#the only time they do is when they’re leaving the car to enter the school but this is it

[caitlynmeow]

Lmao okay so Cassandra and Daniela were the loudest advocates for having pets in the castle but Alcina always said no because it’s plenty of work for everyone to look after the three daughters and no one has the energy to do the same for pets (because tbh the daughters can’t do much on their own they have maids that literally do everything for them like they barely even dress themselves there is always someone helping them and this is just ONE example)

Anyway, years and years later, life made a full circle and one Cassandra Dimitrescu was asked by her very own daughters if they can have a pet. Cassandra took a moment to realize that if it’s not for her wife, this family would be in shambles because Cass can barely keep herself alive let alone her children. And then she realized that her mother was right. It is a lot of work already and having pets is not going to work.

Cass would rather die than admit her mother is right but she fully gets it now

[xxbimbobunnyxx]

Nasty Girl ⟡˖ Older!Rafe Cameron x Perv!Reader ⟡˖

✰ Rafe is an arrogant dick, over a decade older than you and your dad’s boss, you shouldn’t want anything to do with him. So why can’t you stay away? ✰

۶♡ৎ This is a request from my angel @babygorewhore I love you sm, this one’s for you pookie ۶♡ৎ

✰ Age gap (Rafe is early 40s reader is mid 20s), Obsessive behaviors, perverted acts involving panties, gagging, choking, spit kink, daddy kink, unprotected sex, pussy slapping, pillow humping, pussy eating, cum eating, size kink 18+MNDI ✰

You can’t stand Rafe Cameron. And the fact that you’re so obsessed with him only makes you hate him more. No matter how much you hated the way he walked around like he owned the world, or the rotating door of women he brings around, you can’t shake this irresistible pull he has on you. You shouldn’t feel this way, not only is Rafe a huge dick he’s also over a decade older than you and your dad’s boss. It started off small, stealing glances at him every time you visited your dad at work, dressing in your most revealing dresses and skirts to his work events, making off handed comments and brushing past him when there was clearly room to go around. It wasn’t until you caught him in a bathroom with some lanky blonde bent over the counter while noises that resembled a crow left her body that you finally lost it.

You decided to leave the company charity event early, making sure to pass Rafe’s car and leave your tiny pink thong on his side-view mirror. He wouldn’t know they were yours, but he would know that they didn’t belong to the girl he was currently balls deep inside of because you saw her coral thong pushed to the side. After that it was like you couldn’t stop. You started leaving your panties anywhere you’d think Rafe would find them. In his office on his desk or the chair, his car became a favorite, you even managed to loop one around his drink while he wasn’t looking at the country club once. After the first few pairs you started leaving dirty photos of yourself along with them. Not showing your face, of course. Just shots of your ass and tits, always matching the underwear you planned to leave. You thought about maybe just texting or even emailing them to him but your dad gave him both of those things “in case of emergency”. So you decided to do it old school and take photos on your Polaroid. It was sexier that way, anyway.

But you haven’t done anything like what you’re about to do. You’re upstairs with the sound of loud voices all drowned together barely making it through the thick, high floors beneath you. It didn’t take you long to find Rafe’s room. A double door at the end of the long hall with gold ornate knobs was very clearly the master. You also weren’t surprised he had a keypad lock on his door, especially throwing a party like this. Your dad and his coworkers are everyday businessmen to the sivlian eye but behind closed doors they’re into some pretty deep criminal shit. Luckily you already managed to break into his laptop. It was almost too easy, he navigates technology like a grandpa even though he’s only forty. You had a passing thought about teaching him a more efficient way to organize his work laptop but you quickly shut it down. You’re supposed to hate him. Even if you him to fuck you until you can hardly breathe. He had a whole entire document of passwords and key combinations and you may have written all of them down. So you easily slipped inside after entering the numbers on the keypad.

You spent some time looking around and it was about what you expected. Sleek, expensive furniture, no decorations, the white walls bare aside from a random picture of a boat near the window. It's so clean it almost seems like no one lives here but you assume that’s probably due to the cleaners. You go through his drawers, nothing of interest really, unless you count all the clothes you could potentially steal. His bathroom is just as clean as his room and you can’t help but smirk when you notice a full skin care routine sitting on his counter. So vain. But, you can’t deny a man who is invested in his hygiene is extremely sexy. You smell his expensive colognes, his body wash, even his fucking shampoo. You inhale every single one like it’s your drug of choice. Though, you’re sure they smell a million times better on his skin, mixed with his musk.

After spending some time snooping, your focus turns back to the real reason you came in here. You walk into his large walk-in closet and flick on the light. There’s a glass jewelry case in the middle, filled with designer watches, rings, chains, and sunglasses. You approach it and try to pull open the top drawer when you’re met with resistance, you notice another combination lock. But a lightbulb goes off in your head, remembering the key code marked “jewelry case” before pulling out your phone, finding the numbers and unlocking the drawer with a click. The first drawer is, as expected, more jewelry that matches the items in the display case above. The second drawer though, that’s a different story. When you slide it open instead of expensive designer, it’s filled with lace and silk.

Every single pair of your panties you’ve left for him are in this drawer, along with the Polaroids stacked neatly. Upon closer inspection you notice that they’re covered not just in your cum, but his too. It has your pussy nearly dripping, you were already wet from the minute you saw him earlier tonight but now you can feel your slick dripping down your inner thighs, causing them to stick together under your micro dress. You have to practically drag yourself away from the sight of your underwear under lock and key, almost like they’re treasure, covered in a mixture of Rafe's cum and your own.

You look around the rest of the space and the entire span of the closet is lined with his clothes hanging on wracks. One side is clearly business attire and the other is more casual. Though there isn’t a huge difference, you’ve never seen Rafe in jeans and a t-shirt. You can’t decide if the thought is more sexy or comical. It’s hard to imagine him being well, relaxed. You grab a black button up before exiting the closet, undoing the buttons as you go. A thousand dirty fantasies run through your mind as your eyes roam over the king sized bed. But there’s one you can make a reality right now. The whole reason you came in here. You grab one of his silk pillows and wrap his shirt around it before placing it in the middle of the bed. You turn around to grab your Polaroid out of your bag and then crawl onto the mattress, mounting the pillow. You don’t bother taking your fuzzy platform heels off either, he can sleep on the grime from the bottom of your shoes along with the juices from your pussy for all you care.

You start off slow, running your hands along your body, groping your tits through the faux leather of your dress, imagining that they’re Rafe’s much larger hands. It doesn’t take you long to get worked up, your juices starting to make the cloth underneath you slick. You're so wet that when you start to jerk your hips back and forth on the pillow that you practically glide. The lace of your thong gets pulled tighter, adding extra pressure to your puffy clit. Your dress rides up your hips, revealing your ass and the plush of your thighs as your hips start to speed up. Once you start to really get into it you pull your panties to the side and yank the zipper that goes all the way down the front of your dress down your chest so your tits can spill out. You switch up the movement of your hips every few moments, rotating between using the pillow for leverage and running your hands down your body.

You start to get so lost in the throes of pleasure you almost forget where you are entirely until your white sock covered shin smacks against your pink polaroid camera. You smirk to yourself in remembrance as you pluck it from the bed and turn it on. You hold it above yourself while you press your tits together and spread your legs far enough to show your mound on top of his shirt and snap a photo. You take more than one this time, using almost the entire roll taking pictures of your body from various angles. You shove your fingers in your mouth. Take photos of your tiny thong string nestled between your ass. You even take one with his shirt held up between your teeth. That ends up being the last photo because the smell of his cologne hits your nostrils and it has you inhaling deeply while your hips start to subconsciously grind down again.

Rafe practically felt like a madman as he tried for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes to get out of this conversation with your father and their business partner. Every single time he tried to slip away he was pulled back in somehow. But that didn’t stop his eyes from traveling to the tantalizing view on his phone screen every ten seconds. He felt like a cat who caught a mouse it’s been chasing for months. All without even trying. You lead yourself into a trap he didn’t even set and it couldn’t be more fucking perfect. The fact that you had no idea that his entire house was bugged with cameras that he could see directly in the palm of his hand made his cock twitch. Rafe checked his phone the minute he got the notification that someone was unlocking his bedroom door, ready to send security up there to grab a thief. But he was oh so pleasantly surprised when he saw it was you. You weren’t like any of the other girls he’s ever seen in all his time living on this island. Your platform shoes and dark make-up were utterly enticing to him and your bratty attitude made him want to bend you over his knee until you cried. He also knew you were a naughty girl, with a dirty little secret only he knew. Rafe’s obsession for you only grew by the day and now it was at an all time high.

He decided to let it play out for a bit. He watched as you surveyed his blank walls and rummaged through his drawers. Then you made your way into the bathroom and he watched as you greedily inhaled his colognes and body washes. You went into his closet and somehow unlocked his jewelry case. He’d have to figure out how you managed to learn his key codes later. His heartbeat sped up when you reached for the second drawer but the way you looked down at the trophies you had ever so graciously gifted him with elation only made his appetite for you nearly unbearable. What really sent him over the edge though was how you were currently strandling his pillow as you bucked your hips with his shirt held to your nose.

The entire scene had him losing his mind with lust and you just kept taking it further. He watched you pull your tits out, the way you took all those slutty pictures for him and he wished more than anything in the world he could turn his phone up to full volume so he could hear the pretty little moans leaving your lips. He could tell from the avid speed of your hips and the way your eyes are rolled back that you’re close to your end and he’ll be damned if he isn’t there to see it. He finally excuses himself under the guise of having to go to the bathroom and slips up the large staircase with ease.

You're so close. The pace of your hips is so quick that the entire bed shakes underneath you as delicious euphoria is seconds away. You have the corner of Rafe’s shirt grasped tightly in your fist as you hold it up to your nose. The cloth is pulled taunt against your clit just right, drool drips down your chin onto the black material as you take in Rafe’s scent. Heat washes over you and you moan with reckless abandon, too lost in your tidal wave of an orgasm to care if anyone can hear you.

“I knew you were a dirty girl, but this is even better than anything my mind ever could’a dreamed up…” The sound of Rafe’s voice makes you practically scream and you clutch his shirt over your chest on instinct. Your entire body heats as you take in his large form leaning against the closed bedroom door. His arms are crossed and he has probably the most smug smirk you’ve ever seen in your life painted on his face as he looks over at you through hooded eyes.

“Rafe! I - aren’t you supposed to be hosting a party?” You scoff and roll your eyes, clearly trying to change the subject when you’re the one who broke into his room.

“Well… you see…” Rafe stalks over to you like a predator that caught his prey and stops at the end of the bed. He places his large hands on the mattress so he can lean down only inches from your face, his tongue darts out to wet his bottom lip as his eyes travel down your body before connecting with your own. “This little unassuming mouse wandered into my den without even considering that I have eyes on every inch of this house.”

“How - how long have you been watching?” You clutch onto the shirt tighter, hiding your boobs and bare pussy even though he’s already seen both on multiple occasions. Something about him knowing it was you was making you suddenly nervous.

“Oh, sweetheart, I get a notification when someone opens that door… I saw everything. What do we have here?” His eyes are blue fire as they land on the Polaroids and he picks one up with delight before picking up another and another until he’s seen every single one. He sets them aside in a neat stack before abruptly gripping onto the shirt covering you and ripping it down your body with a growl. You gasp in surprise and use your arms to cover your nipples while slamming your legs shut. “Oh, no, none of that. Don’t get all shy on me now, I’ve already seen it all.” Rafe grabs the pillow and pulls it from underneath you causing you to fall backwards on the bed onto your ass. “Would you look at that…” He looks down at the pillow with hungry fascination as a low groan rumbles through his chest. You watch as he runs the pad of his finger through the creamy wetness before bringing it to his mouth and holding eye contact with you as he sucks it between his lips. His eyes immediately roll back when your taste hits his tongue. “Fuckin’ delicious. But I’m always tastin’ you secondhand.. I can’t wait to taste that sweet pussy directly from the source.”

You’re utterly stunned for a moment. You look up at him with your jaw hanging open while you do your best to cover your most intimate parts when all you want to do is throw your legs open and fully submit to him. You always told yourself if he ever caught you that you would make him work for it. But with the way he’s looking at you now? You can already feel yourself slipping and he hasn’t even touched you yet.

“Who - who said I was going to let you taste me? And what do you mean secondhand?” You tried to say it in a biting tone but your voice squeaks and betrays your facade immediately.

“Oh, little mouse… this little back and forth we’ve been playing has been fun and all. But now you’ve wandered right into my bed and I’m done playing games.” Rafe abruptly grabs onto your ankles, pulling you down to the edge of the bed until your feet are dangling off and you try to pull your knees together again but he grips onto them and pulls them back open. “Quit hiding from me.”

His hands grip tightly onto the meat of your thighs, the gold rings on his fingers pinching your skin in a way that has you holding back a moan. The look in Rafe’s eyes is nearly animalistic as he stares down at your puffy, wet pussy. Your little black thong pushed to the side, covered in creamy, white juices. His fingertips travel down your legs gripping hard enough to bruise with every inch. He brings his thumbs to the crevices of your thighs and presses his fingers hard on either side of your folds, pushing your pussy lips together. You can’t hold in the tiny mewl that leaves the back of your throat. He punches your slick cunt together roughly a few times before pulling you apart. Your pussy clicks for him from your wetness as he pulls you open.

“Been waiting for this moment, ya know?” Rafe runs his thumb along your slit, gathering your wetness before bringing his thumbs to rub along the sides of your lips, teasing you. “I knew it was you. I had my suspicions from the beginning. Ever since you walked in on me in the bathroom…”

“How?” Your voice is a broken whisper, any thoughts of fighting back slipping further and further from your mind. Embarrassingly enough, you feel like you could come from just this.

“Well, I was almost positive after that cute little cherry thong…” Rafe grazes over your clit for just a moment before going back to teasing you. “Earlier that day you were wearing these sexy little jeans and when you bent over I got a view of that same thong. Then, to my surprise, the very same pair ended up in my office later that day.” He presses hard on your clit, giving it a few strokes and you think his teasing has finally come to an end but as soon as it’s there, it’s gone. And he goes back to teasing your pussy tantalizingly. “But then, about a week later I saw you sneaking out of my office and I decided to let you get away with it.”

“You decided?” You push yourself up on your elbows and scoff with your eyebrow raised, your irritation with him returning. Rafe just smirks before shoving his thumb knuckle deep in your pussy and curving it against your walls. It makes your eyes roll back while you wriggle underneath him.

“Yes, princess, I decided.” His other thumb presses on your clit hard but doesn’t move. “Once I was positive it was you, I wasn’t ready for it to stop. Especially once you started leaving those little pictures for me. Who knew you were such a dirty slut.” He pulls his fingers from you before landing a harsh smack on your clit causing you to yelp.

“So you knew it was me and didn’t say anything? And then proceeded to keep them in a treasure box and jerk off all over them? Pervert.” Rafe slaps your pussy again, three times in succession.

“Stop being a fuckin’ brat. If I’m a pervert, what does that make you, huh?” He slaps your pussy even harder and then brings both of his hands down on your inner thighs with a loud smack. “Leaving me your panties, takin’ dirty photos for me, I saw you inhaling my cologne like it was a line of coke. And now I caught you in my bed, coming all over my pillow. You’re a nasty. Little. Girl.” He punctuates each word with a slap to your cunt and you can’t help but moan loudly for him.

“Yeah? Well you’re a nasty old man.” Your chest heaves but you still manage to paint a cheshire smirk on your face, your eyes twinkling with mischief as you use the last of your resolve against him.

“You know what? I’m sick of your bratty fuckin’ mouth.” Rafe grips onto the thin strings of your panties and pulls them down your legs before balling them up and shoving them in your mouth. The sudden intrusion makes you gag, but it’s not unwelcome. The act of dominance and the taste of yourself on your tongue has any and all attitude in you evaporating from your body. He grabs your chin and roughly shakes your head side to side. “That’s better. You gonna be a good girl and let me taste that perfect cunt now or do I need to beat the attitude out of you?”

You moan around the lace in your mouth and drop your knees to the sides, offering yourself to him. Rafe looks at you devilishly as he lays on his stomach on the mattress and throws your legs over his shoulders. He runs his nose along your inner thigh as he takes in your sweet scent before hovering over your pussy and inhaling deeply.

“Smell so fuckin’ sweet, bet you taste even sweeter.” The flat Rafe’s runs through your folds up to your clit before circling it a few times. He nips it with his teeth and shoves his tongue as far as it can go inside of you causing you to cry out and arch your back off the mattress.

“Quit wiggling.” Rafe growls into your pussy, the vibrations sending shockwaves through your body. His large hand splay on your hip, holding you down as he eats you like a man starved. He circles two fingers at your entrance before pressing them knuckle deep inside of you. He caresses your sweet spot while sucking your clit into his mouth and it has an explosion of pleasure washing over your body as your orgasm consumes you.

Rafe pulls off of you when you come down from your high and brings the fingers that were just inside you to his chin dripping with your juices. He smears it around before sucking his fingers clean, groaning like he just ate the best meal of his life. He leans forward and plucks the panties from your mouth before slamming his lips against yours. The kiss is dominating and he shoves his tongue deep into your mouth, swirling it around and coating your taste buds with your own cum. He leans back to admire you and he feels like his cock is going to burst. Your hair is a mess, your dark lipstick is smudged and slick, and the zipper on that tight little dress is barely hanging on. Your tits are on full display as you lay like a perverted little angel with your legs spread beneath him.

“God damn. I’ve gotta fuck that pussy, baby.” Rafe pulls the zipper of your dress the rest of the way down before leaning up on his knees and reaching for the buttons on his shirt. “Take that shit off. Leave the socks and shoes though.”

He licks his lips as he continues to unbutton his shirt while his eyes practically swallow you whole. You quickly rid yourself of your dress and push yourself up onto your knees to watch him undress. You have to stop yourself from jumping him when he gets his shirt all the way off, his perfectly toned body towering over you. When he gets his pants down enough to get his cock out you can’t even hold in your gasp. He’s huge. So thick you aren’t sure you could wrap a single hand around him and so long that you aren’t sure if you could take him all down your throat.

“Fuck. I don’t know if that’s going to fit…” Your eyes are the sizes of saucers as you stare at his cock with your jaw slack. Those words make Rafe feel like he’s going to go insane and his hand flies to your hair, grasping onto it at the nape of your neck and yanking your head back.

“Oh, it’ll fit.” His tongue slides over his teeth and he takes his shaft in his hand so he can rub his precum along your lips, adding to the mess. Rafe uses his grip on your head to manhandle you onto your back before throwing your legs over his shoulders. He smirks down at you while he pumps himself in his hand. “You want it?”

“Yes, fuck. I want it so bad.” You tilt your hips towards him searching for any kind of friction but his hand presses down on your hip, stilling your movements.

“Oh, come on, baby doll. You can do better than that. How bad do you want it?” He taps the head of his cock against your clit a few times before running it through your folds. You try to angle your hips to push him further inside of you and he just tuts at you like you did something naughty before pulling his cock away entirely. “Let me hear it, beg.”

“Please, daddy, I want it so bad.” Rafe breathes out heavily through his nostrils and grips onto your throat, leaning down so his face is inches from yours.

“Oh, little mouse.. you’re just full of surprises, huh? I don’t think you know what you’ve done.” Rafe chuckles darkly and leans back up onto his knees, positioning his cock at your entrance. He presses his head into you and he’s so thick you already feel so full by the time he’s only a few inches in.

“Oh, god. I don’t - I really don’t know if it’s all going to fit.” The air is nearly taken out of your lungs when he thrusts his hips forward and you’re sure he’s all the way inside of you now but he pulls almost all the way out before slamming his cock into you to the hilt with his hips flush against yours. “Holy shit, oh my god.”

“I thought you wanted it so bad, now you’re whining that it won’t fit? I’m gonna fuckin’ make it fit and you’re gonna take it like the dirty little slut you are.” Rafe rams his hips into yours at a brutal pace as he grips onto your throat again and squeezes tightly. His free hand comes to rub circles on your clit and it makes your vision blur. “Yeah fuckin, take it. You gonna come for me? I can feel your pussy squeezing me. You’re so fuckin’ tight.”

“Yes, fuck daddy, please make me cum.” Your voice is a broken sob as your makeup smears messily down your face. “I’m so fucking full.”

“Yeah, that’s right, sweet thing. Give me your cum.” That’s all it takes to have an all consuming orgasm washing over you. Your walls convulse around Rafe’s thick length and he picks up his thrusts, chasing his own high. He uses his grip on your throat to press you down into the mattress and your legs fall down onto his hips. You lace them around him and this new angle has him hitting so deep you swear you’re going to feel him for days. The hand not on your throat hooks onto your bottom teeth, pulling your jaw open so he can spit on your tongue. You swallow without asking and then suck his fingers into your mouth greedily.

