#the only fucked up thing in that scene is that mike didn’t notice his best friend sobbing

[lanne13]

I am once again asking people to learn what queerbaiting means

[depressopax]

The first - Part 1

Fandom - Breaking Bad/Better call Saul

Pairing: Multiple characters x gender-neutral reader (Nacho, Jesse, Kim, Jimmy, Mike, Howard) Genre: Fluff, hurt/comfort, one-shots Warning(s): Mentions of sexual tension, weed and alcohol. Cuss words Words: 1.5k Summary: The first kiss with the BrBa/BCS characters English is not my main language, if I make any spelling mistakes please let me know so I can improve my writing! <3 »» AO3 link || Masterlist || Request ««

The first kiss

Nacho

You and Nacho had been friends for quite a while during this time. One day, you were chilling in his house and talking and it kinda just happened. Having a complicated life, Nacho was scared to drag you - one of the people he cares about mostly - into it. But the sexual tension between the two of you reached a tipping point when you got into the topic of relationships.

“If things were easier, maybe I’d actually have time to find love” Nacho sighed.

“You deserve to be happy, Nacho.”

“I am. With you.” He realized how it sounded and shook his head. “...Nevermind.” 

But you’d heard enough to know you were not crazy. He liked you, too. Without another word, you pressed your lips against his. At first, he responded but soon pulled back.

“We shouldn’t.”

“I know.” 

Silence fell, and after a moment, you stood up, walking to the door before you felt Nacho grab your arm. Before given the chance to react - he spinned you around and pulled you into a kiss. With his palm cupping your face, he kissed you in a way no one had done before. It was passionate and needy. Afterwards, he held onto you, breathing hot air at you whilst your foreheads pressed against each other.

“Stay.”

You nodded.

“I’m not going anywhere”

Jesse

Jesse invited you to one of his parties and since you liked him, you decided to go. Little did you know, he felt the same… Opening the door to the house, you were hit by loud music, loud voices and the smell of alcohol, sweat and weed. At least 20 people in the living room vibing to the music whilst getting drunk and high. You felt a bit disoriented entering the place, directly scanning the place for Jesse. You found him sitting in the living room together with the friends Skinny Pete and Badger. When seeing you he smiled and greeted you.

“Yo! I’m glad you made it here.” After hugging you he dragged you along to the kitchen. “Something to drink?” 

“Yes please!” After handing you a beer, the two of you sat down next to Jesse’s friends and talked. They kept glancing at the two of you and grinning, like they knew something you didn’t. 

“Man… You’re so down bad for them, Jesse.” Badger mumbled whilst smoking his joint. Jesse looked like he wanted to murder his best friend on the spot, whilst Pete just laughed. So that’s what they were grinning about…

“Is that right, Jesse?”

“I…” He stuttered an explanation, but none was needed. 

“Maybe I like you too?” 

“If you’re playing with me right now…”

“Jesse.” You said firmly. “I mean it.”

After that, Jesse basically grabbed your hand and walked out of the house, with his friends whistling and laughing at the scene.

“Sorry ‘bout them. They’re such damn jerks.” Jesse muttered and looked at the night sky, his face turned away from you to hide the blush. 

“You like me.”

“And you like me, too?”

“Yea.” 

“Perfect.”

Without realizing it, the two of you had moved closer to each other. When he leaned down, you didn’t hesitate. It was like you could taste the smoke on his soft lips as you kissed. It was intoxicating. Afterwards, you both looked at the sky.

“We should have done that a long time ago.”

“Yea”

Kim 

Kim was overworking herself - as usual. And being her worried friend, you couldn’t stand the sight of it. During her lunch break, you went to her office at HHM only to find her buried in paperwork. 

“Kim, for fuck sake…”

She barely noticed your presence so you had to walk up to her and tap her shoulder.

“Hey…” she said absent-mindedly. 

“Kim…”

“I’ll be done soon, don’t worry”

“You’ve said that for days, Kim.” 

“Yea? Well why don’t you-” realizing she was about to snap at you, she went quiet really fast and looked at you in shame “I’m sorry.”

After some convincing, she finally agreed to leave the office and let you buy her a coffee. Seeing her holding the warm paper cup containing cappuccino melted your heart. She looked so calm, for once.

“I’m worried for you.”

“That’s sweet of you… But really, I’m fine.”

You were not satisfied with the reply, and she noticed that - since you had stopped walking. 

“Hey… What’s the matter?” she said softly and threw the empty cup in a near bin before standing before you.

“I care about you, Kim. I don’t want you burned out…” 

She stroked your cheek, and you could no longer hold back the feelings you harbored. When you kissed her, she didn’t pull back. Rather, she pulled you closer to her. 

“Will you stop nagging if I take the afternoon off?” You could only nod in reply, still in shock after the kiss. 

Jimmy

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Hmmm? What?” you looked at Jimmy, who drove the car. “Yea, of course. You told me about some clients.” 

“...If I bore you out that badly, just tell me, sugar.” he muttered before parking the car.

“You don’t bore me, Jimmy.” 

“Sure seems like it.” 

He left the car and you had to run after him. 

“Look, I’m sorry… It’s just, I’m worried, I guess.”

“Worried? Why?”

“You should hear yourself sometimes, Jimmy.” You hissed. “You’re dealing with some dangerous people. And you always put yourself in shit situations!”

“I got this! Ok?!”

“Yea, sure you do. Sure.” 

He rolled his eyes and continued walking. 

“Why do you even care?” he grumbled. You had to bite your tongue to not say anything stupid. Because what could you even say? “...And you’re back to ignoring me. Thank you, sweetie.” 

“Because I just care, ok?” Tears burned in your eyes, and now he noticed.

“Hey… Sweetheart-” he sighed, seeming uncomfortable with your emotions. “I’m sorry, ok?” 

He squeezed your shoulder. 

After a minute of awkward silence, he tried lightening the mood with saying:

“You got a lil crush on good ol’ Jimmy, eh?” Your reaction told him everything. “You do??” he chuckled. 

“...Idiot.”

“Your idiot.” he murmured before stepping closer - he tilted your head up and forced you to look at him. 

“I knew you got the hots for me, sugar. Don’t worry. I feel the same.” 

And then he kissed you. At first, you wanted to pull away. You were still angry at him - after all. 

But it’s hard to be mad at someone that kisses you like that. 

And the way he smiled against your lips - Oh god…

Mike

You had just found out about Mike’s work, and just what he does for his boss Gus Fring. And you were not happy. Saying “you needed to think”, you rushed out from his place. 

“Can you at least let me explain?” Mike hissed, following you - one step behind. 

“Mike…” 

“Please.” Something in his voice had changed. It went from the usually calm but firm tone - to a pleading one. It caught you off guard and you turned around to look at him. He seemed stressed.

“What?” you muttered.

“Please, let me explain.” 

And seeing how desperate he seemed, you couldn’t say no. So you listened to him, letting him tell you about his career and why he did it.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Why would I?” he scoffed, but quickly realised how harsh it sounded. Before you had a chance to leave again, he grabbed your hand.

“Because I care about you. I’m not pulling you into my bullshit.” 

Your heart skipped a beat at his next words…

“I can’t lose you. Please.”  

And then… 

He kissed you. Just like that. And how could you pull away, when you’d been dreaming of this moment for so long?

The kiss said more than thousands of words. 

Everything made sense now.

Howard

You had known Howard for quite a while and he invited you out for lunch during one of his breaks. 

“Over here!” you saw him sitting by a two-person table at the restaurant, waving at you with a big smile. You joined him.

“Jeez, Howard! This place looks… Expensive!”

“Only the best lunch restaurant in town!” He said cheerfully, but you could sense some sort of… Nervousness? In his voice.  “Tell me about your day!”

“Well uhm… It was-” He looked at you intensely. It was both cute but a bit weird. “...Are you ok?”

“Of course!” 

After lunch - which he insisted on paying - you tagged along when he walked back to HHM and his office. Before saying goodbye, he stopped you.

“Wait! I actually need to talk to you.” 

“Alright… Shoot.” 

“I…” he gathered his thoughts and cleared his throat before continuing - or at least trying to. “I kinda… Y’know…” 

You couldn’t help but smile. The blush said everything.

“Howard…” you cooed, and then leaned in and kissed him. He was startled, but then kissed you back and sighed in relief at you initiating this. 

“Was that what you were trying to say?”

“Y-yea…” 

“Well… I definitely feel the same.”

AHSHSHS this is prob one of my cheesiest one-shots yet- HOPE Y'ALL LIKED IT EITHER WAYS <3 Next part will be "First date". If you like this concept like, comment or reblog! Would mean a lot. :) MWAHHH

[inairbinad]

Lover's Lick

Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson, 2.4k words, also on ao3

Just a silly little first kiss idea that fell into my head because I accidentally typed Lover’s Lick instead of Lover’s Lake.

It was a blistering day in Hawkins. As a twisted way to enjoy it, the whole party decided to spend the day at Lover's Lake to continue celebrating what they’d dubbed “Dead Vecna Summer.”

Eddie wasn’t sure he was enjoying himself, yet, but Robin was determined to make sure everyone did.

“It’s called exposure therapy,” Robin explained as she lazily dragged her toes through the water from her seat on the dock. “If we all come here and have a good time, the positive association will start to make the bad shit less scary.”

“That doesn’t sound like a thing,” Mike countered, and Nancy leaned down and flicked a handful of water at him. She and Robin were near inseparable now, physically sitting shoulder to shoulder as they soaked up the sun, but also to the point where Nancy steadfastly defended everything Robin said. 

“It’s a thing, Wheeler,” Eddie drawled from his own beach towel. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was a thing or not, but Robin tended to know her shit, so he was going along with her plan for now. Eddie had no interest in actually getting in the water, but the shady little patch of grass he’d managed to lounge in was pleasant enough. “I just don’t know if it’s working.”

Admittedly, the whole experience was made more pleasant by the fact that no one else but their little group was around, staring them down or making accusations with their eyes. No one really wanted to spend much time at Lover's Lakep anymore, considering it had so recently been a crime scene. The quarry and the copious other lakes around Hawkins seemed delightful by comparison; but maybe that was just because no one else had Robin.

So far, only Dustin, El, and Will had been brave enough to venture into the water. They were off the shore a ways, splashing each other and giggling ferociously. The glee on their faces was helping to tamp down the lingering sense of dread that Eddie couldn’t quite shake, despite his best efforts.

Steve was also eyeing them warily, either watching like a hawk to make sure nothing weird went tickling at their ankles, or because he was fighting himself on whether he wanted to venture in after them.

Eddie suspected it was a little bit of both. 

“Fuck it,” Steve muttered to himself, before stripping his shirt off and wading into the lake. Eddie watched him go from behind the safety of his sunglasses, doing his best not to let his jaw go slack in the presence of a half dressed, sun kissed, and about to be wet Steve Harrington. 

Once Eddie finally tore his eyes away, he noticed Robin also looking after Steve—but her expression was a worried one. 

“Maybe we should play a game,” Eddie suggested with a slow grin. “For positivity, and whatnot.”

“Oooh, how about truth or dare?” Max recommended in a heartbeat, like she’d been waiting for an opportunity to present itself for her to suggest it. It instantly made Eddie wary of her intentions, but he shrugged and went along. If it made Max happy to wrangle some embarrassment out of her friends, she deserved as much. Plus, truth or dare never scared Eddie much, since he could always come up with something freakier to challenge people with than anyone ever dared him to do. And truths weren’t tricky at all, because he had a knack for making bullshit sound like the truth on the spot. 

They didn’t come around on his turn for a while, yet, so he let his gaze drift back across the strikingly serene water until it landed back on Steve. He started off indulging the kids in letting them dunk his head under water, but now he seemed to have found some semblance of peace, floating on his back with his eyes on the sky.

“Earth to Munson,” Lucas called out, cupping his hands around his mouth and deepening his voice for the intended bullhorn effect. “It’s your turn, so you can stop ogling Steve, now.”

“I don’t ogle, Sinclair,” Eddie said, pulling his best unaffected act. All the same, he dragged his eyes back to his immediate surroundings. “That’s much more your speed.” 

Lucas nervously glanced at Max, knowing exactly what Eddie was implying. Max seemed to know as well, because she came to Lucas’s defense in a snap. Eddie would’ve thought it was sweet, if he hadn’t just aimed the Max Cannon of Shit-Talking squarely in his direction. 

“You’re the one who looks like you want to lick Steve’s face half the time,” she said with a knowing smirk. Everyone else burst into laughter, and Eddie had no choice but to eat the shame of being completely obvious, to the point where even all the gremlins knew he had an enormous crush on Steve. 

“Only half the time?” Jonathan asked, and Argyle snorted. When even the two of them were helping to gang up on Eddie, he lost any hope of someone backing him up instead of roasting him further. He sighed in resignation.

Not long after all the Upside Down drama had concluded, Eddie and Robin had both teamed up and decided to come out to the whole group together. It was partly because Robin was sick of having to deny the allegations that she was in love with Steve, and partly because they both agreed it would let the group adjust so that there would be as little friction as possible when Will decided to follow suit. It turned out none of them really needed the extra education in love and acceptance and all that, though. The kids barely blinked an eye, and instead just shifted the allegations about being in love with Steve off of Robin and right onto Eddie. 

“Oh my god,” Lucas squealed, completely overcome with excitement for some reason. He snapped his fingers and pointed at Eddie as he said, “That’s your dare!”

“I didn’t even pick—” Eddie tried, but everyone was already turning to look at him with matching evil smiles. 

“Lick his face,” Max sat back, folding her arms against her chest in satisfaction. 

“That’s not my dare,” Eddie muttered, already knowing his fate was sealed. He had to lick Steve’s face, or suffer some unknowable torture for time eternal for being a chickenshit. 

“Lick his face,” everyone chorused, mercifully at a whisper so Steve wouldn’t hear. That didn’t make it any less mortifying.

“I swear to Christ—” Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose, doing his best to ignore them. He thought maybe he could withstand the torture option, instead.

“Lick his face,” they all repeated, chanting like they only worshiped at the alter of humiliating Eddie in the most creative ways possible. 

“You’re a bunch of heathens,” Eddie whined. 

“Lick his face!” They repeated, insistent and already getting louder. 

Eddie stared at Max in a silent plea, knowing she was the one who could most easily get everyone to lay off of him. This was her rodeo, and they both knew it. Max only stared back at him, unwavering. Eddie wondered if this was why she wanted to play truth or dare in the first place. 

“Fucking,” Eddie grumbled, pulling himself up off his towel and whipping his own shirt and sunglasses off. Then he stood there, clad in nothing but his Garfield swim trunks, and took a deep breath to steady himself. He’d done worse than this, surely. It would be mortifying, but he’d get over it. Steve had a good enough sense of humor that Eddie didn’t think he’d be pissed, at least. “Fine.”

Then he stomped off into the lake and started swimming out to Steve to a round of raucous cheers at his back.

The calamitous thing he was about to go do was enough to distract Eddie from the fact that he was swimming in this lake for the first time since the spring, and he wasn’t being dragged down to its depths, or watching something mind-bendingly terrifying, or being chased for his life as he did. An entirely different kind of doom was spelled out for him, sure, but at least Eddie was swimming towards someone as his fate unfurled before him.

Steve really did look beautiful, sprawled out on his back, droplets of water glistening on his skin in the sun. Eddie intentionally caused a lot of fuss as he swam, making waves and noise as he went, so as not to startle Steve out of his peaceful reverie too severely. 

Steve was already treading water, swimming upright again, by the time Eddie reached him. 

“Hey,” he said, soft and trusting even though he probably shouldn’t have been. 

“Hey,” Eddie echoed him, feeling the weight of fourteen sadistic eyes on his back. Once more, he was incredibly glad that no one else but their little group of friends was around to witness this. Eddie laughed, a desperate and delirious little sound that perfectly encapsulated how little he believed he was about to give in to peer pressure like all the preppy conformists he always made fun of.

“I’m sorry in advance,” Eddie said, and Steve tilted his head in confusion. 

“Huh—”

Eddie reached up and grabbed Steve’s chin, watching as the lake water pebbled across the planes of Steve’s face, and gently tipped it towards the side. Then he licked a stripe up Steve’s cheek, quick but thorough, just enough to savor the feel of Steve’s skin on his tongue for even a moment. 

Just as quickly as it’d begun, it was over, and Eddie turned around to face his jury, still idly judging from the dock. They broke out into another round of cheers and applause, so Eddie couldn’t help but thrust his arms up in triumph and give them a little show. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder, then, and had to kick his feet quicker so he didn’t start sinking at the sensation of being spun around. Eddie braced himself, for a split second thinking he was gonna get punched. 

The next thing he felt was, in fact, a hand on his face, but it was as gentle of a touch as he could ever remember feeling. Eddie peeked one eye open, only to find Steve looking back at him, a small smile playing at his lips. Steve rubbed his thumb across Eddie’s cheek bone, then very deliberately dropped his eyes to Eddie’s lips.

“What are you doing, Stevie?” Eddie asked, wondering if he was dreaming all of a sudden.

“What was Robin rambling about earlier?” Steve murmured, the low rumble of humor in his chest. “Positive associations?” 

Eddie just nodded dumbly at him, entirely unsure if that was what Robin had said at all. 

“Well, here’s mine,” Steve said simply, then leaned in and kissed him. 

Even though the world had seemingly thudded to a stop, Eddie felt the way Steve’s lips moved against his own, firm and soft all at once, leaving him all tingly in an instant. Eddie didn’t know how, or why, but Steve was kissing him like he meant it—like he’d been ruminating on his desire to slot his lips between Eddie’s it for as long Eddie had been fantasizing about the same. 

The realization was a heady one, and Eddie heard a surprised little whimper escape his throat. Steve hummed happily in response, then slid the hand on Eddie’s cheek into his hair, getting a better grip so he could maneuver the angle of Eddie’s face to his liking.

Eddie thought he’d let Steve position him however the fuck he wanted as long as he kept kissing him. He grabbed on to Steve’s shoulders on instinct, dragging him in closer, with the water allowing Steve to flow into Eddie's arms with ease until their chests were pressed together. Steve gently nipped at Eddie’s bottom lip with his teeth, and Eddie rode that wave to bold new heights, daring to drag his tongue along the curve of Steve’s, perfect, delectable mouth. Steve's grip on Eddie's hair tightened, then he opened up and rolled his tongue against Eddie's own.

Eddie thought Lover’s Lake might actually be the best place on Earth.

It occurred to Eddie that he might sink and drown and die in that moment, since he completely forgot how to tread water when the only thing he could focus on was Steve’s mouth on his own, Steve’s hand in his hair, Steve kissing him so thoroughly that it was worth it if this was where he died after all. But Steve secured an arm around Eddie’s waist, holding them both aloft in the water, letting the sunshine dance across their shoulders and set their kisses surging with even more heat than their hold on each other could generate on its own. 

When they finally pulled apart, Eddie heard the distant roar of hooting and hollering coming at them from the dock and their friends nearby in the water, but he couldn’t do anything but stare at Steve, dumbstruck and with the taste of Steve's cherry lip balm still on his tongue.

