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superblysubpar · 1 year

Text

masterlist | the music

Chapter Warnings: spoilers for the movie franchise Star Wars | mentions of the holiday Halloween being celebrated by others and reader enjoying it | Leigh is not my character creation, a shared character who @sweetsweetjellybean originally created & I put a little twist on for this story with her permission.

Sorry freaks, no smut this chapter - but the series is 18+ and so is my blog so skedaddle on out of here if you're not!

9.4k words | A/N: I can't begin to express my gratitude for those who've read this story & those that helped me get through writing it, especially my beta extraordinaire @sweetsweetjellybean and @loveshotzz for helping me break that pesky wall of self doubt and writer's block always. I have a big long A/N on the epilogue that's posting right after these two chapters with more sap. Thanks for being here, I love you immensely if you've made it this far from the beginning or you're just arriving 💛

In the movies, they like to make those big plot twists drag out for the protagonist to let it really sink in. Or maybe it's more for the viewers. Special effects, camera angles, flashbacks, and poignant music playing - all to make seconds feel much longer than they are.

In your experience, these plot twists are usually predictable. Of course that guy’s the villain, it was the best friend all along, he’s Luke’s father, et cetera, et cetera. You’re utterly baffled every time by a character’s lack of intuition to see it coming. You’ve booed at writing and acting and told yourself that in real life, it’s so different.

Sure, surprises happen. Reality does not care about predictability, the fragile state of the human heart, or what’s fair. You get that. People cheat, they make mistakes, they die, they lose - and there isn’t some fade-to-black-happy-ending guarantee when they do. There isn’t a countdown on the bottom of a screen letting you know there’s still time left to make it all back from whatever happened, no assurance that it’ll all work out.

To call something real - something happening directly to you - a plot twist, seems horribly wrong though. Is there another word for it? Those moments that manage to catch you off guard, that come without warning or a build up. Moments that hit you repeatedly like a knife to a chest in a slasher flick. Or feel like the instant demise of oxygen leaving your lungs as a door opens to space. That sucker-punch from a red glove to the jaw when you think you’ve just won the big fight.

What do you call that shit?

Robin’s voice is an echo, muffled and distorted as if you’re deep underwater. “Oh my god, hi! Wow, you are so much prettier than Steve mentioned.”

Who is with Steve?

Robin keeps going, putting her entire foot in her mouth, oblivious to the way Steve’s eyes haven’t left yours. You only stop staring yourself, after what feels like hours, to finally take in their intertwined hands as Robin babbles. “Wait, I mean…no, see…alright, he told us you were pretty is what I’m trying to say, but like you’re even prettier…”

Who the hell is with Steve?

Her laugh cuts through the fog and your eyes finally focus on the woman attached to the sound.

She’s pretty, just like Robin keeps saying over and over again.

Dark, shiny hair, piercing eyes that you can see - even from this distance - are a hazel to almost match his. A hypnotizing smile, curves and a confidence radiating off of her… everything you wish you were but aren’t.

She laughs again, assuring Robin she gets it (in an infuriatingly humble way), introducing herself as Leigh Kensington.

Nancy perks up at the name when Robin gasps and shouts, “Oh my god! Nance!” Robin looks back, waving her over, “Just like Legally Blonde!” Her voice attempts to lower as she sighs to Leigh, “She loves Reese Witherspoon. It is Vivian Kensington right?” The question louder and directed at Nancy again. Robin doesn’t even take a breath to let her answer though, “Which is hilarious because Steve’s mom’s name is Vivian and you’re dating Steve and you work in legal, right? And-“

Emerald glass shatters around your feet as the bottle of beer falls from your hand, the sharp shards scatter quickly, too broken to ever be put back together. Your legs turn to lead and muscles are no longer in communication with your brain as it finally makes the connection to what you’re seeing and hearing and what that means for you.

“Shit! Jesus, woman-“ Eddie jumps back from you as the glass skirts across the pavement further.

Robin finally turns in your direction at the commotion, her brows knit together in worry. Face progressively getting more concerned as it tightens. Her hand lets a bean bag fall to the board with an echoing thump. “Hey, you look-“

Not waiting to hear the end of her sentence, you will your legs to work and spin, taking off in search of literally any place that isn’t there. Your feet pound against the pavement, thuds that vibrate through the rubber of your soles all the way up to your eardrums.

It’s seconds, less than a minute, and it’s as if the entire stadium - hell, your entire world - has spun upside down. Roars to your left, the rumbling of fan’s excitement from the nosebleeds down to the field mingle and harmonize with the rapid beating in your chest. As you keep running with no real destination other than away, your shoulders bump stranger’s, meeting their frowns and scoffs with whispered and rushed apologies. The familiar sting behind your eyes forms, eyelashes growing damp as you suck in a sharp breath. No more running, you need somewhere to hide.

You’re not going to cry about this. You’re not. How could you be so stupid? How could you let this happen?

The familiar long line all women are accustomed to grabs your attention and you’re off again. Disgruntled and shouted annoyance from everyone in line echoes across the dull gray tile as you rush past them, yelling something about an emergency. You slam a turquoise door, sliding the silver latch with shaking fingers as your forehead rests on the cold material of the stall. You focus on breathing through your nose and out your mouth, this is fine. You’re fine.

A buzz in your pocket once, twice, and then a third time, and you don’t have to pull your phone out to know they’re texts from him. Despite your better judgment, you look:

It buzzes a fourth time and you lock the phone, debating just chucking it into the toilet.

The sleeve of your sweatshirt presses to your mouth as you clear your throat. No tears are falling for him, not today, not ever.

You hate Steve Harrington.

This was always the plan.

You hate Steve Harrington.

It’s not like you were in love with the guy.

Even as you think it, the panic turns to defense inside of yourself - scrounging around for rocks and bricks, reinforcing the wall around your heart you had started to let crumble for a boy you thought was worth it.

“Girl, what the hell?”

A familiar pair of red converse with writing and doodles covering any space they can, mirror your feet at the base of the stall. You step back, fingers hovering over the latch, ready to tell her it’s fine. Robin isn’t an idiot though, and you’re certain that despite your denial, she’ll take one look at you and make you spill your guts.

Her feet move closer, the familiar clink of rings meeting metal hits your ears, letting you know she’s pressing her palms to the door. Robin’s voice is softer and for one brief, horrible moment, you think she knows. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

The guilt that’s hovered over you for months like a storm cloud, releases, engulfing you completely, the promise of sunlight no longer on the horizon. Funny how just hours ago, you were thinking about Robin finally knowing, about how she couldn’t be mad, not when you were both so happy. Your gut twists. You’ve lied to your friend for so long, and for what?

“Just, um, cramps.” The lies keep on building, pushing at the dam you’ve created to keep it all from her. You’re just buying time now, the pressure is going to reach its breaking point soon and you’re worried your friendship with Robin will be washed away when it does.

At the mention of cramps, the disgruntled voices of those in line turn to understanding - muted solidarity in the form of tampon and painkiller offerings.

“Robin, why don’t you grab her some food or something? Maybe a ginger ale? I’ve got stuff in my bag and we’ll meet you all out there,” another familiar voice suggests.

“But I can-“

“That would be really great, Robs,” you interrupt her protest, pushing out the words to sound as eager as you can.

A pair of white tennis shoes sneak between Robin’s and the stall door - like Nancy is trying to put space between the two of you, shielding her girlfriend from any more of your lies.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Robin starts hesitantly, “I saw this gourmet grilled cheese stand thing and-“

“No!” Fingers curling over your mouth at the severity of your interruption, you take a beat before quietly continuing, “Uh, um, actually, just some chips please?”

Your eyes close, willing the memory of your last grilled cheese away. Now is not the time to remember the man you shared it with.

How he looked at you.

How he asked you to open up, how it made you feel when he said he knew you.

How he kissed you.

You hate Steve Harrington.

The initial shock has stopped sizzling and is now a full burn, anger releasing over your frazzled nerves. What else has Steve claimed, what other things could be ruined when all you can do is relate them to him? But as quickly as the anger for him forms, you have to glance down and realize there are three fingers pointing back at yourself.

Why did you give him the opening?

“Roger that, kitten!”

You’re sure she gives a salute to your closed stall door, the red sneakers turning on their heels, her footsteps fading away. The pristine white of Nancy’s twist slightly towards the door. Her voice is quiet as she asks, “Can I come in there?”

Clearing your throat once more, you try to brush her off, “Nancy, really, I’m fi-“

“Bullshit.”

Maybe it’s the way she says the word - that a girl you don’t know all that well can see through your lies, be so sure you’re not fine. Maybe it’s because you desperately wish that you could have opened the door for Robin, to leave the football game and go drown in margaritas and dissect every little thing that led to this moment and let her tell you it was all going to be okay and boys are stupid. Or maybe, it’s the fact that you’ll never get to do that, never allowed to tell Robin, that makes you slide the latch unlocked for Nancy Wheeler.

She slips in quickly, her brown curls that are clipped in a half up-do bounce as she tilts her head quizzically at you. Her arms cross over the embroidered team logo on her sweatshirt, her blue eyes peer directly into your soul. She’s got this way about looking at you that, without saying anything, makes you want to tell her everything. An energy radiates off of Nancy, a quiet curiosity bubbling under the surface - or perhaps it’s frustration. You’re being studied, a puzzle she can’t crack.

Her lips twist as she clearly debates her words before she finally settles on a simple, “You didn’t know?”

Nancy’s question makes your stomach drop, solidifying that she not only knows about you and Steve, but that Leigh is not a new or unknown development. Your mind swirls to their argument on the beach, Nancy finding you in the bathroom - how long has Steve been seeing Leigh?

“No,” your response comes out in a half laugh, trying to cover up any feelings that attempt to sneak out and reveal too much. The toe of your sneaker scuffs at a knick in the tile as you avoid her eyes.

She tucks a curl behind her ear and sighs. Her face pinches into that quizzical look again, huffing, “He’s an idiot.”

Rolling your eyes, you shake your head. You don’t want to dwell on how she connected the dots about you and Steve or how you’ve all been lying to Robin, and you especially don’t want her pity. “Nancy, I really don’t need you to comfort me. I’m fine. Can we just go?”

At the clamp of Nancy’s mouth shutting and the purse of her lips, you regret the icy tone almost immediately. Squeezing your eyes closed, you try again. “I’m sorry, I’m just…” trailing off because where do you even start? You’re mad, hurt, confused, blind-sided, the list could go on and on and you don’t care to reach the end at this moment. You force a smile, changing the subject all together, “Don’t you want to get out there and hear how incredibly little Robin truly knows about sports?”

Nancy’s lips twitch and her arms drop to her sides with a sigh. “Right, well, if you change your mind, I like to think I’m a pretty good listener if you ever want to talk about anything.”

Sometimes, people say things to say things - like they feel as if they’re supposed to say a certain thing when a certain situation calls for it. One look at the kindness in Nancy’s eyes, the small smile on her lips, and you know that is not the case right now. She genuinely, truly means she’s there to listen if you need it. Despite lying to all of them, despite barely knowing her, and the realization has tears forming behind your eyes for an entirely different reason than earlier.

“Thanks,” the word leaves you quietly. It feels small and inconsequential in return for a gesture you’re not even sure Nancy realizes the weight of.

That is, until she turns from the door, her hand hovering over the latch as she faces you again. “I should mention though, that one of you is going to have to tell Robin. Sooner rather than later. And I make no promises it won’t be me, but she should hear it from one of you.” Her tone is adamant with absolutely no room for arguing.

Your guilt tugs you down harder now, only able to nod in response.

Nancy’s head bobs once in return, silently agreeing to drop the subject unless you bring it up again, and she leads the way out of the bathroom.

You hear Robin before you see them. She’s passionately arguing her case about a new musical group that Eddie is scoffing at. Leigh holds her hand up at Eddie’s argument and begins agreeing with Robin, who beams before sticking her tongue out at him.

“Hey.”

The word freezes you and Nancy clears her throat as she makes her way towards the others. Steve pushes off from the brick wall as you turn to face him.

You’ve seen many looks in his eyes before now. When they glint with mischief and charm as he flirts, how they soften as you tell a story. When they’ve turned darker as clothes are shed and they get to roam freely over your body, taking you in like an artwork. How they seem to melt like honey all over you when you’ve found them staring and they don’t care to appear ashamed he’s been caught.

Now, they’re looking at you with far too much pain behind them that doesn’t seem fair. He shouldn’t get to look at you like that, he shouldn’t get to look sad.

Steve extends his hand, a green can with beads of condensation running down the sides of it in his palm. You ignore how your fingers touch and they way his try to linger as you take the soda from him.

When you don’t say anything, he pulls the sleeves of his maroon sweater over his fingers, the toe of his boot scuffing the pavement as his brows meet in the middle. Several pieces of hair fall over his forehead that’s wrinkled with concern, letting you know he’s run his hands through it too many times to have already broken whatever products he’s put in it.

“Can we go somewhere and talk for a sec?”

A sec.

A quick conversation, one he just wants to get over with. To tell you what? Things you’ve already concluded from his surprise today? That he’s with someone. He wants to stay friends. He never felt the way you were starting to feel for him. This was always the plan.

You’re not interested in anything Steve has to say any more.

“Game’s about to start, Harrington, maybe later.” Your tone is clipped and short, smile forced.

His brows pinch closer together as he tilts his head, the harsh line of his jaw flexing. “Really? Cause the way you ran off and that tone could have fooled me.”

“I’m fine, I don’t know exactly what you’re hearing, but if you have something you’d like to say, by all means Steve, let’s hear it.”

Steve closes his eyes and a long breath leaves his nose, “Please-“ his plea is cut off by her.

“Hi, I’m Leigh. It’s so nice to meet you, Steven’s told me so much about you! I hope everything is okay? Everyone was so worried…”

She reaches forward, arms wrapping around you and your stiffening body.

She’s fucking hugging you.

“Uh, yeah, you…too. And yes, thanks, I’m fine. This will help.” Untangling yourself from her, you hold up the can and force another smile. “Thanks Steven.”

Leigh beams at him, grabbing his hand and you just can’t help yourself, turning to him again. “Actually, Steven was just letting me know he had something to tell me, what was so important, buddy?”

Eddie coughs as Steve narrows his eyes. Nancy claps her hands, interrupting the tension filled moment, “Alright, ready guys?”

Robin points towards the bleachers. “I’m ready for tip off! To our seats!”

Nancy gives you a look, some sort of attempt at bringing light to the moment in front of her, before she wraps her hand around Robin’s arm and starts to walk away. “It’s kick off, hun.”

Leigh laughs as Robin lets out a long ‘Oh’, Steve and her following. When Steve glances back over his shoulder at you, the full can of soda meets the trash as you turn towards Eddie. Stealing the fresh beer from his hands, the plastic cup tips to your lips, foam slowing you down as you chug.

“Woah, woah, woah! Easy killer.” Eddie tugs on the cup, pulling it from your mouth. “From my understanding, football games are long and we need to pace ourselves. Stevie is not worth a two in the afternoon black out.”

Your mouth opens to protest and he waves his hand in front of your face, “Ah, ah, ah, you can squeeze my fingers or something whenever you feel like punching him instead.”

“Ed-“ you begin, adamant you need another drink (or twenty) to deal with the day you’re about to have.

He begins to walk away, waving his hand dismissively, “No really, I’m a secret masochist, I’ll love it.”

Your eyes narrow, hating the way your lips fight a smile that wants to meet his mood. Despite everything, you’re grateful for him and Nancy. Unsure of how to even attempt to show them how much you appreciate them. Especially after Nancy’s reminder that someone was going to have to tell Robin eventually, and these two had been lying for the both of you, keeping your secret when they didn’t need to.

Up ahead, you hear Leigh laugh, catching her head thrown back and his smile, the squeeze of her fingers on his bicep and you gulp. Your feet plant to the ground harder and you tug on Eddie’s wrist. As the group rounds the corner, heading to their seats, he turns to look at you with his eyebrows raised.

Eddie must see something in your expression because he mumbles, “Such a fucking idiot,” before he turns to the nearest vendor. “Yeah, hi, I need four very large beers. And I’m talking take your idea of large and triple it.”

This time the smile wins just a little. It’s quick to fall though, when Eddie taps his cup to one he hands you and proclaims, “If you can’t date ‘em, drink about ‘em. To the losers who break our hearts.”

“I-“ ready to tell him that’s not it at all, but his look makes your mouth close.

You don’t say it out loud, you don’t dare to speak it into existence - Eddie is wrong. You’re not broken hearted, you’re just mad Steve didn’t tell you. You’re mad that clearly they all knew, so why not you? That’s all.

Your cup taps Eddie’s again and you let the beer wash away the bitter taste in your mouth.

Screw Steve Harrington.

As the third cup of cheap beer hits your lips, you risk a glance down the line of your row again. Immediately regretting it like you have every other time. Leigh pushes the loose strand of hair on his forehead back and your eyes return to the field quickly. You’re sure your skin is turning just as green as the artificial turf, the beer making it a little easier to admit to yourself that you are jealous of the intimate moment. Your gut twinges slightly at the remembrance of only a few short weeks ago when you purposely tried to make him feel what you are now. You have no right to be mad at him.

The players blur as they move in an intricate dance only they know before anyone else. You’ve always liked sports, but today has been a good reminder as to why. Players and teams practice and memorize skills and plays that work - but there’s no guarantees. They need intuition to know when to use certain moves, to have a good defense and follow their gut and deviate from the plan when they think the other team is pulling a new play.