“You’re so fuckin’ nasty, ya know that? Letting your dad’s boss fuck you till you cry while he’s right down stairs. Leaving me your little fuckin’ panties. This perfect god damn pussy.” Rafe is babbling like a man possessed as he pumps into you hard and deep until his cock starts to twitch inside you. He growls as he fills you with ropes of his cum. When he pulls out you feel nearly hollow and then he shoves his fingers knuckle deep inside of you, collecting some of his cum on his fingers. You pull his hand back to your mouth and lick his fingers, moaning at your combined tastes.

“Oh, I’m gonna have so much fun with you, little mouse.” Rafe stares down at you with a hunger that’s laced with obsession and you don’t even care because you’re just as obsessed as he is. “You’re mine now.”

Taglist: @nemesyaaa @strawberrydolly333 @sturnioloshacker @loserboysandlithium @gri959 @rafeinterlude @xoxohoneymoongirl @tacymbcm @bunnies-p1tst0p @starkeysprincess

Dividers by @anitalenia

[whytheylosttheirminds]

I Remember Everything - Rafe Cameron (Chapter 6)

Summary: You left the island two years ago, leaving the love of your life a shattered man in your wake. Now, when you return, you find the sweet boy you once loved has transformed into a monster of a man. How can you detangle the real Rafe from the terrible things he's done?

Timeline: begins toward the end of obx season 3 and is mostly canon.

Content: this story contains sexual content, alcohol and drug abuse, and brief mentions of violence. All chapters are 18+, minors do not interact!

(Prologue and Ch. 1) // (Ch. 2) // (Ch. 3) // (Ch. 4) // (Ch. 5)

One Year Earlier…

The car door opened just a crack, an attempt to keep the torrential rain from getting on the nice leather interior. Your mother struggled to enter the front seat without bringing the elements with her.

“Just get in,” Ward encouraged. “It’s fine.”

“I don’t want to get an invoice for detailing,” she explained.

“What kind of person do you think I am?”

She gave him a knowing look, now fully inside the car and safe from the storm.

“I don’t think you want me to answer that,” your mother said.

The windshield wipers squeaked against the glass as they swished rapidly. Your mother folded her hands in her lap as she took in the luxurious vehicle with judgment. Ward picked up on her distaste, but simply chuckled and shook his head. He had given up any attempt on getting her to like him back when they were in high school together. She had always thought him a showman, putting on a display she wasn’t interested in watching. He may have the rest of the island fooled, but she saw straight through him.

She flinched as he reached across her, calming when she realized he was only opening the glovebox. He pulled out a stack of envelopes held together with a thick rubber band. He dropped them in her lap unceremoniously, right on top of her folded hands. She didn’t pick the stack up right away, looking down at the one on top with a deep sigh.

“How many?” She asked.

“Seventeen,” he placed his hands on the wheel as if he was bracing himself. “They’re still coming once a week, like clockwork.”

“Have you read them?” She mumbled, still staring down, her eyes running over the handwriting, a prominent frown on her face as she studied the familiar little curve at the top of each letter “a”.

Ward’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, as they arrived at the conversation he was waiting for. “No, I haven’t, and neither should you. No good would come of that.”

Faint tears began to form at the crinkled edges of her eyes. The moment she felt them she pushed them away, sitting up straight and shoving the stack of letters into her purse. 

“I don’t know,” she shook her head, clutching her purse firmly to her lap.

Ward sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t sure how many more times he could have this conversation before losing his cool completely.

“We did what we had to,” he reminded her. “Look, I don’t like it either. But it was what’s best for both of them. And it’s too late now. We need to move forward. They will, too…eventually. Trust me.”

She looked him square in the face as she grabbed the door handle, preparing herself for the mad dash back to her own car across the vacant parking lot.

“I will never trust you, Ward,” she swore.

With that, she opened the door. She had one leg out, ready to hop down from the truck bed, when he grabbed her arm aggressively, making her gasp.

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” he warned through gritted teeth.

“I already have.”

Now…

Rafe looked up at you nervously, his eyes running up and down your face, looking for any reaction. He was on one knee in front of you, holding up the promise ring you were sure you’d never see again. The sight was so surreal you didn’t know how to react.

You were slowly coming back to earth after the heavenly feeling of being intimate with Rafe again. All of the emotion that had clouded your mind was clearing and the events of the past few days came back into view. Rafe spitting on the waiter he’d thrown in the dirt. The disgust on his face when you’d first said his name on the beach at the island club. The way he had pushed himself off of you just a few hours ago before sending you running out the door crying. The man who was kneeling in front of you right now was not the boy who had first presented you with this ring over two years ago.

But still, he had the same desperate vulnerability in his eyes now as he’d had then. That day you had thought surely the next time he presented you with a ring, it would have a diamond on it and he’d be asking you to marry him.

The image of you in a white dress, Rafe waiting for you expectantly at the end of the aisle, flashed across your mind. Suddenly, it wasn’t you in the white dress you saw, but your mother. Your eyes widened and you snapped back to the moment, realizing that your mom’s rehearsal dinner was tonight and you had told her you would make it. She said she didn’t want you to, but she always said things she didn’t mean, and this might be your last chance to fix things with her.

“What time is it?” You blurted out.

Rafe blinked back at you in surprise. He had prepared for either a rejection or an embrace, not to give you the time.

“I…uh, what?” 

“I left my phone at your house,” you explained. “Do you know what time it is?”

Rafe reached into his pocket with the hand that wasn’t holding the ring and checked his phone.

“It’s four,” he informed you.

“Shit,” you walked around him and headed towards the door of the lifeguard tower. “I have to go!”

Rafe stood, shoving the ring back in his pocket. “What? Why?”

He followed you out the door of the small office. Once you were on the porch of the tower, you looked around quickly for any sign of the beach patrol you had been dodging, but the coast was clear. You turned back to him, blushing slightly at the sight of him hurrying to buckle his belt.

“It’s my mom’s rehearsal dinner,” you told him. “I need to get ready, I don’t even have anything to wear. Shit!” 

You descended the steps of the tower quickly, side stepping the rotted spots in the wood. Rafe followed you down, catching up with you at the bottom and rounding you so he was blocking your path to the beach’s exit.

“You’re still going?” He asked, his tone a swirl of anger and hurt.

You blinked back at him, feeling like the answer was obvious.

“Yes? It’s my mom, Rafe,” you said defensively.

“Didn’t she kick you out?” He questioned.

“Kind of. I mean not technically…it’s complicated, Rafe. You know how she is,” you struggled to explain. 

Rafe rolled his eyes slightly before looking over your shoulder, nodding.

“Fine,” he said. “C’mon, you can come get ready at my place. You can borrow something from Sarah.”

“Thank you,” you said, relieved that his frustration hadn’t escalated any further. 

You rode back to Tannyhill on the back of his bike, wearing his helmet, relieved that your identity was shielded from the nosy looks from his neighbors as you passed. You wondered how many girls they’d seen Rafe bring back to the house on his bike over the last two years. Your stomach twisted at the thought and you subconsciously squeezed him tighter, your arms around his abdomen.

You followed Rafe into the house wordlessly, nervously picking at the skin around your fingernails, wondering what had suddenly made him go so quiet. Once inside the door, Rafe dropped his keys on the table in the foyer and walked toward the kitchen. You stood there for a moment, taking in the house. You ran your hand along the back of the couch, Rose had gotten a new one, and you hated that anything had changed, even something so small. 

After a few minutes, when Rafe still hadn’t come back from the kitchen, you took it upon yourself to walk up to Sarah’s room, searching through her expansive closet for something to wear. You settled on a short black dress with spaghetti straps. It’s certainly not something your mother would have picked for you to wear, but showing up underdressed was better than not showing up at all, right?

Rafe skulked in the kitchen for a while, slowly twirling the glass of bourbon he’d poured himself, but not taking a sip. He couldn’t believe you were still going to your mother’s rehearsal dinner. He had been naive, thinking that your mother kicking you out and the moment you’d shared in the lifeguard tower had finally sealed your return to him. Maybe you would never fully be his, maybe he would spend forever fighting to be first in your life. He hadn’t fought enough before, he should’ve gone after you, should’ve tracked you down. He threw back the bourbon in the glass and slammed it onto the counter with a sense of purpose.

As you leaned closer to the mirror to apply some mascara you found in Sarah’s bathroom, Rafe appeared in the reflection behind you. He leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms, watching you. Once you had finished applying the makeup, you stood and met his eyes in the reflection of the mirror. You offered him a small smile, but his face remained still as solemn eyes held your gaze. Your smile faded when you felt the intensity of his look. You stood there for what felt like hours, just looking at each other. A look full of history, of unspoken words. The more you looked at him, the quieter the noise in your head became. All of the questions, the worry, the mystery faded and all that was left was him.

After a while, Rafe dropped his crossed arms and stood up straight, now folding his hands behind his back, emphasizing his firm chest under his t-shirt. He began walking toward you slowly, still not dropping his eyes from yours in the mirror. Goosebumps rose on your skin and your heart rate spiked, but you didn’t dare look away.

Once behind you, his chest less than an inch from your back, he dipped his head low and placed the softest kiss on your shoulder. The gesture was so tender, watery tears pricked the corner of your eyes. The brush of your soft skin against his lips undid him, and now it was him who was sniffing you, nose nuzzled into your temple, inhaling the scent he had craved so desperately for years. The glory of you invading his senses undid him and he had to place his hands on your waist to steady himself.

You leaned back into him as one of his arms snaked around you, his hand flattening against your stomach. He began peppering kisses up and down your neck, and you let your head drop back to lean into him. His other hand slowly crept up your torso until it rested over one of your breasts. It wasn’t crass or harsh, nothing like the way he fondled you on the couch just this morning. His touch was revervent, the way you hold something you lost and thought you would never find. 

You watched the embrace in the mirror and he continued dragging his lips over your skin. He was wrapped around you like a snake, completely enfolding you. Your eyes lingered on his arms, enchanted by the sight of his large, veiny hands on your body. Those hands that you knew so well, even after all this time, you could pick them out of any lineup. You never managed to unlearn him. You’d know him forever, even if you never saw him again. Your heart swelled with emotion at the thought.

The sensation of Rafe nipping at your earlobe pulled you from your thoughts and your knees went weak. You reached an arm up behind you and ran your hand over his shaved head, nails lightly scratching his scalp. 

“Thought you hated my hair,” he chuckled into your ear.

“It’s just different,” you breathed as he squeezed you under his hands just slightly. “You’re different.”

At this, he looked up and met your eyes in the mirror, his chin rested on your shoulder. He looked bashful.

“Bad different?” He asked, an edge of vulnerability in his voice.

“I haven’t decided yet,” you admitted honestly.

“What can I do to help you make up your mind?” He teased, easing some of the intensity of the moment. 

You smiled back at him in the mirror and he ate it up, heart soaring at his ability to change your mood with just his words. Maybe if he kept talking he could convince you to stay, to ditch your mom’s rehearsal dinner and never leave his side again. 

“I dunno,” you shrugged, challenging him with your eyes, hoping he would pick up on the hint that you want him to take control of the moment.

“Would this help?” He grips your breast tighter, making you gasp at the sweet pressure, 

“Mhm, I want more,” you closed your eyes and laid your head back full on his shoulder, surrendering to him.

He pulled the thin strap of your dress between his teeth, dragging it off slowly to reveal more of you. Once the strap has fallen fully down your arm, he licks a strip up your neck. When his warm tongue filled the shell of your ear, you sighed blissfully. When he pulled his mouth away and blew gentle air against the moisture he had just left, you fully swooned, swaying into him. 

He rocked with you and started rubbing his hand over your stomach, your hips, the curve of your ass.

“You want me to keep touching you like this?” He asked, genuine interest in your answer.

“Yes, I love it, Rafe,” you said. “I need you.”

“Tell me where you need me, baby,” he groaned into your ear, your eyes now squeezed shut so you could take in the perfect sound of his voice. 

“Everywhere,” you were losing your ability to stay engaged in the banter, the feeling of his hands too electrifying.

Rafe notices how you’re fading, and decides not to ask any more questions. The hand on your ass moved further down, to the hem of your dress. He ran the pads of his fingers over the soft, plush skin of your upper thigh. He lifted the hem up until he found the edge of your panties, hooking his thumb over the waistband and leaving it there for a moment. He kissed your jaw sloppily and started dipping the rest of his fingers under the thin fabric one at a time. 

You braced yourself on the edge of the sink with one hand, while the other slid down his forearm until you found his hand, guiding it to feel the wetness now dripping between your thighs.

The realization of how wet he made you mixed with the feeling of your silky cunt hit him like a truck. He groaned and pushed the hardness in his pants against your ass. Your other hand shot to the sink edge for stability as his hand took over, his fingers beginning to dance over your clit.

“Oh my god,” you moaned.

“This what you want?” He asked, his voice huskier than it had been a minute ago, as the feeling of your soft curves pushing against his erection sent shock waves through his body.

“Baby…” was all you could bring yourself to say.

“Missed hearing you call me that,” he confessed.

You opened your eyes to meet his, but saw that his were now clenched shut as he focused on making you feel good. In the reflection, you caught the clock on the wall, your mom’s rehearsal dinner was beginning soon.

“Rafe,” you tried to pull his attention.

“Y/n,” he moaned, misunderstanding your tone.

“No, Rafe,” you tapped his arm to get him to open his eyes. “I have to go, I’ll be late.”

Rafe shook his head. “I’m not done with you yet.”

He said it a bit harshly, his fear manifesting itself into anger as it so often did.

“But-” you started to protest, but were cut off when he sped up the movement of his fingers, pinching slightly and rolling your sensitive clit between his fingers. “Fuck!” You nearly yelled as your body jolted forward.

“That’s it, just let me finish what I started,” Rafe said, his thumb taking over circles on your clit while his first finger reached down to dip into you.

You tried to talk, tried to tell him how good it felt, but no words came from your open mouth. Your knuckles were white from your tight grip on the sink. You pushed back into Rafe, wanting to share the pleasure you were feeling with him, but he pulled his hips away from you.

“Nah, not right now,” he said. “I’m on the clock here, baby, I gotta focus.”

He plunged a second finger into you and curled them upward, finally hitting your favorite spot that he knew so well. He had spent so long memorizing how to unravel you, he couldn’t forget if he tried.

Soon enough, he succeeded, and you unraveled completely. Rafe watched with unblinking eyes as your orgasm had you bent over the sink, crying out his name. He pulled you toward him, holding you up, as he whispered reassurances into your ear.

“Rafe, I-“ you cried.

“I got you, baby,” he cooed. “I always got you.”

Finally, your breathing steadied and you came back to earth. You turned in his arms and his hands rested on your lower back. Stretching up on your tiptoes, you wrapped your arms around his neck and placed a grateful kiss to his lips.

“You still my girl?” He asked earnestly.

“Always.” 

You said it without really thinking, and immediately wondered if you shouldn’t have. Rafe clearly couldn’t see the doubt on your face as his own was filled with relief and affection.

Just as he leaned forward to kiss you back, his phone dinged in his pocket. He rolled his eyes, annoyed at the interruption and you giggled, delighted that he only wanted to be with you right now. He reluctantly checked the text.

“Your car is ready,” he explained.

“Oh, good!” you had honestly forgotten that your mom’s car was even gone, the morning feeling like a lifetime ago. 

“I’ll go get it for you,” he offered. “You might, uh, wanna redo your makeup.”

You turned quickly to look at your reflection in the mirror, the mascara you had just applied was smeared from the sweat Rafe had caused you to break.

“Oh my God,” you laughed. “I look like a racoon!”

“A cute one, though,” he said, planting a quick kiss to your cheek before exiting the room. 

You blushed at the simplicity of the moment, and the sweetness of the comment. For a moment, you let your mind drift into some delusional future where this is your home, and you are his girl, and none of the past two years happened. 

But they did happen. Your bubble burst and you were suddenly back in the real world. This isn’t your house, and there were so many obstacles in the path to the future you were still inexplicably clinging to. The biggest of them being that you weren’t sure you actually knew the man you just promised yourself to. The man who yells and fights and gets arrested. The man who managed to break your heart and stitch it back together in the span of a few hours.

The man who never answered any of your letters.

It started so innocently, you wandered down the spiral stairs to the floor Rafe’s room was on. You walked around his room with your arms crossed, taking in the familiarity of it. You opened his top dresser drawer, immediately closing it again, feeling strange about poking around. But you had to know.

You began rifling, opening every drawer and digging through it, not even bothering to set them back to the way they were when you were done. You told yourself you were just looking for the letters, curious if he had read them or kept them sealed, or even ripped them to shreds. But if you were being honest, this wasn’t just about the letters. Rafe still hadn’t given you the answers you were looking for, about what happened to his dad or how he ended up getting arrested. You were too scared to bring it up again, the whiplash of his mood swings today making you dizzy. You figured if you were going to get answers, you’d have to dig for them yourself.

You made it through Rafe’s room without finding anything significant. He had a few joints rolled up in his desk drawer, but there was nothing that satisfied your craving for understanding. 

You repeated your desperate actions in his bathroom, then Ward and Rose’s room, where it appeared Rafe had been sleeping, a mystery you’d solve another time. You made your way to Ward’s office, the room you were never allowed in when you were kids. You dug through the desk drawers, the filing cabinets, the old antique hutch - nothing. Then you remembered a time in high school when you and Rafe had snuck in here, needing to find some spare cash for concert tickets you had begged him for. Rafe had snuck into his dad’s safe, behind the painting on the wall. 

You slowly walked over to the painting, wondering if this was officially going too small. You didn’t remember the passcode to the safe, so maybe it was pointless, but something in you told you to try. You slowly pulled the painting from the wall, eyes widening at what you discovered behind it.

On one side, a gun. On the other, a pile of gold, diamonds, precious stones - a real life treasure chest. Apart, they could have many meanings. But next to each other, tucked away in a manner that was clearly not meant to be discovered, they told a story. You did not know how that story began, but you had the sinking feeling it hadn’t ended yet, that it was still unfolding, and that the moment you opened this door you had unwittingly become a character in it. 

Without really thinking, you reached out and picked up the gun. You were surprised at how cold it was against your skin. Your eyes widened when you realized how strange it was that you had even touched it, and you subconsciously held it further away from you, as if it was a cursed artifact. Something about the weight of it in your hands sent a chill down your spine. You were overcome with a sense of darkness, as though something sinister had entered the room. But when you lifted your gaze from the foreign sight of a gun in your hand, you found that the only thing that had entered the room was Rafe.

(Chapter 7)

a/n: she's aliiiive!!! I'm so sorry it's taken so long, life is crazy. I missed these two so much. If you're still here THANK YOU for sticking with me!!! I know this chapter is shorter than the others, but I had to get something posted and this is what I have. The rest of the story lives in my brain, alive and well and will be posted at some point I promise!! I think I have 3 or 4 chapters until I've told the full story.

[morgana-larkin]

Alright, after much research and knowing absolutely nothing about what I’m writing, I finally finished the fic. I’ll admit that I’m like the reader in this case and have absolutely no idea how the fuck to flirt. The fact that I’ve had 2 relationships is a miracle in itself. Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: I’ll be doing your prompts next as I have just under 20 in my inbox. They’re mostly Melissa prompts but I do have a couple Chessy ones and 1 Agatha prompt.

The Art Of Flirting

Warnings: small amount of swearing

Words: 6k

You walk into the break room looking for Melissa. You walk a couple steps in and look around for the redhead only to realise she’s not there.

“Hey Barb, have you seen Melissa?” You ask her.

“Not since this morning dear. She might just be running late.” Barb tells you and you sigh and turn around to leave. As soon as you turn around you run right into the redhead herself and she places her hands on your waist to stabilise both of you.

“Hey hon, sorry, didn’t mean to bump into you.” She tells you and you just stare at her, frozen in fear and nervousness.

“Oh, uh, um, it’s-it’s alright. I- I got to go, see you later.” You tell her and bolt out of there.

Melissa watches you leave in confusion before she goes to sit down at the table with Barb.

You enter your classroom and immediately close the door. You put your hands over your eyes in embarrassment and sigh. You just made a complete fool out of yourself in front of Melissa as usual. But honestly, how could anyone act normal around her with how beautiful she is? It’s impossible. You developed a crush on her when you started as the new art teacher 5 months ago.

You go and sit at your desk and start another drawing of Melissa in your sketchbook, a sketchbook that’s full of drawings of her. Is it an obsession to have 100 different sketches of Melissa in different positions and places? Maybe borderline obsession.