“Was that okay?” Steve asked, looking worried now. 

Eddie thought the best way to chase that concern right off Steve’s pretty face was to kiss him again, and again, and again.

“Oh my god, get a room,” Dustin hollered at them after a moment, and Eddie relished the feel of Steve’s smile against his own. Eddie pulled back just enough to tilt his head in silent communication, doing his best not to get too distracted by how Steve’s lips were still swollen thanks to him.

“Definitely,” Steve nodded in agreement, and two of them took off after Dustin in perfect sync. By the time Dustin realized what he was in for, it was too late. He paddled away like a mad man, screeching and giggling all the way, but Steve was too fast. He gained on Dustin quickly, getting his arms around him just as Eddie caught up.

Together, they each smacked a sloppy kiss to one of Dustin’s cheeks, then dunked him underwater together. Dustin did his best to look affronted when he resurfaced, but his grin was unmistakable.

“It’s about time,” he muttered, then splashed Steve and Eddie both and quickly paddled away again. El and Will joined in the chase this time, and Eddie heard several splashes from the dock behind him as reinforcements came to unite in a game of ganging up on Henderson.

None of them ever really panicked about taking a dip in Lover's Lake after that.

[cncuwau]

DID ANYONE ELSE VIEW THE VAN SCENE LIKE THIS??? I FEEL LIKE I’M GOING CRAZY BUT I INITIALLY THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD SCENE SETTING UP BYLER AND I EVEN THOUGHT MIKE’S REACTION WAS TOTALLY LEGITIMATE AND ACTUALLY POSITIVE OKAY HEAR ME OUT- 

i actually liked the van scene a lot. i liked the painting. i thought for a sec they were gonna hetero things up when will said el commissioned it. i literally forgot that el had told mike that she hadn’t gotten to see what will was working on, and that she thought it was for someone he liked. and i completely forgot that mike should know that. i didn't realize will was making up a fake excuse. but aside from me being a dumb queer.. during that whole scene, i was just looking at mike. to me, it looked like mike understood that will was (clearly) talking about himself and not el, and that mike was surprised because he finally put the pieces together. i could see mike sitting there, staring at this painting being like “wait.. will LIKES me??? like LIKE-likes meeeee????????? since when?? am i dumb i thought-’’. and while that’s happening for mike the focus for us is on will breaking down, but i don't necessarily think that means mike's a bad person for not consoling him in that exact moment. i thought the reason he didn’t say much was because he understood what will was trying so desperately to tell him, so he couldn’t just ask will why he was crying. he knew why, but he also knew they couldn’t talk about it right at this moment. not with argyle and jonathan there, this wasn’t the right time. not yet. i felt like mike respected that will wanted space, the poor boy had just poured his heart out, but there was an obvious reason as to why will wasn’t more direct, why he couldn’t be, why he felt he had to hide behind the facade that it was el’s feelings he was expressing to mike. so mike asking what was up after will’s monologue wouldn’t have helped. will couldn’t go more into that, and mike couldn’t be the one to open up that conversation when will wasn’t fully ready yet. and i mean mike was also probably in a state of shock too, like heart racing, his mind somewhere else, completely fucking lost in the situation. so confused and surprised, because he never expected will to feel the same. and maybe he didn’t even notice will crying but it doesn’t mean that he didn’t care. i've been crying like that in a car countless times and i never wanted anyone to ask about it right then and there. maybe that was just what was happening here too.

like i couldn’t breathe after that scene, i was really excited. noah's acting was phenomenal and i thought that finn delivered mike being awestruck and secretly in love with his best friend who’s indirectly confessing his feelings to him exceptionally well. the cinematography even makes it a point of the fact that mike can’t take his eyes off of will, even when will's looking away. that was my instinctive reaction to mike's reaction. i think he just didn’t know what to say. he looked so happy tho. like he was just giving will endless heart-eyes while will did his monologuing. i thought it was beautiful. i thought, despite how much it sucked to see will in that position, unable to tell mike his true feelings (but disguising it to find a way) and it ending with him breaking down, i saw it as an emotional release. like at least he got some of that bottled up love out, got to express it to mike. he got to say SOME of the things he needed to. i thought it was building up for a positive coming out scene. probably to jonathan, maybe even to mike. but either way, definitely to byler.

BUT THEN CAME MIKE’S STUPID ASS FUCKING MONOLOGUE AND LITERALLY BURNED EVERYTHING TO THE GROUND. like screw the beautiful subtext they’ve carefully built up over the course of YEARS, but especially throughout THIS WHOLE FUCKING SEASON, am i right???? going back to the scene in the van after that, will's suffering was just that, i guess. endless suffering, not only for him personally, but so that mike and eleven can run off into the sunset or something (even tho they didn’t do that after everything smh). now this scene wasn’t beautiful in its sadness. it was just cruel. it was JUST cruel. they aren’t just putting will through needless suffering, they’re putting the queer audience through the literal goddamn same thing. duffers, i challenge you to make him fucking happy for once, because you’re just hitting the same note over and over and it’s not show-stopping, it’s not groundbreaking. it's only good because the actors are absolutely carrying you and your god-awful writing. the duffers are literally just slapping the characters (especially will) and the queer audience in the face over and over, but still expect us to come back because this is all we’re ever gonna get. we deserve better. will deserves better. hell, even fucking mike deserves better. but that’s what fucking hurt the most. that the first time i watched that scene i saw it as something good, that it was obviously leading to something better, but it didn’t. i haven't watched that scene since because, knowing what i know now, i think it would just hurt too much.. you know, more than it already did. they ruined it. will didn’t get to talk about it more like i thought he would. like it would have made sense for him to. it was implied that he would, but they didn’t even let him fucking do that. i think it could have been so fucking good, hard-hitting and beautiful.. but they literally threw all of the promise from vol 1 and even ep 8 STRAIGHT (lol) OUT of the fucking window.. like they royally fucked up huh..

[marypsue]

Ahh also as an addendum to my previous ask about the age swap (which I might’ve accidentally labeled as the body swap fic due to the foibles of being awake unexpectedly early ), I was curious what your criticisms are regarding Robin and Will’s treatments by the Duffers? I know you’ve alluded to being bothered by both but I’d be curious to hear more ( if you have the time/hankering!)

Hooboy. Okay. Buckle in. 

Obviously this is going to be a combination of actual literary analysis and Big Feelings That I Have, so like, please don’t take this as any kind of moral dictum on what to or not to watch, or how to or how not to interpret what you watch. Also, a lot of what makes me uneasy and unhappy about how canon deliberately handles queerness (as opposed to when it does queer things apparently by accident, which as you may have noticed, I have considerable amounts of fun with) has to do with behind-the-scenes context I’ve read about, so there’s a certain degree of Telephone involved. And I’m still only halfway through season four. There’s just so fucking much of it. 

With all that said. 

The behind-the-scenes context I’m most specifically concerned with are the season-one pitch bible(? I think that’s what it’s called) (which, it should be noted, ended up diverging in some quite significant ways from what ended up in the show) where the Duffers first raised the possibility that Will might be gay, and the anecdote that Joe Keery and Maya Hawke were the ones who decided Robin should be queer and had to really push for it and wrote and choreographed that scene in the bathroom. Put the two together, and it tells you that the Duffers planned that there would be One (potentially) Gay Character in their show. 

And that character was the one they spent an entire season directing violent, vicious, eventually outright murderous homophobic hatred at through the mouthpiece of a couple of bullies. You can say what you want about revenge narratives and those characters ultimately getting their comeuppance, but for Me Personally, it sucks all the fun and escapism out of season one to watch it thinking that those bullies only got punished when they aimed that vitriol at someone to whom it didn’t literally apply. Also I still have to sit through however many episodes of that vicious homophobia onscreen regardless, so, like, that’s a walk in the park anyway. /sarcasm 

And then there’s that whole bad business in season three, where it’s never been quite clear to me if we’re supposed to see Mike as having been in any way in the wrong. Kind of scuppers the argument, to me, that we’re supposed to be on Will’s side. And season four, which so far has had Will tagging along after people who are supposed to be his best friends but mostly don’t seem to give a single damn about him, doing absolutely nothing but looking morose and sullen and tragic and *coughcough* Artistic, and causing Problems for the nice straight couple. 

(Tangential to the point I’m coming to, but also, my son deserves better than to be reduced to a soggy cardboard standee with ‘GAY’ scrawled across it in magic marker the way season four seems to be angling toward. All the Byers, but especially the Byers boys, deserve better than season four seems interested in giving them. But I digress.) 

Also. I love Robin. If you follow me, you probably know that. I’m a hardcore, ride-or-die Robin girl. But. With Robin, from what I’ve heard of the context, the Duffers never intended for her to be queer. They wrote a girl who was smart and funny and sharp and talented and a little bit mean and a little bit insecure and a little bit weird but in an interesting, endearing way - as a love interest for Steve. 

And then, as soon as season four rolled around, once they’d been pushed into making her canonically, on-screen queer (in a beautiful, tender, heartfelt, true-feeling scene that they didn’t fucking write), suddenly she’s had a complete personality transplant. Suddenly, she’s an awkward, bumbling, annoying loser who’s only funny when she’s the butt of the joke, who’s no good at anything and who nobody really likes except maybe for Steve, an outcast even amongst the freaks. When she does do something smart or competent, everyone around her reacts with shock, like it’s wildly out of character instead of how her character was originally written. One of these versions of Robin was written with ‘gay person’ in mind, and it unfortunately wasn’t the one we were obviously supposed to like. 

In both cases, I get the feeling that the storytelling issues stem from this like...assumption that queerness equals isolation and misery and tragedy, and that there’s nothing to queerness outside of that. That there’s something inherent to queerness, something pitiable but repulsive, that causes the isolation and misery and tragedy (not that those things are imposed from outside, by, say, violent homophobia). That it would be absurd to imagine that queerness could ever be joyful, or playful, or that someone might ever, given the chance to choose, not choose to be straight instead. Or that there could be enormous friendship and community and heart and pride in queerness, or even that queer people might find friendship and community and strength in each other. Or even fucking talk to each other, ever. 

Which is especially infuriating, because the whole central theme of season one (besides surface appearances being deceiving) is that community and care between people who are very different but discover they have more in common than there is that separates them is what saves the day! That love comes in all kinds of forms, and they’re all important, and that love can be stronger than fear! 

But apparently, according to the Duffers, queer love doesn’t count and queer community doesn’t exist. It’s just isolation, misery, and tragedy, and I guess we the watchers are supposed to sit outside of it and pity Them for it (and be quietly, sneakily, a little bit nastily grateful that it’s not happening to Us). Because of course nobody watching the show is queer. Of course. This show is made for normal people. 

It’s part of the same attitude I’ve also seen play out with the Duffers’ inability to just let a white dude be bad. Oh, they want to talk a big game about how they’re on the side of the freaks, and bullies are bad, and everybody should be respected and appreciated for who they are. But when it cuts down to the bone, when applying that precept to a girl or a person of colour or a queer person makes a straight white guy come off as a monster, they keep trying to dodge it. 

The more antagonists they try desperately to rehab without ever acknowledging why they were antagonists in the first place, the more it starts to look like they simply don’t really believe that the people those antagonists hurt really matter. That, somewhere deep down where the assumptions that are so baked in you don’t even realise they’re assumptions live, they don’t really believe that girls, or Black kids, or queer people are as fundamentally human and deserving of respect and compassion as their beloved awful straight white men are. That what they really think about bullies is that bullies are bad because the bullies picked on them, instead of the kinds of people who deserved it.

(See also: that time a twelve- or thirteen-year-old Sadie Sink didn’t want to have to do a kiss in the Snow Ball scene, so the Duffers, who had just been joking about having her do it, actually made her do it. For multiple takes. Specifically because she didn’t want to. And then later related that anecdote to the press. Because they thought it was funny.)

Anyway. Personally, I’d prefer canon just never say anything definitive on the matter of Will’s sexuality and stop trying to push the narrative in that direction, so I don’t have to watch the Duffers spectacularly fumble yet another attempt at Writing About Marginalised Groups. 

(Also, this is absolutely not me saying Watch A Different Show - I’m here writing fanfic for this stupid show, it’d be pretty fucking rich of me to try to tell people to stop watching it. But I’d really love for many of its fans to get some more exposure to less-mainstream, more deliberately queer literature and film, so y’all can see what it really feels like to be seen and acknowledged and loved by a story, on purpose. I get it! I do! I too have wanted very badly to feel like something I loved, loved me back. 

But you don’t have to content yourselves with scraps. And you definitely don’t have to be so concerned with those scraps that you blame your friends, cousins, siblings, brothers in arms for ‘stealing’ some kind of ‘representation’ from you by asking to be seen and acknowledged and loved as well. The bastards who’ve been withholding that recognition from all of us would love nothing more than to watch with amusement, gorging themselves on a banquet, while we tear each other apart over a couple of discarded bones. Don’t give them the satisfaction. We don’t have to be isolated, pitiable, pathetic, miserable tragedies. Put the hollow promises of exclusionism and respectability down. There is queer art and literature and film and community and joy and love in abundance that you don’t have to beg anyone for, and you are invited to participate. This is me inviting you to participate. 

And cordially inviting the Duffers to meet me in the woods behind the 7-Eleven.)

...

tl;dr the way the Duffers treat queerness when they do it on purpose feels like a combination of othering, contempt, and misery porn, and I hate it. And that, in a nutshell, is the rant I’ve been sitting on for the last two-and-a-bit years. I’m getting down off the cafeteria table now. 

[wormdebut]

Eddie Character Development Drabbles for an AU that has been swimming in my head for months. Putting it out here so maybe someone can hold me accountable, lol.

-

Eddie Left home at 17 (2012), (dead beat dad, dead dead mom.) Uncle Wayne exists but Eddie never lived with him. Loved him though, with all his heart. Wayne was the one who supported him as much as he could, he had encouraged eddie to get out of his environment and gave him a nice little stack of cash (“it was supposed to be your college fund, but you’ve always been destined for better things.”)

Eddie had a penchant for the 80s metal scene, wasp, Metallica, Black Sabbath, his beloved Dio. All because Wayne had poured so much of himself into Eddie. Wayne knew how bad Richard was, he had always intended on Eddie coming to live with him but Eddie was fiercely loyal, to a fault. When his mother, Lydia had passed away due to ovarian cancer, Eddie was only 12 (2007) Richard had dove to the nearest bottle, never left any scars on Eddie, but Wayne knew. Eddie knew Wayne knew, but he couldn’t leave his dad. He loved his dad. Dick had started getting into the darker shit when Eddie was 14. (2009) Wayne had begged him to come stay with him and Eddie had begged Wayne to let him handle it. When he finally snapped to his senses in 2011, he had simply grown into the adult he didn’t have and still couldn’t inconvenience Wayne, “you have your shit, I have mine Wayne, help me by figuring out how this emancipation garbage works.” Wayne knew his nephew was just as (more so) stubborn than he was, once Eddie was able to produce his GED Wayne had helped him file. As always, supported him financially where he could. His Eddie, was always meant for bigger, for better, for more than small town Colorado

Once he left small town Colorado, he moved to Indianapolis, he always intended to end up in New York but his van (his fathers van that Eddie straight up stole from him, but Richard (dick) Munson was too high on his latest find that he hardly noticed) broke down in Indy and he just made it work, he always does.

He didn’t graduate, but got his GED. (Thanks Wayne) Very smart socially, (street smart angel) and honestly academically but had a hard time focusing on school when he’d rather draw or write.

Works at Inkwell Tattoo Studio he doesn’t own the shop but is a very well known artist and brings in a large amount of business for the shop and the owner (also the man who had let eds apprentice under him) Spike (Mike) loves him like his own son

Eddie specializes in neo traditional, however he’ll scratch whatever itch you ask him to. (Cmon capability)

But all of his work on his own body (he’s got a lot, gentleman) is black and gray

(“you are my yellow, you are the color Steve.”)

He was still fiercely loyal, but incredibly reserved about it. Dick had really fucked him up. Once he had settled in a painfully small Studio apartment in Indianapolis, he shut off anything that made him weak. He had picked up a job at a little game store “dragons den”, worked as many hours as they would allow him, that’s where he met Gareth. His best friend (only friend for quite sometime.) they had bonded over both having battle vests, (“holy shit man, you know wasp?”) Little gareth had never been more excited to meet someone like him.

Gareth had been buying a new set of dice and everything kinda formed from there. D&D once a week.

Eddie had taken on role of DM as he didn’t have school to worry about, so while gareth was sweating over finals, Eddie was enamored by a silly little fantasy game, it was through drawing the thoughts he had planned out that he had realized tattooing was something that could be in his wheelhouse.

Stick and poked himself, ultimately Gareth let Eddie give him a matching bat tattoo (it was the only tattoo Eddie hadn’t had covered with anything else once he had started getting his own body done.)

Eddie started his Apprenticeship when he was 19 (2014), He’d been at Inkwell with Spike Nelson ever since.

G and E had started their band around the same time. Eddie had convinced Gareth to move in with him as soon as G graduated. (2013) Good bye small studio from hell, hello, small one bedroom. (Eddie slept on the couch, fiercely loyal) Eddie had essentially given Gareth his job at Dragons Den, once he was too wrapped up at Inkwell. They lived modestly and rock and rolled indecently until Eddie had started blowing up on social media for his tattooing.

He blew up in 2016, he was 21, he should’ve been ecstatic but continuously found himself bitter, all he wanted was for his uncle to know that he had made it to the bigger and better. Wayne had seen quite a bit of his art, but he didn’t get to see what it brought for him. he was always overconfident, exuded it. But behind closed doors he was a mess. Gareth saw bits and pieces but Eddie knew how to shut it off around his friend, his band. Eddie moved out of the apartment Gareth and he shared when he Bought a house in 2018. 3 bedrooms, 2 bath. He was alone, and that’s how he preferred to be. His trysts were not allowed anywhere near it.

The only people that had been inside were The Corroded Coffin boys. Not Spike, not his trysts, not any one else. Gareth, James and Easton were the only ones.

Eddie had converted his basement to a practice space for CC in 2020. He had intended to convert the garage but his beloved baby (2020 Mercedes G Wagon with a gorgeous red interior) had to be protected.

Eddie was reticent, reserved with who he spoke to, always polite (you didn’t want to see him if someone struck a nerve, promise.) but quick, never spoke too long, (unless he was with the few he trusted), but he was unabashed, and unapologetically loud when it came to his style. He always had been. Uncle Wayne had told him to never back down from who he was even if others (Dick) gave him hell for it. So he never did. Eddie pushed the boundaries as dramatically as he could. Between the flowing blouses that he never fully buttoned, the clashing of patterns and prints and chains and the shoes, some heeled, some pointed, most black, most importantly the miles of leather; pants, vests, whips (cheeky), he drew attention to himself. He wanted to make you look. And look the city did.

Eddie had become somewhat of a spectacle to the city. Everyone knew Eddie Munson, and as of 2021 everyone (at least for a long stretch of Indiana, and few surrounding states) knew Corroded Coffin.