It’s all predictable, but not at the same time. Risks and playing with the odds, yet revolving around something incredibly low stakes like a ball in a net or getting past a painted line on fake grass. It’s also realistic. Sure, there are once in a lifetime passes like the Minnesota Miracle or a ball sinking into the net from a distance unfathomable as the final buzzer sounds - but most of the time, it’s just about who’s the best that day. Who ran faster, who slipped through someone else’s mistake. You like that the players can pour themselves into it and it’s still not going to be a win every time, because it’s just not sometimes, and that’s okay. They lose and they get up and they do it all over again. They also know that if they win, it doesn’t mean they’ll keep doing so without hard work and dedication.

Poetic to your circumstances, really. Steve was just better at the game, and you knew the eventual outcome of your deal with each other. So really, is there anyone to be mad at here other than yourself?

Steve’s laugh echoes down the line and your jaw clenches, because maybe Steve was better at the game, but he certainly wasn’t playing fair.

Yeah, you can still be mad at him.

Your eye twitches as Robin and Leigh gush over horror movies they both love, a breath you didn’t know you were holding leaving you when they head off together for a bathroom break.

His eyes actually burn your cheek from the way they stare down the row in your direction now that he doesn’t have her to focus on. Clear to you now that all you are - all you ever were - is an afterthought, something to pass the time.

Refusing to look his way, you try not to feel bad about the sigh you hear all the way from five seats away.

Oh, I’m sorry Steve, are you mildly upset that I don’t want to talk to you after you got me to open up just to blindside me?

You’re not surprised when a dark denim leg presses against your shoulder, his large brown boots landing on the open seat next to you as he climbs over. As he sits, you stand, quickly making your way down the row, occupying Robin’s empty seat on the other side of Nancy.

Steve stands, hands on his hips as he frowns. “Are you being fucking serious right now?”

Turning your attention back to the field, your knees bounce with restless energy, anticipating his next move. An intricate dance just like the players below you.

Steve climbs back over, and you can’t help but relish a little in his groan and mumbled comment about being twelve under his breath as you shimmy between Eddie and Nancy, shoving Eddie into your old seat, ignoring his grunted protests. Unable to help yourself, you smirk into your beer, watching out of the corner of your eye as Steve’s jaw clenches. Making him irritated seems only fair under the circumstances.

You’re ready for his next attempt, sure he’s going to make Nancy swap with him or come up behind you. So when he puts his foot on the chair, you move to the edge of your seat. Steve pounces, tumbling over the back of the row in front of you instead. He’s breathless, cheeks flushed pink as his hands land on the armrests of your spot. His arms cage you in as he leans over the back of the blue metal chairs, ignoring the grumbled complaints of those he bumped out of the way in his pursuit.

His face fills your vision, freckles that dot the sharp slope of his nose, the light scruff he’s let grow more highlight’s the angle of his jaw and the curve of his cupid’s bow. For a second you forget you’re supposed to be mad when you finally meet his eyes. They steal all of your attention and you hate that you can’t look away.

You hate him.

“We’re gonna talk,” he huffs, catching his breath.

“You should hit the gym.” A sad attempt to change the subject, to hurt him a little. Your eyes flit down to his lips in a mistake. You can’t look at his eyes again so you settle on his cheek, trying your best to ignore the endearing pair of freckles.

“I know you’re mad, and if you just let me explain, I-“

“You’ve had plenty of chances to explain before today Steve!”

The hush of the people around you makes your eyes close, taking a moment for a calming breath. Eddie coughs into his fist on your left and squints at the field, Nancy scratches the denim on her thigh and clears her throat on your right.

Steve’s eyes narrow, his top lip pulls in, tongue licking over it before he lets out a cold laugh, “Jesus Christ, what was I supposed to do, tell you while we’re fucking? Or how about after you told me about your parents? I-“

The beer in your hand splashes across his face as he coughs and sputters. His fingers wipe over his eyes and you stand, pushing past the gawking crowd and down the stairs.

Nancy and Eddie were right.

Steve Harrington is a fucking idiot.

You’d rode the train past your stop twice, both your airpods in and a look about you that dared anyone to even glance at you the wrong way. At the sight of the sun sinking past the horizon, you bite down on your cheek, willing your gut to stop twisting as it attaches a thing you love to him. Steve Harrington was not going to ruin sunsets for you, you draw the line at fucking grilled cheese and football.

The flick of your entryway lamp illuminates your place, the lyrics “You call me strawberry wine…” drift out of your airpod as you remove it from your ear. You’ve had enough of the universe’s poetic irony today. Tossing the case and your keys into their dish as you turn the lock on your door.

The sunset is the least of your worries, what didn’t he touch here? Your door, the coffee mugs he proclaimed as his favorites, the counter, the fire escape. You reach for the bottle of wine on top of your fridge as you click on the Instagram notification.

A caption reading ‘We just hope both teams had fun🏈 ’ below her photos. A selfie first, Robin’s bashful face filling the screen, getting her cheek kissed by Nancy. Another, this one with you - she must have caught it during bags - a shot of Eddie and you mid-laugh. The last one clearly taken after you left, the group in the stands, Steve’s sweater gone, replaced by a dry light blue t-shirt. You click your phone locked again and drink straight out of the bottle as you walk down the dark hallway. Old wood floors creak underneath your feet as you make your way to your room.

Fuck, your room.

It’s a moment that perhaps you should be crying during, do normal people cry when boys like Steve Harrington blindside them? When a man you start to break down for was spooning you fully clothed at the start of the day and getting a beer tossed in his face by the end, shouldn’t some sort of despair come out in the form of dramatic tears? Nothing leaves your eyes though as you strip the sheets off of your bed. Steve’s not worth any. No guy is.

Tugging harshly at the last corner of the fitted sheet with a frustrated grunt, you throw all of your bedding out into the hallway and slam the door. The flutter of paper on your desk as the door swings closed catches your eye, your chest tightens at the realization of what you left there.

The glow from the setting sun outside washes over the photobooth strip as you walk towards it, lit up in a perfect square of tangerine. Your thumb brushes the last photo as you pick it up, wondering how it all went so wrong, so fast.

It rips easier than maybe it should have, diminished to something small and as broken as you can make it before you toss it in the trash in your bathroom. Your eyes linger on the shower curtain and then your shampoo. The wine bottle presses to your lips again as you make a mental note, adding those to your list of things to replace tomorrow as well.

Your phone pings again, the group chat you’ve just been recently added to:

Your thumb presses the lock after turning it to silent, the dots from Robin appearing letting you know you don’t want to keep reading all of them talk. Your bare mattress stares at you as you drink more wine. They’re home. Together? In his apartment? In his bed?

It doesn’t matter, good for Steve, hope he’s happy. Good fucking riddance, right?

Opening your bedroom door, you sigh at the pile of bedding, stepping over it and making your way to your couch. Your protective wall is still standing, your armor dusted off and polished once more. It’s time to pick up the pieces, replace what’s broken, and move on from what others like Eddie may want to tell you is heartbreak, but you would argue is just called life.

And life is pain, and anyone who tells you differently is selling something, right?

Halloween season used to be one of your favorite times of the year. Parties and opportunities to dress up like someone you’re not. Evenings to be a character in a story far different than the one you were living, with lines already planned for you to say, an ending meticulously thought out. Now, however, the red fabric that clings to your body serves only as a reminder of how your life is the furthest thing from picture perfect.

Originally, when you found the dress thrifting with Robin, it had felt a little like fate. A tiny and gentle nudge from the universe in the right direction - a sign. Now, you’re sure it was actually some twisted joke. Someone, somewhere out there, is laughing it up as they play with you like a plastic doll. Because even meeting Robin, a thing you were positive was divine intervention, is now wrapped around him. Some evil force at work as they had you meet her, then him, while they cackled and said ‘Ha! Watch this! This one’ll be good.’

Your costume now a cruel oxymoron - a girl who resents love dressed as someone who cherishes it. Pretending to be a girl who loved a boy endlessly, so devoted, she claimed to die the day he supposedly did. A girl who-

“You know,” a finger pokes your cheek, “For a princess, your sour look is not very princessey.”

Robin raises her eyebrows at you, hands on her hips, orange fabric of her skirt swishing around her thighs as she turns. Her sparkly red turtleneck and shine of her black mary jane’s glint in the strobe lights that are making sweeps over the room.

You try to smile, if only for the fact that Nancy actually got her to wear the costume. Crossing your arms, your eyebrows raise as you respond, “Well, you must be a detective or something, Miss Dinkley.”

Robin rolls her eyes, but fights a smile, fiddling with the magnifying glass in her hands. When you don’t say anything more though, her big blue eyes soften as they glance up at you through fake glasses, and she reaches out and squeezes your shoulder. “Seriously, is everything okay? I feel like…” she trails off, shaking her head, at a loss for words it seems - an unusual thing for her.

The line for the bar shifts forward and you nod, that terrible feeling still sits heavy in your stomach like a bag of rocks - you’re weighed down, to be left at the bottom of your guilt to drown. “I’m fine, Robin,” it slips out when you repeat the words quieter, because maybe if you say it enough times it’ll come true, “I’ll be fine.”

“Aha!” She points a finger in your face, “You just said be fine, implying something is in fact not fine currently and-“

“Robin,” your laugh is unconvincing even to yourself. You rub your temples as you face the bar. “Quit being a meddling kid.”

It’s supposed to be a joke, but it comes out with a little more bite than you intend and her mouth shuts quickly. It’s silent for only a few seconds though, before her shoulder bumps yours. Her question quiet, “How long were you waiting to use that one?”

Your head rests against her shoulder in a silent ‘I’m sorry’, hers against yours in an equally unspoken ‘You’re forgiven’ as you sigh. “Oh, just since you put on the costume.”

She hums and then lifts her head and faces you. “Last thing, and then I’ll drop it, I swear.”

Facing her, you swallow harshly as she stares at you with eyes that feel like they can see everything. Even more so when she says, “I know we haven’t known each other that long, but you’re important to me. And if there’s something going on…” she trails off before smiling sadly and continuing, “You can tell me, okay? You can open up and I’ll probably talk too much and offer too much advice, but comes from a place of love and-“

You hug her tightly, Robin wraps her arms around you just as fiercely as her sentence breaks off. Your response sticks in your throat, an alarming hope of ‘what if I told her?’ rising in you that you need to squash down quickly. She can’t know, despite Nancy’s warning that she should. If she did find out, you’re not certain she’d be on your side anyways. It was all your idea to lie to her, it’s selfish of you to ask her to comfort you in this situation.

Especially after you made her practically drag you to the party tonight. Eventually giving into her puppy dog pout (for a girl who easily falls for it, she has a pretty convincing one herself), your guilt all but consuming you at this point. You could put on a smile, a brave face - you could pretend to be someone you’re not, just tonight, and just for her.

You haven’t seen Steve since the football game, ignoring any sort of notification related to him in your phone. But in the process of trying to remove anything Steve from your life, you’ve removed Robin from it as well - a packaged deal. Each ignored message, each call you watched ring and left unanswered, every dodged lunch, were just more punches to your gut, pieces of your heart ripped off and stepped on. You missed Robin so much, one night out, forced to make small talk with him, was a fair price to pay for the deceit and lies - if it meant you got to see her again.

When you break away from the hug, it’s your turn for the bar finally. Both of your eyes widen at the sight of the specialty drink menu. ‘Bootini’s’ and things like a cocktail called ‘Vampire Kiss’ making both of you frown at the dollar signs next to each. You’re suddenly grateful for the tequila that’s still filling your stomach with warmth and Eddie’s insistence on taking the shots before leaving Nancy’s.

“They do have like, a regular bar, right? Cause your girl is on a budget and…” your sentence trails off as Robin smiles at something, someone, over your shoulder.

“Well, there isn’t much money in revenge.”

His voice alone is enough to make your shoulders go up, to cause your stomach to twist, but when you spin to see him, you know it’s not the tequila making the room feel fuzzy and your stomach heave.

He can’t be serious.

He is not wearing that. He’s not.

“Come up with that all by yourself, did ya?” Robin pats Steve’s shoulder and before he can reply she’s holding up a hand in front of his face, letting out a low whistle. “Hoolly cooww.” She motions for Leigh to spin who blushes and laughs, but obliges as Robin keeps going, “Miss Morticia Addams, if you wanna ditch Dingus here…”

Steve puts his hands on his hips, an edge to his tone you may have found amusing if it wasn’t because of his best friend hitting on his girlfriend. “Seriously, Robin? Are you being serious right now? Where’s Nancy?”

Robin rolls her eyes at him and Leigh laughs more, squeezing his shoulder. “I should be the one saying holy cow! Look at you two! Y/N, where did you find that dress?”

God, you hate that she’s nice.

Her dress is phenomenal. The low cut, black fabric that hugs her curves and drapes over her flattering in a way it simply wouldn’t be on you. She’s got the perfect gauzy sleeves, the rings and red lips and nails, she’s even got a rose and scissors in her hand.

You hate that you want to like this girl.

Your smile is tense, “I, uh-“

The bartender clears her throat and you point, saved by the bell, turning your back on the group. A name of one of the drinks leaves your lips and you’re vaguely aware of Robin saying something about finding the others and to not order her something with whiskey in it because he remembers what happened last time.

The deep breathing through your nose is a sad attempt for composure when you get a longer chance to take Steve in. Even with the dim bar lighting, the mirror behind the shelf of various liquors gives you a perfect view. You’re not sure whether you want to kiss him or punch him.

Steve’s dressed in all black, head to toe, the v-cut of the flowy top revealing quite a bit of his dark chest hair and you swallow, your fingers gripping the edge of the counter. You always hated how Buttercup couldn’t tell it was Westley, in fact, you hate it in any movie when a character has a mask over their eyes and suddenly everyone is unable to tell who they’re dancing with, hell who’s kissing them. If anything, the black band of fabric across his face only makes the lips below and the eyes underneath it stand out more - the curve of his top lip you can still feel under your tongue. The colors of his iris’ so distinctly Steve that you’d recognize anywhere - instead of a sea after a storm, a forest. He really went all out, even his scruff shaved to have a thin mustache, he’s wearing the black cap pushing down his normally styled and perfectly messy hair, and when you glance down, you’re not surprised to find matching pirate boots standing next to you.

His hand reaches across your chest with a matte black card - that kind that isn’t glossy like a normal one and you quickly hand the bartender crumpled bills instead, earning a sigh from Steve.

“You’re not seriously wearing that.” Weeks of no contact, and you hate that your voice doesn’t come out strong and confident when that’s all you can think to say.

Risking a glance his way, you find his eyes are already on you, his jaw clenching before he asks, “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

Your inhale is sharp - how can he be this cruel? How can he act like that costume means nothing, or like the last few weeks weren’t awful? Weren’t they awful for him? To go from talking almost every day to nothing?

“Are you fucking kidding me Steve? After everything, after what you said at the game, you’re really gonna stick to not admitting what this is?” Gesturing up and down his body as you ask. He truly can’t be this much of an asshole, he can’t-

Steve shrugs. “I’m just a pirate. I don’t know what your problem is.”

Turns out, he can be.

Before you can even start to formulate something nasty to respond with, a person walking by shouts out, “Oh nice! As you wish, dudes!” Clapping Steve’s shoulder as they waltz past like it’s the 90’s and people still say ‘dudes’ to strangers.

Dude did just make your point for you at least, though.

You hold your hands out to the retreating body in a show of ‘see?’ and then childishly flip Steve off. “The case rests, your honor.”

“It was last minute and I didn’t-”

His weak and pathetic attempts at excuses fall on deaf ears as you push your way through the crowd towards the beacon of red neon announcing an exit for this god forsaken bar.

Maybe it’s the tequila talking, but you don’t think it is - screw Steve Harrington for ruining a fucking bar, for ruining the word dude, for ruining The Princess Bride, for ruining everything.

Screw everything.

The sting of rejection and the quiet anger that’s been sitting at a simmer since the game rests over an open flame now. Your insides quickly grow to a rapid boil. Apathy and anger rage for the top spot as everything you’ve tried to keep under a lid steams, ready to overflow and burn.

Ignoring the calls of your name, something still makes it past your seeing red rampage of an exit, connecting the voices, aware of Steve saying something to someone, but you can’t really find it in yourself to care who or what. The cool air hits your body as you push outside, stinging against the damp skin under your eyes.

A hand on your shoulder makes you jump, his voice quiet, “Y/N-“

“Don’t touch me, Steve,” you warn, taking a step backwards after yanking your shoulder from under his fingers. Your hands balled into fists as you spin to look at him.

He runs a hand through his now uncovered hair, face fully revealed without a mask too. He watches you closely, his voice gentle, as he raises his hands up, “Look, I just want to make sure you’re okay. You can-“

“You don’t get to check on me anymore, or worry about if I’m okay, you’re not my boyfriend,” your tone scathing.

Steve’s gaze bounces over your face, his jaw hardens as the vein in his forehead dances. Somehow his voice is soft despite the bite to it, “Yeah, I know. You’ve made that perfectly clear. But I am your friend, and I -“

Your laugh causes him to break off. You gesture inside and then to his outfit. “Friends don’t treat each other this way, Steve.”

He drags his palms down his face, his own disbelieving laugh echoes against the brick of the bar. “Are you kidding me? I have been nothing but your friend! I am sorry about what I said at the game, but really, when was I supposed to tell you? And this costume…I…” He shakes his head, licking his lips as he takes a step closer to you. “Look. I should have told you about Leigh sooner, but if you would have given me five minutes to-“

“Five minutes. A sec.” Your hands move in quotation marks as you recall the conversation he wanted to have at the game too. Your face pinches into an irritated scowl as your hands drop in front of you, palms open. Exasperation laced around your words, “What the fuck is there to explain anymore, Harrington? You’re dating her and you didn’t tell me - the story is over.”