After you finish the sketch of Melissa on her phone at the table in the break room, you put your sketchbook away and sit back in your seat. You really want to flirt with her to try and see if she’s interested in you or to let her know that you’re interested in her but there’s one problem with that plan, how the fuck do you flirt?

You get your phone out and decide to google it. It comes up with a bunch of different suggestions and you write down all the ones that come up the most on each website. You just conveniently scroll past the part where it says confidence is very attractive on women, it’s already been established that you have none in front of her. Alright now to put some of these to the test.

First thing on the list: make eye contact.

Watch out Melissa, I’m gonna eye contact the fuck out of you. You then cringe at your own thoughts and sigh.

After school you try and book it quickly to get to the other side of the school in time to walk with Melissa to your cars. You see her locking up her classroom by the time you get there and you walk up to her.

“H-hey Melissa.” You stutter out and she turns around and smiles when she sees it’s you.

“Hey Y/N. How was your day today?” She asks you as you both start walking to the parking lot.

“It-it was alright. How was yours?” You manage to get out.

“It was good, the students actually listened and they all behaved today.” She says and you can’t help but stare at her as she smiles. The point is to make eye contact but you stare at all of her. “Why are you staring?” She asks you.

“What? Me? Staring? Never.” You say with a small laugh and she looks at you confused for a second then just continues the walk to your cars.

“So any weekend plans?” She asks you.

“Umm, nope. I have a pretty boring life. A good weekend for me is curled up on the couch with a good book or a nice tv show or movie to watch.” You tell her while occasionally looking away.

“Hey, I find a night on the couch to be a pretty awesome night.” She says and you just stare at her the entire time.

‘Try to make eye contact, try to keep eye contact.’ Is constantly in your head.

“You’re staring again.” She says.

“I’m not staring… I’m just looking at you while you talk.”

“Hon, that’s called staring.” She states.

“No, it’s called listening while you talk.” You counter and she shakes her head at you with a smile.

“Whatever you say, hon.” She says as you both reach her car and she unlocks it. “See you tomorrow, good night.” She says and then goes to get in her car.

“Good night, Melissa.” You tell her before she closes her car door. You then walk to your car with a smile on your face. ‘I think that went pretty well.’

The next morning you walk into the break room and get your coffee ready. You then go to sit on the couch like you normally do but Melissa stops you.

“Hon, how about you sit with us this morning?” She asks and you look at her in shock. The Melissa Schemmenti, the woman who barely tolerates newbies, just asked you, a newbie, to sit at her table. You almost couldn’t believe it and you smile at her.

“Are you sure?” You ask her and she nods. “Alright, since you’re offering then sure.” You say and go sit on the chair next to her.

“Dear, the project you did with my class yesterday was amazing! My students couldn’t stop talking about it.” Barb told you and you smiled.

“Really? I’m so happy they loved it. And your kindergarteners are adorable.” You told her and Melissa was looking at you with a soft smile the entire time.

“My little eagles love your class as well. They always can’t wait and never want to come back.” Melissa joked with you and you both laughed.

When you both look up from laughing you lock eyes with each other and your breath hitches. Melissa goes back on her phone and you just keep staring at her, she was so beautiful.

“You’re staring again, hon.” Melissa suddenly says as she looks at you and you lock eyes with her again.

“I- I wasn’t staring at you.” You say, voice a bit higher than you intended and Melissa quirks an eyebrow at you.

You pull your phone out and take a look at the list. You think eye contact failed and should try the next thing.

Second thing on the list: compliment her.

‘Ok, I can do that. I always think she looks beautiful. Just have to vocalise it.’ You think and smile as you look up at her. You open your mouth to speak but at the same moment she looks at you and all words left your brain and you quickly shut your mouth.

“Were you gonna say something hon?” Melissa asks you.

“I was but then I literally blanked and forgot.” You say a little shyly and Melissa smiles and shakes her head.

2 hours later there’s a knock on your classroom door and you get up to go open it. You know exactly who’s there, it’s Melissa and her class.

“Hey Melissa!” You say cheerfully and she smiles at you.

“Hey hon, here to drop off the little eagles.” She says and you signal for her students to walk in the classroom. While the students walk in your classroom, you take a look at Melissa. She’s wearing the leather pants that you love on her, a red low cut top and her beautiful ginger locks flowing down to her chest.

“You look really good today.” You tell her and she looks up at you with a smile.

“Ya?” She asks and you nod. “You’ve seen me in this outfit before and you didn’t say anything then.” She tells you with a head tilt.

“Oh…uh, we-well you looked good then but I just didn’t say anything and-”

“Hon, I’m just teasing you, relax. Thank you for the compliment.” She tells you with a chuckle and your cheeks turn red from embarrassment.

The next day, Melissa walks in as you’re on the couch sketching a picture of her. You were really into the sketch that you didn’t register her entering or walking towards you.

“That’s a nice sketch of me.” She says and you jump at her being close to you and quickly close the sketchbook.

“MELISSA! Oh hi!” You say with a higher pitched voice and she giggles at your reaction.

“Can I see the sketch?” She asks as she sits down beside you. You nervously nod your head and then turn it to the correct page of the sketch, carefully to not let her see the other sketches of her, the 100 other sketches of her. You don’t want her to think you’re a stalker. You showed her the sketch and she looks at it with a smile for a few seconds. “This is really good, no wonder you’re an art teacher.” She tells you.

“Tha-thanks. It’s not finished and I didn’t have you posing, although neither did I ask your permission. I’m sorry.” You tell her and she waves you off.

“Don’t be sorry, I’m flattered you’d rather sketch me then someone else. And I’d be happy to pose for you.”

“Really?” You say, shocked.

“Yep, but I’d like to keep the sketch after.” She says and you immediately nod.

“Alright, deal.” You say and then you both shake on it. You should have thought through the idea of shaking hands with her cause as soon as your hands touched, you immediately don’t want to let go. Her hand was so soft and you like the way it feels in yours.

“Come to my place after school today if you’re free and you can sketch me then.” She offers and you immediately nod with a smile.

“I’m definitely free, I’ll be there.” You say and she smiles then gets up.

“Great, I’ll text you my address.” She says and then leans down and lowers her voice so no one else hears. “Oh and btw, you look really cute when you’re concentrating on your work.” She says with a wink, then goes to sit with Barb.

‘What the fuck just happened?’ You think and you might as well have error 404 written across your face cause you don’t move at all for a few seconds.

After school you’re heading to the parking lot when you get a text. It’s from Melissa and you can’t help the smile that formed on your face.

Melissa: Hey Y/N, here’s the address of my castle! Feel free to show up anytime between now and 6 😉

You: I’ll be there in an hour! Why between now and 6?

Melissa: to feed you dinner of course!

You: oh, you don’t need to do that

Melissa: I insist, and I gotta do something to pay you back for sketching me

You: you not being angry at me for sketching you without your permission is good enough for me

Melissa: any dietary restrictions?

You: I’m not getting out of this am I?

Melissa: nope 😉

You: no restrictions

You check the list on your phone for another flirting technique.

Third on the list: light touching

You show up at Melissa’s place an hour later and she opens the door and smiles when she sees it’s you.

“Hey hon.” She says and moves to the side to let you in.

“Hi Melissa.” You say and then take your shoes off before Melissa is guiding you to her couch with one hand on your back. When she put one hand on your back you froze for half a second and you hope she didn’t notice. “So what kind of sketch of yourself do you want?” You ask her once you both sit on the couch.

“Hm, how about me posing on the couch?” She says and you quirk an eyebrow as you flip to an empty page in your sketchbook.

“You’re not talking like titanic style are you?” You ask her and she chuckles.

“No, although maybe I’ll consider that in the future, I do have a great body.” She says and then winks at you. You sit there staring at her like a deer in the headlights, not knowing what to say. “You finished the sketch from earlier.” She says as you were on the page from your last sketch. You nod and then show her how it looks as it’s done. “Wow, you’re an amazing artist.” She says as she looks at it with a smile.

“Thank you.” You say as you look at her with a smile.

“Have you sketched any other teachers?” She suddenly asks as she looks up at you.

“Not in a while.” You say and she looks confused at you. “When I first started I sketched everything and everyone. I like sketching different things and people, and everything was new. I haven’t sketched the other teachers since Halloween.” You tell her and she smiles at you.

“Did you sketch everyone in their costumes?” She asks and you nod. “Can I see it?”

“It’s in another sketchbook.” You tell her and she gives you a little pout. “I can bring it in on Monday if you want.” You say quickly and a smile forms back on her face.

“I’d like that.” She says and you smile and nod at her.

“What other sketches do you have in this one?” She asks you and you suddenly feel nervous. You brought the sketchbook that’s full of sketches of her, a mistake on your part.

“I- I, it’s private.” You say and she looks at you confused but she lets it go.

“Alright, so what do you want to sketch? The one for me.” She says and you think about it.

“Well what do you normally do when you’re at home?” You ask her.

“I cook, grade stuff if I need to catch up, eat, watch tv. On the weekends though it’s different.” She says and you tilt your head. “Other than cooking, I do chores, visit family members, occasionally do something with Barb.” She says and you smile softly at her. Then you suddenly get an idea as you see how she’s sitting right now. She’s sitting on the couch with her body towards you, her left leg on the couch tucked under her body, with her left arm on the back of the couch and head resting on her hand.

“You know, how you are right now is perfect. It looks natural for you.” You tell her and she looks down at herself then back at you.

“You want me to stay as I am and just look at you?” She says and quirks an eyebrow.

“Well that’s if you want the drawing to be of you on the couch.” You say as you flip to an empty page in your sketchbook.

“That’s alright with me.” She says as you get one of the pencils you brought.

“Do you want to be smiling or just a natural look?” You ask her and she thinks about it for a second.

“Smiling.” She says.

“Do you mind smiling then? I’ll be doing your face first.” You tell her and she nods then does a smile.

You take a deep breath and then begin your sketch. In all your sketches of Melissa, you never have one where she’s posing for you. Having her look at you as you’re drawing her is very different.

“You can stop smiling now if you want.” You tell her as you finish her face. Melissa does stop smiling and just has a natural look now and starts a conversation with you as you continue the sketch.

“When did you start doing sketches?” She asks as you do the outline of her body.

“For as long as I remember. I was a shy kid and it was hard for me to make friends so I drew instead.” You tell her as you move to the side of the couch to sketch her full body. You get to the part where you’re sketching her chest and you can’t help but blush as you look at her chest.

“Why are you blushing?” She asks you.

“No reason, just um, not used to having someone look at me as I sketch them. Only my family ever did.” You tell her and she smiles at you.

“Well you’re beautiful when you blush.” She tells you and you immediately snap your head up at her and she winks at you. You blush even more but you go back to the sketch and try to calm your blush down. After half an hour, you finish the sketch and turn it around to show her.

“What do you think?” You ask her as she looks at it.

“It’s perfect.” She says and then you carefully ripe the page out and hand it to her. She reaches out and takes it and your hands brush together briefly and your breath hitches slightly as you feel her soft skin. She examines it more closely with a smile before she gets up. You put your stuff away as she hangs the drawing up on her fridge. You get up and follow her to the kitchen just as she’s putting food from a container on two plates. “I hope you like lasagna cause that’s the leftovers that I have.” She says and you smile at her.

“I’m positive I’ll love it. I’ve heard nothing but great things about your cooking.” You tell her and she smiles as she puts one of the plates in the microwave. “I really like your house, it’s very homey.” You tell her as you look around her kitchen.

“Thank you.” She says and puts the second plate in the microwave after taking the first one out.

“You’re the first person I’ve seen to have plastic on the couch though.” You tell her and she giggles a bit.

“My family is Italian and love wine. So when they come over I don’t want them to spill on the couch.” She says and you nod in understanding. “Come and eat.” She says as she takes the two plates over to her dining table. You take the first bite and the flavours explode in your mouth and you let out a small moan.

“Omg Melissa this is incredible.” You tell her with a smile.

“Thanks hon.” She says and then you both continue on with normal chatter until you leave. “I’ll see you on Monday, and don’t forget the sketchbook.” She says as you’re at her door, ready to leave.

“Don’t worry, I won’t forget, see you on Monday Melissa.” You tell her and then you leave. Once you get home you take a deep breath and sit on the couch. You didn’t really flirt with her but you got to spend a lot of time with her alone and without interruptions. You smile at that thought and then go to find your filled sketchbooks and grab the one that you’re looking for to show her on Monday.

When Monday rolls around, you grab all your things and make your way to school. You walk into the break room and make a coffee. Melissa looks at you as you make a coffee and then invites you to sit next to her when you’re done.

“As promised, the sketchbook I used when I first got here.” You tell her and she smiles as you hand it to her. She gets you to scoot closer to her and you do it immediately and then she looks at the sketches you did. You have drawings in there of Abbott mostly, of the break room, some classrooms, the gym, the playground. Then she sees some of the teachers making their way into the drawings. She sees herself in a few of them, especially in the break room ones. You decide to put your flirting into action as she’s distracted and move your leg slightly so that your thigh is touching hers. You keep it there and she doesn’t say anything, she just asks you about some of your drawings and you happily explain them to her.

She then flips the page and she sees a drawing of a few kids in costumes and realises that she’s at Halloween. She looks at a few drawings and then gets one of just her in the break room, on her phone with a lollipop in her mouth. She looks at it with a smile and flips the page. She sees that it’s another sketch of her in her costume. It was after haunting baby Thanos and you were all sitting in the gym as the kids tired themselves out. You were all there but she sees that you only drew her. She flips the page and sees a picture of Draemond, the owner of charter schools, there with devil horns and she giggles.

She flips a few more pages and sees herself and Barb at their table in their Christmas clothing. She flips to the next page and it’s her with the read-a-thon medal and a huge smile on her face. She then gets to the end of the sketchbook and she hands it back to you. “Your sketches are amazing, hon.” She tells you and you take the sketchbook back with a blush. Melissa then goes to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and you look at her. “There, it was getting in the way.” She says with a smile then goes to her phone. You go on your phone to check the list again as you don’t have a lot of reasons to touch her. Then it hits you, you never moved your thigh away from hers and she didn’t either. You glance down and sure enough your thighs are still touching and Melissa doesn’t seem to mind. You now look at the list to try and flirt some more with her.

Fourth on the list: Get her to talk about herself.

Ok this one seems easy, you can do this. “So Melissa.” You start and she looks at you with a smile. “What are you doing today with your students? Any activities or something fun?” You ask her and she thinks about it for a second before her eyes widen and she starts collecting her things.

“You just reminded me that I gotta get the classroom ready for a science project.” She says quickly and quickly walks out of the room. You sigh with a pout and Barb looks at you with a gentle smile.

“Don’t worry dear, one day she’ll notice your advances.” She tells you and your eyes widen as you look at her.

“Wha?” You ask her and she shakes her head with a smile.

“I know you like her, it’s no mystery.” She tells you and you put your head in your hands.

You pull your phone out for something to do and it’s still on the list and you’re about to close it when you read the next thing.

Fifth on the list: Go out of your way to be nice.

You have a perfect opportunity, you can help her set up her classroom. You say goodbye to Barb and then you head to Melissa’s classroom. Once you get there you see her frantically setting things up and you knock on the door. She looks up at you and she smiles at you before continuing setting up.

“Hey hon, I’m sorry that I left so quickly.” She tells you and you walk in.

“That’s alright, I just came over to see if I could help you.” You tell her and she looks at you.

“Really?” She asks and you nod. “That would be great, hon.” She tells you and you walk over to grab some of the paper out of her hand. You think you have the perfect opportunity to double flirt, help her and get her to talk about herself.

“So what experiment are they doing today?” You ask her and she smiles.

“Volcanos. We’ve been learning about them so today we’re doing the baking soda and vinegar volcano.” She tells you excitedly.

“You seem more excited than the kids.” You joke with her and she giggles.

“It’s the most fun experiment of the year.” She says.

You shake your head at her before an idea pops in your head. “Hey, I got an idea but you can always say no.” You tell her and she looks at you and tilts her head. “Well you know how I have your class second period today?” You start and she nods her head. “How about we combine them. We can even decorate the volcanoes. I get bring over some art supplies and make a whole 2 hour experiment!” You tell her and you calm down when you finish the idea.

“That’s actually an amazing idea and I’d love to do that.” She says and you quirk your eyebrows.

“But…” You say and she shakes her head at you with a smile.

“No but, it sounds amazing and we should do it.” She tells you and you jump up and down.

“Omg! Ok, I’ll go grab some supplies and l’ll be right back!” You say excitedly and run out.

You return 5 minutes later, a few minutes before the bell rings with some painting supplies. You both continue setting up, including the art supplies and finish right as the bell rings. Melissa goes to greet her students as you stand at the front of the classroom and the students look around at the materials.

“Ms. Y/L/N, what are you doing here?” One of her students ask you.

“Me and Ms. Schemmenti will explain everything when everyone is settled in.” You tell them and they nod their head and take a seat.

“Alright my little eagles!” Melissa says and you shake your head at that, of course she includes the eagles in her teaching. “Today is volcano experiment day!” She says and the students begin to cheer. “And Ms. Y/L/N here is helping us with it. We’re combining our classes so we’ll have 2 hours to build and decorate our volcanoes.” She explains and all the students begin side chatter with someone beside them.

“And we can do a competition! The group with the best looking and best working volcano will have bragging rights for the day.” You tell them and they all cheer again. One of the students raise their hand and looks at you. “Yes Makayla?” You ask her.

“Does the best looking means that they have to look like a volcano?” She asks and you think about it.

“Hm, good question. I’m gonna say no. Just go crazy and make it look however you want it to look. And if you need any specific art supplies then let me know and I’ll go get it for you.” You tell everyone and they all have a big smile. “Anything to add Ms. Schemmenti?” You ask her as you look at her.

“Nope, I think it’s time we split into groups.” She tells them. You split the class into groups and they all get started on their volcanoes. “You know there’s extra supplies if you want to make a volcano together?” She asks you as you smile and then you both start constructing one. You both work on it and also help the students with theirs if they ask.

“So how should we decorate it?” You ask as you add some paper to the volcano but it didn’t stick.

“Here you didn’t add enough glue.” She says and stands behind you. She takes the piece of paper and dips it into the glue and then passes it to you and both stick the piece onto the volcano successfully. “I think it should be a black volcano with pink lava.” She says with a big smile and you shake your head and smile as well.

“I think we can make that happen.” You tell her and she beams. Once the paper dries then you set up the paint and you take turns painting parts of it. When Melissa finishes painting it completely black then you get the pink paint and a smaller paint brush. You begin painting lines on the volcano while she paints the top of it. Melissa gets the lava ready with extra baking soda as you’re using paint instead of food colouring which is heavier. Once everyone is done then you all test the volcanoes. The last one to test was yours and Melissa’s and it worked and started pouring out pink lava to which the whole class was in awe.

After they all get tested then you and Melissa quickly discuss who wins and then announce the best group. They all clap for the winning team and then you get everyone to help clean up.

“Thank you for today.” Melissa says as you both clean up your area. “This was a really fun idea.”

“It’s not a problem Melissa, and I had a lot of fun today as well.”

“We should combine our classes together more often.” She says and you smile at her.

“I would love that.” You tell her and then continue cleaning up before you had to leave for your third period class. You’re lucky you had a spare at the beginning of the day so you could do this project with her and her class.

At lunch you bump into her on the way to the break room and she starts laughing at how you look. “Did you get paint shot at you?” She asks through giggles.

“Something like that. The kids and I were having fun with the paint and they decided to attack me with paint. This is why I only use washable paint.” You say.

“Come here.” She tells you and she brings you to the sink in the break room. She gets paper towels and begins cleaning the paint off of your face. The rest of the crew walks in while Melissa is wiping the paint off your face and they all start laughing at your state.

“Dear, what on earth happened to you?” Barb asks as she tries not to laugh.

“Third graders wanted to have fun today with paint.” You tell everyone.

“And it seems you were their main target.” Melissa says and she starts giggling again while wiping near your mouth. She then starts wiping your mouth and you both freeze for a second and Melissa looks up into your eyes before looking back at your mouth and then goes back to wiping your mouth. “If it’s any consolation, you look like an art teacher.” She jokes with you and you both start laughing at the joke. Melissa finally gets all the paint off your face and neck and then you both start to have lunch.

“Thanks for getting all the paint off my face.” You tell her and she smiles at you.

“Not a problem, hon.” She says and then goes and explains to Barb the volcano project.

“Wow, it seems you two had a fun morning.” Barb tells you both and you both nod and Meliss turns to look at you.

“We did ya. I was already looking forward to the volcano project but you made it even better.” She tells you and you blush.