Always always has a black bandana in his back left pocket, even in his leather numbers, his favorite (only, but he was the father figure E never had) uncle Wayne had told him all about the hanky code and explained to him that was how people like he and Wayne (gay Wayne supremacy) would know they were in like minded company, broke down who was into what, made it easier so people like them could talk less and enjoy more, “life is short as it is, but it felt shorter and riskier back then.” Wayne had only cocked an eyebrow when Eddie started sporting the black bandana around the same time he left town. As long as he was safe, what his nephew got up to wasn’t his prerogative. Regardless of connotation (Cmon sadism!)

Eddie only grew more attached to proudly sharing his sexual interest because if Wayne could in 86, Eddie could is 2022. (Wayne passed in 2015, Eddie was 20 and it was the darkest place he had been for a long time. He had received a little bit of an inheritance and was shocked that his uncle loved him that much.)

Wayne hadn’t bat an eye when a 12 year old Eddie wracked with the pain of his mother passing, had told Him that he likes boys the way his uncle Wayne likes boys. “Nice work, kid, it’s more fun this way.” He would never let Eddie feel bad for who he was, regardless of Dicks commentary on it. (In reality Richard really couldn’t care less, he had grown to resent his son, gay or not, after his Lydia had passed, often times wondering why it couldn’t have been the boy to go instead of his wife.) Eddie had never looked back once he had his Uncles undivided support, he was a big old homosexual. No shame in hiding it.

[dadbodfanatic-x]

Paper rings; part 12

A/N: I’m really sorry about the delay. Life happens and this is a hard episode for me to watch. My son was born very very early and was intubated for a very long time, I sat in horror a lot of nights when something would happen and the tube would need to be pulled. It’s hard for me to see that scene and the hopper hospital scene after puts a sinking feeling in my chest.

Warning; cussing, stranger things spoilers, angst at the end and idk I’m probably missing a lot lol

You had to take a minute to compose yourself before you headed back to the kids, you knew it was stupid. Any sane person in this situation would be scared but you needed to put on a front for the kids. You shook out your limbs and you wiped away your tears and you headed back to them but before you could make it to far you heard the gym doors familiar sound and turned quickly all the smaller kids were sitting on the bleachers which meant….

You ran outside “what are you doing?!” You yelled at Jonathan and Nancy as the both stopped in their tracks “we have to go…we have to help mom and hopper” Jonathan spoke quietly without even turning towards you.

“You could have told me instead of taking off…” you knew you couldn’t stop them. “We thought you’d try to make us stay…” this time it’s Nancy that finally looks up at you and you step forward grabbing both of them into a tight hug “you come back! You hear me?” And you squeezed a little harder before letting them go.

When you came back inside Mike was pacing “where are they? Do you know where they went?” He was questioning you but before you could get an answer out Eleven answered for you “Demogorgon”

These kids were the bravest kids you fucking knew, jumping up as soon as eleven mentioned the name and now everyone was ready to leave. You had to take a deep breath and think, you just openly sent Jonathan and Nancy on their way to fuck knows where. Could you have stopped them? No maybe not but a part of you asked yourself if you didn’t even try because they mentioned helping Hopper. You fumbled with your hands next to you wishing Jim was next to you, he would notice and would slip his hand into yours to ground you. A couple more deep breaths and you decided right then and there no one was dying tonight. You were gonna be as brave as these kids and get your shit together, for them, for the Byers family, for Jim.

“We stick to the chiefs plan, we stay out of sight and keep El safe. I still think it’s the best plan” Lucas was trying to convince Mike that we need to stay safe and stay here.

“She’s with Jonathan he’ll keep her safe” and you truly thought that. You knew Jonathan would keep Nancy safe and you wanted Mike not to worry.

“Plus she’s kind of a badass now” Dustin mentioned which made you smile.

While the boys continued arguing about whatever it was, you went to settle next to Eleven. You moved your arms toward her slowly making sure not to scare her before you put your arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “You did great, I’m very proud of you” you whispered only to her and you caught her looking up with a bright smile. You wanted nothing more than to protect this sweet girl from the world.

“Where do you think you’re going?” You jumped up as Dustin was walking towards the door.

“To find some chocolate pudding, El needs to recharge and the lunch lady hoards that shit” Dustin yelled back and kept walking so you gathered the kids to follow him.

“You know I’m trying to give you a pass because of the whole monsters are real and trying to kill us shit but y’all have to stop cussing in front of me! You know I’m an adult right?” You looked at each of the boys as you were walking towards the cafeteria. You knew El really did need to get her strength up but no one was going anywhere alone.

“I don’t know Nora it just doesn’t really feel like it?” Mike chipped in causing you to turn around “you just feel like one of us…” that made you smile at him but Mike Wheeler couldn’t help the word vomit that followed “even though we saw you suck face with the chief” moment ruined.

“What’s suck face?” You heard El whisper to smile before Dustin’s yelling about the damn pudding overshadowed her.

You tried not to eavesdrop you really did but something about listening to Mike Wheeler try to explain why his whole family would be like El’s family but he definitely wouldn’t be like her brother because “it’s different” he said just really helped your anxious thoughts lift a little.

You were trying not to dwell on what Jim was doing right now when your thoughts were pulled to the window as headlights flew past them. You saw Mike Jump up “Hey! Hang on…” you said but you couldn’t catch up with him and you didn’t want to leave El alone. It wasn’t long before you heard his footsteps running back into the room before your heart sank “they found us…” he said

You gathered all the kids up quickly and put them behind you before you turned around “listen to me..” you didn’t want your voice to waiver, you had to be strong.

“No matter what, you stay behind me! You stay together and you protect El and I will protect all of you okay?” They just shook their heads “let’s go”

You were running down the hallway trying to find a door while the kids were talking behind you about how they thought they might have found us. The reasoning didn’t matter though, they just couldn’t keep us. Down the stairs you reached the stairs the same time you saw a group of agents walking in so you quickly turned around with the kids to find another. It didn’t take long before you were surrounded but before much couldn’t happen you felt El step up behind you and while you stuck your hand out to her you watched as lights flashed and blood began pouring from the agents eyes.

Before you could even begin to process what just happened you felt the small girl collapse beside you and you heard Mike yelling for El to wake up. You didn’t know much but you knew you couldn’t stay here so you scooped El up just in time to turn around to Brenner “step away from the child” he said sternly and you actually laughed.

“Fuck you” it felt like venom rising from your throat.

“Hello Elenora, I see you’ve grown up” and your veins ran cold.

“Who the fuck is elenora?” Dustin spewed back and all you could do was look at him “I’ll allow it” you said quietly to him and he smiled “step behind me boys”

“No! If you want her you’ll have to kill us!” Mike shouted as he went around to stand in front of you.

“Eat Shit” Lucas yelled before he took his place at your other side.

Before any of you could react agents came barreling in behind you and grabbed all the boys and yourself. You kept a strong grip on a still unconscious Eleven.

“Look at both my strongest girls together, I never dreamed you two would meet” Brenner spoke as he stepped towards you all again. You tried to fight but the grip on you just became tighter as Brenner ripped her from your arms.

“Eleven, ELEVEN! Can you hear me?” He shook the girl and you watched her eyelids flutter “papa..” she let out in just a whisper and your heart shattered

“Yes it’s papa…” he spoke back to her and you couldn’t contain yourself “you sick fuck” you spoke at him

“Mike…Mike…Mike” you watched the girl get louder as she reached for him and you felt sick.

“Think Nora think, how the fuck do we get out of this? What would Jim do?” You thought to no one but yourself but before you could think of an answer the lights flickered and then you heard the shrills

“Demogorgon” Dustin spoke beside you and then you saw the creature emerge from the walls.

The agents behind you let you all go as they began to draw their guns and fire. You used this as an opportunity to quickly pick El up from the ground and rush the boys away.

“Don’t look back, just run. Just keep running…” you yelled at them as the Gunshots still went on behind you.

The boys lead you into one of the rooms where you could place El on a table, you could tell she was struggling. She looked weak and the blood was running from her nose but Mike didn’t care. He leaned down over the table and talked to Eleven about his mom getting her a bed and how he was going to take her to the snowball dance.

“Promise?” She asked and tears welled in your eyes because of how fragile she sounded. “Promise” Mike spoke back to her.

You reached for her hand and his “I’m gonna help you pick out the perfect dress to wear okay?” You asked her and she smiled and you wanted to live in this moment forever. You loved these kids. You closed your eyes and squeezed their hands but then you heard the screeches of the animal grow louder. You stood and forced the boys behind you again.

And then the door broke and all Hell broke lose, the boys struggled to get something out of Lucas’ backpack and you looked for anything you could find. As Lucas was pelting the beast with rocks from his slingshot your eyes caught wind of a microscope and you reached for it. It all happened so quick, you grabbed the weapon and struck the monster as hard as you could. Once, twice and as you feared back the third time the beast opened up its face and swiped at you.

“Fuck” you yelped as you dropped the microscope and pulled your arm back. You held it there covered in large gashes and gushing blood and your eyes frantically searched for anything else to use to protect the kids. You winced as you tried to pick up the original weapon again but then you watched the monster get forcefully shoved back into the blackboard and you stood abruptly looking around. You turned around just as El began her walk towards the Beast.

Both you and Mike stepped forward to yell but Mike got there first “No, El stop!” He pleaded with her before she used her powers to push you all back away from what was going to happen. You slid backwards into the desk behind you and caught Mike as he was headed the same direction. You looked forward in horror and the monster was writhing under Els powers and when she turned to face you all the tears began to fall as you squeezed Mike tight to your chest.

The mister began yelling but that wasn’t the sound that was going to haunt your nightmares. No, you would remember the screams of a brave little girl who sacrificed her life for you all and would remember her body and spirit float away in pieces like confetti.

You finally let Mike go when he began screaming for El. You sat there as the boys frantically searched for their lost friend and you broke. You broke for the girl who deserved more out of her life than bad men with shitty agendas. You wanted to give her the world, you wanted to help her pick out a dress for the dance so she could see how beautiful she was, you wanted to watch Mike Wheeler fumble over his words a couple hundred more times when he tried to speak to her. You just wanted her to have more.

You finally stood and wrapped your arms around all three boys and you held them. You held them until you heard the paramedics enter and even then you wouldn’t let them take the boys from you. You walked them out to the ambulances and stood in the middle of all three covered with a blanket as you watched all the boys like hawks.

“I’ll never lose another one of you” you whispered to no one, not a prayer. A promise to whatever was listening “Not another one”

Not until every last boys ambulance took off towards the hospital did you finally take off towards the hospital. You walked in slowly, as all the boys parents sat in the waiting room looking for answers and that’s when you saw him. He stood abruptly when he finally saw you and you shattered, fell into his chest and sobbed “you came back to me…” you heaved into his chest and he just held you.

When you finally looked up from Jim you saw Nancy sitting beside her mother and you stepped towards her. She stood and you wrapped her in the tighter embrace you could offer with one good arm “thank god you’re okay” you whispered into her hair. You took a step back when you saw her mothers gaze “sorry…” you muttered and she stood up and hugged you ferociously “thank you for taking care of my boy” and you just cried again.

You moved down the line when you saw Dustin and Lucas asleep, a chair between them and Mike was calling your name so you sat down and put your arms around Mike “I’m so sorry…” is all you could say and you both cried together. You looked up and made eye contact with Hopper who looked confused but you couldn’t explain anything before the door to the waiting area opened and in walked Jonathan before you could remove your arms from Mike he jumped up and shook his friends “he’s up!” He yelled “Wills up!” And they ran out of the area.

You stood and Hopper met you with an arm out reached to wrap around your midsection and you put yours around his waist as you walked out the door. “You need to have that looked at..they said you refused” he said sternly next to you and you rolled your eyes at him “I had to make sure my boys were safe first and then there was talk of Will being found and I just needed to get to you” your voice broke at the end and he stopped and squeezed you tight.

“Well I’m here now and we need to make sure you’re okay” he kissed the crown of your head and you finally relaxed into his body again “I can’t lose you..” he whispered and that made your breath hitch as you looked up into his glossy eyes “you won’t” you whispered before you kissed him. You used your one good arm to wipe a tear falling down his cheek when he pulled back and put his forehead against yours.

“Can I see will first?” You whispered to him and you heard him let out a small chuckle.

“Yeah baby..” as he lead you down the hallway to Wills room you could hear the boys getting louder and louder talking about his funeral and the girl that cried for him.

You both hovered in the doorway, Hopper behind you with a protective hand on your hip as you listened to the boys go on and on. You reached out your hand and caught Jonathan’s before giving it a small squeeze and you let it go so he could go be with brother.

You listened to the Boys tell Will about El and how she saved you all by defeating the Demogorgon and then you heard it. “She’s gone now…” Mike whispered and you didn’t miss the way Hopper tensed behind you.

When you finally felt at peace you let Hopper lead you to the nurses station where you asked to be looked at. Luckily for you your arm just needed a good clean and a sample taken to make sure nothing from the beast was left behind and then a few stitches to finish you up. Jim didn’t leave your side through anything, never even letting go of your hand for a second. He pulled you close when you winced at the stitches and kissed you “to take your mind off the pain” he said and you couldn’t wipe the smile of your face for anything. The doctor told you that you were free to go you just needed to wait for your discharge paper work and you smiled at Jim but he seemed lost in thought and you could tell something was bothering him now.

“Sooo…” he began to speak and he let your hand drop and your heart and stomach went right a long with it.

“What uhm…what exactly happened with the girl?”

[munsontm]

                      ❛ thanks. i really needed this. ❜

Ah, to be fourteen...fifteen...? He wasn’t entirely sure of mini Byers’ age, but the point still stood. Ah, to be a young teenager and suddenly one day feel the flippity-floppity feeling in your stomach over someone you figured you weren’t supposed to. He remembered that sensation all too well and how, for a time, it didn’t sit right with him. Never repulsion---just confusion, splashed with a dash of am I the only one? Insecurity. And he could see that look again in a young boy's eyes, confusion, insecurity, sadness without a flicker of hope, over Mike Wheeler of all people. That part surprised him most of all. Not because Mike didn’t have his pros, but because Will’s sister appeared to be his girlfriend. That’s what Eddie liked to call a darn sticky situation. Could there ever be a happy ending to such a conundrum? Unlikely.

He waited until the kid was alone before approaching him with all easy smiles, a stupid wave, and slumping against the wall to sit sluggishly beside him. Will didn’t take much notice of him at first, his eyes so unsubtly glued upon Jane and Mike in the distance, looking the epitome of heteronormative happiness. Good for them, though. Jane deserved it---but so did her brother. He thought the two of them could be twins; it was kinda freaky with the whole no blood relation thing. Not important, not important, Eddie.

“You know, kid,” he boomed a little too loudly to draw Will’s attention to him instead of the scene that undoubtedly caused him so much heartache. “I’m gonna go out on a real big limb here about something that I’m about ninety-eight percent sure I’m right on. But it involves hearing a story first from the bard himself, yours truly.” A dimpled smile emerged, warm and friendly. The sort Eddie had grown to know made people feel safe and comfortable. “Anyway, when I was..uh like way younger than you. I think I was like twelve or thirteen, something like that. And I saw Ozzy Osbourne for the first time. He wasn’t the coolest or even best looking guy in the world, not by a long shot. Praise be to you, my lord and saviour, when I speak ill of you.” He said, making the anti-christ cross on his chest as if he were genuinely apologising to Ozzy as some kind of deity. “I figured at first that thought his music was cool, and his attitude was badass, revolutionary in my pipsqueak mind. But I eventually realised I had the same feelings about a girl named Angela at school. I wanted to be near them both, hold their hand, look into their big ole’ pretty eyes, kiss em’.” Ringed fingers vaguely gestured over Mike’s way, where he was then sat with Jane out in the woodland clearing. “You know what I mean?”

Eddie let the words sink into that baby skull for a moment, that he wasn’t alone in his different feelings. There were other people like him, Robin included. But that wasn’t his story to tell. He could only offer his own. “I felt weird about it for a bit...boys.” Fiddling with the rings on his fingers, he paused a second time for the latter word, and he smiled. “And I won’t sugarcoat it for you as much as it pains me not to. Having those feelings in a place like Hawkin’s is hard, really freaking hard. I’ve never been able to act on them in a way that makes me happy...whatever happy is.” Flings and fumbles, that was all. Empty acts leaving him with an empty heart. “Point is, I guess. Is that I got over feeling weird and anxious about it eventually and discovered how normal it was to have those feelings. M’hoping that you can get there too because you deserve it after all the shit you’ve been through.”

Gentle fingers reached across the small space between them to ruffle Will’s hair. The other hadn’t run for the hills so far, making Eddie conclude that he’d been right to bring it up. “Whatever happens with...you know.” Mike. “Just remember that you ain’t no freak, and there’s nothing wrong with your feelings. It’s the world that’s fucked up about it, not us.” He offered the same friendly smile again, hoping the words would sink in. The thought of that little lost sheep feeling forever lost knotted him up inside bad. “If you ever wanna talk about this shit, it’s cool. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

                            ❛ thanks. i really needed this. ❜

He drew a quick breath lest he started getting emotional. “You’re welcome, Will The Wise. This humble bard is glad to be of service on your personal journey. I wish you all the luck in the world on it. Ozzy knows we need it.” A huff of laughter escaped his lips, and he was pleased for the first time in a long time that if his life ever meant anything. At least he’d managed to help one other frightened soul.

@07rolled​

[hazardworld]

Dustin's a Damn Good Ally (Original) Pt. 4

Chapter 4— Dungeons and Dragons and Dick mentors (oh my)

Ao3 Link

Originally Posted 1.1.23/Edited 9.2.23

Summary: Eddie chose this life. Now he's gotta live with the repercussions.

(Queer author saying queer is used both positive and negative here)

———

Eddie Munson was fucking awesome.

That was something all four boys could easily decide on the moment they found out what Hellfire Club was and joined their first session zero.

First of all, Will definitely had a crush, that was obvious, and they’d gossip later.

The rest of them all had gender envy, because holy shit, Eddie Munson was a badass with no qualms about himself, no shits to give when people were assholes, and by god, was he a killer DM.

So what if he had to go through senior year a few times? Being smart didn’t just mean getting good grades and doing assignments, Dustin knew Steve could tell you that one.

Eddie Munson was a fucking enigma, and Dustin Henderson wanted to know more.

It wasn’t until Dustin accidentally caught Eddie between classes, and watched him get shoved into his locker, getting called words Dustin only knew from his father, that he hesitated.

…was Eddie queer?

Of course, Dustin didn’t give two shits if he was, but…was he?

The punk and metal scenes (from what Dustin knew) were usually utilized by gays and straights alike, so while that could be a good point of reasoning, still, Eddie could just as easily be straight and be called those words for being in the scene.

He did love to flirt with Steve before and after Hellfire sessions, but Dustin couldn’t tell if it was platonic asshole friend flirting, or if Eddie had genuine interest (though Steve always seemed to get flustered, but that was a topic for later).

Right before Halloween, the Byers and El moved to California, which hurt like a bitch.

Not only did Dustin and Will lose their fun semi-weekly gossip sessions, but that meant an entire shift in the dynamic of the Super Six (Dustin had been calling them all that and it started to catch on).