Steve stands just in front of you now, that gravitational pull at silent work again, even weeks apart unable to switch it off. Your bodies move with each other, your voices rise in sync, your chests fall with shared breaths. A different sidewalk, that same feeling of flight or fight, but you know that it’s too late this time. Even turning the heat off isn’t going to fix the damage that’s been done.

Another laugh huffs out of him, “You’d like that, right? That’s it, case closed. Y/N calls the shots and decides everything.” He shakes his head and points to his chest, towering over you, “This is all such total bullshit. You’re mad at me for something that was your idea, because you didn’t get to decide when it was over.” He shrugs, waves of nonchalance carrying his words through the air to hit you hard like a slap across the face. “You’re a spoiled brat who’s mad because you’ve lost a toy.”

Any maturity you attempted to have towards the situation has evaporated.

“Me? The spoiled brat? Excuse me, Mr. 50th floor and Daddy’s Credit Card. Take a look in the fucking mirror, Steve!”

Your chests almost touch with each ragged breath as his hands run through his hair and he pulls. A frustrated groan at your words, while the volume at which his come out becomes louder, “I’ve got plenty of fucking mirrors, why don’t you take your own advice! You’re a hypocrite. You can’t even admit it to yourself, can you? Tell me I’m wrong! Tell me you didn’t ask me for this arrangement. Tell me that the words ‘no feelings’ and ‘just sex’ didn’t leave your mouth. Tell me what you have to be upset with me for then!”

Your chin quivers at his words, the truth of them daring the tears behind your eyes to fall.

Steve gulps, his fingers dance on your jaw, thumb brushing your cheek. His eyes shine with his own held back tears, like he regrets how he said it but not that he did. His voice quiets as he pleads, “Tell me.”

He doesn’t get to look at you like that. He doesn’t get to say those things to you and then look at you like that.

What happened last time Steve Harrington asked you to open up and tell him something?

Tequila lingers on your tongue, aiding in the formation of words that are meant to sting - you want to hurt him like he’s hurting you. You bite down on your jaw, the anger and pain ready to fall down your cheeks as you remove yourself from him.

Your hands press against his chest, “You’re bullshit. This is bullshit.” A small shove as you practically growl the next words, “I’m a hypocrite? How about the fucking bathroom at that party where you told me I couldn’t have it both ways, but then you’re dating someone while getting all jealous?” Another shove, this time his fingers brush your wrists, a halfhearted attempt to get you to stop. “Begging me to open up to you? For fucking what, Steve? This costume? You…” you close your eyes and let your hands drop, letting the words do all the work now, “You’re a liar. You’re an asshole.”

Steve’s head ducks down, his fingers brushing his nose before he rolls his shoulders back. When his mouth opens, you step backwards, shaking your head.

“Lose my number, Steve.”

His eyes roam over your face, waiting, searching. He only nods once and takes his own step back.

“As you wish.”

Your breath sucks in sharply, a sob you’ve been holding in since the moment he said the words ‘Sorry we’re late’ threatens to finally crack out of your chest. You wish you had another beer to toss in his face for using those words at this moment.

It’s not said with the kind of reverence of the movie. There isn’t a narrator to let you know what he actually means by the phrase. But you know. It’s not an ‘I love you’, not like this. No, it’s merely a promise to do as you asked.

All you can do is turn away from him, hold your chin up and roll your shoulders back as you walk down the sidewalk.

There is no hopeful glance back over your shoulder, no loud smacks against the pavement made by his feet chasing after you like in the movies.

Like you said, your story is over.

'One New Voicemail':

“Hey, just thought I’d try ya, I know you’ve been busy. Um, well, Steve and I are heading to the Rocky Horror show tonight and I know he’d love someone to aid in his teasing of how totally into it I get. Right Steve?”

[muffled sounds of movement and whispers]

“Hm…yeah, I uh-”

[a clear smack to his shoulder]

“It feels like forever since I’ve seen you or we’ve done something just the three of us! Anyways, call me back, text me…beep me if you wanna reach me…ugh, sorry that was so lame, okay bye. Love you!”

If you were surviving before them, you could survive without them. It seemed simple enough.

You’ve never stayed in one place for long, friendships like Robin, Eddie, and Nancy had been left before. Friendships that were never given a chance to really even start before you were gone. The promise of any relationships packed into boxes and off to the next city. Addresses and phone numbers and notes of ‘Keep in touch’ left to collect dust until forgotten about completely.

So, it should have been easy to continue to ignore their messages. To ignore the holes in your chest, to ignore the want to call or text one of them when something happened as mundane as a stranger calling another stranger ‘toots’ in your mailroom. If Steve touched things in your life and now caused them to wilt in your memories and sights, the other three made things bloom. They breathed life into you again.

You weren’t going to let Steve Harrington take something like that away from you.

Which is why you found yourself curled into your father’s sweater for courage, walking down the sidewalk towards the cemetery with a promise to meet them there.

Orange and brown leaves crinkle underfoot before they blow across the pavement. The moon is full, the sky that deep indigo it seems to only get this time of year. Both a perfect backdrop for the bare trees that dance in the wind and the blocks lined with homes with glowing porch lights. Orange buckets overflowing with candy rush past in a blur, laughter and squeals of children echoing down the street past you.

As you make it to the black iron fence, your eyes roam the blankets and patrons occupying them in the park next to the cemetery. Apple and brown sugar meet your nose and you take special note of the mini donut booth attached to the scent. Which is where you see Eddie, shoving two in his mouth and rolling his eyes at Nancy. He spots you and grins around the sugary dough, nudging the shoulder to his right and nodding in your direction.

Robin spins and you see her shoulders visibly fall and a grin spread across her face. She says something to the other two who head in the direction of the blankets and she races through the crowd. Muffled oofs and sorry’s meet your ears as she dodges and spins around people balancing concessions.

You reach the front of the line, a sandwich board proudly displaying the original ‘The Evil Dead’ poster sits next to an older woman on a stool at the gate. She smiles at you, holding a flashlight towards the ground. “Ticket, dear?”

“Rose! Rose, she's my girl!” Robin shouts, breathless as she makes it to the gate.

“Oh!” The elderly woman smiles wider, ushering you through, “Have fun ladies! Tell Edward I’m still waiting for my hot chocolate.”

“Yes ma’am.” Robin salutes with two fingers and then grabs you in a hug. “Jesus Christ I missed you!” Her voice is loud and she shrinks in your arms as the lights of the booths go out and the crowd surrounding you turns and shushes. Her voice shifts to a whisper, “Whoops. Come on, we’re towards the back and we still have all the commercials to chat without too many nasty looks.”

Robin holds your arm in a death grip, a silent promise to not let you out of her sights and clutches so long as she can help it again it seems. When you reach the blanket, Nancy and Eddie’s conversation stops abruptly and their smiles seem painted on as they look up at you.

It’s one of those moments, those silences that are too stilted and too abrupt, letting you know exactly what was being discussed just seconds before. You wave a little, ears burning since you have no doubt about who the subject of their interrupted conversation was.

“Eddie,” Robin begins, huffing as she falls to their cushy spot with extra blankets, trays of drinks, and several bags of sweets littered around them, “Rose is fiending.”

“Oh shit!” Ducking and wincing when someone turns around and glares at him. He grabs one of the cups with a big R on top and squeezes your shoulder as he stands, “Be right back! Glad you came!”

Sitting as Robin pats his now empty spot next to her. “Can I get you anything? We have cocoa and cider, donuts, popcorn, candy corn, caramel corn, basically any kind of corn and-“

“Robin,” Nancy hums, almost singing, as she sips from a cup. She squeezes her fingers. “You have to actually take a breath to let her respond.”

“I’ll never say no to a cider or donut,” you point to the items with a laugh.

Robin grabs them and hands it to you. She whacks pillows and squishes around, rolling and frowning and readjusting.

Eventually, she sighs, content, and grabs Nancy’s hand and then a donut from your bag and knocks it against one in your fingers before taking a bite.

“Happy?” Nancy asks as Robin hums around the sugar she licks off of her lips.

“You know it. Only thing that would make tonight better is…” she trails off with a grin.

You take her words as a warning to look around, wondering where he is and mentally preparing yourself.

Nothing could have prepared you though.

It happens quickly and yet not at the same time.

Your head turns to see them walking hand in hand. A swing of fingers as they walk past twinkling lights, the breeze blowing her hair perfectly.

Nancy says “Shit,” under her breath as she sits up. When you turn to look at her with a frown, she opens her mouth but no words come out.

The movie starts.

Eddie slows down as he makes his way back towards the blanket, looking at Nancy then over his shoulder then back at you.

Robin waves her arm too much and you turn to look again, trying to figure out what you’re not getting.

Steve’s eyes meet yours and he stops, tripping over his own shoe.

Leigh waves and something sparkles on her hand in the moonlight.

Robin beams and squeezes your wrist. “Oh my gosh I can’t believe they actually came! I figured with the whole engagement thing they wouldn’t. Now it’s all officially perfect. All my favorite people together on my favorite day.”

Plot twist: Steve Harrington is engaged.

WCIL taglist:

@loveshotzz @myobmaya @sweetsweetjellybean @pastel-pillows @littlesubbyflower @johnricharddeacy @freezaz123 @selfdeprecatingnerd @big-ope-vibes @manda-panda-monium @hellkaisersangel @yogizzz @soulmatecashton @happytimeunicorns @mandyjo8719 @lunarxeclipse @buckleylips @beckkthewreck @differentdeputyfishpaper @supardupar @micheledawn1975 @imjuststeddietrashatthispoint @sagelittleplace @totally-bogus-timelady @steves-babysitter @fallinginlovewithqueue @aftermidnightwriting @omgshesinsane @pootcullen @definitionwanderlust @nostalgiafool @palmtreesx3 @scoopshxrrington @live-the-fangirl-life @eddiesguitarskills @mannstarkey @keepingitlokiii

#steve harrington #modern!steve harrington #modern!steve #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington series #steve harrington angst #steve harrington fic #stranger things fanfic #we'll call it love

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spideystevie · 2 years

Text

new year's kiss

summary: new year’s tradition

word count: 0.7k

a/n: merry new year! something old i’ve had in my docs for a while that i reworked for steve <3 hope you guys enjoy.

“Five minutes to midnight!” you hear someone shout through the hoards of people at the party. You can hear the faint sound of Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve playing off the television somewhere in the living room.

You’re in a rush trying to find your midnight kiss, hopeful not to miss out on the tradition for the umpteenth time. And yet, Steve’s nowhere to be found.

The kitchen is crowded and you elbow your way through people, a frown settling on your face. You’re not sure how much time you have until the countdown, a twinge of worry starting to poke at your nerves.

At the outskirts of the kitchen, near the staircase, you spot Robin and something close to relief washes over you for a moment. A party blower hangs from her mouth and the stars on her new year’s headband wiggle when she moves her head.

“Robin!” you shout over the crowd, side-stepping someone to get to her. The stars above her head shake when she turns her head to look at you. She smiles.

“Hey! What’re you-”

“Have you seen Steve?” you yell, hearing someone in the distance shout about two minutes until midnight. The same worry from before creeps out of hiding. Robin frowns.

“He said he was looking for you,” she yells back and you hold back a groan. Instead, you smile in thanks and squeeze her arm before melting back into the crowd. There’s another yell of your final minute warning and you huff, forcing your way to the back yard.

A chill traces down the length of your spine when you step outside, eyes a little lost. There’s random groups of people out in the yard, though it’s not as crowded as inside. Glimpses of sound from the party are heard through the open windows.

The minute your shoulders deflate, you feel a grab at your waist and are pulled to the side. You yelp, stumbling into someone’s chest and you blink up at the boy you’d been searching for. He smells a little like the party but more like Steve, woodsy and boyish and him.

You look up at him with a smile, hair in your eyes. “You looked a little lost.”

“30 seconds!” the same person from before yells out. Your heart is starting to beat faster than before as you feel yourself leaning in closer to him.

“Was just looking for you,” you say, maybe a little bit louder than you really need to. Your eyes flicker from his eyes to his mouth and back again. His face inches closer to your own.

“Well here I am,” it escapes him in a soft mumble, one you’d probably not be able to hear had you not been so attuned to him. The shouting that surrounds you is almost inaudible in the moment you’re in.

“Five, four..”

Your foreheads are pressed together, eyes halfway shut with hearts racing in sync.

“Three,” his nose nudges yours up, his voice not even grazing a whisper.

“Two,” you’re equally as quiet, eyes fluttering shut completely. You don’t even count the last second out loud together, instead you allow the shouts to announce it to you. He wastes no time in pressing his lips against yours. His hands are on your waist, holding you flush against him while your fingertips graze the hair at the nape of his neck, thumbs brushing across his cheeks.

It’s near freezing outside, a brush of wind pushing past. You hardly notice it at all, body feeling immensely warm from the way Steve’s kissing you. You feel like you’re melting into one person, two halves of a whole pushing together.

There’s a ghost of a smile on your lips as you pull back, only to press your lips together again. Fireworks explode in the air above you, casting their own light in accompaniment to the flashes of polaroids and cameras you can make out in your peripherals. You pull back a second time, nudging your nose against his in a kiss of its own.

A giggle escapes your mouth as you look in his eyes, lashes fluttering. “Happy new year.”

His face is bright, brown eyes shining and wide like his smile as he nudges his nose with yours again, whispering a “happy new year, honey,” before kissing you for a third time.

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington blurb #📝: a writes!

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wheels-of-despair · 2 years

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Fucking Fireworks Pairing: Eddie Munson x You Summary: Eddie doesn't like fireworks anymore. Contains: Angst, panic attack, me torturing this sweet boy just so I can comfort him like the wicked witch I am. Word Count: 1.5k-ish

Fucking fireworks.

You've always hated them. They're loud, they're obnoxious, they're a waste of money. If you buy fireworks, you're basically just setting your money on fire for a few seconds of sparks.

In the past, you'd tolerated them because Eddie loved them. They were loud, they were obnoxious, they were free entertainment because they were everywhere.

Last Fourth of July, you'd brought a carton of ice cream and two spoons up to the roof and occasionally fed each other until the show began. Yeah, yeah, you two are so in love it's disgusting, you're aware.

Last New Year's Eve, you'd huddled with him under a blanket and kissed when his watch beeped at midnight, then laid your head on his shoulder and watched the fireworks from a distance.

But that was before.

Eddie doesn't like fireworks anymore.

He won't talk about it, but you see him flinch when a light bulb flickers or a barely-running car turns the corner while riding their squeaky brakes. He buries his face in your neck and squeezes his eyes shut during thunderstorms. He froze when some idiot kids set off a few firecrackers nearby on Halloween.

New Year's Eve was going to be a challenge. Trying to shield him from the fireworks without him knowing what you were doing was going to be a bigger one. You're familiar with the snap of "I'm not a fucking baby!" But he is. He's yours.

The snow worked in your favor. Too dangerous to get on a roof covered in snow, you could slip and break something. Too cold to go anywhere. You'd suggest staying home where it's warm and trying to sync Metallica's Ride the Lightning album with the countdown, so that "For Whom the Bell Tolls" would begin when the clock strikes 12. A genius idea that your sweet metalhead wouldn't be able to refuse.

He went for it.

You'd gone to Family Video and brought home a pile of his favorite movies to watch that evening, along with a case of beer, a bag full of snacks, and a pizza. At midnight, it would be just the two of you and the greatest album ever recorded. Loud. Very loud.

You'd timed everything almost perfectly.

The two of you had finished off an entire pizza and nearly half the snacks by the time the last movie ended at 11:27. You were scheduled to press play on Ride the Lightning at 11:48, so you even had a few minutes to clean up.

It was a great plan… until it wasn't.

At 11:43, while you were washing the last dirty dish, the power went out with a pop.

"Eds?"

Silence. He was on the couch a minute ago.

You fumbled blindly for the flashlight in the junk drawer, letting out a shaky sigh when your hand finally closed around it. You clicked the button and felt a flood of relief when it illuminated the kitchen. Pointing the flashlight at the floor, you made you way over to Eddie.

He was frozen in place on the couch, hands clutching at his sweatpants in a white-knuckle grip.

"Eddie? Are you okay?" you ask softly, sitting on the coffee table in front of him, careful not to shine the light in his eyes. He doesn't respond.

You envied the people in movies, who always made this look so easy. There's nothing easy about it. You feel helpless, because all you want to do is take care of him, and you don't know how. There's no guide book called How to Recover from Nearly Dying in an Alternate Dimension. Maybe you'd talk to Nancy about writing one next year.

Okay, what caused this? The dark. How do we fix it? More light. You suddenly remember a camping lantern that should be in the hall closet. "I'll be right back, Eds," you say with an eerily convincing calmness, considering the panic you felt inside. You lay the flashlight on the coffee table in front of him and angle it toward the hall.

Miraculously, the lantern is not only where it belongs, but it has batteries in it. This wondrous little contraption, received as a Christmas present last year and immediately banished to a cluttered closet, filled the small room with light. You brought it back to the couch, sitting in front of Eddie once more. "Eds?"

He blinked. Blinking is good. You slowly extend your right hand, palm up, toward him. He stares at it, and after a moment, releases a hand from the death grip on his pants and places it in yours. You exhale for the first time in what felt like hours.

"It's just your standard, run-of-the-mill, Hawkins-Sucks power outage, babe. It's okay. You're okay," you say with a smile you hope looks comforting. He's breathing normally, but his eyes are still stuck in a blank stare. Your thumb rubs circles on the back of his hand.