Once lunch ends then all the teachers go and collect their class, you on the other hand have a spare right now so you walk to your classroom and start to get it ready for Janine’s class that are coming next period. While getting it ready you begin to think of your plan of flirting with Melissa, it seems to be going well except that you’re barely doing anything. And then it hits you, Melissa is doing the flirting and you’ve been flirting back with her. She’s the one making eye contact with you, complimenting you, lightly touching you, getting you to talk about yourself and even helping you out. You facepalm as you didn’t even notice before, how oblivious are you?

At the end of the day, you’re sitting on the couch in the break room, finishing up a sketch. Teachers walk in and out quickly to get their lunch and then go home. Melissa walks in with Barb but then notices you on the couch, she says goodbye to Barb and then walks over to you and looks at your drawing. It’s another sketch of her, only it’s her painting the volcano.

“That sure was fun today.” She says from behind you and scares the shit out of you.

“OMG! MELISSA! Why do you keep scaring me like that?” You ask her and she starts laughing.

“Sorry hon, but it is funny.” She says as you pout. “Btw, that’s another sketch of me, I seem to be your favourite subject to sketch.” She tells you and you blush.

“Really? I didn’t even notice but I guess so.” You tell her, trying to cover up the fact that the sketchbook is full of sketches of her. You both start walking out when your book slips out of your hands and falls in front of her. The curiosity gets the better of Melissa as she looks at the sketches after picking it up. She’s able to get away from your attempts at getting the book back as you don’t want her to think you’re some sort of freak or stalker.

“I guess I really am your favourite subject.” She says as she flips through all the sketches, you’ve already given up your attempts and just lets her look. She finishes looking at them after a few minutes and gives it back to you. “I wouldn’t mind keeping some of those.” She says and you clutch the book close to you.

“Of-of course, you can keep a-any sketch you want.” You stutter out and she smiles at you.

“Why didn’t you want to show me your sketchbook before?” She asks you and you sigh.

“Because if you found out I have a sketchbook of just sketches of you then you might think I’m a freak or something.” You admit to her.

“Hon I don’t think you’re a freak for it. Many artists have something or someone that they love to sketch. I have a few artists in my family and they all tell me that.” She says and you look at her. You then remember your discovery a couple hours ago and you surge forward and kiss her. You could feel her being stunned at first and as you go to pull away she starts kissing you back. You both pull apart when air is needed and then you look at each other as you catch your breath. “Thank god, I was wondering if you liked me back for a month now. Which is why I started flirting with you.” She tells you and your jaw drops.

“You’ve been flirting with me for a month?” You ask her, completely stunned and she nods.

“How long do you think I’ve been flirting with you for?” She asks.

“For like a week. I mean that’s when I started flirting with you.” You tell her.

“You’ve been flirting with me?” She asks and looks taken aback.

“Ya, I guess unsuccessfully if your reaction is anything to go by.” You tell her and you both start giggling.

“You suck at flirting hon.” She tells you with a smile.

“I know, I literally googled how to flirt with women as a woman cause I have no idea how to flirt.” You admit and she laughs at that.

“You’re adorable but you're right, you have no idea how to flirt.” She tells you and you pout. She then kisses you again and this time you melt into the kiss, unaware of the trio and Barb watching you both from down the hall, all of them with a smile on their face.

Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta

@imaginesmultifandoms

@idonothingalldays-blog

@sexysapphicshopowner

@dvrkhcld

@lilfartbox1

@ricejucie

@unicorniusfallapatorius

@a-queen-and-her-throne

@sleep-deprived-athlete

@og-kxsh-420

@sasheemo

@midnight-lestrange

Let me know if you want to be added!

[madebyrolo]

Placeholder - Jacob Black x reader

One shot

Inspired by the Radiohead song “India Rubber”

She/her

Y/n has had a crush on Jacob since middle school, entering high school they start to get closer but then Bella his longtime crush comes back to town.

comment Bella slander I love it but #teamedward #jacobishotter

*not proof read or edited*

┌────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┐

Did it all for you to say, you never wanted me that way.

I’ve had the biggest crush on Jacob ever since middle school. We were at La push and him and his friends were playing soccer and 12 year me went crazy for some reason. We went to school together but it wasn’t easy being friends with your crush. It wasn’t until summer before freshmam year once we started getting closer. He got a car and he would give me rides to school. Those school rides turned into hangouts.

First he brought his friends along, we would go get pizza, go to the arcade, bowling or the beach. Though it wasn’t until the fall when it would he just us two. He called them friend dates although I would wanted it to be more.

Then came spring. The daughter of Chief Swan came back in town. Jacob and Bella were best friends when they were young cause of their dads. Bella was 2 years older than him. She was 17 now and he was 15 and a lot has changed since she’s was last here. Jacob had a crush on Bella it wasn’t hard to tell. As soon as he heard the news from his dad that Bella was back in town he started spending time with her, catching up and trying to be the best friends they used to be.

Now the dogs have had their meat, I think I’ll go plug in the mains.

He and the rest of the boys went back to school on the rez too so she hardly saw him and now she was forced to ride the bus. With that Jacob and y/n daily hangs out turned to after school only. But sometimes he would cancel cause and she quotes “reconnecting with Bella” so now it was weekend only.

Soon the summer came around and Bella got a boyfriend and basically kicked Jacob to the curb. Now y/n had her Jacob back. They caught up after her time was stolen by Bella and Jacob acted like nothing happened. The same cycle happened again. Hanging out as a group, then alone, then Bella. Everyday, after school, weeekend only, then cancelations.

It was fall and Bella broke up with Edward. Jacob was back to following her around like a lost puppy. Y/n noticed Bella was treating Jacob like a place holder and y/n didn’t like it. Even though it pains her that Jacob has feeling for Bella, doesn’t mean she can play with him all she wants. She know he’s wrapped around her finger and she takes advantage of that.

Jacob was blinded by love, although he knew that he was temporary to her, he loved that he was at least hers for while. Edward leaving Bella in emotional mess was the shitiest thing he’s done but Jacob took it as an opportunity to swoop in and take Bella for himself. So he went to the one person he knew for advice, y/n. He pulled up to her house and texted her he was outside.

Y/n excited that Jacob wanted to hang out because it’s been weeks since they’ve did. She excitedly put her shoes on and headed out her door. Once she got in the car she was ready to list some ideas for what they could do but before Jacob ask her what set her down an emotional spiral.

“Y/n I need help” he turned to her

“Yea what’s up.”

“I wanna make Bella a little basket because she’s been really upset with her breakup”

Of course it’s for Bella y/n thought

“Uh sure”

“Okay what would you if you were going though a heartbreak ?”

“Um well candy always a good one, you can put in her favorites. I love gummy worms-”

“Bella hates them, she thinks they’re too chewy” he cut her off

“Um well like I said her favorites. I candle and a nice soft cute blanket. Maybe something sentimental between you guys of some thing” y/n told him

“Yes the sentimental things that’s good!”

There was silence between them

“Y/n Im gonna be honest with you, I feel comfortable and trust you enough to say this” he said with a deep breath

“I have feelings for Bella and I want to ask her out” yup and there it is. Her heart sunk. Y/n always knew but now that she has the confirmation makes it worse.

“I never felt this way about anyone before. She’s perfect, everything I want in someone. She’s self preserved, she’s smart and-”

Y/n couldn’t keep listening to him. He was praising her. He was in love with her. Every word he said she could hear the “love” in his voice. It was soul crushing. The boy she loved was in love with someone els. She always thought she would’ve ended up with him, she was so positive. They were close, she finally had him all too herself once he stopped inviting his friends. But then a Bella came. Bella, Bella, Bella all about her.

She snapped out of her emotions trying not to tear up infront of him but once she heard the sentence she broke.

“ I love her y/n.”

With that she couldn’t stay silent anymore.

I tumble like a clown. Before your baying hounds. I suffocated myself into your hands.

“Enough Jake, I’ve had enough! Can’t you see she’s doesn’t care about you? She’s using you. She’s waiting for Edward to come back you’re just a placeholder, it’s been like this since last year?! Once she met him she left you. She’s in love with him not you, she loves the attention she gets not you, she loves the “security” she gets from you not you! She knows you won’t leave cause you’ve been obsessed with her ever since you were younger. she loves the idea of you not you. you know she’ll never stop loving Edward but you don’t wanna admit it!!” y/n yells at him.

Jacob has tears slowing filling up his eye, his knuckles turned white from gripping the steering wheel out of anger. He knows it’s the truth.

“Get out.” he says calmly trying not to lose his temper.

“Just know with me you’ll never be a burden. You wouldn’t be 1 or 2 in my life, you’ll be my life.” y/n says as she slams the door. Jacob speeds off.

Time skip 2 years.

Who would’ve guess Edward came back. Bella and them are graduating and everyone in school got an invite to the Cullens graduation party. Even though Y/n somewhat resented Bella even though she’s with Edward. Her crush on Jacob died out but you never really get over your first love. She decided to go to the party because a party’s a party.

It was 8pm and y/n was the party. She was hanging out with her friends now and the newly seniors while she was a newly junior. They were drinking, singing terribly and playing truth or dare. Y/n gets up to get a refill feeling a bit tipsy but she’s not wasted. As shes in the kitchen she runs into an old friend. Jacob.

When you spare your make up smile, im instantly your biggest fan.

He looks at with the most innocent smile acting like they’re fall out never happened. It’s been 2 years. They’re 16 now and they grown into their more mature selfs (and body’s) Jacob obviously spoke up first

“You look nice” he said staring at her.

“Thanks you too” she replied sipping her drink.

How was I supposed to know that you’ve practice it before.

 └────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────┘

[joelswritingmistress]

Neighbors With Benefits: Part 10 (Joel Miller x f!reader)

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader

Life felt completely up in the air. It was as exciting as it was anxiety-ridden. The BMW remained at Joel’s house overnight, and even long after you’d gotten home after your romantic romp in the lake, jealousy and insecurity ate away at your core - not to mention every other heightened emotion you could think that you had no idea what to do with.

He said he wanted this, you reminded yourself. Still, there was a looming dark cloud over your inner paradise in the form of the legal situation between Joel and Cecille. Should she try to convince him to take her back, maybe she would be enticing enough for him to agree to it. After all, this wasn’t some high school couple that was simply calling it quits. This was a marriage.

Your racing thoughts disallowed you to have a solid night’s sleep. Each time you awoke you took a glance out the window to see the car beside Joel’s truck. It was torture. When the morning finally did come, you were pleased to see Cicille enter her vehicle ahead of Joel. The question was, was she going to work, or was she leaving for good?

Your phone went off soon after, and you barricaded yourself in your room to take Joel’s call.

“Hey.” The one word practically came out as a sigh of relief.

“Hey.” Joel cleared his throat, “Look, I’m uh, I’m going golfing with your father after work.”

“Oh, yeah,” you remembered, “That was today huh?”

“Yeah.” He paused, “And then I’m going to get a room somewhere for the night.”

“Like a hotel?”

“Yeah.”

“So, is um… is Cecille staying there permanently then?”

“Honestly, things are a bit of a mess, and there’s nothing legally keeping her from being there. She loves to make my life a hell of a lot more difficult when it’s convenient for her, hence why this thing is ending the way it is.”

“I’m sorry.” You sighed.

“I shouldn’t even be venting all that out to you,” Joel went on. “But, I just wanted to let you know that I wasn’t going to be at the house tonight.”

It felt like a crushing blow that you were potentially losing Joel as a neighbor. Having him right next door was exciting and fun. Sneaking back and forth had been an addicting addition to the relationship. To have his ex-wife appearing out of the blue to take the house back over felt unfair, if their verbal agreement had stated otherwise.

“What hotel are you staying at?”

“I have to make some calls on my lunch break,” he explained. “And, uh… if you’re around I wouldn’t mind the company.”

“I’m around,” you explained with a nod, though you knew he couldn’t see the gesture.

Joel hesitated before speaking again. “Thanks for… understanding. I’m sorry for how this all must seem from your point of view.”

“I trust you,” you said to him. “Divorces happen and from what I’ve heard through the grapevine they’re rarely easy.” You paused a second before adding, “I’m here for you.”

“Thanks.” Joel sighed heavily on the other end of the line, “I, uh… I’m really lucky to have you, honey.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Despite all the heavy feelings, a smile still formed on your face.

“I’ll text ya the name of the hotel this afternoon.”

“Okay.”

“I, uh, I can’t wait to see ya. I know it’s only been since last night but I got used to you sleeping next to me.”

Your heart went from a steady beat to outright pounding in your chest. “I loved waking up next to you.” And I fucking love you!  You wanted to shout it. You wanted to cry as you told him. The thought of it alone made you want to burst into tears but you didn’t know why. The feelings were so intense and the circumstances were so up in the air that it left you feeling a bit tossed in all directions. It was overwhelming.

“Well, if you’ll have me, tomorrow morning you will.” Pep returned to his voice as he spoke those words.

“You know by now that I’ll gladly have you.”

“Okay, then,” Joel said, “It’s a date.”

That was enough to hold you over. While the long term held some serious questions, the short term had you back to walking on air. Spending the night at a hotel with Joel already felt like a little slice of heaven. No one would know where you were. No one would be there to potentially interrupt or catch you. In your mind, you could play house again and act in your fantasy world like you were husband and wife.

When you made your way back downstairs to see your mother filling her travel coffee mug, you smiled. “I can make the pasta salad for the picnic tomorrow,” you offered, “And whatever other appetizers will hold overnight. Oh, and I’ll set up the volleyball net this afternoon. Dad’s going golfing, I think.”

“Thank you,” you mother said with a smile. “That would be great.”

“Hey, I’m not going to be home tonight, but I promise I’ll be back for the picnic.”

“You’re staying out?”

You nodded. “Yeah.”

“Holly’s?”

“Mm-hmm.”

You mother squinted her eyes. “Is there… something you’re not telling me?” She asked with playful accusation.

“Like what?”

“Well… you barely stay at this house anymore,” she began, putting a hand up before you could protest,” And it’s fine, you’re a young woman, you can do as you please. But, as your mom, of course I’m a little curious.”

Crap. Where was she going with this?

“Are you in some kind of secret relationship?”

“Mom…” You shook your head.

“With some guy… or even with Holly?”

Your eyes bugged out of your head and you began to laugh. “What? Holly’s been my best friend since middle school.”

“It happens.” She shrugged, making you laugh further. It was a relief that she thought of Holly before Joel, though you knew sooner or later you would have to tell her the truth.

“No,” you giggled now, “I can’t wait to tell her you said that.”

“Oh, don’t make fun of me,” she said, shaking her head, “You girls always teamed up on us moms growing up.”

“Some things never change,” you teased, laughing out loud. In the lighthearted nature of your talk, you almost wanted to blurt out the truth and tell her you were in love with Joel. In your heart, you knew a part of her wouldn’t judge, but the other rational part of her would break down every reason why getting involved with him was a terrible idea - and you didn’t need that right then. Still, you decided to be half honest with your mother. “I am seeing someone,” you admitted.

“I knew it.”

You chuckled, “But, I didn’t want to put anyone in an awkward position so I kept pretending I was staying over at Holly’s”

“Who is he? Did you meet him at school? What was his major?”

“It’s still a bit new,” you explained, “But I really… really like him. A lot.”

Your mom’s face seemed to glow. “You’ve never said that about anyone… maybe your high school boyfriend, but…” She shook her head, “Oh, I can’t wait to meet him!”

You already have. A smile lingered on your face but you could feel how forced it was from the tense feeling in your cheeks.

“You will,” you explained, “I promise. In time. I just… maybe don’t tell Dad. It’s a weird, in-between time I’m in. I feel like an adult and a kid at the same time and I’m living with you guys and-”

“I get it,” your mother cut you off, “I’ll keep it between us. I’m glad you’ve met someone that makes you… glow.” She grinned, “I knew it. I knew something was different. He treats you nice?”

“Yes,” you said right away, “Very nice. He’s a gentleman. I think you and Dad have set a good example of what to look for in a relationship.” You winked and decided to butter her up a bit - not that it wasn’t true; but sucking up a little wouldn’t hurt once she found out that Joel Miller was your secret lover.

“Your father and I love each other very much,” she concluded, capping her coffee. Your mother smiled and pointed at you, “He’s a good man.”

“And a great Dad.” You exchanged a kiss on the cheek, “And of course you’re a great mom.”

“Stop trying to make me cry before work.” She cupped your face, “My baby is growing up. And it’s hurting me and making me smile all at once.”

You smiled back at her, exchanged another hug and then parted ways for the day. You spent your day cooking and did a little baking before whipping out all of the yard games for the following afternoon. The volleyball net was a little frustrating to set up alone, but you figured it out. And then you followed with setting up cornhole, staking in a set up for horseshoes and even dragging out a set of folding tables so everything was more or less ready for Saturday.

“Hey!” Joel’s voice caught your attention unexpectedly from next door later in the day.

You whipped around with a smile and had the urge to run across the yard to greet him. You played it cool, of course and smiled, staring at him with your hands on your hips.

“Hey!” You shouted back.

“Straighten out those horseshoe pits! They’re cooked!” Joel smiled wide and winked.

You laughed and bit your bottom lip. “Maybe you should come over and straighten them out.”

“I can’t,” he motioned like he was hitting a golf ball, “I’m play golf with my girlfriend’s father.”

He said that loud enough for anyone to hear, but you realized that no one was home to even question it. It made you laugh out loud.

“Keep you ball out of the rough,” you shouted through cupped hands.

Joel began to laugh out loud. He smirked and put his hands out the sides. “No promises.”

Fuck. You wanted to kiss him. No, you wanted to pounce on him.

“Check your phone in about thirty seconds.”

“Okay.”

“Your dad comped me a room on the golf course,” he went on with a shrug, “Felt bad about what’s been going on.”

“He what?”

“I hope that’s okay,” Joel added.

“Oh, yeah…” You hadn’t realized your shock had translated into some form of disapproval, “Of course that’s fine. That’s a really nice hotel.”

“Yeah.” He sighed, “Check in is any time after four. I’ll still be playing then, but you can go whenever you’d like.”

“Do I just use your name?”

“I know it’s probably risky but I gave both of ours.”

You smiled. “Well, I better go inside and freshen up then. I’ve been sweating out here the last hour.”

Joel looked around in all directions before making the trek over to your yard. Your heart rate began to pick up again and you took just a few, nearly-frozen steps toward him. When he reached where you stood he asked, “When do they get home?”

“I, um.. well-”

“Do you have any butter I can borrow?” Joel smiled playfully, reminiscent of the first conversation you’d had together on the back step.

You smiled back and swallowed hard. “I have whatever you need.”

“Is there time?” he asked more directly, looking you in the eye.

“There’s time,” you whispered back, as if someone might hear you.

Joel looked like he wanted to pull you against him and kiss you; but he didn’t. He let out a deep breath, holding your eye contact until you led him inside the back door a step behind you. When you got inside it was as if he had been overseas at war. You didn’t know if you pulled him to you, or he pulled you to him, but your lips crashed against one another’s.

Wondering if you could get caught was the farthest thing from your mind when your hand was tangled in Joel’s wavy hair. He held you with such force and kissed you with such ferocity that you couldn’t hold back what you were feeling.

“I love you,” you gasped in between kisses, “Fuck, I love you, Joel.”

Joel’s tongue dominated yours harder and you only separated from him because you felt like you couldn’t breathe. He let out a gasping breath of his own and let out several deep breaths into your open mouth.

“I love you, too, honey.” He swallowed hard, pecked your lips and you kissed on another more firmly. Joel’s hand lingered on the side of your face. “I fucking love you.”

@pedropascal111 @axshadows @mybritishstyle @untamedheart81 @amyispxnk @goodvibesonly421 @cosmic006533-blog @ashleyfilm @maybetomorrowgirl @rebeccawinters @cuteanimalmama @writlingerz @vickie5446 @drewharrisonwriter @churchofjoemiller

[letstalkaboutfandomsbaby]

yo i hope your requests are open?

could i have a chubby reader with her stepdad’s friends who all want her? like she’s in college and they’re offering to cover her, they take her clothes shopping, etc

thanks <3

Been stewing on this for a bit—

CW: chubby fem reader, older men, smut

───────────────

Alright alright, let's set the scene

Your parent gets remarried while you're at college, and you're fine with that. You've known your new stepdad since he started dating your parent in high school, he's a real stand-up guy and you respect each other. He's been nothing but kind to you and always given you space and freedom.

You don't even meet his friends until you come back from college one summer break.

They're all around his age, 30s and 40s, older than you by a decade or more. You don't meet them until your stepdad hosts a barbeque. Your parents insist that you attend, so you do, suspecting you'll have to answer lots of questions from your older neighbors. You wear a cute two piece outfit, a floral off the shoulder top and a solid colored tennis skirt. You don't think much of it, but you realize during the party that you probably should've worn something more conservative.