First of all, Max hadn’t owned up to her bisexual polyamory dream yet. She broke up with Lucas, since even though he didn’t know, she felt like it was unfair to be able to date one and not the other.

Furthermore, Mike hated not being able to see his girlfriend every day anymore.

And lastly, they had lost their best fucking wizard ever.

Suspiciously, Eddie also looked pretty forlorn from the news, so one day a week or so later, Dustin, as he did these days, popped into the trailer to a begrudging Eddie, with an itch to ask questions.

"Eddie, why’re you upset over Will leaving?" Dustin plopped down on his couch unprompted, "You seemed so forlorn at our last session." Eddie’s brow furrowed as he closed the front door of the trailer.

"What? Henderson, you’re gonna have to be more specific."

"At our last session, you seemed a little sadder than normal with Will being gone. I don’t think anyone else noticed it, but I did." Eddie paused, and sighed, plopping down on the opposite end of the couch.

"Yeah, well…number one, I had no clue you were that good with body language Henderson, what the fuck, and two…" Eddie paused, obviously trying to think about something, "I’d become kinda…a mentor to him, so to speak." Dustin raised an eyebrow.

What could Eddie possibly be a mentor to Will about?

Obviously, of course, a DM mentor, but then why was Eddie being so secretive and specific about it?

What did Will do that was secretive and specific?

Oh!

So the assholes in the hall were, technically, right.

"You’re gay." Dustin really had to stop blurting that out at people, because Eddie’s face immediately went to shock, eyes blown wide, and a blush of embarrassment coated his cheeks.

"Henderson, how in the fuck did you know that?" Dustin shrugged.

"You could be a mentor for Will for a few things. I don’t think he’d outright go to you for painting or art advice, which meant either you helped him be a better DM, or you helped him with being gay, and you would’ve just said you were mentoring him in DM-ing, if you were." Dustin paused briefly, and Eddie only blinked, so he continued.

"Also, I heard people in the hall call you a…nasty things, and I got suspicious from there, so…" he shrugged again, indicating the end of his monologue. Eddie blinked again and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Jesus, Henderson, now I get why Harrington calls you the little shit genius kid." Eddie looked back up at him, a frown with his eyebrows raised, "Since Will trusted you I’m assuming we can keep this under wraps?" Dustin nodded, grinning.

"Absolutely. Your secret is safe with me, Eddie." Eddie gave him a soft smile, something Dustin hadn’t entirely seen during his usual school hours.

"Thanks, kid. Means a lot." Dustin returned the soft smile.

"I know."

Eddie was still equally intimidating to Dustin, to be fair, but for him, it was nice to know Eddie was as accepting as he was, even if Dustin himself was straight.

———

Dick mentors' just means Eddie was helping out Will with liking dick. I couldn't think of anything else that funny. Please don't take it out of context.

(Though, if Mike started dressing more like Eddie, Will wouldn't complain)

Also, 3 months after July is October, and assuming they start school in mid-ish August (according to current Indiana schools), that means Will and El were at Hawkins high for at least a month or two! Eddie met them! He might not remember, but he did meet them!

Chapter 3/6———Chapter 5/6

[greenyandlazy]

Having finally clocked the RE4 remake, I have a compulsion to speak my thoughts into the void. This is basically just going to be a bullet point comparison of certain aspects of the game and which version I personally feel did better.

But first! Overall I’m very happy with the remake! I think it did a really good job at maintaining the spirit of the original, even if they did cut out quite a few things that made it so beloved, they added in some aspects of their own that were fantastic. They also honoured the original in little ways that were wonderful. Now onto…

- The gameplay;

The original’s was revolutionary, and it’s no surprise that 18 years later the remake’s are overall better. Tank controls are no problem for me so I don’t particularly care about it being updated to something more modern. What really stands out is the knife being more heavily involved to the point you can do stealth kills and parries. That was a brilliant addition.

- The areas;

In summary of quality, the village is better, the castle is about the same, and the island isn’t as good. The last was trimmed down significantly (they cut the U-3 boss fight!) and veteran players can really feel it. The sections with the regeneradors weren’t as scary either when they used to be the most terrifying aspect of the game. At this point in time I can’t pinpoint why, by the island section left me with a vague feeling of dissatisfaction, which is a problem when it’s the final part of the game and there’s nowhere to improve because you’re at the end.

- The dialogue;

Come on, the original wins hands down. But I love that they kept Leon’s personality so that he came up with some new campy dialogue in the same vein.

- The shooting gallery!

Oh my god, it’s just so amazing! It was such a small, fun, totally out of place side game in the original, and they took it to 11 in the remake! It’s so insanely fun AND we get to hear more Merchant lines.

- The heroes’ characterisation;

Leon is *hand-wave*. I admittedly prefer his original personality where he was more cool-headed and snarky, but I like how they did him in the remake as well. With how much more serious the remake was, I don’t think his original characterisation would’ve worked anyway.

Glad we got the ending scene with Ada in the helicopter, because otherwise I’m very let down. She gets less scenes and has less of a presence in this one. It’s like they have her there because she was in the original, not because they wanted her there. It’s a concerning trend I’ve noticed RE doing lately regarding her character.

Ashley is about the same. I know most people are happy with her “improved” characterisation, but really she was just as good in the original. The only difference is that she didn’t have dialogue saying how she wouldn’t run away and that she felt good about helping Leon every second area. In fact I found her characterisation a bit annoying in the remake because it felt like they put a big flashing sign over her head saying, “Look at how much tougher she is this time!” when she did all the same things in the original.

Luisss. So much better. He was criminally underused in the original and deserved so much more screen time. I still prefer his original character design, but I can’t deny his jacket in the remake is fly as hell (I want to own it). The voice actor and mo-cap actor did a fantastic job and gave him so much emotion. Him being revealed to be a repentant Umbrella scientist made so much sense and fit in perfectly.

Mike. What the fuck accent was he supposed to have?

Not sure if he’s a hero or not, but the Merchant’s oh-so slight expanded characterisation was very welcome. He’s been a fan fave for ages, he deserves more moments!

- The villains’ characterisation;

Saddler isn’t as good. I like how he leans into the religion aspects more, but it’s at the cost of his controlling bastard tendencies which made him such a great villain originally. Also, with him not hacking Leon’s comm device we lose a ton of his best moments. I also don’t like the vague implication he was under control by the plagas. He was better when he was fully in control.

Mendez only a got a minor expansion in showing how overly religious he was, and that was all that was needed.

Fitting with the feel of the castle section overall, Salazar is about the same in quality. I didn’t feel like they improved on him, but I also didn’t feel like they made him worse. The brief moments where he and Leon got up in each other’s faces were standouts per normal and they should’ve had way more interactions. His boss fight was a lot more challenging, which is great, and music that plays during was phenomenal.

Krauser. This is one where I can’t decide which version I like more. On one hand, I prefer his original manner of speaking which really shows off how level-headed he is and the odd moments of almost intimate dialogue he sends Leon’s way during fights. I really dislike how condescending he is towards Leon in the remake, whereas part of his appeal originally was that he saw him on equal footing with himself and treated him as a serious threat. At the same time, the remake gives him much more backstory and talks about Operation Javier in a lot more detail. His section ended up being the standout for me on the island in remake because of this and his overhauled interactions with Leon that really showed how highly they once regarded one another. Also, not related to his characterisation and not to be rude to the new VA, his original baritone voice was way better.

I have a few other thoughts, but when someone asks me what I think of the game, these are the things at the front of my mind.

In the end the remake did what I’d wanted, gave me two fantastic versions of the same game. It didn’t make the original feel aged at all, and in fact it’s made me want to go back and play it again.

[just-jordie-things]

Bite Me - Mike Wheeler

word count: 4052 warnings: swearing, unedited and poorly written summary: Mike has harbored a crush on (y/n) since the day they met.  And all it takes is a run-in with Billy Hargrove for him to lose his shit and let his feelings be known. (a/n): I just randomly felt the need to write for one of my best boys

___

(y/n) (y/l/n) was a sweet girl. If you asked anyone they’d tell you how kind she is, to everyone she meets.  From giving out homework answers when someone forgot, to sharing her lunch, she’d lend a hand no matter who you were.  She was a good person, and that’s why Mike was so in love with her.

He had been ever since she’d joined the Party, back in the fourth grade.  She’d been bringing in an extra juice box and snack for two weeks, just for Will, and the four boys agreed unanimously to offer her a spot in their group.  Mike can still remember the look on her face, the wide grin that showed off her recently lost tooth, and the way she’d giggled and agreed instantly.

They taught her D&D, she was invited into Will’s fort, and taken in by Joyce as one of her own.  She was truly one of them.

She didn’t look at him like everyone else did, it’s one of the first things he’d noticed about her, and he could see it every time their eyes met.  That annoyed expression that he was used to receiving -from peers, from his parents, even Nancy, even their friends- he’d grown so accustomed to it, until he’d met her.

“Fuck you! Fuck you!” Mike was shouting, about to lunge towards Steve, before (y/n) and Dustin grabbed his arms to yank him back.  “We can’t just stay here and-”

“That’s exactly what we’re doing!” Steve shouted back, shoving a scolding finger in the younger boy’s face.  “We’re staying here, so I can keep you dipshits safe!”

Steve rolled his eyes before spinning around to leave.  Nothing stressed him out like these kids.

“Come on, we’ll figure something else out” (y/n) said quietly, and tugged on Mike’s arm a little more.  

His glare softened when he turned to her.

She nods her head off to the side, prompting him to walk off with her.  He groaned, but he followed when she pulled him towards the living room.  Her hand didn’t let go of his wrist until they were away from everyone else.

“You know nothing you could say right now is gonna make me less pissed off-”

“I know,” (y/n) giggles before he can start ranting again.  “But maybe you can just take a breath and pretend to calm down?” She hums, and she laughs again.

Mike groans loudly, loud enough that everyone in the house could hear him, before he threw himself down onto the sofa.

(y/n) just shook her head, and sat next to him.

“Steve’s just trying to keep us safe, Mike,” She says, voice just as soft, but a bit more serious now.  “He’s not doing this to make you mad, you get that, right?”

He nods, but hangs his head in his hands.

“Are you… um… upset because El’s out there?” She asked unsurely.

She had a pretty good feeling that Mike had a crush on Eleven.  He was distraught when she left, and since she’d come back (a few hours ago) he’s been extremely on edge.  Hence the pouting right now.

“I guess,” He shrugged.  “I just- I want to just-”

“I know,” (y/n) murmurs again.  “I get it”

She admired Mike’s need to help, to get involved.  He was brave, if not a little reckless as well.  But there was something sweet about his extreme need to help.  Even though she was still convinced he was only wired this way because of his crush on Eleven.

Mike looked over to her, finding that loving look on her face.  His favorite expression -maybe even his favorite thing- and it somehow calmed him down a bit.  She smiled when he hadn’t started grumbling again.

“You good now?” She asked.

“Yeah,” He sighed.  “I’ll be fine”

She grinned, and poked his cheek affectionately before getting up from the couch.  

“I’m gonna get a glass of water and make sure Steve’s calmed down too,” She told him.  “Guess I’m the only sane one around here”

He laughed a bit as she left the room.

“Steve?” (y/n) called gently as she approached her older friend.

He turned to her, an unamused, and rather annoyed, look on his face.

“You alright?”

“I will be, once I’m in a retirement home and have restraining orders placed on all of you,” He answered, making the girl laugh.  “Your boyfriend calm down yet?” He asked, and her laughter stopped almost instantly.

Steve was chuckling now at how red her cheeks were turning.

“He’s not-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, heard it before, pretended to believe it before, whatever,” He said, and (y/n) busied herself with getting a drink.  “Now’s as good a time as any to just, you know, confess.  You’re stuck here anyways”

“No I… I can’t um…” She shakes her head, staring down at the bottle of water she’d grabbed from the fridge.  “I can’t do that” She finished weakly.

Steve had known (y/n) for a few years now.  He’d met her the first night he’d hung out with Nancy in the Wheeler home, she’d been there with Mike coming up with a new character for D&D.  His first impression, as it was for all of the kids, was that she was a geek.  And she was, but she was a lot of other things too, and what stood out the most to him was her kindness.  She didn’t exactly fit in with the Party like the boys seemed to.  Not only because she was a girl, but because she was… friendly.

Mike wasn’t cruel to Steve by any means, but he was a snarky little shit that sometimes made Steve just want to-

“Why the hell do you like that little asshole so much anyways?”

(y/n) was still blushing as she shrugged her shoulders.

He’d picked up on her little crush one of the first times she’d met him.  He called her out on it right away too, luckily only Dustin had heard, and he’d laughed it off, thinking it was a joke.

It wasn’t.

“He’s such a piece of shit,” Steve said through a laugh, earning a pointed glare from (y/n).  “Obviously he doesn’t treat you the same way he treats, well, everyone else”

“No, he doesn’t,” (y/n) sighed lovingly.  

Her eyes glanced out to the living room, where Mike and Lucas were heatedly, and quietly, arguing.  She rolled her eyes at the sight, not that it surprised her.

“He’s very, um-”

“Sweet on you?” Steve supplied, earning another look, which quickly turned into a nervous smile.  “Yeah, that’s how I’d put it.  I don’t know why you’re being such a baby about it.  He obviously has a little crush on you too,” Steve said, wagging his finger around in her face.  “Otherwise he wouldn’t be such a little gentleman towards you”

(y/n) didn’t say anything else, but she didn’t have to for Steve to know how she felt.  He’d always known.  She didn’t do a great job at hiding it, but her friends, and Mike for that matter, were oblivious.

They were interrupted by a bright light shining in through the windows, bright enough that she shielded her eyes as she wandered out to the large picture window.

“Who is that?” She asked, as everyone gathered around to figure out who could show up at the Byers’ house right now.

Their question was quickly answered.

“Sinclair!”

The angry, dangerous voice sent a shiver all the way down (y/n’s) spine, before an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach.  Billy Hargrove was bad news, but him being here, right now, was even worse.

“Stay inside” Steve ordered, shoving the kids down underneath the window.

“I know you’re in there!” Billy screamed again from outside.

“Stay inside” Steve repeated, before walking out of the house.

“What the fuck does he think he’s gonna do?” Lucas asked, as everyone peeked their heads up just enough so they could see what was going on outside.

“He’s gonna fight him” Dustin said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

“He’ll lose,” Max mumbled.  All eyes turned to her, but her gaze was trained on her brother, afraid.  “He’ll kill him”

“He’ll be okay,” (y/n) whispered to her new friend.  “Steve’s a tough guy, and can throw a punch-”

“I’m not so sure he can take one, though” Max said.

(y/n) frowned, and set a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“We’ll be alright” She assured, even though she wasn’t certain what was going to happen.

Steve was now walking down to Billy, who was still yelling, but they couldn’t make out what exactly.

“What’s he saying?” Mike hissed, only to get shushed by Dustin, thus starting a ‘shh!’ war.

(y/n) only let it go on until Billy shoved Steve back by his shoulders.

“Boys!” She scolded, sitting up a little straighter as the fight outside escalated.

Just as she’d sat up, Mike grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her back down.

“You want to get seen and murdered?” He whisper screamed.  She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide her sweet smile.  His brow furrowed at her smile, but he wasn’t quick enough to say anything about it, as everyone’s attention was pulled back to the scene outside.

Billy had shoved Steve to the ground, and was racing up to the house now.  He locked eyes with the Party, who all quickly leaned down as low to the floor as they could get.

“Lucas, run!” Max screamed, shoving the boy to haul ass before her brother could storm in and get his hands on him.

When the door swung open so hard it slammed against the wall, Mike grabbed (y/n) by both arms and just about ripped them out of their sockets as he pulled her upwards with him to get her as far fucking away from Billy as possible.

“We have to help Lucas!” She tried telling him while he dragged her off to the other side of the house.  “Mike!” She shoved his hands off of her, and gave him a pleading look.  “This isn’t like you, come on, he needs our-”

“Where are you, Sinclair!? Come on out!”

She ran away from Mike before he could convince her to hide.

Finding Lucas shoved up against the wall, something in her clicked.  Billy’s significantly larger framed towered over the boy, who was clearly afraid, while Billy snarled nasty things right in his face.

“Why don’t you just fuck off?” She yelled at him, before thinking through the consequences of her actions.

Dustin and Mike stared at her in shock.  She didn’t curse much, so to hear the foul word come out in her voice was… pretty out of character.

Just as Billy whirled around, likely about to send one knockout punch to her face, Lucas took his moment of distraction to knee him right between the legs.  (y/n) squealed, both hands covering her mouth in surprise.

It was then that she took Mike’s advice to run back into the kitchen, and duck down behind the cabinets so she was out of sight.  

“You’re fucking dead!” Billy howled in pain, and while every bone in (y/n’s) body told her to cover her ears, close her eyes, and stay hidden, she peeked around the corner anyways.

“No,” A different voice, a calm voice, a familiar voice, spoke up.

(y/n) had never been so relieved to see Steve in her whole life.

“You are” He finished, and took a strong swing of his fist against Billy’s jaw.

The crack that resonated made her wince, and she shut her eyes only for a moment as illy toppled backwards.  He didn’t fall, and instead swung back at Steve, starting a very violent fistfight in the Byers’ kitchen.

“Come on, you gotta move” A pair of arms encircled her torso and helped her up from the ground.  

Mike’s hands were much more gentle with her now than they had been a few minutes ago, and this time she let him bring her out to the living room, away from the fight.

Her eyes were wide with fear as she watched Billy throw Steve around the kitchen effortlessly.  It was terrifying, she felt as though she was about to see him get killed.

When he landed a rather harsh punch, right under Steve’s chin, she cried out for him.

Steve crumbled to the ground, definitely knocked unconscious.  He looked dead, though, and as the thought crossed her mind, she felt it again.  The snap.  Like an instinct buried deep was just let loose.

“You motherfucking piece of shit!” She screamed in a way that Mike, or any of them, had ever heard before, and was charging at Billy in an instant.

It was a hasty decision, grabbing the beautiful vase of flowers off of Joyce Byers’ table and throwing it full force at the back of Billy’s head.

While his head was soaked, and definitely bleeding from the shards of glass, he still managed to stay standing, and was fuming with anger as he glared down at (y/n).

“You made a big mistake little girl” He growled, and began to stalk towards her in a threatening manner.

“Bite me” She snarled back at him, followed by the rash decision to spit on him.

“(y/n) what the hell are you-!?”

Mike’s warning was cut off when Billy reached her, and she kicked him with all the force she could right in the gut.  He grunted, but it hardly slowed him down.  All she could see was red as she kicked him again, and began to throw her fists against his chest.

She didn’t have an ‘oh fuck’ moment until he grabbed her wrists in his large hands, and kept his hold so firm that tears welled in her eyes from the pressure.

“I’m gonna fucing kill you, little girl” He snarled, teeth bared right in her face.

Oh, fuck.

She tried to yank her body backwards, out of his grip, but he was faster, and stronger, and bigger than her.  This resulted in her being thrown, no, slammed into the nearest wall.  She cried at the crack of her skull against it, but had no time to react as Billy’s fist was all she could see, before it struck her and knocked her out instantaneously.

