Malleus.”

No answer. He tests the doors and nods when he sees they are unlocked, opening them as he leads you to step inside so that you both could see the figure drenched in moonlight, looking out the window as if awaiting for an answer.

Lilia waits for his other charge to say anything but shrugs as he looks at you with a smile and a bow.

“We are glad to have you back, Your Majesty.”

The door closes with a loud click as you turn your eyes to look up at the imposing figure, your nails digging into your fingertips enough to draw blood as you try to hold back from screaming and shouting at him to stop acting like such a child. Yet you do not wish to anger him, at least to save yourself from any sort of harsher punishment.

So instead you make your way over to the bed--

Only for the fae to turn around, grab your wrist and slam your back into the rough stone wall. Bright green eyes glare down at you as you wince in pain, still looking away from him but letting out a yelp when Malleus’s fingers grab your chin and force you to look at him in the eye.

“Why did you run?”

He really had no idea, did he?

“Because I don’t belong here--”

Malleus tightens his hold on your wrist.

“We’ve discussed this before, child of man, you belong here just like anybody else, you are my Queen--”

“Malleus wake UP!”

You push against his hold but the fae’s hold gets tighter, most likely leaving a mark. But that wouldn’t deter you, not anymore, you were going to tell him.

“I’m not from this world! Coming to Twisted Wonderland was just an accident! A stupid, stupid accident that no one bothered to fix! And just when we were close to making it right you---you--!”

Shit, you’re crying again.

“I have people waiting for me. Just like you had a family waiting for you. I came to the Valley of Thorns thinking that I was supporting you during your coronation but you just--made a decision entirely by yourself and announced me as yours! Why did you lie to me? To them?!”

Malleus’s hold softens as you finally let your tears flow freely, wishing to wipe them away only due to how weak they were making you look.

“...did you not say you loved me?”

“I did! I did but--Malleus after what you did I can’t--”

He lets go of your wrist only to cup your face as he leans down to press his lips on your cheek, his tongue licking up the warm tears as you grab hold of his wrists to try and push him away.

“Do you miss your family?”

You nod as he moves to kiss the corner of your eyes.

“More than anything…”

The dragon fae hums, letting his lips stay where they were a few seconds longer before chuckling as he pulls you close.

“I see--I really have been cruel to you, haven’t I?”

Your heart nearly leaps out of your throat at his words, hands clutching at his robes as you quickly nod. Maybe this was it, maybe it had taken you breaking down to let him see reason?

Please. Please!

“...A family.”

Malleus’s words are like dripped honey as a thought formed in his head, the thought taking shape and form as his hands clutched you tighter.

“Then we’ll just need to make a family of our own…”

-----

Hands clutch at his sheets as Malleus takes in the shape under him.

How beautiful could you be? How complex? To him it was as if not a day had passed since you first met. What had been mere curiosity had delved into deep affection and blossomed into a love that Malleus would only read about in fairytales. The sort of books that led him to believe in soulmates, in happily ever after’s and the possibility of spending the rest of your life with the one you loved.

And yes, you weren’t a fae, but the power of his magic was grand enough to keep you tied to him for the rest of eternity.

His lips can’t help but seek out yours as he thinks about how he is the one who will decide when you die.

This love hadn’t started out like this. What he felt for you had been a bit more relaxed, a lot softer and dreamier. You had confessed to him after his Overblot incident and he had gladly accepted your feelings. He was still keen on finding you a way home and promised himself to not let any moment be wasted in thinking how you soon would be far away from him.

Every day was spent happily with you, the rest of the school year flying by as you both enjoyed the time you still had together.

But Malleus was still a dragon at heart, a fae that yearned and longed to take and take.

So when thoughts about you leaving started to make their way to the forefront of his mind, not even your constant love and affection could keep him from his instincts.

You would leave him to go back to your world. Go back to the normal and the familiar. As you walked your path, you would eventually find someone that enchanted you the way he had, all ending with you walking down a beautiful aisle to your now beloved.

A person that wasn’t...him.