Your stepdad's friends? Oh, they're lewd. They're not normally like this, but something about seeing your soft plush curves on display has them itching to get their hands on you. They grab some beers and crowd around you, asking about college, if you're having fun, if you have a boyfriend. You're polite, but you can feel them staring at every inch of you, peeking down your crop top and at your exposed belly. You're not used to this type of attention, so you just assume they're trying to be nice, to humor you with their stares.

Oh, if only you knew what they were thinking. If only you knew that while they were standing beside your stepdad at the grill, all they could focus on was how you bent over to grab a drink out of the cooler, your skirt riding up your thighs. They imagined flipping up your skirt and finding soaked panties underneath, ripping off the flimsy fabric and slipping their cock into your wet heat. They couldn't stop imagining how your chubby pussy lips would cling to their cock, the base covered in creamy cum as you spasmed around them, your moans high pitched and whiny. Several of them had to excuse themselves to the bathroom to calm down, but it barely worked since all they'd do when they came back was stare at you. They're disappointed when you eventually leave the barbeque and escape to your room, but they know they'll see you again.

Not even a week later, they're over at your house watching a game with your stepdad. You're roaming around the house in an oversized shirt and boxers, and these men are practically salivating at the sight of you. They fantasize that you're wearing their clothes after a lovely night of sex. They talk to you when you come downstairs for a snack, meeting you in the kitchen to "grab another beer", asking you what you're up to on your day off. You're polite and humor their questions, trying to ignore the subtle flexing of their muscles. You think nothing of their attention, soon teetering off to your room again to watch TV, much to their disappointment. They wish you could sit on their lap while they watch TV, hands roaming your plump frame while they nurse a beer. Perhaps another time.

They keep showing up at your house over the summer, usually on the weekend. They're always so nice to you, giving you all their attention when you enter the room. And they even start helping you out! When your car broke down and you had to go to work, one of them drove you to your job while the others stayed behind and fixed your vehicle. When you wanted to go shopping and didn't have anyone to go with, they took you to some plus-size friendly shops and even paid for your clothes. When your date stood you up and left you all alone, gussied up with nowhere to go, they practically fought each other for the chance to take you someplace nice (ultimately, they ended up just cooking for you at home and watching a movie after).

It's safe to say that they're all head over heels for you. They're all single, either never been married or divorced, but they wanna change that. They want to have a pretty lil thing like you by their side, hanging onto them, letting them spoil you. They wanna fuck you senseless, in every position you can imagine, in the bedroom, living room, shower, even the kitchen. They want to worship you the way you deserve, and they jerk off almost nightly to the thought of you.

Imagine their disappointment when the summer ends and you have to go back to school. They see you off, helping load your things into your car. They each give you their number in case of emergency and your parents aren't available, but they hope it could lead to more. They sadly watch you drive away, feeling their hearts break as your car disappears. They go home gloomy and depressed, already missing their plump ball of sunshine.

Imagine their joy when you text them that night and say that you miss them.

───────────────

[steviewashere]

Can't Forget to Love You

Rating: Mature CW: Brief Arguing (But they make up) Tags: Post-Canon, 5+1 Things, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Established Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington Has ADHD, Forgetful Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Insecure Steve Harrington, Self-Esteem Issues, Steve Harrington Has Migraines, Steve Harrington Has Bad Parents, Mild Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Sex, Moments in Time, Slice of Life, Guidance Counselor Steve Harrington, Bartender Eddie Munson, Record Shop Owner Eddie Munson, Happy Ending, Eddie Munson Takes Care of Steve Harrington

5 times Steve forgets and Eddie helps him remember, 1 time Eddie forgets and Steve helps him remember

Also on AO3 because this is almost 7k words long.

💕—————💕 0 - Prelude

Steve’s memory is selective. He forgets things most of the time, nothing too detrimental, usually. But forgotten nonetheless. It didn’t start with the concussions; though those didn’t help in any way. Ironically, he’s been this way for as long as he could remember. Granted, there’s a few spotty years—ages four and five lost to time, but from six onwards sounds about right.

His mom used to tell him that he only remembers what he wants to. “You forget what you don’t care about,” she told him. Which couldn’t be true, he had thought at the time. But she was pretty on the money for that one. Those words directed at him a couple hours after she had asked him to do the dishes. She was right. He didn’t care about doing the dishes. And so he distracted himself with other things: the television and a couple books he had to read for school (also not cared about, so those were futile distractions) and his action figures. By the time his parents came home from their date night, he had genuinely forgotten.

Though, why would he want to forget things like his car keys? Food in the oven? Medications? He’d leave a room and it’s as if all the things he needed ceased to exist as soon as his back was to them. Or what about the glasses he wears to read? Those go “missing” all the time, but then his friends point out that they’re on his head or they’re hanging loose from the collar of his shirt or they’re literally sitting in front of him on the coffee table.

He just sort of forgets. Truly and honestly. Even when he cares about it. Even when he marks the date on his calendar. Even when he gives a verbal confirmation and then an additional confirmation from an outside source. He should remember. He should be able to trace his steps or make a true promise to those around him. And he feels sort of dumb for all of it.

But he just can’t.

And then Eddie Munson enters his life. And they’re dating. And they’re living together.

And then they’re entangled, legs under blankets, looking out on Indianapolis from their bedroom window. And Steve keeps forgetting anyway.

————— 1 - September, 1995

“Where the fuck are my keys,” he mutters. Steve’s already thrown the couch cushions to the floor. He’d scrounge around his and Eddie’s entire apartment. Gone through each room and ruined their environment. Tossed aside dirty laundry, rummaged through open drawers (and left them open), had slammed kitchen cabinets, and emptied all of his jacket pockets. When the couch proves to be another empty zone—sans the TV remote he couldn’t find last night and a couple loose coins—he groans, frustrated. Exasperated, he shouts, “Where are they?!”

Forgetting—again, always forgetting—that Eddie was asleep in their bedroom. That he had come home late last night. That his clothes were drenched in syrupy alcohol mess from a shaker exploding on him from behind the bar. That he went through the motions: did his laundry, waited until it was all dry, helped Steve with some homework for community classes, ate dinner, and then passed out in bed; face down, legs sprawled, drooling on his arm by the time Steve came in; 3:19am on their alarm clock, set on Eddie’s side—because he remembers what alarms need to be set.

“Babe?” Eddie’s sleep ruffled voice calls out. He’s closer than Steve thought he’d be. He turns around and Eddie’s in the open entryway of the living room. One sock missing and the right leg of his sweatpants rolled up to his knee and sweat stuck hair on his forehead and his naked torso creased from his arms trapped under him, the blanket all wrinkled around. Steve immediately feels bad, checking his watch: 9:20am.

Shit.

“Fuck,” Steve sighs. “God, I’m sorry. I for—“ He can’t help the next sigh that comes from him. Frustrated and taxed. “I’m just trying to find my car keys. And I thought that I’d put them on the hook by the door last night. But then I checked, and they weren’t there. So I went into the kitchen and then I was in the office and I…Maybe I had folded them in with some laundry? I don’t know…I never know, though!” He tosses his hands out to the side. “I’m so fucking dumb, swear it.”

“Hey,” Eddie murmurs, scolding without the bite. “You aren’t dumb, Steve.”

“But I am! How do I always forget? How come I can’t just keep my shit together?”

Without preamble, Eddie is crossing the room to him. His hands are warm weights on Steve’s shoulders. Thumbs tracing the ends of his collarbone. Steve sighs into him, not quite boneless, yet not rigid either. He casts his eyes down at Eddie’s chest, vision going blurry.

“Stevie,” Eddie mutters, “how can I help?”

Steve shrugs. He reaches up to his face and pinches the bridge of his nose. He drops it away when his eyes stop aching. Voice low, “Do you remember where I put them? You’re better at this stuff.”

“I think,” Eddie starts slowly. When Steve finally looks up, Eddie’s face is one of pure concentration. His mouth pursed and his eyes big and thoughtful. He hums. “I think I saw you with them at the dining table. You had set your school bag on the table and the keys clinked down. But then…”

He stops momentarily, still tracing his thumbs over Steve’s chest.

“Then,” he murmurs, “I made you put your stuff away in the bedroom because I was about to eat at the table and don’t like the outside stuff sitting where we have food. So you went in and set your bag somewhere in the room. Do you remember where that was?”

Steve sighs through his nose. “It’s the only thing I remembered, feels like. Found it by the bedroom door, leaning against the side of the dresser. But no keys.”

“Have you looked inside your bag? It might be good to do that,” Eddie suggests gently, “If they aren’t there, I can drive you to where you need to go and I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”

And…shit. Steve didn’t even think to look there. He works his way around Eddie and to the front door. His book bag—a brown, leather messenger satchel—sits waiting on the floor. He flips open the top and begins digging through the well of the first pocket. And sure enough, clinking against the couple textbooks he has, is a metal ring with something jagged and sharp dangling from it. Materializing the ring, he dangles it in front of his face.

“Yes!” He exclaims. Looks over his shoulder, wide-eyed and smiling. To see Eddie looking at him already, face fond. “You’re a genius, Eds!” Steve crows, “I would’ve never found ‘em!”

Eddie hums. He comes forward to Steve again and settles a hand in his hair. Fingers stroking over his scalp. “I wouldn’t say I’m a genius, sweetheart. Think I just know you pretty well, yeah? Plus, you would’a found them eventually—given that you’ve torn through every other part of the house.”

Steve grimaces. “Sorry about that, let me clean up and then I’ll—“

“Don’t worry about it,” Eddie brushes off. “You gotta get to class and I’ve got nowhere to be for a while.”

“But you should go back to bed.”

“I’ll take a nap before you get home. Believe me, I always do.”

Steve stands from his spot on the floor. Eye to eye with Eddie. He leans in and pecks him, a chaste thing, but lovely nonetheless. “M’kay,” he mutters against Eddie’s lips. “Can you call me at noon, though? Remind me that I’ve got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my bag. I can’t get takeout for lunch again.”

“You got it,” he agrees. “Get outta here before you’re late.”

Reluctantly, Steve pulls away. Lingers by the door for a brief second and kisses Eddie just one more time, if only to do it. “Don’t pick up anything for dinner. I’m making lasagna tonight.”

“Go, loverboy,” Eddie directs lightly, gently nudging Steve out the door. “I’ll call you and eat your lasagna. But go before you’re late.”

Before Steve leaves, though, Eddie calls out for him one more time. He looks back, because he always will.

“I love you, baby. Remember that,” Eddie says. And Steve’s chest flutters something quick. Something tepid. Something soft in the back of his throat.

“Love you, too.”

————— 2 - Halloween, 1997

Okay…Decorations, check. Costumes…Eddie’s got his and mine’s…Where is mine?

“Christ,” Steve lowly groans. He just got back from class. There’s a bowl of candy sitting on the dining table. Spider webs that threaten to get caught in his hair every time he steps out of their apartment. The complex has a flood of kids for this year and he wants to be awake to hand out Kit-Kats and Sour Patch Kids to all of them. Eddie’ll be home soon and Steve’s sure he’d like to get started on festivities as soon as he gets back. He even promised to pick up a new bottle of Smirnov to go with the leftover Kool-Aid they’ve got going sour in the fridge.

And it looks like he won’t be chugging sugar tonight because he forgot…again.

He goes to their landline, hanging in the hallway. Prays, beyond everything, that Eddie’ll be the one to answer at the bar. The phone rings almost incessantly. Loud. Piercing. Reminding him that he has to contact his boyfriend, his personal backlog of Steve information.

Finally, after the third ring, it’s picked up.

“Halligan’s Bar & Grill, this is Eddie speaking.”

“Eddie,” Steve breathes. “Oh, thank god! I…I need your help with something.”

On the other end, Eddie makes a soft, concerned noise. “You alright, sweetheart? Need me to come home early?”

“No!” He gets out, a little too loud for his liking. “No, shit, nothing like that. Just…” Steve sighs. “I’m frustrated with myself again. I’ve made sure all the decorations are up, ready to go. And the candy’s set to be handed out when you get back. But…Fuck, I can’t find my costume. Have you seen it?”

“Mmm…The Mulder to my Scully. Let’s see…” He clicks his tongue to the roof of his mouth three times in quick succession. Before he answers, he cuts himself off. “Hey! I banished you for the night, man! Get the hell outta my bar!” Eddie shouts. Steve can’t help the low chuckle he lets out. And in response, there’s a short snort. “You like that, Stevie? Giggling like a little school girl,” he teases.

“Sure, Eds,” Steve murmurs, unapologetically honest. But…Business, no time for flirting. “So…The costume? I gotta put it on before those kiddos come squealing to our door, y’know? Plus—well, I don’t want you to get in trouble with your boss.”

Eddie sighs, long and grieving. “Oh, but my loverboy is calling me,” he whispers, the words reaching down into the butterfly swarm that is Steve’s stomach. “Okay, well…The last time I saw it was this morning, actually. It should be hanging over the side of the porch banister. I washed it this morning with that sensitive laundry soap you bought—just thought about how you were complaining about how itchy the fabric was making you and…I don’t know, thought that I could maybe soften it a bit?”

Steve peeks around the corner, into the living room, and there it is, yup. Through the sliding glass door, that leads to the porch, is his costume. His cheeks flush red hot. He should’ve looked there. The dryer in their apartment’s been acting up lately. Eddie’s been hanging up all the laundry on the porch, the new autumn heat just enough to dry ‘em. Ashamed, Steve murmurs, “Found it. Sorry I bothered you at work.”

A scoff. “Bothered?” Eddie asks incredulously. “More like kept me entertained and level-headed. Swear to god, Steve, I’m one more bad customer away from quitting.”

He hums knowingly. The bar’s not a good place to keep working, Steve especially knows that. Eddie’s been there for a good five years now and the honeymoon phase was over long before he even reached the end of the first year. Day thirty, only a month in, Eddie had come home with his shoulders hiked and a sigh big enough to blow away the sands of time. 

There was a flyer on their coffee table for some start-up cafe down the street, Steve remembers that. At least.

“Maybe you should quit,” Steve suggests. “First of all, I get to keep you all to myself—“

“You get me anyway, Stevie. That’s hardly a reason to quit.”

“Mmm, but I’m greedy,” he teases. “And I like to keep you, so…That should be enough to quit in the first place. But also, I can’t help but notice that flyer that spawned in our living room the other day. Maybe apply there, baby.”

Eddie chortles. “You’re just wanting me there so I can bring you home pumpkin loaf and lattes.”

“Bonus,” Steve amends.

“Touché, Stevie, touché.” Another shout at a customer over what sounds like Eddie’s shoulder. And he sighs, just like he did on day thirty of the bar. “I’ll think about it,” he murmurs, “but I gotta go. Some asshole—“ and he says that with conviction, “—won’t get a cab and go home. I’ve gotta hail him one, boss’ orders. Just get your costume on and remember this especially: I love you and you aren’t bullshit and you’re gonna be so hot tonight that we’ll have to call candy handouts off early. I’m gonna ravage you, baby. Animalistic style.”

Steve giggles. “Startin’ to sound like that Nine Inch Nails song, but I’ll remember. Get home safe, get that vodka, and I’ll make sure the Kool-Aid stays good.”

“Love you, Stevie. Please don’t forget that.”

“Love you, too, Eds. Now go on before you get in trouble and that asshole gets more shitfaced.”

He’s not bullshit. Eddie loves him. But he also loves Mulder.

And Mulder, Steve can now be.

————— 3 - March, 2003

They moved out of Indianapolis at the start of this year. Moved cross-country into an outskirt, suburban area in Portland. A little house; perfect and capable. It was an odd change to make at first, considering they had their apartment since ’89, but the winds of change blew at them, hard enough to send them over state lines.

Though, with March and the rainy season Oregon has to offer, Steve was down for the count with an awful migraine.

It seemed like with the change of season and the change of weather, the migraines were going to be more frequent. Air pressure and the fact they were uphill and…whatever other bullshit garbage a doctor told him long ago. Just like always, he’s forgotten what the words were and what they’ve meant. But they hit him in tidal waves as he lays supine on the tattered, tartan sofa they dragged from the apartment.

Lumpy spots surround the knots of his shoulder blades and lower back. And his head is throbbing. Hard to miss. Hard to forget.

But the current time…he didn’t know when it was. He didn’t know the last time he took medication. He couldn’t remember when he ate or if he did, what it was and if he still had water in his travel bottle. But he couldn’t get up. Couldn’t, even if he tried.

There’s rustling coming from their new home office. Eddie’s probably finishing up his bookshelves, finally. Books being sorted and figures going on display. The guitars hanging on the farthest wall from the door, Steve can almost imagine it. Almost. It’s too hard to really think, let alone function as a person.

“Eds?” He calls out, croaking. The sounds in the other room stop. Suddenly, however, steps are echoing down the hallway, coming around the corner, slapping against the hardwood (meaning Eddie’s barefoot, probably still in his pajamas, having called out from work this morning), and standing thankfully in front of the only window without a curtain. That sunlight had been bothersome, but again, Steve doesn’t think he can move without getting overwhelmingly dizzy. “Eddie,” he murmurs.

Eddie crouches down. His joints popping and crackling like a packet of Pop Rocks. Even makes a few low, measured grunts of discomfort under his breath. But a hand splays itself on Steve’s forehead, cool rings against his skin, dull fingernails carefully scratching his left temple. It’s Eddie’s left hand, then. All the rings. The pig one heaviest. “Yes, sweetheart? What can I do?” He whispers.

Steve winces anyway, eyes squeezing closed impossibly more. The pull of his eyebrows makes pain flare inside his head, down to the roots of top teeth, makes his stomach gurgle with unease. He takes a careful breath through his nostrils. “When’s the last time I had medicine?” He finally musters.

The hand on his forehead twists. Eddie’s thumb folding into the palm of his hand, wrist pointing at his face. He makes a hum of assessment. “Roughly six hours ago, give or take ten minutes. Wouldn’t harm you to take more right now, though. Want some?”

Steve tries to nod, but stops when the heavy weight of Eddie’s hand forces him still. He’s grateful for his presence. Lingering in their home. His weight easy, even his shadow, even his voice. He smells of barely anything: the smallest curl of a cigarette, but also the honey sweetness of their new shampoo. Nothing else. Thankfully.

“Do you have water in your bottle?” Eddie asks him.

The corners of Steve’s eyes sting. “Don’t remember,” he mutters. “Can’t remember anything, Eds. Feel so…I feel so stupid and useless right now.”

Eddie’s right hand smacks softly on his shoulder. “Hey, none of that,” he scolds gently. “It’s okay if you don’t remember, baby. You’re in pain, Steve, that’s okay if that’s all your body can focus on. Let me get your medicine and I’ll refill your water. Probably would be best to get new ice cold fluids in ya.”

Steve hums. “Thank you,” he murmurs. “You think I should eat?”

“Are you hungry?”

“I’m not sure,” he explains, “just nauseous. Like not enough I couldn’t stomach anything, but just enough to gross me out.”

“Okay,” Eddie whispers, “I’ll get some toast, too. You want just butter or can I slather on some jam? Robin made it from real, very sweet, very delicious strawberries. Might be yummy.”

Despite how shitty his day is, Steve finds himself grinning like a fool. “Go ahead, Eds. Thank you again. You’re a lifesaver.”

Eddie leans more into his space at that. Leaves a barely wet, long kiss between Steve’s eyebrows as if he’s trying to will the discomfort away. “Just stay put and I’ll get you feeling better. Later, I’ll draw you a cooling bath. And even later, we can snuggle, okay? I’ll get you situated and finish up the bit of work I have on our computer and then…you have all of me for the rest of the day.”

“M’kay,” Steve breathes, “love you.”

“Love you, too. Don’t forget that.”

Even if Steve’s brain goes haywire well into his life, like it almost is everyday, he truly believes he’ll always remember that. In the soft touches. In the exchange of words. In the kiss to his forehead and the cold water pressed into his hand and the perfectly jammed-up toast. Eddie loves him, Steve will always know.

————— 4 - January, 2008

“Steve!” Eddie screams as his greeting. He’s just got home. The front door just shut behind him. And Steve doesn’t know what he did, but Eddie rarely yells at him. And his heart drops immediately out of his ass and to his feet.

He appears from the office. Glasses perched low on his nose. Hair wild like it’s been tugged at. Hands shaking from how much caffeine he’s had. His head is pulsing something low and his stomach is flipping nauseously and he barely slept. God, he slept only two hours last night. Things are amping up for him, meetings with parents and social workers and principals, counselors like him—his schooling having prepped him for IEPs and students who need assistance. But it’s taking a toll. And he doesn’t have time for this.

“What, Eddie?! I’m about to log on to another meeting, why are you screaming at me?!”

“You’ve been at home all day, right?”