She fell like a limp, broken thing, and even when Mike grabbed her and shook her by her shoulders, she remained unconscious.  It didn’t matter that Billy was still looking for blood, he pulled her into his lap and held her close against his chest.  He was living a delusion thinking he could protect either of them if Billy came back for more, but he didn’t care.  He was gonna keep her safe now.

Max had plunged the syringe into her brother’s neck, and was threatening him with Steve’s bat, but Mike hardly paid them any attention.

“(y/n), wake up, come on,” His voice was barely a mumble, and he hated to admit it but his throat was growing hot and tight with his tears choking him up.  “C-come on open your eyes” He stuttered.

He pushed her hair out of her face so that it wouldn’t get sticky from the blood running out of her nose.  He wiped away the red substance with his sleeve, not bothered by it at all.

“We’re going!” Lucas called, and rushed over to Mike to help him carry her.  “Dustin Will and Max are getting Steve in the back.  I’ll help you with her”

Mike didn’t have time to question anything Lucas had just said, and hastily went along with the plan.  They looped (y/n’s) arms over both of their shoulders, and made their way out to Billy’s car. ___

Everything.

Hurt.

It was the first thing that (y/n) was aware of when she came to.  Her legs, her arms, her torso, her head-

Oh shit my head hurts.

She groaned softly, reaching a shaky hand up to prod around her eye.  She wasn’t exactly sure why, but it was definitely bruised.  The rest of her body had to have been bruised too.

She suddenly shot upward as the car went over a bump, and that’s when she realized she was even in a car.  Why was she in a car…?

Her head rolled against the seat, and she was met with someone’s shoulder against her cheek.  She winced at the pressure, probably because her cheek was bruised and bleeding.

“(y/n)?” A gentle, but distant voice called.  It sounded kind of hazy, like the person talking was miles away, and not right next to her.  “Hey, can you hear me?”

Her eyes met Mike’s round and worried brown ones, and a lazy smile tugged on the edges of her lips.  Even though his brow was furrowed, and there was a deep frown on his lips.

“What happened?” She asked, voice scratchy and quiet.

“What happened?” Mike repeated, much louder than he intended.  She flinched, and while an apologetic look swept over his face, he didn’t apologize.  “(y/n), you attacked Billy Hargrove” He told her in a grave tone.

“I did?” She asked proudly, her smile returning.

“No- don’t- jesus (y/n) what the hell are you on?” He asked.  “He almost killed you, I mean, look at you!”

“Can you please stop yelling dipshit?” Max called from the front.  “I’m trying to focus here!”

(y/n’s) eyes widened, and it dawned on her that Max was the one driving.  But just as she opened her mouth to protest being in the car right now, Mike continued on with his angry little rant.

“I mean, seriously, what the hell, (y/n/n)? Did you think you were gonna win? Did you really think that you were gonna take him down?”

Her brow crinkled and her eyes welled with tears, both from all the pain and his cruel words.

“Do you even realize that he could’ve killed you? Huh? I mean, I really thought he did for a second.  Do you even care?”

“What’s your problem right now?” The girl whimpered

“You are! You’re my problem,” He said, not thinking through the fact that she was crying right now.  “That was really stupid (y/n), really reckless”

“Oh, because you care so much about playing it safe,” She scoffed.

It was getting awkward for the others in the car, minus Steve, who was still knocked out.

“All you wanted to do tonight was to get out there- well- well here we are, Mike!” She shouted.  It hurt her head to yell, and Max was yelling again too, but she drowned it out.  “Hope you’re freakin’ happy” She mumbled, holding her hands against the side of her head.

Mike sighed, and pulled her hands away from her face, staring at her seriously.

“(y/n)...” He said softly.  “I’m sorry it’s just…” He let out one more heavy breath to prepare himself before diving in.  “Look at yourself (y/n), you’re hurt and there’s- there’s nothing I can do about it”

(y/n’s) brow furrowed as she stared back at him.

“What do you mean?” She mumbled weakly.

“I mean I- you… I have to… ugh” He groaned, clearly frustrated by his inability to form a coherent thought.

“You have to… what?” She hummed, face leaning around his shoulder tiredly.  

They were close enough that their whispers were only heard by them.  And somehow, it felt like they were the only people in the car.

“Mike?” She whispered when he hadn’t said anything yet.

His eyes flickered over her battered face.  The black eye, her split lip, her bruised and cut cheek, his heart broke looking at how much pain she must be in right now.  He couldn’t believe he let this happen.

“...protect you” He answered lamely.

“Protect me?” She repeats, soft, and loving.  “From what?”

“Apparently everything from interdimensional monsters to senior year bullies” He said, making her laugh softly.

“You don’t have to do that,” She said with a small shake of her head.  “I’m alright, I will be anyways.  You don’t have to worry so much about me-”

“See I do though- you- you make it impossible not to worry.  I’m just always- I’m a mess, okay?”

She giggled again, and rose a brow.

“I’m not following…you sound kinda crazy Mike-”

“I love you, okay?” He told her.

She choked.

“And I just need you to not get yourself hurt… okay?”

She’d never heard him speak so quietly, so nervously.

“You- you’re- um-”

“No more fighting people- and-and things- bigger than you, deal?”

His hands cupped around her face, thumb stroking over the bruise on her cheekbone in a comforting sort of way.  She swore she was melting into his touch, for a moment she forgot all about the agony her body was in.

She didn’t think twice about leaning off his shoulder so she could reach up and plant her lips against his.  It’s a gentle kiss, because her lips are sore and she was a bit nervous.  

Mike’s eyes widened, and he was sure this wasn’t real.  No, it couldn’t be real, there was no way (y/n) was kissing him.  Maybe he was the one that got knocked out? And this is all some kind of twisted nightmare-dream?

But it was real, she was kissing him.  And it was… wow it was great.

She’d almost pulled away, but he pulled her right back in, and shut his eyes to kiss her properly this time.

If he was being honest, he wanted nothing more than to just take her and pour every ounce of love he had for her into this kiss, but it would probably only hurt her more.

They were cut off by a low whistle, and (y/n) turned to see Steve, who had apparently been sat next to her this whole time, and Dustin, who was sat on his other side, both giving the pair very different looks.

Despite his face looking just as messed up as hers, Steve pulled a sly grin, and winked.

Dustin, however, looked like he might vomit.

“What.  The.  Fuck!?” His voice cracked when he screamed, making both (y/n) and Mike jump a bit in their seat.  “You guys have been- been- hooking up this whole time!?”

“What? No!” (y/n) argued back, shaking her head and trying to kill the idea in Dustin’s head before it escalated, but it seemed to be too late for that.  

“You have! You’ve been frenching!”

“Oh my god,” Mike rolled his eyes.  “Dustin, shut up”

“Can we save this argument for later, fellas?” Max hollered from the front.  “I don’t think that this is the most important thing going on-”

“W-wait a- wait a minute- wait a-!” Steve’s eyes widened as he started to panic.  “No! No way! Stop the car right now! Who let her drive-!?”

His screaming was abruptly cut off by the car swerving, causing everyone to scream now.

“Drive on the right side of the road! Jesus Christ we’re all gonna die!”

(y/n) wrapped both arms around Mike, one behind his neck and the other around his torso, keeping her secure.  In case this car were to crash, her seatbelt, and Mike, would anchor her in place.  Well, she hoped it would anyways.

He reacted quickly, embracing her tightly.

“I’ve been thinking I would get killed by a demogorgon,” She mumbled to him.  “Guess it’ll just be a plain old car crash that takes me out”  

He chuckled, but shook his head at her.

“No one’s dying, we had a deal”

She glanced up at him, a sweet smile on her lips.  And she waited for him to look back down at her to say anything.

“I love you too” She hummed, just soft enough that Dustin (luckily) couldn’t hear.

The smile that grew on Mike’s face was brighter than she’d ever seen from him before.  (y/n) was so relieved that her feelings were returned, that she felt she could go back to sleep, if she wasn’t getting nervous all over again about what was going to happen.

All they had to do now was to kill a monster and save their friends.

___

xoxo ~ jordie

[heytherejulietx]

hey! i don’t know if i sent this before but could you write a richie x reader where reader protects the losers from bowers? and she gets injured but doesn’t show it until she passes out?

bowers - richie tozier

↳ i hope this turned out alright for you nonnie! 🤍

↳ content warnings - violence, bullying, injury mention, blood, swearing, sex jokes, aged up losers.

↳ 3.5k word count

↳ masterlists

@bucky-j-barnes @mikewheelerc join my tag list

y/n decided that she absolutely detested her english teacher.

it was one of the last days of school before summer, and yet she’d been kept back for an extra hour to tutor some asshole in her class who hadn’t even been bothered to read their set text for that month (to be fair, richie also hadn’t read the text, but she supposed he wasn’t as much of an asshole because she loved him. boyfriend perks or some shit. and she also wasn’t staying back to tutor him, too). so whilst the rest of the losers had been let out of school she had to wait until she could catch up with them after. so she hated her english teacher and by extension the idiot that she had to tutor.

she’d had one good tutoring experience, and that was because richie genuinely needed help writing a history paper. it was only good because they got ten minutes in before they forgot the essay completely and ended up making out in his bedroom for the rest of the “tutor session”. richie had said they spent their time well and he didn’t regret it when his paper was graded poorly, and y/n smacked the back of his head. it was his fault they ended up making out in the first place. obviously.

so when four o’clock rolled around y/n left the practically empty school with a scowl on her face. her bike - usually surrounded by the bikes of the rest of the losers - stood alone as she walked towards it and unlocked the bike chain before she got on and rode off away from the school. richie had said to find them by the clubhouse, but as much as she loved him, she took stan’s word that they’d probably be by the local park instead. stan usually had the best idea of what was going on.

after a little while of peddling through derry y/n found herself approaching the park with a sigh of relief. she was tired and honestly wouldn’t mind listening to richie and eddie bickering like an old married couple for the next however long. she’d have preferred it to tutoring the asshole. though as she came to the edge of the street she screeched her bike to a stop, spotting the losers on the other side of the street with bowers in front of them.

from where she was stood she couldn’t quite hear what was being said, but she could see richie stood right in front of bowers yelling something about “shouldn’t you be off blowing your cousin” and beverly stood beside him, hands on her hips as she glared bowers down. bill was stood behind richie, trying (and failing) to get him to back down, with eddie on his other side with an inhaler in hand. stan stood shuffling on his feet nervously beside mike, whilst ben was keeping an eye on beverly.

y/n got off of her bike and stood it up against the wall of some building beside her as she frowned at the scene. she hurriedly searched henry’s hands for any sign of his knife and was thoroughly surprised when she didn’t see it. until she noticed it peeking out from his back pocket.

memories of seeing ben’s scar on his stomach for the first time made her glower at the back of henry’s head, angry at the thought of him hurting any of the other losers again.

she spotted an empty glass bottle on the floor and without thinking lifted it up and hurled it through the air towards bowers. it shattered against his upper back and the shouting went silent as they all turned to face her, bowers with a murderous glare on his face.

“hey bowers!” she shouted, hands on her hips, matching bev’s stance. “what’s it gonna take for you to chop that mullet off, dude? shit’s fuckin’ ugly man!”

although y/n wasn’t completely alike her boyfriend (mostly in the sense that she could calm down if she wanted to, and richie was constantly at a state of maximum energy at any given point) they were alike in their mannerisms if y/n really got going. she maybe even had bigger balls than he did, as stan once pointed out. she didn’t shy away from conflict - she probably ended up making it worse sometimes, to be honest.

she didn’t look away from bowers but she could feel eight pairs of eyes on her. though the death glare that she was defiantly staring back at was definitely the strongest. she’d maybe even be a little bit scared if she wasn’t too pissed off to care.

as bowers started crossing the street towards her, shouting nasty and horrible things her way, y/n sent a look towards stan and bill and nodded in the opposite direction. they needed to get the losers away before it kicked off with bowers, because she knew that richie and bev would be eager to get themselves involved too. the whole point of distracting bowers was so they wouldn’t be.

stan and bill had hands on the other losers arms, and from where she was stood she heard something close to “she’ll lose him then meet us around the corner“. once she was sure that the boys had it covered she faced henry again, stepping back a little as he got closer though she didn’t lose her glare.

“what the fuck are you playing at?” bowers spat, stopping directly in front of her. she could see small shards of glass sticking in his hair and inwardly smirked to herself.

“the bully act is a little old, isn’t it? you’re pathetic.” she stood her ground with as much ferocity he had, momentarily forgetting about the knife he had, though it was quickly brought to her attention when it was taken out of his back pocket and the tip was pointed at her.

y/n stumbled back a little on instinct, though tried to keep her stance the same. bowers was slowly closing in on her - she only had so much pavement left behind her before a wall. though just as he raised it to send a slash her way, she spotted blue lights in the distance and smirked.

“i’d watch it, bowers,” she nodded in the direction of the sheriff’s cruiser, knowing fully well that his father was in the car. “wouldn’t want daddy catching you with a big-boy blade.”

the cop car drove right down their street and past them, and y/n thought that it would be okay to turn and walk away with a final gesture of her middle finger his way.

big mistake.

she got a few steps away as the cruiser went down the street, though she didn’t take into account that bowers might come at her again. just as she glanced down the street, wondering what side street the losers could have taken to get away, she felt a hand grab the strap of her backpack and yanked her backwards onto the floor, winding her with a wheeze as she landed on the pavement. as she tried to forcefully drag in a breath of air she could see bowers towered over her, blade still in hand, and panicked. he had a fucking knife and she was laying on her back, defenceless.

her hand reached out beside her to grab the first thing she could on the floor and when her fingers circled around one of the larger shards of glass from the bottle she threw mere minutes before she swiped at him with it, taking his moment of leaning back away from it to scramble up to her feet.

“the fuck is your problem, man?” she wheezed, still somewhat winded, now sounding like eddie. she could feel her heart beating out of her chest, almost painfully thumping against her ribcage.

instead of an answer bowers pushed her back again and she landed on the floor once more, the shard of glass falling from her hand. breathing through her teeth, knowing she didn’t have enough time to stand up again since bowers was so close, she rolled onto her stomach to reach and grab the shard of glass, planning to turn back towards bowers to defend herself.

y/n misjudged how long that would take, because before she could turn back around she felt a sudden pain to the back of her leg, along with the sound of her jeans tearing. fuck, did he cut her? if he did he probably didn’t do it very deep because it didn’t hurt terribly bad. y/n still yelped in surprise, though, and kicked him away before she got to her feet again, glass in hand again.

the knife he was holding was coated in blood and it made her feel sick to stare at him, a sadistic fucking smile on his face. y/n would honestly rather have tea with michael meyers over that.

thinking on her feet she threw the glass at him and managed to hit him in the face. bowers groaned in pain and immediately covered the spot with his hand, and y/n wasted no time in turning to run away from him.

through being winded twice the drags of air she took in were audible and wheezy, hurting her throat and chest with every intake of breath. she debated on tackling eddie for his inhaler when she saw him. her shoes slapped against the pavement loudly as she ran down the street and down the first alleyway she saw, hoping the losers were somewhere close. she could already feel herself tiering, and she didn’t want bowers catching up to her again when she had less energy. she’d be much worse off.

thankfully the losers were quite literally right in front her, as when she had turned to run down another side street she collided with richie and almost sent them both tumbling down, if not for mike and ben who managed to hold the both of them up.

“fucking hell-“ she was still wheezing, gripping onto richie’s ugly shirt in tight fists once she was back on her feet. “are you guys okay?”

“we should be asking you that, holy fuck,” richie’s eyes were wide as he held onto her arms to keep her steady. “you sound like eddie.” he added, ignoring the complaint behind his back at the comment.

with richie keeping his hands on her arms bev rubbed her back from where she was stood on her left side, eyes kept on her face. y/n had momentarily forgotten about the cut on her leg because the rush of adrenaline she was feeling kept her from noticing it, and she was wearing black jeans so the blood wouldn’t really show on the material.

“i’m okay,” she nodded, breathing slowly but surely becoming an easier task as she continued to hang off of richie’s shirt, which he seemed like he didn’t mind. “i’m fine.”

“badass taking on bowers like that,” eddie commented, earning a chuckle from the rest of the losers. “i don’t think anybody else would have actually done it.”

“hey!” richie complained, turning to face eddie though he kept a hand on y/n’s arm. “i totally could have done that.”

“no offence rich, but i do have bigger balls than you.” y/n poked him in the chest and earned a playful glare in return.

as richie and eddie started arguing like usual y/n blinked a few times. the adrenaline was wearing off, and the supposed scratch on the back of her leg grew more and more painful the longer she stood there. she grimaced, eyebrows furrowing slightly as she inhaled deeply through her nose. the back of her thigh felt oddly warm, like warm water was running down her leg, though she immediately dismissed the idea that it was blood. no, she’d know if it was that serious. she couldn’t have run all that way with a deep cut in her leg, could she?

“y/n?” she blinked a few times and looked up, meeting stan’s concerned gaze in front of her, soon followed by the rest of the losers taking suit. “are you okay?”

“yeah,” she exhaled deeply, attempting to step forwards, though the movement was so wobbly that immediately richie grabbed one of her forearms to keep her steady. “just peachy, stan-the-man. i think i just need to sit down…” she attempted to step forwards again, though this time the wobbling was more prominent, and she fell right towards stanley as her eyes rolled back.

-

“fuck!” richie had immediately reached forwards in the attempt to catch her before she fell on stanley, and with the help of stan and mike he managed to lower her to the floor.

“oh my god!” eddie was shrill with panic, taking in worried breaths already. “bowers killed y/n!”

“she’s not dead you fucking idiot!” stan yelled back, though his face was pale with worry too.

richie tried to block the bickering out when bev and mike joined too as he crouched beside her, hands a little shaky as he tried to check her over for any injuries, ben doing the same from where he stood. he couldn’t see anything, though a puddle of blood forming underneath her left thigh spoke for itself, and immediately he was panicking too.

“fuck! eddie her leg!” richie was shouting too, hoping eddie knew something about what the fuck was going on due to his extensive medical knowledge.

eddie crouched on the floor beside her leg, gritting his teeth to hold back the willing heave from the sight of blood as he tried to see what had happened. with the help of bev who lifted her leg up, eddie gasped and almost made richie go into cardiac arrest.

“what?! what is it?! is her leg falling off or something?!” now he was sounding like eddie.

“bowers cut her-“ eddie almost heaved again though swallowed it down to speak again. “it’s bad. she needs to get to the hospital she’s losing a fuck ton of blood.”

“fuck-“ richie felt nauseous with worry, and his hands shook as one moved to her cheek, shaking her slightly as if she would wake up. when she continued just to lay there he pulled off his shirt with trembling fingers and leaned over her body towards her leg. “she needs something tied to stop the blood flow, right?” he spoke quickly as he looked up at eddie, who had his hands clamped over his mouth as he tried to keep from throwing up. “RIGHT?” he yelled, impatient.

eddie nodded frantically as his hand dug into his fanny pack for his inhaler and richie wasted no time in wrapping his shirt around her leg, and tied a knot tightly above the cut, not bothered by the blood staining it. once it was tied beverly lowered her leg back down to the floor.

all of the losers had the same sort of expression on their faces; shock. whether it was shown through wheezing like eddie or standing as still as a statue like stan, they all had the same almost ghostly look to their expression.