A few minutes pass, and you move a little closer, sitting on the edge of the coffee table, his hand still in yours. You can see a little color coming back into his face, courtesy of the greatest Christmas present anyone has ever received. You can also feel the inside temperature beginning to drop from the lack of heat.

"Eddie? You with me?" You squeeze his hand, and his eyes finally meet yours. There he is. Your face breaks into a grateful smile.

"It's getting cold. What do you say we move this party to the bedroom?" you ask, wiggling your eyebrows for effect. He gives you half a smile, and you feel warmth surge through your whole body. He's back. He's okay.

You hand him the flashlight and slowly rise with the lantern, still not letting go of his hand, and lead him toward the bedroom. You stop at the junk drawer again, shoving extra batteries into your pocket, just in case.

You're both in sweats already, so all you need to do is get him into bed and keep him occupied until the power comes back on. You reach for Eddie's flashlight before he crawls into bed. You switch it off, placing it on the bedside table near the still-lit lantern and spare batteries, and climb in to face him. The lantern fills the room with a comforting glow, the pile of blankets you're under is quickly warming up, you can handle this. You give him a reassuring smile and reach over to tuck a piece of hair behind his ear.

And then the fucking fireworks start.

His body tenses. His eyes widen. You are going to calm him down, and then you're going to go murder everyone who's doing this to him.

"Eddie. EDDIE. It's just fireworks. It's a new year. It's just people celebrating." He doesn't blink. He doesn't move.

What caused this? The noise. How do we fix it? Drown it out with more noise. Why can't we do that? Because the Hawkins power grid is a piece of shit. How else can we fix it? Think, idiot, think… if we can't drown it out with noise, maybe we can drown it out with silence.

"C'mere, baby." You roll from your side to your back and extend an arm, drawing him to you. You're a little surprised, but thankful, when he lets you guide his head to your chest. Your right arm wraps around his back, your left palm presses firmly to his ear to help drown out the sound. You hold him tight, because you don't know what else to do.

He seems to relax after a few minutes, and you let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding. Your right hand begins moving up and down his back, and you press a kiss to the top of his head before resting your cheek against his fluffy locks. You'll stay in this position all night if you have to.

After what feels like an eternity, the crackles and hisses and pops begin to die down. You begin counting when you think you've heard the last of it, not daring to move until you get to 100. You have to restart the count four times before you're finally able to get there, hoping that whoever was supplying this endless exploding nightmare would blow a hand or a dick off. Finally, it's over.

You move your hand off his ear. Is he asleep? His breathing is steady and he hasn't moved in a while. A few seconds pass before his hand finds yours… and moves it back to his ear. You bite back a chuckle and squeeze him, kissing the top of his head again. He groans sleepily and nuzzles into your chest. He's still here. He's okay.

No thanks to those fucking fireworks.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #writings of despair #eddie i'm sorry i don't know where this came from

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y2niki · 9 months

Text

# Chapstick <3

→ childhood friends 희승

warnings? character death, potentially ooc heeseung, mention of su1c1de

authors note: fem reader. around 1k words. sad ending

The sun was setting over the mountains when you felt the stick catch on the sides of the tube. A look of despair washes over your face when you realise your favourite chapstick was almost finished.

You'd had it since the start of this school year and it was like a part of you was saying goodbye to an old friend. It's been with you through the laughs of the classmates and the silent tears you shed alone. Now it was almost gone.

Suddenly, a voice breaks through your thoughts. It's a familiar voice you had known for years, it was Lee Heeseung.

'Hey! Don't forget to come to the graduation ceremony tomorrow!' He exclaimed, as his eyes gleamed. ‘Oh, right,' you mumbled, giving him a small smile. You had grown up in a small country town in the mountains together, always playing together and going on adventures. Now you were both graduating from high school.

Heeseung seemed to pick up on your distanced mood and asked, 'Are you okay?' You shook your head in response and told him about the chapstick. Heeseung looked at you with a sad glint in his eye. He knew the risks of you going too far in silence, but he wasn't about to give up that easily. He paused for a moment and then said, 'I have an idea. I overheard Sunoo saying that you were planning to end it as soon as your chapstick runs out. But I'm asking you this, until the chapstick runs out, will you fall in love with me and rethink your decisions?'

Your eyes widened in surprise, it had been a long time since you had felt that anyone had seen you, really seen you and wanted to fight to have you in their life. You looked at him with a mix of fear and anticipation and whispered, 'Yes.'

Heeseung smiled brilliantly and said, 'Let's go on a date then!' The day of the date finally arrived and you where so nervous it feels like you can't breathe properly, like the butterflies in your stomach are about to burst out. Luckily, it's like no time has passed when you see Heeseung at the entrance of the cafe, the same lopsided smile on his face that you grew up watching.

When you sit down at the table, you both share a giggle, feeling a bit out of place but excited all the same. You both chat about your day and what you've been up to, the conversation never running dry.Heeseung orders a chocolate milkshake and when it arrives, he offers you the first sip. You take it with a smile, feeling your heart flutter as you press your lips against the straw. Heeseung smiles and grabs your hands. 'I'm happy you agreed to go on this date with me,' he says. You can barely find your voice to respond. You manage to say, 'Me too.'

Heeseung's eyes twinkle, and you both start talking about your favorite childhood memories. You talk about the time you ventured into the mountains together and how he raced ahead and almost got chased by the cow. Heeseung laughs. 'I remember that! I thought it was so cool until I actually got chased. Then not so much.'

And for the first time in a long time, you feel happy.

On your second date, you went to a cafe. You enjoyed sipping coffee while watching the people go by, and found yourselves laughing and joking around. Heeseung looked genuinely happy around you, and you couldn't help but think that life did have happy moments, if you pushed yourself to be in them. Days turned into cherished memories, but still the chapstick continues its inevitable descent towards emptiness. Its finality loomed, a silent countdown to a decision you never thought you'd revisit.

Slowly but surely, you realized that you were falling for Heeseung - the same person you'd been friends with your whole life. You were quite simply shocked at the thought of it, and you couldn't help but smile every time he was around.

On the last day of summer, you took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. 'I feel the same way,' you said. 'I'm falling for you too.' Heeseung's smile widened, and he leaned in to give you a soft kiss. You knew then that perhaps you two were meant to be. And as you two slowly fell in love, every single date seemed more magical than the last. In fact, the whole world seemed much brighter. Brighter even when you realised that it had been long since you finished your chapstick.

You looked at the empty chapstick tube in your hand, aching at the thought that you used to want to disappear. Part of you was happy you rethought you decisions, but another was scared about what was next.

Fate had other plans.

The next day, as you were walking to school, a car came speeding towards you. Heeseung jumped in front of it and pushed you out of the way, sacrificing himself for you. You ran over to him with tears streaming down your face, not believing that the one person who had given you a chance to live again had passed.

He took your hand and said, with a faint echo of a smile, 'You were worth saving.'And then he was gone.

Hours pass and you leave the hospital, unable to take in the sight of Heeseung any longer. You’re numb, unable to process what just happened, but you feel like you need to keep going. Heeseung’s last words keep echoing in your mind, and you make a promise to yourself to live up to them.

One year later, you were walking down the street, holding a chapstick in your hands. You were about to finish it, but you paused and tucked away the chapstick in a safe place. 'This one is for him,' you said softly, tenderly pressing it to your lips as if to remember every sweet moment that you shared together.

#y2niki #heeseung #enhypen niki #heeseung x reader #heeseung fluff #enhypen #enhypen fluff #enhypen x reader #enhypen fanfiction #fanfic #enhypen au #heeseung angst #enhypen angst

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levi-libido · 4 months

Text

Escaping Karma

{ A post-rumbling Levi Fanfic concept }

Read time: 25-30mins

Captain Levi, Commander Armin, Mikasa, Jean, and Connie meet Lieutenant Karma and her special ops soldiers; Torrent, Echo, Atlas, and Pyre, who’s already waiting for them atop a high cliff overlooking the Great Forest of the Republic of Eldis. The scene is calm and tranquil, with a soft breeze quietly rustling through the trees. Both members of this new formed alliance approach each other, an air of anticipation permeating the gathering.

"You guys made it!!" Pyre exclaims excitedly, his short spiked orange hair moves with his energy. "Who's gonna be on your team?"

"Teams?" Mikasa responds, puzzled.

He nods, "Yeah! We said our Red Team will be me, Atlas, and Torrent. So now you guys gotta choose your three!"

Jean interjects skeptically, "Wait, so we’re playing some kind of sport here?" Him and Connie exchange suspicious glances. Captain Levi remains silent, leaning against a tree, his gaze intently fixed on Lt Karma.

Echo chimes in, "Well, I'm not playing tonight so I’ll just explain the rules and look pretty doing the countdown." She flips her golden, blonde hair and sashays to the cliff's edge, pointing out, "Now listen up. Each team will jump from here and race through the forest." Her voice echoes slightly as she slowly traces her finger through the night air. "The first to grab their team’s flag from those trees," she points to the small, red and blue triangle silhouettes in the distance, "… wins the game."

"Jump... from here?" Connie asks cautiously, peering down at the darkness below. "Down to that forest?"

Levi’s eyes remain locked on Karma as she subtly begins walking towards the back of both groups.

"Duh. Why do you think we told you to bring your ODM gear!?" Pyre grinned, revealing faint dimples.

Despite the reassurance, Connie’s anxiety only heightens. These soldiers appear utterly unfazed. Jean wraps an arm around Connie’s shoulder for comfort, "Well, we got two Ackermans over here, so obviously they should make up our team…" He then pulls Connie next to Mikasa and Levi. "… And you too, bro! You’re definitely the fastest of us all." he adds encouragingly. Connie begins to smile, slightly blushing as he rubs the back of his neck.

"No," Levi says bluntly from his corner. Both Connie and Jean turn to look at him, surprised by his response. "You serious, Captain?!”. Levi’s gaze shifts away, uninterested in elaborating. They began to form a huddle, leaving space for their Captain, who stares at them, confused and unmoving. "We never do this," he remarks, rolling his eyes with his arms crossed.

After a few moments, he sighs, finally giving in and reluctantly joining them. Commander Armin speaks up, with a determined look in his eye, "Hold on, Captain! I think this would actually be a smart strategy. It’s kind of a way to show how strong we are and everything we will contribute to this new alliance. Plus you guys can see what they can do from close range." Jean and Connie nod in agreement. "YEAH!"

The huddle now looks at him with pleading eyes. It’s clear he would rather not participate in the game, but since his team begged him to, he has no choice. Mikasa smiles slightly, being a team player as she joins Connie and Levi in gearing up. They notice this new gear, a gift from the Republic, is much easier. It allows the user to snap the chest and leg buckles together much faster with one click.

Levi’s expression remains stoic as he adjusts his gear, still sneaking glances at Karma, standing by herself, observing them all silently from the distance. She’s too quiet… He joins Mikasa and Connie to wait for the countdown.

Echo repeats the teams as she points for them to line up side by side, standing between them. "Okay, so now we officially have Team Red: Atlas, Torrent, and Pyre," she announces, then turns to face the other. "And Team Blue: Captain Levi, Mikasa, and Connie."

They all line up on their respective sides a few feet behind her as she calls out the names of each team. Levi stands in the center of their team, his gaze forward. Connie stands to one side of him, and Mikasa on the other, all geared up and ready.

"Oh yeah! There’s one teeny, tiny, thing I forgot to mention... DO NOT let Lt catch you... or you’re OUT!" Echo spins forward and raises her black and white flag in the air above her. Atlas and Pyre quietly laugh mischievously. Mikasa and Connie both look at Levi, confused. Something’s not right here…

The mention of Lieutenant Karma quickly grabs the attention of the Blue Team. Levi specifically notices the Red team’s unspoken cues as they look back at her, who is stretching a few meters away without any gear, smirking at him. The moment he sees her smile, his brows furrow as his interest deepens. She’s clearly enjoying his attention.

Connie finally speaks up, pointing back, “Wait, guys she’s not wearing any-”

"GOOOOO!!!" At her signal, the Red Team, already primed for action, bolts with exaggerated terror. Echo's voice isn't just loud—it's unnaturally piercing. The Blue Team all wince at her sound, using their hands to protect the eardrums.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!" Pyre yells, laughing as he takes off and disappears off the cliff with Atlas and Torrent beside him. Levi, Mikasa, and Connie, are momentarily stunned by the ringing in their ears. Damn. They all shake their heads to quickly recover. Spurred by the sudden rush, they too utilize the running start and launch off the cliff after the Red Team with the ODM gear whirring through the night air, down, down into the abyss of the forest.

Armin and Jean watch from above with excitement and concern, covering their numb ears still feeling the effects of Echo’s signal. They peer down observing both teams get swallowed up into the night.

After giving them a brief head start, Lieutenant Karma runs and jumps off the cliff with a graceful flip and speed, her long, silver hair flowing behind her. Levi turns back to watch her dive until something snatches her into the darkness of the trees above him. Huh?

Caught off guard after losing sight of her, Levi now faces the unexpected scene unfolding in front of him. The forest ahead turns into a sporadic blur as they watch the Red Team descend into mania.

Pyre, the youngest and most exuberant of the Red Team, is the first to reveal his secret. Retracting both steel wires, he releases the triggers, balls his hands into steaming fists, and bursts ahead with his lower body lighting up into a bright, sudden flare, “Woooooohooooo!!” He leaves a trail of sparks and embers, startling Connie, who yelps in surprise, "What the—!" Levi and Mikasa are too stunned to speak as they try to focus on dodging more trees.

"DID THAT KID JUST SHOOT FIRE OUT OF HIS ARMS, MIKASA?!" Connie points ahead at the zooming fireball as he trails behind them.

The mute soldier Atlas, at least quiet until now, slams into the forest floor and proceeds by foot. Using his massive arms and shoulders, as if powered by monstrous strength, Atlas barrels through the denser parts of the forest like a rampaging train. Creeek-BOOM! Creeek-BOOM! He forcefully knocks aside large trees, grunting with the effort. The trunks crack and topple with booming crashes, each one clears his path further, allowing him to gain even more momentum.

Their attention then turns to Torrent, whose wires shoot him above the treetops and into the sky. With a disturbing contortion, his arms grotesquely elongate and morph into giant, feathered limbs. The transformation allows him to soar and dive through the air with predatory ferocity, cutting through the wind as he gains rapid speed, flying ahead of the others.

The chaos unfolds, and the Blue Team is dumbfounded. Flying tree branches and swirling leaves from the destruction create new obstacles, pelting them from ahead. "AGH-WHAT THE HELL?! THESE GUYS ARE FREAKS, MAN!!" Connie begins to slow down as it becomes more difficult to dodge the aftermath.

“CAPTAIN, ARE YOU SEEING THIS?!" Connie shouts, searching for Levi’s reaction. "I have eyes, Connie!" Levi yells over the loud rampage, his tone sounds more annoyed than anything.

Creeeek-BOOM!

As his team slows, gawking at the Red Team, he swoops past them to grab their attention. "Keep moving!" Captain Levi orders. His voice is sharp and authoritative, but there's a hint of nervousness hidden underneath the surface.

"But- But-" Connie studders.

Mikasa picks up the pace, "Come on, Connie!" The moment of urgency is enough to jolt Connie out of his daze, and they quickly follow Levi’s lead straight into the mayhem.

Realizing he was distracted, Levi looks up just in time to see Lieutenant Karma soar right past them. In a moment that seems to unfold in slow motion, she swings close to him…their eyes locking in a fleeting, intense gaze…before she accelerates again, hurtling towards the Red Team.

As they near the flags, Karma's full capabilities are revealed. It’s her hair. It’s behaving like a living entity, shooting out and extending, much like ODM gear, but with a life of its own. It twists and swings her body through the trees with astonishing precision and fluidity. Her movements are seamless, her body moving with unnatural grace and speed.

“Look at her…” Mikasa whispers to herself, her expression a mix of awe and fear as she sees how effectively Karma moves through the trees. Levi remains silent as he observes her in action, his mouth slightly parted, studying the movement of her hair as she approaches the Red Team members, determined to take them down. His composed demeanor has now completely vanished; his body tenses up.

"HOW THE HELL IS SHE DOING THAT?!" Connie yells from behind, his voice laced with shock and disbelief.

"I don't think they're going to hurt us! It's still a game, remember!" Mikasa replies, trying to calm her team amidst the confusion.

Levi blinks at the sound of her voice, his gaze now focused on his team. He looks back at her and nods, acknowledging her point. Connie, still struggling to keep up, watches Karma in shock, unable to hide his astonishment.

"They don't seem like a threat for now, so just focus on the objective!" Captain Levi’s tone now commands with unwavering confidence and his eyes narrow, "Get that flag!"

The Blue Team presses on, trying to overtake the now faltering Red Team. "HEY, COME ON! NO FAIR, LT!" Pyre protests as he attempts to steer away from her, realizing that he is her first target. His fiery arms suddenly sizzle out when her hair whips around him, binding them tightly behind his back. With precise and swift motion, she swings him into a bush, where he lands with a loud crash. Without missing a beat, she swings down to the ground to tap him into elimination. Once she detaches from him, she propels herself back into the trees. He’s out.

A section of her hair whips above the treetops, swiftly grabbing Torrent by his ankle and yanking him down. His back slams against a tree trunk with a bone-jarring thud. Karma doesn't hesitate; she quickly wraps layers of her hair around the tree and his entire body, immobilizing him from his shoulders down. Torrent grunts from the impact, completely captured by the constricting strands. Karma swings up to the tree with grace and taps his exposed shoulder. He’s out.