Steve sighs. Snippy, he responds, “Yes, Eddie. You know I have. Woke up at like five this morning and have been working since. What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

Eddie levels him with a wide-eyed, furious stare. His cheeks are pulled hollow from the pinch of his lips. Arms crossed tight over his chest, fingers white-knuckled where he grips to his biceps, feet popped out. “You’re kidding,” he comments dryly. “Tell me you’re joking, Steve.”

“What’s wrong?” He repeats. Checks his watch. “Five minutes, Eds. I’ve got five minutes and I’m itching for another coffee. Spill.”

“So, Wayne’s got our daughter right now,” Eddie states lowly. His voice is tight and thinning by the second. Shoulders tensing. “Lilly’s apparently been waiting at daycare for…mmm, what did the administrator say? She sat on the curb with her too big pink backpack, hair wild, covered in marker stains from a couple of kids who took their anger out on her. She sat on the curb for three hours. Waiting.”

“Three hours? Well, what the hell, Eddie? Why didn’t you—“

“It was your day,” Eddie bites, “Your day to get our kiddo and she was a snotty, bubbling mess when I had to get her last minute. I got the call while I was unloading the new record delivery at my shop. Got the inventory page out, trying to manage new hires, talk circles around the dumbass delivery driver. And just as I was about to fucking explode, I get the call.

“So, answer me this, Steve. Why did our daughter wait three hours? You were supposed to get her on your lunch break.”

“I…” Steve’s chest stutters. His jaw drops wide. Shoulders tight, hands shaking impossibly more. “I…Oh my god, I didn’t have lunch. I didn’t…The meetings just kept coming and I wasn’t reminded to get a lunch break from my boss, so I didn’t leave the house. And I…Oh god.”

At that, the tension snaps in him. He places his tremor riddled palms over his eyes. Pressing in as hard as he can, enough that his vision spots with black and maroon and blue. He sobs dryly.

“I forgot our daughter,” he squeaks out. Hands still over his face. Throat drying and face heating. “Our little four year old daughter. I just fucking forgot her. What the…What’s fucking wrong with me?”

“Steve, knock it off,” Eddie warns low. “There’s nothing wrong with you, sweetheart. I hate when you talk like that.”

“I forgot our daughter!” Steve shouts, “I forgot her just like my parents forgot me! What, because I was fucking working?! Oh my god! Nothing is more important than her and I just…I’m the worst fucking parent to ever exist.”

“Hey!” Eddie snaps back. “I just said knock it off.”

Steve draws his face from his hands and levels Eddie with his own stare. Hope it conveys all the self-hatred piled deep within him. The factual part of him labeled: Major Fuck Up. Even the bit of anger that burbles in him.

“My mom used to tell me that people only forget when they don’t care,” Steve states lowly. Deep in him like gravel nestled in tires. “Maybe I am just like her. Just like my dad. Maybe I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t care. I mean…Who picks work over their own children?”

“You didn’t pick,” Eddie admonishes. “You were stressed and busy, as was I. I know that you’re a good father, Steve. You wouldn’t worry so bad right now otherwise—“

“I forgot,” he mutters. His chest is hollow. Kind of feels like he’s going to puke. He can’t believe himself right now. “I need…I’m gonna tell my boss a family emergency came up. I can’t…Just leave me alone right now. Don’t try and lie to me about this shit.”

Eddie scoffs. Follows in a quick pursuit as Steve begins to retreat to their office. “I’m not lying, Steve. You’re not a bad dad, I’m not lying about that. I’m not—“ Steve slams the office door in his face before he can try and get any closer.

And he makes do on what he said. Calls his boss. Makes up a lame excuse. And then he slithers back out to their bedroom, where Eddie isn’t, and curls up on his left side over their comforter. Stares at the wall, thinking. Too hard. He always thinks too hard. Maybe that’s why he forgot. Maybe he forgot because his brain was elsewhere.

But he cares about their little Lilly. He cares about her more than he cares about himself most days. No, he knows he cares more about her more than he cares about himself all the time. She’s their baby. Their little ball of sunshine. And he let her down. Just like his parents let him down.

How did I let myself forget, he can’t help but linger on, who forgets their own child?

Later, Eddie joins him in their bed. Laying on his back. Space between them. Not touching. Not speaking. Barely breathing.

Until he whispers, “She’s spending the night with Wayne. ’T’s Friday, so maybe he’ll grant us the free time and keep her all weekend.”

Steve sniffs. Says nothing. Doesn’t move.

“I spoke to her,” Eddie states louder, “she’s a little mad, I’ll be honest. But she understands. She knew you had a long day. Said that she had a long day, too.”

“Yeah,” Steve wetly murmurs, “and I sure as hell didn’t help her with that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she shunned me, Eds. If she told me…If she told me what I’ve known all along.”

“Steve,” he hears whispered. “Baby, look at me.”

“No,” he stubbornly refuses. “Just tell me the truth and get it over with and I’ll…Fuck, I don’t what I’ll do. Don’t lie to me.”

Eddie turns, then. His arms wrapping hesitantly around Steve’s waist, dragging him in. Steve can only squeeze his eyes shut, breathe brokenly through his nose, try and think of somewhere else to be. But he lays his hands over Eddie’s anyway. He always will.

“I’m not surprised you forgot,” Eddie murmurs, “I’ll…Let me be more honest, okay? I talked to your boss—“

“Eddie—“

“I talked to her,” Eddie takes over, voice nearly stern, “And she told me that you’ve been sitting at that damn computer for twelve hours. Twelve, Steve. That’s insane. You need to know that. That’s insane. You’ve been on speed dial all day. You’ve been stuttering over your words. You had six cups of coffee before noon. Baby, that’s fucking—

“You’re insane, Steve. I don’t understand you sometimes, I’ll admit. But I understand truly, deeply that you never intend to forget. Never. I should’ve called you. Or—Or we should’ve just had Wayne get her, we knew today was busy, and yet we self-sabotaged. It’s my fault, too. It’s not just you. Baby, Stevie, we aren’t bad parents because life got in the way.

“Shit happens, Steve.

“You’re not a bad father for forgetting one time. And we know what doesn’t work now. We know what we need to do next time. We’ll do better.” He shifts again. Legs intertwining with Steve’s. Arms squeezing his stomach. Chin digging into his right shoulder. His words are murmured directly into Steve’s ear. “I’m sorry for getting so angry, sweetheart. I reacted before taking in the situation. I’m sorry for screaming, that wasn’t nice.”

“But it was deserved,” Steve mutters blankly.

Eddie tuts, turns, and lands a chaste kiss to his cheek. Drags his right hand fingers up Steve’s torso, grips his chin, and makes them look at one another. He makes a soft, sympathetic noise. Thumb going to run under Steve’s eyes.

“How long did you sleep last night?”

He doesn’t answer.

“Steve…”

“Two hours,” he finally murmurs, “I just was so fucking nervous and I couldn’t relax at all and so I just did a bunch of cleaning up until I passed out on the sofa and then I got ready for work. And…Well, now you know what happened.”

Eddie breathes sharp through his nose. “I think we need a break from work,” he states calmly, “I don’t like what it’s doing. Stressing you out this bad.” He cups Steve’s face with his one hand. Traces over his bottom lip. “Imagine what happens if it just keeps stressing you out. We don’t need a repeat of that stomach ulcer from your last year of school.”

Steve rolls his eyes and scoffs. “God, don’t remind me of that. I’d rather forget that shit.” Though, he softens then. Gazing back at Eddie. “You really think I’m a good parent? Despite…”

“One hundred percent, loverboy. And don’t doubt that for a second.”

For the first time that day, Steve smiles. No teeth, just lips. Eyes half-lidded. Sleep creeping in on him. “Okay, fine,” he relents gently. “We just need a better plan for next time.”

Eddie nods. “Yup, that we do. And Steve?” They gaze at each other again. “Don’t forget the other important thing, okay? I love you to the center of the universe and back. Despite this, I love you.”

“Love you more, Eds.”

He chuckles, “Oh, Stevie…Don’t play this game with me.” His fingers gently trace Steve’s hairline. “We’ll be here all night and we won’t get any beauty sleep. Just rest now, alright? I’ll order us some pizza when you get up.”

“I’m gonna ruin my schedule.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll remember to get you up before then.”

Though, in a series of firsts, Eddie didn’t wake him up. And his schedule was definitely ruined. But they got a weekend to themselves and a vacation planned for the next one.

————— 5 - December, 2016

Marriage. That was a word.

Marriage.

And Steve’s about to experience it—legally. Sure, he and Eddie had been “married” for the better part of twenty-five years or so. But it wasn’t authorized by anybody. And they hadn’t tied the knot when Massachusetts allowed it, life having been hectic and the fact they had moved not too long before that information was shared. So, they chose to wait. By god was it going to be a good day.

Except, of course, something was going to go awry. At first, Steve thought it’d be that the cake wouldn’t be delivered to the wedding on time. Then, there was the fiasco in which a strap snapped off of Nancy’s bridesmaid dress. And then Jonathan dropped his camera, had to rush away to get a new one.

But this one was marginally more embarrassing than any of those.

They made it through the ceremony, the reception, and the goodbyes. Alone time, at last. Alone time in their honeymoon suite, my that sounded good, Steve thought.

Then, right as he was one foot out the door, Eddie laughed something hysterical behind him.

He whipped around, wide-eyed, giggling. “What?” He breathes. “Why’re you laughing so hard, honey?”

Eddie brought his left hand to his face, that new ring in his collection glinting nice and bright for the whole world to see, and wiped away his fast falling happy tears. “Baby, you’re forgetting something really important.”

For a moment, hot white shame flooded through Steve. He scowled. “Hey,” he snipped, “that’s not funny. You know I’m bad at remembering.”

He was leveled with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. There were deep smile lines stretching around Eddie’s face. His crow’s feet were finer. Hair wispy at his temples and grey. Steve couldn’t be mad any longer, it was impossible to be in the face of somebody so painstakingly attractive.

“It’s breezy in here,” Eddie commented suddenly. “Right? It’s like there’s an open window or something.”

Steve placed his hands on his hips. Scowled again. “What does that have to do with anything, Eds?”

“Mm…the fresh, winter air. Snowflakes on the roof. Ice on the roads. Children dressed in puffer jackets, styling snowmen. Icicles ready to be licked. You don’t feel that chill?”

“Eddie,” Steve grumbled, “we’re going to miss our cab if you keep running me around in circles. What does the breeze—“ And then he felt it. Really felt it. A chill. A quick little gust of thirty-one Fahrenheit wind tickling his legs. But…That didn’t make sense. He was wearing pants. Sweatpants. Dressed down for the suite.

…Right?

He looked down, flushing deeper than he ever thought possible. The crimson could’ve touched his toes if he gave it the chance. Because what greeted him was a plain black t-shirt and his green boxers and a pair of white Nike socks. And, low and behold, no pants. Nada. Zilch. Zero. He was pants-less and Eddie was cackling his bony ass off.

“What the?! Why didn’t you tell me I was close to mooning the neighborhood, Eds?”

“I thought you would’a noticed,” Eddie wheezes. He takes a chortled breath. “I just don’t get you, sweetheart. How does somebody forget pants?”

“I’m excited!” Steve attempted to defend, “I want to get places faster, do sexy things to you, celebrate! I thought I had pants on!” Though, if he really thought about it, he does remember getting briefly distracted after undressing from his tux. Eddie’s tongue down his throat. Calloused fingers on his softened waist. Whimpered moans.

He was distracted, that’s his alibi.

“As much as I love you naked—“ Which Steve wasn’t, so Eddie made no sense. “—Your beautiful legs and beautiful body and that fat ass of yours are for our rose petal covered bed and my future hard-on. Can you grab some pants really quick? They should be in the duffel where you grabbed the shirt. Which…Sorry to make fun, but it seems like you remembered that, loverboy.”

Steve rolls his eyes and marches over to the duffel bag. There’s his sweatpants when he gets the zipper undone. The sweatpants that should be on his stupid legs. “Just for laughing, I’m making you watch me work myself up and you don’t get to touch.”

Eddie positively whines. “Oh, come on,” he wheedles, “just a little touch. Just a—A morsel, kind sir. A tap? A love tap to that divine tiered masterpiece below your back?”

“Want me to revoke watching privileges? I’ll just make you listen. Maybe I’ll be quiet this time,” he huffs, pulling his pants up. “Could blindfold you with your own hair, dipshit.”

Another loud cackle. “Okay,” Eddie sighs, “I’m sorry.” He strides over and kisses Steve quick. One to his forehead. One to the underside of his jaw. On his lips. The moles on his neck. If they continue, Steve won’t have a clean pair of pants to put on. And he’s not a teenager, so he won’t be creaming any pants anytime soon. So, he pushes Eddie away, albeit reluctantly, and smirks. Eddie leans in again, though, murmurs wetly in Steve’s ear, “I love you, sweetheart. Despite how goofy you are, I love you.”

And despite the mild irritation Steve is simmering in his veins, he can’t help but be lovestruck. “I love you, Eds. How about I show you, yeah?”

“Ooo, I get to watch?”

“Tell me you love me again and maybe I’ll let you touch, too.”

By the time they make it to their hotel, Eddie’s voice is hoarse. And Steve’s body is thoroughly detailed by Eddie’s nimble fingers.

————— +1 - November, 1986

Of all the people Eddie expected to see on the other side of the trailer’s door, it was not Steve Harrington. Especially on a random Wednesday. At 5pm. With a shy glint to his eyes. Maybe he should’ve expected to see him, though, considering how they’re somehow friends. Even with the miles of differences between them. And it’s nice, too, that the guy is a respectable human being. And with the extra bonus of being attractive. And with the even bigger bonus of stealing Eddie’s heart.

“Oh, hey, Stevie,” Eddie greets. “What brings you ‘round these parts?”

In one quick motion, Steve thrusts something into Eddie’s field of vision. It’s a denim thing, that much he can tell. But it’s all balled up awkwardly, almost like Steve doesn’t want him to see. “I brought this back for you. Thought you wouldn’t be able to live without it.”

He takes the denim thing from Steve and carefully unfolds it.

Between his hands is his loved, cherished, battle vest. All the patches intact. Not a single pin out of place. And, most importantly, no longer stained with blood and gore. It’s been cleaned. It’s been returned. 

“I almost forgot about this,” he murmurs, “how did you—“

“I, funny enough, also almost forgot about it. But I found it in a pile of clothes from March. Thought I’d try to get the stains and things out. Washed it by hand in my bathtub. Used all the tips and tricks I got from…Honestly, Robin and Nancy helped me out with the blood. Y’know, time of the month things.” Eddie nods in slow understanding as Steve explains himself into a breathless stupor. Then, he takes a deep breath. Shifts nervously. “Just thought it would be nice for you to have it back. Means a lot to you, I’m sure. I—uh—I worked my own sewing skills on there and repaired a few loose strings. Hope that’s okay.”

Eddie’s eyes comically widen. And he kind of wants to cry.

“This is so…God, Steve.” He holds the vest limply in his hands, closer to himself, admiring it. “Sweetheart, this is wonderful. I was worried it got lost in all that mess.”

Steve shrugs as if he isn’t rocking Eddie’s world. “I remembered to keep it safe. Which is crazy, I normally forget everything within the first few seconds.”

Chuckling, Eddie states, “Well, you did that. You kept it safe.” He looks up, eyes misty and smile soft. “Thank you. Seriously, Steve. Thank you.”

But, before he ushers Steve inside. Before he promises beer and a movie and some music Steve probably wouldn’t like, a lightbulb goes off over his head. “You just jogged my memory of something,” Eddie relays. “Wait right here, alright? I’ve got something for you.”

In haste, Eddie rushes back to his bedroom. Settles his vest neatly over his dresser, despite the haphazard lops and hills of mess in his room, and begins to dig through said mess for his gift. Within just a few minutes, Eddie pulls up a soft, yellow sweater from the corner of his closet. As gently as he can, he folds it up in his hands and carries it back to the front door.

Steve’s still waiting there. His honey sweet eyes looking up expectantly, eyebrows raising when he spots the item in Eddie’s hands. So he hands it over. Watches it unfold in Steve’s grip. And how his smile gets wobbly, cheeks flush magenta, and his eyes go misty with it. “Where the hell did you get this?” Steve wetly asks.

Eddie gives his own nonchalant shrug. “It’s not the same one,” he admits honestly. “But you looked too nice in yellow to not have a sweater like that again. So I thought…Hey, Steve can have the one Wayne gave me, the one that didn’t fit quite right. It’s a hand-me-down, so it’s maybe not as special, but—“

“I love it,” Steve swears breathlessly. “Are you kidding me? My new buddy gave me a sentimental sweater, one that looks like one that I loved with my whole heart, and I get to keep it? Eddie, I love this so much. Man, I love you.”

Choosing to not say anything, he lets Steve ooh and ahh at the sweater a moment longer. Then, he ushers them inside. Gets them beer. Puts in a movie.

“Hey, Steve?” Eddie calls softly. Steve is sitting next to him on the couch, head lolled on the back to look over. “I’m gonna give you something to remember, that okay?”

“I can’t promise that I won’t forget.”

Simply, Eddie shrugs again, leans in close. And, though there’s an undercurrent of fear rippling through him, he kisses Steve. A sweet thing. A chaste thing. But one that he hopes conveys everything under the sun. And when he pulls back, Steve is shocked into dreamy silence. His cheeks are flushed pink. Eyes a bit glazed over. Smile stretching softly.

“One more thing?” Eddie asks; Steve just bobbles his head, too caught up. “You’re a loved, loved man. And I’m going to remind you that until the day we die.”

“All because of a vest,” Steve sighs.

“Sure, Stevie. Because of a vest. But maybe…y’know, if you’re willing…maybe it’s because I just want to love you.”

Steve hums sweetly at that. “Love me, then. Another kiss?”

“You got it, loverboy.”

💕—————💕

[ladykailitha]

The Places We Hide Part 3

Part 1 Part 2

Yup, yup. no more posting right before bed. Oops! This was part 3 and I accidentally skipped part 2. Sorry. :(

*

Eddie and Steve had set up a system. If Steve got overwhelmed and needed to take break from the party, he would tap Eddie on the forearm, then Eddie would get up about twenty minutes later and come find him. Eddie would bring him back around and they’d have a smoke and come back, so they could just past it off as needing a cigarette.

If Steve was home alone or elsewhere and got overwhelmed, he’d call Eddie and say “Come find me,” with a location. And off Eddie would go, he’d grab his keys and be off like a shot.

It wasn’t perfect. There were times when Eddie would be out with his band or doing Hellfire Club and he couldn’t just up and leave, so he call a break and talk to Steve until he felt better. Those times were harder to hide from the party and their friends, but they managed.

The worst times were at night.

The phone rang startling Eddie awake.

“Fuck!” he swore diving for it, hoping to hell it didn’t wake Wayne, too.

“Yeah?” he murmured.

“Eddie...” the pain voice said on the other end.

Eddie closed his eyes. “Hey, sweetheart.”

“Come find me?”

It was always a question. Like after all this time, Eddie was just going to give up and leave him hanging.

“On my way, darlin’,” Eddie promised. “Where to?”

“Quarry,” was the only response before the line went dead.

Eddie squeezed his eyes tightly before he opened them again. He quickly got dressed and grabbed his wallet and his keys. His hand reached the front door knob when Wayne cleared his throat.

“Where ya going?”

Eddie turned around slowly and grimaced. “I’m sorry the call woke you.”

Wayne raised an eyebrow. “Thank you. But you didn’t answer the question.”

Eddie’s shoulders slumped. “It’s Steve.”

The other eyebrow rose to meet the first. “What’s Steve?”

Eddie shuffled closer to sofa. “He blanks out sometimes, needs help getting out of it. He can say things when he’s under, but can’t really understand why he’s saying it. So we’ve developed a system so I can help.”

“Is that what’s happening when he calls and you’re not home?” Wayne asked gently.

Eddie nodded. “He doesn’t want everyone else to know. The adults like Joyce Byers, Chief Hopper, Mrs Henderson...they’ll baby him. And he hates that.”

“And he can’t go to the rest of his friends, why?” Wayne asked.

Eddie started shifting back and forth. “Can we talk about this later, he’s waiting for me?”

Wayne shook his head. “I’m not letting you go until I understand.”

Eddie let out a low whine. “Fine, it’s because they’re all younger than he is. Nancy, Robin, Jonathan, Argyle are all a year younger. And the rest have barely entered high school.”

Wayne rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I see. You can go.”

Eddie eyed him suspiciously, before he dashed out the door.

He made it to the quarry just as it began to rain. He pulled up along side of Steve’s beamer and then hopped from his van to the passenger side of the car. He slammed the door.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said soothingly. “Can you come round for me?”

Steve let out a sigh. Eddie took his hand and began to rub it with his thumb in short circles.