“there’s a phone booth down the street, i’ll go call an ambulance.” bev announced before she took off running in the direction of the phone.

richie sat back on his heels, pretending his hands weren’t stained with his girlfriends blood as he took her hand and sat it in her lap. he could feel his heart thumping against his ribs and just prayed that the ambulance would get there soon.

-

y/n blinked almost furiously under the sudden harsh light, it hurt her head to look at it. the bed she was laying in was uncomfortable and the room smelt like disinfectant. eddie better not have cleaned my room again, she thought. the last time he had done it was because she had a stomach bug and “the germs could spread and get everyone sick!“, so she didn’t see why he had reason to do it now.

once her eyes had adjusted to the brightness of the room she glanced around and was suddenly taken aback by where she was; the hospital.

y/n immediately sat up, suddenly wide awake, though she flinched when she felt something grab her hand and turned to see what it was, thoughts of bowers and his blood-coated knife flashing in her mind. though she relaxed slightly when she saw richie sat there instead, his hand over hers.

“it’s not even summer yet and you’re already having adventures. look at you go.” his teasing voice filled the room, though she could see in his eyes that he wasn’t completely carefree like usual.

y/n smiled a little as she leaned back against the pillows of her bed and shrugged. “what can i say? i’m just way cooler than you.” she teased as she moved her fingers gently against his to link them together.

richie scoffed in mock offence though a moment later he’d leaned forwards, his other hand over their linked ones. “you feel okay?” his voice was soft and genuine, a tone she only ever heard from richie when they were alone.

she blinked a few times at the question, and suddenly the pain in her leg had registered and she winced. “my leg hurts.”

“i’d expect so after bowers fucking sliced you open,” richie grumbled. he looked angry and concerned and different. y/n rarely saw him so serious. “when i see him next i’m going to kill him.”

“no, rich,” y/n shook her head, frowning a little as she squeezed his hand a little firmer. “i’m okay. just leave it. it’ll get worse.”

richie sighed though nodded, his gaze focused on their interlocked hands. y/n waited another moment before she shuffled over on the bed (and grit her teeth to suppress the grunt of pain from moving her leg, which richie picked up on anyways) before she pat the bed beside her and tugged on richie’s arm. “in.”

“not the first time you’ve said that.” richie snorted as he stood up, and let go of her hand so he could climb onto the bed beside her. once he had settled comfortably against the pillows y/n tucked herself into his side, and closed her eyes once her head had dropped against his shoulder.

after a moment she could feel the tips of richie’s fingers dragging up and down her arm, tracing invisible patterns along her skin. his lips pressed to the crown of her head and in return she gently left a kiss to his collarbone with a quiet hum, though kept her eyes closed.

“you didn’t have to put yourself in harms away for us today,” richie mumbled. “i totally could have handled it.” he added jokingly, not able to stay serious for long.

“oh i’m sure,” y/n smirked slightly before she shook her head and sighed. “i saw the knife in his back pocket and thought of ben and what he did to him. i couldn’t imagine him doing that again to any of you. i’d do anything for you guys,” her voice was so soft it was almost a whisper, and when she looked up richie was already looking at her. “especially you.” she added, almost silent.

richie brought his tree hand up and brushed some hair out of his face as he looked at her, surprisingly not cracking a joke or even a smirk that time. instead his expression was soft; a rarity for sure. his gaze softened and he had a half-smile that made y/n almost swoon, despite being in a hospital bed.

“that means a lot,” richie told her genuinely. “i just don’t like seeing you get hurt, doll.”

“i know, but i’m okay.” she insisted, sitting up a little against his side as she looked at him.

“you’re almost okay,” he corrected, as his fingers tapped against the thigh of the leg that was hurt. “just don’t throw yourself in front of bowers for us again, okay?”

“‘kay. promise.” she smiled, and her eyes closed shut again when richie pressed a soft, loving kiss to her lips.

“as much as i’d love to enjoy this moment,” richie pulled away, his usual smirk back on his face. “eddie is probably outside going through his third inhaler, and stan’s hair probably dropped out from stress.”

y/n laughed and shook her head, though she knew richie really wasn’t far off.

almost as if the losers had heard them, the door opened so quickly and with so much force that it slammed against the wall beside it, revealing (surely) eddie hugging his inhaler and stan looking sick with stress, followed by the other losers.

“yo stan, you look like you just saw under eddie’s mom’s skirt.” richie called over, and immediately eddie was cursing at him as he stepped forwards.

y/n giggled to herself as she tucked against richie’a side, watching the usual bickering start up again. back to normal, she thought to herself.

[thatharringrovehoe]

This whole Mob AU has it's hooks in me ya'll so here you go.

Criminal King Steve courting his Queen.

- It happens like this. Steve has always been spoiled. Has the whole "I want it, I got it" mentality. And that's applied to lovers to. He lost his virginity at the age of fifteen to Amanda Grady behind the hardware store. But Anthony Mueller was his first kiss at eleven years old. You see the WHOLE TOWN knows not too fuck with Steve Harrington. It's not that he'll kick your ass, cuz he won't. Has never laid a hand on another soul. But Kings usually don't. They have grunts for that. And since the age of seven Tommy has been laying kids out for King Steve AND GETTING AWAY WITH IT. Cuz of course Mr. Harrington appreciated someone taking care of Steve. Meant he didn't have to. So Tommy never gets detention EVER. And while he doesn't go parading his boyfriends around (he's not stupid), no one ever gives him shit for it when he has a "friend" sleep over on a Wednesday night at the age of seventeen and comes to school covered in hickies the following Thursday morning.

- So when Billy beats Steve's keg stand record at Tina's Halloween party and comes vaulting his drunk ass over that damn couch to stare Steve down, Steve is fucking living. This boy is a hurricane trapped inside the most gorgeous body he's ever scene and he wants. And King Steve always gets what he wants. Gives a lazy smile and gets up really close to Billy. "I'm impressed Heartbreaker. Must not have much of a gag reflex huh?"

- And Billy is not ready for this sober let alone post keg stand. Cuz his dad moved them cross country to scare the "queer" out of him and this boy is so so pretty. He should take a step back. Regroup. Push him away. But he doesn't.

- King Steve takes him back to his lonely castle and ruins him. Spreads him out on silk sheets in a four poster bed like he's something precious. Something adored. Something worth the trouble and the time. Goes home in the morning sore enough that he's walkin a little funny but in all the best ways.

- After that though? Billy notices things get a little strange. Because when he first got here all the girls lined up just to stare as he got out of his car. Now? Now they wave at him. Like they've been friends for years. And what the hell? He's blatantly late for class and doesn't get a tardy slip. At lunch after all of the chocolate muffins are gone the lunch lady somehow procures one with frosting on it for Billy free of charge. It has him on edge. He knows good things are never free and it seems he's running quite the tab. Makes him antsy, waiting for the catch. But when Steve waves him over to eat lunch with his advisors and generals he relaxes a little. Cuz maybe that's just what it means to have friends in high places.

- Not only that but his dad isn't even suspicious. Has absolutely nothing to say about the new boy he's been hanging with. Doesn't even know he exists which. Weird. Because his dad has always been the type to ask around about his son. Makes sure Billy and his sick twisted desires don't come back to embarrass Neil. But he's not gunna look a gift horse in the mouth.

- And Steve keeps giving him things. The new Metallica album a week before it's out (how in the fuck...?), a black leather jacket that's buttery soft to the touch, even gives him a new earing. A dangling cross with a diamond in the center. And Billy knows he looks good okay? Is confident in his skills in bed. So initially he's sure that's why Steve treats him like this. Cuz they've fallen into bed together almost every other day since Tina's party and it's good. Fucking fantastic sex alright? Billy's never had anyone as good as Steve Harrington. So if the king wants to throw pretty baubles at him then so be it. It's not like it's a struggle or anything.

-But then Billy gets sick. Like he's not dying (he would very much argue this) but it's a bad flu bug. High fever, aches and pains the whole bit. Billy doesn't get out of bed for two days. It's so bad even his dad lays off to an extent. So when the doorbell rings Max has to get it even though technically Billy is babysitting while Susan and Neil are out for date night. And there stands Steve Harrington with an easy smile and a plastic bag full of cold medicine and homemade soup.

- And Max is low key freaking the FUCK out because her friends at school told her all about king Steve. Mike's sister is his best friend so he actually sees the kids quite often. And while Mike isn't his biggest fan he still concedes he's a pretty nice guy whenever it comes to them. Brings them the GOOD sugary snacks and a pizza whenever he stops by during their DnD campaigns. But she also knows he's probably the most powerful person in town. Has got Will's older brother on his payroll. Has somehow heard about Billy being sick when she hasn't told anyone. So she's wary when he asks to come in and see Billy. Cuz even if he's an asshole he's her brother and if this guy is here to fuck with him then she's gunna stage a coupe.

- But Steve just smiles big and sheepish. Tells her he was worried when Billy didn't show up to school. Wanted to know if he was okay. Made soup and everything. So she lets him in and directs him to the door down the hall on the left where Billy is working through a fever of 101.2. Tells him she loves her brother very much. That she'll be in the next room over. Then turns around and runs to her room, her red hair a battle flag in the wind. Steve likes her instantly.

- Billy was super out of it the whole time but he's pretty sure Steve Harrington stopped by and fed him soup. Gave him expensive cold medicine that knocked him the fuck out and read to him when he wavered in and out of consciousness. And that.. That's dangerous. Because Billy knows that's not something you do for just anyone no matter how good of a fuck they are. That's something you do for someone you have feelings for. And Billy can't have that. That's not how his life works. He doesn't get to keep someone like Steve. But when Billy goes back to school Steve is there waiting by his locker with a smile and a coffee made just the way Billy likes it. Feels his heart flutter like the traitorous little mother fucker it is. And falls in love with Steve Harrington right there five minutes before English on a Monday morning.

[missymurphy1985]

The Extra (part four)

Warning - smut (you've been waiting long enough, dontcha think?)

Taglist @queenshelby @margoo0 @being-worthy @peakyscillian @peakyciills @janelongxox @elenavampire21 @noctvrnalmoth @ysmmsy @cloudofdisney @lauren-raines-x @namelesslosers @misscarolineshelby @screemqueen @cilleveryone @peaky-cillian @misselsbells06 @datewithgianni @heidimoreton

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Your eyes were glaring at Anto that Friday morning. If looks could kill he'd have keeled over on the spot. It was your last day of filming, you were waiting for the script for your dramatic death scene at the hands of Billy Kimber. The script you'd just been handed was not what you were expecting.

"Y/n, it's a key scene, it's twenty seconds of your life!"

"I am not filming a sex scene with Cillian Murphy!!" You were so angry you may actually have growled at him.

"The script can't be rewritten this late on!"

"Funny how you didn't mention this when you persuaded me to take the job on."

"Because I knew you'd say no."

"Because you knew I'd say no!!! I was a stage actress Anto, we didn't exactly do this in the theatre! I've never done one of these before and I certainly don't want to do one with him!"

"Billy Kimber needs to attack when Tommy is at his most vulnerable. The only character who can make him vulnerable is Clara. She seduces him, they have sex in the Garrison, Billy Kimber's men ambush you and slice your throat, it's literally a few minutes and it's over. That's it - you're done!"

"It was 20 seconds earlier."

"The sex is 20 seconds."

"Ouch." Cillian entered Anto's office trailer at the wrong moment. "20 seconds? Jesus."

"Okay we're not filming the whole thing obviously.."

"We're not filming any of it!" You spat.

"Anto can we not rework it? Does it have to be sex? Y/n is clearly uncomfortable, it's her first TV role? Surely a kiss would do the job?"

"Tommy needs to be completely distracted - sex is his only weakness Cillian, you know that." Cillian couldn't argue with Anto on that one.

"Y/n, how about we go over it together in private first? Just you and me, we can work it out?" Cillian's hand on your shoulder calmed you down, but you were still seething with Anto.

"Fine." You gave Anto another death stare and followed Cillian to his car. "Where are we going?"

"For a drive - I'm concerned for Anto's safety if you stay on set!" He pulled out his keys and unlocked the car. You climbed into the passenger seat and let out a huge sigh.

"You know, if it's me you're worried about don't be? I've done a fair few of these now, they don't bother me?" He said as he pulled out of the car park.

"It's not that, it's just.. I'm embarrassed. I've only - " you stopped speaking, suddenly feeling extremely stupid.

"Go on?"

"It's stupid... Promise me you won't tell anyone?"

"You have my word."

"Okay... I've only had sex with one person, my ex. We were together for 5 years.. he wasn't exactly - " you couldn't even find the words.

"He was shit in bed?" Blunt much?

"Worse. Literally 10 minutes if you're lucky and lights out."

"You're kidding? Ten minutes? I've had quickies that lasted longer than that, Jesus... There's no way you even came from that, surely? Wait don't answer that, shit, that was a bit personal, sorry.."

"No it's okay - I'm about to film a scene where you're fucking me across a bar table, I think personal questions are okay don't you?"

"It's against the bar itself actually." You had to laugh - missionary was the most exciting position you'd ever tried - Mike wasn't exactly adventurous.

"So you're up for filming it then?" He asked.

"What choice do I have? But I warn you, I'll be shit. I don't know what to do."

"Few moans, pants, groans, orgasm, job done." You swore your core clenched at his words and your thighs squeezed together involuntarily.

"Wouldn't be the first time I've faked an orgasm I guess."

"You've had a real one, right?"

"Orgasm? Cill I'm 29, not 16!"

"So you know the noises to make. How about we head back to my trailer and we rehearse it a few times until you're comfortable?"

"What if one of my students hears me?"

"Then we go back to my hotel room and rehearse there?"

"What?" He laughed, shaking his head.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to actually fuck you in my hotel room y/n."

"Ugh.. fine... But you can't tell anyone?"

"I swear it."

You sat on Cillian's sofa in his huge hotel room, the view was incredible from the window.

"I'm aware this is awkward for you so I suggest we just go straight into it, okay?" He pulled you up and turned you around, walking you over to the kitchen counter. He placed your hands against the flat surface. His fingers moved between your thighs to part them slightly and you lost control of your knees, stumbling slightly.

"Steady now, haven't got to the good part yet," he chuckled, standing behind you and holding your hips. You bit your lips, you could feel yourself throbbing as his fingers gripped your jeans.

"I'm not going to actually make contact, don't worry, I'm just going to do the motions. Use your imagination, and work with me. Make the noises, she's close to orgasm so she's quite loud but there's no pressure to scream the roof off the place in here. Are you ready?"

"Fuck, this really feels awkward Cillian..."

"Close your eyes and think back to the best orgasm you've ever had. How much you enjoyed it.. how good it felt..now re-enact it." His hands gripped your waist and he began to pull you gently back and forth, softly at first to get you into the right mindset. He was patient, not pushing too hard and not getting the slightest bit annoyed that you were silent as a rock.

"This is ridiculous, I can't do it!"

"Fuck it, why not." He took a deep breath behind you, and started to rock your hips back and forth again. His breaths came shorter, louder, a gentle moan, the occasional "yeah..." You echoed his voice almost exactly, not difficult considering how turned on you were listening to him behind you.

"I know Tommy's fairly silent in the scene, but would it help if I did the noises with you? Just while we're rehearsing?"

It wouldn't help my fucking underwear, you thought.

"Mm... That's it, that's it..." You knew he was just saying the lines, he was Tommy, but fuck his voice sounded good. You tried to remember a decent orgasm, and gave a deep but quiet groan.

"That was the most unconvincing 'orgasm' I think I've ever heard... I know you can do better than that."

"What?"

He turned you gently around to face him.

"Viewers can tell if a sex scene isn't working y/n - you need to give it more realism than that."

"I'm fucking trying Cillian, it isn't exactly easy when you've got the sexual experience of a Nun.."

"You need to get into the right frame of mind y/n, there must have been a time in your life when you've been so turned on and so desperate for release that the slightest touch would send you over the edge?" He edged a little closer to you, you could feel your heartbeat quicken as you clutched the kitchen side.

"Maybe.."

"When even just the sound of someone's voice was enough to make your core burn, your knees buckle, your legs shake?" You were ALL of those things right now. He inched ever closer.

"Or maybe you've got to that stage and not quite finished the job?" His eyebrow raised again, was he enjoying making you squirm?

"You needed to get off, but your boyfriend was incapable and your fingers just weren't enough..." His hand on your waist, his eyes on yours.

"Maybe..." You were desperate. You'd never felt so turned on in your life and right now you didn't care who knew it but you needed to cum and quickly.

"You sure you want me to do this?" He asked and you nodded.

"Need some help turning that 'maybe' into a 'yes'?"

You bit your lip and nodded, exhilarated and terrified of what that look in his eyes meant. His fingers traced the inside of your thighs again, making you shudder. You didn't even notice him unclasp your jeans and edge them down to your thighs.

"There's no going back from this, I need your words."

"Have you done this before?" He chuckled at your question.

"Made a woman cum? A few times yeah. Made a costar cum? Not directly," he winked, as his hand skimmed the waistband of your underwear. Parting your legs further with his knee, he pushed through.

"You're so fucking wet y/n..." He groaned, feeling the slick pool that had gathered between your folds. Sliding as much as he could up, he found your clit easily and circled it lightly. You gripped his arm, gasping for breath as the heat rose quickly within your abdomen.

"You feel so warm.. wet.. hot.. making a dirty little mess on my fingers.." his forehead remained pressed to yours, both of you panting, your hips starting to gyrate against his hand.

"So good Cillian... So so good... Don't stop please..."

"I won't, fuck you sound amazing, let me hear you..." He put more pressure on your clit, circling faster, he knew time was running out, you'd be needed on set soon.

"That's it, ride my hand.. you have no idea how much I want you, how much I've wanted you since the second I saw you... You gonna cum for me baby?" His Irish brogue was edging you ever closer, your orgasm so close you could almost taste it.

"Harder, I need it harder... Faster... Oh fuck please..." He happily complied, his fingers working you perfectly, his other hand exploring your breasts, squeezing and pulling at your nipple under the fabric of your blouse. Your back arched as the most powerful orgasm you'd ever had exploded through you, chanting his name as you rode through it, gripping his arm.

"That's it... That's my girl..." His fingers slower, before he removed them completely and licked his fingers tasting you with a groan. You hadn't realised your hand was on his hard length, palming him through his jeans but you didn't pull it away. His eyes on your hand, watching you explore him. You palmed him harder, feeling the shaft throb through the material. Just before you could release his belt, his phone rang in his back pocket.

"That'll be Anto wondering where we are..." He whispered, stopping your hands.

"Fuck..."

"I know, believe me I know... We film this scene, it's the last one, and you and I can catch up again tonight. What do you say?"

"It's a date Mr Murphy."

[classic80sand90smovieloves2]

Meeting and Dating Mike Damone

(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)

- Mikes pretty infamous at your school. Pretty much the entire student body knows who he is; mainly because they’ve bought tickets off of him at one point or another.