Creeeek-BOOM!!

Down below, Atlas still bombards through the forest trees. Karma's two high ponytails extend like additional limbs, wrapping around her forearms to enhance her strength. She uses this amplified power to get a grip on his legs and abdomen tightly. She clenches her teeth as she pulls him back with immense force, struggling to slow him down. Determined, she shoots out additional strands of hair to tangle between his legs, finally exploiting the moment to trip him. Caught off guard, Atlas stumbles and crashes to the ground with a thunderous impact. Breathing heavy from the effort, Karma swings by and taps his back. He’s out.

They watch in disbelief and amazement as she takes down each member of the Red Team, each eliminated one after the other. As soon as the last Red Team member is out, she flips upside down in midair, facing the Blue Team, who are now approaching the flags. Her expression is smirking, radiating arrogance. She’s already won, embodying the confidence of someone who knew the outcome from the start.

"Holy shit, holy shittt! WE'RE NEXT!" Connie yells, watching as she swings towards him at high speed. Despite his panic, he manages to evade her initial attack by ducking behind a tree. However, another whip of her hair quickly encircles him from behind, creating a barrier he can't escape. She taps him and moves on.

Mikasa gasps at the loss of Connie. She and Captain Levi are the last standing from the Blue Team. He looks at her when she reaches beside him. They exchange a brief, unspoken nod and accelerate, moving with perfect synchronization. They’ve survived way worse. The Ackermans put up their strongest fight yet, utilizing their gear and gas to the fullest. They manage to dodge and weave through her attempts giving her some competition.

Karma smiles at the challenge, her eyes sparking with excitement. Despite the threat from her hair, she fails to capture them. She constantly swipes through the air, just inches from their agile forms. Hm, they’re good.

As they approach the blue flag, Levi feels a sneaky, sliver of hair slowly coil around the ankle of his boot while he glides through the air. He’s caught. His momentum slows down as the grip tightens, causing him to tumble onto the forrest ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt. He coughs from the dust, and looks ahead to see Mikasa get tugged back by the straps of her harness. She’s swiftly dragged upwards and left hanging from a tree.

"MIKASA!" Levi shouts, extending his arms instinctively in a split-second reaction. "JUMP!" He reaches out both hands, forming a platform.

Without hesitation, Mikasa unclicks her gear by the chest and legs, falling to the ground before Karma can reach her. She sprints towards him, her movements become a blur. With a fluid motion, she leaps off the palms of Levi's outstretched hands as he shoots her into the air. Both her hands are outstretched above her, reaching desperately towards the glistening blue flag.

Levi watches the scene in slow motion. Mikasa's outstretched hands are just inches away from victory. Suddenly, he feels a small tap on his shoulder— he’s out. A mighty gust of wind rushes past him as Karma soars towards Mikasa. With a quick whip, her hair wraps around Mikasa’s outstretched wrists and yanks her backward, pinning her to a tree. With one single swoop, she taps her, swings up to grab the flags, and flips up onto the tree, holding both of them triumphantly above her head.

Levi's jaw is still parted as he watches Karma relish her victory from above. He hears the sound of someone landing behind him—it's Armin and Jean. The looks on their faces show they are just as stunned as he is. "You good, Captain?" Jean asks, his concern evident as his eyes dart between Levi and Lt Karma. “We tailed you guys the whole time. We saw everything…”

Armin kneels down and examines the material wrapped around Levi's boot. The thick, layered, silver hair strands seem more transparent up close. He taps on it with his knuckles. Clink-clink. "This definitely isn't human hair..." his voice trails off, hinting at a deeper realization. Levi looked down to see the hardened, crystal-like material attached to his boot.

Suddenly, the "hair" around Levi's ankle began to dissipate, evaporating into the air in a mist of smoky steam. Jean reached down, helping him to his feet. "I knew it," Levi murmured, his gaze dropping to the ground with frustration. Armin watched, his throat tightening as he saw the anger building up in Captain Levi.

The three of them began to make their way towards the base of the tree where Karma was still perched. All Red Team members stood there, defeated. Echo was with them as well. Mikasa and Connie were also waiting, but they kept their distance from the Red Team. They’re obviously wary after witnessing everything that just happened during the race.

Levi, Jean, and Armin approached them, their expressions mixed with concern. The air was tense. "Are you hurt?" He immediately questions them. They both shook their heads, surprised that no one was injured. Connie dusts the dirt off his pants and mutters, “A little dirty but..”

As Lieutenant Karma finally jumps to the ground, Captain Levi wastes no time. He flew towards her in a blur, slamming her into the tree by the throat forcefully. The flags tumble into the dirt.

"Hey!" Pyre feels himself heating up as makes two fists, he begins to step towards them, the rest of her unit quick to move as well. Lt Karma raises one hand to calm her soldiers before they can intervene. With her other hand, she grips Levi's wrist, still pressed against her throat. She gazes down at him unflinching, with her back pinned in the air, shoved against the tree trunk.

"What do you think this is, huh? Some kind of sick joke?" Levi demands, the edge in his voice cutting through the night air. His voice is deep, filled with a fury that makes his voice nearly unrecognizable.

The sudden reactions from her freak of nature soldiers only fuels the frustration behind his anger, unafraid of whatever they might do to him. He’ll kill them all if necessary. Meanwhile, their leader’s demeanor despite the intense situation is unexpected, her confidence almost intimidating in a way, even as she reaches her second hand to secure her grip around his wrist.

The silence is deafening. Nobody moves. Connie and Jean’s eyes widen. Mikasa and Armin aren’t surprised by the Captain’s reaction. Armin steps forward to defend him, "Steam from the skin… hardening material that resembles hair… the animal transformation, superhuman strength... What's going on here??" he asks aloud, finally vocalizing the pieces he's been putting together. Although he was a bystander, he carefully observed everything that went down during the race.

"Are you Titans?" Levi finally says aloud, clarifying Armin’s suspicions, "Is that what this is? Should we eliminate you right now? Talk!" He demands, pressing deeper into Karma's throat, his expression blazing with a mix of anger and desperation.

“Titans…” Mikasa's voice trails off. Her mind flooded with thoughts of Eren, her fallen lover and the one who was responsible for wiping out the majority of humanity. In the end, he was able to get rid of the titans completely, ultimately saving Paradis and preventing war.

Karma coughs slightly but remains eerily calm. Both her hands still grasp Levi's arm. Her eye contact doesn’t move—unafraid yet understanding. The tension is heavy; even the night seems to hold its breath. She’s not fighting back.

"NO!! Let her explain, damn it!" Pyre shouts, his youthful voice cracking under the strain. "You don’t understand, none of you do! We’re not what you think!"

Pyre's sudden outburst causes everyone to shift their attention over to him.

Levi’s gaze flickers between Karma’s calm expression and Pyre's desperate one. His grip loosens, but he doesn't step back. "I said, explain.”

Her unfazed composure remains. However, he doesn't budge either, upholding his grip and awaiting her response.

"No… We are not Titans. Not in the way you think anyways.” she began, her voice slightly struggles. “What you saw tonight... We were made this way. Experimented on, to be weapons—And not by our choice..." She pauses as her eyes darken with a mix of pain and resolve. “Our DNA was altered into a hybrid mutation using Titan genes. That way, we could possess their powerful abilities but we're still human, and still in control…” she looks up at the soldiers from Paradis. “We're not monsters.” The look in her eyes only validates the truth of her explanation.

With hesitation, Levi releases her completely, stepping back to process the information. His expression is unreadable, but the anger has subsided. His guard remains while his gaze falls to the forest floor. "Experiments," he repeats slowly, trying to make sense of it all.

Karma's boots catches herself on the ground, steadying as she leans back against the tree after she’s dropped. She clears her throat and takes a deep breath, her voice regaining strength. “Yes, experiments," she confirms. She tugs down at her pleated skirt and rubs her neck where Levi’s grip had been. Her soldiers rush over to her side, making sure she’s okay.

“After enlisting in the military special ops, we were chosen for our skills, ‘cause we were the strongest of our units.” Karma’s voice gains a more serious tone. “But none of us knew the full extent of what we were signing up for.” She’s not afraid of revealing the details of the past or the experiments done on her and her comrades. They’re our allies now, they deserve to know.

Armin, ever the peacemaker, steps forward and gently places a hand on Levi’s shoulder, his presence calming. "Let's hear them out, Captain. There's more at stake here."

As the soldiers from the Republic of Eldis spoke, the soldiers from Paradis listened. They built a campfire and sat around it, allowing them to speak their truth.

Mikasa speaks up now, showing more concern and sorrow in her tone. “So... so you’re telling me that everything Eren did… that he died, for nothing? Why eliminate Titans from existence if people were just going to recreate weaponized, human versions of them anyway??” Her eyes were stuck on the flickering light from fire, searching for answers.

Karma attracts Mikasa’s gaze from across the fire, her expression softening. "Eren Jaeger gave us a path to follow, a purpose beyond being mere weapons," she says, her voice firm yet gentle. “When the Rumbling reached the Republic of Eldis, we saved lives—many lives because of our abilities. That day, we found meaning in our existence. We aren’t just mutants; we are still soldiers, here to protect people.”

Connie, sitting beside Mikasa, adds with his usual directness, "Yeah? Well what about creating more like you? Isn’t that something we need to worry about?" His question voices a concern that hangs heavy over the group.

“We were the only ones who survived the experiments,” Torrent cuts in, shaking his head. His voice was filled with thoughts of the traumatic past.

The flames cast a warm glow on their faces against the cool night. Echo adds on, "That’s because some kids couldn’t handle the trauma from the experiments and killed themselves.” She gently laid her hand on Atlas sitting beside her. “That’s when Atlas stopped talking… after the first trial when we had to be the single survivor in our different basic training squadrons..” Atlas lowered his eyes and looked away from the fire reliving the painful memories. “Even after some made it all the way to the medical trial for DNA merging. A lot of them couldn’t handle it…” her voice trailed off.

"What exactly do you guys mean by 'DNA merging'?”Armin questioned, seeking more specifics about the experiments.

“And how the hell did you guys even get the Titan DNA in the first place??” Jean added, looking around at the group. None of this makes sense.

Torrent nods, ready to explain. "Nobody knows how the Republic retrieved the DNA samples. But what we do know is how the doctors performed countless failed trials on recruited young soldiers until the DNA merging process was finally perfected. Eventually, they discovered five soldiers whose bodies could actually withstand these hybrid mutations." He paused and instinctively reached behind to touch the nape of his neck. "During these intense procedures, our spinal fluid was injected with extracted Titan genes. They discovered they can harness the powers without losing our humanity." He’s clearly the brains of their squad, similar to Armin.

He cleared his throat and stood up on his feet. "I received the Beast Titan's DNA, so I can morph my body parts into those of any animal I can think of, as long as I understand their anatomical structure well enough to transform accurately," He looks down at his hands as he tries to speak confidently.

Levi’s eyebrows furrow with disgust.

Torrent’s gaze falls upon Atlas and he speaks up for him. “Atlas here, was injected with the Armored Titan’s DNA.” He slowly stood up at the sound of his name, “With his strong, muscular build and super strength, he’s the most powerful of us all. He can even harden specific parts of his skin too.” Atlas nods quietly, confirming the truth in his comrade’s words.

Pyre shoots up to his feet pointing to his chest, “And iiii was the only soldier who could handle the heat from the Colossal Titan!” He pumps his fists in the air, sparring with an imaginary foe. “I can pretty much destroy all enemies with my fire. Pretty badass huh?” He flashes his charming grin, his dimples more obvious from the firelight glow. He’s trying to lighten the mood.

Echo stands up, brushing the dirt off her skirt. "By the way, I never apologized for kinda damaging your eardrums earlier, but I promise I tried to tone it down," she explains with a sheepish laugh. "They gave me the Female Titan's DNA, so the supersonic frequency of my scream is a bit.. overwhelming for the average human ear. Sorry about that." She shrugs, twirling a golden strand of her hair around her finger.

Lieutenant Karma is the last to stand. “I’m sure you all have made your assumptions by now, but just to be clear; my hair is made of the same material as the War Hammer Titan.” She grabs one of the ends of her silver ponytails and observes it in her hands. “I can use it for offense and defense, so to me, carrying weapons are unnecessary.”

Levi watches her closely. He could feel his expression soften as she casually explained her strength. She’s being more humble than she should be. Based on her performance in the race, he understands why her comrades hold her in such high regard—her skills speak for themselves. She crosses her arms as her and her unit gaze down upon the others still sitting around the fire.

“We soldiers chose not to end our lives because we believed we could still do good.” Karma added looking directly at Levi, her eyes steady. "That’s why we fight everyday. Not just to live, but to make sure our lives mean something. All we ask is for you to put your faith in us."

As the fire crackles, the group settles into an uneasy but necessary truce.

Mikasa stares into the flames, reflecting on Lt Karma's words, finding a bitter echo of Eren’s own struggles and beliefs in them. Jean and Connie exchange looks, their attitudes softened into a deep silence.

Commander Armin stands, and his crew do the same, “I’m sorry..” Everyone’s attention falls on him as he interrupts the silence. “I’m sorry you guys had to go through that… But this is definitely important intel. I get why, strategically, your General wouldn’t want to reveal this info to our alliance right away, but still…”

Torrent responds. “General Varrick has his reasons. But let’s be honest, I doubt your leadership would’ve even considered an alliance with the Republic if they knew about the ‘monstrous titan hybrid mutant soldiers’.” He waved his hands around as he emphasized this mocking title. He has a good point.

The campfire starts to die down, casting long shadows across the forest floor. Lt Karma speaks, although she’s shorter than the others, her commanding presence is undeniable, even in the dim light. "Atlas, Pyre, lead our guests to their barracks. It’s late." she says, her voice carrying the weight of authority. They nod firmly. “Yes Lieutenant.” Pyre responds respectfully.

“Follow me guys!” he urges the group. He and Atlas lead the way as the others begin to follow them. The mood shifts as Armin, Mikasa, Jean, and Connie all are slightly amused while listening to Pyre blabber on about how great the guest barracks are. However, they can’t help but be lost in their thoughts about everything they just learned. Echo and Torrent walk beside them, blending into the group.

Despite everything, the sense of unity has begun to form. They’re all one unit now.

Captain Levi slows his pace, taking in the sight of Lieutenant Karma ahead of him. Her flowing, silver hair reflects the moonlight shining down on her, giving it an ethereal glow. He looks away. Despite his usual guarded attitude, he struggles internally to show his remorse for the confrontation that happened earlier. He’s not the type to show vulnerability at all.

Sensing his hesitation behind the group, Karma slows down for him to catch up. She suddenly turns to face him, and steps closer, effectively invading his personal space. Her proximity is unexpected, and she looks up at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Her eye contact is unwavering and intentional.

"Next time you want to put your hands on me Captain... ask first," she teases, her tone light but pointed. "Maybe you won’t get rejected.” Her eyes slowly roam over him up and down, leaning in, causing him to feel a bit flustered. Taken aback by her boldness and humor, he could feel his face getting warm.

For a moment, he's at a loss for words, his usual quick responses dulled from being caught off guard. He looks to the side away from her. He replies with a hint of his usual snark and pride, "I regret nothing."

With a smirk, she spins, and confidently strides away leaving a lingering effect on Levi as he remains standing alone in the cool night air behind the group. Her smile and her teasing words still swirling in his head. Next time you want to put your hands on me Captain…

He blinks, and proceeds to catch up with them. With few people being able to truly unsettle him, he can't help but feel a slight fascination as he thinks back on what just happened, the hint of unexpected flirtation.

#levi ackerman #captain levi #attack on titan #levi fanfiction #levi aot #levi x reader #snk #bad boy #aot #shingeki no kyojin #snk levi

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footprintsinthesxnd · 2 years

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Three Loves

Pairings: Jake Seresin x reader / Bob Floyd x reader / Bradley Bradshaw x reader

Synopsis: You had three loves throughout your life. Each taught you something different and each made your love grow. Warnings: mentions of cheating, character death, grief, losing a spouse.

Thank you @callsign-phoenix for proofreading.

You had been in love with Jake Seresin for as long as you could remember. He was your first love and he was charming and effortlessly handsome, as he always had been. He’d worked on your father's ranch being a few years older than you and you remembered all those summer evenings when he’d sit playing his guitar for you as the sunset. It was magical, like something from a rom-com film. He’d flirt with you causing a permanent blush to adorn your face and your eyes sparkled as you listened to him, hanging on his every word. Jake Seresin had been your first love and he had broken your heart effortlessly, leaving it battered and bruised. You felt like you were mourning, watching as his truck drove into the distance. Why did it hurt so much?

It was New Year's Eve and you were anxiously waiting for guests to arrive. You’d been sitting by the window for the last hour, waiting for the all too familiar truck to come racing down the dirt track. Your heart fluttered as you saw it, drawing up next to the house. Jake jumped out the driver's side in a smart white shirt and jeans, his signature cowboy hat balanced on his head. He greeted you with a soft kiss on your cheek before following you down the hall to the kitchen. You offered him a beer which he took gratefully, the smile never leaving his face.