“Come on, darlin’,” he coaxed.

Steve’s whole body shuddered and then relaxed. “I shouldn’t have drove, I’m sorry.”

Eddie shook his head. “It’s early enough that most people wouldn’t be out. You wouldn’t have hurt anybody. And you are the most careful driver I know.”

Steve closed his eyes. “Thanks.”

“What happened this time?”

Steve opened his eyes. “The light in the hall was going out when I got up to get a drink.”

Eddie pursed his lips. “The Upside Down is gone, baby, you know that.”

Steve nodded. “My rational brain knows it, but lizard brain was telling me I was being attacked.”

Eddie covered Steve’s hand with his other hand, twisting in the seat to do so. “I know, sweetheart. I’m glad you recognized that you needed me.”

Steve looked down at their clasped hands and gave Eddie’s hand a squeeze. “Me, too.”

Eddie smiled. “They’ve been coming less frequently, too.”

Steve reared his head back. “Are you sure?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah man. It used to be three, four times a month. But your last one was a two weeks ago.”

Steve cocked his head. “I guess it’s because you bring me out of them instead of living inside my head until it passes.”

“Happy to help, Stevie,” he murmured.

Steve dislodged his hand and began making his way to the back seat.

“Where are you going?” Eddie asked with a huff of laughter.

“If I’m going to be all mopey and upset,” Steve explained, throwing himself against the back seat, “I’m going to at least be comfortable doing it.” He pulled out a large blanket from underneath the driver’s seat. “Care to join me?”

Eddie looked at the large, pink monstrosity and then shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

He climbed over the center console and hopped into the back seat. He waited until Steve had rearranged the blanket before he held out his arm. “Come on, darlin’.”

Steve wasted no time in settling into Eddie’s side. He laid his head back on his shoulder and sighed.

“Do you think the others have this problem to?” Steve asked softly. “The blanking out?”

Eddie knew what the real question was. ‘Why is this happening to me?’

“You would have noticed, Stevie,” he said kindly. “I think it’s all the hits to the head.”

Steve let out a shuddering breath. “Yeah. I know I should talk to someone about it, but I worry about being put on medication.”

“Why, if it helps?” Eddie asked.

He squeezed his eyes shut. “I was given a narcotic when Billy bashed my head in, for the pain, you know. My dad came home and thought I was using. Despite the fact that the bottle was mostly full and the name was mine.”

“And he flipped out on you?” Eddie guessed.

Steve nodded.

They lapsed into a quiet, comfortable silence.

Eddie had almost thought that Steve had fallen asleep when he spoke.

“Do you know why I come out here?” he whispered.

Eddie looked down at him in surprise. “Why’s that, sweetheart?”

“This is where it all started,” Steve said looking out at the pouring rain. “When hell decided to make it’s home in Hawkins.”

Ah.

“Will and El are safe now,” Eddie murmured. “The only things that they have to worry about now is who gets to cut Mike in half. I personally volunteer.”

Steve chuckled. “You’re his favorite, you know?”

Eddie laughed. “Well, I don’t think he’s anyone’s favorite but those two, so...”

“I know he’s going through shit,” Steve murmured. “But between him and Dustin there is just too much sass.”

“And then you add Max and your negatives are in the negative,” Eddie agreed.

“I love them though,” Steve said as he curled into Eddie’s side.

Eddie kissed the top of Steve’s head. “Sleep now, sweetheart. I’ll be here when you wake.”

A few minutes later, Eddie looked down to see that Steve’s breathing had evened out, his eyes were closed and his body relaxed.

“There you are, darlin’, I found you.”

Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

[aroundthewaygirlao3]

So I saw @hattathehattxr answer an anon about would they want Portwell to get back together on the show, with some really great points about the only ways it would really make sense, given the narrative they’ve painted themselves into. I’ve actually had a sort of blue print of how *I* would do it kicking around in my head, so... here’s my thought.

- End the ‘flagship’ show with S4. It feels like Josh wants to be done, Julia is poised to be in another Broadway show if The Secret Garden transfers as expected, and both Joe and Frankie have been booking live theater gigs as well. It just feels like they’d be better off calling it on the original cast after this year. Not to mention the original concept has gotten SO meta, I can’t even figure out where you go from there.

- SO the storyline for S4... Ricky is super anxious about being a senior and what comes next, and repeats some of his clingy stuff with Gina. But this time he figures out that’s what he’s doing, and genuinely learns to embrace change. After Miss Jenn and Mike break up, they both make the decision that they want to move to Chicago so Ricky can be closer to his mom. Gina is proud of him for embracing change, but can’t do long distance. Ricky understands, they break up amicably. 

- In the finale, EJ has returned to Salt Lake from his stint in “success school”, newly determined not to let his father rule his life. He tells Ashlyn that he’s been accepted into a film making competition in LA. The winner gets admission to film school, and he’s determined to get that spot.

- With nothing with Ricky tying her to Salt Lake, and inspired by getting to know Mack (Matt Sato’s character who’s an actor), Gina decides to make the leap to move to LA and seriously pursue an acting career. Which leads to...

HSMTMTS: The Spinoff: Gina’s Fabulous Adventure! 

- Following the blueprint from the original HSM franchise that follows Sharpay moving to NYC, Gina moves to LA to live with her brother (because we NEED more Jordan Fisher, people!) 

- Gina and Mack spend most of S1 of the spin off in a sweet little relationship, but Gina can’t help but feel like something is missing. Mack is great, but doesn’t get her the way her other partners both have, leading her to re-evaluate what happened with EJ a bit.

- Gina doesn’t find success immediately, and is feeling discouraged. In a deeply stereotypical LA moment, her car breaks down in the rain. Jamie’s not answering and Mack is on set. Desperate, Gina calls the one other person she knows in LA... EJ. Who of course, shows up for her.

- Mack gets a gig shooting on location in London for six months. They agree they’re not the kind of thing that lasts, and have a mutual breakup. Gina says she’s fine, but is actually still wondering why nothing stays in her life. 

- Meanwhile, she and EJ are rebuilding their friendship, and EJ invites her to the final screening for the film competition he’s entered. When Gina goes, she’s shocked that his short film is the story of the last summer. She’s initially angry and goes to leave, but then she starts to see what it was really like from EJ’s perspective, the intense anxiety that he was feeling and how hard he WAS trying to be there for her... that she never was a maybe.

- At the end of the screening, EJ is announced as the winner. Gina is so happy and proud of him... and then sees him celebrating by kissing the girl who played ‘her’ in the movie... and there’s our S1 cliffhanger!!

Obviously S2 (and maybe even a S3) gets Gina and EJ back together. But I think there’s so much more story that they COULD tell for these two! Tim said in an interview that EJ will be “an important factor” in future seasons, but I don’t trust him with these characters at this point. This is how I’d love to see EJ get the storyline he deserves, and help Gina really become the main girl SHE deserves to be. 

Disney Plus, call me! (ETA: You know, call me after you decide to pay writers a fair wage for their work, without which you would HAVE NO CONTENT. Sorry, had to get a WGA plug in there.)

[jokertrap-ran]

[Gakuen K] Kusanagi Izumo Route: White Day’s return gift Translation

*Translator’s note : MC’s name shall remain as my normal (水嶋ラン) *Gakuen K Masterlist / Gakuen K Mobile Masterlist *Spoiler FREE : Translations under cut !

Izumo: Are you really sure this is enough for your white day gift?

Ran: Yup. This plushie’s really cute!

Ran: Its eyes look just like yours!

Izumo: Really? Aw, now I’m flustered,

Izumo: I was actually plannin’ on gettin’ accessories for you or somethin’ like that…

Ran: Would that be better?

Izumo: No, I think it’s cute, and gettin’ a plushie really fits your character…

Izumo: I guess that marks the end of our shoppin’ session. How ‘bout we go for a drive?

Ran: A drive?

Izumo: Yeah. It’s cold out, but the weather’s nice, so let’s go somewhere further away.

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Izumo: —We’re here. A reward for sitting through the short drive.

Ran: Whoa…

Izumo: There are some things out there that are hard to see, even if they’re just right under your nose. We’re just a lil’ way out from the city, but you can see such a wide expanse of the starry sky. Amazin’ don’t you think?

Izumo: I came here a couple of years ago with Mikoto, cyclin’ ‘round the island on a bike. We chanced upon this place after decidin’ to do somethin’ stupid or another.

Izumo: You can get here quickly by car, but it’s a tad difficult to walk or cycle here. I often come here whenever I need to think.

Izumo: Lookin’ at the vast starry sky up there, my own worries feel like a speck of dust in comparison.

Izumo: And the sound of the waves are also very soothin’…

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Ran: Kusanagi-san…

Izumo: But, well, now I have you. And you are like the soothin’ balm in my life, so I don’t have much use for the starry skies now, do I?

Izumo: You’ll get cold if you stay that far away. C’mere.

Ran: Okay.

Izumo: …Closer. Are you tryin’ to make space?

Ran: I’m not… It’s just embarrassing.

Izumo: What’s there to be embarrassed about? We’re the only ones here.

Izumo: No one will see… even if I kiss you here.

Ran: Kusanagi-san…

Izumo: What is it?

Ran: It’s… nothing.

Izumo: Haha, what’s with that? If you can’t find the right words, then shh.

Izumo: If you can’t speak… Well, there are other ways to communicate, no?

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Izumo: I drove here as quickly as I could, but it looks like we've failed to make it in time. Can you open it..?

Ran: No… I can't open it since it's past curfew.

Izumo: I see. Looks like it's time to pull out my trump card.

Ran: What trump card?

Izumo: Take my hand and hold on tight.

Izumo: And here we are. You're welcome, princess.

Ran: That's gotta be my first time entering through the balcony…

Izumo: Really? I used to get into my dorm through the balcony more often than not when I was in high school, puttin’ the door to shame.

Izumo: Oh, right. Do remember to lock your balcony door. Else, what are you gonna do if an intruder comes in?

Ran: Like you?

Izumo: Yup, like m— wait, no!

Izumo: So this is your room. It looked totally different back in my day.

Ran: Oh, oops. Wait here, I’ll go turn on the lights. Would you like something to drink?

Izumo: Nah, I don’t plan on stayin’ long. Plus… It’d be bad if someone caught me here.

Ran: Aw, that’s a pity. I wanted to stay with you a little longer…

Izumo: Do you really want that?

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Ran: Kusanagi-san…?

Izumo: What a coincidence, I am of the same mind as well. I… would stay with you till the sun rises if I could.

Izumo: While hearin’ your voice, and stayin’ awake till the sun rises.

Izumo: What will you do if I plead for you to allow me to do so?

Ran: I…

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Izumo: Haha… 0 points. When that happens, you’ve gotta turn them down at once without hesitation.

Izumo: I’m gonna leave before someone else, or heaven forbid, the dormitory supervisor finds out I’m here. Sorry, but this is goodbye for today.

Ran: Kusanagi-san…

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Next Scene: Question

[noteveryoneis]

Some weird snippets that I won't write a whole fic for because reasons:

It feels like they’ve been in this room for ages. 

According to Ava’s phone, it’s only been a couple of hours since they’ve entered the room, but she swears time has slowed down and that her phone is lying. The sun is already set outside, night is starting to come and the daytime’s heat is slowly but surely starting to drop. She can’t wait to drive back home with the windows down, fresh air in her hair and radio blasting something like No Diggity or All Too Well (probably not this one, it’s starting to hurt too much now).

She might be biased too, but that’s not the problem here. The other parents haven’t been on school grounds since at least a good twenty years, so they had all the time in the world to forget what it felt like to be sitting on one of those narrow and straight chairs with loose bolts. Meanwhile Ava left it before it was even over a little over ten years ago, so it feels like coming back to her interrupted last years of high school and it sucks. 

It feels fucking weird to be in this room with all the other parents who came as couples, smiling and listening to the teachers as they explain shit Ava has heard already ten years ago — school rules can’t possibly have changed that much in a decade, can they? A few are alone, like her, but they’re still much older than her, like Mrs. Salvius over there who used to tell them to be careful on the road as she passed them in her shiny pristine-clean car while they biked on the cracked asphalt — And now they’re both in the same room because their kids are in the same class, life is fucking weird. 

Ava doesn’t look like any of them, in her funky patterned button-up and her worn-out Converse, her cap left on the table — she might be a deviant but she still has manners. She doesn’t look or act or think like any of them and they all know it, looking away from her when she turns around and avoiding her like she has the devil on her shoulder. Ava Silva was never known for being the best example for kids in town, especially after the whole thing with JC. It was stupid to even hope that they would have forgotten about it during the decade she spent away, leaving this town behind before coming back a few weeks ago. This town never forgets, neither do its residents.

All the other kids have left to hang out on the playground — can it be called a playground in middle school when playing is already an activity for babies? —, sneaking away from their parents even though they were probably all supposed to stay. Nova didn’t, staying sitting next to Ava, face turned towards the window in silence, lost in her daydreaming. Ava asked her a few fifteen minutes ago if she wanted to join them, but Nova had shaken her head, saying that she was here to support Ava through this whole excruciating evening and that leaving was defeating that purpose — a part of Ava wondered if the other kids weren’t picking on her like they were already back in the city, because quiet kids are always the best targets and Nova is a word for word definition of that.

She looks so much like her father right now, little Nova, with her dark tousled hair falling over her shoulder, but the way she makes herself small, forgotten and guarded, that is entirely a Nova-thing, Ava sometimes can’t help but understand a little the stupid and baseless rumors about whether or not the kid is JC’s.

Her phone buzzes just as the math teacher stops his long litany that neither Ava nor Nova listened to, a picture from Camila. In the photo, Nina and Neves are both sitting at the kitchen table, hunched over their drawings and the stickers Camila bought them, apparently unaware that Camila is taking a picture of them with how they seem entranced in their own conversation, little fingers pointing at the stickers — there is a sticker on Nina’s hand and another on Neves’ forehead, no doubt they probably fought for a while before Camila took the photo. Ava shows the picture to Nova, who smiles at her sisters and nods politely, before sending a text back to Camila.

Its almost over theyre about to explain the language options and all

Camila sends a thumbs up back.

Nova has her paper open in front of her, keeping track of the subjects that have been presented. On the language options panel are the ones Ava remembers: Spanish and German (it’s a small town with an even smaller school, so small that basically all the levels are in the same campus — it’s helpful for Ava, that way she’ll just have to drop Nova off at her middle school, watch Nina make her way into the primary school and take Neves to her kindergarten classroom, although Nova has made it very clear that she will go on foot every morning, as she likes the quiet and the cold air on her face before an exhausting day of social interactions). But there are also a few new languages: French, Italian, Arabic. Damn, this is better than when Ava was here — she took Spanish even though she was already fluent, both because that way she could get good grades without moving a finger and because twelve-year old Ava really wanted to get close to the cool guy: JC (stupid twelve-year-old Ava, stupid stupid).

Lilith Villaumbrosia enters the room in all her brooming glory, like they’ve disturbed her slumber by entering her school and that she’s about to make it their problem. She really grew into her role of the librarian, Ava can tell — she knows Lilith is the librarian after Nova came home on that first day telling her about ‘Miss Villaumbrosia who works at the school library and hates everyone’. Ava is really tempted to wave at her just to fuck with her, but she doesn’t want to draw more attention onto poor Nova, and so she just settles for a grin when Lilith’s gaze sweeps the room and inevitably lands on her. Her jaw clenches, she looks towards poor Nova who closes her eyes and blows through her nose, like she just knows that Ava’s stupidity is about to make her teenage years a living Hell — Ava really is genuinely sorry about that, but she’s not too worried, they’re going to realize that the kid is nothing like her parents in about a month anyway (and they’re probably going to feel really relieved about that until they meet little Nina who tells marijuana jokes at school and whose greatest achievement is saying the whole alphabet while burping).

Finally, after a few seconds of really intense staring that Ava is definitely set on winning, Villaumbrosia looks away (Score!).

“The French teacher was held back by another parent, she’ll be here in just a mom— She’s here.”

The door opens to another woman who enters the room in a bit of a hurry, cheeks slightly red from running and a few strands of hair escaping from her bun. Ava feels her heart stop in her chest and her brain melting inside her skull all the way out of her nose.

“I apologise for making you wait,” the teacher says in her full British accent that is definitely not doing things to Ava’s single brain cell, walking towards the board in front of the whole classroom. “I’m Miss Young, a few of you already know me from the primary school where I teach 3rd grade, it’s a pleasure to meet the others.”

Ava buries her burning face in her hands, Nova’s confusion coming in waves from her left — “Ma, are you okay? What’s going on?”.

What is going on is that Mrs Young isn’t just the most beautiful and intriguing woman Ava has ever seen, no, she also has to be Nova’s soon to be (because the kid speaks Spanish already and thinks German is from the basement of Hell with how hard it is to learn) French teacher. And she also has to be Nina’s Teacher Beatrice ‘who didn’t laugh at my marijuana joke, mama’.

And Ava’s hot neighbor who she’s been watching go on her morning run every day from her kitchen window with her coffee in hand.

Jesus Christ. Whoever is up there really loves to fuck with her.

[adrienneleclerc]

Meet Cute

Masterlist

Pairing: Xavier Thorpe x Hispanic!Reader

Summary: Y/N’s parents decided to enroll her in Nevermore Academy. Since they’re coming from New York, they decided to stay in a hotel for a few days to make sure Y/N has time to settle into the town before starting her first day at Nevermore. When roaming the town, she meets a 6’2 white boy

Warnings: Spanish with translations, kinda cliché

A/N: this is my brand now, I’ll probably write only Hispanic reader fanfics because again, this is what I know. I’m also aware that “Parents Day” was not my best work but I live and I learn

Y/N was in the backseat of the car, trying to make flowers grow out her hands because she was bored.

“Ay cariño, no pones esa cara (honey, don’t make that face), i would have killed to go to a school with people who have powers like me.” Y/N’s mom commented. Before moving to the states, she was in charge of agriculture. Y/N’s mom made that plants and crops grow for her town because sometimes they would have droughts and that affected their livelihood.

“Por que no tienen una escuela en Nueva York? No me quiero quedar en Vermont (Why don’t they have a school in New York? I don’t want to stay in Vermont), I’m going to feel like Belle, little town full of little people, that’s the vibes I’m getting.” Y/N said.

“Es por tú bien, mi niña, en especial porque hiciste que creciera vides en clase y que amarraron a una compañera tuya. Esa chamaca (It’s for your own good, especially because you made vines grow in class and tied up your classmate. That girl) had a lawyer and everything,” Y/N dad commented. The girl made a snide comment about Y/N’s friend and it got a little out of hand.

“She’s lucky i didn’t grow poison ivy.” Y/N said. A few more minutes of driving and they arrived at a local inn. “We are going to meet the principal tomorrow to have you enrolled, puedes ir a darte la vuelta por el pueblito, toma dinero para que compras algo de comer (You can walk around town, here’s some money to buy some food), call me if you need me, vamos a dejar nuestras cosas en el cuarto (we’re gonna leave our stuff in the room).” Y/N’s mom said.

Y/N was kinda hungry from the long drive so when she saw some coffee shop named the Weathervane, she was intrigued. She entered the Weathervane and was looking around until a boy that’s waiting in line spoke up.

“You’re new around here?” The tall boy asked. Y/N found him sort of cute, he was wearing grey sweatpants and a dark blue zip up hoodie. “Sort of, i just got here. Is there anything you would recommend?” Y/N asked. “If you’re in the mood for something sweet, there are muffins. If you want savory, there’s a deli near here.” The boy said.

“I will get something sweet then. I’m Y/N by the way.” Y/N said, sticking out her hand to the boy. “Xavier” Xavier said and shook her hand. Xavier was up next to order and that he did. Y/N then ordered for herself and paid. “Do you wanna sit at a booth together? Tat way you’ll know at least someone in the Podunk town.” Xavier suggested. “I would like that very much.” They waited for their orders before they went and chose a booth.

“What brings you to Jericho?” Xavier asked Y/N. “School, basically. Got expelled from the one in New York.” Y/N said. “What did you get expelled for?” Xavier asked, very interested. For strangling a girl with vines Y/N answers in her head “For a fight.” Y/N answered out loud.

“Im sure that person deserved it though, you don’t seem like the type to fight for no reason. I’ve been suspended before.” Xavier mentioned. “Ooh, pray tell, what can a tall and lanky boy like you do go get suspended?” Y/N asked. Animated the ravens from my mural to attack a normie that was bullying my friend, Ajax Xavier answered in his head. “Also fighting, they were sent to the hospital.” Xavier said. Xavier and Y/N kept talking, both of them filtering out certain parts of the stories they’re talking each other

For all Y/N knows, he could be a muggle in Harry Potter terms. Just like Y/N, Xavier also thinks she’s a normie. Everything was going well until Y/N received a text from her dad to come back to the hotel.