- Everyone knows Mike and Mike knows everyone so it’s no surprise that you’d encounter him at some point; even if your initial meeting was a memorable half a second of him checking you out while you both walked to your separate classes.

- When Mike first sees you, he honestly doesn’t think twice about you. He sees you, he processes that you’re decent looking, and then he moves on. He only starts to take real notice of you when you seem completely disinterested in his existence.

- That sounds pretty harsh but it’s the truth. Later that day, he sees you at your locker and he approaches you, introducing himself and making his usual charming conversation. And while you’re arguably incredibly polite, you’re just not into him.

- And for some reason that bothers the hell out of him.

- If it were anyone else, it would have never mattered, and he sincerely does not understand why you’re any different. But the more he thinks about it, the more it bothers him and the more he wants you. Which leads to his pursuit of you.

- Mike likes to act like he doesn’t care; he really does, and he’s gotten pretty good at playing the part, so he always seems pretty nonchalant whenever he approaches you and tries to start a conversation; no matter how little time of day you’ll give him.

- But inside, he is losing his mind. His smile always drops whenever you aren’t looking at him and he lays in bed at night thinking about every tiny amount of attention you give him. He wants to hate you, and maybe he does, but more than that …he thinks he loves you.

- Your usual “avoidance” of him leads to him feeling like a kid on Christmas when you finally talk to him on your own accord; though it’s definitely just to try and purchase tickets. He gives you a ridiculously good deal and is on his best behavior the entire time, trying to charm you as much as he can while you’re actually paying attention to him.

- And to an extent, it does work. He was really sweet and did you a big favor so you felt a little more obligated to play nice. So instead of completely blowing him off, you made an effort to greet him in the halls, sometimes willingly talking with him for a few minutes or giving him a compliment every now and again.

- He’ll talk a big game around other people; mainly Mark, telling him that he’s got you in the bag or somewhat jokingly saying that you’re all over him, but it’s just to save face and keep up his overly confident façade.

- Regardless, you finally agree to let him take you out around a year or so after the two of you first meet. He’d probably asked you out or tried to hint at the two of you potentially hanging out dozens of times but this was the only one you actually accepted which made him do an internal double take.

- There was nothing different about his approach, he played suave, he told you what he was planning on doing that Friday night and then he invited you to join him. But this time you actually agreed, as though it were totally normal, he was compelled to ask if you were feeling all right.

- For your first date, he takes you to the mall and you spend the afternoon/evening going into different stores, grabbing a bite to eat at the food court and so on and so forth.

- You didn’t expect it but the two of you actually hit it off pretty well once you gave him a chance and kept an open mind. He was frustratingly smooth most of the time but he was also sweet and made you laugh.

- And he was on cloud nine; especially when you absentmindedly grabbed his hand while leading him somewhere or walking through a crowd. He enjoyed your company so much that trying to kiss you completely slipped his mind until after you were already back inside your house later that night.

- You share your first kiss after he walks you home from school one day; maybe after the two of you go on a few more dates. You’re standing at your front door and you’re trying to say goodbye when you sort of just look at each other and begin to lean in.

- After a minute or so, you pull away and when you do, you invite him in for a drink; an offer he eagerly takes. So he comes in, you get him his drink and the two of you spend the next half hour making out on your bed; but that’s besides the point.

- You kissed him and now you’re gonna see if you’ll regret it.

- There’s a lot of Pda in your relationship but a good amount of it is sexually charged or the sort of affection that fits his cool guy attitude. He’s proud of you and wants to be touching you at all times but he doesn’t want to look like a wuss while he does it.

- He puts his arm around your shoulders a lot. He’d probably try to do it even before the two of you started dating so it barely even phases you at this point.

- Neck and jaw kisses.

-  Soft, sometimes sort of clumsy kisses. Mike acts like a ladies man but he’s been with very few girls so he doesn’t have a whole lot of kissing experience under his belt.

- You definitely have the capability to make him drunk with your kisses. You put him in a daze and get him wrapped around your little finger the minute your lips touch his.

- Making out a lot. It’s pretty much his favorite thing to do; though he secretly really likes all your innocent and doting affection.

- Sitting in his lap.

- He doesn’t use a ton of pet names but he does throw a couple of them at you from time to time, namely babe, sweetheart or princess.

- He likes to pretend that he doesn’t care for cuddling but he isn’t convincing anybody with his halfhearted complaining and nonexistent resistance while you pull him in. When you do cuddle, you’ll usually lay facing each other with your head tucked under his chin; or occasionally with his tucked under yours.

- He’s definitely a lot sweeter and softer with you when the two of you are alone together. He feels the need to keep up a reputation while you’re out in public so you only get to see his real, loving personality when you’re by yourselves.

- Su casa es mi casa. After his first visit to your home, you might as well consider him a roommate because he sure as shit acts like it’s his house.

- He’s usually too shy or embarrassed to tell you that he legitimately missed you and just wanted to see you so whenever he drops by, he’ll make up some excuse for him to be there; even though it would be perfectly in his right to answer “what are you doing here” with “I just wanted to see you”.

- He knows how to appear cool; whether it’s a conscious effort for him or not, so he usually has little trouble when trying to impress you. Either way, you’re pretty proud to have him for a boyfriend and your praise consistently makes him wanna to act up.

- He definitely tries to act like people he think you’d find impressive are his friends; even though you probably already know he’s bullshitting you. You just halfheartedly let him believe he’s fooled you.

- Sitting around sorta bored while he tries to swindle people. You get interrupted by his business quite a lot.

- Getting walked home from school.

- If you’ve got a car then you’ll usually pick him up and drive him to or from school; or wherever else, because fun fact: that wasn’t his car that Linda spray painted, it was his moms!

- He has a habit of “fixing you”. He’s always plucking things from your hair or clothes, adjusting your shirt, smoothing out your jacket, etc. Sometimes he pretends like he’s doing something just to annoy you or have an excuse to touch you.

- Consistently looking at your ass.

- Whenever you ask him for a favor, he’ll always tell you that you owe him before begrudgingly doing whatever it is. That being said, after he does it, he’ll usually “forget” that you owe him or tell you to forget about it; or settle for a kiss as payment.

- No ones allowed to know but he’s legitimately whipped for you. It might not seem like it but behind the scenes, he’s bending over backwards to make sure that you’re happy.

- Mall dates. It’s your #1 hangout spot. He’s the boyfriend who shamefully holds your hand as you drag him from one girly shop to the next.

- Concert dates.

- Renting vhs tapes and watching them together.

- Mike has a full on bar area in his room so if you’re down to drink, he has the liquor. Although, to be honest, I think he’d secretly be one of those guys who wouldn’t let you get drunk because you’re his girlfriend and he cares about you. He’d teasingly refuse to give you any before allowing you to have a tiny glass.

- I feel like his parents aren’t home a lot during weekdays; because of work or what have you, so you’ll probably hang out more at his house than yours; unless your parents also usually aren’t home.

- He usually ends up eating dinner by himself and spending most days at home alone so he’ll oftentimes call you up and have you come over. You mostly just end up hanging out and eating in his bedroom while watching television together.

- He lowkey likes stupid old tv shows so the two of you marathon them whenever they’re on tv.

- Going to his house to listen to your favorite music because it’s the 80s and he’s got a whole fucking music station set up in his room. He’s also got more albums than anyone you know.

- Occasionally, he’ll fiddle around with his keyboard while you’re at his place and you’ll convince him to teach you a few little jingles while he’s at it.

- I think that every now and again he’d surprise you with a little gift, oftentimes nonchalantly telling you not to mention it or not to worry about it. He’d probably say something like “how did that get there” and teasingly pretending like it wasn’t him, secretly reveling in the smile on your face and the way you kiss his cheek.

- Him stealing your food.

- Trying to hold back your laughter as he jokingly serenades you.

- Stealing and wearing his sunglasses.

- Ratner third wheeling. The boy gets to see a whole new side of his friend; a side that makes him seem much more down to earth, because even though Mike will pretend like he’s the same playboy, it’s easy to see that he really loves you.

- Giving Ratner advice when he needs a different approach to girls or anything else in life.

- Motivational talks. He might not be the most eloquent but he’s definitely the most supportive when it comes to people he cares about.

- Lots of teasing. It’s his favorite thing to do besides make money.

- He loves messing with you so expect to be annoyed with him quite a lot: whether it be because he threw you in the pool, shocked you, or pretended like you had something on you.

- Defending him when people insult him. Quite a few people don’t understand why you’re with him so expect a few comments from your friends, family, or just random people you know.

- He tries to act nonchalant whenever he’s jealous but it rarely ever works. He usually ends up either having a smug look on his face; because he knows you have no interest in them, or he’ll try to get information out of you about them, maybe making fun of them a little while he’s at it.

- Mike isn’t incredibly protective, he’ll usually leave you to solve things on your own, but if the problem is serious enough, he’ll get involved. He’ll try to walk away with you, maybe say something snide to the other person or about the situation, but he isn’t scared to throw hands if need be.

- Mike is pretty good at keeping his composure but certain situations just make him lose it so sometimes he’ll say something he doesn’t mean in the heat of the moment and regret it later.

- He tends to avoid his problems rather than try and fix them which might lead to him avoiding you after a fight. That being said, he isn’t above apologizing and will always do so is he knows he did something wrong or made you upset.

- He’s a bit embarrassed to tell you that he loves you so he’ll usually only say it after you say it to him.

- Mike certainly isn’t the best boyfriend, he definitely has some maturing to do, so it’s up to you to decide if you want to stick around and wait for it to happen. Just know that he likes you a lot; even if he doesn’t always act the greatest.

[staticscreenwriting]

Love like the movies // Bucky Barnes // 6

SIX - GHOST

Trigger warning: Alcohol, food, mention of sex (nothing graphic and no actual smut)

Masterlist

Summary: This is a story of boy meets girl. The boy, Bucky Barnes, finds himself thrown into a world that seems so different from everything he’s ever known. The girl, (Y/N) knows entirely too much about rom-coms and is quite particular about the way she eats her popcorn. Bucky meets (Y/N) a few months after returning to NYC. He knows almost immediately that becoming her friend is inevitable. This is a story of boy meets girl. This is a story about love. (Bucky Barnes x female!Reader // a few spoilers for TFATWS)

"You held hands?"

"Mmh."

"And then you cuddled."

"We didn't cuddle, I was just kind of - leaning into him. Sort of."

"So you cuddled!"

"Sure. If that's what you wanna call it. We cuddled."

"Then what?" Robin inquires. Smirking at (Y/N) over the rim of her wine glass, like a giddy pre-teen waiting for the kissing scene to come up in a romance movie.

"And nothing. That's it."

"Oh come oooon. You cozied up to each other and then just what - acted like it never happened?"

"Essentially. But that's okay. It's not a big deal. And don't say it like that."

"Like what?" Robin continues to poke and by this point, it's not so much her wanting information than her trying to rile up (Y/N). Though she's very well aware of this, (Y/N) falls for it anyway.

"Cozied up to each other," (Y/N) says and scrunches her nose up in distaste. "Like we had dirty sex or something."

"Do you want to have dirty sex with him? Oh man, imagine what that arm can do."

Holding her hand out to stop her best friend from talking, (Y/N) takes a big gulp of white wine, emptying her glass. This is a conversation that can't be held entirely sober. "First of all, don't say those things about his arm. It's- I don't know. It doesn't sit right with me."

"Sorry yeah that was … not cool" Robin apologizes and by the tone of her voice (Y/N) can tell she means it.

"I'm the first to admit that Bucky is insanely handsome and if things were different, sure. But we're friends and I really enjoy the time spent together and our friendship. I don't wanna do anything to jeopardize it or ruin it by adding unnecessary feelings to it."

"Feelings aren't unnecessary," Robin replies, combing her fingers through her fiery red curls.

"Sometimes they are. The last thing Bucky and I need is broken hearts and ruined friendships."

"What if it doesn't end that way?"

"Relationships never work out well for me, you know that."

Robin places her glass on the countertop. It means whatever talk is gonna follow, it'll be a serious one. There's been very little need for a serious talk between the girls over the time they've been friends but neither of them has ever been afraid to start those conversations and say things as they are. Sometimes that's what friendship is, being blunt even if it's not what your friend wants to hear.

"Look I'm not saying you have to take the relationship to another level. If this is making you happy the way it is, then that's all that matters to me. I just don't want you to give up on something that could be great, because you're scared and because some stupid assholes in the past didn't realize what they had in you."

Where she's only had shit luck with relationships, (Y/N) thinks she's really lucked out in the friend department. Robin is as wonderful as they come. Even if she drives her crazy sometimes.

"They weren't all assholes." (Y/N) chimes up weakly though there's not even enough determination in her voice to convince herself.

"Weren't they? Let's see ...I'm not even gonna talk about Russel. He doesn't count. Who else was there? Pete liked to show you off but he didn't like you. Did he?"

"Not really."

"See? Asshole! Kylie only wanted to be with you so she could be the cool girl who's fucked another girl once and use that as something to brag to the guys about."

"She was figuring herself out."

"She was straight, babe. She was using you and your sexuality as some kind of badge of honor so guys would think she's cool. She only wanted to make out with you at parties and when there were men around to ogle you. I’m the last person to blame anyone for trying to figure out who they are and who they like but that wasn’t the case here. She used you, and what does that make her?"

“ An asshole? “

“ An asshole!”

“ What about Ricky, he wasn’t an asshole! “ (Y/N) chimes in, filling her glass up once more.

“ Okay sure but he was your High School sweetheart and that rarely lasts. I’m not gonna count him. What about Mike —“

“— Okay, you’ve made your point. I have a bad taste in romantic partners, I get it. Doesn’t change anything. Me and Bucky we’re — we’re good as we are. No romance needed.”

“ Just don’t want you to miss out on something great.”

It’s not that the thought has never crossed her mind. In fact, when she’s being really honest to herself, it swirls around her head a lot. When he grants her one of his smiles. The rare ones that make his eyes crinkle. Or when he comes to see her and brings dog treats for Lady, just because he’s that thoughtful. Or when she noticed he put a popcorn and a sun emoji next to her name in his phone. The popcorn, as he said because she liked movies and the sun because she’s always happy and smiling. Or when he held her hand throughout the entire movie. Those are moments when (Y/N) thinks about what it would be like to be more than friends.

“ It’s great as it is now. He’s great.”

“ Then that’s all that matters to me.” Robin smiles. She has one of those smiles that makes you feel at home. Comfortable and soft. Like warm milk with honey a mom makes their child when they can’t sleep.

It’s a while later, when (Y/N) strolls back into the room, another bottle of wine in hand, that a knock sounds on her front door. Her eyes wander to Robin then to the door then back. “I’m not expecting anyone.”

“ Oh, that’s Bucky.” Robin, who’s by now migrated over to (Y/N)’s huge fluffy couch, Lady cuddled onto her lap, says with the most casual of tones (Y/N) has ever heard. As if Bucky and her have been lifelong friends. As if there is nothing strange or peculiar about this situation.

“ How do you know?”

Robin shrugs and goes back to petting Lady’s curly fur. “ He texted you when you were getting the wine. Said he was around and had food. I told him to come join us for movie night. What’s the big deal? “

“ I uh — it’s not I just — you could’ve told me. “

“ That was literally 5 minutes ago babe. I had no time to tell you yet. By the way, this man uses entirely too many emojis.”

A smile pulls on the corners of (Y/N)’s lips. She’s asked him once why he never used any emojis, or smileys as he called them (all of them — even the ones that aren’t faces). He told her he didn’t really understand when to use most of them, like the shrimp or the Hockey stick. (Y/N) told him it’s because they’re fun. Ever since then he uses all kinds of emojis with her. None really relating to his messages. It’s quite endearing if she’s being honest.

“ Are you gonna let him in? “ Robin asks, shaking (Y/N) out of her thoughts.

The smell of Chinese food floods into the apartment as (Y/N) opens her door to Bucky. He looks so effortlessly cool in his leather jacket and boots. With his hair a little longer now, all swoopy and quiffed. Like the bad boy straight from a romance novel. The one with a heart of gold. The one that gets the girl.

(Y/N) is not that girl, the one from the novels, the Hallmark movies. The one that’s quirky but never weird. The one that makes all the boys fall for her. She’s not the main character, at least according to herself. She’s the side character that shows up like twice. The one that helps the main character on their quest to self-discovery or true love. That’s who she is. Not more, not less.

“ I brought food!” Bucky exclaims as he steps inside, waving the bag around before placing it on the kitchen counter, to which Lady jumps up from her position on Robin’s lap.

Lady, (Y/N) has realized a while ago, has somehow fallen head over paws in love with Bucky. Always following him, looking up at him with her big brown puppy eyes. Always looking to be close to him. Maybe, (Y/N) thinks, it’s the treats he always carries around. But maybe it’s Bucky too and his patience and his affection and the way he greets the little dog like she’s the main reason he’s come around.

Moments like this, they come with those little flutters around the heart. People always compare them to butterflies. (Y/N) thinks that’s wrong. Butterflies are gentle, graceful, and soft. This feels like a swarm of bees. Chaotic. Overwhelming. A little bit scary.

“ Man, did you plan on coming here, or did you buy all this for yourself?” Robin asks, eyes wide in surprise at the sheer amount of styrofoam containers Bucky keeps pulling from the bags.

“ I kind of bought it with the intention of sharing, yeah. “

Robin’s eyes meet (Y/N)’s across the room and there's a silent secret there, hidden in her teasing smirk. One shared only with a friend. No words. No sounds. Just the truth and two knowing hearts connecting.

“ Am I intruding? If you guys want me to leave, I can leave. “

While he tries to keep his voice casual, the sad tint doesn’t get lost on (Y/N).

“ Absolutely not, don’t be silly. We’re just drinking wine and watching a movie and you are free to join us in both.”

While he shakes his head at her offer of wine, Bucky helps (Y/N) bring the food over to the couch and plops down in the middle of the couch, Robin to his right and (Y/N) on his left.

“ What are we watching? “ he asks, a dumpling already on the way into his mouth.

“ Well, “ Robin responds filling her glass up once more, “ it was (Y/N)’s turn to chose so —”

“ A rom-com”

“ A rom-com. “

Something about seeing these two interact and joke around inspires a fuzzy feeling to wrap itself around (Y/N)’s heart. Even if they’re making fun of her.

The way Bucky fits in here, as if it’s where he’s always belonged. The way he’s not a stranger imposing but a friend added to the mix. It’s a nice feeling. She hopes he feels it too.

“ Okay, whatever. This isn’t your usual rom-com though, there are ghosts in this one. “

“ Is it ghosts falling in love?” Robin asks and lets her laugh get swallowed by her wine glass.

“ No. Well — uh kinda but not really. They fall in love be — you know what, just start the damn movie! “

There’s an undeniable intimacy in watching your favorite movies with other people. It’s like giving away little pieces of yourself and sharing them with others. No matter how insignificant it may seem to anyone else but you. These are the things that make us who we are. Our passions. For art. For music. For books. For movies. And opening up is always scary. Even if it’s just a teeny tiny bit.