You spent the whole evening chatting and dancing, Jake whispering soft nothing into your ear with your bodies pressed close together, swaying to the music. The night was perfect and Jake couldn’t have been more of a gentleman. You were so excited for the new year countdown, you were sure Jake would kiss you at midnight and you eagerly watched the hours count down. It was two minutes to midnight when your brother asked you to help him with some drinks. You placed a gentle kiss on Jake's cheek and promised you’d be back in time for the countdown. You grabbed the drinks quickly, balancing them on the tray and following your friend back to the living room. The clock chimed midnight as you entered and your eyes raked over the dancing bodies, searching for your blond-haired cowboy. What you saw simultaneously broke you and filled you with uncontrollable rage. Jake was leaning against the wall with an attractive woman pressed against him, his lips connecting to hers in a passionate kiss. You’d seen her around before but you couldn’t say you knew her. The drinks balanced haphazardly on your tray as you watched in horror, his hand trailing up her thigh as she raked her fingers through his hair. You couldn’t take it, you turned and retreated to the comfort of your bedroom, crying yourself to sleep under the covers.

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Bob Floyd was your second love. He was the love that brought you back to life and made you feel as if you could conquer the world. He supported you in everything you did and in return you supported him. You were a team. With Bob, you never had the fear of being alone. You’d met him shortly after he graduated from the Naval Academy and you’d fallen for each other fast. Within 6 months you were living together and within the year you were engaged. But things with Bob never felt rushed, everything you did together came naturally and in its own time. Bob loved you more than anything else, he respected and trusted you and you loved him for it. Within two years of being together, you had gotten married. The ceremony was perfect, simple and elegant with just family and a few friends. You were close to Bob’s pilot, Natasha, and she had been your one and only bridesmaid. You couldn’t have asked for anything more. You were finally getting your happy ending, the man of your dreams. But life likes to throw a curveball and the plans you had created with Bob weren’t meant to be.

The mission had been a success, the target was destroyed and all the planes were heading back to the carrier when the bandits appeared out of nowhere. Phoenix and Bob were out of flares and their wingman was preoccupied with bandits of their own. Natasha tried to dodge the bullets and missiles but they were hit. The right engine was on fire and the plane went into hydraulic failure, warning lights flashed everywhere as the plane lost altitude and plummeted towards the sea. Natasha had explained that Bob’s ejection handle had gotten stuck but she managed to drag him out of the sinking plane. Bob had a large chunk of shrapnel embedded in his leg. From what Natasha had told you it had hit the artery and Bob had bled out in a matter of minutes, cradled in her arms as they floated aimlessly, waiting to be rescued. The last thing Bob had said was your name and that broke your heart even more. Bob had been your rock through everything and now he was gone.

After the funeral you barely left the house, choosing to stay in the safety of your own home with the curtains drawn rather than to face the outside world without your husband. What made matters worse was that after Bob left for the mission you’d found out you were pregnant. Bob had desperately wanted to be a father and you were so excited to tell him when he came home. But your Bob never came home. The body inside the metal box wasn’t your Bob anymore, your Bob was so full of life and love. It seemed an unfitting end for such a man.

After losing Bob you had sworn you would never love again, sworn you would never betray your husband and you didn’t, you raised your little boy as a single mother with the support of your and Bob’s family. You worked part-time and spent the rest of the time with your son, teaching him all the things he would need to know and especially about his father and what a great man he had been. You would often catch your little boy, Robert, staring at pictures of Bob and you’d once caught him chatting away to his father's picture after a rough day at school. It broke your heart but it also made you smile, you knew you would never lose your love for Bob, especially when you had a little piece of him here with you.

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Bradley Bradshaw had been your third and final love. He’d come into your life without warning or reason but he just felt utterly right, like he was the one you had been waiting for all along after Bob. He’d fallen first and he’d fallen hard but you couldn’t let yourself be hurt again so you kept away, always keeping him at arm's length. You’d met him through your friend, Natasha who you’d always kept in contact with even after losing Bob. You had a rare evening off with your son at his grandparent's house and you’d decided to join Nat at the bar with some of her friends. The evening had been going well and it was nice to be out again with people your own age. Being a single mother had been hard on you and although you’d loved every minute of raising your little boy it was nice to let your hair down for a bit. Bradley had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, strolling into the bar like he owned the place. He’d greeted Nat with a hug and a large smile before turning to you. As your eyes locked you felt something change within you. It was like after Bob had died your heart had stopped, it had stayed silent and dormant and Bradley sent a spark through it, waking it up. You had been so unsure, but the more you had gotten to know Bradley you realised that couldn’t deny the feelings you had for him. He brightened up your day and caused you to feel things you hadn’t felt in so long you’d almost forgotten you could feel them. He was amazing with Robert too and had stepped up to the role of a father without even questioning it. He understood and told Robert often that he could never replace his father but he wanted to be there for you both and he always was. You were frightened for Bradley of course, being on the same career path as Bob. You understood the risks every time he was deployed and you couldn’t help the gut-wrenching feeling as you watched him drive off to the base, never knowing if you would see him again. But as promised Bradley always came home to you.

After being together for 2 years, Bradley proposed on New Year’s Eve. You’d never really liked New Year ever since Jake, you avoided celebrating it even with Bob but Bradley had been invited to a party and he’d begged you to go with him. You’d felt uneasy all evening, there was something off with Bradley and you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. As midnight drew closer and closer you began to panic. What if it all happened again? What if it was history repeating itself? When the clock chimed you closed your eyes, begging for it to be over when you felt a tug on your sleeve.

“Baby?” You turned to see Bradley knelt beside you, his hand extended towards you presenting a beautiful diamond ring. You stared at him utterly shocked. Bradley wanted to marry you. He’d had a whole speech planned but you’d barely let him speak before saying yes, kneeling in front of him and placing a soft kiss on his lips. “Yes.”

Bradley Bradshaw was your unconditional love and he marked the beginning of your new forever. You would never forget your previous loves and what they had taught you. Loving Jake had made you strong and you taught yourself how to move on. Bob had taught you to embrace life to the fullest and to embrace each day. Bradley taught you that it was ok to be vulnerable and to rely on others and it didn’t make you weak. So for all the pain that you had been through you never regretted your three loves, they made you what you are and you loved them for it.

Tag list: @callsign-phoenix @imjess-themess @averyhotchner @mayhem24-7forever @green-socks @alexxavicry @a-reader-and-a-writer @topguncortez @maggiescarborough @callsignmaverick5 @ssprayberrythings @smoothdogsgirl @xoxabs88xox @luckyladycreator2 @abaker74 @elenavampire21 @classyunknownlover @okiegirl24 @flashyourgreeneyesatme @sunlightmurdock @basiccortez @airedale17 @callmemana @shadowolf993 @t-nd-rfoot @topguncultleader @flyboyjake

#top gun maverick #jake hangman seresin #bradley rooster bradshaw #Robert Bob floyd #jake seresin x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #bob floyd x reader

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odysseywritings · 8 days

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Meet the Siren

@flashfictionfridayofficial

(cartoon death)

BLU prepared for their offense and finally capture territory in some beach they knew nothing about. Scout ran around itching for a fight, Soldier cracked his neck in multiple painful directions, and many more prepared for a bloody good onslaught.

The announcer signalled the countdown and they were gleeful when she'd finish.

"5.

Fight!"

The siren blew the cacophony as they stormed out ready to attack... Nothing? RED was nowhere in sight and their joy turned to confusion and then to paranoia thinking they were all spies. Pyro incinerated everything not bolted down and there was nothing behind the rocky terrain and rustic buildings.

"So, uh," Scout said while looking around, "this means we win, right? Sweet!"

"Dammit, son," Soldier pointed at his chest. "Use your American ears! That siren is still blasting. Do you know what this means?"

"We... Smash it and win?"

"Affirmative! Men, let's find that noise and kill it!"

BLU team roared in a raucous mob heading toward the blaring sound, not stopping even as it booped and warbled in oscillating tones, as their bloodlust compelled them to shoot first ask never. They turned around the corner to find a rotating light in the distance, and like moths with guns, they were drawn to attack it.

The mercenaries followed the siren and light to the bay and Engineer constructed a boat to travel across the foggy ocean. They shot wildly at the source with reckless abandon, rockets and bullets flying without care, and laughing with exhilaration and a few dancing in joy. They closed in on the sound and light, sensing both clearer, and the fog lost its hold.

They stepped off the boat and headed to the remote island to see the culprit; a cardboard cutout of a suggestive woman with a rotating head. The crew stared at her head beams that distracted them, too dumbstruck to register the RED sticky bombs and laser sights around them.

Resignation, fear, shame, disappointment. All emotions felt as they saw the bombardment arriving. Soldier played a somber trombone song that aggravated everyone with his scratchy performance and were glad to welcome death until they respawned.

RED pointed and laughed at their BLU enemies' demise and started a jubilant conga circle around the siren siren, waiting until the next round of senseless funny killing would return.

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #comedy #action #ft2 fic #mywriting #njm

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zolanort · 8 months

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This is a video of my most magnificent Outer Wilds fail ever, which took place while attempting endgame for the first time in the year 2022. There's no audio of me screaming unfortunately so I have summarized that entire thought process below the video.

[ENDGAME SPOILERS DO NOT WATCH IF THERE IS ANY CHANCE YOU WILL EVER PLAY THE OUTER WILDS THIS GAME NEEDS TO BE PLAYED BLIND PLEASE TRUST ME ON THIS]

1- I triggered what I believed (correctly) to be the endgame. This is it.

2- The end-of-the-world leitmotif starts playing, but it's a more intense version than usually plays for the end of the cycle, indicating to me that it is not only the end, it is THE end. I have pulled out the life support plug. It is the final countdown. There is no going back. This really is it. I panic.

3- I run for my ship and set the autopilot for the final destination.

4- Just after I take off I get sideswiped by an entire planet. I panic more, if possible.

5- I jump out of my ship, then I panic and jump back in to make sure that the drive isn't going to explode (a miracle), then back out to do repairs.

6- There's fire. Why is there fire?!!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaa (extreme panic is not good for critical thinking).

7- I flail around, repairing things as fast as I can.

8- I finish the final repair, just as the final destination rises back above the horizon.

9- My ship flies away without me. The autopilot was still on.

10- The autopilot was still on.

11- Bewildered, I try to pursue, but my jet-packs just can't match a spaceship and I fall back through the atmosphere, down down down to the surface of the offending planet as I watch my ship fly away into the distance.

12- I end up surviving my miraculously precise fall into the bottom of a canyon (somehow), where the walls of the canyon end up perfectly framing a view of my ship as it flies towards the final destination without me. So I just lay there and watch it in stunned disbelief for a long moment. The universe is just rubbing it in at this point. I don't have time to plug the life support back in. I am already dead.

13- In a fit of giddy denial, I meditate.

And that is the story of how I died.

#the outer wilds #critical fail #my gameplay

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rhodeybugg · 10 months

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Some bits about the solver-bound AU/ Series

-Uzi and her classmates are all young adults by the time Countdown [formerly Right Place, Wrong Time] happens, around 20 in human years.

-Khan has stepped back from his position as the leader of the WDF. Thad takes over, and Khan is designated the leader of the colony.

-Everything up to episode 4 is canon in the later stories of Before The Dawn.

Sam and Braiden are the only two [named] characters that were killed. Emily recovered with only a bit of her upper body needing to be reconstructed.

Darren and Rebecca were both severely injured. Darren's entire right side had to be rebuilt, leaving him with mismatched limbs.

Rebecca had to be almost completely rebuilt. Because of this, she lost her core replication system [leaving her unable to mix her code with another drone and the ability to carry her offspring's core], removing her hope of ever having kids]

-Emily eventually managed to forgive Uzi, despite her killing her partner [sam]. Rebecca still hates Uzi for what happened to her and Darren. Darren has forgiven her after the solver was explained to them, but keeps his distance.

- J returned to Copper-9 and was immediately leashed by Uzi. She's since been "reformed". [She's still learning to play nice with the workers.]

-V finally stopped being a bitch to N and confessed her feelings to him and apologized. N, of course, accepted it and fianally gave her a courting gift: a shiny crystal that he found at an old digsite. They got 'married' and accepted as a part of the colony.

-Doll and Lizzy are engaged. Lizzy keeps Doll grounded, and Doll keeps Lizzy from getting into petty fights.

#murder drones #solver bound long run stuff #emily x sam #darren x rebecca #uzi x thad #thuzi #envy #n x v

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twistedtummies2 · 1 year

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Ranking Twisted Wonderland - Part 1

In August of 2020, I joined Tumblr for the first time. That same year, I posted a very early version of a ranking/countdown of my favorite characters from Twisted Wonderland: a game that has basically come to define my page. I write about a lot of things on here, but Twisted Wonderland is my “flagship fandom,” as it were.

I have revisited this idea of ranking my favorites from the game’s main cast of twenty-two students from Night Raven College a couple times since…but I was never happy with any of those attempts. I decided that, to celebrate my 3rd year anniversary here on Tumblr, and just as many years in love with the game, to do something special and try to rectify this issue: a comprehensive, two-part countdown/ranking of ALL those twenty-two characters, listing them from my least favorite to my most favorite, and - furthermore - explaining WHY they had they place they did and what I loved about each character. That, dear readers, is what you are looking at now: the first part of that ranking. (The second part will be posted tomorrow.) Each half will cover eleven options; this first half will cover choices 22 through 12; tomorrow will follow the top eleven. I based my decisions on a number of things. One, obviously, is just personal bias, and that’s naturally something one simply has no control over: sometimes you’ll like certain characters more than others “just because,” and one just has to deal with that fact. The remaining factors, however, are slightly more technical: for example, how excited do I get when Cards featuring the characters come up? Are they ones I always go for, or ones I always skip? Also, in my writing, how much do I like playing with that character, or how much do I want to play with them? For those who know my page, I’m specifically talking non-kinks there…although I should add that I will be taking kinks into account. That sort of just gets lumped into “personal bias.” On one final note there, this is a list of my favorite CHARACTERS, not my favorite CRUSHES: for me, personally, there is a difference. This was not easy to make, and there are multiple characters here where I honestly wish I could rank them higher, or where it’s all a matter of my mood (like, some days I like them more than others, if that makes sense). The fact is that I genuinely and truthfully love ALL of these lads; there really are no bad characters in the entire bunch, at least in my humble opinion. Also, again, I’m specifically talking the 22 “Main Students,” so no side characters, no staff members, and certainly no Grim. With that said, let’s begin. Here is the start of my rankings of the central cast for Twisted Wonderland: From “Least Good” to Best!

22. Cater Diamond.

Cater is a fun character with a lot of energy, who represents a common dichotomy that runs through most of the characters in this cast. At first, he seems like a typical social media junkie: obsessed with self-image, overly cheerful, practically speaking a language made up of hashtags, and seemingly ready to take a selfie with everyone and everything in breathing distance. However, underneath this, there are other sides to Cater he seems to try and keep hidden: he has a rather sneaky side to him, and there’s also hints of something terribly sad beneath his mask of smiling enthusiasm. At times I think that superficial side gets a bit annoying, which may or may not be the point…but it’s never enough to make me hate him. Unfortunately, it is enough to make him place at the bottom of the ranks.

21. Silver.

Silver ranks low because he’s sort of a cypher to me. There’s a sort of mysterious quality to the character, perhaps unintentional, as I find him to be one of the hardest characters to fully get a grasp on in a lot of ways. It’s telling that he is the only major character in the cast (minus Grim) whose last name is never given; he’s simply known as “Silver.” However, again, this doesn’t make him a character I dislike: for one thing, I enjoy that sense of mystery, because it feels like - with what we DO know about the guy - there’s a lot of interesting things waiting to be discovered still. He’s also one of the more unique characters in the cast, since he’s one of only two who is based not on a Disney Villain, but on a Disney Hero: the character is inspired by Princess Aurora herself, with a dash of Prince Philip thrown in, which makes him all the more intriguing when you realize his master (and adoptive big brother, by all accounts), Malleus, is based on the nemesis of those characters. I’m curious to see how that fact plays into the story; at the moment, Chapter 7 is not available in English, and I’m trying to avoid spoilers as much as I can. I know that Silver gets a big boost as a character due to the events of that chapter, but since I haven’t seen it yet…right now, he gets lower points. I am 90% sure that, when I see that Chapter, this fact will change and he will be given much higher placement. As it stands…this is where he sits.

20. Sebek Zigvolt.

Poor Sebek. I actually want to like this guy more than I do, but no matter how hard I try, I just don’t. Sebek definitely has his appealing qualities, and he’s probably one of the funniest characters in the game. It’s rare that scenes with Sebek don’t leave me snickering and rolling my eyes with amusement at his over-boisterous, Malleus-obsessed personality. His ego is a funny thing, and there’s a lot of humor that comes from seeing his pomposity punctured. However, at times those same qualities, much like with Cater, can be a bit grating. It was actually hard to choose between him and Silver, as far as which of the two I liked most. I ultimately decided to put Sebek over Silver simply because I think he’s a bit easier to understand and get into the head of.

19. Trey Clover.

The great paradox with Trey is that what I like about him is also what lands him so low in the ranks. Trey is the single most level-headed character at NRC. He’s sort of an encouraging big brother figure, and his more mild-mannered, practical personality makes him a great contrast to Riddle, as well as many of the other characters in the game. While he’s ostensibly inspired by one of the Card Guards, he actually seems to be based largely on the King of Hearts: a humbler figure than his housewarden, but with his own sneaky side, a trait he shares with Cater. However, the problem with Trey’s generally more “normal” personality is that, by being a character who, by design, tends to fade into the background a bit…he does exactly that, especially when you consider all the wild and colorful characters who surround him. As a result, I can’t really rank him any higher than this.