“Hey so I gotta go…home, here’s my phone so you can put your contact in there.” Y/N said handing him her phone. Xavier did just that, taking a selfie to put as his contact picture. “I’ll text you later, nice meeting you.” Y/N said leaving the Weathervane.

Xavier went back to Nevermore and went to his art shed. He played some Chase Atlantic on his phone while he was painting a portrait of Y/N. He was almost finished when his phone buzzed, signaling that he has gotten a text.

Unknown number: Hey Xavier, it’s Y/N from the Weathervane, i had a fun time, hope to see you soon 😘

Xavier smiled down at his phone, he replied with “Hope to see you soon, loved spending time with you” and he continued playing music. There was something about her that seemed so cute, like she wouldn’t hurt anyone. He continued painting until he could barely keep his eyes open.

The next day, Y/N arrived at Nevermore with her suitcase as a tall woman with white hair walked towards her and her parents.

“Good morning, you must be Y/N L/N, welcome to Nevermore Academy, I am principal Larissa Weems. We’ll just wait a few more minutes until the Addams arrive, apparently you are not the only new student at Nevermore this semester, Y/N.” Principal Weems said. When H/N was going to say something to her parents, another car pulled up besides theirs. “Morticia, Gómez, It’s good to see you guys again, this must be Wednesday. Well Wednesday, Y/N is also a new student here so hopefully you two will get along.”

“I find that to be hard to believe.” Wednesday replied to Weems. “Lo mismo digo, tienes mala vibra (I could say the same, you give off bad vibes).” Y/N muttered. Wednesday turned to look at Y/N. “Mala vibra, no, pero energía oscura sí (i don’t have bad vibes, but I do have a dark energy).” Wednesday replied and Y/N looked shocked. “Interesting…at least I’m not the only Latina here.” Y/N commented. “I guess that is the silver lining here.” Wednesday said. “Alright, let’s get moving, shall we.” Weems said.

Y/N and Wednesday walked side by side while their parents were talking to each other. They made it to Principal’s Weems office, she talked to the parents about their grades and whatnot, Y/N was not paying attention at all. “I’ll show you to your dorms. Both of you will be staying in Ophelia hall, Y/N will be rooming with Yoko Tanaka and Wednesday will be rooming with Enid Sinclair.” Weems said, you first arrived to Yoko’s dorm. “Yoko, show Y/N around, I have to escort Wednesday to her dorm.” Weems said, leaving with the Addams family.

“El cuarto se ve muy lindo, se ve que lo puedes decorar como quieras (the room looks really nice, looks like you can decorate it however you want).” Y/N’s mom commented. “The dorm looks cool. So Yoko, how’s the rest of the school?” Y/N asked. “It’s pretty chill actually. I can show you around now.” Yoko said. “Okay, mami, papi, me voy, los quiero mucho.” Y/N said leaving her parents. “Nos quedamos en el carro en caso que necesitas algo (we’ll stay in the car in case you need anything), okay” Y/N’s dad said. Both him and her mom left. “Alright, let’s start the tour.”

They were walking down the staircase when Y/N spotted a very similar brunette white boy. “Xavier!” Y/N called out, the buy turned around and saw Y/N, the girl that he dreamt about last night, but it can’t be. “Y/N?” Xavier said. “I guess I’ll leave you guys to it, have fun.” Yoko said and left the two. “Y/N, i didn’t know you were going to start Nevermore.” Xavier said, walking up to her to hug her.

“Um yeah, I didn’t know you were a student here either. So…I wasn’t actually expelled for a fight, my power is that I can make plants grow and control them so I actually grew vines in the classroom using one of the potted plants my teacher had and basically tied the girl up and strangled her with those vines.” Y/N said. Xavier laughed “So you’re kinda like a badass version of Demeter.” Xavier said. “I guess so, so what about you, flaquito, why were you really suspended?” Y/N asked.

“My best friend Ajax, who is a gorgon, was getting teased by some normie, you know, a person with zero powers, so my power is that I can bring anything I draw to life. I painted a mural with ravens, I brought those ravens to life, and those ravens attacked the normie.” Xavier said. “Wow, that’s a really cool power! It’s nice that you defended your friend like that.” Y/N commented. “Thanks, so can I give you the tour of the school? Maybe after we could hand out some more.” Xavier said. “I would love that.” Y/N replied.

[navnae]

During the holidays hopper does his routinely check ups on everyone and making sure that no crimes are being committed or if any of the families need anything. Without much convincing Steve has been added to trips around Hawkins, Hopper didn’t really know why Steve wanted to join him all of sudden he figured it was a more of a moral thing. The moment that Hopper mentioned that he’s next stop was at the Munson’s the way that Steve’s entire face lit up made Hopper raise an eyebrow a little but he shrugged it off and continued the drive to the nearby trailer. When they pulled up Steve jumped out the car immediately and knocked on the door with urgency. After a few seconds the door opens revealing Eddie with a smile on his face. He invites both of them inside and Wayne greets them as they enter. The boys run off to Eddie’s room leaving Wayne and Hopper in the living room drinking the freshly made coffee from a mug as they overheard their conversation because Steve and Eddie didn’t know how to use their inside voices whenever they were together. Hopper knew it wasn’t his place to assume that something was happening between the two but he couldn’t stop his own curiosity.

“I might be overstepping here but um… is it just me or-“

“I already know what you’re going to say and it’s definitely not just you who sees it.” Wayne said before taking a sip of his coffee. Hopper laughed lightly and Wayne joined in right after. It was understood that there was something going on.

“At first when the kids and Joyce would joke about Harrington and Munson liking each other I thought ‘what a ridiculous thing to say’ but know that I’m actually seeing the scene with my own eyes I get it know.” Hopper admitted, when Wayne started laughing he didn’t feel as uptight when he first got there and eventually he became more relaxed.

“This is only the half of it. You should see the way Eddie goes on and on about every little thing that Steve does. He just won’t stop talking about the kid ‘Steve this, Steve that” it’s insane that they’re not a thing yet.” Wayne shook his head in disbelief. Hopper leaned up in his seat with excitement flowing through him.

“Really? You should’ve seen the way Harrington’s entire face lit up when I mentioned that I was coming here. It was like watching high school girl think about her crush. Friends don’t look at each other the way they do.” Hopper said. Wayne nodded his head in agreement.

“Tell me about it, the last time I looked at a friend like that she ended up being my wife then swiftly getting a divorce right after,” Wayne spoke causally about the topic that it made Hopper look at him with concern. Wayne noticed the look on his face and laughed it off, “it’s a long story but my point is those looks that they give each other aren’t friendly in the slightest.”

“That I agree with.” Hopper said while lifting his cup over towards Wayne and their cups clinked together. Both of them started laughing like little kids before talking about what Hopper really stopped by for.

A few hours went by and Hopper got to discuss with Wayne about anything that could be crime related in the town, giving him his card just in case something did go down around them. Both boys came out of Eddie’s room while laughing at some inside joke between them. Hopper and Wayne knew that the pair didn’t want to be separated just by the way they awkwardly stood in the living room, for a split second it looked like Eddie was going in for a hug but Steve went in with a fist bump and Hopper could feel his face get red from the embarrassing encounter. All of them said their goodbyes then went their own ways. The silence in the car was deafening and clearly something was on Steve’s mind because he wasn’t as talkative like he was a few hours ago. Hopper felt like he needed to turn on his parent mode in an instant and figure out was wrong.

“Are you alright?” Hopper asked. Steve looked over at him almost shocked that he even cared enough to ask.

“Yeah… I don’t know. Lately I don’t know what’s going on with me and- just forget it nothing makes sense anymore.” Steve mumbled as he covered his face with his hands. Hopper pressed his lips together in a tight line and things started to click. Steve probably did have a crush on Eddie but keeping that to himself wasn’t easy especially in a small town where that is heavily frowned upon.

“Hey,” Hopper said softly to get Steve’s attention. “I’m here if you ever want to talk about anything or a simple phone call is enough. Your one of my kids too now and we’re a family, we have to be there for each other okay?”

“Okay.” Steve said happily. Both of them smiled and started up a conversation of the latest movies that have came out that week just to bond over how they think cinema is going downhill as we speak.

[fangirlingpuggle]

Ok so I couldn’t sleep and started thinking what if Shiho became a phantom thief and now I have a whole ass very dumb AU...so here is the don’t you want to go apeshit AU.

So Akira has an umbrella doesn’t wait but does see Ann get into the car he arrives at school and see’s Shiho overhearing other students talk about Ann the keywords get spoken both are in the metaverse, standard plot happens Shiho freaking out especially when she sees Kamoshida’s shadow but also getting angry.  When the two end up in the metaverse again and Shiho sees a cognitive version of Ann she goes full beast mode and awakens her persona. She refuses to go see Kamoshida when he tries to confront her oh so angry over someone not following his orders Akira’s there and the pair confront him, he gets pissed and basically says he’ll get them both expelled and that he’ll up the ante on he rumours about Ann and other horrible things. Shiho and Akria are ready to murder him.

Kawakami storms in overhearing everything and PISSED she is ready to end him when he reveals he knows about her side job and not say anything or else. She is shaking with rage and gets caught up when Shiho and Akira re-enter the metaverse. She awakens her own persona. The group then leave with Morgana and deliver the calling card that she plasters everywhere.

Kawakami having a persona doesn’t really help because Shiho pretty much single handily charges through the palace and beats the shit out of Kamoshida’s shadow. Morgana steals the treasure and comes back and Akira just standing there cheering her on while Kawakami’s just stealing other treasures.

The only reason she doesn’t kill him is that that’s too easy in her opinion he’s going to live with it and suffer, he dies now his reputation survives even if the truth comes out the school could bury it she wants his reputation dead and buried and him to live the rest of his life suffering.

The group start exploring the mementos, Kawakami especially loves the treasures like no need to be a maid I can just steal all this shit from mementos... until finds out about the other shadows and finds Takase’s guardians and well... her turn to go beast mode.

She still goes for the treasure a lot she’s as bad as Morgana and is the one who sells stuff at Iwai’s... he’s pretty convinced she’s a secret crime boss with the amount of stuff she goes in to sell.

Akechi turns out is watching as black mask as they’re in mementos and honestly kind of impressed. When the groups traveling, they actually see black mask destroying shadows and Akira falls hard and fast he is a pining mess.

Morgana ends up staying with Kawakami because he can not deal with the PINING! Akira is waxing poetic about the guy they saw tear apart shadows with his bare hands.

Kawakami: I mean it’s fine it’s not like I’m a crazy cat lady, it doesn’t count if the cat talks back right?

Shiho:…

Akira:…

Shiho:…should we tell her that no one else being able to hear Mona and her holding full conversations with them it’s literally going to make her the definition of a crazy cat lady?

Also Ann and Ryuji started hanging out as he didn’t believe the rumours about her and defended her, and Mishima thinks that they are the phantom thief’s and keeps talking to them about it and Akira and Shiho overhear which is how the website happens. Ann and Ryuji are just very confused.

Ryuji:… dude we aren’t the phantom thieves

Mishima: Rrriiigghhht I gotcha

Ann: No we really aren’t

Mishima: Right I get it

Ann:…I don’t think you do

All other palaces under the cut... sorry this is very long

Palace 2

Shiho and Ann are on a date, Akira is sort of third wheeling when they meet Yusuke and then Madarame. When they get to Madarame’s palace they run into black mask and amongst Akira’s awful pining they end up agreeing to work together. Black Mask is basically just seeing how dangerous they are and if he should deal with them… but he seems the entire time flirting with Akira in their weird competitive way.

Black mask is ready to end Madarame when Shiho talks about how change of heart makes him suffer more that he has live with everything falling apart and death he’ll dies and the truth may never come to light and people will still respect and admire him but if he admits everything, he has to life his life with everything gone….

Akechi starts thinking after that. He agrees to help with a change of heart. Just to see.

He also agrees may help out other times to. Akira is beaming and Shiho regrets everything later that night when Akira won’t stop texting her!!! He doesn’t even what the guy looks like under the mask but still keeps texting about his eyes. HE HASN’T EVEN SEEN HIS EYES!

They steal Madarme’s heart no real problem.

Yusuke actually kept hanging out with Ann and the also Ryuji… Mishima is now even more convinced they are the phantom thieves.

As is Makoto whose following them around.

Ann, Ryuji and Yusuke have no fucking idea what’s going on.

Palace 3

Akira actually figures out who Akechi is as soon as he starts calling the thieves out, he has spent the entire of the last palace listening to the other talk and bantering with each other and as soon as they call on him and they start bantering lightly he knows. Shiho also knows she’s just sitting there paling like ‘Oh god no not in the real world to Mementos was bad enough not here to’ she doesn’t even care he’s a detective she cares that she’s not going to get any sleep from 3am pining texts… especially now Akira has actually seen his eyes.

They meet in the corridor and Shiho nopes out as they start flirting and Akechi realises, he knows and then freaks out and runs for it… now Shiho has to deal with moping Akira.

Kawakami actually decides for them to go after Kaneshiro after she’s focusing more on teaching and notices students acting odd and see’s some at Iwai’s shop while she’s selling loot. So, she decides they’re going after him. She finds out who he is with Iwai’s help.

They don’t actually get into debt Shiho using her volley ball skill and pretty much downing the bank. Which catches Black mask’s attention and he meets up with them Akira pretty much says he knows but doesn’t care and trusts Akechi even though said will catch them. Akechi is full of guilt.

Kawakami is ignoring the teenage bullshit and her and Mona are stealing everything.

Makoto ends up realising they’re not the phantom thieves but has got adopted into their friend group. She’s tried show Mishima the evidence they’re not phantom thieves but he just says he’s really impressed how dedicated they are to secret identities… they’ve given up trying to talk sense to him at this point.

Palace 4

Futaba still contacts the group as Alibaba and they figure out about her but well they’re in LeBlanc and Sae and Sojiro are there and they both end up there in the palace Akechi’s there to…

Best way to describe the palace is fucking trauma… it’s in this one that Akechi working for Shido as an assassin, Wakaba’s death, Akechi being Wakaba’s subject of her research, Shido being Akechi’s father and maybe Futaba’s father as well is all revealed it’s a lot…

Sojiro awakens his own persona with everything especially the monster Wakaba that gives Akechi a fucking panic attack and has him unable to fight. Sojiro goes full dad mode. Sae meanwhile is with Futaba’s shadow and helping Futaba remember what actually happened.

Pretty such Sojiro is like ‘I have now adopted my future son in law and will be arranging therapy for him’ when they get out as well plotting Shido’s downfall.

Futaba is much better after and deals with medjed also starts hacking into Shido’s systems to fuck with him because they may not be targeting him yet but she will be fucking with him.

Also, Futaba, Sae and Akechi end up debating feather man episodes and lore so much… Sojiro closes the café and turns the lights off and none of them realise.

Palace 5 not 4 yeah orders a bit different because Sae knows about the metaverse and in Futaba’s palace Akechi revealed Sae has one and she is not happy with that at all.

While Kawakami, Shiho and Akira are on school trip Sae decides FUCK IT she’s dealing with her palace and basically demands a calling card that Sojiro and Akechi end up scribbling on a napkin that she grabs and then demands they let her into metaverse.

Sae is beating the shit of her own shadow while Sojiro and Akechi just watch on awkwardly… at the end Sae awakens her own Persona and the group come back with a new target.

Palace 4 now 5 Akechi reveals he’s been ordered to kill the target and that Shido will know somethings up those leads to

Akira: Hey Sae… how hard would it be to fake a death?

They handle the place without issue change his heart there’s a fake announcement of his death Shido thinks he’s won as Akechi mentioned killed thieves in the palace… not knowing they are getting ready to end him… Sojiro is ready to 1v1 him.

Maruki palace

No one is happy, Sojiro and Sae have coffee broken coffee mugs and try to shank him when he walks into LeBlanc

End is him getting kicked the shit out of by team mom and dad while they’re yelling

“THIS.IS.NOT.HOW.YOU.DO.THERAPY!!!!”

Bonus dumb ideas

Mona tries flirting with Ann one time even though she can’t understand him Shiho threatens to have him neutered.

In mementos Sojiro insists on driving and has on numerous occasions threatened to turn this cat around if they don’t quiet down.

All palaces end up with Akechi and Akira doing their competitive flirting. The rest of them just ignore the two.

Futaba still helps out team and knows everything even if she doesn’t go in to the metaverse.

Sojiro meets Caroline and Justine and is just like well I’ve already adopted three kids what’s two more.

Sorry this is very very long and dumb I need sleep. Sorry.

[where-is-francis]

𝙏𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 —♡-> 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣

Before You Interact — Rules Of My Blog

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩: Part of my Tunnel of Love blurb series (masterlist coming soon)

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙨: They/Them — fem/fem aligned DNI, you have plenty of stuff

𝘼/𝙉: I was debating on making these in a masterpost but ultimately decided against it. I’ll make a masterlist as soon as everything in this series is posted.

𝙏𝙒: Hinting at buying/smoking weed. That’s it.

𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣 would much rather be doing anything else for Valentine’s Day. Originally, he came up with an idea for a date — just the two of you at his house for the night. However, that plan only lasted about three minutes, as you were roped in by Nancy to help decorate for the school dance.

“Alright,” Steve put the car in park and turned to the kids in the back. “I’m leaving you guys to do your own thing. But if I have to drop you off late because you were too busy sucking face, I’m telling your parents.”

The group — Max, Lucas, Mike, and Dustin — all nodded and cursed the older male under their breath as they spilled out and headed to the gym. The dance wasn’t formal, but the small group still dressed up a bit, and it was enough to make him smile. In order to fundraise the school had, once again, made their own “Tunnel of Love” in the main hall of the building — which is where you would be right now. Steve caught a glimpse of you wearing your (just slightly) more formal attire as you ushered some parents through the hall.

Although you looked great, he still wished Nancy hadn’t convinced you to work for the night. Not on Valentine’s Day.

The graduate pulled the door open and stepped off to greet you, squeezing your hand quickly so nobody noticed. As much as he hated to admit it, the hallway looked really nice. There were streamers and tinsel fringe hanging from the walls and ceiling that reflected red and pink light spots through the area. Decorative hearts plastered across the usually cream colored brick were handmade by staff for the event and complimented the pictures.

As part of the Hawkins High tradition, anybody could donate a few bucks to have a picture of them and their spouse in the Tunnel of Love.

“You here for a tour, Sailor?” You smirked.

“Not particularly, and that’s ex-Sailor to you.”

Steve immediately eyed the small table you were running. A plethora of sugar cookies still sat individually wrapped — though they weren’t going to last long. He was debating on whether or not to buy a few before he left to inevitably go home and wait for the dance to be over.

“I’m sorry about tonight.” You whispered across the table. “They really needed some help. You should’ve seen it when I got here — Nancy had nearly driven herself crazy trying to do it all.”

He wasn’t mad at either of you, to be honest.

“I don’t doubt it. It’s okay, though. We still have later — I mean, after I take the pipsqueaks home.” Steve mused as he messed with the fake rose pens.

The couple that had entered moments before him were now done walking the tunnel, giving you two a moment together. You smiled and waved as they left — your friendly nature was one of the reasons the former king fell for you. He joined your side against the folding table and leaned back to rest against it while looking at you with heart eyes.

“I know how to make it up to you — if that’s what you want.” There was something teasing about your tone that had him giddy.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” He watched as your hand pulled out a ten from under the small money box on the table.

“Well, your parents came in to donate and leave their picture earlier. But, being the forgetful individual that I am, I misplaced it! Quite sad, if I do say so myself. And now they’re gone for the weekend — what is it this time, skiing? — and I can’t give them their money back.” You explained sarcastically.

Steve broke into a grin and laughed, eventually smacking you lightly on the arm. To be honest, he always hated seeing their picture in the tunnel. It was never about donating to the school, or showing how far they came from high school sweethearts. It was always about upholding the image of the family. The Harringtons.

“Oh yeah, and what do you suggest we do about this?”

You rose to meet him from the folding chair. Your arms skillfully began to trap him against the table until you slipped the bill into his front pocket. He couldn’t look away from your features in the warm lighting of the deserted hall.

“Gee, I don’t know. What about you and me grab a pizza and go to skull rock while the kids are having fun? Hell, might as well swing by Rick’s while we’re there. What do you say, handsome?”

Steve’s lips were a mere movement away from yours. It was an even better date than he had originally planned.

“You mean it?”

“Of course, baby.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat a bit. “I’ll go find Nance and get her to cover.”

Reblogs instead of likes. Reblogs help other people find my works. Comments and tags very much appreciated. 💕 More male and enby reader fics on my blog.