Through the corner of her eye (Y/N) glances at Bucky and Robin, trying to judge their reactions. See if they’re enjoying themselves or not. Bucky displays his ever-present scowl. It’s the default setting. Sometimes she wonders if that has always been the case. If that's just what he looks like or if years of abuse, horror, pain have left their marks on him, on not only his heart but also his face.

Maybe this can be his safe place, she thinks. Maybe she can be. Not someone to fix him, because he’s not broken, just lost. Not to fix but to hold his hand while he heals. Slowly but surely.

For a while, the three sit in comfortable silence. The kind that fills you with this inexplicable calm. Where no words are needed.

And then the beginning chords of unchained melody spill from the tv speakers. It’s a touch there, a kiss here, hands covered in clay. Bodies covered in clay. Gasps and heavy breathing. Hands grasping skin, wandering, loving.

Robin’s presence falls completely to the back of (Y/N)’s mind. Bucky’s however...

“Do you want to have dirty sex with him? “ her friend's words ghost through her head like a particularly annoying jingle for some tv ad. The room feels warm all of a sudden. Not warm — boiling. There’s a heat radiating from her right, from Bucky. So what if he’s attractive. So what if she sometimes lets her mind wander and think about how his hands would feel on her skin or his lips on hers or his — yeah okay you get the point. So what?

Bucky slumps down into the couch a little more with every second of steamy pottery sex that’s fluttering across the tv screen. Is he — nervous? Uncomfortable ? No, she must be imagining it. Projecting, that’s what this is. She’s projecting her own chaotic emotional state onto him. There’s nothing there. (Y/N) has to remind herself. Just secret little thoughts that have to be kept between her and her. As long as no one knows, no one gets hurt. It’s the easy way out. The safe way. The right way.

Right?

“ Sooo, what did you guys think?” (Y/N) asks, turning her body towards her friends and sitting criss-cross on the couch.

“ Didn’t expect all the murder. “ Bucky replies as he takes a sip from his beer. “ And the — “

“ The messy sex! I know.” a visibly intoxicated Robin cuts in.

“ Not where I was going but okay.”

She doesn’t pay his words any attention, instead of launching herself backwards over the arm of the couch, dramatically fanning herself with her perfectly manicured hand. “ I am not going to lie, oh boy that was some hot stuff. Wouldn’t say no to that.”

“Oh please,” (Y/N) chimes in, wine glass clutched in hand and smile on her face. She can clearly feel the alcohol washing through her system bringing her to the place between sober and drunk where everything feels light and your confidence seems to get a little extra boost. “ What do you have to complain about? You’re getting married in two weeks! I’m sure you get enough action as it is. “

Robin doesn’t answer right away, just throws (Y/N) a giddy, boozed-up smile. Though in her eyes, there’s a loved-up glimmer of someone about to marry the love of their life.

“ Yeah, that’s true.”

“See, so you’re not the one that should be complaining. Us, however…”

Her red curls swing around her like a spark of fire as Robin sits up again, pointing her finger at (Y/N).

“ And whose fault is that? You could be getting some if you didn’t get so lost in your romantic fantasies. And him — “ the red-haired girl exclaims before pointing her finger towards Bucky “ don’t even tell me he ain’t getting some. Look at him! Are you sexually active, Bucky? “

“ You don’t have to answer that. Robin, come on.”

“ No, you don’t have to but you should. I’m trying to prove a point. Help me prove a point, Bucky. “

“ You’re making him uncomfortable. “

“ Am I making him uncomfortable or you? “

“ Ooookay, I think it’s time for you to go to bed. “

“ Nooo, we’re having a conversation. “

“ Would you look at that, my drink is empty. I’m just gonna — I’m gonna get another one. Okay? Okay.”

Bucky doesn’t wait for an answer before getting up and rushing out of the living room and into the kitchen, clearly uncomfortable. Clearly embarrassed.

“ See what you did? You scared him off. “

“ I couldn’t scare that man off if I tried. Trust me. “ Robin murmurs, a loud yawn cutting through her argument. There’s a certain determination in her words though. Some truth hidden in there that (Y/N) can’t quite put her finger on. It’s like Robin knows something she doesn’t. And maybe it’s good this way. Maybe she doesn’t need to know.

“ Alright, whatever that’s supposed to mean, Tipsy. I’ll go see what he’s up to. You go the fuck to sleep.”

“ Whatever mom, “ Robin bickers and cuddles closer into the soft couch anyway. “ Oh, don’t forget to invite him! I like him. We’re friends now. “

“ Go to sleep! “ (Y/N) orders again, earning herself a salute from her best friend who starts snoring no more than 2 seconds later.

He feels like a 13-year-old. Actually — no. Things were easier at 13. Situations like this one were easier at 13. Being horny was easier at 13.

It was all new to him then, yes, but it was new for everyone at 13. He’s 106 now, a grown man. He should be able to talk or at least think about these things without turning into a full-blown mess. His hand is clammy, his face is probably the same shade of bright red as Robin’s hair. And by god, his thoughts are a jumbled mess, swirling around all over the place.

Truth be told, he hasn’t had a lot of time to actually think about anything even remotely physical. It was never very high on his list of things to figure out and the opportunity hasn’t really presented itself to him either. Not since the 1940s at least.

Have things changed? Surely not, right? Maybe people got a bit more experimental and for sure they talk more openly about it now but the fundamentals must have stayed the same. He sure hopes so at least.

His thoughts get interrupted as (Y/N) steps into the kitchen. Her eyes are slightly glassed over from the wine though she’s nowhere near as drunk as Robin. She seems happy, then again she always does. For a little moment, he feels jealousy wash over him. About being able to get drunk. It’s damn stupid, he’s well aware. But that doesn’t make his feelings less valid. To just drink and let go and forget, that sounds really nice.

But that’s just one of the things the serum has taken from him. By far not the worst aspect of it all but unpleasant either way.

“ Hey uh — you okay? “ she asks leaning against the kitchen island across from him.

“ Sure. Are you? “

“ I uh — might be a little drunk, “ (Y/N) confesses as she lifts her hand and indicates a tiny space with her fingers.

“ Yeah, I think you might be.” Bucky laughs. Actually laughing comes naturally when she’s around and quite honestly, at first, it made him feel guilty. Guilty about the fact that he got to laugh along with a pretty girl while so many people had to die through his hands.

He tries to push those thoughts away. They aren’t doing anyone any good. Not him and not those people either.

“ Hey, I’m sorry she was making you uncomfortable. She gets — well she has no filter when drunk. Or ever really.”

Bucky shakes his head. His finger nervously trails along the grain of the stone countertop. There are conversations he needs to have, sooner or later, if he wants to live his life. Not just coast along but actually live. But it doesn’t mean those come easy. Not for someone who’s been through all he’s been through. Not for someone who’s grown up the way he has, who’s been raised the way he has.

“ Ah, no. Don’t worry. I uh — I just. It’s been a long time since I had talks like this. “

“ Like what? “

“ Between friends, you know. About — stuff. “

“ About sex? “

“ Mmh. “

“ You don’t have to talk about it with us if you don’t want to. It’s fine. “

“ No, but I do want to talk about sex with you. I mean — not you, you. You both. But not in a weird way. I mean — with friends. “

“ Okay. “

“ It’s just that I was raised in different times and the last time I had a real actual friend that I talked to about intimate things was so long ago. Steve and I talked about everything and even then there used to be reservations. One because I don’t think Steve really wanted details and two because Steve wasn’t — he didn’t have the most experience when it came to women so it was a very one-sided conversation. And I’ve never talked about any of this with a girl. It’s all new to me but I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you. “

(Y/N) regards him with a glimmer of amusement and mischief in her eyes as she munches away on some cold leftover spring rolls.

“ You don’t have to justify yourself to me, Buck. I know you trust me, I hope you know I trust you. “

He does. And he doesn’t hate how it sounds when she calls him Buck.

“ So, Robin and Charlie are getting married in two weeks. I was wondering if you’d like to be my plus one. Back when they announced it I was under the impression Russel and I would be a thing by then but uh — clearly that didn’t happen. It’s in upstate New York. We’re all gonna stay at this gorgeous Inn and well there’s a spot open if you want it.”

“ As a plus one? “

No matter how much he wants to deny it to himself, his heart does a little flutter as she says those words. A plus one sounds like something. He’s not sure what but something, surely.

“ Yeah, as a friend, obviously. “

“ Obviously. “

There goes the flutter.

“ Robin is okay with it by the way. She explicitly told me to ask you.”

“ So Robin wants me there, not you. “

“ No! I want you there! I love spending time with you. Also, Robin’s family is crazy. I need you by my side. I need you there. I want you there. “

“The need to be needed is an individual’s sense of significance rooted in the sense of being part of a community or cause beyond themselves. The need to be needed is one of our fundamental desires. We want to feel significant in the eyes of others, even if it is only one other person. “

Bucky has read those words in one of the many magazines stacked on the little side table in the waiting room of Dr. Raynor's office. They didn’t really make much sense to him then. He always thought he’d be fine by himself.

In that moment he realizes that was all a big pile of absolute bullshit.

The feeling of being wanted, of being needed, even if it’s just one person that needs him, that means everything.

“ Okay, I’ll come. “

“ Yeah? “

And there it is again, the smile that reminds him of the sun. The smile that he’s sure could bring a thousand men to their knees, including himself.

“ Cool. I’m — I’m really happy about that. “

“ Mmh. Me too. “

For a moment they just look at each other, words unspoken swirling in the air between them, neither brave enough to let them slip from their tongue.

It’s not until a particularly loud snore coming from the living room pops the bubble and breaks the spell.

Both of them fall into giggles before Bucky speaks up again.

“ It's late I should probably go. “

“ Yeah and I should go to bed. I’ll have a hangover tomorrow for sure.”

Bucky slips into his leather jacket and places a soft kiss goodbye on Lady’s head before turning back to (Y/N).

“ For the record, I’m not getting any. “

“ I uh — okay. Good. Well not good, “ (Y/N) stumbles over her words “ not good for you. Good for me. I mean. Not that I don’t want you to have sex. But I mean, Robin was taking the piss, and if I don’t get laid it makes me feel better to know you aren’t either. Oh god, this sounds horrible. I’m just gonna stop talking now. “

Bucky smiles the brightest smile she’s ever seen him smile, it almost breaks his face in two. And even though she wants the ground to swallow her whole right then, if it puts a smile like that on his face, she’ll gratefully embarrass herself again.

“ Have a good night, (Y/N). “

“ You too, Bucky”

And with a kiss to her head, he leaves the flat, a smile staying on his lips the entire way home.

“ Why did I have to come again? This is a bachelorette party, I thought men aren’t allowed. “ Bucky grumbles as (Y/N) parks her truck in the parking lot of the convenience store. The pink and blue neon lights reflect on the wet asphalt.

“ It’s a shared party. We’re all friends so it makes sense for the couple to celebrate together. Stop moaning. “ (Y/N) exclaims as her heels create a click-clack sound.

The store is empty as they enter except for the bored-looking teenager leaning against the counter by the cash register.

There’s something about empty stores at night that makes it feel like time stands still. Like for a moment, reality is altered. There’s only you and the outdated music coming from the speakers and the hum of the refrigerators holding the soda cans.

“ I can’t believe Hannah forgot to bake the cake. It’s all she had to do. I did everything else, everything. She had one job. “

Bucky’s learned by now to just let her rant about this topic. It’s all she’s talked about for the last hours since Hannah, public enemy number one that day, has called her to inform her she’s forgotten about the cake. Why there needs to be a cake at this party, Bucky doesn’t know but hey, who is he to question it.

(Y/N) walks straight over to the counter that holds the bakery items only to be met with disappointment.

“ Well great. We can choose between one single cupcake, a box of stale donuts, and a croissant. “

“ What about this one? “ Bucky asks and points towards a bright pink cake decorated with candy roses and white icing.

“ It says Happy Birthday. “

“ Ah, don’t worry we can fix that.”

(Y/N) raises her eyebrows in doubt. “ You sure? “

“ 100%. Trust me. “

She regards him for a moment, uncertainty shining through, before granting him a little smile and a nod. “ Okay then. You get the cake, I’ll be over there for a second. “

Looking through the fridges, (Y/N)’s eyes fall onto a pack of popsicles in the shape of Captain America’s shield.

Ripping open the fridge door she calls out “ Hey Grumpy, would you like thes— “

All she hears is a smack and then Bucky’s voice exclaiming a loud “Fuck!”

And in that moment she doesn’t know what’s more shocking, the fact that she just slammed the door right into his face or hearing him swear.

“ Are you okay? I’m so sorry. “

“ I’ll be fine.”

“ We gotta put ice on it. “

“ No (Y/N) I — “

She’s already on her way to get a pack of frozen peas. And if Bucky is being real honest, his cheek does hurt quite a bit. Super Soldier Serum and all …

“ I am genuinely so sorry. “

Bucky sits on the bed of (Y/N)’s truck, frozen peas pressed to his face and a chuckle falling from his lips as (Y/N) sends yet another apology his way.

“ It’s okay, (Y/N). I told you, I’m fine. “

He pulls the peas away from his face and places them next to him, before picking up the cake and lifting the plastic lid off of the container.

“ Alright, let’s see if I can fix this. “

“ You have a bruise on your cheek. “

Bucky looks up at her with those gorgeous blue eyes of his, that (Y/N) sometimes finds herself drowning in. Calm and story all at once. Like oceans.

“ Does it make me look rough and handsome? “

“ You’re always handsome. But yes, it gives you a roguish charm. “

“ Good. “

(Y/N) feels a heat rush to her face as Bucky focuses back on the cake.

“ Mmmkay. Let me see. What if we — “ Bucky murmurs, more to himself than to (Y/N). He swipes his finger, sans glove, over the white icing letters and while there’s a good intention there, when he lifts his finger back up the cake looks like a downright mess.

“ Ta-da “ he exclaims and turns the cake towards her.

“ It says Happy day now “

“ Is it not a happy day? “ Bucky asks, eyebrows raised in question.

“ Let me rephrase that. It says ‘Happy messy white stain Day’ “

Bucky pulls his lips into a grimace, eyes wandering from (Y/N) down to the cake and back to her. “ Yeah, we can’t bring that “.

Laughter fills the air as they regard the sad mess of a cake before them. If this was a movie, (Y/N) thinks, this would be their moment. The one where they realize. The one that feels like time stops and all that matters is them.

Something wet and sticky against her cheek pulls her from her daydream.

“ What the hell? “

Bucky only grins at her. There’s the boyish charm again. It’s so insanely endearing to see these little moments flare up and push through the perpetual gloom he seems to carry with him. He doesn't hold the weight of 90 years of fighting on his shoulders right then.

“ Oh you didn’t “

Before Bucky can react she grabs a handful of the cake and smashes it against the uninjured side of his face.

“ Is that how you wanna play it? Okay. Fine. “

Cake flies through the air as their laughter rings through the night. Not a thought wasted on pain, on worries, on heartbreak.

The rooftop bar (Y/N) booked specifically for this night is covered in fairy lights and glitter decor. There’s a karaoke machine in one corner and an open bar in the other.

A loud cheer sounds from the crowd as Robin steps out into the open, fingers intertwined with those of a petite brunette with big square glasses sitting on her nose.

They get swallowed by a tidal wave of people, pulled from one hug into another, and while his eyes stay with them, Bucky feels a touch against his metal arm. (Y/N) wraps herself around him leans her head against his shoulder and stares lovingly at the couple before them.

“ I’m so glad she’s happy. I love her so much. “

“ She loves you too. “ he says.

And really how could anyone not?

A little while later, when the crowd has allowed them to breathe again, Robin and the brunette wander towards Bucky and (Y/N), matching smiles on their faces.

“ Buck, this is Charlie, Robin’s fiancee. Charlie, this is my friend Bucky. “

“ It’s so nice to meet you,” Charlie exclaims, a strong English accent dripping from her words. “ What in the world happened to your face? Are you okay? “

While Bucky smirks, (Y/N) flinches at those words and shrinks into herself a little.

“ Oh you know, funny story. Someone here was a little too excited about some red white and blue popsicles. “

Robin lets out a loud laugh “ Now that sounds like someone I know very well. “

“ They were shaped like Cap’s shield, okay. I thought it was funny and fitting. “

Charlie’s eyes move between the 3, a look of confusion settling on her features.

“ Why fitting? “

“ Oh babe, let me catch you up,” Robin says and steers Charlie in the direction of the bar.

The night flies by and for the first time in so long, Bucky doesn’t feel out of place. Not for a single moment. Even being surrounded by people he doesn’t know and while listening to music he doesn’t get. It’s nice, feeling like you belong.

Robin and Charlie have just finished their karaoke rendition of Don’t Stop Believing when a familiar voice echoes from the speakers.

“ Hello guys, my name is (Y/N). You may know me, I’m the maid of honor. I am responsible for this party — you’re welcome. Anyway, I guess it’s my turn to sing tonight but I can’t do this one alone. I’m gonna require my friend, Mr. James Buchanan Barnes up on this very stage with me. “

Oh no. Definitely no. Not in a million years. No w—

“ Because this one’s a duett. “

Her eyes meet his across the way, shining with amusement, mischief, affection. Even across the dimly lit roof, her sunshine smile seems to light up the entire night.

“ I’m not doing it, “ Bucky says and shakes his head as Robin slides up to his side.

“ C’moooon. “

“ Nope. I probably don’t even know the song. “

It’s like the universe wants to make a fool of him as in just that moment Bill Medley’s voice sounds through the night.

“ I know you know this song. “ Robin says and nudges his side “ come on don’t make her do this by herself. “

“ I — “ he looks at (Y/N) again, with her sunshine smile and those expressive eyes and the buttercream stain on her shirt. And he doesn’t see fear or pain or regret. All he ever sees when he looks at her is happiness and fun and laughter.

“ Ugh. Okay. Alright. “

Cheers follow him as he steps on stage and (Y/N) hands him the second mic. Though it’s supposed to be a duett, (Y/N) doesn’t really care and sings both parts with unfiltered joy and unapologetic passion. And while it takes a moment for him to warm up to it, Bucky can’t help but let her enthusiasm light a spark in him too and by the time the pre-chorus hits he joins her in singing their hearts out.

“ You're the one thing I can't get enough of. So I'll tell you something. This could be looooooove “

New York comes alive with the promise of a better tomorrow. One where Bucky feels like he belongs. To a place or a group of friends or a person. A tomorrow where he can laugh with a pretty girl, have food fights in a parking lot, and sing some silly song at the top of his lungs.

Maybe the song isn’t all wrong. Maybe he’s having the time of his life. And maybe, just maybe, he owes it to (Y/N).

Taglist // if you want to be added or taken off just message me :) //:

@zaynyierulez - @je-like-you - @dracoxxyoflam - @jackiehollanderr - @majo240820 - @kay-gilles -@booksb4looksstuff - @jckie94 - @charmed-asylum - @shawnie--jo - @yllwtaxi - @tailsoflightning - @giuliarogers - @mangoogirl - @gerim-1995 - @elen-alambil - @threeminutesoflife - @writeroutoftime - @buckybarn3s - @rosaline-black - @kenziekugler22 - @vghz82