18. Rook Hunt.

Rook is one of the most oddball characters in the game…and as you can imagine, that’s saying quite a lot. He’s also probably one of the creepiest. He’s inspired by the Huntsman from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” but you probably wouldn’t guess it at first glance. He arguably changes the most from his source material: Rook is a fashionable Frenchman with a flamboyant personality. He’s a poet and a seeker of things of beauty, with more romance in his heart than a dozen Harlequin novels. He’s also seemingly fearless, which is part of what makes him occasionally unsettling: you can snarl at him, threaten him with all sorts of horrible forms of destruction, show off muscles and claw and fangs…and he just reacts with some over-the-top variation of, “That’s magnificent! Show me more!” But perhaps the thing that makes Rook truly unnerving is that he seems to adhere to the logic of “The Most Dangerous Game.” Rook is OBSESSED with hunting; he uses it as an analogy for almost everything he does, and he seems to treat just about everyone he finds interesting like a hunter stalking their prey. He has many secrets, and a lot of them are to things we don’t WANT the answers to. He’s equal parts fun and frightening, and I’ve come to like him more over time (something that can be said for a lot of characters in the game), but he still ranks fairly low in my books. He’s just not a character I’m that interested in writing for.

17. Ortho Shroud.

It’s about this time in the ranking that I start to feel REALLY bad about placing some characters particularly low. As I said before, I love all of these lads, but I naturally like some more than others. Ortho is unique among the cast just due to the simple premise of his entire existence: he’s an android who has been programmed to behave like the little brother of Idia Shroud (the Hades character of the game). This means he’s not only the youngest character of the cast - an eternal child who presumably never grows any older (Peter Pan sympathizes) - but he’s also the only one of the crew who isn’t an organic being of any kind. Ortho is another example of the dichotomy of darkness and light that most of these characters have: on the one hand, he’s an adorable little sweetheart who just wants his big brother to be happy and have more friends to play with. He’s inquisitive, enthusiastic, and somehow manages to be innocent while literally being a walking Internet browser at the same time. On the other hand, Ortho is armed to the teeth with weapons of mass destruction and all kinds of crazy gizmos and gadgets, which can lead to some…alarming situations, since he doesn’t always emotionally process issues properly. He seriously sees no issue with blowing annoying people to smithereens. Equally split between scary and sweet, Ortho is the most adorable little murder machine you could ever meet.

16. Lilia Vanrouge.

Much like Epel, Lilia is someone whose outer appearance - a seemingly youthful, self-admittedly adorable, and rather spritely young lad - is the polar opposite of who he really is deep down.The difference is in how that is expressed. Beneath his Puckish exterior, Lilia is a wise old man…who if you will pardon my French, gives nary the slightest of f#cks. He’s an ancient warrior, older than ANYONE at Night Raven, who comes to the school for purposes of his own. He’s forgotten more about history, human and fairy alike, than any textbook author will ever know. He’s practically a father figure to both Malleus and Silver, and - just like Epel - he knows how to use his appearance to his advantage. He lures people in with his slight looks and eccentric personality, or uses them to throw people off the scent, before promptly showing them just how wicked he can really be. He reminds me a lot of characters like Sans from “Undertale” or the Doctor from “Doctor Who”: to paraphrase the latter show, Lilia has the demeanor of a prattling jackanapes…but inside, it’s a whole other story. He’s one of Night Raven’s fascinating characters, as a result, but I simply enjoy others a lot more.

15. Epel Felmier.

Speaking of characters who can be scary and sweet, Epel is the definition of that classic meme, “Looks like a cinnamon roll, could actually kill you.” Well…maybe not KILL, but certainly beat the tar out of your wagon. Epel, at first glance, is an effeminate, childlike lad with big baby eyes and a graceful physique. This is the total opposite of who he is inside: Epel is a country boy, born and bred, who’s used to rough labor and a rugged lifestyle. He has a thick Southern dialect, loves action and fast vehicles, and can whoop your arse in about three seconds flat if you let him. Epel’s whole story arc in the game, in fact, is learning how to balance his inner fire with the doll-like appearance of his face and form…sometimes a bit against his will. He wants so badly to be seen as a Manly Man of Manly Man Manness, but he’s always finding people who underestimate him based on his girlish demeanor, or who try to teach him to be more refined and reserved than he truly is under the surface. He’s the living embodiment of the Poison Apple: a tempting, beautiful, delicate-looking thing with a hard, thick, juicy, and downright dangerous undercurrent. The result is honestly pretty funny, as well as interesting.

14. Idia Shroud.

Like I mentioned earlier, Idia is the character based on Hades in this game. This flame-haired computer genius is probably one of the most interesting twists on their respective source you’ll find in “Twisted Wonderland.” When people think of Disney’s Hades, they think of a confident, fast-talking, Mephistophelean figure with a smarmy attitude and a wry sense of humor, whose attempts to be smooth and slick are contrasted by a raging inferno of a temper. Idia is interesting in that he’s actually none of these things…or, at least, not at first glance. Idia is a reclusive, anti-social misfit who literally is afraid of people EXISTING anywhere NEAR him. He prefers to stay shut in his lair playing video games and watching anime or old horror movies than to be anywhere close to another living being, for fear that he’ll BREATHE wrong around them. (No, that is not an exaggeration.) Online, however, Idia actually shows another side to his personality, which is much closer to Hades, and he can be very passive-aggressive or downright mean-spirited when he feels he has some security to be. Idia appeals on two different levels, as a result: he’s one of the most sympathetic and at times downright cute characters in the game, but his nasty side - where his inspiration really shows - is just as entertaining, especially in the unique way it’s presented.

13. Vil Schoenheit.

Vil is another case of a character I’ve come to enjoy and understand more as time has gone on. In fact, when I look back on older stories I wrote featuring Vil, I sort of cringe because I feel like, when I wrote those, he was one character I didn’t really understand well enough to properly handle. Nowadays, I think I’d do a few things differently…but I digress. Vil is based on the Evil Queen, and he lives up to his predecessor well. He is vain, without question, but it isn’t a vanity usually played up for comedy: just like the Queen, Vil is cold and authoritative, not easily fazed by fear or agitated worry. He keeps a stiff upper lip, presenting himself with poise and elegance that virtually no one at Night Raven can surpass. Even when he is overcome with emotion, he tries to rein it all in. All of this is a well-sculpted mask to hide his personal insecurities and professional stresses. Vil is one of the few major characters in the cast with a big job to do outside of the school: he’s a CELEBRITY, and a multi-talented one, at that. He’s a skilled actor, singer, dancer, model, photographer, costume and makeup designer, beautician, AND director of both film and theatre. Top it off with martial arts skills, a talent for poisons and potion making, and the fact he somehow juggles all of that ON TOP of trying to attend a prestigious college and keep his grades in the upper ranks…and I think it’s fair to say Vil is the definition of an absolute unit. But despite all his success and all his accomplishments, hiding under his painted lips and flowing robes, Vil has personal esteem issues he tries to keep tucked out of sight. He’s just as paradoxical and fascinating as his source material, and a wonderful reinvention of the Evil Queen in his own right.

12. Ace Trappola.

It was difficult to decide who would rank higher/lower between Ace and Deuce. These two are the MC’s best friends in the game, and as such, they’re pretty prominent figures throughout the entire run. They have some part to play, to varying degrees of size, in every chapter of the Main Story, and they appear quite frequently in the various Events that branch off of the same. Because we spend so much time with them, we know more about them than a lot of other characters, and they often help to act as voices of advice (sometimes good, sometimes bad) for the player. Ace lost the battle, but do not misconstrue that to mean I dislike him. Ace is a cunning trickster who is skilled in sleight-of-hand magic tricks, and is an expert card player. In direct contrast, however, Ace is also a person who lacks what might be called a “shut up filter.” He always speaks his mind, without hesitation or holding back, very rarely trying to sugarcoat or hide anything. Even when he tries to be a bit more crafty and weasel his way through things, he usually gets caught. You might say that Ace is a person who starts fights, while Deuce is a person who simply chooses to try and finish them.

PART TWO: TBA

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heottokes · 1 year

Text

𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐞. 60. infinite's time the charm

acquiesce v. to accept something reluctantly but without protest. two strangers are trying to rewrite their story that was already written for them but to do that they need each other. yoongi needs y/n to keep his only dream alive and y/n needs yoongi to keep her secret hidden. so the two strangers form an unlikely alliance of playing pretend.

word count: 5.7k

꒰ m.list ➭ before • after ꒱

“Three minutes ‘til midnight!” A man announced through a megaphone. Taehyung sets up his camera on a tripod as the group gathers around the centre of the camera. While Taehyung makes sure everyone is in the shot, Hyewon works quickly to light up everyone’s sparklers. Hyewon lights her sparkler last as she stands next to Adora. Everyone started cheering and bouncing in their spot; maybe in an attempt to warm themselves but also due to the excitement coursing through their veins. Jungkook and Hobi were arm and arm swaying left and right to the music playing in the distance. Jin and Jimin were taking selfies with their sparklers. Taehyung and Namjoon were next to you and Yoongi exchanging in small talk.

The countdown began. Three! This was the moment. Two! The opportunity for you to tell Yoongi how you felt. One! You look up at Yoongi and he looks back at you. “Happy New Year!” You whispered to each other sharing a small smile. You take in this moment. His features warm from the light coming from the sparkler. His eyes soft and calming staring back into your anxious ones. “I like you.” Time felt like it had stood still. Every second taking a minute to tick over. You watch his expression change in slow motion. His soft smile dropping switching to a pout to match his scrunched eyebrows.

“What?” Yoongi leans closer causing you to withdraw.

You force a smile. “Do you want to head back soon?”

“I thought you would never ask.” You force a laugh. How could you expect anything less from yourself? You never had the courage to own your feelings for Yoongi, why would anything change just because you wanted it to? You don't have confidence in yourself already but how could you when you don't know how Yoongi feels? You know it shouldn't matter. It doesn't change your feelings, but it terrifies you. You can't help it. Even if you were to tell him how you felt, what do you expect to happen? Even if Yoongi felt the same way, he would never kiss you for the first time in front of your friends. He doesn't like the attention or being teased and those two would be guaranteed. And if he didn't? You hadn't even thought of that. Why hadn't you thought of that? If he doesn't feel the same way, there's no way you can avoid him. You have to force someone to switch rooms which means everyone will know about what happened and everyone will become awkward too. You're an idiot. Why did you think this is the perfect moment to tell him? “Are you ready to go?”

“Hm?” You looked up at Yoongi from where you were sitting. After the countdown, you mindlessly drifted away from the group to sit on the ledge. You didn't hear Namjoon’s call for you. You didn't take notice at everyone’s attention. You don't know how long you have been sitting there.

“You seem tired.” Yoongi explained. “Let's go home.” You didn't have the energy to respond. You take Yoongi’s extended hand and leave the beach. What are you going to do? Should you wait until you get back to uni and then confessed? That way, you can avoid the world by locking yourself in your dorm while you grieve. That sounds like the logical option. But you were so psyched to finally tell Yoongi how you feel. Yoongi flinches at your sudden outburst. To let out your frustration, you started sprinting towards the house. Yoongi watches your figure disappear into the night. He just doesn't get what's going on in your head. He thinks to himself before running after you. “That. Was. Stupid.” Yoongi says in between pants. The two of you didn't stop running until you reached the door. Now, the two of you are too preoccupied with trying to breathe that you can't open the door. Ironically, you feel like your arms are going to fall off.

“It's cathartic.” You managed to get out as you shakily insert the key into the hole.

“It's unnecessary.”

“You didn't need to join me.” Yoongi hands you a glass of water before he takes a sip of his own glass.

“True.” He offers. "Want first go at the shower?”

“Please.” You grip your hands together pleading. Yoongi laughs and waves you off. Your smile fades once you leave the room. Tiredness washed over you as the hot water covered your skin. Your nerves were being massaged by the pressure of the shower. This was exactly what you needed to wind down. When you made your way to your room, you hear Yoongi still in the shower. You wanted to wait for him. At least end the night without any ambiguity. He clearly could tell something was on your mind. But the second your body laid down, the second your head met the pillow, slumber came over you. The contrast of the cold sheets and your warm skin from the shower lulling you to sleep. Your mind fighting to relax. Your eyes fighting to stay open. You drift in and out of sleep. You don't even know when your eyes shut. How long you've been asleep for or if you're dreaming. You hear the door open and close softly. You feel the bed dip under Yoongi weight. “Yoongi,” You feel his warmth oozing through the covers. “Yoongi,” You reach out at nothing. You feel like he's right next to you, but you see nothing in front of you. Exactly like how he is always in front of you in real life but never within your reach. "What do you think of me?”

───────── ☾ • ☽ ──────────

When the morning came, Yoongi was nowhere to be found. Did he even come to bed? You touch his side of the bed in thought. What time is it? You rolled over and checked your phone. It was ten-thirty in the morning. Yoongi has never been a morning person but what do you know? He is constantly proving you wrong. A knock on the door interrupts your thoughts. Hobi peeks his head through even without your verbal acknowledgement. When the two of you lock eyes, his smile widens, and he lets himself in. “Morning sleepyhead.” He plops himself on Yoongi’s side of the bed. “You turned in early so we expected you to be the first one up. Must have had a late night.” He wiggles his eyebrows at you. You roll your eyes and push the elbow he was using to prop himself up.

“Nothing happened – not that it is any of your business.” You informed Hobi and roll over to turn your back towards him.

“Why are you so tired then?”

“I had a restless sleep. You know one, where you feel like you’re not asleep? In out of consciousness.” Hobi rubs your back in comfort. “Where’s Yoongi?”

“I don’t know. He was gone by the time I got up.” You look over your shoulder when you feel Hobi get up. “Joon and I are going out if you want to join us? It’s been a while since it’s been us three.” You tell him you’re in and he leaves you to wake up. You rub your eyes tiredly. Your sleep was horrendous. You kept tossing and turning. Your mind slipping in and out of reality and dreaming. Maybe that’s why Yoongi wasn’t in bed. How could he sleep next to you when you’re like that? You make a mental note to apologise to him when you see him.

━━━☆

You didn’t see Yoongi until you were getting ready for bed. It didn’t bother you much since you enjoyed your time with your childhood friends. Hobi was right, it had been a while since you had spent time together just the three of you. They filled you in on what happened after you and Yoongi left. Hyewon left shortly after you with a girl she had met. The rest of the group had a late-night feed where they spent at least two hours at playing drinking games. Hobi and Joon were the designated supervisors – Hobi because he’s no fun when he gets drunk and Joon because he’s not much a heavy drinker anyway. After getting kicked out from the restaurant, Adora dared Jungkook and 2Do to skinny dip in the ocean. Their drunk selves didn’t hesitate to start stripping and running at full pelt to the ocean. Namjoon and Hobi managed to contain 2Do while they were still stripping but Jungkook ignored the stripping part and started running towards the ocean. Jimin and Taehyung had to act quick to chase after him. Jungkook, had the attention span of a goldfish and forgot about running into the ocean and was determined to not get caught by either of them. Unsurprisingly, Jin outwitted Jungkook and caught him while he was distracted by Taehyung and Jimin. You felt bad for missing out on the fun, but you knew weren’t in the right mind to even enjoy any of it at the time.

“Hey,” You greet Yoongi sheepishly from the bed as he entered the room. He flinches at your voice. Normally, you would overanalyse the reaction but to be fair on him, you were laying on your back with the blanket over your head in the darkness. The only reason why you knew Yoongi was in the room is due to the light turning on. From a single glance, anyone would believe no one was in the room. You lower the blanket just enough to see him.

He laughs once he sees you. His laughter relaxes you and you smile back at him. “Hey,”

“What have you been up to?”

Yoongi turns on the lamp by his bedside and switches off the main light. “I got inspired last night. I was at the studio.” He explains as he lays down on his side.

“I’m surprised you’re able to find one at such short notice.”

“Yeah, that’s why I got up early. Had to go around a couple of times.” You take note of his tired expression. He must have had a big day. The second his head laid on the pillow, his eyes were fluttering shut. “How was your day?” You watch him snap his eyes open after a couple of seconds of being shut.

“Good night, Yoongi.” You watch his lips try and form a response, but it never came out. He was trying to stay awake. You smile at the sentiment.

━━━☆

It was the second time you woke up to an empty bed. It was the second time you only saw Yoongi before you went to sleep. “Hey,” You greeted him like déjà vu.

“Hey,”

“How was it?”

“Good,”

You watched him settle into bed. His eyes never met yours. He didn’t laugh when he saw your head popped out from the blanket. “How’s the studio? Is it nice?”

“Yeah, it is.” He lays on his side this time. You open your mouth ready to ask him another question when he reaches for the lamp by his bedside. “Good night, y/n.”

“Good night, Yoongi.” You whisper as the room fills in darkness.

───────── ☾ • ☽ ──────────

“Hey, dumb and dumber.” Taehyung refers to you and Jungkook. Despite yourselves, you look up at the nickname. “What are you doing?” He asks exasperated with his hands on his hips.

“We’re trying to see who can dig the deepest hole the fastest.” Jungkook explains with a blank look in his eyes.

“And you're distracting us.” You snarked before returning to your hole.

“I leave you guys for one minute.” Taehyung shakes his head but leaves you to it. He takes photos of the scenery until he hears Jungkook shout in victory. He watches the two of you argue for a bit before you concede defeat – something you don't do often. “Are you guys hungry yet?”

“I am starving!” You answer rubbing your stomach.

“Weren’t you supposed to find us a nice restaurant to try out?” Jungkook remembers why you were left alone in the first place.

“Yes, and I did but you two were too preoccupied with your game.” Taehyung rolls his eyes and leads the way to the restaurant.