As the days of his third year started to run to a close, his hold on you had become a lot tighter, his kisses a lot more possessive and in the end he had invited you to watch his coronation as he entered his fourth and final year.

With his announcement of making you his Queen.

“Malleus! Please I can’t--I’m not ready--!”

He let Lilia make up some story about you not returning to Night Raven, fooling Crowley into believing that you had found your future in the Valley of Thorns with him. The announcement of you taking up the role of Queen had been surprising but Malleus had woven the story in such a way that there had been talks of having it printed for others to read.

It was a wonderful ending to your love story, you ending up in his arms. But something was missing…

Malleus was glad that you had given him the answer.

Both of your knees were on either side of his waist, your hands clutching at whatever they could as his cock buried itself deep into your cunt. The veil was long forgotten as his robes and your own are thrown carelessly around the room while you wail and scream at being broken into by such a thick length. The small sight of blood on his cock made Malleus smile as he pushed in further, the tightness that was pushing him back slowly opening up for him as he watched you do your best to fit him inside.

It would be fine, you would be fine.

With a growl he finally bottoms out, two hands holding your hips and forcing you down to take all of him as the tip of his cock pressed right under your womb--

He shivers as you tighten up again, leaning down to lick up the trail of tears on your cheek before eating up your tiny whimpers with a hungry kiss.

“Here...right here is where our family will start.”

A large hand takes yours as Malleus puts it right over the small bulge on your stomach, your eyes growing wide as you realize just how deep inside he is. He kisses you again, not daring to break away as he lets a trail of saliva dangle from his lips to yours, the clear liquid disappearing into your mouth as your body relaxed and your eyes grew hazy.

“Do you love me, child of man?”

It was a simple question, but your brain seemed muddled from his kiss. Dragons tended to excrete a certain liquid as they got ready to mate, the experience painful even within his own species but being eased with the help of saliva, sweat or cum.

And with the way he was pressed against you, his sweat matted on your skin as he let more of his spit drip down his tongue and onto yours...surely the answer would come the more you two worked to start your family.

Malleus hardly gave you any time to recover as he started to move, his eyes entranced with the way he disappeared into you with each thrust. Your mind was still muddled but your body was already eagerly accepting him, your legs wrapping around him slowly before locking him in place as he repeated the question.

“Do you love me, child of man?”

You open your mouth but the only word that comes out is a plea for him to go faster.

Which Malleus gladly listens to.

It didn’t take long for him to start pounding into you at a brutal pace, every thrust having the tip of his cock slamming against your womb as your toes curled from the pleasure of taking him so deep. His cock disappeared inside your tiny cunt, shaft now coated not just with blood but with your arousal as well. The bed creaked in protest while the sounds of the bed frame hitting the wall helped him keep time, Malleus leaning back down to kiss you again as your lips this time part eagerly and sucked on his tongue while your hands clutched his shoulders and horns.

Cries turned into happy moans, your sad and abandoned look now one of pure ecstasy as your pussy flutters and tightens around him, pushing him to go harder and harder so he could---!

“[Y/N]--!”

Your legs close tighter around him as you bury your face on the crook of his neck, your orgasm being ripped from you unexpectedly as Malleus halted his movements with a stiff body. He drops his head on your shoulder as your legs keep him in place.

“Malleus...ah--!”

He groans as he paints the inside of your walls white, the warmth of his cum filling your womb to the point that what you hadn’t taken merely dripped out onto the now stained sheets. Malleus lifts his head to look down at you, smiling as he sees your eyes staring up at him eagerly despite how much you had protested before.

“A family…”

You smile as Malleus nods, your hands going all the way to your stomach as you feel the warmth start to twist your brain even more.

“A family with you…how wonderful…”

Arms wrap around him as Malleus kisses a trail from your shoulder to your lips. He just needed to ask you one last time.

“Do you love me, child of man?”

With a hum, your answer is whispered into his ear as Malleus closes his eyes as he realizes that this is where his happily ever after would finally start.

“I love you Malleus, more than anything else.”