You enter the restaurant and sigh in relief at the heating. The three of you situate yourself at a corner to avoid disturbing any other patrons. After you place your order, Jungkook jumps right to it. “So, what's going on with you and Yoongi?”

You give Taehyung a pointed look and he raises his arms up in defence. “I didn't tell him anything.”

“He doesn't need to. Anyone with eyes can tell something is up between you two.”

You sigh and shrug your shoulders. “Your guess is as good as mine. I don't have an opportunity to confront him – if I were to. He leaves before I wake up and by the time he gets home, he's tired and I don't want to stop him from getting sleep.”

“You're too nice, y/n. If I were you, I would tell him he's not getting a wink of sleep until we sort this out.” Jungkook crosses his arms defiantly. He quickly uncrosses it and bows to the server when she comes over with the side dishes.

“I'm not his girlfriend, Kook.” You pointed out once she was gone. You had no right to demand anything from him.

“And with your lack of communication, you may never be.”

“Damn,”

“Kook, that's enough.” Taehyung interjects once he sees your dejected expression.

“What?” Jungkook asks with chopsticks between his lips as he brings the kimchi closer to him. “I'm just saying.”

“Maybe you should stop saying.” Taehyung gives him a warning look that seemed to come across to Jungkook.

Jungkook looks at your expression and he pulls out the chopsticks from his mouth. He reaches for your hand catching your attention. “Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.”

You squeezed his hand and offer a smile. “You didn't say anything that wasn't true. I just don't know what I can do about it.”

“The opportunity will come.” Taehyung comforts you as the food arrives. “In the meantime, we’ll keep you busy.”

━━━☆

You can wait for the opportunity to come, or you can make the opportunity happen; at least that's the epiphany you came up with after your conversation with Jungkook and Taehyung. The plan was that you were going to catch Yoongi in the morning. You didn't want to set an alarm in case it would bother the others sleeping in the rooms next to yours, so you were going to stay awake. The boys supported your decision and spent as much time as they can with you before they were dead tired. For the first time, Yoongi came to bed, and you weren't there. He knows you're safe because you're with Jungkook and Taehyung, so he wasn't worried.

By the time, the three of you came home it was four in the morning. You quietly tiptoed around the house – each taking turns for showers at the farthest bathroom away from the rooms. You decided to have a shower last in an attempt to stay up longer. “Thank you so much for keeping me company.” You thanked both of them before they went to bed. They wished you luck and left to go to sleep. This was going to be hard, you thought as your eyes shut from the warm shower. Your tiredness hitting you like a truck now the distractions had gone away. But you managed to speed through another hour by the time all three of you finished your shower. It wouldn't take long now for Yoongi to wake up and you can sort this out. Excited to finally solve everything, you had a second wind. You make your way to your room with determination. You slowly turn the knob and step inside the room closing the door as quietly as possibly. Once the door was shut, you turn towards the bed, expecting to see Yoongi’s peaceful figure but were met with nothing. Your shoulders slump in defeat. Had he left while you were in the shower? Did he even come home? You collapse in the bed allowing the tiredness to overcome you. Another failed attempt.

━━━☆

When you had gotten up, it was three in the afternoon. You dragged your feet as you made your way to the kitchen. “Morning,” You grumble to Adora and Hyewon who were in the living room. The two share a concerning look between each other at the dark aura emitting from you. You make yourself a cup of coffee and sit on the love seat farthest away from them. They had been watching new music video releases before you came in. Now, they're studying you – not that you noticed or cared. Too occupied with your phone, you were searching for any digital footprint of Yoongi. You immediately straighten and set your coffee down. The girls flinch at your sudden movement. They watch as you zoom in on a photo. Your eyes scanning every single inch of your screen before you start typing furiously. You felt a bit better after venting your unfiltered thoughts. God, you were nearly obsessive at this point.

“You know what's long overdue?” Adora asks towards you gaining your attention. “A girls’ night.”

“Yes! We haven't hung out just us girls this entire trip which is downright criminal.” Hyewon agrees. “You're free and up to it today right, y/n?”

How could you say no when the two of them look at you with such pleading eyes? You had a sense of déjà vu as you got ready with the girls. Once again, they were playing music and doing their makeup while you are sat in the back disassociating. You should have said no. You were no fun, and you would only slow the two down. Your mind was preoccupied with Yoongi – as always. He seemed happy with Jin and Jimin. Maybe you did do something to put him offside with you. You were on autopilot mode; following Adora and Hyewon lead, barely partaking in the conversation except for the occasional ‘yeah’, or ‘really?’. You stare at your Twitter feed waiting for another update from Jin or Jimin. “Sorry, guys.” You apologise once you see their message. “I shouldn't have come tonight – I'm just spoiling your fun.” You sigh and put your phone down for the first time today.

“Don't apologise, y/n.” Hyewon reaches out to hold your hand. She squeezes your hand, and you share a smile.

“Yeah, just talk to us. You never know it might help.” Adora offers. You exhale to prepare yourself from venting your thoughts with the girls. They're right. Maybe a different perspective will help. “I'm going to kill him.” Adora remarks picking up her phone after you share what's been going on.

“Adora wait!” You put your hand over her phone. “What are you doing?”

“Well, you can't confront him in person to get answers, right?” You nodded. “Good thing we are living in such a time that we don't need to rely on face-to-face interaction. This is the age of technology, my friend.” She sits back far from your reach and begins to type furiously.

You pick your phone up and see Jin is active in the group chat. Your heart drops at the quick back and forth between Jin and the girls. Thankfully, they didn't give Jin any information to relay to Yoongi. But you were nervous about the blindside Yoongi will be getting. “Yoongi keeps his cards close to his chest. Everyone knows that.” Hyewon reminds you of the most well-known fact about Yoongi. That fact does not ease your concerns. Yes, Yoongi is straightforward and won't shy away from confrontation but that doesn't necessarily mean he will give you the answers you need so easily. “But, if anyone has the ability to have him show his cards, it's you.” You can't help the smile that creeped on your face. The vote of confidence by Hyewon was just what you needed.

“You should be more confident in your power, y/n.” Adora added making you laugh for the first time since New Years. “Yoongi has a soft spot for you – he had it when you were together and even now.”

“You know what?” You asked with a brighter tone in your voice. “You're right!” The girls smile finally seeing you lighten up. “Things didn't work out for me once, or twice, or even three times but that doesn't matter. It's not over until I stop trying. It's not over until I know how Yoongi truly feels.”

“That's the spirit!” Hyewon raises her glass, and you follow in suit. “To, y/n!”

“To my friends! I really would be nothing without you guys.”

───────── ☾ • ☽ ──────────

Your words last night rang true. Where would you be without your friends? You thought seeing Yoongi’s message. A flood of emotions ran through you. Embarrassment by how easy it was to get Yoongi to talk to you. Anxiety at the anticipation of finally getting your answer. And of course, excitement to be with him after a couple of days of distance. You left the Airbnb with a smile playing on your lips. Your relaxed pace turns into a skip in your step that soon turns into a light jog. Before you know it, you were running at full pace. Only slowing down to check your maps to make sure you're on the right track. The building was harder to find given the entrance was in the alley. When you get in, there was no receptionist to greet you. The studio wasn't like the studio by the uni. It was narrow and rundown. The staircase lit up by one flickering light. You ascended the stairs two steps at a time to reach Yoongi quicker. When you make it to his floor, you pulled the stairwell door open. You push your body forward and lean against the wall next to the door as it slowly shuts. Hand over your heart and your eyes shut, you control your breaths to steady yourself. You let out one more exhale before pushing yourself off the wall to go into the room. You jumped seeing Yoongi squatting by the door. “What are you doing out here?!” You shrieked with your hand dramatically over your heart again.

“What are you doing panting?” Yoongi counters with an amused smirk. You bite the inside of your cheek in embarrassment. “Couldn’t help yourself, could you?” He teases further standing up as you make your way to the door.

“Shut up, let's go inside.” You reach for the knob, but Yoongi’s hand gets to your arm before you could. “What are you doing?”

“Let’s go.” He slips his hand in yours as he leads you outside the building. A smile finds its way on your face as your mind fills with the feeling of Yoongi’s hand in yours. The winter breeze welcomed on your warmed cheeks. You watch Yoongi’s side profile as he is a step ahead of you. His jaw set and brows scrunched from the biting cold; you speculate. He leads you back to the plaza and confidently makes his way to one of the stalls. You both order your preference for ramen and as the worker makes it, Yoongi shops for drinks and other finger foods. The worker packs your foods and drinks in two bags for Yoongi. Your disappointment was only for a moment as Yoongi hands you one of the bags to carry on your outside hand and he takes the hand closest to him to hold. He takes you to another stall a few metres away renting items such as blankets, mats, tables, umbrellas, chairs, lights, and more for a picnic on the beach. He rents a mat, two blankets, and a table. The setup piqued your curiosity for the first time. He doesn't give you time to question as he hands you the other bag so he could carry the set. You walk down the beach and find a spot further away from other people. He unravels the picnic mat and you set the bags down to keep the mat down long enough for Yoongi to place the sandbags on each corner of the mat. You prop the table in the middle of the mat and sit on one side. Yoongi sits across from you crossed-legged as you unpack the warm food for the both of you.

You shut your eyes in pleasure as the steam hits your face. Comfortable silence fills the air with the sounds of crashing waves accompanying it while you dig in before the food gets cold. As you chew your food, you sit up to look ahead. The weather was great considering it was winter. The beach was normally gloomy and freezing but today, the sun was shining, and the breeze was light and refreshing. This was exactly what you needed. Your attention shifts to Yoongi. He was already looking at you. Why does it feel like he always knows what’s on your mind? How does he always know to show up at the right time? Why do you feel he is looking straight through you while you’re in a maze when it comes to him? Right when you think you know where you’re going, you meet a dead end. “What have you been working on?” You dare to ask as you take another bite of your food.

“A special project. I’ve been working on it for a while.” You nod to spur him on to share further. “Do you remember that song you asked me about?”

“My Muse?”

“Yeah,” Yoongi rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “I finished it.” You straighten and your face brightens in excitement. Yoongi laughs at your enthusiasm. “Before, you listen to it.” You tilt your head at his serious tone. “It’s not just one song. It’s a collection of songs and if you continue to be in my life, it will only keep growing.”

Your heart started racing; too many thoughts started flooding your brain. “What – what do you mean?”

“You’re my muse, y/n; since the first day I met you.” Yoongi hands you his headphones and places his phone in front of you. An album cover of you in Yoongi’s studio catches your eyes first. “I hope this answers your question; of what I think of you.” You slip on the headphones and look up at Yoongi. It was the first time; you’ve seen Yoongi nervous. Even when he had to perform in front of strangers spontaneously, he didn’t bat an eye. You press play and a surprisingly upbeat melody begins.

From the moment I met you, my life was all you. You're the star that turns ordinaries into extraordinaries.

A ray of light cutting through my shadow. I used to mean so little, my life before you.

My eyes follow your eyes, nose, lips. Did you notice my dark thoughts?

From afar, I steal glances; if we touch hands, will I lose you? Your light touches, I forget the reality at once.

You just give me the confidence within myself. It's not important if it's a dream of a reality, only the fact that you're by my side.

Yoongi watched with bated breath; trying to find any sign you feel the same. You were only a minute into the song when you take the headphones off surprising Yoongi. He takes that as repulsion, apologies ready to stumble out of his mouth. You stand and make your way next to him. You fall to your knees in front of him ignoring the stinging pain. “I'm sorry. I thought –” You interrupt Yoongi by cupping his cheeks. His eyes frantically search yours. The longer you stare into his eyes, the more emotional you became. His words replaying in your head. Your eyes water threatening to fall any second; overwhelmed by the rush of emotions going through you. Your eyes flutter shut spilling the tears onto your cheeks as you lean in to meet his lips. It only takes Yoongi a second to reciprocate leaning forward wrapping his arm around your waist to pull you close. He kisses you slowly and gently taking every second to imprint you in his memory. From the way you puckered your lips, to the way your fingers traced his skin; from the sounds you made and the way you tasted; how your hair fell over his tickling his forehead and the feeling of your goosebumps as he exposes your skin to hold more of you; he wanted to remember everything.

You only part to take a breath. Resting your forehead on his with a sheepish smile. “I've liked you for the longest time.”

Yoongi chuckles taking your hand resting on his chest. “Don't tell me that, I'll hate myself for not being brave enough to tell you sooner.” He kisses your knuckles. Your stomach flutters at the affection. “Do you want to listen to the rest of the songs?”

“Do you even have to ask?” You turn around and situate yourself in between Yoongi’s legs. He chuckles and brings a blanket around both of you as you slip the headphones back on. You look up at him as his raspy voice fills your head. The lyrics he raps fills your head, dissecting every meaning behind them. “God, you're amazing.” You complimented him here and there when a particular lyric gets to you or beat impresses you. You can only feel Yoongi chuckle in response; amused because you were shouting compliments at him after moments of silence.

The two of you spent hours in each other’s arms opening up about your thoughts and feelings; recounting every moment; answering each other’s questions; sharing the secrets you held close to your chest. Once again, Yoongi had taken you by surprise. From being the one to confess their feelings first, to the way he told you. You still don’t know everything about him but now, you have the confidence that you will. “I know I’m not good at expressing my emotions – I’ve always hated showing that side of me. I didn’t think it would ever matter. I never cared about what people thought about me or what they think I meant. But then I met you.” You smile as he kisses your temple. “And everything changed. I wanted to be vulnerable; I wanted to try; I wanted to be someone I wasn’t – someone deserving of you.” You open your mouth to interrupt but he hugs you tighter. A silent plea to let him continue. “But I failed time and time again trying to tell you how I felt. Saying the wrong things, misunderstanding the situation, distancing myself from you. I was too scared of rejection; of losing you. I convinced myself multiple excuses that I was reading you wrong; that I was just not used to having someone like you around; a breath of fresh air, the ray of sunshine breaking through in an overcast day. I didn't know how to tell you and writing lyrics was the only outlet I had to express my feelings. So, I wrote one song to tell you; then another; and another; then before I knew it, nearly all the songs I wrote were about you. Yet I couldn't even show you, what an idiot.” He laughs at himself.

“I'm the idiot who failed multiple times to get you to understand my feelings. How hard is –” Your phone interrupts you. You glance at the screen on the table and sit up upon seeing Jungkook’s message. “What does Kook mean by ‘put it back up’?” You asked looking back at Yoongi with curiosity.

He looks away sheepishly. “Well, I posted the album before.” You turn around to face him in shock. “But I was a coward and idiot and took it down. I’ve added some new songs on there since but you’re not the only one that failed multiple times.”

“I guess, we can be idiots together.” You giggle taking his hands in yours. “Is there any reason why all the titles start with the letter b?” You ask noticing the coincidence,

“It was plan B of telling you how I felt.” He cringes within himself.

“What was plan A?”

“Gobaek song.” Your smile fades at his admission. If you felt like an idiot before, you definitely felt like one now. Yoongi notices the shift in your mood, and he pulls you close. “Hey, don’t worry about that. There’s no point regretting everything that didn’t happen. I wished I told you sooner but if having you now means it needed to go the way it did; I would do it again in a heartbeat.” You melted in his arms kissing his chin on the way. “What about you?” You hum asking for further clarification. “When did you know you liked me?”

It was your turn to become shy. “I didn’t realise it right away because I never experienced this before.” You fiddle with the drawstrings on your sweats. Yoongi relates with a ‘me too’. “But I knew from the start you were different. I felt an ease and comfortability I have never felt before. Before you, I was so rigid and professional with my work – unwavering and unstoppable even in the face of a crisis. And then I met you and everything fell apart only to fall in the exact place they needed to be. I broke all my rules for you.”

Yoongi laughs. “You had rules?”

“Of course,”

“Like what?”

“Never let anyone know what I really looked like.” Yoongi purses his lips into an O-shape. “Never share personal information about myself.”

“Okay, but you had to at that point.” You sit up and staring into Yoongi’s eyes.

“Never let a client take you home.”

“It was late, I would never let you go home by yourself, and we were going the same way.” He defends making you smile.

You stare into his eyes for the longest time taking in his features. Wondering whether you should divulge this information or not. You were leaning towards Yoongi with your arms supporting you. His legs caging you between him. “Don’t fall in love with a client.” You whisper.

A smirk slowly forms, and you regret telling him because you knew what was about to come. “Are you saying I’m still just a client to you?” He teases.

You punch his arm playfully rolling your eyes. “You’re annoying when you tease me you know?”

“I will never miss an opportunity to tease you, baby. You should know that by now.” You shy away at the nickname, but Yoongi wraps his arms around you. He lifts your chin to look at him. “I love you too.” He promises sealing it with a kiss.

[a/n] it's finally finished! this is bittersweet for me. i am happy that i finally completed this series - this is the first series i have ever completed in all my years of writing. but the perfectionist in me is screaming in unsatisfaction because of how long it took

there is going to be an epilogue to address the unresolved plot points such as jack and yoongi's grandfather and in general, how everyone finished off their chapters in uni but it is not that important to the story and it's going to be short so this is officially the end of acquiesce. thank you to everyone that has stuck by me and this series. i hope you are satisfied with the ending and enjoyed this series. i really appreciate you all <3

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taglist: @deleteidentity || @themoonsblueside || @potatoandfries || @therapysides || @cursedcursives

#bts sm au #bts fluff #suga fluff #bts #yoongi #suga #bts x reader #suga x reader #yoongi x reader #bts angst #yoongi angst #suga angst #bts social media au #min yoongi #min yoongi fluff #min yoongi angst #d.writes #x

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